EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 1/28/2008
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ADRIATIC LEAGUE
Zadar stops Partizan, Zvezda and Hemofarm celebrates -by Dragan Jankovski
After fantastic victory against Bamberg and reaching Euroleague TOP 16, Partizan Igokea was not ready to play against Zadar on the road. Croatian team exploited tiredness of Partizan's players and beat them easily 70-54. Zadar stopped Partizan's streak of 15 consecutive wins while at the same time they grabbed 13th win in the row in Adriatic league so now Zadar has only one triumph less than reining Serbian and Adriatic league champ. Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma), who scored 18 points, and Pankracije Barac (196-G-81), who added 14 points and 4 rebounds, were the best for the winners. Partizan got 16 points and 6 assists from UGA PG Milton Palacio (190-G-78, college: Colorado St.).
Crvena Zvezda celebrated over Siroki Prima pivo in Pionir 96-90 much tougher than they expected. Siroki was equal rival until the end but they never had a lead last night. Clutch player of the game was Boris Bakic whose 3-pointer brought 89-83 for Zvezda two minutes before the end. Like usually Zvezda got the most from PF Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86, agency: Beo Basket), who added double-double 18 points and 11 rebounds. Omar Cook (186-G-82, college: St.John's) followed him collecting 13 points and 4 assists while on the other side Sinisa Stemberger (195-G-79) had 21 points and 4 rebounds for Siroki. Zvezda currently has score 12-7 while Siroki dropped to 5-14.
Buducnost beat Vojvodina Srbijagas 73-54 and revenged them for defeat in Novi Sad. Vojvodina played nice first quarter while the hosts had a terrible shot percentage. The second half brought totally different picture on the court as Buducnost made run 20-4 in the third quarter making advantage of 13 points. The Tulips came closer on minus five but they did not have enough power for a turn. MVP of the game was Vladimir Micov (201-F-85, agency: Beo Basket), who finished it with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Milos Bojovic (198-G-81) added 13 points and 5 rebounds for Vojvodina, whose players had embarrassing percentage from behind the arc (1 of 13).
Like Zvezda, Hemofarm STADA also had to work very hard in order to beat Split CO at home 83-78. Hero of the game was Milivoje Bozovic (211-C-85, agency: Beo Basket), who drained 3-point shot 20 second remaining for the final score 83-78. Bozovic recorded season high collecting 23 points and 10 rebounds. Marlon Garnett (188-G-75, college: Santa Clara) was unstoppable in Split netting 35 points. Hemofarm played this game without one of their best player Goran Jagodnik, who will have to undergo knee surgery and will be out for the rest of the season. With this win Hemofarm improved to score 12-7 while Split dropped to 8-11.
Zadar - Partizan Igokea 70-54
(28-16,15-11,9-13,18-14)
Zadar: Brewer 18, Barac 14 (4 rebs), Gecevski 12 (8 rebs), Stimac 12 (7 rebs)
Partizan Igokea: Palacio 16 (6 as), Velickovic 13
Crvena Zvezda - Siroki Prima pivo 96-90
(32-24,15-18,26-23,23-25)
Crvena Zvezda: Dragicevic 18 (11 rebs), Cook 13 (4 as), Bakic 12 (7 rebs), Kikanovic 12 (4 rebs)
Siroki Prima pivo: Stemberger 21 (4 rebs), Perincic 18 (5 rebs), Zimmerman 15 (6 as)
Hemofarm STADA - Split CO 83-78
(24-22,22-26,19-17,18-13)
Hemofarm STADA: Bozovic 23 (10 rebs), Marshall 14, Borisov 12
Split CO: Garnett 35, Ivanov 20 (6 rebs)
Buducnost - Vojvodina Srbijagas 73-54
(20-19,7-11,22-12,24-12)
Buducnost: Micov 13 (5 rebs), Dragojlovic 12 (8 rebs), Popovic 10
Vojvodina Srbijagas: Bojovic 14 (5 rebs), Ivanovic 12 (7 rebs)
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ALGERIA
12th day results M.C.ALGIERS dominates -by Foued Benhenni
here are the results of 12th day
NAR-CRBDB 70-106
JSBM-CRMB 75-70
CRBT-NAHD 49-80
WAB-AUA 69-49
ASPTTTTT-USMH 86-79
MCA-WBAB 80-60
NBS-OB 81-74
STANDING:
1/ MCA (mouloudia of algiers) 22 pts 11 games played
2/ASPTT (post office Algiers team) 21pts 12 games played
3/CRBDB (dar el beida) 19 pts 11 games played
4/ JSBM,USMMH and WAB 19 pts both 12 games played
5/ NAHD (husein dey) 18 pts 11 games played
6/ WBAB(ain benian) and OB(olympic boufarik) 17 pts and 11 games played
7/ NBS (staouelli) 15 pts 10 games played
8/CRBT 13 pts 11 games played
9/ CRMB 12pts 12 games played
10/ NAR (rouiba) 11 pts 11 games played
11/AUA 10pts 9 games played
ALGERIAN CUP SECOND ROUND -by Foued Benhenni
here are the Algerian cup second round schedule,the games wil be played on 7 and 8 th february
JS KABILIE-USMM HADJOUT
JSB M'SILA -IRM BEL-ABBES
AB SKIKDA-NA HUSSEIN DEY
WB AIN BENIAN-CR BENI-SAF
MS CHERCHELL-CRM BIRKHADEM
MB SAIDA-ASPTT ORAN
WA BOUFARIK-USB MEDEA
USM ALGIERS-ASPTTT ALGIERS
O BATNA-COBB ORAN
WS MILANA-NA ROUIBA
MC ALGIERS+CSB K'SEUR
SUD-CRB-DAR EL BEIDA
CRB TEMOUCHENT-MOO OUARGLA
ARBEE ALGIERS-TBBBlida
AU ANNABA-NRM HARRACH
YAICI AGAIN -by Foued Benhenni
a new great game for Boudji YAICI in FRENCH NATIONALE 1 with 15 points 5 rebounds 4 assists 3 steals in french nationale 1 regular seasongame between his team MULHOUSE and CHARLEVIL-MEZIERES yesterday (26 january),BOUDJI is improving ,he's averaging 8,5 points 4asists and 2 rebounds per gamesBoudjenaia Yaici (181-G-87, agency: Court Side)
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ARGENTINA
News in Ben Hur -by Facundo Iatzky
Ben Hur Rafaela decided cut Khayri Battle (12.5 pts 4.5 reb 1.9 as in 24 games) and signed David Harrison (191-G-75, agency: Interperformances, college: Campbellsville) who comes to play in Mexico. the bad new for Ben Hur is the injury of Jonathan Machuca who will miss the rest of the season. For this reason they are testing the point guard Pablo Rocchia. the team also loaned Philip Lockett to Asosiacion Quimsa.
El Nacional Monte hermoso released Jamaal Williams (8.6 pts 3.7 reb in 14 games) and inked Mike Manciel (196-F-80, agency: HM Sports Agency, college: Cent.Michigan) who played recently in Defensor Sporting in the Liga de Americas.
Libertad Sunchales released Ryan Carroll
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BRAZIL
FLAMENGO, UNIVATES and UBERLANDIA won in Nacional Masculino 2008.- -by Ed Goodman
Three games were played in Nacional Masculino Flamengo crashed Iguazu Basquete 122-57; Uberlandia won over Universo 78-76 and Univates / Bira defeated CISER/ Univille / Joinville 92-91. Monday 28 presents 1 game FTC EAD vs. Pitagoras Minas.
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CHINA
Liao Ning lost Jiang su -by Robert Wang
Jiang su beat Liao ning at 105: 93 home gme. Now, they are 1-1 at semifinals. While in the game, former NBA player Oyedeji Olumide fighted against Tang Zheng dong at the 2nd quator 1'24' left and the referees gave them both T foul. Their fight made TV life broadcast stop working 3 minutes which made bad effection. CBA might do something on this issue. Oyedeji got 18 points and 13 rebounds, Jamal Sampson got 15 points and 16 rebounds. Tang Zheng dong got 29 points and 12 rebounds. Liao ning made 22 turnovers and Jiang su got 14 turnovers.
JIANGSU TIE SERIES WHILE GUANDONG GO TWO UP! -by Ogoh Odaudu
Guandong cruised past DongGuan 125-106 to take a 2-0 lead in one of the semi-final games of the CBA playoffs this evening.Leading four players who scored in double digits for Guandong was Zhi Fangyu who scored 27pts while Chen Jianghua (188-G-89) Added 23pts.Du Feng (202-C/F-81) and Lamond Murray (201-F-73, agency: Interperformances, college: California) each scored 18 and 20pts respectively.For DongGuan,Qiu Biao (200-F-83) led scoring with 25pts,Zhang Kai (211-C-82) 18pts while imports Micheal Harris and Myles Anthony (206-F/C-82, college: Xavier) scored 23 and 20pts each. In the other series,Jiangsu beat Liaoning to tie it at one game apiece.in the second quarter,with less than two minutes to go,a mild drama erupted between Oyedeji Olumide (208-C/F-81) and Tang Zheng Dong and this held the game up for almost three minutes because both players had to be restrained by teammates.Both ended up with technical fouls.Tang emerged highest scorer with 29pts and 12 rebs.Hu Xuefeng (185-G-81) followed with 24pts while Yang Li (195-F/G-85) and Forehan-Kelly Ryan (197-F/G-80, college: California) scored 19 and 12pts respectively.For Liaoning,Oyedeji Olumide scored 18 pts and grabbed 13rebs while Sampson Jamal (211-F/C-83, agency: Octagon, college: California) and Zhang Qingpeng (190-G-85) each scored 15pts.Jamal also caught 16rebs.Games continue on wednesday as Jiangsu travel to Liaoning and Guandong head for DongGuan.
