Four unsportsmanlike fouls in the fourth quarter and a hot shooting from the perimeter highlighted a thriller between Valmiera Glass ViA and Spartak Pleven on Wednesday, September 25, at the Balkanstroy hall in northern Bulgaria. Visitors eventually prevailed, 104-89.
Players of the game
DaQuan Smith had a huge first half for the visitors and scored 15 points.
The former Radford University point guard excelled in offense and was a constant threat from all positions.
Smith finished with a game high 22 points on 7/15 shooting for Valmiera, including 3/6 from the deep.
Ojārs Bērziņš was even more deadly from the three point line.
He sank five three pointers to finish with 15 points.
Artis Ate made two three pointers in the fourth quarter and had 14 points.
Dāvis Ozers went 4-of-4 from the field, providing another spark for Valmiera.
Kahliel Spear registered a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
A former Robert Morris standout dished out five assists as well.
Last but not least, Rostislav Novitskyi chipped in with 17 points.
A Fordham Ram shined in the third quarter.
Derek Culver led the hosts with 19 points on 7/12 shooting from the field and a perfect 5/5 from the charity stripe.
West Virginia center grabbed six rebounds and blocked one shot.
Key stats
Both teams shot the ball well.
Valmiera shot 56% from the field in the first three quarters, while Pleven shot 52%.
The visitors made eight three pointers in the first 30 minutes – five more than the hosts.
Valmiera took lead eight times in the first half for a four points lead at the break, 44-40.
The best was yet to follow as Valmiera made seven (!) three pointers in the final 10 minutes.
Ojārs Bērziņš hit three daggers – after an unsportsmanlike foul.
Ate added more firepower, while Edmunds Elksnis made a key triple with 04:08 left, 87-83.
Valmiera never looked back and finished the game with a 20-6 run.
Game notes
It was the third game of the 2025 season for Valmiera Glass/ViA and the first game for Spartak Pleven.
Visitors played without a sharpshooter Verners Kohs. Dāvis Ozers started for Valmiera instead.
Kris Minkov fouled out after two unsportsmanlike fouls.
Milen Zahariev returned to Spartak lineup after missing the Pleven Cup.
Nikolajs Mazurs is 2-0 in the ENBL with Valmiera.
Spartak Pleven dropped to 1-3 in the ENBL home games.
ENBL access: follow the game on YouTube live stream
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