EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 1/16/2008

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Men News

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ADRIATIC LEAGUE

Helios adds Le Blanc -by Zeljko Zule
Slovenian champion Helios signed American Michael LeBlanc (202-G/F-78, college: Houston Baptist) ex Houston Takers for one month with an option to extend the agreement till end ot he season. .

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AUSTRALIA

Helms and Grizzard combine for 51 points in win over Wollongong -by Eurobasket News
Singapore Slingers - Wollongong Hawks 113:102

The Slingers replied on a tested weapon and it worked well for them. An inspirational duo of Mike Helms (184-G-80, college: Oakland) and Rod Grizzard (203-G-80, college: Alabama) once again fueled an offense for the Slingers against the Hawks at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The hosts' attack worked smoothly against visiting Wollongong, and taking a period to gain speed, blew off their opponents afterwards. Singapore were out of action for 11 days and radiated energy in this one. However it took a quarter for the home team to return to game in full swing. Cameron Rigby (202-F-78, college: San Diego) netted 9 points in the first stanza to steam the Hawks to a 23:18 lead after 10 minutes. The game turned into a seesaw battle in the second quarter but 11 points from Mike Helms finally trended it for the Slingers as they grabbed a 47:43 advantage at halftime. The Slingers raised the tempo after the break and focused their shooting well enough to go 65% from the field in the third frame. It resulted in the Slingers taking a 78:59 lead late in the term. Jeremy Kench (184-G-84) however refused to give it up for the Hawks and ignited a 7:0 run to cut the deficit. Mat Campbell (196-F/G-76, college: Towson) added a layup early in the fourth stanza to pull the visitors within 10 points 70:80. Kavossy Franklin (188-G-75, college: Augusta St.) and Ben Castle (196-G-76) drained 5 points for Wollongong as they climbed within 7 points from the hosts 77:84. But Singapore quickly restored a safe distance with back-to-back trebles and never looked threatened in the dying minutes. Mike Helms led the hosts with 28 points. Rod Grizzard contributed 23 points and 10 boards, while Ben Knight (204-F-76) secured 19 points and 11 boards for the winners. Kavossy Franklin dropped 28 points for Wollongong. Cameron Rigby delivered 19 points and 11 rebounds in a losing clause. The Hawks fell to 6-16 record and hosts the Adelaide 36ers on Friday. The Slingers climbed to 5-20 and remain at home to face the Cairns Taipans next Sunday.

Singapore: Mike Helms 28, Rod Grizzard 23+10 boards, Ben Knight 19+11 boards
Wollongong: Kavossy Franklin 28, Cameron Rigby 19+11 boards

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AUSTRIA

Gmunden advances in the ULEB Cup -by Stefan Heinrich
The Austrian champion Gmunden Swans advanced to the next round due to their victory against the Antwerp Giants. The home team opened the game with a 22:14 in the first quarter, which was the key factor to the success in this game and they continued with this strong performence in the second quarter. At halftime they already led 41:26. In the second half the guests from Belgium came closer but it was one more time Deteri Deteri Mayes (189-G-74, agency: Court Side, college: Murray St.) (189-G-74, agency: Court Side, college: Murray St.) who scored very important baskets for the Swans. At the end they won 80:69, which secured the third place in the group.

Gmunden (80): Deteri Mayes 32, Ian Boylan (198-G/F-83, college: Cal.St. Northridge) 13, Matthias Mayer (206-C/F-81) 13, Johnson 10, Hutter 9, Sullivan 3
Antwerp (69): Ian Hanavan (200-F/C-80, agency: Court Side, college: Evansville) 18, Ryan Sears (185-G-79, agency: Court Side, college: Creighton) 12, Sergeant 10, Gay 9, Sekularac 6, Dupont 4, Lichodijewski 3, Wouters 3, Lamont 2, Oudendag 2

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BELGIUM

Division II Results - Regular Season (Round 15) -by Bertrand Larsimont

De West Hoek Zwevezele vs. Kangoeroes Willebroek 52-67
Score at the half: 26-26.
Zwevezele: Tandt 9; Bourdeaux 4; Lombart 11; Desloovere 4; Bobb 6; Hamers 2; Van Hulle 12; Myleville 4.
Kangoeroes: Roelandts 14; Leclercqs 9; Casteels 10; Lauwerijs 5; Bocevski 7; Coulanges 15; De Wachter 7.

Falco Ghent vs. Xenia Tours Sint-Truiden 70-69
Quarter by quarter score evolution: 11-21, 32-40, 54-54 and 70-69.
Falco: Dhondt 16; Vanderkimpen 2; T. Foucart 14; De Schepper 13; J. Van de Vondel 10; Selhorst 4; Brysse 2; Huyghe 9.
Sint-Truiden: P. Van Hoecke 5; Baert 10; Willegems 7; Souverijns 22; Pipeleers 18; Cuppens 7.

Royal Alsec Nivelles vs. Bent Schoenen Waregem 60-82
Nivelles: Kalonji 4; Martin 6; Karavokyros 12; Lait 9; Mugogwa 16; Muylaert 6; O'Connor 7.
Waregem: Van Vooren 5; Steinbach 13; Cleymans 10; Bwatu 14; Dewilde 19; Verdickt 9; Vermeiren 12.

Jaga Radiators Hasselt vs. CEP Fleurus 100-82
Quarter by quarter score evolution: 20-21, 37-40, 67-56 and 100-82.
Hasselt: Geysen 12; Hendrix 19; Sterk 21; Van Poelgeest 20; Vanhove 14; Bijnens 10; Maes 2; Gijbels 2.
Fleurus: Vanesse 15; Tison 2; Penninck 8; Moris 16; Jadin 9; Rozewicz 6; Buja 4; Semijejero 20; Pourtoit 2.

Power Liefmans Wevelgem vs. BC Ninane 97-66
Quarter by quarter score evolution: 19-17, 37-35, 73-56 and 97-66.
Wevelgem: Vandenberghe 9; Vandekeere 21; Robeyst 15; Delepeleire 2; S. Naudts 7; R. Naudts 1; Lebon 4; Tooms 4; Flanders 22; Guillemyn 12.
Ninane: Lhote 10; R. Delhaes 1; Vanbergen 6; Offermann 5; Delsaute 14; Hawley 10; Lebecque 4; Muric 16.

BBC Boom vs. Sint-Jan Antwerp 75-66
Quarter by quarter score evolution: 18-18, 33-32, 56-44 and 75-66.
Boom: Van Wert 4; P. Bayer 16; Lambreghts 20; Salden 26; Leten 4; Van den Brande 2; Van den Eynde 3.
Sint-Jan: T. Van de Vondel 15; Van Schil 10; Cayssens 15; Lemaire 9; Gorremans 10; Verrept 2; Dekkers 3; Van Rillaer 2.

Recap D1 Rd 16 -by Peter Buyse


Big win for Liege vs Charleroi to keep them in second place behind Oostende. Charleroi had to play without Andre Riddick who was out with an eye injury.
The first half ended with a 2 pt Charleroi lead but Liege came out with strong defense in the 3rd quarter and outscored Charleroi 15-10 in that quarter.
They never gave up on the lead from there and finished with the 80-73 win. Charleroi lost for the second time in a row and only went 2-3 the last 5 games to drop to 4th place.

Antwerp seems to give Mons a hard night in the first quarter which the road team won 17-23. Mons however set the record straigt right away and blew out Antwerp by 19 in Q2.
From there on Antwerp never recovered and ended up losing on the road to Mons 94-74.


Verviers also looked to go for the road win at Bree outscoring the home team 17-24 to start the game but like in the Mons game, Bree stopped the visitor cold with an 21-6 2nd quarter. Verviers was able to turn things around and Bree got the win 74-61.


