Eurobasket Daily News Report:

EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 2/21/2008

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Men News

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ARGENTINA

Problems for Central Entrerriano and Kevin Sowell -by Facundo Iatzky
The Lebanon Federation announced CABB that Kevin Sowell (190-G-81) is not authorized to play in any league of the world because he left the club Anibal Zahle without permission. Central entrerriano will miss a lot him because he had a great impact on the team averaging 24.5 pts helping to the team to get 2 important victories. It seems that Kevin Will not can play in Central anymore and argentinian team will have to look for another player but it will be confirmed during the next days.

Another Jason Osborne in Argentina -by Facundo Iatzky
ciclista juninense signed Jason Osborne (203-F-83, agency: Duran International, college: St.Francis,PA) but he is not the player of penarol. He comes from Mexico and played in Louxembourg and France previously. He was the best offensive player of the 2006/07 louxembourg league. He had played in Southamerica before(Uruguay and Chile). Now Jason will have the chance of showing his skills in a competitive league as the argentinian one(second division).

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AUSTRALIA

Townsville chucks out Gold Coast -by Eurobasket News
Townsville - Gold Coast 97:89

The NBL playoffs got under way today when the Townsville Crocs took on the Gold Coast Blaze at the Townsville Entertainment Centre. The 5th-ranked took on the Blaze that finished at the 8th spot in the regular season. The first frame turned into a three-point skirmish between James Harvey (196-G/F-79) and John Rillie (195-G-71, college: Gonzaga). James Harvey came up with four straight trebles, while John Rillie answered with 3 treys as they the tension grew. But the Crocs had Corey Williams (191-G-77, college: Alabama St.) on court as the guard accounted for 8 points in the opening stanza to give the hosts a 29:27 lead after 10 minutes. Gold Coast however quickly retained the lead after the intermission and with the help of hot shooting James Harvey accumulated a 50:48 halftime lead. Corey Williams and Galen Young (201-F/G-75, college: Charlotte) stepped up for the home team to restore the Crocs' lead and soon opened up a double-figure advantage. Brad Sheridan (196-F/G-80) and Michael Cedar (195-G-86) provided a needed support from the bench nailing big-time triples for the hosts to stay up by 10 points after 30 minutes. Townsville continued to mount pressure and stretched the margin to 14 points midway through the fourth term. Scott McGregor (203-F-76) and Pero Cameron (199-F-74, agency: Duran International) notched treys to revive the intrigue in the game but Trevor Gleeson immediately introduced Corey Williams, John Rillie and Galen Young back into action and the Crocs secured the winning outcome at the crunch time. John Rillie ended up shooting 6/11 from beyond the arc and scoring game-high 30 points for Townsville. Corey Williams added 20 points and 5 assists, while Galen Young totaled 11 points and 15 boards for the winners. James Harvey responded with 27 points for Gold Coast. Luke Whitehead (199-F-81, college: Louisville) and Ben Melmeth (208-F/C-75, college: Utah) dropped 12 points apiece, while Jason Crowe (193-G-76, agency: Court Side, college: Cal.St. Northridge) was limited to only 7 points and issued 7 assists in defeat. Townsville outrebounded their opponents 43:41 and scored 19 points off their opponents' turnovers. The Blaze managed just 38% from the field, while the hosts converted 52% of field goals.
The Crocs will now take on the Perth Wildcats in the away from home semifinal on February 22.

Townsville: John Rillie 30, Corey Williams 20, Galen Young 11+15 boards
Gold Coast: James Harvey 27, Luke Whitehead 12, Ben Melmeth 12

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BELARUS

Players in Ukraine -by Eurobasket News
Yegor Mescheriakov (205-F-76, agency: Octagon, college: George Washington) and his Ukrainian Azovmash beat Zadar 82:80 in the first game of Uleb Cup Last 32 series . The 2-point loss is rather a victory for Zadar as they are known as a home-team and can possibly hope for much better outcome at home court. It was not an easy ride for Zadar though with Azovmash dominating at some points. The teams traded baskets early in the game with Juby Johnson highlighting for Zadar. He gave his team an 11:8 lead but soon Azovmash produced a 7:0 run to gain an advantage. The hosts led by 4 points after the opening frame 17:13 and stepped on the gas after the intermission. Rodney Rodney Buford ignited a three-point bombardment from the hosts. He drained two trebles, while Alexandr Skutelnik and Panagiotis Liadelis added two more for Azovmash to go up 32:18 in the second stanza. However Zadar found the savior in Corey Brewer as he fueled a 12:4 rally from Zadar to cut the deficit. Yegor Mescheriakov capped the first half with a trey to give Azovmash a 39:30 advantage. Gerrod Henderson made it 42:30 at the start of the third term and the hosts maintained the lead for some time. Zadar struggled offensively without Corey Brewer who was kept on the bench with 3 personal fouls. But when he returned to court late in the quarter the things got rolling for the visiting side. They came up with a couple of successful offensive plays but Azovmash denied it as Gerrod Henderson scored 5 points and sealed the scoreline at 67:55 after 30 minutes. Zadar replied on Juby Johnson and Shammell Stallworth as they brought Croatian team within 3 points midway through the final frame. The hosts extended the gap to 6 points on Archiblad's layups nevertheless Corey Brewer and Shammell Stallworth trimmed the gap to 2 points 78:80. Gerrod Henderson scored two free throws but Shammell Stallworth run across the whole court to sink a buzzer-beating layup for Zadar and finalizing a narrow loss for Zadar.
Gennadi Kuznetsov (204-F-75) scored 4 points for Odessa in Ukraine over Cherkasy Jovica Arsic's team gained lead but Odesa's made something fantastic in the last quarter. The friendly status of this game gave the possibility for the newcomers Marcus Wilson, Chuck Bailey and Vladyslav Podolian to receive much play-time so they put on good show. Odessa won 63:67 away from home.

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BULGARIA

CSKA with important 85-81 over Balkan -by Vladi Lazarova
CSKA won over Balkan 85:81 in a very ugly game in front of 700 'Red' fans at 'Hristo Botev' arena in Sofia. The team of Rosen Barchovski now has chances to climb to the 3rd place in the league, where now remains Balkan. CSKA has 14 victories and 10 lost matches in Bulgarian Pro A this season. The squad from Botevgrad is 15-9. This Friday 'The Greens' will host unbeatable champion and National Cup holder Lukoil Akademik which has 23 wins in a row. On Saturday 'The Reds' will face Cherno more in Bulgarian sea capital Varna.
Balkan lost 3rd consecutive game after these from Levski at home and from Spartak in Pleven and now is on a verge of 4th loss, this time from 'The Students'.
Huge troubles for CSKA too, no matter they survived tonight. Their starting point guard - Mike Henderson (188-G-84, agency: Interperformances, college: Iowa) left the court just 7 minutes before the end. 24-years old American injured his knee and there are big doubts that maybe he torn ligaments. Tomorrow Henderson will pass MRI in the hospital which, will show how tough is his situation and how long he will stay out of the court.
In the last 39 minutes of the match two teams made more than 20 free throws, but in the battle of the strong nerves, the winner was dressed in red. The last two made Hristo Nikolov (200-F-85). 200 cm tall forward finished with 19 points, all of them scored in the 2nd and 3rd quarter. He added 7 rebounds as well.
Lavell Payne (203-F-85, agency: AMI, college: Cent.Florida) finished another outstanding performance with 21 points and 10 boards. Before the break 206 cm tall American power forward led CSKA with 16 pts.
The new addition in the team from the capital - Josh Washington (190-G-83, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement, college: Texas A&M - C.C.) pored 13 points, coming of the bench, but was easy target in defence and made too many turnovers.
Ludmil Hadjisotirov (189-G-80, agency: AMI, college: Maine) helped with 10 points, including three extremely important shots from the 3 point range.
For Balkan amazing game played Pavle Boljkovac. 24-years old playmaker exploded with 27 points (5/9 for 2 pts, 2/2 for 3 pts, 13/14 from the line). Ivan Lilov added 15, but wasn't on his usual shooting level. A shadow of himself was the big leader of the 'green' team Dwayne Morton. Tonight wasn't his day and he left the court against his ex-club with 9 pts, 13 rebs and a lot of missed open shots.

