EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 5/29/2007

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Men News

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ADRIATIC LEAGUE

Five Serbian teams for Adriatic league 2007-2008 are known -by Dragan Jankovski
Two rounds before the end of Superleague participants of Adriatic league 2007-2008 from Serbia are already known. Current champs of regional championship Partizan will have a chance to defend title. Crvena Zvezda, Hemofarm, FMP and Vojvodina Srbijagas, who insured fifth position in Superleague, will represent Serbia next year in Adriatic league.


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ARGENTINA

Boca jrs. one game away from the title -by Facundo Iatzky
Boca Juniors Capital Feder defeated Penarol Mar del Plata Buenos Aires 66-58 and now have a 3-2 lead. The finals will continue on Tuesday in La Bombonerita.

A great game from Raymundo Legaria (178-G-80) and Lazaro Borrell (202-F-72, agency: Interperformances) was the key to beat Peñarol. The team from Mar del Plata had a 50-46 lead in the final quarter but Borrell tied the game at 50 with four ley free throws.

After that it was all defense for Boca as they stopped Josh Pittman (197-F-76, college: NC-Asheville) and Jason Osborne.

Boca obtained an early 25-12 lead but Peñarol responded thanks to Pittman and Paco Festa leveled the game.

Raymundo Legaria led Boca with 17 and Gustavo Orona (196-G-75) had 15.

In a losing effort Josh Pittman netted 18 points.


Peñarol (58): Sebastian Rodriguez 9 (x), Juan Manuel Locatelli 7, Josh Pittman 18, Jason Osborne 5, Gabriel Mikulas 8 (St), Sebastian Festa 6, Jose Muruaga 3, Alejandro Diez 2, Marcos Mata 0, Matias Pellettieri 0, Fernando Calvi 0. coach: Carlos Romano.

Boca Juniors (66): Raymundo Legaria 17, Gustavo Orona 15, Jamal Robinson 10, Leonardo Gutierrez 10, Martin Leiva 2 (St), Lazaro Borrell 8, Leandro Palladino 0, Luis Cequeira 4. coach: Gabriel Piccato.

Source: fibaamericas.com

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AUSTRALIA

U19: Ben Louis injuried -by Gauthier Gerard
Australia U19 men side left today for a two-weeks tour in France, the team will play in the Douai Tournament next week against France, Germany, Israel, Lithuania and USA. Guard Ben Louis (190-G-88) had to withdraw from the team due to a wrist injury, he will be replace by Clint Steindl (196-G-89) for this tour. He will be out for 4 weeks, hopefully Ben Louis will be able to play in the upcoming U19 World Championships.

NBL: Gold Coast signs Tyson Demos and Daniel Joyce -by Gauthier Gerard
National Basketball League team Gold Coast Blaze has drawn on some extremely promising talent in the form of teenagers and long-time teammates Daniel Joyce (194-G-87) and Tyson Demos (190-G-88) to complement their already stellar line-up. Straight out of a solid 2006/07 rookie season with the Wollongong Hawks as a back-up point, Joyce continues to impress in the Waratah League, averaging 20 points and 7 assists per game. Joyce won the Golden Hands and most assists awards in last year's Waratah competition.
source: NBL media

Demos will return from injury to play for the AIS in one week, before beginning his rookie NBL season with Gold Coast Blaze. The pair have played basketball together since they were 10, were teammates in the gold medal-winning team in the U20 Australian Championship last year coached by Razorbacks mentor Rob Beveridge and are ecstatic to be taking the court together as part of Gold Coast Blaze for its inaugural season.
“We have developed a thorough knowledge of each other's game and we're familiar with where the other's strengths and weaknesses lie,” Dan Joyce said. “It's such a huge opportunity to come up to the Gold Coast and join the team for their inaugural season…. As a young player with one season in the NBL under my belt, I feel really honoured to be joining a team of such high-calibre players and coaching staff that will continue to develop our game to a higher level,” he said.
Tyson Demos said he was equally honoured to be starting his NBL career with Blaze.
“I'm ecstatic to be commencing my NBL career and it's an absolute privilege to be starting on a fresh new team with so many experienced players, coaches and management staff on board,” Demos said. “I think Dan and I will bring that freshness and raw enthusiasm to the team…we will be ready to absorb everything the more experienced teammates and coaches pass on. Having said that, Dan played in the NBL last season and had around a 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio for his rookie season. I'm a shooting guard and currently on the National under-nineteen squad, so we definitely have a lot to bring to the team,” he added.

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AUSTRIA

OEBL, Finals, Game 1 -by Cueneyt Tuerk

Game 1 of the Austrian Basketball League best-of-five series started yesterday as defeating champion Allianz Swans Gmunden blew out Gunners Oberwart 85-66, on the home floor, Volksbank-Arena in Gmunden. Ian Boylan (198-G/F-83, agency: Passing Lane, college: Cal.St. Northridge) led the winners with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Deteri Mayes (189-G-74, agency: Court Side, college: Murray St.) added 18 points. Adam Boone (190-G-81, college: Minnesota) finished with 20 points and Armond Williams (196-F/C-82, college: Illinois-Chicago) with 14 points for the Oberwart Gunners. Williams heated up early in the first quarter as Oberwart took a 15-17 advantage but the Swans stepped up the second quarter, Oberwart reacted with Williams and Boone but couldn't manage to close the period/halftime for their side (40-37). Gmunden raised their level of defensive intensity, causing the visitors to struggle and allowed them 15 points while scoring 25 to raise the difference to 65-52, after 30 minutes, Gmunden never looked back in last quarter and controlled the game and Oberwarts attempts to close the gap.

Allianz Swans Gmunden (85): Ian Boylan 25, Deteri Mayes 18, Peter Hutter 12, Blake Hamilton 8, Florian Schoninger 8, Andreas Helmigk 6, Mathias Mayer 3, Kristjan Splajt 3, Bojan Barjaktarevic 2, Thomas Stelzer 0, Johannes Kienesberger 0

Macabido Gunners Oberwart (66): Adam Boone 20, Armond Williams 14, Hannes Artner 10, Cory Muirhead 8, Hannes Ochsenhofer 6, Jason Johnson 4, Tomislav Gaspar 2, Christoph Nagler 2, Ivan Kartelo 0, Paul Radakovics 0, Stefan Ulreich 0

(15:17, 40:37, 65:52)

..................................................................................................

Oberwart will host Game 2 and will try make it as hard as possible for the Swans on Thursday, 31-05-2007.



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CBA

Owner of CBA team still sold on city -by Eurobasket News
By Darnell Mayberry
Staff Writer
Despite numerous failed attempts to secure a home arena for the Oklahoma Cavalry, majority team owner Baron Hopgood remains committed to bringing the Continental Basketball Association back to Oklahoma.

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, however, doesn't think Hopgood's goal is in line with the city's best interests.

"I think our market feels like it's moved on and would not support minor league basketball,” Cornett said. "I felt that way with the (NBA Developmental) League and feel that way now. I'm just not interested in trying to encourage them.

"I think at this point, we're a proven NBA city and we need to show patience and wait for an NBA franchise.”

The New Orleans Hornets, temporarily based here for two years after Hurricane Katrina, enjoyed two wildly successful seasons while playing at the Ford Center. Their success has fueled the belief that Oklahoma City is a viable major league market. Now, an Oklahoma based business group led by Clay Bennett has purchased the Seattle SuperSonics and could potentially move the franchise to Oklahoma at the end of the 2007-08 season.

In the meantime, Hopgood, chairman of the Calvary and managing partner of Hopell Enterprises, LLC, is trying to bring the Cavs back to Oklahoma after a 10-year absence. But team owners ran into a snag last Thursday when an arena deal with Oklahoma City University for the use of its 3,500-seat Abe Lemons Arena fell through.

Even though the Cavalry officially announced they would use the facility at a press conference, OCU officials said the two sides had not reached an agreement. School officials cited concerns for the facility's ability to accommodate the Cavalry's 24-game home schedule while satisfying its athletic programs and student body.

Hopgood, however, said the team has moved on and is now in talks with other area venues. Hopgood said he expects to have an arena deal finalized within the next two weeks.

"We're going to tip ball in November,” Hopgood insisted. "We're in talks now trying to secure another venue. We think it was not done professionally how OCU did things, but we understand their position and their concern. But we're committed to the cause, we're committed to the community and bringing great basketball to the city until the NBA comes back.”

CBA officials claimed OCU backed out of the deal after learning that troubled former NBA star Micheal Ray Richardson would be the team's coach. Richardson played eight NBA seasons but was banned from the league twice for drug abuse. While coach of the CBA's Albany Patroons on March 27, he was quoted as saying, "I've got big-time Jew lawyers,” remarks that some called anti-Semitic.

An investigation into the incident last month by the CBA found Richardson innocent of any wrongdoing and allowed him to continue coaching without sanctions.

But CBA officials also accused Cornett of attempting to blackball the league from returning. Although Cornett has no jurisdiction over OCU, a private institution, the Cavalry also failed in previous attempts to reach agreements with three public buildings — the Ford Center, Cox Convention Center and State Fair Arena.
Courtesy of:http://newsok.com

NBA Wire Notes | Oden in Portland talking shoes -by Eurobasket News
NBA Wire Notes | Oden in Portland talking shoes
By Seattle Times news services

PORTLAND — Greg Oden (7'0''-C-88) 's welcome-to-Portland moment came at 10,000 feet, when the man sitting next to him on an airplane opened his window shade.

"He opened it up and I saw a mountain with snow on it," Oden said, referring to a view of Mount Hood. "I've never seen that, until now."

Oden, one of the most sought-after college players to enter the NBA draft, stands a good chance of seeing more of Mount Hood if the Portland Trail Blazers do what many expect: Select the 7-footer with the first overall pick in the June 28 draft.

It had been less than 24 hours since the Blazers, and Oden, learned that Portland won the draft lottery for the right to pick first; but already, Oden found himself in Portland.

Long before the draft lottery results were announced Tuesday, Oden had agreed to fly to Portland to spend two days meeting with Nike representatives about a possible shoe contract.

Oden said the coincidence of his Portland visit the day after the Blazers won the lottery hadn't struck him yet, even as people at the airport snapped photos of him with their cellphones. One man went as far as to shout, "Greg, you are in the right place!"

"I haven't thought about it, to be honest," Oden said, his voice soft and his smile easy. "The lottery happened yesterday, so it's been crazy. I'm still like, 'Wow.' "

Notes

• Chicago Bulls assistant Jim Boylan is the latest coach in the mix for the Indiana Pacers' job.