JIANGSU TIE SERIES WHILE GUANDONG GO TWO UP! -by Ogoh Odaudu
Guandong cruised past DongGuan 125-106 to take a 2-0 lead in one of the semi-final games of the CBA playoffs this evening.Leading four players who scored in double digits for Guandong was Zhi Fangyu who scored 27pts while Chen Jianghua Added 23pts.Du Feng and Lamond Murray each scored 18 and 20pts respectively.For DongGuan,Qiu Biao led scoring with 25pts,Zhang Kai 18pts while imports Micheal Harris and Anthony Myles scored 23 and 20pts each. In the other series,Jiangsu beat Liaoning to tie it at one game apiece.in the second quarter,with less than two minutes to go,a mild drama erupted between Olumide Oyedeji and Tang Zheng Dong and this held the game up for almost three minutes because both players had to be restrained by teammates.Both ended up with technical fouls.Tang emerged highest scorer with 29pts and 12 rebs.Hu Xuefeng followed with 24pts while Yang Li and Forehan-kelly scored 19 and 12pts respectively.For Liaoning,Olumide Oyedeji scored 18 pts and grabbed 13rebs while Jamal Sampson and Zhang Qingpeng each scored 15pts.Jamal also caught 16rebs.Games continue on wednesday as Jiangsu travel to Liaoning and Guandong head for DongGuan.
Guangdong Leads 2-0, Jiangsu Evens Series at 1-1 -by Arthur Volbert
Zhu Fangyu (201-F-83) scored 27 points and Chen Jianghua scored 23 points in 21 minutes, hitting 8 of 11 shots, as Guangdong blasted Dongguan 125-106 to take a 2-0 lead in their semi-final series. Lamond Murray scored 20 points and Du Feng scored 18 in the Guangdong romp, fueled by a 34-20 third quarter advantage. Leading scorer Wang Shipeng did not play for Guangdong but the team did not skip a beat. Chen looks like he has a chance to make the Olympic team as instant offense off the bench. He would be a very small shooting guard but could play that role when Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian are both guarding the basket.
Qiu Biao scored 25 points to lead Dongguan. Mike Harris added 23 and Anthony Myles scored 20. Zhang Kai (211-C-82) scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Zhang could make the Olympic team and see important minutes as he is a better rebounder than Wang Zhizhi.
Tang Zhengdong today held his own against Liaoning's import big men, scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, as Jiangsu defeated Liaoning 105-93 to even their series 1-1. Hu Xuefeng scored 24 points and Yang Li added 19. But the key to the victory was stifling Liaoning's veteran small forward Liu Xiangtao, who was held to 7 points on 2 of 15 shooting.
Olumide Oyedeji led Liaoning with 18 points and 13 rebounds in 32 minutes while Jamal Sampson had 15 points and 16 rebounds in 28 minutes. Li Xiaoxu (204-C-90), class of 1990, had 14 points on 7 of 9 shooting, plus 11 rebounds, in 31 minutes. Li represents the new breed of young Chinese forwards, who have been much better trained in rebounding techniques. Expect China to produce more young players who can rebound like Li as time goes on. Li is currently not as proficient a rebounder as veterans Oyedeji and Sampson. But players tend to get stronger until their mid-twenties and, while Li may be older than 17, his body has still not yet fully matured.
Guangdong 26 34 34 31 125
Dongguan- 25 28 20 33 106
Guangdong 125
Zhu Fangyu 27p+7r+2a+2s+1bl, Ji Le 13p+9r+3a, Du Feng 18p+3r+3a+1bl, Lamond Murray 20p+10r+3a+3s+1bl, Liu Xiaoyu 2p+5r+6a+2s+5to, Zhou Peng 5p+4r+2a, Jason Dixon 20min+14p+5r+1a+4s+1bl+6fl, Chen Jianghua 23p(8/11)+3r+2a+3s+0to
Dongguan 106
Zhang Kai 18p+10r+1bl, Qiu Biao 25p+1r+1a+1s+5to, Wang Jing 8p+1a, Wang Nan2 0p+5r+3a+1s, Anthony Myles 20p+6r+2a+1s+5to, Li Guang 1p+3r+3a+1s, Yu Ning 9p+1s, Mike Harris 23p+10r
Jiangsu- 33 25 28 19 105
Liaoning 25 22 22 24 93
Jiangsu 105
Tang Zhengdong 29p+12r+1a, Hu Xuefeng 24p+5r+4a+3s+5to, Yi Li 15p+3r+4s, Yang Li 19p+6r+2a+2s, Ryan Forehan-Kelly 12p+3r+3a+2s, Jon Smith 5p+6r+1a
Liaoning 93
Bian Qiang 13p+2a+2s, Liu Xiangtao 7p(2/15)+1r+3s, Yang Ming 9p+3r+1a+3to, Li Xiaoxu 14p+11r+4s, Olumide Oyedeji 18p+13r+3a+5to, Zhang Qingpeng 41min+15p(5/16)+5r+2a+2s+3to+6fl, Jamal Sampson 15p+10r+1a
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CROATIA
Zadar stopped Partizan's streak in Adriatic League -by Eurobasket News
Croatian Zadar stopped Partizan's streak that consisted of 15 consecutive wins. Moreover Zadar reached 13th win in the row and 16-3 in the league.
Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma) top-scored with 18 points for the winners. Pankracije Barac (196-G-81) added 14 points and 4 rebounds, while Milton Palacio (190-G-78, college: Colorado St.) got 16 points and 6 rebounds. Jere Macura and Jure Lalic did a great job defending Pekovic in the first quarter, when Zadar recorded as many as eight steals. Pankracije Barac drained two 3-pointers for a 43:27 Zadar lead heading into the second half.In the third quarter Serbian team reduced the gap a bit and won the quarter 9:13. A 18:14 in the last quarter let croatian team the success in the game.
Split CO lost to Hemofarm STADA 78:83. Milivoje Bozovic drained a three pointer for the final score. Bozovic recorded season high collecting 23 points and 10 rebounds. Marlon Garnett was unstoppable in Split netting 35 points.
Zagreb lost on the road against Helios 78:71. In the second quarter Domen Zerak initiated hosts'8-0 run that provided Helios with double-digit lead tonight 32:22. Ingram finished the game with 20 points and Zerak had 15 points and eight rebounds. Vladovic had 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Zagreb.
Cibona survived over Union Olimpija 82:80 as Chris Warren (196-F-81, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: S.Carolina) nailed 37 points for the winners. Bailey posted 22 points in the losing effort.
Zadar - Partizan Igokea 70-54 (28-16,15-11,9-13,18-14)
Zadar: Corey Brewer 18, Pankracije Barac 14, Gecevski 12, Stimac 12
Partizan Igokea: Milton Palacio 16, Novica Velickovic (205-F-86) 13
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CYPRUS
Keravnos thrashed AEK and singed a new player! -by Chris Mammides
Proteas EKA AEL beat Omonia Nicosia 78-55 keeping the tradition of the last 11 years. The quarters of the game were: 14-11, 30-27, 59-35 and 78-55. Top scorers for the Limassol team were: Souchu 18, Radle 13 and Sudov 12 while from Omonia Nicosia top scorers were the American Arthur Davis (193-G-77, college: St.Joseph's) with 14points, the Serbian Mijalovic with 12 points while 10 points were added from the American center Marvin Stone. In the mean time, Radle and Woodward are members of AEL and with their participation in the game against Omonia tried to 'delete' the rumors. Eurobasket.com will be informing for any further news in regarsd to the specific matter.
Keravnos Strovolou beat BMC AEK Larnakas without facing any real problems. The top seated team of Keravnos begun the game with an aggressive mood finishing the first half with 23-18, the main reason that the visitors were close in the score was mainly Burton with Dunn, the two Americans were the only real trouble for Head Coach Frangias team. During the second half though things changed as Keravnos players with Smith's continuous good performances (he is the top scorer for Keravnos in nearly all the games played the last month), increase the deficit to 16 points ending the first half to 50-34. In the third quarter, the picture didn't change at all, on the contrary the Strovolos players with very strong offense and good shooting from the parameter (Smith three 3pointers, Giorgos Anastasiadis two 3 pointers) and in the paint (Damjanovic, Aleksandar Radojevic and Panagiotis Trisokkas were dominant over the 'lonely' Alen Trepalovac (215-C-85), the result by the end of the third quarter went up to 25 points, finishing to 69-44 and of made the fourth quarter just a typical procedure for Keravnos, the final score was 93-68 with top scorers from Keravnos, Bryant Smith (196-G/F-77, college: Auburn) 23 points, Panagiotis Trisokkas 14 points and 11 rebounds while Patrick Lee (187-G-75, college: Va Commonwealth) added 13 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals while from BMC AEK Larnakas top scorers were the two Americans Isaac Burton (191-G-73, college: Arizona St.) and Chris Dunn (191-G-83, college: W.Virginia St.) with 16 points each.
In the mean time, Jarrett Hart (194-G-80, college: Kansas St.) who got injured 10 days ago operated successfully and is expected to join the Strovolos yellows by the beginning of next month, Keravnos though, in order to cover up the missing spot in the shooting guards agreed terms with Sasa Stefanovic (188-G-75), ex player of the French Limoges CSP Elite, the Serbian guard will be present in the next game of Keravnos which will take place next Friday.
