Liga e pare Round 5 of Regular Season

Coincidentally all hosts won their games. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

First defeat of league's leader Borea Peja (4-1) against fourth ranked New Basket (4-1) 97-65 was the most important game of the last round. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Borea Peja. It was a key game for the top position in the league. They outrebounded Borea Peja 62-46 including a 44-28 advantage in defensive rebounds. New Basket looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists comparing to just 14 passes made by Borea Peja's players. Swingman Eris Zeneli (193-2005) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 25 points and 14 rebounds. point guard Fis Jashari (180-2008) contributed with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the winners. Meriton Gashi (192) answered with a double-double by scoring 21 points and 12 rebounds for Borea Peja. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. New Basket have a solid series of three victories in a row. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated Borea Peja. Borea Peja will play next round against strong Gjakova trying to make it back to the top of the standings. New Basket will try to continue on its current victory against sixth ranked Vushtrria on the road.
Bottom-ranked Istogu is still unable to win any game. This time they lost on the road their fifth consecutive match to seventh ranked Kerasan (2-3) 102-67. Center Venis Haliti (198-2008) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 10 points and 14 rebounds for the winners and Dion Sinani chipped in 17 points and 5 rebounds. Swingman Mirlind Zekaj (196-2001) responded with a double-double by scoring 24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. 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. Kerasan maintains seventh place with 2-3 record. Istogu at the other side still closes the standings with five games lost. They share the position with Peja B. Kerasan will play against Kosovari (#8) in the next round. Istogu will play against the league's second-placed Drita and will have a slim chance for a victory.
Bottom-ranked Peja B is still unable to win any game. This time they lost on the road their fifth consecutive match to sixth ranked Vushtrria (3-2) 130-75 on Friday evening. Kujtim Ujkani nailed a double-double by scoring 37 points (!!!) and 18 rebounds for the winning side. Olti Sallabegolli came up with 19 points for Peja B in the defeat. 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. Vushtrria moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Prizreni. Loser Peja B still closes the standings with five games lost. They share the position with Istogu. Vushtrria will meet at home league's leader New Basket in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Peja B will play against Prizreni (#5) and hopes to get finally their first victory.

In the last two games of round 5 Kosovari was beaten by Gjakova on the road 100-87. Drita destroyed Prizreni on its own court 100-76.



New Basket - Borea Peja 97-65:
First defeat of league's leader Borea Peja (4-1) against fourth ranked New Basket (4-1) 97-65 was the most important game of the last round. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of Borea Peja. It was a key game for the top position in the league. They outrebounded Borea Peja 62-46 including a 44-28 advantage in defensive rebounds. New Basket looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists comparing to just 14 passes made by Borea Peja's players. Swingman Eris Zeneli (193-2005) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 25 points and 14 rebounds. point guard Fis Jashari (180-2008) contributed with a triple-double by scoring 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the winners. Four New Basket players scored in double figures. Meriton Gashi (192) answered with a double-double by scoring 21 points and 12 rebounds and point guard Albin Berisha (188-2002) added 16 points in the effort for Borea Peja. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. New Basket have a solid series of three victories in a row. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated Borea Peja. Borea Peja will play next round against strong Gjakova trying to make it back to the top of the standings. New Basket will try to continue on its current victory against sixth ranked Vushtrria on the road.
Top scorers:
New Basket: Z.Eris 25+14reb+3ast, L.Zeneli 22+14reb, J.Fis 16+10reb+10ast, I.Pallushi 14+10reb+5ast, R.Krasniqi 8+7reb+5ast, I.Voca 6+4reb+3ast
Borea Peja: G.Meriton 21+12reb+3ast, A.Berisha 16+4reb+3ast, M.Blendi 8+5reb+1ast, R.Shala 7+11reb+3ast, T.Edon 6+1reb, K.Lindi 3+3reb+3ast

Gjakova - Kosovari 100-87:
No shocking result in a game when third ranked Gjakova (4-1) beat at home 8th ranked Kosovari (1-4) 100-87 on Wednesday. Gjakova made 18-of-22 free shots (81.8 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. Center Mal Syla (204-2006) nailed 20 points and 9 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) for the winning side and Gramos Rakateli accounted for 18 points and 8 rebounds. Forward Unik Ahmeti (198-2009) came up with a double-double by scoring 26 points and 11 rebounds and Engjull Sollova (191-2000) added 16 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists respectively for Kosovari in the defeat. Five Gjakova and four Kosovari players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Gjakova have a solid series of three victories in a row. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams. Kosovari lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the eighth place with four games lost. Gjakova will meet Borea Peja (#4) on the road in the next round. Kosovari will play against Kerasan (#7) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Gjakova: S.Mal 20+9reb+2ast, K.Roni 19+4reb+1ast, G.Rakateli 18+8reb+2ast, C.Eden 16+3reb+3ast, B.Ambri 13+3reb+9ast, Z.Gashi 5+4reb+2ast
Kosovari: A.Unik 26+11reb+1ast, A.Islamaj 17+9reb+2ast, S.Engjull 16+9reb+7ast, R.Sylejmani 14+1reb+2ast, R.Gashi 7+4reb+2ast, L.Gert 3

