EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 4/14/2008

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Men News

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ANGOLA

Tresor enters the Semifinals -by Eurobasket News
Tresor Quidome (192-G-80, agency: Interperformances) and his Fribourg handled the Geneva Devils in three games in Quarterfinals. The decisive one was played in Fribourg yesterday. Geneva entered the game with their backs against the wall but never tamed the hosts. Fribourg stormed past the bewildered visitors 22:6 in the opening stanza and maintained the distance throughout the reminder of the game. The Devils never threatened the hosts' lead and got eliminated. Erroyl Bing and Douglas Tshomba had 15 points apiece for Fribourg. Dave Esterkamp notched 11 points in a winning effort.
In the second game Tresor Quidome nailed 11 points as Fribourg had 82:62 win. Before that Fribourg entered their quarterfinal campaign with a comfortable 73:52 home win over the Geneva Devils. The hosts looked sloppy early in the encounter with the Devils grabbing a lead. The visitors outscored Fribourg 18:11 in the opening stanza but the things returned to more usual ways after the first break. Fribourg adjusted their defense and limited the guests to 5 points in the second period. It allowed Fribourg to claim a 38:23 advantage at the interval. Geneva never recovered in the second half and dropped the first clash out of best-of-five series. Tresor Quidome notched 16 points for Fribourg. Harold Mrazek secured 13 points, while Erroyl Bing added 12 points and 8 boards for the winners. Ross DeRogatis was the only player to deliver in double figures for the Devils. He produced 16 points in defeat. Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday.

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AUSTRIA

Last Round before Play-Offs -by Stefan Heinrich
Oberwart Gunners - UBC St. Polten 102:59

Oberwart: Marko Moric (207-F-81, agency: World Sport Agency) 20, Crawford 18, Ochsenhofer 15, Johnson 13, Youngblood 12, Schafer 8, Boone 6, Radakovics 3, Ulreich 3, Gaspar 2, Hasenburger 2
UBC: Andreas Bauch (186-G-85) 18, Kollik 15, Kerschbaummayr 8, Speiser 7, Kugerl 5, Wagenlechner 4, Bock 2

WBC Wels - Traiskrichen Lions 96:58

WBC: Casey Archibald (193-G-84, agency: ProSportsCareers) 20, Stanek 16, Klette 15, Davis 10, Woschank 9, Prince 9, Palmer 5, Anderson 5, Pargfrieder 4, Csebits 3
Lions: David Geisler (185-G-80) 9, Lamesic 9, Bokanovic 8, Rhynes 7, Milosevic 6, Zekovic 5, Danek 4, Bjelica 4, Schranz 2, Nicoara 2

Klosterneuburg Dukes - Furstenfeld Panthers 92:78

Dukes: Marquis Wright (203-F/C-80, college: Alabama) 17, Nagler 15, Watson 14, Creddle 12, Hamidovic 11, Hetzmannseder 10, Martin 7, Sallomon 6
Panthers: Mike Fraser (203-C, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: Oklahoma Baptist) 18, Dale 17, Ocokolijc 14, Lanegger 9, Colwell 9, Shavies 4, Hensley 4, Gallwitz 3

Gmunden Swans - Kapfenberg Bulls 78:52

Swans: Deteri Mayes (189-G-74, agency: Court Side, college: Murray St.) 15, Boylan 14, Sullivan 13, Johnson 12, Hutter 10, Mayer 7, Splajt 3, Schoninger 2
Bulls: Branimir Josipovic (204-F-81, agency: Court Side) 14, Suljanovic 10, Grgat 10, Nelson 10, Knabl 2, Zeleznik 2, Forrestal 2, Hallett 2

Round 36 -by Stefan Heinrich
Oberwart Gunners - UBC St. Polten 102:59

Oberwart: Marko Moric (207-F-81, agency: World Sport Agency) 20, Crawford 18, Ochsenhofer 15, Johnson 13, Youngblood 12, Schafer 8, Boone 6, Radakovics 3, Ulreich 3, Gaspar 2, Hasenburger 2
UBC: Andreas Bauch (186-G-85) 18, Kollik 15, Kerschbaummayr 8, Speiser 7, Kugerl 5, Wagenlechner 4, Bock 2

WBC Wels - Traiskrichen Lions 96:58

WBC: Casey Archibald (193-G-84, agency: ProSportsCareers) 20, Stanek 16, Klette 15, Davis 10, Woschank 9, Prince 9, Palmer 5, Anderson 5, Pargfrieder 4, Csebits 3
Lions: David Geisler (185-G-80) 9, Lamesic 9, Bokanovic 8, Rhynes 7, Milosevic 6, Zekovic 5, Danek 4, Bjelica 4, Schranz 2, Nicoara 2

Klosterneuburg Dukes - Furstenfeld Panthers 92:78

Dukes: Marquis Wright (203-F/C-80, college: Alabama) 17, Nagler 15, Watson 14, Creddle 12, Hamidovic 11, Hetzmannseder 10, Martin 7, Sallomon 6
Panthers: Mike Fraser (203-C, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: Oklahoma Baptist) 18, Dale 17, Ocokolijc 14, Lanegger 9, Colwell 9, Shavies 4, Hensley 4, Gallwitz 3

Gmunden Swans - Kapfenberg Bulls 78:52

Swans: Deteri Mayes (189-G-74, agency: Court Side, college: Murray St.) 15, Boylan 14, Sullivan 13, Johnson 12, Hutter 10, Mayer 7, Splajt 3, Schoninger 2
Bulls: Branimir Josipovic (204-F-81, agency: Court Side) 14, Suljanovic 10, Grgat 10, Nelson 10, Knabl 2, Zeleznik 2, Forrestal 2, Hallett 2

Standings - A Bundesliga
A Standings
Hauptrunde 1
1. Oberwart 26-10
2. Furstenfeld 25-11
3. Gmunden 25-11
4. Arkadia 23-13
5. Kapfenberg 22-14
6. Wels 20-16
7. Klosterneub. 18-18
8. St.Polten 12-24
Hauptrunde 2
1. Gussing 7-3
2. Worthersee 6-4
3. Vienna 5-5
4. UBSC Graz 2-8


Stats Leaders
Hauptrunde 1 Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Mayes, Swans 23.7
2 Youngblood, Gunners 20.7
3 Miletic, Panthers 19.8
4 Dale, Panthers 19.1
5 Lamesic, Lions 18.9
6 Watson, Dukes 18.1
7 Goljovic, Panthers 17.4
8 Kohlmaier, UBC 17.3
8 Ray, Bulls 17.3
10 Suljanovic, Bulls 17.1
Rebounds Per Game
1 KJohnson, Swans 10.2
2 Fraser, Panthers 9.4
3 JJohnson, Gunners 8.9
4 Martin, Dukes 8.7
5 Moric, Gunners 8.1
Assists Per Game
1 Schreiner, UBC 7.7
2 Shavies, Panthers 6.9
3 Zeleznik, Bulls 4.9
4 Danek, Lions 4.8
4 Boylan, Swans 4.8
Steals Per Game
1 Artner, Gunners 2.6
2 Schreiner, UBC 2.2
3 Shavies, Panthers 2.1
4 Boylan, Swans 2.1
5 Ray, Bulls 1.8
Blocks Per Game
1 Colwell, Panthers 1.8
2 Martin, Dukes 1.5
3 Kohlmaier, UBC 1.2
4 Fraser, Panthers 1.1
5 Anderson, WBC 1.0
2FGP
1 Nicoara, Lions 70.0
2 Fraser, Panthers 66.7
3 JJohnson, Gunners 62.6
4 Kohlmaier, UBC 59.4
5 Milosevic, Lions 59.2
3FGP
1 Goljovic, Panthers 50.9
2 Diwald, Dukes 46.4
3 Danek, Lions 44.4
3 Nagler, Dukes 44.4
5 Bjelica, Lions 44.1
Free Throws
1 Vickery, Lions 96.5
2 Forrestal, Bulls 95.0
3 Nagler, Dukes 93.0
4 Mayes, Swans 86.3
5 Goljovic, Panthers 85.6
Ranking
1 Schreiner, UBC 20.5
2 JJohnson, Gunners 20.1
3 Kohlmaier, UBC 19.4
4 KJohson, Swans 19.4
5 Lamesic, Lions 19.3


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BALTIC LEAGUE

Riga sends another Latvian representative to Final Four -by Eurobasket News

Barons/LMT -Siauliai 73 : 65 ( 13-23, 20-15, 21-17, 19-10 )

Barons/LMT got the last ticket into the Final Four after the second game over Siauliai. After 6 points loss in Lithuania Barons/LMT advanced with 73:65 victory. Even trailing 10 points after the first ten minutes of the game Latvian squad found the power to catch up. Armands Skele (192-G-83) led the winners with 22 points. Demetrius Alexander (204-F/C-75, agency: CAA Sports, college: Alabama) netted 18, while Giedrius Gustas (190-G-80, agency: Interperformances) scored 11. Donatas Zavackas (203-F-80, college: Pittsburgh) ended up with 18 points in the losing effort.
After the teams traded baskets for 6:6 in the game Siauliai used a good run for 13:23 in the end of the quarter. Taking into consideration the fact that Siauliai had 6 points advantage before the second game they already enjoyed plus 16.
Barons woke up later in the second, however still was not in a perfect shape. The situation before the big break did not look nice for Barons/LMT 33:38 but promised an intense battle in the second half. The end of the period showed 54:55, but all expected the last quarter. Demetrius Alexander completed a three-point play, and Barons had what they needed 69:61.In the end of the game it was Lithuanian squad that tried to recover, but thanks to 6000 spectators Barons won the series 157:155.

The Final Four of Baltic League is scheduled for April 25.

Barons/LMT:Armands Skele 22, Demetrius Alexander 18, Giedrius Gustas 11
Siauliai:Donatas Zavackas 18, Antonio Grant (196-F-77, college: S.Carolina) 12, Virginijus Praskevicius (206-C/F-74) 12



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BARBADOS

Lakers beat Bulls despite Leacock's 30 -by Justin Marville
Not even one of the most memorable of performances from Ryan Leacock could exorcise Clapham's demons against the Lakers.

Despite a game-high 30 points from the veteran shooting guard and an unfortunate incident which sidelined Lakers star Zahir Motara, the reigning double-crown champs maintained their recent dominance of Clapham.

They ousted the Bulls from the Sprite BOA Premier League Knockout Competition with a 67-61 first-round victory at the Wildey Gym on Wednesday night.

Having committed the senseless foul on Motara which led to last week's gut-wrenching league loss, Leacock looked determined to atone for his grave error, turning back the clock in the third quarter with one of the best individual performances of recent history.

However, the Lakers have not lost to the Bulls since being swept in the 2006 league finals - winning the last four meetings between the two elite clubs - and they were keen to extend that streak.

After trailing 30-35 at the half, the defending champs opened the third quarter spiritedly, with forward Matthew Moore scoring four straight points. But they had no idea of what was to come from Leacock.

A foul on the Clapham veteran beyond the arc got the indomitable shooting guard on his way. He made all three free-throws and then scored back-to-back baskets for seven quick points to keep the Bulls ahead 42-39.

Then the Lakers suffered a bit of bad luck.

After hustling on the floor for a loose ball, Motara laid there for several minutes after receiving an inadvertent knee to the back of the skull that opened a huge gash in the national player's head.

There was a 15-minute delay as Motara received treatment on the floor before making his way to the bench. But he reigning champs failed to heed referee Andrew Mayers' calls to return to the court, resulting in the official giving the side a technical foul.

This infuriated the Lakers players and coaching staff, but neither their reaction nor the lengthy break seemed to have any effect on Leacock.

He calmly sunk both free throws before knocking down a pair of treys to close the period with all 17 of Clapham's third-quarter points to his name.

But, as they did in last season's knockout final, ironically against the same Bulls, the men in blue used Motara's early exit as extra motivation.

Led by a renewed effort at the defensive end of the floor, they took the lead within the first three minutes of the fourth period as reserve guard Adrian Allman connected on two long-range bombs.

Leacock's younger brother, Neil, finally broke his sibling's streak of consecutive points for Clapham with back-to-back baskets. But Neil only found himself trading hoops with Allman, as the diminutive Lakers reserve hit his third straight three to lock the scores at 61.

The Bulls failed to bother the scorers from there, as they fell apart after forward Alvin Padmore fouled out at the 1:34 mark.

The Lakers' defence forced crucial turnovers down the stretch to key a game-clinching 6-0 run, with Adrian Stewart leading the charge.

The Lakers swingman scored a team-high 14 points, with Allman and Moore adding a further 13 and ten points respectively.For Clapham, Padmore ended with 13 points and ten rebounds while Neil Leacock scored ten.

British American Insurance Jackson registered the competition's first upset when they knocked out second seeded Playfair Warriors 56-53 in the night's first game.

Shooting guard Javid Beckles and Ricardo Boyce led Jackson to the emphatic victory with 16 and 15 points respectively, while David Smith was the Warriors' top scorer with 12 points.

Cavs upend Tridents to reach KO final -by Justin Marville
Behind a great defensive effort which limited the league's top ranked offence to 28 second half points, the pre-season favourites Station Hill Cavaliers moved on to the BOA Premier League knockout final with a hard fought 79-70 victory over the Sagicor Tridents at the Barbados Community College on Saturday.

Ironically, the school boys were the ones who would start the contest playing well at the defensive end of the court, giving no daylight to guards Corey Williams and Jason Smith out on the perimeter while twin towers Akeem Marsh and Andre Holder grabbed every defensive rebound available.

And needless to say, all systems were go for their high powered offence at the other end of the floor.

With Marsh going to work early in the low blocks and versatile combo guard Stefan Yarde wreaking havoc against his perimeter defenders, the Tridents raced to a quick 19-6 advantage within the game's first six minutes as the Cavs were made to pay for playing a lacklustre zone defence.

Station Hill would be forced to stem the flow of points by switching to a subsequent man-to-man defence while also bringing in reserves Kevin Sealy and Ricardo Yearwood to provide some energy and hustle of the bench.

The move would pay off at both ends of the floor for the Cavaliers as the duo attacked the basket with reckless abandon while drawing cheap fouls on Holder and Marsh underneath the basket to reduce the deficit to seven points, 26-19, early in the second quarter.

Back to back baskets from guards Keefe Birkett and Damien McClean had appeared to end the Cavs brief rally until the school boys made the grave error of leaving Smith free from beyond the arc for a pair of long range bombs as Station Hill continued to keep the pressure on.

However, they would get no closer than seven for the remainder of the first half as reserve swingman Andre Freeman gave the Tridents a huge lift off the bench with a pair of jumpers of his own, leading the school boys' to a 42-34 half-time lead.

But the Cavs weren't done yet.

Led by an oppressive full court man-to-man defence and some timely baskets on the inside from national forward Junior Moore, Station Hill took their first lead of the game midway through the third period, 48-47, as the Tridents only managed five points in the first five and a half minutes of the quarter.

With the Cavaliers threatening to run away with the contest late in the third, Holder and Marsh played like men possessed, diving and hustling for every loose ball while combining for a Herculean six blocks in the dying moments of the period as the school boys regained the advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

The lead changed hands continuously in the period, with both sides trading baskets back and forth as Williams and Sealy attacked the hole via dribble penetration while Birkett made good on the open looks he was given from the perimeter.

But the prolific Tridents guard would give the opposition the break it was looking for in the dying moments of the game, missing a left-handed lay-up in transition then failing to get back on the play as Williams connected on a three to put the Cavs ahead 74-68 with one minute left on the clock.

The school boys' inexperience would be their eventual undoing as Marsh failed to hit a pair of crucial free throws down the stretch while Yarde turned over the ball twice which led to two baskets at the other end, allowing the opposition to walk away comfortably at the end.

Moore led the Cavs with 16 points, Williams had a further 15 while Sealy and Yearwood added 12 and 11 points respectively. For the Tridents, Birkett led all scorers with 18 points, Yarde finished with 15 and Holder netted 10 points and added six blocked shots.

Despite a game high 25 points from swingman Peter Alleyne, reigning champs Lumber Company Lakers reached their second successive knockout final when they defeated British American Insurance Jackson 80-68 in the night's first game.

Ormond Haynes led the way with 13 points while Adrian Stewart and Zahir Motara added 13 points apiece.

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BELARUS

A professional training tandem refused to lead Belarusian national team -by Eurobasket News
The latest hot event of this year is as follows: the professional training tandem of Maghelli Andrea and Kostic Zoran refused to lead the Belarusian national team.
It was three weeks ago when the Italian specialist expressed in the interview his intentions about cooperation and a wish to help the Belarusian basketball. Now he takes our pardon, despite numerous hoping fans and players. Anyways, as Egor Meshcheryakov says, the national team is a burning issue for now, though they put maximum effort to it. The team seems to move on from the dead end, and it's quite possible for them to get into the final European championship stages. But the lack of sport schools and young coaches remains to be a problem. Egor is a bit ashamed of the events' matter though it's a reality, but that issue slows down the rehabilitation process.
As for the open spot for the national team's leader, Maghelli Andrea and Kostic Zoran had two reasons to refuse. The first one was the loss of too much time for practice. Since the elimination matches of the European championship are to take place this fall, that wasn't enough. The other reason is all about Maghelli Andrea , mainly about his popularity, and it's not hard to understand him. He's got plenty of proposals from many clubs, and, obviously, being on a high, much attention of fans and journalists. It would have been stupid for Maghelli Andrea to wait for a half year and then start working with the team with all hands on deck.
So, the situation is pretty tough, moreover all coaches keep postponing their answers. The designation deadline is over long time ago. There are no more doubts the leader will be one of the Belarusian coaches. It might be Alexander Popkov who took time to think over it. Anyways, the BFB administration has no more possible variants left.

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BELGIUM

Standings - Division I
D1 Standings
1. Bree 22-7
2. Oostende 21-8
3. Charleroi 21-9
4. M.Hainaut 19-11
5. Liege 18-11
6. Aalstar 14-16
7. Verviers-Pep. 11-19
8. Antwerp 9-20
9. Leuven 7-22
10. Gent 5-24


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BOSNIA

Standings - BIH League
D1 Standings
League 8
1. Bosna S. 1-0
2. Igokea 1-0
3. Zrinjski MC 1-0
4. Siroki 1-0
5. Slavija 0-1
6. Grude 0-1
7. Sloboda Dita 0-1
8. Borac Nektar 0-1
Places 9-14
1. Posusje 10-14
2. Zenica Celik 10-14
3. Hercegovac 10-14
4. Leotar 9-15
5. Capljina 8-16
6. Vogosca 2-22


League 8 - 1TH round -by Elvir Halilovic

Results:
Bosna ASA BH Telecom - Sloboda Dita 86:51
Slavija - Siroki Prima Pivo 76:88
Zrinjski Mik Company - Borac Nektar 79:77
Grude - Igokea Partizan 78:84


Standings:

1. Bosna ASA BHT 1-0

2. Siroki Prima Pivo 1-0

3. Igokea Partizan 1-0

4. Zrinjski MC 1-0

5. Borac Nektar 0-1

6. Grude 0-1

7. Slavija 0-1

8. Sloboda Dita 0-1



Bosna ASA BH Telecom - Sloboda Dita 86:51
(23:20, 20:7, 22:11, 21:13)
Sarajevo, SD „Skenderija'; Att.: 800; Ref.: Adamovic, Babic, Drmic
BOSNA ASA BHT: Jefferson 12, Sehovic, T. Tomovic, Panic, Djurasovic 11, Zimic, Bailey 6, Rahimic 16, Hajric 15, Pasalic, Jackson 5, Williams 21
Coach: Jurij Zdovc
SLOBODA DITA: Halilovic, M. Milosevic 12, Hrncic 7, Halilbegovic, Albijanic 3, Persic, V. Tomovic 1, Tanasilovic 7, Matic 1, N. Milosevic 5, Jocovic 6, Ross 9
Coach: Senad Muminovic

Slavija - Siroki Prima Pivo 76:88
(22:32, 13:21, 19:21, 22:14)
Istocno Sarajevo, SD Slavija; Att.: 400; Ref.: Kralj, Bijedic, Nenadic
SLAVIJA: Gvozdenovic 12, Stanic 17, Tomasevic, Simeunovic, Mladenovic 14, D. Damjanovic, Vukovic 12, Malovic 8, Grubisic 11, Anderson, Ivanovic 2
Coach: Goran Sehovac
SIROKI PP: Bubalo 3, Grejs 8, Stemberger 12, Dijan 9, Zupic 11, Sola 8, Spralja 11, Naletic, Fajardo 19, Betel 7.
Coach: Ivan Velic


Zrinjski Mik Company - Borac Nektar 79:77
(16:22, 19:24, 25:5, 19:26)
Mostar, SD Bijeli Brijeg; Att.: 500; Ref.: Obradovic, Husaric, Duskaj
ZRINJSKI MC: Filipovic 2, Bisko 4, Sarenac 22, Norac 17, Grbavac 2, I. Petric 2, Oroz, Dzidic 13, Simovic 2, Brecic 1, Vuckovic 14, Buhac
Coach: Nedeljko Zelenika
BORAC NEKTAR: Atanackovic 4, Z. Jovanovic 13, Stupar 6, Rothbart 13, V. Jovanovic, Gemaljevic 11, Djurasovic, Popovic, Milinovic 2, Velimirovic 11, Paunovic 15, Ugrehelidze 2
Coach: Slobodan Nikolic



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CROATIA

Standings - Ozujsko A1 League
A1 Standings
Group 1-8
1. KK Split 5-0
2. Zadar 5-0
3. KK Zagreb 3-2
4. Cibona 3-2
5. Sibenka 2-2
6. Cedevita 1-3
7. Dubrava 0-5
8. Slavonski Brod 0-5
Group 9-13
1. Zabok 9-9
2. Borik 8-10
3. Alkar Sinj 7-11
4. Kvarner NR 7-11
5. Dubrovnik 6-12
6. Osijek 2006 3-15


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CYPRUS

Standings - Division A
 1. Keravnos 17-1
 2. APOEL 15-3
 3. AEL 14-4
 4. Etha 9-9
 5. Omonia 8-10
 6. AEK 6-12
 7. Apollon 6-12
 8. ENAD 4-14
 9. Achilleas K. 2-16


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CZECH REPUBLIC

Standings - NBL
NBL Standings
1. Nymburk 41-1
2. Geofin 32-10
3. Prostejov 30-12
4. Decin 26-16
5. Pardubice 24-18
6. Ostrava 22-20
7. A Plus B. 18-24
8. USK Praha 18-24
9. Sadska 16-26
10. Liberec 13-29
11. Kolin 9-33
12. Usti n/Labem 3-39


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D-LEAGUE

Standings
D-League Standings
Central Division
1. Dakota W. 29-21
2. Sioux Falls S. 28-22
3. Iowa E. 22-28
4. Ft.Wayne MA 17-33
Southwest Division
1. Austin T. 30-20
2. Colorado 14ers 29-21
3. Tulsa 66ers 26-24
4. Albuquerque T. 22-28
5. Rio Grande VV 21-29
West Division
1. Idaho S. 36-14
2. LA D-Fenders 32-18
3. Utah 24-26
4. Anaheim A. 23-27
5. Bakersfield J. 11-39


Stats Leaders
D-League Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1.M. Almond, UTA 25.2
2.D. Farmer, RGV 24.6
3.S. Banks, LAD 22.4
4.K. Powell, SIF 22.2
4.C. Powell, DAK, 22.2
Rebounds Per Game
1.R. Benson, DAK 12.1
2.C. Alexander, SIF 11.1
3.L. Allred, IDA 10.0
4.N. Fazekas, TUL 9.9
5.M. Sene, IDA 8.9
Assists Per Game
1.R. Livingston, IDA 10.4
2.E. Gill, COL 8.6
3.A. Barrett, AUS 8.5
4.K. Kruger, UTA 7.0
5.J. Horner, IOW 6.1
Steals Per Game
1.E. Gill, COL 2.29
2.B. Hamilton, UTA 2.28
3.B. Thomas, COL 2.23
4.M. Baker, DAK 2.08
5. E. Calloway, FWN 1.98
Blocks Per Game
1.C. Samb, FWN 3.95
2.K. Closs, TUL 2.87
3.S. lasme, LAD 2.57
4.B. Wallace, UTA 2.14
5.J. McCoy, LAD 2.09


D-League Playoffs Set -by Surujh Roopnarine
The Idaho Stampede and Austin Toros earned first round byes as the top seeds in the 2007-08 D-League Playoffs. The D-League playoffs will begin on Tuesday, April 15, in Bismarck and Los Angeles. The first round of the 2008 D-League Playoffs will see the third seeded Dakota Wizards hosting the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the sixth seed, at the Bismarck Civic Center while the fourth seeded Los Angeles D-Fenders will host the fifth seeded Colorado 14ers at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. Both games will take place on Tuesday, April 15.