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CZECH REP.
23rd round results -by Ondra Simecek
Geofin Novy Jicin waived two players on the try out this week and therefore could not come to Decin with a full roster. Decin took the oportunity and proved their power on the homecout by beating Geofin 91:73 led by Pavel Milos and Pavel Houska. Pardubice did not let the fans to see any suprise and won over Usti 81:57. Prostějov went to Kolin to get a victory after the last week loss in USK and succeed by winning 81:97. Brno won on the homecourt 99:66 against USK. Sadska is slowly coming to get the play off position and led by vet Jiri Trnka won over Liberec 89:86. Nymburk played their game in Ostrava and won 62:75 in last quarter by a good performace of Monty Mack (191-G-77, agency: Interperformances, college: Massachusetts).
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DENMARK
The key game of the round -by Eurobasket News
The game between Bakken Bears and Svendborg brought more interest than any other games as both teams sty on top of the satndings. The defending champions were stronger 77:72 to improve at 14-2. Svendborg won the opening quarter 16:19, but then could not follow the favorite. Jason Siggers (193-G/F-85, agency: Strategic Sports, college: Albany) led the winners with 21 points. Nicolai Iversen (204-F-80, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: San Jose City JC) netted 15 and Chris Christoffersen scored 14. Ivan Hoger (225-C-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza) produced 20 points in defeat.
BK Amager is third in the league with 8-8 record. In the last game the team overcame Horsens IC 80:79.
Last night CSKA and Danish David Andersen (212-C-80) were hardly tamed by Unics in Kazan. Moscow outfit secured their 14th win in the season beating the hosts 75:63. CSKA had some delays arriving in Kazan and looked pretty weary down the stretch. However it never influenced the outcome. The visitors relied on a tight defense in the opening frame and limited the hosts to 11 points. It allowed CSKA to accumulate an 8-point advantage and continued to dominate after the intermission. Unics had a momentum late in the second quarter when they rebounded after a slow start and cut the deficit to 6 points. But CSKA quickly restored a safe distance and actually cruised to an overall win in the final minutes. Ramunas Siskauskas led CSKA with 20 points. David Andersen and Trajan Langdon provided 13 points apiece for the winners. Tomas Van Den Spiegel make his initial appearance for CSKA after his return to the team from Polish Prokom. He logged 17 minutes of action dropping 4 points and grabbing 2 boards. Darjus Lavrinovic responded with 22 points and 8 boards for Unics. Tariq Kirksay had 10 points in defeat. The home team played without Sergei Chikalkin.
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DOMINICAN REP.
Dominicans Abroad -by Kerwin Abreu
Ricky Soliver (191-G-84, college: Iona) was the best Dominican Abroad this weekend in the european basketball. Soliver had 20 points for the Nanterre in the Pro B League in France beating Limoges and Ivan Almonte (198-F-81, college: Florida Intern.) 79-64 and now they are 9-8. Soliver played in a total of 36 minutes, 10-6 from the field including 8-5 3Pts 5 Rebs and 3 Ast.
Another pair were the Greer Brothers. Ricky Greer had 16 points and Jeff Greer (195-G/F-79, college: Rutgers) had 15 points helping Nancy still in the first, beating Paris-levallois 79-64. Josh Asselin (211-C/F-78, agency: Duran International, college: Michigan) had 13 points 4 rebs 2 St. In the Ricoh Manresa victory over ACB Spain 96-102.
Kelvin Pena (193-G-81, college: Southeastern CC) had 11 points and Edward Santana (203-F-80) had 15 rebs in the Caceres 2016 victory 83-66 over Palencia in the spanish league.
San Fco. Regional Sat Results -by Kerwin Abreu
San Fco. De Macoris: The first game of the Season was held between Juan Pablo Duarte and Santa Ana. Duarte beated Santa Ana 96-88. The Best man in the game were for the winners David Diaz (189-G-78) 31 points 6 rebs, 6 ast. Charlie Rodriguez (202-F/C-78) (202-F/C-78) 20 points 8 rebs. Gregory Ventura 15 points 7 rebs. In the lost cause Benyi Minaya (180-G) had 26 points 5 rebs. Jesus Martinez (195-F-73) 25 points 7 rebs, Luis Devarez had 13. Richard Ortega (188-G-82) finished with 13 ast.
Sundays Games:
San Martin vs Maximo Gomez
San Vicente vs Santa Ana
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FRANCE
Round 16 Player of the Week! Thomas Dubiez -by Sean Davis
Thomas Dubiez (195-G-80) of Gravelines is France A League's 'Player of the Week!'
Dubiez had a break out game and earned this honor by putting
Gravelines on his shoulders, leading his team to their first victory
since Round 9. Coming into Round 16 Dubiez had only scored 55pts in
15 games. He blew up scoring a career high 23pts and 5rebs while
shooting 8 of 13 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free throw line.
Honorable Mention
Maximiliano Stanic (178-G-78, agency: Players Group) was only averaging 8ppg but stepped up in Round 16
scoring 20pts 4ast and 3rebs to help Pau-Orthez to their 3rd victory
in their last 4 games.
Vincent Masingue (204-F/C-76) of Hyeres-Toulon had a great game in a losing effort.
Masinque scored 14pts and controlled the boards by ripping down a
week high 17rebs.
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GERMANY
Bundesliga Game Day 17: Weekend Results 25-26th! -by Michael Taylor
Bundesliga Game Day 17 tipped off with exciting games all over Germany! ALBA Berlin earned a tough victory over NewYorker Phantoms Braunschweig to remain atop the standings and other important results made things interesting as we reach the midway point of the Bundesliga 34 game schedule.
Friday January 25th
Artland Dragons 80 L TI Giessen 46ers 69
PG John Goldsberry keyed the Artland win with a strong 16pt 5ast evening for Head Coach Chris Fleming and his team's 80-69 home win over Giessen friday night at Artland Arena. Dragons held a slim 16-15 lead after one before pushing to 33-29 at half. The 3Q was key for Artland as the Dragons outscored the 46ers 27-17 to break the game open. Along with Goldsberry, C Adam Chubb added 11pt 7reb and Lamont McIntosh chipped in 10. Artland shot 55% from the floor and outrebounded Giessen 27-23. Rouven Roussler led the 46ers effort with 22pt including 4 of 6 from three in his 8 of 11 shooting night. Youngster Johannes Lischka was also excellent adding 16pt on 7 for 9 from the floor. Artland improved to 13-4 while Giessen fell to 4-13.
Saturday January 26th
ALBA Berlin 75 NewYorker Phantoms Braunschweig 72
Bobby Brown scored 24pt and Goran Nikolic added 18 as ALBA Berlin took control early and stood strong late in their 75-72 road win over NewYorker Phantoms Braunschweig Saturday afternoon at Volkswagonhalle live on BBL.TV. Bursting to a 17-9 1Q lead, Head coach Luka Pavicevic and his team held a 33-29 advantage at half. Berlin extended the lead to 54-48 heading into the 4Q before holding off a late Braunschweig charge. John Allen topscored for the Phantoms with 17pt while Andrew Drevo added 14, Steven Wright 12, Kyle Visser 11 and Domonic Jones 10. ALBA shot 46% from the floor and 6-13 from three (46%) while the Phantoms totaled 42% from the floor and 8 of 23 (34%) from three. Berlin enjoyed an advantage at the foul line sinking 23 of 31 (74%) to Braunschweig's 12 of 19 (63%). ALBA remains atop the Bundesliga with a 14-3 record while Braunschweig dropped their 3rd straight falling to 9-8.
Deutsche Bank Skyliners 72 TBB Trier 54
PG Pascal Roller buried 5 of 6 threes on his way to a team best 21pt 5ast performance that pushed Deutsche Bank Skyliners past TBB Trier 72-54 Saturday night at BallSporthalle in Frankfurt. Head Coach Murat Didin and his team jumped to a 23-14 lead after one and cruised the rest of the way holding a 39-26 halftime advantage and 10pt lead heading into the 4Q. Maksym Shtein came off the Skyliners bench for a strong 12pt 9reb night and Ilian Evtimov contributed 11pt 5reb to the Frankfurt win. Skyliners shot 47% from the floor and buried 10 of 22 threes (45%) while outrebounding Trier 36-24. Trier shot 36% from the field but managed only 4 of 21 threes (19%). In fact Daniel Cage made all 4 of Trier's threes going 4-10. Mike Benton paced Trier production with 16pt 8reb against his former Frankfurt team while Cage added 14pt. Skyliners improve to 9-8 while Trier falls to 3-14.
