EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 12/3/2008

Copyright © 1997-2008 Eurobasket
WARNING:
Do not copy, redistribute, publish or otherwise exploit information that you download from the site!
Do not encumber, license, modify, publish, sell, transfer or transmit, or in any way exploit, any of the
content of the report, nor will you attempt to do so.
More info:www.eurobasket.com


Men News

*****************************************************
  ABA   


Heatwave wins close test match - by Gianni Pascucci

In their first and only exhibition game before next week's season opener at home against the ABA championship runner-up San Diego Wildcats, the Heatwave struggled early, but escaped with a 81-80 win over Showtime team from Oakland. When the game was on the line, team captain, point guard Kenny Brunner (6'0''-G-78, college: S.Idaho JC) took over and hit a three pointer, two free throws and completed a three point play by hitting the free throw after being fouled hard going to the basket. Brunner led the Heatwave with 18 points, 10 assists and five rebounds. Former ABA All-Star Jimmy Miggins (6'6''-F-79, college: Pepperdine) finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds. 'Showtime was a great opponent and a great chance for us to see where we are,' said owner/Head Coach Reggie Davis . 'We'll see them again soon.' For more information, visit www.sacramentoheatwave.com



Nasville stays #1 in ABA Power Rankings - by Gianni Pascucci

The American Basketball Association today released its Power Rankings for the week preceding the official start of the ABA season this weekend - and for the third straight week, the Nashville Broncs, with a 5-0 regular season record, maintained the top position. The Maywood Buzz moved to #2 based on a combination of pre-season and regular season wins with the Alaska Dream coming in a very close third. 'This is the first week I've taken on the assignment of the Power Rankings,' stated Burrell Lee, ABA Director of West Coast Operations. 'Fortunately, we had much more information to base the rankings on with pre-season games, regular season games and a look at the various rosters. This is anything but an exact science and after this weekend with the large number of games, we might see some dramatic shifting.'

1. Nashville Broncs

2. Maywood Buzrz
3. Alaska Dream
4. South Texas Showboats
5. San Francisco Rumble
6. Beijing Aoshen Olympian
7. San Diego Wildcats
8. Jersey Express
9. Kentucky Bisons
10. Knoxville Thunderbolt
11. West Texas Whirlwinds
12. SE Texas Mustangs
13. Montreal Matrix
14. Washington Raptors
15. WV Blazers
16. Cleveland Rockers
17. Modesto Bearcats
18. Houston Takers
19. Sacramento Heatwave
20. Chicago Steam
21. Salt Lake City Saints
22. Georgia Gwizzlies
23. Mississippi Blues
24. Kansas City Spartans



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


Svetislav Pesic denies rumors about Darko Milicic - by Dragan Jankovski
Head coach of Crvena Zvezda, Svetislav Pesic, denied rumors that his team negotiates with Serbian NBA player Darko Milicic (212-C-85).

'It is totally incorrect information. We heard that from the media, just one day before the very important EuroCup game against Bamberg', said Svetislav Pesic.

Pasic also stated that all stories about Milicic's arrival to Crvena Zvezda are totally unrealistic. The main reason is not so brilliant financial situation in the club. Pesic showed nice sense for humor saying that Zvezda will at the same time try to sign Marko Jaric (198-G-78), as he is also unsatisfied with his playing time in NBA.

'I heard Jaric is unsatisfied there and maybe I will get in touch with him. Just imagine our team with Jaric and Milicic, plus Milan Gurovic (207-F-76, agency: Beo Basket) and Predrag Stojakovic (207-F-77). They already played together', continued Pesic with making the jokes.

Anyway, that was all about Darko Milicic. Fast and straight answer from Pesic. His Crvena Zvezda will meet Babmberg today trying to register the first win in Group F. As a reminder, Zvezda lost in Belgium last week against Charleroi.

Other Serbian representatives in EuroCup will also play today. Hemofarm STADA will meet Nymbirk, while FMP plays against Artland Dragons.

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


Latest Transactions - by Facundo Iatzky
El Nacional: Ralphy Holmes (192-G-79, college: Cal.St. Fullerton) returned to the team. Ralph had left the team due to personal reasons and had been replaced by Paul McPherson but he is back now and McPherson is out of the roster.
Libertad Sunchales: released Juan Pablo Sartorelli and Bryant Markson and signed Martin Muller (191-G-85)(returns after his injury) and Willie Farley (195-G/F-75, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Fresno St.)
Lanus: released Wendell Gibson and signed Jon Smith (203-F-82, college: Bowie St.), recently waived by Quimsa.
Quimsa: cut Jon Smith and Erron Maxey and agreed terms with Kenny Satterfield (188-G-81, agency: Court Side, college: Cincinnati) and Nakiea Miller (204-C-79, agency: HM Sports Agency, college: Iona)
Olimpico: cut Charles Jones and signed Eric Ferguson (186-G-82, agency: Strategic Sports, college: Arkansas)

Super 8 2008: Regatas champion - by Facundo Iatzky

Regatas Corrientes, a team that had lost the final game of the same torunament the last year, became champion of Super 8, the tournament where the best 8 team of the first stage play each other. In the final game Regatas beat host and invited team Obras sanitarias, with an excellent deffensive game. Federico Kammerichs (203-F-80) was named MVP of the tournament. Regatas had won to Gimnasia Comodro in semifinals and BB Estudiantes in quarterfinals. Lazaro Borrell (202-F-72, agency: Interperformances) was the top scorer.

Final:

Obras Sanitarias (62): Fernando Titarelli 8, Gabriel Cocha 5, Angel Caballero 2, Lazaro Borrell 20, Tyler Field 10 (st), Fernando Martina 4, Daniel Chaher 11, Cristian Cortes 0, Sergio ravina 2, Franco Giulietti 0. coach: Carlos Duro.

Regatas Corrientes (68): Alejandro Montecchia 5, Sebastian Acosta (178-G-82) 15, Ramzee Stanton 8, Federico Kammerichs 6, Damian Tintorelli 8 (st), Luis Cequeira 9, Roberto Lopez 7, Cedric Patton 8, Mariano Fierro 2. coach: Silvio Santander.



*****************************************************
  BELIZE   


Maxi-Basket (O35) games held on 30th November. - by David Magana
Please find below the results of the Maxi-Basket (O35) games held on 30th November.

Game 1
Classic Purex 73 BWS 'Bulls' 57
Top Scorers
Purex - Julian Murillo 15 pts / 10 rebounds / 1 assist
James 'Tanga' Saunders 14 pts / 3 rebounds / 1 assist
Bulls - Claude Martin 17 pts / 12 rebounds
Omar 'Stitchy' Gordon 16 pts / 7 rebounds / 6 assist / 3 blocks / 4 steals

Game 2
Orange Walk 'Running Rebels' 57 Belmopan 54 - In Double (2X) Overtime
Top Scorers
Running Rebels - Ronald 'Tiga' Sutherland 23 pts / 7 rebounds / 3 assist / 3 steals
Kenneth 'KD' Dawson 12 pts / 7 rebounds / 2 assist / 2 steals
Belmopan - Clifford King 14 pts / 7 rebounds / 2 assist / 1 steal
Robert Allen 13 pts / 9 rebounds / 1 steal

Game 3
Old Technical 'Rebels' 42 Maria Chang 36
Top Scorers
Rebels - Stanley 'Jordan' Reneau 13 pts / 3 rebounds / 2 assist / 1 steal
Rodneil 'Sheik' Armstrong 11 pts / 13 rebounds / 3 assist / 2 blocks / 2 steals
Maria Chang - Wilfred 'Chiqui Blue' Nicholas 8 pts / 3 rebounds / 2 assist / 1 steal
Jimmy Faber 8 pts / 4 rebounds / 2 assist

Game 4
Alberts 60 Old Cemetery 57
Top Scorers
Alberts - Vince 'Post' Lamb 18 pts / 10 rebouns / 1 assist / 2 steals
Mark Espat 12 pts / 3 rebounds / 1 assist
Old Cemetery - Eugene Jones 14 pts / 9 rebounds / 1 steal
Compton 'Speedy' Staine 13 pts / 5 rebounds / 1 assist / 1 steal

NEXT GAMES - Sunday 07 December 12:00 pm at Civic Center

Game 1 - Orange Walk 'Running Rebels' (2-3) vs Old Technical 'Rebels' (5-0)
Game 2 - Belmopan (0-4) vs Maria Chang (0-5)
Game 3 - Classic Purex (2-2) vs Old Cemetery (3-2)
Game 4 - Alberts (5-0) vs BWS 'Bulls' (2-3)

UB Repeats as ATLIB Champs!!!! - by David Magana

The ATLIB Sports Association held its National basketball tournament on Saturday, 29 November 2008 Hosted by Galen University in San Ignacio Town.

The top two teams of each division played each other as follows:
Males: Game 1 UB champ. vs SJCJC subchamp. Game 2 WJC champ. vs EJC subchamp.
Females: Game 1 UB champ. vs WJC subchamp. Game 2 SJCJC champ. vs EJC subchamp.

The winners went directly to the finals while the losers played for third place.

Male Game Results:
Game 1: UB defeated SJCJC 59 - 24
Top scorers:
UB Leroy Louriano 12 points
Winston Pratt 9 points
Tyron Castillo 9 points
SJCJC Don Williams 9 points

Game 2: EJC defeated WJC 44 - 36
Top scorers:
EJC Sheldon Apolonio 13 points
Gabriel Guerra 8 points
Delroy Caliz 6 points
WJC Kareem Elrington 12 points
Duane Staine 7 points
Wilfred Richards 6 points

Third Place: WJC defeated SJCJC 47 - 41
Top scorers:
WJC: Duane Staine 10 points
Devon Defour 9 points
Raphael OBrien 6 points
SJCJC: Edgar August 18 points
Hughson Tillett 8 points

Championship Game: UB defeated EJC 32 - 29
Top scorers:
UB: Stephen Williams 6points
EJC: Apolonio Sheldon 10 points
Francisco Gary 9 points
Stephen Flores 6 points

Female Game Results:
UB defeated WJC 24 - 13
Scorers:
UB: Ashley Elrington 6 points
Kara Kinsling 6 points
Rosabelle Ogaldez 5 Points
Karla Vea 5 points
WJC: Kannisha James 6 points
Ashley Gladden 4 points

EJC defeated SJCJC 19 - 15
Scorers:
EJC: Stacey Weber 8 points
Jackline Arzu 8 points
SJCJC: Kaya Cattouse 5 points
Bianca McFadzean 4 Points

Third Place: SJCJC defeated WJC 47 - 41
Top scorers:
SJCJC: Kaya Cattouse 12 points
Michelle Andrews 8 points
WJC: Ashley Gladden 6 points

Championship Game: UB defeated EJC 26 - 14
Top scorers:
UB: Shaniqua Micheal 13 points
Karla Vea 7 points
EJC: Alice Nunez 6 points
Jeremie Flores 6 points

Thus, out of the male teams, UB came up as the champion and EJC second; out of the female teams, UB came in first and EJC second.



*****************************************************
  BULGARIA   


Dynamo ease past Lukoil in Moscow - by Eurobasket News
Dynamo - Lukoil 94:78

Dynamo Moscow made it two wins in as many games in the EuroCup regular season. Today the Russian powerhouse proved ambitions once again cruising past Lukoil Akademik in Moscow. The win saw Dynamo share the lead in Group B together with Unics. Travis Hansen (198-G/F-78, college: BYU) took over the leading role for Dynamo tonight scoring 23 points and pulling down 8 rebounds. Sergey Monya (204-F-83) and Bostjan Nachbar (207-G/F-80, agency: Interperformances) added 14 points apiece in the winning case. Jannero Pargo (187-G-79, agency: Priority Sports, college: Arkansas) was rather quiet today tallying 6 points, 7 assists and 5 boards for the hosts. Riste Stefanov (198-G-83, agency: Interperformances) responded with 18 points for Lukoil as they fell at 0-2 record. Kenny Adeleke (205-C-83, college: Hartford) had 16 points and 10 boards in the loss.
It was all over for Lukoil in the opening term. Travis Hansen scored 11 points in a 15:0 run from Dynamo in the starting minutes. The hosts dominated in every episode and built a 24:4 advantage after ten minutes of action. The home side went on an 8:0 run in the second period to clinch an unassailable 32:7 lead. Lukoil however continued to fight and trailed by 19 points at halftime. Kenny Adeleke and Nenad Canak (204-F-76, agency: Beo Basket) scored 6 points for the visitors early in the third term as Lukoil narrowed the deficit to 16 points. The persistent Bulgarian team revived the intrigue when Riste Stefanov dragged them within 11 points with one quarter to go. However Jannero Pargo scored 4 points and Travis Hansen added 5 more to silence the visitors. Dynamo never looked back afterwards finalizing the second straight win.

Dynamo: Travis Hansen 23, Sergey Monya 14, Bostjan Nachbar 14
Lukoil: Riste Stefanov 18, Kenny Adeleke 16+10 boards

*****************************************************
  CANADA   


Even Levros joins the Sasquatch - by Gianni Pascucci
Canadian forward Louis-Patrick Levros (6'6''-F-83, college: Rhode Island), last at the Idaho Stampede (D-League) veteran camp, agreed to terms with the PBL team Montreal Sasquatch

*****************************************************
  CHINA   


Guandong Defeats Winless Shanghai 122-110 - by Arthur Volbert
Guangdong, playing without Zhu Fangyu and Wang Shipeng, defeated winless Shanghai 122-110. Shanghai made extensive use of its younger players, including the tremendously hyped but far less productive Tian YUchen, who started and played 32 minutes. Tian, who is listed as born December 30, 1992, scored 5 points. Cai Liang, a less hyped but more productive player allegedly born in 1992, had 8 points and 5 rebounds in 29 minutes.

Du Feng led Guangdong with 29 points and 9 rebounds. Dixon Jason (205-C-73, college: Liberty) had 24 points and 14 rebounds. Tyler Amaya had his first big game of the year with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Zhou Peng had 17 points and 6 rebounds and Liu Xiaoyu had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

DaJuan Tate led Shanghai with 20 points in 24 minutes and Peng Fei, listed as born in 1987, had 19 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 37 minutes. Liu Wei had 12 points in 11 minutes and Wang Yong was scoreless in 7 minutes. Young point guard Luo Yudong had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals in 29 minutes.

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


ASK Riga draw the first blood - by Eurobasket News
ASK Riga - Zadar 106:94

Bruno Sundov (218-C-80) scored 24 points and grabbed 11 boards to lift ASK Riga past Zadar in the second round of EuroCup regular season. ASK Riga recovered well after the starting loss to Roanne in Group A. They looked alive and kicking leaving no chance for Zadar today. The loss in the meantime was the first upset for the Croatian team in the tournament and they slipped at 1-1 record.
The teams traded baskets earnestly throughout the opening minutes. ASK riga surged ahead when Milutin Aleksic (202-F-82) and Bruno Sundov connected from beyond the arc for a 30:22 lead. Milutin Aleksic capped the first frame with a bucket and ASK Riga were up by 9 points at the moment 35:26. Zadar stayed close as they narrowed the gap to 5 points at the start of the second period. ASK Riga maintained the advantage before Zadar went on a 15:3 run to close the half and earned a 49:46 lead at the interval.
Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma) quickly drew things level as he drained a three-pointer at the beginning of the second half. Zadar refused to bow as Hrvoje Peric (203-F-85) scored 9 points to give the visitors a 63:55 cushion. However Andrius Mazutis (180-G-81) nailed 5 points in a 13:0 rally from ASK Riga that saw them recharge at 68:63 lead. The hosts entered the fourth quarter up by 4 points 76:72 and consecutive triples from Bruno Sundov and Milutin Aleksic made it 84:76 for the Riga outfit later on. Bruno Sundov was unstoppable in the final stanza as his baskets kept Zadar at bay throughout the reminder of the contest. Corey Brewer contributed 21 points and 6 boards for ASK Riga. Uvis Helmanis (204-F-72, agency: Stanley International) added 16 points in the win. Rok Stipcevic (189-G-86) responded with 24 points for Zadar. Hrvoje Peric had 20 points and 7 boards in the loss.

