EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 9/15/2007

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Men News

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  BAHAMAS   


Barr back in Houston - by Eurobasket News
We've all heard the name Jeremy Barr (206-F-86) before and the reviews the Androsian got when he moved to Houston, Texas to become a part of the Frank Rutherford Elite Development program. Barr later moved on to the University of Southern California (USC) to play for former Chicago Bulls' head coach Tim Floyd and the USC Trojans, but since then, the basketball standout has moved on again. Barr has not dropped off the basketball radar, but in fact the 6'9", 264-pound forward is now playing for the San Jacinto College Central Ravens, a junior college program in Houston, Texas. So yes, Barr is still playing basketball and will be a starting member of the college's team. His mentor, Frank Rutherford confirmed yesterday that the young inspiring professional basketball player will continue his career with the Ravens for a year, before moving back into a NCAA Division I program. "Jeremy Barr, like many other young men, sometimes falls into some adversities," said Rutherford. "Based on those adversities he had to transfer out of USC into Nebraska but those adversities continued to follow him. Now he is given a third chance to try and rectify some of those adversities at a junior college level for one year.
"The junior college which Jeremy is now enrolled in is one of the top junior colleges in America so he is still in a good basketball program. After that one year he would have an opportunity to return to a Division I school. See, Jeremy's problems, which he has encountered over the years has nothing to do with basketball. "He is a young man that averaged 18 to 20 per game as a freshman at USC. He started in several games and he averaged more than eight points and nine rebounds in some of the games he played, so you can see basketball was not his problem. He had some other issues off the court which I am not at liberty to speak about. But, they were off-the-court issues that have stagnated his progress both in the classroom and on the basketball court, and which have affected his basketball court time. He has been given a chance to repatriate his worthiness of being a Division I college basketball player by understanding what that responsibility is, so therefore he is at San Jacinto College getting himself together." Before moving on to college, Barr dominated the high school ranks, propelling the Westbury Christian High School to three straight championships in Houston. Jeremy Barr averaged 19 points and nine rebounds per game, before signing on with the Trojans in 2005. At USC, Jeremy Barr played in 23 games, averaging 3.1 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. He played one season with the Trojans before moving on to Nebraska. Rutherford said: "Like I said, Jeremy's problem is not something that has to do with the physical adjustment of a big school, his adjustment was more of maturity and being a responsible young man who needed to be able to handle when he makes mistakes outside the basketball court. He needs to be able to handle the work load in the classroom and still handle the pressure of being a part of a Division I school and he just didn't do that and he didn't balance well. "So hopefully he will learn because when you go down to the junior college level, you're on your last straw so he is on his last straw. He is going to have his opportunity to shine through it. From all reports that I am<

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  EGYPT   


New campaign for All Arabian games - by Eurobasket

Egyptian federation continue the plan of building new Basket team of youth as most of elements in the national team are changed (75% new team) then after forth position in the AFROBASKET in Angola the team return for All Arabian games to lead the Arabian teams in basket,then the question can they beat Lebanon?
this competition will answer of this question.
the team will camp in Maadi Olympic center for one month as 14 country will share in this competition (Tunisia,Jordon,Qatar,saudi,Algeria,Sudan,Syria,Iraq,Kwait,Lebanon,Lybia,Morroc,Palestine and Egypt)


At the same time Egyptian national team for women also camp preparing for Arab competition as every team will play 6 games because the Basket competition for women are league from one round and 7 countries will share in this competition (Sudan,Tunisia,Algeria,Lebanon,Qatar,Syria and Egypt) but the Egyptian team have a week chance to get a medal.



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  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS   


Calderon leads the hosts to the semifinal - by Eurobasket News

Spain-Germany 83:55 (18-14, 22-13, 26-16, 17-12)

Spain goes to the semis after a wonderful victory over Germany. A great game in all the quarters brought the hosts of Eurobasket 2007 a 83:55 win. Jose Manuel Calderon (190-G-81) paced the winners with 17 points. Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) netted 12, while Rudy Fernandez (197-G-85) collected 12. As usual it was Dirk Nowitzki (211-F-78) who paced his German squad. His 11 points were however nothing in comparison with what he used to score.


Germany stayed in front of the game for the first five minutes. After 9:10, Spain took a control and managed to win the opening quarter as well. Juan Carlos Navarro and Jose Manuel Calderon scored nine of Spain's final 14 points in the half as they went on a 9-0 run. A 40:27 garanteed a good advantage at the break.

