EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 2/23/2008

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Men News

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AUSTRALIA

Perth to challenge Sydney in the semis -by Eurobasket News
Perth Wildcats - Townsville Crocodiles 96:78

The Perth Wildcats left no chance for an ambitious Townsville in the quarterfinal today. The Crocs simply ran out of steam after an exhausting winning run against the Gold Coast Blaze two days ago and well-rested Perth capitalized. The full-packed Challenge Stadium saw their favorites took over in the second term and completing the job in the closing stages of the encounter to ensure the semifinal birth. Ben Pepper (213-C-75) scored 6 points in a row early on as Townsville got off to a hopeful 13:5 start to the game. The Crocs did not surrender the lead throughout the first frame and finished up by 3 points 20:17. Perth soon knotted things at 28 before firing from all the guns. The Wildcats capped the first half with a 13:0 run to take a comfortable 41:28 advantage at the interval. Perth dominated the scene at the moment and easily stretched the lead to as many as 19 points during the third period. Corey Williams (191-G-77, college: Alabama St.) seemed to keep in fire for the Crocs. He accounted for 11 third-quarter points to drag the visitors back within 12 points 56:68 with 12 minutes to go in the game. It was not enough though. Perth cruised to an overall win and would take on the regular season winners Sydney in the semifinal. Peter Crawford (193-G-79) scored 23 points for Perth. Shawn Redhage (202-F-81, agency: Warren Sports, college: Arizona St.) and Alex Loughton (205-F/C-83, agency: Octagon, college: ODU) netted 20 points apiece for the winning side. Corey Williams delivered game-high 29 points for the Crocs. Galen Young (201-F/G-75, college: Charlotte) finished with 10 points and 13 boards. The semifinal clash between the Perth Wildcats and the Sydney Kings is scheduled for Monday.

Perth: Peter Crawford 23, Shawn Redhage 20, Alex Loughton 20
Townsville: Corey Williams 29, Galen Young 10+13 boards

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BELIZE

The SHJC/BNE Team Start The BECOL Tournament With a Blowout!!!! -by David Magana
Last Saturday night at the Falcon Field in San Ignacio, Cayo, the BECOL Tournament continued its sheduled games featuring a U-20 game between Hydro Power and Cayo Ballers. The Hydro Power team proved to be the much better team as they walked over the Cayo Ballers by a score of 47 - 27. For the winning team, Derrick Garbutt scored 11 points and had 5 rebounds. For the losing team, Brandon Teck and Dudley Smith had 7 points each. In the Over - 35, ICB Veterans defeated Hydro Power by forfeit, since Hydro Power was unable to field a team on time.
In the senior division, Sacred Heart Junior College/Belize Natural Energy team defeated Venus Warriors by a blowout of 33 points (82 - 49). From the beginning to the end, the SHJC/BNE team was much more superior than the Warrios as they had a field day scoring at will. For SHJC/BNE, Wordsworth Lucas (188-F) scored 21 points and had 5 rebounds, Omar Yacab - 17 points and 8 rebounds, Halil Alcoser - 15 points and Cesar Castellanos - 11 points and 3 assists. In a losing effort, Derrick Garbutt scored 14 points and 7 rebounds while Daniel Johnson - 9 points and 6 rebounds.

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BULGARIA

Henderson out for the season -by Vladi Lazarova
Frustrating news for CSKA and especially for the head coach of 'The Reds' Rosen Barchovski. One of the best players of the team and main scorer Mike Henderson (188-G-84, agency: Interperformances, college: Iowa) is out for the rest of the season. 188 cm tall point guard will undergo a surgery, because he torn ligaments in his right knee. The recovery will take around six months. 24-years old American got injured 7 minutes before the end of the game against Balkan last Wednesday. CSKA won over the squad from Botevgrad by 85:81 and tomorrow has a tough road match against Cherno more in Varna.
The surgery of Henderson will be made in Sofia, also the recovery. The player has a contract for two years with 'The Reds', so the club will do everything possible to be next to him and help him to come back at the court better than before.
CSKA will have deep problems till the end of the championship and in the tournament for the National Cup, without Mike. He was the only one playmaker in the team, after leaving of Ivaylo Konstantinov in the beginning of January. Now the club can't sign somebody for substitution, because the market in Bulgaria is closed till the end of this season. The only one solution for Barchovski and his assistant and former captain of the 'red' squad Tony Detchev is to use their shooting guard and one of the leaders - Ludmil Hadjisotirov at position '1' on the court.