ASK Riga: Bruno Sundov 24+11 boards, Corey Brewer 21, Uvis Helmanis 16
Zadar: Rok Stipcevic 24, Hrvoje Peric 20

*****************************************************
  CYPRUS   


Eurochallenge: Week 2: The fall of the champion - by Chris Mammides

Keravnos Strovolou never bounced back from last week's defeat to Telekom Baskets Bonn, and lost another game, this time in Strovolos (three defeats in a row, in the worst European tour of the Strovolos team the last decade). The French team SAOS Hyeres one of the weakest teams in the French league (it is actually second from the end in the local league with a record of 3-6) was able to succeed against the Cyprus champions of 2007-2008 an amazing road win 85-88 and left no EuroChallenge hopes to the Cyprus site as now with a 0-2 record and a home loss cant recover in the group as the strongest team is obviously Ural Great!
Dontaye Draper (180-G-84, college: Charleston) poured in 29 points (Vasilis Fragias couldnt do anything to stop the American guard) and the veteran Nichols 20 for the winners.
The French team dominated the boards in the blowout, out-rebounding Keravnos 40-30 with Kyle Milling (204-F/C-74, college: Oregon) pulling down a game-high 12. The French team also connected on twelve of 23 shots from behind the arc while Keravnos Strovolou drilled just nine of 28!, with LaMarr Greer (196-G-76, college: Florida St.) having 2/9, Pilavas 0/3 and Andre Woolridge (183-G-73, college: Iowa) 3/7.
Keravnos started with the home team being very possessive and very good in the peripheral especially with Andre Woolridge who scored his 8 out of 11 points in the first 8 minutes, giving the leading role to his team with 28-17. The second quarter though was really very tough for Strovolos team as the veteran Nichols started to score without the slightest problem from Vasilis Fragias defense; the American guard scored nine points in this quarter while Hrvoje Perincic (196-G/F-78) added another 8 and Dontaye Draper another 7 to close the gap in the half time to 50-43 mainly due to Aleksandar Damjanovic (206-C/F-73)'s heroic game in the paint.
Hrvoje Perincic and Dontaye Draper start shooting from the arc in the third quarter and the score 4.37 before the end of the game became 59-58 for the home site which started slowly-slowly to feel the hot breath of the French. Dontaye Drapers three pointers gave the first leading moment to the visitors with 2.24 remaining and the score board was showing 61-63. LaMarr Greer's lay-up gave to the home team a small lead at the end of the third quarter and the score becoming 70-67
Aleksandar Damjanovic and LaMarr Greer opened the fourth quarter with a lay-up each and gave a hope to the few Strovolos fans as the score went up to 74-67 and 77-67 some seconds after with Barisa Krasic (203-F-78) 3pointer and Harts lay-up the score became 81-69 and somewhere there, the Strovolos team with 7.39 before the end thought that they have finished the game! A team without strategy and without psychology lost a game which cannot be lost!! Keravnos acted as an amateur in the remaining minutes and with very bad shooting percentages and once more without the necessary touch which differentiates a small team to a big team, the French over scored the Strovolos team with an amazing 4-19 in the last 7 minutes and will fly back to their home with a win which was gifted from Vasilis Fragias team.
Dontaye Draper who was the MVP of the game scored 11 points in the last 7 minutes while Pierre Pierce (193-G-83, college: Iowa) scored his 4 out of 6 points the last crucial minutes. From Keravnos which seems to be worst and worst game by game, top scorer with really very bad percentages was LaMarr Greer with 16 followed by the steadiest player of Keravnos this season, veteran Aleksandar Damjanovic with 15 points and 5 boards
It is more obvious than ever that the dismantling of the Cyprus team from its experience head coach this summer was simply a MISTAKE which cannot be solved so easy. Sotiris Karapostolou played his last game with Keravnos jersey as he asked split ways with the team earlier on today

Nest game of Keravnos is against their Nicosia rivals Apoel and eurobasket.com is definitely sure that at least one player will give his answer in the court.



Cyprus-Admissions and releases - by Michael Aristidou
Cyprus teams are trying their best for the league. Some teams already proceed to some changes last week. Seastar Apoel Nicosia release Radunovic Balsa. On the other hand APOEL signed Darrin Fowlkes (198-F-67, college: Butler) for the rest of the season. This is the 11th year of Fowlkes in Cyprus who played again in Seastar Apoel Nicosia (2005-06). Darrin played in seven different teams in Cyprus! In other transfer news B.M.C. AEK Larnacas signed two players. Americans Du Juan Wiley (206-C-75, college: Michigan St.) and DeMarco Johnson (204-F-75, agency: Megasport, college: Charlotte) will be to the team for the rest of the seazon.

*****************************************************
  D-LEAGUE   


Rookie Tolliver Assigned to Austin; Mahinmi Re-Called by Spurs - by Surujh Roopnarine
The San Antonio Spurs assigned rookie forward Anthony Tolliver (6'9''-C-85, college: Creighton) to their D-League affiliate, the Austin Toros. The Spurs also re-called second year center Ian Mahinmi (6'9''-F/C-86) from Austin.
Tolliver has appeared in 11 games for the Spurs this season, averaging 3.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 12.1 minutes. He recorded a career-high nine points and six rebounds on Nov. 12 in a loss at the Milwaukee Bucks. Tolliver also suited up for the Spurs during the 2008 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, and at the 2008 Rocky Mountain Revue.
This will be the former Creighton stars second stint in the D-League, spending the 2007-08 campaign with the Iowa Energy. Tolliver appeared in 25 games, 11 starts, for the Energy, averaging 11.6 points and 6.4 rebounds in 27.4 minutes while shooting 51 percent from the field.
Mahinmi appeared in one game during his assignment in Austin, scoring 4 points in 21 minutes. He was originally assigned on Nov. 14 to rehab an ankle injury.

Standings
D-League Standings
Central Division
 1. Iowa E. 3-0 
 2. Sioux Falls S. 2-1 
 3. Erie BH 1-2 
 4. Ft.Wayne MA 1-2 
 5. Dakota W. 0-1 
Southwest Division
 1. Rio Grande VV 3-0 
 2. Colorado 14ers 3-0 
 3. Austin T. 1-3 
 4. Tulsa 66ers 0-3 
 5. Albuquerque T. 0-3 
West Division
 1. Bakersfield J. 4-0 
 2. Idaho S. 2-0 
 3. Utah F. 2-2 
 4. Reno B. 1-1 
 5. Anaheim A. 0-2 
 6. LA D-Fenders 0-3 


Last Scores - by Surujh Roopnarine
Monday, December 1st

Erie BayHawks (95) at Austin Toros (85)
BAYHAWKS: Erik Daniels (6'9''-G/F-82, college: Kentucky) (27pt+13rb), Ivan Harris (16pt+6rb), Oliver Lafayette (14pt+6rb+7as+5to), Jackie Manuel (14pt+8rb)
TOROS: Marcus Williams (6'7''-F-86, college: Arizona) (19pt+10rb), Blake Ahearn (19pt+5rb), Charles Gaines (14pt+10rb), Ezra Williams (11pt)

Bakersfield Jam (102) at Utah Flash (100)
JAM: Nick Lewis (6'10''-F/C-83, college: San Diego) (18pt+10rb), Trey Johnson (18pt), Richard Hendrix (17pt+12rb+5to), Mateen Cleaves (13pt+6as+7to)
FLASH: J.R. Giddens (6'5''-G-85, college: N.Mexico) (34pt+7rb+6as+5bs), Dontell Jefferson (25pt+5to), Carlos Wheeler (4pt+11rb), Bill Walker (14pt+7rb+6to)

Tuesday, December 2nd

Sioux Falls Skyforce (111) at Ft. Wayne Mad Ants (98)

The Sioux Falls Skyforce improved on 2-0 on the road with a dominant 111-98 victory over the second year Ft. Wayne Mad Ants. Sioux Falls (2-1) shot 49.3% from the field and scored 69 first half points as compared to Ft. Wayne (1-2) who were held to 21 in the second quarter and only 48 for the half. Sioux Falls used balanced scoring, six of the nine Skyforce players who saw game action scored in double figures, led by Carl Elliott (6'4''-G-83, college: George Washington)s team high 20. Michael Joiner (6'7''-F-81, college: Florida St.) was close behind with 19 points and a team high 11 rebounds. Ron Howard (6'5''-G/F-82, college: Valparaiso) led all scorers in defeat for Ft. Wayne with 30 points, but on 10 of 27 shooting. Former University of Michigan big man Chris Hunter (6'11''-F/C-84, college: Michigan) followed up for Ft. Wayne with 17 points and a game high 12 rebounds.
SKYFORCE: Carl Elliott (20pt+6as), Michael Joiner (19pt+11rb), Frank Williams (17pt+5rb+7as), Gary Forbes (14pt+5rb)
MAD ANTS: Ron Howard (30pt+9rb), Chris Hunter (17pt+12rb+5bs), DeWitt Scott (18pt), Walker Russell (12pt+8rb+7as)

*****************************************************
  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   


MORBAN SHINES IN BOSNIA - by Ozell Wells
Carlos Morban (187-G-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza, college: Florida Intern.) scored 21 in a bosnian derby agains BC Zrinjski Mik Company Mostari this past weekend. Zrinjski was undefeated untill the loss at the hands of KK Siroki Eroneti and Carlos who was vted the MVP of the derby match..
courtesy of Gasper BIZJAK
EUROBASET DOMINICAN PAGE WISHES TO THANK GASPER FOR THIS NEWS AND ALSO TO WISH THE BEST FOR CARLOS AS HE CONTINUES TO EXCEL IN EASTERN EUROPE!
WE HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON IN 'EL PAIS' CARLOS!

*****************************************************
  EGYPT   


Super League Standings
Superleague Standings
 1. Zamalek 4-0 
 2. Al Ittihad 4-0 
 3. Gezira 3-1 
 4. Geish Army 3-1 
 5. Somouha 2-2 
 6. Shorta-Police 2-2 
 7. Gasco 2-2 
 8. Shams 1-3 
 9. Sporting 1-3 
 10. Ahly 1-3 
 11. Al Olympi 0-4 
 12. Shark ins. 0-4 


4th round result - by Mohamed Hafez
The 4th round in the egyptian league finished after strong matches Ittihad , Zamalek ,Gezira , Ahly , Army geish and Shorta police wins the result was as follows :

Ittihad VS Gasco 81/67
Shorta Police Vs Shams 77/72
Gezira VS Sporting 92/85
Smouha Vs Ahly 61/64
Gesh Army VS insurance 77/65
Olympic VS Zamalek 45/73

After these results Ittihad , Zamalek are on the top and it seems that Gezira is doing well after winning two not easy games while sporting seems to has a lot of problems

*****************************************************
  EUROCUP   


Eurocup Round: 2 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Group Group A
C.C. Marousi - Roanne 88-73
Maroussi celebrated the first win in the EuroCup regular season. They defeated Roanne in Greece today with the help of 23 points and 9 boards from Loukas Mavrokefalides. Konstantinos Charalampidis secured 17 points in the win. Roanne slipped at 1-1 record despite 22 points from Chris Monroe. Curtis Sumpter netted 21 points for the French team.

ASK Riga - Zadar 106-94
Bruno Sundov scored 24 points and grabbed 11 boards to lift ASK Riga past Zadar in the second round of EuroCup regular season. ASK Riga recovered well after the starting loss to Roanne in Group A. They looked solid and punishing leaving no chance for Zadar today. The loss in the meantime was the first upset for the Croatian team in the tournament and they slipped at 1-1 record. Rok Stipcevic responded with 24 points for Zadar.

Group Group B
Unics - Barons/LMT 76-55
Unics posted the second win in the regular season as they held off Barons/LMT in Kazan. Marko Popovic scored 15 points and Unics defense worked hard to stun the Latvian team. Terrell Lyday and Dmitry Sokolov scored 12 points each for the winners. Demetrius Alexander knocked down 17 points and 11 boards for Barons. Giedrius Gustas had 16 points in the loss.

Dynamo M. - Lukoil A. 94-78
Dynamo Moscow overcame Lukoil Akademik in the Russian capital to stay perfect in Group B. Travis Hansen fired 23 points and grabbed 8 boards for one of the EuroCup favorites. Bostjan Nachbar and Sergey Monya had 14 points each in the win. Riste Stefanov replied with 18 points for the Bulgarian team. Kenny Adeleke contributed 16 points and 10 boards in defeat.

Group Group C
Le Havre - Besiktas 61-68
Besiktas won the first game in the regular season as they defeated Le Havre in France today. The win allowed Besiktas to share the second spot in Group C with Khimky. Jimmy Baxter dropped 18 points to lead the Turkish team. Cevher Ozer added 15 points and 9 boards for the winners. TJ Thompson had game-high 22 points for Le Havre as they fell at 0-2 record.

Benetton - Khimky 77-59
Benetton led from the start till the final buzzer to secure a comfortable win over dangerous Khimky today. Gary Neal scored 24 points to lead the way for Benetton. Sandro Nicevic added 18 points in the win. Mike Wilkinson paced ambitious Khimky with 12 points and 7 boards.

Group Group D
Aris - Bnei Hasharon 84-71
Aris secured the second win in a row as they thumped Bnei Hasharon at home. Keydren Clark scored 15 points to lead balanced offense. Spencer Nelson and Blagota Sekulic added 14 points each for the winners. Ugonna Onyekwe replied with 15 points for Bnei Hasharon as they dropped the second consecutive game.

T.Telekom - Panellinios 70-64
Turk Telekom sent Panellinios to 0-2 record and improved at the same time at 2-0 record in Group D. Erwin Dudley secured 20 points and 7 boards to pace the Ankara team. Michael Wright knocked down 17 points for the Group leaders. Ivan Radenovic posted 18 points and 8 rebounds in the loss.

Group Group E
Kalise G.C. - Lietuvos 94-83
Gran Canaria celebrated the first win as they bruised Lietuvos Rytas at home court. Joel Freeland knocked down 20 points for the winners. Carl English added 19 points for Gran Canaria. Chuck Eidson led all scorers with 27 points for the Lithuanian team.

ASVEL - Azovmash 85-83
ASVEL escaped with a narrow 85:83 victory against Azovmash in Group E. Amara Sy scored 24 points to ignite the French team. Chevon Troutman delivered 22 points and 8 boards for the winning side. Simonas Serapinas responded with 21 points for Azovmash as all four teams are now tied at 1-1 record in the pool.

Group Group F
Crvena Zvez. - Brose Baskets 82-65
Crvena Zvezda got 13 points from Lawrence Roberts and held off Bamberg 82:65 in Belgrade. Elmedin Kikanovic and Milan Milosevic delivered 12 points each in the win. Predrag Suput fired 16 points for Brose Basket in the loss.

Turow - Charleroi 61-86
Charleroi surprised Turow in Poland to register the second win in a row in Group F. A nearly perfect defense allowed the Belgian team to clinch a comfortable win at the end. Jerry Johnson scored 17 points for Charleroi. Len Matela added 13 points and 7 boards for the winners. Damir Miljkovic responded with 17 points for Turow as they suffered the first defeat in the regular season.

Group Group G
FMP - Art.Dragons 93-65
FMP held off Artland Dragons in Belgrade for the first win in the regular season. Nemanja Protic dropped 20 points to lead the charge. Predrag Samardziski added 16 points and 11 boards for Zeleznik as they caught up with Artland Dragons in the ladder. Chad Prewitt responded with 15 points for the German team.

Group Group H
Buducnost - Iurbentia B. 65-67
Javier Salgado nailed 10 out of his 20 points in the final term and Bilbao got away with a tough 67:65 win over Buducnost in Group H. It was the second straight success for the Spanish team. Salgado finished with 20 points, while Marko Banic and Quincy Lewis had 10 points apiece for the winners. Ivan Maras and Nemanja Gordic replied with 12 points apiece for Buducnost.

Hemofarm - Nymburk 82-74
Hemofarm outscored Nymburk in Group H today. Boban Marjanovic came up with 19 points and 11 boards for the hosts. Stefan Markovic contributed 17 points in the winning case. Justin Gray had 17 points off the bench for the Czech Republic champions. Arthur Lee added 16 points in the loss.



*****************************************************
  EUROLEAGUE   


Trifunovic: Our desire will be the crucial point - by Kostas Papadopoulos
Concerning tomorrow's game against Real Madrid, the coach of Panionios and Giannis Kalambokis (195-G-78, agency: FCM) made some comments on the official site of the competition.
Aleksandar Trifunovic stated that 'it is always a challenge to face Real, a team with such a history and a great name in the European competitions. For my team, hosting such a big club in Athens creates the highest motivation to fight really hard in front of our crowd. We are coming from a bad performance and a defeat in the Greek championship against Tricala, but sometimes losing a battle can bring positive results; thus, the key point against Real is to have the biggest desire in order to come against this situation. We are still alive in the competition; Wednesday's game may not be the most important of the regular season, but it offers a great opportunity to us to test our skills and fight for the possibilities we deserve'.
On the other hand, Giannis Kalambokis mentioned the fact that 'all of us know the size of Real and definitely we are aware of who we are as a team. Despite our recent results both in the Euroleague and the Greek championship, there is a good chance to show our real potential and be competitive for 40 minutes. It is something we have proved in many games until now and we want to repeat it against Real tomorrow. If we keep our concentration and stick to our coach's plan, we can offer a very interesting game to our fans. We respect our opponents, but we have no fear for them and definitely it is going to be a very big deal if we manage to beat Real. In addition, it will be a great step towards the Top 16'.

