Round 17 (Regular Season): Opava beat Groningen by two after a very close game

The Regular Season in European North Basketball League just ended. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 17 in the European North Basketball League took place in Opava. This derby game ended with only two-point defeat on the road of 7th ranked Dutch Groningen (2-6) to fifth ranked Czech Opava (5-3) 88-86 in the game for the fifth place. Opava looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. Point guard Jakub Sirina (186-1987, agency: Octagon Europe) orchestrated the victory by scoring 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. American forward Rob Howard (203-1997, college: UIC, agency: One Motive Sports) contributed with 14 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Czech-Canadian center James Karnik (206-1998, college: Boston Coll., agency: Players Group) answered with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 16 rebounds for Groningen. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Opava maintains fifth place with 5-3 record. Groningen at the other side dropped to the sixth position with six games lost. They share it with Dinamo and Tartu.
Bulgarian Spartak Pleven's fans can finally celebrate the first win of their team after seven consecutive losses. The victory is especially important as it came on the road game in Nova Ves, where they defeated Slovakian Spisski Rytieri (1-7) 99-88. Power forward Simeon Lepichev (207-1995, college: FAU, agency: Helping Ballers) stepped up and scored 18 points and 8 rebounds (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field) for the winners and Igor Kesar chipped in 16 points and 7 rebounds. Latvian center Ilja Gromovs (211-1994) responded with 17 points and 8 rebounds. Spartak Pleven left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated Spisski Rytieri. It was Spisski Rytieri's sixth loss in a row.
Sixteenth-ranked Romanian Dinamo (2-6) used its home court advantage to challenge leader Slovakian Inter Bratislava (8-0) in Bucuresti on Tuesday. The visitors from Bratislava managed to secure only one-point victory 96-95. However their fans expected much easier game. Shamiel Stevenson nailed 31 points and 4 assists for the winning side. Inter Bratislava's coach used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. Jakov Mustapic came up with 22 points (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field) for Dinamo in the defeat. Undefeated Inter Bratislava have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain tenth place with 8-0 record. Loser Dinamo B. dropped to the sixth position with six games lost. They share it with Groningen and Tartu.

There were no big surprises in other games of round 17: Brno beat Bakken on the road 92-89. Legia won against Keila C. on its own court 80-72. Bamberg managed to outperform Fyllingen in a road game 74-60.
The most impressive performance of 17th round was 19 points and 6 rebounds by Noah Locke of Bamberg.



Spisski Rytieri - Spartak Pleven 88-99

Bulgarian Spartak Pleven's fans can finally celebrate the first win of their team after seven consecutive losses. The victory is especially important as it came on the road game in Nova Ves, where they defeated Slovakian Spisski Rytieri (1-7) 99-88. Power forward Simeon Lepichev (207-1995, college: FAU, agency: Helping Ballers) stepped up and scored 18 points and 8 rebounds (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field) for the winners and Serbian center Igor Kesar (210-1992) chipped in 16 points and 7 rebounds. Latvian center Ilja Gromovs (211-1994) responded with 17 points and 8 rebounds and American point guard Dwayne Cohill (188-2000, college: YSU) scored 9 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. Five Spartak Pleven and four Spisski Rytieri players scored in double figures. Spartak Pleven left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated Spisski Rytieri. It was Spisski Rytieri's sixth loss in a row.
Top scorers:
Spisski Rytieri: D.Walker 20+1reb+1ast, I.Gromovs 17+8reb, J.Palenik 14+1reb+1ast, D.Frye 13+1reb+2ast, N.Hawkins 10+2reb+4ast, D.Cohill 9+5reb+9ast
Spartak Pleven: T.Hollowell 19+5ast, S.Lepichev 18+8reb+1ast, I.Kesar 16+7reb+2ast, D.Bracey 14+1reb+5ast, V.Gergov 13+5reb+1ast, C.Keeling 12+1reb+3ast

Opava - Groningen 88-86

The most exciting game of round 17 in the European North Basketball League took place in Opava. This derby game ended with only two-point defeat on the road of 7th ranked Dutch Groningen (2-6) to fifth ranked Czech Opava (5-3) 88-86 in the game for the fifth place. Opava looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. Point guard Jakub Sirina (186-1987, agency: Octagon Europe) orchestrated the victory by scoring 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. American forward Rob Howard (203-1997, college: UIC, agency: One Motive Sports) contributed with 14 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Czech-Canadian center James Karnik (206-1998, college: Boston Coll., agency: Players Group) answered with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 16 rebounds and American point guard Tavian Dunn-Martin (173-1998, college: FGCU) added 25 points and 5 assists in the effort for Groningen. Four Opava and five Groningen players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Opava maintains fifth place with 5-3 record. Groningen at the other side dropped to the sixth position with six games lost. They share it with Dinamo and Tartu.
Top scorers:
Groningen: T.Dunn-Martin 25+5ast, J.Karnik 18+16reb+2ast, T.Hoeve 14+3reb+3ast, D.Gabrovsek 13+8reb+2ast, F.Brankovic 11+3reb+1ast, S.Hintzbergen 3+3reb+1ast
Opava: J.Sirina 20+5reb+6ast, L.Jurecka 14+1reb, R.Howard 14+8reb+2ast, J.Slavik 10+4reb+3ast, F.Zbranek 9+1reb+1ast, M.Kvapil 6+3reb+1ast

