EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 7/12/2007

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Men News

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AUSTRALIA

U18 Nationals: Day 4-5 results -by Gauthier Gerard
The U18 Nationals pool phase is coming to an end, with only two days left before the semifinals, the teams are heated up to secure one of the two qualifying spot in each pool. In the pool A, the undefeated Victoria Metro and Western Australia Metro are firmly holding the top-spots. In the other pool, Queensland South is still leading the pack while New South Wales Metro, Tasmania and Victoria Country are competing for the second spot.

Pool A:
Day 4-5 results:
QLD North - WA Metro: 63-105
Michael Chitham 13pts 4/10FG - Cody Ellis 24pts 9/16FG
ACT - New Zealand: 70-63
Alex Pearce 13pts 4/13FG 12rbs - Hala Manoa 12pts 5/13FG 10rbs
VIC Metro - NSW Country: 86-52
Ryan Broekhoff 22pts 8/13FG 7rbs - Sean Mullan 21pts 7/19FG 7rbs
New Zealand - WA Metro: 55-104
Te Puao Silver 10pts 3/9FG 10rbs 5ast - Robert Huntington 27pts 10/18FG 9rbs
VIC Metro - ACT: 119-42
Bryce Arnott 23pts 9/16FG - Alex Pearce 17pts 6/13FG 6rbs
SA Country - NSW Country: 63-66
Ben Yeomans 18pts 7/16FG 8ast - Sean Mullan 22pts 8/17FG 10rbs 3st

Standings:
Victoria Metro 5-0
Western Australia Metro 4-0
New South Wales Country 3-1
Queensland North 1-3
South Australia Country 1-3
ACT 1-4
New Zealand 0-4

Pool B:
Day 4-5 results:
VIC Country - SA Metro: 84-57
Matt Dellavedova 23pts 7/13FG 10ast - Claybirn McMath 17pts 7/17FG
NSW Metro - WA Country: 108-51
Matthew Samuels 26pts 11/21FG 14rbs 7bs - Jordan Hickert 13pts 5/14FG 9rbs
Tasmania - N Territory: 94-67
Alaster Radford 22pts 10/16FG 9rbs - Tyrone Foster 18pts 7/11FG 14rbs
QLD South - Tasmania: 73-70
Brendan Teys 18pts 8/15FG - Dwayne Radcliffe 23pts 10/23FG 13rbs
VIC Country - WA Country: 81-59
Shaun Bruce 14pts 6/16FG - Jordan Hickert 14pts 5/10FG 6rbs
NSW Metro - N Territory: 101-41
Kayne Wilson 17pts 6/11FG - Travis Thorne 13pts 6/20FG 7rbs

Standings:
Queensland South 4-0
New South Wales Metro 3-1
Tasmania 3-2
Victoria Country 3-2
South Australia Metro 2-2
Western Australia Country 0-4
Northern Territory 0-4

Pat Mills - Junior Player of the Year -by Gauthier Gerard
Basketball Australia announced the winners of the 15th annual National Junior Basketball awards, presented at the Under 18 Australian Championships in Launceston, Tasmania. The awards recognise the immense talent of junior basketball players throughout Australia as well as honouring the hard work and dedication of grass roots basketball officials, administrators and coaches across all levels of play.
source: Ben Hawes for BA media

2007 Australia Post Boomers squad member and gun AIS point guard Patrick Mills (182-G-88) was named the Male Player of the Year while 2006/07 defencejobs WNBL Rookie of the Year Cayla Francis (192-C-89) was named the Female Player of the Year. Francis returned to Australia last night after winning Silver at the FIBA Under 21 World Championship in Russia with the Australian Under 21 Women's team, the Sapphires. Mills is currently in Serbia with the Australian Under 19 Men's team, the Emus, who play Turkey in the opening game of the 2007 FIBA World Championships for Under 19 Men tomorrow.

NBA: Newley debuts for Rockets -by Gauthier Gerard
Adelaide 36ers star Brad Newley (199-G-85) made his summer league debut for the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night, helping his new NBA team to a first-up victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, 90-76. Playing in Las Vegas before a crowd that included a bevvy of NBA coaches, Newley made a modest start to his NBA career. He failed to score in just under thirteen minutes of play, going 0-of-2 from the field, but did dish out three assists and grab four rebounds.
source: NBL

Newley, who was chosen by the Rockets with the 54th pick of the 2007 NBA Draft in June, also had one steal and committed two turnovers and one personal foul in his role off the bench. The Rockets' next game will be on Thursday against Western Conference powerhouse, the Dallas Mavericks.

U19 Worlds preview -by Gauthier Gerard
If you want to know more about the upcoming 2007 U19 Men World Championship which will start tomorrow in Serbia, go to www.aussiebasketball.com to read a team-by-team preview of the event. This website is dedicated to the best youngsters in Oceania and will give you a nice preview of this tournament. Of course, we will cover the tournament daily on this page.

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AUSTRIA

WBC Wels news -by Stefan Heinrich
The WBC Wels announced today that Richard Anderson (199-F-77, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Simon Fraser) will stay in the Team for the new season. Anderson had 7.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 0.8 bpg with 52.8 % Field Goal and 68.9 % Free Throw shooting. They also published that Curtis Bobb (196-G/F-78, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Utah St.), Maurice Hargrow (195-G-83, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Minnesota), Roderick Platt (205-C-75, agency: Court Side, college: Loyola, MD) and Hrvoje Henjak (214-C-78) wont stay in the team for the new season. Actually the Coaching Staff is in the USA to visit the Summer Leagues and they hope to find some replacements there.

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BELARUS

Slovak Republic cruise past Belarus -by Eurobasket News
Slovakia - Belarus 79:47
Slovakia U20 national team secured their qualifying round birth as they edged Belarus on Day 3 of action in Group C of the U20 European championship Division B in Poland. Slovakia ensured a nice start to this one as they drained first 7 points. Belarus tied the score midway through the frame but Slovakia posted a 8:1 run to maintain the lead at 21:14. Another impressive 19:2 run that finalised the second quarter put Slovakia at the safe distance at halftime 40:22. Belarus saw little opportunities to cut the deficit as they trailed by as many as 29 points in the third frame. Slovakia's bench dominated the fourth frame limiting Belarus to just 9 points and securing an overwhelming victory 79:47.
Maros Zuffa (196-G-87) recorded game-high 16 points. Jan Zavodny (188-G-87) produced 14 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds for the winners. Belarus answered with 15 points from Dzmitry Shylovich. Yauheni Skrypko (205-C-89) had 11 points in a losing effort. Slovakia outrebounded their opponents 34:29 and shot better 50% from the field. They also converted massive 62.5% from beyond the arc.
Slovakia advanced to the qualifying round, where they should play in Group F. They face Finland today. Belarus goes into the classification round and takes on Sweden in Group G tonight.

Slovakia U20: Maros Zuffa 16 points, Jan Zavodny 14, Miroslav Vansa (195-F-87) 11
Belarus U20: Dzmitry Shylovich 15, Yauheni Skrypko 11.

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BELGIUM

Brussels Transfer News -by Peter Buyse


Atomia Brussels has signed Belgian player Matthias Desaever (194-G/F-76, agency: Court Side) to a one year contract on Wednesday.
Desaever played the past seasons for Mons-Hainaut. He started his career at Oostende in 1994.

In his career he also played for Gravelines and Bree. Was a member of the Belgian NT on numerous occassions and won several cups and championships during his career.

Belgium U20 lost the second half against Finland and stays out of the Qualifying Round -by Eurobasket News
Finland U20-Belgium U20 87:74 (16-21, 14-17, 21-9, 36-27)

Belgium U20 could not advance to the Qualifying Round of U20 European Championship in Division B. Last night Belgium lost to Finland 74:87 and gave them the spot in the next round. Gerald Lee (206-F-87) was unstoppable with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Mikko Koivisto (193-G-87) scored 20, while Cedric Latimer (196-F-87) and Vanjoki ended up with 10 points. Lars Tielens (191-F/G-88) top-scored for our squad with 18 points.
Belgium had a very good start to go on an 8-point lead. Lars Tielens after a jump shot made, added a free throw to give his team 14:6. Even though Finland reduced a bit Belgium stayed in front after first 10 minutes, 21:16. In the second quarter after 26:22 lead Belgium stopped and let the opponents to go on an 8-0 run. Anyway Robin Mestdagh (193-G-88) with a three kept Belgium 38:30 at the half time.

Everything had changed in the second half as Finland took a control of the game. They finished the third winning 51:47 and increased the lead in the fourth. The last quarter was very rich for the baskets as both teams nailed 63 points together. Finland won 87:74 and left Belgium out of the Qualifying Round.

Finland U20: Gerald Lee 31+11 rebs, Mikko Koivisto 20, Cedric Latimer 10, Vanjoki 10
Belgium U20: Lars Tielens 18, Thomas Dreesen (201-F-88) 16, Niels Marnegrave (191-G-87) 15

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CANADA

Canadian U19 National team named -by Eurobasket News
Boris Bakovic (201-F-88) became the only CIS player to make it to the final roster of the U19 National team. Canadian U19 squad will travel to Novi Sad, Serbia to compete in the U19 World Championships from July 12 to July 22. The Canadian roster includes 12 players.
Boris Bakovic is a Ryerson University forward, who just completed his first season with the Rams. He was the CIS All-Rookie team selection last year after he finished the 5th in scoring in Ontario conference and the 19th in CIS with 17.4 points per game. He also posted 10.0 rebounds per game, which was the 4th CIS result. Boris Bakovic was named Ryerson's Male Rookie Athlete of the Year.
Canadian team will enjoy the addition of three NCAA players. Boston University forward Scott Brittain (206-F-88) is among them. He played a solid season with the Terriers. Brittian managed 7.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in 29 games. Another Canadian forward will represent NCAA in the team. This will be Regina-native Kai Williams. He led the Jacks in scoring and rebounding averaging 12.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. The third NCAA player to compete for Canadian team is centre Max Zuyderhoff-Craig from the Loyola Marymount University.
Canada will play in Group C together with Australia, Nigeria and Turkey. They tip off the tournament against Nigeria on July 12. The second encounter will be against Turkey on July 13 and then Canada will wrap up the preliminary action against Austrlia on July 14.
The full list of players:
Boris Bakovic/Forward//Ryerson University (CIS)
Alwayne Bigby/Guard//Eastern Commerce (HS)
Scott Brittain/Forward//Boston University (NCAA)
Keaton Cole/Guard//Eastern Commerce (HS)
Jon House/Guard//Guelph Centennial (HS)
Cory Joseph/Guard//Pickering (HS)
Devoe Joseph/Guard//Pickering (HS)
Chretien Lukusa/Guard//Eastern Commerce (HS)
Zach Naagtzaam/Centre//Southwood (HS)
Maurice Walker/Forward//Mother Theresa (HS)
Kai Williams/Forward//South Dakota State (NCAA)
Max Zuyderhoff-Craig/Centre//Loyola Marymount (NCAA)

Head Coach: Greg Francis , NEDA
Assistant Coach: Greg Beaucamp, University of Victoria.

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CAPE VERDE

National Championship Calendar -by Pedro Gomes
All the teams that will participate in the National championships in Praia have arrived. The games will start today, and the teams are; Onze Unidos (Maio), ABC (Santiago) e Academica (S. Vicente), Under-18 division. In the men's senior division; ABC (Santiago), Panteras Negra (Sal), Atletico (S. Vicente) e Vulcânicos (Fogo

Wednesday, 11: 16H30 - Onze Unidos (Maio) - ABC (Santiago), U18; 18H30 - Pantera Negra (Sal)-Ondas do Mar (Maio), 20H30, ABC (Santiago)-Vulcânicos (Fogo), senior men.

Thursday, 12: 16H30 - Academica (S. Vicente)-Onze Unidos (Maio), U18; 18H30 - Atletico (S.Vicente)-Vulcânicos (Fogo); 20H30, ABC (Santiago)-Ondas do Mar (Maio),
Senior men.

Friday, 13: 16H30 -Academica (S. Vicente)-ABC (Santiago), U18; 18H30 -Vulcânicos (Fogo)-Ondas do Mar (Maio), 20H30 Pantera Negra (Sal)-Atletico (S. Vicente), senior men.

Saturday, 14: 17H00 - Ondas do Mar (Maio) -Atletico (S. Vicente), Senior men; 19H00 - Seven Stars (Santiago) -Pantera Negra (Sal), Senior women; 21H00, ABC (Santiago) -Pantera Negra (Sal), Senior men.

Sunday, 15: 17H00 - Pantera Negra (Sal) -Vulcânicos (Fogo), Senior men; 19H00-Pantera Negra (Sal) -ABC (Santiago), senior women, 21H00, ABC (Santiago) -Atletico (S. Vicente), Senior men.

Under 20 and 18 Champions -by Pedro Gomes

In the under 20 category, which is a new addition to the Santiago South championships. There were five teams in the regular season, Predio, Amibasket, Assomada, Seven Stars, and Bairro. Amibasket won the regular season champions and the playoffs. They beat Seven stars to be the first champions in the under 20 category.

Also a first in the Santiago South Championships is the under 18 category, ABC took this title, with only a few teams in this category.

ABC dominated this category during the regular season, and had no difficulties in beating Bairro, 2-0, in the playoffs. First game 45 to 29, Second game 64 to 52.


Both categories will be in the National championships, Amibasket and ABC will represent the island of Santiago in the nationals, in Praia, Santiago Island.




CAPE VERDE -Afrobasket 07: Provisional 17-man squad -by Pedro Gomes
Cape Verde coach Manuel Trovoada has included three new faces in his provisional 17-man squad for August's AfroBasket 2007 in Angola.

Tony Barros (193-F) from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and Antonio Moreira of Bryan College have been brought in from the United States along with 20-year-old forward Aldevino Monteiro from Sport Lisbon, Benfica.

The Angola-born coach told PA Sport: "These new players add more aggression, height and offensive quality to our game."

Preparations for AfroBasket are due to start on July 9 in the island's capital of Praia, although Trovoada will be without several key players.

