EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 10/3/2007

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Men News

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ABA

Last team news and transactions -by Gianni Pascucci

Global Basketball LLC announced last week that it has sold the rights of the Boston United Eagles to EMC Enterprises LLC ownership group, that will be changing the team name to Boston Blizzard. The new ownership group will change the management team in place and install theirs in the next few days. The new team website will be www.thebostonblizzard.com The Georgia Gwizzlies announced that Fumihiko Otsuka, from Japan, will join the team Training Camp, November 8th. Otsuka will make Georgia sports history as the first Japanese player to ever play pro basketball in the Peach State. Veteran point guard Johan Matos (6'0''-G-81, college: Montgomery CC) will return to the Jersey Express for the 2007-08 season. This season will be the first full season with the Express for Matos. The Hawaii Hurricane announced the hiring of local resident Darrell Matsui as their Assistant Coach for the upcoming season.



Quebec City Kebs Sign And 1 Star "Total Package" -by Surujh Roopnarine
Jasmine Mansell (6'6''-F), aka "Total Package" has been signed by the Quebec City Kebs for the upcoming season. Mansell, who garnered notoriety on the And 1 Street Ball Tour as well as the playgrounds of New York City, spent time last season with the Arkansas RiverCatz. Mansell will join fellow new-comer Samuel Audet-Sow (6'6''-F-80, agency: LBM Management) along with returnees Charles Fortier (6'4''-G-79) and Dominique Soucy (6'3''-G-81) to form the basis of a formidable Kebs squad.

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ARGENTINA

All ready for the beginning of the season -by Facundo Iatzky
with the game between El Nacional Monte Hermoso, last champion of TNA, and Boca Juniors, last champion of liga A, a new season of first division will start on Wednesday.
The first stage will have two groups:
North:
Atenas Cordoba
Central Entrerriano
Belgrano San nicolas
Libertad Sunchales
Ben Hur Rafaela
Regatas Corrientes
Juventud Sionista
Asociacion Quimsa

South:
Obras Sanitarias
Estudiantes Bahia Blanca
Peñarol Mar del plata
Quilmes Mar del plata
Gimnasia comodoro Rivadavia
Boca Juniors
El Nacional Monte Hermoso
Independiente Neuquen

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BRAZIL

Brazil Cadet Team beats Chile -by Eurobasket News
Brazil - Chile 85:57
Brazilian Cadet National team overcame Chile in the first round of the South American Cadet championship in Argentina. Brazil dominated from early on and drove to a 41:30 lead at halftime. Chile slowed down in the second half and Brazil ensured a confident victory. Brazil climbed on top of Group A. They are opposed by Bolivia, Colombia, Uruguay and Chile in the group. Group B of the tournament is comprised of Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.
Rafael Maia scored 23 points to pace Brazil. Caue added 18 points for the winners. Suarez replied with 22 points for Chile. Brazil will next face Bolivia later tonight. Chile will take on Colombia in another Group A battle today.
Venezuela edged Ecuador 94:65 in the first round action. Uruguay routed Colombia 70:45. Argentina and Paraguay finished their game later yesterday.
Brazilian coach Jose Neto pointed out the importance of the victory for possible qualification into the semis.

Brazil: Rafael Maia 23, Caue 18
Chile: Suarez 22

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BULGARIA

Pini Gershon to coach Bulgaria -by Vladi Lazarova
According to Bulgarian daily sports newspaper “Tema Sport”, Pini Gershon will be the next National team head coach. 56-years old Israeli legend agreed to take the job. He will start work with the squad next summer, when he will leave Olympiakos. No matter how good this season will be for the team from Greece, Gershon and the club of Pireus will part ways. Probably his position there will be taken by another legend of European basketball - Panagiotis Giannakis.
The information that Gershon is probably 99% sure for Bulgaria was confirmed yesterday by the president of Bulgarian federation Atanas Tonev and the director of BFB Ivan Tsenov.
“Maybe Bulgarian coaches will be angry and mad, but this is my position and I have always wanted a foreign big name to lead the National team. We must work very hard with our young talents, this is the only way to succeed”, said Tonev.
“We already have a consent agreement with Mr Gershon, this is everything I can tell. But we still didn't meet and that will happen as soon as possible. Probably in Greece, because he is very busy in his club Olympiakos. But we don't have a reason not to be happy at the moment”, added Tsenov.
Pini Gershon was born on 13th November 1951 in Israel. He started playing basketball in Maccabi South Tel Aviv and was a starter in their cadets team. His career ended at the age of 24, because of a serious injury. Gershon made his coaching debut in 1993 with Hapoel Galil Elyon. The same year the club won historical first title.
Gershon has three Eurocup titles, all with Maccabi Tel Aviv: Suproleague 2001, Euroleague 2003 and 2004. In the domestic league he became seven times Israeli champion: six with Maccabi, once with Galil Elyon. And eight National Cups: six with Maccabi, two times with Hapoel Jerusalem. He joined Olympiakos in the summer of 2006.

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CBA

Skyrockets sign pair of point guards -by Eurobasket News
October 1, 2007 - The Minot Skyrockets are pleased to announce the first player signings for the 2007-08 season. They have signed two point guards, Kellen Millner (6'5''-G-83, college: Creighton) and Kyle Keyes (6'2''-G-78, college: Montana), pending league approval.

Millner (6'5, 195 lb.) was a point guard at Creighton University in 2004-05.
In 2007, he signed with the Panteras de Miranda in the Venezuelan LPB. He averaged 14.5 points per game in 39 games and was selected to the LPB All-Star Team.

“We like the Millner signing because he ran the point guard position at a solid college program at Creighton. He was also an All-Star in the Venezuelan league which is rare for an American playing there for the first time,” said Head Coach Chris Daleo.

Keyes (6'2, 180 lb.) played at the University of Montana in 2000-01. He was a United States Basketball Academy All-Star selection and averaged 18 points and 10 assists. After college, he moved on to the Northwest Summer Pro League where he averaged 21 points, 10.1 assists, and 5.2 rebounds. In 2004, he participated in the L.A. Top 100 camp, averaging 17 points, 8 assists, and 3.5 steals. That same year he was invited to the Seattle Sonics Pre-Season workouts. In the summer of 2004, he joined the Harlem Globetrotters and scored 35 points in the Harlem All-Star game in San Diego.
Keyes played with the Globetrotters from 2004-2006.

“We met Kyle while at the Vegas Summer Leagues. He brings a lot of experience to the table, and he is very excited to come to camp and compete,” said Daleo.

These two mark the first player signings for the upcoming season. League play begins on November 16, 2007. The Skyrockets begin their season on the road against the Butte Daredevils. The first home games are scheduled for November 30th and December 1st against the Rio Grande Valley Silverados.

Season tickets for the upcoming season are still available. For more information, check out the Skyrockets new website at www.MinotSkyrockets.com or call 839-SLAM.
Courtesy of: http://www.cbahoopsonline.com

NBA training camps feature 78 CBA Alumni -by Eurobasket News
ALBANY, NY (October 2, 2007) — NBA training camps opened on October 2 in preparations for the upcoming 2007-08 season. All 30 NBA teams have Continental Basketball Association alum competing for roster spots or have coaches staffing the sidelines. Seventy-Eight players and coaches who are CBA alums overall are in camps with three players from last season alone.

The New Orleans Hornets have the most CBA alums in camp with six, including Linton Johnson (6'8''-F-80, agency: Priority Sports, college: Tulane), David Wesley (6'1''-G-70, college: Baylor), Anthony Richardson (6'7''-F-83, agency: Interperformances, college: Florida St.), Eric Chenowith, along with coaches Darrell Walker and Kenny Gattison. Richardson (Butte Daredevils) played in the CBA last season. The Charlotte Bobcats, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Toronto Raptors each have five former CBA alums on their training camp roster.

Among the former CBA stars in NBA training camps: 2004-05 First Team and All-Star Jackie Butler (Great Lakes Storm/Houston Rockets), 1999 CBA MVP Adrian Griffin (Connecticut Pride/Chicago Bulls), 2006 CBA Defensive Player of the Year Noel Felix (Sioux Falls Skyforce/Cleveland Cavaliers), and 2000 CBA MVP Jeff McInnis (Quad City Thunder/Charlotte Bobcats).

Three players who saw time in the CBA last season that are presently in NBA camps include: Brad Stricker (Great Falls Explorers/Denver Nuggets), Anthony Richardson (Butte Daredevils/New Orleans Hornets), and Jamario Moon (Albany Patroons/Toronto Raptors). Stricker briefly saw time with the Great Falls Explorers. Richardson averaged 15.5 ppg. and was the 2007 CBA All-Star Game Slam Dunk Champion. Moon was awarded the CBA Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 2.0 steals and 2.4 blocks a game, becoming only the second player in CBA history to accomplish this feat. Moon averaged 18.8 ppg. and 7.5 rpg. and was a member of the All-CBA First Team and CBA All-Defensive Team.

Along with players, there are nine NBA head coaches with CBA experience. Among that group of veteran head coaches who have been head coaches in the CBA, including Phil Jackson (Albany ), George Karl (Montana/Albany), Flip Saunders (Rapid City/La Crosse/Sioux Falls), Jerry Sloan (Evansville), and Larry Krystkowiak (Idaho). Also among the current NBA coaches who have played or served as an assistant coach in the CBA are; Maurice Cheeks (Asst. Coach Quad City, 1993-94), Eddie Jordan (Wyoming, 1983-84), Sam Mitchell (Wisconsin/Rapid City, 1985-87) and Marc Iavaroni (Sioux Falls 1991-92).

“CBA alums are making an immediate impact and making contributions to the NBA,” said CBA Director of Operations Dennis Truax. “This shows the level of talent the CBA has produced over the years and how much the NBA values the players that have come through the CBA. We are happy for all of our alums.”

The following is a complete list of former CBA players and coaches that are on NBA training camp rosters for 2007-08.

Total roster spots held by former CBA players and coaches in 2007-08 training camp rosters: 78
Total roster spots held by former CBA players who appeared on CBA rosters in 2006-07: 3


Atlanta (2): (Greg Ballard, Herb Brown)
Boston (1): (Clifford Ray)
Charlotte (5): (Paul Mokeski, Mike Sanders), Jeff McInnis, Jameel Watkins, Marcus Campbell
Chicago (3): (Jim Boylan, Pete Myers), Adrian Griffin
Cleveland (5): (Chris Jent), Damon Jones, Ira Newble, Darius Rice, Noel Felix
Dallas (1): Mario Elie
Denver (4): (George Karl), Anthony Carter, Chucky Atkins, Brad Stricker
Detroit (3): (Flip Saunders, Michael Curry, Dave Cowens)
Golden State (3): (Keith Smart), Stephen Jackson, Troy Hudson
Houston (4): (Elston Turner), Rafer Alston, Jackie Butler, Mike James
Indiana (2): (Lester Conner), Stephen Graham
LA Clippers (2): (Rory White), Aaron Williams
LA Lakers (3): (Phil Jackson, Craig Hodges), Ronny Turiaf
Memphis (2): (Marc Iavaroni, Dave Joerger)
Miami (2): William “Smush” Parker, Brian Chase
Milwaukee (3): (Larry Krystkowiak, Tony Brown), Awvee Storey
Minnesota (2): Mark Blount, Greg Buckner
New Jersey (1): Eddie Gill
NO: (6): (Kenny Gattison, Darrell Walker), Linton Johnson, David Wesley, Anthony Richardson, Eric Chenowith
New York (1); (Brendan Suhr)
Orlando (1): Bo Outlaw
Philadelphia (4) (Maurice Cheeks, Henry Bibby), Kevin Ollie, Ricky Sanchez
Phoenix (1): Raja Bell
Portland (1): (Bill Bayno)
Sacramento (3): (Kenny Natt, Jason Hamm), Mikki Moore
San Antonio (3): (Don Newman, Chip Engelland), Bruce Bowen
Seattle (3): (Scott Brooks, Ralph Lewis), Jermaine Jackson
Toronto (5): (Sam Mitchell), Darrick Martin, Jamario Moon, Maceo Baston, Anthony Parker
Utah (1): (Jerry Sloan)
Washington (1): (Eddie Jordan)

BOLD indicates player who appeared on 2006-07 CBA roster.
Courtesy of: http://www.cbahoopsonline.com

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CHILE

Brazil Cadet Team beats Chile -by Eurobasket News
Brazil - Chile 85:57
Brazilian Cadet National team overcame Chile in the first round of the South American Cadet championship in Argentina. Brazil dominated from early on and drove to a 41:30 lead at halftime. Chile slowed down in the second half and Brazil ensured a confident victory. Brazil climbed on top of Group A. They are opposed by Bolivia, Colombia, Uruguay and Chile in the group. Group B of the tournament is comprised of Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.
Rafael Maia scored 23 points to pace Brazil. Caue added 18 points for the winners. Suarez replied with 22 points for Chile. Brazil will next face Bolivia later tonight. Chile will take on Colombia in another Group A battle today.
Venezuela edged Ecuador 94:65 in the first round action. Uruguay routed Colombia 70:45. Argentina and Paraguay finished their game later yesterday.
Brazilian coach Jose Neto pointed out the importance of the victory for possible qualification into the semis.

