Liga Nationala Round 29 (Regular Season): Timisoara edge Pitesti by two points

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 29 in the Liga Nationala took place in Timisoara. This derby game ended with only two-point defeat on the road of 4th placed Pitesti (16-11) to eighth ranked Timisoara (15-12) 89-87 on Wednesday evening. Pitesti trailed by 15 points after 3 quarters before a 28-15 run in the last quarter cut the deficit to 87-89 at the end of the game. Timisoara shot the lights out from three sinking 15 long-distance shots on high 53.6 percentage. The best player for the winners was American Jalen Nesbitt (198-1993, college: UNF) who had a double-double by scoring 13 points and 13 rebounds. Serbian-Austrian guard Bogic Vujosevic (190-1992) chipped in 17 points and 7 assists. Timisoara's coach Dragan Petricevic used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. American forward Dimitrius Underwood (193-1998, college: Charleston, agency: Octagon Europe) produced a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds for the guests. Timisoara moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Sibiu and Valcea. Pitesti lost third consecutive game. They keep the fourth position with 11 games lost. They share it with Craiova and Rapid. Timisoara is looking forward to face higher ranked Rapid (#5) in Bucuresti in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Pitesti will play at home against Targu Mures and is hoping to win this game.
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Voluntari (19-8) against eighth ranked Sibiu (15-12) on Tuesday night. Visiting Voluntari was crushed by Sibiu in Sibiu 85-64. The game was dominated by American players. Guard MJ Randolph (193-1999, college: FAMU) orchestrated the victory by scoring 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Monyea Pratt contributed with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals for the winners. Swingman Sacar Anim (196-1997, college: Marquette) answered with 17 points for Voluntari. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Sibiu have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Timisoara and Valcea. Voluntari at the other side dropped to the second position with eight games lost. They share it with Dinamo. Sibiu will play against Brasov (#12) on the road in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Voluntari will play against Steaua (#10) and hopes to get back on the winning track.
An exciting game between Top Four teams was played in Bucuresti. First ranked Oradea faced second-ranked Dinamo. Guests from Oradea (22-5) defeated host Dinamo (19-8) 78-72. It ended at the same time the 12-game winning streak of Dinamo B.. Bandja Sy stepped up and scored 17 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Oradea's coach Cristian Achim allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Vyacheslav Bobrov responded with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 10 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field). Oradea maintains first place with 22-5 record. Loser Dinamo B. keeps the second position with eight games lost. They share it with Voluntari. Oradea will meet at home Galati (#15) in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Dinamo will play against Valcea (#9) in Ramnicu Valcea and hope to secure a win.

Other games of round 29 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Ploiesti CSM defeated Targu Jiu in a road game 83-68. Craiova beat Rapid at home 97-93. Brasov lost to Targu Mures on the opponent's court 118-123. Steaua unfortunately lost to Valcea in a home game 66-69. Targu Mures recorded a loss to Voluntari on the road 90-94.
The best stats of 29th round was 30 points and 7 rebounds by Trey Diggs of Targu Mures.



Targu Jiu - Ploiesti CSM 68-83

The game between closely ranked teams ended with 14th ranked Targu Jiu's (4-24) home loss to thirteenth ranked Ploiesti CSM (8-19) 68-83 on Tuesday. It was a very close game until the last quarter, when Ploiesti CSM's pressure prevailed and they won that period 25-14 extending their advantage to 15 points. American DeVante Brooks (198, college: S.Arkansas, agency: Players Group) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 10 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field) for the winners and Serbian center Veljko Brkic (206-1995) chipped in 17 points and 6 rebounds. Four Ploiesti CSM players scored in double figures. American guard Collin Cooper (188-2001, college: EKU) responded with 17 points and the other American import power forward Lewis Djonkam (206-1997, college: Morgan St., agency: Olsta) scored 12 points and 6 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Ploiesti CSM maintains thirteenth place with 8-19 record. Newly promoted Targu Jiu keeps the fourteenth position with 24 games lost. Ploiesti CSM will meet at home higher ranked Craiova (#4) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Targu Jiu will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Ploiesti CSM: B.DeVante 18+10reb+1ast, A.Jones 17+3ast, B.Veljko 17+6reb+2ast, C.Kenny 12+3reb+2ast, D.Rasoga 7+5reb+1ast, G.Cotoara 6+1reb
Targu Jiu: C.Cooper 17+3reb+2ast, M.Evans 15+1ast, L.Djonkam 12+6reb+1ast, R.Montgomery Jr. 6+2reb+1ast, M.Diaby 5+4reb, S.Gribinic 4+3reb+1ast