Telekom Baskets Bonn 82 ratiopharm Ulm 77
Jason Conley scored 19pt and John Bowler added 18pt 7reb as Telekom Baskets Bonn pushed their win streak to six straight in a hardfought, intense 82-77 victory against ratiopharm Ulm Saturday night at Carnival crazy Hardtberghalle in Bonn. Bonn started strong in the early 1Q before Ulm battled back to trim the deficit to 25-21 Bonn after 1. Behind a pressure defense and team play, Head Coach Michael Koch and Bonn held a 46-40 lead at half. Ulm charged back outscoring Bonn 21-17 in the 3Q and the exciting action went back and forth. Already without injured starting PG Kyle Bailey, Ulm's Dru Joyce was whislted for his second unsportsmanlike foul midway through the third quarter. Forced to vary their lineups, Ulm resorted to All Star power forward Jeff Gibbs to play some PG in the 4Q. However, Bonn picked up their defensive pressure on Ulm's point guard-less lineup. Trailing 76-72 Ulm's Bryan Lucas buried a three pulling Ulm within 1 76-75 with 224 remaining. Ulm defenders goal-tended a JJ Strasser shot giving Bonn a 78-75 lead. Both teams failed to convert on possessions before Konrad Wysocki drew a foul and made two clutch FT pulling Ulm within one 78-77 with 55sec. Bonn's All Star Conley tipped in a big bucket and Ulm trailed by three with 30sec left. An EJ Gallup corner three was offline and Strasser sealed the win with two big FT for Bonn. Bobb shot 46% from the floor and made 21 of 25 FT (84%) while Ulm sank 43% from the floor plus 25 of 34 FT (73%). Ulm made only 8 of 25 threes in the game but outrebounded Bonn 32-29. Despite the loss, the shorthanded Ulm team has much to build on from their effort. Bonn improves to 12-5 while Ulm slips to 9-7.
digibu Baskets Paderborn 84 Science City Jena 70
The terrific backcourt combination of All Star Tim Black and Malik Moore sparked Paderborn's grind-it-out 84-70 win Saturday over visiting Science City Jena. Moore hit 3 of 6 threes and 7 of 14 from the floor to finish with a team best 22pt closely followed by Black who buried 4 of 8 threes and 5 of 13 from the field for 20pt in the win. Jena started strong taking a 21-19 lead after 1Q and extending their advantage to 40-35 at the half. Paderborn fought back in the 3Q pulling within one 56-55 heading into the 4th. A 27-14 final Q sealed the hardfought home win for Paderborn. Brendan Plavich hit 4 of 10 threes to topscore with 16pt while Ajmal Basit added 15pt 9reb, Jason Milller 14pt and Mark Davis 11pt reb. Paderborn outrebounded Jena 38-32 and outshot their guests from the floor 46% to 41% and 9-26 (34%) 5-22 (22%) from three. Paderborn enjoyed a sizable advantage from the foul line 21-40 (52%) t Jena's 11-17 (64%). Head Coach Doug Spradley and his Paderborn team improve to 7-10 while Jena falls to 2-15.
Koln 99ers 92 WALTER Tigers Tubingen 65
Amidst adversity Head Coach Sasa Obradovic and his Koln team demonstrated championship heart as the 99ers topped Walter Tigers Tubingen 92-65 Saturday evening at Tubingen Arena. Despite distractions and stories swirling around the team regarding the Insolvency announcement earlier in the week, Koln earned their second important win after their midweek ULEB Cup win. After a tight 21-20 1Q which saw new Head Coach Tolga Ongoren make his debut in Tubingen, Koln doubled the Tigers 20-10 in the 2Q to take a 41-30 lead at half. The 99ers extended their margin to 64-47 after 3 before finishing the win with a 28-18 4Q. Koln shot 56% from the floor to Tubingen's 39% and drilled 10 of 23 threes (43%) to 4 of 17 (23%) for the Tigers. Toby Bailey was in fine form scoring 20pt 7reb 6ast with support from teammates Immanuel McElroy (12pt), Nedzad Sinanovic (12pt 6reb 5-6 shooting), Marko Keselj (12pt 6reb 2-3threes), Derek Raivio (12pt 3 of 5 threes) and Aleksandar Nadjfeji (11pt 5reb 5ast). Rasko Katic and Dee Andre Hulett shared topscoring honors for Tubingen with 15pt apiece while Bingo Merriex added 14pt 12reb on 4 for 5 floor shooting and 2 of 2 from three.
Sunday January 27th
Bayer Leverkusen v Ewe Baskets Oldenburg 3pm tip
EnBW Ludwigsburg v BG 74 Gottingen 6pm tip
March 12th brose baskets Bamberg v Eisbaren Bremerhaven 7:30pm tip
2. Bundesliga Pro A: Highlights of Gameday 18 -by Moritz Korff
Play of the Day: Chris Oliver (198-F-85, agency: Court Side, college: Radford) - Kaiserslautern: 32 pts, 14/20 FG, 4/4 FT, 10 rbs, 3 st, 2 bs, 1 as
Points: Chris Oliver - Kaiserslautern: 32
Rebounds: Monta McGhee (202-F-79, agency: AMI, college: Lewis) - Cuxhaven: 16
Assists: Al Elliott (188-G-79, college: Pace) - Bremen: 10
Steals: Terryl Woolery (195-F-76, college: Cal Poly Pomona) - Bremen: 5
Blocked Shots: Alonzo Hird (206-F-83, college: E.Kentucky) - Schalke: 3
For all stats and scores please visit the official website of the 2. Bundesliga: click
2. Bundesliga Pro B: Highlights of Gameday 18 -by Moritz Korff
Play of the Day: David Bunts (189-G-79, college: Pacific) - Bielefeld: 37 pts, 11/16 FG, 5/10 3P, 10/10 FT, 7 rbs, 4 as
Points: Zack Wright (188-G-85, agency: Weller Sports - Entertainment, college: Cent.Missouri St.) - Braunschweig: 42
Rebounds: Solomon Sheard (204-F/C-79, college: Paul Quinn) - Wolfenbuettel: 15
Assists: Goran Petrovic (185-G-77) - Ansbach: 9
Steals: Jacob Ndi (185-G-82, agency: 7-Miracles Management) - Stahnsdorf: 5
Blocked Shots: Andreas Hornig (212-C-80, agency: LimeLight, college: Murray St.) - Kirchheim: 4
For all stats and scores please visit the official website of the 2. Bundesliga: click
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GREECE
B' Division : Match Day 16: Second Round's first game and Near East is leading. -by Chris Mammides
Doukas - Olympiakos Volou 87-83
Quarters: 21-18, 48-42, 74-66, 87-83
Doukas took an early lead and only in the fourth quarter faced some troubles from Coach Vlioras team.
Top scorers:
Doukas: Apostolos Matzioris (201-F-84) 24 points, Nikos Kritsalos (192-G-77) 23 points and Thanasis Kamariotis (201-F-77) with Tsohlas 9 points each
Olympiakos Volou: Tsolis 25 points, Tsourelis 20 points, Arnaoutakis 15 points and Nanis 12 points
Milonas - Ikaroi Serron 70-79
Quarters: 12-21, 28-41, 48-57, 70-79
Ikaroi Serron were much better in the game and took the initiative from the very beginning, Coach Kamarakis's team had four players with double digits
Top scorers:
Milonas: Theologos Vlavianos (196-G-86) 14 points, Efthyhios Kalaitzakis (195-G-83) 10 points and Ballas 10 points
Ikaroi Serron: Costas Sdrakas (188-G-72) 24 points, Pehlivanis 22 points and Topouzis 17 points
Makedonikos - Goumenisa 77-62
Quarters: 22-17, 34-28, 58-44, 77-62
Coach Giannouzakos team succeeded the second victory this season with Adonis Kogias (206-C-81) succeeding a career's high and Kostas Dalpas (200-F-84) following him from a close distance.
Top scorers: Kostas Dalpas and Karypidis14 points each, Tanakidis and Adonis Kogias 17 points each and Giorgos Samourellis (204-C-84) 16 points
Goumenisa: Bagi 16 points and Giannis Antoniadis (202-G-87) 10 points
Ikaroi Kallitheas - KAOD 78-53
Quarters: 14-20, 36-30, 57-38, 78-53.
Ikaros Kallitheas thrashed KAOD even though coach Grigoriadis team took by surprise the home team and for nearly 16 minutes were leading the game.
Top scorers:
Ikaros Kallitheas: Emmanouilidis 18 points, Karastamatis 14 points and Koukouras 11 points
KAOD: Kyriakos Papadopoulos (199-F-74) 13 points and Koukouravas 10 points
Aigio - Ermis Lagkada 88-67
Quarters: 18-9, 38-27, 61-45, 88-67
Aigio thrashed Ermis Lagkadas and kept his position in the second place with Prokos adding another 30 points in his large scoring career.
Top scorers:
Aigio: Prokos 30 points, Tirlas 18 points and Stavroulakis 13 points
Ermis: Troulialis 14 points, Papakonstantinou 12 points, Dimitriadis 10 points
Komotini - Anagennisi/ Floga 85-79
Quarters: 25-19, 49-41, 62-58, 85-79
A derby took place in Komotini where the home team took the victory at the end simply due to the amazing game of Yiorgos Koutsovasilis (199-F-75) and Mouzakitis. It is worth mentioned that Komotini had 6 players with double digits.
Top scorers:
Komotini: Yiorgos Koutsovasilis 19 points, Mouzakitis 17 points, Dinas 15 points and Veli with Souflias 14 points each.
Anagennisi/Floga: Kostas Pallis (190-G) 15 points, Moisiadis 10 points, Sidiropoulos and Zarogiannis 14 points each.
Amyntas - Lavrio 69-68
Quarters: 25-15, 36-32, 56-57, 69-68.
The greatest derby took place in Dafni, where Amyntas finally took the victory over the very good team of Lavrio in the last second of the game.
Top scorers:
Amyntas: Leonidas Zoupas (182-G-82) 13 points, Samothrakis 14 points, Alexandr Moumouris (201-F/C-74) 15 points and Vogiatzis 11 points.
Lavrio: Giannakopoulos 18 points, Psileas 15 points and Rallis 11 points
Near East - Alimos 92 -62
Quarters: 23-15, 47-35, 66-50, 92-62
Near East thrashed Coach Armenis's Alimos with 30 points having in a great day Lykogiannis
Top scorers:
Near East: Lykogiannis 20 points, Papoulidis 14 points and Gavanopoulos 13 points.
