Eurobasket Daily News Report:

EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 1/26/2008

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Men News

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BALTIC LEAGUE

Kalev/Cramo adds Dusan Jelic -by Janar Filippov

BC Kalev/Cramo added experienced center Dusan Jelic (211-C-74) after Travis Reed was injured. Kalev finished ULEB Cup group phase with disappointing losing streak and will now focus on winning Estonian championship and reaching SEB BBL Final Four.

In his first game, Jelic scored 3 points and took 4 rebounds in 15 minutes as Kalev beat Fausto 74:56 in Estonian championships.

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BRAZIL

UTC/ UBERLANDIA defeated FTC EAD in National League 2008.- -by Ed Goodman
UTC/ Uberlandia won over FTC EAD 73-66 in home the 1st half 28-39 they made a better 2nd half and dominated FTC EAD through the 3rd and 4th quarters. Jaz with 20 Pts. was the best by the winners and Gilson and Newsome with 22 Pts by FTC EAD.

Minas and Miami advance to Final Four. -by Gianni Pascucci
Pitagoras/Minas Tenis Clube and Miami Tropics completed the Liga de las Americas Final Four line-up, winning theit Quarterfinals. In Miami, the Tropics won the Game 3 of their series 91-83 over Santurce, thanks to 29 points from Terence Shellman (201-F-78) (who grabbed also 5 rebs) and 19 from Cornelius Mitchell (180-G-82, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Charleston), while Robert Traylor (204-F/C-77, college: Michigan) was again the best in Cangrejeros, with 27 points and 16 rebs. Brazilian team Minas was the only team to end a quartefinal undefeated, thanks to his win, 80-73 over Libertad Sunchales. Hironically, Argentinean Facundo Sucatzky (176-G-72, agency: Interperformances) was the key player in the Brazilian win, with 25 points, 10 assists and 5 reboounds. Marcelo Pereira (205-C-71) and Marcio dos Santos (198-F/C-78) were the other best scorers in Minas, with 12 points each, while the best in Libertad was Andres Pelussi (198-F-77), who ended the game at 21 points and 7 rebounds.

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BULGARIA

CSKA finished fourth -by Valentin Anguelov
CSKA finished the first phase of A-1 with a win. Tonight they managed to beat Cherno More Eurohold, who were their opponents for the fourth place with 109-98. This win secured the Reds at the fourth spot in the ranking before the second phase, and gives them advantage in the draw for the Bulgarian Cup.

Cherno More finishes at 6th place, with a 50% balance - 9 wins and 9 losses. They hope they will change something in the next phase.

The game started in a high tempo, as both teams didn't really count on playing defense. They played attractie offense, and had totally forgot to be active in backcourt.

Cherno More's new American signings made their official debut. They were in Spas Natov's starting five. Both of them scored 9 points, as Sheldon scored his in the first half, shooting 3/3 from three-point territory. He left for 5 personal fouls in the end. Gallway tried to organize his teammates while he was on the fllor, but it was obvious that he hasn't played serious games soon.

Vladimir Marinov came great off the bench, finishing with 19 points and 5 assists, while shooting 10/11 - 90.9% from the free-throw line.

Simeon Tsenov scored the most for Varna - 22 points, and he added 10 rebounds.

It was Lavell Payne (203-F-85, agency: AMI, college: Cent.Florida)'s game tonight. He scored 28 points, added 8 rebounds, 5 assists , 3 steals and 3 blocked shots for a 37 rating.

Other 6 'red' players finished in double digits. Mike Henderson scored 17, Hristo Nikolov had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Ludmil Hadjisotirov made a good comeback with 12 points, and the young players - Jivko Stoyanov and Sergey Tsvetkov both had 11 points.

Alexander Sotirov - BulgarianBasket.com

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CANADA

Canadians abroad -by Eurobasket News
Steve Nash (190-G-74, college: Santa Clara) came up with the season-high 37 points to go with 10 assists to carry the Suns past Milwaukee Bucks 114:105 away from home. The win marked a 30-12 record for the Suns in the season. The Bucks worked hard to limit the offensive presence of Amare Stoudemire but Steve Nash showed he can be versatile providing the main threat in attack. Amare Stoudemire also was not too quiet as he dropped 10 out of his 19 points in the fourth period when Phoenix took off for good. This became the fourth straight win for the Suns as they lead in the West. Steve Nash fed Amare Stoudemire for a basket which put the visitors in front 100:99 late in the game. Then Nash drained back-to-back three-pointers to seal the winning outcome for the Suns. Michael Redd provided 28 points for the Bucks but was limited to just 2 points in the fourth term. Andrew Bogut added 19 points and 13 boards in the 26th loss for the Bucks.
Joel Anthony (206-C-82, college: UNLV) 's Heat is not even gleaming these days. They looked pretty burned out at 8-33 record for the season. The 15th straight loss came at home against the San Antonio Spurs adding to misery at the American Airlines Arena. The Heat had all the winning ingredients mixed together as they had enough rest before this one, while the Spurs were coming off a hard game against the Lakers and flew all the way from the West Coast. Moreover the hosts led all the way through the encounter but just to see the advantage vanish in the final seconds. The home side scored just 8 points in the final 8 minutes and Emanuel Ginobili sealed the winning outcome with a go-ahead layup with 30 seconds left in regulation. San Antonio won 90:89 to improve to 28-13 record for the season. Tim Duncan notched 30 points and 11 boards to pace the Spurs. Emanuel Ginobili tallied 18 points, 11 boards and 8 assists, while Tony Parker added 12 points for the winners. Dwyane Wade answered with 27 points for the Heat. Mark Blount, who substituted injured Shaquille O'Neal in the starting five contributed 23 points in defeat. Shaquille O'Neal denied any rumors about his possible retirement after the season. He confirmed he would play throughout two more years enlisted in his contract.
Jamaal Magloire (208-F/C-78, college: Kentucky) 's New Jersey lost to Golden State 119:121 at home. Baron Davis was outstanding with his 8th career triple-double of 25 points, 12 boards and 10 assists to help the Warriors climb to 26-18 record. The Nets lost their 7th straight game as Monta Ellis was deadly from free throw line in the crunch time. It was however after an impressive 18:4 run from the Nets as they grabbed a 112:111 advantage with just over 2 minutes left in regulation. But it was not a lucky day for the Nets. Richard Jefferson scored 34 points, while Vince Carter added 29 points in a losing clause.

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CAPE VERDE

Vinny in the USA -by Pedro Gomes
Aldevino Lima (203-C-86) left Portugal to the US this January, when he traded Benfica for Northeastern.
The coaches at Northeastern were very impressed with Vinny's abilities, and height.
He made his collegiate debut at George Mason (Jan. 12) and played 15 minutes, earning one rebound and one steal.

Before NU Vinny Played five seasons of AAU basketball for Associacao Academica do Mindelo in Cape Verde...captained the squad for two seasons...was named team MVP twice...helped lead team to league title in 2006, and in 2007 played for Benfica in Portugal.

Born Aug. 25, 1986, Viny intends to major in Mechanical Engineering, hoping for a career in professional basketball, he enjoys playing soccer with his brothers, he will graduate in 2012.

UNC Wilmington slips by Huskies, 77-69
The Huskies enjoyed a nine-point lead midway through the first half, but the Seahawks went on a 15-0 run and held off a late second half NU rally to beat the Huskies 77-69 Wednesday night at Trask Coliseum in Wilmington, N.C. Sophomore captain Matt Janning led all scorers with 21 points while freshman Aldevino Lima (203-C-86) picked up his first collegiate points with 10. Sophomore Baptiste Bataille played a strong second half, scoring a career-high 10 points and posting five assists. Northeastern is back on the court on Saturday when it entertains Hofstra at Matthews Arena at 1 p.m.

Ivan moved to the USA -by Pedro Gomes

Ivan Almeida (197-F-89), a promising young player for the Cape Verdeanx, has moved to the US to compete at a higher level of basketball.

Ivan left Bairreirense (Portugal), where he played for the Junior team, to Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) in Utica, New York. This is a two year school, where Ivan will improve his game and academic skills, in order to transfer to another school.
Ivan will join Joel Almeida, who is in his second season at MVCC.