Sibiu - Voluntari 85-64

Very important is a road loss of third ranked Voluntari (19-8) against eighth ranked Sibiu (15-12) on Tuesday night. Visiting Voluntari was crushed by Sibiu in Sibiu 85-64. Voluntari was ahead by 3 points at the halftime before a 47-23 second half run of Sibiu. They dominated down low during the game scoring 58 of its points in the paint compared to Voluntari's 36. The game was dominated by American players. Guard MJ Randolph (193-1999, college: FAMU) orchestrated the victory by scoring 20 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Forward Monyea Pratt (196-1985, college: Stillman) contributed with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals for the winners. Randolph is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Swingman Sacar Anim (196-1997, college: Marquette) answered with 17 points and center Solomon Young (203-1998, college: Iowa St., agency: Octagon Europe) added 12 points in the effort for Voluntari. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Sibiu have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Timisoara and Valcea. Voluntari at the other side dropped to the second position with eight games lost. They share it with Dinamo. Sibiu will play against Brasov (#12) on the road in the next round which should be theoretically another easy game. Voluntari will play against Steaua (#10) and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Sibiu: R.MJ 20+7reb+6ast, P.Monyea 15+7reb+6ast, S.Keith 13+6reb+2ast, F.David 9+2reb, S.Anthony 8+4reb+1ast, R.Eduard 8+1reb
Voluntari: S.Anim 17+2reb+1ast, S.Young 12+4reb, L.Skinner 9+4reb, G.Watson 9+2reb+2ast, M.Barro 8+3reb, T.Girbea 4+4reb

Dinamo B. - Oradea 72-78

An exciting game between Top Four teams was played in Bucuresti. First ranked Oradea faced second-ranked Dinamo. Guests from Oradea (22-5) defeated host Dinamo (19-8) 78-72. It ended at the same time the 12-game winning streak of Dinamo B.. Dinamo was trailing by 4 points at halftime but managed to get 3-point lead after three quarters before a 24-15 charge of Oradea, which allowed them to win the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists comparing to just 7 passes made by Dinamo's players. Mali-French Bandja Sy (204-1990, college: NM State) stepped up and scored 17 points and 8 rebounds for the winners and Dutch power forward Emmanuel Nzekwesi (203-1997, college: ORU) chipped in 17 points and 6 rebounds. Oradea's coach Cristian Achim allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Ukrainian forward Vyacheslav Bobrov (203-1992) responded with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 10 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) and American guard Jonathan Stark (184-1995, college: Murray St., agency: Pensack Sports) scored 18 points and 5 assists. Oradea maintains first place with 22-5 record. Loser Dinamo B. keeps the second position with eight games lost. They share it with Voluntari. Oradea will meet at home Galati (#15) in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Dinamo will play against Valcea (#9) in Ramnicu Valcea and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Oradea: N.Emmanuel 17+6reb+2ast, S.Bandja 17+8reb, N.Nicolae-Bogdan 12+1reb+1ast, B.Thomas 9+4reb+1ast, P.Sayeed 8+2reb+2ast, L.Jaizec 4+2reb+8ast
Dinamo B.: V.Bobrov 18+10reb, J.Stark 18+4reb+5ast, M.Lewis 18+1reb+1ast, D.Marks 9+4reb, R.Virna 5+3reb+1ast, N.Kuti 2+1reb

Craiova - Rapid 97-93

We could consider it a predictable result in the game between close teams when sixth ranked Craiova (16-11) defeated at home 5th ranked Rapid (16-11) 97-93 on Tuesday. The hosts trailed by 9 points after first quarter, but they rallied back and won the game by 4 points. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Craiova made 10 blocks. American point guard Sam Sessoms (182-1999, college: Coppin St.) stepped up and scored 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners and his fellow American import guard Ishmael Leggett (190, college: Pittsburgh) chipped in 16 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Serbian center Nikola Jevtovic (209-1989, agency: 011 Sports) responded with 22 points and 9 rebounds and Canadian guard Isiah Osborne (198-1996, college: Carleton, agency: One Motive Sports) scored 21 points. Four Craiova and five Rapid players scored in double figures. Rapid's coach Milan Skobalj rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Craiova moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Pitesti and Rapid. Craiova will meet Ploiesti CSM (#13) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Rapid will play against Timisoara (#7) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Craiova: S.Sam 26+6reb+6ast, S.Kentwan 16+8reb+1ast, L.Ishmael 16+7reb+7ast, V.David 13+5reb+1ast, D.DeAndre 8, N.Vlad 8+1reb+1ast
Rapid: N.Jevtovic 22+9reb+2ast, I.Osborne 21+4reb+2ast, L.Sullivan 13+8reb+1ast, R.Penn 12+2reb+10ast, T.Fometescu 11+3reb, A.Gavriloaia 8+3reb

Targu Mures - Brasov 123-118

Everything could happen at the game between two tied teams. Both tenth ranked Targu Mures and 12th ranked Brasov had identical 12-14 record. This time Targu Mures used a home court advantage and won against the opponent from Brasov 123-118 on Tuesday night. The hosts started the game with a very strong first quarter 30-20. But Brasov won second period 29-24. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. Targu Mures made 36-of-45 free shots (80.0 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. Montenegrin point guard Goran Martinic (187-1987, agency: 6th Man Basketball Agency) stepped up and scored 28 points for the winners and American point guard Michaelyn Scott (182-1993, college: Idaho, agency: Interperformances) chipped in 16 points and 10 assists. American power forward Tyrell Johnson (203-1997, college: App State) responded with 26 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and Serbian center Dimitrije Nikolic (211-1997) scored 26 points and 7 rebounds. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Brasov's coach Florin Nini rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Targu Mures maintains tenth place with 13-14 record, which they share with Steaua. Loser Brasov keeps the twelfth position with 15 games lost. Targu Mures will meet higher ranked Pitesti (#6) on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Brasov will play against Sibiu (#8) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Targu Mures: M.Goran 28+3reb+3ast, D.Trey 22+2reb+2ast, R.Pavle 18+5reb+1ast, S.Michaelyn 16+2reb+10ast, S.Szabolcs 13+4reb+1ast, B.Ioan 11+5reb+4ast
Brasov: D.Nikolic 26+7reb+3ast, T.Johnson 26+7reb+5ast, M.Maciuca 24+3reb+1ast, M.Tutu 15+3reb+5ast, D.Lapuste 10+3reb+11ast, T.Hankerson 10+2reb+4ast

Timisoara - Pitesti 89-87

The most exciting game of round 29 in the Liga Nationala took place in Timisoara. This derby game ended with only two-point defeat on the road of 4th placed Pitesti (16-11) to eighth ranked Timisoara (15-12) 89-87 on Wednesday evening. Pitesti trailed by 15 points after 3 quarters before a 28-15 run in the last quarter cut the deficit to 87-89 at the end of the game. Timisoara shot the lights out from three sinking 15 long-distance shots on high 53.6 percentage. The best player for the winners was American Jalen Nesbitt (198-1993, college: UNF) who had a double-double by scoring 13 points and 13 rebounds. Serbian-Austrian guard Bogic Vujosevic (190-1992) chipped in 17 points and 7 assists. Timisoara's coach Dragan Petricevic used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. American forward Dimitrius Underwood (193-1998, college: Charleston, agency: Octagon Europe) produced a double-double by scoring 13 points and 10 rebounds and the former international center Catalin Baciu (214-1988, college: Clemson) added 16 points and 7 rebounds respectively for the guests. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Timisoara moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Sibiu and Valcea. Pitesti lost third consecutive game. They keep the fourth position with 11 games lost. They share it with Craiova and Rapid. Timisoara is looking forward to face higher ranked Rapid (#5) in Bucuresti in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Pitesti will play at home against Targu Mures and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Timisoara: V.Bogic 17+3reb+7ast, D.Mirel 15+2reb+2ast, N.Jalen 13+13reb+2ast, M.Adam 12+7reb, T.Devon 11+2reb+5ast, R.Schipor 10+7reb
Pitesti: C.Baciu 16+7reb+1ast, M.Thornton 14+2reb+6ast, D.Underwood 13+10reb+1ast, T.Somacescu 12+1reb, K.Lewis 11+5reb+1ast, R.Djokovic 8+1reb

Steaua B. - Valcea 66-69

The game between closely ranked teams ended with ninth ranked Valcea's (15-12) road victory over 10th ranked Steaua (13-14) 69-66 on Wednesday. The guests were tied at the half but managed to speed up in last two quarters eventually winning the game. The game was also dominated by American players. Guard Bryn Forbes (190-1993, college: Michigan St.) stepped up and scored 17 points for the winners and forward Kenny Gabriel (205-1989, college: Auburn) chipped in 14 points and 7 rebounds. Forward Dame Adelekun (203-2001, college: Loyola, IL) responded with 21 points and 8 rebounds and point guard Kenny Dye (183-2000, college: Queens, NC) scored 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Valcea moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Sibiu and Timisoara. Loser Steaua B. keeps the tenth position with 14 games lost. They share it with Targu Mures. Valcea will meet at home league's second-placed Dinamo in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Steaua will play against Voluntari (#3) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Valcea: F.Bryn 17+4reb+3ast, G.Kenny 14+7reb+2ast, P.DeAndre 10+8reb, L.Tohatan 7+2reb+3ast, R.Anton 6+1reb+3ast, U.Rares 6+4reb
Steaua B.: D.Adelekun 21+8reb+1ast, K.Dye 15+5reb+5ast, A.Andries 11+7reb, J.Gray 8+6reb+1ast, S.Albert-Mark 7+1reb, B.McKissic 2+2reb+5ast

Voluntari - Targu Mures 94-90

Not a big story in a game when 10th ranked Targu Mures (13-14) were defeated on the road by third ranked Voluntari (19-8) 94-90 on Thursday. However just four-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. The hosts trailed by 3 points after first quarter, but they rallied back to get the 3-point lead at the halftime and eventually won the game 94-90. American swingman Sacar Anim (196-1997, college: Marquette) stepped up and scored 22 points for the winners and his fellow American import point guard Mike Caffey (183-1993, college: LBSU, agency: Players Group) chipped in 14 points and 5 assists. Five Voluntari players scored in double figures. Voluntari's coach Dan Ioan used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. American swingman Trey Diggs (198-1999, college: BGSU) responded with 30 points and 7 rebounds and Serbian point guard Pavle Reljic (193-1993) scored 18 points and 4 assists. Voluntari moved-up to second place, which they share with Dinamo. Loser Targu Mures keep the tenth position with 14 games lost. They share it with Steaua. Voluntari will meet at home Steaua (#10) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Targu Mures will play against Pitesti and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Voluntari: A.Sacar 22+2reb+2ast, Y.Solomon 15+3reb, W.Giordan 14+3reb+3ast, C.Mike 14+4reb+5ast, J.Kodi 11+1reb+4ast, B.Mouhamed 8+5reb
Targu Mures: T.Diggs 30+7reb+1ast, P.Reljic 18+3reb+4ast, G.Martinic 12+1reb+6ast, S.Santa 9+7reb+1ast, M.Scott 6+2reb+4ast, B.Popa 5+4reb+1ast