EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 3/10/2008

Copyright © 1997-2007 Eurobasket
WARNING:
Do not copy, redistribute, publish or otherwise exploit information that you download from the site!
Do not encumber, license, modify, publish, sell, transfer or transmit, or in any way exploit, any of the
content of the report, nor will you attempt to do so.
More info:www.eurobasket.com


Men News

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

The Millrats defeat Beijing in Singapore ! -by Gianni Pascucci
The ABA # 2 ranked Manchester Millrats delivered a knockout punch to the Beijing Aoshen Olympians, 140-111 in Singapore, avenging all the USA teams that had to travel till there to meet a team that never changed its home court during all the ABA seaoson. With the victory, Manchester bounced back from a disappointing 105-98 loss to Beijing two nights prior. The key of the Millrats' game was a swarming defense that led to transition opportunities in abundance. Anthony Anderson was the man of the game, making 10 of 16 three pointers en route to a 37 point performance. He was followed by Ronald Wright with 21, Al Stewart 17, while Charles Mason and Cedric McGinnis each had 14. Sheldon Pace led Beijing with a monstrous losing effort of 46 points. The win improves Manchester's record to 27-11 at the conclusion of the regular season, and this team looks towards the ABA Final 8 with a renewed confidence, even because Beijing, after playing a so unfair schdeule, won' t be at the league finals.....

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

Melbourne is inch away from the title -by Eurobasket News
Sydney - Melbourne 87:89

Sean Lampley (201-F-79, college: California) became a hero for the Tigers today as his trey at the crunch time proved the difference winning the game for Melbourne at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. The win meant the Tigers had grabbed a 2-1 lead in the Final best-of-five series and look to close it at home on Wednesday. The teams exchanged blows throughout the starting stanza with neither team able to clear off. Melbourne used a 5:0 run at the end of the frame to pick up a 29:24 lead. Chris Anstey (213-C-75) was outstanding in the second term scoring 8 points and led the visitors to a 51:48 cushion at the break. Jason Smith (194-G-74) fired from downtown to tie the score at the start of the second half. Melbourne reacted with a 9:0 rally and pulled away to their biggest lead of the night. The things started to dim for the hosts as the Tigers took over and stretched the margin to 12 points at the final intermission. The game was not over yet. Sydney exploded with 14 unanswered points to tip off the fourth period and surged ahead midway through the fourth term. Finally it all came down to a seesaw battle in the closing stages. But Sean Lampley decided to go with a decisive shot and though hitting 3/16 from the field by that moment. His bomb went in putting the Tigers on the brink of the second championship title in last three years. Chris Anstey produced 27 points and 15 boards to pace Melbourne. David Barlow (205-F-83, college: Metro St.) provided 16 points, while Dave Thomas (204-G/F-76, college: Michigan St.) scored 12 for the winners. Mark Worthington (202-F-83, college: Metro St.) dropped 22 points for Sydney. Ian Crosswhite (212-F-82, college: Oregon) poured in 18 points in a losing clause.

Sydney: Mark Worthington 22, Ian Crosswhite 18, Jason Smith 16
Melbourne: Chris Anstey 27+15 boards, David Barlow 16, Dave Thomas 12

Dontaye Draper wins Best Sixth Man, Nathan Jawai is trumped Best Rookie -by Eurobasket News
The Sydney Kings' import Dontaye Draper (180-G, college: Charleston) was announced to claim the Best Sixth Man for the NBL 2007/08 season. Dontaye Draper denied Stephen Hoare (201-F-75, college: N.Idaho JC) to win his third straight best bench player award. Last season Stephen Hoare wrote history claiming the consecutive award for the first time in the NBL's history. But this time it was Dontaye Draper's impact that influenced the league voters. The Kings' guard pulled 61 votes surpassing Hoare with 56 voices. Phill Jones (196-G-74) from the NZ Breakers received 42 votes in the poll. Dontaye Draper averaged 14.5 points, 4.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds per appearance in the regular season. He was also third in the league with 1.9 steals per game.
In the meantime Nathan Jawai (207-C-86, college: Midland CC) from the Cairns Taipans was proclaimed as a unanimous winner of the Rookie of the Year award. He totaled the maximum of 105 votes meaning that every person in the poll (except for the ones from his own team) granted his vote for a sensational centre from Cairns. Nathan Jawai scored 17.7 points, pulled down 9.6 boards and made 1.0 blocks per game in the season. He also finished with the league's 4th-best record in field goal shooting with 57.5% accuracy. The 208cm big lad helped the Taipans to accumulate 16-14 record in the regular season. They however were eliminated by the NZ Breakers in the opening round of playoffs later.
Jawai is now widely rumored to be picked in the first round of NBA Draft this summer. In 2007 Joe Ingles (203-G/F-87) from the Melbourne South Dragons was trumped the Rookie of the Year.

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

Siauliai will host Baltic League Final Four -by Eurobasket News
Lithuanian Siauliai will host Baltic League Final Four that will be held on 25th and 26th of April. All games will be held in Siauliai Arena, the home of BC Siauliai. For now the team is 5th in the league with 10-8 record. The Play-off brackets will see first Valmiera and VEF Riga as the winner will play against Barons. It is clear that ASK Riga will face Nevezis, Ventspils will play against Kalev and Siaulia with Rock. Lietuvos Rytas and Zalgiris will join the teams in the Final Four.
The end of the season is approaching and the final games bring more interest than ever. Latvian Ventspils overcame Kalev/Cramo 74:69 to ensure the 6th position with 8-9 record. Even without injured Love and Baxter the hosts achieved an important win. Raimonds Gabrans (188-G-84, agency: FCM) led all the winners with 27 points. Akselis Vairogs (196-G/F-85) produced 16, while Aigars Vitols (194-G-76, agency: Interperformances) scored 15. Travis Reed (203-C-79, agency: Court Side, college: Long Beach St.) and Koutsopoulos ended up with 14 points each for the guests. Estonian squad felt as if they play at home and took 15:17 advantage after the first 10 minutes of the game. The close battle continued in the second quarter. After a back-to-back baskets Estonian team tied the score in the period. Sokk finalized the first half for 31:33 in the favor of guests. The third quarter was decisive in the game as the hosts produced 25:16 in it. A huge hot streak by Latvians ended the period at 56:49 in their favor. The moment of the final stanza brought another resistance from the Estonian team. Frier made a long-range shot to make the score 60:61. Krisa and Keerles kept the guests in the game after two three-pointers for 72:69, but then Raimonds Gabrans solved the game from the free throw line.

Ventspils -Kalev/Cramo 74 : 69 ( 15-17, 16-16, 25-16, 18-20 )
Ventspils:Raimonds Gabrans 27, Akselis Vairogs 16, Aigars Vitols 15
Kalev/Cramo:Travis Reed 14, Koutsopoulos 14

Standings - Men
BBL Standings
Group 1
1. Lietuvos 15-1
2. Zalgiris 15-2
3. ASK Riga 12-5
4. Barons/LMT 11-7
5. Siauliai 10-8
6. BK Ventsp. 8-9
7. BC Kalev 6-11
8. TU/Rock 5-13
9. Valmiera 3-15
10. Neptunas 2-16
Group 2
1. Nevezis 15-5
2. VEF Riga 15-5
3. Liep.Lauvas 13-7
4. Panevezys 12-8
5. Suduva 12-8
6. Atletas 12-8
7. Sakalai 9-11
8. Alita 8-12
9. Dalkia/Nybit 8-12
10. Tar.Fausto 4-16
11. Bum./ASK 2-18


*****************************************************
BELARUS

Standings - Premier League
Premier L. Group A Standings
1. Vitalyur 31-5
2. Minsk-2006 25-11
3. OZAA Osip. 24-12
4. Grodno-93 23-13
5. Temp-OSHVSM 16-20
6. Lokomotiv 11-25
7. Sozh Gomel 8-28
8. BNTU 6-30


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

Various News -by Peter Buyse


Trevor Huffman (187-G-79, agency: Duran International, college: Kent St.) made a rather unexpected but very successfull comeback for Okapi Aalstar in their home game vs Antwerp. In 18 minutes he made 16 pts and handed out 4 assists.

Okapi's Matt Lojeski (198-G-85, college: Hawaii) was this rounds MVP with 27 pts and 8 rebs in his teams win over Antwerp.

Their opponent this weekend the Antwerp Diamond Giants had to do without Yves Dupont and Ian Hanavan who broke his pinky finger and should be out for around 3 weeks.

Oostende missed Ovcina for their game vs Liege.

Former Player of the Year Jean-Marc Jaumin will be coaching D3 team Duva Gistel-Oostende as of next year.
This is part of a major cooperation between the D3 team and D1 team Telindus Oostende.

Dexia Mons-Hainaut who were hoping to host this year's Eurocup Final four will have to go into to Cyprus and try to get the win on hostile territory.
AEL Limassol their semi-final opponent were choses as hosts for the Final Four which takes place on April 18 and 20.




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

Sinanovic shines in defeat of Cologne -by Nedzad Kladusak
Nedzad Sinanovic (221-C-83), is one of Bosnia-Herzegovinas most promising players but so far he didn t play for the NT despite being called several times.
This time it seems that he might finally puts the blue-yellow jersey. After spending most of the time on the bench Sasa Obradovic and particularly
his assistant coach Drasko Prodanovic give Sinanovic more and more playtime.
During the week Cologne faced their local rivals from Leverkusen. In a 88-77 loss Sinanovic scored 21 points and grabbed 9 rebs in only 27 minutes.
It will be interesting whether the bosnian giant will be part of the squad that will try to win the EC qualifier group with UK, Czech Republic and Israel.

Bosnian League 13: Derby game for Sloboda Dita -by Elvir Halilovic
22TH round of League 13 bring to us great derby - game Sloboda Dita vs. Bosna ASA BHT. In ful 'Mejdan' Tuzla's team was better than leader on table eith only one point, 86:85.
More than 4.000 visitors had a chance to watching big game.
Start of game belong to Bosna, but after first 10:2 for visitors players of Sloboda made change and after second period had two points more. Bosna again was better in third period, when had +7 (61:68). Two second till end Bosna had +2 but Matic shoting for three point and strike for great win.
Matic also was the best on the court with 28 points, Ross put 14. From other side Ikonic finish game with 20, Williams with 18.

SLOBODA DITA - BOSNA ASA BHT 86:85
(17:16, 22:21, 22:26, 25:22)
Tuzla, KSPC 'Mejdan'; Att.: 4.000; Ref.: Adamovic, Ignjatovic, Sobot.
SLOBODA DITA: Matic 28, N. Milosevic 1, Jocovic 15, Halilovic, M. MiloSevic 9, Hrncic, Halilbegovic, Albijanic 8, Jeftic, Persic, Ross 14, Tanasilovic 8
Head coach: Senad Muminovic
BOSNA ASA BHT: Sehovic 8, Ikonic 20, Panic 3, Bavcic 8, Bailey 17, Suljagic, Rahimic 8, Hajric, Majstoric, Pasalic 3, Williams 18
Head coach: Jurij Zdovc

Standings - BIH League
D1 Standings
1. Bosna S. 18-2
2. Sloboda Dita 16-5
3. Igokea 13-7
4. Grude 13-7
5. Slavija 11-9
6. Borac Nektar 11-9
7. Zrinjski MC 10-10
8. Zenica Celik 9-11
9. Posusje 9-12
10. Hercegovac 7-13
11. Capljina 7-14
12. Leotar 6-15
13. Vogosca 2-18
Will join on later stage:
1. Siroki -


*****************************************************
BRIT.V.ISLANDS

Penn out with ankle injury -by David Edole
McNeese State's men's basketball team fell 75-63 to Nicholls State here Saturday. The Colonels led 38-25 at the half.

McNeese played without Kleon Penn (211-C-86) for the final 39 minutes of the game. Penn went down with an ankle injury in the first minute of the game and never returned. The Cowboys didn't have their best shooting night as they were 16 of 29 from the field including 5 of 23 from three-point range.

John Ford led the Cowboys with 17 points, John Pichon added 11 and Jarvis Bradley was held to seven.

The loss left the Cowboys with a 7-9 record but with other results from around the conference, McNeese will enter the Southland Conference tournament as the No. 6 seed and will take on Sam Houston State in the first round of the tournament next week in Katy, TX.

Sam Houston finished third in the conference standings. The two teams will play at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday in the opening round.

'That's the way we went into this ball game and with the way the other scores fell, that's the way that we came out of it,' Cowboy head coach Dave Simmons said.

'With Kleon out it changed the complexion of the game. We didn't shoot the ball very well and we couldn't stay in the game. Jarvis never really got going and we didn't do what we needed to do.

'But, we're still playing and we're only three wins away from being on top of the world. We're capable of winning three games in the tournament.'

As for the loss to Nicholls State, the Colonels just hit the shots when it counted. They made six of 18 three point shots and outshot the Cowboys in every department. Five of their players scored in double figures with Adonis Gray leading the way with 19 points.

Bradley was held to single digit numbers while Diego Kapelan was scoreless, missing all seven shots that he took (five from three point range). Pichon also had a team high seven rebounds. Aldryan Wardell came off the bench for nine points and three rebounds and P. J. Alawoya had seven rebounds. Also, Adrien Garr had seven points and four rebounds in reserve and Stephan Martin scored six points.

McNeese made only 16 of 29 free throws, five of 23 three point shots and 21 of 61 overall field goal attempts.

The Cowboys had taken an early lead even with Penn out of the game. And, they were up by seven points at 12-5 a little more than four minutes into the game. Nicholls took the lead for good at 19-18 following a 14-6 run and held on from then on. The Colonels largest lead was by 21 points with 16:22 left in the game.

Usually McNeese has the most points in the paint but on this night, Nicholls scored 32 points there compared to the Cowboys' 16. -30-

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

Gershon selects Papazov and Minchev for his assistants -by Valentin Anguelov
The men's national team head coach Pini Gershon decided to choose Titi Papazov and Lubo Minchev for his assistants. The Israelian with Bulgarian roots was categorical that for him this is by far the best choice, because he wants one experienced and one younger perspective specialist beside him.

'I already saw recordings of some of the players who play abroad and also of the Bulgarian U20 national team', said Gershon at a special press-conference before he left Bulgaria.

'For 48 hours I've heard enough', snapped the specialist and he added, that he plans to organise a coach's seminar in Bulgaria during his stays in the country. That may happen before or after the Bulgarian Cup Final Four in Samokov. 'I believe that I can help Bulgarian basketball with more than just coaching the national team. I attended a practice and saw the HDI All Star Game yesterday. We tried to make some decisions. The preparatory camp starts in June. Soon we'll decide who will be there. I saw some of the players and the final decision will concern the American with Bulgarian passport', said Gershon.

'Everyone was expecting me to decide quickly about my assistants. I'm trying to build a good team together with the people from the federation. We took that decision and I hope it's the correct one. I'll be here for as long as it takes and I believe my assistants will help me when I'm not', stated Pini Gershon regarding his choice.

Papazov: I hope Pini will be happy working in Bulgaria -by Valentin Anguelov
'For me this is a great challenge and I'm very grateful. I can guarantee for myself and I'm sure about Lubo, that we will do whatever is up to us for the team. As for the players, we all know that they are capable of playing with great passion for Bulgaria', said Konstantin Papazov hours after Pini Gershon named him as his assistant head-coach.
'I really want him to be happy working in Bulgaria and this truly depends on us. I'm not surprised he has stated that for 48 hours he had heard enough opinions and rumours' said Titi and added 'I'm very happy to be part of the team and to work with someone like him. I've always claimed, that the greatest feeling is to work for the national team so I have only positive thoughts in my head right now. However, it leaves a bad impression on me that this choice is being too much talked about. I don't understand why this happens. Maybe it's because he is such a big name in the European basketball. Pini is an extremely honest person and we'll make a good team. I told him that everyone who works for the Bulgarian basketball really loves the game. At least that's what I think. I'm also sure that working with Gershon will be a great experience for the players, too. God gave us opportunity to have him as coach of the National team and he took everything back with the very tough draw for our team last month. However we will fight and try to our best,' commented Papazov and he also said that working as Gershon's assistant isn't a step back in his career for him.
'I think I have shown in my work so far how important the presence of my assistants is for me and I'm certain that Pini thinks the same way. I don't feel underestimated, no one forced me to do it, but I'll reveal that as early as September we discussed that opportunity. I'm really thankful but I'm realistic and I realise that knowing him for so long is the main reason for him to choose me. I would do the same, selecting someone who knows the situation and whom I could trust. This is something new for him as well'.

Lubo Minchev: It's a big opportunity to work with someone like Gershon -by Valentin Anguelov
Levski's head coach Lubomir Minchev was chosen as one of the assistant coaches in the men's national team.

'For me this is a real challenge and a great chance to work with a big European specialist like Pini Gershon. This is something very useful for me as a young coach and I'm sure I'll gain a lot of experience working with him. I agree with Pini's words that the coach depends a lot on his players. In one of my interviews lately I said that a good coach with weak players will achieve less than a bad coach with quality players. The coaches can't win games on their own. The victories are a combination of lots of things', said Minchev and he added 'I'm really happy to be one of the assistants, but right now there are some very important games for my club. My thoughts are mostly there'.

Regarding Gershon's visit to Levski's practice on Friday, Minchev said 'At the beginning I was very uneasy but then I got rid of that feeling. I warned the players before the practice and when he came everything was normal. At the end we said goodbye and that was it, we didn't talk about anything'.

Standings A2
A2 Standings
1. Cherno M. E-on 13-1
2. Alvina 12-2
3. Spart.MVR 8-6
4. Slavia 7-7
5. Chernomor. 6-8
6. Vidabasket 6-8
7. Dunav 2 3-11
8. Sportist Svoge 1-13


Stats Leaders
Men First A-1 Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Antic Lukoil Academic 23
2 Anguelov 21
3 Lilov Balkan 18.2
4 Barac Spartak Pleven 17.6
5 Deane Lukoil Academic 17.2
Rebounds Per Game
1 Antic Lukoil Academic 9.3
2 Tmuzic Dunav 2007 8.6
3 Vitas Cherno More Eurohold 8.2
4 Payne CSKA 8
5 Reka Yambol 7.9
Assists Per Game
1 Deane Lukoil Academic 6
2 Smith Lukoil Academic 5.1
3 Paskov CSKA 4
4 Smith 3.3
5 Antic Lukoil Academic 3.3
Ranking
1 Antic Lukoil Academic 28.5
2 Smith Lukoil Academic 24
3 Slaveykov Levski 19.4
4 Morton Balkan 19
5 Barac Spartak Pleven 18.7


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

Carleton wins OUA Wilson Cup -by Eurobasket News
The Carleton Ravens clinched their 4th OUA championship with an 81:65 win over Western at the Ravens' Nest yesterday. Aaron Doornekamp (201-F-85) scored quick 7 points early in the game and set the tone for the hosts. The Ravens handled their opponents well in the starting frame and finished the first stanza ahead 20:17. Stuart Turnbull (188-G-84) stepped up for the second frame with 6 points and kept Carleton in front. The gap was stretched to 7 points but a long-range bomb from Curtis pulled Western within 4 points at the interval. Stuart Turnbull remained active in the third period and ignited a 16:9 run for the Ravens as Carleton stayed tuned. But the Mustangs finally fell apart in the fourth frame. They struggled in accuracy from beyond the arc and shot just 30% from the field. The hosts also outrebounded their opponents 49:31 and forced only 8 turnovers during the game. Stuart Turnbull knocked down 30 points, 8 boards and 5 assists for the Ravens. Aaron Doornekamp had 23 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. Matthew Curtis (183-G) responded with 13 points, while Jason Milliquet (191-G) dropped 11 in a losing effort.
Laval outplayed Concordia to claim the Quebec Conference title. The Rouge et Or built a 43:29 buffer at halftime and finalized a positive outcome with a strong fourth period. Jean-Philippe Morin (201-F-83) led all scorers with 30 points and 10 boards. Jean-Francois Beaulieu (191-G) contributed 17 points for the winners. Andre Johnny (186-F) notched 15 points and 7 boards for Concordia.
Acadia and Saint Mary's advanced to the AUS Final with wins in the respective semis. Acadia edged Dalhousie 83:75 behind 23 points from Shawn Berry (196-F, college: Sauk Valley CC). Down by 9 points before the final stanza Acadia exploded with a 25:8 final frame to pull away with a victory. Leonel Saintil (196-F) totaled 20 points and 11 boards for Acadia. Simon Farine (188-G) netted 24 points to pace Dalhousie.
Saint Mary's outgunned StFX 76:64. Mark McLaughlin (188-G) chipped in 30 points for the victorious side. Tyler Richards (188-G-86) accounted for 22 points for StFX.

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

Cedevita and Sibenik hold 13-4 records -by Eurobasket News
Cedevita and Sibenik hold 13-4 records being the top teams of Croatian A1 league. Cedevita extended its winning streak to 11 games after routing Dubrovnik 115:90.The hosts took a 19:18 lead and never looked back. Franko Filipovic (206-F-87) led Cedevita with 22 points, while Ivan Novacic (201-F-85) added 18. Ivan Siriscevic (198-G/F-87) finished the night with 18 points and 7 rebounds for Dubrovnik.

Sibenik beat Kvarner NR 89:93 on a road to take the same record. At the start of the final quarter the result was 66:73 but in the last minute Pilepic drove past Ivan Tomeljak for a lay-up, 87:86. Luka Petkovic (181-G-88) finds Zoran Vrkic (203-G/F-87) in the fast break who dunks for 87:91. Zoran Vrkic recorded 30 points and 7 rebounds while Petar Males (202-F-72, agency: Heinrich Sports) added 27 points for the winners. Ciklic had 25 points in the losing effort.

In another games Svjetlost achieved 87:68 win against Zabok. Budimir scored 22 points and made 6 rebounds while Ivan Mimica (193-G-80) and Jurica added 19 points each. Ivanov posted 21 points for the defeated team. Dubrava clinched the fourth and final berth in the Championship Stage after defeating direct opponent Borik Puntamika 80:60.Tomislav Culjak (204-F/C-80) led Dubrava with 20 points, whilst Jurica Smiljanic added 14 and seven assists. Osijek 2006 defeated Alkar 98:87 as Marko Car (188-G/F-85) finished the game with 32 points. Zoran Helbich and Ivan Krolo (216-C-83) added 22 and 16 points respectively.

