EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 3/18/2008

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Men News

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ADRIATIC LEAGUE

Dragicevic led Zvezda to very important win, Buducnost secured play-off -by Dragan Jankovski
Buducnost - FMP 90-85
For the second time this season Buducnost was better than FMP Zeleznik so the team from Montenegro secured a spot for Adriatic league play off. It was a very interesting game until the end. At the beginning of the last quarter the hosts had advantage of 22 points. Panthers succeeded to get very close on 86-84 but they didn't have power for the final step. PG Nikola Otasevic (184-G-82) shined leading his team to important win. He added 24 points, 4 assists and 4 steals while center Vladislav Dragoljovic (206-C-79, agency: Beo Basket) followed him netting 15 points. FMP got 24 points and 7 rebounds from Dragan Labovic (207-C/F-87).

Siroki Prima pivo - Partizan Igokea 59-70
After magnificent victory against Efes Pilsen in Istanbul, Partizan Igokea made easy win against Siroki Prima pivo on the road. Partizan's head coach decided to give a rest to Nikola Pekovic and Milton Palacio before the most important game of the season against Greek giant PAO, which will take a place on Wednesday in Belgrade's arena Pionir. Uros Tripkovic (197-G-86) had 13 points and 4 rebounds in Partizan while Toni Dijan (203-F-83) added 21 points and 8 rebounds in Siroki.

Hemofarm STADA - Zadar 74-83
After four consecutive defeats in Adriatic league Zadar made surprise in Vrsac so the Croatian team secured the second place before the play off, what is the club's best result in regional championships. After the first half it was clear that Hemofarm won't be able to be an equal rival to Zadar as they already had plus 19. Todor Gecevski (209-C-77, agency: Interperformances) led the winners with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while center Vladan Vukosavljevic (206-F/C-84, agency: Beo Basket) was the best in Hemofarm finishing the game with 28 points and 6 rebounds.

Crvena Zvezda - Helios Domzale 102-89
Red and white team made maybe the final step in order to reach their main target of the season - ULEB Cup 2008/2009. Zvezda opened the game much better making plus 12 after the first quarter but Slovenian team didn't give up and later in 28th minute made turn 70-71. Zvezda's PG Cook stopped the possible surprise with two successful 3-pointers in the last quarter setting the score to 93-83. It seems than nobody is able to stop Zvezda's captain Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) this season, as he once again demonstrated wonderful performance collecting 39 points and 6 rebounds. Omar Cook (186-G-82, college: St.John's) followed him with double-double, 18 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists. Helios got 22 points and 5 rebounds from Marijan Mance (197-G-78).


Buducnost - FMP 90-85
(25-24,26-23,29-12,10-26)

Buducnost: Otasevic 24 (4 as, 4 st), Dragojlovic 15, Micov 14, Bakic 13 (5 rebs)
FMP: Labovic 24 (7 rebs), Krstovic 13 (7 as), Jeremic 10


Siroki Prima pivo - Partizan Igokea 59-70
(20-17,12-14,10-17,17-22)

Siroki Prima pivo: Dijan 21 (8 rebs), Fajardo 10 (5 rebs)
Partizan Igokea: Tripkovic 13 (4 rebs), Tepic 11, Kecman 9


Hemofarm STADA - Zadar 74-83
(19-29,14-23,17-13,24,18)

Hemofarm: Vukosavljevic 28 (6 rebs), Bozovic 13 (6 rebs)
Zadar: Gecevski 16 (4 rebs, 4 as), Johnson 15 (4 rebs), Macura 12 (6 rebs), Stallworth 12 (6 as)


Crvena Zvezda - Helios Domzale 102-89
(37-25,20-21,19-32,26-11)

Crvena Zvezda: Dragicevic 39 (6 rebs), Cook 18 (5 rebs, 10 as), Subotic 11
Helios: Mance 22 (5 rebs), Troha 19

Hemofarm STADA accepted Nikolic's resignation ! -by Dragan Jankovski
Management of Hemofarm STADA accepted resignation of their head coach Miroslav Nikolic, which he announced on his own request after the Saturday's defeat against Zadar at home. On the official press conference after the game Nikolic stated that management doesn't believe him that the team makes the best results and that it is their maximum. He also stated that he doesn't have support from the management.

Hemofarm's officials didn't want to comment Nikolic's resignation because he didn't want to talk with them before he officially resigned. They stated that Hemofarm is a team with big ambitions who wants maximum from everyone.

Hemofarm STADA will try to find a replacement for Nikolic during the next week. Nikolic's assistants Miodrag Rajkovic and Goran Topic will lead the team in the second game of ULEB Cup 1/8 finals which Hemofarm will play in Girona on Tuesday.

Standings
Adriatic L. Standings
1. Partizan 22-2
2. Zadar 18-7
3. Olimpija 15-10
4. Crvena Zv. 15-10
5. Hemofarm 15-10
6. Cibona 14-10
7. FMP 14-11
8. Buducnost 14-11
9. Vojvodina 12-13
10. KK Split 11-14
11. KK Zagreb 6-18
12. Helios 6-19
13. Siroki 6-19
14. Slovan 5-20


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ARGENTINA

Liga A round 28 -by Facundo Iatzky

Best 5:
Esteban Lopez (184-G-84) of independiente 36 pts 5 reb
Eduardo Villares (186-G-79) of quilmes 26 pts 4 as
Diego Prego (198-F-77) of gimnasia 28 pts 6 reb
Christopher Jeffries (199-F-80, college: Wash.-St.Louis) of obras 32 pts 5 reb
Roman Gonzalez (206-C-78, agency: HM Sports Agency) of penarol 25 pts 9 reb

Second team:
Jose Muruaga (188-G-84) of estudiantes
Pablo Gil (188-G-78) of estudiantes
James Moore (203-C-82, agency: Duran International, college: N.Mexico St.) of atenas
Durelle Brown (202-F-79, agency: Interperformances, college: Manhattan) of ben hur
Djibril Kante (201-C-80, college: Indiana St.) of el nacional

points:
Esteban Lopez 36
Pablo Gil 32
Christopher Jeffries 32
Diego Prego 28
Jose Muruaga 27

rebounds:
Djibril Kante 19
William McFarlan (201-F-76, college: St.Thomas Aquinas) 12
Leonardo Gutierrez (200-F-78) 11
Diego Romero (209-C-82, college: Florida St.) 11
Alejandro Burgos (206-C/F-78) 10

assists:
Gustavo Martin (184-G-81) 9
Federico Ferrini (194-G/F-83) 6
Patricio Rodriguez (193-F-84, agency: Players Group) 6
Carl Edwards (196-F-81, college: Charleston) 5
Gabriel Fernandez (204-C-76) 5

Standings - LigaA
LigaA Standings
1. Libertad 60.0
2. Boca Jrs 56.0
3. Regatas C. 54.5
4. El Nacional 54.5
5. Atenas 54.0
6. Penarol 53.5
7. Quimsa 53.5
8. Obras 53.0
9. Sionista 52.0
10. Quilmes MP 51.0
11. Gimn.CR 51.0
12. Ben Hur 49.5
13. Independ.N. 48.5
14. C.Entrerriano 48.0
15. Estudiantes BB 47.5
16. Belgrano SN 46.5


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AUSTRALIA

Five Teams Represented by Australia -by Sohail Nasri
In theory the 2008 Final Four could have an Australian on each team; in theory. A.J. Ogilvy and Vanderbilt were expected to make the Big Dance. Vandy is seeded 4th in the Midwest Bracket. They will begin their tournament against #13 seed Siena, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference's Tournament Champion on Saturday in Australia in Tampa, Florida. The Saints of Siena had a 22-10 overall record this season, including a 13-5 conference record. They have won six straight games entering the tournament. If Vandy wants to advance to the Final Four, they'll have to knock off some serious teams. Clemson, Georgetown, USC, and Kansas are just some of the clubs standing in their way.

Aron Baynes and Washington State, also no surprise, are seeded 4th in the East Bracket. Wazzu takes on #13 seed Winthrop, Champions of the Big South Conference Tournament on Friday in Australia in Denver, Colorado. Winthrop had a 22-11 record, including 10-4 in the Big South. Winthrop won their fourth straight league title and eighth NCAA tournament berth in 10 years. Teams in the East Bracket that stand in WSU's path to the Final Four include Tennessee, Louisville, and North Carolina.

A team that may have been somewhat nervous, was St. Mary's College. Pat Mills, Carlin Hughes, Lucas Walker, redshirt Ben Allen and Assistant Coach David Patrick will be the #10 seed in the South, facing ACC squad Miami, a #7 seed on Saturday in Australia in Little Rock, Arkansas. Miami finished with a 22-10 record, including 8-8 in the ACC. The Hurricanes had a memorable win over Duke on February 20th. If St. Mary's gets by Miami, they'll likely face #2 seed Texas in the second round, a team that hammered the Gaels, 81-62 on January 5th. Longhorn guard D.J. Augustin dropped 30 points on the Gaels, humbling Patty Mills in a forgettable game. Other teams worth noting in the South Bracket are Stanford, Pittsburgh, and Memphis.

Sweating it out more than any other team was Baylor University and senior guard Aaron Bruce. Baylor, which was knocked out of the Big 12 Tournament in the first round by Colorado finished the season 22-10 and 9-7 in the Big 12. As the selection show wound down, and with only one spot remaining in the 65 team tournament, Baylor's name was announced. Bruce was seen hugging a teammate in relief as the Bears are tabbed as the #11 seed in the West, facing #6 seed Purdue of the Big Ten on Friday in Australia in Washington D.C. Purdue finished the season 24-8, including 15-3 in the Big Ten. Baylor finds itself in the West Bracket with such teams as Duke and UCLA.

Also in the West Bracket is Daniel Dillon and Arizona. The Wildcats will be the #10 seed facing #7 seed West Virginia out of the Big East on Friday in Australia in Washington D.C. WVU finished the season 24-10 and 11-7 in conference play.

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AUSTRIA

Dukes beat Wels -by Stefan Heinrich
Klosterneuburg Dukes - WBC Wels 89:82 (43:37)

The Dukes took their last chance to stay in the fight for the 6th spot with his win against Wels. The Dukes led already by 20 points in the last quarter, but Wels came to a lot of easy points with their zone press, anyway its wasnt enough to turn the game around again.

Dukes: Melvin Creddle (186-G-82, college: Mount Olive) 17, Watson 17, Wright 15, Martin 14+13 rebounds+6 blocks, Diwald 14
Wels: Elijah Palmer (201-F-81, agency: Court Side, college: Duquesne) 22+12 rebounds, Klette 17, Archibald 12, Anderson 11

Standings - A Bundesliga
A Standings
Hauptrunde 1
1. Furstenfeld 23-8
2. Oberwart 22-9
3. Gmunden 21-10
4. Kapfenberg 21-10
5. Arkadia 19-12
6. Wels 18-13
7. Klosterneub. 17-14
8. St.Polten 10-21
Hauptrunde 2
1. Worthersee 4-2
2. Gussing 4-2
3. Vienna 2-4
4. UBSC Graz 2-4


Stats Leaders
Hauptrunde 1 Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Mayes, Swans 24.1
2 Dale, Panthers 21.2
3 Youngblood, Gunners 20.0
4 Miletic, Panthers 19.8
5 Lamesic, Lions 19.7
6 Watson, Dukes 17.8
7 Goljovic, Panthers 17.6
8 Ray, Bulls 17.4
9 Suljanovic, Bulls 17.3
10 Kohlmaier, UBC 16.9
Rebounds Per Game
1 KJohnson, Swans 9.8
2 Fraser, Panthers 8.9
3 JJohnson, Gunners 8.8
4 Martin, Dukes 8.4
5 Kohlmaier, UBC 7.7
5 Moric, Gunners 7.7
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 4.7
Steals Per Game
1 Artner, Gunners 2.6
2 Schreiner, UBC 2.3
3 Boylan, Swans 2.2
3 Shavies, Panthers 2.2
5 Vickery, Lions 1.9
Blocks Per Game
1 Colwell, Panthers 1.7
2 Martin, Dukes 1.5
3 Kohlmaier, UBC 1.2
4 Fraser, Panthers 1.1
5 Anderson, WBC 1.0
2FGP
1 Fraser, Panthers 66.7
2 JJohnson, Gunners 62.5
3 Bjelica, Lions 62.1
4 Kohlmaier, UBC 60.5
5 Suljanovic, Bulls 59.6
3FGP
1 Goljovic, Panthers 52.4
2 Diwald, Dukes 47.3
3 Forrestal, Bulls 46.0
4 Mayes, Swans 45.7
5 Schoninger, Swans 45.3
Free Throws
1 Vickery, Lions 97.8
2 Nagler, Dukes 93.4
3 Goljovic, Panthers 87.4
4 Mayes, Swans 86.1
5 Stanek, WBC 85.3
Ranking
1 Lamesic, Lions 20.2
2 JJohnson, Gunners 20.0
3 Schreiner, UBC 19.6
4 Kohlmaier, UBC 19.4
5 Suljanovic, Bulls 19.0


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BAHRAIN

Nuwaidrat finishes 5th with Record Breaking -by Walter Neto
Nuwaidrat ended its participation in the Bahrain Basketball league winning its last 2 games against Bahrain Club and Al Najma. The wins consolidated Nuwaidrat's 5th place finish in this year's league with a 11W-8L record marking the club's best finish in its history.

Wayne Houston (205-F-73, college: S.Indiana) 51 points performance versus Bahrain Club broke the import players' scoring record in Bahrain's Basketball history. Wayne's scoring performances during the regular season qualified him as one of the top import scorer and shooter in the league.

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CANADA

Brock captures CIS title -by Eurobasket News
Brock - Acadia 64:61

The Brock Badgers celebrated a dramatic win over the Acadia Axemen in the CIS Championship Final yesterday to claim the National title. It was the second title in the Badgers' school history and the first one since 1992. In front of more than 8,000 spectators at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa the Badgers put on a sizzling performance in the second half to pull away with a difficult win over the brave Axemen. Mike Kemp (188-G-80) and Ken Murray paced Brock in the opening frame and the Badgers got to a 14:7 lead after 10 minutes of action. But Acadia were not about to give up that early. Leonel Saintil (196-F) dropped couple of vital buckets and the Axemen fueled a 16:4 run to step ahead 24:18 late in the frame. Acadia did not stop and accounted for 7 last points in the half to accumulate a 31:21 lead at the long break. Brad Rootes (178-G-84) was the main figure on the Badgers' squad in the third period as his 8 points allowed Brock to square things up after 30 minutes at 51. Acadia stayed up by a single point with less than two minutes left. But 4 straight points from Dusty Bianchin (201-F/C-80) carried the Badgers to the National title. Mike Kemp toscored with 23 points for Brock. Owen White (201-F-80) had 12 points and 9 boards, while Brad Rootes and Scott Murray (183-G-84) added 8 points apiece for the winners. Paulo Santana (183-G-84, college: Southeastern CC) answered with 18 points for the Axemen. Shawn Berry (196-F, college: Sauk Valley CC) scored 14 points and Leonel Saintil dropped 12 in defeat. Brock outmuscled the Axemen on the boards 40:29 and committed just 9 turnovers. Both teams struggled in accuracy as Brock converted 36% and Acadia sank 37%. Mike Kemp earned the MVP title for the Badgers, while Angolan import Paulo Santana received Player of the Game honours for the Axemen.

Brock: Mike Kemp 23, Owen White 12+9 boards, Brad Rootes 8, Scott Murray 8
Acadia: Paulo Santana 18, Shawn Berry 14, Leonel Saintil 12

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CHINA

CBA Statistics for Scoring, Rebounding, Assists -by Arthur Volbert
Below are the top points-per-game scorers for the CBA for the 2007-2008 season. Also included are the rebounding and assist averages for these players. Eurobasket will soon post these statistics on the profiles of the individual players on our database.

The statistics contain both regular season and playoff games. I have included all players who have participated in 11 or more games this season, including playoff games.

In statistics for league leaders on the right of this page, I included only regular season games. A player had to participate in at least 20 games during the regular season to qualify. This accounts for discrepancies between the league leaders and the statistics for the players on the list below. Rodney White played 3 playoff games but only 19 games in the regular season.


-----------------------------G PPG RPG APG
Dontae Jones Yunnan 18 32.3 11.6 1.83
Rodney White Guangsha 22 30.5 8.68 2.81
Nigel Dixon (210-C/F-80, college: W.Kentucky) Yunnan 27 28.1 13.7 0.4
Wang Zhizhi Bayi 32 26.1 8.96 2.15 1.81 bl
Anthony Myles Dongguan 36 25.9 8.77 2.02
Chris Porter Fujian 15 25.1 12.2 1.46
DaJuan Tate Jilin 35 24.5 6.14 1.57 Joined Fujian for Playoffs
Mike Harris (198-F-76, college: Indiana St.) Dongguan 25 24.3 11.5 1.64 Now plays for Houston Rockets in NBA
Herve Lamizana Shandong 33 22.7 9.93 1.75
Brandon Robinson Shaanxi 22 22.7 10.8 2.27
Jerod Ward Shanghai 29 22.1 8.06 1.06
Tang Zhengdong Jiangsu 35 21.9 11.2 1.94 0.68 bl
David Jackson Xinjiang 30 21.5 3.2 2.63 132-301 43% 3pt
Aaron McGhee Xinjiang 19 21.2 6.57 1.57
Mack Tuck Shandong 33 20.7 6.24 1.51
Hiram Fuller Shaanxi 11 20.6 13.1 0.9
Zhu Fangyu Guangdong 41 20.5 5.0 2.46 105-227 46% 3pt
Wang Shipeng Guangdong 39 19.8 2.92 2.51 131-307 42% 3pt
Gong Songlin Fujian 33 18.9 3.3 1.75
Zhang Nan Guangsha 33 18.7 5.75 2.09
Ding Jinhui Zhejiang 30 18.6 7.5 1.63
Liu Jiulong Shaanxi 30 18.5 4.73 3.0
Liu Wei Shanghai 25 18.4 4.96 6.88 3.32 to
Chen Zhaosheng Yunnan 30 18.4 5.33 1.56
Xu Yong Shanghai 29 18.2 6.27 3.41
Soumaila Samake Zhejiang 30 18.2 15.2 0.86 2.23 bl
Olumide Oyedeji Beijing 43 18.0 15.2 1.44 played for Liaoning in playoffs
Zhang Kai Dongguan 33 17.7 11.9 1.51 2.03 bl
Li Nan Bayi 28 17.6 5.21 2.39
Jason Dixon Guangdong 41 17.4 9.73 1.17
Mengke Bateer Xinjiang 30 17.3 13.9 4.56 1.0 bl
Liu Yudong Fujian 34 17.3 5.2 0.67
Tian Yu Shaanxi 30 17.3 5.56 1.06
Earnest Brown Liaoning 24 17.2 8.12 0.87 1.16 bl
Chen Lei Beijing 29 17.2 1.86 1.96
Ryan Forehan-Kelly Jiangsu39 16.4 6.48 2.51
Yu Junkai Guangsha 33 16.3 2.36 1.36
Sun Jie Shandong 31 16.1 4.09 2.41
Garnett Thompson Guangsha 33 16.0 9.03 1.78
Hu Xuefeng Jiangsu 27 16.0 4.51 4.0 2.70 to, 3.4 stl
Damon King Shanxi Yujun 27 15.8 4.62 2.66
Bian Qiang Liaoning 43 15.4 3.25 2.76
Jamal Sampson Liaoning 16 15.2 13.4 1.06
Qiu Biao Dongguan 34 15.1 3.36 2.08
Yamg Chao Fujian 35 15.1 2.8 1.14
Liu xiangtao Lioaning 42 15.0 2.42 0.85
Wang Jing Dongguan 36 14.4 2.47 2.16
Lamond Murray Guangdong 29 14.4 6.86 1.51
Wang Bo Jilin 30 14.3 7.43 4.9
Sun Chunlei Shanxi Yujun 30 14.2 4.0 0.83
Major Wingate Sh Yujun 30 14.0 8.66 1.73
Raheim Brown Jiangsu 26 13.5 5.96 0.5
Wang Lei Bayi 23 13.5 4.34 1.26
YU Xuelin Shanxi Yujun 30 13.0 2.93 2.5
Xu Guozhong Xinjiang 30 12.7 3.8 0.9
Jameel Watkins Fujian 23 12.4 11.7 0.78
Michael Fey Beijing 26 12.3 5.26 0.53
Zhang Yunsong Beijing 30 12.3 2.8 2.73
'Pig' Miller Shanghai 17 12.2 8.7 1.0
Mo Ke Bayi 28 12.1 5.96 2.10
Wang Gang Shandong 33 12.1 2.27 2.30
Xue Yuyang Xinjiang 30 11.8 4.56 0.53
Zhang Wei Shaanxi 30 11.7 5.46 1.16
Babacar Camara Jilin 20 11.4 8.95 1.05
Wang Yong Shanghai 23 11.3 4.34 1.34
Du Feng Guangdong 38 11.2 4.21 1.92
Yang Li Jiangsu 37 11.2 3.83 1.89
Wang Sizhang Shandong 27 11.1 3.03 1.22
Lu Xiaoming Fujian 34 11.1 4.44 8.02 3.94 stl, 2.47 to
Jin Lipeng Xinjiang 29 11.1 2.17 2.10
Zhang Qingpeng Liaoning 42 11.0 3.3 2.95
Luo Zhi Zhejiang 27 10.4 2.14 1.33
Yang Ming Liaoning 43 10.1 2.46 3.18 1.62 to
Liu Hao Yunnan 29 10.0 2.82 1.41
Patrick Simpson Liaoning 30 9.96 5.6 1.23
Li Xiaoxu Liaoning 43 9.79 6.44 1.37
Yi Li Jiangsu 37 9.67 3.86 1.0
Sui Xiaolong Zhejiang 26 9.65 1.61 0.88
Chen Ke Bayi 30 9.63 2.0 1.26
Wang Nan Zhejiang 30 9.6 3.06 1.4
Chen Jianghua Guangdong 17 9.41 2.58 2.17 2.17 st, 1.88 to
God Shammgod Zhejiang 28 9.35 1.82 1.96
Zhang Cheng Jiangsu 38 9.31 2.18 1.26
Liu Xiqui Yunnan 12 9.25 2.25 2.16
Du Jiang Jilin 26 9.23 2.03 1.19
Cao Zhenhua Shandong 29 9.20 4.65 0.62
Hou Bing Shandong 31 9.16 4.96 0.64
Zhao Yonggang Beijing 29 8.62 2.13 1.41
Xie Libin Beijing 30 8.56 2.3 1.63
Jiao Jian Beijing 30 8.5 3.13 1.26
Lu Yan Jilin 30 8.4 2.53 0.86
Franz Steyn Dongguan 11 8.36 6.45 0.18

