Eurobasket Daily News Report:

EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 1/14/2008

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Men News

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ABA

Comparing a good start and a disappointing going on -by Gianni Pascucci
Last week, in a very good article headed 'Frustration mounts in the ABA', the OurSportsCentral website made a brilliant resume of the situtation in the American Basketball Association, where 15 (!) teams have yet left the league, most of them due to financial reasons, and the remaining 20 are almost all passing bad moments, due to organizing problems and continous schedule changes, sometimes without any explanation. And when the games were played, the Officiating was so disappointing that some teams, like the Manchester Millrats, opted to develop some own referees to officiate their home games.. Also, we have yet published that some talks between the Canadian and the North Eastern teams could bring to a new division of the ABA, like it happens last season, when some of the best organized teams decided to join the PBL. The Premier Basketball League, instead, supplied what can only be called a very good start. This league has just played its second week, without cancelling any game, releasing news and stats in a good website, featuring all its teams logos and rosters, as it should be normal for a league called 'professional'. For sure, if this PBL will decide to play a full season in fall of 2008, we are sure that lots of the current ABA teams will be intersted in joining it. It seems that the time of the announcements like '30-teams expansion for nexy year' is definitely over, and is not a secret that most of the disappointed ABA teams are seriously considering a change of leadership in the league, as the last chance to save it... Hyronically, just while we were writing this lines, we see that Joe Newman has just announced another expansion (of the more than 20 yet schdeuled..:-)), this time of the Mexican franchise named 'Gomez Palacio Thundercats', based in Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico. Sincerely, we wish all the best to the ABA and iits new owners, but are you sure guys that there will be an ABA season in 2008-09 ??

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ADRIATIC LEAGUE

Helios and Moro part ways -by Zeljko Zule
Helios parted ways with David Moro (199-G-86). He averaging 10minutes, 2,8 points (2P 4-9, 3P 1-4, FT 0-1), 1,0 rebounds, 0,5 assists and 0,5 turnovers in 4 games of NLB Adriatic League and 9:40 minutes, 3,2 points (2P 8-15, 3P 0-4), 1,2 rebounds, 0,4 assists, 0,4 steals and 1,0 turnovers in 5 games of A1 League UPC Telemach.

Vojvodina Srbijagas makes a surprise, FMP lost at home -by Dragan Jankovski

Vojvodina Srbijagas made the biggest surprise in round 17 by beating Cibona in Zagreb 78-68. Tulips played a fantastic second half, especially the last quarter when they finished 9-24. They improved their record to 8-9 while Cibona dropped to 9-8. Tandem Ivan Ivanovic (205-F-80, agency: Beo Basket), who scored 22 points, and center Vladimir Golubovic (212-C-86), who was MVP of the game with impressive stats 14 points, 18 rebounds and 5 steals were the best for the winners. On the other side Larry Ayuso (190-G-77, agency: Edge Sports, college: USC) netted 16 points for Cibona.

Crvena Zvezda celebrated against Buducnost in 'Pionir' 115-114 after over time thanks to Mladjen Sljivancanin and Steven Markovic. The first shot brought overtime to the host with a successful 3-pointer at the buzzer while Markovic made a winning jump shot at the very end of the overtime for the win. Zvezda currently has a record of 11-6 while Buducnost dropped to 9-8. Omar Cook (186-G-82, college: St.John's) recorded double-double for Zvezda, contributing 22 points, 5 rebounds, 10 assists and 5 steals while Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) had 24 points. Buducnost got 21 points from Nemanja Gordic (195-G-88) and 20 points from Bojan Bakic (197-G-83, agency: Beo Basket).

Hemofarm STADA grabbed their 11th win in Adriatic league. This time the orange team was better than Union Olimpija 94-89 mostly owing to Rawle Marshal's 28 points and 4 rebounds and Goran Jagodnik's 20 points. The visitors, with new head coach Aleksandar Dzikic on the bench, received 22 points from Maurice Bailey (183-G-81, college: Sacred Heart) and 17 points from Jasmin Hukic (204-G/F-79, agency: Beo Basket).

FMP disappointed their fans by losing against Zagreb CO 72-75 at home. FMP had a lead of 11 points at halftime but Zagreb succeeded to equalize in the third and to ensure the 5th win at the end of the last period. Jakov Vladovic (187-G-83) with 19 points was the top scorer for the winners while FMP, who now has 8 wins and 9 defeats, got 14 points and 6 rebounds from Dragan Labovic (207-C/F-87).

Cibona - Vojvodina Srbijagas 68-78
(17-10,24-18,18-26,9-24)

Cibona: Ayuso 16 (4 to), Warren 12 (4 rebs), Rozic 11
Vojvodina Srbijagas: Ivanovic 22, Golubovic 14 (18 rebs, 5 st), Nemeth 14, Djorjdevic 13 (6 rebs, 4 as)

Crvena Zvezda - Buducnost 115-114
(22-29,26-24,23-17,29-30,15-14)

Crvena Zvezda: Dragicevic 24 (4 rebs, 3 as), Cook 22 (5 rebs, 10 as, 5 st, 4 to), Misanovic 18 (8 rebs)

Buducnost: Gordic 21, Bakic 20, Rakocevic 18 (5 rebs), Maras 18

Hemofarm STADA - Union Olimpija 94-89
(27-23,22-19,24-27,21-20)

Hemofarm STADA: Marshall 28 (5 rebs, 4 to), Jagodnik 20, Pavkovic 15 (6 as)
Union Olimpija: Bailey 22 (4 to), Hukic 17 (4 rebs, 5 as), Booker 14 (9 rebs), Milic 14

FMP - Zagreb CO 72-75
(21-20,26-16,13-23,12-16)

FMP: Labovic 14 (6 rebs, 4 st), Krstovic 14, Djerasimovic 12
Zagreb CO: Vladovic 19, Ruzic 13 (5 rebs), Dundovic 13, Simon 10 (4 as)

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AUSTRIA

Gmunden rout Gussing in Round 20 -by Eurobasket News
Gmunden - Gussing 88:54

Gmunden collected their 15th win in the season yesterday. They thumped visiting Gussing 88:54 in the opening game of Round 20. The game capped a difficult week for Gmunden as they highlighted it with a road encounter against Russian giants Triumph Lyubertsy. And though Gmunden lost ULEB Cup fixture they looked pretty contestant in Russia. Some weariness probably influenced Gmunden as they struggled to find the right rhythm early against Gussing. The visitors used a wide range of options in the first frame to keep close as they trailed by a single point 17:18 ten minutes into the game. But Gmunden did not wait for too long before taking over. They locked up the paint in the second quarter and Gussing converting just 27% from beyond the arc did not find the answer. The visitors were limited to only 8 points in the second quarter and the margin grew to 17 points at the interval. The onslaught continued after the break as the hosts dominated every facet of the game. Ian Boylan issued assists coming up with 11 on the night, while Matthias Mayer (206-C/F-81) and Kevin Johnson (201-F, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: Humboldt St.) were happy to deliver. Gmunden cruised past their opponents in the second part of the encounter and celebrated a comprehensive victory at the end. Matthias Mayer led the action with 18 points for the home team. Kevin Johnson had 15 points and 13 boards, while Deteri Mayes (189-G-74, agency: Court Side, college: Murray St.) provided 13 points for the winners. Ajay Calvin (196-F-85, college: Drake) answered with 16 points for Gussing. Dragan Miletic (195-G-82, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents) dropped 10 points in a losing clause. Gmunden improved to 15-5 record and temporarily climbed to the 2nd spot in the ladder. Oberwart and Furstenfeld however can reach them as they play today. Gussing suffered their 13th loss in the season.

