EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 1/13/2008

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Men News

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ABA

Roster changes in the Bahama team -by Gianni Pascucci
Answering very well to the troubles of the past weeks, the ABA Bahama Pro Show team announced an interesting re-start.Owner/GM Ricardo B. Smith introduced to media two new players, point guard Victor Monaros (6'4''-G-84, college: Florida A&M) and big man Steven Eluett (6'9'-C-83, college: Bethune-Cookman). Also, Mr. Smith announced the promotion to Head Coach of veteran player Steven Culmer (-60), effective immediately. These moves have been allowed by the brand new sponsorization agreement between the Bahama Pro Show team and the Bacardi Rum company, in a very typical Caribbean union.......

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ADRIATIC LEAGUE

Hemofarm STADA didn't sign Branko Jorovic -by Dragan Jankovski
Despite Hemofarm STADA's head coach Miroslav Nikolic said couple of days ago that the team almost agreed terms and is really close to sign contract with ex player of Crvena Zvezda and FMP Branko Jorovic (205-F-81) that did not happen. Namely, the team had serious intention to add Jorovic in their roster but at the end, during the final negotiations, there came up some problems.

Nikolic's comment on this situation was: 'We will not sign the contract because we didn't reach an agreement on certain things. My intension was to help him return on the court so he could be one of our leaders in the next season. I was ready to give him a chance to play but Hemofarm is also a team where it is known what the rules are and I don't want to change them on behalf of somebody'.

Jorovic suffered a serious back injury year and a half ago and he was not able to play any official game for his last team Crvena Zvezda.

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AUSTRALIA

The Breakers keep playoff aspirations intact -by Eurobasket News
New Zealand Breakers - Gold Coast Blaze 126:93

The New Zealand Breakers maintained their winning pace as they overwhelmed the Gold Coast Blaze 126:93 in the North Shore Events Centre. It appeared to be the biggest win for the franchise since joining the NBL. The hosts had hold of the game clues early on. Tony Ronaldson (203-F/C-72) scored quick 8 points, while Paora Winitana (195-G-76) added a three-pointer to lead the Breakers to a 28:22 advantage after 10 minutes. The Blaze struggled to impose their style of game as they missed too many open shots. The Breakers lost Tony Ronaldson in the second quarter as he aggravated Achilles injury. However it did not impact the flow of this one as the pressure mounted for the visitors and they failed to cope. Kirk Penney (194-G-80, college: Wisconsin) and Orien Greene (193-G-82, agency: Arik Krayn Services, college: Louisiana-Lafayette) organized a 7:0 run for the hosts to open up a 46:35 lead midway through the term. It grew up to 18 points in the interval with no answer from Gold Coast. Kirk Penney would not refuse the pleasure of extending the margin to 30 points early in the third stanza and virtually sealing the positive outcome for the hosts. The Blaze just resigned themselves to the fate and suffered their 10th loss in the season. Both teams are now knotted at 12-10 record in the ladder. Kirk Penney was a topscorer for the Breakers with 32 points. Derrick Alston (208-C/F-72, college: Duquesne) drained 23 points, while Orien Greene provided 19 points, 7 steals and 6 assists in a winning case. Casey Frank (203-F-77, college: N.Arizona) responded with 21 points and 7 boards for the Blaze. A newly arrived import Luke Whitehead (199-F-81, college: Louisville) was pretty productive with 18 points and 5 rebounds in a loss.
The Blaze will next play against the Perth Wildcats. The Breakers take on Townsville later today.

NZ Breakers: Kirk Penney 32, Derrick Alston 23, Orien Greene 19
Gold Coast: Casey Frank 21, Luke Whitehead 18

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BALTIC LEAGUE

Panevezys regains the lead in Challenge Cup -by Eurobasket News
Panevezys took over the top spot in the BBL Challenge Cup after an 81:64 victory over Atletas. Thus Panevezys leapfrogged Atletas in the ladder and mounted it at 10-4 record. Atletas skid to the 3rd spot falling to 10-5 record. Atletas opened the game in Panevezys quite concentrated as their defense worked hard limiting their opponents to just 12 points. Atletas grabbed a 17:12 advantage but Panevezys quickly rebounded. They cut the gap and soon rolled in front to enjoy a 31:27 advantage at halftime. Panevezys dominated the game after the main break and the gap started to grow pretty quickly as Atletas trailed by 18 points heading into the fourth term. The visitors never found the right answer for the hosts' onslaught in the middle of the game and lost their 5th game in the season. Adam Shaper paced the home team with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Mindaugas Budzinauskas (198-G-73) delivered 17 points for the winners. Valdas Dabkus (202-F-84) answered with 12 points and 6 boards for Atletas. Egidijus Dimsa (204-C-85) secured 11 points in a loss. Atletas lost the battle under the rims 40:45 and committed 20 turnovers down the stretch. Panevezys will next face Triobet/Dalkia on the road, while Atletas hosts Sakalai.
Meanwhile Suduva climbed to the second spot in the table with a comprehensive 94:73 home victory over Fausto. The hosts dominated the scene right from the start and never allowed Fausto to threaten their lead. Gytis Sirutavicius (195-F-83) nailed 21 points to lead Suduva. Virginijus Sirvydis (196-G/F-73) dropped another 19 points for the winning side. Tanel Kaljula (191-G-81) answered with 19 points to go with 10 turnovers. Ardo Armpalu (207-F/C-80, college: Marshall) had 15 points and 8 rebounds in defeat. Fausto suffered their 11th loss in the season.

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BELGIUM

Belgian Teams in Uleb Cup -by Peter Buyse


Another good week for Belgian teams in the Uleb cup with 3 home wins albeit all very close victories with 2 pts or less.
Oostende stays in 4th place with this win with a 4-4 record and still has a good chance of advancing to the next round.
Oostende and Bologna stayed close in the first quarter which ended 13-15. The home team tightended their defense and took a 32-28 lead at the half.
Things looked really great in the 3rd quarter when Oostende extended their lead to 18 pts and closed out Q3 with a 51-38 score.
From there it looked like all would go bad since Bologna came closer and closer and even tied the game at 60 each in large part due to a 1-14 Bologna run.
Jerry Green came through in the clutch when he scored in the final seconds of the game to give Oostende the 62-60 lead.
The Oostende must have thought about a flashback to the Red Star loss some weeks ago when Torres made a 3pt shots with 0.6 seconds on the clock but the score was waived off by the ref and Oostende held on to the important home win 62-60.

Jerry Green and Chuck Davis were the only double figures scorers for Oostende with 21 and 11 pts respectively.


The Antwerp Diamond Giants are also in 4th place in their group but with a 3-5 record.

They also had a tough time beating Hapoel Galil Elyon at home but were able to count on a strong 4th quarter to get the win.

Brandon Gay and Ian Hanavan paved the way with 16 pts each in the 78-77 victory.

Former Brussels forward Mike Campbell lead Hapoel in scoring with 23 pts;.



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BOSNIA

Bosnian League 13 - 14TH round -by Elvir Halilovic

SLOBODA DITA - IGOKEA PARTIZAN 88:85
23:26, 20:17, 25:19, 20:23
Tuzla, SD Mejdan; Att.: 2.500; Ref.: Obradovic, Bilic, Drmic
SLOBODA DITA: Halilovic, M.Milosevic 12, Hrncic 2, Halilbegovic 6, Albijanic 6, Jevtic, Persic 2, Tanasilovic, Matic 18, N. Milosevic 14, Jocovic 10, Ross 18
IGOKEA PARTIZAN: Tosic 18, Bocka 5, Ford 3, Djurica, Vucurovic 4, Cup 10, Lawrence 4, Djogo 11, Kovacevic, Myron 30

BOSNA ASA BHT - SLAVIJA 87:69
19:17, 21:11, 20:14, 27:27
Sarajevo, SD Skenderija; Att.: 300; Ref.: Kunosic, Lakic, Sobot
BOSNA ASA BH TELECOM: Greer 15, Sehovic 2, Ikonic 4, Bavcic 11, Bailey 10, Suljagic, Rahimic 16, Majstoric, Pasalic 9, Veal 7, Zimic, Williams 13
SLAVIJA: Gvozdenovic 6, Stanic, Tomasevic, Simeunovic, Mladenovic 2, Vukovic 14, Malovic, Rodic 15, Saporac 11, Leric, Demic 21

VOGOSCA MIMS - SL IAT LEOTAR 75:78
15:18, 20:16, 14:16, 26:28
Vogosca, SD Amel Beckovic; Att.: 450; Ref.: Pehar, Okuka, Nenadic
VOGOSCA MIMS: Sormaz 12, Hasanspahic, Osmic, Prasovic 19, Kadic 8, Cengic 16, Keser, Smajovic, Alic, Valjevac 7, Vucicevic 10, Peljto 3
SL IAT LEOTAR: Manojlovic 17, Setencic, Aleksic 17, Vujacic 13, Radulovic 6, Zagorac, Kovacevic 3, Radovanovic 8, Markovic 12, Skoko, Gezovic, Ninkovic 2


CAPLJINA LASTA - GRUDE 82:93
19:23, 11:17, 21:17, 31:36
Capljina, Gradska dvorana; Att.: 2.000; Ref.: Jovanic, Adamovic, Babic
CAPLJINA LASTA: Colic B., Petani 32, Menalo 5, Vladovic 2, Colic I., Hoti, Jerkic 2, Bakovic 15, Jelcic 3, Opancar 6, Dragovic 10, Ramic 7
GRUDE: Lovric, Vranjes M., Vranjes I., Alpeza, Gligora M. 18,Gligora L. 11, Jelcic G. 18, Vujcic 8, Bura 2, Lozancic 2, Zitko 23, Perajica 11



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BRAZIL

Brazilians National league -by Cristiano Grama
Four games this Friday for Brazilians National League. Saldanha won away against Iguacu(86 x 52). It was the second straight victory for Saldanha, and the third consecutive loss for Iguacu. Cristiano was the top scorer with 22 points. Minas makes his debut against Joinville at home and won by 9 (86 x 77). The top scorer for Minas was Maozao with 26 and 7 rebounds. Jasper Johnson (201-C-83, college: Delta St.) (201-C-83, college: Delta St.) had a double double with 23 points and 14 rebounds, was the MVP of this second round. For Joinville, Andre Goes (195-G-87) and Espiga finished both with 17 points and Shilton (-C) with a double double 12 points and 11 rebounds. The new team of Uberlandia won in his debut against Lajeado(78x73). Rodrigo Cesar (206-F-88) with a double double, 16 points and 10 rebounds and Carlos Alexandre Olivinha with 15 points and 9 rebounds lead Uberlandia. With 5 players scored more then 8 points, Raul(8), Alexandre(10), Olivinha(15), Jaz Cowan(11) and Adriano Machado(11) and with 34 points from the bench against 22 of Lajeado, the team of coach Carlos Romano shows a great team work. For Lajeado, Audrei finished with 23 points. And in the final game, Flamengo beats Cetaf 98 x 62. Marcelinho Machado (200-F/G-75, agency: Interperformances) with 16 points and 8 assists and Helio with 15 points and 7 assists leaded Flamengo who continues undefeated.

