Player of the Year -
Demetrius Alexander (204-F/C-75, agency:
CAA Sports,
college:
Alabama) of Barons/LMT Riga (LAT) Guard of the Year -
Giorgi Tsintsadze (192-G-86) of Tartu likool/Rock (EST) Forward of the Year -
Demetrius Alexander (204-F/C-75) of Barons/LMT Riga (LAT) Center of the Year -
Ben
Ebong (202-F/C-76) of Dexia Mons-Hainaut (BEL) Import Player of the Year -
Demetrius Alexander (204-F/C-75) of Barons/LMT Riga (LAT) Domestic Player of the Year -
Giorgi Tsintsadze (192-G-86) of Tartu likool/Rock (EST) Coach of the Year -
Karlis
Muiznieks of Barons/LMT
Honorable Mention
Travis Conlan (194-G-75) of Dexia Mons-Hainaut (BEL)
Duane Woodward (191-G-76) of Proteas EKA AEL Limassol (CYP) Sasa
Bratic (202-F/G-81) of Khimik-OPZ Yuzny (UKR) Ante
Tomic (217-C-87) of KK Zagreb (CRO)
Kresimir Loncar (210-F-83) of Lokomotiv Rostov na Donu (RUS)
Nando De Colo (195-G-87) of Cholet Basket (FRA) Alex
Scales (192-G-78) of CSK VVS Samara (RUS)
Adrian Henning (203-F-82) of Lappeenranta NMKY (FIN)
All-Europeans Team Mike
Lenzly (202-F/C-76) of Dexia Mons-Hainaut (BEL)
Giorgi Tsintsadze (192-G-86) of Tartu likool/Rock (EST)
Milutin Aleksic (202-F-82) of Proteas EKA AEL Limassol (CYP)
Armands Skele (192-G-83) of Barons/LMT Riga (LAT) Sasa
Bratic (202-F/G-81) of Khimik-OPZ Yuzny (UKR)
All-Imports Team
Demetrius Alexander (204-F/C-75) of Barons/LMT Riga (LAT) Ben
Ebong (202-F/C-76) of Dexia Mons-Hainaut (BEL)
Brian Cusworth (213-C-84) of Tartu likool/Rock (EST)
Brent Wright (203-F/C-78) of Ural Great Perm (RUS) Joe
Smith (193-G-77) of Spartak St.Petersburg (RUS)
Barons LMT win FIBA EuroCup 2008!
Barons LMT Riga are the 2008 EuroCup champion after defeating Dexia
Mons-Hainaut in a 63-62 thriller in Limassol, Cyprus, Sunday night. Riga will
have a good reason to celebrate tonight, as the Barons become the first to bring
the European title to independent Latvia. The last Latvian team to win a title
was ASK Riga back in 1960.
'We played like a team for 40 minutes like coach asked us,' said Lithuanian
guard
Giedrius Gustas (190-G-80, agency:
Interperformances). 'We had ups and downs but we stayed like a team. We won
by one point but this is enough to celebrate the win,' concluded Gustas, who
notched 17 points on 75% shooting from the field, including a couple of clutch
shots that helped win the game.
Dexia's
Travis Conlan (194-G-75, college:
Michigan)
went to the line to shoot two free throws with his team down 63-60 and two
seconds on the clock. After making the first, he faced the dilemma of attempting
to sink the second or missing to go for the offensive rebound.
'I made a big mistake when I told Conlon not to miss the second free throw,
thinking we could get a quick foul and then change the score,' said coach
Chris
Finch after the game.
The Belgian club failed to foul as the Barons ran the clock to start their
celebrations.
The Latvians took over the game right from the start, stopping Dexia's big guys
and getting the guards in foul trouble. Dexia came back with a big third quarter
and even took the lead in the fourth, but the Barons had the fortitude to turn
the game in their favor and win by a point.
