Riga's "Zelli" demolish Ogre's defense with blistering start, win 110:85
Basketball club "Zelli" from Riga crushed Ogre 110:85 in a national league game after an overwhelming early run, with five players scoring at least 11 points.
Riga's "Zelli" basketball club delivered a dominant performance in a national league matchup, defeating Ogre 110:85 after turning the game into a formality within the opening minutes.
Five Zelli players reached double digits with at least 11 points each, but Aizeks Dzonsons led the way with 15 points on a perfect shooting night, converting all seven of his attempts — six of six two-pointers and one of one from three-point range. For Ogre, former Zelli player Juris Vitols was the top scorer with 19 points.
Compared to Zelli's previous European Cup win over Tortona, the starting lineup saw two changes: Bens Sungu, who scored the game-winning shot in that match, was not included in the squad this time, while Tailers Vols moved to the bench, replaced in the starting five by Tonijs Perkinss and Janis Berzins. Ogre started the match with 20-year-old Jekabs Kapustans.
Overwhelming start
The home team set the tone immediately, racing to a 15-0 lead within the first three minutes while Ogre failed to register a single point in response. Riga's advantage kept growing, and with two minutes left in the first quarter, Rolands Sulcs hit a long-range shot to push the lead to 22 points (32:10). Zelli crossed the 100-point mark with six minutes still remaining on the clock, making it 101:73.
The quarter-by-quarter scores had Zelli ahead 34:15 after the first period, followed by 28:21, 29:23, and a final quarter of 19:26.
Both teams face a busy schedule ahead. Zelli travel to Rostock on Tuesday for a ULEB Eurocup match and then to Tartu on Friday for a national league game. Ogre will look for its first win of the season next Saturday at home against the University of Latvia team.