Lukoil smashed Balkan -by Vladi Lazarova
Bulgarian champion and National Cup holder Lukoil Akademik advanced to 24th consecutive victory in the league tonight, after smashing Balkan 92:57 in a road match, played in Botevgrad. Willie Deane III (186-G-80, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Purdue) was the best player on the court with 22 points, 7 steals, 5 assists, but 5 turnovers as well. Macedonian star of the team - Pero Antic (210-F-82, agency: Interperformances) added 16 points, playing against his older brother Alexander, who finished with 5 pts after coming of the bench for 'The greens'. The second Macedonian of 'The Students' - Riste Stefanov (198-G-83, agency: Arik Krayn Services), who has Bulgarian passport, collected 12 pts for the win.
For the host squad Ivan Lilov (196-F-88) was the best scorer with 17 pts, another 14 came from Serbian center Boban Biljbia and Atanas Radev was able to help with 11, but that wasn't enough for Balkan. Very bad game had the best player of 'The greens' and one of the best in the league - Dwayne Morton (200-F-71, agency: Interperformances, college: Louisville), who was 1/6 for 2 pts, 0/1 from the 3 point range and finished just with 2 pts.
This loss is 4th in a row for the team of Georgi Mladenov and they can step down with one place in current standings if tomorrow CSKA beat Cherno more in Varna. Now Balkan is at the 2nd position, 'The Reds' are 3rd.
Willie Deane III (186-G-80, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Purdue)

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CAMEROON

Cameroonian Abroad -by Eurobasket News
Cirill Makanda-Etogo (190-G-80, agency: Arik Krayn Services) 's Samara were dismantled by Mons Hainaut 66:92 in Belgium in EuroCup. 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. Cirill Makanda-Etogo averages 1.8 points per game and makes o.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists for the game in EuroCup.

Harding Nana (203-F-81, college: Delaware)'s Turow made a huge step towards a Top 16 stage after they managed to hold on against Nymburk away from home. It was not an easy task for Turow though. They had to overcome a 17-point deficit to finalize a 61:61 draw at the end of the game. Nymburk got to a better start to the game as Ladislav Sokolovsky scored quick 5 points for the hosts to give them a 7:1 lead. Radoslav Rancik and Michal Kremen continued to keep the home team up as they finished the first frame leading 19:12. Arthur Lee and Monty Mack came up with 5 consecutive points for Nymburk to extend the gap to 24:14 early in the second period. Turow then conceded an 8:0 rally from Czech team and trailed by as many as 17 points late in the frame. However Scekic and Robert Witka sealed the first half outcome at 21:34. Turow mounted the pressure on the hosts defensively, while David Logan and Robert Witka poured their basket from downtown to trim the deficit to 5 points. Dragisa Drobnjak and Thomas Kelati dragged Turow within four points from Nymburk 34:38. The teams exchanged baskets at the end of the third period to make it 46:41 for Nymburk after 30 minutes. The hosts kept in front for sometime early in the fourth before Scekic and Andres Rodriguez ignited a comeback run that allowed the visitors finally grab a 58:56 advantage. David Logan stretched it to 5 points with a massive three-pointer. Ladislav Sokolovsky replied with free throws and then crowned the game with a long trey to square thing up at 61. Harding Nana averages 3.3 points per game in Uleb Cup for his team.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL NEWS -by Gilles Bouwe

This season have many problem in Cameroon.Till now just the littoral province have begin his activities with already three days of competition.One of the main province Centre is still awaited and the national sheduled from the federation is also still awaited.

We all know that our national team is going to be part of the preolympique tournament in jully in athens so our national players have to be in action to have all their chance.At the end of this season we are going to have the elections at the federation.



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CAPE VERDE

Round 2 Predio/CVT vs ABC -by Pedro Gomes

In what was called the remake of last year Santiago South final championship game, this time with a different ending.
Predio was able to hold on to the lead, which they did not do last year, and beat ABC 57 to 56.

For the first big game of the season, between the two finalists from last years championship, brought the idea that basketball in the city of Praia is well alive, an exciting game that brought many fans into the gymnasium to watch the game. Just when this year championship was labeled one of the worst in history, due to the participation of only four teams, it bounced back with an excitement game for the fans.


Resultd : Predio/CVT (57) - (56) ABC

Game STATS:

Lamine Delgado (197-F-77) lead all scores with 22 points and 13 Rebounds

PREDIO

#

Player

Starting 5

Pts

4

Lamine D.

x

22

5

Luis D.