In the third quarter Spain increased the lead and after Rudy Fernandez's dunk the board showed 56:36. The teams went to the last break with 66:43 for the hosts of the tournament. At that time probably nobody believed that Germany would catch up as they could not struggle anymore. A 17:12 in the last quarter sent Spain to the semis.

Spain will meet the winner of Slovenia-Greece in the semifinal game.

Spain: Jose Manuel Calderon 17, Juan Carlos Navarro 12, Rudy Fernandez 12
Germany: Dirk Nowitzki 11, Jan-Hendrik Jagla (213-F-81, agency: Priority Sports, college: Penn St.) 10



Germany without a chance versus Spain - by Moritz Korff
Spain set a stop to the German medal-dreams in the Quarter Final at the European Championships and advanced to the Semis by outclassing Germany 83:55.
It was the same procedure as in preparation, when these two teams met twice with Spain winning on both occasions. Once again it became clear that only two or three German players have the class too compete at the highest European level constantly and that some have already reached their climax in the past, now being on the way down. The problem keeps returning: If Dirk Nowitzki faces strong defensive pressure there is hardly anybody to step aside supporting the German topscorer. In contrast the Spanish hosts showed a great allround-play and dominated the game completely. At halftime the score was 40:27 and Spain continued to humiliate the Germans in the third quarter (26:16).
Though dropping out of the medal-race Germany still have the chance to earn a spot at the Qualifying Tournament for the 2008 Olympics by claiming the seventh place in the Placement Round.

Germany: Nowitzki (11pts, 6rbs), Jagla (10pts, 7rbs), Femerling (8pts), Demirel (7pts), Herber (7pts), Okulaja (5pts), Garrett (4pts), Hamann (2pts), Gruenheid (1pt), Arigbabu, Greene, Roller.

Spain: Calderon (17pts), Fernandez (12pts), Navarro (12pts), M. Gasol (10pts), Garbajosa (7pts), P. Gasol (7pts), Reyes (6pts), Cabezas (3pts), Jimenez (3pts), B. Rodriguez (3pts), Mumbru (2pts), S. Rodriguez (1pt).

Planinic sends ...Lithuania to the semis - by Eurobasket

What a game! Thanks to Croatia that did not give up in the game against the favorite of Eurobasket 2007. Lithuania grabs the ticket to the semifinal thanks to Zoran Planinic (198-G-82) who missed 2 free throws with a second remaining. Tha Baltic team won 74:72 and will meet Russia in the semifinal. Darius Songaila (205-C/F-78, agency: Priority Sports, college: Wake Forest) (205-C/F-78, agency: Priority Sports, college: Wake Forest) led the winners with 20 points. Linas Kleiza (203-F-85, agency: Interperformances, college: Missouri) ended up with 19 points and 9 rebounds, while Rimantas Kaukenas (193-G-77, college: Seton Hall) netted 8. Zoran Planinic top-scored for Croatia with 16 points.

Croatia surprised everyone when they started very ambitious. The team won the opening quarter 19:17 and looked also good in the second. After three quarters Croatia was still in front having 2 points advantage.

With 27 seconds remaining in the game Lithuania led 74:70. Zoran Planinic made two free throws and reduced the score till 74:72. It was him who stepped into the line again with 1 second remaining. Unfortunately he missed the first one and did the same, however by purpose in the second try. Lithuania deserved the win a bit more and now looking forward to the next game.


Lithuania - Croatia 74:72 (17-19, 21-16, 15-20, 21-17)
Lithuania: Darius Songaila 20, Linas Kleiza 19+9 rebs, Rimantas Kaukenas 8
Croatia: Zoran Planinic 16, Marko Popovic (185-G-82) (185-G-82) (185-G-82) 12, Tomas 10



