EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 3/9/2008

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Men News

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ADRIATIC LEAGUE

Dragicevic paced Zvezda in Slovenia, Vojvodina and Hemofarm won -by Dragan Jankovski
Geoplin Slovan - Crvena Zvezda 77-106
Crvena Zvezda totally smashed Geoplin Slovan on the road registering the very important 14th win in Adriatic league. Zvezda dominated from the beginning making a comfortable win thanks to amazing performance by PF Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) who finished the game with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists - index value 46! Slovenian team got 25 points from DeMarco Johnson (204-F-75, agency: Megasport, college: Charlotte). With this win Zvezda has a chance to reach a place which will be enough for the ULEB Cup next season. After the game Zvezda's head coach Stevan Karadzic showed a real happiness with performance of his players.

Vojvodina Srbijagas - Zadar 74-69
Vojvodina Srbijagas was better than Zadar thanks to nice played last quarter which the Tulips finished in style 27-10. Center Vladimir Golubovic (212-C-86) was the MVP of the game with index value 37. He collected 20 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Istvan Nemeth (190-G-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) followed him scoring 15 points while on the other side Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma) added 15 points for Zadar. Vojvodina currently has score 12-12 while Zadar has 17-7.

Helios Domazle - Hemofarm STADA 64-75
Hemofarm STADA kept the third place after 24 rounds having 15 wins and 9 defeats. At the beginning of the last quarter, the team from Vrsac had a lead 48-57 but Helios quickly came closer on 59-61. After that moment, Hemofarm intensified its defense which outcame with four minutes without any point for Helios and with plus 7 for Hemofarm. 3-pointer by Miljan Pavkovic (178-G-81, agency: Beo Basket) at the end was a crucial moment of the game. Center Vladan Vukosavljevic (206-F/C-84, agency: Beo Basket) led the winners with double-double, 17 points and 11 rebounds. Serbian hot prospect Stefan Markovic (191-G-88) also had a good night as he added 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Aljaz Janza (185-G-81) had 16 points and 4 assists in Helios.


Geoplin Slovan - Crvena Zvezda 77-106
(21-30,18-25,18-20,20-31)

Geoplin Slovan: Johnson 25, Novak 11 (4 rebs)
Crvena Zvezda: Dragicevic 34 (10 rebs, 4 as), Markovic 14, Kovac 13, Bakic 11 (6 rebs)


Vojvodina Srbijagas - Zadar 74-69
(18-23,14-16,15-20,27-10)

Vojvodina: Golubovic 20 (14 rebs, 4 as), Nemeth 15, Djordjevic 10 (5 as, 4 st)
Zadar: Brewer 15, Barac 13, Johnson 11, Stallworth 10


Helios Domzale - Hemofarm STADA 64-75
(17-18,21-23,10-13,16-21)

Helios: Janza 16 (4 as), Mance 14 (7 rebs), Ingram 10
Hemofarm: Vukosavljevic 17 (11 rebs), Pavkovic 12, Markovic 11 (9 rebs, 3 as), Bozovic 11 (7 rebs)

Cibona extends contract with Luksa Andric -by Dragan Jankovski
Management of Cibona from Zagreb extended contract with a center Luksa Andric (209-C/F-85) until the end of the season 2009/10. Andric played 14 games this season for Cibona in Euroleague averaging 6.7 ppg and 4.2 rpg. He also played 22 games so far in Adriatic league where he had 7.3 ppg and 4. 2 rpg. Before Cibona, Andric played two seasons for the Croatian team Dubrava Sport Tip like a loaned player. He moved to Cibona from BC Dubrovnik on 2002.

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ARGENTINA

Libertad news: Profit out, Robinson in -by Facundo Iatzky
Libertad Sunchales had to released Laron Profit (196-G/F-77, agency: Octagon, college: Maryland) due to injury (11.3 pts 2.9 rebs in 7 games). The player had showed very interesting things but he would have to be out of the courts for some weeks, so Libertad decided replace him with former Boca jrs. Jamal Robinson (196-F/G-73, agency: Interperformances, college: Virginia). Robinson played 16 games in Boca this year without great stats but he played previously in important leagues as Lega A Italia and even some games in the NBA.

Liga A round 25 highlights -by Facundo Iatzky
Best 5:
Federico Ferrini (194-G/F-83) of el nacional 20 pts 4 reb
Cleotis Brown (198-G/F-77, college: Illinois) of quimsa 36 pts 3 as
William McFarlan (201-F-76, college: St.Thomas Aquinas) of quimsa 14 pts 9 reb
Djibril Kante (201-C-80, college: Indiana St.) of el nacional 21 pts 6 reb
Terry Taylor (203-C-81, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Virginia Tech) of independiente 25 pts 10 rebs

Sionista beat Libertad in overtime with a good game of Alejandro Zilli (200-F-82) but Libertad keeps te first position. Regatas is closer now because they defeated Ben Hur. Hughe victory of El Nacional on the road over Obras. Good Victory of penarol too over Gimasia 100-66. Independiente overcame Quilmes and was the only one team from the bottom who could win. The regular season will continue on Sunday and will end in two weeks.

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AUSTRALIA

Brian Goorjian wins NBL Coach of the Year Trophy -by Eurobasket News
An amazing season by the Sydney Kings could be different if not an outstanding coaching performance by the foreman of the coaching shop Brian Goorjian . His job was awarded with the Lindsay Gaze Trophy for Coach of the Year. Goorjian was an obvious winner receiving 89 votes in the poll. He surpassed the Gold Coast Blaze coach Brendan Joyce and Al Westover from the Melbourne Tigers. Brian Goorjian is the most winning coach in the NBL history. This award was the fifth one for Goorjian as he was trumped the Coach of the Year in 1992, 1997, 1998 and 2002. In 1997 Brain Goorjian was tied in the poll with the Tigers' legendary guru Lindsay Gaze .

Sydney kings Coach Gorijan claims fifth coach of the year award -by Sohail Nasri
By Sohail Nasri

IT WAS long overdue but Brian Goorjian finally claimed a record fifth National Basketball League coach of the year award.

Remarkably, it is Goorjian's first as coach of the Sydney Kings, despite being on track for a fourth title from five grand final appearances in his six years with the previously title-less club.

The coaches and captains who vote on the Lindsay Gaze Trophy had little other choice after Goorjian's Kings lost only three of 30 games in the regular season, before making their way into the current grand final series against Melbourne.

Sydney's winning percentage of 0.900 was the second-best in NBL history behind only the Adelaide 36ers 'Invincibles' team of 1986, who went 24-2 (0.917).

Goorjian, who has won more games than any other coach in NBL history, earned 89 votes to finish well ahead of Gold Coast mentor Brendan Joyce (25) and Alan Westover of Melbourne (24).

He previously won coach of the year in 1992, 1997 (tied with Lindsay Gaze), 1998 and 2002.

Under Goorjian's tutelage, the Kings were the toughest defensive team in the competition, allowing the opposition to score on average just 90 points a game.

They restricted opposing teams to just 44 percent shooting from the field (second best in the league) and also led in blocked shots with five per outing.



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BELGIUM

Various News -by Peter Buyse

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

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

Oostende missed Ovcina for their game vs Liege.

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

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

Standings - Division I
D1 Standings
1. Bree 17-6
2. Charleroi 17-7
3. Oostende 16-7
4. M.Hainaut 16-8
5. Liege 15-7
6. Verviers-Pep. 11-13
7. Aalstar 10-14
8. Antwerp 8-16
9. Leuven 5-19
10. Gent 4-20


Stats Leaders - Division I
D1 Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1. Emmett - Liege - 24.0
2. Wilson - Verv - 18.8
3. Freeman - Gent -17.7
4. Perkins - Bree - 16.5
5. Lojeski - Aalst - 16.1
6. Lewis - Leuven - 15.9
7. Jacobson -Bree- 15.6
8. Miller - Gent - 15.6
9. Gonzales - Aal - 15.3
10. Gray - MH - 15.2
Rebounds Per Game
1. Turek - Gent - 10.2
2. Fisher - Bree - 10.1
3. Cantrell - Aalst - 8.6
4. Pelle - Liege - 8.4
5. Poole - Aalst - 7.3
6. Ebong - Mons - 7.3
7. Riddick - Charl - 7.0
8. Hodge - Bree - 6.3
9. Massot - Verv - 6.1
10. Ovcina - Oost - 6.4
Assists Per Game
1. Perkins - Bree - 5.1
2. Conlan - Mons - 3.9
3. Jordan - Char - 3.7
4. Van Rossom - O - 3.4
5. Wilson - Verv - 3.1


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BRAZIL

Univates, Pitagoras, Universo and Ulbra won their games in Nacional Masculino.- -by Ed Goodman
Yesterday Univates/ Bira won over UTC Uberlandia 67-62 in a close game Thulius of Univates with 15 Points and Salgueiro 18 Points of UTC were the best scorers of the game. Pitagoras/ Minas made their own with Ciser Joinville in another disputed game 81-78. Johnson was great with 26 Points and Viegas 20 Points by Ciser. Universo defeated Inesul / Londrina 87-67 with Ratto 20 Points. Ulbra/ Rio Claro obtained a victory over FTC EAD 76-63 Joel Munoz (179-G-80) was the best scorer of the game with 19 Points.

Standings - BNL
BNL Standings
1. Flamengo 11-0
2. Minas 8-3
3. Saldanha 8-3
4. Joinville 8-4
5. Universo/BRB 6-4
6. Univates 6-6
7. Uberlandia 5-6
8. CETAF 5-7
9. Ulbra 3-2
10. FTC EAD 2-8
11. Londrina 2-9
12. Iguacu 0-12


Saldanha and Ulbra defeated Uguazu and Cetaf/ Garoto.- -by Ed Goodman
Last Thursday Saldanha won over Iguazu 98-64 the best scorers of the game were Alessandro 20 Points and P. Roberto 17 Points. In the other game Ulbra / Rio Claro defeated Cetaf/ Garoto 70-69, the best were Diego and Vanderlei both with 19 Points and Felipinho 19 Points. Ulbra just have started to play their games with the other teams because they were playing in other league at this moment they have a record of 2-2 in 4 games.

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BULGARIA

Toyota Wins the HDI All Star Game -by Valentin Anguelov

Toyota team is the new winner in the HDI All Star Game after defeating Ledenika team with 113-90. This was the opening game for the new modern hall in the city of Samokov. The event was honoured by the presence of a lot of famous politicians and celebrities including the president of the country Mr. Georgi Parvanov, the new head coach of the Bulgarian national team Pini Gershon and others. Although suited to accommodate 3000 people, Arena Samokov was already full 2 hours before the start of the game and many people couldn't get inside to watch the show live. Everyone present and the television viewers witnessed an amazing spectacle. The show was completed by Fiore ballet, Space Dunkers and MC Bony.

In honour of the International Women's Day - 8th March, the game was refereed by the trio Stanka Koleva, Tatyana Valcheva and Vesela Kokonova, and the delegate was Krasimira Gyurova.

This was the first game in which the players were mixed instead of being divided in Bulgarians vs foreigners. The coaches themselves (Zeljko Lukaic and Georgi Mladenov for Ledenika and Lubomir Minchev and Rosen Barchovski for Toyota) chose the players for the two teams.

Ledenika's players played as equals only in the beginning of the game but after the middle of the second quarter Toyota's players were way better on the court and managed to control the game to the very end. At the half time they were ahead by 8 points (61-53) but most players and the coaches were hardly interested in the result because of the nature of the game which is meant to be a show. During the second half of the game Toyota played even better and in the end they won by 23 points. Everyone who participated in the game enjoyed themselves and were also aplauded for their attractive performance.

Todor Stoykov from Toyota was chosen for MVP of the game. He played only one half scoring 18 points, to which he added 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. His teammate from Lukoil Academic Pero Antic scored 17 points for 16 minutes, and CSKA's captain Georgi Davidov finished with 16. Spartak Pleven's center Sasha Topcov was the most effective player for Ledenika with 14 points

FULL STATS FROM THE HDI ALL STAR GAME LEDENIKA - TOYOTA 2008

by Svetlin Petrov - BulgarianBasket.com



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EBA

What promised to be a great game between the EBA's top two teams did not disappoint -by Justin Moore
What promised to be a great game between the EBA's top two teams The Harrisburg Horizon and The Alexandria Avengers did not disappoint. The game was tight from the opening tip to the final buzzer.The Game was trully a nail bitter from start to finish The Horizon took a 7point halftime lead at the break. But after halftime fell behind 81-80 after the 3rd.The Horizon pulled ahead with 7:00 to go,But again the Avengers went on a 12-2 run to take the lead 105-100 with 3:00 to go, But Costly turn-overs hurt the Avengers and cost them sole-possession of 1st place 117-110. Dave Jannuzzi (6'1''-G-77, college: Wilkes) (6'1''-G-77, college: Wilkes) led the Horizon with 22pts,Demone Maxwell (6'2''-G-80) added 20pts,10rebs. Alexandria was led by Tyree Harris (6'1''-G-79, college: Pfeiffer) 26pts,8rebs,3ast,3stls, Justin Moore (5'9''-G-80, college: St.Augustine) 18pts,4ast, Brian Carter (6'6''-F-81, college: Catawba) 16pts,15rebs,5blks,Brandon Woolen (6'4''-G, college: Virginia Union) 14pts,4rebs,4stls and Daryl Owens (6'2''-G, college: Nova CC) 22rebs,10stls,5blocks.

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EUROLEAGUE

Cibona extends contract with Luksa Andric -by Dragan Jankovski
Management of Cibona from Zagreb extended contract with a center Luksa Andric (209-C/F-85) until the end of the season 2009/10. Andric played 14 games this season for Cibona in Euroleague averaging 6.7 ppg and 4.2 rpg. He also played 22 games so far in Adriatic league where he had 7.3 ppg and 4. 2 rpg. Before Cibona, Andric played two seasons for the Croatian team Dubrava Sport Tip like a loaned player. He moved to Cibona from BC Dubrovnik on 2002.