0

6

Orlando S.

0

7

Edmir F.

x

6

8

Luuis S.

6

9

Victor F.

x

5

10

Helder g.

x

5

11

Abydirson B.

x

16

12

Nuno A.

2

13

Nuno S.

0

14

Hilter M.

0

15

Paulo S.

0


ABC

#

Player

Starting 5

Pts

4

Fernandes D.

0

5

Adimar Gomes

x

2

6

Samir Graca

x

6

7

Aquiles Evora

x

12

8

A. Neves

1

9

C. Motta

9

10

Y. Paiva

0

11

Edson Cardoso

x

19

12

S. Alfama

0

13

Victor Fortes

x

14

14

J. Tavares

0

15

P. Lopes

8



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CHINA

Guandong Wins CBA Title With 90-81 Victory Over Liaoning -by Arthur Volbert
Guangdong won the CBA title today with a 90-81 victory over Liaoning. Guangdong won the championship series 4 games to 1. Guangdong jumped off to a 28-14 first quarter lead, but Liaoning narrowed Guangdong's advantage to 45-38 at the half. Guangdong turned it up a notch in the third quarter to lead 73-58.

Zhu Fangyu (201-F-83) was again Guangdong's leader with 31 points and 5 rebounds. Liu Xiaoyu played most of the minutes at point guard and had 10 points and 7 assists. Chen Jianghua played only 12 minutes as Liu appears to be better at running the team, while Chen is an offensive force and his contribution was not that much needed today.

Jason Dixon had 18 points and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes while Lamond Murray had 7 points and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes. The two imports played the full 60 minutes they are allowed.

Zhou Peng (207-F-89) shared the shooting guard position with Wang Shipeng. If 6-9 Zhou can play shooting guard, he becomes a much more valuable NBA prospect. He is built a whole lot like Sun Yue, except that he can hit his shots in a game situation.

Liaoning was hampered by the absence of Jamal Sampson, who apparently has a dispute with the Liaoning team. He also has a shoulder injury. From my vantage point I am unable to tell who is most responsible for the dispute, the team management or Sampson.

Liu Xiangtao was limited to 11 minutes, likely from lingering effects of an ankle injury. He had no points, 2 rebounds and 4 fouls. Olumide Oyedeji played all 48 minutes for Liaoning and 15 points and 15 rebounds. Yang Ming had 21 points and 2 rebounds. Zhang Qingpeng showed why his stock as a point guard has dropped as he had 9 points, 3 assists and 9 turnovers. Li Xiaoxu (204-C-90) had 15 points and 3 rebounds and his stock continues to rise.

Guangdong 28 17 28 17 90
Liaoning---- 14 24 20 23 81

Guangdong 90
Zhu Fangyu 31p+5r+2a+1s+5to, Liu Xiaoyu 38min+10p+3r+7a+2s+3to, Zhou Peng 8p+3r+2a+1s+2bl, Jason Dixon 18p+11r+1a+1s+1bl, Du Feng 9p+6r+2a+1s, Wang Shipeng 20min+3p+2r+4a+1s, Lamond Murray 7p+6r+1s+1bl, Chen Jianghua 12min+4p+1r+1a+2s+0to
Liaoning 81
Bian Qiang 14p+2r+3a+2s, Liu Xiangtao 11min+0p+2r+4fl, Zhang Qingpeng 9p+3r+3a+1s+9to, Li Xiaoxu 15p+3r+1a, Olumide Oyedeji 48min+15p+15r+3a+2s+1bl, Yang Ming 21p+2r, Lu Yao 4p+2r, Gu Liye 3p+1r+1a

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DENMARK

Randers Cimbria beat Horsholm 79ers on a road -by Eurobasket News
Horsholm 79ers -Randers Cimbria 59:71 (17-19, 10-17, 17-18, 15-17)
Hørsholm 79ers:Nicholas Billings 20, James Duane 16
Randers Cimbria:Bonell Colas (206-F-82, agency: ProSportsCareers, college: Florida) 27, James Cripe (213-C-84, agency: KMG Sports Management, college: N.Kentucky) 20, Ranko Stevovic (188-G-77) 10

