1st Division A Round 6 (Regular Season): Raiders Basket hands first defeat to Kipina

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Undefeated Kipina (5-1) recorded its first loss in Aanekoski on Sunday night. Hosts were edged by eleventh ranked Raiders Basket (1-5) 99-96. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Kipina. Raiders Basket looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was who had a double-double by scoring 32 points and 11 rebounds. chipped in 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Raiders Basket's coach Esa Maki-Tulokas used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. At the other side the best for losing team was American point guard Jake Hilmer (180-2000, college: Upper Iowa) who recorded 30 points and 7 assists. Raiders Basket left bottom position moving up to tenth place, which they share with Huima. Kipina at the other side keeps the second position with one game lost. They share it with Karkkila. Raiders Basket is looking forward to face bottom-ranked LrNMKY (#12) in Lappeenranta in the next round. Kipina will play on the road against JBA (#4) in Jyvaskyla and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Another exciting game was played in Tampere between seventh ranked HNMKY and 8th ranked Pyrinto Ak.A where HNMKY (3-3) beat Pyrinto Ak.A (2-4) on the road 77-72. It was a good game for who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 16 points and 15 rebounds. Nikolas Kataja contributed with 16 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Otto Raisanen replied with 30 points and 6 rebounds for Pyrinto Ak.A. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. HNMKY moved-up to sixth place, which they share with ToPo. Pyrinto Ak.A lost third consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with four games lost. They share it with HBA-Marsky. HNMKY will play against higher ranked Karkkila (#3) at home in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Pyrinto Ak.A will play against the league's leader ACO Basket (#1) in Oulun and hopes to get back on the winning track.
A very close game took place in Oulun between ACO Basket and ToPo. Top-ranked ACO Basket (6-0) got a very close home victory over 6th ranked ToPo (3-3). ACO Basket managed to escape with a 1-point win 77-76 on Sunday evening. Host team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of ToPo. Kyle Johnson had a double-double by scoring 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners. The best for the losing side was Eldar Skamo with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). Undefeated ACO Basket have an impressive six-game winning streak. They maintain first position with 6-0 record. Loser ToPo keeps the sixth place with three games lost. They share the position with HNMKY. ACO Basket will meet at home Pyrinto Ak.A (#9) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. ToPo's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Helsinki HBA-Marsky.

Rest of the games of round 6 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
HBA-Marsky crushed LrNMKY in Helsinki 96-63. RaPy was beaten by JBA at home 75-77. Huima lost to Karkkila on the opponent's court 80-97.



LrNMKY - HBA-Marsky 63-96

There was no surprise in Lappeenranta where bottom-ranked LrNMKY (0-6) was crushed by ninth ranked HBA-Marsky (2-4) 96-63 on Thursday. HBA-Marsky forced 19 LrNMKY turnovers and outrebounded them 35-22 including 24 on the defensive glass. Christian Blomfelt scored 14 points and 8 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and Kalle Kuhalampi chipped in 20 points during the contest. Four HBA-Marsky players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was Joel Toikka with 13 points and 5 assists and Darryl Jordan scored 9 points and 9 rebounds. LrNMKY's coach Aubrey Conerly gave up on the game allowing to play twelve players seeing no chance for a win. HBA-Marsky moved-up to eighth place, which they share with Pyrinto Ak.A. Loser LrNMKY still closes the standings with six games lost. HBA-Marsky's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Helsinki to the arena ToPo.
Top scorers:
HBA-Marsky: K.Kuhalampi 20+3reb, E.Korhonen 18+2reb+1ast, C.Blomfelt 14+8reb+2ast, V.Varila 13+7reb, M.Hemdahl 11+4reb, B.Passila 6+1reb+1ast
LrNMKY: T.Joel 13+2reb+5ast, T.Niilo 12+2reb+3ast, V.Aleksi 9, J.Darryl 9+9reb+1ast, H.Valtteri 7+3reb, A.Niki 6

Pyrinto Ak.A - HNMKY 72-77

Another exciting game was played in Tampere between seventh ranked HNMKY and 8th ranked Pyrinto Ak.A where HNMKY (3-3) beat Pyrinto Ak.A (2-4) on the road 77-72. HNMKY dominated down low during the game scoring 48 of its points in the paint compared to Pyrinto Ak.A's 24. HNMKY forced 21 Pyrinto Ak.A turnovers. Pyrinto Ak.A was plagued by 27 personal fouls down the stretch. It was a good game for Roni Vuori who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 16 points and 15 rebounds. Nikolas Kataja contributed with 16 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Four HNMKY players scored in double figures. Otto Raisanen replied with 30 points and 6 rebounds and Kalle Mattila added 4 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists in the effort for Pyrinto Ak.A. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. HNMKY moved-up to sixth place, which they share with ToPo. Pyrinto Ak.A lost third consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with four games lost. They share it with HBA-Marsky. HNMKY will play against higher ranked Karkkila (#3) at home in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Pyrinto Ak.A will play against the league's leader ACO Basket (#1) in Oulun and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
HNMKY: L.Hervola 17+2reb+4ast, N.Kataja 16+6reb+1ast, R.Vuori 16+15reb, O.Peltola 14+1reb, L.Tokoi 7+13reb+2ast, J.Hayrinen 3+1reb
Pyrinto Ak.A: R.Otto 30+6reb+3ast, M.Aaron 12+5reb+2ast, A.Aarre 9+3reb+2ast, Y.Eeki 9+3reb+1ast, N.Ville-Matti 4+4reb, E.Ville-Pekka 4+6reb+1ast

