Prva A Liga Round 17 (Regular Season): Kriva Palanka keep a leadership position

The Regular Season in Prva A Liga is slowly approaching the end. But there may be still some important changes in the final standings in the last 4 rounds. Coincidentally all hosts won their games. Here is the last round review presented by LBM Management.

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Kriva Palanka as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Kriva Palanka smashed 8th ranked Sport Tim at home 93-52. Kriva Palanka dominated down low during the game scoring 74 of its points in the paint compared to Sport Tim's 36. Kriva Palanka forced 21 Sport Tim turnovers and outrebounded them 49-36 including 19 on the offensive glass. Kriva Palanka looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists comparing to just 9 passes made by Sport Tim's players. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Kriva Palanka made 8 blocks. The best player for the winners was American Abby Niehues (186-1999, college: S.Nazarene, agency: DC Sports) who had a double-double by scoring 21 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks. Her fellow American import guard Dyani Robinson (170-2001, college: N.Texas) chipped in 27 points and 7 rebounds. Kriva Palanka's coach felt very confident using entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Ana Lukic produced 22 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals for the guests. Kriva Palanka have a solid series of four victories in a row. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Sport Tim lost twelfth consecutive game. They stay at the bottom place with 16 games lost. They share the position with Patriot. Sport Tim will play next round against MZT trying to get back on the winning streak. Kriva Palanka will try to continue on its current victory against third ranked Badel in Skopje.
Very important is a road loss of second ranked KAM Basket (13-4) against fourth ranked Badel (12-5) on Saturday night. Visiting KAM Basket was defeated by Badel in a tough game in Skopje 48-54. American guard Arin Freeman (170, college: UIC) orchestrated the victory by scoring 17 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 6 steals. Lindsey Cleary contributed with 12 points and 16 rebounds for the winners. The former international forward Cvetanka Dimova (177-1998) answered with a double-double by scoring 13 points and 13 rebounds for KAM Basket. Badel have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They moved-up to third place, which they share with Vardar. Defending champion KAM Basket keeps the second position with four games lost. Badel will play against league's leader Kriva Palanka on the road in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. KAM Basket will play against Vardar and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

In the last two games of round 17 MZT was crushed by Probasket in Kavadartsi 72-50. Vardar beat Patriot at home 99-88.

The Round Review is presented by LBM Management. A full-service agency focused on Women's basketball sphere and working worldwide. A global and ethical quality service.

Badel - KAM Basket 54-48

Very important is a road loss of second ranked KAM Basket (13-4) against fourth ranked Badel (12-5) on Saturday night. Visiting KAM Basket was defeated by Badel in a tough game in Skopje 48-54. American guard Arin Freeman (170, college: UIC) orchestrated the victory by scoring 17 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 6 steals. Her fellow American import forward Lindsey Cleary (183-1997, college: CMS) contributed with a double-double by scoring 12 points and 16 rebounds for the winners. Freeman is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. The former international forward Cvetanka Dimova (177-1998) answered with a double-double by scoring 13 points and 13 rebounds and point guard Sara Maksimovska (172-2002) added 13 points and 6 rebounds in the effort for KAM Basket. Badel have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They moved-up to third place, which they share with Vardar. Defending champion KAM Basket keeps the second position with four games lost. Badel will play against league's leader Kriva Palanka on the road in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. KAM Basket will play against Vardar and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Badel: F.Arin 17+8reb+8ast, C.Lindsey 12+16reb+3ast, I.Cholakoska 12+7reb+3ast, L.Boshkova 6+4reb, P.Jovana 4+9reb+3ast, L.Malinovska 2
KAM Basket: A.Sanja 16+2reb+2ast, D.Cvetanka 13+13reb, M.Sara 13+6reb+3ast, D.Iva 3+2reb, A.Hafhallaoui 3+7reb+2ast, S.Iva 0

Probasket - MZT 72-50

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 6th ranked MZT's (5-12) road loss to fifth ranked Probasket (10-7) 50-72. Probasket dominated down low during the game scoring 60 of its points in the paint compared to MZT's 30. They outrebounded MZT 49-31 including 18 on the offensive glass. Probasket players were unselfish on offense dishing 25 assists comparing to just 10 passes made by MZT's players. American forward Kayla Thomas (188-2003, college: MSU) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 31 points and 12 rebounds. Serbian Milica Jovanovic (-2003) contributed with 6 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists and 5 steals for the winners. Nina Karajovanova (-2009) answered with a double-double by scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds and Ana Sarafiloska (-2009) added 7 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in the effort for MZT. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Probasket maintains fifth place with 10-7 record. MZT lost their third game in a row. They keep the sixth position with 12 games lost. Probasket will play against Patriot (#7) in the next round. MZT will play against Sport Tim and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Probasket: T.Kayla 31+12reb+2ast, S.Stoeva 11+5reb+6ast, D.Miceva 9+10reb+2ast, D.Gjoreva 7+3reb, M.Jovanovic 6+7reb+12ast, S.Petrovska 4+3reb+2ast
MZT: K.Nina 15+10reb+1ast, M.Vanja 10+5reb, S.Ana 7+7reb+6ast, B.Mila 6, Z.Iva 5+3reb+1ast, A.Angela 4+3reb+1ast

Vardar - Patriot 99-88

No shocking result in a game in Skopje where fourth ranked Vardar (12-5) defeated 7th ranked Patriot (1-16) 99-88. It was a great shooting night for Vardar especially from behind the arc, where they had solid 52.9 percentage. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 29 assists. The former international forward Milica Nikolic (188-2006) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 25 points and 14 rebounds. The former international Elena Tasevska (186-2002) contributed with a double-double by scoring 19 points, 10 assists and 4 steals for the winners. Four Vardar players scored in double figures. Vardar's coach Aleksandar Asadanov used entire bench and allowed the starting five to rest. American guard Lauren Scott (165, college: High Point) answered with 30 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals and the other American import guard Tymberlin Criswell (173, college: TAMUCC) added 31 points and 5 rebounds in the effort for Patriot. The victory was the third consecutive win for Vardar. They moved-up to third place, which they share with Badel. Patriot lost their fifth game in a row. They keep the seventh position with 16 games lost. They share it with Sport Tim. Vardar will play against league's second-placed KAM Basket in Kamenica in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Patriot will play at home against Probasket (#5) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Vardar: M.Nikolic 25+14reb+3ast, E.Tasevska 19+4reb+10ast, T.Trajkovska 18+9reb+2ast, A.Snezana 15+1reb+3ast, J.Pislevska 9+1reb+3ast, M.Zafirovska 4+2reb+4ast
Patriot: T.Criswell 31+5reb+3ast, L.Scott 30+9reb+5ast, A.Ana 15+5reb+8ast, S.Melita 6+7reb+1ast, T.Tamara 5+6reb+2ast, A.Teodora 1+4reb

Kriva Palanka - Sport Tim 93-52

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Kriva Palanka as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Kriva Palanka smashed 8th ranked Sport Tim at home 93-52. Kriva Palanka dominated down low during the game scoring 74 of its points in the paint compared to Sport Tim's 36. Kriva Palanka forced 21 Sport Tim turnovers and outrebounded them 49-36 including 19 on the offensive glass. Kriva Palanka looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists comparing to just 9 passes made by Sport Tim's players. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Kriva Palanka made 8 blocks. The best player for the winners was American Abby Niehues (186-1999, college: S.Nazarene, agency: DC Sports) who had a double-double by scoring 21 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocks. Her fellow American import guard Dyani Robinson (170-2001, college: N.Texas) chipped in 27 points and 7 rebounds. Four Kriva Palanka players scored in double figures. Kriva Palanka's coach felt very confident using entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Ana Lukic produced 22 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals and Ivona Leova (-2010) added 15 points and 6 rebounds respectively for the guests. Kriva Palanka have a solid series of four victories in a row. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Sport Tim lost twelfth consecutive game. They stay at the bottom place with 16 games lost. They share the position with Patriot. Sport Tim will play next round against MZT trying to get back on the winning streak. Kriva Palanka will try to continue on its current victory against third ranked Badel in Skopje.
Top scorers:
Kriva Palanka: D.Robinson 27+7reb+1ast, N.Abby 21+13reb+3ast, D.Green 13+8reb+8ast, M.Aleksovska 10+3reb+5ast, A.Angelovska 8+3reb+1ast, M.Markoska 4+5reb+1ast
Sport Tim: L.Ana 22+8reb+4ast, L.Ivona 15+6reb+2ast, D.Elena 10+10reb, M.Sara 5+8reb+2ast, N.Marija 0, V.Snezana 0