He said: "I am still observing two or three players who could join this group. Jeff Xavier [from Providence University in US], has an ankle injury.

"We are planning to have him just for the tournament if he recovers."

Portugal-based Ivan Almeida is another doubt.

"Ivan Almeida went for a few workouts at some universities in the United States, and he is likely to stay there," said the coach.

Cape Verde has been drawn in Group A, alongside hosts Angola, Rwanda and Morocco. They will play their preliminary round at Benguela City - Trovoada's birthplace.

"I will be back to my roots and we know that there is a massive Cape-Verdian community there. So we'll have some support for sure."

On his side's prospects against eight-time champions Angola and the other Group A rivals, Trovoada said: "We are a short team, but very fast on the counter-attack and with good shooting quality. These are our main weapons.

"Our priority and main goal is defeating Morocco. It is not impossible, and then defeating Rwanda and getting through to the next round.

"We want to do better than the ninth position we achieved in our last appearance in AfroBasket 1999.

"We have been warned that Morocco has a very good guard and we'll do everything to stop him."

Angola have clinched the African title each time they have staged the tournament - 1989 and 1999 - but Trovoada insists his side will not be intimidated.

"Angola play at home, but we do not fear them, we respect them," he said.

"I think Angola will have difficulties due to the transformation that is happening to the team.

"Abdel [Boukar Moussa] is injured, Miguel Lutonda [the second oldest player of the Angola squad at 35] has played too many games this year. These two facts could make a difference for the Angolans.

"But the thing is, they play at home and this might be an advantage for them.

"Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Egypt are teams able to give Angolans some headaches.

"If Amadou Gallo [Senegal Basketball director and Dallas Maverick scout] is able to gather all Senegalese players performing in NBA and Europe, they have the chance to win."

Cape Verde squad: Marques Houtmam (FC Porto, Portugal); Odair Sanches (ABC Praia, Cape Verde); Lucas (Amibasket Praia, Cape Verde); Waldir Soares (Pantera Negra Sal, Cape Verde); Mario Correia (Maia Basket, Portugal); Mario Jorge Neves (Belenenses, Portugal); Tony Barros (Umass Boston, USA); Adilson Monteiro (ABC Praia, Cape Verde); Fidel Mendonca (Olivais de Coimbra, Portugal); Aldevino Monteiro (Benfica, Portugal); Antonio Moreira (Bryan College, USA); Victor Hugo Fortes (ABC Praia, Cape Verde); Rodrigo Mascarenhas (FC Porto, Portugal); Antonio Monteiro (MOU); Alcindo Nascimento (Academica Sao Vicente, Cape Verde); Agildo Cabral (Pantera Negra Sal, Cape Verde); Aquiles Semedo (ABC Praia, Cape Verde).

Julio Chitunda

Regional Champions Headed to Praia -by Pedro Gomes
The regional champions from the other top two islands have been define. Pantera Negra is the champion for Sal Island, and the new kids on the block, Atletico de Fonte Francês for Sao Vicente Island. This new addition to the regional championship in Sao Vicente surprised many, when they beat the reigning champions 61 to 50 in the final playoff game, guaranteeing, for the first time, the regional champion title.

Atletico de Fonte Francês, participating for the first time in a regional championship, and winning the title is a first on the island of Sao Vicente, which has always been dominated by Cruzeiros. What is more surprising is that, this team is composed, mainly, of players who are competing for the first time.

In the island of the Sal, Pantera Negra, continues with its dominance.

For the island of Fogo, Vulcânicos are the champions, and for Maio, Onze Unidos takes the title again.

The national championship will he held in Praia, starting this week. All the Regional championships from the different islands will come together to dispute for the best team in Cape Verde.

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CHINA

Why Do Chinese Junior Players Sometimes Shrink and Grow Younger? -by Arthur Volbert
Below is the official listing of the team for the Under-19 World Championship in Novi Sad Serbia which begins tomorrow. The players with their heights and positions listed are the ones on the final team.

The other players are either playing in Las Vegas or were the last cuts on the team. These players were named for eligibility purposes in case someone got injured. Chen Jianghua is injured and that is why 13 players have their heights and positions listed. I do not know if Chen would have been sent here if he were not injured.

Note that Su Wei is listed at 212 cm and Wang Zheng is listed at 216 cm. Wang has grown 2 cm over the past year and is indeed considered to be a year younger than Su. Wang is clearly a player to watch.

Delehei, a Mongolian with one name, is listed as being 204 cm and not 207 or 208 cm as he is sometimes listed. He plays both center and power forward. He is listed as born in 1990 rather than 1989, as he is sometimes listed, but appears to have shrunk rather than grown in the last couple of years. That's what's so charming about junior Chinese players -- they can shrink and grow younger.

Gu Aoke is listed at 196 cm and he is supposed to be an outstanding leaper who does 360 degree dunks. Tian Yuchen is listed at 205 cm and was listed at that height two years ago. This does make one suspicious that he was actually born in December, 1992. At the least it makes one seriously doubt that he will get any taller.

Xu Yong, on the other hand, appears to have grown an inch since he was MVP of the Adidas Camp two years ago.

The only point guard listed is Chen Jianghua, who is injured. Xu Xu is listed as 190 cm here and not 194 cm as he has been listed elsewhere. So he is probably a point guard. Yang Qin has also played the point.

Here is the list with the Name, Position, Height, Date Of Birth, Place Of Birth, and Current Club Team

Zhichao BA SF 200cm 6'7" 19/02/1989 Liaoning(CHN) Guandong (CHN)
Jianghua CHEN PG 187cm 6'2" 12/03/1989 Guangdong(CHN) Guangdong Southern Tigers, CBA (CHN)
DELEHEI C 204cm 6'8" 21/06/1990 Neimenggu(CHN) Bayi (CHN)
Jinhui DING -/- 27/10/1989 Zhejiang(CHN) -
Aoke GU SG 196cm 6'5" 12/12/1988 Liaoning(CHN) Shanghai Sharks (CHN)
Jingyu LI SF 198cm 6'6" 03/04/1991 Shandong (CHN) Shangdong (CHN)
Xiaoxu LI C 204cm 6'8" 05/06/1990 Liaoning (CHN) Liaoning (CHN)
Xiaoyu LIU -/- 14/03/1989 Jilin (CHN) -
Yahui LIU -/- 09/01/1990 Jiangsu (CHN) -
Wei SU C 212cm 6'11" 28/07/1989 Shandong (CHN) Guandong (CHN)
Yuchen TIAN SF 205cm 6'9" 30/12/1992 Jilin (CHN) Shanghai Sharks (CHN)
Zheng WANG C 216cm 7'1" 08/02/1990 Hebei (CHN) Guandong (CHN)
Xu XU SG 190cm 6'3" 05/01/1989 Henan (CHN) Bayi (CHN)
Yong XU SF 202cm 6'8" 30/03/1989 Shanghai (CHN) Shanghai Sharks (CHN)
Qin YANG SG 195cm 6'5" 28/04/1989 Jiangsu (CHN) Bayi (CHN)
Bo ZHANG SF 196cm 6'5" 30/09/1990 Liaoning (CHN) Bayi (CHN)
Jiadi ZHANG -/- 09/07/1988 Liaoning (CHN) -
Zhun ZHENG -/- 12/08/1992 Heilongjiang (CHN) -
Peng ZHOU -/- 11/10/1989 Liaoning (CHN) -

Average height: 200cm/6'7"

COACHES

Coach: LI Chunjiang


Stern Explores NBA Involvement With CBA -by Arthur Volbert
According to the China Daily, National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern says he is exploring the possibility of NBA involvement in China's domestic league, the Chinese Basketball Association. This clarifies earlier statements on the NBA starting a basketball league in China.

"We will see in the next couple of years, coming out of the Beijing Olympics, the possibility of some (kind of) joint venture between the NBA and the sports administration and the CBA in China," Stern told China Daily backstage before the June 28 NBA Draft in Madison Square Garden in New York. "I will see whether there is any bigger opportunity for us to do this, so we can bring our techniques and marketing expertise. I think someday if we are very lucky and we have the approval of government and sports authorities, a CBA-NBA league in China is attainable. It doesn't necessarily have to come under the control of the NBA, we are here to give and offer something, What the NBA has to offer is its expertise and reputation about understanding the game, the rules, the facilities. We will also be working together with the CBA on coaching clinics, nutrition clinics, exercise arrangements and all sorts of things."

Basketball is now the most popular sport in China, the China Daily article noted, with millions of people tuning in to watch NBA games on TV and kids across the country wearing Kobe and Yao jerseys as they play in their school courts. There are an estimated 300 million hoops fans in China - an impressive statistic given 20 years ago the sport was not widely played. Back then basketball was a military sport - and it was way below table tennis and badminton in the pecking order in the country's official sports structure. In the mid-1980s there were only 50 courts in Beijing, most of them inside military compounds.

"Ever since I invited the first Chinese team to the United States in 1985, we have fostered a good relationship with the government, the CBA and also the people of China. I know this is very important," Stern said. "The NBA's development in China in the post-Olympic era is on the top of our agenda, and cooperation with Chinese government will be our priority as well."

The NBA's Beijing office opened in 2003, and it began printing a Chinese language version of the official Hoops magazine in 2005. According to Stern, however, this is just the beginning.

"We won't stop at where we are now and we are going to continue to grow, in terms of the number of people we have and developing the market as deep as we can. We are going to open up new offices to reach as many places as we can, in cities as well as in villages," Stern said.

The NBA pre-season came to Beijing and Shanghai in 2004 and it is set to return later this year with the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the Orlando Magic in Macao and Shanghai. A number of NBA programs including NBA Van Jams and Basketball without Borders were introduced to China and attracted local and international sponsors. The NBA invited the Chinese national team to its Summer League and the Stankovic Cup this year will feature the D-League All-star Team. Chinese interest in the NBA is set to be even higher following the drafting of Yi Jianlian and Sun Yue. The draft was covered by more than 30 reporters from China, including 10 from Yi's home Guangdong Province. A total of 19 TV stations including national sports channel CCTV-5 broadcast live NBA games to a weekly audience of more than 40 million.

"I feel growth is ahead of us, I am very sure about it," Stern said.

Team China Summer League averages -by Alex Yams
2007 Summer League Averages
Name G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG↓
Zhizhi Wang, C 3 3 30.7 .581 .583 .923 1.0 6.0 7.0 1.3 0.3 0.7 2.67 7.00 18.3
Jianlian Yi, C 3 3 31.3 .300 .000 .800 1.7 3.3 5.0 0.7 1.0 1.7 5.00 6.00 17.3
Fangyu Zhu, F 3 3 25.0 .462 .714 .000 0.3 3.0 3.3 1.0 0.0 0.3 1.67 2.00 9.7
Shipeng Wang, G 3 3 26.3 .429 .000 .667 1.3 2.0 3.3 2.3 0.0 0.0 2.67 2.00 9.3
Wei Liu, G 3 3 18.0 .636 .000 1.000 1.3 0.7 2.0 1.7 0.3 0.0 2.33 3.00 5.0
Ke Mo, C 3 0 11.0 .500 .429 .000 0.3 0.7 1.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 1.67 3.00 3.7
Yue Sun, G 3 0 20.3 .357 .167 .000 0.3 1.0 1.3 3.7 0.7 0.3 1.33 0.00 3.7
Peng Zhou, F 3 0 12.0 .111 .000 1.000 0.0 0.7 0.7 0.3 0.7 0.3 1.00 2.00 1.7
Lei Wang, F 2 0 12.5 .250 .000 .250 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.50 1.00 1.5
Jianghua Chen, G 1 0 6.0 .000 .000 .000 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 4.00 0.0
Jinhui Ding, C 2 0 10.0 .000 .000 .000 1.0 1.5 2.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 0.50 4.00 0.0
Xiaoyu Liu, G 2 0 8.5 .000 .000 .000 0.5 0.5 1.0 1.0 0.5 0.0 2.50 2.00 0.0
Zhongguang Wang, G 1 0 7.0 .000 .000 .000 1.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.00 2.00 0.0
Feng Du, F 0 0 0.0 .000 .000 .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.0
Nan Li, F 0 0 0.0 .000 .000 .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.0
Songtao Zhang, C 0 0 0.0 .000 .000 .000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0.0
Team Averages 200.0 .411 .421 .766 8.0 19.0 27.0 12.7 4.0 3.3 21.00 33.00 69.7
Opponent Averages 200.0 .486 .282 .660 9.3 24.3 33.7 12.7 11.0 2.3 19.67 28.00 81.0



Team China has been virtually outplayed in every game except for the win vs the Cleveland Cavaliers. Outside of Wang ZhiZhi and sporadic play from Yi, the team has been unable to keep up with the NBA teams.

Chinese Fans Want Yi to Play with Bucks -by Arthur Volbert
According to a report in the New York Times, Chinese fans want Yi Jianlian (212-C/F-87) to join the Milwaukee Bucks.

Yi's agent, Dan Fegan, has pushed for a trade and wants Yi to play in a city with a large Asian population. Sources tell me that Yi's Guangdong club team may also be behind this strategy.

"Fegan wil hamper Yi's future," the former national team coach Qian Chenghai said in yesterday's editions of the China Daily newspaper. "I don't think Yi refused to join the Bucks. It is Fegan who doesn't want him to join. We don't want to see Yi destroy his reputation in the NBA and return to the Chinese Basketball Association. That's horrible."

Results of an online poll published in the China Daily showed that 68 percent of 9000 respondents want Yi to remain with the Bucks. It is clear that Yi will not play in the NBA this year if he rejects the Bucks offer. So Yi should sign with the Bucks as soon as possible, joining other first round picks have signed with the teams that drafted them. Yi's greatest marketing potential is in China, not among Asian-Americans in a particular city. Yi should not continue to disappoint Chinese fans by remaining unsigned.

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DOMINICAN REP.

