EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 3/14/2008

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Men News

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ABA

After Slow Start Frost Heaves Take Down Vision in Atlanta 85-71 -by Surujh Roopnarine
The Vermont Frost Heaves defeated the Atlanta Vision 85-71 on Tuesday night in Atlanta. Vermont has now won 11 in a row and improve to 33-4 on the season.
Down 42-37 at the half, Vermont turned up the defensive pressure, allowing Atlanta only 11 points in the third and 29 for the remainder of the game en route to the victory. As is the case with this versatile Vermont squad, you never know who will be the offensive leader night in and night out, but on this night it was Antonio Burks (6'6''-F-82, college: Stephen F. Austin) leading the way with a team high 22. B.J. Puckett (6'9''-F-83, college: Clayton St.) did his best to keep the game close, scoring a game high 25 for Atlanta who only shot 33.3% from the field as a team.
FROST HEAVES: Antonio Burks (22p+7rb), Markus Austin (13p+6rb), Brett Gravitt (13p+7rb+5as), Issa Konare (11p+6rb)
VISION: B.J. Puckettt (25p+10rb), Donielle Davis (13p+5rb+5to), Sean Dixon (11p+6rb+5as), Robert Martin (8p+9rb)

ABA Power Rankings as of March 10, 2008 -by Surujh Roopnarine
Latest ABA Power Rankings as noted on www.abalive.com

1. Vermont Frost Heaves
2. Manchester Millrats
3. Beijing Aoshen Olympian ***
4. San Diego Wildcats
5. Texas Tycoons
6. OC Gladiators
7. Quebec Kebekwa
8. Atlanta Vision
9. Westchester Phantoms
10. Long Beach Breakers
11. Halifax Rainmen
12. Montreal Royal
13. Jersey Express
14. San Francisco Rumble
15. Boston Blizzard

*** Beijing will not be taking part in the ABA playoffs.

ABA All-Star Rosters released -by Gianni Pascucci

The American Basketball Association announced the participants in ABA All-Star Weekend, that will be hosted by the Vermont Frost Heaves will host at the Barre (Vt.) Municipal Auditorium on March 21 and 22.
Members of the EAST All-Stars, who will be coached by Vermont's Will Voigt , will be Anthony Anderson (5'11''-G-81, college: Massachusetts), from the Manchester Millrats; Samuel Audet-Sow (6'6''-F-80), from the Quebec Kebekwa; Tommy Mitchell (6'3''-G-82, college: Siena), from the Montreal Royal; Eric Crookshank (6'7''-F-80, college: Idaho St.), from the Halifax Rainmen and two Vermont Frost Heaves, Issa Konare (6'8''-F-80, college: High Point) and Antonio Burks (6'6''-F-82, college: Stephen F. Austin). The last team members wil be Joey Britto (6'6''-G-83, college: Mass.-Dartmouth), from the Jersey Express; P.J. Young (6'6''-F, college: S.New Hampshire), from the Manchester Millrats; Charles Fortier (6'4''-G-79), from the Quebec Kebekwa and Cordell Jeanty (6'5''-F-79, college: John A.Logan CC), from the Montreal Royal.
Members of the WEST All-Stars under Texas Tycoons coach Jean-Paul Afif will be two players from the Tycoons, Mario Kinsey (6'2''-G-82, college: Sam Houston St.) and Randall Williams (6'8''-F/C-82, college: Tarleton St.), plus two players from the San Diego Wildcats, Jerome Habel (6'10''-F-85, college: San Diego St.) and Cardell Butler (6'4''-F-81, college: Utah St.), and two from the Beijing Aoshen Olympians, Sun Yue (6'9''-G/F-85) and Staten Jamel (6'6''-G-83, college: Minn.St.-Mankato). The West team will be completed by Kenny Wright (6'0''-G), from the Long Beach Breakers; Chancey Ephraim (6'4''-G-81, college: Texas-PB), from the West Texas Whirlwinds; Robin Kennedy (5'11''-G-74, college: Nevada), from the Orange County Gladiators; Sean Dixon (6'2''-G-85), from the Atlanta Vision and B.J. Puckett (6'9''-F-83, college: Clayton St.), he too from the Atlanta Vision.
The ABA All-Star Weekend will feature Hot Shots and Dunks on Friday night beginning at 7 p.m., with ABA All-Star Slam Dunk and Three-Point Contests sandwiched around a Three-Point Contest for Vermont high school senior boys and girls presented by Community National Bank. For more information, contact the Frost Heaves at 802-860-0082 or e-mail info@vermontfrostheaves.com



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ADRIATIC LEAGUE

Tadija Dragicevic and Nikola Pekovic hold season's MVP value record -by Dragan Jankovski
In the last round of The Adriatic League Crvena Zvezda from Belgrade came away with a very important road win against Geoplin Slovan 77-106 while Zvezda's power forward Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) reached MVP value 46 joining Partizan's center Nikola Pekovic (210-C-86, agency: Beo Basket), who first set the biggest MVP value of the season on December 9th against Split in Croatia. Dragicevic spent 34 minutes on the court scoring 34 points. He had 9/12 for FG2, 3/6 for 3-pts and 7/7 from the FT line. At the same time, he had 10 rebounds and 4 assists.

Dragicevic is currently the MVP and the leading scorer of The Adriatic league. He is averaging 20.43 ppg with an average MVP value of 22.13.

Partizan vs Cibona on March 22nd -by Dragan Jankovski
Management of The Adriatic league has rescheduled the game between Partizan Igokea and Cibona. The problem was namely that the Croatian team refused to travel to Belgrade for the game, which was supposed to be held on the 23rd of February, due to the unstable situation in Kosovo. Two days later Turkish giant Efes Pilsen arrived to play the Euroleague TOP 16 game in Pionir without any incident after which their head coach David Blatt thanked the black and white fans for the fantastic welcome.

However, management of The Adriatic league has rescheduled the game between Partizan Igokea and Cibona for March 22nd.

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AUSTRIA

Round 30 -by Stefan Heinrich
WBC Kraftwerk Wels - Oberwart Gunners 76:72 (37:36)

Wels: Elijah Palmer (201-F-81, agency: Court Side, college: Duquesne) 16, Woschank 16, Pargfrieder 10, Davis 9, Anderson 8, Archibald 7, Klette 6, Stanek 4
Oberwart: Jay Youngblood (196-G-84, agency: Heinrich Sports, college: Kent St.) 22, Ochsenhofer 14, Johnson 13, Moric 10, Crawford 9, Boone 4


Xion Dukes Klosterneuburg - Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions 99:95 (63:49)

Klosterneuburg: Calvin Watson (196-G-85, college: N.Texas) 24, Wright 15, Diwald 14, Martin 14+13 rebounds, Creddle 10, Sallomon 8, Nagler 6, Gartner 5, Hamidovic 3
Traiskirchen: Nemanja Bjelica, agency: Interperformances) 25+10 rebounds, Milosevic 20, Paliashchuk 12, Lamesic 12, Rhynes 8, Danek 8, Nicoara 4, Geisler 3, Vickery 3


Kapfenberg Bulls - UBC St. Polten 85:78 (44:39)

Kapfenberg: Shawn Ray (193-F-80, agency: Heinrich Sports, college: N.C.Central) 27, Suljanovic 16+10 rebounds, Hall 14, Forrestal 10, Zeleznik 6, Knabl 4, Lanegger 4, Hallett 4
St. Polten: Martin Kohlmaier (218-C-84, agency: Interperformances) 21, Schreiner 19, Speiser 17, Kollik 12, Kugerl 4, Kerschbaummayr 3, Bock 3


Furstenfeld Panthers - Allianz Swans Gmunden 82:78 (36:43)

Furstenfeld: Samo Grum (194-G/F-79, agency: VTBM/SRBM) 17, Goljovic 15, Colwell 15, Fraser 13, Shavies 12+10 assists, Ocokoljic 4, Dale 4, Hensly 2
Gmunden: Deteri Mayes (189-G-74, agency: Court Side, college: Murray St.) 30, Johnson 11, Boylan 11, Mayer 10, Schoninger 8, Sullivan 4, Hutter 2, Stelzer 2

Standings - A Bundesliga
A Standings
Hauptrunde 1
1. Furstenfeld 22-8
2. Kapfenberg 21-9
3. Oberwart 21-9
4. Gmunden 20-10
5. Arkadia 19-11
6. Wels 18-12
7. Klosterneub. 16-14
8. St.Polten 10-20
Hauptrunde 2
1. Gussing 4-1
2. Worthersee 3-2
3. Vienna 2-3
4. UBSC Graz 1-4


Stats Leaders
Hauptrunde 1 Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Mayes, Swans 23.7
2 Dale, Panthers 21.2
3 Youngblood, Gunners 20.0
4 Lamesic, Lions 19.8
4 Miletic, Panthers 19.8
6 Goljovic, Panthers 17.9
7 Watson, Dukes 17.8
8 Suljanovic, Bulls 17.3
8 Speiser, UBC 17.3
10 Ray, Bulls 17.2
Rebounds Per Game
1 KJohnson, Swans 9.6
2 Fraser, Panthers 8.9
3 JJohnson, Gunners 8.8
4 Martin, Dukes 8.3
5 Kohlmaier, UBC 7.8
5 Moric, Gunners 7.8
Assists Per Game
1 Schreiner, UBC 7.5
2 Shavies, Panthers 7.2
3 Zeleznik, Bulls 4.9
4 Danek, Lions 4.8
5 Boylan, Swans 4.6
Steals Per Game
1 Artner, Gunners 2.6
2 Schreiner, UBC 2.3
3 Boylan, Swans 2.2
3 Shavies, Panthers 2.2
5 Ray, Bulls 1.8
Blocks Per Game
1 Colwell, Panthers 1.8
2 Martin, Dukes 1.3
3 Fraser, Panthers 1.2
4 Kohlmaier, UBC 1.2
5 Anderson, WBC 1.0
2FGP
1 Fraser, Panthers 66.3
2 Bjelica, Lions 62.0
3 JJohnson, Gunners 62.0
4 Milosevic, Lions 60.3
5 Kohlmaier, UBC 60.3
3FGP
1 Goljovic, Panthers 52.1
2 Schoninger, Swans 46.7
3 Diwald, Dukes 46.0
3 Forrestal, Bulls 46.0
5 Nagler, Dukes 45.2
Free Throws
1 Vickery, Lions 97.8
2 Nagler, Dukes 93.3
3 Goljovic, Panthers 87.4
4 Mayes, Swans 86.5
5 Stanek, WBC 84.5
Ranking
1 Lamesic, Lions 20.5
2 Schreiner, UBC 20.1
3 JJohnson, Gunners 19.9
4 Kohlmaier, UBC 19.4
5 Suljanovic, Bulls 19.0


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AZERBAIJAN

Rasim Basak nails 8 points in a tight-battle -by Eurobasket News
Rasim Basak (202-F-80, agency: Court Side) from Azerbaijan and his Fenerbahce did not survive in a tight-battle in Vilnius against Rytas in Euroleague. Both teams are knotted at 2-3 record in Group E after 87:84 for Lithuanians. Fenerbahce hosts Tau, while Lietuvos Rytas visits Greece to take on Aris in the last round. The game was a heated clash right from the start as the teams exchanged baskets early on. Rasim Basak nailed a trey and Fenerbahce grabbed a 14:11 lead. Will Solomon and Omer Onan added to the damage late in the first period and the visitors accumulated a 26:18 advantage at the first break. Hollis Price and Rasim Basak traded triples at the beginning of the second term. Chuck Eidson and Arturas Jomantas fired from downtown and Lietuvos Rytas cut the deficit. But the long range artillery worked well from Fenerbahce side. Omer Asik and Tarence Kinsey hit treys and the visiting side ran away to a double-digit lead. Finally Hollis Price penetrated under the rim for an easy layup and finalized a 38:46 outcome of the first half. Lietuvos Rytas fired from all guns at the start of the second half posting a 10:0 run and closing the gap to just a single point at 50:51. Tarence Kinsey and Will Solomon however teamed up for 5 straight points to give Fenerbahce some breathing space. The hosts struggled to come any close afterwards and headed into the fourth period trailing by 7 points 63:70. Hollis Price hit three trebles early in the fourth term to pull Rytas right back into contest. Lietuvos Rytas grabbed an 83:82 lead with two minutes remaining in regulation. Hollis Price hit a free throw and Mindaugas Lukauskis nailed a triple to stretch the gap to 87:82 with one minute to go. Tarence Kinsey replied with a three-pointer to keep Fenerbahce in visibility. Lietuvos Rytas wasted their offensive possession but Will Solomon was given an offensive foul and the hosts simply killed the remaining time to seal the win. Rasim Basak ended up with 8 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.

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BARBADOS

Tridents down Clapham for second straight win -by Justin Marville
Showing the mental resolve they lacked all last season the school boys have already doubled their win total from last year in just their third game.

After missing his first three free throw attempts in the fourth quarter, forward Stefan Clarke hit four consecutive shots from the charity stripe in the game's last twelve seconds as the Sagicor Tridents held on to beat the Clapham Bulls 63-59 at the Wildey Gym on Wednesday in the Sprite/BOA Premier League.

It was just last season that teams merely had to wait for the customary collapse from the school boys in the fourth quarter after they would valiantly compete in the first three periods of the game.

However, that now seems to be a thing of the past as the Tridents (2-1) have now registered two successive victories against playoff tested opponents while almost shocking the reigning double crowned champs Lakers in their first outing of 2008.

But that horrid past nearly came back to haunt them after giving up a double digit advantage in the third quarter.

With the sharp shooting Keefe Birkett in full flight against a hapless Clapham zone defence, the Tridents stretched a nine point half-time lead to a 14 point cushion, 45-31, midway through the third quarter as school boys appeared to be in cruise control.

That comfortable advantage would quickly dissipate in a matter of minutes though as the Bulls (1-2) applied some stifling full court pressure on defence which the Tridents failed to negotiate; committing several turnovers which led to the Clapham playing their favoured transition game.

Led by forward Mark Foster's eight third quarter points, the Bulls capitalised on their opponents numerous errors in the period's final five minutes, closing the third on a subsequent 14-4 run to reduce the deficit to just four points heading into the fourth quarter.

The school boys' sloppy play carried over into the ensuing period as they continued to throw away the ball against Clapham's incessant pressure, opening the fourth with five consecutive turnovers and going scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the quarter.

By that time the Bulls had taken their first lead of the game behind a resurgent Halley Franklyn, who went extremely cold from the field in the first three quarters, and everyone expected the Tridents to fold in the wake of yet another fourth quarter meltdown.

Well, everyone but the Tridents.

Both teams traded scores back and forth midway through the quarter until back-to-back baskets from Clarke and national forward Akeem Marsh gave the school boys four point cushion, 59-55, with forty-six seconds left on the clock.

Clapham failed to score on the subsequent possession despite grabbing three successive offensive rebounds until veteran guard Ryan Leacock was fouled.

After going one for two from the charity stripe the Bulls were forced to send Clarke to the line with 14.7 seconds remaining in the game, but the Tridents forward would miss both free shots leaving the door open for a dramatic Clapham finish.

However, the quick thinking Clarke atoned for the error by tracking down the ensuing offensive board compelling the Bulls side to put him back at the free throw line.

He would make no mistake this time, sinking both attempts from the line and would add a further two for insurance when fouled just seconds later after Leacock got Clapham within three to seal the second straight upset in as many games for the jubilant schools' team.

Birkett scored a team high 12 points in the win with Clarke adding a further 10 while Franklyn led all scorers on the night, finishing with a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Led by guard/forward Jason Smith's 15 points, the Station Hill Cavaliers improved to 2-1 with an 81-64 thrashing of Weekend Nation Nico Deacons Fastbreaks.

National players Corey Williams and Kevin Sealy chipped in with 1 and 11 respectively for the win while Henry Richards was the high man for Deacons (0-3) with a game high 17 points.

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BELARUS

Vitalyur overcame OZAA in both games -by Eurobasket News

In the latest round of Belorussian league the favorite Vitalyur overcame OZAA in both games.Minsk playing against Grodno doubleproved its incapacity to play on the high level.

On Saturday the Grodno team did not experience a successful time. The zonal defence provided by Igor Korneenkov (200-F-64) acted in the favour of the opposing team. The thing that the Minsk team switched to the personal defence strategy tightened up the playground space and thus balanced out the rebound fight. The other thing was that the Westerners couldn't manage the pressure in the central zone. And, finally, Minsk took a real advantage in speed which was unstoppable even by fouls. The second match followed the same pattern before Alexander Koul (215-C-75, agency: Court Side, college: George Washington) 's foul-out. It was decided that Blant and Artem Chemyakin (208-C/F-84, agency: Promotex) were not that good of players. So, the team smoothly switched the match to overtime.
TEMP easily overcame BNTU - the guests won under the tuition of Agevnin with a 5 - point gap. Another thing is Gomel , where the team came, named Lokomotiv. The original players of Sozh won the first quarter with confidence on Friday. The Saturday's match was in fact the topic for discussion. The Vitebsk players did take revenge thanks to Korzh, Dimitri Sivalko (199-F-85) and Pishchulenko.



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BELGIUM

Oostende Transfer News -by Peter Buyse

Telindus Oostende has reached an agreement with Donell Taylor (198-G-82, college: UAB) to replace the injured Elvir Ovcina. It is not sure how long Ovcina will be out of action but Oostende chose to make a move now.
After leaving Alabama-Birminghas (15.5ppg, 4.4rpg and 3.0apg) in 2005 Donell played 2 seasons for the Washington Wizards for whom he also played during the Vegas and Long Beach summerleagues.
Played 51 games in 05-06 and 47 games during the 06-07 season, both seasons he averaged 2.7 ppg.
Started the 2007-2008 season for the Washington Wizards during the pre-season and later moved to Greece to play for Marousi Costa Coffee. In 7 games for Marousi he averaged 13.0ppg and 2.3 rpg. Scored 11 pts for the Wizards in a pre-season game vs the Mavericks.
The idea behind the signing of a guard to replace Ovcina is to give Veselin Petrovic more time under the baskets.
Taylor is scheduled to arrive this weekand and should be eligible for the cup games vs Bree.

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

BBC Boom vs. De West Hoek Zwevezele 78-67
Score at the half: 39-36.
Boom: Druwez 2; Van Wert 10; Lambreghts 26; Salden 15; Leten 2; Kitieu 2; Van den Brande 7; Van den Eynde 14.
Zwevezele: Bobb 12; Myleville 16; Hamers 3; Tandt 24; Van Hulle 2; Lombart 12.

Falco Ghent vs. Bent Schoenen Waregem 74-68
Thanks to this win, Falco finishes at first rank at the end of the regular season.
Quarter by quarter score evolution: 17-22, 30-27, 58-46 and 74-68.
Falco: Dhondt 9; Breca 10; T. Foucart 17; De Schepper 7; J. Van de Vondel 15; Selhorst 11; Brysse 2; Huyghe 6.
Waregem: --

Sint-Jan Antwerp vs. Kangoeroes Willebroek 90-91
Score at the half: 43-41.
Sint-Jan: Gorremans 18; Van Rillaer 5; Van Schil 36; Lemaire 4; T. Van de Vondel 4; Ceyssens 16; Verrept 7.
Kangoeroes: Roelandts 36; Desaever 19; De Wachter 18; Leclercqs 8; Casteels 4; D'Haens 6.

Xenia Tours Sint-Truiden - BC Ninane 103-76
Dieter Souveryns (195-G-83) scored 7 three-pointers to help his team beat BC Ninane on the last round of the regular season.
Quarter by quarter score evolution: 29-11, 52-36, 73-59 and 103-76.
Sint-Truiden: P. Van Hoecke 9; Baert 16; Willegems 16; Souveryns 33; Pipeleers 14; Cuppens 5; Thoelen 2; Bullen 8.
Ninane: Lhote 9; Vanbergen 8; Offermann 11; R. Delhaes 8; Delsaute 3; Hawley 14; Lebecque 5; Muric 16.

Royal Alsec Nivelles vs. Jaga Radiators Hasselt 92-103
Nivelles: --
Hasselt: Bijnens 12; Geysen 20; Cox 2; Maes 8; Hendrix 16; Van Poelgeest 2; Sterk 7; Vanhove 31; Gijbels 5.