Market news:Maccabi looking for the "next Vujcic" -by Davor Kosic
Croatian center Nikola Vujcic (211-C-78, agency: Interperformances),one of the best Centers in Europe at the start of the 21 century is starting to fill the end of the era at European powerhouse - Maccabi Tel-Aviv.it was back in April 2001 when first Maccabi managment contacted a top Croatian agant - for the services of the 22 years old center who played at Split.
According to this agant,Maccabi has started to look for the next Vujcic,and he was contacted by Maccabi start and give them a shortlist of the biggest prospects in Croatia and in the ex Yeguslavian republic.
Vujcic fitness is a major doubt for Maccabi,and the big Croatian suffred a row of injuries during the last couple of years.According to Vujcic himself,he still doesnt know if he continue to wear the yellow jersey of Maccabi next year.
One of the top names in the shortlist of Maccabi is Zadar starlet - Jure Lalic (212-C-86),who is already spotted by NBA scouts and by italian side Benetton Treviso.

Standings - Ozujsko A1 League
A1 Standings
1. Sibenka 13-4
2. Cedevita 13-4
3. Dubrava 11-6
4. Slavonski Brod 11-6
5. Zabok 8-9
6. Borik 8-9
7. Kvarner NR 7-10
8. Alkar Sinj 6-11
9. Dubrovnik 5-12
10. Osijek 2006 3-14
11. KK Split -
12. KK Zagreb -
13. Cibona -
14. Zadar -


*****************************************************
CUBA

LSB Semifinals, Capitalinos and Ciego de Avila ok -by Alessandro Fontana
LSB-Time in Cuba, with the Semifinals!
There was no surprise in the first two games of the LSB Semifinals. Capitalinos won in Guantanamo and Ciego de Avila won in Matanzas. Tonight the second match if Capitalinos and Ciego de Avila win also the second game They will be qualified for the Finals.
Ciego de Avila played a perfect game at the Aurelio Janet Coliseum, They won 108-88 and for Matanzas now to qualify for the Finals it is almost impossible, No team can win two games in Ciego de Avila.
Capitalinos defeated Guantanamo 95-87. It was a difficult game, Guantanamo played hard and with intensity but This was the night of Tomas Garcia who scored 26 pts (4/6 2pts, 4/6 3pts, 6/6 FT) with 4 assts and 6 steals. He was unstoppable. To mention also the game of Raicel Lavastida with 24 pts (4/10 2pts, 3/7 3pts, 7/9 FT). Capitalinos is very near to qualify for the Finals and with this team It is really possible to dream.
GUANTANAMO-CAPITALINOS= 87-95
G= Elias 24, Simon 16, Calzada 16, Soria 11, Masso 6, Pulsan 5, Castilla 2, Favier 0, Castillo 0, Noblet ndp, Sanchez ndp, Rojas ndp, Brown ndp, McKintoch ndp
C= Garcia 26, Raicel Lavastida 24, Orestes Torres 14, Alvarez 9, Garcia 8, Perez 8 (8 rebs), Oliva 4, Leguen 2, Valdes 0, Lima ndp, Alorda ndp, Castillo ndp, Reve ndp, Panfet ndp.
A. Fontana

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

Hassapis Omonoia upset Keravnos Strovolos in a nervous encounter -by Nemanja Bjedov

Arthur Davis (193-G-77, college: St.Joseph's) scored 17 points while shooting 3 for 11 from behind the arc as Hassapis Omonoia beat Keravnos Strovolos 61-57 to level the score at 1-1 in the playoffs' semifinals on Saturday night at the Eleftheria Athletic Center.

Renos Pitallis' men opened the game well and after the first ten minutes they were ahead, leading by five at 23-18. The Strovolos side then outscored the hosts 16-14 in the second period and reduced their deficit to three points going to the half-time break, 37-34.

They then started the second half on a 11-0 run to take a 45-37 lead. However, the hosts managed to pull back leveled at 52-52 with Linas Juknevicius' buzzer beating trey. Both teams then combined to score 14 points in total in the final period with Hassapis Omonoia winning the game as Davis nailed a three-pointer to set the final score with just over 25 seconds remaining to be played.

Djordje Prstojevic and Sasa Mijajlovic each had 10 points for Hassapis Omonoia.

Panayiotis Trisokkas led Keravnos Strovolos with 13 points and nine rebounds. The American guard Patrick Lee got injured in the first quarter and after leaving the premises he was brought back with his left leg completely in a cast. This could probably mean that his season is over which is a big blow for Keravnos as Jarett Hart is also on the team's injury list.


SOURCE: CyBasketball.com



*****************************************************
CZECH REP.

Mattoni NBL 33rd round -by Ondra Simecek
On Saturday's match Geofin won at home over NH Ostrava 106-88. Home team had the game all the time under the control, definitive break occurred after technical fauls of Ostrava's coach. Game ended loose and undefended. Shooter Hurl Beechum (196-F-73, college: Iowa St.) showed an excellent performance with 29 points (3pts 6/6!), as well as new signee Kenny Walker (20 pts, 9 rebounds). Kenny Wilson holded Ostrava, he hit 26 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. (message from Geofin by Radek Horak)
Decin had Troubeles with last team of the league Usti nad Labem on the home court. The game was equal until the third quarter but finally experience of Decin won the game 81:72.
Prostějov did not falter against a team from the lower part of the league like in the previous round against Sadska. On the home court against USK only in beggining of the fourth quarter let the oponent to decrease the difference for 6 points but finally won 90:74.
Both Pardubice and Liberec were playing without thein key players Sanders on one side and Wooten on the other side. Pardubice proved to have better roster and more experience and won 72:64.
Nymburk continues in the the best leagues defensive games and won over Kolin 102:45. Schilb, Mack, Necas and Benda served the spectators a great ofensive show as well.

Standings - NBL
NBL Standings
1. Nymburk 32-1
2. Geofin 25-8
3. Prostejov 25-8
4. Decin 20-13
5. Pardubice 20-13
6. Ostrava 16-17
7. Sadska 14-18
8. A Plus B. 13-19
9. USK Praha 11-22
10. Liberec 10-23
11. Kolin 8-25
12. Usti n/Labem 3-30


Standings - D2
1Liga Standings
1. Opava 22-2
2. Vysehrad 18-6
3. Zapad 16-8
4. Benesov 15-9
5. Prazsky 15-9
6. Pardubice B 13-11
7. Chomutov 13-11
8. J.Hradec 13-11
9. VSB Ostrava 11-13
10. Zlin 10-15
11. Trutnov 8-16
12. Litomerice 7-17
13. Olomouc 7-18
14. BBK IVes Brno 1-23


Stats Leaders - NBL
NBL Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1. Rancik (Nymburk) 18.4
2. Thomas (Decin) 17.9
3. Hruby (Usti) 17.7
4. Sanders (Pard.) 17.2
5. Sarovic (Geofin) 17.0
Rebounds Per Game
1. Andelija (Praha) 8.1
2. McMillan (Geofin) 7.6
3. Sarovic (Geofin) 7.2
4. Ofoegbu (Ostrava) 7.1
5. Tomaszek (Prost.) 6.9
Assists Per Game
1. Mitchel (Ostrava) 5.6
2. Vrubl (Brno) 4.9
3. Ames (Prostejov) 4.5
4. Grier (Decin) 3.9
5. Toth (Liberec) 3.9


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

Standings
D-League Standings
Central Division
1. Sioux Falls S. 22-19
2. Dakota W. 21-16
3. Iowa E. 17-20
4. Ft.Wayne MA 13-22
Southwest Division
1. Austin T. 25-11
2. Colorado 14ers 22-14
3. Tulsa 66ers 21-16
4. Albuquerque T. 14-22
5. Rio Grande VV 14-24
West Division
1. Idaho S. 28-10
2. LA D-Fenders 24-11
3. Utah 18-19
4. Anaheim A. 14-23
5. Bakersfield J. 6-32


Stats Leaders
D-League Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1.M. Almond, UTA 25.7
2.C.Powell, DAK 22.0
3.K.Powell, SIF 21.9
4.S. Banks, LAD 21.7
5.D. Farmer, RGV 21.2
Rebounds Per Game
1.R. Benson, DAK 12.0
2.C. Alexander, SIF 11.0
3.L. Allred, IDA 10.0
4.N. Fazekas, TUL 9.9
5.M. Sene, IDA 9.3
Assists Per Game
1.R. Livingston, IDA 11.0
2.A. Barrett, BAK 8.7
3.E. Gill, COL 8.0
4.R. Sessions, TUL 7.6
5.K. Kruger, UTA 7.0


Saturday Night in the D-League -by Surujh Roopnarine

Sioux Falls Skyforce (104) at Tulsa 66ers (107)

The Tulsa 66ers staged an impressive come-from-behind victory at home versus the Sioux Falls Skyforce last night. Down 86-76 heading into the fourth, Tulsa outscored Sioux Falls 31-18 to improve to 21-16, while Sioux Falls fell to 22-19.

Ronald Dupree, the D-League vet, in only his second game with Tulsa, led the way with 24 points and a team high 10 rebounds. The former LSU standout was waived by the Detroit Pistons in December prior to joining Tulsa. Another SEC alum, Adam Harrington (6'5''-G-80, agency: Edge Sports, college: Auburn) (Auburn) led Tulsa with a team high 26. Tulsa needed every point, as David Bailey (5'8''-G-81, college: Loyola, IL) erupted for a career high 41 points on 14-23 shooting. Bobby Jones returned to Tulsa after his stint with the Houston Rockets, scoring five points and grabbing six rebounds in 28 minutes.

SKYFORCE: David Bailey (41p+7rb), Kasib Powell (25p+7rb+5as+5to), Chris Alexander (6p+19rb), Elton Nesbitt (11p)

66ERS: Adam Harrington (26p+5as), Ronald Dupree (24p+10rb), David Noel (18p+7rb+5as), Keith Closs (12p+7rb+6bs)

Austin Toros (119) at Albuquerque Thunderbirds (114)

The visiting Austin Toros extended their winning streak to five, with a hard fought 119-114 road victory against Albuquerque (14-22) last night at the Tingley Coliseum.

Up 15 heading into the fourth, the Toros had to hold off the Thunderbirds' furious comeback to seal the victory. Marcus Williams (6'7''-F-86, college: Arizona) continued his impressive play, leading Austin with 33 points to go along with a game high 11 rebounds. The former Arizona stand out is averaging 29.3 points and 10.0 rebounds in three games this month. The Toros withstood a career high 37 points from Josh Gross (6'6''-F-83, agency: Pro One Sports, college: NC-Greensboro) for Albuquerque.

AUSTIN: Marcus Williams (33p+11rb+5as), Cheyne Gadson (27p+8as), Justin Bowen (18p+6rb), DeMarr Johnson (14p+7rb)

T-BIRDS: Josh Gross (37p+10rb), Julius Hodge (26p+10rb+7as), Abdul Mills (17p+5as), Darvin Ham (10p)

Utah Flash (90) at Idaho Stampede (95)

The Idaho Stampede improved their league leading record to 28-10 with a 95-90 home victory over the visiting Utah Flash (18-19). Idaho once again had a very balanced attack, this time led by Mike Taylor and Cory Violette (6'8''-C/F-82, college: Gonzaga) who had 22 and 20 points, respectively. Lance Allred pulled down a game high 15 rebounds, but failed to score in double-digits for the first time in seven contests. Recently assigned Gabe Pruitt (6'4''-G-86, college: USC) and D-League leading scorer Morris Almond led the way for Utah with 22 points a piece.

FLASH: Gabe Pruitt (22p+8as), Morris Almond (22p), Kyrylo Fesenko (11p+13rb), Kevin Kruger (12p+6as)

STAMPEDE: Cory Violette (20p+11rb), Mike Taylor (22p+5as), Randy Livingston (14p+9as), Lance Allred (9p+15rb)



Recent Transactions -by Surujh Roopnarine
NBA Designations

The Miami HEAT re-called Daequan Cook (6'5''-G-87, college: Ohio St.) and Joel Anthony (6'9''-C-82, college: UNLV) from the Iowa Energy
Cook appeared in and started three games for the Energy, averaging 19.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.33 steals in 39.7 minutes of action. Additionally, Cook has appeared in 38 games (two starts) for the HEAT this season, averaging 7.2 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 19.5 minutes per game.
Anthony appeared in three games (all starts) for the Energy, averaging 8.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.00 blocks in 24.3 minutes of action. Additionally, Anthony has appeared in four games for the HEAT this season, and is averaging 7.8 minutes per game.

Player Movement
Idaho: Announced that Ricky Sanchez (7'0''-C-87) has left the team.
Austin: Signed Curtis Stinson (6'2''-G-83, agency: Life Sports, college: Iowa St.)
Colorado: Acquired Paul Butorac (6'10''-F-83, college: E.Washington) and Milone Clark (6'4''-G-83, college: Tennessee Tech)

D-League / NBA Related Moves

The Houston Rockets continue their reliance on ex-D-League alum byr signing former Colorado 14er Mike Harris (6'6''-F-83, college: Rice) and former Dakota Wizard Justin Williams (6'10''-F/C-84, college: Wyoming). Harris was with Houston during the pre-season and was released just prior to the season opener. Williams, a former shot-blocking machine at Wyoming averaged 1.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in 22 games with Sacramento. The Rockets waived former NBA Slam-Dunk Champion Gerald Green (6'8''-G/F-86) and Bobby Jones (6'6''-F-84, college: Washington) to make room on the roster.

Kaniel Dickens (6'8''-F-78, agency: Priority Sports, college: Idaho) and Billy Thomas (6'5''-G-75, college: Kansas) were each signed to a second 10-day contract by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Dickens and Thomas, teammates with the 14ers this season have appeared sparingly in five and six games respectively this season for Cleveland. Thomas, was previously with the Nets for four games earlier this year.

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

Super League Standings
Superleague Standings
1. Al Ittihad 17-1
2. Zamalek 15-3
3. Ahly 14-4
4. Sporting 14-4
5. Gezira 14-4
6. Somouha 10-8
7. Shams 6-12
8. Geish Army 6-12
9. Gazco 5-13
10. Shorta-Police 4-14
11. Eastern Co. 3-15
12. Damenhor 0-18


*****************************************************
ESTONIA

Ventspils defeats Kalev/Cramo in BBL -by Eurobasket News
Ventspils -Kalev/Cramo 74 : 69 ( 15-17, 16-16, 25-16, 18-20 )

The end of the season is approaching and the final games bring more interest than ever. Latvian Ventspils overcame Kalev/Cramo 74:69 to ensure the 6th position with 8-9 record. Even without injured Love and Baxter the hosts achieved an important win. Raimonds Gabrans (188-G-84, agency: FCM) led all the winners with 27 points. Akselis Vairogs (196-G/F-85) produced 16, while Aigars Vitols (194-G-76, agency: Interperformances) scored 15. Travis Reed (203-C-79, agency: Court Side, college: Long Beach St.) and Koutsopoulos ended up with 14 points each for the guests.
Estonian squad felt as if they play at home and took 15:17 advantage after the first 10 minutes of the game. The close battle continued in the second quarter. After a back-to-back baskets Estonian team tied the score in the period. Tanel Sokk (188-G-85) finalized the first half for 31:33 in the favor of guests.
The third quarter was decisive in the game as the hosts produced 25:16 in it. A huge hot streak by Latvians ended the period at 56:49 in their favor. The moment of the final stanza brought another resistance from the Estonian team. Frier made a long-range shot to make the score 60:61. Krisa and Rait Keerles (201-F-80) kept the guests in the game after two three-pointers for 72:69, but then Raimonds Gabrans solved the game from the free throw line.

Ventspils:Raimonds Gabrans 27, Akselis Vairogs 16, Aigars Vitols 15
Kalev/Cramo:Travis Reed 14, Koutsopoulos 14

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

Pro B - Round 25: Nanterre lost, Rouen and Bourg won ! -by Maxime Lory
For the twentyfifth day of Pro B, the leader Nanterre lost vs Quimper whereas the others leader, SPO Rouen Basket and JL Bourg Basket won. The MVP of this day is Julian Banks (196-G) from Aix-Maurienne with a top ranking of 36. He scored 26p ( 8/10 - 4/4:2p - 4/6:3p - 6/6: 1p), grabbed 3rbs, dished out 11 asts and stealed 1ball in 35 minutes.

Quimper (10)* 84-80 Nanterre (1)
In spite of the 32p of Belton Rivers (193-G-84, agency: Naiditch Entertainment, college: Tennessee Tech), the leader was beated by the tenth where Ronald Yates scored 19p. Only 3 players scored 10p for Nanterre, Andrien Moerman the french prospect did a bad game with 4p, 4rbs and 5to.
Jean-Michel Mipoka : 14p, 4rbs, 2asts, 19rkng
Belton Rivers : 31p, 1rb, 1ast, 2stls, 28rkng

Bourg (1) 92-73 Le Portel (16)
Easy win for JL Bourg Basket versus Le Portel, they made the difference in the third quarter with a 29-12. With 11p, Benjamin Recoura and Guillaume Leburgue are the top scorers of Le Portel. Brian Heinle posted 18p to lead JL Bourg Basket to the victory.
Brian Heinle : 18p, 8rbs, 3asts, 4stls, 29rkng
Karim Atamna : 10p, 2rbs, 2asts, 2stls, 15rkng

SPO Rouen Basket (1) 100-81 Chalons (15)
Another victory for SPO Rouen Basket after the last one versus JL Bourg Basket last week. Ronal Dorsey and Darnell Williams combined 43p, 9rbs, 8asts, 3stls, 45rkng. Peter Mulligan posted 24 for Chalons.
Ronald Dorsey : 22p, 5rbs, 4asts, 2stls, 24rkng
Peter Mulligan : 24p, 1rb, 1ast, 2stls, 21rkng

Limoges (4) 55-56 Poitiers (6)
In a very tigh game, Poitiers did the surprise last saturday in Baublanc where the CSP was beated by one. Only 2 players, Dragan Lukovsi and Kenny Younger, scored 10p ( respectively 19 and 22). Leaded by 3 before the last quarter, Poitiers posted a 14-10 to finnaly win.
Dragan Lukovsi : 19p, 2rbs, 2asts, 3stls, 15rkng
Kenny Younger : 22p, 11rbs, 2asts, 27rkng

Nantes (5) 95-73 Evreux (9)
Fifth victory in the last 6 games for Nantes where the center Rashaun Freeman scored 20p and grabbed 6rbs. The quator Freeman - Boissie - Tutt - Labeyrie combined 68p, 15rbs, 11asts, 3blks, 10stls, 74rkng. Good game of Dorsey and Monnet for Evreux with respectively 18 and 11p.
Rashaun Freeman : 20p, 6rbs, 3asts, 3stls, 2blks, 24rkng
James Mathis : 18p, 8rbs, 1ast, 3stls, 18rkng

Saint-Vallier (17) 85-87 Besancon (13)
Boulazac (11) 84-63 Reims (18)
Saint-Etienne (7) 81-87 Saint-Quentin (14)
Aix-Maurienne (8) 79-72 Brest (12)

*before the game

Standings - ProA
ProA Standings
1. ASVEL 16-5
2. Le Mans 15-6
3. Nancy 15-6
4. Roanne 14-7
5. Cholet 12-9
6. Vichy 12-9
7. Strasbourg 11-10
8. Le Havre 11-10
9. Hyeres-Toulon 10-11
10. Chalon 9-12
11. Orleans 9-12
12. Pau 8-13
13. Paris-Levall. 8-13
14. Dijon 7-14
15. Gravelines 7-14
16. Clermont 4-17


Standings - ProB
ProB Standings
1. Bourg 17-8
2. Rouen 17-8
3. Nanterre 16-9
4. Poitiers 15-10
5. Limoges 15-10
6. Nantes 15-10
7. Maurienne 14-11
8. Saint-Etienne 14-11
9. Quimper 13-12
10. Boulazac 13-12
11. Besancon 12-13
12. Evreux 12-13
13. Brest 11-14
14. St.Quentin 10-15
15. Chalons 9-16
16. Le Portel 9-16
17. St.Vallier 8-17
18. Reims 5-20


Round 21 Round Up -by Sean Davis
Nancy 89 - 98 Gravelines

Gravelines sparked by Stephen Brun's 25pts pulled off an unlikely
upset on the road at Nancy. Gravelines jumped out to an early 11pt
lead and never looked back. Nancy needed a win to stay in contention
for first place while Gravelines needed a win to have a chance to
finish away from the bottom three. Gravelines committed only 7
turnovers and shot 51.7% from the field. Vincent Grier added 16pts
and Tony Stanley added 14pts for Gravelines in the Victory. Nancy had
five players score in double figures led by Zabian Dowdell and
Phillippe Amagou Pape both with 17pts each.

Roanne 95 - 92 Le Havre

In a close fought battle Roanne prevailed with a 3pt home victory.
Roanne trailed by 4pts entering the 4th quarter but came back to pull
off the victory led by Marc Salyers 31pts, 8rebs, and 4ast. Pape
Badiane contributed with 14pts and Brion Rush added 12pts in the
victory. John Cox had a solid game for Le Havre scoring 20pts, 6rebs,
5ast, and 5steals. T.J Thompson scored 17pts while Ali Traore added
15pts.

Vichy 59 - 61 Pau-Orthez

Pau got a much needed road victory over Vichy. Pau held a
double-digit lead for the majority of the game and Vichy made a late
push only to fall short losing by 2pts. Pau is 5-4 since acquiring
their new players after all-star break. In a rare low scoring game
for Pau Antonio Graves led the way with 17pts while Ludovic Vaty
chipped in with 14pts and 4rebs. Vichy had 3 players score in double
figures and only shot 34% from the field as a team. Jimmal Ball had a
game high 18pts while newcomer Curtis Sumpter added 14pts and 8rebs.

ASVEL 95 - 89 Orleans

ASVEL gained sole possession of first place in a comeback win over
Olreans. With the loss Orleans dropped into 11th place and is
slipping out of playoff contention. ASVEL had all five starters score
in double figures accounting for 89pts. Chevy Troutman had a
sensational game for ASVEL recording a double-double by scoring 23pts
and grabbing 10rebs. Laurent Foirest had a game of 24pts by shooting
5 of 7 from the field and a perfect 11 of 11 from the stripe. Orleans
also had 5 players score in double figures led by Benjamin Dewar's
22pts and Brandon Heath's 16pts.