Gmunden: Matthias Mayer 18, Kevin Johnson 15+13 boards, Deteri Mayes 13
Gussing: Ajay Calvin 16, Dragan Miletic 10

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BALTIC LEAGUE

Barons stamps Riga clash with a winning seal -by Eurobasket News
Barons - ASK Riga 76:73

Barons used the absence of 5 players on ASK Riga squad to celebrate a tough 76:73 win in the BBL clash yesterday. It was a real treat for as many as 8500 spectators gathered in the Arena Riga. The teams brought up some first class basketball with the outcome unknown till the final seconds. Raitis Grafs (210-C-81, agency: Interperformances, college: Valparaiso) opened the scoring stats with a long jumper to put ASK Riga in front. But Barons quickly regained the initiative and surged ahead on Demetrius Alexander (204-F/C-75, agency: CAA Sports, college: Alabama)'s trey 10:7. ASK Riga came up with a 13:2 run with A.J. Bramlett (208-C-77, college: Arizona) scoring 6 points in it and grabbed a 20:12 lead late in the opening frame. Armands Skele (192-G-83) and Giedrius Gustas (190-G-80, agency: Interperformances) connected from afar for the hosts as they cut the gap to just 4 points after 10 minutes. Martins Kravcenko (192-G-85, agency: Interperformances) started the second stanza with yet another three-pointer to keep Barons rolling. Curtis Millage (185-G-81, college: Arizona St.) however was pretty active for the visiting side and allowed ASK Riga to stay in front for some time in the second quarter. But just before Martins Kravcenko and Demetrius Alexander teamed up for back-to-back trebles and gave Barons a 34:32 advantage. The hosts maintained a narrow gap and were up 39:38 at halftime. The third frame brought relief for neither side. Dwayne Broyles (196-F/G-82, college: JMU) capped the term with a jumper just to see ASK Riga still trailing by a single point 54:55. The teams went on exchanging the baskets throughout the fourth period and it was once again Dwayne Broyles to cut it to 73:74 with 44 seconds remaining in regulation. Armands Skele answered with two free throws to enlarge the margin and actually sealed the winning outcome for the hosts.
Armands Skele finished with 20 points and 8 assists for Barons. Demetrius Alexander contributed 17 points, while Giedrius Gustas nailed 12 points for the winners. Dwayne Broyles scored game-high 27 points for ASK Riga. Raitis Grafs posted 13 points and 12 boards in a losing case. Barons improved to 6-7 record in the ladder and would take on Siauliai away from home next. ASK Riga fell at 8-4 and plays against Lietuvos Rytas on January 19.

Barons: Armands Skele 20+8 assists, Demetrius Alexander 17, Giedrius Gustas 12
ASK Riga: Dwayne Broyles 27, Raitis Grafs 13+12 boards

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CANADA

Henry Bekkering goes massive in the Dinos' win -by Eurobasket News
The Calgary Dinos thrashed the Lethbridge Pronghorns 102:72 yesterday behind outstanding figures from senior Henry Bekkering (198-F-85, college: E.Washington). He tallied 39 points which appeared to be the best result since 1997 to lead the Dinos to the 11th win in the season. Bekkering went 10/11 from the field in the second half to complete 27 points. Calgary led by as many as 11 points in the interval before Henry Bekkering made his impact. He scored 8 straight points late in the third stanza to give the Dinos a 17-point advantage. The Pronghorns never recovered afterwards. The loss marked a miserable 0-13 record for Lethbridge. Ross Bekkering (201-F-85) delivered 12 points and 15 boards for the Dinos, while Jeff Price (186-G-86) finished with 12 points and 9 assists for the winners. Ryan Anderson (196-G/F-80) nailed 24 points for Lethbridge.
Meanwhile the Carleton Ravens remained perfect as they beat the Ryerson Rams 101:60. Aaron Doornekamp (201-F-85) fired 19 points and collected 8 boards to lead flying Carleton to their 12th straight win. Stuart Turnbull (188-G-84) contributed 16 points and 6 assists for the winners. Boris Bakovic (201-F-88) dropped 17 points for the Rams. Sanel Sehic (178-G) had 13 points as Ryerson fell to 4-8 record.
Cape Breton stayed at the top of the Atlantic Conference as they outscored St.Francis 75:66. The teams were tied at 31 at midway mark but Cape Breton proved the difference in the third quarter surging ahead and securing their 9th win in the season. Islam Luiz Toledo was impressive with 22 points and 12 boards for St. Francis but it never helped the X-Men. Paul Blake (196-G/F) scored 20 points, while Tremaine Fraser contributed 19 points to allow Cape Breton escape with a win. Tyler Richards (188-G-86) sank 19 points as the X-Men fell to 6-3 record.

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CHINA

CBA All star game -by Robert Wang
CBA all-star game finished tonight at 126:131 between red team and blue team. Blue team won.
Wang Zhi zhi got MVP. Han Shuo received skill competition number 1 and Luo Zhi led 3-points contest. Micheal Hiras win slam dunk contest.

Wang Zhizhi MVP as Blue Team Beats Red Team in CBA All-Star Game -by Arthur Volbert
The Blue Team defeated the Red Team 131-126 as Wang Zhizhi earned MVP. Wang scored 26 points and had 3 rebounds and 3 assists.

But Liu Wei had even better statistics for the Blue Team with 26 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Note that Liu outrebounded Wang. While there is much you cannot tell from All-Star games, Wang's reluctance to pound inside is a reason for his limited effectiveness in real games against international competition. DaJuan Tate added 22 points and 5 rebounds for the Blue Team.

Li Xiaoxu (204-C-90) of Liaoning, class of 1990, led the Red Team. He had 29 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 dunks. Li even hit 3 of 4 three-pointers. In league games he almost never takes three-point shots. If Li develops an outside shot, he becomes NBA material.

Mike Harris, winner of the slam-dunk contest, added 28 points for the Red Team. He hit 13 of 14 shots, including 12 dunks. Another thing Wang Zhizhi is loathe to do, despite being 7-1 and agile, is guard the basket. In an all-star game he can afford to ignore this chore completely and still win MVP.

Blue Team
Wang Shipeng 12p+2a+1bl, Liu Xiaoyu 4p+2a, Tang Zhengdong 10p+6a, Hu Xuefeng 6p+1a, Wang Zhizhi 26p+3r+3a+1s, Liu Wei 26p+7r+5a, Liu Xiangtao 3p+1a, Herve Lamizana 13p+4r+2a+1s+1bl, Du Feng 9p+1r+2a, DaJuan Tate 22p+5r+1a
Red Team
Zhu Fangyu 12p+7r, Yu Junkai 17p+1r, Ding Jinhui 13p+3r+2a, Lu Xiaoming 8p+11a, Li Xiaoxu 29p+9r+3a, Wang Bo 4p+1a, Mengke Bateer 10p+4r+3a, Yen Hsing-Su 5p+3a+1s, Michael Harris 28p+6r+2a+1s+2bl

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CZECH REP.

Akasvayu Girona sign Maurice Whitfield -by Ondra Simecek
Akasvayu Girona added to their roster 35-year old American guard Maurice Whitfield (186-G-73, college: Norfolk St., agency: Edge Sports). Whitfield played most recently at AEP Olimpias Patron (Greece). Whitfield has also Czech Rep. nationality and played for their national team for last three years. He also played pro basketball in Dominican Rep., Bolivia, Croatia, Hungary, Czech Rep. and in the States.

Tartu/Rock is whisker away from group stage of Fiba EuroCup -by Ondra Simecek
Tartu/Rock - Prostejov 94:69

TU/Rock nipped Prostejov to strengthened their chances of making it to the next round of FIBA EuroCup. TU/Rock looked impressive in front of 2000 of their fans as they stunned their opponents midway through the encounter and emerged winning by 25 points at the end. The beginning of the game never looked like it would a one-way traffic game. Goran Savanovic (198-G-73) (198-G-73) nailed 5 straight points for Prostejov in the middle of the first frame to give Czech side a 15:12 lead. Later Aleksandar Bojic (207-C-81, college: Hawaii-Pacific) capped the frame with 4 consecutive points and Prostejov enjoyed a 19:16 lead after the opening quarter. But Vallo Allingu (206-C-78) scored 6 points in a 14:0 rally for TU/Rock as they surged ahead 30:19 at the start of the second stanza. The hosts maintained the lead later in the period and drove to a 40:30 advantage at halftime. TU/Rock fired another 9:0 run to open the second half with and cleared off to a 49:30 distance. Kestutis Sestokas (203-F-76) crowned the third term with a jump shot and TU/Rock entered the final frame ahead by 27 points. Stanislav Votroubek (214-C-81, agency: PPGroup) and Jan Pavlik (186-G-78, agency: Court Side) nailed two three-pointers for the visitors as Prostejov managed to cut the deficit by two points at the final quarter. But the final margin allows TU/Rock be hopefull about the next round birth.
George Tsintsadze (192-G-86) topscored for Estonian team with 24 points. Vallo Allingu provided 15 points, while Brian Cusworth (213-C, college: Harvard) had 11 points and 9 boards for the winners. Aleksandar Bojic ended up with 21 points for Prostejov. Goran Savanovic nailed 18 points in defeat. TU/Rock converted 53% from the field and outrebounded the visitors 40:33. They also forced Prostejov to 19 turnovers. The second leg game is scheduled for November 28 in Czech Republic.