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Honka and ToPo scored over 100 pts -by Rauno Hurmalainen

Korisliiga, Round 38: The regular season is soon over. 38 rounds have been played and only four rounds are left. Tonight there were three contests:
Honka (Espoo) scored 110 pts (70 pts during the first half), when meeting and beating visitor Pyrinto (Tampere) 110-87. Jukka Matinen (203-F-78) led Honka with
30 pts. Petteri Koponen (193-G-88) added 21 pts. Damon Williams (199-F-73, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Colorado St.-Pueblo) led Pyrinto with 27 pts. Riku Liljeberg (176-G-84) scored his season high 13 pts. Torpan Pojat (Helsinki) visited in Karkkila and defeated Team Componenta 81-100. ToPo has now three effective Americans as they (Josh Gonner - Tyson Patterson - Takais Brown) combined 79 out of Team's 100 pts. Chris Hester (192-G-79, college: E.Washington) netted game high 32 pts for TC. YMCA Lahti had newcomer Sami Pekkola (201-F-83) back on the roster (Pekkola's studies over at St. Francis NY, USA). Pekkola was at once the leading scorer, but visitor Kouvot (Kouvola) won anyway 62-69.

Honka - Pyrinto 110-87 (70-48) (Jukka Matinen 30, Petteri Koponen 21 - Damon Williams 27, Riku Liljeberg 13).

Team Componenta - Torpan Pojat 81-100 (37-57) (Chris Hester 32, Nick Wallery 15 - Josh Gonner 28, Tyson Patterson 26).

YMCA Lahti - Kouvot 62-69 (22-31) (Sami Pekkola 16, Ed Williams 15 - Tuomas Iisalo 16, Wayne Bernard 15).



Standings - Korisliiga
Korisliiga Standings
1. ToPo 29-9
2. Kouvot 27-11
3. Honka 26-12
4. Lahti 19-18
5. Pyrinto 17-21
6. Kataja 16-22
7. Tarmo 16-22
8. KTP 16-23
9. Korihait 15-22
10. LrNMKY 14-5
11. Componenta 12-26
12. Kauhajoki 11-27


Stats Leaders - Korisliiga
Korisliiga Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Williams, Pyrinto 23,1
2 Henning, LrNMKY 22,5
3 S.Smith, KTP 21,6
4 C.Smith, Kouvot 21,1
5 Wallery, TC 21,0
Rebounds Per Game
1 McCarroll, Tarmo 12,7
2 Wallery, TC 12,3
3 Dies, KTP 11,4
4 Williams, Pyrinto 11,2
5 Dantzler, Pyrinto 10,8
Assists Per Game
1 Patterson, ToPo 5,1
2 Sten, LrNMKY 4,6
3 Hinnant, Kataja 4,6
4 Virtanen, LrNMKY 4,2
5 Williams, Pyrinto 4,0


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FYR MACEDONIA

D1 Standings
Superleague Standings
1. Feni Indistrija 21-3
2. Strumica 18-5
3. AMMAK SP 14-10
4. Pelister 14-10
5. F.Rabotnicki 13-11
6. MZT Skopje 12-11
7. Vardar 9-15
8. Karpos 2-22


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GERMANY

Koeln 99ers: Sinanovic suffered left-hand fracture -by Moritz Korff
The Koeln 99ers (1. Bundesliga) will have to replace Nedzad Sinanovic (221-C-83) for the remainder of this current season. The 24-year-old Center suffered a left-hand fracture during the game against Leverkusen on Thursday. Though he was hit by the injury early in the game Sinanovic continued to play and finished the encounter with a season-high 21 points. Afterwards the doctors diagnosed that the navicular bone is broken. Sinanovic will undergo surgery probably next week.

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GREECE

Interview with Tomas Nagys -by Serafim Karaiskakis

Tomas Nagys (208-F-80, college: Clemson) the athletic Lithuanian player gave exclusive interview to Eurobasket about the Greek league and his last team Olimpiada Patras. Tomas currently plays in Spain for Akasvayu Girona.

Eurobasket: You had important role in the team and good averages (9.2ppg, 5.6rpg), why you left from Olimpiada Patras?

Tomas Nagys: Team had serious financial problems and was breaching my contract rules and regulations in many different ways. I was playing for Olimpiada Patras almost half of the season and received only one fully monthly payment/salary.

Eurobasket: Olimpiada besides the many changes in the roster is still in the bottom of the table, do you think they can save the year and remain in A1?

Tomas Nagys: At this point I am not sure what is going to happen to Olimpiada Patras team. I wish them good luck for the rest of the season and to survive and stay in A1, even though I lost a lot of respect to Olimpiada Patras organization for being so unprofessional towards all the players and coaches!

Eurobasket: You played in Greece for two teams (Larissa and Olimpiada), tell us your thoughts about the Greek league.

Tomas Nagys: I really enjoyed playing in the competitive Greek basketball league. I think that the level of competition in Greece was high and that is why it is ranked among one of the top leagues in Europe.

Eurobasket: Who was your best teammate in Greece?

Tomas Nagys: I can not name one specific person who was my best teammate in Greece, but i can tell you that while playing in Greece I met many great people and basketball players with who I became good friends and still keep in touch up until this day.

Eurobasket: Coach Christopoulos picked you last year to join Larissa and this season asked you again in Olimpiada, what is your opinion about him?

Tomas Nagys: I have a lot of respect for coach Christopoulos. He is not just a good coach who is willing to work hard and learn something new everyday but most importantly he is great guy with a very good personality, unfortunately these last couple years he was not given a fair chance to coach under normal conditions at the basketball clubs who are well organized and very professional.


Eurobasket: Your predictions about the Greek A1 league are?

Tomas Nagys: I truly believe that Panathinaikos once again will clinch the title and will be champions of Greek basketball league!

Thank you for the interview and good luck to your career.



Standings - B-C leagues
B Standings
B Division
1. Near East 16-5
2. Ikaros K. 15-6
3. Aigio Helesi 14-6
4. KAOD 14-7
5. Komotini 14-7
6. Ikaroi Serron 13-8
7. Ermis L. 13-8
8. Lavrio 13-8
9. Anagennisi 13-8
10. Amyntas 12-9
11. Doukas 10-11
12. Goumenissa 8-13
13. Makedonikos 5-16
14. Alimos 5-16
15. Milonas 2-19
16. Olympiakos V. 1-20
C North - Group 1
1. AIAS Evosmou 18-3
2. Arhelaos 17-4
3. Aiginiakos 14-7
4. Filippos V. 14-7
5. Niki Volou 12-9
6. Argos Orestiko 12-9
7. HANTH 11-10
8. Galaxias 10-11
9. Proteas G. 9-12
10. Foinikas 9-13
11. Siatista 8-13
12. Ionas Volou 7-14
13. Ifestos T. 4-17
14. Megas Al. 3-18
C North - Group 2
1. Apollon K. 19-2
2. Stratoni 18-3
3. Enosi Kavalas 17-4
4. Mantoulidis 15-6
5. Halkidona 14-7
6. Eleftheroupoli 13-8
7. Makabi 11-10
8. M.Alexandros 11-10
9. Ionikos Ionias 9-12
10. Thermaikos 6-15
11. Komotinis 5-16
12. VAO 5-16
13. Arion Xanthis 4-17
14. Nikiti H. 0-16
C South - Group 1
1. Gyziakos 18-3
2. Arkadikos 17-3
3. Kronos l. 15-6
4. Agia Paras. 14-6
5. KAO Palaimon 13-8
6. Peiraikos 12-8
7. AEK/Pegasus 12-9
8. Kefallonias 11-9
9. Doxa Lefkadas 9-12
10. Apolloniada 9-12
11. Papagou 5-15
12. AEM Polyvios 3-17
13. EA Patron 3-17
14. Messinis 2-18
C South - Group 2
1. OFI 18-2
2. Ierapetra 17-4
3. Panelefsiniakos 15-6
4. Filathlitikos 14-7
5. Zografou 14-7
6. Kronos AD 12-9
7. Ionikos Nikaias 10-10
8. Arditos 10-10
9. Ionikos N.F. 9-11
10. Aris Nikaias 9-12
11. Apollon Sm. 7-14
12. Ermis S. 5-15
13. Diagoras 2-18
14. Halkida 2-19


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GUATEMALA

Second win for SAT -by Gianni Pascucci
For the second time at home, Sat Cybertec tacked Nacionales de El Salvador with a 86-66 comfortable victory that placed the Guatemalan team tied with Icevic of Honduras at the top of Group B of Liga Centroamericana. Import player Henry Martinez (186-G/F-75, agency: Interperformances) and local Heberth Rodriguez (185-G-82) were the best at Guatemalan side, scoring 28 and 17 points, respectively. In this Game 2, Sat Cybertec managed effectively with a fast, upbeat tempo that could not be contested by the Salvadorians, and that will surely cause damage to Icevic when the team visits Honduras next week. -'All attention is now to be centered in Honduras', Coaches Ernesto Rodriguez and Otto Larios said at the end of a game that was enjoyed by a large crowd of local fans that cheered from the begining to the end the efforts of their players and team.
with the help of Victor Padilla

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HOLLAND

Hanzevast Capitals Gain Revenge On Matrixx Magixx, Win In Blowout -by Sanders Jackson

Saturday night in the Martiniplaza, Hanzevast Capitals made sure that Matrixx Magixx would not get the chance to win four times versus them this season, winning in a 90-61 blowout. The team from Pep Claros got off to a good start, leading 30-16 at the end of the 1st quarter and kept the pressure on Matrixx throughout. Hanzevast's pressure defense forced 31 Matrixx turnovers, as well as limiting them to 40.5% FG and won the battle of the boards with a 45-34 advantage. Hanzevast were led in scoring by Dwayne Archbold (198-F/G-80, agency: CAA Sports, college: Siena) with 21 pts. including a perfect 5 of 5 from the three-point line! Kevin Melson (199-F-78, college: Wright St.) added 19 pts. and 5 steals, and Raoul Heinen (196-G-80, agency: Court Side, college: George Mason) scored 15. Alhaji Mohammed (192-G-81, agency: Beo Basket, college: Louisville) led Matrixx with 17 pts. Hanzevast are tied with Matrixx at 19-13, but Matrixx hold a 3-1 head-to-head advantage.

MyGuide Amsterdam Bounces Back, Shake Off Upstairs Weert -by Sanders Jackson

In MyGuide's previous loss this season to Rotterdam Challengers in January, they bounced back from the loss to win over Upstairs Weert. Saturday night in Amsterdam, it happened once again, with MyGuide once again bouncing back from a weekly Rotterdam loss to get back on the winning track at Upstairs' expense, pulling away in the 4th quarter to win 83-65. After MyGuide built a 25-16 1st quarter lead, the Limburgers kept hanging around, with good 1st half three-point shooting, but by the 4th quarter MyGuide closed the door. A 40-22 rebounding advantage coupled with a stronger bench scoring output (27-9 difference) gave MyGuide the upper hand. Jeron Roberts (194-G/F-76, agency: Gross Zeev ISA, college: Wyoming) was back in the lineup after missing the West-Brabant Giants win, leading MyGuide with 21 pts. Sergerio Gipson (193-G/F-80, agency: 540 Sports, college: Arkansas) added 19 pts., with Avis Wyatt (211-F/C-84, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Virginia St.) scoring 15. Robert Krabbendam (213-C-86, college: Virginia Tech) had another strong performance in Peter van Paassen's absence, adding a double-double of 11 pts. and 11 rebounds. Ashley Champion (198-F-81, college: Chattanooga) led all scorers with 23 pts. MyGuide improves to 27-5, while Upstairs fall to 12-20 with their freefall continuing, losses of seven straight and 11 of last 12.

Matrixx Magixx Pulls Away In 4th Quarter, Blows Out Aris Friesland -by Sanders Jackson

Thursday night in the Horstacker, in the first three quarters in the matchup between Matrixx Magixx and Aris Friesland was close, but Matrixx turned it up a notch in the 4th quarter, cruising to a 93-76 win. Matrixx shot an impressive 69.2% from the field, with five Matrixx players scoring in double figures, led by Alhaji Mohammed (192-G-81, agency: Beo Basket, college: Louisville) with 20 pts. With the win, Matrixx improves to 19-12 heading into Saturday's showdown at Groningen vs. Hanzevast Capitals, a team Matrixx has scored a hat trick on this season.

Hot Rotterdam Challengers Win Once Again Over MyGuide Amsterdam -by Sanders Jackson

Thursday night in the Topsportcentrum, the Rotterdam Challengers built a 15-point lead vs. FEB leaders MyGuide Amsterdam, holding off a 4th quarter Myguide before eventually holding on to a 76-71 win, ending MyGuide's nine-game winning streak and extending its own to five games. Th Rotterdammers owned the glass 41-30, and made 10 three-pointers. Rotterdam were led by Frank Young (196-F-84, agency: Pro One Sports, college: W.Virginia) with 15 pts., and Chaz Twan Briggs (201-F-80, college: W.Virginia) adding a double-double with 13 pts. and 13 rebounds. Avis Wyatt (211-F/C-84, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Virginia St.) had a double-double for MyGuide with 15 pts. and 10 rebounds. The Rotterdammers are now 18-12 and currently one game game out of 3rd place, in an already logjam between places 3rd to 6th in the current FEB standings.

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

Standings - A Division
A Division Standings
1. Falco 18-3
2. Dombovar 14-7
3. Pecs 13-7
4. Szolnok 13-7
5. Atomeromu 12-8
6. Nyiregyhazi 12-8
7. Albacomp 11-9
8. Kormend 10-10
9. Univer KSE 10-10
10. ZTE KK 8-11
11. Soproni 8-12
12. MAFC 6-18
13. Bodrogi Bau 4-17
14. Kaposvari 4-17


Round 21 -by Tamas Deri

Univer KSE could win against Falco, the top team of our league, which had to play without injured point guard, Laszlo Kalman. However, coach Sekulovic had a perfect replacement for him, young star Kornel Varadi was the best player of the team: scored 26 points, had 4 assists and 4 rebounds. However, the big men of the home team were unstoppable, Fiegi and Jefferson scored 57 points and grabbed 8 rebounds together.


Thomas Kelley had a great game again with 14 points, 5 assists, 4 steals and 2 rebounds. He lead his team to a very low score victory against ZTE KK. Interesting fact, that Reggie Basette was the best player of the game with a double-double: 24 points and 10 rebounds, but it was not enough for a win.