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BRIT.V.ISLANDS

Sheffield falls -by David Edole
SHEFFIELD SHARKS slumped to a 79-95 defeat at the hands of one of their play-off rivals Cheshire Jets at the EIS, Sheffield last night.
The Jets opened with the first ten points of the game to take an early lead.

A further 12-5 tear for the Jets took the score out to 29- 42, and held onto a 37-49 lead going in at the half. The second half saw the Sharks close the gap to seven points at 55-62 off the back of an 11-2 run midway through the third quarter.

The Jets broke the game open with a 19-4 burst across the third/fourth quarter break to lead 59-81 midway through the final stanza.

The Sharks attempted to get themselves back in the game with a 9-0 burst to trim the score back to 68-81, but an immediate 7-2 Jets response took the score out to 70-88, and sealed the eventual victory for the visitors.

Shawn Myers led all scorers in the game with 33 points for the Jets, while a combination of Justice Graham and Alto Virgil led the Sharks scoring with 17 points apiece for the home side. Randy George (200-F-81, college: Henderson St.) also had a stellar game for the Sharks, he finished with 16points, 9 boards, 4 blocks and 2assists.

Sharks 79 (15,37,59) (Graham/Virgil 17, George 16)

Jets 95 (26,49,74) (Myers 33, Obazuaye 22, Hamilton/Otten 17)

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BULGARIA

Balkan jumped to second place -by Valentin Anguelov

Balkan Botevgrad moved to the second place in the current standing in our Men's A-1 after defeating Spartak Pleven with 72-55. The team already has 11 wins and 5 losses - the same as Levski, but the players from Botevgrad won the direct clash. In the next round, they will face each other in Sofia and the winner will finish second after the first phase of the national championship. One thing is sure - today's victory assured the team of Georgi Mladenov a spot among the best four teams.


Congratulations for the young team of Balkan. After starting with three losses, it woke up and from that moment on the guys registered 11 successes and only 2 defeats (one of them against the title pretendant Lukoil Academic).

Spartak Pleven has the same result as two other teams - CSKA Interlogic and Cherno more Eurohold - 9 wins and 7 losses. However, both of them could not control their standings. If CSKA win the next two fights, they will take the 4th position. To hope for something more, Spartak should keep their fingers crossed for CSKA to lose in one of the two rounds until the end.

The whole game in Botevgrad was entirely under control of the hosts who were leading during all the time. The visitors hardly found a way to score in their opponents' basket. On the half time Balkan were leading by 15 points and during the third and fourth period the lowest difference twice was 9 points. Although Pleven wanted to change the happening on the playing ground, they could not do it. Two minutes to go, the difference went to 19 points in favour of the home team - 71-52. Finally, Spartak Pleven made it for 72-55.


We have to mention the perfect defense Balkan demonstrated as they let their opponents score the modest 55 points. It was a disastrous day for Spartak today. Their percentage from the 2-points-line was 29.6 % (8/27) and 20.7 % for 3 points.

On the top in this game was the veteran Dwayne Morton (200-F-71, agency: Interperformances, college: Louisville) who finished with double-double - 25 points and 10 rebounds for 37 minutes spent on court. He showed unique abilities in shooting - 9/11 for 2 points, 1/1 for 3 points and 4/5 from the free throw line. The Lilov brothers added 13 points each. The younger - Ivan gave 6 assists as well, while Lyubomir took 6 rebounds.


At the end, Georgi Mladenov put into play all the youngsters in the lines of Balkan and pleased the great audience in the full gym.

For the guests Sasa Topcov (9 points) and Hrisimir Dimitrov (7 points and 6 assists) were far away of what we are used to see. The only player who passed the two-digit-border was the student of the Botevgrad basketball school - Iliya Stankov - 14 points and 6 rebounds.


FULL STATS FROM THE GAME BALKAN - SPARTAK PLEVEN


INDIVIDUAL STATS OF BALKAN


INDIVIDUAL STATS OF SPARTAK PLEVEN

INDIVIDUAL STATS OF MEN'S FIRST A-1


TEAM STATS OF MEN FIRST A-1

TOP 10 OF LAST ROUND


CURRENT STANDING IN MEN FIRST A-1



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CBA

Yakama is impressive down the line -by Eurobasket News
The Yakama Sun Kings continued their outstanding performance in the CBA season. They posted two back-to-back victories over East Kentucky to extend their record to 20-1. In the first of two encounters away from home the Sun Kings got off their opponents in the second quarter outscoring them 26:16. The Miners never recovered and had to surrender at the end 105:117. Desmond Ferguson (6'7''-G/F-77, agency: Interperformances, college: Detroit Mercy) secured 28 points to lead the Sun Kings. Jermaine Blackburn (6'7''-G/F-83, college: Boise St.) delivered 21 points for the winners. Josh Pace (6'6''-G/F-83, agency: Interperformances, college: Syracuse) answered with 26 points for the Miners.
The next game was much closer with the outcome unknown till the final seconds. Yakama were up by 7 points at the interval 62:55. They enlarged the gap to 9 points entering the fourth period but the hosts stood up to the challenge. A well-balanced offensive effort from the Miners saw them cut the gap but it never turned out to be enough. Jason Sasser (6'7''-F-74, college: Texas Tech) and Jermaine Blackburn delivered when it mattered the most and sealed the 20th win for the Sun Kings. Harvey Thomas topscored for the Sun Kings with 30 points and 9 boards off the bench. Jason Sasser had 25 points and 12 boards for the winning side. Marcus Heard (6'7''-F-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: De Paul) produced 26 points and 7 rebounds for the East Kentucky. Josh Pace provided 23 points and 8 boards in the 13th loss for the Miners.
Meanwhile there was a number of signings during recently in the CBA. The Minot Skyrockets inked guard Chris Reaves (6'3''-G-84, agency: Naiditch Entertainment, college: Chaminade). The 23-year-old spent the last season in Romania with Dynamo Bucharest. There he averaged 12.1 points and 3.8 assists per game.
The Pittsburg Xplosion signed a veteran centre John Strickland (6'8''-F/C-72, college: Hawaii-Pacific). He had stint with the Minot Skyrockets early in the season but was waived early in 2008. The Great Falls Explorers opted for signing forward Jason Clark (6'8''-F-82, college: Virginia). The 25-year-old forward graduated from Virginia, where he produced 6.7 points per game in his senior year. He was drafted by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League in 2007.

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CHINA

Yang Ming MVP of Youth All-Star Game -by Arthur Volbert
In the CBA All-Star game for younger players, the Star team defeated the Shine team 129-126. Yang Ming (193-G-87), a Liaoning guard from the class of 1987, was MVP of the game, scoring 35 points for the victorious Stars and also grabbing 7 rebounds. A couple of years ago, Yang, class of 1987, was considered the best young point guard in China. He was given a tryout for the National Team but got injured. He seems to be score-first rather than pass-first and has some difficulty scoring when defenses concentrate on him. Defenses do not concentrate in all-star games.

The teams were selected by the CBA and it is not known what their criteria were for younger players. For example, Liu Jiulong of Shaanxi is listed as born in 1982. But Liu came out of the university system, not the club system, so perhaps he was indeed born in 1982. Perhaps some other players, whose birth dates are listed as being later, were actually born in 1982 as well.

Xu Yong (204-F-89) of Shanghai, listed as born in 1989, was second high scorer for the Stars with 26 points. Xu, class of 1989, has NBA potential. He is an athletic high-flyer and had 6 dunks in this game.

Cao Zhenhua (205-C-85) of Shandong led the Shines with 36 points and 9 rebounds while Yang Chao (195-G/F-84) of Fujian added 31 points.

Cao is from the university system and is listed as class of 1985. He has not been a prime scorer for Shaanxi which relies on imports Mack Tuck and Herve Lamizana as well as fellow junior all-stars Sun Jie and Wang Gang. But he was MVP of the university league last year.

Yang, class of 1986 and eligible for this year's NBA draft, was second to Ding Jinhui as CBA rookie of the year last year and has continued to improve for Fujian this year.

Team Star
Yi Li 6p+1a, Wang Yong 13p, Luo Zhi 2p+1r, Gu Liye 12p+8r+4a+2bl, Yang Ming 35p+7r+4a+1s, Chen Lei 13p+1a, Xie Libin 2p, Sun Jie 14p, Ma Chao 2p, Ying Kui 4p+2a, Xu Yong 26p+5r+3a+1s+2bl
Team Shine
Han Shuo 12p+3r+2a, Wang Sizhang 10p+3r, Deng Li 12p+7r+1a+1s, Yang Chao 31p+3r+3a+1s, Qiu Biao 2p+1r, Liu Wei2 0p, Liu Jiulong 10p+3r, Wang Gang 11p+5a, Cao Zhenhua 36p+9r+2a+2s+1bl

Oyedeji Olumide arrived Liao Ning -by Robert Wang
Oyedeji Olumide arrived Liao Ning tonight and will play for the rest season for thi steam. Oyedeji Olumide also received the 10th weekly MVP last week thi sseason. Hope he could help Liao Ning ! good luck!

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DENMARK

An easy win for the favorite -by Eurobasket News
Bakken Bears smashed Aabyhoj 107:66 in the only game after a 5th day silence. The favorite of the Danish league improved to 12-2 sending the latter to 5-10 record. With 24:16 in the opening quarter the hosts dominated in the court later on. Jason Siggers (193-G/F-85, agency: Strategic Sports, college: Albany) led the winners with 24 points. Chris Christoffersen (218-C-79, college: Oregon) and Nicolai Iversen (204-F-80, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: San Jose City JC) follwed him with 15 points apiece. Anders Hejgaard (183-G-80) netted 16 points in the losing effort.
Danish and Euroleague super star David Andersen (212-C-80) top-scored for CSKA again. Olympikos however bumped CSKA Moscow in Piraeus. Even despite loss CSKA sits comfortably atop with a 9-2 record. Both teams were missing some key performers on the squad. CSKA were without the services of injured Matjaz Smodis, while Alexei Savrasenko received a limited time on court. Meanwhile Olympiakos lost their key scorer Arvydas Macijauskas as he was sidelined with an ankle injury. He however appeared on the court to receive the Euroleague Player of the Month trophy before the game.
Bourousis and Milos Teodosic stepped up for the hosts to lead them past dangerous CSKA. The teams fought closely in the opening minutes as Zisis ignited an 8:0 run for CSKA that was well-matched by Woods and Giorgos Printezis for a 15:15 tie. Later Olympiakos erupted with a 14:0 rally that saw CSKA unable to score for about 5 minutes. The home side grabbed a 30:17 advantage but just to see David Andersen score 10 points in a row to cut the margin to 27:34. Ramunas Siskauskas dragged CSKA even closer with a trey but Milos Tedosic had the last word in the half bringing Olympiakos to a 39:33 halftime lead.
Trajan Langdon was unstoppable early in the third stanza as he drained 11 points for the visitors to square up teams at 46. However Milos Teodosic and Ioannis Bourousis nailed a couple of solid baskets late in the quarter to restore a 58:51 advantage after 30 minutes. J.R. Holden did not give up as his impressive three-pointer early in the fourth quarter pumped it up for CSKA. Milos Teodosic had to leave the floor with a sprained ankle midway through the frame but Olympiakos continued to roll. They extended the lead to 8 points until Ramunas Siskauskas and David Andersen revived the intrigue. They cut the deficit to only 2 points 67:69 with 22 seconds left in regulation. Lynn Greer found Giorgos Printezis in the paint for a dunk to seal the winning outcome.
Milos Teodosic topscored for Olympiakos with 20 points marking his best result for Olympiakos so far. Ioannis Bourousis provided 18 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. David Andersen responded with game-high 21 points and 12 boards for CSKA. Trajan Langdon had 17 points in a losing effort. CSKA will play against Zalgiris in Kaunas.