TU/Rock: George Tsintsadze 24, Vallo Allingu 15, Brian Cusworth 11+9 boards
Prostejov: Aleksandar Bojic 21, Goran Savanovic 18

ULEB Cup game 1 Nymburk - Crvena Zvezda 87:94 -by Ondra Simecek
Nymburk lost in their first-in-history ULEB Cup game against Crvena Zvezda 87:94. The game was quite close for the whole period of 4 qurarters. Nymburk could have won while leading 79:77 5 seconds to the end when Ladislav Sokolovsky (201-F-77, agency: PPGroup) did not score from 3 point line. Kikanovic on the other side scored 2 points and the game went to the overtime. Nymburk was krepiny their chances to the victory for first three minutes of the overtime, but Omar Cook (186-G-82, college: St.John's) killed these chances by scoring two 3 pts shots to Nymburks basket. Great game was played by Nymburks Radoslav Rancik (207-F/C-78, college: St.Cloud St.) who scored 28 pts and rebounded 14 balls. Nymburk is playing next ULEB Cup game on the court of Bologna on Tuesday, the 13th of November.

Nymburk's second victory in ULEB Cup!!! -by Ondra Simecek
Czech champion CEZ Nymburk won its second straight game on Tuesday, topping Belgian champ Telindus Oostende 81-75 to improve to 2-2 in Group F of the ULEB Cup. Ladislav Sokolovsky (201-F-77, agency: PPGroup) scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth quarter to help Nymburk hold off Oostende's final charges and remain in the hunt for a spot in the next stage. At 2-2, the hosts will be at least in a tie for third place when the group's games are over later Tuesday. Nymburk travels to co-group-leader Dynamo Moscow next week. Oostende dropped to 2-2 and will host Red Star next week. The game was close for most of the night, with the hosts mostly in control. After trailing 40-38 at halftime, Oostende started the third period strong and took the lead, but Monty Mack hit a pair of triples during an 11-0 run and Nymburk never trailed again. Oostende would get within 3 in the fourth quarter, but a technical foul on the Oostende bench and the hot hand of Sokolovsky secured the Nymburk win. Radoslav Rancik posted a double-double of 16 and 11 rebounds, Arthur Lee scored 13 and dished 8 assists and Mack added 11 points for the winners. Chuck Davis led Oostende with 14 points, Chris McCray and Jerry Green added 13, Elvir Ovcina 11 and Greg Brunner 10.

The hosts started in style with a Lee basket and a Sokolovsky three and soon led 10-4 after Petr Benda got involved. However Ovcina and Veselin Petrovic kept Oostende within striking distance until Lee capped the period with his third basket, good for a 25-20 advantage. Ales Chan put Nymburk up 7 early in the second period, but McCray's hustle helped Oostende tie the game at 32-32 and even the visitors even took a brief lead after a Davis free throw. Blake Schilb ensured Oostende a 40-38 halftime edge. Davis's triple sparked a 0-7 Oostende spurt to start the third period, but Mack drilled a pair of threes as Nymburk answered with 11 straight points to resume control. McCray still kept Oostende in the picture till free throws by Sokolovsky made it 59-54 heading into the fourth quarter. Back-to-back baskets by Rancik and Sokolovsky to start the last period gave Nymburk a 9-point lead. Brunner and 4 points from Ovcina cut the deficit to 63-60, however a technical foul on the Oostende bench completely changed the momentum. Sokolovsky made free throws and soon a triple to put the hosts up 10 and Oostende never fully recovered.

Points Nymburk: Sokolovsky 22, Rancik 16, Lee 13, Mack 11, Benda 8, Schilb 4, Slezak 3, Chan and Necas 2

Points Oostende: Davis 14, Green and McRay 13, Ovcina 11, Brunner 10, Petrovic 6, Ivory 5, Van Rossom 3

T W L SCO PTS
1. Dynamo Moskva 4 3 1 354:307 7
2. CZ Beograd 4 3 1 348:319 7
3. Telindus Oostende 4 2 2 330:324 6
4. CEZ Basketball Nymburk 4 2 2 314:316 6
5. Panellinios Athens 4 1 3 294:314 5
6. Fortitudo Bologna 4 1 3 290:350 5

source: ULEBcup.com

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EGYPT

fifth round result -by Andrew Youssef

Itthad and Sporting in a very strong game of this round in Alexandria finished for Itthad (75-71).

Zamalek vs Gazco, Zamalek beat Gazco (64-42) as Zamalek and Gazco be equal in the first period (14-14) then Zamalek player return to game and beat Gazco.

Gezira beat Damenhour (85-59) in an easy game for Gezira.

Shams beat Smouha also in a big game from both team (76-73).

the game between Alahly and Geish appointed after Ashraf Tawfick(Alahly coach) mother died.

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ESTONIA

TU/Rock wins the Big Match -by Janar Filippov
TU/Rock Tartu defeated BC Kalev/Cramo Tallinn 81:73 in Saku Suurhall, Tallinn, and stays in the competition for the first place of the regular season. This was the first loss of the home championships for BC Kalev/Cramo after 17 victories this season.
In European level, TU/Rock has been much more confident during last month - they are undefeated in FIBA EuroCup and have won 3 out of 4 last games in SEB Baltic League. Kalev/Cramo, on the other hand, has lost 4 games in a row in ULEB Cup. Considering that, the outcome of the Big Match was not suprising.
TU/Rock held the lead from the first until the last minute. They led 10:2, 15:8 and 23:13 in 1st but two three-pointers from Valmo Kriisa (190-G-74) took Kalev back into the game. 1st quarter ended 25:19. In 2nd, Kalev/Cramo came within one point, 32:33, after another fast break. Rock didn't fall apart - they made 10-point run, mainly through fine combinations between Kullamae and Brian Cusworth (213-C-84, college: Harvard). Rock won the first half 47:37 behind 16 points from Cusworth.
In 3rd, Kalev made a big comeback. In the middle of the quarter the score was 54:54. Kalev again lost the upper hand - they kept missing free throws and Rock regained the confidence, leading after the 3rd - 64:59. In 4th the game became nervous - both missed shots and made turnovers until two three-pointers from Gert Kullamae (198-G/F-71) took Rock to a safe zone.
Giorgi Tsintsadze (192-G-86) scored 17, Cusworth 16 and Kullamae 14 for TU/Rock. Travis Reed (203-C-79, agency: Court Side, college: Long Beach St.) scored 17, Kristjan Kangur (202-F-82) 16 and Valmo Kriisa 13 for Kalev/Cramo.

Tartu/Rock is whisker away from group stage of Fiba EuroCup -by Ondra Simecek
Tartu/Rock - Prostejov 94:69

TU/Rock nipped Prostejov to strengthened their chances of making it to the next round of FIBA EuroCup. TU/Rock looked impressive in front of 2000 of their fans as they stunned their opponents midway through the encounter and emerged winning by 25 points at the end. The beginning of the game never looked like it would a one-way traffic game. Goran Savanovic (198-G-73) (198-G-73) nailed 5 straight points for Prostejov in the middle of the first frame to give Czech side a 15:12 lead. Later Aleksandar Bojic (207-C-81, college: Hawaii-Pacific) capped the frame with 4 consecutive points and Prostejov enjoyed a 19:16 lead after the opening quarter. But Vallo Allingu (206-C-78) scored 6 points in a 14:0 rally for TU/Rock as they surged ahead 30:19 at the start of the second stanza. The hosts maintained the lead later in the period and drove to a 40:30 advantage at halftime. TU/Rock fired another 9:0 run to open the second half with and cleared off to a 49:30 distance. Kestutis Sestokas (203-F-76) crowned the third term with a jump shot and TU/Rock entered the final frame ahead by 27 points. Stanislav Votroubek (214-C-81, agency: PPGroup) and Jan Pavlik (186-G-78, agency: Court Side) nailed two three-pointers for the visitors as Prostejov managed to cut the deficit by two points at the final quarter. But the final margin allows TU/Rock be hopefull about the next round birth.
George Tsintsadze (192-G-86) topscored for Estonian team with 24 points. Vallo Allingu provided 15 points, while Brian Cusworth (213-C, college: Harvard) had 11 points and 9 boards for the winners. Aleksandar Bojic ended up with 21 points for Prostejov. Goran Savanovic nailed 18 points in defeat. TU/Rock converted 53% from the field and outrebounded the visitors 40:33. They also forced Prostejov to 19 turnovers. The second leg game is scheduled for November 28 in Czech Republic.