Panteras & Cocolos Introduce to Media -by Herubey Grassals

The Cocolos de San Pedro de Macoris & Las Panteras del Distrito Nacional made their press conference to present to the media their teams for Lidoba's tournament that begining this Friday 13th. Las Panteras present good quality player that include team captian Josue Abreu, Oskary Lenderborg, Benito Flores, Jack Michael Martinez (203-F/C-81, agency: Paris Global Sports), Manuel Guzman (203-F-82, college: Bemidji St.), Juan Araujo & Manuel Fortuna, they said this year they come to win all because they deserved.


The Cocolos made a huge impact in their press conference when they receive a phone call by Luis Flores (188-G-81, college: Manhattan) (188-G-81, college: Manhattan) (188-G-81, college: Manhattan) that confirms to all media he will be from the star for the tournament with the team, The Cocolos also have on it roster Mawel Soler (196-G-83, college: Bowling Green), Alberto Ozuna (203-F-82), Oto Vantroi, Henry Lalane (199-F-78, college: St.Francis,NY), Omar Hernandez (187-G-66); The Cocolos said they will bring a lot of surprises for their fans and all media which doesn't give any chances to them.



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E.CHAMPS U20

U20 NT of Slovenia defeats Turkey! -by Matej Bergant
Slovenian U20 NT again outclassed their opponet, this time they beat Turkey 82:74. With this victory Slovenians moved even closer to the semi-finals of the U20 European Championship. Game was close untill last minutes when Slovenian quality decided the game. High scorer for Slovenia was Jaka Klobucar (198-G-87) with 18 points and 4 assists. He was followed by Emir Preldzic (206-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) 16 points and 8 rebounds, Gasper Vidmar (210-C/F-87) with 10 points and 7 rebounds, Dejan Mlakar (191-G-88) with 14 points, 5 rebounds while Jan Mocnik (174-G-87) had 12 points and 7 assists. Top scorer for Turkey was Mehmet Yagmur (188-G-87) with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, but he also had 11 turnovers.

Division B: the end of the Preliminary Round -by Eurobasket News
Last day was the last for the Preliminary Round of U20 European Championship in Group B. Two teams from each group made another group E and F. The other teams will play in the Classification Round.
In Group A Montenegro and Germany finished with 3-1 record that gave them a possibility to advance. Germany did not play yesterday, while Montenegro beat Sweden 92:69. Boris Savovic (207-F-87) led the winners with 28 points and 9 rebounds. In another game of the group Czech Republic outscored Austria 70:64 and got the first win in the tournament.
Poland and Estonia grabbed the first two spots from Group B. Poland without any problems finished with 4-0, while Estonia even with a loss joined them. Estonia lost to Switzerland 57:69 and ended up with 2-2 record. Netherlands had the same record after beating Ireland 82:76. Kenneth van Kempen (206-F/C-87) led the winners with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
In Group C Ukraine and Slovak Republic reached the top. Ukraine stayed undefeated overcoming Portugal 87:80 in the last day. Slovak Republic satisfied with a win over Belarus 79:47 to join Ukrainians. Maros Zuffa (196-G-87) top-scored with 16 points for the winners.
Finland and Great Britain deserved the wins last night and both advanced from Group D. Finland destroyed Belgium 87:74 with 31 points and 11 rebounds from Gerald Lee (206-F-87). Great Britain beat Romania 79:62 with Daniel Clark (210-C-88) 's 24 points and 13 rebounds.

Group A
Montenegro-Sweden 92:69
Czech Republic-Austria 70:64

Group B
Switzerland-Estonia 69:57
Ireland- Netherland 76:82

Group C
Portugal-Ukraine 80:87
Belarus-Slovak Republic 47:79

Group D
Finland-Belgium 87:74
Romania-Great Britain 62:79

Division A: Qualifying Round begins -by Eurobasket News
The Qualifying Round started last night in Division A of U20 European Championship. Four teams in both Group E and F stay undefeated in the tournament.
In Group E Slovenia overcame Lithuania 96:84. Gasper Vidmar (210-C/F-87) paced the winners with 22 points. Dejan Mlakar produced 21, while Jan Mocnik nailed 18 points and made 10 assists. Paulius Ivanauskas (194-G-87) top-scored for the Baltic team with 21 points.
Lithuania went on a 7-0 run after 4 points from Petrukonis. Unfortunately it did not help to stay even as Slovenia finished the first 27:19. The co-hosts of the tournament lost 1 point of the deficit at the half having 52:45.Lithuanian Vilmantas Dilys converted a three-point play to cut the deficit to 64:60 with four minutes to play in the third. The quarter however ended up with 74:66. Paulius Ivanauskas drained a three-pointer to make 76:71. Meanwhile Slovenia mounted in 12-3 run to finish the game on the happy end.
Russia U20 increased to 3-0 in Group E of U20 European Championship Men after a brilliant victory over France. Trailing by 17 points, Russia created a 24-0 run to reach the victory. Petr Gubanov (207-C-87) led the winners with 17 points. Andrey Vorontsevich (204-C-87) scored 16, while Ilya Syrovatko added 14. Nando De Colo was the best for France with 24 points. Russian team stayed with 2-0, while France did not have a win before the game with each other. Of course the favorite of the game was Russia, but France took a control of the game first. They won the opening quarter 18:13 with 2 points from Marc Judith in the end. The French created a 23-11 run to open a 46:35 lead at the break. France U20 had a great balanced game and with a three from Nando De Colo the score was 59:42.
A fantastic defense by Russia and 15 straight points closed the quarter at 59:57. That was the beginning of the 24-0 run of the Russian squad. Russia led 80:76 before France started to foul. It did not bring luck for the French as Russia celebrated 84:79 win.
Serbia beat Turkey 88:83 with 26 points from Milos Teodosic (196-G-87). Serbia improved to 2-1, while Turkey fell at 1-2.

In Group F Georgia U20 dropped to 1-2 in the Qualifying Round of U20 European Championship. In the first game of the new round Georgia lost to Israel 74:81. Israel went on a big lead, however Georgian team played the second half better. Yogev Ohayon (189-G-87) led the winners with 23 points. Elishay Kadir netted 16 and Tal Michael Dunne produced 15. Lasha Parghalava (190-G-87) top-scored for Georgia with 14 points. It was an easy start for Israeli team as they managed to go on a 27:15 lead. They increased to one more point deficit in the second quarter and had 43:30 at the half.
Chochua opened the third quarter with two free throws. Gaprindashvili's two made the score first 38:48 and then 40:50. Georgia could not scratch back into the game in the third quarter with Israel ahead 64:54 going into the final 10 minutes.
The last quarter was a great challenge for Georgian team. Lasha Parghalava drained a three-pointer to make it 70:68 with four minutes to play. Yogev Ohayon however scored some important baskets for Israel to lead his team to the victory.
Italy outscored Croatia 82:69 to stay at 3-0. Italy remained perfect at the U20 European Championship for Men.A 22:15 push in the last quarter proved the high level of the Italians. Giovanni Tomassini (186-G-88) and Pietro Aradori (192-G-88) top-scored for the winners with 17 points each. Ante Tomic collected 24 points in defeat, while Filip Vukicevic, Luka Drezga and Petkovic nailed 9 each.
In the opening quarter Croatia went on a 4-0 lead. Right after that Italy scored 11 points in a row to go on 11:4. The hosts finished with 20:17 after the first 10 minutes. In the second quarter Italian lead hesitated from 5 to 7 points. Pietro Aradori's three sent the teams to the interims with 42:33 for Italy. Croatia had a productive third quarter and managed to cut to 55:53 with 2:18 in the third. Croatia was also 1 point behind with 8 minutes till the end of the game trailing 61:62. Giovanni Tomassini's three and then two did not allow Croatia to have an intrigue in the end.
Spain beat Bulgaria 90:71. Marc Fernandez led the way with 24 points. Spain is 3-0, while Bulgaria is vice versa.

EC U20: Serbia better than Turkey 83:88 -by Dragan Jankovski
Serbian U20 National Team celebrated over Turkey 83:88 and currently has score 2-1 in group E on European Championship. Turkish NT opened game much better making 23:16 in the 10th minute and they kept advantage until the last offense of the first half when Serbia took lead 40:41. Third quarter was totally equalized while question about the winner of this game is decided in 37th minute when on the score 71:71 Serbia made run 8:0. Point guard Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) led Serbia adding 26 points and 5 assists. Dragan Labovic (208-C/F-87) also was good scoring 21 points with 8 rebounds. Turkish team got 26 points and 5 assists from Mehmet Yagmur (188-G-87).

Today at 15:30h Serbian U20 NT will meet Russia who is still without lost on EC.


Turkey - Serbia 83:88
(23:18,17:23,18:18,25:29)

Turkey: Akis 10, Mahmutoglu, Oner 7, Batuk 11, Yagmur 26 (5 as), Altintig 2, Pacun 2, Nalga 7 (7 rebs), Yetim 3, Savas 15 (11 rebs)
DNP: Goktas, Demir.
Serbia: Teodosic 26 (5 as), Tepic 9, Nikolic Stefan 2, Djurkovic 15, Labovic 21 (8 rebs), Kovacevic, Stimac 6, Paunic 2, Dragovic 7 (7 rebs), Nikolic Uros
DNP: Jereminov, Zivcevic.

Three teams stay undefeated in Division A, but only two of them advanced so far to the semis -by Eurobasket News
Italy and Spain advanced to the semifinals of U20 European Championship Men from Group F even though there is one more playing day. Serbia defeated Russia in Group E to bring an intrigue to the group. Slovenia is 4-0 there however might be out of the semifinal if the loss will be big from Russia tonight.
In Group E Russia U20 lost an important game to Serbia in the U20 European Championship Men. The defending champions made a 20:15 push in the last quarter to celebrate 71:65 win. Dragan Labovic paced the winners with 16 points. Marko Djurkovic netted 13 and Milos Teodosic ended up with 11 points. Alexey Shved posted 18 points in the losing effort. As only two teams advance to the semifinals from the group Russia will have to beat Slovenia tonight. The latter is the only undefeated team in Group E. Serbia improved to 3-1, while Russia has the same record.
Serbia took a control from the first minutes of the game. They already had 8 points deficit (14:6) after Djurkovic's free throw. The first quarter ended up with 19:14 for Serbia. In the second quarter Russia came back to the game and after Artur Urazmanov hit a three Russia stayed in front, 31:30. Serbia led 41:39 at the break when Dragovic made a lay-up.
In the third quarter both teams dedicated too much time and attention to defense. Later, trailing just 55:53, Russia committed four turnovers as Serbia scored 11 straight points, 66:53. In the end of the game Russia did not stay closer than to 5 points.

In the game of two winless teams of Group E Lithuania was defeated by France 71:76. The latter improved to 1-3, while the Baltic team is 0-4. Today Lithuania will face the defending champions Serbia in the last game in the group of U20 European Championship Men. Marc Judith led the winners with 13 points. Aaron Cel produced 12, while Nando De Colo ended up with 11 points and 7 steals. Povilas Butkevicius top-scored for Lithuania with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
Lithuania won the opening tip nailing first four points of the game. The last lead however was at 13:12 in the middle of the first. Meanwhile France had some baskets to go on 21:15 before the second. The latter increased to 38:34 at the break and looked forward not to stop. In the beginning of the second half France used a 14-4 run to enlarge to 55:45. Lithuania stayed behind with 55:49 after 30 minutes of the game. It was Butkevicius who cut the deficit to 73:69 with 23 seconds left but Marc Judith kept the score for the winners.
Slovenia overcame Turkey 82:74 keeping alive their excellent chances of advancing to the semifinals. Jaka Klobucar led the winners with 18 points, while Jan Mocnik added 12 points and seven assists. Slovenia face Russia on Thursday knowing they can afford a loss by three points against the Russians and still reach Saturday's semis.

In Group E Spain beat Georgia 96:68 with Xavier Rey's 21 points. Giorgi Shermadini led Georgia with 12 points and Giorgi Gaprindashvili had 10 points in a losing cause. Spain take on Italy in a top-notch showdown on Wednesday while Georgia, who dropped to 1-3 in the group will face Croatia.
Croatia lost to Bulgaria 70:88 as Ivan Lilov scored a game-high 25 points and his older brother Lyubomir Lilov and Stoyo Cholakov each had 12 points.
Italy had an important but tough win over Israel to reach the semifinals. Co-hosts beat Israel 66:62 with 12 points from Alessandro Piazza. Giovanni Tomassini and Alberto Chiumenti each scored 11 for the winners.


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ESTONIA

U20 NT advances to 2nd round -by Janar Filippov
Estonian u20 NT finished the first round of European Championship Divison B with losses to Poland and Switzerland. Despite that, Estonia secured the 2nd place in Group B and advanced to top 8. Estonia's next opponent is Montenegro.

Estonia - Poland 48:67
Allar Velleramm (191-F-87) 10+3rb, Mihkel Kurg (191-G-87) 8, Vene 6, Niine 6. Estonia lost rebounds 27:48 and 16/56 of field goals (opponents 24/60).

Estonia - Switzerland 57:69
Sten-Timmu Sokk (180-G-89) 11+5as+3st, Kurg 10, Tarmo Tartes (206-C-87) 9+7rb, Jermakov 8+4rb, Velleramm 10. Estonia lost rebounds 30:45 and made 20/65 of field goals.

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FRANCE

Pro B : Market news of the day -by Aurelien Hipp
*Bourg en Bresse signed Boakai Lalugba (200-F-81, agency: Court Side, college: Bucknell) for next season. He was playing in sweden last year (22.3ppg 10.3rpg) and spent 2 years in Finland before that (around 23ppg and 10ppg each season). He will play with a Cotonou status in his new team of Bourg en Bresse.

*Evreux has found its US forward, James Mathis (198-F-84, agency: Court Side, college: Niagara). The US player comes from Holland (Weert) where he posted 16.8ppg 11.0rpg. He is the fourth player to leave Holland for a job in ProB this season.

Pro B : Market news from Nanterre -by Aurelien Hipp

*The coach of Nanterre announced today that he had signed Adrien Moerman (203-F/C-88), loaned by Roanne. The young U20 player posted 2.5ppg 1.0rpg in ProA last season and became ProA champion with his team. He will discover the ProB championship and learn a lot, having much more responsabilities in the lower division.


