Liga MB Round 8: Santa Tecla is defeated by Santa Ana

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most important game in the last round took place in Santa Tecla between third ranked Santa Tecla (5-2) and fourth ranked Santa Ana (5-2) on Tuesday night. Santa Tecla was defeated by Santa Ana in a tough game at home 58-66. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Santa Ana made 8 blocks. Worth to mention a great performance of American center Marc Montavious (206-90, college: Georgetown, KY) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 22 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 blocks and the other American import forward Maurice Taylor (198-94, college: Niagara) who added 8 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. Center Carlos Arias (200-89) responded with 7 points and 16 rebounds. Santa Tecla's coach rotated thirteen players in this game, but that didn't help. Santa Ana have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to third place, which they share with defeated Santa Tecla. Santa Ana will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Santa Tecla will play at home against Brujos and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
El Rapido has finally registered their first victory this season after five consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Santiagueno (1-5) 90-85. The winners were led by power forward Giovanny Martinez who had that evening a double-double by scoring 27 points and 18 rebounds and Reggie Baker supported him with 25 points. El Rapido's coach allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. Even 31 points by American guard EJ Blackwell (193, college: Lourdes) did not help to save the game for Santiagueno. El Rapido left bottom position moving up to seventh place, which they share with defeated Santiagueno. It was Santiagueno's fourth loss in a row. El Rapido will play against Cojute (#9) in Cojutepeque in the next round. Santiagueno will play at home against the league's second-placed San Salvador and will have a slim chance for a victory.
Liga MB top team - Aguila (7-0) had no problems winning another game on Tuesday. This time they crushed sixth ranked Fantasmas (4-3) in San Vicente 79-58. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Fantasmas. The best player for the winners was Brayan Garcia who had a double-double by scoring 17 points and 15 rebounds. Randy Bell produced a double-double by scoring 22 points and 12 rebounds for the hosts. Undefeated Aguila have an impressive seven-game winning streak. They maintain first position with 7-0 record. Fantasmas at the other side keep the sixth place with three games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.

In the last game of round 8 winless Cojute was destroyed by San Salvador on the opponent's court 102-70.

Santa Tecla - Santa Ana 58-66

The most important game in the last round took place in Santa Tecla between third ranked Santa Tecla (5-2) and fourth ranked Santa Ana (5-2) on Tuesday night. Santa Tecla was defeated by Santa Ana in a tough game at home 58-66. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Santa Ana made 8 blocks. Worth to mention a great performance of American center Marc Montavious (206-90, college: Georgetown, KY) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 22 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists and 7 blocks and the other American import forward Maurice Taylor (198-94, college: Niagara) who added 8 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. Taylor is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Center Carlos Arias (200-89) responded with 7 points and 16 rebounds and point guard Mauricio Lahud (175-84) scored 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Santa Tecla's coach rotated thirteen players in this game, but that didn't help. Santa Ana have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to third place, which they share with defeated Santa Tecla. Santa Ana will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Santa Tecla will play at home against Brujos and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Santa Ana: M.Montavious 22+18reb+5ast, S.Brackett 20+2reb+3ast, R.Benjamin 10+1reb+1ast, M.Taylor 8+16reb+4ast, C.Benjamin 4+5reb+1ast, I.Sandoval 2+1reb+1ast
Santa Tecla: L.Escoto 10, M.Lahud 9+7reb+4ast, A.Arias 8+1reb+4ast, C.Arias 7+16reb+1ast, A.Arrington 6+8reb, L.Portal 4+2reb

