Super League Round 17 (Regular Season): MZT Skopje defeats Pelister in the game between Top 4 teams

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

An interesting game for MZT Skopje (17-0) which hosted in Skopje 3rd placed Pelister (12-5). Leader MZT Skopje managed to get a 14-point victory 87-73. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Pelister. American guard Elijah McCadden (193-1999, college: Memphis) orchestrated the victory by scoring 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. His fellow American import forward LG Gill (203-1994, college: Maryland) contributed with 15 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. The former international point guard Boban Stajic (185-1993) answered with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for Pelister. Undefeated MZT Skopje have an impressive series of seventeen victories in a row. Defending champion maintains first place with 17-0 record. Pelister at the other side keeps the third position with five games lost. MZT Skopje's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Skopje to the arena TFT.
Bottom-ranked Angeli is still unable to win any game. But it was rather predictable considering how strong their opponent was. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their 17th consecutive match to second ranked TFT (16-1) 95-66. The former international point guard Viktor Tashovski (182-2001) stepped up and scored 23 points and 5 assists for the winners and Toma Stojanoski chipped in 14 points and 12 rebounds. American forward Deng Reng (198, college: Ferris St.) responded with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Angeli's coach Igor Gacov gave up on the game allowing to play ten players seeing no chance for a win. The victory was the tenth consecutive win for TFT. They maintain second place with 16-1 record behind leader MZT Skopje. Angeli lost their seventeenth game in a row. Newly promoted team still closes the standings. TFT's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Skopje MZT Skopje.
A very close game took place in Skopje (derby !!!) between Cair 2030 and Rabotnicki. Ninth ranked Cair 2030 (7-9) got a very close home victory over 7th ranked Rabotnicki (7-11). Cair 2030 managed to escape with a 2-point win 75-73 on Saturday evening. Meti Taci nailed 16 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists for the winning side. Robert Rikic came up with a double-double by scoring 14 points and 21 rebounds for Rabotnicki in the defeat. The victory was the third consecutive win for Cair 2030. They moved-up to seventh place. Loser Rabotnicki dropped to the ninth position with 11 games lost. Cair 2030 will meet Gostivar (#11) on the road in the next round. Rabotnicki will play against Madzari and hope to secure a win.

There were no big surprises in other games of round 17: Tikvesh beat Feniks 2010 on the road 87-76. Madzari destroyed Kozuv on its own court 89-61. Gostivar unfortunately lost to Kumanovo MK in a road game 75-90.



Cair 2030 - Rabotnicki 75-73

A very close game took place in Skopje (derby !!!) between Cair 2030 and Rabotnicki. Ninth ranked Cair 2030 (7-9) got a very close home victory over 7th ranked Rabotnicki (7-11). Cair 2030 managed to escape with a 2-point win 75-73 on Saturday evening. Guard Meti Taci (194-2003) nailed 16 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists for the winning side and Fatjon Rexha (197-2001) accounted for 14 points and 9 rebounds. Five Cair 2030 players scored in double figures. Bosnian-Croatian center Robert Rikic (219-1990, agency: AltusBasket) came up with a double-double by scoring 14 points and 21 rebounds and the former international Viktor Efremovski (194-1998, agency: PEPI SPORT) added 22 points and 9 rebounds respectively for Rabotnicki in the defeat. The victory was the third consecutive win for Cair 2030. They moved-up to seventh place. Loser Rabotnicki dropped to the ninth position with 11 games lost. Cair 2030 will meet Gostivar (#11) on the road in the next round. Rabotnicki will play against Madzari and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Cair 2030: I.Krisnian 17+2reb+1ast, M.Taci 16+5reb+9ast, F.Rexha 14+9reb+1ast, B.Mayuom 10+7reb+1ast, B.Jalin 10+12reb, C.Auston 5+4reb
Rabotnicki: V.Efremovski 22+9reb+3ast, R.Rikic 14+21reb+3ast, M.Grusanovic 13, N.Filip 8+4reb, D.Robev 8+7reb+4ast, L.Petrovski 5

