Liga MB Round 9 (Regular Season): Salvadorenos lose to Metapan in the game between Top 4 teams

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game between Top Four teams took place in San Salvador. 4th placed host Salvadorenos (5-3) lost to third ranked Metapan (6-1) 79-72. Metapan looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Metapan made 9 blocks. Cuban forward Yoel Cubillas (204-1994) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 26 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks for the winners and center Brayan Garcia (200-1998) chipped in 26 points and 14 rebounds. The best for the losing side was naturalized Mali power forward Ibrahima Traore (208-2005, college: Utah) with a double-double by scoring 14 points and 13 rebounds. Metapan moved-up to second place. Salvadorenos at the other side keep the fourth position with three games lost. They share it with Santa Tecla and Brujos. Metapan are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Santiagueno (#10) in Usultan in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Salvadorenos' supporters also look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in San Salvador to the arena San Salvador.
Santa Ana has finally registered their first victory this season after seven consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Santiagueno (1-7) 76-74. Americans were the main players on the court. Guard Daylon Potts (196, college: Simpson, CA) nailed a triple-double by scoring 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists for the winning side and Dhol Majak accounted for 14 points and 14 rebounds. Guard EJ Blackwell (193, college: Lourdes) came up with a double-double by scoring 19 points and 11 rebounds for Santiagueno in the defeat. Santa Ana left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with Ahuachapan and Santiagueno. It was Santiagueno's fifth loss in a row. Santa Ana will play against higher ranked Cojute (#7) in Cojutepeque in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Santiagueno will play on the road against the league's second-placed Metapan where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
Liga MB top team - San Salvador (7-1) had no problems winning another game on Sunday. This time they crushed eighth ranked Santiagueno (1-7) in Usultan 102-76. The best player for the winners was Michael Hinestroza who had a double-double by scoring 14 points and 18 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). San Salvador's coach Arturo Mata felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was Ever Lara who recorded 15 points and 8 rebounds. San Salvador have an impressive series of five victories in a row. They maintain first place with 7-1 record. Santiagueno lost fifth consecutive game. They dropped to the bottom position with seven games lost. They share it with Santa Ana and Ahuachapan. San Salvador's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from San Salvador Salvadorenos.

In the last game of round 9 Ahuachapan lost to Cojute on the opponent's court 78-86.



Santa Ana - Santiagueno 76-74

Santa Ana has finally registered their first victory this season after seven consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Santiagueno (1-7) 76-74. Americans were the main players on the court. Guard Daylon Potts (196, college: Simpson, CA) nailed a triple-double by scoring 13 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists for the winning side and power forward Dhol Majak (208-2000, college: Park-Gilbert, agency: Interperformances) accounted for 14 points and 14 rebounds. Potts is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Guard EJ Blackwell (193, college: Lourdes) came up with a double-double by scoring 19 points and 11 rebounds and point guard Darius Daniels (183-1997) added 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists respectively for Santiagueno in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Santa Ana left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with Ahuachapan and Santiagueno. It was Santiagueno's fifth loss in a row. Santa Ana will play against higher ranked Cojute (#7) in Cojutepeque in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Santiagueno will play on the road against the league's second-placed Metapan where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.
Top scorers:
Santiagueno: D.Daniels 20+5reb+6ast, B.EJ 19+11reb+3ast, L.Ever 13+2reb+1ast, C.Baltazar 10+3reb+6ast, E.Armando 5+1reb, E.Santiago 3+2reb+2ast
Santa Ana: L.Portal 16+1ast, M.Dhol 14+14reb, D.Potts 13+19reb+10ast, C.Arias 10+3reb+1ast, S.Gross 7+4reb+5ast, A.Regalado 7+1reb