Brazil: Rafael Maia 23, Caue 18
Chile: Suarez 22

Dimayor: roster changes for Ancud and UDE -by Daniel Valencia

With the beginning of the national phase of Dimayor, some teams made some changes in their rosters.

Deportes Ancud

Both americans leave the team. Cedric Mcginnis played 8 games with averages of 23.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.5 assists in 39.1 minutes per game. Jamil Terrel played 6 games, averaging 13.5 points, 14.8 rebounds 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks in 35.8 minutes per game.

To replace them the leaders of the club signed the americans Kevin Sowell (190-G-81) and Leon Smith (209-F-80).

Union Deportiva Espanola

The forward Earl Nurse never satisfied the requirements of the head coach Alvaro Acuña during the first part of the league. He played 10 games averaging 8.3 points, 10.1 rebounds 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 36.1 minutes per game.


To replace Nurse, UDE signed the american forward Joe Webb (198-F-83).



Dimayor: Round 1 & 2 results -by Daniel Valencia
The past weekend began the national phase of Dimayor 07/08. Deportes Castro was the big winner of the weekend with victories against Valdivia and UDE that put them in the first place of the standings. These are the complete results of Round 1 & 2.

Round 1

Boston College 83 - Universidad Catolica 82
Bos: Tony Bishop 19 pts. Adriano Machado 16 pts. / Uc: Aaron Eneas 26 pts. Maurice Spillers 14 pts.

Puente Alto CD 98 - Liceo Mixto 94
Pal: Jefferson Agba 25 pts. German Siegmund 21 pts. / Lic: Terrence Hill 33 pts. Rodrigo Espinoza 16 pts.

Provincial Osorno 99 - Espanol Talca 83
Oso: Marlon Martinez 31 pts. Larry Florence 22 pts. / Marques Hayden 22 pts. Willian Dias 17 pts.

Provincial Llanquihue 89 - Universidad de Concepcion 85
Llan: Rashaad Powell 32 pts. Melvin Roberts 23 pts. / Ucon: Evandro Arteaga 28 pts. Alain Laroche 24 pts.

Deportes Ancud 81 - Deportivo Valdivia 78
Anc: Kevin Sowell 28 pts. Leon Smith 17 pts. / Val: Brandon Mason 35 pts. James Moore 12 pts.

Deportes Castro 102 - Union Deportiva Espanola 86
Cas: Bobby Madison 31 pts. Anthony Knox (206-F/C-80) 31 pts. / Ude: Joe Webb 32 pts. Antoine Tisby 31 pts.

Round 2

Boston College 94 - Liceo Mixto 82
Tony Bishop 23 pts. Francisco Zepeda 12 pts. / Lic: Kei Madison 22 pts. Patricio Briones 22 pts.

Puente Alto CD 65 - Universidad Catolica 63
Pal: Jefferson Agba 23 pts. Eric Williams 16 pts. / Uc: Aaron Eneas 22 pts. Maurice Spillers 19 pts.

Provincial Osorno 86 - Universidad de Concepcion 85
Oso: Marlon Martinez 22 pts. Larry Florence 19 pts. / Ucon: Chris Sockwell 25 pts. Jose Luis Campos 21 pts.

Provincial Llanquihue 92 - Espanol Talca 97
Llan: Rashaad Powell 42 pts. Melvin Roberts 21 pts. / Esp: Marques Hayden 30 pts. Willian Dias 27 pts.

Deportes Ancud 90 - Union Deportiva Espanola 92
Anc: Rodrigo Zuniga 25 pts. Kevin Sowell 18 pts. / Ude: Joe Webb 30 pts. Antoine Tisby 26 pts.

Deportes Castro 91 - Deportivo Valdivia 86
Cas: Bobby Madison 29 pts. Gonzalo Velasquez 14 pts. / Val: James Moore 32 pts. Brandon Mason 17 pts.

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CHINA

Sun May Have Caused His Own Eclipse -by Arthur Volbert
According to pryuen of www.yaomingmania.com/forum/index.php Mitch Kupchak, general manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, told sina.com that the Lakers will not be signing Sun Yue (206-G-85) this season but will leave him in China for a year. This is not unusual for late second-round international draft choices.

But it was earlier rumored that the Lakers had sent him a 1-year non-guaranteed contract for $420,000. Beijing Aoshen and Sun's agent were not satisfied, and had decided to negotiate with the Lakers.

Unfortunately Sun and his representatives grossly overestimated their bargaining position. Unlike Yi Jianlian, who is a power forward in the mold of Pau Gasol, Sun does not currently have an NBA position.

He is not quick enough or skilled enough to be an NBA point guard. He does not have a good enough outside shot to be an NBA shooting guard or small forward. He has to be developed into a special type of player like Scotty Pippen, Ron Artest or Bruce Bowen.

The only way he will develop into the player the Lakers want him to be is to do everything the Lakers ask of him in practice or in the D-League. Any reluctance to do what is asked will inhibit his development as far as the Lakers are concerned.

The Lakers are not especially concerned about shelving Sun for a year since Kupchak felt that no other player available at the 40th pick would have made the team this year. The Lakers have the money, prestige and location to sign veteran free agents who are better now than anyone available at the 40th pick. Sun was a gamble that the Lakers could afford to lose.

Had Sun signed the contract that the Lakers reportedly wanted him to sign it would have benefitted them from a marketing perspective to play Sun in the D-League. But he would have had to do exactly as they wanted in order to be of any use to them.

The Lakers hope Sun learns his lesson and will be more willing to do as told next year. But Beijing Aoshen had a disagreement with the CBA and will be playing in the ABA next season. There is nothing further that Sun can learn in the ABA next season, certainly not how to play team defense against big guards and small forwards.

This actually jeapardizes Sun's spot on the national team. The likelihood is that he will be beaten out as backup point guard by Liu Xiaoyu or Chen Jianghua. He will not be working at his skills as a defensive-minded shooting guard. So Wang Lei may be selected to back up Wang Shipeng. Maybe Sun can find employment in Europe or China can find some way to place him on a top CBA team.

Sun has the physical skills and basketball smarts to be one of China's best players. But his negotiating stupidity and the stupidity of his handlers have greatly diminished his chances of being of much use to China in the Olympics next year.

It is rumored that Sun did not play in the CBA-Euroleague challenge because he had a fever. But it also could be that Coach Jonas Kauslauskas preferred to look at other players.

China and Sydney Kings Tie 79-79 -by Arthur Volbert
Just in case any of you fail to realize that these exhibition games are for practice, China and the Sydney Kings tied today 79-79 in the CBA-Euroleague Challenge. Yao Ming, as he was at the Special Olympics. Sun Yue also did not play and Yi Jianlian only played 15 minutes.

According to Karamazov of www.yaomingmania.com/forum/index.php , the "Sydney Kings clearly scored a basket after the clock had expired. So the game should have gone to overtime. But the officiating was so bad and biased towards the Chinese, that Brian Goorjian lead his team off the court without wanting to play overtime."

Wang Zhizhi (214-C-79) led China with 29 points in 29 minutes hitting 9 of 14 from the floor and all 8 free throws. But he only grabbed 4 rebounds, Yi scored 21 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in his limited playing time. It is clear that Yi at this moment is already a better international-style player than Wang.

Wang Shipeng was the only other Chinese player in double figures with 11 points. Wang Lei had only 3 points in 24 minutes and hit only 1 of 7 shots, reverting back to the poor shooting percentage which makes me doubt him as an NBA prospect.

Zhou Peng scored 6 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 20 minutes. There are no standings for this tournament as CKSA Moscow and Benetton did not play each other, which is why winning this game was irrelevant for both teams.

China 79
Liu Wei 5p+3r+3a+1to, Wang Shipeng 11p+3r, Zhu Fangyu 6min+0p, Yi Jianlian 21p+6r, Zhang Songtao 2p, Wang Zhizhi 29p+4r, Liu Xiaoyu 2p+1r+1a+3to, Wang Lei 3p+3r+2a, Zhou Peng 6p+3r+1a, Ding Jinhui 6min+0p+3a+4to, Mo Ke 17min+0p+3r

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COLOMBIA

Colombia U-17 Cadet team lost against Uruguay in the opener. -by Victor Garcia

Colombia fall 45 - 70 against Uruguay in its first game at the Southamerican Cadet Championship in Posadas Argentina.
Nicolas Catala(1,96 F- Bohemios) made the big difference in the paint, he finishes with 24 points, in Colombia Santiago Pelaez (1,80 Antioquia) finishes with 10 points, Luis Lugo had 9 points and Luis Moreno 8 points.
It was not the best game for the Colombians Leon, Galvan and Varela, Leon had 4 points, Galvan 4 and Varela 3.


Scoring box:
Colombia 45: Leon 4, Pelaez 10, Lugo 9, Varela 3, Porras 3, Mosquera 2, Cortes 2, Moreno 8, Galvan 4, Araujo, Angulo, Castro
Uruguay 70: Catala 24, Fitipaldo 11, Alonso 4, Pierre 8, Benacore 4, Suarez 10, Souberville 4, Alvarez J 2, Alvarez N., Calafani, Cervi.


Colombia will face Bolivia today



Federation Cup, October 1st, Results. -by Victor Garcia
Piratas 101
Arrieros 84
Piratas played smart in defense and defeated Arrieros, it was just the third lost of the leaders in the Cup.
Piratas sent double teams over Williams and Julio each time they took the ball on the low post, and plus a balanced offensive with Phillips, Gouard and Sanz scoring in double figures limited Arrieros production.
Aragon and Williams leaded Arrieros again

Soles 103
Bucaros 92

Condores 101
Indervalle 93

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CROATIA

Market news! -by Dani Erceg
Ivan Tomeljak and Zoran Pehar (210-C-81) signed for Sibenik. Tomeljak played last season for Pizza Express Apollon Limassol and Pehar played for Kvarner Rijeka.

Vinko Bosnjak (186-G-80) signed for Dubrava. He played last season for Dubrovnik.

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CUBA

TNA results, Silvestre comes back with 26,0pts in 2 games -by Alessandro Fontana

Capitalinos defeats two times Metropolitanos with a great Eliecer Lima. MVP of the week was Geoffrey Silvestre (202-F/C-79), with 26,0pts in 2 games. Finally "El Gato Geoffrey Silvestre" can play without injury and He shows his huge talent in the two victories of his team Ciego de Avila against Villa Clara.
TNA results:
Capitalinos-Metropolitanos= 95- 85 (C= Lima 28, Torres 14, Leguen 10; M= Muniz 17, Cairo 15)
Habana- Matanzas= 87-98 ( H= Sanchez 27, Hernandez 17; M= Jemmot 27, Norona 27, Albelo 20)
Camaguey-Sancti Spiritus= 90-75 (C= Ramos 22, Yaca 16, Polas 10; SS= Jimenez 16, Rodriguez 14)
Villa Clara- Ciego de Avila= 89-100 (VC= Boffill 36, Cartas 15; CAV= Geoffrey Silvestre 28, Perez 16, Guerra 14)
Guantanamo- Holguin= 91-70 (G= Elias 21, Pons 20, Castilla 11; H= Caballero 27, Simon 18)
Santiago de Cuba- Granma= 65-61 (S= Martinez 24, Hechevarria 16, Del Toro 11; G= Fonseca 18, Guillen 13)

Capitalinos- Metropolitanos= 92-76 ( C= Valdes 19, Torres 17, Lima 13; M= Lopez 18, Simon 16)
Habana- Matanzas= 81-86 (H= Sanchez 26, Oliva 18; M= Torriente 27, Norona 20, Jemmot 17)
Camaguey- Sancti Spiritus= 90-75 (C= Polas 21, Jaca 16, Francis 11; SS= Jimenez 19, Olano 18)
Villa Clara- Ciego de Avila= 78-81 (VC= Boffill 23, Rodriguez 19; CAV= Geoffrey Silvestre 24, Perez 18, Reyes 11)
Guantanamo- Holguin= 100-99 (G= Elias 26, Castilla 15, Pons 13; H= Simon 41, Caballero 18)
Santiago de Cuba- Granma= 85-77 (S= Hechevarria 26, Del Toro 20, Martinez 19; G= Guillen 22, Bazaga 17)

