VEF Riga basketball players become LIBL Champions / Day
In the final game « VEF Riga », watching less than six thousand spectators in the match, beat « Riga’s Zella » by 88:82 (26:20, 20:19, 27:23, 15:20).
The Vefian victory with 20 points and five assists was made by Isuel Sanon, who could no longer play in the game due to five notes. Another 15 points were scored by Histri Clear, but Ilya Sidorov scored 14 points.
Vyacheslav Bobrov, a VEF Riga player, was recognized as the most valuable player, or MVP, who finished the final with 13 points, seven balls under the baskets and four assists.
Among the « Rīgas Zeļļi », Kriš Helmanis was the highest scorer with 18 points, Robert Ford added 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, while Uģis Pinete and Tom Skuja, who also scored seven assists.
In the first two quarters, the « Vefians » were led by VEF Riga in the third quarter after Sanon’s scoring and Sidorov’s accurate shot at +11, but after a minute’s break, Sanon scored four more points, continuing to increase his lead.
About two minutes before the end of the regular time, the « Riga Zeļļi » deficit fell to five points in Ford and Skuja’s four free throws. Another accurate two -point shot from the bottom of the basket was added by Helmanis, remaining only +3 for the « Vephes ».
Maris Gulbis threw one of two free throws, Bobrov scored another point from the free -throw line and VEF Riga regained a five -point lead. In the remaining 30 seconds, the Vefians secured victory and won the championship title.
In the opening of the LIBL season « Rīgas Zeļļi » was 91:88, but in February the « Vefians » reverted with 80:59.
VEF Riga beat Ogri in the semi-finals by 2-0, while « Riga Zeļļi » played in the crucial match from -18 and played second place winner in the series Tallinn Kalev https://www.dien.lv/ « Cramo » for the first time in the final.
In the quarterfinals, the « Vefians » won « Ventspils » with a 2-1 win, while « Rīgas Zeļļi » beat « Tartu University » at https://www.dien.lv/ « Maks & Moorits » by 2-0.
On Friday in Tallinn, the Ogre bronze awards lost to Tallinn’s « Kalev » at https://www.dien.lv/ « Cramo » with 69:92.
LIBL Latvia was represented in the Main Event « University of Latvia », « Liepaja », « Ogre », « Rīgas Zeļļi », « Valmiera Glass » https://www.dien.lv/ « Vidzeme University College », « Ventspils » and « VEF Riga » and Estonia – Tallinn « Kalev » Kalev « Kalev » https Keilas « Coolbet », « Parnu Sadam », Tallinn « Taltech » https://www.dien.lv/ « Alexela », « Tartu University » https://www.dien.lv/ « Maks & Moorits », Raplas « Utilitas » and « Viimsi ».
In the Main Event, the teams played two laps, after which the top eight teams reached the quarter -finals, fighting for a place in the final four.
The best men’s basketball clubs in Latvia and Estonia played for the first time in the 2019 season, when 15 teams participated in the competition. Ventspils became the first winners of the league in the final four.
Last season, Slobozansk’s Prometey from Ukraine was the champions, which stopped operating in the summer and no longer played in LIBL this season.
