Cajasol joined a three-way tie for first place in Group G by thrashing VEF Riga 95-83 in Seville, Spain on Tuesday night. Cajasol improved to 2-1 in Group G wand shares first place with Hapoel Jerusalem and CEZ Nymburk. Meanwhile, VEF dropped to 0-3 and will likely need to win all of its three remaining games to keep its Last 16 chances alive. Tariq Kirksay led the winners with 17 points on 6-of-6 two-pointers. Paul Davis and Kaloyan Ivanov each added 13 while Txemi Urtasun and Mindaugas Katelynas had 12 apiece for Cajasol. Derek Williams led VEF with 20 points. Sandis Valters added 18 while Dairis Bertans and Kaspars Berzins each had 10 for VEF, that trailed 14-13 midway through the first quarter. Ivanov and Juanjo Triguero fueled a 14-0 run that gave the hosts the lead for good, 28-13. Cajasol boosted its margin to 54-37 at halftime and then again to 83-60 early in the fourth quarter. VEF kept trying, but Cajasol only allowed the guests to rally once the outcome was clear.
Anton Parakhouski finished a three-chance VEF offense with a put-back layup and Berzins split free throws for a 0-3 lead. Katelynas got Cajasol going with a jump hook and added an alleyoop dunk in an 11-0 run highlighted by Paul Davis' three-point play. Kristaps Janicenoks stepped up with a six-meter jumper that Joan Sastre bettered with a corner triple for a 14-5 Cajasol lead. Janicenoks kept pacing VEF with a bomb from downtown and back-to-back dunks by Tyler Cain and Parakhouski made it a one-point game, 14-13. It didn't last long, however, as Ivanov had 5 quick points while Triguero followed a dunk-and-foul with a two-handed slam in a 14-0 Cajasol run that boosted the hosts' lead to 28-13. Free throws by Bertans and a huge power layup by Ivanov fixed the score at
30-15 after 10 minutes. Parakhouski hit free throws early in the second quarter and Valters struck from downtown to give VEF some hope at 30-21. Kirksay stepped up with 7 minutes in an 11-0 run that he capped with a triple to make it a 20-point game, 41-21. Tomas Satoransky followed a dunk with a
three-pointer and a layup by Katelynas broke the game open, 48-26. Valters and Williams tried to change things for VEF but a layup by Mario Cabanas kept
Cajasol way ahead, 52-35. Williams sank free throws but Kirksay matched those with a backdoor layup for a 54-37 halftime score.
Bertans shined with a couple of fast break layups and found Parakhouski for an easy basket that brought VEF back to life, 54-43, immediately after the break. Berzins sank a five-meter jumper to cap a 0-8 run, good for a 54-45 VEF deficit. It didn't last long, however, as Louis Bullock stepped up with back-to-back layups in a 10-0 run that Davis capped with a two-handed monster dunk that restored a 64-45 Cajasol margin. Berzins and Valters stepped up with consecutive jumpers but VEF only managed to trade baskets now. Satoransky and Urtasun punished the guests' zone defense with three-pointers and a stop-and-pop jumper by Williams only managed to get VEF within 76-60 after 30 minutes. Ivanov followed a triple with a fast break layup early in the fourth quarter while a layup off a steal by Kirksay forced VEF to call its last timeout at 83-60. Williams followed a three-pointer with a jumper, as both teams fought for points differential once the outcome was clear. Satoransky provided a highlight with a huge block but Cajasol struggled to score midway through this period. Davis and Sastre stepped up and by the time Urtasun struck from downtown, all Cajasol fans were already celebrating an important home win.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
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