A. Fontana



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D-LEAGUE

D-Leaguers in NBA Training Camps -by Surujh Roopnarine
With teams preparing for the 2007-08 NBA season, there are fresh new faces littered throughout training camp rosters. Many of these faces are those of D-Leaguers from the past (Ffriend Kimani (6'11''-C-77, college: Nebraska) to the present (Rod Benson (6'10''-F/C-84, college: California), all looking to make an impression on coaches and scouts throughout the league, hoping for the chance to earn one of 15 spots on opening night.
Here are a few of the notable D-Leaguers looking to make their mark this pre-season.
Player / NBA Team / Last D-League Team (season)
Antywane Robinson / Atlanta Hawks / Sioux Falls (06-07)
Steven Smith / Atlanta Hawks / Anaheim (06-07)
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Jackie Manuel / Boston Celtics / L.A. D-Fenders (06-07)
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Brandon Bass / Dallas Mavericks / Tulsa (05-06, assigned)
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Anthony Roberson / Denver Nuggets / Arkansas (06-07)
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Gerald Fitch / Detroit Pistons / Austin (05-06)
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Tierre Brown / Golden State Warriors / Albuquerque (05-06)
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Mike Harris / Houston Rockets / Colorado (06-07)
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Stephen Graham / Indiana Pacers / Sioux Falls (06-07)
Andre Owens / Indiana Pacers / Anaheim (06-07)
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Douthit Marcus / Los Angeles Clippers / Albuquerque (06-07)
Ffriend Kimani / Los Angeles Clippers / Greenville (01-02)
Josh Powell / Los Angeles Clippers / Fort Worth (05-06, assigned)
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Elton Brown / Los Angeles Lakers / Colorado (06-07)
Andre Patterson / Los Angeles Lakers / L.A. D-Fenders (06-07
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Andre Brown / Memphis Grizzlies / Sioux Falls (06-07)
Dontell Jefferson / Memphis Grizzlies / Dakota (06-07)
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Brian Chase / Miami Heat / Los Angeles (06-07)
Devin Green / Miami Heat / Los Angeles (06-07)
Alexander Johnson / Miami Heat / Arkansas (06-07, assigned)
Jeremy Richardson / Miami Heat / Fort Worth (06-07)
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Awvee Storey / Milwaukee Bucks / Dakota (06-07)
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John Edwards / Minnesota / Timberwolves Dakota (06-07)
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Rod Benson / New Jersey Nets / Dakota Wizards (06-07, assigned)
Mateen Cleaves / New Jersey Nets / Bakersfield Jam (06-07)
Eddie Gill / New Jersey Nets / Asheville (02-03)
Robert Hite / New Jersey Nets / Sioux Falls (06-07)
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Walker Rusell Jr. / New York Knicks / Fort Worth Flyers (06-07)
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Ricky Sanchez / Philadelphia 76ers / Idaho Stampede (06-07)
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Chris Ellis / Portland Trailblazers / Tulsa 66ers (06-07)
J.R. Pinnock / Portland Trailblazers / Arkansas RimRockers (06-07)
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Adam Parada / Sacramento Kings / Huntsville (04-05)
Brandon Robinson / Sacramento Kings / Albuquerque (06-07)
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Jamario Moon / Toronto Raptors / Fort Worth (05-06)
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FRANCE

NM1 Day 04: Antibes alone on top -by Chris Spiesser
Many developements happened during the 4th NM1 Day. There is only one unbeaten team remaing: Antibes which is now of course, alone on top. Two teams, the CFBB and more surprising, Boulogne, had an offensive nightmare by scoring respectively 44 and 46 tiny points. 6 squads managed to grab precious wins on the road and finally Mulhouse isn't victoryless anymore! The alsatians are the ones which outscored the CFBB. Focus on these games:

Andrezieux 60-75 Antibes
The locals took a bad start that they never managed to overcome as Antibes was already leading by 11pts after the first QT. A nice margin that the leader had no worries to handle the whole game long. Especially against a team which is still seeking an inside replaceman to compensate Rafael Lopez's injury. If Matt Williams did his best (15pts 6/7, 8rbs), Mollinari (18pts 6/9, 3rbs, 2stl, 4ass), Doubal (16 6/9, 3rbs) and Cornett (12pts, 10rbs) lifted their team to 53% from the field.

Fos 97-68 Blois
The first big game of the WE. Fos outscored the former leader 32-14 in the third QT to grab a win and join Blois at place 2. Maizeroi (25pts 6/7 3pts) and Orr (22pts, 9rbs) controled Fos's strenghtes during a while but the provencals were in a shining night as they ended the game with a 126 ranking sheet. Aurelien Toto N'Kote had an historic triple-double (17pts, 10rbs, 11ass) and Wallace responded whith authority to Orr by posting 24pts 12/15 and 6 rebounds.

GET 72-75 Charleville
The famous vosgian defense exploded during the first halftime, allowing 41pts to Charleville. With the sharp Epperson (19pts, 5rbs) and Condouant (13pts 6/7, 5rbs, 3ass), the ardennians, and their experience, handled the GET's rally. Herard (20pts, 9rbs, 5ass) and Caskill (17 6/8, 11rbs) drove fast during the second half but ended too short by 3 points.

Lille 60-46 Boulogne
A nice performance by coach Cleante's boys who contained their neighbour's armada to 46 points! Defense was the key word (the final shooting sheet is 41/127). But Boulogne managed to handle Lille's aggresivity during three QTs (43-35). The accurate Malet (17pts, 5/10 3pts, 12rbs, 3to, 3ass) and his partners waited for the final QT to knock Boulogne down for the first time of the year.

Toulouges 73-82 Challans
Also driving its way at place 2 is Challans. For this victory, the vendeans could count on Darryl Dora (21pts 5/8 3pts, 4rbs) who is the best scorer of the 10 men rotation despite his few references, a good surprise for the moment. Helped by Wagner (18pts 10/10FT) and Driss who seems to find his marks back (12pts, 3rbs, 2stl, 4ass), Toulouges had to resignate during the second half (35-46).

Angers 68-73 Bordeaux
Just like Doles (21pts 7/18, 12rbs), Angers did a quite good game but was really unaccurate (13/37, 35% at 2points)! Insufficient too face a brilliant collective like Bordeaux's. The girondins, led by a Kent/Preira duo who totalizes 31pts 12/21 plus 14rbs join their adversary in the standings with a tie balance: 2wins/2 losses.

Lievin 69-79 St-Chamond
The nordists couldn't confirm their nice season start and are now tie with St-Chamond in the middle of the standings (2w-2l). Things started good for the locals and at half time nothing was decided as the two squads both scored 40pts. During the second half, Lievin suffered as nobody emerged to relay the punchy Jackson (21pts 9/10, 6rbs). On the other hand, Diallo responded (21pts, 5rbs, 4ass) and the reds' experience made the difference.

Feurs 72-81 Longwy
The visitors made the difference during the third QT with their center Coombs (14pts, 14rbs) and the former forezian, Biela (21pts, 7rbs). The lorrains are to be congratulated for their accuracy (53% vs 38%) and their rebounding power (44 vs 26), what Traore illustrates well with his 16pts 6/6 and 6 rebounds.

Mulhouse 87-44 CFBB
The youngsters crashed during the take-off, 21-12 after 10 minutes. But things got even worse afterwards, nobody survived the second half as Mulhouse posted a terrific 49-20. A good way for coach Gonsalves to integrate Adell, the newcomer (19pts, 4rbs, 5ass) before complicated but important games @Boulogne and vs Challans . The whole team did well as they end the game on a 129-28 ranking sheet and 7 players over 10 efficiency points. To energize the CFBB we can, though, note their rebounding domination (42 vs 32) and Casseus' 12 boards.

Branko Milisavljevic signs with Paris -by Maxime Weber


*****************************************************
GREECE

Third Division - Day 1 - Results and scorers -by Chris Mammides
First Group - North
HANTH - M. Alexandros Giannitson 81-66
Quarter: 21-14, 38-25, 64-45, 81-66.
HANTH (Xouridas): Vardouniotis, Fotiadis 9 (1), Moshou 22 (4), Tasioudis, Zografos 2, Tzimoragas 2, Panagiotidis 11 (1), Sourvatzis 10 (2), Karalis 6 (1), Tsamaslidis 5, Kigmetoglou 10, Melidis 4.
M. Alexandros Giannitson (Kasimidis): Nikolaidis, Oxouzis 14 (1), Gitnou, Bogdanis, Traianos 6, Gioudas 8 (1), Tsibliaridis 8 (2), Hatziantoniou 13 (1), Giannakopoulos, Bandias 17.

Proteas Grevenon - Eginiakos 52-70.
Quarter: 15-13, 28-33, 44-50, 52-70.
Proteas Grevenon (Siasios): Hionos 10 (3), Gravas 7, Giannakis 4, Klonaras 11 (3), Silakos 4, Bellos 5,
Tzimas 2, Katsalis 5, Riggos, Spanos 2, Patsonas 4.
Eginiakos (Gerofotis): Denis 9, Voultsidis 14 (3), Stilianidis, Kaiklis 6, Iliadis 12 (3), Michaelides 9 (3), Dagas 2, Chrisohou 17, Iosifidis 1.

Arhelaos - Ionas Volou 88-58
Quarter: 26-22, 46-36, 71-48, 88-58.
Arhelaos (Thomaidis): Chrisanthopoulos 27 (4), Tsaitouridis 4 (1), Tsigaropoulos, Gerogiannis 14 (1), Galanos, Topalidis, Raptis 12, Chrisidis 2, Sapidis, Podas 5, Kounoupisς 8, Pantazis 16.
Ionas Volou (Miritzis): Theodoros Karagiorgos 11 (1), Ioannis Karagiorgos 2, Kararigas 5, Semetis 2, Gikas 8 (1), Nikoas Theocharis 7, Tympas, antreas Theocharis 6 (1), Anagnostopoulos 3, Kalfopoulos 4, Drosopoulos 8, Mittas 2.

Argos Orestikou - Foinikas Larissas 80-75.
Quarter: 17-14, 36-34, 61-46, 80-75.
Argos Orestiko (Soulios): Dimitriadis 10 (1), Hatzopoulos, Kalomenidis 21 (2), Bataoulas 9 (1), Gogos 2, Karamitsos 9 (1), Kitsios 5, Kottas 20 (1), Yiagopoulos, Boulionis 2, Papadopoulos, Mouratidis.
Foinikas Larissas (Theodoropoulos): Papadopoulos 3 (1), Siatras 4, Alexiou 3, Liakos 23 (4), Souliotis 11, Sakaris 8, Tsakmakis 11 (1), Koukouravas 4, Kokkas 2, Filios.

Niki Volou - Ifestos 75-59.
Quarter: 23-15, 34-35, 50-39, 75-59.
Niki Volou (Kosmatos): Agris 14 (3), Sofianidis 3, Katsafouris, Sarandis 4, Mavrogiannis, Goudinas 10 (3), Topouzis 10, Kilergiotis 18 (4), Katogias, Stamos 2, Smirlis, Paraskevas 14.
Ifestos (Akritidis): Christos Hatziantoniou 7 (1), Adamopoulos 2, Efremidis 13 (2), Sieris, Garoufallias, Notis 11 (2), Kostinoudis 1, Divanidis 16 (3), Antreas Hatziantoniou Α. 4, Karatzas, Ionnidis 3, Καλαμπούκας 2.

Galaxias - Filippos Veroias 70-78
Quarter: 20-13, 36-35, 56-55, 70-78.
Galaxias Adendrou. (Politis): Seretis, Moukas, Mouratidis 5, Papadimitriou 3 (1), Krambis 26 (3), Rouzios, Mantsios 16 (2), Delipaltidis 5, Papamichael 15 (1).
Filippos Veroia (Gimas): Tsotsakos 2, Mavridis 6 (1), Klonaras, Tsakiris 20 (2), Hatzikyriakidis 16, Kotsabasis 4, Iosifidis 26 (4), Homatas, Lamprakis, Vounakis 4, Papaioannou, Damianidis.

AIAS - Siatista 83-58
Quarter: 13-11, 38-26, 58-39 and 83-58.
AIAS (Dimou): Oxouzis 18 (1), Christidis 3, Avanidis, Papapetrou 12 (1), Hrisopoulos 11, Hatzichristos. Hatzivretas 12 (2), Gotsis 14 (1), Lytras 5 (1), Marousic, Katsoulas 2, Hatzidis 6.
Siatista (Tzilinis): Christos Reppas 1, Kotsikas 2, Tzilinis 2, Vilas 8 (1), Nikos Reppas 17 (1), Kalaboukas 4, Giorgos Tzonos 2, Antreas Tzonos 7, Logdanidis 2, Polymeros 13.

