Enisey defeated VEF at home, 88-71 (19-21, 21-12, 22-17, 26-21).
Top Scorers
Enisey: Suleiman Braimoh (18+7 reb), Tony Taylor (14+5 ast), Frank Elegar (13+11 reb), Denis Lukashov (13)
VEF: Mareks Mejeris (16+9 reb), Kristopher Richard (11+8 ast), Janis Blums (11), Arnas Labuckas (10+7 reb)
Build-Up
These two teams entered with identical records, 11-10, tied for 6th place. A win today virtually guaranteed a 6th-place finish with only two games remaining on the schedule.
Riga was more aggressive early on, picking up a lead thanks to pressure defense and an effective pick-and-roll.
Krasnoyarsk forward Suleiman Braimoh was able to shift the momentum upon entering the game. Enisey’s defense improved and the deficit began to shrink. The home team tied the game midway through the 2nd quarter and went on to lead, 40-33, at halftime.
Turning Point
Enisey dealt the knockout blow late in the 3rd quarter, knocking down four consecutive 3-pointers to go up by 14, 62-48. The Siberians continued to pull away in the 4th, leading by as much as 24, 77-53. Enisey would ultimately win by 17.
After a three-point loss in the first meeting of the season (84-81), Enisey needed to win by four or more points to earn the playoff tie-breaker. With that accomplished, Krasnoyarsk only needs one more win or a VEF loss to clinch 6th place.
Stat
20 – Elegar recorded his 20th double-double in the VTB League, matching a league record.
Quotes
Enisey head coach Oleg Okulov:
– At the beginning of the game our guys were a little too wound up. I would point out that the team didn’t quit after getting eliminated from the FIBA Europe Cup. We made the VTB League playoffs and are playing at 100%. At the beginning of the game, we panicked and got scrambled on defense. Once it became clear how big the problem was, I called an early timeout and from that point on we were able to execute like we had planned all week.
VEF head coach Janis Gailitis:
– Congratulations to Enisey on the win. They have very strong players on their team. We weren’t attentive under the basket today. Plus, we didn’t have enough depth at times on offense. Our opponent did a great job against Janis Blums and overall played good defense against our guards. It’s always very difficult to win in Krasnoyarsk. Everyone knows that.
Video
Enisey vs VEF one minute highlights ? pic.twitter.com/D1pC6dv0a7
— VTB United League (@VTBUL) April 9, 2017
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Up Next
Enisey: April 16 vs. Astana
VEF: April 13 vs. Lokomotiv-Kuban