TU/Rock: George Tsintsadze 24, Vallo Allingu 15, Brian Cusworth 11+9 boards
Prostejov: Aleksandar Bojic 21, Goran Savanovic 18

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Torpan Pojat and Tomi Kaminen re-signed -by Rauno Hurmalainen
Basketball Club Torpan Pojat (Helsinki) and Team's Head Coach Tomi Kaminen , 37, have agreed and re-signed for four more years. That means, that
Kaminen will be Team's Head Coach untill summer 2012. Kaminen is coaching his seventh season on Top level in Finland right now. This season has been
very successful for Torpan Pojat and Kaminen. Team's record is now 23-1 and Team is # 1 in Finland. Kaminen has been successful also earlier as his
winning percentage is 63,2 % (223 regular season games and 141 wins).

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GERMANY

2. Bundesliga Pro B: Highlights of Gameday 16 -by Moritz Korff
Play of the Day: Nikita Khartchenkov (201-F-87, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement) - Braunschweig: 42 pts, 14/27 FG, 6/17 3P, 8/8 FG, 7 rbs, 2 st, 1 as

Points: Nikita Khartchenkov - Braunschweig: 42

Rebounds: Henning Gutt (203-C-78) - Muenchen: 15

Assists: Goran Petrovic (185-G-77) - Ansbach: 11

Steals: Ike Stafford (190-G-81, college: Albertson) - Breitenguessbach: 5

Blocked Shots: Sebastian Schroeter (207-C-83, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement) - Essen: 5

For all stats and scores please visit the official website of the 2. Bundesliga: click

2. Bundesliga Pro A: Highlights of Gameday 16 -by Moritz Korff
Play of the Day: Rocky Trice (191-F-84, agency: CAA Sports, college: S.Carolina) - Cuxhaven: 24 pts, 8/10 FG, 8/9 FT, 13 rbs, 6 st, 4 as

Points: Brandon Chappell (183-G-83, college: Lamar) - Bayreuth: 27

Rebounds: Omari Westley (201-F-82, college: Cleveland St.) - Noerdlingen: 15

Assists: Matt Witt (183-G-84, agency: Court Side, college: E.Kentucky) - Schalke: 7

Steals: Rocky Trice - Cuxhaven: 6

Blocked Shots: Gary Hamilton - Lich, Terren Harbut - Rhoendorf, Ronald Thompson - MBC, Mani Mesy - Bayreuth, Omari Westley - Noerdlingen, Mark Kelley - Langen: 2 apiece

For all stats and scores please visit the official website of the 2. Bundesliga: click

Melton replaces Atoyebi in Bramsche -by Moritz Korff
Dominick Melton (198-F, college: Wisc.-Parkside) made his debut for TuS Bramsche (2. Regionalliga) on Saturday and scored 16 points versus ASC Goettingen. The 25-year-old who has played for BC Mess (Luxembourg) earlier was hired to replace Jackson Atoyebi (198-F-83, college: Elon). The Red Devils have now three import players on their roster: Melton, Matt Cenatus (191-G-82, agency: AMI, college: Eckerd) and Shaun McKie (188-G, college: Salem Intern.).

New Coach in Tuebingen -by Moritz Korff
Tolga Oengoeren will take over as Headcoach of the Walter Tigers Tuebingen (1. Bundesliga). The 44-year-old Turk has enjoyed a successful career as a player with Tofas Bursa until 1997. After some years as an Assistant of Tofas and Galatasary he took over Ulker Istanbul in 2002, followed by some months at the helm of Turk Telekom Ankara until he returned to Tofas in 2005 and led the team back to the first Turkish division. In 2001 and 2002 Oengoeren also served as a Coach Assistant of the Turkish Mens National Team. At the end of 2007 he was close to join French ProA-side Paris-Levallois. Oengoeren - a friend of Frankfurt coach Murat Didin - will arrive in Tuebingen on Tuesday.

Bundesliga Game Day 16: Weekend Results January 11th thru 13th! -by Michael Taylor
Bundesliga Game Day 16 resulted in several impressive road performances from a variety of teams in the final action before the January 19th All Star day.

Friday January 11th

EnBW Ludwigsburg 88 Giessen 46ers 79
Head Coach Silvano Poropat and his Ludwigsburg team claimed their first road win of the season in an 88-79 victory over Giessen 46ers Friday night in a game live on BBL.TV. Ludwigsburg ran to a 46-38 halftime lead before Giessen responded to outscore their guests 30-17 in the 3Q to take a 68-63 lead into the 4th. But Ludwigsburg responded to finish strong with a 25-11 surge to earn the road win. Brandon Woudstra led 4 Ludwigsburg players in double figures with 20pt including a perfect 10-10 from the foul line while Ronald Ross added 17pt, Jason Dourisseau 16pt and Heiko Schaffartzik 11pt. All 5 starters reached double digits for the 46ers as Michael Umeh topscored with 19pt with help from Rouven Roussler 18pt, Corey Rouse 15pt 6reb, Obie Trotter 12pt and Gerrit Terdenge 10pt 9reb for Giessen. Ludwigsburg shot 52% to Giessen's 45% but the 46ers made 10 of 27 from three (37%). Ludwigsburg upped their record to 7-9 while Giessen fell to 4-12.

Saturday January 12th

Telekom Bonn 77 Koln 99ers 60
In a heated derby atmosphere at Rheinenergie Dome, Telekom Bonn used a strong team performance to overcome host Koln 99ers 77-60 in a game live on BBL.TV Saturday. John Bowler topscored with 20pt 7reb and showed off his three point touch by sinking a perfect 3 for 3 from distance. Bonn edged ahead with a 20-15 2Q to take a 38-30 halftime lead. Head coach Michael Koch and his men broke the game open with a 22-11 3Q. Bonn shot 50% from the floor while limiting the 99ers to 30% accuracy. Bonn also sank 7 of 18 from three for 38% compared to Koln's 4 of 22 for 18% from beyond the arc. JJ Strasser added 13pt 3reb 4ast for Bonn. On the other bench, Aleksandar Nadjfeji led Koln with 11pt 7reb 5ast with help from 10pt 8reb from Toby Bailey and 10pt 4reb from Immanuel McELroy. The win makes 5 straight for Bonn while snapping Koln's recent 6 game win streak. Bonn improved to 11-5 while Koln drops to 9-7.

Artland Dragons 86 Bayer Leverkusen 67
Artland Dragons broke open a tight game with a terrific finish in beating Bayer Leverkusen 86-67 Saturday night at Artland Arena in Quakenbruck. In the weekends most anticipated matchup, both teams brought 11-4 records to Artland and aimed to maintain their pace one game off league leading ALBA Berlin. A close game through the first half, Head coach Chris Fleming and his Artland team held a 38-35 halftime lead. Leverkusen pulled within a basket at 58-56 after three. But in the 4Q, the powerful Dragon team broke the game open with a 28-11 run to earn the win. 5 Dragons reached double figures led by big man Adam Chubb who scored 17pt 11reb with help from Chad Prewitt (14pt 11reb), Lamont McIntosh (10pt 4reb), John Goldsberry (10pt 5ast) and newly signed Leon Rodgers (10pt 2 for 2 threes). Statistically, Atland outshot Leverkusen 43% to 36% and outrebounded their guests 45-33. The difference in the game came beyond the arc as Artland made 8 of 21 threes (38%) compared to Leverkusens 3 of 29 (10%), an abnormal shooting night for Leverkusen. Eric Taylor led Leverkusen with 19pt while Brendan Winters added 14pt 11reb in the loss. Artland is now 12-4 while Leverkusen slides to 11-5.

