LNBP Round 23 (Regular Season): Soles lose to Fuerza Regia

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Round 23 in LNBP means a new league leader. The biggest surprise took place in Monterrey where host Fuerza Regia (15-7) crushed league's leader Soles (19-3) 102-81 on Tuesday evening. It ended at the same time the eight-game winning streak of Soles. They outrebounded Soles 37-18 including 24 on the defensive glass. Fuerza Regia shot the lights out from three sinking 12 long-distance shots on high 54.5 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. The best player for the winners was the former international center Joshua Ibarra (211-1995, college: HCU) who had a double-double by scoring 16 points and 10 rebounds. American forward Lewis Sullivan (201-1995, college: UAB, agency: BIG) chipped in 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. American power forward Justin Moss (203-1993, college: Buffalo) produced 15 points for the guests. 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 moved-up to fourth place. Soles at the other side dropped to the second position with three games lost. They were replaced at the leadership position by Astros. Soles will play next round against strong Mineros trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Fuerza Regia will try to continue on its current victory against first ranked Astros in Guadalajara.
Fourth-ranked Diablos (14-8) made lots of trouble for second ranked Astros (20-2). The visitors from Guadalajara managed to secure only two-point victory 81-79. However their fans expected easier game. The game was dominated by American players. Swingman Chavaughn Lewis (195-1993, college: Marist) orchestrated the victory by scoring 21 points and 9 rebounds. Devin Davis contributed with 14 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. point guard Dontrell Brite (175-1994, college: Mount Olive) answered with 17 points for Diablos. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Astros have an impressive series of ten victories in a row. They keep a position of league leader. Diablos lost fourth consecutive game. They dropped to the fifth place with eight games lost. Astros will play against Fuerza Regia (#4) in Monterrey in the next round. Diablos will play on the road against Panteras in Aguascalientes and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Bottom-ranked Santos managed to get a third victory, breaking the series of seven consecutive losses on Tuesday night. This time they edged ninth-ranked Correcaminos in San Luis Potosi 86-83. It was a great evening for Jaire Grayer who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Taylor Johnson responded with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Correcaminos' coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Santos maintains fourteenth place with 3-19 record. Loser Correcaminos dropped to the tenth position with 13 games lost. Santos will meet higher ranked El Calor (#9) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Correcaminos will play against Gambusinos and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

Other games of round 23 were very predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Panteras defeated Gambusinos in Aguascalientes 87-80. Freseros beat Halc.Xalapa at home 94-84. Abejas lost to Mineros on the opponent's court 64-69.



Gambusinos - Panteras 80-87

There was no surprise when 11th ranked Gambusinos (7-15) were defeated at home by seventh ranked Panteras (11-11) 87-80 on Tuesday. It was a great evening for American point guard Vinnie Shahid (180-1998, college: NDSU) who led his team to a victory scoring 15 points and 8 rebounds. Argentinian-American Erik Thomas (195-1995, college: New Orleans) helped adding 15 points and 6 rebounds. Brazilian center Lucas Doria (203-1997, college: St.Edward's) responded with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists and American guard Michael Bryson (193-1994, college: UCSB) scored 21 points. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Panteras. They maintain seventh place with 11-11 record. Gambusinos lost their sixth game in a row. They keep the eleventh position with 15 games lost. Panteras will meet at home higher ranked Diablos (#5) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Gambusinos will play against Correcaminos (#10) in Ciudad Victoria and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Panteras: T.Brown 21, E.Thomas 15+6reb+3ast, V.Shahid 15+8reb+3ast, S.Barro 11+7reb, T.White 8+3reb+1ast, S.Lemon 7+1reb+2ast
Gambusinos: M.Bryson 21+4reb+2ast, L.Doria 17+8reb+6ast, J.Narcis 11+7reb+1ast, B.Jackson 10+3reb+1ast, J.Zesati 7+1reb, N.Tomsick 7+2reb+3ast

Santos - Correcaminos 86-83

Bottom-ranked Santos managed to get a third victory, breaking the series of seven consecutive losses on Tuesday night. This time they edged ninth-ranked Correcaminos in San Luis Potosi 86-83. It was a great evening for American guard Jaire Grayer (196-1996, college: TCU) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists. Nigerian-Canadian guard Mike Nuga (188-1997, college: UNLV) helped adding 16 points and 4 assists. American guard Taylor Johnson (193-1994, college: Dartmouth) responded with 18 points and 7 rebounds and Costa Rican-Belizean Charles Garcia (204-1988, college: Seattle) scored 17 points. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Correcaminos' coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Santos maintains fourteenth place with 3-19 record. Loser Correcaminos dropped to the tenth position with 13 games lost. Santos will meet higher ranked El Calor (#9) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Correcaminos will play against Gambusinos and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Santos: J.Grayer 18+10reb+5ast, M.Nuga 16+4reb+4ast, G.Ricks 11+1ast, M.Bell 10+3reb+1ast, L.Ferreiras 10+13reb+1ast, A.Kaye Williams 8+1ast
Correcaminos: T.Johnson 18+7reb+2ast, C.Garcia 17+4reb+2ast, D.Daniels 14+5reb+3ast, V.Blue 10+2reb+1ast, R.Peters 8+3reb+3ast, T.Cracknell 6+1reb

