Week seven of 2018 ACVB league tipped off with intense match ups that shook the standings. The league has reached the mid-season mark with competition only getting better. From this point on every game played will be critical for playoff seeding. Several teams made adjustments by adding new players to their rosters. Perhaps the most intriguing addition was Bairro’s center – Joao ‘Bidion’ Gomes who joined ABC during week 6. This move caused great criticism on the board’s decision for allowing the change to occur. The decision made some of Bairro’s players irate and some questioned the commissioner after the loss against Terra Branca, 64-53. Bairro is tied for first place with Terra Branca and ABC at 5-2. The team has since replaced their center position with Julian Duarte Pollard, 6’5. Pollard had 3 rebounds this game with limited playing time, but certainly appears that Bairro expects more out him as the season winds down. Bairro was in control most of the game holding Kwame Lee to just 13 points, but Bairro struggled in consistently defending the perimeter and it cost them at the end of the game. Terra Branca hit 12 3-pointers. Keep in mind that Bairro was missing their best player, Karl Agenor who is averaging, 22PPG.
ABC also lost this week to Volcanic in a devastating loss, 53-38. It is the first time this season the defending champions have allowed any team to score more than 50 points. ABC is a different team without their leading scorer Anderson Correia who was averaging 20.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Correia has temporarily left the team to prepare for college. However, he is still eligible to play in playoffs. ABC Desportivo is still the team to beat. They will certainly adjust their game. The team will now rely on Elio Nunes to help the team offensively. Nunes is averaging 18.3 points per game. However, ABC’s Guru is Nuno Faria, an expert on both ends of the court, and pure leader ensuring the team is functioning, even though you will not see his impact on paper. ABC has the best team rotation and continues to play cohesively. With the addition of Gomes, 6’4 in the center position along with Vinny Lima, 6’10, ABC will be a difficult team to meet in the playoffs.
Lenfer added a key player, Jerell Jackson in the point guard position. Jackson was arguably the best PG out of Brockton, playing at William Penn University in Iowa. Jackson has not played basketball in more than 2 years but his talent can still be manifested on the court. After the win against Campana Lança, 65-55, Jackson said he feels motivated to get back in the gym to work on his craft again. Lenfer looked like a different team, perhaps a key piece missing to help exhibit the team’s optimal talent. With big performances from Josh Banks, 19-pts, and Eloi Ferreira’s 11-pts along with terrific team defense, Lenfer limited Campana’s main scorers to single digits points – Manny Monteiro, 6-pts, Anthony Vicente, 7-pts, and Ivan Brito, 7-pts. They forced Campana to shoot a season low 32% from field goal range and 21% from the 3-pt line. Point Guard, Anthony Pritilli, Eastern Nazarene College graduate contributed 20-pts and 7-rebs. Campana’s two big man – Ace Madeira, 6’4 and Val Texeira, 6’6 combined for 11 rebounds and 13 points. Lenfer is on 6th seed. They have tremendous talent if they play team basketball and consistent defense.
Volcanic looks like a new team with their main players – Avery Cardoza and Roger Livramento on their roster this season. Cardoza is second in the league averaging 25.6pts per game while Livramento is averaging double – double, 16pts, and 10rebs. With Chris Owden on the roster, Vulcanic is arguably the league’s best combo. Owden has missed the last 6 games due to injury. Volcanic is tied with Campana 4-3 at 5th seed.
Brava & 7 Stars has had a struggling start to the season especially with Brava dropping some close games. Brava’s record is 2-5 despite having the leagues’ scoring leader, Sayvonn Houston, 27-pts, 9-rebs. Brava is missing their shooting guard, Chris Gonsalves who has not yet played this season. Meanwhile, 7Stars currently at 1-6 struggling to put points on the board due to missing key players. Their big man, Jeffrey Johnson, 15.5PRG has missed the last 3 games due to an illness. The team also 2 new players, Kevin Miranda and George Guyton to their roster, two critical moves that will undoubly improve their team.
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