Randers Cimbria beat Horsholm 79ers 59:71 in the latest game of Danish league. The victory allowed to tie the 79ers with the same number of victories. Bonell Colas led the winners with 27 points. James Cripe netted 20, while Ranko Stevovic scored 10. Nicholas Billings produced 20 points in the losing effort. Horsholm 79ers are now 10-11, while Randers Cimbria improved to 10-13.
Meanwhile Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow overcame a slow start to their Top 16 campaign and gained speed to swoops past Barcelona in Round 2. CSKA dominated the game and made the victory look quite casual. The hosts pointed out the advantage early in the encounter keeping the visitors scoreless for about two minutes. Ramunas Siskauskas netted 4 points to give CSKA a 6:2 lead. Finally Jaka Lakovic hit from downtown but was well-matched by Trajan Langdon's trey. Danish David Andersen (212-C-80) capped the frame with a jumper to seal things at 16:11. Siskauskas opened the second term with 6 more points to extend the margin to 11 points. Jaka Lakovic kept hitting treys as he totaled his third one to bring Barcelona within 6 points from CSKA. Soon Ersan Ilyasova and Gianluca Basile dragged the visitors as close as 3 points from CSKA 23:26. David Andersen and Marcus Goree however finalized the first half at 32:25. Trajan Langdon and David Andersen teamed up for 5 more points right after the break and CSKA started to get away. Siskauskas stretched the gap to 13 points but Ersan Ilyasova and Pepe Sanchez connected from beyond the arc to trim the difference to 8 points. Later Roger Grimau and Gianluca Basile notched treys for Barcelona to get within 5 points after 30 minutes. Jaka Lakovic tipped off the fourth term with a jump shot but Theodoros Papaloukas drilled consecutive buckets to put CSKA away. Trajan Langdon and David Andersen scored and then Ramunas Siskauskas fired from the outside to maintain the advantage. Mario Kasun worked his way inside the paint to add two points to Barcelona's haul but Theodoros Papaloukas immediately answered with a three-point play to make it 63:51 for CSKA. Barcelona struggled to deliver and moreover the hosts were deadly from charity stripe leaving no chance for the visitors. David Andersen sank 4 free throws, while Viktor Khryapa connected from three-point range to ensure the winning outcome for CSKA. David Andersen finished the game with 20 points and 8 boards. Ramunas Siskauskas contributed 16 points, while Trajan Langdon scored 10 points for the winners. Jaka Lakovic dropped 11 points for Barcelona. Mario Kasun and Roger Grimau managed 7 points apiece in defeat. CSKA outrebounded the visitors 40:32 including 17:8 offensive boards.

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EURO CUP

50 Years: The day it all started - February 22, 1958 -by Eurobasket
Barcelona, February 22, 2008. It was the mother of all opening games. Exactly 50 years ago tonight, at 20:45 CET to be exact, the first-ever official tipoff in a European club competition took place in Brussels, where Belgian champion Royal IV SC Anderlechtois defeated Luxembourg champion BBC Etzella 82-43 in the opening preliminary round of the new 'European Cup of Club Champions'. Thus began a unique and unmatched tradition of international club competition that endures and keeps growing to this day, a half-century later. The many contributions made in the ensuing five decades, which are being recognized during the 50 Years of European Club Basketball celebration this season, all date to that Saturday night in Palais du Midi, a facility still dedicated to sports in the Belgian and European Community capital. Much has changed since that historic event, but the essential spirit behind the start of international club competition lives on. Ever since that historic beginning, 50 years ago tonight, the best teams from across the continent - and sometimes beyond - have met every winter and spring to decide a new annual champion, with tens of millions of fans enjoying the ride.
Among the teams to take part in that historic first season are many of the teams that continue to build up Europe's unparalleled international club tradition. Real Madrid of Spain, which has gone on to become the winningest team in European club basketball with eight Euroleague championships and 14 European titles overall, reached the semifinals that season. Olimpija Milano of Italy, a three-time Euroleague winner, reached the quarterfinals. Five-time continental champ Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel, Olimpija Ljubljana of Yugoslavia and Fenerbahce Istanbul of Turkey - all current Euroleague competitors - as well as ULEB Cup teams like Asvel Basket of France, Panellinios Athens of Greece, Akademik Sofia of Bulgaria and ASK Riga of the Soviet Union.
The competition structure was quite different to start with, as 22 national champions played in four geographical groups of different sizes and structures, each sending teams through to the semifinals. Riga needed to play only six games to win the championship, while runner-up Sofia played 10. And due to the political and financial climate of the time, a number of games that season were forfeited as well. The original 22 champions participating also came from non-European countries such as Syria. Among other countries were West Germany, Austria, Finland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia . Originally, Lebanon was to be a 23rd country in the tournament, but its team from Beirut pulled out before the season.
And so, the ball started bouncing on February 22, 1958 - and has not stopped since. Royal IV of Belgium was the first winner. Francois DePaun and Jean Crick scored 23 points apiece and Albert Nicodeme added 20 to chisel their names into the history books as victors in Europe's first-ever international club game. Royal IV went on to win the second game between them and advance to the quarterfinals, losing there to Real Madrid, which then forfeited its semifinal series against ASK Riga, the eventual champions.
By Euroleague