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CHILE

Market news -by Cristian Quiroga
Chilean basket continues its movement during this pre-season. Provincial Osorno signed experimented forward Rodrigo Zuniga (198-F-76) who played last year in Ancud. Renato Vera (199-C/F-87) will continue in the roster too.
Guard Leonel Mendez (184-G-75) agreed terms with Universidad de Los Lagos of Puerto Montt to play Libsur and Dimayor this year. With Mendez arrive to ULA forward Johnny Gomez (195-F-80) coming from Ancud and center Francisco Gonzalez (200-C-82), last year in Espanol of Talca.
Deportivo Valdivia announced the sign of Ramiro Vera (199-C/F-80) who returns to the city after some years playing in other southern teams. Added to this, Valdivia leadership said that young players Esteban Toledo (189-F-90) and Franco Morales (179-G-92) (both cadets NT players) will be part of the roster this year. David Ergas and Jorge Soto wouldn't continue in the team.
Forward Carlos Sepulveda (195-F-83), a rol player who stayed last season in Ancud, was signed by CDUdeConce.

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CHINA

Liaoning Salvages a Finals Victory -by Arthur Volbert
Zhang Qingpeng (189-G-85) scored 31 points, Li Xiaoxu scored 27 and Olumide Oyedeji scored 25 as Liaoning kept alive in the CBA finals with a 105-96 victory over Guangdong. Guangdong now leads 3 games to 1 and can gain the championship by winning at home Friday.

Jamal Sampson did not play for Liaoning and Liu Xiangtao only played 14 minutes but nevertheless Liaoning was able to use its homecourt advantage to avoid a 4-0 blowout. Gu Liye again flashed his potential for Liaoning with 5 blocks in the game. But he has lost out to Li at power forward only got 26 minutes of playing time because of Sampson's absence.

Zhu Fangyu once again excelled for Guangdong with 29 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks. He hit 7 of 9 two-point shots but, in his only negative statistic, hit only 2 of 8 three-pointers. Wang Shipeng had 17 points but hit only 2 of 10 three-pointers. All told Guangdong had a terrible game from outside, hitting only 7 of 29 shots from behind the arc. Chen Jianghua played acceptably, hitting all three of his shots for 7 points. He had 4 assists but also 4 turnovers. In an interesting battle of huge young reserve centers, Han Dejun (215-C-89) of Liaoning had 3 points and 3 rebounds and Su Wei (212-C-89) had 3 points and 1 rebound as each played about 5 minutes. Both are listed as born in 1989. But Han has previously been listed as born in 1987 and newly received his 1989 birth year when he joined the Liaoning senior team this season.

Liaoning---- 30 31 23 21 105
Guangdong 28 22 24 22 96

Liaoning 105
Bian Qiang 7p+8r+5a+1s, Liu Xiangtao 14min+0p+1a+2s, Zhang Qingpeng 43min+31p(10/13)+3a+2s+7to+6fl, Li Xiaoxu 27p(12/15)+4r+1a+1s, Olumide Oyedeji 25p+14r+4a+5s, Gu Liye 7p+2r+1a+1s+5bl, Yang Ming 25min+5p+1a+1s+6fl, Han Dejun 5min+3p+3r
Guangdong 96
Zhu Fangyu 29p+2r+4a+1s+3bl, Liu Xiaoyu 7p+3r+3a+1to, Jason Dixon 14p+12r+3a+4s+1bl, Wang Shipeng 17p+4r+1a, Du Feng 22min+10p+5r+1a, Lamond Murray 5p+2r+1s+1bl, Chen Jianghua 7p+1r+4a+1s, Su Wei 5min+3p+1r

LIAONING PULL ONE BACK!! -by Ogoh Odaudu
Liaoning Panpan showed the stuff that brought them to the CBA finals as they played the game of their lives today to pull one back from the series in which a loss for them today meant a sweep by Guandong. Spurred on by the inspirational play of Zhang Qingpeng (189-G-85) who scored 31pts in 43mins of play,Liaoning led from the tip-off till the buzzer sounded to hand down a 105-96 defeat to Guandong. He eventually fouled out but by then Liaoning were coasting home.Guandong who were usally great from 3pt range shot a dismal 7of 29 but did a better job in the paint as they made 28 of 42 shots. As usual, Zhu Fangyu (201-F-83) paced Guandong with 29pts while Wang Shipeng (197-F/G-83) and Dixon Jason (205-C-73, college: Liberty) each contributed 17 and 14pts each. Du Feng (206-C/F-81) fouled out in the 4th quarter and was reduced to only 10pts. Zhang Qingpeng led scoring for Lioaning with 31pts while Lui Xiaoxu who also had a huge night in the absence of Sampson Jamal (209-F/C-83, agency: Octagon, college: California) added 27pts and 4rebs. Oyedeji Olumide (208-C/F-81) who played 43 minutes scored 25pts and grabbed 14rebs. Game 5 will be played on friday,the 22nd in DongGuan.

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CROATIA

Loss in Ukraine is no tragedy for Zadar -by Eurobasket News
Azovmash - Zadar 82:80

Croatian Zadar lost their first leg encounter against Ukrainian Azovmash but could hardly call it a major defeat. The 2-point loss is rather a victory for Zadar as they are known as a home-team and can possibly hope for much better outcome at home court. It was not an easy ride for Zadar though with Azovmash dominating at some points. The teams traded baskets early in the game with Juby Johnson (196-G-81, college: Miami, OH) highlighting for Zadar. He gave his team an 11:8 lead but soon Azovmash produced a 7:0 run to gain an advantage. The hosts led by 4 points after the opening frame 17:13 and stepped on the gas after the intermission. Rodney Rodney Buford (196-G-77, college: Creighton) ignited a three-point bombardment from the hosts. He drained two trebles, while Alexandr Skutelnik (192-G-77) and Panagiotis Liadelis (193-G-74) added two more for Azovmash to go up 32:18 in the second stanza. However Zadar found the savior in Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma) as he fueled a 12:4 rally from Zadar to cut the deficit. Yegor Mescheriakov (205-F-76, agency: Octagon, college: George Washington) capped the first half with a trey to give Azovmash a 39:30 advantage. Gerrod Henderson (193-G-78, agency: Octagon, college: Louisiana Tech) made it 42:30 at the start of the third term and the hosts maintained the lead for some time. Zadar struggled offensively without Corey Brewer who was kept on the bench with 3 personal fouls. But when he returned to court late in the quarter the things got rolling for the visiting side. They came up with a couple of successful offensive plays but Azovmash denied it as Gerrod Henderson scored 5 points and sealed the scoreline at 67:55 after 30 minutes. Zadar replied on Juby Johnson and Shammell Stallworth (197-F-80, agency: Interperformances, college: USF) as they brought Croatian team within 3 points midway through the final frame. The hosts extended the gap to 6 points on Archiblad's layups nevertheless Corey Brewer and Shammell Stallworth trimmed the gap to 2 points 78:80. Gerrod Henderson scored two free throws but Shammell Stallworth run across the whole court to sink a buzzer-beating layup for Zadar and finalizing a narrow loss for Zadar.
Corey Brewer tallied game-high 27 points and 6 assists for Zadar. Shammell Stallworth provided 17 points, while Jure Lalic (212-C-86) stepped up with 11 points in a loss. Rodney Buford paced Azovmash with 20 points. Gerrod Henderson dropped 18 points, while Robert Jr. Archibald (211-C/F-80, college: Illinois) added 17 points and 11 boards for the winners.