Cholet 89 - 80 Le Mans

Cholet continues to stay red hot with a 9pt home victory over Le Mans.
Cholet took the lead early in the match and never looked back on the
way to their 12th victory of the season. As a team Cholet shot 50.8%
from the field and 10 of 20 from the 3pt line. Nando De Colo blew up
scoring 29pts while shooting 10 of 15 from the field. Claude Marquis
scored 16pts and Steed Tchicamboud added 14pts in only 15min. Alain
Koffi led Le Mans in scoring with 19pts and 10rebs. Antoine Diot and
Raviv Limonad both scored 16pts off the bench in the losing effort.

Chalon 104 - 100 Strasbourg

In one of the best games of the season Chalon needed 3 overtimes
before prevailing with a 4pt much needed home victory. Xavier
Corosine sent the game into the first overtime then Kevin Houston hit
a three to send the game into a third overtime. Chalon had 5 players
score in double figures accumulating 97 of the teams 104 pts led by
Darrel Mitcheell with 24pts. John Ford and Xavier Corosine both
scored 20pts and Rowan barrett added 19pts. Kevin Houston had an
outstanding game leading Strasbourg with 31pts and 12rebs. Eddie
Shannon also scored in double figures with 24pts and 9ast.

Paris 94 - 84 Dijon

Dijon cooled off after getting beat on the road by 10 to a Paris team
that is starting to turn it on. Kmani Ffriend had an unbelievable
game for Paris scoring 28pts an controlling the boards by grabbing
15rebs. Kelvin Torbert added 16pts and Cyril Akpomedah scored 14pts.
Dijon was led by Abdoulaye Mbaye and Terrell Everett both scoring
18pts.

Clermont 49 - 69 Hyeres-Toulon

Clermont got embarrassed once again with a 20pt home loss. Clermont
managed to only score 49pts while shooting 28.3% from the field and 4
of 25 from three. Hyeres-Toulon had a balanced scoring attack with 4
players scoring in double figures and Daniel Horton with a team high
14pts. Laurent Legname added 13pts. Clermont had 2 players score in
double figures led by Jerry Johnson with a game high 18pts and Demba
Mbengue with 10pts.

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

2. Bundesliga Pro B: Highlights of Gameday 24 -by Moritz Korff
Play of the Day: Joe Deister (187-G-83) (187-G-83) - Stahnsdorf: 30 pts, 3/3 3P, 13/18 FG, 6 st, 4 as, 3 rbs

Points: Bryant McAllister (191-G-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: Duquesne) - Muenchen: 32

Rebounds: Torvoris Baker (201-F-83, college: Detroit Mercy) - Herten: 17

Assists: Jacob Ndi (185-G-82) - Stahnsdorf: 9

Steals: Joe Deister (187-G-83) - Stahnsdorf: 6

Blocked Shots: Philip McCandies (206-C-83, college: Charleston) - Bielefeld: 3

Check out all stats and scores on the official website of the 2. Bundesliga: click

Bundesliga Game Day 23: Results Sunday March 9th! -by Michael Taylor
Sunday March 9th was OVERTIME DAY in the Bundesliga as both games needed an extra session to settle the competitive and exciting action. In the end, Ewe Baskets Oldenburg and BG74 Gottingen earned important wins.

Sunday March 9th
Ewe Baskets Oldenburg 99 EnBW Ludwigsburg 91 OT
It took an extra session at Rundesporthalle, but at the final buzzer Ewe Baskets Oldenburg emerged with a terrific 99-91 road win over EnBW Ludwigsburg Sunday night in Bundesliga Game Day 23 action. Head Coach Predrag Krunic and his Thunderbirds started fast with a 21-13 1Q and carried a 47-37 lead into halftime. Oldenburg extended their lead to 69-58 after 3Q before Ludwigsburg's 4Q rally which saw them outscore their guests 26-15 to force OT. In the overtime, Oldenburg earned the victory with a 15-7 frame. Jason Gardner led Oldenburg with 23pt while Branimir Longin followed with 22pt in the win. Jasmin Perkovic chipped in 17pt 7reb 4ast and Miladen Pekovic had 14pt for Oldenburg. Playing without leading scorer Brandon Woudstra, Heiko Schaffartzik finished with 27pt against his former team and big men Michel Nascimento (17pt5reb) and Coleman Collins (13pt 7reb) were strong for Ludwigsburg. Oldenburg shot 57% from the floor making 12 of 23 threes (52%) while Ludwigsburg shot 46% from the floor and 36% from three (12 for 33). With the win Oldenburg improves to 14-10 while Ludwigsburg drops to 12-11.

BG74 Gottingen 79 TBB Trier 70 OT
Darren Brooks scored 19pt including several big baskets in Overtime helping BG74 Gottingen to an exciting 79-70 overtime win over visiting TBB Trier Sunday night at Lokhalle in Gottingen. Shown live on BBL.TV, the game was close throughout, as Gottingen held a 22-21 lead after 1Q but Trier took a 32-31 advantage into halftime. The Violets were stronger in the 3Q taking a 50-45 lead into the 4th, but Trier fought back to even the game with a rally down the stretch. Willie Jenkins pull up J rimmed out and the teams went to OT. In the extra session, Jamar Thorpe hit key FT to give Gottingen a spark and Darren Brooks hit a tough pull up J before burying a right wing 3 leading Gottingen to the win. Behind Brooks' 19, Jeb Ivey scored 12pt and Willie Jenkins 10 in a balanced team attack for Head Coach John Patrick. Daniel Cage led Trier with 17pt 8reb followed by F Caleb Greeb with 16pt 5reb and Austen Rowland with 15pt 5reb 5ast.
Gottingen shot 41% from the floor while holding Trier to 31%. Both teams made 7 threes with Gottingen shooting 7 of 18 (32%) and Trier making 7 of 32 (21%). The Violets made 14-19 FT (73%) while Trier sank 21 for 33 (63%). Gottingen upped their record to 10-13 while Trier fell to 5-18

Standings - Regionalliga
Regionalliga Standings
North Group
1. Osnabrueck 34-4
2. Hannover 34-4
3. Bernau 26-12
4. Wedel 20-16
5. Magdeburg 18-18
6. Oldenburg 18-20
7. Itzehoe 16-24
8. Berlin 14-22
9. Wolfenbuettel 14-22
10. Aschersleben 10-26
11. MBC II 10-28
12. Rostock 10-28
South-East Group
1. Muenchen 40-2
2. Landshut 38-4
3. Gotha 32-12
4. Wuerzburg 28-14
5. Weiden 26-16
6. Baunach 26-18
7. Landsberg 22-20
8. Dachau 20-24
9. Leitershofen 16-26
10. Dresden 14-28
11. Zwickau 12-32
12. B'guessbach II 12-32
13. Rattelsdorf 8-36
14. Jena II 6-36
South-West Group
1. Mainz 38-6
2. Weissenhorn 34-10
3. Schwenningen 34-10
4. HD-Kirchheim 26-18
5. Konstanz 22-20
6. Kronberg 22-20
7. Treis-Karden 22-20
8. Giessen 20-22
9. Stuttgart 18-26
10. Rastatt 18-26
11. Goeppingen 16-28
12. Gruenberg 14-30
13. Trier 14-30
14. Lich II 6-38
West Group
1. Dortmund 42-8
2. Grevenbroich 40-10
3. Schwelm 40-10
4. Bochum 30-20
5. Salzkotten 28-22
6. Wulfen 28-22
7. M'gladbach 26-24
8. BBV Hagen 26-24
9. Waltrop 22-28
10. BG Hagen 22-28
11. Leverkusen II 20-30
12. Bergheim 14-36
13. Capone D. 12-38
14. Meckenheim 0-50


Bundesliga Game Day 23: Results March 8th! -by Michael Taylor

Game Day 23 in the Bundesliga saw ratiopharm Ulm, Giessen 46ers and Walter Tigers Tubingen earn upsets while Artland Dragons moved into sole possession of first place atop the Bundesliga standings.

Thursday March 6th

Bayer Leverkusen 88 Koln 99ers 76
Eric Taylor totaled 21pt 12reb as Bayer Leverkusen topped Koln 99ers 88-76 in Bundesliga basketball action Thursday night at Rheinenergie Dome in Koln. Head Coach Achim Kuczmann and his men exploded to a 29-16 1Q lead and took a 49-40 advantage into half. Leverkusen's strong 3Q built a 72-55 lead heading into the 4th. Koln's rally fell short as they found foul trouble with Brian Greene fouling out. Along with Eric Taylor's production, Brant Bailey scored 16pt, Brendan Winters 15pt and veterans Nate Fox and Tyron McCoy had 13pt each. Nedzad Sinanovic topscored for Koln with 21pt 9reb followed by Greene with 16pt 7reb and Milko Bjelica who had 15pt 4ast. Leverkusen's fantastic season continues improving to 18-5 and rising to second place in the Bundesliga standings. Koln slipped to 12-11.

Saturday March 8th
ratiopharm Ulm 94 ALBA Berlin 90
ratiopharm Ulm upset ALBA Berlin 94-90 at MaxSchmellinghalle Saturday night, beating ALBA for the 2nd time this season. Both wins were historically significant for Ulm basketball winning for the first time over ALBA at Sportszentrum Kuhberg October 27th and now for the first time at MaxSchmellinghalle in Berlin. ALBA opened strong with a 24-19 1Q and held a 46-42 lead at half. Berlin extended their lead to as many as 11 in the 3Q before Ulm's comeback. Trailing by 9, Ulm's EJ Gallup banked in a 3 from the left wing and was fouled turning the 3pointer into a 4 point play. A bench Technical on ALBA turned it into a 6 point play for Gallup. Heading into the 4Q, ALBA led 69-67. Big 3pt shots from Bryan Lucas helped Ulm to the lead and fantastic basketball action filled the 4Q. Konrad Wysocki finished in the paint with 40sec remaining giving Ulm a 5pt 92-87 lead. After an ALBA timeout, Goran Nikolic buried a clutch 3 cutting the lead to 92-90. Fouled with 7.6sec remaining, Ulm's Dru Joyce stepped to the line and cooly sank both FT to ice the game at 94-90. Both teams played without keyplayers (Berlin without Dijon Thompson and Ulm without Captain Emeka Erege and Kyle Bailey). Six players reached double figures from the shortened Ulm rotation led by Bryan Lucas's 21pt on a perfect 5 for 5 from three. EJ Gallup and Jeff Gibbs added 16pt apiece and Sean Finn was a perfect 7 for 7 from the floor finishing with 15pt 5reb. Dru Joyce finished with 11pt 8ast and Konrad Wysocki 10pt 5reb. Aleksander Nadjfeji topscored for ALBA with 20pt followed by 19 from Julius Jenkins and 17 from Bobby Brown. ALBA shot 60% from the floor while Ulm hit 57% and both teams shot threes well (Ulm 9 for 17 52% ALBA 9 for 19 47%). Ulm held an advantage from the FT sinking 15-22 (68%) to Berlins 11 of 23 (47%). The two teams will meet again Wednesday March 19th at MaxSchmellinghalle in the Elite 8 of the German Cup. Snapping their recent skid, Ulm improves to 10-14 while ALBA is now 18-5.

Walter Tigers Tubingen 69 brose Baskets Bamberg 57
Walter Tigers Tubingen finished strong with a 15-7 4Q in taking a noteable 69-57 home win over powerful brose Baskets Bamberg Saturday night at Tubingen Arena. Tubingen led 17-13 after 1Q and 38-34 at half. Following an even 3Q, the teams went into the final ten minutes at 54-50 for Tubingen. PG Jermaine Anderson topscored for Tubingen totalling 18pt 5reb against his former team from Bamberg. Rasko Katic added 15pt 11reb and AJ Moye finished with 12pt 8reb in the win. Big men Jared Reiner (12pt 10reb) and Darren Fenn (12pt 3 threes) led Bambergs attack. Head Coach Tolga Ongoren's team shot 39% while holding Bamberg to 34% and Tubingen won the battle on the boards 41-30. Bamberg head coach Dirk Bauermann received 2 technical fouls and was ejected from the game and Bamberg asst coach Rick Stafford coached the second half. Walter Tigers Tubingen upped their record to 7-16 with their biggest win of the season while brose Baskets Bamberg fell to 15-7 and 4th place in the standings.

Artland Dragons 97 Science City Jena 66
Artland Dragons claimed sole possession of first place in the Bundesliga with a 97-66 home win over Science City Jena. Adam Chubb topscored with 17pt 7reb and veteran sharpshooter Jan Rhodewald drilled 5 of 7 threes to add 16pt to the Dragon win. Lamont McIntosh and Darius Hall (5 for 5 from the floor) contributed 13pt each. Artland won each quarter and cruised to the win. Jason Miller led Jena with 16pt, Ajmal Basit totaled 15pt 9reb and Ali Seggelke had 13. Artland shot 61% making 11 of 23 threes (47%) and 18 of 23 FT (78%). Jena made 52% from the floor and 7 of 14 from three but only 11 of 20 (55%) from the foul line. Artland outrebounded Jena 29-24 but the most significant statistic was 24 turnovers from Jena. Improving to 19-4, Head Coach Chris Fleming and his Dragons move one game ahead of 2nd place Leverkusen. Jena fell to 2-21.

LTi Giessen 46ers 90 Bremerhaven 82
Michael Umeh dropped 28pt and big men Bill Phillips and Corey Rouse added 17pt apiece propelling LTi Giessen 46ers to a 90-82 home win over Eisbaren Bremerhaven at Sporthalle East in Giessen Saturday night. Tight throughout the game, Giessen grabbed a 20-19 lead after 1Q and held a 41-39 advantage at half. Bremerhaven won the 3Q and evened the game at 58 heading into the 4th. The 46ers strong 4Q finish saw them outscore Bremerhaven 32-24 to earn the 90-82 win. For the game, Head Coach Thorsten Liebenath's men hit 11 of 22 threes, dished out 18ast and 21 of 31 FT (67%). Bremerhaven was led by Anthony Tolliver's 21pt 13reb performance with help from Matt Haryasz (21pt) and Nate Funk (18pt 3-4 threes). Giessen improved to 6-17 while Bremerhaven evened at 11-11.

Telekom Baskets Bonn 81 Deutsche Bank Skyliners 64
Ronnie Burrell scored 19pt with 6reb and Winsome Frazier added 18pt on 4 for 8 3pt shooting leading Telekom Baskets Bonn to a solid 81-64 home win over Deutsche Bank Skyliners Saturday night at Hardtberghalle in Bonn. Head Coach Michael Koch and his team took an early lead and finished the 1Q leading 25-17. Leading 46-39 at half, Bonn increased their lead to 66-55 after 3. Bonn's 15-9 4Q sealed the win. Recently signed Eddie Basden contributed 13pt 5reb for Bonn and Artur Kolodziejski chipped in 10. Frankfurt was led by PG Pascal Roller and F Derrick Allen with 15pt apiece. Bonn shot 50% while Frankfurt hit 48% and the hosts held advantages in 3pt shooting (Bonn 8-20 40% to Frankfurts 4-16 25%) and FT (Bonn 13-15 86% to Frankfurts 8-12 66%). Skyliners outrebounded Bonn 30-29 but suffered 18 turnovers to Bonns 12. Telekom Bonn improved to 15-8 while Deutsche Bank Skyliners slipped to 13-11.

Sunday March 9th
EnBW Ludwigsburg v Ewe Baskets Oldenburg 6pm

BG74 Gottingen v TBB Trier 7pm BBL.TV

Wednesday March 12th
NewYorker Phantoms Braunschweig v digibu Baskets Paderborn 7pm



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

Liga Metropolitana to start on March 25 -by Gianni Pascucci
The Liga Metropolitana de Baloncesto Extraordinary Board agreed to start the Apertura Tournment on Tuesday, March 25, after having reached an agreement with the property of 'Gimnasio Nacional Teodoro Palacios Flores'. Regarding the election of the new League President, the Board decided to name a Temporary Commission to run the tournment till the end of the controversy.
The schedule of the first games is as follows:
Tuesday, March 25
19:00 Sat Markvision vs Zenca
20:30 Leones de Marte vs Millonarios
Thursday, March 27
19:00 USAC vs RL
20:30 Elite B.C. vs Corpoevisa
Saturday, March 29
19:00 URL vs Le Mans
20:30 Compusys vs Estudiantes

*****************************************************
IBL

Bellingham defeated in league opener -by Gianni Pascucci
The Bellingham Slam overcame an 11-point halftime deficit, but could not hold on for a victory as they were defeated by the Snohomish County Explosion, 116-106, in the International Basketball League season opener at the Monroe Sports Arena on Saturday. Ryan Diggs (6'2''-G-83, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: W.Washington) and Jacob Stevenson (6'4''-G-81, college: W.Washington) shared top scorer honors for the Slam with 20 points each. Center Lukas Henne (6'7''-F/C, college: W.Washington) had an impressive showing in his professional debut with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Jamaal Miller (6'2''-G-82, agency: Court Side) and Donald Watts (6'4''-F/G-77, agency: Court Side, college: Washington) led Snohomish County with 32 and 31 points, respectively. The Explosion also enjoyed 25 points by Chris Weakley (6'3''-G-79, college: Salem Intern.) and 13 rebounds by veteran Jackie Jones (6'8''-F-67, college: Oklahoma). This is the second win in the 2008 season for the Explosion, after that they destroyed 169-85 the USA All Stars on March 1. The Slam and Explosion are two of the highest rankked teams in this season's IBL, and they will face off in a re-match on March 22 at 7:15 p.m. at the Monroe Sports Arena. The Slam will make their home debut on March 28 against the Tacoma Jazz.

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

1.division game -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
One game yesterday in 1 division when Hottur visit Thor. Both teams been struggling lately. Thor needed a win to have chance to make it to the play-offs and Hottur a win to stay in the league.
So very important game for both teams. 50-47 for Thor at halftime. Hottur had a better second half and ended up winning 96-92 and secured a place in 1.division next season.
Leading scorer for Thor.Isaac Westbrooks 25 + 13 assist. Gretar Erlendsson 25 +17 rebs.Sveinbjorn Skulason 19.
For Hottur. Everard Bartlett 12/17 in shooting. Ben Hill 28. 37

Standings - 1 Division
D1 Standings
1. Breidablik 16-1
2. FSU 12-4
3. Valur 12-5
4. Haukar 9-7
5. Armann/Thrott 9-8
6. Thor Thorl 8-8
7. KFI 6-9
8. Hottur 5-12
9. Reynir S. 3-11
10. Throttur V. 2-16


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

West Asian Basketball Association Championships; 1st Day Results -by Houman Bagheri

Mahshahr (WABA Championships) - On the first day of 11th WABA championship, both Iranian representatives, Saba Battery and Petrochimi, downed their opponent teams from Jordan and Yemen.

Sunday 9/3/2008
Saba Battery - Orthodox 89-65
Al Ahli - Petrochimi 101-65
Al Ittihad - Al Hilla 70-60
Zain - Al Riyadi 65-66
-------------------------------------
Group A:
Saba Battery (IRI)
Petrochimi (IRI)
Orthodox (JOR)
Al Ahli (YEM)

Group B:
Al Riyadi (LEB)
Zain (JOR)
Al Hilla (IRQ)
Al Ittihad (SYR)

Earlier, Al-Jala of Syria and Lebanon's Blue Stars withdrew from the event.



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

Standings - SerieA
SerieA Standings
1. Montepas. 24-2
2. Lottomatica 17-9
3. Premiata 17-9
4. Air AV 16-10
5. Pierrel 15-11
6. Armani 14-12
7. Scavolini 14-12
8. Upim 13-13
9. Solsonica 13-13
10. Angelico 13-13
11. Tisettanta C. 12-14
12. Snaidero 11-15
13. Eldo 11-15
14. Siviglia Wear 11-15
15. Benetton 11-15
16. La Fortezza 10-16
17. Legea 7-19
18. Cimberio 5-21


*****************************************************
IVORY COAST

ABC Lost to CSA again -by Elvis Dickson
ABC Ladies suffered yet another set back last night at the hands of their rivals CSA in a game that was very entertaining right from the
start to the final buzzer.

The MTN Sponsored Red & White ladies took the lead right from 1st quarter till the last few seconds to the end of the game.
The score at the end of 1st quarter was 20 - 18, 2nd quarter 34 - 32, 3rd quarter 46 - 40 but with just 40 secs left, CSA
came in a rush with spectacular display of skills and team work and took control of the game. ABC's last seconds attemt to recover
was too late as the game ended 54 - 55 in favour of CSA.

In Another develpment, ABC men retaliated by beating ZENITH 60 - 53 in a game that saw the introduction of a new player ALI HACHOUCH
(Guard 1.90cm, 85kg,) from Lebanon club WAFAA.

Results of other games:
AFRICA SPORTS 59 IVESTP 56

*****************************************************
JAPAN

JBL2 Standings
JBL2 Standings
1. Chiba 15-1
2. Toyota Tsusho 14-2
3. Tochigi Brex 13-3
4. Ishikawa 8-8
5. Hitachi C.B. 6-10
6. Toyoda Gosei 5-11
7. Kuroda Electric 4-12
8. Aisin AW 4-12
9. Tokyo Marine 3-13


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

Ventspils defeats Kalev/Cramo in BBL -by Eurobasket News
Ventspils -Kalev/Cramo 74 : 69 ( 15-17, 16-16, 25-16, 18-20 )

The end of the season is approaching and the final games bring more interest than ever. Latvian Ventspils overcame Kalev/Cramo 74:69 to ensure the 6th position with 8-9 record. Even without injured Love and Baxter the hosts achieved an important win. Raimonds Gabrans (188-G-84, agency: FCM) led all the winners with 27 points. Akselis Vairogs (196-G/F-85) produced 16, while Aigars Vitols (194-G-76, agency: Interperformances) scored 15. Travis Reed (203-C-79, agency: Court Side, college: Long Beach St.) and Koutsopoulos ended up with 14 points each for the guests.
Estonian squad felt as if they play at home and took 15:17 advantage after the first 10 minutes of the game. The close battle continued in the second quarter. After a back-to-back baskets Estonian team tied the score in the period. Tanel Sokk (188-G-85) finalized the first half for 31:33 in the favor of guests.
The third quarter was decisive in the game as the hosts produced 25:16 in it. A huge hot streak by Latvians ended the period at 56:49 in their favor. The moment of the final stanza brought another resistance from the Estonian team. Frier made a long-range shot to make the score 60:61. Krisa and Rait Keerles (201-F-80) kept the guests in the game after two three-pointers for 72:69, but then Raimonds Gabrans solved the game from the free throw line.

