By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Upsetting Lenovo Tenerife with a convincing display at home, VEF Riga secured a second win in Group C of the Basketball Champions League Regular Season.
The Vefins prevailed, 77-72, in the Gameday 5 affair.
Finnish Alexander Madsen scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the fourth quarter keeping his side in control. Six rebounds, four assists, and one steal drew up a team-high efficiency rating of 20.
Isaiah Pineiro with 16 points, Brendan Adams combining his 15 points with seven assists, and Dairis Bertans packing ten points were the remaining double-digit scorers for the team guided by Janis Gailitis.
Experienced forward Maris Gulbis was a late scratch for the Latvia champions. On the opposite end, Bruno Fitipaldo was ruled out alongside injured center Fran Guerra.
A second straight win in Arena Riga turned a 0-3 start to 2-3, heading to the last game of the double-legged round-robin schedule against Darussafaka Lassa. With Tenerife down to 3-2, Gameday 6 will be interesting for all four Group C participants. At the end of the day, Txus Vidorreta’s side retained the tiebreaker advantage but trailed for nearly 21 minutes, including most of the second half in Latvia.
Georgian Giorgi Shermadini tallied 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block in the losing effort. Both Marcelinho Huertas and Tim Abromaitis reached 799 BCL points with 13 and 5, respectively. Sasu Salin did not fall shy of a milestone, becoming the first player with 200 triples in the league, but was held to 1/5 from beyond the arc in a five-point showing.
Postgame press conference
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League