• Micheal Ray Richardson, a former NBA player whose anti-Semitic comments drew a suspension from the CBA, was hired as coach of the Oklahoma City team.

• Former NBA player Henry Charles James, 41, was sentenced to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to selling crack cocaine in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Courtesy of:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com

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CHILE

Centro-Sur: sunday night results -by Daniel Valencia
These are the complete results of sunday night.

Villa Moderna 99 - Universidad de Chile 73
Vil: Felipe Ziegele (178-G-80) 35 pts. / Uch: Juan Cristobal Tejeda 23 pts.

Union Los Andes 62 - Deportivo Aleman 79
And: Victor Venegas (197-C-79) 20 pts. / Ale: Pablo Yañez 20 pts.

Concepcion 72 - Puente Alto 77
Con: Jorge Vasquez (185-G-86) 21 pts. / Pal: Felipe Valenzuela (190-G/F-81) 24 pts.

Centro-Sur: Standings -by Daniel Valencia
Center Group

1.Universidad Catolica 7-2
2. Boston College 7-1
3. Liceo Mixto 7-1
4. Villa Moderna 3-5
5. Sagrados Corazones 3-5
6. Universidad de Las Americas 1-6
7. Universidad de Chile 0-8

South Group

1. Universidad de Concepcion 7-0
2. Puente Alto 5-2
3. Deportivo Aleman 4-3
4. Universidad Autonoma 3-3
5. Concepcion 1-6
6. Union Los Andes 0-6

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CHINA

Qing Dao play for summer league -by Robert Wang
Qing Dao has played for their summer league last month and they had pass the first round and would play for the second round next month. they will set their home gym in Qing Dao University where they had played there for many years. There is still no info. saying that if any teams need any imports for their summer league.

Wang Lei, Liu Xiaoyu and Ding Jinghui Promoted to Team A -by Arthur Volbert
Jonas Kauslauskas has promoted Wang Lei (200-F-86) Liu Xiaoyu (193-G-89) and Ding Jinghui (204-C-90) to team A of China's national team. Yang Ming and Han Shuo have been dropped from team A to team B. Gong Songlin and Wang Yong have been sent packing and are returning to their CBA club teams. Wang Lei Liu Xiaoyu and Ding Jinghui were the three best players in team B's victories over team A so the games do have meaning.

Wang Lei has long been considered a top prospect as a perimeter scorer, but was with a very bad Shanxi Yujun team. The team's only import, God Shammgod, was also primarily a backcourt scorer and their talents were not compatible. Wang is now showing his worth when surrounded by an effective supporting cast.

Liu Xiaoyu, who excelled at the American Nike camp last summer, may be China's best young pure point guard. Chen Jianghua is more of an offensive-minded combo guard. The Olympic team will be built around Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian and Wang Zhizhi. Liu might be the best guard to feed the ball to them, though Chen could still make the team to provide instant offense off the bench.

Ding Jinghui may be China's best young prospect since Yi Jianlian. He is now listed as having been born in 1990, but the first listing I have of him, from the 2005 Adidas camp, has him born in 1989. Ding, at 6-9, is an excellent three-point shooter, unlike Li Xiaoxu. He might therefore see time at small forward or could play power forward if the lineup goes small. If Ding continues to develop he could see major minutes at the Olympics and he could one day have an NBA career.

Yang Ming and Han Shuo, while both still promising youngsters, have moved down a notch on the Chinese pecking order. Yang started his CBA career with 40-point games in 2005, but Liaoning lost many of those contests. Yang then was injured and has not been as productive since. Han is still promising but not as promising as Liu.

Gong Songlin was once considered to be China's most talented shooting guard prospect but he is injury-prone and this has cost him. Wang Yong is a good shooter but likely too one-dimensional to excel at the international level.

I would like to thank pryuen of www.yaomingmania.com/forum/index.php for information contributing to this article.

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CYPRUS

Head coach Vasilis Fragias will remain one more year at Keravnos -by Erodotos Miltiadous

Vasilis Fragias and Keravnos have come to an agreement and the Greek coach will continue for another season as head coach of the Strovolos team.

According to the Keravnos official site (www.keravnosbc.com) the respect coach decided to turn down the offers he had from Greek A1 team Kolossos Rhodes and other interested parties and to remain in Cyprus.



Cyprus beat Jordan 72-69 in the second Amman friendly -by Erodotos Miltiadous
Cyprus improved their game and 24 hours later they beat Jordan 72-69 (Sunday 27/5) in the second friendy game in Amman. No stats were kept from the match but according to the Cyprus Federation official site, all internationals played well. Andreas Sizopoulos (189-G-83) didn't play after spraining his finger during the Saturday friendly.

The preparation for the Games of Small States of Europe is going well with a week remaining until the trip to Monaco. Jo Jo Garcia is expected to join the squad when the NT arrives in Cyprus on Monday (28/5).

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DOMINICAN REP.

Los Minas Wins Regular Season -by Herubey Grassals

In the first matchup of afternoon, Los Minas had greater dominion of the ball to dominate itself Naco with 93-89 board, in a game of much movement in which Naco desperately fought to give reach to the equipment of the Eastern margin, conscious of the importance of that game for its aspirations of classifying.

Nevertheless, Los Minas had four players with double numbers and registered an impermeable defense to neutralize Naco.

Los Minas went to the rest arrives in the board 41-39 and since it initiated the third quarter, Naco implemented a fast game but its lack security made him lose several balls at important moments, which was taken advantage by Los Minas.

Whenever Naco approached, the players of Los Minas seemed to put an extra and with the push of Andy Williams (195-G/F-80, agency: Court Side) (195-G/F-80, agency: Court Side), Alberto Ozuna, Carlos Martinez and Andy William they could obtain the triumph.

Several baskets of Carlos Martinez and Andy Williams at the beginning of the last quarter returned to increase the advantage of Los Minas 72-59, but Naco returned to against attacking and with a distance of three of Dominic Mejia, reducing 5:19 it put to Naco 75-71 and soon reducing 1:10 to conclude the game, Luis Flores (188-G-81, college: Manhattan) it placed a dangerous basket and it put the game 84-87, nevertheless, two free throws of Fortune, Ozuna and Martinez in the final seconds sealed the victory of Los Minas.

Naco had many possibilities of reaching Los Minas, but their main gunners, Amaury Filion (206-C/F-81) and Luis Flores, fell in the second half of the game.

Villa Duarte Wins
By his side, in the second game of the double header of yesterday, Calero of Villa Duarte won of comfortable way 94-77 to Villa Francisca to follow his firm steps towards the classification.

Calero had four players who had double numbers to dominate themselves Villa Francisca of comfortable way.Damian McSwing and Wilkin Tavarez had 19 points each to motorize the offensive of Calero, who like Naco has mark of 4 wins and five lost.

Villa Duarte dominated first half of the game that concluded 51-39 and in all the passage of the game front to the Villa Francisca conserved a prudent distance.

The directed by Santo Tolentino will play next Friday againts Los Minas and to classify has to their favor that their particular series dominates with Naco by five points.



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FRANCE

Pro B : Choquet for 2 seasons at Le Portel -by Aurelien Hipp
*Edouard Choquet (187-G-88) was the youngest player in N1 this season and one of the most talented one. He signed a 2-season contract with Le Portel, newcomer in ProB. Choquet was selected for the N1 All-star game and posted 15pts.

NM1: The Showdown -by Chris Spiesser
A new season is over for our NM1, everything was already decided but here are the last results:

CFBB 89-86 Toulouges
Challans 98-76 Longwy
Lievin 83-70 Le Portel
Charleville 93-78 GET Vosges
Vanves 61-85 Fos
St-Chamond 86-78 St-Vallier
Bordeaux 95-60 Feurs
Lille 67-85 Bayonne
SAPELA 101-82 Trappes (21pts, 25rbs, 17ass by Joe Williams on the french federation website... statistical wonder or computer bug??)

St-Vallier and Le Portel will join ProB while Vanves, SAPELA, Bayonne and Trappes are relegated to NM2.

In the lower division Final 4 that was held in St-Vallier, last Saturday, Andrezieux and Boulogne won their semi-finals and are the 2 happy promoted teams.
Andrezieux 84-79 Prisse-Mâcon (27pts, 11rbs - Wayne Morris)
Boulogne 90-82 Blois (32pts - Aude Pierre-Joseph and 16pts, 14rbs - Herve Jalce)

Final:
Andrezieux 89-84 Boulogne (Cherasse: 21pts)
3rd Place
Blois 98-89 Prisse-Mâcon

Besides this Final 4, St-Vallier held also the traditionnal NM1 All-Star game. The first team (A) was componed by players from the best three teams (St-VAllier, Le Portel, Charleville). They were facing a selection of players of the 15 other teams B Team). Finally, the A team won... 106-100 and Camille Delhorbe (191-G-80) (17pts, 7stl) won the MVP Trophy! Joe Williams brings the Slam-Dunk contest back to Salon and Delhorbe maintains the 3pts trophy in the neighbourhood.

And the Golden Palm of NM1, the MVP trophy of the season goes to... Renaud Brocheray (201-F-80). Congratulations, Mr Brocheray... in a few days you'll read the Eurobasket.com awards.

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GERMANY

Radulovic from Kaiserslautern to Essen -by Daniel Poerschke
Point Guard Marko Radulovic (188-G-80) moves from the 2. Bundesliga south runner up and future Pro A league team 1. FC Kaiserslautern to ETB SW Essen of the 1. Regionalliga West. Radulovic played already under new Essen Head Coach Igor Krizanovic and Manager Markus Horn in Herten two years ago.

