National League Round 9 (Regular Season): Barsy Atyrau beat Caspiy Aktau by two after a very close game

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 9 in the National League took place in Aktau. This derby game ended with only two-point home defeat of 4th placed Caspiy Aktau (7-11) to third ranked Barsy Atyrau (9-9) 75-73 in the game for the third place. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Caspiy Aktau. Barsy Atyrau looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. It was a good game for American point guard Michael Mays (178-1999, college: King) who led his team to a victory with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Guard Adil Kuantaev (185-2005) contributed with 15 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. American guard Eric McGill (190-1996, college: SIU) answered with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 7 rebounds and 12 assists for Caspiy Aktau. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Barsy Atyrau maintains third place with 9-9 record having five points less than leader Astana. Caspiy Aktau at the other side keeps the fourth position with 11 games lost. Barsy Atyrau are looking forward to face league's leader Astana in Nur-Sultan in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Caspiy Aktau will play at home against the league's second-placed Almaty L. and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Very important is a road loss of third ranked Barsy Atyrau (9-9) against fourth ranked Caspiy Aktau (7-11) on Sunday night. Visiting Barsy Atyrau was defeated by Caspiy Aktau in Aktau 101-91. American guard Eric McGill (190-1996, college: SIU) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points, 6 rebounds and 13 assists for the winners and Vladimir Ivanov chipped in 15 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists. The best for the losing side was American point guard Michael Mays (178-1999, college: King) with 34 points (!!!) and 7 assists. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Caspiy Aktau maintains fourth place with 7-11 record. Barsy Atyrau at the other side keeps the third position with nine games lost. Caspiy Aktau will play against league's second-placed Almaty L. at home in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Barsy Atyrau will play against the league's leader Astana and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
The game between second ranked Almaty L. (11-7) and 5th ranked Tobol (1-17) in Almaty on Sunday ended with biggest points difference. Almaty L. outscored guests from Kostanay 105-56. Elijah Hardy nailed a double-double by scoring 19 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists for the winning side. Almaty L.'s coach Oleg Ten felt very confident that he used 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. Darim Sulatanov came up with 7 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for Tobol in the defeat. Almaty L. maintains second place with 11-7 record having three points less than leader Astana. Tobol lost fifth consecutive game. They stay dead last with 17 lost games. Almaty L. will meet Caspiy Aktau (#4) on the road in the next round. Tobol will play against the league's leader Astana and hope to win that game.

In the last game of round 9 bottom-ranked Tobol was smashed by Almaty L. on the road 125-89.



Almaty L. - Tobol 125-89

No shocking result in a game when second ranked Almaty L. (11-7) crushed at home bottom-ranked Tobol (1-17) 125-89 on Saturday. Almaty L. dominated down low during the game scoring 66 of its points in the paint compared to Tobol's 44. They outrebounded Tobol 49-32 including 20 on the offensive glass. Almaty L. looked well-organized offensively handing out 39 assists comparing to just 17 passes made by Tobol's players. American guard Elijah Hardy (188-1999, college: CSUSB) nailed 23 points, 9 assists and 6 steals for the winning side and forward Nikita Timofeev (199-1998) accounted for 17 points and 9 rebounds. Hardy is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Almaty L.'s coach Oleg Ten felt very confident that he used 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. The former international forward Anton Bykov (200-1989) came up with a double-double by scoring 21 points and 13 rebounds and point guard Adilbek Bitenov (174-2001) added 28 points respectively for Tobol in the defeat. Five Almaty L. and four Tobol players scored in double figures. Almaty L. maintains second place with 11-7 record having three points less than leader Astana. Tobol lost fifth consecutive game. They stay dead last with 17 lost games. Almaty L. will meet Caspiy Aktau (#4) on the road in the next round. Tobol will play against the league's leader Astana and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Almaty L.: E.Hardy 23+4reb+9ast, N.Fedchenko 19+4reb+1ast, N.Timofeev 17+9reb+3ast, N.Adylbekov 15+6reb+1ast, S.Dmitry 13+8reb+1ast, S.Sahipov 12+3reb+8ast
Tobol: B.Adilbek 28+4reb+2ast, B.Anton 21+13reb+1ast, S.Darim 13+3reb+4ast, V.Timur 10+4reb+1ast, S.Adil 8+1reb+2ast, S.Mikhail 6+4reb+4ast

Caspiy Aktau - Barsy Atyrau 101-91

Very important is a road loss of third ranked Barsy Atyrau (9-9) against fourth ranked Caspiy Aktau (7-11) on Sunday night. Visiting Barsy Atyrau was defeated by Caspiy Aktau in Aktau 101-91. Caspiy Aktau players were unselfish on offense dishing 34 assists. Barsy Atyrau was plagued by 29 personal fouls down the stretch. American guard Eric McGill (190-1996, college: SIU) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 20 points, 6 rebounds and 13 assists for the winners and the former international center Vladimir Ivanov (208-1994) chipped in 15 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists. Four Caspiy Aktau players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was American point guard Michael Mays (178-1999, college: King) with 34 points (!!!) and 7 assists and the other American import forward JaVon Benson (201, college: Ole Miss) scored 8 points and 13 rebounds. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Caspiy Aktau maintains fourth place with 7-11 record. Barsy Atyrau at the other side keeps the third position with nine games lost. Caspiy Aktau will play against league's second-placed Almaty L. at home in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Barsy Atyrau will play against the league's leader Astana and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Caspiy Aktau: M.JP 27+5reb+1ast, M.Eric 20+6reb+13ast, V.Ivanov 15+14reb+8ast, V.Petrishinets 14+6reb+3ast, R.Marchuk 8+5reb+2ast, G.Korganbaev 5+1ast
Barsy Atyrau: M.Michael 34+4reb+7ast, R.Bogdan 15+3reb+3ast, S.Ramazan 14+7reb+1ast, B.JaVon 8+13reb+1ast, O.Aibolat 7+4reb+2ast, M.Abat 5+1ast

Almaty L. - Tobol 105-56

The game between second ranked Almaty L. (11-7) and 5th ranked Tobol (1-17) in Almaty on Sunday ended with biggest points difference. Almaty L. outscored guests from Kostanay 105-56. Almaty L. dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to Tobol's 26. Almaty L. forced 22 Tobol turnovers and outrebounded them 53-25 including a 23-9 advantage in offensive rebounds. Almaty L. looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. American guard Elijah Hardy (188-1999, college: CSUSB) nailed a double-double by scoring 19 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists for the winning side and Uzbekistani center Dmitry Sviridov (212-1985) accounted for 14 points and 10 rebounds. Hardy is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Five Almaty L. players scored in double figures. Almaty L.'s coach Oleg Ten felt very confident that he used 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. Guard Darim Sulatanov (175-2008) came up with 7 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists and the former international forward Anton Bykov (200-1989) added 7 points and 9 rebounds respectively for Tobol in the defeat. Almaty L. maintains second place with 11-7 record having three points less than leader Astana. Tobol lost fifth consecutive game. They stay dead last with 17 lost games. Almaty L. will meet Caspiy Aktau (#4) on the road in the next round. Tobol will play against the league's leader Astana and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Almaty L.: E.Hardy 19+7reb+10ast, S.Dmitry 14+10reb, N.Fedchenko 13+6reb+1ast, N.Adylbekov 13+4reb, N.Timofeev 12+9reb+2ast, D.Kalymbetov 11+3reb+1ast
Tobol: B.Adilbek 13+1reb+3ast, S.Ilya 11+2ast, S.Mikhail 8+2reb, S.Darim 7+7reb+6ast, B.Anton 7+9reb+1ast, S.Adil 5+1reb

Caspiy Aktau - Barsy Atyrau 73-75

The most exciting game of round 9 in the National League took place in Aktau. This derby game ended with only two-point home defeat of 4th placed Caspiy Aktau (7-11) to third ranked Barsy Atyrau (9-9) 75-73 in the game for the third place. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Caspiy Aktau. Barsy Atyrau looked well-organized offensively handing out 23 assists. It was a good game for American point guard Michael Mays (178-1999, college: King) who led his team to a victory with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Guard Adil Kuantaev (185-2005) contributed with 15 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. American guard Eric McGill (190-1996, college: SIU) answered with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 7 rebounds and 12 assists and the other American import swingman JP Moorman II (201-1998, college: UC Riverside) added 12 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in the effort for Caspiy Aktau. Four Barsy Atyrau and five Caspiy Aktau players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Barsy Atyrau maintains third place with 9-9 record having five points less than leader Astana. Caspiy Aktau at the other side keeps the fourth position with 11 games lost. Barsy Atyrau are looking forward to face league's leader Astana in Nur-Sultan in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Caspiy Aktau will play at home against the league's second-placed Almaty L. and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Barsy Atyrau: M.Mays 26+8reb+5ast, A.Kuantaev 15+7reb+3ast, R.Samsin 13+8reb+2ast, A.Marat 11+2ast, B.Rabchenyuk 5+5reb+4ast, A.Omarov 2+4reb+2ast
Caspiy Aktau: E.McGill 18+7reb+12ast, N.Konstantin 15+3reb+3ast, J.Moorman II 12+12reb+5ast, P.Vassiliy 10+2reb+1ast, I.Vladimir 10+8reb+2ast, M.Roman 8+4reb