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D-LEAGUE

Sunday's D-League Action -by Surujh Roopnarine
Los Angeles D-Fenders (100) at Albuquerque Thunderbirds (116)
D-FENDERS: Sean Banks (6'8''-F-85, college: Memphis) (22p), Jelani McCoy (18p+12rb+5as), Brian Morrison (15p), Errick Craven (14p+8as)
T-BIRDS: Alando Tucker (6'6''-F-84, college: Wisconsin) (42p+6rb), Julius Hodge (22p+11rb), Will Conroy (16p+12as), Kevin Pittsnogle (13p+5rb)

Dakota Wizards (114) at Ft. Wayne Mad Ants (127)
WIZARDS: Blake Ahearn (6'2''-G-84, college: Missouri St.) (32p+8rb+6as+5to), Rod Benson (23p+10rb), Carlos Powell (15p+7rb), Will Frisby (18p+6rb)
MAD ANTS: Earl Calloway (6'3''-G-83, college: Indiana) (23p+10as), Corey Minnifield (18p+6rb), Rob Griffin (18p), Cheikh Samb (14p+7rb)

Anaheim Arsenal (116) at Sioux Falls Skyforce (127)
ARSENAL: Marcus Campbell (7'0''-C-82, college: Mississippi St.) (25p+7rb), Terrence Crawford (14p+12rb+5as), Will Blalock (19o+6as), Mike Efevberha (18p)
SKYFORCE: Kasib Powell (6'7''-F-81, college: Texas Tech) (35p+5rb), Michael Joiner (30p+8rb), Elton Nesbitt (30p+9as), David Bailey (22p+6as)

Austin Toros (94) at Rio Grande Valley Vipers (110)
TOROS: Andre Barrett (5'9''-G-82, college: Seton Hall) (20p+6to), Marcus Williams (19p+6rb), DerMarr Johnson (18p), Ian Mahinmi (15p+7rb)
VIPERS: Kris Collins (6'2''-G-83, college: N.Mexico) (30p+5as), Desmon Farmer (23p+7rb+11as+6to), Sergio Sanchez (13p), Quannas White (11p)

Utah Flash (102) at Bakersfield Jam (99)
FLASH: Kyrylo Fesenko (7'0''-C-86) (21p+10rb+6as), Morris Almond (23p), Gabe Pruitt (16p+7as), James Lang (15p+7rb)
JAM: Patrick O'Bryant (7'0''-C-86, college: Bradley) (21p+7rb), Mateen Cleaves (18p+7as+7to), Justin Reed (14p+5as), Michael Cuffee (13p)

Standings
D-League Standings
Central Division
1. Dakota W. 23-17
2. Sioux Falls S. 23-20
3. Iowa E. 18-21
4. Ft.Wayne MA 14-25
Southwest Division
1. Austin T. 25-15
2. Tulsa 66ers 23-16
3. Colorado 14ers 23-17
4. Albuquerque T. 18-22
5. Rio Grande VV 16-26
West Division
1. Idaho S. 30-10
2. LA D-Fenders 28-12
3. Utah 19-22
4. Anaheim A. 15-25
5. Bakersfield J. 7-34


Stats Leaders
D-League Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1.M. Almond, UTA 24.7
2.D. Farmer, RGV 23.4
3.K. Powell, SIF 22.2
4.S. Banks, LAD 22.1
5.C. Powell, DAK 21.5
Rebounds Per Game
1.R. Benson, DAK 12.2
2.C. Alexander, SIF 10.9
3.L. Allred, IDA 10.0
4.N. Fazekas, TUL 9.9
5.M. Campbell, IDA 8.2
Assists Per Game
1.R. Livingston, IDA 10.9
2.E. Gill, COL 8.4
3.A. Barrett, AUS 8.3
4.K. Kruger, UTA 7.1
5.E. Calloway, FWN 5.8
Steals Per Game
1.B. Hamilton, UTA 2.28
2.E. Gill, COL 2.26
3.B. Thomas, COL 2.18
4.E. Calloway, FWN 2.1
5.C. Elliott, SIF 1.91


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EL SALVADOR

National League: Cosmos-2 wins again -by Jaime Arevalo
The second team of Cosmos won Game 3 of the Zona Premier de Baloncesto Finals, defeating Santa Ana 98-93. Thanks to this win, Cosmos-2 is the 2008 Premier League Champion team, for the second year in a row. The best players in Cosmos were Hugo Salazar (189-F-81), who scored 26 points, Ronald Vargas, Norberto Valle and Roberto Figueroa (191-F). Marco Tejada (193-F/C) led all the scorers with 32 points in losing effort, and Mario Montufar played well he too, but wasn' t enough. According with the rules of the National League, Cosmos-2 could play next year in LSB, where is yet competing the top team of the same club. Let's wait and see what will happen ....

Toribio joins ExSal -by Gianni Pascucci
USA player with Dominican roots Victor Toribio (198-G/F-82) agreed to play the Liga Superior 2008 with Ex Alumnos Colegio Salesiano, based in San Salvador. Toribio is a swingman with a good size for the 2 spot, but he is expected to spend most of his time at the 3 position in El Salvador.

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Pyrinto winning again -by Rauno Hurmalainen

Korisliiga, Round 40: Pyrinto (Tampere) is winning again. After four lost contests in a row Pyrinto defeated tonight Karhu (Kauhajoki) in TV-game 86-75.
Pyrinto was bigger, was shooting better and winning the rbs, so hosting Pyrinto dominated the game all the time. Antero Lehto (184-G-84) led Pyrinto with his season best 25 pts. Darryl Hudson (193-G/F-85, college: Howard) (Kauhajoki) netted also 25 pts. Heikki Saaristo (188-G/F-83) had his personal best on top level: 20 pts. It seems, that Pyrinto is on the way to the play-off games and Kauhajoki must concentrate to the last game of the regular season. Then Kauhajoki will meet Team Componenta from Karkkila. This fight will take place on Saturday, March 22, at Kauhajoki. The winner of that very important game will probably continue in Top League.

Pyrinto - Kauhajoki 86-75 (45-30) (Antero Lehto 25, Damon Williams 20, Damion Dantzler 15/10 - Darryl Hudson 25, Heikki Saaristo 20, Olli Ahvenniemi 15. Eric Washington DNP).



Standings - Korisliiga
Korisliiga Standings
1. ToPo 30-10
2. Kouvot 29-11
3. Honka 26-14
4. Lahti 20-20
5. Korihait 18-22
6. Tarmo 18-22
7. Pyrinto 18-22
8. Kataja 16-24
9. KTP 16-24
10. LrNMKY 15-5
11. Kauhajoki 12-28
12. Componenta 12-28


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

Standings - N1
N1 Standings
1. Antibes 21-5
2. Charleville 21-5
3. Blois 19-7
4. Fos Ouest 19-7
5. Get Vosges 18-8
6. St Chamond 15-11
7. Challans 15-11
8. Angers 15-12
9. Lille 14-12
10. Lievin 13-13
11. Bordeaux 13-13
12. Boulogne 12-14
13. Longwy 11-15
14. Mulhouse 11-15
15. Feurs 8-18
16. Toulouges 5-22
17. Andrezieux 4-22
18. Centre Feder. 1-25


Week 22 Round Up -by Sean Davis
Pau-Orthez 78 - 66 Paris

Pau-Orthez jumped out to an early lead and never looked back on their
way to a 12pt home victory. Pau cruised to their 9th victory of the
season and back into playoff contention lead by Antonio Graves (190-G-85, college: Pittsburgh).
Graves had another outstanding game with 24pts, 5rebs, and 5ast. Jeff
Trepagnier came of his slump scoring 14pts on 6 of 9 shooting and
grabbing 5rebs. Deji Akindele and Ludovic Vaty chipped in with 10pts
each. As a team Paris shot well from the field shooting 50.9% but
committed 15 turnovers, which proved to be the difference. Je'Kel
Foster held his own for Paris scoring 20pts on 8 of 13 shooting from
the field. Moshe Mizrahi added 13pts in the loss.

Dijon 81 - 73 Chalon

Dijon flew out of the gates scoring 30pts in the first quarter on the
way to their 5th win in the last 7 games. Dijon had a balanced
scoring attack with 5 players scoring in double figures. Damir
Krupalija led the way for Dijon scoring 15pts and grabbing 11rebs.
David Simon had a game high 17pts and Maleye Ndoye added 14pts and
7ast. Chalon had balanced scoring with 5 players scoring in double
figures. Rowan Barrett had a team high 15pts and Jermaine Guice added
14pts.

Hyeres-Toulon 81 - 77 Nancy

Nancy continues their downward spiral with their 4th loss in the last
5 games, while Hyeres-Toulon moves to 500 with their 11th victory.
Nancy held a 2pt lead at half time but could not close the deal losing
a close fought game. Daniel Horton had a game high 23pts and also
dropped 6 dimes for Hyeres-Toulon. Tony Williams chipped in with
16pts while shooting 4 of 5 from the field and a perfect 6 of 6 from
the line. Ricardo Greer led Nancy with 18pts and Victor Samnick with
19pts.

Gravelines 79 - 72 Clermont

Clermont led Gravelines entering the 4th qt with a 4pt lead and looked
poised to win their 5th game of the season, but folded in the final
quarter getting out scored by 11pts. Vincent Grier carried Gravelines
on his back scoring a game high 28pts while shooting 66.7% from the
field. Marcus Slaughter scored 11pts and controlled the boards
grabbing 11rebs. Clermont had 4 players score in double figures led
by Tony Skinn and Benoit Gillet with 16pts each.

Le Mans 96 - 93 Roanne

Nicolas Batumn game Le Mans a 96 - 93 lead with 2 free throws in the
closing seconds. Derrick Byars had a chance to send the game into
overtime in at the buzzer, but was unable to connect. In this high
scoring affair Le Mans had 6 players score in double figures led by
Phillip Ricci with 21pts. Nebojsa Bogavac added 20pts and 7rebs, and
Alain Koffi recorded a double-double. Marc Salyers did all that he
could for Roanne scoring 28pts. Brion Rush and Derrick Byars were the
only other players to score in double figures with 11pts each.

Le Havre 97 - 89 ASVEL

ASVEL was unable to stop T.J. Thompson who blew up with a season high
34pts leading Le Havre to an 8pt victory over ASVEL. Wen Mukubu was
an important part of the victory scoring 23pts. ASVEL had 4 players
combine for 82 of the team's 89pts. Robert Conley led the way with
23pts, but only shot 38% from the field. Uche Nsonwu-Amadi recorded a
double double with 21pts and 10rebs. Chevy Troutman added 21pts in
the loss.

Orleans 86 - 79 Cholet

Orleans cooled off red-hot Cholet with a 7pt home victory. Brandon
Heath was the star of the game scoring 28pts while shooting 6 of 9
from the 3pt line for Orleans. Benjamin Dewar was a major contributor
to the victory with 23pts and 4rebs. Cholet had 4 players to combine
for 77 of the team's 79pts. \Nando De Colo led Cholet with23pts and
9rebs. Claude Marquis added 22pts while Steed Tchicamboud added
20pts.

Strasbourg 69 - 74 Vichy

Strasbourg suffered their 3rd straight loss with a 7pt loss to Vichy.
Vichy used a balanced scoring attack with 5 players scoring in double
figures led by a team high 15pts by Rasheed Wright. William Gradit
scored 14pts while Zach Moss added 12pts. Eddie Shannon led the way
for Strasbourg with 19pts, 4rebs, and 6ast. Sacha Giffa added 13pts
and John McCord added 12pts.

NM1 Day 16: The leaders strenghten their position -by Chris Spiesser
The results of this last day could be the turning point of the season. Antibes and Charleville, the two leaders won their respective games vs CFBB and @ Lievin and in the mean time their two followers lost. Fos had a surprising defeat at home against St-Chamond. Blois, still without Orr, couldn't face Bordeaux and the jumping Joseph Owona (205-C-76). Concerning the bottom teams, Mulhouse made the move of the week. Carrying the future of the club, the alsatians downed Feurs while Boulogne and Logwy lost. That leaves coach Gonsalves boys tie with the lorrains and one win behind the maritims.

Lievin 79-102 Charleville
Mulhouse 64-52 Feurs
Angers 66-74 Challans
Golbey-Epinal 80-72 Longwy
Bordeaux 87-79 Blois
Lille 110-77 Toulouges
Andrezieux 76-73 Boulogne
Antibes 88-51 Centre Federal
Fos 66-72 Saint-Chamond

Some key facts:
8 days remaining and 2 wins margin for Antibes and Charleville over Blois and Fos.
Second 100% game for Cornett in 4 days (13pts 5/5 2pts + 3/3 FT)
Big collective performance for Charleville: 7 players at least scoring 9pts and 105 ranking points scored.
Inside (Joseph Owona: 23pts, 13rbs, 4blk) and 3pts (15/33) domination, Bordeaux grabs an imporant 13th victory.
Bad accuracy percentage for Fos (28/78, 36%), St-Chamond found the target (27/55) and a 15th win.
41-25, the GET Vosges' paint showed more efficiency then Logwy's
Lille had a sharp performance against Toulouges (137 ranking points), the two local PGs had a black and white game: 0pts (0/9), 9rbs, 1to, 17ass for Malet and Constantinedes...
Aultman and Periac missing, Feurs hired an US PG, Brian Kortovich (5pts 1/7). Not the best solution to secure the paint.
Mulhouse sprung the leak (49rbs vs 27), especially N'Dour (9pts 4/4, 13rbs, 3stl) and Kaczmarow (15pts, 8rbs).
Surprise in Andrezieux where the liguerians beat Boulogne after a22-15 in the 1st QT that cool the maritims down. The new US player, Chez Marks had no initiating success (stats N/A).

*****************************************************
FYR MACEDONIA

Pop Sport VSA tops the Second league after phase one -by Todor Chalovski
Pop Sport VSA tos the Macedonian Second league at the end of phase one.
The team from Skopje beat Kozuv in Gevgelija 84:77 in a game from Round 22.

Vardar Centar finished second, beating struggling Negotino 85:58. Both teams finished in the top 6 and will continue playing in the First B league.

Ovce Pole grabbed third position, beating bottom side ABA in Strumica 89:78.

Goce Delchev grabbed the last spot in the First B league, beating Teteks away from home 84:81.

Plejmejker Kubus failed to reach top 6, despite a 81:73 home victory against Heraklea.

The top 6 teams: Pop Sport VSA, Vardar Centar, Ovce Pole, Torus, Negotino and Goce Delchev will play in the First B League, from which the top 2 teams will play in the first league next season.

Plehjmejker Kubus, Teteks, Kozuv, Heraklea and ABA will play in the Play out league, in order to avoid relegation.

Another Cup for Vigor Skopje -by Todor Chalovski

Champions Vigor Skopje won the Macedonian National Cup for the 6th time in their club history.
The team that dominated the national female basketball scene in the last two seasons won narrowly against Izgradba Komer Mladinec in the final, played in Kavadarci, by 73:67.
Vigor Skopje lead from the start, but their opponents fought well. They tied the game with 6 minutes remaining, but youngster Simona Janevska scored 5 points, to give her team a lead, which they held until the end.

Ana Zivkovic was MVP of the final, after scoring 19 points. Her team mate Zorica Ackovska, also scored 19, while Lemana Latifovic added 17 for Izgradba Komerc Mladinec.


RESULTS

Final

Izgradba Komerc Mladinec - VIGOR SKOPJE 67:73.

Semifinals

IZGRADBA KOMERC MLADINEC - Biljana 006 75:54,


VIGOR SKOPJE - Vodnjanski Lisici 91:43.



Feni Industri won the National Cup -by Todor Chalovski
Kavadarci side Feni Industri is the winner od the Macedonian National Cup for the first time in their club history. They beat champions Strumica 2005 86:83 in the final game, playing in front of their home crowd in Kavadarci.
Strumica 2005 led from start, all the way to the last minute. They played a very good defensive game, and a very smart game in attack.
Feni Industri players missed all their 12 attempts for 3 points in the first half, but scored 6 three pointers in the last 6 minutes. They were also perfect from the foul line, and, lifted by the ecstatic home crowd, turned the game around.
Vladimir Popovic gave back the lead to Feni Industri with 33 seconds to go. Damir Latovic Scored once from the foul line to level the game at 83:83 with 15 seconds remaining.
Feni Industri captain Goran Samardziev kept the ball, and took a 3-point shot in the last second, which went in, giving his side a famous victory.

Donald Cole and Eftim Bogoev were game's top scorers, with 22 points each.

Samardziev was voted the game's MVP, his team mate Donald Cole was tournament's top scorer, with 63 points, while Eftim Bogoev from Strumica 2005 was named best defensive player.

RESULTS
Final

FENI INDUSTRI - Strumica 2005 86:83

Semifinals

Fersped Rabotnicki - FENI INDUSTRI 73:85,

Swisslion Pelister - STRUMICA 2005 68:85.

Quarterfinals

FERSPED RABOTNICKI - Vardar Osiguruvanje 98:88,

FENI INDUSTRI - MZT FON Univerzitet Skopje 89:79,

SWISSLION PELISTER - Negotino 93:53,

STRUMICA 2005 - Amak SP 98:95.

