EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 10/5/2008

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*****************************************************
  ADRIATIC LEAGUE   


Partizan starts season with win against Krka - by Zoran Popovic
BC Partizan Igokea Beograd opens new season in NLB league with win against Krka Novo Mesto 74-67. In the first quarter Krka Novo Mesto made advantage of 14 points and continued in the same rhythm in second quarter. At the end of the second quarter BC Partizan Igokea Beograd made break and finished first half with result 38-38. Third quarter BC Partizan Igokea Beograd started with much stronger defence and in the middle of that period BC Partizan Igokea Beograd had +5 and at the end +10 points advantage. Last ten minutes of the match Krka Novo Mesto tried to overtake BC Partizan Igokea Beograd, but domestic players didnt give them a chance to make surprise in the finish of the match. The most efficient player in BC Partizan Igokea Beograd was Milenko Tepic (198-G-87, agency: Beo Basket) who scored 20 points, Zarko Rakocevic (205-F-84) scored 12 and Aleksandar Rasic (195-G-84, agency: Beo Basket) 10 points. For Krka Novo Mesto Davor Marcelic (200-F/G-69, college: S.Utah) scored 16, Bruce Price (191-G-83, college: Tennessee St.) 14 and Smiljan Pavic (210-F/C-80, agency: VTBM/SRBM) 12 points.

BC Partizan Igokea Beograd: Lucic, Tepic 20, Riznic, Milosevic 6, Rasic 10, Velickovic 7, Lasme 3, Aleksic 3, Vitkovac 7, Rakocevic 12, Vesely 6, Vranes.

Krka Novo Mesto: Sebic 2, Petrov 5, Price 14, Pavic 12, Marcelic 16, Rakocevic 2, Krivec 2, Zupevec 5, Zvan, Shields 9.

Marko Keselj paces Crvena Zvezda to win in Serbian derby - by Dragan Jankovski
Adriatic league started this afternoon and we had an opportunity to watch the first Serbian derby. It was played in Zeleznik, where FMP suffered home defeat against Crvena Zvezda 78-84. Interesting is that Crvena Zvezda managed to take a lead for the first time in this game in the last minute.

FMP entered into this one strongly creating big 12-4 after just few minutes. Until the end of the first quarter Panthers already had plus 11, 22-11. During the following few minutes FMP even touched plus 17. Dragan Labovic (207-C/F-87) was the key player of FMP in the first half. On the other side Zvezda had Marko Keselj (206-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) and Marko Marinovic (183-G-83), which somehow succeeded to cut the margin on 14 points after 20 minutes, 43-29. Zvezda showed up after the breather with totally different attitude. They played full-court press defense forcing FMP to make few mistakes and to miss couple of taught shots. Marko Keselj , together with Marko Marinovic and center Elmedin Kikanovic (206-C-88, agency: Beo Basket), led Red-and-whites to 62-56 before the last quarter. Game is decided in the last minute and the clutch player was young Marko Keselj . After his triple and later basket by Elmedin Kikanovic, Zvezda took the first lead with 50 seconds to go. Until the end Keselj was unmistakable from the free throw line four times while Labovic, Protic and Milutinovic missed on the other side.

At the end Marko Keselj finished the game with 18 points and 7 rebounds for less than 23 minutes. He had 1/4 for FG2, 2/2 for 3-pts and impressive 10/10 from the FT line reaching index value 26, MVP of the game. Marko Marinovic was behind him adding 15 points and 4 assists while Bosnian center Elmedin Kikanovic had one point less. Dragan Labovic shined in FMP collecting 18 points and 6 rebounds.


FMP - Crvena Zvezda 78-84
(22:11, 21:18, 19:27, 16:28)

FMP: Labovic 18 (6 rebs), Samardziski 12 (10 rebs), Protic 12 (5 as)
Crvena Zvezda: Keselj 18 (7 rebs), Marinovic 15 (4 as), Kikanovic 14, Owens 13 (6 as)

*****************************************************
  ARGENTINA   


Standings - LigaA
LigaA Standings
North
 1. Regatas C. 1-0 
 2. Sionista 1-0 
 3. Quimsa 1-0 
 4. Atenas 1-1 
 5. Libertad 1-1 
 6. Ben Hur 0-1 
 7. Obras 0-1 
 8. Cicl.Olimpico 0-1 
South
 1. Independ.N. 1-0 
 2. Estudiantes 1-0 
 3. Boca Jrs 1-0 
 4. Quilmes MP 1-0 
 5. Lanus 0-1 
 6. Penarol 0-1 
 7. Gimn.CR 0-1 
 8. El Nacional 0-1 


League starts! - by Leonardo Contieri
Last night, the first round of the 2008/09 season was placed, strating this season, the official stats includes fouls received and a ranking for each players performance, and the MVP of the first round was national team forward Federico Kammerichs, who scored 15 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked 5 shots for a total value of 36. Roberto Lopez and Sebastian Acosta scored 12 each to help him, as Regatas barely defeated Obras Sanitarias 58-54 at home. Lazaro Borrel led Obras with 10 points and Tyler Field added 9 and 8 boards. Cilcista Olimpico from La Banda returned to the premier league after 18 years of abscense but Atenas visited and beat them 76-65, Leonardo Gutierrez scored 14 points for Atenas to go with 7 rebounds, Juan Locatelli added 13 and Bruno Labaque 12. Mariano Byro led Olimpico with 14 points and Jorge Benitez added 13. Quimsa, last season runner-up took a quick revenge by defeating current champion Libertad, in Sunchales 73-68, Erron Maxey scored 23 points and had 7 rebounds and Julio Mazzaro added 13, Jason Osborne lead Libertad with 16 points and Alejandro Zilli added 8 points and six rebounds. In Parana, Sionista took care of Ben Hur 84-69, with four players scoring in double figures, led by Juan Canteros 19, Eduardo Villares added 16, Daniel Hure 15 and Clarence Robinson 13. Patricio Rodriguez led Ben Hur with 19 points and Sebastian Cabello added 14 and 8 rebounds.
In the south zone, Boca defeated Pearol 82-78 led by Gabriel Fernandez 19 points, Anthony Johnsons 18 and a good bench production that highlighted Nicolas Aguirre (18) and Alejandro Alloatti (10). David Jackson led Pearol with 20 points and Roman Gonzalez added 18 and 11 rebounds. Estudiantes stole a very important victory in Comodoro Rivadavia defeating Gimnasia 86-71 with four players scoring a dozen or more points, led by Juan Manuel Riveros 18 and Juan Cangelosis 16, Mariano Franco scored 24 for Gimnasia. Quilmes hosted debutant Lanus, and the welcome was far from warm, as they easily beat the newcomers 102-70 with 6 players scoring in double figures. Tyras Wade had 15 points, Maximiliano Maciel 14, Esteban Lopez, Pablo Gil and Jaz Cowen 11 each and Nicolas Romano 10. Terrel Taylor led Lanus with 16 and Diego Prego added 10. Independiente also stole an important victory on its visit to Monte Hermoso, defeating El Nacional 68-66, with 15 points and 13 rebounds from Brice Assie and 16 points from Cedric Moodie. Quincy Wadley scored 17 for El Nacional and Dionisio Gomez and Sebastian Castineira added 15 each.

*****************************************************
  AUSTRALIA   


Cortez Groves paces South Dragons past Wollongong - by Eurobasket News
Cortez Groves (196-G/F-78, college: Kansas St.) scored 25 points off the bench and the South Dragons toppled the Wollongong Hawks 114:95 at the WIN Entertainment Centre. The South Dragons used a 6:0 surge at the end of the first quarter to pile up a 27:22 lead. The South Dragons looked solid defensively keeping their opponents quiet late in the second period and going on a 14:2 rally to accumulate a 20-point lead. Dusty Rychart (201-F-78, college: Minnesota) fired 6 points to trim the distance to 15 points but the South Dragons quickly restored a safe cushion and breezed to the 4th win in the season. Mark Worthington (202-F-83, college: Metro St.) provided 19 points, while Herbert had 16 for the winners. Dusty Rychart chipped in 22 points for the Hawks. Cameron Tragardh (209-C/F-83, college: ORU) added 19 points as Wollonong slipped to 1-3 record.
The Townsville Crocodiles took care of the Perth Wildcats 97:80 at the Townsville Entertainment Centre. The Wildcats jumped to a 10-point early lead but Kelvin Robertson (180-G-83) and Michael Cedar secured a needed spark from the bench that put the hosts on level terms with their opponents at the first intermission. The close game continued in the second frame with the Crocs leading by just one point at the interval. They extended the gap to 6 points at three-quarter time and stayed ahead throughout the fourth one. Cameron Tovey (200-F-85, college: Augusta St.) came up with 9 points in the final period to propel his team to the impressive win at the end. He finished with 14 points to his name. Kelvin Robertson topscored for the winners with 27 points to mark his 200th NBL game. Darnell Hinson (186-G-80, college: Northeastern St.) answered with 15 points for the Hawks. Shawn Redhage (202-F-81, agency: Warren Sports International, college: Arizona St.) dropped 14 points in the loss.

*****************************************************
  BALTIC LEAGUE   


Lietuvos Rytas and ASK Riga post victories - by Eurobasket News
Lietuvos Rytas got to a winning start of their BBL campaign. Yesterday they pulled away with a hard 98:92 win over Valmiera in Latvia. The hosts led by 2 points after the starting period but Lietuvos Rytas spurred in front midway through the game and withheld fierce comeback efforts from the hosts in the fourth quarter. Steponas Babrauskas (196-G/F-84) led balanced Lietuvos Rytas offense with 18 points. Martynas Gecevicius (193-G-88) and Branko Milisavljevic (193-G-76, agency: Beo Basket) added 14 points apiece for the winners. Ingus Bankevics (195-G/F-85) answered with game-high 25 points for Valmiera. Ronald Clark (196-G-81, college: Colorado St.) notched 23 points in the loss.
ASK Riga looked solid and posted their initial win in the Baltic League regular season opener yesterday. The Latvian team hosted Lithuanian Nevezis and surged ahead in the fourth term to secure a 76:66 win.
Nearly 3000 spectators gathered in Arena Riga to witness their team hitting the road in the new and even more exciting BBL season. Kalve and Ricardo Marsh (203-F-81, agency: Edge Sports, college: ODU) were responsible for the first 7 points from the hosts as they jumped to a 7:2 lead. Soon Bruno Sundov (220-C-80) accounted for 5 straight points as the hosts extended the lead to 19:11. Valdas Dabkus capped the frame with a layup to cut the distance to 13:19 at the end of the first frame. The teams traded baskets throughout the second frame with none going away. Stankus had the last laugh in the period and his three-pointer allowed Nevezis to trail by just a single point 35:36 at halftime. Back-to-back trebles from Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma) and Uvis Helmanis saw ASK Riga clear off to a 5-point distance midway through the third quarter however Valdas Dabkus and Darius Silinskis (216-C-84, agency: Interperformances) kept the visitors in the game. Once again it was Nevezis to close the stanza strong as Stankus nailed 5 points in a row for his team to trail by 2 points. Valters, Corey Brewer and Uvis Helmanis did the most damage early in the fourth quarter and the home team piled up an 8-point advantage. Ricardo Marsh came up with 4 straight points and ASK Riga enjoyed an 11-point cushion with under 4 minutes left in the game. Nevezis failed to come closer than 8 points in the dying minutes and had to surrender at the end. Ricardo Marsh tallied 15 points and 11 boards for the winners. Corey Brewer provided 15 points, while Bruno Sundov had 14 for the home team. Benas Veikalas (192-G-83, agency: Passing Lane, college: Metro St.) answered with 16 points and 7 boards for Nevezis. Darius Silinskis delivered 13 points in the loss.

*****************************************************
  BELGIUM   


Stats Leaders - Division I
D1 Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Emmett, Liege 23.9
2 Freeman, Gent 18.8
3 Lewis, Leuven 17.8
4 Wilson, Pepinster 17.6
5 Miller, Gent 17.2
6 Perkins, Bree 15.6
7 Gray, MH 15.1
8 Gay, ADG 14.9
9 Lojeski, Aalst 14.6
10 Gonzales, Aalst 14.5
Rebounds Per Game
1 Fisher, Bree 10.8
2 Turek, Gent 10.6
3 Cantrell, Aalst 8.6
4 Pelle, Liege 7.4
5 Ebong, MH 7.1
5 Poole, Aalst 7.1
7 Hodge, Bree 6.6
8 Riddick, Char 6.1
9 Oefugbu, Gent 6.0
10 Ovcina, Oost 6.0
Assists Per Game
1 Perkins, Bree 5.8
2 Bosco, Leuven 3.8
3 Conlan, MH 3.8
4 Van Rossom, Oost 3.2
5 Hamilton, Char 3.1
Steals Per Game
1 Perkins, Bree 3.1
2 Sears, ADG 2.6
3 Bosco, Leuven 2.6
Blocks Per Game
1 Fisher, Bree 2.8
2 Riddick, Char 2.2
3 Turek, Gent 1.4


*****************************************************
  BOSNIA   


Bosna ASA BHT celebrates in Slovenia - by Eurobasket News

Helios Domzale - Bosna ASA BHT 74-79

Reining Bosnian champion Bosna ASA BHT done a great in the opening round of Adriatic league. After one year without it, Bosna stepped in style beating Helios on the road 74-79. Experienced Ivan Ivanovic (205-F-80, agency: Beo Basket) as well as Suad Sehovic (197-G-87) were in a game mood, and they were the key players of this match. Bosna had slightly better first frame ending it 18-21. However, the hosts woke up after that moment and mostly owing to Domen Zerak (203-C-79, agency: VTBM/SRBM) and Aleksei Laskevic (203-F-78, agency: VTBM/SRBM) succeeded to be an equal rival. Anyway it was not enough against tough Bosnians, which went on the half time with 35-40. Third stanza totally belonged to the hosts. They intensified defense while on the other side Domen Zerak was on fire. Everything resulted with a turn 59-55. Players of head coach Alen Abaz didn't want to give up. Power forward Ivan Ivanovic stepped up for his team and together with Suad Sehovic, Seid Hajric (203-F-83), Dusan Dordevic (195-G-83) and big guy Amar Suljagic (210-C-88), succeeded to end last frame 15-24, and to seal 5-point win. Ivan Ivanovic top-scored for the winners adding 22 points including 6 rebounds. Suad Sehovic also was good adding 13 points. The host team got 15 points and 6 boards from Domen Zerak. Laskevic stopped on 12.