ALBA Berlin 91 Walter Tigers Tubingen 86
ALBA Berlin remained atop the Bundesliga standings holding off an upset minded Walter Tigers Tubingen team 91-86 Saturday night at MaxSchmellinghalle in Bundesliga Game Day 16. Julius Jenkins caught fire to total 29pt on 11 of 13 shooting and 3 of 4 from three. Dijon Thompson added 16pt 9reb, Patrick Femerling 14pt 5reb and Goran Nikolic 11pt. Tubingen held a 40-36 halftime lead and the game was even at 51 going into the 4Q. Head coach Luka Pavicevic and his team Berlin team outscored Tubingen 30-25 down the stretch in an exciting finish. Both teams shot well with Berlin sinking 55% from the floor to Tubingen's 51%. The Tigers drilled 10 of 21 threes (47%) to ALBA's 9 of 23 (39%). Recently signed Patrick Sparks led Tubingen with 25pt while Rasko Katic added 19pt, Ryan DeMichael 16pt 6reb and AJ Moye 10. League leading ALBA improved to 13-3 while Tubingen lost their 4th straight and slipped to 5-11.

Deutsche Bank Skyliners 87 ratiopharm Ulm 83
Deutsche Bank Skyliners put 6 players in double figures and limited ratiopharm Ulm to 39% shooting with outstanding team defense in their tight 87-83 hardfought road victory at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Ulm Saturday night. Ulm started strong charging to a 23-17 lead after 1Q and 42-39 halftime lead. Frankfurt trimmed the margin to 65-64 after 3Q and their depth and experience made a difference in a terrific 4Q run. Pascal Roller was outstanding as a Frankfurt floor general in his 18pt 4reb 5ast night where he sank 7 for 10 from the floor and set the table for his Skyliners. Jimmy McKinney drilled 5 of 8 shots including 3 of 6 from three to add 16pt and Derrick Allen totaled 15pt in the win. Koko Archibong chipped in 11pt 4reb with recently added Ken Johnson scoring 11pt 5reb. Several clutch shots from Roller and McKinney stretched the Skyliner lead to 7 with 3min to play before Ulm rallied. Trailing by three with 16seconds, Ulm's Bryan Lucas was fouled attempting a 3pt. Missing the first and making the second, Lucas intentionally missed his third but grabbed his own rebound. His attmept to tie the game was hard off the rim and rebounded by Frankfurt. Excellent FT shooting from PG Ayinde Ukaba helped the Skyliners seal the win. Dru Joyce led Ulm's attack with 20pt 6reb 7ast followed by EJ Gallup 16pt 4 threes, Konrad Wysocki 13pt 6reb and 11pt 7reb from Bryan Lucas, 10pt 7reb from Jeff Gibbs. Frankfurt shot 51% from the floor and buried 7 of 17 threes (41%) while holding Ulm to 39% from the floor. Skyliners were also accurate from the foul line sinking 24 of 27 (88%) while Ulm converted 18 of 21 (85%). Ulm made 11 of 30 3pt attempts 36% and outrebounded Frankfurt 37-25. Head Coach Murat Didin and his Frankfurt team won their second straight Bundesliga game and upped their record to 8-7 while Ulm dropped to 9-6.

Ewe Baskets Oldenburg 68 Science City Jena 52
Winning their 4th straight game, Ewe Baskets Oldenburg earned a 68-52 road victory over Science City Jena Saturday night in Jena. Head Coach Predrag Krunic and his men outscored the hosts 17-8 in the 2Q to hold a 33-24 halftime lead. Out of the lockerroom, the Thunderbirds marched to a 25-11 3Q to take a 58-35 lead going into the 4th. Oldenburg enjoyed advantages from beyond the arc (12 for 27 44% to Jena's 7 for 23 30%) and from the foul line (14 for 22 63% to Jena's 7 for 13 58%). Branimir Longin buried 4 of 8 threes to topscore with 16pt while Rickey Paulding added 10pt 6ast in the win. Newly signed players Jason Miller (12pt 11reb) and Lavelle Felton (10pt) reached double figures in the loss. Oldenburg jumped to 10-6 while Jena fell to 2-14.

Sunday January 13th

brose Baskets Bamberg @ TBB Trier 3pm BBL.TV

digibu Baskets Paderborn @ Eisbaren Bremerhaven 4pm

BG74 Gottingen @ NewYorker Phantoms Braunschweig 8pm

Bundesliga Game Day 16: Weekend Results January 13th! -by Michael Taylor

Sunday January 13th results from Game Day 16 in the German Bundesliga!

brose Baskets Bamberg 73 TBB Trier 71
Steffen Hamann scored 20pt while Robert Garrett drilled 3 of 4 threes to add 17pt as brose Baskets Bamberg held off a 4Q rally to beat TBB Trier 73-71 Sunday at Trier Arena live on BBL.TV. Bamberg shot 52% from the floor 81% from the foul line and sank 8 of 17 threes for 47%. Trier held an early lead 18-15 after 1Q but a strong 21-14 Bamberg 2Q gave them the lead at half 36-32. In the 3Q the guests stretched their lead to as many as 12 before Trier began their march back. Trier outscored Bamberg 22-12 in the 4Q. Rookie PG Christian Hoffmann played a key role in the run and sank two clutch FT to even the game at 71 with seconds remaining. At the other end, it was recently signed German International guard Mithat Demirel who drew a foul on a drive with 3 seconds to play. Demirel drilled both foul shots to give Bamberg a 73-71 lead. Out of their final Timeout, Trier advanced the ball to halfcourt where Captain James Gillingham took the inbound pass and drove hard into the frontcourt. His contested three fell short and the buzzer sounded on the game. Gillingham led Trier with 18pt on 7 of 10 floor shooting and 2 of 4 threes. Caleb Green added 17pt 5reb and Mike Benton added 13pt 8reb while Christian Hoffmann chipped in 11pt. Head Coach Dirk Bauermann and his squad improved to 10-5 while Trier fell to 3-13.

Eisbaren Bremerhaven 83 digibu Baskets Paderborn 82
Nate Funk buried the game winner as Eisbaren Bremerhaven edged digibu baskets Paderborn 83-82 in a thrilling Bundesliga Game Day 16 matchup in Bremerhaven. Head Coach Sarunas Sakalauskas and his Eisbaren charged out to an 18-13 lead after 1Q. Paderborn responded with a 26-19 2Q to take a 39-37 halftime lead. Paderborn showed determination working 18min before taking their first lead on a Tim Black basket. The exciting game tightened in the 3Q. Paderborn jumped out 45-38 but Bremerhaven finished the Q strong with a 7-0 run. After 3, Bremerhaven pulled to within 1 at 57-56 to the guests. Paderborn moved up to 69-62 before Zygimantas Jonusas trimmed the deficit to 74-73. The fantastic finish set up with Tim Black cooly sinking two FT to give Paderborn an 82-80 lead with 8 seconds to play. But it was Nate Funk's clutch three that sealed the win for Bremerhaven. Nate Funk and Zygimantas Jonusas shared topscoring honors with 15pt for Eisbaren while Matt Haryasz and Chris Young added 13pt apeice. 5 Paderborn players reached double digits led by Tim Black's 27pt with help from Steve Esterkamp's 17pt, 11pt apiece from Malik Moore and Billy Ray McDaniel with 10pt from Nathan Peavy. Bremerhaven outrebounded Paderborn 39-31 and shot 55% from the floor compared to the guests 37%. Paderborn was better from the foul line making an impressive 92% (25 for 27) to Bremerhaven's 14 for 22 (63%) and the visitors were better from beyond the arc nailing 9 for 19 to Eisbaren's 5 for 13. Bremerhaven upped their record to 8-7 while Paderborn fell to 5-10.

BG74 Gottingen @ NewYorker Phantoms Braunschweig 8pm

JANUARY 16th

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GREECE

2 new players in Rethimno -by Serafim Karaiskakis
David Young (196-G/F-81, college: N.C.Central) and Bennett Davison (203-F-75, agency: Megasport, college: Arizona) are the new USA players of Rethimno. Young comes from France and Pau-Ortez where he had 12ppg and 3.7rpg in 12 games and he will substitute in the team Reggie Freeman (198-G/F-75, college: Texas) who played only 6 games in Greece (8.7ppg,2.7rpg) but he was in bad shape and the coach decided to replace him.The other transfer Davison, played last year for VidiVici Bologna(18 games: 6.3ppg, 4.5rpg) and for Armani Jeans Milano(11 games: 9.0ppg, 4.7rpg).