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GREECE

Play offs: Phase 2 - Panathianikos swept Panionios and Aris beat Olympiakos 81-71 (2-1) -by Chris Mammides
Panathinaikos without the injured Becirovic beat Panionios (without Andre Hutson) 85-67 and fulfilled the series with 3-0. Panathinaikos has now the unbelievable record of 15-0 the last two years in the Play offs (2005-2006, 10-0, 2006-2007, 5-0)
Having in great day Hadzivretas who finished the game with season's high (17 points) Panathinaikos didn't face any problems in the third game against Panionios since the major element of Pavicevic's team, the American Hutson missed the game due to the fact that he became father and traveled to the States so as to be with his wife an his new delivered baby.
Arslan was in his worst day since he joined the Nea Smyrni's team and with 0/7 three pointers he couldn't help his team, on the other hand, Siskauskas, Dikoudis and Hatzivretas were in a good shape and especially the last one was on fire, his performance was perfect since in 23 minutes he scored 17 points with 2/2 free throws, 6/6 two's and 1/1 three's moreover, he grabbed 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. His TENDEX was 0.976 and he touched the excellence.
Panionios played very well too; he fight until the end of the game, coach Pavicevic tried with his best not to loose with respect but to win the game, especially at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth he brought the deficit to a single number (8 points) with continuous unanswered baskets from Perperoglou (5 points), Dragoljevic (4 points) and for a moment gave the impression that he would have had a better result at the end but….. Dikoudis with a three pointer! And Dragoljevic with two free throws missed, brought the game back to scratch as the deficit became 15 points and actually finished all Panionios's hopes for something better than a loss with 18 points. The quarters were: 30-14, 48-35, 68-52 and the final 85-67
Panionios had with double digits Dragoljevic with 18, Dojcin 12 and Kafkis 10 while Panathinaikos apart of Hadzivretas great performance, Dikoudis and Siskauskas scored 11 and 10 respectively

In Alexandreion Melathron, Aris beat Olympiakos with 10 points, 81-71 and now needs a road win in Peace and Friendship Stadium, in Athens to proceed in the finals for the first time after sixteen years!! Gershon used all his players apart of Schortsianitis while during the game he used 29 different “squads” in order to find the perfect one, which he didn't as Coach Mazzon with his only 14 “squads” and his two Greek guards being the among the most valuable equipment (Tsaldaris and Iliadis) Jeremiah Massey (202-F-82, college: Kansas St.) and Wilkinson were an outstanding duo and were able to beat all their red opponents, Jeremiah scored 20 points while he dashed down 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 36 minutes while Wilkinson scored 15 points, dashed down 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. The quarters were: 23-13, 44-28, 62-48 and the final 81-71. Aris didn't face ane real problems against Gershon's team while from the red team their top scorer (four days earlier) Domercant finished the game with 0 points in 14 minutes! Top scorer for the Reds was Scoonie Penn with 18 points but he was all alone as the only other player from Olympiakos with double digits was Macijauskas with 13 points but most of them were from the charity line…. The yellows received the best feasible game from their three Greek guards as even Panteliadis scored 5 points and grabbed 2 rebounds in the 6 minutes he played while Savas Iliadis scored 15 points with 3 assists and 3 steals in 21 points and Tsaldaris scored 14 points with 3 assists and 1 steal, Terrell Castle scored only 2 points but he gave 8 assists and 3 steals while his defense over Penn, Harisis and Papamakarios respectively was heroic. The Lithuanian of Aris, Simonas Serapinas with his 7 points and his good defense over his compatriot Macijauskas, together with his four steals was among the most valuable player. The American power forward Jeremiah Massey was the MVP of the game.
Next game will take place next Wednesday.

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INDONESIA

Indonesian NT whips Singapore 89-67; hopes to do well in the Asian championship -by Hector Santos

Indonesia proved its place in the coming FIBA Asia Men's Championship by notching its third win this time against Singapore (89-67) of the just concluded 7th Southeast Asia Basketball Association Men's Championship.

Parading with a win loss record of 3-1, Indonesian five suffered its only defeat at the hands of mighty Philippines (85-49). Philippines, which swept all of its assignment with an average winning margin of 38 points, won the championship and the other berth for the Asian championship to be held in Tokushima, Japan.

Runner-up finish in this tournament and a spot in the Asian championship will assure that the Indonesian five will go to the coming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games basketball tournament which will also be held in Thailand.

Indonesia participated in the 2005 FIBA Asia championship in Doha Qatar with a 0-3 record against Asian power opponents Qatar, Japan and Kazakhstan in the preliminary rounds.

With Satria Muda Britama's Ronny Gunawan (current Indonesian Basketball League (IBL) Most Valuable Player) in his peak, the Indonesian five will try to improve their showing in this year's Asian championship and notch the gold medal in the coming SEA Games.



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ITALY

Serie A Quartefinals Game 5 -by Stefano Pini
Vidivici Bologna is the last team qualified for semifinal in Serie A. Game 5 was balanced for a half (43-41) but, since the 3rd quarter, Bologna took a good advantage. Virtus had 5 players in double figure. Fabio Di Bella (187-G-78) had 14 points in 17'. For Biella 32 points (16+16) combined for Reece Gaines (198-G-81, college: Louisville) and Jamel Thomas (198-F/G-76, agency: Priority Sports, college: Providence). Vidivici will play Euroleague after 5 years.
VidiVici BO-Angelico BI 89-72 (aggregate 3-2)

Atripladi is the new Benetton's GM -by Stefano Pini
Marco Atripaldi is the new Benetton Treviso's General Manager. Atripaldi had worked at Pallacanestro Biella for 13 years, since the team was in Serie B2. In these years at Biella Atripaldi had discovered and valorized several talents: Michael Batiste (203-F-77, college: Arizona St.), Joseph Blair (208-C/F-74, college: Arizona), Antonio Granger (198-G-76, college: Boston Coll.), Thabo Sefolosha (196-G-84, agency: ACMT) and, in this season, Erik Daniels (204-G/F-82, college: Kentucky).

Lega2-Finals game-1 -by Gabriele Fioretti
At the end of an exciting and thirlling match, Chris Monroe (191-G-81, college: George Washington) (18 scored) scored the buzzer beater that gave success to Pavia at Pesaro (Rodney White (206-F-80, college: Charlotte) 13+11 and Samuele Podesta (203-F/C-76) at 18+9), playing the last 30 minutes without Michael Hicks (193-G-76, college: Texas A&M - C.C.). The result of the match was decided by a turnover by Carlton Myers (192-G-71, agency: World Sport Agency) (26 pts in 26'), with the great support had for Pavia from Maximiliano Stanic (178-G-78, agency: Players Group) (13 scored and 5 assist, included the last for the winning shot of Chris Monroe), Jeremy Veal (191-G-76, agency: SportsTalent, college: Arizona St.) (25 pts, 11/16 from the field) and Nkechi Ezugwu (203-C/F-76, agency: SportsTalent, college: E.Michigan) (12 pts and 9 rebs). Now game-2 will be played on tuesday 29th still at Pesaro.
Pesaro-Pavia 82-83 (Pavia leads 1-0)
http://www.legaduebasket.it/game/?id=1703

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KAZAKHSTAN

Qualification games for Asian Championship, middle Asia zone. -by Yevgeniy Issakov
Kazakhstan National Team came to Colombo to start the Asia Championship Qualification games, middle Asia zone.
There is three team participate in this tournament: Sri Lanka NT, India NT and Kazakhstan NT.
Today, in first game Kazakhstan NT won Sri Lanka NT with impressive final score 115:54.

Kazakhstan vs. Sri Lanka 115:54
Kazakhstan: Evstigneev 22pts, Ponomarev 19pts, Yargaliev 15pts, Korovnikov 13pts, Nechaev 13pts, Tyutuynik 13pts.

Tomorow Kazakhstan will play with India NT.

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LEBANON

Dragan Raca very close to take over as head coach of Lebanon NT -by Mohammed Malas
Dragan Raca is very close to take over as head coach of the Lebanon National Team. The Serbian-Cypriot agreed terms with the neighboring countries basketball association with coach Raca waiting to see if the Lebanese internationals playing in the States will join the roster a head of the 2008 Olympic qualifiers. If the players who play abroad join the Lebanese NT then Dragan Raca will sign his contract and make the trip to the country to take over the team.

Dragan Raca spoke to eurobasket.com and said that he agreed with the Lebanese federation but awaits to see if the squad will feature a full roster in front of the Asian Championship regional qualifiers and the Asian Championship it self which will take place in Japan at the end of July.

If everything goes well with the roster then Dragan Raca will travel to Lebanon on June 1st to start preparation for the Beijing 2008 qualifiers.

Besides Lebanon, coach Raca had a proposition from the Syrian federation to take over the NT but he preferred the Lebanon option since he knows the players following his one season spell at Lebanon champions Saggese.

Lebanon will compete in the Arab tournament which serves as a qualifier to the Asian Championship. At the end of July, if Lebanon qualifies, they will make the trip to Japan to compete in the Asian Championship. One team will qualify to the Olympics alongside hosts China. If Lebanon fails to qualify to the Olympics through the Asian Championship, then a second chance will be given in the 12 team World tournament in the summer of 2008.

Besides Dragan Raca , Greek Elias Zouros was linked for the Lebanon job but the officials at the nearby country would prefer Dragan Raca over the Racing Pari coach.

Dragan Raca was asked by eurobasket.com if he will remain as head coach of APOEL of Cyprus. The Serbian-Cypriot said that he never thought of leaving APOEL and when he returns from Lebanon on August 5th he will start planning the new season of the Cypriot league.

If the tense situation in Lebanon worries him, Dragan Raca said he was assured that in Beirut no fighting is happening since all the conflicts are in Tripoli. Anyway, he said, the team will be abroad for the games and won't remain a long time in Lebanon.

Erodotos Miltiadous

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MALAYSIA

Malaysia finished third places in 2007 SEABA after defeated by Philippines -by Chong Jzen

(28 may 2007) Malaysia is confirmed cannot achieve their target set before the begining of the SEABA( at least get silver) after beat by Philippines. The strongest Philippines is trash Malaysia NT by 102-72 in Sunday to lock the Champion for this competition. Malaysia NT is have a good opening in this game, but the filipino is quikly recover their form after shooter Renren Ritualo(188-G) is get 5 3-point in the second quarter to have a run of 32-17 to finish 53-36 in the half time.

In third quarter, Ritualo is still having a good performance to lead the filipinos have a easy win over the game against Malaysia NT, Ritualo get 27 points in this game by putting in 9 3-point.Malaysia NT captain Satyaseelan is still keep his performance in this game by score 23 points and Overseas Guganeswarran have 14 points in this game as well.

Malaysia NT head coach SIm Sin Heng is satisfied with his players overall performance however unbale to complete the mission. He said "the players is not give up even with the bad situation, i know the players was put all their effort to the competition, so i cannot require them to do more than it, now our next mission is get silver in SEA game host by thailand in December".

To conclude the overall performance for Malaysia in 7th SEABA, Satyaseelan(185-F-78) is the most outstanding player for the NT by his average point per game 17.5. Beside that, Guganeswarran(180-G-83) and Chai Chze Hian(180-G-83) is respectively get 10 points and 9.75 points per game. If without any surprise, Malaysia will get 3rd place for the 7th SEABA.

