Liga MB Round 8 of Regular Season

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Round 8 most important game was a victory of Salvadorenos over 8th ranked Santa Tecla 82-79 on Friday night. Point guard Erick Rodriguez (179-2006) orchestrated the victory by scoring 22 points and 7 assists. Cuban forward Ibrahin Hechavarria (206-2000) contributed with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. Eliezer Sanchez replied with a double-double by scoring 14 points and 16 rebounds for Santa Tecla. Salvadorenos maintains seventh position with 3-4 record. Santa Tecla at the other side keeps the eighth place with five games lost. They share the position with San Salvador. Salvadorenos are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Ahuachapan (#11) at home in the next round. Santa Tecla will have a break next round.
Bottom-ranked Ahuachapan is still unable to win any game. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their seventh consecutive match to fourth ranked Santa Ana (6-2) 88-82. American players dominated the game. Worth to mention a great performance of swingman Ajang Aguek (206-2000, college: Lander) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 26 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists and Darnell Johnson who added 27 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. point guard Conner Kelley (190-1997, college: NNMC) responded with 25 points and 8 rebounds. Santa Ana have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to third place. Ahuachapan at the other side still closes the standings with seven games lost. Santa Ana will play against Brujos (#10) in Izalco in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Ahuachapan will play on the road against Salvadorenos in San Salvador and hopes to get finally their first victory.
The game between second ranked Metapan (6-1) and 10th ranked Brujos (1-6) in Metapan on Thursday ended with biggest points difference. Metapan outscored guests from Izalco 120-90. The winners were led by Yoel Cubillas who had that evening a double-double by scoring 33 points (!!!) and 12 rebounds (on 12-of-15 shooting from the field). Even 21 points and 9 rebounds by Devyn Franklin did not help to save the game for Brujos. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Metapan have an impressive five-game winning streak. They maintain second position with 6-1 record behind leader A.Lobos. Loser Brujos keep the tenth place with six games lost. Metapan will meet Santiagueno (#6) in the next round. Brujos will play against Santa Ana (#3) and hope to win that game.

In the last game of round 8 San Miguel beat San Salvador on the road 79-69.
The most impressive performance of 8th round was 16 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals by Gerardo Rivas of Santa Tecla.



Metapan - Brujos 120-90:
The game between second ranked Metapan (6-1) and 10th ranked Brujos (1-6) in Metapan on Thursday ended with biggest points difference. Metapan outscored guests from Izalco 120-90. Metapan dominated down low during the game scoring 74 of its points in the paint compared to Brujos' 52 and made 19-of-22 free shots (86.4 percent) during the game. Metapan forced 22 Brujos turnovers and outrebounded them 45-31 including a 37-19 advantage in defensive rebounds. Metapan looked well-organized offensively handing out 29 assists comparing to just 7 passes made by Brujos' players. The winners were led by Cuban forward Yoel Cubillas (204-1994) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 33 points (!!!) and 12 rebounds (on 12-of-15 shooting from the field) and Guatemalan point guard Lee Vasquez (173) supported him with 24 points, 14 assists and 4 steals. Even 21 points and 9 rebounds by American swingman Devyn Franklin (203, college: GSU) did not help to save the game for Brujos. Alejandro de Los Santos added 17 points and 6 rebounds for the guests. Five Metapan and four Brujos players scored in double figures. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Metapan have an impressive five-game winning streak. They maintain second position with 6-1 record behind leader A.Lobos. Loser Brujos keep the tenth place with six games lost. Metapan will meet Santiagueno (#6) in the next round. Brujos will play against Santa Ana (#3) and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Brujos: D.Franklin 21+9reb, d.Los Santos Alejandro 17+6reb+2ast, G.Gustavo 15+4reb, O.Angelo 14+1reb+1ast, A.Francisco 6+2reb+1ast, C.Eduardo 6+2reb
Metapan: Y.Cubillas 33+12reb+1ast, L.Vasquez 24+3reb+14ast, J.Savoy 16+3reb+1ast, E.Cornejo 13+6reb+1ast, B.Garcia 13+12reb+5ast, A.Barahona 6+4reb+1ast

