HC Viljandi still unbeaten, Põlva Serviti suffered their first loss
November 13, 2021
Põlva Serviti suffered their first loss in this season, with a score of 30:32, losing to the HC Dragunas Klaipeda. VHC Šviesa Vilnius secured pretty convincing victory against SK Tapa (38:24), as well as ZRHK Tenax Dobele got safe win against HC Kehra (31:22). In two, more tense, games Raasiku/Mistra won against Varsa-Stronglasas Alytus (30:26) and HC Viljandi against HC Vilnius (32:28).
– HC Dragunas Klaipeda – Põlva Serviti 32:30 (15:18)
In the first 15 minutes of the game Lithuanians got some good lead – 10:5, but Põlva Serviti managed to get back in the game and the first half they finished in lead – 18:15. In the second 30 minutes of the game, the game on the scoreboard was similar, 1-2 point lead to the one or the other team. At the end Lithuanians were a little bit better and secured victory by 2 points (32:30) and also took care of the Polva’s first loss.
Gintaras Cibulskis, coach of the HC Dragunas
“First 15 minutes of the game were good, but after that we started to make mistakes and let Põlva Serviti score easy goals. If we did not score, they got a chance to score goals on the fast break. That’s way we lost first half. On the second half we made less mistakes, our defense was better and also our goalkeeper was in level. Until the last second nobody knew who will win this game. We were luckier this time.”
Ülljo Pihus, player of the Põlva Serviti
“It was intense high-paced game. At first our attack wasn’t at the level we have come to expect this season and it took some time to get in to the rhythm. HC Dragunas gave us a battle and we fought hard, but that was not enough today. Congratulations to Dragunas. Now we have to rest and travel to Dobele. We can expect similar battle tomorrow.”
Best scorers:
HC Dragunas Klaipeda – Draksas 11, Hlushak 5, Lapiniauskas 5, Simonavicius 4, Butkus 4, Naghavialhosseini 2, Palskys 1, Savicius 1,
Põlva Serviti – Sillaste 8, Uibo 5, Varul 4, Sarapuu 3, Kase 2, Rudissaar 2, Pihus 2, Muuga 1, Rebane 1, Chezlov 1, Hiiend 1
– SK Tapa – VHC Šviesa Vilnius 24:38 (10:20)
First 20 minutes of the game went quite even (9:12), but after that VHC ‘switched on fifth gear’ and made an 8:1 breakthrough, after first 30 minutes – 10:20. Second half did not bring any changes and the Lithuanians earned a convincing victory – 38:24.
Artur Oganezov, player of the SK Tapa
“We started first half with great intensity, but couldn’t realize our chances and therefore the gap increased. Then the second half started and they raised the tempo and we couldn’t answer with the same pace as they were playing. On the positive side, we fought until the end and could use some of our youngsters, for example Marcus Rättel, who played a fantastic game and scored all of his 6 shots he took. We have to learn from our mistakes and focus on the tomorrow’s game.”
Best scorers:
SK Tapa – Oolup 7, Rättel 6, Saar 3, Berezhnyi 2, Oganezov 1, Himma 1, Reinvart 1, Ageni 1, Jaanis 1, Morgenson 1
VHC Šviesa Vilnius – Rasakevičius 10, Bernatavičius 7, Palevičius 6, Ugianskis 5, Sinkevičius 3, Markiavičius 2, Pleta 2, Ramunis 2, Drabavičius 1
– ZRHK Tenax Dobele – HC Kehra/Horizon Pulp&Paper 31:22 (16:9)
Although the beginning of the game was quite similar, already in the second half of the first half the Dobele players took a safe lead – 16:9. At the beginning of the second half, Andis Ērmanis scored three goals in a row, followed by Tuminskis, Šuleiko, Kreicbergs and Juzups, thus achieving a double-digit goal difference for the first time – 23:12. By the end of the game, the Estonians managed to reduce the goal difference a bit, but that did not prevent the ZRHK Tenax Dobele team from winning a convincing victory with the result – 31:22.
Best scorers:
ZRHK Tenax Dobele – Tuminskis 6, Kreicbergs 5, Šuleiko 4, Ērmanis 4, Miķelsons 3, Pančenko 2, Krūmiņš 2, Kurzemnieks 2, Lībergs 1, Juzups 1, Suharevs 1
HC Kehra/Horizon Pulp&Paper– Gumianov 7, Kreegimaa 4, Seermann 3, Vilks 3, Liedemann 2, Benstrom 1, Normak 1, Mamporia 1
– Raasiku/Mistra – Varsa-Stronglasas Alytus 30:26 (16:14)
Best scorers
Raasiku/Mistra – Slastinovski 5, Nerut 4, Naumenko 4, Kopli 4, Annula 3, Aus 3, Anton 3, Keskkula 2, Žigadlo 1, Sokorovich 1
Varsa-Stronglasas Alytus – Micevičius 9, Buronko 5, Stankevicius 3, Petrušauskas 3, Adamkevičius 2, Eidukonis 2, Babarskas 1, Civinskas 1
– Viljandi HC – HC Vilnius 32:28 (14:12)
Kristo Voika, coach and player of the Viljandi HC
“I think the lack of hard games in the past three weeks had some influence on our game and we did not play our best game today. HC Vilnius dismantled our defense few times and that made as unconfident, but luckily we made few fast and easy goals and also our goalkeeper was in level, so at the end the result is good and that is the only thing that matters at the moment.”
Best scorers
Viljandi HC – Varik O., 8, Koks 7, Voika 6, Lopp 4, Drogin 3, Maasalu 2, Varik M., 1, Basarab 1
HC Vilnius – Lapinskas 10, Urbonas 7, Valiušis 3, Drevinskas 3, Žala 2, Petronis 2, Radonius 1