The second round kicks off on Friday, April 18 when the Stampede hosts the winner of the Colorado/Los Angeles game in Boise, ID. Second round games continue on Saturday, April 19 when the Sioux Falls/Dakota winner will travel to Austin.

The winners of the second round games will face off in a best-of-three Finals series that will begin at the lower seeded team and travel to the higher seeded team for game two, and three if necessary.

2008 NBA Development League Playoffs and Finals
First Round:
April 15 - Colorado @ Los Angeles, 6:30 p.m. ET
April 15 - Sioux Falls @ Dakota, 8:00 p.m. ET
Second Round:
April 18 - Winner of Colorado/Los Angeles @ Idaho, 9:30 p.m. ET
April 19 - Winner of Sioux Falls/Dakota @ Austin, 8:00 p.m. ET
Finals:
Game 1 - Date/Location TBD
Game 2 - Date/Location TBD
Game 3 (if necessary) - Date/Location TBD

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DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

PLAYOFFS ARE SET! -by Ozell Wells

THE PLAYOFFS ARE SET
In the last games' action, CPN defeated GUG 86-74 behind 26 pts from Luis Martinez (196-F, college: William Paterson), 17 pts from Eddie Elisma (205-F/C-75, college: Georgia Tech), 13 from Johnathan Polanco (190-G-82) and 12 pts from both Galo Rivero (-G) and newly signed Anwar Coleman (192-G-79, agency: Pro Management Agency, college: Virginia Union).
For GUG, Felipe Lopez (197-G/F-74, college: St.John's) had 26 pts, Eric Ferguson (186-G-82, agency: Strategic Sports, college: Arkansas) had 18 pts and Julius Nwosu (207-C-71, agency: Pro Management Agency, college: Liberty) had 13.


The Classification is such GUG 6-4, Sameji 6-4, Cupes 6-4 y CPN 5-5 ( CDP tied at 5-5 but lost the regular season series with CPN and is thus out of the playoff round)

THE FIRST PLAYOFF GAMES ARE TODAY as Sameji plays Cupes in a repeat of last season 's FINAL SERIES. IN GAME TWO, GUG plays CPN in a rematch of the last regular season game.



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EGYPT

Super League Standings
Superleague Standings
Group A
1. Gezira 5-0
2. Zamalek 3-2
3. Ahly 3-2
4. Al Ittihad 3-2
5. Sporting 1-4
6. Somouha 0-5
Group B
1. Gazco 0-0
2. Damenhor 0-0
3. Eastern Co. 0-0
4. Shorta-Police 0-0
5. Shams 0-0
6. Geish Army 0-0


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

Standings - KML
EMKL Standings
1. TU/Rock 33-3
2. BC Kalev 31-3
3. Pirita 23-11
4. Triobet/Dalkia 22-14
5. Tar.Fausto 20-16
6. Valga Welg 18-18
7. Parnu 10-26
8. Kraft Mooel 8-28
9. Rakvere 7-29
10. TTU KK 6-30


TU/Rock wins KML regular season -by Janar Filippov
TU/Rock won BC Kalev/Cramo 81:76 on Sunday and clinched the KML Regular season title and home court advantage for play-off. Giorgi Tsintsadze (192-G-86) made one of his best ever performances in Estonian league, posting 21 points and dishing 10 assists. Brian Cusworth (213-C-84, college: Harvard) added 18 points and 11 rebounds. Ed Scott (182-G-81, college: Clemson) led Kalev/Cramo with 17 points. Kalev/Cramo led the regular season since the very first game but failed to keep the top spot.
Rock made 8 three-pointers, Kalev answered with 4 - the other statistical figures were almost even, today. But besides statistics, the offensive teamplay of TU/Rock, with variety of combinations, dunks, cuts and screens was much above the individual efforts of of Kalev/Cramo, today. Rock led for most of first half but in the middle of 2nd quarter Kalev made a quick 8:0 run as Travis Reed (203-C-79, college: Long Beach St.) was hard to stop, as usual. Rock woke up instantly and ended the half with a three-minute 12:0 run and 44:34 advantage, going into 2nd half. Kalev was 0/8 in three-pointers, Rock - 5/12!
After intermission, Kalev was much more confident in both ends as they held the opponents on only 5 points within 7 minutes, meanwhile scoring 19 as Mateo Kedzo (207-F/C-84), Valmo Kriisa (190-G-74) and Reed were setting the pace. But as in 2nd quarter, Rock dominated the end of the quarter, making 11:1 run this time and 3rd quarter ended 62:57. Cusworth and Kestutis Sestokas (203-F-76) were most effective during the run.
In 4th, Kalev quickly came back into contest as Ed Scott cut the deficit to only one point - Rock led 67:66 with five minutes to play. At this point, Silver Leppik made two key baskets, taking hosts ahead 72:66. Tsintsadze's assists gave Rock two easy baskets - slam-dunk by Janar Talts (204-C-83) and a layup by Marek Doronin (200-F/G-83) and Rock led 76:71 with two minutes left. The young Georgian himself scored 78:73 with a minute left but Kedzo made a three-pointer to come back within two points (78:76). Gert Kullamae made only one free throw to give opponents a chance to tie the game but this time Kedzo missed and Rock had won the game.

*****************************************************
FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Honka's weapon: "D"! -by Rauno Hurmalainen

Korisliiga, Semi-finals, Game 3: If you keep the opponent in 57 pts on the road, you can be very satisfied with the D(efense)! Honka (Espoo) visiting
second time in Lappeenranta during the semi-finals and defeating again YMCA LPR. This time YMCA Lappeenranta had all players on the court, but
after a close first half, Honka was dominating the game during the second half. Honka didn't score that many pts (77), but the defense was probably the
best this season. Jukka Matinen (203-F-78) stopped Adrian Henning (203-F-82, agency: EM-PA, college: Austin Peay St.) and Ben Perkins (200-F-79, college: Mc Neese St.) took care of Ivan Harris (201-F-84, college: Ohio St.). Henning scored six pts in 33 minutes and Harris had three pts in 33 minutes! Honka had six players in double figures (10-14 pts). But it was a little bit strange, that Honka broke away from YMCA LPR at the same time during the third quarter, as Honka's three starters (Kimmo Muurinen, Akeem Scott and Matt Williams) got their fourth fouls and the bench was calling. Honka was leading by 16 pts after the third quarter (46-62), YMCA LPR made it still a 12-point-game (52-64), but during the last seven minutes Honka had two time outs and those helped. Kimmo Muurinen led Honka with 14 pts. Petri Virtanen (183-G-80) scored 12 pts for YMCA Lappeenranta. YMCA LPR - Honka 1-2. Game # 4 in Espoo on Tuesday, April 15.

YMCA Lappeenranta - Honka 57-77 (37-37) (Petri Virtanen 12, Jouko Jarvinen 11, Pasi Riihela 10 - Kimmo Muurinen 14, Jukka Matinen 12, Matt Williams 12).



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

Standings - ProA
ProA Standings
1. Le Mans 19-7
2. Nancy 17-8
3. ASVEL 17-8
4. Roanne 16-9
5. Le Havre 15-10
6. Vichy 15-10
7. Cholet 13-12
8. Strasbourg 12-13
9. Hyeres-Toulon 12-13
10. Dijon 11-14
11. Chalon 11-14
12. Pau 11-14
13. Orleans 10-15
14. Paris-Levall. 9-16
15. Gravelines 9-16
16. Clermont 4-21


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

D1 Standings
Superleague Standings
1. Feni Indistrija 26-4
2. Strumica 22-8
3. AMMAK SP 19-11
4. F.Rabotnicki 17-13
5. Pelister 17-13
6. MZT Skopje 15-15
7. Vardar 10-20
8. Karpos 2-28


Standings - Division II
D2 Standings
1. Pop Sport S. 18-7
2. Torus 17-8
3. Ovce Pole 16-8
4. Centar S. 14-9
5. Goce Delchev 14-11
6. Plejmejker C. 11-12
7. Negotino 11-13
8. Teteks 10-13
9. Kozuv 10-14
10. Heraklea 7-17
11. ABA 4-20


*****************************************************
GEORGIA

All-Star Game 2008 will held on May 3rd in Sports Palace -by Levan Mikeladze
This year Georgian championship All-Star Game will be conducted in Sports Palace on May 3rd. David Ustiashvili (Energy Invest Head Coach) and Nugzar Cheishvili (TSU Head Coach) are the coaches for each team. Internet voting has been started already to make 2 different squads who will play against each other on May 3rd.

David Ustiashvili 's Team

Guards
Giorgi Gamqrelidze
Besik Lezhava
Mikheil Chitashvili
Giorgi Markhvashvili
Giorgi Gulisabedashvili
Archil Jgenti
Lekso Lapanashvili

Forwards
Zviad Babiashvili
Revaz Didia
Jovan Stefanov
Giorgi Markoishvili
Vladimer Bezhanishvili
Mikheil Berishvili
Davit Gvimradze

Centers
Joulivet Toudjani
Davit Berdzenishvili
Guliver Akhalkatsi
Revaz Atanelishvili


Nugzar Cheishvili 's Team

Guards
Shio Khetsuriani
Davit Berishvili
Davit Artsividze
Kote Tugushi
Giorgi Nikoladze
Irakli Khoshtaria
Irakli Berishvili

Forwards
Davit Barbakadze
Mikheil Panchulidze
Irakli Keidia
Tornike Niniashvili
Vakhtang Minashvili
Davit Imnadze
Zurab Korkotadze
Giorgi Pirvelashvili

Centers
Giorgi Kvelashvili
Plaside Rodumta
Richard Matiashvili
Soso Shermadini

Also three points shooting contest will participate: Mikheil Berishvili, Zurab Korkotadze, Kote Tugushi, Davit Berishvili, Besik Lezhava, Archil Jgenti.

Slam Dunk Contests participants will be: Vakhtang Minashvili, Mikheil Panchulidze, Davit Barbakadze.

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

Fox and Reyes-Napoles got worldwide doping-suspension -by Moritz Korff
The Anti-Doping-Commission of the German Basketball Federation has published the punishments for Nate Fox (206-F-77, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Maine) and Ermen Reyes-Napoles (185-G-89) yesterday. Both players had been tested positive for THC, an active agent of marihuana, in March and February respectively. Fox received a worldwide suspension for seven and a half months, Reyes-Napoles for seven months. According to the press-release of the Basketball Bundesliga Reyes-Napoles received a shorter suspension because of his age. The Jena-player is 18 years old.

Bundesliga Game Day 29: Sunday April 13th results! -by Michael Taylor
Bundesliga Game Day 29 action on Sunday April 13th featured ALBA Berlin hosting brose Baskets Bamberg in a game showcasing two of Germany's best basketball organizations. Sunday also saw Bayer Leverkusen play terrific basketball in Bremerhaven and Koln and Frankfurt earn important victories in their push for playoff position.

Sunday April 13th
ALBA Berlin 83 brose Baskets Bamberg 68
ALBA Berlin outscored brose Baskets Bamberg 24-5 in the 2Q and built a 41-21 halftime lead before cruising to Sunday's 83-68 home win at MaxSchmellinghalle. Aleksandar Nadjfeji led Berlin with 14pt 4reb while Julius Jenkins added 13pt to the cause. Immanuel McElroy chipped in 11pt and Head Coach Luka Pavicevic got 10pt apiece from Bobby Brown and Philip Zwiener. ALBA shot 52% from the floor and made 9 of 21 (42%) from three in the game. Dwayne Mitchell led Bamberg with 16pt 5reb while Ademola Okulaja added 15pt 9reb in the loss. Bamberg outrebounded ALBA 35-33 and hit 44% of their shots including 5 of 18 from three (27%). With the win ALBA Berlin remains atop the Bundesliga standings with a 23-6 record while Bamberg drops to 19-10.

Bayer Leverkusen 104 Eisbaren Bremerhaven 86
Eric Taylor scored 23pt 12reb leading 6 Leverkusen players reaching double figures in a convincing 104-86 road win over Eisbaren Bremerhaven Sunday at Stadthalle Bremerhaven. Head Coach Achim Kuczmann had his men ready as they rolled to a 33-16 1Q and 64-37 first half. Leverkusen dished out 22 assists, sank 55% from the floor and nailed 56% from three (17 for 30) in the game. Brendan Winters drilled 5 threes to score 17pt followed by Brant Bailey with 15pt 5reb, 14pt from Beckham Wyrick on 4 of 6 from downtown, 12pt from Tyron McCoy and 11pt from Rans Brempong. Bremerhaven played a 7 man rotation without Nate Funk and was led by Anthony Tolliver's 18pt 5reb, 16pt 6reb 7ast from Brian Brown, 16pt by Tony Bobitt, 14pt from Zygimantas Jonusas and 13pt 13reb from Matt Haryasz in the loss. Leverkusen rises to second place in the Bundesliga standings at 22-7 while Bremerhaven falls to 15-14 in the fight for the 8th playoff spot.

Koln 99ers 89 digibu Baskets Paderborn 78
Milko Bjelica scored 19pt 8reb , Brian Greene 18pt 6reb, Philip Schwethelm 18pt and Derek Raivio 10pt 5reb 6ast in leading Koln 99ers to an important 89-78 home win Sunday at Rheinenergie Dome. Head Coach Sasa Obradovic and his Koln team ran to a 26-19 1Q lead and was up 48-36 at halftime. Paderborn battled back with a 17-13 3Q cutting the margin to 61-53 after three. The exciting finish helped Koln improve to 15-14 and kept them on track chasing the 8th playoff spot. Koln shot 47% from the floor while limiting Paderborn to 37% in the game. Paderborn hit only 2 of 16 threes and made 24 of 34 (70%) FT compared with Koln's 36 of 46 (78%) FT. Tim Black led Paderborn with an impressive 33pt performance and Greg Jenkins added 12pt 6reb in the loss. Paderborn fell to 11-18.

Deutsche Bank Skyliners 74 BG74 Gottingen 67
Despite a flu-ridden roster, Deutsche Bank Skyliners earned a solid 74-67 road win over BG74 Gottingen Sunday at Lokhalle in Gottingen. Maksym Shtein was in top form for Frankfurt with 24pt on 10 for 12 shooting while Derrick Allen added 20pt 8reb in the win. Frankfurt opened the action with a 25-20 1Q lead and held a 37-32 advantage at half. The Violets trimmed the deficit to 57-54 at the end of 3. Down the stretch, the Skyliners sealed the win with strong defense in a 17-13 4Q. Head Coach Murat Didin received excellent production from bench players forced into the starting lineup due to the illnesses. Domonic bahiense de Mello added 11pt in the win. Frankfurt shot 48% from the floor 68% from the foul line and made 7 of 20 (35%) from three. Darren Brooks led Gottingen with 23pt 6reb followed by 12pt 8reb from David Monds. Gottingen hit 38% from the floor. Skyliners won their 6th straight game to up their record to 19-11 while Gottingen dropped their 4th straight falling to 11-18.

News from Herten -by Daniel Poerschke
The Hertener Lowen of the Pro B announced, that Dustin Pfeifer (173-G-83, college: Findlay (OH)) will play for the club for next season again. Pfeiffer joined the team in midseason, after the release of Kasey Ulin. Also youngster Jasper Knoch (193-F-86) will return to Herten after splitting up this season with VPV Giants Nordlingen in the Pro A and TB Oldenburg in the 1. Regionalliga. Knoch played for Herten in 06/07 averaging 9.7 points per game and was voted to the Eurobasket.com German 2.Bundesliga North All-Newcomers Team.

Solomon Sheard: One more year in Wolfenbuettel -by Moritz Korff
The Wolfenbuettel Dukes, who made sure to stay in the 2. Bundesliga Pro B with a fantastic spurt in the past weeks, announced to have come to an agreement with Solomon Sheard (204-F/C-79, college: Paul Quinn) on extending the contract for another season. The American Post Player has been averaging 14. 5 points and 10.2 rebounds so far in this current campaign. As Frank Theis (200-C-82) is also going to stay on the Wolfenbuettel-team the Dukes have already filled two major spots on the roster for the 2008-2009 season.

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

Standings - B-C leagues
B Standings
B Division
1. Near East 20-5
2. Ikaros K. 17-8
3. Aigio Helesi 17-8
4. Amyntas 16-9
5. Ermis L. 16-9
6. KAOD 16-9
7. Komotini 16-9
8. Lavrio 16-9
9. Anagennisi 16-9
10. Ikaroi Serron 14-11
11. Doukas 10-15
12. Goumenissa 10-15
13. Alimos 7-18
14. Makedonikos 6-19
15. Milonas 2-23
16. Olympiakos V. 1-24
C North - Group 1
1. AIAS Evosmou 21-4
2. Arhelaos 21-4
3. Aiginiakos 16-9
4. Niki Volou 15-10
5. Filippos V. 15-10
6. Argos Orestiko 14-11
7. HANTH 13-12
8. Proteas G. 12-13
9. Galaxias 11-14
10. Foinikas 11-14
11. Siatista 9-16
12. Ionas Volou 9-16
13. Ifestos T. 5-20
14. Megas Al. 3-22
C North - Group 2
1. Apollon K. 23-2
2. Enosi Kavalas 21-4
3. Stratoni 21-4
4. Halkidona 18-7
5. Mantoulidis 17-8
6. Eleftheroupoli 15-10
7. Makabi 14-11
8. Ionikos Ionias 12-13
9. M.Alexandros 12-13
10. Thermaikos 7-18
11. Komotinis 6-19
12. VAO 5-20
13. Arion Xanthis 4-21
14. Nikiti H. 0-16
C South - Group 1
1. Arkadikos 21-4
2. Gyziakos 21-4
3. Agia Paras. 16-9
4. Kronos l. 16-9
5. AEK/Pegasus 16-9
6. Peiraikos 15-10
7. Kefallonias 14-11
8. KAO Palaimon 14-11
9. Doxa Lefkadas 12-13
10. Apolloniada 11-14
11. Papagou 6-19
12. EA Patron 5-20
13. AEM Polyvios 4-21
14. Messinis 4-21
C South - Group 2
1. OFI 22-2
2. Ierapetra 20-5
3. Zografou 18-7
4. Panelefsiniakos 18-7
5. Filathlitikos 15-10
6. Kronos AD 15-10
7. Ionikos Nikaias 13-12
8. Arditos 13-12
9. Ionikos N.F. 12-13
10. Aris Nikaias 10-15
11. Apollon Sm. 7-18
12. Ermis S. 7-18
13. Diagoras 3-22
14. Halkida 2-23


Standings - A2
A2 Standings
1. Trikalla 2000 21-5
2. Panorama 19-7
3. Dafni 19-7
4. Ionikos Lamias 17-9
5. DASH Perist. 16-10
6. Iraklis 14-12
7. HSBC Pagrati 14-12
8. ICBS 13-13
9. Xanthi 12-14
10. Panerythrai. 12-14
11. MENT 12-14
12. Apollon 10-16
13. Ilysiakos 9-17
14. Halkida 7-19
15. Sporting 7-19
16. P.Faliro 6-20


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

Sat-Cybertech defeated in last game -by Gianni Pascucci
In the last game of the classification round for Group B of Liga Centroamericana, guest team Icevic Tegucigalpa prevailed over SAT-Cybertech with a strong victory, pointing this time on a faster tempo offense that puzzled SAT-Cybertech since the match began. The Hondurean team took the lead to never let it go until the end of regulation. Both teams head now to the Final Four of the tournament, which starts next week in Cancun, Mexico.
with the help of Victor Padilla

*****************************************************
HONDURAS

Icevic wins the last Group B game -by Gianni Pascucci

The last game of the classification round for Group B of Liga Centroamericana, favoured team Icevic Tegucigalpa prevailed over SAT-Cybertech with a strong victory. In the previous game, Icevic Tegucigalpa produced its lowest score for this tournament. But this time, the Hondurian team transformed their paced play into a much more dynamic and effective one, puzzling SAT-Cybertech since the match began, and taking the lead to never let it go until the end of regulation. Both teams are already classified for the Final Four of the tournament, which starts next week in Cancun, Mexico.

with the help of Victor Padilla



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

Round 25 -by Tamas Deri
Falco beat Szolnok 107-93 in the round 25 last night and will start the playoffs from the first place. The first quarter was tied, but in the second quarter Falco took a 15-point advantage and the guests could get no closer.