Kerasan - Istogu 102-67:
Bottom-ranked Istogu is still unable to win any game. This time they lost on the road their fifth consecutive match to seventh ranked Kerasan (2-3) 102-67. Kerasan dominated down low during the game scoring 70 of its points in the paint compared to Istogu's 20. They outrebounded Istogu 48-33 including 19 on the offensive glass. Kerasan players were unselfish on offense dishing 22 assists. Center Venis Haliti (198-2008) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 10 points and 14 rebounds for the winners and Dion Sinani (197-2005) chipped in 17 points and 5 rebounds. Four Kerasan players scored in double figures. Swingman Mirlind Zekaj (196-2001) responded with a double-double by scoring 24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals and guard Dardan Maxharraj (191-2004) scored 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. 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. Kerasan maintains seventh place with 2-3 record. Istogu at the other side still closes the standings with five games lost. They share the position with Peja B. Kerasan will play against Kosovari (#8) in the next round. Istogu will play against the league's second-placed Drita and will have a slim chance for a victory.
Top scorers:
Kerasan: D.Sinani 17+5reb, O.Istrefi 14+2reb+3ast, Y.Pllana 13+2reb, A.Blin 13+3reb+4ast, H.Venis 10+14reb+1ast, G.Enes 8+2reb+7ast
Istogu: M.Zekaj 24+12reb+4ast, M.Dardan 20+5reb+4ast, A.Jon 8+2reb+2ast, S.Diamant 6+6reb+1ast, S.Oltion 5+3reb+1ast, B.Dren 3+2reb

Drita - Prizreni 100-76:
Everything could happen in Gjilan at the game between two tied teams. Both fourth ranked Drita and 5th ranked Prizreni had identical 3-1 record. This time Drita used a home court advantage and smashed the opponent from Prizren 100-76 on Friday night. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Drita made 25-of-32 free shots (78.1 percent) during the game. They also forced 19 Prizreni turnovers. Guard Almir Dullovi (188-2009) nailed a double-double by scoring 29 points and 10 rebounds for the winning side and point guard Yll Kastrati (185-2008, agency: BIG) accounted for 22 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists. point guard Hajriz Hazeri (188-2003) came up with 26 points and 4 assists (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line) and ex-international center Urim Zenelaj (213-1991, agency: Interperformances) added 12 points and 11 rebounds respectively for Prizreni in the defeat. Four Prizreni players scored in double figures. Prizreni's coach gave up on the game allowing to play ten players seeing no chance for a win. Drita have a solid series of four victories in a row. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams. Loser Prizreni keeps the fifth place with two games lost. They share the position with Vushtrria. Drita will meet Istogu (#10) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Prizreni will play against Peja B (#11) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Drita: A.Dullovi 29+10reb+3ast, E.Berisha 25+5reb+1ast, K.Yll 22+5reb+8ast, D.Kastrati 8+5reb+7ast, L.Zeqiri 7+5reb, C.Diar 6+5reb+1ast
Prizreni: H.Hajriz 26+4reb+4ast, E.Nixha 15+3ast, A.Qendrim 14+6reb+3ast, U.Zenelaj 12+11reb+3ast, G.Altin 7+5reb+3ast, M.Besmir 2+4reb

Vushtrria - Peja B 130-75:
Bottom-ranked Peja B is still unable to win any game. This time they lost on the road their fifth consecutive match to sixth ranked Vushtrria (3-2) 130-75 on Friday evening. Vushtrria dominated down low during the game scoring 76 of its points in the paint compared to Peja B's 34. Vushtrria forced 25 Peja B turnovers and outrebounded them 48-21 including a 15-4 advantage in offensive rebounds. Vushtrria shot the lights out from three sinking 13 long-distance shots on high 54.2 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 34 assists comparing to just 17 passes made by Peja B's players. Forward Kujtim Ujkani (201-1998, agency: BIG) nailed a double-double by scoring 37 points (!!!) and 18 rebounds for the winning side and power forward Parart Zeqiri accounted for 17 points, 9 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 steals. Four Vushtrria players scored in double figures. Guard Olti Sallabegolli (193-2006) came up with 19 points and Lenois Mazrekaj added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for Peja B in the defeat. 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. Vushtrria moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Prizreni. Loser Peja B still closes the standings with five games lost. They share the position with Istogu. Vushtrria will meet at home league's leader New Basket in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Peja B will play against Prizreni (#5) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Vushtrria: U.Kujtim 37+18reb, P.Zeqiri 17+9reb+10ast, E.Ramaj 16+5reb+3ast, Y.Nuradini 12+5reb+4ast, E.Hajdari 9+2ast, G.Drinor 9+2reb+3ast
Peja B: S.Olti 19+1reb+2ast, M.Lenois 11+5reb+4ast, M.Dren 10+2reb+3ast, D.Dior 9+1reb+1ast, H.Jon 7+3reb+3ast, E.Gashi 6+1ast