Eurobasket Daily News Report: 1/29/2008

EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 1/27/2008

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Men News

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ADRIATIC LEAGUE

Ayuso splits with Cibona -by Dragan Jankovski

One of the leading shooting guards in Adriatic league Larry Ayuso (190-G-77, agency: Edge Sports, college: USC) and Cibona Zagreb will most probably part ways very soon. Namely, the player sent an SMS to Cibona's director Mihovil Nakic on Thursday expressing his serious intention to leave the club. Nakic talked with Ayuso later and the player confirmed him that it is the end he doesn't want to be a member of Cibona any more.

At the regular press conference on Friday Cibona's head coach Ivan Sunara said that Ayuso skipped practice and he will have to send this case to the club's disciplinary commission.

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AUSTRALIA

Brisbane suffer just second home loss in the season -by Eurobasket News
The undermanned Bullets were not able to handle the Perth Wildcats at home yesterday. Playing without 4 key players Brisbane could not stop sizzling Perth as the Wildcats grabbed their 4th straight win. The hosts could not rely on the help of Sam McKinnon, Dillon Boucher, CJ Bruton and Ebi Ere (195-G/F-81, college: Oklahoma) for this one. Sean Redhage (202-F-81, agency: Warren Sports, college: Arizona St.) dropped 8 points for the Wildcats in the opening frame and Perth were up 31:26. Brisbane however evened things up in the second quarter and took a 55:52 lead at halftime. The situation hardly changed in the third frame with the hosts maintaining a tiny advantage. But the visitors spurred ahead in the fourth as Paul Rogers (213-C-73, college: Gonzaga) ignited a 10:0 run for Perth. Peter Crawford (193-G-79) nailed a decisive three-pointer with a minute remaining in regulation to steal the win away for Perth. Sean Redhage produced 22 points, 8 boards and 5 assists to lead the Wildcats. Gerald Brown (191-G-75, college: Pepperdine) scored 21 points, while Paul Rogers netted 20 points for the winners. Brad Williamson secured 22 points for the Bullets. Adam Gibson (188-G-86) had 18 points in a losing clause. Brisbane fell to 17-8 record and would take on the Melbourne Tigers on Wednesday with Ebi Ere expecting to join the squad. Perth improved to 15-9 record occupying the 4th spot in the ladder.
Meanwhile the Townsville Crocodiles got closer to the Cairns Taipans in the standings edging them at home yesterday. The Crocs erupted for 42 points in the second quarter to build a decisive lead. Kelvin Robertson (180-G-83) stepped up with 37 points for the Crocs, while Corey Williams (191-G-77, college: Alabama St.) netted 28 points in the winning case. Nathan Jawai (207-C-86, college: Midland CC) scored 28 points for the Taipans. The Crocodiles climbed to 14-12 record at the 7th place in the NBL table. They take on the West Sydney Razorbacks next Tuesday. Cairns, who dropped to 13-11 record, are looking forward to hosting Adelaide today.

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BOSNIA

HKK Capljina Lasta sign Domagoj Pinjuh -by Eurobasket
HKK Capljina Lasta added to their roster 31-year old domestic guard Domagoj Pinjuh (190-G-77). Pinjuh played most recently at HKK Posusje (D1), which he left last month. In the first game for a new team he scored 16 points, and he may have permanent place in Capljina's starting five.

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BULGARIA

Yambol surprised Spartak Pleven at home -by Valentin Anguelov
Spartak Pleven missed the chance to have an equal amount of points with CSKA after the first stage of the national championship. The players of Darin Velikov were overplayed in a real drama in Yambol with 75-73. That was the 8th loss of Spartak, while CSKA has one less.

Yambol, on the other hand is on the same 7/8 place along with their colleagues from Rilski Sportist. Both teams has 6 win and 12 losses, but the team from Samkov has better point difference in their games.

The hosts were leading only in the first period (23-21), but from then on until the same end Spartak Pleven was the team that had advantage. However, this advantage was not solid enough and Yambol did their best to come back into the fight and they really did. A minute to go the result on the score board was 70-70 and nothing was clear yet. Finally, it was Kyrilo Skumatov who scored 12 seconds before the last signal and bring the victory to Yambol.

Very good game played Vadym Reka who finished with a double-double - 28 points and 12 rebounds. Decho Koeshinov missed the game due to a cut hand. Stanislav Govedarov added 14 points and Skumatov - 13.

For the visitors, Hrisimir Dimitrov was far beyond his abilities and signed a negative record - for the 17 minutes on the court he scored the modest 3 points. The former national player missed the previous game against Sliven at home because of an ankle injury and may be that was the reason for his bad performance. Sasa Topcov scored 16 points until leaving for 5 personal faults.

Easy win for Balkan -by Valentin Anguelov

Balkan Botevgrad ended third after the first stage of the Men's A-1 national championship. They succeeded beating with quite a big difference Dunav 2007 - 84-51 at home. The spectators in 'Balkan' Hall in Botevgrad had no doubt who the winner would be and the only thing that was unknown in that game was the score difference.

Balkan celebrated their 12th success this season. All the players of the hosts could score a point, except for Kristiyan Borisov and they all played quite an attractive basketball during the whole game.

Balkan has a good position before the start of the next phase as only the champions from Lukoil Academic and Levski are before them.

This time, the best on the court was the elder brother - Lubomir Lilov (198-F-87) who finished with 16 points. Boban Bilbija added 12 points. Dwayne Morton, Pavle Bolkovac and Ivan Lilov scored 10 points each.

The former players of Balkan scored most for Dunav 2007. Pavel Noykov ended with 16 points, while his teammate Ivan Nikolov added 15. The Serbian guys in the lines disappointed with their performance - Ninoslav Tmusic and Ivica Vukotic scored 2 points each.

Dunav 2007 go in the second six-team-group after finishing on the 9th place. That was their eight loss in a row. Although they won the qualification in Pravets in October, it became clear that the games are difficult for the guys of Rumen Shopov. They won only 3 games. However their role will be significant during the second stage and along with Sliven will fight for entering the play offs. Only the first two placed teams will have the chance to play in the 2007/2008 play offs.

Levski survive a poor first half to beat Sliven -by Lubomir Neshev
The team of Sliven played very good first half against Levski but unfortunately that wasn't enough to get anything from the game. After these good first 20 minutes the hosts were crushed 58-90 a result that let the visitors remain calm in second place after the first phase of the championship.
The players of Sliven started strong and as the visitors were playing really bad they took the early advantage. Levski played a poor first quarter scoring only 8 points compared to Sliven's 15.
Sliven continued to play really good at the start of the second quarter and the lead went up to 29-19. However after that Levski finished the half with a 13-3 run to tie the score at 32-32.
After the screams of head coach Lubo Minchev at the break the players of Levski went out mobilized to prove they are the better team. After very good defense in this third quarter they went up by 17 points setting up a comforting last quarter.
However they still continued to play in the same style and managed to put up another 15 points on the advantage making it 32 points at the end.
The captain Stefan Georgiev (206-C/F-78, agency: Interperformances) was the top scorer for the visitors with 15 points adding also 6 rebounds. Stanislav Slaveykov scored 15 and Yulian Radionov 12.
For the hosts, playing without Nikolay Dinev and Penyo Natskin, very good game had Stoyan Petkov who finished with 28 points and 7 rebounds.

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CAMEROON

Collegiate news...Rony Tchatchoua in Career high performance... -by Yann Tientcheu
More impressive numbers and prowesses from our countrymen have been noted during the past seven days.
Rony Tchatchoua (198-F-87) returned to action on Jan. 24th with the Wildcats of the University of New hampshire in the most remarkable manner.
He came of the bench after missing 6 games and scored a career high 17pts against Binghamton University. Tchatchoua also added
3 steals and 2 blocks to his final numbers of the day, thus signing team high numbers in Points, steals and blocks. Our freshman who finished
the game, after being 8 for 9 from the floor in 22 mns of playing time was named UNH's America East Player of the game for his effort.
The pair of Rhode Island University have been prodoundly influential in the last two wins of the Rams. Parfait Bitee (188-G-85), who is averaging 15pts,
4rbds and 6.5 asts on the last two games, contrbuted 16pts, 3rbds and a game high 6 asts on Jan 26th for a Rams' win against St. Bonaventure University.
Joe Mbang (198-F-86, college: Rhode Island University) was not aloof in that trend. The Yaounde native who had 11pts and a team hgh 7rbds against St. Bonaventure,
averaged 12pts and 6.5rbds a game in the past two meetings. The Rams are currently 9 and 0 at home.
Yves Mekongo Mballa's (6-7, 207 Forward) 18pts, 4rbds, 2 asts and 1blk were not enough for Lasalle University to best University of Saint Louis on Jan. 26th, but a notable growth
has been noted in our countrymen's numbers in the last two meetings as he went on to average 16.5pts and 4rbds per game.
Stephane Bakinde (203-F-87) was instrumental in Newberry College's win over Catawba (92-82) on Jan. 26th with 15pts, 9rbds, 8asts and 1stl.
Germain Bendengue registered 11pts, 8rbds, 1blk and 1stl in the 80-68 win of Dalhousie University over UPEI on Jan. 26th in Canada.
Florida International University of Cedric Essola (203-F-87) and Erick Nsangou (183-G-87) visited Arkansas State on Jan 24th. Nsangou came off the bench and scored 10pts, grabbed 4rbds
and had 3 steals for Florida International who could not match the power of Arkansaas State. Florida International is visiting New Orleans University of our countryman
Eric Vianney (188-G-86, college: New Orleans Univ) on Jan 27th.
Cameroonian basketball is well represented by its children, who keep demonstrating tenaciy, endurance and determination at the highest collegiate levels of the world.

