SPB Round 3 (Regular Season): Spartans lose to Marinos

SPB Regular Season is still in too early stage and there may be still significant changes in the standings. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Spartans (2-1) in Puerto La Cruz on Tuesday night. Visitors were defeated by Marinos (3-0) 65-61. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Marinos made 7 blocks. It was a great evening for the former international guard Carlos Lemus (190-1999, college: UTEP) who led his team to a victory scoring 15 points and 4 assists. American swingman Wesley Saunders (196-1993, college: Harvard) helped adding 12 points. Marinos' coach Claudio Jorquera used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. The best for the losing side was naturalized Colombian Luis Almanza (196-1991) with 8 points and 13 rebounds. Marinos is again looking forward to face Spartans (#5) in Caracas in the next round. Spartans will have a break next round.
Very important is a road loss of Gladiadores (2-1) against Panteras (1-2) on Tuesday night. Visiting Gladiadores were defeated by Panteras in a tough game in Caracas 76-85. It was an exceptional evening for American swingman Tae Williams (201-2000, college: CSU) who led the winners and scored 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Sydney Curry accounted for 19 points and 7 rebounds. The former international forward Michael Carrera (196-1993, college: S.Carolina, agency: BIG) came up with 12 points and 7 rebounds for Gladiadores in the defeat. Gladiadores' coach Ronald Guillen rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Panteras' supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Caracas .
The game in Caracas was also quite interesting. Gaiteros (3-0) played at the court of Brillantes (1-2). Gaiteros managed to secure a 9-point victory 83-74 on Tuesday. The best player for the winners was Micheal Warren who scored 21 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was Glen Rice Jr. who recorded a double-double by scoring 14 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Gaiteros will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Brillantes will play again against Gaiteros (#1) and hope to win that game.

There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 3: Panteras lost to Cocodrilos on the opponent's court 59-74. Winless Toros unfortunately lost to Trotamundos in a home game 69-70. Winless Llaneros lost to undefeated Pioneros on the road 59-76.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 14 points by Tim Bond of Pioneros.



Cocodrilos - Panteras 74-59

Rather expected game in Caracas where Panteras (1-2) were defeated by Cocodrilos (1-1) 74-59 on Monday. Americans were the main players on the court. The best player for the winners was power forward Willie Reed (211-1990, college: St.Louis, agency: Octagon Europe) who scored 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks. Guard Camron Donatlan (190, college: UWG) chipped in 13 points and 6 rebounds. Four Cocodrilos players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was swingman Tae Williams (201-2000, college: CSU) who recorded a double-double by scoring 10 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists and Elijah Minnie (203-1994, college: EMU, agency: Elevate Sports Alliance) added 12 points and 7 rebounds respectively. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Cocodrilos' supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Caracas Gladiadores.
Top scorers:
Cocodrilos: W.Reed 18+9reb+1ast, C.Donatlan 13+6reb+1ast, C.Garcia 12+3reb+3ast, F.Pirela 12+3reb+4ast, L.Betancourt 6+4reb+3ast, E.Mijares 6+6reb+2ast
Panteras: S.Curry 12+5reb+2ast, E.Minnie 12+7reb+2ast, T.Williams 10+11reb+6ast, O.Blanco 7+1reb, B.Bridgeforth 4+10reb, R.Perdomo 4+2reb

Toros - Trotamundos 69-70

Very predictable result in Maracay where Trotamundos (2-1) edged Toros (0-3) 70-69 on Monday. The best player for the winners was the former international power forward Fernando Fuenmayor (201-2000) who had a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds. Naturalized American Donta Smith (201-1983, college: SE Illinois JC) chipped in 9 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Four Trotamundos players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was American Rakim Brown (198-1991, college: Humboldt St.) who recorded a double-double by scoring 17 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists and the other American import guard Addison Spruill (195-1993, college: UNCW) added 11 points respectively. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Trotamundos will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Toros will play again against Trotamundos (#6) in La Asuncion and hope to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Trotamundos: J.Zamora 16+3reb, F.Fuenmayor 13+10reb+1ast, D.Cubillan 12+4reb+4ast, T.Jones 10+3reb+1ast, D.Smith 9+5reb+7ast, E.Tovar 6+1reb
Toros: R.Brown 17+10reb+4ast, L.Palacios 11+5reb+1ast, A.Spruill 11+4reb+2ast, J.Vargas 9+2reb+1ast, A.Blanco 7+1reb+1ast, B.Barrios 5+5reb+2ast

Marinos - Spartans 65-61

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Spartans (2-1) in Puerto La Cruz on Tuesday night. Visitors were defeated by Marinos (3-0) 65-61. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Marinos made 7 blocks. It was a great evening for the former international guard Carlos Lemus (190-1999, college: UTEP) who led his team to a victory scoring 15 points and 4 assists. American swingman Wesley Saunders (196-1993, college: Harvard) helped adding 12 points. Marinos' coach Claudio Jorquera used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. The best for the losing side was naturalized Colombian Luis Almanza (196-1991) with 8 points and 13 rebounds and Dominican swingman Jassel Perez (195-2001) scored 19 points. Marinos is again looking forward to face Spartans (#5) in Caracas in the next round. Spartans will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Marinos: C.Lemus 15+2reb+4ast, W.Saunders 12+3reb+3ast, T.Farmer 10+5reb, E.Baez 8, S.Jones 5+6reb, L.Bethelmy 5+6reb+3ast
Spartans: J.Perez 19+2reb+1ast, Y.Sifontes 12+3reb, L.Almanza 8+13reb+1ast, J.Rodriguez 7+7reb+1ast, N.Palacios 6+2reb+1ast, H.Cazorla 5+1reb

Brillantes - Gaiteros 74-83

The game in Caracas was also quite interesting. Gaiteros (3-0) played at the court of Brillantes (1-2). Gaiteros managed to secure a 9-point victory 83-74 on Tuesday. Gaiteros made 18-of-23 free shots (78.3 percent) during the game. The best player for the winners was American swingman Micheal Warren (196-1995, college: CSUN) who scored 21 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Swingman Luis Duarte (190-1994) chipped in 20 points and 4 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was American forward Glen Rice Jr. (198-1991, college: Georgia Tech) who recorded a double-double by scoring 14 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists and the other American import swingman Chavaughn Lewis (195-1993, college: Marist) added 16 points and 6 rebounds respectively. Four Brillantes players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Gaiteros will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Brillantes will play again against Gaiteros (#1) and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Gaiteros: M.Warren 21+7reb+4ast, L.Duarte 20+4reb+4ast, N.Carter 16+6reb+2ast, D.St.Hilaire 6+4reb+1ast, J.Gonzalez 5+4reb+1ast, K.Caraballo 5+5reb+2ast
Brillantes: C.Lewis 16+6reb+3ast, G.Rice Jr. 14+10reb+8ast, L.Lopez 10+5reb+1ast, M.Henry 10+3reb+2ast, E.Gimenez 7+2reb+1ast, J.Guillen 6+1ast

Panteras - Gladiadores 85-76

Very important is a road loss of Gladiadores (2-1) against Panteras (1-2) on Tuesday night. Visiting Gladiadores were defeated by Panteras in a tough game in Caracas 76-85. Panteras dominated down low during the game scoring 50 of its points in the paint compared to Gladiadores' 24. They outrebounded Gladiadores 40-28 including 25 on the defensive glass. It was an exceptional evening for American swingman Tae Williams (201-2000, college: CSU) who led the winners and scored 18 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. His fellow American import forward Sydney Curry (203-2000, college: GCU) accounted for 19 points and 7 rebounds for the winning side. The former international forward Michael Carrera (196-1993, college: S.Carolina, agency: BIG) came up with 12 points and 7 rebounds and Costa Rican-Belizean Charles Garcia (204-1988, college: Seattle) added 12 points and 7 rebounds respectively for Gladiadores in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Gladiadores' coach Ronald Guillen rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn't help. Panteras' supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Caracas .
Top scorers:
Panteras: E.Minnie 21+6reb+1ast, S.Curry 19+7reb+2ast, T.Williams 18+9reb+5ast, W.Gomez 12+3reb+1ast, A.Indriago 8+4reb+5ast, J.Acosta 4+5reb
Gladiadores: J.Diaz 14+4reb, M.Butler 13+1reb+4ast, M.Carrera 12+7reb+3ast, C.Garcia 12+7reb, M.Crawford 9+1reb+2ast, G.Vargas 8+4reb+7ast

Pioneros - Llaneros 76-59

Not a big story in a game in Caracas where Llaneros (0-3) were defeated by Pioneros (3-0) 76-59 on Tuesday. Pioneros dominated down low during the game scoring 56 of its points in the paint compared to Llaneros' 30. Pioneros forced 20 Llaneros turnovers. The best player for the winners was American power forward Jeff Allen (201-1987, college: Virginia Tech) who scored 10 points and 6 rebounds. Point guard Steven Tineo (-2001) chipped in 15 points. Four Pioneros players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was American forward Delwan Graham (200-1988, college: Jacksonville, agency: Interperformances) who recorded 8 points and 11 rebounds and point guard Yochuar Palacios (183-1985) added 12 points respectively. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Pioneros' supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Caracas .
Top scorers:
Pioneros: S.Tineo 15+2reb+1ast, T.Bond 14+2ast, J.Bracho 12+2reb+1ast, J.Allen 10+6reb+2ast, C.Garcia 7+4reb, H.Guillent 5+5reb+4ast
Llaneros: Y.Palacios 12+3reb+1ast, H.Bompart 11+2reb, M.Escobar 8+3reb+1ast, D.Graham 8+11reb+2ast, G.Natesan 6, A.Arias 4+7reb+1ast