Bodrogi Bau-Vasarhelyi Kosarsuli could win by 11 points against MAFC, which team missed some of the players because of injuries, even the new american guard, Anthony Harris could spend only six minutes on the court. However, it was a very important win for the home team to keep the chances to stay in the first division.
Dombovar did not give any chance for Pecs and beat them by 13 points. With this win they made a very big step to reach the second place after the regular season.

It was a very hard game between Kaposvar and Paks, but the guests could decide the game in the last quarter and win by 6 points. It was a key that they had five players who scored in double figures.

UNIVER-KECSKEMET-FALCO KC-SZOMBATHELY 97-79
(28-20, 16-22, 29-20, 24-17)
Kecskemet, Att.: 1000, Referees: Cziffra, Palla, Franyo
KECSKEMET: Jakob Sigurdarson (192-G-82, agency: IceBasket, college: Birmingham Souther) 9/3, Blair 10, Akos Horvath (194-G/F-81, agency: FCM) 16/9, Jefferson Antonio (207-F/C-83) 29/9, Eric Fiegi (206-C-84, agency: Naiditch Entertainment, college: Corban) 28/6, Lekli, Toth P. 3/3, Szabo Zs., Vida 2, Halmai, Csorvasi, Coach: Zsoldos Andras
SZOMBATHELY: Kornel Varadi (198-G-87, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 26/15, Doyne 15/3, Edwin Draughan (196-G/F-82, college: Yale) 13/3, Kazlauskas 11/9, Aliakseyeu 8, Borszeki, Will, Feigl 6, Szanati, Csiszar, Coach: Srecko Sekulovic


SZOLNOKI OLAJ KK - ZALAKERAMIA-ZTE KK 66-60
(14-19, 23-11, 15-15, 14-15)
Szolnok, Att.: 2000, Referees: Hartyani, Bognar, Pozsonyi
OLAJ KK: Thomas Kelley (188-G-76, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: Michigan St.) 14, Laszlo Cziczas (188-G-79) 12/9, Vernard Hollins (192-G-80, agency: Warren Sports, college: Wright St.) 13/3, Sabaliauskas, Gobi 8, Tamas Harazin (204-F-85) 10, Ledoux, Molnar A. 9/6, Toth V., Coach: Por Peter
ZTE KK: Miskovic 2, Walters 5, Kaman 6, Hoffmann 7/3, Reggie Bassette (206-C-77, college: ODU) 24, Keresztes, Gergely Baki (194-G/F-87, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 14/12, Simon L. 2, Coach: Nikola Lazic


PLANET LEASING-DOMBÓVAR - PVSK-Expo Center Pecs 87-74
(24-22, 19-17, 23-17, 21-18)
Dombovar, Att.: 1200, Referees: Papp P., Kothay, Hegedus
DOMBÓVAR: Mike English (194-F/G-82, college: Mo.-Kansas City) 18, Julien Mills (193-G-84, agency: Warren Sports, college: Ball St.) 20/3, Deak 6/6, Sanders 14, Du Juan Wiley (206-C-75, college: Michigan St.)15/6, Bodi 12/6, Balogh L. 2, Molnar M., Coach: Dzunic Branislav
PECS: Kutasi 3/3, Nick Williams (192-G-83, agency: Beo Basket, college: Cincinnati) 25/9, Denes 8/6, Lapov 5, Grebenar 6, Aleksic 12, Toth N., Jovanovic 13, Czigler 2, Coach: Stojan Ivkovic


BODROGI BAU-VASARHELYI KOSARSULI - MAFC 105-94
(27-25, 21-24, 25-16, 32-29)
Hodmezővasarhely, Att.: 700, Referees: Valovics, Adam, Csősz
VASARHELY: Gabor Drahos (185-G-79) 31/15, David Brooks (191-G-82, college: Niagara) 26, KOVATS 25/3, Freeman 14/6, Gemes 2, Boszormenyi 3, Babut 2, Kukla 2, Coach: Czuprak Laszlo
MAFC: Jitim Young (188-G-81, college: Northwestern) 38/9, A. Harris, Zoltan Wehner (191-G/F-82) 26/6, Vavra 15/9, Fulop 6, Misek 3/3, Fodor K. 2, Radovics 2, Bodrogi 2, Coach: Dinnyes Attila


KAPOSVARI KK - ATOMEROMU SE 93-99
(29-23, 32-26, 16-25, 16-25)
Kaposvar, Att.: 700
KKK: Vojvoda 10, Matija Ceskovic (192-G-81, agency: Court Side) 24/6, Szoke 4, Roland Hendlein (201-F-86, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 15/9, Mike Kinsella (213-C-84, agency: Strategic Sports, college: Marquette) 32/12, Csirke 6/6, Orosz 2, Kiss, Coach: Horvath Imre
ASE: Meszaros 7/3, Denis Toroman (190-G-82) 18/15, Cedric Brooks (185-G-80, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Pittsburg St.) 14/12, Greg Stevenson (198-F-78, agency: SportsTalent, college: Richmond) 16, Zoltan Horvath (207-F/C-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 20/3, Robert Gulyas (213-C-74) 24/3, Kiss, Panta, Coach: Sabali Balazs



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

Standings - Iceland Express League
Express L. Standings
1. Keflavik 16-4
2. KR 16-4
3. Grindavik 14-6
4. Snaefell 12-8
5. Njardvik 12-8
6. Skallagrimur 10-10
7. IR 9-11
8. Thor AK 9-11
9. Tindastoll 7-13
10. Stjarnan 7-13
11. Hamar/S. 4-16
12. Fjolnir 4-16


Standings - 1 Division
D1 Standings
1. Breidablik 16-1
2. Valur 13-5
3. FSU 12-4
4. Haukar 9-7
5. Thor Thorl 8-7
6. Armann/Thrott 8-8
7. KFI 6-9
8. Hottur 4-12
9. Reynir S. 3-11
10. Throttur V. 2-16


Iceland Express results. -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Keflavik 106 Tindastoll 85. Easy win for KeflavikBobby Walker & Tommy Johnson (196-G/F-81, college: Texas Wesleyan) woke up again. Walker 27 pts Johnson 23 for Keflavik.Joshua Buettner 36. Philip Perre 23 for Tindastoll.

Thor did not have problem of beating Fjolnir 106-81. Thor now close to make it to the play-offs. Need one win in last two games of the season.
Top scorers for Thor Cedric Isom 27. Luka Marolt 23. Odinn Asgeirsson 22. Robert Reed 14 + 16 rebs.
For Fjolnir Anthony Drejaj 28. Sean Knitter 18.

Snaefell beat Grindavik on a three pointer buzzer almost from Slobodan Subasic 75-72. Important win for Snaefell who are fighting for fourth spot before play-offs start and to have home court advance in first round. Bad loss for Grindavik who are trying to keep at least the second place in the league.
Top scorers for Snaefell. Justin Shouse 19. Anders Katholm & Magni Hafsteinsson 12. Hlynur Baeringsson 11 + 16 rebs.
For Grindavik. New american player Jamaal Williams 27. Pall A Vilbergsson 17

1.Division -by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Breidablik 1. division champions beat Throttur 100-57 this results means that Throttur move down to 2. division. Breidablik moves dorectly to Iceland Express league next season.
Trausti Johannsson 19 pts for Breidablik. Jonas Ingason & Ragnar H. Ragnarsson 11 each for Throttur.

Valur 124 Hottur 78. Valur fighting for 2. place in the league to have the home court advance all the way in play-offs. Hottur trying to secure their spot in the league.
Leading scorers for Valur. Craig Walls 23. Steingrimur Ingolfsson 22. Ragnar Gylfason 20. For Hottur Everard Bartlett 34. Ben Hill 25

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

Saturday games results -by Gianni Pascucci

Scavolini-Spar Pesaro had the uncertain honour to inaugurate the 'sunday afternoon Game', telecasted live by Sky TV, defeating Eldo Napoli 95-80 just after the lunch time. This clear win relaunches the playoff ambitions of Pesaro and slows the run of Napoli, that had made an intersting comeback in last weeks. The main factor of the home team win was this time the inside game of Ron Slay (203-F-81, agency: David Lee services, college: Tennessee) (19 pts, 4 rebs) and Pervis Pasco (206-F/C-81, college: Kansas St.) (13 pts, 13 rebs, 4 blocks, 4 steals and 2 assist, in our opinion the Saturday MVP). Panamanian veteran Michael Hicks (193-G-76, college: Texas A&M - C.C.) added 16 points and 6 rebs for Pesaro, while Chris Monroe (191-G-81, college: George Washington) was the game top scorer with 27 points in a luxurious losing effort. Some hours after, Benetton Treviso played this time a good game, clearly prevailing 83-68 over a Snaidero Udine absolutely not at its usual shape. With 24 pts and 9 rebs, Mario Austin led the greens, well assisted by Reece Gaines (198-G-81, college: Louisville) (17 points) and Marco Mordente (192-G-79) (13 pts), while Mike Penberthy (191-G-74, college: Master's) with 14 points was the 'less worse' at the orange side.
See complete boxscore at www.legabasket.it



*****************************************************
LIGA CENTROAMERICANA

Second win for SAT -by Gianni Pascucci
For the second time at home, Sat Cybertec tacked Nacionales de El Salvador with a 86-66 comfortable victory that placed the Guatemalan team tied with Icevic of Honduras at the top of Group B of Liga Centroamericana. Import player Henry Martinez (186-G/F-75, agency: Interperformances) and local Heberth Rodriguez (185-G-82) were the best at Guatemalan side, scoring 28 and 17 points, respectively. In this Game 2, Sat Cybertec managed effectively with a fast, upbeat tempo that could not be contested by the Salvadorians, and that will surely cause damage to Icevic when the team visits Honduras next week. -'All attention is now to be centered in Honduras', Coaches Ernesto Rodriguez and Otto Larios said at the end of a game that was enjoyed by a large crowd of local fans that cheered from the begining to the end the efforts of their players and team.
with the help of Victor Padilla

Pioneros rout again Jaguares -by Gianni Pascucci
Winning their fourth Liga Sudamericana game 69-47 (on the road, again vs. Jaguares), Pioneros de Quintana Roo confirmed their total dominy in the competition. The best performer of the game was this time Enrique Zuniga (193-G-75, college: Grand Canyon), who scored 20 points. LeRoy Hickerson (196-G-82, college: Cumberlands) added 17 pts for Pioneros, while Walter Roberts (-F-85) scored 13 points in Jaguares de la UAM, being the only Nicaraguan player to end the game in double digits, and teammates Roger Munoz (208-C-84) and Donald Olivas (188-F-85) added 9 and 8 pts, respectively. The common feeling, at this point of the competition, is that Pioneros are too strong for every other team, and if we consdier that they plan to add soon Boubacar Aw and Horacio Llamas, we do not see how they could lose a single game in this Liga Centroameicana 2008.

Standings
Liga Centroamericana Standings
Group A
1. Pioneros 4-0
2. Jaguares 0-2
3. Liceo 0-2
Group B
1. Icevic T. 2-0
2. SAT 2-0
3. Nacionales 0-4


*****************************************************
LIGA SUDAMERIC.

Libertad news: Profit out, Robinson in -by Facundo Iatzky
Libertad Sunchales had to released Laron Profit (196-G/F-77, agency: Octagon, college: Maryland) due to injury (11.3 pts 2.9 rebs in 7 games). The player had showed very interesting things but he would have to be out of the courts for some weeks, so Libertad decided replace him with former Boca jrs. Jamal Robinson (196-F/G-73, agency: Interperformances, college: Virginia). Robinson played 16 games in Boca this year without great stats but he played previously in important leagues as Lega A Italia and even some games in the NBA.

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

Standings - LKL
LKL Standings
1. Lietuvos 13-0
2. Zalgiris 11-2
3. Alita 8-5
4. Siauliai 8-6
5. Neptunas 7-6
6. Sakalai 5-7
7. Nevezis 5-8
8. Atletas 4-10
9. Panevezys 4-10
10. Suduva 1-12


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

Pioneros rout again Jaguares -by Gianni Pascucci
Winning their fourth Liga Sudamericana game 69-47 (on the road, again vs. Jaguares), Pioneros de Quintana Roo confirmed their total dominy in the competition. The best performer of the game was this time Enrique Zuniga (193-G-75, college: Grand Canyon), who scored 20 points. LeRoy Hickerson (196-G-82, college: Cumberlands) added 17 pts for Pioneros, while Walter Roberts (-F-85) scored 13 points in Jaguares de la UAM, being the only Nicaraguan player to end the game in double digits, and teammates Roger Munoz (208-C-84) and Donald Olivas (188-F-85) added 9 and 8 pts, respectively. The common feeling, at this point of the competition, is that Pioneros are too strong for every other team, and if we consdier that they plan to add soon Boubacar Aw and Horacio Llamas, we do not see how they could lose a single game in this Liga Centroameicana 2008.

Halcones Eclipse the Soles -by Carlos Chapa
In a game with numerous lead changes and a highly competed basketball, the Halcones UV Xalapa resulted victorious 92-84, to lead the Series 2-1 over Soles de Mexicali in the LNBP finals.

In the packed State Auditorium of Mexicali, the Soles leaded at the end of the first half, with a short 3 point advantage, the second half was dominated by Halcones.

After exchanging baskets in the fourth quarter, Mexicali got stops defensively, stops that would not be converted into points at the other end, and finally Sam Bowie (198-F/G-75, college: SE Louisiana) found the rim with a minute left to take a 7 point advantage, Soles de Mexicali showed signs of a comeback -that never came, - with a three-pointer from Horacio Llamas (211-C-73, agency: Interperformances).

For the locals, Greg Lewis (198-F-78, college: Winthrop) recorded a double-double with 23 points and 10 boards, his teammate James Penny (198-F-76, college: TCU) finished with 20 points and 7 rebounds.

In the Halcones side, Jermaine Watson (193-G-81, college: Boston Coll.) achieved 21 and Michael Johnson 20 points.

The series continue Saturday, March 8.

