2011-12Regular SeasonRound 5
December 13, 2011 CET: 18:45
Local time: 19:45 PAOK SPORTS ARENA
VEF Riga advanced to the Last 16 in Group B by edging PAOK BC 76-81 in Thessaloniki, Greece on Tuesday. VEF improved to 3-2 in Group B and will be second no matter what. Meanwhile, PAOK dropped to 1-4 and has no chance to make it to the next round. Kristaps Janicenoks paced the winners with 21 points. Kaspars Berzins and Curtis Millage each added 12, Antanas Kavaliauskas had 11 and 10 rebounds while Sandis Valters got 10 points for VEF. Marcus Goree led PAOK with 18 points. J.R. Giddens added 13, Dimos Dikoudis had 11 while Ioannis Kalampokis got 10 for the hosts, that led 21-20 after 10 minutes. Millage and Valters fueled a 0-8 run that gave VEF the lead, 27-31. Berzins and Courtney Sims helped VEF to boost its lead to 39-46 at halftime. A three-pointer by Janicenoks gave VEF its biggest lead, 49-61, midway through the third quarter. Kalampokis, Goree and Giddens allowed PAOK to get within 75-76 already in the final minute. Millage and Kalampokis split free throws but Janicenoks and Millage combined for 4-of-4 attempts from the foul line to seal the outcome in the final 12 seconds.

A layup by Goree and free throws Dikoudis ignited an opening 8-0 run that Giddens capped with a three-pointer. VEF went scoreless for more than 3 minutes until Janicenoks hit a jumper. Dikoudis scored down low and Goree split free throws for an 11-2 PAOK lead. Kavaliauskas and Goree traded baskets but free throws by Millage and a triple by Valters brought VEF back to life, 13-9. Dikoudis and Nikos Kalles hit foul shots but back-to-back triples by Janicenoks and Berzins and free throws by Marque Perry tied it at 17-17. Kalles hit free throws and fed Kalampokis for a layup but a triple by Dairis Bertans kept VEF within 21-20 after 10 minutes. Dante Stiggers stepped up with back-to-back baskets early in the second quarter and a jumper by Giddens gave PAOK a 27-23 margin. It didn't last long, however, as Millage and Valters combined for all points in a 0-8 run that gave VEF its first lead, 27-31. Giddens hit a jumper and a layup by Kalles tied it at 31-31. Kavaliauskas dunked it and another triple by Janicenoks allowed VEF to get a 32-36 edge. Giddens and Perry traded free throws and a jumper by Berzins made it a five-point game, 35-40. Kalles scored again but Sims and Berzins gave VEF a 39-46 margin at halftime.

