EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 5/22/2008

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Men News

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ANGOLA

1 De Agosto Defeat Petro in a Spectacular Night -by Carlos Pereira
In a night full of slam dunks, and three- points shots and other performances that turned the game in a show, 1 de Agosto defeated Petro de Luanda by 102-90 on Tuesday, at Luanda's Rio Seco Pavilion, and finished on top of the first round of the national basketball senior male championship's final phase.
1 de Agosto ended this round in superiority, with the player Francisco Jordo as best scorer with 25 points, followed by his colleague Kikas Gomes 19, while Carlos Morais scored 17 points.
Mingas and Bonifcio with 15 points each were the best scorers for Petro de Luanda.
1 de Agosto leader the competition with six points, with Petro in second position with five.
The next game between these rival teams is scheduled for May 27, in Luanda's Cidadela Pavilion.

Box score:
1 de Agosto: Mayxer Alexandre (0), Armando Costa (5), Marques Houtman (2), Olmpio Cipriano (12), Joaquim Gomes Kikas (19), Felizardo Ambrsio (3), Vladimir Ricardino (10), Francisco Jordo (25), Carlos Almeida (10), Miguel Lutonda (15), Rodrigo Mascarenhas (1), Hermenegildo Santos (0).Coach: Lus Magalhes.

Atltico Petrleos de Luanda: Eduardo Mingas (15), Lus Costa (8), Carlos Morais (17), Fernando Albano (0), Leonel Paulo (12), Cardoso Casimiro (5), Shannon Croocks (2), Francisco Horcio (3), Domingos Bonifcio 15), Victor de Carvalho (3), Joaquim Xavier (4), Victor Muzadi (6).Coach: Alberto de Carvalho Ginguba.

Results by quarters: 26-28, 60-50, 85-61, 102-90.

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ARGENTINA

TNA: Olimpico champion -by Facundo Iatzky
Olimpico la Banda won 85-76 to Lanus in the second game of TNA (second division) finals and became champions. Both teams advanced to Liga A.

Ciclista Olimpico (85): Martin Trovellesi 6, Juan angel Lopez 2, Mario Sepulveda 4, Anthony Glover (196-F-79, agency: Passing Lane, college: St.John's) 29 Fernando Gutman 8 (X) (St); Federico Sureda 6, Federico Arce 17 German Boero (192-F-81) 13. Coach: Gonzalo Garcia.

Lanus (76): Julian Olmedo 4, Matias Cudos 3, Leandro Portillo 17, Wendell Gibson 18 Pablo Rizzo 7 (St); Nicolas Laprovittola 4, Ivan Najnudel 0, Valerio Andrizzi 7, Guido Cuadrelli 6 Cesar Chaine 10. Coach: Alvaro Castineira

Stats Leaders - LigaA
LigaA Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Gutierrez, BocaJr 20.7
2 Johnson, Indep 20.6
3 Sowell, CentEt 20.2
4 Pittman, Libertad 19.3
5 Brown, Quimsa 19.3
Rebounds Per Game
1 Battle, Libertad 9.4
2 Garcia, Estudian 9.0
3 Kante, ElNacion 8.6
4 Reynolds, Quilmes 8.6
5 Johnson, Indep 8.4
Assists Per Game
1 Martines, Regatas 5.3
2 Labaque, Atenas 4.2
3 Rodriguez, Penarol 4.1
4 Titarelli, Obras 3.6
5 Ginobili, Libertad 3.3
Steals Per Game
1 Sowell, CentEt 3.4
2 Edwards, Quilmes 2.6
3 Johnson, Indep 2.4
Blocks Per Game
1 Moore, Atenas 2.5
2 Battle, Libertad 1.6
3 Aubry, Indep 1.4
2FGP
1 Alloati, BocaJr 68.1
2 Smith, BocaJr 68.1
3 Maciel, Quilmes 67.4
3FGP
1 Romero, Quilmes 66.7
2 Taylor, Atenas 66.7
3 Dia, Belgrano 62.5
Free Throws
1 Wallace, Estudian 93.7
2 Masieri, Belgrano 93.3
3 Wilson, Penarol 92.3


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BOSNIA

Standings - BIH League
D1 Standings
League 8
 1. Bosna S. 10-2 
 2. Siroki 9-3 
 3. Igokea 8-4 
 4. Sloboda Dita 7-5 
 5. Borac Nektar 6-6 
 6. Zrinjski MC 3-9 
 7. Slavija 3-9 
 8. Grude 2-10 
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 


