Liga Betclic Round 5 (Regular Season): FC Porto loses to Ovarense

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The biggest surprise took place in Ovar where host Ovarense (4-1) edged league's leader FC Porto (4-1) 78-76 on Saturday evening. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of FC Porto. It was a key game for the top position in the league. The best player for the winners was point guard Miguel Monteiro (177-2003) who scored 23 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. American guard Leon Ayers III (195-2000, college: BGSU) chipped in 19 points and 6 rebounds. Liberian-American guard Thomas Bropleh (196-1991, college: Boise St.) produced 15 points and 6 rebounds for the guests. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Ovarense keeps a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated FC Porto. FC Porto will play next round against strong Braga trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Ovarense will try to continue on its current victory against fifth ranked Oliveirense in Oliveira.
Bottom-ranked Portimonense (0-5) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 86-72 loss to third ranked Benfica (4-1) in . But it was rather predictable considering how strong their opponent was. The game was dominated by American players. Guard Geno Crandall (191-1996, college: Gonzaga) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 10 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists. Luke Barrett contributed with 15 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Forward Giancarlo Rosado (203-2002, college: Charlotte) answered with 21 points and 5 assists for Portimonense. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Benfica have a solid series of three victories in a row. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams. Newly promoted Portimonense still closes the standings with five games lost. They share the position with Esgueira. Benfica will play against Esgueira (#11) at home in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Portimonense will play against Povoa and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Bottom-ranked Esgueira (0-5) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 104-93 loss to ninth ranked Queluz (2-2) in Esgueira on Saturday evening. The game was also dominated by American players. Justice Shoats stepped up with a double-double by scoring 16 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists for the winners. Queluz's coach used a ten-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. Justin Bailey responded with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line). Queluz moved-up to seventh place. Esgueira at the other side still closes the standings with five games lost. They share the position with Portimonense. Queluz will meet at home CAB Madeira (#10) in the next round. Esgueira will play against Benfica in Lisbon and looks forward to get finally their first victory.

Other games of round 5 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Oliveirense defeated CAB Madeira in Oliveira 113-109. Braga beat Sporting at home 98-86. Povoa won against Vitoria on the opponent's court 75-68.
The best stats of 5th round was 22 points and 11 rebounds by Brody Whitaker of Povoa.



CAB Madeira - Oliveirense 109-113:
There was no surprise in Funchal where 10th ranked CAB Madeira (1-4) was defeated by fifth ranked Oliveirense (3-1) 113-109 on Saturday. Oliveirense dominated down low during the game scoring 60 of its points in the paint compared to CAB Madeira's 40 and made 29-of-37 free shots (78.4 percent) during the game. Oliveirense looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. American point guard Prentiss Nixon (183-1997, college: Iowa St.) stepped up and scored 27 points and 7 assists for the winners and his fellow American import swingman Malik Morgan (194-1994, college: Tulane) chipped in 23 points and 4 assists. Oliveirense's coach Pablo Cano used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. Canadian point guard Miguel Tomley (191-2000, college: Weber St.) responded with 31 points and guard Bernardo Ferreira (182-2003) produced a double-double by scoring 16 points, 5 rebounds and 12 assists. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Oliveirense maintains fifth place with 3-1 record. Newly promoted CAB Madeira keeps the tenth position with four games lost. Oliveirense will meet at home league's leader Ovarense in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. CAB Madeira will play against Queluz (#7) and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
CAB Madeira: M.Tomley 31+3reb+2ast, F.Thomas 18+6reb+2ast, B.Ferreira 16+5reb+12ast, M.Silva 15+7reb+2ast, C.Heinz 10+6reb+2ast, T.Toney 9+3reb
Oliveirense: N.Prentiss 27+4reb+7ast, M.Malik 23+4reb+4ast, S.Candido 13+12reb+2ast, P.Gyasi 13+1reb, T.Jay'Den 12+12reb+3ast, T.Dias 7+3reb+3ast

Ovarense - FC Porto 78-76:
The biggest surprise took place in Ovar where host Ovarense (4-1) edged league's leader FC Porto (4-1) 78-76 on Saturday evening. It ended at the same time the four-game winning streak of FC Porto. It was a key game for the top position in the league. The best player for the winners was point guard Miguel Monteiro (177-2003) who scored 23 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. American guard Leon Ayers III (195-2000, college: BGSU) chipped in 19 points and 6 rebounds. Liberian-American guard Thomas Bropleh (196-1991, college: Boise St.) produced 15 points and 6 rebounds and American Xeyrius Williams (206-1997, college: Akron, agency: Players Group) added 10 points and 7 rebounds respectively for the guests. Four FC Porto players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Ovarense keeps a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams including defeated FC Porto. FC Porto will play next round against strong Braga trying to make it back to the top of the standings. Ovarense will try to continue on its current victory against fifth ranked Oliveirense in Oliveira.
Top scorers:
FC Porto: T.Bropleh 15+6reb+2ast, J.Woodard 13+4reb+2ast, C.Dundao 11+2reb+1ast, X.Williams 10+7reb+3ast, M.Queiroz 8+5reb, B.Andre 7+2reb
Ovarense: M.Miguel 23+5reb+6ast, A.Leon 19+6reb+3ast, M.Nuno 10+1ast, C.Devan 7+10reb+1ast, J.Silva 6+6reb+2ast, R.Soeiro 5+2reb

