EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 1/30/2008

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Men News

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ADRIATIC LEAGUE

Reggie Freeman joins Helios Domzale, Rakocevic stays in Buducnost -by Dragan Jankovski

Ex player of Crvena Zvezda, FMP and Cibona Reggie Freeman (198-G/F-75, college: Texas) signed contract until the end of the season with Slovenian champs Helos Domzale. Director of the club Lado Gorjan didn't hide happiness because the team finally found an appropriate player on forward position. Last season Freeman played for Upea Capo D'Orlando while the last two month he spent in Greek Rethimno from Crete.


According to some rumors that Zarko Rakocevic (205-F-84) will leave the club soon, Buducnost's sports director Gavrilo Pajovic denied those speculations with words that Rakocevic has problems with his knee and it is expected that he will be in full competition shape very soon. He also said that Buducnost didn't get any official offer for Rakocevic.



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BELGIUM

Various News -by Peter Buyse


Telindus Oostende's next Uleb Opponent will be BC Kyiv. Game one takes place in Oostende on Feb 19th at 20.30

The November game between Liege and Bree needs to be replayed as ordered by the league.

Loren Stokes missed this past weekend's game vs Oostende due to a groin injury. He should be able to play this coming weekend vs Mons.


Dexia Mons-Hainaut need to beat Perm by more than 2pts today to take first place in its Fiba Eurocup group.



Recap D1 Rd 18 -by Peter Buyse


Easy home win for Dexia Mons Hainaut vs Leuven. Leuven never gave the impression of being able to go for the win in Mons.
With only 2 players in double figures and 65 pts scored they had no chance vs the nr 2 in the league. Mons also had only 2 players score in double figures but still managed 93 pts.

Optima Gent held on to Liege in the first half of their friday game with a 46-45 halftime score.
But from there on things went wrong and Gent was outscored 37-22 in the second half of the game for the 83-66 loss.

Nice win for Bree vs Charleroi . First quarter saw Charleroi hold on to the home team 19-18 but an outstanding 2nd quarter laid the base for Bree's win when they outscored Charleroi 25-10.
The visitors never recovered and ended up with a 87-69 road loss.


Verviers-Pepinster manged to hold off the Antwerp Diamond Giants 82-74.

Verviers whose American players had not practised for most of the week because of unpaid salaries got off to a bad start with Antwerp outscoring them 17-21 in the first quarter. Antwerp held on to the lead till the half (39-40) but Pepinster pulled away slowly in the 3rd and 4th quarters for the win.

Antwerp played without Mladen Sekularac.


Okapi Aalstar did a good job holding Oostende to 76 pts but their own offensive effort was not enough to endager the victory for the reigning Champions.

Aalst who had to do without Loren Stokes helf on in the first quarter 18-19. Oostende slowly pulled away for the 33-40 lead after 20 minutes.

Ovcina with a 3 put the biggest lead of the game on the board with 12 during the 3rd Q.

Aalst showed a fighting spirit in the 4th quarter and closed the gap to 6 pts at the 3.55 mark but Ovcina again hit a 3 to up the margin again to 9pts.

The closest Aalst got from there was 7 pts and Oostende cruised to victory.


Co-Mvp's of round 18 were Doron Perkins and John Turek (206-F/C-83, college: Nebraska). Perkins scored 17 pts, grabbed 6 rebs and handed out 9 assists.

Turek scored 20 pts and grabbed 9 rebs. Remarkably Turek made 9 of 12 shots from the field but only 2 of 5 from the line.


John Turek was also the MVP of round 17 with 24 pts and 11 rebs.





Transfer News -by Peter Buyse


Liege Basket has signed Ed Norvell (188-G-76, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Kent St.) to replace the released Chris Rodgers.
Norvell already played in 3 other countries this season before coming back to Belgium where he already played 4 seasons in Antwerp.

This year he played in Germany for Ludwisburg, Holland for Rotterdam and in Cyprus for Apollon Limassol.




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BOSNIA

Cup of BiH - Bosna ASA BHT goes to Final Tournament -by Elvir Halilovic

Bosna ASA BH Telecom continues their fighting on three fronts. After a historical win against Alba and after joining the second phase of the ULEB Cup, the 'Students' have qualified for Final Tournament of Cup of Bosnia and Herzegovina by beating Slavija by a score of 63:95.

On Final Tournament also play Borac Nektar (they was better than Sloboda Dita) and winers from matches Zrinjski MC - Siroki Prima Pivo and Grude - Igokea Partizan.
Final Tournament is on shedule at 9TH/10TH February and host city will be selected later.

SLAVIJA - BOSNA ASA BHT 63:95
(10:23, 18:25, 17:22, 18:25)
Istocno Sarajevo, SRC Slavija; Att.: 200; Ref.: Husaric, Adamovic, Okuka
SLAVIJA: Gvozdenovic 14, Stanic 8, Tomasevic 7, Simeunovic, Mladenovic 2, Damjanovic, Vukovic 20, Malovic 4, Rodic 7, Saporac 1, Demic 21
BOSNA ASA BH TELECOM: Greer 7, Sehovic 7, Ikonic 14, Bavcic 19, Bailey 2, Suljagic, Rahimic 21, Majstoric 2, Pasalic, Veal 11, Zimic, Williams 12



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BRAZIL

Paulista League: Ulbra is in the final against Franca -by Gustavo Cardoso
Ulbra proved that its deeper bench was the key to this series and clinched the semi series against Assis in 3 to 1 in another victory tonight in Sao Bernardo, in the Sao Paulo metro area. Veteran combo guard Vanderlei Mazzuchini (198-F-72) finished the game with 27 points and was one of the key factors for Coach Jose Neto.

Assis started better and led by 7 with a few minutes into the game (6-13). The lead stayed at 7 after a coule of free throws by Jorge Seraphim (10-17), but after that Vanderlei charged into the game and helped Ulbra go on a 10-0 run. The veteran guard started the rise of his team with an and 1 play followed by an easy lay up on a fast break.

Diego tied the game at 17 after a crossover on Nezinho that ended on a fade away jumper. A three pointer put Ulbra ahead by 3, but Jorge and Nezinho hit it back to put the visitors ahead before the end of the first (20-22).

The second quarter was the most competitive in the game, but also filled with turnovers. Calderon was called with a technical and Nezinho widened the gap on the scoreboard to 3 (22-25). Mineiro came into the game for Ulbra to replace the Argentine, but couldn't make an impact as Ricardo Probst guarded him up close and forced turnovers.

Both teams hit baskets back and forth and the largest lead was 4 points (28-32) on a play by Ricardo Probst. Mineiro tied the game at 35 with a play underneath the basket and forced a timeout by Coach Aga who yelled at his players in disbelief during the break. A few bad words came out clear on ESPN Brasil's mikes, and so did the coach's message: don't let Ulbra get easy plays down low.

Nezinho fired a trey to put Assis ahead (38-35), but on defense, trying to avoid another easy basket in the paint, Assis' players forgot to guard Ulbra and the ball ended up on power forward Betao's hand who, at the top of the key, hit from beyond the arc and ties the game at 38.

Although we didn't have any mike installed in Assis' locker during half time, from what happened in the beginning of the third, it was easy to conclude that either the message passed wasn't clear or the game strategy was. Assis was totally off on defense and Ulbra players hit inumerous shots wide open. ithout any challenge Calderon hit a three pointer to put Ulbra up by 5 (49-44).

The home team went on a 12-2 run with the Argentine and Vanderlei leading the team. The third quarter ended with a sellfish, but beautiful play by youngster point guard Marcel, who after being rejected, drove back into the lane against three of Ulbra's players, and forced an impossible play. Showing talent, and flexibility the diminutive guard hit a bank shot high on the backboard and got a trip to the charity line. Ulbra 61, Assis 48.

The last period started with the fourth foul on Pedro Calderon. However, Ulbra, at this point, was not dependent on any specific player, and Neto, kept the player on court. David reduced the lead to 11 on a tip in after a trey by Jorginho. Marcel had a steal on Calderon to narrow to single digit (63-54), but Biro made sure Ulbra stayed under double digit comfort (65-54) with 7 minutes to go.

Danilo hit from beyond the arc at ease (68-54), and Nezinho, in a childish play, fouled Vanderlei, his fourth, with less than 6 to go. On the next play Marcel fouled Biro, also his fourth. The game was on Ulbra's hand and Calderon, once again from three, sealed the game putting the home team ahead by 19 (73-54). Ulbra won the game by 15 points (82-67), and puts the city of Sao Bernardo for the first time on a Paulista League final.

Franca and Ulbra will face each other after Carnival Holidays, which end on February 6th.

CBB League: Week 4 Results -by Gustavo Cardoso
Sunday, January 27th

Iguacu 57-122 Flamengo
Fla: Marcelinho Machado (200-F/G-75, agency: Interperformances) 22 pts
Igu: Fabricio Paulino (183-G-83) 20 pts

Univates 92-91 Joinville
Univ: Audrei Parisotto (194-F-84) 16 pts
Join: Gustavo Ferreira (201-F-82) 22 pts

Uberlândia 78-76 Universo
Uber: Jaz Cowan (205-F-83, college: Hampton) 23 pts
Uni: Artur 23 pts

Monday, January 28th

Minas 83-86 FTC/EAD Salvador
Min: Jasper Johnson (201-C-83, college: Delta St.) 33 pts
FTC: Roberto Dias Ferreira (196-F/C-79) 20 pts

Week 4 will finish on Friday with Minas facing Universo at home. The game will be aired by Sportv at 8.30 PM Brasilia time.

NBA Brasil: Varejao, at his best in the NBA, out for 15 days -by Gustavo Cardoso
According to Cleveland Cavaliers personnel the Brazilian forward will be out for 15 days due to a sprain in his left ankle. The player got injured on Sunday in a game against the Lakers.

The Cavs currently sit on 4th place in the Eastern Conference with 24 wins and 19 losses and have in Anderson Varejao (205-C-82) its seventh top scorer (7.3 points per game) and third rebounder (8.5 boards per game).

These are the Brazilians best averaged stats since entering the league in the 04/05 season. Anderson Varejao played 22 games this season averaging over 28 minutes per contest.

ACBB League: League could start in late February -by Gustavo Cardoso
The Association of Brazilian Basketball Clubs (ACBB), in partnership with the Paulista Basketball Federation, has affirmed that its own National League could start as early as late February and will be called ‘Supercopa de Basquete do Brasil 2008'.

There are currently 8 teams involved in the association, all of them from the state of Sao Paulo. Franca, the nation's most traditional basketball club, leads the pack and brings an unprecedented force to a new alternative to Brazilian basketball (Franca didn't participate in the last alternative league, the NLB).

Newspaper ‘O Estado de S. Paulo' published on Sunday that the association is working with Joao Henrique Areias, a sports marketing specialist that was responsible for the organization of the Brazilian Copa Uniao back in 1987 (Football National League) and for the 1995 Brazilian Basketball League, when it had contracts with Sportv, Reebok, Molten, and Unysis.

Joao Henrique Areias, from Sportlink, has been given the job of attracting new sponsors and, according to Franca Basquete, has already started his contacts with TV networks in Brazil.

Paulista League Playoffs: Ulbra one step away from the finals -by Gustavo Cardoso

After two heart beating encounters Ulbra has finally got ahead in the series against Assis and can close things down tonight in Sao Bernardo. Yesterday's game showed that both teams are very balanced and that concentration and a reduced number of turnovers will decide the series.

Ulbra started the game well with Argentine center Pedro Calderon (210-C-80) scoring the first five games of the game. After that the starting squad of Jose Neto seemed to fall apart while Rodney Blackstock (196-G/F-80) shot the lights out from long range and established an early lead for Assis. Mineiro Rodrigues (213-C-87) replaced Calderon, but had two technical fouls called and was sent out by the ref.

Diego da Silva (196-F/G-80) committed a few turnovers that cost his playing time. Youngster 'Biro' Maistro (190-F-87) came on court to show that his lanky built is capable of great things and helped his team narrow the gap before the end of the second quarter. On the other end Giba de Aguiar (193-F/G-83) drove Coach Aga nuts turning over the ball. Ulbra 56-63 Assis at the half.

In the third and fourth quarters Ulbra came back with its starting squad and the game started to flow. Vanderlei became more active on offense being hit on fastbreaks that concluded in easy lay ups. Ulbra was able to stay ahead comfortably for a while until, once again, key turnovers enabled a quick come back by Assis, and almost cost the home team an important victory at home. Ulbra 78, Assis 76.

Both teams will meet again tonight in Sao Bernardo in Game 4. Assis needs to win to force Game 5 at home. The game will be aired live by ESPN Brasil at 8.30 PM Brasilia time.

Top Scorers:

Ulbra: Vanderlei Mazzuchini (198-F-72) 14 pts

Assis: Rodney Blackstock 18 pts



CBB League: Market News -by Gustavo Cardoso
Jeferson Jef Sobral (202-F-80, agency: Interperformances), a forward with experience in the United States and Spain, has signed with CETAF/Garoto/UVV. Diguinho Del Arco (177-G-79), a point guard that played with Flamengo last year moved from Ulbra to Univates/Bira and will play with the Gaucho team in the National League organized by CBB.

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BRIT.V.ISLANDS

BVI's Basketball Sensation Randy ‘Chino' George -by David Edole
By Suelika N. Buchanan

(Virgin Gorda; BVI): Randy George (200-F-81, college: Henderson St.) is a household name in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and originally hails from Virgin Gorda a tiny island with beautiful scenery nestled in the BVI. Presently, he's 27, 6'7' and was contracted to play professional Basketball in the British Basketball League for the Sheffield Sharks in England.

Read on to find out more about this Virgin Island Basketball sensation as he takes England by storm.

SKNVibes: First of all, how did you get that nickname ‘Chino'?

Randy: I got the nick name Chino from a friend of mines while I was in High School in Virgin Gorda. Chino actually means 'Chinese' in Spanish. He actually called me that because he told me I had eyes like a person from China, so that name just stuck with me.

SKNVibes: Give us a background on the colleges you attended?

Randy: I attended Sauk Valley Community College in Illinois from 2001-2003 then attended Henderson State University in 2003-2006. I was a Sociology major with a minor in Criminology.

SKNVibes: What made you want to pursue those studies?

Randy: I choose Sociology with a minor in criminology because I am interested in learning about people from different societies around the world as well as learning the different aspects of crime and criminal behavior within law enforcement.

SKNVibes: Tell us what you are up to presently?

Randy: I am presently in Sheffield England playing basketball professionally for the Sheffield Sharks in the British Basketball League-
Randy in the air blocking a shot during the British Basketball League Tournament in Crystal Palace, England (BBL).

SKNVibes: What has the experience been like?

Randy: It's been a very good experience so far playing basketball professionally for the Sheffield Sharks as this is my first year of playing basketball professionally overseas.

SKNVibes:So who is your favorite Basketball player and why?

Randy: My favorite basketball player I would have to say is Tim Duncan because I think he can take over a basketball game at anytime and can also get his teammates involved. I also like his calm demeanor, his leadership qualities and his basketball fundamentals and IQ of the game.

SKNVibes: Which game has been the best game you've ever played so far?

Randy: I think the best game I have played in so far was late last year against another BBL team name Worcester Wolves at the English Institute of Sports Sheffield. I had 28 pts, 23 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 assts and 2 steals. I shot 13-24 from the field and I have also had a game in college where I had 24 points and 9 rebs against the University of Central Arkansas in 2005.

