Round 2 (Regular Season): Dziki lose to Rigas Z.

There were only 2 rounds played so far and it's still very beginning of the Regular Season in European North Basketball League. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Polish Dziki in Warszawa on Monday night. Hosts were edged by Latvian Rigas Z. 93-91. Rigas Z. made 25-of-32 free shots (78.1 percent) during the game. They also forced 19 Dziki turnovers. Rigas Z. shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 51.9 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. 29 personal fouls committed by Dziki helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The best player for the winners was American forward Frankie Fidler (201-2003, college: Michigan St.) who scored 27 points and 5 rebounds. chipped in 15 points, 9 assists and 4 steals. Rigas Z.'s coach used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. produced 35 points (!!!) (was perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line !!!) for the hosts. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Another exciting game was between Dutch Groningen and Estonian TalTech where host Groningen rolled over TalTech with 22-point difference 93-71. orchestrated the victory by scoring 19 points and 6 rebounds (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line). Tim Hoeve contributed with 16 points and 4 assists for the winners. American forward Frankie Fidler (201-2003, college: Michigan St.) replied with 24 points for TalTech. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Groningen will play against Bristol Flyers on the road in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. TalTech will play against Kapfenberg and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
A very close game took place in Pleven between Bulgarian Spartak Pleven and Croatian Dubrava. Spartak Pleven got a very close home victory over Dubrava. Spartak Pleven managed to escape with a 1-point win 83-82 on Wednesday evening. Jalan McCloud scored 35 points (!!!) and 6 rebounds (on 13-of-17 shooting from the field) to lead the charge for the winners. John-Michael Wright responded with 26 points and 5 assists (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line). Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.

Rest of the games of round 2 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Keila C. lost to Manchester in a road game 80-84. Slovan lost to Tindastoll at home 56-80. Gimle lost to Sigal Prishtina on the opponent's court 79-90.
The best stats of 2nd round was 19 points and 6 rebounds by Dane Erikstrup of Groningen.



Dziki - Rigas Z. 91-93

The most crucial game of the last round was a loss of Polish Dziki in Warszawa on Monday night. Hosts were edged by Latvian Rigas Z. 93-91. Rigas Z. made 25-of-32 free shots (78.1 percent) during the game. They also forced 19 Dziki turnovers. Rigas Z. shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 51.9 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. 29 personal fouls committed by Dziki helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The best player for the winners was American forward Frankie Fidler (201-2003, college: Michigan St.) who scored 27 points and 5 rebounds. chipped in 15 points, 9 assists and 4 steals. Four Rigas Z. players scored in double figures. Rigas Z.'s coach used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. produced 35 points (!!!) (was perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line !!!) and Bennett Vander Plas added 17 points and 6 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) respectively for the hosts. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Rigas Z.: F.Fidler 27+5reb+3ast, B.Janis 23+3reb+1ast, S.Toms 15+4reb+9ast, M.Rodijs 10+3reb, R.Sulcs 6+1ast, B.Roberts 6+1ast
Dziki: H.Landrius 35+2reb+3ast, V.Plas Bennett 17+6reb+1ast, O.Ody 11+8reb, G.Kaminski 9+4reb+2ast, A.Michal 8+2reb, F.Lukasz 6+7reb+2ast

Manchester - Keila C. 84-80

Manchester used a home court advantage and beat the opponent from Keila 84-80 on Tuesday night. However just four-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. Manchester forced 24 Keila C. turnovers. had a double-double by scoring 16 points and 13 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and American point guard PJay Smith (183, college: Furman) chipped in 21 points during the contest. Four Manchester players scored in double figures. Patrik Saal (206-2000) responded with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 13 rebounds and guard Tim Hoeve (196-1998) produced a double-double by scoring 10 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Manchester: P.Smith 21+1reb+3ast, J.Max 17+2reb+1ast, I.Zak 16+13reb+2ast, O.Babalola 11+9reb+5ast, N.Matthew 6+8reb+1ast, C.Kaiyem 6+1reb
Keila C.: P.Saal 20+13reb, J.K.D. 17+4reb+6ast, T.Isaiah 10+13reb+6ast, S.Mario 9+3reb+1ast, A.Tassa 9+5reb+4ast, R.Kuttis 9+3reb+4ast