Yannakis: We will face a tough team - by Kostas Papadopoulos
Avellino may seem an easy opponent for the Reds, however coach Panagiotis Yannakis and Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) seem to have a different opinion, in their statements on the official site of Euroleague.
Yannakis emphasized on the fact that although Avellino is a newcomer in the competition, they have experienced players, who have the knowledge of big games and they have proved it so far. 'Their performance against Cibona in Zagreb shows that it will not be an easy night for us and this is something I keep telling to my players from the beginning of the season. If we have patience, concentration and stick to our game plan, then we will take what we want from this game. If not, we will face problems, since we will fight against a tough team, which comes to play with no pressure at all'.
On the other hand, Milos Teodosic stated that 'we know very well that if we want to finish at the place we are right now, we should not make a single false step, especially in our home court. Avellino is not an easy team to beat and I think everybody knows that from our first game in Italy. They execute very quickly and sometimes they play with freedom. In addition, they are coming with no particular stress and that could cause great problems. If we perform according to our potential as a team and mainly start our game from defense, then we will take the victory'.

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv signed rebounder Elton Brown - by Andrej Ljajic
Maccabi Electra Tel-Aviv signed Elton Brown (206-F/C-83, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Virginia) till the end of the season in hope to upgrade their game inside the paint. Brown played the past season in Hapoel Holon, the team that beat Maccabi in the title game 73-72. He will re-unite with Tre Simmons, who also played for Holon the past season and is now wearing the jersey of Maccabi. Elton joins Marcus Brown, Rodney White and Yaniv Green in one of the most colorful rosters European basketball has ever saw. Brown was the top rebounder in Greece when he played for Makedonikos in his first pro season. He had a double-double season average but left before the end of the season due to financial problems. He played in the D-League, Puerto Rico and a very short stop in the ACB before landing in Holon the past season. His arrival probably means the end of Esteban Batista's role in Maccabi. The Israeli runner-ups now have D'or Fischer, Yaniv Green, Brown and Batista and will have Marcus Fizer on the roster in about a month from now, once he recovers from his injury. Batista, who hardly played under the former coach, earned very short minutes in Gershon's debut against Unicaja and didn't play at all in the easy win over Ashkelon on Monday night. Rodney White and Jayson Williams are also expected to leave the team soon, as Maccabi are looking for new homes for the two Americans.

Hammonds Promoted to Efes Pilsen - by Serdar Ortakuyu
After losing 3 games in a row in the Euroleague Efes Pilsen decided to promote former Clemson star Clifford Hammonds (191-G-85, college: Clemson) to their Euroleague roster from its farm team Darussafaka Cooper Tires. According to the agreement signed in summer Efes Pilsen sent the youngsters such as Baris Hersek (204-F/C-88) to Darussafaka and have the right to promote players from the Greens including their imports. Hammonds has averaged 12.9ppg, 4.3rpg, 4.2apg and 2.0spg in TBL so far and helped Darussafaka grab 4 wins in 8 games. Hammonds is expected to take the back up guard position at Efes Pilsen during Engin Atsur (194-G-84, college: N.Carolina St.)'s injury, backing up Milos Vujanic (192-G-80) and Ender Arslan (190-G-83).

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


Nancy to bolster the squad with Ex-Euroleague Player? - by Umberto Scogni
There are rumours that Sluc Nancy Basket Pro is looking for to strengthen the squad with Andrew Betts (216-C-77, college: Long Beach St.) ; who had some Euroleague experience in past with Juventut Badalona. Team has brought Rod Benson (208-F/C-84, college: California) as their new center in summer; but Rod is far from meeting the expectations ; could not be successful as he is in blog-writing so far. And the defects of bigmen defending and inside scoring is pushing the team to check for new faces. According to the some sources that are close to the player; also The Turkish Eurocup side Besiktas has an official offer ;but their record on not keeping promises and loosing players like Mario Austin and Jovo Stanojevic due to financial instability may not be beneficial to retaining the services of Betts.

Maroussi roll past Roanne in Greece - by Eurobasket News
Maroussi - Roanne 88:73

Greek Maroussi Costa Coffee secured the initial win in the EuroCup regular season. Earlier today they toppled Roanne at home court and climbed at 1-1 record in Group A standings. Loukas Mavrokefalides (207-C-84) scored 23 points and grabbed 9 boards to lead the way for Maroussi. Konstantinos Charalampidis (189-G-76) added 17 points in the win. Chris Monroe (191-G-81, college: George Washington) responded with 22 points for Roanne. Curtis Sumpter (201-F-84, college: Villanova) added 21 points in the losing effort.
Maroussi opened the game aggressively and piled up a 9:2 lead at the early stages. Jarod Stevenson (200-F-75, college: Richmond) and William Amar Keys (188-G-77, college: N.Mexico St.) soon stretched the margin to 9 points 20:11 before the visitors cut the distance to 8 points after the starting period. The Greek side extended the margin to 10 points early in the second term but Roanne would not go away. Nsengu and Chris Monroe came up with some spirit-boosting buckets and the visitors narrowed the deficit to just a single point at halftime 42:43.
Chris Monroe did not slow down early in the third quarter as he lifted Roanne to a 51:48 advantage. But three treys from Konstantinos Charalampidis calmed the hosts down a bit. Maroussi entered the final term ahead by 3 points. Loukas Mavrokefalides stepped up at the moment for the home team as he widened the margin to as many as 10 points. Maroussi extended the gap to 14 points midway through the fourth term and though Roanne got as close as 8 points in the dying minutes it did not influence the final outcome in this one.
Maroussi will next travel to Latvia to take on ASK Riga, while Roanne will host Zadar.

Maroussi: Loukas Mavrokefalides 23, Konstantinos Charalampidis 17, William Amar Keys 16
Roanne: Chris Monroe 22, Curtis Sumpter 21

*****************************************************
  FYR MACEDONIA   


Ovce Pole closes Round 10 with victory - by Eurobasket News
Ovce Pole - Karpos Sokoli 93-80

In the last game of Round 10, Ovce Pole outplayed Karpos Sokoli 93-80 jumping on 5-5 record in Macedonian top division. On the other side, Sokoli dropped on 3-7 and they are currently the 7th ranked team in the league. Nebojsa Ristic (194-G/F-77) demonstrated wonderful performance for the hosts. He spent 26 minutes on the court collecting 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Ristic's shot percentage was on a high level (3/4 FG2, 3/4 3-pts, 4/4 FTs). Bosko Ivkovic (-85) also shined for the winning squad netting 17, while Marjanovic had 15 points plus 8 boards. Mihajlovski helped with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Karpos Sokoli had the best scorer of this game. It was Edis Nuri (200-F/C-82), who nailed impressive 35 points including 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Tome Dislijev (205-C-80) contributed with 12 points in loss. Ovce Pole was a better team from the beginning. Nebojsa Ristic and his teammates ended first 10 minutes with decent 21-14. Until the half time they extended it even more, 43-35. Couple of minutes after the breather were enough for the hosts to resolve question about the winner. Nebojsa Ristic and Bosko Ivkovic were on fire from behind the arc leading their team to unreachable plus 16. Until the end of the game Sokoli just cut the margin on 13 points. In the next round Ovce Pole will meet Pop Sport, while Sokoli will take on AMAK SP.

Ovce Pole: Nebojsa Ristic 19+7 boards+5 as, Bosko Ivkovic 17+4 boards, Marjanovic 15+8 boards, Mihajlovski 11+6 boards
Karpos Sokoli: Edis Nuri 35+9 boards +4 as, Tome Dislijev 12

Swisslion Pelister crushes defending champion Feni Industri - by Eurobasket News
Swisslion Pelister managed to beat the reigning champion Feni Industri by 14 points, 89-75. It is the second Superleague defeat for Feni (9-2). After this excellent victory, the team from Bitola moved up on 8-3. Nikola Razic (200-F-75, agency: Court Side) was a key player for the hosts as he collected 27 points missing only one board for double-double. Milan Miljkovic (186-G-86) also shined with 18, while Dimitar Karadzovski (189-G-84, agency: Global Sports Plaza) helped with 17 points and 8 assists. Giorgi Talevski (203-F-76) added 15 points and 5 rebounds. Feni Industri got the most from Goran Samardziev (188-G-81), 23 points. Taliek Brown (186-G-82, agency: Octagon, college: Connecticut) had 15, while Gjorgi Cekovski (202-F/C-81, agency: Arik Krayn Services) registered 11 points and 5 assists. Swisslions Pelister totally smashed reigning champion in the first half finishing it 49-36. Later Feni slightly improved its game, but it was not enough against very motivated host.

In the meantime, Fersped Rabotnicki outplayed MZT Skopje on the road 85-67. Bojan Trajkovski (206-C/F-88) top-scored for the winners with 23 points. Toni Simic (210-C-76, agency: Interperformances) had 17 and Dime Tasovski (201-F-80, agency: Interperformances) 15 pts for Rabotnicki. MZT got 24 points from Aleksandar Held (-81). Rabotnicki now has 9-2. The hosts dropped on 5-6.

Reports on other Round 11 games will be posted soon.

*****************************************************
  GERMANY   


Mark Reed: "I'm married to the game" - by Moritz Korff
Though you scored 29 points against Essen on Saturday, your team, LTi Lich, lost 67:94. What happened?
Mark Reed (194-F/G-77, college: Va Commonwealth): Two of our very talented guys didnt play. They are dual licensed players and they only play home games. We were kind of undermanned. Im not taking anything away from Essen; they are a good team with great fan support. Its going to be hard for a lot of teams to get wins there. But we had a lot of young fellas playing. My team played hard and with a lot of heart, but we were just out manned and came up short.

It has been your second game for Lich after returning. How has your second stay in Germany been so far?
MR: So far, so good! My first game was at home so that was great. Lich has some of the best fan support Ive ever seen in Europe. They welcomed me with open arms and it was exciting to be back here playing again.

With 3 wins and 7 defeats Lich is currently 15th in the Pro A-table. What does the team need to do to improve to a better record?
MR: The club is in a very difficult situation right now with two of the young talented players; Johannes Lischka and Jannik Freese both have dual licenses. They both average double doubles, so that is a lot to make up for, and on the road that makes the situation so much tougher to win games. Without those 2 we still have a chance to win every game but every one has to step their game up!!! We also just signed a very skilled BIG MAN Theo Tarver. He will give us a presence in the paint and he is a beast on the boards. The guys that have been here from the start of the season, Rolf Schulz, Victor Klassen, B. Lischka are continuing to work hard and are getting better every day. As a team and management we are very positive that things are going to start moving in the right directions.

You only received a contract at Lich until the Christmas break. Why is that?
MR: I currently do not have an agent; since I played here two years ago I have kept in touch with a couple of my teammates as well as the management. They had a couple Americans leave for various reasons, and I was waiting to sign with a team. So I guess the timing was right. We made it a one month contract so that we could both be able to see what options the New Year would bring us.

What's going to happen when your contract has ended: Is there a chance for you to stay in Lich or will you move to another club?
MR: The club and I have talked about extending my contract. I would love to stay here but I would like to see what other opportunities come at the end of this month. I am definitely open to going somewhere else and also to continue to talk to Lich about the contract for after the break. In the meantime my focus is just trying to help Lich win games and stay in the Pro A.

You did not play during the 2007-08 season. Why is that and what did you do instead?
MR: My little brother, Evan Reed was going into his junior year of high school. He is on the number one team in The Great State of Texas so I wanted to stay at home and be there for him, to help him anyway I could on the court and off the court. I have been away at college and playing overseas for a long time and just wanted to be there for my little brother last year because I wasnt for so many years. I played everyday while I was home, worked out and stayed in shape. To make sure that he could not beat me! Basketball is what I love to do. It is a part of who I am and in some shape or form I will always be around the game. Im married to it.

During your career you played in several different countries including Switzerland, Mexico, Sweden and Germany. Where did you like it the most?
MR: I dont have a favorite place. Every place Ive been I have had great experiences on and off the court. I love that I have been blessed to see all these different places, experience these different cultures and I look forward to seeing so many more.

Ural Great ties Telekom Baskets for 1-1 record in Group B of EuroChallenge - by Eurobasket News
Ural Great - Telekom Baskets 82:54 (22-19, 13-11, 22-13, 25-11)

Trailing 0-6 in the beginning of the first home game in the EuroChallenge regular season against Telekom Baskets, Ural Great triumphed with 82:54 win. A win in all the quarters allowed Russian team to celebrate the initial victory in the group and to tie the German squad at 1-1 record. Vanja Plisnic (207-F/C-80, agency: Beo Basket) led the winners with 20 points. Fedor Likholitov (210-C-80, college: Va Commonwealth) collected 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Aleksei Surovtsev (202-G-84) posted 13. Brandon Bowman (204-F-84, agency: David Lee services, college: Georgetown) ended up with 11 points in defeat and Moussa Diagne (203-F/C-84, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Furman) added 10.
Frazier gave the guests 6:0 lead in the beginning of the game, however Aleksei Surovtsev closed the hosts' 7-0 run for 7:6. Johnson made a jump-shot at the end of the first period for 22:19. The game was knotted at 30:30 late in the first half when Ural Great made their move. Vanja Plisnic sent the teams to the lockers for 35:30 as home team found its game. The Russian team capped the 17-0 burst that Bonn never recovered from. Vanja Plisnic ended up the enormous lead in the third period for 47:30. It was him again to score for 57:43 after 30 minutes of the game.
Moussa Diagne brought his team back to 57:45 early in the last stanza, but Telekom Baskets could not stay for more. Fedor Likholitov made a dunk for plus 21 in the middle of the final frame. Rindin closed the game at 82:54 as Ural Great triumphed with 82:54 win.

Ural Great: Vanja Plisnic 20, Fedor Likholitov 15+12 rebs, Aleksei Surovtsev 13
Telekom Baskets: Brandon Bowman 11, Moussa Diagne 10

The Deutsche Bank Skyliners Ruin The Homecoming Of Ex Skyliner Marcus Goree Beating Triumph Moscow 77 To 71 In Eurochallenge Play. - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
45 Months after beating Greek super power house team Panathinaikos Athens after a last second tip in by Miroslav Todic (208-F-85) in the Euroleague, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners finally defeated another big organization Triumph Moscow 77 to 71 in Eurochallenge group play. The game marked many highlights including the return of Marcus Goree (201-F-77, agency: Passing Lane, college: W.Virginia), who played in Frankfurt seven years ago, captain Pascal Roller (180-G-76) duelling against American Ernest Bremer (196-G-80, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: St.Bonaventure), who visited the Ballsporthalle four years ago in Euroleague play with Malaga and Ilian Evtimov (201-F-83, agency: Interperformances, college: N.Carolina St.) going head to head with Alan Anderson (198-G/F-82, college: Michigan St.) who met in College. 'My freshman year at North Carolina State, we knocked out Anderson and Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was my best game as a Freshman scoring 14 points. That was a big deal then, they had a good team including Christopher Hill (191-G-83, college: Michigan St.). We had some encounters tonight. I hit him accidentally in the face and apologized. There was absolutely no trash talking between us', said Ilian Evtimov. Triumph Moscow was the heavy favourite to win, but besides a good start were trailing most of the game. 'Congratulations to Frankfurt. They took advantage of the home court. They hit their open shots in the first half. We got better in the second half. The game could of gone either way down the stretch, but Frankfurt was simply better at the end', described Ex NBA player of The New Jersey Nets Nenad Krstic (214-C-83). It was another game, where Frankfurt played really really well for long phases of the game. 'We had a good rhythm today, hit our open shots and just played together. Moscow is a big team, but we were bigger tonight', commented Ilian Evtimov. Frankfurt now has a record of 1-1 in the Eurochallenge and still have every chance to advance.

Triumph Moscow started with a high level of intensity going on a 8-3 run. Russian Egor Vyaltsev (190-G-85) sunk two three pointers, but surprisingly played only 7:16 minutes after such a lightening start. Frankfurt didnt get nervous as they soon countered with aggressive offense as Derrick Allen (203-F-80, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Mississippi) hit a mid distance jumper, Konrad Wysocki (202-F-82, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Princeton) gave Moscow his first warning down low with a tip in and captain Pascal Roller gave Frankfurt its first lead 10-9 as he finished off his catch and pop, which left the hungry Skyliner fan wanting more. After Russian Sergey Toporov nailed two free throws to hand Moscow the lead back 11 to 10, it was time for Keith showtime Simmons to take the command into his own hands and lead Frankfurt on a 7-0 run. He scored twice in the zone and from outside. At this point, Moscow was showing weakness on defense and seemed a bit slow at times and unfocused as wild passes were going out of bounds. Ex Skyliner Marcus Goree also unleashed an airball, something which could have been described as a sin during his Skyliner days. Frankfurt continued to shoot with a lot of efficiency as Anthony King scored down low from a sweet Derrick Allen pass and Ilian Evtimov entered the game and became a further thorn in the side of Moscow as he quickly made a statement from outside nailing a three pointer. Frankfurt led 21 to 18 after one quarter. Frankfurt was the more awake team, was using their many options better than Moscow and were more focused. Moscow had four turnovers and only five rebounds. Frankfurt had one turnover, was leading the rebound war having made nine rebounds and were shooting a lethal 66% from three point land.