Greece shocks Slovenia 63-62 in Eurobasket quarterfinals !!! - by Eurobasket
An epic win for the Hellenic NT
An amazing 21-4 in the last 6.30' minutes gave to the Panagiotis Yiannakis the ticket to the top four teams in Europe.
The most highly paid European player, Theodoros Papaloukas (200-G-77) proved once more why the Russians worship him !! The amazing Hellene guard with 7 points, 1 steal and 1 assist in less than 1.30 minutes was the MVP of the game and at the same time the player who took the team in his back, like a modern Atlas, and travel to the end!! The God is Greek!! Everybody now (and especially the Slovenians and Ales Pipan) believes so.
In regards to the game now, the Hellenic team had to face and overcome two negative elements from the very beginning, their bad shooting performance (with 1/12 three pointers in the first 35 minutes) and the hostile presentation of the referees. The men in gray were 100% aggressive towards the Hellenic NT.
The Slovenian team was much better team in the court for 35 minutes, the first quarter finished with 17-14 with Lakovic and Smodis in offence and Nesterovic in defense being dominant. The same backdrop took place in the second quarter where things were exactly the same, with the score being 17-14 and 34-28 by the end of the first half. From the Hellenic team Lazaros Papadopoulos was the top scorer with 10 points, while Dragic and Lakovic was leading the Slovenian NT with 9-0 made the score 34-28. The third quarter was a monologue for the Slovenians in offence and defense, the rebounds was the Achilles heel, for the Hellenic NT, they couldn't get any rebound. The end of the third quarter found the Hellenes to score only 12 points and the Slovenians to be dominant in all the edges of the court. The same scenery took place in the first 4 minutes of the last and most crucial quarter where the Greeks had a deficit of 16 points with 1\12 three's no psychology at all and the Slovenians cheering in the bench being 100% for their success but…… They forgot that nothing is finished until the fad lady sing, the Hellenic spirit and the duet of Diamantidis and Papaloukas spoke once more. The top duet (in Guards) decided to take over and with the two three pointers from Tsartsaris and Zisis made an unbelievable 21-4 and qualified once more in the semi-finals of the Eurochampionships. Tomorrow against the Spaniards, the Greeks will try to make another Basketbll miracle, in less than 24 hours we will be able to know whether Greece will be able to repeat their performance in Serbia of 2005..

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  MALTA   


Luxol's youth season starts on Sept. 29 - by Eurobasket News
The Luxol Basketball Nursery will resume its activities for season 2007-08 on Saturday, September 29, with regular training sessions by qualified coaches every Saturday morning at the Luxol Gym in Tobruk Road, Pembroke.

As in previous years, Bupa Luxol, the oldest and one of the most successful basketball clubs on the island, will participate in all MBA activities and competitions during the coming season.

Luxol teams will take part in the U-7 and U-9 (micro basket), U-11 and U-13 (mini basket), U-15 (cadets/cadettes), U-17 (juniors), U-20 (young men/women) and the first division in both male and female categories.

Applications for limited vacancies in the various age-groups, ranging from Under 7 up to Under 15 (boys and girls), will be considered.

Nursery officials will be at the Luxol Gym office on the morning of Saturday, September 22 to receive applications from young players, who must be accompanied by their parents.
Courtesy of: http://www.timesofmalta.com

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  NAIA   


Jonker Joins the Dresden Titans - by Eurobasket
John Jonker (6'9''-C-85) has been added to the roster of the Dresden Titans, which is in Germany's 3rd league Regionalliga South-East. Jonker was arguably one of the best centers in NAIA2 this past season and earned several post-season awards, including All-American First Team honors. The 22-year-old native of Grand Rapids, MI averaged 18 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks over 35 games as a senior, leading the traditional contender Cornerstone Golden Eagles deep into the NAIA National Tournament.

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  NCAA2   


Seattle Pacific 0-2 On Foreign Tour - by Sanjey Noriega

From gnacsports.com

Despite getting 23 points and 14 rebounds from center Rob Will, Seattle Pacific lost the second game of its European tour 95-72 to the Matrixx Magixx Wednesday night in Nijmengen, The Netherlands.

The Falcons shot 52 percent from the field but were out-rebounded 53-33 and committed 22 turnovers. Brandon Larrieu contributed 12 for SPU.

The Magixx' top three Americans combined for 59 of their points. SPU visits Belgium's Antwerp Giants Friday.

Alaska Men's Basketball Adds Bobby Pico - by Sanjey Noriega
From alaskananooks.com
Alaska men's basketball head coach Clemon Johnson announced the signing of Bobby Pico of Barrow, Alaska on Tuesday. Pico will enroll at the University of Alaska Fairbanks as a freshman this fall, and will have four years of NCAA eligibility remaining.

A 6'1" guard, Pico joins the Nanooks after a well-decorated four years at Barrow High School. He spent last season in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, where he redshirted his freshman year with Western State College of Colorado.

"I am glad to be back in Alaska, because I was born and raised here," said Pico. "I am excited to get back to my roots, to play in front of my family and friends again, and I am glad to be a Nanook."