Dombovar played again without Julien Mills, who will be fit until the playoffs begin, and could win in Nyiregyhaza. The guests were led by American guard Mike English (194-F/G-82, college: UMKC), who had a tripple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Albacomp had an easy 107-78 victory over Hodmezovasarhely and took a big step toward reaching 4th place before the playoffs.

Univer lost in Kaposvar and fell back to 10th place as Zalaegerszeg beat Sopron and got the 9th spot.

The home team eliminated the guests from Budapest and kept the chances to reach the 4th place.


FALCO-SZOVA KC-SZOMBATHELY-SZOLNOKI OLAJ KK 107-93
(29-29, 27-12, 18-23, 33-29)
Szombathely, Att.: 2000, Referees: Valovics, Adam, Kothay
Falco: Laszlo Kalman (186-G-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 16/6, Bam Doyne (193-G-84, college: Mississippi) 20, Kornel Varadi (198-G-87, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 11/3, Arnas Kazlauskas (204-C/F-76, agency: Court Side) 33/12, Aliakseyeu 11, Ciric 5/3, Feigl 2, Csaba Borszeki (208-C-80, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 7/3, Pankar, Will 2, Coach: Srecko Sekulovic
Szolnok: Thomas Kelley (188-G-76, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: Michigan St.) 30/12, Cziczas 5/3, Vernard Hollins (192-G-80, agency: Warren Sports, college: Wright St.) 23, Donatas Sabaliauskas (200-F-75) 20/15, Gobi 7, Molnar A. 5/3, Harazin 3, Cseh, Coach: Por Peter


MARSO-NYKK-PLANETLEASING DOMBOVARI KC 90-100
(26-27, 16-20, 31-23, 17-30)
Nyiregyhaza, Att.: 1000, Referees: Vigh, Papp P., Gal
MARSO-NYKK: Branko Savic (181-G-79) 28/12, Buchanan, Ross Mouton (201-G/F-85, college: La-Lafayette) 28/18, Erno Sitku (208-C-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 17/9, Helbich 5, Janos Siska (185-G-76) 11/3, Trepak, Krasznai, Coach: Deri Csaba
PLANETLEASING: Mike English (194-F/G-82, college: UMKC) 19/3, Balogh L. 9/9, Attila Deak (193-F-77) 20/18, Marco Sanders (202-F-79, college: Point Park) 18, Du Juan Wiley (206-C-75, college: Michigan St.) 23/18, Simon 9/3, Bodi 2, Coach: Dzunic Branislav


ALBACOMP-BODROGI BAU VASARHELYI KSE 107-78
(32-14, 22-28, 26-8, 27-28)
Szekesfehervar, Att.: 1800, Referees: Cziffra Cs., Szilas Gy., Franyo
ALBACOMP: Balazs Simon (188-G-80, agency: Court Side) 15/3, Bradford 8/3, Velibor Radovic (202-F/G-72, agency: Beo Basket) 21/6, Chad McClendon (199-F-73, college: Appalachian St.) 14, Bencze 5, Soos 7/3, Lamont Boozer (208-F/C-75, college: JMU) 12, Antal Sz. 11/3, David G. 3, Akos Keller (206-F-89, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 11, Coach: Peresztegi Nagy Akos
VASARHELY: Gabor Drahos (185-G-79) 26/15, Ch. Brooks 7/3, Kovats R. 6, Babut 1, Gemes 5, Eric Freeman (205-C-79, college: Ky Wesleyan) 21, Boszormenyi, Kukla 10, Csorba 2, Coach: Czuprak Laszlo


KAPOSVARI KK-UNIVER KSE 79-69
(18-21, 28-16, 11-17, 22-15)
Kaposvar, Att.: 400, Referees: Palla, Torok, Nemeth Cs.
KAPOSVAR: Ceskovic 12, Csirke 2, Balazs Szoke (200-F-76, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 17, Hendlein 9, Mike Kinsella (213-C-84, agency: 24-seconds, college: Marquette) 21/9, David Vojvoda (191-G/F-90, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 9/9, Orosz 6, Kiss K. 3/3, Coach: Horvath Imre
UNIVER: Sigurdarson 10/6, BLAIR 20/6, Horvath A. 7, Szabo Zs. 4, Fiegi 15/3, Halmai 7, Csorvasi, Lekli 6, Toth P., Coach: Zsoldos Andras


ATOMEROMU SE-MAFC 100-61
(23-17, 20-9, 25-15, 32-20)
Paks, Att.: 1200, Referees: Bodnar, Marton, Gelencser
ASE: Meszaros Z., Murry 8/3, Greg Stevenson (198-F-78, agency: SportsTalent, college: Richmond) 16, Horvath Z. 6, Gulyas 8, Cedric Brooks (185-G-80, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Pittsburg St.) 16/9, Kiss Zs. 2, Csaplar-Nagy E. 10/6, Toroman 9/6, Istvan Panta (203-C/F-78) 15/6, Morgen 8/6, Horanyi 2, Coach: Sabali Balazs
MAFC: Anthony Harris (188-G) 14/6, Jitim Young (188-G-81, agency: Priority Sports, college: Northwestern) 16, Wehner 4, Vavra A. 11, Kecskes 3, Gabor Fulop (205-C-80, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 13, Misek, Fodor, Radovics, Mate M., Coach: Dinnyes Attila


ZALAKERAMIA-ZTE KK-SOPRONI SORDOGOK 75-68
(26-13, 17-24, 19-10, 13-21)
Zalaegerszeg, Att.: 800, Referees: Forrai, Kapitany, dr. Pali
ZTE: Miskovic 5, Mark Walters (188-G-82, agency: Warren Sports, college: N.Mexico) 20/6, Tamas Kaman (200-F-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 16/6, Hoffmann 7, Reggie Bassette (206-C-77, college: ODU) 18, Toth A. 2, Gaspar, Baki 4, Simon 3, Keresztes, Coach: Nikola Lazic
SOPRON: Karon Bradley (180-G-84, college: Wichita St.) 21/3, Lakatos 8/3, Lesko 10, Jeff Viggiano (198-F-84, college: Massachusetts) 15, Frana 7, Vesztergom 7, Boldizsar, Kortelyesi, Pojbics, Coach: Meszlenyi Robert

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

IBL Weekend In Review -by Jeffrey Duncan
IBL WEEKEND REVIEW

I am not sure what to make of the IBL season so far. Many teams are still waiting to play their first games and others are waiting for star players to finish playing over seas. The two teams I picked to play in the western finals, SnoCo and Portland, are off to slow starts due to missing key players. Rashad Powell and Justin Murray have yet to play a game with Snohomish County and David Lucas, David Jackson, and Shamgod Wells have not suited up for the Chinooks.

The Snohomish County Explosion (SnoCo) has a roster loaded with veteran minor league talent, even without a few key players, but has struggled to a 5-4 start. Jamal Miller, Donald Watts, Chris Weakley and Jermaine Blackburn are playing well but the Explosion still lack that killer instinct they had last year. Maybe part of the problem for SnoCo is they are still waiting for Rashad Powell and Justin Murray to join the team.

The Vancouver Volcanoes are a prime example of a team upgrading talent. The Volcanoes have taken advantage of SnoCo and Portland not having full rosters yet, but Vancouver is playing very well right now. Brad Lechtenberg, Kevin Bloodsaw, Ported Troupe, and Kevin Tyner are leading the way for the 8-1 Volcanoes. Vancouver has played SnoCo three times, beat them twice, and also beat the short handed Portland Chinooks. I am not taking anything away from the great start, but Portland and SnoCo will be much better teams once they have their full rosters.

Bellingham is finding the IBL a tougher league than the dysfunctional ABA. The Slam are off to a respectable 4-2 start but have not played a tough early season schedule. They have beaten the short handed SnoCo Explosion twice, the Portland Chinooks and the Tacoma Jazz. Once again, when SnoCo and Portland have their full rosters they will be much tougher. Ryan Diggs is averaging about 25 ppg so far this season to lead the Slam. Jacob Stevenson is second on the team with a 23.7 average. Lucas Henne, Paul Hafford, and Jared Stevenson are also averaging in double figures.

The Holland Blast has lifted off to an amazing 6-0 start. The Blast may have the best back court with IBL all stars Dennis Springs & Jared Bledsoe. Springs is averaging 28.5ppg, 3.3 rpg, and 8.5 apg. Bledsoe averages 30.8 ppg, 4.5rpg, and 3.3apg. Holland is also getting good inside play from Duane Bosma, David Williams, and Dominick Melton.

The two time defending IBL champions Elkhart Express just keep on winning. The Express are off to a 3-0 start lead by the usual suspects, Tim Pledger, Ced Moodie and Coleco Buie. What a luxury for coach Bethea to have such a solid core of talent. Elkhart also added Michael Brownlee and Chris Charles to an already loaded roster. The best acquisition may be Will Whittington. He is a three point specialist who has absolutely lit it up so far. How do you guard Elkhart? Take away the outside shot and they will go inside because the interior is open. Take away the inside and they will rain 3's. It will be tough to un-seat the champs.

Gary, 4-2 so far, returned to the win column last week after dropping two straight games to undefeated Elkhart and Holland. If the Steelheads continue to jell, they definitely have the talent to challenge for the title. Eight year NBA veteran Sam Mack is leading Gary in scoring at 21.3 points per game. Minor league veterans Shaun Fountain and Royce Parron have played well in the backcourt for Gary. Rob Spon is an excellent coach and I look for Gary to get better and better.


The most improved team award has to go to the Windy City Soldiers. Their 4-3 start is night and day better than their 0-18 mark last season. Barry Bradford and Erik Rhinehart are leading the way for the Soldiers. A new home at the Kankakee Community Resource Center, and a deeper roster, make Windy City a serious playoff contender.

Two teams who have yet to play a game intrigue me. The Edmonton Chill looks to be putting together a solid roster so far. Names such as JR Patrick, Antone Jarrell, Stephen Sir, Marques Hayden and former Duke star, Sean Dockery, dot the roster for the Chill. The LA Lighting have signed former NBA star Lamond Murray. I expect a few more big name signings soon. (I have heard possibly Toby Bailey and Jeloni McCoy)

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IRELAND

Behdad Sami "I definitely would love to be a part of irish basketball" -by Mariano Galindo

Here, we have an interesting interview with the first iranian professional basket player to play in USA, Behdad Sami (180-G-86)

1- You started playing basketball in USA in NJCAA, how was this experience?

Yes, I earned a full ride athletic scholarship and played at Linn Benton College in Albany, Oregon and it was a great experience. It really changed me into the basketball player I am today. I started forming my killer instinct defensively and on offense. My coaches worked with me and turned me into a much stronger basketball player. I worked very hard and started almost every game. I became a huge defensive threat to the opposing teams and I loved it! Overall it was a needed experience.

2. After that in 2006 you went to Europe and joined up in a Romanian team. Did you enjoy?

I loved it! It gave me a taste of what I have been working for all my life. It was the first professional basketball situation I was put in and I handled it as best as I could. It turned out great and it transformed my game even more. I came back to the states and was a much stronger player in everyway.

3. When you finished your European's season, you traveled again and came back to USA to play in ABA. Is it strange for an Iranian player to be the first professional basketball player from this country to play in United States?

Its not strange at all. I love the fact that I became the first and currently am the only one. I take a lot of pride in that. I want to be a role model and am very proud to be an Iranian-American and to play professional basketball in the USA. It has always been my goal since I first started playing basketball, that I would become the first Iranian in the USA to play pro ball and I am very happy that I accomplished my first goal. My next goal is to be the first and only Iranian in the NBA!

4. Is it funny or fun to play in ABA?

I had a lot of fun playing in the ABA. Anytime you are blessed with you dream job, you are going to have fun. I got to travel to a lot of states, see a lot of places, meet a lot of people and it was a wonderful experience. Playing for the Georgia Gwizzlies was great. I really liked my teammates and wish I could have stayed their longer, but I signed to play overseas early in the season and left for Turkey.

5. What do you think about Irish basketball? Why do you want to play here? What would be your better qualities? Which aspects do you think that must improve to?

I think that Irish basketball is a very competitive league and I definitely would love to be a part of it. Outside of basketball, I would love to experience the culture, the people, and see the country. That's the best part of this job. Its such a blessing to be able to have your dream job and see and experience different countries and cultures. I want to also play there because I know I can make an impact in Irish basketball. My qualities I like to believe are limitless. The more and harder I train, the better my qualities get. I like to think I can do it all whether its shooting, passing, dribbling, being a team leader, dunking, but I would have to pick my defense as my best quality. I love defense and because of my athletic ability, it makes it much easier for me to lock up my opponents. One thing I want to improve in is my left handed shot. Im right handed, but I want to be able to shoot the ball just as good with my left hand as my right. It would be such an offensive threat because the defense wouldn't know what to do. I have no problem dribbling, dunking, passing or laying it up with my left hand, but if I could shoot three's, and have my mid range shot with my left hand as good as my right, it would just be an unbelievable advantage.

6. Now, what do you want to do in the next months? Are you playing for any team?

Well, I train/workout/practice 6 out of 7 days a week, 5-7 hours EACH day. I'm working as hard as I can so I stay ahead of my competition for this next coming season. I have been talking to 6 different countries to play in, including the USA again. Im ready to go back overseas and am waiting for the right offer.



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ITALY

Serie A Week 32: Scafati in Legadue, Treviso still fighting -by Luca Bianchin
Yes, Treviso still believe. Benetton prevailed by 9 over Upim and the standings keep its dream alive: with 3 games to play Treviso can finish in 8th or 9th position. It would be enough to clinch a playoff berth or obtain a place in next Euroleague. Marco Mordente (192-G-79) and Matteo Soragna (199-G/F-75), Italian leaders of the Greens, cooperated for 28 points and 5 assist in a close game: Fortitudo lost the fourth in a row, despite leading also by 17 points, as happened seven days ago in Cantu. And after the game Dragan Sakota accused the referees. From Bologna to Bologna: La Fortezza bate Varese and avoided relegation, also because Scafati lost in Napoli on Saturday. A the top of the table, the only news in Siena is the first game played by Mike Wilks (179-G-79, college: Rice), that closed with 2 points in 18 minutes. It was enough to outscore Siviglia Wear Teramo, another team involved in playoff race. In the key game of the Sunday, Milano topped quite easily Tisettanta Cantu: Armani scored 48 points in the paint, where Travis Watson (203-F/C-81, college: Virginia) was impressive: 20 points, 15 rebounds and a good shooting chart. With three games to play, the situation seems clearer: Siena, Roma, Avellino and Montegranaro should have the home court advantage in the quarter finals. For the other four places, Capo d'Orlando, Milano and Pesaro could prevail over six teams, now in two points. Take a look to the standings to understand: yes, everything can still happen out there.

Standings - SerieA
SerieA Standings
1. Montepas. 29-2
2. Lottomatica 21-10
3. Air AV 21-10
4. Premiata 20-11
5. Pierrel 18-13
6. Armani 17-14
7. Scavolini 16-15
8. Tisettanta C. 15-16
9. Angelico 15-16
10. Siviglia Wear 14-17
11. Benetton 14-17
12. Solsonica 14-17
13. Upim 14-17
14. Eldo 13-18
15. Snaidero 12-19
16. La Fortezza 12-19
17. Legea 8-23
18. Cimberio 6-25


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JORDAN

Zain: Winners of the Excellent League's title for the 5th consecutive time!! -by Mohammed Malas
* First place Game 5 - Sunday 13th of April:

Zain 77 - Orthodox 69 (Qs: 20-14, 35-37, 56-54 & 77-69) 'Zain won the series 3-2'

# Best performance:
- Zain:
Nate Johnson (199-F-77, college: Louisville) (27 pts, 5 stl, 7 reb)
John III Thomas (175-G-76, college: St.Francis,NY) (25 pts, 9 ast, 3 stl)
Mohammad Hamdan (201-F-84) (11 pts)
- Orthodox:
Leroy Davis (194-F-81, agency: ProSportsCareers, college: Georgia St.) (14 pts, 4 ast)
Naser Bassam (198-G/F-76) (14 pts, 8 reb, 3 stl)
Torraye Braggs (203-F/C-76, college: Xavier) (13 pts, 12 reb)

* Third place Game 5 - Sunday 13th of April:

Arena Amman 92 - Al Riyadi/Aramex Amman 91 (Qs: 23-27, 47-35, 69-64 & 92-91) 'Arena Amman won the series 3-2'

# Best performance:
- Arena Amman:
Mark Strickland (208-F/C-70, college: Temple) (29 pts, 12 reb)
Zeid Abbas (203-C-83) (26 pts, 9 reb)
Josh Cooperwood (193-G-80, agency: Pro Management Agency, college: Tennessee St.) (16 pts, 7 ast)
- Al Riyadi/Aramex Amman:
Rob Anderson (196-G/F-79, college: George Mason) (30 pts, 8 reb)
Hussam Lutfi (198-F/C-73) (18 pts, 9 reb)
Wesam Sous (181-G-83) (17 pts, 5 ast)

* After his top performance in Finals series of Excellent League, John II Thomas deserved to be the MVP of this stage, He joined Zain last month and became a big addition to the team who was missing the services of Sam Daghlas (197-G-79, college: Midwestern St.), Enver Soobzokov (193-G/F-78, college: Cal.St.-San Bernar.) and Rasheim Wright (193-G-81, college: District of Col.) due to different injuries...

* Orthodox's third import Chris Campbell (194-G/F-81, agency: 011 Sports, college: Harding)'s injury forced him to be away in the last two games for the reds.

* This is the 5th consecutive title for Zain...Congratulations for Zain andf hardluck for Orthodox.

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LATVIA

LBL standings
LBL Standings
Division I
1. Barons/LMT 12-2
2. BK Ventspils 12-2
3. ASK Riga 11-3
4. VEF Riga 13-9
5. Valmiera 13-9
6. Liep.Lauvas 10-12
7. Bum./ASK 3-19
8. Keizarmezs 2-20
Division II
1. Zemgale 27-5
2. Ventspils au. 25-7
3. RNS-D/Livani 20-12
4. ASK/Juniors 20-12
5. Jurmala 14-18
6. LU/Ridzene 13-19
7. Roja 12-20
8. Saldus 7-25
9. Cesis/Remarks 6-26


Stats Leaders
LBL Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
Ozols (Jurmala) 21.2
Kanbergs (VA) 20.0
Berkis (Zemgale) 17.5
Delveris (Roja) 17.5
Freimanis (Jun.) 17.5
Rebounds Per Game
Stimac (Valmiera) 11.7
Ed.Eglitis (LU/Ridz.) 8.8
Neilands (Roja) 8.4
Licitis (Saldus) 8.4
Alexander (Barons) 8.1
Assists Per Game
Slesers (Livani) 7.6
Tiss (Saldus) 4.5
Buskevics (ASK) 4.4
Olivero (Valmiera) 4.3
Raiskums (Zem.) 4.0
Steals Per Game
Slesers (Livani) 3.3
Jefferson (Cesis) 2.5
Skele (Barons) 2.5
Blocks Per Game
J.Rozitis (ASK/Jun.) 2.7
D.Rozitis (Cesis) 2.5
Rich (Liepaja) 2.4
Ranking
Stimac (Valmiera) 22.0
Kanbergs (VA) 21.1
Raiskums (Zemgale) 20.0


Riga sends another Latvian representative to Final Four -by Eurobasket News

Barons/LMT -Siauliai 73 : 65 ( 13-23, 20-15, 21-17, 19-10 )

Barons/LMT got the last ticket into the Final Four after the second game over Siauliai. After 6 points loss in Lithuania Barons/LMT advanced with 73:65 victory. Even trailing 10 points after the first ten minutes of the game Latvian squad found the power to catch up. Armands Skele (192-G-83) led the winners with 22 points. Demetrius Alexander (204-F/C-75, agency: CAA Sports, college: Alabama) netted 18, while Giedrius Gustas (190-G-80, agency: Interperformances) scored 11. Donatas Zavackas (203-F-80, college: Pittsburgh) ended up with 18 points in the losing effort.
After the teams traded baskets for 6:6 in the game Siauliai used a good run for 13:23 in the end of the quarter. Taking into consideration the fact that Siauliai had 6 points advantage before the second game they already enjoyed plus 16.
Barons woke up later in the second, however still was not in a perfect shape. The situation before the big break did not look nice for Barons/LMT 33:38 but promised an intense battle in the second half. The end of the period showed 54:55, but all expected the last quarter. Demetrius Alexander completed a three-point play, and Barons had what they needed 69:61.In the end of the game it was Lithuanian squad that tried to recover, but thanks to 6000 spectators Barons won the series 157:155.

The Final Four of Baltic League is scheduled for April 25.

Barons/LMT:Armands Skele 22, Demetrius Alexander 18, Giedrius Gustas 11
Siauliai:Donatas Zavackas 18, Antonio Grant (196-F-77, college: S.Carolina) 12, Virginijus Praskevicius (206-C/F-74) 12



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LEBANON

Riyadi & Champville in the Cup Final -by Asia-Basket Lebanon
The Final of the Men's Cup for this season will join Riyadi - Beirut to Champville which will be held on Monday April 14th at 22:00 in Michel Murr Stadium.

The two teams reached the Final after having passed in the semi's Sagesse - Beirut and Feytroun , the two semi's saw lot on intensity and excitement and the name of the qualified teams for the Final remained unclear till the last minutes of the two games.

In the first game Feytroun who created the biggest upset in the Quarter Finals b beating blue Stars with the absence of 1 foreign player Calvin Cage who left the team had a very good 3 quarters against Champville who added to their roster a new player Jonathan Jones , they led throughout the first half which finished at the score of 39-36, Champville who welcomed a new player in this game needed some times to impose their rhythm in the 3rd quarter through Jonathan Jones who led his team with 21 points for his first game , he was followed by Elie Estephan by 18 and Jarred Merrill by 17 .They outscored Feytroun in the second half 46 to 34.the game finished on the score of 82-73.

In the second game Champville club saw the presence of a very big number of Sagesse fans who were present in the court before two hours from the start .The game was the ' DERBY', Riyadi - Beirut against Sagesse - Beirut .Riyadi welcomed back their mythic player Ace Custis for this season also.

The game fulfilled all the expectations and it was full of suspense till the last minutes , Sagesse started strongly and imposed its game on the first quarter through Sabah Khouri and Micah Brand , the title of this quarter was the defense applied by Sagesse .

In the second quarter Coach Abu Chakra substituted Omar Turk with Mazen Mneimenh who had a big impact on his team performance and led the comeback by his scoring and gave his team the lead at the half on the score of 44-38.

In the 3rd quarter the two teams focused more on the defensive efforts and the game had lot of excitement in which the two teams had the chance to take over of the game , Riyadi kept the lead at the end f this quarter on the score of 60-54.