Alimos: Tsolakis 22 points, Yfantis 10 points
Top scorers after 16 weeks:
Dimitris Prokos (192-G-74) of Aigio 354 points
Panagiotis Nanis (195-F/G-80) of Olympiakos Volou 288 points (in 15 games)
Nick Psileas (200-F-80) of Lavrio 285 points
Panagiotis Tsolis (194-F-81) of Olympiakos Volou 278 points (in 15 games)
Giorgos Tirlas (198-F-80) of Aigio 261 points
Konstantinos Pehlivanis (192-G-79) of Ikaroi Serron 252 points
Michalis Tanakidis (190-G-81) of Makedonikos 236 points
Giorgos Filiousis (198-G-77) of KAOD 236 points
Nicos Papakonstantinou (182-G-84) of Ermis Lagkada 235 points
Sotiris Katoufas (206-F-79) of Ikaros Kallitheas 226 points
Tassos Baggi (187-G-75) of Goumenissa 233 points
Kostas Dinas (189-G/F-80) of Komotini 217 points
Tasos Dimitriadis (201-C-82) of Ermis Lagkada 211 points
Dionysios Giannakopoulos (195-G/F-82) of Lavrio 178 points
Dimitris Karatzios (202-F-78) of Doukas 178 points
Mihalis Ifantis (204-F-72) of Alimos 173 points
Nikos Moisiadis (180-G-80) of Anagennisi Floga 170 points
Theologos Vlavianos (196-G-86) of Milonas 174points
Nikos Michalos (192-G-77) of Near East 161 points
Nikos Kritsalos of Doukas 161 points
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HUNGARY
Round 16: saturday's games -by Tamas Deri
ALBACOMP - ATOMERŐMŰ SE 72-67
(24-15, 20-25, 12-17, 16-10)
Szekesfehervar, Att.: 2300, Referees: Vigh, Foldhazi, Hegedűs
ALBACOMP: Balazs Simon (188-G-80, agency: Court Side) 15, Cory Bradford (191-G-78, agency: Edge Sports, college: Illinois) 20/12, Soos 7, McClendon 12, Zoltan Bencze (213-C-81) 14, Boozer 4, Hanga, David, Coach: Goran Miljkovic
ATOMERŐMŰ: Meszaros 8/3, Nile Murry (193-G-83, college: TCU) 14/3, Kiss Zs., Horvath Z. 8, Robert Gulyas (213-C-74) 29/6, Toroman 7/3, Johnson, Csaplar-Nagy E. 1. , Coach: Sabali Balazs
Field goals: 28/59 (47%) - 24/56 (43%)
Free Throws: 12/17 (71%) - 14/22 (64%)
Rebounds: 26 - 30
Most rebounds: McClendon 9, Gulyas 14
Most assists: Simon and Bradford 4-4, Meszaros 8
ZALAKERAMIA ZTE KK - FALCO KC SZOMBATHELY 72-76
(13-17, 20-19, 24-18, 15-22)
Zalaegerszeg, Att.: 3000, Referees: Hartyanyi, Bodnar, Makovszky
ZALAKERAMIA: Vladimir Miskovic (188-G-78) 12/3, Walters 9/3, Tamas Kaman (200-F-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 22/12, Hoffmann 7/3, Reggie Bassette (206-C-77, college: ODU) 12, Gaspar, Toth 2, Baki, Simon 8, Keresztes, Coach: Nikola Lazic
FALCO: Kalman 12/3, Bam Doyne (193-G-84, college: Mississippi) 27/12, Andrija Ciric (199-G-80, agency: Beo Basket) 14/12, Borszeki 3/3, Nikola Aliakseyeu (212-C-78, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents, college: Buffalo) 10, Kazlauskas 8/3, Feigl 2, Varadi, Coach: Srecko Sekulovic
Field goals: 27/58 (47%) - 23/57 (40%)
Free Throws: 11/14 (79%) - 20/25 (80%)
Rebounds: 24 - 35
Most rebounds: Kaman and Basette 6-6, Aliakseyeu 10
Most assists: Miskovic 5, Kalman 4
Matija Ceskovic had his debut with his new team. The 27 years old croatian-bosnian guard from Karlovac played already in Croatia, Bosnia, Poland and Greece. He step in the 7. minute on the court and had some nice moves, but not even him could help his team to win against Kormend.
KAPOSVARI KK - LAMI-VED-KÖRMEND 80-86
(26-23, 12-30, 27-13, 15-20)
Kaposvar, Att.: 1.200, Referees: Cziffra, Adam, Kiraly L.
KAPOSVAR: Ferenc Csirke (183-G-76, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 12, Carl Edwards (196-F-81, college: Charleston) 27/9, Szőke 2, Roland Hendlein (201-F-86, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 16/6, Laszlo Orosz (207-C-71, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 18, Ceskovic 2, Vojvoda 3/3, Tomosvary, Coach: Horvath Imre
KÖRMEND: Fodor M. 4, Csaba Ferencz (192-G-85, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 10/6, Trummer 11/6, Stanley Ocitti (203-F/C-80, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Binghamton) 20/9, Peter Vavra (203-F/C-80) 11, Jermaine Thomas (187-G-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: La Salle) 4, Henderson 10, Fodor G. 8/3, McCants 8/6, Coach: Krivacevic Dragoljub
Mike English had a tripple-double again. American guard scored 22 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had also 11 assists, all together 42 IBM.
PLANET LEASING DOMBÓVAR KC - BODROGI-BAU VASARHELYI KS 97-91
(31-33, 18-17, 21-20, 27-21)
Dombovar, Att.: 1500, Referees: Palla, Torok, Fekete
DOMBÓVAR: Julien Mills (193-G-84, agency: Warren Sports, college: Ball St.) 26, Mike English (194-F/G-82, college: Mo.-Kansas City) 22, Vas P., Molnar 2, Marco Sanders (202-F-79, college: Point Park) 24, Simon N. 6, Bodi 4, Deak 8/6, Wiley 5/3, Coach: Dzunic Branislav
VASARHELY: Drahos 11/6, David Brooks (191-G-82, college: Niagara) 20/15, Kovats R. 6, Eric Freeman (205-C-79, college: Ky Wesleyan) 28/9, Gemes 16/6, Babucz 10, Boszormenyi, Coach: Czuprak Laszlo
Thomas Kelley was the man of the game. The american point guard scored 37 points, shot 80 % from the field (12/15), and missed only one of his 12 free throws. He had a double-double, as he collected also 11 fouls against, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
SOPRONI SÖRDÖGÖK - SZOLNOKI OLAJ KK 93-105 after overtime
(25-35, 23-17, 24-16, 17-21, 4-16)
Sopron, Att.: 1200, Referees: Forrai, Kapitany, Marton
SOPRON: Karon Bradley (180-G-84, college: Wichita St.) 18/6, Peter Lakatos (194-G-79) 8, Jeff Viggiano (198-F-84, college: Massachusetts) 22/3, Lesko 15, Frana 8, Pojbics, Zsolt Vesztergom (194-G/F-87, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 8, Boldizsar 3/3, Gergely Kortelyesi (203-C-83, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 11/6, Coach: Meszlenyi Robert
SZOLNOK: Thomas Kelley (188-G-76, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: Michigan St.) 37/6, Cziczas 7/6, Vernard Hollins (192-G-80, agency: Warren Sports, college: Wright St.) 19/9, Donatas Sabaliauskas (200-F-75) 12/12, Henrik Gobi (206-C-71, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 13, Andras Molnar (195-F/G-83) 9/6, Harazin 4, Georgy Cseh (208-F-87) 4, Coach: Por Peter
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ICELAND
KFI looses two on the road -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
KFI lost two games on the weekend.
First they lost to FSU 126 89 on friday evening. Matthew Hammer had 27 & Vesteinn Sveinsson 26 for FSU. Pance Ilievski 30 for KFI.
On saturday KFI lost to top seat team Breidablik 82-68. Breidablik now 12-0 in the league. Nemanja Sovic 22. Will Coley 18 + 15 rebs for Breidablik.
Iceland Express league results. -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Skallagrimur beat Tindastoll 90-81. Darrell Flake (193-F-80, agency: IceBasket, college: McKendree) 36. Hafthor Gunnarson 22. Allan Fall 18 for Skallagrimur.
Buitnett 26. Philip Perre 18 for Tindastoll.
Stjarnan 91. Grindavik 103. Pall A. Vilbergsson 24. Pall Kristinsson 18. Adame Darboe 17. Jonathan Griffin 19 for Grindavik. Dimitar Karadzovski 22. Jovan Zdravevski 22 for Stjarnan.
Keflavik lost at home tonight against Njardvik 88-75. Njardvik had 44 freethrow shots Keflavik 12. Njardvik made 37 of them 84%
Top scorers for Keflavik. Bobby Walker 21. Anthony Susnjara 14. For Njardvik Damon Bailey (197-F-80, agency: Icebasket. college: Missouri Western) 29 + 12 rebs. Brenton Birmingham 15
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ITALY
Serie A Week 21 -by Stefano Pini
After 2 games lost Siena came back to the victory. But it wasn't easy. Joseph Forte (193-G-81, agency: Megasport, college: N.Carolina) did everything to make his former team worry, 22p. and 5st for him. Montepaschi has 4 players in double digit. Montegranaro had 5 players that scored more than 20p. against Scafati. And won the game. Sharrod Ford (206-F-82, college: Clemson) is impressive in this moment: 17+18 with 4 blocks. Benetton Treviso dominated Capo D'Orlando at home shooting very well: 15/27 by 3p. (5/6 by Lionel Chalmers (183-G-80, college: Xavier)) with a choking defense that kept Pierrel at 29/65 from the field. Armani Jeans Milano made pressure for all the game against Scavolini's frontline: Travis Watson (203-F/C-81, college: Virginia) +Casey Shaw (208-C-75, college: Toledo) +Mindaugas Katelynas (205-F-83, college: Chattanooga) +Ansu Sesay (206-C/F-76, college: Mississippi) combined for 51 points while Melvin Booker (185-G-72, college: Missouri) + Dusan Vukcevic (201-F-75, agency: Interperformances) for 15 assists. It's easy to understand the key of the game... LaFortezza Bologna won after 4 games lost in a row. At home, against Cantu Bologna grabbed 24 offensive rebounds (Cantu 19 in defensive...) and Alan Anderson (198-G/F-82, college: Michigan St.) showed his talent. Solsonica Rieti overcame Varese after 2 OT. Solsonica in the toughest moment of his season obtained the 2nd victory in a row. Cimberio lost his 5th game in OT. From the beginning of the season Varese had 15 players that was included in the starting five... Until 2 weeks ago Napoli was a team that was fighting against relegation. Now is a team 2 victory far from playoff zone... But Eldo, even in his worst moment, was a team that always played basketball, trying to express a good organization. And now things are going better. Against Teramo 23 for Chris Monroe (191-G-81, college: George Washington).
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JAPAN
Tochigi fit for a King -by J.D. Greene
The Tochigi Brex who currently rank 3rd in the JBL2, have released both foreign players (Dean Browne and Ryu Han) in a bold move to strengthen their roster in its first year as a team. It comes as a bit of a surprise being so late in the season and with Dean Browne's strong presence in JBL2. We may not have seen the last of him...
Tochigi hopes that the experience of Chris King (203-F-69, college: Wake Forest) and Fred Williams (203-F-74, agency: Tank Sports, college: UAB) will be able to help them win a championship and take them into the first division next season. Both players have played internationally; King has NBA experience with the Grizzlies and Jazz, and was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics in the second round. King and Williams are expected to make their debuts on February 3rd.
Other JBL2 news:
Michael Phillips was released by the Chiba Badgers, currently 2nd, due to an apparent medical condition
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MEXICO
Panteras Surprise Halcones in Game One, Game Two Tonight -by Justin Brink
The Panteras rolled into Xalapa, Veracruz last night with nothing to lose. A classic playoff scenario, a 1 versus an 8 seed, David vs Goliath. And while the Panteras, the eight seed, has yet to slay Goliath, they drew first blood in this best of five opening round LNBP Southern Division clash. Click here for more on the Panteras game one upset.
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MONTENEGRO
MNT1A : Mogren win in H.Novi against Primorje 68-63 -by Dragan Scepanovic
Basketball club Moren Budva win in first game of MNT1A Opportunity Division in city of H.Novi against BC Primorje 68-61.In team of BC Mogren best play once again Boris Lalovic (206-C-81) with 23 points and 11 rebound.Good game play Tepavcevic Sinisa 13 points 7 rebound and Samir Leric (204-F/C-74) 9 points and 8 rebound.In team of BC Primorje good game play Aleksandar Raickovic with 12 points
MNT1B : New win for BC Budva vs S.Centar 65-53 -by Dragan Scepanovic
Lider of MNT1B Division Basketball Club Budva win in game of derby 12 Round of MNT1B Division against BC Studentski centar 65-53.In team of BC Budva best was Milosav Susic (202-F/C-68) with 18 points and 6 rebounds.Good game play Kunjic Igor with 16 points and Drazen Nikic with 13 points.In team of Studentski Centar good game play Djukanovic with 13 points and Koljevic with 12 points.BC Budva have score 12-0 in season 2007-2008.
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NBA
Damon Stoudamire agreed on the contract buyout -by Eurobasket News
The veteran point guard Damon Stoudamire (5'11''-G-73, college: Arizona) reached an agreement with the Memphis Grizzlies on a contract buyout. It means that the franchise will reportedly waive the 34-year-old guard on Monday and he will have 48 hours to sign a contract with a new team. There were already some rumors connecting the 1995 Rookie of the Year with either Boston or Toronto. The Celtics are in a big need of some back-up point guard for Rajon Rondo (6'1''-G-86, college: Kentucky). Meanwhile Damon Stoudamire has been claimed to have an interest in joining the franchise he had started his career with - the Raptors. Toronto also might have a strong interest with T.J. Ford (5'10''-G-83, college: Texas) sidelined indefinitely. Memphis were looking for some trade options concerning Damon Stoudamire. However it did not work out with a low rate of interest from the teams and the Grizzlies had to agree on terms of buyout.
Meanwhile the former New Orleans Hornets centre Chris Andersen (6'11''-C-78, college: Blinn JC) might have a chance to return to action. He was disqualified by the league for two years after testing positive for a prohibited substances such as amphitamines, cocaine and opiates and was handed a two-year ban to play in the NBA. But with his penalty term gone now he would be able to apply for reinstatement. If the league answer is positive on his application he can join the New Orleans Hornets as they would have an excusive option of offering a contract to him. If they do not, any other team can come up with their proposal. In five seasons with Denver and New Orleans Chris Andersen averaged 5.1 points, 4.8 boards and 1.4 blocks per game.
The Phoenix Suns mull over idea of playing one of their preseason games outdoors. The team's general manager Steve Kerr has already visited a possible venue. It could be the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, which has a capacity of 16,000.
New Orleans post their 8th straight win -by Eurobasket News
The New Orleans were never tamed by the defending champions San Antonio Spurs en route to their 8th consecutive victory. David West (6'8''-F-80, agency: Octagon, college: Xavier) outplayed Tim Duncan (6'10''-F-76, college: Wake Forest), while Chris Paul (6'0''-G-85, college: Wake Forest) dominated the field to stun the Spurs 102:78 on the road. The win saw the Hornets grab the lead at the West with 31-12 record. Predrag Stojakovic (6'10''-F-77) converted 4 three-pointers while Chris Paul dished out 11 assists in the win for the visitors. The hosts played evenly in the first half and held on to a 59:58 advantage midway through the third period but New Orleans used a 14:5 rally to spur ahead and entered the fourth period with a 72:64 lead. The visitors quickly enlarged the margin to 20 points and completed the task beating demoralized San Antonio. David West scored 32 points, while Predrag Stojakovic added 22 points for the winners. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker (6'0''-G-80) had 17 points apiece in the 14th loss for the Spurs in the season.
The Miami Heat finally snapped their 15-game losing streak narrowly defeating the Indiana Pacers 98:96 at home court. It was never an easy one. The Heat led by 9 points with just over 4 minutes left in the fourth frame but the Pacers refused to surrender and responded with a 9:2 run to close the gap to only 2 points with over a minute left. But after a bunch of mistakes from both sides Andre Owens (6'4''-G-80, college: Houston) missed a desperate attempt to save the game and Miami celebrated a long-awaited victory. Dwyane Wade (6'4''-G-82, college: Marquette) finished with 35 points for the Heat. Mark Blount (6'11''-C-75, college: Pittsburgh) came up with 19 points, while Dorell Wright (6'8''-G/F-85) had 14 points and 10 boards for the winners. Mike Mike Jr. Dunleavy (6'9''-G/F-80, college: Duke) dropped 25 points for the Pacers. The Heat are still with the worst record in the East at 9-33.
The Memphis Grizzlies survived an overtime to upset the Los Angeles Clippers 125:120 yesterday. Playing without their leader Pau Gasol (7'0''-F/C-80) the Grizzlies relied mainly on Rudy Gay (6'9''-F/G-86, college: Connecticut) and he never let the hosts down. Rudy Gay stepped up with career-high 34 points to pace Memphis. Corey Maggette (6'6''-G-79, college: Duke) notched season-high 35 points in a loss. The Clippers played without their leading rebounder Chris Kaman (7'0''-C-82, college: Cent.Michigan) who was sidelined with a left shin contusion.
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PBL
Weekend games results -by Gianni Pascucci
The Quad City Riverhawks felt to the Dallas Defenders 123-114 at Moline's Wharton Field House. Lonnie Randolph (6'1''-G-83, college: Drake) was the main factor in the Dallas win, scoring 26 points, 18 of them in the second-half comeback of his team, and dishing 9 assists. Ty Johnson (5'11''-G, college: SIU Edwardsville) led QC with game-highs in points (34), rebounds (10), assists (9) and steals (5). Ryan Edwards (6'5''-F-83, college: Missouri Baptist) added 23 pts, but it wasn' t enough. The Rochester Razorsharks kept alive their home winning sterak defeating Chicago 113-97. Chicago led 17-4 midway halfway through the 1st quarter, but the RazorSharks rallied to lead 41-36 at halftime. Vidal Massiah (6'6''-G/F-79, agency: China-Hoop, college: St.Bonaventure) scored a team-high 25 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for the RazorSharks, now at ther 39th win at home. Sammy Monroe (6'6''-F-85, college: Newberry) added 20 points and 7 rebounds, Michael O'Neal (6'0''-G, college: Central State) led all scorers with 28 points for Chicago. Rockford defeated Arkansas 112-110 in a game in which the impact of the Fury new players was pivotal. The Rockford Fury were thankful for Coleco Buie (6'4''-F-73, college: Missouri St.), who helped to ignite a third-quarter rally that wiped out a 17-point deficit and for Rashi Johnson (6'2''-G, college: Michigan St.), who controlled most of the final three minutes. The Impact was led by Jeremy Bell (6'0''-G-83, college: Williams Baptist), who scored 24 points and Tyrone Davis (6'6''-G/F-79, college: Coahoma CC), who added 23. The Wilmington Sea Dawgs remained atop the Premier Basketball League's East Division defeating Reading 102-98. Paced by six double-digit scorers, they built a 19-point lead and withstood a late Railers run that pulled Reading within two in the final 30 seconds. With 20 points, Bruce Brown (6'11''-C-83, college: Hampton) was the best in Sea Dawgs, Cedric McGinnis (6'9''-C-77, college: Georgia Southern) added 15 pts, while Kelvin Green (6'6''-F/G-84, agency: CAA Sports, college: California (PA)) scored 18 and Andre Sweet (6'7''-G/F-82, college: Seton Hall) 17 at the losing side. In another game of the weekend, the Jacksonville Jam prevailed over the Maryland Nighthawks 105-98, and the game between Maryland and Reading was postponed due to transportation problems experienced by the Railers late Saturday night. The game will be rescheduled, the new date will be communicated soon by the PBL.