BT Power Wevelgem 66 vs. CEP Fleurus 73
Nice win for the men of Coach Fulvio Bastianini who finish second at the end of the regular season. Robbe Naudts (injured) was missing for Power Wevelgem.
Quarter by quarter score evolution: 14-11, 29-34, 48-52 and 66-73.
Wevelgem: Jouret 5; Lebon 2; S Naudts 8; Guillemyn 16; Robeyst 10; Flanders 13; T. Vandekeere 12.
Fleurus: Tsasa 3; Vanesse 16; Tison 17; Moris 12; Jadin 2; Rozewicz 7; Semijejero 5; Pourtoit 9.

Division II - Second stage (to start next weekend) -by Bertrand Larsimont

The second stage of the Division II season will start next weekend.
Teams ranked 1, 3, 5 and 7 after the regular season will join Division II - Group A while teams ranked 2, 4, 6 and 8 after the regular season will join Division II - Group B.
The winner of Group A will play the winner of Group B for the title.
Group C will be played with teams ranked 9th to 12th after the regular season.

Here is how the groups will look like:

Group A (games to be playd from 2008-03-15 to 2008-04-26)

Falco Ghent
Bent Schoenen Waregem
BT Power Wevelgem
Sint-Jan Antwerp

Group B (games to be playd from 2008-03-15 to 2008-04-26)

CEP Fleurus
Kangoeroes Willebroek
Xenia Tours Sint-Truiden
BBC Boom

Group C (games to be playd from 2008-03-15 to 2008-04-26)

Jaga Radiators Hasselt
BC Ninane
De West Hoek Zwvezele
Royal Alsec Nivelles

Division II Transfer News -by Bertrand Larsimont

Julien Pirlot (198-F-81, agency: LBM Management) will play for CEP Fleurus until the end of the season.
The CEP website officially announces the arrival of Julien Pirlot who started the season with Le Portel (French Pro B) before moving to Nyon, Switzerland where he was not very successful.
Pirlot was already training with CEP Fleurus since the end of February.
With Boris Penninck and Sebastien Buja both injured, the arrival of Pirlot in CEP Fleurus is most welcome.

Standings - Division II
D2 Standings
1. Falco Ghent 16-6
2. CEP Fleurus 16-6
3. Waregem 14-8
4. K. Willebroek 13-9
5. Wevelgem 13-9
6. St-Truiden 12-10
7. Sint-Jan Antw. 12-10
8. BBC Boom 12-10
9. Hasselt 9-13
10. Ninane 6-16
11. De West Hoek 5-17
12. Nivelles 4-18


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BOSNIA

Borac Nektar: Ryan Hopkins released -by Sead Buljina
Borac Nektar has decided to release Ryan Hopkins who joined the team only a month ago. 'There is no question that Hopkins is a good player. However, he is out of basketball shape. It would take him too long to get back in shape since play off will start in a short period of time. We have no time to wait and that`s why we decided to part ways with Ryan,' said Borac sports director Predrag Benacek. At the same time Nikola Djurasovic has recovered. That fact might have influenced Borac Nektar`s decision regarding Hopkins.

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BRIT.V.ISLANDS

Penn's final game/ Phipps, Percival, Samuel -by David Edole
Ryan Bright scored 17 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead Sam Houston State to a 64-62 overtime win over McNeese State in the first round of the Southland Conference tournament Thursday.

Trailing 64-61 in overtime after Jeremy Thomas hit two free throws for Sam Houston, McNeese State had a chance to tie the game when point guard John Ford was fouled with 0.5 seconds while attempting a long 3-pointer. Ford made the first free throw, but missed the second and third.

Sam Houston rallied in the final minutes to force overtime after trailing for most of the game.

McNeese had a 48-46 lead and the ball, but took three shots without hitting the rim, resulting in a shot-clock violation with 25.4 seconds left in the game.

On Sam Houston's final possession in regulation, Thomas was fouled going to the goal with six seconds left, setting up his two free throws that tied it at 50-50.

McNeese didn't get another shot off in regulation.

Sam Houston scored the first seven points in overtime before holding off the Cowboys the rest of the way.

John Gardiner scored 11 points and DeLuis Ramirez added 10 for Sam Houston (23-7).

Ford led McNeese (13-16) with 21 points, including a 4-of-7 performance from the 3-point line.

John Pichon added 13 and Jarvis Bradley scored 12 for the Cowboys, who finished the season with a three-game losing streak.
Kleon Penn (211-C-86) had six boards and six blocks in his final game for the Cowboys.


Small School Wrap up
Rhennie Phipps (196-F, college: Clinton CC) did not have the kind of final season he wished he had. The 6-foot-5 post managed 1.3 points and 1.5rebounds for Ashford University (16-13).

Avery Percival (198-85) played in only 12 games and averaged 4.0 points, 2.0 rebounds in his freshman campaign at Moberly Area (15-16).

Delbert Samuel appeared in only eight games for Tallahassee Community College. The 6-foot-5 forward tallied two points and five boards.

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CAPE VERDE

Santo Antao Island starts their basketball season -by Pedro Gomes
After many years of absence from the national championships, basketball in Porto Novo seems to want to gain a new breath, with the realization of this years' regional championship of the island of Santo Antao. Four teams equip will dispute the title of regional champion of basketball, in senior men's division: two from Porto Novo (Maritimo e Fiorentina) and two from Ribeira Grande (Ponta do Sol e Povoacao).

The championship will be disputed in the system all against all, three rounds. The top two finishes will face each other in the playoff, best of three. The winner will go to represent the island of mountains, in the national championship. The first official game of the championship of basketball of the present season will happen, on the4 15 of March, in the Tinim pavilion. The first round games will be, Fiorentina vs. Povoacao, and Maritimo vs. Ponta do Sol.

ABC REGAINS THE LEAD -by Pedro Gomes
ABC assumed the command of the table for the Santiago South Championships, when they successfully beat Predio 77 to 63, in the second round of competition.
A game where both teams started poorly on both ends of the floor. However, ABC was sparked by their bench players during the second quater, and took comand
of the game from there on. By the end of the their quater, ABC was lead by 30 points, Predio responded late in the, and cut the margin to 15 to close out the game.


The other game, saw even Stars beat Achada Grande without great difficulties, 63 to 44.
In the next round of Regional Championship, ABC will face Achada Grande and Predio will face Seven Stars.

Standings
D1 Standings
1. ABC 4-1
2. Seven Stars 4-1
3. Predio 3-2
4. Ach.Grande 0-5


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CHINA

Asia-Basket.com All-Chinese CBA Awards 2007-08 -by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Jackson


Mengke


Dixon


Myles


Lu
Player of the Year: David Jackson (195-G-78) of Xinjiang
Guard of the Year: David Jackson of Xinjiang
Forward of the Year: Myles Anthony (206-F/C-82) of Dongguan
Center of the Year: Mengke Bateer (210-C-75) of Xinjiang
Newcomer of the Year: Xu Yong (204-F-89) of Shanghai
Most Improved Player of the Year: Ding Jinhui (204-C-89) of Dongguan
Import Player of the Year: David Jackson of Xinjiang
Domestic Player of the Year: Zhu Fangyu of Guangdong
Coach of the Year: Li Chunjiang of Guangdong

1st Team
Mengke Bateer of Xinjiang
Nigel Dixon (210-C/F-80) of Yunnan
Myles Anthony of Dongguan
David Jackson of Xinjiang
Lu Xiaoming (175-G-79) of Fujian

2nd Team
Herve Lamizana (208-F/C-81) of Shandong
Wang Zhizhi (214-C-79) of Bayi
Zhu Fangyu of Guangdong
DaJuan Tate (196-G/F-81) of Jilin
Liu Wei (190-G-80) of Shanghai

All-Domestic Players Team
Mengke Bateer of Xinjiang
Wang Zhizhi of Bayi
Zhu Fangyu of Guangdong
Wang Shipeng (197-F/G-83) of Guangdong
Lu Xiaoming of Fujian

All-Imports Team
Nigel Dixon of Yunnan
Herve Lamizana of Shandong
DaJuan Tate of Jilin
David Jackson of Xinjiang
Myles Anthony of Guangdong

All-Newcomers Team
Xu Yong of Shanghai
Zhang Shu (192-F-91) of Xinjiang
Cai Liang (202-F-92) of Shanghai
Ju Peng (205-F-90) of Zhejiang
Su Wei (212-C-89) of Guangdong

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

Shammell Stallworth -MVP of the Game -by Interperformances
On Tuesday night at Jazine Basketball Hall, the home team Zadar had a great win against Pamesa in the top 16 of the ULEB Final. The game finished 74-69. The star of the game for Zadar was the American guard Shammell Stallworth (197-F-80, agency: Interperformances, college: USF). He controlled the game with his 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. He shot 5-7 from the 2FG and 3-6 from the 3FG. Todor Gecevski, who added 14 points, also had a great game.

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CYPRUS

No TV for semi-final series Proteas EKA AEL Vs Aspis APOEL -by Alkis Spyrou
A peculiar and out-of-the blue announcement by the Cyprus Basketball Federation (KOK) came to badly affect the -already not so good- climate an this year's play-offs. After the threat from AEL's chairman, Michael Loizidis, that he will withdraw his team from the Championship due to bad refereeing, KOK issued an announcement stating that the 4th -and the 5th if required- semi-final match between Proteas EKA AEL and Aspis APOEL will not be aired via LUMIER TV. On the contrary, the other semi-final between Hassapis Omonoia and Kervanos will be shown as scheduled (ALPHA TV, Friday 14/03 7.30pm). No reason was given in the statement issued, however it was mentioned that as soon as the teams' boards are explained the reasoning behind this decision; then it will be explained to the public as well.

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CZECH REP.

Standings - NBL
NBL Standings
1. Nymburk 33-1
2. Geofin 26-8
3. Prostejov 26-8
4. Pardubice 21-13
5. Decin 20-14
6. Ostrava 16-18
7. A Plus B. 15-19
8. Sadska 14-19
9. USK Praha 11-23
10. Liberec 10-23
11. Kolin 8-26
12. Usti n/Labem 3-31


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

Standings
D-League Standings
Central Division
1. Dakota W. 23-16
2. Sioux Falls S. 22-20
3. Iowa E. 18-21
4. Ft.Wayne MA 13-24
Southwest Division
1. Austin T. 25-12
2. Colorado 14ers 23-15
3. Tulsa 66ers 21-16
4. Albuquerque T. 15-22
5. Rio Grande VV 15-25
West Division
1. Idaho S. 28-10
2. LA D-Fenders 27-11
3. Utah 18-20
4. Anaheim A. 14-24
5. Bakersfield J. 7-33


Stats Leaders
D-League Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1.M. Almond, UTA 25.3
2.D. Farmer, RGV 22.5
3.S. Banks, LAD 22.1
4.K. Powell, SIF 21.9
Rebounds Per Game
1.R. Benson, DAK 12.2
2.C. Alexander, SIF 11.0
3.L. Allred, IDA 10.0
4.M. Sene, IDA 9.3
5.M. Campbell, IDA 8.2
Assists Per Game
1.R. Livingston, IDA 11.0
2.A. Barrett, BAK 8.7
3.E. Gill, COL 8.3
4.K. Kruger, UTA 7.0
5.C. Gadson, AUS 5.8


Lance Allred Earns Call-Up to Cleveland Cavaliers -by Surujh Roopnarine
Lance Allred (6'11''-C-81, college: Weber St.) of the Idaho Stampede became the 18th GATORADE Call-Up of the 2007-08 D-League season, as the Cleveland Cavaliers signed him to a 10-Day contract.
Allred, who split his collegiate days between Utah (2000-02) and Weber State (2003-05), has appeared in 38 games for Idaho this season, averaging 16.2 points on .512 shooting, 10.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 29.6 minutes per game. Allred will help fill some minutes vacated by the back injuries to Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace. A consistent low-post performer at the D-League level, Allred has played professionally in Spain, France and Puerto Rico prior to joining Idaho during the 2006-07 season. To D-League call-ups from Colorado, Kaniel Dickens and Billy Thomas saw their 10-day contracts expire without being re-signed. Dickens and Thomas appeared sparingly in five and six games respectively for Cleveland.

Bobby Jones Earns Fourth NBA Call-Up This Season -by Surujh Roopnarine
Sioux Falls Skyforce guard/forward Bobby Jones (6'6''-F-84, college: Washington) has been signed by the Miami Heat. Jones fills the roster spot vacated when Miami released former D-League standout Smush Parker (6'4''-G-81, college: Fordham). Jones has averaged 3.4 points and 1.7 rebounds and 9.8 minutes in 36 games (two starts) split between the Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies.
In three games with Sioux Falls this season, Jones averaged 7.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 23.3 minutes. In his Miami debut last night against the New York Knicks (and former teammate Nate Robinson), Jones scored five points and pulled down five rebounds in 20 minutes of action.

Wheeling and Dealing in the D-League -by Surujh Roopnarine
The NBA trade deadline may have come and gone, but big names have been on the move in the D-League the past two days.
One of the biggest moves thus far this season was when the Iowa Energy traded the rights to Will Conroy (6'2''-G-82, college: Washington) to Albuquerque for Josh Gross (6'6''-F-83, agency: Pro One Sports, college: NC-Greensboro). Conroy was selected in the first round of the D-League Expansion Draft by the Energy, but has been overseas (Italy) and has not appeared in any games for the Energy. The former University of Washington standout was a D-League All-Star and All-D-League Second Team selection during the 2006-07 season while with Tulsa. Josh Gross has finally come into his own this season, developing his game leaps and bounds since leaving UNC-Greensboro. This season, the 6'6' forward has been averaging a career best 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists in nearly 33 minutes per game.

The first three-way trade in D-League history has some notable names moving locations.
Iowa: Sends Mike Efevberha (6'5''-G-84, college: Cal.St. Northridge) to Rio Grande Valley in Exchange for Adam Haluska (6'5''-G-83, college: Iowa).
Haluska, a second round selection of the New Orleans Hornets in the 2007 NBA Draft (#43) returns to Iowa where he was an All-Big Ten First Team selection his senior season with the Hawkeyes.
Rio Grande Valley: Traded Mike Efevberha to Anaheim for Ivan Johnson (6'8''-C-84, college: Cal.St.-San Bernar.)
Ivan Johnson has averaged 13.3 points and 6.6 assists in 35 games for Anaheim thus far this season.
Anaheim: Sent Ivan Johnson to Rio Grande Valley for Mike Efeverbha who was acquired from Iowa. In addition, the Vipers singed former Oklahoma State standout Mario Boggan (6'7''-F/C-83, college: Oklahoma St.). Efeverbha had been a consistent scoring option in Iowa (with the comings and goings of NBA talent such as Demetris Nichols (6'8''-F-84, college: Syracuse) and Daequan Cook (6'5''-G-87, college: Ohio St.), plus the departure of Dwayne Mitchell (6'5''-G-82, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Louisiana-Lafayette) to Germany). The 6'4' guard out of Cal State-Northridge was averaging 15.1 points on 43.5% shooting from the field in 37 games for the Energy.
Mario Boggan joins the Arsenal after having been released by Polpak Swiecie (Poland) in February. The former Cowboy was an All-Big 12 First Team selection last season.

D-League Alum Enjoy Success in Australia's NBL -by Surujh Roopnarine
Three former D-Leaguers have been named to Australia's NBL All-League teams for the 2007-08 season, highlighted to By Zealand native and former Wisconsin Badger Kirk Penney (6'5''-G-80, college: Wisconsin). A member of the Asheville Altitude during the 2004-05 season, Penney was named to the All-NBL First Team as a member of the New Zealand Breakers. Corey Williams (6'3''-G-77, college: Alabama St.), aka 'Homicide' parlayed an impressive D-League Championship run with Dakota last season, into a terrific season with the Townsville Crocs and an All-NBL Second Team selection. Williams appeared in 25 games for Townsville, averaging 21.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists before moving to KK Cibona Zagreb this month.
Rounding out the D-League alumni is current Albuquerque Thunderbird, and former NBA First Round Draft pick, Julius Hodge (6'7''-G-83, college: N.Carolina St.). Hodge was selected to the All-NBL Third Team as a member of the Adelaide 36ers. Hodge appeared in 12 games for Adelaide before returning to the D-League in February, but his short stint in Australia was impressive; 24.6ppg, 9.1rpg and 5.9apg

D-Fenders Extend Win Streak to Five -by Surujh Roopnarine
The Los Angeles D-Fenders extended their win streak to five games by defeating the lowly Bakersfield Jam, 98-85 in Bakersfield. Los Angeles (27-11) never trailed as they moved to within one game behind the West Division leading Idaho Stampede (28-10), who were idle. Sean Banks (6'8''-F-85, agency: Edge Sports, college: Memphis) scored a game high 32 points on 11-17 shooting while Brian Chase (5'10''-G-81, college: Virginia Tech) chipped in 13. Michael Cuffee (6'4''-F-83, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Middle Tenn.St.) scored a team high 15 points and three players recorded double-doubles for Bakersfield (7-33), who have now dropped nine of their last 10 contests.
D-FENDERS: Sean Banks (32p+5rb+5to), Brian Chase (13p+6as), Stephane Lasme (12p+6rb), Errick Craven (9p+7rb)
JAM: Michael Cuffee (15p), Patrick O'Bryant (14p+12rb), Justin Reed (14p+10rb), Mateen Cleaves (12p+10as)

*****************************************************
EL SALVADOR

LSB: San Marcos surprises at the top -by Jaime Arevalo
After defeating Cosmos in its LSB first game, San Marcos won again, beating Denver, 95-86. The first half of the game was very close, and the two teams stayed head to head. In the second half, San Marcos was more effective at the offensive side, and kept the advantage that allowed to win its second game in a row. Kenya Carruthers (201-F-79, college: Ks Wesleyan) was another time the best, with 24 points, while Daniel King (203-F-87) led Denver with 21 pts in losing effort.

National League: Finals on the way -by Jaime Arevalo
In both the National League divisions, the Final Series have started: in the Final of Zona Premier, Cosmos-2 felt to Santa Ana 88-96 in Game 1, at the end of a very close game. Despite the good performing from Roberto Figueroa (191-F), who scored 24 points for Cosmos, Santa Ana had a more balanced attack, led by Marco Tejada (193-F/C), who ended the game with 18 points, and took the first win in the series. In the Final of Zona Nacional, San Marcos won Game 1, defeating 79-72 ITEXSAL. The most outstanding players were in San Marcos William Waterhouse (200-C-75) and Rony Palacios (190-G-77) (both imports from Honduras) and Juan Ramon Bustillo, while ITEXSAL was led by Panamanian youngsters Nicanor Alvarez and Israel Munoz (193-F-91)

Standings - Liga Superior
Liga Superior Standings
1. San Marcos 2-0
2. UTEC 1-0
3. ExSAL 1-1
4. Cosmos 0-1
5. Denver 0-2


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

Standings
Euroleague Standings
Group D
1. Montepas. 3-1
2. Partizan 2-2
3. Panathin. 2-2
4. Efes P. 1-3
Group E
1. Tau 5-0
2. Fenerbahce 2-3
3. Lietuvos 2-3
4. Aris 1-4
Group F
1. Real 3-1
2. Olympiak. 2-2
3. Macc.T-A 2-2
4. Zalgiris 1-3
Group G
1. CSKA 4-1
2. Lottomatica 2-3
3. Barcelona 2-3
4. Unicaja 2-3


Zalgiris - Olimpiakos 52-61 (LIVE FROM KAUNAS) -by Kostas Papadopoulos

Eurobasket.com's Greek section made tonight a live coverage from Kaunas and Zalgiris' hall at the game of the local team against Olimpiakos. As a quick preview, we should maintain the fact that it is another no tomorrow game for Olympiakos, after the one of last Thursday's against Maccabi. A win certainly increases Reds' possibilities to qualify at Top-8, while a defeat reduces significantly these possibilities.

On the other side, Zalgiris' chances have significantly been reduced after last week's defeat (home) from Real Madrid, and the win against Olympiakos seems essential in order to have chances to qualify if it beats Maccabi next week at Tel-Aviv.

Giannakis decided to leave Mavrokefalidis and Papamakarios out of tonight's roster, putting Seibutis inside; everything seems to be prepared for a wonderful game here at Kaunas, hoping for us, Greeks, that things will be proved very well at the end.