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EUROLEAGUE

50 Years: The day it all started - February 22, 1958 -by Eurobasket
Barcelona, February 22, 2008. It was the mother of all opening games. Exactly 50 years ago tonight, at 20:45 CET to be exact, the first-ever official tipoff in a European club competition took place in Brussels, where Belgian champion Royal IV SC Anderlechtois defeated Luxembourg champion BBC Etzella 82-43 in the opening preliminary round of the new 'European Cup of Club Champions'. Thus began a unique and unmatched tradition of international club competition that endures and keeps growing to this day, a half-century later. The many contributions made in the ensuing five decades, which are being recognized during the 50 Years of European Club Basketball celebration this season, all date to that Saturday night in Palais du Midi, a facility still dedicated to sports in the Belgian and European Community capital. Much has changed since that historic event, but the essential spirit behind the start of international club competition lives on. Ever since that historic beginning, 50 years ago tonight, the best teams from across the continent - and sometimes beyond - have met every winter and spring to decide a new annual champion, with tens of millions of fans enjoying the ride.
Among the teams to take part in that historic first season are many of the teams that continue to build up Europe's unparalleled international club tradition. Real Madrid of Spain, which has gone on to become the winningest team in European club basketball with eight Euroleague championships and 14 European titles overall, reached the semifinals that season. Olimpija Milano of Italy, a three-time Euroleague winner, reached the quarterfinals. Five-time continental champ Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel, Olimpija Ljubljana of Yugoslavia and Fenerbahce Istanbul of Turkey - all current Euroleague competitors - as well as ULEB Cup teams like Asvel Basket of France, Panellinios Athens of Greece, Akademik Sofia of Bulgaria and ASK Riga of the Soviet Union.
The competition structure was quite different to start with, as 22 national champions played in four geographical groups of different sizes and structures, each sending teams through to the semifinals. Riga needed to play only six games to win the championship, while runner-up Sofia played 10. And due to the political and financial climate of the time, a number of games that season were forfeited as well. The original 22 champions participating also came from non-European countries such as Syria. Among other countries were West Germany, Austria, Finland, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia . Originally, Lebanon was to be a 23rd country in the tournament, but its team from Beirut pulled out before the season.
And so, the ball started bouncing on February 22, 1958 - and has not stopped since. Royal IV of Belgium was the first winner. Francois DePaun and Jean Crick scored 23 points apiece and Albert Nicodeme added 20 to chisel their names into the history books as victors in Europe's first-ever international club game. Royal IV went on to win the second game between them and advance to the quarterfinals, losing there to Real Madrid, which then forfeited its semifinal series against ASK Riga, the eventual champions.
By Euroleague