In the last quarter the game continued to be more intense but the big experience of Riyadi players secured them the game in the last minutes by increasing the lead , to secure the spot in the Final by the win on the score of 85-68.

Champville - Feytroun : 82-73

Best Performances :

Champville: Jonathan Jone(21pts), Elie Estephan(18pts), Jarred Merril(17pts), Ghaled Reda(17pts)

Feytroun:Aaron Haynes (24pts), Georges Keidi(19pts)

Q1:13-22 Q2:23-17 Q3:28-18 Q4:18-16



Riyadi - Sagesse : 85-68

Best Performances :

Riyadi: Ismail Ahmad(22pts), Ace Custis(20pts), Joseph Vogel(13pts)

Sagesse:Micah Brand (19pts), Kevin Johnson(18pts)

Q1:15-19 Q2:29-19 Q3:16-16 Q4:25-14

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LIBERIA

Five Men Flames whipped Oilers -by Numennie Williams
A Five men team of sensational Flames basketball team on Saturday April 12, whipped former Liberia Basketball Federation (LBF) champion LPRC Oilers 73-71 points in the Big Six of the LBF national league. Flames led the former champion throught out the entire match with only five players after most of her players decided to boycott the match for reason best known to themselves according to Deputy Coach Victor Ballah. Otis Birch and Patrick Kallon scored 22 and 17 points for Flames while Reuben Marshall and Burgess Cummings of Oilers netted in 18 and 17 baskets respectively. Earlier in the day, Cardinal buried Sacbase 61-51 points in the second division.

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LIGA CENTROAMERICANA

Icevic wins the last Group B game -by Gianni Pascucci

The last game of the classification round for Group B of Liga Centroamericana, favoured team Icevic Tegucigalpa prevailed over SAT-Cybertech with a strong victory. In the previous game, Icevic Tegucigalpa produced its lowest score for this tournament. But this time, the Hondurian team transformed their paced play into a much more dynamic and effective one, puzzling SAT-Cybertech since the match began, and taking the lead to never let it go until the end of regulation. Both teams are already classified for the Final Four of the tournament, which starts next week in Cancun, Mexico.

with the help of Victor Padilla



Standings
Liga Centroamericana Standings
Group A
1. Pioneros 8-0
2. Liceo 3-5
3. Jaguares 1-7
Group B
1. SAT 6-2
2. Icevic T. 6-2
3. Nacionales 1-7


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

Siauliai end their BBL season -by Simas Baranauskas
Siauliai lost a decisive battle in BBL against Barons. After winning at home by 6 points, Siauliai lost 65:73 in Riga.
The Lithuanians started the game with more strength and were ahead 13:23 after the first quater. Siauliai managed to hold on to their advantage in the second quater and were up by 5 (33:38).
It seemed that the team from Siauliai were the better team that night, when they increased thei advantage in the beggining of the third quater, but the Latvian team took a run of 6:0 and were behind only by two - 47:49. The quater ended with the slimest of leads that could be - 54:55 Siauliai were ahead. The last quater was very intense, but the Latvians took control of the game in the end and won the match 73:65.

Barons: Armands Skele 22+7 boards, 4 assists, 6 turnovers and 3 steaks, Demetrius Alexander 18+9 boards, Giedrius Gustas 11.
Siauliai: Aurimas Kieza 18, Antonio Grant 12+8 boards, 4 assists, Virginijus Praskevicius 12.

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MOROCCO

Standings - Men
D1 Standings
1. IRT 16-2
2. MAS 13-5
3. RCA 13-5
4. ASS 12-6
5. WAC 12-6
6. FUS 7-11
7. KAC 7-11
8. CMC 5-13
9. TSC 4-14
10. MET 1-17


Day 17 -by Nour Amri
The surprise of the day was the defeat of ASS in Casablanca against CMC which are confirming the good come back thanks to coach Yatribi's work with the group (94-76). CMC were superior to ASS in all aspects of the game while ASS players were simply absent.

The other unexpected result, which is not a surprise, is the defeat of RCA against WAC (89-78). Since coach Haddany took the technical control of the team, WAC players gained enormously in self-confidence and they proved it versus RCA.

The other results saw MAS winning TSC 83-76. TSC's players lost their interest and seem to be already giving up for the rest of the competition. IRT won easily KAC 79-64 and FUS crushing MET 77-44.

Day 18 -by Nour Amri
The game of the week was in Casablanca where TSC and FUS played the most important game of the season. FUS was playing to ensure her qualification to the play-off and TSC to avoid direct relegation. It was a very tense game where both team's players played under constant psychological pressure that provoked many turnovers and poor shooting percentage from both sides. But FUS' player's strong self-confidence and good defense took the last word of a heartbreak game that finished 61-63 for the visitors. FUS can breathe oxygen now after a very difficult start of the season as they got qualified to the play-off. On the other side, Coach Youssef Mjahed and his players fell in tears as they did not manage to save the team from direct relegation to second division.

Strong surprise in Kenitra : WAC did not know how to stop KAC players' desire to win. KAC was hoping and expecting FUS to loose so they can qualify to the play-off. Despite winning their game 90-86, KAC will now have to face the play-out games.

ASS was about to create the surprise in Tangier as IRT struggled and suffered all the game, but won thanks to Said Fath's last second shot (83-81).

The other results saw RCA winning MAS 64-61, and CMC avoiding direct relegation by winning MET in Tan-Tan 63-82.

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NBA

Standings
NBA Standings
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Div.
1. Boston C. 64-16
2. Philadelphia 40-40
3. Toronto R. 40-40
4. New Jersey N. 33-47
5. New York K. 23-57
Central Div.
1. Detroit P. 57-23
2. Cleveland C. 44-36
3. Indiana P. 35-45
4. Chicago B. 31-49
5. Milwaukee B. 26-54
Southeast Div.
1. Orlando M. 50-30
2. Washington W. 42-38
3. Atlanta H. 37-43
4. Charlotte B. 31-49
5. Miami H. 14-66
Western Conference
Northwest Div.
1. Utah J. 53-27
2. Denver N. 49-32
3. Portland T.B. 40-40
4. Minnesota T. 21-59
5. Seattle S. 19-62
Pacific Div.
1. Los Angeles L. 56-25
2. Phoenix S. 53-27
3. Golden St. 48-32
4. Sacramento K. 38-42
5. Los Angeles C. 23-57
Southwest Div.
1. N.Orleans H. 55-25
2. Houston R. 54-26
3. San Antonio S. 54-26
4. Dallas M. 50-31
5. Memphis G. 22-58


Raptors end nets playoff hopes -by Eurobasket
The Toronto Raptors eliminated the New Jersey Nets from NBA playoff contention with a 113-85 victory.
Carlos Delfino (6'7''-G-82) scored 24 points and Chris Bosh (6'11''-F-84, college: Georgia Tech) had 21 for Toronto as the Nets missed the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
The Raptors moved back into equal sixth place with Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference with three games remaining.
Toronto rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second quarter.

Celtics 102, Bucks 86
In Boston, Rajon Rondo (6'1''-G-86, college: Kentucky) had 16 points and 10 assists, then joined the rest of Boston starters on the bench for the fourth quarter in an easy win over Milwaukee.
The Bucks made more moves off the court than on it, hiring former Detroit Pistons vice president John Hammond as general manager and making the announcement during the third quarter.
Milwaukee lost its fifth consecutive game.
None of Boston's starters played more than 25 minutes, and all sat out the entire fourth quarter again.

Hawks 116, Knicks 104
In New York, Atlanta stayed in control of the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference by beating New York.
Joe Johnson (6'8''-F-81, college: Arkansas) scored 34 points for the Hawks, who remained two games ahead of Indiana in the race for eighth, with three games to play for each team.
Atlanta has not made the playoffs for nine years.
The Hawks won all four meetings with the Knicks this season, sweeping the series for the first time since moving to Atlanta for the 1968-69 season.
New York failed to complete its first four-game winning streak in two years.

Pacers 85, 76ers 76
In Philadelphia, Indiana won its fourth straight by downing Philadelphia. Danny Granger (6'8''-F-83, agency: Priority Sports, college: N.Mexico) had 30 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers.

Grizziles 96, Heat 91
In Miami, Memphis beat Miami to ensure the Heat will finish with the league's worst record.
Hakim Warrick (6'9''-F-82, college: Syracuse) and Kyle Lowry (6'0''-G-86, college: Villanova) each scored 17 points for the Grizzlies.
With the NBA's worst record, the Heat will have the best chance to win the lottery for the number one draft pick.

Bulls 100, Cavaliers 95
In Chicago, LeBron James (6'8''-F-84) tied a Cleveland record by scoring 24 of his 34 points in the first quarter of the loss to Chicago.
Luol Deng (6'7''-F-85, college: Duke) finished with 21 points to lead the Bulls.
James made all 10 of his shots in the first quarter, dazzling the crowd with dunks and jumpers.
By the end of the quarter, he had tied the club record he set in the fourth against Toronto on January 6.

Timberwolves 102, Magic 101
In Orlando, Florida, Ryan Gomes (6'7''-F-82, college: Providence) made a pair of free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining to give Minnesota victory over Orlando.
The Timberwolves snapped a six-game losing streak.
Hidayet Turkoglu (6'9''-F-79) attempted a winning 3-pointer as time expired but missed as Orlando failed to get its 50th win of the season.
The Magic's Dwight Howard (6'10''-F-85) got his 68th double-double of the season, tying the franchise record.

Pistons 102, Wizards 74
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, Jason Maxiell (6'7''-F-83, agency: KMG Sports Management, college: Cincinnati) scored a career-high 28 points as Detroit routed Washington.
Chauncey Billups (6'3''-G-76, college: Colorado) added 13 for the Pistons.
The loss cost the Wizards a chance to better their playoff position.
Washington is fifth in the Eastern Conference, a game ahead of Philadelphia and Toronto, and two games off fourth-placed Cleveland and home advantage in the first round of playoffs.

Rockets 101, Suns 90
In Houston, the home side downed Phoenix to move 1-1/2 games ahead of the Suns and level with San Antonio in the Western Conference playoff race.
Tracy McGrady (6'8''-G/F-79) had 22 points, six rebounds and seven assists, and Luis Scola (6'9''-F/C-80) added 19 points as the Rockets won easily to stay equal fourth in the West.

Spurs 95, SuperSonics 74
In San Antonio, Tony Parker (6'0''-G-80) scored 20 points and San Antonio easily beat Seattle.
After struggling offensively for their last three games, the Spurs were able to put up big numbers against the SuperSonics, who have the West's worst record.

Kings 103, Trail Blazers 86
In Sacramento, California, John Salmons (6'7''-F-79, college: Miami, FL) scored 18 points in the second half to lead Sacramento over Portland.
Salmons, who started in place of the injured Ron Artest (6'7''-G-79, college: St.John's), also added six rebounds, four assists and two steals. He did not score and had just one rebound in the first half.

Lakers 107, Hornets 104
In Los Angeles, the home side beat New Orleans to move within a half-game of the Western Conference leaders.
Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78), making a push for his first MVP award, had 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers, who never trailed but weren't assured of victory until the final minute.

Lakers claim division title with win over Hornets -by Eurobasket
The Los Angeles Lakers clinched the Pacific Division championship and moved within a half-game of first place in the Western Conference with a 107-104 victory over the front-running New Orleans Hornets on Friday.
Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) had 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers, who held off a furious second-half Hornets rally after leading by 30 points in the second quarter.
The division title is Los Angeles' first in four years and leaves them an opportunity to take the conference crown with less than a week remaining in the regular season.
The Lakers have a 55-25 record to the Hornets' 55-24 mark.
A showdown in Los Angeles on Sunday with the third-place
San Antonio Spurs could determine both teams' chances of catching the Hornets.
The Lakers close out the season on Tuesday against the Sacramento Kings.
The Hornets have road games remaining against the Kings and Dallas Mavericks and a home contest against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Spurs and the Houston Rockets both are a game behind New Orleans in the tight Western Conference race.
Pau Gasol (7'0''-F/C-80) added 25 points and Lamar Odom (6'10''-F-79, college: Rhode Island) had 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers.
Predrag Stojakovic (6'10''-F-77) scored 24 points for New Orleans with Tyson Chandler collecting 18. Chris Paul added 15 points and 17 assists.
A 39-point first quarter gave the Lakers a lead they never relinquished but the Hornets came close, pulling within a point on Stojakovic's three-pointer with 3:57 to play.
A six-point run fuelled by Derek Fisher's (6'1''-G-74, agency: Priority Sports, college: UALR) three-pointer gave the Lakers some breathing space.
n John Hammond, vice president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons for the past seven seasons, was named general manager of the National Basketball Association's Milwaukee Bucks.
Hammond hopes to boost the Pistons, who have made five trips in a row to the NBA semi-finals, to an NBA crown.
'We are pleased to have John Hammond assume leadership of our basketball operations,' Bucks owner Herb Kohl said. 'He is a proven NBA talent who has played an essential role in a winning NBA organization.'
The Bucks fired general manager Larry Harris this season. The club has not won a playoff series since reaching the 2001 Eastern Conference finals.

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

Waikato loses two in a row, gets dethroned for now -by Eurobasket News
The Waikato Pistons perfect run was roughly abrupt with two straight defeats. Yesterday the Pistons faced a tough visit to Nelson to take on the Giants. Nelson overwhelmed their opponents in the first half and led comfortably by 22 points at the interval. The things hardly brightened up for Waikato in the third period as the hosts maintained the cushion. Nelson seemed to be en route to a confident victory as they enjoyed a 21-point advantage with just over 5 minutes left in regulation. But a basketful of trebles from Ben Hill (196-F-79, agency: IceBasket), Brian Wethers (194-F/G-80, college: California) and Jason Crowe (193-G-76, agency: Court Side, college: Cal.St. Northridge) fueled a massive 19:0 rally from the Pistons and they shaved the margin to 2 points with just over a minute to go. But the experience of Phill Jones (196-G-74) played a key role. Tall Blacks veteran nailed a three-pointer and then sealed a winning outcome for Nelson with two free throws. He finished with 22 points to pace the Giants. Michael Harrison (206-F-84, agency: Interperformances) dropped 21 points and Mike Fitchett (183-G-82) added 14 for the winners. Brian Wethers accounted for 21 points for the Pistons. Puke Lenden (195-G-80) canned 14 in a loss.
The losing skid continued for Waikato today. They visited the Wellington Saints at the TSB Bank Arena and were outmuscled 66:81 to lose the tight grip on the first position in the ladder. The Saints who posted their 4th win in a row leapfrogged Waikato for the sole lead in the NBL table. Waikato looked better just at the beginning of the game when they jumped to a 10:2 lead. But the home side quickly adjusted their defense as well as offense to crown the first period with a 13:2 run for a 6-point advantage. Wellington easily stretched the gap to 13 points in the second quarter and kept the Pistons at bay for the rest of the encounter. Ernest Scott (200-F-82, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Valdosta St.) delivered 18 points and 12 boards for Wellington. Troy McLean (194-G-79) scored 13 points and Leon Henry had the same numbers in his scoring sheet. Jason Crowe and Ben Hill responded with 17 points each for Waikato.

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


*****************************************************
NPBL

The West Virginia Wild flop -by Gianni Pascucci

Instead of traveling to Elmira, N.Y., for its inaugural NPBL game, the team named West Virginia Wild never showed up. After they failed to reach the Elmira Holiday Inn hotel on past Friday night, Bulldogs team managment was left spending the day on Saturday attempting to track down team owner/player Daniel Hicks. According with the official team website, at that point the Elmira Bulldogs staff contacted former employees of the Wild from when the team was in the IBL in hopes of getting into contact with Hicks. It was at this time that it became clear that Daniel Andrew Hicks was not a good man and the Elmira Bulldogs managment was given some concrete information on some details of Daniel Andrew Hicks recently checkered past with the law in West Virginia.... We don' t know what will happen now, for sure the Bulldogs ownership is asking some clear answers to the NBPL officials, and this story could even cause a withdrawal of the Bulldogs from the NPBL league, as you can see at the official website http://www.elmirabulldogs.com




The Avengers rout the BayRayders -by Gianni Pascucci
In the only game played in the Week 6 of the NPBL, the Alexandria Avengers took a clear win over the first placed Maryland BayRayders. The final score was 145-101 for Alexandra. Pointing of their fast paced offense and helped by a good night in shooting, the Avengers scored 86 points (!!) in the first half and never looked back. Devon Neckles (6'7''-F/C, college: St.Francis,NY) was the game MVP, with 25 pts and 13 rebs, Tyree Harris (6'1''-G-79, college: Pfeiffer) added 24 pts at the winning side, while the BayRaiders were led by Darnell Sneed (6'2''-G-70, college: Charleston So.) with 21 points.

Standings
NPBL Standings


*****************************************************
PARAGUAY

America beats FPC in test match -by Gianni Pascucci
America de Pilar defeated Felix Perez Cardoz Asuncion 74-64 in a test match played to prepare the upcoming National League. Argentinean Jose Fabio (198-F-77) scored 25 points, and Ricardo Ozuna (185-G/F-82) and Gustavo Torres (175-G-80) added 21 points each at the Pilar side, while Sergio Aceval (180-G-78) was the game top scorer at 26 points and Sergio Lopez (189-G-85) added 11 points in the team from Asuncion, that is playing again withou import players.

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

Top Filipino amateur set to play for Singapore Slingers -by Hector Santos
Jason Castro (173-G-86) is reportedly in the final phase of negotiations that will make him the Filipino import of a Singapore team competing in the Australian National Basketball League.

Serious negotiations are now in the works between the 5-foot-8 Batang Pier playmaker and the Singapore Slingers for Castro to become the first Filipino to play in the Australian National Basketball League.

Castro was offered a seven-month salary of about Php1.2 million. But Castro and his handler are negotiating for a bigger pay, reportedly about Php2.4 million.

Ben Knight, team captain of the Slingers, the first Asian-based club in the NBL, said the ballclub is determined to get the services of the former Philippine Christian University stalwart whom the Slingers saw when they played the Harbour Centre-backed RP team in a series of exhibition games last year in Singapore as part of the Nationals' preparation for the 24th Southeast Asian Games.

Knight had become even more impressed with Castro when he played against his team in the recent South East Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) Champions Cup in Jakarta, where the Slinger team captain played as the import for the Malaysian national team.

'He's improved a lot the first time I played against him. Shooting, dribbling skills, everything,' said Knight.

Likewise, he added the presence of Castro, former back-to-back PBL Most Valuable Player (MVP), would help draw the crowd in during Slingers' games at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, considering the huge number of Filipinos currently based as overseas workers there.

'I say Jason could probably attract 2,000 Filipinos to come in and watch him and the Singapore Slingers play,' Knight added.

Playing overseas meant skipping this year's Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Draft for Castro, where he is already eligible to apply.

But Danny Espiritu, Castro's agent, said they are really seriously considering the Slingers' offer since it is a once-in-a- lifetime deal. At the most, they are looking to sign a two-year contract before Castro, 22, plies his trade to the PBA.

Harbour Centre team owner Mikee Romero wished Castro the best.

'I am not one who will hinder the growth and development of my player. It's a good opportunity for Jason and I really do wish him the best. Hopefully, he can help us win a championship again before he leaves Harbour Centre,' said the basketball patron.

Winner of two PBL championships with the Batang Pier and two more cage titles with the national squad, Castro again showed his value for Harbour Centre when he scattered 15 of his game-high 25 points in the third period of the team's 103-64 rout of the Nokia RP Youth squad Saturday to emerge as the PBL Player of the Week.

His heroics had Harbour Centre coasting to a franchise best 9-0 record and a win away from clinching the first outright semis berth in the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup. Jason Castro (173-G-86)

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

BSN Trade and Boxscores -by Alessandro Fontana
BSN Trades.
This week was the week of the Trades in Puerto Rico, This Saturday was the last day to make deals with players and other BSN Teams. The most important trade was the agreement between 'The Wizard' Rick Apodaca and Los Cangrejeros de Santurce. Apodaca, after the season in Turkey, will play the BSN Paly-off with Santurce. Los Cangrejeros in the post-season with the duo Ayuso- Apodaca will be unbelievably strong and they will be the 'team to defeat'. Christian Dalmau who is playing with Apodaca in Turkey, after the european season will play for Leones de Ponce and Andres Rodriguez reached an agreement with Criollos de Caguas. Andres Rodriguez is playing in Polonia with Turow. Turow was active this week in the ULEB Cup Final Eight, the team was defeated in the first round by Dynamo Moscow 78-63. For 'Our Boricua' 40 minutes with 7 points (1/2 2pts, 1/4 3pts, 2/2 FT), 2 rebs 4 asts and 4 steals.
Other important trades were: Arecibo signed Keenan Jourdon who played very good at the beginning of this season in Mexico. Tanoka Beard, one of the strongest rebounders of this BSN was signed by Cariduros de Fajardo. Fajardo signed also Benjamin Colon from Bayamon, Los Vaqueros received from Cariduros Elie Samuel Morales. Los Vaqueros were very active, they could alo sign a strong scorer as Rafael Perez who was playing very good in Guayama.
Leones de Ponce signed Jameel Heywood a forward who comes from US Virgin Island and He had already played in Puerto Rico with Capitanes de Arecibo (19.5 ppg in 2005) and in this season he was playing for Lanus in Argentina and Matt Freije who was playing very good in Guayama.
BSN BOXSCORES
PONCE-CAGUAS= 84-96
P= Padilla 17, Pagan 15, Colon 11, Thompson 9, J. Colon 8, Aubry 7, Orta 7, Rosario 7, Heywood 2, Mendez 1, Curbelo 0
C= Melendez 31, Redhage 24, Ramos 23 (11 rebs), Bryant 9, Rosas 9, Martinez 0, Mc Sweeney 0, Ortiz 0, Garcia 0
CAROLINA- SAN GERMAN 92-93
C= Carmona 33, Brown 12, Rivera 11, Edwards 10, Cruz 8, Rosa 7, Ere 6, Hiraldo 3, Villafane 2
SG= Lugo 18, S. Villegas 18, Avila 15, Lazor 14, J. Villegas 14, Alvarado 10, Caro 2, Dyer 2
A. Fontana

San German trims down the Giants -by Luis Ramirez
The San German Athletics defeated the Carolina Giants 93-92. The Giants took an 8 point lead at the end of the 1st quarter 27-19. In the 2nd quarter both teams battled to find offense but the Giants managed to keep ahead of the Athletics as the half closed 46-35 in favor of the Giants. In the 2nd half the Athletics came back with a good offensive run of their own as they scored 31 points in the quarter to trim the lead of the Giants to just 1 point 67-66. In the 4th quarter neither team wanted to give in but the Athletics managed to squeak by for the victory. For San German, Richard Lugo (209-C-73, agency: Huss Sport Agency, college: St.Francis,NY) scored 18 points as well as Samuel Villegas. For Carolina Alejandro Carmona (194-G/F-83, agency: Next Level) scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

In the other only BSN action, the Caguas Criollos defeated the Ponce Lions 96-84. The Caguas Criollos started the game with a full press and surprised the Lions as they had some problems trying to adjust in the opening minutes, the Criollos went on to score 25 points to take the lead in the very 1st quarter, a lead they would keep the rest of the game. The 1st half ended 45-39 in favor of the Criollos and the 2nd half was not much better for the Lions, who just didn't seem to find a way to stop Ricardo Melendez (180-G-83) who was draining 3 pointers from the corners. For Caguas, Ricardo Melendez scored 31 points followed by Shawn Redhage with 24 points. For Ponce, Edgar Padilla (187-G-75, agency: Next Level, college: Massachusetts) scored 17 points followed by Wilfredo Pagan with 15 points. Pagan suffered a leg injury in the 3rd quarter and would not return to the game.

