Pärnu beat Valmiera in Latvian-Estonian basketball league as Ate returns from injury
Pärnu defeated Latvian champions Valmiera Glass/ViA 76:74 in the Latvian-Estonian basketball league on 1 November. Valmiera captain Artis Ate returned to the court after a six-month absence.
Pärnu beat Latvian champions Valmiera Glass/ViA 76:74 in a Latvian-Estonian basketball league game on 1 November. It was Pärnu's third win in the competition, while Valmiera suffered a second consecutive defeat in the tournament.
Ate's return
Valmiera captain Artis Ate took the court for the first time since suffering a knee collateral ligament tear on 1 May. He missed both of his shots and scored no points, but recorded two rebounds and two assists. American center Daniels Gidenss, announced on Friday, was not yet part of the squad for the game.
How the game went
Pärnu started better, but Valmiera closed the first quarter ahead 16:13, helped by Nigerian Aminu Muhammed, who scored seven points after coming off the bench. Valmiera's lead reached nine points in the first half, and they led 39:37 at the break. After three quarters Valmiera was ahead 61:59.
In the fourth quarter Valmiera built a seven-point lead, but Klāvs Dubults, a former Valmiera center, and Renārs Birkāns helped Pärnu close the gap. With about 100 seconds left Dubults put Pärnu ahead 73:70. Mikhels Kirvess again put the hosts in front, Bryce McBride missed a potential game-winning shot, and Birkāns scored the final point from the free-throw line.
Top performers
Birkāns, making his season debut in the Latvian-Estonian league, scored 11 points and had 14 assists. Dubults scored ten points and grabbed four rebounds. Kirvess led Pärnu with 18 points, while Valmiera's top scorer Verners Kohs had 20.
Standings
Valmiera is third with six wins and two losses, while Pärnu is eighth with three wins and three losses. Rīgas Zeļļi lead the table with seven wins.
