Liga Endesa Round 2 (Regular Season): Baskonia keeps a leadership position

There were only 2 rounds played so far and it's still very beginning of the Regular Season in Liga Endesa. Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Baskonia smashed Basquet Girona in Vitoria 118-78. Baskonia made 28-of-31 free shots (90.3 percent) during the game, while Girona only scored three points from the stripe. Baskonia forced 19 Girona turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. 24 personal fouls committed by Girona helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Dominican guard Chris Duarte (196-1997, college: Oregon) scored 19 points to lead the charge for the winners and Lithuanian forward Tadas Sedekerskis (206-1998) chipped in 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. Dominican swingman Jassel Perez (195-2001) responded with 15 points and 5 rebounds. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Basquet Girona will play next round against strong Rio Breogan trying to get back on the winning streak. Baskonia will try to continue on its current victory against Joventut in Badalona.
Lleida recorded a loss at the home court. Hosts were defeated by Burgos 94-81. American point guard DJ Steward (185-2001, college: Duke) notched 20 points and 6 rebounds to lead the effort and Chase Audige supported him with 20 points. Even 16 points and 4 assists by American guard James Batemon (185-1997, college: LMU) did not help to save the game for Lleida. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Burgos will play against Bilbao on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Lleida will play against Obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela to get more than just one victory in their record.
Quite upsetting was Obradoiro's home defeat in a game versus Real Madrid 114-107. The best player for the winners was Theo Maledon who scored 25 points and 7 assists. Brandon Childress produced 23 points for the hosts. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Real Madrid will meet at home Manresa in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Obradoiro will play against Lleida and hope to win that game.

There were no shocking results in the other games in round 2: Tenerife won against Unicaja on the opponent's court 80-75. Winless Manresa lost to undefeated Rio Breogan in a home game 95-101. Bilbao recorded a loss to Coruna on the road 101-104. Zaragoza lost to defending champion Valencia on its own court 82-97. Barca was beaten by Murcia in a road game 94-100.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 18 points by Kevin Punter of Barca.



Unicaja - Tenerife 75-80:
But Unicaja was not able to use a home court advantage and was defeated by the opponent from Tenerife 80-75 on Saturday night. The best player for the winners was Brazilian-Italian point guard Marcelinho Huertas (191-1983) who scored 17 points and 7 assists (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). American Kyle Guy (188-1997, college: Virginia) chipped in 18 points. American-Montenegrin point guard Kendrick Perry (183-1992, college: YSU) produced 23 points and 4 assists and American Cameron Hunt (192-1997, college: Southwestern, KS) added 13 points and 6 rebounds respectively for the hosts. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Tenerife will meet Murcia on the road in the next round where they are favorite. Unicaja will play against Andorra and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Tenerife: G.Kyle 18+4reb+1ast, H.Marcelinho 17+1reb+7ast, F.Jaime 13+2reb+2ast, H.Ethan 8+1reb+1ast, A.Tim 7+6reb, L.Xabier 6+3reb+1ast
Unicaja: K.Perry 23+2reb+4ast, C.Hunt 13+6reb+3ast, A.Noua 13+6reb+1ast, D.Kravish 9+7reb, W.Hernangomez 6+7reb, J.Barreiro 5+4reb

Manresa - Rio Breogan 95-101:
Very predictable result when Breogan Lugo defeated on the road Manresa 101-95 on Saturday. Rio Breogan looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. The best player for the winners was Croatian guard Dominik Mavra (195-1994) who had a double-double by scoring 22 points and 10 assists (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). American guard Tevin Brown (195-1998, college: Murray St.) chipped in 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Four Breogan Lugo players scored in double figures. American forward Timmy Allen (198-2000, college: Texas) produced 30 points and 8 rebounds and his fellow American import guard JD Notae (188-1998, college: Arkansas) added 20 points respectively for the hosts. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Breogan Lugo will meet at home Girona in the next round where they are favorite. Manresa will play against Real Madrid and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Rio Breogan: M.Dominik 22+1reb+10ast, B.Tevin 17+5reb+5ast, A.Francis 13+4reb+1ast, B.Rasir 13+1reb+4ast, B.Danko 9+6reb, G.Andersson 7+4reb
Manresa: T.Allen 30+8reb+3ast, J.Notae 20+1reb+2ast, C.Agbo Jr. 14+3reb+1ast, L.Kolenda 7+4reb+2ast, N.Ongenda 7+1reb+2ast, R.Villar 7+3ast