Standings - BSN
BSN Standings
Island
1. Arecibo 15-6
2. Ponce 11-11
3. Caguas 10-10
4. San German 9-11
5. Guayama 6-14
6. Mayaguez 4-16
Metro
1. Carolina 13-7
2. Guaynabo 12-8
3. Fajardo 11-9
4. Santurce 11-9
5. Humacao 11-9
6. Bayamon 9-12


Stats Leaders - BSN
Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
Melendez (Caguas)23.8 Figueroa (Arecibo) 21.6
White (Arecibo) 21.0
Ayuso (Santurce) 20.2
Ramos (Caguas) 19.4
Rebounds Per Game
Benson (Bayamon) 14.9
Beard (Guayama) 11.1
Ramos (Caguas) 10.3
Chris Jackson (Faj) 10.3
Figueroa (Arecibo) 9.7
Assists Per Game
Caro (Guayama) 7.8
Pagan (Ponce) 6.0
Guzman (Humacao) 5.8
Rivera (Carolina) 5.7
Hatton (Arecibo) 5.3
Steals Per Game
Figueroa (Arecibo) 2.1
Guzman (Humacao) 1.6
Padilla (Ponce) 1.6
Blocks Per Game
Ramos (Caguas) 2.6
Traylor (Santurce) 2.2
Benson (Bayamon) 1.7
3FGP
Avila (S. German) 52.6%
Alamo (Caguas) 48.7%
Wilson (Guaynabo)47.2%
Free Throws
Cortes (Arecibo) 100%
Ra. Dalmau (San.) 92.3%Rice (Carolina) 90.9%


*****************************************************
QATAR

Qatar SC leads second round of HH Emir Basketball Cup -by Eurobasket
Qatar SC leaded the second round of HH Emir Basketball Cup after downing Al Rayyan 75-58 on Friday while Al Rayyan occupied the second place.
Army finished in the third place after winning over Al Arabi 85-63.
After these results, Qatar SC will take on Al Arabi while Army will face Al Rayyan in the cup's semifinal to be staged on Tuesday at the indoor hall of Al Gharaffa SC.
Courtesy of Qatar Olympics

*****************************************************
ROMANIA

CSU Asesoft Ploiesti wins the Cup -by Eurobasket News
CSU Asesoft Ploiesti -BCM Elba Timisoara 90:73

CSU Asesoft Ploiesti won the Romanian Cup in the country. In the Final game the team overcame BCM Elba Timisoara 90:73 to triumph in it. With 28:20 in the last period the winner also of the regular season grabbed the Cup. De'Angelo Alexander (198-G-84, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Charlotte)< led the winners with 19 points and 6 rebounds. Arvydas Cepulis (195-G-79) posted 18, while Virgil Carutasu (204-C-76) collected 13 points and 19 rebounds. Milos Pesic (202-F-84) top-scored for the losing side with 18 points.
CSU Asesoft Ploiesti took the advantage of the game from the early beginning. The team controlled the game and won the opening quarter 22:17. BCM ELBA Timisoara stayed tough in the Final and produced its style of the game in the second period. A 22:20 win lifted them to 42:39 at the half time.
In the third quarter CSU Asesoft Ploiesti made some runs to increase the deficit and posted another 20 points in the quarter. At that time they allowed BCM ELBA Timisoara to score 14 and as a total CSU Asesoft Ploiesti saw 9 points before the last quarter. BCM ELBA Timisoara tried their best in the end, but had to admit the loss. CSU Asesoft Ploiesti used a 28:20 in the period to celebrate in the Cup.
In the game for the third place CSU Atlassib Sibiu beat BC Arges Pitesti 87:76.

Asesoft - De'Angelo Alexander 19 + 6 rebs, Arvydas Cepulis 18, Virgil Carutasu 13+19 rebs, Levente Szijarto (192-G/F-83) 13
Elba - Milos Pesic 18, Nikola Radmanovac (192-G-77) 15, D.Markovic 13 .

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

Dynamo is the third team but on ULEB Cup -by Max Brodsky
Dynamo Moscow earned a spot in the 2008-09 ULEB Cup season by downing Galatasaray Cafe Crown 84-67 in the third place game at Palavela, Turin on Sunday afternoon. Dynamo bounced back from its semifinal loss against Akasvayu Girona and is set to return to the ULEB Cup next season. Meanwhile, Galatasaray could not finish its amazing ULEB Cup run with a final win. Sergei Monya (204-F-83) led the winners with 17 points. Robertas Robertas Javtokas (211-C-80, college: Arizona) added 14 and 9 rebounds, Milos Milos Vujanic (190-G-80) had 13 points, Travis Travis Hansen (198-G/F-78, college: BYU) got 12 while Henry Domercant contributed 11 for Dynamo. Erdem Turtekem had 16 points for Galatasaray while Charles Gaines (201-F-81, college: S.Mississippi) and Dee Brown (185-G-84, college: Illinois) each added 11- Antonis Fotsis (210-F-81) and an unstoppable Monya took over early to give Dynamo a 26-8 margin after 10 minutes. Galatasaray improved with a 2-3 zone defense while Gaines and Brown gave his team some hope, 44-31, at halftime. Gaines stayed unstoppable while a three-pointer by Chris Owens completed his team's 18-point comeback, 48-48. midway through the third quarter. Dynamo improved its defense and incredibly enough, Galatasaray went scoreless for the next 10 minutes. Meanwhile, Travis Hansen, Robertas Javtokas and Milos Vujanic fueled a 15-0 run that allowed Dynamo to keep full control of the game until the final buzzer.

*****************************************************
SERBIA

Superleague - Easy win for FMP, Borac wins in thriller -by Dragan Jankovski
FMP had an easy job last night as the Panthers smashed Swisslions Takovo on the road 110-76. Visitors dominated from the beginning and they didn't want to stop until the end which outacame with final plus 34. Thus, FMP now has score 2-0 while Swisslions are on 1-1. Both teams played one game less than the others because of Partizan's participation in Euroleague quarterfinals.
Zoran Erceg (211-C/F-85) had a very good night collecting 29 points and 4 rebounds while Predrag Samardziski (215-C-86) followed him with 12 points and 6 rebounds. Vladislav Dragoljovic (206-C-79, agency: Beo Basket) and Radovan Markovic (192-G-82) added 12 points each for Swisslions.

Vizura suffered home defeat vs Borac 93-96 after over time. The hosts had 62-49 in 21st minute and a chance to finish this game with routine but after that moment they started to commit mistakes which Borac exploited and reached the over time. In extra 5 minutes Borac's players were more concentrated from the FT line and recorded first win in Superleague. At the end Glintic of Vizura had a shot for another over time but he missed.
Nikola Ilic (207-C/F-85) added 19 points and 9 rebounds for Borac while Uros Lucic (207-C-83) posted 21 points including 6 rebounds for Vizura, who is after 3 rounds still winless in Superleague.


Swisslions Takovo - FMP 76-110
(17-25,21-32,22-31,16-22)

Swisslions: Dragojlovic 12, Markovic 12, Aleksic 11, Jovanovic 10
FMP: Erceg 29 (4 rebs), Samardziski 12 (6 rebs), Labovic 11, Protic 10


Vizura - Borac 93-96
(21-19,21-20,18-10,18-29,15-18)

Vizura: Lucic 21 (6 rebs), Sinovec 20 (4 rebs), Glintic 13 (4 rebs)
Borac: Ilic 19 (9 rebs), Dramicanin 17, Plicevic 17

Superleague - Dragicevic leads Zvezda to win in derby vs Hemofarm STADA -by Dragan Jankovski
In derby game of round three Crvena Zvezda outplayed Hemofarm STADA at home 93-84 improving its score to 2-1. At the same time it was the first defeat for Hemofarm STADA in Superleague. Visitors won three quarters but the crucial period of the game was the second one when Zvezda made fantastic run finishing it 33-11. The hosts went on the half time with plus 18. Later, Zvezda extended lead to 19 points, what was their maximum in this game. In the last quarter Hemofarm succeeded to come closer but they weren't able to make a turn. Both teams had very good percentage from behind the arc (more the 40%) while interesting fact is that Hemofarm finished the game with 7 rebounds more than Zvezda.

Zvezda's captain Tadija Dragicevic (205-F-86, agency: Beo Basket) recovered from the slight shoulder injury leading his team to win netting 27 points (FT 8/9, FG2 8/10, 3-pts 1/3). Omar Cook (186-G-82, college: St.John's) needed one more assist for double-double as he had 18 points and 9 assists. Young prospect Stefan Markovic (191-G-88) was the best in Hemofarm with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals.

In the next round Zvezda will meet Borac on the road while Hemofarm is going to Zeleznik on derby game with MFP.


Crvena Zvezda - Hemofarm STADA 93-84
(20-24,33-11,23-24,17-25)

Crvena Zvezda: Dragicevic 27, Cook 18 (9 as), Raicevic 12, Subotic 12
Hemofarm STADA: Markovic 21 (6 rebs, 4 st), Marshall 19 (7 rebs, 4 as)

*****************************************************
SINGAPORE

Top Filipino amateur set to play for Singapore Slingers -by Hector Santos
Jason Castro (173-G-86), one of the top amateur basketball player in the Philippines and many time national team player, is reportedly in the final phase of negotiations that will make him the Filipino import of a Singapore team competing in the Australian National Basketball League.

Serious negotiations are now in the works between the 5-foot-8 Batang Pier playmaker and the Singapore Slingers for Castro to become the first Filipino to play in the Australian National Basketball League.

Castro was offered a seven-month salary of about Php1.2 million. But Castro and his handler are negotiating for a bigger pay, reportedly about Php2.4 million.

Ben Knight, team captain of the Slingers, the first Asian-based club in the NBL, said the ballclub is determined to get the services of the former Philippine Christian University stalwart whom the Slingers saw when they played the Harbour Centre-backed RP team in a series of exhibition games last year in Singapore as part of the Nationals' preparation for the 24th Southeast Asian Games.

Knight had become even more impressed with Castro when he played against his team in the recent South East Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) Champions Cup in Jakarta, where the Slinger team captain played as the import for the Malaysian national team.

'He's improved a lot the first time I played against him. Shooting, dribbling skills, everything,' said Knight.

Likewise, he added the presence of Castro, former back-to-back PBL Most Valuable Player (MVP), would help draw the crowd in during Slingers' games at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, considering the huge number of Filipinos currently based as overseas workers there.

'I say Jason could probably attract 2,000 Filipinos to come in and watch him and the Singapore Slingers play,' Knight added.

Playing overseas meant skipping this year's Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Draft for Castro, where he is already eligible to apply.

But Danny Espiritu, Castro's agent, said they are really seriously considering the Slingers' offer since it is a once-in-a- lifetime deal. At the most, they are looking to sign a two-year contract before Castro, 22, plies his trade to the PBA.

Harbour Centre team owner Mikee Romero wished Castro the best.

'I am not one who will hinder the growth and development of my player. It's a good opportunity for Jason and I really do wish him the best. Hopefully, he can help us win a championship again before he leaves Harbour Centre,' said the basketball patron.

Winner of two PBL championships with the Batang Pier and two more cage titles with the national squad, Castro again showed his value for Harbour Centre when he scattered 15 of his game-high 25 points in the third period of the team's 103-64 rout of the Nokia RP Youth squad Saturday to emerge as the PBL Player of the Week.

His heroics had Harbour Centre coasting to a franchise best 9-0 record and a win away from clinching the first outright semis berth in the PBL Lipovitan Amino Sports Cup.

*****************************************************
SLOVAKIA

Standings - D1
Extraliga Standings
1. Pezinok 33-9
2. Inter Brat. 29-13
3. Svit 27-15
4. Lucenec 27-15
5. Nova Ves 26-16
6. Komarno 20-22
7. Handlova 20-22
8. Levice 19-23
9. Nitra 18-24
10. Prievidza 16-26
11. Dolny Kubin 10-32
12. Kosice TU 7-35


No luck for leaders on the road -by Eurobasket News
Both Pezinok and Inter Bratislava suffered road defeats in the last two rounds of Extraliga. The league leaders Pezinok visited Nova Ves and were routed 86:104. The teams kept it close in three quarters exchanging the blows. However Nova Ves raised the tempo in the fourth period tallying 37 points and leaving Pezinok behind. Jordan Mason (189-G-80) finished with 24 points and 8 assists for Nova Ves. Vladimir Hovanak (194-G-82) contributed 17 points and 9 boards for the winners. It was the 4th straight win for Nova Ves and they trimmed the distance to the second-ranked Inter to 3 games. Andrej Lukjanec (203-F/C-69) and Lorenzo Williams (191-G-84, college: Rice) scored 18 points apiece for Pezinok.
Inter Bratislava suffered a 68:81 loss to Komarno in Round 42. The hosts accumulated a 45:38 lead at the interval but Inter struck back in the third period. They outgunned their opponents 20:14 to cut the deficit. But a strong defensive performance from the home team saw Komarno came out on top at the end. Igor Majoros (200-F-80, agency: Promotex, college: SW Baptist) was impressive with 28 points for Komarno. Goran Maric (207-C-82) added 11 points and 11 boards for the winning side.
Pezinok meanwhile rebounded after the loss to Nova Ves and handled Kosice 94:79 at home. The hosts never trailed en route to a 57:47 lead at halftime. They stretched the margin to 17 points in the third stanza and never looked back afterwards. Andrej Lukjanec secured 24 points for Pezinok. Lorenzo Williams had 22 points and 6 assists as Pezinok improved to 33-9 record atop the ladder.

*****************************************************
SLOVENIA

Olimpija remains unbeaten -by Zeljko Zule
Union Olimpija beat Luka Koper 95-85 and remain the only unbeaten team in the League Play-Off.. Marcus Bailey posted 21 points, Marko Milic added 13 and promised Mirza Sarajlija (183-G-91), MVP of the U-16 Slovenian Final-Four, made a 3-pointer in his debut for the first team. Miha Cmer had 18 points to lead seven Koper's scorers in double figures. Sasa Mucic and Dusan Virijevic posted 12 points and Grega Nachbar, Miha Markic, Vlado Pasalic and Simon Finzgar added 10 points.

Standings - 1A
1A Standings
Places 1-8
1. Helios 5-1
2. Olimpija 4-0
3. Slovan 4-2
4. Krka 3-3
5. Luka Koper 2-3
6. Zlatorog 2-3
7. Elektra 1-5
8. TCG Mercator 0-4
Places 9-13
1. Polzela 12-18
2. Alpos S. 11-18
3. Zagorje 11-18
4. Kraski Zidar 9-20
5. Rogla 5-24


Standings - 1B
1B Standings
1. Postojna 23-3
2. Bezigrad 22-4
3. Nova Gorica 21-5
4. Hrastnik 19-7
5. Cerknica 14-12
6. Jance KK 13-13
7. Rudar 12-14
8. Rogaska 11-15
9. Litija 10-16
10. Konjice 10-16
11. Radenska 9-17
12. Triglav K. 7-19
13. Celjski KK 7-19
14. Medvode 4-22


Zlatorog climb back from 17 points deficit to beat Elektra -by Zeljko Zule

Miha Cmer (182-G-77) made the game-winning 3-pointer with three second to go as Koper posted a 77-75 road win over Krka. Sasa Mucic scored 27 points including five 3-pointers and Vlado Pasalic added 26 points. Krka outrebounded Koper 34-25 and Jure Balazic and TJ Sorrentine netted 18 points apiece.
Lance Harris 15 of his 20 points posted in first half and Nejc Strnad 13 of his 18 points scored in third quarter as Zlatorog rallied from a 17 points second-quarter deficit to stun Elektra 82-76. Ales Kunc had 20 poinst on shooting 7-9 before he fouled out and Zan Vrecko and Drazen Bubnic added 14 points apiece for Elektra who in fist half shot 18-of-25 from the field.
Slovan defeated Helios 94-91. Simon Petrov finished with 21 points and Enrique Clemons hit all six free-throws in last 10 seconds while Helios shot just 25-of-30 from the line. Robert Troha netted 18 points, Aljaz Janza added 17 and Jure Mocnik missed a pair of free throws at 91-92 with 10 seconds left.
Zagorje and Hopsi ensured their safety with a comfortable victories over Rogla and Kraski zidar.

League Play-Off - Round 6: Elektra Esotech-Zlatorog 76-82, Krka-Luka Koper 75-77, Geoplin Slovan-Helios 94-91, Union Olimpija-TCG Mercator 08/05.

League Play-Out - Round 9: Kraski zidar Jadran-Hopsi 68-77, Zagorje KD FT-Rogla 87-83, Alpos Sentjur bye.



Standings - D2
D2 Standings
East
1. Casino M. 22-0
2. Maribor 16-6
3. Grosuplje 15-7
4. Ilirija 15-7
5. Union Olim. II 13-9
6. Jezica 12-10
7. Pakman C. 10-12
8. Mavrica 9-13
9. Terme Olimia 7-15
10. Ruse 6-16
11. Lastovka 5-17
12. Nazarje 2-20
West
1. Sencur 20-2
2. Tolmin 18-4
3. Portoroz 18-4
4. Plama Pur 14-8
5. Krka II 13-9
6. Idrija 13-9
7. Jesenice 11-11
8. Ajdovscina 8-14
9. Pingvini S. 8-14
10. Radovljica 5-17
11. Kolpa 4-18
12. Kocevje 0-22


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SPAIN

ACB Round 30 (part one) -by Paul Nilsen
Estudiantes were the big losers in a shortened weekend of Round 30 action due to the LEB club. The side from Madrid look to be heading for LEB after falling two wins behind the relegation pack after Fuenlabrada, Ricoh Manresa and Cajasol all picked up vital wins. That has left no fewer than five clubs all on 11 victories just above the bottom two.

Estu gave themselves a huge mountain to climb in the Canary Islands when they went down sixteen points at the half against Gran Canaria. However a brave fight back saw them cut the deficit to just a couple of points to get home nerves jangling but Granca saw off Estu in the final period to secure a 74-61 win and maintain the pressure on the clubs in the last remaining play-off spots. The home team had just one player in double figures as Carl English rattled off 12 points but every player got on the score-sheet in a true team performance by Granca. Jasen Hernan had 15 points and 7 rebounds for the visitors.

Cajasol produced a fantastic 89-74 win at Polaris World Murcia who are usually strong at home. Manel Comas and his team have lost a few home games of late, but, as with Fuenlabrada, they are finding some big victories on the road. A blistering 30-14 final quarter sealed the win. Veteran Elmer Bennett led the way superbly with 17 points and 4 assists, Andres Miso fired a trio of three-pointers while Greek star Michalis Kakiouzis was the MVP with 23 points. Chris Thomas top scored for Murcia with 18.

Another side picking up an unexpected road victory was Ricoh Manresa. The Barcelona club have pushed the top teams close of late but have let themselves down against their relegation rivals. Not this time however as they went down into Andalucia and delivered a massive blow to the survival hopes of Granda with a thrilling 83-81 win. The away team controlled the game almost from start to finish and in a very tense ending managed to hold their nerve to see out the game from the free-throw line. The 7,000 home fans now know they are back in the dogfight despite a stellar 26 point performance from Nicolas Gianella who had little support. The victory for Manresa was made possible by the performance of the round so far as Josh Asselin (211-C/F-78, agency: Duran International, college: Michigan) secured a mammoth valuation of 39 as he scored 24 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked four shots.

Fuenlabrada finally got back to winning ways at home after a long wait with an impressive 82-64 success over ViveMenorca who were left shell-shocked after a whirlwind first half display that put the home team up by 22 points. While Ricard Casas and his side fought back in the third quarter, Casimiro and his players regained their composure and clinched a massive win. Saul Blanco continued to show his promise with 18 points and 8 rebounds for the oranges while Guardia, Wideman, Lopez and Paraiso all got into double figures in a great team performance. Mario Stojic had 17 points for Menorca.

Grupo Capitol Valladolid remain in the mire after they came out second best in a tricky game at resurgent Bilbao. They went down 88-73 after losing all but one quarter as they were outplayed in almost every department. A great shooting performance by Marko Banic was instrumental in Bilbaos success as he grabbed 28 points while Bud Eley top scored with 19 for the visitors.

Further up the table, Euroleague teams Barcelona and Tau Ceramica clashed in Vitoria but the home team will have to produce better than they did against the visitors in the Final Fours when the competition arrives in Madrid in a few weeks. The home team started off brilliantly with 24-15 opening quarter but then faded badly as a tired Barca side back from a tough trip to Maccabi somehow found the energy to launch a comeback for an impressive 88-71 win. 11 rebounds from Jordi Trias were hugely important for the visitors but so was a solid performance from Alex Acker who had 13 points and 7 boards including 3 three-pointers. Tau had five players scraping into double-figures but couldn't find anybody to produce a match winning display in front of almost 10,000 disappointed home supporters.

The remaining Round 30 games will be played midweek.