Back-to-back jumpers by Michail Giannakidis and Dikoudis brought PAOK within 43-46 right after the break. Tyler Cain and Goree exchanged baskets but a layup by Bertans soon gave VEF a 45-50 edge. Millage shined with a layup in transition but VEF went scoreless for the next 3 minutes. Meanwhile, a layup by Goree and a jumper by Giddens brought PAOK as close as 49-52. Janicenoks and Berzins rescued VEF with consecutive three-pointers for a 49-58 margin. A red hot Janicenoks struck again from downtown to cap a 0-9 run. Rashad Wright hit foul shots and Goree improved Valters' jumper with a triple. Free throws by Goree and Kalampokis brought PAOK within 57-63 after 30 minutes. Kavaliauskas scored around the basket and Janicenoks nailed a jumper for a 57-67 VEF lead early in the fourth quarter. Goree and Dikoudis led a 6-0 run but Valters and Janicenoks stepped up with free throws for a 63-70 VEF lead. Giannakidis struck from downtown and a jumper by Goree brought PAOK back in the game, 68-70. Kavaliauskas hit free throws that Giddens matched with a put-back basket but Berzins gave VEF a 70-74 edge with 2 minutes to go. Kalampokis followed free throws with a three-point play but Kavaliauskas and Millage kept VEF ahead, 75-77, with 16 seconds left. Kalampokis split free throws but Janicenoks and Millage did not miss from the foul line to seal the outcome down the stretch.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Eurocupbasketball.com
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Referees: ARTEAGA, JUAN CARLOS; MARICIC,SASA; MATTIOLI, GIANLUCA
Attendance: 1100 (Tentative)
By Quarter1234
PAOK Thessaloniki21181819
VEF Riga20261718
End of Quarter1234
PAOK Thessaloniki21395776
VEF Riga20466381
PAOK Thessaloniki
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 GIDDENS, JR 33:09 13 4/7 1/2 2/2 2 7 9   1   1   2 3 21
5 STIGGERS, DANTE 20:07 6 3/4 0/2           2 1     5   -1
6 ARAPIS, DIMITRIS 0:11                              
8 GOREE, MARCUS 36:07 18 5/8 1/5 5/8 2 2 4   4 2       5 19
9 DIKOUDIS, DIMOS 27:26 11 3/8 0/2 5/6 2 6 8 1 1 2 1 1 2 5 14
10 KALAMPOKIS, GIANNIS 22:52 10 2/3 0/2 6/7   1 1 2   2     2 5 10
11 ANDRIUSKEVICIUS, MARTYNAS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
12 WRIGHT, RASHAD 25:59 4 1/5 0/3 2/2 1 3 4 5 2 1     5 3 5
13 GIANNAKIDIS, MICHAIL 17:35 5 1/1 1/1   1   1 2 1       4 2 7
14 KALLES, NIKOS 16:21 9 2/2 0/1 5/6   3 3 1     1   3 3 12
16 KALAMPAKAS, DIMITRIOS 0:07                              
19 TSAKALERIS, EFTHYMIOS 0:06                         1   -1
Team             2 2     1         1
Totals 200:00 76 21/38 3/18 25/31 8 24 32 11 11 9 3 1 24 26 87
        55.3% 16.7% 80.6%
Head coach: MARKOPOULOS, SOULIS
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
VEF Riga
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
4 PERRY, MARQUE 16:49 4 0/3   4/4   4 4 2   2     3 4 6
5 KAUFMANIS, JANIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 JAHOVICS, GATIS 2:27                 1           1
10 VALTERS, SANDIS 22:29 10 1/1 2/5 2/3   1 1 4 2       1 2 14
12 JANICENOKS, KRISTAPS 32:10 21 3/7 4/9 3/4 1 1 2 2   3   1 4 3 10
14 BERZINS, KASPARS 16:51 12 1/2 2/3 4/6 1   1 1         4 3 9
21 KAVALIAUSKAS, ANTANAS 26:31 11 4/8 0/1 3/4 5 5 10 1 1 3   2 2 2 12
24 MILLAGE, CURTIS 23:00 14 3/4 1/2 5/6 2 4 6 2 1 1     2 6 23
32 CAIN, TYLER 21:38         1 3 4       1   5    
33 BERZINS, JANIS DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
44 SIMS, COURTNEY 14:59 4 1/3   2/2 1 6 7 1   3     2 2 7
45 BERTANS, DAIRIS 23:06 5 1/4 1/4     1 1     2     3 2 -3
Team                                
Totals 200:00 81 14/32 10/24 23/29 11 25 36 13 5 14 1 3 26 24 79
        43.8% 41.7% 79.3%
Head coach: BUTAUTAS, RAMUNAS

Head Coaches

MARKOPOULOS, SOULIS
PAOK Thessaloniki
"It was a very tough game. VEF is a fast paced team that runs the court well and executes very fast and we needed to stop them from doing so, which we did not accomplish. We played better in the second half, managed to do most of what we had planned, but our opponent's three-pointers really hurt us, since we had not anticipated that they would be hitting 44% of them. We even ranked better as a team, but still lost. I want to congratulate my players for their effort"
BUTAUTAS, RAMUNAS
VEF Riga
"I want to congratulate PAOK for fighting until the end and PAOK fans for showing that they know about basketball. We did not start the game well, but played better next. The game became very difficult in the end but we also had some luck on our side and won the game deservedly"

Players

GOREE, MARCUS
PAOK Thessaloniki
"It was a very tough game, a very physical one. VEF made too many three-point shots in the first half and that hurt us. We managed to cope in the second half, tightened our defense and came very close to winning, but it was just a matter of some free throws and some smart defense in the last seconds and we came up short. We knew we had to win the game, there was pressure, but this was not the problem, we just came up a little short in the end".
JANICENOKS, KRISTAPS
VEF Riga
"We came to Thessaloniki prepared for a very difficult game. PAOK is a good, experienced team, but we also have a very good team. We did not start the game well, but always led the game after the first quarter. The game was very close in the end, but we kept our focus and got the victory".
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