Armands Skele (192-G-83) was the main executor for the Barons the entire
night. The athletic Latvian guard showed his classic all-around skills in
registering 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists behind huge, hard-nosed
fighting spirit.
Dexia got 13 points each from their guards Conlon and
Nate
Reinking (183-G-73, college:
Kent St.);
the former added five rebounds and four assists, with the latter grabbing six
boards.
Andrew Sullivan (203-F-80, college:
Villanova)
led the Dexia comeback in the third quarter and finished with 12 points and six
rebounds.
The Barons held an early 15-5 lead, taking advantage of a terrible start
shooting by Dexia in the game's opening minutes.
Michal Hlebowicki's (204-F-76) three-pointer made it a 12-point game, but
big plays by Dexia in the closing seconds allowed them to finish the first
quarter down 23-15. J.P.
Batista (206-F/C-81, college:
Gonzaga)
came off the bench to cover a weak start by
Demetrius Alexander (204-F/C-75, agency:
CAA Sports,
college:
Alabama), and gave Riga its largest lead of the game at 29-15 with seven
minuets to play in the first half. Reinking and
Mike
Lenzly (189-G-81, college:
Wofford)
hit from long range to change the pace of the game, and Jim Cantamessa sent the
teams to halftime with the score 35-28.
Through the first half, Dexia's big bodies were scoreless and Conlon and
Reinking amassed three fouls apiece, but they were still in the game.
The Barons allowed no breathing room, though, and two minutes into the third,
Hlebowicki finished a fast break to again make it a 12 point game at 44-32.
Sullivan took control of the game for his team before it was too late and was
the main factor behind a 16-4 run that tied the game in the next six minutes.
Gustas and Skele there to ensure the Barons held a 62-58 lead at the end of the
third quarter, but Dexia would not yet be vanquished: Lenzly again tied the
score with a three-pointer, and
Ben
Ebong (202-F/C-76, college:
Davidson)
added a bucket from close range to give Dexia their first lead of the game with
an 8-2 run early in the fourth.
Dexia increased the lead to four, but Gustas and Alexander came back with 4:30
left on the clock and everything changed.
After a slow night on offense Alexander stepped up and his jumper put Barons on
top again, 59-58. He added a point from the line and contributed a great effort
on defense before Gustas sank a jumper of his own to give his team a 62-58 lead
with 1:21 to go.
Skele hit one of two from the line with 55 seconds on the clock and Sullivan
made it just a three-point game. After Skele missed a three-pointer, Dexia was
left with their last chance. To cap a fantastic performance, Gustas fouled
Conlon to prevent a three-point shot attempt, thereby fouling out of the game
with 0:02 on the clock.
Conlon was too accurate this time, allowing the Barons to pop the champagne
corks. (Edited by Os Davis) Courtesy FIBA
AEL snaps EuroCup season for Khimik Khimik - AEL 76:87
Khimik Yuzhny were tamed by AEL in Game 2 of their EuroCup quarterfinal series.
The loss meant the season had come to an end for ambitious Khimik. The hosts
were hopeful before the return leg with just a 5-point deficit to overcome. But
it grew to as many as 24 just after 10 minutes of action in Yuzhny.
Maxime Zianveni (198-F-79) and
Milutin Aleksic (202-F-82) teamed up for 15 points in the opening frame to
stun the home team 31:12.
Olu Famutimi (197-G-84, college:
Arkansas) and
Andriy Agafonov (207-F-86, agency:
Interperformances) opened the second term with 4 straight points trying to
recharge desperate hosts but
Duane Woodward (191-G-76, college:
Boston Coll.) quickly iced any efforts with 6 points in row for the
visitors.
Olu Famutimi and
Martynas Mazeika (192-G-85) ignited a mini-run for Khimik to clip the gap to
15 points. AEL responded with back-to-back triples from
Ryan Randle (206-F-81, college:
Maryland) and
Vasili Zavoruev (196-G-87) to restore a 20-point cushion.
