Biggest win: Bitsa Team – 57 (90-33 vs Krivbass Tonus Veteran UA)
Top scorer: Valerii Iaichun – 45 (Musson)
Most rebounds: Alessandra Santos de Oliveira – 19 (Bergama Geclerbirligi SK)
Most assists: Galina Ragozina – 9 (Baltijec)
M40/45
Small Planet 103-83 Musson
Small Planet from Lithuania won the first gold medals of the ESBA Championship, after snatching the M40 crown. Although the first place finish was nothing but a sure thing, with no other teams competing in the same category, the Lithuanians improved to a 5-0 record against M45 teams.
The team from Vilnius registered a 103-83 victory against Musson, the only other previously undefeated team in the M40/45 competition.
Halfway through the second period, Small Planet were leading merely by a point at 35-34, but a 16-5 run to finish the half allowed the Lithuanians to pull away.
The second half was relatively easy for the pre-game favorites, who cruised to a 20-point win with Virginijus Sirvydis leading the way with 32 points and nine rebounds. Erikas Kuciauskas had 21 points and 12 boards, while Egidijus Mikalajunas chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Sirvydis was named the MVP of the M40 age category.
Valerii Iaichun had a tournament-high 45 points for Musson, but it wasn’t enough to save the side from defeat.
Baltic Virtuozo 54-82 Project 44
Project 44 secured a spot in the M45 final with an 82-54 victory against Baltic Virtuozo on the penultimate day of the championship.
Alexander Kuznetsov had a game-high 31 points for Project 44, also grabbing eight rebounds. Leonid Michurin scored 19 points and was one rebound shy from a double-double, with nine boards to his name.
Andris Liepins had 24 points, but made only 1-of-9 shots from beyond the arch and 10-of-31 shots from the field, with eight turnovers. Valdo Knaps and Ivar Bank had 13 points each, with the latter also adding 10 boards.
Victoria Residences 35-57 Carpathian Bears
Carpathian Bears defeated Victoria Residences 57-35, after the game was cut short in the third quarter.
Oleksandr Zakrevskyi had 36 points and eight rebounds in 23 minutes, with Volodymyr Gluskyi chipping in with six points. Sergii Felbaba had five points and five rebounds.
Evtim Banev had 24 points for the Bulgarian teams.
M50
Bitsa Team 90-33 Krivbass Tonus Veteran UA
Bitsa Team had a walk in the park against Krivbass Tonus Veteran UA, defeating the Ukrainian team 90-33 to finish the regular round first with a 4-0 record.
Krivbass finished the round robin stage in fourth place and will play in the bronze-medal game against Perlas. The final will feature Bitsa Team and the second-placed Dinamo.
Alexander Solnyshkin had 18 points and six rebounds for the winners, Mikhail Borisov added 17, while Andrei Trushkin chipped in with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Only four players scored for Krivbass – Andriy Berezhinskyy had 14 points, Pavlo Storozhenko scored 11, with Igor Glushchenkov and Sergii Kovtun finishing with six and two respectively.
Dinamo 55-42 Perlas
Dinamo made sure they will be playing for gold in the W55 category after winning a do-or-die game against Perlas 55-42.
Andrei Bondarenko had a big double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds, Valerii Sirotiuk also had a big all-around contribution with 14 points, 14 boards and two blocks.
For Perlas, Arvydas Venclovas had 16 points and 11 rebounds, but made only 7-of-22 shots from the field. Virginijus Jankauskas chipped in with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
M55
TOP Trust 88-48 Izmir Veterans
TOP Trust got off to a storming start and swept away Izmir Veterans 88-48 in the last round robin game of the M55 age category.
The Estonians will play against Salilita in the M55 final on Saturday. Meanwhile, Izmir will face off Auto-Queen for bronze.
Ermil Kuldkeep had a game-high 31 points and eight rebounds, Alvar Kaur added 12 points, while Rein Kludsoo added 11 for the winners.
For Izmir, Mustafa Bicakci collected 24 points. Huseyin Ustunes added 11.
Salilita 87-41 Auto-Queen
Salilita secured a place in the M55 final with an 87-41 victory against Auto-Queen, who will still have a chance to play for bronze on Saturday.