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PORTUGAL
Pedroso goes to Spain -by Sergio Silva
Gestiberica Vigo of Spanish LEB Bronze signed the guard Nuno Pedroso (187-G-79) who was playing for Vitoria SC/M.Couto Alves of Proliga. Pedroso was playing an excellent season with this former team averaging 10ppg as the team was second in the regular season. That will be an excellent oportunity to the carrer of another portuguese player. That proves also that the portuguese basketball is getting better and the european clubs are looking for. For the moment, it's not sure if Vitoria SC/M.Couto Alves will sign another player to replace Nuno Pedroso.
CAB Madeira signs Summers -by Sergio Silva
The UZO Liga's team CAB Madeira has signed a new center to replace Rome Sanders who suffered a bad knee injury. The choosen player is Rob Summers (213-C-84, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: W.Virginia) who finished his college career in 2007 with West Virginia University and who did play after that in the NBA D-League for Iowa Energy team and also in the PBL League for Rockford Fury team. Summers has already played his first game with his new club this weekend in the defeat of CAB Madeira against Casino Figueira Ginasio. He scored 13 pts and grabbed 7 rbds in 21 minutes.
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PUERTO RICO
BSN Teams Select Community and First Time BSN Players -by Luis Ramirez
With a first time Community Player in its ranks the BSN teams selected their respective picks with some interesting draws. The final selections per team for the Community Players were:
1.Humacao - Ja Ja Richards, 2. Bayamon - Diego Guevarra, 3. Guaynabo - Kevin Sheppard, 4. Mayaguez - Carl Krauser, 5. Caguas - Antonio Garcia, 6. San German - Victor Avila, 7. Carolina - No Pick, 8. Ponce - Eddie Elisma, 9. Guayama - Amuary Filion, 10. Fajardo - Omar Quintero, 11. Arecibo - Karel Rosario, 12. Santurce - Victor Mariscal.
For first time BSN Players the team selection were as follows:
First Round
Team Player
1. Humacao Darnell Hinson
2. Humacao James Life
3. Bayamon Nathan Peavy
4. Caguas Cilk McSweeny
5. Caguas Angel Alamo
6. Ponce Jorge Lebron
7. Arecibo George Cotal
8. Guayama Tim Gittens
9. Fajardo Shelby Chaney
10. Arecibo Eric Arocho
11. San German Jose Andino
12. Santurce Eliezer Blass
Second Round
Team Player
1. Guaynabo Jose Lopez
2. Humacao Victor Rivera
3. Mayaguez Jefferey Acevedo
4 Guaynabo Sened Padilla
5. Caguas Xavier Santana
6. Bayamon Hector Gonzalez
7. San German Luis Acosta
8. Carolina No Pick
9. Ponce Ghandy Arias
10.Guayama Norberto Rivera
11.Fajardo Harry Ramirez
12.Humacao Yanni'el de Jesus
13.Santurce Carlos Berrocales
Third Round
Team Player
1. San German Tito Bautista
2. Mayaguez Mario Milhalik
3. Guaynabo Edgardo Garcia
4. Bayamon Christian Tirado
5. Caguas No Pick
6. San German No Pick
7. Carolina No Pick
8. Ponce Ferdinand Martinez
9. Guayama Roberto Casiano
10.Fajardo No Pick
11.Arecibo No Pick
12.Santurce No Pick
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RUSSIA
CSKA is too good for Unics -by Eurobasket News
CSKA were hardly tamed by Unics in Kazan. Moscow outfit secured their 14th win in the season beating the hosts 75:63. CSKA had some delays arriving in Kazan and looked pretty weary down the stretch. However it never influenced the outcome. The visitors relied on a tight defense in the opening frame and limited the hosts to 11 points. It allowed CSKA to accumulate an 8-point advantage and continued to dominate after the intermission. Unics had a momentum late in the second quarter when they rebounded after a slow start and cut the deficit to 6 points. But CSKA quickly restored a safe distance and actually cruised to an overall win in the final minutes. Ramunas Siskauskas (197-G-78) led CSKA with 20 points. David Andersen (212-C-80) and Trajan Langdon (192-G-76, college: Duke) provided 13 points apiece for the winners. Tomas Van Den Spiegel (214-C-78) make his initial appearance for CSKA after his return to the team from Polish Prokom. He logged 17 minutes of action dropping 4 points and grabbing 2 boards. Darjus Lavrinovic (212-C-79) responded with 22 points and 8 boards for Unics. Tariq Kirksay (199-F-79, college: Iona) had 10 points in defeat. The home team played without Sergei Chikalkin (196-G-75).
Meanwhile Khimky lived up to the pace as they also clinched the 14th victory in the season. Khimky edged Lokomotiv Rostov 77:68 to keep it tied with CSKA at 14-1 record. Khimky claimed their dominance in the opening frame as the hosts built a 24:16 lead. Lokomotiv struggled to perform any sort of comeback and Khimky entered the fourth frame up by 15 points. Lokomotiv managed to outplay 6 points late in regulation but it was never enough to succeed. Maciej Lampe (210-C-85, agency: Edge Sports) provided 19 points for Khimky. Kelly McCarty (201-F-75, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: S.Mississippi) and Mike Wilkinson (204-F-81, agency: Interperformances, college: Wisconsin) netted 14 points apiece for the winning side. Sergei Vorotnikov (196-G-78) and Shevchuk poured in 14 points in a loss.
JR Bremer due to leave Spartak-Primorie -by Marina Vyalova
In accordance with Higher Vision Sports - JR Bremer has decided to cancel the contract with Spartak-Primorie after the Club's recent financial trouble.
Bremer play in his final Russian League game out of respect for the coach versus Universitat Surgut before heading back to Vladivstok to depart to another Club.
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SERBIA
Goran Jagodnik suffers serious injury -by Dragan Jankovski
One of the best players of Hemofarm STADA, Goran Jagodnik (202-F-74, agency: Beo Basket), suffered serious knee injury during the game of the previous round of Adriatic league against Siroki Prima pivo on the road. At the first point it seemed that injury is not so bad but the last diagnose brought new information. Jagodnik must undergo ACL surgery and he will be sidelined until the end of the season.
Zadar stops Partizan, Zvezda and Hemofarm celebrates -by Dragan Jankovski
After fantastic victory against Bamberg and reaching Euroleague TOP 16, Partizan Igokea was not ready to play against Zadar on the road. Croatian team exploited tiredness of Partizan's players and beat them easily 70-54. Zadar stopped Partizan's streak of 15 consecutive wins while at the same time they grabbed 13th win in the row in Adriatic league so now Zadar has only one triumph less than reining Serbian and Adriatic league champ. Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma), who scored 18 points, and Pankracije Barac (196-G-81), who added 14 points and 4 rebounds, were the best for the winners. Partizan got 16 points and 6 assists from UGA PG Milton Palacio (190-G-78, college: Colorado St.).
Crvena Zvezda celebrated over Siroki Prima pivo in Pionir 96-90 much tougher than they expected. Siroki was equal rival until the end but they never had a lead last night. Clutch player of the game was Boris Bakic whose 3-pointer brought 89-83 for Zvezda two minutes before the end. Like usually Zvezda got the most from PF Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86, agency: Beo Basket), who added double-double 18 points and 11 rebounds. Omar Cook (186-G-82, college: St.John's) followed him collecting 13 points and 4 assists while on the other side Sinisa Stemberger (195-G-79) had 21 points and 4 rebounds for Siroki. Zvezda currently has score 12-7 while Siroki dropped to 5-14.
Buducnost beat Vojvodina Srbijagas 73-54 and revenged them for defeat in Novi Sad. Vojvodina played nice first quarter while the hosts had a terrible shot percentage. The second half brought totally different picture on the court as Buducnost made run 20-4 in the third quarter making advantage of 13 points. The Tulips came closer on minus five but they did not have enough power for a turn. MVP of the game was Vladimir Micov (201-F-85, agency: Beo Basket), who finished it with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Milos Bojovic (198-G-81) added 13 points and 5 rebounds for Vojvodina, whose players had embarrassing percentage from behind the arc (1 of 13).
