LEB Gold Round 7: Leche Rio Breogan lose to Granada

The round was rather attractive and full of interesting results. The round ended with defeat of the leader and favorites losing the games. Here is the last round review presented by ESL.

Top ranked Leche Rio Breogan (11-4) recorded its fourth loss on the court of third ranked Granada on Saturday night. Visitors were defeated by Granada 97-80. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Leche Rio Breogan. It may be a crucial game in the contest for the top position in the league. Granada made 22-of-25 free shots (88.0 percent) during the game. They shot the lights out from three sinking 15 long-distance shots on high 57.7 percentage. 26 personal fouls committed by Leche Rio Breogan helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Point guard Lluis Costa (187-93) fired a double-double by scoring 12 points and 11 assists for the winners. American-Liberian swingman Thomas Bropleh (196-91, college: Boise St., agency: Duran International) chipped in 18 points and 5 rebounds. American-Italian guard Adam Sollazzo (198-90, college: ETSU) produced 19 points and 9 rebounds for lost side. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Granada (10-5) moved-up to second place, which they share with Coruna. Leche Rio Breogan at the other side still keeps top position with four games lost. Granada is looking forward to face Palencia (#10) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Leche Rio Breogan will play against Palma (#7) and is hoping to win this game.
Important game to mention about took place in Oviedo. Sixth ranked Oviedo (8-7) saved a 1-point victory at home edging 5th ranked HLA Alicante (8-7) 63-62 in the game for the fifth place. Worth to mention a great performance of American-Haitian forward Marc-Eddy Norelia (203-93, college: FGCU, agency: Duran International) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 12 points and 14 rebounds. Oliver Arteaga contributed with 13 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Oviedo's coach Natxo Lezcano used entire bench in such tough game. American Noah Allen (201-95, college: Hawaii) answered with 19 points (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field) for HLA Alicante. Oviedo moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Alicante. Oviedo will play against Almansa (#9) at home in the next round. HLA Alicante will play against the league's second-placed Leyma Basquet (#2) in Coruna and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Bottom-ranked Real Canoe managed to get a second victory, breaking the series of four consecutive losses on Friday night. This time they won against eighteenth-ranked Burgos in Madrid 90-82. It was a great evening for Daniel Clark who led his team to a victory scoring 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. At the losing side Serigne Barro responded with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Real Canoe maintains nineteenth place with 2-11 record. Newly promoted Burgos keeps the eighteenth position with nine games lost. Real Canoe will meet higher ranked Melilla (#16) on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Burgos will play against Girona and hope to secure a win.
The game in S'Arenal was also worth to mention about. Third ranked Leyma Basquet (10-5) played at the court of 7th ranked Palma (7-8). Leyma Basquet defeated Palma 75-65. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Palma. It was an exceptional evening for Osvaldas Matulionis who led the winners and scored 17 points and 5 rebounds. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Leyma Basquet have a solid series of four victories in a row. They moved-up to second place, which they share with Granada. Palma at the other side keeps the seventh position with eight games lost. Leyma Basquet's next round opponent will be HLA Alicante (#6) at home. Palma will play against the league's leader Leche Rio Breogan in Lugo and hope to win that game.
We should mention about the upset which took place in Murcia, where higher ranked Caceres Basket (8-5) lost to fifteenth ranked Real Murcia (8-6) in a road game 64-80 on Saturday. Alejandro Hernandez fired 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. Real Murcia's coach Rafael Monclova used a ten-player rotation and allowed the starting five to get some rest. Real Murcia have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to thirteenth place, which they share with Huesca. Loser Caceres Basket keeps the eleventh position with five games lost. Real Murcia will face Ourense (#15) on the road in the next round.

Other games of round 7 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Valladolid defeated Almansa in a road game 91-78. Castello beat Palencia at home 87-76. Melilla lost to Huesca on the opponent's court 70-81.