M60
Vilniaus Statyba 41-49 SLO 50+
Slovenia advanced to the final of the M60 category after pulling away in the fourth quarter to take a 49-41 victory against Statyba Vilnius.
Nebojsa Macura led the winners with 17 points and five rebounds, Jose Fizer had 14 points, while Radovan Lorbek chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds.
For Statyba, Vitoldas Masalskis had 22 points and seven rebounds, with no other players scoring in double figures, as the Lithuanians fell short in the closing minutes.
Mercury 79-41 Babailar
Mercury had no trouble against Babailar in the semifinal of the M60 category, advancing to the final game on Saturday after a 79-41 victory.
Grigorii Avdeev and Timur Yunusov scored 20 points each for the winners, Andrei Snytsin had 11 points and seven rebounds, while Alexander Kharchenkov did not attempt a single shot in 30 minutes, but collected 12 points and six assists.
For Babailar, Aleksandr Trubach was the only player in double digits with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Ranga 82-36 Galychyna
Ranga won fifth place in the M60 category after defeating Galychyna 82-36 in what was the last game of the tournament for both teams.
Algirdas Krisiunas led the winners with 18 points, Arunas Baltinas scored 16 while Algimantas Cesnavicius and Algirdas Linge finished the game with 10 points each.
For Galychyna, Vitaliy Detiuk and Bogdan Makar had 10 points apiece.
M65
Vilniaus Statybos Senjorai 45-46 Latvia
Latvia guaranteed themselves silver medals in the M65 category with a 46-45 victory against Vilniaus Statybos Senjorai, who dropped to a 0-3 record.
The Latvians have won two games and lost two.
Juris Dambitis led the winners with 13 points. Viktors Kaktins had seven points and five rebounds, while Gunars Zakenfelds and Egils Pans added six points each.
Juozas Zizliauskas and Rimvydas Aukstuolis had 12 points each for Statyba. Vygantas Valiukevicius collected 11 points and six rebounds.
M70
Kazan 43-23 Nevsky Veterans
Kazan had an easy stroll in the park against Nevsky Veterans, steamrolling the opponents 43-23 to improve to a 2-1 record, with one game to go. Meanwhile, Nevsky dropped to 2-2.
Kazan still has a game left with Sameko, who have a 1-2 record and need a win in the last game to force a three-way tie.
Vladimir Zagliadimov had a game-high 16 points for Kazan to go along five rebounds. Vladimir Krivoruchenko added 12 points for the winners.
Meanwhile, Dmitri Sevasteev and Valentin Akhremenko both scored six points apiece for Nevsky.
W35
Baltijec 70-71 Bergama Genclerbirligi SK
Bergama Genclerbirligi SK snatched a one-point victory against Baltijec in the W35 group, downing their Russian opponents 71-70.
Alessandra Santos de Oliveira had a team-high 24 points and 19 rebounds, Banu Karadagli added 22 points and 12 rebounds in a winning effort, with Natallia Uyanik and Ilknur Durmus chipping in with 11 points.
Zenfira Rogutina led the game in scoring with 27 points for Baltijec. Galina Ragozina contributed with 16 points and nine assists.
Baltijec has a game remaining against Carpathian Bears. The winner of that game will claim gold in the W35 category.
W50
Spartak 35-32 Estonia
Spartak held on against Estonia, taking a 35-32 victory against the gritty underdogs to book a ticket to the W50 final. Larisa Finogentova was the top scorer for the winners with 13 points, with Elena Sila adding 10.
Three other players scored four points each.
For Estonia, Ulle Jarv had a game-high 14 points to go along six rebounds, while Katrin Aava added eight points and six boards.
Kamane-LT Augma 46-39 Ladies Germany
In the second semifinal, Kamane LT-Augma outlasted Ladies Germany 46-39 after a close game to also punch a ticket to the final.
Marina Shaulene double-doubled for the winners with 17 points and 12 rebounds, Grazina Subaciene scored 13 points, while Tatjana Istomina had only five point, but grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.
Silke Westphalen scored nine points and grabbed 10 boards for Germany. Astrid Frisch had five points and 14 rebounds.
