LNB Round 26 (Regular Season): Los Leones lose to Univ.Concepcion

The Regular Season in LNB is slowly approaching the end. But there may be still some important changes in the final standings in the last 4 rounds. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Top ranked Los Leones (24-3) recorded its third loss on the court of second ranked Univ.Concepcion on Thursday night. Visitors were defeated by Univ.Concepcion 77-73. It ended at the same time the nine-game winning streak of Los Leones. It may be a crucial game in the contest for the top position in the league. The best player for the winners was American forward Stephen Maxwell (201-1993, college: CSUN) who had a double-double by scoring 25 points and 12 rebounds. The former international point guard Sebastian Carrasco (180-2000) chipped in 20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. The former international forward Ignacio Carrion (201-1993) produced 21 points for the guests. Los Leones' coach Jose Angel Samaniego tried various players' combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Univ.Concepcion (23-4) have an impressive five-game winning streak. They maintain second position behind leader Los Leones. Defending champion Los Leones still keep top place with three games lost. Univ.Concepcion are looking forward to face Univ.Catolica (#10) in Santiago in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Los Leones will play on the road against Las Animas (#9) in Valdivia and are hoping to win this game.
Bottom-ranked Espanol managed to get a third victory, breaking the four-game losing streak. This time they won against eleventh-ranked Valdivia in Talca 95-84. Canadian center Rodney Simon (206-1997, college: Clark Atlanta, agency: Gulf Coast Hoops) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points, 18 rebounds and 6 assists. Ramiro Montes contributed with 22 points and 8 assists for the winners. Argentinian point guard Enzo Amado (183-1995) replied with 16 points and 4 assists for Valdivia. Valdivia's coach Ricardo Araujo let to play ten players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Espanol maintains twelfth position with 3-24 record. Valdivia lost fifth consecutive game. They keep the eleventh place with 22 games lost. Espanol will play against higher ranked Ancud (#8) at home in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Valdivia will play against Colo Colo in Santiago and hopes to get back on the winning track.
The game in Valdivia was also quite interesting. Fifth ranked Sportiva Italiana (16-11) played at the court of 8th ranked Las Animas (11-16). Sportiva Italiana defeated Las Animas 94-80 on Thursday. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Las Animas. Federico Herrera scored 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the charge for the winners. Rashad Hassan responded with a double-double by scoring 26 points and 10 rebounds. Sportiva Italiana maintains fifth position with 16-11 record. Las Animas at the other side keep the eighth place with 16 games lost. They share the position with Ancud. Sportiva Italiana will meet higher ranked Espanol (#3) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Las Animas will play against the league's leader Los Leones (#1) and hope to secure a win.

Rest of the games of round 26 were very predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Puerto Varas defeated Colo Colo in a road game 97-80. Espanol beat Univ.Catolica at home 70-65. Ancud destroyed Puente Alto on the opponent's court 97-77.



Las Animas - Sportiva Italiana 80-94

The game in Valdivia was also quite interesting. Fifth ranked Sportiva Italiana (16-11) played at the court of 8th ranked Las Animas (11-16). Sportiva Italiana defeated Las Animas 94-80 on Thursday. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Las Animas. They outrebounded Las Animas 43-28 including 33 on the defensive glass. Sportiva Italiana looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. Argentinian power forward Federico Herrera (200-1993) scored 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the charge for the winners and American Devante Wallace (196-1992, college: High Point, agency: BIG) chipped in 23 points and 8 rebounds during the contest. Four Sportiva Italiana players scored in double figures. American power forward Rashad Hassan (203-1989, college: SSU) responded with a double-double by scoring 26 points and 10 rebounds and Gabriel Diaz (-1999) scored 17 points and 4 assists. Sportiva Italiana maintains fifth position with 16-11 record. Las Animas at the other side keep the eighth place with 16 games lost. They share the position with Ancud. Sportiva Italiana will meet higher ranked Espanol (#3) in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Las Animas will play against the league's leader Los Leones (#1) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Las Animas: R.Hassan 26+10reb+1ast, G.Diaz 17+2reb+4ast, A.Anderson 14+5reb+3ast, G.Caraboni 9+1reb+3ast, P.Campos 7+1reb+4ast, V.Correa 3+1reb+2ast
Sportiva Italiana: D.Wallace 23+8reb+2ast, F.Herrera 21+8reb+5ast, W.Alcegaire 18+8reb+5ast, G.Hernandez 15+3reb+7ast, B.Aguilera 6+7reb+3ast, C.Rios 5