Standings - Division II
D2 Standings
1. Pop Sport S. 15-5
2. Centar S. 14-6
3. Torus 13-7
4. Ovce Pole 13-7
5. Goce Delchev 11-9
6. Negotino 11-9
7. Plejmejker C. 10-10
8. Teteks 9-11
9. Kozuv 8-12
10. Heraklea 4-16
11. ABA 2-18


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

2. Bundesliga Pro A: Highlights of Gameday 25 -by Moritz Korff
Play of the Day: Al Elliott (188-G-79, college: Pace) - Bremen Roosters: 39 pts, 12/19 FG, 10/14 3P, 5/6 FT, 9 rbs, 3 st, 2 as

Points: Al Elliott - Bremen Roosters: 39

Rebounds: Adam Baumann (203-C/F-81, college: Youngstown St.) - Phoenix Hagen: 16

Assists: Matt Witt (183-G-84, agency: Court Side, college: E.Kentucky) - FC Schalke 04: 8

Steals: Lyryan Russell (183-G-79, college: USF) - Chemnitz: 6

Blocked Shots: Thomas Fairley (206-F/C-82, college: Lamar) - Chemnitz: 4

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

2. Bundesliga Pro B: Highlights of Gameday 25 -by Moritz Korff
Play of the Day: David Bunts (189-G-79, college: Pacific) - Bielefeld: 42 pts, 14/22 FG, 8/13 3P, 6/6 FT, 6 rbs, 6 as, 2 st

Points: David Bunts - Bielefeld: 42

Rebounds: Torvoris Baker (201-F-83, college: Detroit Mercy) - Herten: 21

Assists: Goran Petrovic (185-G-77) - Ansbach: 9

Steals: Zack Wright (188-G-85, agency: Weller Sports - Entertainment, college: Cent.Missouri St.) - Braunschweig: 5

Blocked Shots: Andreas Hornig (212-C-80, agency: LimeLight, college: Murray St.) - Kirchheim: 4

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

Regionalliga Notes -by Moritz Korff
North
UBC Hannover topped SC Rist Wedel 107:90 to take over the first place in the standings of the North-division as Osnabrueck was not active this weekend. Hannover's Jason van Eck led all scores with 29 points, Tim Haley added 22 points, while Stacy Pearson-Taylor had 23 for Wedel, Holger Jacobsen added 20. #3 SSV Lok Bernau fell short to Aschersleben (66:81) at home. Eddie Jackson put on quite a show for the Tigers and contributed 7 threes and 43 points to the win. BG Magdeburg overcame Oldenburger TB 75:65 to remain 5th in the league. Bennie Miller led the Magdeburg offense with 20 points, veteran Jens Schaefermeyer replied with 14 points for OTB. In a highscoring-game MBC Weissenfels defeated SG Wolfenbuettel 110:102, but has to stay on a relegation-spot. 6 MBC-players scored in double digits, Cornell Kairies had 19 points, Ralph Schirmer added 18, while Junior Denson drained 7 treys for Wolfenbuettel and tallied 35 points. The Itzehoe Eagles earned a 88:80-road victory at Central Hoops Berlin. Eagle John Waller chipped in 30 points, his teammate Ivan Jenkins added 21 points to the win, while Roman von Glowacki scored 20 points in defeat.

West
SVD 49 Dortmund has climbed the summit of the Regionalliga West and won captured the 2007-2008 Championship by defeating Bayer Leverkusen II 96:67 on the final match day of the season. Gary Johnson (188-G-82, college: Cent.Florida) was unstoppable from outside in the game. The playmaker of the 49ers nailed 9 threes and tallied 36 points. The Elephants Grevenbroich finished the season in 2nd place after defeating BBV Hagen 88:76 in the last game. Brian Graves scored 28 points (including 4 triples) for the Elephants, Hagen's Chris Wright answered with 17 points. The Schwelmer Baskets easily held off GV Waltrop 96:54 at home and got 27 points from Keith Harris. Canadian Whitney Harris added 19, Matthew Reid scored 17 points. Cory McJimson, who scored 23 points, led BG Suedpark Bochum to a 98:91-away win at Meckenheim, Parrish Brown contributed 21 points. The Benslips Baskets Salzkotten said good bye to Coach Ralf Risse in a 94:84 over the Bergheim Bandits. Meanwhile, Martin Krueger will take over his position next season and coach the Salzkotten squad. Bergheim's Chris Rodgers had a game-high 37 points, but couldn't prevent the loss in the last game. BSV Wulfen earned its 8th win out of the last 9 games by defeating the NVV Lions Moenchengladbach 103:95. Tim Thompson and Robert Franklin each scored 22 points for Wulfen, Clayton Longmire led the Lions with 31 points, Chet Johnson added 25.

South-West
ASC Theresianum Mainz edged TS Goeppingen 78:76 to remain on the top of the league with three games left to play this season. Mainz stays 4 points ahead of Weissenhorn and Schwenningen in the table. In the encounter against Goeppingen Edjuan Green put in 28 points, Ilja Ickert had 20, Goeppingen's Victor Morris scored 20 points in the loss. Weissenhorn topped SG Heidelberg/Kirchheim 95:66 at home and was led by Raheim Lamb who produced a game-high 25 points. Monyea Pratt added 23, Terris Sifford followed with 19 points. On the other end Jens Hirschberg tallied 23 points for Heidelberg/Kirchheim. Tomislav Topic who had 27 points was one of 6 Schwenningen players to finish the game against Lich II (121:76) in double figure-scoring. Michael Spoecker followed with 25 points, Brandon Adair and Samba Thiam added 19 apiece. Lich's Dennis Koerber replied with 23 points. Only one single point seperated TV Konstanz and DJK/MJC Trier in their game. Konstanz won 70:69. MTV Stuttgart topped VfB Giessen 102:93 at home, MTV Kronberg held off TV Rastatt-Rheinau 77:71 and TuS Treis-Karden earned an 108:103-victory at TSV Gruenberg.

South-East
FC Bayern Muenchen ran over TuS Jena on Friday and celebrated a 121:60-win at home. Antonio Lang topscored with 27 points, Claus Weiss added 20 and Anton Kazarnovski 20 points. Also TG Renesas Landshut had no trouble to capture an easy home-win over Breitenguessbach II. Jon Simon drained 5 shots from beyond the arc and had 22 points totally for Landshut, his teammate Brandon Crawford followed with 16 points. BiG Gotha stays in 3rd place though falling short to the Dresden Titans at home (85:86). Konrad Tota paced the Titans with 22 points, Andre Spalke had 17. Michael Rost finished the encounter with 19 points for the Rockets, Dainius Pleta added 17. Meanwhile, the Wuerzburg Baskets overcame the COOCOON Baskets Weiden 99:97 in a close game. While 10 Wuerzburg players put their name on the scoreboard, only 4 members of the Weiden squad were able to produce points. Wuerzburg was led by 22 points of Hrvoje Pervan and 17 points of Efram Yaman. Weiden's Stephen Cramer was impressive once again. He scored 35 points, Jason Boucher had only one point less, while Tomas Selinger tallied 19 points. SpVgg Rattelsdorf suffered a narrow defeat (84:88) in the home-game against the Dachau Spurs. Though Darryl Sommerset was almost unstopable and chipped in 39 points for the host, the Spurs carried home the victory. Dachau's Calvin Wooten had 25 points in the win. A great performance of Kyle Kunkel guided BG Leitershofen/Stadtbergen to a 113:106-overtime win over BC Energie Zwickau. The American had his last appearance in the BG-jersey as he moves to Australia. Kunkel scored 29 points, Matt Benson followed with 23 and Robert Rieblinger had 21. Jeremy McCulloch led the Zwickau attack with 25 points, Chris Brown added 24. Bernd Endres and Andreas Saller each chipped in 19 points, when FC Baunach topped HSB Landsberg 88:74. Additionally Felix Sauer had 18 points, including 4 treys. Simon Gerve finished the game with 17 points for Landsberg.

Kosta Filippou new coach at BG Hagen -by Daniel Poerschke

The season ended just last weekend, but the first decisions are already made: Kosta Filippou (170-G-78) retires as a player and will become the new Head Coach for BG Hagen in the 1. Regionalliga West. Filippou, who just turned 30 years old, played for Brandt Hagen in the 1. Bundesliga in the late 90s and afterwards spent almost his entire career in his hometown.

He replaces long-time BG coach Tome Zdraveski, who moves to the Baskets Luedenscheid of the 2. Regionalliga West as their new Head Coach. Ludenscheid's former coach Amir Huijc instead will serve as the clubs sport manager for the upcoming season.
BBV Hagen announced today also, that Adam Fiedler will stay as the teams Head Coach for next season, as well as Manager Klaus Peter Gentgen.



*****************************************************
GREECE

A1: Match Day 20 - Results and Scorers -by Chris Mammides
Marousi - Olympia Larissas 82-69
With Andreas Glyniadakis' (215-C-81) best game in a Marousis' jersey, Coach Markopoulos' team continued, after a short break, the positive results and is now in the 6th position of the league.
Top scorers were:
Marousi: Stevenson 16, Andreas Glyniadakis 15 points and 8 rebounds and Milisavljevic 12 points.
Olympia: King 14, Anguelov and Tsiaras 12 each.

Panellinios - Panionios 76 - 74
After a great game which was a real derby, Anthony Grundy (189-G-79, college: N.Carolina St.) decided to take the game (once again) personally and after three quarters of poor presentation, he took the risk and succeeded, putting in a great 4th quarter, to beat Coach Markovic's team who saw Panionios loose some vital chances in entering for good the fourth position in the league.
Top scorers:
Panellinios: Anthony Grundy 22 points and 5 assist, Golemac 14 points
Panionios: Kalambokis 18 and Capin with Baxter 14 each

Rethymno - AEK 72-70
Rethymno took a heroic win over AEK Athens and is in a much better position than 3 weeks ago after 3 straight wins in the last three games. Nenad Pistoljevic (196-G-80) 19, Young 16 points and Nadfeji 18 points were the top performers and scorers. From AEK Athens, top scorers was Kyritsis 21 points.

AEL 1964 - Aris 104-98 in OT
After 45 minutes, AEL 1964 beat in overtime, the team of Aris after a great game from Nikos Papanikolopoulos (193-G-79), Ceranic and Tegue who scored 23, 21 and 20 points respectively. On behalf of Aris, the top scorer was Massey with 18, followed by Tsaldaris and Washington with 16 and 15 points respectively.

Panathinaikos - Kolossos Rodou 105 - 61
The score tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth! The talented Stratos Perperoglou (203-G-84) was the MVP of the game with his 17 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in less than 26 minutes, followed by Winston and Becirovic who scored 15 points per head.

PAOK - Olimpiada Patras 70 - 64
Raca's 'Greek' team had nothing to loose and played without any problems or stress, Coach Flevarakis's team had the stress and proved it on the court, with only Dimitris Verginis (194-G-87) and Rhalimi's points was able to win the game, the two players scored 16 points each while Haritopoulos scored 11. From Olimpiada Patras, the top scorer was Soulis who scored 22 points while Dorkofikis scored 13.

Olympiakos - Egaleo 76 - 63
Giannakis's Olympiakos added another positive result in its series, this time Egaleo of Skourthopoulos was the victim, the reds played enough to beat their opponent, it is worth mentioning the game of the first round when the Reds beat Jaaber's amazing performance only at the end of the game, with Gershon being the Head Coach of the team….
Top scorers:
Olympiakos: Giorgos Printezis (206-F-85) 19 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists (The MVP of the week), Vassiliadis 13 points
Egaleo: Nikolaidis 19 points and Marjanovic 17.

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

Rotterdam Challengers extends contract of Charles Richardson -by Fred Roggen
The American point-guard Charles Richardson (175-G-84, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Nebraska) have earned an contract-extension with the Rotterdam Challengers for the next season, with an option for the season 2009-2010.
The point-guard from the University of Nebraska , who plays for the first time this season in the Netherlands, is one of the most important players at the Rotterdam Challengers.
Richardson season-averages: 9.1 points and 4 assists per game.

*****************************************************
HUNGARY

EL CLASSICO: Kormend won in Szombathely -by Tamas Deri

FALCO KC lost its first home game in the season tonight. It was a sold out game in the Arena Savaria where the at least 1.000 fans from Kormend could celebrate a very important victory! With this win the team had its 8th straigt win and made a big step to come into the playoffs.
Player of the game was Rudolf Trummer (196-F-78, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services), who scored 18 points in 23 minutes and missed only one of his six 3point shoots.


FALCO KC SZOMBATHELY - POLAROID-LAMI-VED KORMEND 78-84
(20-29, 27-20, 14-16, 17-19)
Szombathely, Att.: 3.500, Referees: Vigh, Papp, Cziffra

FALCO KC: Kalman 14/6, Doyne 14, Draughan 4, Arnas Kazlauskas (204-C/F-76, agency: Court Side) 21/15, Feigl, Nikola Aliakseyeu (212-C-78, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents, college: Buffalo) 14, Varadi 4, Borszeki 7/3, Coach: Srecko Sekulovic

KORMEND: Jermaine Thomas (187-G-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: La Salle) 13, Fodor G. 5/3, Csaba Ferencz (192-G-85, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 14/6, Vavra 8/6, Ocitti 6, McCants 2, Kenneth Henderson 12, Rudolf Trummer 18/15, Fodor M 4, Toth 2, Coach: Dragoljub Krivacevic

Falco KC Szhely
Nr On court Pt 2 Pts 3 Pts Free th. D O T St To F Fa A Bl Mi
9 M. Aliakseyeu 14 6 / 10 60 0 / 0 0 2 / 4 50 1 2 3 0 2 4 3 0 3 26
8 L. Kalman 14 2 / 9 22 2 / 8 25 4 / 4 100 2 0 2 5 6 4 4 10 0 36
10 K. Varadi 4 1 / 2 50 0 / 1 0 2 / 3 67 1 1 2 1 0 1 3 0 0 16
5 R. Doyne Jara 14 4 / 9 44 0 / 3 0 6 / 9 67 5 0 5 3 3 4 9 0 0 37
4 A. Kazlauskas 21 1 / 4 25 5 / 7 71 4 / 4 100 9 3 12 4 2 3 3 4 0 38
6 D. Csiszar 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 C. Borszeki 7 2 / 2 100 1 / 2 50 0 / 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 0 10
15 I. Feigl 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 6
14 E. Draughan 4 2 / 2 100 0 / 1 0 0 / 0 0 3 0 3 2 2 4 3 2 1 31
11 B. Papp 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 T. Will 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 M. Szanati 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


Lami-Ved-Kormend
Nr On court Pt 2 Pts 3 Pts Free th. D O T St To F Fa A Bl Mi
7 R. Trummer 18 0 / 1 0 5 / 6 83 3 / 3 100 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 23
15 C. Ferencz 14 4 / 6 67 2 / 4 50 0 / 1 0 2 0 2 4 5 4 2 1 0 26
4 J. Thomas 13 2 / 3 67 0 / 3 0 9 / 9 100 4 1 5 3 2 2 7 4 0 29
14 P. Vavra 8 1 / 1 100 2 / 2 100 0 / 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 4 2 3 0 17
13 S. Ocitti 6 1 / 2 50 0 / 2 0 4 / 4 100 2 3 5 1 2 3 2 2 2 28

10 E. McCants 2 1 / 3 33 0 / 3 0 0 / 0 0 2 1 3 1 0 2 1 1 0 15
6 T. Kocsis 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 M. Fodor 4 2 / 4 50 0 / 2 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 11
12 G. Fodor 5 1 / 2 50 1 / 4 25 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 16
5 K. Henderson 12 5 / 10 50 0 / 1 0 2 / 3 67 6 1 7 1 4 4 4 3 2 31
9 G. Toth 2 1 / 1 100 0 / 1 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 4
11 R. Molnar 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



NYKK beat Albacomp -by Tamas Deri

Marso-Vagep NYKK - Albacomp 82-71
(18-18, 27-16, 22-19, 15-18)
Nyiregyhaza, Att.: 1.200, Referees: Foldhazi, Kothay, Pozsonyi

NYKK: Branko Savic (181-G-79) 20/6, Gary Buchanan (191-G-80, agency: Edge Sports, college: Villanova) 20/12, Mouton 5/3, Sitku 15/12, Srdjan Helbich (205-F/C-76) 17/3, Trepak 5, Krasznai, Siska, Coach: Deri Csaba

ALBACOMP: Balazs Simon (188-G-80, agency: Court Side) 14/6, Bradford 12/6, Velibor Radovic 14/3, McClendon 12, Bencze 8, Boozer 2, Soos 9/3, David, Coach: Peresztegi-Nagy Akos


Marso-Vagep NYKK
Nr On court Pt 2 Pts 3 Pts Free th. D O T St To F Fa A Bl Mi
5 S. Helbich 17 7 / 11 64 1 / 2 50 0 / 2 0 6 3 9 3 5 3 2 0 1 29
9 R. Mouton 5 1 / 1 100 1 / 3 33 0 / 0 0 1 0 1 5 1 1 0 0 0 36
10 B. Savic 20 5 / 6 83 2 / 4 50 4 / 6 67 3 0 3 5 5 3 10 9 0 37
11 G. Gary Buchanan 20 2 / 3 67 4 / 10 40 4 / 4 100 4 0 4 1 3 3 3 1 0 40
15 E. Sitku 15 0 / 4 0 4 / 6 67 3 / 3 100 3 2 5 2 2 3 3 4 0 40
6 J. Siska 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
7 T. Krasznai 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3
8 K. Nagy 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 M. Bus 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 A. Farkas 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 Z. Trepak 5 2 / 3 67 0 / 1 0 1 / 1 100 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 1 0 11
18 M. Mohacsi 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


Albacomp
Nr On court Pt 2 Pts 3 Pts Free th. D O T St To F Fa A Bl Mi
5 G. Soos 9 3 / 3 100 1 / 2 50 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 21
11 C. Bradford 12 3 / 5 60 2 / 8 25 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 6 5 4 1 2 0 40
13 C. Mcclendon 12 6 / 8 75 0 / 1 0 0 / 0 0 8 0 8 4 1 4 1 1 0 33
15 V. Radovic 14 4 / 5 80 1 / 5 20 3 / 4 75 3 0 3 2 2 3 2 0 0 28
4 B. Simon 14 4 / 7 57 1 / 3 33 3 / 3 100 4 1 5 1 4 3 9 7 0 37
7 G. David 0 0 / 2 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 7
12 Z. Bencze 8 4 / 4 100 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 5 4 9 1 4 3 0 0 0 26
8 A. Hanga 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 S. Boozer 2 1 / 2 50 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 8
14 S. Antal 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
16 T. Szabo 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 / 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0



*****************************************************
IRELAND

Tralee Tigers add Pete Strobl -by Jay
Southern Conference champions Tralee Tigers have added Pete Strobl (205-F-77, college: Niagara) to replace the injured C.J. Hadley shortly before the start of the playoffs. 'I have a great deal of respect for coach Mark Bernsen and am extremely happy to be here. I'm looking forward to the challenge and am willing to do whatever is necessary to help the Tigers'.

*****************************************************
ISRAEL

Standings - Premier League
Premier L. Standings
1. Macc.T-A 13-4
2. Bnei Hash. 12-5
3. Hap.Holon 10-6
4. Jerusalem 10-7
5. Ramat Gan 9-8
6. Nahariya 9-8
7. Ashkelon 6-11
8. Rishon LZ 5-11
9. Gilboa/Afula 5-12
10. Hap.G.Elyon 5-12


Israeli U20 National Team 2007 -by Netanel Dahan
#s#
#e#6


Assaf


Mekel


Ohayon


Caspi


Matalon
4 Dori Assaf (180-G-87) of Elitzur Ramla.
5 Maor Snir (198-F-87) of Maccabi Haifa.
6 Avi Eliyahu (175-G-87) of Elitzur Ramla.
7 Noam Matalon (197-G-87) of Hapoel Gilboa/Afula.
8 Eran Asante (195-G/F-88) of Hapoel Galil Elyon.
9 Gal Mekel (191-G-88) of Wichita State University (USA).
10 Tal Michael Dunne (198-G/F-87) of Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion.
11 Elishay Kadir (195-F-87) of Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan.
12 Yogev Ohayon (189-G-87) of Hapoel Galil Elyon .
13 Omri Caspi (204-F/G-88) of Maccabi Tel Aviv.
14 Daniel Arie (203-C-87) of Maccabi Hod Hasharon .
15 Ahiad Bukra (204-F/C-88) of Elitzur Ashkelon.

Head Coach: Yakov Gino
Assistant Coach: Gilad Katz


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

Standings - Lega 2
Lega2 Standings
1. Carife 18-5
2. Banco Sard. 16-7
3. Pepsi 15-8
4. Trenkwalder 15-8
5. Vanoli 15-8
6. Fastweb 13-10
7. Carmatic 13-10
8. Fileni 12-11
9. Coopsette 10-13
10. Edimes 10-13
11. TDShop.it 9-12
12. Aget 9-14
13. Prima Veroli 9-14
14. Indesit 8-15
15. Agricola G. 6-17
16. Ignis 4-19


Lega2-23rd Day -by Gabriele Fioretti
26 by Trent Whiting (185-G-76, college: BYU) wasn't enough for Sassari who lost at home in the big match against Ferrara (Andre Collins (183-G-82, college: Loyola, MD) 21 pts), now at the top of the ranking with only 7 games to play and two wins more than the second team. Livorno (Rashad Anderson (195-G/F-83, college: Connecticut) 31 and Jermaine Boyette (188-G-78, agency: SportsTalent, college: Weber St.) at 27 pts) scored 101 pts and won at Pavia (BJ McKie (188-G-77, college: S.Carolina) 29 scored). Other wins on the road: Caserta at Fabriano (five players in double figures) won thanks to 29 by Randolph Childress (190-G-72, college: Wake Forest), and Soresina (seven players between 7 and 15 pts) got success at Reggio Emilia (Paul Marigney (192-G-82, college: St.Mary's, CA) 29 pts). Omar Thomas (195-F-82, college: UTEP), 22 scored, led Rimini to the second straight win at Montecatini (Shawnta Rogers (162-G-76, college: George Washington) at 15 pts). 25 by Keith Carter (194-G-76, college: Mississippi) and Veroli won against Novara (Brandon Bowman (204-F-84, agency: David Lee services, college: Georgetown) at 23). It was an exciting game at Imola, where after three overtimes, the home team got the victory against Pistoia (Ronald Davis (190-G-82, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) at 20 pts). In the sunday tv-game, Simone Pierich (198-F-81) scored 24 pts (6/9 by 3pts) and defeated Jesi in the first game of the new Casale's player Troy Bell (186-G-80, college: Boston Coll.), former guard from Biella.
The nex game will be played on Thursday March the 20th.
BancoSardegna-Carife FE 73-91
Edimes PV-TDShop.it LI 88-101
Indesit Fab-Pepsi Caserta 80-83
Trenkwalder RE-Vanoli Soresina 78-85
Coopsette RN-Agr.Glo.Mont. 85-77
Prima Veroli-Ignis Novara 85-76
Aget Imola-Carmatic PT 85-82
Fastweb Casale-Fileni Jesi 93-86
See complete boxscores at www.legaduebasket.it

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

Week 4 Gmes results! -by Elvis Dickson
The big teams continued their winning streaks week 4 in the 2007/2008 Ivory Coast
National league season.

In the female games, the new comers lost woefully: TIGERS BC lost 4: 70 to IVESTP;
STELLA BC lost 19: 107 to CSA; FBA lost 35 : 82 to ABC and OBC beat TBC Ermees 62 : 42

In the men category, ABC recorded their 4th straight victory by defeating highly rated GENERATION BC
46 : 39. Other results were: AFRICA SPORTS 39 : 27 TBC Ermees; ZENITH 66 : 37 SEWE; OBC 57: 48 IVESTP;
and EBY who just won just got promoted to the N1A lost to ASEC 51 :59

*****************************************************
JAMAICA

Cedarville ousted by MidAmerica Nazarene -by Leonard Whyte
Point Lookout, MO (3-17-2008) - Cedarville University basketball season came to an end on Saturday night when they were ousted from the 17th Annual NAIA Division II National Tournament by defending champions and #2 seed MidAmerica Nazarene University (MNU) 79-73. After leading 38-37 at halftime, Cedarville were outplayed in the second half and found themselves down by eight points with four minutes left. They cut the deficit to two points with 10 seconds to go but ran out of time as MNU sank 11-of-15 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. Forward Ricardo Alliman, formerly of Calabar High, capped a double-double of 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, while Christopher Walker, formerly of Tivoli High and Harbour View Lakers, added 15 points.

Florida Southern shocked in Regional opener -by Leonard Whyte
Lakeland, FL (3-17-2008) - Florida Southern College hosted the opening round of the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament and were expected to run all over Ouachita Baptist University on Saturday night, but that did not happen. Instead, it was Ouachita Baptist that shocked the home and top seeded team 74-69. Florida Southern went scoreless for the first 5:28 falling behind 9-0 but recovered to lead 30-29 at halftime. They opened the second half with a 7-2 spurt, but Ouachita Baptist took the lead for good soon after and came away victorious. Senior forward, Andrei Grant, formerly of Calabar High and Urban Knights, ended his basketball career at Florida Southern with eight rebounds, as Florida Southern ended a fine season with a 24-9 record.

Tulsa's golden run derailed by Memphis -by Leonard Whyte
Memphis, TN (3-17-2008) - The University of Tulsa's golden run went all the way to the championship game of the Conference USA Tournament but then they ran into the University of Memphis, the #2 team in the country. Memphis, showing their mettle, outclassed their opponents 77-51. Tulsa had beaten East Carolina University then shocked University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) in overtime, before defeating University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP), again in overtime, to advance to the championship game. Sophomore center, Jerome Jordan, who had been averaging 20.5 points in the tournament, continued his rapid rise to stardom as he added 12 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. In the championship game, Jordan went 7-of-11 from the field on his way to 17 points, and also added nine rebounds and four blocked shots.

Jordan named to All-Tournament Team
Jordan finished the tournament averaging 17.5 points, 12.3 rebounds and 5.3 blocks, while shooting 59-percent from the field and 73-percent from the free throw line and was selected to the Conference USA all-tournament team. Unfortunately for Tulsa, they needed to win the championship to get an automatic bid to the NCAA field of 64, but were rewarded with an invitation to the Inaugural College Basketball Invitational, a 16-team post-season tournament, and will host Miami University of Ohio on Wednesday.

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

BJ Season Heading for Final Stretch -by Mark Ofel
With the season over 3/4 finished, now is the time to evaluate the playoff hopefuls for the Western and Eastern conferences of the bj-League. The League's playoff system rewards the top seed in each conference with an automatic bid and the number 2 and 3 teams will have a wildcard game to determine the other opponent.

In the West, the reigning two-time champ, Osaka Evessa, are once again leading the standings and league at 26-10 although they have dropped 3 out of 4 of their last games. The Evessa face the challenge of overcoming former MVP Lynn Washington's loss to injury. Mikey Marshall has proven the key acquisition and a stellar performer all year with his balanced play and triple-double ability. Breathing down their neck are last year's runner up, Takamatsu Five Arrows at 24-12. Although Sparks has not put up the numbers he did last year, the Five Arrows are still in the hunt and the feeling is that this year is wide open and will come down to which team is playing the best come the end of the season. The Oita Heatdevils are clinging to the third slot and looking forward to a wildcard against Osaka or Takamatsu. Fukuoka Rizing, a distant fourth place, has surprised many with their competitive play as a first year expansion team and beating each team except the Apache.

Over in the East there are four teams contending for a playoff birth, with the Sendai 89ers leading the pack. Sendai, 24-12 jumped the season off with a stunning string of wins but has recently cooled off with a pair of losses to Oita this past Saturday and Sunday. The Niigata Albirex BB has had reverse fortune, starting off slow and picking up the pace as the season has worn on. They now stand at 23-13 and have two big games against the Tokyo Apache next weekend. The Apache (20-16) may be the hottest team with a 5 game winning streak and could prove to be a tough oppenent come playoff time. Still hanging right behind Tokyo are the Saitama Broncos (19-17). Saitama started their season off on a dissapointing note before finally getting it together and are also playing good basketball down the stretch.

Teams out of the picture include the Toyama Grouses (4-32) in the East and the Ryukyu Golden Kings (10-26) in the West.

Whatever happens over the next few weeks, one thing is for sure; there will be some exciting basketball and this year's playoffs are shaping up to fulfill the league's vision of bringing basketball as entertainment to Japan for good.

First-year Tochigi captures JBL2 championship title -by J.D. Greene
In a game that could hardly be considered a championship final, the Tochigi Brex picked apart the Chiba Badgers to capture their first JBL2 championship in their first year as a team. Imports Fred Williams, who had 16 points, and Chris King helped the Brex hold Chiba to only 26 points in the first half. Chiba tried to come back in the second half but the only spark for them was from Clifton Lee (200-F-83, college: Northwestern St.) who contributed 38 points and 13 rebounds (10/22 from 3-point land) but the Brex had secured an insurmountable lead, leading by as much as 30.

Naturalized player Ken Tanaka (188-F-81, college: Whittier) was presented the JBL2 season MVP and was named to the best five players of the year. Tanaka averaged a double-double all season, led his team in almost every category and captured the league steal title. He ended the game with 22 points and 10 rebounds. He was part of the two-time reigning JBL1 championship team, Toyota Alvark, and now collects his third championship.

Notes: Ishikawa Blue Sparks grabbed third place from Toyota Tsusho in a disappointing finish for the once favored Fighting Eagles.

*****************************************************
JORDAN

Jordan bidding for 2009 FIBA Asia Championship -by Mohammed Malas
Jordan Basketball Association on Sunday submitted an official request to the Asian Basketball Association and the International Basketball Federation to host the 2009 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Championship.

According to a statement issued by the Jordan Basketball Association today, officials of the two associations expressed admiration of the performance of the Jordanian basketball team in Japan and hailed efforts exerted by the Jordan Basketball Association to increase popularity of the game.

Jordan, the Philippines and South Korea are bidding for the next host of the championship.

In the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship in Japan, Jordan took the fifth place, which is their highest finish ever in Asian Championships.

The FIBA Asia Championship is a tournament which takes place every two years between teams of the continent. This is the Asian qualifying tournament for the FIBA World Championship and the Olympic basketball tournament.

Source: Xinhua

Shanneik speaks more about himself to fans through Asia-Basket -by Mohammed Malas

Abdul Aziz Shanneik (185-G-90), A jordanian youngester rising in Germany as he is playing there with Regionliga's side SCH SCH Wuerzburg Baskets, The player opened his heart and spoke more about himself for the jordanian fans through Asia-Basket....


1- Tell us more about yourself.
I am a very open minded person who works hard and believe in that what he does. In German there is saying for my way of life: 'Wo ein Wille ist, ist auch ein Weg!' which means: 'Where there's a will there's a way!'.

2- When did you begin your basketball career in Germany?
I started to play basketball at the age of 14 in 2003. I directly joined the DJK (Deutsche Jugendkraft) in Wurzburg - the same team Dirk Nowitzki (211-F-78) played with in his youth. In summer I always see Dirk in the gym working on his skills and sometimes he plays 3on3 with the members of his 'player development program' where I am a member too.

3- How do you evaluate your professional career in Germany until now?
Well, I can say that I always had and already have very good coaches who help me to get on a higher level. For example Dirk's mentor Holger Geschwindner or Ivo Nakic ( best European player). This season 2007-2008 was a very successful year for me, because I helped our team to be promoted to a higher league which can be an enormous gain for the younger players.

4- After you played with U18 National Team, Are you looking to represent Jordan Men team soon?
Of course, I am looking forward to represent Jordan soon and I am very proud of being a Jordanian and a part of its national team.

5- Do you follow up the news about basketball in Jordan?
I always look up the website asia-basket.com which gives me a lot of information about the excellent league in Jordan. There are a lot of good players in this league. On the one hand I wondered how many nba veterans like Mark Strickland (208-F/C-70, college: Temple) or Nate Johnson (199-F-77, college: Louisville) play there and on the other how good the Jordanian players really are for example Jamal Abu-Shamala (196-G/F-87) or Zaid Al Khas (205-C-76, college: Gannon) etc

6- Who is your leader in the world of basketball?
Spain is for me the world leader in Basketball. I like their way of playing. They are not fixed on play systems. They know each other very well and play together like a team. They play very fast basketball which I really like and it is always a dessert for the fans.

7- What are your future plans?
First, I need to graduate from high school here in Germany and then I will try to go to an American college where I can combine sport and university together. It is always a very nice experience to play for an American college, because it is completely different to play in a gym where you have 15000 fans screaming and jumping around where in Germany you would only have 3000 fans. Well, I also will bring my best effort to be as successful as possible with the national team that would have the best potential to be one of Asia's top teams.

8- Do you think that Jordan can host a big tournament like Asia Cup 2009 ?
Surely can Jordan host the Asia Cup 2009. Jordan is much known for its hospitality. Jordan has really good basketball gyms and its infrastructure is amazing. Amman is very interesting. People will love it. And beside all that one should not forget that Jordan was on rank five at the Asia cup 2007.

9- In which part you think the difference between basketball in Jordan and Europe in general?
I would like to concentrate my answer on Germany. Here in Germany the players are more aggressive in their defense. They concentrate more on their physical exercise. But I also have to say that the Jordanian national team pays more attention for the right technique and for the basketball basics which helps me a lot to be a good player.

10- Last word to fans.
I am very thankful and honored to play in Jordan's national team and I will promise that I am going to work hard and give my best play ever. The Jordan Basketball Federation will be proud of having me as one of Jordan's basketball players.



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

BBC Nitia's Phil Grant scores 38 as BBC Nitia blows out Black Star by 37 in Poule maintien! T-71 gets much needed victory to assure DBBL status for 2008-09! -by Alex Meyers
DBBL Playdowns

In the playdowns, called Poule Maintien, things are getting very interesting. BBC Nitia's Phil Grant dominated Black Star with 38 points, 17 rebounds and 7 assists. Veteran guard Jeff Bevilacqua and Nelson Pinto added 13 each. Also scoring double figures for Nitia were Carlo Muller(12) and Tom Kaiser (11).

During the 104-68 BBC Nitia win, Scott Hazelton, Black Star's import player, reportedly went running after some supporters and was ejected from the game. According to some sources, he will be suspended for the next game against Soleuvre coached by Terence Stansbury, Hazelton's former coach at Black Star earlier this season. If Soleuvre wants to stay in the DBBL, it must win its last two games.

BBC Nitia - Black Star 104-68

BBC Nitia: 44 field g;oals, 12 three pointers, 20 for 32 free throws, 46 rebounds and 14 turnovers.
Grant 38, Muller 12, Pinto 13, Ney 2, Bevilacqua 13, also Aschman 4, Binna, Binz 5, Florentin 6, and Biver.
Black Star: 50 field goals, 1 three pointer, 19 for 36 free throws, 43 rebounds amd 21 turnovers.
P. Arbaut 14, Hublart 16, Hazelton 19, Hansen 3, Y. Arbaut, also Evora, Becker 4, Muepu 8 and Mutombo 4.

Score by quarters: 1st Q 17-20, Halftime 52-35, 3rd Q 83-54, Final 104-68


Soleuvre - T-71 84-87

T-71 defeated Soleuvre on the road by three points to secure their place in the DBBL for next season. Statistics are not yet available for the match.

Remaining Poule Maintien Schedule:

March 29th
Black Star-Soleuvre
T71-BBC Nitia

April 6th
BBC Nitia-Soleuvre
Black Star-T71

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

Musel Pikes 58 - Etzella Ettelbruck 89

Etzella defended its Cup Title once again last Saturday night March 8 at 'The Coque' in Kirchberg with a 89-58 blowout victory over Musel Pikes. Six of the past seven seasons now Etzella has won the prized 'Coupe de Luxembourg' , its fourth in a row and 22nd overall. Quite impressive to say the least.! This was the fourth meeting between the two teams and Etzella has come out the winner each time. Nelson Delgado (185-G-80) was MVP once again with 6 assists, 3 steals and 7 rebounds to go with his 22 points. Three other players from Etzella also finished with double figures in scoring... ...Tim Giver 18, Marcus Kennedy 16 and Cedric Schroeder 15. Samy Picard led Musel Pikes with 19 points followed by Guy Scmitz with 13. Christopher Braier was held to only 9 points, but grabbed rebound honors with 17 to go along with his 4 assists and 2 steals.

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

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

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

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

Etzella loses second in a row -by Eurobasket News
The DBBL leaders Etzella somewhat slowed down recently as they lost their second straight game at the playoff stage of the tournament. After grabbing the National Cup title a week ago Etzella switched to a lower gear against Amicale and it paid off immediately. Despite trailing by 6 points at halftime Amicale managed to squeeze the max effort in the second half and pulled away with a hard-fought 79:73 road win. Travis DePree (201-F/C, college: Albion) led all scorers with 29 points, 10 boards and 7 assists for Amicale. Chris Scholtes (197-F/G-85) added 12 points and 7 rebounds in a winning case. Marcus Kennedy (193-F-84, college: Montevallo) dropped 27 points and grabbed 8 boards as Etzella suffered their initial home loss in the season.
The DBBL defending champions Sparta Bertrange used the loss to close the gap on Etzella. They victimized Contern 94:72 for the third consecutive victory and improved to 16-7 record. The outcome was pretty obvious from the start as the hosts notched 57 points in the first half to accumulate a 27-point halftime lead. Sparta never looked back afterwards coasting to yet another success. Christian Wulff (181-G-75) scored 26 points for Sparta. Pit Hoffmann (200-F/C-85) had 14 points and 7 boards, while Christophe Baustert (190-G-80) added 11 points for the winners. Dave Mallon (208-F-83, college: St.Joseph's) answered with 19 points and 13 boards in a loss. Xavier Engel (186-G-88) was badly injured in the game and would miss the reminder of the season.
Musel Pikes remained at the third spot as they beat Residence 78:50 at home court. Guy Schmit (185-G-80) fired 24 point, while Chris Braier (195-F-84, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Lawrence) tallied 17 points and massive 26 boards to lead the home side. Frank Mangen (189-G/F-81) had 12 points for Residence.

Standings - DBBL
DBBL Standings
Title Group
1. Etzella 18-5
2. Sparta 16-7
3. Musel Pikes 14-9
4. Amicale 13-10
5. Residence 10-13
6. Contern 9-14
Relegation Group
1. T71 10-10
2. Black Star 8-12
3. Soleuvre 8-12
4. BBC Nitia 3-17


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

Standings - 1A
1A Standings
1. Mogren 13-5
2. Danilovgrad 12-6
3. ABS Primorje 12-6
4. Niksic 12-6
5. Lovcen 11-7
6. Mornar Bar 10-8
7. Ulcijn 9-9
8. Jedinstvo 6-12
9. Primorje-M. 5-13
10. Rudar 0-18
Will join on later stage:
1. Buducnost -


MNT1A : regular part of season is finish , start MNT Super league -by Dragan Scepanovic

In Montenegrin basketball league - 1A Opportunity regular part of season is finish. From April , 5.2008 will be play two new league : Montenegrin Super league (Buducnost,Mogren Budva,Danilovgrad,Niksic,ABS Primorje and Lovcen Cetinje ) and Montenegrin play-out league (Mornar Bar,Ulcinj,Jedinstvo,Primorje,Rudar and Kotor second team in regular part of season form MNT1B).After 10 games 4 best teams form MNT Super league will play play-off semi-final game : 1-4,2-3 and in MNT play out league after 10 games last two team will in season 2008-2009 play in MNT1B league.

MVP regular part of season in MNT1A Boris Lalovic (206-C-81) BC Mogren 17.8ppg,7.6rpg
BC Budva will automatically play in season 2008-2009 in MNT1A Opportunity league
BC Zeta will in season 2008-2009 play in MNT2 league
BC Niksic 2 is new member of MNT1B in season 2008-2009



MNT1B : BC Budva in MNT1A , BC Kotor in play-out MNT1A and BC Zeta in MNT2 -by Dragan Scepanovic
Basketball season 2007-2008 in MNT1B league is finished.Basketball Club KK Budva have a record of 18-0 in MNT1B league, which is a new record in Montenegrin basketball history.Basketball club Kotor will play 10 more games in MN1A play-out league and Basketball club Zeta from Golubovci will play in 2008-2009 in MNT2 league.

MVP regular part of season in MNT1B Filip Goranovic KK Budva 19.3ppg,10rpg
Coach of the year in MNT1B Krivokapic Veselin KK Budva (score 18-0)
First team MNT1B 2007-2008
Obradovic Djordje (G-BC Ljubovic), Tapuskovic Rajko (G/F-BC Ljubovic), Nikic Drazen (F/G- KK Budva), Vujacic Miroslav (F/C-BC Teodo ) Filip Goranovic (C- KK Budva)
Second Team MNT1B 2007-2008
Dzudovic (G-BC Kotor), Stojanovic Mijat (G/F-Gorstak), Milovic Aco (F/C- KK Budva), Popovic Ilija (C/F-BC Ljubovic), Susic Milosav (C- KK Budva )

Best scorer in MNT1B Filip Goranovic 19.3ppg ( KK Budva )
Best rebounded in MNT1B Filip Goranovic 10rpg ( KK Budva )
Best assistant in MNT1B Bajkovic Zoran 5aspg (BC Teodo Tivat)
Best defender in MNT1B Nikic Drazen ( KK Budva )

Montenegrin market news -by Dragan Scepanovic
Basketball Club Rudar Pljevlja signed a contract to the end of the season with Mirko Vukajlovic (198-G-80) from Sloboda Uzice SRB.
Basketball Club Mogren from Budva signed a contract to the end of season with ex YUG and SCG national team member Aleksandar Smiljanic.
Basketball Club Budva signed 4 year contract with Zeljko Maricic (185-G-90), and renewed a contract for season 2008-2009 with basketball players : Drazen Nikic (197-G/F-82) , Dalibor Franeta (197-G/F-83) , Dejan Bozovic (201-F-82) , Rajko Krivokapic (199-F-85) , Igor Kunjic (202-F-87)

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NBA

Rockets make it 22 in a row with defense -by Michael Moten
The Houston Rockets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 104-92 Sunday evening behind a career high 31 points for Rafer Alston (6'2''-G-76, college: Fresno St.). Bobby Jackson (6'1''-G-73, college: Minnesota) was also big off the bench scoring 19 points in twenty minutes for Houston. The win marks the Rockets twenty second consecutive victory building on a franchise win record and second all-time in NBA history. The key to victory for the Rockets has been tremendous team defense (second in the NBA) and Sunday against the Lakers was no exception. Shane Battier (6'8''-F-78, college: Duke) forced Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) out of his comfort zone the entire game forcing him to take tough contested jump shots, Bryant would finish with 24 points but shot a dismal 11 of 33 from the field.