Portimonense - Benfica 72-86:
Bottom-ranked Portimonense (0-5) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 86-72 loss to third ranked Benfica (4-1) in . But it was rather predictable considering how strong their opponent was. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 21 assists. The game was dominated by American players. Guard Geno Crandall (191-1996, college: Gonzaga) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 10 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists. Swingman Luke Barrett (198-2001, college: SMC) contributed with 15 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Five Benfica players scored in double figures. Forward Giancarlo Rosado (203-2002, college: Charlotte) answered with 21 points and 5 assists and forward Tyler Coleman (201-2002, college: Towson) added 11 points and 12 rebounds in the effort for Portimonense. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Benfica have a solid series of three victories in a row. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams. Newly promoted Portimonense still closes the standings with five games lost. They share the position with Esgueira. Benfica will play against Esgueira (#11) at home in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Portimonense will play against Povoa and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Portimonense: G.Rosado 21+4reb+5ast, M.Landdeck 13+4reb+5ast, T.Coleman 11+12reb+2ast, F.Dulcinio 7+5reb+3ast, J.Grewal 7+1reb+2ast, L.Rahama 6+3reb+2ast
Benfica: M.Luther 17+3reb+2ast, B.Luke 15+9reb+1ast, S.Brandon 13+3reb, D.Aleksander 12+6reb+2ast, C.Geno 10+5reb+11ast, R.Daniel 9+4reb+2ast

Braga - Sporting 98-86:
No shocking result in a game when fourth ranked Braga (4-1) defeated at home 8th ranked Sporting (2-3) 98-86 on Sunday. Braga made 29-of-36 free shots (80.6 percent) during the game, while Sporting only scored four points from the stripe. Braga shot the lights out from three sinking 15 long-distance shots on high 51.7 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. Angolan forward Aboubacar Gakou (201-1997) stepped up and scored 23 points and 7 rebounds for the winners and American guard Jordan Sibert (193-1992, college: Dayton) chipped in 15 points and 6 assists. Four Braga players scored in double figures. American guard Liam OReilly (188-1996, college: Gardner-Webb) responded with 22 points and 4 assists and the other American import forward Trevor Baskin (206-2002, college: Colorado) scored 15 points and 5 rebounds. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Braga have a solid series of four victories in a row. They keep a position of league leader, which they share with 3 other teams. Sporting at the other side keeps the eighth place with three games lost. They share the position with Vitoria. Braga will meet league's second-placed FC Porto on the road in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Sporting will play against Vitoria (#9) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Sporting: L.O'Reilly 22+3reb+4ast, T.Baskin 15+5reb, D.Ventura 9+3reb+7ast, J.Davis 8+1reb+1ast, G.Kalscheur 7+4reb, M.Bowman 6+2reb
Braga: G.Aboubacar 23+7reb, M.Correia 16+3reb+3ast, S.Jordan 15+3reb+6ast, M.Ricardo 11+3reb+4ast, S.Andre 10+2reb+3ast, K.Mario 10+4reb+1ast

Esgueira - Queluz 93-104:
Bottom-ranked Esgueira (0-5) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 104-93 loss to ninth ranked Queluz (2-2) in Esgueira on Saturday evening. They dominated down low during the game scoring 72 of its points in the paint compared to Esgueira's 36. The game was also dominated by American players. Guard Justice Shoats (180-2004, college: Siena) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 16 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists for the winners and forward Donte Bacchus (201-2002, college: N.Alabama) chipped in 22 points and 7 rebounds. Queluz's coach used a ten-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest. Guard Justin Bailey (190-2004, college: Georgia) responded with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line) and Zion Young (193, college: SUU) scored 26 points. Five Queluz and four Esgueira players scored in double figures. Queluz moved-up to seventh place. Esgueira at the other side still closes the standings with five games lost. They share the position with Portimonense. Queluz will meet at home CAB Madeira (#10) in the next round. Esgueira will play against Benfica in Lisbon and looks forward to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Esgueira: Z.Young 26+3reb, J.Bailey 21+8reb+5ast, K.Arcuri 12+4reb+4ast, E.Boag 10+5reb+1ast, O.Onyeka 8+4reb, C.Pedro 7+3reb+3ast
Queluz: T.Abdoulaye 23+5reb, B.Donte 22+7reb, S.Justice 16+6reb+11ast, T.Justin 12+8reb, H.Arnette 12+5reb+3ast, P.Ivan 10+1reb

Vitoria - Povoa 68-75:
Everything could happen in Guimaraes at the game between two tied teams. Both sixth ranked Povoa and 9th ranked Vitoria had identical 2-2 record. But Vitoria was not able to use a home court advantage and was defeated by the opponent from Povoa 75-68 on Sunday night. American guard Brody Whitaker (190-2002, college: Valpo) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 22 points and 11 rebounds for the winners and American-Liberian guard Abdul Bah (188-1999, college: MSUB) chipped in 19 points. Povoa's coach Jose Ricardo Rodrigues allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. American forward Michael Houge (201-2001, college: Oakland) responded with 18 points and 9 rebounds and the other American import point guard Malcolm Drumwright (188-1995, college: Jax State) scored 16 points and 5 assists. Newly promoted Povoa maintains sixth place with 3-2 record. Loser Vitoria dropped to the eighth position with three games lost. They share it with Sporting. Povoa will meet at home bottom-ranked Portimonense (#12) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Vitoria will play against Sporting (#8) in Lisbon and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Vitoria: M.Houge 18+9reb, D.Malcolm 16+1reb+5ast, T.Simao 11+3reb+2ast, D.Alevok 6+1reb, R.Stein 6+8reb, S.Verde 4+3reb+4ast
Povoa: W.Brody 22+11reb+1ast, B.Abdul 19+3reb, L.Matic 9+7reb+2ast, B.Davide 8+1reb+1ast, J.Okemirie 6+6reb+2ast, G.Betinho 6+4reb+1ast