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

Standings
NBA Standings
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Div.
1. Boston C. 49-12
2. Toronto R. 33-28
3. Philadelphia 29-33
4. New Jersey N. 26-37
5. New York K. 18-45
Central Div.
1. Detroit P. 45-17
2. Cleveland C. 36-27
3. Chicago B. 25-37
4. Indiana P. 24-39
5. Milwaukee B. 23-39
Southeast Div.
1. Orlando M. 40-24
2. Washington W. 30-32
3. Atlanta H. 25-36
4. Charlotte B. 24-39
5. Miami H. 11-49
Western Conference
Northwest Div.
1. Utah J. 42-22
2. Denver N. 37-25
3. Portland T.B. 33-30
4. Seattle S. 16-46
5. Minnesota T. 14-48
Pacific Div.
1. Los Angeles L. 44-18
2. Phoenix S. 40-22
3. Golden St. 39-23
4. Sacramento K. 27-35
5. Los Angeles C. 20-41
Southwest Div.
1. San Antonio S. 43-18
2. Houston R. 42-20
3. N.Orleans H. 42-20
4. Dallas M. 40-23
5. Memphis G. 15-47


The Nuggets end the Spurs winning streak -by Eurobasket News
The Denver Nuggets continued their desperate race for the playoff spot with a hard-fought 109:96 win over the San Antonio Spurs. The win snapped the Spurs' 11-game winning run and saw Denver improve to 37-24 record. The Nuggets still one win away from the 8th-ranked Golden State in a mad Western Conference contention for playoffs. Allen Iverson (6'1''-G-75, college: Georgetown) sprained his finger in the first half but overcame an injury to finish with game-high 29 points. Carmelo Anthony (6'8''-F-84, college: Syracuse) struggled in accuracy in the first half but pulled it altogether to add 25 points in a vital victory for the Nuggets. Vital will be the right word for every other Denver's game in the reminder of the season. The hosts trailed by 8 points at halftime but managed to perform with Eduardo Najera (6'8''-F-76, college: Oklahoma) matching his career-best 19 points and J.R. Smith (6'6''-G-85) hit a couple of important treys to help Denver build a 96:81 lead midway through the fourth period. Emanuel Ginobili (6'6''-G-77, agency: Interperformances) answered with 24 points, while Tim Duncan (6'10''-F-76, college: Wake Forest) had 23 as San Antonio slipped to 43-18 record. The Spurs also lost the top spot in the West to the LA Lakers.
The Lakers registered a coasting win over their city-rivals Clippers 119:82. The Lakers had 7 players to score in double figures and shot massive 61% from beyond the arc to stun their opponents in the second half. Derek Fisher led the charge with 17 points. Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) added 16 points, while Lamar Odom (6'10''-F-79, college: Rhode Island) posted 15 in the 44th win for the Lakers. Corey Maggette (6'6''-G-79, college: Duke) replied with 22 points for the ailing Clippers as they dropped the 7th out of the last 8 games.
The Phoenix keeps on adjusting Shaquille O'Neal to the schemes but it works never smoothly for the Suns. The Utah Jazz arrived to Arizona to hand Phoenix the third straight home loss. The Suns now slipped to 3-6 record with Shaquille O'Neal in the lineup. Carlos Boozer (6'10''-F/C-80, college: Duke) came up with 17 second-half points and the Jazz prevailed 126:118. Kyle Korver (6'7''-F-81, college: Creighton) also launched all of his 14-point haul in the second half as Utah shook off a first-half slumber to dominate the second half. They denied a 7-point halftime deficit and surged ahead late in the third period. The teams remained close in the closing stages but accurate shots from Deron Williams (6'3''-G-84, college: Illinois) and Carlos Boozer carried the Jazz to a win. Deron Williams finished with 25 points and 15 assists. Amare Stoudemire (6'10''-F-82) led the Suns with 37 points and 8 boards.

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NCAA

UCLA claims Pac-10 title -by Eurobasket News
UCLA used an overtime to overcome Stanford and clinch the Pac-10 title for the third consecutive year. The Bruins have now strong chances of being seeded as #1 team for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. UCLA led 2:0 at the start and then the Cardinal took over for almost the whole game. Stanford were up 60:55 at the closing stages. But Benedit Mbah (6'8''-F-90) and Russell Westbrook (6'3''-G-88) nailed 4 straight points for the Bruins to drag them within a single point. Brook Lopez (7'0''-F) answered with a free throw but Russell Westbrook tied it all at 61. Lawrence Hill put the visitors ahead by 2 with 7 seconds remaining but Darren Collison was fouled and forced the extra period from charity stripe. It was all about UCLA in overtime. They outscored their opponents 14:4 and celebrated yet another regular season title. Darren Collison chipped in 24 points to pace the Bruins. Russell Westbrook contributed 19 points, including 8 in extra time. Brook Lopez secured 18 points and 13 boards for Stanford. Robin Lopez (7'0''-C) notched 14 points for the Cardinal as they fell to 24-5 record.
Meanwhile Providence remained alive in the race for the Big East tournament with an 85:76 victory over the 14th-ranked Connecticut. Weyinmi Efejuku (6'5''-G-86) drilled 25 points, while Jeff Xavier (6'1''-G-85, college: Manhattan) added 21 points for the Friars as they tied DePaul for the last available spot in the Conference. Providence needs to win against Villanova on Saturday to claim the playoff birth. The Huskies in the meantime guaranteed the first-round bye and face Cincinnati in the regular season finale. Stanley Robinson (6'9''-F-88) and Hasheem Thabeet (7'3''-C-87) poured in 16 points in a losing case.

NABC Division I All-District Teams 2008 -by Eurobasket
District 1
First Team
Tyrese Rice (6'1''-G-87) Boston College
Will Daniels (6'8''-F-86) Rhode Island
A.J. Price (6'2''-G-86) Connecticut
Gary Forbes (6'7''-G/F-85) Massachusetts
Jeff Adrien (6'7''-F-86) Connecticut
Second Team
Hasheem Thabeet (7'3''-C-87) Connecticut
Jimmy Baron (6'2''-G-86) Rhode Island
Geoff McDermott (6'8''-G/F-87) Providence
Marqus Blakely (6'5''-F) Vermont
Matt Janning (6'4''-G/F-88) Northeastern

District 2
First Team
Donte Greene (6'9''-F-88) Syracuse
Charron Fisher (6'4''-G/F-85) Niagara
Jonny Flynn (6'0''-G-89) Syracuse
Antoine Agudio (6'3''-G-85) Hofstra
Bryant Dunston (6'8''-F) Fordham
Second Team
Ryan Wittman (6'6''-G/F) Cornell
Edwin Ubiles (6'6''-G/F-86) Siena
Michael Lee (6'9''-F-86) St. Bonaventure
Justin Burrell (6'8''-F-88) St. John's
Kenny Hasbrouck (6'3''-G-86) Siena

District 3
First Team
Jason Thompson (6'11''-F) Rider
Pat Calathes (6'10''-G/F-85) St. Joseph's
Sam Young (6'6''-F-85) Pittsburgh
Scottie Reynolds (6'2''-G-87) Villanova
Brian Laing (6'5''-G/F-85) Seton Hall
Second Team
Dionte Christmas (6'5''-G) Temple
Dejuan Blair (6'7''-F-89) Pittsburgh
Shawn James (6'10''-F/C-83) Duquesne
Ahmad Nivins (6'9''-F-87) St. Joseph's
Tony Lee (6'0''-G) Robert Morris

District 4
First Team
Roy Hibbert (7'2''-C-86) Georgetown
Eric Maynor (6'2''-G-87) VCU
Will Thomas (6'7''-F-86) George Mason
Joe Alexander (6'8''-F) West Virginia
Reggie Williams (6'6''-F) VMI
Second Team
Florian Campbell (6'4''-G/F-86) George Mason
A.D. Vassallo (6'6''-G/F-86) Virginia Tech
Dajuan Summers (6'8''-F-88) Georgetown
Deron Washington (6'7''-G/F-85) Virginia Tech
Jessie Sapp (6'3''-G) Georgetown

District 5
First Team
Tyler Hansbrough (6'9''-F-85) North Carolina
DeMarcus Nelson (6'4''-G-85) Duke
Stephen Curry (6'0''-G-88) Davidson
Sean Singletary (6'0''-G-85) Virginia
Ty Lawson (5'11''-G-87) North Carolina
Second Team
Greivis Vasquez (6'5''-G-87) Maryland
Arizona Reid (6'5''-F-86) High Point
K.C. Rivers (6'5''-G/F-87) Clemson
Kyle Singler (6'8''-F-88) Duke
James Gist (6'8''-F-86) Maryland

District 6
First Team
Richard Hendrix (6'8''-F-86) Alabama
Jamont Gordon (6'4''-G/F-87) Mississippi St.
Robert Vaden (6'5''-G/F-85) UAB
Nick Calathes (6'6''-G/F) Florida
Demetric Bennett (6'4''-G-85) South Alabama
Second Team
Dwayne Curtis (6'8''-C-85) Ole Miss
Jack McClinton (6'1''-G-85) Miami
Sundiata Gaines (6'1''-G-86) Georgia
Kentrell Gransberry (6'9''-C-85) South Florida
Charles Rhodes (6'8''-F/C-85) Mississippi St.

District 7
First Team
Courtney Lee (6'5''-G/F) Western Kentucky
Chris Douglas-Roberts (6'7''-G-87) Memphis
Shan Foster (6'6''-G/F-86) Vanderbilt
Derrick Rose (6'4''-G-88) Memphis
Chris Lofton (6'2''-G-86) Tennessee
Second Team
Tyler Smith (6'7''-F-86) Tennessee
Patrick Patterson (6'9''-F-89) Kentucky
Lester Hudson (6'3''-G-84) Tennessee-Martin
Terrence Williams (6'6''-F-87) Louisville
Joey Dorsey (6'9''-F-85) Memphis

District 8
First Team
Bo McCalebb (6'0''-G-85) New Orleans
David Gomez (6'7''-F-85) Tulane
Marcus Thornton (6'4''-G-87) LSU
Tyrone Hamilton (6'1''-G-86) Centenary
Chris Davis (6'1''-G) Southern
Second Team
Trey Gilder (6'9''-F-85) Northwestern State
Anthony Randolph (6'11''-F-89) LSU
Tony Hooper (5'11''-G-87) Louisiana-Monroe
Adrian Banks (6'3''-G) Arkansas State
Kyle Gibson (6'4''-G-87) Louisiana Tech

District 9
First Team
D.J. Augustin (5'11''-G-87) Texas
Curtis Jerrells (6'1''-G-87) Baylor
Rob McKiver (6'3''-G-84) Houston
Josh Carter (6'7''-G/F-88) Texas A&M
Martin Zeno (6'5''-G-85) Texas Tech
Second Team
Sonny Weems (6'6''-G/F-86) Arkansas
A.J. Abrams (5'10''-G-86) Texas
Joseph Jones (6'9''-F/C-86) Texas A&M
Ryan Bright (6'6''-F) Sam Houston St.
Damion James (6'7''-G/F-87) Texas

District 10
First Team
Luke Harangody (6'8''-F-88) Notre Dame
D.J. White (6'9''-F-86) Indiana
Eric Gordon (6'4''-G-88) Indiana
Brian Roberts (6'2''-G-85) Dayton
Mike Green (6'1''-G-85) Butler
Second Team
Jamar Butler (6'1''-G-85) Ohio St.
A.J. Graves (6'1''-G-85) Butler
Drew Lavender (5'7''-G-84) Xavier
Tim Pollitz (6'6''-F) Miami (OH)
Leon Williams (6'8''-F/C-86) Ohio

District 11
First Team
Drew Neitzel (6'0''-G-85) Michigan State
Dominic James (5'11''-G-86) Marquette
Brian Butch (6'11''-F/C-84) Wisconsin
Raymar Morgan (6'7''-F-88) Michigan State
Dan Coleman (6'9''-F-85) Minnesota
Second Team
Osiris Eldridge (6'3''-G-88) Illinois State
Randal Falker (6'7''-F-85) Southern Illinois
Daniel Ruffin (5'10''-G-84) Bradley
Jerel McNeal (6'3''-G-87) Marquette
Manny Harris (6'5''-G-89) Michigan

District 12
First Team
Michael Beasley (6'9''-F-89) Kansas State
Blake Griffin (6'10''-F) Oklahoma
Brandon Rush (6'6''-G-85) Kansas
Mario Chalmers (6'1''-G-86) Kansas
Aleks Maric (6'11''-C-84) Nebraska
Second Team
Darrell Arthur (6'9''-F-88) Kansas
Bill Walker (6'6''-F-87) Kansas State
Richard Roby (6'6''-G-85) Colorado
Josh Young (6'1''-G-88) Drake
Darnell Jackson (6'8''-F-85) Kansas

District 13
First Team
Trent Plaisted (6'11''-F/C-86) BYU
Marcelus Kemp (6'5''-G-84) Nevada
Lee Cummard (6'6''-G/F-85) BYU
J.R. Giddens (6'5''-G-85) New Mexico
Reggie Larry (6'6''-F) Boise State
Second Team
Lorrenzo Wade (6'6''-F) San Diego State
Stefon Jackson (6'5''-G-85) UTEP
Kevin Bell (5'10''-G-84) Fresno State
Brandon Ewing (6'2''-G-86) Wyoming
Luke Nevill (7'1''-C-86) Utah

District 14
First Team
Brook Lopez (7'0''-F) Stanford
Ryan Anderson (6'10''-F) California
Jon Brockman (6'7''-F-87) Washington
Kyle Weaver (6'6''-G-86) Washington State
Derrick Low (6'2''-G-86) Washington State
Second Team
Jeremy Pargo (6'2''-G-86) Gonzaga
Jaycee Carroll (6'2''-G-83) Utah State
Malik Hairston (6'6''-G-87) Oregon
Patrick Mills (5'10''-G-88) St. Mary's
Maarty Leunen (6'9''-F-85) Oregon