The team is also in advanced contacts with Kenny Younger (203-F-77, agency: Warren Sports, college: Houston). If the signature is not official so far, the team is just waiting from the contract being sent back and signed. This power-forward posted 16.5ppg 7.2rpg with Brest last season.



ProA : 2 international players for Paris -by Aurelien Hipp
*Paris signed Jurica Jurica Golemac (209-F-77) (209-F-77) and Moshe Mizrahi (202-F-80). Antoine Rigaudeau and the parisian staff keep on building the new team of "Paris-Levallois". Mizrahi posted 10.0ppg 1.7rpg in Bnei Hasharon last season, while Jurica Golemac also played in Israel, but posted 7.5ppg 2.6rpg 2.9apg with Hapoel Jerusalem, a team that reached the ULEB Cup quarterfinals this season.

ProA : Jason Rowe back in Toulon -by Aurelien Hipp
*The icon of Hyeres-Toulon is back in France. After one season in Italy, Jason Rowe (178-G-78, college: Loyola, MD) decided to come back to Hyeres-Toulon where he spent 3 seasons so far.After an MVP season (21.0ppg 6.6apg), Rowe decided to leave the french league in 2006-2007 and moved to Livorno where he posted 15.0ppg 3.9apg. It's an excellent news for a very ambitious team of Hyeres-Toulon, since the team already has signed players like Masingue, Ajinca or the coach, Alain Weisz.

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GERMANY

2. Bundesliga-News -by Moritz Korff
The Cuxhaven BasCats (Pro A) have extended the cooperation with three players: Andreas Ruckhaber (198-F/C-81), Matthias Dawidowski (194-F-87) and Glenn Goettsche (188-G-87) will play by the North Sea also next season. All three got limited time on the court for the BasCats during this past campaign.

Patrick Horstmann (199-F-87) stays with Erdgas Ehingen/Urspringschule (Pro B). The 19-year-old forward was supposed to play college-basketball in the future, but after his torn ACL, which he suffered in summer 2006 and kept him out of action for the entire season, Horstmann is going to suit up for the Steeples in 2007-2008.

The Wolfenbuettel Dukes (Pro B) hired Janusz Klimek as Assistant Coach for the upcoming season. The former Polish National Team Player and father of Jakob Klimek (195-F-83) and Agatha Klimek (F) will work with Andreas Hundt, the Dukes' new Head Coach.

Goldsberry joins the Artland Dragons for two years -by Moritz Korff
The Artland Dragons Quakenbrueck (1. Bundesliga) didn't have to travel far to find a replacement for playmaker Filiberto Rivera (187-G-82, college: UTEP), who decided to leave Quakenbrueck. John Goldsberry (191-G-82, college: NC-Wilmington) is the new point man for the Dragons, he signed a contract for the next two years. Goldsberry spent his rookie-season in Leverkusen and averaged 8.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.2 apg and a league-leading 2.7 spg for the Bayer Giants.

Tuebingen signed Richard Jeter -by Moritz Korff
The Walter Tigers Tuebingen (1. Bundesliga) added another new player to the 2007-2008 roster. His name is Richard Jeter (198-G/F-80, agency: Spectrum Sports, college: Atlanta Metro JC). The 27-year-old guard/forward is a strong athlete and can shoot the three-pointer. He finished his collegiate career after two years at Metro Atlanta Junior College and after being named the 2003 Georgia JUCO Player of the Year.
Jeter owns very little experience in overseas basketball. He played for Azovmash Mariupol in the Ukraine (2004-2005: 2 games: 2 ppg) and Santa Lucia Realty in the Philippines (2005: 1 game: 6 pts) only very shortly and competed in several Summer Leagues and US-Minor Leagues through the years. He also had a spell on the roster of the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2003-2004 pre-season. Until November 06 he suited up for CBA-team Albany Patroons and joined the Arkansas RiverCatz (ABA) later that season.

News from Moenchengladbach -by Moritz Korff
Peter Krausen (207-C-85), Max Dohmen (201-F-88), Simon Bennett (188-G-85), Fabian Kamphausen (203-F-86), Kai Bonzelett (196-F-89) and David Skibba (184-G) have already signed contracts with NVV Lions Moenchengladbach (Regionalliga West) for the 2007-2008 season. Meanwhile, fans' favorite and team captain Phil Jones (183-G-74) decided to finish his career as a basketball player. He has been a Lion the past five years.

Tesfaldet in Noerdlingen -by Moritz Korff
TSV Noerdlingen (Pro A) have signed Johannes Tesfaldet (188-G-80, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement) for the upcoming season as a back-up for the point. In 25 games for Mitteldeutscher BC Tesfaldet scored 7 points and dished out 1.4 assists during this past season. Noerdlingen's new Head Coach Andreas Wagner now has already seven German players on the roster: Carl Mbassa (194-G/F-78, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement), Jasper Knoch (193-F-86), Waldemar Buchmiller (195-G-80), Mario Matic (202-C-79), Dima Rastatter (200-F-88, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement), Alexander Sieber (190-G-84) and Johannes Tesfaldet.

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GREECE

Red news! -by Chris Mammides
Olympiakos dismiss the Croat Zizic even though they sign him earlier this year for anotehr three years!! At the same time Gershon's team is ready to sign three players (by tomorrow there will be an official announced) the two of them are Kostas Vasiliadis, ex player of Malaga (3 years contract) and Lukas Mavrokefalidis, ex player of Roma (wanted by Panathinaikos too!) the third player is an American who is playing as a power forward and Center with a career in NBA (rumors are bringing Maceo Baston (206-F-75, agency: Priority Sports, college: Michigan) in Olympiakos) tomorrow we will know who's the American who will wear the red jersy next seazon!!

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HOLLAND

Dennard Abraham to Aris Friesland -by Fred Roggen
Dennard Abraham (206-F-84, agency: Court Side) has signed a contract for the coming season with Aris Friesland. The powerforward played previous season at the Towson University.

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ICELAND

Ikolev Join Keflavik -by Nenad Ilijev
Four time Icelandic champion, Keflavik adds Ukrainian Denis Ikovlev (201-F-86) to its roster for upcoming season. Ikovlev plays at pos.3 although coach Fox used him at power forward spot at University of Nevada-Reno. He averaged 6.8ppg and 3.9rpg in his senior year being part of probably the best team in school history.

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INDIA

TDBA plans uplifting basketball in Kerela -by Yudhistir Krishna
The Thiruvananthapuram District Basketball Association (TDBA) has initiated steps to promote the game in the district in a big way. The members of the newly-elected body of the TDBA met here on Monday and decided to focus its attention on developing the talent in schools and colleges in the district. TDBA has also taken steps to attract corporate houses to the game by organising inter-corporate tournaments.

The TDBA will organise a one-day carnival in the district. Regular coaching for school students during weekends throughout the year will also be conducted and the district body will provide coaches to schools which don't have trainers. An orientation course for senior players, physical education teachers and trainers will also be held in the district.

The TDBA will offer consultancy services in the construction of basketball courts and will also provide movable posts with acrylic board, pressure release rings and other equipments to interested parties. A website will also be launched.

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IRELAND

Ireland gets beaten by Netherlands -by Eurobasket News
Ireland - Netherlands 76:82
Irish U20 National team suffered their 3rd defeat at the current U20 European championship Division B in Poland. In a tight game Ireland team failed to deliver at the dying stage and will have to play in classification round.
Ireland kept it close at the start of the game and Gerard Myles' basket tied the scoreline at 17 entering the second frame. Netherlands rushed ahead then and Simon Fluks's five straight points lifted them to a 24:17 advantage. Ireland fought it back and closed the gap to just 1 point 35:36. But Kenneth van Kempen (206-F/C-87) knocked down 2 free throws and Netherlands went into the dressing room leading 38:35. The deficit remained the same before the final frame as the scoreline showed 52:55. Netherlands sparked with a 14:0 run midway through the final quarter and established a comfortable 73:58 advantage. They still were up 77:68 with 36 seconds left in regulation, when Ireland spurred ahead for a final come back effort. Eoin McDermott (194-C-87) netted 5 consecutive points and Scott Kinevane added another trey to pull back within 3 points 76:79 with 13 seconds remaining. But Netherlands showed a perfect touch from free throw line to seal a win at the end.
Kenneth van Kempen led Netherlands with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Robin Smeulders (206-F-87) finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Six Dutch players scored in double digits to ensure the winning outcome. Eoin McDermott provided 20 points in a loss.
Netherlands overpowered Irish players under the rims 54:31. They were also more accurate from the field converting 50%, while Ireland were limited to 39.6%.
Netherlands and Ireland will now play in classification around and face Romania in their first games. Ireland take on Romania today, while Netherlands wait for their turn till tomorrow.

Ireland U20: Eoin McDermott 20 points, Carleton Cuff (190-F-87) 17, Cian Nihill (193-G-88) 16
Netherlands U20: Kenneth van Kempen 16+11 boards, Robin Smeulders 14+11 boards.

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ITALY

Serie A Market News -by Stefano Pini
Giuliano Maresca (191-G-81), after 3 seasons at Montegranaro, will play next season at Benetton. Treviso announced also that Marco Mordente (192-G-79), despite several rumors, won't move from the team. Snaidero Udine has a new man in the middle: Brooks Sales (208-C/F-80, college: Villanova) that Cesare Pancotto had in his roster when he was the head coach of Teramo in 2004/05 season. Montepaschi Siena signed Tomas Ress (211-C/F-80, college: Texas A&M) that ended the season at Reggio Emilia (7,6p., 5,6r). Marco Belinelli (196-G-86) in his first back to back at Vegas Summerleague scored 15 points. He was the top scorer of his team that was beaten by San Antonio.

Last Lega 2 transactions -by Gianni Pascucci
Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari signed SLO-ITA Marko Verginella (204-F-78, agency: Interperformances). Pallacanestro Reggiana announced the agreement with Alvin Young (191-G-75, agency: SportsTalent, college: Niagara), who is back in the team with a two-year contract. Ignis Draghi Novara inked Marco Sambugaro (195-G-71) and Davide Cristelli (202-F-77). Aurora Basket Jesi announced the agreement with MTN-ITA player Milos Stijepovic (182-G/F-86), last at Laborest Trocà Bernalda (B2). Pistoia Basket 2000 announced the agreement with Latvian Janis Porzingis (201-F-82, agency: Stanley International).

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JAPAN

BJ League Summer Signings -by John Scribe

It is mid summer and now it's time to discuss and provide mid-summer signings for respective teams in the BJ League. There have been new faces by way of the draft, and a trade. There have been players that have joined other clubs by way of free agency. Let's look at the signings by each team:


Sendai 89ers:


Re-signed-

G Kenichi Takahashi

SG Shinya Sato

PG Hikaru Kusaka

SG Yuji Kondo

G Daichi Matsuda


Signed-

F Hideki Katsumata (from Tokyo Apache)


Niigata Albirex BB:


Re-signed-

F Yuichi Ikeda

G Makoto Hasegawa

PG Takamichi Fujiwara

F Daiki Terashita

F Kimitake Sato


Toyama Grouses:


Not yet announced


Saitama Broncos:


Re-signed-

F Ryuichi Horikawa

PG Taishiro Shimizu

G Kazuyuki Murakami

F Takeshi Ando

SF Kazuhiro Shoji

F Kazuki Hara

SG Kousuke Shimizu


Newly Signed-

G Aaron Sakaki-Lawrence (Alaska-Anchorage)


Tokyo Apache:


Re-signed-

F Shoji Nakanishi

PG Kouhei Aoki

G Darin Satoshi Maki

F Kazuya Norihira

SF Jumpei Nakama


Newly Signed-

Masashi Joho (from Osaka Evessa)


Osaka Evessa:


Re-signed-

F Kazuya Hatano

F Lynn Washington

PG Haruyuki Ishibashi

G/F Daisuke Tamura

SG Naoto Nakamura (early challenge-draft day trade)

PG Haruhito Shishito


Newly Signed-

Shota Konno

Han Jae Gyu (from Niigata Albirex BB)


Takamatsu Five Arrows:


Re-signed-

F Isaac Sojourner
PG Makoto Kita

PG Shinji Miyamoto

F Satoshi Takeda

F Teruaki Ishida

SG Yu Okada

SF Shuhei Shiroma

SF Hiroyuki Kikuchi


Newly-Signed-

PG Kouta Nonoguchi (from Osaka Sangyo University)


Rizing Fukuoka BB:


Expansion/new signings-

PG Tsuyoshi Kawazura (Fukuoka BB Boys Club Team)

SF Sung Ming Eum (Expansion Draft: from Toyama Grouses)

SF Ryuichiro Nakazono (from Fukutaro Club)

SG Jun Suehiro (from Hosei University)

G Masahiro Kato (from Kyushu Sangyo University)

F Takashi Hirai (from Fukuoka BB Boys)

F Masahide Haraguchi (from Niigata Albirex BB)

G Toshiyuki Chijiiwa (from Kyushu Sangyo University)

PG Jun Nakanishi (from Tokyo Apache)


Oita Heatdevils:


Re-signed-

G Yukinori Suzuki

G Kouhei Mitomo

F Tadaharu Ogawa

F/C Daishi Hayakawa

F Osamu Shimabukuro

SF Daisuke Kimizuka

F Taketo Aoki

SG Hiroki Sato

PG Ryosuke Mizumachi

PG Tsubasa Yonamine


Ryukyu Golden Kings:


Expansion/new signings-

PG Naoto Takushi

F Taira Yoshida (from Sendai 89ers)

F Brian Simpson (from Kadena Falcons)

G Kenya Tomori (from Senshu University)

G Tomoyuki Shinzato













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KAZAKHSTAN

Kazakhstan stun Philippines to finish at 9th spot -by Eurobasket News
Kazakhstan - Philippines 107:90
Kazakhstan team completed the William Jones Cup with an overwhelming win over Philippines 107:90. This win saw Kazakhstan improve to 2-7 record and the 9th overall spot. Philippines grabbed a minimum advantage after the opening frame of the game 22:21. But it appeared as far as they got. Kazakhstan took the game under control and gradually gained a lead. They surged ahead at the end of the second frame 46:43. Philippines kept it close throughout the third frame but Kazakhstan squad spurred ahead in the fourth. Rustam Yurgaliyev and Anton Ponomarev (209-C-88) paced Kazakhs as they rallied over the opponents 31:18 to ensure a confident victory.
Rustam Yargaliyev (195-F-86) topscored for Kazakhstan with 28 points. Anton Ponomarev added 23 points in a winning effort. Mark Anthony Caquioa replied with 24 points for Philippines. Kazakshtan outrebounded Philippines 35:28 and shot solid 58.0% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc.
Anton Ponomarev was among the top performers at the Cup. He finished third in scoring with 18.7 points per game and was the best rebounder averaging 9.7 boards per game.

