By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Ken Brown posted a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists leading VEF Riga to an 89 – 77 victory over Astana in the conclusion of this week’s games in VTB League.
It was a key win for the Latvian team since they are now eighth in the standings and a favorite to win the postseason race. They will punch a playoff ticket with a win over Tsmoki Minsk in the next round.
Astana needed more than Justin Carter’s all-around efforts (20 points, seven assists, six rebounds) and Malcolm Grant (19 points). The Kazakh squad is 11th with 7 – 16 record.
In the other games held this week in VTB, Stephane Lasme’s grand overtime performance helped Unics Kazan outlast Nizhny Novgorod in overtime. Meanwhile, in Perm Codi Miller-McIntyre notched his second (!) triple-double of the season, a major feat considering how rare triple-doubles are in European basketball.
VTB League Results:
| HOME | AWAY | FT | HT | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | OT |
| ENISEY | ZENIT SAINT PETERSBURG | 84-104 | 53-56 | 22-29 | 31-27 | 17-21 | 14-27 | 0-0 |
| VEF RIGA | LOKOMOTIV KUBAN | 69-71 | 42-36 | 22-19 | 20-17 | 15-20 | 12-15 | 0-0 |
| ENISEY | BC TSMOKI MINSK | 91-80 | 41-33 | 22-12 | 19-21 | 20-23 | 30-24 | 0-0 |
| PARMA BASKET PERM | AVTODOR | 86-86 | 47-50 | 29-30 | 18-20 | 22-15 | 17-21 | 8-10 |
| UNICS KAZAN | NIZHNIY NOVGOROD | 84-84 | 39-51 | 22-22 | 17-29 | 24-15 | 21-18 | 15-9 |
| VEF RIGA | BK ASTANA | 89-77 | 47-32 | 20-15 | 27-17 | 21-22 | 21-23 | 0-0 |
VTB League Standings:
|
#
|
TEAM
|
PTS
|
MP
|
W
|
L
|
POINTS
|
+/-
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
CSKA MOSCOW
|
42
|
22
|
20
|
2
|
2057 – 1734
|
323
|
|
|
2
|
UNICS KAZAN
|
42
|
22
|
20
|
2
|
1887 – 1666
|
221
|
|
|
3
|
ZENIT SAINT PETERSBURG
|
36
|
21
|
15
|
6
|
1804 – 1777
|
27
|
|
|
4
|
LOKOMOTIV KUBAN
|
36
|
21
|
15
|
6
|
1754 – 1523
|
231
|
|
|
5
|
KHIMKI MOSCOW
|
33
|
21
|
12
|
9
|
1774 – 1664
|
110
|
|
|
6
|
AVTODOR
|
33
|
21
|
12
|
9
|
1829 – 1853
|
-24
|
|
|
7
|
NIZHNIY NOVGOROD
|
30
|
22
|
8
|
14
|
1870 – 1926
|
-56
|
|
|
8
|
VEF RIGA
|
31
|
23
|
8
|
15
|
1787 – 1896
|
-109
|
|
|
9
|
PARMA BASKET PERM
|
29
|
22
|
7
|
15
|
1794 – 1887
|
-93
|
|
|
10
|
BC TSMOKI MINSK
|
29
|
22
|
7
|
15
|
1632 – 1822
|
-190
|
|
|
11
|
BK ASTANA
|
30
|
23
|
7
|
16
|
1761 – 1840
|
-79
|
|
|
12
|
ENISEY
|
28
|
22
|
6
|
16
|
1751 – 1946
|
-195
|
|
|
13
|
BC KALEV/CRAMO
|
30
|
24
|
6
|
18
|
2030 – 2196
|
-166
|
|