Even though The Deutsche Bank Skyliners gave away some easy offensive rebounds to Moscow, they couldnt really capitalize by making hoops. The importance of the Eurochalenge showed as both teams showed the tendency of wild play, but Frankfurt freed themselves quicker by going on a 7-0 run to lead 28 to 20. American Keith Simmons (196-G-85, college: Holy Cross) displayed his explosiveness making a steal and going coast to coast for a layup. German Konrad Wysocki nailed a three pointer. Triumph Moscow had little fluency in their offense and were making costly turnovers. Moscow started to score, but couldnt make much ground on Frankfurt as they scored on a constant level. Murat Didin was making the right decisions from the bench including inserting American Adam Emmenecker (185-G-85, college: Drake), who nailed an open three pointer, even if it was on account of Russian Pavel Sergeev (187-G-87), who injured himself on the play and wouldnt return. It could of looked a lot worse for Moscow at halftime, but after a Toropov airball, he answered with a three pointer and Frankfurt led only 35 to 28 at half time. Frankfurt was playing fine team basketball and the defense was functioning well like in Dusseldorf as a lot of help defense was being given. Frankfurt was shooting only 39% from two point land, but had a giant 55% from three point land. They had a slight edge on the boards and had only four turnovers compared to the nine turnovers of Triumph Moscow.

It wasnt one team that had a slow start at the begin of the third quarter, but rather both teams came out with a lot of firepower as both teams were aware that twenty minutes decided the fate between a win or loss. American Greg Jenkins (206-F/C-82, college: Iona) came in and seemed a bit lifeless, but he would find a second life later as he came up big. After an Allen mid distance jumper and Keith Simmons flying to the hoop like an eagle from the wing for a hoop, Frankfurt led comfortably 39 to 30. American Titus Ivory (193-G-79, college: Penn St.) added two three pointers and Frankfurt held the high lead 45 to 36. Triumph Moscow was playing to much up and down and not able to find a healthy balance in their play. American Alan Anderson fired some passes that missed their mark so badly that one had to wonder if he was blindfolded? However Basketball can be a weird game, because even though Moscow was playing untamed, they switched gears and started to stage a comeback that showed just how dangerous they can be when they want to be. Moscow stormed out on a 13-0 run to lead 49-45. they scored from outside with a Panin and Anderson three pointer, went inside with Ognjen Askrabic (207-C/F-79) and showed flashes of quickness on the fast break with a Bremer hoop. Frankfurt stopped the fast break and finished the third quarter with a 7-2 run. Konrad Wysocki scored on a penetration move from the wing, captain Pascal Roller hit a big three pointer and Ilian Evtimov a mid range jumper. Frankfurt had the slim 52-51 lead after three quarters. The big stat was the high 50% three point field goal percentage of Frankfurt, while Moscow was looking to improve their 27%(5/18) shooting.

Both teams saved their best for last as the fourth quarter became a dog fight as no team had a higher lead than four points until the last minute. Even though the game was as close as a newly shaved mans face, Moscow would never retake the lead. American Greg Jenkins returned in the fourth quarter and cleaned up under the boards and became a solid one two punch with Konrad Wysocki. Having Nenad Krstic not in the game, was not because of tactical reasons, but moreover physical reasons. 'I had problems with my Achilles, and was steal feeling ok in the first half, but it started to hurt in the second half, so coach decided to not play me anymore,' added Serb Nenad Krstic. Greg Jenkins profited without having Krstic in his face, even though Askrabic was a formidable opponent. Jenkins made a pretty move in the lane, and had a big smile after showing he can still play after a long injury. Triumph Moscow had little option inside as the Frankfurt defense had locked the door to the zone playground. Moscow shot from outside, but with much success. Vadim Panin (203-G-84), Alan Anderson and Sergey Toporov responded with three pointers, but could never take the lead as Frankfurt had their bombers too like Evtimov.

With the score tied 62 all, Konrad Wysocki responded with a pretty rainbow shot that had gone so high, that the only thing missing on its way down was some snow. American Keith Simmons committed his fifth foul and had to depart. This could of left a hole in the Frankfurt defense, but it didnt. Frankfurt continued to play very smart and seemed to be in control. Ilian Evtimov and Titus Ivory scored in the zone and Frankfurt led 71-65. With Frankfurt sensing a huge win, they lost some concentration as Alan Anderson stole the ball after the in bound pass and Moscow only trailed 71 to 67. Frankfurt continued to attack the rim and after Wysocki missed, Jenkins followed up with a dunk off the rebound. This seemed to be the closing blow from Frankfurt, but Moscow seemed like they had no idea how much time was on the clock as Alan Anderson drained another three pointer. Frankfurt led only 73-70 and Moscow was still clinging to life. After American Ernest Bremer made two free throws, American Greg Jenkins nailed two, Frankfurt had a comfortable 75-71 lead. With less than 20 seconds to play, Triumph Moscow had one last play, but Wysocki stole the ball and soon after made the layup giving Frankfurt the most satisfying 77-71 win.'They made more shots down the stretch, while we couldnt score inside as much', stated Marcus Goree. Triumph Moscow fought until the end, but seemed a bit unlucky at the end. 'It is never easy to come back in a close game, especially if the other team is making their shots', said Nenad Krstic.

The Deutsche Bank Skyliners were led by German Konrad Wysocki with 17 points, ten rebounds and five assists. Ilian Evtimov contributed 14 points and four assists. American Titus Ivory added 11 points, who seems to have a knack for making the big shots and since his arrival has made the team better and more successful.'It helps that I have experience and it seems like my experience has helped the team since I have been here', expressed American Titus Ivory. Greg Jenkins and Keith Simmons chipped in with ten points a piece. Triumph Moscow was led by Alan Anderson with 14 points. Serb Ognjen Askribic added 13 points. Russian Vadim Panin made ten points.

The Deutsche Bank Skyliners continue to play inspired Basketball as they won their ninth game out of their last 11 games. Triumph Moscow is just not any old Basketball team, but a very respected and strong team in Europe. 'This was a great accomplishment. We stopped a very good Russian team with a lot of history', explained Titus Ivory. Frankfurt dosent have to be afraid, but this win will give the team even more self confidence not only for the BBL, but for the next Euroleague games. If Frankfurt can continue to win at home, then they will be right in the thick of things for the last two away games. Frankfurt shot over 50% from both the two point and three point range and were quite impressive shooting 87% from the free throw line. They dominated the boards 32 to 26 and continue to show that they have a well rounded Basketball team from top to bottom.' We mixed it up good with inside/out. Our big men Anthony and Greg did a good job inside opening up the outside for the shooters. This was a total team effort', added Titus Ivory. Even if it was a loss for American Marcus Goree, he still has Frankfurt in his heart.'Frankfurt was the best city I ever played in. The whole organization was helpful and all the people were so kind. I could imagine coming back to play in Frankfurt to end my career', said Marcus Goree. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners started December out on a winning note, but the English weeks continue with two games per week the next weeks. The Walter Tigers Tuebingen visit Frankfurt on Sunday Decemebr 7th at 15:00 in the Ballsporthale.

Stacy Pearson-Taylor is a free agent - by Moritz Korff
If you are talking about versatility in basketball, Stacy Pearson-Taylor (198-F-83, college: Bemidji St.) (198-F-83, college: Bemidji St.) should be your role model.
The forward from Miami, Florida is able to fill almost every position on the court successfully. After he had finished the 2007-08 with SC Rist Wedel the fans' favorite moved on to the Dominican Republic and suited up for first league-club San Lazaro in spring. In his second season in German basketball Pearson-Taylor (he joined SC Rist after the christmas break) picked up where he left off the year before: He averaged 23.7 points per contest and grabbed ten or more rebounds in almost every game. If coach Gurel needed a work horse in the paint, the graduate of Bemidji State University stepped inside to get this job done, if Gurel needed somebody to hit the three he also relied on Stacy's skills. That he feels comfortable on the wing as well as under the basket, makes him very difficult to guard. What the fans in Wedel liked even more about his game were his spectacular blocks, his tireless hustle and of course his powerful dunks on the other end of the hardwood.
Pearson-Taylor is now available and looking for a place to play. He can be contacted at suave0033@gmail.com or phone 786 356 3367
To take a look at his game, check out two full games of the 07-08 season online: click

*****************************************************
  GREECE   


Trifunovic: Our desire will be the crucial point - by Kostas Papadopoulos
Concerning tomorrow's game against Real Madrid, the coach of Panionios and Giannis Kalambokis (195-G-78, agency: FCM) made some comments on the official site of the competition.
Aleksandar Trifunovic stated that 'it is always a challenge to face Real, a team with such a history and a great name in the European competitions. For my team, hosting such a big club in Athens creates the highest motivation to fight really hard in front of our crowd. We are coming from a bad performance and a defeat in the Greek championship against Tricala, but sometimes losing a battle can bring positive results; thus, the key point against Real is to have the biggest desire in order to come against this situation. We are still alive in the competition; Wednesday's game may not be the most important of the regular season, but it offers a great opportunity to us to test our skills and fight for the possibilities we deserve'.
On the other hand, Giannis Kalambokis mentioned the fact that 'all of us know the size of Real and definitely we are aware of who we are as a team. Despite our recent results both in the Euroleague and the Greek championship, there is a good chance to show our real potential and be competitive for 40 minutes. It is something we have proved in many games until now and we want to repeat it against Real tomorrow. If we keep our concentration and stick to our coach's plan, we can offer a very interesting game to our fans. We respect our opponents, but we have no fear for them and definitely it is going to be a very big deal if we manage to beat Real. In addition, it will be a great step towards the Top 16'.

Maroussi roll past Roanne in Greece - by Eurobasket News
Maroussi - Roanne 88:73

Greek Maroussi Costa Coffee secured the initial win in the EuroCup regular season. Earlier today they toppled Roanne at home court and climbed at 1-1 record in Group A standings. Loukas Mavrokefalides (207-C-84) scored 23 points and grabbed 9 boards to lead the way for Maroussi. Konstantinos Charalampidis (189-G-76) added 17 points in the win. Chris Monroe (191-G-81, college: George Washington) responded with 22 points for Roanne. Curtis Sumpter (201-F-84, college: Villanova) added 21 points in the losing effort.
Maroussi opened the game aggressively and piled up a 9:2 lead at the early stages. Jarod Stevenson (200-F-75, college: Richmond) and William Amar Keys (188-G-77, college: N.Mexico St.) soon stretched the margin to 9 points 20:11 before the visitors cut the distance to 8 points after the starting period. The Greek side extended the margin to 10 points early in the second term but Roanne would not go away. Nsengu and Chris Monroe came up with some spirit-boosting buckets and the visitors narrowed the deficit to just a single point at halftime 42:43.
Chris Monroe did not slow down early in the third quarter as he lifted Roanne to a 51:48 advantage. But three treys from Konstantinos Charalampidis calmed the hosts down a bit. Maroussi entered the final term ahead by 3 points. Loukas Mavrokefalides stepped up at the moment for the home team as he widened the margin to as many as 10 points. Maroussi extended the gap to 14 points midway through the fourth term and though Roanne got as close as 8 points in the dying minutes it did not influence the final outcome in this one.
Maroussi will next travel to Latvia to take on ASK Riga, while Roanne will host Zadar.

Maroussi: Loukas Mavrokefalides 23, Konstantinos Charalampidis 17, William Amar Keys 16
Roanne: Chris Monroe 22, Curtis Sumpter 21

Yannakis: We will face a tough team - by Kostas Papadopoulos
Avellino may seem an easy opponent for the Reds, however coach Panagiotis Yannakis and Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) seem to have a different opinion, in their statements on the official site of Euroleague.
Yannakis emphasized on the fact that although Avellino is a newcomer in the competition, they have experienced players, who have the knowledge of big games and they have proved it so far. 'Their performance against Cibona in Zagreb shows that it will not be an easy night for us and this is something I keep telling to my players from the beginning of the season. If we have patience, concentration and stick to our game plan, then we will take what we want from this game. If not, we will face problems, since we will fight against a tough team, which comes to play with no pressure at all'.
On the other hand, Milos Teodosic stated that 'we know very well that if we want to finish at the place we are right now, we should not make a single false step, especially in our home court. Avellino is not an easy team to beat and I think everybody knows that from our first game in Italy. They execute very quickly and sometimes they play with freedom. In addition, they are coming with no particular stress and that could cause great problems. If we perform according to our potential as a team and mainly start our game from defense, then we will take the victory'.

*****************************************************
  GUATEMALA   


Elite Sport crowned champion - by Gianni Pascucci
After winning Game 3, 97-91, Elite Sport triumphed in Liga Metropolitana de Baloncesto-Clausura Finals defeating Sat-Markvision 83-82 in Game 4, for the definitive 3-1 in the series. The main performers in the last match were Juan Jose Rosales (181-G-82), who led Elite Sport with 18 points, Paulo Castillo (199-C-78), who scored 13 pts and Ricardo Amaya (191-G-84, agency: Tank Sports), who was the game top scorer, with 21 points in an impressive losing effort.

Liga Metropolitana-Clausura individual awards - by Gianni Pascucci
At the end of the Final Series, Elite Sport player Paulo Castillo (199-C-78) was awarded as the Finals Top Scorer and Most Valuable Player, after scoring 73 points in 4 games (18,2 ppg) and dominating the games in the paint. Another Elite Sport player, youngster Mynor Aquino (175-G-90), was awarded as the Rookie of the Year, after that he outstood in the backcourt all season long in an unexpected way.

*****************************************************
  HOLLAND   


Rogier Jansen Suspended For Slapping Darnell Wilson - by Fred Roggen
Hanzevast Capitals guard Rogier Jansen (188-G-84, agency: Court Side) has been suspended for one game, the disciplinary-committee of the Dutch Basketball Federation announced today. Jansen will miss the Saturday's game against ZZ Leiden.
The referees sent Jansen away after he slapped Wilson with his hand, the incident between the two players occurred at the end of the fourth period of the Magixx's 104-94 win over Hanzevast Capitals on Saturday.

*****************************************************
  HUNGARY   


Nemanja Jelesijevic explains why he left Marso-Vagep NYKK - by Richard
Situation in the the team (Marso-Vagep NYKK) was very bad becouse of the negative score on the beginning of the season.
My statistics, and the way I played was above average of the team. People of the management wanted to make some changes, and start to make presure on me, and the other foreign players. They said that they can make some penalties, probably without any reason.
Other thing, for example, health care, was very bad. Four days I was sick, and nobody from the team did not do nothing about it. Not even set the exam at the doctor.
There was a much more bad things,and I decided to leave out of there.
In the meeting with the president, and the team manager, I said all the things what I think, and they said that they are satisfied with my role in the team.
My decision was to leave, and after a long conversation, we make a deal to brake the contract, by mine decision. Otherwise, they need to pay me all payments till the rest of the season.
Therefore, I was not released from that team.
Thanks for understanding, and time to listen my side of story.

Written by Nemanja Jelesijevic (208-C/F-79, agency: Interperformances) as a comeback to a previous article

*****************************************************
  ICELAND   


Iceland Express League results. - by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Two games between teams in the lower stand of the league was on monday. both games won by the visitors. Stajarnan lost at home to Breidablik 87-91 were Nemanja Sovic had a big night with 41 pts & 17 rebs for Breidablik. Also Kristjan Sigurdson 15 & Halldor Halldorsson 14 pts. For Stjarnan Fannar Helgason 21 Justin Shouse 15 + 11 assist.Jovan zdravevski 16 pts.
The other game was FSU - IR . FSU lost at home 71 - 75. Tom Viglianco had good game for FSU 22 + 12. Arni Ragnarsson 13. For IR Sveinbjorn Claessen 21 . Steinar Arason 16.
Grindavik who have only lost 1 game so far had a home game against Snaefell. Grindavik won 93-81. You dont win games if you have 28 turnovers as Snaefell had.
Arnar Freyr Jonsson 22 Brenton Birmingham & Pall Axel Vilbergsson 18 each for Grindavik. Sigurdur Thorvaldsson 26. Jon Olafur Jonsson 17. Hlynur Baeringsson close to triple double with 15 pts 21 rebs & 9 assist.

Iceland Express League results. - by Siggi Hjorleifsson

Two games between teams in the lower stand of the league was on monday. both games won by the visitors. Stjarnan lost at home to Breidablik 87-91 were

Nemanja Sovic (198-F-77, college: Pfeiffer) had a big night with 41 pts & 17 rebs for Breidablik. Also Kristjan Sigurdson 15 & Halldor Halldorsson 14 pts. For Stjarnan Fannar Helgason 21 Justin Shouse 15 + 11 assist.Jovan Zdravevski 16 pts.
The other game was FSU - IR . FSU lost at home 71 - 75. Tom Viglianco had good game for FSU 22 + 12. Arni Ragnarsson 13. For IR Sveinbjorn Claessen 21 . Steinar Arason 16.
Grindavik who have only lost 1 game so far had a home game against Snaefell. Grindavik won 93-81. You dont win games if you have 28 turnovers as Snaefell had.
Arnar Freyr Jonsson 22 Brenton Birmingham & Pall Axel Vilbergsson 18 each for Grindavik. Sigurdur Thorvaldsson 26. Jon Olafur Jonsson 17. Hlynur Baeringsson close to triple double with 15 pts 21 rebs & 9 assist.