Goran Cakic (207-C/F-80, agency:
Beo Basket) and
Wykeen Kelly (186-G-79, agency:
Court Side, college:
Salem Intern.) carried Khimik within 15 points early in the third stanza.
But
Karim Souchu (198-F-79, college:
Furman) scored 5 consecutive points for AEL to make it a 62:44 game with
less than 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter. The teams traded free throws
late in the frame and AEL headed into the final stanza with a comfortable 69:50
advantage.
Martynas Mazeika came up with consecutive treys for Khimik at the start of
the fourth period to cut the margin to 13 points and put the fans on their feet.
Martynas Mazeika was not done as he stretched his scoring streak with a
jumper second later and Khimik climbed within 11 points from the visitors.
Karim Souchu finally broke the deadlock for AEL with 4-point play. Khimik
simply ran out steam at the moment and never seriously threaten AEL's lead till
the final buzzer.
Maxime Zianveni poured in 19 points to pace AEL.
Karim Souchu scored 16 points, while
Duane Woodward added 13 points for Cypriot team.
Goran Cakic registered 23 points and 10 boards for Khimik.
Martynas Mazeika delivered 13 points in a losing effort.
AEL will now take on Mons-Hainaut in the Final Four of EuroCup on April 18.
Rest of the World Team betters Europe in EuroCup All-Star Game
Europe - Rest of the World
116:118
Limassol was chosen to host the EuroCup festivity yesterday. The All-Star Game
between Europe and the Rest of the World teams was preceded by different
contests.
Vasili Zavoruev (196-G-87) from AEL succeeded in winning the three-point
shootout. He surpassed James
Jim Cantamessa (202-F-78, college:
Siena) of Mons-Hainaut in the final round.
Vasili Zavoruev missed all of his attempts at the first rack but notched 10
straight treys to advance to the final round. There he was unstoppable leaving
James
Jim Cantamessa behind.
The All-Star Game itself that drew 5500 spectators to the Melford Arena in
Limassol turned out to be a real treat for all basketball fans. The teams played
an entertaining piece of basketball with little defense involved. The Rest of
the World squad grabbed the lead early in the game as
Joe Smith (193-G-77, agency:
Priority Sports, college:
Al.-Huntsville) drilled a couple of treys.
Alex Scales (192-G-78, college:
Oregon) added another long three-pointer and the Rest of the World team
accumulated a 20:13 advantage.
Nando De Colo (195-G-87) and
Petri Virtanen (183-G-80) fired back-to-back triples to drag Europe within 4
points late in the first quarter.
Milutin Aleksic (202-F-82) and
Martynas Andriukaitis (204-F-81) capped the frame with 4 points and the
Europe side trailed 34:38. The teams continued to trade baskets throughout the
second term with the Rest of the World keeping it in front.
Dimitris Verginis (194-G-87, agency:
FCM) nailed a treble and
George Tsintsadze (192-G-86) added a jumper to shave the deficit to 2 points
but Famutimi and
Duane Woodward (191-G-76, college:
Boston Coll.) teamed up for 8 quick points and the Rest of the World secured
a safe distance.
Alex Scales and Joseph
Joe Smith crowned the first half with two treys and the Rest of the World
team led by 6 points at halftime. A trey from
Milutin Aleksic finally put the Europe up 88:86 midway through the third
period. The lead then changed hands for a couple of times before
Joe Smith nailed another treble and the Rest of the World entered the final
stanza in front 100:99. The sides were all square at 114 with under 4 minutes
remaining.
Alex Scales put the Rest of the World in front with a jumper, while Famitimi
stretched the gap to 4 points with just over 2 minutes left.
Sasa Bratic (202-F/G-81, agency:
Beo Basket) cut the deficit to 2 points with free throws but the Rest of the
World team withstood in the dying seconds and celebrated an impressive victory.
Joe Smith, who finished with 28 points, was voted the MVP of the Game.
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Barons/LMT won FIBA EuroCup 2008 (Photo: FIBA)
