Rīga's Ekselences Juniori Suffer Heaviest Defeat of the Season in Tallinn
In the Latvian-Estonian basketball league, Rīga's Ekselences Juniori lost 79:100 away to Tallinn's Bigbank/Kalev. It is the team's first defeat this season by more than ten points.
In a Latvian-Estonian basketball league game played in Tallinn on 17 October, Rīga's Ekselences Juniori lost 79:100 to the hosts, Bigbank/Kalev. The visitors won only one quarter, which left the home side comfortably ahead. It is the young Rīga team's first defeat this season by a margin of more than ten points.
How the game unfolded
Bigbank/Kalev took control early, leading 16:3 and winning the first quarter 31:18. In the second period the visitors played very productively, making 12 of 16 field goal attempts, including five of six three-pointers. They won the quarter 26:22, cutting the deficit to nine points at halftime (44:53).
In the third quarter the hosts stretched their lead to 27 points (75:48). Rīga then scored 15 points in a row to reduce the gap to 12 (63:75), but Bigbank/Kalev finished the period ahead 78:63. The hosts opened the final quarter with a 10:0 run, restoring a 25-point lead (88:63), and the game ended 100:79.
Top performers
For Rīga, Helmuts Petrovičs was the top scorer with 21 points, and Eduards Ābele added 20. For the winners, Deimiens Forests led with 18. Rinalds Mālmanis, who played 19:52, scored seven points, grabbed five rebounds and made one assist.
The previous loss
The team's biggest setback before this was a 98:88 loss to Liepāja a week earlier, when the Liepāja side only reached its largest lead near the end of the game.
In another game the same day, Keila KK lost at home to the University of Tartu 71:89. After these games, Ekselences Juniori are ninth in the 15-team standings with two wins and three losses.