Malaysia V Philippines

19-21,36-53,51-75,72-102

Malaysia: Satyaseelan 23pts, Guganeswarran 14pts, Koh 10 pts, Chai 8pts, Chee 7pts, Soo 6pts, Chan 2pts, Ng 2pts

Philippines : Ritualo 27pts (3pt FG 9-12), Caguioa 20pts, Seigle 14pts, Tauvala 9 pts, Alapag 9pts, Helterbrand 7pts, Pennisi 6pts, De Ocampo 4pts, Villanueva 4pts, Canaleta 2 pts



*****************************************************
NBA

Spurs Take Series Lead -by Michael Moten
In a very physical game 4, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz 91 - 79 to take a 3 - 1 Western Conference Finals series lead.

The first half was fast paced with the Spurs pushing tempo behind excellent interior defense by Tim Duncan (6'10''-F-76, college: Wake Forest) (19 points 9 rebounds). With Tony Parker (6'0''-G-80) getting to the bucket on dribble penetration early and often, setting up teammates and getting to the foul line. San Antonio led by eight after 24 minutes, 50 - 42.

Utah would narrow the margin in the third quarter with point guard Deron Williams (6'3''-G-84, college: Illinois) (27 points 10 assists) continuing his excellent decision making leading the Jazz back within two points. But with Manu Ginobli (22 points), netting 16 fourth quarter points and excellent half-court defense San Antonio pulled out the hard fought win. Utah lost their composer down the stretch leading to two late game ejections of Dereck Fischer and Head Coach Jerry Sloan.

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NEW ZEALAND

Julie Ofsoski topscores for Frankston in SEABL -by Eurobasket News
Without the services of Tall Fern Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe the Frankston Lady Blues suffered a whipping defeat from Tasmania Thunder in SEABL action. Losing consequently all four frames the Lady Blues had to face unpleasant 55:81 scoreline at the end of this one. Kiwi Julie Ofsoski (180-F-73) logged 14 minutes for Frankston in a loss. She managed 8 points (4/7 FG), 3 rebounds and 1 steal. In the next game Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe was back however it brought no positive result. Frankston suffered a 62:91 loss to Ballarat Lady Miners at home. Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe scored 14 points (5/16 FG, 2/7 3pt, 2/2 FT), grabbed 3 rebounds and dished out 2 assists in 40 minutes of action. Julie Ofsoski led Frankston in scoring with 21 points (6/15 FG, 9/11 FT). She also collected 6 boards, made 4 assists and 2 steals in 25 minutes. Frankston fell to 3-14 record and occupy the last spot in the ladder. They will next take on Kilsyth Lady Cobras on June 2.
Meanwhile Launceston Tornadoes posted a confident victory over Tasmania Thunder 101:86. Lisa Pardon chipped in 19 points (6/20 FG, 1/4 3pt, 6/7 FT), grabbed 7 rebounds and made 5 assists in 37 minutes on the court. Launceston improved to 7-9 record and the 7th spot in the ladder. They will next face Bendigo Lady Braves on June 1.
Kiwi Charmain Purcell (180-G/F-79) was sidelined with an ACL injury and is doubtful for the rest of the season in the Waratah Basketball League. Her Parramatta Wildacats already invited Kiwi Tiani Epati to substitute an injured forward.

Breakers bolster Academy team -by Eurobasket News
Key members of the New Zealand Breakers basketball team will bolster the club's Academy team for their match against Washington State University at the Trusts Stadium in Waitakere on June 5.
The Cougars are ranked in the top 20 college basketball teams in the United States and are coming off a school record-tying 26 wins as well as a trip to the prestigious NCAA tournament.
The strength of the visitors, who will also play five games in Australia, including a match against the Australian squad and the Sydney Kings, has led to Breakers power forward Mika Vukona and new Breakers guard Ryan Kersten joining the Academy line-up.
Foundation player Blake Truslove (204-C-79), now the club's development manager, will also suit up for the match.
It will be Breakers fans first chance to see Kersten in action. He has been recruited from the University of New Mexico.
Washington State coach Tony Bennett, who was chosen in the 1992 NBA Draft by Charlotte before embarking on a four-year playing and coaching career at North Harbour, previously recruited Tall Blacks star Kirk Penney to play college basketball at Wisconsin and has New Zealand-born Australian Aron Baynes and North Shore prodigy Thomas Abercrombie in his Cougars squad.
Abercrombie will reacquaint himself with a host of former teammates as the Breakers Academy contains no fewer than five Westlake High School products, including 19-year-old shooting guard David Clarke (183-G-88) and 2.08m tall 15-year-old Rob Loe.
Academy coach Judd Flavell said playing against such an impressive college team would be "a great measuring stick" for his young team.
"Our players harbour ambitions to play at the highest level and college is a serious option for them," Flavell said.
"They appreciate the need to embrace the challenge, step up and make the most of this opportunity."
Courtesy of: www.stuff.co.nz

Dillon Boucher named Player of the Week -by Eurobasket News
Dillon Boucher (196-G-75)'s “almost triple-double” puts him atop the rankings for the Player of the Week award. He finished with 11 points (3/6 FG, 5/8 FT), 12 boards, 8 assists, 3 blocks and 3 steals to help Auckland edge Taranaki. Dillon Boucher is a versatile player that is unquestionably among the top threats for any opponent in the league. His duet with Lindsay Tait proved to be arguably the most dangerous in the season. And Auckland capitalize on it as they seat in the top four with 10-4 record. This title is the second one for Boucher in the season. He cleared off Hayden Allen, Justin Crowe and Justin Bailey to grab the Player of the Week award.

Player Power Rankings
1 (1) Jason Crowe (193-G-76, agency: Court Side, college: Cal.St. Northridge) (Waikato Pistons)
2 (3) Dillon Boucher (Auckland Stars)
3 (2) Josh Pace (198-G/F-83, agency: Interperformances, college: Syracuse) (Nelson Giants)
4 (7) Lindsay Tait (Auckland Stars)
5 (4) Bakari Hendrix (Wellington Saints)
6 (6) Michael Joiner (Canterbury Rams)
7 (5) Link Abrams (Taranaki Mountain Airs)
8 (8) Casey Frank (Auckland Stars)
9 (11) Justin Bailey (Otago Nuggets)
10 (10) Mychal Green (Canterbury Rams).

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NIGERIA

FIBA U19 Championship: Nigeria Jump-start preparation -by Olusegun Ikuesan
The coaching crew of the Nigeria U19 National Men team Monday began preparation for the global met billed for Novi Sad, Serbia with an open camp tryout at the Sports Hall of the Lagos National Stadium with 25 players jostling for a place in the 12-man squad.

The coaching crew headed by the Nigeria Junior National team head coach, Adeka Dauda is to see who among the kids is good enough to progress to the final stage of close camping slated for the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna from June 9 through July 8.

According to the former Dodan Warriors coach, the aim of the ten-day open camp in Lagos is to give kids who fall within the age an opportunity for a place in the team.

He gave some of the invited players names as Points Guards: Michael Oheiro, Daniel Daudu and Chiwendu Nwaigbo; Shooting Guard: Seyi Ayodele Ahmed, Mohammed Bukur, Deji Egbeyemi, Nosa Omorogbe; Small Forward: George Ehiawgina, Ibrahim Adamu, Faourk Oyalade, Ifeanyi Mbah. Power Forward: Azeez Oladimeji, Oluwaseyi Michael Ayodele among others.

The camp is to run from Monday to Saturday, June 8 with coaches Emmanuel Okolo of the University of Lagos basketball team and Emmanuel Ogah of the FCT Rocks assisting.

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PANAMA

Pinnock will play for the Chorrillo Bulls -by Miguel Sanchiz
Panama International, Danilo Pinnock Jr. (J.R. Pinnock (196-G-83, college: George Washington))will arrive in Panama this tuesday may 29th from Atlanta, Georgia, and will immediately play for the Toros del Chorrillo (Chorrillo Bulls)in the CBS 2007. On thrusday Toros will play Caimanes which hold first place in the tournament, and on saturday they will play Navieros of Colon (3-1) in the Atlantic side, in what is considered a true basketball war of the tournament. Pinnock had been playing for the Arkansas RimRockers of the NBA Development League (NBDL) and will stay in Panama until july 1st, when he has to go back to the U.S. to participate in a camp with the Washington Wizards of the NBA. Pinnock Jr. has also expressed his interest in participating with Panama in the upcoming Pan American Games in Brazil (july 25-29) and in the Preolympic tournament of Las Vegas, Nevada which starts on august 22nd.

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PHILIPPINES

RP SWEEPS SEABA JOUST! -by Hector Santos

RATCHABURI, Thailand - A mission accomplished for San Miguel-Pilipinas found a thrilling counterpart Monday as Thailand fulfilled a dream come true at the close of the 7th Southeast Asian Basketball Association Men's Championship.

Pre-ordained to sweep the qualifier to the FIBA-Asia Men's Championship in Tokushima, Japan this July, the Nationals climaxed its dominance of the regional competition by beating the host Thais, 96-76 at the New Ratchaburi gym, the venue festively adorned inred-and-gold and light blue-and-white silks in honor of the Crown Prince to whom the tournament was named after.

Though anticlimactic in nature with the Philippines (4-0) and Indonesia (3-1) having clinched the top two berths to Tokushima, site of the Olympic qualifier, the final game turned into a memorable one, both for the all-PBA squad and the proud Thais.

For once, SMC-RP trailed at the end of the first quarter, 23-24, and didn't taste the lead until after two minutes into the second on Mark Caguiao's driving layup, 28-27 - a testament to the tenacity put up by Thailand.

A three-point shot by Renren Ritualo gave the Nationals their first double-digit advantage at 37-27, with 5:35 left in the half, an unheard of occurrence since SMC-RP had gotten used to having the game blown open at this stage in their previous three games.

RP coach Chot Reyes raged at his players - another rare moment - at the end of the first quarter, and although the Nationals responded by streaking to several 25-point spreads in the third, the last at75-50 on a Kerby Raymundo basket, the Thais, with an 11-0 run, rallied to within 11 points, 77-66, in the fourth period with aggressive defense and impeccable shooting.

Not on few occasions did Asi Taulava (13 rebounds) and Danny Seigle (11 rebounds, 10 of 10 free throws) get tangled up with Thai defenders under the basket,resulting in tense moments diffused in time.

It was also the first time an opposing crowd outnumbered the Filipino followers who had faithfully cheered for the Nationals from Day One, turning the venue into haven for boisterous partisan applause and jeering.