Kazakhstan: Rustam Yargaliyev 28 points, Anton Ponomarev 23, Alexandr Tyutyunik (190-F-90) 12
Philippines: Mark Anthony Caquioa 24, Jimmy Alapag (178-G-77, college: Cal.St.-San Bernar.) 21.

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KBDL

USBasket.com All-KBDL Awards 2007 -by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Schoen


Scott


Silverhorn


Price


Hampton
Playoff Champs: Central Kentucky Express (Coach Larry Tiller )
Playoff MVP: George Baker (6'3''-G-80) (Express)
Regular Season Champs: Southern Indiana Generals
Regular Season Co-MVP: Craig Schoen (5'10''-G-83) (Generals) / Mike Scott (6'1''-G-79) (Experss)
Scoring Leader: Craig Schoen (Generals)
Coach of the Year: Scott Schoen (Gamblers)

1st Team
Craig Schoen (Generals)
Brian Silverhorn (6'6''-G-84) (Generals)
Mike Scott (Express)
Daniel Price) (Shooting Stars)
Sean Hampton (6'5''-F-75) (Gamblers)

2nd Team
Perrin Johnson (6'5''-G/F) (Generals)
Kevin Reinhardt (6'4''-F-83) (Generals)
David Harrison (6'3''-G-75) (Gamblers)
Jon Patterson (Express)
Jon Bentley (6'9''-F/C-80,) (Shooting Stars)

All-110% Team
Chad Schweitzer (Generals)
Josh Renn (Generals)
Coach Scott Schoen (Generals)
George Baker (Express)
Coach Larry Tiller ( Express)
Steve Peterson (6'1''-G-79) (Gamblers)
Caleb Holcomb (6'10''-C-82) (Gamblers)

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LITHUANIA

Lithuania stays winless in Group E -by Eurobasket News
France U20-Lithuania U20 76:71 (21-15, 17-19, 17-15, 21-22)

In the game of two winless teams of Group E Lithuania was defeated by France 71:76. The latter improved to 1-3, while the Baltic team is 0-4. Today Lithuania will face the defending champions Serbia in the last game in the group of U20 European Championship Men. Marc Judith (192-G-87) led the winners with 13 points. Aaron Cel (203-F-87) produced 12, while Nando De Colo (195-G-87) ended up with 11 points and 7 steals. Povilas Butkevicius (202-F-87) top-scored for Lithuania with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Lithuania won the opening tip nailing first four points of the game. The last lead however was at 13:12 in the middle of the first. Meanwhile France had some baskets to go on 21:15 before the second. The latter increased to 38:34 at the break and looked forward not to stop.
In the beginning of the second half France used a 14-4 run to enlarge to 55:45. Lithuania stayed behind with 55:49 after 30 minutes of the game. It was Povilas Butkevicius who cut the deficit to 73:69 with 23 seconds left but Marc Judith kept the score for the winners.

France U20: Marc Judith 13, Aaron Cel 12, Nando De Colo 11+7 steals
Lithuania U20: Povilas Butkevicius 13+13 rebs, Remigijus Trakimas (204-C-87) 10, Ivanauskas 10

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LUXEMBOURG

Young guns for Hire -by Alexis Kreps

We know that the big guys are going to be here in Luxembourg for the Luxbasket camp 2007but what about the swing man position. Throughout the history of basketball these are the players that put up the numbers and get most of the glory. The luxbasket camp will feature a lot of young up and comers at this position. The 2 rajniak brothers Martin Rajniak (205-F-78, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Cal.St.-Bakersfield) and Peter Rajniak (196-G-81, college: Cal.Baptist) (196-G-81, college: Cal.Baptist) (196-G-81, college: Cal.Baptist) from the Luxembourg Men National Team have to be very interesting for teams as well as Erik Dorbek (196-F/G-82) from the Estonian Men National Team. Other interesting players Troy Weisshaar (201-F-82, agency: EM-PA) all American last year for Concordia Michigan will look to land his first pro contract as well as USBL veteran Shannon Long (198-F-77, college: TCU). We also can not forget a couple of dominating scorers from the Qatar Men National Team. Luxembourg better brace itself for a basketball explosion july 19th-21st. Don't forget to check the next post which will feature the PGs as we will be talking about the return of DeWayne smith.

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MEXICO

Halcones ink three players, Thomas signs at Santos Reales -by Gianni Pascucci
New LNBP team Halcones UV de Cordoba announced the agreement with three domestic players. They are National Team member Jorge Rochin (202-F-78, agency: Edge Sports, college: Portland), veteran Daniel Anaya (178-G-76, college: W.New Mexico) and promising Antonio Becerra (191-G/F, college: Texas-PB). Well known Carlos Mario Thomas (178-G-80, college: Pima CC) moved from the ABA to the LNBP, agreeing to play the next season with the Santos Reales de San Luis

LNBP Arrives in San Diego in 4 Weeks -by Justin Brink
The LNBP Player Showcase happening this August 8th and 9th is still accepting registrations, but not for long, as registration will close on the 21st of July. This will be an open tryout for players who want to compete professionally in Mexico's top professional basketball league. Pro or NCAA experience strongly encouraged but not necessary. LNBP coaches will participate directly in the showcase as coaches during individual skill work outs and Showcase games. Registration for the Showcase is $150 and can be paid securely and quickly by calling EnFuegoHoops at: 619-618-1207 or 954-682-8920. For complete registration details check www.enfuegohoops.com.

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MONTENEGRO

Montenegro tops the Group, sends Sweden to Classification -by Eurobasket News
Montenegro - Sweden 92:69
Montenegro gained their third win at the U20 European championship Division B in Poland. They upset Sweden 92:69 to finish the preliminary round on top of Group A and sent Swedish team to the classification round. Montenegro meanwhile will play in the qualifying round and will try to make it to the semis.
Boris Savovic (207-F-87) led Montenegrin side to another spectacular victory at the championship as he nailed 28 points. Montenegro capped the opening frame with a 12:2 run to grab a 24:15 lead. They drained another 7 unanswered points at the start of the second quarter to maintain a comfortable lead. They extended it to as many as 20 points at halftime 51:31. Sweden obviously lacked consistency and were not able to play a catch up game. Jonas Jerebko (204-F-87) however netted 5 points at the end of the third frame to lighten up a hope for Sweden 55:68. Brice Massamba (204-F/C-88) opened the final quarter with another 3 points but it was as close as Sweden managed to get. Boris Savovic chipped in a couple of jumpers to clear off for good. He finished with 28 points and 9 rebounds to lead the action. Goran Martinic (187-G-87) added 14 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds for the winners. Brice Massamba nailed 18 points to pace Sweden. Johan Andreasen (199-F-88) had 13 points in a loss.
Sweden had an edge under the rims outrebounding Montenegro 32:24, but Balkan team converted 59.5% of field goals and 45.5% from behind the arc. They also forced Sweden to 20 turnovers.
Montenegro now heads for qualifying Group E. They face Estonia tonight. Sweden will play in classification round Group G. They take on Belarus today.

Montenegro U20: Boris Savovic 28 points, Goran Martinic 14, Suad Sehovic (195-G-87, agency: Ultimate Sports Agency) 13
Sweden U20: Brice Massamba 18, Johan Andreasen 13, Jonas Jerebko 12.

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N.MARIANA

Northern Marianas withdrew from the South Pacific Games -by Gauthier Gerard
The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands Basketball Federation submitted a men team for the upcoming 2007 South Pacific Games which will be held in Samoa but the federation had to withdraw the team due to financial reason. This is of course a very bad news, one year before the 2008 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament which will be held in Guam.

SPG Participating countries:
American Samoa
Cook Islands
Fiji
Guam
New Caledonia
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tahiti

Withdrawals:
Micronesia
Northern Marianas
Marshall Islands

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NAIA

Lambuth University Eagles signed Jackson State Community College's Antawn Coby -by Shareef Ditgens
Coach Kevin Burton of the Lambuth University Eagles signed Jackson State Community College's Antawn Coby Wednesday.

The 5'9 guard scored 807 points in his career at JSCC. He registered 289 assists with 93 steals and collected 123 rebounds.

During this past season, Coby was a first team All-Region 7 player and was named to the All TJCCAA Western Division team. He averaged 18.6 points per contest, shot 38 % from behind the three-point arch and shot 54% from the field. He averaged 4.8 assists per game.

He was third in the state in scoring and second in free throw shooting percentage.

Coby played his high school ball at Union City Tennessee.

Coach Burton had this to say about Coby, "Antawn is expected to be an immediate impact player. With his accomplishments and experience he should have a really good career at Lambuth."



Martin Methodist RedHawks Announce New Head Coach for Men's Basketball -by Shareef Ditgens
Martin Methodist College announces the hiring of Andy Sharpe as the new head men's basketball coach for the RedHawk's program.

Andy is a graduate of Reinhardt College and former men's basketball player for the Eagles. For the last two years, Coach Sharpe has served as the head coach for Emmanuel College (Franklin Springs, GA) men's basketball team. The Lions are coming off a historic 27 - 11 season where Sharpe was named the Southern States Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year and his team advanced to the championship game of their SSAC conference tournament.

Jeff Bain, Director of Athletics for the RedHawks says that Coach Sharpe may be one of the youngest head coach in America for a four-year institution.

"Coach Sharpe has maturity beyond his years", states Bain, "At 28 years old, Andy brings proven success, a hard work ethic, and an injection of energy to our program. With his work ethic and collegiate coaching successes Coach Sharpe brings a personality that will blend perfect with our existing coaching staff and a master's degree in Physical Education which will supplement our academic curriculum. His resume was ideal for our needs."

"Andy will inherit a team with a solid returning nucleus with only a hole or two to fill from last year. However, he has a lot to do in a short amount of time. I look forward to seeing Coach Sharpe attack his goals in this abbreviated timeline," continues Bain.

Coach Sharpe announces, "I sincerely look forward to this great opportunity at Martin Methodist College. Our team may not always shoot the ball well or run an offensive to perfection, but we will always play hard, win the hustle plays, and play with great pride on the defensive end. Our teams will be fun to watch for our fans."

Coach Sharpe replaces Jason Ficca who lead the RedHawks to a 20 - 12 record this past season and was selected as the TranSouth Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year. Coach Ficca accepted a position as Athletic Director and Head Men's Basketball Coach at Laramie County Community College in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

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NBA

Rashard Lewis to Magic finalized -by Alex Yams
Lewis joins Magic after sign-and-trade with Seattle

By TIM REYNOLDS, AP Sports Writer
July 11, 2007

AP - Jul 11, 2:23 pm EDT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A few minutes before Rashard Lewis was formally announced as the newest member of the Orlando Magic, the high-scoring forward donned his white-and-blue uniform and made his way through the team's practice facility.

"Feeling good," Lewis said, stopping to shake hands with well-wishers. "Feeling good."

That's no surprise, considering he'd just received a six-year contract worth more than $110 million with the Magic and an opportunity he coveted to play with All-Star center Dwight Howard on a team that Lewis believes could quickly become a major factor in the Eastern Conference.

Lewis formally joined the Magic on Wednesday, leaving the Seattle SuperSonics after nine seasons when the teams completed a sign-and-trade deal. The Magic sent Seattle a conditional second-round pick, while the SuperSonics earned a trade exception believed to be in the $9 million range.

"We set out at the start of free agency to get a big-time player, someone who could score the basketball," Magic general manager Otis Smith said. "We targeted that guy and we got that guy."

Lewis averaged a career-best 22.4 points last season for Seattle, where he spent his first nine years after jumping straight to the NBA from high school and going early in the second round of the 1998 draft. He's averaged more than 20 points in each of the last three seasons, and is the SuperSonics' career leader in 3-point field goals with 973.

He wanted to leave Seattle because he believes the Sonics are "starting over," and began scouting out teams that he felt were a piece or two away from being title contenders. Orlando has long been atop his list.

"They're a young, talented team that ... has nowhere to go but up," the 27-year-old Lewis said. "I feel like I'm still young and still peaking, improving as a player and I can grow with this group of guys."

Lewis agreed to terms with the Magic earlier this month, yet no deal could be closed until Wednesday, the first day that the league's free agent moratorium was lifted. The pact with Orlando originally was for five years, but the sign-and-trade allowed an extra year to be worked into the contract.

Either way, Lewis said he knew the deal would get done.

"I already knew where my heart was," Lewis said. "My decision was probably made even before these guys put a contract out there."

Still, teams continued wooing him, even into Wednesday. Lewis said the Houston Rockets sent a personalized jersey to his door, but he never wavered on his desire to form a solid 1-2 punch with Howard in Orlando.

"I don't know if the formula of a great perimeter player and a great inside guy has failed very often," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Those are always very good teams. There may be other ways to do it, but the most tried-and-true formula in this league is to have one great perimeter player and one great inside player."

That combo should be together for a long time; the Magic reportedly plan to announce an $85 million, five-year extension with Howard on Thursday.

"It really makes our roster very, very good," Van Gundy said. "And even more than that, what this says to me and what our organization has done with Rashard shows me and should show everyone out there how committed this organization is to winning and winning a championship."

Lewis called the Western Conference the "juggernaut of the NBA," and most observers wouldn't argue that that side of the league -- with Phoenix, Dallas and reigning league champion San Antonio, among others, leading the way -- is superior to most teams in the East, where LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers made a mildly surprising run to the finals this past season.