Mohawk Valley Community College the home of the Hawks is proud to announce the latest student athletes of the week. The MVCC Athlete of the Week for the week ending 12/9/07 is Joel Almeida. Joel had three outstanding games for the Men's Basketball Team last week. He averaged over 22 points and 15 rebounds. Mr. Almeida is a sophomore Liberal Arts major who graduated from Wilby High School in the Cape Verde Islands.

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CHINA

Guangdong Downs Dongguan as Liaoning Upsets Jiangsu -by Arthur Volbert
Lamond Murray (201-F-73, agency: Interperformances, college: California) scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebouunds, Jason Dixon had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and Zhu Fangyu added 25 points as Guangdong defeated Dongguan 122-111 in the first game of their semi-final series. Guangdong outscored Dongguan 34-22 in the fourth quarter to achieve its victory. Zhang Kai, more and more emerging as a star, scored 29 points and gathered 15 rebounds for Dongguan. He also had 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Mike Harris had 25 points and 12 rebounds while Anthony Myles had 18 points and 4 rebounds. Holdover imports Dixon and Myles performed well today but Murray and Harris, added during the season, were more important today to the success of their teams. The new imports replaced underperforming imports Cassiano Matheus and Franz Steyn.

Olumde Oyedeji scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds while Jamal Sampson grabbed 17 rebounds as Liaoning defeated Jiangsu 91-82. Oyedeji played 34 minutes and Sampson played 26. They thoroughly outplayed Jiangsu's Tang Zhengdong, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds and 5 fouls in 41 minutes. Liu Xiangtao led the scoring for Liaoning with 26 points and Bian Qiang added 20. Ryan Forehan-Kelly had 16 points and Zhang Cheng scored 15 for Jiangsu. New import Jon Smith had 11 points and 5 rebounds in 20 minutes. Oyedeji, added from Beijing for the playoffs, and Sampson, added in place of Earnest Brown at the end of the season, were key to Liaoning's victory. Jiangsu today relied mostly on holdover import Forehan-Kelly, who played 36 minutes.

Guangdong 37 26 25 34 122
Dongguan- 26 33 30 22 111

Guangdong 122
Chen Jianghua 6p+1r+2a+4to, Zhu Fangyu 25p+5r+4a+1s, Wang Shipeng 6p+4r+3a, Liu Xiaoyu 8p+3r+2a+2s+3to, Zhou Peng 6p+1s+1bl, Jason Dixon 22p+12r+1a+2s, Ji Le 8p+1r, Du Feng 13p+4r, Lamond Murray 26p+11r+3a+2s+1bl
Dongguan 111
Li Guang 6p+1r+1a+2s, Zhang Kai 29p+15r+2a+3s+3bl, Qiu Biao 14p+2r+1a+1s, Wang Jing 7p+1a+1s, Anthony Myles 18p+4r+1a, Li Gangfeng 7p+2r, Mike Harris 25p+12r+2a+2bl+8to

Jiangsu- 17 23 21 21 82
Liaoning 21 26 25 19 91

Liaoning 91
Bian Qiang 20p+2r+1a+2s, Liu Xiangtao 26p+1r+2a+2s, Yang Ming 1p+4r+2a+0to, Li Xiaoxu 4p+6r+3s, Jamal Sampson 5p+17r+2a+4s+1bl, Olumide Oyedeji 22p+15r+4a+2s, Zhang Qingpeng 12p+3r+3a+5to
Jiangsu 82
Tang Zhengdong 18p+10r+2a+2s, Hu Xuefeng 6p+3r+3a+5to, Yang Li 8p+8r+2a, Ryan Forehan-Kelly 16p+10r+1a+3s, Fang Hui 6p+2r+2s, Zhang Cheng 15p+3r+1a+1s, Jon Smith 11p+5r+1bl

LIAONING AND GUANDONG WIN FIRST GAME!!! -by Ogoh Odaudu

The semi-finals of the Cba play-offs tipped off this evening with games between Guandong and DongGuan and the second game between Jiangsu and and Liaoning.In the game between Liaoning and Jiangsu,Liaoning ran away with victory with final scores at 91-82.From the jumpball,it was obvious which direction the game was headed with Liaoning piling up the pressure and took the first quarter 21-17.That was the closest Jiangsu got as Lioaning smothered them with their defence.Scores at the half was 40-47 in favour of Liaoning.On resumption after the break,Jiangsu through Tang Zhengdong (213-C-84) made a spirited attempt at coming back, but the Liaoning players held fast and still won the quarter.By the end of the 3rd period it was obvious that Jiangsu were not coming back and at the buzzer,the scoreline was 82-91.Jiangsu Dragons might lay the blame on the fact that they just finished a strenous 5 game series against Fujian and it ended on wednesday while Liaoning had ended their series against Bayi on tuesday.Top scorers for Liaoning were Liu Xiangtao (202-F/C-80) who scored 26pts.Oyedeji Olumide (208-C/F-81) added 22pys and grabbed 15rebs.Bian Qiang (192-G-79) scored 20pts.For Jiangsu,Tang Zhengdong led with 18pts and 10rebs while Forehan-Kelly Ryan (197-F/G-80, college: California) had 16pts and 10rebs.Zhang Cheng (198-F-78) added 15pts for Jiangsu. Both games had two Chinese referees and one from Europe.

In the other game,Guandong beat DongGuan 122-111.Game 2 will be played on sunday.

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CYPRUS

AEL agreed terms with another French player -by Chris Mammides

AEL's third French palyer is now a fact. The Algerian/French guard Ali Bouziane (192-G-77) replaced yesterday the injured Swidish/Congolese guard Olivier Ilunga (185-G-84). The French guard is counting 11 seazons int he French league with best one being the seazon 2001-2002 when he was scoring 10.2 points per game with the jersey of Gravelines where he spent most of his career.

New arrivals from B.M.C AEK Larnacas who agreed terms with Chris Dunn (191-G-83, college: W.Virginia St.)

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D-LEAGUE

Last Night's Results: Stampede Extend Win Streak to 13 -by Surujh Roopnarine
Dakota Wizards (100) at Tulsa 66ers (110)
WIZARDS: Carlos Powell (6'7''-F-83, college: S.Carolina) (32p+9rb+5as+5to), Blake Ahearn (21p), Kevin Lyde (12p+7rb), Will Frisby (12p)
66ERS: Ramon Sessions (6'3''-G-86, college: Nevada) (35p+7rb+11as), Nick Fazekas (20p+9rb), Adam Harrington (19p+6rb+6as), Scott Merritt (14p+9rb)

Colorado 14ers (93) at Austin Toros (102)
14ERS: Kaniel Dickens (6'8''-F-78, college: Idaho) (27p+12rb), Eddie Gill (23p+5st+5to), Elton Brown (12p+7rb), Billy Thomas (9p)
TOROS: Keith Langford (6'4''-G/F-83, college: Kansas) (24p+8rb), Justin Reed (23p+8rb), Ian Mahinmi (19p+12rb), Marcus Williams (19p+8rb)

Ft. Wayne Mad Ants (105) at Iowa Energy (106)
MAD ANTS: Earl Calloway (6'3''-G-83, college: Indiana) (26p+9as), Sammy Mejia (18p+13rb), Corey Minnifield (22p+10rb), Ron Howard (19p)
ENERGY: Mike Efevberha (6'5''-G-84, college: Cal.St. Northridge) (26p+5rb+5as), Dwayne Mitchell (25p+7rb), Anthony Tolliver (18p+5rb), Doug Thomas (15p+14rb)

Los Angeles D-Fenders (90) at Idaho Stampede (97)
D-FENDERS: Sean Banks (6'8''-F-85, college: Memphis) (27p+6rb+5to), Cecil Brown (16p), Devin Green (7p+11rb), Stephane Lasme (10p+6rb)
STAMPEDE: Randy Livingston (6'4''-G-75, college: LSU) (23p+7rb+13as), Mike Taylor (24p+5rb), Brent Petway (0p+13rb), Ricky Sanchez (11p)

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ESTONIA

Kalev/Cramo adds Dusan Jelic -by Janar Filippov

In his first game, Jelic scored 3 points and took 4 rebounds in 15 minutes as Kalev beat Fausto 74:56 in Estonian championships.