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SWITZERLAND

Fribourg and Lugano breeze into semifinal stage -by Eurobasket News
The two top-ranked teams in LNA had little problems in dealing with their opponents at the quarterfinal stage of LNA. Fribourg handled the Geneva Devils in three games. The decisive one was played in Fribourg yesterday. Geneva entered the game with their backs against the wall but never tamed the hosts. Fribourg stormed past the bewildered visitors 22:6 in the opening stanza and maintained the distance throughout the reminder of the game. The Devils never threatened the hosts' lead and got eliminated. Erroyl Bing (198-F-82, college: E.Carolina) and Douglas Tshomba (201-F-83, college: Tusculum) had 15 points apiece for Fribourg. Dave Esterkamp (200-F-78, college: Bowling Green) notched 11 points in a winning effort.
The Lugano Tigers built a 16-point cushion at halftime and coasted to an 80:66 win over Herens in Game 3 of the quarterfinal matchup. The victory marked a sweep of the series by the Tigers and they advanced to the next round of action.
The Birstal Starwings took a 2-1 lead against Boncourt. The Starwings dominated the home game yesterday and stepped closer to the semifinal stage. The hosts easily ran away to a 45:28 distance at the interval and held on to the lead in the second half. Jared McCurry (191-G-80, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Bellarmine) tallied 27 points to lead the Starwings. Ray Henderson (203-F/C-80, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Clemson) contributed 19 points for the winners. Adam Payton (191-G-84, college: William & Mary) answered with 20 points for Boncourt. Guillaume Sene (197-G/F-86) dropped 18 in a losing case. The fourth game is scheduled for Wednesday in Boncourt.
Monthey also claimed a 2-1 lead in the series against Vacallo. Monthey celebrated an 82:74 home victory yesterday behind 20 points from Valentin Wegmann (192-G-79). Maxime Jaquier (180-G-80) scored 16 points for the home team. Martin Mihajlovic (208-C-81) replied with 18 points for Vacallo. Ricky Gibson (191-G-84, college: Stillman) accounted for 21 points in a losing clause.

*****************************************************
TAIWAN

TB routs Yulon again to take 2-1 lead -by Chris Wang
Taiwan Beer used a 23-7 third quarter to rout Yulon in Game 3 and took a 2-1 lead in the 2008 SBL Finals on Sunday.

The defending champion made five threes, with three of them came from Yang Ching-min, in a 21-4 run to open the second half, boosting its six-point lead to 23, and won the game 81-64.

Ho Shou-cheng scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the first half, when TB led 37-31. Yang Ching-min and Chen Shih-nian took over in the second half, while leading scorer Lin Chih-chieh made up for an awful shooting night (9 points) with other dimensions of his game, collecting 7 boards and 7 assists.

TB made 10 of 19 three-pointers in the game.

Yulon couldn't find the basket all night long, shooting 33% as a team. Chen Hsin-an led with 20 points but nine of those came in the fourth quarter, when Yulon already trailed by 20.

Once again, it seemed to me Yulon players were tired, playing for the third successive night with an (almost) six-men rotation. Other than Chen, no player reached double-digit scoring.

On Saturday night, it was Yulon coming out on top and leveled the series. Yulon limited TB to 3-of-17 from the three-point range in a 79-68 win, leading by as many as 20 points in the third quarter.

Chen Chih-chung led Yulon with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists while Yang Che-yi had 20. Chen Hsin-an had a subpar shooting night, making one of five field goals attempts but was 10-of-12 from the foul line. Chen had 12 points and 7 rebounds.

Lee Hsueh-lin had 8 points and center Tseng Wen-ting had 10 points and three blocks.

Wu Tai-hao led TB with 22 points. Lin Chih-chieh had 13.

2008 SBL Finals
Game 1: TB 80-64 Yulon
Game 2: Yulon 79-68 TB
Game 3: TB 81-64 Yulon

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

Galatasaray has the chance to return to the ULEB Cup -by Eurobasket News
Galatasaray Cafe Crown won the opener of the ULEB Cup Elite Eight and became the first team to advance to the ULEB Cup semifinals. In a Turkish thriller Galatasaray beat Besiktas Cola Turka 61:60. Robert Hite (188-G-84, college: Miami, FL) led the winners with 22 points. Charles Gaines collected 8 points and 10 rebounds, while Owens scored 8. Predrag Drobnjak (212-F/C-75) and Preston Shumpert posted 17 points in defeat. Galatasaray went into an early lead and increased it to 19:11 after the first 10 minutes of the game. Akyol brought Galatasaray to an 11 point deficit with a layup to make it 27:16. They still had an 11 point advantage when the teams went to the lockers. Besiktas improved its defense with its starting lineup back on court early in the fourth quarter. Dalmau hit an acrobatic shot and Apodaca made free throws to tie it at 58:58. Besiktas had its first lead at 60:58 but then Cuneyt Erden sank a corner triple for a win.
Last night DKV Joventut won over Galatasaray Cafe Crown 90:83 in the first semifinal in Turin. Spanish team took the lead from the early beginning and enjoyed 27:17 in the opening quarter. In the third quarter Galatasaray cut the deficit to 52:50, but DKV Joventut increased to 74:62.
They kept the advantage in the next three quarters and truthfully advanced to the Final. Rudy Fernandez (197-G-85) paced all the winners with 27 points. Jan Jagla netted 13, while Demond Mallet (186-G-78, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Mc Neese St.) posted 11.Robert Hite had a good game for the Turkish side nailing 26 points. Galatasaray has the chance to return to the ULEB Cup next season if it wins the third place game also tonight.

Quarterfinal
Galatasaray - Besiktas Cola Turka 61:60
Galatasaray:Robert Hite 22 points, Charles Gaines 8+10 rebounds, Owens 8
Besiktas Cola Turka:Predrag Drobnjak 17 points,Preston Shumpert 17

Semifinal
DKV Joventut -Galatasaray 90-83
DKV Joventut:Rudy Fernandez 27 points, Jan Jagla 13, Demond Mallet 11 Jerome Moiso 9 and 9 rebounds
Galatasaray:Robert Hite 26 points, Britton Johnsen (208-F-79, agency: Priority Sports, college: Utah) 13, Dee Brown 10

Galatasaray without Robert Hite . . . ended by 4th place on ULEB Cup -by Max Brodsky
Dynamo Moscow earned a spot in the 2008-09 ULEB Cup season by downing Galatasaray Cafe Crown 84-67 in the third place game at Palavela, Turin on Sunday afternoon. Dynamo bounced back from its semifinal loss against Akasvayu Girona and is set to return to the ULEB Cup next season. Meanwhile, Galatasaray could not finish its amazing ULEB Cup run with a final win. Sergei Monya (204-F-83) led the winners with 17 points. Robertas Javtokas (211-C-80, college: Arizona) added 14 and 9 rebounds, Milos Milos Vujanic (190-G-80) had 13 points, Travis Travis Hansen (198-G/F-78, college: BYU) got 12 while Henry Domercant contributed 11 for Dynamo. Erdem Turetken (199-F-79) had 16 points for Galatasaray while Charles Gaines (201-F-81, college: S.Mississippi) and Dee Brown (185-G-84, college: Illinois) each added 11- Antonis Fotsis (210-F-81) and an unstoppable Monya took over early to give Dynamo a 26-8 margin after 10 minutes. Galatasaray improved with a 2-3 zone defense while Gaines and Brown gave his team some hope, 44-31, at halftime. Gaines stayed unstoppable while a three-pointer by Chris Owens (204-F-79, college: Texas) completed his team's 18-point comeback, 48-48. midway through the third quarter. Dynamo improved its defense and incredibly enough, Galatasaray went scoreless for the next 10 minutes. Meanwhile, Travis Hansen, Robertas Javtokas and Milos Vujanic fueled a 15-0 run that allowed Dynamo to keep full control of the game until the final buzzer.

Standings - TBL
 1. Besiktas 21-6 
 2. Efes P. 21-7 
 3. Fenerbahce 19-8 
 4. T.Telekom 18-10 
 5. Galatasaray 17-10 
 6. Antalya 17-11 
 7. Karsiyaka 16-12 
 8. TED Koleji 12-16 
 9. Banvit 12-16 
 10. Mersin 12-16 
 11. Kepez Bld 11-16 
 12. Oyak Renault 11-17 
 13. Selcuk Uni. 9-18 
 14. Darussafaka 9-19 
 15. Alpella 8-19 
 16. Beykoz 8-20 


*****************************************************
U.KINGDOM

Top two to meet in Division One -by Dave Ryan
Manchester Magic will meet Reading Rockets in the EBL Division One play-off final after both sides recorded comfortable semi-final victories on Saturday.
The top two seeds were widely tipped to reach the championship game, and neither looked in any trouble as they defeated Bristol Academy Flyers and Derby Trailblazers respectively.
Duncan Ogilvie (200-F-79, college: Drury) repeated his National Cup final MVP performance with 27 points and ten rebounds as Magic produced a dominant performance to win 88-67.
Tanner Adu added 24 points for Magic, while Ryan Williams led Bristol with 15 as Magic made it to their second final of the campaign. Arek Makowski and Adam Simons each scored 10 for the Flyers.
A Tanner Adu basket took the Magic out to a 21-15, and while Adu's attempted buzzer-beater rimmed out, Magic still reached the first break ahead by six.
A blow dunk by Tyronne Treasure proved costly, as Ogilvie converted another bonus to put his side ahead by 12.
That lead grew to 45-29 at half-time as Adu converted a lay-up to send Jeff Jones' team into the locker room comfortably ahead. Ogilvie led all scorers with 17 points and all rebounders with six going into the break.
An Adam Simons trey saw Bristol cut their deficit to eight as they started the second half well, and a teardrop shot from Williams saw their extended to 11 before Gayle stole the ball and scored a lay-up to end the tear
An unsportsmanlike foul on Lee Treasure saw Andre Rankine go to the line, but the former Sheffield Arrow missed both shots, and after Williams had stole the ball he was fouled going to the basket by Adu. - with Willias hitting one charity shot. It was Williams, however, who had the final say in the quarter, draining a trey to cut Manchester's lead to 61-47 at the final break.
An Ogilvie and-one saw the lead stretched to 16 with six minutes remaining, and when Bristol coach Andreas Kapoulas called a time-out at the midway stage of the final stanza, Magic had a 75-58 lead, and it was all over.
Meanwhile, David Watts poured in 21 points as Rockets strolled into the play-off final with a dominant performance in final game of day one of the Sportscover Final Fours - winning 78-50.
Andy Harper added 15 and teenager Dan McKay chipped in with 12 as Dave Titmuss' side turned on the style.
Simon Spencer led Derby with 17 points, while Simon Allaway finished with 13 and Rob Stockwell scored 12 and took 19 rebounds for the Trailblazers.
An even start to the game saw a Simon Spencer trey prove to be the difference as Derby led 6-5 after three minutes, but a Dan McKay score and basket put Rockets back into the lead, and they never trailed again.
Rockets led 21-12 going into the first break, and extended that lead to 41-24 at half-time.
Rob Stockwell drained a three as Derby opened the second half with five straight points, but David Watts hit back-to-back baskets followed by a Wellings basket to put Rockets back in charge.
The lead grew to 54-31 following an Andy Harper trey, and a single Wellings fouls hot made it 60-33 going into the final 90 minutes of the period, and they went into the final break with a 64-38 advantage.
Harper opened the fourth quarter scoring with a trey, and Reading never looked back.

Celts collect play-off title -by Dave Ryan

Cardiff Celts 62 (13,31,45)
Team Northumbria 60 (7,27,43)
Cardiff Celts completed the Division Two double after a thrilling play-off final victory against Team Northumbria.
Led by 16 points from Asa Waite and 15 from Matt Daw the Celts led for long periods before Waite sealed the game from the free-throw line. Tony Berry finished with ten points and 13 boards for Cardiff.
Northumbria's Sam Attah (193-F) collected the MVPO award finishing with 29 points including 18 in the first half, and five rebounds. Player-coach Greg Modzelewski added 16 as the only Northumbria player in double figures, with Marc Steutal scoring eight.
After two scoreless minutes Joshua Oladimeji hit the game's opening basket for Northumbria. Tony Berry put Cardiff into the lead for the first time with just under five minutes gone, and it was followed up by a Mike Gregory lay-up as he cut through the Northumbria defence.
Marc Steutal picked up his second personal foul with 3:08 on the clock, but Matt Daw could only score one from two free-throws as he took his personal tally to five.
With 1:36 of the first quarter remaining, Team Northumbria coach Modzelewski called a time-out with his side trailing 13-5, and with Sam Attah hitting a buzzer-beating jump-shot, Cardiff's lead was cut to six going into the first break.
Attah took his personal tally to eight with a trey to open the second period, and he continued to keep his side in the game with a fast-break before Arthur Thompson drained a trey to put Cardiff 18-14 up with 7:40 remaining in the half.
Yet another Attah score with 5:39 left cut Celts' lead to one and a Conell Malory basket gave Northumbria the lead for the first time since the opening stages.
The teams were tied at 26 with 3:05 in the half remaining following another trey from Attah, with Daw replying at the other end.
A breakaway basket from Matt Daw put Cardiff 31-27 up, and with Modzelewski seeing a jump shot rim out, the Welsh side reached half-time with a four point lead.
After Celts' Tony Berry had opened the second half scoring with a single free-throw, Marc Steutal cut the Cardiff lead to two before Modzelweski level the score with a long jumper.
The teams were locked at 38 at the midway stage before Asa Waite and Berry each scored to put Cardiff four up. A Waite three made it a five point margin, but Modzelweski replied with a shot from downtown to send his side into the final break trailing by two.
A pair of Daw free-throws doubled that lead before Steve Board made it 49-43, and Celts still led 51-46 when Northumbria called a time-out with 6:44 remaining.
A huge three from Modzelweski cut that lead to two, and the Northumbria player-coach drained another shot from the Land Of Plenty to give his side a point lead.
Borde went inside to put Celts back into the lead with 4:15 remaining before picking up his third foul.
Modzelweski and Attah both collected their fourth personal fouls in the space of 30 seconds, and a pair of Berry free-throws extended their lead to three.
Pearce cut the margin to one with three minutes remaining following a pair of shots from the charity strip, but Steutal missed a pair which could have given his side the lead.
Attah levelled at 55 with one-from-two foul shooting at 2:02 mark, but an Oladimeji foul sent Berry to the line where he also hit one before a Chris Horrocks steal and basket put Cardiff three up.
Attah cut the margin to one again, and with 67 seconds remaining Modzelweski called a time-out.
Borde again put Cardiff up, but Attah levelled the score at 60 31.4 seconds remaining with what proved to be his final points of the game, forcing a Celts' time-out.
Modzelweski fouled out as he blocked Waite on the baseline, and the 6' 4' guard/forward missed the first before sinking the second free-throw. Attah rimmed his shot and then fouled out to send Waite to the line again.
He rimmed the first out, before the second wiped its feet on the way in, and Celts deflected the ball out as Northumbria attacked the basket, with Cardiff calling a time-out with half a second remaining before seeing Steutal's shot miss to give the Welsh club a Division Two double.

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U.S.VIRGIN ISLANDS

Elegar preforms at Portsmouth -by David Edole

K&D Round's Landscaping outlasted Frank Elegar (206-C-86) and Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 82-81, in the third-place game of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (P.I.T.). As expected, every NBA team had multiple scouts there at the college senior only tournament that was held at Churchill High in Portsmouth. Elegar had his best performance of the tourney when he scored 19 points on 7-of-10 field goal shooting and 5-of-6 at the charity stripe. His major contribution was a PIT record tying eight blocked shots. Jermaine Tate of Cincinnati set the mark in 2000.

On Friday, the Naval Shipyard loss to Tidewater Sealants, 94-91. Elegar finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two blocks in just 22 minutes for Shipyard. Tidewater Sealants lead by 14 in the first half and ten at halftime, but trailed by eight with 11:21 to go and was down 91-85 with under two minutes in the game.

Elegar opened the 56th annual tournament with 12 points and nine boards to lead the Shipyard over Sales Systems LTD, 96-88 on Thursday.

The P.I.T. is the nation's oldest amateur basketball tournament. It is recognized by NBA and European scouts as the premier showcase for future professional players.
The P.I.T. is the only tournament for college seniors to participate in and be evaluated by the National Basketball Association prior to the NBA's pre-draft camp in Orlando.

VIDEO



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UKRAINE

Dnipro - the best in farms / Some news -by Alexander Muzyka

- Dnipro's second stuff and the AllStarDay dribbling contest winner Maksym Vilkhovetskyi became the champions in the Ukrainian Farm's League. Kyiv hosted the Final Six of this championship - the best farms fighted each other for the six days. The battle vs BC Kyiv was the last one for Farms' champions - the have won 72:48. Here we have the total standings of this championship:

Team / G / W / L / P
1 Dnipro / 27 / 23 / 4 / 50
2 MBC Mykolaiv-MDGU / 27 / 22 / 5 / 49
3 BC Kyiv / 27 / 20 / 7 / 47
4 Khimik / 27 / 20 / 7 / 47
5 Politekhnika-Halychyna / 27 / 16 / 11 / 43
6 Azovmash 27 / 13 / 14 / 40
-----------------------------------------
7 BC Odesa 27 / 12 / 15 / 39
8 BC-93 Pulsar / 27 / 11 / 16 / 38
9 Budivelnyk / 27 / 8 / 19 / 35
10 Cherkasy Monkeys / 27 / 8 / 19 / 35
11 Kryvbasbasket-Lux / 27 / 5 / 22 / 32
12 Sumykhimprom / 27 / 4 / 23 / 31

The photos of the farms' Final Six

There are the champions:

Oleksi Chygrynov

Ivan Bilytskyi

Stanislav Tymofeienko

Dmytro Rykhalskyi

Kostiantyn Hlazyrin

Oleksi Schepkin

Valerii Gordenko

Yuri Gorenkov

Oleksandr Kosenkov

Maksym Vilkhovetskyi

Yaroslav Gogiev

Oleksandr Berkhin

- BC Kyiv was stronger then Triumph in friendlies 83:71 (33:28, 19:22, 14:13, 17:8)

- As 'Segodnia' newspaper informed, Boris Karebin began to work in Budivelnyk's headquarters. Now the team has the contracts only with Volodymyr Orlenko and Serhi Horbenko plus wants to long the relationship with Vitali Kovalenko, Dmytro Zabirchenko and Maksym Balashov.



*****************************************************
ULEB CUP

ULEB General Assembly meets in Turin -by Eurobasket
During the celebration of Final Eight weekend in Turin, the ULEB General Assembly met to discuss several issues that affect the future of the competition. During this meeting, the Assembly decided to approve the framework of the agreement with FIBA Europe and authorised the Executive Committee and the Euroleague Basketball CEO to negotiate all remaining details necessary to implement the agreement for the 2008-09 season.
The General Assembly has also renewed for an additional four years the Executive Committee members' mandate, which has been comprised of the Spanish, Italian, German and Adriatic leagues. The Spanish League president, Mr. Eduardo Portela, is also president of ULEB. The Assembly also decided to add the Greek League as a new member to the Executive Committee.
The competition calendars and preseason activities for Euroleague Basketball were presented and discussed, as were new competition formats for both the Euroleague and the ULEB Cup.
In the same way, CEO of Euroleague Basketball, Mr. Jordi Bertomeu announced that the organization is studying a possible structural modification of the Euroleague and would be put into effect for 2009-10, at the end of the current triennial licence period. Among other things, the modification would look at a redistribution of territorial licences in order to reflect the changes that have taken place in European basketball since the creation of Euroleague Basketball in 2000 and to establish parameters for meeting new challenges faced by European club competitions.

DKV Joventut lifts the Trophy! -by Eurobasket News
Spanish DKV Joventut became the champion of ULEB Cup. The winner of the tournament overcame another Spanish representative Akasvayu Girona 79:54. Demond Mallet (186-G-78, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Mc Neese St.) led the winners with 26 points. Rudy Fernandez (197-G-85) nailed 13 points, while Jerome Moiso (208-C/F-78, college: UCLA) had 10. Ivan Radenovic (208-F-84, college: Arizona) top-scored with 26 points in defeat. DKV Joventut will be another Spanish team that will participate in Euroleague next season. Akasvayu has locked a spot in the 2008-09 ULEB Cup by finishing second.
DKV Joventut did not start the game the way they finished and trailed 2:7 in the opening tip. Radenovic kept pacing Akasvayu making Joventut call timeout at 2:10. It helped the team to recover as they produced 10:2 for 14:12. Erik Daniels however nailed a triple to give Akasvayu a 21:16 after the first period. Petar Popovic brought his team up to 26:23 in the beginning of the second quarter. Joventut led 34:27 when the teams left the court for the break.
The third quarter became decisive in the game as DKV Joventut showed their own game. Rudy Fernandez buried a three-pointer while Mallet stopped a fast break to hit another one from downtown that broke the game open, 46:31. Ricky Rubio set up fast break layup that made 54:35. There was no way for Akasvayu to come back. In the last quarter the teams exchanged baskets that led to 79:54 win and a trophy for a new ULEB Cup champion!
In the game for the third place Dynamo Moscow overcame Galatasaray Cafe Crown 84:67. Galatasaray could not finish its amazing ULEB Cup run with a final win. Sergei Monya (204-F-83) paced the winners with 17 points. Robertas Javtokas (211-C-80, agency: Interperformances, college: Arizona) collected 14 and 9 rebounds, while Milos Vujanic had 13 points. Erdem Turtekem top-scored with 16 points for Galatasaray.

DKV Joventut -Akasvayu 79:54
DKV Joventut :Demond Mallet 26 points, Rudy Fernandez 13 points, Jerome Moiso 10.
Akasvayu: Ivan Radenovic 26 points, Arriel McDonald (191-G-72, college: Minnesota) 11, Marc Gasol (212-C-85, agency: Interperformances) 10 rebounds.

Spanish Final in Uleb Cup, 18.30, Turin -by Eurobasket News
DKV Joventut won over Galatasaray Cafe Crown 90:83 in the first semifinal in Turin. Spanish team took the lead from the early beginning and enjoyed 27:17 in the opening quarter. In the third quarter Galatasaray cut the deficit to 52:50, but DKV Joventut increased to 74:62.
They kept the advantage in the next three quarters and truthfully advanced to the Final. Rudy Fernandez (197-G-85) paced all the winners with 27 points. Jan Jagla netted 13, while Demond Mallet (186-G-78, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Mc Neese St.) posted 11.Robert Hite (188-G-84, college: Miami, FL) had a good game for the Turkish side nailing 26 points. Galatasaray has the chance to return to the ULEB Cup next season if it wins the third place game also today.
Akasvayu Girona became the second Finalist of ULEB Cup final. Spanish team advanced to the title game by upsetting Dynamo Moscow 81:78. Akasvayu easily started the game and increased the lead from time to time. Akasvayu Girona produced 17:3 in the third quarter to take 64:45 advantage. Dynamo however came back to the game and reduced to 74:73. Arriel McDonald (191-G-72, college: Minnesota) scored four free throws in the end to hold off a wild Dynamo rally. Radenovic top-scored for the winners with 20 points. Arriel McDonald scored 18, while Marc Gasol chipped in 16. Henry Domercant (192-G-80, college: E.Illinois) nailed 20 points for the Russian team.
Tonight is the Final between two Spanish teams. ULEB Cup winner will automatically make it to the 2008-09 Euroleague.