Filathlitikos - Diagoras 91-74
Quarter: 21-17, 44-34, 69-54, and 91-74.
Filathlitikos (Zivas): Ilias Ojefunga 12 (2), S. Makris, Thanos 6, N. Makris 21 (3), Kontsis 3 (1), Gaitasov 8 (1), Paraskevopoulos 17, Sellianitis 4, Nathanailidis 2, Schortsianitis 8, Fragou 4, Majitobe 6.
Diagoras (Fragiskakis): Madrizos, Neratzakis 3, Livieratos 8 (1), Bagouras 8 (2), Maroulakis 15 (1), Avgenikou 2, Koulouriotis 12, Pardakakas 17, Athanasiadis 4, Batsos 5 (1), Iliou.

Ionikos Neas Filadelfias - Arditos 69-79
Quarter: 13-19, 23-35, 40-57, 69-79.
Ionikos Neas Filadelfeias (Pappas): Delios 2, Vangelis Vourtzoumis (194-G-69) 13 (2), Mitsikas 14, Tsilas 2, Konstantonis 3, Agapiadis 9 (3), Haralampakis 10, Vlahos 7, Limperopoulos 6, Kalantoneas 3.
Arditos (Hatzigiannakos): Panagiotis Barlas 20 (6), Svardakalos 3, Nikos Georgopappadakos 12 (3), Kypritzoglou 19 (5), Kalamaras 4, Saltouridis 5, Skoutaris 13 (1), Tzanetakos 2.

Ermis Shimatariou - Ierapetra 68-86
Quarter: 11-29, 31-49, 49-68 and 68-86.
Ermis Shimatariou (Anastasiou): Katsoulas 16 (1), Kapeleris 9, Poulos 11 (3), Konstas 2, Flotsios 5, Tsitsis 13 (2), Aggelis 2, Kafkis 10, Stoumpos, Fytros, Zomo, Kallergis.
Ierapetra (Makrakis): Alexiou 4 (1), Stefanakis 12 (2), Xenakis 17 (1), Polytarhou 10 (1), Matos 7 (1), Taylor 14, Likourinos 5 (1), Christodoulos 7, Karalis 10 (1).

Second Group - South
Halkida - Aris Nikaias 57-63
Quarter: 18-11, 39-23, 44-44, 57-63.
Halkida (Velissarakos): Sakarakis, Griniaris 15 (2), Pnevmatikos 3 (1), Kollias, Hatzistamou 14 (2), Markopoulos, Velissarakos 7 (1), Bakalis 10.
Aris Nikaias (Demenagas): Varlas, Altsantzis 13 (1), Liggeridis 5, Tsakalofidis, Galitis 5, Pritsos 9, Halvatzis 10, Filippou 13 (2), Tselebis 8 (1).

OFI - Kronos Ag. dimitriou 76-56
Quarter: 22-15, 41-31, 57-44, 76-56.
OFI (Dedas): Tsekirtzoglou 2, Delatolas 16 (2), Alexis Tsakiridis 24 (4), Ornithopoulos 4, Panagakis 4, Houliaras 6, Lekakos 14 (4), Farmakis 6 (1).
Kronos Ag. Dimitriou (Hrisogelos): Straganiotis 14 (2), Moisidis 8, Sinnis 16, Pagonis 2, Konstantakopoulos 1, Karaplis (3).

Panelefsiniakos - Zografou 70-75
Quarter: 14-13, 35-33, 47-54, 65-65, 70-75 (OT).
Panelefsiniakos (Panagiotopoulos): Dimitris Avramidis 13 (1), Giorgos Avramidis 4, Bakogiannis 2, Katsaros 12, Balafas 8 (2), Dioletis 4, Barbaris 11, Theos 16 (1), Eneslis.
Zografou (Katsounis): Kalogeropoulos 2, Kalaniotis 9 (1), Papaioannou 5 (1), Solomos 16, Grigorakos 12 (2), Zakinthinos 19, Mihopoulos 3, Agrafiotis 2, Tsevas, Papanoglou 7 (1).

Ionikos Nikaias - Apollon Athinon 84-67
Quarter: 26-20, 46-34, 69-44, 84-67
Ionikos Nikaias (Hatzikyriakos): Mazouropoulos, Drakopoulos 34 (5), Lazaridis 1, Athanasoulas 6, Μελεούνης 5 (1), Prineas 15 (1), Loukakis 2, Takidis 2, Tsioubris 19 (5), Kavadas.
Apollon Athinon (Matzakos): Samolis, Koutoulas 5 (1), Paraskevopoulos 2, Nikas 8 (2), Dedes 29 (1), Zisimopoulos 6, Kontaxis 2, Kommatas, Kostis, Giannopoulos 13 (1), Fragoulis.

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HOLLAND

Team-By-Team Outlook 2007-08 Dutch FEB: West Brabant Giants -by Sanders Jackson


West Brabant Giants
Head coach: Erik Braal

Regular season record in 2006-07: 17-23 (eliminated in 1st round playoffs)

Additions:
Andre Harris (203-F-85, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Fairleigh Dickinson), Tim Blue (206-F-84, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Middle Tenn.St.), Patrick Pope (183-G-81, college: St.Augustine), Maurice Sumter (196-G/F, agency: Court Side, college: Longwood), Arvin Slagter (190-G-85), Sherwin Demei, Correla Makengo, Braal


Losses: Rogier Jansen, Montwell Randle, Kinte Smith, Tyrone Riley, Tony van den Bosch


Outlook: The Giants made a complete makeover this summer, starting with a new sponsor, a new coach (Braal coming over from Rotterdam), and virtually a new team. Braal brought Dutch international Slagter and PG Pope with him, and finally has much more to work with budgetwise. West Brabant should have a team on the floor this season that can contend with the best in the Dutch competition. Braal is an excellent coach, and his teams always play hard and smart. This happened in Rotterdam, and will happen in Bergen-op-Zoom as well.



Team-By-Team Outlook 2007-08 Dutch FEB; Rotterdam Challengers -by Sanders Jackson


Rotterdam Challengers
Head coach: Toon van Helfteren

Regular season record in 2006-07: 24-16 (eliminated in 1st round playoffs)

Additions: Sam Jones (188-G-78, college: Northwood), Charles Richardson (175-G-84, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Nebraska), Sullivan Sykes (193-G/F, college: St.Joseph, IN), Martin de Boer (198-F, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Tabor), Jeroen Slor (204-F-89), Nick Meyers (206-F/C-82, college: Akron), van Helteren


Losses: Arvin Slagter, Patrick Pope, Anthony Dill, Johnathan Collins, Vincent Krieger, Kenneth Henderson


Outlook: Rotterdam Challengers underwent some changes during the offseason after suffering a heartbreaking first round playoff loss to Upstairs Weert, whom they were expected to defeat. Erik Braal departed afterwards to West Brabant Giants, taking Dutch international Arvin Slagter with him, with Krieger departing as well. But Toon van Helfteren is not with an empty cupboard, having at his disposal reuniting with former Eiffel Towers lead guard "Snoop" Sam Jones (188-G-78, college: Northwood), whom van Helfteren coached during their days together in Den Bosch. Van Helfteren has a knack for overachieving with teams with lesser budgets and making them into competitive teams. At his disposal are Dutch youngsters Djoenie Steenvoorde (195-G/F-81, agency: R.H.Consultancy) and Ties Theeuwkens (190-G-85, agency: Court Side), who should continue their progress under van Helfteren.


Rotterdam Challengers should continue to be a fiesty matchup for every team in the league. Expect them to have some surprise wins this season. Having the seasoned veteran Jones running the show is a big plus for the Rotterdammers.



Team-By-Team Outlook 2007-08 Dutch FEB: Matrixx Magixx -by Sanders Jackson


Matrixx Magixx Nijmegen
Head coach: Michael Schuurs

Regular season record in 2006-07: 26-14 (lost in Dutch finals, Dutch Cup champions)

Additions: Victor Thomas (201-F-79, college: La Salle), McHugh Mattis (198-F-84, college: S.Florida), Todd Abernethy (185-G-84, college: Mississippi), Thijs Vermeulen (192-F-85), Sjors Poels (210-C-86, agency: R.H.Consultancy), Tyler Smith (203-F-80, agency: Players Group, college: Penn St.), Antoine Jordan (195-G-83, college: Siena), Gerrit Brigitha (204-F/C-82, college: Cent.Michigan)


Losses: Alhaji Mohammed, Ransford Brempong, Chris Carrawell, Ryan Sears, Shawnson Johnson, Nick Oudendag


Outlook: Matrixx Magixx had a successful sophomore season, winning the Dutch Cup and making it to the Dutch FEB Finals. FEB top scorer Mohammed, Carrawell, Sears and shotblocking specialist Brempong have moved on, but Matrixx have replenished their roster with more athleticism than ever before. Starting with Thomas, who will bring excitement to the Horstacker with his ability to play above the rim and inside-outside play. Thomas has vast basketball experience throughout the world, including last season in Brazil. Mattis and Jordan wil provide more athleticm in the open court, with the steady hand of Abernethy dishing them the ball. Abernethy is a Ryan Sears-type who played in one of the toughest basketball conferences in the NCAA last season. The inside game will be shored by the presence of Dutch international Brigitha and former Landstede standout Smith, who played last season in the D-League. Poels should get a chance to prove himself in the Horstacker after receiving very little time last season in Groningen. Last season's FEB Coach-of-the Year Schuurs' team is once again a threat to reaching as great heights as in 2006-07, but will have to become a better blocking out team and maintain a strong halfcourt game to balance its transition game potential. Barring injury, expect Matrixx to give every FEB team a run for its money.



Team-By-Team Outlook 2007-08 Dutch FEB: Upstairs Weert -by Sanders Jackson


Upstairs Weert
Head coach: Olivier van Kampen

Regular season record in 2006-07: 20-20 (lost in semifinals of the Dutch FEB playoffs)

Additions: Derek Coleman (180-G-84, agency: Court Side, college: Robert Morris), Trey McDowell (188-G-85, college: Louisiana Tech), Bob Keijzer, Latece Williams (203-F-79, agency: Court Side, college: Marshall)


Losses: Taron Downey, Andre Burton, James Mathis, Chaz McCrommon


Outlook: Upstairs Weert surprised many by first upsetting Rotterdam Basketball, then slugging it out with Eiffel Towers taking them to the max in the Dutch semis. The American nucleus of Downey, Mathis, McCrommon and Burton had done the bulk of last season's scoring and have moved on, being replaced by another American group expected to take over the scoring load. But last season produced in increased production from the Dutch role players such as Mahrnord Martina (206-C-79, college: Wichita St.), Niels Voorenhout (202-F-80, agency: Court Side), Maarten Esveldt (200-F-84) and Ramon Sendar (203-C-81). Getting Champion returned in an Upstairs Weert uniform helps.


Like annually, Upstairs Weert will lean heavily on their American players to produce the bulk of the scoring, baiting teams into matching them offense for offense. Will their helter-skelter style of play work for them once again? Will they show enough consistency and discipline in their halfcourt game to tangle with more improved teams?



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INDIA

It's Indian Overseas Bank vs Indian Army in final -by Santhosh Kumar
Indian Overseas Bank will take on Indian Army in the final of the Master Prithvi Nath Memorial basketball tournament at the Ajmal Khan Park courts in Delhi.
In the semifinals, the reigning Federation Cup champions IOB put it across title favourites Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (Dehradun) 103-93. It was an upset considering the fact that ONGC had a galaxy of star players (Shabeer Ahmed, Trideep Rai, Riyazuddin and Deshraj) in their line-up. IOB, on the other hand, put up a gallant effort to down ONGC. Experienced Sukhavaneshwar was the star performer with a whooping score of 42 points, while the duo of Chandrasekhar (20 pts) and Sivashankar (20pts) did a supportive role. With new recruits Vineeth, who got a high accolades from Australian coach Ian Stacker during his Chennai visit, and Harish playing their part with aplomb, the champion club from Tamil Nadu had no problem.
In another semis, which was a thriller, Indian Army defeated Punjab Cagers 67-66.
Riding on an excellent Dilip Kumar show — the top-scorer with 24 points — Army men edged Punjab.
Southern Railway beat South East Central Railway team 88-67 in the women's section.

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KOSOVO

DECISIONS -by Alban Salihu

According the section 25 from the Status of Basketball Federation of Kosova, the Board of this Federation took these decisions.

I.

1. The Championship for seniors in Super League starts on October 31, 2007.
2. The Championship for seniors in First League starts on October 31, 2007.
3. Women's League starts on October 13, 2007
4. Junior's League starts on October 13, 2007
5. Cadet's League starts on October 13, 2007
6. Pioneer's League starts on October 13, 2007

II.