Ventspils:Raimonds Gabrans 27, Akselis Vairogs 16, Aigars Vitols 15
Kalev/Cramo:Travis Reed 14, Koutsopoulos 14

LBL standings
LBL Standings
Division I
1. Valmiera 10-7
2. ASK Riga 9-0
3. Barons/LMT 9-1
4. Liep.Lauvas 9-8
5. BK Ventsp. 8-2
6. VEF Riga 8-9
7. Bum./ASK 2-14
8. Keizarmezs 1-15
Division II
1. Zemgale 23-5
2. Ventspils au. 20-6
3. RNS-D/Livani 18-10
4. ASK/Juniors 18-11
5. LU/Ridzene 13-14
6. Jurmala 13-15
7. Roja 9-18
8. Saldus 5-21
9. Cesis/Remarks 5-24


Stats Leaders
LBL Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
Ozols (Jurmala) 20.9
Kanbergs (VA) 20.3
Rudzitis (Bum.) 19.4
Jurevicus (Liepaja) 18.3
Delveris (Roja) 18.2
Rebounds Per Game
Stimac (Valmiera) 11.3
Ed.Eglitis (LU/Ridz.) 9.0
Licitis (Saldus) 8.5
J.Rozitis (ASK/Jun.) 8.0
Bucs (VA) 8.0,
Assists Per Game
Slesers (Livani) 7.1
Buskevics (ASK) 4.8
Nash (Valmiera) 4.1
Tiss (Saldus) 4.1
Raiskums (Zemgale) 4.0
Steals Per Game
Slesers (Livani) 3.3
Skele (Barons) 2.9
Millage (ASK) 2.7
Blocks Per Game
J.Rozitis (ASK/Jun.) 2.7
D.Rozitis (Cesis) 2.5
Rich (Liepaja) 2.4
Ranking
Stimac (Valmiera) 22.6
Kanbergs (VA) 21.0
Raiskums (Zemgale) 20.0


Standings - LBAL
LBAL Standings
Austrumi 1-4
1. Valmiera-2 12-0
2. Maksis/LTI 9-3
3. DU/Hansabanka 8-4
4. Madona 5-7
Austrumi 5-7
1. Jekabpils 3-9
2. Preili 3-9
3. Ezerzeme 2-10
Centrs 1-4
1. ASK Kadeti 2-0
2. Keizarmezs-2 1-1
3. Ogre/Sonora 1-1
4. Jurmala 2 0-2
Centrs 5-8
1. Kursa/MRU 14-4
2. VIA Riga 11-7
3. Turiba 9-7
4. LU 9-7
Centrs 9-12
1. VEF Riga 8-8
2. Salacgriva 8-10
3. Ridzene 89 8-10
4. Saulkrasti 6-10
Centrs 13-16
1. Ridzene M. 7-11
2. ASK Kadeti-2 6-12
3. 3.BJSS 5-11
4. I.O.S. 4-12
Centrs 17-20
1. DSN 3-15
2. Ridzene 91 1-15
3. LNSF 0-18
Rietumi 1-4
1. Dartija 12-4
2. Liepajas Papirs 11-5
3. Kandava 10-6
4. Variants 10-6
Rietumi 5-9
1. Zemgale/Juniors 10-6
2. Perkons 9-7
3. Talsi 8-8
4. Olaine 2-14
5. Baldone 0-16


*****************************************************
LESOTHO

Inter-college Games -by Sekhoane Moshabesha


The annual LUCSA ball games were played yesterday at Lerotholi Polytechnic grounds. The NBL champions, Lerotholi Polytechnic were victorious on the day with a hard fought victory over National University of Lesotho (Rovers) in the finals. (54-45). A team that will represent Lesotho at the CUCSA ball games to be held in Malawi in three months time was selected after the games. It compromises of seven players from Lerotholi Polytechnic and seven from Rovers.

Meanwhile the NBL Top-4 tournament is set to kick off on the 15th of March at the Lehakoe Indoor. Teams that made it to the Top-4 are LP, Rovers, Bashana-Baeso and Leseli.

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

NKL League Quaterfinals -by Lukas Zajancauskas
Zalgiris-Sabonio mokykla Kaunas advanced to NKL semifinals. They won the serie against Silute 3:0. Kaunas won the last game 111:83. Wonderful night for Silute forward Julius Mykolaitis (204-F-83), he scored 43 points.
Zalgiris-Sabonio Mokykla will play against Juventus-LKSK Utena, who won the regular season. Juventus defeated Pieno Zvaigzdes Pasvalys 3:0. They won the first game 90:78, second 76:86, third 98:67.
The third team, which will compete in the semis is Naglis Palangos. They won the series 3:0 against Akademija-MRU Vilnius. Two Americans and former basketball superstar Saulius Stombergas (202-F-73, agency: Interperformances) led Naglis-Adakris to the win. All matches were interesting, both teams had odds to win every game, but 'Naglis-Adakris' played better in the end. Results of every game - 76:69, 75:81, 74:63. Vilnius had a clear leader. It was Jan Jurgo, he averaged 20 points in quaterfinals.
Nafta/Univer./Laivite Klaipeda are leading in serie 2:1, they won both home mathces, but lost in Jonava, where SK Dextera Jonavos overcomed Nafta/Univer./Laivite Klaipeda 80:72.

Semi-final pairs

Juventus-LKSK Utena - Zalgiris-Sabonio mokykla Kaunas
Naglis Palanga - ? (winner of Nafta/Univer./Laivite Klaipeda vs SK Dextera Jonava series)

LKL Round 11 : Review -by Lukas Zajancauskas
Sakalai Vilnius suffered two major defeats to Zalgiris and Lietuvos Rytas, Lietuvos Rytas won against Atletas, Siauliai won at home against Nevezis and overcomed Neptunas in Klaipeda, Techasas took the win in Kedainiai and Neptunas won a very inportant battle against Techasas Panevezys. Fourth place holders Alytus achieved another victory. This time it was a hard battle in Marijampole.

This Saturday Zalgiris Kaunas played against Sakalai. Zalgiris controlled situation from the first minute to the last and won 69:98. Next day Sakalai played their away game against Lietuvos Rytas. This derby wasn't very tough, Lietuvos Rytas added another victory to their account, they won 112:67. Yesterday Lietuvos Rytas defeated Atletas Kaunas. Atletas played at home, but Rytas were dominating in the court and in the stands. About 90 Rytas fans were creating great atmospere. Lietuvos Rytas won their away game 93:79.
Siauliai retrieved third place, because they won both games this round. Against Nevezis at home (79:70) and against Neptunas in Klaipeda. Both games was very tough and the winner emerged in the final minutes. Especially in Klaipeda. Siauliai was controlling the situation until the third period, after two quaters they was leading by 12, but then Neptunas started to 'chase' them. 21 second was remaining and the result was 85:85, but then Donatas Zavackas (203-F-80, college: Pittsburgh) hit a two pointer and Siauliai won 87:85. Nice game for Donatas Zavackas, he scored 28 points and grabbed 8 boards. Also good match for Neptunas forward Vaidotas Peciukas (199-G-82, college: Hawaii), who netted 25 points.
Interesting match in Kedainiai, where the hosts played against Techasas. The fourth quater was crucial, since this period Nevezis was trailing by 9, but they managed to cut the deficit to 1 point and only seconds was remaining. Then Techasas forward Mindaugas Budzinauskas (198-G-73) hit both free throws(79:82) and Nevezis try to even the score was unsuccesful. Final score 80:82.
Suduva was able to win, but the unsuccesful fourth quater erased all hopes. This was their 12 defeat. Alytus won 92:88, now they have 8-5 record. Great night for Nerijus Varnelis (200-F-78), he scored 26 points.
Neptunas achieved their 7 victory by winning versus Techasas Panevezys. It was a hard battle for both teams, where defense was dominating. Chris Hill launched a three pointer, which could tie the game, but it was unsuccesful. Techasas lost 72:75. LKL Sniper of the year Marius Runkauskas (189-G-86) was the high scorer in Neptunas - 11 points. Mindaugas Budzinauskas was the MVP of the hosts. He netted 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Standings - NKL
NKL Standings
Group A
1. Nafta Univ. 22-10
2. Palangos 22-10
3. Pakruojis 18-14
4. Pasvalys 17-15
5. Silute 14-18
6. KKM-Aisciai 13-19
7. Delikatesas 11-21
8. LKKA-Atletas 9-23
9. Taurage 6-26
Group B
1. Utenos 25-7
2. Prienai 22-10
3. Zalgiris-Sab. 21-11
4. Jonavos 20-12
5. Perlas 17-15
6. Anyksciai 14-18
7. Akad.-MRU 14-18
8. Mazeikiai 6-26


Stats Leaders - NKL
NKL Stats Leaders Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1. Kurauskas 30.0
2. Smith 28.3
3. Danys 22.0
4. Lukosevicius 21.7
5. Norkus 21.6
Rebounds Per Game
1. Straupis 11.0
2. Slezas 10.6
3. Vilkius 9.9
4. Stombergas 9.0
5. Norkus 8.8
Assists Per Game
1. Kulbis 6.7
2. Purlis 5.3
3. Ignatavicius 5.1
4. Smith 5.0
5. Kulevicius 4.7


Standings - LKL
LKL Standings
1. Lietuvos 15-0
2. Zalgiris 11-2
3. Siauliai 9-6
4. Alita 8-5
5. Neptunas 7-7
6. Sakalai 5-9
7. Nevezis 5-9
8. Panevezys 5-10
9. Atletas 4-10
10. Suduva 1-12


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

Etzella Wins!! Etzella Wins!!! Etzella wins the Cup of Luxembourg Again!!!! -by Alex Meyers
March 8, 2008

Musel Pikes 58 - Etzella Ettelbruck 89

Etzella defended its Cup Title once again last Saturday night March 8 at 'The Coque' in Kirchberg with a 89-58 blowout victory over Musel Pikes. Six of the past seven seasons now Etzella has won the prized 'Coupe de Luxembourg' , its fourth in a row and 22nd overall. Quite impressive to say the least.! This was the fourth meeting between the two teams and Etzella has come out the winner each time. Nelson DelGado was MVP once again with 6 assists, 3 steals and 7 rebounds to go with his 22 points. Three other players from Etzella also finished with double figures in scoring... ...Tim Giver 18, Marcus Kennedy 16 and Cedric Schroeder 15. Samy Picard led Musel Pikes with 19 points followed by Guy Scmitz with 13. Christopher Braier was held to only 9 points, but grabbed rebound honors with 17 to go along with his 4 assists and 2 steals.

Interim coach Will Kerger assisted by Paul Peiffer celebrated as coaches as they are sitting in for Carsten Pohl who is still recovering from an automobile accident. Pohl has signed on already for and will be back on the sidlines for next season. Coach Pohl will also serve as sports director for the club. It has recently been confirmed by club officials that Coach Pohl will resume his post as recently as March 17th, 2008.

The game seemed to have been won by Etzella from the free throw and 3 point lines where the winners canned 18/24 and 11/21 respectively. Musel Pikes bombed unsuccessfully shooting in only 3/21 treys for 15 per cent, which obviously hurt their cause.

Musel Pikes: 22 field goals, 3 three pointers, 11/18 free throws, 33 rebounds, 8 assists, 11 steals and 20 turnovers. Braier 9, Picard 19, G. Schmit 13, Schwartz 2, C. Schmit 4, also Dentzer 1, Kirch 4, Kox, Muller and Sadler 6
Etzella Ettelbruck: 30 field goals, 11 three pointers, 18/24 free throws, 31 rebounds, 13 assists, 12 steals and 15 turnovers. N. Del Gado 22, J. Del Gado 6, Schroeder 15, Kennedy 16, Giver 18, also Benseghir, Eckes 3, Garganese 4, Herrmann 5, Ittembach, Kerger and Pravisani

Score by Quarters: 1st Q 25-21, Halftime 39-50, 3rd Q 46-75, Final 58-89
5600 Spectators

*****************************************************
MEXICO

Soles Take Game 4, Even Series -by Justin Brink
After losing game three of the LNBP finals at home, the Soles of Mexicali could not afford to fall behind with a loss in game four yesterday. That, would have spelled the end, nearly, of their championship run putting them in a 3-1 hole. So, they did what any championship hardened team would do...they won beating the Halcones 85-82 while tying the series in the process at 2-2. The Soles maintained a ten point edge at halftime and couldn't extend the lead much past four points into the fourth quarter when both teams turned up the defensive intensity. Xalapa would get within one, 79-80 with less than a minute to play but Sole execution from the free throw line by Dejuan Wheat and James Penny (198-F-76, college: TCU) sealed the victory for Mexicali. Greg Lewis (198-F-78, college: Winthrop) (201-F, college: Stony Brook) poured in a game high 27 points and grabbed 9 rebounds, James Penny had 22 and 6 and Dejuan Wheat chalked up a double-double with 10 points and 12 assists. For Xalapa, Jermaine Watson (193-G-81, college: Boston Coll.) tallied 19 while teammate Gustavo Ayon (211-F/C-85, college: San Jose St.) dropped 17 and collected 20 boards. Game five is tonight at 8:00 p.m. Mexicali time. The series returns back to Xalapa for games 6 and 7 next week. Click here for more LNBP analysis.

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

MNT1A : New win for Niksic -by Dragan Scepanovic
Basketball Club Niksic win in first game of 17 round of MNT1A Opportunity division against BC Mogren Budva 73-67 (18-16,15-8,14-18,26-25).In team of BC Niksic best was once again Radoje Djurkovic (202-F/C-87) with 21 points,4 rebounds and 5 asists.In team of BC Niksic good game play Nemanja Vranjes 16 points and Marko Kuveljic 14 points.In team of BC Mogren best was MVP of championship in regular part of season 2007-2008 Boris Lalovic 20 pionts and 4 rebounds.Samir Leric score 12 and Sinisa Tepavcevic 9 points in team of BC Moren Budva.

Standings - 1A
1A Standings
1. Mogren 12-5
2. Danilovgrad 12-5
3. Lovcen 11-5
4. Niksic 11-6
5. ABS Primorje 10-6
6. Ulcijn 8-8
7. Mornar Bar 8-8
8. Jedinstvo 5-11
9. Primorje-M. 5-12
10. Rudar 0-16
Will join on later stage:
1. Buducnost -


Standings - 1B
1B Standings
1. Budva 17-0
2. Kotor 13-5
3. Ljubovic 12-5
4. Teodo Tivat 10-7
5. Gorstak 9-8
6. S.Centar 8-9
7. Un.Mediteran 7-11
8. Centar B.Polje 5-12
9. Buducnost II 4-13
10. Zeta 1-16


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

Campbellsville University advance Into MSC Tourney Semi-Finals -by Stephan Ditgens

Campbelsville University advance Into MSC Tourney Semi-Finals With Win Over WV Tech

PIKEVILLE, Ky. - Campbellsville University advanced to the MSC Semifinals for the third straight year with a 71-62 victory today over the WVU Tech Golden Bears. It was the third time this season that the Tigers defeated the Golden Bears.
WVU Tech would jump out to a 10-2 lead after three minutes of play, but Campbellsville would come right back to knot the game at 12 on a Nestor Colmaneres basket. The Tigers would take their first lead of the game on their very next possession, when Bubba Long scored in transition to give CU a 14-12 lead with just over five minutes gone by.

Campbellsville would extend their lead to 24-18 at the midway point of the opening half, and would outscore the Golden Bears 5-0 over the next 3:30 to go up by nine, 29-18. A Brent Butler three would pull Tech back within eight (29-21), but the Tigers would answer by scoring on their next two possessions to stretch the lead back to 33-21. Both teams would score six to end the half, giving the Tigers a 39-27 lead at the break.

The Tigers started the second half with a quick 4-0 spurt in the opening minute to take a 43-27 lead. But the next eleven minutes were all Tech, as the Golden Bears would use a furious 23-9 run to pull within just two, 52-50, with eight minutes left to play.

After Campbellsville converted one of two from the line, the Golden Bears would score on their next four possessions to take a 58-53 lead. But it was all Campbellsville from that point on as the Tigers finished the game with an 18-4 run to advance to tomorrows semi-finals.

Campbellsville (23-8) was lead by Long's game-high 28 points. Colmaneres ended the game with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. For Tech, who finished their season 11-16, Brent Butler finished with 16 points.

The Tigers will face the University of the Cumberlands tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m. in the tournament semi-finals.

Editors note: The above release was used with permission of the Mid-South Conference and was written by the tournament staff.



source: campbellsville.edu

Carroll College Saints advance to semis -by Stephan Ditgens

With the clock winding down near the end of a hard-fought game in the opening round of the Frontier Conference playoffs in Butte, the Carroll College men's basketball team held a slim 64-60 lead over the University of Montana-Western.
The Saints had possession and were passing the ball around the perimeter, appearing to be content to put on a stall.
Chad Vaculin had other ideas.
Vaculin suddenly broke for the basket from the top of the key, went airborne and gently put in a basket with 49 seconds remaining. That score cemented the victory for Carroll.
The Saints finished with a 70-62 win over the scrappy Bulldogs and advanced to the tourney semifinals.
Vaculin's team-high 15 points led a quartet of Saints who scored in double figures.
'It was a typical Carroll basketball game,' said Carroll College coach Gary Turcott. 'Everyone contributed to the effort. We utilized tough team defense and balanced scoring, and when we absolutely had to have it, Chad (Vaculin) makes a big play near the end of the game.'
Vaculin saved the Saints late and Eder Zuniga was Carroll's main offensive threat early on.
Zuniga sparked the Saints by netting back-to-back 3-point field goals to give the Saints a 9-2 lead in the opening half. Carroll stormed to a 24-10 advantage midway through the first half — their largest lead of the game — before the Bulldogs battled back to make it 31-25 at halftime.
The Saints were plagued by some missed opportunities in the first half, hitting only 31 percent from the floor.
They started finding the net a little better after halftime, however, improving their accuracy to 41 percent for the entire game.
Western got to within three points early in the second half, 33-30, before Carroll pulled away to lead by 13, 48-35.
But the feisty Bulldogs would not go away, closing to within four before Vaculin's critical bucket.
'It was a little ugly at times, but we'll take it,' Turcott said. '(Western coach) Steve Keller had a great game plan. They were able to come out and slow things down and make it a close game.'
The contest had a bit of an 'Old Home Week' flavor, as Keller is a former Carroll assistant, and Bulldog cager Garrett Fink played for Helena High.
In the post-game congratulatory lineup, every single CC player gave Keller a hug to go along with a handshake.
'Our players really think the world of Steve,' Turcott said. 'He was a big part of our success for the three years he was with us.'
The versatile Vaculin, who left the game for several minutes with an ankle injury prior to his late fireworks, paced Carroll with nine rebounds and four steals.
Zuniga pitched in 14 points, including four treys. Eric Henkel netted 12 and Derek Johnson added 10 counters.
Henkel and Scott Stockwell dished out three assists apiece. The Bulldogs were led by Chad Myers with 16 points and Daniel Creech with eight boards.
Carroll, which is ranked 23rd in the nation, improved to 23-7 overall. The Saints face Montana State-Northern in the conference semifinals today at 4 p.m. in the Maroon Activity Center in Butte.


source: carroll.edu (BY CURT SYNNESS)

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

Shaq and the Suns finally work it out well -by Eurobasket News
Shaquille O'Neal celebrated his 36th birthday and finally resembled of his once dangerous form scoring 14 points and pulling 16 boards in Phoenix's win over San Antonio. It was a close game but with Shaquille O'Neal providing a solid presence inside the paint Phoenix proved the difference at the end. They closed the game on a 14:2 run and claimed their 41st win in the season. The Suns thus snapped their three-game losing skid at the US Airways Center. Grant Hill provided 18 points, while Steve Nash recorded 19 points and 14 assists for the winners. Emanuel Ginobili had 22 points off the bench but missed a bunch of vital shots at the crunch time. San Antonio lost their second in a row after posting 11 straight wins.
The Philadelphia 76ers eased past Milwaukee for the 4th consecutive win. They now moved within one victory away from the Washington Wizards for the 8th spot in the East. Thaddeus Young notched 22 points for the 76ers to continue rolling. They are now facing a busy schedule with 5 games in just 7 days. Samuel Dalembert provided 18 points and 10 boards, while Andre Miller tallied 16 points and 9 assists for the winning side. Charlie Villanueva dropped 25 points for the ailing Bucks as they dropped the 5th game out of the last 6 encounters. Milwaukee were still without Jianlian Yi (sprained ankle) and Maurice Williams (abdominal strain).
The Sacramento Kings relied on Beno Udrih's accuracy from charity stripe in the final seconds against the LA Lakers and he did not let them his teammates down. Udrih sank two free throws to put the Kings up 114:113 with 4.6 seconds remaining. Kobe Bryant took the last shot for the Lakers but went short and Sacramento celebrated their 28th win in the season. Beno Udrih finished with 25 points and 10 assists for the winners. Kevin Martin added 21 points for the Kings. Kobe Bryant had 26 points, 20 of them coming in the first half.


Atlanta registers two wins in one day -by Eurobasket News
The Atlanta Hawks gave a much needed boost to their playoff ambitions claiming two victories in just three hours. Both came against the Miami Heat. The teams were forced to replay the last 51.9 seconds of their December game by the league. In a controversial encounter the Hawk's stat staff counted 6th foul for Shaquille O'Neal, while he received only his 5th one. It was during the overtime and Atlanta celebrated victory. However the league ruled out to replay the last seconds of the game and the teams did so yesterday. With neither side able to score in the stanza Atlanta got back a win in their record. They did not wait for too long to add another one. Joe Johnson (6'8''-F-81, college: Arkansas) drained 39 points to pace the Hawks past the ailing Heat 97:94. The game was close and Atlanta entered the final minute ahead by 3 points. Miami wasted three chances to at least force extra time. Dwyane Wade (6'4''-G-82, college: Marquette), Ricky Davis (6'7''-G-79, college: Iowa) and Daequan Cook (6'5''-G-87, college: Ohio St.) all missed three-pointers for Miami to suffer their 50th loss in the season. The victories meant Atlanta improved to 26-36 record and leapfrogged for the 8th spot in the East.
Nate Robinson (5'9''-G-84, college: Washington) stepped for the Knicks in the absence of four topscorers nailing career-high 45 points but still did not prevent New York from losing to Portland in overtime 114:120. The Knicks started the game without Jamal Crawford (bruised hand), Zach Randolph (bruised foot), Eddy Curry (sore knee) and Stephon Marbury (ankle surgery). Nate Robinson kept the intrigue alive throughout the regulation but was unable to carry the Knicks to an overall win. Brandon Roy (6'6''-G-84, college: Washington) scored 8 out of his 27 points in extra time and ensured the 33rd win for the Trail Blazers. LaMarcus Aldridge (6'11''-C-85, college: Texas) added 22 points and 10 boards for the winners. Quentin Richardson (6'5''-F-80, college: De Paul) nailed 20 points in a loss.

Standings
NBA Standings
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Div.
1. Boston C. 49-12
2. Toronto R. 34-28
3. Philadelphia 30-33
4. New Jersey N. 26-37
5. New York K. 18-45
Central Div.
1. Detroit P. 46-17
2. Cleveland C. 36-27
3. Chicago B. 25-38
4. Indiana P. 24-39
5. Milwaukee B. 23-40
Southeast Div.
1. Orlando M. 40-24
2. Washington W. 30-32
3. Atlanta H. 25-36
4. Charlotte B. 24-39
5. Miami H. 11-49
Western Conference
Northwest Div.
1. Utah J. 42-22
2. Denver N. 37-25
3. Portland T.B. 33-30
4. Seattle S. 16-47
5. Minnesota T. 14-48
Pacific Div.
1. Los Angeles L. 44-19
2. Phoenix S. 41-22
3. Golden St. 39-23
4. Sacramento K. 28-35
5. Los Angeles C. 20-41
Southwest Div.
1. San Antonio S. 43-19
2. Houston R. 42-20
3. N.Orleans H. 42-20
4. Dallas M. 40-23
5. Memphis G. 15-47


*****************************************************
NCAA

MVC Season 2007-08 Summary -by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Emmenecker


Crouch


Eldridge


Falker


Young

Regular Season Standings
1 Drake 15-3
2 Illinois St. 13-5
3 S.Illinois 11-7
4 Creighton 10-8
5 N.Iowa 9-9
6 Bradley 9-9
7 Missouri St. 8-10
8 Indiana St. 8-10
9 Wichita St. 4-14
10 Evansville 3-15

Tournament Final: Drake - Illinois State 79-49
Tournament Semifinals:
Drake - Creighton 75-67
Illinois State - UNI 56-42

All-MVC 1st Team
Jeremy Crouch (6'5''-G-85) of Bradley
Osiris Eldridge (6'3''-G-88) of Illinois State
Adam Emmenecker (6'1''-G-85) of Drake
Randal Falker (6'7''-F-85) of Southern Illinois
Josh Young (6'1''-G-88) of Drake

All-MVC 2nd Team
Eric Coleman (6'6''-C-85) of Northern Iowa
Jonathan Cox (6'8''-F-85) of Drake
Leonard Houston (6'3''-G-85) of Drake
Deven Mitchell (6'5''-F-84) of Missouri State
Bryan Mullins (6'1''-G-87) of Southern Illinois

All-MVC Honorable Mention
Shy Ely (6'4''-G/F-87) of Evansville
Gabriel Moore (6'1''-G-85) of Indiana State
Daniel Ruffin (5'10''-G-84) of Bradley
Anthony Slack (6'7''-F-84) of Illinois State
Pallen Stinnett (6'2''-G-87) of Creighton

MVC All-Freshman Team
J.T. Durley (6'7''-F-88) of Wichita State
Kenny Lawson Jr. (6'9''-C-88) of Creighton
Sam Maniscalco (6'0''-G-88) of Bradley
Isiah Martin (6'8''-F-89) of Indiana State
Pallen Stinnett of Creighton
Pieter van Tongeren (6'9''-F/C-87) of Evansville

MVC All-Newcomer Team
Ramon Clemente (6'6''-F-85) of Wichita State
Sam Maniscalco of Bradley
Pallen Stinnett of Creighton
Theron Wilson (6'5''-G/F-87) of Bradley
Booker Woodfox (6'1''-G-86) of Creighton

MVC All-Defensive Team
P.J. Couisnard (6'4''-G/F-84) of Wichita State
Randal Falker of Southern Illinois
Gabriel Moore of Indiana State
Bryan Mullins of Southern Illinois
Keith Richardson (5'8''-G-85) of Illinois State
Anthony Slack of Illinois State

MVC All-Scholar-Athlete 1st Team
Jeremy Crouch of Bradley
Adam Emmenecker of Drake
Jason Holsinger (5'11''-G-86) of Evansville
Bryan Mullins of S. Illinois
Josh Young of Drake

MVC All-Scholar-Athlete 2nd Team
Adam Arnold (6'6''-F-86) of Indiana State
Matt Braeuer (5'11''-G-86) of Wichita State
Brent Heemskerk (6'8''-F-85) of Drake
Pierce Hibma (6'4''-G-84) of Creighton
Adam Koch (6'8''-F-88) of UNI
Klayton Korver (6'6''-F-84) of Drake
Phillip Thomasson (6'7''-F-85, college: Colorado St.) of WSU

All-MVC Player of the Year: Adam Emmenecker of Drake
All-MVC Defensive Player of the Year: Bryan Mullins of Southern Illinois
All-MVC Freshman of the Year: Pallen Stinnett of Creighton
All-MVC Newcomer of the Year: Pallen Stinnett of Creighton
All-MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Adam Emmenecker of Drake
All-MVC Sixth Man of the Year: Booker Woodfox of Creighton
All-MVC Coach of the Year: Keno Davis of Drake



*****************************************************
NCAA2

CACC Season 2007-08 Summary -by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Sturns


Ingram


Lancaster


Robertson


Savage
Regular Season Standings
North Division
1 Post 16 10-6 0.625 28 14-14 0.500
2 Caldwell 16 9-7 0.562 29 12-17 0.414
3 Dominican, NY 16 8-8 0.500 28 13-15 0.464
4 Bloomfield 16 6-10 0.375 32 16-16 0.500
5 Nyack 16 6-10 0.375 27 11-16 0.407
6 Felician 16 4-12 0.250 27 10-17 0.370
South Division
1 Philadelphia 16 16-0 1.000 33 22-11 0.667
2 Holy Family 16 12-4 0.750 30 21-9 0.700
3 Goldey-Beacom 16 8-8 0.500 28 16-12 0.571
4 Univ.Sciences 16 7-9 0.438 28 13-15 0.464
5 Wilmington 16 6-10 0.375 26 10-16 0.385
6 Chestnut Hill 16 4-12 0.250 27 6-21 0.222

Tournament Final: Philadelphia - Holy Family 73-67, 2OT
Tournament Semifinals:
Philadelphia - Bloomfield 88-74
Holy Family - Caldwell 55-53

All-CACC Tournament MVP: Russell Frederick (6'1''-G) of Philadelphia

All-CACC 1st Team
Malcolm Ingram (6'4''-F) of Philadelphia
Ryan Lancaster (6'4''-G) of Holy Family
Arthur Robertson (6'1''-G/F) of Post
Derek Savage (6'4''-F) of Goldey-Beacom
Michael Sturns (6'5''-G-86) of Holy Family

All-CACC 2nd Team
London Houston (6'7''-F) of Holy Family
Omari Knox (6'2''-G) of Bloomfield
Sheanan Martinez (6'0''-G) of Nyack
Manny Perez (6'7''-F) of Caldwell
Taureen Temple (-F) of Wilmington

All-CACC 3rd Team
Keith Dundas (6'3''-F) of USP
Russell Frederick of Philadelphia
Jason Hickenbottom (6'4''-F-86) of Philadelphia
Peter Lawal (6'5''-F) of Post
Jason Romer (6'3''-G) of Felician

All-CACC Honorable Mention
Will Carty (6'1''-G/F) of Dominican
Mike Dunn (6'5''-G-87) of Philadelphia
Adrian Miles (6'0''-G) of Goldey-Beacom
Aj Reitter (6'5''-F) of Post
B.J. Suchy (6'6''-F) of Caldwell

All-CACC Player of the Year: Michael Sturns of Holy Family
All-CACC Freshman of the Year: Devon Young (6'3''-F) of Felician
All-CACC Coach of the Year: Herb Magee of Philadelphia

CCAA Season 2007-08 Summary -by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Peal


Camper


Patterson


Gordon


Cannon
Regular Season Standings
1 Cal.St.-San Bernar. 15-5 .750 9-1 6-4 22-6 .786 W1 9-2 7-4 6-0
2 Humboldt St. 15-5 .750 8-1 7-4 20-7 .741 W6 12-1 6-5 2-1
3 Cal.St.-Los Angeles 11-9 .550 8-3 3-6 17-10 .630 W4 12-4 5-6 0-0
4 Cal.St.-Dominguez H. 11-9 .550 5-7 6-2 16-10 .615 L1 6-6 8-4 2-0
5 San Francisco St. 11-9 .550 7-4 4-5 16-11 .593 W1 9-4 6-6 1-1
6 Cal-San Diego 11-9 .550 7-3 4-6 15-11 .577 L5 11-3 4-8 0-0
7 Cal.St.-Monterey 11-9 .550 7-3 4-6 12-14 .462 W2 7-3 4-10 1-1
8 Cal Poly Pomona 10-10 .500 7-4 3-6 11-14 .440 L2 8-3 3-9 0-2
9 Sonoma St. 7-13 .350 5-5 2-8 11-15 .423 L1 7-5 2-9 2-1
10 Cal.St.-Stanislaus 5-15 .250 3-8 2-7 6-21 .222 L2 4-8 2-12 0-1
11 Chico St. 3-17 .150 2-8 1-9 7-20 .259 W1 5-9 1-10 1-1

Tournament Final: UC San Diego - Cal Poly Pomona 64-56
Tournament Semifinals:
Cal Poly Pomona - Cal State Dominguez 66-61
UC San Diego - San Francisco State 72-65

All-CCAA Tournament MVP: Henry Patterson (6'5''-F-86) (UC San Diego)
CCAA All-Tournament Team:
Larry Gordon (6'5''-F) (Cal Poly Pomona)
Angelo Tsagarakis (6'3''-G-84) (Cal Poly Pomona)
Clint Allard (6'1''-G-85) (UC San Diego)
Jordan Lawley (6'4''-G-87) (UC San Diego)
Henry Patterson (UC San Diego)

All-CCAA 1st Team
Vincent Camper (6'3''-G-85) of CSULA
Dshon Cannon (5'10''-G) of CSUMB
Michael Earl (6'8''-F) CSUSB
Larry Gordon CPP
Grayson Moyer (6'5''-G-86) HSU
Lance Ortiz (6'1''-G) CSUSB
Henry Patterson UCSD
Devin Peal (6'4''-F-85) of HSU
Marlon Pierce (6'3''-G) CSUSB
Cy Vandermeer (6'9''-C-86) HSU

All-CCAA 2nd Team
Clint Allard UCSD
Robert Hayes (5'10''-G) SFSU
Augie Johnston (6'0''-F) CSUMB
Andrew Kochevar (6'2''-G) SSU
Joe Mitchell (6'3''-F) CSUMB
Darroll Phillips (6'2''-G-86) CSUC
Will Sheufelt (6'2''-G-85) HSU
Alex Thomas (6'2''-G) SFSU
Angelo Tsagarakis CPP
Rodney Yearby (6'5''-F-80) CSUDH

All-CCAA Player of the Year: Devin Peal of HSU
All-CCAA Freshman of the Year: Robert Hayes of SFSU
All-CCAA Co-Newcomer of the Year: Jerrell Smith (6'9''-F-85) of CSUDH, Rodney Yearby of CSUDH
All-CCAA Coach of the Year: Bill Treseler of SFSU

*****************************************************
PHILIPPINES

Canaleta To Defend 'Slam' Title -by Lorenzo Gahol

MANILA - Nino Canaleta (196-F-82) is gearing up for his date with history. The Air21 Express athletic forward will return to defend his slam-dunk title when the Philippine Basketball Association holds its annual All-Star Weekend next month. Canaleta is looking to enter the record books as the only player to win the slam-dunk contest four straight years. However, he is expected to have his hands full against Sta. Lucia Realtor Kelly Williams and former champion Cyrus Baguio of Red Bull. Welcoat rookie Joe Devance is also capable of springing a surprise. The Express' Arwind Santos is also entered in the event, which is one of the highlights of the April 24-27 spectacle in Bacolod City. J. Bagulaya

Belasco Now A Tiger -by Lorenzo Gahol

MANILA - Veteran forward Nic Belasco (198-F-73, college: Notre Dame (CA)) will be donning a new uniform when the Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference kicks off on March 29. The Welcoat Dragons traded the Filipino-American to the Coca-Cola Tigers for Mark Isip and two future second-round picks. It will be a reunion of sorts for Belasco, who was drafted second overall by Coca-Cola in 1997 when it was still known as Sunkist under the RFM franchise. Coca-Cola team manager Jay Baylon said the trade is part of the Tigers' buildup for the coming conference. Isip is a sophomore forward who was drafted by Sta. Lucia in 2006. His entry to Welcoat is part of the Dragons' bid to inject more young blood into their line-up. Aside from Sunkist and Welcoat, the 34-year-old also played for the San Miguel Beermen and Alaska Aces. J. Bagulaya

*****************************************************
POLAND

Standings - DBE
DBE Standings
1. Turow 15-6
2. Prokom 15-6
3. Anwil 14-7
4. Slask 13-9
5. Polpak 12-10
6. Atlas Stal 11-10
7. AZS Koszalin 10-11
8. Basket 10-11
9. Kotwica 9-12
10. Energa Czarni 8-13
11. Gornik W. 8-13
12. Polpharma 7-15
13. Polonia 6-15


*****************************************************
PUERTO RICO

Boricuas Abroad -by Alessandro Fontana
BORICUAS ABROAD
In Spain, Daniel Santiago scored 14 pts (5/6 2pts, 4/6 FT) in 18 minutes but his team Unicaja Malaga was defeated by Real Madrid 86-66.
In Turkey Besiktas won also against Galatasaray 83-66, for Christian Dalmau 11 pts+4assts, for Rick Apodaca 15 pts+4assts+4 rebs.
In Poland, Turow won against Polpharma 83-62. For Andres Rodriguez 2 pts (1/1 2pts, 0/4 3pts) in 14 minutes with 2 rebs and 2 assts. For Donald Copeland, player of Polharma, 15 points (3/6 2pts, 3/4 3pts) in 26 minutes. Turow is still the leader of the Polish League with a 15-6 standings.
In the Adriatic League, Siroki was defeated by Split 84-83. Sharif Fajardo scored 16 pts+5 rebs.
In NBA, Dallas defeated New Jersey 111-91, for Jose Juan Barea 10 minutes with 5 pts(1/4 2pts, 1/1 3pts)+3 rebs+3assts. Orlando was defeated by Golden State 104-95, for Carlos Arroyo 8 minutes with 3 pts (0/2 2pts, 1/1 3pts) and 3 rebs.
A. Fontana

Beard in Guayama and Conquistadores conquer Santurce -by Alessandro Fontana
Brujos de Guayama signed a new american player, Tanoka Beard. He is an expert power forward center who played college for Boise State (21.1 ppg last season) and after college He was a 'journey-man', He played in Italy, Turkey, Spain (where He was two times MVP of ACB, the Spanish League), Russia and in Lithuania for Zalgiris Kaunas where He played the last 4 seasons.
Tanoka Beard will be very important in Guayama, He can give points, intensity and a lot of rebounds. Tanoka Beard began very good his adventure in Puerto Rico, He scored 14 pts in his first game and Brujos de Guayama won against Ponce.
Santurce was defeated by Guaynabo with a great Carlos Escalera 30pts and Dan Langhi 16+16 and a lot of intensity in defense. 'Buster' Angel Figueroa with 27 pts was the MVP of the game Arecibo-Caguas, an easy victory 101-92 for Capitanes. Fajardo won against Bayamon, MVP of the game Javier Mojica 21 pts+9 rebs.
BSN BOXSCORES
SANTURCE-GUAYNABO= 79-94
S= Ayuso 23, Traylor 21, Dalmau 14, Melendez 11 (11rebs), E. Santiago 5, Rivas 3, Berdiel 2, O. Santiago 0, Falcon 0, Watson 0
G= Escalera 30, Sheppard 21, Langhi 16 (16 rebs), Sanchez 14, Simon 9, Wilson 2, Ortiz 2, Kortwright 0, Padilla 0, Duran 0
PONCE-GUAYAMA= 68-81
P=Pagan 16, Jones 15, Thompson 12, Colon 9, Aubry 8(11 rebs), Latimer 5, Martinez 3, Cubelo 0, Padilla 0, Rosario 0
G= Payano 20, Freije 18, Beard 14, Caro 14, Perez 8, Melendez 3, Lopez 2, Oliver 2, Rivera 0
ARECIBO-CAGUAS= 101-92
A= Figueroa 27, White 21, Hatton 14, Rivera 12, Rosario 10, Rosa 9, Cruz 6, Ricardo 2, Butler 0, Rivera 0
C= Melendez 18, Bryant 17, Ramos 15 (10 rebs), Mc Sweeney 11, Ashby 9, Ortiz 7, Garcia 6, Konecky 6, Alamo 3, Davila 0, Rivera 0
BAYAMON-FAJARDO= 81-97
B= Hinson 20, Benson 15 (9rebs), Kavossy 13, Vega 11, Anderson 8, Western 4, Valencia 4, Lopez 4, Valenzuela 2, J. Lopez 0, Colon 0, Salgado 0
F= Hamilton 21, Mojica 21, Agbai 14, Quintero 14, Jackson 10, Rivera 7, Pellot Rosa 6, Vazquez 2, Morales 2, Arroyo 0, Gonzalez 0, Salgado 0
A. Fontana

Brujos too much for Lions -by Luis Ramirez
The Guayama Brujos got their second straight win at the expense of the Ponce Lions as they beat the Lions 81-68. Guayama was playing with new import player Tanoka Beard. Guayama started the 1st quarter hitting the outside shot but Ponce managed to pair their efforts somewhat as the first quarter ended 22-18 in favor of Guayama. In the 2nd quarter both teams struggled in their offense but Guayama continued to do the greater damage as the half ended 41-30 in favor of the Brujos. In the 2nd half the Lions made a comeback but every time they got close the Brujos would come up with a three point shoot and kept the Lions at bay. In the 4th quarter the Brujos simply steamrolled the Lions to get the win. For Guayama Carlos Payano (196-F/G-71, college: Dowling) scored 20 points followed by Matt Freije (206-F-81, agency: Priority Sports, college: Vanderbilt) who scored 18 points. For Ponce, Wilfredo Pagan (184-G-76, agency: Next Level) scored 16 points followed by Joel Jones (196-G/F-81, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Sacramento St.) with 15 points.

In other BSN action, The Guaynabo Conquistadors inflicted the Santurce Crabbers with their first loss of the season as the Conquistadors beat the Crabbers 94-79. Santurce started leading the 1st quarter 27-24, but the Conquistadors came right back in the 2nd quarter to take the lead 47-42 at the half. In the 3rd quarter the Crabbers couldn't buy a basket as the Conquistadors went on an offensive run. The quarter ended with Guaynabo leading 72-54. In the 4th quarter the Crabbers made a better effort but it was just too late. For Guaynabo, it was Carlos Escalera (190-G-79, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Missouri So.) with 30 points followed by Kevin Sheppard (182-G-79, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Jacksonville) with 21 points. For Santurce, Larry Ayuso (190-G-77, agency: Edge Sports, college: USC) scored 23 points followed by Robert Traylor (204-F/C-77, college: Michigan) with 21 points.

Over at Fajardo, the Cariduros bounced back from a loss as they defeated the Bayamon Cowboys 97-81. The Cariduros went on offensive run from the start of the game as they took the 1st quarter 23-16. In the 2nd quarter it was much the same for the Cariduros who managed to keep the Cowboys to just 16 points in each quarter of the 1st half, the Cariduros were leading 45-32 at the end of the 1st half. In the 3rd quarter the Cariduros went on fire as they scored 32 points during this quarter while the Cowboys could not answer back. In the 4th quarter the fatigue factor caught up with the Cariduros as the Cowboys turned on their offense, but it was all said and done by that point. For Fajardo, both Kevin Hamilton (193-G-84, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Holy Cross) and Javier Mojica (190-G-84, college: Cent.Conn.St.) scored 21 points while for Bayamon; Darnell Hinson (186-G-80, college: Northeastern St.) scored 20 points followed by Lee Benson (208-F/C-73, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Brown Mackie) with 15 points.