Battier has put in his most consistent NBA season, guarding every team's most talented offensive player every night while shooting 38% from the three point line and 50% overall. The Rockets even without Ming Yao (7'5''-C-80), play excellent help defense and rotate quickly from the interior to the wing while challenging every shot that goes up; something that championship caliber teams stress and do well.

A tough week of games await the Rockets with the Boston Celtics coming to town on Tuesday evening, a big game against the red-hot Hornets in New Orleans on Wednesday and a trip to Golden State on Friday; but for now the streak goes on.

Denver scorches season-high 168 points against hapless Seattle -by Eurobasket News
It was records-breaking day for Denver yesterday. The Nuggets set the season highs in scoring in one half and in the whole game dropping 84 and 168 points respectively in the rout of the visiting Seattle Supersonics 168:116. The hosts also renewed the franchise record in scoring in regulation time. Eight Denver players netted in double digits en route to a storming victory. Carmelo Anthony (6'8''-F-84, college: Syracuse) bruised the visitors for 26 points, while Allen Iverson (6'1''-G-75, college: Georgetown) dropped 24 for the winners. Marcus Camby (6'11''-F/C-74, college: Massachusetts) was massive with a triple-double of 13 points, 15 boards and 10 assists. The Nuggets also broke the franchise-record for the biggest winning margin that now stands at 52. Seattle looked too struggling in this one as they trailed by 19 points after the opening frame. Denver enjoyed a 55-point cushion at one point in the game. Kevin Durant (6'9''-G/F-88, college: Texas) had 23 points for Seattle. Chris Wilcox (6'10''-F/C-82, college: Maryland) produced 17 points and 12 boards in the 51st loss for Seattle.
Meanwhile the Houston Rockets registered their 22nd straight win in the season beating the LA Lakers at the Toyota Center. This time Rafer Alston (6'2''-G-76, college: Fresno St.) stepped up for the Rockets as he drained 8 three-pointers to lead all scorers with 31 points. The hosts sparked with a 35:21 second term to build a 59:44 lead at halftime. The Lakers never recovered in the second half. The visitors played without Pau Gasol as he missed this one with a sprained left ankle. Bobby Jackson (6'1''-G-73, college: Minnesota) netted 19 points for Houston. Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) dropped 24 points for the Lakers as they lost their top spot in the West to Houston.

Standings
NBA Standings
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Div.
1. Boston C. 52-13
2. Toronto R. 34-32
3. Philadelphia 33-34
4. New Jersey N. 28-38
5. New York K. 19-47
Central Div.
1. Detroit P. 48-18
2. Cleveland C. 38-29
3. Chicago B. 26-39
4. Indiana P. 25-41
5. Milwaukee B. 23-43
Southeast Div.
1. Orlando M. 44-24
2. Washington W. 33-32
3. Atlanta H. 27-38
4. Charlotte B. 24-42
5. Miami H. 11-53
Western Conference
Northwest Div.
1. Utah J. 44-24
2. Denver N. 40-26
3. Portland T.B. 35-32
4. Seattle S. 16-51
5. Minnesota T. 15-50
Pacific Div.
1. Los Angeles L. 45-21
2. Phoenix S. 44-22
3. Golden St. 41-24
4. Sacramento K. 30-36
5. Los Angeles C. 21-44
Southwest Div.
1. Houston R. 46-20
2. N.Orleans H. 44-21
3. San Antonio S. 44-22
4. Dallas M. 44-23
5. Memphis G. 15-50


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NCAA1

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


Smith


Bright


Murphy


Coly


McKee

Regular Season Standings
1 Morgan St. 14-2
2 Hampton 11-5
3 Norfolk St. 11-5
4 Delaware St. 10-6
5 N.Carolina A&T&T 9-7
6 Florida A&M&M 9-7
7 S.Carolina St. 7-9
8 Coppin St. 7-9
9 Bethune-Cookman 5-11
10 Howard 3-13
11 Md-Eastern Shore 2-14


Tournament Final: Coppin State - Morgan State 62-60
Tournament Semifinals:
Norfolk State - Coppin State 65-67
Morgan State - Delaware State 61-55

All-MEAC Tournament MVP: Tywain McKee (6'2''-G-86) of Copping

MEAC All-Tournament Team
Tony Murphy (6'4''-G-86) of Norfolk
Roy Bright (6'6''-F-86) of Delaware
Marquise Kately (6'5''-G/F-84) of Morgan State

All-MEAC 1st Team
Jamar Smith (6'2''-G-85) of Morgan St.
Roy Bright of Delaware State
Tony Murphy of Norfolk State
Boubacar Coly (6'9''-F-83) of Morgan St.
Tywain McKee of Coppin State

All-MEAC 2nd Team
Rashad West (6'1''-G-84) of Hampton
Steven Rush (5'11''-G) of North Carolina A&T
Ed Tyson (6'2''-G-86) of Maryland E. Shore
Marquise Kately of Morgan State
Jason Johnson (6'7''-F/C) of South Carolina State

MEAC All-Freshman Team
Carrio Bennett (6'1''-G) of South Carolina State
Thomas Coleman (6'9''-F) of North Carolina A&T
Marc Davis (5'10''-G-88) of Maryland E. Shore
Larry Jackson (6'6''-F-88) of Florida A&M
Adam Walker (6'8''-F) of Howard

All-MEAC Player of the Year: Jamar Smith of Morgan St.
All-MEAC Freshman of the Year: Carrio Bennett of South Carolina State
All-MEAC Coach of the Year: Todd Bozeman of Morgan St.



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


Fisher


Pollitz


Williams


Reitz


Kool

Regular Season Standings
West Division
1 W.Michigan 12-4 20-12
2 Cent.Michigan 8-8 13-17
3 E.Michigan 8-8 13-17
4 Toledo 7-8 10-19
5 Ball St. 5-11 6-23
6 N.Illinois 3-12 6-21
East Division
1 Kent St. 13-3 28-6
2 Akron 11-5 23-10
3 Ohio 9-7 19-12
4 Miami, OH 9-7 16-15
5 Bowling Green 7-9 13-16
6 Buffalo 3-13 10-19

Tournament Final: Kent State - Akron 74-55
Tournament Semifinals:
Kent States - Miami 49-47
Akron - W.Michigan 73-63

All-MAC Tournament MVP: Haminn Quaintance (6'7''-F-85) of Kent States

All-MAC 1st Team
Al Fisher (6'1''-G-86) of Kent State
Tim Pollitz (6'6''-F) of Miami
Leon Williams (6'8''-F/C-86) of Ohio
Joe Reitz (6'7''-C-85) of Western Michigan
David Kool (6'3''-G-87) of Western Michigan

All-MAC 2nd Team
Jeremiah Wood (6'6''-F-85) of Akron
Giordan Watson (5'10''-G-85) of Central Michigan
Haminn Quaintance of Kent State
Mike Scott (6'8''-F-86)of Kent State
Michael Bramos (6'5''-G/F-87) of Miami

All-MAC Honorable Mention
Nick Dials (6'1''-G-84) of Akron
Anthony Newell (6'5''-F-86) of Ball State
Peyton Stovall (6'1''-G-84) of Ball State
Nate Miller (6'4''-F-87) of Bowling Green
Andy Robinson (6'1''-G-87) of Buffalo
Carlos Medlock (6'0''-G-87) of Eastern Michigan
Chris Singletary (6'3''-G-88) of Kent State
Kenny Hayes (6'2''-G-87) of Miami
Jerome Tillman (6'6''-F-87) of Ohio
Tyrone Kent (6'5''-G/F-86) of Toledo

MAC All-Freshman Team
Steve McNees (6'2''-G) of Akron
Melvin Goins (5'9''-G-87) of Ball State
Joe Jakubowski (6'2''-G-87) of Bowling Green
Jeremy Allen (6'4''-G) of Central Michigan
Darion Anderson (6'2''-G-87) of Northern Illinois

All-MAC Player of the Year: Al Fisher of Kent St.
All-MAC Freshman of the Year: Darion Anderson of N.Illinois
All-MAC Coach of the Year: Jim Christian of Kent St.



SEC Tourney Championship- Georgia prevails in a cinderella ending -by Darryl Reshaw
What an unbelievable tournament in Atlanta over the past four days.

Georgia the biggest underdog in the SEC prevails over Arkansas 66-57 to win the SEC Tourney.

The SEC is one of the best college basketball conferences in the NCAA and this year produced a remarkable storybook result.

First of all the tournament had so many overtime games and contests decided only in the final minutes but who could have asked for a dramatic ending like Sunday.

The Georgia Bulldogs had only won four games in the SEC all year and had three different impact players leave the team in controversy.

There were rumors that coach Dennis Felton was to be fired if they lost the first game in the SEC Tourney.

The severe storm force the SEC officials to switch to tourney to Georgia Tech and Georgia had to play an unfair two games on Saturday.

During the weekend they beat three NCAA tournament bound teams in two days and needed a couple of lucky moments on the way.

In the final game against Arkansas they just outplayed and wanted the game more throughout the fourty minutes.

They played better defense, team ball and was more physical during the game.

Sundiata Gaines (6'1''-G-86) (6'1''-G-86) the MVP of the SEC tournament controlled the tempo and was definitely the most underated and outstanding player of the weekend.

Terrance Woodbury (6'7''-G/F-86) had an outstanding tournament and the big men of Georgia displayed quality rebounding, scoring and defense all weekend as well.

I am looking for Georgia to make a run in the NCAA tournament because I think they are the hottest team besides the Houston Rockets in the USA right now.

Arkansas played hard during the game and made it a very physical contest but Georgia was always in control the entire contest.

Darian Townes (6'10''-F-84) and Weems led Arkansas with 17 points a piece and Woodbury led Georgia with 16 points.

Butler Bulldogs with Julian Betko in the starting five -by Jakub Krivan
Butler beats Cleveland State 70-55 to win the Horizon League. Butler (29-3) build a 14 point lead in the first half what was the key to the win. Senior Julian Betko ( 1983-G-6'5) played 13 minutes for the BulldogsButler is already qualified for the final tournament ''Big Dance'' and ranked as number 12 in the whole NCAA. 32 conference winners will compete on the final tournament, top seeds this year are considered to be North Carolina, Memphis and UCLA

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


Larry


Bell


Kemp


Hawkins


Carroll

Regular Season Standings
1 Boise St. 12-4 25-8
2 Utah St. 12-4 24-10
3 Nevada 12-4 21-11
4 N.Mexico St. 12-4 21-14
5 Hawaii 7-9 11-19
6 Fresno St. 5-11 13-19
7 Idaho 5-11 8-21
8 San Jose St. 4-12 13-19
9 Louisiana Tech 3-13 6-24


Tournament Final: Boise State - New Mexico State 107-102
Tournament Semifinals:
Boise State - Utah State 88-78
New Mexico State - Nevada 83-75


All-WAC Tournament MVP: Reggie Larry (6'6''-F) of Boise State


WAC All-Tournament Team
Jaycee Carroll (6'2''-G-83) of Utah State
Justin Hawkins (6'7''-F-85) of New Mexico State
Matt Nelson (6'9''-F) of Boise State
Reggie Larry of Boise State
Matt Bauscher (6'2''-G) of Boise State


All-WAC 1st Team
Reggie Larry of Boise State
Kevin Bell (5'10''-G-84) of Fresno State
Marcelus Kemp (6'5''-G-84) of Nevada
Justin Hawkins of New Mexico State
Jaycee Carroll of Utah State


All-WAC 2nd Team
Matt Nelson of Boise State
Matt Gibson (6'5''-G-84) of Hawaii
Jordan Brooks (6'3''-F-86) of Idaho
Javale McGee (6'11''-F-88) of Nevada
Gary Wilkinson (6'9''-F-82) of Utah State


WAC All-Newcomer Team
Jordan Brooks of Idaho
Armon Johnson (6'3''-G-89) of Nevada
Herb Pope (6'8''-F) of New Mexico State
C.J. Webster (6'8''-C) of San Jose State
Gary Wilkinson of Utah State


WAC All-Defensive Team
Matt Bauscher of Boise State
Matt Gibson of Hawai
Lyndale Burleson (6'3''-G-85) of Nevada
Javale McGee of Nevada
Fred Peete (6'4''-G-84) of New Mexico State


All-WAC Player of the Year: Jaycee Carroll of Utah State
All-WAC Freshman of the Year: Armon Johnson of Nevada
All-WAC Coach of the Year: Greg Graham of Boise State



Mountain West Season 2007-2008 Summary -by Richard
#s#
#e#6


Cummard


Plaisted


Giddens


Wade


Adams

Regular Season Standings
1 BYU 14-2 27-7
2 UNLV 12-4 26-7
3 N.Mexico 11-5 24-8
4 San Diego St. 9-7 20-12
5 Air Force 8-8 16-14
6 Utah 7-9 17-14
7 TCU 6-10 14-16
8 Wyoming 5-11 12-18
9 Colorado St. 0-16 7-25


Tournament Final: UNLV - BYU 76-61
Tournament Semifinals:
UNLV - Utah 61-55
BYU - San Diego State 63-54

All-MWC Tournament MVP: Wink Adams (6'0''-G-85) of UNLV


MWC All-Tournament Team
Trent Plaisted (6'11''-F/C-86) of BYU
Brandon Ewing (6'2''-G-86) of Wyoming
Wink Adams of UNLV

All-MWC 1st Team
Lee Cummard (6'6''-G/F-85) of BYU
Trent Plaisted of BYU
J.R. Giddens (6'5''-G-85) of New Mexico
Lorrenzo Wade (6'6''-F) of San Diego State
Wink Adams of UNLV

All-MWC 2nd Team
Tim Anderson (6'3''-G) of Air Force
Marcus Walker (6'0''-G-86) of Colorado State
Johnnie Bryant (6'0''-G-85) of Utah
Luke Nevill (7'1''-C-86) of Utah
Brandon Ewing of Wyoming

All-MWC 3rd Team
Jonathan Tavernari (6'6''-F) of BYU
Ryan Amoroso (6'8''-F-85) of San Diego State
Billy White (6'7''-F) of San Diego State
Kevin Langford (6'8''-F-85) of TCU
Curtis Terry (6'5''-G/F-85) of UNLV

MWC All-Honorable Mention
Chad Toppert (6'6''-G-85) of New Mexico
Joe Darger (6'7''-F-86) of UNLV
Rene Rougeau (6'6''-G-86) of UNLV
Brent Hackett (6'2''-G-85) of TCU
Daniel Faris (6'9''-C-87) of New Mexico

All-MWC Co-Player of the Year: Lee Cummard of BYU and J.R. Giddens of New Mexico
All-MWC Defensive Player of the Year: Tim Anderson of Air Force
All-MWC Freshman of the Year: Billy White of San Diego State
All-MWC Newcomer of the Year: Marcus Walker of Colorado State
All-MWC Coach of the Year: Lon Kruger of UNLV



SWAC Season 2007-08 Summary -by Richard
#s#
#e#5


Hayles


Simpson


Gladness


Maxey

Regular Season Standings
1 Alabama St. 15-3
2 Miss.Valley St. 12-6
3 Alabama A&M&M 11-7
4 Jackson St. 10-8
5 Southern 9-9
6 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 8-10
7 Grambling St. 7-11
8 Prairie View A&M 6-12
9 Alcorn St. 6-12
10 Texas Southern 6-12


Tournament Final: Miss. Valley State - Jackson State 59-58
Tournament Semifinals:
Miss. Valley State - Alabama A & M 77-72
Jackson State - Arkansas-Pine Bluff 70-59

All-SWAC Tournament MVP: Carl Lucas (6'5''-F) of MVSU


SWAC All-Tournament Team
Darrion Griffin (6'3''-G) of Jackson
Jeremy Caldwell (6'8''-C) of Jackson
Carl Lucas of MVSU
Larry Cox (6'10''-C) of MVSU
Andrew Hayles (6'5''-G-87) of Alabama State

All-SWAC 1st Team
Andrew Hayles of Alabama State
Trant Simpson (6'0''-G) of Alabama A&M
Mickell Gladness (6'11''-F/C) of Alabama A&M
William Byrd (6'7''-F) of Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Grant Maxey (6'7''-F) of Jackson State

All-SWAC 2nd Team
Brandon Brooks (6'2''-G) of Alabama State
Chris Davis (6'1''-G) of Southern
Larry Cox of Mississippi Valley
Carl Lucas of Mississippi Valley
Anthony Williams (6'7''-F-84) of Grambling State

SWAC All-Academic Team
Dwayne Harmason (5'11''-G) of MVSU
Gifford Blakely (6'7''-C) of ALCN
Jonathon Dixon (6'5''-F) of PVAM
Earnest Jones (6'6''-F) of SU
Jeremy Yates (6'2''-G) of GSU
Desmond Jackson (6'1''-G) of AAMU
Kevin White (6'1''-F) of JSU
Rodrigo DaSilva (6'7''-F) of TXSO


All-SWAC Player of the Year: Andrew Hayles of Alabama St.
All-SWAC Defensive Player of the Year: Mickell Gladnesss of Alabama A&M
All-SWAC Freshman of the Year: Barry Honore (6'7''-F) of Southern
All-SWAC Newcomer of the Year: Larry Cox of Mississippi Valley



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NEW ZEALAND

Vickerman, Boucher named -by Eurobasket News
NZ Breakers assistant coach Dean Vickerman will fill the same role under Tall Black coach Nenad Vucinic when the national team heads to Europe for their last-ditch attempt to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. And the career of Dillon Boucher (196-G-75), who recently announced his retirement as an international player, will come full circle with his appointment as Tall Black video technician.
Australian-born Vickerman beat out nine other applicants for the position, winning the role primarily on the strength of his experience as an assistant coach with the Melbourne Tigers, Singapore Slingers and now the Harvey Norman Breakers in the Australian NBL. He spent a season coaching the Wellington Saints in 2002 and has since married former Wellington Swish captain Christy Bromley. 'Dean impressed us with his range of experience, his knowledge of the role and his commitment to New Zealand,' says Basketball New Zealand chief executive Dale Stephens. 'We are confident he will be a great asset to the programme and support for Nenad in what could prove a difficult campaign.' A feature of the appointment process was the number of recent international players moving into the next phase of their basketball lives.
Boucher (32) retired from the Tall Blacks last month, blaming the toll of niggling injuries to a battle-worn body. Although he hopes to continue playing in the New Zealand and Australian national leagues, his thoughts have already turned to what lies ahead. 'Even as a player, one of Dillon's greatest strengths has been his vision on the court,' notes Stephens. 'He has been identified as an exceptional coaching talent and we hope this selection will smooth his transition into the coaching ranks.' In accepting the video job, Boucher returns to the role that helped him become a key member of the Tall Black roster over the past seven years. He traveled to the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane as Baldwin's cameraman, but was called into the line-up when NBA performer Sean Marks withdrew. Boucher, who played more than 100 games for New Zealand, has won more NBL titles (eight) than any other player or coach in the league history and added an Australian championship with the Brisbane Bullets in 2007.
BBNZ national teams general manager Grant Chapman has also been named Tall Blacks manager this year in an effort to ease the planning and delivery of the international programme. Chapman has toured with the team as communications manager since 2002. Nelson-based Claire Dallison will retain her role as strength and conditioning trainer with the Tall Blacks. Meanwhile, Kennedy Hamilton of Canterbury will fill the role of video analyst for the Tall Ferns during this year's Olympic campaign. Hamilton worked with Tall Fern assistant Leigh Gooding and the Christchurch Sirens in the Australian WNBL over the summer.
Courtesy of: www.basketball.org.nz

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PARAGUAY

Orr joins Sol de America -by Gianni Pascucci
To prepare as best as possible the Game 2 of the Liga Sudamericana Quarterfinals vs. Flamengo, Sol de America called at tryout a new import player, Randy Orr (207-C/F-82, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: Georgia Perimeter). The move is a consequence of the injury suffered by Leonardo Maier (198-C-72) and is also a try to add more size inside. Orr (6-10...) could replace Kenyan Peter Kiganya (197-F-72, college: Abil.Christian), who was not so good in his fist games in Sol. The definitive line-up, however, will be communicated only some hours before the game, scheduled for Tuesday, March 25 in Rio de Janeiro.

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PBL

PBL playoffs at the start -by Gianni Pascucci

Tomorrow afternoon in Chicago will start the playoffs of the Premier Basketball League. All the games will be all played at the Attack Athletic Center in Chicago, Illinois. All the league 10 teams played their 20-games regular season, and each of them will participate in the playoffs. playing at least one game. The two division winners, Rochester RazorSharks at the East and Quad City Riverhawks at the West, earned the 'bye' till the Semifinals, and will wait till Thursday, March 20 to go on the court. Today will be played the 1/8 of Finals, tomorrow the Quarterfinals. The PBL Final Game will be played on Sunday, March 30, 2008.

The inaugural playoff game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 18 at 11:00 AM with the Western Division # 3 Rockford meeting the Western Division # 4 Dallas. The other games for today are scheduled as follows: 1:45 PM (cst): Eastern Division # 3 Reading v. Eastern Division # 4 Jacksonville 4:30 PM (cst) Eastern Division #2 Wilmington v. Eastern Division # 5 Maryland 7:15 PM (cst) Western Division # 2 Arkansas v. Western Division # 5 Chicago



Standings
PBL Standings
Eastern Division
1. Rochester R. 18-2
2. Wilmington SD 11-9
3. Reading R. 11-9
4. Jacksonville J. 8-12
5. Maryland N. 6-14
Western Division
1. Quad City R. 15-5
2. Arkansas I. 10-10
3. Rockford Fury 9-11
4. Dallas D. 8-12
5. Chicago T. 5-15


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POLAND

Standings - DBE
DBE Standings
1. Turow 16-6
2. Prokom 15-7
3. Anwil 14-8
4. Slask 13-9
5. Atlas Stal 12-10
6. Polpak 12-11
7. AZS Koszalin 11-11
8. Basket 10-12
9. Kotwica 9-13
10. Gornik W. 9-13
11. Energa Czarni 8-13
12. Polonia 7-15
13. Polpharma 7-15


Interview with Brandon Armstrong -by Jay

'NBA dream came true' - that words was in mind of Brandon Armstrong (193-G-80, college: Pepperdine) in year 2001 when he was drafted by New Jersey Nets in 1st round of NBA with number 23. He was early entry drafted but he spent in NBA four years (NBA Finalist from 2002 and 2003). In 2005 he moved to play overseas in one of the strongest European league and played for Roseto Basket in Italian Serie A. Later had also experiences in Spain and D-League Champions Dakota Wizards. Finally for current season he landed in Polish DBE team Kotwica Kolobrzeg where he working hard to help team in historical promotion to the playoffs. He already played in 19 games with averages: 11.5 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.1 spg during 23 mpg.


1) You are first season in Poland. How do you like Kolobrzeg?
Coming from a big city, it was hard to adjust at first. But eventually we learned our way around the city and things got easier. Everyone has been very helpful and friendly, and the fans are wonderful. They have so much passion for their sports, and we like that.


2) What do you think about polish league?
I think the league has been very competitive. I did not think it was going to be that hard of a challenge, but there are a lot of good teams in the league.


3) You have an NBA and top European leagues experiences so how to compare all this places?
Playing in the NBA was home for me--it was easier to adjust because I was still in the United States. However, I have been fortunate enough to play in great cities overseas. I have seen places that many people never get to see in their lifetime, and I am just happy that I have a chance to travel and spend time with my family. It's something that you see in the movies--it's like a dream. So really, there is no comparing the two, they are both great experiences.


4) How you describe Kotwica situation in the league at the moment and past results?
According to what I heard from my teammates that played on the team last season, our situation is now very good. We have a chance to make the playoffs and that is always good for the club and the team.


5) Your objectives for current season?
Best possible place in the league for my team obviously!


6) And for another year? Going to stay in Poland or move another country?
At the moment I have not had a chance to speak with my family or agents about that. I am still concentrating on this season and have not made a decision about the future.


7) What are you doing in free time after the season?
After the season, my family and I plan to stay in Poland for a few weeks. Due to the hectic practice schedule we haven't had much time to site see, but we plan to visit a couple of places and do a little shopping.



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PORTUGAL

Round 19 of LIGA UZO recap -by Bruno Baltazar
In the round 19 of Liga Uzo(another neutral arena round,this time was competed in Pavilhao Municipal de Vila Nova de Poiares) we witnessed a great surprise no one could expect.
Beleneses won against Ovarense in their coach retirement giving him a great award,they started the game leading 9-0 and later on in the 2nd quarter they pushed their lead to 36-16 but Greg Stempin was Ovarense player with better production on the floor and cutted Belenses lead at the half with a partial of 5-19.In the 3rd quarter Ovarense got the lead 43-45 but Beleneses proved it was a day to really give the award to their coach with a win after converting the final 7 FT they had in the final minute.
For Beleneses -Anderson Ferreira (20 pts and 6 rebounds), Diogo Carreira (19 pts and 5 assists), Ike Nwankwo (18 pts and 10 rebounds) and Lance Soderberg (10 pts and 15 rebounds).
For Ovarense -Gregory Stempin 23 pts and 10 rebounds.

Ginasio won against Lusitania in a dramatic game,both teams didn't had big leads during all game even if Lusitania was leading for almost the entire game so it was a clearly game to be decided in the finals seconds,which happened with a 3 points shot converted by the portuguese PG Nuno Sousa (13pts),others players for Ginasio-Nate Daniels 19 pts and 9 rebounds and for Lusitania Ryan Rourke 12 pts and 9 rebounds.

Porto catched Ovarense in the 1st place in the league after a easy game against CAB ,Nuno Marcal with 21pts and 5 steals and Julian Terrell 19pts and 12 rebounds were the team leaders,for CAB Rob Summers 15pts and 8 rebounds.

Vagos won against Barreirense due the fact that EJ Drayton ,one of the league stars early in the game got injured.Barreirense started with a lead due to Deforrest Riley-Smith outside points(he scored 12 pts in the 1st quarter and team were leading because Barreirense had 23 rebounds against 9 of Vagos that also played without their star Tyronne Levett).Darrell Harris (208-C-84, agency: Worldwide Hoops, college: Rhode Island) the round MVP for Barreirense helped them with 25 pts and 19 rebounds ,Deforrest had 35 pts,9 rebounds and 5 assists,for Vagos Ricardo Hill with 21 pts ,5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Vagos in the last minute were leading by 4 pts but a thecnical foul of Francisco Rodrigues gave Barreirense a last chance to win the game with a missed 3 pt shot of Chris Alexander ,note to the return of the young Barreirense player Francisco Destino with 5 pts after a long injury.

Standings - UZO Liga
UZO Liga Standings
1. Ovarense 16-3
2. Porto Ferpinta 16-3
3. Vagos 10-9
4. Ginasio 8-11
5. CAB 8-11
6. Belenenses 7-12
7. Lusitania 7-12
8. Barreirense 4-15


Standings - Proliga
Proliga Standings
1. Benfica 22-1
2. Vitoria 21-2
3. Queluz 17-5
4. Illiabum 17-6
5. Fisica 15-8
6. Academica 12-11
7. Esgueira 11-13
8. Sampaense 10-13
9. Angra 10-14
10. Seixal 9-14
11. Atletico 9-14
12. Sangalhos 9-15
13. Galitos FC 6-17
14. Maia 6-18
15. Aguiar 0-23


Stats Leaders - UZO Liga
UZO Liga Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
E.J. Drayton BAR 20.5
Nate Daniels GIN 20.2
Nuno Marēal POR 18.8
Deforrest Riley-Smith BAR 18.1
Diogo Carreira BEL 17.6
Rebounds Per Game
Darrell Harris BAR 12.3
Omari Peterkin LUS 8.6
Ike Nwankwo BEL 8.5
E.J. Drayton BAR 8.5
Thiago Labbate GIN 8.4
Assists Per Game
Nuno Perdigćo VAG 5.5
Diogo Carreira BEL 5.3
Joćo Figueiredo POR 5.0
José Costa CAB 5.0
Cordell Henry OVA 4.0
Ranking
Darrell Harris BAR 25.9
E.J. Drayton BAR 24.9
Tyrone Levett VAG 21.9
Lance Soderberg BEL 20.7
Graham Brown OVA 19.7


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PUERTO RICO

Boricuas Abroad and BSN Boxscores -by Alessandro Fontana
BORICUAS ABROAD
Guillermo Diaz began very good his adventure in Italy, Pepsi Caserta, his team, won against Indesit Fabriano 83-80 an important game. For 'Our Boricua' 12 pts (0/3 2pts, 2/6 3pts, 6/6 FT), 4 rebs and 1 steal in 28 minutes.
In ACB, Malaga was defeated by Fuenlabrada (P. J. Ramos' ex team) 100-105. Daniel Santiago played 11 minutes with 4 pts (2/4 2pts), 4 rebs and 1 steal. Santiago is scoring 8.3 ppg in 16 minutes in this season.
In Turkey, Besiktas is unstoppable, The turkish team won against Banvitspor 108-89. For Christian Dalmau 10 pts, 3 rebs and 3 assts. For the 'Wizard' Rick Apodaca 14 pts+1 reb and 1 ass.
In Poland, Turow won against Anwil 74-55, for Andres Rodriguez 2pts+2 rebs and 2 assists.
In Adriatic League, Siroki was defeated by Partizan Beograd 70-59. For Sharif Fajardo 28 minutes with 10 pts (1/5 2pts, 2/6 3pts 2/2 FT), 5 rebs and 1 steal.
BSN BOXSCORES
SAN GERMAN-PONCE= 72-85
SG= S. Villegas 20, Dyer 18 (9rebs), J. Villegas 15, Fuller 12, lazor 10, Alvarado 7, Herrera 0, Torres 0, De Jesus 0, Mendez 0
P= Jones 21, Thompson 14, Latimer 11, Colon 9, Padilla 8, Pagan 7, Aubry 6 (8 rebs), Martinez 5, Curbelo 0
CAGUAS-GUAYAMA= 86-83
C= Ramos 30 (16 rebs), Melendez 28, Ortiz 13, Konecny 5, Bryant 4, Ahsby 2, Davila 2, Martinez 2, Alamo 0, Garcia 0, McSweeney 0
G= Freije 18, Caro 16, Beard 16 (9 rebs), Perez 15, Payano 12, Lopez 6, Aponte 0, Melendez 0, Oliver 0
ARECIBO-MAYAGUEZ= 86-78
A= White 23 (12 rebs), Figueroa 27, Hatton 17, Cruz 7, Rivera 4, Rosario 3, C. Rivera 3, Cortes 2, Butler 0, Ricardo 0, Rosa 0
M= Jimenez 26, Jourdon 23, Williams 11, Lopez 7, Casiano 6, Caballero 2 (11 rebs), Sanders 2, Moreno 1, Venzen 0
A. Fontana

Lions maul Athletics -by Luis Ramirez
The Ponce Lions defeated the San German Athletics 85-72. This was a game of offensive runs by both teams. The Lions started with a 13-2 run in the 1st quarter to take this quarter 24-13. It was then the Athletics turn to make an offensive run as in the 2nd quarter it was San German who had a 9-0 run to close the gap. The Lions made another offensive run and the half ended with the Lions leading 43-35. In the 3rd quarter the Lions kept pressuring the ball and the Athletics just didn't seem to find their offense as the quarter ended with the Lions leading 64-51. In the 4th quarter San German played an aggressive defense and was able to cut down the lead somewhat but the Lions did not give up and once again controlled the game for the win. For Ponce, Joel Jones (196-G/F-81, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Sacramento St.) scored 21 points and had a monster dunk that brought everyone to it feet, he was followed by Garnett Thompson with 14 points. For San German, Samuel Villegas scored 20 points followed by Alphonse Dyer with 18 points.

In other BSN action the Caguas Criollos got another victory as they beat the Guayama Brujos 86-83 in overtime. The Brujos took the lead in the 1st quarter 24-19. They were also leading as the 1st half came to an end 40-31. In the 2nd half the Criollos came back strong and took the lead to end the quarter 56-55. The regular period ended with both teams tied at 71 points. In the overtime period the Criollos went on the offense and pulled out the victory. For Caguas Peter John Ramos (222-C-85) had a terrific game as he went on to score 30 points and pull 16 rebounds followed by Ricardo Melendez with 28 points. For Guayama Matt Freije scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds followed by Ismael Caro and Tanoka Beard both with 16 points.

In the final game of the night Arecibo beat the Mayaguez Indians 86-78. It was Angel Figueroa (196-G/F-81, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Dowling) with 22 point in the 2nd half of the game which pulled the Captains ahead and gave them the win. For Arecibo Angel Figueroa scored a total of 27 points followed by Rodney White (206-F-80, college: Charlotte) with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Standings - BSN
BSN Standings
Island
1. Arecibo 8-2
2. Ponce 5-4
3. San German 5-4
4. Caguas 4-4
5. Guayama 3-6
6. Mayaguez 2-5
Metro
1. Guaynabo 5-2
2. Santurce 5-2
3. Carolina 3-3
4. Fajardo 3-4
5. Bayamon 3-6
6. Humacao 1-5


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RUSSIA

Standings - Superleague A
A Superleague Standings
1. CSKA 20-1
2. Khimky 19-2
3. Dynamo M. 14-6
4. Triumph 14-6
5. Unics 13-7
6. Ural Great 10-11
7. Lok.Rostov 10-11
8. Samara 9-11
9. Spartak-P. 8-11
10. Univ.Surgut 6-14
11. Spartak St.P. 4-16
12. Lokomotiv N. 4-19
13. Krasnoyarsk 2-18


CSKA vs. Ural Great game -by Aleksandra Sanders
CSKA won the game versus Ural Great. Ramunas Siskauskas and Marcus Goree missed the game because of the foreigners limit.

CSKA vs. Ural Great: 94-71 (28-13 29-25 25-18 12-15)

Ettore Messina, CSKA head coach:
- We had a very good start of the game. The outcome was clear from the beginning but I prefer to leave experienced players on the court.
In this period of the season it is very important for them to stay in the game rhythm. Because of the foreigners limit we have 3 players out of t
he game so I need all the others to keep on being ready. That is the reason why I did not use young players much.

CSKA
4 T. Papaloukas 4
6 N. Zisis 10
7 A. Kashirov 2
8 M. Smodis 11
10 J. Holden 5
11 Z. Pashutin 3
13 D. Andersen 17
15 A. Zabelin 7
21 T. Langdon 11
23 A. Shved 1
31 V. Khryapa 23


HC Ettore Messina


# Ural Great:
4 B. Wright 16
5 A. Bashminov 6
6 A. Dedushkin 5
7 A. Wisniewski 9
8 R. Biggs 8
10 R. Khamitov 2
12 A. Belov 3
14 A. Zozulin 13
15 V. Plisnic 9

HC Roman Dvinyaninov

Superleague A latest results -by Marina Vyalova
Today Enisey lost to the team from Rostov.

Enisey (Krasnoyarsk)- Lokomotiv-Rostov (Rostov-na-Donu) 63 : 76 (19-18 10-13 17-20 17-25)

Enisey (Krasnoyarsk)
5 KUZNETSOV Aleksey 5
6 + CHUDINOVSKICH Sergey 1
9 + BELJAEV Denis 8
11 ANISIMOV Aleksandr 4
16 + ZAKAMOV Pavel 2
18 + DOGADIN Dmitriy 12
22 KRYKOV Pavel 2
24 KURILOV Evgeniy 10
33 + UORRIK Frederik 19

Coach PETROKOVSKIY V.

Lokomotiv-Rostov (Rostov-na-Donu)
6 + LONCHAR Kreshimir 19
7 + KUBRAKOV Valentin 7
8 + KUZYAKIN Artem 19
9 VOROTNIKOV Sergei 12
11 + HARRINGTON Loriza 8
13 ZIBIROV Dramir 3
14 KARAULOV Sergey 2

Coach MINICH M.

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SERBIA

Dragicevic led Zvezda to very important win, Buducnost secured play-off -by Dragan Jankovski
Buducnost - FMP 90-85
For the second time this season Buducnost was better than FMP Zeleznik so the team from Montenegro secured a spot for Adriatic league play off. It was a very interesting game until the end. At the beginning of the last quarter the hosts had advantage of 22 points. Panthers succeeded to get very close on 86-84 but they didn't have power for the final step. PG Nikola Otasevic (184-G-82) shined leading his team to important win. He added 24 points, 4 assists and 4 steals while center Vladislav Dragoljovic (206-C-79, agency: Beo Basket) followed him netting 15 points. FMP got 24 points and 7 rebounds from Dragan Labovic (207-C/F-87).

Siroki Prima pivo - Partizan Igokea 59-70
After magnificent victory against Efes Pilsen in Istanbul, Partizan Igokea made easy win against Siroki Prima pivo on the road. Partizan's head coach decided to give a rest to Nikola Pekovic and Milton Palacio before the most important game of the season against Greek giant PAO, which will take a place on Wednesday in Belgrade's arena Pionir. Uros Tripkovic (197-G-86) had 13 points and 4 rebounds in Partizan while Toni Dijan (203-F-83) added 21 points and 8 rebounds in Siroki.

Hemofarm STADA - Zadar 74-83
After four consecutive defeats in Adriatic league Zadar made surprise in Vrsac so the Croatian team secured the second place before the play off, what is the club's best result in regional championships. After the first half it was clear that Hemofarm won't be able to be an equal rival to Zadar as they already had plus 19. Todor Gecevski (209-C-77, agency: Interperformances) led the winners with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while center Vladan Vukosavljevic (206-F/C-84, agency: Beo Basket) was the best in Hemofarm finishing the game with 28 points and 6 rebounds.

Crvena Zvezda - Helios Domzale 102-89
Red and white team made maybe the final step in order to reach their main target of the season - ULEB Cup 2008/2009. Zvezda opened the game much better making plus 12 after the first quarter but Slovenian team didn't give up and later in 28th minute made turn 70-71. Zvezda's PG Cook stopped the possible surprise with two successful 3-pointers in the last quarter setting the score to 93-83. It seems than nobody is able to stop Zvezda's captain Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) this season, as he once again demonstrated wonderful performance collecting 39 points and 6 rebounds. Omar Cook (186-G-82, college: St.John's) followed him with double-double, 18 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists. Helios got 22 points and 5 rebounds from Marijan Mance (197-G-78).


Buducnost - FMP 90-85
(25-24,26-23,29-12,10-26)

Buducnost: Otasevic 24 (4 as, 4 st), Dragojlovic 15, Micov 14, Bakic 13 (5 rebs)
FMP: Labovic 24 (7 rebs), Krstovic 13 (7 as), Jeremic 10


Siroki Prima pivo - Partizan Igokea 59-70
(20-17,12-14,10-17,17-22)

Siroki Prima pivo: Dijan 21 (8 rebs), Fajardo 10 (5 rebs)
Partizan Igokea: Tripkovic 13 (4 rebs), Tepic 11, Kecman 9


Hemofarm STADA - Zadar 74-83
(19-29,14-23,17-13,24,18)

Hemofarm: Vukosavljevic 28 (6 rebs), Bozovic 13 (6 rebs)
Zadar: Gecevski 16 (4 rebs, 4 as), Johnson 15 (4 rebs), Macura 12 (6 rebs), Stallworth 12 (6 as)


Crvena Zvezda - Helios Domzale 102-89
(37-25,20-21,19-32,26-11)

Crvena Zvezda: Dragicevic 39 (6 rebs), Cook 18 (5 rebs, 10 as), Subotic 11
Helios: Mance 22 (5 rebs), Troha 19

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SLOVAKIA

Round 34 results and stats -by Eurobasket News
SKANSKA Pezinok does not look to be near stopping beating opponent after opponent. In the last game the leader had a road win over BK CASTA SPU Nitra 77:85. In the early opening quarter the squads stayed close to each other and finished at 18:18. A 20:24 second period allowed the guests to take the control of the game and they never looked behind after that. Brlic led the winners with 20 points. Williams nailed 17, whilst Lukjanec scored 14. Hill ended up with 19 points in the losing effort.
Inter Bratislava overcame BK Dolny Kubin 112:82 winning all the periods in the game. The most troubles the visitors got in the third quarter when they fell behind 34:24. Ivica Blagojevic (205-C-74, agency: Global Sports Plaza) set the pace for the winners with 21 points. Ďuris had 19, whils Novak, Micka and Futo scored 18 each. Petrovic resisted with 21points in defeat.
Storcel top-scored in the round providing 31 points for HBK Prievidza. His team however lost to Slovintegra Levice 80:84.

Chemosvit Svit - Slavia TU Kosice 84:59 (24:13, 16:20, 18:20, 26:6)
Chemosvit Svit: Darko Pezer (197-G/F-82, agency: Heinrich Sports) 17, Sedmak 16, Ingles 16
Slavia TU Kosice: Stojanovic 16, Misinsky 12, Baťka 9

Slovintegra Levice - HBK Prievidza 84:80 (20:18, 29:17, 20:23, 15:22)
Slovintegra Levice:Vladimir Klar (-86) 20, Rich 19, Lutovsky 15
HBK Prievidza: Storcel 31, Puljko 20, Imnink 13

MBK Rieker Komarno - MBK Handlova 86:97 (22:18, 19:26, 21:21, 24:32)
MBK Rieker Komarno:Igor Majoros (200-F-80, agency: Promotex, college: SW Baptist) 27, Jurik 15, Barisic 12
MBK Handlova: Milosevic 27, Golian 22, Avalic 18

Inter Bratislava - BK Dolny Kubin 112:82 (26:25, 26:21, 34:24, 26:12)
Inter Bratislava: Ivica Blagojevic 21, Ďuris 19, Novak 18, Micka 18, Futo 18
BK Dolny Kubin: Petrovic 21, Sklarcik 19, Cvitanovc 13

BK CASTA SPU Nitra - SKANSKA Pezinok 77:85 (18:18, 20:24, 15:24, 24:19)
BK CASTA SPU Nitra:Hill 19, Brock Gillespie (188-G-82, college: Rice) 16, Seman 9
SKANSKA Pezinok: Brlic 20, Williams 17, Lukjanec 14

ESO CLUB Lucenec - Nova Ves 71:65 (26:16, 15:15, 23:20, 7:14)
ESO CLUB Lucenec: Antonio Bicvic (199-F-82) 20, Kovacevic 17, Praznovsky 13
Nova Ves: Marcel Madaj (200-F-78) 21, Baldovsky 15, Bucak 10

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SLOVENIA

Union Olimpija and director Rajgelj part ways -by Matej Bergant
Union Olimpija Ljubljana announced that club and GM/director of the club Janez Rajgelj mutually parted ways. Rajgelj was director of Union Olimpija from April '07. Before he worked as an agent and director also in Geoplin Slovan Ljubljana and Triglav Kranj. New GM/director of the club will be announced on 31.3.2008 when all club management will meet. The reason why this happened is still unknown. More to be announced.

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SPAIN

Week 24: Xavi Ventura MVP LEB Silver and Brett Beeson MVP LEB Bronze -by Daniel Fernandez

Xavier Ventura (192-G-81) (Image Sabadell) was the MVP in the 24th round in the Adecco LEB Silver with 30 of efficiency.
Brett Beeson (193-G-72, college: Minnesota St. Univ.) (Balneario Archena) was one more time the MVP in the Adecco LEB Bronze with 48 of efficiency. He scores 36 points and grabs 11 rebounds.

Week 24: LEB Silver TOP 5 by Efficiency:
Xavier Ventura (192-G-81) (Image Sabadell): 30 (28pt + 6rb)
Kelvin Pena (193-G-81) (Caceres): 29 (33pt + 5rb)
Stevie Johnson (198-F-78) (Caja Rioja): 29 (23pt + 9rb)

Josep Ortega (201-C-84) (CAI Huesca): 28 (18pt + 6rb)

Paulo Prestes (210-C-88) (Axarquia): 28 (22pt + 10rb)

Week 24: LEB Bronze TOP 5 by Efficiency:

Brett Beeson (193-G-72) (Archena): 48 (36pt + 11rb)

Robert Johnson (203-F-81) (Guadalajara): 45 (29pt + 13rb)

Inaki Narros (194-G-81) (Navarra): 38 (22pt + 9rb)

DeSean Hadley (193-G-77) (CB Tijola): 36 (33pt + 5rb)

Jeff Mallory (213-C/F-83) (Cajasur): 34 (25pt + 10rb)



Standings - LEB Silver / Bronze
LEB Standings
Silver
1. Axarquia 19-5
2. Illescas 18-6
3. Almeria 17-7
4. Vic 17-7
5. Gijon 16-8
6. Caja Rioja 16-8
7. Plasencia 15-9
8. Caceres 13-11
9. Huesca 12-12
10. CB Tarrag. 11-13
11. Basq.Muro 11-13
12. Cornella 9-15
13. Qalat Caja Sol 9-15
14. Ourense 8-16
15. Prat 8-16
16. Palencia 7-17
17. Sabadell 5-19
18. Santa Pola 5-19
Bronze
1. Vigo 17-5
2. Archena 17-6
3. Guadalajara 16-7
4. Torrealta 15-8
5. Jerez 14-9
6. Navarra 13-9
7. Cajasur 12-10
8. Real M. II 12-11
9. Coruna 11-10
10. Salsa Musas 11-12
11. Esplugues-P. 9-13
12. Merida 9-13
13. Obila 9-14
14. Badajoz 7-15
15. Opel Jovent 7-16
16. ADT Tarrag. 6-16
17. Tijola 6-17
18. Torrevieja 0-0


Standings - ACB
ACB Standings
1. Real 21-4
2. Joventut 19-6
3. Barcelona 18-7
4. Tau 18-7
5. Pamesa 15-10
6. Lagun Aro 15-10
7. Akasvayu 14-11
8. Unicaja 14-11
9. G.Canaria 12-14
10. Granada 10-14
11. Grupo Capitol 10-15
12. Murcia 10-15
13. Cajasol 9-16
14. Ricoh Man. 9-16
15. Menorca 9-16
16. Fuenlabrada 9-16
17. Estudiant. 7-18
18. Leon 6-18


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TURKEY

Woods still not released from Efes -by Murat Ogzur
Loren Woods (215-C-78, agency: Arik Krayn Services, college: Arizona),the former center of Efes Pilsen still didn't released from the club after problems with the compensation agreement between Efes and the player.
Woods,who was released because he didn't attend to the Euroleague match in Belgrade,has couple of European options but the unfinished saga with the Turlish giants is blocking any attemt to move to other club.
Efes Pilsen chifes saying that they hope the saga will come to an end this week

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UKRAINE

BC Kyiv captured the 2007/2008 Superleague regular season crown -by Alexander Muzyka
BC Kyiv captured the 2007/2008 Superleague regular season crown with still two games to go in the championship after defeating Dnipro 61:87 on the road. The home side tried to overpower Kyiv with a big line-up, capturing a 9:5 early lead. Tomo Mahoric called a time-out, which sparked Kyiv's 12:0 run, allowing to finish the quarter with the score 16:28. Kyiv relaxed in the second frame, but managed to retain a double-digit lead at halftime: 35:45. The visitors improved their defense in the second half, extending the margin to 20 points at the end of 3rd and to 26 at the end of the game.
Kyiv's Eugene Jeter scored a game-high 22 points. Joshua Davis added 17 and 11 rebounds. Dnipro's leaded Viktor Kobzystyi had 19, Hryhoriy Khizhniak contributed with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks, while Maksym Kornienko finished the contest with 15 points and 6 re bounds.

Meanwhile, Kyiv's farm team lost to Dnipro 78:61, swapping the top two spots in the standings. Dnipro's youngsters had a good start to the game, leading by 6 at the end of the 1st quarter. Kyiv, however, clawed their way back into the game, winning the stretch 11:27 and entering the half-time break with a comfortable 10-point cushion. The home side applied pressure in the second half and managed to keep Kyiv's Denys Lukashov and Ruslan Otverchenko away from the ball. This allowed them to restore a 1-point lead at the end of the 3rd period and physiologically break the visitors down. Dnipro won the final stretch 26:10, leaving their opponents no chances.

by bckiev.com.ua

All results

Superleague
Azovmash - Cherkasy Monkeys 85:79
Khimik - Sumykhimprom 111:77
Dnipro - BC Kyiv 61:87
BC-93 Pulsar - Kryvbasbasket-Lux 59:88
MBC Mykolaiv - Politekhnika-Halychyna 96:86
Budivelnyk - BC Odesa 65:67 OT

Farm's League
Azovmash - Cherkasy Monkeys 78:57
Khimik - Sumykhimprom 82:66
Dnipro - BC Kyiv 78:61
BC-93 Pulsar - Kryvbasbasket-Lux 85:80
MBC Mykolaiv - Politekhnika-Halychyna 104:92
Budivelnyk - BC Odesa 63:73

Standings - Superleague
Superleague Standings
1 BC Kyiv 20-0
2 Azovmash 17-3
3 Khimik 13-7
4 Sumykhimprom 12-8
5 Polit.Lviv 12-8
6 Cherkasy 8-11
7 MBC Mykolaiv 7-12
8 BC Odesa 7-13
9 Dnipro 7-13
10 Budivelnyk 6-14
11 Kryvbasbasket 6-14
12 BC-93 Pulsar 4-16


Standings - Higher League
Higher Standings
Group A
1. BK Donetsk 30-2
2. DneprAzot 25-7
3. KGPU 20-12
4. KTU Kriv.R. 20-12
5. Alchevsk 15-17
6. Polit.Khar. 14-18
7. DUEP 11-21
8. Zaporozhye 8-24
9. Orlan 1-31
Group B
1. BASCO-Dinamo 25-7
2. Domograd 24-8
3. Hoverla 23-9
4. Kremen 23-9
5. Gryfony 16-16
6. BK Sarny 14-18
7. Adzhalyk 13-19
8. MNTU 5-27
9. Ternopil 1-31




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Women News

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BOSNIA - Women

Mladi krajisnik finishes Adriatic league -by Eurobasket News
Mladi krajisnik lost the last game of Adriatic league this season. In the game against Vojvodina Serbian team won the first three quarters and kept the advantage for good, 73:67. Vojvodina began the contest with a lay-up and converted a play to trim the advantage. The hosts enjoyed 23:19 lead at the end of the first period. Mladi krajisnik struggled against Vojvodina's defense, but could not progress in the second. Another 22:14 in the period led the hosts to 45:33. After the break, the tempo of the game slowed a bit down as the teams were ready for the last quarter. Vojvodina set up the score for 13 points lead entering the final stanza. It was the time for Mladi krajisnik to finish the campaign truthfully. The last period saw the Bosnian team playing the basketball they enjoyed more and as a result 13:20 run. It was not however enough to upset the hosts as Vojvodina won 73:67. Smiljana Ivanovic (176-G-88) led the winners with 14 points. Jefimija Karakasevic (191-C-89) netted 13, while Iva Musulin (170-G-84) posted 10. Dragoslava Zakula (173-G-73) finished the game with 18 points in the losing effort.

Vojvodina- Mladi krajisnik 73:67 (23-19, 22-14, 15-14, 13-20)
Vojvodina:Smiljana Ivanovic 14, Jefimija Karakasevic 13, Iva Musulin 10
Mladi krajisnik:Dragoslava Zakula 18, Aida Pilav (187-C-87) 17

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EUROLEAGUE (W) - Women

All Star memories -by Eurobasket News
As you know the Spanish CSKA forward Amaya Valdemoro (184-F-76), who got 25 points in the European national team, overcame Cappie Pondexter (175-G-83, college: Rutgers) with one point gap and was recognized to be the most important player among the top ones. She was posing in front of her brand new 'Mercedes', which she received as a prize. In her interview Amaya confessed that she wasn't intended to get as many points as possible, and the match for her was more relaxing rather than serious. As for her new car, she's willing to present her sister with it. CSKA is a huge family for Amaya, made out of the best players. After the interview Amaya Valdemoro left with her friends from the team.
The CSKA center Maria Stepanova (202-C-79), who used to win in a row for the past two years the All Star Games, was giving an interview. She wasn't mad about not getting the MVP title this time, moreover she was happy for Amaya. Maria played that game not for the victory, but for the audience. That was a good occasion for her to see her good friends. She was also fancied by the organization of that very match, comparing to the previous ones. That match wasn't a burden at all - on the contrary it was like a shot of positive emotions and pleasure. According to Maria, the team didn't have any specific strategy for beating up the opposing team. That match was not decisive, but if it was, the game would have had another turn. After all, the players on the ground were first class.

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GERMANY - Women

TSV 1880 Wasserburg remains undefeated -by Eurobasket News
TSV 1880 Wasserburg remains undefeated in German league and had another win over the weekend. The favorite grabbed a road win over Herne 66:90. Herne however showed a very good game and even led the game 41:35 at the half time. TSV 1880 Wasserburg pushed the tempo in the second to lead the game to the winning effort. Rebecca Thoresen (179-F-78) top-scored for thew winners with 28 points. Katrina Hibbert (180-G/F-77, college: LSU) ended up with 21, while Katharina Kuhn (191-C-80) scored 16. Anna-Christine Gorg (190-F-87) produced 16 points in defeat.
Paunovic top-scored in the round nailing 30 points for her Eisvogel USC Freiburg in a 83:78 win over Munich Basket.
Meanwhile Linda Froehlich (188-F/C-79, college: UNLV) finished second with Taranto in the Italian Cup. Umana Venezia celebrated a dramatic victory over Taranto in the final game of the 16th edition of Silver Cross Cup in Italy. Venezia looked dominant throughout the decider played in Schio. They jumped to a better start to the game and soon accumulated a 20:14 lead. Taranto struggled to find the way to close the gap and trailed by 11 points at halftime. But things changed after the long break. Venezia maintained a comfortable margin in the third period as Aleksandra Vujovic remained hot-shooting from beyond the arc. Venezia managed to stretch the gap to 12 points in the third period. However Linda Froehlich and Michelle Greco notched some massive long bombs to drag Taranto right back into contest in the fourth term. Exploding with an impressive 19:7 rally Venezia tied the scoreline at 59 with just seconds on the clock. But Shannon Johnson penetrated under the rim and converted a layup to bring victory to Venezia at the end. Aleksandra Vujovic was named the Final Four MVP. She finished the game with 16 points nailing 4/5 from beyond the arc. Giorgia Sottana added 12 points, while Shannon Johnson had 9 points and 5 boards for the winners. Linda Froehlich accounted for 19 points and 4 boards to pace Taranto. Rebekkah Brunson secured 16 points and 14 rebounds in a losing case. Taranto outrebounded the winners 33:30 but shot just 50% from charity stripe. Venezia registered 70% of free throws and 46% from field goals.

Standings - Women
DBBL Standings
1. Wasserburg 18-0
2. Saarlouis 15-3
3. Oberhausen 13-5
4. Goettingen 11-7
5. Freiburg 10-8
6. Marburg 8-10
7. Halle 7-11
8. Chemnitz 6-12
9. Munich Basket 6-12
10. Leipzig 3-15
11. Herne 3-16


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ISRAEL - Women

Women's Israeli Cup. -by Netanel Dahan
At the semi-finles of the Israeli 'Winner' cup Ramla was face off against Ashdod.
At the other game Ramat Hashron was face off against Ramat Hen.
Results:
Elizur Ramla 82 - Maccabi Ashdod 76,First quarter 22-21 Second quarter 26-19 Third quarter 13-17 Fourth quarter 21-19.
For Ramla:
Michelle Snow (196-C-80, agency: Merit Sports, college: Tennessee) 18 pts, 8 reb.
Sherill Baker (174-G-82, agency: Ronsport, college: Georgia) & Shay Doron (175-G-85, college: Maryland) 15 pts each.
Ina Gourevitch (180-G-68) 13 pts.
Laine Selwyn (170-G-81, college: Pittsburgh) 12 pts, 8 ast.
Ekaterina Abramzon (186-F/C-87) 9 pts.

For Ashdod:
Sheri Lynette Sam (183-F/G-74, agency: Ronsport, college: Vanderbilt) 22 pts.
Michal Epstein (180-G-81, college: Boston U.) 14 pts.
Ayana Walker (191-F/C-79, college: Louisiana Tech) & Brandi McCain (160-G-79, agency: Ronsport, college: Florida) 13 pts each.
Bat-El Lazmi (170-G-86, agency: Ronsport) 12 pts.
Ortal Oren (176-G-84, college: UCLA) 2 pts.
Recap of the game('Safsal'):
The game opened with a great offensive quarter for both teams. For Ramla Laine Selwyn got off to a quick start with five points, and for Ashdod Ayana Walker ran for a fast break and Sheri Lynette Sam nailed a three. Selwyn, who's so used to these games, fed both posts and Baker scored in transition to make it 15 - 9 with under four to go in the 1st. Ashdod moved the ball well and Lazmi nailed two threes to take back the lead. Gourevitch, Selwyn and Lazmi again hit from downtown and the quarter ended 22 - 21 Ramla.

Both teams fought for every ball early in the 2nd quarter, as Sam scored four to make it 25 - 22. Doron found Snow for an easy one and scored four by herself to regain the lead. Sam was missing good looks on one end while Gourevitch hit five straight on the other end to make it 39 - 31. An unexpected three by Epstein and a three point play by McCain cut it to four, but defensively they couldn't slow down Ramla who was hitting from everywhere as Doron made it 48 - 40 at the half.

Eli Rabi started Gourevitch in place of Selwyn who picked up three fouls, and Snow & Baker maintained the lead. Another three by Lazmi, a good pass inside to Walker and points from Epstein in transition cut it to 54 - 49 but Ramla wouldn't let Ashdod's momentum continue. Gourevitch punished again off offensive rebounds and Doron added two to make it 58 - 49, timeout Ashdod after a Sam turnover plus 3rd foul. Gourevitch missed a couple and allowed McCain & Epstein to bite into the lead, but their problem wasn't offense. Selwyn with two offensive boards in one possession scored to make it six, but McCain got to the line to cut it to 57 - 61 after three.

Four points by Sam inside and out and a Walker block on Doron sent Rabi to the scorer's table as the lead narrowed to 61 - 63 in less than two minutes. Sam took responsibility and scored again, and Lazmi beat the shot clock with a big three to put her team up 66 - 63. Baker answered with a big three of her own, but Epstein hit a three as well to make it 69 - 66 with under six to play. Abramzon saved Ramla with a nice basket with the shot clock running down, and Ashdod turned it over. Another turnover, a predictable charge Doron took from Epstein, helped Ramla regain the lead for good as Doron found Abramzon, 70 - 69. Baker nailed one from mid range and Doron drove to make it 78 - 71.

McCain turned it over with less than two to play but things were far from over. Walker scored quickly, Ramla threw it away and Sam hit a huge three to make it just 76 - 78 with 1:25 to go. Walker had a mean block on Snow but traveled on the other end, one minute to go. Selwyn, who had just entered, grabbed a very important offensive rebound as the seconds ticked away. Ashdod didn't want to foul but Lazmi got called for her 5th and Doron madeboth, 80 - 76 with 23 seconds left. Baker with two amazing on-ball steals, from McCain and from Walker after a Snow, secured the win for Ramla.


Electra Ramat Hasharon 68-Ramat Hen 59,First quarter 18-19,Seacond quarter 16-14,Third quarter 20-10,Fourth quarter 14-16.
For Ramat Hasharon:
Jia Perkins (173-G-82, agency: Merit Sports, college: Texas Tech) 17 pts, 8 reb.
Daliborka Vilipic (196-C-75) 16 pts, 11 reb.
Mirav Dori (178-F-86) & Monique Coker 12 pts each.
Tatyana Troina (187-C-81, college: S.Carolina) 7 pts.
Limor Mizrachi (172-G-70) & Naomi Kolodny (172-G-82) 2 pts each.

For Ramat Hen:
Armintie Price (175-G-85, college: Mississippi) 25 pts, 11 reb.
Edwina Brown (175-G-78, agency: Ronsport, college: Texas) 17 pts, 10 reb.
Tay McWilliams (189-F/C-70, college: St.Edward's) Franklin 9 pts.
Shiri Sharon (169-G-79, college: Duquesne) 5 pts.
Olena Mustafina (172-G-70) 3 pts.

The finels wil be tomorrow(19/03/08),Ramat Hen wil meet tomorrow Ashdod at game for the Third place.

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ITALY - Women

Venezia wins Silver Cross Cup -by Eurobasket News
Venezia - Taranto 61:59

Umana Venezia celebrated a dramatic victory over Taranto in the final game of the 16th edition of Silver Cross Cup in Italy. Venezia looked dominant throughout the decider played in Schio. They jumped to a better start to the game and soon accumulated a 20:14 lead. Taranto struggled to find the way to close the gap and trailed by 11 points at halftime. But things changed after the long break. Venezia maintained a comfortable margin in the third period as Aleksandra Vujovic (182-G-80) remained hot-shooting from beyond the arc. Venezia managed to stretch the gap to 12 points in the third period. However Linda Froehlich (188-F/C-79, college: UNLV) and Michelle Greco (176-G-80) notched some massive long bombs to drag Taranto right back into contest in the fourth term. Exploding with an impressive 19:7 rally Venezia tied the scoreline at 59 with just seconds on the clock. But Shannon Johnson (169-G-74, college: USC) penetrated under the rim and converted a layup to bring victory to Venezia at the end. Aleksandra Vujovic was named the Final Four MVP. She finished the game with 16 points nailing 4/5 from beyond the arc. Giorgia Sottana (177-G-88) added 12 points, while Shannon Johnson had 9 points and 5 boards for the winners. Linda Froehlich accounted for 19 points and 4 boards to pace Taranto. Rebekkah Brunson (191-F/C-81, agency: LBM Management, college: Georgetown) secured 16 points and 14 rebounds in a losing case. Taranto outrebounded the winners 33:30 but shot just 50% from charity stripe. Venezia registered 70% of free throws and 46% from field goals.