1.Transitory term which started on September 15, 2007 continues till three days before the beginning of the corresponding championships:

a) for seniors till October 28, 2007, 4:00 pm
b) Women's, Junior's, Cadet's and Pioneer's till October 10th 2007, 4:00 pm

III.

1. Excluded temporary from the participation fee (till the next decision), all are the clubs except the clubs from Super League seniors.
2. All the clubs which will participate in the Super League, men's category will have to pay the first part of the fee in an amount of 750 € until Friday, October 5th, 2007.

IV.

1. All the clubs, players, coaches should pay the obligation to BFK from the edition 2006/07 till three days from the beginning of the corresponding championship. After this period of time comes the automatic suspension.

V.

1.The drawing will take place on the House Of Sports
- Women's League- Friday, October 5, 2007 on 12:00
- Junior's League- Friday, October 5, 2007 on 1:00 pm
- Cadets' League- Friday, October 5, 2007 on 1:30 pm
- Pioneer's League -Friday, October 5, 2007 on 2:00 pm

Source:basketbolli.com



National Team training in Vushtrri -by Edona Shabani
The training of National Team of Kosova which consist with their participation in the VI tournament “ The Cup Of King Abdullah” in Aman will start on Sunday, October 7, 2007 in The Center for Public Safety, Education and Development in Vushtrri.

Until now there are three daily meetings in Prishtina, whereas the training in Vushtrri will last till October 14, 2007.

The selector of NT, Arben Krasniqi will announce tomorrow October 3, 2007 the elected list for training.
BFK asked this year as well the financial support of the Special Representative of UN in Kosova, Mr. Joachim Ruecker for traveling to Jordan. His response is excepted to be given tomorrow.

Source: www.fbk-ks.com

“ME RAMUSHIN” TOURNAMENT -by Edona Shabani

Semi final matches schedule

Thursday, October 4, 2007 on 8:00 pm
AS PRISHTINA - YLLI
Referees: Faton Kurshumliu, Daut Mehmeti, Xhavit Beqiri
Monitor: Naim Lepaja


Friday October 5, 2007 on 8:00 p,
SIGAL PRISHTINA - TREPCA
Referees: Mehdi Gashi,Alban Vula,Zaim Zenuni
Monitor: Lulzim Maloku

The final match will take place on Saturday October 5, 2007 on 8:30 in Prishtina.

Source: www.fbk-ks.com



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LEBANON

Local Players Transactions -by Asia-Basket Lebanon
After the end of the deadline of the First Division players signatures , lot of players movements were registered between the teams .
The biggest move was the signature of the Lebanese Super Star Fadi Khatib with Cherkasky team in Ukraine for a four years deal.

This year the new elected federation is trying to bring new rules in order to develop the game and to bring back the competition to the league.

The transactions between the team were finalized as follows :

1 - Riyadi :
No new comers
Left : Mohamad Hantas
2 - Blue Stars :
Arrived :Rodrigue Nakouzi
Left : Fadi Khatib ,Rony Fahed , Roy Samaha ,Raymond Dagher.
3 - Champville :
Arrived :Ghaleb Reda,Elie Estephan , Raymond Dagher
Left : Elie Mechantaf,David Deryeghyayian , Hani Zakhem,Rabih Bou Dagher.
4 - Sagesse :
Arrived : Elie Mechantaf,David Deryeghyayian, Robert Bou Dagher,Joe Mansou , Joe Ghatas,Sabah Khouri, Rony Fahed
Left :, Elie Estephan,Mohamad Fahes , Rodrigue Nakouzi
5 - Moutahed :
Arrived : Roy Samaha, Mohamad Fahes,Roland Ammouri
Left :, Sabah Khouri, Robert Bou Dagher.
6 - Antranik :
Arrived : Patrick Bou Abboud, Nadim Souaid
Left :Rached Habli , Nadim Zoughaib
7 - Anibal : No Transactions made
8 - Feytroun :
Arrived : Rabih Bou Dagher,Tony Jerjes,
Left : Joe Mansour, Joe Ghatas

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MEXICO

Fuerza Falls at Home to Lobos, Mayas Dorsey and Wilkens Recognized -by Justin Brink
Last night in game two of the 'Clasico del Norte' Fuerza Regia lost at home to the visting Lobos UAC 95-84. Fuerza's most recent pick up, Mexican National Team member, Omar Quintero, lamented that Fuerza 'let down on defense' and gave the Lobos 'too much freedom to shoot threes, and that killed us. They were hungrier today.' Quintero was the high man for Fuerza with 26, his teammate Gerrick Rivera had 22. Click here for more LNBP game of the week and players of the week.

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NORWAY

BLNO - finally playing again! -by Kaare Vangen
The first four matches have been played now and things are pretty much the same as last season. Harstad beat Fjellhamar, Tromsø beat Fjellhamar (but just barely), Ulriken beat Ammerud and 3B beat Gimle. Asker and Kristiansand are the only teams who haven't played yet.

Harstad Vikings-Fjellhamar Stallions 112 - 99 (31 -26 29 -24 22 -22 30 -27)
Attendance: 833
Harstad: J. Rogers 35, M. Woodsen 22
Fjellhamar: M. Jakubowski 17, W. Pavlic & O. Okoroafor 14

Ulriken Eagles-Ammerud 78 - 65 (26 -17 14 -12 18 -19 20 -17)
Attendance: 873
Ulriken: A. Eskeland 27, P. Bullock 12
Ammerud: R. Hawthorne 26, S. Tahar 13

3B -Gimle 106 - 92 (18 -17 24 -19 35 -27 29 -29)
Attendance: 212
3B: B. Myhrer 26, R. Timus 21
Gimle: B. Harper 30, M Austgulen & P. Heimstad 13

Tromsø Storm-Fjellhamar Stallions 83 - 80 (26 -16 15 -17 22 -18 20 -29)
Attendance: 822
Tromsø: A. Williams 30, G. Mihaylov 20
Fjellhamar: W. Sharma 20, O. Okoroafor 19

If Fjellhamar can learn to use their big players better they can be a team to be able to win against most of the other ones. Anthony Williams (203-F-83, college: Cent.Florida) scored 30 against Fjellhamar and told the audience that smoking pot or not last season - he still knows the game.

Ulriken did not impress anyone in the win against Ammerud. Forward Arne Danielsen (198-F-83, college: NC-Pembroke) had his debut, played 13 minutes and had no points. He will probably come back stronger later. The team anyway did the job. Ammerud played with Torgeir Bryn (207-C-64, college: Texas St.-San Marcos). He doesn't move as fast as he used to in his glory days but try to move him out of a position and you will have a challenge.

Fredrik Knutsen (194-F/G-78) had a good debut in Harstad. And Jeff Rogers (185-G-73, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: W.Kentucky) still knows how to score...

For 3B Bendik Myhrer (191-G-85) still shows that he is a smart player. Brian Harper (208-F/G-85, agency: 540 Sports, college: Paine) for Gimle will probably be the go-to-player for the team. He was the dominant scorer for them.

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PHILIPPINES

Air 21 Express, 3 out of 5 in China campaign -by Hector Santos
Air21 Express of the Philippine Basketball Association managed to win three out of five games in the recently concluded 2007 Grand Waldo - Asian Basketball Association Championship in Dongguan, China.

The wins and losses came against the following strong teams;

vs China's Guandong Winnerway 85-82
vs Chinese Basketball Association's Liaoning Pandas 99-83
vs Hongkong's Winling 93-84
vs Korean Basketball League's Seoul Samsung Thunders 86-111
vs Iran All-Stars 86-92

The Thunders, bannered by its two outstanding imports Terrence Leather and Tyrone Sally, won the tournament after trashing all of its opponents.

RP's NBC Selection vs Basketball Japan (BJ) League's Ryukyu Golden Kings today -by Hector Santos

Philippine's National Basketball Conference (NBC) Selection opens its campaign in the annual Kwah Hu Cup Probation Basketball invitational tournament in Taiwan against Baketball Japan (BJ) League's Ryukyu Golden Kings today.


Backed by 6-foot-5 American Michael Anthony Daniel and 6-9 Australian Steven Bloom and composed of NBC's leading performers, the NBC Selection is confident of doing well in the tourney.

Other members of the NBC Selection coached by Boysie Zamar and outfitted by Champion are Marlon Kalaw, Don Villamin, Mar Reyes, Larry Rodriguez, Jeff Tajonera and ex-pros Nino Marquez, Marlon Legaspi, Nelson Asaytono and EJ Feihl.

On the other hand, the Ryukyu Golden Kings, Okinawa's first ever first ever professional sports team, will be under the tutelage of Filipino-American head coach Hernando Planells. Planells, a NBA scout and a former head coach of the American Basketball Association's Hollywood Fame, stated that he is very excited about his new team. Plannells added that they are also scheduled to play a series of tune-up games in the Philippines.

The Golden Kings, which acquired former JBL Super League's Aisin Sea Horses standout Naoto Takushi as first overall in the BJ League annual draft, will use the Taiwan campaign as preparation for the coming BJ League regular season.

The NBC cagers are bracketed in Group B with Ryukyu, local clubs Dancin and Media and USA-Velocity Athletics.

Making up Group A are Taiwan Beer, Pu Yuan, Yulon, Kyung Hee and Malaysia.
The teams will play one round, with the top finishers clashing in the finals.

The NBC Selection will meet USA at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, Dacin at 3:30 on Oct. 5 and Media at 3:30 on Oct. 6. The finals and consolation games will be played on Oct. 7.

NBC president and Spring Cooking Oil team owner Nathaniel “Tac” Padilla is confident that the addition of two quality imports “could help the team succeed after narrowly missing the finals two years ago.”

In 2005, an all-Filipino NBC squad led by Samigue Eman and KG Canaleta dropped a close decision to the Europeans-backed Joeutai in their battle for the No. 1 spot in the group.

Padilla and NBC executive vice president and Tagaytay Mayor Bambol Tolentino bankrolled the trip of the team headed by NBC sec-gen Tito Palma.Bambol Tolentino bankrolled the trip of the team headed by NBC sec-gen Tito Palma.



PBA's Talk n Text step up training in South Korea -by Hector Santos
Talk n Text is pressing its buildup for the coming season with a series of tune-up games in South Korea, hoping to win a championship after placing third in the Philippine Basketball Association's All-Filipino conference and second in the Fiesta Cup last campaign.

The Pals left for Seoul last weekend and played Korean Basketball League (KBL) ball clubs as part of their preparation that included a two-week training stint in San Antonio, Texas.

They have played two games so far, losing close duels with the import-reinforced KBL teams of Dongbu and KT&G. The team is to play two more games before heading back to Manila Saturday.

“The team needs tune-up games to practice whatever they've learned in the US. Apparently, it has yet to sink in,” said team manager Frankie Lim, who has a personal goal of achieving back-to-back championships after steering the San Beda Red Lions to a title conquest in the recently concluded NCAA season.

“We're pushing the team to improve on our third- and second-place finishes last season. We're looking to make the finals again and hopefully go all the way to win it,” Lim added.

The Pals welcomed amateur recruit Yousif Aljamal (193-F/C) in their fold in Korea.

Aljamal completed the TnT lineup, joining Asi Taulava, Yancy de Ocampo, Jay Washington, Don Allado Harvey Carey, Renren Ritualo, Macmac Cardona, Jimmy Alapag, Don Belano, Egay Billones and Patrick Fran, who are all holdovers from last year's lineup.

“The team is doing okay, just needing to improve on fluidity, which I think they can achieve in time for the opening,” said Lim, optimistic they could make a good run for the championship in the All-Filipino.

“It's hard to say what will happen in the Fiesta Cup since it's an import-reinforced tourney. But in the All-Filipino, I do believe we have a good chance,” Lim added.

He considers San Miguel Beer as another top contender with Barangay Ginebra, Purefoods and Alaska the dark horses. (Nelson Beltran/Philippine Star)

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PORTUGAL

Ovarense invites everyone to see the team photo day -by Bruno Baltazar
Tomorrow(October the 3rd) at 4pm ,Portugal time,Ovarense invites everyone interested to participate and see for themselfs the team photo session in Arena Dolce Vita in Ovar.

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RUSSIA

Shakulin: Happy in Khimki -by Eurobasket News
BC Khimki new coach Dmitri Shakulin is happy with the work in his new team.

Dmitri Shakulin , who recently joined the team, shared his first impressions on working with Khimki.

"My first impressions are very bright since Khimki have top level players who are ready to realize the coach's plans", said Shakulin.

"Coaches don't have to explain the basic knowledge to players which simplify the training process."

