LBL Round 4 (Regular Season): Beirut Club keep a leadership position

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Beirut Club as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Beirut Club defeated 5th ranked Homentmen at home 109-105. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Homentmen. They outrebounded Homentmen 42-24 including 27 on the defensive glass. Beirut Club looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of the former international guard Sergio El Darwich (194-1996, college: Maine) who helped to win the game recording 36 points (!!!), 7 rebounds and 9 assists and American Ricky Ledo (201-1992, college: Providence, agency: Slash Sports) who added 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists during the contest. At the losing side American point guard Jordan Stevens (182-1994, college: Midwestern St.) responded with a double-double by scoring 59 points (!!!) and 11 assists. Homentmen's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Beirut Club have a solid four-game winning streak. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Homentmen at the other side dropped to the sixth place with two games lost. Homentmen will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest in order to get back on the winning path. Beirut Club will try to continue on its current victory against ninth ranked Tadamon in Hrajel.
Antonine has registered their first victory this season after three consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Al Markaziyyah (1-3) 89-59. The winners were led by Bosnian-Croatian center Markus Loncar (213-1996) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 17 points and 15 rebounds and Kevin Murphy supported him with 21 points. Even 15 points and 8 rebounds by American forward Jeremy Tyler (208-1991, college: Louisville) did not help to save the game for Al Markaziyyah. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Antonine left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with Al Markaziyyah and Tadamon. Antonine will play against Hoops (#11) in Beirut in the next round. Al Markaziyyah will play at home against Maristes and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Bottom-ranked NSA (0-4) is still winless. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their fourth consecutive match to fourth ranked Mayrouba (3-1) 85-76 on Saturday evening. Anyeuri Castillo fired a double-double by scoring 18 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals for the winners. Mayrouba's coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Lucas Saleh produced a double-double by scoring 30 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists for lost side. Mayrouba maintains fourth position with 3-1 record, which they share with Antranik. Loser NSA still closes the standings with four games lost. Mayrouba will meet at home Antranik (#4) in the next round. NSA will have a break next round.

In the last game of round 4 Tadamon lost to Antranik on the opponent's court 78-82.



NSA - Mayrouba 76-85

Bottom-ranked NSA (0-4) is still winless. This time they could not use their home court advantage losing their fourth consecutive match to fourth ranked Mayrouba (3-1) 85-76 on Saturday evening. Mayrouba made 19-of-25 free shots (76.0 percent) during the game. They also forced 19 NSA turnovers. Strangely NSA outrebounded Mayrouba 47-32 including 17 on the offensive glass. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. Dominican-American forward Anyeuri Castillo (201-1997, college: USC Aiken) fired a double-double by scoring 18 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals for the winners. American Samuel Daniel (203-1996, college: Florida Tech) chipped in 29 points. Mayrouba's coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American swingman Lucas Saleh (201-2000, college: Belm.Abbey) produced a double-double by scoring 30 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists and South Sudanese power forward Koch Bar (211-1996, college: Bradley) added 10 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists respectively for lost side. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Mayrouba maintains fourth position with 3-1 record, which they share with Antranik. Loser NSA still closes the standings with four games lost. Mayrouba will meet at home Antranik (#4) in the next round. NSA will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Mayrouba: S.Daniel 29+3reb+2ast, A.Castillo 18+12reb+7ast, K.Kozah 15+5reb+2ast, J.Padgett 14+8reb+4ast, A.Koubba 5+1reb+1ast, J.Nakhle 2
NSA: L.Saleh 30+10reb+6ast, K.Mickle 12+8reb, M.Haddad 11+4reb+2ast, K.Bar 10+10reb+4ast, S.Rector 9+6reb+4ast, G.Tacca 4+5reb