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HUNGARY

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, Referees: Papp, Cziffra, Szilas

DOMBÓVAR: MILLS 32/9, ENGLISH 25, Deak 3/3, Bodi 6/3, SANDERS 12, Simon N. 2, KINSELLA 8/3, Molnar M. 3/3, Coach: Branislav Dzunic

SZOMBATHELY: KALMAN 25/6, DOYNE 25/6, Csirics 5/3, KAZLAUSKAS 12/3, Harvey 6, Varadi, Feigl 4, Borszeki 8/6, Will, Coach: Srecko Sekulovic

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: Basketball Beyond Borders, 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. Even Laszlo Kalman (186-G-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) started to score, but 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.

Player of the game was Mike English, who had a tripple-double again with 25 points, 11 assists, 10 fouls against and also 9 rebounds, all together 48 VAL.

Saturday's games -by Tamas Deri

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

Nyiregyhaza, Att.: 1200, Referees: Vigh, Pozsonyi, Gal

NYÍREGYHAZA: Branko Savic (181-G-79) 21/3, Janos Siska (185-G-76) 10/6, Buchanan 11/9, Erno Sitku (208-C-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 17/9, Srdjan Helbich (205-F/C-76) 26, Krasznai, Trepak 2, Mouton, Coach: Deri Csaba

ZALAEGERSZEG: Vladimir Miskovic (188-G-78) 28/3, Gaspar 8/6, Tamas Kaman (200-F-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 13/9, Gay 13, Bassette 4, Hoffmann, Simon L. 3/3, Keresztes 2, Gergely Baki (194-G/F-87, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 5/3, Toth A. 4, Coach: Nikola Lazic

SOPRONI SÖRDÖGÖK-PVSK-EXPO CENTER PECS 91-80

(22-19, 24-28, 19-19, 26-14)

Sopron, Att.: 1000, Referees: Foldhazi, Benczur, Torok

SOPRON: Karon Bradley (180-G-84, college: Wichita St.)17/3, Lakatos 6, Jeff Viggiano (198-F-84, college: Massachusetts) 22/12, Richard Lesko (204-F-81, college: Ill.-Chicago) 21/6, Pavel Frana (212-C-77)12, Vesztergom, Boldizsar 5/3, Szabolcs Pojbics (183-G-76) 8/3, Kortelyesi, Coach: Meszlenyi Robert

PECS: Krisztian Wittmann (184-G-85, agency: FCM) 12/3, Nick Williams (192-G-83, agency: Beo Basket, college: Cincinnati) 19, Denes 3, Toth N. 5, Czigler 2, Aleksic 11/6, Bojan Lapov (211-C-68) 13/3, Peter Grebenar (211-C-81) 15, Kutasi,, Coach: Stojan Ivkovic

KAPOSVARI KK-ALBACOMP 73-87

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

Kaposvar, Att.: 800, Referees: Bodnar, Kiss L., Marton L.

KAPOSVAR: Day 20/15, Edwards 13/3, Szőke, Roland Hendlein (201-F-86, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 22/6, Orosz 10, Csirke 8/6, Tomosvari, Vojvoda, Kiss K., Coach: Horvath Imre

ALBACOMP: Balazs Simon (188-G-80, agency: Court Side) 20/6, Cory Bradford (191-G-78, agency: Edge Sports, college: Illinois) 18/6, Velibor Radovic (202-F/G-72, agency: Beo Basket) 21/6, McClendon 5, Bencze 15, David 4, Boozer 4, Soos, Coach: Goran Miljkovic

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IRELAND

St. Vincent and UCD Marion victorious in National Cup semifinals -by Eurobasket News
National Cup semifinals got under way at the DCU Sports Complex yesterday. The opening two games were played with two Superleague representatives gaining respective wins. UCD Marian overcame Waterford 63:53 in the first clash. Waterford never looked like underdogs early on as an impressive shooting allowed them to maintain a double-digit lead in the first frame. UCD Marian struggled to adjust their defense and Kieran Nyhan (193-F-84) 's trey marked a 39:22 advantage for Waterford. But UCD Marian finally shook it up and a massive rally saw them surge ahead. The teams traded baskets for some time in the fourth period before UCD Marian authorized victory with some accurate free throw shooting at crunch time. Teilo Kishidon scored 17 points to lead UCD Marian. Greg Foley (193-F) produced 12 points in a winning effort. Stephen Begadon (186-G-86) answered with 16 points for Waterford.
Meanwhile St Vincent edged Tolka Rovers 79:75 to advance to the Finals. Thanks to an inspirational game from Vlad Ignatavius (191-G) Tolka looked better in the first half. They led by as many as 6 points after 10 minutes and managed to maintain the gap in the second stanza. Vlad Ignatavius connected from afar to close the first half at 35:30 for Tolka. However Alan Kennedy (178-G) and Shay Calaghan steamed it for St. Vincent early in the third leaving Tolka behind. The Rovers remained contestant late in the regulation as Roma Dolgother (193-F) cut the deficit to just 3 points with just 10 seconds remaining. But Karl Donnelly (193-G-72) was perfect from free throw line to ensure the winning outcome for St. Vincent. Shane Callghan paced the winners with 15 points. Vlad Ignatavius delivered game-high 21 points for Tolka.

UCD Marian - Waterford 63:53
St. Vincent - Tolka Rovers 79:75

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ITALY

Serie A Week 19: Avellino won against Siena -by Stefano Pini
We have a news. Air Avellino gained a great victory against Montepaschi Siena, playing his great basketball adding some more defense. Intriguing duel between the two tiny poinguards: Marques Green (170-G-82, college: St.Bonaventure) had 17 points and 8 assists. Terrell McIntyre (175-G-77, college: Clemson) 21p., 3as but 2/9 by 3p. First game for Keith McLeod (188-G-79, college: Bowling Green): 0p. in 12'. Alone, in the second place there is Lottomatica Roma, at the third victory in a row (euroleague included). Against Teramo 22-13 in the first quarter and then Repesa could control the game, giving some minutes to Christian Drejer (206-F/G-82, college: Florida) came back after an injury. 9p. in 23' for Rodrigo De La Fuente (200-F-76, agency: Interperformances, college: Washington). Angelico Biella overcame La Fortezza Bologna at home. The game was quite balanced for 25', then Biella found good solutions close to the rim. Brandon Hunter (201-F-80, agency: Priority Sports, college: Ohio) had 16+10, Spinelli 5as. For Bologna 15p. for Guilherme Giovannoni (202-F-80, agency: Interperformances). Napoli played a great game at Capo D'Orlando. But Pierrel fought for 45' and won this game. Look at the stats: Gianmarco Pozzecco (185-G-72) 32p. and 8 as. Rolando Howell (206-C/F-82, college: S.Carolina) 22+12 (10/10 4 dunks), Judson Wallace (204-F/C-82, college: Princeton) 26+13. For Napoli 33+12 by Jamel Thomas (198-F/G-76, college: Providence). It was pratically an All Star Game... Armani Jeans overcame Solsonica Rieti at home. Attilio Caja has given an identity to his team, not so deep at the moment, but they know what to do on the court. Danilo Gallinari (202-G-88, agency: Players Group) had 20p and 7r. Will Conroy (187-G-82, college: Washington) came back after the injury playing 8', givin 3as. Cantu, with 6 players in double-digit, obtained the W at Scafati. Is the 3rd victory in a row for Tisettanta. 19p. in 25' for Gerald Fitch (191-G-82, college: Kentucky). In the last game of the week, Snaidero Udine won against Varese after an OT. Good news for Udine: they are far from the relegation zone. Varese probabily will change something in the roster again this week. Is the third game that Cimberio lose after an OT.

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JORDAN

Zain in the "Group of Death" in Dubai -by Mohammed Malas
Zain basketball team was drawn earlier today in Group B of 19th Dubai International Tournament which begins next friday, The group will be called 'The Group of Death' due to big names in it but the advantage will be better in quarter finals.

