LNBP Round 9 (Regular Season): Leader Fuerza Regia gets another victory

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Leader Fuerza Regia delivered the fifth win on Saturday night. This time they crushed 5th ranked Dorados (3-3) 88-67 in Monterrey. Fuerza Regia looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. The best player for the winners was American point guard Micah Speight (178-1998, college: S.Nazarene) who scored 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field). International forward Jonatan Machado (200-1993) chipped in 12 points and 5 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was Swedish guard Elijah Clarance (194-1998, college: Illinois St.) who recorded 18 points and 5 assists. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Fuerza Regia have a solid series of three victories in a row. Defending champion maintains first place with 5-1 record. Dorados lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the seventh position with three games lost. They share it with 3 other teams. Fuerza Regia are looking forward to face Correcaminos (#14) in Ciudad Victoria in the next round which should be another easy win for them. Dorados will play at home against Halc.Rojos (#13) and are hoping to prove to their supporters that they can break losing series.
Bottom-ranked Abejas (0-4) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 95-84 loss to fifth ranked Diablos (4-2) in Guanajuato. It was a good game for the former international center Joshua Ibarra (211-1995, college: HCU) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 17 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. Luciano Gonzalez contributed with 18 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Diablos' coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. American guard Mustapha Heron (196-1997, college: St.John's) answered with 29 points (went 7 for 7 at the free throw line) for Abejas. Diablos have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to third place, which they share with 3 other teams. Abejas at the other side still closes the standings with four games lost. Diablos will play against Freseras (#12) in Irapuato in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Abejas will play on the road against Halc.Xalapa (#11) in Xalapa and hope to get finally their first victory.
A very close game took place in Guadalajara between Astros and Soles. Fourth ranked Astros (4-1) got a very close home victory over 15th ranked Soles (1-5). Astros managed to escape with a 3-point win 76-73 on Saturday evening. Host team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. Corey Sanders stepped up and scored 13 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists for the winners. The best for the losing side was Jordan Swing with a double-double by scoring 19 points and 11 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Astros have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to second place. Soles lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the fourteenth position with five games lost. They share it with Correcaminos. Astros will meet El Calor (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Soles will play against Santos (#9) and hope to win that game.

In the last game of round 9 Correcaminos were defeated by Mineros in Zacatecas 89-81.
The best stats of 9th round was 17 points and 9 rebounds by Reggie Lynch of Soles.



Fuerza Regia - Dorados 88-67

Leader Fuerza Regia delivered the fifth win on Saturday night. This time they crushed 5th ranked Dorados (3-3) 88-67 in Monterrey. Fuerza Regia looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. The best player for the winners was American point guard Micah Speight (178-1998, college: S.Nazarene) who scored 20 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field). International forward Jonatan Machado (200-1993) chipped in 12 points and 5 rebounds. Four Fuerza Regia players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was Swedish guard Elijah Clarance (194-1998, college: Illinois St.) who recorded 18 points and 5 assists and American power forward Charles Mitchell (203-1993, college: Georgia Tech) added 4 points and 8 rebounds respectively. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Fuerza Regia have a solid series of three victories in a row. Defending champion maintains first place with 5-1 record. Dorados lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the seventh position with three games lost. They share it with 3 other teams. Fuerza Regia are looking forward to face Correcaminos (#14) in Ciudad Victoria in the next round which should be another easy win for them. Dorados will play at home against Halc.Rojos (#13) and are hoping to prove to their supporters that they can break losing series.
Top scorers:
Fuerza Regia: M.Speight 20+6reb+6ast, J.Machado 12+5reb+2ast, W.Langston 12+4reb, J.Grant 11+7reb, L.Faggiano 8+1reb+4ast, K.Ray 6+3reb+3ast
Dorados: E.Clarance 18+4reb+5ast, J.Quintana 9+1reb, N.Opoku 8+3reb, D.Conger 7+2reb, J.Estrada 6+2reb+4ast, D.Soto 5+1reb

