CSKA signed US point guard and his name is Mike Henderson (188-G-84). The contract is for two seasons and Henderson will join "The Reds" in the beginning of September. "I am very happy, because Mike is young and has talent to grow a lot in the future. I think after two years he will be ready to play for some of the biggest clubs in Europe", said Rossen Barchovski - CSKA head coach and president after the death of Emil Cohen and Vladimir Fedyaev.

Canada U19-Turkey U19 58:81 (11:23, 15:21, 15:15, 17:22)

Canada U19 lost the first game in FIBA U19 World Championship. After a win in the opener the team lost to Turkey 58:81. The game was mostly done in the first half as the Europeans had 18 points advantage. Ogun Sevinc (198-F-88) and Can Ozcan (200-F-89) top-scored for the winners with 15 points. Mesut Kadir Cipa (205-F-88) netted 14 and made 10 rebounds and Dogus Balbay dished out a game high 10 assists. Boris Bakovic (201-F-88) nailed 14 points and 10 rebounds in the losing effort.

Turkey got off to a much better start thanks to Alpella swingman Ogun Sevinc who had a horrible game yesterday. Turkish team did not get away from the game discipline in the second quarter and Can Ozcan's contribution never let Canada to come back. The North Americans tied only the third quarter but always trailed in the game. Devoe Joseph (191-G-90) could not show the same game against Turkey as he did over Nigeria. This time instead of 33 he chipped in only 8. Canada losses the first game and ties at 1-1. Turkey has the same result as they lost to Australia in the opener.
Today Canada faces the favorite of the group Australia.

Canada U19: Boris Bakovic 14+10 rebs, Devoe Joseph 8+7 rebs, Cory Joseph (185-G-91) 8
Turkey U19: Ogun Sevinc 15, Can Ozcan 15, Mesut Kadir Cipa 14+10 rebs

Ibrahim Elgmal 11 points 1 rebound 1 assist
Haitham Elsahrty 4 points 4 rebound 3 assist
Ramy Guniedy 10 points 1 rebound 1assist
Ahmed Khaled 10 points 0 ebound 0 assist
Moumen Abou Elenien 2 points 1 rebound 0 assist
Ismail Ahmed 16 points 11 rebound 7 assist
Wael Badr 0 points 0 rebound 0 assist
Karim Fathy 8 points 2 rebound 2 assist
Tarek Elghnam 8 points 3 rebound 0 assist
Ashraf Rabie 5 points 0 rebound 0 assist
Mouhmed saied 4 points 4 rebound 0 assist
Moudy Elgarhy 8 points 3 rebound 0 assist
Total 86 points 30 rebound 14 assist
BEST PLAYER: ISMAIL AHMED
percenyage of free throws:100 %
percentage of three points :39 %

www.coja2007.dz

Bogdan Tanjevic has rewarded six players for their terrific season in the domestic league by including them in his preliminary squad for this autumn's Eurobasket. These players, who were added to the 12 players who made a surprising run to the quarter-finals of the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, are: Omer Onan (194-G-78, agency: Interperformances), Tutku Açik, Omer Faruk Asik (211-C-86), Kerem Tunçeri and the two NBAers Mehmet Okur (210-C/F-79) and Hidayet Turkoglu (206-F-79).

Bogdan Tanjevic said, after announcing the squad, that "we have called up 18 players to the squad, contrary to what I usually do, after including some older players. Omer Onan and Tutku Açik are two of those. They both had a very good year and I wanted to reward them for that. I wanted, also, to add Baris Hersek (206-F/C-88) to the group, but he was taken off the U21 squad because of disciplinary reasons so naturally, therefore he lost his chance of joining the squad. Besides, Omer Faruk Asik, who received his first-ever call, is a very clever and simple player and earned this call with his performances".

Last year's Turkey's performance at Japan, helped by the wildcard that the national team received so as to play at that FIBA World Championship, exceeded whatever previous expectations, since there was no NBA All-Star Mehmet Okur of Utah or Hidayet Turkoglu of Orlando at that squad. However, there were many thoughts about these players for this year's squad as well, since there have been expressed many concerns that Mehmet Okur and Hidayet Turkoglu might pollute a winning formula; nevertheless, Bogdan Tanjevic is excited to have both back: "I talked to both Mehmet and Hidayet and they want to be a part of this team and to contribute. They are very eager. These two players are real talents. They will increase our performance by 10%. We will be more powerful. They will have no problem adjusting to team's harmony. They had wonderful seasons in the NBA", Bogdan Tanjevic ended.One Turkish player who was also fantastic this year was Kerem Tunçeri. Bogdan Tanjevic believes that the player has a lot still to offer, though: "Kerem couldn't join the team during the World Championship of Japan, because of his injuries. He will be 31 during the 2010 World Championship, so he has much to offer yet. However, I want to have two or three more players from his generation at the Worlds. That's why I wanted to open up some space and give some chance to other players".