Fantasmas - Aguila 58-79

Liga MB top team - Aguila (7-0) had no problems winning another game on Tuesday. This time they crushed sixth ranked Fantasmas (4-3) in San Vicente 79-58. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Fantasmas. They outrebounded Fantasmas 47-34 including a 40-23 advantage in defensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was power forward Brayan Garcia (194-98) who had a double-double by scoring 17 points and 15 rebounds. Argentinian Ramiro Trebucq (204-95) chipped in a double-double by scoring 10 points and 17 rebounds. Four Aguila players scored in double figures. American guard Randy Bell (193-98, college: Dalton St.) produced a double-double by scoring 22 points and 12 rebounds and his fellow American import guard Sameen Swint (193, college: GBC) added 27 points and 5 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Aguila have an impressive seven-game winning streak. They maintain first position with 7-0 record. Fantasmas at the other side keep the sixth place with three games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Aguila: C.Delgado 23+4reb, M.Ramos 17+1reb+6ast, B.Garcia 17+15reb+1ast, R.Trebucq 10+17reb+2ast, J.Barahona 7+4reb+2ast, V.Lee 5+3reb+4ast
Fantasmas: S.Swint 27+5reb, R.Bell 22+12reb+1ast, M.Josue 5+4reb, C.Sorto 2+6reb+1ast, J.Nelson 2+2reb+3ast, H.Carlos 0+4reb

San Salvador - Cojute 102-70

Very expected game when bottom-ranked Cojute (0-6) was crushed on the road by second ranked San Salvador (6-1) 102-70 on Tuesday. San Salvador forced 22 Cojute turnovers and outrebounded them 46-33 including 36 on the defensive glass. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. The best player for the winners was Dominican guard Bernardo Polanco (189-94) who had a double-double by scoring 52 points (!!!), 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals. American swingman Eddie Ishman (197-86, college: Miles) chipped in a double-double by scoring 12 points and 15 rebounds. Four San Salvador players scored in double figures. American swingman Zekiah Owens (197-98, college: AIC) produced a double-double by scoring 24 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals and American guard Chris Moten (190-89, college: LA Pierce JC) added 23 points respectively for the guests. San Salvador maintains second position with 6-1 record behind leader Aguila. Loser Cojute still closes the standings with six games lost. San Salvador will meet Santiagueno (#8) in the next round where they are favorite. Cojute will play against El Rapido and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
San Salvador: B.Polanco 52+11reb+7ast, E.Escalante 18+2reb+6ast, E.Ishman 12+15reb+3ast, S.Bandek 10+7reb+5ast, J.Flores 5+2reb+1ast, R.Palma 4+6reb+2ast
Cojute: Z.Owens 24+10reb+5ast, C.Moten 23+3reb+1ast, N.Avalos 8+5reb+1ast, D.Downey 7+8reb, R.Jose 6+1reb+2ast, B.Reyes 2+1reb+2ast

El Rapido - Santiagueno 90-85

El Rapido has finally registered their first victory this season after five consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Santiagueno (1-5) 90-85. They outrebounded Santiagueno 41-23 including a 17-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. The winners were led by power forward Giovanny Martinez who had that evening a double-double by scoring 27 points and 18 rebounds and American Reggie Baker (193-93, college: BCU) supported him with 25 points. Four El Rapido players scored in double figures. El Rapido's coach allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. Even 31 points by American guard EJ Blackwell (193, college: Lourdes) did not help to save the game for Santiagueno. His fellow American import Xavier Eaglin (201-97, college: PVAMU) added 22 points and 7 rebounds for the guests. El Rapido left bottom position moving up to seventh place, which they share with defeated Santiagueno. It was Santiagueno's fourth loss in a row. El Rapido will play against Cojute (#9) in Cojutepeque in the next round. Santiagueno will play at home against the league's second-placed San Salvador and will have a slim chance for a victory.
Top scorers:
El Rapido: M.Giovanny 27+18reb+2ast, R.Baker 25+3reb+2ast, D.Jaramillo 15+9reb+5ast, E.Contreras 12+2reb, J.Price 7+4reb+4ast, C.Marquina 4+3reb+2ast
Santiagueno: E.Blackwell 31+2reb+3ast, X.Eaglin 22+7reb, S.Esperanza 19+5reb, B.Castellon 5+5reb+6ast, G.Andres 4+1ast, A.Alex 2+2reb



Tags : MARC MONTAVIOUS, MC EL BRASIL SANTA ANA, SALVADOREAN BASKETBALL