“VEF Rīga” “Pafbet” in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League (LIBL) for the fifth time this season beat “Latvian Universities ”(LU) basketball players. “VEF Rīga” conceded at the Olympic Sports Center of the University of Latvia with 63:85 (20:19, 18:21, 9:29, 16:16)

20 points for the winners, as well as five rebounds, assists and provocative remarks to Kail Olmen. 16 points for Marcis Vitols, “double-double” – 15 points and ten rebounds – as well as five assists for Aize Pinjero, but 11 points and six balls for baskets for Michael Kaiser. In the ranks of the homeowners with “double-double” – 17 points and ten rebounds – Anrijs Miška answered, and 11 points to Gustav Kampus. In the first quarter, LU was more often in the lead, but the fate of the game was decided by the third quarter, in the fourth quarter the majority of guests also reached the mark of 27.

The leader in the Latvian team group with 16 victories in 18 games is “VEF Rīga”, “Ventspils” follows with 11 successes in 16 matches, but the third place with the same balance is taken by “Ogre”. “Liepāja” has eight successes in 15 dues, Valmiera has won three games in 16 games, but LU has 19 victories in 19 matches. In the last six games, the “Vefians” had suffered two losses, but one of them was in the FIBA ​​Champions League. In the middle of January, the people of Riga surprisingly lost to “Liepāja” with 77:83, but then won four victories in a row, three of which were in the LIBL tournament.

It is significant that both teams previously met just a week ago, when “VEF Rīga” won with 84:64. Previously, the “Vefieši” won “Ventspils” with 99:87, but Valmiera club beat with the result 94:57. At the end of January, the University of Latvia won the first success of the season, beating Valmiera Glass / Vidzeme University College 65:62. LU lost 65:69 to Ventspils and to the already mentioned VEF Rīga. In the first three mutual games, the champions were dominated – 95:54, 86:42 and 77:60.

United Championship Out of the “Vefis”, the best performance this season before the match with the University of Latvia was demonstrated by Bald Olmens, who scored an average of 13.94 points in 16 games. In the ranks of the University of Latvia, the leader with 11.33 points in the match was Kārlis Žunda on average. Four “VEF Rīga” basketball players – Artis Ate, Kristers Zoriks, Aigars Šķēle, Mārcis Vītols – will help the Latvian national team in the qualification tournament of the 2022 European Championship on February 20 and 22. On Wednesday, the game was also scheduled between “Ventspils” and Valmiera teams, but it has been postponed to another time.

Before The approved calendar of the season provided that until December 6, the teams of each country will play only with each other, but international games will take place at the end of the season. Given the epidemiological situation in the region, the league board decided to play the main event in both countries separately. The calendar of Latvian team games for two more rounds has now been approved, which will be provisionally played until the middle of February. The continuation of the season will be decided later. The preliminary championship playoff system provides an opportunity to organize a joint elimination tournament in the spring, playing against teams from different countries. In the main tournament of the third season of LIBL, 13 teams were scheduled to play a two-round tournament, which would be followed by a playoffs – a quarter-final series and a “Final Four” tournament.

13 teams – six Latvian units – “VEF Rīga”, “Ogre”, “Ventspils”, “Valmiera Glass” / “Vidzeme University College”, “University of Latvia” and “Liepāja”, as well as seven Estonian teams – Tallinn “Kalev” / “Cramo”, Rapla “Avis Utilitas”, “Parnu Sadam”, “University of Tartu”, Rakvere “Tarvas”, Tallinn “Kalev” / TLU and “TalTech” . In the first Latvian-Estonian joint league tournament in the 2018/2019 season, Ventspils won 15 teams in both the main tournament and the Final 4, but the 2019/2020 season remained unfinished, finishing first in the main tournament, which was suspended due to the Covid-19 pandemic. taking “VEF Rīga”, the second – “Ogrei”, the third – “Tallinn Kalev” / “Cramo” and the fourth – “Ventspils”