«Astana» Astana, Kazakhstan vs. VEF Riga, Latvia

VEF defeated Astana on the road, 89-71. Cold from outside in the early going, Riga trailed by seven at halftime. But once the visitors got hot, Astana had no answers on defense. VEF streaked to an 18-point victory in the second half to win its second straight.

Recap
Astana came out strong, looking to defend its home court. Jerry Johnson and Nik Caner-Medley helped Astana pull away, working together on offense to cut up VEF's interior. The visitors had open looks from outside, but couldn't connect in the first half, and trailed 44-37 at halftime.

The turning point came early in the 3rd quarter. Riga started the period on a 14-6 run, forcing Ramunas Butautas to call a timeout. Josh Bostic and Josh Harrellson did most of the damage for the visitors, outplaying Johnson and Caner-Medley. Riga went on to win the period by a 17-point margin (32-15).

Alexey Zhukanenko tried to spark an Astana comeback, but didn't have enough on his own as the visitors cruised to a big win on the road.

Star Player
Josh Bostic. Making just his third appearance for VEF, Bostic demonstated his potential to be a leader on the team. He had a huge role in the win, finishing with 26 points, six rebounds and 5-9 from downtown.

Stat of the Game
25-9 - VEF enjoyed a 16-point advantage in points off turnovers (Astana committed a total of 17 turnovers).

Quotes
Astana head coach Ramunas Butautas:
- The guys ran out of steam in the second half. When we needed to score, we made mistakes. I want to congratulate VEF. Our opponent was aggressive and played tough. We were missing those qualities today.

VEF head coach Janis Gailitis:
- The game was tough. Not much went right for us in the first half. We missed a lot of shots. After halftime, our guys looked pretty focused and started to make their 3's, which gave us the win.

Snapshot