By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Henry Sims and Michał Sokołowski dominating the fourth quarter sends NutriBullet Treviso to the 91-85 victory against VEF Riga on Tuesday.
Sims, 31, former NBA player, put up his side’s first ten points in the fourth period on the way to a team-high 20 points. Polish teammate, Sokołowski threw in six more points down the stretch in a 14-point overall effort in the Basketball Champions League Regular Season Round 1 contest. Tomas Dimsa recorded 16 points, including a clutch bucket for the 89-85 lead with 1:23 left. DeWayne Russell posted an 11-point, 10-assist double-double.
The team led by head coach Janis Galitis built a 12-point advantage late in the first half thanks to a 14-2 sprint. A fast restart by Treviso after the break got the opponents close again at Palaverde.
As eight players hit at least one triple, the winning side finished with 11/22 from beyond the arc and 23/39 two-pointers. The Latvian team shot 32/67 from the field, including 17/31 three-pointers to near 55% for the game but still fell short of the W.
The hosts jumped out of the Qualifying Round and extended the winning touch to Group D of the Regular Season. Massimiliano Menetti’s side was already 2-0 at the domestic level, Italy’s LBA Serie A.
VEF Riga, 1-0 in Latvian-Estonian League, had Devondrick Walker at 21 points behind 5/7 three-pointers to start its third BCL campaign. Jalen Riley logged 17 points and Ron Curry added 13 points in the losing effort.
Falco Szombathely and AEK will close the Group D Round 1 schedule tomorrow, Wednesday. All four sides will be back for Round 2 in a couple of weeks.
Post-game press conference:
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League