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Three thrillers tonight! -by Rauno Hurmalainen

Korisliiga, Round 24-26: Four games tonight and three thrillers out of them, one OT game and one double OT game! Kataja (Joensuu) caused Kauhajoki
the seventh loss in a row by winning 92-75. Honka (Espoo) has it always difficult at Karkkila. Also tonight. It was a one-point-game (58-59) and 1:13
minutes to go. Matt Williams (200-F-77, college: Montana) scored two pts (58-61), when 0:48 minutes left and Kimmo Muurinen (202-F-81, college: UALR) finally saved Honka by making a trey 12 seconds before the buzzer. Jukka Matinen DNP (fever). 75-year-old ToPo (Helsinki) needed an OT to win over Kouvot (Kouvola) first time this season in Helsinki. Kouvot had a seven-point-lead (57-64), when there was five minutes time left. ToPo outscored Kouvot 7-0 during those minutes and OT was needed. Josh Gonner's (188-G-82, college: S.Carolina) lay-up (14 seconds to go) were the last pts during the regular 40 minutes. OT was exciting as well. The winning basket was made by Tyson Patterson (175-G-78, college: Appalachian St.). ToPo has now won 20 games in a row. The new record is only two games short. Basketball is sometimes strange. Honka won by scoring 65 pts and ToPo by scoring 70 pts after OT. But you may not be a winner even you or your Team is scoring 120 pts. KTP (Kotka) made 120 pts, but lost vs YMCA Lahti at home after two OTs 120-122! That game must have been exciting! The lead was changing 10 times during the OTs and six times the Teams were tied! The winning basket was made by Ed Williams (200-F-80, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: NC-Wilmington) only four seconds before the buzzer. YMCA Lahti had seven players in double figures. Team made 15 treys in the game (15/31 = 48,4%).

KTP - YMCA Lahti 2OT 120-122 (108)(94)(48-51) (Steve Smith 26, Manny Dies 20/13 - Davont Jackson 27, Pierre Jallow 17/15).

ToPo - Kouvot OT 70-69 (64)(35-32) (Josh Gonner 19, Timo Heinonen 16 - Corey Smith 26/16, Tuomas Iisalo 18).

Team Componenta - Honka 58-65 (33-32) (Nick Wallery 15/13, Chris Hester 14/11 - Kimmo Muurinen 18, Monte Cummings 17).

Kataja - Kauhajoki 92-75 (42-38) (Andre Foreman 26, Anssi Kinnaslampi 17 - Mario Porter 25, Darryl Hudson 18).



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GERMANY

Bamberg: Ffriend suspended -by Moritz Korff
Recently signed Kimani Ffriend (211-C-77, college: Nebraska) has been suspended by his team Brose Baskets Bamberg. Due to the fact that Bamberg does not have any chance to advance in the Euroleague the contract will be cancelled. The Jamaican Center joined the German Champion only two weeks ago. He scored 8 points in one Bundesliga-appearance and also wore the Bamberg jersey in the Euroleague twice. The 30-year-old will not be part of the roster on Sunday, when the troops of Coach Dirk Bauermann take on TBB Trier.

Third import player to Itzehoe -by Moritz Korff
The Itzehoe Eagles (Regionalliga North) have signed Ivan Jenkins (180-G-83, agency: ProSportsCareers, college: Lambuth). By adding the former NAIA All-American the team from Northern Germany reacted to the fact, that both Demekssa Duresso (189-G-77) and Bastian Moeller (185-G-85) are not going to suit up for the Eagles anymore in this current campaign. Also, the Eagles need to win games to avoid the drop to the 2. Regionalliga.
Jenkins spent the first three years (including one season as a redshirt) of his collegiate career at Winthrop University (NCAA1) and moved on to Georgetown College (NAIA) for the 2005-2006 season. He then joined Lambuth University (NAIA) for his final year. Jenkins appeared in 31 encounters for the Eagles, scored 18.6 points, handed out 3.4 assists and grabbed 2.6 rebounds per game. The 24-year-old from Durham, North Carolina got picked by the Los Angeles D-Fenders, an affiliate of the Lakers, in the 2007 NBA D-League Draft.

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GREECE

Week 13: Second Division: Near East lost and the league becomes exciting! -by Chris Mammides
Komotini - Nea East 83-82
Quarters: 23-17, 45-33, 54-52, 83-82
Komotinmi: Mouzakitis 7, Mouratoglou 2, Dinas 18, Koutsovasilis 7, Tsakonitis 5, Veli 9, Souflias 21, Halil 4.
Nea East: Nikou 3, Mihalos 14, Lykogiannis 12, Kouklakis 12, Papoulidis 13, Neofytou 8, Sizopoulos 9, Stamatis 6, Papargiropoulos 5.

Ikaros - Lavrio 77-74
Quarters: 18-16, 42-38, 59-57, 77-74.
Ikaros:) Tsopokis 7, Georgiou 22, Emmanouilidis 13, Papadakis 4, Katranas 3, Delichristos 5, Karastamatis 5, Katoufas 21, Koukouras 1.
LAVRIO: Kousoulas 3, Giannakopoulos 13, Trikaliotis 7, Rallis 3, Kassanos 14, Bakas 13, Notis 6, Psileas 15.

Aigio - Alimos 93-65
Quarters: 21-22, 51-34, 69-52, 93-65
Aigio:): Dimitris Prokos (192-G-74) 30, Gioupis 4, Stamopoulos 6,Tirlas 14, Deraos 9, Manolas 11, Stavroulakis 6, Liggos 8, Mandalakis 5.
Alimos: Moutoupas 2, Thomas 1, Anthis 13, Tsolakis 17, Elias Vrinas 2, Galiotas 11, Kallimanas 3, Tsougarakis 16.

Olympiakos Volou - KAOD 82-93
Quarters: 22-21, 37-50, 58-77, 82-93
Olympiakos Volou: Politis 14, Nanis 19, Arnaoutakis 2, Tsourelis 17, Tsolis 24, Michos 2, Fountas 4.
KAOD: Bourdanos 3, Papadopoulos 11, Kioses 13, Filiousis 14, Mihaelidis 3, Maslarinos 13, Koukouravas 14, Daliaris 22.

Ikaroi Serron - Goumenisa 84-77
Quarters: 21-26, 40-45, 66-62, 84-77
Ikaroi Serron: Pehlivanis 21, Sdrakas 25, Pappoudas 3, Tsanakas 8, Giavropoulos 2, Asimakis 11, Topouzis 14.
Goumenisa: Bagi 13, Imeridis 10, Matenidis 18, Klepkos 16, Andreadis 10, Antoniadis 7, Gotsos 3.
Doukas - Amyntas 65-81
Quarters: 12-21, 20-36, 43-51, 65-81.
Doukas: Kamariotis 6, Mantzioris 14, Petrakis 2, Karatzios 5, Papaioannou 2, Ahis 3, Kouvaris 11, Kritsalos 22
Amyntas: Zoupas 16, Samothrakis 17, Gramatikos 13, Boutros 4, Korizis 11, Dorkofikis 4, Vogiatzis 12, Moumouris 4.

Milonas - Ermis Lagkada 81-87
Quarters: 15-22, 34-36, 60-52, 81-87
Milonas: Kalaitzakis 24, Karababas 22, Mumbarak 5, Vlavianos 28, Efstratiou 2.
Ermis: Troulialis 8, Kloutzos 11, Papakonstantinou 20, Siolios 13, Gamouras 14, Akepsimaidis 6, Dimitriadis 15.

Makedonikos - Anagennisis Floga 84-89
Quarter: 24-19, 40-45, 60-69, 84-89
Makedonikos (new head coach Giannouzakos): Dalpas 20, Tanakidis 17, Pantsios 2, Mitsakis 13, Kogias 9, Karipidis 9, Samourelis 15,
Anagennisis- Floga: Rozolis 3, Moisiadis 18, Galanidis 5, Touloumis 6, Pittakas 11, Sidiropoulos 16, Thymnios 2, Zarogiannis 8, Spiropoulos 2, Pallis 18
Top scorers after 13 weeks:
Dimitris Dimitris Prokos (192-G-74) of Aigio 282 points
Panagiotis Nanis (195-F/G-80) of Olympiakos Volou 238 points (in 12games)
Nick Psileas (200-F-80) of Lavrio 230 points
Giorgos Tirlas (198-F-80) of Aigio 225 points
Panagiotis Tsolis (194-F-81) of Olympiakos Volou 223 points (in 12 games)
Tassos Baggi (187-G-75) of Goumenissa 203 points
Michalis Tanakidis (190-G-81) of Makedonikos 198 points
Konstantinos Pehlivanis (192-G-79) of Ikaroi Serron 200 points
Sotiris Katoufas (206-F-79) of Ikaros Kallitheas 202 points
Nicos Papakonstantinou (182-G-84) of Ermis Lagkada 199 points
Giorgos Filiousis (198-G-77) of KAOD 182 points
Tasos Dimitriadis (201-C-82) of Ermis Lagkada 180 points
Kostas Dinas (189-G/F-80) of Komotini 183 points
Dimitris Karatzios (202-F-78) of Doukas 153 points
Mihalis Ifantis (204-F-72) of Alimos 146 points

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HUNGARY

Saturday's games -by Tamas Deri

NYKK - ZTE KK 87-80
(21-13, 22-21, 27-24, 17-22)


SOPRONI SORDOGOK - PVSK EXPO-CENTER PECS 91-80
(22-19, 24-28, 19-19, 26-14)
With this win the home team made a big step to kepp its chances to come into to the best playoffs!


KAPOSVARI KK - ALBACOMP 73-87

(26-24, 6-20, 18-24, 23-19)



DKC: victory against Falco even -by Tamas Deri

Planet-Leasing Dombovar KC - Falco KC 91:85

(25-28, 15-22, 30-15, 21-20)
Dombovar, Att.: 1.600

Falco started better the game, Bam Doyne (193-G-84, college: Mississippi) made the first layup only after 4 seconds. The american guard scored 17 points in the first half. Dombovar missed 10 of 19 free throws in 20 minutes. On the other side Julien Mills (193-G-84, agency: Warren Sports, college: Ball St.) tried to get his team closer but after two quarters they were back by ten points.