Granada - Breogan 97-80

Top ranked Leche Rio Breogan (11-4) recorded its fourth loss on the court of third ranked Granada on Saturday night. Visitors were defeated by Granada 97-80. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Leche Rio Breogan. It may be a crucial game in the contest for the top position in the league. Granada made 22-of-25 free shots (88.0 percent) during the game. They shot the lights out from three sinking 15 long-distance shots on high 57.7 percentage. 26 personal fouls committed by Leche Rio Breogan helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Point guard Lluis Costa (187-93) fired a double-double by scoring 12 points and 11 assists for the winners. American-Liberian swingman Thomas Bropleh (196-91, college: Boise St., agency: Duran International) chipped in 18 points and 5 rebounds. Five Granada players scored in double figures. American-Italian guard Adam Sollazzo (198-90, college: ETSU) produced 19 points and 9 rebounds and Danish center Kevin Larsen (207-93, college: GWU) added 17 points and 5 rebounds respectively for lost side. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Granada (10-5) moved-up to second place, which they share with Coruna. Leche Rio Breogan at the other side still keeps top position with four games lost. Granada is looking forward to face Palencia (#10) on the road in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Leche Rio Breogan will play against Palma (#7) and is hoping to win this game.
Top scorers:
Granada: T.Bropleh 18+5reb+1ast, D.Iriarte 15+2reb, A.Murphy 12+2reb+5ast, B.Fall 12+4reb, L.Costa 12+3reb+11ast, C.Diaz 10+2reb+1ast
Breogan: A.Sollazzo 19+9reb, K.Larsen 17+5reb+2ast, S.Quintela 10+1reb+2ast, E.Quintela 8+2reb+3ast, I.Cruz Uceda 7+4reb+1ast, D.Mateo 5+1reb

Palma - Coruna 65-75

The game in S'Arenal was also worth to mention about. Third ranked Leyma Basquet (10-5) played at the court of 7th ranked Palma (7-8). Leyma Basquet defeated Palma 75-65. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Palma. Leyma Basquet made 17-of-21 charity shots (81.0 percent) during the game. Leyma Basquet had a 30-19 advantage in offensive rebounds. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 22 assists. It was an exceptional evening for Lithuanian Osvaldas Matulionis (200-91, agency: Dynamics Global Management) who led the winners and scored 17 points and 5 rebounds. Lithuanian forward Rolandas Jakstas (202-92) accounted for 13 points and 6 rebounds for the winning side. Estonian point guard Kristian Kullamaee (194-99, agency: Dynamics Global Management) came up with 18 points and forward Jacobo Diaz (206-96, college: IUP) added 10 points and 7 rebounds respectively for Palma in the defeat. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Leyma Basquet have a solid series of four victories in a row. They moved-up to second place, which they share with Granada. Palma at the other side keeps the seventh position with eight games lost. Leyma Basquet's next round opponent will be HLA Alicante (#6) at home. Palma will play against the league's leader Leche Rio Breogan in Lugo and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Coruna: O.Matulionis 17+5reb+3ast, R.Jakstas 13+6reb+3ast, D.Pena 9+2reb+2ast, Z.Monaghan 9+3reb+7ast, G.McGhee 8+6reb, J.Vega 6+4reb+3ast
Palma: K.Kullamaee 18+4reb+2ast, P.Figueras 10+1reb+4ast, J.Diaz 10+7reb, K.Jawara 8+3reb+1ast, R.Harrell 7+6reb+1ast, J.Raffington 6+4reb+1ast