DKV Joventut -Galatasaray 90-83
DKV Joventut:Rudy Fernandez 27 points, Jan Jagla 13, Demond Mallet 11 Jerome Moiso 9 and 9 rebounds
Galatasaray:Robert Hite 26 points, Britton Johnsen (208-F-79, agency: Priority Sports, college: Utah) 13, Dee Brown 10

Dynamo Moscow - Akasvayu 78-81
Dynamo Moscow:Henry Domercant 20 points, Travis Hansen 14, Antonis Fotsis 12
Akasvayu:Ivan Radenovic (208-F-84, college: Arizona) 20 points, Arriel McDonald 18, Marc Gasol 16

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URUGUAY

The Metro League first round was completed -by Hector Lopez
Tarrie Monroe (202-F-77, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Lewis) scored two free throws in the last minute, leading Yale with 21 points to beat Waston 92-88, for the first round of the Metro League. Monroe also grabbed 7 rebounds.The best scorer for Waston was Alexander Blackwell (205-F/C-70, agency: Duran International, college: Monmouth) with 20 points and 6 rebounds. Larre Borges beat Goes, one of the favourites temas to win the Metro League 88-82. Larre Borges was playing without import player, but for Goes was playing Howard Wilkerson (198-F-84, college: Wofford), with 11 points and 3 rebounds. The best player for Goes was Federico Haller (198-F-88) with 18 points and 18 rebounds. Urunday Universitario beat Marne 109-97 after overtime (82-82). For Urunday Sebastian Gonzalez netted 22 and for Marne Antonio McMillion (196-F-83, college: Md-Eastern Shore) scored 22..

Standings - Metropolitan League
Metropolitan Standings
1. Aguada 1-0
2. Larre Borges 1-0
3. Urunday Univ. 1-0
4. 25 de Agosto 1-0
5. Yale 1-0
6. Verdirrojo 1-0
7. Capurro 0-0
8. Marne 0-1
9. Olivol Mundial 0-1
10. Guruyu Waston 0-1
11. Goes 0-1
12. Nacional 0-1
13. Larranaga 0-1




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Women News

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AUSTRALIA - Women

Australians conquer Euroleague -by Eurobasket News
Spartak Moscow Region is the best team of the European world for the second time in a row. In a Final game in Brno the defending champions beat hosts Gambrinus 75:60. It was another hot night of Australian Lauren Jackson (196-F/C-81) who shined with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Sue Bird posted 14 points and made 7 rebounds, Diana Taurasi scored 14 and Tina Thompson collected 12 points and 8 rebounds. Zuzana Zirkova top-scored for the hosts with 16 points.
Spartak Moscow Region was stronger than Gambrinus Brno in two previous games between the teams this season. So, there was nothing surprising when Tina Thompson opened the scoring list and Spartak Moscow Region started to increase. Lauren Jackson nailed a three for 12:2 lead int he opening tip of the game. Machova and Kulichova brought Brno back to the game, but Diana Taurasi made it 24:12. Shchegoleva gave the defending champions plus 15 in the second quarter for 31:16. Tina Thompson made it plus 18, but Zuzana Zirkova set up the first half at 43:27.
Maiga tried hard in the beginning of the third quarter and her lay-up saw 50:31. Diana Taurasi's jump shot in the end of the third probably answered all the questions in the game. Jana Vesela closed the period from the arc for 60:42. From the start of the last quarter Gambrinus Brno was on the way to create a miracle. With 11-3 run the Czechs reduced to 63:55 with 6 minutes to play. Beres kept Brno closer at 67:60, but there were last points for the hosts in the last three minutes of the game. Spartak Moscow Region used a 8-0 run to close the game at 75:60.
UMMC Ekaterinburg clinched third place in Euroleague in a dramatic game versus Bourges Basket. Russian team won the battle due to the French Caroline Aubert who scored a buzzer-beating three-ball. Russian team won the bronze with 70:69. Another French player Sandrine Gruda and Svetlana Abrosimova led the winners with 13 points. Deanna Nolan followed them with 10 and Caroline Aubert had 7. Penny Taylor (185-F-81) and Kristi Harrower (166-G-75) had 4 points each for the winners.
It was unlucky Final Four for Bourges that could even win two games. As you remember in the first one, the team lost in overtime and now another story. Leuchanka opened the game with a jump-shot and Sandrine Gruda led UMMC to 7:2. Melain tied the game at 13 for both teams and then Deanna Nolan gave Russian team 21:16 after the opening period. Penny Taylor lifted UMMC to 32:20 but Belinda Snell (182-F-81, agency: LBM Management) was the last to score at the first half, 34:26.
After 22:11 in the third quarter for the French team the things had changed in the court. Bourges Basket led 48:45 after 30 minutes of the game and dominated the court. Deanna Nolan however gave UMMC 51:50 in the early of the last quarter as the teams started a back-to-back period. Belinda Snell brought french team 68:65 with 14 seconds to play and then Caroline Aubert scored two free throws for 67:68. Belinda Snell scored again, but now from free throw line to give her team two points advantage. Caroline Aubert nailed a buzzer-beating three-ball for 70:69 win and the third place in Euroleague.
In the semifinals Spartak MR won the thriller in the Russian semifinal beating UMMC from Ekaterinburg 78:68. The game remained tough until the end of it, however Spartak created a 12-0 run in the end to advance to the Final. Lauren Jackson was unstoppable with 35 points and 12 rebounds. Tina Thompson followed her with 24 as other players did not reach even 10. Yelena Leuchanka was the only player to resist in defeat collecting 15 points and 7 rebounds. Penny Taylor netted 8 points and made 4 rebounds. Kristi Harrower posted 9 and had the same number of rebounds.
Lauren Jackson ran with her team in the early start and grabbed the first lead. She nailed another jump shot for 13;12 advantage in the middle of the opening quarter. Abrosimova's three gave UMMC the first lead and the team held it to 23:22 after the first 10 minutes. Lauren Jackson with a three tied the score at 27:27, but then Asjha Jones made plus 5 for UMMC. Again Lauren Jackson brought 38:34 and then her team mates Tina Thompson and Marina Karpunina gave Spartak 44:37 with 70 seconds remaining in the first half. Bibrzycka closed the second quarter for 41:45 as the teams went to the lockers.
Yelena Leuchanka lifted her team to 51:51 making a jump-shot. UMMC remained in front for some period of time, however Shchegoleva posted a jump-shot for 62:58 Spartak's lead. The defending champions of Euroleague went on a 12-0 run in the last quarter to take 70:58. Yelena Leuchanka tried hard, but together with Penny Taylor in the end of the game could not save the campaign.
Gambrinus Brno became the second finalist of EuroLeague Women after a real overtime battle against Bourges. Trailing 13:27 after the opening quarter Gambrinus Brno and 3500 their spectators came back to the game and needed an overtime to triumph. The Bourges players were excellent for most of the game but weren't able to close out the victory. Zuzana Zirkova led the winners with 28 points. Eva Viteckova nailed 17, while Jana Vesela collected 12 points and 9 rebounds. Belinda Snell top-scored for the French team with 29 points and 7 rebounds.
Zuzana Zirkova sent a bomb for 3-0 in the opening tip and then Whitmore made the score 7:3. Celine Dumerc brought the guests the first lead with 7:8 and it became a disaster for the hosts in the next five minutes. Ndongue closed the 10-0 run as Bourges had 27:13 lead after the first 10 minutes of the game. Celine Dumerc was the last to score a three in the quarter and then it was her again from the arc to give Bourges the biggest, 30:13 advantage. With no panic in the team Gambrinus Brno started to reduce. Maiga drove a lay-up for 19:33 with 7 minutes to play in the half. Sonja Kireta scored for Bourges for 25:36, but then Maiga again answered for 27:36. Belinda Snell sent the teams to the lockers with a bomb from the arc, 42:34.
Bourges played better in the third quarter and increased to 60:51 by the end of it. All the best the spectators saw in the fourth quarter, not the last. Trailing 54:63 Gambrinus Brno cut the deficit to 64:65. Eva Viteckova laid the ball up and in to level the scores at 75:75. Sonja Sonja Kireta drew a foul from Machova after time out called but the latter took the inbounds pass and dribbled the length of the floor before drawing a foul from Sonja Kireta as she went up for a lay-up.Machova made both free throws to tie the contest at 77:77. The game went to overtime where Gambrinus Brno had no chance to lose. Zuzana Zirkova with a three made the final, 90:81 margin.

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CROATIA - Women

Standings - Women
A1 Standings
Top Group
1. Sibenik 10-0
2. Gospic 6-2
3. Ragusa 5-4
4. Medvescak 4-5
5. Studenec O. 2-8
6. Zadar 1-9
Bottom Group
1. Pozega 3-1
2. Mursa 2-1
3. Croatia 2006 2-1
4. Montmontaza 1-2
5. Agram 1-2
6. Novi Zagreb 0-3


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CZECH REPUBLIC - Women

Title belongs to Spartak....again -by Eurobasket News
Spartak Moscow Region is the best team of the European world for the second time in a row. In a Final game in Brno the defending champions beat hosts Gambrinus 75:60. It was another hot night of Australian Lauren Jackson (196-F/C-81) who shined with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Sue Bird (175-G-80, college: Connecticut) posted 14 points and made 7 rebounds, Diana Taurasi (182-G-82, college: Connecticut) scored 14 and Tina Thompson (188-F-75, agency: Merit Sports, college: USC) collected 12 points and 8 rebounds. Zuzana Zirkova (175-F/G-80) top-scored for the hosts with 16 points.
Spartak Moscow Region was stronger than Gambrinus Brno in two previous games between the teams this season. So, there was nothing surprising when Tina Thompson opened the scoring list and Spartak Moscow Region started to increase. Lauren Jackson nailed a three for 12:2 lead int he opening tip of the game. Machova and Kulichova brought Brno back to the game, but Diana Taurasi made it 24:12. Shchegoleva gave the defending champions plus 15 in the second quarter for 31:16. Tina Thompson made it plus 18, but Zuzana Zirkova set up the first half at 43:27.
Maiga tried hard in the beginning of the third quarter and her lay-up saw 50:31. Diana Taurasi's jump shot in the end of the third probably answered all the questions in the game. Jana Vesela (194-F-83) closed the period from the arc for 60:42. From the start of the last quarter Gambrinus Brno was on the way to create a miracle. With 11-3 run the Czechs reduced to 63:55 with 6 minutes to play. Beres kept Brno closer at 67:60, but there were last points for the hosts in the last three minutes of the game. Spartak Moscow Region used a 8-0 run to close the game at 75:60.

Spartak Moscow Region - Gambrinus Brno 75:60 (24-14, 19-13, 17-15, 15-18)
Spartak Moscow Region: Lauren Jackson 18+12 rebs, Sue Bird 14+7 rebs, Diana Taurasi 14, Tina Thompson 12+8 rebs
Gambrinus Brno: Zuzana Zirkova 16, Jana Vesela 10

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DENMARK - Women

Amager and Horsholm enter Dameligaen Final -by Eurobasket News
Amager and Horsholm secured the sweeps in their respective semifinal series and advanced to the championship series. Amager will now try to threaten Horsholm's prevalence over the last four years in Danish women's basketball. The second-ranked team of the regular season handled SISU in the second game of the series to book their Final appearance. The teams played a well-matched basketball in the first half and the visitors enjoyed just a one-point advantage at the sides change 31:30. However a stifling defense keyed Amager's success. They held the hosts to only 21 points in the second half and celebrated a confident 60:51 victory at the end. Sussie Kruuse (192-C-83) notched 15 points and 11 boards for Amager. Catharina Jensen Palm (184-G/F-88) had 15 points and 7 boards, while Emilie Ramberg (173-G-79) contributed 10 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. Louise Gronemann (184-F-84, college: Denver) answered with 24 points for the hosts. SISU will now take on Vitus in the Bronze medals series.
Vitus failed to challenge Horsholm in another semifinal matchup. The 79ers completed the task in Game 2 away from home. Horsholm looked too good for the Pirates and easily ran away to a 19:14 lead after 10 minutes of action. Vitus fought bravely and lost the second quarter by a single point 20:21 however the 79ers still maintained a comfortable advantage. The teams then traded buckets in the second part of the game and the 79ers held off the home team for a 66:59 victory that carried them into the title series. Pernille Catharina Jensen Palm notched 18 points for Horsholm. Mie Burlin had 11 points, while Katrine Hounsgaard (168-G-84) dropped 10 in a win. Margerat O'Hara (191-F/C-85, college: Washington) secured 19 points and 13 rebounds for Vitus in defeat.

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EUROLEAGUE (W) - Women

Title belongs to Spartak....again -by Eurobasket News
Spartak Moscow Region is the best team of the European world for the second time in a row. In a Final game in Brno the defending champions beat hosts Gambrinus 75:60. It was another hot night of Australian Lauren Jackson (196-F/C-81) who shined with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Sue Bird (175-G-80, college: Connecticut) posted 14 points and made 7 rebounds, Diana Taurasi (182-G-82, college: Connecticut) scored 14 and Tina Thompson (188-F-75, agency: Merit Sports, college: USC) collected 12 points and 8 rebounds. Zuzana Zirkova (175-F/G-80) top-scored for the hosts with 16 points.
Spartak Moscow Region was stronger than Gambrinus Brno in two previous games between the teams this season. So, there was nothing surprising when Tina Thompson opened the scoring list and Spartak Moscow Region started to increase. Lauren Jackson nailed a three for 12:2 lead int he opening tip of the game. Machova and Kulichova brought Brno back to the game, but Diana Taurasi made it 24:12. Shchegoleva gave the defending champions plus 15 in the second quarter for 31:16. Tina Thompson made it plus 18, but Zuzana Zirkova set up the first half at 43:27.
Maiga tried hard in the beginning of the third quarter and her lay-up saw 50:31. Diana Taurasi's jump shot in the end of the third probably answered all the questions in the game. Jana Vesela (194-F-83) closed the period from the arc for 60:42. From the start of the last quarter Gambrinus Brno was on the way to create a miracle. With 11-3 run the Czechs reduced to 63:55 with 6 minutes to play. Beres kept Brno closer at 67:60, but there were last points for the hosts in the last three minutes of the game. Spartak Moscow Region used a 8-0 run to close the game at 75:60.

Spartak Moscow Region - Gambrinus Brno 75:60 (24-14, 19-13, 17-15, 15-18)
Spartak Moscow Region: Lauren Jackson 18+12 rebs, Sue Bird 14+7 rebs, Diana Taurasi 14, Tina Thompson 12+8 rebs
Gambrinus Brno: Zuzana Zirkova 16, Jana Vesela 10

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FRANCE - Women

French player buries Bourges -by Eurobasket News
UMMC Ekaterinburg clinched third place in Euroleague in a dramatic game versus Bourges Basket. Russian team won the battle due to the French Caroline Aubert (168-G-80, college: Colorado) who scored a buzzer-beating three-ball. Russian team won the bronze with 70:69. Another French player Sandrine Gruda (192-F/C-87) and Svetlana Abrosimova (188-F-80, college: Connecticut) led the winners with 13 points. Deanna Nolan (180-G/F-79, college: Georgia) followed them with 10 and Caroline Aubert had 7. Sonja Kireta (198-C-76) top-scored for Bourges with 20 points and 7 rebounds.
It was unlucky Final Four for Bourges that could even win two games. As you remember in the first one, the team lost in overtime and now another story. Leuchanka opened the game with a jump-shot and Sandrine Gruda led UMMC to 7:2. Melain tied the game at 13 for both teams and then Deanna Nolan gave Russian team 21:16 after the opening period. Taylor lifted UMMC to 32:20 but Belinda Snell (182-F-81, agency: LBM Management) was the last to score at the first half, 34:26.
After 22:11 in the third quarter for the French team the things had changed in the court. Bourges Basket led 48:45 after 30 minutes of the game and dominated the court. Deanna Nolan however gave UMMC 51:50 in the early of the last quarter as the teams started a back-to-back period. Belinda Snell brought French team 68:65 with 14 seconds to play and then Caroline Aubert scored two free throws for 67:68. Belinda Snell scored again, but now from free throw line to give her team two points advantage. Caroline Aubert nailed a buzzer-beating three-ball for 70:69 win and the third place in Euroleague.

UMMC Ekaterinburg -Bourges Basket 70:69 (21-16, 13-10, 11-22, 25-21)
UMMC Ekaterinburg: Sandrine Gruda 13, Svetlana Abrosimova 13+8 rebs, Deanna Nolan 10
Bourges Basket: Sonja Kireta 20+7 rebs, Belinda Snell 16

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GERMANY - Women

DBBL Play-Offs: Oberhausen completes the semifinals -by Moritz Korff
New Basket Oberhausen - SV Halle 87:79
Oberhausen is the fourth and last team to qualify for the semifinals of the DBBL-Play-Offs. The team of Coach Julia Gajewski overcame SV Halle in the third game of the quarterfinal-series. The host took the lead early in the game and looked dominating in the first half. With 20 minutes played in the game Oberhausen was ahead 43:30. The Lions reduced the lead in the third and fourth period, but could not prevent defeat. Heather Ernest (186-F/C-81, college: Maine) had an impressive performance for the home-side: She hit 10 out of 12 shots from the field and was perfect from the foul-line (9/9). At the end of the game Ernest had 29 points. Sarah Austmann (182-G/F-85) followed with 19 points, Lea Mersch (168-G-87) netted 15 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Halle was paced by 21 points of Brittney Whiteside (175-G-85, college: Wright St.), Katarzyna Dluzyk (175-G-82) had 15 points, but also turned the ball over 9 times. Oberhausen will now take on Saarlouis in the semifinals, while the season has come to a close for the Lions.

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GREECE - Women

Match Day 25: Results and Scorers -by George Manousidis

Esperides defeated Panathinaikos 62-60 thanks to the two breaks of Tula Kalentzou in the end and now needs avictory on the last match-day against Aias, to celebrate the title. Before the beginning of the game, Thanassis Giannakopoulos, honored Papailias for his great offer to Panathinaikos, as the expert guard decided to stop playing basketball.

Panionios has one last chance to win the championship after the victory over Kastoria.

PANATHINAIKOS - ESPERIDES 60-62
Quarters: 9-17, 18-21, 30-44, 60-62.
PANATHINAIKOS (Keramidas): Spatharou 8 (2), Stamatis 10 (2), Papailia 6 (1), Kogkins, Nikolaidou 20, Skimpi, Xanthi 1, Gialitaki 10, Kyriakopoulos 5 (1).
ESPERIDES (Daglas): Kaletzou 24 (2), Kalogirou, Kavasila, Hadjinicolaou 12, Tserou 2, Kaltsidou 9 (3), Saregkou 12, Boni, Paschopouloy, Davis 3.

AIAS EVOSMOU - PAGCHIAKOS 76-74
Quarters: 22-27, 36-49, 60-66, 76-74
AIAS EVOSMOU (Makridou): Boti 23 (5), Nou 6, Milovanovits 15 (3), 9 Kotoula, Kouei 21, Grammatikopoulou, Captain 2, Tamoutseli.
PAGCHIAKOS (Moysiadis): Blue 11 (3), Valletta 18, Xalivelakis 4 , Kalopita, Seretis 10 (2), Mastrogiannidou 10 (1), Dafkou 10, Zykiridou 11.

KASTORIA - PANIONIOS 61-68
Quarters: 21-18, 37-34, 47-55, 61-68.
KASTORIA (Dimitriadis): Kinkevitsiene 8 (2), Giannouzakoy 6, Papamichail 10, George 18 (6), Zerva 13, Bobby, Vlachou, Georgorpoulos 3 (1)
PANIONIOS (Koroneos): Stavrakaki 5 (1), Delli 9 (3 ), Kingdom 2, Chalivera 16 (2), Samaroukova 23, Kouinan 10, Giannakopoulos 3.

IRAKLIS - SIEMENS 41-63
Quarters: 20-17, 29-35, 31-46, 41-63
IRAKLIS (Kirkousis): Vladi 12 (3), katopodi 7, Anastasiadou 2, Tremkatzi 10 (1), S. Kasapi, Kazantzi, Bimpiri 10 (3)
SIEMENS (Kokkinopoulos) Davitidou 5 (1), Telidou 4, Pavlidou, Giannopoulou 14 (2), Stavridou 10, Sunday 2, Chorinou, Mouli 5, Tarmatzou 2, Kouigkli 21.

ASTERAS -ARIS . 59-51
Quarters: 17-23, 26-44, 43-58, 59-71.
ASTERAS (Arvanitis): Karastamati 23, Tsifteli, Stampourloy 3 (1), Chalikia 7 (1), Iskioglou 5 (1), Liagka 5 (1).
ARIS (Mavridis): Tzegiannaki 15 (1), Ouzouni, Kechagia 24 (4), Magklara 8, Sotirios 7 (1), Spathaki 4 (1), Roidou, Mentiola 13 (1).

ATHINAIKOS - M. ALEXANDROS 90-69
Quarters: 25-19, 43-39, 70-53, 90-69.
ATHINAIKOS (Kalogeropoulos) Daskalopoulou 2, Manoli, Magaliou 6, Tsouri 2, Soulis 6 (1) 22 Faris, Gkouzini 17 (3), Klantzou, Gkerlnts 21 (3), Cosmas 7, Haikalis 2, Koundoyra 1
M.ALEXANDROS (Syropoulos): Skountzou, Chatzakou 13 (2), Holeva, Spyridopouloy 6 (2), Tsakiridou 6 (2), Reeves 42 (2), Koufoyiannis 2.

SPORTIG - APOLLON PTOL. 58-71
Quarters: 18-21, 33-30, 43-53, 58-71.
SPORTIG (T semperis): Barmperidou, Dai 9 (3), Kasapoglou 8 (2), Balta 7 (1), 8 Mouzakis, Tierney 22 (1), Malama 4.
APOLLON PTOL. (Tsimpis): Papadimitriou 3 (1), Kyrkopouloy 16 (4), Tokmaki 24 (4), Spanidou 10, Karadima 2, Tsakmaki, Davis 16.