Something happened in the half time as one other Dombovar came on the court for the second half. Julien Mills and Mike English (194-F-82, agency: Interperformances, college: Mo.-Kansas City) - the guards scored 57 points together - were unstoppable again, and with a crazy 30-6 run in the 3rd quarter, they were up by 14 points after 28 games. In the last two minutes Falco scored 9 points, Borszeki made two of two 3's in 45 seconds, and there were only five points difference. However, it could be kept in the last 10 minutes, so the home team beat top favourite Falco KC Szombathely, which lost only its second game in this season.

Players of the game were Julien Mills and Mike English.



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ICELAND

Iceland Express results -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Keflavik on a winning side again after they beat Snaefell 98-95 in a very close game all the way. Snaefell had the chance in the end to tight the game up but missed a three pointer.
Leading scorers for Keflavik. Bobby Walker 30. Tommy Johnson 26. Magnus Gunnarsson 19. For Snaefell. Justin Shouse 28. Slobodan Subasic 19. Hlynur Baeringsson 15. Magni Hafsteinsson 14. Anders Katholm 11.

Tindastoll 98 IR 94 This game could go either way but Tindastoll was stronger in the end.
Leading scorers for Tindastoll. Philip Perre 28. Donald Brown 27. Svavar Birgisson 15. Serge Poppe 13.
For IR. Steinar Arason 19. Tahirou Sani 18. Sveinbjorn Claessen 17. Nate Brown 15 + 10 assist

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ISRAEL

Hapoel cut Roberson as well -by Yarone Arbel
Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem and Anthony Roberson (186-G-83, college: Florida) parted ways. Tonight, right after the club's first home loss of the season - 97-98 to Ironi Ashkelon, the club released an official press release in which they claim Roberson and his agent decided the player won't show up to the game on his own opinion. Hapoel treated this as Anthony broke the contract and decided to cut him.

Roberson is the third foreigner Hapoel cut this season after Will Blalock (183-G-83, agency: Priority Sports, college: Iowa St.) and Marcus Slaughter were sent home before. Two of them - Slaughter and Roberson - were signed already after the season started and both were cut, according to the club, because of off-court issues.

In addition while Jaime Arnold still sits out due to injury it's likely Hapoel will miss Sharon Shason in their key ULEB Cup road game @Zadar this week. Shason, who scored a season high of 35 points and added nine rebounds in the home loss, fell on his hand during the game, and dislocated his wrist.

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ITALY

Recalcati will scout some other young players -by Gianni Pascucci
It is called 'Italian National Team Camp', but the one scheduled for next week at Borgosesia will be almost all a 'check out' of the best Under 23 domestic players made by coach Carlo Recalcati, to see if anyone could help Team Italy in the future competitions. All the NT veterans, in fact, will stay with their teams. The list of the players called at the camp tells by itself, and is as follows:
Alessandro Agosta (204-F/C-84, Sati Trading Modena)
Michele Benfatto (202-F/C-85, Vem Sistemi Forlì)
Federico Bolzonella (185-G-84, Assigeco Casalpusterlengo)
Carlo Cantone (188-G-85, Legea Scafati)
Daniele Cavaliero (189-G-84, Air Avellino)
Marco Cusin (211-C-85, agency: Interperformances, Vanoli Soresina)
Daniele Demartini (187-G-84, Prima Veroli)
Marco Evangelisti (196-G-84, Consum.It Siena)
Giovanni Fattori (202-F-85, Vem Sistemi Forlì)
Luca Gandini (204-F-85, agency: Interperformances, Sil Lumezzane)
Alessandro Infanti (191-G-85, Indesit Fabriano)
Nicola Mei (188-G-85, Everlast Firenze)
Giuseppe Poeta (190-G-85, Siviglia Wear Teramo)
Federico Pugi (206-F-85, Trenkwalder Reggio Emilia)
Tommaso Rinaldi (204-F/C-85, Coopsette Rimini)
Gennaro Sorrentino (185-G-85, Igea Sant'Antimo)

Saturday night games results -by Gianni Pascucci

In the anticipated game of the Serie A 19th Round, Benetton Treviso routed Scavolini Spar Pesaro 82-56, showing to have finally found the right way. The men of the game were Pops Mensah-Bonsu (206-F-83, agency: SportsTalent, college: George Washington), who scored 13 points and grabbed nothingless than 21 rebounds, dominating inside, and Lionel Chalmers (183-G-80, college: Xavier), who performed for 27 points, 4 rebs, 3 steals and 2 assists, and seems to have moved away any risk to be waived. Scoring 13 points, Ron Slay (203-F-81, agency: David Lee services, college: Tennessee) led a disappointing Pesaro team. In the other game of the night, Upim Bologna Defetaed Premiata Montegranaro 79-73 at the end of a very balanced game, in which the best performers were Kristaps Janicenoks (196-F-83), with 18 pts and 2 rebs, Dalibor Bagaric (217-C-80), with 12 pts and 12 rebs, and Stefano Mancinelli (202-F-83), with 15 pts and 9 rebs. At the Premiata side, Jobey Thomas (193-G-80, college: Charlotte) took the top scorer honors with 20 pts and Sharrod Ford (206-F-82, college: Clemson) scored 11 pts and grabbed 14 rebs.
See complete boxscore at www.legabasket.it



Italy Cup Schedule announced -by Gianni Pascucci

Two days ago, the Italian Serie A announced the 'Tim Cup - Italy Cup Final Eight 2008' schedule. The competition will be held at the PalaMalaguti Arena, at Casalecchio, Bologna, and will feature the best eight teams of the first half of Seria A. The competition is very important, because the the first trophy of the season, and this year has a particular flavour, given that lots of underrated teams will fight for the Italy Cup for the first time of their history. The schedule, with quarterfinal pairings, is as follows:
Thursday, February 7, 18.30
1-Montepaschi Siena vs Scavolini Spar Pesaro
Thursday, February 7, 21.00
4-Lottomatica Roma vs La Fortezza Bologna

Friday, February 8, 18.30
3-Premiata Montegranaro vs Air Avellino
Friday, February 8, 21.00
2-Angelico Biella vs Pierrel Capo d'Orlando
Saturday, February 9, 18.30
Semifinal A (between the winners of Thursday games)
Saturday, February 9, 21.00
Semifinal B (between the winnners of Friday games)
Sunday, February 10
Final Game - Tim Cup Trophy



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JORDAN

A tie game in Cyprus!! -by Mohammed Malas
The friendly game which was between Zain Basketball Club and 1st of the cyprot league Keravnos 87-87 in a close game from both sides, Zain is currently in nicosia in a camp to prepare for Dubai International Tournament which will begin next thursday.

Nate Johnson (199-F-77, college: Louisville) and Rasheim Wright were the best from Zain side and helped the team to make the tie at the last quarter after it was being leaded by Keravnos with small range most of the time in the 1st 3 quarters due to big performance from Bryant Smith, Panagiotis Trisokkas and Patrick Lee.

Coaches of both teams agreed to not continue the game after the 4 quarter to end by this result, The next game of Zain will be against AEK laranca on monday.

Zain 87 - Keravnos 87 (Qs: 22-23, 37-34, 55-66 & 87-87)

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KUWAIT

Wingfield signs with Al Arabi -by Ali Ahmed

Al Arabi basketball team management agreed terms with the American Forward Tremaine Wingfield to play for them this season.

Wingfield dominates the paint with his strong body and long arms; Can shoot from long-range jumper; Has various post skills.

Wingfield played in Turkey, Lebanon, Syria and Philippines.

Awards/Achievements:
Taiwanese League CBA All Stars -98
ABA Semifinals -01
Syrian League Champion -03
Syrian Cup Winner -03
Panama National Team Camp -06

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LEBANON

Results from the Round 1 of the Lebanese League -by Asia-Basket Lebanon

In the first game of the new season Sagesse met Moutahed . The game had a quick start from Sagesse and they cruised into a big lead , the score at the half was 45 -25 for Sagesse. In the second half Moutahed made a big com back . The end of the game was a very exciting one and the game finished on the score of 67-70.

In the second game Antranik hosted Champville in a very exciting game till the last seconds in which Champville managed to win in the end .Antranik had an 18 point lead during the game but lost it and 3 minutes from the end of the game Champville made a big run to tie the game 84-84 before 9 seconds from the ending when Carl Sarkis scored the wining basket.


Sagesse - Moutahed : (70-57)
Best Scorers:
Sagesse:Rony Fahed(19pts)
Moutahed: Norman Nolan(21pts)


Q1:17-13 Q2:28-12 Q3:12-13 Q4:13-29

Blue Stars- Feytroun : (92-48)
Best Scorers:
Blue Stars: Jean Abed El Nour(22pts)
Feytroun: Jarekus Singleton (11pts)


Q1: 25-13 Q2: 19-8 Q3: 20-15 Q4:28-12

Antranik - Champville : (84-86)
Best Scorers:
Antranik: Marcus Brown , La Shawn Malloy (20pts)
Champville: Kevin Jolley (27pts


Q1: 30-17 Q2: 21-26 Q3: 16-14 Q4:17-29

Anibal - Riyadi : (75-101)
Best Scorers:
Anibal : Kevin Sowell (26pts)
Riyadi: Joseph Vogel(28pts)


Q1: 11-25 Q2: 23-28 Q3: 19-29 Q4:22-19



*****************************************************
LITHUANIA

Panevezys regains the lead in Challenge Cup -by Eurobasket News
Panevezys took over the top spot in the BBL Challenge Cup after an 81:64 victory over Atletas. Thus Panevezys leapfrogged Atletas in the ladder and mounted it at 10-4 record. Atletas skid to the 3rd spot falling to 10-5 record. Atletas opened the game in Panevezys quite concentrated as their defense worked hard limiting their opponents to just 12 points. Atletas grabbed a 17:12 advantage but Panevezys quickly rebounded. They cut the gap and soon rolled in front to enjoy a 31:27 advantage at halftime. Panevezys dominated the game after the main break and the gap started to grow pretty quickly as Atletas trailed by 18 points heading into the fourth term. The visitors never found the right answer for the hosts' onslaught in the middle of the game and lost their 5th game in the season. Adam Shaper paced the home team with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Mindaugas Budzinauskas (198-G-73) delivered 17 points for the winners. Valdas Dabkus (202-F-84) answered with 12 points and 6 boards for Atletas. Egidijus Dimsa (204-C-85) secured 11 points in a loss. Atletas lost the battle under the rims 40:45 and committed 20 turnovers down the stretch. Panevezys will next face Triobet/Dalkia on the road, while Atletas hosts Sakalai.
Meanwhile Suduva climbed to the second spot in the table with a comprehensive 94:73 home victory over Fausto. The hosts dominated the scene right from the start and never allowed Fausto to threaten their lead. Gytis Sirutavicius (195-F-83) nailed 21 points to lead Suduva. Virginijus Sirvydis (196-G/F-73) dropped another 19 points for the winning side. Tanel Kaljula (191-G-81) answered with 19 points to go with 10 turnovers. Ardo Armpalu (207-F/C-80, college: Marshall) had 15 points and 8 rebounds in defeat. Fausto suffered their 11th loss in the season.

