1st Division A Round 17 (Regular Season): No surprise as #1 ACO Basket defeats ToPo

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

1st Division A top team - ACO Basket (15-1) had no problems winning another game on Friday. This time they crushed fifth ranked ToPo (9-8) in Helsinki 103-71. ACO Basket forced 21 ToPo turnovers and outrebounded them 50-24 including a 20-2 advantage in offensive rebounds. American forward Tyler Harris (201-2001, college: Richmond) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds for the winners and his fellow American import forward Kyle Johnson (203-2000, college: Delaware St.) chipped in 12 points and 15 rebounds. Forward Eldar Skamo (198) responded with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. ACO Basket have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain first place with 15-1 record. ToPo at the other side dropped to the sixth position with eight games lost. They share it with RaPy. ACO Basket are looking forward to face Pyrinto Ak.A (#9) in Tampere in the next round and are hoping to win another game. ToPo's supporters also look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Helsinki to the arena HBA-Marsky.
An interesting game took place in Helsinki where 8th ranked HBA-Marsky (6-10) was upset on its own court by eleventh ranked LrNMKY (3-14) 78-70. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of HBA-Marsky. Forward Valtteri Heiskanen (198-2004) nailed 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists (on 9-of-10 shooting from the field) for the winning side and Niilo Tammi accounted for 6 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Guard Eelis Korhonen (190-2007) came up with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for HBA-Marsky in the defeat. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. LrNMKY maintains eleventh place with 3-14 record. HBA-Marsky at the other side keeps the eighth position with ten games lost. LrNMKY will play against bottom-ranked Raiders Basket (#12) in Jarvenpaa in the next round. HBA-Marsky's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Helsinki ToPo.
12th ranked Raiders Basket (1-16) was outscored at home by third ranked Kipina (13-4) with the biggest margin this round 96-62 on Friday night. The best player for the winners was Joe Cookson who had a double-double by scoring 23 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Oliver Rapo produced 17 points and 6 assists for the hosts. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Kipina moved-up to second place, which they share with Karkkila. Raiders Basket lost their eleventh game in a row. They stay at the bottom position with 16 games lost. Kipina will meet at home JBA (#4) in the next round. Raiders Basket will play against LrNMKY (#11) in Lappeenranta and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 17: RaPy was destroyed by JBA on the opponent's court 93-73. Huima unfortunately lost to Karkkila in a home game 82-98. Pyrinto Ak.A recorded a loss to HNMKY on the road 69-74.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 14 points and 13 rebounds by Roni Vuori of HNMKY.



JBA - RaPy 93-73

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 5th ranked RaPy's (9-8) road loss to fourth ranked JBA (12-4) 73-93 on Wednesday. JBA had a 17-5 advantage in offensive rebounds. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. The best player for the winners was point guard Leon Ounap (188-2006) who scored 26 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Guard Elias Sarkka (188-2005) chipped in 17 points. Five JBA players scored in double figures. Forward Samppa Maki (192-2001) produced 15 points and forward Panu Peltokangas (200) added 11 points and 5 rebounds respectively for the guests. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. The victory was the third consecutive win for JBA. They maintain fourth place with 12-4 record. Loser RaPy dropped to the sixth position with eight games lost. They share it with ToPo. JBA will meet league's second-placed Kipina in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. RaPy will play against Huima (#10) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
JBA: L.Ounap 26+7reb+5ast, E.Sarkka 17+4reb+3ast, V.Vili 13+8reb+2ast, T.Flinck 12+8reb+4ast, M.Koskela 10+4reb+6ast, S.Manninen 8+4reb+2ast
RaPy: M.Samppa 15+4reb+2ast, M.Angel 14+3reb+1ast, P.Panu 11+5reb+2ast, N.Veikko 8+6reb+1ast, K.Miro 7+3ast, M.Samppa 5

ToPo - ACO Basket 71-103

1st Division A top team - ACO Basket (15-1) had no problems winning another game on Friday. This time they crushed fifth ranked ToPo (9-8) in Helsinki 103-71. ACO Basket forced 21 ToPo turnovers and outrebounded them 50-24 including a 20-2 advantage in offensive rebounds. American forward Tyler Harris (201-2001, college: Richmond) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 21 points and 10 rebounds for the winners and his fellow American import forward Kyle Johnson (203-2000, college: Delaware St.) chipped in 12 points and 15 rebounds. Harris is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Five ACO Basket players scored in double figures. Forward Eldar Skamo (198) responded with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists and point guard Markus Rautasalo (180-2000) scored 22 points and 4 assists. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. ACO Basket have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain first place with 15-1 record. ToPo at the other side dropped to the sixth position with eight games lost. They share it with RaPy. ACO Basket are looking forward to face Pyrinto Ak.A (#9) in Tampere in the next round and are hoping to win another game. ToPo's supporters also look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Helsinki to the arena HBA-Marsky.
Top scorers:
ACO Basket: H.Tyler 21+10reb+1ast, V.Valkama 13+2reb+3ast, P.Eino 12+7reb, J.Kyle 12+15reb+2ast, H.Boyd 11+3reb+2ast, T.Kuukkanen 8+1ast
ToPo: R.Markus 22+3reb+4ast, S.Eldar 17+6reb+8ast, A.Robin 12+3ast, M.Vaano 9+2reb, E.Elmo 3, M.Akseli 2