Top 16 Week 2 MVP: Esteban Batista, Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv -by Eurobasket
A monster double-double in a losing effort allowed Esteban Batista (208-F/C-83) of Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv to become the MVP for Top 16 Week 2 with a performance index rating of 27. Despite his team's road loss at Zalgiris Kaunas, Batista scored 25 points for Maccabi on 9-for-18 two-point and 7-for-9 free-throw shooting while also collecting 13 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and 7 fouls drawn. Although his was lowest index rating for a weekly MVP all season long, Batista had plenty of challengers. Coincidentally, Jonas Maciulis (200-G/F-85, agency: Interperformances) of Zalgiris followed him with a 26 index rating in the same game. Maciulis scored 22 points by making 3 of 5 three-pointers and 7 of 7 free throws to go with 7 rebounds - all in just 20 minutes on the floor. Erazem Lorbek (210-F/C-84, college: Michigan St.) of Lottomatica Roma and Lietuvos Rytas teammates Chuck Eidson (202-F-80, college: S.Carolina) and Kenan Bajramovic (206-F-81, agency: Beo Basket), all with 23 index ratings, completed the top individual performances this week. Lorbek did so without a double-digit total in any statistic: he had 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, a block and 8 fouls drawn in Roma's home win against Unicaja. Meanwhile, Eidson had 18 points and 5 steals while Bajramovic added 17 points and 7 rebounds as L. Rytas defeated visiting Aris TT Bank.
Individual highs: Ibrahim Jaaber (188-G-84, college: Pennsylvania) of Lottomatica Roma, 8 steals
Batista not only became the MVP, but was both the Top 16, Week 2 best scorer with 25 points and best rebounder with those 13 boards against Zalgiris. Maciulis, meanwhile, has the best scoring average after two Top 16 games with 21.5 points per game, while Jeremiah Massey of Aris TT Bank leads all rebounders at 10.5 boards per night. Terrell McIntyre of Montepaschi Siena led Week 2 in assists by dishing 8 in his team's overtime road win against Efes Pilsen. Dejuan Collins of Zalgiris, who was regular season assists king, too, leads the Top 16 in that category, with 8 per game. Ibrahim Jaaber of Lottomatica Roma collected as many as 8 steals against Unicaja. He and Trajan Langdon (192-G-76, college: Duke) of CSKA Moscow are both averaging 4.5 per game, more than any other Top 16 players. Omer Faruk Asik (211-C-86) of Fenerbahce Ulker, Ersan Ilyasova (207-F-87) of AXA FC Barcelona and Eurelijus Zukauskas (218-C-73, agency: Interperformances) of Zalgiris each had 3 blocks this week. Asik leads the Top 16 block standings with 3.5 per night. Batista and Mamadou N'Diaye (212-C-75, college: Auburn) of Zalgriis, who had 11 points and 12 rebounds against Maccabi, were the only players to register double-doubles this week.
Courtesy of Euroleague

Mickeal to miss 3 weeks -by Natxo Mendaza

Tau Ceramica revealed Thursday evening that forward Pete Mickeal (198-F-78, college: Cincinnati) will be sidelined for three weeks after sustaining an injury during the club's 103-84 victory over Fenerbahce Ulker the night before in Vitoria. Mickeal felt pain in his right leg in the opening minutes of the third period and asked to come off the court. Medical examination performed on Thursday revealed that Mickeal has a torn muscle in his right femoral biceps that will prevent him from playing for the next three weeks. During this period Mickeal will miss three Euroleague Top16 games: two against Aris and one against Lietuvos Rytas. Injuries have already limited Mickeal this season, who missed five of the last six regular season games.


Source: Euroleague.net



Top 16, Week 2 -by Eurobasket News
Montepaschi, Tau Ceramica, Real Madrid and CSKA stayed alone on top of their groups and increased to 2-0 record.
In Group D Efes Pilsen fought bravely but fell just short to Montepschi Siena in overtime. It was the first loss for Efes Pilsen at this stage of the tournament. Efes Pilsen playing at the Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall claimed a narrow 13:12 lead after the opening frame and stretched it to 30:19 in the second term. But Bootsy Thornton scored 6 points in a 9:0 run to erase the deficit to 2 points at 28:30. Eze then tied the scoreline at 30 with seconds past in the third term. Montepschi took over and started to build their lead. Romain Sato capped the frame with a jumper to give the visitors a 49:44 lead after three quarters of action. Scoonie Penn and Ermal Kurtoglu (207-C-80) regained the lead for Efes Pilsen early in the fourth term with a couple of treys. The game remained close throughout the fourth period and Terrell McIntyre connected from downtown to make it 69:69 with under a minute to play in regulation. No team was able to deliver at the crunch time and the game moved into overtime. Romain Sato opened the extra period with a three-pointer but it was matched by Drew Nicholas and Scoonie Penn as Efes Pilsen remained in driving seat. Ksystof Lavrinovic (210-C-79) once again tied things up at 76 with free throws. Ksystof Lavrinovic got fouled again and converted two more free throws to spur Montepaschi in front. Drew Nicholas failed to deliver, while Bootsy Thornton was accurate to stretch Siena's lead. Efes Pilsen had enough time to get to Siena but missed decisive shots and lost the battle. Ermal Kurtoglu produced 20 points and 7 boards for the hosts. Andre Hutson scored 14 points for Efes Pilsen. Bootsy Thornton had 18 points for Montepaschi.
Partizan Igokea really doesn't have a luck against green PAO this season. Last night it was the third time when Partizan again was a small step away from the real sensation but it didn't happen. Namely, reining Serbian and Adriatic league champion had plus 6 on the half time against reining Greek and European champion in the middle of Athens. Black and white team reached 49-35 at the half way of the third quarter. PAO started to play much better in the last period but still Partizan had a chance 2:30 remaining in the game to extend lead to 6 but Palacio at the first point missed a lay-up and at the next possesion he was wide-open but unsuccessful from behind the arc. Quality and experience of PAO's players came on the scene and thanks to Hatzivretas, Spanoulis and Batiste Greek giant recorded valuable win, especially after defeat in the first round against Efes Pilsen in Turkey. Ex NBAer Vasilis Spanoulis (193-G-82, agency: Beo Basket) led his team to this very tough victory netting 20 points and he was the only one who scored more than 9 points in PAO. Michael Batiste had 9 points and 12 rebounds while on the other side Partizan got 13 points from Dusan Kecman.