Azovmash: Rodney Buford 20, Gerrod Henderson 18, Robert Jr. Archibald 17+11 boards
Zadar: Corey Brewer 27, Shammell Stallworth 17, Jure Lalic 11

Zagreb unable to tame Barons -by Eurobasket News
Barons - KK Zagreb 67:58

KK Zagreb lost the first game in the best-of-three series against Barons in Latvia. KK Zagreb looked ready to challenge the hosts and got to a better start of the matchup. Jakov Vladovic (187-G-83) scored 5 points to put the visitors up early in the game. Ante Tomic (217-C-87) and Petar Babic (191-G-85) kept Croatian team ahead as Zadar secured a 14:13 advantage after 10 minutes of action. Barons however stay closed and soon after the beginning of the second term Raimonds Vaikulis (191-G-80) handed the hosts a 18:16 lead. Krunoslav Simon (198-G/F-85) immediately answered with a three-pointer to retain advantage for Zagreb. Later Gordan Zadravec (204-F/C-69) hit a trey and Mario Dundovic (200-F/C-77, agency: Court Side) sank a jumper for Zagreb to enjoy a 26:21 cushion. Five points from Krunoslav Simon allowed the visitors stretch the margin to 8 points before Dainius Adomaitis (202-F-74) and Armands Skele (192-G-83) trim it to 4 points at the break 29:33. Kaspars Berzins (211-F/C-85, agency: FCM) opened the third stanza with a triple and shortly after Giedrius Gustas (190-G-80, agency: Interperformances) returned the lead to the home team. Zagreb quickly accumulated 5 team fouls and Barons capitalized piling up points from free throw line. Michal Hlebowicki (204-F-76) and Armands Skele capped the frame with 5 straight points to give Barons a 52:46 lead. Armands Skele quickly scored 6 points and Barons opened up a double-digit lead for the first time in the game with 6 minutes left in regulation. Gordan Zadravec completed a three-point play for Zagreb but his effort was denied by a three-pointer from Michal Hlebowicki. Giedrius Gustas and Armands Skele were deadly from charity stripe to ensure the winning outcome for Barons at late stages. Armands Skele notched 25 points to lead all scorers. Michal Hlebowicki provided 13 points in a win. Jakov Vladovic answered with 13 points and 5 boards for KK Zagreb. Krunoslav Simon tallied 10 points and 7 boards in a losing case. KK Zagreb lost the battle under the rims 31:41. And though they held the hosts to only 36% accuracy from the field KK Zagreb committed 18 turnovers and the hosts capitalized.

Barons: Armands Skele 25, Michal Hlebowicki 13, Demetrius Alexander (204-F/C-75, agency: CAA Sports, college: Alabama) 10+10 boards
KK Zagreb: Jakov Vladovic 13, Krunoslav Simon 10, Gordan Zadravec 9

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CUBA

Matanzas vs. Camaguey, what a fight! -by Alessandro Fontana
LSB-Time in Cuba, Incredible Results in these weeks, and the fight for the '4th place' between Camaguey and Matanzas is one of the most interesting events of this LSB 2008. Camaguey won two times against Capitalinos, the new leader of the Cuban League and Matanzas won also two times against the 'second team of the LSB' Guantanamo. Four unexpected results and Matanzas won also without his best scorer Allens Jemmott (193-G-80).
Last week one of the best games was Matanzas- Ciego de Avila. In the first game 'Los Avilenos' won with a great Geoffrey Silvestre, the MVP of the game with 37 points (16/24 2pts, 5/9 FT) and 10 rebs. In the second game was the 'AJ one man show', Allens Jemmott scored 36 points (14/19 2pts, 74% 2pts), He was unstoppable and He lep Matanzas up to a great victory.
To mention also the game of Andy Boffill against Metropolitanos. His team won 90-80 and He scored 44 pts.
The Results:
Capitalinos- Metropolitanos= 85-59 (C= Torres 24, Garcia 20, Torres 14; M= Borlot 14, Casanas 10)
Capitalinos- Matanzas= 96-67 (C= Alvarez 18, Lima 16, Valdes 14; M= Jemmott 19, Diaz 15)
Matanzas- Ciego de Avila= 87-105 (M= Jemmott 24, Torriente 23; C= Silvestre 37, Guerra 22, Perez 10)
Matanzas- Ciego de Avila= 99-96 (M= Jemmott 36, Torriente 22, Diaz 13; CAV= Silvestre 30, Perez 19)
Camaguey- Capitalinos= 79-72 (C= Batista 18, Polas 15, Ramos 13; C= Leguen 15, Lima 12)
Matanzas- Guantanamo= 80-75 (M= Norona 22, Torriente 21, Albelo 20; G= Simon 26, Masso 15)
Camaguey- Capitalinos = 71-67 (C= Batista 18, Jimenez 13, Polas 12; C= Torres 19, Lima 16)
Metropolitanos- Villa Clara= 80-90 (M= Dube 18, Borlot 17; VC= Boffill 44, Rodriguez L. 14, Arcia 10)
Matanzas- Guantanamo= 88-85 (M= Torriente 26, Diaz 20, Rossell 14; G= Simon 30, Elias 18)

Next games will be on 21st february: Metropolitano- Camaguey; Matanzas- Santiago de Cuba; Guantanamo- Ciego de Avila; Villa Clara- Capitalinos.
A. Fontana

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CYPRUS

FIBA Europe Cup: AEL beat Khimik 70-65 and made the first step to the final four. -by Chris Mammides
Proteas EKA AEL's ambitions for EuroCup Final Four for the first time in their history came to just very close after the yesterday's game as they won the opening leg of their Top 8 series against Khimik. Cypriot team outlasted their opponents on every inch of the court and deservedly won the game, after a decisive 15-2 run over a span of seven minutes in the second quarter and used that as a platform for victory. The game was pretty close early on but just before Milutin Aleksic (202-F-82) begun his amazing offensive crescent. The first frame ended up with Khimik leading by 2 points 16-18. Khimik, got points mainly from Wykeen Kelly (186-G-79, college: Salem Intern.) and Sasa Bratic (202-F/G-81), but encountered a slow persistence in the second quarter who found Proteas trailing a 15-8. Kelly kept the visitors alive with a couple of important buckets in the second stanza however the home side capped the half with a 6:0 run to establish by the end of the half time a deficit of 5 for the Ukrainians at the interval.
The third quarter continued on the same up-tempo from the home team with Milutin Aleksic being the top performer for another European game for AEL.
At the fourth quarter, the Ukrainians with Kolchenko's input cut the deficit but a killer blow then struck the Ukrainian team when Famutimi was whistled for a foul on Vasily Zavoruev, who was attempting a three-pointer, and he made all three of his shots from the charity stripe for a seven-point lead. Kelly did give Khimik hope with an incredible four-point play midway through the quarter. But the reliable Aleksic responded with a lay-up to take his points haul to 18 as AEL stayed in front for the remainder of the game.
Aleksic had 21 points for the winners, who won despite being out-rebounded 42-31.Duane Woodward (191-G-76, college: Boston Coll.) also had 15 points and four assists in a winning effort.

Proteas EKA AEL: Duane Woodward 15, Milutin Aleksic 21 and Ryan Randle (206-F-81, college: Maryland) 11
Khimik: Wykeen Kelly 14, Sasa Bratic 14, Goran Cakic (207-C/F-80) 9

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CZECH REP.

ULEB Cup elimination round Nymburk vs Zgorzelec -by Ondra Simecek
PGE Turow Zgorzelec rallied from a 17-point deficit to get a 61-61 tie against CEZ Nymburk in the 1st leg of their ULEB Cup Last 32 series in the Czech Republic on Tuesday. As such, both teams set a make-or-break, winner-take-all showdown for the 2nd leg next week, when Turow hosts Nymburk in Liberec, the Czech Republic. Ladislav Sokolovsky (201-F-77, agency: PPGroup) led Nymburk with 16 points and 8 rebounds. Radoslav Rancik added 15 points and 9 rebounds while Petr Benda had 13 points for the hosts. Dragisa Drobnjak led Turow with 14 points on 6-for-8 two-pointers. David Logan added 13 while Marko Scekic and Robert Witka each had 12 for the guests. Sokolovsky and an unstoppable Rancik allowed Nymburk to get a 32-15 margin late in the second quarter. Scekic and Witka brought Turow within 34-21 at halftime while a 0-8 run got the guests even closer, 38-34. Sokolovsky tried to keep Nymburk ahead but Andres Rodriguez gave Turow its first lead of the night, 56-58, with 3 minutes to go. Logan stroke from down town but Sokolovsky followed free throws with a triple to tie the series at the end of the 1st leg.

