EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 2/8/2008

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Men News

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AUSTRALIA

Head Coach - Basketball -by Jay
The Adelaide 36ers are the Australian National Basketball League's (NBL) most successful club having won the National Championship four times (1986, 1998, 1999, 2002) and runner's up for the Championship twice (1985, 1994).

The 36ers are also one of the most respected clubs in Australia having the luxury of playing out of their own multi-purpose venue that has all of the facilities necessary for a professional basketball team to succeed. This, along with their passionate and loyal supporters that make up the biggest crowds in the NBL, confirms that being a part of this club is an extremely desired position.

The club has entered a new phase of innovative growth and development with a commitment to further strengthening its reputation as one of Australia's leading professional sporting organisations.

The unique opportunity is now available for a new Head Basketball Coach to join the club and re-establish the 36ers as one of the premier teams in the competition.

Primary responsibilities in this hands-on-role include:
• Coaching, managing and developing the playing / coaching and support personnel of the Adelaide 36ers to achieve the highest possible results in the NBL
• Working with the Adelaide 36ers administration to coincide with strategic marketing and business plans to embrace the South Australian community
• Display a professional level at all times in representing the Adelaide 36ers Basketball Club and enforce these high standards upon all players and coaches

Working in a fast paced and truly dynamic environment, the successful candidate will have high levels of drive and energy, a commitment to success, leadership and communication skills and above all a hunger for success.

Applications can be forwarded by email to coach@adelaide36ers.com Telephone enquiries are welcome on (+618) 8444 6444.

Applications for the position will close at 5.00pm on Friday February 22nd 2008.

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BELGIUM

Division II Results - Regular Season (Round 18) -by Bertrand Larsimont

BC Ninane vs. Kangoeroes Willebroek 56-71
Ninane could not avoid a bad start in this game and never recovered afterwards. Kangoeroes played without Patrick Lauwerijs (198-G/F-78).
Score at the half: 30-41.
Ninane: Bontemps 11; Lebecque 4; Van Bergen 2; R. Delhaes 7; Offermann 7; Delsaute 10; Hawley 13; Muric 2.
Kangoeroes: D'Haens 12; Bocevski 11; De Wachter 4; Goormans 4; Roelandts 21; Casteels 7; Coulanges 12.

Sint-Jan Antwerp vs. De West Hoek Zwevezele 80-47
Because of knee injury, Thomas Van De Vondel (197-F/G-80, agency: Stanley International) missed the game on Sint-Jan's side.
Score at the half: 39-21.
Sint-Jan: Lemaire 14; Gorremans 10; Van Rillaer 4; Van Schil 20; Dekkers 7; Artgeerts 2; Verrept 13; Ceyssens 10.
Zwevezele: Tandt 3; Bourdeaux 6; Lombart 3; Desloovere 20; Bobb 8; Van Hulle 2; Mylleville 5.

Bent Schoenen Waregem vs. CEP Fleurus 59-74
Great win for the visitors against the Division II leader Waregem. Both Waregem and Fleurus have now lost 5 times during regular Division II season but Waregem has only played 17 games while CEP has had 18 so far. CEP Fleurus will host Falco Ghent (with a record of 11 wins and 6 losses) on Friday, Feb. 15th at Bonsecours. A nice opportunity for the team of Coach Fulvio Bastianini to please their supporters who deserve to enjoy at least one good game at home.
Quarter by quarter score evolution: 19-22, 36-38, 50-56 and 59-74.
Waregem: Van Vooren 4; Steinbach 12; Cleymans 21; Dewilde 8; Verdickt 6; Vermeiren 5; Fiers 3.
Fleurus: Bastianini 4; Vanesse 8; Moris 20; Jadin 11; Rozewicz 6; Buja 12; Semijejero 5; Pourtoit 8.

BBC Boom vs. Royal Alsec Nivelles 75-52
Quarter by quarter score evolution: 24-12, 48-26, 61-36 and 75-52.
Boom: Druwez 6; Bayer 2; Lambreghts 5; Salden 3; Leten 2; Kitieu 11; Van den Brande 24; Van den Eynde 22.
Nivelles: --

BBC Falco Ghent vs. Power Liefmans Wevelgem 82-79
Despite an excellent game by Angelo Flanders (23 points and 17 rebounds) of Power Wevelgem, Falco (led by Joris De Schepper) won the game by a close margin.
Quarter by quarter score evolution: 26-23, 46-39, 62-62 and 82-79.
Falco: Dhondt 10; Vanderkimpen 2; Breca 5; T. Foucart 14; De Schepper 23; J. Van de Vondel 10; Selhorst 8; Seghers 2; Brysse 2; Huyghe 6.
Wevelgem: Vandenberghe 3; T. Van De Keere 22; Robeyst 6; Naudts 6; Guillemyn 18; Flanders 23; Lebon 1.

Xenia Tours Sint-Truiden vs. Jaga Radiators Hasselt 64-76
Sint-Truiden: P. Van Hoecke 4; Baert 14; Willegems 7; Souverijns 22; Pipeleers 7; Cuppens 9; Thoelen 1.
Hasselt: Geysen 8; Hendrix 8; Sterk 13; Van Poelgeest 5; Vanhove 22; Bijnens 16; Maes 2; Cox 2.

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BRAZIL

Market News: JP Batista moves out of Lithuania -by Gustavo Cardoso
JP J.P. Batista (206-F/C-81, college: Gonzaga) has left Lietuvos Rytas to play with Barons/LMT Riga from Riga, Latvia. 'Despite the great campaign that Lietuvos has been through, I was feeling uncomfortable' said the Brazilian in a statement released by his brother Anderson.

J.P. Batista said that he was capable of being on court, but that it was a coach's decision. 'I respected it [the decision], but also started to find a sollution for the problem'. According to the statement, the club from Vilnius required a high transfer fee which made a trade more difficult. However, on February 5th, in a meeting between the boards of Rytas and Barons/LMT Riga, everything was settled. J.P. Batista is expected to remain in Latvia until the end of the season.

NBA Brasil: Leandrinho vs Marcus Vinicius -by Gustavo Cardoso
The only two active Brazilian players on the NBA met yesterday in Phoenix. The Hornets of Marcus Vinicius (203-F-84), who didn't play, beat Leandro's squad by 132 to 130 after two overtimes. Leandrinho Barbosa (190-G-82) finished the night with 22 points. Chris Paul was the top scorer with 42.

NCAA D1 Brasil: Tavernari, Passos, Ramalho, and Augusto on court -by Gustavo Cardoso
In the last week of NCAA D1 schedule only Jonathan Tavernari (198-F), Hatila Passos (206-C, college: Ark.-Ft.Smith JC), Victor Ramalho (206-F-84), and Luis Augusto (203-F, college: W.Oklahoma St. JC) saw considerable action on the university hardwood. Most of the Brazilian contingent either didn't play or had few minutes on court.

BYU continued its run in the Mountain West Conference by beating Wyoming (63-73) on Saturday and Texas Christian yesterday (83-72). Tavernari had 10 points and an amazing 10 rebounds effort on the weekend game.

Yesterday night, the former EC Pinheiros guard, had 20 points and 5 rebounds. It was his fourth highest scoring game this season (he averages 13.6 ppg). Trent Plaisted had a career high night with 27 points.

UTEP had a huge game against the country's number one Memphis, on Saturday. The Miners lost by 6 points (70-64) and almost upset John Calipari's Tigers. Victor Ramalho started for the Miners, played 35 minutes, and scored 8 points and 4 rebounds.

Yesterday the Miners returned home to have another tough match, this time against Tulane. Stefon Jackson led the home team to its 14th win of the season (66-64). Ramalho played only 11 minutes and finished with just 1 point in the game. UTEP sits in fifth place on Conference USA play.

Yesterday night in Las Cruces, Hatila Passos of New Mexico State, and Luis Augusto of Idaho met on court. New Mexico State crushed Idaho by the score of 88 to 49. Passos had 8 points and 4 rebounds during 19 minutes on court while Augusto added 2 points and 3 rebounds for the Vandals.

New Mexico St is in third place on the Western Athletic Conference standings with 7 wins and 3 losses. Idaho sits in 8th place with 2 wins and 8 losses. Passos came from back to back season high games on Friday against Hawaii and Saturday against San Jose State. The big men from Osasco scored 25 in the loss to the Hawaiians (71-94) and 19 in the win versus San Jose (83-81).

Miami is 2-6 on the ACC schedule despite having a 15-7 overall record. Last night the Hurricanes lost to Florida State (62-55), and there was no action for big men Fabio Nass (211-F-84, college: Ark.-Ft.Smith JC).

On the Atlantic 10 Conference, Thiago Cordeiro (206-F/C-85, college: Barton County CC)'s Dayton lost to Rhode Island on Saturday (70-82), and beat Charlotte at home yesterday (69-64). Cordeiro played just 2 minutes against RI going scoreless for the evening. Nothing changed for the Brazilian on the game played yesterday. The Flyers are 16-5 overall and 4-4 in conference play.

The Texas Tech Raiders beat Oklahoma State at home on Saturday (67-60), and lost to Baylor last night (74-80) in Waco. No action for Ricardo de Bem (208-C-84, college: W.Nebraska JC). The Raiders are 3-4 in Big 12 play and 12-9 overall. Pat Knight had his debut as head coach yesterday. Coach Bob Knight resigned this week.

The Titans of Cal State Fullerton are a nice surprise in this year's Big West play. The team of Brazilian big men Edvaldo Lima (206-C-84, college: Arizona W. CC) is in second place on the conference standings (7w2l) and beat the leader (Cal State Northridge) last Saturday by the score of 80 to 72 in an away match. No action for Eddie, who has played in only 8 games this season.

No action for Gabe Garcia (213-C-86) in the two games played by Kent State this past week. On Saturday the Golden Flashes lost to Toledo (59-56), and yesterday the team beat Ball State at home (64-61).

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COLOMBIA

Colombians Abroad update JUCO and HS players -by Victor Garcia
Colombians at the JUCO
Sergo Trocha is part of the Lee College team, the Colombian center in his Freshman year is posting good numbers with 5PPG and 4 RPG; but still need more confidence and minutes to reach its potential
Frayser Mena joined the Lon Morris program , Lon Morris hae a long tradition of Colombian players in its program, Edgar Moreno, Adison Mosquera, Norbey Aragon, and others was part of the team, Mena's season is quiet with 3 PPG and 2 RPG,
Richard Gordon playing its freshman season at Souther CC in Iowa, Gordon numbers are also quiet, just 1,6 PPG and 1,5 RPG, but Gordon is really skilled and will improve quickly
Freddy Asprilla si finishing the pre-school and will choose a big program soon, Asprillas impact will be key in the future of any big Div1 program
Jorge Moreno is finishing at Milestine HS in Kansas City, the youg guard will join a DIv1 or JUCO program soon

Colombians abroad update, Colombians at NCAA -by Victor Garcia

Colombians in the NCAA DivI
Juan Tello Palacios does not find the luck to show all his talent, another injury sidelined him in the begining of the season, but now is back in Louisville's starting five, averaging 7PPG and 5 RPG, but his contribution goes beyond the numbers and problably will rise in the upcoming games.
John Alex Velez at Texas Christian University is having a solid junior year, Velez averages 5,6 PPG and 5,4 RPG, a important contrubution for the team
Adison Mosquera is havig a hard season at Texas Panamerican, the coaching staff have great confidence in the Colombian forward, but Adison had the be redshirted this season while some issues are solved.
Jean Otero will join soon a DivI program, the offers are coming for the talented Colombian Swingman.
Jairo Mendoza is recovering from the knee surgery and sidelined on the New Orleans program, but things are not easy for Jairo there, after the coach changes Jairo problably will leave UNO and join another DivI program.

Colombians at the NCAA DivII
Jorge Canedo did not find a good enviroment at Georgia St College program, the team one of the best in the DivII has a uptempo style that does not helps Jorge skills, now Canedo is leaving the program and problably will join anothe DivII program
Camilo Londono is one the most important players in the Newman University team, Londono put his energy and hear on the floor and averages 10PPG and 5,2 RPG, Newman is having a very good year
Santiago Gomez and Nilson Ramos are part of the Souther New Orleans University team both see minutes, but the season of the team is not the best



Colombians abroad Update, Colombians in the Pros -by Victor Garcia
Colombians in the pros:
Stalin Ortiz is part of the most surprising team in Italy, the Air Avellino, currently in the third place of the Italian League.
Ortiz is averagin closet o 8 PPG and 4 RPG in 15 minutes per game, playing as backup of a couple of scoring machines, Ortiz role has been defensive, but his talent is not in doubt and better times will come for the Colombian star.
Edgar Moreno was problably the best point guard in the Venezuelan league, Cocodrilos put him on the reserve list but looks like will not give him a contract this year, but Edgar name is really good and is looking offers from other contries.
Hardy Asprila, the Colombian-Venezuela forward will join soon one of the most traditional teams in Venezeula for this year's LPB.
Enielsen Guevara is getting ready to join the Gaiteros in Venezuela's LPB again, and will see his numbers grow.