Helios Domzale: Domen Zerak 15+6 boards, Aleksei Laskevic 12, Vjekoslav Petrovic 10
Bosna ASA BHT: Ivan Ivanovic 22+6 boards, Suad Sehovic 13, Seid Hajric 10+5 boards

Igokea Partizan and Borac Nektar meet in a friendly game - by Eurobasket News
Two D1 league teams Igokea Partizan and Borac Nektar met each other in a friendly game. The team from Aleksandrovac, which was the host in this game, celebrated 83-75. Igokea was better team from the early beginning. Marko Djerasimovic (200-F-84) was in a game mood leading his team to plus 7 after opening ten minutes, 23-16. Borac had only Josko Garma (206-F-81, agency: Agency No 10) able to compete against Igokea's players, which managed to extend advantage on 48-39 until the half time. Totally different picture was seen on the cour in third frame. Garma was on fire while Milan Janjusevic (197-F-83) and Hrvoje Puljko (193-G-83, agency: Interperformances) followed him. Igokea scored just 13 points in this period while Borac netted 19. It means that Borac came pretty close before the last ten minutes, 61-58. However, Marko Djerasimovic and Sinisa Kovacevic (200-F-78) stepped up for the hosts and together with Milos Mirkovic (206-C/F-83, agency: Court Side) and Alton Mason (185-G-77, agency: Court Side, college: Arizona St.) led their team to 8-point win against the local rival, 83-75. Marko Djerasimovic was the best player in Igokea with 17 points. Sinisa Kovacevic had 13 while Milos Mirkovic scored one points less. Josko Garma was a way better than the others in Borac with 23 point. Milan Janjusevic netted 12 while Hrvoje Puljko stopped on 10 points.

Borac Nektar officially skips firs round of EuroChallenge - by Eurobasket News

Good news showed up for Borac Nektar yesterday. Namely, the story which was considered as a rumor, officially was confirmed by the FIBA Europe yesterday. It accepted demand of Ukrainian Basketball Federation to suspend Politekhnika Lviv from EuroChallenge 08/09. Thus Borac Nektar goes straight to the second qualification round. At the same time Borac Nektar's president Ranko Skrbic stepped down on his position. He will stay close to the club but without any official position.

This week-end begins Spanish ACB league and Bosnia will have three players in it. For sure the biggest Bosnian star in Spain is Mirza Teletovic (203-F-85, agency: Beo Basket), who will play this season for TAU Ceramica. Teletovic already has great experience from Spain. He supposes to be one of the TAU's leading players and for sure member of the starting five. Teletovic had 10.5 ppg and 4.4 rpg for 25 Euroleague games last season. Croatian center Stanko Barac (217-C-86), who started basketball career in Bosnia, will be Teletovic's teammate in TAU.
The other Bosnian in ACB will be Ivan Opacak (202-G/F-80, agency: World Sport Agency) of Murcia. It will be Opacak's second season with the Spanish team. Croatian from Bosnian city Mostar Bojan Bogdanovic (202-G/F-89) will also play for Murcia this season.
Third player from Bosnia and Herzegovina is young prospect Nihad Djedovic (198-G-90, agency: Beo Basket), who will play for Barcelona.



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  COSTA RICA   


Semifinals to start on tuesday - by Gianni Pascucci
All the best placed teams won their Quarterfinal series, advacing to the Semifinals. The largest difference win was the one of titleholder Ferreteria Brenes Barva, destroyer of Santa Ana 117-45 in Game 2 with Luis Castillo (185-G/F-78) topping all the scorers at 33 points. The Semifinals will start on tuesday night, the pairings are as follows:
# 4 Limon - # 1 Barva
# 3 Santa Cecilia - # 2 Liceo

*****************************************************
  CROATIA   


Zadar beats Split CO thanks to furious last frame - by Eurobasket News

Zadar - Split CO 81-67

In the opener of Adriatic league 08/09, two last season's finalist of Croatian A1 met each other. Reining champion Zadar was better celebrating comfortable 14-point win. However, Zadar faced with big troubles at the very beginning. Visitors were very motivated and ready to revenge for defeats in the last season thus they earned 13-21 after ten minutes. Players of head coach Aleksandar Petrovic somehow managed to recover after this entering shock and mostly owing to Malik Dixon (187-G-75, college: UALR) started to play much better. On the other hand Split had two Americans Eddie Shannon (180-G-76, college: Florida) and Antonio Grant (196-F-77, college: S.Carolina) in a game mood so Zadar succeeded to come closer at the half time just on 32-38. The hosts managed to get even closer after third frame, when except of Dixon, Rok Stipcevic (189-G-86) and Juby Johnson (196-G-81, college: Miami, OH) also had bright moments. Game is decided during the last ten minutes, when Zadar totally destroyed its opponent. Center figure of this impressive turn was Malik Dixon but Stipcevic and Johnson also done a good job. The hosts ended last frame 27-10 grabbing comfortable victory at the end. Malik Dixon was the best player for the winning team collecting 27 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Rok Stipcevic was behind him with 13 points. Antonio Grant added 16 points and 5 boards for Split CO. Sinisa Stemberger (195-G-79) also was good with 14 points and 6 rebounds.

Zadar: Malik Dixon 27+6 boards+5 as, Rok Stipcevic 13, Juby Johnson 10+5st
Split CO: Antonio Grant 16+5 boards, Sinisa Stemberger 14+6 boards, Eddie Shannon 14

Zrinjski too strong for Alkar, Cibona in Vrsac without Markota - by Eurobasket News
Alkar met Bosnian team Zrinjski Mik Company in a friendly game suffering huge defeat 66-97. The game was played in Mostar, at Zrinjski's home court. Croatian team was an equal rival only in the first quarter. Very soon Zrinjski took control on its opponent creating double digit lead. Josip Sesar (197-G/F-78, agency: Court Side) was unstoppable at the offensive end draining 5 triples. At the middle of third stanza it was clear that Zrinjski will take this one in style. Above mentioned Josip Sesar was totally the best player in this friendly. He netted 33 points shooting 6 of 8 for FG2 and 5 of 9 for 3-pts. Mate Perajica (203-F/C-81) also shined for the winning team with 19 points. Boris Dzidic (206-F/C-80, agency: Interperformances) was behind him with 15. New face in Alkar Tomislav Ramljak (203-F/C-85) added 18 points while Luka Klaric had the same number. Josip Djapo (202-F/C-78) stopped on 12 points in this game.

Croatian Euroleague team Cibona Zagreb will meet Hemofarm Vrsac today on the road. Cibona will have Earl Halloway and ex Hemofarm's player Rawle Masrhall in it roster but there won't be Damir Markota (209-C/F-85). He is still under suspension and decision will he stay in the club or not isn't announced yet. Most probably it will happen on Monday.

*****************************************************
  DENMARK   


Rabbits quickly rap up opener and look ahead. - by Thomas Soltau
Svendborg Rabbits and the troops of head coach Craig Pedersen visited the city of Roskilde today and spared no mercy in their first game of the season.

A highly motivated Svendborg Rabbits team toke the floor today and absolutely killed newcomers Roskilde BC in the 1st quarter. An incredible 27-0 score was the result after the first ten minutes. Luckily Roskilde BC managed to shake of the nerves and get the scoring going, but by then the game was out of their hands and the Rabbits coasted to an easy win of 108-86. Billy Pharis (204-F/C-81, agency: Promotex, college: Arkansas) scored 32 points to lead the way.

Svendborg Rabbits displayed a collective and well-coached unit of players today and the team should only get stronger as the season progresses.

Big center Ivan Hoger (225-C-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza) and US forward Billy Pharis dominated the smaller Roskilde BC line-up. This big-man duo will have to produce equally well when the 07/08 season's runner-up Svendborg Rabbits enter this year's EuroChallenge as Denmarks 2nd participant.

In order to help the two Svendborg Rabbits signed veteran player Gregor Belina (196-G-74, agency: Global Sports Plaza), an athletic player who can create off the dribble.

Newcomers to the team also include Danish NT point guard Mikkel Plannthin (193-G) and combo-guard Andreas Jorgensen (190-G/F-84) along with talent Jakob Hansen (206-C-86).

One should also keep in mind that the Rabbits final import, US guard Johnell Smith (186-G-80, college: New Orleans), did not suit up for todays game as his license has still not been cleared, but rumors say that he will be a very special player in the Canal Digital League.

The Rabbits EuroChallenge adventure starts October 14th at home against CBC Siroki.

Standings - Basketligaen
Basketligaen Standings
 1. Bakken 1-0 
 2. Randers 1-0 
 3. Svendborg 1-0 
 4. Horsholm 0-0 
 5. Amager BK 0-0 
 6. Naestved 0-0 
 7. SISU 0-0 
 8. Horsens IC 0-0 
 9. Roskilde 0-1 
 10. Aabyhoj 0-2 


*****************************************************
  FINLAND   


Standings - Korisliiga
Korisliiga Standings
 1. Honka 1-0 
 2. KTP 1-0 
 3. FoKoPo 1-0 
 4. Lahti 1-0 
 5. Kataja 1-0 
 6. LrNMKY 1-0 
 7. ToPo 0-1 
 8. Tarmo 0-1 
 9. Componenta 0-1 
 10. Kouvot 0-1 
 11. Korihait 0-1 
 12. Pyrinto 0-1 


Standings - Division I
1st Division Standings
 1. Salon Vilpas 1-0 
 2. BC Nokia 1-0 
 3. Huima 1-0 
 4. Kauhajoki 1-0 
 5. JKS 1-0 
 6. HNMKY 0-0 
 7. PuHu 0-0 
 8. Jyvaskyla 0-1 
 9. Lapua 0-1 
 10. Honka 0-1 
 11. Ura Basket 0-1 
 12. LoKoKo 0-1 


*****************************************************
  FRANCE   


Standings - ProA
ProA Standings
 1. Nancy 1-0 
 2. Strasbourg 0-0 
 3. Hyeres-Toulon 0-0 
 4. Le Havre 0-0 
 5. Besancon 0-0 
 6. Chalon 0-0 
 7. Vichy 0-0 
 8. Orleans 0-0 
 9. Rouen 0-0 
 10. Pau 0-0 
 11. Cholet 0-0 
 12. Dijon 0-0 
 13. Gravelines 0-0 
 14. Le Mans 0-0 
 15. Roanne 0-0 
 16. ASVEL 0-1 


Standings - ProB
ProB Standings
 1. Poitiers 2-0 
 2. Le Portel 1-0 
 3. Clermont 1-0 
 4. St.Vallier 1-0 
 5. Nanterre 1-0 
 6. Paris-Levall. 1-0 
 7. Maurienne 1-0 
 8. Bourg 1-0 
 9. Evreux 1-1 
 10. Nantes 1-1 
 11. St.Quentin 0-1 
 12. Limoges 0-1 
 13. Antibes 0-1 
 14. Brest 0-1 
 15. Saint-Etienne 0-1 
 16. Charleville 0-1 
 17. Boulazac 0-1 
 18. Quimper 0-2 


Standings - N1
N1 Standings
 1. Lille 4-0 
 2. Challans 3-1 
 3. Lievin 3-1 
 4. Boulogne 3-1 
 5. Chalons 3-1 
 6. Blois 3-1 
 7. Angers 3-1 
 8. Fos Ouest 3-1 
 9. Bordeaux 3-1 
 10. Get Vosges 2-2 
 11. Juvisy 2-2 
 12. Longwy 1-3 
 13. St Chamond 1-3 
 14. Prisse Macon 1-3 
 15. Reims 1-3 
 16. CFBB 0-4 
 17. Bayonne 0-4 
 18. Roche-la-Moliere 0-4 


ProB Round: 2 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Poitiers - Evreux 70-68
Poitiers grabbed tight home victory remaining undefeated after two rounds in Pro B. Kenny Younger shined for the winners adding 15 points and 7 boards. Evreux, which dropped on 1-1, got 14 points from DeRon Hayes.

Nantes - Quimper 87-68
Nantes took it easily against Quimper recording first win in Pro B this season. On the other side Quimper is winless yet with score 0-2. Vernard Hollins paced Nantes to victory collecting 20 points, 3 boards and 6 assists. Moses Sonko was better than the others in Quimper registering 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Bourg - St-Etienne 76-69
Bourg celebrated against St-Etienne mostly owing to nice performance by Gary Chathuant, who scored 18 points and grabbed 11 boards. Thus Bourg improved its score to 2-0 while St-Etienne, which got 19 points and 5 assists from Terry Williams, dropped on 0-2.

Antibes - Limoges 60-69
After defeat in the first round, Limoges won on the road against Antibes thanks to great tandem Alhaji Mohammed - Scott Emerson. These two players combined 45 points and 9 boards leading their team to first win, 1-1. Antibes suffered second defeat despite 22 points and 12 boards by Gabriel Kennedy.

Charleville - St.Vallier 81-66
Charleville outplayed St. Vallier at home thus both teams have 1-1 now. Brice Vounang and Marshalle Phillips netted 18 points each for the winners while Frederic Minet had two points less. Sean Barnette top-scored in St. Vallier with 13 points.

St.Quentin - Maurienne 96-98
Maurienne recorded precious 2-point road win remaining undefeated after 2 rounds. Yannick Gaillou was the key player for Maurienne scoring 22 points with almost perfect shot percentage (8/10 FG2, 6/6 FTs). Shaun Fein drained 31 points for St. Quentin but not enough for the first win.

Paris-Levall. - Nanterre 81-75
Another team with perfect score after two rounds is Paris-Levallois, which took this one mostly owing to Joachim Ekanga-Ehawa and his impressive 26 points. Souarata Cisse had 20 in the first defeat of his Nanterre.

Boulazac - Le Portel 65-72
Le Portel managed to stay unbeaten after road game against Boulazac. Jose Olivero, who delivered 19 points, is the main reason why his team has such a good start. On the other hand, team of head coach Philippe Ruivet had only Sambou Traore in a game mood dropping on 0-2. He added 22 points and 9 boards.

Brest - Clermont 101-84
Brest registered comfortable victory against Clermont. Actually it was the first one for Brest and at the same time first defeat for its opponent. Cecil Brown shined for the winning team draining 33 points for 30 minutes while Erroyl Bing had 20 points and 6 boards in Clermont.



ProA&B : Market News - by Aurelien Hipp

*Kelyn Block (187-G-80, college: Indiana St.) will replaced injured Pierre Wooten at Quimper for next 2 months. More a SG than a PG, Block is well known in France since he played for Reims last season. Block posted 16ppg 4.8rpg in ProB last year in 23 games.

Aleksandar Bojic (207-C-81, agency: Court Side, college: Hawaii-Pacific) has landed in Le Havre but won't be qualified for the first round tonite. Aleksandar Bojic will be the 4th player of the team in the paint. Coach Sousa still is looking for a guard, after having released Pele Paelay. Bojic was posting 13.8ppg 5.9rpg in the czech league last season.


*To replace injured Martin Le Pellec (5-6 weeks), Evreux has signed DeRon Hayes (197-F-70, college: Penn St.).He posted 9.4ppg 4rpg with Limoges in 14 games last year.



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  GREECE   


Kostas Koufos impresses Jerry Sloan with his work ethic - by Simon Varvakis
Even though he never got the chance to bring in Kosta Kosta Kosta Koufos (213-F/C-89, college: Ohio St.) (213-F/C-89, college: Ohio St.) (213-F/C-89, college: Ohio St.) for a workout or sit down with him before the draft, Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor had some idea what he was getting in his newest first-round pick. All his reports mentioned the same thing: Kosta Kosta Koufos was young, but he was a tremendous worker. So much so that he often would head to the gym in the middle of the night after returning from a road trip with the Buckeyes.

As unlikely as the marriage might have seemed at first, the early returns for Kosta Kosta Koufos and the Jazz have been encouraging. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan , for starters, said his rookie 7-footer's attitude was 'as good as you could get.'

'I think he has come farther than I probably expected from where he was in summer league,' Sloan added. 'He's picked stuff up pretty good, he's a lot more relaxed trying to do the stuff, and just played.'

