Kevin Johnson, Kristen Kasemets and Denin Krestinin combined for 60 points to inspire Keila Coolbet for a 93-73 win over Basket Brno on Monday, December 18, at the STAREZ Arena Vodova in southern Czechia.
Players of the game
Kevin Anthony Johnson had a big first half in defense and outstanding second half in offense.
A former University of Illinois at Chicago point guard finished the game with 24 points on 10/21 shooting from the field, including 4/7 from the three point line.
Johnson added four assists and a game high four steals.
Kristen Kasemets registered another 20+ game.
Shooting guard had 22 points on 7/8 shooting from the field and a perfect 5/5 from the charity stripe.
Kasemets made all three shots from the three point line.
Denis Krestinin finished with 14 points on 3/4 shooting from the court and 8/10 from the free throw line.
Keila captain added eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Greg Lee led Basket Brno with 18 points on 6/9 shooting, including a brilliant 4/4 effort from the three point line.
Penn State standout grabbed 10 rebounds too.
Tomas Zdanavičius also scored 18 points.
A Lithuanian posted five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Ondrej Šiska and Viktor Pulpan scored 12 and 11 points respectively.
Key stats
A healthy Krestinin, unstoppable Kasemets and strings-pulling Johnson turned Keila into a deadly force.
Keila Coolbet had 16 assists on 19 field goals in the first half.
Krestinin and Kasemets combined for eight forced fouls before the break.
The Estonians shot 55% from the field for a 49-40 advantage at the half.
Brno had its own Lithuanian joker.
Tomas Zdanavicius scored 10 points in five minutes and Brno cut the gap to a single point, 57-56.
Kasemets and Johnson replied with back-to-back three pointers to regain a double digit lead for Keila, 69-58.
Five consecutive points by Kaido Saks extended visitors lead up to 17 points, 76-69, with 08:24 left.
In the end, Keila had 27 assists on 32 field goals.
Game notes
Keila Coolbet improved to 2-2, while Basket Brno dropped to 0-4.
Peep Pahv and his men registered their second ENBL win on the road after an earlier success at Valmiera.
The Estonian team are in a hunt for the playoffs.
ENBL access: follow the game on YouTube live stream
Format
Four best teams from each group will qualify for the playoffs (A1-B4, A2-B3, A3-B2, A4-B1).
The 2024 playoffs – home and away, best-of-two series – will take place from February 1 until March 20.
The 2024 Final Four will take place on April 9-10.
Standings, as of December 18, 2023
Group A
Uniclub Casino Juventus 3-0 (+41)
Bristol Flyers 3-1 (+50)
Bakken Bears Aarhus 2-0 (+41)
Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits 2-0 (+31)
Polski Cukier Start Lublin 1-2 (-12)
Landstede Hammers Zwolle 1-2 (-16)
Spartak Pleven 0-4 (-56)
Svendborg Rabbits 0-3 (-79)
Group B
CSO Voluntari 4-1 (+53)
Royal Liège Basket 3-1 (+35)
Zastal Zielona Gora 3-1 (+21)
Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles 2-2 (+12)
Keila Coolbet 2-2 (-7)
Šiauliai 2-1 (-16)
Basket Brno 0-4 (-41)
Valmiera Glass ViA 0-4 (-57)
Tie-breaker 1: Zielona Gora vs Šiauliai 1-0, +26.
Tie-breaker 2: Šiauliai vs Newcastle 1-0, +2.
Tie-breaker 3: Šiauliai vs Voluntari 1-0, +8.
Tie-breaker 4: Liège vs Zielona Gora 1-0, +23.