“TTT Riga” Photo: FIBA
“TTT Rīga” on Wednesday celebrated the victory in the last game of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Euroleague group tournament. At home, TTT Rīga beat the Hungarian vice-champions Seksārds KSC with 69:68 (17:22, 13:15, 24:12, 15:19).
The guest started with an 8: 0 break in the first two and a half minutes, but in the fourth minute, after five points from Chantel Handy and Gunta Bashko, one of the two free throws equalized the result of the Rigans – 8: 8. The final draw was 11:11 after five minutes. Later, the guests took over the reins, also in the second quarter with five to nine points.
The break occurred during the game at the beginning of the second half, when “TTT Rīga” equalized the result of Jesmine Thomas’ two-point throw in the 25th minute (40:40) and a moment later, after one of the two exact throws of Thomas 13: 3, the break ended with 43:30. In the 28th minute after Sara Krnich’s two-point shot, the guests reached 47:47, but they were not allowed to take the lead. Ieva Pulvere finished the quarter shortly before the end with an accurate two-point shot after the dribble – 54:49. The Hungarian club played at the beginning of the last quarter, starting with seven unanswered points – 56:54 in favor of the guests.
After Aija Klakocka’s two-point shot, the housewives still reached a draw (56:56). After that, the Hungarian club took the lead, but after Thomas’ three-point throw three minutes and 18 seconds before the end of the regular time, the result was again undecided (64:64), but in the next attack Vanessa Jasa’s long shot with 67:66 took TTT Riga again.
The last attack in regular time with less than 12 seconds left was for the guests, but for Zala Friškovec less than ten seconds before the end of the match, there were deficiencies in the drift, but in the remaining time there were no guests until the rules were violated. Jasa scored 14 points for the home team, being accurate in all five shots of the game, including three long shots, as well as one of the two free throws. Tomasa scored 13 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds, 11 points, as well as five rebounds and personal notes – Daugile Šarauskaite, Tenia scored ten points, and Baško added nine rebounds for nine points.
Nikolina Miliča scored 17 points and ten rebounds for the guests, Livija Gerebena and Krnjiča scored 12 points each, who also had six rebounds, but 11 points and six assists and errors in Agnes’s Student account. In the European Cup of the season, the Latvian club will continue in the European Cup, where it will participate starting from the quarterfinals. “TTT Rīga” took the fifth place in group A with 14 victories in 14 games, while Seksārdas KSC did not succeed in 14 games, taking the last place in the competition of eight teams.
The Rigans started the new year in the league with a victory over Venice’s “Umana Reyer”, beating the Italian champions with the result 62:54, then conceded to the Lat BLMA with 45:80, but in the last game they lost to the Prague ZVVZ USK team with 64:84. Meanwhile, the opponents had suffered three losses since the beginning of January, recognizing the superiority of the Ekaterinburg UGMK in the last game with 52:89. In the first meeting of the season, the Rigans were successful in the field, winning the Seksarda team with the result 68:65.
The main tournament of the Euroleague was scheduled to end on February 1, but due to Covid-19 restrictions, the group tournament matches are scheduled for February 24. The top four teams in each group will qualify for the playoffs, while the fifth and sixth place winners will continue in the European Cup. The UGMK of Ekaterinburg became the champions last season, winning the “Perfumerias Avenida” of Salamanca in the final.
Last season, TTT Rīga lost all six games in the Euroleague Main Event and did not qualify for the playoffs. The tournament was held on a “bubble” basis in two runs, but this season the teams have returned to the usual format. The modest result is largely due to a lack of practice, as the team was unable to play the match from the beginning of November due to an emergency. In order to get a practice, TTT Rīga decided to play in the European Women’s Basketball League in the middle of December, where they managed to win bronze.
TTT Rīga ”also won the Latvian Women’s Basketball League for the eighth time in a row and for the 20th time in the history of the club.