In the last game of the night, the Arecibo Captains beat the Caguas Criollos 101-92. The first half of the game was played to a tie as the score ended up tied in the 1st quarter 21-21 and at the half the game was still tied at 52-52. In the 3rd quarter the Captains took a 2 point lead to end that quarter 75-73. But in the 4th quarter the Captains pressured the Criollos and pulled ahead for good. For Arecibo, Angel Figueroa (196-G/F-81, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Dowling) scored 27 points followed by Rodney White (206-F-80, college: Charlotte) with 21 points. For Caguas, Ricardo Melendez (180-G-83) scored 18 points while Marlyn Bryant (193-G-82, agency: Champion Sports Management, college: S.Florida) scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Standings - BSN
BSN Standings
Island
1. San German 5-0
2. Arecibo 4-2
3. Ponce 2-3
4. Guayama 2-3
5. Mayaguez 1-1
6. Caguas 1-3
Metro
1. Santurce 5-1
2. Guaynabo 4-1
3. Fajardo 2-2
4. Carolina 1-2
5. Bayamon 1-5
6. Humacao 0-4


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

Standings - Superleague A
A Superleague Standings
1. CSKA 18-1
2. Khimky 18-2
3. Triumph 14-5
4. Dynamo M. 14-6
5. Unics 12-7
6. Ural Great 10-10
7. Lok.Rostov 9-10
8. Samara 8-10
9. Spartak-P. 7-11
10. Univ.Surgut 5-13
11. Lokomotiv N. 4-17
12. Spartak St.P. 3-16
13. Krasnoyarsk 2-16


CSKA destroyed ancient city ROMA -by Max Brodsky
'We face a very balanced team in a very important game. Our group in Top 16 is very tough so every game including this one can be decisive. We know it would be difficult to play in Rome. Especially without Alexei Savrasenko (215-C-79) and Matjaz Smodis (205-F-79) but we are working hard to get ready for the game.' Ettore Messina

CSKA Moscow sent a message that echoed around the Euroleague by thrashing Lottomatica Roma 54-82 in Top 16, Group G on the road Thursday in the Italian capital. Instead of facing a four-way tie with a defeat, CSKA improved to 3-1 with Group G's only road win so far to take exclusive control of first place. Roma, meanwhile, dropped to 1-3 and will likely need to win its two remaining games to advance. Ramunas Siskauskas (197-G-78) led the winners with 25 points in a near-perfect shooting performance, hitting 5 of 6 two-pointers, 3 of 3 triples and 6 of 7 free throws. Trajan Trajan Langdon (192-G-76, college: Duke) added 14 points on 4-for-5 three-point shooting, while J.R. J.R. Holden (185-G-76, college: Bucknell) had 11 points for CSKA and Theo Papaloukas (200-G-77) dished 12 assists, tying a Top 16 record. Ibrahim Jaaber (188-G-84, college: Pennsylvania) had 18 points for Roma while Erazem Erazem Lorbek (210-F/C-84, college: Michigan St.) added 14. CSKA shined on defense in the early going, limiting Roma to just 3 points on free throws in the game's first 7 minutes. Roma missed 9 shots and committed 5 turnovers while Trajan Langdon, David Andersen (212-C-80) and Siskauskas gave CSKA a 3-21 lead. Theo Papaloukas ran the show in the second quarter while an unstoppable Siskauskas boosted CSKA's margin to 25-48 at halftime. Back-to-back three-pointers by Siskauskas sealed the outcome, 27-57, early in the third quarter and CSKA worked on a high point margin the rest of the way in case it needs extra to win Group G.

Roma struggled from the opening tipoff to get decent shots, while at the other end, Andersen powered to the hoop and J.R. Holden hit a jumper for a quick 0-4 CSKA lead. Trajan Langdon buried a shot from the arc while Andersen added a fastbreak dunk to force a Roma timeout at 0-9. When action resumed, Erazem Lorbek drew a foul and made both free throws to finally put Roma on the board only to see Siskauskas quickly answer with a basket down low. Roma needed a spark, but only got David Hawkins (193-G-82, college: Temple) splittiing a pair of free throws before Siskauskas hit both of his, J.R. Holden downed a jumper and Andersen dropped a jump-hook as CSKA soared ahead by 3-17. Roma kept struggling to find its first basket, missing 9 consecutive shots in the opening 7 minutes. Meanwhile, an unstoppable Siskauskas followed a five-meter jumper with free throws for a 3-21 CSKA advantage. Finally, Roberto Gabini (198-F-75) stroked from downtown to spark the hosts, but J.R. Holden immediately answered from the same distance and Marcus Goree's (201-F-77, college: W.Virginia) two-handed dunk made it a 20-point game, 6-26, before CSKA settled for a 10-28 scoreboard after 10 minutes.

Nikos Zisis (195-G-83) drew a foul and calmly made free throws for CSKA while Siskauskas fired again from downtown to start the second quarter with a 12-33 score. Onca again, Roma struggled to score for more than 2 minutes until Erazem Lorbek hit free throws. Theo Papaloukas ran the show as a highlight reel with a huge driving basket and a feed to Siskauskas for a reverse layup, good for a 16-38 CSKA lead. Jaaber struck from the arc for Roma and Erazem Lorbek dropped a jump-hook. Jaaber kept it going with a fastbreak layup, giving Roma its first hope at 23-40 after 16 minutes. CSKA called on long-injured Matjaz Matjaz Smodis, who answered with a jump-hook, his first Euroleague points since November. Jaaber scored again but he didn't find much help, while Goree dunked, J.R. Holden stole and Matjaz Smodis score on CSKA's way to a 25-48 halftime margin.

Roma's Jon Stefansson (195-G-82) scored his first basket on a fastbreak layup but missed the free throw that came with it and the hosts went scoreless for almost 3 minutes after that. CSKA kept using long possessions to keep the game clock running, while Siskauskas showed no signs of cooling off while burying back-to-back three pointers that broke the game open midway through the third quarter. He soon added a free throw to make it a 30-point game, 27-57. Jaaber scored for Roma and soon added a power layup but a three-pointer by Andersen kept CSKA way ahead, 33-62. Erazem Lorbek banked in a short jumper while Jaaber drilled a three-pointer and made an acrobatic layup, but all that could do was close the gap to 40-64 after 30 minutes.

Everything was clear by the time the final quarter started, but CSKA did not slow the pace. An outstanding Theo Papaloukas kept trying to please the crowd with his court vision and leadership. He shined with a big three-point play and even when Erazem Lorbek tried to change things with a put-back layup, Theo Papaloukas fed Trajan Langdon for a bomb from downtown. Theo Papaloukas found Trajan Langdon for another triple, and yet another one in the next minute as the difference neared 30 points again, 44-73 with 6 minutes to go. Roko Leni Ukic (195-G-84) made most of Roma's chances after that, but it was too late since CSKA stayed focused until the final buzzer and cruised to a massive road win, the first by any team in Group G.

Great win by Khimki far away in Perm -by Max Brodsky

Kestutis Kemzura the head coach of BC Khimki: 'We knew that playing in Perm woultn't be easy. In current season at least CSKA lost with Ural Great and just saved the game in over time. Dinamo Moscow and Triumph lost their points there. Team of Perm has a lot of supporters and they do really encourage them. Gym is nice where everybody enjoys playing...'

After the match >>>
'We beat them because we did our best in offence. Speed of the game was high and Ural Great likes playing the fast game and our game style offers fast game. We had a lot of openings on the three points line and our players made shots pretty good but I am not satisfied by our defensive play. We at least lost the chances to win while Ural Great went ahead by 10-12 points...' said Kemzura after the match.

Brent Wright (203-F/C-78, college: Florida) and Vanja Plisnic (207-F/C-80) grabbed 24 & 21 points for Ural Great, despite Khimki beat them away by 7 points: 87:94. Pat Burke (208-C-73, college: Auburn) and Maciej Lampe (210-C-85) were distinguished from the team of Moscow scoring 15 and 18 points.



*****************************************************
SEBL

Standings
SEBL Standings
Military Division
1. Ft.McPherson 4-12
2. Warn.Robins 1-1
3. Ft.Stewart 0-0
4. Shaw 0-1
5. Moody 0-1
6. Ft.Benning 0-2
Post Grad Elite Division
1. Summ.Hill BD 25-7
2. Sound Doctr. 23-16
3. Ware GT 6-6
4. Cedartown B. 3-7
5. Covenant Chr. 0-0
6. GA Elite Chr. 0-6
Post Grad Select Division
1. Summer Hll II 8-2
2. Ware PT 7-3
3. Cedart.B. II 5-5
4. Smyrna K. 0-10
5. Rome R. 0-10
Pro Division
1. Cast.-Baseline 22-4
2. Speedboys 22-10
3. Jonesboro S. 19-6
4. Marietta O. 18-6
5. Mac-Town B. 9-8
6. Team Macon 3-11
7. Orangeb.KK 1-3
8. Daytona B. 0-2


*****************************************************
SOUTH KOREA

Standings
KBL Standings
1. Dongbu 36-13
2. Samsung 30-19
3. KCC 29-19
4. KT&G 29-20
5. LG 28-21
6. ET 25-24
7. SK 24-24
8. KTF 20-29
9. Mobis 13-36
10. Orions 10-39


*****************************************************
SPAIN

ACB Round 24 -by Paul Nilsen
A pivotal week at the bottom of the ACB standings this week as Round 24 throws up big wins for the two teams occupying the relegations spots writes www.acb-basket.com.

Both Estudiantes and Group Begar Leon have occupied the bottom two for most of the season but incredibly they both took a step nearer safety with two away victories in the same round.

The biggest win was for Leon who travelled to fellow strugglers Fuenlabrada, just a couple of places above them in the table and came away with a hugely important 92-98 victory. The game was finely poised going into the last ten minutes but the visitors produced a great final period to take the win, taking advanatge of some generous Fuenla defence with Bulgarian big man Bruno Sundov claiming 18 points including a couple of real dagger three-pointers while Javier Bulfoni scored 22 hitting five from outside. It was a measured and controlled performance by Leon who looked after the ball and held their nerve but for the oranges it was a nightmare. The loss, despite 24 points for Marko Thomas leaves them just one loss ahead of that second bottom spot.

It is a position currently held by Estudiantes but they closed the gap with a fine 74-76 win at Valladolid who are beginning to look down instead of upwards towards a shock play-off after recent losses. For Estu this was a terrific morale boosting win as they have been truly terrible on the road all season. Jasen Hernan delivered the killer blow in a tight game with an inside score as he completed an impressive double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. He was well supported by Larry Lewis who chalked up 14 points while Dormen Lorbek provided the perimeter threat hitting four threes in an 18 point haul. It was some great defence and poor offence in the second quarter that proved the difference as they held the home team to just 8 in the period. The top scorer of the game however was Frenchman Joseph Gomis of Valladolid with 27 points.

The pressure has also fallen on Cajasol with the Seville club suffering another bruising at a top team, this time crushed 102-82 at DKV Joventut after a nightmare first half which left them an embarrassing 65-39 down at the half. They had no answer to the confidence of Badalona who served up 24 assists to show their real flowing team basketball this season with Fernandez scoring 18 while Lubos Barton was back on form with 17 points and missing only a free throw in an almost flawless night. With Rubio dishing off 8 assists it was desperate stuff for the away team who had Tyrone Ellis in stellar form with 27 but he was left fighting a tide of green and black. The win for Badalona keeps them in second place.

The other teams definitely looking downwards towards the LEB trap-door are CB Granada, Ricoh Manresa and ViveMenorca who all suffered poor defeats.

Menorca put in a woeful first half at home to re-emerging Pamesa Valencia to lose 64-80 but it was the first two quarter where the damage was done as they managed only 9 points in the second. Trailing by 17 points at the break it was just about all over, especially with former NBA guard Shammond Williams back in irresistible mood. He had 17 points and led Pamesa all night as they look to regain some form ahead of the play-offs. Menorca head coach Ricard Casas will know his team are back in trouble and he only had Kaloyan Ivanov on any kind of form with 17 points of his own.

In the Canary Islands, Granca recorded an 87-68 win over Granada in a game they were on top of from start to finish. The home team won every quarter and had five players in double figures with young English centre Joel Freeland scoring 12 points in just 9 minutes of action. Only Dylan Page and Andrea Pecile impressed for the visitors who having lost talisman Curtis Borchardt are worried about losing their ACB status.

Ricoh Manresa meanwhile went down to their illustrious neighbours Barcelona 87-70. Manresa were on their game for three of the four quarters but a disastrous third period made the difference. They trailed by just four points at the half time interval but by the time they went into the final quarter they were 16 down and could not recover against a team of the quality of Barca. The two names of Grimau finished as respective top scorers with Jordi scoring 18 for the losing team and Barcelona captain Roger 17 for the hosts. Despite the derby game, there were still only a disappointing 4,000 fans in Palau Blaugrana although those present for the home team will be glad that their side remain tied for third spot with Tau Ceramica and looking good for home advantage in the play-offs.

Tau eventually saw off a decent fight by Polaris Wolrd Murcia to claim a 94-83 victory. Murcia had lead at the break and were only four behind going into the final quarter but a 20 point performance Igor Rakocevic and 16 points plus seven assists from his backcourt partner Pablo Prigioni proved the difference. Murcia really do still struggle to pick up wins on the road and if Frenchman Stephane Risacher had got more support then his 22 points would not have been in vein. Tau continue to push for home play-off advantage while Murcia hope to quietly end the season in mid-table.

Back at the top of the standings and Real Madrid remain favourites to win the league title after dominating against Unicaja at Vistalegre. The Whites collected a comfortable 86-66 win after shrugging off a sluggish start that had Malaga 19-17 ahead. When Real stepped up their defensive efforts, Unicaja went to pieces and ended up with a terrible 22 turnovers showing clearly where the game was lost. At least they had Marcus Haislip back on song after a recent dip in form. He had 17 points while Raul Lopez and Charles Smith both claimed 15 points each for Madrid.

Akasvayu Girona produced a strong seconh half performance against injury hit Bilbao to pick up a 71-62 win and yes, you've guessed it, Marc Gasol was the star with a stunning valuation of 43 after scoring a double-double 18 points and 13 rebounds. Bilbao started brightly despite being without Martin Rancik, Luke Recker and Frederic Weis but faded badly in the last two quarters. Coach Vidoretta will at least be happy to have got Mile Illic his debut at last although he will know Bilbao are falling down the standings fast after a great first four to five months of the season.




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

Standings - Basketligan
Basketligan Standings
1. Plannja 22-8
2. Solna 22-8
3. Sundsvall 21-9
4. Sodertalje 18-12
5. 08 17-13
6. Uppsala 14-15
7. Oresundskraft 14-16
8. Boras/Marbo 14-16
9. Norrkoping 12-18
10. Jamtland 10-20
11. Akropol 8-22
12. Gothia Basket 7-22


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

Standings - TBL
TBL Standings
1. Besiktas 18-5
2. Efes P. 17-6
3. T.Telekom 15-8
4. Fenerbahce 15-8
5. Galatasaray 15-8
6. Antalya 15-8
7. Karsiyaka 14-9
8. Kepez Bld 11-12
9. Mersin 9-14
10. Banvitspor 9-14
11. TED Koleji 9-14
12. Alpella 8-15
13. Oyak Renault 8-15
14. Selcuk Uni. 8-15
15. Beykoz 7-16
16. Darussafaka 6-17


*****************************************************
U.S.VIRGIN ISL.

COAST GUARD MOVES TO THE SWEET 16 -by David Edole
Head Coach Pete Barry's 400th win was his most memorable as the Coast Guard men's basketball magical season rolls on, as the Bears are heading to the Sweet 16 for time in school history. Coast Guard outscored No. 10 UMass Dartmouth 18-2 over the final 12:48, including the final seven points of the game, turning a 13-point deficit into a 50-47 win and trip to the Sweet 16.

Coast Guard will take on Rochester in the Sweet 16 on Friday night at site to be determined on Monday morning.

Senior Cory Tynes scored the first two baskets of the second half starting a 16-5 run which gave the Corsairs a 45-32 lead with 12:48 left.

Coast Guard (23-6) would not let the season end on this night as they battled back scoring 11 straight to start the 18-2 run, holding the Corsairs scoreless for over seven minutes.

Coast Guard took the lead 48-47 on a tip in by freshman Jevon James (193-F) with 3:09 left. It was the Bears first lead since 24-22 with 3:49 left in the first half.

Junior Craig Johnson made one of two free throws with 44.1 seconds left while sophomore Eric Hudson, who had hit a deep 3-pointer with 3:56 left to pull the Bears to within one at 47-46, made one of two free throws with 24.5 seconds left for a 50-47 lead.

Junior Reece Freeman missed a 3-pointer and Hudson got the rebound with 2.6 seconds, but missed the front end of a one-and-one giving UMass Dartmouth one final chance. Following a timeout, a 45-footer was no good to end the game.

James had eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds.

The only UMass Dartmouth (25-4) basket in the final 12:38 of the game was a bucket by Dan Holbrook with 5:35 left giving the Corsairs a 47-43 lead.

Coast Guard used a 10-3 run turning an 8-7 deficit into its largest lead of the half, 17-11 with 9:23 left in the first half.

Sowers put the Bears up 23-19 on a basket with 4:35 before UMass Dartmouth outscored Coast Guard 10-1 to take a 29-24 lead with 1:48 left.

Coast Guard took momentum into the half as in the closing seconds as James made a steal and fed Craig Johnson for a layup with under one second left in the half. The basket was the Bears first basket since Sowers scored with 4:35 left and cut the Corsairs lead to 29-27 at the break.

*****************************************************
VENEZUELA

Stats Leaders - LPB
LPB Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
Lowe K (Marin) 27
Carpers K (Gat) 20
Flores A (Gat) 19
Mott T (Guai) 17.6
Cedeño C (Guai) 16.3
Rebounds Per Game
Bayona H. (Guai) 11 P/G
Garrison T (Gait) 9.67P/G
Flores A. (Gat) 7 P/G
Miguel M. (Gait) 6.3 P/G
Assists Per Game
Mijares E. (Gat) 5 P/G
Salcedo H.(Gait) 3.3 P/G
Espinoza J(Gait) 3.3 P/G
Vargas G.(Pant) 3 P/G
Blocks Per Game
Barrios A. (Trot) 4 P/G
Pradia J (Mari) 4 P/G
Garrison T (Gait) 2.6 P/G
Patterson A(Gat) 2.3 P/G
2FGP
Garrison T (Gait) 62.50%
Flores A. (Gat) 45.45%
3FGP
Marriaga M (Gait)66.67%
Paez H (Coco) 60.0%
Mitchel C (Pant) 50.0%
Bradley O (Giga) 50.0%
Free Throws
Henry P. (Coco) 100%
Lowe K. (Marin) 89.29%
Carpers K.(Gat) 88.89%
Flores A. (Gat) 87.50%


Ready to go! -by Yelitza La Torre
Everything is all set to begin the 2008 professional basketball league of Venezuela.
Yesterday, team owners and general managers, got together with the media representatives in the Caroni Hotel of Caracas.
As everybody knows, the LPB got expanded adding two new professional organizations; this fact moved the schedule until August the 6th. This year, the LPB scheduled 312 games in 18 weeks and 200 games will be on TV.

Standings - LPB
LPB Standings
1. Gaiteros 3-0
2. Cocodrilos 3-1
3. Guaiqueries 3-1
4. Gatos 3-1
5. Trotamundos 2-0
6. Gigantes 1-1
7. Panteras 1-3
8. Dep.Tachira 0-2
9. Marinos 0-3
10. Guaros 0-4


*****************************************************
WABA

Day 1 - WABA for Clubs 2008 (9 - 15 March) -by Mohammed Malas
Saba Battery (IRI) 89 - Orthodox (JOR) 65 (Qs: 24-14, 42-27, 67-43 & 89-65)

# Best performance:
* Saba Battery:
Omar Sneed (198-F-76, college: Memphis) (22 pts, 6 ast)
Mike Jones (196-G-75, college: TCU) (14 pts, 2 stl, 3 ast)
Hamed Afagh (189-G-83) (13 pts)
* Orthodox:
Kelly Wise (208-F-80, college: Memphis) (18 pts, 9 reb)
Ayman Idais (205-C-78, agency: Court Side) (11 pts, 9 reb)
Chris Campbell (194-G/F-81, agency: 011 Sports, college: Harding) (11 pts, 5 ast)

Petrochimi Imam Harbour (IRI) 101 - Al Ahli Sanaa (YEM) 65 (Qs: 30-16, 56-23, 78-42 & 101-65)

# Best perfromance:
*Petrochimi Imam Harbour:
Ali Abolmasoumi (195-F-81) (19 pts, 2 ast)
Art Long (206-F/C-73, college: Cincinnati) (12 pts, 8 reb)
Mojtaba Bordbar (202-F-84) (12 pts, 8 reb)
* Al Ahli Sanaa:
Taha Alassari (180-G-84, college: Fredonia St.) (25 pts, 3 ast)
Ahmed Abdulghafor (15 pts, 7 reb)
Salim Sadaqah (11 pts)

Al Ittihad Aleppo (SYR) 70 - Al Hilla (IRQ) 60 (Qs: 13-12, 38-34, 58-46 & 70-60)

# Best performance:
* Al Ittihad Aleppo:
Firas Al Masri (195-F-83) (16 pts, 8 reb)
Omar Kassas (186-G-79) (15 pts, 8 reb, 2 stl)
Amro Hamwi (184-G-80) (10 pts, 4 ast)
* Al Hilla:
M Hamzah (20 pts, 6 stl, 3 ast)
Leigh Gayden (178-G-80, college: Tennessee Tech) (10 pts, 3 ast)
M Gbayan (11 pts, 10 reb)

Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut (LEB) 66 - Zain 65 (Qs: 22-22, 35-38, 48-51 & 66-65)

# Best perfromance:
* Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut:
Fadi El Khatib (197-F-79, agency: Pro Management Agency) (33 pts)
Ahmad Ismail (201-F-76) (12 pts, 8 reb, 7 ast)
* Zain:
Nate Johnson (199-F-77, college: Louisville) (19 pts, 7 reb, 4 stl, 3 ast)
Soumaila Samake (215-C-78, agency: CAA Sports) (16 pts, 13 reb)
Islam Abbas (201-C-80) (8 pts, 12 reb)

# Day 2 - WABA for Clubs
- Monday 10-3:
Al Ahli Sanaa X Saba Battery
Al Hilla X Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
Petrochimi Imam Harbour X Orthodox

Standings
WABA Standings
Group A
1. Saba 1-0
2. Petrochimi 1-0
3. Orthodox 0-1
4. Al Ahli 0-1
Group B
1. Al Riyadi 1-0
2. Ittihad 1-0
3. Al Hilla 0-1
4. Zain 0-1




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

Women News

*****************************************************
ADRIATIC L. (W) - Women

Leaders achieve the latest wins -by Eurobasket News
Three games were played on the International Women Day in Adriatic League. Crvena lost to Gospic and would not be able to finish fourth in the tournament as Ragusa clinched that spot because of the better score in direct games against each other. Moreover Ragusa will have one more game and might even increase their record.
Gospic overcame Crvena 84:69, but the guests showed a good basketball. Croatian team opened the game with 26:20, but then Serbian squad replied with 20:22. Probably the third period was fatal for the guests that failed at 23:10. Gospic led the game to the win and improved to 13-4 in the standings. Adriana Pinto (170-G-78) paced the winners with 25 points. Sandra Popovic-Mandir (177-G-77) nailed 21, while Marina Mazic (190-C-80) scored 11. Jelena Velinovic (193-C-81) collected 24 points and 7 rebounds in defeat.
Another Croatian titan Jolly Sibenik was stronger than Ragusa 61:79 on a road. Very tiny victories in the first three quarters were closed by 10;19 in the last. Jurcevic Ivana led the winners with 20 points. Jelavic Anda nailed 18 and Tihana Juric (194-C-76) had 11. Marta Cakic (175-G-82) top-scored for Ragusa with 20 points.
Buducnost spends an outstanding season and proves it after each game. Another thriller in Croatia brought them 82:89 overtime win over Medvescak. Buducnost secured their 15th victory in the league to remain second of the table. The away side started the stronger, and it helped them to have an advantage midway through the opening period. Medvescak responded by stepping up their intensity on both ends of the court and reduced to 40:47 at the half.
The second half saw Buducnost continue to pressurise the hosts, and they proved it with 12:13 in the third. The final quarter started with Medvescak netting six of the first eight points to come back to the game.
From then on, both sides traded baskets, and the lead changed hands on numerous occasions, before the score was tied after four quarters. In overtime Buducnost grabbed 5:12 advantage and enjoyed 82:89 total win. Iva Perovanovic (190-C/F-83) led the winners with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Ana Perovic (195-C-77) collected 18, whilst Nikolina Popovic (184-G/F-84) scored 14. Mirna Mazic (188-F-85, college: Richmond) and Irena Cuncic (175-G-86) top-scored for the hosts with 23 points apiece.