The game was tied at the first 2,5 minutes (4-4) before Olympiakos lead with 6 (4-10) with two goal-fouls from Vasilopoulos and Blakney. However, Zalgiris didn't take advantage of Olympiakos consecutive nistakes, as its attempts were not successful and only succeeded to reduce the difference at 3 (7-10) at 3 minutes before the end of the first period. Woods scored then a 3-point shot to give Olympiakos a 6-point advantage again. The last minutes of this last period was just a game of missed shots and mistakes made by both teams (13 in total), with the final score at 9-13 (with Collins having scored 5 points for Zalgiris).

The second period started with a quick 9-2 serie for Zalgiris to lead for the first time at the game (18-15), taking advantage of the consecutive mistakes of Olympiakos. The Reds answered with Jackson to equalize (18-18), while Zalgiris had a foul problem (Brown and Zukauskas had already 2) and then reeled (18-20), 4 minutes before the end. Zalgiris answered with a 7-0 serie to lead with 5 (25-20). Olympiakos answered temporarily with a 3-point shot from Bourousis, something that didn't happen with Woods at its next shot. Finally, the first half ended with Zalgiris leading by a point only (28-27), and what could mostly remain to all the spectators is the big number of mistakes (from both teams - 22 in total and the bad pecentages of both the teams: 9/26 for Zalgiris and 9/28 for Olympiakos).

The whole situation didn't change at the first minutes of the third period (33-32 for Zalgiris), before Brown scoring a 3-point shot to give his team a 4-point lead (36-32). This lead was extended to 5 (38-33) for Zalgiris and then to 6 (41-35) after Popovic's successful 3-point shot (2:44 before the end of this third period). The final lead for Zalgiris was 4 points (43-39) at the end of the third period, and as everybody can understand defenses have been strengthened a lot.

The last period started with a crucial successive 3 - point shot from Theodosic, to reduce the difference at 1 (43-42), but Zalgiris answered quickly with a 4-0 serie (47-42). A 7-0 serie from Olympiakos with successful Baskets from Vasiliadis, Theodosic and Jackson gave Olympiakos the lead (47-49). However, Zalgiris managed to relead with 3 (52-49) before Olimpiakos answering after Lynn Greer's (186-G-79, college: Temple) come back (52-53), 1:20 minutes before the end. A lead which was extended to 4 points after Blakney's successive 3-point shot with 32 seconds remaining (52-56). It should be mentioned that Zalgiris hasn't scored a point for 4 minutes. After an unsuccessful attempt, Zalgiris then made consecutive fouls but Olumpiakos' players wanted the win very much, they succeeded at the free throws and the final score (52-61), after this 12-0 serie of Olympiakos at these final 4 minutes gives the Reds the chance 'in their hands' to qualify at Top-8. Only a win against Real Madrid remains.



Lietuvos Rytas hang on in race for Euroleague quarterfinal -by Eurobasket News
Lietuvos Rytas - Fenerbahce 87:84

Lithuanian team survived in a tight-battle against Fenerbahce in Vilnius and secured chances of making it to the Euroleague quarterfinal. However their chances are still pretty dim as Fenerbahce enjoyed a 4-point at home advantage. This means they would have an advantage in case of a tie-record at the end of Top 16 stage. Now both teams are knotted at 2-3 record in Group E. Fenerbahce hosts Tau, while Lietuvos Rytas visits Greece to take on Aris in the last round. The game was a heated clash right from the start as the teams exchanged baskets early on. Rasim Basak (202-F-80, agency: Court Side) nailed a trey and Fenerbahce grabbed a 14:11 lead. Will Solomon (187-G-78, college: Clemson) and Omer Onan (194-G-78, agency: Interperformances) added to the damage late in the first period and the visitors accumulated a 26:18 advantage at the first break. Hollis Price (186-G-79, college: Oklahoma) and Rasim Basak traded triples at the beginning of the second term. Chuck Eidson (202-F-80, college: S.Carolina) and Arturas Jomantas (202-G/F-85) fired from downtown and Lietuvos Rytas cut the deficit. But the long range artillery worked well from Fenerbahce side. Omer Asik (211-C-86) and Tarence Kinsey (200-G-84, college: S.Carolina) hit treys and the visiting side ran away to a double-digit lead. Finally Hollis Price penetrated under the rim for an easy layup and finalized a 38:46 outcome of the first half. Lietuvos Rytas fired from all guns at the start of the second half posting a 10:0 run and closing the gap to just a single point at 50:51. Tarence Kinsey and Will Solomon however teamed up for 5 straight points to give Fenerbahce some breathing space. The hosts struggled to come any close afterwards and headed into the fourth period trailing by 7 points 63:70. Hollis Price hit three trebles early in the fourth term to pull Rytas right back into contest. Lietuvos Rytas grabbed an 83:82 lead with two minutes remaining in regulation. Hollis Price hit a free throw and Mindaugas Lukauskis (198-G-79) nailed a triple to stretch the gap to 87:82 with one minute to go. Tarence Kinsey replied with a three-pointer to keep Fenerbahce in visibility. Lietuvos Rytas wasted their offensive possession but Will Solomon was given an offensive foul and the hosts simply killed the remaining time to seal the win.
Hollis Price was the topscorer with 22 points for Lietuvos Rytas. Chuck Eidson added 16 points, while Kenan Bajramovic (206-F-81, agency: Beo Basket) had 15 points and 7 boards for the winners. Tarence Kinsey answered with 20 points for Turkish side. Will Solomon nailed 18 points and issued 6 assists in defeat.

Lietuvos Rytas: Hollis Price 22, Chuck Eidson 16, Kenan Bajramovic 15
Fenerbahce: Tarence Kinsey 20, Will Solomon 18

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GREECE

Zalgiris - Olimpiakos 52-61 (LIVE FROM KAUNAS) -by Kostas Papadopoulos

Eurobasket.com's Greek section made tonight a live coverage from Kaunas and Zalgiris' hall at the game of the local team against Olimpiakos. As a quick preview, we should maintain the fact that it is another no tomorrow game for Olympiakos, after the one of last Thursday's against Maccabi. A win certainly increases Reds' possibilities to qualify at Top-8, while a defeat reduces significantly these possibilities.

On the other side, Zalgiris' chances have significantly been reduced after last week's defeat (home) from Real Madrid, and the win against Olympiakos seems essential in order to have chances to qualify if it beats Maccabi next week at Tel-Aviv.

Giannakis decided to leave Mavrokefalidis and Papamakarios out of tonight's roster, putting Seibutis inside; everything seems to be prepared for a wonderful game here at Kaunas, hoping for us, Greeks, that things will be proved very well at the end.

The game was tied at the first 2,5 minutes (4-4) before Olympiakos lead with 6 (4-10) with two goal-fouls from Vasilopoulos and Blakney. However, Zalgiris didn't take advantage of Olympiakos consecutive nistakes, as its attempts were not successful and only succeeded to reduce the difference at 3 (7-10) at 3 minutes before the end of the first period. Woods scored then a 3-point shot to give Olympiakos a 6-point advantage again. The last minutes of this last period was just a game of missed shots and mistakes made by both teams (13 in total), with the final score at 9-13 (with Collins having scored 5 points for Zalgiris).

The second period started with a quick 9-2 serie for Zalgiris to lead for the first time at the game (18-15), taking advantage of the consecutive mistakes of Olympiakos. The Reds answered with Jackson to equalize (18-18), while Zalgiris had a foul problem (Brown and Zukauskas had already 2) and then reeled (18-20), 4 minutes before the end. Zalgiris answered with a 7-0 serie to lead with 5 (25-20). Olympiakos answered temporarily with a 3-point shot from Bourousis, something that didn't happen with Woods at its next shot. Finally, the first half ended with Zalgiris leading by a point only (28-27), and what could mostly remain to all the spectators is the big number of mistakes (from both teams - 22 in total and the bad pecentages of both the teams: 9/26 for Zalgiris and 9/28 for Olympiakos).

The whole situation didn't change at the first minutes of the third period (33-32 for Zalgiris), before Brown scoring a 3-point shot to give his team a 4-point lead (36-32). This lead was extended to 5 (38-33) for Zalgiris and then to 6 (41-35) after Popovic's successful 3-point shot (2:44 before the end of this third period). The final lead for Zalgiris was 4 points (43-39) at the end of the third period, and as everybody can understand defenses have been strengthened a lot.

The last period started with a crucial successive 3 - point shot from Theodosic, to reduce the difference at 1 (43-42), but Zalgiris answered quickly with a 4-0 serie (47-42). A 7-0 serie from Olympiakos with successful Baskets from Vasiliadis, Theodosic and Jackson gave Olympiakos the lead (47-49). However, Zalgiris managed to relead with 3 (52-49) before Olimpiakos answering after Lynn Greer's (186-G-79, college: Temple) come back (52-53), 1:20 minutes before the end. A lead which was extended to 4 points after Blakney's successive 3-point shot with 32 seconds remaining (52-56). It should be mentioned that Zalgiris hasn't scored a point for 4 minutes. After an unsuccessful attempt, Zalgiris then made consecutive fouls but Olumpiakos' players wanted the win very much, they succeeded at the free throws and the final score (52-61), after this 12-0 serie of Olympiakos at these final 4 minutes gives the Reds the chance 'in their hands' to qualify at Top-8. Only a win against Real Madrid remains.



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

Aris Friesland Ends West-Brabant Giants Winning Streak -by Sanders Jackson

It was sweet revenge for former then-Polynorm Giants head coach Tony Vandenbosch in his return to Bergen-op-Zoom.

On Wednesday night at home, West-Brabant Giants, who were riding a nine-game regular season winning streak, had the magic carpet pulled out from under their feet by an always dangerous offensive-minded Aris Friesland team, blowing an eight-point lead with Aris Friesland winning 90-83. Vandenbosch, who spent three seasons coaching in Bergen-op-Zoom, got excellent production out of Dillion Sneed (203-C-84, agency: Court Side, college: E.Tenn.St.), who was unstoppable inside with 31 pts., 9 rebounds and 5 steals, including 13 of 15 shooting. Jesse Kimbrough (183-G-82, college: Jacksonville) added 23 pts. and 8 assists, and Lawrence Hamm (198-F-84, agency: Court Side, college: Towson) added 15 pts. and 9 rebounds. The Giants, still missing ace Devonne Giles (203-F-83, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Texas Tech), were led by Andre Harris (203-F-85, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Fairleigh Dickinson) with 26 pts. and 13 rebounds, and Tim Blue (206-F-84, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Middle Tenn.St.) scored 23. Aris shot 65.7% FG and made 10 of 19 three-pointers.

Stefan Wessels up to 2015 at MyGuide Amsterdam -by Fred Roggen
League-leader ABC MyGuide Amsterdam and Dutch international Stefan Wessels (203-F-84, agency: R.H.Consultancy) have agreed to a contract extension to the year 2015. Wessels will be up to his 30s under contract in Amsterdam. The 2.03 tall forward comes from Amsterdam's own youth team. Since the season 2004/2005 he has been part of the head-selection.
Head Coach Shivek seemed proud and delighted concerning the contract extension: I am very glad for the club that we have signed a Dutch top player for a longer time again, as we did with Peter van Paassen a few weeks ago.

Standings - Eredivisie
Eredivisie Standings
1. Amsterdam 27-5
2. West-Brabant 23-10
3. M.Magix 19-13
4. Hanzev.Cpt 19-14
5. Eiff.Towers 18-11
6. Rotterdam 18-13
7. Leiden 14-18
8. Zwolle 13-18
9. Weert 13-20
10. Aris Friesland 7-26
11. Den Helder 4-27
12. Almere 0-0


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HUNGARY

Round 22 - Part 2 -by Tamas Deri
FALCO KC SZOMBATHELY - MARSO-VAGEP NYKK 109-79
(26-21, 20-28, 35-13, 28-17)
Szombathely, Att.: 2800, Referees: Bodnar, Kiraly, Győrffy
SZOMBATHELY: Laszlo Kalman (186-G-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 23/3, Bam Doyne (193-G-84, college: Mississippi) 29/6, Kornel Varadi (198-G-87, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 11/6, Arnas Kazlauskas (204-C/F-76, agency: Court Side) 19/6, Aliakseyeu 8, Feigl 2, Edwin Draughan (196-G/F-82, college: Yale) 15/3, Borszeki, Will 2, Csiszar, Papp, Horvath D., Coach: Srecko Sekulovic
NYÍREGYHAZA: Savic 10, Buchanan 6, Mouton 7/3, Erno Sitku (208-C-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 18/6, Srdjan Helbich (205-F/C-76) 20/3, Trepak 8, Siska 3/3, Krasznai 2, Farkas 2, Nagy K. 3/3, Coach: Deri Csaba


ALBACOMP - SZOLNOKI OLAJ KK 84-70
(24-13, 17-18, 21-19, 22-20)
Szekesfehervar, Att.: 1800, Referees: Valovics, Kapitany, Farkas G.
ALBACOMP: Balazs Simon (188-G-80, agency: Court Side) 15, Cory Bradford (191-G-78, agency: Edge Sports, college: Illinois) 14/3, Velibor Radovic (202-F/G-72, agency: Beo Basket) 24/6, Chad McClendon (199-F-73, college: Appalachian St.) 14/3, Bencze Z. 5, Soos 8/6, Boozer 4, Coach: Peresztegi-Nagy Akos
SZOLNOK: Kelley 9, Cziczas 3/3, Vernard Hollins (192-G-80, agency: Warren Sports, college: Wright St.) 24/3, Sabaliauskas 10/6, Gobi 7, Molnar 9/3, Harazin 4, Ledoux 4/3, Toth V., Coach: Por Peter


POLAROID LAMI-VED KORMEND - UNIVER KECSKEMET 82-68
(22-20, 20-16, 17-20, 23-12)
Kormend, Att.: 2200, Referees: Hartyani, Bognar, Gorka
A merkőzes osztalyazata: 3
KÖRMEND: Jermaine Thomas (187-G-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: La Salle) 14/3, Gergely Fodor (193-G-77, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents) 9/3, Ferencz 10/3, Vavra P.8, OCITTI 9/3, Rudolf Trummer (196-F-78, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 14/6, Fodor 8/6, McCants 1, Henderson 9, Coach: Dragoljub Krivacevic
KECSKEMET: Sigurdarson 8/6, Larry Blair (183-G-84, college: Liberty) 34/6, Akos Horvath (194-G/F-81, agency: FCM) 12/6, Jefferson 2, Fiegi 8, Szabo Zs 4, Toth P., Halmai, Coach: Zsoldos Andras

Standings - A Division
A Division Standings
1. Falco 19-3
2. Dombovar 15-7
3. Pecs 14-7
4. Szolnok 14-7
5. Atomeromu 13-8
6. Albacomp 12-9
7. Nyiregyhazi 12-9
8. Kormend 11-10
9. Univer KSE 10-11
10. ZTE KK 9-11
11. Soproni 9-12
12. MAFC 6-16
13. Bodrogi Bau 4-18
14. Kaposvari 4-18


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

Standings
IBL Standings


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

Standings - Iceland Express League
Express L. Standings
1. Keflavik 16-4
2. KR 16-5
3. Grindavik 15-6
4. Snaefell 13-8
5. Njardvik 12-8
6. Skallagrimur 10-10
7. IR 9-12
8. Thor AK 9-12
9. Tindastoll 8-13
10. Stjarnan 7-13
11. Hamar/S. 4-16
12. Fjolnir 4-16


Standings - 1 Division
D1 Standings
1. Breidablik 16-1
2. FSU 13-4
3. Valur 12-5
4. Haukar 10-7
5. Armann/Thrott 9-8
6. Thor Thorl 8-9
7. KFI 7-10
8. Hottur 5-12
9. Reynir S. 3-14
10. Throttur V. 2-15


Tindastoll upset KR -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Tindastoll upset KR by beating them 96-94 in overtime. ( 84-84) Bad loss for KR who had chance of the top seat but can now drop down to third place. Tindastoll still have chance of making it to play-offs. Top scorers for Tindastoll Joshua Buettner 27. Philip Perre 26. Svavar Birgisson 23. For KR Avi Fogel 27.

Grindavik 107 Thor 95 Thor leading at halftime 50-37. Great performance from Thorleifur Olafsson (192-G/F-84) in second half when he scored 34 pts 8/9 in three pointers. Other top scorers for Grindavik. Jamaal Williams 22. Pall A. Vilbergsson 20. For Thor Luka Marolt 27. Cedric Isom 24.Thor needs to win last game to reach play-offs.

Snaefell 87 IR 83. Snaefell keeps on winning even they are not playing so well. Top scorer for Snaefell. Justin Shouse 25. For IR. Tahirou Sani 19. Hreggvidur Magnusson 18.

1 division games -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
KFI 93 Thor 87. This game was sheduled in december but was cancle because of weather. Pance Ilievski 28. Srdjan Bozic 22 Bojan Popovic 18 for KFI. Sveinbjorn Skulason 25. Gretar Erlendsson 21. Isaac Westbrooks 17 for Thor. Thor out of play-offs place with this loss.
FSU 122 Reynir 66.Saevar Sigmundsson 26 Matt Hammer 20 for FSU.
KFI 85 Haukar 86. Sveinn Sveinson made a buzzer layup for Haukar to win the game. Haukar secure their spot in play-offs. KFI out of play-offs reach.
Bojan Popovic 27 . Allan Sheppard 25 for KFI. Sigurdur Einarsson 25 . Ludvik Bjarnason 22 for Haukar.
One round left in 1 div.

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

Grappasonni lands to Trapani, Zaccariello to Latina -by Massimo Finizio
Banca Nuova Trapani announced that the latest member of the roster is the veteran center Cristiano Grappasonni (205-F/C-72). Grappasonni started this season with Pepsi Caserta, then in February was choosen by Edimes Pavia but burocratic reasons made impossible to sign a contract with Pavia or any other Legadue teams. So Grappasonni choose to play in the strong sicilian B1 team.

Latina signed Leonardo Zaccariello (190-G/F-82, agency: Players Group) from Carmatic Pistoia. Zaccariello was a member of Carmatic Pistoia team when they conquered the right to play in Legadue last year.

Last Market news -by Gianni Pascucci

Hassan Adams (193-G-84, agency: David Lee services, college: Arizona) moved from Ignis Draghi Novara (Lega 2) to Siviglia Wear Teramo (Serie A). The player is expected to make his debut in the top Italian league the upcoming weekend. Troy Bell (186-G-80, college: Boston Coll.) inked a contract with Fastweb Casale Monferrato (Lega 2). He wil replace in roster the injured Taquan Dean (193-G-83, college: Louisville). In Serie B, Silver Porto Torres announced to have parted ways with coach Stefano Michelini. The team will be now coached by Pietro Carlini , who will also serve as the team GM



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

Kashiwagi named MVP of JBL regular season -by Kenny
PG Shinsuke Kashiwagi (183-G-81) of the Aisin Sea Horses has been named the MVP of the JBL for the 2007-08 regular season. This is the first time that the JBL has named a regular season MVP as they have always named an 'MVP' after the JBL Finals, confusing many as to what the 'MVP' was actually for-the regular season or the playoffs or both. The 5-11 Kashiwagi led Aisin to a 26-9 record and a no. 1 seed in the playoffs, which start tomorrow with Aisin taking on 4th seed Mitsubishi in the best-of-3 1st round matchup.

Along with naming the MVP of the regular season, the JBL also named their 'Best 5' for the 2007-08 regular season. Named to the best 5 team were:

PG Kei Igarashi (HItachi Sun Rockers)
SG Takehiko Orimo (Rera Kamuy Hokkaido)
F Joji Takeuchi (Hitachi Sun Rockers)
F Kosuke Takeuchi (Aisin Sea Horses)
C Marquis Estill (OSG Phoenix)


Notes: With the OSG Phoenix leaving the JBL for the bj-league this off-season and the Tochigi Brex moving up from the JBL 2 to the JBL, expect many players to switch teams this off-season. The most highly anticipated player transfer will be that of SG Takuya Kawamura of OSG. Kawamura, a rising star and a member of the Japanese national team, will likely leave OSG and stay in the JBL in order to stay on the national team (as players from the bj-league are inelgible for national team duty since the league is not sanctioned by the Japan Basketball Assiociation).