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CYPRUS

Transfer news -by Chris Mammides

Dusan Jelic (211-C-74) left from the Cyprus league and Aspis Apoel Nicosia and joined directly with the Estonian league and Kalev Tallin. Jelic was singed by the Estonian team in order to contribute with his experience and his abilites. In Jelic's short appearance in the Cyprus league he had the following numbers: 10.8ppg, 4.9rpg, 1.2apg and 1.1bpg. The Nicosian team has lost one of its top performers player in the paint.

In the meantime, in a game which took place yesterday afternoon Intercollege Etha Engomis beat Pizza Express Primetel Apollon 83-79. Engomis made a crucial step towards earning a position in the top four teams in the first phase which automatically will give them home advantage. The quarters were: 17-25, 33-49, 59-60, 83-79. Five players from the home team had double digits with Corey Santee (188-G-83, college: TCU) being the top scorer with 19 points followed by Davorin Dalipagic (203-F-76, college: S.Alabama) with 17 points and Dejan Dunovic (190-G-82) scoring 16. Nikos Papadopoulos (197-G/F-81) and Wear respectively scored 12 and 13 points a piece . From the visitors, who had the chance to finish the game but they chashed down in the fourth quarter, Norvel scored 18 points while Armend Kahrimanovic (198-F/G-80, college: Idaho) and Ryan Diggs (188-G-83, college: W.Washington) 15 points each.

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: KTP, Tarmo, TC and YMCA Lahti winning -by Rauno Hurmalainen

Korisliiga, Round 27-28: Three close games tonight, but KTP (Kotka) taking the very first victory over Kauhajoki by 22 pts margin. Kauhajoki had Eric Washington (192-F/G-74, agency: Interperformances, college: Alabama) first time on the roster. Washington helped a lot, but Kauhajoki 'D' is still so weak. KTP scored 108 pts with six players in double figures. Steve Smith (200-F-81, agency: CAA Sports, college: Iona) led KTP with 24 pts. Team Componenta (Karkkila) took the first victory this year by beating Kataja (Joensuu) by four pts. Korihait (Uusikaupunki) lost again vs YMCA Lahti at home, and Tarmo (Porvoo) defeated first time this season Pyrinto (Tampere).

KTP - Kauhajoki 108-86 (51-36) (Steve Smith 24, Toni Ilmonen 22 - Darryl Hudson 24, Eric Washington 23/11).

Team Componenta - Kataja 92-88 (39-38) (Nick Wallery 32, Chris Hester 26/14 - Andre Foreman 34, Louis Hinnant 28/6a).

Korihait - YMCA Lahti 75-81 (42-44) (Jussi Kumpulainen 19/11, Darius Glover 16 - Davont Jackson 18, Ville Makalainen 16).

Tarmo - Pyrinto 88-82 (41-38) (Tony Bennett 32/7a/7s, Mark McCarroll 17/21 - Damion Dantzler 19/13, M.C.Mazique 18).

KORISLIIGA: TC and Kauhajoki lost again -by Rauno Hurmalainen

Korisliiga, Round 27-28: Team Componenta (Karkkila) and Karhu (Kauhajoki) have hard times in Top League. Both Teams lost again tonight and their
records are the weakest right now. These two teams will meet eachother coming Wednesday Jan 30 at Karkkila. TC lost tonight in Kotka vs KTP

112-91 and Kauhajoki scored just 58 pts at home and that was not enough vs Kouvot (Kouvola). Honka (Espoo) had excellent moments vs Tarmo

(Porvoo) during the minutes 15-20, when hosting Honka won those five minutes 23-3 and the fight was over. YMCA Lahti scored only 71 pts at

home and that was too few pts vs the leading group Torpan Pojat (Helsinki).

KTP - Team Componenta 112-91 (48-49) (Steve Smith (200-F-81, agency: CAA Sports, college: Iona) 35/12, Toni Ilmonen 21 - Nick Wallery 23/13, Chris Hester 18).

Kauhajoki - Kouvot 58-68 (33-35) (Eric Washington 23/15, Cedric McGowan 18 - Corey Smith (196-G/F, agency: Warren Sports, college: Vanderbilt) 22/14, Tuomas Iisalo 22).

Honka - Tarmo 102-88 (62-36) (Petteri Koponen (193-G-88) 24, Jukka Matinen 18 - Mark McCarroll 20, Travis Leech 15/12).

YMCA Lahti - Torpan Pojat 71-86 (28-39) (Teemu Laine 15, Ville Makalainen 15 - Tyson Patterson (175-G-78, college: Appalachian St.) 20, Elias Kajander 17).

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FRANCE

Round 16 Game of the Week! ASVEL at Dijon -by Sean Davis
First place ASVEL goes on the road to face last place Dijon in the LNB
Pro A Game of the Week! ASVEL is on a 3 game win streak while Dijon
is on a 3 game losing streak. This game may not seem significant but
it will be a great evaluation on how divided the league is half way
through the season. Getting a road win has been proven to be
difficult so look for Dijon to keep the game close with a chance to
steal a victory at the end. Dijon is lead by David Simon (208-C-82, college: IUPU-Ft.Wayne) coming off a
31pt performance last week and is averaging 15.3ppg. and 6.7rebounds.
Lamayn Wilson (203-F-80, college: Troy) leads ASVEL in scoring averaging 16.4ppg, but the X fact
is Chevy Troutman (201-F-81, agency: Octagon, college: Pittsburgh) and his performance could weigh heavily on the
outcome of the game.

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GREECE

New Arrival in the Greek league -by Chris Mammides

Panellinios and Head Coach Elias Zouros in order to improve the roster of the team in the paint agred terms with Djuro Ostojic (211-C-76, agency: Beo Basket), The Montenegran player seems to be a perfect add. The player will join Panellinios in his tonight's game. Djuro Ostojic playes for PAOK last year and this is his second 'appearance' in Greek League.

The American center Edmund Saunders was finally dismissed from Kostas Flevarakis 's PAOK but found a new team in no time, the Italian Alerta Catabria will be his new destination. In the mean time, PAOK is very close to sign the American center Otis Hill (203-C-74, college: Syracuse)

Olympiakos replaced Qyntel Woods (204-F/G-81, college: N.Mississippi JC) (for the Greek league) with Lynn Greer (186-G-79, college: Temple), the talented guard will be playing tonight against PAOK in Pylaia in the most crucial game of the week. Qyntel Woods will be playing only in the Euroleague games with the red jersey.

Olympiada Patras and Head coach Dragan Raca are very close to sign the American talented center Anthony Tolliver (206-C-85) to replace Danya Abrams who has been released earlier last week.

Aris and Terrell Castle (182-G-72, college: Nicholls St.) will no longer continue together, the successfull guard after 4 years with the Martians will join the ACB league and most probably Malaga. The 35 years old player lost his position in the team after Washington's arrival in Thessaloniki's yellows.

Match Day 17: The number of candidates for A1 increased a lot... -by Chris Mammides

After the results of the 17th week, eurobasket.com is once again accurate in its prediction upon its claim at the beginning of the league that this season would be one of the best and most exciting seasons ever.

In this week's results we had the winning result of Peristeri over Trikala and the road win of Dafni in Thessaloniki over MENT. Other than that in the derby of the 'poor' Ilysiakos added a very important victory over Apollon Patras which traveled to Athens with some serious crucial absence (as was realized afterwards). Lastly, P.Faliro lost another home game and is among the top favorite teams to change divisions together with Sporting, Apollon Patras and Ilysiakos. These four teams will fight until the end.

The games in more details:

Peristeri - Trikala 67-59
Quarters: 19-16, 29-25, 42-41, 67-59
Top scorers:
Peristeri: Filippos Moscovitis (190-G-78) 19 points, Vangelis Margaritis (202-F/C-82) 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals while Antonios Mantzaris (196-G-86) scored 12 points, 4 steals and 2 assists.
Trikala: Vardianos 12 points, Katsares 11 and Kaklamanos 10 points

Xanthi - Sporting 71-69
Quarters: 15-14, 35-40, 54-59, 81-79
Top scorers:
Xanthi: Vassilis Moulakis (180-G-77) 25 points, Nikoloudis 18 and Loupos 14 points
Sporting: Fotiou 23 points, Tsiotras 14 points while 13 points were added by Moutran, Morfis and Perrakis

Halkida - ICBS 76-73
Quarters: 23-16, 42-31, 56-60, 76-73.
Top scorers:
Halkida: Anastasios Kantartzis (190-G-73) 23 points, Tomaras 16 points and Psathas 18 points
ICBS: Vidalis 15 points, Jovanovic 11 points and Nissiotis 10 points

Ilysiakos - Apollon Patras 72-69
Quarters: 22-20, 39-46, 57-56, 72-69.
Top Scorers:
Ilysiakos: Koutroulias 24 points, Athanasoulas 13 points, Papanikolaou 12 points
Apollon Patras: Manousos 11 points, Georgitsis 14 points and Kaperonis with Athanasiadis 11 points each.

Panorama - Ionikos Lamias 73-66
Quarters: 8-17, 33-33, 52-46, 73-66.
Top scorers:
Panorama: Ivan Kuburovic (201-G-81) 21 points, Panagiotopoulos 12 and Behlivanis 11
Ionikos Lamias: Christou 13 points, Spanos 11 points and Kekelis 10 points

MENT- Dafni 69-73
Quarters: 24-17, 36-33, 50-55, 69-73.
Top scorers:

MENT: Mandic 22 points, Despos 19 points and Spanoulis 13 points
Dafni: Giannis Kakiouzis (205-F-78) 28 points, Nikitakis 18 points and Petrodimopoulos 10 points

Panerythraikos - Pagrati 88-67
Quarters: 16-17, 41-32, 62-52, 88-67
Top scorers:
Panerythraikos: Yfantis 21 points, Siristatidis 19 points, Hoppson 20 points and Tsotsos 13 points
Pagrati: Mahairas 21 points, Liakopoulos 17 points and Voulgaris 14 points

P. Faliro - Iraklis 64-81

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HUNGARY

Round 16: friday's games -by Tamas Deri
MARSO-VAGEP NYKK - PVSK-EXPO CENTER PECS 100-77
(30-19, 20-19, 24-21, 26-18)
Nyiregyhaza, Att.: 1000, Referees: Papp P., Kothay, Pozsonyi
NYÍREGYHAZA: Branko Savic (181-G-79) 18/3, Gary Buchanan (191-G-80, agency: Edge Sports, college: Villanova) 17/15, Mouton 2, Erno Sitku (208-C-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 27, Srdjan Helbich (205-F/C-76) 27/3, Siska 3/3, Trepak 2, Krasznai 4, Farkas A., Nagy K., Bus M., Toth D, Coach: Deri Csaba
PECS: Kutasi, Nick Williams (192-G-83, agency: Beo Basket, college: Cincinnati) 24/9, Alekszics 7/3, Denes 3/3, Lapov 11/6, Czigler, Hosszu 8/6, Grebenar 8, Toth N. 4, Krisztian Wittmann (184-G-85, agency: FCM) 12/12, Coach: Stojan Ivkovic

UNIVER-KECSKEMET- MAFC 122-75
(29-16, 33-9, 27-29, 33-21)
Kecskemet, Att.: 800, Referees: Benczur, Szilas, Csősz
KECSKEMET: Sigurdarson 11/9, Larry Blair (183-G-84, college: Liberty) 30/9, Akos Horvath (194-G/F-81, agency: FCM) 17/9, Jefferson Antonio (207-F/C-83) 28/15, Fiegi 12, Milan Csorvasi (209-F/C-88, agency: FCM) 12, Toth P. 1, Szabo Zs. 7/3, Halmai 4, Vida, Csabay, Coach: Zsoldos Andras
MAFC: Young 5, Edwin Draughan (196-G/F-82, college: Yale) 23, Wehner 13/6, Andras Vavra (202-F-78) 18/3, Kecskes 6, Kolarics, Fulop 8, Misek 2, Coach: Dinnyes Attila

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IRAN

Saba thrash Mahram, taking revenge for two home loss -by Houman Bagheri
Courtesy Gulf News

Dubai: Iran's Saba sent defending champions Mahram crashing out of the 19th Dubai International Basketball Championship with a 100-64 thrashing last Thursday.

Jordan's Zain were also celebrating after dumping former champs Hikmeh 87-79 to enter the semifinals of the United Holdings Cup.

It was Mahram's first loss this season to their fellow countrymen in three encounters. Saba are second in the Iranian League behind defending champions Mahram.

The best Mahram could do was to take a one-point lead at the end of the opening quarter after a basket from Samad Nik-khah Bahrami. But Saba suddenly put their foot on the accelerator as Garth Joseph gave them a comfortable 14-point cushion of 46-30 by the half-time whistle.

Joseph was at his devastating best, with a game-high 36 points. The third quarter proved equally decisive as the Saba defence shut out Mahram and there was little even the experienced Tony Madison could do.

Saba went on to do the bulk of the scoring in this quarter, dumping in 22 unanswered points. By the end of the period, however, Saba were well on their way to inflicting an embarrassing defeat on their arch-rivals with the score standing 77-44 in their favour.

The lead was swelled to 40 points midway through the final quarter with Saba's pro Makan Dioumassi coming in handy with some swift scoring. A final dunk on the buzzer from Asghar Kardousht entered the scoring into the three-figure zone as Saba wound up a well-deserved win 100-64.

Mahram coach Musrafa Hashemi explained his team was mentally unprepared for such a tough game against their fellow countrymen due to the absence of one of their players Hamed Sohrabnejad.

'The players were scared mentally, and to make matters worse, we did not have anyone to counter the threat from Joseph,' he said.

In the second match held later in the evening, Dubai Duty Free-sponsored Zain relied on the finesse of their foreign pro Nate Johnson to get past former champions Hikmeh of Lebanon.

The Jordanians replied heavily on their foreign combination of Johnson, Justin Jones and Rashim Right to counter the swift-moving Lebanese to lead by a mere four points (21-17) at the end of the first quarter.

Zain kept up the pressure in the second quarter and swelled their lead to double figures 34-24 within five minutes, eventually trooping out for halftime with a 11-point cushion at 45-34.

Johnson topscored with 23 points, while Jones and Right chipped in with 19 and 18 points respectively as Zain ran away winners 87-79.

Riyadhi put Saba out of finals -by Houman Bagheri

Courtesy Gulf News

Dubai: Former champions Al Riyadhi of Lebanon booked their place in the final of the 19th Dubai International Basketball Championship for the United Holdings Cup with a powerful 91-87 win against Iran's Saba Batteries at the Al Ahli Club last night.

Al Riyadhi, winners here on two occasions in 2005 and 2006 before being denied a hattrick by Iranian side Mahram last year, were purposeful and that showed in their approach throughout the 40 minutes of play.

The Lebanese made their intentions clear from the outset with Ali Mahmoud, Scottie Thurman, Fadi Al Khatib and Egyptian pro Esmail Ahmad riding on some superb accurate shooting from outside the circle for an early 20-5 lead with just 4.30 minutes into the opening quarter.

The smaller built Mahmoud was seldom seen making mistakes with his shooting as he alone matched the opponent's total with 12 points to his credit.

Saba tried to fight their way through the use of big man Garth Joseph, but the Al Riyadhi defence simply refused to give him any room to move. So tight was the defending that the 218cm high-scoring forward had managed a measly four points by the end of the opening period as the Lebanese lads ran off with a 20-point lead 36-16.

The Iranians became more motivated in the second quarter as they managed to keep Riyadhi shooters at bay with some stiff man to man marking.

This ploy worked for some time as Saba cut down the lead to 12 points at 41-29 with 4.30 minutes gone into the quarter. But that situation did not last for long as Al Khatib opened up with a three-pointer and Thurman continued to be a threat from outside the shaded area. Before going in for halftime all five Al Riyadhi players had moved into the double-figure bracket with Esmail Ahmad outgunning all scorers with 16 points and the score nestled at 55-37 in favour of the Lebanese side. The two sides went into the final quarter with just nine points separating them (76-67). Within three minutes of the final quarter, the complexion of the game changed with Dioumassi - who topscored with 30 - doing most of the damage from outside to cut down the lead to a mere four points (78-74).

However, that was as far as the Iranians could get and though they never gave up the fight, they had to eventually succumb to a superior team.

Al Riyadhi will play the winner of the second semifinal between Zain of Jordan and Al Jallaa of Syria at 7 pm this evening.

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IRELAND

Senior Men's National Cup Final -by Eurobasket News
UCD/Marian -St Vincent's 51:48

The Senior Men's National Cup Final has ended up just some minutes ago. UCD Marian triumphed over St Vincent's at the National Basketball Arena 51:48. With 31:26 after the first half the winners could hold the score for good. Kevin Meaney led all of them with 15 points. David Harrison (193-F-82) nailed 9, while Teilo Kishiba added 7. Shane Callaghan top-scored for St. Vincent's with 12 points. Karl Donnelly (193-G-72) followed him with 11 and Suah Williams chipped in 9.

Both teams realized the importance of the battle and dedicated lots of time in defense. However, the tempo of the game increased in the third quarter as Vincents upped their offence.UCD/Marian stayed tough and suggested their own game. David Donnelly hit another three to reduce Marian's lead to just one point at the end of the quarter. In the last period the score remained the carousel, but UCD led the game. They dominated in the majority of it and deserved the win more than their opponent. The Senior Men's National Cup Final goes to UCD Marian in 2008.

UCD Marian: Kevin Meaney 15, David Harrison 9, Teilo Kishiba 7
St. Vincent's: Shane Callaghan 12, Karl Donnelly 11, Suah Williams 9

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NCAA3

#1 Rochester Fall in OT at Emory -by Moritz Korff
Rochester was upended at Emory University, 81-76, in overtime after the Yellowjackets tied the game dramatically at the end of regulation.

The Eagles evened their UAA record at 2-2. Rochester is 3-1 in UAA play, 14-1 overall. It was a night when the top two teams in the D3hoops.com poll both lost. Rochester was beaten in OT by Emory. Brandeis lost at home to Chicago.

Mike Chmielowiec (6'3''-F/G) had a career high 22 points for Rochester. He was one of three in double figures. Jeff Juron (G) scored 12 points. Uche Ndubizu (6'6''-F/C) had 10 points before fouling out. The Yellowjackets lost Ndubizu on fouls in the second half and Jon Onyiriuka (6'7''-C) in the overtime period.

Spiros Federigos, the UAA's top scorer, led the Eagles with 22 points. He hit 10 of 14 from the foul line. Jerome Williams had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Anthony Fernandez had a career high 20 points for Emory.

A runner in the lane by Federigos put Emory ahead, 66-61, with 2:45 left in the game. Jon Onyiriuka stole the ball for a layup, cutting the deficit to three. Federigos made the first of two foul shots just before a Juron layup made it 67-65.

The Eagles nearly lost the ball on a shot clock violation. Emory's John Curtin threw the ball at the rim to prevent the giveaway. In the battle for the rebound, Michael Chmielowiec was whistled for a foul. Emory made one free throw.

Juron was fouled in the front court with 18.1 seconds left and he canned both free throws, bringing Rochester within 69-67. After Emory missed the front end of a one-and-one, the Yellowjackets rushed up court. Michael Chmielowiec's jumper from the corner in the final seconds was knocked out of bounds with eight-tenths of a second to play. Juron threw an alley-oop to Jon Onyiriuka who scored, forcing the OT.

Layups by Williams and Fernandez put the Eagles ahead for good in the overtime (73-69). Dan Milbrand's putback got Rochester within 73-72. Williams sank two free throws and Michael Chmielowiec answered with a jumper to make it 75-74 Emory with less than 75 seconds left.

The crucial shot was a runner in the lane by Federigos in the final minute. He missed a free throw, but the Eagles made four of their last six to nail it down.

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

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NEW ZEALAND

Another step towards playoffs for the Breakers -by Eurobasket News
NZ Breakers - West Sydney Razorbacks 109-95

NZ Breakers defeated the Razorbacks sending a strong message of making it to the playoffs this year. The Breakers got to somewhat a surprisingly easy win concerning the stakes. The hosts entered the game with a 5:0 run to set the tempo. They maintained the lead throughout the first stanza and claimed a 30:22 lead after 12 minutes. It went from bad to worse for the Razorbacks in the second frame. Derrick Alston (208-C/F-72, college: Duquesne) fueled a 9:0 run for the home team and the Breakers opened up a 47:31 advantage. Kirk Penney (194-G-80, college: Wisconsin) hit a usual three-pointer to finalize a 62:45 lead for New Zealand outfit. The Razorbacks needed some heroics to change the flow of the encounter but it never came up. The Razorbacks trimmed the difference to 11 points just to see Kirk Penney knocking down another trey to keep the Breakers at safe distance. The buffer grew to 19 points after three quarters. West Sydney never recovered in the fourth period and suffered what could be a key loss in the regular season. Phill Jones (196-G-74) scored 22 points to pace the hosts. Kirk Penney and Derrick Alston secured 21 points apiece for the winners. Darnell Hinson (186-G-80, college: Northeastern St.) replied with 26 points for the visitors. Rhys Carter (190-G-84) drained 16 points in a loss. The Breakers outrebounded the visiting side 52:45 and limited the Razorbacks to just 32% from the field. The Breakers converted 53% of field goals. The Breakers improved to 13-12 record and are scheduled to face the Perth Wildcats on Thursday. The Razorbacks fell to 10-16 and take on the Townsville Crocs the same day.

NZ Breakers: Phill Jones 22, Kirk Penney 21, Derrick Alston 21+11 boards
West Sydney: Darnell Hinson 26, Rhys Carter 16

Kiwis prevail -by Eurobasket News
North Harbour's Logan Poloai led all scorers with 17 points as the NZ Kea captured the U14 Boys title at the Australian Junior Country Basketball Cup in Albury, NSW.
Building a seven-point lead over the opening quarter, the Kiwis held on to secure a 65-52 result over Vic Bushrangers in the final. They had already beaten the Rangers in a pool game earlier in the week.
Poloai was supported by Kurt Heatherley (Western Bay of Plenty) with 16 points and Delroi Heu (Waikato) on 15. The New Zealand contingent enjoyed a 7-5 winning record on the final day of competition, finishing the week with a 39-56 (41%) success rate.
Kiwi referee Nicholas Naylor was assigned to control the U14 Boys final.
Courtesy of: www.basketball.org.nz

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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.

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PUERTO RICO

Ayuso leaves Cibona Zagreb and Santurce says goodbye to Liga Americas -by Alessandro Fontana

'El Jefe' Larry Ayuso has decided to leave Cibona. Larry Ayuso will not play more for the Croatian team this season. The reasons of this defection are the bad relationship with the new coach of the team Ivan Sunara and also his role on the team. Ayuso is a scorer and the team had to play around his style, but it couldn't happen in Zagreb. Larry Ayuso played a good Euroleague with 12.8 pts per game 2.5 rebs, 1.5 assts in 29 minutes. It is probable that Larry Ayuso will come back in Puerto Rico to play the BSN but he can also likely find another team in Europe in these days.

LIGA DE LAS AMERICAS
Santurce could not qualify for the Final Four of the Liga de las Americas 2008. Santurce was defeated two times by Miami Tropics. The first game ended 91-64 and the third game 91-83. Cangrejeros did not play good and shot a poor percentage from the floor.

In the third game the best player for Santurce was Robert Traylor with 27 pts (9/13 2pts, 9/17 FT) and 16 rebs. He was a presence in the area but he was not alone, with Ricardo Dalmau playing a good game with 18 pts in an effort to lead up his team to the victory. Michael Watson was a great disappointment in the third game, the most important game. He played without character and intensity and scored only 4 pts (2/6 2pts, 0/4 3pts, 0/2 FT) in 32 minutes.

The Miami Tropics deserved the qualification, after a good second quarter and had control throughout the game. They will play in the Final Four of Liga de las Americas 2008.

MIAMI TROPICS-CANGREJEROS SANTURCE, 91-83
M= Shelman 29, Mitchell 19, Watson 14, Robinson 9, Barnes 6, Dumont 6, Baldonado 4, Matias 2, Ja Ja Richards 2
S= Traylor 27, Ricardo Dalmau 18, Raymond Dalmau 11, Rivas 10 (5 rebs), Falcon 7 (6 rebs), Santiago 5, Watson 4, Santiago 1, Narvaez 0, Castro ndp, Melendez ndp, Rivera ndp.
A. Fontana

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SERBIA

Nikola Vasic returns to ACB, Stefanovic on Cyprus -by Dragan Jankovski
Shooting guard Nikola Vasic (194-G-84, agency: Beo Basket) decided to return and continue his career in Spain. He moved from BC Triumph Lyubertsy (former Dynamo Moscow Region) to ACB league team Fuenlbrada. In the past Vasic used to play successfully for Etosa Alicante, FMP and Borac Cacak.

Experienced combo guard Sasa Stefanovic (188-G-75, agency: Arik Krayn Services) reinforced Cypriot team Keravnos from Nicosia. Stefanovic has decent international experience as he played for Lomoges, Iraklis and Bilbao. In Serbia he was member of Crvena Zvezda and FMP. Stefanovic will arrive in Nicosia next week, when he will join Aleksandar Radojevic, Predrag Kosanovic and Aleksandar Damjanovic.

Pavlovic out of action for eight weeks -by Nenad Ilijev
Clevelend Cavaliers guard Aleksandar Pavlovic (200-F-83) (200-F-83) will miss the next six to eight weeks with a left mid-foot sprain, the team announced on Thursday. Pavlovic suffered the injury in the third quarter of Wednesday's 121-85 win over the Washington Wizards. An MRI on Thursday confirmed the sprain. The 23-year-old Pavlovic, who re-signed with the Cavs in November, is averaging 7.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 38 games this season. Pavlovic played in 67 games last season, and averaged career highs in nearly every category including points (9.0), rebounds (2.4) and assists (1.6). In 302 career games, Pavlovic has averaged 6.0 points and 1.9 rebounds.
by RUWT Sports

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U.S.VIRGIN ISL.

Miller to CBA/ Krauser at a Pittsburgh Barbershop -by David Edole
Darnell Miller (195-G-82, college: W.Georgia) signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Xplosion of the CBA and joins his Virgin Islands men's national teammate Carl Krauser (188-G-81, college: Pittsburgh) on the team. Miller played 18 games with the Minot Skyrockets last season, averaging 12.2ppg, 5.3apg, and 4.6rpg.
Miller ranks second all-time at the University of West Georgia in total assists (427) and assists-per-game (7.4). In his senior season of 2004-2005, Miller started all 28 games and averaged 14.5ppg and led all of Division II in assists with 7.8apg. He was named Gulf South Conference Co-Player of the Year. Miller was also named First Team All-Conference in his junior and senior seasons.
Miller and Krauser both played with the Virgin Islands national team this past summer in the Pan Am Games. Miller attended St. Raymond's High School and will be in uniform tonight when the Xplosion play in Minot.

Krauser to Appear at Pittsburgh Bottleshop
Pittsburgh Xplosion point guard Carl Krauser will appear at the Pittsburgh Bottleshop Brewpub and Cafe in Heidelberg on Saturday, February 2, to watch his Pitt Panthers take on the UConn Huskies at noon. Krauser will also be available to sign autographs during the game.

One of college basketball's most exciting players, Krauser became the face of the Pitt basketball program over the course of his five years with the Panthers. As the point guard and leader on the floor, Krauser often displayed fearless leadership and a desire to make big plays in a game's most critical situations.

Krauser was named Second Team All-Big East in each of his final three seasons with Pitt. In 2003-04, Krauser was named the Big East's Most Improved Player while picking up Associated Press All-American Honorable Mention honors. In his junior season of 2004-05, Krauser was a John Wooden Award finalist, named a Naismith All-American, and finished as a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award.

Krauser became the first Panther in school history to surpass 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists. For his career, Krauser finished ninth on the school's all-time scoring list (1,642 points), fourth in assists (568), and eighth in steals (190). He averaged 13 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 126 games.

Virgin Islanders drafted by the BSN -by David Edole

Ja Ja Richards (207-C-75, agency: EM-PA, college: Loyola, IL), Kevin Sheppard (182-G-79, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Jacksonville) and Carl Krauser (188-G-81, college: Pittsburgh) were drafted as 'community' players in the Puerto Rican Superior Basketball League (BSN) that was held Saturday night. The community player must be of Caribbean or Central American origin. Each team is allowed on community player per roster and two imports.
Grises de Humacao selected Richards with the first pick. Sheppard was drafted third by Conquistadores de Guaynabo a team he played with two years ago. Black Magic better known as Carl Krauser was chosen fourth by Indios de Mayaguez.
Richards debuted in 1999 with los Gallitos de Isabela where he also played again in 2005. The 6-foot-11 center was one of the better rebounders and shot blockers in the league. Presently Richards is playing with the Miami Tropics of the Americas League. Brazil, Venezuela, Turkey and Ukraine have all been stops in Richard's career. Sheppard appeared in the BSN in 2004 with Isabela, he also played with Guaynabo (2006) and Coamo (2007). Sheppard also has a wealth of international experience with stints in Israel, Argentina and Venezuela.
This will be Krauser's first stint in Puerto Rico. He presently plays with Pittsburgh Xplosion of the CBA after a year with German Club EWE Oldendurg Baskets.

Draft Results

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URUGUAY

The leader Bigua beat Union -by Hector Lopez

Three players scored 70 points for Bigua, when the LUB leader beat Union Atletica 93-85 for the ninth round of the second stage. Leandro Garcia Morales (186-G-80, college: Texas A&M) scored 27, Martin Osimani (194-G-81, college: Duquesne) 22 y Juan Jose Rovira (180-G-76) 21. Also for Bigua Kevin Young (206-C-84, college: Missouri) scored 11 and grabbed 10 rebounds and Mark Alan Bortz (208-F-82, college: Buffalo) netted 10 and took 8 rebounds. For Union Atletica Marlon Martinez (204-F/C-77, agency: Duran International) reached 8 points and 7 rebounds and Mark Flavin 6 points and 5 rebounds.

Hebraica Macabi bbeat Atenas 98-76 with 27 points and 11 rebounds by Grady Reynolds (198-F-80, agency: Strategic Sports, college: St.John's). Also for Hebraica Kofi Danquah (204-C-81, college: W.Chester) netted 18 and grabbed 10 rebounds. For Atenas, Hakeem Rollins (202-C/F-83, agency: CAA Sports, college: Washington) had 17 points and 5 rebounds and Wendell Gibson (201-F/C-83, college: Hofstra) 14 and 10.

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VENEZUELA

LPBV is getting ready!! -by Wolfgang Lucena
Team owners, Generals Managers, Coaching staff and ball players are caring for their obligations to make sure that 2008 Venezuela's professional basketball season improves and gets better than before.
Beginning this season, the tournament will be run with two new organizations; Piratas de Guayana and Deportivo Tachira. All of those organizations will have a minor team (developmental) to give more opportunities to their new talented players to improve and therefore step up while the league is running. Those minor basketball teams will be playing their own tournament at the same time, which means that from February 2008 until June or July there's going to be 20 high level basketball teams targeting the same goal… to become Champions.

Vaqueros take Diego Guevara No. 2 -by Wolfgang Lucena
Indios de Mayaguez gave up its original position in the 2008 BSN draft, to let Vaqueros take our super star Diego Guevara (184-G-77,college: Charlotte) as its community player for the superior national basketball of Puerto Rico.

Diego had a tremendous NCAA career with UNC -Charlotte. In Venezuela he was part of many professional basketball organizations; Trotamundos de Carabobo, Espartanos de Margarita, Guaros de Lara and Delfines de Miranda (National League). In USA he had a great participation in the 2002 Chicago bull (NBA) summer camp and played in Al Ahli (Saudi Arabia) 2004-2005 as well.

Diego is one of our proud, excellent players. As a member of the Venezuela National Team, he took the point guard responsibilities for many years in almost all those categories. Diego's big absence in the 2007 FIBA championship held in Las Vegas Nevada, was his own decision, it was to give opportunities to the newer generation.
Vaqueros have an outstanding Venezuelan Point guard…Good luck Diego!

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Women News

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AUSTRALIA - Women

Canberra schools Perth -by Eurobasket News
The Canberra Capitals capitalized on a short-handed Perth's squad to ensure an 89:56 win yesterday. The Lynx came to Canberra without 4 of their starters and could have hardly hoped for any positive emotions at the end. The Capitals grabbed an early lead and later finalized the 5th straight win at the tournament. The hosts opened up a 20:9 advantage with 7 minutes into the game and dictated the tempo further on. The gap grew to 25:9 after the opening frame and the Capitals soon piled up a 23-point buffer. The things never changed in the second half and Canberra's bench completed the task extending the gap to 30 points. Abby Bishop (189-C-88) led the action with 19 points. Crista Hays (188-C-80) contributed 13 points, while Jessica Bibby (169-G-79) dropped 12 points for the winners. Jamie-Lee Samuels (185-F-86) answered with 14 points for the Lynx. The Capitals thus improved to 13-6 record just a win away from Sydney Uni. They face Bulleen tonight. Perth suffered the 16th loss in the season remaining at the bottom of the standings.
Meanwhile the Sydney Uni Flames beat the magic of the Cowles Stadium to upset the Christchurch Sirens 71:56. Natalie Porter (185-F-80) stepped up with 24 points to deliver a rare loss to the Sirens at their dwelling. She scored 20 points in the first half and helped the Flames to accumulate a 43:27 advantage at halftime. A low-scoring third frame did not allow the hosts to come any closer and the Flames sealed the win in the fourth period. Eva Afeaki (183-G-84) notched 12 points, while Michelle Musselwhite accounted for 11 in the win. Noni Wharemate (171-G-82, college: UTEP) tallied 13 points, 4 boards and 3 assists for the Sirens. Lamisha Augustine (186-F-82, agency: LBM Management, college: San Jose St.) poured in 12 points in a losing clause.

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BELARUS - Women

The teams from Belarus gain the speed -by Eurobasket News
In BWBL Grodno became the unwelcoming place for Lithuanian Arvi that stayed on the second place with 9-0 record. Arvi lost to Olimpia 82:70 in Belarus and tasted the first loss. Lithuanian team dominated in the opening quarter and finished it with 12:15 win. In the second and in the third Olimpia rules the game and had 13 points before the last quarter. A 25:26 did not upset the hosts as they celebrated 82:70 victory. Natalya Kozun (186-F-88) led the winners with 17 points. Maria Filonchik (187-90) netted 14, while Tatiana Lihtarovich (176-G-88) scored 12. Aurime Rinkeviciute finished the night with 22 points in defeat.
In a game before that Berezina-RCOR overcame LTU team 81:53. Belarus team did not worry too much about the result as they were more experienced in the previous campaigns. Having 18 points advantage at the half Berezina increased to 28 in the end. Alexandra Gudkova (175-G-88) and Tatsiana Zhurauliova top-scored with 14 points. Dauharukava followed them with 13 as Belarus team improved to 9-2 in the league. Sigita Galdikaite poured in 28 points in the losing effort.
Yelena Leuchanka (196-C-83, college: W.Virginia) and TEO Vilnius suffered a stunning loss to Dynamo in Moscow in the final round of Euroleague Group D qualifying stage. However it did not prevent them from reaching eighth-final. TEO looked organized and ready to fight in the opening stanza. Yelena Leuchanka scored 4 points to get the game going. Nykesha Sales opened up a 6:0 lead for the visitors with just over 3 minutes into the game. However Anete Jekabsone-Zogota steadied things with back-to-back three-pointers. The teams traded the baskets before Nykesha Sales scored 4 points and Kristin Haynie added another 2 for TEO to take an 18:17 lead after 10 minutes. The lead changed hands for 6 times throughout the second frame before Anete Jekabsone-Zogota scored 6 points and Popova came up with 2 more for Dynamo to clear off to a 38:33 distance. Simona Augustus crowned the first half with a jumper and sent teams into the dressing rooms with a 40:33 Dynamo's lead. Soon after the start of the third period Dynamo ran away to a double-digit lead. Olga Firsova dropped two treys and Anete Jekabsone-Zogota continued to deliver points as the hosts claimed a 62:47 advantage entering the fourth term. TEO Vilnius struggled to find the way back into contest in the final stanza and lost their 7th game in the season. Anete Jekabsone-Zogota and Simona Augustus provided 27 points apiece to pace Dynamo. Ieva Kublina contributed 17 points and 7 boards for the winners. Gintare Petronyte answered with 14 points and 7 boards for TEO. Yelena Leuchanka and Sandra Valuzyte scored 12 points apiece in a losing effort.
Lotos and Ekaterina Snytina (188-F-85) wrapped up the action in Group C with a confident win over Kosit 2013 to occupy the third spot in the ladder. The intrigue of this one still remained with Kosit 2013 needing a victory to advance. However Lotos were not lavish on the night and handed Slovakian side the 7th loss in the season. Anastasia Kostaki and Ivana Jalcova gave Kosit a 4:0 lead early in the game. But soon the hosts answered with a 15:3 run that put them in driving seat. Magdalena Leciejewska posted 4 points and Dominique Canty added a jumper to go to double-digit lead. Ekaterina Snytina capped the first frame with another jump shot to make it 28:15 for the home team. Chamique Holdsclaw hit a trey to open the second quarter and sent a strong message to the guests. Kosit 2013 braced up to trim the difference to 7 points on Jurcenkova and Janel McCarville shots however it was not enough. Anne Breitreiner fired from downtown and Chamique Holdsclaw converted a two-point play to restore a 13-point distance between the teams. Kosit 2013 used straight buckets from Gearlds and Ivana Jalcova to climb within 7 points but still were unable to develop on the momentum. Sladana Maksimovic and Ekaterina Snytina crowned the third term with 4 points and Lotos were up by 18 points before the final quarter. Kosit 2013 looked doomed throughout the fourth period as the margin grew to 21 points and Lotos easily ensured the winning outcome at the end. Chamique Holdsclaw stepped up with 19 points and 14 boards for the hosts. Ekaterina Snytina added 15 points, while Dominique Canty dropped 13 points in a win. Janel McCarville responded with 13 points for Kosit 2013. Luisa Michulkova contributed 12 points in the season finale for Slovakian outfit.

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BRAZIL - Women

Catanduva and Ourinhos cruise through quarterfinal stage -by Eurobasket News
The Brazilian CNBF leaders Catanduva and Ourinhos easily passed their opponents in the quarterfinals. Ourinhos took on Fluminense in the best-of-five series and completed a sweeping victory. It all started with a stunning 97:29 win in Game 1. Iziane Castro (183-G/F-82) netted 32 points to lead the action. Karen Rocha (175-G-84) added 18 points in a winning start for Ourinhos. Claudia answered with 8 points for Fluminense. In Game 2 Ourinhos extended the winning streak claiming a 102:32 victory. And once again Iziane Castro was outstanding with 34 points for the winners. Claudia this time notched 13 points for the visitors. The San Paulo outfit completed the task in the third game of the series dismantling their opponents 121:40 in Rio de Janeiro. This time Iziane Castro fired 39 points, while Izabela Morais and Carina de Souza (185-C-79) contributed 18 points in success. Claudia was a top performer for the hosts with 12 points and 4 boards.
Catanduva took on Botafogo at this stage and also enjoyed a complete dominance in the series. Catanduva outscored their opponents 78:57 to take a 1-0 lead. Karla da Karla da Costa (173-G-78) had 17 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Catanduva strengthened their lead with a 99:64 victory in Game 2. Paula Andrade came up with 19 points in a winning case. Josi Bazilio (172-C-91) replied with 19 points in a loss. The second semifinalist was decided in Game 3 when Catanduva routed Botafogo 97:47 in Game 3. Wiviam Wiviam Delfino (179-F-81) delivered game-high 23 points for the visitors. Natalia Burian (162-G-84) added 22 points for Catanduva. Josi Bazilio had 11 points for the hosting team.
Meanwhile de Nassau evened things up in the series against Santo Andre. After a loss in Game 1 73:81 de Nassau stroke back in the second encounter. They claimed an important 79:74 road win to tie things up at 1-1. Gigi tallied impressive 37 points, 9 boards and 3 assists to pace de Nassau. Simone Lima (182-C-79) answered with 17 points and 12 boards in a loss. Game 3 is scheduled for today in Pernambuco.

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BWBL - Women

Arvi tastes the first loss in BWBL -by Eurobasket News

Grodno became the unwelcoming for Lithuanian Arvi that stayed on the second place with 9-0 record. Arvi lost to Olimpia 82:70 in Belarus and tasted the first loss. Lithuanian team dominated in the opening quarter and finished it with 12:15 win. In the second and in the third Olimpia rules the game and had 13 points before the last quarter. A 25:26 did not upset the hosts as they celebrated 82:70 victory. Natalya Kozun (186-F-88) led the winners with 17 points. Maria Filonchik (187-90) netted 14, while Tatiana Lihtarovich (176-G-88) scored 12. Aurime Rinkeviciute (180-F/G-90) finished the night with 22 points in defeat.

In a game before that Berezina-RCOR overcame LTU team 81:53. Belarus team did not worry too much about the result as they were more experienced in the previous campaigns. Having 18 points advantage at the half Berezina increased to 28 in the end. Alexandra Gudkova (175-G-88) and Tatsiana Zhurauliova (190-C-87) top-scored with 14 points. Dauharukava followed them with 13 as Belarus team improved to 9-2 in the league. Sigita Galdikaite (183-F-90) poured in 28 points in the losing effort.

Six more games are scheduled for tonight.

Olimpia - Arvi (Grodno) 82 : 70 ( 12 : 15, 22 : 16, 23 : 13, 25 : 26 )
Olimpia: Natalya Kozun 17, Maria Filonchik 14, Tatiana Lihtarovich 12
Arvi: Aurime Rinkeviciute 22, Valukonytė 12, Briedyte 9

Berezina-RCOR - LTU j. team 81 : 53 ( 20 : 14, 26 : 15, 13 : 16, 22 : 8 )
Berezina-RCOR: Alexandra Gudkova 14, Tatsiana Zhurauliova 14, Dauharukava 13
LTU j. team: Sigita Galdikaite 28, Autukaitė 8, Zintikaitė 7

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ESTONIA - Women

Anderson finishes Euroleague campaign with Latvian team -by Eurobasket News
Merike Anderson (181-G-81) finished Euroleague campaign with TTT Riga. In the last game Napoli collected just their 2nd win in the FIBA Euroleague competition however it was a costly one. Napoli did not allow TTT Riga to advance to the next stage dropping them to 3-7 record in Group A. Latvian team was tied with Villeneuve at 3-6 record before the final round. After the news came from France about Villeneuve winning their battle against Fenerbahce TTT Riga must win to hope for qualification to the next round. But their hopes were crashed by Napoli. It was worked pretty well for TTT Riga early in the game. Ieva Tare drained two three-pointers in the opening frame and the visitors led 13:10 after 10 minutes of action. Iciss Tillis, Elizaveta Kityzina and Ieva Tare put their names on the scoring list at the start of the second frame as TTT Riga grabbed a 20:10 lead. Elizaveta Kityzina converted a free throw with just over 3 minutes played in the quarter to give TTT Riga a 25:12 advantage. But Napoli found the right answer as Dorothea Richter sank a trey and Kedra Holland-Corn poured in a jumper to clip the margin to 5 points. Ieva Tare completed a three-point play, while Kedra Holland-Corn responded with two free throws to ice it at 27:33 for TTT Riga at the interval. The nervousness affected the game of the visitors as they could not score for almost 4 minutes in the third stanza. Napoli surged ahead on Mauriello's jump shot. Dace Krumina netted a three-pointer to retain TTT Riga advantage however not for too long. Yasemin Horasan (190-F/C-83) dropped a jumper, while Kedra Holland-Corn fired back-to-back trebles to accumulate a 51:42 cushion for the hosts. Ieva Tare opened the final period with another trey to keep TTT Riga alive. But shortly after Kedra Holland-Corn and Stefania Paterna opened up a double-digit lead for Napoli. TTT Riga searched desperately for the ways to erase the deficit. Patricia Penicheiro posted 4 straight points and TTT Riga trimmed the margin to 60:64 with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation. Iciss Tillis knocked down a jump shot and Micaela Jacintho connected from beyond the arc as Latvian side clinched a 65:62 advantage with 79 seconds on the clock. Yasemin Horasan was deadly from free throw line to reestablish Napoli's lead, while Dace Krumina wasted TTT Riga possession with a bad pass. Kedra Holland-Corn was fouled and got to the line to sink a free throw and extended the gap to 2 points. Micaela Jacintho missed her attempt to tie things up and Kedra Holland-Corn deepened the distance to 3 points. Patricia Penicheiro still had a chance to force overtime but her desperate trey went off mark. Merike Anderson played only a minute, however for this short period of time could make a rebound and assist. Merike Anderson stepped into the court in 5 games and averages 1.8 points per game. Her beat game was the one with MKB Euroleasing when Estonian player posted 5 points showing 100% from the field.

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FINLAND - Women

SM-SARJA: BC Nokia made 13 treys -by Rauno Hurmalainen

SM-sarja, Round 20-22: BC Nokia defeated Alku (Forssa) on Thursday night mainly, because FoA had 27 turnovers and home Team BC Nokia made 13 treys.
Joanna Rhoads (163-G-84, college: Pennsylvania) led Nokia Team with 15 pts. Jamie Hawkins (185-F-84, college: Oregon) (FoA) netted 15 pts, too.

BC Nokia - FoA 77-53 (32-28) (Joanna Rhoads 15, Sheree Thompson 11/11 - Jamie Hawkins 15, Caitlin Chiaramonte 14).

SM-SARJA: Jenni Laaksonen 1000 rbs -by Rauno Hurmalainen

SM-sarja, Round 22-23: Four contests today. Catz (Lappeenranta) defeated Huima (Aanekoski) 80-61, but the other three results with almost same
numbers: PeKa - PuHu 77-65, HoNsU - Espoo Team 76-64 and FoA - YMCA Helsinki 64-75. At Forssa Jenni Laaksonen (186-F-81) (YMCA Helsinki) grabbed 10
rbs and has now taken 1000 rbs during her basketball career in the regular season games in Finland.

Catz - Huima 80-61 (37-25) (Elena Reshetko 23, Kaisa Tuure 13/12 - Kenya Robinson 26/11, Shakeena Wicker 16).

PeKa - PuHu 77-65 (40-39) (Shanika Freeman 24/12, Ashley Haynes 21/14 - Alli Arppe 14, Aneta Kausaite 13).

HoNsU - Espoo Team 76-64 (41-30) (Salla Viitanen 19, Breanne Watson 19 - Stephanie Higgs 20, Yolanda Jones 14/10).

FoA - YMCA Helsinki 64-75 (37-41) (Minna Johto 18, Caitlin Chiaramonte 16 - Jenni Laaksonen 18/10, Laura Toivonen 17, Niina Laaksonen 16/20).

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GREECE - Women

Anastasia Kostaki tries hard with the Slovakian champion -by Eurobasket News
Anastasia Kostaki played already 2 games for Kosit after she joined the team from Slovak Republic. Kosit 2013 lost the last game in Euroleague this season being upset in Poland. The intrigue still remained with Kosit 2013 needing a victory to advance, however Lotos were not lavish on the night and handed Slovakian side the 7th loss in the season. Anastasia Kostaki (172-G-78) and Ivana Jalcova gave Kosit a 4:0 lead early in the game. But soon the hosts answered with a 15:3 run that put them in driving seat. Magdalena Leciejewska posted 4 points and Dominique Canty added a jumper to go to double-digit lead. Snytsina capped the first frame with another jump shot to make it 28:15 for the home team. Chamique Holdsclaw hit a trey to open the second quarter and sent a strong message to the guests. Kosit 2013 braced up to trim the difference to 7 points on Jurcenkova and Janel McCarville shots however it was not enough. Anne Breitreiner fired from downtown and Chamique Holdsclaw converted a two-point play to restore a 13-point distance between the teams. Kosit 2013 used straight buckets from Gearlds and Ivana Jalcova to climb within 7 points but still were unable to develop on the momentum. Sladana Maksimovic and Snytsina crowned the third term with 4 points and Lotos were up by 18 points before the final quarter. Kosit 2013 looked doomed throughout the fourth period as the margin grew to 21 points and Lotos easily ensured the winning outcome at the end. Chamique Holdsclaw stepped up with 19 points and 14 boards for the hosts. Snytsina added 15 points, while Dominique Canty dropped 13 points in a win. Janel McCarville responded with 13 points for Kosit 2013. Luisa Michulkova contributed 12 points in the season finale for Slovakian outfit. Anastasia Kostaki scored 5 points, made 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 assist.
Evanthia Maltsi (180-F-78) and her Ros Casares overcame MiZo Pecs 89:60 as Delisha Milton-Jones scored 20 points, grabbed five rebounds and came up with three steals. Ros Casares finished the Qualifying round undefeated.

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HUNGARY - Women

Sopron's easy victory -by Tamas Palko
Sopron - BEAC 94-43 (23-15, 35-13, 14-13, 22-2)

BEAC loses against Sopron in a very easy match. Sopron's best players have to play only some minutes, for example Oleksandra Gorbunova plays 4 minutes, Bernadett Nemeth and Albena Branzova wasn't in the roster. In the first period Andrea Karolyi hits three 3-pointers, so after 10 minutes they lead 8 points. The lead grows to 27 points to the half time, BEAC can't defend the attacks. The third period was 14-13, so it was nearly equal, but the last period was horrible for the BEAC players. Only Virag Havasi can score a 2-pointer, everyone else misses her chances. Sopron can easily scores points, and at the end it was a 51 point victory.

Sopron: Andrea Karolyi 17/9, Iva Sliskovic 17, Zsuzsa Horvath 16/3, Boglarka Kocsis 11/3, Barbara Semsei 10.
BEAC: Emese Szasz 14/6, Kato Halmai 10.
2 pointers: 25/40 62%; 14/46 30%.
3 pointers: 8/19 42%; 3/9 33%.
Free throws: 20/24 83%; 6/10 60%.
Rebs: 41; 18.

No win for Szombathely -by Tamas Palko
Savaria BC Szombathely - Kanizsa DKK 62-73 (17-16, 15-20, 16-22, 14-15)
Everyone in Szombathely waits for the first victory, and against Nagykanizsa there was a chance, but they couldn't win, because in Nagykanizsa three player can score more than 15 points. Szombathely can't lead, except int he first period. Zsofia Varga was the leader in points, she scores 21 points in the second half.
Szombathely: Viktoria Szabo 22/6, Jonee Billy 19, Anyos 11/3.
KanizsaDKK: Zsofia Varga 23, Robinson 16/3, Ana Purics 16, Csilla Fekete 10/6.

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ISRAEL - Women

Liron Cohen in Spain -by Gil Goshen

CLUB BALONCESTO SAN JOSE - C.B. OLESA - ESPANYOL 77 / 67 .

On the round 14th Leon won the game vs. Espanyol 77:76.

Liron - GG Basketball Agency led her team with 11 points 4 rb. 6 ast.

Next week Leon will play vs. MANN FILTER ZARAGOZA ( away ).
Liron Cohen (173-G-82)

Electra Ramat Hsharon - Elitzur Ramla 86:85 -by Gil Goshen

For Ramat Hasharon:

Jia Perkins 30 pts
Deanna Jackson 21 pts
Dada Vilipic 17 pts
Tatyana Troina 9 pts
Nomi Kolodny 5 pts
Merav Dori 3 pts
Limor Mizrachi 1 pt

For Ramla:

Michelle Snow 22 pts
Shay Doron 21 pts
Sherill Baker & Jaclyn Johnson 11 pts each
Laine Selwyn 8 pts

Jia Perkins (173-G-82, agency: Merit Sports, college: Texas Tech)

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LITHUANIA - Women

Arvi tastes the first loss in BWBL -by Eurobasket News

Six more games are scheduled for tonight.

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NCAA - Women

Kim Mulkey-Robertson registers 200th career win -by Eurobasket News
Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey-Robertson celebrated her 200th career success as Baylor edged Missouri 72:57 away from home. The win came as the 10th straight one for the Bears. Kim Mulkey is at 200-54 record overall. Baylor who improved to 17-1 record kept the Tigers scoreless for almost 7 minutes inside the first half and piled up a 19:10 lead. The gap grew to 11 points at the interval 32:21. Baylor kept the distance throughout the second half and sealed a win at the end. Jhasmin Player (5'10''-G-87) dropped 18 points to pace Baylor. Danielle Wilson (6'3''-C-88) scored 16 points for the winners. Missouri fell to 8-10 record losing three out of five last games. Jessra Johnson (6'1''-F) provided 18 points and 8 boards in a losing case.
The Tennessee Lady Vols clinched their 17th win in the season outscoring Arkansas 98:55. The Lady Vols were deadly from beyond the arc hitting 13 triples en route to yet another victory. Tennessee opened the game with an 18:0 run to stun their opposition. Candace Parker (6'4''-F/C-86) and Angie Bjorklund (6'0''-G/F) masterminded a 56:28 lead for the home team at halftime. Tennessee cruised tan overall victory in the second half. Angie Bjorklund topscored with career-high 29 points hitting 7 treys down the stretch. Candace Parker added 24 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners. Sarah Pfeifer (6'0''-F-84) netted 16 points and collected 8 rebounds as the Razorbacks slipped to 16-4 record.

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POLAND - Women

Bibrzycka top-scores and wins the group with her team -by Eurobasket News
Agnieszka Bibrzycka (184-F/G-82, college: Abil.Christian) has a great season in Russia for UMMC that clinched the top spot in Group B of Euroleague with 9-1 record. UMMC outscored Perfumerias 96:76 on the road in the final game of the qualifying round. Perfumerias got to a better start and accumulated a 46:35 lead at halftime. But UMMC proved the difference after the break nailing 32 points in the third stanza and cruising to an overall win at the end. Agnieszka Bibrzycka scored 22 points to pace UMMC. Penny Taylor provided 18 points for the visitors. Alessandra Santos answered with 15 points and 9 boards as Perfumerias entered the next stage from the 4th spot in Group B.

Dexia lost to Gambrinus 58:93 in Belgium and finished Euroleague. They appeared just one win behind the defending champions Spartak MR. Gambrinus took some time to adjust as Dexia capped the first frame with an 8:0 run and led 22:18 ten minutes into the game. But the visitors put a lock on defense in the second term and started to prove their dominance. Hana Machova hit from afar and Jana Vesela added 4 straight points to tie the scoreline at 30. Tamika Whitmore then gave Gambrinus a lead before Jana Vesela and Ivana Vecerova extended it to 6 points from free throw line. Hana Machova once again fired from downtown and Jana Vesela sank a jumper for Gambrinus to open up a double-digit advantage at halftime 43:32. Dexia's defense fell to pieces in the third period, while offense kept mum as Gambrinus stormed to a 64:37 lead after 30 minutes. Czech side just cruised to an overall victory in the fourth period deepening the gap up to 35 points. Timea Beres scored 18 points to pace Gambrinus. Jana Vesela, Zuzana Zirkova and Hana Machova contributed 14 points apiece for the victors. Jennifer Fleischer had 20 points and 10 boards for Dexia. Polish Krystyna Szymanska-Lara (173-G-69) added 15 points in a loss. Gambrinus will take on Hungarian MiZo Pecs in the eighth-final.

08 Stockholm Human Rights beat KFUM Jamtland 73:65 controlling the majority of the game. Having 14 points before the last quarter the hosts missed 6 points from the guests but did not allow them to do more. Jocelyn Penn and Nina Barlin top-scored with 15 points each. Cisti Greenwalt finished the game with 26 points in defeat. Polish Eliza Golumbiewska (178-F-83) netted 2 points for the winners.

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RUSSIA - Women

BC Moscow survives in Cheliabinsk -by Eurobasket News
Friday and Saturday brought one game each and the wins for the guests. If CSKA had no difficulties today in Orenburg, then BC Moscow survived in Cheliabinsk.
BC Moscow started the campaign against Slavianka with 25:26 after the first 10 minutes of the game. The hosts having only one win in the Superleague proposed their basketball in the second quarter winning 25:16. Trailing 9 points before the last quarter BC Moscow could came back to the game. A 10:20 in the last quarter brought the 10th victory for the team from the capital. Pierson led the winners with 20 points. Elena Danilochkina (184-G-86) netted 13, while Curry and Oksana Zakaluzhnaya (200-C-77) scored 12 points apiece. Tatjana Larionova (184-F-75) ended up with 22 points in the losing effort.
CSKA gained 13th victory in the Superleague and tops the standings with 13-0 record. The win in all quarters against Nadezhda was not difficult and some top-scorers played the half of the game. Becky Hammon (168-G-77, college: Colorado St.) was the one to top the scoring list with 18 points. Ilona Korstine (183-G-80) collected 17 points and 10 rebounds and Amaya Valdemoro (184-F-76) added 16. Betty Lennox (172-G-76, college: Louisiana Tech) tried hard for the hosts nailing 28 points.

Slavianka (Cheliabinsk) - BC Moscow (Moscow) 76 : 77 (25:26, 25:16, 16:15, 10:20)
Slavianka:Tatjana Larionova 22, Yuliya Kiseleva (200-C-85) 17+12 rebs
BC Moscow: Pierson 20, Elena Danilochkina 13, Curry 12, Oksana Zakaluzhnaya 12+14 rebs

Nadezhda (Orenburg) - CSKA (Moscow) 73 : 100 (17:21, 15:26, 23:34, 18:19)
Nadezhda:Betty Lennox 28, Victoria Shagan (178-G-79) 11, Veramayenka 11+10 rebs
CSKA:Becky Hammon 18, Ilona Korstine 17+10 rebs, Amaya Valdemoro 16

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SERBIA - Women

Serbians abroad -by Eurobasket News
Serbian Jelena Skerovic (172-G-80) and Sonja Petrovic (189-F-89) met in France for their teams agiants each other. Jelena Skerovic's Wisla Krakow clinched the third spot in Group B despite a 51:60 road loss to Bourges Basket in the final round. Bourges used a 32:20 rally midway through the encounter to built a decisive lead in this one. Sonja Kireta produced 12 points and 8 boards, while Emmeline Ndongue had 11 points and 8 rebounds for Bourges. Endene Miyem added 10 points as French team improved to 6-4 record and occupied the 2nd spot in the group. Jelena Skerovic posted 5 points and made 4 assists for Polish team. Anna DeForge issued 14 points and 6 boards for Wisla. Serbian Sonja Petrovic collected 7 points and 8 rebounds for French team.

Jelena Milovanovic (191-F/C-89) produced 7 points against the favorite of Euroleague in Group A CSKA Moscow as the latter increased their record to 10-0 after a home win over MKB Euroleasing 82:61 and finished the group with a perfect record. The favorite controlled the game for the majority of time and did not take it too serious in the last quarter. Maria Stepanova paced the winners with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Ann Wauters and Edwige Lawson followed her with 15 points each. Katalin Honti top-scored for the Hungarians with 13 points.
After a tight opening period, the home side enjoyed a 14-0 start to the end of the first quarter to take the score out to 24:10. They continued their onslaught, and another 20:16 eventually built a 44:26 cushion by half-time.The second half saw CSKA Moscow continue to open out their lead, and enjoyed their lead at 70:42 through the third period. MKB Euroleasing tried to get themselves back into the game in the final quarter, but CSKA were able to hold on for the comfortable victory. The team from Moscow won 82:61 and remained undefeated.

Slobodanka Tuvic (196-C-77) poured in 9 points and made 8 rebounds as her Lotos wrapped up the action in Group C with a confident win over Kosit 2013 to occupy the third spot in the ladder. The intrigue of this one still remained with Kosit 2013 needing a victory to advance. However Lotos were not lavish on the night and handed Slovakian side the 7th loss in the season. Anastasia Kostaki and Ivana Jalcova gave Kosit a 4:0 lead early in the game. But soon the hosts answered with a 15:3 run that put them in driving seat. Magdalena Leciejewska posted 4 points and Dominique Canty added a jumper to go to double-digit lead. Snytsina capped the first frame with another jump shot to make it 28:15 for the home team. Chamique Holdsclaw hit a trey to open the second quarter and sent a strong message to the guests. Kosit 2013 braced up to trim the difference to 7 points on Jurcenkova and Janel McCarville shots however it was not enough. Anne Breitreiner fired from downtown and Chamique Holdsclaw converted a two-point play to restore a 13-point distance between the teams. Kosit 2013 used straight buckets from Gearlds and Ivana Jalcova to climb within 7 points but still were unable to develop on the momentum. Slobodanka Tuvic and Snytsina crowned the third term with 4 points and Lotos were up by 18 points before the final quarter. Kosit 2013 looked doomed throughout the fourth period as the margin grew to 21 points and Lotos easily ensured the winning outcome at the end. Chamique Holdsclaw stepped up with 19 points and 14 boards for the hosts. Snytsina added 15 points, while Dominique Canty dropped 13 points in a win. Janel McCarville responded with 13 points for Kosit 2013. Luisa Michulkova contributed 12 points in the season finale for Slovakian outfit.