SKNVibes:Being so far away from home, what do you miss the most about Virgin Gorda?

Randy: The thing I miss most about not being home in the Virgin Islands is being around my family and friends. I also miss the Food as well as the weather because here in England, it rains most of the times and it's also cold. However, I adjust quickly to both situations because it's not the first time I've been away from home.

SKNVibes:What one goal would you like to accomplish one day?

Randy: One of the Goals I would like to accomplish one day is to have my own sporting agency to help organize sporting events in the Virgin Islands. Giving the younger generation a chance to be exposed to coaches from around the Americas as well as Europe no matter what sport they may participate in so that they can also get scholastic scholarship as well.

SKNVibes: Is there any special initiative you'd like to see happen in the BVI in terms of Basketball?

Randy: One thing I would like to see happen in the British Virgin Islands in terms of Basketball is for the game to be taught in schools the right way teaching the kids the fundamentals of the game in order to be able to compete on a high level whether in local, regional or on the international scene.

SKNVibes:: What is the best advice you've ever gotten?

Randy: The best advice I have ever gotten was from my parents, they always told me to work hard for everything I want and never let anyone tell me that I can't do something because once we put our minds to something, we can accomplish it.

SKNVibes: Who's the most important person in your life and why?

Randy: I would say the most important person in my life would be my son because he is one of the reasons I am pushing myself to the limit to be successful in whatever I do. My family also plays a very important part in my life because they always stood behind me 100% and that's one of the reasons I love them so much.

SKNVibes: How long will you be in England for?

Randy: I have been in Sheffield since September. The league runs from mid September until mid May. After that, I am gonna go home and relax for a while with family and play in some local summer leagues while getting myself physically ready for my second year of playing ball professionally, whether it's here in the BBL or elsewhere in Europe or the Americas.

SKNVibes: What do you have to say about those athletes who get involved in using drugs?

Randy: I would say that drugs on a whole are bad whether you are an athlete or not. I think it not only ruins your life but it also destroys your reputation as a model citizen in society as children and other people in society look up to professional athletes as heroes in a sense.

SKNVibes: Thank you Randy! And we wish you all the best in your success and future endeavors.

Randy: I would also like to thank you Suelika my cousin and SKNVibes.com for featuring me in this article, God Bless and One Love.

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CAPE VERDE

Kitana Cabral will participate in the drawing for the pre-Olympic tournament -by Pedro Gomes
The president of the Capeverdian Basketball Federation, Kitana Cabral, will travel today, 29, to Athens, where he will participate in the drawing that will define the adversaries
of the brave Criolos for the pre-Olympic tournament.

Besides Cape Verde, the other countries that will participate in the drawing are; Canada, Cameroon, Brazil, Croatia, Albania, Greece, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, Slovenia, New Zealand,
and South Korea. The pre-Olympic tournament will be disputed in Athens, Greece, from the 14 the 20 of July.

The drawing that will happen at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, on the 31 of January, should form 4 groups of 3 teams. The top 3 teams will guarantee its presence at the Olympic Games
in Beijing, China.

Santiago South Championship has begun -by Pedro Gomes
The Santiago South Basketball Championships finally started this weekend. With all the problems facing the Regional Association in organizing this year's championship,
they still managed to get it going. The championship will include 7 different age level, Cadets, Junior, and Senior, both men and women.

The teams that entered the 2008 season are:

U14 (M) - Órgaos, Amor de Deus, Predio, and ABC.
U16 (M) - Bairro, Amor de Deus, Órgaos, ABC, and EBS.
U18 (M) - ABC, Achada Grande, Bairro, and EBS.
U20 (M) - Seven, ABC, EBS, and Bairro.
Senior (M) - Seven, ABC, Achada Grande, and Predio.
U14 (W) - Órgaos, ABC, Amor de Deus.
Senior (W) - Seven, Bairro, ABC, Órgaos.

The cadets and juniors began play last weekend at the Vava Duarte Pavillion.
In the first round of plays, (U14) - Amor de Deus beat Órgaos, 31-29; ABC beat Predio, 23-6.
(U18) - Achada Grande lost to ABC, 30-56, and Bairro beat EBS, 38-36.

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CUBA

Capitalinos "The leader" -by Alessandro Fontana
LSB-Time in Cuba. Capitalinos won against Guantanamo 78-66 and Capitalinos is still 'the leader' of this LSB with a 12-1 standings. Camaguey won an important game against Ciego de Avila 85-75. Camaguey has now a 6-7 standings and 'Los Tigres' are still in the race to qualify for the LSB play-offs. Metropolitanos won against Santiago de Cuba 102-99 and Matanzas obtained an important victory against Villa Clara 88-80. The team of the MVP of this LSB, Allens Jemmott (193-G-80) can qualify for the next LSB-playoffs, They have now a 7-5 standings.
The Results:
Capitalinos-Guantanamo= 78-66
Matanzas- Villa Clara= 88-80
Camaguey- Ciego de Avila= 85-75
Metropolitanos-Santiago de Cuba= 102-99
A. Fontana

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CZECH REP.

Geofin signing two vets -by Ondra Simecek
Geofin Novy Jicin continues to try to complete its roster and after two unsatisfactory tryouts from previous days they have decided again to sign two new players. Geofin wants too add an experience player to the team and is going to test veteran Mario Bennett (207-F-73, college: Arizona St.) (207-F-73, college: Arizona St.) with an NBA experience and also veteran Hurl Beechum. The players should come to the team by the end of the weekend.

Prasil leaving Ostrava -by Ondra Simecek
Jaroslav Prasil (200-F-80), the national team player has announced to sign a contract with BK Prostejov. Prasil who will take off the jersey of Ostrava after six years will have a chance to fight for better places in Mattoni NBL now. The contract with Prostejov is signed until the end of this season.

CEZ Nymburk will face Turow Zgorzelec in ULEB Cup elimination round -by Ondra Simecek
CEZ Basketball Nymburk knows the oponent for the elimination round of the ULEB Cup. The Czech champion will face polish team PGE Turow Zgorzelec. Since Turow Zgorzelec does not have the suitable arena for ULEB games in their region in Poland, the management decided before the season to move the european competition to the closest arena, that would fullfil the requirements of ULEB. The closest arena was not in Poland, but in the Czech Republic in Liberec, where Zgorzelec played the regular season game and will play also the elimination round game. Therefore Nymburk will take the advantage to play both elimination games on the courts in front of the Czech spectators.


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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Clifton Jones back to Top level -by Rauno Hurmalainen
American C-F Clifton Jones (201-F-78, college: Oregon St.) will return back to Top level. Jones has transfered from YMCA Helsinki (I-division) to Team Componenta (Karkkila) for the rest of this season. Jones has played earlier six seasons on Top level (Korisliiga) in Finland. This season he averaged 13,1 ppg - 12,6 rpg on YMCA Helsinki roster.
American G-F Dominique Coleman (190-G-84, college: Colorado) is no more on YMCA Lahti roster. Coleman played three games with Lahti and averaged 6,3 ppg - 6,3 rpg in 23,4 mpg. That was not enough for the contract, though. Estonian F-C Reinar Hallik (208-C-84) will play his last game on YMCA Lappeenranta roster tonight, when the Finnish Team is finishing the season in EuroCup in Tartu, Estonia. Hallik played also 11 games in Korisliiga averaging 6,7 ppg - 4,0 rpg in 14,3 mpg.

EUROCUP: Tartu Rock defeated Team LPR -by Rauno Hurmalainen

EuroCup, Qualifying Round, Group A: Tartu Rock (Estonia) - Team Lappeenranta (Finland) 78-72 (35-41). Quarters: 13-22, 22-19, 27-14, 16-17.
Both teams won two quarters. The game was tied 69-69 when the last minut began. Tartu won that minute 9-3 and the game thanks to
Marek Doronin (200-F/G-83) and Gert Kullamae (198-G/F-71) Adrian Henning (203-F-82, college: Austin Peay St.) led again Team LPR with 20 pts.
CSK-VVS Samara (Russia) - PAOK BC Thessaloniki (Greece) 80-61 (41-30). Quarters: 17-16, 24-14, 20-16, 19-15.
Group A (Final): 1) Tartu Rock 5-1, 2) CSK-VVS Samara 5-1, 3) Team Lappeenranta 1-5, 4) PAOK BC 1-5.

Tartu Rock - Team LPR 78-72 (35-41) (Marek Doronin 21, Gert Kullamae 17, George Tsintsadze 15. 1 - 78,6%, 2 - 59,1%, 3 - 22,7%. R: 30+12=42. TO: 19.

- Adrian Henning 20, Ivan Harris 14, Pasi Riihela 13/10, Petri Virtanen 11. 1 - 57,9%, 2 - 43,8%, 3 - 37,9%. R: 24+10=34. TO: 15).

CSK-VVS Samara - PAOK BC 80-61 (41-30) (Alex Scales 17, Sergey Demeshkin 16, Marque Perry 15 - Georgios Tsiakos 16/10, Dimitrios Verginis 12).



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FRANCE

ProB Days 18 & 19: Bourg joins Rouen -by Chris Spiesser
Many movements over the two last ProB days. At first in the upper part of the league, Bourg joined Rouen. The normandians lost in Maurienne while the bressans showed strong against Boulazac and @ Nantes. But Nanterre made the best move with two really impressive wins vs Poitiers and especially in Limoges which allowed only 45 to Chalons during 7 days before. St-Etienne is also unbeaten and remains well ranked in the league. Brest and Nantes lost contact to the top with two losses but the team who is on a real bad trend is Chalons. The champagnards, with two losses, join Besancon and Quimper as the teams under the pressure of the bottom-4. Each of those teams (St-Vallier, Le Portel, St-Quentin and Reims) won once with cleverness mentions as they mostly defeated teams who could be concerned by relegation in a few weeks.

Day 18
Le Portel 91-68 Brest
Besancon 65-63 Evreux
Saint-Quentin 91-80 Reims
Rouen 84-72 Nantes
Châlons 45-60 Limoges
Quimper 66-59 Aix-Maurienne
Bourg 91-63 Boulazac
Nanterre 77-73 Poitiers
Saint-Etienne 72-60 Saint-Vallier

The facts of the Day:
29pts (7/8 3pts), 5rbs for Charles Gosa (St-Quentin)
Nick Bradford (Reims): 22pts, 8rbs, 4stl, 4ass
14pts, 11rbs, 5ass for Benoit Toffin (Rouen)
15/50 from the field for Chalons and 31rkg points (20 for Mulligan)
109-51, the ranking score for Bourg with 7 players over 10rkg points.
19pts (3/3 3pts) and 6rbs for Chatuant (Bourg)
Souarata Cisse: 29pts (7/9 3pts), 5rbs, 3stl (Nanterre)
Cedric Gomez: 21pts (4/5 3pts) (Poitiers)
Justin Ingram (St-Etienne): 20pts, 7rbs, 5stl, 3ass
St-Vallier ends with 46 ranking points and 35 for Malick Badiane (18pts, 23rbs)!


Day 19
Poitiers 84-72 Saint-Quentin
Reims 84-74 Besancon
Evreux 79-74 Brest
Saint-Etienne 89-76 Le Portel
Limoges 63-74 Nanterre
Nantes 86-94 Bourg
Boulazac 72-64 Châlons
Saint-Vallier 79-75 Quimper
Aix-Maurienne 95-75 Rouen

The facts of the day:
PY Guillard: 16pts, 12rbs and 9 players at least at 5rkg points in Poitiers.
16pts (8/9) and 15rbs for Ezenwa Ukeagu (Reims)
12/19 at 6.25m for Evreux with a 6/8 for Eric Micoud (20pts, 5ass)
Still from the 3pts line, St-Etienne netted a 10/17 with 3/3 for Vladimir Buscaglia
Only seven 2 pointers for Limoges against Nanterre and Soliver: 20pts, 5rbs, 3stl, 8ass.
28pts, 12rbs for Freeman but Bourg's Chatuant had a new 3/3 at 6.25m (11pts, 6rbs) and Reid posted 17pts and 10ass
Florent Eleleara: 19pts, 3rbs, 3stl, 6ass.
20pts (8/9), 12rbs, 3ass for Malick Badiane who ends with 35rkg points.
Julian Blanks: 30pts, 3rbs, 6ass and Maurienne offensively spanked the leader with 114 ranking points

NM1 Day 19: 3 teams on top -by Chris Spiesser
Big surprise this week with Antibes' first home loss. The GET Vosges overcame the azureans in the final seconds which drives the NM1 to a very tight situation. Now the first spot is shared by Antibes as well as the winning Fos and Charleville. This tightness brings also new hopes for Blois and the GET which are one and two wins behind. In the bottom, gaps are also shrinking especially for Longwy which is now only one victory behind Boulogne. But Mulhouse and Lievin are facing those teams new competition as well.

Antibes 71-72 Golbey-Epinal
The locals wasted a +8 lead in the last 2'30 despite Doubal's performance (22pts 5/9 3pts, 4ass). The GET was quite impressive as they played without Thevenon and Caskill. Cransac and Bach did their best: 16pts, 7rbs, 5to, 4ass and 12pts plus 11rbs.

Bordeaux 65-70 Fos
Hard game but brilliant result for Fos who could count on an incisive Mamadou Dia (17pts, 6rbs) and their strong defense. Bordeaux only shot at 34% (25/73).

Charleville 80-72 Mulhouse
Sandjay Adell still suspended, Mulhouse is slowly sliding to the bottom of the league. In Charleville, the task was hard and Chris Davis complicated it wisely: 18pts, 3rbs, 6to, 4ass.

Andrezieux 72-88 Angers
The visitors won for the 4th time in a row which leads them to a positive balance of 11-8 and a safe spot in middle of the league. Michael Doles: 26pts (9/14), 7rbs, 3stl, 4to, 4ass

Boulogne 92-63 Feurs
The maritims won their first game in 2008 thanks to a tremendous Donnie Beacham (31pts 10/17, 5rbs). But Feurs didn't show under his best star ending the game with more turnovers (18) than rebounds (12!!).

Centre Federal 76-84 Toulouges
The Tsonga boys each had their best performances (before many others...) of their respective carreers . If Jo-Wilfried shined with his tennis bat, his cadet has better feelings with the big orange ball. Against Toulouges, he posted 18pts (7/10) and 4rbs to offer a brilliant resistance to Toulouges and the tremendous Mickael Altier (22pts 8/11, 13rbs).

Blois 95-85 Lille
The man of the week is Lorenzo Orr (203-F/C-71, agency: ACMT, college: USC): 29pts (13/17), 8rbs, 2stl and 8ass for 39rkg points! And Blois necessited his efficiency to handle Lille's sharpness (64% - 35/55). Innocent Kere wasn't impressed by Blois' big man as he went for 17pts (7/9), 8rbs and 3stl.

Challans 102-73 Saint-Chamond
Not many supporters went to the arena thinking the game would be so easy for the locals who posted 132rkg points. Dora, Boutry, Driss and Correa ended at least at 19rkg. The two teams are now tie at place 6 with Angers.

Longwy 80-73 Lievin
The lorrains are the team of 2008 with three wins. But they also should take care because they only played at home. Moreover during the five first games of the season they collected also 3 wins before 10 losses in a row! Against Lievin, Christopher Marsch prove again that he his a good alternative to Alao and Godin with 24pts (5/10 3pts), 6rbs and 3stl.

Sherman Gay is back in France -by Maxime Weber
Sherman Gay (201-F-82, college: Loyola Marymount) just arrived at Brest and signed for the rest of the season. He played for Bourg en Bresse and Le Have during the past seasons in ProA. After a try out with a team in Hungary, he's in 'Bretagne' to help the team during the second part of the ProB season.

LNB Player of the Month Nominations! Antonio Graves Robert Conley Ricardo Greer -by Sean Davis

Three players have been nominated for January's Player of the Month by
LNB - Sport+ - L'Equipe de Joueur du Mois. The nominations are
Antonio Graves (190-G-85, college: Pittsburgh) of Pau-Orthez, Robert Conley (198-G/F-77, college: Clayton St.) of ASVEL, and Ricardo Greer (195-F/G-78, college: Pittsburgh) of Nancy. All there players have never received this award, so
a new player will hold the trophy which will be announced Thursday
January 31st.

Antonio Graves of Pau-Orthez broke in the new year with a bang.
Round 13 was his first career game overseas and he only opened his
career with a league high evaluation of 29 and scored 27pts and 8ast
leading Pau to their 4th victory of the season. Graves has had an
immediate impact averaging 19.5ppg (shooting 66% from the 3pt line)
and 4asts per game and also posted a 30pt game in Round 15. Most
importantly Pau-Orthez has won 3 of 4 games since Graves arrival.

Robert Conley began the new year with a great all around performance
scoring 19pts, 6rebs, and 6ast in a very important game against 1st
place Nancy. He followed this performance with 20pt game in a one
point victory over Clermont. In the last game of the month Conley
scored 17pts in a losing effort against last place Dijon. In the
month of January Conley averaged 17ppg while leading ASVEL to a 3-1
record.

Ricardo Greer (195-F/G-78, college: Pittsburgh) of Nancy is the last of the three candidates and looks
to carry the trophy for the first time this season. Greer opened
the new year in a gutsy performance in a loss against ASVEL scoring
23pts and 8rebs. Later in a home game against Vichy, Greer recorded a
double double scoring 20pts and grabbing 10rebs. In the month of
January the other two candidates Greer lead Nancy to a 3-1 record
averaging 15ppg and 7.5rebs.

You can vote at www.lnb.tv or www.lequipe.fr



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IBL

Reminder: Two IBL exposure camps coming in March -by Trask Frost
Portland, OR—The International Basketball League has scheduled two separate exposure camps for players interested in earning a roster spot on an IBL team for the 2008 season. The first camp will take place on Friday, March 14 through Sunday, March 16 at the Genesis Center in Gary, Indiana. The second camp will be held in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, March 22, and Sunday, March 23.

Each camp offers several guarantees for players who attend:
• Attendees will play in actual pre-season IBL games
• At least 6 IBL teams will be in attendance at each game
• At least 5 agents will be in attendance at each camp

Additionally, each player will be given a thorough evaluation. Camp Directors and coaches will give each player feedback on whether that player's skills are sufficient to play in the American minor leagues, and/or whether that player can expect to earn a contract overseas.

Following the 2007 season, the IBL had over 100 players earn contracts with overseas teams. The IBL expects this number to grow to at least 125 players following the 2008 season.

2008 IBL Exposure Camp Information:

Camp 1- Gary Indiana
March 14 and 16
Genesis Center (1 Genesis Center Plaza, Gary, IN)
Camp begins at 9:30am on both dates

Camp 2- Portland Oregon
March 22 and 23
Woodburn High School (1785 N. Front Street, Woodburn, OR)
Camp begins at 9:30am on both dates.

The cost for each camp is $125. To learn more or register, contact Terrance Dickens at (503) 805-3311, or visit the ‘Tryouts' section of the IBL website at www.iblhoopsonline.com.

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ICELAND

Iceland Express -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Stjarnan 94 Snaefell 103. No defense game. Good shooting % from both teams. Hlynur Baeringsson (200-F-82, agency: IceBasket) with big game for Snaefell 31 pts 12 rebs & 8 assist. Justin Shouse 20. Sigurdur Thorvaldsson & Slobodan Subasic 15 each for Snaefell. Dimitar Karadzovski 24 Calvin Roland 17. Jovan Zdravevski 16. Kjartan Kjartansson 15 for Stjarnan.

KR 96 Thor 82 Bad 4 quarter from Thor lost the game for them. KR playing better and better now. Joshua Helm 26 pts 10/11 in shooting. Avi Fogel 18 for KR. Odinn Asgeirsson 23. Luka Marolt 21. Cedric Isom 19 for Thor.

Hamar 91. Grindavik 93. Hamar fighting for their place in the top league gave Grindavik a hard time but it was not enough. Nicholas King 30. Roman Moniak 21 for Hamar. Pall Axel Vilbergsson 33. Jonathan Griffin 27 for Grindavik.

Tindastoll 96. Fjolnir 80. Fjolnir another team fighting for their spot in the league lost bad against Tindastoll. Philip Perre 22. Svavar Birgisson 19. Samir Shaptahovic17 for Tindastoll. Anthony Drejaj 28. Sean Knitter 17 for Fjolnir.

Skallagrimur 89 IR 86. Darrell Flake 23 + 14 rebs. Hafthor Gunnarsson 20 for Skallagrim. Nate Brown 27. Hreggvidur Magnusson 18 for IR.

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ITALY

Lega2 - Last market news -by Gabriele Fioretti
While rumours talk about change in Pavia (BJ McKie (188-G-77, college: S.Carolina)? Thomas Mobley (195-F-81, college: Charleston)? to sign Romel Beck (203-G/F-82, agency: Interperformances, college: UNLV) from Cimberio Varese?) or Montecatini (waiving Darryl Wilson (185-G-74, agency: SportsTalent, college: Mississippi St.) to sign a scoring point guard), TDShop.it Livorno got a big player for the league: Tommaso Fantoni (203-F-85, agency: Players Group) comes back to his birthplace loaned by Benetton Treviso.

Market news and rumors -by Gianni Pascucci
Even if Drake Diener (196-G-81, agency: Priority Sports, college: De Paul) had agreed to join Milano, the last market rumor tells that Virtus Bologna owner Claudio Sabatini raised the offer previously made to the player and to his current team, Pierrel Capo d'Orlando, putting the transaction in stand-by. We are not able to say what will happen now, even if Diener should change team before the end of the season. If he will really go, his replacement in the Pierrel roster could be Sammy Mejia (198-G-83, college: De Paul). Another good Serie A player should move soon: it seems that league top scorer Clay Tucker (194-G-80, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) will leave Teramo soon. His should join Khimki Moscow, that will pay his 600,000 USD for his buyout to the Italian team. Let's see.. In Lega 2, Pallacanestro Trenkwalder Reggiana and Luca Infante (204-F/C-82) agreed to extend their pact till June 2010.