Feniks 2010 - Tikvesh 76-87

Everything could happen in Skopje at the game between two tied teams. Both tenth ranked Tikvesh and 9th ranked Feniks 2010 had identical 6-10 record. But Feniks 2010 was not able to use a home court advantage and was defeated by the opponent from Kavadarci 87-76 on Saturday night. Tikvesh made 28-of-31 free shots (90.3 percent) during the game, while Feniks 2010 only scored eight points from the stripe. They outrebounded Feniks 2010 50-31 including 17 on the offensive glass. Serbian Stefan Gligorijevic (205-1998) nailed a double-double by scoring 22 points and 17 rebounds for the winning side and American forward DeSean Parsons (201-1995, college: Portland St.) accounted for 19 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line). Four Tikvesh players scored in double figures. Sudanese-American forward Lual Rahama (196-1999, college: Concord) came up with 18 points and 8 rebounds and point guard Viktor Zlatevski (184-2001) added 14 points respectively for Feniks 2010 in the defeat. Feniks 2010's coach Denis Dervisevic rotated twelve players in this game, but that didn't help. Tikvesh (7-10) moved-up to eighth place. Loser Feniks 2010 dropped to the tenth position with 11 games lost. Tikvesh will meet at home bottom-ranked Angeli (#12) in the next round. Feniks 2010 will play against Kozuv in Gevgelija and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Tikvesh: S.Gligorijevic 22+17reb+2ast, M.Quinton 20+5reb+3ast, P.De'Sean 19+13reb+6ast, B.Petar 12+5reb+1ast, T.Zlatev 6+5reb+1ast, D.Blagoj 4+5reb
Feniks 2010: L.Rahama 18+8reb+1ast, V.Zlatevski 14+2ast, E.Matthews 12+1reb+1ast, K.Blazevski 8+2reb+1ast, S.Luka 7+3ast, D.Dyson 6+2reb

Angeli - TFT 66-95

Bottom-ranked Angeli is still unable to win any game. But it was rather predictable considering how strong their opponent was. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their 17th consecutive match to second ranked TFT (16-1) 95-66. TFT dominated down low during the game scoring 58 of its points in the paint compared to Angeli's 34. TFT forced 23 Angeli turnovers. The former international point guard Viktor Tashovski (182-2001) stepped up and scored 23 points and 5 assists for the winners and the former international forward Toma Stojanoski (198-2004, agency: BIG) chipped in 14 points and 12 rebounds. Four TFT players scored in double figures. American forward Deng Reng (198, college: Ferris St.) responded with 18 points and 7 rebounds and Bosnian center Haris Cucovic (205-1998, agency: Alti Sport) scored 14 points and 6 rebounds. Angeli's coach Igor Gacov gave up on the game allowing to play ten players seeing no chance for a win. The victory was the tenth consecutive win for TFT. They maintain second place with 16-1 record behind leader MZT Skopje. Angeli lost their seventeenth game in a row. Newly promoted team still closes the standings. TFT's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Skopje MZT Skopje.
Top scorers:
TFT: T.Viktor 23+2reb+5ast, S.Toma 14+12reb+2ast, M.Stojanov 12+2ast, D.Stanley 12+3reb+2ast, D.Govens 11+3ast, M.Knezevic 9+5reb+5ast
Angeli: R.Deng 18+7reb+1ast, H.Cucovic 14+6reb+3ast, V.Bojan 13+7reb+2ast, A.Nastovski 8+3reb, L.Dino 5+1reb, D.Hough 3+1reb+2ast