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MOROCCO

Day 11 Results -by Nour Amri

The game of the week was in Sale were ASS confirmed their good shape in the second League's round winning MAS (73-69). The game was very tense and the score very close, but the local team showed a better teamwork and looked ready to fight for the first places of the play-off. Sow abdoulaye with his first triple double of the season was the MVP of the game.

WAC struggled to win a supposedly an easy derby game where CMC showed a better fighting spirit and presence in the court. Coach Rachid Yatribi said he is proud of his squad as they are improving game by game (63-67).

Despite a better game in terms of tactical organisation on the court, FUS slumped to another frustrating loss in Kenitra. Coach Uariachi suffered Mohamed Mouak's absence, Assoumou Marius low performance and young players' lack of experience (67-61).

RCA won the other derby of the week versus a awakened TSC team (76-75). In a very close score game, TSC looked hungrier than coach Guerss players. Injured players Morad Fanjaoui and Adnan Msadia did not play and their team paid the price with a very bad organisation in offense. TSC created a lot of problems to RCA offense with their 3-2 zone defense. Despite a good performance of Zakaria Boukhriss (17 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds) RCA won thanks to Motopenza last second shot.

Finally, IRT easily won his home game and trashed MET (84-55).



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NBA

NBA game will be replayed for the first time since 1982 -by Eurobasket News
NBA commissioner David Stern announced today that the last 51.9 seconds of the extra period in the Miami Heat vs. the Atlanta Hawks encounter would have to be replayed because of an incorrect disqualification of Shaquille O'Neal (7'2''-C-72, college: LSU).. It will happen only for the 4th time in the NBA history. The last time the teams were sent back for overacting in 1982 when the Spurs claimed an incorrect lane violation call with 3 seconds left in their matchup against the Lakers. This time it was the mistake of the Hawks' scoring table personnel as they registered a late fourth quarter foul to Shaquille O'Neal, while it was committed by Udonis Haslem (6'8''-C-80, college: Florida). Automatically the Heat centre was sent off the court on his next foul with under a minute remaining in the extra period and it was followed by Miami's loss. The game will resume after two free throws from Al Horford (6'10''-F/C-86, college: Florida) and Miami's ball.
The Atlanta Hawks temporarily lost one win off their record and did not gain one yesterday falling short to Washington in overtime. Josh Smith (6'9''-F-85) scored 35 points but the Wizards overcame his output to grab their 18th win in the season. Antonio Daniels (6'4''-G-75, college: Bowling Green) converted a layup late in the extra period to put the Wizards ahead for good. Antawn Jamison (6'9''-F-76, college: N.Carolina) led the winners with 22 points and 17 rebounds. Caron Butler (6'7''-F-80, college: Connecticut) added 21 points and 8 rebounds for the Wizards. Joe Johnson (6'8''-F-81, college: Arkansas) had 23 points and 9 assists for Atlanta.
Another thriller happened in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers used two overtimes to finally edge the Charlotte Bobcats 113:106. LeBron James (6'8''-F-84) was a usual mastermind in this impressive win for the Cavaliers. He delivered 8 points in the second extra period to drag the hosts to the 13th win in the season. Charlotte held a 102:100 lead early in the second overtime but LeBron James hit a big three-pointer to set the home team in front. He later added a free throw and then sank a jumper to extend the gap to 106:102. Damon Jones (6'4''-G-76, college: Houston) deepened it for the Cavs with a triple to take it away for the Cavs. LeBron James finished with 31 points and career-high 19 rebounds to pace Cleveland. Anderson Varejao (6'9''-C-82), who was doubtful for the game contributed 16 points and 18 boards in a win. Gerald Wallace (6'7''-F-82, college: Alabama) responded with 27 points and 12 boards for the Bobcats.

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NCAA3

#1 Rochester Edge Past Brockport in Thriller -by Moritz Korff
Robert Dominiak (6'3''-G) sank a three-point goal out of the left corner with 55 seconds to play to provide a slight cushion as the University of Rochester edged SUNY Brockport, 75-70, in the semifinals of the JPMorgan Chase Tournament at the Louis Alexander Palestra.

The victory puts Rochester into the championship game against Nazareth College, a 70-68 winner over SUNY Geneseo in the other semifinal. Rochester won at Nazareth, 68-51, back in November.

Brockport's speed caused all sorts of problems for the Yellowjackets. The Golden Eagles forced 18 turnovers (12 steals) and produced 24 points on giveaways. When Rochester could maneuver, the Yellowjackets hit their shots. Rochester made 28 of 51 from the floor (54.9%). In the second half, the Yellowjackets connected on 15 of 26 (57.7%).

Dominiak sank all five of his field goals (including both three-pointers) and was five for five from the line for 17 points. Mike Chmielowiec scored 17 points (three treys), and Uche Ndubizu (6'6''-F/C) produced a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Jon Onyiriuka (6'7''-C) had 10 points, three assists, and blocked three shots.

For Brockport, All-America guard Sherod Harris (5'9''-G) led the Golden Eagles with 18 points. Aaron Poles had 14 in 19 minutes off the bench, and Brandon Williams (6'2''-F) was tough inside with 12 points and seven rebounds. Mychal Wilkes (5'11''-G) had four steals and three assists. Sherod Harris had three steals.

Neither team could gain a solid foothold in the second half. Dominiak sank all three free throws after being fouled by Wilkes on a three-point attempt. That put Rochester ahead by four, 37-33. Brockport ran off a 9-0 run in less than three minutes to take a five-point lead, 42-37, with 15:19 left. Shawn Harris (5'10''-G) scored six points and Sherod Harris started the run with a deep three from the left of the key.

It stayed tight. With Rochester ahead by two, Williams completed a three-point play. He caught a Wilkes dump-in from the key, whirled into Ndubizu, got the hook to drop, and drew the foul. It put Brockport up, 63-62, with 4:05 to go.

That turned out to be Brockport's last lead. Dominiak sank two three-pointers and Chmielowiec canned a three-pointer from the right corner for a 67-63 lead. Dominiak's six footer from the left side of the lane kept the lead at four, 69-65, with 2:07 left.

Sherod Harris made two free throws and Poles hit one, pulling the Golden Eagles within 69-68 with 1:07 to play.

The Yellowjackets broke the pressure and got the ball to Onyiriuka deep in the forecourt. He found Dominiak spotted up in the left corner and the trey fell through cleanly for a 72-68 lead.

Single free throws by Jeff Juron (G), Mike Labanowski (6'1''-G), and Uche Ndubizu in the final 36 seconds helped to secure the win.

Courtesy of http://www.rochester.edu/athletics

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NEW ZEALAND

The Breakers keep playoff aspirations intact -by Eurobasket News
New Zealand Breakers - Gold Coast Blaze 126:93

The New Zealand Breakers maintained their winning pace as they overwhelmed the Gold Coast Blaze 126:93 in the North Shore Events Centre. It appeared to be the biggest win for the franchise since joining the NBL. The hosts had hold of the game clues early on. Tony Ronaldson (203-F/C-72) scored quick 8 points, while Paora Winitana (195-G-76) added a three-pointer to lead the Breakers to a 28:22 advantage after 10 minutes. The Blaze struggled to impose their style of game as they missed too many open shots. The Breakers lost Tony Ronaldson in the second quarter as he aggravated Achilles injury. However it did not impact the flow of this one as the pressure mounted for the visitors and they failed to cope. Kirk Penney (194-G-80, college: Wisconsin) and Orien Greene (193-G-82, agency: Arik Krayn Services, college: Louisiana-Lafayette) organized a 7:0 run for the hosts to open up a 46:35 lead midway through the term. It grew up to 18 points in the interval with no answer from Gold Coast. Kirk Penney would not refuse the pleasure of extending the margin to 30 points early in the third stanza and virtually sealing the positive outcome for the hosts. The Blaze just resigned themselves to the fate and suffered their 10th loss in the season. Both teams are now knotted at 12-10 record in the ladder. Kirk Penney was a topscorer for the Breakers with 32 points. Derrick Alston (208-C/F-72, college: Duquesne) drained 23 points, while Orien Greene provided 19 points, 7 steals and 6 assists in a winning case. Casey Frank (203-F-77, college: N.Arizona) responded with 21 points and 7 boards for the Blaze. A newly arrived import Luke Whitehead (199-F-81, college: Louisville) was pretty productive with 18 points and 5 rebounds in a loss.
The Blaze will next play against the Perth Wildcats. The Breakers take on Townsville later today.

NZ Breakers: Kirk Penney 32, Derrick Alston 23, Orien Greene 19
Gold Coast: Casey Frank 21, Luke Whitehead 18

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PUERTO RICO

BSN news and Boricuas in the States -by Alessandro Fontana
Los Grises de Humacao will play a firendly game today against an American Airlines Selection composed of some important strong players as Carlos Payano (196-F/G-71, college: Dowling) and Teddy Diaz.
Los Capitanes de Arecibo will play two friendly games on 17th and 18th January against a Dominican Selection in Arecibo at the Manuel 'Petaca' Iguina Coliseum. The games are very important for Arecibo to be ready for next BSN 2008.
BORICUAS IN THE STATES
Orlando was defeated by Denver 113-103. Carlos Arroyo played 9 minutes with 4 pts (2/5 2pts) and 1 asst. In D-League Idaho Stampede won against Colorado 14ers 97-94. For Ricky Sanchez 9 pts (0/3 2pts, 3/7 3pts) and 1 rebs in 23 minutes
A. Fontana

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SERBIA

Hemofarm STADA didn't sign Branko Jorovic -by Dragan Jankovski
Despite Hemofarm STADA's head coach Miroslav Nikolic said couple of days ago that the team almost agreed terms and is really close to sign contract with ex player of Crvena Zvezda and FMP Branko Jorovic (205-F-81) that did not happen. Namely, the team had serious intention to add Jorovic in their roster but at the end, during the final negotiations, there came up some problems.

Nikolic's comment on this situation was: 'We will not sign the contract because we didn't reach an agreement on certain things. My intension was to help him return on the court so he could be one of our leaders in the next season. I was ready to give him a chance to play but Hemofarm is also a team where it is known what the rules are and I don't want to change them on behalf of somebody'.

Jorovic suffered a serious back injury year and a half ago and he was not able to play any official game for his last team Crvena Zvezda.

A league: Market news during the last 3 weeks -by Dragan Jankovski

Below is the list with market news which happened in Serbian A league during the last three weeks :

- Swisslions Takovo signed Ivan Vukadinov (193-G-81), Dejan Tomasevic (193-G-73) from Napredak Rubin and Aleksandar Mladenovic (207-F-84), who is loaned by Hemofarm.

- Napredak Rubin signed Marko Karapandzic (194-G-85) from Masinac and Dejan Simic (206-C-75).

- Sloga returned two of their ex players Mitar Trivunovic (196-G-77) and Aleksandar Jevdic (203-F/C-82), both from Leotar Trebinje.

- Ergonom agreed terms with Senegalese player Bbouba Ba Pape (-84)

- Radnicki Invest Inzenjering added Vladimir Vujcic (206-C/F-74, agency: CAA Sports) to their roster.

