A team | VTB league - 10.10.2013

Nymburk (Czech Republic) defeated Kalev (Estonia) in Tallinn, 82-78, in Week 1 of the regular season. Most of the game was tight, but the visitors went on a run to open the fourth quarter and held on for victory. 

Intro
Nymburk flew to Estonia missing several key players – Petr Benda, Dylan Page and Chester Simmons. But despite the circumstances, Kestutis Kemzura’s men took the Saku Suurhall parquet determined to give it their all. 

Both teams came out firing, seemingly oblivious to the 24-second shot clock. While the fans no doubt enjoyed the fast pace, neither squad shot the ball particularly well in the early going. Nymburk had a little more success, and was less prone to turnovers, but after 10 minutes their lead was just two points, 20-18. 

The back-and-forth continued in the second and third quarters. Nymburk worked the ball inside and out, while Kalev relied on its big men’s strength and Tyshawn Abbott and Armands Skele’s fearlessness. Neither team could grab an advantage and the game entered the final period in a deadlock, 58-58. 

Turning Point
The breakthrough came early in the fourth. Vojtech Hruban and Jiri Welsch got it started for Nymburk, before a six-point outburst from Radoslav Rancik put the visitors on top by eight, 68-60. That run proved decisive. Kalev managed to match Nymburk shot for shot down the stretch, but that wasn’t enough. The Estonians further hurt their chances by rushing possessions in the final minutes, and while Kemzura’s men weren’t perfect from the free throw line, they did just enough to seal an important road win. 

Star of the Game
Radoslav Rancik, just like last season, was the most noticeable player on the court for Nymburk. The forward scored a game-high 23 points on 6-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Most importantly, he played the leading role in Nymburk’s fourth-quarter run. 

Stat of the Game
55.4% - an excellent field-goal percentage was the key to Nymburk’s win. Strikingly, the visitors were remarkably consistent in each shooting category, averaging 59% from the line, 57.1% on two-point shots and 50% on three-point shots. If not for the poor effort from the charity stripe, Nymburk’s margin of victory may have been much bigger.

Quotes
Kalev head coach Alar Varrak:
- This is the second game in a row we've been just destroyed under the basket. We're also letting them take wide-open 3-pointers in the first half. After halftime we tried to fix that, but it didn't entirely work. We also didn't run the fast break very well. But I don't want to make excuses - every team has problems at the start of the season.

Nymburk head coach Kestutis Kemzura:
- I'm very happy about this win. We were missing three key players in the roster roday, but we managed to overcome all of the difficulties. Of course, as a coach, I'm not very happy that we lost the offensive rebounding battle again and again and shot poorly from the free throw line. But at the end of the fourth quarter we managed to defend well 3-4 times and win as a result. 

Top Performers
Kalev: Armands Skele – 19 points, five rebounds; Tyshawn Abbott – 12 points; Frank Elegar – 11 points, eight rebounds; Bamba Fall – 10 points, nine rebounds. 

Nymburk: Radoslav Rancik – 23 points, six rebounds; Rasid Mahalbasic – 16 points, five rebounds; Pavel Houska – 12 points; Jiri Welsch – 10 points, four assists; Vojtech Hruban – 10 points.