Beirut Club - Homentmen 109-105

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Beirut Club as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Beirut Club defeated 5th ranked Homentmen at home 109-105. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Homentmen. They outrebounded Homentmen 42-24 including 27 on the defensive glass. Beirut Club looked well-organized offensively handing out 28 assists. Worth to mention a great performance of the former international guard Sergio El Darwich (194-1996, college: Maine) who helped to win the game recording 36 points (!!!), 7 rebounds and 9 assists and American Ricky Ledo (201-1992, college: Providence, agency: Slash Sports) who added 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists during the contest. Four Beirut Club players scored in double figures. At the losing side American point guard Jordan Stevens (182-1994, college: Midwestern St.) responded with a double-double by scoring 59 points (!!!) and 11 assists and New Zealand-Kenyan center Yuat Alok (211-1997, college: NM State) produced a double-double by scoring 14 points and 12 rebounds. Homentmen's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Beirut Club have a solid four-game winning streak. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Homentmen at the other side dropped to the sixth place with two games lost. Homentmen will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest in order to get back on the winning path. Beirut Club will try to continue on its current victory against ninth ranked Tadamon in Hrajel.
Top scorers:
Beirut Club: S.El Darwich 36+7reb+9ast, R.Ledo 22+8reb+5ast, M.Haidar 22+7reb+1ast, K.Kadji 12+7reb+2ast, Q.Miller-Scott 11+4reb, A.Mezher 4+3reb+9ast
Homentmen: J.Stevens 59+1reb+11ast, Y.Alok 14+12reb+1ast, G.Ajemian 14+3reb+1ast, A.Toupane 9+4reb+1ast, G.Chivichyan 7+2reb+1ast, B.Harfouch 2+1reb+2ast

Antranik - Tadamon 82-78

Very expected game in Beirut where 9th ranked Tadamon (1-3) was defeated by fifth ranked Antranik (3-1) 82-78 on Sunday. However just four-point win is not that big difference and the fans of host team counted on more convincing victory. It was a great shooting night for Antranik especially from behind the arc, where they had solid 60.0 percentage. American forward Tony Criswell (205-1991, college: Missouri, agency: Interperformances) fired 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. Rudy Moussa chipped in 18 points and 6 rebounds. Criswell is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. American guard Unique McLean (188-1997, college: SFC, agency: Blacktop Management) produced 20 points and 9 rebounds and his fellow American import guard Delano Spencer (193-1994, college: Tennessee St.) added 20 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists respectively for lost side. Four Antranik and five Tadamon players scored in double figures. Antranik moved-up to fourth place, which they share with Mayrouba. Newly promoted Tadamon dropped to the eighth position with three games lost. They share it with Al Markaziyyah and Antonine. Antranik will meet Mayrouba (#5) on the road in the next round. Tadamon will play against the league's leader Beirut Club and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Antranik: T.Criswell 21+5reb+4ast, R.Moussa 18+6reb+2ast, A.Fairley 10+5reb+1ast, J.Abou Samra 10+5reb+1ast, A.Kopaly 9+4reb, S.Nelson 8+3reb+7ast
Tadamon: U.McLean 20+9reb+2ast, D.Spencer 20+6reb+5ast, M.Ziadeh 12+7reb+1ast, G.Daaboul 11+2reb+6ast, M.Atli 10+10reb+6ast, B.Boustany 3+1reb

Antonine - Al Markaziyyah 89-59

Antonine has registered their first victory this season after three consecutive losses. They used home court advantage to defeat Al Markaziyyah (1-3) 89-59. Antonine dominated down low during the game scoring 66 of its points in the paint compared to Al Markaziyyah's 30. Antonine had a 28-17 advantage in offensive rebounds. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists. The winners were led by Bosnian-Croatian center Markus Loncar (213-1996) who had that evening a double-double by scoring 17 points and 15 rebounds and American guard Kevin Murphy (197-1990, college: Tenn Tech) supported him with 21 points. Four Antonine players scored in double figures. Even 15 points and 8 rebounds by American forward Jeremy Tyler (208-1991, college: Louisville) did not help to save the game for Al Markaziyyah. His fellow American import swingman Osiris Eldridge (191-1988, college: Illinois St.) added 14 points and 5 rebounds for lost side. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Antonine left bottom position moving up to eighth place, which they share with Al Markaziyyah and Tadamon. Antonine will play against Hoops (#11) in Beirut in the next round. Al Markaziyyah will play at home against Maristes and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Antonine: K.Murphy 21+2reb+3ast, M.Loncar 17+15reb+2ast, K.Roach II 17+7reb+2ast, J.Makhlouf 10+3reb+1ast, B.Mansour 7+3reb+6ast, M.Martinez 6+4ast
Al Markaziyyah: J.Tyler 15+8reb+1ast, O.Eldridge 14+5reb+2ast, C.Young 14+2reb+2ast, E.Saad 6+2reb+1ast, A.Nabaa 3+1ast, E.Ghaleb 2+7reb