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JUCO

Cecil continues their dominance. -by Brandon Martin


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KOSOVO

Mabetex Super League, XV week schedule -by Edona Shabani
This is the schedule:
KASTRIOTI - SIGAL PRISHTINA Wednesday on:18:30
Referees: Azem Hoxhaj, Hysen Hasani, Fisnik Ramadani
Monitors: Tajar Rifati

RC COLA DRITA - PEJA Wednesday on: 20:00
Referees: Mehdi Gashi, Alban Vula, Daut Mehmeti
Monitors: Lulzim Maloku

TREPCA - AS PRISHTINA Wednesday on: 18:00
Referees: Hektor Grezda, Zaim Zenuni, Xhelal Mumini
Monitors: Nexhdet Hoxha

YLLI - BAMBI will be played later

Source: www.basketbolli.com

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LIBERIA

Uhuru gets historic win -by Numennie Williams
The biggest score for this season in the on going Liberia Basketball Federation national league occured last week end at the Sports Commission on BroadStreet in the capital Monrovia when Uhuru Kings massacred Monrovia Rockers 132-48 points on Sunday to the disbelief of the hundreds spectators that turned out to watch the match. Before that match, defending Champion NPA Pyhtons whipped T-Chons 96-48 points in the first division. On last Saturday, Mighty Barrolle crushed Flames 82-70 points in the first division and in the second divisin Wild cats outclass Sacbase 70-63 points. In the female division on last Friday, SOS Trotters fell to Survivors 15-52 points.Joseph Lackey (-88)

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LUXEMBOURG

Etzella and Musel Pikes to play in the Luxembourg Cup Final -by Eurobasket News
Recently the semifinal stage of the Luxembourg Cup took place. Etzella and Musel Pikes claimed the victories and advanced to the Final game scheduled for March 8. Etzella easily overcame Nitia in the first semifinal clash. Etzella grabbed the initiative and led 35:26 at halftime. Bettembourg outfit tried to even things up after the main break but with little success. Etzella proved the strength in the second half and secured an 80:57 victory. Jair Delgado (192-F-85) finished with 24 points to lead Etzella. Nelson Jair Delgado (185-G-80) contributed 18 points, 11 boards, 7 assists and 5 steals for the winners. Phil Grant (202-G/F-79, college: Iona) responded with 24 points and 10 boards for Nitia. Jeff Bevilacqua (186-G-79) had 10 points in a losing case.
Musel Pikes was challenged by the only representative of National II Division at this stage of the tournament Heffingen. Heffingen had a 10-point advantage for the game but Musel Pikes erased it and came out victorious of the clash. Leading by 4 points after the opening frame Musel Pikes spurred ahead in the second and enlarged the gap to 10 points to start it all leveled in the second half. Heffingen threatened the winning tone from Musel Pikes as they outscored DBBL side 26:24 in the third frame but not for long though. Musel Pikes secured a win with an impressive last-second trey from Samy Picard (195-F-88). Laurent Schwartz (177-G-89) scored 24 points to pace Musel Pikes. Samy Picard added 22 points for the winners. Mike Jones had 29 points and 11 boards for Heffingen.

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MEXICO

Tiebreakers in the LNBP -by Carlos Chapa
So far in the 2008 playoffs, we have seen 3 series going over to a fifth game.
Fuerza Regia Monterrey vs Tijuana Galgos is one of them, after the Regios tied the series on Monday with a score of 97 to 79,
the high man was Dontae Truitt (198-G/F-81, college: Georgia SW) with 29 points, followed by Chris Jackson (208-C-81, college: N.Mexico St.), who nailed 27.

On the other conference we have Tecos de la UAGuadalajara vs Caballeros de Culiacan, Tecos evened the duel winning 110-102,
being Ray Castillo (196-G/F-82, college: UTPA) the leader in the points departament with 29, followed by Robert Day (197-F-82, college: W.Oregon) with 28.

Information about the other 2-2 match, Lobos Grises de la UAD Durango vs Algodoneros de La Comarca - Torreon, and all the playoffs can be found in latinbasket.com, Mexico section.

Algodoneros Force Game 5 with Lobos -by Justin Brink
Playing in Torreon against the Algodoneros has been tough for every LNBP team this year and it was no different for the Lobos Grises of Durango last night as they fell in game four 88-77. With the series tied at 2 games each, a game 5 tomorrow night will decide which team play into the Northern Division semifinals. Click here for more LNBP playoff results and news.

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NBA

Jason Kidd is thinking of leaving New Jersey -by Eurobasket News
One of the most prominent point guards in the NBA at the moment Jason Kidd (6'4''-G-73, college: California) can change the team. With all rumors filling the air about possible mega-trade involving Jason Kidd it seems like it soon can become a reality. Jason Kidd has begun negotiations with the Nets' management about possibilities of a trade. The 34-year-old triple-double expert was close to being sent to the LA Lakers last season but the trade was blocked by the Nets' president. With little progress in the team's efforts this season Jason Kidd looks forward to moving on and changing the locations. The Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks have been named among possible destinations for a renowned guard.
Damon Stoudamire (5'11''-G-73, college: Arizona) completed his buyout deal and got available for the deal. The Celtics are seen to be mostly interested in acquiring the guard but they are not the only ones to come up with the proposal. The San Antonio Spurs and the Orlando Magic now mull over the possibility of adding Damon Stoudamire to their squads.
Meanwhile Chris Webber (6'10''-F/C-73, college: Michigan) is close to officially announcing his joining the Golden State Warriors. It has been reported that a veteran power forward signed a share of league's veteram minimum contract and would play of the Warriors through the end of the season. So Chris Webber can return to where he tipped off his professional career in 1993. He spent though just one season with the Warriors before leaving for the Washington Bullets. His harsh relationships with Don Nelson were actually the main reason for Webber to leave in 1993. Ironically he now returns to Golden State to team up with Don Nelson and hopefully get along well for fruitful results.
Minnesota assigned Chris Richards (6'10''-F/C) to Sioux Falls in D-League. Mickael Gelabale (6'7''-F-83) was also sent to D-League to play for Idaho by the Seattle Supersonics. San Antonio recalled Ian Mahinmi (6'9''-C/F-86) from Austin.

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NIGERIA

6th Ilupeju Classics: Hoopers, Whales, Academy in winning form -by Olusegun Ikuesan
Defending champion of the quarterly Ilupeju Classics, Royal Hoopers basketball club of Port Harcourt, Rivers State got off to a winning ways Tuesday at the opening day of the 6th edition of the Classics put together by Warriors Basketball Academy.

The Port Harcourt based side walloped Flying Horse by 41-12 points to stay top of group-B, host and 5th edition runner-up Warriors Academy also recorded a win in group-A with a narrow 36-33 points victory over Raptors basketball club in a thrilling encounter.

Group-C seeded team, D.D.Magic got a rude shock in the hands of Charles Osho coached Whales with a 45-32 points lose.

Five matches are billed for day-2 of the 5-day classics which is the first championship in Nigeria this year with Sea Rovers battling it out against Whales in group-C, Flying Horse will take on Bayelsa Waves in a group-B duel, Royal Hoopers will ballet University of Lagos in another group-B pairing, Panthers and Raptors will entertain the crowd in a group-A game while Bayelsa Waves and University of Lagos will do battle in another group-B game that promise all the trapping of a top basketball match as both side parade a crop of tested players who can hold their own against any opposition.

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PANAMA

Joel Munoz in Brazilian National Championship 2008 with FTC EAD of Salvador de BAHIA.- -by Eddie Munoz
Joel Munoz with his 1st appearance in Brazil in a basketball league named Nacional Masculino 2008 ruled by the CBB Brazilian Basketball Confederation is the starter point guard of the FTC EAD team of Salvador capital city of the state of BAHIA. FTC EAD is a young team who appears 1st time in this league. At this moment with a record of 1-4 in 5 games played. We thought that maybe Joel is the 1st panamanian player to play in Brazil professionally.- Joel have played 4 of those 5 games and has the following performance:38.22 Min.xgame is the player with more time in the court, 10.8 Pts. x game , is 2nd in Assistances with 8.8 x game, 4 Rebs. x game, 1.8 Steals.

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PBL

Other "grownig pains" in PBL -by Gianni Pascucci
While the rumor of most of the NorthEastern ABA teams negotiating with the PBL to join the league next season is soaring up, it seems that the Dallas Defenders, owned by Erin Patton, are experiencing serious financial straits. Rumors around the Premier Basketball League say that the coaches and the players of the Dallas team were given pay checks on past friday that bounced. No one of the Dallas coaching personnel had yet been paid anything since the day they have taken the job. Some players are yet considering to leave the team soon. As we can see, even if the PBL prides itself more than anything in having a financially stable league, and not having all these payroll problems such as the ABA and CBA, we are almost at the same point of the other minor leagues..

