Michal Kolenda scored 13 of his 17 points in the third quarter and Trefl Sopot posted a 108-78 win over Valmiera Glass VIA on Wednesday, December 28, at the Vidzeme Olympic Center in northern Latvia.
Players of the game
Garrett Nevels did not slowed down a day after his 9+9+8 game at Tartu.
Hawaii star scored 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field.
Nevels made 5-of-7 three pointers enroute to second highest scoring performance in the ENBL history.
Michal Kolenda had 17 points and five rebounds.
Sopot captain connected 7-of-9 two pointers and 1-of-2 three pointers.
Rolands Freimanis scored 10 of his 14 points in the second quarter.
Latvian big man contributed with eight rebounds, one steal and one block.
Andrzej Pluta registered 10 points and a game high eight assists.
Tervell Beck led Valmiera with 21 points.
A former University of Nevada at Lasvegas (2017-2019) and Kent State (2019-2022) small forward posted a new career record on December 21, when he scored 29 points against University of Latvia.
Ričards Greitāns offered a spark from the bench as he scored 14 points, including a 3-of-6 from the three point line.
Valmiera captain Valters Vēveris contributed with 14 points and 4 assists.
Key stats
Valmiera Glass VIA slowed down Sopot offense early in the game and offered a fierce resistance throughout the first half.
Unsportsmanlike foul by Edgars Kaufmanis showed the first cracks in resolve.
Valmiera still trailed by only eight points at the half 36-44.
Sopot`s three pointer rain and outstanding individual performances set the teams apart the rest of the way.
Trefl Sopot outscored the hosts 64-42 in the second half.
Game notes
Oskars Virsis was named Valmiera Glass VIA head coach on October 23, 2022.
Tomas Keršis, a former Tartu University youth coach, got fired after a 0-5 start in the Pafbet Latvia-Estonia league.
Virsis is the third coach in a span of the year for the Latvian club as Valmiera was led by Edmunds Valeiko in 2021-2022.
Valeiko took the reins of Krosno in the Polish second division recently.
Virsis and Valmiera Glass VIA are 3-7 since then and 3-12 in total.
A rising Valmiera star Niks Salenieks and Australian center Deng Matur Gak were injured recently, so they didn`t played on Wednesday.
Trefl Sopot had two games in 20 hours and traveled 130 kilometers from Tartu to Valmiera in between.
Žan Tabak`s team improved to 2-2.
The fans at the Vidzeme Olympic Center was treated with the full version of the Polish National anthem.
Trefl Sopot will host BC Wolves on January 17, 2023, at the Sopot Centennial Hall.
The Polish team will play the last two games of the ENBL regular season on January 31-February 1 at Ostrow, facing Basket Brno and and BM Stal.
Four best teams from Group B will advance to the playoffs.
ENBL records, as of December 2022
Points
Cleveland Melvin 30 December 21, 2022, Prishtina 69-89 Lublin
Garrett Nevels 29 December 28, 2022, Valmiera 78-108 Sopot
Tyler Bey 28 November 29, 2022, Ostrow 92-76 Ness Ziona
Dardan Berisha 28 December 20, 2022, Zielona Gora 75-89 Prishtina
Jānis Kaufmanis 27 February 2, 2022, Valmiera 85-92 Šiauliai
Three points made
17/35 Anwil 116-55 Liepāja (February 9, 2022)
17/33 Trefl Sopot 92-100 Ironi Ness Ziona (December 1, 2022)
15/27 Valmiera 78-108 Trefl Sopot (December 28, 2022)
Highest scoring game:
211 points, Šiauliai 104-107 Brno, 83-83 double OT (December 28, 2021)
192 points, Trefl Sopot 92-100 Ironi Ness Ziona (December 1, 2022)
186 points, Valmiera 78-108 Trefl Sopot (December 28, 2022)
SCHEDULE (local time only)
Wednesday, December 28, Brno
King Szczecin 89–86 Ironi Ness Ziona
Basket Brno 59–80 BM Stal Ostrow
Wednesday, December 28, Valmiera (GMT+3h)
Valmiera Glass VIA 78–108 Trefl Sopot
Thursday, December 29, Tartu
18:00 Tartu Ülikool Maks&Moorits – Valmiera Glass ViA
STANDINGS, as of December 28, 2022
Group B
King Szczecin 4-0 (+32)
Ironi Ness Ziona 2-2 (+3)
Trefl Sopot 2-2 (+22)
Stal Ostrow 2-1 (+21)
Tartu University 1-1 (-2)
Basket Brno 0-4 (-46)
Valmiera Glass VIA 0-1 (-30)
BC Wolves 0-0
Tie-breaker: Ironi Ness Ziona 1-0, +8; Trefl Sopot 0-1, -8.