Venezia: Aleksandra Vujovic 16, Giorgia Sottana 12, Shannon Johnson 9
Taranto: Linda Froehlich 19, Rebekkah Brunson 16+14 boards

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NCAA1 - Women

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


Gbewonyo


Harrison


Suderman


Thomas


Wilson

Regular Season Standings
1 UCSB 15 1 .938 23 7 .767 10-3 10-4 3-0
2 Cal-Davis 12 4 .750 19 11 .633 9-3 7-7 3-1
3 Cal-Riverside 10 6 .625 14 16 .467 6-7 6-7 2-2
4 Pacific 9 7 .563 14 16 .467 9-6 5-9 0-1
5 Cal Poly - SLO 8 8 .500 13 19 .406 6-9 5-9 2-1
6 CSU Fullerton 8 8 .500 11 19 .367 6-6 4-12 1-1
7 Long Beach St. 7 9 .438 9 20 .310 4-10 5-9 0-1
8 Cal-Irvine 3 13 .188 7 24 .226 4-11 3-11 0-2
9 CSU Northridge 0 16 .000 1 26 .037 0-13 1-13 0-0

Tournament Final: UC Santa Barbara - UC Davis 74-59
Tournament Semifinals:
UC Davis - UC Riverside 63-53
UC Santa Barbara - Cal Poly 77-57


All-Big West Tournament MVP: Jessica Wilson (5'10''-G-86) of UC Santa Barbara


Big West All-Tournament Team
Jessica Wilson of UC Santa Barbara
Jessica Campbell (5'11''-F) of UC Davis
Sharae Gibbons (5'7''-G) of UC Santa Barbara
Becky Tratter (6'0''-G) of Cal Poly
Brittany Waddell (5'10''-G/F) of UC Riverside
Whitney Warren (5'8''-G) of UC Santa Barbara


All-Big West 1st Team
Jessica Campbell of UC Davis
Seyram Gbewonyo (5'10''-G-86) of UC Riverside
Megan Harrison (6'1''-F-87) of Cal Poly
Kat Suderman (6'4''-F/C-86) of UC Santa Barbara
Toni Thomas (5'10''-F-87) of Cal State Fullerton
Jessica Wilson of UC Santa Barbara


All-Big West 2nd Team
Haylee Donaghe (5'10''-F) of UC Davis
Karina Figueroa (5'8''-G-86) of Long Beach State
Katie Holloway (6'4''-C-86) of Cal State Northridge
Tainoisouti Lott (6'2''-F/C-87) of of UC Riverside
Janae Young (6'0''-F) of of Pacific


All-Big West Honorable Mention
Heather Bates (5'11''-F) of UC Davis
Lauren Chow (5'4''-G) of Cal State Fullerton
Kelly Cochran (6'0''-F) of UC Irvine
Stephanie Duda (5'10''-F) of UC Irvine
Roney Friend (6'0''-F-87) of UC Riverside
Sharae Gibbons of UC Santa Barbara
Kelsey Lavender (5'7''-G) of Pacific
Ashley Richie (5'7''-G) of Cal State Fullerton
Amy VanHollebeke (5'6''-G) of Pacific
Brittany Waddell of UC Riverside


Big West All-Freshman Team
Latorya Barbee (5'6''-G) of Long Beach State
Ashlee Brown (6'0''-F) of UC Santa Barbara
Lauren Chow of Cal State Fullerton
Ashley Richie of Cal State Fullerton
Kristina Santago (6'2''-C) of Cal Poly


All-Big West Player of the Year: Jessica Wilson of UC Santa Barbara
All-Big West Defensive Player of the Year: Whitney Warren of UC Santa Barbara
All-Big West Freshman of the Year: Lauren Chow of Cal State Fullerton
All-Big West Sixth Woman of the Year: Ashlee Brown of UC Santa Barbara
All-Big West Best Hustle Player: Stephanie Duda of UC Irvine
All-Big West Coach of the Year: Sandy Simpson of UC Davis



Big12 Season 2007-08 Summary -by Richard
#s#
#e#6


Allison


Tisdale


McFarland


Dietz


Lehning

Regular Season Standings
1 Kansas St. 13-3 21-8
2 Baylor 12-4 24-5
3 Oklahoma St. 11-5 23-6
4 Texas A&M 11-5 23-7
5 Oklahoma St. 11-5 21-7
6 Nebraska 9-7 20-10
7 Texas 7-9 19-11
8 Iowa St. 7-9 18-11
9 Colorado 5-11 16-13
10 Texas Tech 4-12 16-14
11 Kansas 4-12 15-14
12 Missouri 2-14 9-20


Tournament Final: Texas A&M - Oklahoma 64-59
Tournament Semifinals:
Iowa State - Texas A&M 53-65
Oklahoma State - Texas 75-72

Big 12 All-Tournament Team
Heather Ezell (5'9''-G-87) of Iowa St.

All-Big 12 1st Team
Rachel Allison (6'0''-F/C-87) of Baylor

Angela Tisdale (5'7''-G-85) of Baylor
Jackie McFarland (6'3''-F-85) of Colorado
Kimberly Dietz (5'9''-G-85) of Kansas State
Shalee Lehning (5'9''-G-86) of Kansas State
Kelsey Griffin (6'2''-F-87) of Nebraska
Courtney Paris (6'4''-C-87) of Oklahoma
Andrea Riley (5'5''-G-88) of Oklahoma State
Danielle Gant (5'11''-G/F-87) of Texas A&M
Takia Starks (5'8''-G-87) of Texas A&M


All-Big 12 2nd Team
Alison Lacey (6'0''-G-87) of Iowa State
Marlies Gipson (6'0''-F-87) of Kansas State
Brittainey Raven (6'0''-G-88) of Texas
Aquonesia Franklin (5'3''-G-85) of Texas A&M
Dominic Seals (6'2''-F) of Texas Tech


All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
Jessica Morrow (6'0''-G/F-87) of Baylor
Jhasmin Player (5'10''-G-87) of Baylor
Brittany Spears (6'1''-F) of Colorado
Danielle McCray (5'11''-F-87) of Kansas
Alyssa Hollins (5'11''-G-87) of Missouri
Danielle Page (6'2''-F-86) of Nebraska
Ashley Paris (6'3''-F-87) of Oklahoma
Danielle Robinson (5'9''-G) of Oklahoma
Danielle Green (5'8''-G-86) of Oklahoma St.
Maria Cordero (6'3''-C-86) of Oklahoma St.
Taylor Hardeman (5'10''-G-86) of Oklahoma State
Carla Cortijo (5'7''-G-87) of Texas
Ashley Lindsey (6'4''-F-87) of Texas


Big 12 All-Defensive Team
Rachel Allison of Baylor
Yvonne Turner (5'8''-G) of Nebraska
Courtney Paris of Oklahoma
Danielle Robinson of Oklahoma
Danielle Gant of Texas A&M


Big 12 All-Freshman Team
Brittany Spears of Colorado
Kelsey Bolte (6'1''-G) of Iowa State
Krysten Boogaard (6'5''-F-88) of Kansas
Danielle Robinson of Oklahoma
Dominic Seals of Texas Tech


All-Big 12 Player of the Year: Courtney Paris of Oklahoma
All-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year: Courtney Paris of Oklahoma
All-Big 12 Freshman of the Year: Danielle Robinson of Oklahoma
All-Big 12 Newcomer of the Year: Dominic Seals of Texas Tech
All-Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year: Morenike Atunrase (5'10''-G/F-86) of Texas A&M
All-Big 12 Coach of the Year: Deb Patterson of Kansas State



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NCAA3 - Women

Howard Payne defeats top-seeded Hope to advance to Final Four -by Eurobasket News
The Division III action is closing to its denouement with four teams left to fight for the National Championship. In one of the most exciting battles of the quarterfinal round the 2nd-ranked Howard Payne beat the odds and overcame the top seed Hope 53:49 to qualify for the Final Four that would be held in Holland, Michigan. Howard Payne got to a quicker start as they grabbed a 10:3 lead early on. However Jenny Cowen dropped a long trey and ignited a rally from the Flying Dutch to set things leveled 20:20 at halftime. The seesaw battle continued in the second half with neither side able to clear off. Jordyn Boyles knocked down a triple to put Hope up by 4 points 47:43 with just over 3 minutes remaining. But the Lady Jackets took over in the final minutes. They spurred ahead and launched a 9:2 run in the last 3 minutes of the game to pull away a dramatic victory. Meia Daniels (-G) was outstanding with game-high 37 points for Howard Payne. Stacey Blalock had 9 points and 11 boards for the winners. Jordyn Boyles dropped 18 points to pace the Flying Dutch. Philana Greene accounted for 11 points in a loss. Hope outrebounded their opponents 53:33 but sank only 30% from the field. It was the first loss for the Flying Dutch in the season, while Howard Payne remained spotless at 31-0 record. The Lady Jackets will now take on the 8th-ranked UW-Whitewater in the Final Four semis. Whitewater surpassed DePauw 83:80.
The 4th-ranked Messiah bruised Tufts 55:49 to claim their Final Four spot. They will face Oglethorpe as the Stormy Petrels outgunned Kean University 98:86 in another quarterfinal clash. Oglethorpe reached their first ever Final Four with the help of impressive 44 points from junior guard Anna Findley. She poured in 28 points in the second half to carry the Stormy Petrels to quite unexpected victory. The Cougars were led by 25 points from Melissa Beyruti.

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NEW ZEALAND - Women

Mike McHugh discovers basketball talents for Tall Ferns' squad -by Eurobasket News
Mike McHugh was reported to draft two more players for the New Zealand National team prior to the summer Olympic Games in Beijing. The Tall Ferns coach has found out that former Stanford University guard Clare Bodensteiner (175-G) and junior forward Jillian Harmon (185-F-87) are eligible to play for New Zealand team. Clare Bodensteiner lives in London at the moment but called to New Zealand to find out about the possibility to play professionally for the Christchurch Sirens. It was actually how Mike McHugh discovered her and decided to invite the guard to the Tall Fern week-long camp at the AIS in Canberra. It was actually Clare Bodensteiner who told McHugh that another Kiwi was recently playing for Stanford. Jillian Harmon appeared in 26 games in the current season. She averaged 6.8 points, 5.4 boards and 1.8 assists per 23 minutes. Clare Bodensteiner graduated from Stanford in 2004 and her average stats in the senior year came up to 1.6 points and 0.6 assists per game.

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NORWAY - Women

And the winner is - Gimle! -by Kaare Vangen
Gimle - Ullern 76-53 (31-14, 14-13, 10-14, 21-12)

GIMLE: Sigrun Eskeland 18, Marianne Hella 15, Kristina Tattersdill 14, Kimberly Gibbs 10, Kjersti-Marie Flugum Brekke 7, Birte Hegrenęs 7, Tonje S. Milde 3, Jeanine Flaaten 2
ULLERN: Guro Nyquist 19

The history repeated itself - and the players from Gimle can call themselves Norwegian champions of 2008. The title is number nine in ten years for the very successful team from Bergen. In the final against Ullern they took immediate control, won the first period 31-14 and never looked back. Period 2 and 3 were more open before the ladies once again put in an extra effort and told everyone which team that is number one.

After the match Kristina Tattersdill from Gimle was elected as Player of the Year in Kvinneligaen. The ones who made it to the All Star Team were: Kristina Tattersdill, Marianne Hella and Sigrun Eskeland (-83) from Gimle, Nanna Sand (-77, college: Arizona St.) from Asker/BVIF and Kristine Kristiansen (-75) from Ullern. Marianne Hella was awarded the prize as Defensive Player of the Year.

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PORTUGAL - Women

Andrade Mery wins the Cup -by Eurobasket News
Mery Andrade (181-F-75, college: ODU) scored 6 points and made 5 rebounds in the Final for Umana Venezia that celebrated a dramatic victory over Taranto in the game of the 16th edition of Silver Cross Cup in Italy. Venezia looked dominant throughout the decider played in Schio. They jumped to a better start to the game and soon accumulated a 20:14 lead. Taranto struggled to find the way to close the gap and trailed by 11 points at halftime. But things changed after the long break. Venezia maintained a comfortable margin in the third period as Aleksandra Vujovic remained hot-shooting from beyond the arc. Venezia managed to stretch the gap to 12 points in the third period. However Linda Froehlich and Michelle Greco notched some massive long bombs to drag Taranto right back into contest in the fourth term. Exploding with an impressive 19:7 rally Venezia tied the scoreline at 59 with just seconds on the clock. But Shannon Johnson penetrated under the rim and converted a layup to bring victory to Venezia at the end. Aleksandra Vujovic was named the Final Four MVP. She finished the game with 16 points nailing 4/5 from beyond the arc. Giorgia Sottana added 12 points, while Shannon Johnson had 9 points and 5 boards for the winners. Linda Froehlich accounted for 19 points and 4 boards to pace Taranto. Rebekkah Brunson secured 16 points and 14 rebounds in a losing case. Taranto outrebounded the winners 33:30 but shot just 50% from charity stripe. Venezia registered 70% of free throws and 46% from field goals.
In the semifinal Mery Andrade shone with 13 points and 3 rebounds. Umana Venezia took on Phard Napoli. Napoli got to a better start and limiting Venezia to just 12 points in the opening frame jumped to a 19:12 lead after 10 minutes. But Venezia gradually found the right tempo and exploded with 29 points in the second period. It was just enough for them to pile up a 41:33 halftime advantage. Adia Barnes kept Napoli within a striking distance in the third period as they trailed by only a single point with a quarter to go in the game. But the offensive effort went drought for Napoli in the fourth period as they managed just 10 points and had little to hope for in the final minutes. Venezia celebrated a 79:69 victory at the end and advanced to the Final. Aleksandra Vujovic led all scorers with 27 points for Venezia. Shannon Johnson contributed 16 points and 7 boards, while Mery Andrade had 13 points for the winners. Adia Barnes answered with 20 points and 8 boards for Napoli. Mariangela Cirone dropped 12 points in defeat.

Final Four of portuguese cup -by Bruno Baltazar
First day recap and results:

ESSA 53 - VAGOS 58
Tatiana Yourtaeva opened the game with 8pts and 6 rebounds in the 1st quarter and Vagos led the quarter with a 8 pts lead 13-21, in the 2nd quarter with 13 rebounds of ESSA player Lindsay Brown ,ESSA recovered ,in the 2nd half the game started with a Vagos lead and the last quarter both teams did alot of mistakes and Vagos ended the game securing a spot in the final.

Boa Viagem 59 - Alges 74
Everyone hoped to see a close battle between those two teams but Alges dominated completly the game with a great defense.

Final:
Alges 53 - Vagos 62
A close game but always with a Vagos lead,the 3rd quarter showed a non productive game with both teams really nervaus.

The MVP of the final was Tatiana Iourtaeva, with 19 pts and 8 rebounds.

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RUSSIA - Women

Standings Women D1
A Superleague Standings
1. CSKA 18-0
2. Spartak MR 17-1
3. UMMC 16-3
4. BC Moscow 12-7
5. Vologda 10-8
6. Dyn.-Energia 10-9
7. Dynamo M. 8-11
8. Dynamo K. 8-11
9. Nadezhda 6-13
10. Spartak SP 5-15
11. Cheliabinsk 2-17
12. Shelen 1-18


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SENEGAL - Women

Fatou Kine N'Diaye finishes the campaign in Switzerland -by Eurobasket News
Fatou Kine N'Diaye (198-C-85) finished the campaign with Pully in Swiis Quarterfinals. The regular season champions Neuchatel coasted to three victories in the starting games of their best-of-five series against Pully. Neuchatel stormed past their opponents 99:32 in Game 1. Nina Crelot fired 26 points, collected 6 boards and dished out 5 assists to lead the hosts. Alexia Rol and Cameo Hicks added 15 points apiece for the winners. Fatou Kine N'Diaye had 12 points and 11 boards in a losing effort. One day later Pully hosted the encounter but could hardly threaten the league favorites falling short 33:92. Nina Crelot once again was impressive with 24 points. Alexia Rol contributed 22 points and 7 rebounds for the winners. Fatou Kine N'Diaye dropped 11 points for Pully. In the last game Pully was beaten 100:49.
Astou N'Diaye (190-C-73, college: Abil.Christian) nailed 8 points and made 7 rebounds in the semifinal for Phard Napoli. Her team however lost to Venezia that yesterday triupmphed in the Cup. Napoli got to a better start and limiting Venezia to just 12 points in the opening frame jumped to a 19:12 lead after 10 minutes. But Venezia gradually found the right tempo and exploded with 29 points in the second period. It was just enough for them to pile up a 41:33 halftime advantage. Adia Barnes kept Napoli within a striking distance in the third period as they trailed by only a single point with a quarter to go in the game. But the offensive effort went drought for Napoli in the fourth period as they managed just 10 points and had little to hope for in the final minutes. Venezia celebrated a 79:69 victory at the end and advanced to the Final. Aleksandra Vujovic led all scorers with 27 points for Venezia. Shannon Johnson contributed 16 points and 7 boards, while Mery Andrade had 13 points for the winners. Adia Barnes answered with 20 points and 8 boards for Napoli. Mariangela Cirone dropped 12 points in defeat.

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SERBIA - Women

Ines Kresovic speaks about her experience in France -by Leslie Anderson

Ines Kresovic (182-G-84) speak about her first experience in France and is looking forward to the French Cup tie next week against USVO. She also sends a nice message in Serbian for the up and coming players.


Ines made her return to action last night after injury as Aix-en-Provence beat Arras She played for 10 minutes and scored 2 points, took 4 rebounds and had two steals and one assist.


You can also listen to the comments of her team mate Liad Suez-Karni





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SLOVAKIA - Women

Barbora Fabianova in KOSIT -by Michal Maslany

Slovak extraliga champion KOSIT 2013 Kosice acquire free agent Barbora Fabianova (182-F-82, college: Youngstown St.). She started season in bulgarian team Lukoil Burgas, but she leaves it for financial problems in december. In the beginning of the year she was two weeks in UMB Banska Bystrica, but she decided to leave this club. In last days before trade deadline she came to KOSIT. She signed contract to the end of season.



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SPAIN - Women

Ros Casares improves to 17-3 -by Eurobasket News
The defending champion of the country improved to 17-3 record after a home win over Extremadura 94:71. The hosts opened the game with 26:20 and dominated in the court. The things started to be even better later in the game when the favorites pushed the tempo. They had 10 points advantage at the half and held the score for good. Katie Douglas (183-G/F-79, college: Purdue) and De Souza led the winners with 18 points each. Evanthia Maltsi (180-F-78) provided 12, while Bjelica scored 11. Da Silva produced 20 points for the visitors.
Perfumerias is two wins behind the leader of Spanish League. The team had a road win over Cadi la Seu 60:78. The guests also took a control from the first minutes and had 13:18 at the halftime. An offensive second quarter brought them 14:26 and 17 points deficit. Ana Montanana (186-F-80, college: George Washington) led the way with 21 points for 15-5 record. Tracy Reid (182-F/G-76, agency: Merit Sports, college: N.Carolina) posted 12 and Mondt added 11. Santos Luz finished the game with 16 points in the losing effort.
In another games Rivas Futura beat at home Olesa 85:77. EBE Promoc. dominated over Burgos 92:66, while Mann Filter edged Extrugasa 63:59. Gran Canaria upset San Jose 63:68 on a road and Real C.Vigo was stronger than Hondarribia-Irun 57:62 also away from home.

Standings - LFB
LFB Standings
1. Ros Casares 17-3
2. Perfumerias 15-5
3. Acis-Incosa 14-6
4. EBE Promoc. 14-6
5. Rivas Futura 12-8
6. Real C.Vigo 11-9
7. Extrugasa 10-10
8. Olesa 9-11
9. Cajacanar. 8-12
10. Cadi la Seu 8-12
11. Hondar.-Irun 7-13
12. Mann Filter 6-14
13. Badajoz 5-15
14. Burgos 4-16