San Salvador - San Miguel 69-79:
No shocking result in a game when fourth ranked San Miguel (5-2) beat on the road 9th ranked San Salvador (2-5) 79-69 on Thursday. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when San Miguel made 7 blocks. The winners were led by American Nick Moore (198-1991, college: Alliance) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 19 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocks and the other American import point guard Darius Daniels (183-1997) supported him with 21 points and 5 rebounds. Four San Miguel players scored in double figures. Even 9 points and 23 rebounds by Colombian guard Yovany Del Rosario (185-2002) did not help to save the game for San Salvador. Dominican Bernardo Polanco (189-1994) added 23 points and 5 rebounds for the hosts. San Miguel maintains fourth position with 5-2 record. San Salvador lost fourth consecutive game. They dropped to the eighth place with five games lost. They share the position with Santa Tecla. San Miguel will meet Cojute (#5) in the next round. San Salvador will play against the league's leader A.Lobos and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
San Salvador: B.Polanco 23+5reb+1ast, S.Kevin 15+2reb+5ast, G.Jaime 10+2reb+1ast, Y.Del Rosario 9+23reb+2ast, M.Marcos 8+5reb+4ast, A.Aldahir 4+2reb+2ast
San Miguel: D.Darius 21+5reb+2ast, M.Nick 19+12reb+4ast, R.Henriquez 14+5reb+3ast, D.Benavides 14+2reb+2ast, D.Potts 6+16reb+6ast, M.Guzman 3+2ast

Ahuachapan - Santa Ana 82-88:
Bottom-ranked Ahuachapan is still unable to win any game. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their seventh consecutive match to fourth ranked Santa Ana (6-2) 88-82. Santa Ana dominated down low during the game scoring 68 of its points in the paint compared to Ahuachapan's 40. They outrebounded Ahuachapan 47-32 including a 37-26 advantage in defensive rebounds. American players dominated the game. Worth to mention a great performance of swingman Ajang Aguek (206-2000, college: Lander) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 26 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists and guard Darnell Johnson (201, college: CSUSB) who added 27 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. point guard Conner Kelley (190-1997, college: NNMC) responded with 25 points and 8 rebounds and center William Benjamin (207-1993, college: Peru St.) scored 23 points and 8 rebounds. Four Ahuachapan players scored in double figures. Santa Ana have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to third place. Ahuachapan at the other side still closes the standings with seven games lost. Santa Ana will play against Brujos (#10) in Izalco in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Ahuachapan will play on the road against Salvadorenos in San Salvador and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Ahuachapan: C.Kelley 25+8reb+2ast, B.William 23+8reb, B.Kelly 15+5reb+4ast, C.Josue 11+1reb+3ast, P.Kevin 8+9reb, P.Diego 0
Santa Ana: J.Darnell 27+13reb+4ast, A.Aguek 26+14reb+4ast, K.LeAndrew 19+7reb+7ast, N.Gomez 6+5reb+1ast, S.Gross 4+1reb, E.Herrera 2+4reb

Santa Tecla - Salvadorenos 79-82:
Round 8 most important game was a victory of Salvadorenos over 8th ranked Santa Tecla 82-79 on Friday night. Point guard Erick Rodriguez (179-2006) orchestrated the victory by scoring 22 points and 7 assists. Cuban forward Ibrahin Hechavarria (206-2000) contributed with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. Eliezer Sanchez replied with a double-double by scoring 14 points and 16 rebounds and guard Gerardo Rivas (182-2001) added 16 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals in the effort for Santa Tecla. Four Salvadorenos and five Santa Tecla players scored in double figures. Salvadorenos maintains seventh position with 3-4 record. Santa Tecla at the other side keeps the eighth place with five games lost. They share the position with San Salvador. Salvadorenos are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Ahuachapan (#11) at home in the next round. Santa Tecla will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Santa Tecla: I.Eddie 19+8reb+2ast, A.Josue 18+2reb+1ast, R.Gerardo 16+6reb+7ast, S.Eliezer 14+16reb+2ast, A.Daniel 10+2reb+5ast, C.Edgar 2
Salvadorenos: E.Rodriguez 22+3reb+7ast, I.Hechavarria 18+10reb+1ast, L.Escoto 15+4reb+3ast, W.Merino 13+7reb+3ast, D.Minero 7+4reb+1ast, M.Rodriguez 7+2reb+2ast