Cojute - Ahuachapan 86-78

Rather expected game in Cojutepeque where 9th ranked Ahuachapan (1-7) was defeated by seventh ranked Cojute (2-5) 86-78 on Saturday. Cojute outrebounded Ahuachapan 38-25 including a 30-19 advantage in defensive rebounds. Cojute looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. The best player for the winners was Puerto Rican guard Hector Maldonado (185-1991) who scored 29 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. American center Troidell Carter (206-1991, college: Slippery Rock) chipped in a double-double by scoring 11 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was American forward Markos Samuels (196, college: Arkansas Bapt.) who recorded 26 points and 9 rebounds and American-Laos guard Kadeim Jones (191-1999, college: UWG) added 23 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals respectively. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Cojute maintains seventh place with 2-5 record. Ahuachapan lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the eighth position with seven games lost. They share it with Santa Ana and Santiagueno. Cojute will meet Santa Ana (#9) on the road in the next round. Ahuachapan will play against A.Lobos and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Ahuachapan: S.Markos 26+9reb+3ast, J.Kadeim 23+7reb+5ast, A.Francisco 14+3reb+1ast, P.Roberto 10+3reb, C.Guillermo 4+2reb+1ast, C.Paul 1+3ast
Cojute: H.Maldonado 29+8reb+5ast, A.Parker 20+2reb+2ast, R.Melendez 14+2reb+4ast, T.Carter 11+10reb+4ast, V.Argueta 9+7reb+2ast, K.Gutierrez 3+5reb+2ast

Salvadorenos - Metapan 72-79

The game between Top Four teams took place in San Salvador. 4th placed host Salvadorenos (5-3) lost to third ranked Metapan (6-1) 79-72. Metapan looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Metapan made 9 blocks. Cuban forward Yoel Cubillas (204-1994) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 26 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks for the winners and center Brayan Garcia (200-1998) chipped in 26 points and 14 rebounds. The best for the losing side was naturalized Mali power forward Ibrahima Traore (208-2005, college: Utah) with a double-double by scoring 14 points and 13 rebounds and point guard Erick Rodriguez (179-2006) scored 15 points. Metapan moved-up to second place. Salvadorenos at the other side keep the fourth position with three games lost. They share it with Santa Tecla and Brujos. Metapan are looking forward to face bottom-ranked Santiagueno (#10) in Usultan in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Salvadorenos' supporters also look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in San Salvador to the arena San Salvador.
Top scorers:
Salvadorenos: R.Erick 15+4reb+2ast, T.Ibrahima 14+13reb+1ast, R.Diego 9+3reb+5ast, M.Diego 8+2reb+1ast, R.Marco 7+2reb, G.Mauricio 7+2reb+2ast
Metapan: B.Garcia 26+14reb+2ast, Y.Cubillas 26+20reb+3ast, A.Barahona 9+2reb+1ast, L.Vasquez 9+8reb+8ast, L.Hernandez 3+2reb+2ast, A.Tobar 2+2reb+1ast

Santiagueno - San Salvador 76-102

Liga MB top team - San Salvador (7-1) had no problems winning another game on Sunday. This time they crushed eighth ranked Santiagueno (1-7) in Usultan 102-76. San Salvador outrebounded Santiagueno 53-37 including a 38-27 advantage in defensive rebounds. San Salvador looked well-organized offensively handing out 29 assists. The best player for the winners was Venezuelan-Colombian center Michael Hinestroza (210-1990, college: UALR) who had a double-double by scoring 14 points and 18 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). American forward Sean Scott (190-1997, college: Pfeiffer) chipped in 18 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Five San Salvador players scored in double figures. San Salvador's coach Arturo Mata felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was Ever Lara who recorded 15 points and 8 rebounds and American point guard Darius Daniels (183-1997) added 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists respectively. San Salvador have an impressive series of five victories in a row. They maintain first place with 7-1 record. Santiagueno lost fifth consecutive game. They dropped to the bottom position with seven games lost. They share it with Santa Ana and Ahuachapan. San Salvador's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from San Salvador Salvadorenos.
Top scorers:
Santiagueno: L.Ever 15+8reb+3ast, D.Daniels 14+7reb+5ast, B.EJ 14+2reb+1ast, E.Armando 10+2reb, C.Baltazar 9+5reb+3ast, L.Kevin 6+4reb+2ast
San Salvador: S.Scott 18+8reb+5ast, M.Marquise 16+3reb+4ast, M.Hinestroza 14+18reb+3ast, J.Gonzalez 13+3reb, G.Toledo-Rivera 12+3reb+1ast, L.Valle 6+3reb+5ast