Liga MB Round 17 (Regular Season): Brujos defeat San Salvador

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most surprising game was a loss of top-ranked San Salvador (13-3) at the home court on Monday night. Hosts were edged by seventh ranked Brujos (6-10) 67-64. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of San Salvador. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Brujos made 10 blocks. Dominican Eusebio Suero orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 11 rebounds. Center Teodoro Romero (202-1985) contributed with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 5 blocks for the winners. Brujos' coach Anibal Mendez used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. American center Marc Montavious (206-1990, college: Georgetown, KY) answered with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 26 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) for San Salvador. Brujos have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain seventh place with 6-10 record. San Salvador at the other side still keeps top position with three games lost. They share it with Santa Ana. Brujos are looking forward to face higher ranked Cojute (#4) in Cojutepeque in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. San Salvador will play on the road against Metapan and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Metapan (12-4) against fourth ranked Cojute (10-6) on Sunday night. Visiting Metapan was defeated by Cojute in Cojutepeque 80-68. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Metapan. Dominican forward Frankyn Batista (198-1999, college: Pace) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 21 rebounds for the winners and Troidell Carter chipped in 10 points and 13 rebounds. Cuban forward Yoel Cubillas (204-1994) responded with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 17 rebounds. Cojute have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain fourth place with 10-6 record. Metapan at the other side keeps the third position with four games lost. Cojute will play against Brujos (#7) in Izalco in the next round. Metapan will play at home against the league's leader San Salvador (#1) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
The game in supposed to be also quite interesting. 6th ranked Santa Tecla (8-9) played at the court of eighth ranked A.Lobos (6-11). A.Lobos smashed Santa Tecla 92-60 on Monday. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Santa Tecla. Robert Story nailed 25 points, 5 assists and 4 steals for the winning side. Deikel Sanchez came up with 20 points and 7 rebounds for Santa Tecla in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. A.Lobos maintains eighth place with 6-11 record. Defending champion Santa Tecla keeps the sixth position with nine games lost. A.Lobos will meet at home higher ranked Metapan (#3) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Santa Tecla will play against the league's second-placed Santa Ana and will have a slim chance for a victory.

There were no big surprises in other games of round 17: bottom-ranked Santiagueno was smashed by Santa Ana on the road 111-64. Salvadorenos won against Fantasmas on its own court 90-76. Bottom-ranked Santiagueno was outscored by Cojute in Cojutepeque 103-74.



Cojute - Metapan 80-68

Very important is a road loss of third ranked Metapan (12-4) against fourth ranked Cojute (10-6) on Sunday night. Visiting Metapan was defeated by Cojute in Cojutepeque 80-68. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Metapan. Dominican forward Frankyn Batista (198-1999, college: Pace) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 21 rebounds for the winners and American center Troidell Carter (206-1991, college: Slippery Rock) chipped in 10 points and 13 rebounds. Batista is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Cuban forward Yoel Cubillas (204-1994) responded with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 17 rebounds and American JD Weatherspoon (198-1992, college: Toledo) produced a double-double by scoring 19 points and 13 rebounds. Five Cojute and four Metapan players scored in double figures. Cojute have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain fourth place with 10-6 record. Metapan at the other side keeps the third position with four games lost. Cojute will play against Brujos (#7) in Izalco in the next round. Metapan will play at home against the league's leader San Salvador (#1) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Cojute: F.Batista 18+21reb+3ast, P.Figueroa 18+2reb+3ast, M.William 15+3reb+3ast, S.Kevin 13+4reb+5ast, T.Carter 10+13reb+1ast, G.Jefferson 3+1reb+1ast
Metapan: J.Weatherspoon 19+13reb+3ast, Y.Cubillas 18+17reb, L.Hernandez 12+1reb+9ast, L.Saravia 12+1reb+4ast, R.Miranda 4+5reb+1ast, A.Joe 3+2reb+1ast