With Morris Almond (198-F-85, college: Rice) and Kyrylo Fesenko (213-C-86, agency: Arik Krayn Services) spending much of last season with the Utah Flash in the NBA Development League, Kosta Kosta Koufos was asked about doing the same as a rookie. 'Whatever it is, I'm willing to work hard,' Kosta Kosta Koufos said. Kosta Kosta Koufos' shooting is his greatest strength, but his focus for right now is on the defensive end. Sloan's praise suggests that Kosta Koufos might be able to contribute as a rookie, even though his age would suggest otherwise.

'He doesn't get to the back of the line and stay there,' Sloan said. 'He's willing to step up and get after it.'


Courtesy of : http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10627058

A1 Market news. - by Simon Varvakis
PAOK Marfin Thessaloniki has agreed terms with Tony Akins (180-G-80, agency: Court Side, college: Georgia Tech) for one year. He played last year in Croatia and KK Split. Akins comes in to help in the organisation of the game for PAOK Marfin Thessaloniki as Harissis and Kafkis could not cover those skills properly.

AO Kolossos Rodou has announced Djordje Djogo (206-F/C-76, agency: Beo Basket). The serbian power forward will replace Miroslav Todic (208-F-85) who was severelly injured in a friendly game and he will not be able to play for Kolossos for a few months.

AS Trikalla 2000 are close to William Avery (188-G-79, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Duke) who played for AEK Athens.

Kavala has troubles with Alain Digbeu (195-F-75) who might not be joining the team after all. There are rumors that they are already looking for a replacement.

Market News - by Serafim Karaiskakis
A1

Trikalla released Nestor Kommatos (203-F-77) because he failed in the medical tests while Jamon Gordon left from the team also due to family reasons, according to team's announcement. There are rumors that there were other reasons who forced the two players out.

Alain Digbeu (195-F-75) and Pape-Philippe Amagou (185-G-85) are thinking to abandon Kavala. The team is already in negotiations with Sotiris Karapostolou to take the spot of Alain Digbeu and Sotiris Nikolaidis (186-G-74) is the candidate to replace Pape-Philippe Amagou.

A2

Apollon Patras is testing Tomas Cerkunovas (204-F/C-83).

AEP Olimpias Patron released Zbigniew Bialek because he did not pass the try-out.

FIBA problem for AEP Olimpias Patron? - by Serafim Karaiskakis
According to agent Arkadiusz Brodzinski, Zbigniew Bialek (203-F-82, agency: AB Agency) has guarantee contract with AEP Olimpias Patron and the team must pay all the money or else he will go to FIBA F.A.T to get the salary.
The team from Patra gave in the press the info that the player did not satisfy the coach and they already released him and started negotiations with Predrag Kosanovic in order to take his spot.
Arkadiusz Brodzinski stated that the team told to the player that they have no money to pay his contract so they ask him to go free. The question is, they have no money to pay Bialek but they have money for Kosanovic ? The player sits on his contract until he gets his salary. The story is just in the start,Eurobasket is always close to similar cases and supports the players.

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  HOLLAND   


Standings - Eredivisie
Eredivisie Standings
 1. Eiff.Towers 1-0 
 2. ZZ Leiden 1-0 
 3. M.Magix 1-0 
 4. Rotterdam 1-0 
 5. Den Helder 0-0 
 6. Amsterdam 0-0 
 7. Hanzev.Cpt 0-0 
 8. Upstairs Weert 0-1 
 9. Aris Friesland 0-1 
 10. Landstede 0-1 
 11. West-Brabant 0-1 


FEB Team-By-Team Analysis: Aris Friesland Leeuwarden - by Sanders Jackson


Aris Friesland Leeuwarden

Head coach: Pete Miller

Record in 2007-08: 9-31

Additions: head coach Pete Miller, Tristan Blackwood, Bob van den Eenden, Jayme Miller, Keith Spencer, Kevin Steenberge, Frieder Jacobsen, Patrick Frimpong, Sonny Waaldijk, Matt Bauscher

Outlook:

Aris Friesland mad esome sweeping changes in the offseason, first reaching an joint agreement with Eiffel Towers in a devlopment program, with Eiffel Towers sending some of their youth talent base to Aris. Pete Miller, a former player himself in the Dutch competition, last coached in the Telekom Bonn system and will be the man in charge. He has some size and a heady PG to work with, namely Tristan Blackwood (183-G-85), who will run the show. Blackwood is a scorer who can also make his teammates better. Look for him to be one of the most exciting players in the FEB. Kevin Steenberge (211-C-83, agency: 540 Sports, college: Richmond) has various international experience and has a good touch around the basket. Holdover and former Dutch international Rein Van der Kamp (202-F-79, agency: R.H.Consultancy) is coming off a good 2007-08 season and should be the recipient of many good looks on the fastbreak and perimeter with Blackwood distributing the ball.


Forget about what happened last season, this will be a much more exciting team to watch. Maybe not championship material, but making the FEB playoffs is a strong possibility.



FEB Team-By-Team Analysis: BlueStream Den Helder - by Sanders Jackson

BlueStream Den Helder

Head coach: Peter van Noord

Record in 2007-08: 5-35

Additions: Matt Witt, Joshua Kramer, Darnell Dialls, Bjorn Kamphuis, Terence Robinson

Outlook:

No team made more three-pointers last season in the FEB than BlueStream, making an average of 9 per game. Unfortunately, this team was short on depth and experience and had to deal with growing pains after returning to the FEB after an 18 month absence. Head coach van Noord has a team with a year experience under its belt, and with a new sport hall and sponsor to work with as well. Holdovers Bradley Strickland (206-F/C-85, agency: Court Side, college: Evansville) and J.R. Duffey (201-F/G-84, agency: Court Side, college: Niagara) are the ones who will lead this young group, with fellow Americans Matt Witt (183-G-84, agency: Court Side, college: E.Kentucky) and Darnell Dialls (203-F/C-86, agency: Court Side) arriving on board. BlueStream gains a boost to their frontline with the return of Bjorn Kamphuis (203-F/C-83, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement), who is returning after a long absence with a back injury. If Kamphuis can return to full strength and stay healthy, it will be a bonus for BlueStream. This group will continue to get better but needs more time.

Marco van den Berg: "Capitals better than most experts think" - by Fred Roggen
A chat with Marco van den Berg , the new coach of Hanzevast Capitals. The former NT-coach looks back on the previous season and talked about his new team and look forward to the upcoming season.

The previous season, was one to forget quickly, I think. Your team Omniworld Almere was declared bankrupt after a few months and you quit your job as coach of the Dutch NT-team. How do you look back now on that tumultuous period.
My experience in Almere was not negative. The people of the club were doing a really good job with building a youth program for example. I am enriched by my new friendships with excellent basketball people like Mart van ooyen, Patrick Faydherbe, Eelco Derks, Joop Epskamp and Cees van Rootselaar, just to name a few. The city council just lost patience, there was not one basketball person to blame for that. Also, during my time in Almere I latched on to a truly good agency (Interperformances) and got to personally meet its founder, dr. Luciano Capicchioni; this also gave me a very good feeling.
As for the National Team, that was a totally different thing. Let me state that I am very proud to have been able to coach for our country; I still consider this a great honour. But to move Dutch basketball in the right direction two very important changes have to be implemented: our overall youth program and the fiscal advantages clubs have in signing foreigners (which makes it more expensive for a Dutch club to sign a Dutch player than a foreign player!!) . Right now all the really great talents are fleeiing the country. I want the federation to act seriously to make these changes; it refuses to do so. Until that happens, I will not work for the federation, which is really sad, but then again: I think the whole 'policy'is a sad one. The people responsible for it should take their responsibilities.

You have signed for three years at Hanzevast Capitals (Donar), the Dutch club who stand already many years on your wish list, can we say 'A dream came out'?
'dream' is too strong a word. A dream would be to coach in Euroleague someday. Imagine if we did that with Capitals...

Hanzevast Capitals has changed a lot this pre-season both within the organization as the team. How important is that balance between a good organization and the team on the floor?
It is very underrrated and a big missing factor in Dutch basketball in general. Luckily, here in Groningen we have two former top players (Albert vd Ark and Martin de Vries) actively involved. They know what they are doing.

Let's talk about your team. You are the new coach and with a new bench of players. The team's roster seems more balanced then last season. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the team sofar?
Our strenghts are definetely our ability to push the tempo. If we run, we are very dangerous. In the halfcourt we have seen both good and bad things. If we can truly play unselfish and take care of the ball, we will be very difficult to stop. But we have not done this consistantly, which we should be forgiven for, since we are stll very young as a team. I like the fact that no one can take us for granted: we have eight players who can score in double figures on any night. We have to really battle hard to play up to the really athletic teams. But to me battle hard and topsports are almost synonyms.

So far, during the practicing period Hanzevast Capitals already left a good impression although being without Rogier Janssen as member of the Dutch NT-team?
I like our team. Rogier is back now and has added a dimension. But I generally like our players, their work ethic, their dedication to make the best fans in the country proud again. I am very positive about their potential as a group, both in making results as well a developing a personality.

What do you expect from the upcoming season and What are your goals?
I expect us to be the best we can be, which should be better than most experts think we can be.

Marco thanks for the chat and good luck with Hanzevast Capitals this season.

FEB Team-By-Team Analysis: Rotterdam Challengers - by Sanders Jackson


Rotterdam Challengers

Head coach: Terrence Stansbury

Record in 2007-08: 24-16 (lost in 1st round FEB playoffs)

Additions: Phil Grant, Bobby Walker, Sjoerd van Vlisteren, Martin Iti, Aaron Williams, Alexander Hokke, Luuk Besseling, head coach Terrence Stansbury

Outlook:

Scrappy Rotterdam Challengers were the surprise team of 2007-08, managing to get at least one win vs. every team in the FEB last season. The Rotterdam brass decided to go another direction coaching wise, out with Toon van Helfteren, and in with former NBA'er Terrence Stansbury. Stansbury, no stranger to the Dutch competition (Dutch champion with then-Nashua Den Bosch, in Weert), brings to Rotterdam an excellent basketball pedigree, formerly playing for the Seattle Supersonics, Dallas Mavericks and Indiana Pacers, played for many years throughout Europe also well as once finishing 2nd to Michael Jordan in the 1987 NBA Slam Dunk contest. Stansbury coached for the past season in the Luxembourgish competition. Stansbury has a few of the same holdovers of last season's team, as well as bringing in some Americans who have some European competition experience. Holdover Americans Sullivan Sykes (193-G/F-81, college: St.Joseph, IN) and Charles Richardson (175-G-84, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Nebraska) return, as well as FEB and Eurobasket Holland Rookie-of-the-Year Jeroen Slor (204-F-85, agency: R.H.Consultancy). Slor has a tremendous upside who should continue to improve. Stansbury has plenty of size inside with newcomers

Phil Grant (202-G/F-79, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Iona), Martin Iti (213-C-83, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: N.Mexico St.) and Aaron Williams (203-C/F-83, college: W.Chester), and B.A. Walker (188-G-84, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Va Commonwealth) going Sykes and Richardson in the backcourt will be interesting. One player that could have helped Stansbury, Djoenie Steenvoorde, has changed addresses and has moved on to Eiffel Towers, taking 14.3 ppg. and 5.0 rpg. with him. Daniel Jones (200-F-79, agency: R.H.Consultancy) brings experience and athleticism to the front line. It will be interesting to see this Rotterdam Challengers bunch, and if they will have bench strength, reliable perimeter shooting and a solid rotation. Who will knock down the big shots? Will Rotterdam Challengers build on their momentum from last season under a new head coach? Time will tell.

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  HUNGARY   


ANNIVERSARY MOGYOROSY SZILARD TOURNAMENT, Kormend - by Tamas Deri
Friday, 3rd of October 2008

Gussing Knights (austrian) - Oberwart Gunners (austrian) 75-77
(27-21, 10-20, 21-24, 17-12)
Gunners: Jason Johnson (202-F/C-77, college: Tennessee St.) 20, Marcus Stout (193-G, agency: CAA Sports) 19, Stegnjaic 9, Moric 9, Ochsenhofer 7, Artner 6, Radakovics 5, Linzer 2, Coach: Ante Perica
Gussing: Jermaine Thomas (187-G-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: La Salle) 33, Jason Chappell (208-F/C-83, agency: Heinrich Sports, college: Wisconsin) 14, Knorr 6, Ledoux 4, Unger 5, Schfer 4, Klepeisz M. 4, Klepeisz T. 3, Koch 2, Coach: Gerald Vogler


Polaroid Lami-Ved Kormend - Atomeromu SE 101-87
(19-24, 24-19, 29-20, 29-24)
Kormend: Fodor M. 8/3, McCullough 5/3, Ferencz 6, Corey Minnifield (202-F-81, college: Loyola (LA)) 17/3, Banks 12/3, Fodor G. 6, Gergely Hegedus (198-F-83) 11/6, Manix Auriantal (187-G-80, college: NYIT) 15/3, Kocsis 3/3, Trummer 6/6, Toth 8, Keresztes 4, Coach: Dragoljub Krivacevic
ASE: Nicholls, Williams 14/3, Charles Gosa (202-F-77, agency: Arik Krayn Services, college: N.Mexico St.) 32/6, Sharif Fajardo (205-F/C-76, agency: Edge Sports, college: UTEP) 20/3, Csaplar-Nagy 8/6, Meszaros 3/3, Medve, Kiss 10/6, Coach: Sabali Balazs

Pipelife Cup, Debrecen - by Tamas Deri
Thursday, 2nd of October 2008

Szolnoki Olaj KK - Kosice (slovakian) 94-65
(27-18, 26-7, 21-24, 20-16)
Szolnoki Olaj KK: Coleman 8/3, Cziczas 11/3, Donald Wilson (193-G-84, agency: Court Side, college: Portland) 16/6, Andrius Jurkunas (205-F-76, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services, college: Clemson) 17/15, Jelic 2, Cseh 5, Peter Gaal (190-G-88) 13/6, Toth 7/3, Sonyak 3/3, Harazin 12, Szabo, Imre Kovacs (202-F-83), Coach: Por Peter
Kosice: Lutter 18, Batka 17, Demecko 11

DEKE - Algeria 75-68
(12-17, 15-23, 27-19, 21-9)
DEKE: Gaynor 14/6, Kutasi, Toth G. 10/6, Imre Kovacs 24/15, Joe Kennerly (204-C/F-84, agency: Passing Lane, college: Cent.Oklahoma) 15/3, Kaluha 2, Erdei 3/3, Varro, Balogh A. 4, Takacs D. 1, Szabo T. 2, Coach: Walke Karoly


Friday, 3rd of October 2008

Szolnoki Olaj KK - Algeria 98-69
(20-26, 27-17, 27-15, 24-11)
Szolnoki Olaj KK: Jerome Coleman (185-G-81, agency: CAA Sports, college: Rutgers) 16/12, Cziczas 12/6 , Wilson 11/3, Andrius Jurkunas 5/3, Dusan Jelic (211-C-74) 19/3, Peter Gaal 15/9, Cseh 5/3, Harazin 5, Szabo 4, Toth 6/6, Szabo, Nagy, Mondzinger, Coach: Por Peter


