DLBL Round 21 (Regular Season): Sagesse beat Homentmen by two after a very close game

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Seventh-ranked Homentmen (11-10) used its home court advantage to challenge second ranked Sagesse (18-3) in Beirut on Wednesday. The visitors managed to secure only two-point victory 89-87. However their fans expected much easier game. Sagesse looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. It was a good game for the former international forward Youssef Khayat (206-2003, college: BGSU) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Canadian center Simi Shittu (208-1999, college: Vanderbilt) contributed with 20 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. American point guard Jordan Stevens (182-1994, college: Midwestern St.) answered with 34 points (!!!), 6 rebounds and 8 assists for Homentmen. Sagesse have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain second place with 18-3 record having just two points less than leader Al Riyadi. Homentmen at the other side keeps the seventh position with ten games lost. Sagesse's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Beirut Al Riyadi.
Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Beirut: Al Riyadi (#1) and Beirut Club (#8). Al Riyadi (20-1) crushed visiting Beirut Club (9-12) by 23 points 96-73. U.S. Virgin Islands-American forward Marcus Georges-Hunt (196-1994, college: Georgia Tech) stepped up and scored 30 points and 4 assists (on 11-of-14 shooting from the field) for the winners and Jarvis Williams chipped in 20 points and 8 rebounds (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field). Al Riyadi's coach felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The best for the losing side was American forward Devin Ebanks (206-1989, college: WVU) with 25 points. Defending champion maintains first place with 20-1 record. Beirut Club lost their fourth game in a row. They keep the eighth position with 12 games lost. Al Riyadi's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Beirut to the arena Sagesse.
The game between 11th ranked Maristes (5-16) and third ranked Hoops (13-8) in Dik El Mehdi on Wednesday ended with biggest points difference. Guests from Beirut outscored Maristes 111-55. Vante Hendrix nailed 20 points and 6 rebounds for the winning side. Coach 's team controlled all game and the coach could let to play 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. Hadi El Khatib came up with 24 points for Maristes in the defeat. The victory was the third consecutive win for Hoops. They maintain third place with 13-8 record having seven points less than leader Al Riyadi, which they share with Al Markaziyyah. Maristes lost their twelfth game in a row. They keep the eleventh position with 16 games lost. Hoops will meet at home Al Markaziyyah (#4) in the next round. Maristes will play against Antranik (#5) and hope to secure a win.

There were no big surprises in other games of round 21: NSA was beaten by Antranik on the road 104-94. Antonine destroyed Tadamon on its own court 95-49. Al Markaziyyah managed to outperform Batroun in Jounieh 76-59.
The most impressive performance of 21th round was 11 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists by Abdoulaye Gueye of Al Markaziyyah.



Antranik - NSA 104-94

No shocking result in a game when fifth ranked Antranik (12-9) beat 9th ranked NSA (6-15) in Beirut 104-94 on Tuesday. Antranik looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. American point guard Jeremiah Gambrell Jr (190-2000, college: Alcorn St., agency: 0z Sports Agency) nailed a double-double by scoring 37 points (!!!), 11 rebounds and 6 assists for the winning side and his fellow American import Chance Hunter (198-1998, college: Cal Poly, agency: 0z Sports Agency) accounted for 20 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. The former international swingman Christophe Khalil (192-1999) came up with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists and Tunisian power forward Mohamed Ochi (210-1999) added 16 points and 15 rebounds respectively for NSA in the defeat. Four Antranik and five NSA players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. The victory was the fourth consecutive win for Antranik. They maintain fifth place with 12-9 record, which they share with Antonine. Loser NSA keeps the ninth position with 15 games lost. They share it with Batroun. Antranik will meet Maristes (#11) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. NSA will play against Antonine and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
NSA: C.Khalil 26+8reb+5ast, R.Williams 21+2reb+2ast, M.Ochi 16+15reb+2ast, M.Haddad 15+2reb+1ast, A.Thomas 10+4reb+3ast, F.Pierre 3+6reb
Antranik: G.Jeremiah 37+11reb+6ast, H.Chance 20+10reb+7ast, M.Majur 17+10reb+2ast, S.Alaa 11+1reb+2ast, S.Gabriel 9+7reb+4ast, K.Kevork 9+1reb

