Thirteen players scored in double figures and action continued for 50 minutes until Basket Brno (3-0) emerged victorious 107-104 in a double overtime battle against Šiauliai-7bet (0-1) on Tuesday, December 28, at the Daugava sports hall in Riga, Latvia.
Players of the game
Jakub Krakovic had nine of his 17 points in the second overtime before he was fouled out.
Brno captain forced two fouls and scored nine points in around two minutes for a 105-100 lead.
As it turned out, Krakovic also hit a game winning shot with 02:16 left.
Krakovic grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out one assist for a game high +/- ratio 13.
Dean Hunter Mickelson posted another double-double. Kansas standout scored 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field.
Brno center made the most in regulation as he had 20 points and 10 rebounds before free basketball.
Roman Marko and Richard Balint scored 16 points each. The former dished out 10 assists too.
Viktor Pulpan had 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field.
Brno point guard added 10 assists.
Jonathan Elmore led Šiauliai with 19 points and 11 assists. Marshall standout stole the ball four times and forced seven fouls.
Eimantas Stankevičius also scored 19 points, including a four point play in the last minute of regulation.
Gerald Isaiah Armwood had 16 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Former Villanova and George Washington player stole the ball three times and tied the game at 83.
Paulius Danusevicius registered another impressive stat line – 15 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.
Giedrius Staniulis had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Key stats
Basket Brno held relentless Šiauliai-7bet to six points in the third quarter, outscoring the Sun City 18-6.
Antanas Sireika`s team answered with a 28-22 comeback which was capped by a Stankevičius four point play and Armwood`s layup to tie the game at 83.
Šiauliai led by four points early in the first overtime 89-85 but Brno fought back to tie game at 94.
Krakovic scored with 44 seconds left but missed both free throws in the next possession.
Brno captain responded with a nine point explosion to seal the game.
Both teams scored more than 100 points each.
Brno moved the ball in a fantastic way to register 38 assists on 41 field goals.
Both Brno point guards – Viktor Pulpan and Roman Marko – had 10 assists each.
Brno outscored Šiauliai in the paint (60-42) and on fast breaks (14-8).
Šiauliai scored more points off turnovers (23-11).
Photos: Renārs Koris
Game notes
Seven Šiauliai players – Varnas, Skaniulis, Armwood, Elmore, Danusevičius, Stankevičius, Sabeckis – scored in double figures but it wasn`t enough.
Teams combined for 211 points – a new ENBL record.
Brno set a new ENBL record and scored 107 points, while Šiauliai moved to the second place with 104 points.
Lubomir Ruzicka`s team posted its most impressive win so far and improved to 3-0.