Standings - Women
A1 Standings
1. Esperides 21-4
2. Panionios 20-5
3. Athinaikos 17-8
4. Aris H. 16-9
5. Apollon 16-9
6. Panathin. 15-10
7. Kastoria 13-12
8. Siemens 12-13
9. Sporting 11-14
10. M.Aleksandros 11-14
11. Paghiakos 10-15
12. Asteras 7-18
13. Iraklis 3-22
14. Aias Evosmou 3-22


Last but one -by Eurobasket News
Two more rounds to be played in Greek regular season. Tonight will be the last but one and Round 26 is scheduled for April 20th. Esperides remains on top with 21-4 record as in the last game the team overcame Kastoria 86:54. That time Stella Kaltsidou (187-C-83) was unstoppable with 33 points. Erica Davis (191-C-85, college: Yale) netted 16, while Sarekgou Polymnia scored 11. Papamichail Pelagia ended up for the guests with 17 points.
Panionios follows the leader with 20-5 record. The second team of the league enjoyed 77:46 win at home over Iraklis to stay within 1 win to the leader. Samorukova Maria paced all the winners with 17 points. Giannakopoulou D. nailed 15 and Brooke Queenan (188-F-84, college: Boston Coll.) had 11. Katopodi Evangelia produced 18 points in the losing effort.
Athinaikos is third with 17-8 and one win in front three other teams. Athinaikos had a road win over Aias Evosmou 67:77 to stay third. Aris H, Apollon and Panathinaikos are all with 16-9 and all had victories in Round 24.

Standings -A2 Women -by George Manousidis
A2 Standings
Group North
1. Apollon K. 23-1
2. Olympiada L. 19-5
3. PAOK 18-6
4. Pylaia 16-8
5. Aris Thessal. 15-9
6. Artemis Volou 15-9
7. AO Serron 13-11
8. Asteras Kavallas 12-12
9. Komotini 12-12
10. Apollon K. 10-14
11. Triglias 5-19
12. Lassanis 5-19
13. Aspis 4-20
14. Elimeias 1-23
Group South
1. P.Faliro 22-1
2. Ano Liosa 22-2
3. Attalos 19-5
4. Amarillida 16-8
5. Hania 15-9
6. Aris T. 15-9
7. Eleutheria M. 12-12
8. Paraskevis 11-13
9. Argyroupolis 11-13
10. Proteas V. 10-14
11. Irodotos 8-16
12. Iviskos 3-20
13. Amilla Tripolis 2-21
14. Panionios 1-22


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HOLLAND - Women

Standings - Women
Eredivisie Standings
1. Yellow Bike 20-3
2. Amazone 18-5
3. ProBuild Lions 17-6
4. Perik Jumpers 12-11
5. BV Lely 12-12
6. Woonb./DAS 11-12
7. Celeritas-D. 6-17
8. Binnenland 6-17
9. Grasshoppers 2-21


Amazone seeded second before the play-offs -by Eurobasket News
The game between Amazone AutoCAD and ProBuild was a decisive one in the regular season as the teams struggled for home advantage in the semis, where they probably meet each other. AutoCAD won the battle over ProBuild Lions 66:59. In a great defensive style the board saw 9:8 after the opening quarter, but then ProBuild bursted 21:26 advantage at the halftime. Amazone pushed the tempo in the second half and reached an important victory. In the final quarter Amazone took the initiative completely. Sigrid van der Toorn launched two three-pointers for 54:44 and the game was locked. Judy Wright (172-G-84) top-scored for the winners with 14 points. Bos ended up with 11 points and 8 rebounds. Cherie Lea (176-G/F-81, college: NC-Wilmington) and Rene Haynes (178-G-85, college: Michigan St.) were the only Lions who scored in double figures. Cherie Lea produced 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Rene Haynes added 17 points.
Yesterday ProBuild recovered in Barendrecht with 62:74 road win. Lions were eager to break their two-game losing streak and were ready to put up a fight.
Rene Haynes led all scorers with 23 points and Anouk Biesters added 22. Cherie Lea was two assists shy of a triple-double, with 12 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists. In another game the leader of the regular season Yellow Bike beat Perik Jumpers 87:70. Amazone destroyed Grasshoppers 92:42, while BV Lely won over Celeritas 61:59.

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LITHUANIA - Women

TEO grabs the lead against Laisve -by Eurobasket News
TEO Vilnius - Laisve 87:58

The Lithuanian powerhouse TEO Vilnius got to a winning start of their Final series against Laisve. The LMKL regular season champions were too good for brave Laisve in the first encounter and celebrated a deserved victory. The dominance of the hosts was pretty obvious in the one-sided first frame. TEO shocked the visitors with a 32:12 run to pile up a comfortable advantage. Laisve evened the tempo in the second term and managed to outscore the home team 19:18. However a couple of accurate baskets from Ausra Bimbaite (179-G-82) spurred the hosts to yet another overwhelming quarter as they fired down Laisve 22:10 in the third stanza. The outcome was pretty decided and the teams simply eased to a final buzzer in the final minutes. Ausra Bimbaite finished with game-high 21 points for TEO. Sandra Valuzyte (176-G-82) and Jurgita Streimikyte (191-F-72) notched 14 points apiece for the winners. Jovita Jutelyte (187-F-71) answered with 18 points and 6 boards for Laisve. Ilona Nikonovaite (175-G-75) dropped 14 points in a losing case. Vilnius outfit had a strong advantage under the rims outrebounding the visitors 48:29. They shot 50% of field goals, while limiting Laisve to 39% accuracy. The hosts also forced Laisve to 17 turnovers committing 14 steals. Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday in Kaunas.
Meanwhile Lemminkainen narrowly defeat Arvi 59:57 in the first game of the Bronze medals series. Playing in Marijampole Lemminkainen trailed by 12 points at halftime. But the visitors stepped defensively in the second half to pull away an impressive win. Ausra Naideniene (182-F-73, agency: LBM Management) paced Lemminkainen with 20 points. Milda Sauliute (175-G-81) and Andrea Bills (188-C-83, agency: LBM Management, college: Oregon) scored 17 points apiece for Arvi.

TEO: Ausra Bimbaite 21, Sandra Valuzyte 14, Jurgita Streimikyte 14+10 boards
Laisve: Jovita Jutelyte 18, Ilona Nikonovaite 14

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RUSSIA - Women

Russian basketball is the best now in continent -by Eurobasket News
Spartak Moscow Region is the best team of the European world for the second time in a row. In a Final game in Brno the defending champions beat hosts Gambrinus 75:60. It was another hot night of Australian Lauren Jackson (196-F/C-81) who shined with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Sue Bird (175-G-80, college: Connecticut) posted 14 points and made 7 rebounds, Diana Taurasi (182-G-82, college: Connecticut) scored 14 and Tina Thompson (188-F-75, agency: Merit Sports, college: USC) collected 12 points and 8 rebounds. Zuzana Zirkova (175-F/G-80) top-scored for the hosts with 16 points.
Spartak Moscow Region was stronger than Gambrinus Brno in two previous games between the teams this season. So, there was nothing surprising when Tina Thompson opened the scoring list and Spartak Moscow Region started to increase. Lauren Jackson nailed a three for 12:2 lead int he opening tip of the game. Machova and Kulichova brought Brno back to the game, but Diana Taurasi made it 24:12. Shchegoleva gave the defending champions plus 15 in the second quarter for 31:16. Tina Thompson made it plus 18, but Zuzana Zirkova set up the first half at 43:27.
Maiga tried hard in the beginning of the third quarter and her lay-up saw 50:31. Diana Taurasi's jump shot in the end of the third probably answered all the questions in the game. Jana Vesela (194-F-83) closed the period from the arc for 60:42. From the start of the last quarter Gambrinus Brno was on the way to create a miracle. With 11-3 run the Czechs reduced to 63:55 with 6 minutes to play. Beres kept Brno closer at 67:60, but there were last points for the hosts in the last three minutes of the game. Spartak Moscow Region used a 8-0 run to close the game at 75:60.

UMMC Ekaterinburg clinched third place in Euroleague in a dramatic game versus Bourges Basket. Russian team won the battle due to the French Caroline Aubert (168-G-80, college: Colorado) who scored a buzzer-beating three-ball. Russian team won the bronze with 70:69. Another French player Sandrine Gruda (192-F/C-87) and Svetlana Abrosimova (188-F-80, college: Connecticut) led the winners with 13 points. Deanna Nolan (180-G/F-79, college: Georgia) followed them with 10 and Caroline Aubert had 7. Sonja Kireta (198-C-76) top-scored for Bourges with 20 points and 7 rebounds.
It was unlucky Final Four for Bourges that could even win two games. As you remember in the first one, the team lost in overtime and now another story. Leuchanka opened the game with a jump-shot and Sandrine Gruda led UMMC to 7:2. Melain tied the game at 13 for both teams and then Deanna Nolan gave Russian team 21:16 after the opening period. Taylor lifted UMMC to 32:20 but Belinda Snell (182-F-81, agency: LBM Management) was the last to score at the first half, 34:26.
After 22:11 in the third quarter for the French team the things had changed in the court. Bourges Basket led 48:45 after 30 minutes of the game and dominated the court. Deanna Nolan however gave UMMC 51:50 in the early of the last quarter as the teams started a back-to-back period. Belinda Snell brought french team 68:65 with 14 seconds to play and then Caroline Aubert scored two free throws for 67:68. Belinda Snell scored again, but now from free throw line to give her team two points advantage. Caroline Aubert nailed a buzzer-beating three-ball for 70:69 win and the third place in Euroleague.

Final

Spartak Moscow Region - Gambrinus Brno 75:60 (24-14, 19-13, 17-15, 15-18)
Spartak Moscow Region: Lauren Jackson 18+12 rebs, Sue Bird 14+7 rebs, Diana Taurasi 14, Tina Thompson 12+8 rebs
Gambrinus Brno: Zuzana Zirkova 16, Jana Vesela 10

`

Game for the third place

UMMC Ekaterinburg -Bourges Basket 70:69 (21-16, 13-10, 11-22, 25-21)
UMMC Ekaterinburg: Sandrine Gruda 13, Svetlana Abrosimova 13+8 rebs, Deanna Nolan 10
Bourges Basket: Sonja Kireta 20+7 rebs, Belinda Snell 16



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SLOVENIA - Women

Standings - Women
1A Standings
Places 1-6
1. Celje 4-1
2. Hit Kr.Gora 4-1
3. AJM Maribor 2-3
4. Odeja 2-3
5. Jezica 2-3
6. Neso Ihke 1-4
Places 7-12
1. Konjice 5-0
2. Domzale 3-1
3. Triglav 2-2
4. NT U16 1-1
5. City Center 1-3
6. Crnomelj 0-5


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SWEDEN - Women

Overtime needed in the Final opener -by Eurobasket News
Solna Vikings - Telge 79-74 OT

Solna Vikings and Telge started the final series in Sweden. Both squads, being two best teams in the country proved their ambitions and that four quarters might not be enough in the game. Solna Vikings overcame Telge in the opener 79:74 in overtime. Jennifer Harris (178-G-84, college: Washburn) led the winners with 25 points. Jurgita Kausaite (178-G/F-70, college: Emporia St.) posted 16, while Elisabeth Egnell (185-F-87, college: Boston Coll.) scored 7.Louice Halvarsson (189-C-89) resisted for Telge with 25 points.

Telge opened the game fresher and after a good defense had 9:15 lead over Solna. In a very offensive second quarter both teams stayed step-to-step to each other. Telge did not feel shy playing away from home and took 23:24 advantage after the second period. It gave the guests 7 points deficit when the teams disappeared in the lockers.
Solna woke up in the third period with 22:12 in it. All in all Telge cut the deficit and tied the game after the four quarters played. In overtime a 14:9 win allowed Solna to lead in the series. The second game to be played in Telge on April 14th.

Solna Vikings: Jennifer Harris 25, Jurgita Kausaite 16, Elisabeth Egnell 7, Christy Bacon 6, Katarina Andersson (191-C-83) 6, Karolina Mindell Kidanu 0, Anna Hoglund 0
Telge: Louice Halvarsson 25, Elin Eldebrink (174-G-88) 16, Frida Eldebrink 15, Josefin Olheim (176-G/F-86) 11, Shelley Hammonds 4, Linda Stеhlberg 3, Cleopatra Forsman 0, Camilla Osth 0, Erica Blomgren 0

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TURKEY - Women

TBBL play-off program: Today: Burhaniye-Fenerbahce -by Iva Ivanova
Today `s in TBBL last season champion Fenerbahce will met 8th position team in the regular season Burhaniye. In other games: Galatasaray lead 2-0 to Ceyhan, Botas losing in the serie 1-2 from Pankup TED Kayseri Koleji.

13 th April, 14.00: Bahcesehir Burhaniye Bld - Fenerbahce (0-2)
14 th April, 17.00: Botas - Pankup TED Kayseri Koleji (1-2)
15 th April, 16.00: Ceyhan Bld. - Galatasaray (0-2)
15 th April, 16.00: Bahcesehir Burhaniye Bld - Fenerbahce
(if needs)

Gold Cappie shining again, Fenerbahce is first team qualyfing to the semi`s -by Iva Ivanova

Cappie Pondexter (175-G-83, college: Rutgers led her Fenerbahce to led over Burhaniye Bld. today`s game with 83-76. She scored 33 points in th game, while her teammates Gergana Branzova-Erdenay and Tammy Sutton-Brown added 12 each. This win gives Fenerbahce team avantge 3-0in the play-offs serie. For the Burhaniye Amisha Carter scored 30 points, La Nette Bristol added 13.
With this win, Fenerbahce is the first team,qualified to the semi`s.

Bahcesehir bld. - Fenerbahce 76-83 (16-25, 19-20, 18-14, 23-24)

Hall: Burhaniye Sport
Referees: Can Atsuren, Safak Isik

BURHANIYE BLD (76): Zeytingoz 9, Bristol 13, Sandallioglu 3, Canbaz 6, Carter 30, Bayraktar 2, Capali 3, Vulic 10
FENERBAHCE (83): Tuncluer 7, Vardarli 9, Dalgalar, Branzova-Erdenay 12, Brown 12, Bakircioglu, Pondexter 33, Hoffman 10)

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U.KINGDOM - Women

"Old Firm" to meet again -by Dave Ryan
Sheffield Hatters and Rhondda Rebels will meet in the Women's Championship game for the eighth straight season after overcoming Manchester Mystics and Solent Suns respectively.
Stephanie Gandy led all scorers with 26 points and nine rebounds as Hatters continued their quest for a domestic double with a comfortable 88-63 win against Manchester Mystics.
Sisters Sarah and Helen Naylor added 22 and 12 respectively, while Ellen McCoy finished with 16 for Sheffield. Manchester were led by 22 Rehana Khalil points, while Georgia Jones and Joanna Clayden each scored 10.
Hatters led throughout the first period, but Mystics stayed in touch, and a single Nicki Blakeway three-throw cut the deficit to 20-18 at the teams reached the end of the first quarter.
Two three point plays from Khalil kept Mystics in the game as Hatters threatened to run away with it, and a pair of free-throws from Joanna Clayden cut the deficit to 34-26 with four minutes of the period remaining, but Hatters reached the half-time break with a 42-32 lead.
The third period proved key as Hatters took control, and a foul on the buzzer by Charlotte Stoddart sent Ellen McCoy to the line with no time left on the clock and she scored both charity shots to send her team into the final break with a commanding 69-51 lead.
Mystics scored the first four points of the final period, but with Mystics' centre Megan Osmer picking up her four foul, Sheffield remained in control with Hutchinson draining a trey to put her side 76-55 ahead after three minutes, and they never looked back.
LeNedra Brown led the way at both ends of the court as Rhondda ensured they would meet Hatters following a 95-80 victory.
Brown finished with 17 points and 24 rebounds, while Kirby Copeland scored 26 points and pulled own ten rebounds for the Rebels. Martina Gandozlava (18), Karis Timol (16) and Harriett Yea (14) also finished in double figures for the Welsh side.
For Solent, Joanna Ovrestreet led the way with 23 points, seven steals, six assists and five rebounds, while Caroline Turner added 14 points and Lynn Powell 13 for Michael Ball's team.
An ever first period saw the teams exchanging baskets throughout, but after Suns had taken a 22-18 lead, Rhondda hit back and scored the last five points of the quarter, with Harriet Yea sinking a three-pointer to add to her earlier four points as the Welsh side went into the first break with a 23-22 advantage.
Despite Kirby Copeland blowing a pair of lay-ups, Rebels opened the second quarter with an 11-2 run, with Lynsey Williams hitting a trey in the tear, and they went into the half-time break with a 52-40 lead.
Solent kept in touch with the Rebels in the third, and when coach Michael Ball called a time-out with 2:22 remaining in the period, they trailed 64-56, and despite a late trey from Lynn Powell helped them trim Rebels' lead to ten at the final break.
Suns' Quiana Copeland fouled out 5:17 remaining, and with Brown sinking both free-throws, Rebels moved into an 83-69 lead, to effectively end the game as a contest.

Rebels win thriller -by Dave Ryan
City of Sheffield Hatters (16,26,45)
Rhondda Rebels (22,39,54)
Kirby Copeland (178-G-85, agency: LBM Management, college: Virginia Tech) sunk two free-throws with four seconds remaining to five Rhondda Rebels the Women's Division One play-off crown after a stunning final on Sunday.
Former Virginia Tech guard Copeland collected the Most Valuable Player award as she led all scorers with 27 points, Lanedra Brown finished with 16 points and 20 rebounds for the Welsh side as they completed their second final victory of the season against Sheffield.
Sisters Sarah and Helen Naylor led the Hatters with 19 and 18 points respectively, while Gandy added 17.
Lisa Hutchinson opened the scoring after 18 seconds when she collected a defensive rebound before going coast-to-coast, before Brown levelled for Rebels
A Harriet Yea trey followed by another bomb from Kirby Copeland saw Rebels move into a 10-4 lead with 3:30 gone, forcing a time-out from Hatters coach Betty Codona.
Rhondda's Copeland was only able to connect with one of two free-throws, but Brown took the offensive rebound and scored from close range, but Helen Naylor cut the Rebels margin back to six forcing a time-out from Rhondda coach Andrew Tynan with 2:55 of the first period remaining.
Sarah Naylor cut Rhondda's lead to four with a trey, but a pair of Martina Gondzalova free-throws kept Rebels ahead, 20-14.
Gondzalova drained a long two but Stephanie Gandy pulled Sheffield back within six as she drove to the basket and laid the ball up to leave Rhondda 22-16 up at the first break.
A Copeland bomb after a minute extended the Rhondda lead to 11, and Millie Watkins fouled Brown as she scored to allow the American centre the chance of an and-one, though she missed the bonus.
Having failed to trouble the scorers in the first 3:34 of the second period, coach Cadona called a Sheffield time-out, with Rhondda 30-16 ahead.
The move didn't pay off as Keris Timol scored off a Copeland miss, but Gandy finally broke the 10-0 Rhondda run with a score from close range.
But Copeland trey off Yea's assist kept the Rebels comfortably ahead at 36-18 before Gandy scored with a put-back, followed a Sarah Naylor basket.
A pair of Karolina Zagorna kept Hatters in touch, and they were helped by Brown missing two from the line, and coach Tynan was called for a technical foul with five second to ply.
However Sarah Naylor missed both free-throws, and Gandy's three rimmed out as Rebels went into the locker room 39-26 ahead.
The teams shared the first eight points of the second half, though Zagorna didn't help Sheffield's cause with a pair of misses from the charity stripe before making amends off a Hutchinson assist.
Helen Naylor cut the deficit to nine off a Hutchinson assist, but Yea immediately answered with a trey to keep the Welsh side in control before Sarah Naylor drained a trey to send Hatters into the final break trailing 54-45.
McCoy cut the lead by with a rig-range jumper to open the final stanza before Brown fouled Sarah Naylor to send her to the line where she hit one from two to cut Rebels' lead to 54-48.
Helen Naylor scored another trey with 7:49 remaining, forcing a time-out from Rhondda as the lead was cut to 57-53. Sheffield's press led to another basket for Gandy as they sliced the lead in half.
Timol replied with a basket, and with McCoy fouling on at the six minute mark, coach Codana called a Sheffield time-out with Rhondda leading 59-55.
A Gandy and-one from a Zagorna assist saw that lead cut to one with 5:15 remaining.
Copeland made it 63-60 before Helen Naylor took it back down to a one point game.
Copeland again drove to the basket with 2:33 remaining, scoring and being fouled by Sarah Naylor before draining the bonus.
Henlen Naylor cut the four point lead in half but Yea converted one from two free-throws to make it a three point ball game.
Sarah Naylor made it a one point game again with a pair of charity shots, but Brownfailed to convert an and-one with 52 seconds remaining as it once against became a three-point game.
Yea fouled Sarah Naylor as she converted from close range, but she also missed the bonus and Yea was fouled as she scrambled for a the loose ball.
Yea sunk one of two foul shots, and Gandy levelled with 18 seconds left, and as Copeland drove to the basket she was fouled by Gandy to set up the thrilling finale.

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UKRAINE - Women

Dnipro advances to the Final -by Eurobasket News
Dnipro easily reached the final of Ukrainian Play-offs beating Chaika 115:67 in Game 2. In a game where the team could use the help from all the players six players reached more than 10 points. Olga Lyashkova (185-G-80, agency: LBM Management) led all the winners with 18 points and 7 assists. Anna Pokoiova (188-F-87) supported her with 16 points. Tetiana Panchenk-Stakhova (173-G-79) top-scored for Chaika with 17 points, while Irina Rastorgueva (180-F-76) posted 14.
Tim Skuf tied the series over Kozachka as the teams exchanged the victories on a road again. In Zaporozhye Tim Skuf had a road win 57:71. Inna Yegorova (173-G-82) paced the winners with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Yelena Savina (186-F-84) collected 15 points and 8 rebounds, while Iryna Biryuk (178-G-78) top-scored for Kozachka with 17 points.The third and decisive game to be played on April 14th.
Meanwhile Waregem clinched a historic title as they celebrated a third and decisive victory in the D1 Final series against Dexia. Waregem snapped a 5-season champion rally of Dexia to win the first title since 1990. Dexia seemed unstoppable over the last 5 years but this time it Waregem stunned their opponents sweeping the series. The third game turned out into a real battlefield with both sides fighting for every inch of the court. Waregem got to a quick start and maintained a 22:16 lead after the opening stanza. They dominated the boards and were more accurate from the field which resulted in a 40:29 lead at the interval. Dexia struggled to deny the deficit in the third period as Waregem players wisely kept the distance. Dexia trailed by 12 points heading into the fourth term. However Ukrainian tandem Oksana Agabalova (186-F-73) and Olesya Malashenko (188-F-91) ignited a comeback rally from Dexia as they trimmed the deficit and tied the score at 66 with just seconds left in the game. But Nele Deyaert had the last laugh as she drained a jumper that propelled Waregem to their second title in the franchise history. Nele Deyaert notched 20 points to lead the action. Kamila Oplustilova dropped 14 points, while Angele Boucquey had 11 for the winners. Ukrainian Oksana Agabalova answered with 19 points for Dexia.