Gospic - Crvena 84:69 (26-20, 20-22, 23-10, 15-17)
Gospic:Adriana Pinto 25, Sandra Popovic-Mandir 21, Marina Mazic 11
Crvena: Jelena Velinovic 24+7 rebs, Sy Miriam 12

Medvescak - Buducnost 82:89 OT (13-27, 27-20, 12-13, 25-17, 5-12)
Medvescak:Mirna Mazic 23, Irena Cuncic 23
Buducnost:Iva Perovanovic 31+11 rebs, Ana Perovic 18, Nikolina Popovic 14

Ragusa - Jolly Sibenik 61:79 (21-22, 16-20, 14-18, 10-19)
Ragusa:Marta Cakic 20, Natasa Popovic (184-F-84) 14
Jolly Sibenik: JURCEVIC Ivana 20, JELAVIC Andja 18, Tihana Juric 11

*****************************************************
AUSTRALIA - Women

Adelaide Lightning is the new WNBL Champion! -by Eurobasket News
Adelaide Lightning - Sydney Uni Flames 92:82

The Adelaide Lightning won their first WNBL title in the last 10 years edging the Sydney Uni Flames at the Wollongong Entertainment Centre yesterday. Renae Camino (177-G-86) dropped game-high 32 points to pace the Lightning as they were unstoppable en route to a historic triumph. Renae Camino was named the Grand Final MVP. On the other hand it was a devastating sixth loss for the Sydney Uni Flames in the last 7 seasons. It was a real intriguing final with the stakes flying too high. Adelaide got to a faster start and built a 30:16 lead after the opening frame. But the Sydney Uni Flames used all their experience and wit to maintain the pressure. They tightened up the defense in the second period limiting the Lightning to only 10 points and trimmed the deficit to just 5 points at sides change 35:40. But the Lightning were back in the driving seat in the third term. Camino was impressive and Adelaide started to get away. They outgunned the Flames 26:18 in the third quarter and extended the buffer to as many as 13 points. The Flames gradually died out and Adelaide easily rolled to an overall victory in the end. Erin Phillips (173-G-85) contributed 16 points and 7 boards, while Sam Woosnam (185-F-78) produced 13 points and 8 boards for the winners. Natalie Porter (185-F-80) opposed the Lightning with 23 points and 7 boards. Alicia Poto (166-G-78) dropped 18 points, while Michelle Musselwhite (176-G/F-82) had 16 points and 9 rebounds in defeat. Adelaide outrebounded their opponents 46:33 and converted solid 48% from the field finishing with the Grand Final record 92 points for the game.

Adelaide: Renae Camino 32, Erin Phillips 16, Sam Woosnam 13
Sydney: Natalie Porter 23, Alicia Poto 18, Michelle Musselwhite 16+9 boards

The season awards are distributed in WNBL -by Eurobasket News
The season ended in the WNBL and the annual awards were given to the best performers and coaches. The Sydney Uni Flames long-time leader Natalie Porter (185-F-80) was awarded as the WNBL Most Valuable Player of the season. She bested the league in scoring with 24.6 points per game. She accounted for 41 point twice in the season and her results highlights the third-best record in the league's history. Natalie Porter also dished out 4.7 assists per appearance which was the second-best result in the league. She also posted 7.6 rebounds per game in the season. Natalie Porter led her Sydney Uni Flames to the WNBL Grand Final, where they were outscored by the Adelaide Lightning.
The Canberra Capitals' head coach Carrie Graf was trumped the Coach of the Year for 2007/08 season. It was Graf's 11th-season in the WNBL and she registered a 183-60 win-loss record. She steered the Capitals to a 17-7 record in the regular season which was worth the third spot in the ladder. Canberra then quite unexpectedly fell short in the opening round of playoffs losing to Dandendong. Carrie Graf won the WNBL title for four times in her coaching career. The last triumph came last year as the Capitals beat the Sydney Uni Flames in the decider. Carrie Graf also worked as the assistant coach for the Australian national team during the 1996 and 200o Olympic Games and 1998 World Champs.
The AIS point guard Nicole Hunt (167-G-88) was singled out as the WNBL Rookie of the Year. The 18-year-old point guard averaged 10.2 points and 4.1 assists per game in the season. She helped AIS to their overall 8 wins in the season.
The league also announced the All-Star Five for the 2007/08 season. The All-Star Five comprised Natalie Porter of the Sydney Uni Flames, Rohanee Cox (182-F-80) of the Townsville Fire, Tracy Gahan (183-G-80) from the Adelaide Lightning, Kathleen Macleod (166-G-86) of the Bendigo Spirit and Jessica Foley (182-G-83, college: Duke) of the Lightning.

*****************************************************
AUSTRIA - Women

Another win for Flying Foxes -by Eurobasket News
Flying Foxes continue their impressive season with another victory in the Bundesliga qualifying round. Recently Laszlo Sterbenz outfit outpaced Vienna 87 to seal yet another success in the Austrian Bundesliga. Flying Foxes dominated every facet of the game and finalized an impressive 91:44 win at the end. The hosts limited Vienna 87 to just 10 points in the first half building a 45-point buffer. Vienna 87 never recovered and suffered a stunning 91:47 defeat. Yaneth Arias (188-F-82) topscored with 26 points for Flying Foxes. Petra Steger (176-G/F-87) dropped 18 points in a winning case. Agnes Meisinger (178-F-80) answered with 15 points, while Katarzyna Mucha (186-C/F-86) had 9 in a loss.
In the meantime Wels got to a victorious final in their game against Klosterneuburg. Wels outscored the visitors 25:13 in the opening frame and kept mounting the pressure down the stretch. Klosternueburg scored only 9 points in the third period and fell too far behind to hope for any positive result in this one. Tamara Ruzic (181-G-79, agency: Global Sports Plaza, college: Charleston So.) masterminded the win with 23 points for the home team. Dana-Ranae Jones (183-F/C-81, college: S.Mississippi) added 19 points as Wels improved to 8-5 record. Sophia Plank (179-G/F-83) scored 18 points for Klosterneuburg.
Klosterneuburg faces the league leaders Flying Foxes at home in the next round. Herzogenburg takes on Vienna 87 today.

Standings - AWBL
AWBL Standings
1. Fl.Foxes 11-2
2. Herzogenb. 10-2
3. Wels 8-5
4. Wien 3-2
5. Klosterneub. 3-10
6. Graz 2-2
7. Baden 2-3
8. Vienna 87 0-13


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

Stats Leaders
Women First A-1 Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Doychinova Rilski Sportist 22
2 Dimitrova Montana 2003 16.1
3 Nikolovska 15.8
4 Topalova Lukoil Neftochimic 15.8
5 Fabianova 15.8
Rebounds Per Game
1 Doychinova Rilski Sportist 10.4
2 Ninova NSA Delta 9
3 Miteva Rilski Sportist 7.3
4 Dimitrova Montana 2003 7.1
5 Petrova Montana 2003 6.9
Assists Per Game
1 Koleva NSA Delta 3.1
2 Bachkova Beroe 07 3.1
3 Naydenova Dunav Econt 2.9
4 Kostova Lukoil Neftochimic 2.5
5 Jordanova Dunav Econt 2.2
Ranking
1 Doychinova Rilski Sportist 20.1
2 Topalova Lukoil Neftochimic 17.6
3 Zhelyova Beroe 07 16.4
4 Fabianova 15.5
5 Minkova Dunav Econt 15.1


*****************************************************
BWBL - Women

Lithuania and Latvia will host the semifinal contest -by Eurobasket News
Vilnius will host four teams in Group A of Baltic League, while Cesi will meet four other teams in Group B. The competition will take place on the 28-30th of March.Two teams of each group will play in final-four on the 18-20th of April.
As it was mentioned earlier February 24th was the last day of the regular season in Baltic League. The most interesting game was played in Vilnius between Lithuanian Arvi and Tim-Scuf from Ukraine. Two teams showed the best games during the season and became the favorites of the league. In order to decide the winner of the season four quarter were even not enough for the battle. Arvi created 11-0 in overtime to take 99:88 victory.
TEO and TTT Riga had their battles in Euroleague this season but did not face each other there. They played however in Lithuanian league and for sure will wait for a game with each other in BWBL.
Last year TEO from Vilnius celebrated the 8th straight win in Baltic League. In the Final game against Arvi, TEO benefited 75:66 to triumph in the League. An easy start gave the winners a possibility to control the game and led it to the happy end. Katie Douglas that spends now a good season in Spain top-scored for the winners with 21 points. Egle Sulciute nailed 15, while Ebony Hoffman added 13. Willnett Crockett posted 28 points in the losing effort. In the game for the third place TTT-Riga overcame Laisve 79:71.Before the last quarter TTT-Riga had 16 points margin and was sure for the victory.
What will be this time is the question of time. The team from Ukraine and Belarus will play on nerves of the grands and only in April we expect the Final Four.



*****************************************************
CANADA - Women

Regina and UBC to play in the CIS Final -by Eurobasket News
Regina and UBC advanced to the CIS championship Final with wins in respective semis yesterday. In the first semifinal the 4th-ranked Regina Cougars edged the 8th-ranked Laval Rouge et Or 73:63 in overtime. It was a real battle in the court with the sides changing the course of the game throughout the action. Laval headed into the fourth period ahead by comfortable 9 points. But the Cougars were at the helm in the final stanza. They paved their way back into the close contest and tied the scoreline at 58 at the end of regulation. Regina used the momentum to take a 65:58 lead at the start of the extra term. But Annick Routhier-Labadie (175-G-86) accounted for 5 straight points and put Laval within 2 points. Laval started to use fouls to try to get closer in the final minute but Regina were deadly from the stripe down the stretch. The Cougars were led by Carmen Stewart (178-F-87) with 19 points and 8 boards. Jessica Lynch (183-F-85) added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the winners. Karine Bibeau (180-F-83) responded with 13 points for Laval.
Meanwhile the UBC Thunderbirds overcame the McMaster Marauders 71:69 to qualify for the main game of the CIS Championship. Erica McGuinness (175-G-85) proved the difference as she poured in 28 points to pace the Thunderbirds. She accounted for 10 points in a storming first quarter when UBC grabbed a 30:19 advantage. The Thunderbirds dominated for the major part of the encounter but McMaster still had a chance to save the game. They exploded with 3 consecutive treys late in the regulation to cut the deficit to 3 points 67:70. But Alex Vieweg (183-F) converted a free throw and it was just enough for UBC to celebrate an overall 71:67 victory. Julie Little (186-F) dropped 14 points, while Cait Haggarty (170-G) added 10 points for the winning side. Taylor Smith (170-G-87) knocked down 14 points for the Marauders. Rachel Hart (173-G-85) launched 13 in defeat.
So the Final game is scheduled for today.

Birds in Full Flight Once Again -by Eurobasket
Final: UBC - Regina 67-46
It was a classic example of how truly great coaches earn their pay. There on the UBC sidelines strode veteran Thunderbird bench boss Deb Huband, every bit of her resembling an underground nuclear test - calm as a summer breeze on the surface, but fire and brimstone undoubtedly just a few epidermal layers below.
It's a style that has worked well for Huband over the course of her 13-year tenure at UBC, and particularly well for a focused 2007-08 team she empowered to remain calm in spite of a troubling first half in the CIS Championship final. A partisan prairie crowd looked on as talon prevailed over claw, with the UBC Thunderbirds battling the University of Regina Cougars and bouncing back from a slight 33-31 half-time deficit to a convincing 67-46 victory.
'We had some wrinkles in our offense that we needed to straighten out, but other than that we had a good game plan and we stuck with it, so we didn't say much to them at the half,' said Huband, who guided her charges to CIS Championships in both 2004 and 2006. 'A tight ball club isn't an effective one and so we like to just let them have some time to themselves to relax and get back in the moment.'
The Thunderbirds wasted no time getting back in the moment. Having been outscored and out-rebounded by Regina in the first half, a new team emerged after the intermission. Led by the shooting of tournament MVP Erica McGuinness (175-G-85) and the defensive play of Leanne Evans (188-F-86), the Birds outscored the Cougars 36-13 in the second half and out rebounded them 25-13 on route to their third CIS Championship in five years.
The game was the last in the CIS careers of McGuinness, who had a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds, as well as fifth year seniors Cait Haggarty (170-G), who joins McGuinness on the tournament all-star team, and Julie Little (186-F). Both had 12 points in their final contests, with Haggarty chipping in seven rebounds. Third-year forward Leanne Evans made major contributions at both ends of the court, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds, four steals and blocking four shots.
'It's so special to share this with Cait and Julie,' said an elated McGuinness, who was recruited along with Little and Haggarty by Huband in the spring of 2003. 'It was a long road this season and a rocky one at times with lots of ups and downs. But sometimes a rocky road is a good one. Our offense got stagnant at times through the season, but we stuck together and made our way through it all.'
With the win, the Bronze Baby trophy that symbolizes supremacy in CIS women's basketball is again on its way back to Point Grey to reside for a seventh consecutive year on the British Columbia shore. UBC and SFU have accounted for three national titles each in the last seven years with the Victoria Vikes claiming another.
Courtesy of UBC

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

Leaders achieve the latest wins -by Eurobasket News
Three games were played on the International Women Day in Adriatic League. Crvena lost to Gospic and would not be able to finish fourth in the tournament as Ragusa clinched that spot because of the better score in direct games against each other. Moreover Ragusa will have one more game and might even increase their record.
Gospic overcame Crvena 84:69, but the guests showed a good basketball. Croatian team opened the game with 26:20, but then Serbian squad replied with 20:22. Probably the third period was fatal for the guests that failed at 23:10. Gospic led the game to the win and improved to 13-4 in the standings. Adriana Pinto (170-G-78) paced the winners with 25 points. Sandra Popovic-Mandir (177-G-77) nailed 21, while Marina Mazic (190-C-80) scored 11. Jelena Velinovic (193-C-81) collected 24 points and 7 rebounds in defeat.
Another Croatian titan Jolly Sibenik was stronger than Ragusa 61:79 on a road. Very tiny victories in the first three quarters were closed by 10;19 in the last. Jurcevic Ivana led the winners with 20 points. Jelavic Anda nailed 18 and Tihana Juric (194-C-76) had 11. Marta Cakic (175-G-82) top-scored for Ragusa with 20 points.
Buducnost spends an outstanding season and proves it after each game. Another thriller in Croatia brought them 82:89 overtime win over Medvescak. Buducnost secured their 15th victory in the league to remain second of the table. The away side started the stronger, and it helped them to have an advantage midway through the opening period. Medvescak responded by stepping up their intensity on both ends of the court and reduced to 40:47 at the half.
The second half saw Buducnost continue to pressurise the hosts, and they proved it with 12:13 in the third. The final quarter started with Medvescak netting six of the first eight points to come back to the game.
From then on, both sides traded baskets, and the lead changed hands on numerous occasions, before the score was tied after four quarters. In overtime Buducnost grabbed 5:12 advantage and enjoyed 82:89 total win. Iva Perovanovic (190-C/F-83) led the winners with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Ana Perovic (195-C-77) collected 18, whilst Nikolina Popovic (184-G/F-84) scored 14. Mirna Mazic (188-F-85, college: Richmond) and Irena Cuncic (175-G-86) top-scored for the hosts with 23 points apiece.

Gospic - Crvena 84:69 (26-20, 20-22, 23-10, 15-17)
Gospic:Adriana Pinto 25, Sandra Popovic-Mandir 21, Marina Mazic 11
Crvena: Jelena Velinovic 24+7 rebs, Sy Miriam 12

Medvescak - Buducnost 82:89 OT (13-27, 27-20, 12-13, 25-17, 5-12)
Medvescak:Mirna Mazic 23, Irena Cuncic 23
Buducnost:Iva Perovanovic 31+11 rebs, Ana Perovic 18, Nikolina Popovic 14

Ragusa - Jolly Sibenik 61:79 (21-22, 16-20, 14-18, 10-19)
Ragusa:Marta Cakic 20, Natasa Popovic (184-F-84) 14
Jolly Sibenik: JURCEVIC Ivana 20, JELAVIC Andja 18, Tihana Juric 11

*****************************************************
FINLAND - Women

SM-SARJA: PeKa (30-2) won the regular season -by Rauno Hurmalainen

SM-sarja, Round 32: The regular season is over. PeKa (Kotka) became # 1 by winning 30 out of 32 games. Catz (Lappeenranta) was # 2 with
28-4 record. Today PeKa won at Nokia over BC Nokia 75-96. Susanna Rinta (176-G-79) led PeKa with 20 pts. Shanika Freeman (183-F/C-83, college: Jacksonville St.) added 19 pts and grabbed 10 rbs. PuHu (Vantaa) crushed HoNsU (Jyvaskyla) 95-56. PuHu's only American player Katherine Sunwall (186-F-84) ended her season by being PuHu's leading scorer (18). Espoo Team defeated YMCA Helsinki on the road 72-78. Yolanda Jones (185-F-84, college: La-Lafayette) led Espoo by scoring 20 pts and taking 15 rbs. Huima (Aanekoski) beat Alku (Forssa) 93-68. Huima's Noora Kotisaari (170-G-84) was very hot today: 1 - 1/1, 2 - 2/2, 3 - 11/13. Noora made 11 treys out of 13 shots behind the arc and netted 38 pts!

The leading scorer of the regular season was Kenya Robinson (182-C-70, college: New Orleans) (Huima): 20,7 ppg. The leading rebounder was Niina Laaksonen (185-F/C-85) (YMCA Helsinki): 13,9 rpg. Mari Puustinen (179-F/G-78) (YMCA Helsinki) gave the most assists: 3,3 apg. Jymy from Orimattila will be the new Team on top level. Jymy's record was 17-1, when playing the first season in I-division. Team's leading scorer and rebounder was American F Maxienne White (185-F/C, agency: Promotex, college: Clemson), who averaged 20.6 ppg and 11,7 rpg.

BC Nokia - PeKa 75-96 (29-51) (Joanna Rhoads 16, Sheree Thompson 13 - Susanna Rinta 20, Shanika Freeman 19/10).

PuHu - HoNsU 95-56 (53-27) (Katherine Sunwall 18, Aneta Kausaite 18 - Breanne Watson 24, Juuli Piiroinen 9).

YMCA Helsinki - Espoo Team 72-78 (40-47) (Niina Laaksonen 17, Henna Salomaa 17 - Yolanda Hones 20/15, Siiri Nuutinen 16).

Huima - FoA 93-68 (54-43) (Noora Kotisaari 38, Kenya Robinson 12/13 - Jamie Hawkins 14, Megan Griffith 11).



Stats Leaders - Women
SM-sarja (Women) Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1. Robinson, Huima 20,7
2. Laaksonen N, H 19,9
3. Freeman, PeKa 19,3
4. Jones, Espoo T 18.5
5. McCracklin, BCN 17,5
Rebounds Per Game
1. Laaksonen N, H 13,9
2. Jones, Espoo T 12,8
3. Robinson, Huima 11,9
4. Solovyeva, Catz 11,6
5. Haynes, PeKa 11,5
Assists Per Game
1. Puustinen,HNMKY 3,3
2. Kausaite, PuHu 2,9
3. Robinson, Huima 2,4
4. Laaksonen J, HN 2,4
5. Griffith, FoA 2,3


Standings - Women
D1 Standings
1. PeKa 30-2
2. Catz 28-4
3. HNMKY 18-14
4. Espoo 17-15
5. Huima 17-15
6. Nokia 14-18
7. HoNsU 10-22
8. PuHu 8-24
9. FoA 2-30


*****************************************************
GREECE - Women

Match Day 21: Results and Scorers -by George Manousidis


Megas Alexandros Giannitson 61 - 73 Panionios GS Argous
Top scorers:
Megas Alexandros Giannitson: Zoi Dimitrakou (188-F-87) 20 points,7 rebounds,3 assists and 2 steals - Brooke Reeves (188-F-75) 19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 asists, 5 steals and 2 blocks
Panionios GS Argous: Erin Thorn (178-G-81, college: BYU) 28 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 steals - Brooke Queenan (188-F-84, college: Boston Coll.) 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.

