Superleague Round 4 (Regular Season): Zaporizhye loses to Dnipro

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Top ranked Zaporizhye (5-2) recorded its second loss on the court of fourth ranked Dnipro on Saturday night. Visitors were defeated by Dnipro 92-88. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Zaporizhye. The hosts trailed by 3 points after first quarter, but they rallied back to get the 6-point lead at the halftime and eventually won the game 92-88. Dnipro made 22-of-26 free shots (84.6 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. 24 personal fouls committed by Zaporizhye helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Ihor Dubonenko (197-1998, agency: BIG) fired 24 points for the winners. ex-international forward Stanislav Tymofeienko (205-1989) chipped in 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Dnipro's coach Volodymyr Koval used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. Guard Dmitry Martynov (191-2002) produced 28 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists (made all of his eight free throws) for lost side. Defending champion maintains fourth position with 4-1 record. Zaporizhye at the other side still keeps top place with two games lost. They share the position with Rivne and Kyiv Basket.
Very important is a road loss of second ranked Kyiv Basket (5-2) against tenth ranked Hoverla (1-4) on Sunday night. Visiting Kyiv Basket was defeated by Hoverla in a tough game in Ivano-Frankivsk 70-75. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Kyiv Basket. Worth to mention a great performance of point guard Sergiy Startsev (190-1997, agency: BIG) who helped to win the game recording 17 points and 6 assists. Raylon Howard contributed with 15 points for the winners. Forward Ilya Kabatsiura (198-1996) replied with a double-double by scoring 26 points and 12 rebounds for Kyiv Basket. Kyiv Basket's coach Valeriy Plehanov rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Hoverla left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with Cherkasy and Niko Basket. Kyiv Basket at the other side still keeps top position with two games lost. They share it with Zaporizhye and Rivne.
The game in Mykolaiv was also quite interesting. Third ranked Rivne (5-2) played at the court of 8th ranked Niko Basket (1-4). Rivne managed to secure a 9-point victory 93-84 on Sunday. Worth to mention a great performance of Vitaliy Bykov who helped to win the game recording 25 points. At the losing side Yaroslav Karpiuk responded with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 14 rebounds. Rivne keeps a position of league leader, which they share with Zaporizhye and Kyiv Basket. Loser Niko Basket dropped to the bottom place with four games lost. They share the position with Hoverla and Cherkasy.

In the last two games of round 4 Volyn defeated Cherkasy in Lutsk 75-66. Khmelnytskyi was beaten by K.Sokoly at home 64-75.
The best stats of 4th round was 19 points and 11 rebounds by Zach Loveday of Khmelnytskyi.



Dnipro - Zaporizhye 92-88:
Top ranked Zaporizhye (5-2) recorded its second loss on the court of fourth ranked Dnipro on Saturday night. Visitors were defeated by Dnipro 92-88. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Zaporizhye. The hosts trailed by 3 points after first quarter, but they rallied back to get the 6-point lead at the halftime and eventually won the game 92-88. Dnipro made 22-of-26 free shots (84.6 percent) during the game. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. 24 personal fouls committed by Zaporizhye helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Ihor Dubonenko (197-1998, agency: BIG) fired 24 points for the winners. ex-international forward Stanislav Tymofeienko (205-1989) chipped in 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Dnipro's coach Volodymyr Koval used a ten-player rotation in such tough game. Guard Dmitry Martynov (191-2002) produced 28 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists (made all of his eight free throws) and forward Vladislav Nikolaichuk (200-2004) added 17 points respectively for lost side. Four Zaporizhye players scored in double figures. Defending champion maintains fourth position with 4-1 record. Zaporizhye at the other side still keeps top place with two games lost. They share the position with Rivne and Kyiv Basket.
Top scorers:
Zaporizhye: M.Dmitry 28+9reb+4ast, J.Ileleji 17+2reb+2ast, N.Vladislav 17+4reb+2ast, A.Buts 14+8reb, O.Petrenko 8+3reb+2ast, V.Andriy 2+1reb+2ast
Dnipro: D.Ihor 24+2reb, M.Zakurdaiev 13+1reb+1ast, K.Volodymyr 13+5reb+3ast, T.Stanislav 12+6reb+4ast, A.Smitiukh 8+1reb+1ast, S.Yevhenii 8+5reb+3ast

Niko Basket - Rivne 84-93:
The game in Mykolaiv was also quite interesting. Third ranked Rivne (5-2) played at the court of 8th ranked Niko Basket (1-4). Rivne managed to secure a 9-point victory 93-84 on Sunday. The guests took control from the first minutes by winning first half. But Niko Basket won third quarter 27-19. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. Rivne made 18-of-21 free shots (85.7 percent) during the game. They shot the lights out from three sinking 17 long-distance shots on high 54.8 percentage. Rivne looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of guard Vitaliy Bykov (190-1996) who helped to win the game recording 25 points and American forward JaVon Benson (201, college: Ole Miss) who added 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks during the contest. At the losing side forward Yaroslav Karpiuk (201-2003) responded with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 14 rebounds and American guard Jamir Simpson (196, college: UTSA) scored 22 points and 5 assists. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Rivne keeps a position of league leader, which they share with Zaporizhye and Kyiv Basket. Loser Niko Basket dropped to the bottom place with four games lost. They share the position with Hoverla and Cherkasy.
Top scorers:
Niko Basket: J.Simpson 22+4reb+5ast, K.Yaroslav 20+14reb+2ast, S.Maksym 17+5reb+1ast, B.Lukian 13+4reb+5ast, V.Artem 9+2reb+2ast, S.Danylo 2
Rivne: V.Bykov 25+3reb+2ast, E.Tarig 20+5reb+3ast, J.Benson 20+8reb+1ast, P.Oleksandr 13+3reb+4ast, S.Ryaboy 8+2reb, D.Trykolenko 4+6reb+3ast

