Photos: Marita Brigitta Mones
Enea Zastal Zielona Gora scored just four points in the fourth quarter but withstood a massive Kalev Cramo comeback to post a 74-69 rollercoaster win on Saturday, November 26, at the RING Sport arena in Tallinn, Estonia. The hosts suffered their first loss since October 26.
Players of the game
Aleksandar Zečevič was unstoppable in the third quarter for Zastal.
A Serb center went on a shooting spree during those 10 minutes including a perfect 4-of-4 accuracy close to the basket.
Zecevič added a three pointer to score 11 points in a 30-9 run for his team.
A former Florida Atlantic center (2018-2020) finished the game with 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting.
Zečevič grabbed eight rebounds, stole the ball once and blocked one shot for a game high +/- ratio of 17.
Alen Hadzibegovič also showed his versatility.
Montenegro big man had 15 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
Hadzibegovič scored 12 points in the first half and added a three pointer during Zastal`s big run.
Bryce Alford played a big role too, scoring six points in the third quarter.
A Pacific 12 first team member and the UCLA standout (2013-2017) had eight points despite a 0/3 from the three point line.
Kalev/Cramo captain Martin Dorbek rallied his men for a comeback.
Tallinn guard single handedly outscored Zielona Gora in the fourth quarter and left the court with 11 points.
Oleksandr Kovliar – a 20 year old point guard from Ukraine – scored a team high 14 points.
Kristjan Kitsing went for a 3-of-3 show from the three point line and got 10 points.
Last but not least – Wesley Van Beck scored 12 points.
A Houston native made 2-of-6 attempts from the deep.
Key stats
Kalev/Cramo starters were sharp in the first half and scored 30 points to give a battle for Zielona Gora 40-38.
Zastal`s young and versatile centers took over in the third quarter.
They controlled the second floor and added a few three pointers in a 27-5 run.
The Polish team increased its lead up to 24 points 67-43 with 02:15 to go in the third quarter.
Kalev/Cramo was down but not out.
The Estonian team launched a furious comeback and cut the gap to five points 72-67 with 43 seconds left.
Hugo Toom stole the ball and Kristjan Kitsing had a chance to make it a one possession game but missed.
Zečevič replied with a layup 74-67 to seal the game.
Zastal players scored more points in the paint 36-24 and more second chance points 14-6.
The hosts were more effective from the three point line (4/20 vs 8/24).
Game notes
Kalev/Cramo won the last three games at the Pafbet Estonia-Latvia league and dealt a first loss to BC Prometey 94-80 on November 19.
The Estonian team is 4-1 at the FIBA Europe Cup with the lone 86-88 loss suffered on October 26 at Casa Brindisi.
Oliver Vidin and Enea Zastal Zielona Gora posted their first win in the ENBL.
The game co-incided with the 2022 FIFA World Cup game between Poland and Saudi Arabia.
Zastal point guard Glenn Cosey left team on October 18 and returned to VEF Rīga.
SCHEDULE (local time Estonia, GMT+3h)
Saturday, November 26
Kalev/Cramo 69–74 Zastal Zielona Gora
17:00 Budivelnyk Kyiv – KB Sigal Prishtina
Sunday, November 27
13:00 Zastal Zielona Gora – Budivelnyk Kyiv
16:00 KB Sigal Prishtina – Kalev/Cramo
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