Playoff time again -by J.D. Greene
Once again, it is time for the playoffs as the top four teams prepare to battle it out for this year's championship. JBL1 semifinals kick off on Saturday (3/15) as first-place Aisin Seahorses battle Mitsubishi, who was able to squeeze their way into the fourth playoff spot. Also matching up on the 15th are two-time reigning champions Toyota Alvark against the OSG Phoenix, who are in their last season as a JBL1 team.
The semi-final teams will also play on Sunday (3/16) and Monday (3/17) if necessary. The winners of each match-up will meet at the finals and play on 3/20, 3/22, 3/23, 3/25 and 3/26.

In JBL2 news, the reigning two-time champs Chiba Badgers will play on Saturday (3/15) against current fourth-place Ishikawa. Also fighting for the title are Toyota Tsusho and the Tochigi Brex who are ranked second and third, respectively.
The Toyota Tsusho were successful early in the season holding the first place spot. But with Chiba and Tochigi acquiring new foreign players, the fate of Toyota changed as the Badgers and the Brex were each able to grab a win against the Tsusho in the second half of the regular season.
The final game will be held on Sunday (3/16).

*****************************************************
KAZAKHSTAN

BK Almaty beats Astana Tigers to remain atop of the ladder -by Eurobasket News
Round IV of D1 championship in Kazakhstan came to an end with BK Almaty dominating the scene once again. They overcame their opponents to ensure the top spot in the standings. On the third day of the action BK Almaty edged Tobol 87:77. The league leaders accumulated a comfortable 47:30 lead at halftime and though Tobol fought bravely after the break BK Almaty easily sealed the winning outcome at the end. Vsevolod Fadeykin (206-G-85) topscored with 20 points and 7 boards for Almaty. Alexey Aleksey Tsvetkov (206-F-84) dropped 19 points for the winners. Tobol were led by 21 points from Pavel Mikheev (198-F-83). Mikhail Evstigneev (203-F-84) added 16 points in a loss.
Next day BK Almaty faced TSM Kapshagay and drove to an easy 86:60 win. It was all over for TSM by the end of the first half as BK Almaty built a 47:31 advantage. They controlled the situation and coasted to another victory at the end. Aleksandr Zaykin (208-F-84) provided 21 points and 7 boards for the hosts. Vsevolod Fadeykin notched 14 points in a winning case. TSM Kapshagay answered with 16 points from Valeriy Korzhov (202-F-76) and Sergey Stroilov (203-F-81).
The biggest interest was drawn to the last day of the action when BK Almaty took on their main rivals Astana Tigers. BK Almaty took the lead right from the start but the Tigers kept it close in the opening frame. The home side were up by 1 after 10 minutes of action. However Oleg Ten (185-G-74) stepped up for BK Almaty in the second period and his trey opened up a 10-point lead for Almaty late in the first half. The gap was stretched to 13 points after 30 minutes and the intrigue seemed to pass away. But the Tigers found the way to tie the game as Anton Ponomarev (209-C-88) drained a couple of impressive buckets. But Oleg Ten once again proved the difference as his trey and a couple of assists late in the game brought BK Almaty to yet another success 81:75.

Standings -D1
D1 Standings
1. BK Almaty 13-3
2. Ast.Tigers 10-6
3. Tobol 8-8
4. TSM Kapsh. 8-8
5. Barsy Atyrau 1-15


*****************************************************
KOSOVO

The drawing for Kosova Cup host teams, on Tuesday -by Edona Shabani
According to the Regulation for organizing the cup in the second round of competition for Kosova Cup, the teams which won the matches as guests in the first round will be hosts in the second round, while in the cases when rival pairs were both guest or hosts, the host for the coming match will be drawn.

In the Group A host is Llapi which will play against Ylli, in the group C Bashkimi against Sigal Prishtina while in the drawing for host team will take place pairs Trepca - Kosova (Group B) and Peja -RC Cola Drita (Group D)

In women category Vellaznimi is the host against Bashkimi, while from the drawing will be defined the location for the match between Sigal Prishtina - Trepca.

The drawing will take place on March 18, 2008 on 12:00 pm in BFK office.
The match between Llapi and Ylli will take place on March 19, 2008 in Prishtina( the winner will go on quarterfinals to play against BC' Bambi'), while other quarterfinal matches for men and semifinal matches for women will take place on 26/27 March 2008.

Semifinals for men are planned to take place on April 18, while the final matches for both categories will be on April 20, 2008.

Source: www.basketbolli.com

*****************************************************
KUWAIT

Al Arabi - 2008 Kuwait Champions -by Sadik Abdullah
Al Arabi Club defeated Al Kuwait SC Club 89 - 86 and giving them their first loss of the season, in the most important game. This marks the first time Al Arabi Club has won the championship since 1977.

Jeryl Sasser (198-G-79, college: SMU) came up huge in the 2nd half, to give Al Arabi the edge.

Al Arabi Club were winning by a point when they were fouled after a Andre Pitts (185-G-73, college: Huston-Tillotson) turnover. Fahed Al Rabah (180-G-81), who finished with 25 points, missed both shots but got the offensive rebound and Mohammed Mehzem went to the line and hit both. Andre Pitts airballed a last second 3 pointer, which gave Al Arabi the championship.

Congrulations Al Arabi Club for this championship.

Al Yarmook defeated An Nasr to win the 3rd place game.
Kuwait League final standings are:

1. Al Arabi Club
2. Al Kuwait SC
3. Al Yarmook
4. An Nasr

The 2007-08 Kuwaiti Federation Basketball Cup Final Today! Al Arabi and Al Kuwait play for title!!! -by Mohammed Al Raad
The 2007-08 version of the Kuwaiti Federation Basketball Cup is on much earlier than expected. In fact it was not supposed to begin until the 16th of March. Why? Because the 'Golden Four' (Final Four) for the Regular Season has been postponed. As a result, the Kuwaiti Basketball Federation decided to move the Federation cup up from March 16 to March 6th.
Therefore, the first round had to be played much sooner than was originally expected.


The first games occurred on Thursday, March 6th where there wereno real surprises. Everything went as expected with Al Tadhamon, Al Sahel, Al Sulaibikhat and Kazma getting knocked out.

Here are the results:

First Round scores:

Al-Sahel - Al Arabi 70-74
Kazma - Al Jahraa 72-79
Yarmouk - Al Sulaibikhat 74-49
Al Nasr - al Tadhamon 85-67

The second round (semi-final 1) was played on Sunday March 9. Many see the Al Arabi one point win over Al Qadsia as an upset. Al Kuwait bumped Al Jahraa out of contention with a 14 point
win to remain undefeated for the entire season.

Second Round Scores:

Al Arabi - Al Qadsia 70-69
Al Kuwait -Al Jahraa 90-76

In the third round(semi-final 2), Yarmouk was defeated by Al Arabi and Kuwait advance by dropping Al Nasr Club. The games were held on Tuesday, March 11.

Third Round Scores:

Yarmouk - Al Arabi 62-71
Al Nasr - Al Kuwait 70-84

The 3rd and 4th place game will be played on Thursday, March 13 featuring Yarmouk vs Al Nasr at 5:00 local time. The final will be held just after at 7:00 featuring Al Arabi and Al Kuwait for the title.

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

Standings - LBAL
LBAL Standings
Austrumi 1-4
1. Valmiera-2 6-1
2. DU/Hansabanka 4-3
3. Maksis/LTI 4-3
4. Madona 0-7
Austrumi 5-7
1. Preili 4-1
2. Ezerzeme 2-3
3. Jekabpils 1-3
Centrs 1-4
1. ASK Kadeti 3-1
2. Keizarmezs-2 2-2
3. Ogre/Sonora 1-2
4. Jurmala 2 1-2
Centrs 5-8
1. VIA Riga 0-0
2. Kursa/MRU 0-0
3. LU 0-0
4. Turiba 0-0
Centrs 9-12
1. VEF Riga 1-0
2. Saulkrasti 0-0
3. Ridzene 89 0-0
4. Salacgriva 0-1
Centrs 13-16
1. Ridzene M. 1-0
2. I.O.S. 0-0
3. ASK Kadeti-2 0-0
4. 3.BJSS 0-1
Centrs 17-20
1. DSN 0-0
2. LNSF 0-0
3. Ridzene 91 0-0
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


LBL standings
LBL Standings
Division I
1. Barons/LMT 10-1
2. Valmiera 10-7
3. ASK Riga 9-1
4. BK Ventsp. 9-2
5. Liep.Lauvas 9-8
6. VEF Riga 8-9
7. Bum./ASK 2-15
8. Keizarmezs 1-15
Division II
1. Zemgale 24-5
2. Ventspils au. 21-6
3. RNS-D/Livani 18-10
4. ASK/Juniors 18-12
5. LU/Ridzene 13-15
6. Jurmala 13-16
7. Roja 10-18
8. Saldus 5-21
9. Cesis/Remarks 5-24


Stats Leaders
LBL Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
Ozols (Jurmala) 21.0
Kanbergs (VA) 20.3
Rudzitis (Bum.) 18.6
Delveris (Roja) 18.5
Mizis (LU/Ridz.) 18.1
Rebounds Per Game
Stimac (Valmiera) 11.3
Ed.Eglitis (LU/Ridz.) 9.0
Licitis (Saldus) 8.5
Alexander (Bar.) 8.1
J.Rozitis (ASK/Jun.) 8.0
Assists Per Game
Slesers (Livani) 7.3
Buskevics (ASK) 4.5
Raiskums (Zem.) 4.0
Tiss (Saldus) 4.0
Olivero (Valmiera) 4.0
Steals Per Game
Slesers (Livani) 3.3
Millage (ASK) 2.7
Skele (Barons) 2.6,
Blocks Per Game
J.Rozitis (ASK/Jun.) 2.7
D.Rozitis (Cesis) 2.4
Rich (Liepaja) 2.4
Ranking
Stimac (Valmiera) 22.5
Kanbergs (VA) 21.3
Raiskums (Zemgale) 20.6


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

Lietuvos Rytas hang on in race for Euroleague quarterfinal -by Eurobasket News
Lietuvos Rytas - Fenerbahce 87:84

Lithuanian team survived in a tight-battle against Fenerbahce in Vilnius and secured chances of making it to the Euroleague quarterfinal. However their chances are still pretty dim as Fenerbahce enjoyed a 4-point at home advantage. This means they would have an advantage in case of a tie-record at the end of Top 16 stage. Now both teams are knotted at 2-3 record in Group E. Fenerbahce hosts Tau, while Lietuvos Rytas visits Greece to take on Aris in the last round. The game was a heated clash right from the start as the teams exchanged baskets early on. Rasim Basak (202-F-80, agency: Court Side) nailed a trey and Fenerbahce grabbed a 14:11 lead. Will Solomon (187-G-78, college: Clemson) and Omer Onan (194-G-78, agency: Interperformances) added to the damage late in the first period and the visitors accumulated a 26:18 advantage at the first break. Hollis Price (186-G-79, college: Oklahoma) and Rasim Basak traded triples at the beginning of the second term. Chuck Eidson (202-F-80, college: S.Carolina) and Arturas Jomantas (202-G/F-85) fired from downtown and Lietuvos Rytas cut the deficit. But the long range artillery worked well from Fenerbahce side. Omer Asik (211-C-86) and Tarence Kinsey (200-G-84, college: S.Carolina) hit treys and the visiting side ran away to a double-digit lead. Finally Hollis Price penetrated under the rim for an easy layup and finalized a 38:46 outcome of the first half. Lietuvos Rytas fired from all guns at the start of the second half posting a 10:0 run and closing the gap to just a single point at 50:51. Tarence Kinsey and Will Solomon however teamed up for 5 straight points to give Fenerbahce some breathing space. The hosts struggled to come any close afterwards and headed into the fourth period trailing by 7 points 63:70. Hollis Price hit three trebles early in the fourth term to pull Rytas right back into contest. Lietuvos Rytas grabbed an 83:82 lead with two minutes remaining in regulation. Hollis Price hit a free throw and Mindaugas Lukauskis (198-G-79) nailed a triple to stretch the gap to 87:82 with one minute to go. Tarence Kinsey replied with a three-pointer to keep Fenerbahce in visibility. Lietuvos Rytas wasted their offensive possession but Will Solomon was given an offensive foul and the hosts simply killed the remaining time to seal the win.
Hollis Price was the topscorer with 22 points for Lietuvos Rytas. Chuck Eidson added 16 points, while Kenan Bajramovic (206-F-81, agency: Beo Basket) had 15 points and 7 boards for the winners. Tarence Kinsey answered with 20 points for Turkish side. Will Solomon nailed 18 points and issued 6 assists in defeat.

Lietuvos Rytas: Hollis Price 22, Chuck Eidson 16, Kenan Bajramovic 15
Fenerbahce: Tarence Kinsey 20, Will Solomon 18

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

An LNBP Champ Will Be Decided Tonight In Game 7 -by Justin Brink
Playing on the road in front of a hostile Halcone crowd at the 'Ooohzzbee,' the Soles of Mexicali came up short in their quest to repeat as LNBP Champions eventually falling to the Halcones of Xalapa 68-81. Xalapa put the breaks on the Sole momentum and forced a game seven in what has been one of the most exciting LNBP Finals in the leagues young history. Defensive pressure controlled the tempo in game six as both teams racheted up the intensity, wearing each other out ,until finally, in the fourth quarter, Xalapa began to pull away. Mexicali's Greg Lewis (198-F-78, college: Winthrop) (180-G) (201-F, college: Stony Brook) ran into foul trouble and his action was limited in the final frame. The Halcones Michael Johnson (186-G) (191-G) continued to pour it on offensively helping Xalapa mount a 10 point lead which they would never surrender. Johnson finished with 31 points and 6 dimes, while Sam Bowie (198-F/G-75, college: SE Louisiana) tallied 13. For the soles , Greg Lewis poured in 24, James Penny (198-F-76, college: TCU) 20 and De Juan Wheat (183-G-73, college: Louisville) ended with 16. Game seven is tonight at 8:00 p.m. in Xalapa. Sam Bowie (198-F/G-75, college: SE Louisiana)

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

Houston ties the 1979 Milwaukee for the third-best winning streak in history -by Eurobasket News
The Houston Rockets fired down the Atlanta Hawks for the 20th straight win and reached the third-best record in the NBA history in consecutive victories. The 20th win was even more impressive as the Hawks managed to limit the visiting Rockets to the season-lowest 32 first half points but still did not hang on. Tracy McGrady (6'8''-G/F-79) woke up in the second half and nailed 21 points in the second half to reignite sloppy Houston and led them to an 83:75 win. The Rockets were up by just a single point 71:70 with 5 minutes left in regulation but sparked with a 10:0 rally to clear off for good. It was also the 7th win in a row after Yao Ming was sidelined with injury for the reminder of the season. Shane Battier (6'8''-F-78, college: Duke) added 15 points in a winning effort. Josh Smith (6'9''-F-85) recorded outstanding 22 boards to go with 16 points, 2 assists and 2 steals. The Rockets have a chance to stretch the winning run on March 14 when they host Charlotte.
The Philadelphia 76ers could not score in the last two and a half minutes of their encounter against Detroit but still were able to upset the Eastern second-ranked team at the Auburn Hills. Andre Iguodala (6'6''-G-84, college: Arizona) notched 22 points to pace Philadelphia. Samuel Dalembert (6'11''-C-81, college: Seton Hall) was productive inside the paint with 15 boards. Antonio McDyess (6'9''-F-74, college: Alabama) answered with 14 points and 11 boards in the 18th loss for the Pistons. The 76ers are now 4 wins clear of the 8th-ranked New Jersey in the East.
The LA Clippers signed Smush Parker (6'4''-G-81, college: Fordham). Smush Parker was a free agent as the Miami Heat waived him on March 10. He appeared in 9 games for the Heat in the season averaging 4.8 points, 1.7 assists and 2.1 boards per game. His career stats come up to 9.2 points, 2.8 assists and 2.5 boards.
Meanwhile the Miami Heat inked forward Bobby Jones (6'6''-F-84, college: Washington) to a 10-day contract. He had stints with the Rockets, the Nuggets and the Grizzlies in the season. Bobby Jones's career stats are standing at 2.9 points and 1.5 boards per game.

Standings
NBA Standings
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Div.
1. Boston C. 51-12
2. Toronto R. 34-30
3. Philadelphia 31-34
4. New Jersey N. 27-38
5. New York K. 19-46
Central Div.
1. Detroit P. 46-18
2. Cleveland C. 37-28
3. Chicago B. 26-38
4. Indiana P. 25-39
5. Milwaukee B. 23-42
Southeast Div.
1. Orlando M. 42-24
2. Washington W. 31-32
3. Atlanta H. 25-38
4. Charlotte B. 24-40
5. Miami H. 11-51
Western Conference
Northwest Div.
1. Utah J. 43-23
2. Denver N. 38-26
3. Portland T.B. 34-31
4. Seattle S. 16-49
5. Minnesota T. 14-49
Pacific Div.
1. Los Angeles L. 45-19
2. Phoenix S. 42-22
3. Golden St. 40-23
4. Sacramento K. 28-35
5. Los Angeles C. 21-42
Southwest Div.
1. San Antonio S. 44-20
2. Houston R. 44-20
3. N.Orleans H. 43-20
4. Dallas M. 42-23
5. Memphis G. 15-49


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

Northeast Season 2007-2008 Summary -by Jay
#s#
#e#6


Anderson


Blackwood


Lee


Porter


Vinson

Regular Season Standings
1. Robert Morris 16-2 .889 26-7
2. Wagner 15-3 .833 23-8
3. Sacred Heart 13-5 .722 18-13
4. Mt.St.Mary's 11-7 .611 17-14
4. Quinnipiac 11-7 .611 15-15
6. Cent.Conn.St.. 10-8 .556 14-16
7. LIU Brooklyn 7-11 .389 15-15
8. Fairleigh Dickinson 4-14 .222 8-20
8. St.Francis,NY (NY) 4-14 .222 7-22
8. Monmouth 4-14 .222 7-24
8. St.Francis,PA (PA) 4-14 .222 6-23


Tournament Final: Mount St. Mary's - Sacred Heart
Tournament Semifinals:
Mount St. Mary's - Robert Morris 83-65
Sacred Heart - Wagner 55-49


All-NEC Tournament MVP: Deonte Huff (6'4''-G-86) of Portland


NEC All-Tournament Team

Deonte Huff of Portland State
Jeremiah Dominguez (5'6''-G-85) of Portland State
Kyle Coston (6'8''-F) of Portland State
Kyle Landry (6'9''-F-86) of Northern Arizona
Josh Wilson (6'2''-G-81) of Northern Arizona
Matt Stucki (6'6''-G-83) of Idaho State


All-NEC 1st Team
DeMario Anderson (6'4''-G-85) of Quinnipiac
Tristan Blackwood (6'0''-G-85) of CCSU
Tony Lee (6'0''-G-86) of Robert Morris
Mark Porter (6'0''-G) of Wagner
Durell Vinson (6'7''-F) of Wagner


All-NEC 2nd Team
Jeremy Chappell (6'3''-G-87) of Robert Morris
A.J. Jackson (6'6''-F-84) of Robert Morris
Drew Shubik (6'4''-G) of Sacred Heart
Manny Ubilla (6'2''-G) of FDU
Jaytornah Wisseh (6'0''-G-88) of Long Island


NEC All-Freshman Team
Evann Baker (6'3''-G) of Quinnipiac
David Hicks (6'1''-G-88) of Long Island
Ken Horton (6'6''-F) of CCSU
Kyle Johnson (6'3''-G-88) of Long Island
Shemik Thompson (6'0''-G) of CCSU


All-NEC Player of the Year: Tony Lee of Robert Morris
All-NEC Defensive Player of the Year: Tristan Blackwood of CCSU
All-NEC Freshman of the Year: Shemik Thompson of CCSU
All-NEC Coach of the Year: Mike Rice of Robert Morris



Lasalle and Charlotte win cliffhangers (A10 Tournament-Session 2) -by Carl Berman
Lasalle and Charlotte both came from behind to post victories in the final games of the first day of the Atlantic 10 tournament. Lasalle beat Duquesne 82-79 with a 14-4 run to close the game. With the Explorers trailing 79-76, Lasalle's Darnell Harris hit a three pointer from five feel beyond the three point line to tie the game. Lasalle's Rodney Green then made one three throw to give Lasalle a one point lead. On the next possession Duquesne turned the ball over on an errant pass. Lasalle's Ruben Guillandeaux then made two three throws to clinch the game. Green and Harris led Lasalle with 21 and 18 points. Reggie Jackson of Duquesne was the games leading scorer with 29 points. Lasalle goes on to face Temple in the quarterfinals.

In the nightcap Charlotte came back from a late seven point deficit to edge Rhode Island 75-73. Charlotte trailed most of the game and was behind 68-60 when Leemire Goldwire (5'11''-G-84) hit a long three with three minutes remaining. Goldwire then proceeded to make two more long threes the last one bringing them to within 73-71. Charlotte tied the game with two free throws by Chris Coley with 37 seconds left. On the ensuing possession Rhode Island had to call two time outs to set up plays. Parfait Bitee was then bumped by a Charlotte defender which was not called, however the ensuing rataliation bump by URI''s Kaheim Seawright was called giving the ball back to Charlotte. Charlotte was then left with a desperation drive and shot by Micheal Garrity. The referees called a foul on URI with .03 seconds left. Garrity made the free throws clinching the game. This was a game that the referees totally took over, not giving the players the chance to decide the game on the floor. Charlotte goes on to face UMass in the next round.

Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals (Session 2) -by Carl Berman

The first quarterfinal game of the evening session was a good one. Temple moved out to an 8 point halftime lead over crosstown rival Lasalle. Then, late in the game Lasalle staged a spirited comback to take the lead several times late in the game. With the scored tied Temple walk-on 5-7 Chris Clark hit a long three pointer to give Temple a three point lead that they never relinquished. Temple scored the last nine points of the game to win 84-75 and end Lasalle's season. Dionte Christmas (6'5''-G) was outstanding for Temple scoring 29 points. Mark Tyndale of Temple had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Rodney Green scored 20 points for Lasalle which ended their season at 15-17. Temple keeps alive their NCAA hopes and improves to 19-12.


In the second game Charlotte battled back from a 36-17 halftime deficit to defeat UMass 69-65. Leemire Goldwire was the hero for the second straight night hitting another three three pointers late in the game. The second shot gave Charlotte a 66-65 lead and the last clinched the game for Charlotte. Goldwire finished with 24 points while Lamont Mack scored 23 and Charlie Coley scored 14 to go along with 17 rebounds. Charlotte outrebounded UMass 52-29 and had 25 offensive rebounds. Charlotte goes on to face Temple in the semifinals. Umass will await their fate, whether it will be the NCAA or the NIT.



Atlantic 10 Quarterfinals (Session 1) -by Carl Berman
Regular season champion Xavier and St. Joseph's advanced today and will face each other in tomorrow's semifinals at the Atlantic 10 tournament. In the first game Xavier used balanced scoring to get past a tough Dayton squad 74-65. Five Xavier players scored in double figures led by Josh Duncan with 16 points. Marcus Johnson of Dayton was the games leading scorer with 26 points. Xavier led by 6 points at the half and gradually pulled away from Dayton. Dayton's record dropped to 21-10 with still a hope of an NIT bid. Xavier goes to 27-5.

In the nightcap, St. Joseph's had no problems with Richmond in dispatching the Spiders 61-47. St. Joe's took advantage of 15 Richmond turnovers and scored 19 points off the turnovers. Rob Ferguson (6'8''-F-85) shot a perfect 6 for 6 to lead the Hawks with 16 points. St, Joe's led by 8 at the half and gradually increased their lead to as much as 18 points midway through the second half. St. Joe's is an NCAA bubble team. They would likely earn a berth in the tourney with a victory over Xavier.

SunBelt Season 2007-2008 Summary -by Jay
#s#
#e#6


Monroe


Yates


McCalebb


Bennett


Lee

Regular Season Standings
East Division
1 S.Alabama 16-2
2 W.Kentucky 16-2
3 Middle Tenn.St. 11-7
4 Florida Atlantic 8-10
5 Florida Intern. 6-12
6 Troy 4-14
West Division
1 UALR 11-7
2 Louisiana-Lafayette 11-7
3 N.Texas 10-8
4 New Orleans 8-10
5 Denver 7-11
6 Arkansas St. 5-13
7 Louisiana Monroe 4-14


Tournament Final: WKU - Middle Tennessee 67-57
Tournament Semifinals:
Middle Tennessee - South Alabama 82-73
UALR - WKU 55-70


All-Sun Belt Tournament MVP: Jeremy Evans (6'9''-F) of WKU


Sun Belt All-Tournament Team
Demetric Bennett (6'4''-G-85) of South Alabama
Kevin Kanaskie (6'2''-G-86) of Middle Tennessee
Desmond Yates (6'7''-F-86) of Middle Tennessee
Courtney Lee (6'5''-G/F) of WKU
Tyrone Brazelton (5'11''-G) of WKU
Jeremy Evans of WKU


All-Sun Belt 1st Team
Carlos Monroe (6'8''-F-87) of Florida Atlantic
Desmond Yates of Middle Tennessee
Bo McCalebb (6'0''-G-85) of New Orleans
Demetric Bennett of South Alabama
Courtney Lee of WKU


All-Sun Belt 2nd Team
Collin Dennis (6'2''-G-86) of North Texas
Josh White (5'10''-G) of North Texas
Daon Merritt (6'0''-G-84) of South Alabama
Odarien Bassett (6'2''-G-86) of Troy
Tyrone Brazelton of WKU


All-Sun Belt 3rd Team
Ryan Wedel (5'11''-G) of Arkansas State
Alex Galindo (6'6''-F-86) of Florida International
Russell Hicks (7'0''-C-85) of Florida International
Brandon Davis (6'7''-F) of South Alabama
Domonick Tilford (5'10''-G-87) of South Alabama


All-Sun Belt Player of the Year: Courtney Lee of WKU
All-Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year: Bo McCalebb of New Orleans
All-Sun Belt Freshman of the Year: Josh White of North Texas
All-Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year: Collin Dennis of North Texas
All-Sun Belt Coach of the Year: Ronnie Arrow of South Alabama



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

GNAC Awards -by Sanjey Noriega
First Team Position Height Class Hometown

+*Luke Cooper (6'0''-G-84, college: Alaska-Anch.), Alaska Anchorage Guard 6-0 Sr. Melbourne, Australia
+Jake Beitinger, Central Washington Forward 6-8 Jr. Port Orchard, WA
Carl Arts, Alaska Anchorage Forward 6-6 Sr. Valdez, AK
Rob Will, Seattle Pacific Center 6-10 Sr. Seattle, WA
Ira Graham, Western Washington Guard 6-1 Jr. Fontana, CA
*Jake Linton, Saint Martin's Guard 5-10 Jr. Lynnwood, WA
*Repeater +Unanimous

Second Team Position Height Class Hometown
Marques Echols, Seattle Pacific Guard 6-2 Sr. Seattle, WA
Justin Parnell, Northwest Nazarene Guard 6-4 So. Sutherlin, OR
McCade Olsen, Alaska Anchorage Forward 6-8 Sr. Riverton, UT
Ryan Coldren, Seattle Forward 6-8 Sr., Fall Creek, OR
Travis Kuhns, Western Oregon Forward 6-8 Jr. Salem, OR
Matt Penoncello, Central Washington Guard 6-5 Jr. Moscow, ID
Nate Jackson, Central Washington Guard 6-0 Sr. Seattle, WA

Honorable Mention - Chris Bryant, Alaska Anchorage (G, 6-4, Sr., Metlakatla, AK); Mladen Begojevic, Alaska Fairbanks (F,
6-5, Jr., Ruma, Serbia); Kendall Gielow, Northwest Nazarene (F, 6-7, So., Medford, OR); Michael Wright, Seattle University (F,
6-5, Jr., Lakewood, WA); JoJay Jackson, Seattle Pacific (F, 6-5, Sr., Fairfield, CA); Brendan Campbell, Saint Martin's (F, 6-5,
Sr., Bremerton, WA).

Player-of-the-Year - Luke Cooper, Alaska Anchorage
Newcomer-of-the-Year - Jake Beitinger, Central Washington
Freshman-of-the-Year - Blake Poole, Saint Martin's, and Dane Johnson, Western Oregon
Coach-of-the-Year - Rusty Osborne, Alaska Anchorage

GNAC Season 2007-08 Summary -by Richard
#s#
#e#6


Cooper


Beitinger


Arts


Will


Graham

Regular Season Standings
1 Alaska-Anch. 16-2 25-5
2 Cent.Washington 15-3 21-6
3 Seattle Pacific 12-6 20-7
4 NW Nazarene 9-9 17-10
5 W.Oregon 8-10 15-12
6 W.Washington 8-10 15-12
7 St.Martin's 8-10 13-14
8 Seattle 11-7 18-9
9 Alaska-Fairb. 2-16 5-22
10 Montana St. - Billin 1-17 1-28

*GNAC does not have post-season tournament


All-GNAC 1st Team
Luke Cooper (6'0''-G-84) of Alaska Anchorage
Jake Beitinger (6'8''-F) of Central Washington
Carl Arts (6'6''-F-85) of Alaska Anchorage
Robbie Will (6'10''-C) of Seattle Pacific
Ira Graham (6'1''-G) of Western Washington
Jake Linton (5'10''-G) of Saint Martin's


All-GNAC 2nd Team
Marques Echols (6'2''-G) of Seattle Pacific
Justin Parnell (6'4''-G) of Northwest Nazarene
McCade Olsen (6'8''-F-84) of Alaska Anchorage
Ryan Coldren (6'8''-F) of Seattle
Travis Kuhns (6'8''-F) of Western Oregon
Matt Penoncello (6'5''-G) of Central Washington
Nate Jackson (6'0''-G) of Central Washington


All-GNAC Honorable Mention
Chris Bryant (6'4''-G-85) of Alaska Anchorage
Mladen Begojevic (6'5''-F) of Alaska Fairbanks
Kendall Gielow (6'7''-F) of Northwest Nazarene
Michael Wright (6'5''-F) of Seattle University
JoJay Jackson (6'5''-F) of Seattle Pacific
Brendan Campbell (6'5''-F) of Saint Martin's


GNAC All-Academic Team
Jared Kettler (6'6''-C) of UAA
Mladen Begojevic of UAF
Mike Titus (6'2''-G) of UAF
Johnny Spevak (6'2''-G) of CWU
Bryce Daub (6'6''-F/C) of CWU
Louie Beech (6'3''-G) of NNU
Kendall Gielow of NNU
Brendan Campbell of SMU
Jake Linton of SMU
Leigh Swanson (6'8''-F) of SU
Travis Welt (6'9''-C) of SU
Taylor Olson (5'10''-G) of SU
Jared Moultrie (6'2''-G) of SPU
Casey Reed (6'5''-F) of SPU
Filip Popovic (6'7''-F) of SPU
Tyler Blok (6'6''-F) of WOU
Calin Schell (6'7''-F) of WWU
David Brittinen (6'7''-C/F) of WWU


All-GNAC Player of the Year: Luke Cooper of UAA
All-GNAC Co-Freshman of the Year: Blake Poole (6'2''-G) of Saint Martin's and Dane Johnson (6'1''-G) of Western Oregon
All-GNAC Newcomer of the Year: Jake Beitinger of Central Washington
All-GNAC Coach of the Year: Rusty Osborne of UAA



*****************************************************
NCAA3

D3 National Championships: Ready for the Sweet 16 -by Moritz Korff
March Madness is already in full swing in Division 3. We are down to 16 teams in this years' National Championship Tournament. Eight clubs will have to finish their season on Friday (March 14), while the winning sides advance to the Elite Eight. Some of the top-ranked teams already dropped out of the tournament: UW-Whitewater (#2 in D3hoops.com's Top 25), Centre (#4), Augustana (#6), Guilford (#8), UW-Stevens Point (#9), Mass.-Dartmouth (#10), 2006-champion and last year's finalist Virginia Wesleyan (#21) and Wooster (#17), who also made it to the Final Four last season, were among the schools that got upset in the first rounds. Meanwhile, top-ranked Hope College, the defending champs Amherst (#3), Brandeis (#5), Plattsburgh State (#7) hope to continue the season as well as some unranked teams like Coast Guard and Buena Vista.
These are the match-ups for the Sweet 16:

Ohio Wesleyan @ Hope
Amherst @ Richard Stockton
Brandeis @ Plattsburgh State
Buena Vista @ Washington U.
Coast Guard @ Rochester
St. Mary's (Md.) @ Millsaps
Gettysburg @ Ursinus
Wheaton (Ill.) @ Whitworth

*****************************************************
NEW ZEALAND

Nick Horvath carries Wellington past Nelson -by Eurobasket News
Import Nick Horvath (208-F/C-81, college: Duke) tallied 23 points and 14 boards to fuel the Wellington Saints to the second win in the season. The defending NBL champs Nelson Giants entered the game with a 3-1 record and hoped to improved. They started the game bravely a 45:37 lead at halftime. But the hosts used a 10:0 run late in the third period to surge ahead 62:59. It all came down to the crunch time as the teams were all square at 76 with under 4 minutes to play. Troy McLean (194-G-79) connected from afar and Luke Martin (181-G-81, college: UTEP) added a jumper to put Wellington up by 5 points. The visitors never recovered in the dying seconds and suffered their second loss of the season. Marquis Webb (197-G/F-84, college: Rutgers) contributed 21 points and Luke Martin finished with 16 for the winners. Phill Jones (196-G-74) and Michael Harrison (206-F-84, agency: Interperformances) secured 23 points apiece in defeat. Nick Horvath is now due to leave the team as he is getting married and is expected to rejoin the squad in 5 weeks. He also expected to obtain the New Zealand citizenship at the time.
The Harbour Heat spoiled the season debut for the Bay Hawks storming past them 93:66 at the North Shore Events Centre. The Heat was never behind in this one-way traffic game and enjoyed a 19-point advantage at halftime. The Bay Hawks never woke up after the break and suffered a stunning loss. Oscar Forman (205-G/F-82) nailed 20 points to pace the hosts. Hayden Allen (187-G-79) added 16 points and 5 assists as Harbour improved to 2-1 record. The Bay Hawks answered with 13 points from Kareem Johnson (205-C-80, college: Cincinnati). Callum Baynes (203-F/C-82) dropped 12 in a loss.

Standings Men
NBL Standings
1. Nelson 3-2
2. Harbour Heat 2-1
3. Wellington 2-2
4. Waikato 1-0
5. Canterbury 1-1
6. Auckland 1-1
7. Taranaki 1-1
8. Manawatu 0-0
9. G&H Hawks 0-1
10. Otago 0-2


*****************************************************
NORWAY

Asker is the first BLNO finalist -by Eurobasket News
Asker - Ulriken 83:77

The Asker Aliens became advanced to the BLNO Final series upsetting Ulriken in the third and decisive game of their semifinal series. The teams won the home game alternately and clashed in the decider at the Aliens' home arena. Here the regular season winners Asker proved the strength. They grabbed the initiative early in the encounter and mounted the pressure on the Eagles. Asker managed to accumulate a 22:17 lead after the opening frame. The teams raised the tempo in the second quarter and it resulted in the hosts scoring 28 points and stretching the margin to 11 points at halftime 50:39. However it was a different Ulriken to reappear from the dressing room. The visitors paid more attention to defense and it paid off immediately. The Eagles limited Asker to just 12 points in the third stanza and trimmed the deficit to only 5 points heading into the fourth period. The battle heated up throughout the final term with neither side giving up an inch. But inspired by the support of the home fans Asker survived and triumphed at the end. Ronny Karlsen produced 15 points and 13 boards to pace the hosts. Mustafa Mahnin (182-G-80) scored 15 points, while Brett Olson (201-F) notched 13 points in a winning case. Calix Ndiaye answered with game-high 28 points and 7 boards for Ulriken. Peter Bullock (198-F-82, college: Alaska-Anch.) finished with 21 points in a loss.
Asker will now wait for the outcome of another semifinal where Harstad plays against Tromso. The series is tied at 1-1 and the decider is scheduled for March 14.

Asker: Ronny Karlsen 15+13 boards, Mustafa Mahnin 15, Brett Olson 13
Ulriken: Calix Ndiaye 28, Peter Bullock 21

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

PBA Reviews 3-Conference Return -by Lorenzo Gahol
MANILA - Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) officials are assessing a proposal to re-implement a three-conference format. PBA operations and technical chief Ricky Santos said the plan was submitted to league commissioner Renauld 'Sonny' Barrios when he assumed the post earlier this year. The PBA currently uses a two-conference format - the All-Filipino Philippine Cup and the Fiesta Cup that features imports. Former commissioner Noli Eala implemented the two-conference format to give way to professional cagers' participation in international tournaments. J. Malig

Ginebra Taps Europe Veteran; Tigers Secure Ex-U.S. Collegiate Star -by Lorenzo Gahol
MANILA - Barangay Ginebra will bring in a veteran of European leagues as its reinforcement in the PBA Fiesta Cup. The Gin Kings inked a deal with 200-centimeter tall center Rahshon Turner (200-F-75, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: Fairleigh Dickinson), who suited up for various teams in the Netherlands, France, and Spain. The 32-year-old banger has also played in French All-Star Games. Turner, who will arrive today in the country, was named as the top forward in the Euroleague in the 2005-2006 season after averaging 15.4 points and 7.8 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Coca-Cola Tigers will have guard Robert Burries (188-G-79, agency: TASM, college: Cal.St.-San Bernar.), a two-time NCAA Division II All-American star, as its other import alongside Jason Dixon in the next conference. Burries played for San Bernardino Valley College and California State University-San Bernardino, averaging 22 points and six assists in his last three collegiate seasons. J. Malig

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

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


Boricuas Abroad and BSN Boxscores -by Alessandro Fontana
BORICUAS ABROAD
In Euroleague, Unicaja Malaga was defeated by CSKA Moscow 93-70. Daniel Santiago played 23 minutes with 13 pts (4/7 2pts, 5/7 FT) and 6 rebs. In NBA Orlando won against L.A. Clippers 110-88, for Carlos Arroyo a 'partidazo' with 13 pts (5/7 2pts, 1/2 3pts), 2 rebs and 4 assts in 22 minutes.
BSN-Time in P. Rico!!
Cariduros de Fajardo defeated Santurce with a great Kevin Hamilton 33 pts and Chris Jackson 17+12. For Santurce a 'Larry Ayuso-one man show' was not enough to win the game.
San German was defeated by Caguas 85-74, Ricardo Melendez and Peter John Ramos were unstoppable. Arecibo won against Ponce, Rodney White scored 24 points with a great game, He is one of the best american players of this BSN, to mention also the game of 'Buster' Angel Figueroa with 19+11 and for Ponce, 'the Lion' Joel Jones with 28 pts. Carolina was defeated by Humacao 88-83, MVP of the game was the dominican player Jack Michael Martinez with 28 pts also 19 rebs. Martinez is one of the best rebounders of the League and with him Humacao can really qualify for the BSN Play-offs.
BSN BOXSCORES
FAJARDO-SANTURCE= 88-84
F= Hamilton 33, Jackson 17 (12 rebs), Pellot 15, Agbai 10, Salgado 6, Quintero 4, Arroyo 2, Moralez 1, Gonzalez 0, Vazquez 0, Rivera 0
S= Ayuso 24, Dalmau 13, Rivas 12, Traylor 10, Berdiel 8, E. Santiago 8, Falcon 6, Watson 3, Orlando Melendez 0
SAN GERMAN-CAGUAS= 74-85
SG= Fuller 17 (9 rebs), Lazor 15, Alvarado 15, S. Villegas 11, J. Villegas 9, Herrera 3, De Jesus 2, Dyer 2, Mendez 0
C= Orlando Melendez 26, Peter John Ramos 22, Bryant 11, Garcia 11, Konecny 9 (14 rebs), Ortiz 3, Martinez 2, McSweeney 1, Ashby 0
PONCE-ARECIBO= 74-78
P= Jones 28, Pagan 18, Colon 10, Martinez 6, Aubry 4 (10 rebs), Latimer 4, Matthews 2, Rosario 2, Curbelo 0, padilla 0
A= White 24, Figueroa 19 (11 rebs), Hatton 12, Cruz 8, Rivera 4, Rosa 4, C. Rivera 3, Rosario 2, Cortes 2, Ricardo 0
CAROLINA-HUMACAO= 83-88
C= Reyes 17, Carmona 16, Ere 16, Rice 11, Rivera 9 (7 asts), Brown 9, Cruz 3, Villafane 2, Hiraldo 0
H= Martinez 28 (19 rebs), Guzman 16, R. Sanchez 14, Ayala 13, K. Sanchez 13, De Jesus 4, Richards 0, Nieves 0

A. Fontana

Captains avenge loss against the Lions -by Luis Ramirez
It wasn't pretty but the Arecibo Captains escaped with the victory as they beat the Lions 78-74. Arecibo opened the game with an 8-0 run against the Lions who looked somewhat lost in their transition game initially. The Lions did come back and the 1st quarter finished 24-20 in favor of the Captains. In the 2nd quarter the Lions missed several free throws and committed several turnovers as the Captains seemed in sync. The Captains took a half time lead of 45-34. In the 2nd half the Lions seemed much as they had looked in the first half until the last quarter the Lions went on an offensive run to close the margin to just 2 points with just seconds left in the game. Two free throws for Arecibo sealed the win as the Lions committed a foul after a turnover under the Lions basket which would have tied the game. For Arecibo, Rodney White (206-F-80, college: Charlotte) scored 24 points followed by Angel Figueroa (196-G/F-81, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Dowling) with 19 points and 11 rebounds. For Ponce, Joel Jones (196-G/F-81, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Sacramento St.) scored 28 points followed by Wilfredo Pagan with 18 points.

