Rīgas Zeļļi Win Away at Tartu in Latvian-Estonian Basketball League

Basketball: in a regular-season game of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League (LIBL, the joint championship of the top men's clubs from both countries) on Friday, Riga side Rīgas Zeļļi won on the road against Estonia's Tartu Universitāte/Maks & Moorits, 94-74 (29-19, 17-18, 24-26, 24-11). The result keeps the Riga team near the top of the standings.

How the game went

Tony Perkins led the winners with 22 points. Martins Varns added 18, Rolands Šulcs had 12 and Isaac Johnson scored ten. For the hosts, Keith Peilek stood out with 20 points and six rebounds.

The hosts' Max Smith-McKiven opened the scoring with an accurate three-pointer. The visitors first took the lead through a Perkins two-pointer to make it 12-10, and stayed in front from then on. After a seven-point run and a two-pointer from Jānis Bērziņš, they led 26-17, and a Klāvs Čavars basket stretched the gap to 33-19. Tartu came closest after a Martins Pāsoja two-pointer (32-39), but Riga still held a nine-point lead at halftime.

The hosts closed in during the third quarter, yet a 7-0 run let the Riga side restore a nine-point advantage. In the final quarter the visitors extended the margin and secured a comfortable win.

Standings

Rīgas Zeļļi, VEF Rīga and Valmiera Glass/ViA have each won all four of their games so far and sit at the top of the table. Tartu has a 2-2 record and is eighth.

About the league

Eight Latvian clubs and several Estonian clubs take part in LIBL this season. In the main stage, teams play two rounds, and the best eight reach the quarterfinals. The champion will be decided in a final on 10 April 2027, with the bronze-medal game a day earlier. The league was first played in the 2019 season with 15 teams, and Ventspils were the first winners. Last season the title went to Valmiera Glass/Vidzemes Augstskola.