- Group A:
UAE National Team (Al Boom Holding)
Mahram (Sama Al Imarat real estate) - Iran (Titleholders)
Al Gezira (Aramisc) - Egypt
Al Ittihad Aleppo (Continental real estate) - Syria
Sagesse Beirut (Plus real estate) - Lebanon

- Group B:
Al Ahli Dubai - Hosts
Zain 'ex-Fastlink' (Dubai Duty Free) - Jordan
Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut (Steelfab)- Lebanon
Saba Battery (Fly Emirates) - Iran
Al Jalaa Aleppo (Dubai Land) - Syria (Runner-ups)

- The tournament's system will be as follows:
1- First round: Teams play against each other
2- Quarter Finals: 5th team will be excluded from each group...Rest teams will play crosses (1st-4th, 2nd-3rd)
3- Semi-Finals4- Final

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LATVIA

Barons stamps Riga clash with a winning seal -by Eurobasket News
Barons - ASK Riga 76:73

Barons used the absence of 5 players on ASK Riga squad to celebrate a tough 76:73 win in the BBL clash yesterday. It was a real treat for as many as 8500 spectators gathered in the Arena Riga. The teams brought up some first class basketball with the outcome unknown till the final seconds. Raitis Grafs (210-C-81, agency: Interperformances, college: Valparaiso) opened the scoring stats with a long jumper to put ASK Riga in front. But Barons quickly regained the initiative and surged ahead on Demetrius Alexander (204-F/C-75, agency: CAA Sports, college: Alabama)'s trey 10:7. ASK Riga came up with a 13:2 run with A.J. Bramlett (208-C-77, college: Arizona) scoring 6 points in it and grabbed a 20:12 lead late in the opening frame. Armands Skele (192-G-83) and Giedrius Gustas (190-G-80, agency: Interperformances) connected from afar for the hosts as they cut the gap to just 4 points after 10 minutes. Martins Kravcenko (192-G-85, agency: Interperformances) started the second stanza with yet another three-pointer to keep Barons rolling. Curtis Millage (185-G-81, college: Arizona St.) however was pretty active for the visiting side and allowed ASK Riga to stay in front for some time in the second quarter. But just before Martins Kravcenko and Demetrius Alexander teamed up for back-to-back trebles and gave Barons a 34:32 advantage. The hosts maintained a narrow gap and were up 39:38 at halftime. The third frame brought relief for neither side. Dwayne Broyles (196-F/G-82, college: JMU) capped the term with a jumper just to see ASK Riga still trailing by a single point 54:55. The teams went on exchanging the baskets throughout the fourth period and it was once again Dwayne Broyles to cut it to 73:74 with 44 seconds remaining in regulation. Armands Skele answered with two free throws to enlarge the margin and actually sealed the winning outcome for the hosts.
Armands Skele finished with 20 points and 8 assists for Barons. Demetrius Alexander contributed 17 points, while Giedrius Gustas nailed 12 points for the winners. Dwayne Broyles scored game-high 27 points for ASK Riga. Raitis Grafs posted 13 points and 12 boards in a losing case. Barons improved to 6-7 record in the ladder and would take on Siauliai away from home next. ASK Riga fell at 8-4 and plays against Lietuvos Rytas on January 19.

Barons: Armands Skele 20+8 assists, Demetrius Alexander 17, Giedrius Gustas 12
ASK Riga: Dwayne Broyles 27, Raitis Grafs 13+12 boards

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MEXICO

Lobos Get Tripped Up-LNBP Playoffs Near -by Justin Brink
The second place Lobos Grises stumbled last night against the Correcaminos of Victoria eventually falling 93-85. Robert Horsnby was the high man with 37 for the Correcaminos. Larry Taylor put up 27 in the loss for the Lobos Grises. Click here for more of yesterday's LNBP results.

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NCAA

Kentucky damps Vanderbilt's winning streak -by Eurobasket News
Vanderbilt had all the chances to win their 17th straight game in the season. It all went in their hands in the second half against Kentucky but the Commodores could not capitalize. The Wildcats looked dominant in the first half of the game as they accumulated a 32:22 lead at halftime. The margin reached 16 points early in the second half but Kentucky blew it all. Andrew Ogilvy (6'10''-C-88) and Shan Foster (6'6''-G/F-86) teamed up for the Commodores to erase the deficit. Foster nailed a three-pointer with 16 seconds left in regulation to sent game into overtime. Patrick Patterson (6'9''-F-89) later put the Wildcats up by 3 points with just over a minute to go in the extra period but Vanderbilt once again denied the gap. Alex Gordon (6'0''-G-85) converted a free throw and Andrew Ogilvy nailed a layup with 2 seconds on the clock to force the second extra period. This time Patrick Patterson, Ramel Bradley (6'2''-G-85) and Joe Crawford (6'5''-G-86) scored 6 straight points to finalize the winning outcome for the Wildcats. It was their first win over a ranked opponent in the season and they now climbed to 7-7 record. Patrick Patterson led the Wildcats with 23 points and 12 rebounds. Ramel Bradley delivered 20 points, while Joe Crawford added 17 points in a winning case. Shan Foster responded with 20 points for Vanderbilt. Andrew Ogilvy had 16 points in a loss.
Ranked #1 North Carolina meanwhile did not slow down as they bruised North Carolina State 93:62. The Tar Heels stepped on the gas midway through the first half igniting a 25:0 run to drop any questions about the outcome. They piled up an unassailable 41:13 lead late in the half and never looked back afterwards. Deon Thompson (6'8''-F-88) and Ty Lawson (5'11''-G-87) led the Tar Heels with 16 points apiece. Tyler Hansbrough (6'9''-F-85) added 13 points and 13 boards in a win. The Wolfpack responded with Courtney Fells (6'5''-G-86) netting 16 points. J.J. Hickson (6'9''-F/C) knocked down 14 points as North Carolina State fell to 11-4 record.

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NCAA2

GNAC Scores From January 12th -by Sanjey Noriega
Alaska-Anchorage 77, Alaska-Fairbanks 57
Anchorage, Alaska

UAA
McCade Olsen (6'8''-F-84)-26pts and 10 rebs
Chris Bryant (6'4''-G-85, college: Drake)-16pts
Luke Cooper (6'0''-G-84, college: Alaska-Anch.)-16assists

UAF
Collin Matteson-19pts
Mike Titus (6'2''-G)-14pts

Western Washington 84, Western Oregon 80
Bellingham, Washington

WWU
Ira Graham- 33pts
Calin Schel-18pts and 9 rebs

WOU
Travis Kuhns (6'8''-F)-32pts
Adonal Arrington-13pts and 8 rebs

Seattle Pacific 62, Montana State-Billings 56
Billings, Montana

SPU
Rob Diederichs (6'8''-F)-17pts
Rob Will-17pts

MSUB
Troy Ruff-15pts
Cameron Khoury-12pts and 7 rebs

Seattle University 76, Northwest Nazarene 58
Seattle, Washington

SU
Michael Wright-15pts and 8 rebs
Michael Knight-14pts

NNU
Joel Ryman-15pts
Justin Parnell-15pts

Central Washington 84, Saint Martin's 71
Ellensburg, Washington

CWU
Jake Beitinger- 19pts and 17 rebs
Matt Penoncello-16pts and 7 rebs
Nate Jackson-16pts

SMC
Jake Linton (5'10'')-24pts
Tyler Nixon-11pts and 12 rebs

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NIGERIA

Nigeria - CNBL league resume after break -by Olusegun Ikuesan
The second phase of the Champions Nest National Basketball League will resume this weekend across the Lagos metropolis.

The league which is targeted at players who are twenty years and below went on break last December so as to allow the players celebrate the yuletide season with their lover ones will be rounded off in April www.fiba-africa.org was reliably informed.

'The league which started last year October is to run for 6 months ending in April. The Vision of the league is to positively influence the lives of the teeming youths and to empower them to become better person, informed the league Coordinator, Godwin Unegbe.

The former Nigeria International forward stated that the mission behind the league is to raise world class athletes, which are hinged on three core objectives that will help the organizers achieve its goal.

The one-time Lagos Islanders and Ebun Comets basketball clubs power-forward says the aim and objective of the league includes, creating a platform for reaching out to the youths and creating opportunities for them to make use of their talents. These opportunities can be scholarships, professional sports, etc.

Secondly, to promote the importance of education through basketball and emphasize important topics such as career development and counseling, leadership training, etc.

And lastly, is to encourage grassroots basketball development, youth empowerment and development and the ability to create employment for referees and coaches and all those who are associated with basketball in the country at large and Lagos State in particular.

Currently, six venues are being used for the league they include Police College, Ikeja, National Stadium, Surulere, Navy Barracks, Ajegunle, United Christian Secondary School, Apapa, Warriors Academy Ground, Ilupeju and the University of Lagos Basketball Court, Akoka.

Female teams taking part in the league are; Baby Seals, Unilag, Rookies, Raptors Angel, Blazing Queens, CBC Jewels and United Christian, while the male teams includes; Police Rookies, Unilag, Police Bombers, CBC, Dodan Warriors, Golden State, Nigerian Navy, Flames, Rockets and Raptors.