Dinamo B. - Inter Bratislava 95-96

Sixteenth-ranked Romanian Dinamo (2-6) used its home court advantage to challenge leader Slovakian Inter Bratislava (8-0) in Bucuresti on Tuesday. The visitors from Bratislava managed to secure only one-point victory 96-95. However their fans expected much easier game. Inter Bratislava made 20-of-24 free shots (83.3 percent) during the game. They shot the lights out from three sinking 12 long-distance shots on high 52.2 percentage. Inter Bratislava looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. Canadian Shamiel Stevenson (198-1998, college: Nebraska) nailed 31 points and 4 assists for the winning side and Croatian power forward Ivica Radic (208-1990) accounted for 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Inter Bratislava's coach used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. Croatian guard Jakov Mustapic (192-1994, agency: Octagon Europe) came up with 22 points (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field) and Georgian-American point guard Conner Frankamp (185-1995, college: Wichita St., agency: Octagon Europe) added 17 points and 8 assists respectively for Dinamo in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Inter Bratislava have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain tenth place with 8-0 record. Loser Dinamo B. dropped to the sixth position with six games lost. They share it with Groningen and Tartu.
Top scorers:
Dinamo B.: J.Mustapic 22+4reb+2ast, D.Ancrum 18+6reb+1ast, C.Frankamp 17+8ast, J.Taylor 12+4reb+1ast, A.Roberts 9+3reb+2ast, S.Grasu 8+3reb
Inter Bratislava: S.Stevenson 31+4reb+4ast, R.Gunn 16+5reb+2ast, I.Radic 14+6reb+4ast, M.Szabo 10+3reb+2ast, M.Majercak 9+2reb+8ast, R.Hudec 8+1ast

Bakken - Brno 89-92

There was a small surprise when fifteenth ranked Czech Brno (3-5) edged 13th ranked Danish Bakken (4-4) in Aarhus 92-89 on Tuesday. Brno looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. Point guard Richard Balint (192-1996, agency: Octagon Europe) nailed 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists for the winning side and American forward Ethan Chargois (205-1999, college: Oklahoma) accounted for 17 points and 7 rebounds. Chargois is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. American forward Urald King (198-1990, college: SE Oklahoma) came up with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 13 rebounds and the other American import center Jacob Polakovich (208-2000, college: S.Indiana) added 20 points and 11 rebounds respectively for Bakken in the defeat. Four Brno and five Bakken players scored in double figures. Bakken's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Brno maintains fifteenth place with 3-5 record. Defending Danish champion Bakken keeps the thirteenth position with four games lost. They share it with Bristol Flyers.
Top scorers:
Bakken: U.King 24+13reb+3ast, J.Polakovich 20+11reb+1ast, T.Hargrove 12+5reb+4ast, T.Tucker 12+6reb+6ast, E.Dambreville 10+2reb+3ast, S.Pedersen 5+1reb+4ast
Brno: R.Balint 23+8reb+4ast, E.Chargois 17+7reb+3ast, S.Svoboda 16+7reb+3ast, J.Musil 14+1reb, V.Pulpan 8+8reb+5ast, T.Houzar 5+2reb+5ast

Legia - Keila C. 80-72

Very expected game when 18th ranked Estonian Keila C. (1-7) lost to fourth ranked Polish Legia (6-2) in Warszawa 72-80 on Tuesday. American point guard Sam Sessoms (182-1999, college: Coppin St.) nailed a double-double by scoring 14 points and 10 assists for the winning side and swingman Maksymilian Wilczek (197-2004) accounted for 13 points and 7 rebounds. Four Legia players scored in double figures. Legia's coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Ukrainian power forward Artem Kovalov (208-1997) came up with a double-double by scoring 17 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks and Christopher Lenk (188-2004) added 13 points respectively for Keila C. in the defeat. Legia moved-up to second place, which they share with 3 other teams. Keila C. lost their fourth game in a row. They stay at the bottom position with seven games lost. They share it with 3 other teams.
Top scorers:
Keila C.: A.Kovalov 17+15reb+3ast, C.Lenk 13+2ast, K.Saks 11+1ast, A.Myronenko 10+3reb, L.Dixon 8+3reb+2ast, R.Kuttis 7+3reb+4ast
Legia: S.Sessoms 14+2reb+10ast, M.Wilczek 13+7reb+2ast, E.Onu 11+6reb, A.Pluta 11+2reb+3ast, D.Grudzinski 10+7reb, O.Silins 9+4reb+1ast

Fyllingen - Bamberg 60-74

Very predictable result when eleventh ranked German Bamberg (7-1) won against on the road 17th ranked Norwegian Fyllingen (1-7) 74-60 on Wednesday. Bamberg outrebounded Fyllingen 43-31 including 33 on the defensive glass. American guard Noah Locke (190-1999, college: Providence) nailed 19 points and 6 rebounds for the winning side and forward Moritz Krimmer (202-2000) accounted for 7 points and 9 rebounds. American guard Dashawn Davis (188, college: MSU) came up with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and DR Congolese Joel Kanyinda (203-2001, agency: Helping Ballers) added 6 points and 11 rebounds respectively for Fyllingen in the defeat. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Bamberg. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with Newcastle E. Defending Norwegian champion Fyllingen dropped to the eighth place with seven games lost. They share the position with 3 other teams.
Top scorers:
Fyllingen: D.Davis 18+6reb+5ast, N.Skouen 9+2reb, B.N'Diaye 9+2reb, E.Fongue 7, J.Kanyinda 6+11reb+1ast, L.Espe 6+4ast
Bamberg: N.Locke 19+6reb+3ast, G.Kuku 10+3reb+1ast, K.Lofton 10+2reb+2ast, C.Moller 8+6reb+1ast, F.Stanic 7+7reb+1ast, M.Krimmer 7+9reb