- Vizura from Belgrade had the latest signing and it was Aleksandar Perisic (-83).

Players who left their teams during this period are: Adam Radomirovic (190-G-86, agency: Octagon), Bogdan Velickovic (201-F-89), Jerome LaGrange (192-G-78, college: Livingstone), Igor Ratkovic (205-F/C-80), Vladimir Radmanovac (190-G-82), Sasa Crnobrnja (201-F/C-83), Milijan Bocka (187-G-82), Vladimir Petrovic (198-F/G-77, agency: Beo Basket) and Slavko Stefanovic (206-F-81, agency: Beo Basket).



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SWEDEN

NBA star Scottie Pippen netted 21 for Sundsvall Dragons to lift them on top -by Eurobasket News
The leader of the Swedish league Plannja lost the second game in a row and lost the first position in the league. Last night the team was defeated at home by 08 Stockholm 90:93. Jeremiah Johnson (183-G-77, agency: Court Side, college: Niagara) led the winners with 31 points. Jim Nystrom netted 22, while Joakim Blom added 14. Hakan Larsson (184-G-74) produced 26 points in defeat.
Sundsvall Dragons used a chance to go on top with 100% and beat Akropol Basket 102:74. Alex Wesby (196-G-80, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Temple) tiop-scored with 25 points. American NBA star Scottie Pippen (202-G/F-65, college: Cent.Arkansas) netted 21, while Joakim Kjellbom scored 13.
Khimky together with the Swedish Maciej Lampe (210-C-85, agency: Edge Sports) proved they were briefly interrupted by Azovmash in their winning marching across ULEB Cup this season. They secured their 7th win at the tournament by downing Frankfurt 72:67 in Germany. The first half brought a tie game but Maciej Lampe, Vitali Fridzon and Kelly McCarty raised the tempo late in the third stanza to claim the lead for good. Kelly McCarty finished with 18 points for Khimky. Mike Wilkinson provided 10 points in a winning effort. Derrick Allen was massive with 31 points and 11 board for Franfurt as they skid to 0-8 record at the bottom of Group D. Khimky will play against Polish Anwil on January 15.
Henrik Schou (200-F-84) scored 2 points for SISU in Denmark as his team lost the encounter to Randers Cimbria 77:79. SISU is 5-9 and settles down on the 7th spot.

Round 16
Plannja Basket - 08 Stockholm Human Rights 90 - 93 (20 - 24, 19 - 26, 25 - 14, 26 - 29)
Plannja: Hakan Larsson 26, Terry Williams 17, John P Rosendahl 16, Oladapo Ayuba 14, Jim Enbom 11, Fred Drains 6.
08 Stockholm: Jeremiah Johnson 31, Jim Nystrom 22, Joakim Blom 14, Nashid Beard 8, Johan Westerlund 5, Darly Massamba 5, Andreas Karlsson 4, Mattias Goransson 4.

Sundsvall Dragons - Akropol Basket 102 - 74 (25 - 11, 28 - 25, 25 - 19, 24 - 19)
Sundsvall: Alex Wesby 25, Scottie Pippen 21, Joakim Kjellbom 13, Pero Vasiljevic 11, Srdan Subotic 9, Michael Palm 8, Adam Alexander 7, Johan Ling 3, Per Hultman-Boye 3, Calle Arnold 2.
Akropol: Torey-Jamal Thomas 22, Gerald Riley 20, Blerim Mazreku 16, David Randa 6, Yasin Merzoug 3, Vladimir Krupnikovic 3, Christian Koutras 2, David Hoffner 2.

Norrkoping Dolphins - Öresundskraft Basket 95 - 84 (22 - 21, 23 - 17, 24 - 13, 26 - 33)
Norrkoping: Ian Johnson 21, George Gervin 20, Jesper Andersson 11, Andrew Pleick 11, David Bergstrom 10, Stefan Grundberg 8, Anton Saks 4, Fredrik Rauge 4, Joakim Åstrom 3, Kristian Jonsson 3.
Öresundskraft: Herman Favors (173-G-84, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Georgia St.) 28, Damon Jackson 25, Johan Åkesson 12, Serabilo Boucari 6, Anders Ronndahl 6, Srdjan Vukovic 6, Richard Flink.

Solna Vikings - Jamtland 90 - 75 (24 - 11, 21 - 24, 22 - 22, 23 - 18)
Solna: Brandon McKnight (188-G-83, college: Purdue) 24, Rudy Mbemba 20, Bilal Salaam 13, Lesli Myrthil 11, Nils Hedstrom 7, Peter Bogner 6, Martin Pahlmblad 4, Willy Beck 3, Mohamed Nefatti 2.
Jamtland: Tim Whitworth (198-G/F-81, college: Drexel) 20, Andrew Mitchell 18, Doremus Bennerman 13, Stefan Hellgren 8, Adnan Chuk 4, Joakim Eriksson 4, Marko Djuric 4, Erik Westin 2, Bjorn Larsson-Hillgren 2.

Gothia Basket - Sodertalje Kings 72 - 93 (21 - 24, 23 - 20, 15 - 23, 13 - 26)
Gothia: Darnell Lazare (203-F-85, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: LSU) 14, Carlton Spencer 9, Carlton Spencer 9, Srdjan Damjanovic 8, Emil Salon 8, Yannick Trott 8, Erik Vestin 7, Daniel Dajic 5, Mario Drazic 4.
Sodertalje: Jonathan Skjoldebrand (203-C/F-83, agency: Arik Krayn Services) 19, Brandon Crone 15, Greg Dilligard 13, Thomas Massamba 12, Johan Jeansson 10, Rickard Eriksson 10, Alexander Wikner-Nordberg 10, Ludwig Degernas 3, Dino Pita.

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U.S.VIRGIN ISL.

Aska dunks Boyd Anderson to win -by David Edole
Ivan Aska had 14 points as Boyd Anderson defeated Bishop Verot 65-24 at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. basketball classic at Miramar High on Friday.
The Cobras (17-1), ranked No. 2 in the Class 6A state poll, dominated throughout, primarily in the paint.
Leading by 17 to start the second half, Boyd Anderson went on an 18-3 run that ended with four consecutive dunks, three of them from Aska. The Vikings (7-9) were held to seven points in the half.
The Cobras will play American Heritage tonight at 9:30 in the second day of the MLK event.

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URUGUAY

Kevin Young leads Bigua with 26 points -by Hector Lopez
Kevin Young (206-C-84, college: Missouri) scored 26 points, grabbed 20 rebounds and added 4 blocks, leading Bigua to defeat Defensor Sporting 84-77, maintaining the first position for the Lub. Also for Bigua, Mark Alan Bortz (208-F-82, college: Buffalo) scored 10 points and took 8 rebounds. The best scorer for Defensor was David Jackson (196-G-82, college: Penn St.) with 24 points and 5 assists. Mike Manciel (196-F-80, agency: HM Sports Agency, college: Cent.Michigan) played his first game for Defensor with 4 points and 3 rebounds. Marlon Martinez (204-F/C-77, agency: Duran International) scored three two-point shots on a row during a 10-0 run and Union Atletica beat Atenas 99-93. For Union Mark Flavin scored 3 points. Foe Atenas Anthony Dill (200-F-81, agency: Warren Sports, college: Texas St.-San Marcos) netted 18 points and Wendell Gibson (201-F/C-83, college: Hofstra) added 10 and grabbed 12 rebounds-



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Women News

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AUSTRALIA - Women

Lauren Jackson delivers 34 points for the defending champions -by Eurobasket News

Round 14 is on the way to start tonight howevr this article is dedicated to the Australian players that struggle abroad.

Spartak Moscow Region proves the ambition for another European success and the defence of their Euroleague title. The defending champions smashed Belgian Dexia Namur 102:62 tonight in the game that started earlier than all others. Lauren Jackson (196-F/C-81) was unstoppable with 34 points and 6 rebounds. Irina Osipova netted 15, while Diana Taurasi scored 14. Jennifer Fleischer collected 15 points and 8 rebounds in defeat. Spartak Moscow Region is the first team to win in Round 8 of Euroleague. The game in Vidnoe started earlier and due to this Spartak ensured the first place in Group C taking 7-1 record. There were no time when the spectator could think of another result of their team.
Spartak had already opened up a 28-6 lead at that point.By half-time, Spartak were still in complete command with a 48:24 advantage. In the end of the game the tasks differed for both teams. Russian squad desired to score 100 and managed to do it. Dexia Namur tried to recover or at least top reduce but did not satisfy with the final score. Gambrinus can tie Spartak on top of the group if the the team wins the thriller over Kosit. Russian team made 13 of 22 of their shots from three-point range, while inside the arc Hejkova's team was 26 of 51 and at the line they converted 11 of 13.

Penny Taylor (185-F-81) had 11 points, 12 rebounds and five assists on Wednesday for UMMC, who remained unbeaten in the EuroLeague Women at 8-0. Sibenik were unable to become the first team to upset UMMC at this edition of Euroleague in Group B and Russian force extended their perfect run. Asjha Jones and Sandrine Gruda got things working Russian way early on as they nailed 5 unanswered points. But Tihana Juric soon found the touch from the field and equaled things on the court. Asjha Jones continued to find open shots and led the visitors to a 16:9 lead late in the frame. Asjha Jones and Sandrine Gruda capped the quarter with a 5:2 run for UMMC to make it 23:14. Neda Lokas and Ivana Puzar connected from afar for the hosts early in the second stanza as Sibenik stayed at a striking distance. Agnieszka Bibrzycka however exploded with 5 points for UMMC to build a 37:28 margin. Anda Jelavic and Jessica Dickson cut the deficit but Penny Taylor uttered the last word in the first half drilling a three-pointer and sending teams into the dressing room with at 40:31 for the visitors. Asjha Jones and Agnieszka Bibrzycka enlarged the lead to double figures midway through the third period. UMMC ignited an 11:2 run to mark a 61:40 lead with less than 3 minutes left in the term. Sibenik lost the grip and UMMC cruised to an overall victory in the fourth frame. Sandrine Gruda topscored with 22 points for UMMC. Agnieszka Bibrzycka nailed 17 points, while Penny Taylor tallied 11 points, 12 boards and 5 assists for the winners. Jessica Dickson led Croatian team with 14 points and 8 boards. Tihana Juric contributed 13 points in a loss. UMMC outrebounded the hosts 37:30 and shot solid 52% from the field. Kristi Harrower (166-G-75) scored 2 points and made 4 rebounds.