Like Zvezda, Hemofarm STADA also had to work very hard in order to beat Split CO at home 83-78. Hero of the game was Milivoje Bozovic (211-C-85, agency: Beo Basket), who drained 3-point shot 20 second remaining for the final score 83-78. Bozovic recorded season high collecting 23 points and 10 rebounds. Marlon Garnett (188-G-75, college: Santa Clara) was unstoppable in Split netting 35 points. Hemofarm played this game without one of their best player Goran Jagodnik, who will have to undergo knee surgery and will be out for the rest of the season. With this win Hemofarm improved to score 12-7 while Split dropped to 8-11.
Zadar - Partizan Igokea 70-54
(28-16,15-11,9-13,18-14)
Zadar: Brewer 18, Barac 14 (4 rebs), Gecevski 12 (8 rebs), Stimac 12 (7 rebs)
Partizan Igokea: Palacio 16 (6 as), Velickovic 13
Crvena Zvezda - Siroki Prima pivo 96-90
(32-24,15-18,26-23,23-25)
Crvena Zvezda: Dragicevic 18 (11 rebs), Cook 13 (4 as), Bakic 12 (7 rebs), Kikanovic 12 (4 rebs)
Siroki Prima pivo: Stemberger 21 (4 rebs), Perincic 18 (5 rebs), Zimmerman 15 (6 as)
Hemofarm STADA - Split CO 83-78
(24-22,22-26,19-17,18-13)
Hemofarm STADA: Bozovic 23 (10 rebs), Marshall 14, Borisov 12
Split CO: Garnett 35, Ivanov 20 (6 rebs)
Buducnost - Vojvodina Srbijagas 73-54
(20-19,7-11,22-12,24-12)
Buducnost: Micov 13 (5 rebs), Dragojlovic 12 (8 rebs), Popovic 10
Vojvodina Srbijagas: Bojovic 14 (5 rebs), Ivanovic 12 (7 rebs)
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SLOVAK REP.
Pezinok jumps on top -by Eurobasket News
Pezinok overcame Slavia TU Kosice 80:59 to stay alone on top. Three quarters were more than enough to prove the superiority against the guests. Andrej Lukjanec (203-F/C-69) led the winners with 23 points. Brliť netted 11, while Snopko scored 9. Juraj Probala (185-G-79, agency: Promotex) ended up with 13 points for the visitors.
Inter Bratislava could have the same record 15-5 to lead the group but lost to MBK Rieker Komarno 85:94. Igor Majoros (200-F-80, agency: Promotex, college: SW Baptist) paced all the winners with 26 points. Pivac nailed 21 and Fapso scored 16. Martin Micka (180-G-81, agency: Promotex) replied with 24 points in the losing effort.
Lucenec lost in Handlova and also fell at 14-6. A 22:11 in the last quarter was fatal for the favorite. Milosevic paced the winners with 23 points. Vlaic poured in 17, while Klatik and Smacko added 10 each. Peter Praznovsky (205-F-78, agency: Court Side, college: Tarleton St.) top-scored for the guests with 20 points.
Chemosvit Svit won their game to reach two other teams with 14-6 record. Chemosvit Svit had a road win over BK Dolny Kubin 76:92 as Peter Sedmak (203-C-85) nailed 26 points.
HBK Prievidza - BK CASTA SPU Nitra 77:70 (17:18, 23:20, 21:12, 16:20)
HBK Prievidza:Storcel 22, Hrvoje Puljko (193-G-83, agency: Interperformances) 17, Immink 12
BK CASTA SPU Nitra: Hill 22, Andrej Cervenka (198-G/F-84) 14, Seman 13
Slovintegra Levice - Nova Ves 84:80 (27:18, 22:10, 9:22, 26:30)
Slovintegra Levice: Lutovsky 23, Dragan Ristanovic (191-G-66) 23, Gambiroza 19
Nova Ves: Marcel Madaj (200-F-78) 22, Hovaňak 12, Ridzoň 11
Pezinok - Slavia TU Kosice 80:59 (17:15, 25:13, 25:15, 13:16)
Pezinok: Andrej Lukjanec 23, Brliť 11, Snopko 9
Slavia TU Kosice: Juraj Probala 13, Baťka 11, Stojanovic 10
BK Dolny Kubin - Chemosvit Svit 76:92 (29:28, 22:20, 15:19, 10:25)
BK Dolny Kubin: Mario Kurilic (180-G-88) 20, Filo 16, Findura 15
Chemosvit Svit: Peter Sedmak 26, Madzin 16, Laco 12
MBK Handlova - ESO CLUB Lucenec 78:73 (21:13, 22:25, 13:24, 22:11)
MBK Handlova: Milosevic 23, Vlaic 17, Klatik 10, Smacko 10
ESO CLUB Lucenec: Peter Praznovsky 20, Kovacevic 16, Bicvic 14
MBK Rieker Komarno - Inter Bratislava 94:85 (20:20, 17:15, 25:21, 32:29)
MBK Rieker Komarno: Igor Majoros 26, Pivac 21, Fapso 16
Inter Bratislava: Martin Micka 24, Novak 19, Pandula 15
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SLOVENIA
Helios Domzale adds Reggie Freeman -by Matej Bergant
Helios Domzale signed Reggie Freeman (198-G/F-75, college: Texas) untill the end of this season. Freeman started this season in Greece where he played for Ago Rethimno Almeco and averaged 8.7ppg, 2.7rpg in 6 games before he was cut due the bad shape late in January '08. He spent last season playing in Italy for Upea Capo D'Orlando where he averaged 11.9ppg, 3.9rpg, 1.4apg, 1.3spg in 25 games. During his career he played for a lot of European clubs such as ITU Istanbul, Cibona Zagreb, FMP Zeleznik Beograd, KK Crvena Zvezda Beograd, BC Nis Vojvodina Novi Sad, B.C. Zalgiris Kaunas, ASVEL, Roseto, Upea Capo D'Orlando and Ago Rethimno Almeco.
Candidates for Olympic Qualifying Torunament -by Zeljko Zule
NT head coach Ales Pipan has announced 25 candidates for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens.
GUARDS: Sani Becirovic (Panathinaikos), Aleksandar Capin (Panionios), Goran Dragic (Union Olimpija), Jaka Klobucar (Geoplin Slovan), Nebojsa Joksimovic (Hemofarm), Jaka Lakovic (Barcelona), Domen Lorbek (Estudiantes), Jan Mocnik (Union Olimpija), Beno Udrih (Sacramento Kings), Samo Udrih (Granada).
FORWARDS: Sandi Cebular (Rosalia de Castro), Goran Jagodnik (Hemofarm), Marko Maravic (Kiev), Bostjan Nachbar (New Jersey Nets), Emir Preldzic (Fenerbahce Ülker).
CENTERS: Primoz Brezec (Detroit Pistons), Matej Krusic (Helios), Erazem Lorbek (Roma), Radosav Nesterovic (Toronto Raptors), Hasan Rizvic (Union Olimpija), Uros Slokar (Triumph Moscow), Matjaz Smodis (CSKA Moscow), Gasper Vidmar (Fenerbahce Ülker), Zeljko Zagorac (Anwil), Miha Zupan (Union Olimpija).
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SPAIN
Morley's buzzer beater to win the Prince's Cup -by Francisco Martinez
Leche Rio Breogan won the Prince's Cup, a torunament played in Zaragoza between the four best teams of LEB Gold after the first 17 games of the league.
In the first Semifinal Alicante defeated Bruesa GBC with the adding of Keith Waleskowski as main weapon. The team of Quim Costa was able to get a nice gap when they stopeed Bernard Hopkins (199-F-73, college: Va Commonwealth), the leader of Bruesa.
The second semifinal was a surprise because CAI, the host of the tournament, was defeated by Breogan in a fast game where the reds came back 14 points to die in the final play. The just arrived player Daniel Clark (210-C-88) was the main reason of Breogan's victory.
In the Final game, Roberto Morentin led Breogan against his former team, but Josh Fisher was very hot and scored 18 points in the first hald to give the lead to Alicante. The team of Quim Costa was about 7 points till the end of the game, when Ignacio Ordin (184-G-78) set the equality. With one second remaining everybody tought about the overtime, but in the last second Zach Morley (203-F-83, college: Wisconsin) hit a triple and the title went to Lugo.
ACB Round 19 -by Paul Nilsen
The big Barcelona derby game between Barca and DKV Joventut was a strange affair in a game that saw swings for both sides. The home team eventually came out on top against their Badalona rivals with a strong finish to the game but not before two contrasting quarters either side of the half time break. After a tight opening quarter, Dusko Ivanovic and his players were delighted with a 31-17 second period that handed them a 12 point lead at the break.
Incredibly after scoring 31 points, they then scored just 4 points in the third quarter as Badalona dragged themselves back into the game although they only managed 12 points themselves. Consequently It gave the home team an opportunity to get back on the scoring tracuk and they did just that in the final ten minutes with 32 points to seal an 85-74 victory. It was a familiar story for Badalona with Rudy Fernandez in his usual scintillating form scoring 27 points but he had little help. Roger Grimau top scored for Barca with 23 but it was some dealy three-point shooting from Jaka Lakovic and Ginaluca Basile that6 proved pivotal in the contest.
Meanwhile in Andalucia, the bubble burst for the visiting Bilbao at Granada who destroyed the title chasers 97-81 dominating the game throughout. The win was all the more impressive for the hosts as it came without their talisman Curtis Borchardt with Argentinian born Juan Gutierrez taking over on the boards with 13 rebounds while Dylan Page was unstoppable again this week with 28 points. Bilbao relied heavily on the great form of point guard Marcelino Huertas who claimed 16 points and 8 assists.
Cajasol are breathing a huge sigh of relief after taking overtime