Kosice (slovakian) - DEKE 73-85
(16-18, 16-24, 22-29, 19-14)
DEKE: Gaynor 13/9, Kutasi 11/9, Gabor Toth (196-F-78, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 20/6, Imre Kovacs 9/3, Kennerly 13, Kaluha, Varro, Erdei, Balogh A., Takacs D. 8/6, Szabo T. 11, Coach: Walke Karoly

5. PVSK Cup, Pecs - by Tamas Deri
Thursday, 2nd of October 2008

Kaposvari KK - Falco-SZOVA KC Szombathely 84-91
(20-21, 19-21, 32-25, 13-24)
Kaposvari KK: Marciulionis 12/3, Vojvoda 14/3, Hoffmann 11/3, Panta 7/3, Larry Welton (196-F, college: Aurora) (196-F, college: Aurora) 27/6, Csirke 5/3, Kiss K. 8/3. Coach: Dzunic Branislav
Falco-SZOVA KC Szombathely: Kalman 14/3, Darryl Hudson (196-G-85, college: Howard) (196-G-85, college: Howard) (196-G-85, college: Howard) 22/6, Ciric 11/3, Zoltan Horvath (207-F/C-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 20/6, Perincic 14/3, Denis Vrsaljko (212-C-82) 8, Pankar, Lakatos 2, Vida, Coach: Srecko Sekulovic


Pecsi VSK-Panthers - Univer Kecskemet 78-66
(25-24, 21-11, 19-10, 13-21)
Pecsi VSK-Panthers: Wittmann 11/9, Thomas Kelley (188-G-76, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: Michigan St.) 18/6, Denes, Grebenar 6, Zoltan Bencze (213-C-81) 20, Toth N., Aleksic 17/12, Czigler 4, Kovacs P. 2, Coach: Stojan Ivkovic
Univer Kecskemet: Haynes 11, Horvath 11/3, Molnar A. 3/3, Greg Danielson (206-C-81, agency: Global Sports Plaza, college: Drake) 25/12, Claiber 15/6, Horti, Szabo Zs. 1, Tornoczky, Kovacs, Coach: Zsoldos Andras



Friday, 3rd of October 2008

Falco-SZOVA KC Szombathely - Univer Kecskemet 91-80
(20-32, 29-23, 18-15, 24-10)
Falco-SZOVA KC Szombathely: Laszlo Kalman (186-G-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 19/6, Darryl Hudson 19/12, Ciric 9/3, Horvath Z. 2, Ivan Perincic (208-F-77, agency: Agency No 10) 23/12, Denis Vrsaljko 19, Lakatos, Pankar, Vida, Coach: Srecko Sekulovic
Univer Kecskemet: Haynes 22/9, Horvath 9, Molnar A. 9/3, Danielson 18/3, Claiber 20/9, Szabo Zs., Tornoczky, Horti 2, Coach: Zsoldos Andras


Kaposvari KK - Pecsi VSK-Panthers 80-65
(19-23, 20-15, 23-14, 17-13)
Kaposvari KK: Marciulionis 4, Vojvoda 7/3, Hoffmann 13/3, Panta 17/3, Larry Welton 33/15, Kiss K. 3/3, Csirke 3/3, Coach: Dzunic Branislav
Pecsi VSK-Panthers: Wittmann 10/6, Kelley 12/3, Denes 9/9, Grebenar 8, Bencze Z. 9, Aleksic 12/12, Toth N. 5/3, Czigler, Kovacs P, Coach: Stojan Ivkovic

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  ITALY   


Lega 2 at the start. Eurobasket ranking - by Gianni Pascucci
As usual, Eurobasket.com tries to publsh the 2008-09 Lega 2 preseason ranking. The best three are in our opinion Varese, Reggio Emilia and Casale Monferrato. Two of them should be promoted, the third one will battle till the end. We can label these clubs as 'Five Stars Teams'. Just behind them, we see the 'Four Stars Teams' Sassari, Livorno, Jesi, and newcomers Venezia and Brindisi: they are for sure playoff material, and some could also enter in the battle for the promotion. Among the remaining eight, we see a little better the 'Three Stars Teams' Veroli, Soresina, Pistoia, Rimini and Scafati, and a little worse the 'Two Stars Teams': Pavia, Imola, Roseto. The first five are not enough strong to fight for the playoff grid, but worth of a quiet mid-table standing, while the last three are the main candidates to the relegation to 'A Dilettanti' and we expect they will battle to avoid the last two places all season long. But, as happened almost every season, we can also expect surprinsing performances and upsetting table climbing. Let's see ... And we wish a very happy season to all players, coaches and fans.

Napoli is definitively out, Orlandina not yet - by Gianni Pascucci
The second Italian pro league (Lega 2) will start tomorrow, with all the 16 teams registered, while the number of the 2008-09 Serie A teams is not yet known, despite its start is scheduled for next weekend. Only Napoli has been definitively sentenced out of professional basketball, while jury is still out about Orlandina. The final decision from the CONI Council is expected for monday afternoon. In case of a re-admission of Capo d'Orlando to Lega A, Cimberio Varese (forced to play tomorrow in the first Lega 2 round vs. Pallacanestro Roseto 1946), won' t be allowed to came back to Serie A, and this one will remain a 'lame' divison with 17 teams.

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  KUWAIT   


Tarver signs for Kazma - by Ali Ahmed
Kazma basketball team management agreed terms with the American Guard Derrick Tarver (192-G-80, agency: Edge Sports, college: Akron) to play for them this season 2008/2009.



A scoring machine who can produce points in any way. Very athletic, can guard higher opponents, but gives his best at the offensive side. Scored 59 points in a single game in Swedish league (no overtime in that game...)


Awards/Achievements:
All-MAC 2nd Team -03, 04
All-CJCAA Final Tournament Team -02
Swedish Basketligan All-Star Game -06
Swedish Basketligan Regular Season Runner-Up -06
Swedish Basketligan Finalist -06
Eurobasket.com All-Swedish Basketligan Player of the Year -06
Eurobasket.com All-Swedish Basketligan Guard of the Year -06
Eurobasket.com All-Swedish Basketligan Import Player of the Year -06
Eurobasket.com All-Swedish Basketligan 1st Team -06
Eurobasket.com Swedish Basketligan All-Imports Team -06
Asia-Basket.com All-Lebanese League 1st Team -08
Asia-Basket.com Lebanese League All-Imports Team -08
Lebanese League Semifinals -08


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  LATVIA   


ASK Riga win BBL opener - by Eurobasket News
ASK Riga - Nevezis 76:66

ASK Riga looked solid and posted their initial win in the Baltic League regular season opener yesterday. The Latvian team hosted Lithuanian Nevezis and surged ahead in the fourth term to secure a 76:66 win.
Nearly 3000 spectators gathered in Arena Riga to witness their team hitting the road in the new and even more exciting BBL season. Kalve and Ricardo Marsh (203-F-81, agency: Edge Sports, college: ODU) were responsible for the first 7 points from the hosts as they jumped to a 7:2 lead. Soon Bruno Sundov (220-C-80) accounted for 5 straight points as the hosts extended the lead to 19:11. Valdas Dabkus (205-F-84) capped the frame with a layup to cut the distance to 13:19 at the end of the first frame. The teams traded baskets throughout the second frame with none going away. Stankus had the last laugh in the period and his three-pointer allowed Nevezis to trail by just a single point 35:36 at halftime. Back-to-back trebles from Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma) and Uvis Helmanis (204-F-72, agency: Stanley International) saw ASK Riga clear off to a 5-point distance midway through the third quarter however Valdas Dabkus and Darius Silinskis (216-C-84, agency: Interperformances) kept the visitors in the game. Once again it was Nevezis to close the stanza strong as Stankus nailed 5 points in a row for his team to trail by 2 points. Valters, Corey Brewer and Uvis Helmanis did the most damage early in the fourth quarter and the home team piled up an 8-point advantage. Ricardo Marsh came up with 4 straight points and ASK Riga enjoyed an 11-point cushion with under 4 minutes left in the game. Nevezis failed to come closer than 8 points in the dying minutes and had to surrender at the end. Ricardo Marsh tallied 15 points and 11 boards for the winners. Corey Brewer provided 15 points, while Bruno Sundov had 14 for the home team. Benas Veikalas (192-G-83, agency: Passing Lane, college: Metro St.) answered with 16 points and 7 boards for Nevezis. Darius Silinskis delivered 13 points in the loss.

ASK Riga: Ricardo Marsh 15+11 boards, Corey Brewer 15, Bruno Sundov 14
Nevezis: Benas Veikalas 16, Darius Silinskis 13

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  LITHUANIA   


ASK Riga win BBL opener - by Eurobasket News
ASK Riga - Nevezis 76:66

ASK Riga looked solid and posted their initial win in the Baltic League regular season opener yesterday. The Latvian team hosted Lithuanian Nevezis and surged ahead in the fourth term to secure a 76:66 win.
Nearly 3000 spectators gathered in Arena Riga to witness their team hitting the road in the new and even more exciting BBL season. Kalve and Ricardo Marsh (203-F-81, agency: Edge Sports, college: ODU) were responsible for the first 7 points from the hosts as they jumped to a 7:2 lead. Soon Bruno Sundov (220-C-80) accounted for 5 straight points as the hosts extended the lead to 19:11. Valdas Dabkus (205-F-84) capped the frame with a layup to cut the distance to 13:19 at the end of the first frame. The teams traded baskets throughout the second frame with none going away. Stankus had the last laugh in the period and his three-pointer allowed Nevezis to trail by just a single point 35:36 at halftime. Back-to-back trebles from Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma) and Uvis Helmanis (204-F-72, agency: Stanley International) saw ASK Riga clear off to a 5-point distance midway through the third quarter however Valdas Dabkus and Darius Silinskis (216-C-84, agency: Interperformances) kept the visitors in the game. Once again it was Nevezis to close the stanza strong as Stankus nailed 5 points in a row for his team to trail by 2 points. Valters, Corey Brewer and Uvis Helmanis did the most damage early in the fourth quarter and the home team piled up an 8-point advantage. Ricardo Marsh came up with 4 straight points and ASK Riga enjoyed an 11-point cushion with under 4 minutes left in the game. Nevezis failed to come closer than 8 points in the dying minutes and had to surrender at the end. Ricardo Marsh tallied 15 points and 11 boards for the winners. Corey Brewer provided 15 points, while Bruno Sundov had 14 for the home team. Benas Veikalas (192-G-83, agency: Passing Lane, college: Metro St.) answered with 16 points and 7 boards for Nevezis. Darius Silinskis delivered 13 points in the loss.

ASK Riga: Ricardo Marsh 15+11 boards, Corey Brewer 15, Bruno Sundov 14
Nevezis: Benas Veikalas 16, Darius Silinskis 13

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  LUXEMBOURG   


Interview with Jan Enjebo(Sweden) of Head Coach of T71 - by Alex Meyers
Eurobasket: Congratulations on the signing of Martin Rajniak.
Coach Enjebo: Adding Martin to the group of our hungry T71 players will make a deeper team. It's really competitive to find a place among the 12 who can dress for the games. This will guarantee a good opportunity for developing the younger players this season.
Eurobasket: So, how are feeling to be back in Luxembourg and with your new club, T71?
Coach Enjebo: It's just good, it's great country and T71 is a great club to work for.
Eurobasket: You went back to home Sweden for two seasons with Gothia-Basket in Gothenburg. Compare in a few words the difference between the liga in Sweden and the DBBL?
Coach Enjebo: The Swedish league is one level up if you compair it with the DBBL. There are more full time paid players, its fully professional club-wise.
Eurobasket: In the Tageblatt pre-season news article, you picked Amicale and Etzella to finish 1-2 in the DBBL. What about Sparta? Do you think they lost too much in Ziai's and Baustert's retirement?
Coach Enjebo: What I told the Tageblatt was that 6 teams are capable of winning it all including Sparta, but at the same time I said Amicale looks strong this season. And, you can never underestimate Etzella.
Eurobasket: What do you miss the most about Sweden?
Coach Enjebo: At the moment I don't miss anything more than my family, everything is great in Dudelange and the team looks good!
Eurobasket: Do you have any hobbies?
Coach Enjebo: It's a great hobby of mine to go up to my small farm in the north of Sweden and hunt the Swedish moose with my brothers. The moose can get really big and the meat is marvelous.
Eurobasket: Have you gone hunting recently?
Coach Enjebo: I was off from basketball the second week of September, just one month ago because of the hunting.
Eurobasket: And, how did it go? Did you bag a moose?
Coach Enjebo: I got 3 animals this year.
Eurobasket: What was the most memorable experience you ever had as a player?
Coach Enjebo: I played for Sweden in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. It was great. We came 10th place.
Eurobasket: What was your greatest experience as a coach?
Coach Enjebo: When I had the Swedish National Team, my first game as a head coach was against Israel in Telaviv in front of 10,000 people. Everyone thought we were loosing it, but we won after a great game with 3 points. It was a great feeling. One that I will never forget.
Eurobasket: Who was the most influential coach you ever worked with or were coached by? or, what coach had the most influence on you?
Coach Enjebo: I had the pleasure to work together with Jan Mikulowski a great person and a great coach. He's now 76 years old but is still going strong developing young talents in the south of Sweden. He comes from Poland and has great experience.
Eurobasket: Who was the best player that you ever coached? Does one come to mind? Or, are there several that rank equally as high on your list?
Coach Enjebo: It's impossible to say. I had so many great players during these years.
Eurobasket: What teams do you coach at T71?
Coach Enjebo: 4 teams, Scolaires A, Cadets A, Espoires A, Men A
Eurobasket: Last question. What is it about the culture, food wine etc. in Luxembourg that you like the most or find most interesting? Holidays, Customs, anything?
Coach Enjebo: It's a more relaxed atmosphere overall if you compare with Sweden, people are not so stressed the same way here.
Eurobasket: Ok, Coach Enjebo. Welcome back to Luxembourg and thanks for the interview. We wish you and your teams all the best for a positive and successful 2008-09 season. Good Luck.
Coach Enjebo: Thanks a lot.

DBBL 08-09 opens this weekend! Sparta & Musel Pikes will lead. Amicale and Etzella to contend. Martin Rajniak signs with T71!! - by Alex Meyers

The start of the 2008- 2009 DBBL season is upon us once again as all ten Diekirch League teams open up their schedule this weekend in Luxembourg. First round action begins Saturday night, October 4th.

Amicale Steinsel - AB Contern

Amicale Steinsel, with their new coach John Griffin and player Olivier Haan both in Heffingen last season, will host A.B. Contern. Contern has signed former Bayreuth(2nd Bundesliga) coach, Marco Amelow of Germany and has added David Florentin(Nitia) to its roster. The probable starting lineup for Amicale is Christian Schartz at the point wtih Christopher Jones at 2guard in the back court. At center position will be American Travis DePree (201-F/C, college: Albion). In the front court at 3 and 4 will be Sam Ney and Chris Scholtes. Contern has seasoned veteran Gilles Becker at playmaker with Eric Jeitz and Yves Braun at 2 and 3 respectively. At the power forward position Contern has Eric Bissener and in the middle will be the American Brandon Gary (202-F-83, college: Hutchinson JC). Ken Diederich is still there to come off the bench for Contern. Our nod goes to the home team Amicale but it could be a close one.