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BELARUS - Women

Sviatlana Volnaya sealed the victory from the line -by Eurobasket News
Sviatlana Volnaya (187-G/F-79, college: Virginia) helped Fenerbahce to win another Euroleague game this week 59:55 over Riga.The hosts were up by 4 points but Nevriye Yilmaz and Tammy Sutton-Brown started the second frame by 4 unanswered points to tie the scoreline. Iciss Tillis exploded with 5 straight points for Riga team to restore the lead. The hosts maintained it throughout the second term and Micaela Jacintho nailed a three-pointer to finalize their 31:23 lead at halftime. Yilmaz and Cappie Pondexter cut the gap to 4 points as TTT Riga were unable to score for almost 4 minutes early in the third stanza. The margin was soon narrowed to just a single point as Esmeral Tuncluer nailed a jump shot. Fenerbahce trailed 41:42 heading into the fourth period. Zane Eglite's trey capped a 9:0 rally from the hosts to open the final term and TTT Riga took a 51:41 advantage with 6 minutes remaining. Fenerbahce refused to surrender though. Sviatlana Volnaya and Cappie Pondexter combined 9 points for the visitors to make it a 51:53 game. Patricia Penicheiro's jumper enlarged the cushion to 4 points with under 2 minutes remaining. Cappie Pondexter nailed a triple to keep Fenerbahce in it. She added another jumper in Fenerbahce's next possession to lift the visitors up by one 56:55. Ieva Tare committed a turnover and Cappie Pondexter punished the home side with two more free throws to put Fenerbahce up by 3 points with 15 seconds left. Micaela Jacintho had a chance to force overtime but her desperate trey went off mark, while Sviatlana Volnaya sealed the victory from the line. Cappie Pondexter knocked down 23 points to lead the visiting side. Nevriye Yilmaz provided 11 points and 9 boards for the winners. Sviatlana Volnaya produced 7 points and 5 rebounds.

Brahe Basket was the only team to win away from home. In a back-to-back game the visitors used a 7:16 in the last quarter to take 58:65 victory. Belarus Tatsiana Lavets (172-G-82) top-scored with 21 points. Krita Rappahahm posted 15, while Ana-Laura Rivero scored 11. Vera Janjic ended up with 21 points for the hosts.

TEO Vilnius made it three wins in Eurolague up to fourth place in the process, as they overcame Germano Zama Faenza 40:65 in Italy. An outstanding game in defense was the key factor of the success. Nykesha Sales paced the winners with 26 points. Yelena Leuchanka (196-C-83, college: W.Virginia) collected 15 points and made 10 rebounds, while Sandra Valuzyte added 9.

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BRAZIL - Women

Week review -by Eurobasket News
Two games were played in the Brazilian league last night. Sao Bernardo/Metodista/Associacao beat LTD/Teresopolis/Universo 112:62 as Cintia Luz top-scored with 22 points. Priscila scored 20 and Lilian netted 19 points. Djane responded with 16 points for the visitors. ADIEE/Florianopolis lost to Botafogo 48:50 as Camila top-scored 15 points.
Micaela Jacintho (180-F-79) scored 11 points and made 5 rebounds for TTT Riga that lost home in Euroleague to Fenerbahce. Iciss Tillis scored first 4 points for the home team to set them ahead. Defense worked hard for both teams but it was TTT Riga to limit their opponents to only 8 points in the first quarter. The hosts were up by 4 points but Nevriye Yilmaz and Tammy Sutton-Brown started the second frame by 4 unanswered points to tie the scoreline. Iciss Tillis exploded with 5 straight points for Riga team to restore the lead. The hosts maintained it throughout the second term and Micaela Jacintho nailed a three-pointer to finalize their 31:23 lead at halftime. Yilmaz and Cappie Pondexter cut the gap to 4 points as TTT Riga were unable to score for almost 4 minutes early in the third stanza. The margin was soon narrowed to just a single point as Esmeral Tuncluer nailed a jump shot. Fenerbahce trailed 41:42 heading into the fourth period. Zane Eglite's trey capped a 9:0 rally from the hosts to open the final term and TTT Riga took a 51:41 advantage with 6 minutes remaining. Fenerbahce refused to surrender though. Sviatlana Volnaya and Cappie Pondexter combined 9 points for the visitors to make it a 51:53 game. Patricia Penicheiro's jumper enlarged the cushion to 4 points with under 2 minutes remaining. Cappie Pondexter nailed a triple to keep Fenerbahce in it. She added another jumper in Fenerbahce's next possession to lift the visitors up by one 56:55. Ieva Tare committed a turnover and Cappie Pondexter punished the home side with two more free throws to put Fenerbahce up by 3 points with 15 seconds left. Micaela Jacintho had a chance to force overtime but her desperate trey went off mark, while Sviatlana Volnaya sealed the victory from the line. Cappie Pondexter knocked down 23 points to lead the visiting side. Nevriye Yilmaz provided 11 points and 9 boards for the winners. Iciss Tillis had 13 points and 12 boards in a loss. TTT Riga will now face MKB Euroleasing in Hungary next week.
Erika De Souza (197-C-82) Erika has fully recovered from an ankle operation. Erika De Souza averaged eight points and 4.5 rebounds per game in the EuroLeague last season and had her finest game in the Final Four triumph over Bourges, pouring in 19 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.

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FINLAND - Women

SM-SARJA: Huima - YMCA Helsinki 65-60 -by Rauno Hurmalainen

SM-sarja, Round 19: When a Team loses the first quarter by one (17-18) and wins the next three quarters 16-14 each, so that kind of contest can be
called tight, close. When Huima (Aanekoski) defeated today YMCA Helsinki 65-60, the figures were just like that by quarters. Kenya Robinson (182-C-70, college: New Orleans) led once again Huima with 21 pts and 11 rbs. Mari Puustinen (179-F/G-78) scored 21 pts for visitor YMCA Helsinki. Catz (Lappeenranta) won the rebounds 42-24, but visitor HoNsU (Jyvaskyla) made anyway a close game. Catz won after all only by 14 pts (68-54). Espoo Team won by 12 pts (61-73) at Nokia. Espoo Team

had Yolanda Jones (185-F-84, college: La-Lafayette) back in the game (15/16) and Stephanie Higgs (177-G/F-85, college: Georgia Tech) netted at once game high 22 pts in her first game in Finland. PeKa (Kotka) was down by one point after the first quarter vs Alku (Forssa), but then Head Coach Seppo Kurki got his players waking up. PeKa won by 27 pts (98-71). Laura Lehtoranta (172-G-84) scored her season best 24 pts.

Huima - YMCA Helsinki 65-60 (33-32) (Kenya Robinson 21/11, Chrystal Erwin 15/12 - Mari Puustinen 21, Niina Laaksonen 11/12).

Catz - HoNsU 68-54 (36-29) (Elena Reshetko 19, Kaisa Tuure 17/17 - Juuli Piiroinen 14, Lizanne Murphy 11).

BC Nokia - Espoo Team 61-73 (32-33) (Sherry McCracklin 14/16, Taru Asp 13 - Stephanie Higgs 22, Yolanda Jones 15/16).

PeKa - FoA 98-71 (49-34) (Laura Lehtoranta 24, Ashley Haynes 18/10 - Jamie Hawkins 22/13, Megan Griffith 13).



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HUNGARY - Women

Saturday's results -by Csilla Kantor
Five games have finished today in the Uniqa legue. One thing is common: in each game the team at home succeeded to win.
Mizo Pecs 2010 defeated Savaria 117-30.
Mizo-Pecs: Andrea Somogyi (184-F-86) 21, Nikolett Sarok (180-G/F-90) 18, Zsofia Fegyverneky (178-G-84) 18, Krivacevic 16, Meszaros 12, Coelho de Jesus 10, Vajda 6, Kopacsi 5, Podrug 4, Raksanyi 3, Ivanyi 2, Kovats 2
Savaria: Jonee 7, Takacs 7, Anyos (178-F-79) 4, Sandor 4, Szabadfi 2, Toth 2, Szabo 2, Gadnai 1, Hollosi 1

Szeged won against BEAC 81-49. Best scorers: Petra Russai (188-C-76) 22, Milena Tomova (191-F-82, college: Florida Intern.) 16, Hajnalka Szlimak (182-F-82) 12 BEAC: Sule 16, Bagi 14

BSE-Kanizsa 83-55
Zuleira Aties (190-F-80) 19, Vida 12, Iglesias Castillo 11 Kanizsa: Varga 17, Robinson 14

ZTE won 75-59 against Vasas-Csata
Nikolett Turoczi (187-F/C-80) 21, Milkova 17 Vasas: Zsofia Koncz (184-F-85) 24, Fejes 14

Szolnok-Cegled 85-65
Angela Delmis (176-G-75) 25, Kozdron 15, Hegedus 15 Cegled: Williams 21, Suero 20

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IVORY COAST - Women

N'Garsanet shines in the Polish battle -by Eurobasket News
Christelle N'Garsanet (191-C-83, agency: Merit Sports, college: Missouri) showed another good game in EuroCup for her Polish team. Gorzow fought off a spirited CCC Polkowice side to maintain their unbeaten start in 2008 with 71:64 victory. In the game between two Polish giants the guests made the chances for them better. Justyna Zurowska paced the winners with 16 points. Moore netted 13, while Christelle N'Garsanet and Agnieszka Szott added 10 apiece. Jennifer Lacy finished the night with 16 points.
Seven points from the guests without an answer in the opening tip of the first quarter were fatal for the hosts. Christelle N'Garsanet was one of the players to ruin the hosts' defense from the three-point line. Gorzow enjoyed 16:21 after 10 minutes in the game. The second quarter brought a tough resistance and saw 32:40 for Gorzow.
CCC Polkowice fought hard in the third quarter as they combined stern defence with some quality shooting. Heading into the final stanza the sides were at 47:57. Gorzow continued to dominate edged early in the fourth quarter and were handed a gift stealing the victory away from home. Jennifer Lacy's three pointer in the game made the final score, 64:71. The second leg will be played again in Poland on January 17. It will be a time for Gorzow to prove the home hostility.

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MALI - Women

Maiga resumes tough with her team -by Eurobasket News
Hamchetou Maiga (185-G/F-78, college: ODU) produced 8 points and 7 rebounds for the Czech favorite in Euroleague. Gambrunis pounded Kosit 2013 on the road to stay in race with Spartak Moscow Region for the top spot in Group C. Gambrinus improved to 7-1 record and share the pike in the group with Spartak. Kosit 2013 meanwhile suffered their 5th loss in the tournament at the third spot. The teams kept it close in the opening minutes before Hana Machova broke it loose with a three-pointer to give Gambrinus a 12:7 lead. Ivana Jalcova however matched the effort with 4 straight points to regain the lead for the hosts 13:12. Ivana Vecerova scored 4 points late in the frame and Gambrinus ended the term up by a single point. The lead changed hands for 6 times throughout the second period before Kulichkova ignited a 7:2 rally to put the visitors in front 37:29 at halftime. Kosit entered the second half aggressively and posted an 11:2 run to restore a 40:39 advantage 5 minutes into the frame. But Gambrinus found the way to bounce back. Tamika Whitmore nailed 7 points in a 13:3 frame that allowed Gambrinus to enjoy a 52:43 cushion after 30 minutes. Hamchetou Maiga netted 4 points and Ivana Vecerova dropped another 2 to make it 58:43 for Gambrinus at the start of the fourth period. Kosit 2013 did not find an appropriate answer in the late stages and had to surrender at the end. Hana Machova led Gambrinus with 16 points and 5 boards. Tamika Whitmore scored 15 points, while Zuzana Zirkova added 10 points for the winners. Janel McCarville responded with 23 points and 8 rebounds for Slovakian team. Ivana Jalcova produced 16 points in defeat. Gambrinus dominated the boards 44:30, while both teams committed 17 turnovers. The next round will bring a real treat for the fans as Gambrinus hosts Spartak Moscow Region at home. Kosit 2013 travels to France to play against Valenciennes.

