Liga MB Round 5 of Regular Season

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Liga MB round 5 most important game was a victory of Santiagueno over 8th ranked San Salvador 68-54 on Tuesday night. Santiagueno looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists comparing to just 9 passes made by San Salvador's players. Colombian forward Anders Valencia (201-1997) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 15 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Colombian center John Hernandez (207-1984) contributed with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Dominican Bernardo Polanco (189-1994) answered with 25 points and 6 rebounds for San Salvador. San Salvador's coach rotated eleven players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Santiagueno (3-3) moved-up to sixth place. San Salvador lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the seventh position with four games lost. They share it with Santa Tecla and Salvadorenos. Santiagueno are looking forward to face higher ranked Santa Ana (#3) on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. San Salvador will play against Cojute (#5) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
An interesting game for A.Lobos (7-1) which hosted in 4th placed Santa Ana (5-2). First ranked A.Lobos managed to get a 9-point victory 91-82. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Santa Ana. Naturalized American center Marc Montavious (202-1990, college: Georgetown, KY) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 22 points and 20 rebounds for the winners and Lincoln Smith chipped in 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. American guard Darnell Johnson (201, college: CSUSB) responded with a double-double by scoring 39 points (!!!) and 14 rebounds. A.Lobos have an impressive series of seven victories in a row. They maintain first place with 7-1 record. Santa Ana at the other side dropped to the third position with two games lost. A.Lobos will play against San Miguel (#4) on the road in the next round. Santa Ana will play against Santiagueno and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Bottom-ranked Ahuachapan is still unable to win any game. But it was rather predictable considering how strong their opponent was. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their sixth consecutive match to third ranked Metapan (5-1) 108-76 on Thursday evening. Yoel Cubillas nailed a double-double by scoring 24 points and 19 rebounds for the winning side. Metapan's coach felt very confident that he used 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. Sheldon Stevens came up with 18 points for Ahuachapan in the defeat. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Metapan. They moved-up to second place. Ahuachapan lost their sixth game in a row. They still close the standings with six games lost. Metapan will meet Cojute (#5) in the next round. Ahuachapan will play against Santa Tecla (#8) and hopes to get finally their first victory.

In the last two games of round 5 Cojute beat Brujos on the road 53-50. Salvadorenos lost to San Miguel on its own court 81-87.
The most impressive performance of 5th round was 13 points, 20 rebounds and 8 assists by Daylon Potts of San Miguel.



Brujos - Cojute 50-53:
No shocking result in a game when fourth ranked Cojute (4-3) edged 9th ranked Brujos (1-5) in Izalco 53-50 on Tuesday. Cojute forced 21 Brujos turnovers. Venezuelan-Colombian center Michael Hinestroza (210-1990, college: Little Rock) nailed 9 points and 22 rebounds for the winning side and point guard Ronald Melendez (178-1984) accounted for 8 points and 7 rebounds. American swingman Devyn Franklin (203, college: GSU) came up with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists and Gustavo Galdamez (190-1996) added 11 points and 9 rebounds respectively for Brujos in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Despite that victory Cojute went down to fifth position due to points difference. Loser Brujos dropped to the tenth place with five games lost. Cojute will meet at home league's second-placed Metapan in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Brujos will play against Salvadorenos (#7) and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Brujos: D.Franklin 18+13reb+4ast, G.Gustavo 11+9reb+1ast, O.Angelo 7+4reb+3ast, V.Hugo 6+4reb+1ast, U.Josue 4+6reb, A.Francisco 3+2reb+6ast
Cojute: E.Wood 11+4reb, K.Martinez 11+1reb+4ast, M.Hinestroza 9+22reb+2ast, R.Melendez 8+7reb+3ast, J.Flores 6+3reb, W.Cabrera 2+2reb

San Salvador - Santiagueno 54-68:
Liga MB round 5 most important game was a victory of Santiagueno over 8th ranked San Salvador 68-54 on Tuesday night. Santiagueno looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists comparing to just 9 passes made by San Salvador's players. Colombian forward Anders Valencia (201-1997) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 15 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. Colombian center John Hernandez (207-1984) contributed with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Four Santiagueno players scored in double figures. Dominican Bernardo Polanco (189-1994) answered with 25 points and 6 rebounds and Colombian guard Yovany Del Rosario (185-2002) added 8 points and 14 rebounds in the effort for San Salvador. San Salvador's coach rotated eleven players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Santiagueno (3-3) moved-up to sixth place. San Salvador lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the seventh position with four games lost. They share it with Santa Tecla and Salvadorenos. Santiagueno are looking forward to face higher ranked Santa Ana (#3) on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. San Salvador will play against Cojute (#5) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
San Salvador: B.Polanco 25+6reb+3ast, Y.Del Rosario 8+14reb+1ast, M.Marcos 6+3reb+3ast, R.Emanuel 5+2reb+1ast, C.Miguel 3, S.Kevin 3+3reb
Santiagueno: H.John 18+11reb+1ast, E.Lara 15+4reb+1ast, V.Anders 15+11reb+7ast, B.Castellon 12+3reb+1ast, G.Diego 6+4reb+12ast, A.Esperanza 2+2reb

