Liga MB Round 5 of Regular Season

After 5 rounds played we can already see who rules in the Liga MB and who belongs to weaker ones. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most shocking disappointment of round 5 was a home defeat of 4th placed Fantasmas (2-2) by fifth ranked San Salvador (3-1) who outscored them by 18 points 85-67. It was a key game for the second position in the league. San Salvador outrebounded Fantasmas 49-31 including a 36-21 advantage in defensive rebounds. Dominican forward Cristian Joan Duran (201-1996, college: Tenn Tech) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 28 points and 19 rebounds for the winners and American center Marc Montavious (206-1990, college: Georgetown, KY) chipped in 20 points and 13 rebounds. American JaCarre Crockett (192-1996, college: Philander Smith) responded with 33 points (!!!). Fantasmas' coach rotated thirteen players seeing no chance for a win. San Salvador moved-up to second place, which they share with Santa Tecla. Fantasmas at the other side dropped to the fifth position with two games lost. They share it with Santiagueno. San Salvador is looking forward to face bottom-ranked Santa Ana (#11) at home in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Fantasmas will play against Aguila (#8) in San Miguel and are hoping to win this game.
The game between Top Four teams took place in Metapan. Leader host Metapan (4-0) defeated 4th placed Brujos (3-2) 85-81. Point guard Martin Ramos (171-1992) nailed a double-double by scoring 15 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals for the winning side and Yoel Cubillas accounted for 16 points and 11 rebounds. Dominican forward Xavier de la Rosa (196-1991) came up with a double-double by scoring 28 points and 12 rebounds for Brujos in the defeat. Brujos' coach tried various players' combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Metapan have a solid series of four victories in a row. They maintain first place with 4-0 record. Brujos at the other side keep the fourth position with two games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Nejapa has registered their first victory this season after three consecutive losses. The win is especially important as it came on the road game in San Miguel, where they edged Aguila (1-3) 84-83 on Tuesday. The best player for the winners was Marcus Faison who had a double-double by scoring 17 points and 22 rebounds. Lisvan Valdez produced 28 points and 4 assists for the hosts. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Nejapa left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated Aguila. Nejapa will meet at home higher ranked Cojute (#7) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Aguila will play against Fantasmas and hope to win that game.

Fantasmas - San Salvador 67-85

The most shocking disappointment of round 5 was a home defeat of 4th placed Fantasmas (2-2) by fifth ranked San Salvador (3-1) who outscored them by 18 points 85-67. It was a key game for the second position in the league. San Salvador outrebounded Fantasmas 49-31 including a 36-21 advantage in defensive rebounds. Dominican forward Cristian Joan Duran (201-1996, college: Tenn Tech) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 28 points and 19 rebounds for the winners and American center Marc Montavious (206-1990, college: Georgetown, KY) chipped in 20 points and 13 rebounds. Four San Salvador players scored in double figures. American JaCarre Crockett (192-1996, college: Philander Smith) responded with 33 points (!!!) and Cuban point guard Osmel Oliva (180-1987) scored 8 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Fantasmas' coach rotated thirteen players seeing no chance for a win. San Salvador moved-up to second place, which they share with Santa Tecla. Fantasmas at the other side dropped to the fifth position with two games lost. They share it with Santiagueno. San Salvador is looking forward to face bottom-ranked Santa Ana (#11) at home in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Fantasmas will play against Aguila (#8) in San Miguel and are hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Fantasmas: J.Crockett 33+3reb+3ast, S.Machado 10+10reb, C.Sorto 9+4reb+1ast, O.Oliva 8+6reb+6ast, C.Alas 3+2reb, H.Barahona 2
San Salvador: C.Joan Duran 28+19reb+3ast, M.Montavious 20+13reb+2ast, E.Escalante 15+2reb+5ast, M.Roberto 14+3reb+6ast, A.Scantelbury 5+9reb+3ast, S.Bandek 3+3reb

Metapan - Brujos 85-81

The game between Top Four teams took place in Metapan. Leader host Metapan (4-0) defeated 4th placed Brujos (3-2) 85-81. Point guard Martin Ramos (171-1992) nailed a double-double by scoring 15 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists and 4 steals for the winning side and Cuban forward Yoel Cubillas (204-1994) accounted for 16 points and 11 rebounds. Dominican forward Xavier de la Rosa (196-1991) came up with a double-double by scoring 28 points and 12 rebounds and center Teodoro Romero (202-1985) added 14 points and 12 rebounds respectively for Brujos in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Brujos' coach tried various players' combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Metapan have a solid series of four victories in a row. They maintain first place with 4-0 record. Brujos at the other side keep the fourth position with two games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Brujos: X.de la Rosa 28+12reb, J.Angulo 17+2reb+2ast, T.Romero 14+12reb, S.Roberto 13+1reb, S.Leon 4+2reb+1ast, G.Galdamez 3+1reb
Metapan: E.Ishman 18+5reb+2ast, Y.Cubillas 16+11reb+1ast, M.Ramos 15+7reb+11ast, E.Mijares 11+3reb+3ast, C.Benjamin 8+4reb+2ast, A.Regalado 7+1reb

Aguila - Nejapa 83-84

Nejapa has registered their first victory this season after three consecutive losses. The win is especially important as it came on the road game in San Miguel, where they edged Aguila (1-3) 84-83 on Tuesday. They outrebounded Aguila 44-33 including 29 on the defensive glass. The best player for the winners was American Marcus Faison (196-1994, college: Salem St.) who had a double-double by scoring 17 points and 22 rebounds. His fellow American import forward Telvin Gabriel (198-1994, college: Lander) chipped in 23 points and 5 rebounds. Gabriel is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Cuban Lisvan Valdez (196-1988) produced 28 points and 4 assists and guard Bryan Garcia (168-1997) added 13 points and 12 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Nejapa left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated Aguila. Nejapa will meet at home higher ranked Cojute (#7) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Aguila will play against Fantasmas and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Aguila: L.Valdez 28+4reb+4ast, O.Torres 16+3reb+2ast, G.Bryan 13+12reb+2ast, J.Barahona 10+2reb+3ast, J.Araujo 8+6reb+1ast, D.Johns 6+4reb+1ast
Nejapa: T.Gabriel 23+5reb+2ast, M.Faison 17+22reb+3ast, M.Justin 15+3reb+1ast, J.Castillo 13+4reb+2ast, E.Sample 6+5reb+3ast, A.Lisandro 4+2reb



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