1st Division A Round 8 (Regular Season): ACO Basket lose their first game against Karkkila

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most surprising game was the first loss of ACO Basket (7-1) on the court of fifth ranked Karkkila on Saturday night. Visitors were defeated by Karkkila 92-88. It ended at the same time the seven-game winning streak of ACO Basket. It may be a crucial game in the contest for the top position in the league. Worth to mention a great performance of American guard Joey Holifield (194, college: Lourdes) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 25 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists and who added 25 points during the contest. responded with 23 points (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Karkkila (6-2) moved-up to second place, which they share with 3 other teams. ACO Basket at the other side still keeps top position with one game lost. Karkkila is looking forward to face Pyrinto Ak.A (#9) in Tampere in the next round and are hoping to win another game. ACO Basket will play at home against RaPy (#5) and is hoping to win this game.
Fifth ranked Kipina (6-2) crushed at home 10th ranked Huima (1-7) by 22 points 99-77, which is the biggest margin this round. The winners were led by American guard Joe Cookson (198, college: Pomona-Pitzer) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 40 points (!!!) and 16 rebounds (was perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line !!!) and Jake Hilmer supported him with 34 points (!!!), 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Even a double-double of 18 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists by American forward Malachi Rhodes (203-2001, college: AUM) did not help to save the game for Huima. Huima's coach Tommi Koskinen gave up on the game allowing to play twelve players seeing no chance for a win. Kipina moved-up to second place, which they share with 3 other teams. Huima lost third consecutive game. They keep the tenth position with seven games lost. They share it with LrNMKY and Raiders Basket. Kipina will play against HNMKY (#7) in Helsinki in the next round where they are favorite. Huima will play at home against LrNMKY and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

There were no shocking results in the other games in round 8: JBA won against LrNMKY on the opponent's court 80-64. RaPy managed to outperform HNMKY in a home game 89-73. ToPo managed to beat Pyrinto Ak.A on the road 108-98. HBA-Marsky defeated Raiders Basket on its own court 95-85.



LrNMKY - JBA 64-80

Very expected game in Lappeenranta where 11th ranked LrNMKY (1-7) was defeated by third ranked JBA (6-2) 80-64. LrNMKY was plagued by 24 personal fouls down the stretch. The winners were led by Miro Koskela who scored that evening 22 points and 5 rebounds and Leon Ounap supported him with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Four JBA players scored in double figures. JBA's coach Mikko Tupamaki allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Even 21 points and 7 rebounds by American guard Joey Holifield (194, college: Lourdes) did not help to save the game for LrNMKY. Joel Toikka added 13 points and 5 rebounds for the hosts. JBA have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to second place, which they share with 3 other teams. LrNMKY at the other side dropped to the tenth position with seven games lost. They share it with Huima and Raiders Basket. JBA will play against HBA-Marsky (#8) in Helsinki in the next round where they are favorite. LrNMKY will play on the road against Huima in Aanekoski and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
JBA: M.Koskela 22+5reb+2ast, T.Rautiainen 14+4reb+1ast, L.Ounap 13+8reb+3ast, O.Frilander 11+3reb+1ast, E.Sarkka 8+4reb+7ast, T.Flinck 7+6reb+2ast
LrNMKY: J.Darryl 21+7reb, T.Joel 13+5reb+3ast, T.Niilo 13+4reb+3ast, H.Valtteri 8+5reb+2ast, I.Johan 5+2reb+1ast, H.Elias 4+3ast

RaPy - HNMKY 89-73

Rather predictable result in Tampere where fifth ranked RaPy (6-2) defeated 7th ranked HNMKY (4-4) 89-73. The winners were led by Miro Kollanen who scored that evening 20 points and 8 assists and Tuomo Aalto supported him with 20 points and 5 assists. Four RaPy players scored in double figures. Even 16 points and 5 assists by Lenni Hervola did not help to save the game for HNMKY. Nikolas Kataja added 17 points and 6 rebounds for the guests. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. RaPy moved-up to second place, which they share with 3 other teams. HNMKY at the other side keeps the seventh position with four games lost. RaPy will play against league's leader ACO Basket in Oulun in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. HNMKY will play at home against Kipina (#4) and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
RaPy: M.Kollanen 20+4reb+8ast, T.Aalto 20+3reb+5ast, J.Kaltiainen 14, M.Smolander 13+9reb, P.Peltokangas 7+7reb+2ast, V.Niskanen 4+4reb
HNMKY: K.Nikolas 17+6reb+1ast, H.Lenni 16+4reb+5ast, M.Mikael 15+2reb+1ast, T.Leo 9+5reb+1ast, V.Roni 6+8reb, H.Jussi 5+2reb