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CYPRUS

Match Day 17: Keravnos beat Apollon and finished at the top of the league in the regular season -by Chris Mammides
Keravnos thrashed the team of Pizza Express Primetel Apollon with 85-65 and is now ready to 'relax' in the first scale of Cyprus play off as the Strovolos team has already qualified in the semi finals of the league, which was earned with the first position in the regular season. In regards to the game played in Strovolos, Keravnos with the ex Apollon's player Damjanovic in an excellent night scoring 18 points and 4 rebounds in 23 minutes and with the Cyprus International Panagiotis Trisokkas, adding 15 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals in 27 minutes, beat very easy the Limasol team (who changed the head coach, as Ninos Eliadis left the team due to personal reasons and the ex Apollon's player, Akis Konstantinou is the official Head Coach from now). The Strovolos team had an amazing third quarter where it outscored Apollon with 24-13 and finished the game much earlier. From Apollon, only Kahrimanovic tried to do something for his team but he was all alone, he scored 23 points and 9 rebounds while 12 points were added by Markovic. The quarters were: 23-18, 42-36, 66-49 and the final 85-65.
In the other games, there was a small surprise as Omonia succeeded a crucial road win over ENAD in Agios Dhometios and locked its presence as the fourth team in the regular season, while another short scale surprise we had in Nicosia where, Etha Engomis (just some days before the cup's final against almighty AEL, proved to be a very tough nut by beating the team of Aspis APOEL and knocking it down to the third spot in the regular season. The results were the following:

Enad - Omonoia 60-61 with top scorer for the home team being the top scorer of the Cyprus league, Arthur Davis with his 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists followed by Prstojevic and Stone who scored 13 and 11 points respectively, from coach Stylianidis team, top scorer were Matic and Tadic with 16 and 13 points respectively.

AEL - Achilleas Kaimakli 100-67 with large game on behalf of AEL, from Suchu and Sudov who scored 41 points together (22 and 19) with the Croat center performing his best game since he arrived in the Limassol yellows, Radle added 13 points. From the weakest team (this season) in the league, team of Achilleas Kaimakli, top scorer was Garner with 23 points while Zotovic added 18 and Georgiou 15 with 5 three pointers!

Last but not least, Etha Engomis - Aspis Apoel 97-92 with Etha's five players with double digits leading scorer, Davorin Dalipagic (203-F-76, college: S.Alabama), who proved once more his quality as a player with his 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals, while 18 points were added by Dejan Dunovic (190-G-82) and Santee and 15 points from Papadopoulos and Ware. From the team of Apoel (who 'lost' the game and Slobodan Ocokoljic (202-F-80, college: Weber St.) as he split ways with Apoel, after the game) top scorers were Miceta and Radunovci with 16 points each while the newcomer Jones scored 13 points in 12 minutes with excellent stats. Wheeler and Garcia scored 15 and 13 points respectively with the American-Cypriot dashing down 10 rebounds.

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DOMINICAN REP.

Dominicans in NBA -by Herubey Grassals

Al Horford (208-F/C-86, college: Florida) helps Atlanta Hawks to beat Los Angeles Lakers 98-95, Al Horford was big under the boards with 20 rebounds; his add 15 points shooting 6-13 from the field and 3-3 from the foul lines, Atlanta Hawks were lead by joe johnson with 28 points. Los Angeles Lakers were lead by Lamar Odom (208-F-79, college: Rhode Island).


In other contest Francisco Garcia (201-F-81, agency: Octagon, college: Louisville) finish with 11 points in 23 minutes of action when the his team the Sacramento Kings lost againts the Seattle Supersonics 105-92, Francisco Garcia (201-F-81, agency: Octagon, college: Louisville) add 3 boards, 1 steal and 2 blocks.




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ESTONIA

Valga Welg adds Hallik -by Janar Filippov
Valga Welg, currently 8th in Estonian Meistriliiga, added Reinar Hallik (208-C-84) to its roster. Hallik started the season in Lappeenranta where he averaged 6.7 pts and 4.0 rbs in 11 Korisliiga games and 6 pts in 8 FIBA Eurocup games.

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EUROLEAGUE

Top 16 Schedule announced -by Eurobasket
Euroleague announced schedule of Top 16 stage games. The first games will be played on February 13-14th.
the second stage starts with three games on upcoming Wednesday between Eurobasket Top 100 leader Panathinaikos Athens facing Efes Pilsen Istanbul and 2nd placed CSKA Moscow playing against Lottomatica Virtus Roma.
Click here for the full schedule.

Day 1 schedule:

Wed, Feb. 13, 2008:
Group D: EFES PILSEN ISTANBUL - PANATHINAIKOS ATHENS
Group E: LIETUVOS RYTAS - TAU CERAMICA
Group G: CSKA MOSCOW - LOTTOMATICA ROMA

Thurs, Feb. 14, 2008:
Group D: MONTEPASCHI SIENA - PARTIZAN IGOKEA BELGRADE
Group E: ARIS TT BANK - FENERBAHCE ULKER ISTANBUL
Group F: REAL MADRID - ZALGIRIS KAUNAS
Group F: OLYMPIACOS PIRAEUS - MACCABI ELITE TEL AVIV
Group G: AXA FC BARCELONA - UNICAJA

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Manny Dies injured -by Rauno Hurmalainen
KTP (Kotka) had good luck and bad luck on Wednesday night in Porvoo. KTP won over local Tarmo after OT by one (88-89), but Team's American C-F Emmanuel Dies (204-F-77, agency: Interperformances, college: Kansas St.) got hurt badly during the last seconds of that game. Now we know, that Dies' Achilles tendon is broken and Dies' season is over. Dies played 24 games on KTP roster averaging 14,5 ppg - 11,4 rpg - 1,7 bpg.

KORISLIIGA: Coach Timo Hakamaa reach 300th game -by Rauno Hurmalainen
Team Componenta (Karkkila) GM Timo Hakamaa had to make a come back and replace Team's new Head Coach Veiko Tanni for one contest yesterday vs ToPo
in Helsinki. By the same Hakamaa was coaching his 300th game on Top level in Finland. ToPo won on Wednesday 105-83.

KORISLIIGA: YMCA LPR is testing Glen Whisby -by Rauno Hurmalainen
YMCA Lappeenranta is testing American C-F Glen Whisby (203-C/F-72, college: S.Mississippi) for the rest of this season. Whisby, who would replace Estonian F Reinar Hallik, will play his first game in Finland already tomorrow in Kotka vs KTP. Karhu (Kauhajoki) was actually testing first Whisby, but no contract was signed.

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FRANCE

Semaine des As '08 : Vichy first semi-finalist -by Aurelien Hipp
SDA '08


Le Mans - Vichy 65-82

(10-19,13-27,22-17,20-17)


Le Mans 65

Bogavac 2, Batum 14, Diot 15, Koffi 7,Limonad 7,Bokolo 2,Leloup,Bogdanovic 3,Ricci 4,Clancy 11

Vichy 82

Ball 22, El Fakarani ,Moss 16, Wright 11, Gradit 10, Melody 9,Rambur 1,Viviès, Issa 6(+9r),Karangwa 7


For the first quarter final of the 'Semaine des As', Le Mans was facing Vichy, the good surprise of the season so far, since the team is a ProA newcomer and currently is ranked 5th in the ProA.
Le Mans had the best start with an outstanding Sam Clancy, scoring 8pts (2 dunks) and giving the lead to Le Mans. But after 5 minutes, the defensive intensity, specialty of Vichy, was too strong and Le Mans managed to score only 10pts in the first quarter. Best player for Vichy after a quarter, Dounia Issa with 4 rebounds (3 under the opponents' rim!)

Le Mans 10 - Vichy 19


Same scenario during the second quarter, Le Mans tried to resist but defensively, Vichy was doing an outstanding job, keeping Le Mans very far. To start the quarter, Vichy posted a 8-1 run to lead 27-11 and another 8-0 run to lead 37-19. Despite its defensive reputation, Vichy showed an interesting collective game and impressive shooting skills (3/3 from downtown for Wright during the quarter). Le Mans just wasn't at the expected level, lost too many balls in offense, and let this way the control of the game to Vichy

Le Mans 23 - Vichy 46

It's a little bit better for Le Mans in this quarter, since the Euroleague team managed to narrow the gap by 5. It's the Batum quarter (10pts), with 2 treys and a tip-in dunk. But it's very hard to take back a 23-pt gap to Vichy. So far, Dounia Issa still is the best player of his team (17 rkg points), as well as Jimmal Ball (17pts and some incredible shots). The last basket of Vichy is a symbol, an alley-hoop set by Rambur to Gradit.


Le Mans 45 - Vichy 63


Finally, Le Mans cound't come back and didn't managed to worry Vichy during this quarter. Vichy makes it easy to end the game and the last minutes of garbage basket don't bring interesting things. Vichy is qualified for the semi-finals and keeps on surprising the french world of basketball. The JAV will face either Nancy or hosting team Hyeres-Toulon.


Le Mans 65 - Vichy 82

Semaine des As '08 : Hyeres-Toulon goes to the semi-final -by Aurelien Hipp
Nancy - Hyeres/Toulon 95-98 OT

(25-19,16-21,14-29,31-17, 9-12)


Dowdell 18,Amagou 9,Julian 3,Greer J 17,Parker 4, Harrison 13,Zaki,Michel,Samnick 3, Greer 14 R,Bauer14

Colson 30,Perincic 20, Ajinca 6 (and 7 blocks),Legname,Milling,Williams 16,Masingue 5, Nichols 19, McPherson 2

Best start for Nancy in this quarter, but the regular season leader was a helped a little bit by the 3refs, who whistled 7fouls vs 1 during the first 8 minutes. With Perincing struggling vs Ricardo Greer, Toulon had to let Nancy take the lead. But Toulon ended the first quarter only 6 pts behind, thanks an hyperactive Tony Williams (7pts). Nancy shot 14 free-throws in this single quarter, but was a fragile leader.

Nancy 25 - Toulon 19

Much more fragile after Toulon had find the target from the 3pt line. Colson, Nichols twice and Perincic scored from downtown to create a 10-0 run for Hyeres-Toulon. Too much for Jean-Luc Monschaud, who was compelled to call 2 time-outs. Harrison listened carefully to what coach Monschau said and scored 5ps in a row. After a last basket from Dowdell, Nancy was leading by 1 at half-time

Nancy 41 Toulon 40


An outstanding HTV in this quarter for a 29-14 score in this quarter. Colson (excellent during this period) and his teammates crushed Nancy with a 14-0 run to take a 50-68 lead with 3 minutes to go. Nancy had a better finish in this quarter, keeping the gap to 14. Will we have a Toulon-Vichy for the semi-final game?


Nancy 55 Toulon 69


An incredible last quarter, since Nancy back step by step to finally tie the game on a buzzer-beater shot from Jeff Greer from 10 meters! Toulon had a 3pt lead and Nancy the ball, but coach Monschau decided not to call a foul. He finally had to imagine the last action with 2.7seconds to go. That was finally the right decision, since his player tied the game with an ave-maria shot.

Nancy 86 Toulon 86

Toulon had to deal without Austin Nichols and vincent Masingue, both fouled out. It is strange to notice that Nancy sent the game in the overtime with a 33 ranking-point gap (77-110). The tactical option chose by Monschau was to let Bauer on the court, so that Ajinca couldn't stay in the paint in defense.
After a pretty close overtime, Jeff Greer had the shot to tie the game a second time but didn't score it this time. Hyeres-Toulon is qualified for the semi-final of the local semaine des as.


Nancy 95 Toulon 98

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GEORGIA

Shermadini's Fifth PF... Maccabi lost by 2 points... -by Levan Mikeladze
Today Dinamo T. played with Maccabi T. Veteran playmaker Archil Jgenti (185-G-75) grabbed 29 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals for his team while Maccabi T. was not allowing opponents to go ahead. Giorgi Shermadini (216-C-89, agency: Life Sports) was distinguished from Yellows who made 29 points, 19 rebounds and 4 assists. Unfortunantely for Maccabi T., young center added 5th personal foul to his stats in the 33rd minute of a game what fited Blues' win on Maccabi T. by two points - 77:75.

Interview with Mikheil Berishvili -by Levan Mikeladze

Mikheil Berishvili (205-F-87, agency: Naiditch Entertainment)

Born: 1987.12.04
Current team: Vita
Position: Forward
Height: 205cm
Weight: 97kg
Teams: TSU (2003-2007), Vita (2007-and counting).
First coach (es): Gela Tsuladze and Mikheil Kobeshavidze.
Hobby: Playing pool, reading.

Nickname: Misha

Stats in Superleague 2007/08:

Points - 14.2
Rebounds - 5.6
Assists - 2.5
Steals - 1.15
Blocked shots - 1.00

Game of the year: 22.10.2007 vs Energy Invest - 35 minutes, 27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals, 4 assists, 2 blocks, 7/6 on three pointers.

Before the start of this year's SUPERLEAGUE, Georgian national champoinship got a big sigh of relief, when it became clear, that the winnigest team of our era, Vita, has rosen from the ashes and was ready to compete on a highest level. Under the guidance of Zurab Tomaradze, with an assistance from Mikheil Kobeshavidze and Temur Abuladze, Vita is back and this time, we will take a lokk at this team's young star, forward Mikheil Berishvili.

So, read on!

- Mikheil, first of all, what about Your play in the ungoing Superleague?
- Well, I guess, it will be better for me not to speak about my showing. I prefer others to have oppinions about that.

- Make it short, o'key?
- Well, I had some minor health problems, some not that serious injuries, that affected my game as of late, but I hope to be 100 percent healthy and show in a way better shape, than before.

- In Your current team, Vita, You mostly play position 3, but sometimes You get downlow and scrambling with other team's power forwards. Where is it more suitable for You to play?
- Anywhere coaches put me in. I played more as a small forward, but playing power forward does not cause me a lot of problems, either. I just need to gain some muscles, I guess. That's it.

- What do You need to work on most?
- I think, and coaches tell me the same, that my physical conditions are the component, that needs to be improved. A lot of imrovement, I guess. You need to get stronger to post up, to bang with other big fellas, so I am here to do it. As I said, I will never be shy to admit, that my game needs this and that. Whatever is given to You by God, is not enough for the complete success.

- What is the reason of Vita loosing the last couple of games?
- You know, this is the first year for us being together as a team and even though we won more than we lost at the start of the season, now it shows, that we need to work a lot in many areas. We have great, experienced coaches, who will fix everything.

- What about yor teammates?
- We have a great athmosphere here, in Vita. You know, we are like family and this feeling never gets old, only stronger with each game. I have a lot of experienced teammates and I take a lot from them, I learn a lot on practices and never been shy of doing and saying these things. You need to take all or you will never get a second chance. Not only in sports, in life, too. I can say, that playing for Vita is an important part of my career.

- What about Your best showing so far?
- You mean, in this Superleague?

- Both, this ongoing season and career, please.
- In the opening leg of this year's Superleague we faced Energy Invest and I think, I had a pretty solid game in all areas, but that meant not that much, 'cause we lost. I think, I was 6/7 on long shots.

- What about Your career highlight?
- To be honest, just can't think of it at the moment, o'key?

- Who was, is Your basketball idol?
- Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

- Where would You like to play?
- NBA, that is my dream and as for the club, did not think of it much.



Avia beats Vita in a game of the day -by Levan Mikeladze
In the last seconds of action, the captain and the most experienced player from Tbilaviamsheni, Irakli Khoshtaria (190-G-75) misfired on both of his free throws, but Vita did not make a shot in the time left for the final attack and the game of the day went to Tbilaviamsheni and its head coach Levan Moseshvili . Vita's center Davit Berdzenishvili (208-C-76) grabed 18 points 9 rebounds and 2 block shots.

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GERMANY

German Cup: Ludwigsburg moves on to Quarterfinals -by Moritz Korff
Ludwigsburg - Jena 85:77

EnBW Ludwigsburg has advanced to the Quarterfinals of the German Cup-competition by holding off Science City Jena 85:77 at home. The hosts looked dominant in the beginning and had a 22:11-lead after ten minutes played. However, the Jena players fought their way back into the game after the first quarter break and won the second period by five (22:17). The up and down continued as Ludwigsburg netted 30 points after the half and managed to hold the opponent at 18. The visitors answered and went 26:16 in the final ten minutes. Nevertheless, that was not enough to keep Ludwigsburg from going to the next round, now being only one step away from making the Top 4.
Brasilian Michel Nascimento (208-C-78) led all scores with 21 points (6-of-8 field goal attempts and 9 out of 10 from the line) and also pulled down 9 rebounds in the win. Three of his teammates finished the game in double figures as well. Ronald Ross (188-G-83, college: Texas Tech) who got a game-high 6 steals and Brandon Woudstra (191-G-80, college: Northwestern (IA)) each had 14 points. Ludwigsburg's double figure scoring was rounded out by 11 points from Heiko Schaffartzik (182-G-84), hitting three shots from beyond the arc. Mark Davis (200-G/F-73, agency: Gross Zeev ISA, college: Texas Tech) tallied 18 points for Jena, Alexander Seggelke (198-F-79, agency: LimeLight) added 17, including three triples. Jason Miller followed with 12 points, Sean McCaw (205-F-73, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: S.Utah) scored 11 in 16 minutes on the hardwood, while Jamal Basit (206-C-78, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Delaware) posted a double-double of 10 rebounds and 10 points with a perfect 10-of-10 effort from the field.

ALBA inks Nadjfeji and McElroy -by Moritz Korff
As ALBA Berlin (1. Bundesliga) published on its website today, Aleksandar Nadjfeji (203-F-76) and Immanuel McElroy (193-G-80, college: Cincinnati) have made a deal with the team from the German capital. Both players who left the insolvent Koeln 99ers only yesterday, signed contracts until the end of the 2008-2009 season.

Jimmy James makes comeback and moves to Spain -by Moritz Korff
Jimmy James (196-F-82) is back in business and has joined C.B. Sarria of the Spanish EBA. The 25-year-old Berlin-native worked out with the Bremen Roosters recently and also had several offers from teams of the 2. Bundesliga Pro B and the Regionalliga. During the 2005-2006 season James averaged 7.5 points for the Paderborn Baskets to help the team winning the championship in the 2. Bundesliga North. His comeback in Spain is scheduled for Saturday.

German Cup: Cuxhaven KOs Leverkusen -by Moritz Korff

Three games of the BBL-Cup 1/8-Final were played on Wednesday. The Cuxhaven BasCats, top-team of the 2. Bundesliga Pro A, grabbed a surprise victory over the Bayer Giants Leverkusen and advanced to the Quarterfinals as the only non-BBL-side that is left in the tournament.

Cuxhaven - Leverkusen 88:80
The underdog from Nothern Germany shocked the Giants - currently on 3rd place in the Bundesliga-ladder - while 1300 fans in a packed Rundsporthalle in Cuxhaven loved what they saw. Leverkusen had the better start, but the BasCats brought the crowd to its feet by performing a 19:2-spurt in the first half. Suddenly Leverkusen was behind with 15, but managed to cut the lead to six in the following minutes. Though Cuxhaven had four of its starting players on the court for more than 35 minutes they showed no sign of slowing down and ran out for a 28:7 in the third period. But again Leverkusen answered by scoring straight 20 points in the last quarter to reduce the margin to six points with less than a minute to go. However, the Giants didn't get closer than that as Marlon Pompey (203-F-83, college: Texas A&M) put in the last two points with a dunk.
Cuxhaven's Rocky Trice (191-F-84, agency: Profibasketball.de, college: S.Carolina) had a huge performance and added 24 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists in the win. Monta McGhee (202-F-79, agency: AMI, college: Lewis) and Jean Francois (197-F-80, agency: AMI, college: Georgia Southern) both finished the game with a double-double, while Danny Gibson (180-G-84, college: S.Indiana) netted 18 points, including 4/6 treys. Gordon Geib (180-G-83, agency: LimeLight) hit 3 of his 5 attempts from three-point-territory to tally 19 points for Leverkusen, Brant Bailey (202-F-77, college: Wisc.-Stevens Point) added 15, Beckham Wyrick (198-F-83, college: NC-Wilmington) had 13 and Nate Fox (203-F-77, agency: Interperformances, college: Maine) 12.

Berlin - Koeln 89:56
The Koeln 99ers were without Immanuel McElroy (193-G-80, college: Cincinnati) and Aleksandar Nadjfeji (203-F-76) after they had decided to leave the team, so Coach Sasa Obradovic filled up his roster with a couple of youth-players. ALBA took control over the action from beginning on and rolled to easy victory. At halftime the home team was ahead 46:33 and got on a 25:9-run in the third quarter. Goran Nikolic (205-C-76, agency: Beo Basket) and Patrick Femerling (216-C-75, college: Washington) led the Berlin squad with 15 points apiece, followed by Julius Jenkins (187-G-81, college: Georgia Southern) who chipped in 12 points and Dijon Thompson (201-G/F-83, college: UCLA) with 10. Toby Bailey (196-G/F-75, college: UCLA) scored 17 points in defeat, Milko Bjelica (207-C-84, agency: Beo Basket) added 11.

Oldenburg - Quakenbrueck 93:95
It took a double-overtime for the Artland Dragons to overcome the EWE Baskets Oldenburg and finally advance to the Quarterfinals. With 25 seconds left in the 4th quarter the score was tied at 76. Oldenburg's Jason Gardner (178-G-80, agency: Interperformances, college: Arizona) took charge but missed his lay-up, while the Dragons had a final long-range shot which missed as well. In overtime number one the visitors led 82:78, but Oldenburg fought back and Ruben Boumtje Boumtje (212-C-78, college: Georgetown) secured another extra time with only some seconds left on the clock. Branislav Ratkovica (193-G-85) made only one of three free-throws in the final minute of the game while Quakenbrueck was ahead 95:93. Daniel Strauch (206-C-81) got the ball in his hands for the buzzer beater, but couldn't hit the target. Seven Quakenbrueck players scored in double digits, led by Adam Chubb (207-F/C-81, college: Pennsylvania) with 22 points. Jason Gardner and Rickey Paulding (196-G-82, college: Missouri) each had 19 points for Oldenburg in the loss, Boumtje-Boumtje posted a double-double with a season-high 15 points and 10 boards.

Two of the games missing in this round tip-off later this week:
Ludwigsburg - Jena: February 7
Ulm - Paderborn: February 8


The other fixtures are:

Bremerhaven - Frankfurt: February 13

Giessen - Tuebingen: February 14

Braunschweig - Bamberg: February 27



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HUNGARY

Round 16 -by Tamas Deri

POLAROID-LAMI-VED KORMEND - ZALAKERAMIA-ZTE KK 77-55
(20-17, 19-11, 23-17, 15-10)
Kormend, Att.: 2.400, Referees:
KORMEND: Fodor 4, Ed McCants (193-G-82, agency: ProSportsCareers, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) 10/9, Trummer 7/3, Vavra 4, Stanley Ocitti (203-F/C-80, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Binghamton) 16/6, Jermaine Thomas (187-G-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: La Salle) 14/6, Ferencz 3/3, Kenneth Henderson (201-F-82, college: Texas Arlington) 12/3, Fodor 2, Toth 5, Kocsis, Coach: Dragoljub Krivacevic
ZTE KK: Miskovic 9/3, Walters 10/6, Tamas Kaman (200-F-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 13/9, Piplovic 7/3, Keresztes 5, Gaspar 5, Basette 6, Simon, Baki, Toth, Coach: Nikola Lazic
Most rebounds: Stanley Ocitti 13 - Baki 3
Most assists: Kenneth Henderson 3 - Miskovic 5


SZOLNOKI OLAJ KK - PLANET-LEASING DOMBOVAR 74-70
(19-11, 25-11, 20-26, 10-22)
Szolnok, Att.:
SZOLNOK: Thomas Kelley (188-G-76, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: Michigan St.) 17/3, Vernard Hollins (192-G-80, agency: Warren Sports, college: Wright St.) 20/9, Molnar 11/9, Sabaliauskas 11/9, Gobi 8, Harazin 5, Cziczas 2, Coach: Por Peter
DOMBOVAR: Julien Mills (193-G-84, agency: Warren Sports, college: Ball St.) 28/9, English 6, Attila Deak (193-F-77) 11/9, Sanders 10, Wiley 7/3, Simon 3/3, Molnar 5/3, Coach: Dzunic Branislav
Most rebounds: Gobi 8 - Sanders 11, Julien Mills 10
Most assists: Thomas Kelley 7 - English 5


PVSK-EXPO CENTER PECS - ALBACOMP 80-58
(17-10, 16-14, 28-15, 19-19)
Pecs, Att.:
PECS: Wittmann 4, Williams 9, Dragan Aleksic (196-G-70, agency: Beo Basket) 14/9, Toth 8, Grebenar 9, Lapov 10/6, Czigler 2, Gergely Kutasi (190-G-84, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 12/6, Denes 12/9, Coach: Stojan Ivkovic
ALBACOMP: Balazs Simon (188-G-80, agency: Court Side) 22/6, Bradford 13, Soos 3/3, Boozer, McClendon 7, Radovic 8, David 2, Hanga 3, Coach: Goran Miljkovic
Most rebounds: Czigler 6 - McClendon 10
Most assists: Dragan Aleksic 5 - Simon 5


ATOMEROMU SE - FALCO KC SZOMBATHELY 75-82
(12-27, 23-9, 15-18, 25-28)
Paks, Att.:
ASE: Zalan Meszaros (190-G-74) 16, Murry, Kiss 7/3, Horvath 15, Robert Gulyas (213-C-74) 25, Panta 2, Toroman 10/6, Medve, Coach: Sabali Balazs
FALCO: Laszlo Kalman (186-G-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 19/9, Varadi 8, Bam Doyne (193-G-84, college: Mississippi) 24/6, Arnas Kazlauskas (204-C/F-76, agency: Court Side) 17/9, Nikola Aliakseyeu (212-C-78, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents, college: Buffalo) 14, Borszeki, Will, Feigl, Coach: Srecko Sekulovic
Most rebounds: Horvath 14 - Varadi 12
Most assists: Zalan Meszaros 6 - Laszlo Kalman and Arnas Kazlauskas 5-5


SOPRONI-SORDOGOK - UNIVER KSE 89-107
(23-29, 19-28, 21-24, 26-26)
SOPRON: Bradley 6, Lakatos 12, Viggiano 7, Lesko 8, Pavel Frana (212-C-77) 24, Szabolcs Pojbics (183-G-76) 17/15, Kortelyesi 2, Boldizsar 5, Vesztergom 5/3, Coach: Meszlenyi Robert
UNIVER: Sigurdarson 13/3, Larry Blair (183-G-84, college: Liberty) 39/15, Horvath 13/6, Jefferson Antonio (207-F/C-83) 21/3, Fiegi 6/3, Szabo 13/9, Vida, Halmai 1, Toth1, Coach: Zsoldos Andras
Most rebounds: Lesko 5 - Jefferson 7
Most assists: Lakatos 4 - Blair and Sigurdarson 3-3


MAFC - NYKK 82-90

(21-18, 14-24, 24-15, 23-23)

Budapest, Att.: 200, Referees: Kothay, Foldhazi, Szabo

MAFC: Jitim Young (188-G-81, college: Northwestern) 20, Wehner 10, Edwin Draughan (196-G/F-82, college: Yale) 20/3, Fulop 6, Kecskes 12, Vavra Andras 14/3, Radovics, Misek, Coach: Dinnyes Attila

NYÍREGYHAZA: Branko Savic (181-G-79) 18/12, Buchanan 12/3, Mouton 5/3, Erno Sitku (208-C-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 24/12, Helbich 11, Zoltan Trepak (210-C-77, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 12, Siska 8/6, Krasznai, Farkas A., Coach: Deri Csaba


Bodrogi Bau Vasarhelyi KS - Kaposvari KK 98-82
(33-28, 26-19, 26-21, 13-14)
Hodmezővasarhely, Att.: 700, Referees: Hegedus, Gal, Balogh L.
Bodrogi Bau Vasarhelyi KS: David Brooks (191-G-82, college: Niagara) 19/3, Drahos 16, Kovats 7, Eric Freeman (205-C-79, college: Ky Wesleyan) 28, Gemes 18/6, Babut 10, Boszormenyi, Coach: Czuprak Laszlo
Kaposvari KK: Matija Ceskovic (192-G-81, agency: Court Side) 26/15, Carl Edwards (196-F-81, college: Charleston) 19/3, Szőke 14, Hendlein 8, Orosz 4, Csirke 4, Kinsella 7, Tomosvary, Coach: Horvath Imre



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IBL

Quinnel Brown joins Steelheads -by Trask Frost
Gary, IN—The Gary Steelheads have officially begun filling roster spots for their inaugural season in the International Basketball League. The Steelheads have announced that 6'6' guard/wing Quinnel Brown (6'6''-F-83, college: Auburn) will join the team for the 2008 campaign.