Raiders Basket - Kipina 62-96

12th ranked Raiders Basket (1-16) was outscored at home by third ranked Kipina (13-4) with the biggest margin this round 96-62 on Friday night. Kipina outrebounded Raiders Basket 59-36 including a 42-25 advantage in defensive rebounds. Kipina looked well-organized offensively handing out 30 assists. The best player for the winners was American guard Joe Cookson (198, college: Pomona-Pitzer) who had a double-double by scoring 23 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. His fellow American import guard Jalen McCoy (196-2002, college: USC Aiken, agency: Origins Sports Group) chipped in a double-double by scoring 16 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. Five Kipina players scored in double figures. British guard Oliver Rapo (195-2006) produced 17 points and 6 assists and American forward Shawn Montague (199, college: SNHU) added 11 points and 7 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Kipina moved-up to second place, which they share with Karkkila. Raiders Basket lost their eleventh game in a row. They stay at the bottom position with 16 games lost. Kipina will meet at home JBA (#4) in the next round. Raiders Basket will play against LrNMKY (#11) in Lappeenranta and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Kipina: C.Joe 23+10reb+5ast, M.Jalen 16+11reb+6ast, H.Jake 16+6reb+5ast, S.Mantymaa 13+2reb+2ast, E.Laaksonen 12+6reb+1ast, V.Virtaharju 10+10reb+4ast
Raiders Basket: R.Oliver 17+4reb+6ast, S.Montague 11+7reb+3ast, H.Pyry 8+1ast, M.Antti 6+9reb, S.Lauri 5, T.Sami 4+3reb+1ast

HBA-Marsky - LrNMKY 70-78

An interesting game took place in Helsinki where 8th ranked HBA-Marsky (6-10) was upset on its own court by eleventh ranked LrNMKY (3-14) 78-70. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of HBA-Marsky. LrNMKY players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists. Forward Valtteri Heiskanen (198-2004) nailed 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists (on 9-of-10 shooting from the field) for the winning side and guard Niilo Tammi (188-2002) accounted for 6 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Guard Eelis Korhonen (190-2007) came up with 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists and guard Reino Saivosalmi (188-2008) added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for HBA-Marsky in the defeat. Four HBA-Marsky players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. LrNMKY maintains eleventh place with 3-14 record. HBA-Marsky at the other side keeps the eighth position with ten games lost. LrNMKY will play against bottom-ranked Raiders Basket (#12) in Jarvenpaa in the next round. HBA-Marsky's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Helsinki ToPo.
Top scorers:
LrNMKY: V.Heiskanen 19+6reb+4ast, J.Toikka 12+4reb+1ast, J.Immonen 11+5reb+1ast, E.Hagman 8, O.Kalsta 8+3ast, P.En 6+8reb+3ast
HBA-Marsky: S.Reino 11+5reb+4ast, K.Kalle 11+3reb, C.Blomfelt 10+4reb, V.Valtter 10+2reb+2ast, K.Eelis 10+8reb+5ast, P.Benjamin 9+8reb+2ast

Huima - Karkkila 82-98

Very predictable result in Aanekoski where fourth ranked Karkkila (13-4) defeated 10th ranked Huima (3-13) 98-82 on Saturday. Karkkila dominated down low during the game scoring 72 of its points in the paint compared to Huima's 38. Karkkila had a 31-17 advantage in offensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was American power forward Caleb Jones-McCrary (203-2000, college: MNU) who scored 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Forward Patrik Poutiainen (198-2001) chipped in a double-double by scoring 19 points and 14 rebounds. Five Karkkila players scored in double figures. American guard Raheem Anthony (195, college: St.Thomas) produced 21 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists and the other American import forward Malachi Rhodes (203-2001, college: AUM) added 25 points and 8 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Huima's coach Tommi Koskinen rotated ten players seeing no chance for a win. Karkkila moved-up to second place, which they share with Kipina. Huima lost their fifth game in a row. They keep the tenth position with 13 games lost. Karkkila will meet at home HNMKY (#5) in the next round. Huima will play against RaPy (#6) in Tampere and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Karkkila: J.Caleb 25+6reb+5ast, P.Poutiainen 19+14reb+1ast, N.Kivimaki 16+8reb+4ast, W.Bani 14+4reb+5ast, M.Nyman 13+5reb+2ast, M.Hyytiainen 11+1reb+3ast
Huima: M.Rhodes 25+8reb, R.Anthony 21+7reb+7ast, M.Atte 8+3reb+6ast, H.Kasperi 7+6reb+1ast, L.Joona 6+1reb, N.Onni 6+1reb

HNMKY - Pyrinto Ak.A 74-69

Not a big story in a game in Helsinki where 9th ranked Pyrinto Ak.A (6-11) was defeated by fifth ranked HNMKY (10-7) 74-69 on Sunday. However just five-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. HNMKY outrebounded Pyrinto Ak.A 46-35 including a 37-23 advantage in defensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was center Roni Vuori (205-2002) who had a double-double by scoring 14 points and 13 rebounds. point guard Lenni Hervola (183-2003) chipped in 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Guard Kion Williams (187-2003) produced a double-double by scoring 16 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists and forward Otto Raisanen (188-2003) added 14 points and 7 rebounds respectively for the guests. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. HNMKY maintains fifth place with 10-7 record. Loser Pyrinto Ak.A keeps the ninth position with 11 games lost. HNMKY will meet higher ranked Karkkila (#3) on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Pyrinto Ak.A will play against the league's leader ACO Basket (#1) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
HNMKY: N.Kataja 21+4reb, L.Hervola 15+6reb+5ast, R.Vuori 14+13reb+1ast, R.Kauste 10+6reb+3ast, A.Hyvonen 5+5reb, M.Mainio 5+2reb+1ast
Pyrinto Ak.A: W.Kion 16+6reb+10ast, R.Otto 14+7reb+2ast, E.Ville-Pekka 12+5reb+2ast, M.Aaron 11+5reb+1ast, H.Eetu 8+1reb+2ast, N.Jaakko 6+4reb+1ast