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NCAA3 - Women

Randolph-Macon College spotless at 9-0 -by Eurobasket News
The Randolph-Macon College Yellow Jackets clinched their 9th straight win in the season. This time they coasted past visiting Guilford College 67:51 in Ashland. A sophomore centre Molly Ariail delivered 20 points and 8 boards to pace the flying Yellow Jackets. The Quakers fell to 8-2 record in the season. After a close start to the game the Yellow Jackets came out swinging. They posted a 15:2 run midway through the first half to accumulate a 28:14 lead. The hosts did not slow down thereafter and closed the half with another 10:2 blow to maintain a 42:25 lead at halftime. The Yellow Jackets never loosened the grip in the second half easily ensuring the 9th victory in the tournament. Lindsay Riesbeck knocked down 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the winners. Jess Shifflett drained 10 points for the hosts. Guilford answered with 14 points from Lauren LeFevers. Alexa Williams dropped 10 points in defeat. Randolph-Macon will take on Emory and Henry College at home later today. Guilford travels to Virginia Wesleyan College.
Meanwhile Birmingham-Southern improved to 10-3 record for the season with an 86:63 victory over Centre. The Panthers opened the game with a massive 26:7 rally to claim the lead for good. They extended the margin to 23 points at the interval 25:48. The Colonels never recovered and suffered their 6th loss in the season. Reba Ross (5'11''-F) led the action with 20 points and 15 rebounds for the winners. DeAndria Hilliard drilled 19 points for the winners. Monica Vonderbink responded with 11 points for Centre College. The Colonels will next face Rhodes College tomorrow. Birmingham-Southern plays against DePauw the same day.

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PORTUGAL - Women

Penicheiro nails 10 points abroad -by Eurobasket News

Patricia Penicheiro (180-G-74, college: ODU) and her TTT Riga fell to 3-5 record after a loss from Fenerbahce in Euroleague. Iciss Tillis scored first 4 points for the home team to set them ahead. Defense worked hard for both teams but it was TTT Riga to limit their opponents to only 8 points in the first quarter. The hosts were up by 4 points but Nevriye Yilmaz and Tammy Sutton-Brown started the second frame by 4 unanswered points to tie the scoreline. Iciss Tillis exploded with 5 straight points for Riga team to restore the lead. The hosts maintained it throughout the second term and Micaela Jacintho nailed a three-pointer to finalize their 31:23 lead at halftime. Yilmaz and Cappie Pondexter cut the gap to 4 points as TTT Riga were unable to score for almost 4 minutes early in the third stanza. The margin was soon narrowed to just a single point as Esmeral Tuncluer nailed a jump shot. Fenerbahce trailed 41:42 heading into the fourth period. Zane Eglite's trey capped a 9:0 rally from the hosts to open the final term and TTT Riga took a 51:41 advantage with 6 minutes remaining. Fenerbahce refused to surrender though. Sviatlana Volnaya and Cappie Pondexter combined 9 points for the visitors to make it a 51:53 game. Patricia Penicheiro's jumper enlarged the cushion to 4 points with under 2 minutes remaining. Cappie Pondexter nailed a triple to keep Fenerbahce in it. She added another jumper in Fenerbahce's next possession to lift the visitors up by one 56:55. Ieva Tare committed a turnover and Cappie Pondexter punished the home side with two more free throws to put Fenerbahce up by 3 points with 15 seconds left. Micaela Jacintho had a chance to force overtime but her desperate trey went off mark, while Sviatlana Volnaya sealed the victory from the line. Cappie Pondexter knocked down 23 points to lead the visiting side. Nevriye Yilmaz provided 11 points and 9 boards for the winners. Iciss Tillis had 13 points and 12 boards in a loss. Patricia Penicheiro nailed 10 points, made 5 assists and 4 rebounds. TTT Riga will now face MKB Euroleasing in Hungary next week.
Mery Andrade (181-F-75, college: ODU) collected 2 points and 11 rebounds for Venezia in EuroCup. Her team overcame AEL from Cyprus in the first leg of 1/16 finals. With such a result abroad it is a great possibility that Venezia will advance to 1/8 finals.



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SENEGAL - Women

Astou N'Diaye's and Emilie Gomis teams lost to Hungarians -by Eurobasket News
Astou N'Diaye (190-C-73, college: Abil.Christian) scored 8 points and made 6 rebounds for Phard Napoli in the first game of 2008 in Euroleague. MKB Euroleasing however overcame Phard Napoli in Italy 61:74. Albena Branzova poured in 26 to lead MKB for the 4-4 record. Barnes finished with 17 points to top the scoring for Phard Napoli, who dropped to 1-7 in Group A.The Hungarians out-rebounded Napoli 38-28. Phard Napoli could not have asked for a better start. They stormed out to a 12-0 lead, with Adia Barnes scoring six points in that early run.Four more times in the first half, Phard Napoli went in front by five points but they never pressed home that advantage and it was the visitors from Hungary who had finished the second quarter stronger.

Emilie Gomis (180-F-83)'s team also played against Hungarian. MiZo Pecs 2010 won 77:72 at USO Mondeville Basket as Anna Vajda and Zsofia Fegyverneky each pouring in 19 points in the win.The triumph has left MiZo in sole possession of second place in Group D at 5-3.Mondeville dropped to 2-6, but they are in fifth place above Germano Faenza. Emilie Gomis posted 13 points and collected 2 rebounds. USVO were much less effective from two-point range.Lotos PKO BP gradually put more distance between themselves the French team and opened up a 67-55 advantage with 4:53 to play. USVO would end up losing by five at the end.

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SWEDEN - Women

Saturday hot results -by Eurobasket News
Three games have just finished in Swedish league. We can consider all of them to be interesting till the last minute of the game.
Brahe Basket was the only team to win away from home. In a back-to-back game the visitors used a 7:16 in the last quarter to take 58:65 victory. Belarus Tatsiana Lavets (172-G-82) top-scored with 21 points. Krita Rappahahm posted 15, while Ana-Laura Rivero scored 11. Vera Janjic ended up with 21 points for the hosts.
Umeå Comets produced 31;14 in the third quarter in a game over Norrkoping Dolphins. It seemed that the last quarter could change nothing but the guests answered with 15:27 to finish at 78:76. Umeå Comets luckily held the score for good and improved to 3-11 record. Amy Mohr (186-C, college: Fort Lewis) paced the winners with 23 points. Kelcey Roegiers-Jensen netted 23, while Ida Sodersten scored 16. Dominique Redding (185-F-85) was the best in the losing effort nailing 26 points.
08 Stockholm Human Rights beat KFUM Jamtland 73:65 controlling the majority of the game. Having 14 points before the last quarter the hosts missed 6 points from the guests but did not allow them to do more. Jocelyn Penn (186-F-79, agency: Merit Sports, college: USC) and Nina Barlin top-scored with 15 points each. Malin Gernandt and Amber Petillon followed them with 9 points apiece in a win. Cisti Greenwalt (192-C-83, college: Texas Tech) finished the game with 26 points in defeat.

Sundsvall DB - Brahe Basket 58 - 65 (15 - 13, 20 - 21, 16 - 15, 7 - 16)
Sundsvall: Vera Janjic 21, Latreece Bagley (180-F/C-82, college: Ohio St.) 10, Patricia Aguirre-Nylen 7, Patrice Bryant 5, Josefine Bergsten 4, Jahsmine Hamilton 3, Hanna Renkse 3, Merima Omerovic 3, Caroline Bergsten 2.
Brahe: Tatsiana Lavets 21, Krita Rappahahm 15, Ana-Laura Rivero 11, Malin Kallman 7, Carina Larsson 3, Frida Jern-Bruhn 3, Hanna Sandberg 3, Jenny Rylander 2.

Umeå Comets - Norrkoping Dolphins 78 - 76 (17 - 20, 15 - 15, 31 - 14, 15 - 27)
Umeå Comets: Amy Mohr 23, Kelcey Roegiers-Jensen 23, Ida Sodersten 16, Frida Jonsson 10, Caroline Englund 2, Julia Hamre 2, Jennie Brandt 2.
Norrkoping: Dominique Redding 26, Fatima Maddox 21, Tanya Massamba 7, Ife Nnamaka 6, Helen Thorold 6, Petra Jacob 6, Sara Saks 2, Malin Belfrage 2.

08 Stockholm Human Rights - KFUM Jamtland 73 - 65 (17 - 16, 17 - 13, 20 - 11, 19 - 25)
08 Stockholm: Jocelyn Penn 15, Nina Barlin 15, Malin Gernandt 9, Amber Petillon 9, Malin Edlund 8, Jennie Thingwall 8, Danielle Hamilton-Carter 7, Eliza Golumbiewska 2.
Jamtland: Cisti Greenwalt 26, Melissa Traversi 21, Stina Nilsson 16, Camilla Fagerberg 2.

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UKRAINE - Women

Kozachenko's effort was not enough -by Eurobasket News
Ukrainian Kozachka lost the first leg of EuroCup to Italian Taranto 69:72. Svitlana Kozachenko (180-G-74) had one of the best games so far nailing 38 points for the Ukrainian side. Her effort however was not enough as Viktoriya Pazyuk (186-F-85) scored 9 and Shablinska added 8. Brunson ruined Kozachka with 29 points and 21 rebounds. The second game will be played in Italy on January 17th.

Fenerbahce overcame Olena Zherzherunova (191-F-78, agency: LBM Management)'s TTT Riga away from home to claim the 6th win at the tournament sending the hosts to 3-5 record. Cappie Pondexter knocked down 23 points to lead the visiting side. Nevriye Yilmaz provided 11 points and 9 boards for the winners. Iciss Tillis had 13 points and 12 boards in a loss. Olena Zherzherunova posted 5 points and made 4 rebounds.

MKB-Euroleasing Sopron gained its first victory on foreign court in Italy. Olexandra Gorbunova (186-F-86) had one of the leading role in the final 61:74 win. This also means that they are actually 3rd in group A (4/4) after CSKA (8/0) and Fenerbahce (6/2).

Oksana Agabalova (186-F-73) ended up with 5 points in a loss to Spartak Moscow Region with her Dexia. The defending champions smashed Belgian team 102:62. Spartak had already opened up a 28-6 lead at that point.By half-time, Spartak were still in complete command with a 48:24 advantage.In the end of the game the tasks differed for both teams. Russian squad desired to score 100 and managed to do it. Dexia Namur tried to recover or at least top reduce but did not satisfy with the final score. Gambrinus can tie Spartak on top of the group if the the team wins the thriller over Kosit. Russian team made 13 of 22 of their shots from three-point range, while inside the arc Hejkova's team was 26 of 51 and at the line they converted 11 of 13.