Brown was a two-year starter at Auburn University after transferring from Wabash Valley Junior College. Brown averaged 12.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game as a senior for the Tigers (2005)

Gary Steelheads coach Rob Spon - 'Quinnel is a great athlete that will help us on both ends of the floor. He is an extremely versatile defender, with the quickness to stay with guards and the strength to play great interior defense.'

Brown has played professional basketball both domestically and abroad. In 2005/06, Brown played in Sweden for the Sundsvall Dragons (14.6 points, 6.6 rebounds per game). Next, Brown suited up for the Twin City Ballers and Detroit Panthers (both ABA). Most recently, Brown returned to Sweden and the Dragons for the 2007 season.

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.

Holland Blast schedule free agent tryout -by Trask Frost
Holland, MI—The Holland Blast have announced a free agent camp to search for talent for the team's third season in the International Basketball League. Camp information is listed below, and a registration form is available in the ‘Tryouts' section of the IBL website (www.iblhoopsonline.com).

Holland Blast Free Agent Camp

When: Saturday, March 1, 2008 from 2:00 - 6:00 pm
Where: The Boys/Girls Club of Holland, Michigan
Cost: $60.00 before February 20th $75 at the door
What: Individual evaluation, drill workout, game-like scrimmages with registered officials, Blast t-shirt and agents will be invited.
Contact: Director of Basketball Operations tylerwhitcomb@comcast.net

The Blast kick off their 2008 season on Friday, March 21 at the Holland Civic Center against the Windy City Soldiers.

Explosion Basketball Donates To Sky Valley Food Bank -by Jay

Monroe, WA- General Manager Brad Sturlaugson presented a check to the Sky Valley Food Bank this week. The donation was based on a percentage of ticket sales in the months of November and December. 'We are happy to give back to the community,' stated Sturlaugson, 'The food bank is an important piece of the Sky Valley region.'

As the number of needy families in our community continues to grow, the demand on our food bank grows as well. Each month, enough food for approximately 30,000 meals is distributed to our neighbors in need - seniors and families who require our assistance to provide for their families. The Sky Valley Food Bank needs to be stocked and ready to meet this challenge.

The Explosion continues to foster it's relationship with the food bank into the season. 'We are planning a Sky Valley Food Bank night for later in the season,' Director of Ticketing Zack Mennie said. Date and details of the night are still being worked out.

For more information on the Sky Valley Food Bank, visit their website at www.svfoodbank.org or call them at 360-794-7959



Holland Blast sign former All American Antonio Davis from NCAA D2 Urbana!!! -by Lucius Jones
Hidden Gems Pro Placement is proud to announce that Antonio Davis (6'6''-F-82, college: Urbana) has officially signed on to play for the Holland Blast and is expected to play a featured role along side point guard, Dennis Springs (5'8''-G-82, college: Ferris St.). As a former All American at NCAA D2 Urbana, Antonio is eager to prove himself versus higher quality competition in the IBL and further his professional basketball playing career abroad during the upcoming autumn overseas season. As a sophomore Antonio Davis averaged 15ppg and 10rpg and shot 59%FG to firmly establish himself among his levels elite players and he raised the bar even higher by his senior season to the tune of 22ppg 8rpg and a still strong 55%FG. Expectations are for him to continue putting up numbers like these en route toward a prosperous professional playing career. This versatile talent is equally effective at either the 2 or 3 position with the ability to slide to a point or 4man spot in a pinch. More Blast news to come..........

Explosion Basketball donates to Sky Valley Food Bank -by Trask Frost
General Manager Brad Sturlaugson presented a check to the Sky Valley Food Bank this week. The donation was based on a percentage of ticket sales in the months of November and December. 'We are happy to give back to the community,' stated Sturlaugson, 'The food bank is an important piece of the Sky Valley region.'

As the number of needy families in our community continues to grow, the demand on our food bank grows as well. Each month, enough food for approximately 30,000 meals is distributed to our neighbors in need - seniors and families who require our assistance to provide for their families. The Sky Valley Food Bank needs to be stocked and ready to meet this challenge.

The Explosion continues to foster it's relationship with the food bank into the season. 'We are planning a Sky Valley Food Bank night for later in the season,' Director of Ticketing Zack Mennie said. Date and details of the night are still being worked out.

For more information on the Sky Valley Food Bank, visit their website at www.svfoodbank.org, or call them at 360-794-7959.

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ICELAND

Fjolnir-Skallagrimur -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Last weekend in Lysing Cup quarter finals Fjolnir beat Skallagrimur away. Now Skallagrimur beat Fjolnir away. Result 66-79. leading scorer for Fjolnir. Sean Knitter 27 + 13 rebs. For Skallgrimur Milojica Zekovic 30. Darrell Flake 21 + 16 rebs. Allan Fall 14+ 10 rebs + 11 assist. Triple double from the France men.

IR 77. Keflavik 88. Sveinbjorn Claessen 17. Nate Brown & Hreggvidur Magnusson 15 each for IR. Bobby Walker 20. Sigurdur Thorsteinsson 18 for Keflavik

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ITALY

Tim Cup Final 8 - Quart Finals Day 1 -by Stefano Pini
Montepaschi SI - Scavolini Spar PU 77-78
Tim Cup Final 8 started with a big surprise: Scavolini Pesaro iced Montepaschi Siena. Siena was ahead for 39', but Carlton Myers (192-G-71, agency: World Sport Agency) played as a champion and tied the game at 67. Rasheed Brokenborough (191-G-77, college: Temple) with an another 3p. shot pushed his team to 70-67 and Keydren Clark (173-G-84, college: St.Peter's) completed the masterpiece with 2 free throws for the 8-0. For Montepaschi Siena all the decisions in the final were taked by Terrell McIntyre (175-G-77, college: Clemson) that ended with 29p and 7 assists but his last shot was by 2p., with a feet on the line, and Siena couldn't reach the overtime.
Siena paid the bad night from the free throw line (19/31). Romain Sato (194-G-81, college: Xavier) + Ksystof Lavrinovic (210-C-79) + Benjamin Eze (207-C/F-81, college: S.Idaho JC) combined for 2/11
Lottomatica RM-La Fortezza BO 69-75
Vidivici Bologna kept the homecourt in the 2nd quarterfinal beating Lottomatica Roma. Vidivici played as a team with 5 players in double digit. Bologna had a great start (23-12) pushed by Alan Anderson (198-G/F-82, college: Michigan St.). Roma reacted in the second half leaded by Allan Ray (188-G-84, college: Villanova) but at that time, Brett Blizzard (191-G-80, agency: Octagon, college: NC-Wilmington), 7th months after his injury, came back and put 2 3p. shots that gave energy to his team to play an intense 4th quarter and a passport to the semifinal.

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JAPAN

From JBL to BJL, Browne overcomes release -by Mark Ofel
Dean Browne, who along with Ryu Han, was recently released from the Tochigi Brex of the JBL2. Browne, however, found new life in a new league and a new home with the Tokyo Apache. The high flying Browne replaces recently released Bryant (picked up by Fukuoka Rizing) as the fourth American on the team. Tokyo has slipped from 2nd to 3rd in the east amid Niigata's mid-season surge and hopes Browne can bring some much needed reinforcement in the paint.

Kagoshima gets official nod from JBL2 -by Mark Ofel

The JBL2 has announced the official acceptance of Kagoshima as an expansion team into the JBL2 for next season. Sports Frontier Kagoshima Co., Ltd. (www.sportsfkg.com) has contracted with four players and will replace the Tochigi Brex, which will move up to the JBL next season. The team has yet to decide a name. The interim team, the Kagoshima Redsharks, had a strong showing in the All-Japan tournament before being eliminated by Rera Kamuy Hokkaido of the JBL. The players are:

Jerone Dodd F/C 203cm/100kg

Imai Kosuke F 190cm/90kg
Higashi Kenjiro G 180cm/75kg
Fujiwara Takeshi G 181cm/75kg



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KOSOVO

Mabetex Super League Schedule -by Edona Shabani
This is the schdule for the XVII week:

KASTRIOTI - BAMBI,Sunday on 17,00
Referees: Hajredin Zeka, Arbnor Rifati, Agim Halili
Monitors: Muhamet Ahma

KOSOVA - PEJA, Sunday on 19,00
Referees: Mehdi Gashi, Arben Elshani, Alban Vula
Monitors: Tajar Rifati

YLLI - AS PRISHTINA, Saturday on 14,00
Referees: Azem Hoxhaj, Urim Hasani, Hysen Hasani
Monitors: Blerim Vula

DRITA - TREPCA, Saturday on 20,00
Referees: Hektor Grezda, Faton Kurshumliu, Daut Mehmeti
Monitors: Nexhdet Hoxha

Source: www.basketbolli.com

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KUWAIT

Shand signs for Al Tadamon -by Ali Ahmed
Al Tadamon basketball team management agreed terms with the Canadian Center Kevin Shand (209-C-74, agency: Global Sports Plaza, college: Duquesne) to play for them this season .


Shand is a versatile front-court player, who has the strength to keep his position inside and the quickness and the ball handling to play even on the perimeter. Has various post skills.


Awards/Achievements:
Canadian National Team -95,01
Won the Jones Cup in Taiwan with CAN NT -95
Canadian Athletic Association Championship Winner -95
Ontario Canada Athletic Association (OCAA) titles -95,96
Hungarian League All-Star Game -00
Goodwill Games in Brisbane (AUS) - 01
Bahrain League Regular Season Champion -07
Bahrain League Champion -07


























Kevin Shand (209-C-74, agency: Global Sports Plaza, college: Duquesne)

*****************************************************
LITHUANIA

Zalgiris Kaunas sign Mamadou N`Diaye -by Lukas Zajancauskas


Zalgiris wins the LKF Cup -by Lukas Zajancauskas
Zalgiris Kaunas beat Lietuvos Rytas 83-72 in the final of the LKF Cup.
Rytas scored only 2 points in the first five minutes thanks to good Zalgiris defense. Kaunas team took early advantage 10:2. After the first quarter the result was 22:14 Zalgiris led.
In the second quarter Damir Markota got a technical foul for stopping Rytas counterattack. Hollis Price hit a three-pointer which made the result 28:28. De Juan Collins (188-G-76, college: Tuskegee) scored 6 points in a row by the end of first half. The result was 42:36.
In the middle of the third quarter De Juan Collins scored two threes, which forced Rytas coach A.Trifunovic to call a timeout. After the timeout Rytas cut the deficit to 8, but De Juan Collins led a 11:0 run for Zalgiris. After the third quarter Zalgiris was ahead by 13.
Zalgiris missed many three pointers and Lietuvos Rytas reduced the deficit to 11. The pressure was growing, were arguing with referees. But all became obvious when Zalgiris led by 15 and only 3 minutes was remaining. The final score was 83:72 Zalgiris Kaunas won.

Zalgiris: D.Collins 27 + 7 reb., M.Brown 15, J.Maciulis 13, M.Popovic 11, P.Jankunas 9, E.Zukauskas 4 + 8 reb., G.Jurak 4.
Lietuvos Rytas: H.Price'as 17, Ch.Eidsonas 13, A.Slezas 9, K.Bajramovicius 8, M.Petravicius ir A.Jomantas - po 6, J.Jordanas 4, J.Vromanas 4 + 5 reb., M.Gecevicius 3, M.Lukauskis 2.
The MVP was D.Collins of Zalgiris and C.Eidson of Rytas.