A.Lobos - Santa Ana 91-82:
An interesting game for A.Lobos (7-1) which hosted in 4th placed Santa Ana (5-2). First ranked A.Lobos managed to get a 9-point victory 91-82. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Santa Ana. A.Lobos forced 21 Santa Ana turnovers. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 21 assists. Naturalized American center Marc Montavious (202-1990, college: Georgetown, KY) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 22 points and 20 rebounds for the winners and American forward Lincoln Smith (196, college: Lamar) chipped in 16 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. American guard Darnell Johnson (201, college: CSUSB) responded with a double-double by scoring 39 points (!!!) and 14 rebounds and the other American import guard LeAndrew Knight (190, college: CSUSB) produced a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds. Five A.Lobos and four Santa Ana players scored in double figures. A.Lobos have an impressive series of seven victories in a row. They maintain first place with 7-1 record. Santa Ana at the other side dropped to the third position with two games lost. A.Lobos will play against San Miguel (#4) on the road in the next round. Santa Ana will play against Santiagueno and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Santa Ana: D.Johnson 39+14reb, L.Knight 13+10reb+2ast, A.Ajang 12+10reb+2ast, C.Alexander 12+6reb+1ast, R.Amilcar 3+1ast, P.Luis 3+2reb+1ast
A.Lobos: M.Montavious 22+20reb+1ast, L.Smith 16+6reb+5ast, E.Rojas 15+4reb+3ast, F.Carcamo 14+1reb+6ast, A.Charles 11+10reb+3ast, M.Melendez 5+3reb+3ast

Ahuachapan - Metapan 76-108:
Bottom-ranked Ahuachapan is still unable to win any game. But it was rather predictable considering how strong their opponent was. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their sixth consecutive match to third ranked Metapan (5-1) 108-76 on Thursday evening. Metapan dominated down low during the game scoring 78 of its points in the paint compared to Ahuachapan's 26. They outrebounded Ahuachapan 53-27 including a 38-21 advantage in defensive rebounds. Metapan looked well-organized offensively handing out 30 assists comparing to just 10 passes made by Ahuachapan's players. Cuban forward Yoel Cubillas (204-1994) nailed a double-double by scoring 24 points and 19 rebounds for the winning side and Guatemalan point guard Lee Vasquez (173) accounted for 21 points, 7 assists and 6 steals. Metapan's coach felt very confident that he used 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. American guard Sheldon Stevens (190, college: ORU) came up with 18 points and point guard Kevin Pineda (189-1997) added 12 points and 8 rebounds respectively for Ahuachapan in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Metapan. They moved-up to second place. Ahuachapan lost their sixth game in a row. They still close the standings with six games lost. Metapan will meet Cojute (#5) in the next round. Ahuachapan will play against Santa Tecla (#8) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Ahuachapan: S.Stevens 18+3reb+1ast, P.Kevin 12+8reb, C.Paul 12+2reb, C.Josue 10+2reb+2ast, B.Kelly 7+5reb+5ast, A.Esteban 0+1ast
Metapan: Y.Cubillas 24+19reb+2ast, L.Vasquez 21+4reb+7ast, E.Cornejo 18+4reb+3ast, A.Tobar 13+2reb+3ast, J.Savoy 9+3reb+2ast, L.Hernandez 9+1reb+2ast

Salvadorenos - San Miguel 81-87:
Very expected game when 9th ranked Salvadorenos (2-4) lost to third ranked San Miguel (4-2) in San Salvador 81-87 on Thursday. American guard Daylon Potts (196, college: Simpson, CA) nailed a double-double by scoring 13 points, 20 rebounds and 8 assists for the winning side and his fellow American import Nick Moore (198-1991, college: Alliance) accounted for 18 points and 16 rebounds. Potts is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Forward William Merino (187-2000) came up with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 14 rebounds and Cuban forward Ibrahin Hechavarria (206-2000) added 16 points and 12 rebounds respectively for Salvadorenos in the defeat. Four San Miguel and five Salvadorenos players scored in double figures. Despite that victory San Miguel went down to fourth position due to points difference. Salvadorenos lost their fourth game in a row. They dropped to the seventh place with four games lost. They share the position with Santa Tecla and San Salvador. San Miguel will meet at home league's leader A.Lobos in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Salvadorenos will play against Brujos (#10) in Izalco and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Salvadorenos: M.William 17+14reb, H.Ibrahin 16+12reb+3ast, R.Erick 15+5reb+6ast, E.Luis 14+5reb+6ast, M.Diego 11+2reb, R.Marco 8+1reb+3ast
San Miguel: D.Darius 27+4reb+3ast, M.Nick 18+16reb+3ast, M.Guzman 17+2ast, D.Potts 13+20reb+8ast, D.Benavides 8, R.Henriquez 4+1reb+2ast