Almost 10,000 spectators gathered at the Siemens Arena in Vilnius to watch their favorite Lietuvos Rytas drive to the first win at Top 16 stage. Lithuanian team used a stunning first frame to upset Aris and improved to 1-1 record in Group E. Hollis Price got things going for the hosts with a trey early in the encounter. Mindaugas Lukauskis (198-G-79) scored quick 6 points for Lietuvos Rytas as they accumulated an 11:5 lead midway through the frame. Mindaugas Lukauskis would not stop as he drained a triple soon to give Lietuvos Rytas a 21:9 advantage. Jackson Vroman and Jared Jordan secured a 27:11 lead for the hosts after 10 minutes of action. Aris tried to change the pace early in the second quarter and with the tempo raising the Greek side managed to trim the deficit to 10 points at 19:29. However Lietuvos Rytas reacted with an 8:0 rally that restored a 37:19 lead for the home side. The teams traded triples late in the quarter and Lietuvos Rytas accumulated a 49:31 lead at the interval. Mindaugas Lukauskis opened the second half with one more three-pointer and later Chuck Eidson scored 4 straight points to keep Lietuvos Rytas running. Aris could not find the proper defensive tools to hold off striking hosts and trailed by 16 points at the end of the third term. Dimitris Tsaldaris and Iliadis fired from downtown for Aris at the start of the fourth term to boost up the intrigue. Later Giorgos Kalaitzis poured in a three-pointer to erase the deficit to just 9 points at 60:69. Chuck Eidson and Vladimir Boisa traded three-point plays and then Lietuvos Rytas capitalized on technical foul from Aris to sink a bunch of free throws and climb beyond reach. Mindaugas Lukauskis and Chuck Eidson provided 18 points apiece for Lietuvos Rytas. Kenan Bajramovic netted 17 points and grabbed 7 boards for the winners. Jeremiah Massey responded with 19 points and 8 boards for Aris. Darius Washington drilled 11 points in defeat.
Fenerbahce were hardly beaten in Spain losing to Tau 84:103. Tau dominated every facet of the game and built a 50:38 lead at the interval. Fenerbahce never recovered after the break and trailed by as many as 18 points heading into the fourth period. Tau eased to an overall win at the and improved to 2-0 record in Group E. Sergi Vidal (198-F/G-81) and Zoran Planinic scored 14 points apiece to lead 7 Tau players to scored in double figures. Igor Rakocevic netted 13 points, while Mirza Teletovic and Tiago Splitter nailed 12 points apiece for the winners. Oguz Savas answered with 20 points for Turkish outfit. Will Solomon dropped 14 points in a losing case.

Real Madrid owns Group F now after dumping Olympiacos 80:70 as Alex Mumbru (201-F-79) led the way with 16 points. Meanwhile, Olympiacos dropped to 0-2 and needs to start winning right away to keep its Quarterfinal Playoffs chances alive. Alex Mumbru led the winners with 16 points. Louis Bullock added 14 and Charles Smith had 13.
Zalgiris Kaunas achieved the first victory in Top 16 upsetting Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv 101:82. A crowd of more than 5000 spectators had greatly supported the local team. The most troubles Maccabi Elite saw in the third quarter when they trailed 31:14. Jonas Maciulis (200-G/F-85, agency: Interperformances) led the winners with 22 points. Brown netted 19 points, while De Juan Collins collected 12 points and 7 assists. Esteban Batista finished the night with 25 points and 13 rebounds for Israeli team. Macabbi started to play aggressively in the opening quarter and reacted with 2:9 run. It gave them a good opportunity to control the first quarter and led to 21:26 by the end of it. Right in the second period Morris added a basket that extended the visitors' lead to 23:33. With the same scenario the guests reached 39:46. Zalgiris woke up in the end of the half to tie the score at 48:48 at halftime. Lithuanian team found its game in the second half and Marko Popovic hit from outside the arc to extend the gap to 67:55. The success in the third quarter was outstanding as Zalgiris won the period 31:14. N'Diaye Mamadou's dunk gave the hosts a 79:62 lead after 30 minutes. At that time the game was almost over but Zalgiris continued launching triples as Marko Popovic made a three from the left corner. In the middle of the quarter the margin reached plus 28, and only then Maccabi Elite reduced to the final 101:82 score.