Madzari - Kozuv 89-61

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 6th ranked Kozuv's (8-10) road loss to fifth ranked Madzari (9-8) 61-89 on Sunday. Madzari dominated down low during the game scoring 52 of its points in the paint compared to Kozuv's 28. They outrebounded Kozuv 41-29 including 30 on the defensive glass. Madzari looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. American players dominated the game. Guard Tommie Lewis (188-2001, college: ETAMU, agency: 6th Man Basketball Agency) nailed 18 points and 5 rebounds for the winning side and guard Javon Greene (193-1999, college: S.Florida) accounted for 11 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Five Madzari players scored in double figures. Rodney Purvis (193-1994, college: UConn) came up with 11 points and Brian Bowen II (203-1998, college: Louisville, agency: 6th Man Basketball Agency) added 9 points and 6 rebounds respectively for Kozuv in the defeat. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Newly promoted Madzari maintains fifth place with 9-8 record. Kozuv lost their third game in a row. They keep the sixth position with ten games lost. Madzari will meet Rabotnicki (#9) in the next round. Kozuv will play against Feniks 2010 and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Madzari: L.Tommie 18+5reb+3ast, H.Amar 13+7reb+2ast, A.Terry 12+7reb+2ast, G.Javon 11+7reb+7ast, L.Marko 11+6reb+1ast, S.Jovan 7+4reb+4ast
Kozuv: N.Bojchev 11+1reb, R.Purvis 11+3reb+3ast, K.Kosta 10+3reb+1ast, B.Bowen II 9+6reb, N.Vasilevski 6+1reb+2ast, D.Nicholas 4+3reb+5ast

Kumanovo MK - Gostivar 90-75

Very predictable result when fourth ranked Kumanovo MK (9-7) won against at home 11th ranked Gostivar (4-13) 90-75 on Sunday. Kumanovo MK looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Serbian guard Andreja Stevanovic (195-1995) nailed 30 points and 5 rebounds for the winning side and Bosnian guard Nemanja Nikolic (197-1998) accounted for 15 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Five Kumanovo MK players scored in double figures. Serbian guard Jovan Crnic (195-1994, college: ACU) came up with 22 points and 6 assists and Bosnian-Serbian power forward Kenan Karahodzic (209-1996, agency: PEPI SPORT) added 14 points and 7 rebounds respectively for Gostivar in the defeat. Kumanovo MK maintains fourth place with 9-7 record. Loser Gostivar keeps the eleventh position with 13 games lost. Kumanovo MK will meet higher ranked Pelister (#3) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Gostivar will play against Cair 2030 (#7) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Kumanovo MK: S.Andreja 30+5reb+3ast, R.Aleksandar 17+5reb+2ast, N.Nemanja 15+5reb+6ast, L.Uros 14+6reb, G.Stojan 13+3reb+4ast, H.Bajram 1+1ast
Gostivar: J.Crnic 22+2reb+6ast, K.Karahodzic 14+7reb+3ast, I.Sapundziev 11+2reb+1ast, D.Renato 9+3reb+2ast, K.Stoleski 8+4reb, M.Mladenovic 6+2reb+3ast

MZT Skopje - Pelister 87-73

An interesting game for MZT Skopje (17-0) which hosted in Skopje 3rd placed Pelister (12-5). Leader MZT Skopje managed to get a 14-point victory 87-73. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Pelister. American guard Elijah McCadden (193-1999, college: Memphis) orchestrated the victory by scoring 23 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. His fellow American import forward LG Gill (203-1994, college: Maryland) contributed with 15 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Gill is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. The former international point guard Boban Stajic (185-1993) answered with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and American Langston Wilson (206-2000, college: Milwaukee, agency: 011 Sports) added 17 points and 7 rebounds in the effort for Pelister. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. MZT Skopje have an impressive series of seventeen victories in a row. Defending champion maintains first place with 17-0 record. Pelister at the other side keeps the third position with five games lost. MZT Skopje's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Skopje to the arena TFT.
Top scorers:
MZT Skopje: M.Elijah 23+9reb+6ast, S.Mack 16+4reb+1ast, G.LG 15+5reb+2ast, M.Petkov 13+1reb, M.Andrej 9+4reb+6ast, K.Bojan 5+2reb+3ast
Pelister: L.Wilson 17+7reb+1ast, B.Stajic 14+6reb+6ast, N.Malesevic 12+10reb+2ast, K.Bracy-Davis 11+3reb+2ast, B.Jenkins 8+4reb+2ast, A.Mitrevski 7+4reb+1ast