*****************************************************
  IRAN   


Superleague Imports - by Mohammed Malas
Below you will find the names of the imports in the Iranian Superleague, If you have any corrections or additional info just send me an e-mai lto mohammed_malas@hotmail.com to update the list...

- Petrochimi:
Tony Madison (190-G-71, college: New Orleans) 'USA'
Vincent Jones (210-C-77, college: Jackson St.) 'USA'

- Shahrdari Gorgan:
Robert Brown (195-F-80, college: Buffalo) 'USA'

- BEEM:
Waitari Marsh (188-G-80, college: Tulane) 'USA'

- A.s Shiraz:
Kevin Sheppard (182-G-79, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Jacksonville) 'Virgin Islands'
Zoran Majkic (207-C-78, agency: Court Side) 'Serbia'

- Zob Ahan:
Mike Jones (196-G-75, college: TCU) 'USA'
Kevin Johnson (202-F-79, college: Tulsa) 'USA'

- Shahrekord:
Srdjan Jovanovic (194-G-76) 'Serbia'
Dusan Stevic (208-F/C-71, agency: Interperformances, college: Armstrong Atlantic) 'Serbia'

- Ararat :
Mike Brownlee (188-G-75, agency: Huss Sport Agency, college: Charleston) 'USA'
Jovan Stefanov (208-F-83, college: Ill.-Chicago) 'Serbia'

- Traktorsazi Kordestan:
Vladimir Panic (194-F-82, agency: 011 Sports) 'Serbia'
Sasa Vukas (205-F-76, agency: 011 Sports) 'Serbia'

- Langaroud:
Albert Mouring (191-G-79, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Connecticut) 'USA'
Darius Cook (204-F/C-77, college: Florida Intern.) 'USA'

- Mahram:
Lee Nailon (204-F-75, agency: Octagon, college: TCU) 'USA'

- Saba Mehr:
James Head (201-G/F-75, agency: Gross Zeev ISA, college: E.Michigan) 'USA'

Source: Interbasket Forum

*****************************************************
  IRELAND   


Neptunes 3 Game Winning Streak halted by Killester. - by Patrick Maher
Saturday evening last had Neptune Cork playing at home with a 3 and 4 record as against visitors Killesters 9 and 0 opened well with a high intensity defense and an effective transition into a fast breaking game that through guards Mc Ginn, Noonan and Reddy capitalizing on the rebounding of Americans James and Millard had the team ahead 19 to 12 and as the opening quarter progressed it extended to 27 and 18 as the quarter closed. Killester caught napping so to speak failed to create a positive rhythm offensively and shot selection without proper floor balance helped to contribute to Neptune Corks fast breaking game.

The second quarter picked up where it left off with the same patterns of play evident and. At 7 minutes remaining Neptune Cork maintained an 8 points lead at 31 to 23 with Millard and James providing an effective inside / outside scoring combination threat consistently. As the quarter progressed the disciplined Killester approach created better scoring opportunities and allowed Killester narrow the lead to be behind one point only at the break 37 to 36.

Early into the second half Killesters 9 and 0 record and the reasons for it (general consistency, many player options at many positions and a deliberate relaxed approach) became more evident as the team edged into a lead at 43 / 41 and built on it essentially through Grabowski and Boneparte and with Madsen at the point. Neptune Cork to credit the team as a unit gave it 100 % an approach which is sure to stand the team in good stead as play offs positions are sought. With 3 minutes remaining in the third quarter Killesters lead extended to 52 / 47.

The final quarter to a great extent mirrored the third with Killester essentially maintaining a 10 point differential throughout before closing out at a final score line of 74 to 57. Killester will have been happy to collect the win with the knowledge though that down the line this Neptune Cork team is more than capable of creating further issues for it as it chases a new Championship title.

Killester: Boneparte 19, Grabowski 11, Madsen 9.
Neptune Cork: James 20, Millard 18, Mc Ginn 11.

*****************************************************
  ISRAEL   


Maccabi becoming even more colorful - by Yarone Arbel


Maccabi make roster more colorful with Elton Brown - by Yarone Arbel

Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv signed Elton Brown (206-F/C-83, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Virginia) till the end of the season in hope to upgrade their game inside the paint. Brown played the past season in Hapoel Holon, the team that beat Maccabi in the title game 73-72. He will re-unite with Tre Simmons, who also played for Holon the past season and is now wearing the jersey of Maccabi.



Elton joins Marcus Brown, Rodney White and Yaniv Green in one of the most colorful rosters European basketball has ever saw.



Brown was the top rebounder in Greece when he played for Makedonikos in his first pro season. He had a double-double season average but left before the end of the season due to financial problems. He played in the D-League, Puerto Rico and a very short stop in the ACB before landing in Holon the past season.



His arrival probably means the end of Esteban Batista's role in Maccabi. The Israeli runner-ups now have D'or Fischer, Yaniv Green, Brown and Batista and will have Marcus Fizer on the roster in about a month from now, once he recovers from his injury. Batista, who hardly played under the former coach, earned very short minutes in Gershon's debut against Unicaja and didn't play at all in the easy win over Ashkelon on Monday night.



Rodney White and Jayson Williams are also expected to leave the team soon, as Maccabi are looking for new homes for the two Americans.



One less color - White and Maccabi part ways - by Yarone Arbel

Rodney White (206-F-80, college: Charlotte) will no longer wear the jersey of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv after the club announced on Tuesday night to have reach an agreement to terminate the contract with the forward. White was signed in the summer by the former coaching staff of Maccabi who put a lot of trust in White, but were quickly disappointed, already in pre-season, and didn't even register him to the official games. White's first performance with Maccabi was only under the new coach, Pini Gershon, on last Thursday, in the home loss to Unicaja in the Euroleague, less than 48 hours after he returned to Israel from the USA, where he visited his family. His 10 minutes, some of them in the close 4th quarter, finished with an index rating of -6 and not the most memorable performance in the history of Nokia Arena.

With the addition of Elton Brown only a few hours ago, Maccabi turned to conclude the unsuccessful affair with White, who will go on now to a new chapter after playing already in Spain, Italy and China.


As a consequence of this move, Maccabi's quantum of color last names on the roster reduces to three leaving the Browns (Elton and Marucs) and the Green (Yaniv) as the last colorful players on the roster.



Standings - BSL
Premier L. Standings
 1. Galil Gilboa 5-1 
 2. Maccabi T-A 5-1 
 3. Jerusalem 5-1 
 4. Bnei Hasharon 4-2 
 5. Macc.Haifa 4-2 
 6. Givat Shmuel 3-3 
 7. Hapoel Holon 3-3 
 8. Ironi Nahariya 2-4 
 9. Ashkelon 2-4 
 10. Kiryat Ata 1-5 
 11. Ramat Gan 1-5 
 12. Rishon LZ 1-5 


*****************************************************
  ITALY   


Colin Falls joins Interperformances - by Interperformances
Bosman A and import player Colin Falls (196-G-85, college: Notre Dame) has signed a representation contract with the Interperformances agency. He has both Irish and American passport. He has been known as a long distance shooter, but has become a more complete player at both ends of the court. Colin had two unfortunate seasons in Italy with Capo d Orlando. In 2007-08 he got injured at the beginning of the year and this season the team folded. Colin played at the prestigious University of Notre Dame where he holds the school record for 3- pointers made (376).

Legadue: Carmatic Pistoia signed Jerry Mccullough - by Antonello Varallo
Jerry McCullough (179-G-73, college: Pittsburgh) is the player chosen by Carmatic Pistoia to replace injured Brent Darby (185-G-81, college:Ohio St.). After a college career with Pittsburgh and some seasons between France, Turkey and CBA, in 2001 Mccullough arrived in Italy . He was the leader of a surprising Cantu ,then he moved to Varese (where he played his best season) and to Milano. In last two seasons, he played with Cibona Zagabria and in Russian Superleague with Dynamo St.Petersburg and Unics Kazan.

*****************************************************
  JAMAICA   


Cedarville moves up to No. 4 - by Leonard Whyte
Cedarville, OH (12-02-2008): Cedarville University moved up to No. 4 in the first NAIA Division II mens basketball ranking of the 2008-09 season after starting the new season ranked No. 7 in the pre-season poll. Cedarville, 8-0 overall, continued their great start over the weekend when junior forward Ricardo Alliman scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 74-69 victory over Lake Superior State University. He was assisted by fellow Jamaicans Christopher Walker, who finished with 12 first quarter points and Daniel Rose who added seven points and six rebounds. Alliman is the team-leader in scoring and rebounds. Cedarville goes for 9-0 tomorrow night when they face the University of Rio Grande at home.

Alliman and Jordan earn Player of the Week honors - by Leonard Whyte
Pembroke Pines, FL - (12-02-2008): Two Jamaican student/athletes, Ricardo Alliman of Cedarville University and Jerome Jordan of Tulsa University, were named Athletes of the Week for the week of November 23-29, 2008 as the college basketball season continued. Alliman, formerly of Calabar High, recorded double-doubles in wins against Shawnee State University and Lake Superior State University. The 6 7 forward posted 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in the 74-62 victory over Shawnee State then scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 74-69 decision over NCAA II Lake Superior State.

Jordan, formerly of Jamaica College, averaged 14 points and nine rebounds for Tulsa last week and in the process recorded the ninth double-double of his career, scoring 11 points and 12 rebounds in a loss to the University of Illinois. Along the way, he led Tulsa to wins over Texas A&M University and North Carolina Center. The 7 0 center was rewarded with a spot on the all-tournament team of the South Padre Island Invitational tournament.

Western Kentucky shocks Louisville - by Leonard Whyte
Nashville, TN (12-02-2008): The University of Louisville, ranked No. 3 in the nation in Division 1 basketball, was shocked in Nashville on Sunday evening by Western Kentucky University 68-54 to drop the Cardinals to 2-1 on the season. Freshman forward, Samardo Samuels, who led Louisville in scoring in the first two games, was held to 11 points and eight rebounds. Samuels was double-teamed whenever he hovered near the ball as Western Kentucky dared the others to beat them. Louisville returns to the court on Saturday to face Indiana State University.

*****************************************************
  LATVIA   


ASK Riga draw the first blood - by Eurobasket News
ASK Riga - Zadar 106:94

Bruno Sundov (218-C-80) scored 24 points and grabbed 11 boards to lift ASK Riga past Zadar in the second round of EuroCup regular season. ASK Riga recovered well after the starting loss to Roanne in Group A. They looked alive and kicking leaving no chance for Zadar today. The loss in the meantime was the first upset for the Croatian team in the tournament and they slipped at 1-1 record.
The teams traded baskets earnestly throughout the opening minutes. ASK riga surged ahead when Milutin Aleksic (202-F-82) and Bruno Sundov connected from beyond the arc for a 30:22 lead. Milutin Aleksic capped the first frame with a bucket and ASK Riga were up by 9 points at the moment 35:26. Zadar stayed close as they narrowed the gap to 5 points at the start of the second period. ASK Riga maintained the advantage before Zadar went on a 15:3 run to close the half and earned a 49:46 lead at the interval.
Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma) quickly drew things level as he drained a three-pointer at the beginning of the second half. Zadar refused to bow as Hrvoje Peric (203-F-85) scored 9 points to give the visitors a 63:55 cushion. However Andrius Mazutis (180-G-81) nailed 5 points in a 13:0 rally from ASK Riga that saw them recharge at 68:63 lead. The hosts entered the fourth quarter up by 4 points 76:72 and consecutive triples from Bruno Sundov and Milutin Aleksic made it 84:76 for the Riga outfit later on. Bruno Sundov was unstoppable in the final stanza as his baskets kept Zadar at bay throughout the reminder of the contest. Corey Brewer contributed 21 points and 6 boards for ASK Riga. Uvis Helmanis (204-F-72, agency: Stanley International) added 16 points in the win. Rok Stipcevic (189-G-86) responded with 24 points for Zadar. Hrvoje Peric had 20 points and 7 boards in the loss.

ASK Riga: Bruno Sundov 24+11 boards, Corey Brewer 21, Uvis Helmanis 16
Zadar: Rok Stipcevic 24, Hrvoje Peric 20

*****************************************************
  LEBANON   


Standings - Division A
Div.A Standings
 1. Al Riyadi 2-0 
 2. Moutahed 2-0 
 3. Sagesse 2-0 
 4. Champville 2-0 
 5. Blue Stars 1-1 
 6. Anibal 1-1 
 7. Antranik 0-1 
 8. Feytroun 0-2 
 9. Tebnine 0-2 
 10. Kahraba 0-2 


*****************************************************
  LUXEMBOURG   


Musel Pikes drops to 3rd place with loss at Etzella! Contern falls and Black Star Climbs!! Amicale and Sparta tied for 1st in the DBBL!!! - by Alex Meyers
There was one surprise last weekend in the DBBL. Residence, who had previously only one victory in their first 8 games upended Contern who had won their last 6 in a row. So, its back down to earth for Contern as they remain tied for 5th place with Etzella and T71. Sparta took care of T71 even though they are short-handed playing without Jean De Marchi and Tom Wagner to remain tied (record wise) with Amicale for first in the DBBL at 7-2 at the end of the first round. Heffingen fired its coach Mika Turunen of Finland after losing 9 in a row. Assistant Coach Bob Adam will take over for now and Heffingen will also seek a new import player as the club felt changes had to be made if the club wants to taste at least one second round victory.

In National 2, Soleuvre won again to remain undefeated in the first round at 7-0. Their coach Serge Logelin can expect more of the same in round two as they are sure to go back to the DBBL next season. BBC Nitia and Arlon each won important games to try to stay in the top four for the playoffs to go up to the DBBL. BC Mess has struggled as of late but remain in 2nd place and Black Frogs of Schieren went 0-7 and look like they may be heading back to National 3 next season.

In National 3, Arantia of Larochette is 5-1 in Group A, and are looking like a team who could go up to National 2. Three teams are tied for first at 4-1 in Group B. Telstar Hesperange, Southside Petange and Avenir Berbourg.

*****************************************************
  MONTENEGRO   


Miodrag Baletic new head coach of Jedinstvo - by Dragan Scepanovic
Basketball Club Jedinstvo and DELFI SMG Agency announced that Miodrag Baletic are new head coach of Basketball Club Jedinstvo from Bijelo Polje member of Montenegrin 1A Opportunity League..Miodrag Baletic are in same way head coach of Montenegrin woman National Team.Before Basketball Club Jedinstvo Mr. Baletic in his 36 year of coaching carrier work in many basketball club : FMP from Belgrade , Bosna from Sarajevo , Buducnost from Podgorica and he was head coach or assistant in Yugoslavian olimpic NT , Yugoslavian NT ...... Basketball Club Jedinstvo on this moment in Montenegrin 1A Opportunity League have score 2 win and 4 lose game.Next game Basketball Club Jedinstvo play in Sunday December , 7 .2008 against Basketball Club Mogren in city of Bijelo Polje

*****************************************************
  NAIA   


Xavier among leaders in several NAIA rankings - by Richard
Xavier (LA) among leaders in several NAIA rankings December 1, 2008 NEW ORLEANS -- Xavier (LA) University of Louisiana was mentioned in a variety of NAIA sports rankings released Monday.
Shaun Dumas (5'11''-G-85), a senior from New Orleans and St. Augustine High School, is first in Division I men's basketball with 3.83 steals per game.
Xavier (LA)'s women's basketball team, thanks to its 5-1 start, climbed one spot to 18th in the NAIA Division I coaches poll. The Gold Nuggets will visit Wiley (3-6) for a 6 p.m. game Tuesday at Marshall, Texas.
Johnna Williams, a sophomore from Prairieville, La., and Dutchtown High School, is No. 2 in Division I women's basketball with 3.33 blocked shots per game.
Anastesia Opata, a junior from Lawrenceville, Ga., and Central Gwinnett High School, is 22nd in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's preseason NAIA women's singles rankings. Opata, 15-4 in singles and 18-5 in doubles this past spring, holds the same spot she had in the final 2007-08 ranking.
Xavier (LA)'s 6-2 men's basketball team did not make the NAIA Division I coaches top 25 but collected 21 points to tie for 28th among all schools receiving votes. The Gold Rush, 14th in this past week's Victory Sports Network top 25, dropped out of that list.

Courtesy of Xavier (LA)

*****************************************************
  NBA   


NBA Round: 35 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Timberwolves - Bobcats 90-100
Charlotte Bobcats made it at their Time Warner Cable Arena mostly owing to Jason Richardson and Emeka Okafor. Richardson drained 25, while Okafor scored one point less having 10 more rebounds beside that. Randy Foye top-scored in defeat with 23 points. Mike Miller had double-double for the Timberwolves, 19 points and 10 boards. Charlotte 6-11, Minnesota 4-12.