Antonine - Tadamon 95-49

Very expected game when 12th ranked Tadamon (1-20) was smashed on the road by seventh ranked Antonine (12-9) 95-49 on Tuesday. Antonine dominated down low during the game scoring 54 of its points in the paint compared to Tadamon's 32. Antonine forced 21 Tadamon turnovers and outrebounded them 47-29 including 16 on the offensive glass. Antonine looked well-organized offensively handing out 26 assists comparing to just 12 passes made by Tadamon's players. American-Kosovan guard Dominic Artis (190-1993, college: UTEP) nailed 6 points, 16 rebounds and 9 assists for the winning side and American center Justin Patton (216-1997, college: Creighton) accounted for 21 points and 7 rebounds (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Four Antonine players scored in double figures. Alex Alalia (198-2004) came up with 22 points and 7 rebounds and Omar Younes added 10 points and 5 rebounds respectively for Tadamon in the defeat. Antonine moved-up to fifth place, which they share with Antranik. Tadamon lost their seventh game in a row. They stay dead last with 20 lost games. Antonine will meet NSA (#9) in the next round. Tadamon will play against Beirut Club and hope to win that game.
Top scorers:
Tadamon: A.Alex 22+7reb+2ast, Y.Omar 10+5reb+3ast, D.John 9+1reb+2ast, T.Fady 4+5reb+1ast, J.Nasr 4+3reb+1ast, M.Elio 0+8reb+3ast
Antonine: A.Mark 22+2reb+2ast, P.Justin 21+7reb+2ast, G.Jarred 14+3reb+3ast, C.Elie 11+5reb+4ast, A.Anthony 9+3ast, R.Khoury 7+2reb+2ast

Maristes - Hoops 55-111

The game between 11th ranked Maristes (5-16) and third ranked Hoops (13-8) in Dik El Mehdi on Wednesday ended with biggest points difference. Guests from Beirut outscored Maristes 111-55. Hoops dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to Maristes' 32. They outrebounded Maristes 50-25 including a 35-18 advantage in defensive rebounds. Hoops shot the lights out from three sinking 13 long-distance shots on high 52.0 percentage. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 30 assists comparing to just 7 passes made by Maristes' players. American guard Vante Hendrix (196-1998, college: CSUN, agency: BIG) nailed 20 points and 6 rebounds for the winning side and Amine Atwe accounted for 16 points (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field). Four Hoops players scored in double figures. Coach 's team controlled all game and the coach could let to play 11 players and allowed the starting five to rest. Power forward Hadi El Khatib (204-2007) came up with 24 points and American guard Lyndel Erold (190, college: Brown) added 15 points and 5 rebounds respectively for Maristes in the defeat. The victory was the third consecutive win for Hoops. They maintain third place with 13-8 record having seven points less than leader Al Riyadi, which they share with Al Markaziyyah. Maristes lost their twelfth game in a row. They keep the eleventh position with 16 games lost. Hoops will meet at home Al Markaziyyah (#4) in the next round. Maristes will play against Antranik (#5) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Maristes: H.El Khatib 24+3reb, L.Erold 15+5reb+1ast, S.Ray 8+3reb+2ast, M.Rudy 5+3reb+2ast, G.Samaha 2+7reb+1ast, K.Samer 1+1reb
Hoops: H.Vante 20+6reb+2ast, A.Atwe 16+4reb+2ast, E.Ahmad 12+7reb, O.Karim 12+4reb+3ast, A.Omar 12+5reb+4ast, S.Abed 10+4reb+2ast