In front of their home crowd, the feisty Thais came up with their best game in the tournament, a performance that would have merited a slot in the Olympic qualifier had they produced it in their game with Indonesia Saturday which they lost 65-55.

But the Nationals were not to be denied, concluding the SEABA tournament with a 38.5 winning margin in four games.

Reyes found little reason to celebrate.

"We didn't even have the game to beat Chinese-Taipei. Now we have two months to get to that level," said Reyes, who brought up the names of Willie Miller of Alaska, Kelly Williams of Sta. Lucia and Gabe Norwood, a Fil-Am from George Mason University as possible additions to the national team.

"Essentially, we're basically cramming," he added, providing portents of big changes to come in the team within the next few days.

SMC-RP returns home for a final evaluation among Reyes, PBA commissioner Noli Eala, league chairman Ricky Vargas and team manager Robert Non beforeplunging back to training for the all-import Tokushima tourney where the Asian qualifier to the Beijing Olympics in 2008 will be chosen.

Scores:

SMC-RP 96 - Seigle 22, Caguioa 18, Taulava 16 Alapag12, Hontiveros 9, Ritualo 9, Villanueva 6, Raymundo 4, De Ocampo 0, Pennisi 0, Helterbrand 0, Canaleta 0.

THAILAND 76 - Piyapong 11, Ratdech 11, Chaiwat 10, Attaporn 9, Mana 9, Darongphan 8, Jakkpapan 8, Sopon 7, Boonchai 3, Nontabob 0,

Quarters: 23-24; 52-41; 77-55; 96-76

source: pba media bureau



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POLAND

Fon is leaving Slask. -by Karol Machera
Miha Fon (194-G-84) is no longer player of ASCO Slask Wroclaw even that he has signed a three year contract in August '07. Both sides has decided to end the contract after this season. 23 year old Slovenian shooting guard has played in 37 games averaging 4.45 ppg, 1.48 rpg, 0.59 apg, 1.21 spg in 18 mpg.

Game 4: Turow is still alive -by Eurobasket News
Turow -Prokom 86:71

Turow won the first game in the Final series over Prokom 86:71. The hosts reduced to 3-1 in the series and are still alive. Thomas Kelati (195-G/F-82, college: Washington St.) led the winners with 28 points, while Krzysztof Roszyn added 17 points. Jasmin Hukic (204-G/F-79, agency: Beo Basket) posted 15 points in defeat, Huseyin Besok (212-C-75, agency: Interperformances) added 11. Turow led by as many as 27 points and Prokom couldn't mount any sort of comeback. game 5 is scheduled on May 31st.
Third place in the Polish League belongs to Asco Slask Wroclaw thanks to a 2-1 victory in its best-of-three series against Anwil Wloclawek. In the last game, Slask won 61:57 behind 17 points from guard Dean Oliver (180-G-78, college: Iowa).

Turow: Thomas Kelati 28 points, Krzysztof Roszyn 17 points.
Prokom: Jasmin Hukic 15 points, Huseyin Besok 11, Filip Dylewicz 10, Donatas Slanina 10.

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PORTUGAL

Eurobasket.com All-Portuguese League Awards 2006-07 -by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Woods


Da Silva


Brown


Robinson


Williams

Player of the Year - Ricky Woods (198-F-84) (Ginasio)
Guard of the Year - Filipe Da Silva (193-G-79) (Cab)
Forward of the Year - Ricky Woods (Ginasio)
Center of the Year - Graham Brown (206-F/C-84) (Lusitania)
Newcomer of the Year - Edson Ferreira (-86) (Benfica)
Most Improved Player of the Year - Joao Gomes (199-F-85) (Barreirense)
Bosman Player of the Year - Marko Antonijevic (189-G-81) (Cab)
Import Player of the Year - Ricky Woods (Ginasio)
Domestic Player of the Year - Filipe Da Silva (Cab)
Defensive Player of the Year - Rodrigo Mascarenhas (198-F-79) (Porto)
Coach of the Year - Luis Magalhaes (Ovarense)

1st Team
Filipe Da Silva (Cab)
Jason Robinson (199-F-80) (Belenenses)
Ricky Woods (Ginasio)
Mike Williams (203-F-81) (Lusitania)
Graham Brown (Lusitania)

2nd Team
Diogo Carreira (180-G-78) (Belenenses)
Nuno Marcal (205-F-75) (Porto)
Joao Gomes (Barreirense)
Greg Stempin (203-F-79) (Ovarense)
Cameron Echols (203-F-81) (Belenenses)

All-Domestic Players Team
Filipe Da Silva (Cab)
Nuno Marcal (Porto)
Joao Gomes(Barreirense)
Rodrigo Mascarenhas (Porto)
Elvis Evora (205-C-78) (Ovarense)

All-Imports Team
Julian Blanks (188-G-80) (Porto)
Jason Robinson (Belenenses)
Ricky Woods (Ginasio)
Mike Williams (Lusitania)
Graham Brown (Lusitania)

All-Defensive Team
Filipe Da Silva (Cab)
Shawn Jackson (203-F/C-71) (Ovarense)
Ricky Woods (Ginasio)
Rodrigo Mascarenhas (Porto)
Graham Brown (Lusitania)

All-Newcomers Team
Edson Ferreira (Benfica)
Pedro Pinto (186-G-88) (Barreirense)
Frederico Tavares (194-F-88) (Cab)
Manuel Sico (202-F-88) (Barreirense)
Sergio Veiguinha (205-F/C-85) (Barreirense)



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PUERTO RICO

San German gets back Apodaca and wins -by Luis Ramirez
With Rick Apodaca (192-G-80, agency: World Sport Agency, college: Hofstra) back in the lineup after waiting for the official release document from his Italian team, the Athletics beat the Caguas Criollos 72-70. Caguas broke off in a rapid offensive mode as they took the 1st quarter 24-10. They also held the lead at the end of the 1st half 39-26. San German did not give up and in the 2nd half started to chip away at the lead in the 3rd quarter. In the 4th quarter San German brought on its defensive game and continued to score at will to take the lead in the final seconds for the win. Apodaca led the way for the Athletics with 16 points followed by Samuel Rosas (180-G-85, college: Brescia (KY)) with 13 points. For Caguas, Peter John Ramos (222-C-85) scored 21 points and 13 rebounds followed by Fernando Ortiz (196-F/G-77, college: Middle Tenn.St.) with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

In other BSN action, the Ponce Lions continued their winning streak as they lassoed the Cowboys 96-85. The Lions started the game with an offensive run but durng the end of the 1st quarter the Cowboys were able to contain the Lions and briefly take the lead, the Lions came right back to take the 1st quarter 23-20. In the 2nd quarter the Lions some spectacular plays from Joel Jones (196-G/F-81, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Sacramento St.) and they took the 1st half 47-39. Things didn't get any better in the 2nd half for the Cowboys as they Lions would keep them at a 10 point length most of the 2nd half. One of the most spectacular dunks of the night was provided by Joel Jones who slammed dunk over center Jorge Rivera (201-F/C-73, agency: Paris Global Sports); this brought everyone to their feet as the crowd loved it. Jones was the leading scorer for the Lions with 28 points followed by Gabriel Colon (200-G/F-84, agency: Edge Sports) with 18 points. For Bayamon, Alejandro Carmona (194-G/F-83, agency: Edge Sports) scored 22 points followed by Ivan Lopez (208-C-85, college: Memphis) with 19 points.

Over at Mayaguez, the Crabbers came out victors in a close game against the Indians 83-82. Mayaguez took the initial quarter 18-17 but Santurce came back with a fury in the 2nd quarter to take the lead at half time 46-32. The Indians battled back in the 2nd half but fell short as time expired to give the Crabbers the 1point win. For Santurce Robert Traylor (204-F/C-77, college: Michigan) scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds followed by Raymond Dalmau (198-G-73, college: South Plains JC) and Orlando Santiago (186-G-75, college: Dowling) who both scored 15 points. For Mayaguez, Eddie Casiano (188-G-72) scored 29 points followed by Keenan Jourdon (200-F-74, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Boston Coll.) with 13 points.

In the final game of the night, the Guaynabo Conquistadors rallied in the last quarter to take the win over the Arecibo Captains 91-89. Arecibo took the 1st half 43-36. In the 2nd half the Conquistadors would not be denied and with the clock running down held off the Captains for the win. For Guaynabo, Terrance Shannon scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds followed by Antonio Latimer (204-F/G-78, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Missouri Southern) who scored 20 points. For Arecibo, David Cortez (190-G/F-81) scored 30 points with 10 rebounds followed by Angel Figueroa (191-G-81, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Dowling) with 18 points.

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RUSSIA

Matjaz Smodis lifts CSKA in Game 1 -by Eurobasket News

CSKA - Unics 72:64

CSKA came back from behind to claim a 72:64 win over Unics in Game 1 of the Final series. Moscow game tipped off quite unexpectedly for the hosts as Unics gradually took control of the game and posted a 17:14 first frame. CSKA did not manage to grab the lead in the second half as Sireika skillfully built his team's defence and limited hosts scoring ability. Unics led 32:27 at halftime. But the crowd was satisfied in the third quarter as CSKA spurred to a 53:49 lead. Matjaz Smodis (205-F-79) completed his 27-point blast in the final frame to ensure CSKA gains an important victory in the first game. CSKA fouled twice as much as Unics but Kazan team converted miserable 43% from the charity line. Moreover CSKA outrebounded Unics 32:27 and committed less turnovers. Matjaz Smodis led the action with 27 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Trajan Langdon (192-G-76, college: Duke) provided 12 points, while Zakhar Pashutin (195-G-74) had 10 points in a win. Darjus Lavrinovic chipped in 23 points and grabbed 5 boards to lead Unics. Dusko Savanovic (204-F/C-83, agency: Beo Basket) finished with 14 points in a losing effort.
Game 2 is scheduled for today in Moscow. Both teams suffered a major losses as Oscar Torres and Saulius Stombergas announced to miss the rest of the season. Oscar Torres injured his knee and will be substituted by Thomas Van Den Spiegel. Saulius Stombergas did not participate in Game 1 of the series due to some major problems with his foot. Antanas Sireika confirmed that the leader of the team is not expected to take part in the Final series.


CSKA: Matjaz Smodis 27 points, Trajan Langdon 12, Zakhar Pashutin 10
Unics: Darjus Lavrinovic (212-C-79) 23, Dusko Savanovic 14.



Khimky and Dynamo are tied in Bronze medals series -by Eurobasket News
Khimky and Dynamo Moscow started the Bronze medals series. In the first game Khimky overcame Dynamo 103:82 to take the lead in the series. Khimky opened the game with a 27:19 first frame to set the tone for the rest of it. Dynamo obviously struggled inside the paint and did not manage to match the pace of the hosts. Dynamo consequently lost all four quarters and had little to say in the first encounter. Khimky outrebounded visitors 33:24 and were more accurate from the charity line (83%:63%). Machey Lampe led the action for Khimky with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Kelly MacCarty provided a solid back-up nailing 18 points and collecting 6 rebounds. Vitaliy Fridzon and Vladimir Veremeenko scored 14 points apiece to secure the first win for Khimky.
However Dynamo bounced back in the second game of the series. Dusan Ivkovic found the right words for his team as they started Game 2 much more aggressively. Dynamo gained a 32:20 lead after the opening frame. Khimky closed the gap in the second 22:14 and were trailing by just 2 points at the start of the final quarter 62:64. But a beautiful performance from Lazaros Papadopoulos (210-C-80) raised no doubts about the outcome. He finished the game with game-high 30 points to spark Dynamo's 83:76 victory. Sergei Bykov (190-G-83) had 13 points, while Antonios Fotsis added 10 points for the winners. Gianmarco Pozzecco (185-G-72) led Khimky with 21 points and 6 assists. Machey Lampe was limited to just 6 points on 1/4 field goal shooting.
The series is tied at 1-1 and Game 3 is scheduled for May 30 in Moscow.

Khimky - Dynamo 103:82
Khimky: Machey Lampe 21 points, Kelly McCarty (201-F-75, college: S.Mississippi) 18, Vitaliy Fridzon 14, Vladimir Veremeenko 14
Dynamo: Bojan Popovic (190-G-83, agency: Beo Basket) 21, Lazaros Papadopoulos 15, Takuan Din 11

Khimky - Dynamo 76:83
Khimky: Gianmarco Pozzecco 21, Melvin Booker 15, Vladimir Veremeenko 10
Dynamo: Lazaros Papadopoulos 30, Sergei Bykov 13, Antonios Fotsis 10.

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SERBIA

Superleague: Partizan still unbeatable for Crvena Zvezda -by Dragan Jankovski

Partizan beat Crvena Zvezda again in eternal derby 91:86 and it is seventh win in the row against red and white team. Zvezda still has problems with injured players but they were at least equal rival to Partizan on Saturday night. Two minutes before the half time Zvezda had biggest advantage during the game 41:34 but Partizan succeeded to went on the break without minus after Tripkovic's successful 3-pts shot in last second. Game is decided in the last quarter when Zvezda's players didn't adapt so good on full court press and on the other side Partizan had 72% for FG2 and 37% for 3-pts at the end. Big guys Predrag Drobnjak (212-F/C-75) who added 18 points with 6 rebounds and Nikola Pekovic (210-C-86, agency: Beo Basket) who netted 15 with only one missed shot were the best for the winners. Igor Milosevic (192-G-86) posted 21 points for Crvena Zvezda.

Mega Ishrana recorded easy win over Sloga at home 99:77. Visitors played good just in the first half and game is decided in the third quarter which youngsters from Mega Ishrana finished 31:19. Young Uros Nikolic (207-F-87) got a chance from Mihajlo Uvalin and demonstrated great performance. He collected 25 points including 3 rebs and 3 assists (FG2 8/8, FT 9/11). Nikolic is MVP of round 12 with index value 34.

Hemofarm outplayed Masinac in Kraljevo 69:87 and there was no doubt about the winner of this game. Tandem in the paint Vanja Plisnic (207-F/C-80, agency: Beo Basket) - Vladan Vukosavljevic (206-F/C-84, agency: Beo Basket) together scored 35 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. They were unsolvable problem for Masinac's defense. Dusan Knezevic (207-C-80) was better than others in Masinac finishing game with double-double 23 points, 11 rebounds and 6 steals.

After win in Novi Sad 74:90 panthers from Zeleznik have nice chance to start in play-off semifinals form top position. Vojvodina played this game without help of Scekic, Golubovic and Lekic. Crucial moment of the game was FMP's run 13-0 for 51:66 in 28th minute. FMP got 24 points and 5 rebounds from Zoran Erceg (211-C/F-85) while Cedomir Vitkovac (201-F-82) almost made double-double for Vojvodina 16 points and 9 rebounds.

Partizan - Crvena Zvezda 91:86

(20:21,25:24,21:19,25:22)

Partizan: Tepic 5, Bogdanovic 2, Kecman 10 (5 rebs, 5 st), Tripkovic 10, Velickovic 10, Perovic 4, Pekovic 15, Drobnjak 18 (6 rebs), Bozic 4, Cummings 13, Micov

DNP: Bakic.

Crvena Zvezda: Stewart, Milosevic 21, Popovic 2, Misanovic 5, Gurovic 10 (5 rebs), Radivojevic 8, Dragicevic 10, Antic 2, Cvetkovic 17, Aleksandrov 11 (6 rebs)

DNP: Kovac, Markovic.


Mega Ishrana - Sloga 99:77

(23:19,22:23,31:19,23:16)

Mega Ishrana: Dragicevic 15, Ratkovica, Maravic 4, Pekovic 13 (6 as), Despotovic 8, Nikolic 25, Mladenovic 3, Rakovic 10 (7 rebs), Markovic Miroslav 14 (4 rebs, 6 st), Markovic Radovan 7

DNP: Bajic, Bozovic.

Sloga: Bojovic 11 (4 as), Dasic 3, Trtic 10, Mijovic 13, Gemaljevic, Markovic 5, Atanasoski, Zivcevic 4, Grubisic 4, Mitic 14, Milovic 6, Tomasevic 7.


Masinac - Hemofarm 69:87

(24:25,17:22,11:24,17:16)

Masinac: Tutus, Sinadinovic, Mijajlovic 6, Dimitrijevic 14, Gambiroza 4, Stojanovic 4, Mirkovic 8 (6 as), Cupkovic, Razic 10, Knezevic 23 (11 rebs, 6 st), Karapandzic

DNP: Milosavljevic.

Hemofarm: Bakic 15, Joksimovic 7, Suput 5 (6 rebs), Markovic 2, Nesovic 10 (5 as), Rakic 2, Radinovic 4, Topic 2, Borisov 2, Simonovic 3, Plisnic 16 (9 rebs), Vukosavljevic 19 (6 rebs).


Vojvodina Srbijagas - FMP 74:90

(17:26,22:18,18:27,17:19)

Vojvodina Srbijagas: Ivanovic 13 (5 rebs, 6 st), Nemeth 9, Duvnjak 13, Dundjerski, Djordjevic 7 (6 as), Milosevic 6, Paunic 7, Kovacevic, Vitkovac 16 (9 rebs), Bosnjak 3

DNP: Jelenic.

FMP: Teodosic 13 (7 rebs, 5 as), Cvetkovic 17 (6 rebs, 4 as), Erceg 24 (5 rebs), Labovic 9, Popovic 2, Krstovic 9 (4 as), Micic, Protic, Todorovic, Zigeranovic 4, Samardzijski 12, Osmokrovic.



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SLOVENIA

Slask part ways with Fon -by Zeljko Zule
Slask have released Slovenian Miha Fon (194-G-84). He averaging just 4,5 points, 1,5 rebounds, 0,6 asists and 1,2 steals in 37 games of Dominet Basket Extraliga.

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SPAIN

La Laguna goes to LEB-1 thanks to Javi Roman and Donaldson -by Ivan Villar
Yellow fever arrives to LEB-1 after the winning of home team in Juan Rios Tejera Arena against Akasvayu Vic on last game of semifinals.3000 fans take to their team to make a great thrid quarter with Javier Roman (207-F/C-80) (7/9 in 3 points shoots) and Jakim Donaldson (48 of value) as couple of all-stars.97-79 was the score and the victory which takes to canarian team to play next year in LEB-1.

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THAILAND

SEABA Update: Thai cagers give Philippines a scare -by Hector Santos

Asian powerhouse Philippines found a Monday scare as Thailand fulfilled a dream come true at the close of the 7th Southeast Asian Basketball Association Men's Championship.

Expected to beat all their rivals with a big margin in the Asian championship qualifier, Philippines suffered some scare in the first half by beating the host Thais, 96-76.

The Thais came up with their best game in the tournament, leading at the end of the first quarter, 23-24.

Even with a win, Philippine coach Chot Reyes is not happy with the win, as they expect to play better than the said game.

Thailand finished the tournament with a 1-3 win-loss record which placed them for the fourth spot behind Philippines (4-0), Indonesia (3-1) and Malaysia (2-2).


Philippines and Indonesia will represent SEABA in the coming FIBA Asia Men's Championship to be held in Tokushima, Japan.


Scores:

SMC-RP 96 - Seigle 22, Caguioa 18, Taulava 16 Alapag
12, Hontiveros 9, Ritualo 9, Villanueva 6, Raymundo 4,
De Ocampo 0, Pennisi 0, Helterbrand 0, Canaleta 0.

THAILAND 76 - Piyapong 11, Ratdech 11, Chaiwat 10,
Attaporn 9, Mana 9, Darongphan 8, Jakkpapan 8, Sopon
7, Boonchai 3, Nontabob 0,

Quarters: 23-24; 52-41; 77-55; 96-76



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TURKEY

Banvit with Two More Signings! -by Sinan Kocak
Banvit remained as the hottest team in signings as they continued with Power Forward Umit Sonkol (203-F-82) from Mersin Buyuksehir Belediyesi and Point Guard Derya Yannier (189-G-85) from TBL2 FMV Isikspor. Umit Sonkol who had a really good year, averaged 31,4 minutes 14.53 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 30 games. Derya Yannier started the season with Besiktas Cola Turka with not so much playing time, then went to FMV Isikspor in the middle of the season.

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U.S.VIRGIN ISL.

Tim Duncan Interview -by David Edole
InsideHoops.com NewsWire | May 27, 2007

In Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals the Utah Jazz, playing at home, exploded all over the San Antonio Spurs for a 109-83 win. The Spurs still lead the series 2-1. Spurs superstar Tim Duncan, in foul trouble for much of the game, had a rough outing, finishing with 16 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 8 turnovers. Here's what he said after the game:

Q. Tim, were they any more active? Was Mehmet more active in terms of trying to get deflections and things like that when they posted you in the first half?

TIM DUNCAN: He caused some turnovers. Whether it be more active or just got his hands on the ball, whatever it may be, he did a much better job.

