J. Steinbergs
On Wednesday in the National Basketball League, the second semi-final game, this time in Jēkabpils Sports Hall, was played by BC Jēkabpils against Kandava / Anzāģis. In the first match in Kandava, Jēkabpils were superior. After winning at home, “Jēkabpils” entered the final, where they will fight for the title of league champion.
There were no two regular players in the decisive match in Jēkabpils – Sanda Bēta and Roberta Medņa. To reinforce the long end, Juris Kalniņš, the assistant coach of the team and a member of the club board, went on the field for the third time this season.
In the first quarter, it seemed that the ball had not yet reached the baskets and did not want to listen to both teams. The home team was a bit more apt, closing the first ten minutes in their favor with 17:13. Also in the second quarter, the home team was better, reaching a 14-point lead twice – 29:15 and 36:22 during the halftime break.
There was a similar difference in the third quarter, but at the start of the decisive period, the scoreboard showed 53:41. In the last 10 minutes, Kandavnieki rushed to save the game. At first, the hosts managed to keep them a decent distance, but when the guests had thrown a couple of three-pointers and forced the people of Jēkabpils to make mistakes several times, the result dropped to 66:63. There was still enough time – three minutes. They turned out to be tense and dramatic. No one in Jēkabpils wanted to take responsibility for throwing from a distance, but the protection of the guests did not allow them to break under the basket of opponents. 21 seconds before the end of the match, Jēkabpils already lost with 69:71. With 10 seconds left, Mikus Sokolov threw, but did not hit. Fortunately, Lauris Bērziņš fought the rebounded ball and scored two points with a penalty, putting the home team in the lead with 72:71. After a minute’s break, Kandavnieki made a mistake and easily hit the penalty. R. Strauts threw the first one, but the guest show was unsuccessful in the last seconds. BC “Jekabpils” celebrated the victory with 73:71 (17:13; 19:11; 17:17; 20:30).
Mikus Sokolovs became the best scorer in the ranks of BC “Jēkabpils” with 18 points, Mārtiņš Vīņauds – 14 points, Kārlis Večens – 11 points.
In the semi-final series, BC “Jēkabpils” won the Kandava team with 2: 0. In the final, the lynx will meet the winner of the pair BC Jelgava – Gulbene Buki / BJSS. In the first match in Gulbene, Jelgava were superior, while the second game in Jelgava took place late last night.
L. Iršas photo