Oviedo - Alicante 63-62

Important game to mention about took place in Oviedo. Sixth ranked Oviedo (8-7) saved a 1-point victory at home edging 5th ranked HLA Alicante (8-7) 63-62 in the game for the fifth place. Oviedo made 16-of-19 charity shots (84.2 percent) during the game. Oviedo outrebounded HLA Alicante 39-26 including 28 on the defensive glass. Worth to mention a great performance of American-Haitian forward Marc-Eddy Norelia (203-93, college: FGCU, agency: Duran International) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 12 points and 14 rebounds. Center Oliver Arteaga (208-83) contributed with 13 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Four Oviedo players scored in double figures. Oviedo's coach Natxo Lezcano used entire bench in such tough game. American Noah Allen (201-95, college: Hawaii) answered with 19 points (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field) and guard Txemi Urtasun (192-84) added 9 points and 5 rebounds in the effort for HLA Alicante. Oviedo moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Alicante. Oviedo will play against Almansa (#9) at home in the next round. HLA Alicante will play against the league's second-placed Leyma Basquet (#2) in Coruna and hopes to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Oviedo: E.Brown 15+3reb, O.Arteaga 13+5reb+1ast, M.Norelia 12+14reb+1ast, M.Speight 11+1reb, C.Oluyitan 4+1reb, H.Frey 3+3reb
Alicante: N.Allen 19+4reb+1ast, J.Bilbao 11+4reb+1ast, T.Urtasun 9+5reb+2ast, J.Zohore 8+3reb, S.Gjuroski 8+4reb+2ast, R.Huertas 5+1reb

Almansa - Valladolid 78-91

Everything could happen at the game between two tied teams. Both eighth ranked Valladolid and 9th ranked Almansa had identical 3-11 record. But Almansa was not able to use a home court advantage and was defeated by the opponent from Valladolid 91-78 on Saturday night. Valladolid shot 60.7 percent from the field. It was a great shooting night for Valladolid especially from behind the arc, where they had solid 52.6 percentage. The former international forward Nacho Martin (202-83) fired 21 points and 6 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) for the winners. Center Sergio De La Fuente (198-89) chipped in 19 points. Four Valladolid players scored in double figures. Serbian Nikola Cvetinovic (203-88, college: Akron) produced 20 points and point guard Carles Bivia (189-85) added 12 points and 4 assists respectively for lost side. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Valladolid maintains eighth place with 4-11 record. Loser Almansa keeps the ninth position with 12 games lost. Valladolid will face higher ranked Castello (#4) in Castellon in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Almansa will play on the road against Oviedo (#5) and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Valladolid: N.Martin 21+6reb+2ast, S.De La Fuente 19+4reb, J.Melwin Pantzar 17+5ast, A.Mason 17+3reb+2ast, J.van Zegeren 6+3reb, G.Juan 3+4reb+1ast
Almansa: N.Cvetinovic 20+3reb+1ast, C.Bivia 12+2reb+4ast, B.Harris 11+1reb+4ast, S.Maxwell 9+6reb, F.Djuran 8+2reb+1ast, C.Noguerol 6+1reb+1ast

Castello - Palencia 87-76

No shocking result in a game in Castellon where fifth ranked Castello (9-6) defeated 10th ranked Palencia (3-12) 87-76 on Friday. Guard Eduardo Duran (190-91) fired 18 points for the winners. Cameroonian forward Arnaud-William Adala Moto (198-93, college: Towson, agency: Duran International) chipped in a double-double by scoring 11 points and 10 rebounds. Serbian-Portuguese center Sasa Borovnjak (206-89, college: Penn St., agency: 011 Sports) produced 22 points and 6 rebounds (on 10-of-13 shooting from the field) and naturalized Argentinian guard Luciano Massarelli (185-93) added 12 points respectively for lost side. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Castello moved-up to fourth place. Palencia lost sixth consecutive game. They dropped to the ninth position with 12 games lost. Castello will face Valladolid (#8) on the road in the next round. Palencia will play against Granada and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Castello: E.Duran 18+4reb+3ast, T.Pavelka 16+5reb, K.Edwards 12+2reb, A.Adala Moto 11+10reb+2ast, J.Faner 8+1reb+5ast, O.Alvarado 7+2reb+5ast
Palencia: S.Borovnjak 22+6reb, L.Massarelli 12+4reb+2ast, D.Rodriguez 10+1reb+6ast, J.Narcis 9+4reb+1ast, B.Douvier 9+5reb, S.Smith 6+5reb+1ast