And Lewis said watching James lead the Cavs out of the East only further cemented his belief that the Magic could quickly ascend into contention, something he just didn't think would be possible if he remained in Seattle.

"What's different from us and Cleveland?" Lewis said. "I feel like we're going to have a chance to maybe even get to the finals next season."

Francis Could Reunite with Best Friend. -by Bryan Floyd
Portland has decided that they will pay more than $30 million of the $33.6 million that the former All-Star guard is due. "This was the definition of a win-win situation with Isiah and the Knicks getting Zach Randolph and Steve being the ultimate beneficiary in being bought out," Francis' agent Jeff Fried said on Tuesday.This makes him a free agent and so far the two teams most interested are the Clippers and Mavericks. It is well known that Francis has played his best basketball alongside his good friend Cuttino Mobley. Francis hopes to join the Clippers and reunite with Mobley once again.

Billups Resign's With Pistons. -by Bryan Floyd
Today Chauncey Billups signed a four-year contract worth $46 million. He will be returning to the team that he helped reach five straight conference finals.The contract is worth $46 million guaranteed over four years and includes a team option for the fifth year.Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said he was "very pleased" to have Billups back."We said from the beginning that re-signing Chauncey was our top priority, and now we can move forward knowing that Chauncey will continue to lead this team," Dumars told The Associated Press on Wednesday afternoon. "One of the toughest positions to fill in this business is the point guard position, and that's why it was imperative that we re-sign Chauncey."Billups and the Pistons appeared to reach a win-win deal, because even though the All-Star was one of the NBA's top free agents this summer, other teams didn't seem to be willing or able to compete with Detroit's offer.

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NICARAGUA

ACB last results -by Gianni Pascucci
Lobos de la Universidad de Ciencias Comerciales (UCC) felt again, this time 88-111 to Vikingos de Valenti's Pizza. Carlos Rocha and Ruddy Pavon (189-G/F) scored 25 pts each to lead Vikingos, while Lobos are yet without any win in their debuting season. Tiburones-Bancentro did not suffer the presence of three new imports in Tigres, and won the showdown 85-79, led by Anthony Gayle (185-G-80), who scored 22 pts, and Vandell Thomas (176-G-86), who scored 19. Aaron Eneas (202-F-78, agency: Promotex) led Tigres with 17 points, Martin Amador (193-F-75) scored 16 and Derale Wilson (197-F-77, college: Oklahoma City) 15 at the losing side. Thanks to this win, Tiburones keep the top of the table, with trhee wins of difference over Tigres.

Tigres add three imports to roster -by Gianni Pascucci
After losing the two players from Panama who started the season with the team, Tigres de la Udem inked three new players, Aaron Eneas (202-F-78, agency: Promotex), Derale Wilson (197-F-77, college: Oklahoma City) and Brandon Washington

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PHILIPPINES

Uh oh we're in trouble -by May Arevalo
According to the Chinese page, the team that they are sending in the Philippine invitational is their JUNIOR TEAM and the senior citizens that they've thrown in are FORMER national players. Clearly the Chinese are on a different level in terms of competition. But that's a given.

Team Pilipinas, after absorbing an embarrassing loss to Kazakhstan in the Jones Cup, was confined to their hotel rooms, lights out at 10pm, and no celebration was made, though beer cases and assorted nuts were ready. The dinner party was also canceled.

That was Coach Reyes' way of reminding the players that they are not yet in the battle field so they do not have a reason to slack or celebrate. And that was what the players did, checked out of the tournament, as early as the game against Team Qatar.

Jordan has yet to play its best basketball and has yet to play another of their giants Dshmal Schotz (7ft.) and they have topped the Jones Cup. The inclusion of former Lebanese league import Rasheem Wright to the team made Jordan more potent. The three foreign coaches made Jordan more potent as evident in the way they hid (6'10") Jamal Almaaytah and (6'9")Ayman Idais from Philippine scouts.

Iran did not play center Jaber Rouzbahani (7'3") in the Jones Cup. Even if Coach Rajko Toroman looked bewildered most of the time because of language barrier, eight of his players are 6'6" tall, and could shoot the lights out.

Team Pilipinas in the Jones Cup showed that they are a good team but their mental character is suspect. Checking out of the game or tournament, mentally, when all odds are against them (height, experience)is a sign of weakness, which might prove very costly in the real battle ground, Tokushima.

All of a sudden, things are serious again, and that's the way things should be. Team Pilipinas has not proven anything yet but their talent for entertainment. Everybody is entertained except Coach Chot Reyes.

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POLAND

Polish National Team for Summer Pro-Am League in Long Beach -by Eurobasket
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Wojcik


Pluta


Dylewicz


Koszarek


Ignerski
10 Adam Wojcik (207-F-70) of Prokom Trefl Sopot
5 Andrzej Pluta (182-G-74) of WTK Anwil Wloclawek
4 Bartlomiej Woloszyn (197-F-86) of WTK Anwil Wloclawek
20 Cezary Trybanski (215-C-79) of Tulsa 66ers (USA)
8 Filip Dylewicz (202-F-80) of Prokom Trefl Sopot
24 Iwo Kitzinger (188-G-85) of BOT Turow Zgorzelec
16 Krzysztof Roszyk (200-F-78) of Prokom Trefl Sopot
7 Krzysztof Szubarga (184-G-84) of Sportino Inowroclaw
15 Lukasz Koszarek (187-G-84) of WTK Anwil Wloclawek
30 Maciej Lampe (210-C-85) of BC Khimky Moscow (RUS)
13 Michal Chylinski (199-G-86) of CD Villa de Los Barrios (ESP)
11 Michal Ignerski (205-F-80) of Cajasol Sevilla (ESP)
9 Radoslaw Hyzy (200-F-77) of ASCO Slask Wroclaw
6 Robert Skibniewski (182-G-83) of BOT Turow Zgorzelec
44 Robert Witka (205-F-81) of BOT Turow Zgorzelec
12 Szymon Szewczyk (209-C-82) of Lokomotiv Rostov na Donu (RUS)
14 Wiktor Grudzinski (208-C-78) of WTK Anwil Wloclawek
Head Coach: Andrej Urlep

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PUERTO RICO

Crabbers take 1st game from the Cariduros -by Luis Ramirez
The Santurce Crabbers went one up on the Fajardo Cariduros as they lead right from the wire 98-83. The Cariduros were no match for the crabbers and Santurce was able to rest all of their starting unit early in the game in order to keep them fresh for the back to back game they will hold tonight at home. The 1st qtr ended with Santurce leading by 11 points 24-13, at the half the Crabbers held the lead 54-28. In the 2nd half, with the entire starting unit resting, the Cariduros made a valiant effort to try to get into the game but the Crabbers lead was never in peril. Fajardo will try to even out the series tonight when they visit the crabbers. For Santurce, Robert Traylor (204-F/C-77, college: Michigan) scored 16 points and captured 11 rebounds in 20 minutes of play. For Fajardo, Luis Rivas (200-F-80, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: W.Illinois) scored 20 points followed by Florentino Valencia (196-F-85, college: Toledo) with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

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ROMANIA

Romania U20 will continue in the Classification Round -by Eurobasket News
Romania U20-Great Britain U20 62:79 (14-23, 17-17, 17-18, 14-21)

Last day was the last for Romania in the Preliminary Round of U20 European Championship in Group B. Two teams from each group made another in group E and F. The other teams will play in the Classification Round. Unfortunately our team was sent to the Classification Round after a loss from Great Britain.
Finland and Great Britain deserved the wins last night and both advanced from Group D. Great Britain beat Romania 79:62 to finish at 2-1. Daniel Clark (210-C-88) led the winners with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Guy Guede (192-G-87) posted 23 points and made 9 rebounds, while Ashley Hamilton (201-F-88) added 15.

Romania scored first two baskets and held till 9:8 in the opening tip. Great Britain however answered with 7-0 run and finished the first 23:14. Daniel Clark with a jump shot increased the lead of his team to 13 points and then he again made 36:19. Romania reduced to 31:40 at the half.
Titus Nicoara (200-F-88) with a two cut to 48:55 in the end of the third. Guy Guede returned the lead to 58:48 after 30 minutes. Romania did not stay even closer in the fourth quarter as they failed 14:21 in it. As a result Romania could not qualify to the next stage and will continue in the Classification Round.

Romania U20: Titus Nicoara 23+13 rebs, Vlad Jiscanu (193-F-87) 13
Great Britain U20: Daniel Clark 24+13 rebs, Guy Guede 23+9 rebs, Ashley Hamilton 15

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RUSSIA

Russia U20 sees the first loss -by Eurobasket News
Serbia U20-Russia U20 71:65 (19-14, 22-25, 10-11, 20-15)

Russia U20 lost an important game to Serbia in the U20 European Championship Men. The defending champions made a 20:15 push in the last quarter to celebrate 71:65 win. Dragan Labovic (208-C/F-87) paced the winners with 16 points. Marko Djurkovic (200-F-88) netted 13 and Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) ended up with 11 points. Alexey Shved (195-G-88) posted 18 points in the losing effort. As only two teams advance to the semifinals from the group Russia will have to beat Slovenia tonight. The latter is the only undefeated team in Group E. Serbia improved to 3-1, while Russia has the same record.
Serbia took a control from the first minutes of the game. They already had 8 points deficit (14:6) after Djurkovic's free throw. The first quarter ended up with 19:14 for Serbia. In the second quarter Russia came back to the game and after Artur Urazmanov (165-G-87) hit a three Russia stayed in front, 31:30. Serbia led 41:39 at the break when Dragovic made a lay-up.
In the third quarter both teams dedicated too much time and attention to defense. Later, trailing just 55:53, Russia committed four turnovers as Serbia scored 11 straight points, 66:53. In the end of the game Russia did not stay closer than to 5 points.

Serbia U20: Dragan Labovic 16 points, Marko Djurkovic 13, Milos Teodosic 11 points
Russia U20: Alexey Shved 18, Artur Urazmanov 13

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SEBL

SEBL City B-League results for 7/10/07... -by David Archer

Cartersville, GA - The SEBL City B-league resumed action on Tuesday night, with four games on tap - two East Division games and two West Division games...

City B-League West Division Results:

ServPro-2 jumps on Knicks and hold on for victory...
In a re-match of last summer's City Conference Title game, ServPro-2 took bragging rights all over again. ServPro-2 won last summer over a much deeper Knicks-2 squad. On this night, the Knicks-2 had a slim roster and finding the basket early was tough against a revamped, smaller, but quicker ServPro-2 roster. ServPro jumped out to a double-digit lead early behind Shan Finley and Coosa High's Bobby Smith. The Knicks were able to close the gap as Eddie Wilkins hit a couple of buckets and Ricky James went on a string, tallying 10 points in the final minutes of the half, to bring the Knicks to within six at the break. But, ServPro-2 proved too strong and much more balanced, as they held off the Knicks-2 and debuted the 2007 season with a convincing win. James led all scorers with 22, while Johnny Johnson got 16 for the Knicks who fell to 1-1. ServPro's Finley and Smith each collected 16 on the night, as Victor Saxton had 10 and Jamie Reynolds got nine. Rod Ashmore - a surprise pick up for ServPro-2 - had six points in the win.

BOX SCORE 1 2 F
ServPro-2 31 39 68
BC Knicks-2 25 34 59

Date: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 Time: 7:30pm Location: Aubrey Street Gym

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Cedartown wears Tigers down for 81-59 win...
Adairsville and Cedartown went into the half-time knotted up at 34-each. Jay Nelson came out hot in the first half with five three pointers for C-town, while Johnny Prichett countered with 12 points. But, Adairsville came out very cold to open the second half, only managing one bucket for a nine minute stretch, as Cedartown took total advantage reeling off 21 points, to go up 57-36. Adairsville's Jamie Williams tried to level things off with 13 points over the final eight-minutes of the game, but it was too late. Jay Nelson never slowed down, as he finished with 30 on the night. He was supported by Nagee Smith's 13 points, whiole Cory Gardhigh and Chris Careathers each had nine. For the Tigers, Williams finished with 16, while Pritchett fizzled with 13 (only one after the intermission), TJ Printup had 11 and Ced McClinic had nine. Both teams moved to 1-1 on the season.
BOX SCORE 1 2 F
Cedartown Bulldogs 34 47 81
Adairsville Tigers 34 25 59
Date: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 Time: 6:30pm Location: Aubrey Street Gym


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City B-League East Division Results:


Future Entertainment wins their season opener...
As has been the tradition over the last four years, Future Entertainment debuted with a win - a Division win at that - over the Men of Trin. After trailing by two at the half (37-35), F.E. was able to get some extra scoring punch from Darrell Wilkins who hit three treys in the second half, on his way to 21 points for the game. Dexter Shaw also had 19 and Brian Stevenson 16 for the victors. For the very competitive Trinity squad, who fell to 0-2, Ivan Jones had 21, Jaron Applin 17, Roy Brown, 14 and Lionel Jones 12. Both teams will be off until Saturday...

BOX SCORE 1 2 F
Trinity Industries 37 37 74
Future Entertainment 35 41 76

Date: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 Time: 8:30pm Location: Aubrey Street Gym
----------------------------------------

Baseline-2 battles back to clip Summer Hill, 71-68, in OT..
Summer Hill broke out like gang-busters and bolted to a 40-27 lead at the half, behind balanced scoring and a swarming zone defense. But, things changed in the second half as the Blue Devils shot selection changed, opening up the floor for a veteran Baseline team, who marched back to take its first lead at 58-57. Summer Hill re-took the lead late, but let Baseline off the hook after missing a chance to win it at the buzzer in regulation, as the game went to over-time tied at 64-all. Jermaine Spivey opened the extra period with a trey, but the Devils battled back to take the lead. Several ill-advised shots and decisions by Summer Hill put Baseline back in the driver's seat and they held on for the win, moving to 2-0. Summer Hill slipped to 1-1. For Baseline-2, Spivey led all scorers with 21, while Chris Jones had 18, Antone Anderson 15 and Marcus Henderson 7. Marlow Simmons and Chris Morgan had 13 and 11, respectively, for Summer Hill, while Mike Reynolds had nine, Scott Windom eight and Chris Brown seven.
BOX SCORE 1 2 OT F
Baseline-2 27 37 7 71
Summer Hill 40 24 4 68
Date: Tuesday, July 10, 2007 Time: 9:30pm Location: Aubrey Street Gym



*****************************************************
SERBIA

EC U20: Serbia better than Turkey 83:88 -by Dragan Jankovski
Serbian U20 National Team celebrated over Turkey 83:88 and currently has score 2-1 in group E on European Championship. Turkish NT opened game much better making 23:16 in the 10th minute and they kept advantage until the last offense of the first half when Serbia took lead 40:41. Third quarter was totally equalized while question about the winner of this game is decided in 37th minute when on the score 71:71 Serbia made run 8:0. Point guard Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) led Serbia adding 26 points and 5 assists. Dragan Labovic (208-C/F-87) also was good scoring 21 points with 8 rebounds. Turkish team got 26 points and 5 assists from Mehmet Yagmur (188-G-87).

