Liga Nationala Round 3 of Regular Season

It's still too early stage of the Regular Season in Liga Nationala, but even now we can clearly see the difference between stronger teams and outsiders. Here is the last round review presented by LBM Management.

The biggest surprise of round 3 was guest Targoviste's (2-1) easy road victory over Alexandria (1-2) 73-52 on Sunday evening. Targoviste outrebounded Alexandria 45-33 including a 35-22 advantage in defensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was the former international Gabriela Irimia (183-1990) who scored 22 points and 8 rebounds. Australian forward Bride Kennedy-Hopoate (189-1997, college: N.Mexico) chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds. Targoviste's coach Catalin-Viorel Tanase felt very confident using 11 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was American swingman Jasmine Dickey (178-2000, college: Delaware, agency: LBM Management) who recorded 10 points and 8 rebounds. Targoviste are looking forward to face Oxigen (#7) in Bucuresti in the next round. Alexandria will play on the road against Arad and is hoping to win this game.
An exciting game was played in Cluj Napoca. Rapid faced Cluj Napoca. Guests from Bucuresti (3-0) smashed host Cluj Napoca (1-2) 79-55. It was a good game for the former international forward Claudia Cuic (182-1989) who led her team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 15 rebounds. Japreece Dean contributed with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners. The former international guard Alina Podar (178-1998) answered with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists for Cluj Napoca. Cluj Napoca's coach Veljko Perovic gave up on the game allowing to play eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Rapid's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Bucuresti Sp.Studentesc.
Arad delivered the third consecutive victory on Friday night. This time they crushed Timisoara (0-3) 113-41. It was a great evening for Eva Rupnik who led her team to a victory scoring 18 points and 7 assists. The best for the losing side was Bianca Calapis with 7 points and 8 rebounds. Timisoara's coach Dan Ionescu already knew that her team would not have a big chance, so allowed to play eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Arad will meet at home Alexandria (#6) in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Timisoara will play against Sf.Gheorghe (#3) and hopes to get finally their first victory.

In the last two games of round 3 Agronomia was crushed by Oxigen in Bucuresti 114-65. Sp.Studentesc lost to Sf.Gheorghe at home 72-80.
The best stats of 3rd round was 27 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals by Anisia Puscasu of Sp.Studentesc.

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.

Alexandria - Targoviste 52-73:
The biggest surprise of round 3 was guest Targoviste's (2-1) easy road victory over Alexandria (1-2) 73-52 on Sunday evening. Targoviste outrebounded Alexandria 45-33 including a 35-22 advantage in defensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was the former international Gabriela Irimia (183-1990) who scored 22 points and 8 rebounds. Australian forward Bride Kennedy-Hopoate (189-1997, college: N.Mexico) chipped in a double-double by scoring 12 points and 11 rebounds. Four Targoviste players scored in double figures. Targoviste's coach Catalin-Viorel Tanase felt very confident using 11 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was American swingman Jasmine Dickey (178-2000, college: Delaware, agency: LBM Management) who recorded 10 points and 8 rebounds and Mali-French power forward Assetou Traore (184-1995) added 8 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists respectively. Targoviste are looking forward to face Oxigen (#7) in Bucuresti in the next round. Alexandria will play on the road against Arad and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Alexandria: V.Ioana-Vanessa 12+1reb+3ast, J.Dickey 10+8reb+1ast, A.Traore 8+6reb+4ast, M.Mihaela 6+1reb+3ast, S.Shaw 5+8reb+1ast, T.Manea 4+2reb+1ast
Targoviste: I.Gabriela 22+8reb, K.Bride 12+11reb+1ast, C.Alina 11+4reb+3ast, P.Lindsey 11+7reb+2ast, J.Ellen 8+2reb+1ast, C.Thomas 7+1reb

Oxigen - Agronomia 114-65:
Oxigen used a home court advantage and crushed the opponent from Bucurest 114-65 on Friday night. The game was mostly controlled by Oxigen. Agronomia managed to win fourth quarter 25-23. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. Oxigen dominated on the defensive end, holding Agronomia to just 6 points in second quarter. They dominated down low during the game scoring 74 of its points in the paint compared to Agronomia's 24. Oxigen forced 30 Agronomia turnovers and outrebounded them 46-29 including a 32-19 advantage in defensive rebounds. Oxigen looked well-organized offensively handing out 33 assists comparing to just 17 passes made by Agronomia's players. It was a great evening for American guard Tiarra East (178-2002, college: Temple) who led her team to a victory scoring 32 points, 5 assists and 4 steals (on 14-of-17 shooting from the field). Her fellow American import guard Jo Raflo (180-2003, college: Mt.St.Mary's) helped adding 22 points and 8 rebounds. Coach 's team controlled all game and the coach could let to play 10 players and allowed the starting five to rest. The best for the losing side was Alexandra Vasile (-2006) with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists and Ana Stanciu (-2004) scored 12 points, 5 assists and 4 steals. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Oxigen will meet Targoviste (#4) on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Agronomia will play against Cluj Napoca (#5) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Agronomia: M.Giulia 15+1reb+3ast, V.Alexandra 15+7reb+4ast, T.Irina 12+6reb+2ast, S.Ana 12+4reb+5ast, S.Cazacu 6+8reb+2ast, S.Asma 5+3reb
Oxigen: E.Tiarra 32+3reb+5ast, R.Jo 22+8reb+3ast, K.Kylie 18+8reb+7ast, P.Evelina 17+4reb+3ast, C.Mihalcea 11+3reb+3ast, M.Olesia 7+9reb+6ast