Real Murcia - Caceres 80-64

We should mention about the upset which took place in Murcia, where higher ranked Caceres Basket (8-5) lost to fifteenth ranked Real Murcia (8-6) in a road game 64-80 on Saturday. Real Murcia made 19-of-23 free shots (82.6 percent) during the game. Guard Alejandro Hernandez (189-90) fired 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. Serbian power forward Strahinja Gavrilovic (206-93, college: USC) chipped in 10 points and 7 rebounds. Real Murcia's coach Rafael Monclova used a ten-player rotation and allowed the starting five to get some rest. American guard Devin Schmidt (193-94, college: Delta St., agency: Duran International) produced 17 points and 7 rebounds and Dutch power forward Roeland Schaftenaar (211-88, college: Oregon St.) added 14 points and 7 rebounds respectively for lost side. Real Murcia have a solid series of three victories in a row. They moved-up to thirteenth place, which they share with Huesca. Loser Caceres Basket keeps the eleventh position with five games lost. Real Murcia will face Ourense (#15) on the road in the next round.
Top scorers:
Real Murcia: A.Hernandez 18+5reb+5ast, C.Robinson 12+4reb, S.Gavrilovic 10+7reb, J.Rubio 9+5reb, D.Kapelan 8, J.Solarin 8+4reb
Caceres: D.Schmidt 17+7reb, R.Schaftenaar 14+7reb+1ast, R.Barber 10+2reb, J.Sanz 8+3reb+3ast, F.Ventura 6+2reb, S.Berg 6+6reb+1ast

Huesca - Melilla 81-70

There was a minor upset when 14th ranked Melilla (7-6) was defeated on the road by sixteenth ranked Huesca (8-6) 81-70 on Friday. Huesca made 18-of-22 free shots (81.8 percent) during the game. Melilla was plagued by 25 personal fouls down the stretch. Forward Ramon Vila (203-97, college: Chattanooga) fired 27 points for the winners. Canadian-British guard Kimbal Mackenzie (185-96, college: Bucknell) chipped in 20 points and 4 assists. American point guard Alec Wintering (183-95, college: Portland) produced 19 points and 5 rebounds and DR Congolese-Canadian guard Mathieu Kamba (196-95, college: Cent Arkansas, agency: Dynamics Global Management) added 20 points respectively for lost side. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Huesca moved-up to thirteenth place, which they share with Real Murcia. Melilla lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the sixteenth position with six games lost. Huesca will face higher ranked Caceres Basket (#11) on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Melilla will play against Real Canoe (#19) and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Huesca: R.Vila 27+4reb, K.Mackenzie 20+1reb+4ast, I.Rosa 13+1reb, M.Moore 8+6reb+1ast, L.Parejo 7+3reb, F.Corvalan 3+3reb+1ast
Melilla: M.Kamba 20+1reb, A.Wintering 19+5reb+2ast, A.Misters 13+1ast, N.Djedovic 7+9reb, F.Toncinic 6+3reb+1ast, A.Tew 3+4reb

Real Canoe - Burgos 90-82

Bottom-ranked Real Canoe managed to get a second victory, breaking the series of four consecutive losses on Friday night. This time they won against eighteenth-ranked Burgos in Madrid 90-82. Real Canoe made 19-of-23 free shots (82.6 percent) during the game. It was a great evening for British power forward Daniel Clark (210-88) who led his team to a victory scoring 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Forward Ander Martinez (199-95) helped adding 21 points (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). At the losing side Senegalese center Serigne Barro (208-95) responded with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds and Trinidad and Tobago-Canadian Kris Joseph (201-88, college: Syracuse) scored 20 points. Four Burgos players scored in double figures. Both coaches tested many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Real Canoe maintains nineteenth place with 2-11 record. Newly promoted Burgos keeps the eighteenth position with nine games lost. Real Canoe will meet higher ranked Melilla (#16) on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Burgos will play against Girona and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Real Canoe: A.Martinez 21+4reb+1ast, D.Clark 19+6reb+4ast, B.Ogalue 14+4reb+1ast, D.de la Rua 9+1reb+6ast, J.Maria Gil 8+2reb, M.Gonzalez 6+6reb+1ast
Burgos: K.Joseph 20+4reb+1ast, S.Barro 18+11reb, R.Nicholas 11+10reb+2ast, A.Alonso 10+3reb+2ast, I.Martinez 7+3reb+3ast, R.Uriz 7+1ast