Latvia – LBL Round 2: Valmiera hands first defeat to Valka/Valga

Lauris Blaus There were only 2 rounds played so far and it’s still very beginning of the Regular Season in LBL. There were many interesting games last round. The round ended with loss of the undefeated team, favorites losing the games and games ending by tiny margin.Valka/Valga (1-1) recorded a loss on the court of Valmiera on Sunday night. Visitors were defeated by Valmiera 89-75. The game was mostly controlled by Valmiera. Valka/Valga managed to win fourth quarter 16-14. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Valka/Valga 35-23 including a 29-15 advantage in defensive rebounds. It was a great shooting night for Valmiera especially from behind the arc, where they had solid 57.1 percentage. The best player for the winners was center Lauris Blaus (208-90) who scored 17 points and 7 rebounds. point guard Raimonds Gabrans (184-84) chipped in 14 points and 6 assists. Valmiera’s coach Uvis Helmanis used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Ivars Rihards Zvigurs (198-95) produced 18 points for the guests. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest. Another exciting game was between Barons Riga and Latvijas Universitate where Barons Riga (1-1) crushed Latvijas Universitate (0-2) on the road with 23-point difference 95-72. Guard Kristaps Mediss (188-89) orchestrated the victory by scoring 17 points and 5 rebounds. Roberts Freimanis contributed with 13 points and 8 rebounds (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field) for the winners. Forward Harijs Rubenis (201-91) replied with 14 points for Latvijas Universitate. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Barons Riga will play against Ventspils (#3) on the road in the next round and it may be the game of the week. Latvijas Universitate will have a break next round. An interesting game where Ventspils (#5) crushed host BK Ogre (#1) with 31-point difference 101-70 on Saturday evening. Rihards Lomazs scored 19 points and 5 rebounds (perfect from downtown making all five shots) to lead the charge for the winners. Kristaps Plavnieks responded with 13 points and 6 assists. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Ventspils will meet at home Barons Riga (#6) in the next round where they are favorite. BK Ogre will play against Jurmala and hope to win that game. A very interesting game took place in Liepaja. It ended with only three-point home defeat of Liepaja/Triobet (0-2) to Jurmala (2-0) 106-103 on Sunday evening. Edgars Jeromanovs notched 27 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the effort. Jurmala’s next round opponent will be BK Ogre (#4) at home. Liepaja/Triobet will play against Jekabpils (#8) and it may be a tough game between close rivals. The game in Jekabpils supposed to be also quite interesting. VEF Riga (2-0) played at the court of Jekabpils (0-2). VEF Riga smashed Jekabpils 92-61 on Saturday. The best player for the winners was Abdul Gaddy who scored 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to get some rest. VEF Riga will have a break next round. Jekabpils will play at home against Liepaja/Triobet (#9) and it may be a tough game between close rivals. Valmiera – Valka/Valga 89-75Valka/Valga (1-1) recorded a loss on the court of Valmiera on Sunday night. Visitors were defeated by Valmiera 89-75. The game was mostly controlled by Valmiera. Valka/Valga managed to win fourth quarter 16-14. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Valka/Valga 35-23 including a 29-15 advantage in defensive rebounds. It was a great shooting night for Valmiera …

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