"The club president Alexei Bodunkov was persistent in his desire to see me in Khimki so I am very happy I accepted his offer and joined the team."
Courtesy of: http://english.sport-express.ru/

CSKA won the first game of the Team China Tournament -by Eurobasket News
CSKA won the game versus Sydney Kings 71-62 on the first day of the tournament in Kunshan, China. The Army club get to the hall one hour later than expected and forced the game to delay a bit. But fortunately that does not effect the game itself.

CSKA vs. Sydney Kings: 71-62 (23-14, 20-18, 17-11, 11-19)

Ettore Messina , CSKA head coach:

- We gathered only 4 days ago. Sydney Kings are far ahead of us in preparations and that was clear during the game. But I am happy we played good defense and were unselfish in the offense.
Courtesy of: http://www.cskabasket.com

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SERBIA

PG Branko Milisavljevic moved to Paris -by Dragan Jankovski
Point guard Branko Milisavljevic (193-G-76, agency: Beo Basket), who left Spanish Valladolid couple of days ago, agreed terms with French Pro A team Paris-Levallois (ex Paris Basket Racing). Milisavljevic had very good last season in France reaching final of play-off with Sluc Nancy. For 21 games in Pro A he averaged 14 ppg, 1.4 rpg and 4.3 apg while for 7 games in ULEB Cup he added 14.3 ppg, 3.4 apg and 1.3 spg. Milisavljevic got prestigious award “All-French Pro A Bosman Player of the Year - 2007” by Eurobasket.com.

Hemofarm continues with a new name "Hemofarm Stada" -by Dragan Jankovski
Well reputable German pharmaceutical industry "Stada", who is majority stock holder of "Hemofarm Group", accepted offer from BC Hemofarm to finance 40% of the club's costs (both, men and women selections). President of Hemofarm Group and also of BC Hemofarm, Mr. Miodrag Babic, word's were “This is just confirmation of good results which Hemofarm's man and women team made in Europe in the last couple of seasons. Our goal is to give a chance to youngsters to maturate like a players. We are proud on our head coach Miroslav Nikolic who won the FIBA U19 World Championship this summer and also on our players who won gold medals with different selections of Serbian National Team.”

Director of the team Marko Ivanovic said:” Youngsters are our fortune but we will also try to make good results with them. We signed Pavkovic, Bozovic, Mladenovic, Jagodnik and Trailovic. We expect a lot of Boban Marjanovic, Boris Savovic, Stefan Markovic and Milos Borisov. One of our goals is to stay in ULEB Cup as longer as we can and to earn a place for the same competition for season 08/09 through Adriatic league.”

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TBL

TEXAS BASKETBALL LEAGUE SCHEDULES BASKETBALL TRYOUTS -by Benjamin Brinkley
2-October-07
Arlington, Texas -- The Texas Basketball League, the official semi-professional basketball league of the state of Texas will be holding its league-wide basketball tryouts on October 20th and 21st at the Metro Academy in Arlington, Texas. Registration time will be 8 am - 9 am on both days with tryout sessions held from 2pm - 6pm.

Coaches Eligin Pringle, Omar Nash, Julie Collie, Patrick Scott, Rey Caban and James P. McClory will conduct the camp. After lengthy contract negotiations, Former Utah Jazz and Seattle Supersonics basketball player Chris King will be making his appearance as the new commissioner of the Texas Basketball League. Mr. King will also be coaching in the Texas Basketball League. Financial details were not disclosed.

“This is a big move for the Texas Basketball League and for semi-pro basketball altogether. This proves that the Texas Basketball League is the only semi-pro basketball league in state of Texas that has former NBA experience and leadership at the helm.” Benjamin Brinkley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Basketball League, “We have been waiting for several years to bring the state of Texas a real quality semi-pro basketball league like the Southwest Basketball League before us. With Chris King in the fold, we are going to take it up another notch with our coaches and our players to deliver the best semi-pro basketball league in the state of Texas and across the country.”

The camp site will be the Metro Charter Academy down the street from the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium; the address is 1111 Gibbons Street in Arlington, Texas 76011. Make all Money Orders or Cashier's Checks payable to the Texas Basketball League. Mail with registration form to: Texas Basketball League, P.O. Box 537, Arlington, Texas 76004.

Cost of the camp is $75 before October 5th, $100 before October 15th and same day registration will be $150. Please email for the Waiver and Presentation Form and mail the forms along the registration fees by overnight express mail. Tryouts will start promptly at 2pm.

For more information, please call the Texas Basketball League Office at (817) 803-6186. The league office is open from 10am to 6pm Monday thru Friday C.S.T. Please leave a name, phone number, and an email and we will contact you at our earliest convenience.

Founded and organized by Charles Johnson of the Southwest Basketball League, the Texas Basketball League is scheduled to begin play this fall 2007. The Texas Basketball League is one of the only semi-pro basketball leagues in the country with a league salary cap and a league dispersal draft after every tryout therefore nobody is cut from a tryout unlike other semi-pro basketball leagues. The Texas Basketball League values players making sacrifices to continue there dreams of playing semi-pro basketball with hopes of making it to the NBA. Our views and our approach are different from other semi-pro organizations and we look to set the new trends in semi-pro basketball for the future. Thus, no player attending a basketball tryout will be cut from a tryout but will receive an opportunity to attend the league dispersal draft after each and every tryout. This increases the value of your registration fee and increase your opportunity to make the Texas Basketball League Rosters.

Come experience the future of semi-pro basketball, Come experience the Texas Basketball League

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U.S.VIRGIN ISL.

Wizards Newton Enjoys Experience in South Africa -by David Edole

Washington Wizards Vice President of Player Personnel Milt Newton recently joined several NBA players and coaches to participate in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders Program in Johannesburg, South Africa. Newton served as a coach at the five day basketball camp which was held September 5-9 at the American International School of Johannesburg.

The Basketball Without Borders camp featured the top 100 African players ages 17 and under from over 20 African countries. The camp was geared towards improving their skills while emphasizing the fundamentals of the game of basketball.

“I love to teach and I consider myself to be a coach at heart,” said Newton, who enters his fifth season with the Wizards. “It was a wonderful experience for me because the kids were so eager to learn what we were teaching them about the game of basketball.”

The players were split into 10 different teams. Each morning they were taught basketball fundamentals and learned the offenses for their respective teams. After instruction from the NBA coaches and players, the teams competed in tournament games in the afternoons and evenings. The games were highly competitive as each team battled for the tournament championship.

“I wanted to make sure the players played team basketball and learned the basic fundamental parts of the game of basketball,” said Newton. “Most importantly, I wanted the guys to have fun competing and they did.”

For Newton, it was his first ever trip to Africa and an experience that he will never forget. The experience for him did not only entail basketball, but goodwill as well. While in Johannesburg, Newton teamed with fellow coaches and players to participate in the Habitat for Humanity. As a part of the program, Newton and his counterparts help build a new home for a resident of Johannesburg.

“It was amazing to be a part of the project and see the joy in the young lady's eyes as we were building her new home,” said Newton.

The Basketball Without Borders Program also focused on several community outreach initiatives including education and health related issues with a focus on HIV/AIDS advocacy. The camp also featured product donation for local non-government organizations (NGO's) that included school supplies, toys, clothing, toiletries and hygiene products, books, and other necessities.

By Daren Jenkins

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UKRAINE

Politekhnika-Halychyna roster for the season 2007/08 -by Alexander Muzyka

Politekhnika-Halychyna 2007/08

Main roster
Yevhen Annenkov (187-G-77)
Andri Bagri (191-89)

Vladimir Golubev (193-G-81)
Volodymyr Gurtovoi (207-C-75)
Oleksandr Zhuzha (195-G/F-85)
Lev Zagainov (190-G-83)
Yaroslav Zubrytskyi (202-F-74)
Oleksandr Koroviakov (200-F-81)
Dmitri Kouzmine (197-G-75)
Yaroslav Lemyk (203-F-85)
Pavel Ulyanko (204-F/C-79)
Artem Shvets (202-G/F-85)
Artur Urazmanov (165-G-87)

Farm roster
Anton Dzhygil (190-92)
Volodymyr Zelenyi (196-86)
Mykola Kavaleridze (202-F/C-87)
Serhi Kopyl (201-F-88)
Dyula Kubini (210-C-85)
Georgiy Kudriavtsev (198-F-86)
Nazar Kurysh (192-G-86)
Yuri Pelekhatyi (186-90)
Andri Prukhnytskyi (191-87)
Viktor Trufanov (187-G-85)
Andri Chura (208-C-86)


Politekhnika-Halychyna main team head coach: Valentin Voronin
Politekhnika-Halychyna coach assistant: Vitali Detiuk
Politekhnika-Halychyna farm team head coach: Anatoli Zaverikin



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URUGUAY

Bigua is the leader -by Hector Lopez
Leandro Garcia Morales (186-G-80, college: Texas A&M) scored 39 points, a record for the 2007 season, when Bigua defeated Sayago 91-73 to maintain the leadership of the Uruguayan League, after the 7th round.
Results (Main scorers and import players)
Bigua 91 - Garcia Morales 38, Mark Alan Bortz (208-F-82, college: Buffalo) 15 and 8 rebounds, Derrick Franklin (208-C-81, agency: ProSportsCareers, college: Columbus St.) 8 and 7 rebounds
Sayago 73 - 'Pop' Thornton (201-F-74, college: W.Kentucky) 22, Jonny Gomes do Nascimiento 8
- - -
Welcome 85 - Johnny Rodriguez (197-F/C-83) 24, Kevin Nelson (192-G-84, college: Park) 13, Brandon Voorhees (201-G/F, college: Park) 2
Defensor Sporting 83 - Nathan Mielke (210-F-81, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) 20 and 13 rebounds, David Jackson (196-G-82, college: Penn St.) 3
- - -
Aguada 95 - Kareem Grant (198-F/G-82, college: Tennessee St.) 25, Kareem Johnson (205-C-80, college: Cincinnati) 18
Soriano 85 - Jamal Johnson (201-C-81, college: Clayton St.) 18, Daryl Rufus (207-C-82, college: Fayetteville St.) 26
- - -
Atenas 72 - Richard Matienzo (202-F/C-69, college: Miami Dade CC) 18, Robert Taylor (182-G, college: Rider) 7, Hakeem Rollins (202-C/F-83, agency: CAA Sports, college: Washington) 17
Union Atletica 65 - Dainmon Gonner (198-F-80, college: SE Missouri St.) 21, Trelonnie Owens (202-F-71, college: Wake Forest) 20, Mark Flavin (211-F/C-82, college: Maine) 8
.- - -
Olimpia 86 - Reijavick de Gracia 20, Reque Newsome (203-C-82, college: S.Indiana) 12
Malvin 74 - Emilio Taboada (193-F-82) 26, Rashard Sullivan (203-F/C-84, college: S.Indiana) 13, Kim Adams (203-F/C-82, college: Arkansas St.) 7

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VIETNAM

Vietnam national team hopes to do well in SEA Games -by Hector Santos
Three years ago, Vietnam decided it needed to improve its antiquated basketball program. And they chose a Filipino to do it.

Ricky Magallanes, who apprenticed as an assistant coach with the RP-Cebuana Lhuillier team and a former member of the coaching staff of multi-titled Spring Cooking Oil, was selected to lead the change. He flew to Vietnam in April of 2005 as the head coach of the junior national team. Within six months, he was handed the reigns of the men's team, as well.

This year, Magallanes is again set to handle the Vietnamese national team to the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Thailand this December.

“When you say basketball in Vietnam, it's really nothing, because they're a football country,” Magallanes explains. “They don't have a feeder program, and all their players were even older than I was.”

For Filipinos, it's hard to imagine a country that doesn't love or even play basketball. But the former assistant coach of De La Salle Greenhills had to work from the bottom up. Not only did he have to start recruiting younger players and deal with the inter-city politics between Saigon and Hanoi (the main source of players and funding), he needed to impart the scientific knowledge which is practically second nature to Filipinos.

“Their skill level was so low, they were like children. I had to teach the basics, or else they would never improve,” coach Ricky recalls. “They have many coaches there, but they don't know how to teach. And they don't know how to explain why we have to do those things.”

Last year, Ricky tested his team by bringing them in the Philippines. After having difficulty against a strong high school team, they proceeded to lose all their games to second-tier colleges and smaller schools. But Ricky was undaunted. On this trip, his team has started winning games against teams that used to beat them easily. This despite a lineup that barely has any players over six feet tall.

“Vietnam has really small people, smaller than Filipinos,” he elaborated. “They try to work so hard, I'm really so proud of them, because we've improved our shooting, our dribbling, our passing skills. We really paid attention to those.”