Freseros - Halc.Xalapa 94-84

There was a surprise result in Irapuato where thirteenth ranked Freseras (4-18) defeated higher ranked Halcones UV Xalapa (10-12) 94-84 on Tuesday. It was a great evening for American point guard Brandon Boyd (180-1997, college: CBU) who led his team to a victory scoring 41 points (!!!) and 4 assists (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line). His fellow American import guard Harrison Butler (196, college: SUU) helped adding 19 points and 5 rebounds (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Jamaican-American guard Sek Henry (193-1987, college: Nebraska) responded with 23 points and 4 assists and Austrian-Slovenian center Rasid Mahalbasic (210-1990) scored 9 points and 10 rebounds. Halcones UV Xalapa's coach tested eleven players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Freseros moved-up to twelfth place, which they share with Abejas. Loser Halcones UV Xalapa keeps the eighth position with 12 games lost. Freseros will meet at home higher ranked Dorados (#6) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Halc.Xalapa will play against Abejas and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Freseros: B.Boyd 41+3reb+4ast, H.Butler 19+5reb+1ast, M.Lukic 12+2reb, J.Moorman II 8+8reb+2ast, X.Green 8+5reb+1ast, K.Coats 3+1reb
Halc.Xalapa: S.Henry 23+4ast, G.Giron 14+4reb+1ast, F.Zurbriggen 10+6reb+3ast, T.McFadden 9+3reb+1ast, R.Mahalbasic 9+10reb+1ast, J.Paige 6+1reb+1ast

Mineros - Abejas 69-64

Very expected game in Zacatecas where 12th ranked Abejas (4-18) were defeated by third ranked Mineros (16-6) 69-64 on Tuesday. However just five-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. It was a great evening for Argentinian point guard Joaquin Valinotti (185-1998) who led his team to a victory scoring 26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field). American forward Kenneth Horton (201-1989, college: CCSU, agency: Octagon Europe) helped adding 19 points. Puerto Rican Jorge Torres (196-2000) responded with 12 points and 8 rebounds and naturalized Puerto Rican guard Joseph Rivera (190-1993) scored 8 points and 4 assists. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. The victory was the third consecutive win for Mineros. They maintain third place with 16-6 record having four points less than leader Astros. Abejas lost their tenth game in a row. They keep the twelfth position with 18 games lost. They share it with Freseros. Mineros will meet league's second-placed Soles in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Abejas will play against Halc.Xalapa (#8) in Xalapa and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Mineros: J.Valinotti 26+6reb+5ast, K.Horton 19+4reb+1ast, D.McClanahan 13+1reb+4ast, I.Hamilton 2+2reb, T.Miller 2+7reb+3ast, M.Ramos 2+1reb
Abejas: S.Keith 12+2reb+1ast, J.Torres 12+8reb+2ast, M.Mitchell 9+4reb, J.Rivera 8+3reb+4ast, Q.Greenaway 8+4reb, E.Weaver 6+2reb+1ast

Diablos - Astros 79-81

Fourth-ranked Diablos (14-8) made lots of trouble for second ranked Astros (20-2). The visitors from Guadalajara managed to secure only two-point victory 81-79. However their fans expected easier game. The game was dominated by American players. Swingman Chavaughn Lewis (195-1993, college: Marist) orchestrated the victory by scoring 21 points and 9 rebounds. Forward Devin Davis (198-1995, college: Houston) contributed with 14 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. Point guard Dontrell Brite (175-1994, college: Mount Olive) answered with 17 points and guard Daishon Smith (185-1995, college: ULM) added 18 points (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line) in the effort for Diablos. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Astros have an impressive series of ten victories in a row. They keep a position of league leader. Diablos lost fourth consecutive game. They dropped to the fifth place with eight games lost. Astros will play against Fuerza Regia (#4) in Monterrey in the next round. Diablos will play on the road against Panteras in Aguascalientes and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Astros: C.Lewis 21+9reb, D.Davis 14+7reb+1ast, A.Chaney 13+2reb+3ast, R.Mendoza 8+6reb, D.Cooper 7+1reb+5ast, R.Olalde 6+3reb
Diablos: D.Smith 18+3reb+1ast, D.Brite 17+4reb+2ast, M.Dime 11+9reb, G.Bonilla 8+6reb+3ast, J.Cruz 7+1reb+1ast, L.Gonzalez 6+3reb+3ast

Fuerza Regia - Soles 102-81

Round 23 in LNBP means a new league leader. The biggest surprise took place in Monterrey where host Fuerza Regia (15-7) crushed league's leader Soles (19-3) 102-81 on Tuesday evening. It ended at the same time the eight-game winning streak of Soles. They outrebounded Soles 37-18 including 24 on the defensive glass. Fuerza Regia shot the lights out from three sinking 12 long-distance shots on high 54.5 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. The best player for the winners was the former international center Joshua Ibarra (211-1995, college: HCU) who had a double-double by scoring 16 points and 10 rebounds. American forward Lewis Sullivan (201-1995, college: UAB, agency: BIG) chipped in 14 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Five Fuerza Regia players scored in double figures. American power forward Justin Moss (203-1993, college: Buffalo) produced 15 points and the other American import guard Joshua Webster (190-1997, college: Missouri St.) added 12 points and 4 assists respectively for the guests. 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 moved-up to fourth place. Soles at the other side dropped to the second position with three games lost. They were replaced at the leadership position by Astros. Soles will play next round against strong Mineros trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Fuerza Regia will try to continue on its current victory against first ranked Astros in Guadalajara.
Top scorers:
Fuerza Regia: J.Ibarra 16+10reb+2ast, A.Holmes 16+2reb+7ast, S.Shorter 14+1reb+7ast, L.Sullivan 14+9reb+5ast, W.Langston 14+6reb+1ast, B.Paul 11+4reb+1ast
Soles: J.Moss 15+3reb+1ast, J.Webster 12+2reb+4ast, V.Alvarez 9+1reb+3ast, J.Glynn 9+6reb+1ast, B.McCoy 8+1ast, M.Warren 8+1reb+1ast