Finland – 1st Division Round 10: ToPo keeps a leadership position in their group

CedricLatimer There was no lack of excitement in the last round games. The round ended with defeat of the leader, favorites losing the games and games ending by tiny margin.The game had a very big importance for second-ranked ToPo as it allowed them to take a leadership position in Division. ToPo defeated 5th ranked Forssan Koripojat in Helsinki 86-76. The game was mostly controlled by ToPo. Forssan Koripojat managed to win third quarter 21-19. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. ToPo forced 20 Forssan Koripojat turnovers. Forward Cedric Latimer (198-87, college: St.Francis, PA) had a double-double by scoring 22 points and 14 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and swingman Juuso Kauppinen (188-94) chipped in 16 points and 5 assists during the contest. At the losing side American forward Bruce Reed (202-90, college: Pikeville) responded with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 10 rebounds. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Forssan Koripojat at the other side keeps the fifth place with six games lost. Forssan Koripojat will play next round against Jyvaskyla BA trying to get back on the winning streak. ToPo will try to continue on its current victory against third ranked Espoo United on the road. Undefeated PuHu Juniorit (10-1) recorded its first loss in Tampere. Visitors were edged by fifth ranked Raholan Pyrkiva (7-4) 93-90. Guard Tommi Rasi (184-98) notched 33 points (!!!) and 8 rebounds to lead the effort and Angel Mavrodiev supported him with 20 points and 4 assists. Even 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals by American power forward Brian Moultrie (198-87, college: Armstr.Atlantic) did not help to save the game for PuHu Juniorit. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Raholan Pyrkiva maintains fifth position in Division with 7-4 record. PuHu Juniorit at the other side still keeps top place with one game lost. Raholan Pyrkiva will play against higher ranked Korikouvot (#4) in Kouvola in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. PuHu Juniorit will play on the road against Ura Basket in Kaarina and it may be a tough game between close rivals. Very important is a road loss of second ranked Lahti (8-4) against fourth ranked Oulun NMKY (7-5) on Sunday night. Visiting Lahti was defeated by Oulun NMKY in Oulun 85-74. Americans were the main players on the court. Demondre Harvey fired a double-double by scoring 26 points and 19 rebounds for the winners. Rashad Smith produced 24 points and 5 rebounds for lost side. Oulun NMKY maintains fourth position in Division with 7-5 record. Loser Lahti keeps the second place with four games lost. Oulun NMKY will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Lahti will play against Porvoon Tarmo and hope to secure a win. The game between Top Four teams took place in Turun. Third ranked host TuNMKY (8-2) defeated their biggest opponent Ura Basket (8-3) 91-86. It was a key game for the second position in Division. Worth to mention a great performance of Mikael Sandberg who helped to win the game recording 31 points and 8 rebounds (made all of his eight free throws). Ura Basket’s coach tried various players’ combinations and tested in total eleven players in this game, but that didn’t help. TuNMKY moved-up to second place in Division. Ura Basket at the other side dropped to the third position with three games lost. TuNMKY’s next round opponent will be Munkkiniemen (#10) in Helsinki and are hoping to win another game. Ura Basket will play at home against the league’s leader PuHu Juniorit (#1) and it may be a tough game between close rivals. 1st Division top team – PuHu Juniorit (10-1) managed to deliver another win on Friday. This time they beat tenth ranked JyWe (3-8) in Jyvaskyla 87-74. Brian Moultrie had a double-double by scoring 28 points and 19 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners. PuHu Juniorit’s coach used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. PuHu Juniorit maintains first position in Division with 10-1 record. Newly promoted JyWe dropped to the eleventh place with eight games lost. PuHu Juniorit will face Ura Basket (#3) in Kaarina in the next round, which may be the game of the day. JyWe will play at home against PeU-Basket (#12) and it may be a tough game between close rivals. There were no shocking results in the other games in round 10: In Division Pyrinto II was destroyed by Espoo United on the opponent’s court 97-61. Porvoon Tarmo managed to outperform Jarvenpaa in a home game 89-83. HBA-Marsky recorded a loss to Jyvaskyla BA on the road 83-79. Korikouvot crushed JyWe on its own court 97-71. Karkkila beat PeU-Basket in a road game 91-89. Espoo Basket won against HNMKY U23 at home 72-66. Munkkiniemen outscored Namika Lr on the opponent’s court 73-44. PeU-Basket recorded a loss to HNMKY U23 in a home game 72-79. Korikouvot was defeated by Karkkila on the road 102-97. Raholan Pyrkiva was beaten by TuNMKY