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POLAND

Henderson out of Anwil -by Michal Falkowski
Anwil Wloclawek terminated deal with Gerrod Henderson (193-G-78, agency: Octagon, college: Louisiana Tech) by a mutual agreement. Such board's decision of releasing American player is the response of Henderson's request. Henderson moves to Azovmash Mariupol which will pay a buy-out for him.
The board and coaches of Anwil underline that such decision was very hard to make. Henderson was the key player in Ales Pipan's tactics but when he was offered a much better (expecially financial conditions) contract from Ukrainian club and decided to agree it. He was so determined to change the team and he refused playing in the match against Gornik Walbrzych in the last weekend. After bad behaviour Anwil's board considered the player's suspension. Such possibiliy failed because Azovmash decided to buy him out. Now, Anwil are looking for new point guard.

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PUERTO RICO

Boricuas in the States and Uleb Cup -by Alessandro Fontana

In NBA Dallas Mavericks won against Memphis 103-84, Jose Juan Barea played 22 minutes with 9 pts (4/7 2pts, 0/2 3pts, 1/1 FT) and 1 assist. Los Angeles Clippers was defeated by Charlotte 107-100, Guillermo Diaz did not play.
In Uleb Cup, Besiktas Istanbul and BOT Turow could qualify for the Second Round of the Tournament. Besiktas will play against Hapoel Jerusalem and Turow will play against Nymburk.
In the first round of Uleb Cup Rick Apodaca scored 9,3 ppg (his high is 17 against Ventspils) with these percentages: 34% 2pts, 22% 3pts 68% FT + 2,9 rebs and 3,2 assts.

Christian Dalmau scored 12 ppg (his high is 24 against Ovarense) with these percentages: 49% 2pts, 36% 3pts, 77% FT + 3,9 rebs and 5,0 assts.
Andres Rodriguez scored 7 ppg (his high is 13 against Strasbourg) with these percentages: 42% 2pts, 23% 3pts, 63% FT + 4,3 rebs and 4,5 assts.
A. Fontana



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SERBIA

ULEB Cup - Zvezda waits Beneton, Hemofarm will meet Buducnost -by Dragan Jankovski
Head coach of Crvena Zvezda Stevan Karadzic and its captain Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) are satisfied with yesterday's ULEB Cup draw. Namely, both of them stated that they wanted to avoid Zadar and Buducnost because they are very dangerous on their home courts. On the other side Karadzic and Dragicevic showed pleasance because Zvezda will play two games against such a good team like Beneton Treviso is.

Head coach of Hemofarm STADA Miroslav Nikolic also showed pleasance because his team will play against Buducnost Podgorica, with whom Nikolic won many titles in the past. Nikolic said that his team will be weaker for Goran Jagodnik, who unfortunately finished the season because of knee injury, but he believes that his team is able to reach 1/8 finals.

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SLOVENIA

Reggie Freeman changed his mind and signed in Germany -by Matej Bergant
Helios Domzale changed the announcement made on Monday that Reggie Freeman (198-G/F-75, college: Texas) will join the team until the end of the 2007/2008 season. Instead, the player signed the contract with some German first division team which should announce him as their player as soon as possible. Helios Domzale is still exploring the market for SG/SF players and could announce new name in upcoming days.

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UKRAINE

Markovic to Cherkasy / Reese out of Azovmash / other markets -by Alexander Muzyka
- While Adriatic league participant BC Vojvodina Srbijagas is having financial problems, experienced small forward Miroslav Markovic joined Cherkassy Monkeys. He was invited by Cherkasy's new head coach Jovica Arsic who knows Markovic from Lavovi 063 and Zdravlje where he's worked. This could be a good choice for Monkeys which has a problems with a small forward position. But his appearance made no help for Arsic's team which continued its way to the bottom. BC-93 Pulsar made the third win in Superleague crushing Monkeys everywhere.

- Azovmash decided to say bye-bye to Aubrey Reese and is looking for a good substitute. Gerrod Henderson looks like a good candidate and has this open vacation while choosing between Azovmash and Russian BC Khimki. Plus Serhi Zavalin thinks about invitation to a talented MBC Mykolaiv player Serhi Gladyr.

- Budivelnyk wants to see Milan Vucicevic on try-outs.

- Dnipro invited Quinton Day from Kaposvari for try-outs.

BC Kyiv 16th win / ULEB Cup draw comments -by Alexander Muzyka
BC Kyiv confidently extended their Superleague winning streak to 16 games, having defeated Khimik from Yuzhnyi 67:81 on the road. Kyiv's point guard Pooh Jeter sparked his team's early run, which resulted in a 14:6 lead. Viacheslav Kravtsov and Artur Drozdov were overpowering the opponents in the paint, allowing the visitors to finish the quarter 27:8.
Khimik managed to cut the lead to 15 at the end of the 2nd quarter, taking advantage of Kyiv's poor free throw shooting. Both visitors' guards (Jeter and Krstic) and forward Marko Maravic were in foul trouble during the 3rd quarter, getting more careful on defense and allowing the home side to get some easy shots and Kyiv's cushion was reduced to 10 points prior to the start of the 4th quarter.
Kyiv managed to regroup in the final stretch. Drozdov and hit several big baskets, allowing his team to hold on to the lead. He finished the game with 27 points on 8/12 shooting. Maravic was the only other Kyiv player in double figures with 15 points. Goran Cakic had team-high 15 for Khimik.
Kyiv's farm team also defeated Khimik 66:95. Vladyslav Podolian had a double-double: 21 points and 10 boards.

Some days after BC Kyiv got its opponent in ULEB Cup 1/16 finals. BC Kyiv's general manager Vitali Khomenko, who attended the ULEB Cup Draw in Barcelona, during which it was determined BC Kyiv will face Telindus Oostende in the elimination round, commented on its results to the team's official web site:
'This is not the most difficult opponent we could have received', Khomenko said. 'Still, we will be getting ready for a tough battle as there are no easy matchups at this stage. Telindus has been playing very well lately, both in the ULEB Cup and in the domestic league. 'We, however, are still expecting to be at the Top 8 and will do everything it takes to get there'.
'Some people think we got lucky during the draw', said Kyiv's head coach Tomo Mahoric. 'Believe me, Telindus is a very strong team. They came second in a very difficult group, leaving behind Zrvena Zvezda and Fortitudo. They have an experienced coach who already won the ULEB Cup'.

Courtesy of BC Kyiv official site.

Melnychuk has announced the players he wants to see now -by Alexander Muzyka
Valentyn Melnychuk will rule Ukrainian NT for a 4 years - as it was told on an official press-conference where he performed his list of NT's candidates. There are the players Melnychuk counts on:

Guards:
Yevhen Annenkov (Politekhnika-Halychyna)
Artem Butskyi (Sumykhimprom)
Maksym Vilkhovetskyi (Dnipro)
Oleksandr Panchenko (Dnipro)
Oleksandr Kolchenko (Khimik)
Andri Korochkin (Khimik)
Andri Lebedev (Cherkasy Monkeys)
Oleksandr Raievskyi (MBC Mykolaiv)
Oleksandr Rybalko (BC Odesa)
Leonid Stefanishyn (Budivelnyk)

Forwards:
Serhi Gladyr (MBC Mykolaiv)
Artur Drozdov (BC Kyiv)
Viktor Kobzystyi (Dnipro)
Maksym Kornienko (Dnipro)
Vitali Kovalenko (Budivelnyk)
Dmytro Korabliov (Kryvbasbasket-Lux)
Rostyslav Kryvych (Sumykhimprom)
Igor Kryvych (Sumykhimprom)
Igor Loktionov (Azovmash)
Yevhen Podorvannyi (Azovmash)
Oleksi Onufriev (MBC Mykolaiv)

Centers:
Andri Agafonov (Khimik)
Volodymyr Gurtovoi (Politekhnika-Halychyna)
Yaroslav Zubrytskyi (Politekhnika-Halychyna)
Stanislav Balashov (BC Odesa)
Oleksi Poltoratskyi (BC Odesa)
Serhi Lischuk (Azovmash)
Maksym Ivshyn (Azovmash)
Viacheslav Kravtsov (BC Kyiv)
Vadym Matiukevych (Dnipro)
Vitali Potapenko (Estudiantes)
Oleksi Pecherov (Washington Wizards)
Kyrylo Fesenko (Utah Jazz)



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Women News

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CAPE VERDE - Women

Santiago South Championship -by Pedro Gomes
The Santiago South Basketball Championships finally started this weekend. With all the problems facing the Regional Association in organizing this year's championship, they still managed to get it going.
The championship will include 7 different age level, Cadets, Junior, and Senior, both men and women.