Russian powerhouse CSKA Moscow overcame a slow start to their Top 16 campaign in Group G and gained speed to swoops past Barcelona in Round 2. CSKA dominated the game and made the victory look quite casual. The hosts pointed out the advantage early in the encounter keeping the visitors scoreless for about two minutes. Ramunas Siskauskas netted 4 points to give CSKA a 6:2 lead. Finally Jaka Lakovic hit from downtown but was well-matched by Trajan Langdon's trey. David Andersen (212-C-80) capped the frame with a jumper to seal things at 16:11. Siskauskas opened the second term with 6 more points to extend the margin to 11 points. Jaka Lakovic kept hitting treys as he totaled his third one to bring Barcelona within 6 points from CSKA. Soon Ersan Ilyasova and Gianluca Basile dragged the visitors as close as 3 points from CSKA 23:26. David Andersen and Marcus Goree however finalized the first half at 32:25. Trajan Langdon and David Andersen teamed up for 5 more points right after the break and CSKA started to get away. Siskauskas stretched the gap to 13 points but Ersan Ilyasova and Pepe Sanchez connected from beyond the arc to trim the difference to 8 points. Later Roger Grimau and Gianluca Basile notched treys for Barcelona to get within 5 points after 30 minutes. Jaka Lakovic tipped off the fourth term with a jump shot but Theodoros Papaloukas drilled consecutive buckets to put CSKA away. Trajan Langdon and David Andersen scored and then Ramunas Siskauskas fired from the outside to maintain the advantage. Mario Kasun worked his way inside the paint to add two points to Barcelona's haul but Theodoros Papaloukas immediately answered with a three-point play to make it 63:51 for CSKA. Barcelona struggled to deliver and moreover the hosts were deadly from charity stripe leaving no chance for the visitors. David Andersen sank 4 free throws, while Viktor Khryapa connected from three-point range to ensure the winning outcome for CSKA. David Andersen finished the game with 20 points and 8 boards. Ramunas Siskauskas contributed 16 points, while Trajan Langdon scored 10 points for the winners. Jaka Lakovic dropped 11 points for Barcelona. Mario Kasun and Roger Grimau managed 7 points apiece in defeat. CSKA outrebounded the visitors 40:32 including 17:8 offensive boards.
Lottomatica Roma beat Unicaja 75:67 as Roko Leni Ukic (195-G-84) chipped in 19 points.

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Williams, Vuori on injured list -by Rauno Hurmalainen

Korisliiga, Round 35: With Ed Williams and Ilkka Vuori on injured list YMCA Lahti defeated anyway Kataja (Joensuu) 97-82 on Friday night.
Davont Jackson (199-F/G-78, agency: CAA Sports, college: Barber Scotia) led YMCA Lahti with 23 pts. Pierre Jallow added 20 pts and 11 rbs. Kataja got 27 pts from Terry Black. Ville Vesala scored 17 pts.

YMCA Lahti - Kataja 97-82 (50-43) (Davont Jackson 23, Pierre Jallow 20/11 - Terry Black 27, Ville Vesala 17).



KORISLIIGA: Honka will test Keddric Mays -by Rauno Hurmalainen
Transfer news: Honka (Espoo) will test American G Keddric Mays. Mays is a young talented man out of Chattanooga Univiversity, where he averaged
as a Sr 14,3 ppg (3pt - 41,3%). Team Componenta has waived Jerome Rogers and Rogers will be replaced by Naynyaw Awuah-Addae
out of 1. Division. American G-F Eric Washington will play on Karhu (Kauhajoki) roster for the rest of the season.

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FRANCE

Round 19 Round Up -by Sean Davis

Two monster upsets shocked the LNB League!

ASVEL 96 - 97 Pau-Orthez

ASVEL was a heavy favorite over a Pau-Orthez team that has only won
one road game all season, but Antonio Graves (190-G-85, college: