EYBL U16 Round 18 (Regular Season): Otzma hands first loss to NSA

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most surprising game was the first loss of Italian NSA (3-1) against 50th ranked Israeli Otzma on Sunday night. Otzma were defeated by 50th ranked Israeli Otzma (3-1) 89-85. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of NSA. NSA was tied after three quarters but could not keep up in the last quarter eventually losing the game. It was a good game for Itamar Afanzer who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 28 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Omer Amir contributed with 32 points and 4 steals for the winners. Branislav Jesny replied with 33 points (!!!) and 5 rebounds for NSA. NSA's coach tried various players' combinations and tested in total twelve players in this game, but that didn't help. Otzma moved-up to 33th place, which they share with 6 other teams including defeated NSA.
Bottom-ranked Romanian ACS Alpha is still unable to win any game. This time they lost on the road their fourth consecutive match to twelfth ranked Bulgarian CSKA (6-2) 68-63. Boris Ivanov scored 11 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the charge for the winners and Stilyan Stoykov chipped in 16 points during the contest. The best for the losing side was Antonio Piccolo with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. CSKA have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to sixth place, which they share with 5 other teams. ACS Alpha at the other side still closes the standings with four games lost. They share the position with 6 other teams.
The game between 47th ranked Romanian Bucharest (2-2) and eleventh ranked Andorra Dixon (6-1) in Bucharest on Sunday ended with biggest points difference. Bucharest 80-44. Luis Guerra notched 21 points and 9 rebounds to lead the effort. Even a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds by Emmanuel Nmachi did not help to save the game for Bucharest. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Dixon have an impressive five-game winning streak. They moved-up to fifth place. Loser Bucharest dropped to the 50th position with two games lost. They share it with 13 other teams.

In the last two games of round 18 Yambol was beaten by Richards Elite 90-82. Traiskirchen won against Slam Bball Ac. 61-44.
The most impressive performance of 18th round was 27 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks by Makar Konovnitsyn of NSA.



Richards Elite - Yambol 90-82

There was a surprise result when 64th ranked British Richards Elite (3-5) beat higher ranked Bulgarian Yambol (3-5) 90-82 on Sunday. Richards Elite trailed by 3 points after first quarter, but they rallied back to get the 13-point lead at the halftime and eventually won the game 90-82. Richards Elite outrebounded Yambol 61-23 including a 23-7 advantage in offensive rebounds. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Richards Elite made 7 blocks. Nehemiah Kingful notched a double-double by scoring 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead the effort and Gibril Toure supported him with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Even 30 points and 8 rebounds (went 8 for 8 at the free throw line) by Aleksian Dobrev did not help to save the game for Yambol. Ilia Horizov added 30 points and 6 rebounds. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Richards Elite moved-up to 40th place, which they share with 7 other teams including defeated Yambol.
Top scorers:
Yambol: H.Ilia 30+6reb+3ast, D.Aleksian 30+8reb+2ast, O.Maksim 11+2reb+7ast, V.Denislav 5+2reb+1ast, P.Trayan 4+1reb+3ast, V.Zhivko 2+2reb
Richards Elite: G.Toure 18+7reb+3ast, N.Kingful 17+15reb+1ast, J.Grant 11+7reb+1ast, I.Hodgkinson 9+6reb, A.Newland 9+1reb+2ast, A.Billingham 6+1reb

Traiskirchen - Slam Bball Ac. 61-44

Very expected game when 39th ranked Romanian Slam Bball Ac. (3-5) lost to fourth ranked Austrian Lions (7-1) 44-61 on Sunday. Traiskirchen dominated on the defensive end, holding Slam Bball Ac. to just 5 points in second quarter. Niklas Neunkirchner notched 17 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals to lead the effort and Livio Piljanovic supported him with 9 points and 12 rebounds. Even a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds by Roman Alecu did not help to save the game for Slam Bball Ac.. Nicholas Popa added 5 points and 6 assists. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Traiskirchen keeps a position of league leader, which they share with MBCA and Vilvoorde. Loser Slam Bball Ac. dropped to the 40th place with five games lost. They share the position with 7 other teams.
Top scorers:
Slam Bball Ac.: A.Roman 20+10reb, W.Nathan 6+6reb+2ast, R.Andrei 5+4reb, P.Nicholas 5+3reb+6ast, L.Toma 3+2reb, P.Horia 3+6reb+1ast
Traiskirchen: N.Neunkirchner 17+6reb+7ast, D.Delalic 15+1ast, L.Piljanovic 9+12reb, K.Seher 8+4reb+2ast, L.Jovanovic 7+3ast, C.Boschetti 5+2reb+1ast

CSKA - ACS Alpha 68-63

Bottom-ranked Romanian ACS Alpha is still unable to win any game. This time they lost on the road their fourth consecutive match to twelfth ranked Bulgarian CSKA (6-2) 68-63. CSKA started the game with a very strong first quarter 20-10. But ACS Alpha won second period 17-13. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. CSKA forced 27 ACS Alpha turnovers. Boris Ivanov scored 11 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the charge for the winners and Stilyan Stoykov chipped in 16 points during the contest. The best for the losing side was Antonio Piccolo with 12 points and 9 rebounds and Tudor Andras produced a double-double by scoring 11 points and 10 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. CSKA have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to sixth place, which they share with 5 other teams. ACS Alpha at the other side still closes the standings with four games lost. They share the position with 6 other teams.
Top scorers:
ACS Alpha: P.Antonio 12+9reb+1ast, N.Andrei 11+3reb+2ast, A.Tudor 11+10reb, S.Alexandru 9+4reb+5ast, D.Matei 5+3reb, A.Karim 3+1reb+3ast
CSKA: S.Stoykov 16+1reb+1ast, N.Gospodinov 14+1reb+2ast, B.Ivanov 11+5reb+5ast, S.Todorov 9+5reb+2ast, B.Milenov 6+10reb, V.Georgiev 5+8reb

Bucharest - Dixon 44-80

The game between 47th ranked Romanian Bucharest (2-2) and eleventh ranked Andorra Dixon (6-1) in Bucharest on Sunday ended with biggest points difference. Bucharest 80-44. The game was mostly controlled by Dixon. Bucharest managed to win fourth quarter 14-10. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. Dixon held Bucharest to an opponent 24.6 percent shooting from the field compared to 48.3 percent accuracy of the winners. Dixon forced 25 Bucharest turnovers. Luis Guerra notched 21 points and 9 rebounds to lead the effort and Tristan De Santiago supported him with 19 points. Four Dixon players scored in double figures. Even a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds by Emmanuel Nmachi did not help to save the game for Bucharest. Lucian Grigore added 6 points. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Dixon have an impressive five-game winning streak. They moved-up to fifth place. Loser Bucharest dropped to the 50th position with two games lost. They share it with 13 other teams.
Top scorers:
Bucharest: N.Emmanuel 10+14reb, G.Vlad 7+1reb+1ast, G.Lucian 6+3reb+1ast, D.Eric 5+2reb, P.Radu 4+1reb, A.Ianis 3+4reb+2ast
Dixon: L.Guerra 21+9reb+1ast, S.De 19+3reb+2ast, A.Contreras 13+4reb+5ast, H.Archaoui 10+9reb+2ast, J.Campins 5+6reb, I.Martinez 5+2reb

NSA - Otzma 85-89

The most surprising game was the first loss of Italian NSA (3-1) against 50th ranked Israeli Otzma on Sunday night. Otzma were defeated by 50th ranked Israeli Otzma (3-1) 89-85. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of NSA. NSA was tied after three quarters but could not keep up in the last quarter eventually losing the game. It was a good game for Itamar Afanzer who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 28 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Omer Amir contributed with 32 points and 4 steals for the winners. Branislav Jesny replied with 33 points (!!!) and 5 rebounds and Makar Konovnitsyn added 27 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks in the effort for NSA. NSA's coach tried various players' combinations and tested in total twelve players in this game, but that didn't help. Otzma moved-up to 33th place, which they share with 6 other teams including defeated NSA.
Top scorers:
NSA: J.Branislav 33+5reb+3ast, K.Makar 27+10reb+3ast, C.Declan 6+1reb+1ast, P.Eugenio 5+7reb+2ast, G.Nicolo 5, T.Rodion 4+2reb
Otzma: O.Amir 32+2reb+1ast, I.Afanzer 28+11reb+6ast, N.Yogav 12+1reb, R.Sharabi 6+5reb+1ast, J.Avigdol 5+3reb, A.Mor 2+1reb