Over at Santurce, the Fajardo Cariduros played an excellent 4th quarter for the win. The game started out with Santurce taking the 1st quarter 19-17. The Crabbers were also leading at the half 37-36. In the 2nd half the game was close but the Cariduros wanted it more and they prevailed for the win. For Fajardo, Kevin Hamilton was on fire as he scored 33 points followed by Chris Jackson with 17 points. For Santurce, Larry Ayuso (190-G-77, agency: Edge Sports, college: USC) scored 24 points followed by Ricardo Dalmau (188-G-77) with 13 points.

At Caguas, the Criollos got their 2nd win and in the process inflicted the Athletics with their 2nd loss of the season as the Criollos beat the Athletics 85-74. The game was played at a pretty even pace thru out the first 3 quarters but in the 4th quarter the Criollos went on a offensive run to blow past the Athletics. For Caguas, Ricardo Melendez scored 26 points followed by Peter John Ramos (222-C-85) with 22 points. For San German, Hiram Fuller (206-F-81, agency: Octagon, college: Fresno St.) was the top scorer with 17 points.

In the last game of the night, the winless Grays are winless no more as they beat the mighty Carolina Giants 88-83. Carolina has enjoyed the lead thru the 1st half of the game but the Grays played a very good defensive game in the 2nd half to get their 1st win of the season. For Humacao, Jack Michael Martinez (203-F/C-81, agency: Paris Global Sports) scored 28 points and added 19 rebounds while Ansel Guzman (175-G-84, agency: Next Level) scored 16 points. For Carolina, Angelo Reyes (205-F/C-81) scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to be the best player for the Giants.

"La Leyenda" Casiano is back and BSN Boxscores -by Alessandro Fontana
BSN-Time in Puerto Rico!
Mayaguez won in Guayama 101-82 with a great game of Eddie Casiano (188-G-72). 'La Leyenda', the Legend played only 19 minutes and He could score 20 pts (3/7 2pts, 4/11 3pts, 2/3 FT) with a lot of intensity in defense. To mention, for Guayama Tanoka Beard, The american player scored 22 pts+15 rebs in 29 minutes.
Guaynabo won against Fajardo, the MVP was as always Carlos Escalera with 24 pts. Finally, Carolina showed all his great potential with a 110-87 victory against Bayamon. MVP of the game 'El Bimbo' Alejandro Carmona with 27 pts.
BSN BOXSCORES
GUAYAMA-MAYAGUEZ= 82-101
G= Beard 22 (15 rebs), Freije 15, Caro 13, Lopez 11, Perez 6, Rivera 4, Soto 3, Payano 2, Brignoni 2, Aponte 2, Parillon 2, Oliver 0, Melendez 0
M= Jimenez 21, Casiano 20, Venzen 16, Caballero 11 (11 rebs), Jourdon 11, Sanders 9, Williams 7, Caraballo 4, Lopez 2, Moreno 0, Rosa 0, Crispin 0
GUAYNABO-FAJARDO= 84-68
G= Escalera 24, Langhi 19, Wilson 17, Sheppard 15, Sanchez 5, Ortiz 4, Duran 0, Padilla 0, Kortwright 0, Garcia 0, Simon 0
F= Hamilton 21, Jackson 15 (13 rebs), Agbai 13, Quintero 10, Rivera 4, Gonzalez 2, Pellot 2, Arroyo 1, Salgado 0, Collazo 0, Morales 0
CAROLINA-BAYAMON= 110-87
C= Carmona 27, Ere 25, Hiraldo 12, Rice 12, Rivera 8 (9 asts), Reyes 7, Cruz 5, Villafane 4, Osorio 4, Ruiz 4, Brown 2, Rosa 0
B= Guevara 20, Western 16, Benson 12, Anderson 11, Salgado 8, Valenzuela 8, Vega 7, Kavossy 2, Hinson 1, Gonzalez 1, Valencia 1, J. Lopez 0
A. Fontana

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

Dynamo squashed Bulgarians -by Max Brodsky
'We achieved a very good result for the next game. This win will bring us the self-confidence for the next game in Moscow and for the Russian League as well. If you want to win next week we have to play in the same way as today.' said Svetislav Pesic

Henry Domercant finished the game by 18 points while Travis Hansen added 14 points for Dynamo. Next game will be conducted in Moscow on March 18th. Hopefully Dynamo won't have a problem to repeat this result and even to beat Bulgarians much better.

Standings - Superleague B
B Superleague Standings
1. Zaretchny 26-10
2. Magnitogorsk 23-11
3. Chelabinsk 21-13
4. Khimky-2 21-15
5. N.Novg.NBA 19-15
6. Severstal 19-17
7. Rjazan 17-19
8. Dynamo-2 17-19
9. Triumph-2 15-19
10. Revda 14-18
11. Krasnodar 14-22
12. Ural Ekater. 12-20
13. Irkutsk 6-26


Stats Leaders - Superleague A
Superleague A Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Nailon, Sibir.-Lok. 23.0
2 Hamilton, Enisey 18.6
3 Warrick, Enisey 17.1
4 Domercant,Dyn.M 16.2
5 Scales, Samara 15.6
Rebounds Per Game
1 Blair, Primorie 9.3
2 Nailon, Sibir.-Lok. 9.1
3 Hamilton, Enisey 8.3
4 Araujo, Spar.SPb 7.7
5 Gibbs, Surgut 7.5
Assists Per Game
1 Bremer, Primorie 5.5
2 Cooper, Sibir.-Lok. 5.3
3 Papaloukas, CSKA 5.3
4 Holden, CSKA 4.3
5 Ponkrashov,Khimky 4.3
Steals Per Game
1 Chatman, Triumph 2.2
2 Nailon, Sibir.-Lok. 2.2
3 Kirksay, UNICS 2.2
4 Bykov, Dyn.M 1.9
5 Bremer, Primorie 1.7
Blocks Per Game
1 Goree, CSKA 1.2
2 Fotsis, Dynamo 1.1
3 Sokolov, UNICS 1.1
4 Babitchev, Rostov 1.1
5 Monya, Dynamo 1.0


Stats Leaders - Superleague B
Superleague B Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Golubev, Met-Un 20.8
2 Pustahvar, Sojuz 19.7
3 Kurtenok,NBA NN 18.5
4 Lunev, Met-Un 17.8
5 Zvarykin, Dyn-2 16.2
Rebounds Per Game
1 Mozgov, Khimky-2 10.5
2 Cheremnyh, Revda 9.3
3 Tkatchenko, Dyn-2 9.3
4 Manikhin, Ural 8.3
5 Jurtaev, Severstal 7.8
Assists Per Game
1 Glazunov, Ural 6.1
2 Filin, Sojuz 4.6
3 Kurtenok, NBA NN 4.6
4 Igumnov, Met-Un 4.6
5 Krivko, Revda 4.5
Steals Per Game
1 Glazunov, Ural 2.6
2 Lagutin, Kuban 2.1
3 Manikhin, Ural 2.0
4 Sinelnikov, Met-Un 1.9
5 Lunev, Met-Un 1.8
Blocks Per Game
1 Mozgov, Khimky-2 2.1
2 Cheremnyh, Revda 1.6
3 Rastrigin, Met-Un 1.4
4 Yakovenko, Sojuz 1.3
5 Ponosov, Rjazan 1.3


Theodoros Papaloukas Match Winner as Usual -by Interperformances
6'7' Greek point guard Theodoros Papaloukas (200-G-77, agency: Interperformances) showed again why he is considered the best point guard in Europe. He was the leading force of CSKA Moscow in their win in the Euroleague game against Unicaja 93-79. He scored 12 points, dished out 7 assists and grabbed 5 rebounds. He is again having a great championship in the russian league. NBA teams are still hoping that he will come to play with them.

Standings - Superleague A
A Superleague Standings
1. CSKA 19-1
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 8-11
9. Spartak-P. 7-11
10. Univ.Surgut 6-13
11. Spartak St.P. 4-16
12. Lokomotiv N. 4-18
13. Krasnoyarsk 2-17


Standings - Higher League
Higher Standings
Div.A
1. Saransk 33-5
2. Ural Great-2 30-10
3. Volzhan.-GES 29-9
4. Akad.-Globus 28-12
5. Kursk 24-16
6. CSKA-Trinta 23-15
7. Lobnya MR 18-20
8. Uniks-2 Kazan 18-22
9. Naltchik 16-24
10. Dinamo May. 16-24
11. Ukhta 14-26
12. Lipetsk 13-25
13. Spartak-2 SP 12-28
14. CSK VVS 10-28
15. Stavropol 10-30
Div.B Center
1. Tambov 24-6
2. Voronezh 23-7
3. Tula 22-10
4. Severstal-2 22-12
5. Dizelist 20-10
6. Bryansk 12-20
7. Cherkessk 11-21
8. Avtodor 9-23
9. Belgorod 7-21
10. Tolyatti 6-26
Div.B Ural-Siberia
1. Omsk 29-11
2. Tomsk 28-10
3. Stary Sobol 27-9
4. Tobolsk 25-11
5. Orenburg 24-10
6. Surgut 22-14
7. UPI Ekater. 22-14
8. Ural-2 Ekat. 19-17
9. NGU Novosyb. 15-21
10. Krasnoyarsk-2 13-23
11. Seversk 13-25
12. Magnitogorsk-2 10-26
13. Gaysky GOK 7-27
14. Izhevsk 0-36


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SERBIA

Olympiada Patras splits with Jorovic and Nesovic -by Dragan Jankovski

Greek team Olympiada from Patras parted ways with two Serbian players, Branko Jorovic (205-F-81) and Aleksej Nesovic (189-G-85, agency: World Sport Agency), despite couple of their good performances. Head coach Dragan Raca and the point guard Zoran Osmokrovic (189-G-81, agency: Beo Basket) will stay in Patras until the end of the season. The team is in very inconvenient situation as they have only 3 wins and 16 defeats so far in Greek A league. The situation is even worse after the latest home defeat against direct rival in the battle for the survival Rethimno from Crete.



Radnicki 034 Group inks Rade Dzambic -by Dragan Jankovski
In order to reach the Serbian Superleague, Radnicki 034 Group from Kragujevac has signed a contract with point guard Rade Dzambic (188-G-80, college: NYIT), who at the same time made a mutual agreement and terminated his contract with Ergonom because the team from Nis doesn't have any chance to survive in A league. The key reason for this move was that, Radnicki's starting PG Radovan Pesic got a knee injury and most likely won't be able to help his teammates in the near future.

The contract will keep Dzambic in Radnicki until the end of the current season.

Tadija Dragicevic and Nikola Pekovic hold season's MVP value record -by Dragan Jankovski
In the last round of The Adriatic League Crvena Zvezda from Belgrade came away with a very important road win against Geoplin Slovan 77-106 while Zvezda's power forward Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) reached MVP value 46 joining Partizan's center Nikola Pekovic (210-C-86, agency: Beo Basket), who first set the biggest MVP value of the season on December 9th against Split in Croatia. Dragicevic spent 34 minutes on the court scoring 34 points. He had 9/12 for FG2, 3/6 for 3-pts and 7/7 from the FT line. At the same time, he had 10 rebounds and 4 assists.

Dragicevic is currently the MVP and the leading scorer of The Adriatic league. He is averaging 20.43 ppg with an average MVP value of 22.13.

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SLOVAKIA

Vince Polakovic topscorer for USF against Santa Clara -by Jakub Krivan
17 points from Vince Polakovic (203-F-84, college: N.Iowa) were not enough to avoid loss 50-51 against Santa Clara. This loss means that USF's run in the 2008 West Coast Conference Tournament ended. The USF senior from Bratislava, Slovakia finished this season with really big numbers:
he spend in average almost 30 minutes on the pitch, scoring 15.1 points/game (almost 50 % 3 point percentage) and averiging 4.1 rebounds.
On the beginning of the season Vince was suspended for 24 games by the NCAA for circumstances stemming from his participation with a German national team in 2004, but after his return to the team he became one of the USF leaders.

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SOUTH AFRICA

LOP Meets Teams -by Tshepo Ditshego
Yesterday LOP management had a meeting with the teams in the LOP and one of the issues that was raised was the lack of support at games. It was suggested that teams start running their teams professionaly so that they can start marketing and creating fan bases. This fan base would be the foundation of a regular crowd that would attend the LOP games.

The challenge is how do we entice spectators to leave whatever they are doing to come support a game on Friday or Sunday? Well I think a marketing strategy is the first place to start. Who's your target market and how are you going to convince them to support your team?

In the NBA, teams have support in their local cities and big franchise have supporters from all over the world. But the fans in the surrounding areas are the guys who's bums you are trying to get on seats.

This presents a bit of a challenge for teams in the LOP because some of them don't have a local support base or infrastructure. Teams like Egoli Magic, Wits Rebels, and Phuto's Fly don't really have a strong proposition for their 'fans'. But then again what about the varsities? Surely they should be in the best position to make this happen.

Back in the day when I played at Wits University our committee used the limited resources at our disposal to create a fan base amongst our students. All we needed was a computer, limited microsoft office knowledge and a printer and voila 100 or more people would attend our games. At one point we even had a cheerleading squad with girls lining up to be apart of it. The atmosphere at our games was electric, especially when we played the African Warriors or Vaal Tech.

Credit needs to obviously go to the 'hunks' who were recruited into the team. They were the drawcard for all the young ladies who loved seeing sweaty men running up and down the floor. But it wasn't just about the looks. We also played very entertaining basketball. People quickly realised that basketball is actually a very exciting sport to watch.

So why isn't the Wits Basketball Club, MGI, and Boston doing the same on their campuses? Major rivalries can be created, and even fanclubs. Further down the line they will be able to even convice sponsors to come on board, like we did with Loxion Kulca. If Standard Bank gave us that Sponsorship money back then we would have given them a lot more return on investement than the current team.

However, in order for LOP to achieve this teams need to be run like businesses. We can't keep doing the same things and expect things to change.

They say that 'stupidy is doing the same things and expecting different results'. We need to follow in the footsteps of Barrack Obama and ask for change. Let's make it happen.

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

Marc Gasol Lead Girona to another Win -by Interperformances
The 23 years old Spanish player Marc Gasol (212-C-85, agency: Interperformances), 7'0' and 275 pounds, was again the moving force for Akasvayu Girona in their win over Hemofarm Stada 80-71 in the top 16 of the ULEB Final. He had 19 points with 8 for 11 from the floor and 7 rebounds. He showed another important part of his all-around game with 6 assists and he once more showed to be a potential NBA player. Gasol was also part of the Spanish National team when they won the gold medal in 2006.

Tiago Splitter - 18 points -by Interperformances
On the top 16 game, on the 12th of March, the 7'0' 236 lbs center Tiago Splitter (211-C/F-85, agency: Interperformances) led the way for Tau Ceramica in their win over Aris TT Bank 90-74 in the Euroleague. He is unstoppable in the paint. The only way to stop him is to foul him and he shoots a lot of foul shots, 13 in the last game. He was drafted by San Antonio Spurs on the first round (28) in 2007 but decided to play another year in Spain.

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TANZANIA

BFT names NBL refs -by Carlos Pereira
The Tanzania Basketball Federation (BFT) has named referees who will handle the National Basketball League (NBL) set to start in Tanga from March 25.
TBF president Richard Kasesera said yesterday the selection of the referees was done by the body`s referees commission which met in the city recently.
Referees are George Kitundu, Said Khamis, Oden Mbaga, Alfred Ngalaji, John Golita, Gosbert Boniface, Daniel Patrick and Haleluya Kavalambi.
He named commissioners as Zulifrikar Karim, Hamidu Halekwa, Jimmy Mkongo and Manase Zabron. Assistant referees are Prosper Mushi and Francis Chalamila.
Kasesera named men`s teams which had so far confirmed participation as Mbeya Friends, Baptista of Moshi, Savio, JKT, Oilers, Vijana, ABC and Chui.
Women`s teams are JKT, Jeshi Stars, Lady Lion and Cargo Ladies.

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

Ivan Aska, Boyd Anderson senior, 6A-5A-4A Player of the Year -by David Edole
By Christy Cabrera Chirinos | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

There were days his coach told him to go home.

Practice was over. He had done enough. It was time to rest.

But Ivan Aska didn't listen.

The Boyd Anderson forward felt there were still things he needed to do to get better. So he'd stay in the gym and shoot another round of free throws or work on his defense.

'Every good player, there's still something they can work on,' Aska said. 'Everyone should always keep working at their game. I wanted to get better.'

Aska's dedication and effort not only helped him reach his goal of becoming a stronger player. It also helped Boyd Anderson reach the Class 6A state championship. Aska was selected the Class 6A-5A-4A Player of the Year.

The Cobras came up short in their effort. Their 59-54 loss to Miami Norland in the state championship game ended Boyd Anderson's 26-game win streak and Aska's season, but when it was all over, it was his play that coaches believed help the Cobras on their run.

'I told him from the start that he was going to be the catalyst of this team,' Boyd Anderson coach Eugene Richardson said. 'Anywhere we went, it was because of him. He was double-teamed and triple-teamed all season, and he found ways to handle it. The consistency and heart were always there.'

Aska finished among the team's leading scorers, averaging 15 points and 12 rebounds per game. His free-throw shooting percentage was .710.

Last fall, programs including Jacksonville, Boston University and FAU recruited the 6-foot-7 forward. He chose Murray State and is eager to prove he can compete at the next level.

'I told my parents not to worry about college. I was going to work hard to earn my scholarship,' Aska said. 'I'm ready for college. I've had good coaches and good people that have inspired me and helped me get better.'

*****************************************************
URUGUAY

Fernando Martinez will travel to Venezuela -by Hector Lopez
Fernando Martinez (170-G-79), the second best scorer for the Uruguayan League, will travel tomorrow to Venezuela were he will join Guaros de Lara, according to the local web site Urubasket. Martinez, who played for Malvin in the LUB, scored 21,2 ppg, ( 32.2% for three points, 62.5% for two points and 83.5 for free throws). He made 4.1 assists and received 5.6 fouls per game. He was member of the Malvin LUB champions for 2006.

Garcia Morales, the best according to a survey -by Hector Lopez
Leandro Garcia Morales (186-G-80, college: Texas A&M) was selected as the best player of the Uruguayan League in a survey among 96 journalists, players, coaches and team officials, made by the Official Statistics Group of the Uruguayan Federation. Garcia Morales received 70 votes. Kevin Young (206-C-84, college: Missouri) was voted as the best import player (34 votes) and Grady Reynolds (198-F-80, agency: Strategic Sports, college: St.John's) as the second best (24 votes). The best team was Bigua, the Lub champions. According to the survey the players for the 1st team (import and local) were: Garcia Morales, Young, Osimani, Reynolds and David Jackson. The only Uruguayans team: Garcia Morales, Osimani, Gaston Paez, Juliano Rivera, Diego Castrillon. The newcomer was Federico Alvarez and the best Under 23 Gustavo Barrera. The best coach was Marcelo Signorelli, with 27 votes followed by Gerardo Jauri, the future National HC with 22. The best defensive player was Osimani, the best team was Bigua, the LUB champions.

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

Ronald Blackshear, player of he week -by Antonio Gomez
And the award goes to...Ronald Blackshear. The guard was designated today Player of the Week by the technical commission of the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto de Venezuela.

Blackshear, who played for Guaros de Lara in three games, scored 24,6 per game with 2.33 assist. From the free throw line got 85% (20-17).

Guaros de Lara has one victory and four defeats. Also occupies the ninth place of general classification.

Cats scratch Panteras -by Wolfgang Lucena
Gatos de Monagas defeated Panteras to keep its way to the first place of the classification.
Gatos had a great night at home. Panteras has been doing its best to leave the baseman. Jose Mercedes, changed his strategy for the second half to then lead the game and finally win it.
Alejandro Flores (201-F, college: E.Oklahoma St. JC) was the hero of the game with 23 points and 9 rebounds followed for Kenya Carpers with 23 and Ernesto Mijares (190-G-76, college: Mc Clennan CC)14 points as well. Panteras' best player was Roque Osorio (206-C-76, college: Fairleigh Dickinson with 18 points and 7 rebounds

The final score was Gatos 98 Panteras 91

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


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

Semi Final - WABA for Clubs 2008 -by Mohammed Malas
Saba Battery (IRI) 112 - Zain (JOR) 77 (Qs: 23-30, 54-47, 82-60 & 112-77)

# Best performance:
* Saba Battery:
Omar Sneed (203-F/C-76, college: Memphis) (36 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl)
Hamed Eslamieh (189-G-83) (23 pts, 9 reb, 2 stl)
Hamed Hadadi (218-C-85, agency: Huss Sport Agency) (10 pts, 15 reb, 3 bs, 5 ast)
* Zain:
Nate Johnson (199-F-77, college: Louisville) (20 pts, 2 stl)
Soumaila Samake (215-C-78, agency: CAA Sports) (12 pts, 8 reb)
Moussa Al Awadi (190-G/F-85) (12 pts)

Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut (LEB) 73 - Petrochimi Imam Harbour (IRI) 61 (Qs: 16-17, 32-27, 55-42 & 73-61)

# Best performance:
* Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut:
Fadi El Khatib (197-F-79, agency: Pro Management Agency) (25 pts, 4 stl, 7 reb)
Ahmad Ismail (201-F-76) (16 pts, 14 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl)
Joe Vogel (211-C-73, agency: Pro Management Agency, college: Colorado St.) (14 pts, 12 reb, 3 stl)
* Petrochimi Imam Harbour:
Tony Madison (190-G-71, agency: China-Hoop, college: New Orleans) (32 pts, 2 stl,6 reb)
Art Long (206-F/C-73, college: Cincinnati) (21 pts, 14 reb, 5 bs)

# Final, 3rd place game & 5th place game - WABA for Clubs 2008:
* Saturday 15/2:
Final ------> Saba Battery (IRI) - Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut (LEB)
3rd place --> Zain (JOR) - Petrochimi Imam Harbour (IRI)
5th place --> Al Ittihad Aleppo (SYR) - Orthodox (JOR)

* Thanks to Safa-Ali Kamalian and his weblog for providing stats...



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Women News

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

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


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

National Cup: Mladi Krajisnik wins it all -by Sead Buljina

After 6 (six) years of Zeljeznicar, Sarajevo dominance in Bosnian Cup competition this year`s winner is Mladi Krajisnik, Banja Luka.

Semifinals:
Zeljeznicar - Spars (Sarajevo) 79:73
Mladi Krajisnik - Jedinstvo (Tuzla) 75:57


Finals:
Mladi Krajisnik - Zeljeznicar 88:74
Arena: Obilicevo, Banja Luka
Attendance: 500

'We have played well, had many open shots that did not go in, also we have missed too many free throws. However, Mladi Krajisnik has a longer bench and is better team at this point,' said Jedinstvo coach, Jadranka Savic after loss in the semifinals.


'Simply, we had no answer for Dragoslava Zakula and that was the key in this game. Also, players of Mladi Krajisnik wanted much more the win, played hard and deserved to win the Cup of Bosnia and Herzegovina,' said Edo Omanic, Zeljeznicar coach.



*****************************************************
CYPRUS - Women

Semi Finals: KV Imperial AEL and Supermarket Demos Keravnos beat their opponents -by Chris Mammides

AEL and Keravnos beat their opponents Ydra Asfalistiki ENAD and Anagennisis Yermasogeias quite easily and they are now 1-0 ina best of five series.
AEL beat ENAD with in a game which was a total monologue for the Limasol site.
The quarters of the game were: 22-4, 42-9, 69-18, 85-20.
The points for the two teams were:
K.V. Imperial AEL: Menelaou 4, Phedonos 7, Stoenescu 7, Larkou 2, Kalia Papadopoulou (166-G-80) 14, Pavicevic 5, Theodorou 13, Kourougianni 10, Kleanthous 6, Ioannidou 5 Hatzimichael 12.
Ydra Asfalistiki ENAD: E. Ignatiou 2, M. Ignatiou 2, Fragenskou 10, Lamparova 4.
In the other game in Strovolos, Supermarket Demos Keravnos beat Move Smart Anagennisis Yermasogias 61-50

The quarters were: 8-10, 31-22, 45-34, 61-50.

The points for the two teams were:

Super Markets Demos Keravnos: Peeva 8, Makri 3, S. Kalia Papadopoulou 6, Ch. Kalia Papadopoulou 4, Haralambidou 8, Haralampous 2, Selipa 2, Michaela Vezenkova (191-F-84, college: NC-Wilmington) 10, Mirjana Velisavljevic (187-C-78) 18.

Move Smart Anagennisi Yermasogias: Eleana Pantazi (177-G-83) 23, Vassiliki Kanatselou (171-G-85) 23, Hatzimina 2, Nikou 2.


Next games will be played in Aghios Dhometios and Yermasogia respectively at the end of this week.




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CZECH REP. - Women

Confident wins for USK Praha and Gambrinus -by Eurobasket News
Both USK Praha and Gambrinus celebrated victories in the second round the second stage of the ZBL. USK Praha outpaced visiting Karlovy Vary 91:56. Elena Karpova (188-F-80) scored quick 5 points for the hosts as USK Praha jumped to an early 9:2 lead. Katarina Hrickova (180-F-80) and Vetrovcova trimmed it back to 9:8 but it was as close as Karlovy Vary could get on the night. The hosts never looked back after that building a 23:14 lead at the first intermission. The gap was stretched to 42:30 at halftime. USK Praha continued to accumulate the cushion and entered the final term ahead by 22 points. It proved too much for the visitors and they had to surrender at the end. Katerina Elhotova (179-G-89) dropped 15 points to pace USK Praha. Elodie Godin (190-C-85) notched 14 points and 9 boards for the winners. Katarina Hrickova answered with 12 points in a loss. Adela Zmekova (179-F-89) added 11 points as Karlovy Vary fell to 12-8 record.
In the meantime Gambrinus extended their perfect run to 20 games dismantling their town-rivals Valosun 119:55. Valosun led 5:4 early in the encounter but it was just a short momentum to boast of for Valosun. The hosts quickly denied the deficit and built a massive 32:14 lead after the opening frame. Timea Beres (192-C-76) scored 11 points in the second period to pile up a 59:27 advantage for the home team at halftime. Gambrinus scored 36 more points in the third period as Valosun's defense collapsed and coasted to an overall win at the end. Timea Beres had 19 points for Gambrinus. Hana Machova (182-F/G-79) nailed 16 points and dished out 6 assists, while Petra Kulichova (198-C-84) tallied 16 points and 12 boards for the winning side. Miloslava Svobodova (188-C-84) answered with 15 points for Valosun.

Standings - ZBL (W)
ZBL Standings
1. Gambrinus 20-0
2. USK Praha 17-3
3. Karlovy Vary 12-8
4. Trutnov 11-9
5. Hradec Kralove 11-9
6. Valosun B. 11-9
7. Sparta Praha 10-10
8. Tabor 4-16
9. Strakonice 3-17
10. Usti n/Labem 1-19


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EUROCUP (W) - Women

BC Moscow advances to EuroCup final -by Eurobasket News
BC Moscow - Elizur Ramla 78:60

BC Moscow denied a 6-point deficit after the first leg of the EuroCup semifinal against Elizur Ramla and easily secured their Final birth. Israeli fought bravely early in the first term but the hosts overwhelmed them eventually and celebrated a coasting victory that saw them reach the EuroCup title decider. Shay Doron (175-G-85, college: Maryland) scored first 4 points for Ramla as they stayed ahead in the opening minutes of the encounter. Ivona Jerkovic (200-C-84) added 4 more and Katia Abramzon (186-F/C-87) hit from downtown as Ramla held on to a 13:12 lead with 5 minutes gone in the game. But 10 points from Alexandra Latysheva (175-G-76) and Elena Danilochkina (184-G-86) put BC Moscow up 22:15. Plenette Pierson (188-F/C-81, college: Texas Tech) capped the first frame with a jumper to make it 26:17 for the home team. Monique Currie (183-G/F-83, agency: Ronsport, college: Duke), Ekaterina Savelyeva (184-F-86) and Plenette Peirson stretched the gap to 14 points at the start of the second term. Ivona Jerkovic converted a bunch of free throws for Elizur Ramla but back-to-back treys from Alexandra Latysheva and Azra Becirovic (182-G-80) widened the gap to 17 points. BC Moscow maintained the lead and ended the first half in front 46:30.
Sherill Baker (174-G-82, agency: Ronsport, college: Georgia) and Katia Abramzon tried to ignite Ramla in the third stanza cutting the deficit to 13 points. Ina Gourevitch (180-G-68) connected from afar and Ramla trailed by just 10 points midway through the quarter. Then Ivona Jerkovic knocked down 4 straight points narrowing the hole to only 6 points. But Elena Danilochkina and Azra Becirovic answered with 4 points and Ekaterina Savelyeva crowned the third period with a jumper to restore a 12-point cushion before the last part. Plenette Pierson scored first 6 points for BC Moscow in the fourth frame and enlarged the margin to 16 points. Ramla never recovered and looked doomed in the final minutes. Plenette Pierson led the action with 24 points, 8 boards and 5 assists. Monique Currie added 15 points, while Elena Danilochkina scored 10 and grabbed 7 boards for the winners. Ivona Jerkovic and Sherill Baker answered with 14 points apiece for Ramla. Shay Doron launched 12 points in a losing case.
BC Moscow will now face Schio in EuroCup final. Game 1 is scheduled for March 27 in Moscow.

BC Moscow: Plenette Pierson 24, Monique Currie 15, Elena Danilochkina 10
Elizur Ramla: Ivona Jerkovic 14, Sherill Baker 14

Galatasaray bids farewell to EuroCup final -by Eurobasket News
Schio - Galatasaray 84:67

Galatasaray did not manage to upset Schio in the EuroCup semis and advance to the Final. Having built a hopeful 8-point buffer in Istanbul Galatasaray looked forward to securing it in Schio. But the hosts turned out too good for Galatasaray. Sophia Young (186-F-83, college: Baylor) scored a jumper to put the visitors up at the start of the game but it was the last time the Turkish side enjoyed the lead in the encounter. Elisabetta Moro (174-G-75) drained a three-pointer to ignite a 16:6 run from the hosts to make it 20:10 with 3 minutes to play in the first frame. Sophia Young scored 6 points to keep Galatasaray alive but Schio still finished the first term up by 9 points 26:17. The things got even worse for the visitors as Federica Ciampoli (190-F/C-80) and Raffaella Masciadri (185-F-80) extended the gap early in the second period. Laura Macchi (187-F-79) and Elisabetta Moro drilled back-to-back trebles and Schio ran away to a 36:21 distance. Isil Alben (170-G-86) and Petra Ujhelyi (192-C-80, college: S.Carolina) scored 4 free throws and Sophia Young added a jumper to drag Galatasaray within 13 points from Schio. Federica Ciampoli and Bethany Donaphin (190-C-80) fired 6 points late in the first half to seal the outcome at 48:31 for Italian side at the long break.
Sophia Young remained delivering for Turkish team as she notched 4 more points early in the third term. However Bernadette Ngoyisa (195-C-82) dropped 5 in a row and Masciadri added a three-pointer as Schio built an unassailable 60:35 advantage with less than 4 minutes left in the third stanza. Sophia Young was obviously the lone fighter in the field for Galatasaray as she knocked down 4 free throws to trim the deficit a bit. Petra Ujhelyi had the last say in the period and the visitors entered the fourth quarter trailing by 21 points. The teams traded baskets throughout the major part of the fourth frame and Galatasaray struggled to come any closer. They finally closed the gap to 17 points on free throws from Sophia Young but Laura Macchi dropped 4 straight free throws to deny any hopes for Turksih team. Schio celebrated a confident win at the end and would fight against BC Moscow in the EuroCup final.
Bethany Donaphin dropped 20 points and collected 8 boards for Schio. Laura Macchi and Raffaella Masciadri scored 14 points in a win. Sophia Young was outstanding for Galatasaray with 22 points and 10 boards. Petra Ujhelyi had 15 points and 11 boards in defeat.

Schio: Bethany Donaphin 20, Laura Macchi 14, Raffaella Masciadri 14
Galatasaray: Sophia Young 22+10 boards, Petra Ujhelyi 15+11 boards

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EUROLEAGUE (W) - Women

European Stars are stronger than the Rest of the World -by Eurobasket News

Europe - Rest of the World 111:86 (28-22, 28-22, 29-17, 26-25)

Vidnoje, the home arena of Spartak Moscow Region waived to ALL STAR GAME players and fans. On outstanding event, atmosphere, players, spectators and we can continue to list all the special features of the show. European Stars were stronger than the Rest of the World beating them 111:86. With the victories in all quarters Europe was outstanding in the campaign. Amaya Valdemoro (184-F-76) led the winners with 25 points. Hammon produced 17 points, Maria Stepanova collected 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Eva Viteckova (190-F-82) netted 14. Cappie Pondexter (175-G-83, college: Rutgers) shone for the Rest of the World with 24 points.
Diana Taurasi (182-G-82, college: Connecticut) opened the show with a three and then Nevriye Yilmaz (195-C-80) brought first points for Europe. Right after Hammon made it 16:16, Europe started to control the game. Europe held the early advantage and secured 28:22 after the opening quarter. Chamique Holdsclaw (188-F-77, agency: Merit Sports, college: Tennessee) made a jump-shot for the Rest of the World to stay in the game. Nevriye Yilmaz made plus 13 for Europe in the beginning of the second quarter making 37:24. Diana Taurasi reduced to 42:32 and then her team mate Jackson closed the first half at 56:44.
In the second half, it was European Stars who came out strong and increased the lead. Eva Viteckova made it 85:63 after three quartets played. The last period both teams enjoyed the game and did not pay attention to the score as it was clear that Europe would benefit from the game. Rest of the World attempted to get back into the game, but could not close the deficit fully as Europe ran out eventual winners.

Amaya Valdemoro was named MVP of the game and got new Mercedes for her effort.

Europe: Dumerc 3, Fernandez 4, Hammon 17, Gorbunova 3, Ivanyi 2, Shchegoleva (193-F/C-82) 6, Aguilar 6, Maria Stepanova (202-C-79) 16+14 rebs, Ann Wauters (194-C-80) 7, Amaya Valdemoro 25, Nevriye Yilmaz 8, Eva Viteckova 14
Rest of the World: Janel McCarville (188-C-82, college: Minnesota) 6, Whalen 8, Cappie Pondexter 24, Milton 18, Chamique Holdsclaw 6, Ohlde 4, Bird, Nykesha Sales (183-F/G-76, college: Connecticut) 5,Dickson, Diana Taurasi 8, Tillis 2, Jackson 5

Europe
4 Celine Dumerc (169-G-82) of Cercle Jean Mace Bourges (FRA)
5 Marta Fernandez (178-F-81) of Wisla Can-Pack Krakow (POL)
6 Becky Hammon (168-G-77) of CSKA Moscow (RUS)
7 Olexandra Gorbunova (186-F-86) of MKB Euroleasing Sopron (HUN)
8 Dalma Ivanyi (178-G-76) of MiZo Pecs 2010 (HUN)
9 Tatiana Shchegoleva (193-F/C-82) of Spartak Moscow Region (RUS)
10 Elisa Aguilar (178-G-76) of Ros Casares Valencia (ESP)
11 Maria Stepanova (202-C-79) of CSKA Moscow (RUS)
12 Ann Wauters (194-C-80) of CSKA Moscow (RUS)
13 Amaya Valdemoro (184-F-76) of CSKA Moscow (RUS)
14 Nevriye Yilmaz (195-C-80) of Fenerbahce Istanbul (TUR)
15 Eva Viteckova (190-F-82) of Gambrinus Sika Brno (CZE)

Rest of the World
4 Janel McCarville (188-C-82) of Kosit 2013 Kosice (SVK)
5 Lindsay Whalen (173-G-82) of ZVVZ USK Praha (CZE)
6 Cappie Pondexter (175-G-83) of Fenerbahce Istanbul (TUR)
7 Delisha Milton-Jones (186-F-74) of Ros Casares Valencia (ESP)
8 Chamique Holdsclaw (188-F-77) of Lotos PKO BP Gdynia (POL)
9 Nicole Ohlde (193-F/C-82) of Valenciennes USVO (FRA)
10 Sue Bird (175-G-80) of Spartak Moscow Region (RUS)
11 Nykesha Sales (183-F/G-76) of BK Cesis (LAT)
12 Jessica Dickson (178-F-84) of ZKK Sibenik Jolly JBS (CRO)
13 Diana Taurasi (182-G-82) of Spartak Moscow Region (RUS)
14 Iciss Tillis (194-F-81) of Arranz-Jopisa Burgos (ESP)
15 Lauren Jackson (196-F/C-81) of Spartak Moscow Region (RUS)



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HUNGARY - Women

Round 19 - The weekend's results -by Csilla Kantor


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ISRAEL - Women

Ramla europen dream over. -by Netanel Dahan

Ramla go all the way to Moscow with 6 points lead from the first leg,but lose 78-60 and dismissed.
Story(Fiba web site):
Plenette Pierson (188-F/C-81, college: Texas Tech) (188-F/C-81, college: Texas Tech) tore apart the Israeli side with 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists as the Russian team won 78-60.

After falling 80-74 in the opening leg, BC Moscow returned home and rolled to victory and will now take on the winner of the other tie between Galatasaray and Beretta Famila.

One key run came in the first quarter when the Moscow club trailed 13-12.

Alexandra Latysheva went up for a lay-up and sparked a 12-2 spurt that put the home side in front, 24-15.

With the wind in their sails, the Moscow players stretched their advantage to 33-19 with 7:14 remaining in the first half after Pierson laid one up and in, and they ended up with a 46-30 lead at half-time.

That gave the hosts a 10-point lead on aggregate.

Elitzur showed great fight, however, and fought back to trail 52-46 in the third quarter after an Ivona Jerkovic (200-C-84) jumper. The basket also meant there was everything to play for with the tie level on aggregate.

Elena Danilochkina drilled a jump shot for BC Moscow, though, and the home side reeled off eight consecutive points for a 60-46 advantage.

The closest Elitzur would get the rest of the way in the game was 12 points.

BC Moscow dominated due in large part to their hegemony on the boards. They out-rebounded Elitzur 39-21.

The hosts were also far more efficient shooting the ball, hitting 25 of 43 (58.1%) inside the arc, compared to 38.8% (19 of 49) for the visitors.

Jerkovic and Sherill Baker (174-G-82, agency: Ronsport, college: Georgia) each had 14 points for the Israeli side.
Interviews with the players and the coach(Safsal):
Eli Rabi :
'In the 3rd we made some comeback noises, we cut it to six but then Ivona Jerkovic had an unlucky miss under the basket and from that moment on they regained control and it was hard to come back'.