Apollon Ptolemaidos74 - 54 APS Siemens
Top scorers:
Apollon Ptolemaidos : LaToya Davis (186-F/C-84, college: Texas Tech) (186-F/C-84, college: Texas Tech) 31 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks - Eshaya Murphy (180-G-85, college: USC) 21points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 5 steals
APS Siemens: Erika Quigley (188-C-84, college: St.Cloud St.) 13 points, 9 rebounds and 1 steal - Dimitra Tselidou (170-G-80) 13 points, 6 steals and 1asist

Athinaikos 59 - 47 Aris Holargos HOLARGOU
Top scorers:
Athinaikos: Vasileia Gkouzini (175-G-75) 19 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals - Litsa Kountoura (186-F/C-75) 14 points, 11 rebounds and 1 block.
Aris Holargos : Katerina Sotiriou (187-F-83) Katerina 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block - Aristea Maglara (170-G-82) 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

Asteras Exarheion Athens 69 - 84 Paghiakos
Top scorers:
Asteras Exarheion Athens : Brandie Hoskins (175-G-85) 17 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists - Amanda Carver (188-F/C-79) 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
Paghiakos : Nikki Blue (173-G-84, college: UCLA) 21 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals - Nyree Roberts (192-C/F-76, college: ODU) 17 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steals and 1 block

Iraklis Thessaloniki 67 - 69 Aias Evosmou
Top scorers:
Iraklis Thessaloniki : Nelly Bibiri (187-F-80) 16 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals and 2blocks - Vasso Tremkatzi (180-G/F-87) 15 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals
Aias Evosmou : Christina Quaye (185-F-85, college: Marquette) 28 points, 20 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals - NOHOU Naja Griva (172-G/F-74) Naja 16 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals

Mask Cosmopel KastoriaL 77 - 62 Panathinaikos Athens
Top scorers:
Mask Cosmopel KastoriaL : Ligita Kinkeviciene (173-G-76) 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal - Niki Zerva (183-F-79) 19 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal
Panathinaikos Athens : Trisha Skibbe (191-F/C-81, college: Oklahoma St.) 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 1 block - Maria Gialitaki (168-G-83, agency: Stefanou Sports Agency) 15 points, 2 rebounds and 2 steals

AO Sporting Athens 53 - 79 Esperides / Glyfada

Top scorers:

AO Sporting Athens: Meg Tierney (190-F/C-81) 16 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal - Vina Malama (180-G-81) Vina 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 asist and 1 steal

Esperides / Glyfada : Stella Kaltsidou (187-C-83) 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 asist and 3 steals - Polymnia Sarekgou (185-G-72) 18 points, 2 rebounds and 2 asists



*****************************************************
ICELAND - Women

Standings - Women
Express L. Standings
1. Keflavik 20-4
2. Grindavik 16-8
3. KR 16-8
4. Haukar 14-10
5. Valur 11-13
6. Hamar 6-18
7. Fjolnir 1-23


Iceland Express league last games. -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Last two games of regular season played yesterday. Important game between Grinadvik & KR. Grindavik needed to win by 16 points to have homecourt advance in play-offs against KR.
Grindavik won the game but only by 12 points, so KR is in second place & Grinavik in third.Final score 80-68. Leading scorers for Grindavik . Tiffany Roberson 40 +14 rebs. Joanna Skiba 24. For KR. Candace Futrell 33 + 13 rebs. Hildur Sigurdardottir 15 + 1 rebs. Sigrun Amundadottir 14 + 15 rebs.
Valur 81 Fjolnir 59. easy game for Valur against the team on the bottom in the league. Molly Peterman 37 + 15 rebs Signy Hermannsdottir 15 for Valur. Slavica Dimovska 28 for Fjolnir

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

Standings (W)
D1 Standings
1. Bnot Hash. 16-3
2. Ramat H. 15-5
3. Elizur Ram. 15-5
4. Ramat Hen 11-8
5. M.Ashdod 9-10
6. B.Yehuda 8-12
7. Elitzur Holon 7-12
8. M.Tel Kabir 4-14
9. Hap.T-A 3-18


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

Standings - LSBL
LSBL Standings
1. Cesis 25-0
2. Avantis T. 18-10
3. Liepajas met. 16-10
4. RTU/Klond. 16-11
5. TTT/Rapa 13-14
6. TTT Riga 12-1
7. Ridzene 9-18
8. SK Riga 5-23
9. LU/US 0-27


Stats Leaders - Women
LSBL Stats Leaders Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
Tillis (TTT) 20.0
Ozolina (Rapa) 19.8
Okonkvo (Cesis) 19.3
Niedola (Liepaja) 18.7
Malkevica (Rapa) 18.4
Rebounds Per Game
Niedola (Liepaja) 12.0
Crockett (Cesis) 10.6
Vitola (Riga) 10.4
Okonkvo (Cesis) 10.2
Kityzina (TTT) 10.0,
Assists Per Game
Ose-Hlebovicka (Kl.) 5.9
Derevjanik (Cesis) 5.7
Eibele (Avantis) 4.8
Neimane (Cesis) 3.5
Z.Eglite (TTT) 3.5
Steals Per Game
Z.Eglite (TTT) 3.6
Okonkvo (Cesis) 3.5
Strupovica (Ridzene) 3.0
Blocks Per Game
Vitola (Riga) 3.9
Gailite (TTT/Rapa) 1.9
Kityzina (TTT) 1.6
Ranking
Okonkvo (Cesis) 27.4
Niedola (Liepaja) 24.2
Kityzina (TTT) 22.7


*****************************************************
LEBANON - Women

Antranik Beirut wins the Lebanese Cup -by Raffi Kassabian
Antranik Beirut won the lebanese cup competition after winning the final game against Homenetmen Antelias with the final score 82-48. The game that was held in Fouad Chehab Stadium infront of a large crowd saw Antranik Beirut get a deserved win over Homenetmen Antelias that were not in their best form. The semi final round of the championship (Final 4) starts next week where in the first series Antranik Beirut faces Champville while in the second series Riyadi Beirut faces Homenetmen Antelias. The team that wins three games out of five will reach the final round.

Lebanese Cup Final Result
Antranik Beirut - Homenetmen Antelias 82-48 (24-20, 20-12, 19-9, 19-7)
Antranik Beirut: Nisrine Dandan 19, Nayla Alameddine 16, Tamara Khalil 16, Shada Nasr 15, Chirine El Charif 15, Nathalie Mamo 1.
Homenetmen Antelias: Sandra Najem 14, Caroline Moufarej 12, Leila Fares 12, Nathalie Sevajian 8, Alic Tabakian 2.


Lebanese Basketball Championship Semi Final Round - Schedule

11/3/2008 Antranik Beirut vs Champville
12/3/2008 Riyadi Beirut vs Homenetmen Antelias

13/3/2008 Champville vs Antranik Beirut
14/3/2008 Homenetmen Antelias vs Riyadi Beirut

15/3/2008 Antranik Beirut vs Champville
16/3/2008 Riyadi Beirut vs Homenetmen Antelias

17/3/2008 Champville vs Antranik Beirut
18/3/2008 Homenetmen Antelias vs Riyadi Beirut

19/3/2008 Antranik Beirut vs Champville
20/3/2008 Riyadi Beirut vs Homenetmen Antelias

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

Standings - LMKL
LMKL Standings
1. TEO Vilnius 25-1
2. Arvi 19-7
3. Laisve 17-9
4. Lemmink. 14-12
5. TTT Riga 12-2
6. Atletas 8-19
7. Siauliai 4-24
8. Panevezys 0-25


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

An overtime win brings 15-3 record -by Eurobasket News
Buducnost spends an outstanding season and proves it after each game. Another thriller in Croatia brought them 82:89 overtime win over Medvescak. Buducnost secured their 15th victory in the league to remain second of the table. The away side started the stronger, and it helped them to have an advantage midway through the opening period. Medvescak responded by stepping up their intensity on both ends of the court and reduced to 40:47 at the half. The second half saw Buducnost continue to pressurise the hosts, and they proved it with 12:13 in the third. The final quarter started with Medvescak netting six of the first eight points to come back to the game.
From then on, both sides traded baskets, and the lead changed hands on numerous occasions, before the score was tied after four quarters. In overtime Buducnost grabbed 5:12 advantage and enjoyed 82:89 total win. Iva Perovanovic (190-C/F-83) led the winners with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Ana Perovic (195-C-77) collected 18, whilst Nikolina Popovic (184-G/F-84) scored 14. Mirna Mazic (188-F-85, college: Richmond) and Irena Cuncic (175-G-86) top-scored for the hosts with 23 points apiece.
In the National league Jedinstvo stays undefeated with 5-0 record. Castel is second with 5-1 and Roling is third with 2-3.

Medvescak - Buducnost 82:89 OT (13-27, 27-20, 12-13, 25-17, 5-12)
Medvescak:Mirna Mazic 23, Irena Cuncic 23
Buducnost:Iva Perovanovic 31+11 rebs, Ana Perovic 18, Nikolina Popovic 14

*****************************************************
NCAA - Women

Atlantic Sun Season 2007-08 Summary -by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Gregoire


Williams


Henderson


Evans


DeVault
Regular Season Standings
#1 E.Tenn.St. 14 2 .875 20 11 .645
> Florida Gulf Coast 13 3 .813 19 8 .704
#2 Jacksonville 11 5 .688 23 8 .742
> Kennesaw St. 11 5 .688 16 12 .571
#3 Gardner-Webb 8 8 .500 12 18 .400
> N.Florida 8 8 .500 13 16 .448
#4 Belmont 8 8 .500 14 15 .483
#5 Lipscomb 7 9 .438 9 22 .290
#6 Campbell 7 9 .438 12 17 .414
#7 Stetson 7 9 .438 9 21 .300
> S.Carol.Upstate 1 15 .063 5 24 .172
#8 Mercer 1 15 .063 4 26 .133
> - Not Eligible for Postseason Play During NCAA Reclassifying Period

Tournament Final: ETSU - Jacksonville 75-72
Tournament Semifinals:
Jacksonville - Gardner-Webb 68-57
ETSU - Lipscomb 84-64

All-A-Sun Tournament MVP: Latisha Belcher (6'2''-F) of ETSU
A-Sun All-Tournament Team:
Latisha Belcher of ETSU
Siarre Evans (5'11''-G/F-88) of ETSU
Taronda Wiles (5'10''-G/F) of ETSU
Michele DeVault (5'11''-G/F-86) of ETSU
DaVina Hamilton (5'6''-G-87) of Jacksonville
Ashley Williams (5'11''-F-86) of Jacksonville

All-A-Sun 1st Team
Britteny Henderson (5'11''-F) of St.
Virginia Gregoire (5'8''-G-87) of Jacksonville
Ashley Williams of Jacksonville
Siarre Evans of ETSU
Michele DeVault (5'11''-G/F-86) of ETSU

All-A-Sun 2nd Team
Marlena Murphy (6'0''-C-86) of Campbell
Brooke Sunday (6'1''-C) of Belmont
Margaret Roundtree (6'0''-F) of Gardner Webb
Chelsea Dermyer (5'7''-G) of Florida Gulf Coast
Delia De La Torre of Florida Gulf Coast

A-Sun All-Freshman Team
Monique Hudson (5'5''-G) of Gardner-Webb
Dominique Hudson (5'5''-G) of Gardner-Webb
Tierra Brown (5'7''-G) of Stetson
Jenna Bartsokas (5'7''-G) of Lipscomb
Juliemay Syquio (5'7''-G) of Lipscomb

All-A-Sun Player of the Year: Britteny Henderson of Kennesaw St.
All-A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year: Greteya Kelley (5'8''-G-87) of Kennesaw St.
All-A-Sun Freshman of the Year: Monique Hudson of Gardner-Webb
All-A-Sun Coach of the Year: Karen Kemp of ETSU

ACC Season 2007-08 Summary -by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Langhorne


Smith


Degraffenreid


Cheek


Picco
Regular Season Standings
1 N.Carolina 14-0 30-2
2 Maryland 13-1 30-3
3 Duke 10-4 23-9
4 Virginia 10-4 23-9
5 Georgia Tech 7-7 22-9
6 Florida St. 7-7 18-13
7 Boston Coll. 7-7 20-11
8 N.Carolina St. 6-8 18-12
9 Clemson 4-10 12-19
10 Virginia Tech 2-12 15-15
11 Wake Forest 2-12 15-15
12 Miami, FL 2-12 9-21

Tournament Final: N.Carolina - Duke 86-73
ATournament Semifinals:
N.Carolina - Virginia 80-65
Duke - Florida State 81-67

All-ACC Tournament MVP: Erlana Larkins (6'1''-F-86) of N.Carolina
ACC All-Tournament 1st Team:
Erlana Larkins of N.Carolina
LaToya Pringle (6'3''-F/C) of N.Carolina
Rashanda McCants (6'1''-G/F) of N.Carolina
Abigail Waner (5'10''-G-86) of Duke
Monica Wright (5'11''-G-88) of Virginia

ACC All-Tournament 2nd Team:
Cetera Degraffenreid (5'6''-G) of N.Carolina
Wanisha Smith (5'11''-G-85) of Duke
Joy Cheek (6'1''-F) of Duke
Crystal Langhorne (6'2''-F/C-86) of Maryland
Mickel Picco (5'8''-G) of Boston College

All-ACC 1st Team
Crystal Langhorne of Maryland
Kristi Toliver (5'7''-G) of Maryland
Khadijah Whittington (6'1''-F) of North Carolina State
Erlana Larkins of North Carolina
LaToya Pringle of North Carolina

All-ACC 2nd Team
Monica Wright of Virginia
Rashanda McCants of North Carolina
Chante Black (6'5''-C-85) of Duke
Marissa Coleman (6'1''-G/F-87) of Maryland
Brittany Cook (6'0''-G-85) of Virginia Tech

All-ACC 3rd Team
Janie Mitchell (6'0''-F-86) of Georgia Tech
Laura Harper (6'4''-F/C-86) of Maryland
Abigail Waner of Duke
Sharnee Zoll (5'7''-G-86) of Virginia
Lyndra Littles (6'1''-F-87) of Virginia

All-ACC Honorable Mention
Aisha Mohammed (6'3''-C-85) of Virginia
Stefanie Murphy (6'4''-F/C) of Boston College
Tanae Davis-Cain (5'11''-G-87) of Florida State
Maurita Reid (5'8''-G) of Miami
Chioma Nnamaka (6'0''-G-85) of Georgia Tech

ACC All-Defensive Team
LaToya Pringle of North Carolina
Maurita Reid of Miami
Khadijah Whittington of NC State
Jacqua Williams (5'7''-G-87) of Georgia Tech
Monica Wright of Virginia

ACC All-Freshman Team
Stefanie Murphy of Boston College
Cetera Degraffenreid of North Carolina
Carolyn Swords (6'6''-C) of Boston College
Alex Montgomery (6'1''-F) of Georgia Tech
Andrea Barbour (5'10''-G) of Virginia Tech

ACC All-Freshman Honorable Mention
Marah Strickland (6'0''-G) of Maryland
Jasmine Thomas (5'9''-G-89) of Duke

ACC All-Academic Team
Carolyn Swords of Boston College
Abigail Waner of Duke
Mara Freshour (6'1''-G-87) of Florida State
Alex Montgomery of Georgia Tech
Crystal Langhorne of Maryland
Epiphany Woodson (5'8''-G) of Miami
Brittany Cook of Virginia Tech
Amber Hall (6'2''-F-86) of Virginia Tech
Laura Haskins (5'10''-G-87) of Virginia Tech
Camille Collier (5'6''-G) of Wake Forest
Alex Tchangoue (5'11''-G/F-85) of Wake Forest

All-ACC Player of the Year: Crystal Langhorne of Maryland
All-ACC Defensive Player of the Year: LaToya Pringle of North Carolina
All-ACC Freshman of the Year: Stefanie Murphy of Boston College
All-ACC Sixth Player of the Year: Jessica Breland (6'3''-F)
All-ACC Coach of the Year: Silvia Hatchell of N.Carolina

*****************************************************
RUSSIA - Women

Vetra still sure and confident about the future victories -by Eurobasket News
The main coach of CSKA Gundars Vetra gave an interview only a couple days after his team was eliminated from a tournament due to its defeat by UMMC of Ekaterinburg in a quarter Euro league play-off. In his interview he dwelled upon his thoughts, ideas and the expectancy of the team's win. And indeed it mattered that it felt easier for them to play in Moscow (which they didn't), but the coach hoped at least for a tie. Gundars Vetra believes that the range of the coincidences influenced the defeat, mainly the absence of two players (Olga Arteshina (190-F-82) and Maria Stepanova (202-C-79)).
As for the rematch, the teams were nice at attacking, but weren't strong enough at defense. Two days before the game he got to know that Olga was not playing, meanwhile being one of the leading players. That extremely messed up the rotation on the playground. But the coach does not make an excuse out of it recognizing instead the fact that the week was exhausting. Gundars Vetra regrets about being unable to change or influence the situation and agrees with the statement that 'It's not the team, but the coach, who loses'.
The interviewers were curious why three young players never happened to play this time - Sokolovskaya, Lisina and Nikitina, for what the coach answered that they weren't experienced enough to play against the legionaries. But the girls surely have a good future.
After that game the team got two break days for regaining strength and relaxation. The CSKA coach is intended to make an effort and set the win of the national Russian championship as a goal. There is no pressure from the supervision's side for the defeat.
Gundars is still sure and confident about the future victories and being a coach knows how to fill in the gaps. He is going to watch the The Final of the Four, and even attend it, if anything. Gundars Vetra believes that the chances of 'Spartak' and UMMC are totally equal, therefore one of them is to win.

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

Crvena is out of Final Four -by Eurobasket News
Three games were played on the International Women Day in Adriatic League. Crvena lost to Gospic and would not be able to finish fourth in the tournament as Ragusa clinched that spot because of the better score in direct games against each other. Moreover Ragusa will have one more game and might even increase their record.
Gospic overcame Crvena 84:69, but the guests showed a good basketball. Croatian team opened the game with 26:20, but then Serbian squad replied with 20:22. Probably the third period was fatal for the guests that failed at 23:10. Gospic led the game to the win and improved to 13-4 in the standings. Adriana Pinto (170-G-78) paced the winners with 25 points. Sandra Popovic-Mandir (177-G-77) nailed 21, while Marina Mazic (190-C-80) scored 11. Jelena Velinovic (193-C-81) collected 24 points and 7 rebounds in defeat.
Milena Vukicevic (188-F/C-80) collected 6 points and 7 rebounds for BC Moscow in EuroCup first semifinal. Israeli Elitzur beat Russian representative 80:74 as Shay Doron top-scored with 30 points and 8 rebounds. Elitzur Ramla grabbed the control of the game in the opening tip as Shay Doron scored four points for 6:2. Israeli team led 19:14 but Russian squad was able to tie the score after the first ten minutes. Shay Doron poured another five points in a row as her team created 19-5 run. The game saw one team leading the game at that time when Ramla had 38:25 advantage. And Ina Gourevitch closed the first half with a lay-up for 40:29.BC Moscow did not change in the beginning of the second half and trailed even 15 points. Baker kept Elitzur ahead 52:39 midway throughout the third period. It was the time for the guests to come back to the game and 16:24 was a good answer for it.Elitzur Ramla opened the last period with 10-2 surge to take 66:55 lead. Israeli team realized that the trip to Moscow on the March 12th would be a tough one and the deficit had to be bigger. BC Moscow's task was to stay closer and they managed to end the game with 80:74. A loss in the first leg, but 6 points should not be a problem for the Russian squad at home.

Gospic - Crvena 84:69 (26-20, 20-22, 23-10, 15-17)
Gospic:Adriana Pinto 25, Sandra Popovic-Mandir 21, Marina Mazic 11
Crvena: Jelena Velinovic 24+7 rebs, Miriam Sy (193-C-79, college: Oklahoma City) 12

Standings - Women
A League Standings
1. Hemofarm 16-0
2. Spartak 12-3
3. Partizan 12-4
4. Crvena Zv. 12-4
5. Vojvodina 9-4
6. Proleter 8-8
7. Kraljevo 7-9
8. Kovin 5-11
9. Loznica 4-12
10. Usce 4-13
11. Radnicki NB 4-13
12. Stara Pazova 2-15


*****************************************************
TURKEY - Women

Standings - TBBL
TBBL Standings
1. Fenerbahce 18-1
2. Galatasaray 15-4
3. Besiktas 14-5
4. Botas 13-6
5. Mersin 12-7
6. TED Kayseri 11-7
7. Ceyhan 10-9
8. Cankaya 6-13
9. Burhaniye bld. 6-13
10. Migros 5-14
11. IUSK 3-16
12. Edremit 0-18


*****************************************************
U.S.VIRGIN ISL. - Women

Murrah's 8th title delicious -by David Edole
BY Rod Walker
Nope. Winning state championships never gets old to Murrah coach Anna Jackson.

Just ask the longtime Lady Mustangs coach, who captured gold ball No. 8 Saturday night with a hard-fought 57-50 victory over a feisty Greenville team in the Class 5A state title game before an estimated Mississippi Coliseum crowd of 4,000.

'This is just as sweet as the first one,' said Jackson.

Murrah (31-1), ranked No. 3 in The Clarion-Ledger Super 10 and No. 5 nationally by USA Today, became the first 5A team to repeat since Jackson led the Lady Mustangs to back-to-back crowns in 2002 and 2003.

'Every championship is different,' said Jackson. 'Every team is different. Every player is different. The thing that made this team different is that they are so low key. Sometimes I don't know if they are ready to play or not.'

Tanecka Carey didn't take long to let her coach know she was ready. The Dandy Dozen junior scored 10 of her 17 points in the first 2 1/2 minutes to help Murrah sprint out to a 12-2 lead.

'When we played in here Thursday my shot wasn't falling so I worked on it,' said Carey. 'We wanted to come in and play well from the beginning to put something on their minds.'

But time and time again, unranked Greenville (22-12) never would go away.

The hot-shooting Honey Bees erased a 23-7 second quarter deficit and trailed just 30-25 at halftime. When Murrah stretched the lead back to 11 to start the second half, Greenville - boosted on by a large fan following from the Delta - stormed back again tying it 40-40 at the end of the third quarter. A high-arching 3-pointer by sophomore Breanna Lewis tied the game again at 50-50 with 2:24 left.

'I knew they were hot, but I was hoping they would eventually cool off,' said Murrah's Dandy Dozen forward LaSondra Barrett, named Cellular South Player of the Game after scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. 'We knew it wasn't going to be a cakewalk.'

After a clutch baseline jumper by junior Brandi Simmons, Barrett, an LSU signee and McDonald's All-American, hit four straight free throws to help keep the Honey Bees away.

'When things get tough, we want Barrett or Tanecka to have the ball,' said Jackson.

Simmons finished with 10 points and Janice Okeke, who was named the Scholar Athlete award winner before the game, pulled down 15 rebounds.

Lewis scored a game-high 29 points (5 treys) and Camissa Jackson added 11 for Greenville, which was making its first title game appearance since the LaToya Thomas-led Honey Bees lost to Murrah 65-50 in 1998.

'I hurt for the seniors,' said second-year Greenville coach Curtis Stovall. 'We had a great season and without a doubt, we'll be back. We missed a few shots and had some bad shot selections when the score was tied. We were just too anxious for it.'

Murrah advances to the Grand Slam in Tupelo and will play 3A champion Southeast Lauderdale Friday at 1 p.m.

'I think last year we were satisfied with just winning 5A last year, but coming into this year our goal was not just to get a gold ball but to get a silver ball too,' said Barrett. 'Our seniors are going to be very hungry for that.'