Oostende probably had a tougher time with last place team Leuven than the hoped and expected. Oostende led by 5 at the half before Leuven made a small comeback in the 3rd quarter to close the gap to 2 points after 30 minutes. Oostende however let it go no further than that and kept the win at home 67-59.


In the game pitting 2 teams from East Flanders against each other, Gent came out the strongest in the 1st quarter and led 19-22 after Q1.

The home team looking for revenge from their loss in Gent some time ago, took control of the game in the 2nd quarter where they outscored Gent 22-11.

Aalst never let Gent take control of the game from there, they did come back to within 2 pts after a Freeman 3pointer but that was as close as they got the rest of the game.


We have co-Mvp's for this round in Justin Gray (188-G-84, agency: Octagon, college: Wake Forest) and Andre Emmett (196-G/F-82, agency: Octagon, college: Texas Tech);

Gray scored 27 pts making 6 of 9 3pt shots and Emmett scored 30 pts to go with 6 rebs and 3 steals;



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BELIZE

The University of Belize Shines In Guatemala!!! -by David Magana
This past weekend the University of Belize and La Plebe team from Benque Viejo del Carmen participated in a basketball tournament in Peten, Flores along with the Seleccion Juvenil and Team Peten from Flores. Saturday night the matches began with La Plebe going against seleccion Juvenil. The Belizean team had a hard time beating the Peten team but in the end they were able to come out victorious by 3 points. The game ended 93-90.
In game two, the University of Belize played against Peten and from the beginning the UB squad was much more technically and physically superior to the point of completely shutting Peten in the fourth quarter. Eventhough the home team was completely wiped out, fans were delighted with the quality and display of basketball the young UB team showed. The screen plays, the impressive dunks and the discipline of the team made the home crowd like the Belizeans. The game ended by a score of 105 to 54 in favor of UB. For the Belizeans, Stephen Williams (188-G-83) and Farron Lauriano ended up with 19 points while Jorett Jones with 12.
Last Sunday night, the final match was played between the two Belizean teams and things were really heated up in the first half. In the opening of the game the UB team seemed to be lacking concentration as they started missing shots while La Plebe were capitalizing. Early in the first quarter the UB was down by eight but by the end of the first half, UB cut it short and were trailing by 3. La Plebe could not keep up in the third quarter and saw the UB team make a 10 point run to take a lead of nine. Lester Cadle (188-G-80) and Francis Castellanos got into foul trouble and were fouled out in the last minutes of the third quarter. With these two big losses, La Plebe just crumbled down. In the end UB took the Big W as the game ended 57-41. For UB Farron Lauriano ended with 19 points and in a losing effort, Horace Patten (188-F) had 13 points and Lester Cadle 11 points.

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BULGARIA

Lukoil lost in drama -by Vladi Lazarova
Lukoil Akademik lost in real drama 84:85 (23:13, 18:27, 21:24, 23:20) from BC Kyiv in Ukraine their game from group H of ULEB Cup tonight. 'The Students' now don't have any other chance, except victory in the last match from the regular season of the tournament. Next Tuesday Bulgarian champion and National Cup holder for 2007 will host French Pau Orthez at home in 'Universiada' arena. At 5th of December last year Lukoil won over the same opponent in Pau, but now the roster of the team and the situation in the group are different. The squad from France is at the bottom of the table and lost chances for elimination round a long time ago, but everybody in Akademik knows, that the battle will be tough.
186 cm tall US playmaker Willie Deane III (186-G-80, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Purdue) led the scorers in Kyiv with 30 points, but unfortunately they weren't enough. 210 cm tall Macedonian power forward Pero Antic (210-F-82, agency: Interperformances) finished in double figures: 20 points and 12 rebounds. 198 cm tall captain of 'The Students' Todor Stoykov (198-G/F-77, agency: Interperformances) added 7 points, but the surprise was that he started the game at the bench.
Lukoil missed their Brazilian center Murilo da Rosa (207-C-83, agency: Arik Krayn Services). 24-years old talent, who was given on a loan from Maccabi Tel Aviv to Akademik for one season, didn't travel to Ukraine, because he decided to stay in Sofia and complained from ankle injury.
For Kyiv Artur Drozdov (198-G-80) made 20 points and Manuchar Markoishvili scored 13.
This victory was some kind of revenge for Ukrainians, after their loss in Bulgarian capital a month and a half ago.

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CAPE VERDE

Cape Verde Basketball Federation promotes Level I courses for Coaches -by Pedro Gomes
The Cape Verdean Basketball Federation (FCB), in partnership with the Cape Verdean Olympic Committee, organizes from the 9 to the 19 of January, a course for Basketball coaches, of level 1. This initiative integrates in the strategy of the FCB to develop the modality in the country.

The course endorsed by FIBA and FIBA AFRICA and financed by the Olympic Solidarity will be directed by a Spanish trainer, Brizuela, and by Claude Constantino, president of the Coaches Committee of FIBA AFRICA.

The Regional Associations of Basketball, clubs and old international players were all invited to participate in the course.

The opening ceremony of courses, as well as the theoretical lessons will take place in the Cape Verdean Soccer Federation training center. The practical lessons are talking place in the Vava Duarte Pavilion.

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CUBA

LSB- Time, Guantanamo is still the Leader -by Alessandro Fontana
Finally LSB-time in Cuba after a month.
Guantanamo is still the leader of the LSB, Guantanamo won against Matanzas 103-86 and They have now a 7-0 standings. Capitalinos won a difficult game against Camaguey 83-79. Capitalinos is the second team of the League with a 6-1 standings. Ciego de Avila won against Santiago de Cuba 93-75. The team of Geoffrey Silvestre won an important game to come back in the high positions of this LSB. Villa Clara was defeated by Metropolitanos 85-90. Both teams have now a 2-5 standings.
The Results:
Guantanamo-Matanzas= 103-86
Capitalinos-Camaguey= 83-79
Ciego de Avila- Santiago de Cuba= 93-75
Villa Clara- Metropolitanos= 85-90
A. Fontana

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D-LEAGUE

Last Transactions -by Surujh Roopnarine
Rio Grande Valley: In an effort to replace some of the scoring punch lost by the departures of Gabe Muoneke (Spain) and C.J. Watson (NBA Call-Up), the Vipers have signed former D-League dynamo Desmon Farmer (6'5''-G-81, college: USC). Farmer, a former standout at USC, has played parts of the last two seasons with Tulsa, averaging 16.4 and 19.9 points during the 05-06 and 06-07 seasons, respectively.
Albuquerque: Signed former Austin Toros forward Kevin Pittsnogle (6'11''-C-84, college: W.Virginia), and waived Ejike Ugboaja (6'9''-F/C-85).
Iowa: Signed former Utah Flash and Boston Celtic undrafted rookie free agent Brandon Wallace (6'9''-F-85, college: S.Carolina). The high-flying Wallace was released from his D-League assignment to Utah when the Celtics released him earlier this season.
Colorado: Released recently acquired Tony Bobbitt (6'4''-G-79, college: Cincinnati), and signed D-League veteran forward Roderick Riley (6'11''-C-81, college: Prairie View A&M).
Riley appeared in 18 games for Bakersfield this season, averaging 8.9 points and 6.2 rebounds.

