Rīgas Zeļļi pull away late to beat Estonian champions; Čavars makes debut
Rīgas Zeļļi won 94:74 away at Estonian champions Tartu Universitāte in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. Latvia national team center Klāvs Čavars made his debut for the club.
In the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League, the joint league of clubs from both countries, Riga club Rīgas Zeļļi won 94:74 on the road on 9 October against last season's Estonian champions, Tartu Universitāte. The win keeps the Riga side unbeaten, with four victories in four games.
The game was decided in the final quarter, which the visitors won 24:11. After three quarters, Zeļļi led by seven points.
Čavars' debut
Latvia national team center Klāvs Čavars made his official debut for Rīgas Zeļļi. In his first game for the club he played 23 minutes and 15 seconds, scoring six points, grabbing seven rebounds and blocking three shots.
How the game went
The first quarter was evenly matched, but Toni Perkins stood out in Zeļļi's attack, scoring 12 of the team's first 16 points in five and a half minutes. Late in the quarter Riga went on a 10:2 run to build a double-digit lead. In the second quarter, with the team coached by Roks Kondratavičs, the lead briefly reached 13 points, but Tartu did not let the visitors pull away, and the gap at halftime was nine points.
In the third quarter the Estonians came back, and Omar El-Sheikh cut the deficit to two points with a two-point basket. Zeļļi still could not extend their lead significantly and went into the last quarter ahead by seven. They then opened the final period with a 13:2 run and held the advantage to the end.
Top scorers
Perkins led Rīgas Zeļļi with 22 points, Martins Varns scored 18, and 20-year-old Rolands Šulcs added 12. For Tartu, Paleks scored 20 and Maido added 12.
In the league standings, Rīgas Zeļļi, with four wins in four games, share the lead with VEF Rīga and Valmiera Glass/ViA.