Alongside the league, a seminar is expected to take place. Topics of the seminar would include; The Importance of Education and the Female Athlete.

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NORWAY

Comeback for Calix -by Kaare Vangen
Ulriken Eagles have got back one of the important parts of last year's success. Calix N'Diaye (192-G-81, agency: Heinrich Sports, college: Barry) played against Fjellhamar Stallions and had 7 points in the victory at home court in Bergen. With point guard Audun Eskeland out Calix can add experience to the backcourt of Eagles. Stallions had the intiative in parts of the first period but Eagles put on some extra effort in the last minute and took the lead for good. The match was closed when Eagles had an 8-0 run at the start of the third period.

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PBL

Comparing a good start and a disappointing going on -by Gianni Pascucci
Last week, in a very good article headed 'Frustration mounts in the ABA', the OurSportsCentral website made a brilliant resume of the situtation in the American Basketball Association, where 15 (!) teams have yet left the league, most of them due to financial reasons, and the remaining 20 are almost all passing bad moments, due to organizing problems and continous schedule changes, sometimes without any explanation. And when the games were played, the Officiating was so disappointing that some teams, like the Manchester Millrats, opted to develop some own referees to officiate their home games.. Also, we have yet published that some talks between the Canadian and the North Eastern teams could bring to a new division of the ABA, like it happens last season, when some of the best organized teams decided to join the PBL. The Premier Basketball League, instead, supplied what can only be called a very good start. This league has just played its second week, without cancelling any game, releasing news and stats in a good website, featuring all its teams logos and rosters, as it should be normal for a league called 'professional'. For sure, if this PBL will decide to play a full season in fall of 2008, we are sure that lots of the current ABA teams will be intersted in joining it. It seems that the time of the announcements like '30-teams expansion for nexy year' is definitely over, and is not a secret that most of the disappointed ABA teams are seriously considering a change of leadership in the league, as the last chance to save it... Hyronically, just while we were writing this lines, we see that Joe Newman has just announced another expansion (of the more than 20 yet schdeuled..:-)), this time of the Mexican franchise named 'Gomez Palacio Thundercats', based in Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico. Sincerely, we wish all the best to the ABA and iits new owners, but are you sure guys that there will be an ABA season in 2008-09 ??

Weekend games results -by Gianni Pascucci
The Wilmington Sea Dawgs won their third game in a row by defeating the Arkansas Impact 94-87. Arkansas held the lead for most of the game, but a run by the Sea Dawgs in the fourth quarter put them ahead when it counted. The Rochester RazorSharks defeated 115-108 the Reading Railers in the RazorSharks 2008 Home Opener. This was the RazorSharks first home game, playing in front of 3,081 fans, since pulling out of the ABA playoffs last year. Vidal Massiah (6'6''-G/F-79, college: St.Bonaventure) led the way with 28 points, 12 of those coming in the 4th quarter, Tayron Thomas (6'3''-G, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: Philadelphia) was very impressive in the loss, leading the Railers with 28 points and 6 assists. The Quad City RiverHawks took a 133-105 over the Rockford Fury before about 300 fans in Rockford College's Seaver Gymnasium. Bobby Anderson (6'6''-G-79, college: Independence CC) had 25 points in the win to lead the Hawks, while the Fury were led by newly signed John Jackson (6'7''-F-74, college: Mississippi), with 19 points and Kyle Myrick (6'0''-G, college: Lincoln (PA)), with 16. In the first of yesterday night games, the Rochester RazorSharks played in front of only 400 fans, but won the same, 104-89 over the Jacksonville Jam at the Blue Cross Arena. This time the best was Sammy Monroe (6'6''-F-85, college: Newberry), who had 20 points, followed by Keith Friel (6'4''-G-77, college: Virginia) at 17 pts and by James Reaves (6'8''-F-82, college: Niagara) with 17 pts and 11 rebounds. In the other games of the Sunday, Reading defeated Maryland 98-94, Rockford needed of an overtime to defeat Dallas 109-108 and Quad Cities preevailed over the Chicago Throwbacks 128-120, led by Ty Johnson (5'11''-G) with 30 points, while Chicaco was led by Stanley Thomas (6'5''-F-80) with 37

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RUSSIA

Enisey Krasnoyarsk won the first game in Superleague -by Eurobasket News
The Saturday in Russia was busy with the three games including one that had an overtime. Enisey and Ural-Great won at home, while Khimky grabbed a road win.
Zendon Hamilton (209-C-75, college: St.John's) showed an excellent game collecting 19 points and 18 rebounds for Enisey. It was more than enough for his team to celebrate the first win. Enisey overcame Sibirtelekom-Lokomotiv 85:77 with 22;7 in the third quarter. Aleksandr Anisimov (185-G-86) produced 15 points, while Worrick added 12. Lonnie Cooper (193-G-76, college: Louisiana Tech) scored 16 points in the losing effort.
Ural-Great and Dynamo (Moscow) solved their game only in overtime when the hosts advantaged with 17:13 win. As a total it gave them 83:79 and 6-7 record. Visnievski paced all the winners with 20 points. Aleksander Bashminov (213-C-78) poured in 13 and Vanja Plisnic (207-F/C-80, agency: Beo Basket) scored 11.Henry Domercant (192-G-80, college: E.Illinois) finished the game with 24 points in the losing effort.
Khimky was the only team to win away from home. With 13;36 in the third quarter the game was done for good. Maciej Lampe (210-C-85, agency: Edge Sports) led the winners with 18 points. Vitali Fridzon (195-G-85) posted 17 and Daniel Ewing (191-G-83, college: Duke) chipped in 13.
The game between Lokomotiv-Rostov and CSKA will be played tonight.

Enisey - Sibirtelekom-Lokomotiv 85:77 (16:20, 25:26, 22:7, 22:24)
Enisey: Zendon Hamilton 19 +18 rebs, Aleksandr Anisimov 15, Worrick 12
Sibirtelekom-Lokomotiv: Lonnie Cooper 16

Spartak (St.Petersburg) - Khimky (Moscow region) 65 : 97 (18:19, 15:19, 13:36, 19:23)
Spartak:Milovan Rakovic (207-C-85) 14, Smith 14
Khimky:Maciej Lampe Machey 18, Vitali Fridzon 17, Daniel Ewing 13

Ural-Great (Perm) - Dynamo (Moscow) 83 : 79 OT (15:29, 25:13, 18:13, 8:11, 17:13)
Ural-Great (Perm):Visnievski 20, Aleksander Bashminov 13,Vanja Plisnic 11
Dynamo (Moscow): Henry Domercant 24, Robertas Javtokas (211-C-80, agency: Interperformances, college: Arizona) 15

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SCOTLAND

Scottish Rocks are too good for the Riders -by Eurobasket News
SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks had a comfortable 67:101 road win over Leicester Riders. Both teams tied the opening quarter at 16 points and only then Rocks exploded into life with an 11-0 burst during the final 60 seconds to lead 16:27. An 8-0 start to the third further emphasized the Rocks superiority as they went 35:61 in front. There were no chances the hosts could catch up as the Rocks celebrated 67:101 win. Maurice Hampton (188-G-84, college: Austin Peay St.) paced the winners with 26 points. Joseph and Yanders followed him with 18 points each. Joel Burns (189-G-75, college: W.Michigan) top-scored for the hosts with 15 points.

John Tehan (185-G-71) together with Irish Tigers wrapped up their Irish Superleague action in 2007 with a scrappy win against UCC Demons 96:93. The victory saw them improve to 9-1 record on top of the standings. UCC Demons cut the deficit to tie the score early in the fourth period. But the Tigers proved cool in the final minutes and withstood all the comeback efforts from the Dublin team late in the game. In the first game of this year John Tehan netted 16 points as Tigers overcame Mustang St. Pauls 87:72. To his points John Tehan added 6 rebounds and 2 assists. He showed 44.44% from the field goal, including 66.67% from the three-pointer line and 100$ from the free throw line.

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders - SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 67:101
Riders: Joel Burns 15, Terrence Woodyard (206-F/G, college: W.Carolina) 12, Janiska 11
Rocks: Maurice Hampton 26, Joseph 19, Yanders 18

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SERBIA

Vojvodina Srbijagas makes a surprise, FMP lost at home -by Dragan Jankovski