While playing for Barrow, Pico helped guide the Whalers to four conference championships and two appearances in the state championship game. In his senior season, Pico earned a spot among Alaska's best players, making the all-state first-team in 2006, and was named the most valuable player for both his team as well as the 3A Western Conference. That season, he averaged 22.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game, including a career-best 38 point, eight-board effort against Grace Christian. Pico also earned first-team all-conference honors in his junior campaign, and was awarded a spot on the all-state fourth team in 2005.

"Bobby will give us additional assistance at the point guard position, but he also gives me the versatility that I am looking for," said Johnson. "I could put him on the floor in the two position because he shoots the ball quite well, so I can have two point guards on the floor against teams that want to trap us. That's a strategy I have used before, and has worked quite well for us."

"I want to come in play solid, play smart and have fun," added Pico. "I am a `pass first' player: I want to get everyone on my team involved. I am looking forward to just getting on the court again and getting to know the guys around me."

An avid fisherman, Pico plans to study either computer science or business administration at UAF.

His addition to the Blue and Gold squad will help offset the loss of Jordan Hayter, who has decided to go on a two-year mission with his church. Hayter averaged 6.0 ppg and 2.2 rpg in 20 games for Alaska last season.

Seattle Pacific Loses Opener In The Netherlands - by Sanjey Noriega
from gnacsports.com
Seattle Pacific opened its five-game men's basketball European tour with a 97-80 loss to Upstairs BSW Tuesday night in Weert, The Netherlands. The Falcons were paced by the 21 points of Rob Diederichs (6'8''-F) and 17 for Rob Will.

Seattle Pacific took an early 14-9 lead but the hosts forged ahead for good by midway through the first half. SPU visits Nijmengen and the Matrixx Magixx Wednesday.



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Women News

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  MONTENEGRO - Women  


BC Herceg Novi loan Biljana Turcinovic to BC Usce - by Dragan Scepanovic
Basketball club Herceg Novi member of Montenegrin A1 division and DELFI SMG Agency anounced that Biljana Turcinovic (186-F-89) will play next season in BC Usce from Belgrade member of SRB 1A division.Biljana Turcinovic was member of Montenegrin U18 national team on European championship in Romania 2007.Last year in MNT1A division Biljana Turcinovic play 13 games :6.7ppg,4.5rpg

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  WNBA - Women  


Cappie Pondexter sends teams to Game 5 - by Eurobasket News
Phoenix - Detroit 77:76
Phoenix entered Game 4 on the brink of elimination. But heroics from one of the team's leaders Cappie Pondexter (5'9''-G-83, college: Rutgers) saved the day for the Mercury. Phoenix forward nailed game-high 26 points including a jump shot with 21 seconds remaining to secure the second win for the Mercury and tied the series at 2-2. The Final series will now travel to Auburn Hills and the title decider is scheduled for Sunday.
The cost was too high for both teams and they played a cautious game in the opening frame. Phoenix though managed to accumulate a 17:12 lead at the end. Detroit cut the gap in the second quarter and led for sometime before Kelly Mazzante (6'0''-G-82, college: Penn St.) nailed a three pointer and put Phoenix ahead 35:33 at halftime. The game was close enough with neither team able to clear off to a safe distance. Plenette Pierson (6'2''-F/C-81, college: Texas Tech) nailed 4 straight points for Detroit with under 3 minutes left in regulation to give the visitors a 74:70 advantage. However Kelly Milller drained a trey and then Cappie Pondexter added a jumper to regain the lead for the hosts 75:74 with 42 seconds remaining. Deanna Nolan (5'11''-G/F-79, college: Georgia) responded with two-point play and Detroit went in front with 34 seconds on the clock. Phoenix relied on Cappie Pondexter in offense and it proved decisive as she dropped two-point attempt in. Detroit had 18 seconds to save the encounter but Shannon Johnson (5'7''-G-74, college: USC) missed shot at the buzzer.
Diana Taurasi (5'11''-G-82, college: Connecticut) provided 20 points and 6 boards for the home side. Kelly Miller (5'10''-G-78, college: Georgia) had 13 points for the winners. Plenette Pierson scored 23 points for Detroit. Deanna Nolan produced 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in a losing clause.
Detroit committed 18 turnovers which proved to be decisive advantage for Phoenix.

Phoenix: Cappie Pondexter 26, Diana Taurasi 20, Kelly Miller 13
Detroit: Plenette Pierson 23, Deanna Nolan 17+8 boards