Sokolovsky got Nymburk going with a quick basket and soon added his first three-pointers in a 7-1 opening run that Benda capped with a layup. Drobnjak tried to change things for Turow but back-to-back baskets by Rancik gave Nymburk an 11-3 lead. Drobnjak kept pacing Turow with free throws but Michael Kremen answered from downtown to keep the hosts ahead, 14-5. Logan and Benda traded baskets while Drobnjak scored again for a 16-9 Turow deficit. A three-pointer by Arthur Lee allowed Nymburk to keep a 19-12 lead after 10 minutes. Lee scored again right at the start of the second quarter while Monty Mack stroke from downtown to give Nymburk its first double-digit margin, 24-14. Slobodan Ljubotina made a free throw but Turow kept struggling to score. Meanwhile, Rancik had 6 points in an 8-0 run that boosted the hosts' lead to 32-15. Scekic stepped up for Turow with back-to-back baskets while a put-back layup by Witka brought the guests within 34-21 at halftime.

David Logan - PGE TurowTurow improved its defense right after the break, making Nymburk go scoreless in the opening 4 minutes of the third quarter. Meanwhile, a three-pointer by Logan ignited a 0-8 Turow run that Witka capped another one from downtown to make it a five-point game, 34-29. Nymburk called a much-needed timeout, as Mack and Sokolovsky stepped up with consecutive baskets. Turow did not panic, however, as Drobnjak scored again while Kelati fired in a triple to get the guests even closer, 38-34. Rancik answered from downtown and Sokolovsky added a layup but consecutive baskets by an unstoppable Drobnjak kept Turow within 43-38. A layup-plus-foul by Benda and a big triple by Witka fixed the score at 46-41 after 30 minutes. Logan sank another triple to get Turow as close as 46-44 early in the fourth quarter. Benda followed a layup with a put-back basket while Rancik made Turow call timeout at 52-45. Scekic followed Witka's triple with free throws but Sokolovsky kept Nymburk ahead, 54-50. Skecic stayed unstoppable while Rodriguez completed the guests' comeback, 56-58, with 3 minutes to go. Logan buried a triple that capped a 0-9 Turow run for a 56-61 lead. Sokolovsky made free throws while Rodriguez missed foul shots and a triple, giving Nymburk the final possession. Sokolovsky stroke from downtown to set a do-or-die showdown in Liberec next week.
source: ULEBcup.com

Market News - Sarovic in Geofin for two more seasons -by Ondra Simecek
Geofin Novy Jicin prolonged the contract with Robert Sarovic (205-F-78) for another two seasons. Sarovic is one of the best players on his position this season not just in the team of Geofin but also in the Czech Republic.
BK Pardubice signed a newcomer for this season. Martin Sykora is coming to the team from Slovakian ESO Club Lucenec and signed a two year contract with Pardubice. The club claimed that it should be the last signing for this season.

Nymburk - record in attandance again - 10.460 spectators -by Ondra Simecek
In the ULEB Cup game Nymburk vs Zgorzelec the record of the spectators was broke again.
Nymburk is playing its ULEB Cup games on the court of CEZ Arena in Pardubice and since the beggining of the season is breaking all records in attandance of basketball in the Czech Republic. For the first time the record was broke in the game against Fortitubo Bologna in December, when 7.120 spectators came. A month later 9.875 fans were in the arena on the game against Dynamo Moscow. Another record was expected on the following game and Nymburk was hoping to break the number of 10.000 spectators. Yesterday on the 'Last 32' Game 1 battle there was 10.460 fans watching the game in the arena. That makes the new record of an attandace not just for the Czech Republic but also record for all the ULEB Cup games played this season.
The average number of spectators coming to see Nymburks ULEB Cup home games this season is 7.150 people.

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ESTONIA

EMKL HEATS UP...BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN... -by Ozell Wells

Last night in the EMKL saw two marked changes in the standings...
TTP/Pirita rode the stellar play of William Sharp (202-F-84) and his 26 points and 12 rebounds to handily defeat Tartu-Fausto 86-62. For Fausto, Ardo Armpalu (207-F/C-80, college: Marshall) had 19 points and 9 rebounds but it was to no avail as there was NO ANSWER for Joosep Pokla (198-G-86) who chipped in 19 points and 8 rebounds for Pirita. WIth the victory, Pirita stands in sole possesion of the 3rd place in the table, a spot held for the past month by Triobet/Dalkia. Both of those teams have to face off 23 February to decide who will hold the 3rd place in the table as the season is winding down.

The other night's game saw BC Kraft Moobel defeat TTU KK 84-60 behind Heiko Niidas (206-C-83) and his 20 points. Greg McQuay (201-F-76, college: Purdue) (201-F-76, college: Purdue) was the difference maker in this game as he had 17 points, 18 rebounds and 2 blocked shots as his blocks came in the middle of a 22-12 4th quarter that saw Kraft Moobel put the game away.
With the win, Kraft Moobel takes the 8th playoff spot with 9 games remaining. Kraft Moobel after starting the season 0-12 have seemingly turned things around behind the rebounding of Greg McQuay and Heiko Niidas. Both players are among the league leaders in rebounding with McQuay leading the entire EMKL with 12.4 rebounds per game and Niidas currently sits at 4th in the lague with 8.14 rebounds. Kraft Moobel ends their season with two pivotal games against Rakvere Tarvas, the team that held the 8th spot for the past 3 months. Much like the Pirita & Triobet scenario the teams will square off to decide a victor.

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EURO CUP

Ural Great and Samara lose in EuroCup -by Eurobasket News
Both Ural Great and Samara were held back in the EuroCup quarterfinals. They opened their series on the road and were handed a painful losses in Estonia and Belgium.
Ural Great visited Tartu to take on the local TU/Rock in the first game of the best-of-three series. The visitors experienced some coaching mess the last week as previous team's head coach Drazen Anzulovic unexpectedly left the franchise just days before the EuroCup game and the management had to look for a substitute in frenzy. Roman Dvinyaninov took over as a head coach through the reminder of the season and steered the team in Tartu. And Ural Great fought bravely but fell just short of upsetting surprising TU/Rock. The teams kept it close in the opening frame and were tied at 15 with 40 seconds left in it. But Vanja Plisnic (207-F/C-80, agency: Beo Basket) hit a free throw and Aleksei Surovtsev (202-G-84) converted a three-pointer to put the visiting side ahead by 4 points 19:15. Aleksei Zozulin (199-G/F-83) extended the margin to 5 points early in the second term but Gert Kullamae (198-G/F-71) connected twice from the outside to retain the lead for TU/Rock. He later drained another trey to make it 30:26 for the hosts. Tanel Tein (194-G/F-78, college: St.Francis,NY) and Vallo Allingu (206-C-78) stretched the gap even more but Vanja Plisnic and Andrew Wisniewski (191-G-81, college: Centenary) drilled straight triples to carry Ural Great within 2 points from the home team. Ivan Koljevic (186-G-84) netted 5 points in a row for the visitors as Ural Great restored a 37:36 lead. Nevertheless Marek Doronin (200-F/G-83) crowned the half with 5 points for TU/Rock to enjoy a 41:37 advantage at the interval. Tanel Tein and George Tsintsadze (192-G-86) teamed up for 9 points as TU/Rock accumulated a 50:41 lead midway through the third period. Aleksander Bashminov (213-C-78) accounted for 5 points and Vanja Plisnic knocked down another trey for Ural Great to trim the deficit to a single point. Vallo Allingu and Tanel Tein still uttered the last word for the hosts and ensured a 59:54 outcome after three quarters of action. Tanel Tein scored 5 points and Gert Kullamae notched a three-pointer for TU/Rock as they widened the damage to 15 points. Ural Great refused to surrender. Brent Wright (203-F/C-78, college: Florida) and Aleksei Zozulin stepped up with consecutive three-pointers to narrow the deficit. Aleksei Zozulin later completed a three-point play, while Vanja Plisnic and Brent Wright added 5 more points to drag Ural Great within 4 points. George Tsintsadze did not hesitate from charity stripe to restore a 6-point buffer with 38 seconds left in regulation. Andrew Wisniewski scored three points but it was all Ural Great could do. TU/Rock withstood and celebrated an important victory as they stepped closer to the Final Four. Game 2 of the series is scheduled for next week Perm. Tanel Tein drained 18 points, while George Tsintsadze had 16 in a win. Vanja Plisnic bruised the home team for 19 points and 6 boards.
Meanwhile Samara were dismantled by Mons Hainaut 66:92 in Belgium. Samara opened the game bravely enough and held a 21:19 advantage after the opening frame. But the hosts gradually improved their game and soon claim the lead for good. Nate Reinking (183-G-73, college: Kent St.) paced the home side with 16 points. Jim Cantamessa (202-F-78, college: Siena) had 14 points in a winning case. Marque Perry (186-G-81, agency: Naiditch Entertainment, college: St.Louis) dropped 24 points for Samara. Evgeni Voronov (192-G-86) nailed 15 points in a losing effort.