The teams that entered the 2008 season are:

U14 (M) - Órgaos, Amor de Deus, Predio, and ABC.
U16 (M) - Bairro, Amor de Deus, Órgaos, ABC, and EBS.
U18 (M) - ABC, Achada Grande, Bairro, and EBS.
U20 (M) - Seven, ABC, EBS, and Bairro.
Senior (M) - Seven, ABC, Achada Grande, and Predio.
U14 (W) - Órgaos, ABC, Amor de Deus.
Seniro (W) - Seven, Bairro, ABC, Órgaos.

The cadets and juniors began play last weekend at the Vava Duarte Pavillion.
In the first round of plays, (U14) - Amor de Deus beat Órgaos, 31-29; ABC beat Predio, 23-6.
(U18) - Achada Grande lost to ABC, 30-56, and Bairro beat EBS, 38-36.

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FINLAND - Women

SM-SARJA: PuHu got a new Head Coach -by Rauno Hurmalainen
PuHu (Vantaa) Head Coach Markus Makkonen has left the job and will be replaced by Mikko Kurki. PuHu has 4-18 record right now and position 8.
on top level. Head Coach Kurki with much more experience may wake up PuHu's Team, but is he coming too late to voluntary work? We will see.

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ICELAND - Women

Iceland Express results. -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Haukar 94. Keflavik 89. Great first quarter from Haukar 38 pts was too much for Keflavik. Kiera Hardy 37. Unnur Tara Jonsdottir & Kristrun Sigurjonsdottir 21 for Haukar. TaKesha Watson 29 + 15 rebs. Birna Valgardsdottir 19. Margret Kara Sturludottir 17 for Keflavik.

KR 76 Valur 94. Bad loss for top seat team KR at home. Monique Martin 26. Helga Einarsdottir 14 + 17 rebs. for KR. Molly Peterman 35. Signy Hermannsdottir 19 + 12 rebs for Valur.

Hamar 76. Fjolnir 75.LaKiste Barkus 37 for Hamar. Slavica Dimovska 32 for Fjolnir.

Valur 74. Hamar 58. Another win for Valur who are on a good run now. Molly Peterman 27 + 15 rebs. Signy Hermannsdottir 24 + 19 rebs. LaKiste Barkus 31 for Hamar.

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ISRAEL - Women

Round 15th results. -by Gil Goshen

Electra Ramat Hasharon 97 - Maccabi Ramat Hen 93


For Ramat Hasharon:
Tatyana Troina 27 pts (5/5 3s)
Deanna Jackson 22 pts, 12 rebs
Dada Vilipic 17 pts
Nomi Kolodny 13 pts, 8 ast
Jia Perkins 10 pts
Shimrit Gigi 5 pts
Limor Mizrachi 3 pts

For Ramat Hen:
Edwina Brown 20 pts
Armintie Price & Taj McWilliams Franklin 19 pts each
Lena Mustafina 14 pts
Chen Shtain 11 pts
Sharon Zeevi 6 pts
Shiri Sharon 4 pts

Ashdod 82 - Ramla 85

For Ramla:
Shay Doron 23 pts
Jackie Johnson 19 pts
Laine Selwyn 18 pts
Sherill Baker 15 pts
Michelle Snow 6 pts
Brasheeda Elohim 4 pts

For Ashdod:
Sheri Sam 28 pts
Ayana Walker 18 pts
Michal Epstein 13 pts
Brandi McCain 11 pts
Ortal Oren 6 pts
Karin Agassi & Bat El Lazmi 3 pts each

Holon 60 - Raanana Hertzeliya 67

For Raanana Hertzeliya:
Tanisha Wright 16 pts
Neda Djuric 12 pts, 13 rebs
Mistie Williams 11 pts

For Holon:
Ivory Latta 26 pts
La'Tangela Atkinson 12 pts, 13 rebs
Detrina White - 15rb 8 points.

Bnei Yehuda 90 - Hapoel Tel Aviv 73
For Bnei Yehuda:
Sugiery Monsac 26 pts, 11 rebs
Rivi Grinboym 22 pts, 7 ast
Dionnah Jackson 20 pts, 15 rebs, 7 ast

For Hapoel:
Tamara Bowie 28 pts, 16 rebs
Edniesha Curry 21 pts
Shira Haelyon 18 pts





Tatyana Troina (187-C-81, college: S.Carolina)

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JORDAN - Women

JBF meets Riyadi and Orthodox Clubs officials to boost Women Basketball -by Fadi Sabbah
JBF president and women basketball committee members met with officials from Orthodox Club and Al Riyadi Club to discuss ideas on promoting the game and prepare for the upcoming regional events.
JBF will support both clubs during the Arab Club Champions Cup which will be held in Amman in June. JBF asked the clubs to submit their team rosters and master preparation plans by mid February. Jordan Junior Women National team was also discussed during the meeting, and ideas were shared on forming and preparing the team for the Arab Schools Games which will be held in Jordan in August. hosting these two events will surely boost efforts to promote women basketball in Jordan and increase interest among students and the community in general.

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LUXEMBOURG - Women

The Cup Final participants are known -by Eurobasket News
The Luxembourg Cup final will be played on March 15 but right now we already know two teams that will compete for the trophy. With two semifinals having been played last weekend T71 Dudelange and Musel Pikes booked their spot in the main encounter of the tournament. T71 Dudelange took on Etzella in the first semifinal clash. T71 turned out to be more ready to take up the challenge as they cruised to an overall 74:47 victory. Dudelange outlasted their opponents in all four terms and deservedly advanced to the title game. T71 were up by 12 points at the interval but limited their counterparts to only 5 points in the fourth period to finalize a stunning victory. Sara Olivieri (168-G/F-86) dropped 17 points and grabbed 11 boards to lead the action. Rachel Wagener (167-G-86) added 13 points, while Michele Zeyen (173-F/C-81) contributed 12 points and 8 boards for the winning side. Casey Rost (176-G-83, college: W.Michigan) produced 14 points and 11 boards in defeat.
Meanwhile Musel Pikes needed to withstand much more heated competition to go through to the Final. They faced Basket Esch in the semifinal and were down by 2 points after the opening stanza. Leah Metcalf (173-G-83, college: N.Carolina) paced Basket Esch and Musel Pikes defense struggled to limit her offensive presence. The things did not change in the second period as Basket Esch maintained a gap and were in front 34:32 after 20 minutes of action. However the third quarter turned out to be a key to success for Musel Pikes. Their defense finally adjusted and started to work smoothly enough to hold their opponents to just 13 points in the frame. Musel Pikes thus accounted for a 3-point advantage and did not surrender it till the final buzzer. Leah Metcalf provided 30 points to lead all scorers but it was not enough for Basket Esch to celebrate the victory. Amanda Stowe (186-F/C-79, agency: Next Level, college: Wisc.-Green Bay) had 22 points and 12 boards for Musel Pikes. Carine Cigrang (175-F-85) added 17 points in a win.