Heffingen - Black Star Mersch

Black Star and their new coach Rainer Kloss , also of Germany (Tuebingen 2.Regionalliga last season) has Yannik Tuffel back to start at the 3 position. They also boast of Patrick Arbaut(2) and Gilles DiBartholomeo(1) in the back court. Black Star has new inside player American Billy McDaniel (201-F/C-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: Ark.-Monticello) and will most likely start Tom Becker at the power forward position. Dan Norell is also there as a possible starter and utility guard Pitt Hoffmann will also be a steady performer coming off the bench. Black Star will travel to Heffingen who is just coming up from National 2. They are coached by Mika Turunen of Finland. Turunen spent the past several years at Lappeenranta NMKY club in Finland's Korisliiga. Heffingen lost many of its players from last year's roster. Gone are Olivier Haan(Amicale), brothers Elton and Sam Ferreira(Etzella) and Rui Nunes(Arantia - LUX-N3). Heffingen has a new American Center in Jay Anderson (206-F-81, college: Oregon). At the power forward postion will most likely be Manou Scholtus(normally a 3) Claude Weyrich and Joel Thesen will be in the backcourt and veteran Camille Feltes could start at wing forward. We have to give this one to Black Star who finished 7th in the DBBL last season. Heffingen is too young, too inexperienced and has not enough depth to compete for the top six spots. They will have to really fight to survive in the DBBL this season.

Racing Luxembourg - Etzella Ettelbruck

Also on Saturday night, Racing entertains Etzella and T71 Dudelange with host Musel Pikes. Etzella will run away with a win in this opener for Racing at the Hall Sportif Josy Barthel. Toni Ostojic is the coach at Racing. He has experienced veterans Vincent Weynandt and Dave Schroeder inside. Eric Grand and Steve Close outside to compliment american import forward Jordan Brady (198-F-83). Etzella lost Cedric Schroeder who is taking a pause, Gilles Bach who has retired and Yann Hermann who left for T71. Elton Ferreira will come off the bench to add size and depth inside for Etzella. Veterans Nelson DelGado and Tim Giver will rule the back court for Etzella again with Jairo Delgado at the 3 position. Inside the post, Etzella has a new look with Raphael Albaladejo playing 5. American Marcus Kennedy (193-F-84, college: Montevallo) is back to lead his teammates from the power forward spot. Look for youngsters Jimmy Garganese and Pit Kerger to help from the bench. Head coach Carsten Pohl has a squad that will do some damage in the DBBL. The edge goes to Etzella if Jairo DelGado is healthy.


T71 Dudelange - Musel Pikes

Jan Enjebo (Sweden) is back in Luxembourg, this time at the helm in Dudelange with T71. With Tom Schumacher and Frank Muller gone to the U.S.A., he was rebuilding his team around playmaker Gilles Ruffato, perimeter players Bob Kieffer and Felix Hoffmann, and inside players Frank Siebenbour and new addition Mike Kostur(Bascharage). OOPS! Now all of the sudden...!!!*##!!** ... Surprise!!!! Hey DBBL!!! Look out for T71!!! Martin Rajniak has signed as of yesterday! But listen T71 fans... ...don't get too excited because as soon as something better comes along in another country, he is outta here! American import, the sharp-shooting Tim Whitworth (198-G/F-81, agency: Court Side, college: Drexel)(Jamtland of Sweden-Basketliga last season) is playing shooting guard small forward and according to many, this guy can shoot the lights out! Coach Enjebo will get he most out of his players. As long a Rajniak and Enjebo are together, T71's opponents could have problems. This game is a tossup with a slight edge going to the home team.

Musel Pikes' head coach Frank Baum is back and so is Samy Picard! This makes the team who finished 2nd in the DBBL and 2nd in the Cup last year more confident than before. They were the favorite in this early matchup until T71 signed Rajniak. Power-forward American Chris Braier (195-F-84, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Lawrence) will lead again with Tom Schmitz at center, Samy Picard at shooting guard/wing-forward, and Guy Schmit and Laurent Schwartz at the guard spots. Claude Schmit, Jeff Kirch, and Raoul Dentzer give experience and depth from the bench for the 38 year old German coach Frank Baum .


Sparta Bertrange - Residence Walferdange

On Sunday, Oct. 5th, Sparta will play host to Residence. This will be a lop-sided affair with Sparta winning big in their opener at home. Luxembourg veteran Larrie Smith (195-F-75, college: Tennessee Tech) is back again to lead the red and white. Philippe Giberti and Sparta are already looking like they may end up with yet another title as Sparta is a strong favorite to repeat as champion of the DBBL. Ziai Sohrab, and Christian Baustert have retired, but Christian Wulff, Pit Hoffmann, Eric Evans, Fabio Palumbo, Jean De Marchi, Tom Wagner and Mr. Longevity Larrie Smith remain. Add the ever-improving Black Star Mersch transfer Julien Hublart to the mix and you have a team which could again be on top of the DBBL for another season.

Residence coach Kevin Magdowski has American forward William Brand (196-F-80, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement, college: Albany) returning to lead his team. With only Gilles DiBartholomeo gone from last season, throw in transfers Pit Koster and Ben Hemmen(both from Soleuvre) you have a team that could stay in the DBBL. Veterans Frank and Steve Mangen along with Sylvain Felten give experience and depth. This will be an up and down team that you must be ready to play on any given night. But for the opener, its Sparta all the way.


Good Luck to all the clubs and their players, coaches, supporters and referees for a wonderful 2008-09 DBBL season! Please feel free to send information or ask questions. Send an e-mail anytime you like! Coming soon: We will break down the FLBB's National 2 and National 3.




Etzella opens DBBL season with an easy road vitory! Nelson DelGado scores 41!!! Black Star, Amicale and Musel Pikes also win! - by Alex Meyers

Racing 69 - Etzella 93

Etzella's Nelson DelGado busted Racing Luxembourg for 41 points last night in the season opener. Not only did DelGado shoot the lights out with 14/22 field goals inside three point range, but he managed to grab 10 rebounds, klosewhile adding 4 steals and 2 assists. The 28 year old DelGado is 'feelin' it' and was in perfect early season form last night. Marcus Kennedy was no slouch dropping 29 points and nearly got the double-double with 9 rebounds. Tim Giver added 12 points.

Racing came out in the first playing very well ending the quarter up by 1. Turnovers plagued the home team the rest of the way. Etzella tallied 17 total steals which led to too many easy fast break buckets. Jordan Brady showed promise with 33 points and tore Etzella apart on the boards grabbing a game high total of 21 rebounds before fouling out. Dave Schroeder played well against his former teammates notching a double-double as well with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Schroeder also led the match in the assist category with 5. Etzella dominated in the second half scoring 56 points.

Racing must travel to Walferdange next weekend to face Residence where its gonna be difficult. Etzella will host and should defeat Heffingen with no problem.

Racing: 27 field goals, 6 three pointers, 9/17 free throws, 46 rebounds 26 fouls, 32 turnovers
Brady 33(21 rebs, 4 st, 7 to, 1 bs), Schroeder 10(10 rebs, 5 as), Haas 7, Weynandt 2 and Pires 3, also Ural 4, Schmit 1, Garcia 6 and Klose 3
Etzella: 31 field goals, 6 three pointers, 25/38 free throws, 37 rebounds, 16 fouls and 16 turnovers
N. DelGado 44(10 rebs, 4 st); Kennedy 27(9 rebs 4 st); Giver 12(4 st), Albaladejo 4(11 rebs), Kerger, also Benseghir 1, E. Ferreira 3, S. Ferreira, Ittenbach 5, Wiesenbach, Pravisani and Jacoby
Score by quarters: (16-15, 17-22, 16-29, 20-27)

Heffingen - Black Star 69 - 74
Amicale - Contern 67 - 63
T71 - Musel Pikes 75 - 85

Details and stats coming soon for the other games.

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  MONTENEGRO   


Buducnost crushes Euroleague team Union Olimpija - by Eurobasket News

Buducnost - Union Olimpija 82-73

Montenegrin champion entered into the Adriatic league 08/09 with a great victory against Slovenian champion and Euroleague participant Union Olimpija. Buducnost was better team during the entire game. Coach Dejan Radonjic had couple of players in excellent shape, what was enough for the win against the team of Aleksandar Dzikic. Montenegrins finished opening ten minutes having plus 3, 18-15. Both teams made couple of long range shots in the second stanza, which at the end was totally leveled 20-20. Vladimir Micov (201-F-85, agency: Beo Basket) and Marko Simonovic (202-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) shined for their team after the breather. They, together with Nemanja Gordic (194-G-88) and Milos Bojovic (198-G-81), crushed Olimpija's defense scoring even more points, 23. On the other side Slovenians stopped on 20. Last frame was just the formality for Buducnost. Very quick it created double digit lead and later, actually with 2 minutes remaining, it touched plus 14. It was a clear signal that Eeroleague team will be crushed in Podgirica. Vladimir Micov and Marko Simonovic paced Buducnost to win scoring 17 points each. Actually Simonovic was MVP of the game with index rate 19. Milos Bojovic and Nemanja Gordic followed these two players with 12 points apiece. Macedonian Vlado Ilievski (190-G-80, agency: World Sport Agency) shined in Olimpija adding 20 points and 4 assists.

Buducnost: Vladimir Micov 17+5 rebs+4 as, Marko Simonovic 17+4 st, Milos Bojovic 12, Nemanja Gordic 12
Union Olimpija: Vlado Ilievski 20+4 as, Vladimir Golubovic (212-C-86) 12, Damjan Rudez (207-F-86) 11

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  NBA   


And here it is the official confirmation-Livingston is the new Heat player - by Bruno Baltazar

The Miami Heat have announced that they have signed free agent guard Shaun Livingston (6'7''-G-85) and requested waivers on guard Tre Kelley (6'0''-G-85, agency: CAA Sports, college: S.Carolina).

Livingston, a 67, 185-pound guard, appeared in 145 games (60 starts) with the Los Angeles Clippers and averaged 7.4 points, 4.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 0.94 steals in 27.2 minutes while shooting 44.0 percent from the field and 71.0 percent from the foul line. In his last season (2006-07) with the Clippers, he led the team in assists per game (5.1) and set career highs in games started (31), minutes per game (29.9), field goals made (208), field goal attempts (449), field goal percentage (.463), free throws made (82), free throws attempted (116), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.54), rebounds per game (3.4), steals per game (1.09), and blocks per game (0.54).

Shaun Livingston was one of the best young players to come into the draft in a long, long time. We feel very fortunate to be able to sign him and help us rebuild our program, said HEAT President Pat Riley.

Livingston, the fourth overall selection in the 2004 NBA Draft, was named the Western Conference got milk? Rookie of the Month for April of 2005 after averaging 11.0 points, 7.4 assists, 1.40 steals and 35.9 minutes in 10 games.

Kelley was signed by the HEAT on September 26, 2008 as a free agent.



Nuggets Add Howard to Training Camp Roster - by Bruno Baltazar

The Denver Nuggets have signed forward Juwan Howard (6'9''-F-73, college: Michigan) to their training camp roster.

Howard, a 14-year NBA veteran, played in 50 games for the Dallas Mavericks last season. In 1,001 career regular season games, he has averaged 15.3 ppg and 6.8 rpg and was an All-Star with Washington in 1996.

Howard, 6-9, 250, played in 105 games for the Nuggets from 2002-03, averaging 18.3 ppg and 7.7 rpg. Originally drafted by Washington with the fifth overall pick of the 1995 NBA Draft, he has also played for Orlando and Houston.

The addition of Howard brings Denvers training camp roster to 19 players.



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  PARAGUAY   


Sol wins again - by Gianni Pascucci
Thanks to a super performing from Kenyan center Peter Kiganya, who scored 31 points and grabbed lots of rebounds, Sol de America took another win, 87-81 over Deportivo San Jose, making an important step towards the Final Series. With 16 points, Guillermo Araujo was the other best scorer in Sol, while San Jose was led by Bruno Zanotti, with 21 points. Game 2 will be played on tomorrow night.

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  POLAND   


1Liga Round: 3 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Sudety JG - LKS Lodz 74-75
Lodz secured the first win in the 1 Liga season as they pulled away with a narrow 75:74 win over Sudety JG on the road. The hosts led by as many as 9 points after the starting period but Lodz managed to close the gap and surged to the win at the end. Piotr Trepka posted 18 points to lead the charge. Jelenia Gora replied with 19 points from Rafal Niesobski.

MOSiR Kr. - Znicz Basket 88-62
Mosir Krosno stayed undefeated with the third win in a row. Today they held off Znicz 88:62 to climb to 3-0 record. Marcin Salamonik produced 21 points, while Krzysztof Kalinowski distributed 12 assists to earn the victory for Mosir. Jakub Dloniak replied with 17 points for Znicz.

Polonia 2011 - Zastal ZG 95-108
Zastal Zielona Gora snapped Polonia's winning streak at two-game mark. Pawel Wiekiera fired 37 points and pulled down 9 caroms as Zastal celebrated a 108:95 victory. Lukasz Wisniewski added 27 points as the winners improve to 2-1 record. Polonia 2011 answered with 23 points from Piotr Pamula.

Stal SW - Big Star 74-81
Big Star remained at the helm of the ladder with a hard-fought 81:74 win over Stal SW. Lukasz Pacocha provided 24 points, 4 boards and 4 assists to keep Big Star in the top shelf. Piotr Pustelnik had 14 points for the winners. Stal slipped to 2-1 record despite 17 points from Rafal Partyka.

AZS AWF K-ce - Siarka T. 75-71
Grzegorz Szybowicz knocked down 19 points and Katowice ovecame Siarka 75:71. Siarka thus fell to 0-3 record in the standings despite an outstanding performance from Piotr Mis. He tallied 28 points and 12 boards in defeat.

MMKS DG - Sokol L. 69-54
Dabrowa gained their second win in the season as they trounced Sokol. Radoslaw Basinski came up with 13 points and 9 assists to lead the hosts. Tomasz Milewski delivered 12 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Adrian Mroczek-Truskowski posted 18 points as Sokol fell to 1-2 record.



DBE Round: 3 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Polpharma - AZS Koszalin 77-54
Polpharma grabbed the third win in a row overcoming Koszalin at home. Michael Hicks stepped up for the hosts with 16 points, while Eric Coleman delivered 13 points and 12 boards. Javier Mojica answered with 17 points and 8 rebounds for Koszalin as they slipped to 0-3 record at the start of the DBE.

Prokom - Sportino I. 80-52
Prokom stayed undefeated with a cruising win over Sportino 80:52. The DBE defending champions used balanced offensive effort to leave Sportino winless at the bottom of the ladder. Premyslaw Zamojski netted 12 points to pace the winners. Filip Dylewicz and Aleksej Nesovic dropped 11 points each for Prokom. Tony Lee was impressive for Sportino with game-high 16 points. Kyle Landry finished with 13 points and 15 rebounds in defeat.

Turow - Bank BPS 92-71
Turow secured their top position with an easy victory over BPS at home. Donald Copeland was unstoppable for Turow with game-high 28 points. John Tyrek provided 12 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. Vladimir Tica stepped up for BPS with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Chris Garner knocked down 13 points in the loss.

Atlas Stal - PBG Basket 85-69
Atlas Stal improved to 3-0 record early in the Polish DBE. Today they held off PBG Basket in a one-way traffic game at home. Nikola Jovanovic provided 20 points for the home team. Partick Okafor topscored with 24 points for Atlas. Wojciech Szawarski answered with 16 points for PBG as they occupy the last spot with 0-3 record.

Znicz J. - Basco Slask 75-76
Slask secured the initial win in the season as they pulled away a narrow win against Znicz. Leading by 8 points after the starting frame Slask almost wasted the advantage before slipping away with a last-second success. Kamil Chanas registered 22 points for Slask. Marcin Stefanski added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the winning side. Grady Reynolds dropped 19 points for Znicz.

Kotwica - Polonia 69-57
Kotwica maintained their winning tempo as they toppled Polonia 69:57 today. It was the third straight victory for Sebastian Machowski's team. Kevin Hamilton drained 14 points to lead well-balanced offense. Julien Mills provided 11 points for Kotwica. Polonia fell to 1-2 record despite 18 points and 7 rebounds from Tommy Adams.



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  PORTUGAL   


Tyrekus Bowman signed with Barreirense/Unilogos - by Bruno Baltazar
Barreirense/Unilogos signed their last import player to this season.
Tyrekus Bowman (196-F-86, college: Augusta St.) (196-F-86, college: Augusta St.) earlier given as a Ginasio player will now compete for Barreirense/Unilogos.
His more known as AJ Bowman in the basketball world,22years old,and last season he showed a all around game in his college-2007-2008: Augusta St. (NCAA2): 34 games: 19.8ppg, 7.5rpg, 2.0apg, 1.2bpg, 1.4spg, FGP: 52.6%, 3PT: 32.6%, FT: 72.0%.
Won many awards past season like:
Daktronics NCAA Division II All-South Atlantic Region 1st Team -08
All-PeachBelt Co-Player of the Year -08
PeachBelt Regular Season Runner-Up -08
NCAA D2 Finalist -08
NCAA Elite Eight All-Tournament Team -08
NCAA D2 All-America 2nd Team (by Division II Bulletin) -08

He will improve the straight of the team at the 3 and 4 positions on the floor.To remember they already signed Bruce Brown (213-C-83, college: Hampton) as their center and Chad McKenzie (198-F-84, college: Louisiana Tech) as the other forward.

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  SERBIA   


News from Partizan: Djurkovic in Vizura, Tripkovic and Bozic have injury problems - by Zoran Popovic
According to partnership relations between BC Partizan Igokea Beograd and Vizura Beograd, after Portugal player Joao Soares came to Vizura Beograd, one more BC Partizan Igokea Beograd player will played in BC Vizura Beograd next season. Marko Djurkovic (205-C/F-87) will be temporary loan to Vizura Beograd and help them to reached planned results for this season. Djurkovic started career in BC Partizan Igokea Beograd and played for them from 2002 till 2008. In season 2005-2006 Djurkovic was loaned to KK Sloga and on 22 games that season scored average 5.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. Last season Djurkovic scored for BC Partizan Igokea Beograd in Adriatic league average 1.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and in Serbian Superleague 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds.
In the opening season game with BC Partizan Igokea Beograd has problem with two injured players. BC Partizan Igokea Beograd captain Petar Bozic and Uros Tripkovic wouldnt played against Krka

Novi Sad grabs the first win in A1 league - by Dragan Jankovski
In the second round opener Novi Sad managed to beat Masinac at home 82-78. It was very exciting game which is decided in over time. Novi Sad demonstrated better performance in the first half finishing it 41-35. After the breather Masinac's players woke up and mostly owing to big guy Uros Mirkovic (205-F/C-82, agency: Beo Basket) visitors created 11-18. It means that the team from Kraljevo had minimum lead before the last quarter. Novi Sad had many troubles at the offensive end. They had big number of turnovers (24 in total). However, the hosts succeeded to reach an over time. Hero of the game was Goran Martinic (186-G-87), who scored 13 points in the last four minutes leading his team to first victory. Both teams currently have score 1-1.
Dusko Bunic (205-C-89) led Novi Sad to win scoring 17 points. Goran Martinic had 13 for 19 minutes while the same number reached Maksim Kovacevic (199-G/F-87). Once again Uros Mirkovic was better than the others in Masinac adding 14 points and 13 boards. In the next round Novi Sad will meet Metalac on the road. Masinac will host Radnicki 034 Group.


Novi Sad - Masinac 82-78
(21-20, 20-15, 11-18, 17-16, 13-9)

Novi Sad: Bunic 17, Martinic 13, Kovacevic 12
Masinac: Mirkovic 24 (13 rebs), Radulovic 18 (4 rebs, 4 as), Milasinovic 13

Partizan starts season with win against Krka - by Zoran Popovic
BC Partizan Igokea Beograd opens new season in NLB league with win against Krka Novo Mesto 74-67. In the first quarter Krka Novo Mesto made advantage of 14 points and continued in the same rhythm in second quarter. At the end of the second quarter BC Partizan Igokea Beograd made break and finished first half with result 38-38. Third quarter BC Partizan Igokea Beograd started with much stronger defence and in the middle of that period BC Partizan Igokea Beograd had +5 and at the end +10 points advantage. Last ten minutes of the match Krka Novo Mesto tried to overtake BC Partizan Igokea Beograd, but domestic players didnt give them a chance to make surprise in the finish of the match. The most efficient player in BC Partizan Igokea Beograd was Milenko Tepic (198-G-87, agency: Beo Basket) who scored 20 points, Zarko Rakocevic (205-F-84) scored 12 and Aleksandar Rasic (195-G-84, agency: Beo Basket) 10 points. For Krka Novo Mesto Davor Marcelic (200-F/G-69, college: S.Utah) scored 16, Bruce Price (191-G-83, college: Tennessee St.) 14 and Smiljan Pavic (210-F/C-80, agency: VTBM/SRBM) 12 points.

BC Partizan Igokea Beograd: Lucic, Tepic 20, Riznic, Milosevic 6, Rasic 10, Velickovic 7, Lasme 3, Aleksic 3, Vitkovac 7, Rakocevic 12, Vesely 6, Vranes.

Krka Novo Mesto: Sebic 2, Petrov 5, Price 14, Pavic 12, Marcelic 16, Rakocevic 2, Krivec 2, Zupevec 5, Zvan, Shields 9.

Marko Keselj paces Crvena Zvezda to win in Serbian derby - by Dragan Jankovski
Adriatic league started this afternoon and we had an opportunity to watch the first Serbian derby. It was played in Zeleznik, where FMP suffered home defeat against Crvena Zvezda 78-84. Interesting is that Crvena Zvezda managed to take a lead for the first time in this game in the last minute.

FMP entered into this one strongly creating big 12-4 after just few minutes. Until the end of the first quarter Panthers already had plus 11, 22-11. During the following few minutes FMP even touched plus 17. Dragan Labovic (207-C/F-87) was the key player of FMP in the first half. On the other side Zvezda had Marko Keselj (206-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) and Marko Marinovic (183-G-83), which somehow succeeded to cut the margin on 14 points after 20 minutes, 43-29. Zvezda showed up after the breather with totally different attitude. They played full-court press defense forcing FMP to make few mistakes and to miss couple of taught shots. Marko Keselj , together with Marko Marinovic and center Elmedin Kikanovic (206-C-88, agency: Beo Basket), led Red-and-whites to 62-56 before the last quarter. Game is decided in the last minute and the clutch player was young Marko Keselj . After his triple and later basket by Elmedin Kikanovic, Zvezda took the first lead with 50 seconds to go. Until the end Keselj was unmistakable from the free throw line four times while Labovic, Protic and Milutinovic missed on the other side.

At the end Marko Keselj finished the game with 18 points and 7 rebounds for less than 23 minutes. He had 1/4 for FG2, 2/2 for 3-pts and impressive 10/10 from the FT line reaching index value 26, MVP of the game. Marko Marinovic was behind him adding 15 points and 4 assists while Bosnian center Elmedin Kikanovic had one point less. Dragan Labovic shined in FMP collecting 18 points and 6 rebounds.


FMP - Crvena Zvezda 78-84
(22:11, 21:18, 19:27, 16:28)

FMP: Labovic 18 (6 rebs), Samardziski 12 (10 rebs), Protic 12 (5 as)
Crvena Zvezda: Keselj 18 (7 rebs), Marinovic 15 (4 as), Kikanovic 14, Owens 13 (6 as)

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  SPAIN   


Jill Bell joins Lima Horta - by Robert Mayor
The 1'83 american power forward, Jill Bell (183-F-83, agency: Regeneracom Sports, college: Washington), has been incorporated into the SR Lima Horta of Women's League Second Division in Spain, and she will debut this sunday 5th of october against Stadium Casablanca.
Jill Bell is a powerful 1'83 american inside player who after a career at the University of Washington very solid and has had her first European experience in achieving impressive numbers Women's League 2 in Spain. Once her college career with Washington Univ, Jill Bell was hired by Canal de Isabel II Coslada, the powerful team of Spanish second division (Liga Femenina 2). It quickly became the player of reference of the team and now with more minutes extends her good numbers.
In 29 minutes per game, Jill Bell averaged 12.4 points, 11.8 rebounds (third highest rebound of the league) and 17.5 valuation (ninth most important factor in the league) with 50% in field shots. Jill emphasized especially in some games like against Alvargmez with 23 points, 16 rebounds and 35 valuation; 15 points, 21 rebounds and 30 valuation against Alcobendas; 20 points, 16 rebounds and 34 valuation against Estudiantes, subsequently promoted to 1st Division; 24 points, 21 rebounds and 44 valuation against Universidad de Ferrol; 16 points and 21 rebounds against Zamora or 19 points, 25 rebounds and 37 valuation on lap against Alcobendas.

Hopkins received Spanish nationality - by Robert Mayor
Veteran player Bernard Hopkins (199-F-73, college: Va Commonwealth) received the Spanish nationality, pending the paperwork. American forward has spent 10 years in the ACB league having played in teams such as Pamesa Valencia, Unelco Tenerife, Grupo Capitol Valladolid and last season played for Bruesa in LEB Gold averaging more than 13 points and 6 rebounds per game.

This season, he will play for Bruesa again in the ACB, and this time he will not occupy the position of a foreign player allowing Bruesa to sign another american player.

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  UKRAINE   


Ukrainian Basketball League gets under way - by Eurobasket News
Four games opened the UBL regular season yesterday. The favorites rolled to victories however the fans witnessed some exciting action on the court.
BC Odessa that seriously bolstered the squad in the preseason took on Goverla at home. The hosts jumped to an early lead and maintained it throughout the opening period. They enjoyed a 24:13 lead after ten minutes of action. Odessa overwhelmed their opponents in the second quarter clearing off to a 51:23 distance at the interval. However Goverla refused to fold. They capitalized on some sloppiness from the home team and cut the distance to just 10 points. But Odessa never allowed the visitors to come closer and secured the initial win at the tournament. Justin Love (188-G-78, college: St.Louis) and Vladyslav Podolyan (195-G-86) came up with 14 points apiece to lead Odessa. Otis Hill (203-C-74, college: Syracuse) and Artem Shvets (202-G/F-85) added 10 points each for the winners. Kuchinskiy led Goverla with 23 points.
Cherkasy prevailed over Ferro-ZNTU in a dramatic clash. The hosts pulled away with a narrow 95:94 win to improve to 1-0 record at the start. Robert Dickson poured in game-high 34 points for the winners. Zvezdan Dragojlovic (-75) added 15 points for Cherkasy. Alexander Rybalko (189-G-79) responded with 21 points for Ferro in the loss.
Budivelnyk fell short to Dnipro 90:92 in the key matchup of the day. The teams looked well-matched throughout the action and entered the fourth term all knotted up at 65. However Dnipro that hosted the game because of inability of Budivelnyk to provide needed arena for the game succeeded at the very end of the game. Luke Anderson (198-G/F-82, college: Minn.St.-Mankato) fired game-high 35 points for Dnipro. Grigori Khizhnyak (216-C-74) and Darnell Lazare (203-F-85, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: LSU) added 16 points apiece in the win. Brian Wethers answered with 22 points for Budivelnyk.

Ukrainian Superleague enjoys Round One - by Eurobasket News
The Superleague opened the action today in Ukraine. Four games were scheduled for today and all-time favorites Azovmash and BC Kiev secured tough victories.
Ukrainian basketball experienced some serious changes in the summer with some teams creating their own league and leaving the official FBU competitions. So eight teams hit the road for the trophy today.
BC Khimik faced Pulsar at home and rolled to a comfortable 98:81 victory. Jarrius Jackson (188-G-85, college: Texas Tech) fired 15 points to pace BC Khimik. Oleksandr Kolchenko nailed 14 points for the winners. Dalibor Djapa (206-F/C-84, agency: Beo Basket) secured 23 points and 10 boards for Pulsar at the end. BC Khimik trailed by just a single point at the first intermission. But the hosts recovered in the second quarter and entered the second half ahead by 4 points. Khimik stretched the margin to 15 points before the fourth term and never looked back again.
Sumykhimprom ensured a tough 84:79 victory over visiting Mykolaiv. The hosts could not find the right rhythm in the first half as they trailed by 6 points at the interval. However Corey Santee (188-G-83, college: TCU) ignited a comeback effort in the second half. He delivered the points, while Abdullahi Kuso (206-F-84, college: Tallahasse CC) reigned the boards and the home team registered the first win in the season. Santee produced 17 points to pace Sumykhimprom. Abdullahi Kuso tallied a huge double-double of 14 points and 20 boards, while Brian Green added 14 points for the winners. Olexiy Onufriev scored 16 points for Mykolaiv.
Azovmash cruised past Superleague newcomers BC Poltava 83:72 in Mariupol. The defending champions never trailed en route to a confident victory. Tomas Van Den Spiegel (214-C-78), Uche Nsonwu (208-F/C-78, agency: Beo Basket, college: Wyoming) and Dijon Thompson (201-G/F-83, college: UCLA) scored 13 points each for the winners. Simonas Serapinas knocked down 12 points for Azovmash. R.T. Guinn (208-C-81, college: Baylor) answered with game-high 19 points for BC Poltava.
Finally BC Kyiv secured a dramatic 70:67 win over BC Donetsk in the capital of Ukraine. The teams were all knotted at 65 with under 2 minutes remaining in the game. Brent Wright then put BC Kyiv ahead just for P.J. Tucker (196-F-85, agency: CAA Sports, college: Texas) to draw things level with 21 seconds left. However Scoonie Penn grabbed an offensive board after Clay Tucker (194-G-80, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee)'s miss and Clay Tucker was accurate in the second attempt to seal the winning outcome for BC Kyiv. Clay Tucker had 18 points and 7 rebounds for the winning team. Donetsk answered with 19 points for P.J. Tucker.

MBC Mykolaiv sign Anthony Wilkins - by Eurobasket
MBC Mykolaiv strengthened their roster with addition of 28-year old American guard Anthony Wilkins (201-G-80, college: Kent St.). Wilkins played most recently at Bakersfield Jam (D-League) in the U.S. His stats in 40 games were 6.9ppg and 2.8rpg. In his forst game he player 28 minutes and scored 10 points, grabbing 5 rebounds. He played also in Sweden, Mexico and few years in U.S. semi-pro leagues.