Arad - Timisoara 113-41:
Arad delivered the third consecutive victory on Friday night. This time they crushed Timisoara (0-3) 113-41. The game was mostly controlled by Arad. Timisoara managed to win third quarter 16-13. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. Arad dominated on the defensive end, holding Timisoara to just 6 points in first quarter and to 14 points in first half. Arad dominated down low during the game scoring 70 of its points in the paint compared to Timisoara's 24. Arad forced 28 Timisoara turnovers and outrebounded them 38-21 including a 24-13 advantage in defensive rebounds. Arad shot the lights out from three sinking 12 long-distance shots on high 52.2 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 43 assists comparing to just 8 passes made by Timisoara's players. It was a great evening for Slovenian guard Eva Rupnik (177-1992, agency: LBM Management) who led her team to a victory scoring 18 points and 7 assists. Montenegrin forward Jovana Pasic (180-1992) helped adding 10 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals. Five Arad players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was forward Bianca Calapis (178-2008) with 7 points and 8 rebounds and guard Ana Cucolas (166-2012) scored 12 points. Timisoara's coach Dan Ionescu already knew that her team would not have a big chance, so allowed to play eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Arad will meet at home Alexandria (#6) in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Timisoara will play against Sf.Gheorghe (#3) and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Timisoara: C.Ana 12+1reb+3ast, S.Raluca 10+3reb+1ast, C.Bianca 7+8reb+1ast, D.Pausan 7+8reb, S.Bianca 3+1reb, K.Sara 2
Arad: R.Eva-Maria 19+4ast, D.Alexia 18+5reb+3ast, R.Eva 18+4reb+7ast, C.Anamaria 17+4reb+5ast, K.Villalobos 13+5reb+9ast, M.Nicoleta 12+5reb+4ast

Cluj Napoca - Rapid 55-79:
An exciting game was played in Cluj Napoca. Rapid faced Cluj Napoca. Guests from Bucuresti (3-0) smashed host Cluj Napoca (1-2) 79-55. The game without a history. Rapid led from the first minutes and controlled entire game increasing their lead in each quarter. It was a good game for the former international forward Claudia Cuic (182-1989) who led her team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 15 rebounds. American guard Japreece Dean (168-1996, college: UCLA) contributed with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners. Four Rapid players scored in double figures. The former international guard Alina Podar (178-1998) answered with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists and American forward Kennedi Jackson (190-2001, college: Charleston So.) added 12 points and 7 rebounds in the effort for Cluj Napoca. Cluj Napoca's coach Veljko Perovic gave up on the game allowing to play eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Rapid's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Bucuresti Sp.Studentesc.
Top scorers:
Cluj Napoca: K.Jackson 12+7reb, A.Podar 10+5reb+7ast, B.Beata 10+6reb+1ast, S.Markisic 8+4reb+2ast, L.Rebecca 7+1reb, I.Gradwell 6+10reb+2ast
Rapid: C.Claudia 23+15reb+2ast, T.Palenikova 16+1reb+3ast, D.Japreece 12+5reb+6ast, D.Andjela 10+1reb+4ast, V.Bianca 7, O.Nicolett 7+6reb+2ast

Sp.Studentesc - Sf.Gheorghe 72-80:
No shocking result in a game in Bucuresti where Sf.Gheorghe (3-0) defeated Sp.Studentesc (1-2) 80-72 on Saturday. The guests started the game with a very strong first quarter 27-16. But Sp.Studentesc won third quarter 18-14. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Sp.Studentesc 37-24 including a 29-14 advantage in defensive rebounds. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Sf.Gheorghe made 7 blocks. It was a great evening for American forward Matehya Bryant (185-2001, college: UC Riverside) who led her team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 20 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Canadian forward Faith Dut (193-2001, college: Florida) helped adding 19 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks (perfect from the field making all seven shots !!!). Four Sf.Gheorghe players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was forward Anisia Puscasu (178-2005) with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals and American forward Anysa Jordan (168-2001, college: WVSU) scored 20 points and 7 rebounds. Sp.Studentesc's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Sf.Gheorghe will meet Timisoara (#10) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Sp.Studentesc's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Bucuresti to the arena Rapid.
Top scorers:
Sp.Studentesc: P.Anisia 27+8reb+5ast, J.Anysa 20+7reb+1ast, H.Iustina-Gabriela 15+1reb+1ast, M.Karina 5+3reb, L.Maria 2+1reb, P.Andreea 2+1ast
Sf.Gheorghe: B.Matehya 20+11reb+5ast, D.Faith 19+10reb+2ast, T.Bolden 19+4reb, A.Katy 14+5reb+3ast, C.Stefania 4+3reb+8ast, H.Abigel 3+3reb+1ast