Colo Colo - Puerto Varas 80-97

There was no surprise in Santiago where 7th ranked Colo Colo (12-15) was defeated by fourth ranked Puerto Varas (17-10) 97-80 on Thursday. Puerto Varas made 25-of-33 free shots (75.8 percent) during the game. Puerto Varas outrebounded Colo Colo 47-29 including 19 on the offensive glass. American forward Joshua Morris (203-1993, college: UTPB) had a double-double by scoring 26 points and 17 rebounds (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line) to lead the charge for the winners and the other American import forward Andrew Corum (201-1997, college: Virginia St.) chipped in 18 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists during the contest. Five Puerto Varas players scored in double figures. American swingman Dennis McKinney (194-1998, college: Mt.Mercy) responded with 17 points and 6 rebounds and Argentinian guard Alejo Britos (187-1994) scored 16 points. Puerto Varas maintains fourth position with 17-10 record. Loser Colo Colo dropped to the sixth place with 15 games lost. They share the position with Puente Alto. Puerto Varas will meet Puente Alto (#6) on the road in the next round. Colo Colo will play against Valdivia and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Colo Colo: D.McKinney 17+6reb+3ast, A.Britos 16+3reb+3ast, J.Schuler 16+3reb, S.Silva 9+5reb+5ast, J.Collao 7+2reb, M.Serrano 6+3reb+1ast
Puerto Varas: J.Morris 26+17reb+1ast, A.Corum 18+11reb+5ast, M.Perez 14+5reb+2ast, L.Merida 12+4reb+1ast, P.Arroyo 10+2reb+4ast, B.Vander Stell 8+1reb+2ast

Espanol O. - Univ.Catolica 70-65

No shocking result in a game in Osorno where third ranked Espanol (19-8) defeated 10th ranked Univ.Catolica (9-18) 70-65 on Thursday. However just five-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. American forward DeAndre Daniels (206-1992, college: UConn, agency: BIG) had a double-double by scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and point guard Agustin Moraga (193-2004) chipped in 11 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists during the contest. Four Espanol O. players scored in double figures. American forward Randy Rickards (201-2000, college: WILMU) responded with 16 points and 5 rebounds and naturalized Venezuelan forward Deiker Salcedo (181-2002) scored 8 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Espanol maintains third position with 19-8 record having five points less than leader Los Leones. Univ.Catolica lost third consecutive game. They keep the tenth place with 18 games lost. Espanol will meet at home Sportiva Italiana (#5) in the next round. Univ.Catolica will play against the league's second-placed Univ.Concepcion (#2) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Univ.Catolica: R.Rickards 16+5reb+3ast, S.Navarrete 14+2reb, V.Damianovic 9+6reb+1ast, D.Salcedo 8+5reb+6ast, J.Dlugoszewski 6+3reb+1ast, P.Leopoldino 4+8reb+1ast
Espanol O.: C.Lauler 15+1reb+2ast, D.Daniels 15+10reb+1ast, A.Moraga 11+7reb+7ast, B.Amor 10+4reb+3ast, M.Sepulveda 8+4reb, Y.Rasas 5+5reb+4ast