District 15
First Team
Kevin Love (6'10''-C-88) UCLA
Jerryd Bayless (6'3''-G) Arizona
James Harden (6'5''-G-89) Arizona State
Darren Collison (6'0''-G-87) UCLA
O.J. Mayo (6'5''-G-87) USC
Second Team
Chase Budinger (6'7''-F) Arizona
Alex Harris (6'6''-G-86) UCSB
Justin Hawkins (6'7''-F-85) New Mexico State
Wink Adams (6'0''-G-85) UNLV
Josh Akognon (5'11''-G-86) Cal State-Fullerton

Big South Season 2007-08 -by Eurobasket
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Reid


Williams


Smithson


Leasure


McLean

Regular Season Standings
1. NC-Asheville 10-4 23-9
2. Winthrop 10-4 22-11
3. High Point 8-6 17-14
4. Liberty 7-7 16-16
5. VMI 6-8 14-15
6. Co.Carolina 6-8 13-15
7. Radford 5-9 10-20
8. Charleston So. 4-10 10-20

Tournament Final: Winthrop - UNC Asheville 66-48
Tournament Semifinals:
UNC Asheville - Liberty 75-57
Winthrop - High Point 61-53

All-Big South Conf. Tournament MVP: Michael Jenkins (6'3''-G) of Winthrop
Big South Conf. All-Tournament Team:
Michael Jenkins of Winthrop
Chris Gaynor (5'10''-G) of Winthrop
Andy Buechert (6'9''-C) of Winthrop
K.J. Garland (6'1''-G) of UNC Asheville
Bryan Smithson (6'0''-G-85) of UNC Asheville


All-Big South Conf. 1st Team
Arizona Reid (6'5''-F-86) of High Point
Reggie Williams (6'6''-F) of VMI
Bryan Smithson of UNC Asheville
Jack Leasure (6'3''-G-86) of Coastal Carolina
Alex McLean (6'8''-F) of Liberty


All-Big South Conf. 2nd Team
Chris Gaynor of Winthrop
Michael Jenkins of Winthrop
Kenny George (7'6''-C) of UNC Asheville
K.J. Garland of UNC Asheville
Chavis Holmes (6'4''-G) of VMI


Big South Conf. All-Freshman Team
Omar Carter (6'5''-F-88) of Charleston Southern
Jamarco Warren (5'10''-G-88) of Charleston Southern
Anthony Breeze (6'5''-F) of Coastal Carolina
Charles Corbin (6'6''-F) of Winthrop
Jeremy Anderson (6'4''-G) of Liberty

Big South Conf. All-Academic Team
Giedrius Knysas (6'9''-F-87) of Charleston Southern
Jack Leasure of Coastal Carolina
Matt Boswell (6'7''-F) of High Point
Kyle Ohman (6'4''-G) of Liberty
Philip Martin (6'6''-F-87) of Radford
Walt Allen (6'4''-F) of Presbyterian
K.J. Garland of UNC Asheville
Adam Lonon (5'11''-G) of VMI


All-Big South Conf. Player of the Year: Arizona Reid of High Point
All-Big South Conf. Defensive Player of the Year: Kenny George of UNC Asheville
All-Big South Conf. Freshman of the Year: Omar Carter of Charleston Southern
All-Big South Conf. Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Jack Leasure of Coastal Carolina
All-Big South Conf. Coach of the Year: Eddie Biedenbach of UNC Asheville



Ohio Valley Conference Summary 2007-08 -by Eurobasket
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Hudson


Reed


Carter


Price


Rose
Regular Season Standings
1. Austin Peay St. 16-4 24-10
2. Murray St. 13-7 18-13
3. Morehead St. 12-8 15-15
4. Tennessee-Martin 11-9 17-16
5. Samford 10-10 14-16
6. Tennessee St. 10-10 15-17
7. Tennessee Tech 10-10 13-19
8. E.Kentucky 10-10 14-16
9. SE Missouri St. 7-13 12-19
10. E.Illinois 6-14 7-22
11. Jacksonville St. 5-15 7-22

Tournament Final: Austin Peay - Tennessee State 82-64
Tournament Semifinals:
Austin Peay - UT Martin 78-77
Tennessee State - Murray State 83-75

All-OVC Tournament MVP: Todd Babington (6'5''-G-86) of Austin Peay
OVC All-Tournament Team:
Todd Babington of Austin Peay
Fernandez Lockett (6'5''-F-85) of Austin Peay
Derek Wright (5'9''-G-86) of Austin Peay
Lester Hudson (6'3''-G-84) of UT Martin
Bruce Price (6'3''-G-83) of Tennessee State

All-OVC 1st Team
Lester Hudson of UT Martin
Drake Reed (6'5''-F-87) of Austin Peay
Bruce Carter (6'4''-G-85) of Murray State
Bruce Price of Tennessee State
Mike Rose (6'3''-G) of Eastern Kentucky

All-OVC 2nd Team
Anthony Fisher (6'3''-G-83) of Tennessee Tech
Derek Wright of Austin Peay
Amadi McKenzie (6'7''-F-86) of Tennessee Tech
Travis Peterson (6'10''-C-85) of Samford
Gerald Robinson (6'9''-F) of UT Martin

OVC All-Newcomer Team
Lester Hudson of UT Martin
Marquis Weddle (6'1''-G-88) of UT Martin
Gerald Robinson of Tennessee State
Kenneth Faried (6'8''-F/C-89) of Morehead State
Leon Buchanan (6'5''-F) of Morehead State

All-OVC Player of the Year: Lester Hudson of UT Martin
All-OVC Freshman of the Year: Marquis Weddle of UT Martin
All-OVC Coach of the Year: Donnie Tyndall of Morehead State

Academic All-American Awards 2008 -by Eurobasket
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#e#6


Emmenecker


Augustin


Hare


Leasure


Winkelman
Academic All-American of the Year: Adam Emmenecker (6'1''-G-85) of Drake

Academic All-America 1st Team
D.J. Augustin (5'11''-G-87) of Texas
Adam Emmenecker of Drake
Justin Hare (6'2''-G-84) of Belmont
Jack Leasure (6'3''-G-86) of Coastal Carolina
Brett Winkelman (6'6''-F-86) of North Dakota State

Academic All-America 2nd Team
A.J. Graves (6'1''-G-85) of Butler
Bryan Mullins (6'1''-G-87) of Southern Illinois
Drew Neitzel (6'0''-G-85) of Michigan State
Joe Reitz (6'7''-C-85) of Western Michigan
Mike Schachtner (6'9''-F-86) of Wisconsin-Green Bay

Academic All-America 3rd Team
Ryan Bright (6'6''-F) of Sam Houston State
Matt Nelson (6'9''-F) of Boise State
Greg Paulus (6'1''-G-86) of Duke
Alex Ruoff (6'6''-G) of West Virginia
Drew Streicher (6'7''-G/F-85) of Butler

Atlantic Sun Summary 2007-08 -by Eurobasket
#s#
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Sanders


Rodriguez


Smith


Pigram


Hare

Regular Season Standings
#1 Belmont 14 2 .875 24 8 .750
#2 Jacksonville 12 4 .750 18 12 .600
#3 Stetson 11 5 .688 16 16 .500
#4 E.Tenn.St. 11 5 .688 19 13 .594
#5 Lipscomb 9 7 .563 15 16 .484
#6 Gardner-Webb 9 7 .563 16 16 .500
> Kennesaw St. 7 9 .438 10 20 .333
#7 Mercer 6 10 .375 11 19 .367
> Florida Gulf Coast 6 10 .375 10 21 .323
#8 Campbell 5 11 .313 10 20 .333
> S.Carol.Upstate 5 11 .313 7 23 .233
> N.Florida 1 15 .063 3 26 .103
> - Not Eligible for Postseason Play During NCAA Reclassifying Period

Tournament Final: Belmont - Jacksonville 79-61
Tournament Semifinals:
Belmont - ETSU 69-65
Jacksonville - Gardner-Webb 89-80


All-A-Sun Tournament MVP: Shane Dansby (6'4''-G/F-86) of Belmont
A-Sun All-Tournament Team:
Shane Dansby of Belmont
Justin Hare (6'2''-G-84) of Belmont
Matthew Dotson (6'8''-F-86) of Belmont
Lehmon Colbert (6'6''-F) of Jacksonville


All-A-Sun 1st Team
Justin Hare of Belmont
Courtney Pigram (6'1''-G-85) of ETSU
Ben Smith (5'10''-G) of Jacksonville
Jonathan Rodriguez (6'5''-F-87) of Campbell
Thomas Sanders (6'3''-F) of Gardner-Webb


All-A-Sun 2nd Team
James Florence (6'1''-G-88) of Mercer
Shane Dansby of Belmont
Eddie Ard (6'5''-G/F-85) of Lipscomb
Garfield Blair (6'5''-G-87) of Stetson
Kevin Tiggs (6'4''-F-84) of ETSU


A-Sun All-Freshman Team
Nate Blank (6'5''-F) of Gardner-Webb
Josh Slater (6'3''-G) of Lipscomb
Jordan Campbell (6'5''-G/F-88) of Belmont
Ayron Hardy (6'5''-F-88) of Jacksonville
Adnan Hodzic (6'9''-C-88) of Lipscomb


All-A-Sun Player of the Year: Thomas Sanders of Gardner-Webb
All-A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year: Calvin Henry (6'6''-F-86) of Mercer
All-A-Sun Freshman of the Year: Nate Blank of Gardner-Webb
All-A-Sun Coach of the Year: Rick Byrd of Belmont



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NEW ZEALAND

Auckland and Canterbury draw the first blood -by Eurobasket News
The Auckland Stars gained their first win in the season beating the Harbour Heat 91:86 at the ASB Stadium. The Stars got to a losing start of the NBL season but quickly rebounded and upset the Heat. Auckland were never behind in the game and improved to 1-1 record in the ladder. Casey Frank (203-F-77, college: N.Arizona) and Adrian Majstrovich (202-F/G-80) teamed up for an impressive performance to light up the Stars. Casey Frank was outstanding with 31 points, 9 boards, 3 assists and 2 steals. Adrian Majstrovich provided a solid backup with 29 points, 7 boards and 3 assists to doom the Heat. Auckland pulled away in the second period when they outscored their opponents 28:18 and surged ahead 50:39 at halftime. Harbour remained contestant and trimmed the margin to 4 points with a quarter ahead of the teams. But the Stars were not about to give this one up and ensured the winning outcome at the very end of the game. Tim Behrendorff (211-C-81, college: Gardner-Webb) answered with 21 points and 8 boards for Harbour. Daryl Cartwright (201-F-77) scored 19 points in a losing case. Harbour slipped to 1-1 record and would face the Hawkes Bay Hawks on Thursday. Auckland takes on Manawatu on Friday.
The Canterbury Rams also celebrated the first win in the season as they edged the Otago Nuggets 86:81 in overtime. The Rams got to a better start of the encounter and held on to a 27:21 lead after the opening stanza. But the Nuggets outscored the visitors 21:12 in the second quarter to step in charge. The game remained close throughout the second half and Canterbury were up by 3 with less than a minute to go. But Nat Connell (185-G-80) drained a vital three-pointer with 3 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. But the Rams were seriously eager to come away with a victory today and proved just better in the extra term. Jeremy Kench (184-G-84) topscored with 25 points for the Rams. Joey Harrell (204-F-85, agency: 540 Sports) dropped 20 points in a winning effort. Jay Anderson (206-F-81, college: Oregon) knocked down 19 points for the Nuggets. Nat Connell secured 18 points as Otago fell to 0-2 record.

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


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NIGERIA

Ivy league - Avi-Cenna, ISL shares honours -by Olusegun Ikuesan
Avi-Cenna International school Friday became the new champion of the Ivy league on the boys category while the girls from the University of Lagos International school was crowned winner in the girls cadre.

The Avi-Cenna boys coached by former Indian Language School head coach Adebiyi Oyewole backed by home support played the game of their lives to outdunked the ISL boys as the UNILAG International School are to win the crown by 56-53 points.

The grand finale of the Ivy league was the first inside the newly constructed court of the Avi-Cenna International school. The atmosphere was electrying with students, parents, drivers and masons cheering all the way.

UNILAG (ISL) girls defeated Indian Language School 21-16 to win the girls title, other schools on the prize list include Atlantic Hall who carted home the third place title with a 22-12 points victory over 2007 champion, Vivian Fowler Memorial School while Ifako International School ran away with a narrow win of 29-28 points over the American International School.

Charity Owoh of UNILAG International School was voted the league Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the girls cadre just as Avi-Cenna Steven Odobetu won the boys' MVP.

The Best Behaved team (Boys) was won by American International School while Indian Language School was adjudged the Best Behaved School in the girls category, Coach Ijeoma Earnest of UNILAG Sch Best Coach (female) while Coach Adebiyi Oyewole of Avi-Cenna was voted the best coach among his male team peers.

John Bimbo Faniran CEO AKOFA and Coordinator of the league thanked the almighty, the kids whom he described as the main actors, the coaches, media and the fans for staging a lovely league once again in 2008.

'We thank God for yet another lovely tournament. The interest has become tremendous and we are glad to hear experts of the game acknowledge that the standard is getting higher every year.

'This hall built by Avi-Cenna has become quite inspirational to the ideals of the championship - development and growth. We remain grateful to schools and parents for releasing their wards; to our sponsors and of course the media for taking us into every home in Nigeria and across the world,' he concluded

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NORWAY

The semifinals are tied -by Eurobasket News
Ulriken Eagles and Tromso Storm won their first semifinal games to tie the scores in the series. Both teams had more comfortable victories than their opponents in the first games.
Ulriken Eagles overcame Asker Aliens 95:78 with amazing opening quarter. The hosts started with 29:7 and took a control of the game. Asker Aliens woke up quickly and replied with 12:29 in the second to close at 41:36 at the halftime. The last stanza was decisive in the game when the Eagles produced 35:21 to tie the series. N'Diaye Calix led the winners with 27 points. Adam Zahn (203-F-84, college: Oregon) collected 18 points and 10 rebounds, whilst Frederik Gnatt netted 16. Ronny Karlsen (203-F-78, college: Independence CC) top-scored for the guests with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Tromso Storm in the similar game beat Harstad Vikings 94:74. The first half here brought only one point advantage for the hosts to lead 40:39. A third quarter was massive for Tromso Storm that enjoyed 27:10 win. They easily led the game to the happy end and also tied the series at 1-1. Anthony Williams (203-F-83, agency: AMI, college: Cent.Florida) paced all the winners with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Hani Issalhi (187-G-84) scored 19, while Mike Campbell (193-F, college: St.Francis (IN)) and Aleksei Karvanen added 15 apiece.