Day 1 of 2008 D-League Showcase -by Surujh Roopnarine
Bakersfield Jam (80) at Utah Flash (102)
A cold shooting day for the Jam led to their ultimate demise, as they fell to the Utah Flash in Day 1 of the D-League Showcase in Boise, ID. Recently acquired Michael Cuffee (6'4''-F-83, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Middle Tenn.St.) (from Utah) led Bakersfield with 20 points, while the Flash were led by James Lang (6'10''-C-83) who had 19 points in just less than 19 minutes of play.
JAM: Michael Cuffee (20p+6rb), Andre Barrett (11p+10as), Anthony Wilkins (14p+6rb), James Peters (12p)
FLASH: James Lang (19p), Kyrylo Fesenko (17p+7rb), Brian Hamilton (14p+9rb+8as), John Millsap (12p+6rb)

Sioux Falls Skyforce (94) at Anaheim Arsenal (99)
Overcoming a 15-points second half deficit, the Anaheim Arsenal stormed back to defeat the Sioux Falls Skyforce 99-94 yesterday in Boise. Anaheim outscored Sioux Falls 32-16 in the final quarter, overcoming an 11-point fourth quarter deficit. Ivan Johnson (6'8''-C-84, college: Cal.St.-San Bernar.) scored a game-high 26 points for Anaheim while Kasib Powell (6'7''-F-81, college: Texas Tech) led Sioux Falls with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
SKYFORCE: Kasib Powell (19p+10rb+6to), Michael Joiner (17p+8rb), David Bailey (16p+8as), Elton Nesbitt (16p)
ARSENAL: Ivan Johnson (26p+10rb), Marcus Campbell (12p+6rb), Steven Smith (11p+8rb), Kedrick Brown (10p+7rb)

Iowa Energy (112) at Dakota Wizards (125)
Maurice Baker (6'1''-G-79, college: Oklahoma St.) out-shined JamesOn Curry (6'3''-G-86, college: Oklahoma St.) as the Dakota Wizards won a high-scoring affair, 125-112 over the Iowa Energy. Curry, the rookie guard from Oklahoma State scored 34 for Iowa, but Baker , a veteran of the Wizards from their CBA days, scored a D-League career high 41 points on 12-17 shooting and an impressive 17-17 from the free-throw line.
ENERGY: JamesOn Curry (34p+5rb+7as+5to), Dwayne Mitchell (23p+8rb), Anthony Tolliver (19p+9rb), Jeff Horner (11p+5rb)
WIZARDS: Maurice Baker (41p+6as+6st), Rod Benson (24p+9rb), Carlos Powell (24p+7rb+5st), Kevin Lyde (12p)

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Sami Lehtoranta stays in Joensuu -by Rauno Hurmalainen
Kataja's (Joensuu) Team Captain Sami Lehtoranta (205-C/F-79, agency: ANYPEX) has re-signed a 1+1 -year-contract. Playing his third season now in Joensuu, Lehtoranta's contract will be thus at least untill spring 2009. Right now Lehtoranta is on injured list. Player got hurt (shoulder) in November in Lahti, so Lehtoranta
has played this season only 13 games averaging 16,5 ppg - 6,2 rpg in 33,0 mpg. The shoulder has been operated and the Player will start practising
again probably in March.

EUROCUP: TEAM LPR - SAMARA 76-78 -by Rauno Hurmalainen

EuroCup, Qualification Round, Group A: Team Lappeenranta (Finland) - CSK-VVS Samara (Russia) 76-78 (38-38). Quarters: 21-14, 17-24, 22-21, 16-19.
Very interesting game, where the lead was changing a few times. Team Lappeenranta had a nine-point-lead during the first quarter, Samara's
largest lead was 10 points during the third quarter (47-57). And what happened then? Home Team scored 13 pts in a row vs Samara's two
pts and LPR was ahead by one (60-59), when the third quarter ended. The last quarter was exciting. Home Team's best player Adrian Henning (203-F-82, college: Austin Peay St.) dunked and tied 76-76, when 25 seconds was remaining. Samara's American PG Marque Perry (186-G-81, agency: Naiditch Entertainment, college: St.Louis) took a shot pretty early, but his two-pointer was good (76-78). Anyway Team Lappeenranta had still nine seconds time to tie or even win the game, but Reinar Hallik's (208-C-84) two-pointer hit only the rim and Samara had won by two. Samara's big star (36 pts in Samara vs Team Lappeenranta) Alex Scales (192-G-78, college: Oregon) was a disappointment. Just one point during the first half and 13 pts in the game. Pasi Riihela (199-F-75) stopped Scales almost totally and Samara played sometimes even better Scales on the bench. Samara played much under the board and made 60,9% out of the two-pointers. Visitors took only nine shots beyond the arc and made three of them. Yaniv Green (206-F-80, agency: Arik Krayn Services) led Samara with 20 pts. Evgeni Voronov (192-G-86) added 14 pts and grabbed Team high nine rbs. Team Lappeenranta's Adrian Henning is probably playing his best season ever? Tonight game high 25 pts, blocks, dunks. Henning is helping his Team a lot. NT Player Petri Virtanen (183-G-80) got early in foul trouble. That was hurting home team much. Pasi Riihela had a great night, but was fouled

out during the game also this time. Aki Ulander (208-C-81) had almost a double-double (9/11). Home Team's FT% 58,8% is not good enough. Three-pointers

were again Team's trademark. 30 shots from behind the bonus line and 10 made (33,3%). Rbs: 30-39.

When Tartu Rock (Estonia) defeated about the same time PAOK BC Thessaloniki (Greece) 90-80, that means Tartu Rock is still undefeated with

4-0 record. Samara's record is 3-1, Team Lappeenranta is 1-3 and PAOK BC (0-4) will probably stay without victories. Two rounds left. Next

games on Jan 22: PAOK BC - Team Lappeenranta, CSK-VVS Samara - Tartu Rock.

Team Lappeenranta - CSK-VVS Samara 76-78 (38-38) (Adrian Henning 25/3, Petri Virtanen 12/2, Pasi Riihela 11/3, Aki Ulander 9/11 - Yaniv Green 20/8, Evgeni Voronov 14/9, Alex Scales 13, Andrei Truskin 11/6, Marque Perry 9/5a).

Tartu Rock - PAOK BC Thessaloniki 90-80 (56-33) (George Tsintsadze 21/6a, Janar Talts 18/9, Brian Cusworth 16/6, Gert Kullamae 16 - Ibo Kutluay 22, Edmund Saunders 18/5, Jason Rowe 11).



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FRANCE

NM1 Day 17: Blois and GET lose contact -by Chris Spiesser
The GET Vosges and Blois had a bad 2008 start. Both teams lost contact to the top 3 that won its games. Fos ended its losing streak with a win over Andrezieux, Antibes cleaned Mulhouse and Charleville had a friendly start @ Toulouges. In the bottom, some teams are showing new assets. Feurs defeated Blois and Longwy downed Boulogne. Both teams reduced the gap to place 13 to two wins.

The figures of the week:
Dan Altman was perfect against Blois: 18pts (9/9), 5rbs
Ian Caskill (207-C-81, college: JMU) posted 32 of his team's 59 ranking points: 23pts, 12rbs
123 ranking points for Charleville (64%)
Paint fight in Lille: 13pts (6/7), 12rbs by Innocent Kere and 19pts, 13rbs for Jo Owona
Longwy's backcourt shined: 31pts, 5rbs for Zaka Alao and 21pts for Godin, the two posted a 11/23 at 3pts.
16pts, 21rbs by David Cilly
St-Chamond had 6 players above 12 ranking points
20pts (9/10) by Mike Wallace and 19pts, 12ass for Babou Cisse
Only 6 active players in Mulhouse and an easy win for Antibes who welcomes a new player. Zelimir Stevanovic (8pts, 3rbs) is back in France after having played in ProB with Nantes and Orleans.

The results:
GET Vosges 64-71 Angers
Feurs EF 69-66 ADA Blois
Toulouges 65-103 Charleville
Lille Metropole 87-74 JSA Bordeaux
Longwy 100-91(ot) SOM Boulogne
Lievin 84-66 Vendee Challans
St Chamond 84-56 Centre Federal BB
Fos 94-83 Andrezieux
FC Mulhouse 59-73 Ol. Antibes

ProB Day 17: Rouen and Bourg defeated -by Chris Spiesser
The leader and his second lost this week. The games @ Limoges and Poitiers were tricky for Rouen and Bourg and finally this puts some more spice to ProB. The two winning teams are only one and two wins back from Bourg's second place. Nanterre is also in the race, tie with Poitiers. Boulazac and St-Etienne are tie with Limoges. In the bottom, no step forward for the four last teams, in the same time Besancon took a two wins margin over the first relegating spot.

Brest 79-76 Saint-Quentin
17pts, 8rbs, 9ass for Silas Mills but no winning effect for the visitors who will welcome Reims next week-end.

Evreux 81-82 Nanterre
16pts, 18rbs, 5ass for James Mathis
23 assists and 7 turnovers for Nanterre - 16pts, 4rbs, 4ass for Ricky Soliver

Besancon 81-75 Le Portel
27pts, 7rbs, 5to for Antown Hoard and a big breath for the locals who reject place 17 at 2 losses.

Nantes 62-79 Saint-Etienne
19to and 12ass for Nantes - 20pts, 16rbs, 5to for Rashaun Freeman
25pts (5/6 3pts), 4rbs, 3ass for Justin Ingram

Limoges 69-68 Rouen
18pts, 9rbs for Joah Tucker and a crucial lay-up for Mr Lukovski.
20pts, 9rbs for Cheikou Thioune

Aix-Maurienne 88-81 Saint-Vallier
21pts (9/10), 3ass for Yannick Gaillou and a double-double for McClark (19pts, 11rbs, 6ass) as well as Malick Badiane (15pts, 10rbs).

Boulazac 79-76 Quimper
5th game in a row over 10pts for Florent Eleleara (184-G-79, agency: Court Side) (19pts - 7/11) and a clean game from Nicolas Strunc (15pts 6/6, 6rbs).

Poitiers 85-84 Bourg
4 players between 17 and 20 ranking points (Gunn, Guillard, Gomez and Younger) in Poitiers as well as in in Bourg (Heine, Chatuant, Reid, Lalugba). The final point went to Guillard who scored one of his two FTs in the last second

Reims 86-90 Châlons
No defense for the locals who lost while shooting at 61,1% (vs 53%). 24pts, 3rbs, 4stl, 3to and 8ass for Nick Bradford. 17pts, 5stl, 5to and 8ass for Patiejaunas who took part in a crucial victory that allows a 3 wins margin over place 17 to his team.

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FYR MACEDONIA

Transfers during the winter period -by Todor Chalovski
Transfer news of domestic players in the First Macedonian basketball league:

STRUMICA 2005
Arrived:
Kosta Karamanolev (from Vardar Osiguruvanje).

Left:
Slobodanco Hadzivasilev.

FERSPED RABOTNICKI
Arrived:
Nikola Karakolev (MZT Skopje),
Marjan Janeski (Mavrovo).

Left:
Slobodan Mihajlovski,
Georgi Kochov (Vardar Osiguruvanje),
Drasko Nakic (Vardar Osiguruvanje),
Tomche Stojchevski (Karpos Sokoli 2000).

SWISSLION PELISTER
Arrived:
Igor Trajkovski (Tindastoll - Iceland),
Bojan Atanasoski (MZT Skopje).

Left:
Miroslav Petrovski (Amak SP)

AMAK SP
Arrived:
Miroslav Petrovski (Swisslion Pelister).

Left:
Bojan Jakimovski (Karpos Sokoli 2000).

VARDAR OSIGURUVANJE
Arrived:
Gjorgji Kochov (Fersped Rabotnicki),
Drasko Nakic (Ferspes Rabotnicki),
Aleksandar Sovkovski (Slavija Sarajevo - BIH).

Left:
Kosta Karamanolev (Strumica 2005),
Goran Gjorgjievski (Pop Sport VSA),
Tome Dishliev (Karpos Sokoli 2000),
Edis Nuri (Karpos Sokoli 2000),
Ilija Bocevski,
Miroslav Despotovic (MZT Skopje).

MZT SKOPJE
Arrived:
Miroslav Despotovic (Vardar Osiguruvanje)
Filip Gjorevski (Karpos Sokoli 2000),
Erhan Ramadan (Karpos Sokoli 2000),
Filip Konzulov (Plejmejker Kubus),
Muhamed Thaqi (Stjarnan - Iceland).

Left:
Bojan Atanasoski (Swisslion Pelister),
Dragan Milenkovic,
Mladen Gjuroski,
Nikola Karakolev (Fersped Rabotnicki),
Aleksandar Shteryov (on loan to Torus).

KARPOS SOKOLI 2000
Arrived:
Tomche Stojchevski (Fersped Rabotnicki),
Tome Dishliev (Vardar Osiguruvanje),
Edis Nuri (Vardar Osiguruvanje),
Martin Efremov (Vardar Centar),
Hristijan Ristov (Pop Sport VSA),
Bojan Jakimovski (Amak SP),
Vladimir Georgievski.

Left:
Erhan Ramadan (MZT Skopje),
Filip Gjorevski (MZT Skopje).

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HUNGARY

Hungarian All Star Game in Pecs -by Gabriel Zippenfenig
The Hungarian Basketball Federation announced that the All Star Game will be held on 1st March in Pecs. They will start the voting to choose the players for Game soon. West will play against East but maybe they will change this habit in this year.

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ICELAND

Thor. vs. Grindavik -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Thor vs Grindavik finally was played. Cancle earlier because of bad weather. Thor who had lost bad last two games came ready for this one against team in second place. Thor 104. Grindavik 98.
Leading scorers for Thor. Luka Marolt (202-F-85, agency: Global Sports Plaza) 30. Birkir Heimisson 24. Cedric Isom 21. For Grindavik. Pall Vilbergsson 37. Jonathan Griffin 32.

Division 1 results. -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Valur 90 Haukar 59. Craig Walls (201-F-82, agency: IceBasket, college: New Hampshire) 20 + 14 for Valur. Sveinn Sveinsson 15 for Haukar.
KFI 78 Armann 76. Pance Ilievski (-G) 19 Bojan Popovic 17 for KFI. Steinar Kaldal 25 for Armann.
Throttur 119. Hottur 94. No stats available.
Breidablik 96. Reynir 70. Breidablik not lost game yet in the league. Kristjan Sigurdson 23. Halldor Halldorsson 18 for Breidablik. Runar Palsson 22 for Reynir.
FSU 90. Thor 96. Matthew Hammer 27 for FSU. Tom Port (196-F, agency: IceBasket, college: Wooster) 29. Gretar Erlendsson 24 for Thor.

Lysing Cup -by Siggi Hjorleifsson

Final 8 of Lysing Cup.
Fjolnir 87 Thor 52 No stats available.

Skallagrimur 83 IR 80. Last year Cup winner IR out of the Cup. Darrell Flake (193-F-80, agency: IceBasket, college: McKendree) 24. Allan Fall 21 for Skallagrim.

Nate Brown (183-G-80, agency: IceBasket, college: St.Peter's) 25 for IR.

Njardvik 106. KR 90 Damon Bailey (197-F-80, agency: Weller Sports - Entertainment, college: Missouri Western) 24 Johann Olafsson 18. Sverrir Sverrisson 18.

Joshua Helm (198-F-82, agency: IceBasket, college: Mercyhurst) 27. Avi Fogel 18. Last years Champion out of the Cup.

Snaefell 86 Keflavik 84. Top seat team Keflavik out of the Cup.
Hlynur Baeringsson 22. Sigurdur Thorvaldsson 20 for Snaefell. Bobby Walker 26

Teams left in the Cup. Fjolnir. Njardvik. Skallagrimur & Snaefell.

Draw for Final Four is today



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ITALY

Lega2 - Market news -by Gabriele Fioretti
Montecatini named Stefano Tommei as new head coach until the end of the season. Imola will introduce to the media his new guard Jason Parker (188-G-81, college: Tulsa) tomorrow before his first practice with the team coached by Alberto Martelossi .

Little Winter Revolution in Varese -by Stefano Pini
Oops Varese did it again... Deep changes in the team after the game lost at Udine. Three players left the team: Gabriel Fernandez (204-C-76) will come back in Argentina (Boca Juniors), Aleksandar Capin (186-G-82) and Romel Beck (203-G/F-82, agency: Interperformances, college: UNLV) will be traded, while yesterday is arrived in the town Delonte Holland (201-F-82, college: De Paul), to try to change the destiny of the season... At Roma: after the injury of Jacopo Giachetti (191-G-83) (5 months out) Lottomatica signed for a month Yannis Gagaloudis (191-G-78).

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JAPAN

Aisin Sea Horses gallop to the All-Japan title -by Kenny
Aisin captured their 5th All-Japan championship on Monday, Jan. 14th, by squeaking by the Toyota Alvark 85-82 at Yoyogi Gym in Tokyo. Toyota, the defending All-Japan champs, were overmatched inside and had no answer for C J.R. Sakuragi (206-C-76, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: UCLA), who finished the title game with 34 points and 18 rebounds. Aisin led most of the game and looked poised to cruise to victory, but a late Toyota run closed the gap before Toyota overtook the lead late in the 4th quarter. Aisin finally put the game away with J.R. Sakuragi's hook shot and F James Maye's 2 free-throws with less than a minute left.

Toyota was led by veteran F Charles O'Bannon, who had 21 pts and 5 boards, and by another veteran forward, Michael Takahashi. who had 28 and 8.

After the game the 'Best 5' of this year's All-Japan tournament were announced. Selected to the all-tournament team were:

G Shinsuke Kashiwagi (Aisin) 2nd time selection
C J.R. Sakuragi (Aisin) 1st time selection
F Charles O'Bannon (Toyota) 1st time selection
F Michael Takahashi (Toyota) 3rs time selection
C Joji Takeuchi (HItachi) 2nd time selection


Notes: Before this championship, Aisin last won the All-Japan title in 2005. The 2nd half of the JBL 2007-08 regular season begins this Friday (Jan. 18th). The 2nd half of the regular season will feature 14 games for each team, with the last game of the regular season coming on March 2nd. The playoffs will begin on March 15th.

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JORDAN

Zain ends Cyprus's camp with a win -by Mohammed Malas
Zain defeated the 4th place team in the cyprot league Etha 96-78 in their last game in their camp in Nicosia, Cyprus today, The team will benifit alot from this camp as a good station of preperations before Dubai International Tournament which will be opened on friday.

Back to the game, Enver Soobzokov (193-G/F-78, college: Cal.St.-San Bernar.) was the best in his team esspecially in 3pts and assists with a good performance from Nate Johnson, Rasheim Wright and Zaid Al Khas, Coach Maz Trakh preferred to give some rest to Sam Daghlas who did'nt appear on the floor today.

The team will be back tomorrow to amman and will leave on thursday to Dubai, UAE.

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KOREA

SK KNIGHTS TOP KCC -by Rick Ross
SK Knights 18-16 Top 20-14 KCC Egis at Home 98-92
SK Knights have newly Imported player Robinson Brandon (202-F-81, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Auburn),
No Stats Posted at This addition,
More News and Scores Here ......!
http://www.kbl.or.kr/

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KOSOVO

Super League Championship posponed -by Edona Shabani
The Board of Basketball federation Of Kosova according to the section 25 of the BFK Status and section 3 of the Competition Propositions decided that the second part of the Championship in Super League will continue on January, 23/24, 2008.

This decision is taken with the request made by the Directory of Super League. This postponement of Super League is linked with finding sponsors for the League and referees payment, as well as analyzing nonpayment of the extra fee for the competitive edition 2007/08.

The Board of BFK decided that the Clubs must pay the extra fee until January 22, 2008. After this date the clubs that do not finish this obligation will be suspended automatically.

Source: www.basketbolli.com

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LIGA AMERICAS

Halcones overwhelm Soles to open quarterfinal stage -by Eurobasket News
Halcones - Soles 93:78

Halcones Xalapa grabbed a lead in the quarterfinal series against Soles at the Liga Americas tournament. Halcones looked pretty confident at home and grabbed a well-deserved 93:78 victory. The teams compete in the best-of-three series for the Final Four birth. The hosts started the game on a 14:5 run to set the tone early. Victor Avila (209-C-77, college: Oklahoma) was active for Halcones at early stages and helped the home side to accumulate a 25:14 lead after 10 minutes. Xalapa maintained the gap throughout the second stanza with Victor Avila being the key factor for the home team. They acquired a 54:44 advantage at the interval and continued to mount pressure after the break. Another rally from Halcones saw them pick up a 78:57 lead heading into the fourth period. Soles could not find the right answer and struggled in the final quarter to suffer defeat at the end. Gustavo Ayon (211-F/C-85, college: San Jose St.) paced the hosts with 20 points. Victor Mariscal (198-F-72), Michael Johnson and Victor Avila provided 13 points apiece for the winners. Greg Lewis (198-F-78, college: Winthrop) was productive for Soles with 23 points and 12 boards. James Penny (198-F-76, college: TCU) had 17 points and 9 boards in a losing case. Halcones outrebounded their opponents 35:27 and forced those to 19 turnovers. Moreover the hosts shot solid 53% from the field. Game 2 of the series is scheduled for January 21. If Soles win it Game 3 will be played on January 22.

Halcones: Gustavo Ayon 20, Victor Mariscal 13, Michael Johnson 13, Victor Avila 13
Soles: Greg Lewis 23+12 boards, James Penny 17

Minas Tenis opens up a 1-0 lead against Libertad -by Eurobasket News
Libertad - Minas Tenis 72:74

Brazilian Minas Tenis took a big step towards the Final Four of Liga Americas. Yesterday they clinched what could be a decisive road victory over Argentinean Liberatad Sunchales and would return home for the second game in the series. The visitors grabbed a 26:18 lead after 10 minutes. Libertad tried to shift the trend in the second term but Minas stood up to the challenge. Evandro completed his 11 first half points to control the situation on the court. They held a 40:36 advantage at halftime and looked pretty convincing down the stretch. But the hosts refused to surrender. Marcos Saglietti stepped up with 13 points in the third stanza to pace Libertad to a 58:57 lead after 30 minutes. The game turned into a real scorcher in the final period. The seesaw battle finally came down to 72:72 draw with less than 10 seconds remaining. Facundo Sucatzky dropped two free throws with 2 seconds on the clock and pulled away a win for Brazilian side. Luiz Felipe led the winners with 15 points. Facundo Sacutzky added 14 points, 6 assists and 4 boards, while Jasper Johnson had 14 points and 7 rebounds for Minas. Andres Pelussi tallied 19 points and 10 boards for Libertad. Marcos Saglietti had 17 points in a loss. Minas sank solid 49% from the field. The home team were at the same time more impressive under the rims outrebounding their opponents 30:27.
Game 2 is scheduled for January 25 in Belo Horizonte.

Libertad: Luiz Felipe 15, Facundo Sacutzky 14, Jasper Johnson 14
Minas: Andres Pelussi 19+10 boards, Marcos Saglietti 17


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MEXICO

ABA to Durango -by Carlos Chapa
The American Basketball Association will now host a team in Gomez Palacio, Durango.
After failing with teams in Tijuana and Monterrey, ABA's CEO Joe Newman explained this in the league's official website:

'We've been working with the principal owner, Alan Zatarain, for quite sometime. He has put together an extraordinary organization that includes WBC World Superflyweight Champion, Christian Mijares, and they are doing everything right.'

The name of the team will be the Gomez Palacio Thundercats, and is expected to operate next season which starts in December 2008.

For complete information of the ABA, take a look in http://www.usbasket.com/aba/aba.asp,
and ABA's official website.

Mexico's Romel Beck-Castro Burning up the Italian League -by Justin Brink
By Albert Asker
Team Mexico's Romel Beck (203-G/F-82, agency: Interperformances, college: UNLV) is finding great success in Italy's highest basketball division, Lega Basket Serie A. Beck-Castro is averaging 12.7 points for game for Cimberio (Pallacanestro) Varese while shooting 60% from the field, 32.4% from the three point land, and 75% from the free-throw line. Click here for video on Beck.

Xalapa Beats up on Soles in LOA -by Justin Brink
In a preview of what could likely be an LNBP post season match up, the first place Halcones UV Xalapa put a stop to the Soles de Mexicali seven game winning streak last night with a convincing 93-78 win in the League of Americas. Click here for more LOA coverage.

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PANAMA

Dionisio Gomez with good game returns to the court in Spain.- -by Eddie Munoz
After the Christmas recess on LEB 2 the Qalat Cajasol was defeated by CAI HUESCA COSARSA 93-69 but panamanian .Dionisio Gomez (203-F-80, college: Arkansas) had a good performance with 15 Pts. and 6 Rebounds. Qalat has a record of 7-9 and is 9th team on the table. Gomez ahs 11.5 Pts. , 5.1 Rebounds in 23.2 Minutes per game.

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PUERTO RICO

Tomorrow Cangrejeros-Tropics and Boricuas Abroad -by Alessandro Fontana
Tomorrow Liga de las Americas- Time !
Cangrejeros de Santurce will play tomorrow his first game of the Second Round against Miami Tropics, one of the best teams of the Liga. The game is at 7pm. The second game will be on 24th January.
If Santurce defeats the american team, Cangrejeros will qualify for 'The Final Four' of the Tournament. The games are available on Fox TV (in Spanish).
BORICUAS ABROAD
In NBA Dallas was defeated by Sacramento Kings 122-120. Finally Jose Juan Barea played 9 minutes with 3 pts (1/3 2pts, 0/1 3pts, 1/2 FT), 2 rebs and 3 assts. Dallas has now a 26-12 standings.
In Mexico, Dorados de Chihuahua were defeated by Fuerza Regia 81-76. Rafael 'Pachy' Cruz scored 24 pts with a great game, points and a lot of intensity in defense. Keenan Jourdonwas also one of the best players of Dorados with 24 pts. Dorados has now a 25-21 standings and It is 0-5 since when Tony Ruiz , the coach, is with Santurce for the Liga de las Americas.
A. Fontana

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SLOVENIA

Helios adds Le Blanc -by Zeljko Zule
Slovenian champion Helios signed American Michael LeBlanc (202-G/F-78, college: Houston Baptist) ex Houston Takers for one month with an option to extend the agreement till end ot he season. .

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SWITZERLAND

Transactions in the last weeks -by Kristian Santiago
LNA

Lausanne signs Bulgarian center Vene Venev (211-C-85) and Harvey Van Stein (197-F-78, college: Cent.Conn.St.) to replace departed Kwbana Beckles (203-C/F-81, college: Lee).
Venev comes from Rousse while Van Stein started the season for Paws London Captials where he averaged 10,1 points and 4,5 rebounds in 6 matches .

Jerome Rey (180-G-76) left BBC Nyon.

Antonio Zizic (207-C/F-86) did not pass the try-out phase in Lugano.He averaged 3 ppg and 3,8 rpg for the Tigers in four games.
Lugano Tigers aquired in the meanwhile Slovenian center Davorin Skornik (211-C-81, college: Bucknell) and international Dusan Mladjan (200-G-86, agency: Interperformances) from Varese.

Vevey Basket Riviera released guard Von Damien Green (178-G-80, college: Manhattan).
He averaged 8,7 ppg 3,0 rpg and 3,0 apg for Vevey during the season.Domenico Marcario (180-G-79, agency: ACMT) could be staying with Vevey until the end of the season.

Damon Thornton (202-F-77, college: N.Carolina St.) replaces Ken Johnson (210-C-78, college: Ohio St.) in Fribourg who moved to Deutsche Bank Frankfurt recently. Thornton arrived from Israel where he played for Elitzur Yavne (12,7 ppg 10,5rpg) in the National League.Yavne stopped paying Thornton so he was free to leave for Switzerland where he signed a one-month contract with an option until the end of the season.

Bristal Starwings signed Tony McCrory (199-G/F-77, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Simon Fraser) who comes from BV Chemnitz in Germany.

Rasheed Quadri (191-G-80, college: La Salle) signed in Sion with Sion-Herens Basket.

Roman Imgruth (196-G-82) and Geneva Devils parted aways.Tahirou Sani (205-F-85), who played shortly with the Devis as well already left Geneva for Ireland.Joshua Buettner (206-F/C-85, college: Michigan Tech) had also to leave the club.

LNB

Aleksandar Matijasevic (202-C-90) left the Zuerich Wildcats.
Bosnian Mihaijlo Trivunovic (201-F/C-81) has been released by BBC Cossonay.In 10 games, the guard averaged 16 ppg and 6 rpg.
Filippo Rossi (181-G-83) left BBC Cossonay.He averaged 1,5 ppg and 0,8 rpg in four matches.
Abdoul Kachkara (184-G-90) signs with Vernier after leaving Bernex Ornex Basket.
Andres Rodriguez (188-G-1988) moves to SAM Basket Massagno after starting the season with SP Muraltese.
Damjan Vuksanovic (184-F-88) left BC Korac Zurich for BC KZO Wetzikon.
Alain Duc (186-G-80) joins Martigny-Rhone Basket.
Stephane Mayoraz (185-G-86) decided to leave Martigny-Rhone Basket. Stephane recorded 1,6 pts, 0,6 rbds et 0,2 ass in five games.
Martigny-Rhone Basket waived B.J. Benning (203-F-85, college: Lee) who was not the interior player they were searching for. Benning averaged in six games 21,3 pts, 9,8 rbds and 3,2 assists.

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TAIWAN

Three dmedia players suspended over knifing incident -by Chris Wang
Wang Chuan-chien, Chou Tzu-hua and Wu Jun-hsiung were suspended indefinitely without pay over their involvement in a knifing incident, Numen head coach Wu Chien-kuo said in a press conference Tuesday.

Wu said that the players, who allegedly involved in a knifing incident last Sunday, would be suspended indefinitely without pay and would not allowed to practice with the team until the ongoing investigation is completed.

Dmedia was hit by seperated disordered incidents on the same day. Forward Cheng Jen-wei was suspended for four games and received an NT$50,000 fine for throwing a punch at opponents in a game Sunday afternoon.

The players did not attend the press conference.

The final decision on the players' future with the team will be made after the investigation and legal process are completed, Wu said.

Chou, a 20-year-old guard, played in two games with the team this season while Wang, 22, and Wu, 23, practiced with the team but was not listed in the 18-men roster.

The three players were allegedly involved in solicitation to commit an assault early Sunday morning, when the players disputed with a group of youngsters over a girl outside a Taipei nightclub. Three men were stabbed by a number of unidentified men, who the victims claimed were friends of the players, upon leaving the nightclub by taxi.

Week 6 BOW: Lin Chih-jay -by Chris Wang
Taiwan Beer forward Lin Chih-jay, last season's most valuable players in both the regular season and the Finals, won his first Baller of the Week this season Tuesday.

Lin averaged 13.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists and led TB to a 3-0 week which boosted its record to 10-4, currently second-place behind Yulon (12-2).

Voting results (points):
Lin Chih-jay (TB) 27
Wu Dai-hao (TB) 18
Ho Sho-jen (TB) 15
Wu Yong-jen (BOT) 13

2007-08 Baller of the Week:
Week 6: Lin Chih-jay (TB)
Week 5: Jonathan Sanders (dmedia)
Week 4: Chen Hsin-an (Yulon)
Week 3: Jonathan Sanders (dmedia)
Week 2: Chen Hsin-an (Yulon)
Week 1: Chen Hsin-an (Yulon)

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TANZANIA

Vijana Clinch RBA Kili Trophy -by Carlos Pereira
by Suleiman Jongo

Fans of newly crowned Dar es salaam Regional Basketball (RBA) kili winners vijana team in jovial mood after their side dethroned holders JKT in yesterdays closely contested final at the Nationa Indoor Stadium in Dar es Salaam. Vijana won 63-54 to win the title.

Vijana basketball team, popularly known as City Bulls yesterday powered their way to win this year's edition of Dar es Salaam Regional basketball title.

They dethroned holders JKT by 63-54 points in a closely contested final match at the National Indoor Stadium in Dar es Salaam. Vijana who clinched the title for the last time four years ago were in a dazzling form as the event ended its tenth edition.
I am happy for this victory as this is what we dreamed of, said Vijana's head coach, Bahati Mgunda. Abdallah Ramadhani Dulla was the winners most outstanding player, as he kept spectators spellbound throughout the match.
A former professional player with the Seychelles Cobras, Dulla netted 14 points that comprised three defensive rebounds, one steal and three turn-overs.
JKT started the match at a cracking pace winning the first quarter 11-6 and maintained their lead to 31-21 points at the half time mark. On resumption Vijana played like wounded bulls, with all barrels blazing, launching attacks to pin their opponents and cheered on by the fans.
With two minutes and nine seconds to regular time, Vijana were leading 57-51, with Ashraf Haroun making three-point attempts to enable JKT catching up with the victors.
Towering JKT attacker Juma Kisocky scored eight points with one steal and one blocker. Following their win, Vijana were handed the trophy plus Sh 3.5m awarded by the sponsors, Kilimanjaro Premium Lager, a Tanzania Breweries Limited (TBL) brand.

JKT were handed a consolation trophy plus Sh2m for finishing second. In the women's discipline, reigning champions JKT Stars earned Sh2m/- for retaining the title, as Jeshi Stars got Sh1m for second finish.
Lady Lions got Sh 500,000/- for being third placed. In another development, Filbert Mwaipungu of the Army Basketball Club (ABC) was selected the Most Valuable Player (MVP) alongside Khadija Kalambo of the Lady Lions.

Each pocketed Sh500,000 plus a sofa set, donated by Airport Night Park. Other players who were awarded for their outstanding performances were Graced Daudi of Jeshi Stars and Tarimo Tarimo of Savio, selected as best blockers, to earn Sh200,000/- each.

Nelly Anyingisye and Mohamed Ally Dibo each earned Sh300,000/- as the MVPs of the final matches.

Mgunda of Vijana and Peter Samson of JKT Stars were each awarded Sh200,000 as best coaches while JKT (men) and CMTU (women) were selected the most disciplined teams, getting Sh300,000/- and Sh200,000/- respectively. The league was organised by Basketball Dar es Salaam (BD).

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TPBL

TPBL WEEK 1 : TEAMS SCORE BIG -by Chris Cardenas


WEEK ONE OF THE TPBL WAS A HECK OF A WEEKEND. FANS GOT A TASTE OF PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL AND TEAMS PUT UP BIG POINTS. HERE ARE THE SCORES FROM THIS WEEKENDS GAMES:

MIDLAND HEAT 156 - WEST TEXAS STORM 106 CHARLES TATUM (HEAT)- 27 POINTS , MATTHEW FAMBRO (STORM)- 29 POINTS , 11 REBOUNDS

DALLAS DIESEL 98 - SAN ANGELO CHAPARRALS 93 SHAWN WHEELER (CHAPS) 26 POINTS

JUAREZ / EL PASO GALLOS WIN TWO GAMES OVER THE DALLAS STALLIONS!!

HOUSTON P.T.S. 115 - LAKE JACKSON LAKERS 110



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Women News

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AUSTRALIA - Women

Canberra holds off key opponents in Round 14 -by Eurobasket News
The WNBL defending champions Canberra somewhat improved their current positions at the championship race with two straight victories in Round 14. The Capitals opened the week with a long time rivalry against Sydney Uni Flames. The game seemed to be a real scorcher as the Capitals held to a slender 2-point lead at halftime. However Canberra's defense proved decisive in the third quarter limiting the Flames to 7 points and allowing the Capitals to run away for good. Natalie Hurst (163-G-83) led the action with 26 points. Jessica Bibby (169-G-79) adding 17 in a win. Natalie Porter (185-F-80) answered with 22 points for Sydney.
Canberra extended their winning attitude on Saturday as they taught the WNBL parvenus from Bendigo a lesson. The Capitals edged the Spirit 69:62 en route to the 11th win in the season. They thus surpassed Bendigo in the ladder leaving the Spirit at 10-8. Bendigo fought bravely entering the final stanza with a 47:45 advantage. But the Capitals were just more convincing in the dying minutes and sealed the win at the end. Tully Bevilaqua (164-G-72) provided 14 points for the Capitals. Jessica Bibby had 13 points and Crista Hays (188-C-80) added 11 points in a winning clause. Gabrielle Richards (191-C-84, college: Oregon) paced the Spirit with 21 points and 14 boards.
Meanwhile Adelaide strengthened their positions atop the ladder with a 94:77 win over AIS. The Lightning opened a 28:13 first quarter lead to feel safe down the stretch. They enjoyed a 53:27 lead at the interval and ensured the winning outcome in the second half. Tracy Gahan (183-G-80) produced 20 points and 14 boards for the winners. Jenny Whittle (197-C-73) posted 21 points as the 36ers as they climbed to 15-3 record. Cayla Francis (192-C-89) notched 24 points and 8 rebounds for AIS.

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CAPE VERDE - Women

Cape Verde Basketball Federation promotes Level I courses for Coaches -by Pedro Gomes
The Cape Verdean Basketball Federation (FCB), in partnership with the Cape Verdean Olympic Committee, organizes from the 9 to the 19 of January, a course for Basketball coaches, of level 1. This initiative integrates in the strategy of the FCB to develop the modality in the country.

The course endorsed by FIBA and FIBA AFRICA and financed by the Olympic Solidarity will be directed by a Spanish trainer, Brizuela, and by Claude Constantino, president of the Coaches Committee of FIBA AFRICA.

The Regional Associations of Basketball, clubs and old international players were all invited to participate in the course.

The opening ceremony of courses, as well as the theoretical lessons will take place in the Cape Verdean Soccer Federation training center. The practical lessons are talking place in the Vava Duarte Pavilion.

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EUROLEAGUE (W) - Women

Hard battle waiting Fenerbahce -by Iva Ivanova
Fenerbahce will face CSKA Moskow in Group A ladder of Euroleague qualifying round today. Game is at Caferaga hall, 18.15.

Six of the Fenerbahce's player tooks place at All star day - Nevriye Yilmaz, Gergana Brunzova-Erdenay (26 p), Tammy Sutton-Brown (7), Cappie Pondester (13), Birsel Vardarli (7) and Melike Bakircioglu (7).

Birsel Vardarli recieve special cup from Turkish federation. Vardarli, Karsli and Yigit has played 100 games with turkish national team.

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FRANCE - Women

LFB: Round 13 - Bourges are well clear at the top while Mourenx take down Challes in over time -by Leslie Anderson

The regular season came to its halfway point last weekend with victories for top three Bourges Basket, USVO and Montpellier.


The big winner of the weekend was Mourenx who ended their 9 game losing streak in an (82-78) overtime victory against Challes-les-Eaux. Ana Lelas ( found her shooting arm and finished with 22 points including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. Mourenx finished with game with 9-of-19 three-pointers.

Mondeville led by 12 at the end of the first period but ended up losing by 3 to Clermont-Ferrand.



Reims took down Tarbes (76-63) and St Amand pull one over their neighbours Arras (73-58).




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HUNGARY - Women

Hungarian Cup QF draw -by Tamas Palko

The Quarter-finals of the Hungarian Cup:


Mizo Pecs 2010 - Szeviep Szeged

BSE - MKB Euroleasing Sopron

Atomeromu KSC Szekszard - winner of TFSE-Szolnoki NKK

Vasas Csata - Zala Volan ZTE


1st leg: 2008.02.09-10

2nd leg: 2008.02.16-17




Win for SEAT-Foton Gyor -by Tamas Palko

SEAT-Foton Győr - Atomerőmű KSC Szekszard 89-65 (18-18, 28-14, 24-13, 19-20)

Győr: Borecka 21/9, Horvath II. Zs. 18, R. Varga 9.
Szekszard: Tamas 16/6, Bukovszki 13/6, Maximovics 10, Bozoki 10/3.


2 pointers: 33/62 (53%); 16/42 (38%)

3 ponters: 5/16 (31%); 7/24 (29%)

Free throws: 8/13; 12/14

Rebs: 42; 30



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ICELAND - Women

Lysing Cup -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Final 8 of Lysing Cup.
Snaefell 54 Fjolnir 64. No stats available.
Grindavik 93. KR 80. Tiffany Roberson 36 + 14 rebs. Joanna Skiba 18 + 11 assist. Monique Martin 46 for KR.
Valur 61 Keflavik 71. Signy Hermannsdottir 19 for Valur. TaKesha Watson 24 for Keflavik.
Haukar 90. Hamar 55. Kiera Hardy 21. LaKiste Barkus 24

Teams left in Lysing Cup. Grindavik. Fjolnir. Haukar & Keflavik.
Draw is today for next round.

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ISRAEL - Women

Round 13th results -by Gil Goshen

Ramat Hasharon 78 - Bnoth Hsharon 76


For Ramat Hasharon:
Jia Perkins 27 pts
Deanna Jackson 15 pts
Tatyana Troina 13 pts

For Bnoth Hsharon :
Tanisha Wright 23 pts , 7rb, 8as. 4st.
Mistie Williams 15 pts 10rb.
Abiola Wabara 13 pts . 8 rb.

Elizur Ramla 71 - Ramat Hen 67

For Ramla:
Jackie Johnson 18 pts
Michelle Snow 17 pts, 12 rebs
Shay Doron 14 pts

For Ramat Hen:
Taj McWilliams-Franklin 26 pts, 11 rebs
Armintie Price 18 pts , 8rb, 2 as. 2 st.
Edwina Brown 12 pts

Ashdod 81 - Tel Kabir 78

For Ashdod:

Sheri Sam 26 pts, 7 rebs, 5 ast, 4 stl
Ayana Walker 18 pts, 13 rebs
Brandi McCain 12 pts
Michal Epstein 8 pts
Ortal Oren 6 pts
Bat El Lazmi 5 pts

For Tel Kabir:

Shaun Gortman 21 pts, 14 rebs
Shiri Porat 18 pts
Anat Goldberg 14 pts
Yael Cherkov 13 pts
Michelle Woods 6 pts
Victoria Crawford 4 pts
Adi Kindler 2 pts


Holon 99 - Hapoel Tel Aviv 79

For Holon:
LaTangela Atkinson 30 pts, 11 rebs
Ivory Latta 30 pts (6 threes)
DeTrina White Agency - GG basketball agency 18 pts, 10 rebs ( another dubble dubble ..).

For Hapoel:

Tamara Bowie 35 pts, 12 rebs
Ednisha Curry 15 pts, 8 rebs







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NORWAY - Women

Busy week for Hop -by Eurobasket News
Hop was productive during the last week in Norwegian Kvinneligaen. They registered three games in three days and celebrated two victories at the stretch. The wins saw Hop occupy the second spot in the ladder at 6-3 record. They are one win away from the league leading Gimle. Hop started the week with a confident 69:40 road victory over Elite Nord. Hop grabbed the lead early in the game and never surrendered it. The visitors limited their opponents to 31% accuracy from the field and performed some suffocating defense at times. Katrin Madeleine Bruce scored 16 points for the winners. Anita Grimstad had 11 points for Hop. A successful week was somehow dimmed by a 56:67 loss to Ullern. Hop claimed a 14:10 lead after the opening frame but Ullern that entered the game undefeated took over. Emilie Ravn (186-G/F-83) paced the hosts as they surged ahead 32:31 at halftime. Hop once again proposed a tight defense as their main weapon after the break and it worked for some time before the home team proved the difference at the crunch time capitalizing on Hop's weariness. Emilie Ravn finished with 18 points, 6 boards and 4 steals to lead Ullern. Hop answered with 13 points, 13 steals and 5 assists from Lise Johannesen (-F-83).
Hop however recovered pretty quickly and capped the week's action with a 71:60 win over Baerums Verk. Hop laid the base for the win in the starting frame as they accumulated a 25:14 advantage. The game was pretty close thereafter but the visitors managed to retain the lead and pull away victory. Lise Johannesen topscored with 15 points. Anita Grimstad added 14 points and 9 boards for the winners. Nanna Sand (-77, college: Arizona St.) responded with game-high 23 points for Baerums Verk. Hop will now continue the action with two home encounters against Elite Nord and Ullern next week.

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PUERTO RICO - Women

Tenerife is defeated, "La Diosa" 9 pts. -by Alessandro Fontana
In Spain, Tenerife Aguere, in the second division, was defeated by Jovent Palma 50-71. The game was always in the hands of Palma who could control better the game and They were stronger than Tenerife. The first quarter ended 24-16 for Palma. The second quarter was the best for Tenerife, Cynthia Valentin tried to come back his team into the game and the quarter ended 16-13 for Tenerife. In the Third quarter Palma showed all his talent and power and They were too strong to be contrasted by the opponents. 'La Diosa' Cynthia Valentin was one of the best players of his team, She played 31 minutes with 9 pts (2/6 2pts, 1/3 3pts, 2/3 FT), 3 rebs and 4 assts but also 6 turnovers. Tenerife has now a 2-10 standings and They have to win some games if They want to stay in the Second Division of the Spanish League.
Next game will be against Lima Horta on 20th January.
A. Fontana

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TURKEY - Women

Hard battle waiting Fenerbahce -by Iva Ivanova
Fenerbahce will face CSKA Moskow in Group A ladder of Euroleague qualifying round today. Game is at Caferaga hall, 18.15.

Six of the Fenerbahce's player tooks place at All star day - Nevriye Yilmaz, Gergana Brunzova-Erdenay (26 p), Tammy Sutton-Brown (7), Cappie Pondester (13), Birsel Vardarli (7) and Melike Bakircioglu (7).

Birsel Vardarli recieve special cup from Turkish federation. Vardarli, Karsli and Yigit has played 100 games with turkish national team.