ABL Round 17 (Regular Season): Gence keep a leadership position

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Gence as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Gence defeated 3rd placed Ordu in Ganja 84-74. Gence looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was American guard Jordan Forbes (193-1998, college: Salem) who had a double-double by scoring 22 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists. His fellow American import guard LaVone Holland II (190-1994, college: NKU) chipped in 13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Jaylen Thomas produced 20 points for the guests. Gence (14-4) have an impressive series of five victories in a row. As mentioned above they are at the top of the standings, which they share with Sabah and Sheki. Ordu lost third consecutive game. Newly promoted team keeps the third place with seven games lost.
Fifth-ranked Serhedci (6-12) made lots of trouble for second ranked Nakhchivan (12-6). Nakhchivan managed to secure only two-point victory 68-66. However their fans expected easier game. American guard Jordan Perkins (185-1998, college: Longwood) orchestrated the victory by scoring 15 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. DeShaun Wade contributed with 11 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. American guard Marlon Taylor (195-1997, college: LSU, agency: Interperformances) answered with 14 points and 6 rebounds for Serhedci. Nakhchivan maintains second place with 12-6 record having just two points less than leader Sabah. Serhedci lost their third game in a row. They keep the fifth position with 12 games lost. They share it with NTD.
Another exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Baku: Sabah (#1) and Absheron (#4). Sabah (14-4) crushed visiting Absheron (7-11) by 35 points 99-64. Hassani Gravett stepped up and scored 22 points and 8 assists for the winners. Sabah's coach Rimas Kurtinaitis felt very confident that he used 11 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. William Jenkins III responded with 18 points and 6 rebounds. The victory was the third consecutive win for Sabah. Defending champion maintains first place with 14-4 record, which they share with Gence and Sheki. Absheron at the other side keeps the fourth position with 11 games lost. They share it with Sumqayit.

Other games of round 17 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Guba defeated Lankaran in Jalilabad 95-84. Sumqayit was beaten by Sheki at home 96-104. NTD lost to Neftci on the opponent's court 64-76.
The best stats of 17th round was 13 points and 11 rebounds by Leon Polite of Neftci.



Lankaran - Guba 84-95

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 6th ranked Lankaran's (3-15) home loss to fifth ranked Guba (5-13) 84-95 on Thursday. Guba dominated down low during the game scoring 42 of its points in the paint compared to Lankaran's 14 and made 18-of-20 free shots (90.0 percent) during the game, while Lankaran only scored 0 point from the stripe. American guard Cameron Jones (198-1999, college: McNeese St., agency: MSG) stepped up and scored 18 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 9 steals for the winners and the former international guard Zaur Pashayev (186-1983) chipped in 19 points and 7 assists. Five Guba players scored in double figures. American forward Emanuel Littles (201-1999, college: Nicholls) responded with a double-double by scoring 14 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists and forward Rashid Abbasov (196-2004) scored 6 points and 5 rebounds. Guba maintains fifth place with 5-13 record. Lankaran lost their fifth game in a row. Newly promoted team keeps the sixth position with 15 games lost.
Top scorers:
Guba: Z.Pashayev 19+2reb+7ast, C.Jones 18+9reb+4ast, L.Gogaladze 18+2reb+6ast, D.Craven 14+5reb+1ast, S.Kirkland 12+7reb+1ast, M.Aliyev 0
Lankaran: E.Littles 14+10reb+5ast, R.Abbasov 6+5reb, J.Burright 3+3reb+2ast, V.Aghasizada 0+3reb, O.Abbasov 0, A.Baykal 0+1reb

Sumqayit - Sheki 96-104

No shocking result in a game when second ranked Sheki (14-4) defeated on the road 4th placed Sumqayit (7-11) 104-96 on Friday. American guard Roti Ware (191-1998, college: SF Austin) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 30 points and 10 assists for the winners and Nigerian Adebayo Oduleye chipped in 4 points. American Zion Young (193, college: SUU) responded with 27 points and 7 assists (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line) and the former international center Saadettin Donat (204-2001) scored 14 points and 8 rebounds. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Sheki. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with Gence and Sabah. Sumqayit at the other side keeps the fourth place with 11 games lost. They share the position with Absheron.
Top scorers:
Sheki: R.Ware 30+4reb+10ast, A.Oduleye 4+4reb, T.Yusifzade 2+1reb+1ast, T.Abdulezizov 0+1reb, P.Dibal 0+6reb, K.Jones 0
Sumqayit: Z.Young 27+1reb+7ast, S.Donat 14+8reb+1ast, Z.Gushanov 0+1reb+2ast, M.Orujaliyev 0, I.Aliyev 0, F.Mahmudov 0

Gence - Ordu 84-74

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Gence as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Gence defeated 3rd placed Ordu in Ganja 84-74. Gence looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was American guard Jordan Forbes (193-1998, college: Salem) who had a double-double by scoring 22 points, 7 rebounds and 13 assists. His fellow American import guard LaVone Holland II (190-1994, college: NKU) chipped in 13 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Holland II is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Jaylen Thomas produced 20 points and American forward Jamaure Gregg (201-1999, college: NSU) added 11 points and 6 rebounds respectively for the guests. Gence (14-4) have an impressive series of five victories in a row. As mentioned above they are at the top of the standings, which they share with Sabah and Sheki. Ordu lost third consecutive game. Newly promoted team keeps the third place with seven games lost.
Top scorers:
Gence: J.Forbes 22+7reb+13ast, L.Holland II 13+6reb+5ast, J.Akbarov 10+2reb+1ast, R.Burrell 8+3reb+2ast, E.Shirzadov 3+1reb+3ast, M.Gilson 2+5reb
Ordu: J.Thomas 20+4reb+2ast, G.Ramme 12+1reb+4ast, J.Gregg 11+6reb+2ast, I.Pope 9+4reb+4ast, R.Aliyev 3+2reb, V.Markovetskyy 0

Sabah - Absheron 99-64

Another exciting game was a derby match between two local teams from Baku: Sabah (#1) and Absheron (#4). Sabah (14-4) crushed visiting Absheron (7-11) by 35 points 99-64. Sabah looked well-organized offensively handing out 32 assists comparing to just 11 passes made by Absheron's players. American guard Hassani Gravett (188-1996, college: S.Carolina) stepped up and scored 22 points and 8 assists for the winners and Jamaican-American guard Trevon Duval (190-1998, college: Duke) chipped in 11 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Five Sabah players scored in double figures. Sabah's coach Rimas Kurtinaitis felt very confident that he used 11 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American forward William Jenkins III (201-1996, college: Virginia Union) responded with 18 points and 6 rebounds and the other American import forward Jalen Shaw (208-2000, college: Clayton St.) scored 13 points. The victory was the third consecutive win for Sabah. Defending champion maintains first place with 14-4 record, which they share with Gence and Sheki. Absheron at the other side keeps the fourth position with 11 games lost. They share it with Sumqayit.
Top scorers:
Sabah: H.Gravett 22+4reb+8ast, A.Voinalovych 18+4reb, M.Holton Jr. 16+1ast, T.Duval 11+7reb+7ast, K.Cavars 10+3reb+2ast, J.Eads III 10+4reb+6ast
Absheron: W.Jenkins III 18+6reb+2ast, J.Shaw 13+4reb, A.McAlpine 10+2reb+4ast, C.Johnson 5+2reb+2ast, L.Robinson III 4+3reb+3ast, M.Huseynli 3+2reb

Nakhchivan - Serhedci 68-66

Fifth-ranked Serhedci (6-12) made lots of trouble for second ranked Nakhchivan (12-6). Nakhchivan managed to secure only two-point victory 68-66. However their fans expected easier game. Nakhchivan had a 25-13 advantage in offensive rebounds. American guard Jordan Perkins (185-1998, college: Longwood) orchestrated the victory by scoring 15 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. His fellow American import guard DeShaun Wade (188-1999, college: Longwood) contributed with 11 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. American guard Marlon Taylor (195-1997, college: LSU, agency: Interperformances) answered with 14 points and 6 rebounds and Serbian guard Vuk Vukicevic (186-2003) added 9 points and 7 rebounds in the effort for Serhedci. Nakhchivan maintains second place with 12-6 record having just two points less than leader Sabah. Serhedci lost their third game in a row. They keep the fifth position with 12 games lost. They share it with NTD.
Top scorers:
Nakhchivan: J.Perkins 15+5reb+9ast, D.Wade 11+8reb+3ast, D.Jenkins 7+5reb, N.Guliev 7+8reb+1ast, T.Brown 5+1reb, Y.Abbasov 0
Serhedci: M.Taylor 14+6reb+2ast, T.Ulash 13+2reb+2ast, V.Vukicevic 9+7reb+2ast, M.Veljkovic 2+6reb+2ast, I.Hamzayev 0, A.Williams 0

Neftci - NTD 76-64

Rather expected game in Baku where 5th ranked NTD (6-12) was defeated by third ranked Neftci (9-9) 76-64 on Sunday. Neftci held NTD to an opponent 25.0 percent shooting from the field compared to 41.3 percent accuracy of the winners and made 16-of-20 free shots (80.0 percent) during the game, while NTD only scored 0 point from the stripe. They outrebounded NTD 47-10 including a 37-7 advantage in defensive rebounds. American guard DeAngelo Stewart (197-1995, college: PFW) stepped up and scored 17 points and 7 rebounds for the winners and Leon Polite (, agency: BIG) chipped in 13 points and 11 rebounds. Five Neftci players scored in double figures. Neftci's coach Anar Sariyev used an eleven-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. American guard Daniel Moody (201-2000, college: MSUB) responded with 7 points and the other American import power forward Galen Smith (204, college: Mississippi Coll.) scored 2 points. Neftci maintains third place with 9-9 record having five points less than leader Sabah. Loser NTD keeps the fifth position with 12 games lost. They share it with Serhedci.
Top scorers:
Neftci: D.Stewart 17+7reb+3ast, L.Polite 13+11reb+3ast, B.Suggs 11+8reb+2ast, K.Mammadov 10+1reb+2ast, P.Bacon 10+6reb+5ast, J.Brantley 10+4reb+1ast
NTD: D.Moody 7+1reb, G.Smith 2+3reb+2ast, Z.Patterson 2+1reb, O.Haci 0, M.Babayev 0+3reb+3ast, M.Bazzi 0