Ulriken Eagles -Asker Aliens 95 - 78 ( 29 -7 12 -29 19 -21 35 -21 )
Ulriken Eagles:N'Diaye Calix 27, Adam Zahn 18+10 rebs,Frederik Gnatt 16
Asker Aliens:Ronny Karlsen 24+13 rebs, Mustafa Mahnin 16

Tromso Storm -Harstad Vikings 94 - 74 ( 19 -18 21 -21 27 -10 27 -25 )
Tromso Storm:Anthony Williams 24+11 rebs, Hani Issalhi 19, Mike Campbell 15+15 rebs, Aleksei Karvanen 15
Harstad Vikings:Jeff Rogers (185-G-73, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: W.Kentucky) 26, Mario Woodsen 13

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PHILIPPINES

2007-08 PBA PHILIPPINE CUP FINAL STANDINGS -by Lorenzo Gahol

FINAL STANDINGS
Rank Teams Elimination - Post Season (Overall)
1. Sta. Lucia 12-6 - 8-6 (20-12)
2. Purefoods 12-6 - 6-8 (18-14)
3. Red Bull 11-7 - 6-4 (17-11)
4. Alaska 11-7 - 5-5 (16-12)
5. Magnolia 10-8 - 0-2 (10-10)
6. Coca-Cola 7-11 - 2-2 (9-13)
7. Air21 7-11 - 1-1 (8-12)
8. Talk ‘N Text 9-9 - 0-1 (9-10)
9. Ginebra 8-10 - 0-1 (8-11)
10. Welcoat 3-15 - x-x (3-15)

Finals MVP: Dennis Espino, Sta. Lucia

Best Player of the Conference: Kelly Williams, Sta. Lucia





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PORTUGAL

Leroy Watkins lived a nightmare this week -by Bruno Baltazar
The past Wednesday Benfica player Leroy Watkins (202-C-76, agency: Interperformances, college: Illinois St.) lived a nightmare that could be possible worse.
For the entire week he told team doctors he was having nonstop headchases,Benfica doctors gave him some medicines for he compete past weekend in Benfica game but the pains after the game keeped and he decided to go to the hospital and over there he spent 2 days doing exams and doctors told him he was having early symtoms of a stroke but everything is now fine with Leroy and the hospital will let him go today ,another situation that scared everyone after Mike Plowden tragical dead.

CTM signs Masudi -by Sergio Silva
CTM V.Pouca de Aguiar, who is actually last in the Proliga, signed with Jeff Masudi (194-G-81) to replace Shane Dennie who left the team some weeks ago. Jeff Masudi is born in Congo but has Belgian nationality. He's a combo guard who is expected to give more quality to the team. Jeff Masudi has already played in several countries during his career, as he experienced Ireland, England, Denmark, Italy and also the USA.

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PUERTO RICO

Guaynabo Conquers the Giants -by Luis Ramirez
The Conquistadors beat the Carolina Giants 115-105. Guaynabo took an early advantage in the 1st quarter but Carolina playing a fast pace game came back strong in this same quarter and took the lead 16-13 with 4:30 minutes to go. Both teams traded baskets for a while but Guaynabo got the better of the exchange and finished ahead 34-31 to end the quarter. It is important to note that Alejandro Carmona was on fire during this quarter as he scored 17 points. In the 2nd quarter Carolina with the help of Darius Rice and Tony Delk went on fire and were simply unstoppable as Carolina took over the lead as the half ended 64-56. In the 3rd quarter it seemed that Carolina would break the game open but with Monty Wilson (197-F-73, agency: Edge Sports, college: Tennessee St.) and Kevin Sheppard hitting 3 pointers the Guaynabo Conquistadors came back and took the lead to end the quarter 87-86.In the 4th quarter it was unsung hero Angel Sanchez who seem to be in the right spot at the right time for several easy layups to pull Guaynabo ahead for good. For Guaynabo, Monty Wilson scored 27 points followed by Kevin Sheppard with 25 points. For Carolina, Darius Rice scored 31 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Alejandro Carmona scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Over at Humacao, the San German Athletics continued their unbeaten streak as they beat the Humacao Grays 77-72. The 1st quarter was played to a tie 24-24, but in the 2nd quarter the Grays kept a tight defense and permitted the Athletics to score only 9 points in that quarter while the Grays went on to score 14 to lead at the half 38-33. In the 3rd quarter it was the Athletics who defended well and went on an offensive run to reclaim the lead 59-56. The 4th quarter was tightly played but the Athletics once again found a way to win the game. For San German it was Robert Lazor with 27 points followed by Omar Alvarado with 13 points. For Humacao, Jack Michael Martinez scored 17 points while grabbing 9 rebounds followed by Ansel Guzman who scored 13 points.

In the last game of the night over at Arecibo the Captains beat the Indians 90-81. The game started somewhat late due to technical difficulties but once it got underway the Captains were ready to go, as they scored at will in the 1st quarter while keeping a tight defense on the Indians who could only score 10 points in that quarter while the Captains went on to score 28 points. In the 2nd quarter the Indians looked better offensively but the big margin suffered in the 1st quarter was difficult to overcome. The half ended with the Captains leading 52-31. In the 2nd half the Indians showed more offense but the Captains had done enough damage in that 1st half to earn the win. For Arecibo, Angel Figueroa and Bobby Joe Hatton both scored 17 points to lead the Captains. For Mayaguez, it was Giovanni Jimenez with 20 points followed by Jermaine Williams with 15 points.

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SERBIA

Dragicevic paced Zvezda in Slovenia, Vojvodina and Hemofarm won -by Dragan Jankovski
Geoplin Slovan - Crvena Zvezda 77-106
Crvena Zvezda totally smashed Geoplin Slovan on the road registering the very important 14th win in Adriatic league. Zvezda dominated from the beginning making a comfortable win thanks to amazing performance by PF Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) who finished the game with 34 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists - index value 46! Slovenian team got 25 points from DeMarco Johnson (204-F-75, agency: Megasport, college: Charlotte). With this win Zvezda has a chance to reach a place which will be enough for the ULEB Cup next season. After the game Zvezda's head coach Stevan Karadzic showed a real happiness with performance of his players.

Vojvodina Srbijagas - Zadar 74-69
Vojvodina Srbijagas was better than Zadar thanks to nice played last quarter which the Tulips finished in style 27-10. Center Vladimir Golubovic (212-C-86) was the MVP of the game with index value 37. He collected 20 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Istvan Nemeth (190-G-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) followed him scoring 15 points while on the other side Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma) added 15 points for Zadar. Vojvodina currently has score 12-12 while Zadar has 17-7.

Helios Domazle - Hemofarm STADA 64-75
Hemofarm STADA kept the third place after 24 rounds having 15 wins and 9 defeats. At the beginning of the last quarter, the team from Vrsac had a lead 48-57 but Helios quickly came closer on 59-61. After that moment, Hemofarm intensified its defense which outcame with four minutes without any point for Helios and with plus 7 for Hemofarm. 3-pointer by Miljan Pavkovic (178-G-81, agency: Beo Basket) at the end was a crucial moment of the game. Center Vladan Vukosavljevic (206-F/C-84, agency: Beo Basket) led the winners with double-double, 17 points and 11 rebounds. Serbian hot prospect Stefan Markovic (191-G-88) also had a good night as he added 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Aljaz Janza (185-G-81) had 16 points and 4 assists in Helios.


Geoplin Slovan - Crvena Zvezda 77-106
(21-30,18-25,18-20,20-31)

Geoplin Slovan: Johnson 25, Novak 11 (4 rebs)
Crvena Zvezda: Dragicevic 34 (10 rebs, 4 as), Markovic 14, Kovac 13, Bakic 11 (6 rebs)


Vojvodina Srbijagas - Zadar 74-69
(18-23,14-16,15-20,27-10)

Vojvodina: Golubovic 20 (14 rebs, 4 as), Nemeth 15, Djordjevic 10 (5 as, 4 st)
Zadar: Brewer 15, Barac 13, Johnson 11, Stallworth 10


Helios Domzale - Hemofarm STADA 64-75
(17-18,21-23,10-13,16-21)

Helios: Janza 16 (4 as), Mance 14 (7 rebs), Ingram 10
Hemofarm: Vukosavljevic 17 (11 rebs), Pavkovic 12, Markovic 11 (9 rebs, 3 as), Bozovic 11 (7 rebs)

*****************************************************
SEYCHELLES

Standings - A1 Men

1A Standings
1. Cobras 0-0
2. Heat 0-0
3. Dynamics 0-0
4. Hawks 0-0
5. Razors 0-0
6. Angels 0-0
7. Rockers 0-0
8. Bullets 0-0
9. BAYA 0-0
10. Praslin Warriors 0-0


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

Standings
KBL Standings
1. Dongbu 36-12
2. Samsung 30-19
3. KT&G 29-19
4. KCC 28-19
5. LG 27-21
6. ET 24-24
7. SK 24-24
8. KTF 20-28
9. Mobis 12-36
10. Orions 10-38


*****************************************************
SYRIA

jalaa cancel's it trip to WABA -by Bashar Nashef
Dew to the bad decisions that WABA took with the clubs about the players Edwardo Farhat for the Syrian Al Jalaa Team, the club decided not to participate in this tournament. Because after the injury of their star Micheal Maadanli, and edwardo will not be able to play as a local. And all the other teams are fully ready to play with their complete roosters, so they dont have a chance at all so they will not go and that leaves the ittihad alone from syria in this tournament. So till later we will see how this tournament will go without Jalaa, for the first time in three years.

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

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


Stats Leaders - D1
TBL Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1.Q.Hosley, Karsi. 23.0
2.L.Gordon, Kepez 21.1
3.K.Braswell, Selc. 21.0
4.M.Wright, Turk T. 21.0
5.S.Marshall, Karsi. 19.7
Rebounds Per Game
1.Q.Hosley, Karsi. 11.9
2.D.Kinloch, Alpella 11.0
3.K.Adeleke, Banvit 10.9
4.D.Harvey, Banvit 10.2
5.C.Burgess, Beykoz 9.0
Assists Per Game
1.H.Koseoglu, Kepez 6.9
2.K.Braswell, Selc. 5.9
3.W.Solomon, FB 5.4
4.H.Dobie, Ted K. 5.0
5.C.Dalmau, BJK 4.7
Steals Per Game
1.K.Braswell, Selc. 2.3
2.S.Cetin, Alpella 2.2
3.J.Lucas, Ant. 2.0
4.C.Williams, Turk T. 2.0
5.B.Ermis, Karsi. 1.9
Blocks Per Game
1.O.Asik, FB 2.0
2.D.Harvey, Banvit 1.6
3.C.Burgess, Beykoz 1.3
4.L.Woods, Efes 1.3
5.S.Nicevic, BJK 1.2


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

Defense still Bell's strength for Suns -by David Edole
Late in the first half, as players from both teams walked to the bench during a timeout, Raja Bell (196-F/G-76, agency: Interperformances, college: Florida Intern.) picked up the basketball on the baseline. The Suns guard brought it to his lips and kissed it three times.

A man in search of fortune will do such things.

The echo from Suns camp is defense, particularly on the perimeter. That puts Bell on the front lines, a place where he is battle-tested against the best scorers that the NBA offers. In Friday's 126-118 loss to Utah, Bell was at his best during stretches, but with the game on the line, Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni switched Bell's assignment, sliding last season's all-league defender to Jazz point guard Deron Williams.

Utah led 118-117 with just more than a minute remaining Here's what happened:

'I was trying to keep pressure on him up high, so they'd have to change the angle of the screen,' Bell said. 'I knew a screen was coming. But then he went away from the screen, which is not ideal, but I did a good job of cutting him off and not giving him the lane. And he hit a tough, step-back, kind of off-one-leg (shot). As a defender, that sucks, but you got to tip your hat to him. I thought I played that one pretty well.'

This seems to be the luck the Suns are having these days, especially Bell, who had one of his better games of the season. He scored 19 points and made five 3-pointers, the most since he hit seven against Charlotte on Feb. 4. Defensively, he was a pest, especially in the first half.

The next time you want to know how Bell is defending during the game, wait until a dead ball. Then watch the officials. If the other team is flocking to them, complaining about this or that, odds are that Bell is on his game.

So it went against Utah, who kept trying to find Kyle Korver coming off screens and finding Bell instead, matching the shooter step for step. Korver is an important piece for Utah. Since his arrival from Philadelphia on Dec. 29, the Jazz had won 24 of 30 entering Friday's game. In 21.9 minutes per game, Korver averaged 10.2 points during the stretch. And yet, Bell gave him nothing.

'When you play tough defensively and you're able to get up and pressure the ball, teams normally don't like to play against that,' Bell said. 'I tried it tonight, I'm normally not that kind of defender all the time, just because guys who can put it on the floor are really going to make you pay. But against the Jazz, who are going to run those sets, you can afford to kind of press up a little and just try to make it uncomfortable for them.'

Korver finished with 14 points, but only three came with Bell defending him. Williams scored 25 points, the biggest two ruining Bell's solid performance, one that picked up offensively after the kissing in front of the scorer's table.

'I did (it), because (the ball) was supposed to be going in the hole in the first half, and it didn't want to,' Bell said.


Doug Haller
The Arizona Republic

Drexel season ends -by David Edole
The Drexel men's basketball season came to an end this evening as Delaware defeated the Dragons, 60-51, in the first round of the CAA Tournament. The Dragons cut a 10-point deficit to just three with 1:32 to play, but Delaware scored the final nine points, including four from the free throw line, to earn the win. Drexel finished the season with a 12-20 record.

Frank Elegar (206-C-86) led Drexel with 15 points, but had just two points in the second half. Gerald Colds had nine, including a pair of three-pointers. Drexel shot just 11-for-22 from the free throw line, including 6-for-14 from the charity stripe in the first half. Delaware (14-16) converted its free throw attempts and that proved to be the difference. The Blue Hens were 11-for-12 from the line in the second half. Marc Eggerson led four Hens in double figures with 15 points and nine rebounds. Herb Courtney added 14 points and eight rebounds.