Lleida - Burgos SP 81-94:
Lleida recorded a loss at the home court. Hosts were defeated by Burgos 94-81. American point guard DJ Steward (185-2001, college: Duke) notched 20 points and 6 rebounds to lead the effort and American-Jamaican Chase Audige (193-1999, college: Northwestern, agency: Octagon Europe) supported him with 20 points. Five Burgos players scored in double figures. Even 16 points and 4 assists by American guard James Batemon (185-1997, college: LMU) did not help to save the game for Lleida. French center Zacharie Perrin (207-2004, college: Illinois) added 17 points (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) for the hosts. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Burgos will play against Bilbao on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Lleida will play against Obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela to get more than just one victory in their record.
Top scorers:
Burgos SP: A.Chase 20+3reb+1ast, S.DJ 20+6reb+3ast, S.Ziga 14+3reb+5ast, K.Balsa 13+6reb, D.Sekou 11+3reb+1ast, S.Christian 11+6reb+1ast
Lleida: Z.Perrin 17+3reb+2ast, J.Batemon 16+3reb+4ast, M.Ejim 15+2reb+3ast, O.Pauli 8+5reb+2ast, K.Kuath 8+4reb, D.Garcia 6+2reb+1ast

Coruna - Bilbao 104-101:
There was a minor upset when Surne Bilbao was edged on the road by Coruna 104-101 on Sunday. The best player for the winners was American point guard Alonzo Verge Jr (191-1998, college: Nebraska, agency: Octagon Europe) who scored 29 points and 6 assists. Lithuanian swingman Lukas Uleckas (199-1999) chipped in 14 points and 8 rebounds. American Darrun Hilliard (198-1993, college: Villanova) produced 17 points and American-Polish Luke Petrasek (206-1995, college: Columbia) added 11 points and 9 rebounds respectively for the guests. Four Coruna and five Bilbao players scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Coruna will meet at home Zaragoza in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Surne Bilbao will play against Burgos SP and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Coruna: V.Alonzo 29+4reb+6ast, U.Lukas 14+8reb, P.Caio 13+2reb+2ast, S.Dmytro 12+5reb, J.Paul 9+2reb, R.Dino 6+2reb+3ast
Bilbao: D.Hilliard 17+2reb+3ast, M.Normantas 16+3reb+2ast, H.Frey 13+5ast, N.Darling 12+3reb+1ast, T.Hlinason 12+10reb, L.Petrasek 11+9reb+2ast

Obradoiro - Real Madrid 107-114:
Quite upsetting was Obradoiro's home defeat in a game versus Real Madrid 114-107. Real Madrid looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. The best player for the winners was French guard Theo Maledon (193-2001) who scored 25 points and 7 assists. French forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (201-1995) chipped in 25 points. American guard Brandon Childress (183-1997, college: Wake Forest) produced 23 points and Nigerian-Canadian point guard Caleb Agada (196-1994, college: Ottawa, agency: Blacktop Management) added 16 points and 5 assists respectively for the hosts. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Real Madrid will meet at home Manresa in the next round which should be an easy win for them. Obradoiro will play against Lleida and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Real Madrid: M.Theo 25+3reb+7ast, L.Timothe 25+4reb+1ast, J.Mikael 13+7reb, S.Nick 10+2reb+1ast, T.Walter 8+8reb, O.Chuma 8+5reb+4ast
Obradoiro: B.Childress 23+2reb+3ast, C.Agada 16+3reb+5ast, J.Soriano 13+6reb+1ast, A.Barcello 13+1reb, Y.Barrueta 13+1reb+2ast, L.Meindl 9+7reb+2ast

Zaragoza - Valencia 82-97:
There was a surprise result when Valencia beat on the road Zaragoza 97-82 on Sunday. The best player for the winners was American-North Macedonian guard TJ Shorts (175-1997, college: UC Davis) who scored 21 points and 5 assists. ex-international Nikola Mirotic (208-1991) chipped in 17 points and 5 rebounds. Shorts is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. British center Gabriel Olaseni (208-1991, college: Iowa) produced a double-double by scoring 12 points and 11 rebounds and American guard Justin Jaworski (190-1999, college: Lafayette) added 22 points respectively for the hosts. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Valencia will meet Barca in the next round. Zaragoza will play against Coruna and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Valencia: S.TJ 21+2reb+5ast, M.Nikola 17+5reb+1ast, P.Josep 16+2reb, T.Kameron 9+3reb+2ast, C.Alvaro 9+5ast, S.Mario 6+2ast
Zaragoza: J.Jaworski 22+3reb, G.Olaseni 12+11reb+2ast, N.Brussino 9+6reb+1ast, G.Vives 9+1reb+6ast, C.Homesley 9+1reb+1ast, M.Gonzalez 6+4reb

Baskonia - Girona 118-78:
Baskonia smashed Basquet Girona in Vitoria 118-78. Baskonia made 28-of-31 free shots (90.3 percent) during the game, while Girona only scored three points from the stripe. Baskonia forced 19 Girona turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists. 24 personal fouls committed by Girona helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Dominican guard Chris Duarte (196-1997, college: Oregon) scored 19 points to lead the charge for the winners and Lithuanian forward Tadas Sedekerskis (206-1998) chipped in 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. Dominican swingman Jassel Perez (195-2001) responded with 15 points and 5 rebounds and American guard Mac McClung (188-2000, college: Texas Tech) scored 12 points and 5 rebounds. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Basquet Girona will play next round against strong Rio Breogan trying to get back on the winning streak. Baskonia will try to continue on its current victory against Joventut in Badalona.
Top scorers:
Baskonia: D.Chris 19+3reb+2ast, K.Rodions 13+1reb, J.Stefan 11+2reb+2ast, S.Marcio 11+4reb+2ast, S.Matteo 11+2reb+4ast, S.Tadas 11+9reb+4ast
Girona: J.Perez 15+5reb+2ast, M.McClung 12+5reb+1ast, J.Busquets 11+3reb+1ast, M.Geben 10+4reb+1ast, D.N'Guessan 10+4reb+1ast, S.Whittaker 8+1reb+4ast

Murcia - Barca 100-94:
There was a minor upset in Murcia where FC Barcelona was defeated by UCAM 100-94 on Sunday. The best player for the winners was French power forward Jean-Marc Pansa (209-1997) who had a double-double by scoring 11 points and 12 rebounds. American-Montenegrin Jonah Radebaugh (191-1997, college: N.Colorado, agency: Octagon Europe) chipped in 16 points and 4 steals. American-Serbian guard Kevin Punter (193-1993, college: Tennessee) produced 18 points and American guard Justin Robinson (185-1997, college: Virginia Tech) added 17 points respectively for the guests. Four Barca players scored in double figures. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. UCAM will meet at home Tenerife in the next round where they are favorite. FC Barcelona will play against Valencia and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Murcia: R.Jonah 16+2reb+1ast, B.Souley 15+1reb+3ast, F.Michael 11+2reb+1ast, P.Jean-Marc 11+12reb+1ast, E.Dylan 9+1ast, C.Emanuel 9+1reb+2ast
Barca: K.Punter 18+3reb+2ast, J.Robinson 17+1reb+3ast, O.Nkamhoua 14+3reb+1ast, A.Balcerowski 12+6reb+1ast, U.Gibson 10+1reb+2ast, J.Parra 8+5reb