Kalev Estonia defeated Enisey Russia at home, 97-88 (29-25, 22-20, 24-14, 22-29).
Top Scorers
Kalev: Bojan Subotic (29 + 10 reb), Isaiah Briscoe (18), Branko Mirkovic (17 + 7 ast)
Enisey: Mark Lyons (18 + 6 ast), Denis Zakharov (15), Martins Meiers (14 + 5 reb)
Story
Without a win since mid-January, Kalev secured a big victory at home vs. Enisey, sweeping the Siberian club this season behind Bojan Subotic’s double-double. The Serbian-Montenegrin forward posted 29 points and 10 rebounds, both season highs, helping Kalev secure a 16-point lead entering the 4th quarter.
Enisey mounted a furious comeback in the final period. Trailing by 22 late in the 3rd, the Russians scored 16 unanswered points to make it a 75-69 game with eight minutes remaining.
But the visitors never got closer than six points down the stretch. Kalev’s offense returned in time, keyed by clutch three-point shooting from Subotic.
With four minutes to go, he scored six unanswered to stretch Kalev’s lead to 12 and slam the door on Enisey’s comeback hopes.
Kalev improves to 5-13 with the win, one and a half games back of 8th place. Enisey is now 3-12, two games out of the final playoff spot.
Stat
5 – Kalev star Isaiah Briscoe scored 18 points, snapping his five-game streak of scoring 20 or more points. The streak began on January 20 in Kalev’s first win vs. Enisey.
Quotes
Kalev head coach Donaldas Kairys:
– I’m happy we competed today and had a great attitude. The stats reflect that. Just look at the rebounds. Enisey is one of the rebounding teams in the League, but we surpassed them today. We really needed a win and were able to snap a four-game losing streak. We need to finish strong to contend for a playoff spot.
Enisey head coach Oleg Okulov:
– There are three main reasons for the loss. First, Kalev managed to get six offensive rebounds. Second, we missed eight free throws, and also missed several wide-open shots. Every possession is very important in the VTB League and we did not play our best basketball today.
Up Next
Kalev: March 19 home vs. Avtodor
Enisey: March 26 away vs. CSKA
Images of the Game