RaPy - JBA 75-77

We could consider it a predictable result in the game between close teams in Tampere where fifth ranked JBA (4-2) edged one of their biggest challengers RaPy (4-2) 77-75 on Friday. JBA forced 21 RaPy turnovers. Leon Ounap scored 23 points and 5 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and Otto Frilander chipped in 12 points and 7 rebounds during the contest. Five JBA players scored in double figures. JBA's coach Mikko Tupamaki allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. The best for the losing side was Miro Kollanen with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists and Panu Peltokangas scored 8 points and 17 rebounds. JBA moved-up to fourth place, which they share with defeated RaPy. JBA will meet at home league's second-placed Kipina in the next round and it may be the game of the week. RaPy will play against Huima in Aanekoski and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
JBA: L.Ounap 23+5reb+3ast, O.Frilander 12+7reb+2ast, T.Rautiainen 11+6reb+1ast, M.Koskela 10+6reb, T.Flinck 10+3reb+3ast, S.Manninen 4+1reb+4ast
RaPy: K.Miro 20+5reb+8ast, S.Miika 13+5reb+1ast, N.Veikko 11+5reb+2ast, K.Juho 10+1reb, P.Panu 8+17reb+2ast, P.Karo 6+3reb+5ast

Karkkila - Huima 97-80

Very expected game when 10th ranked Huima (1-5) was defeated on the road by third ranked Karkkila (5-1) 97-80 on Sunday. Karkkila made 17-of-21 free shots (81.0 percent) during the game. Nestori Kivimaki scored 28 points to lead the charge for the winners and American guard Joey Holifield (194, college: Lourdes) chipped in 22 points and 4 assists during the contest. The best for the losing side was American forward Malachi Rhodes (203-2001, college: AUM) with a double-double by scoring 17 points and 16 rebounds and scored 14 points and 7 rebounds. Five Karkkila and four Huima players scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Karkkila have an impressive five-game winning streak. They moved-up to second place, which they share with Kipina. Loser Huima keeps the tenth position with five games lost. They share it with Raiders Basket. Karkkila will meet HNMKY (#7) in the next round where they are favorite. Huima will play against RaPy and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Karkkila: N.Kivimaki 28+2reb+1ast, H.Joey 22+2reb+4ast, P.Poutiainen 12+7reb+3ast, M.Nyman 12+6reb, M.Hyytiainen 11+8reb+4ast, W.Bani 6+5reb+1ast
Huima: M.Rhodes 17+16reb+3ast, F.Julius 14+7reb+2ast, N.Onni 11, M.Atte 11+4reb+2ast, K.Tatu 10+6reb+3ast, J.Veeti 8+6reb+1ast

ACO Basket - ToPo 77-76

A very close game took place in Oulun between ACO Basket and ToPo. Top-ranked ACO Basket (6-0) got a very close home victory over 6th ranked ToPo (3-3). ACO Basket managed to escape with a 1-point win 77-76 on Sunday evening. Host team only slightly avoided a big embarassment. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of ToPo. American forward Kyle Johnson (203-2000, college: Delaware St.) had a double-double by scoring 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and Viljami Valkama chipped in 15 points and 8 assists during the contest. Four ACO Basket players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) and American guard Joey Holifield (194, college: Lourdes) scored 17 points and 9 assists. ACO Basket have an impressive six-game winning streak. They maintain first position with 6-0 record. Loser ToPo keeps the sixth place with three games lost. They share the position with HNMKY. ACO Basket will meet at home Pyrinto Ak.A (#9) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. ToPo's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Helsinki HBA-Marsky.
Top scorers:
ACO Basket: J.Kyle 24+12reb+2ast, V.Valkama 15+8ast, H.Tyler 11+4reb+1ast, J.Rainto 11+5reb+2ast, P.Eino 9+5reb+3ast, S.De 5+3reb
ToPo: M.Alvar 22+7reb+1ast, S.Eldar 19+8reb+6ast, R.Markus 17+4reb+9ast, K.Otto 9+1reb, S.Abel 3+1reb+2ast, E.Elmo 2+3reb

Kipina - Raiders Basket 96-99

Undefeated Kipina (5-1) recorded its first loss in Aanekoski on Sunday night. Hosts were edged by eleventh ranked Raiders Basket (1-5) 99-96. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Kipina. Raiders Basket looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was Oliver Rapo who had a double-double by scoring 32 points and 11 rebounds. Sami Tahvanainen chipped in 25 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Raiders Basket's coach Esa Maki-Tulokas used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. At the other side the best for losing team was American point guard Jake Hilmer (180-2000, college: Upper Iowa) who recorded 30 points and 7 assists and his fellow American import guard Joe Cookson (198, college: Pomona-Pitzer) added 19 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists respectively. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Raiders Basket left bottom position moving up to tenth place, which they share with Huima. Kipina at the other side keeps the second position with one game lost. They share it with Karkkila. Raiders Basket is looking forward to face bottom-ranked LrNMKY (#12) in Lappeenranta in the next round. Kipina will play on the road against JBA (#4) in Jyvaskyla and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Raiders Basket: O.Rapo 32+11reb+2ast, S.Tahvanainen 25+7reb+7ast, A.Mattila 12+9reb+4ast, A.Ahola 12+2reb+3ast, I.Grauberg 6+4reb+3ast, T.Soininen 5+2reb
Kipina: J.Hilmer 30+4reb+7ast, J.Cookson 19+13reb+5ast, M.Sami 16+3reb+2ast, K.Niilo 11+6reb+2ast, L.Eemeli 7+1reb, H.Teemu 7+12reb+2ast