Q. Can you just talk about your night in general and why things didn't go your way.

TIM DUNCAN: I hate to keep it simple. They just played a better game than us for a longer time. We did a pretty good job in the first quarter, and outside of that, I don't think we had a very good quarter from there on. They were aggressive. They were physical. Their guys shot the ball well. They just had things happening for them, and I give them a lot of credit.

Q. How about individually?

TIM DUNCAN: Individually? It's tough to get going and to stay aggressive when you have fouls on you like that.

Q. Do you think the fouls and the Jazz defense got in your head there towards the second half?

TIM DUNCAN: I think the fouls did.

Q. Not the defense?

TIM DUNCAN: No. They played well on defense. They did. Mehmet did an excellent job. As I said, he was very good at keeping a hand in there and he got some deflections. All in all, he did a pretty decent job.

Q. Would you talk about the difference in the third quarter. They just seemed to play at a different level in the third quarter as opposed to the first half?

TIM DUNCAN: Yeah, they pulled away in the third quarter. As I said, we played that first quarter, an excellent quarter. Second quarter they played better than us. Third quarter they really busted it and were able to sustain, for whatever reason. We got a little tentative there with some of the foul trouble we were in. They took advantage of that. They really attacked the basket and some of their guys hit the shots and opened it up for them.

Q. Was there a difference in energy in the second half as well between the two teams?

TIM DUNCAN: I think there is a difference of energy the entire game. They won that battle. They used their crowd. They used the energy in this building. As everyone knows, they are undefeated in this building in the playoffs and they play well here. So they definitely had more energy than us sustained throughout.

Q. Tim, you guys are a team that prides itself on defense, shutting teams down. Bruce Bowen was assigned to Deron for much of the game and Deron had a solid game and Bruce struggled. What was the difference? Was Deron quicker or what happened?

TIM DUNCAN: He had a good game. That's why basketball is basketball. People are going to have nights. You are able to get off some nights, and he did that tonight. I thought he did an excellent job of taking a shot when it was there and he also did an excellent job of finding people. He found Booze down the middle a bunch of times. He was just good passing the ball. And when he wasn't passing the ball. He was attacking the rim real hard and he got some fouls. He made some layups and he caught us with our head turned a couple of times where he went right down the middle and laid it up. All in all, just thought he did an excellent job.

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VENEZUELA

LPB 2007 - Thirds of Finals (Gameday 4): Guaiqueries one step away, Guaros and Gaiteros tie things up -by Francisco Vega

Guaros de Lara and Gaiteros del Zulia tied things up at home against the tough Cocodrilos de Caracas, league leaders, and Trotamundos de Carabobo, current champions, while Guaiqueries de Margarita got one game shy of advancing to the Semifinals as hosts against the still confused Marinos de Anzoategui.

May 27th, 2007 (Sunday)

Guaros de Lara 90 - Cocodrilos de Caracas 87

Domo Bolivariano - Barquisimeto, Lara

(Series A tied, 2-2)

Quarter by quarter
GUA: 25-17-25-23= 90
COC: 17-18-17-35= 87

Scorers

GUA: Alex Carcamo (200-F-77) 22 points, Marlon Parmer (191-G-80) 19 points, Tang Hamilton (201-F-78) 19 points and 10 rebounds, , Diego Guevara (184-G-77) 10 points

COC: Edgar Moreno (191-G-81) 21 points, Kevin Freeman (201-F-78) 20 points, Tim Jones (193-G/F-73) 14 points

Guaiqueries de Margarita 94 - Marinos de Anzoategui 90

Ciudad de La Asuncion Gymnasium - La Asuncion, Margarita Island

(Guaiqueries leads series B, 3-1)

Quarter by quarter
GUAI: 28-22-20-24= 94
MAR: 17-16-26-31= 90

Scorers

GUAI: Rogers Washington (202-F-77) 26 points, Chris Jackson (208-C-81) 24 points and 10 rebounds, Kelvin Pena (193-G-81) 18 points, Carlos Cedeno (194-G/F-85) 11 points, Herberth Bayona (211-C-78) 10 points and 10 rebounds

MAR: Lee Benson (208-F/C-73) 24 points and 13 rebounds, Hector Romero (202-F-80) 17 points, Rafael Guevara (194-F-79) 13 points, Ernesto Mijares (190-G-76) 12 points, Damond Williams (197-F-80) 12 points

Gaiteros del Zulia 121 - Trotamundos de Carabobo 98

Belisario Aponte Gymnasium - Maracaibo, Zulia

(Series C tied, 2-2)

Quarter by quarter
GAI: 20-36-30-37= 121

TRO: 10-27-27-34= 98

Scorers

GAI: Chris Jeffries (199-F-80) 30 points, Hernan Salcedo (198-F-80) 22 points, Ruben Nembhard (191-G-72) 21 points

TRO: Tomas Aguilera (198-F-77) 17 points, Manuel Berroteran (185-G-80) 14 points





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Women News

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ARGENTINA - Women

Argentina U17 NT 2007 -by Facundo Iatzky
The team is already in Cuenca, Ecuador where they will play the Southamerican championship.
This is the roster:

Point guards: Nadia Flores (Lanus) y Rocio Rojas (Union Florida).

Shooting guards: Debora Gonzalez (Lanus), Nayla Kraft (Sundarland)y Cecilia Coz (San Vicente).

Small forwards: Paula Budini (Velez) y Melisa Pavicich (Lanus).

Power fowards: Ornella Santana (Velez).

Center: Florencia Aguerre (Obras-Mendoza), Andrea Boquete (Petroleros YPF), Agostina Burani (Lanus) y Karla Ramirez (Estudiantes-Parana).

Head Coach: Eduardo Pinto

Fixture:

June 2: Peru vs Brasil, Argentina vs Chile y Ecuador vs Venezuela.
June 3: Peru vs Venezuela, Ecuador vs Chile y Argentina vs Brasil.
June 4: Chile vs Peru, Brasil vs Venezuela y Ecuador vs Argentina.
June 5: Brasil vs Chile, Argentina vs Venezuela y Ecuador vs Peru.
June 6: Venezuela vs Chile, Argentina vs Peru y Ecuador vs Brasil.

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AUSTRALIA - Women

U21: Australia undefeated in China -by Gauthier Gerard
The Australian U21 team, the Sapphires made a week-long tour in China to prepare for the upcoming U21 Worlds Championships in Russia. The Sapphires played one game against China U21/U19 team and three games against the chinese B senior team. Australia came back home with three wins, one draw and many interesting news like the good performances from 19-year old Cayla Francis (192-C-89).
source: BA media

Australia U21 - China U21/U19: 73-66
The Sapphires played their first game in China at the Haigeng Training Base against a combined U19 and U21 National team. It was a tough and physical match but they won the battle, 73-66, and in doing so overcame all types of adversity that had been thrown in their way during the first days of the tour, including a 9-hour flight from Australia to Hong-Kong.
Renae Camino 11pts, Cayla Francis 11pts

Australia U21 - China B senior: 92-76
The Sapphires controlled the majority of the first half with the exception of the closing minutes when they allowed the Chinese to find their range. The home team went into the break with a 4-point lead, 49 - 45, much to the delight of the enthusiastic spectators. In the second half, the experience of the Chinese was a telling factor and with the loss of Elyse Penaluna and Rachel Herrick to injury and our other bigs, Cayla Francis and Abby Bishop in foul trouble, the Sapphires found themselves 18 points down in the early stages of the last quarter. Showing great fighting spirit and by applying switching defence the Sapphires forced several turnovers which they were able to capitalise on and reduce the deficit to 8 points with 4:35 minutes to play. Only fatigue and the composure of the Chinese allowed them to close out the game with the final term result 92-76, a 16 point loss to our National Young Women's Team.
Abby Bishop 21pts 9rbs, Renae Camino 14pts

Australia U21 - China B senior: 78-78
The Chinese were so impressed with the australian performance that they wanted to play another game against the Sapphires. Due to our injuries and some banged-up bodies Australia was unsure of what to do. In the end they decided that it best if the team did in fact play a third game. With only 10 players (Elyse Penaluna and Rach Herrick sidelined due to injury) Australia came out firing and stayed with the chineses the whole game. Big improvements in many areas were made both as a team and as individuals and the aussies were able to finish the game level with the National Chinese B Team 78-78.

Australia U21 - China B senior: 79-74
The Chinese opened the game strongly, adopting a typical penetration game and passing it out to their outside shooters who converted on 4 of 5 three point attempts to establish a 25-15 quarter time lead against a Sapphires unit struggling to find offensive rhythm. Sapphires increased their defensive pressure in the second quarter restricting China to just 11 points and with guard Rachel Watman hitting a half-time buzzer-beater, the Aussies went into the break trailing 36-27 and with all the momentum. A composed Head Coach Gary Fox used the half time break to reiterate the need for the Sapphires to maintain their defensive pressure, get the ball through lots of hands offensively to ensure balance between inside and outside play.
The Sapphires come out on fire after the break, going on a 10-2 run and forcing China into an early timeout. The remainder of the third quarter turned into a battle for possession with both teams executing well offensively. By the close of the term, the Sapphires had established a 54-53 lead thanks to 27-17 quarter. The Sapphires maintained the pressure on the Chinese, regularly rotating their big man and with the likes through Renae Camino and Kathleen Macleod thwarting any Chinese perimeter efforts and Heather Oliver keeping China's leading points scorer scoreless, the Sapphires rounded out the game 79-74.
“It was a great victory for our side's preparation for the World Champs,” said Fox. “Each camp or tour that we have been part of has seen our players improve both individually and as a group. We are looking forward to continuing our progress at the combined camp with the World Championship defencejobs Opals on the Gold Coast before we depart for the World Championships in late June.”
Cayla Francis 23pts 11rbs, Renae Camino 14pts


photo: BA media

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photo: BA media

WNBL: Erin Phillips on the road to recovery -by Gauthier Gerard
Erin Phillips has always played through pain, but no longer, writes Zac Millbank for The Adelaide Advertiser. As the Lightning star - on the comeback trail from a serious knee injury - started serious running for the first time yesterday, she also unveiled her new attitude. Declaring she was on track to start the WNBL season in October, Phillips said her shift in thinking hadn't been easy to come to grips with.
source: The Adelaide Advertiser

"My mentality has been that I'll play if I'm 50 per cent," Phillips, 173cm, admitted. "It takes a lot to stop me from playing but you've got to be realistic about things and smart about how your body works. I've played through pain and aching bodies but it comes to a point where you can't get away with it through backing up and training through soreness. So it's (the injury) made me a lot more patient with myself because usually I can't sit still."
As a result, if the Opals guard isn't completely fit by round one, she will be more cautious than before.
"That will be nine-and-a-half months post-operation so it would be fantastic being able to play round one," Phillips said. "But if its 99 per cent right I won't play, it has to be 100 per cent for me. It will depend on how much training I can get in before round one and how I pull up after that."
Since the 22-year-old collided with Canberra's Tully Bevilaqua in January, it has been a lonely road for Phillips. Having Opals mentor Jan Stirling and Lightning team-mate Jess Foley as company while walking has helped . . . but not entirely.
"I have had a lot of up-and-down kind of days," Phillips said. "It's been four months but hopefully there's not too many more (bad days) to go. When it comes to things like being able to start running, it's definitely a confidence-builder with a knee injury. It's in the back of your mind what you've been through but it's just something you've got to get past."


photo: Matt Turner for The Adelaide Advertiser

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HOLLAND - Women

ProBuild Wins Championship -by Eurobasket News
In what turned out to be an exhausting but rewarding series ProBuild Lions ultimately came out as the better team.