It was the final game in a Drexel uniform for Elegar and Randy Oveneke. Elegar finished his career with 1,285 points and 676 rebounds. He ranks 15th in both of those categories.

Stevens and Spartans advance -by David Edole
Maloney took a big step closer to a return trip to the CIAC Class L basketball finals by knocking off No. 3 New Canaan 78-67 in the quarterfinals Friday night in Fairfield.
Down by one heading into the fourth quarter, the No. 6 Spartans got a lift from senior swingman Johrone Bunch, who finished with 14 points.

Point guard Rashamell Vereen had a team-high 22 points. Center Shoquan Stevens (198-F-90) put up 16 points and nine rebounds.

The Spartans will play No. 2 New London in Tuesday's semifinals.

*****************************************************
UKRAINE

Monkeys and Budivelnyk fill the pause by friendlies / AllStarDay voting -by Alexander Muzyka

- BC Donetsk parted ways with center Andri Botichev, basket.com.ua informs.

- Guard Viacheslav Yevstratenko has ended his player's career and will work in Budivelnyk's headquarters, bcbudivelnik.com informs

Friendlies
Mar. 7
Cherkasy Monkeys - Budivelnyk 79:77 (21:26, 21:14, 16:16, 21:21)
Stats unknown

Today's AllStarDay starting five voting results
Ukraine
1 Oleksandr Raievskyi (32,7%) - Yevhen Annenkov (13,2%)
2 Rostyslav Kryvych (16,8%) - Serhi Gladyr (15,6%)
3 Artur Drozdov (48,8%) - Oleksi Onufriev (11,1%)
4 Serhi Lischuk (44,8%) - Yaroslav Zubrytskyi (7,8%)
5 Volodymyr Gurtovoi (31,2%) - Viacheslav Kravtsov (25,2%)
Foreigners
1 Eugene Jeter (28,1%) - Vladimir Golubev (16,0%)
2 Marcus Faison (28,1%) - Panagiotis Liadelis (20,3%)
3 Rodney Buford (29,4%) - Olumuyiwa Famutimi (28,5%)
4 Yahor Meshcherakau (38,7%) - Martynas Andriukaitis (22,5%)
5 Robert Archibald (34,7%) - Goran Cakic (16,0%)

By Ukrbasket.net



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

WABA for Clubs 2008 Draw -by Mohammed Malas
The draw of the West Asian Clubs Championship (9 - 15 March) were made today in Mahasher the city of the hosts Petrochimi Imam Harbour of Iran ....

# Groups:
- Group A:
Saba Battery (IRI)
Petrochimi Imam Harbour (IRI)
OrthodoxJOR)
Al Ahli Sanaa (YEM)
- Group B:
Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut (LEB)
Zain (JOR)
Al Hilla (IRQ)
Al Ittihad Aleppo (SYR)

# Games Schedule:
- Sunday 9-3:
Saba Battery X Orthodox
Al Ahli Sanaa X Petrochimi Imam Harbour
Al Ittihad X Al Hilla
Zain X Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
- Monday 10-3:
Al Ahli Sanaa X Saba Battery
Al Hilla X Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
Petrochimi Imam Harbour X Orthodox
Al Ittihad X Zain
- Tuesday 11-3:
Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut X Al Ittihad
Al Hilla X Zain
Petrochimi Imam Harbour X Saba Battery
Orthodox X Al Ahli Sanaa
- Wednesday 12-3 (Quarter-finals):
1st A X 4th B
2nd A X 3rd B
3rd A X 2nd B
4th A X 1st B
- Thursday 13-3 (Semi-Finals)
- Friday 14-3 (Rest)
- Saturday 15-4 (Final + Places Games)



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

Women News

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

Standings
Adriatic L. Standings
1. Sibenik 15-2
2. Buducnost 15-3
3. Gospic 13-4
4. Ragusa 10-7
5. Crvena Zv. 10-8
6. Jedinstvo 6-10
7. Celje 6-11
8. Medvescak 5-13
9. M.Kraj. BL 3-14
10. Vojvodina 2-13


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

Standings - Women
D1 Standings
1. PeKa 29-2
2. Catz 28-4
3. HNMKY 18-13
4. Huima 16-15
5. Espoo 16-15
6. Nokia 14-17
7. HoNsU 10-21
8. PuHu 7-24
9. FoA 2-29


SM-SARJA: FoA won 63-61! -by Rauno Hurmalainen

SM-sarja, Round 31-32: There were 26 lost games in a row, but finally Alku (Forssa) won today! The second victory of the season was close (63-61) and even
this victory was almost lost at the end of the game. PuHu (Vantaa) scored the last five pts of the contest. FoA had the first win last October (vs HoNsU), so it was
about the time to win, because the regular season will be over tomorrow, March 9. Jamie Hawkins (185-F-84, college: Oregon) led FoA with 16pts and 17 rbs.
Catz (Lappeenranta) crushed BC Nokia 81-49, PeKa (Kotka) did the same vs Huima (Aanekoski) and HoNsU (Jyvaskyla) lost at home vs YMCA Helsinki by three.

FoA - PuHu 63-61 (37-28) (Jamie Hawkins 16/17, Megan Griffith 15 - Heli Roukanoja 21/15, Aneta Kausaite 18).

Catz - BC Nokia 81-49 (41-28) (Kirbria Lewis 19, Yelena Solovyeva 16/10 - Sheree Thompson 11, Joanna Rhoads 10).

HoNsU - YMCA Helsinki 72-75 (36-38) (Breanne Watson 30/14, Salla Viitanen 23 - Laura Toivonen 21, Tiia Hietanen 17).

PeKa - Huima 102-69 (48-37) (Tiffany Porter-Talbert 20, Shanika Freeman 18 - Kenya Robinson 20, Noora Kotisaari 14).



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

Match Day 21: Results and Scorers -by George Manousidis

AO Sporting Athens 53 - 79 Esperides / Glyfada

Top scorers:
AO Sporting Athens: Meg Tierney (190-F/C-81) 16 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal - Vina Malama (180-G-81) 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal
Esperides / Glyfada : Stella Kaltsidou (187-C-83) 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals - Polymnia Sarekgou (185-G-72) 18 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists

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

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

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

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

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

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



Standings - Women
A1 Standings
1. Esperides 17-4
2. Panionios 16-5
3. Aris H. 14-7
4. Athinaikos 14-7
5. Apollon 13-8
6. Panathin. 12-9
7. Kastoria 11-10
8. M.Aleksandros 10-11
9. Sporting 10-11
10. Paghiakos 9-12
11. Siemens 9-12
12. Asteras 7-14
13. Iraklis 3-18
14. Aias Evosmou 2-19


Standings -A2 Women -by George Manousidis
A2 Standings
Group North
1. Apollon K. 19-1
2. Olympiada L. 16-4
3. PAOK 14-6
4. Aris Thessal. 14-6
5. Artemis Volou 13-7
6. Pylaia 12-8
7. AO Serron 10-10
8. Asteras Kavallas 10-10
9. Komotini 10-10
10. Apollon K. 9-11
11. Triglias 5-15
12. Lassanis 4-16
13. Aspis 3-17
14. Elimeias 1-19
Group South
1. P.Faliro 20-0
2. Ano Liosa 19-1
3. Attalos 16-4
4. Aris T. 13-7
5. Amarillida 13-7
6. Hania 12-8
7. Eleutheria M. 10-10
8. Irodotos 8-12
9. Paraskevis 8-12
10. Argyroupolis 8-12
11. Proteas V. 8-12
12. Amilla Tripolis 2-17
13. Iviskos 2-18
14. Panionios 1-18


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

Standings - Women
Express L. Standings
1. Keflavik 20-4
2. KR 16-7
3. Grindavik 15-8
4. Haukar 14-10
5. Valur 10-13
6. Hamar 6-18
7. Fjolnir 1-22


Keflavik. vs Hamar. -by Siggi Hjorleifsson

Keflavik beat Hamar 97 - 74. Keflavik regular season Champion.
Top scorers for Keflavik. TaKesha Watson (170-G-82, college: Oklahoma City) 42. Margret Kara Sturludottir 15 + 14 rebs.
For Hamar LaKiste Barkus 28. Iva Milevoj 20.
Keflavik will play Haukar in play-offs.
Will be known today after Grindavik - KR if it will be KR or Grindavik who will have homecourt advance in play-offs.

Grindavik needs to win by at least 16 points.

Snaefell likely to be the new team in top league next season. Not lost game yet in 1.division.



*****************************************************
ITALY - Women

Ribera signs Judit Kajdacsi -by Massimo Finizio
Banco di Sicilia Banco di Sicilia Ribera signs hungarian center Judit Kajdacsi (191-C-79).

Kajdacsi comes from Szevièp, in the hungarian major league. This season also played in FIBA cup reaching the final 16. In FIBA cup Judit Kajdacsi scored 95 points in 8 matches collecting 9.1 rebounds.
Banco di Sicilia Ribera is currently involved in the lower part of the standings will play next match monday at 5 PM against Faenza. The match will be aired live in Europe on 'RaiSport Satellite' channel.

*****************************************************
POLAND - Women

FGE Gameday 25: Lotos beat Wisla! -by Wojciech Strzebinczyk
Wisła Can-Pack Krakow - Lotos PKO BP Gdynia 61:66 (14:17, 16:9, 14:24, 17:16)
Wisła Can-Pack Krakow: Jelena Skerovic 16, Kara Braxton 13, Anna DeForge 10, Marta Fernandez 9, Anna Wielebnowska 9, Candice Dupree 2, Dorota Gburczyk 2, Ewelina Kobryn 0.
Lotos PKO BP Gdynia: Chamique Holdsclaw 22, Anna Breitreiner 17, Dominique Canty 17, Jekaterina Snicyna 4, Patrycja Gulak 2, Marta Jujka 2, Magdalena Leciejewska 2, Natalia Waligorska 0.

MUKS Poznań - KSSSE AZS PWSZ Gorzow Wlkp. 57:73 (18:21, 11:17, 8:20, 20:15)
MUKS Poznań: Ilona Mądra 19, Agnieszka Skobel 11, Okeisha Howard 7, Żaneta Durak 7, Paulina Antczak 6, Justyna Nieznalska 4, Martyna Mickow 3, Adrianna Najtkowska 0, Katarzyna Rezler 0, Marijana Ivovic 0.
KSSSE AZS PWSZ Gorzow Wlkp.: Carrie Moore 15, Justyna Żurowska 12, Katarzyna Ristic 12, Aleksandra Chomac 10, Denaimou N'Garsanet 10, Małgorzata Babicka 6, Agnieszka Szott 4, Katarzyna Czubak 2, Joanna Czarnecka 2, Barbara Kaszewska 0.

Arcus SMS PZKosz Łomianki - ŁKS Siemens AGD Łodź 40:90 (8:31, 17:17, 4:20, 11:22)
Arcus SMS PZKosz Łomianki: Katarzyna Bednarczyk 13, Magda Kaczmarska 11, Aneta Kotnis 6, Agnieszka Modelska 4, Olivia Tomiałowicz 2, Claudia Sosnowska 2, Katarzyna Cwiklińska 2, Katarzyna Arak 0, Agnieszka Śnieżek 0, Anna Soszyńska 0, Marta Olędzka 0.
ŁKS Siemens AGD Łodź: Jennifer Humphrey 28, Edyta Koryzna 17, Renata Oliveira 15, Katarzyna Kenig 15, Dorota Sobczyk 10, Sylwia Wlaźlak 3, Birute Dominauskaite 2, Milena Owczarek 0.

Cukierki Odra Brzeg - CCC Polkowice 71:88 (15:26, 14:23, 12:22, 30:17)
Cukierki Odra Brzeg: Joei Clyburn 22, Shantia Owens 19, Justyna Daniel 13, Khaili Sanders 7, Magdalena Rzeźnik 4, Daria Cybulak 2, Małgorzata Kudłak 2, Ludmiła Lyubarska 2.
CCC Polkowice: Olga Masilione 17, Petra Stampalija 15, Ndeye Ndiaye 15, Jennifer Lacy 10, Ilona Jasnowska 8, Justyna Jeziorna 7, Anna Szycko 7, Marta Gajewska 5, Veronika Bortelova 4, Magdalena Pietrzak 0.

Utex ROW Rybnik - PKM Duda PWSZ Leszno 52:62 (15:10, 17:11, 15:20, 5:21)
Utex ROW Rybnik: Marquetta Dickens 12, Magdalena Skorek 11, Hollie Merideth 11, Minja Siljegovic 10, Nikita Bell 5, Olena Proszczenko 3.
PKM Duda PWSZ Leszno: Daria Mieloszyńska 25, Ryan Coleman 13, Martyna Koc 12, Agnieszka Budnik 7, Edyta Krysiewicz 5, Agnieszka Makowska 0, Anna Talarczyk 0.

Finepharm AZS KK Jelenia Gora - Energa Toruń 61:73 (11:19, 22:12, 16:18, 12:24)
Finepharm AZS KK Jelenia Gora: Shyra Ely 19, Brittany Jackson 18, Natalia Małaszewska 13, Alvine Mendeng 6, Magdalena Gawrońska 5, Dorota Wojcik 0, Iwona Kaszuwara 0, Joanna Dłutowska 0, Dorota Arodź 0.
Energa Toruń: Lindsay Taylor 18, Anna Marczewska 16, Justyna Grabowska 13, Emilia Tłumak 11, Latoya Bond 8, Amy Denson 3, Alicja Perlińska 2, Beata Predehl 2, Joanna Chełczyńska 0.