Standings - Higher League
Higher League Standings
 1. Avantazh-Pol. 0-0 
 2. Koksokh-St. 0-0 
 3. Ternopil 0-0 
 4. Orlan-NAPSK 0-0 
 5. KTU Kriv.R. 0-0 
 6. Vinnitsky Zu. 0-0 
 7. DUEP Dnepr. 0-0 
 8. KDPU-Krivb. 0-0 
 9. Domograd 0-0 
 10. Kremen-Pol. 0-0 
 11. Impuls 0-0 
 12. KPU Zapor. 0-0 


Standings - Superleague
Superleague Standings
 1. BC Kyiv 1-0 
 2. Azovmash 1-0 
 3. Khimik 1-0 
 4. Sumykhimpr. 1-0 
 5. BC Donetsk 0-1 
 6. Mykolaiv 0-1 
 7. Pulsar 0-1 
 8. Poltava 0-1 


Standings - Higher League
UBL Standings
 1. Budivelnyk 0-0 
 2. BC Odessa 0-0 
 3. Dnipro 0-0 
 4. Ferro Zapor. 0-0 
 5. Polit.Lviv 0-0 
 6. Kryvbasbasket 0-0 
 7. Goverla 0-0 
 8. Cherkasy 0-0 
 9. Azoty 0-0 
 10. Gryfony 0-0 


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  URUGUAY   


Bigua, the last LUB champions, beat Hebraica - by Hector Lopez
Bigua, the last LUIB champions, defeated Hebraica, the 2007 runner up, 85-66 ate the beginning of the 12th round of the Uruguayan League. For Bigua, Kevin Young (206-C-84, college: Missouri) scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, while Charles Thomas (203-F-86, agency: CGL Sports, college: Arkansas) netted 13 and took 15 rebounds. For Hebraica Angelo reyes scored 14 and Corey Smith (196-G/F, agency: Warren Sports International, college: Vanderbilt) 2. Other results and main import players numbers:
Trouville 84 - Ollie Bailey (201-F-85, college: Oklahoma City) 23 points and 8 rebounds, Levi Stukes (188-G-84) 14 and 3
Paysandu 83 - Austin Montgomery (196-G, college: Bowling Green) 21 and 3, Trelonnie Owens (202-F-71, college: Wake Forest) 20 and 5, Rob Summers (213-C-84, college: W.Virginia) 8 and 8
- - -
Union Atletica 85 - Tarrie Monroe (202-F-77, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Lewis) 24 and 8, Juan Bautista Araujo (206-F/C-83) 12 and 3
Malvin 66 - Jarrett Stephens (200-F/C-77, agency: Duran International, college: Penn St.) 11 and 7, Anthony Washington (206-F/C-83, agency: Duran International, college: Portland St.) 0 and 8
- - -
Tabare 94 - Ryan Blankson (198-F-80, agency: Interperformances, college: Loyola, IL) 21 and 18, Clarence Matthews (201-F-82, agency: 22ft, college: Tennessee St.) 18 and 11
Cordon 82 - Chris Sockwell (203-F/C-80, college: St.Francis,NY) 28 and 11, Andrew Washington (191-G-84, agency: Promotex, college: Delaware) 19 and 1

Four new import players inked for the LUB - by Hector Lopez
Four new import players were signed to play the LUB tournament. Joe Webb (201-G/F-82, agency: Strategic Sports, college: Bellevue) and Amaury Filion (206-C/F-81) were signed by Bohemios, where Darryl Butterfield was replaced. The deal with Filion was delayed las week becasue the player was injured. Cordon inked Andrew Jackson (185-G) replacing Stan Blackmon. Howard Wilkerson (198-F-84, college: Wofford) arrived today to play for Sayago, replacing Charlie Burgess. Wilkerson already played in Uruguay during the Metro League, for Goes. The three teams involved in the trasactions are trying to avoid the relegation to the Metro League.

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  VENEZUELA   


Venezuelans Abroad - Update - by Francisco Vega
Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- Venezuelans playing in foreign countries continued to have starring roles in their respective teams and saw some action in the last 48 hours around the world. Here's a short summary of their performances:

MEXICO (LNBP)
-Tomas Aguilera (198-F-77) scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 30 minutes and Jose Vargas (196-G/F-82) added 10 points and 3 rebounds to help Fuerza Regia de Monterrey defeat Venados de Nuevo Laredo, 128-119.
-Juan Herrera (197-F-81) netted 22 points and and grabbed 10 rebounds, but Santos Reales de San Luis lost against Bucaneros de Campeche, 90-80.
-Pedro Brito (202-F/C-82) finished up with 9 points and 4 rebounds as his Panteras de Aguascalientes lost against Barreteros de Zacatecas, 87-78.
-Hernan Salcedo (198-F-80) scored 10 points and grabbed 4 rebounds, while Jose Juan Bravo (200-C-80) ended up with 7 points and 3 rebounds, but Angeles de Puebla were defeated 101-71 by Halcones de Cordoba.

ITALY (LEGA A)
-Oscar Torres (195-F/G-76) scored 17 points and Hector Romero (202-F-80) added 14 in a comfortable triumph at a friendly match of Snaidero Udine against Furstenfeld Panthers, champions of Austria, 98-63.

PARAGUAY (TOP 5)
-Carlos Morris (194-G-75) scored 8 points as his team, Deportivo San Jose, lost the first game of a three-game series against Sol de America, 94-88, to define the second finalist of the league, which will face Libertad in the decisive series.



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Women News

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  BELGIUM - Women  


Wauters struggles hard in the Finals - by Eurobasket News
Detroit Shock celebrated a 77:69 win over the San Antonio Silver Stars eith Ann Wauters (194-C-80) at the AT&T Center in Texas. Thus Detroit grabbed a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five WNBA Finals series. The Shock now have a good shot at retaining the WNBA title which they last scored in 2006. Katie Smith was well helped by Tay McWilliams as the veteran center nailed 24 points in the win. Sophia Young led the Silver Stars with 21 points. Ann Wauters delivered 16 points in defeat. Both Rebecca Hammon and Deanna Nolan were quiet on the night scoring 13 and 10 points respectively. The visitors looked just a little bit better in the first half and piled up a 10-point lead at halftime. Katie Smith put the Shock up by 14 points soon after the beginning of the second half. However the hosts refused to bow. They outgunned the Shock 20:6 and draw things level 69 with just over 2 minutes to go. Kara Braxton and Katie Smith nailed 4 points in a row to put the visiting side back in front. Detroit stayed calm in the dying seconds and sealed the winning outcome with 4 accurate free throws. Both teams played without some key players. Detroit missed Plenette Pierson as she was sidelined because of shoulder injury. The home team played without Helen Darling and Edwige Lawson-Wade.
Katie Smith knocked down 22 points for the Shock to propel the Detroit Shock to the second straight win in the WNBA Finals. Detroit held off San Antonio 69:61 at the AT&T Center to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. They now have to win once in the next two games at home to clinch their second WNBA title in three years. Deanna Nolan and Kara Braxton provided 12 points apiece for the winners. Detroit left the hosts speechless with a 19:2 start to the game. The visitors built a 25:12 lead at the first intermission and looked too good for their opponents at the moment. However Rebecca Hammon dragged the Silver Stars back to life. She was orchestrating the game well in the second quarter as the home team went on a 12:0 run to cut the distance. The Shock however stayed cool and secured a 35:28 lead at the interval. Rebecca Hammon drew things level midway through the third quarter and later netted two freebies to put San Antonio up 45:44 with under 2 minutes remaining in the period. Plenette Pierson and Katie Smith came up for the Shock at the moment providing key buckets to put the visitors back in charge 48:45 with a quarter to go. Tay McWilliams and Katie Smith kept on scoring for Detroit as rolled to an 11-point lead late in the final term. The Sliver Stars never came back into the contest. Rebecca Hammon produced 24 points and 7 assists for the home team. Ann Wauters had 13 points and 6 caroms in defeat.

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  CZECH REPUBLIC - Women  


Stats Leaders - Women
Trocal ZBL Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1. Misurova 31.00
2. Hariss 24.50
3. Horakova 18.50
4. Magerciakova 18.50
5. Maltsi 18.50
Rebounds Per Game
1. Reisingerova 10.00
2. Matic 9.00
3. Drevova 8.00
4. Maltsi 8.00
5. Miller Cherin 8.00
Assists Per Game
1. Zirkova 5.00
2. Bartonova 5.00
3. Emmelova 4.50
4. Horakova 3.50
5. Misurova 3.00


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  FINLAND - Women  


Standings - Women
D1 Standings
 1. Huima 1-0 
 2. Espoo Team 1-0 
 3. FoA 1-0 
 4. PeKa 1-0 
 5. S-Hameen. 0-0 
 6. HoNsU 0-1 
 7. Catz 0-1 
 8. PuHu 0-1 
 9. BC Nokia 0-1 


SM-SARJA: PeKa defeated Catz - by Rauno Hurmalainen

SM-sarja, Round 1: The new 2008-09 season got started today. Last spring finalists PeKa (Kotka) and Catz (Lappeenranta) meeting eachother at once and PeKa winning again: 78-68. PeKa having now father Pounds (Larry) coaching and daughter Pounds (Dionne) playing. And playing well being team's leading scorer (24). Both Shanika Freeman (183-F/C-83, college: Jacksonville St.) and Sherida Triggs (185-F-85, college: ODU) had a double-double. Catz had only two players (Yelena Solovyeva (189-C-75) and Rene Haynes (178-G-85, college: Michigan St.)) in double figures.
Espoo Team defeated PuHu (Vantaa) 78-62. Henna Salomaa (177-G/F-89) led Espoo Team with 21 pts. Ashley Haynes (176-G/F-84, college: Austin Peay St.) started in Espoo with 14 pts/16 rbs. PuHu had three players over 10 pts. Rebekah Parker (178-G/F-85) led PuHu with 19 pts. Huima (Aanekoski) visited in Jyvaskyla and won over HoNsU 66-79. Huima's Kenya Robinson (182-C-70, college: New Orleans), 38, had a strong start: 17 pts/21 rbs. BC Nokia scored 64 pts, but that was not enough vs Alku (Forssa). Visitor FoA took the victory with figures 64-72. Ashley Pellom (170-G, agency: Vision Sports Management) led Alku with 27 pts and 13 rbs.

PeKa - Catz 78-68 (36-41) (Dionne Pounds 24, Shanika Freeman 14/10, Sherida Triggs 12/18 - Yelena Solovyeva 23/13, Rene Haynes 12).

Espoo Team - PuHu 78-62 (41-30) (Henna Salomaa 21, Kia Ignatius 17, Ashley Haynes 14/16 - Rebekah Parker 19, Alli Arppe 12, Heli Roukanoja 11/14).

HoNsU - Huima 66-79 (32-42) (Salla Viitanen 15, Amanda Decoud 15, Raquel Collier 10/12 - Emeisha Bailey 20, Sanna Jamsen 18, Kenya Robinson 17/21).

BC Nokia - FoA 64-72 (28-35) (Kristin Higy 20/14, Calisha Yates 18/13 - Ashley Pellom 27/13, Tonique Frasier 15).



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  GERMANY - Women  


Four teams on top after Round 2 - by Eurobasket News
DBBL enjoyed the second round of action yesterday. Four teams kept their records spotless and remained at the helm of the ladder.
Halle Lions looked dominant and thumped Chemcats Chemnitz 82:46 at home court. The hosts built a massive 18-point lead at halftime and never slowed down after the long break. Ana-Maria Kammer (179-F/C-86) paced the Lions to an impressive win at the end. She finished with 17 points. Tamara Tatham added 14 points and 7 rebounds, while Andrea Krug delivered 9 points in the win. Corrie Fertitta (185-F-86) knocked down 22 points for Chemnitz.
The Leipzig Eagles came from behind in the fourth term to prevail against Freiburg 79:71 on the road. Leading by 4 points at halftime the Eagles allowed their opponents to deny the deficit in the third frame. Freiburg surged ahead but Leipzig did not panic and proved strength at the end. Annika Danckert (182-F-81) and Jetta McIntyre (169-G-84, college: Kansas St.) provided 20 points each for the Eagles. Elena Diaz had 17 points for the winners. Freiburg was led by 18 points and 8 rebounds for Mirna Paunovic (185-F/C-76).
Wasserburg held off Marburg 84:76 for the second straight win. The hosts led by just a single point before the fourth quarter but managed to limit Marburg to just 12 points in the final period and secured a tough victory at the end. Carlene Hightower (180-F-86, college: La Salle) was impressive with 30 points and 5 boards for Wasserburg. Rebecca Thoresen (178-F-78) added 24 points in the win. Sandra Weber (183-G/F-85) answered with 20 points for Marburg.
Saarlouis piled up a 24-point lead in the third frame against Wolfenbuttel but seemed the major part of it evaporate before going away with a nervous 78:68 home victory. The Royals got 18 points from Romy Bar (188-C/G-87). Celeste Trahan-Davis delivered 14 points and 15 rebounds for the winners. Jezabel Ohanian (170-F-77) posted 15 points for the Wildcats.

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  ISRAEL - Women  


Municipal Targoviste stamp Electra Ramat-Hasharon - by Eurobasket News
Electra - Targoviste 48:68

Romanian Targoviste advanced to the next round of EuroCup as they denied Electra Ramat-Hasharon a single chance to recover from a 29-point first-game deficit. Municipal Targoviste secured a thrashing 20-point victory in Israel and eased to the next round of the European competition. The hosts that faced an improbable task of overcoming a huge deficit appeared trailing by 10 points midway through the opening frame. Romanian team secured an 18:5 lead at the end of the first quarter and soon stretched the margin to 18 points. Radostina Slavova (186-F-86) and Varda teamed up for 13 points in the second quarter and Targoviste led 39:21 at halftime. The complexion of the game did not change in the second half as Targoviste confidently rolled to the win. They entered the fourth period with a 21-point advantage. Mirav Dori (178-F-86) and Wabara cut the distance to 13 points but Targoviste never panicked and drove to the victory at the end. Chrissy Givens (180-G-85, agency: LBM Management, college: Middle Tenn.St.) nailed 12 points and collected 9 rebounds for Targoviste. Cynthia Valentin (173-G-84, agency: LBM Management, college: Indiana) added 10 points, while Gabriela Toma (190-C-74) and Radostina Slavova had 9 points apiece for the winners. Mirav Dori dropped 24 points for Electra Ramat-Hasharon. Liad Suez-Karni netted 10 points in defeat. Targoviste outrebounded their opponents 40:25 and forced the hosts to 20 turnovers. Electra sank just 33% from the field, while allowing Targoviste to 47% accuracy.