Exact 24 hours after Game 6 in Den Helder the final game was scheduled in Landsmeer.

Home advantage proved to be essential.

Both teams stayed close in the first half. Yellow bike led 35-36 at halftime.

After the break the Lions came out of the locker room knife-sharp. They started with a 13-0 run, putting themselves up 48-36 in the 8th minute, when Cherry Lea scored the first points for Yellow Bike.

In the 7th minute of the last quarter Yellow Bike closed the gap to 64-58, but Jasmijn Jasmijn Overbeeke (188-C-84) drained a 3-pointer to pull the game for good.

Jasmijn Overbeeke scored 19 points and three 3-pointers. Tanya Broring (177-G-84) had 14 points and Amy Taylor (173-G-83, college: Seattle Pacific) scored 10.

Coach Laki Lakner said he was relieved. "I really believed we should have finished the series in Den Helder yesterday. The outcome of a 7th game like this is always unpredictable, especially a back-to-back game like this one, because there's so much pressure. It all comes down to nerves and physical condition then."

"I think we won the championship because our team is a little deeper", Lakner said. "But I have a lot of respect for Yellow Bike, they really did a good job on their home court this series."

The Indoor Centrum Landsmeer was packed with almost 1000 people. The second half of the game was broadcast on Dutch national television.
Courtesy of:http://www.probuildlions.nl

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LUXEMBOURG - Women

Transactions and Acquisitions!! Hetting to Contern! Sitz and Skegro to Etzella!! -by Alex Meyers

The season 06-07 has been over now for a few weeks and as it goes every year in May and June, its transfer time. Several transactions\acquisitions have been made in the last weeks in women's basketball in Luxembourg. Here is a look at what we know thus far. We'll run it down for you club by club.

Basket Esch

Lynn Biever, a 19 year old, 1.82 forward will be transfering to Basket Esch from T71. Basket Esch had a great finish under coach Jean-Francois Manti, winning the DBBL Title, but they lost in the Cup final to Musel Pikes.


AB Contern

It has been made official that Michael Slewinski's assistant coach, Erny Grusknoviak will take over at the helm as Head Coach of the Women's team in Contern. Lisy Hetting (169-G-90), the 16 year old, high scoring point guard, will be transfering to Contern from Etzella. Contern had a respectable season finishing 5th in the qualification round and bowing out to Basket Esch in the final four.

Etzella Ettelbruck

Former Musel Pikes' women coach Jacques Sitz has signed on as head coach in Etzella, replacing Dan Becker who resigned. Sitz coached the men at Racing Luxembourg last season. Musel Pikes' Ranela Skegro (187-F/C-71), who played for Sitz when he was head coach at Musel Pikes, is coming to Etzella. The dynamic duo won the cup together with Musel Pikes in 2005. The skillfull Bosnian all-arounder is 35 years old now, but can still put up big numbers and will be a great team leader for the young talented Etzella squad. Skegro recently became Cup Champions of Luxembourg again with Musel Pikes and head coach Tony Ostojic. Skegro is not new to Etzella as she played there back in 2002. Etzella had a dissapointing 3-11 record and a 7th place regular season finish and had to play in the playdown group where it had no competition winning the last 10 games with no problem to stay in the league.

Residence Walferdange

Rene Kaiser has resigned and Head Coach Louis Wennig (185-G-79) acquired two new players for his team in Walferdange. Pivot player Michèle Orban(1,90) is transfering to Residence from BC Mess and forward Lisi Fritz is coming also to Residence from Amicale. Residence finished in 3rd place in the regular season and in the playoffs. Point guard Claudine Koch (175-G/F-77) will stop playing.

T71 Dudelange


Canadian Foreign player Katie Donovan has decided to remain in Dudelange and has signed again for next season. Carsten Steiner will remain head coach. T71 had a 4th place finish this past season in the DBBL qualification round, but struggled for wins during the playoffs finishing 5th out of 6.

Musel Pikes

Head coach Tony Ostojic has extendended his contract with Musel Pikes, but must search for a new foreign player as Ranela Skegro is heading for Ettelbruck. The 47 year old Croatian Coach Ostojic led his team to Cup Champions this past season and they had a 2nd place finish in the DBBL.

Amicale Steinsel

Ashley Augspurger has decide to stop playing basketball in Europe as professional. The 26 year old forward will returnto the U.S. of A. to finish up her education and will try to become a doctor. Vanessa Di Bartolomeo will also stop playing and focus on her education. Lisi Fritz has left to play for Residence.

BC Mess

No word yet on any new players coming here. Rumor has it that many players will leave and or stop making it a very difficult situation for Mess to compete in the DBBL next season. No other teams from National 2 want to come up. Will the DBBL have 7 or 8 teams in 07-08? If BC Mess is forced to play in the league, it could be catostrophic.



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NEW ZEALAND - Women

Harbour Breeze win WBL northern conference -by Eurobasket News

Harbour Breeze claimed the top spot in the WBL northern conference after they edged Massey Fever 88:56. Harbour had a strong first frame 33:14 and later cruised to a victory. Jennifer Lingor (178-G/F, college: Centenary) led the action with 19 points. Jodi Tini finished with 13 points and 10 boards, while Karlene Kingi added 12 points and 10 boards for the winners. Harbour improved to 12-0 in the season.
Before this encounter Harbour upset Auckland 102:66 to end their fight for the post season birth. The defending champions lost the opening frame 15:32 and struggled to come back into the game. Lisa Wallbutton (183-F-86) scored 27 points and grabbed 11 boards, while Jess McCormack delivered 16 points and 11 boards. However it was not enough for Auckland to beat the current leaders and qualify for WBL finals. Jennifer Lingor was once again top scorer for the Breeze with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Noni Wharemate (171-G-82, college: UTEP) produced 22 points, while Natalie Purcell contributed 20 points in a win.
Otago Goldrush finished their southern conference with a perfect record defeating University of Canterbury 51:35 in the last round fixture. Elise Cassidey and Toni Edmondson nailed 10 points apiece to secure the win for Otago. Stacey Hickford notched 11 points for University of Canterbury.
Wellington also qualified for the WBL semis after they handed in a 61:51 loss to Hutt Valley. Shiana Harris had 16 points for the winners. The only semifinal spot is to be decided today when Waikato will take on Church College.


Harbour - Auckland 102:66
Harbour: Jennifer Lingor 27 points, Noni Wharemate 22, Natalie Purcell 20
Auckland: Lisa Wallbutton 27, Jess McCormack 16

Harbour - Massey Fever 88:56
Harbour: Jennifer Lingor 19, Jodi Tini 13, Karlene Kingi 12

Otago - University of Canterbury 51:35
Otago: Elise Cassidey 10, Toni Edmondson 10
Canterbury: Stacey Hickford 11



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NIGERIA - Women

Zenith Female league: Dolphins, First Bank in good start -by Olusegun Ikuesan
Defending champion of the Zenith Bank female premier league, First Bank Elephant Girls escaped a shocking defeat Sunday when it won a hard fought game against border girls Customs basketball club by 61-58 points in the final leg of the round-trip league played at the sports hall of the Lagos National Stadium, Surulere.

The Scott Nnaji coached Customs had coast home to a 20-06 points win in the first quarter only to surrender in the second and third quarters (22-08 and 22-12) but came back strongly into the game in the fourth and decisive quarter which it won 18-11 points but missed winning the match by two quick turnovers in the dying second of the thrilling match watched by capacity crowd.

The first pairing of the day saw Dolphins basketball club of Lagos making mince meat of hapless AHIP Queens basketball club of Kano by 88-42 points of 21-05; 24-13; 19-12 and 24-12 to set up clash against Customs Monday.

Dodan Amazons got the better of Nigeria Immigration basketball club of kano by 71-61 points to confirm the relegation of the Kano based Passport ladies, the Amazons will do battle against favourite First Bank in the third match Monday while Immigration will take to the court against Sunshine Angels of Akure conqueror, Delta Force of Asaba.

The Sunshine girls of coach Andrew Ishokpehi who lost by two points (51-49) to Delta Sunday will battle AHIP of Kano in the second game Monday to keep hope of making appreciable impact alive.

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SAMOA - Women

Only four teams for the South Pacific Games? -by Gauthier Gerard
FIBA Oceania announced today that only four teams are expected to play in the 2007 South Pacific Games Women basketball tournament in Samoa. The host nation Samoa should field a team while Fiji and American Samoa will have to send a team too if they want to participate in the 2007 Oceania Championships against Australia and New Zealand. The fourth team could be New Caledonia or Tahiti. The final schedule of the Games should be announced in the next weeks. With only four teams, the tournament should be very intense but it would have been interesting to see the other Pacific nation play in Samoa. FIBA Oceania also announced that 8 men team are expected to play in Samoa.

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SPAIN - Women

Tiffani Johnson,great center for Perfumerias Avenida -by Ivan Villar
The american player Tiffani Johnson was signed by Perfumerias Avenida for next season.The player takes 6 years playing in European basketball so she knows the spanish league.She was champion of NCAA two years and won WNBA with Houston Comets on year 2000.This summer decided to refuse WNBA for be in good shape in October when it begins LF.In other side, Marta Fernandez continues making stats of all-star in WNBA after score 19 points in te last game of her team,Angeles Sparks.Tiffani Johnson (193-C-75, college: Tennessee)