Magic - Celtics 88-107
Another victory for the Celtics, number 17 this season. On the other side, Orlando Magic dropped on 13-5. Paul Pierce stepped up for the reigning champion collecting 24 points and 7 rebounds. Ray Allen followed with 21, while Rajon Rondo stopped on 16 points and 12 assists. Rashard Lewis shined for the Magic delivering 30 points.

Heat - Warriors 130-129 OT
Dwayne Wade and his teammates grabbed 130-129 over time victory at the ORACLE Arena jumping on 9-9 record. Wade once again was a key player for his team pouring in 37 points and dishing out 13 assists. However, he didn’t have so brilliant shot percentage (see the box-score). Jamal Crawford answered with impressive 40 points for the Warriors (5-13).



*****************************************************
  NCAA1   


Where has the real point guard gone? - by Kaliph Ross
You think back to the 50's 60's 70's etc the point guard was the coach on the floor. The point guard knew were everyone was suppose to be and knew how to deliver the ball to each player. A point guard made everyone around him better and made the game look easy. Now fast forward to the year 2008 there are very few point guards in college or the NBA who fit this criteria most players want to be a shooting guard or a scoring point guard. Dennis Johnson is a great example of a point guard he made everyone else around him better he was a coach on the floor a lock down defender and a great assist man. Everbody heard of the big 3 but withought DJ there is no big 3 or back to back NBA titles. This day and age everyone want to be Allen Iverson who I love but is not a point guard. The NBA and even college programs are going back to the old fashioned point guard who can defend, deliver the ball with accuracy, hit the mid range jumper ( the most forgotten shot in basketball) and be a coach on the floor, know when to lead and when to follow. NBA scouts or GM'S are not impressed on how may points you score but more importantly how you get your shots, how many assists you have, oppose to turnovers, can you hit the mid range jumper, are you coachable, can you lead a team. Some of these characteristics are intangibles some are god given ability. Please let me know were the real point guard has gone he is wanted in a College or NBA town near you.

*****************************************************
  PBL   


Even Levros joins the Sasquatch - by Gianni Pascucci
Canadian forward Louis-Patrick Levros (6'6''-F-83, college: Rhode Island), last at the Idaho Stampede (D-League) veteran camp, agreed to terms with the PBL team Montreal Sasquatch

*****************************************************
  QATAR   


Scores from the Qatari D1 - by Amir Abou-El-Kheir
25/11/08

Al Rayyan 76 (35-29) Al Ahli Sports Club 62
Al Gharrafah 56 (17-27) Al Wakrah 48

29/11/08

Al Arabi Club 96 (47-35) Al Jaysh Army SC 71
Al Rayyan 88 (57-39) Qatar Club 66

30/11/2008

Al Ahli Sports Club 76 (41-30) Al Gharrafah 55
As Sadd Sports Club 67 (32-31) Al Wakrah 51


This 'Weeks Leader Board

Scoring

Tanguy Ngombo (198-F-89) (Al Rayyan) 31
Aaron Haynes (202-F-81, college: Boise St.) (Al Arabi Club) 29
William Clay (188-G-78, college: Texas) (Al Ahli Sports Club) 29
Juma Kamara (198-F-84, college: Portland St.) (Al Arabi Club) 28
Mohamed Youla (Al Ahli Sports Club) 25

Rebounds

Michael Okoro (206-F-89) (Al Gharrafah) 17
Baz (As Sadd Sports Club) 15
Aaron Haynes 14
Mousa (Qatar Club) 12
Mohammed Youla 11

Assists

Abdullah (As Sadd Sports Club) 9
Mansour El Hadary (178-G-90) (Al Arabi Club) 9
Zayne Gawanab (188-G-82) (Al Wakrah) 8
Boney Watson (183-G, college: Sam Houston St.)(Al Rayyan) 8
Yaseen Ismail (204-F-80) (Al Rayyan) 6

Steals

Hamam (Al Wakrah) 8
Zayne Gawanab 5
Hashem Zaidan (211-C-80) (Al Ahli Sports Club) 5
Ben (Al Ahli Sports Club) 5
Boney Watson 4

Blocks

Hamam 3
Mohammed Youla 2
El Hadji Abdou Corea Sow (Al Wakrah) 2

Standings
D1 Standings
 1. Al Rayyan 6-0 
 2. Al Jaysh 4-2 
 3. Al Ahli 4-3 
 4. Al Arabi 3-2 
 5. As Sadd 3-3 
 6. Qatar 2-4 
 7. Al Gharrafah 2-4 
 8. Al Wakrah 0-6 


*****************************************************
  RUSSIA   


Ural Great ties Telekom Baskets for 1-1 record in Group B of EuroChallenge - by Eurobasket News
Ural Great - Telekom Baskets 82:54 (22-19, 13-11, 22-13, 25-11)

Trailing 0-6 in the beginning of the first home game in the EuroChallenge regular season against Telekom Baskets, Ural Great triumphed with 82:54 win. A win in all the quarters allowed Russian team to celebrate the initial victory in the group and to tie the German squad at 1-1 record. Vanja Plisnic (207-F/C-80, agency: Beo Basket) led the winners with 20 points. Fedor Likholitov (210-C-80, college: Va Commonwealth) collected 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Aleksei Surovtsev (202-G-84) posted 13. Brandon Bowman (204-F-84, agency: David Lee services, college: Georgetown) ended up with 11 points in defeat and Moussa Diagne (203-F/C-84, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Furman) added 10.
Frazier gave the guests 6:0 lead in the beginning of the game, however Aleksei Surovtsev closed the hosts' 7-0 run for 7:6. Johnson made a jump-shot at the end of the first period for 22:19. The game was knotted at 30:30 late in the first half when Ural Great made their move. Vanja Plisnic sent the teams to the lockers for 35:30 as home team found its game. The Russian team capped the 17-0 burst that Bonn never recovered from. Vanja Plisnic ended up the enormous lead in the third period for 47:30. It was him again to score for 57:43 after 30 minutes of the game.
Moussa Diagne brought his team back to 57:45 early in the last stanza, but Telekom Baskets could not stay for more. Fedor Likholitov made a dunk for plus 21 in the middle of the final frame. Rindin closed the game at 82:54 as Ural Great triumphed with 82:54 win.

Ural Great: Vanja Plisnic 20, Fedor Likholitov 15+12 rebs, Aleksei Surovtsev 13
Telekom Baskets: Brandon Bowman 11, Moussa Diagne 10

Dynamo ease past Lukoil in Moscow - by Eurobasket News
Dynamo - Lukoil 94:78

Dynamo Moscow made it two wins in as many games in the EuroCup regular season. Today the Russian powerhouse proved ambitions once again cruising past Lukoil Akademik in Moscow. The win saw Dynamo share the lead in Group B together with Unics. Travis Hansen (198-G/F-78, college: BYU) took over the leading role for Dynamo tonight scoring 23 points and pulling down 8 rebounds. Sergey Monya (204-F-83) and Bostjan Nachbar (207-G/F-80, agency: Interperformances) added 14 points apiece in the winning case. Jannero Pargo (187-G-79, agency: Priority Sports, college: Arkansas) was rather quiet today tallying 6 points, 7 assists and 5 boards for the hosts. Riste Stefanov (198-G-83, agency: Interperformances) responded with 18 points for Lukoil as they fell at 0-2 record. Kenny Adeleke (205-C-83, college: Hartford) had 16 points and 10 boards in the loss.
It was all over for Lukoil in the opening term. Travis Hansen scored 11 points in a 15:0 run from Dynamo in the starting minutes. The hosts dominated in every episode and built a 24:4 advantage after ten minutes of action. The home side went on an 8:0 run in the second period to clinch an unassailable 32:7 lead. Lukoil however continued to fight and trailed by 19 points at halftime. Kenny Adeleke and Nenad Canak (204-F-76, agency: Beo Basket) scored 6 points for the visitors early in the third term as Lukoil narrowed the deficit to 16 points. The persistent Bulgarian team revived the intrigue when Riste Stefanov dragged them within 11 points with one quarter to go. However Jannero Pargo scored 4 points and Travis Hansen added 5 more to silence the visitors. Dynamo never looked back afterwards finalizing the second straight win.

Dynamo: Travis Hansen 23, Sergey Monya 14, Bostjan Nachbar 14
Lukoil: Riste Stefanov 18, Kenny Adeleke 16+10 boards

*****************************************************
  SERBIA   


Svetislav Pesic denies rumors about Darko Milicic - by Dragan Jankovski
Head coach of Crvena Zvezda, Svetislav Pesic, denied rumors that his team negotiates with Serbian NBA player Darko Milicic (212-C-85).

'It is totally incorrect information. We heard that from the media, just one day before the very important EuroCup game against Bamberg', said Svetislav Pesic.

Pasic also stated that all stories about Milicic's arrival to Crvena Zvezda are totally unrealistic. The main reason is not so brilliant financial situation in the club. Pesic showed nice sense for humor saying that Zvezda will at the same time try to sign Marko Jaric (198-G-78), as he is also unsatisfied with his playing time in NBA.

'I heard Jaric is unsatisfied there and maybe I will get in touch with him. Just imagine our team with Jaric and Milicic, plus Milan Gurovic (207-F-76, agency: Beo Basket) and Predrag Stojakovic (207-F-77). They already played together', continued Pesic with making the jokes.

Anyway, that was all about Darko Milicic. Fast and straight answer from Pesic. His Crvena Zvezda will meet Babmberg today trying to register the first win in Group F. As a reminder, Zvezda lost in Belgium last week against Charleroi.

Other Serbian representatives in EuroCup will also play today. Hemofarm STADA will meet Nymbirk, while FMP plays against Artland Dragons.

*****************************************************
  SLOVENIA   


Bursic moves to Epic Misel, Hrastnik inks Remus - by Zeljko Zule

Marino Bursic (202-F-82, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents) has left TCG Mercator to join another UPC League's team Epic Misel. He averaging 4,5 points (2P 8-16, 3P 2-8, FT 4-7), 2,7 rebounds, 0,7 assists and 0,2 blocks and 20,5 minutes per game in 6 games for TCG Mercator.

Hrastnik (B-1) signed former U-20 NT member Aljosa Remus (200-F-86) ex Rogla until end of the season. He averaging 33,5 minutes, 14,3 points (2P 29-76, 3P 6-18, FT 38-48), 6,6 rebounds, 0,9 assists, 0,6 steals and 0,3 blocks in 8 games of B-1 League.
Prebold (D3) inked Edo Ceman (185-G-81) ex Kos Celovec/Klagenfurt.



Helios hold scoreless Gorica in third quarter!!! (Round 10) - by Zeljko Zule
Helios outscored CPG Nova Gorica 21-6 in the second quarter and with amazing 22-0 in the third period!!!! All 12 players scored for Krka and 10 of 12 handed out assist.
Helios-CPG Nova Gorica 88-51: Helios trailed by 24-30 late in the second quarter but rallied to cut the deficit to 69-34. Jure Mocnik (183-G-85) netted 16 points, Matej Krusic 14 and Domen Zerak 12. Tine Horvat had 13 points for the guests.
Krka-TCG Mercator 101-63: The home team shot 61-percent (41-of-67) from the field and handed out 31 assists. Milan Sebic posted 18 points, Smiljan Pavic 16 in just 16 minutes and Marko Rakocevic had 12 points and 9 rebounds while Mirko Mulalic lead the guests with 22 points including six 3-pointers.

*****************************************************
  SWEDEN   


Solna post the ninth win in Basketligan - by Eurobasket News
Solna maintained the high tempo in the Basketligan as they registered the ninth win in Round 13. At the weekend Solna overwhelmed 08 Stockholm 77:67 at home court. The visitors got to a terrific start as they limited Solna to 9 points in the opening term and piled up a 6-point lead. 08 never slowed down and enjoyed a 10-point advantage at the interval. The Vikings however did not surrender and changed the complexion of the game drastically in the second half. Martin Pahlmblad (193-G-86) and Joseph Taylor (203-F-85, college: Wyoming) tallied a massive and effective comeback effort that saw Solna secure a tough win at the end. Martin Pahlmblad fired 24 points to lead the charge. Joseph Taylor added 16 points and 17 boards for the winners. Nashid Beard (208-F-83, college: Lamar) responded with 18 points and 11 boards for 08. Mikael Lindquist and Kassim Nagwere (186-G-90) added 15 points each in the loss.
Sodertalje capitalized on Uppsala loss and cut the distance to the top three. The Kings outscored Gothia Basket 106:96 to claim the seventh victory. The Kings dominated the game and led at all three changes. Thomas Massamba (185-G-85) nailed 24 points to lead the way. Dino Pita (188-G-88) had 14 points, while Jarraun Burrows secured 13 in the win. Ian Johnson (206-F-84, college: Davidson) replied with 23 points for Gothia.
Uppsala came up short against Helsingborg 74:96 on the road. Jens Sralhandske knocked down 27 points for the hosts. Marko Djuric (208-F/C-83, agency: LimeLight) responded with 14 points and 7 boards for the visitors.

*****************************************************
  SWITZERLAND   


MGS signed Stephen Payne to replace Ukeagu who replaced Kemper... - by Kristian Santiago
Ezenwa Ukeagu, who was supposed to replace injured Matthew Kemper (206-C-80, college: Pacific), got injured himself as he suffers from a muscular tear in his calf.
MGS Grand-Saconnex Basket had to act quick and signed forward Stephen Payne (202-F-72, agency: Interperformances, college: Ball St.) as his replacement.
Payne, who played the past year for Sdent BBC Nyon, returns to Switzerland for another successful stint.
MGS Grand-Saconnex Basket, who changed their head coach and released import Pete Strobl (205-F-77, college: Niagara) before, are in deep trouble of being relegated.

Henri N'Dongue replaces temporarily injured Ludmil Hadjisotirov in Geneve.The French guard played already in the last season for the Devils who are also on the bottom of the standings.

Vilius Gabsys (199-F-79, agency: Court Side) and Starwings Basel parted aways.The player was supposed to sign a new deal in the German Bundesliga,but it looks like that fell through.

Guillaume Rais (183-G-82), who has been injured for a while, won't return to Lausanne this season.

LNB Transfers:

Miroslav Petkovic left Union Neuchatel and moves back to his former team Zuerich Wildcats.He scored 12.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg and 3.0 apg for Neuchatel in four games this season.
Neuchatel moved Jules Fouda ( 185-G-1989) to the senior-team after Petkovic and Luka Boskovic left the team.
Thomas Studer joined Vevey Riviera Basket after starting the season in Neuchatel as well.
Karim Remil left Vevey Basket Riviera last month.
Andres Rodriguez has been added to to the roster of Pages Jaunes Pully Basket after playing the previous year with SAM Basket Massagno.
Chene BC added guard Amed Toure (188-G-1989) to their roster.
Zuerich Wildcats strengthened the team with the signing of Robert Devcic (192-F-1992) who played the past season for TV Taegerig Basket.
Bernex signed Swiss-Greek guard Alexandros Lemopoulos (188-G-1989) to its roster in November.
Walter Marques and Ajdin Orucevic are not part of STV Luzern Basket anymore. Marques averaged 10.2 ppg, 3.6rpg and 2.1 apg for Luzern, while Orucevic scored 2.5 ppg.
Naomi Kolo (182-G-1989) and Vernier Basket parted aways as well.

*****************************************************
  TPBL   


Standings
TPBL Standings
1. San Angelo C. 0-0
0-0
2. Midland Heat 0-0
0-0
3 Houston PTS 0-0
4 cypress Synergy 0-0
5 east tx Trailblazers 0-0
6. cen-tx. Blackhawks 0-0
7. Dallas TX. 0-0
8. west tx storm 0-0
0-0


*****************************************************
  TURKEY   


Hammonds Promoted to Efes Pilsen - by Serdar Ortakuyu
After losing 3 games in a row in the Euroleague Efes Pilsen decided to promote former Clemson star Clifford Hammonds (191-G-85, college: Clemson) to their Euroleague roster from its farm team Darussafaka Cooper Tires. According to the agreement signed in summer Efes Pilsen sent the youngsters such as Baris Hersek (204-F/C-88) to Darussafaka and have the right to promote players from the Greens including their imports. Hammonds has averaged 12.9ppg, 4.3rpg, 4.2apg and 2.0spg in TBL so far and helped Darussafaka grab 4 wins in 8 games. Hammonds is expected to take the back up guard position at Efes Pilsen during Engin Atsur (194-G-84, college: N.Carolina St.)'s injury, backing up Milos Vujanic (192-G-80) and Ender Arslan (190-G-83).

*****************************************************
  UNITED KINGDOM   


BBL Team of the Week - Week 10 - by Andy Webb
Newcastle Eagles pair Charles Smith (198-F-75, college: Rider) and Lynard Stewart (202-F-74, college: Temple) have both been picked for the BBL Team of the Week following game-winning performances in the BBL Cup semi-final first leg.

Eagles take a 112-105 lead into Friday's second leg on Merseyside, thanks in no small part to a combined 43 points from Smith and Stewart.