on its own court 69-85. The most impressive stats of the last round was 25 points and 6 rebounds by Juuso Maenpaa of Korikouvot.Division AEspoo United – Pyrinto II 97-61Very expected game when 10th ranked Pyrinto II (3-8) was crushed on the road by third ranked Espoo United (7-3) 97-61 on Sunday. Espoo United made 17-of-21 free shots (81.0 percent) during the game. They also forced 23 Pyrinto II turnovers and outrebounded them 37-24 including 27 on the defensive glass. Espoo United looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists. American guard Omar Calhoun (198-93, college: Connecticut) had a double-double by scoring 34 points (!!!) and 10 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and the other American import point guard Jeb Ivey (190-80, college: Portland St.) chipped in 16 points and 5 assists during the contest. Espoo United’s coach Ville Neva felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the losing side American forward Terrell Vinson (201-90, college: Massachusetts, agency: HMS) responded with 18 points and 5 rebounds and forward Tuomas Sukanen (198-91) scored 14 points and 6 rebounds. Newly promoted Espoo United maintains third position in Division with 7-3 record having four points less than leader PuHu Juniorit. Loser Pyrinto II keeps the tenth place with eight games lost. Espoo United will face league’s leader ToPo in Helsinki in the next round and it will be for sure the game of the week. Pyrinto II will play at home against Jyvaskyla BA (#7) and hope to win that game. Top scorers:Pyrinto II: T.Vinson 18+5reb+1ast, T.Sukanen 14+6reb, L.Kilpinen 13+3ast, K.Rasinaho 9+3reb+1ast, J.Pentti 3+4reb+3ast, M.Nurmi 2+3rebEspoo United: O.Calhoun 34+10reb+3ast, J.Ivey 16+2reb+5ast, L.Gummerus 12+7reb+2ast, L.Toivonen 8+5reb+4ast, J.Gummerus 5+2reb, J.Jarvinen 5+6reb+6astgschID: 487657Porvoon Tarmo – Jarvenpaa 89-83Rather predictable result when sixth ranked Porvoon Tarmo (6-7) defeated at home 9th ranked Jarvenpaa (3-7) 89-83 on Sunday. Jarvenpaa trailed by 12 points after 3 quarters before a 27-21 run in the last quarter cut the deficit to 83-89 at the end of the game. Porvoon Tarmo forced 19 Jarvenpaa turnovers. American forward B.J. Cardarelli (203, college: S.New Hampshire, agency: Pro Partner Sports Management) scored 23 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists to lead the charge for the winners and the other American import guard Cameron Clark (190-93, college: Southwestern, KS) chipped in 24 points and 8 rebounds during the contest. At the losing side Gambian power forward Pierre Jallow (203-79, college: William Jewell) responded with a double-double by scoring 22 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists and point guard Leo Tarjanne (189-95) scored 25 points and 5 rebounds. Porvoon Tarmo maintains sixth position in Division with 6-7 record. Loser Jarvenpaa keeps the ninth place with seven games lost. Porvoon Tarmo will face league’s second-placed Lahti on the road in the next round and it may be quite challenging game. Jarvenpaa will play against the league’s leader ToPo (#1) and hope to win that game. Top scorers:Jarvenpaa: L.Tarjanne 25+5reb+1ast, P.Jallow 22+13reb+4ast, H.Coleman 13+7reb+2ast, J.Pehkonen 9+3reb+5ast, A.Towa 7+6reb+1ast, J.Jousisto 7+6reb+2astPorvoon Tarmo: C.Clark 24+8reb+3ast, B.Cardarelli 23+8reb+5ast, L.Giese 17+13reb, K.Straih 8+1reb+4ast, D.Lindqvist 7+2reb+1ast, A.Haikonen 6+3reb+1astgschID: 487655Oulun NMKY – Lahti 85-74Very important is a road loss of second ranked Lahti (8-4) against fourth ranked Oulun NMKY (7-5) on Sunday night. Visiting Lahti was defeated by Oulun NMKY in Oulun 85-74. The hosts trailed by 8 points after first quarter, but they stormed back and won the game by 11 points. Americans were the main players on the court. Forward Demondre Harvey (201-93, college: La-Monroe) fired a double-double by scoring 26 points and 19 rebounds for the winners. Swingman Jaron Jones (198-89, college: E.Kentucky) chipped in 27 points and 4 assists. Guard Rashad Smith (201-93, college: Tulsa) produced 24 points and 5 rebounds and power forward Jerald Fields (201-82, college: E.Tenn.St.) added 23 points (on 10-of-13 shooting from the field) respectively for lost side. Oulun NMKY maintains fourth position in Division with 7-5 record. Loser Lahti keeps the second place with four games lost. Oulun NMKY will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Lahti will play against Porvoon Tarmo and hope to secure a win. Top scorers:Lahti: R.Smith 24+5reb+2ast, J.Fields 23+3reb+1ast, S.Ikavalko 16+4reb+4ast, R.Ojanen 7+6reb+4ast, A.Ahola 3+4reb+2ast, R.Byman 1+2astOulun NMKY: J.Jones 27+2reb+4ast, D.Harvey 26+19reb+2ast, Z.Stahl 17+11reb+2ast, I.Kallio 7+1reb+2ast, T.Yrjanheikki 3+1reb+3ast, K.Clement 3+4reb+6astgschID: 487656ToPo – FoKoPo 86-76The game had a very big importance for second-ranked ToPo as it allowed them to take a leadership position in Division. ToPo defeated 5th ranked Forssan Koripojat in Helsinki 86-76. The game …

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