Sherill Baker (174-G-82, agency: Ronsport, college: Georgia)'without Jackie [Johnson]. They killed us on the boards, and when you give a team so many chances in one possession, it doesn't matter how hard we tried and we tried hard, it ends up showing on the scoreboard'.


Alexandr Vasin , BC Moscow Head Coach:
'I think the key was that we were able to correct the mistakes we made in Israel. Our team is stronger, and we proved it today. Perhaps during the beginning of the third quarter we did not play too well, probably the players got relaxed too early. Now we are awaiting the result of the other semi-final. I am happy that a Russian team again will be playing in the final. This is becoming a tradition and I hope the trophy will remain in Russia.'

Jaclyn Johnson (185-F/G-79, college: Kansas) was disappointed beacuse she was can't playing and she wil not going to play until the seson over.
For Ramla:
Sherill Baker & Ivona Jerkovic 14 points each.
Shay Doron (175-G-85, college: Maryland) 12 pts.
Katia Abramzon (186-F/C-87) 11 pts.
Ina Gourevitch (180-G-68) 6 pts.
Laine Selwyn (170-G-81, college: Pittsburgh) 2 pts.
Brahsheedah Elohim (180-F-80, college: Fayetteville) 1 pts.

For Moscow:
Plenette Pierson 24 pts, 8 reb.
Monique Currie (183-G/F-83, agency: Ronsport, college: Duke) 15 pts, 6 reb.
Elena Danilochkina (184-G-86) 10 pts,7 reb.
Ekaterina Savelyeva (184-F-86) 7 reb& Oksana Zakaluzhnaya (200-C-77)& Anastasia Logunova (188-C-90) 8 points each.
The other game results:Schio(Italy)67-84 Galatasaray(Turkey) Galatasaray advance to the final(27/03/08.)



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LATVIA - Women

Standings - LSBL
LSBL Standings
1. Cesis 27-0
2. Avantis T. 18-10
3. RTU/Klond. 17-11
4. Liepajas met. 16-11
5. TTT Riga 13-1
6. TTT/Rapa 13-15
7. Ridzene 10-18
8. SK Riga 5-25
9. LU/US 0-28


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) 18.5
Malkevica (Rapa) 18.4
Rebounds Per Game
Niedola (Liepaja) 11.8
Vitola (Riga) 10.3
Crockett (Cesis) 10.3
Okonkvo (Cesis) 10.2
Kityzina (TTT) 10.0
Assists Per Game
Ose-Hlebovicka (Kl.) 5.9
Derevjanik (Cesis) 5.3
Eibele (Avantis) 4.6
Z.Eglite (TTT) 4.3
Tare (TTT) 3.7
Steals Per Game
Z.Eglite (TTT) 3.5
Okonkvo (Cesis) 3.5
Babkina (TTT) 3.3,
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


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NCAA1 - Women

WCC Season 2007-08 Summary -by Richard
#s#
#e#4


Rego


Henderson


Vandersloot


Bowman

Regular Season Standings
1 Gonzaga 13-1 .929 24-8
2 Santa Clara 8-6 .571 20-11
3 San Diego 7-7 .500 19-12
4 Loyola Marymount 7-7 .500 15-15
5 St.Mary's, CA 6-8 .429 15-17
6 Portland 5-9 .357 15-15
7 USF 5-9 .357 14-16
8 Pepperdine 5-9 .357 10-18


Tournament Final: San Diego - Gonzaga 70-66
Tournament Semifinals:
San Diego - Santa Clara 72-66
Gonzaga - Saint Mary's 81-64

All-WCC Tournament MVP: Amanda Rego (5'10''-G-86) of San Diego

WCC All-Tournament Team:
Amanda Rego of San Diego
Morgan Henderson (6'1''-F-88) of San Diego
Courtney Vandersloot (5'8''-G) of Gonzaga
Heather Bowman (6'2''-F-88) of Gonzaga

All-WCC Team
Miranda Ayim (6'3''-F/C-88) of PEP
Heather Bowman of GON
Dominique Carter (5'11''-G-86) of USF
Chandice Cronk (5'8''-G-86) of SCU
Jen Gottschalk (6'0''-F) of SCU
Daphanie Kennedy (5'7''-G-86) of PEP
Amanda Rego of USD
Jontelle Smith (5'5''-G) of SMC
Amber Sprague (6'5''-C-86) of USD
Courtney Vandersloot of GON

All-WCC Honorable Mention
Jami Bjorklund (5'11''-G-86) of GON
Amanda DeCoud (5'7''-G-86) of LMU
Renahy Young (5'8''-G) of POR
Karlie Burris (5'11''-G/F-87) of POR
Laiken Dollente (5'8''-G-88) of POR
Rachel Warren (6'3''-C-85) of POR
Necolia Simmons (6'1''-F/C-87) of USF

WCC All-Freshman Team
Sam Child of USD
Katie Menton (5'10''-G) of PEP
Louella Tomlinson (6'4''-F-88) of SMC
Courtney Vandersloot of GON
Renahy Young of LMU

All-WCC Player of the Year: Heather Bowman of Gonzaga
All-WCC Defensive Player of the Year: Jami Bjorklund of Gonzaga
All-WCC Newcomer of the Year: Courtney Vandersloot of Gonzaga
All-WCC Coach of the Year: Kelly Graves of Gonzaga



Summit League Season 2007-08 Summary -by Jay
#s#
#e#6


Bue


Cann


Lewis-Carlisle


Pike


Warkenthien

Regular Season Standings
1 S.Dakota St. 16-2 23-6
2 Oakland 12-6 20-10
3 N.Dakota St. 12-6 17-11
4 W.Illinois 12-6 14-16
5 IUPUI 11-7 17-16
6 ORU 10-8 19-13
7 IPFW 9-9 12-18
8 S.Utah 4-14 6-24
9 UMKC 3-15 11-20
10 Centenary 1-17 4-25

Tournament Final: Oral Roberts - IUPUI 66-53

Tournament Semifinals:
Oral Roberts - Oakland 71-61
IUPUI - UMKC 54-42

All-Summit League Tournament MVP: Rachel Watman (5'10''-G-86) of Oral Roberts

Summit League All-Tournament Team
Jernisha Cann (5'11''-F) of Indiana Univ-Purdue Univ-Indianapolis (5'11''-F) of IUPUI
Alysa Klein (6'3''-C-86) of UMKC
Janae Voelker (6'1''-G/F) of Oral Roberts
Julia Whitted (6'5''-C) of Indiana Univ-Purdue Univ-Indianapolis (6'5''-C) of IUPUI
Rachel Watman of Oral Roberts

All-Summit League 1st Team
Lisa Bue (5'10''-G-86) of NDSU
Jernisha Cann of IUPUI
Johnna Lewis-Carlisle (5'6''-G-86) of IPFW
Jessica Pike (5'8''-G-87) of OU
Jennifer Warkenthien (6'0''-F) of SDSU
Julia Whitted of IUPUI

All-Summit League 2nd Team
Marianna Camargo (6'1''-G-85) of ORU
Gina Hugelier (5'9''-G-85) of WIU
Melissa Jeltema (5'9''-G-88) of OU
Alysa Klein of UMKC
Chazny Morris (5'10''-G) of UMKC

All-Summit League Honorable Mention
Maria Boever (6'1''-F) of SDSU
Jenny Hardin (6'3''-F/C-87) of ORU
Hanna Reising (5'11''-F-88) of OU
Andrea Verdegan (5'9''-G) of SDSU
Janae Voelker of ORU

Summit League All-Newcomer Team
Katy Davenport (5'11''-F) of WIU
Anne Farrell (6'4''-C-88) of CC
Nicole James (5'8''-G) of IUPUI
Kristin Rotert (6'0''-G/F) of SDSU
Jordan Zuppe (5'7''-G) of IPFW

All-Summit League Player of the Year: Lisa Bue of North Dakota State
All-Summit League Defensive Player of the Year: Jernisha Cann of IUPUI
All-Summit League Newcomer of the Year: Katy Davenport of Western Illinois
All-Summit League Sixth Woman of the Year: Kristin Rotert of South Dakota State
All-Summit League Coach of the Year: Aaron Johnston of South Dakota State



Patriot League Season 2007-08 Summary -by Richard
#s#
#e#6


Champion


Hayes


McGuire


Foster


McFadden

Regular Season Standings
1 American 11-3 .786 18-13 .581
2 Holy Cross 10-4 .714 19-12 .613
3 Lehigh 9-5 .643 18-13 .581
4 Army 9-5 .643 18-12 .600
5 Bucknell 8-6 .571 15-15 .500
6 Lafayette 6-8 .429 14-16 .467
7 Navy 3-11 .214 7-23 .233
8 Colgate 0-14 .000 1-29 .033


Tournament Final: Bucknell - Holy Cross 57-45
Tournament Semifinals:
Holy Cross - Lehigh 46-44
Bucknell - American 60-52

All-Patriot League Tournament MVP: Kesha Champion (5'7''-G-86) of Bucknell

Patriot League All-Tournament Team:
Cara Enright (5'10''-G-86) of Army
Amanda Brown (5'6''-G-87) of Bucknell
Lauren Schober (6'0''-F-87) of Bucknell
Briana McFadden (5'10''-G) of Holy Cross
Bethany O'Dell (5'8''-G) of Holy Cross

All-Patriot League 1st Team
Liz Hayes (5'8''-G) of The American
Alex McGuire (5'8''-G-87) of Army
Hope Foster (6'2''-F/C-86) of Bucknell
Briana McFadden of Holy Cross
Vanessa Van De Venter (6'0''-F) of Lafayette

All-Patriot League 2nd Team
Stephanie Ngarsanet (6'2''-F) of American
Cara Enright of Army
Bethany O'Dell of Holy Cross
Alex Ross (5'10''-G) of Lehigh
Tricia Smith (5'9''-G) of Lehigh
Cassie Consedine (6'3''-C) of Navy

Patriot League All-Freshman Team
Liz Leer (6'2''-F-89) of American
Erin Anthony (6'2''-F) of Army
Elizabeth Campbell (6'3''-C) of Holy Cross
Lakeisha Wright (5'11''-G/F) of Lafayette
Erica Prosser (5'7''-G) of Lehigh
Cassie Consedine of Navy

All-Patriot League Player of the Year: Briana McFadden of Holy Cross
All-Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year: Margaree King (5'8''-G) of Army
All-Patriot League Freshman of the Year: Cassie Consedine of Navy
All-Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Liz Hayes of America
All-Patriot League Coach of the Year: Melissa McFerrin of American



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RUSSIA - Women

BC Moscow advances to EuroCup final -by Eurobasket News
BC Moscow - Elizur Ramla 78:60

BC Moscow denied a 6-point deficit after the first leg of the EuroCup semifinal against Elizur Ramla and easily secured their Final birth. Israeli fought bravely early in the first term but the hosts overwhelmed them eventually and celebrated a coasting victory that saw them reach the EuroCup title decider. Shay Doron (175-G-85, college: Maryland) scored first 4 points for Ramla as they stayed ahead in the opening minutes of the encounter. Ivona Jerkovic (200-C-84) added 4 more and Katia Abramzon (186-F/C-87) hit from downtown as Ramla held on to a 13:12 lead with 5 minutes gone in the game. But 10 points from Alexandra Latysheva (175-G-76) and Elena Danilochkina (184-G-86) put BC Moscow up 22:15. Plenette Pierson (188-F/C-81, college: Texas Tech) capped the first frame with a jumper to make it 26:17 for the home team. Monique Currie (183-G/F-83, agency: Ronsport, college: Duke), Ekaterina Savelyeva (184-F-86) and Plenette Peirson stretched the gap to 14 points at the start of the second term. Ivona Jerkovic converted a bunch of free throws for Elizur Ramla but back-to-back treys from Alexandra Latysheva and Azra Becirovic (182-G-80) widened the gap to 17 points. BC Moscow maintained the lead and ended the first half in front 46:30.
Sherill Baker (174-G-82, agency: Ronsport, college: Georgia) and Katia Abramzon tried to ignite Ramla in the third stanza cutting the deficit to 13 points. Ina Gourevitch (180-G-68) connected from afar and Ramla trailed by just 10 points midway through the quarter. Then Ivona Jerkovic knocked down 4 straight points narrowing the hole to only 6 points. But Elena Danilochkina and Azra Becirovic answered with 4 points and Ekaterina Savelyeva crowned the third period with a jumper to restore a 12-point cushion before the last part. Plenette Pierson scored first 6 points for BC Moscow in the fourth frame and enlarged the margin to 16 points. Ramla never recovered and looked doomed in the final minutes. Plenette Pierson led the action with 24 points, 8 boards and 5 assists. Monique Currie added 15 points, while Elena Danilochkina scored 10 and grabbed 7 boards for the winners. Ivona Jerkovic and Sherill Baker answered with 14 points apiece for Ramla. Shay Doron launched 12 points in a losing case.
BC Moscow will now face Schio in EuroCup final. Game 1 is scheduled for March 27 in Moscow.

BC Moscow: Plenette Pierson 24, Monique Currie 15, Elena Danilochkina 10
Elizur Ramla: Ivona Jerkovic 14, Sherill Baker 14

Standings Women D1
A Superleague Standings
1. CSKA 17-0
2. Spartak MR 16-1
3. UMMC 16-2
4. BC Moscow 12-6
5. Vologda 10-8
6. Dyn.-Energia 10-9
7. Dynamo M. 8-10
8. Dynamo K. 7-11
9. Nadezhda 5-13
10. Spartak SP 4-15
11. Cheliabinsk 2-16
12. Shelen 1-17


Stats Leaders
A Superleague Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Jekabsone,Dyn.M.20.6
2 Currie, Moscow 18.2
3 Pierson, Moscow 18.0
4 Taurasi, Sp.MR 16.0
5 Bokareva,Vologda 15.6
Rebounds Per Game
1 Kiseleva, Slav.Ch. 9.1
2 Bokareva,Vologda 8.9
3 Stepanova, CSKA 8.8
4 Verameyenka, Nad. 8.2
5 Pierson, Moscow 8.1
Assists Per Game
1 Martchenko,Dyn-En 6.7
2 Lawson, CSKA 5.7
3 Bird, Sp.MR 4.9
4 Volkova, Vologda 4.6
5 Taurasi, Sp.MR 4.6
Steals Per Game
1Kolosovskaia,Shelen3.6
2 Fomina, Dyn.Kursk 2.7
3Vodopyanova,UMMC2.7
4 Mironova, Sp.SPb 2.5
5 Martinez, Dyn.M. 2.3
Blocks Per Game
1 Verameyenka, Nad. 2.4
2 Kiseleva, Slav.Ch. 1.8
3 Stepanova, CSKA 1.7
4Myasoedova,Shelen 1.2
5 Pierson, Moscow 1.1


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SAINT VINCENT - Women

Sophia Young top-scores but loses in the semis -by Eurobasket News
Sophia Young (186-F-83, college: Baylor) and Galatasaray did not manage to upset Schio in the EuroCup semis and advance to the Final. Having built a hopeful 8-point buffer in Istanbul Galatasaray looked forward to securing it in Schio. But the hosts turned out too good for Galatasaray beating them 84:67. Sophia Young scored a jumper to put the visitors up at the start of the game but it was the last time the Turkish side enjoyed the lead in the encounter. Elisabetta Moro drained a three-pointer to ignite a 16:6 run from the hosts to make it 20:10 with 3 minutes to play in the first frame. Sophia Young scored 6 points to keep Galatasaray alive but Schio still finished the first term up by 9 points 26:17. The things got even worse for the visitors as Federica Ciampoli and Raffaella Masciadri extended the gap early in the second period. Laura Macchi and Elisabetta Moro drilled back-to-back trebles and Schio ran away to a 36:21 distance. Isil Alben and Petra Ujhelyi scored 4 free throws and Sophia Young added a jumper to drag Galatasaray within 13 points from Schio. Federica Ciampoli and Bethany Donaphin fired 6 points late in the first half to seal the outcome at 48:31 for Italian side at the long break. Sophia Young remained delivering for Turkish team as she notched 4 more points early in the third term. However Bernadette Ngoyisa dropped 5 in a row and Masciadri added a three-pointer as Schio built an unassailable 60:35 advantage with less than 4 minutes left in the third stanza. Sophia Young was obviously the lone fighter in the field for Galatasaray as she knocked down 4 free throws to trim the deficit a bit. Petra Ujhelyi had the last say in the period and the visitors entered the fourth quarter trailing by 21 points. The teams traded baskets throughout the major part of the fourth frame and Galatasaray struggled to come any closer. They finally closed the gap to 17 points on free throws from Sophia Young but Laura Macchi dropped 4 straight free throws to deny any hopes for Turkish team. Schio celebrated a confident win at the end and would fight against BC Moscow in the EuroCup final. Bethany Donaphin dropped 20 points and collected 8 boards for Schio. Laura Macchi and Raffaella Masciadri scored 14 points in a win. Sophia Young was outstanding for Galatasaray with 22 points and 10 boards. Petra Ujhelyi had 15 points and 11 boards in defeat.

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TURKEY - Women

Galatasaray bids farewell to EuroCup final -by Eurobasket News
Schio - Galatasaray 84:67

Galatasaray did not manage to upset Schio in the EuroCup semis and advance to the Final. Having built a hopeful 8-point buffer in Istanbul Galatasaray looked forward to securing it in Schio. But the hosts turned out too good for Galatasaray. Sophia Young (186-F-83, college: Baylor) scored a jumper to put the visitors up at the start of the game but it was the last time the Turkish side enjoyed the lead in the encounter. Elisabetta Moro (174-G-75) drained a three-pointer to ignite a 16:6 run from the hosts to make it 20:10 with 3 minutes to play in the first frame. Sophia Young scored 6 points to keep Galatasaray alive but Schio still finished the first term up by 9 points 26:17. The things got even worse for the visitors as Federica Ciampoli (190-F/C-80) and Raffaella Masciadri (185-F-80) extended the gap early in the second period. Laura Macchi (187-F-79) and Elisabetta Moro drilled back-to-back trebles and Schio ran away to a 36:21 distance. Isil Alben (170-G-86) and Petra Ujhelyi (192-C-80, college: S.Carolina) scored 4 free throws and Sophia Young added a jumper to drag Galatasaray within 13 points from Schio. Federica Ciampoli and Bethany Donaphin (190-C-80) fired 6 points late in the first half to seal the outcome at 48:31 for Italian side at the long break.
Sophia Young remained delivering for Turkish team as she notched 4 more points early in the third term. However Bernadette Ngoyisa (195-C-82) dropped 5 in a row and Masciadri added a three-pointer as Schio built an unassailable 60:35 advantage with less than 4 minutes left in the third stanza. Sophia Young was obviously the lone fighter in the field for Galatasaray as she knocked down 4 free throws to trim the deficit a bit. Petra Ujhelyi had the last say in the period and the visitors entered the fourth quarter trailing by 21 points. The teams traded baskets throughout the major part of the fourth frame and Galatasaray struggled to come any closer. They finally closed the gap to 17 points on free throws from Sophia Young but Laura Macchi dropped 4 straight free throws to deny any hopes for Turksih team. Schio celebrated a confident win at the end and would fight against BC Moscow in the EuroCup final.
Bethany Donaphin dropped 20 points and collected 8 boards for Schio. Laura Macchi and Raffaella Masciadri scored 14 points in a win. Sophia Young was outstanding for Galatasaray with 22 points and 10 boards. Petra Ujhelyi had 15 points and 11 boards in defeat.

Schio: Bethany Donaphin 20, Laura Macchi 14, Raffaella Masciadri 14
Galatasaray: Sophia Young 22+10 boards, Petra Ujhelyi 15+11 boards

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U.S.VIRGIN ISL. - Women

Western HS in state semi's tonight -by David Edole
Class 3A
The easy games are a thing of the past, now it is time for some serious basketball among equals. State championship bragging rights are at stake.

Atholton (21-5) will have an element of surprise in its game against Western (23-3).

'I've never seen Atholton play but I know they have had a tremendous season,' Western coach Tiffany Silver said.

Atholton's advantage may last just one quarter because Silver says her team's strength is its ability to adjust to opponents.

Western, led by Akeema Richards (14.5 ppg), Achiri Ade (11.5) and Keirah Hicks (10.7), is riding a 14-game winning streak. The Doves are making their 12th tournament appearance.

The winner advance to the March 15 state finals.