Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most surprising game was the first loss of Latvian Valmiera Glass (4-1) at the home court on Wednesday night. Hosts were edged by fifth ranked Czech Opava (3-2) 97-96. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Valmiera Glass. Opava forced 21 Valmiera Glass turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. American forward Rob Howard (203-1997, college: UIC, agency: One Motive Sports) stepped up and scored 21 points and 6 rebounds for the winners and center Simon Pursl (205-1997) chipped in 15 points and 11 rebounds. The best for the losing side was American Kahliel Spear (200-2000, college: RMU) with a double-double by scoring 14 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Opava maintains fifth place with 3-2 record, which they share with Dziki. Valmiera Glass at the other side dropped to the third position with one game lost. They share it with Legia. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Very significant was Estonian Tartu’s (#8) 85-75 road victory against bottom-ranked Bulgarian Spartak Pleven. Egyptian power forward Omar El-Sheikh (203-1998, college: Arkansas St.) nailed a double-double by scoring 21 points and 14 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) for the winning side and Jalen Henry accounted for 16 points and 8 rebounds. Tartu’s coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Serbian center Igor Kesar (210-1992) came up with 21 points and 9 rebounds for Spartak Pleven in the defeat. Tartu (1-3) left bottom position moving up to sixth place, which they share with Dinamo. It was Spartak Pleven‘s fourth loss in a row. They still close the standings with four games lost. They share the position with Bristol Flyers. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Dutch Groningen has finally registered their first victory this season after four consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Slovakian Spisski Rytieri (1-5) 88-68 on Wednesday. The best player for the winners was James Karnik who had a double-double by scoring 27 points and 17 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was Dwayne Cohill who recorded 21 points and 6 rebounds. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. It was the only win of host team this round and in all other games visitors recorded victories. Groningen (1-4) left bottom position moving up to seventh place. It was Spisski Rytieri‘s fourth loss in a row. They dropped to the eighth position with five games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.

In the last game of round 9 Newcastle E. won against Dziki on the opponent’s court 79-70.

Dziki – Newcastle E. 70-79

Very expected game in Warszawa where 11th ranked Polish Dziki (3-2) was defeated by leader British Newcastle Eagles (4-0) 79-70 on Tuesday. Americans were the main players on the court. The best player for the winners was guard Seneca Knight (198-2000, college: Illinois St.) who had a double-double by scoring 20 points and 10 rebounds. Mike Okauru (191-1999, college: UNCW) chipped in 18 points. At the other side the best for losing team was forward Nick McGlynn (206-1996, college: Drake) who recorded a double-double by scoring 20 points and 11 rebounds and guard Rickey McGill (188-1997, college: Iona) added 21 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists (went 7 for 7 at the free throw line) respectively. Newcastle Eagles have a solid series of four victories in a row. Newcastle E. keeps a position of league leader, which they share with Voluntari. Loser Dziki dropped to the fifth place with two games lost. They share the position with Opava. Newcastle E. will meet at home league’s second-placed Voluntari in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Dziki will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Newcastle E.: S.Knight 20+10reb+3ast, M.Okauru 18+4reb+3ast, J.Spencer 11, J.Ward-Hibbert 8+5reb+2ast, C.James 7+6reb, D.Defoe 6
Dziki: R.McGill 21+5reb+6ast, N.McGlynn 20+11reb+3ast, A.Wesson 11+5reb+1ast, M.Szlachetka 9+2ast, M.Bartosz 5+5reb, J.Mokros 2+8reb+1ast

gschID: 1193872

Valmiera Glass – Opava 96-97

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Spartak Pleven – Tartu 75-85

Very significant was Estonian Tartu’s (#8) 85-75 road victory against bottom-ranked Bulgarian Spartak Pleven. They outrebounded Spartak Pleven 40-29 including a 32-19 advantage in defensive rebounds. Egyptian power forward Omar El-Sheikh (203-1998, college: Arkansas St.) nailed a double-double by scoring 21 points and 14 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) for the winning side and American power forward Jalen Henry (203-1996, college: SIUE) accounted for 16 points and 8 rebounds. Tartu’s coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Serbian center Igor Kesar (210-1992) came up with 21 points and 9 rebounds and American forward Ahmad Rand (203-1998, college: Milwaukee) added 11 points and 6 rebounds respectively for Spartak Pleven in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Tartu (1-3) left bottom position moving up to sixth place, which they share with Dinamo. It was Spartak Pleven‘s fourth loss in a row. They still close the standings with four games lost. They share the position with Bristol Flyers. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Tartu: O.El-Sheikh 21+14reb, J.Henry 16+8reb+1ast, J.Harris 12+5reb+1ast, M.Paasoja 10+3reb+7ast, M.Bourcier 8+3reb+6ast, K.Lips 7+2reb+3ast
Spartak Pleven: I.Kesar 21+9reb+2ast, C.Keeling 13+4reb+1ast, A.Rand 11+6reb+1ast, V.Gergov 10+5reb+2ast, T.Hollowell 7+2reb+5ast, D.Bracey 7+1reb+2ast

gschID: 1193874

Groningen – Spisski Rytieri 88-68

Dutch Groningen has finally registered their first victory this season after four consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Slovakian Spisski Rytieri (1-5) 88-68 on Wednesday. Groningen dominated down low during the game scoring 52 of its points in the paint compared to Spisski Rytieri‘s 24. They outrebounded Spisski Rytieri 40-28 including a 29-14 advantage in defensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was Czech-Canadian center James Karnik (206-1998, college: Boston Coll., agency: Players Group) who had a double-double by scoring 27 points and 17 rebounds. Serbian center Filip Brankovic (202-2003, agency: Tolakh Tsimur) chipped in 11 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Four Groningen players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was American point guard Dwayne Cohill (188-2000, college: YSU) who recorded 21 points and 6 rebounds and the other American import Dibaji Walker (206-1999, college: App State) added 13 points respectively. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. It was the only win of host team this round and in all other games visitors recorded victories. Groningen (1-4) left bottom position moving up to seventh place. It was Spisski Rytieri‘s fourth loss in a row. They dropped to the eighth position with five games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Groningen: J.Karnik 27+17reb+3ast, Z.Harvey 15+2reb+1ast, T.Hoeve 13+1reb+5ast, F.Brankovic 11+7reb+4ast, S.Van Oostrum 9+6reb+2ast, K.Zuidema 5+6reb+3ast
Spisski Rytieri: D.Cohill 21+6reb+3ast, D.Walker 13+4reb+2ast, J.Palenik 11+2reb, D.Sokolovskyi 8+2reb, D.Frye 6+3reb+2ast, I.Gromovs 5+7reb+1ast