Round 13: Peja is defeated by Vllaznia

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game between second ranked Kosovan Peja (9-4) and seventh ranked Albanian Vllaznia (3-10) was the most important one in the last round on Thursday night. Peja was defeated by Vllaznia in Peja 74-63. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Peja. Vllaznia forced 20 Peja turnovers. American point guard A.J. Walker (183-1995, college: Pitt St.) stepped up and scored 21 points for the winners and his fellow American import guard Avi Toomer (190-1997, college: Bucknell) chipped in 16 points and 5 rebounds. At the losing side Albanian forward Daniel Lekndreaj (192-1997) responded with a double-double by scoring 15 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). Vllaznia maintains seventh place with 3-10 record. Peja at the other side keeps the second position with four games lost. Vllaznia are looking forward to face higher ranked Teuta (#4) in Durres in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Peja will play on the road against Rahoveci and is hoping to win this game.
The game between Top Four teams took place in Durres. 4th placed Albanian host Teuta (6-6) lost to third ranked Kosovan Prizreni-16 (8-5) 110-103. American Darrell Davis (196-1996, college: Dayton) nailed a double-double by scoring 49 points (!!!), 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals (perfect behind the arc making all seven shots !!!) for the winning side and Leurit Morina accounted for 19 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. American guard Nasir Core (190, college: FAMU) came up with 33 points (!!!), 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals for Teuta in the defeat. Teuta's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Prizreni-16 maintains third place with 8-5 record having just two points less than leader Ylli. Defending Albanian champion Teuta keeps the fourth position with six games lost. Prizreni-16 will play against league's leader Ylli in Therande in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Teuta will play on the road against Vllaznia in Shkodra and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Liga Unike top team - Kosovan Ylli (11-1) had no problems winning another game on Wednesday. This time they crushed fifth ranked Albanian Tirana (6-7) in Therande 96-72. Henrik Sirko fired 17 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Endrit Hysenagolli produced a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Ylli have an impressive series of nine victories in a row. Defending Kosovan champion maintains first place with 11-1 record. Loser Tirana keeps the fifth position with seven games lost. They share it with Rahoveci. Ylli will meet Prizreni-16 (#3) on the road in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Tirana's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Tirana Kamza.

In the last game of round 13 Rahoveci destroyed Kamza on the opponent's court 103-70.

Kamza - Rahoveci 70-103

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 7th ranked Albanian Kamza's (2-11) home loss to sixth ranked Kosovan Rahoveci (6-7) 70-103 on Wednesday. Rahoveci dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to Kamza's 42. Rahoveci forced 24 Kamza turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists. South Sudanese power forward Makol Mawien (206-1996, college: Kansas St., agency: BIG) fired a double-double by scoring 27 points and 17 rebounds (on 13-of-15 shooting from the field) for the winners. Visar Ejupi (200-2003) chipped in 24 points and 5 steals. Four Rahoveci players scored in double figures. Rahoveci's coach felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Guard Lion Alimani (186-2002) produced a triple-double by scoring 10 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists and 4 steals and American forward Matthew Eldridge (203-1996, college: Lindsey Wilson) added 17 points respectively for lost side. Rahoveci moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Tirana. Kamza lost eleventh consecutive game. Newly promoted team dropped to the bottom position with 11 games lost. Rahoveci will meet at home league's second-placed Peja in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Kamza's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Tirana to the arena Tirana.
Top scorers:
Rahoveci: M.Mawien 27+17reb, V.Ejupi 24+4reb+1ast, E.Kryeziu 15+2reb+2ast, R.Jones 11+2reb+3ast, I.Koljevic 6+3reb+2ast, A.Balluku 5+3reb+4ast
Kamza: E.Williams 19+3ast, M.Eldridge 17+4reb+2ast, A.Lion 10+11reb+10ast, N.Thano 9+3reb+2ast, H.Xhersido 8+8reb+1ast, E.Gjoka 5+3reb

Ylli - Tirana 96-72

Liga Unike top team - Kosovan Ylli (11-1) had no problems winning another game on Wednesday. This time they crushed fifth ranked Albanian Tirana (6-7) in Therande 96-72. They outrebounded Tirana 37-25 including 29 on the defensive glass. Ylli shot the lights out from three sinking 14 long-distance shots on high 51.9 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. Croatian forward Henrik Sirko (199-1993) fired 17 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Montenegrin-Kosovan Mikaile Tmusic (189-1993) chipped in 23 points. Five Ylli players scored in double figures. Center Endrit Hysenagolli (208-1988) produced a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds and Julian Hamati added 18 points respectively for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Ylli have an impressive series of nine victories in a row. Defending Kosovan champion maintains first place with 11-1 record. Loser Tirana keeps the fifth position with seven games lost. They share it with Rahoveci. Ylli will meet Prizreni-16 (#3) on the road in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Tirana's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Tirana Kamza.
Top scorers:
Ylli: M.Tmusic 23+2reb+2ast, H.Sirko 17+9reb+2ast, E.Kastrati 15+4reb+4ast, C.Harris 12+11reb+2ast, G.Morina 11+5reb+3ast, P.Ardit 11+1ast
Tirana: H.Julian 18+2reb+2ast, E.Hysenagolli 18+11reb+2ast, E.Hysa 12+1reb+2ast, J.Smith 8+2reb, R.Clark 7+3reb+6ast, R.Vogli 6+2reb+2ast

Teuta - Prizreni-16 103-110

The game between Top Four teams took place in Durres. 4th placed Albanian host Teuta (6-6) lost to third ranked Kosovan Prizreni-16 (8-5) 110-103. Prizreni-16 shot 33 for 49 from the free-throw line, while Teuta only scored seventeen points from the stripe. Prizreni-16 forced 24 Teuta turnovers. They shot the lights out from three nailing 13 long-distance shots on high 56.5 percentage. Prizreni-16 players were unselfish on offense dishing 22 assists. Teuta was plagued by 38 personal fouls down the stretch. American Darrell Davis (196-1996, college: Dayton) nailed a double-double by scoring 49 points (!!!), 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals (perfect behind the arc making all seven shots !!!) for the winning side and guard Leurit Morina (187-2003) accounted for 19 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. American guard Nasir Core (190, college: FAMU) came up with 33 points (!!!), 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals and Greek-Albanian forward Frenki Lilaj (203-1998, college: Young Harris) added 16 points and 6 rebounds respectively for Teuta in the defeat. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Teuta's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Prizreni-16 maintains third place with 8-5 record having just two points less than leader Ylli. Defending Albanian champion Teuta keeps the fourth position with six games lost. Prizreni-16 will play against league's leader Ylli in Therande in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Teuta will play on the road against Vllaznia in Shkodra and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Prizreni-16: D.Davis 49+10reb+4ast, M.Leurit 19+6reb+8ast, X.Cannefax 18+3reb+4ast, Q.Ajazaj 10+3reb+2ast, R.McCoy 8+2reb+3ast, T.Williams 4+2reb+1ast
Teuta: N.Core 33+7reb+7ast, F.Lilaj 16+6reb+1ast, T.Bruce 15+4reb+1ast, K.Gorea 10+2reb+4ast, B.Cashman 9+9reb+2ast, T.Peterson 8+4reb

Peja - Vllaznia 63-74

The game between second ranked Kosovan Peja (9-4) and seventh ranked Albanian Vllaznia (3-10) was the most important one in the last round on Thursday night. Peja was defeated by Vllaznia in Peja 74-63. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Peja. Vllaznia forced 20 Peja turnovers. American point guard A.J. Walker (183-1995, college: Pitt St.) stepped up and scored 21 points for the winners and his fellow American import guard Avi Toomer (190-1997, college: Bucknell) chipped in 16 points and 5 rebounds. Toomer is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Four Vllaznia players scored in double figures. At the losing side Albanian forward Daniel Lekndreaj (192-1997) responded with a double-double by scoring 15 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) and American swingman Courtney Fells (199-1986, college: NC State) produced a double-double by scoring 15 points and 11 rebounds. Vllaznia maintains seventh place with 3-10 record. Peja at the other side keeps the second position with four games lost. Vllaznia are looking forward to face higher ranked Teuta (#4) in Durres in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Peja will play on the road against Rahoveci and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Vllaznia: A.Walker 21+3reb+1ast, A.Toomer 16+5reb+3ast, M.Butler 13+1reb+1ast, R.Shestani 13+6reb+5ast, C.Dobbs 6+12reb+3ast, D.Cooper 5+4reb+1ast
Peja: C.Godfrey 17+9reb+2ast, D.Lekndreaj 15+11reb+4ast, C.Fells 15+11reb+3ast, A.Callakaj 8+5reb+5ast, S.Hajzeri 6+1reb+1ast, A.Berisha 2+2reb+1ast