Reflex - Ventspils 95-89

Belgrade, February 17, 2004 (ulebcup.com) - BC Reflex reached the quarterfinals of the ULEB Cup for a second year in a row when it stopped newcomer BK Ventspils of Latvia 95-89 in Belgrade on Tuesday. The victory gave Reflex a 2-0 victory in their quarterfinal series and sent the team from Serbia & Montenegro ahead to face the winner between Breil Milano and DKV Joventut. Reflex raced ahead by double digits early on Tuesday and didn't let Ventspils come back to threaten the 11-point advantage it had won on the road in Latvia the previous week. The victory marked Reflex's 21st consecutive victory between the ULEB Cup and the Adriatic League. Reggie Freeman led the winners with 18 points, 5 assists and 4 steals. Kimani Ffriend added 14 points, Milan Majstorovic and Bojan Krstovic 12 each. Majstorovic played only in the second half, but finished the game with 10 rebounds. Kestutis Sestokas was the top scorer for Ventspils, with 23 points, while Kristaps Purnis added 16 and Zlatko Savovic 11.

Krstovic from Reflex and Sestokas from Ventspils traded triples to open the game. When Ognjen Askrabic scored his own shot from downtown for Reflex, Bruno Petersons answered with layup and Sestokas another triple for an early 8-10 Ventspils advantage. That would be the only Ventspils lead during the entire game. Petersons made his fourth personal by the middle of the first period. After that Reflex made crucial 14-0 run and the score was 22-10 with 2 minutes left. Danile McClintock scored 6 points in a row for Ventspils, but Freeman scored 4 and Reflex led 26-16 after 10 minutes.

When Branko Jorovic dropped a shot from the downtown to open the second quarter, the Reflex lead hit 31-17. McClintock, Sestokas and Purnis cut that margin to 37-29 in the middle of the quarter. After Bojan Popovic and Purnis traded triples, Freeman scored 4 points in a 7-0 Reflex run to a 49-35 lead with 2 minutes to go. At the very end of the first half, there was another exchange of three-pointers between Popovic and Zlatko Savovic, after which Reflex took a 52-43 lead to the locker rooms. Reflex had hit 7 of 15 three-pointers, while Ventspils already had 22 points from its bench.

In the second half, center Milan Majstorovic joined the Reflex lineup and showed from the first moment that he is in great shape. He scored 5 points and pulled 2 offensive rebounds in his first 3 minutes on the floor. Ventspils played wide on offense, looking for the chance to shoot from the 6.25 line. Sestokas made one and the score was 58-48 after 24 minutes. Soon, Martins Skirmantas cut the margin to 60-52. But Reflex, led by Kimani and Majstorovic, made a 9-2 run and the hosts had a comfortable 71-61 lead after 30 minutes. Bojan Krstovic scored a triple for Reflex in the first minute of the final quarter, so after Sasa Stefanovic copied him and Majstorovic dunked, Reflex was ahead 79-65. Ventspils did not give up, but made a 2-11 run, but Savovic missed 2 free throws and the score stalled at 81-76. Stefanovic scored one from 8 meters but Purnis answered. After points by Savovic and Sestokas, the Reflex lead was cut to 88-85 with 2 minutes left. Ventspils players tried at least to win the road game but Krstovic scored twice in the last minute. He dunked two times, one an Alley-oop, to fix the final score at 95-89 and send Reflex to the quarters again.

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February 10: Ventspils - Reflex 68-79 (ULEB Cup eighth finals first leg)