The two teams had tied the Third-fourth place playoff series at two apiece after four games, while TalTech had home field advantage for the decider, and were also hunting for their first major silverware since 2011.

Despite this, Rapla dominated early and outperformed in key stats, pulling away after halftime to clinch third place in the national championship series.

As the visiting team, Rapla created a large gap already in the first quarter, which they won 29:17. Although TalTech mounted a response and managed to cut the lead to six points by halftime (38:44), Rapla pulled away again at the beginning of the third quarter, and the home team never got within striking distance again.

Statistically, Rapla shot from the field with a better percentage (51 percent vs 41 percent), dominated the rebounding battle (44-28; offensive rebounds 16-7), and committed six fewer turnovers than the opponent (9-15).

In terms of individual performances, Jalyn McCreary led all scorers with 19 points for Rapla, and also added seven rebounds and four assists. Brandon McKissic and Tormi Niits each contributed 17 points, with Niits also grabbing 14 rebounds. TalTech's top performer was Carlos Jürgens with 18 points.

Rapla finished in third place overall last season too, after beating Pärnu Sadam.

The final series between BC Kalev/Cramo and Tartu University Maks & Moorits continues with game three on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Unibet Arena. This best-of-five series is currently tied at one-all.

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