Abejas - Diablos 84-95

Bottom-ranked Abejas (0-4) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 95-84 loss to fifth ranked Diablos (4-2) in Guanajuato. They made 22-of-28 charity shots (78.6 percent) during the game. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 27 assists. Diablos brought some defensive toughness making 7 blocks. It was a good game for the former international center Joshua Ibarra (211-1995, college: HCU) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 17 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks. Argentinian guard Luciano Gonzalez (194-1990) contributed with 18 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Diablos' coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. American guard Mustapha Heron (196-1997, college: St.John's) answered with 29 points (went 7 for 7 at the free throw line) and the other American import guard Tomas Nuno (196, college: CMU, agency: Pro Sports) added 15 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in the effort for Abejas. Four Abejas players scored in double figures. Diablos have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to third place, which they share with 3 other teams. Abejas at the other side still closes the standings with four games lost. Diablos will play against Freseras (#12) in Irapuato in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Abejas will play on the road against Halc.Xalapa (#11) in Xalapa and hope to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Diablos: M.Smith 19+3reb+2ast, L.Gonzalez 18+5reb+3ast, J.Ibarra 17+15reb+3ast, M.Tavares 9+2reb+1ast, D.Giron 8, J.Avila 8+4reb+3ast
Abejas: M.Heron 29+4reb+2ast, T.Nuno 15+9reb+5ast, T.Jones 12+6reb, J.Contreras 12+5reb+1ast, A.Banks 7+4reb+3ast, W.Yoakum 5+5reb+1ast

Mineros - Correcaminos 89-81

There was no surprise in Zacatecas where 14th ranked Correcaminos (1-5) were defeated by sixth ranked Mineros (4-2) 89-81 on Saturday. South Sudanese-Lebanese center Ater Majok (210-1987, college: UConn) stepped up and scored 9 points and 13 rebounds for the winners and American-DR Congolese center Emmanuel Wembi (205-1997, college: Lenoir-Rhyne) chipped in 11 points and 9 rebounds. The best for the losing side was American forward Shavlik Randolph (208-1983, college: Duke) with 17 points and 9 rebounds and the other American import forward Lydell Elmore (206-1998, college: Camp-Harrodsburg) scored 11 points and 8 rebounds. Four Mineros and five Correcaminos players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Mineros have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to third place, which they share with 3 other teams. Correcaminos lost third consecutive game. They keep the fourteenth position with five games lost. They share it with Soles. Mineros will meet Plateros (#5) in the next round. Correcaminos will play against the league's leader Fuerza Regia (#1) and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Mineros: B.Nazione 14+1reb+3ast, D.Bracey 13+1reb+1ast, L.Thomas 11+1ast, E.Wembi 11+9reb+1ast, A.Thomas 10+4reb+2ast, B.Rivera 9+1reb
Correcaminos: S.Randolph 17+9reb, M.Hernandez 17+1reb+2ast, K.Hankerson 14+2reb+4ast, T.Hankerson 12+4reb+4ast, L.Elmore 11+8reb+2ast, T.Bellinger 4+2reb

Astros - Soles 76-73

A very close game took place in Guadalajara between Astros and Soles. Fourth ranked Astros (4-1) got a very close home victory over 15th ranked Soles (1-5). Astros managed to escape with a 3-point win 76-73 on Saturday evening. Host team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. American forward Corey Sanders (188-1997, college: Rutgers) stepped up and scored 13 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists for the winners and Ruan Masques chipped in 12 points and 8 rebounds. The best for the losing side was American guard Jordan Swing (198-1990, college: UAB) with a double-double by scoring 19 points and 11 rebounds and the other American import center Reggie Lynch (207-1994, college: Minnesota) scored 17 points and 9 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Astros have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to second place. Soles lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the fourteenth position with five games lost. They share it with Correcaminos. Astros will meet El Calor (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Soles will play against Santos (#9) and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Astros: J.Rodriguez 16+1reb, C.Sanders 13+7reb+9ast, R.Masques 12+8reb, R.Mendoza 9+4reb+1ast, T.McCallum 8+2reb+1ast, L.N'Guessan 5+8reb+1ast
Soles: J.Swing 19+11reb+2ast, R.Lynch 17+9reb, G.Williams 11+3reb+2ast, J.Weatherspoon 9+10reb+1ast, D.Jackson 8+1ast, W.Austin 6+2reb