Today at 15:30h Serbian U20 NT will meet Russia who is still without lost on EC.


Turkey - Serbia 83:88
(23:18,17:23,18:18,25:29)

Turkey: Akis 10, Mahmutoglu, Oner 7, Batuk 11, Yagmur 26 (5 as), Altintig 2, Pacun 2, Nalga 7 (7 rebs), Yetim 3, Savas 15 (11 rebs)
DNP: Goktas, Demir.
Serbia: Teodosic 26 (5 as), Tepic 9, Nikolic Stefan 2, Djurkovic 15, Labovic 21 (8 rebs), Kovacevic, Stimac 6, Paunic 2, Dragovic 7 (7 rebs), Nikolic Uros
DNP: Jereminov, Zivcevic.

NT of Serbia without Tadija Dragicevic -by Dragan Jankovski
Power forward of Crvena Zvezda Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86) won't be on the list of potential players for Serbian National Team. Namely, at the first point head coach of NT Zoran Slavnic put him on the list of 18 candidates which will start preparations in Kovilovo on 19th July. Dragicevic also suppose to play for Serbian University Team in Bangkok but he is exhausted after long season in Crvena Zvezda and he said he needs a rest until 19th. Slavnic's rule is that everyone form the list of 18 players (except Nemanja Aleksandrov) who is called for University or U20 NT has obligation to play for them and later to join senior NT. Because of this Slavnic erased Dragicevic's name from the list of 18 candidates for EC in Spain and announced that NT will get big reinforcement very soon. It is still not known who will be the new name for Serbia.

*****************************************************
SLOVAK REP.

Slovak Republic cruise past Belarus -by Eurobasket News
Slovakia - Belarus 79:47
Slovakia U20 national team secured their qualifying round birth as they edged Belarus on Day 3 of action in Group C of the U20 European championship Division B in Poland. Slovakia ensured a nice start to this one as they drained first 7 points. Belarus tied the score midway through the frame but Slovakia posted a 8:1 run to maintain the lead at 21:14. Another impressive 19:2 run that finalised the second quarter put Slovakia at the safe distance at halftime 40:22. Belarus saw little opportunities to cut the deficit as they trailed by as many as 29 points in the third frame. Slovakia's bench dominated the fourth frame limiting Belarus to just 9 points and securing an overwhelming victory 79:47.
Maros Zuffa (196-G-87) recorded game-high 16 points. Jan Zavodny (188-G-87) produced 14 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds for the winners. Belarus answered with 15 points from Dzmitry Shylovich. Yauheni Skrypko (205-C-89) had 11 points in a losing effort. Slovakia outrebounded their opponents 34:29 and shot better 50% from the field. They also converted massive 62.5% from beyond the arc.
Slovakia advanced to the qualifying round, where they should play in Group F. They face Finland today. Belarus goes into the classification round and takes on Sweden in Group G tonight.

Slovakia U20: Maros Zuffa 16 points, Jan Zavodny 14, Miroslav Vansa (195-F-87) 11
Belarus U20: Dzmitry Shylovich 15, Yauheni Skrypko 11.

*****************************************************
SLOVENIA

U20 NT of Slovenia defeats Turkey! -by Matej Bergant
Slovenian U20 NT again outclassed their opponet, this time they beat Turkey 82:74. With this victory Slovenians moved even closer to the semi-finals of the U20 European Championship. Game was close untill last minutes when Slovenian quality decided the game. High scorer for Slovenia was Jaka Klobucar (198-G-87) with 18 points and 4 assists. He was followed by Emir Preldzic (206-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) 16 points and 8 rebounds, Gasper Vidmar (210-C/F-87) with 10 points and 7 rebounds, Dejan Mlakar (191-G-88) with 14 points, 5 rebounds while Jan Mocnik (174-G-87) had 12 points and 7 assists. Top scorer for Turkey was Mehmet Yagmur (188-G-87) with 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, but he also had 11 turnovers.

*****************************************************
SPAIN

Gasol to stay with Akasvayu -by Daniel Aubrey
Akasvayu pivot Marc Gasol (212-C-85, agency: Interperformances) has announceed that he wants to stay with Girona side Akasvayu, despite being picked in the NBA draft and reported interest from AXA FC Barcelona.

Marc was chosen in the second round of the draft by the LA Lakers, home of superstar Kobe Bryant. But just like his Catalan compatriate Rudy Fernandez, Gasol believes that staying in Spain for another season at least will guarentee him minutes and a chance to improve.

As for the interest of his former club Barca, Gasol stated that he would rather see out the remaining year of his contract with the Blaugrana side on loan to Girona, the team he won the FIBA EuroCup with last season. Commenting at the Nike Campus in Andorra, the younger Gasol told press that he was "more interested in staying in Girona because of the sporting project in place and because of the players" with whom he claimed his relationship was "excellent".

He had words of praise for Barca, however, saying that he wanted "to thank Barcelona for allowing me to decide my own future, and I don't wish to hide my desire for wanting to stay with Akasvayu".

Things may have been different, however, if his Spain teammate Juan Carlos Navarro had also decided to turn down a move to the NBA. Gasol admitted that "maybe if he (Navarro) was going to stay then I would have returned". Instead it now looks like the older Gasol, Pau, has more chance of teaming up with the player they call "La Bomba" next season, as he told press "I'd love to have him (Navarro) here in Memphis so I could help him adapt, and also so he could help me".

*****************************************************
SWEDEN

Montenegro tops the Group, sends Sweden to Classification -by Eurobasket News
Montenegro - Sweden 92:69
Montenegro gained their third win at the U20 European championship Division B in Poland. They upset Sweden 92:69 to finish the preliminary round on top of Group A and sent Swedish team to the classification round. Montenegro meanwhile will play in the qualifying round and will try to make it to the semis.
Boris Savovic (207-F-87) led Montenegrin side to another spectacular victory at the championship as he nailed 28 points. Montenegro capped the opening frame with a 12:2 run to grab a 24:15 lead. They drained another 7 unanswered points at the start of the second quarter to maintain a comfortable lead. They extended it to as many as 20 points at halftime 51:31. Sweden obviously lacked consistency and were not able to play a catch up game. Jonas Jerebko (204-F-87) however netted 5 points at the end of the third frame to lighten up a hope for Sweden 55:68. Brice Massamba (204-F/C-88) opened the final quarter with another 3 points but it was as close as Sweden managed to get. Boris Savovic chipped in a couple of jumpers to clear off for good. He finished with 28 points and 9 rebounds to lead the action. Goran Martinic (187-G-87) added 14 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds for the winners. Brice Massamba nailed 18 points to pace Sweden. Johan Andreasen (199-F-88) had 13 points in a loss.
Sweden had an edge under the rims outrebounding Montenegro 32:24, but Balkan team converted 59.5% of field goals and 45.5% from behind the arc. They also forced Sweden to 20 turnovers.
Montenegro now heads for qualifying Group E. They face Estonia tonight. Sweden will play in classification round Group G. They take on Belarus today.

Montenegro U20: Boris Savovic 28 points, Goran Martinic 14, Suad Sehovic (195-G-87, agency: Ultimate Sports Agency) 13
Sweden U20: Brice Massamba 18, Johan Andreasen 13, Jonas Jerebko 12.

*****************************************************
TAIWAN

ETSN Antelopes sold to Segway Technology -by Chris Wang

ETSN was sold.

ETSN ended its three-year ownership of its basketball team and sold it to Segway Technology for NT$ 10 million, local news outlets reported.

Rumor has been flying since June that ETSN has been looking to sell the team because of financial trouble of its mother group EMG. It was said a real estate management company and Jutai Technology, former owner of the team, considered buying the team but it never materialized.


Head coach Chiu Da-tsun (middle) will leave the team.

Current Antelopes head coach Chiu Da-tsun will leave the team and be replaced by either Lee Ching-chi or Chen Jin-hsiung and Lo Tian-jin, Central News Agency and United News Daily reported. Assistant coach Liu Hwa-lin was not kept either.

Lee Ching-chi coached Luckipar Panthers in the defunct pro league CBA, which folded in 1999. Chen Jin-hsiung and Lo Tian-jin were both veteran coaches who have coached in high school and A-League levels for a long time.

According to reports, a number of players, including Huang Bao-tse, Liao Wei-cheng and Hsu Tse-shin, have been released. Starting center Wu Dai-hao opted to sign with defending champion Taiwan Beer.


Yang Yu-min will be different uniform next season.

Only 11 players, including Yang Yu-min, O-Yang Jin-hen, Cheng Jen-wei, Shin Jin-jan, Wu Jia-long, Wu Jun-hsiung, Chen Jing-hwan, Wang Chuan-jian, Hong Ying-che, Hsiao Yuan-chan and Lin Jui-kun, have been taken by the new owner, CNA reported.

Segway Technology, which already had a team in the Amateur League (A-League) that won the league title last year, has been known for its ambition to feild a team in the Super Basketball League (SBL).

The new team name has not been announced yet. It's said the name could be "dmedia." Dmedia System Co. is an affiliation company of Segway Technology.

California Asian Traveling Stars visit basketball summer camp -by Chris Wang
California Asian Traveling Stars, which is in Taiwan for a tournament from July 12 - 14, visited a children basketball summer camp in Yungho City, Taipei County Wednesday.

The team consists of Asian American high school players in California and is led by former Taiwan NT player Sun Chia-kang, who now lives in California. The three-day tournament is sponsored by Costco Wholesale Taiwan, which is now headed by former Taiwan NT player Richard Chang.

Richard Chang, 6-7, played for the University of California at Berkeley in early 1980's. He came back to Taiwan and joined Taiwanese national team before embarking upon his personal career in business.

ª÷¤¶¹Ø¤¶²Ð±i¶àº~
Richard Chang, second from right.

CATS »P¤pªB¤Í¤¬°Ê2
Cats players worked with kids in the camp.

CATS »P®L¥OÀc¤p¯»µ·¦X·Ó
Cats players and kids in the camp.

California Asian Traveling Stars to visit Taiwan -by Chris Wang
California Asian Traveling Stars Cats will visit Taiwan and meet Taiwan's elite high school basketball teams in a three-day tournament, organized by Costco Wholesale Taiwan, from July 12 - 14.

Eight participating teams in the tournament include Nanshan High School, Chiangshu High School, Sanmin High School, Neng-ren High School, Zhongmin High School, Songshan High School and Fengshan Vocational High School, and the Cats.

Venue: National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
43, Sec.4, Keelung Rd., Taipei, Taiwan

California Asian Traveling Stars Cats roster:

# PLAYER HT. BIRTHDAY SCHOOL HOMETOWN
12 Michael Cassio 5'10 2/1990 Saugus High School Valencia, CA
33 Taylor Darby 6'8 10/1990 Mission Hills High San Marcos, CA
21 Luke Evans 6'7 03/1991 El Camino Oceanside, CA
1 Eric Friedmann 6'0 12/1988 Santa Fe Christian Carlsbad, CA
23 Andrew Heap 6'3 6/1989 La Jolla High School La Jolla, CA BYU
22 Shawn Lasalita 5'8 2/1989 Francis Parker San Marcos, CA East Coaed College
3 Cody Myers 5'11 3/1989 Mission Hills Escondido, CA
2 Darin Nakauchi 5'8 4/1989 South Pasadena High Pasadena, CA SF. State
11 David Stotelmyre 6'2 4/1991 The Bishops School Oceanside, CA

*****************************************************
TURKEY

U20 Lose Again -by Serdar Ortakuyu
Turkish U20 NT lost to the hosts Slovenia and registered the fourth straight loss in European Championship. Turkey was up by three before the last quarter but a 27-16 run by the hosts determined the winning side as the left sharp shooter Jaka Klobucar (198-G-87) led his team with 18 points and Emir Preldzic (206-F-87, agency: Beo Basket) who signed with TBL champions Fenerbahce Ulker, added 16 points and 8 boards. On the other hand Turkish point guard Mehmet Yagmur (188-G-87) nailed a game high 22 points and also registered 6 rebounds and 5 assists. After defeating Lithuania on the opening day last year's silver medalists Turkey failed to grab a victory against Greece, Russia, Serbia and Slovenia despite the good effort. Turkey will face France in the last day of quarter final round and try to seize the last chance.

TB2L Transactions -by Serdar Ortakuyu
Izmir Bsb side who are going to experience their first ever season in TB2L announced the signings of Alper Ruhcan (208-C-80) from Gelisim Koleji, Kaan Isbilen (207-C-83) and Caglar Bastoklu (204-F/C-79) of Vestel.
Erdemirspor, trying to make their way back to TBL strenghten their roster with Cihan Amasyali (191-G-83) of Bahcesehir Uni, Tekel's Nihat Emre Ekim (208-F-80, agency: EM-PA), Murat Yolcu (184-G-78) of Mersin Bsb, Ozgun Onver (195-G/F-82) from Aliaga Belediyesi and also signed Ege Taspinar (201-F-76), Serhan Kavut (189-G-81), Onur Bolat (204-C-80) and Gokhan Sunter (196-G-80) from Kepez Belediyesi (all are the former players of brand new Erdemirspor coach Gokhan Tastimur ). Erdemir also renewed the contracts of Orcun Gollu (191-G/F-77), Melih Sevda (200-F-78, agency: EM-PA) and Tolga Koklen (205-C-76).