“We really like him, because he is a good guy, very funny. He knows how to make the game more fun, more better,” says Vietnam national team forward Nguyen Thien, at 26 now the oldest member of the team. “Right now, we're feeling we're better in shooting. We've learned a lot from our experiences in the Philippines.”

After so many scrimmages and a few token tournaments, Ricky will face his first major test: the Southeast Asian Games in December. His goals remain modest, though. With Brunei a non-factor (Vietnam demolished them by more than 50 points), coach Ricky is setting his sights on Singapore.

“My bosses say that they would be happy if we win just one game, but of course, I can't allow that,” Ricky declares. “I feel so special, because they really respect the Filipinos, and as a basketball coach, because they really follow my system. They want to adopt the Philippine style of basketball.”



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Women News

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BELGIUM - Women

Czech Republic wins Group E, Belgium deserved the win more -by Eurobasket News
Belgium-Czech Republic 70:72 (21-19, 17-16, 20-23, 12-14)

Czech Republic survives in the Group E and finishes first in it. After a loss from Germany the team escaped from Belgium winning 72:70. The latter had a great game as well and due to the game they show in this tournament can easily struggle for the medals. Eva Viteckova (190-F-82) led the winners with 22 points. Petra Kulichova (198-C-84) netted 14, while Vesela added 11 and 7 rebounds. Ann Wauters (194-C-80) collected 22 points and 12 rebounds.

It was another battle of the tournament that deserved a high honor. This tournament is very tough for the Czechs and we can prove it in the next three games for the team.
Belgium won the opening quarter 21:19, having 21:15 with 2 minutes remaining. Van Malderen made it 28:21 in the beginning of the second, but Czech Republic reduced again. Both teams went to the lockers with 38:35 for the Belgian squad.

Ann Wauters gave her team another spurt to make 56:51 in the middle of the third. Deyaert saved the team at 58:58 as both teams entered the last period.
Ann Wauters again brought Belgium the biggest lead at that time, 66:58 with less than 6 minutes remaining. Czech Republic made a 14-2 run to grab the 72:70 win.

Belgium: Ann Wauters 22+12 rebs, De Mondt 13, Kathy Wambe (174-G-81) 13
Czech Republic: Eva Viteckova 22, Petra Kulichova 14, Vesela 11+7 rebs

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BOSNIA - Women

1-th week in Bosnian division -by Emil Suceska
27.Octobar
1-th week - fixtures
Zeljeznicar Sarajevo - Brotnjo 94 Citluk
ZKK Spars Sarajevo - Mladost Banja Luka
RMU Banovici - ZKK Livno
Sloboda Novi Grad - Biss-Tours Celik Zenica
Trocal Jedinstvo Tuzla - Jablanica Granit

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CAPE VERDE - Women

Tininha Among Africa Top 5 -by Pedro Gomes
National team player, Crispina Correia (193-F/C-75, college: Auburn) (Tininha), was named to the tournaments first team, the selection of the best 5 players in the XX African Nations Championships for women held from the 20 to the 30 of September 2007. WNBA player, Hamchetou Maiga (MVP) from Mali, Carla Da Silva (Mozambique), Diene Diawara (Mali), and Aya Traore (Senegal), complete the first team selection.
Tininha also won the trophy for Best Scorer, boosting some morale to the Cape Verdians, who finished 9 in this year competition.

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CZECH REP. - Women

Czech Republic wins Group E, Belgium deserved the win more -by Eurobasket News
Belgium-Czech Republic 70:72 (21-19, 17-16, 20-23, 12-14)

Czech Republic survives in the Group E and finishes first in it. After a loss from Germany the team escaped from Belgium winning 72:70. The latter had a great game as well and due to the game they show in this tournament can easily struggle for the medals. Eva Viteckova (190-F-82) led the winners with 22 points. Petra Kulichova (198-C-84) netted 14, while Vesela added 11 and 7 rebounds. Ann Wauters (194-C-80) collected 22 points and 12 rebounds.

It was another battle of the tournament that deserved a high honor. This tournament is very tough for the Czechs and we can prove it in the next three games for the team.
Belgium won the opening quarter 21:19, having 21:15 with 2 minutes remaining. Van Malderen made it 28:21 in the beginning of the second, but Czech Republic reduced again. Both teams went to the lockers with 38:35 for the Belgian squad.

Ann Wauters gave her team another spurt to make 56:51 in the middle of the third. Deyaert saved the team at 58:58 as both teams entered the last period.
Ann Wauters again brought Belgium the biggest lead at that time, 66:58 with less than 6 minutes remaining. Czech Republic made a 14-2 run to grab the 72:70 win.

Belgium: Ann Wauters 22+12 rebs, De Mondt 13, Kathy Wambe (174-G-81) 13
Czech Republic: Eva Viteckova 22, Petra Kulichova 14, Vesela 11+7 rebs

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E.CHAMPS (W) - Women

Chances before the last day of Group E -by Eurobasket News
A very interesting situation is in group E as three teams have 3-1 record and three others 1-3. As you know there are 4 teams that will advance to the Quarterfinasl and for sure it is Czech Republic, Latvia and Belgium. Lithuania and Turkey will struggle for the last ticket from the group and only Germany lost all the chances to advance.

Czech Republic-Belgium is the key game of the day. There are however some 'if' for each team. Czech Republic will finish on the first spot if they just win the game. Belgium, in order to place first should beat Czech Republic and hope that Germany beat Latvia. Latvia will need a win over Germany and the victory of Belgium over the Czechs to finish first.

The key players of the teams are ready for the last day of the Qualifying Round. It is for sure Ann Wauters (194-C-80) in Belgium, Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (176-F-83) in Latvia and Eva Viteckova (190-F-82) in Czech Republic. The teams will have some advantages and disadvantages before Group F. Good news is that they would have more time for preparation as they play a day earlier. Bad news is that the teams from Group F will know who they will play with and try to do their best in order to meet the team that is weaker.
Even though that Czech Republic and Russia were the favorites before the tournament, Spain feels in a better shape so far. The latter is the only undefeated team in the tournament.

The last day of Group E -by Eurobasket News

Lithuania-Turkey 67:61 (16-15, 18-15, 13-19, 20-12)

Lithuania grabbed the last ticket from Group E to qualify for the quarter-finals of the EuroBasket Women. In a win-or-die game the Baltic team overcame Turkey 67:61. Agne Ciudariene (188-F-79) led the winners with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Rima Valentiene (170-G-78) produced 12, while Lina Brazdeikyte (185-F/G-74) added 11. Nevriye Yilmaz (196-C-80) came back after a back injury and top-scored in the losing effort. She poured in 20 points and made 13 rebounds for Turkey.

Lithuania will continue the battle for the higher spot than 9th. In the last game of the group the team beat Turkey and took their place there. The Baltic team had hard time in the opening quarter but finished it with 16:15. Later on Egle Sulciute scoring eight and Lina Brazdeikyte and Milda Sauliute weighing in with seven apiece, helped the Baltic side take a 34:30 lead at the interval.

It was a good beginning of the first half when Lithuania opened up a 45:36 lead midway through the third quarter. Turkey however made a 13-2 run to stay in front after three quarters, 49:47.
The last quarter was a tough one and only in the end Lithuania grabbed the win. After 61:61 Rima Valentiene nailed a three and then Marcauskaite repeated from the arc to set up the final 67:61 score.

Lithuania: Agne Ciudariene 12+9 rebs, Rima Valentiene 12, Lina Brazdeikyte 11
Turkey: Nevriye Yilmaz 20+13 rebs, Yasemin Horasan (190-F/C-83) 11, Nilay Yigit (170-G-79) 11





Belgium-Czech Republic 70:72 (21-19, 17-16, 20-23, 12-14)

Czech Republic survives in the Group E and finishes first in it. After a loss from Germany the team escaped from Belgium winning 72:70. The latter had a great game as well and due to the game they show in this tournament can easily struggle for the medals. Eva Viteckova (190-F-82) led the winners with 22 points. Petra Kulichova (198-C-84) netted 14, while Vesela added 11 and 7 rebounds. Ann Wauters (194-C-80) collected 22 points and 12 rebounds.

It was another battle of the tournament that deserved a high honor. This tournament is very tough for the Czechs and we can prove it in the next three games for the team.
Belgium won the opening quarter 21:19, having 21:15 with 2 minutes remaining. Van Malderen made it 28:21 in the beginning of the second, but Czech Republic reduced again. Both teams went to the lockers with 38:35 for the Belgian squad.

Ann Wauters gave her team another spurt to make 56:51 in the middle of the third. Deyaert saved the team at 58:58 as both teams entered the last period.
Ann Wauters again brought Belgium the biggest lead at that time, 66:58 with less than 6 minutes remaining. Czech Republic made a 14-2 run to grab the 72:70 win.

Belgium: Ann Wauters 22+12 rebs, De Mondt 13, Kathy Wambe (174-G-81) 13
Czech Republic: Eva Viteckova 22, Petra Kulichova 14, Vesela 11+7 rebs



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FRANCE - Women

NT:Amaya Valdemoro on fire as Spain down France (63-53) -by Leslie Anderson

Amaya Valdemoro was a lady on a mission tonight as she hyped herself and her team up when it mattered most, she gave a classic example of if you do not first succeed the try again. The turning point of this match was not in the final period but a sequence of play late in the 3rd quarter, first of all Valdemoro three point attempt lipppedout and then on the very next play when the ball was given to her, the shot lipped out, she was angry with herself and then had to wait for her because Isabelle Yacoubou picked up the defensive rebound and Celine Dumerc (169-G-82) took her time before hitting a trey (42-36). On the very next play Valdemoro was given the ball from mid distance and this time her shot went in and from that moment Spain started to take control of the match.


Right from the tip off, it was a rather physical match with bodies flying all over the floor. Lucila Pascua enjoyed the early exchange and scored 6 of her teams first 10 points. Sandra Dijon (195-C-79) was withdrawn from the proceeding at this time for Emmeline Ndongue , who had better luck in holding Pascua as France reduced their deficit slightly before Valdemoro opened her account for the evening.

The second period belonged to Sandra Gruda as she put France into the driving seat with nine points (29-25) before you know who came in with a bucket and Isabel Sanchez tied the game from the free throw line just before the interval.

Despite have the better of the play for most of the 3rd period, France could not take advantage of the dramatic drop in finishing by their opponents and took a six point leading going into the final period.

France lost their way quickly in the final period and remained scoreless for almost 6 minutes as Spain put together a run of 13 points to regain the lead (55-48). Jacky Commeres called a time-out and immediately after Lawson-Wade hit a 3-pointer, but that was a close as France would get as Spain finished the game with an 8:2 run to win (63-43).


The statistic show that France picked up 20 offensive boards in this game but could only hit 37% from within the arc, what the statistics fail to show is that Valdemoro was in a class of her own tonight and with Sanchez and Pascua in support, France were out for a beating.


For Audio comments from the press conference in English


For comments in French from the French Head Coach and Edwige Lawson-Wade in addtion comments also in French from the Russian Head coach and IIona Korstin


For comments in Spanish from Sandra Dijon, Anna Montañana, Victor Lapeña and Marta Zurro



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GERMANY - Women

NT: Comforable victory for Latvia against Germany -by Leslie Anderson



Latvia controlled the pace of the match in the first period after a 6:0 run early on (8:2) and looked comfortable at the end of the first period (23-13).

Latvia went to sleep at the start of the second period and Germany took full advantage and put together an (10-0) run and tied the game (23-23) with less than 2 on the game clock with a 3-point bomb from Alexandra Muller. Latvia went back in front almost immediately on a fast break counter from Liene Jansome. The game slowed down after this and was not pretty but Germany continued to work away and took the lead (29-28) through Martine Weber and then extended their advantage from Linda Frohlich. Latvia were out of sorts but still managed to tie the game when Gunta Basko nailed a 3-point shot clock violation turnaround Jumper (She did not know the time was up and rushed the shot) Germany went into the locker room leading by one point after Frohlich split a pair of free throws.


Basko was in a hurry to get things going and with only 7 second gone, she added 2 more point to her point tally. Weber put Germany back in front again before Basko scored again and then provided a slick pass after some unselfish play Ieva Kublina to score under the basket. Latvia now on a run pushed extended their advantage (41-34) before German head coach Imre Szittya called for a time-out Nothing changed for Germany and finally halted Latvia 13:0 run when Sarah Austamann Split a pair of free throws. Gunta Basko is having a field day as Latvia go into the final period leading by 11 (48-37).



Muller scored the fast five points for her team in the final period as her team matched Latvia in the early stages of the final period but then Latvia stepped up and Germany was not in the game as they were unable to score even if the basket was left open.

Looking at the expressions on Ainars Zvirgzdins face at times you would find it difficult to believe that his side was controlling the game and had a comfortable 12 point lead (54-42) five minutes from the end. Germany finally scored a basket after Frohlick took a defensive rebound sprinted down the court and feed off to Austamann (58-44). Germany did score again but Latvia ran out comfortable winners (60-47).

).



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KOSOVO - Women

This year Women's League will have 10 teams competing -by Alban Salihu
This year Women's League will have 10 teams competing, the two new teams that will participate are Basketball School" Probasket Prishtina" and Basketball School" Vertikali"

In the edition 2006/07 in "Toyota Women's League" participated these teams: Bashkimi, Sigal Prishtina, Penza, Trepca, Vëllaznimi, Drita, Shqiponja and Kastrioti.
These teams confirmed their participation this edition as well 2007/08 which will start on October 13, 2007 whereas the drawing will be on October 5th.

Source: fbk-ks.com

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LATVIA - Women

NT: Latvia too strong for Germany (60-47) -by Leslie Anderson

Latvia controlled the pace of the match in the first period after a 6:0 run early on (8:2) and looked comfortable at the end of the first period (23-13).



Latvia went to sleep at the start of the second period and Germany took full advantage and put together an (10-0) run and tied the game (23-23) with less than 2 on the game clock with a 3-point bomb from Alexandra Muller. Latvia went back in front almost immediately on a fast break counter from Liene Jansome. The game slowed down after this and was not pretty but Germany continued to work away and took the lead (29-28) through Martine Weber and then extended their advantage from Linda Frohlich. Latvia were out of sorts but still managed to tie the game when Gunta Basko nailed a 3-point shot clock violation turnaround Jumper (She did not know the time was up and rushed the shot) Germany went into the locker room leading by one point after Frohlich split a pair of free throws.


Basko was in a hurry to get things going and with only 7 second gone, she added 2 more point to her point tally. Weber put Germany back in front again before Basko scored again and then provided a slick pass after some unselfish play Ieva Kublina to score under the basket. Latvia now on a run pushed extended their advantage (41-34) before German head coach Imre Szittya called for a time-out Nothing changed for Germany and finally halted Latvia 13:0 run when Sarah Austamann Split a pair of free throws. Gunta Basko is having a field day as Latvia go into the final period leading by 11 (48-37).


Muller scored the fast five points for her team in the final period as her team matched Latvia in the early stages of the final period but then Latvia stepped up and Germany was not in the game as they were unable to score even if the basket was left open.

Looking at the expressions on Ainars Zvirgzdins face at times you would find it difficult to believe that his side was controlling the game and had a comfortable 12 point lead (54-42) five minutes from the end. Germany finally scored a basket after Frohlick took a defensive rebound sprinted down the court and feed off to Austamann (58-44). Germany did score again but Latvia ran out comfortable winners (60-47



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LITHUANIA - Women

Lithuania beat Turkey and grabs the last spot in the Quarterfinals from Group E -by Eurobasket News
Lithuania-Turkey 67:61 (16-15, 18-15, 13-19, 20-12)

Lithuania grabbed the last ticket from Group E to qualify for the quarter-finals of the EuroBasket Women. In a win-or-die game the Baltic team overcame Turkey 67:61. Agne Ciudariene (188-F-79) led the winners with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Rima Valentiene (170-G-78) produced 12, while Lina Brazdeikyte (185-F/G-74) added 11. Nevriye Yilmaz (196-C-80) came back after a back injury and top-scored in the losing effort. She poured in 20 points and made 13 rebounds for Turkey.

Lithuania will continue the battle for the higher spot than 9th. In the last game of the group the team beat Turkey and took their place there. The Baltic team had hard time in the opening quarter but finished it with 16:15. Later on Egle Sulciute scoring eight and Lina Brazdeikyte and Milda Sauliute weighing in with seven apiece, helped the Baltic side take a 34:30 lead at the interval.

It was a good beginning of the first half when Lithuania opened up a 45:36 lead midway through the third quarter. Turkey however made a 13-2 run to stay in front after three quarters, 49:47.
The last quarter was a tough one and only in the end Lithuania grabbed the win. After 61:61 Rima Valentiene nailed a three and then Marcauskaite repeated from the arc to set up the final 67:61 score.

Lithuania: Agne Ciudariene 12+9 rebs, Rima Valentiene 12, Lina Brazdeikyte 11
Turkey: Nevriye Yilmaz 20+13 rebs, Yasemin Horasan (190-F/C-83) 11, Nilay Yigit (170-G-79) 11

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POLAND - Women

Nadezhda Orenburg wins international tournament in Brzeg -by Jakub Gieryluk

Russians from Nadezhda Orenburg gave no chances to the rivals and won the international tournament in Brzeg. Hosts - Cukierki Odra Brzeg - finished second. Third place cup went to Lodz, and the only team without win was German BBVL Eagles.

MATCHDAY 1
Nadezhda Orenburg - BBV Leipzig Eagles 74:53 (25:14, 25:11, 14:12, 10:16)
Nadezhda: Zherzherunova 14, Masilionene 12, Shakirova 12, Gorodetskaya 10, Gavrilitsa 7, Shagan 7, Yumashina 4, Gyrdymova 4, Berseneva 2, Shamanina 2.
BBVL: Maciej 15, Flaserova 11, Releford 10, Odnovolenko 8, Opel 4, Adlerova 3, Semerda 2, Arndt 0.

Cukierki Odra Brzeg - LKS Lodz 60:52 (22:15, 19:12, 8:15, 11:10)
Odra: Clyburn 14, Sanders 10, Yurlagina 10, Daniel 9, Cybulak 8, Dvorskaya 4, Kudlak 3, Pultorak 2.
LKS: Kenig 14, Wlazlak 11, Koryzna 10, Oliveira 9, Sobczyk 8, Dominauskaite 0, Wilk 0, Sazhko 0.

Cukierki Odra Brzeg - BBV Leipzig Eagles 93:61 (19:19, 27:23, 20:9, 27:10)
Odra: Cybulak 16, Kudlak 16, Clyburn 13, Sanders 13, Yurlagina 9, Pultorak 9, Dvorskaya 8, Bachryj 7, Daniel 2.
BBVL: Flaserova 21, Relefrord 11, Maciej 9, Odnovalenko 8, Adlerova 5, Arndt 3, Semerda 2, Opel 2, Kollarova 0.

LKS Lodz - Nadezhda Orenburg 54:79 (14:23, 9:14, 9:29, 22:13)
LKS: Kenig 13, Sobczyk 12, Oliveira 10, Sazhko 9, Wlazlak 3, Dominauskaite 3, Koryzna 2, Rykowska 2, Owczarek 0, Wilk 0.
Nadezhda: Gorodetskaya 16, Masilionene 13, Shakirova 12, Berseneva 9, Gaurilitsa 7, Shagan 7, Yumashina 5, Zherzherunova 5, Shamanina 4, Gyrdymova 1.

MATCHDAY 2
BBVL Lipsk - LKS Siemens AGD Lodz 51:80 (12:23, 11:22, 10:22, 18:13)
BBVL: Adlerova 15, Releford 13, Maciej 6, Flaserova 5, Opel 4, Semerda 4, Kollarova 2, Odnovolenko 2, Arndt 0.
LKS: Koryzna 16, Kenig 16, Sobczyk 13, Sazhko 11, Oliveira 8, Wlazlak 6, Owczarek 5, Dominauskaite 4, Rykowska 1, Wilk 0.

Cukierki Odra Brzeg - Nadezhda Orenburg 65:101 (25:16, 27:13, 24:23, 25:13)
Cukierki: Clyburn 18, Sanders 14, Dvorskaya 13, Cybulak 7, Daniel 5, Kudlak 4, Yurlagina 2, Pultorak 2, Bachryj 0.
Nadezhda: Gorodetskaya 17, Shamanina 16, Gavrilitsa 16, Zherzherunova 11, Yumashina 9, Shakirova 8, Shagan 7, Berseneva 6, Gyrdymova 6, Masilionene 5.

MATCHDAY 3
LKS Siemens AGD Lodz - BBVL Lipsk 85:50 (23:5, 19:18, 22:15, 21:12)
LKS: Kenig 22, Oliveira 20, Sazhko 9, Owczarek 9, Sobczyk 7, Wilk 6, Kopec 6, Rykowska 4, Koryzna 2.
BBVL: Adlerova 12, Maciej 9, Flaserova 9, Smerda 7, Opel 6, Kollarova 5, Releford 2, Odnovolenko 0.

Cukierki Odra Brzeg - Nadezhda Orenburg 58:76 (13:12, 13:29, 15:19, 17:16)
Cukierki: Sanders 22, Dvorskaya 11, Yurlagina 9, Clyburn 7, Cybulak 5, Pultorak 3, Kudlak 1, Daniel 0.
Nadezhda: Masilionene 12, Gavrilitsa 9, Shamanina 9, Zherzherunova 12, Yumashina 7, Sagan 7, Gorodetskaya 6, Gyrdymova 6, Berseneva 4, Shakirova 4.



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PUERTO RICO - Women

Blue Teams wins All Star Game 2007 and new trades for BSF 2007 -by Alessandro Fontana
The All Star Game 2007 was spectacular, exciting and fun! The Blue team won 65-55 against Red Team. One of the best player of the game was Ashley Anderson with 16 points (8/13 2pts; 0/2 FT) in 22 minutes. To mention also the game of Ashley Bush with 8 points and 18 rebounds in 22 minutes.
BLUE TEAM-READ TEAM=65-55
B= Anderson 16, Quiles 10, Escalera 9, Bush 8, Clinesmith 8, Drinks 7, Willis 4, De la Cruz 2, Emanuelli 1, Colon 0
R= Rodriguez 15, Villegas 13, Guerra 9, Tapia 6, Williams 5, Leon 2, Ya. Cabrera 2, Yo. Cabrera 0, Santos 0, Colon ne

BSF 2007:
It is time of trades in BSF. Valencianas de Juncos had a trade with Guaynabo, Juncos received Rodsan Rodriguez and Guyanabo Lisa Baez a "young boricua" with a great future. Gigantes de Carolina signs Zulmarie Andino and Coralys Ortiz. Denise Frohman goes to Arecibo and Carolinas obtains from Arecibo his rights to choose at the Second Round of the BSF Draft 2008. Joseline Quiles signs for Arecibo, Isabela obtains from Arecibo his rights to choose at the First Round of the BSF Draft 2008.
These was the results of last week:
Caguas-Guaynabo= 83-81 (C= Rodriguez 26, Santiago 20+12 rebs, McCollin 17; G= Villegas 20, Williams 15)
Morovis-Isabela= 83-51 (M= Denson 23+12 rebs, Colon 14, Mendez 11; I= Segui 19, Bush 17+21 rebs)
Arecibo- Juncos= 49-79 (A= Quiles 28, Drinks 8+26rebs; J= Gay 21, Jaime 14, Guerra 11)
Carolina- Ponce= 69-60 (C= Anderson 23+16rebs, escalera 18, De la Cruz 11; P= Colon 21, Green 16+20rebs)
A. Fontana

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TURKEY - Women

Lithuania beat Turkey and grabs the last spot in the Quarterfinals from Group E -by Eurobasket News
Lithuania-Turkey 67:61 (16-15, 18-15, 13-19, 20-12)

Lithuania grabbed the last ticket from Group E to qualify for the quarter-finals of the EuroBasket Women. In a win-or-die game the Baltic team overcame Turkey 67:61. Agne Ciudariene (188-F-79) led the winners with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Rima Valentiene (170-G-78) produced 12, while Lina Brazdeikyte (185-F/G-74) added 11. Nevriye Yilmaz (196-C-80) came back after a back injury and top-scored in the losing effort. She poured in 20 points and made 13 rebounds for Turkey.

Lithuania will continue the battle for the higher spot than 9th. In the last game of the group the team beat Turkey and took their place there. The Baltic team had hard time in the opening quarter but finished it with 16:15. Later on Egle Sulciute scoring eight and Lina Brazdeikyte and Milda Sauliute weighing in with seven apiece, helped the Baltic side take a 34:30 lead at the interval.

It was a good beginning of the first half when Lithuania opened up a 45:36 lead midway through the third quarter. Turkey however made a 13-2 run to stay in front after three quarters, 49:47.
The last quarter was a tough one and only in the end Lithuania grabbed the win. After 61:61 Rima Valentiene nailed a three and then Marcauskaite repeated from the arc to set up the final 67:61 score.

Lithuania: Agne Ciudariene 12+9 rebs, Rima Valentiene 12, Lina Brazdeikyte 11
Turkey: Nevriye Yilmaz 20+13 rebs, Yasemin Horasan (190-F/C-83) 11, Nilay Yigit (170-G-79) 11