Slovan - Tindastoll 56-80

But Slovan was not able to use a home court advantage and was smashed by the opponent from Sauoarkrokur 80-56 on Wednesday night. scored 20 points to lead the charge for the winners and chipped in 9 points and 9 rebounds during the contest. Four Tindastoll players scored in double figures. Center Milan Szabo (206-1998, college: UT Tyler) responded with a double-double by scoring 10 points and 10 rebounds and American point guard PJay Smith (183, college: Furman) scored 9 points and 6 rebounds. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Tindastoll: G.Ivan 20+4reb+1ast, G.Davis 14+4reb+1ast, B.Sigtryggur 12+6reb+1ast, B.Dedrick 10+5reb+1ast, D.Adomas 9+9reb+1ast, B.Taiwo 8+6reb
Slovan: M.Szabo 10+10reb+1ast, K.Viktor 9+6reb+2ast, P.Tomas 8+5reb, S.Shamiel 8+5reb+1ast, M.Jr. Lester 6+2reb+5ast, A.David 5+3reb+2ast

Spartak Pleven - Dubrava 83-82

A very close game took place in Pleven between Bulgarian Spartak Pleven and Croatian Dubrava. Spartak Pleven got a very close home victory over Dubrava. Spartak Pleven managed to escape with a 1-point win 83-82 on Wednesday evening. scored 35 points (!!!) and 6 rebounds (on 13-of-17 shooting from the field) to lead the charge for the winners and chipped in 7 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. John-Michael Wright responded with 26 points and 5 assists (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line) and Kristijan Krajina produced a double-double by scoring 14 points and 11 rebounds. Four Dubrava players scored in double figures. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Spartak Pleven: M.Jalan 35+6reb+3ast, B.Mayuom 8+3reb+1ast, S.Martin 7+7reb+4ast, T.Nikolay 7+2ast, L.Julien 6+2reb+2ast, B.Noel 6+6reb+1ast
Dubrava: W.John-Michael 26+3reb+5ast, K.Kristijan 14+11reb, G.Lovro 14+2reb+6ast, S.Cody 10+1reb, W.Benny 10+5reb+2ast, A.Matic 6+5reb+1ast

Sigal Prishtina - Gimle 90-79

Sigal Prishtina used a home court advantage and won against the opponent from Bergen 90-79 on Wednesday night. Sigal Prishtina looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Sigal Prishtina made 7 blocks. scored 30 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the charge for the winners and chipped in 12 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists during the contest. Javonte Johnson responded with a double-double by scoring 19 points and 10 rebounds and Serbian-Montenegrin center Milovan Savic (205-1987) produced a double-double by scoring 17 points and 11 rebounds. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Sigal Prishtina will meet Brussels on the road in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Gimle will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Sigal Prishtina: B.Deondre 30+5reb+4ast, B.Adrio 16+6reb, D.Polloshka 15+3reb+4ast, A.Lamb 12+6reb+11ast, A.Arian 9+3reb+3ast, J.Muhamedali 8+6reb
Gimle: J.Javonte 19+10reb+3ast, M.Savic 17+11reb+3ast, G.Reidar 12+5reb+4ast, E.Demoniere 11+3reb+5ast, O.Jorgen 8+5reb+1ast, E.Fjaerestad 7+1reb

Groningen - TalTech 93-71

Another exciting game was between Dutch Groningen and Estonian TalTech where host Groningen rolled over TalTech with 22-point difference 93-71. Groningen made 18-of-20 charity shots (90.0 percent) during the game. orchestrated the victory by scoring 19 points and 6 rebounds (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line). Guard Tim Hoeve (196-1998) contributed with 16 points and 4 assists for the winners. Four Groningen players scored in double figures. American forward Frankie Fidler (201-2003, college: Michigan St.) replied with 24 points and Taavi Jurkatamm (204-1997, college: USF) added 14 points and 5 rebounds in the effort for TalTech. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Groningen will play against Bristol Flyers on the road in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. TalTech will play against Kapfenberg and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Groningen: E.Dane 19+6reb+1ast, T.Hoeve 16+4reb+4ast, T.Evan 13+7reb+1ast, L.Jr Carlton 12+8reb+1ast, L.Austin 8+2reb+6ast, Z.Kjeld 7+3reb+1ast
TalTech: K.Kristjan 24+3reb, T.Jurkatamm 14+5reb, I.Sunelik 8+1reb, O.Metsalu 7+2reb, S.Saimon 5+3reb+4ast, P.Siim-Markus 5+1reb+10ast