Homentmen - Sagesse 87-89

Seventh-ranked Homentmen (11-10) used its home court advantage to challenge second ranked Sagesse (18-3) in Beirut on Wednesday. The visitors managed to secure only two-point victory 89-87. However their fans expected much easier game. Sagesse looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. It was a good game for the former international forward Youssef Khayat (206-2003, college: BGSU) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 18 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Canadian center Simi Shittu (208-1999, college: Vanderbilt) contributed with a double-double by scoring 20 points and 10 rebounds for the winners. American point guard Jordan Stevens (182-1994, college: Midwestern St.) answered with 34 points (!!!), 6 rebounds and 8 assists and Egyptian center Hamad Fathy (225) added 14 points, 21 rebounds and 4 assists in the effort for Homentmen. Five Sagesse and four Homentmen players scored in double figures. Sagesse have an impressive series of eight victories in a row. They maintain second place with 18-3 record having just two points less than leader Al Riyadi. Homentmen at the other side keeps the seventh position with ten games lost. Sagesse's supporters look forward to an exciting derby game next round, where their team will face at home their local rival from Beirut Al Riyadi.
Top scorers:
Homentmen: J.Stevens 34+6reb+8ast, F.Hamad 14+21reb+4ast, A.Abdel Massih 14+4reb+4ast, D.Peter 11+9reb, H.Mohamad 9+4reb+1ast, S.Brian 5+1reb
Sagesse: S.Simi 20+10reb+1ast, Y.Khayat 18+15reb+6ast, M.Ali 14+5reb+4ast, W.Byron 13+10reb+3ast, K.Jad 10+1reb+4ast, M.Khoueiry 10+3reb+3ast

Al Riyadi - Beirut Club 96-73

Another exciting game was a derby match between two teams from Beirut: Al Riyadi (#1) and Beirut Club (#8). Al Riyadi (20-1) crushed visiting Beirut Club (9-12) by 23 points 96-73. Al Riyadi made 16-of-18 charity shots (88.9 percent) during the game. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 27 assists. U.S. Virgin Islands-American forward Marcus Georges-Hunt (196-1994, college: Georgia Tech) stepped up and scored 30 points and 4 assists (on 11-of-14 shooting from the field) for the winners and American power forward Jarvis Williams (203-1993, college: Murray St.) chipped in 20 points and 8 rebounds (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field). Al Riyadi's coach felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The best for the losing side was American forward Devin Ebanks (206-1989, college: WVU) with 25 points and Joseph Abou Samra (196-2004, agency: BIG) scored 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Defending champion maintains first place with 20-1 record. Beirut Club lost their fourth game in a row. They keep the eighth position with 12 games lost. Al Riyadi's supporters look forward to another derby game next round, where their team will travel locally in Beirut to the arena Sagesse.
Top scorers:
Beirut Club: D.Ebanks 25+4reb, J.Abou Samra 15+5reb+4ast, M.Jean 10+11reb, R.Pack 9+2reb+4ast, M.Adewunmi 6+2reb+3ast, J.Zaloum 4+2reb+3ast
Al Riyadi: G.Marcus 30+4reb+4ast, W.Jarvis 20+8reb+1ast, Z.Karim 11+2reb+1ast, N.Kouat 11+2reb+3ast, I.Ahmad 9+4reb, M.Ali 8+3reb+6ast

Batroun - Al Markaziyyah 59-76

Very predictable result when fourth ranked Al Markaziyyah (13-8) won against on the road 9th ranked Batroun (6-15) 76-59 on Thursday. International forward Jihad El Khatib (206-2005) nailed a double-double by scoring 22 points and 10 rebounds for the winning side and Senegalese center Abdoulaye Gueye (206-1994, college: Georgia Tech) accounted for 11 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists. American power forward Brison Gresham (201-1998, college: Texas Southern) came up with a double-double by scoring 10 points and 14 rebounds and the other American import guard Keon Clergeot (185-1996, college: SE Louisiana, agency: MSG) added 17 points and 5 rebounds (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field) respectively for Batroun in the defeat. Al Markaziyyah moved-up to third place, which they share with Hoops. Newly promoted Batroun keeps the ninth position with 15 games lost. They share it with NSA. Al Markaziyyah will meet Hoops (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Batroun will play against Homentmen (#7) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Batroun: K.Clergeot 17+5reb+1ast, B.Gresham 10+14reb+2ast, D.Antonio 9+7reb+2ast, A.Kopaly 7+3reb+1ast, S.Bechara 5+8reb, A.Malla Mohamad 5+2reb+1ast
Al Markaziyyah: E.Jihad 22+10reb, A.Nabaa 20+2reb+1ast, G.Abdoulaye 11+13reb+4ast, W.Maurice 9+3reb+4ast, C.Anyeuri 4+4reb+6ast, K.Matthew 4