Stats Leaders - PLKK
PLKK Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1. J. Jarkowska 17.3
2. N. Malaszewska 17.1
3. J. Clyburn 16.2
4. L. Taylor 16.2
5. C. Holdsclaw 14.6
Rebounds Per Game
1. N. Bell 10.8
2. J. Humphrey 10.7
3. H. Merideth 9.9
4. L. Taylor 8.9
5. J. Jarkowska 8.3
Assists Per Game
1. N. Malaszewska 5.0
2. J. Skerovic 5.0
3. S. Wlazlak 3.4
4. A. Jaroszewicz 3.2
5. V. Bortelova 3.2
Steals Per Game
1. A. Skobel 3.61
2. N. Bell 3.05
3. N. Malaszewska 3.00
4. N. Waligorska 2.50
5. C. Holdsclaw 2.41
Blocks Per Game
1. R. Aleliunaite-Jankovska 2.18
2. J. Clyburn 2.00
3. K. Sanders 1.70
4. J. Jarkowska 1.65
5. A. Palka 1.65
2FGP
1. J. Grabowska 68.0%
2. M. Babicka 62.0%
3. E. Kobryn 61.0%
4. M. Fernandez 60.0%
5. R. Coleman 60.0%
3FGP
1. A. Breitreiner 45.0%
2. E. Krysiewicz 44.0%
3. I. Jasnowska 40.0%
4. A. Perlinska 40.0%
5. B. Jackson 39.0%
Free Throws
1. M. Ciecierska 96.0%
2. E. Snytsina 88.0%
3. J. Zurowska 88.0%
4. M. Sibora 87.0%
5. A. DeForge 87.0%
6. R. Coleman 87.0%
Ranking
1. L. Taylor 20.4
2. J. Jarkowska 19.0
3. J. Humphrey 19.0
4. N. Bell 18.2
5. J. Clyburn 17.2


Standings - PLKK
PLKK Standings
1. Lotos 23-0
2. Wisla 20-3
3. T. Leszno 17-7
4. AZS Gorzow 16-7
5. Utex Row 14-9
6. CCC 13-10
7. AZS Poznan 11-12
8. LKS 10-13
9. MMKS Energa 10-13
10. MUKS Poznan 8-15
11. Cukierki 5-18
12. AZS J.Gora 2-21
13. Lomianki 1-22


*****************************************************
SPAIN - Women

Paula Palomares and Razza Mujanovic won't play this weekend -by Ivan Villar
Filter Mann Zaragoza had bad luck this season.Cuadrat had lost to Paula Palomares for rest of season.She fell injured in her knee and will be over 6-8 months out of courts.Palomares was decisive forward of Zaragoza,specially from 6,25 m. line.So team of Ebro's river sees as salvation in LF is more difficult.Also deadline to sign more players finished last friday.Then Cuadrat should to fight rest of season with current roster.Celta Vigo will play against strong EBE-Promociones without her principal reference near the rims,Razza Mujanovic.Center sprained her knee and doctors estimated 2 weeks of recovery.Team of Miguel Mendez will have less possibilities because Mujanovic was antidote for unstoppable Sancho Lyttle.This evening will know results.Paula Palomares (170-G-84)

Euroleague:Gambrinus Brno ends with european dream of Ros Casares (69-75)(1-2) -by Ivan Villar
Tragedy happened in La Fonteta in third game of Euroleague quartersfinals.Ros Casares and Gambrinus Brno fought for a place in next Final Four.3,000 fans went to help their team in principal aim of valencian club,Euroleague.In spite of this,czech team dominated scoreboard during all game.Gambrinus showed higher level than Ros Casares thanks specially to Tamika Whitmore (21 p) and Zuzana Zirkova (175-F/G-80) (22 p.).Team of Manolo Real gave everything on court but couldn't fulfil their europan dream.Delisha Milton and Elena Tornikidou were best scorers of Ros with 16 points each one.Finally Elena Baranova played after her club announced last week problems about her injury in foot.Rivas Futura,hard opponent in next game of Ros which should to play in Madrid.Manolo Real should encourage his players after this hard moment.

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


Round 19: Top 4 loose their games in most amazing round of season -by Ivan Villar
Spanish league is one of best of Europe because differences between team are smaller than last years.First surprise came from Vigo where home team trashed EBE-Promociones.Although Mujanovic couldn't play.Young players as Alba Torrens (23 p-6 reb in 21 minutes!) and Monica Jorge (12 p-5 reb) destroyed Lyttle,Morales and company.Laura Navarro was best player of island team with 7 points and 14 efficience.Other surprise was born in Galicia too.Extrugasa took revenge on San Jose Leon after their elimination in Queen's Cup.Players less usual of Extrugasa like Maria Asurmendi (168-G-86) (14 p. in 15 minutes!),Miriam Herrera (8 points-4 rebounds-great defense over Murriel Page) and Jo Hill (6 points and excellent defense over Allison Feaster) put ahead on scoreaboard their team.Liron hasn't good day and suffered excellent defense of Sara Gomez,who scored also 16 points.Allison Feaster was best player of San Jose Leon with 13 points and 3 rebounds.Hondarribia Irun caused a stir in Salamanca.Home team lost again in front of 2,900 fans who saw how Hondarribia Irun won decisive game to avoid last positions.Manel Sanchez's team got decisive triumph thanks to Shameka Christon (23 p-10 reb) and Zane Tamane (11 p-11 reb) specially.Thermometer of Perfumerias,Anna Montanana was missing again with bad percentages (3/14) and only Ivanka Matic (13 p-10 reb) and Clara Bermejo (6 p-5 assits) emphasized something.And Rivas Futura completed bad week for Ros Casares.Champion threw an advantage of 9 points in last quarter and was surprised by Madrid's team.Jelena Dubljevic confirmed as born star with 18 points in 25 minutes against powerful Milton,De Souza,Ferragut... and company.Also Nicole Antibe shone specially scoring 16 points and gaining 11 rebounds.Katy Douglas (16 p-4 reb) was only one resource of team in its lowest point.Battle in lowest places is hot.Olesa sentenced Arranz Burgos easily at their court.Miljana Musovic drove perfectly catalan team scoring 24 points and supported by Willingham (13 p-11 reb) and Sandra Gallego (17 points).Tito's Sobrin let scape new opportunity and seems to have a foot in LF2.Anna Cruz was best player of Arranz with 18 points and 7 rebounds.Mann Filter arrived to Badajoz without Paula Palomares and was an hurricane unstoppable for home team.Mar Rovira showed her experience scoring 14 points and gaining 7 rebounds leading her team in decisive final.Extremadura Dato was disappeared,only Sonia Borges made good stats (12 p-4 reb).Cadi La Seu won second game in a row after beating Gran Canaria in Las Palmas.Sisters Helen Luz (12 p-12 eff.) and Silvia Santos (12 p-9 reb) leaded their team in decisive win.Brooke Wyckoff was best player of canarian team with 7 points,8 rebounds and 7 steals.Taru Tuukkanen and Roneeka Hodges didn't show their usual level and Gran Canaria is far away of playoffs still.

Liron Cohen will play near Marta Fernandez in L.A.Sparks of WNBA -by Ivan Villar
Great season of Liron Cohen (173-G-82) in San Jose Leon has been scouted by WNBA teams.The Los Angeles Sparks have signed Israeli point guard Liron Cohen, who starred in the Spanish League this winter.We are very excited to be able to sign Liron,' said general manager Penny Toler. 'She is very talented and gifted enough to play both guard positions.''This is a big opportunity,' said Cohen. 'I feel flattered that the Sparks have given me this opportunity. I hope that it will be a great summer for the team and me as well.Cohen was named Israel's Safsal player of the month for February after leading Leon to the Spanish Queen's Cup finals for the first time, where she was named tournament most valuable player. In three league games and three Cup games in February, Cohen averaged 17.3 points and 4.0 assists per game. She made seven of eight three-point shots en route to 33 points in Leon's win over league-leading Valencia in league play.In Spain's Queen's Cup tournament, Cohen had 11 points and seven assists in Leon's quarterfinals win over Extrugasa and 27 points and six assists in a semifinal win over Salamanca. Despite being closely guarded, Cohen had 12 points in a 68-66 loss to defending Cup champion Valencia in the finals. She averaged 16.7 points and 5.3 assists in the tournament.Cohen, who starred for the Israeli national team in 2005 and 2007, averaged 13.2 points per game and shot 53 percent from two-point range and 43 percent from three-point range in Europe Cup competition this season. She was on Israeli Cup championship teams in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2007 with Ranana, Elitzur Ramla and Ramat Hsharon. She played in Greece in 2005-06 and averaged 14.8 points per game.Next week Eurobasket.com will publish an interview with player in fashion of spanish league.

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SWITZERLAND - Women

Sophie CHARLIER injured -by Dimitri Toumayeff
Sophie CHARLIER (1982-180) injured her thigh against second-ranked Giroud Vins BBC Troistorrents. The starting forward for Universite BC Neuchâtel will be out for about 2 weeks. CHARLIER will therefore not be playing in the first round playoff serie against Esperance Sportive Pully. She should be back at 100% for the second round. After having already won the League Cup, Neuchâtel will need her to go after the Swiss Cup (March 29th).

Canti Riva Basket Ceresio: Piergiorgio Manfre won't be coaching in Ticino next season anymore -by Dimitri Toumayeff
Canti Riva Basket Ceresio and it's coach, Piergiorgio MANFRE, won't be working together anymore next season. Since his arrival in Switzerland, in 2003-04, MANFRE won 4 Ticino Cups, 6 Ticino Championships, and 4 Swiss Championships with different youth team from Riva Basket. He had also been coaching the LNA team since the beginning of the 2005-06 playoffs. His team constantly improved to reach the 3rd rank at the end of this year's regular season.

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U.S.VIRGIN ISL. - Women

Defense gets the job done: Western stifles Catonsville -by David Edole
Once again, defense made all the difference in a Western-Catonsville girls basketball game. This time, Western got the upper hand.

The No. 6 Doves' defense smothered the No. 5 Comets last night as Western came away with a 47-32 victory for the Class 3A North region championship - a victory that avenged a January loss to Catonsville in the Basketball Academy.

'Defense was the key to winning this game. Our offense wasn't going to click if we didn't play any defense,' said Western All-Metro guard Akeema Richards, who finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and two assists.

That's what happened when the two teams met in the Basketball Academy. The Doves, who love to run, didn't play much defense and struggled to get their offense going. The Comets took advantage, coming away with a 61-51 victory.

Last night, everything switched. The Doves (23-3) easily handled the Comets' top two scorers, Jessica Nonn and Shamika Williams, stepping up on Nonn, a strong outside shooter, and sagging off Williams, who is strongest off the drive.

Except for a two-minute stretch in the second quarter when Nonn sank three straight three-pointers, Western's pesky defense kept Catonsville from developing any offensive rhythm. The Comets shot 20 percent from the field for the game and just 10 percent in the second half.

The Doves were too quick for the Comets at both ends of the floor and burned them several times when Catonsville didn't get back on defense.

The Comets (23-3) hung within 10 points until the fourth quarter, when Richards and Achiri Ade combined for an eight-point run to boost the Doves' lead to 44-26 with 3:16 remaining. Catonsville didn't make a field goal in the quarter until the 40-second mark.

'We never really got into our offense,' Comets coach Mike Mohler said. 'Defensively - if you'd told me we would hold them to 47 points, I'd have said we've got a real good chance to win. Obviously, we shot horribly, but Western was terrific.'

The Doves advance to the state final four for the 12th time and will play No. 11 Atholton, last year's Class 2A champion, at 7 p.m. Thursday at UMBC's RAC Arena.

By Katherine Dunn | Sun reporter

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WNBA - Women

Comets Sign Shannon Johnson and Sun Sign Gruda to Rookie Contract -by Bruno Baltazar
Houston Comets Head Coach and General Manager Karleen Thompson continues to assemble the team's 2008 roster with the announcement that Shannon Johnson (5'7''-G-74, college: USC) has been signed to a multi-year contract. Contract terms were not disclosed.

'Shannon is a proven leader who will do what it takes to give us a chance at winning a championship,' said Coach Thompson. 'She's an All-Star and an Olympian, so she has a wealth of experience to share with less experienced players.'

A 9-year WNBA veteran, Johnson (5-7, guard) has made considerable contributions during her play as a starter for the Orlando Miracle, the Connecticut Sun, the San Antonio Silver Stars and most recently with the Detroit Shock. Prior to the 2004 WNBA Draft, the Connecticut coaching staff made her the centerpiece of a trade that sent her to San Antonio in exchange for a draft pick in each of the first three rounds. Johnson was originally assigned by the league to the now-defunct Miracle on May 3, 1999.

Johnson is a three-time All-WNBA Second Team honoree (1999, 2000 and 2002) and four-time WNBA All-Star (1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003). She was a key reserve player for the United States of America Basketball Women's Senior National Team during the 2004 Olympics held in Athens, Greece. Her professional experience includes American Basketball Championships in 1997 and 1998 with the Columbus Quest and international play with Dynamo Moscow and Valencia and Ros Casares in Spain.

Coach Thompson added, 'The coaching staff and I want to have a good balance of veterans who can provide younger players with on-court leadership that can improve their performance. We needed to fill certain positions in order to rebuild. We're not done yet, but Shannon is an important step in forming the team.'

A University of South Carolina Hall of Fame inductee, Johnson was named a member of the First Team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) for the third consecutive time in 1996, the same year in which she also earned a Kodak Honorable Mention.

Johnson has earned career averages of 11.1 points per game, 4.2 assists per game and 3.4 rebounds per game.

The Connecticut Sun announced that Sandrine Gruda has been signed to a three-year contract.
Per team policy no terms were released.

'We're really looking forward to having Sandrine in camp,' Sun General Manager Chris Sienko said Friday of the 20-year-old Gruda. 'She is one of the top post players in Europe, and we expect her to play a vital role in our frontcourt this season.'

A 6-foot-4 forward/center from France, Gruda was originally selected in the first round (13th overall) of the 2007 WNBA Draft by the Sun, but remained in France last summer to play for the National Team. She is currently a member of UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia, which advanced to the Euroleague Final Four with a stunning sweep of previously undefeated CSKA Moscow.

A two-time French League MVP who was the 2006 FIBA Europe Young Women's Player of the Year, Gruda has averaged 14 points per game for UMMC Ekaterinburg, playing in a lineup that includes Connecticut Sun forward Asjha Jones, Detroit Shock guard Deanna Nolan and Minnesota Lynx forward Svetlana Abrosimova.