National League Round 9 (Regular Season): Irbis keep a leadership position

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Irbis as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Irbis defeated 4th placed Tobol in Almaty 86-79. Irbis dominated down low during the game scoring 54 of its points in the paint compared to Tobol's 34. Strangely Tobol outrebounded Irbis 45-30 including a 17-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was American point guard Marcus Myers (185-1996, college: Aurora, agency: Octagon Europe) who scored 24 points and 8 assists. His fellow American import guard Lorenzo Anderson (190-2000, college: Peru St.) chipped in 22 points. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international forward Anton Bykov (200-1989) who recorded a double-double by scoring 18 points and 13 rebounds. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Tobol at the other side keeps the fourth place with four games lost. Tobol will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest in order to get back on the winning path. Irbis will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked Tobol in Kostanay.
Bottom-ranked Irtysh (0-10) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 96-74 loss to seventh ranked Caspiy Aktau (3-7) in Pavlodar. It was a good game for Russian forward Aleksandr Kalashnikov (196-2002) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 25 points and 12 rebounds. Semyon Pinaev contributed with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners. American point guard Keshon Tabb (180-1999, college: Rust) answered with 23 points and 4 assists for Irtysh. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Newly promoted Caspiy Aktau maintains seventh place with 3-7 record. Irtysh at the other side, also newcomer in the league, still closes the standings with ten games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Bottom-ranked Irtysh (0-10) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 85-77 loss to seventh ranked Caspiy Aktau (3-7) in Pavlodar on Sunday evening. Semyon Pinaev stepped up with a double-double by scoring 19 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. The best for the losing side was Keshon Tabb with 31 points and 7 steals. Irtysh's coach Zhuldys Baydusenova rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Newly promoted Caspiy Aktau maintains seventh place with 3-7 record. Irtysh at the other side, also newcomer in the league, still closes the standings with ten games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.



Irtysh - Caspiy Aktau 74-96

Bottom-ranked Irtysh (0-10) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 96-74 loss to seventh ranked Caspiy Aktau (3-7) in Pavlodar. They dominated down low during the game scoring 54 of its points in the paint compared to Irtysh's 22. They outrebounded Irtysh 53-36 including a 36-22 advantage in defensive rebounds. Caspiy Aktau players were unselfish on offense dishing 21 assists. It was a good game for Russian forward Aleksandr Kalashnikov (196-2002) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 25 points and 12 rebounds. Center Semyon Pinaev (208-1999) contributed with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists for the winners. Five Caspiy Aktau players scored in double figures. American point guard Keshon Tabb (180-1999, college: Rust) answered with 23 points and 4 assists and forward Nazim Adylbekov (200-2001) added 10 points, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks in the effort for Irtysh. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Newly promoted Caspiy Aktau maintains seventh place with 3-7 record. Irtysh at the other side, also newcomer in the league, still closes the standings with ten games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Irtysh: K.Tabb 23+3reb+4ast, I.Ruslan 11+3reb, A.Nazim 10+17reb, S.Meyrambek 9+2reb, N.Gushchin 8+4reb+2ast, I.Ali 6+4reb+2ast
Caspiy Aktau: K.Aleksandr 25+12reb+3ast, L.Marshall 20+7reb, P.Semyon 13+7reb+7ast, D.Zhanibek 11+6reb+5ast, V.Kurochkin 10+5reb+1ast, V.Korzhov 9+2reb+4ast

Irtysh - Caspiy Aktau 77-85

Bottom-ranked Irtysh (0-10) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 85-77 loss to seventh ranked Caspiy Aktau (3-7) in Pavlodar on Sunday evening. Caspiy Aktau shot 31 for 53 from the free-throw line, while Irtysh only scored nine points from the stripe. They outrebounded Irtysh 48-37 including 16 on the offensive glass. Center Semyon Pinaev (208-1999) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 19 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners and American power forward LaDarius Marshall (201-1999, college: Alcorn St.) chipped in 13 points and 17 rebounds. Four Caspiy Aktau players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was American point guard Keshon Tabb (180-1999, college: Rust) with 31 points and 7 steals and forward Nazim Adylbekov (200-2001) produced a double-double by scoring 10 points and 11 rebounds. Irtysh's coach Zhuldys Baydusenova rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Newly promoted Caspiy Aktau maintains seventh place with 3-7 record. Irtysh at the other side, also newcomer in the league, still closes the standings with ten games lost. Both teams do not play next round, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Irtysh: K.Tabb 31+3reb+1ast, S.Meyrambek 14+1reb+3ast, A.Nazim 10+11reb+1ast, B.Vadim 7+4reb, N.Gushchin 7+8reb, Z.Shakhnazar 5+2reb
Caspiy Aktau: V.Kurochkin 23+5reb+1ast, P.Semyon 19+13reb+5ast, K.Aleksandr 16+3reb+1ast, L.Marshall 13+17reb, D.Zhanibek 5+8reb+1ast, R.Artem 5+2reb+3ast

Irbis - Tobol 86-79

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Irbis as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Irbis defeated 4th placed Tobol in Almaty 86-79. Irbis dominated down low during the game scoring 54 of its points in the paint compared to Tobol's 34. Strangely Tobol outrebounded Irbis 45-30 including a 17-6 advantage in offensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was American point guard Marcus Myers (185-1996, college: Aurora, agency: Octagon Europe) who scored 24 points and 8 assists. His fellow American import guard Lorenzo Anderson (190-2000, college: Peru St.) chipped in 22 points. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international forward Anton Bykov (200-1989) who recorded a double-double by scoring 18 points and 13 rebounds and the former international swingman Pavel Ilyin (194-1992) added 18 points and 10 rebounds respectively. Four Tobol players scored in double figures. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Tobol at the other side keeps the fourth place with four games lost. Tobol will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest in order to get back on the winning path. Irbis will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked Tobol in Kostanay.
Top scorers:
Tobol: S.Kuanov 20+3reb+4ast, A.Bykov 18+13reb+1ast, P.Ilyin 18+10reb+3ast, D.Doynikov 10+6reb+5ast, K.Dvirnyi 8+5reb+2ast, A.Holcombe 4+3reb
Irbis: M.Myers 24+4reb+8ast, L.Anderson 22+4reb+1ast, N.Giga 12+7reb, A.Zhigulin 8+3reb, N.Bazhin 8+5reb, R.Pan 6+5reb