Electra: Mirav Dori 24, Liad Suez Karni (190-F/C-81, college: Villanova) 10
Targoviste: Chrissy Givens 12, Cynthia Valentin 10, Gabriela Toma 9, Radostina Slavova 9

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  NIGERIA - Women  


Sanni is one step from the title - by Eurobasket News
Olayinka Sanni (188-C-86, college: W.Virginia) and her Detroit Shock celebrated a 77:69 win over the San Antonio Silver Stars at the AT&T Center in Texas. Thus Detroit grabbed a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five WNBA Finals series. The Shock now have a good shot at retaining the WNBA title which they last scored in 2006. Katie Smith was well helped by Tay McWilliams as the veteran center nailed 24 points in the win. Sophia Young led the Silver Stars with 21 points. Ann Wauters delivered 16 points in defeat. Both Rebecca Hammon and Deanna Nolan were quiet on the night scoring 13 and 10 points respectively. The visitors looked just a little bit better in the first half and piled up a 10-point lead at halftime. Katie Smith put the Shock up by 14 points soon after the beginning of the second half. However the hosts refused to bow. They outgunned the Shock 20:6 and draw things level 69 with just over 2 minutes to go. Kara Braxton and Katie Smith nailed 4 points in a row to put the visiting side back in front. Detroit stayed calm in the dying seconds and sealed the winning outcome with 4 accurate free throws. Both teams played without some key players. Detroit missed Plenette Pierson as she was sidelined because of shoulder injury. The home team played without Helen Darling and Edwige Lawson-Wade.
Katie Smith knocked down 22 points for the Shock to propel the Detroit Shock to the second straight win in the WNBA Finals. Detroit held off San Antonio 69:61 at the AT&T Center to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. They now have to win once in the next two games at home to clinch their second WNBA title in three years. Deanna Nolan and Kara Braxton provided 12 points apiece for the winners. Detroit left the hosts speechless with a 19:2 start to the game. The visitors built a 25:12 lead at the first intermission and looked too good for their opponents at the moment. However Rebecca Hammon dragged the Silver Stars back to life. She was orchestrating the game well in the second quarter as the home team went on a 12:0 run to cut the distance. The Shock however stayed cool and secured a 35:28 lead at the interval. Rebecca Hammon drew things level midway through the third quarter and later netted two freebies to put San Antonio up 45:44 with under 2 minutes remaining in the period. Plenette Pierson and Katie Smith came up for the Shock at the moment providing key buckets to put the visitors back in charge 48:45 with a quarter to go. Tay McWilliams and Katie Smith kept on scoring for Detroit as rolled to an 11-point lead late in the final term. The Sliver Stars never came back into the contest. Olayinka Sanni ended up with 1 rebound for 5 minutes of the game. Rebecca Hammon produced 24 points and 7 assists for the home team. Ann Wauters had 13 points and 6 caroms in defeat.

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  PORTUGAL - Women  


Uniao just recieved their 2 american players - by Bruno Baltazar
Just landed in Madeira island the two americans for Uniao Madeira this season as they will try to do a good season.

Dejeanette Flournoy is a center 1,88m, played in University of Illinois, in Chicago, she played from 2003 to 2005 in there, with averages of 11,4 pts and 9,4 rebounds.

The other player is Thorlan Buchanan shes 1,75, 25 years old of age and comes from Chicago as well and shes a PG.

Olivais won portuguese supercup - by Bruno Baltazar
Olivais won their 2nd supercup(the champion against the cup winners) in their history in Nelas arena.
Olivais the portuguese champions beated Vagos by just 1 point (60-59) in overtime.
The game was very balanced and very equilibrated ,the game ended with a 54 for each team,so they had to play a overtime where Olivais won.
The MVP was Olivais player Aja Parham (183-G/F-84, college: Boston Coll.) (23 pts, 8 rebounds, 7blocks, 4 steals)but she got the help of portuguese Ana Fonseca (168-G-78) (22 pts, 4 rebounds and 3 steals).
In Vagos Carla Nascimento (171-G-86) (18 pts, 5 rebounds and 2 assists).

Olivais (60) - Michelle Brandao (171-G-91) (2), Ana Fonseca (22), Sonia Ferreira (-F-80) (6), Aja Parham (23) and Ana Santos (-86) (3); Catarina Rodrigues (4) e Maria Joao Andrade.

Vagos (59) - Carla Nascimento (18), Raquel Soares (-76) (3), Fernanda Beling (180-F-82) (12), Sara Filipe (187-F-82) (7) and Armanda Carver (16); Ana Nunes (160-G-79) (1), Ana Teixeira (184-C-79) (2), Paula Seabra (165-F-78), Lenia Pinto and Soraia Beirao.
By quarters: 19-17, 9-19, 14-5, 12-13, 6-5

Referees: Nuno Monteiro and Rosa Santos.

Olivais signs former WNBA player Ambrosia Anderson - by Bruno Baltazar
Olivais landed a great player without a doubt for the new season is coming.
Ambrosia Anderson (186-F-84, college: BYU) her numbers and history speaks for herself,1.86m , 24 years old.And her resume is impressive:
2005-2006: BYU (NCAA): 32 games: 17.9ppg, 7.5rpg, 2.0apg, 1.2spg, FG: 41.3%, 3PT: 36.4%, FT: 64.5%
2006: Drafted by Detroit Shock (WNBA,2rd(17)): traded to Minnesota Lynx (WNBA)
2006 April: Minnesota Lynx (WNBA) summer camp
2006: Connecticut Sun (WNBA): 1 game: 0pts, 2.0rpg, then moved to New York Liberty (WNBA): 3 games: 0pts
2007-2008: APS Siemens (GRE-A1,1T): 20 games: 15.6ppg, 7.6rpg, 2.5apg, 1.8spg, 2FGP-3(61.0%), 3PT: 31.0%, FT: 74.0%
2008: San Antonio Silver Stars (WNBA): waived in May
Also played in the Greek all star game.

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  WNBA - Women  


Detroit come closer to the title - by Eurobasket News
Katie Smith (5'11''-G-74, college: Ohio St.) knocked down 22 points for the Shock to propel the Detroit Shock to the second straight win in the WNBA Finals. Detroit held off San Antonio 69:61 at the AT&T Center to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. They now have to win once in the next two games at home to clinch their second WNBA title in three years. Deanna Nolan (5'11''-G/F-79, college: Georgia) and Kara Braxton (6'6''-C-83, college: Georgia) provided 12 points apiece for the winners. Detroit left the hosts speechless with a 19:2 start to the game. The visitors built a 25:12 lead at the first intermission and looked too good for their opponents at the moment. However Rebecca Hammon (5'6''-G-77, college: Colorado St.) dragged the Silver Stars back to life. She was orchestrating the game well in the second quarter as the home team went on a 12:0 run to cut the distance. The Shock however stayed cool and secured a 35:28 lead at the interval. Rebecca Hammon drew things level midway through the third quarter and later netted two freebies to put San Antonio up 45:44 with under 2 minutes remaining in the period. Plenette Pierson and Katie Smith came up for the Shock at the moment providing key buckets to put the visitors back in charge 48:45 with a quarter to go. Tay McWilliams (6'3''-F/C-70, college: St.Edward's) and Katie Smith kept on scoring for Detroit as rolled to an 11-point lead late in the final term. The Sliver Stars never came back into the contest. Rebecca Hammon produced 24 points and 7 assists for the home team. Ann Wauters (6'5''-C-80) had 13 points and 6 caroms in defeat.
The third game is scheduled for Sunday at the Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.

Candace Parker rookie of the year - by Bruno Baltazar
Los Angeles Sparks Candace Parker (6'4''-F/C-86, college: Tennessee) was named the Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' 2008 WNBA Rookie of the Year. Parker received all 45 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters to earn the award.

Parker, the No.1 overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft, topped the charts among rookies in scoring (18.5 ppg), rebounding (9.5 rpg), blocks (2.3 bpg) and minutes (33.6 mpg). Parker led the league in double-doubles (17), scored more than 20 points in 12 games and collected more than 10 rebounds in 17 games. Three times, she dropped 30 or more points, including a career-best 40-point performance on July 9 against the Houston Comets. The league leader in rebounds, Parker finished the regular season fourth in points and second in blocks, trailing only Sparks teammate Lisa Leslie (2.9 bpg).

The 6'4' forward started her professional career by posting the best rookie debut in WNBA history; she fell short of a triple-double by two assists, posting 34 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Another performance where Parker made history was on May 29 against the Indiana Fever when she tallied the first-ever '5x5' performance in WNBA history, posting 16 points, 16 rebounds, six blocked shots, five assists and five steals.

Parker propelled a team that finished 10-24 in 2007 to a third place finish and the 2008 WNBA Playoffs as the culmination of a ten game improvement. The Los Angeles Sparks defeated the Seattle Storm in the Western Conference Semifinals in three games before losing to the San Antonio Silver Stars in the third game of the Western Conference Finals.

Parker was honored with the inaugural Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month award in May; she received the award again in July. For the month of May, she averaged 19.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists in four games. In the 12 games played in July she averaged 20.8 points, 9.5 rebounds per game and collected eight double-doubles.

Parker, a back-to-back NCAA Champion (2006-07, 2007-08) with the University of Tennessee, excelled on the court with the Lady Vols. She was a two-time WBCA Kodak All-American and was the 2007 State Farm Player of the Year in her three seasons in Knoxville, Tenn.

In honor of being named the Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' 2008 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Parker will receive $5,000 and a specially-designed trophy by Tiffany & Co.

WNBA all rookie team - by Bruno Baltazar
The Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' 2008 WNBA All-Rookie Team was announced today by the WNBA, headlined by Los Angeles Sparks Candace Parker (6'4''-F/C-86, college: Tennessee) (6'4''-F/C-86, college: Tennessee), the unanimous 2008 WNBA Rookie of the Year. Parker is joined on the team by Minnesota Lynx guard Candice Wiggins (5'11''-G-87, college: Stanford), Chicago Sky center Sylvia Fowles (6'6''-C-85, college: LSU), Minnesota Lynx center Nicky Anosike (6'4''-C-86, college: Tennessee), Houston Comets guard Matee Ajavon (5'8''-G-86, college: Rutgers) and Connecticut Sun forward Amber Holt (6'0''-G/F-85, college: Middle Tenn.St.). Ajavon and Holt tied for the fifth spot on the team and were both rewarded with a selection.

The voting panel consisted of the WNBA's 14 head coaches, who were asked to select five players regardless of position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team.

Parker, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft, finished the season as the league leader in rebounding (9.5 rpg) and fourth overall in scoring (18.5 ppg), both of which topped all rookies. She burst into the league by narrowly missing the league's first triple-double in her first game. Two games later, she recorded the league's first '5x5,' by recording five or more in five different statistical categories: points (16), rebounds (16), blocks (six), assists (five) and steals (five). Parker was named the Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month for May and July.

Wiggins was previously named the 2008 Sixth Woman of the Year after averaging 15.7 points per game (second among rookies) 3.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists (third among rookies). Coming off the bench in all but one game, she posted the highest scoring average for a sixth woman in league history. Wiggins, drafted No. 3 overall by the Lynx, was named Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month in June.

Fowles, selected No. 2 overall in the draft by the Sky, was sidelined for half of the season due to injury. In her time on the court, she averaged 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, which would have placed her third and second, respectively, among rookie leaders had she played enough games to qualify. Upon her return from injury following the Olympic break, Fowles was named Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month for September. In her 17 games, she posted six double-doubles, which was the fifth-most in the league.

Anosike, Parker's former teammate at Tennessee and the only second-round pick on the All-Rookie Team, averaged 9.2 points, third among rookies, 6.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals, both of which ranked second among her peers. Ajavon, the fifth overall pick, posted 8.0 points per game, serving as one of the Comets' top options off the bench. Holt, the ninth overall pick, started every game for the Sun, averaging 6.5 points per game.

Below are the results for the Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' 2008 WNBA All-Rookie Team:

HANNS-G 'GO BEYOND' 2008 WNBA ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks Forward 13
Candice Wiggins Minnesota Lynx Guard 13
Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky Center 12
Nicky Anosike Minnesota Lynx Center 11
Matee Ajavon Houston Comets Guard 5
Amber Holt Connecticut Sun Forward 5

Candace Parker Named 2008 WNBA MVP - by Bruno Baltazar
Los Angeles Sparks' Star Becomes First Player to Win Top Award as a Rookie
Los Angeles Sparks forward Candace Parker (6'4''-F/C-86, college: Tennessee) has been named the 2008 WNBA MVP. Parker received 276.79 points. Connecticut's Lindsay Whalen (5'8''-G-82, college: Minnesota) finished second with 242.08 points and Seattle's Sue Bird (5'9''-G-80, college: Connecticut) came in third with 218.51 points. It marks the first time in the WNBA's 12 seasons that a rookie has earned the award.

Rounding out the top six vote getters in one of the closest MVP races in WNBA history were San Antonio's Sophia Young (6'1''-F-83, college: Baylor) (169.62), Phoenix's Diana Taurasi (148.98) and San Antonio's Becky Hammon (131.75).

Parker, the top overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft earlier this year, caps a season in which she has also earned All-WNBA First Team honors, the Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Year Award, two Hanns-G 'Go Beyond' Rookie of the Month Awards (May and July), one Player of the Week Award (Aug. 31) and the Peak Performer Rebounding Award.

She nearly averaged a double-double in 2008 (18.5 ppg, 9.5 rpg) and was the only player in the league to pull down more than nine rebounds per game. Parker grabbed 10 or more rebounds on 17 occasions and tied her career-high of 16 rebounds three times in 2008, originally set on May 29 at Indiana. In that game, she tallied five or more in five statistical categories (16 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists and five steals) to accomplish the league's first '5x5.'

In her very first game as a pro at Phoenix on May 17, Parker narrowly missed a triple-double with 34 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. A native of Naperville, Ill. and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Parker also led the league in double-doubles with 17 and ranked among WNBA leaders in rebounds per game (first), blocks per game (second), points per game (fourth), field goal percentage (fifth), minutes player (seventh) and assists per game (17th).

Presented by T-Mobile, the WNBA MVP was selected by a panel of 45 national sportswriters and broadcasters, which accounted for 75 percent of the vote, and an online fan vote, which accounted for 25 percent of the vote. This was the first year that an online fan vote was incorporated.

In honor of being named the WNBA Most Valuable Player, Parker will receive $15,000 and a specially-designed trophy from Tiffany & Co.

Below are the top 25 vote-getters from the 2008 WNBA Most Valuable Player presented by T-Mobile voting and a list of past recipients:

2008 WNBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER VOTING RESULTS
Player Team Total Points
Candace Parker Los Angeles Sparks 276.79
Lindsay Whalen Connecticut Sun 242.08
Sue Bird Seattle Storm 218.51
Sophia Young San Antonio Silver Stars 169.62
Diana Taurasi Phoenix Mercury 148.98
Becky Hammon San Antonio Silver Stars 131.75
Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks 58.23
Deanna Nolan Detroit Shock 53.84
Asjha Jones Connecticut Sun 42.32
Lauren Jackson Seattle Storm 41.79
Seimone Augustus Minnesota Lynx 27.16
Tina Thompson Houston Comets 26.78
Katie Smith Detroit Shock 15.57
Cappie Pondexter Phoenix Mercury 13.58
Tamika Catchings Indiana Fever 12.38
Janel McCarville New York Liberty 8.39
Sylvia Fowles Chicago Sky 7.83
Swin Cash Seattle Storm 6.35
Kara Lawson Sacramento Monarchs 6.13
DeLisha Milton-Jones Los Angeles Sparks 5.46
Candice Wiggins Minnesota Lynx 5.10
Katie Douglas Indiana Fever 4.79
Betty Lennox Atlanta Dream 4.69
Ann Wauters San Antonio Silver Stars 3.86
Alana Beard Washington Mystics 3.11