TalTech/Optibet men's basketball team. Photo: Siim Semiskar

While TalTech's women's team had secured a place in the Sunday's final a few days earlier in Tallinn, the men had to meet the University of Tartu basketball team in the semi-finals in Tartu University Sports Hall.

The semi-finals between the two universities started neck to neck, but by half way through the third quarter, TalTech's men had taken the initiative, leading the game with 13 points. However, the lead could not be maintained for a long time - the University of Tartu concentrated its forces successfully, and by the end of the quarter, TalTech's lead had melted down to a minimum. Thanks to the strong finish of the third quarter, Tartu was able to inject even more self-confidence, and in addition to the poor shooting of TalTech, they were able to win the last quarter 28:10 and the whole game 88:71. This meant that our basketball team went to the bronze match against KK Viimsi, who had just completely "trashed"  TalTech in the Estonian-Latvian league.

The bronze match started immediately with KK Viimsi's initiative and they led by 10+ points. What happened to our boys in the previous game against Tartu happened again, but this time fortunately for us. The University of Technology was able to scrape itself out of the big hole and turn the nerve-filled game to its advantage. In return, a highly coveted medal awaited for 10 years. On the side of TalTech, the main weight was carried by the Estonian national team member Mikk Jurkatamm (20p 6r) and Sten-Timmu Sokk (14p 8ast). Toomas Raadik, who spent only 16 minutes on the field due to foul trouble, was able to bring 10 points to the team. The statistics of the entire bronze game can be found HERE.

As mentioned before, the women were able to secure a place in the finals already on December 15 in TalTech Sports Centre, defeating the women of Tallinn University  for the second time 72:66. In the finals, they met Audentes Sports Club, who only managed to stay close to of TalTech in the  first half. TalTech's girls, who are much more resilient and skillful than their opponents, completely pushed their opponents towards their own style in the second half,  leading by almost 20 points at some point. TalTech women's basketball team, which was assembled for the first time in history, got a definite 72:59 victory under the guidance of Sergio Cubeiro Rico and Raido Ringmets. TalTech's Sofia Kosareva (20p, 7r) was chosen as the most valuable player in the final. Annika Köster, who became a mother only this year, also managed to have a great game (16p, 13r.). The women's captain, Marie-Anette Sepp, shined with 9 assists. Check out the full gold game statistics HERE.

 TalTech/Nordaid women's basketball team. Photo: Siim Semiskar