Pyrinto Ak.A - ToPo 98-108

Not a big story in a game in Tampere where 9th ranked Pyrinto Ak.A (2-6) was defeated by sixth ranked ToPo (5-3) 108-98. ToPo shot 67.2 percent from the field. They shot the lights out from three nailing 15 long-distance shots on high 57.7 percentage. ToPo players were unselfish on offense dishing 31 assists. The winners were led by Markus Rautasalo who had that evening a double-double by scoring 23 points and 12 assists (on 10-of-12 shooting from the field) and Alvar Michelsen supported him with 25 points and 5 rebounds (on 10-of-12 shooting from the field). Even 21 points and 7 assists by Otto Raisanen did not help to save the game for Pyrinto Ak.A. Kalle Mattila added 20 points and 6 rebounds for the hosts. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. ToPo maintains sixth position with 5-3 record. Pyrinto Ak.A lost fifth consecutive game. They keep the ninth place with six games lost. ToPo will play against bottom-ranked Raiders Basket (#12) in Jarvenpaa in the next round where they are favorite. Pyrinto Ak.A will play at home against Karkkila and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
ToPo: A.Michelsen 25+5reb+3ast, M.Rautasalo 23+1reb+12ast, A.Sufuentes 15+4reb+2ast, E.Skamo 14+7reb+7ast, O.Kantero 10+1reb+2ast, A.Makinen 10+1reb+1ast
Pyrinto Ak.A: M.Aaron 23+2reb+1ast, R.Otto 21+2reb+7ast, M.Kalle 20+6reb+3ast, Y.Eeki 16+1ast, H.Eetu 14+1reb+8ast, E.Ville-Pekka 4+4reb+4ast

HBA-Marsky - Raiders Basket 95-85

Everything went according to plan in Helsinki where eighth ranked HBA-Marsky (3-5) beat bottom-ranked Raiders Basket (1-7) 95-85. HBA-Marsky forced 21 Raiders Basket turnovers. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 26 assists. The winners were led by Christian Blomfelt who scored that evening 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and Kalle Kuhalampi supported him with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Even 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists by Sami Tahvanainen did not help to save the game for Raiders Basket. American forward Shawn Montague (199, college: SNHU) added 22 points for the guests. Four Raiders Basket players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. HBA-Marsky maintains eighth position with 3-5 record. Raiders Basket at the other side dropped to the bottom place with seven games lost. They share the position with Huima and LrNMKY. HBA-Marsky will play against league's second-placed JBA in Jyvaskyla in the next round and they do not belong to the favorites in that game. Raiders Basket will play on the road against ToPo (#6) in Helsinki to get more than just one victory in their record.
Top scorers:
HBA-Marsky: C.Blomfelt 22+6reb+4ast, M.Hemdahl 10+6reb, B.Passila 10+2reb, K.Kuhalampi 10+12reb+5ast, V.Varila 9+3reb+6ast, J.Kaivos 9+1reb+4ast
Raiders Basket: S.Montague 22+4reb+1ast, T.Sami 21+8reb+5ast, R.Oliver 10+3reb+2ast, A.Aleksanteri 10+4reb+4ast, M.Antti 6+6reb+2ast, S.Toni 6+4reb+1ast

Karkkila - ACO Basket 92-88

The most surprising game was the first loss of ACO Basket (7-1) on the court of fifth ranked Karkkila on Saturday night. Visitors were defeated by Karkkila 92-88. It ended at the same time the seven-game winning streak of ACO Basket. It may be a crucial game in the contest for the top position in the league. Worth to mention a great performance of American guard Joey Holifield (194, college: Lourdes) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 25 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists and Nestori Kivimaki who added 25 points during the contest. responded with 23 points (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field) and American forward Tyler Harris (201-2001, college: Richmond) scored 21 points. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Karkkila (6-2) moved-up to second place, which they share with 3 other teams. ACO Basket at the other side still keeps top position with one game lost. Karkkila is looking forward to face Pyrinto Ak.A (#9) in Tampere in the next round and are hoping to win another game. ACO Basket will play at home against RaPy (#5) and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Karkkila: H.Joey 25+13reb+7ast, N.Kivimaki 25+1reb+1ast, A.Nieminen 11+8reb+1ast, M.Hyytiainen 10+3reb+1ast, W.Bani 7+1reb+2ast, M.Nyman 6+2reb+2ast
ACO Basket: V.Viljami 23+1reb+3ast, T.Harris 21+4reb+2ast, E.Pallijeff 17+7reb, K.Johnson 12+13reb+2ast, B.Henry 9+7reb+3ast, K.Tiitus 5+2reb

Kipina - Huima 99-77

Fifth ranked Kipina (6-2) crushed at home 10th ranked Huima (1-7) by 22 points 99-77, which is the biggest margin this round. Kipina made 22-of-24 charity shots (91.7 percent) during the game. Huima was plagued by 24 personal fouls down the stretch. The winners were led by American guard Joe Cookson (198, college: Pomona-Pitzer) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 40 points (!!!) and 16 rebounds (was perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line !!!) and the other American import point guard Jake Hilmer (180-2000, college: Upper Iowa) supported him with 34 points (!!!), 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Even a double-double of 18 points, 16 rebounds and 4 assists by American forward Malachi Rhodes (203-2001, college: AUM) did not help to save the game for Huima. added 13 points for the guests. Huima's coach Tommi Koskinen gave up on the game allowing to play twelve players seeing no chance for a win. Kipina moved-up to second place, which they share with 3 other teams. Huima lost third consecutive game. They keep the tenth position with seven games lost. They share it with LrNMKY and Raiders Basket. Kipina will play against HNMKY (#7) in Helsinki in the next round where they are favorite. Huima will play at home against LrNMKY and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Kipina: C.Joe 40+16reb+3ast, H.Jake 34+7reb+6ast, E.Laaksonen 12+2reb+1ast, N.Karkkainen 6+4reb+2ast, S.Mantymaa 5+4reb+1ast, S.Salmenkivi 2+4reb+2ast
Huima: M.Rhodes 18+16reb+4ast, M.Atte 13+2reb+3ast, N.Onni 12+2reb+1ast, J.Veeti 9+2reb+5ast, R.Jimi 5+3reb+2ast, F.Julius 5