Zagreb unable to tame Barons -by Eurobasket News
Barons - KK Zagreb 67:58

KK Zagreb lost the first game in the best-of-three series against Barons in Latvia. KK Zagreb looked ready to challenge the hosts and got to a better start of the matchup. Jakov Vladovic (187-G-83) scored 5 points to put the visitors up early in the game. Ante Tomic (217-C-87) and Petar Babic (191-G-85) kept Croatian team ahead as Zadar secured a 14:13 advantage after 10 minutes of action. Barons however stay closed and soon after the beginning of the second term Raimonds Vaikulis (191-G-80) handed the hosts a 18:16 lead. Krunoslav Simon (198-G/F-85) immediately answered with a three-pointer to retain advantage for Zagreb. Later Gordan Zadravec (204-F/C-69) hit a trey and Mario Dundovic (200-F/C-77, agency: Court Side) sank a jumper for Zagreb to enjoy a 26:21 cushion. Five points from Krunoslav Simon allowed the visitors stretch the margin to 8 points before Dainius Adomaitis (202-F-74) and Armands Skele (192-G-83) trim it to 4 points at the break 29:33. Kaspars Berzins (211-F/C-85, agency: FCM) opened the third stanza with a triple and shortly after Giedrius Gustas (190-G-80, agency: Interperformances) returned the lead to the home team. Zagreb quickly accumulated 5 team fouls and Barons capitalized piling up points from free throw line. Michal Hlebowicki (204-F-76) and Armands Skele capped the frame with 5 straight points to give Barons a 52:46 lead. Armands Skele quickly scored 6 points and Barons opened up a double-digit lead for the first time in the game with 6 minutes left in regulation. Gordan Zadravec completed a three-point play for Zagreb but his effort was denied by a three-pointer from Michal Hlebowicki. Giedrius Gustas and Armands Skele were deadly from charity stripe to ensure the winning outcome for Barons at late stages. Armands Skele notched 25 points to lead all scorers. Michal Hlebowicki provided 13 points in a win. Jakov Vladovic answered with 13 points and 5 boards for KK Zagreb. Krunoslav Simon tallied 10 points and 7 boards in a losing case. KK Zagreb lost the battle under the rims 31:41. And though they held the hosts to only 36% accuracy from the field KK Zagreb committed 18 turnovers and the hosts capitalized.

Barons: Armands Skele 25, Michal Hlebowicki 13, Demetrius Alexander (204-F/C-75, agency: CAA Sports, college: Alabama) 10+10 boards
KK Zagreb: Jakov Vladovic 13, Krunoslav Simon 10, Gordan Zadravec 9

Quarter Final Round. First games -by Eurobasket News
First games of the EuroCup quarterfinals were played last night in four cities of four different countries. KK Zagreb lost the first game in the best-of-three series against Barons in Latvia. KK Zagreb looked ready to challenge the hosts and got to a better start of the matchup. Jakov Vladovic scored 5 points to put the visitors up early in the game. Ante Tomic and Petar Babic kept Croatian team ahead as Zadar secured a 14:13 advantage after 10 minutes of action. Barons however stay closed and soon after the beginning of the second term Raimonds Vaikulis handed the hosts a 18:16 lead. Krunoslav Simon immediately answered with a three-pointer to retain advantage for Zagreb. Later Gordan Zadravec hit a trey and Mario Dundovic sank a jumper for Zagreb to enjoy a 26:21 cushion. Five points from Krunoslav Simon allowed the visitors stretch the margin to 8 points before Dainius Adomaitis and Armands Skele (192-G-83) trim it to 4 points at the break 29:33. Kaspars Berzins opened the third stanza with a triple and shortly after Giedrius Gustas returned the lead to the home team. Zagreb quickly accumulated 5 team fouls and Barons capitalized piling up points from free throw line. Michal Hlebowicki and Armands Skele capped the frame with 5 straight points to give Barons a 52:46 lead. Armands Skele quickly scored 6 points and Barons opened up a double-digit lead for the first time in the game with 6 minutes left in regulation. Gordan Zadravec completed a three-point play for Zagreb but his effort was denied by a three-pointer from Michal Hlebowicki. Giedrius Gustas and Armands Skele were deadly from charity stripe to ensure the winning outcome for Barons at late stages. Armands Skele notched 25 points to lead all scorers. Michal Hlebowicki provided 13 points in a win. Jakov Vladovic answered with 13 points and 5 boards for KK Zagreb. Krunoslav Simon tallied 10 points and 7 boards in a losing case. KK Zagreb lost the battle under the rims 31:41. And though they held the hosts to only 36% accuracy from the field KK Zagreb committed 18 turnovers and the hosts capitalized.
Ural Great visited Tartu to take on the local TU/Rock in the first game of the best-of-three series. The visitors experienced some coaching mess the last week as previous team's head coach Drazen Anzulovic unexpectedly left the franchise just days before the EuroCup game and the management had to look for a substitute in frenzy. Roman Dvinyaninov took over as a head coach through the reminder of the season and steered the team in Tartu. And Ural Great fought bravely but fell just short of upsetting surprising TU/Rock. The teams kept it close in the opening frame and were tied at 15 with 40 seconds left in it. But Vanja Plisnic hit a free throw and Aleksei Surovtsev converted a three-pointer to put the visiting side ahead by 4 points 19:15. Aleksei Zozulin extended the margin to 5 points early in the second term but Gert Kullamae connected twice from the outside to retain the lead for TU/Rock. He later drained another trey to make it 30:26 for the hosts. Tanel Tein (194-G/F-78, college: St.Francis,NY) and Vallo Allingu stretched the gap even more but Vanja Plisnic and Andrew Wisniewski (191-G-81, college: Centenary) drilled straight triples to carry Ural Great within 2 points from the home team. Ivan Koljevic netted 5 points in a row for the visitors as Ural Great restored a 37:36 lead. Nevertheless Marek Doronin crowned the half with 5 points for TU/Rock to enjoy a 41:37 advantage at the interval. Tanel Tein and George Tsintsadze teamed up for 9 points as TU/Rock accumulated a 50:41 lead midway through the third period. Aleksander Bashminov accounted for 5 points and Vanja Plisnic knocked down another trey for Ural Great to trim the deficit to a single point. Vallo Allingu and Tanel Tein still uttered the last word for the hosts and ensured a 59:54 outcome after three quarters of action. Tanel Tein scored 5 points and Gert Kullamae notched a three-pointer for TU/Rock as they widened the damage to 15 points. Ural Great refused to surrender. Brent Wright and Aleksei Zozulin stepped up with consecutive three-pointers to narrow the deficit. Aleksei Zozulin later completed a three-point play, while Vanja Plisnic and Brent Wright added 5 more points to drag Ural Great within 4 points. George Tsintsadze did not hesitate from charity stripe to restore a 6-point buffer with 38 seconds left in regulation. Andrew Wisniewski scored three points but it was all Ural Great could do. TU/Rock withstood and celebrated an important victory as they stepped closer to the Final Four. Game 2 of the series is scheduled for next week Perm. Tanel Tein drained 18 points, while George Tsintsadze had 16 in a win. Vanja Plisnic bruised the home team for 19 points and 6 boards.
Samara were dismantled by Mons Hainaut 66:92 in Belgium. Samara opened the game bravely enough and held a 21:19 advantage after the opening frame. But the hosts gradually improved their game and soon claim the lead for good. Nate Reinking (183-G-73, college: Kent St.) paced the home side with 16 points. Jim Cantamessa (202-F-78, college: Siena) had 14 points in a winning case. Marque Perry dropped 24 points for Samara. Evgeni Voronov nailed 15 points in a losing effort.
AEL outlasted Ukrainian opponents Khimik on every inch of the court and deservedly won the game 70:65, after a decisive 15-2 run over a span of seven minutes in the second quarter and used that as a platform for victory. The game was pretty close early on but just before Milutin Aleksic (202-F-82) begun his amazing offensive crescent. Aleksic had 21 points for the winners, who won despite being out-rebounded 42-31.Duane Woodward (191-G-76, college: Boston Coll.) also had 15 points and four assists in a winning effort.

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Tarmo upset Torpan Pojat -by Rauno Hurmalainen

Korisliiiga, Round 34: Four games on Wednesday. One real upset; Tarmo (Porvoo) defeated Torpan Pojat (Helsinki) 98-94! Tony Bennett (185-G-84, agency: Edge Sports, college: Bradley) led Tarmo with 32 pts. When Kauhajoki won again over YMCA Lahti at Kauhajoki, that means Team Componenta (Karkkila) is now # 12 in the league.

Tarmo - Torpan Pojat 98-94 (46-50) (Tony Bennett 32, Mark McCarroll 19/11 - Josh Gonner 26, Iiro Tenngren 17).

Kauhajoki - YMCA Lahti 88-84 (44-40) (Eric Washington 41/10, Mario Porter 16 - Ville Makalainen 21, Teemu Laine 18).

Kouvot - Team Componenta 94-63 (48-37) Corey Smith 28, Wayne Bernard 212 - Turo Lehtonen 15, Chris Hester 14).

Pyrinto - KTP 96-84 (40-43) (Damon Williams 31/12, Damion Dantzler 21/16 - Steve Smith 22, Jermaine Spivey 20).

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GERMANY

Pesic from Ansbach to Freiburg -by Moritz Korff
USC Freiburg (2. Bundesliga Pro B) has strengthend its roster once again and signed Mihajlo Pesic (206-F/C-81, agency: Court Side). The 26-year-old Power Forward/Center and former member of the Yugoslavian Junior National Team - being the son of an Irish mother and a Serbian father - had joined the Ansbach Piranhas in January and averaged 24.8 points and 7.2 rebounds in 5 games. Pesic shall help the Freiburg team to move to the 2. Bundesliga Pro A.

ASC Mainz: Green is paving the way to the championship -by Kristian Santiago

Last weekend, Panthers Schwenningen visited ASC Theresianum Mainz for the crucial game to decide which of the two teams is going to gain promotion to Pro B next year. Mainz is in first place while second placed Schwenningen needed a win to close the gap to the leaders.
Edjuan Green (203-F-82, college: Texas A&M) spoke to Eurobasket about the game:
'We pretty much got our motivation from them beating us on their court in our first match, so this was a game we have been looking forward to for a while now.
After reviewing the film of the first encounter against them, it was clear that they out hustled us on the boards, and we came into the game knowing since both teams like to get up and down the floor, it was a must to control the rebounds on both ends', tells us Edjuan Green about the preparation prior the game.

Eventually, it was his 26 points (he top scored all players) along with 19 rebounds that helped ASC Theresianum Mainz to beat the ambitious Panthers 87-78.
'As a team we came out and played great team ball and the outcome of the game showed with us winning the game', notes the Texas-native who is currently averaging 17,6 ppg in 19 contests for ASC Theresianum Mainz.

With the season nearing it's end, the forward is bound to play in the U.S. again: 'After the season, I plan on returning to the States to play off-season ball in the IBL in Vancouver, Oregon ,so I can work on my game and stay in shape.'
We are hoping to see Edjuan later the year in one of the bigger leagues in Europe again, with the same story of success like the one he is currently living in.

Rick Stafford announces comeback -by Moritz Korff
Rick Stafford will make a comeback on the basketball court and is going to wear the jersey of Dimplex Falke Nuernberg in the 2. Bundesliga Pro A for the remainder of the season. The 35-year-old American with German passport has won one German Championship in his career as a player and hung up his sneakers in 2006. He took over his first coaching job at TSV Breitenguessbach the same year, but returned to the hardwood during the season for one single game. For this current season Stafford joined the coaching squad of Brose Baskets Bamberg as an assistant to Dirk Bauermann. Nuernberg is currently 16th in the ladder of the 2. Bundesliga Pro A. Stafford's first appearance for the Falcons is scheduled for tonight, when the team takes on USC Heidelberg on the road.

Boumtje Boumtje in Oldenburg for the remainder of the season -by Moritz Korff
The EWE Baskets Oldenburg (1. Bundesliga) have extended the contract with Ruben Boumtje Boumtje (212-C-78, college: Georgetown) until the end of this current season. The 29-year-old Cameroonian Center came to Oldenburg in November 07. In 13 Bundesliga-apperances he has averaged 4.0 points and 4.2 rebounds for the Thunderbirds this season. Last year he played for ALBA Berlin and has also a past in the NBA.

Total chaos! Koeln 99ers die and rise again within a couple of hours -by Moritz Korff
Total chaos in the Bundesliga! The Koeln 99ers needed only a couple of hours to drop out of Germanys first division and to get back. Only three hours after both the league-management and the Koeln 99ers put out a press release yesterday which told that the 99ers would withdraw from the league with immediate effect for financial reasons, the 99ers removed this news from their website to replace it by the message that the club has been saved from insolvency and is able to continue the season. Right after the decision to withdraw Koeln from the league the 99ers had been moved to the last place in the official ladder of the Bundesliga. This change was undone at about 3pm on Wednesday, after the 99ers had announced in a press conference earlier that day to finally have found two investors. These businessmen declared to close the financial gap (according to reports on the leagues' website 750.000 Euro were needed) and to establish an economic basis for the 99ers which allows the team to finish this current season in the 1. Bundesliga regularly.
At least one question is left in this matter: How truthworthy and reliable is a league that announces the withdrawal and the comeback of a club within only a couple of hours? And how long will it take until the next team of the Bundesliga gets in econmic trouble? One thing is sure: In and out, back and forth - with all this fuss that has been made within only 20 hours the Bundesliga has completely made a fool of itself.

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HOLLAND

Landstede Basketball Wins In Weert, Get Back In Playoff Hunt -by Sanders Jackson

Tuesday night in Weert, Landstede Basketball continue on course in their pursuit for a playoff spot, with one of their best starts and shooting performances of the season in a 97-79 blowout of reeling Upstairs Weert. Landstede jumped out to a 26-14 1st quarter start and shot an impressive 65% FG. Robby Bostain

(191-G/F-84, agency: Sports Plus International, college: Furman) scored a season-high 31 pts. with 4 three-pointers, 5 assists and 4 steals, with Darnell Wilson

(198-F-85, college: Canisius) adding 23 pts. and 3 steals, and Gerad Punch

(193-G/F, college: Furman) scored 19. Landstede wins its 2nd in a row and five of last six, moving ahead of ZZ Leiden for the 8th playoff spot and one game behind Upstairs.

West-Brabant Giants Blow Out ZZ Leiden -by Sanders Jackson

In Leiden on Tuesday night, in a tale of two teams going in opposite directions, West-Brabant Giants continue to grow in their team confidence, while ZZ Leiden is going in the opposite direction, with West-Brabant winning in an 106-87 blowout. The West-Brabant frontline of Tim Blue

(206-F-84, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Middle Tenn.St.), Andre Harris

(203-F-85, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Fairleigh Dickinson) and Devonne Giles

(203-F-83, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Texas Tech) continued their strong play for the Giants, combining for 63 total points, with Giles and Blue notching double-doubles. West-Brabant took a ten-point lead heading into halftime and kept ZZ at arm's length throughout, finishing things off in a big 4th quarter run. The nets were friendly to the Giants, making string music at 63.5% FG, while also not hesitating to share the wealth (26 assists). Donald Wilson (193-G-84, agency: Court Side, college: Portland) led ZZ with 24 pts. The win was West-Brabant's fifth straight, with ZZ losing its 3rd straight.