Smith shot an incredible six from six three-pointers on his way to a game-high 25 points - and also converted his three attempts from the foul line in 27 minutes of action.

Current Molten player of the year Stewart finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes as Eagles take a seven point lead to Greenbank Academy on Friday.

One of the players they will be facing, Tigers' Andre Smith (203-F-85, college: N.Dakota St.), fills the other forward spot in the team following his performance against BiG Cheshire Jets. Smith had 27 points and 13 boards as Tigers defeated their local rivals 83-74 on their own court. He also finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday's loss in Newcastle.

Despite a surprise home loss against Worcester Wolves, Airwaves Plymouth Raiders shooting guard Andrew Lasker (188-G-82, college: Point Loma) gained a nomination for the Team of the Week following his 33 points performance on Saturday evening. Lasker converted 11 from 16 field goals and also pulled down seven boards in a 40- minute performance for Gary Stronach's team.

It's been a good week for Robert Yanders (180-G-79, college: Missouri St.), as he's been named Molten Player of the Month as well as being picked in the team of the week. The Scottish Rocks point guard hit four from eight three-point attempts and drained all eight free-throws on his way to a 26 point haul in the 90-85 victory at PAWS London Capital. Yanders also dished out seven assists as he played all bar 31 seconds of the game.



*****************************************************

Women News

*****************************************************
  ADRIATIC LEAGUE - Women  


Summary of Round 8 - by Eurobasket News

Medvescak - Buducnost 90-78
Medvescak celebrated against the Montenegrin champ in Round 8 registering the second win in regional league. Croatian representative is currently the seventh ranked team in with 2-5. On the other side, Buducnost dropped on sixth place with 3-4 record. Mirna Mazic (188-F-85, college: Richmond) was totally the best player of this game. She was unstoppable at the offensive end draining 24 points for the hosts. Iva Badanjak (191-C-85) also was in a game mood helping the winners with 17 points. Dea Klein-Sumanovac (182-G/F-81) and Marina Mazic (190-C-80) followed them adding 15 pts apiece. As usually, Buducnost got the most from Lady Comfort (188-C-86, college: Temple), 22 points. Jelena Culafic (174-G-89) netted 14, while Nikolina Popovic (184-G/F-84) stopped on one point less. The last player with double digits in scoring for Buducnost was Maja Milutinovic (176-G-87), 11 points.
Both teams had high scoring first quarter 32-29. The host team was better also in the next one creating plus 7 at the half time. Buducnost was on a decent level, but it could not resist against Medvescak, who had couple of very motivated players. Mirna Mazic dominated in offense, while her sister Marina Mazic also helped a lot. After 30 minutes it was 72-62. Interesting is that Buducnost was not able to end any of the quarters with positive score. Medvescak grabbed the last one 18-16 for the final 90-78.

Medvescak: Mirna Mazic 24, Iva Badanjak 17, Dea Klein-Sumanovac 15, Marina Mazic 15
Buducnost: Lady Comfort 22, Jelena Culafic 14, Nikolina Popovic 13, Maja Milutinovic 11
---

Mladi Krajisnik - Gospic CO 62-82
Bosnian representative Mladi Krajisnik faced with another failure in regional championship. This time Bosnians suffered home defeat against Croatian Gospic CO. It was another painful loss by 20 points for the hosts. Croatian EuroCup team, Gospic CO, is currently on third place in Adriatic league with 4-3 record. Exactly the same numbers has Serbian Vojvodina NIS. Mladi Krajisnik remains the only winless team so far. Bosnians will have to do something urgently if they want to avoid the last place at the end of the championship. Jelena Ivezic (184-G-84) once again demonstrated nice performance for Gospic CO netting 25 points. Marija Vrsaljko (195-C-89) added 17, while Martina Gambiraza (176-G-82) this time stopped on 8. Aida Pilav (187-C-87) contributed with 22 points in defeat. Milica Deura (178-G-90) had one point less than her. In the next round Gospic will meet Medvescak in Croatian derby. Medvescak was better than Buducnost in this round 90-78. Mladi Krajisnik goes to Slovenia where it will meet Merkur Celje.

Mladi Krajisnik: Aida Pilav 22, Milica Deura 21
Gospic CO: Jelena Ivezic 25, Marija Vrsaljko 17, Martina Gambiraza 8
---

Vojvodina NIS - Ragusa 66-68
The only Serbian representative in Adriatic league was defeated in Round 8. Croatian Ragusa grabbed tiny victory in Novi Sad improving its record on 4-2. Vojvodina is currently on the fourth place with 4-3. Jennifer Harris (178-G-84, college: Washburn) top-scored for the winners with 23 points. Matea Vrdoljak (186-F-85) had 17, while Ivona Matic (188-F/C-86) stopped on 11 points for the winning squad. Vojvodina got the most from Ivana Grubor (185-F/C-84), 16 points. Jovana Vukoje (174-G-86) and Maja Scekic (170-G-87) delivered 15 points apiece.
Vojvodina had better start. Ivana Grubor was in a game mood, but on the other side Ragusa had Jennifer Harris, who also opened the game strongly. Vojvodina couldn't create nothing more than plus 1 in the first quarter, 15-14. Second stanza also belonged to the hosts 17-15. It was expected that Vojvodina put into the fifth gear after the half time, but that didn't happen. Mostly owing to Jennifer Harris and Matea Vrdoljak, Ragusa netted 21 points tying the score before the last frame. It was very exciting match until the very end. Visitors were concentrated when it was the most important grabbing nice road victory. In the next round Vojvodina will meet Jedinstvo. Ragusa will take on Buducnost.

Ragusa: Jennifer Harris 23, Matea Vrdoljak 17, Ivona Matic 11
Vojvodina NIS: Ivana Grubor 16, Jovana Vukoje 15, Maja Scekic 15
---

Jolly JBS - Merkur Celje 69-57



*****************************************************
  BOSNIA - Women  


Another defeat for Mladi Krajisnik in Adriatic league - by Eurobasket News
Mladi Krajisnik - Gospic CO 62-82

Bosnian representative Mladi Krajisnik faced with another failure in regional championship. This time Bosnians suffered home defeat against Croatian Gospic CO. It was another painful loss by 20 points for the hosts. Croatian EuroCup team, Gospic CO, is currently on third place in Adriatic league with 4-3 record. Exactly the same numbers has Serbian Vojvodina NIS. Mladi Krajisnik remains the only winless team so far. Bosnians will have to do something urgently if they want to avoid the last place at the end of the championship. Jelena Ivezic (184-G-84) once again demonstrated nice performance for Gospic CO netting 25 points. Marija Vrsaljko (195-C-89) added 17, while Martina Gambiraza (176-G-82) this time stopped on 8. Aida Pilav (187-C-87) contributed with 22 points in defeat. Milica Deura (178-G-90) had one point less than her. In the next round Gospic will meet Medvescak in Croatian derby. Medvescak was better than Buducnost in this round 90-78. Mladi Krajisnik goes to Slovenia where it will meet Merkur Celje.

Mladi Krajisnik: Aida Pilav 22, Milica Deura 21
Gospic CO: Jelena Ivezic 25, Marija Vrsaljko 17, Martina Gambiraza 8

*****************************************************
  BULGARIA - Women  


Dunav Econt remains on top perfect - by Eurobasket News
Tony 07 - Dunav Econt 62-112

As it was expected, the reigning champion Dunav Econt demolished Tony 07 in the last game of Round 9. It means that Dunav remains on top of the standings alone with perfect 8-0 record. Tony 07 stays on just one win in 8 appearances. Natalia Topalova-Shopova (187-F-80) demonstrated magnificent performance for the winning side draining 26 points and pulling down 9 rebounds. Petja Dzhambazka (178-F-77) also shined collecting 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, while Daniela Peteva (179-F-89) helped adding 15+5+8. As usually, Gergana Koleva (170-G-82) was better than the others in Tony 07 with 15 points. Maria Baycheva (182-F-90) scored 12, while Tsvetelina Kremenlieva (180-G-90) delivered 11, including 8 boards. Dunav Econt had total domination in the paint against Tony. Natalia Topalova-Shopova and her teammates finished the game with 49 rebounds, while the hosts had just 23 in total. Tony also had many troubles with organizing the plays committing 29 turnovers. Everything was clear after opening ten minutes, as Dunav grabbed huge 17-point lead. The only question until the end was how big difference it will be, and it was exactly 50 pts! In the next round Dunav will take on dangerous Montana 2003 on the road. Tony 07 will host Beroe 2007.

Tony 07: Gergana Koleva 15+4 boards+5 as, Maria Baycheva 12, Tsvetelina Kremenlieva 11+8 boards
Dunav Econt: Natalia Topalova-Shopova 26+9 boards, Petja Dzhambazka 20+7 boards+7 as, Daniela Peteva 15+5 boards+8 as

*****************************************************
  CROATIA - Women  


Ragusa outsmarts Vojvodina NIS in Adriatic league - by Eurobasket News
Vojvodina NIS - Ragusa 66-68

The only Serbian representative in Adriatic league was defeated in Round 8. Croatian Ragusa grabbed tiny victory in Novi Sad improving its record on 4-2. Vojvodina is currently on the fourth place with 4-3. Jennifer Harris (178-G-84, college: Washburn) top-scored for the winners with 23 points. Matea Vrdoljak (186-F-85) had 17, while Ivona Matic (188-F/C-86) stopped on 11 points for the winning squad. Vojvodina got the most from Ivana Grubor (185-F/C-84), 16 points. Jovana Vukoje (174-G-86) and Maja Scekic (170-G-87) delivered 15 points apiece.
Vojvodina had better start. Ivana Grubor was in a game mood, but on the other side Ragusa had Jennifer Harris, who also opened the game strongly. Vojvodina couldn't create nothing more than plus 1 in the first quarter, 15-14. Second stanza also belonged to the hosts 17-15. It was expected that Vojvodina put into the fifth gear after the half time, but that didn't happen. Mostly owing to Jennifer Harris and Matea Vrdoljak, Ragusa netted 21 points tying the score before the last frame. It was very exciting match until the very end. Visitors were concentrated when it was the most important grabbing nice road victory. In the next round Vojvodina will meet Jedinstvo. Ragusa will take on Buducnost.

Ragusa: Jennifer Harris 23, Matea Vrdoljak 17, Ivona Matic 11
Vojvodina NIS: Ivana Grubor 16, Jovana Vukoje 15, Maja Scekic 15

Medvescak too strong for Buducnost in Adriatic league - by Eurobasket News
Medvescak - Buducnost 90-78

Medvescak celebrated against the Montenegrin champ in Round 8 registering the second win in regional league. Croatian representative is currently the seventh ranked team in with 2-5. On the other side, Buducnost dropped on sixth place with 3-4 record. Mirna Mazic (188-F-85, college: Richmond) was totally the best player of this game. She was unstoppable at the offensive end draining 24 points for the hosts. Iva Badanjak (191-C-85) also was in a game mood helping the winners with 17 points. Dea Klein-Sumanovac (182-G/F-81) and Marina Mazic (190-C-80) followed them adding 15 pts apiece. As usually, Buducnost got the most from Lady Comfort (188-C-86, college: Temple), 22 points. Jelena Culafic (174-G-89) netted 14, while Nikolina Popovic (184-G/F-84) stopped on one point less. The last player with double digits in scoring for Buducnost was Maja Milutinovic (176-G-87), 11 points.
Both teams had high scoring first quarter 32-29. The host team was better also in the next one creating plus 7 at the half time. Buducnost was on a decent level, but it could not resist against Medvescak, who had couple of very motivated players. Mirna Mazic dominated in offense, while her sister Marina Mazic also helped a lot. After 30 minutes it was 72-62. Interesting is that Buducnost was not able to end any of the quarters with positive score. Medvescak grabbed the last one 18-16 for the final 90-78.

Medvescak: Mirna Mazic 24, Iva Badanjak 17, Dea Klein-Sumanovac 15, Marina Mazic 15
Buducnost: Lady Comfort 22, Jelena Culafic 14, Nikolina Popovic 13, Maja Milutinovic 11

Another defeat for Mladi Krajisnik in Adriatic league - by Eurobasket News
Mladi Krajisnik - Gospic CO 62-82

Bosnian representative Mladi Krajisnik faced with another failure in regional championship. This time Bosnians suffered home defeat against Croatian Gospic CO. It was another painful loss by 20 points for the hosts. Croatian EuroCup team, Gospic CO, is currently on third place in Adriatic league with 4-3 record. Exactly the same numbers has Serbian Vojvodina NIS. Mladi Krajisnik remains the only winless team so far. Bosnians will have to do something urgently if they want to avoid the last place at the end of the championship. Jelena Ivezic (184-G-84) once again demonstrated nice performance for Gospic CO netting 25 points. Marija Vrsaljko (195-C-89) added 17, while Martina Gambiraza (176-G-82) this time stopped on 8. Aida Pilav (187-C-87) contributed with 22 points in defeat. Milica Deura (178-G-90) had one point less than her. In the next round Gospic will meet Medvescak in Croatian derby. Medvescak was better than Buducnost in this round 90-78. Mladi Krajisnik goes to Slovenia where it will meet Merkur Celje.

Mladi Krajisnik: Aida Pilav 22, Milica Deura 21
Gospic CO: Jelena Ivezic 25, Marija Vrsaljko 17, Martina Gambiraza 8

*****************************************************
  DENMARK - Women  


Horsholm keeps the top with 8-0 record - by Eurobasket News
Horsholm registered another win remaining the only unbeaten team in Danish Dameligaen after 8 rounds. This time Horsholm had to work very hard in order to beat dangerous Amager 65-52. After great 37-24 in the first half, the hosts somehow stopped. Amager's players intensified defense letting the hosts to score just 6 points during the entire third quarter. On the other side, they delivered 16 meaning that Horsholm had just 3-point lead before the last ten minutes. However, Kristine Jensen and her teammates once again proved their ambitions this season finishing the last stanza with impressive 22-12. Jensen demonstrated wonderful performance for the winners collecting 26 points and 10 rebounds. Anne Thorius (179-G-77, college: Michigan) was the last one with double digits in scoring for Horsholm adding 13. Emilie Ramberg (173-G-79) answered with 17 points in defeat. Her Amager now has 4-4.

Abyhoj celebrated against Vaelrose on the road 70-63 thanks to Jessica Lonon (186-F-81, college: E.Tenn.St.), who drained 20 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. Vaelrose got 24 points and 7 rebounds from Chelsea Elizabeth Luhta. Abyhoj 5-3, Vaelrose 3-5.

Horsens registered the first win of the season beating Virum 75-71. It was an over time win mostly owing to Josefine Sorensen (169-G/F-87), who nailed 29 points and pulled down 6 rebounds. Stephanie Lovingood (185-F-86, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: W.Illinois) had 22 points and impressive 17 boards for Virum. Horsens 1-6, Virum 1-7.

*****************************************************
  EUROLEAGUE - Women  


CSKA Moscow rehabilitated in Euroleague - by Carlo Grilli
CSKA Moscow comes back in Euroleague. The FIBA Executive Committee has pronounced the readmission statement after CSKA found a new sponsor.
The game missed last week in Latvia was homologated 20-0 for local TTT Riga. In group B, the unbeaten Umana Reyer Venezia arithmetically sealed the first place, while CSKA will play against MKB Euroleasing Sopron and Gambrinus Sika Brno for the second spot.

*****************************************************
  HUNGARY - Women  


A Round: 10 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Cegledi EKK - ZTE 64-90
ZTE trashed Cegledi on the road mostly owing to Zsofia Varga, who drained 30 points and pulled down 8 rebounds for 29 minutes. Zsofia Horvath followed her with 12 points. Cegledi got 16 pts and 5 boards from Anett Serban. ZTE improved on 4-5 record, while the hosts dropped on poor 1-9.

Savaria - Atomeromu 76-92
As it was expected, Atomeromu was better than Savaria jumping on 4-6 score in Division A. On the other hand, it was 10th consecutive defeat for Savaria, who remains the only winless steam in the league. Alisa Ievtushenko and Bettina Bozoki paced Atomeromu combining 45 points and 13 rebounds. Rachill Robinson answered with impressive 37 points and 11 boards for the hosts.

Vasas-Csata - Szolnok 78-65
Dora Szondy led Vasas-Casta to third victory this season nailing 27 points vs Szolnok. Csilla Darida had 20 points in loss. Vasas-Casta 3-4, Szolnok 4-6.

MKB Eurol. - Szeged 82-62
Very important and at the same time comfortably victory for MKB Euroleasing, who remains unbeaten after 9 appearances. MiZo Pecs is currently on top of the standings with 10-0, but MKB will have a chance to join it. Jelena Milovanovic collected 16 points and 6 rebounds for the team from Sopron. Amber Holt stopped on 15 points and 5 boards. Emoke Furesz netted 18 points for Szeviep Szeged (7-2 including the last game vs MiZo).