U19 In Serbia -by Serdar Ortakuyu
#s#
#e#6


Balbay


Sevinc


Ozcan


Cipa


Tunca
Turkish U19 National Team flew to Serbia to attend the World Championship. Turkey will take place in Group C with Nigeria (July 14), Australia (July 12) and Canada (July 13). Turkey will try to finish the first stage at one of the first three places and advance to Group F to catch one of the quarter final tickets.

Head Coach:
Orhun Ene

Assistant Coaches:
Erol Pehlivan
Ahmet Gurgen

Dogus Balbay (184-G-89) of Texas Longhorns
Altay Ozurganci (195-G-88) of Galatasaray Cafe Crown
Ismet Hacioglu (186-G-88) of Galatasaray Cafe Crown
Mehmet Azmi Turgut (188-G-88) of Besiktas Cola Turka
Kerem Ozkan (198-F-88) of Besiktas Cola Turka
Mesut Kadir Cipa (205-F-88) of Darussafaka Istanbul
Ogun Sevinc (198-F-88) of Alpella Istanbul
Alican Kocabalkan (194-G/F-88) of Darussafaka
Eyup Aydogan (206-C-89) of ITU
Deniz Tunca (204-C-88) of Alpella Istanbul
Can Ozcan (200-F-89) of Alpella Istanbul
Burak Selen (202-F-88) of Darussafaka

*****************************************************
U.S.VIRGIN ISL.

ABA playoffs tonight! -by David Edole
The first round of the ABA play offs kicks off tonight with T.W.I. taking on Jah Youths in the opening game followed by One Time vs. Run Dem. T.W.I. is filled with University of the Virgin Islands players while Jah Youths received great news when Devon Peltier finally arrived on the island.
One Time will be playing without Kitwana Rhymer so it may be an uphill battle when they take on the six seeded Run Dem team.
Both series will be the best of five format.
Predictions: T.W.I. in five and Run Dem in four.

*****************************************************
URUGUAY

It was announced the NT for the Panamerican Games -by Hector Lopez
#s#
#e#6


Martinez


Osimani


Mazzarino


Garcia Morales


Barrera

The Uruguayan Olympic Commmittee (COU) announced the NT for the Pan American Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro (July 25-29), said the local newspaper El Pais. There was no official announcement by the local Federation. The players are:
Fernando Martinez (175-G-79) of Malvin

Martin Osimani (190-G-81) of Indesit Fabriano (ITA)

Nicolas Mazzarino (181-G-75) of Tisettanta Cantu (ITA)
Leandro Garcia Morales (188-G-80) of Pedro Echague Capital Federal (ARG)
Gustavo Barrera (194-G-85) of Caja Rural Melilla (ESP)
Juan Silveira (190-G-86)
Mauricio Aguiar (198-F-83) of Cimberio Aironi Novara (ITA)

Emilio Taboada (193-F-82) of Gaiteros de Zulia (VEN)
Sebastian Izaguirre (203-C/F-85) of Bohemios
Gaston Paez (206-C/F-79) of Defensor Sporting Club
Claudio Charquero (202-C-77) of CB Illescas Superficies (ESP)
Esteban Batista (208-F/C-83) of Atlanta Hawks (USA)
The HC will be Alberto Espasandin





*****************************************************

Women News

*****************************************************
AUSTRALIA - Women

WNBA: Penny Taylor joins Lauren Jackson at All-Star Game -by Gauthier Gerard
World Champion defencejobs Opals Penny Taylor (185-F-81) will join superstar compatriot Lauren Jackson in Sunday's WNBA All-Star game after being named as a Western Conference reserve. Taylor, who pipped Jackson for tournament MVP honours in Australia's gold medal triumph at last year's world championships, has been in career-best form for Phoenix Mercury midway through the 2007 season.
source: Australian Associated Press

Taylor is averaging 16.6 points and a team-leading 5.9 rebounds for the Mercury, both the best numbers of her seven-year career in the American league. Taylor was voted onto the reserves bench by the league's head coaches and will contest her second All-Star game after also appearing in the 2002 event. The Australian forward benefited earlier this season by some injuries to Phoenix teammates, including fellow All-Star Diana Taurasi, taking over a much bigger role offensively.

photo: Basketball Australia

U21 Worlds recap -by Gauthier Gerard
Last week in Moscow, Australia U21 women team, the Sapphires, won an historical Silver medal in the 2007 U21 Women World Championship. Australia only lost to USA in the final game while France claimed the Bronze over the host nation Russia. Go to www.aussiebasketball.com to read a game-by-game recap of the aussie performances during the tournament. This website is dedicated to the best youngsters in Oceania.

Cayla Francis - Junior Player of the Year -by Gauthier Gerard
Basketball Australia announced the winners of the 15th annual National Junior Basketball awards, presented at the Under 18 Australian Championships in Launceston, Tasmania. The awards recognise the immense talent of junior basketball players throughout Australia as well as honouring the hard work and dedication of grass roots basketball officials, administrators and coaches across all levels of play.
source: Ben Hawes for BA media

2007 Australia Post Boomers squad member and gun AIS point guard Patrick Mills (182-G-88) was named the Male Player of the Year while 2006/07 defencejobs WNBL Rookie of the Year Cayla Francis (192-C-89) was named the Female Player of the Year. Francis returned to Australia last night after winning Silver at the FIBA Under 21 World Championship in Russia with the Australian Under 21 Women's team, the Sapphires. Mills is currently in Serbia with the Australian Under 19 Men's team, the Emus, who play Turkey in the opening game of the 2007 FIBA World Championships for Under 19 Men tomorrow.

*****************************************************
CAPE VERDE - Women

National Championship Calendar -by Pedro Gomes
All the teams that will participate in the National championships in Praia have arrived. The games will start today, and the teams are; Onze Unidos (Maio), ABC (Santiago) e Academica (S. Vicente), Under-18 division. In the men's senior division; ABC (Santiago), Panteras Negra (Sal), Atletico (S. Vicente) e Vulcânicos (Fogo

Wednesday, 11: 16H30 - Onze Unidos (Maio) - ABC (Santiago), U18; 18H30 - Pantera Negra (Sal)-Ondas do Mar (Maio), 20H30, ABC (Santiago)-Vulcânicos (Fogo), senior men.

Thursday, 12: 16H30 - Academica (S. Vicente)-Onze Unidos (Maio), U18; 18H30 - Atletico (S.Vicente)-Vulcânicos (Fogo); 20H30, ABC (Santiago)-Ondas do Mar (Maio),
Senior men.

Friday, 13: 16H30 -Academica (S. Vicente)-ABC (Santiago), U18; 18H30 -Vulcânicos (Fogo)-Ondas do Mar (Maio), 20H30 Pantera Negra (Sal)-Atletico (S. Vicente), senior men.

Saturday, 14: 17H00 - Ondas do Mar (Maio) -Atletico (S. Vicente), Senior men; 19H00 - Seven Stars (Santiago) -Pantera Negra (Sal), Senior women; 21H00, ABC (Santiago) -Pantera Negra (Sal), Senior men.

Sunday, 15: 17H00 - Pantera Negra (Sal) -Vulcânicos (Fogo), Senior men; 19H00-Pantera Negra (Sal) -ABC (Santiago), senior women, 21H00, ABC (Santiago) -Atletico (S. Vicente), Senior men.

National Championships for Women - finally -by Pedro Gomes

With women's basketball, each day, moving on a downward slope, it seems that there could be hope for the women's game.
Last year, there were no National championships for women's. However, this year we will have two great team battling for the title.

Pantera Negra, from Sal island, will face Seven Stars, Santiago Island, in this years National Championship.
Both team, dominated their regional league, wining easily all their games.

The Cape Verdian Basketball Federation, is pondering the idea of adding ABC (Santiago South) to this group. Their idea is that, this will strengthen the competition.
ABC at the moment is considered the third best women's team, it finished second the Santiago South regional championships.



*****************************************************
FRANCE - Women

LFB: Challes-les-Eaux Roster 2007-2008 -by Leslie Anderson

The Roster for next Season


Martina Luptakova (184-F-77)

Slavka Frniakova (166-G-79)

Emilie Duvivier (168-G-84)

Laina Badiane (180-F-85)

Stephanie Dubois (183-F-83)

Marie Bacquet (192-C-84)


New players

Johanne Gomis (177-G-85) from Cavigal Nice Sports Basket

Jessica Davenport (196-C, college: Ohio St.) from New York Liberty

Tiffany Jackson (191-F-85, college: Texas) from New York Liberty


Promoted from junior team

Claire Vanhoutreve

The following players have left the club

Claire Seigle (180-F-81) on Maternity leave

Evija Azace (195-F-76) moved to Nice

Laurence Cayot (180-F-77) moved to Pays d'Aix Basket 13 Provence

Jessica Moore (191-C-82, college: Connecticut)



*****************************************************
HUNGARY - Women

MiZo-PVSK confer with Croatian players -by Gabriel Zippenfenig

Gabor Rozsa managing director of MiZo-PVSK affirmed that Emilija Podrug and Jelena Ivezic have the chance to be bought by their team.

Probably, they will brace the team with two Croatian players. As we were informed by Croatian newspapers Emilja Podrug (190-C-79) and Jelena Ivezic (184-G-84) piqued the silver medallist of the Hungarian Championship. Gabor Rozsa affirmed this information but he said that "we have many of other names on our list and we are planning to transfer three legionary for the three, four and five positions".



*****************************************************
N.MARIANA - Women

Northern Marianas withdrew from the South Pacific Games -by Gauthier Gerard

The Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands Basketball Federation submitted a women team for the upcoming 2007 South Pacific Games which will be held in Samoa but the federation had to withdraw the team due to financial reason. This is of course a very bad news, one year before the 2008 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament which will be held in Guam.

SPG Participating countries:
American Samoa
Fiji
New Caledonia
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tahiti

Withdrawals:
Mirconesia
Guam
Northern Marianas

Vanuatu



*****************************************************
WBCBL - Women

1st Victory of the Season for Shreveport Ballers -by Willie McCray
After cruising down victory lane (Street) the Shreveport Ballers ran into their 1st victory of season. The Ballers defeated the Mississippi Rockstars 74-44. This win comes on the heels of a coaching change that put energy, desire, and determination to play hard and leave it all on the floor to a team that was struggling.

"I knew this was a good team," states Baller's coach Sam Nickel. "It was my job to bring out the character and instill motivation also implement discipline." The Ballers came out and immediately took the lead and never looked back. Detra Ashley led the Ballers with 15 points and 9 rebounds. "Our team is more focus on basketball. The more we focus the more we can win," says Ashley.

*****************************************************
WNBA - Women

Kara Lawson replaces Sue Bird for the Western All-Star team -by Eurobasket News
Sacramento guard Kara Lawson (5'8''-G-81, college: Tennessee) will substitute injured Sue Bird for the WNBA All-Star Game. WNBA President Donna Orender was the person to make the replacement for injured Sue Bird and she opted for Kara Lawson. Sacramento guard averages 11.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in this season. She currently ranks sixth in the League in free-throw percentage (.900) and seventh in three-point field goals made (30). Lawson will be the third representative of the Monarchs on the Western All-Star roster. She will join Yolanda Griffith and Rebekkah Brunson on the squad. The Western team will also be guided by the Monarchs head coach Jenny Boucek.

Storm freezes Sparks in LA -by Eurobasket News
The Seattle Storm performed a splendid piece of defensive basketball yesterday as they held the LA Sparks to just 47 to celebrate a road win 82:47. This was a franchise record-low scoring figure for the Sparks. They also suffered franchise-record 6th straight loss and fell to 7-12 record in the season. Betty Lennox lifted the Storm to 13:2 run at the start of the second quarter to clear off to a comfortable 24:12 distance. Seattle later rolled to a 28:17 third quarter to shake off the Sparks. Iziane Castro (6'1''-G/F-82) led all scorers with 19 points. Lauren Jackson (6'5''-F/C-81) had 18 points and 13 rebounds in a win. Taj McWilliams-Franklin was the only player to score in double digits for the Sparks. She chipped in 10 points to pace Los Angeles.
Los Angeles converted just 29.9% of filed goals and 25% of three pointers. They also committed 20 turnovers and were outrebounded 25:34.
Meanwhile Washington Mystics proved strong against the Minnesota Lynx at home 91:83 in overtime. Alana Beard (5'11''-G/F-82, college: Duke) nailed 4 points in overtime to ensure the 7th win for the Mystics, who speeded up to 5 wins in the last 7 games. Nakia Sanford (6'4''-F/C-76, college: Kansas) produced 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Mystics. Svetlana Abrosimova (6'2''-F-80, college: Connecticut) provided 20 points in the 5th straight loss for Minnesota.

Los Angeles - Seattle 47:82
Los Angeles: Taj McWilliams-Franklin 10 points, Christi Thomas (6'3''-F-82) 7
Seattle: Iziane Castro 19, Lauren Jackson 18+13 boards, Betty Lennox 12

Washington - Minnesota 91:83 (OT)
Washington: Nakia Sanford 25+10 boards, Alana Beard 13, Delisha Milton 12
Minnesota: Svetlana Abrosimova 20, Simona Augustus 16

Detroit - Chicago 92:84
Detroit: Swin Cash (6'2''-F-79, college: Connecticut) 20, Deanna Nolan (5'11''-G/F-79, college: Georgia) 18, Plenette Pierson 16+10 boards
Chicago: Jia Perkins (5'8''-G-82, college: Texas Tech) 22, Chasity Melvin (6'3''-C/F-76, college: N.Carolina St.) 18, Candice Dupree 17+10 boards

Houston - Indiana 77:79
Houston: Latasha Byears (6'1''-F-73, college: De Paul) 15, Tina Thompson (6'2''-F-75, college: USC) 13, Tamecka Dixon 12
Indiana: Tamika Catchings (6'1''-F-79, college: Tennessee) 23, Tammy Sutton-Brown 20.