Cherkasy - Volyn 66-75:
There was a minor upset when 7th ranked Cherkasy (1-4) was defeated at home by ninth ranked Volyn (2-5) 75-66 on Sunday. Cherkasy was trailing by 3 points at halftime but managed to get 2-point lead after three quarters before a 27-16 charge of Volyn, which allowed them to win the game. They made 19-of-25 free shots (76.0 percent) during the game. Worth to mention a great performance of Nazar Korol (191-2006) who helped to win the game recording 25 points and center Sviatoslav Tovkach (203-2002) who added 14 points and 8 rebounds during the contest. At the losing side American point guard Jordon Talley (185-1995, college: UNCW, agency: BIG) responded with 14 points and 8 assists and British-Ugandan power forward Jonathan Komagum (205-1998, college: SE Louisiana) scored 10 points and 9 rebounds. Four Volyn and five Cherkasy players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Volyn moved-up to seventh place. Cherkasy lost third consecutive game. They dropped to the eighth position with four games lost. They share it with Hoverla and Niko Basket.
Top scorers:
Cherkasy: J.Talley 14+2reb+8ast, B.Tolmachov 11+2reb+1ast, I.Upyr 11+2ast, J.Komagum 10+9reb+1ast, Y.Korovyakov 10+6reb, V.Mykola 4+2reb
Volyn: K.Nazar 25+3reb+2ast, S.Tovkach 14+8reb+2ast, L.Braxton 12+2ast, N.Maxim 11+7reb+1ast, K.Igor 6+6reb+1ast, M.Bezyma 4+6reb+3ast

Hoverla - Kyiv Basket 75-70:
Very important is a road loss of second ranked Kyiv Basket (5-2) against tenth ranked Hoverla (1-4) on Sunday night. Visiting Kyiv Basket was defeated by Hoverla in a tough game in Ivano-Frankivsk 70-75. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Kyiv Basket. The hosts were already 13 points ahead after 3 quarters before a 18-10 Kyiv Basket's run in the last quarter cut the lead to 75-70 at the end of the game. Worth to mention a great performance of point guard Sergiy Startsev (190-1997, agency: BIG) who helped to win the game recording 17 points and 6 assists. American forward Raylon Howard (193-1998, college: St.Mary's, KS) contributed with 15 points for the winners. Howard is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Forward Ilya Kabatsiura (198-1996) replied with a double-double by scoring 26 points and 12 rebounds and American guard Javion May (188-1999, college: SHSU) added 16 points and 9 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field) in the effort for Kyiv Basket. Kyiv Basket's coach Valeriy Plehanov rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Hoverla left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with Cherkasy and Niko Basket. Kyiv Basket at the other side still keeps top position with two games lost. They share it with Zaporizhye and Rivne.
Top scorers:
Kyiv Basket: I.Kabatsiura 26+12reb, J.May 16+9reb+1ast, K.Rafael 9+1ast, N.Kholod 9+6reb+1ast, C.Cam 4+6ast, R.Marian 4+1reb
Hoverla: S.Sergiy 17+4reb+6ast, H.Raylon 15+4reb+2ast, P.Horobchenko 13+2reb+3ast, K.Sergiy 9+6reb+2ast, O.Diupin 8+6reb+1ast, I.Dmytrenko 6+1reb

Khmelnytskyi - K.Sokoly 64-75:
The game between closely ranked teams ended with fifth ranked K.Sokoly's (4-3) road victory over 6th ranked Khmelnytskyi (2-3) 75-64 on Sunday. The game was mostly controlled by K.Sokoly. Khmelnytskyi managed to win third quarter 23-18. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Khmelnytskyi 43-28 including a 30-16 advantage in defensive rebounds. Worth to mention a great performance of international point guard Yehor Sushkin (188-2006) who helped to win the game recording 17 points and 8 assists and point guard Andriy Khokhonyk (188-1997) who added 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists during the contest. At the losing side American power forward Zach Loveday (213, college: Charleston) responded with a double-double by scoring 19 points and 11 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) and his fellow American import Derick Newton (198-1995, college: Stetson) scored 17 points and 7 assists. K.Sokoly have a solid three-game winning streak. They maintain fifth position with 4-3 record. Newly promoted Khmelnytskyi keeps the sixth place with three games lost.
Top scorers:
Khmelnytskyi: L.Zach 19+11reb+2ast, D.Newton 17+3reb+7ast, L.Lundy 11+3reb+6ast, P.Roman 5, H.Maksym 5+3reb+3ast, M.Vladislav 4+4reb
K.Sokoly: S.Yehor 17+3reb+8ast, S.Olexiy 16+2reb, K.Denys 10+4reb, A.Khokhonyk 9+6reb+4ast, S.Maksim 6+10reb, K.Dmytro 6+4reb+1ast