Santa Ana - Santiagueno 111-64

No shocking result in a game when second ranked Santa Ana (13-3) crushed at home bottom-ranked Santiagueno (2-15) 111-64 on Sunday. Santa Ana outrebounded Santiagueno 65-44 including a 48-35 advantage in defensive rebounds. Santa Ana looked well-organized offensively handing out 38 assists comparing to just 13 passes made by Santiagueno's players. Puerto Rican point guard Lee Vazquez (173-1991, college: Westfield St.) nailed 47 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 4 assists for the winning side and American Timothy Simmons (195-1992, college: DBU) accounted for 19 points, 20 rebounds and 20 assists. American-Colombian center Freddy Asprilla (206-1988, college: Canisius) came up with 9 points and 25 rebounds and Puerto Rican guard Angel Oquendo (183, college: NHTI) added 17 points and 5 assists respectively for Santiagueno in the defeat. Santa Ana used an opportunity after San Salvador lost their game and moved up joining them at the top position. Santiagueno lost third consecutive game. They stay at the bottom place with 15 games lost. Santa Ana will meet Fantasmas (#9) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Santiagueno will play against Salvadorenos and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Santa Ana: L.Vazquez 47+8reb+4ast, A.Abdulbasit 20+14reb+8ast, T.Simmons 19+20reb+20ast, G.Salvador 9+3reb+2ast, M.Melvin 7+3reb+2ast, J.Orellana 2+5reb+1ast
Santiagueno: A.Oquendo 17+4reb+5ast, S.Esperanza 14+1reb+1ast, A.Esperanza 10+4reb+1ast, F.Asprilla 9+25reb+3ast, X.Eaglin 8+7reb+2ast, G.Mauricio 6+2reb

A.Lobos - Santa Tecla 92-60

The game in supposed to be also quite interesting. 6th ranked Santa Tecla (8-9) played at the court of eighth ranked A.Lobos (6-11). A.Lobos smashed Santa Tecla 92-60 on Monday. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Santa Tecla. A.Lobos forced 21 Santa Tecla turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. American point guard Robert Story (183, college: WSSU) nailed 25 points, 5 assists and 4 steals for the winning side and Venezuelan-Colombian center Michael Hinestroza (210-1990, college: UALR) accounted for 12 points, 17 rebounds and 4 assists. Four A.Lobos players scored in double figures. Nicaraguan guard Deikel Sanchez (-1996) came up with 20 points and 7 rebounds and American swingman Andravious Smith (198-1995, college: Tougaloo) added 15 points and 9 rebounds respectively for Santa Tecla in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. A.Lobos maintains eighth place with 6-11 record. Defending champion Santa Tecla keeps the sixth position with nine games lost. A.Lobos will meet at home higher ranked Metapan (#3) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Santa Tecla will play against the league's second-placed Santa Ana and will have a slim chance for a victory.
Top scorers:
A.Lobos: R.Story 25+4reb+5ast, S.Scott 22+3reb+5ast, R.Erick 15+3reb, M.Hinestroza 12+17reb+4ast, J.Huezo 6+3reb+4ast, I.Sandoval 5+2reb+3ast
Santa Tecla: S.Deikel 20+7reb, A.Smith 15+9reb+2ast, L.Portal 7+5reb+2ast, H.Demian 6+1reb+1ast, E.Lahud 4+3reb+2ast, I.Ariel 4