Zalgiris Kaunas sign Mamadou N`Diaye -by Lukas Zajancauskas


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MEXICO

Teacher Schools Student as Rojos Down Xalapa -by Justin Brink
The Halcones Rojos saved face last night as they took game three at home 102-94 from the Halcones of Xalapa who now have a 2-1 series lead. Rojos head coach, Chuck Skarshaug, is facing former player, Victor Avila (209-C-77, college: Oklahoma) of Xalapa, in a fiercely contested LNBP Southern Conference Semi Final. Xalapa's Avila played for Skarshaug in at Cornerstone High in San Antonio Texas. Both are gunning for a ticket to the Conference Finals which will showcase two LNBP teams from Veracruz, the Halcones of Cordoba and the winner of the Rojos-Xalapa series. The teacher, Coach S, will have his work cut out for him as Xalapa has been one of the strongest and most consistent offensive teams all year long. Click here for more LNBP playoff analysis.

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NBA

Shaquille O'Neal to Phoenix - Deal is Sealed! -by Eurobasket News
The whole basketball world waited for not too long before the Phoenix Suns and the Miami Heat completed a mega-explosive deal. Shaquille O'Neal (7'2''-C-72, college: LSU) successfully passed all the medical tests with the Suns and joined the franchise. Meanwhile Shawn Marion (6'7''-F-78, college: UNLV) and Marcus Banks (6'2''-G-81, college: UNLV) headed in the opposite direction filling in the Heat roster. The first-year Suns general manager Steve Kerr opted to change the philosophy of the previously arguably the quickest team in the league adding a veteran superstar centre who can hardly add speed to Phoenix. On the other hand Shaquille O'Neal won four NBA championships and is definitely will bring the instinct of the winner to his new team. Reportedly the Suns leaders Amare Stoudemire (6'10''-F-82) and Steve Nash (6'3''-G-74, college: Santa Clara) expressed their full support of Shaq's arrival, so did Mike D'Anthoni. The arrival of Shaquille O'Neal fuels up the old-time rivalry between him and his old teammate Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78). With the Lakers obviously aiming at the West Final it all could work for the huge intrigue in what seem pretty possible Conference Final series. Shaquille O'Neal visited the Phoenix game against New Orleans yesterday and received a standing ovation from the Suns' fans. He is now dealing with a hip injury and is expected to appear on court after the All-Star Game break.
Meanwhile the Miami Heat received the four-time All-Star Shawn Marion and underrated guard Marcus Banks. The Heat had to waive guard Luke Jackson to make room on the roster. Shawn Marion was rumored to ask for trade before the season but was refused by the franchise. Nevertheless his current stats stand at 15.8 points and 9.9 boards per game. Hopefully he can shake things up for the ailing Heat as they possess the worst league record at 9-38. Marcus Banks averaged 5.2 points and 1.0 assists per 24 games in this season.

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NCAA

Duke tame North Carolina -by Eurobasket News
Duke handed North Carolina the second defeat in the season beating them 89:78 at the Dean Smith Center yesterday. It was the 20th win for the Blue Devils in the season. Duke brought down an avalanche of three-pointers on the Tar Heels converting 13 on the night. It was a sufficient basis for the win. Six Duke players scored in double figures en route to the victory. Greg Paulus (6'1''-G-86) led the Blue Devils with 18 points, while Jon Scheyer (6'5''-G-87) added 17 points in a win. Tyler Hansbrough (6'9''-F-85) came up with 28 points and 18 boards for North Carolina in defeat. North Carolina were without services of injured point guard Ty Lawson (5'11''-G-87) and obviously struggled with their zone defense. The Tar Heels trailed by 3 points at halftime and trimmed the difference to just a single point for a couple of times early in the second half. However the visitors denied all the efforts from the hosts to gain the lead and cleared off to a 10-point distance with under a minute to go. The Tar Heels never recovered losing the battle. The second best scorer on North Carolina squad Wayne Ellington (6'4''-G-87) was limited to just 8 points on 3/14 FG shooting.
Meanwhile the 19-ranked Connecticut Huskies went up for 17-5 record edging Syracuse 63:61 yesterday. The Orange that previously won three straight games were up by 3 points at the interval but lost the grip and allowed Connecticut to take over. The Huskies survived a tight dying seconds and Jonny Flynn (6'0''-G-89) missed a what could be a saving three-pointer to seal the win for Connecticut. Jeff Adrien (6'7''-F-86) topscored with 19 points and 12 boards for Connecticut. A.J. Price (6'2''-G-86) scored 14 points for the winners. Paul Harris (6'5''-G-86) responded with 24 points and 11 boards for Syracuse as they fell to 16-8 record.

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NCAA2

GNAC Action From February 7 -by Sanjey Noriega
Seattle University 83, Northwest Nazarene 72
Nampa, Idaho

SU(5-5 in GNAC)
Ryan Coldren-16pts
Michael Wright-14pts
Chris Gweth-14pts
Mike Boxley-12pts and 8 rebs

NNU(6-4 in GNAC)
Kendall Gielow-22pts and 5 rebs
Justin Parnell-17pts and 7rebs


Seattle Pacific 90, Montana State-Billings 34
Seattle, Washington

MSUB(1-9 in GNAC)
Kirk Blaine-10pts and 7rebs

SPU(7-3 in GNAC)
Rob Will-24pts and 7 rebs
Brandon Larrieu-16pts


Central Washington 100, Saint Martin's 76
Lacey, Washington- SMU Pavillion

CWU(7-3 in GNAC)
Matt Penoncello (6'5''-G)-26pts
Nate Jackson (6'0''-G)-22pts
Giovonne Woods-17pts
Jake Bietinger-13pts and 10 rebs

SMU(4-6 in GNAC)
Jake Linton-24pts
Bill Richardson-16pts

Western Oregon 83, Western Washington 71
Monmouth, Oregon

WOU(4-6 in GNAC)
Travis Kuhns-22pts and 7 rebs
Adonal Arrington-18pts and 11rebs

WWU(5-5 in GNAC)
Ira Graham-21pts
Derrick Webb-13pts

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NCAA3

Jake Baldwin Nets 2,000th Career Point -by Moritz Korff
Piedmont College men's basketball player Jake Baldwin (6'6''-F) netted his 2,000th career point last night in the Lions' 77-60 road loss at Oglethorpe University. The senior forward becomes the first men's basketball player in the NCAA-era to reach the milestone.

Baldwin becomes the second NCAA Division-III player to pass the 2,000 career point plateau this season joining Aurora's Larry Welton who netted his 2,000th on December 29th, 2007.

Baldwin's historic basket came via a three-point basket from an assist by Daniel Lampl with 14:14 remaining in the game.

The preseason All-American selection needed 59 career games to reach the 1,000 point plateau which he did last season verus Averett University on December 8, 2006. Just 38 games later he doubled his point totals to become a member of the elite 2,000 point club.

Earlier this season Baldwin grabbed his 500th career rebound in the Lions' road victory at Birmingham Southern College on November 25th.

Included in the numerous NCAA-era school records that Baldwin owns are career and single season points, field goals made, FG %, FT attempted, FT made, and rebounds. He holds the school single game record of 42 points which he has totaled on three different occasions including twice this season. Additonally he has crested the 30-point single game plateau on 15 different occasions in his career.

Baldwin is currently the nation's leading NCAA Division-III scorer at 29.0 points per game.

Courtesy of http://www.piedmontlions.com/

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NICARAGUA

It is official now: McKenzie can play -by Gianni Pascucci
The Nicaraguan Basketball Federation (Fenibal) confirmed in an official release that the three years ban of the player Noel McKenzie (188-G-78) can be considered ended, and he is now free to play. McKenzie had been suspended in the spring of 2005 after agreeing the referee Nestor Velasquez during a game of Liga del Parque. This is a good new for the Nicaraguan basketball, that welcomes back one of the best players in the country.

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POLAND

Market news in Poland -by Michal Falkowski
AZS Koszalin have decided to release American Dante Swanson and Canadian-Nigerian Sani Ibrahim. Both players are free agent on conditions of mutual agreement. Swanson performed in 8 games and he was averaging 8.5 ppg. and 2.1 apg. When it comes to Ibrahim (around 6 ppg. and 4 rpg.) he has already found a new club. He will play for Basket BPS Bank Kwidzyn. He has just signatured the deal until the June 2008. Moreover AZS have chosen a replacement for Swanson. New face in the team is Phil Goss. American combo guard started this season in Israel in Elitzur Ashkelon. He was scoring 8 ppg. and grabbing 2 rpg.

Dusan Bocevski (208-C-73, agency: Interperformances) will play in Poland again. It will be his fourth season here. Macedonian center/power forward joined Anwil Wloclawek in 2003 and he extended the contract for another year. Next he played in Slovenia, Russia but before the 2006/2007 season he signed a deal with Anwil again. Now his new team will be Polpharma Starogard Gdanski. Bocevski began this season in Cypriot team - Keravnos College Cyprus but after some months he was fired.

Carlos Rivera and Piotr Szybilski are no longer players of SPEC Polonia Warsaw. The board of Polonia decided to fire both players.

Gaidamavicius joines Anwil Wloclawek -by Michal Falkowski
Anwil Wloclawek found a successor of Gerrod Henderson who refused playing in Anwil Wloclawek some weeks ago. New face in Anwil is Tomas Gaidamavicius (192-G-82). Lithuanian player is typical combo guard - can be a playmaker as well as shooter. At the beggining of this season he tied with Romanian team CSU Asesoft Ploiesti where he was a key player. In ULEB Cup competition in 10 games he was able to score 10 ppg. and assis 2.5 times per game. Gaidamavicius had already broken off with Asesoft and appeared in Wloclawek. After some trainings with the team Ales Pipan decided to keep him in the roster.

Lee Humphrey in Energa Czarni -by Michal Falkowski
Lee Humphrey (188-G-84, college: Florida) is a new player of Energa Czarni Slupsk. In the situation of quite weak Alexander Kudriavtsev's performances the board and coaches of the club made a decision to bring the strenghtening. Humphrey has already inked a deal until the end of the season. Last time he has played for PAOK Saloniki but he hasn't fulfilled the expectations (9 games - 6.4 ppg., 1.2 rpg., 1.2 apg.).

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PORTUGAL

Proliga round 18 -by Luis Rocha
Nice round with close and good games. Seixal won on the road in Angra 51-55. Sampaense wasn't able to won at home against Illiabum, they were trying to win this game in order to become morally stronger to the rest of the regular season, they now have to work harder and took the advices of their new coach Francisco Gradeco in account. Benfica won at home against Academica, it was simpler then one expect, final result 96-76. At home Atletico made Queluz sweat their guts out to win, very nice job from Atletico with a team without foreign players, but Queluz took good profit on the ones they have and won 73-76. Maia smashed CTM at home 94-60, a game with no story. Galitos went to Esgueira and achieve the surprise of the round by beating the home team 58-62, nice game performed by Barreiro's team, trying to get a little up in the chart. Fisica won over Sangalhos at home, Sangalhos are finding a lot of problems to achieve better performances, it was a large diference in the result (98-66), diference not expected in the beggining. The MVP of the round was Marcel Momplaisir (205-F-81, college: Rhode Island) of Fisica, nice game with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists.

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PUERTO RICO

Winds of Discontent between BSN Players and Team Owners -by Luis Ramirez
The BSN players association held a meeting yesterday where it members voted to start a strike effective immediately. Players unanimously agreed to miss practice or team scrimmages for the time being and are intent in having the BSN turn back their decision of having a Community Player among the mix for the upcoming tournament. Along with their disagreement with the Community Player, players are also requesting additional items which include a 100% of their salary in the case they are injured and cannot continue to play in the season, Medical Coverage is also another issue of contention among the players and the owners. The Ponce Lions were scheduled to play an exhibition game last night against the Guayama Brujos and the Ponce players never showed up. The Brujos nonetheless made their appearance on the court and took the time to hold a very spirited team practice. Word from the League President, Felix Rivera is that the BSN will not reverse its decision on the Community Player issue, but it seems that they (team owners) are willing to meet some of the other Players Association demands. The tournament is to start at the end of this month and this player's association move at this moment put in jeopardy the tournament, we will just have to see what developments occur during the coming days.

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RUSSIA

Khimky is a champion - CSKA lost in the Russian Cup Finals -by Aleksandra Sanders

CSKA lost the Russian Cup Finals for the first time since 2004. The Army club got 10 points lead but Khimki returned back thanks to the rythm
control got the lead and never looked back.
It is the first throphy in history of BC Khimki. Next are The Russian Championship and ULEB Cup!


Khimky vs. CSKA: 85-67 (14-19 21-18 23-8 27-22)

Best guard — Anton Ponkrashov
Best forward — Kelly McCarty
MVP — Macej Lampe




Ettore Messina, CSKA head coach:

- We came to Kazan as a very tired team. Last three months we play with seven players and it should have happened especially when we face two leg tournament. Unfortunately, we had no surprises this days. I tried to use our young players but that was not their game. It is too early for them to step on the level. Now we have to come back to Moscow and try to recover before the Top-16 games. It would not be easy. CSKA did not get used to loose.

Short Stats
Khimky
5 C. Tucker 2
7 V. Fridzon 2
13 M. Wilkinson 6
18 A. Ponkrashov 16
21 K. MсСarty 16
30 M. Lampe 23
32 D. Ewing 18
33 P. Burke 2

HC Kestutis Kemzura


# CSKA
4 T. Papaloukas 13
7 A. Kashirov 7
9 R. Siskauskas 11
10 J. Holden 7
11 Z. Pashutin 5
13 D. Andersen 17
21 T. Langdon 7


HC Ettore Messina

CSKA will play against Khimky in Russian Cup Final -by Eurobasket News
The rivalry of two arguably the strongest Russian teams at the moment will continue in the Cup. Both CSKA and Khimky scraped through the semifinal stage to face each other in the tournament finale today. The Russian Cup Final Four is held in Kazan and brought together the top drawer teams of the Russian basketball.
Khimky clashed with Dynamo Moscow in the first semifinal yesterday. The game lived up to the highest expectations of the exquisite connoisseurs of basketball. Dynamo experienced some serious problems with the squad as Svetislav Pesic was not able to use Petr Samoylenko (186-G-77), Milos Vujanic (190-G-80) and Dmitri Khvostov (191-G-89). So actually Dynamo appeared without their key point guards and had to shift some of their players to this position. The encounter was fiercely close throughout all four terms. The scoreline read the tie at 34 at halftime. Dynamo managed to accumulate a tiny 2-point lead after 30 minutes of action but it was soon denied by Khimky. Daniel Ewing (191-G-83, college: Duke) stepped with a three-pointer and a slam dunk to put Khimky in front midway through the final frame. Dynamo answered with a 7:0 rally to retain the lead. But the last word went to Khimky. Vitali Fridzon (195-G-85) connected from afar and Maciej Lampe (210-C-85, agency: Edge Sports) added some important baskets late in regulation as Khimky snatched a narrow 73:71 win and advanced into the Final. Maciej Lampe finished with game-high 24 points and 16 boards. Daniel Ewing added 16 points, while Kelly McCarty (201-F-75, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: S.Mississippi) scored 10 points for the winners. Sergei Bykov (190-G-83) replied with 13 points for Dynamo. Juri Vasiliev (207-C-81) scored 11 points in defeat.
Later CSKA and Unics hit the ground for another semifinal. This game was hardly different from the previous one concerning the intrigue. The teams struggled offensively throughout the game concentrating on defense more. CSKA piled up a 12:9 lead after the opening frame. But Unics surged ahead 27:22 at halftime. The scoring draught continued after the break as Moscow side outscored their opponents 13:10 in the third period. It all went down to the final seconds. Unics led by as many as two points with seconds left in regulation. But CSKA had J.R. Holden (185-G-76, college: Bucknell) on the floor. CSKA point guard received the ball from Ramunas Siskauskas (197-G-78) and drained a game-winning three-pointer that put CSKA into the Final. J.R. Holden led CSKA with 13 points and 10 boards. Sergei Chikalkin (196-G-75) scored 13 points for Unics.

Khimky - Dynamo 73:71
Khimky: Maciej Lampe 24+16 boards, Daniel Ewing 16, Kelly McCarty 10
Dynamo: Sergei Bykov 13, Juri Vasiliev 11

Unics - CSKA 50:51
Unics: Sergei Chikalkin 13, Tariq Kirksay (199-F-79, college: Iona) 9
CSKA: J.R. Holden 13+10 boards, Ramunas Siskauskas 9

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SENEGAL

st Round of the Senegalese Championship Men 2007-2008 -by Lamine Ndiaye
Senegalease Championship start last week for the men, the teams are divided by two groups A and B here are the first results and ranking.
Group A
Goree-Asfa : 50-52 ;Hbc-Douane : 49-59 ; Ndiambour-Ugb : 52-87
Group B
Bopp-Ja: 83-69 ; Rail-Usl: 52-53 ;Duc-Slbc: 50-41

Ranking A
1er Ugb (2 pt, +35),
2e Douane (2 pt, +10),
3e Asfa (2 pt, +2),
4e Goree (1 pt, -2),
5e Hbc (I pt, -10),
6e Ndiambour (I pt, -35)

ranking B
1er Bopp (2 pt, + 4),
2e Duc (2 pt, +9)
3e Usl (2 pt, +1),
4e Rail (1 pt, -1),
5e Slbc (1 pt,-9),
6e Ja (1 pt, -14)7 Sibac

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SERBIA

National Cup Radivoj Korac starts today -by Dragan Jankovski
Crvena Zvezda and Borac Cacak will play at the opener of National Cup Radivoj Korac today at 17:30h in Nis. Later, at 20:00h Hemofarm STADA will meet Zdravlje Actavis.

In two other quarterfinal games, which are scheduled for tomorrow, FMP will play against Vojvodina Srbijagas while reining Serbian and Adriatic league champ, Partizan Igokea, has Swisslions Takovo as its rival.

The defending champion is FMP from Zeleznik, who last year outplayed Crvena Zvezda in the semifinals and Partizan in the final.

Three young Serbs in European TOP 10 ! -by Dragan Jankovski
FIBA Europe published yesterday list with the best 10 young players in Europe. Right to vote had basketball fans, expert panel of basketball journalists, players and coaches from 25 countries and Ricard Rubio (192-G-90) of DKV Joventut has been named the FIBA Europe Young Men's Player of the Year. On the second place is PG of Olympiakos Milos Teodosic (196-G-87). Sixth place belongs to Hemofam STADA's center Milan Macvan (206-F/C-89) while Mladen Jeremic (197-G-88, agency: CAA Sports) of FMP Zeleznik is on position number 10.


FIBA Europe Young Men's Player of the Year

1 Ricard Rubio, Spain
2 Milos Teodosic, Serbia
3 Marco Belinelli, Italy
4 Konstantinos Koufos, Greece
5 Danilo Gallinari, Italy
6 Milan Macvan, Serbia
7 Nicolas Batum, France
8 Alexey Shved, Russia
9 Vladimir Dasic, Montenegro
10 Mladen Jeremic, Serbia

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SPAIN

Tau overcome Unicaja to reach Copa Del Rey Semi-Finals -by Paul Nilsen
Tau Ceramica marched into the semi-finals of the Copa Del Rey on Thursday night writes www.acb-basket.com but left it late in front of a noisy and partizan crowd inside the Fernando Buesa Area.

They overcame a spirited Unicaja 78-71 much to the relief of the Vitoria fans who gleefully chanted 'Baskonia' over and over perhaps more out of relief at having dug out a 25-16 final period to clinch the win

The game proved to be the perfect curtain raiser for the tournament with the result hanging in the balance right up until the final moments.

There has been little to choose between the teams in the first half for long period but just before the break, Tau gained some momentum to take a 40-33 lead into the locker room.

The second half was a much tighter affair and Sergio Scarilolo really fired up his side for the start of the third period and they began strongly to outscore Tau by 13-22. In a real see-saw final quarter, the lead changed hands with regularity and with around 4 minutes remaining the force appeared to be with Malaga.

Their fans were making more noise than the nervous home crowd after some great plays by the dazzling Marcu Haislip. One big dunk and a tough shot put Malaga out in front and with Tau turning the ball over, a relative shock looked to be on the cards.

However Tau rallied and finally found the momentum swing at the crucial time. A huge three pointer by Gabe Muoneke (200-F-78, college: Texas) put them on their way and was the pivotal shot in the contest as they finished the game from the line.

Igor Rakocevic and Sergei Vidal led the way for Tau. Rakocevic top scored with 19 points and 5 assists while Vidal collected 18 points including three from outside the arc as well as 7 rebounds.

Marcus Haislip confirmed his status at the Malaga danger man landing 17 points but had little help from elsewhere in a hugely physical game.

Despite the win, Italian point guard Pablo Prigioni claimed Tau still need to cut out the errors after 15 turnovers in the game.

Copa Del Rey Holders Crash Out -by Paul Nilsen
Holders Barcelona have lost their grip on the Copa Del Rey Trophy After Crashing Out in the Quarter Finals writes www.acb-basket.com.

The Catalan giants went down 70-69 to a mightily determined and impressive Blibao side who showed that their league position is certainly not false.

Bilbao started the stronger of the teams, racing into a 11-5 lead but Barca came back quickly in a high tempo opening to edge in front at 12-11. Leading the way int the opening period was Jordi Trias, last years Copa MVP.

Despite Bilbao then surging away again at 19-12, the scores were tied at the end of the first quarter 24-24.

The second quarter was almost a repeat of the first except this time Bilbao managed to hold their advantage. A Savovic triple pushed them out to a 34-28 lead and by the break, they were still ahead at 39-34.

Barca started the brighter after the half-time interval but again Bilbao took a grip of the game. With 2 minutes left in the third quarter, Head Coach Dusko Ivanovic called a Barcelona time-out after Bilbao began to take control as they moved into a 48-41 lead. With just 8 seconds left in the quarter, the ever impressive Jaka Lakovic drained a three-pointer to close within four points but Bilbao responded much to the delight of their fans who had made the short trip down the road to Vitoria.

With Frederic Weis rebounding well, the rejuvenated Marcelo Marcelinho Huertas (191-G-83, agency: Edge Sports) nailed a three to give Bilbao a 57-48 advantage only for Jaka Lakovic and Gianluca Basile to repeat the feat down the other end of the court with instant replies.

With three minutes remaining Barca began to dry up and Bilbao took advantage and a Quincy Lewis trey from way downtown handed the Basque side a double digit lead at 66-56. That sparked a 10-2 Barca run with a Jaka Lakovic the holders just two points adrift with just under 90 seconds remaining.

Marcelino Marcelo Marcelinho Huertas then turned the ball over before Barca were called for a rare three-second call which ruled out a basket. That handed Bilbao the ball with just 40 seconds on the clock and Marko Banic converted inside. Lakovic then missed a three but Barca managed to come up with a hustle play to get the ball from the side with just 8 seconds left on the clock. This time Lakovic made the three-point play but it wasn't enough.

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U.KINGDOM

Rockets and Thunder to meet again -by Dave Ryan
Worthing Thunder and Reading Rockets will meet in the National Trophy final for the second successive season after home wins in Sunday's semi-finals. The final will take place on Sunday March 2 at the Amaechi Centre in Manchester.
While Thunder were beating Manchester Magic 96-88, holders Rockets reached the title game with a 103-88 to leave coach Dave Titmuss a delighted man: 'We knew we were facing a tough weekend but when Rich Wellings got injured towards the end of practice on Thursday I felt without him we were going to have to pull-out something special in Bristol on Saturday and against Sheffield on Sunday. Rich is so important to our rotations and he's sort of our glue this year especially since we have only one import - Andy Harper. Rich already has a broken nose and now his back is injured!
'I thought Sheffield played exceptionally well on Sunday; they shot at just over 50 percent including Brennon Martin making some of the deepest three's I've seen in this League. When Andy Harper got hurt early in the second period we were down two starters and faced a real character test. I knew we would need extra possessions to win so we went to the press and ended-up turning them over 25 times. That was the key'.
With Wellings again not fit, Coach Titmuss began with the starting five of Adam Kelly, David Watts (206-F), Andy Harper, Danny Carter and Simon Kearney. It was Harper who was coming off screens to hit 3 3 pointers in the opening quarter with Danny Carter raising the roof with a two handed slam dunk as Rockets opened up an early 17-3 lead before Sheffield responded with a 9-0 run. Rockets scored the last points of the quarter to ease into a four point lead, 21-17.
The second quarter opened with Sheffield's renowned armoury of shooters peppering the Rockets ring and taking a one point lead at 22-21 - the only time they led during the game. Simon Kearney imposed himself with four successful drives to the basket but with Joe Perera having an unsportsmanlike foul called on him and Coach Titmuss called for a technical foul Sheffield spent much time on the free throw line as Rockets had 10 fouls called on them against two by Sheffield. Carter continued to work hard inside and lead all scorers at the interval with 15 personal points, as Rockets held a 10 point advantage 48-38.
The third period saw Rockets' player of the month, Dan McKay trouble the scorers but Sheffield hit back with a huge three and four further unanswered points to reduce the deficit to just seven. Watts had to tread carefully with officials but he was majestic amassing 16 personal points including two threes, tipping in two rebounds and finishing with a finger roll. Sheffield kept hitting their three point shots scoring from five attempts and keeping Rockets honest as the quarter finished 77-64 in Rockets' favour.
Rockets' defence was much tighter in the final period, whilst Rockets' use of the 24 second clock saw them finish 3 offences successfully right on the buzzer. With captain Adam Kelly's experience in end game situations and Watts continuing rich vein of form, Rockets finished as they'd begun with a Carter dunk to go through to the final.
Watts finished with 29, Carter 25 and Simon Kearney 14 while Brennan Martin led the Arrows on 22, Dustin Bevard 19 and Rob Marsden 16.
In the other semi-final, Thunder came storming out of the blocks, and despite five early points from former Thunder star Steven Gayle, found themselves 16-7 up midway through the first quarter.
With Magic in the penalty early in the quarter, Thunder capitalised, scoring 11 of their 23 first quarter points from the foul line. A Ryan Marrast three followed by two free-throws from Demetrius Scott saw Thunder 28-13 up early in the second period. Worthing maintained the double-digit lead throughout the second quarter as the team worked well and kept finding the open man. Magic were being led by Duncan Ogilvie, who continued to trouble Worthing throughout and had 14 points at half-time as the home side went in 49-38 up.
Magic chipped away at the lead in the third, but were unable to make serious inroads and a Thunder 6-1 run to close the period had them 69-57 up going into the fourth quarter.
James Mooney's basket midway through the period gave Thunder an 83-70 advantage, but any thoughts that the game were over were ended as a Manchester 10-2 run brought the gap down to five at 85-80. The run was marred by an incident between Ryan Marrast and Steven Gayle that saw both players ejected and sent to the locker rooms.
With the game back on, Stefan Gill found his shooting range, scoring seven quick points as the game came to an exciting climax. Thunder held their nerve however, and an emphatic Cleve Woodfork dunk (his fourth of the game) followed by two free throws from hometown hero Pat Bates ensured the victory.
Scott led Thunder with 21, while Mooney added 17 and Bates 14. Ogilvie's 26 led all scorers, with Gayle chipping in with 22 and Gill adding 13.

All north east final in Patron's Cup -by Dave Ryan
It will be an all North East final when the Patron's Cup reaches its championship game at the Amaechi Centre on Sunday March 2 after Team Northumbria and Tees Valley Mohawks won contrasting semi-finals on Sunday.
Northumbria hosted Northampton Neptunes, and won a thriller 97-96. With Aaron Neilsen leading their scorers on 25, the home side rushed into a 31-25 first period lead only to be pegged back in the second quarter as Northampton outscored 28-21 to take a one point advantage into the locker room. A 22-17 third quarter put the home side back in charge as they took a 74-70 lead into the deciding period, and although Neptunes won the fourth stanza 26-22, Northumbria held on reach the final. Mark Steutal and Pearce each added 20 points for the home side, while Northampton's Mark Spatcher led all scorers with 36 points. Pulkinnen added 25 for the visitors, with Joe Reynoso chipping in with 14.
Mohawks produced a stunning second half to complete a 90-70 win at a Cardiff Celts side who went into the weekend leading Division Two. The home side outscored the Mohawks by seven in each of the first two periods to lead 45-31 at half-time. The comeback started in the third period with Tees Valley outscoring the hosts 29-14 to take a one point lead into the final quarter, and a 30-11 fourth stanza wrapped up the win for the visitors. Pierre Sully led all scorers for the Mohawks with 26 points, while Ibrahim N'Doye (20) and Steve Butler (15) also contributed well, while Cardiff were led by 14 apiece from Board and Daw.

Thunder aim for BBL -by Dave Ryan
Worthing Thunder Basketball Club has today announced its intention to seek membership of the British Basketball League, the top flight in British basketball, for the season beginning September 2008.
Having won the English Basketball League Division 1 title for the last two seasons and currently enjoying a successful season this year, the club believes that it is time that it makes the natural progression to the BBL.
The move is fully supported by Head Coach Gary Smith who believes that the club will find the potential move an exciting and positive development and expects that the increased competition will stretch the club to reach its full potential.
The formal application to join the BBL was made last week.
A key to the successful move will be attracting additional sponsors to the club, and a number of businesses have already indicated a willingness to become involved with the Thunder as they aim to re-establish the town of Worthing at the pinnacle of professional basketball in the UK.
Some changes to the ownership structure of the club are expected to occur next season whatever the outcome of the application to join the BBL. A new Board of Directors and a new administrative and management team will be introduced to seek to make a move into the BBL successful for the club and for the town of Worthing.
The club intends to hold a public meeting on Thursday 28 February at 8pm at Worthing Leisure Centre to outline its plans to supporters, other members of the public and potential new sponsors.

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U.S.VIRGIN ISL.

Standout Basketball Player Returns from Virginia to Promote Education -by David Edole
by James Gardner
Led by St. Thomas native Eric Wilson, the boys' varsity basketball team from Wakefield School in Virginia visited Lockhart Elementary Wednesday morning to talk to students about the importance of getting a good education.
The team, along with head coach Scott Barron, came to the territory earlier this week to face off in games against Antilles School and Charlotte Amalie High School. Coming away 1-1 in the games -- Wakefield beat Antilles by 11 points, but lost to CAHS by nine -- team members said they were happy just to be on island interacting with the local community and getting a chance to share their knowledge and experiences with V.I. students.
'Wakefield is a pretty special place to us -- it's a small school, but we do a lot of amazing things,' Barron said at Lockhart Wednesday. 'We get the opportunity to come to places like this. Last year, we traveled to New Orleans, La., to do some hurricane-relief work -- we went down and rebuilt some of the houses that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. So, our basketball program and our school is a big believer in public service, and every year we take a trip. And this year, because of Eric Wilson, we thought it would very appropriate to come to St. Thomas and see where he grew up and see what we could do maybe to help the community here.'
Each player on the team also had an opportunity to tell the school's fifth- and sixth-graders what Wakefield meant to them and how important it is to balance their extracurricular activities with academic work.
'What Wakefield does for us and what our work does for us is pretty much prepare for the future,' said Alex Floyd, junior guard. 'Does anyone know how to build a building? Well, the way you start out, you get the foundation, then you put the frame, and then you put the roof on. What our education and what our work does is build a very solid foundation, and if you don't have a solid foundation, you can't really do much else in life. So you got to go in steps.'
Speaking later, Wilson echoed Floyd's sentiments, explaining to students how he left the territory to play basketball at Wakefield and further his education.
'In ninth grade, I left here to go to Wakefield School on a basketball scholarship,' he said. 'It was a tough decision for me, but I had to make that choice so I could better my life. If you want to be a college player and want to go to a good school, you have to do well. Some of the players on our team, they messed around and didn't so well in their grades, and they weren't able to come down here with us and enjoy this warm weather -- so now they're stuck in the cold, freezing themselves. So you have to stay on your grades and practice at your game, also.'
The students cheered as Wilson elaborated on his plans to be a pilot in the U.S. Air Force and were excited when given the opportunity to ask the players questions about their experiences on the mainland. While some students wanted to know what colleges the team's members plan on attending, others asked players how they liked their visit to the territory.
'It's a beautiful island, one of the best places I've ever been, and I would love to come back again,' said freshman forward Jeffrey Byrd, to thunderous applause and shouts from the students.
After the hour-long workshop, the team stuck around to read to other lower-school students. Speaking later, Lockhart principal Jamon E. Liburd said he was pleased that the team members were able to stress the importance of learning a sport while focusing on their academics.
'It's also nice to have one of the team members up there representing the Virgin Islands,' Liburd said. 'And I hope that the students were able to take away the fact that even though these individuals may aspire to have careers in basketball, many of them are also focusing on other areas that they could fall back on. It's wonderful, and shows the students that school really does matter.'

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UKRAINE

Berestnev gives up / Becirovic to Azovmash -by Alexander Muzyka
- Vedat Koruk has left Politekhnika-Halychyna because his Ukrainian origin is not a reason for counting him as Ukrainian.

- Valentyn Berestnev decided to leave MBC Mykolaiv head coach position and will work in a club's headquarters. Volodymyr Poliakh will rule the team now.

- Azovmash announced Mehmet Becirovic will be a new head coach. He will be the fourth Azovmash head coach this season after Rimas Girskis, Algirdas Brazis and Serhi Zavalin. Zavalin will work as Becirovic assistant.

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URUGUAY

David Jackson wanted by Boca Jrs: -by Walter Sobrero
The good performances of the guard of Defensor Sporting Club in the Liga de las Americas, made that the board member of Boca Juniors Capital Feder Leonardo Minervini said yesterday to the local press that David Jackson (196-G-82, college: Penn St.) can be one of the new players of the team. Boca needs a decission today, but it looks very difficult, because Defensor is almost qualified to playoffs in Uruguay that will go on to first days of march. The other player named by Minervini is Devon Ford (193-G-77, college: Idaho). With the good performances of some players in Uruguay, many of them will cross to Argentina after the league

Malvin send a payment for Benson -by Hector Lopez
Malvin send a US$ 5.000 dollars payment to the club Dijon (France) for the transfer of Lee Benson (208-F/C-73, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Brown Mackie). The international transfer had been denied because the French team asked for such payment. Benson already played two games with Malvin and as they lost both no sanction will be applied.



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Women News

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EUROCUP (W) - Women

Vologda snatches win in Italy -by Eurobasket News
Venezia - Vologda 62:69

Russian Vologda beat all the odds and secured their quarterfinal birth in the EuroCup tournament. Vologda travelled to Italy after a 67:72 loss at home in the first game. Venezia looked pretty safe before the home game but Vologda proved different. Elena Volkova (175-G-83) and Anastasia Pimenova (180-F-81) scored first 5 points for Vologda to send a strong message to the hosts about the seriousness of their intentions. Anastasia Pimenova soon added a jumper for a 9:2 visitors' lead. Liudmila Sapova (185-F-84) and Tatiana Bokareva (191-C-86) kept delivering points for Chevakata as Russian team held to an 18:12 advantage midway through the frame. However Shannon Johnson (169-G-74, college: USC) capped the frame with 5 straight points for Venezia and cut the gap to 3 points. Anastasia Pimenova opened the second quarter with a three-pointer but it was well-matched by Shannon Johnson as she nailed 7 consecutive points for the hosts to set them ahead at 29:28. The lead changed hands for 4 times before Mery Andrade (181-F-75, college: ODU) ignited an 8:2 run for Venezia as they took a 39:34 lead at halftime. Nakia Sanford (193-F/C-76, college: Kansas) and Shannon Johnson deepened the gap to 8 points early in the second half. Anastasia Pimenova and Tatiana Bokareva kept the visitors in the game. But Nakia Sanford, Shannon Johnson and Mery Andrade provided the home team with 5 straight points late in the frame and Venezia entered the fourth period in front 57:50. Vologda had to overcome 12-point deficit now to hope to advance. And they did. Loree Moore (175-G-83, college: Tennessee) converted two free throws to fuel a 9:0 run for Vologda as they grabbed a 61:59 lead with 90 seconds left. Shannon Johnson hit a free throw to cut the gap but Loree Moore answered with 4 free throws in a row to enlarge Vologda lead to 5 points with 37 seconds remaining. Shannon Johnson refused to give up and dropped two more points from the charity stripe. Anastasia Pimenova then came up with a key three-pointer for Vologda and Russian team appeared leading by needed 6 points. Francesca Modica (175-G-81) missed a saving jumps shot for Venezia and Elena Volkova sealed the winning outcome for the visitors from charity stripe. Vologda won by 7 points and qualified for the quarterfinal stage of the competition. Anastasia Pimenova scored 17 points for the winners. Tatiana Bokareva provided 15 points and 14 boards for Vologda in a win. Shannon Johnson was outstanding for Venezia with 32 points and 8 boards. Mery Andrade had 11 points in defeat.
Vologda will now wait for the outcome of BC Moscow vs. Panionios clash to get to know their opponents at the quarterfinal stage.

Venezia: Shannon Johnson 32, Mery Andrade 11
Vologda: Anastasia Pimenova 17, Tatiana Bokareva 15+14 boards, Elena Volkova 14

Standings
EuroCup Standings
Group A
1. Panionios 5-1
2. Besiktas 4-2
3. Zeljeznicar 3-3
4. Vojvodina 0-6
Group B
1. Hemofarm 4-2
2. TED Kayseri 4-2
3. Arad 3-3
4. Apollon 1-5
Group C
1. Elektra 5-1
2. Vologda 4-2
3. Botas 2-4
4. Buducnost 1-5
Group D
1. Galatasaray 5-1
2. Elizur Ram. 4-2
3. AEL 2-4
4. Dnipro 1-5
Group E
1. MBK Ruz. 6-0
2. Kozachka 3-3
3. ZTE 2-4
4. U.Neuch. 1-5
Group F
1. AZS Gorzow 5-1
2. Gospic 4-2
3. Szeged 2-4
4. Wasserburg 1-5
Group G
1. Dynamo K. 6-0
2. CCC 4-2
3. Trutnov 1-5
4. Foton 0-6
Group H
1. Cajacanar. 6-0
2. Pays d Aix 4-2
3. Parma 1-5
4. 08 1-5
Group I
1. Schio 5-1
2. BC Moscow 5-1
3. Extrugasa 2-4
4. Sierre 0-6
Group J
1. Taranto 5-1
2. Hondar.-Irun 4-2
3. Challes 3-3
4. Rh.Rebels 0-5
Group K
1. Tarbes 5-1
2. Nadezhda 5-1
3. CAB Mad. 1-5
4. N.Namur 1-5
Group L
1. Venezia 6-0
2. San Jose 3-3
3. Montpellier 3-3
4. Lexembourg 0-6


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FINLAND - Women

SM-SARJA: Espoo Team defeated PuHu -by Rauno Hurmalainen
SM-sarja, Round 25: Espoo Team was too strong for PuHu (Vantaa) on Wednesday in Espoo. After first quarter home team Espoo had already 20-4 lead.
During the half time the difference was 20 pts (38-18) and when PuHu won the second half by two pts, the final difference was 18 pts (71-53).
Yolanda Jones (185-F-84, college: La-Lafayette) led Espoo with 26 pts and 19 rbs. Siiri Nuutinen (188-F-83) added 12 pts. PuHu had only two players in double figures: Heli Roukanoja (186-C-73) 16 and Aneta Kausaite (179-G-70)13 pts.

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HOLLAND - Women

Ray Laatst has to stop with coaching -by Mannus Etten
Coach of Amazone Leidsche Rijn Leidsche Rijn has decided to stop coaching the team. Reason for this is his physical condition. In October he had some kind of heart attack.

The recovery and risks of this injury is the reason he stopped directly with coaching the team.

Luc Reuvers replace him directly and his first match was won bij Amazone Leidsche Rijn.

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HUNGARY - Women

Dalma Ivanyi announced for the All Star Game 2008 -by Csilla Kantor

FIBA Europe announced the teams and the coaches for the annual EuroLeague Women All Star Game 2008. The event will take place at the home of Spartak Moscow Region 13th March 2008. The players were selected according to the votes of the supporters. This year the only Hungarian participant is Dalma Ivanyi of Mizo Pecs 2010.
This year's All Star Game is the 3rd one. the first was held in Pecs, 2006.
The coaches of the European Team will be Gundars Vetra of CSKA Moscow and Natalia Hejkova of Spartak Moscow Region. The Rest of the World team will be led by Ros Casares coach Manolo Real and Laurent Buffard of UMMC Ekaterinburg.
Among the players Amaya Valdemoro (CSZKA Moszkva, 1552), Nevriye Yilmaz (Fenerbahce, 1420) and Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (Dinamo, 1139) received the most votes.
CSKA Moscow's Maria Stepanova of Russia and Ann Wauters of Belgium, Gambrinus Brno and Czech Republic Eva Viteckova, Agnieszka Bibrzycka of Ekaterinburg and Poland, Celine Dumerc of Bourges and France and Dalma Ivanyi of MiZo Pecs and Hungary round out the Europe roster. The Rest of the World team will t include Kosice's Janel McCarville and Chamique Holdsclaw of Lotos PKO BP Gdynie. Iciss Tillis of TTT Riga, Nicole Ohlde from Valenciennes, Kedra Holland-Korn from Phard Napoli, Nykesha Sales of TEO Vilnius and Jessica Dickson of Jolly JBS Sibenik will take up the remaining spots.
The complete teams:


EUROPE

G - Elisa Aguilar (Ros Casares)
G - Marta Fernandez (Wisla Can-Pack)
G/F - Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (Dynamo)
F - Amaya Valdemoro (CSKA Moscow)
C - Nevriye Yilmaz (Fenerbahce)
G - Celine Dumerc (Bourges Basket)
G - Dalma Ivanyi (MiZo Pecs 2010)
F - Eva Viteckova (Gambrinus Brno)
F - Agnieszka Bibrzycka (UMMC Ekaterinburg)
F - Tatiana Shchegoleva (Spartak Moscow Region)
C - Maria Stepanova (CSKA Moscow)
C - Ann Wauters (CSKA Moscow)

REST OF THE WORLD

G - Diana Taurasi (Spartak Moscow Region)
G - Lindsay Whalen (ZVVZ Prague)
F - Lauren Jackson (Spartak Moscow Region)
F - Cappie Pondexter (Fenerbahce)
C - Delisha Milton-Jones (Ros Casares)
G - Kedra Holland-Korn (Phard Napoli)
G - Nykesha Sales (TEO Vilnius)
G - Jessica Dickson (Jolly JBS Sibenik)
F - Chamique Holdsclaw (Lotos PKO BP)
C - Janel McCarville (Kosit 2013)
C - Iciss Tillis (TTT Riga)
C - Nicole Ohlde (USVO)Dalma Ivanyi (178-G-76, college: Florida Intern.)



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ICELAND - Women

Iceland Express results -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Fjolnir 69. Valur 87.Slavica Dimovska 23. Birna Eiriksdottir 19 for Fjolnir. Molly Peterman 27. Tinna Sigmundsdottir 24 for Valur.

Hamar 65 Keflavik 76. LaKiste Barkus 34 for Hamar. Birna Valgardsdottir 18 for Keflavik.

KR 81. Grindavik 71. Monique Martin 35 for KR. Tiffany Roberson 24 for Grindavik

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LEBANON - Women

Results - Round 12 of the Lebanese League -by Raffi Kassabian
In the round 12 of the lebanese basketball league, Homenetmen Antelias Riyadi Beirut and Antranik Beirut all had wins. In the first game Homenetmen Antelias played the game against Blue Stars in very bad weather conditions and low temperature and managed to have a win with the final score 65-53. The second game that was postponed twice by the lebanese basketball federation due to bad weather conditions Riyadi Beirut had an easy game against Homenetmen Beirut with the score 90-44. The third game again postponed due to bad weather conditions Antranik Beirut continued their unbeaten run this time having the win against Champville with the final score 68-30. Anibal Zahle had no game to play in this round.

Results - Round 12

Homenetmen Antelias - Blue Stars 65-53
Homenetmen Antelias:Leila Fares 18, Nathalie Sevadjian 18, Alek Tabakian 10, Caroline Moufarrege 6, Tsoline Kazandjian 5, Eliane Chalhoub 4, Sanan Markarian 2, Eliana Abou Jaoude 2.
Blue Stars: Jihane Akiki 17, Nelly Nassar 12, Yara El Hashem 8, Aya Chiri 6, Elsa Bechara 5, Karole Kamel 3, Dima Samira 2.

Homenetmen Beirut - Riyadi Beirut 44-90
Antranik Beirut - Champville 68-30



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RUSSIA - Women

Vologda snatches win in Italy -by Eurobasket News
Venezia - Vologda 62:69

Russian Vologda beat all the odds and secured their quarterfinal birth in the EuroCup tournament. Vologda travelled to Italy after a 67:72 loss at home in the first game. Venezia looked pretty safe before the home game but Vologda proved different. Elena Volkova (175-G-83) and Anastasia Pimenova (180-F-81) scored first 5 points for Vologda to send a strong message to the hosts about the seriousness of their intentions. Anastasia Pimenova soon added a jumper for a 9:2 visitors' lead. Liudmila Sapova (185-F-84) and Tatiana Bokareva (191-C-86) kept delivering points for Chevakata as Russian team held to an 18:12 advantage midway through the frame. However Shannon Johnson (169-G-74, college: USC) capped the frame with 5 straight points for Venezia and cut the gap to 3 points. Anastasia Pimenova opened the second quarter with a three-pointer but it was well-matched by Shannon Johnson as she nailed 7 consecutive points for the hosts to set them ahead at 29:28. The lead changed hands for 4 times before Mery Andrade (181-F-75, college: ODU) ignited an 8:2 run for Venezia as they took a 39:34 lead at halftime. Nakia Sanford (193-F/C-76, college: Kansas) and Shannon Johnson deepened the gap to 8 points early in the second half. Anastasia Pimenova and Tatiana Bokareva kept the visitors in the game. But Nakia Sanford, Shannon Johnson and Mery Andrade provided the home team with 5 straight points late in the frame and Venezia entered the fourth period in front 57:50. Vologda had to overcome 12-point deficit now to hope to advance. And they did. Loree Moore (175-G-83, college: Tennessee) converted two free throws to fuel a 9:0 run for Vologda as they grabbed a 61:59 lead with 90 seconds left. Shannon Johnson hit a free throw to cut the gap but Loree Moore answered with 4 free throws in a row to enlarge Vologda lead to 5 points with 37 seconds remaining. Shannon Johnson refused to give up and dropped two more points from the charity stripe. Anastasia Pimenova then came up with a key three-pointer for Vologda and Russian team appeared leading by needed 6 points. Francesca Modica (175-G-81) missed a saving jumps shot for Venezia and Elena Volkova sealed the winning outcome for the visitors from charity stripe. Vologda won by 7 points and qualified for the quarterfinal stage of the competition. Anastasia Pimenova scored 17 points for the winners. Tatiana Bokareva provided 15 points and 14 boards for Vologda in a win. Shannon Johnson was outstanding for Venezia with 32 points and 8 boards. Mery Andrade had 11 points in defeat.
Vologda will now wait for the outcome of BC Moscow vs. Panionios clash to get to know their opponents at the quarterfinal stage.

Venezia: Shannon Johnson 32, Mery Andrade 11
Vologda: Anastasia Pimenova 17, Tatiana Bokareva 15+14 boards, Elena Volkova 14

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SPAIN - Women

Euroleague:Ros Casares keeps on unbeaten after trashing USVO Valenciennes -by Ivan Villar
Ros Casares 70 - USVO Valenciennes 44
CSKA Moscow 83 - Perfumerias Avenida 64

Ros Casares still continues unstoppable in Europe.First game of 8th quarters was other demonstration of power.Victim was french team of USVO Valenciennes which wasn't able to stop valencian team from minute 1 of game.Team of Manolo Real made a great defense with many players scoring more than 10 points.Elena Baranova (196-F-72) was this time best player with 10 points and 12 rebounds.Center came to Valencia to replace Margot Dydek at last moment,and really is making great job improving performances of polish player.

CSKA Moscow was too many team for Perfumerias Avenida.In spite of Amaya Valdemoro couldn't play russian team showed why is favourite to win the tittle.CSKA Moscow built her victory thanks to Ann Wauters (21 points) who was the queen of both rims.Isa Sanchez (14 points) was best scorer of Salamanca's team.Jose Ignacio Hernandez said to be sure that his team will show other face next game at home in front of their fans.

Amaya Valdemoro and Anna Montanana between 5 best players of Europe -by Ivan Villar
Forward of CSKA Moscow,Amaya Valdemoro and Ana Montanana (186-F-80, college: George Washington) were chosen by FIBA experts as Top-5 european players.First position was for forward from Lithuania,Anete Jekabsone Zegata.She plays in Dynamo Moscow and won Eurocup also take her team to semifinals in last Eurobasket Italy.Amaya Valdemoro was awarded thanks to great performance of Eurobasket Italy with national team.Ana Montanana appears in Top-5 after excellent progression of last 2 years.Power-forward had became in new star of spanish league leading her team,Perfumerias Avenida.Congratulations Amaya and Anna from Eurobasket Spain!

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TURKEY - Women

Galatasaray and Botas are getting ready for the second legs of EuroCup -by Eurobasket News
Galatasaray and Botas are getting ready for tonight's second legs of EuroCup. Turkish Galatasaray took a major step towards FIBA EuroCup quarterfinal stage with an impressive home win over Tarbes in the first leg. They piled up a comfortable 20-point lead before the return leg game in France and are looking to advance to the quarterfinal.
Botas lost to Gospic 60:63, but hopes to advance as well.
Meanwhile Fenerbahce beat Wisla 78:61 in the opening clash of their eighth-finals showdown. A 27:17 in the opening quarter and another 28:20 in the second were fatal for the Polish squad. Cappie Pondexter (175-G-83, college: Rutgers) led the winners with 22 points and 5 rebounds. Tammy Sutton-Brown (193-C-78, college: Rutgers) collected 20 points and 8 rebounds and Birsel Vardarli netted 14. Marta Fernandez (178-F-81) chipped in 15 points in the losing effort.
Even though Dupree opened the game for the guests Fenerbahce replied with 9-0 run in the opening tip of the game. A productive end of the game saw 27:17 for the Turkish team. Tuncluer started the second quarter with a three and continued with her team to dominate in the court. Tammy Sutton-Brown with a lay-up made it 42:30 and then 12-3 spurt brought 55:37 at the half. The third quarter belonged to the guests that had a good time in defense. A 7:12 in the third period gave 62:49 before the final stanza.Led by Cappie Pondexter and Tammy Sutton-Brown, Fenerbahce went on a 7-0 run in the last quarter. With 78:61 Fenerbahce grabs the first win of the campaign. The second game will be played in Poland on February 8th.

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U.S.VIRGIN ISL. - Women

Javois, Western falls -by David Edole
The young Griffons led a good Southwest Baptist team, who was 15-4 on the season and tied for first place in the conference, going into the half 48-42 but could not hold on to win as Southwest Baptists raised the defensive pressure in the second half to beat the Griffons 82-72. The Griffons fall to 9-10 overall and 4-7 in the MIAA.

The momentum changed early in the second half when Southwest Baptist came out in a full court press after they made their first shot of the half. They didn't allow the Griffons to cross center court for three possessions and made every pass a tough one.

Southwest Baptist forced the Griffon into 22 turnovers for the game and scored 26 points off turnovers. The Griffons seemed to throw the ball everywhere but to their teammates. When the ball did get there, players were dropping it which caused more turnovers.

Southwest Baptist's bench outscored the Griffon's bench 16-6, but the Griffons only have seven active players available to them after the injury to Lauren Nolke one of the starters for the Griffons.

Nolke should be back soon though after she sprained an ankle on the road last week. She would have helped slow down the tempo of the game when Baptist started pressing Griffons guards hard in the backcourt.

Not until the middle of the second half did the Griffons start breaking Southwest Baptist's press with consistency. They still had a tough time holding onto the ball though. Even in their standard, half court offense bad passes and ball handling mistakes were being made.

The thing that worked the most for the Griffons was when Yanique Javois (176-G-86, college: St.Louis) fed the ball into Jill Johnson on the post. Johnson would either kick it back out to Javios or back her defender down. This strategy never led to anything bad, just buckets and foul shots.

The press took the ball out of Javios hands. She sat in the front court and watched as the guards for Southwest Baptist hounded the ball and stuck their hands in passing lanes. When Baptist employed the press, they took the ball out of Javios' hands and in consequence took it out of Johnson's hands too.

Johnson had 14 points in the first half alone but only had nine in the second half to finish with 23 to lead Missouri Western in scoring. Javois had nine in the first half and only five in the second as Baptist found a way to keep the ball out of her hands. But she had five assists and a team high nine rebounds.

Another high scorer for Western in the first half was Tierra Ford. She had 15 points in the first half and only got four in the second half to finish with 19.

The Griffons controlled the inside game but couldn't hold onto the ball on the outside in order to get it into the big people on the inside. The young team will learn how to handle pressure such as Southwest Baptist's later in the season and be ready for the MIAA tournament in March.