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EUROLEAGUE

Week 13: Panathinaikos and Aris won while Olympiakos lost -by Chris Mammides

With an amazing game from Hanno Mottola (208-F-76, college: Utah) on behalf of Aris, the Greek team succeeded the swetest road win of all as it registers the participation of the Greek team in the next round. Coach Herbert's team beat 74-84 the Turkish team Efes Pilsen. The Finnish center was the top performer for yellows with his 22 points and his overall performance in both edges of the court. Massey added 19 points while the newcomer Washington's 16 points were more than welcome for the Greek team who had in a not so good day its top scorer the last month Dimitris Tsaldaris (196-F-80). The quarters were: 17-10, 34-31, 51-54 and the final 74-84. Top scorer for the Turks was Nikolas with 20 points.

Panathinaikos added another victory in his unbeaten series. This time it was Fener/Ulker which tasted the Green team, Sarunas Jasikevicius (192-G-76, college: Maryland) was the top performer and scorer for Obradovic's team with his 23 points and his very good general appearence in the court. 12 points were added by Vasilis Spanoulis (193-G-82) and 9 points by Stratos Perperoglou (203-G-84), while Kinsey was the top scorer for the Turks. The quarters were: 16-15, 42-29, 70-47 and the final 88-68

Olympiakos lost another game away, this time the Lithuanian Zalgiris succeded a victory over Gershon's team the final score was 88-75 and lost all the chances to finish in a place better than the fourth one. Top scorer for the Reds was Greer with his 29 points followed by Mavrokefalidis's 10 points. On behalf of the winners, top scorer was Jankunas with 14 points. The quarters of the game were: 21-14, 42-32, 67-54 and 88-75

Partizan Igokea is in the Euroleague TOP 16 again ! -by Dragan Jankovski
Real spectacle was seen last night in Belgrade's hal 'Pionir' where at the front of almost 7.000 black and white fans Partizan Igokea smashed Brose Basket Bamberg 85-37 and practically qualified for the Euroleague TOP 16 again! Bamberg was equal rival only in the first quarter after what reining Serbian and Adriatic league champ made amazing run 26-3 in the second period setting the score on 40-13. Black and whites totally dominated in the paint in the first 20 minutes as they had 26 rebounds matched with only 4 by the German team. Despite it was clear already in the first quarter that Partizan will make an extremely important win they continued even stronger in the second half when the only doubt was will they touch the margin of plus 50 and will Bamberg score more than 36 points, how much Krka, who holds the negative record, scored in the past. The fact that Partizan finished the game reaching index rate 109 while Bamberg had only 5 talks for itself!

Novica Velickovic (205-F-86) finished the game with double-double adding 17 points and 13 rebounds while Milenko Tepic (198-G-87, agency: Beo Basket) followed him collecting 16 points and 4 rebounds. The best Euroleague center Nikola Pekovic (210-C-86, agency: Beo Basket), who was the key player for Partizan in the regular season, netted 13 points. On the other side only Ademola Okulaja (202-F-75, college: N.Carolina) had double digits. He scored 11 points with 6 rebounds.

This is a fantastic achievement of Partizan's young players and the head coach Dusko Vujosevic, who could not hide the emotions after the game. The most important words which Vujosevic's said were: 'My players earned this win and a place for Euroleague TOP 16!'

Once again, after 13 rounds Partizan grabbed 5 wins in Group C where their rivals were giants like green PAO, Real Madrid, Barceolna, Lottomatica and also Fenerbahce Ulker, Roanne and Bamberg. Partizan will qualify for the TOP 16 as the best 6-placed team in Euroleague regular season.

Partizan Igokea - Brose Basket Bamberg 85-37
(14-10,28-8,21-10,22-9)

Partizan Igokea: Velickovic 17 (13 rebs), Tepic 16 (4 rebs), Pekovic 13, Vitkovac 12
Brose Basket Bamberg: Okulaja 11 (6 rebs), Hamann 9

Zalgiris cruised over Olympiacos -by Eurobasket News
Zalgiris-Olympiacos 88-75

Lithuanian Zalgiris cruised over Olympiacos 88:75 last night at home. The first half was the most productive to bring the hosts the 8th win. Paulius Jankunas (204-F-84, agency: Interperformances) led the winners with 17 points. Jonas Maciulis (200-G/F-85, agency: Interperformances) and Marcus Brown (192-G-74, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Murray St.) followed him with 14 each, while De Juan Collins and Goran Jurak (203-F/C-77) added 13 apiece. Lynn Greer (186-G-79, college: Temple) top-scored for the visitors with 29 points. Zalgiris has an 8-5 record and Olympiacos dropped to 7-6.

Zalgiris opened the game on a right stream leading at 13:6. The hosts controlled the opening tip and stayed with 21:14 after the first quarter. Olympiacos struggled a lot and reduced to 36:30 almost in the end of the half. Marcus Brown then detonated a triple, and Collins proved the biggest Zalgiris lead at that time 42:32.
The second half started aggressively for both teams. Loukas Mavrokefalides made the score 55:42 and those 13 points deficit remained for Zalgiris in the end of the third quarter. There was no time for the spectators to think about the win of the guests as Zalgiris remained tough. Marko Popovic (185-G-82, college: S.Idaho JC) pushed Zalgiris ahead as much as 21 points, 80:59. Olympiacos tried to attack more on offense but did not stay in the same current with the winners.

Zalgiris: Paulius Jankunas 17 points, Jonas Maciulis 14, Marcus Brown 14, De Juan Collins 13, Goran Jurak 13
Olympiacos:Lynn Greer 29, Loukas Mavrokefalides 10, Marc Jackson (206-C/F-75, college: Temple) 10

Summary of Week 13 -by Eurobasket News
Week 13 of Euroleague brought another history in the tournament of the best teams in Europe. Group A leaders CSKA gained their 11th win in the Euroleague season and sealed the top spot yesterday. They hosted Tau in a new Palace of Sports Khodynka. CSKA never disappointed a sell-out crowd of 13,000. Scottie Pippen, Sergei Panov and Sergei Bazarevich were among the guests on the game. J.R. Holden (185-G-76, college: Bucknell) and David Andersen did not wait for too long to take it off for CSKA with back-to-back triples. Trajan Langdon added 5 straight points to set CSKA ahead at 11:2. However Igor Rakocevic stepped for Spanish side with a couple of difficult baskets and Tau cut the gap to 15:9. Igor Rakocevic went on scoring and Mirza Teletovic scored a jumper to ignite a 7:0 run for the visitors as they grabbed a 16:15 advantage. David Andersen capped the first frame with 4 points and the hosts led 19:16 after 10 minutes of action. The teams traded the baskets in the second quarter and were tied at 29 before Marcus Goree and Pashutin combined for 5 consecutive points to give CSKA a 34:29 cushion at the interval. J.R. Holden and Ramunas Siskauskas fired from downtown early in the third term as the home side opened up a 10-point lead. J.R. Holden was deadly from the field as his trey marked a 15-point lead for CSKA. Pablo Prigioni and Anatoly Kashirov exchanged three-pointers to wrap up the action in the third period with CSKA leading by 14 points. Tiago Splitter and Igor Rakocevic got Tau going in the fourth with back-to-back jumpers but J.R. Holden quickly matched them with another massive treble to restore the safe distance. Sergi Vidal and Mouneke exploded with two more treys for Tau as they trimmed the difference to 9 points. Tiago Splitter and Igor Rakocevic erased the gap to just 5 points over 2 minutes left. But J.R. Holden refused to give up the lead with yet another three-pointer to give CSKA a breathing space.
J.R. Holden finished the game with 19 points to pace CSKA. Trajan Langdon added 13 points, while Ramunas Siskauskas had 9 points and 5 boards for the winners. Igor Rakocevic answered with 21 points for Tau. Tiago Splitter notched 12 points as the visitors fell to 8-5 record in the ladder. CSKA will visit Bologna next week. Tau hosts Zalgiris in the final round of regular season.
Lithuanian Zalgiris cruised over Olympiacos 88:75 last night at home. The first half was the most productive to bring the hosts the 8th win. Paulius Jankunas led the winners with 17 points. Jonas Maciulis and Marcus Brown followed him with 14 each, while De Juan Collins and Goran Jurak added 13 apiece. Lynn Greer top-scored for the visitors with 29 points. Zalgiris has an 8-5 record and Olympiacos dropped to 7-6.
Zalgiris opened the game on a right stream leading at 13:6. The hosts controlled the opening tip and stayed with 21:14 after the first quarter. Olympiacos struggled a lot and reduced to 36:30 almost in the end of the half. Marcus Brown then detonated a triple, and Collins proved the biggest Zalgiris lead at that time 42:32. The second half started aggressively for both teams. Loukas Mavrokefalides made the score 55:42 and those 13 points deficit remained for Zalgiris in the end of the third quarter. There was no time for the spectators to think about the win of the guests as Zalgiris remained tough. Marko Popovic pushed Zalgiris ahead as much as 21 points, 80:59. Olympiacos tried to attack more on offense but did not stay in the same current with the winners.
Montepaschi Siena climbed to the second spot in Group A by thrashing Prokom Trefl Sopot 87:64. Romain Sato led the winners with 16 points. Milan Gurovic (207-F-76, agency: Beo Basket) had 20 points for Prokom while Pape Sow and and Jovo Stanojevic each added 10 for the guests.
Union Olimpija overcame Virtus VidiVici Bologna 75:60. If Olimpija wins its last game, it needs Partizan to lose and the combined margin of those results to be 98 points.

The situation in Group B of Euroleague regular season got a bit clear with Lietuvos Rytas claiming a win over Unicaja yesterday. They now improved to 10-3 record and would have an advantage over Maccabi if tied after 14 rounds. Maccabi will play their Round 13 encounter later today. Unicaja meanwhile slipped to 9-4 record and lost the chances of occupying the top spot in the group. The hosts took over right from the start with a pair of three-pointers from Matt Nielsen and Mindaugas Lukauskis. Lietuvos Rytas continued to dominate and soon piled up a 17:7 lead. Hollis Price (186-G-79, college: Oklahoma) connected from afar minutes later for a 22:11 advantage. Marcus Haislip and Davor Kus nailed 4 free throws in the dying seconds of the first frame and Unicaja trailed by 7 points after 10 minutes. Spanish team stepped on the gas in the second frame with Carlos Jimenez and N'Dong nailing straight buckets to erase the deficit. Bernardo Rodriguez put the visitors as close as 2 points midway through the quarter but Lietuvos Rytas reacted. Arturas Jomantas and Martynas Gecevicius teamed up for 7 points and the hosts restored a double-figure lead. Rytas were up by 13 points at halftime 41:28. Unicaja stayed competitive in the third stanza with N'Dong and Marcus Haislip dominating the paint. They produced some impressive dunks and the visitors climbed within 3 points from Lietuvos Rytas. Jiri Welsch made it even thinner with free throws. Hollis Price then converted 6 points for Rytas and the gap was enlarged to 7 points after three terms. Carlos Cabezas hit from downtown to keep the intrigue alive. The hosts were in front by 4 points when Hollis Price sank another jumper as Lietuvos Rytas entered the final two minutes leading by 6 points. Marcus Haislip scored but was well-matched by Kenan Bajramovic with under a minute left. Hollis Price made the outcome clear with a steal and a three-point play completed with second remaining in regulation.
Hollis Price tallied 23 points and 6 assists for Lietuvos Rytas. Marijonas Petravicius and Martynas Gecevicius added 11 points apiece in a win. Marcus Haislip answered with 22 points for Unicaja. N'Dong finished with 16 points in defeat. Unicaja will wrap up their regular season action against Efes Pilsen. Lietuvos Rytas will visit Cibona next week.
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv overcame Italian Armani Jeans Milano 91:76 in Euroleague on Thursday night.Maccabi improved to 10-3 in Group B, the same as leader Lietuvos Rytas. Yotam Halperin finished with a season-high 24 points. Alex Garcia added 14 points and standout defense, Terence Morris finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds.
Aris TT Bank had a 74:84 road win over Efes Pilsen to improve to 7-6 and can pass Efes for fourth place in Group B if it beats Maccabi Elite next week and Efes falls to Unicaja. Mottola scored a season-high 22 to lead the visitors.
Le Mans picked up its first win of Euroleague season by downing Cibona Zagreb 100:87. Philip Ricci (202-F-80, college: Oregon St.) finished with a season-high 21 points, while Bogdanovic matched his career-high with the same total.

In Group C Partizan Igokea smashed Brose Basket Bamberg 85-37 and practically qualified for the Euroleague TOP 16 again! Bamberg was equal rival only in the first quarter after what reining Serbian and Adriatic league champ made amazing run 26-3 in the second period setting the score on 40-13. Black and whites totally dominated in the paint in the first 20 minutes as they had 26 rebounds matched with only 4 by the German team. Despite it was clear already in the first quarter that Partizan will make an extremely important win they continued even stronger in the second half when the only doubt was will they touch the margin of plus 50 and will Bamberg score more than 36 points, how much Krka, who holds the negative record, scored in the past. The fact that Partizan finished the game reaching index rate 109 while Bamberg had only 5 talks for itself! Novica Velickovic (205-F-86) finished the game with double-double adding 17 points and 13 rebounds while Milenko Tepic followed him collecting 16 points and 4 rebounds. The best Euroleague center Nikola Pekovic, who was the key player for Partizan in the regular season, netted 13 points. On the other side only Ademola Okulaja had double digits. He scored 11 points with 6 rebounds.
The defending champion Panathinaikos became the Group C champion by thrashing Fenerbahce Ulker 88:68. Sarunas Jasikevicius (192-G-76, college: Maryland) paced the winners with 23 points, Vassilis Spanoulis added 12 and Mike Batiste grabbed 11 rebounds in a win.
Lottomatica Roma defeated Barcelona 77:75 for its fifth win in the last six games. David Hawkins (193-G-82, agency: CAA Sports, college: Temple) led the winners with 22 points. For Barcelona, Gianluca Basile had 14 points, Fran Vazquez 12 and Alex Acker 11.
Real Madrid secured the second spot downing Chorale Roanne 68:82 in France. Louis Bullock (186-G-76, college: Michigan) led the winners with 14 points. Felipe Reyes added 13 and 7 rebounds, Axel Hervelle had 11 points.

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Kouvot and Head Coach Jukka Toijala -by Rauno Hurmalainen
Kouvot (Kouvola) and Head Coach Jukka Toijala , 35, have agreed and re-signed the contract for seasons 2008-10. Toijala started his coaching
career last season (2006-07), when coaching Kouvot to record 18-26. This season has gone even better. Team's record is 17-9 by now.

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FRANCE

Round 16 : Hyères-Toulon - Le Mans 68-69 -by Maxime Lory

After his first winning in Euroleague last Wenesday vs Cibona Zagreb, Le Mans Sarthe Basket was in Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket tonight to play the first game of the fifteenth round. It was a stressful game, at halftime, only 2 points separed the two teams. Philip Ricci (202-F-80, college: Oregon St.) vs Vincent Vincent Masingue (204-F/C-76) was, then, the duel of the game. The first scored 20p and grabbed 10rbs, and Vinny ' Bang Bang ' posted a double-double with 14p and 17rbs. Paul McPherson (193-G-78, college: De Paul) missed the buzzer beater, and, Le Mans Sarthe Basket finally won by one, 69 to 68.

Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket :

Colson (17p), Vincent Masingue (14), Williams (11), Ajinca (11), Perincic (7), Paul McPherson (6), Nichols (2), Milling & Legname (0)
Le Mans Sarthe Basket :

Philip Ricci (20p), Bogavac (14), Limonad (8), Koffi (7), Bogdanovic (7), Diot (6), Nicolas Batum (201-F-88) (3), Bokolo (2), Clancy ( out after only 1minute because of a spain's ankle, 2p) ,

Roanne: Derrick Byars in ! -by Maxime Lory
In substitution of Ron Hale (203-F-77, college: Florida St.) who is out for the season, Chorale de Roanne Basket signs the ex-nbaer Derrick Byars (201-G/F-84, college: Vanderbilt) from Koln 99ers. He was free after the bankruptcy of the german team. In Uleb cup, he scores in average, 6.3p and 3.5p in German League.

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GERMANY

Ukrainian Wing joins Bremen Roosters -by Moritz Korff
The Bremen Roosters (2. Bundesliga Pro A) have added Bogdan Karebin (202-F-78, agency: Interperformances, college: Buffalo) to the roster. The 30-year-old former Ukrainian international already played in several European countries during his career: Lithuania, Belgium, Russia, Poland, Austria, Latvia and Sweden. He began this current season with Superleague-side MBC Odessa in his home country.

Dan Oppland to Bayreuth -by Moritz Korff
BBC Bayreuth (2. Bundesliga Pro A) has inked Dan Oppland (203-F-84, agency: Sports Plus International, college: Valparaiso). The 24-year-old Forward is the twin brother of Michael Oppland (204-F-84, agency: Sports Plus International, college: Calumet) who is a member of the Kaiserslautern Braves. Oppland had 7 appearances for Plannja Basket Lulea (Sweden - Basketligan) in this season and produced 12.1 points plus 7.7 rebounds per contest.

New names for Giessen and Lich -by Moritz Korff
The cooperating teams Giessen 46ers (1. Bundesliga) and TV Lich (2. Bundesliga Pro A) have gotten new names after making a deal with LTi, an energy and automation engineering company from Lahnau. The contract with LTi runs through the 2009-2010 season. The 46ers will from now on carry the name LTi Giessen 46ers, while the Pro A-team will operate under the name of LTi Lich.

BBC Bayreuth sign Dan Oppland -by Eurobasket
BBC Bayreuth (ProA) signed 24-year old American forward Dan Oppland (203-F-84, college: Valparaiso, agency: Sports Plus International). Oppland played most recently at Plannja Basket Lulea (Sweden).

Crailsheim Merlins add Jejuan Plair -by Moritz Korff
Because Cody Toppert (193-G/F-83, agency: Interperformances, college: Cornell) left after only a couple of days the Proveo Crailsheim Merlins (2. Bundesliga Pro B) hope to have found the replacement player for injured Chuck Harris (190-G-85, college: Canisius) now. His name is Jejuan Plair (185-G, college: Sam Houston St.), a graduate of NCAA Division One-school Sam Houston State. In 31 games of the 2006-2007 season Plair averaged 10.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.4 steals for the Bearkats.

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GREECE

Week 13: Panathinaikos and Aris won while Olympiakos lost -by Chris Mammides

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HOLLAND

MyGuide Amsterdam Take Control In 2nd Half, Win Over Matrixx Magixx -by Sanders Jackson

In a televised marquee matchup between MyGuide Amsterdam and Matrixx Magixx, current FEB leader MyGuide's strong 3rd quarter play help them decide the fate of the outcome and gain the momentum necessary, winning by the score of 104-91. Red hot shooting MyGuide led by as much as 21 pts. at one point (75-54) in the 3rd quarter, shooting the ball well through the game from the field (72% FG total). MyGuide's combination of midrange game, inside and outside play, and quality of depth far outdistanced the Matrixx team. It was another day at the office for Peter Van Paassen

(210-C/F-78, agency: Court Side, college: St.Bonaventure), who put up a double-double with 23 pts. and 12 rebounds, with also 4 assists and 2 steals, with Jeron Roberts

(194-G/F-76, agency: Gross Zeev ISA, college: Wyoming) also scored 23 pts. on 10 of 14 FG. In all six MyGuide players scored in double figures. Matrixx's Tyler Smith

(203-F-80, agency: Players Group, college: Penn St.) was on fire, leading all scorers with 29 pts., including 4 of 5 three-pointers, with Alhaji Mohammed (192-G-81, agency: Beo Basket, college: Louisville) adding 22 and Chris Copeland (203-F-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: Colorado) with 17. The team of Arik Shivek are now 19-4, while Matrixx falls to 14-9.

Landstede Basketball Delivers Knockout Punch To Road Weary Eiffel Towers -by Sanders Jackson

Forget about all the stories of defending Dutch champions Eiffel Towers being tired from a road trip in their last ULEB Cup game in Kazan, Russia. This is a team that still theoretically, individually talent wise and quantity of depth should have outmatched Landstede.

Nonetheless, on Thrusday night Landstede came ready to play and more hungry, sticking it to the defending Dutch champions, with a Gerad Punch

(193-G/F, college: Furman) three-pointer the go-ahead score, and a big defensive effort by Landstede forcing an Eiffel turnover afterwards, with Landstede winning a 76-72 thriller. Punch was white-hot from the three-point line from start to finish, making 8 of 11 total attempts. Landstede did not fold their tent when leading scorer Darnell Wilson

(198-F-85, college: Canisius) fouled out with 2:21 remaining. Eiffel grabbed a slight lead with less than two minutes remaining on two Darrell Tucker

(206-F-80, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: USF) free throws to give Eiffel a lead at 72-69. With 1:22 remaining, Landstede's Robby Bostain

(191-G/F-84, agency: Sports Plus International, college: Furman) came up with a clutch steal, feeding a streaking Alexander Sa

(184-G-83) for a fastbreak layup to bring Landstede to within one at 72-71. Landstede then made a big defensive stand after a Tucker miss, and with 35.8 seconds remaining in regulation, Punch's dagger would give Landstede the lead for good. On the ensuing Eiffel possession with 23 seconds remaining, Sa's pressure defense on Eiffel PG Dean Oliver

(180-G-78, college: Iowa) would force Oliver to make a costly turnover. Eiffel were then forced to foul in their trapping defense, with two clutch free throws by Bostain icing the game for Landstede. Punch led all scorers with 24 pts., with Wilson adding 18 pts. and 3 steals, and Bostain scoring 17 pts. Tucker led Eiffel with 18 pts. and Damone Brown (204-F-79, college: Syracuse) added 16 pts., but made 7 turnovers. Landstede sre now 7-15, while Eiffel's slump continues, falling to 13-7.

West-Brabant Giants Clobber Aris Friesland -by Sanders Jackson

In Leeuwarden, after a tight 1st quarter, surging West-Brabant Giants pulled away from the pack in the 2nd quarter, turned it up a notch in the 2nd half, with the team of Erik Braal winning its fifth straight and 7 of 8 total with a 106-76 blowout win over Aris Friesland. The Giants dominated the glass, grabbing more than double than their opponents (54-25 difference), while sharing the rock excellently (30 assists on 42 total baskets). West-Brabant forward Tim Blue

(206-F-84, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Middle Tenn.St.) recorded his third straight double-double (23 pts., 14 rebounds) with also 4 assists and 4 steals. Devonne Giles

(203-F-83, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Texas Tech) added 20 pts. and 9 rebounds, Maurice Sumter

(196-G/F, agency: Court Side, college: Longwood) also had 20, Andre Harris

(203-F-85, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Fairleigh Dickinson) with 17 pts., and Patrick Pope

(183-G-81, college: St.Augustine) had a double-double with 11 pts. and 11 dimes. FEB leading scorer Roy Booker

(191-G-83, college: SE Missouri St.) padded his numbers with a game-high 27 pts. West-Brabant Giants remain in 2nd place with a FEB at 15-7, while Aris drops its 3rd in a row and are 4-19.

Rotterdam Challengers Win 6th In Row -by Sanders Jackson

I like to use the expression, 'an ugly win is better than a pretty loss'. In the Topsportcentrum it was a good example, as the FEB's hottest current team Rotterdam Challengers are taking no prisoners, despite bad shooting from both teams, Rotterdam did it a little better, winning its sixth in a row and winning 58-52. Rotterdam shot only 40.9% FG and 2 of 18 from the three-point line, but the Limburgers shot only 38.1% FG, 2 for 18 from the three-point line, and a Shaq-like 14 of 28 from the free throw line. While the rest of the team was cold, Sullivan Sykes

(193-G/F-81, college: St.Joseph, IN) remained hot, putting on his hard hat, leading the Rotterdammers with a double-double (16 pts, 12 rebounds) as well as 5 steals. Surprisingly Sykes was the only Rotterdammer in double figures, but the Rotterdammers found a way to win collectively as a defensive unit, which made up for their offensive shortcomings. Ashley Champion

(198-F-81, college: Chattanooga) led four Upstairs players in double figures with 14 pts. and 11 rebounds. Rotterdam are now 12-8 and in 5th place in the FEB, while Upstairs drops its 3rd straight and are now 11-11.

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IBL

Jerry Cheves formerly of the Grand Rapids Flight lands in Ireland! -by Lucius Jones
The MDS Star of the Sea Belfast in Belfast,Ireland have signed Jerry Cheves (6'3''-G-84, college: Brockport St.) to hopefully carry them into the playoffs. With 10 games left they must win 6 of them and Cheves seems poised to assist in pulling off that feat. As a Senior at Brockport St. he averaged 15ppg and shot 44%3pt with 5rpg and 5apg which ironically is almost a carbon copy of his output in the IBL with the Grand Rapids Flight this past season. Before that he played for NCAA D1 Stephen F. Austin in Texas. He has springboarded that success into an overseas deal and should be able to continue his career for years to come on each level.