Eiffel Towers Win In Nijmegen -by Sanders Jackson

In the Horstacker on Tuesday night to decide a Dutch Cup semifinal spot, defending Dutch champions Eiffel Towers made their return to their old stomping grounds versus arch rivals Matrixx Magixx better than in their previous two matchups, winning the war in a 92-86 thriller. Eiffel took a 69-53 lead heading into the final quarter, but had to hold off a furious Matrixx rally, but got the job done. Darrell Tucker

(206-F-80, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: USF) led Eiffel with 22 pts., with Robert Owens

(201-F-82, college: Ball St.) adding 21. Todd Abernethy

(185-G-84, college: Mississippi) scored 22 for Matrixx. Eiffel advances in the Dutch Cup.

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HUNGARY

Round 19: Kormend could win in Pecs -by Tamas Deri
Kormend could beat Pecs in a very top game tonight in their own arena. Kormend lost only one game in 2008 (13th of January in Hodmezovasarhely) yet, after a very bad start of the season (4-10), won five games in a row.

PVSK-EXPO CENTER PECS - POLAROID-LAMI-VED KÖRMEND 85-90
(22-25, 24-19, 14-24, 15-22)
PVSK: Kutasi 5/3, Nick Williams (192-G-83, agency: Beo Basket, college: Cincinnati) 14/9, Gabor Denes (197-F-82) 16/12, Toth 6, Lapov 10/3, Wittmann, Peter Grebenar (211-C-81) 18, Czigler 2, Dragan Aleksic (196-G-70, agency: Beo Basket) 14/6, Coach: Stojan Ivkovic
KORMEND: Marton Fodor (191-G-81, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 12/6, Ferencz 8/6, Rudolf Trummer (196-F-78, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 13/9, Ocitti 9/3, Vavra 12, Jermaine Thomas (187-G-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: La Salle) 12/6, McCants 5/3, Gergely Fodor (193-G-77, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents) 19/12, Coach: Dragoljub Krivacevic

Round 19: NYKK could won in Kecskemet -by Tamas Deri
UNIVER-KECSKEMET - MARSO-VAGEP-NYÍREGYHAZI KK 75-89
(17-25, 23-16, 19-23, 16-25)
Kecskemet, Att.: 1.100, Referees: Forrai S., Benczur, Gal J.
KECSKEMET: Jakob Sigurdarson (192-G-82, agency: IceBasket, college: Birmingham Souther) 23/6, Blair 21/6, Horvath A. 6, Zsolt Szabo (202-F-86, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 17/9, Fiegi 2, Csorvasi 6, Csabay, Toth P., Lekli, Coach: Zsoldos Andras
NYÍREGYHAZA: Branko Savic (181-G-79) 17/9, Gary Buchanan (191-G-80, agency: Edge Sports, college: Villanova) 22/9, Mouton 10/6, Erno Sitku (208-C-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 25/9, Helbich 10, Trepak 5, Siska, Coach: Deri Csaba

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IBL

Explosive guard latest to join Steelheads -by Trask Frost
Gary, IN—The Gary Steelheads have announced that high-flying Royce Parran (5'9''-G-85) has been added to the team's 2008 roster.

At 5'9', Parran will be one of the smallest players in the league, but also one of the most athletic. As a senior, Parran was a finalist in the 2007 NCAA slam dunk contest.

Parran had an outstanding collegiate career at Chicago State University. Highlights include: Honorable mention All- Independent Team as a senior; Second Team All-Mid-Continent as a junior; Mid-Continent Sixth Man of the Year as a freshman. Parran finished his career as the Cougar's all-time leading Division 1 scorer with 1,510 points.

Steelheads' Head Coach Rob Spon - ‘There's no doubt that at 5'9' with his leaping ability, Royce is going to be a fan favorite. However, this is not a novelty act—Royce is a fantastic basketball player that will make this team better.'

The Steelheads' inaugural IBL season gets underway at the Genesis Center on Friday, March 14. Tickets start at $5—for more information, contact the Steelheads at (219) 883-3000 or visit www.steelheadshoops.com.

ASC Mainz: Green is paving the way to the championship -by Kristian Santiago

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IRAN

Mahram thrash Kaveh 3-0 in the semis; ( Fixtures and Results) -by Houman Bagheri
Mahram have already reserved their place in the finals after beating Kaveh 3-0 in the semis.

Semi-final games results
1st game: Mahram-Kaveh 92-90
2nd game: Mahram-Kaveh 102-98
3rd game: Mahram-Kaveh 93-80

1st game: Zob Ahan-Saba 79-78
2nd game: Saba-Zob Ahan February 22nd
3rd game: Zob Ahan-Saba To be Announced

If the winner of Saba and Zob Ahan game is known after 3 or 4 games, then:

Final and 3rd-place games schedule:
First game of finals: February 29th
First game of 3rd place: Feb. 29th

Second game of finals and 3rd place: March 3rd

Third game of finals and 3rd place: March 6th

If the winner of Saba and Zob Ahan games is not known after three or four games, then:

Fifth game between Saba and Zob Ahan: March 2nd
First game of finals and 3rd place: March 5th
Second game of finals and 3rd place: March 7th
Thrid game of finals and 3rd place: March 9th

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IRELAND

Irish National Team 2008 -by Kasia

Burke

Larranaga

Bree

Bracey

Callahan

Pat Burke (208-C-73) of BC Khimky Moscow Region (RUS)
James Larranaga (195-G-75) of Pepsi Caserta (ITA)
Michael Bree (184-G-80) of SKK Kotwica Kolobrzeg (POL)
Chris Bracey (198-F-80) of Egaleo AO (GRE)
Dan Callahan (205-F/C-70) of BT Roseto Basket (ITA)
Donnie McGrath (193-G-84) of La Fortezza Bologna (ITA)
Marty Conlon (210-F/C-68) of Eldo Basket Napoli (ITA)
Baker Dunleavy (196-G/F-82) of Matrixx Magix Nijmegen (NED)
Mike Williams (211-C-82) of Manchester Millrats (USA)
Conor Grace (205-F-82) of Norrkoping Dolphins (SWE)
Justen Naughton (205-F-81) of Imaje Sabadell Gapsa (ESP)
Emmett Donnelly (186-G-78) of Roma St.Vincents Dublin

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ISRAEL

Jerusalem beats previously undefeated Besiktas -by Eurobasket News
Hapoel Jerusalem - Besiktas 88:73

Jerusalem made it look pretty trivial. Nevertheless it was the first loss for Besiktas in this season's edition of ULEB Cup. Previously unbeaten Turkish outfit were handed a painful blow yesterday as they lost in Jerusalem by 15 points and now need to hope to overcome the deficit at home to advance to the next round of the competition. The game got to a slow start as the teams piled up turnovers and struggled to find offensive rhythm. The things were tied at 13 after the opening frame. Jerusalem gained the speed after the intermission as Sharon Shason (204-F-79, agency: Arik Krayn Services) ignited a 10:0 run to put the hosts ahead. Jamie Arnold (203-F-75, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: Wichita St.) hit a three-pointer to open up a double-digit advantage for Israeli team. Dror Hagag (178-G-78, agency: Avi Zilberman) nailed straight triples to enlarge the gap to as many as 17 points midway through the second period. Besiktas finished the half on a high as they scored 6 points in a row to trail 29:41. However Guy Pniny (201-F-83, agency: Avi Zilberman) upset them early in the third quarter with back-to-back trebles to establish a 20-point lead for the home team. It later grew to 22 points and Besiktas looked hapless at the moment. Turkish side needed Mehmet Yagmur (188-G-87)'s consecutive treys to cut the margin to 16 points, while Preston Shumpert (198-G-79, college: Syracuse) and Rick Apodaca (192-G-80, agency: World Sport Agency, college: Hofstra) then shaved it to 10 with a couple of more three-pointers. It never helped the ailing Turkish side though. Jamie Arnold was red-hot and a couple of impressive buckets from him restored a 20-point hole between the teams. Rick Apodaca and Preston Shumpert responded with treys but Dror Hagag and Ramel Curry (191-G-80, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: CSU Bakersfield) finally sealed a 15-point victory for Hapoel.
Jamie Arnold ended up with 28 points and 11 boards for Jerusalem. Guy Pniny added 20 points, while Dror Hagag and Ramel Curry provided 12 points apiece in a win. Rick Apodaca replied with 23 points for Besiktas. Preston Shumpert nailed 18 points for Turkish team. Jerusalem had an obvious dominance in the paint outrebounding their opponent 39:22. They also limited the visitors to 42% from the field, while converting 60% themselves.

