«Astana» hosts VEF from Riga

Tomorrow, on January 15, «Astana» will hold another home match in the framework of the VTB United League championship against «VEF» from Riga, Latvia.

Chronicle of past meetings:
The basketball club from Latvia participates in the VTB United League since 2009. In different years the achievements of the team changed with the mentors of the club. In 2012/2013 it was the most successful season for the «VEF.» During a year «VEF» became the champion of Latvia in 2012 and 2013. At the same time, the Rigans entered the TOP-16 of the best teams in the European Cup and were also entered 8 best team list  in the VTB League, which allowed them to enter the playoff round. Then the team was headed by the Lithuanian specialist Ramunas Butautas, the ex-chief coach of Astana from 2014 to 2016.
Regarding the personal meetings of «Astana» — «VEF», the teams met on the court 12 times, 4 of which were in favor of «Astana.»
 
Current situation:
For the third consecutive season, the team has been headed by Latvian specialist Janis Gailitis. The roster of the team has changed significantly in comparison with the previous one, the famous Latvian player, the captain of the Latvian National Team, Janis Blums, who is well known to the Kazakh public, left the club, Blooms defended the colors of the Astana team in the 2013/2014 season. American defender Alex Perez has become the current leader of the team, with an average of 12 points per game.

Standings:
Basketball club «VEF» takes the last place in the standings of VTB League with the result of 1 victory, 8 defeats.

Commentary of the head coach of BC «Astana», Mikhail Karpenko:
- «VEF» is an excellent team with its own style of the game, the main peculiarities of their game are the attack from the perimeter, a lot of three-point shots, a good transition from defense to attack. The fact that they are in the last place in the standings does not reflect the strength of the team, the recent match against «Avtodor» showed where they lost at the very end of the match. This team will not be easy to play with, they are in the same situation as we are, they still have the theoretical chances of getting into the playoff. Our task is to recover ourselves from the previous defeats, effectively and orderly to play in defense and find our best opportunities in the attack. I expect that we will be able to defeat «VEF,» but every player, who plays on the court, must strain every nerve to win, and we have already started this work in our practices.

Where, when, at what time?
Arena: Republican cycle track «Saryarka»
Time: 19.30 by the time of Astana
Broadcast: VTB United League website, BC «Astana» website, «QazSport» TV channel