Šiauliai withstood a furious comeback attempt by TalTech Optibet to register a 86-81 win on Thursday, January 5, at the TalTech Spordihoone in Tallinn, Estonia.
Players of the game
Jonas Zohore Bergstedt stayed one rebound short from double-double in Wednesday`s win over Kalev/Cramo.
Denmark international fixed an issue a day later as he scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Center filled the stat line with one steal, one block and six forced fouls.
Paulius Danusevičius led his team – again – with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting inside the three point line.
Forward had seven rebounds before he was fouled out.
Daniel Baslyk scored 13 points and earned the Douglas award for the best player.
He also forced a team high seven fouls.
Kristaps Gludītis became the best scorer as he chipped in with 19 points for TalTech Optibet.
Latvian sharpshooter scored all points in the second half sparking a comeback run.
Toomas Raadik joined Gludītis, as he scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half.
Experienced power forward made three shots from the deep after the break.
Gregor Ilves also scored 13 points.
Oliver Metsalu and Ran Andre Pehka added 11 points each.
Key stats
It was the story of the two halves.
TalTech Optibet showed very poor shooting in the first half, connecting 21% of field goal attempts (7/32).
Šiauliai, meanwhile, recorded a 55% percent accuracy from the field (16/29), despite a 2-of-10 effort from the three point line.
Everything changed once Gludītis and Raadik started to make the shots.
Šiauliai continued to focus in the paint (40-18), while TalTech excelled from the three point line (7/15 in the second half).
Metsalu cut the gap to a single point but missed his second free throw and a chance to tie the game at 79.
Martynas Varnas hit a three pointer after a long possession by Šiauliai 82-78.
Gludītis missed his shot from the deep after a timeout.
Raadik forced a foul and Baslyk sank both free throws 84-78.
Game notes
The 2022 ENBL finalists improved to 2-0, while TalTech Optibet dropped to 0-4.
Šiauliai are chasing the playoff spots in the ENBL and in the LKL.
Antanas Sireika`s team has a balanced offense and several go-to men.
Šiauliai will return to the Estonian capital at the end of January.
TalTech Optibet has two more chances to enter the win column.
SCHEDULE (local time only)
Thursday, January 5, Tallinn (GMT+3h)
TalTech Optibet 81–86 Šiauliai
19:30 BC Kalev/Cramo – Budivelnyk
STANDINGS, as of January 5, 2023, CET 19:00
Group A
Budivelnyk Kyiv 3-0 (+48)
Zastal Zielona Gora 2-2 (-14)
Kalev/Cramo 2-2 (+34)
Polski Cukier Start Lublin 2-1 (+29)
Šiauliai 2-0 (+13)
KB Sigal Prishtina 1-3 (-40)
TalTech Optibet 0-4 (-70)
Tie-breaker: Kalev/Cramo 1-1, +6; Sigal Prishtina 1-1, +3; Zastal Zielona Gora 1-1, -9.