Puente Alto - Ancud 77-97

There was a minor upset when 6th ranked Puente Alto (12-15) was rolled over at home by ninth ranked Ancud (11-16) 97-77 on Thursday. Argentinian Nahuel Martinez (188-1995) scored 36 points (!!!), 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals to lead the charge for the winners and American forward Richard Granberry (203-1993, college: Virginia St.) chipped in 26 points and 12 rebounds during the contest. Four Ancud players scored in double figures. American forward Justin Strings (201-1996, college: Sacramento St.) responded with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists and American-Puerto Rican forward Jonathan Ocasio (196-1992, college: New Haven) scored 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Puente Alto's coach gave the chance to play for twelve players seeing no chance for a win. Ancud moved-up to eighth place, which they share with Las Animas. Loser Puente Alto keeps the sixth position with 15 games lost. They share it with Colo Colo. Ancud will meet bottom-ranked Espanol (#12) in the next round. Puente Alto will play against Puerto Varas (#4) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Puente Alto: J.Strings 18+8reb+5ast, J.Ocasio 15+5reb+4ast, R.Armijo 10+2reb, F.Alippi 9+2reb+2ast, R.Munoz 9+6reb+2ast, A.Pinedo 8+2reb
Ancud: N.Martinez 36+6reb+6ast, R.Granberry 26+12reb+2ast, R.Amardi 15+4reb+1ast, G.Hermosillas 12+5reb, F.Morales 4+3reb+7ast, R.Vera 2

Univ.Concepcion - Los Leones 77-73

Top ranked Los Leones (24-3) recorded its third loss on the court of second ranked Univ.Concepcion on Thursday night. Visitors were defeated by Univ.Concepcion 77-73. It ended at the same time the nine-game winning streak of Los Leones. It may be a crucial game in the contest for the top position in the league. The best player for the winners was American forward Stephen Maxwell (201-1993, college: CSUN) who had a double-double by scoring 25 points and 12 rebounds. The former international point guard Sebastian Carrasco (180-2000) chipped in 20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. The former international forward Ignacio Carrion (201-1993) produced 21 points and American center Roquez Johnson (201-1992, college: MSU, agency: BIG) added 18 points and 8 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) respectively for the guests. Four Los Leones players scored in double figures. Los Leones' coach Jose Angel Samaniego tried various players' combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Univ.Concepcion (23-4) have an impressive five-game winning streak. They maintain second position behind leader Los Leones. Defending champion Los Leones still keep top place with three games lost. Univ.Concepcion are looking forward to face Univ.Catolica (#10) in Santiago in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Los Leones will play on the road against Las Animas (#9) in Valdivia and are hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Los Leones: I.Carrion 21+3reb+2ast, R.Johnson 18+8reb, D.Jones 11+2reb+4ast, J.Evans 11+9reb+4ast, N.Rebolledo 6+2reb+4ast, E.Lugo 3+3reb+1ast
Univ.Concepcion: S.Maxwell 25+12reb, S.Carrasco 20+6reb+6ast, K.Rubio 8+3reb+2ast, Z.Talley 8+2reb+4ast, D.Silva 7+5reb+5ast, D.Low 7+4reb+1ast

Espanol T. - Valdivia 95-84

Bottom-ranked Espanol managed to get a third victory, breaking the four-game losing streak. This time they won against eleventh-ranked Valdivia in Talca 95-84. Espanol players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists. Canadian center Rodney Simon (206-1997, college: Clark Atlanta, agency: Gulf Coast Hoops) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points, 18 rebounds and 6 assists. Ramiro Montes contributed with 22 points and 8 assists for the winners. Argentinian point guard Enzo Amado (183-1995) replied with 16 points and 4 assists and Branko Coro (-2003) added 17 points (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field) in the effort for Valdivia. Five Espanol and four Valdivia players scored in double figures. Valdivia's coach Ricardo Araujo let to play ten players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Espanol maintains twelfth position with 3-24 record. Valdivia lost fifth consecutive game. They keep the eleventh place with 22 games lost. Espanol will play against higher ranked Ancud (#8) at home in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Valdivia will play against Colo Colo in Santiago and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Valdivia: B.Coro 17+4reb+1ast, E.Amado 16+2reb+4ast, G.Isla 14+4reb+1ast, G.Vergara 13+1reb, M.Ugalde 7+3reb+1ast, S.Soulodre 6+6reb+5ast
Espanol T.: R.Simon 24+18reb+6ast, R.Montes 22+2reb+8ast, M.Zerene 15+4reb+3ast, C.Cabrera 15+5reb+3ast, V.Guaico 14+5reb+3ast, Y.Orelus 5+1reb