Turkey's preliminary squad: Omer Faruk Asik (Alpella), Cenk Akyol (200-G-87, agency: FCM) (Efes Pilsen), Ermal Kurtoglu (207-C-80, agency: Edge Sports, college: Seminole JC) (Efes Pilsen), Kerem Gönlüm (Efes Pilsen), Hakan Demirel (192-G-85) (Fenerbahçe Ülker), Ibrahim Kutluay (198-F/G-74) (Fenerbahçe Ülker), Oguz Savas (208-C-87) (Fenerbahçe Ülker), Omer Onan (Fenerbahçe Ülker), Semih Erden (211-C-87) (Fenerbahçe Ülker), Fatih Solak (213-C-80) (Galatasaray Cafe Crown), Ersan Ilyasova (208-F-87) (Milwaukee Bucks), Engin Atsür (North Carolina State), Hidayet Turkoglu (Orlando Magic), Ender Arslan (190-G-83) (Efes Pilsen), Kaya Peker (207-C/F-80, agency: Court Side) (TAU Ceramica), Serkan Erdogan (190-G-78, agency: Interperformances) (TAU Ceramica), Tutku Açik (Türk Telekom), Mehmet Okur (Utah Jazz).

The Premier Basketball League has begun the process of player recruitment and selection for the 2007-08 season as the professional basketball circuit hosts the first of three National PBL Player Tryout Combines on August 11, 2007 in Washington, D.C. The "PBL East Coast Combine" will be held at the Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, Maryland from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Hanley Center for Athletic Excellence. Players can register online at www.pblpro.com The PBL East Coast Combine will be the first of three National Player Combines hosted by the league, leading to the PBL Lottery Draft on October 1, 2007. Twenty-five (25) players will be selected from the three tryout camps to become eligible to be selected by a PBL team. PBL teams will hold a lottery draw before the Draft to slot each club's selection order. Players included in the PBL Lottery Draft may also be considered for one of the limited League Franchise Player contracts that each PBL team will offer to the country's top players.

Yi Li (204-F/G-87) and Wang Bo (202-F-82) got into foul trouble early in the ball game and the Lebanese squad engaged the Chinese in a free throw shooting contest as Lebanon upsets China to the tune of 77-73 at the third day of the Smart 4-Nation Manila Invitatinal at the San Juan Arena. The score was tied at 34 all the half.

Fadi El Khatib led the Lebanese squad with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and an almost perfect 12/13 free throw shooting. Ali Mahmoud scored 17 points and iced the win via a three point shot.

Tunisian National team had a shaky start of the All-Africa Games. Tunisia were beaten twice in their opening encounters in Group A.
Tunisia received a knocking welcome from Egypt in the first round game. They were surprised 17:40 in the first quarter and virtually surrendered any further opposition. Egypt capitalized on a gained advantage and fulfilled the task with a 19:14 second frame. Leading comfortably 59:31 at halftime Egypt allowed Tunisia to revive in the second half and post two victorious quarters. However it was not enough to spark any intrigue in the game and Egypt celebrated an easy 86:64 win at the end.
In their second game of the tournament Tunisia faced hosting Algeria and had little chances as the game tipped off. Algeria dominated the rhythm and grabbed an early 19:16 lead. Tunisia tried to bounce back in the second quarter but once again fell short 15:19. Algeria tightened the grip in the third frame forcing Tunisia to numerous turnovers and held them to just 8 points. Algeria piled up a 53:39 advantage entering the final frame. Tunisia managed to deliver a winning fourth frame but it was not enough to succeed. Tunisia will try to gain the first win of the tournament against Cote d'Ivoire later tonight.

Tunisia - Egypt 64:86

Tunisia - Algeria 49:62.

Bulgaria lost to Germany 55:64, but save chances to qualify for the next round of Eurobasket U20 in Sofia. Despite of the strong performance by Dimana Georgieva (189-C-88) the host team lost control on the game from the beginning and never came back. In the third quarter Germany had 20 points lead, but Bulgaria was able to make it 9 in the end. Today the squad will play against the strongest team in Group D France. 189 cm tall center of Bulgarian vice-champion and silver medalist for the Cup Lukoil Neftohimik - Georgieva finished with 20 points, but the big problem for our gilrs was their weakness under the boards. Their opponent grabbed 41 rebounds against 23 for us. After good game against Ukraine the captain Ekaterina Dimitrova (182-G-87) and the other leader - Jaklin Zlatanova (190-F-88) didn't show the same level.

Division B of U20 European Championship has started in Druskininkai, Lithuania. Five teams in each group will struggle for the Quarterfinals which means that even the 4th place in the group will advance to that stage.

In Group A Lithuania had a successful opening of the home U20 European championship. They overcame Switzerland in Group A action. Indre Dudenaite began the game with a trey and set the tone. The home side played aggressive basketball and definetely surpassed the opponents defensively. Swiss team however was not taken aside and held on to an ealy 14:13 lead after the opening frame. The teams remained close midway through the second quarter when Lithuania started to take off. Aurime Rinkeviciute (180-F/G-90)'s three pointer initiated a 13:1 run and established a 40:26 Lithuania's advantage at halftime.Vitalija Vasciunaite's long jumper continued Lithuania's roll in the second half as they hit 5 unanswered points to enlarge the lead. Switzerland could not scrape through a dense defence and struggled to convert. The gap grew drastically and reached a 53:36 mark entering the final quarter. An 11:1 run at the very start of the final stanza erased any doubts about the winning outcome for the hosts. They allowed the bench to log some minutes and cruised to an overall win.
Aurime Rinkeviciute topscored for Lithuania with 15 points off the bench. Laima Rickeviciute helped her teammate with another 12 points and 10 rebounds. Switzerland were paced by 11 points and 13 rebounds from Marielle Giroud.Sarune Jasiunskaite grabbed 16 boards to maintain Lithuania's dominance under the rims. They outrebounded Switzerland 65:40 and forced them to as many as 24 turnovers.
Portuguese U20 National team was victoriuos in the U20 European championship Division B opener. They had a strong second and third frames to claim a 81:72 win over Netherlands.
Netherlands got to a better start to this one and grabbed an early 15:2 lead. Portugal however closed the opening quarter with a 8:0 run with Nadia Tavares (176-F-88) and Nadia Palongo scoring 4 points apiece. Francisca Donders nailed a trey to start the second frame with but Portugal were on the way back as they posted another 12:0 run and surged ahead 22:18. Both teams kept it close in the second quarter and completed the first half with Portugal leading a single point 36:35. Larisse Lima (177-G/F-88) netted 6 points at the beginning of the third quarter to put Portugal in front 48:39. Lima added two three pointers to lift Portugal to a 61:49 gap entering the final quarter. Netherlands tried to maintain a striking distance and closed the gap to 6 points with 51 seconds left. But Lima's free throw and Catia Lirio's jumper secured a winning outcome for Portuguese team. Larisse Lima produced 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the action for Portugal. Ana Paula Silva contributed 18 points to ensure the victory. Myrthe Beld had 21 points, 5 assists and 6 steals for Netherlands. Francisca Donders had 17 points and 6 rebounds in a loss. Portugal topped Group A and will now face hosting Lithuania today. Netherlands will try to bounce back against Great Britain later tonight.

In Group B Romanian U20 National team succeeded in their first game at the U20 European championship in Division B in Lithuania. They started Group B action with a 71:63 victory over Ireland.
Romania had a shaky start to the game as they trailed 17:23 after the opening frame. Miriam Byrne's straight three pointers lifted Irish team to a 10:3 lead and they held to it throughout the first frame. Rachel Clancy kept Ireland ahead at the start of the second frame but gradually Romania took command. Elisabeth Pavel (192-C-90) ignited Romania's 16:5 run to cap the first half and grab a 37:32 advantage. Rachel Clancy sparked with 12 points in first 5 minutes of the third quarter to regain the lead for Ireland 48:43. Romania returned with the start of the final frame and Elisabeth Pavel nailed a jumper to tie the score 50:50. She later added another two-point attempt to put Romania up 60:53. Kelly Johnston hit from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 59:66 with 1.39 left in regulation. But Romanian players did not allow the opponents to come closer and celebrated a hard-fought win at the end. Gabriela Marginean topscored for the winners with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Andra Ionescu secured another 15 points for Romania. Rachel Clancy poured in game-high 29 points for Ireland.

Montenegro dominated the first part of the game and deservedly celebrated a 78:67 victory over Poland in the first encounter in Group B of the U20 European championship in Lithuania.
Montenegrin team started the game in Drusininkai confidently and drove to a 20:15 advantage after the starting quarter. They continued to roll in the second frame and posted a 10:1 run to clear off to a safe 30:16 distance. Malgorzata Kudlak (186-F-88) produced a trey at the end of the second quarter to minimize the damage for Polish squad 32:38. But Jelena Dubljevic (192-C-87) remained perfect offensively to keep Montenegro ahead. She netted 6 consecutive points to put Montenegro ahead 50:43. Snezana Aleksic was accurate from afar and Dubljevic added another jumper to cap the third quarter and secure a 59:47 lead to Montenegrin side. Milica Jovanovic (186-F-89) notched another 5 straight points for an unassailable 66:51 lead. Montenegro eased to a 78:67 victory at the end and climbed on top of Group B standings. Jelena Dubljevic led Montenegro with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Milica Jovanovic provided 15 points and 13 boards for the winners. Mirela Pultorak and Mara Urbaniak replied with 10 points apiece for Poland.