Kalev/Cramo one game away from FIBA Champions League main table
Basketball team BC Kalev/Cramo beat Levicki Patrioti (Slovakia) 84–76 in their FIBA Champions League qualifier on Friday.
Kalev/Cramo are reigning Estonian basketball champions and got their qualifying campaign off to a winning start in Antalya, Turkey, where the game was held.
The win sends the Estonian club straight to the final, with the victor there going through to the Champions League main table.
BC Kalev/Cramo went 12–11 after the first quarter, but then surged to 12 points with only two in response from Levicki, extending their lead to 17 points early in the second quarter.
While Levicki came back with a mini-surge of their own, closing the gap to seven points, the Estonians regained control and were 16 points ahead at the start of the second half.
Levicki did not give up, though, and cut the deficit to just three points after the Slovak team chalked up nine points in a row.
However, by the end of the fourth quarter, Kalev/Cramo had once again doubled their lead.
Levicki managed to get within six points on several occasions in the dying moments of the game, but Kalev/Cramo held on for an eight-point victory.
Finnish point guard Severi Kaukiainen was the highest point scorer for Kalev/Cramo, scoring 24 points.
Kalev/Cramo next face Czech team Nymburk Basketball, who beat KB Trepça (Kosovo) in their qualifier. The winner will make it to the FIBA Champions League group games, joining Galatasaray (Turkey), Promitheas (Greece), and SC Rasta Vechta (Germany).
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Anders Nõmm