BEAC - Foton 55-80
Easy 25-point win for Foton, who now has pretty good 7-3 record. BEAC stays on just 1 win in 9 games. Hajdana Radunovic once again led the scorers in Foton with 18 points. She also had 7 more rebounds beside that. Emese Szasz was a top scorer of the game nailing 27 pts.

MiZo Pecs - BSE 87-51
MiZo destroyed BSE at home with plus 36 staying at the top of the standings alone with perfect 10-0 record (including the last game vs Szeged). Anna Vajda stepped up for the hosts with 24 points. Zsofia Simon was the only one with double figures in scoring for BSE, 13 points. She missed one board for double-double. BSE 7-2.

Szeged - MiZo Pecs 74-83
Anna Vajda paced her MiZo to another victory, this time collecting 22 points and 5 rebounds for 31 minutes. Kelly Mazzante added 17, while Dalma Ivanyi and Krisztina Raksanyi had 14 points apiece. Olena Zherzherunova poured in 21 points and grabbed 6 boards for Szeged.



*****************************************************
  ISRAEL - Women  


Temeka Johnson Helps Raanana Get the Point - by Quency Phillips
After helping lead the Los Angeles Sparks with a spectacular postseason, Temeka Johnson (160-G-82, agency: Ronsport, college: LSU) was added to Bnot Raanana Hasharon roster last month to help solidify the starting point guard position. To date, Temeka (known as Meek to many) has averaged close to 15 points and 10 assists while providing speed and a calming presence for the team. One could argue that her speed has limited her own statisticians ability to keep accurate stats, as Temeka Johnson has not been credited with the proper amount of assists but whos counting?

Raanana is counting on Meek being the player that helps lead the team to the Israeli league championship, and respectability amongst the elite teams in Europe. Although the teams last outing against Dynamo Kursk was close at the half, the game quickly got out of hand. The long 11 hour bus trip from the Moscow to Kursk proved to be the best home team advantage a team can ask for. The team came out of halftime down by 2 points, but it turned for the worst, as Raanana did not show the same energy as they did earlier, and found themselves quickly down by 20 in route to the biggest loss for the team since Temeka arrived.

Dynamo took advantage of us being in a rut, and finished strong, commented Temeka Johnson. We started well, but we just didnt play well in the 2nd half. We were lethargic and didnt play with energy. Well fix that.

What many have learned in the WNBA about Meek is that when she puts her mind to it, she has the ability to not only take over a game, but also take over the league. Lets hope for Raananas sake that this remains true. I would not bet against it.

ROUND 7TH RESULTS - by Gil Goshen

Ramla handed Ramat Hen its first loss of the season in dramatic fashion. Bnoth Hsharon sweated a little at the end before beating Holon, Ashdod & Ramat Hasharon strolled to wins, and Natanya got its second win of the season.

Maccabi Ramat Hen 66 Elizur Ramla 70

The calendar says it's December, but tonight felt like playoffs. Tan White had a huge night to help Ramla end Ramat Hen's winning streak, 70 66.
Perfect No More - full recap from Ramat Hen
For Ramla:
Tan White 30 pts
Nicky Anosike 15 pts, 7 stl
Lena Ogorodnikova 14 pts
Ina Gourevitch & Katia Abramzon 4 pts each
Annemarie Parau 3 pts

For Ramat Hen:
LaToya Pringle 18 pts, 13 rebs
Tamara James 15 pts
Matalya Belvin & Michal Epstein 12 pts
Shiri Sharon 9 pts

Bnoth Hsharon77 Elizur Holon 74
Bnoth Hsharon controlled the game in the first half but Holon forced a tight finish.

Bnoth Hsharon:
Charde Houston 24 pts, 12 rebs
Tameka Johnson 21 pts, 4 ast
Lena Mustafina 12 pts
Kelly Shumacher 8 pts, 14 rebs
Chen Nusel & Shimrit Gigi 5 pts each
Katia Levitsky 2 pts

For Holon:
Ayana Walker 26 pts, 14 rebs
Edneisha Curry 19 pts, 5 rebs
Edwina Brown 15 pts
Shiran Zairy 9 pts
Noa Schor & Bar Gilinsky 2 pts each
Lin Golan 1 pt

Electra Ramat Hasharon 76 Bnei Yehuda 56

Ramat Hasharon led just 32 -31 at the half and 49 42 after three, before breaking the game open in the 4th.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Nomi Kolodny 20 pts
Abiola Wabara 16 pts , 6 rb agency - GG basketball
Ebony Hoffman 14 pts
Jia Perkins 6 pts, 4 ast
Merav Dori 4 pts
Erin Philips & Ayelet Cohen 3 pts each
Shani Levy & Jennifer Fleischer 2 pts each

For Bnei Yehuda
Cori Chambers 13 pts
Chen Segal 12 pts
Rivi Grinboym 11 pts
Diohnna Jackson 9 pts
Shira Haelyon 8 pts
Roni Ben Non 3 pts

Hapoel Tel Aviv 58 Elizur Maccabi Natanya 74

There were two things to note from this game. One, Erica White is a player. Two, Hapoel can't keep playing with thise lineup. Hapoel looked good in the first half but Natanya got it together in the 2nd half and knew how to break away despite a poor performance.
Full recap from Tel Aviv
For Natanya:
Tamara Ransburg 19 pts, 15 rebs
Erica White 17 pts, 11 rebs, 7 ast, 4 stl
Natasha Brackett 14 pts
Sarit Arbel 11 pts
Taly Noy 6 pts
Ornit Shwartz 5 pts
Ela Karni 2 pts

For Hapoel:
Tierre Willson 20 pts, 9 TOs
Diamond Rogers 17 pts, 8 TOs
Alex Anderson 12 pts
Shahar Alterman 9 pts

Maccabi Tel Kabir 85 Maccabi Ashdod 97
Ashdod led by 30 already, before Tel Kabir cut into the lead.

For Ashdod:
Jennifer Humphrey 27 pts, 10 rebs
Brasheeda Elohim 16 pts, 7 rebs
Sherill Baker 14 pts
Tama ra Moore 12 pts, 10 ast Agency - GG basketball.
Bat El Lazmi 12 pts
Karin Agasi 8 pts
Yael Aharonov 6 pts
Nofar Shalom 2 pts

For Tel Kabir:
Dominique Carter 30 pts
Shannon Howell 28 pts
Brooke Reves 22 pts, 9 rebs
Ksena Machkina & Liel Ohanon 2 pts each
Shani Levin 1 pt




Abiola Wabara (183-F-81, college: Baylor)

*****************************************************
  LATVIA - Women  


TTT Riga improves to undefeated 11-0 record - by Eurobasket News
TTT Riga smashed Liepaja 102:65 to take 11-0 record in LSBL. The easy wins in the first three quarters sealed the total one for the defending champions. Essence Carson (183-G-86, college: Rutgers) led the winners with 25 points and Merike Anderson (181-G/F-81) netted 18. Sabine Niedola (182-F-91) collected 23 points and 16 rebounds in defeat.
Seven more games closed enormous round in Baltic league. Arvi beat Latvian SK Cesis 83:65 in the game between two undefeated teams before the appearance with each other. Lithuanian team had 26-26 in the opening quarter and them won the next three periods. Ligita Kinkeviciene led the winners with 20 points, Laima Rickeviciute posted 18 and Pacauskiene had 13. Dreimane ended up with 19 points in defeat as her team fell at 2-1. Kristine Karklina (175-G-83) nailed 14, whilst Dijon posted 13.
The day before that SK Cesis escaped an overtime thriller over Laisve and won 81:77. Latvian team trailed in the majority of the game but managed to bounce back and win. Kristine Karklina, Tare and Simmonds all scored 16 points for the winners. Irma Raugaite (176-G-84) produced 24 for the home side, Marmiene had 17 and Daujadiene added 11.

*****************************************************
  LITHUANIA - Women  


TEO conquers LMKL with 7-0 record - by Eurobasket News
TEO conquers LMKL with 7-0 record in Lithuania. In the last game of November the team overcame Alytus 119:44. Gintare Petronyte (195-C-89) paced the winners with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Daina Staugaitiene (182-G-80, college: Liberty) nailed 27. Sigita Galdikaite (183-F-90) produced 12 points in the losing effort and Kacinkeviciute netted 11.
Seven more games closed enormous round in Baltic league. Arvi beat Latvian SK Cesis 83:65 in the game between two undefeated teams before the appearance with each other. Lithuanian team had 26-26 in the opening quarter and them won the next three periods. Ligita Kinkeviciene (173-G-76) led the winners with 20 points, Laima Rickeviciute posted 18 and Pacauskiene had 13. Dreimane ended up with 19 points in defeat as her team fell at 2-1. Kristine Karklina (175-G-83) nailed 14, whilst Dijon posted 13.
The day before that SK Cesis escaped an overtime thriller over Laisve and won 81:77. Latvian team trailed in the majority of the game but managed to bounce back and win. Kristine Karklina, Tare and Simmonds all scored 16 points for the winners. Irma Raugaite (176-G-84) produced 24 for the home side, Marmiene had 17 and Daujadiene added 11.

*****************************************************
  LUXEMBOURG - Women  


Stats Leaders - Women
Luxembourg Women Basketball Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1. Donovan, Etz 28.5
2. Lea, Rac 27.8
3. Sweere, Greng 25.5
4. Stowe, Con 25.4
5. Lee, Ami 24.0
6. Gladden, Esch 23.2
7. Scanlon, Res 22.7
8. Fisher, Mus 22.7
9. Dennett, T71 22.5
10. Walton, Sch 20.5


*****************************************************
  MONTENEGRO - Women  


Medvescak too strong for Buducnost in Adriatic league - by Eurobasket News
Medvescak - Buducnost 90-78

Medvescak celebrated against the Montenegrin champ in Round 8 registering the second win in regional league. Croatian representative is currently the seventh ranked team in with 2-5. On the other side, Buducnost dropped on sixth place with 3-4 record. Mirna Mazic (188-F-85, college: Richmond) was totally the best player of this game. She was unstoppable at the offensive end draining 24 points for the hosts. Iva Badanjak (191-C-85) also was in a game mood helping the winners with 17 points. Dea Klein-Sumanovac (182-G/F-81) and Marina Mazic (190-C-80) followed them adding 15 pts apiece. As usually, Buducnost got the most from Lady Comfort (188-C-86, college: Temple), 22 points. Jelena Culafic (174-G-89) netted 14, while Nikolina Popovic (184-G/F-84) stopped on one point less. The last player with double digits in scoring for Buducnost was Maja Milutinovic (176-G-87), 11 points.
Both teams had high scoring first quarter 32-29. The host team was better also in the next one creating plus 7 at the half time. Buducnost was on a decent level, but it could not resist against Medvescak, who had couple of very motivated players. Mirna Mazic dominated in offense, while her sister Marina Mazic also helped a lot. After 30 minutes it was 72-62. Interesting is that Buducnost was not able to end any of the quarters with positive score. Medvescak grabbed the last one 18-16 for the final 90-78.

Medvescak: Mirna Mazic 24, Iva Badanjak 17, Dea Klein-Sumanovac 15, Marina Mazic 15
Buducnost: Lady Comfort 22, Jelena Culafic 14, Nikolina Popovic 13, Maja Milutinovic 11

*****************************************************
  SERBIA - Women  


Ragusa outsmarts Vojvodina NIS in Adriatic league - by Eurobasket News
Vojvodina NIS - Ragusa 66-68

The only Serbian representative in Adriatic league was defeated in Round 8. Croatian Ragusa grabbed tiny victory in Novi Sad improving its record on 4-2. Vojvodina is currently on the fourth place with 4-3. Jennifer Harris (178-G-84, college: Washburn) top-scored for the winners with 23 points. Matea Vrdoljak (186-F-85) had 17, while Ivona Matic (188-F/C-86) stopped on 11 points for the winning squad. Vojvodina got the most from Ivana Grubor (185-F/C-84), 16 points. Jovana Vukoje (174-G-86) and Maja Scekic (170-G-87) delivered 15 points apiece.
Vojvodina had better start. Ivana Grubor was in a game mood, but on the other side Ragusa had Jennifer Harris, who also opened the game strongly. Vojvodina couldn't create nothing more than plus 1 in the first quarter, 15-14. Second stanza also belonged to the hosts 17-15. It was expected that Vojvodina put into the fifth gear after the half time, but that didn't happen. Mostly owing to Jennifer Harris and Matea Vrdoljak, Ragusa netted 21 points tying the score before the last frame. It was very exciting match until the very end. Visitors were concentrated when it was the most important grabbing nice road victory. In the next round Vojvodina will meet Jedinstvo. Ragusa will take on Buducnost.

Ragusa: Jennifer Harris 23, Matea Vrdoljak 17, Ivona Matic 11
Vojvodina NIS: Ivana Grubor 16, Jovana Vukoje 15, Maja Scekic 15

A league: Vojvodina remains perfect, Partizan jumps on 7-1 - by Eurobasket News
Vojvodina NIS remained the only perfect team in Serbian A league after 8 rounds. This time Vojvodina was too strong for Proleter 70-60. Anja Stupar (178-F/C-89) was a key player for the hosts draining 15 points and grabbing 5 boards. Jovana Vukoje (174-G-86) netted 14 and dished out 5 assists. Jela Vidacic (190-C-85) contributed with 17 points and 6 rebounds in loss. Her Proleter slipped on 3-5.

Partizan celebrated against Radivoj Korac on the road 81-71 jumping on 7-1 record in A league. The only defeat Partizan suffered in the second round against Spartak in Belgrade. Radivoj Korac is currently together with Proleter and Celarevo at the middle of the standings with 3-5. Jelena Dangubic (177-G-82) led the scorers in Partizan with 19 points. At the same time she had 8 more rebounds. Ivana Terzic (187-C-86) also shined for the winning squad collecting 16 points and 6 boards. Radivoj Korac got the most from Iva Musulin (170-G-84), 19 points. Dragana Vukovic (190-C-78) also shined for the loosing side with 16 points and 6 rebounds.

Hemofarm STADA - Crvena Zvezda 20-0 as visitors failed to show up on the court. Other results can be checked at the top of the Serbian women section.

*****************************************************
  SWEDEN - Women  


Telge and Lulea BBK celebrate in Round 7 - by Eurobasket News
Telge Energi and Lulea BBK were better than their rivals in Round 7 of Swedish Damligan. Telge Energi remains on top of the standings, at least until Solna Vikings close this round vs 08 Stockholm. Lulea BBK jumped on 6-1.

Telge Energi trashed Norkoping Dolphins 72-48 mostly owing to Louice Halvarsson (189-C-89) and Stefanie Yderstrom (172-G-90), which combined 41 points. Hanna Bouldwin (180) also was good adding 16 pts. Cleopatra Forsman-Goga (180-G-91) was the last one with double digits in scoring for the hosts, 10 points. Norkoping Dolphins got 16 points from Johanna Kallman (174-G-87). Malin Belfrage (184-F-79) contributed with 13. After 9-13 in the first quarter for the Dolphins, Telge controlled rhythm of the game until the very end. Norkoping dropped on 3-4 record after this game.

Lulea BBK outsmarted Marbo Basket in over time by two points, 83-81. Amra Mehmedic (175-G-81, agency: LBM Management) stepped up for the hosts with 17, while Sabrina Scott (190-C-81) had one point less than her. Eszter Csontos (179-G/F-82) followed these two players adding 16 points. Leah Metcalf (173-G-83, college: N.Carolina) and Emma Nilsson (179-F-84) netted 20 points each for the loosing side. Marbo now has 3-5.

*****************************************************
  SWITZERLAND - Women  


Neuchatel and Sdent Sierre maintain the lead - by Eurobasket News
Neuchatel and Sdent Sierre posted simultaneous victories in Round 9 and stayed on top of the ladder.
Neuchatel eked out a tough 85:80 victory over BBC on the road. BBC looked the better side in the first half. The hosts outscored their opponents 26:24 in the first term and kept the league leaders at distance throughout the second term. The situation did not change after the long break and BBC continued to dominate. The home team stretched the gap to as many as 8 points heading into the fourth quarter. Neuchatel were on the verge of losing the second game in the season but managed to escape. Balanced offensive effort in the final stanza allowed Neuchatel to deny the deficit and pulled away with a narrow win at the end. Alexia Rol (170-G-82) secured 16 points for the winners. Kadie Riverin (175-G-86) topscored with 18 points for Neuchatel. Alisha Tatham (180-G/F-86) responded with 31 points for BBC. Lori Crisman (186-C/F-82, college: W.Michigan) answered with 20 points and 7 boards in the loss.
Sdent Sierre eased past Pully 95:44 on the road. The visitors built a comfortable 26-point lead at halftime and cruised to the eighth win in the tournament in the second half. Rhona McKenzie (183-F-76, agency: LBM Management) tallied 27 points and 9 boards for the winners. Ela Briedyte (176-G-79) added 20 points for Sdent Sierre. Dana Jones (199-F-72, college: Pepperdine) responded with 17 points and 11 caroms for Pully.