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ISRAEL

European arena brings awesome results -by Eurobasket News
Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv overcame Italian Armani Jeans Milano 91:76 in Euroleague on Thursday night.Maccabi improved to 10-3 in Group B, the same as leader Lietuvos Rytas. Yotam Halperin (196-G-84, agency: Arik Krayn Services) finished with a season-high 24 points. Alex Garcia (191-G-80, agency: Interperformances) added 14 points and standout defense, Terence Morris finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds.
In Uleb Cup Galil Elyon upset Benetton Fribourg. The loss meant both Fribourg and Galil Elyon finished the action at the bottom of Group E knotted at 3-7 record. With no load of serious tasks hanging over them the teams played spectacular high-scoring basketball down the stretch. Dave Esterkamp and Tresor Quidome connected from afar to get the hosts going early in the encounter but Galil Elyon found the answer pretty soon. Jai Lewis scored a couple of buckets to give the visitors their first lead at 10:9. Later Gil Mosinzon and Clif Brown (200-F-84, agency: Court Side, college: Niagara) combined for 8 points for Galil Elyon and Israeli team were up by 3 points after 10 minutes 29:26. Eytan scored from downtown at the start of the second period and Israeli side held on to a 37:30 advantage. Galil Elyon headed into the second half having a 5-point cushion but Fribourg continued to fight as they cut the margin to one point after three frames 66:67. However Eytan and Aaron Nixon converted back-to-back trebles for the visitors as they restored a 7-point distance early in the fourth period. Gil Mosinzon then came up with 8 points for Israeli team and they did not look back thereafter. Gil Mosinzon nailed 24 points and collected 9 boards for Fribourg. Aaron Nixon dropped 22 points for the winners. Dave Esterkamp contributed 23 points for Fribourg. Damon Thornton notched 16 points and 9 rebounds in a losing case. Galil Elyon converted solid 57% from the field and outrebounded their opponents 34:31.
Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem qualified for the ULEB Cup Last 32 with an 89:74 home win over Group I leader Turow. Sharon Shason (206-F-79, agency: Arik Krayn Services) finished the game with 23 points and 8 boards, while Timmy Bowers and Ramel Curry added 16 points each.

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JORDAN

Zain is waiting Al Riyadi in Dubai's FINAL!!!! -by Mohammed Malas
Nate Johnson grabbed 32 points, Rasheim Wright (193-G-81, college: District of Col.) 24 points to lead their team Zain to the final of Dubai International tournament tomorrow against Al Riyadi of Lebanon who won over Saba Battery from Iran 95-89 in the other semis game, Jordan's champions beat Syrians Al Jalaa Aleppo 82-70.

Zaid Al Khas also did a big game by making 4 3pt shots!!! alongside with his teammates esspecially the imports and the man of the 4th quarter US-Jordanian Rasheim Wright, While Michel Madanli did his best with Samaki Walker and Tommy Smith but the time was'nt in their side to find themselves loosing by 12.

Tomorrow, the final game will be played at 7 pm UAE Time (+4 GMT) against Al Riyadi who wants to take their revenge from their loss from the same team in the 1st round.

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LIBERIA

Uhur, Phoenix others grab wins -by Numennie Williams
Uhuru Kings on Tuesday of the week grab her first win in the on going Liberia Basketball Federation national league. Uhuru dragged T-Chons 72- 46 points in the first division while Dream Team II outclass Don Bosco Legend with a 61-37 points defeat in division two. Earlier that day, FUBA defeated St. Paul Crushers 50-45 points in the third division. On Wednesday, Monrovia Rockers fell to Commissioners 29-36 points in the first division and in the female division, Survivors crushed Timberwolves 35-29 points. On Thursday, Venture Knights whipped Flames 62-52 points in the first division and former female champion Phoenix buried Supreme Sisters 81-26 points in a match the former champion dominated. In another female chase that day, Destiny Queens dumped Angel Shooters 54-33 points.
The league will continue today with defending champion NPA Pythons facing T-Chons in the first division and in the second pairing which is in the female division, SOS Trotters will engage Survivors. In the opening match today, Star 1 will lock horns with Heats.

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LIGA AMERICAS

Minas and Miami advance to Final Four. -by Gianni Pascucci
Pitagoras/Minas Tenis Clube and Miami Tropics completed the Liga de las Americas Final Four line-up, winning theit Quarterfinals. In Miami, the Tropics won the Game 3 of their series 91-83 over Santurce, thanks to 29 points from Terence Shellman (201-F-78) (who grabbed also 5 rebs) and 19 from Cornelius Mitchell (180-G-82, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Charleston), while Robert Traylor (204-F/C-77, college: Michigan) was again the best in Cangrejeros, with 27 points and 16 rebs. Brazilian team Minas was the only team to end a quartefinal undefeated, thanks to his win, 80-73 over Libertad Sunchales. Hironically, Argentinean Facundo Sucatzky (176-G-72, agency: Interperformances) was the key player in the Brazilian win, with 25 points, 10 assists and 5 reboounds. Marcelo Pereira (205-C-71) and Marcio dos Santos (198-F/C-78) were the other best scorers in Minas, with 12 points each, while the best in Libertad was Andres Pelussi (198-F-77), who ended the game at 21 points and 7 rebounds.

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LIGA SUDAMERIC.

A South American League venue will be played in Montevideo -by Hector Lopez
The Uruguayan team, Trouville, will organize one of the South American League venues, announced the Federacion Uruguaya de Basketball. The venue, to calsify two teams to the quarter finals, will be played during February third or fourth week. Libertad Sunchales will be one of the four teams playing in Montevideo. Another venue will be played in Corrientes (Argentina), with Regatas, the local team, Malvin from Uruguay, and two others teams. The third venue will be in Caracas organized by Cocodrilos. Two teams will clasify from each group plus the two better third places.

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LITHUANIA

Zalgiris cruised over Olympiacos -by Eurobasket News
Zalgiris-Olympiacos 88-75

Lithuanian Zalgiris cruised over Olympiacos 88:75 last night at home. The first half was the most productive to bring the hosts the 8th win. Paulius Jankunas (204-F-84, agency: Interperformances) led the winners with 17 points. Jonas Maciulis (200-G/F-85, agency: Interperformances) and Marcus Brown (192-G-74, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Murray St.) followed him with 14 each, while De Juan Collins and Goran Jurak (203-F/C-77) added 13 apiece. Lynn Greer (186-G-79, college: Temple) top-scored for the visitors with 29 points. Zalgiris has an 8-5 record and Olympiacos dropped to 7-6.

Zalgiris opened the game on a right stream leading at 13:6. The hosts controlled the opening tip and stayed with 21:14 after the first quarter. Olympiacos struggled a lot and reduced to 36:30 almost in the end of the half. Marcus Brown then detonated a triple, and Collins proved the biggest Zalgiris lead at that time 42:32.
The second half started aggressively for both teams. Loukas Mavrokefalides made the score 55:42 and those 13 points deficit remained for Zalgiris in the end of the third quarter. There was no time for the spectators to think about the win of the guests as Zalgiris remained tough. Marko Popovic (185-G-82, college: S.Idaho JC) pushed Zalgiris ahead as much as 21 points, 80:59. Olympiacos tried to attack more on offense but did not stay in the same current with the winners.

Zalgiris: Paulius Jankunas 17 points, Jonas Maciulis 14, Marcus Brown 14, De Juan Collins 13, Goran Jurak 13
Olympiacos:Lynn Greer 29, Loukas Mavrokefalides 10, Marc Jackson (206-C/F-75, college: Temple) 10

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MEXICO

Results from LNBP Playoffs -by Carlos Chapa

Lobos Grises de la UAD Durango 90-79 Algodoneros de La Comarca - Torreon
Noah Brown (186-G-81, college: Appalachian St.): 28 points

Fuerza Regia Monterrey 87-91 Tijuana Galgos
Omar Quintero (183-G-81, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: S.Nazarene): 31 points

Santos Reales de San Luis Potosi 101-93 Correcaminos UAT Victoria
Tauren Minor: 32 points

Halcones UV Cordoba 114-82 Lechugueros de Leon
Demetric Shaw (191-G-78, agency: HM Sports Agency, college: Kent St.): 39 points

Tecos de la UAGuadalajara 66-63 Caballeros de Culiacan
Robert Day (197-F-82, college: W.Oregon): 23 points

Halcones UV Veracruz 88-83 Pioneros de Cancun
William Sanders 28 points

Game for January 25: Soles de Mexicali vs. Chihuahua Dorados
Game for January 26: Halcones UV Xalapa vs. Panteras de Aguascalientes

Boxscores from LNBP's official website

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NBA

All-Star starters announced -by Eurobasket News
The NBA All-Star Balloting program has selected the starting fives for the upcoming All-Star Game in New Orleans. Kevin Garnett (6'10''-F-76) appeared to be leading the poll. The Boston Celtics' forward will take part in his 11th All-Star weekend, which is the second best result among active players, three shy of Shaquille O'Neal's record of 14. Garnett also received the All-Star Game MVP award in 2003.
The second result was acquired by LeBron James (6'8''-F-84). The 2006 All-Star MVP will play in the All-Star show for the firs time in his career. Meanwhile Dwight Howard (6'10''-F-85) who finished in the third spot in voting will enjoy his first-ever All-Star game appearance as a starter. Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) finished with the fourth-best number of votes and will enter the court as All-Star Game starting guard for the 10th time. Carmelo Anthony (6'8''-F-84, college: Syracuse) will also make his first career All-Star Game start. Dwyane Wade (6'4''-G-82, college: Marquette) and Jason Kidd (6'4''-G-73, college: California) will complete the Eastern All-Star starting five. The West will comprise also of Ming Yao (7'5''-C-80) who will make to the starting squad for the sixth consecutive season. Tim Duncan (6'10''-F-76, college: Wake Forest) and Allen Iverson (6'1''-G-75, college: Georgetown), who account for the 10th and 9th straight appearances respectively. The East will be guided by Doc Rivers . The West coach is yet to be determined. The coaches will have to opt for 7 reserves each to complete the All-Star team rosters.
Earlier NBA announced the names of the players who will compete in the Sprite Slam Dunk competition. Gerald Green (6'8''-G/F-86) from the Timberwolves will try to defend his last season title. Last year he surpassed a 2006 champion Nate Robinson. This time Gerald Green will be opposed by Rudy Gay (6'9''-F/G-86, college: Connecticut) from the Grizzlies, Jamario Moon (6'8''-F-80, college: Meridian CC) from the Raptors and Dwight Howard of the Magic. For the first time in the history of competition the winner will be decided not only by the judges but also by the fans. The judges' votes will be combined with the online votes of basketball fans to decide on the winner.
The Sprite Slam Dunk is part of NBA All-Star 2008, which also includes the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam, Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, PlayStation Skills Challenge, Haier Shooting Stars; Adidas NBA All-Star Jam Session, and the 57th NBA All-Star Game.

West: Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, Ming Yao
East: Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard

Miami Heat drops shocking 15th straight loss -by Eurobasket News
The Heat is not even gleaming these days. They looked pretty burned out at 8-33 record for the season. The 15th straight loss came at home against the San Antonio Spurs adding to misery at the American Airlines Arena. The Heat had all the winning ingredients mixed together as they had enough rest before this one, while the Spurs were coming off a hard game against the Lakers and flew all the way from the West Coast. Moreover the hosts led all the way through the encounter but just to see the advantage vanish in the final seconds. The home side scored just 8 points in the final 8 minutes and Emanuel Ginobili (6'6''-G-77, agency: Interperformances) sealed the winning outcome with a go-ahead layup with 30 seconds left in regulation. San Antonio won 90:89 to improve to 28-13 record for the season. Tim Duncan (6'10''-F-76, college: Wake Forest) notched 30 points and 11 boards to pace the Spurs. Emanuel Ginobili tallied 18 points, 11 boards and 8 assists, while Tony Parker (6'0''-G-80) added 12 points for the winners. Dwyane Wade (6'4''-G-82, college: Marquette) answered with 27 points for the Heat. Mark Blount (6'11''-C-75, college: Pittsburgh), who substituted injured Shaquille O'Neal (7'2''-C-72, college: LSU) in the starting five contributed 23 points in defeat. Shaquille O'Neal denied any rumors about his possible retirement after the season. He confirmed he would play throughout two more years enlisted in his contract.
Meanwhile Golden State relied on career-high 39 points from Monta Ellis (6'4''-G-85) to narrowly beat New Jersey 121:119 at home. Baron Davis (6'2''-G-79, agency: Life Sports, college: UCLA) was also outstanding with his 8th career triple-double of 25 points, 12 boards and 10 assists to help the Warriors climb to 26-18 record. The Nets lost their 7th straight game as Monta Ellis was deadly from free throw line in the crunch time. It was however after an impressive 18:4 run from the Nets as they grabbed a 112:111 advantage with just over 2 minutes left in regulation. But it was not a lucky day for the Nets. Richard Jefferson (6'6''-F/G-80, college: Arizona) scored 34 point, while Vince Carter (6'5''-G-77, college: N.Carolina) added 29 points in a losing clause.

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NCAA

Memphis and Kansas still without losses -by Eurobasket News
Memphis extended their perfect run to 18 games now. Lately they beat Tulsa 56:41 for another success. The Tigers won the last six games with 20+ advantage but Tulsa fought bravely and trailed by just 8 points midway through the second half. But Memphis used a three-pointer from Shawn Taggart (6'10''-F-85, college: Iowa St.) and a layup from Douglas-Robert to ignite a take off and accumulated a 54:38 advantage with just over 4 minutes remaining. The Golden Hurricane did not recover in the final minutes and suffered their 7th loss in the season. Chris Douglas-Roberts (6'7''-G-87) sank 20 points for the Tigers. Shawn Taggart and Derrick Rose (6'4''-G-88) provided 14 points apiece for the winners. Tulsa answered with 12 points from Calvin Walls (6'7''-F).
Kansas rolled to their 19th straight win in the season as they knocked down Iowa State 83:59. Darnell Jackson (6'8''-F-85) made it look easy for the Jayhawks as he posted 21 points and 11 boards to pace Kansas. Iowa State entered the game with 9 victories in the last 11 games but the Jayhawks' dominance under the rims was too obvious. Kansas outscored their opponents 42:16 in the paint and celebrated yet another win. Kansas exploded with a 15:5 run in the second half to build a 64:41 lead that was too much for the Cyclones. Darrell Arthur (6'9''-F-88) registered 16 points in a winning case. Wesley Johnson (6'7''-F-87) dropped 21 points for Iowa State. Craig Brackins (6'10''-F-87) notched 13 points and 8 boards in defeat.
Meanwhile Baylor and Texas A&M performed some sort of a basketball drama at the Reed Arena in Texas. Baylor needed 5 overtimes to upset Texas A&M 116:110. Curtis Jerrells (6'1''-G-87) fired career-high 36 points in thrilling win for his team. The win was the fifth straight for the Bears and they improved to 16-2 record. Aaron Bruce (6'3''-G-84) contributed 20 points for the winning side. Bryan Davis (6'9''-F-86) responded with 30 points and 14 boards for the Aggies as they slipped to 15-4 record.

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NCAA2

NCAA D2 National Top 25 Midwest Report! -by Lucius Jones
NABC Division II
Rankings
(Jan. 22, 2008)
1. Bentley
2. Grand Valley St..
3. Winona State
4. Drury
5. S.Carol.-Aiken
6. South Dakota
7. Northern State
8. Rollins
9. Alaska-Anch.
10. W.Liberty St.
11. Findlay (OH)
12. Southwestern Okla. St.
13. Augusta State
14. Abilene Christian
15. Gannon
16. Nebraska-Omaha
17. Humboldt State
18. Cal St.-San Bernardino
19. LIU-C.W. Post
20. Tarleton State
21. Southwest Baptist
22. Florida Southern
23. Virginia Union
24. Mount Olive
25. N.Kentucky

* #2 Grand Valley St. looks primed and ready to run away with their conference title as well as compete for a national one. Callistus Eziukwu (6'10''-F/C) is a dominant force and the team as a whole seems to be at a very high level of play this year. This tough out is beginning to look like a juggernaut with win after win highlighted by a 20+point win versus prominent powerhouse #11 Findlay (OH).

* #4 Drury being led by Collins Harris (6'5''-F-85) is proving to be a serious contender as well. Several quality wins within a 14-2 record overall and a 7-1 record in the GLVC says it all.

