Liga Metropolitana Round 7 (Regular Season): Solola defeat USAC

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of top-ranked USAC (5-2) on the court of third ranked Solola on Monday night. Visitors were rolled over by Solola 97-60. It may be a crucial game in the contest for the top position in the league. Solola dominated down low during the game scoring 68 of its points in the paint compared to USAC's 40. They outrebounded USAC 51-23 including a 18-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. Worth to mention a great performance of Canadian Marcus Faison (196-1994, college: Salem St.) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 26 points and 13 rebounds. American guard Bryant Randleman (193-2000, college: JMU, agency: Interperformances) contributed with 22 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. point guard Marcelo Arriola (168-1998) answered with 17 points and 6 rebounds for USAC. Solola have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to second place. USAC at the other side still keeps top position with two games lost. Solola are looking forward to face Forza (#5) in Guatemala in the next round. USAC's supporters also look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Guatemala PSN.
Another interesting game for Leones (4-3) which played in Guatemala against Forza (3-4). Third ranked Leones had an easy win 86-74. It was a great evening for naturalized American guard David Goddard (185-1989) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 30 points and 17 rebounds. Luke Garrison helped adding 9 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Leones' coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. At the losing side Sebastian Tabata responded with a double-double by scoring 19 points and 19 rebounds. Leones maintains third place with 4-3 record behind leader USAC, which they share with PSN. Forza at the other side dropped to the fifth position with four games lost. Leones' supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Guatemala Pat City.
Another exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Guatemala: PSN (#4) and Pat City (#7). Pat City was crushed at home by 23 points 81-104 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. It was an exceptional evening for Cesar Catalan who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 24 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. PSN's coach felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Myson Lowe came up with 42 points (!!!) for Pat City in the defeat. PSN (4-3) moved-up to third place, which they share with Leones. Loser Pat City still closes the standings with six games lost. PSN's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Guatemala to the arena USAC.




Forza - Leones 74-86

Another interesting game for Leones (4-3) which played in Guatemala against Forza (3-4). Third ranked Leones had an easy win 86-74. Leones outrebounded Forza 59-45 including a 32-15 advantage in offensive rebounds. It was a great evening for naturalized American guard David Goddard (185-1989) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 30 points and 17 rebounds. Center Luke Garrison (-1997) helped adding 9 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Leones' coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. At the losing side Sebastian Tabata responded with a double-double by scoring 19 points and 19 rebounds and center Mario Reyes (-2001) scored 32 points and 7 rebounds. Leones maintains third place with 4-3 record behind leader USAC, which they share with PSN. Forza at the other side dropped to the fifth position with four games lost. Leones' supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Guatemala Pat City.
Top scorers:
Forza: M.Reyes 32+7reb, S.Tabata 19+19reb+2ast, R.Oliva 11+6reb+3ast, S.Ambelis 4+3reb, J.Espinoza 4+2reb, M.Maldonado 2+1reb
Leones: D.Goddard 30+17reb+2ast, E.Garcia 12+4reb+1ast, M.Martinez 12+3reb+1ast, L.Garrison 9+8reb+4ast, D.Morgan 8+7reb+2ast, D.Rodrigez 6+3reb

Solola - USAC 97-60

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of top-ranked USAC (5-2) on the court of third ranked Solola on Monday night. Visitors were rolled over by Solola 97-60. It may be a crucial game in the contest for the top position in the league. Solola dominated down low during the game scoring 68 of its points in the paint compared to USAC's 40. They outrebounded USAC 51-23 including a 18-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. Worth to mention a great performance of Canadian Marcus Faison (196-1994, college: Salem St.) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 26 points and 13 rebounds. American guard Bryant Randleman (193-2000, college: JMU, agency: Interperformances) contributed with 22 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Point guard Marcelo Arriola (168-1998) answered with 17 points and 6 rebounds and Diego Villagran (-1993) added 17 points and 7 rebounds in the effort for USAC. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Solola have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to second place. USAC at the other side still keeps top position with two games lost. Solola are looking forward to face Forza (#5) in Guatemala in the next round. USAC's supporters also look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Guatemala PSN.
Top scorers:
USAC: D.Villagran 17+7reb, M.Arriola 17+6reb+1ast, R.Jerez 10+2reb+3ast, V.Sosa 10+1reb+2ast, V.Hernandez 6+5reb+1ast, A.Trujillo 0+1ast
Solola: M.Faison 26+13reb+2ast, B.Randleman 22+9reb+3ast, T.Ross 16+9reb+3ast, R.Juarez 12+11reb+7ast, J.Celada 9+2reb, C.Montufar 8+2reb+1ast

Pat City - PSN 81-104

Another exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Guatemala: PSN (#4) and Pat City (#7). Pat City was crushed at home by 23 points 81-104 and even the advantage of their own court did not help. PSN dominated down low during the game scoring 78 of its points in the paint compared to Pat City's 38. PSN looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists comparing to just 8 passes made by Pat City's players. It was an exceptional evening for Cesar Catalan (190-2007) who led the winners with a double-double by scoring 24 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. Daniel Gonzalez accounted for 15 points for the winning side. Four PSN players scored in double figures. PSN's coach felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American point guard Myson Lowe (178-2001, college: Converse) came up with 42 points (!!!) and the other American import guard Jaymeke Smith (187-1995, college: Johnson, FL) added 21 points respectively for Pat City in the defeat. PSN (4-3) moved-up to third place, which they share with Leones. Loser Pat City still closes the standings with six games lost. PSN's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Guatemala to the arena USAC.
Top scorers:
Pat City: M.Lowe 42+2reb+2ast, J.Smith 21+3reb, R.Campos 8+3reb+1ast, J.Torres 6+7reb+2ast, A.Sum 2+1reb+1ast, A.Santos 2
PSN: C.Catalan 24+12reb+8ast, D.Gonzalez 15+3reb, P.Armas 14+1reb+1ast, B.Rodriguez 12+1reb+1ast, D.Che 12+1ast, I.Fernandez 8+5reb+5ast