San Salvador - Brujos 64-67

The most surprising game was a loss of top-ranked San Salvador (13-3) at the home court on Monday night. Hosts were edged by seventh ranked Brujos (6-10) 67-64. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of San Salvador. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Brujos made 10 blocks. Dominican Eusebio Suero orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 11 rebounds. Center Teodoro Romero (202-1985) contributed with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 5 blocks for the winners. Brujos' coach Anibal Mendez used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. American center Marc Montavious (206-1990, college: Georgetown, KY) answered with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 26 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) and point guard Martin Ramos (171-1992) added 21 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in the effort for San Salvador. Brujos have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain seventh place with 6-10 record. San Salvador at the other side still keeps top position with three games lost. They share it with Santa Ana. Brujos are looking forward to face higher ranked Cojute (#4) in Cojutepeque in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. San Salvador will play on the road against Metapan and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Brujos: S.Eusebio 23+11reb+2ast, O.Felipe 10+1reb+2ast, T.Alfonso 10+3reb, J.Crespin 8+1reb+3ast, T.Romero 8+6reb, U.Josue 4+4reb+2ast
San Salvador: M.Ramos 21+5reb+5ast, M.Montavious 20+26reb, L.Valle 9+2reb+2ast, B.Alejandro 9+5reb+6ast, S.Colmenero 3+2reb+4ast, J.Avila 2

Salvadorenos - Fantasmas 90-76

Very expected game when 9th ranked Fantasmas (3-14) lost to fifth ranked Salvadorenos (9-7) in San Salvador 76-90 on Tuesday. Salvadorenos dominated down low during the game scoring 56 of its points in the paint compared to Fantasmas' 30. American Derek Murphy (196-1997, college: Florida Tech) nailed a double-double by scoring 24 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists for the winning side and power forward Brayan Garcia (194-1998) accounted for 16 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Salvadorenos' coach Sergio Rouco allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. American swingman Anthony Gathings (196, college: LCU) came up with a double-double by scoring 25 points and 21 rebounds and the other American import point guard Darius Daniels (178-1997) added 24 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists respectively for Fantasmas in the defeat. Salvadorenos maintains fifth place with 9-7 record. Fantasmas lost fifth consecutive game. They keep the ninth position with 14 games lost. Salvadorenos will meet bottom-ranked Santiagueno (#10) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Fantasmas will play against the league's second-placed Santa Ana and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Salvadorenos: D.Murphy 24+12reb+4ast, R.Emanuel 18+7reb+5ast, B.Garcia 16+14reb+4ast, R.Anthony 9+2reb, S.Andres 8+7reb, T.Ibrahima 8+6reb+1ast
Fantasmas: A.Gathings 25+21reb+2ast, D.Darius 24+10reb+7ast, C.Sorto 21+8reb+1ast, A.Emilio 3+4reb, E.Abullarade 2+2reb, M.Walter 1+1reb

Cojute - Santiagueno 103-74

Very predictable result when fourth ranked Cojute (10-6) rolled over bottom-ranked Santiagueno (2-15) in Cojutepeque 103-74 on Tuesday. Cojute outrebounded Santiagueno 65-39 including a 42-24 advantage in defensive rebounds. Cojute looked well-organized offensively handing out 31 assists. American center Troidell Carter (206-1991, college: Slippery Rock) nailed a double-double by scoring 29 points and 19 rebounds for the winning side and Dominican forward Frankyn Batista (198-1999, college: Pace) accounted for 22 points, 15 rebounds and 4 assists. Batista is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Cojute's coach Jose Rivas felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American-Colombian center Freddy Asprilla (206-1988, college: Canisius) came up with a double-double by scoring 22 points and 22 rebounds and guard Diego Benavides (170-2005) added 22 points respectively for Santiagueno in the defeat. Cojute have a solid series of three victories in a row. They maintain fourth place with 10-6 record. Santiagueno lost third consecutive game. They stay at the bottom position with 15 games lost. Cojute will meet Brujos (#7) in the next round. Santiagueno will play against Salvadorenos and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Cojute: T.Carter 29+19reb+2ast, F.Batista 22+15reb+4ast, P.Figueroa 14+7reb+5ast, G.Jefferson 9+1reb, R.Melendez 9+3reb+3ast, S.Kevin 8+1reb+5ast
Santiagueno: F.Asprilla 22+22reb+3ast, B.Diego 22+2reb+1ast, X.Eaglin 14+5reb+3ast, A.Oquendo 9+1reb+4ast, B.Castellon 5+5reb+3ast, A.Melvin 2+4reb+5ast