* #5 S.Carol.-Aiken has a midwest flavor to their team this season as 3 of their top players have deep connections to the area. Jeremy Fears (6'5''-G-85, college: Bradley), a transfer from Ohio U. is a top player in D2 this year as is Columbus,Ohio native and Morehead St transfer Cordaryl Ballard (6'4''-G/F-87, college: Morehead St.). The biggest addition in stature and production is National Player of the Year Candidate Chris Commons (6'8''-F, college: S.C.-Aiken) and his 24ppg 9rpg near 60%FG 40+3pt% and other impressive numbers he has brought to the table this season.

* #9 Alaska-Anch. and Asst. Coach Brian Weakley are impressing many this year with their output thus far.

* #10 West Liberty St is surprising some with their season's start,but look poised to continue what appears to be a solid start toward 'traditional powerhouse' status in due time. Chris Banal (6'5''-F) and Ben Howlett (6'0''-G) have stepped up to each average over 21ppg.

* #11 Findlay (OH) has reached a level of expectation within the Oiler community that has some considering this season's 3loss beginning a dissapointment. With the emergence of new starters Morgan Lewis (6'4''-F-87) and Lee Roberts (6'7''-F/C-87), the Oilers have raised their level of play recently and seem ready to ascend toward the national contender level of play the program has become known to possess. Pre-season All American and probable post season All American Josh Bostic (6'5''-F-87) has continued to lead as a 3rd year starter to the tune of 13ppg 6rpg 3apg 2spg 1bpg 45%FG 42%3pt 80+FT% all in 28mins per game. Findlay's Head Coach Ron Niekamp recently surpassed 500 career wins and is in position for many more.

* #15 Gannon is achieving high levels of success this season under Head Coach John Reilly in the mist of their switching conferences.

* #25 N.Kentucky is another team holding the tradition of the GLVC intact. After a huge run last season highlighted by a win at Findlay (OH) that broke the nation's longest home winning streak,this team looks ready to spoil a few team's hopes again this year.

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PBL

At last, the Jam went on the court -by Gianni Pascucci
As you can read down, the Jacksonville Jam agreed to go on, as players and coaches for the Premier Basketball League team reached an agreement with owner Felix Krupczynski to continue their season. According to local media news, players and coaches received a partial salary payment, their first of the season. The Jam held a regular practice Thursday morning and then left Florida to Wilmington, where they took an important win. Two players, however, Tony Tate (5'11''-G-82, college: Florida A&M) and Napoleon Rhodes (6'8''-F/C-80) decided to leave the team, that should go on with a limited roster for some time.

Last games results -by Gianni Pascucci
The third PBL weekend started with the fall of the two Division table headers. At the Western side, Quad City felt on the road 94-107 to the Rochester RazorSharks. Five different players scored in double figures for the RazorSharks, the best of whom was Keith Friel (6'4''-G-77, college: Virginia), with 25 points, including four 3-pointers, while Vidal Massiah (6'6''-G/F-79, agency: China-Hoop, college: St.Bonaventure) added 20 points and 5 asssists for Rochester and Ryan Edwards (6'5''-F-83, college: Missouri Baptist) scored 20 for the Riverhawks, who had six in double figures. At the Eastern side, the Wilmington Sea Dawgs lost their first game against the Jacksonville Jam. It was a close game until the fourth quarter when Jacksonville slowly pulled away with the lead. The final score was 89-100 for Jacksonville and Cedric McGinnis (6'9''-C-77, college: Georgia Southern) was the high scorer for the game with 24 points in losing effort, closely followed by Charles Ward (6'7''-F-79, college: St.Augustine) with 21 points. The league action restars tonight, with the following games: Jacksonville at Maryland, Arkansas at Rockford, Dallas at Quad Cities and Reading at Wilmington.

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SENEGAL

Boniface N'Dong produces one of the best games in Europe -by Eurobasket News
Boniface N'Dong (213-C-77) enjoys the season in Europe together with Spanish Unicaja. Not only in Spain, but in Euroleague the player from Senegal leads the top position in the team. Unicaja slipped to 9-4 record and lost the chances of occupying the top spot in Group B after a loss to Rytas from Lithuania. The hosts took over right from the start with a pair of three-pointers from Matt Nielsen and Mindaugas Lukauskis. Lietuvos Rytas continued to dominate and soon piled up a 17:7 lead. Hollis Price connected from afar minutes later for a 22:11 advantage. Marcus Haislip and Davor Kus nailed 4 free throws in the dying seconds of the first frame and Unicaja trailed by 7 points after 10 minutes. Spanish team stepped on the gas in the second frame with Carlos Jimenez and Boniface N'Dong nailing straight buckets to erase the deficit. Bernardo Rodriguez put the visitors as close as 2 points midway through the quarter but Lietuvos Rytas reacted. Arturas Jomantas and Martynas Gecevicius teamed up for 7 points and the hosts restored a double-figure lead. Rytas were up by 13 points at halftime 41:28. Unicaja stayed competitive in the third stanza with Boniface N'Dong and Marcus Haislip dominating the paint. They produced some impressive dunks and the visitors climbed within 3 points from Lietuvos Rytas. Jiri Welsch made it even thinner with free throws. Hollis Price then converted 6 points for Rytas and the gap was enlarged to 7 points after three terms. Carlos Cabezas hit from downtown to keep the intrigue alive. The hosts were in front by 4 points when Hollis Price sank another jumper as Lietuvos Rytas entered the final two minutes leading by 6 points. Marcus Haislip scored but was well-matched by Kenan Bajramovic with under a minute left. Hollis Price made the outcome clear with a steal and a three-point play completed with second remaining in regulation.
Hollis Price tallied 23 points and 6 assists for Lietuvos Rytas. Marijonas Petravicius and Martynas Gecevicius added 11 points apiece in a win. Marcus Haislip answered with 22 points for Unicaja. Boniface N'Dong finished with 16 points in defeat. Unicaja will wrap up their regular season action against Efes Pilsen.

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SERBIA

Partizan Igokea is in the Euroleague TOP 16 again ! -by Dragan Jankovski
Real spectacle was seen last night in Belgrade's hal 'Pionir' where at the front of almost 7.000 black and white fans Partizan Igokea smashed Brose Basket Bamberg 85-37 and practically qualified for the Euroleague TOP 16 again! Bamberg was equal rival only in the first quarter after what reining Serbian and Adriatic league champ made amazing run 26-3 in the second period setting the score on 40-13. Black and whites totally dominated in the paint in the first 20 minutes as they had 26 rebounds matched with only 4 by the German team. Despite it was clear already in the first quarter that Partizan will make an extremely important win they continued even stronger in the second half when the only doubt was will they touch the margin of plus 50 and will Bamberg score more than 36 points, how much Krka, who holds the negative record, scored in the past. The fact that Partizan finished the game reaching index rate 109 while Bamberg had only 5 talks for itself!

Novica Velickovic (205-F-86) finished the game with double-double adding 17 points and 13 rebounds while Milenko Tepic (198-G-87, agency: Beo Basket) followed him collecting 16 points and 4 rebounds. The best Euroleague center Nikola Pekovic (210-C-86, agency: Beo Basket), who was the key player for Partizan in the regular season, netted 13 points. On the other side only Ademola Okulaja (202-F-75, college: N.Carolina) had double digits. He scored 11 points with 6 rebounds.

This is a fantastic achievement of Partizan's young players and the head coach Dusko Vujosevic, who could not hide the emotions after the game. The most important words which Vujosevic's said were: 'My players earned this win and a place for Euroleague TOP 16!'

Once again, after 13 rounds Partizan grabbed 5 wins in Group C where their rivals were giants like green PAO, Real Madrid, Barceolna, Lottomatica and also Fenerbahce Ulker, Roanne and Bamberg. Partizan will qualify for the TOP 16 as the best 6-placed team in Euroleague regular season.

Partizan Igokea - Brose Basket Bamberg 85-37
(14-10,28-8,21-10,22-9)

Partizan Igokea: Velickovic 17 (13 rebs), Tepic 16 (4 rebs), Pekovic 13, Vitkovac 12
Brose Basket Bamberg: Okulaja 11 (6 rebs), Hamann 9

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SPAIN

ACB Update -by Natxo Mendaza
- Bernardo Rodriguez (197-F/G-80) will remain sidelined for at least 3 weeks due to a broke ligament in his left ankle. The injuty took place during a practice after the Euroleague game against Lietuvos Rytas.
- Nikola Vasic (194-G-84, agency: