«Bisons» Loimaa, Finland vs. «Kalev» Tallinn, Estonia

Bisons defeated Kalev at home on Sunday, 98-86. The home team led by 12 at halftime and appeared to be in control, but a 3rd-quarter comeback put Kalev on top entering the final period. Looking for an answer, Bisons got 11 points from Martin Zeno to surge ahead and secure a win.

Recap
One game in the standings separated these two northern clubs entering today's contest. Playing at home, the Finns were favored, especially considering Kalev's road struggles this season.

The game got off to a sluggish start, but not for long as both teams looked to attack on offense and got plenty of open looks.
Bisons had the upper hand thanks to better shooting inside. With a minute to go in the 2nd quarter, the Finnish lead reached double digits for the first time and Greg Gibson's men took a 12-point advantage into halftime.

Kalev came out swinging in the 3rd quarter. Led by Morris Curry, the visitors steamrolled Bisons, 33-17, picking up a four-point lead entering the 4th quarter. Unfortunately for the Estonians, their momentum did not carry over into the final period. Bisons refocused on defense and rode Martin Zeno's hot hand to a double-digit win.

Star Player
Martin Zeno. The American guard is always a threat on offense and he proved it against Kalev, scoring 11 of his 23 points in the 4th quarter to lead Bisons to victory.

Stat of the Game
33-17 - Kalev and Bisons won the 3rd and 4th quarters by identical scores.

Quotes
Bisons head coach Greg Gibson:
- Ever since the team added Coleman, we've been much more competitive. We try to move the ball quickly on every possession. A lot of things worked well today, but we ran into trouble in the 3rd quarter. I even had flashbacks to what happened to us a week ago. But we managed to regain the momentum. Aubrey Coleman took over and started to find Burtschi in the 4th quarter, who hit some open looks.

Kalev head coach Alar Varrak:
- Our opponent started the game extremely well, both on offense and defense. We were out of sync. During halftime, we made some adjustments, but Bisons deserved the win more than we did today. We lost three starters, which couldn't help but have an effect on the outcome. But that's not an excuse.

Snapshot