Jerusalem: Jamie Arnold 28+11 boards, Guy Pniny 20, Dror Hagag 12, Ramel Curry 12
Besiktas: Rick Apodaca 23, Preston Shumpert 18

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ITALY

Serie A Week 23 -by Stefano Pini
Montepaschi Siena played a perfect game at Milano. Four players in double digit, 15 assists, 48% by 3p., 17 steals and only 10 turnovers. For Drake Diener (196-G-81, agency: Priority Sports, college: De Paul) 6 points in 15'. Premiata Montegranaro kept the second place winning the derby against Pesaro. Against Scavolini the game plan is often 'attack their frontline'. Sharrod Ford (206-F-82, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Clemson) had 26 points, Valerio Amoroso (202-F-80) 20. Capo D'Orlando overcame Lottomatica Roma. Romel Beck (203-G/F-82, agency: Interperformances, college: UNLV) had 21 points and 5 steals in his first game in Sicily. Upim Bologa reached playoff zone beating Varese. Stefano Mancinelli (202-F-83) was unstoppable for Cimberio's frontline. Devin Green (201-G-82, college: Hampton), in his first game at Teramo, helped his team with 16 points and 6 assists in the victory against Rieti. Benetton Treviso is still far from the 'elite 8'but at Cantu they obtained a good victory. 15 points and 7 rebounds for Mario Austin (206-F/C-82, college: Mississippi St.). Gerald Fitch (191-G-82, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Kentucky) had 29 for Tisettanta. Eldo Napoli obtained 2 importants points to jump away from relegation zone. Chris Monroe (191-G-81, college: George Washington) e Jumaine Jones (201-F-79, agency: Octagon, college: Georgia) combined for 41 points. Eldo had a great 11/23 by 3p. Legea Scafati didn't stop to believe to save his season. Marco Killingsworth (203-F-82, college: Indiana) put 25 points in Snaidero's paint to continue to hope.

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JORDAN

Round 1 of Final 4 -by Mohammed Malas
Zain and Orthodox were the winners in the opener of Final 4 yesterday in Prince Hamza Hall in Amman....

Zain 93 - Al Riyadi/Aramex 79 (Qs: 25-15, 46-34, 74-48 & 93-79)

Glen Summerall (193-G-80, college: Cal.St.-San Bernar.)'s 2nd game with the team was successful and helped his team alot to find some solutions from outside the arc following the injury of both Sam Daghlas and Rasheim Wright, Glen scored yesterday 24 points and 11 rebounds to make good support to Nate Johnson (17 points) and Zaid Al Khas (17 points), Moussa Al Awadi played with Zain after he was back from a loan in Al Wihdat.

In the other side, Andre Laws and Demetris Montgomry (22 points) played their 1st game with Al Riyadi and did well with veteran Hussam Lutfi but without big help from their other teammates.

Orthodox 88 - Arena 75 (Qs: 24-17, 45-38, 65-55 & 88-75)

Orthodox made a good beginning in the game and that turned to control most of the time with a comfortable lead following the success of Chris Campbell (23 points), Ayman Idais (20 points), Naser Bassam (19 points) and Kelly Wise (19 points) despite some good work from Mark Strickland (22 points), Zeid Abbas (17 points) and Josh Cooperwood (17 points) but those 3 did'nt found their colleagues in the team without the needed effect and that led to a red end.

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KOSOVO

From the Board meeting on 18.02.08 -by Edona Shabani
The Board of Basketball Federation of Kosova on its meeting hel on 18.02.08 took these decisions:

D E C I S I O N S

1. Festive match between Kosova - Albania will take place on Thursday 21.02.08 in Prishtina

2. The Championship of Mabetex Super League will start on 27/28.02.08

3. The Spring season of Toyota Women League will continue on March 8, 2008

4. The spring season of Juniors League, Cadet's League and Pioneers League 'Stobi Flips' will continue on March 1st , 2008

5. Transitory winter term started on February 15th 2008 and it will continue till:
- February 24, senior -men
- February 28, young categories
- March 5, women

6.Coaches for NT of Kosova in women category for the match between Kosova- Albania is assigned Resmije Juniku and Agron Ceku

President of BFK
Erolld Belegu

Source: www.basketbolli.com

Congratulations and Invitation from Poland -by Edona Shabani
Immediately after the declaration of independence of Kosova from the Assembly of Kosova, BC 'Gniezno' from the homonym city in Poland sent an congratulation email for the Independence and as well an initiation for tournament.

'Congratulations for your newborn state, independent and proud. We hope that this separation will make a lot of things easier, like development of culture, and this way all your skills will come into light by making the functionality easier'.

The tournament will take place on August and will participate youngsters born on 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994.

Source: www.basketbolli.com

BFK invites kosovar fans -by Edona Shabani
'LET'S CLEBRATE INDIPENDENCE'

On the occasion of festive basketball matches between NT of Kosova and NT of Albania, which will take place on Thursday, 21.02.08 (on 6:00 women category and on 8:00 men) Basketball Federation of Kosova invites all kosovar fans to fill the Sports and Youth Hall in Prishtina with National flags, state flags and also the flags of all states that support Kosova.

It is an ideal occasion to create together a sportive atmosphere and be part of the first interstate match of Kosova in all kinds of sports after the declaration of independence of Kosova and its international recognition

Entrance GRATIS CELABRATION CONTINUES........

Source: www.basketbolli.com

The members of NT of Kosova -by Edona Shabani
The Selector of NT of Kosova and his assistant Albert Sylejmani for the match between Kosova-Albania which will take place on February 21, 2008 invited these players:
Fikret Hanxhiq, Naim Haxha,Gazmend Asllani ( Trepca), Vigan Radoni,Valdet Grapci (Peja), Fisnik Mehmeti (RC Cola Drita),Korab Ferizi (Ylli) Muhamed Hasani, Edmond Azemi, Valentin Spaqi, Florent Lila, Ismet Ferati, Gezim Citaku, Besnik Podvorica ( Sigal Prishtina).
Meanwhile the coaches of NT of Kosova women category Resmije Juniku and Agron Ceku invited these players:
Kimete Haliti, Teuta Abdullahu, Learta Berisha, Edona Lushtaku, Lirona Rexhepi (Sigal Prishtina) Arbnore Perquku, Elinda Musliu, Dafina Krasniqi, Iliriana Berisha(Bashkimi), Albina Ramzi, Donjeta Demi (Drita) Valbona Bytyqi, Vlora Idrizi (Penza), Kaltrina Mehmeti (Trepca), Mergime Haziraj(Vellaznimi).

The doctor of NT is Dr. Merkur Dobroshi while phisiotherapist is Mazllom Jevriqi.

Source: www.basketbolli.com

Official People Appointed -by Edona Shabani
The Commissary of Competition Mithat Belegu appointed official people who will conduct the interstate match between Republic of Kosova and Republic of Albania which will take place on 21.02.08 in Sports and Youth Hall in Prishtina.

WOMEN

REPUBLIC OF KOSOVA - REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA, Thursday on18:00
Referees: Tomor Hasnjaku, Alban Vula
Monitors: Sejdi Mehmeti

MEN

REPUBLIC OF KOSOVA - REPUBLIC OF ALBANIA, Thursday on 20:00
Referees: Shefqet Bektashi, Faton Kurshumliu, Daut Mehmeti
Monitors: Lulzim Maloku

Source: www.basketbolli.com

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LUXEMBOURG

Luxembourg National Team 2008 -by Kasia