Bosnian League 8, 12TH round - Borac again... -by Elvir Halilovic

Results:
Borac Nektar - Igokea Partizan 80:77
Siroki Prima Pivo - Zrinjski Mik Company 88:68
Grude - Bosna ASA BH Telecom 75:103
Slavija - Sloboda Dita 78:93


Standings:
1. Bosna ASA BHT 10-2 978:813 +165 22 pts.
2. Siroki Prima Pivo 9-3 1004:909 +95 21 pts.
3. Igokea Partizan 8-4 1050:927 +123 20 pts.
4. Sloboda Dita 7-5 933:954 -21 19 pts.
5. Borac Nektar 6-6 927:905 +22 18 pts.
6. Zrinjski MC 3-9 981:1083 -102 15 pts.
7. Slavija 3-9 915:1067 -152 15 pts.
8. Grude 2-10 910:1040 -130 14 pts.


Borac Nektar Igokea Partizan 80:77
(18:20, 20:28, 21:17, 21:12)
Banja Luka, SD Borik; Att.: 1.500; Ref.: Jovanic, Duskaj, Okuka
BORAC NEKTAR: Franklin 20, Z. Jovanovic 23, Stupar 3, Rothbart 5, V. Jovanovic 1, Gemaljevic 9, Djurasovic 3, Pavlovic, Milinovic 3, Velimirovic 5, Popovic 8, Josipovic
Coach: Milos Pejic
IGOKEA PARTIZAN: Tosic 10, Patterson 3, Bocka 6, Stazic, Djurica, Vucurovic 15, Cup, Wright 3, Lydeka 13, Stefanovic 13, Kovacevic 2, Allen 12
Coach: Zoran Sretenovic


Grude Bosna ASA BH Telecom 75:103
(23:18, 12:32, 20:31, 20:22)
Grude, SD Bili Brig; Att.: 100; Ref.: Kunosic, Coric, Sobot
GRUDE: Lovric 8, Vranjes, Djulabic, M. Gligora 26, L. Gligora 4, Jelcic 12, Bura 3, Lozancic 1, Zitko 5, Peraica 16
Coach: Predrag Mikulic
BOSNA ASA BHT: Jefferson 5, Sehovic 2, Tomovic 2, Ikonic 19, Bavcic 3, Djurasovic 2, Bailey 6, Rahimic 16, Hajric 7, Pasalic 3. Jackson 19, Williams 20.
Coach: Jurij Zdovc


Siroki prima pivo Zrinjski Mik Company 88:68
(24:19, 20:8, 21:13, 23:28)
Siroki Brijeg, SD Pecara; Att.: 500; Ref.: Husaric, Lakic, Drmic
SIROKI PRIMA PIVO: Bubalo 12, Planinic 5, Grays 6, Stemberger 9, Dijan 11, Zupic 18, Sola 16, Naletilic, Susak 1, Fajardo 1, Bethel 3, Ezugwu 6
Coach: Ivan Velic
ZRINJSKI MC: Filipovic 3, Bisko 3, Norac, Petric 8, Oroz 9, Dzidic, Simovic 4, Brecic 15, Vuckovic 4, Buhac 7, Planinic 13, Grbavac
Coach: Nedjeljko Zelenika


Slavija Sloboda Dita 78:93
(21:22, 17:23, 12:23, 28:25)
Istocno Sarajevo, SD Slavija; Att.: 250; Ref.: Adamovic, Hatibovic, Kajan
SLAVIJA: Gvozdenovic 11, Stanic 3, Tomasevic, Simeunovic, Mladenovic 24, D. Damjanovic, Vukovic 6, Grubisic 7, Demic 5, A. Damjanovic 22
Coach: Aleksandar Damjanovic
SLOBODA DITA: Halilovic, M. Milosevic 9, Hrncic 1, Halilbegovic, Albijanic 4, Perisic, Tomovic 6, Tanasilovic 13, Matic 20, N. Milosevic 10, Jocovic 19, Ros 11
Coach: Senad Muminovic



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BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS

Young Legs put Bad Boys in 0-2 hole with 75-60, blowout -by David Edole
By DEAN 'The Sportsman' GREENAWAY
BVI News Online Chief Sports Correspondent

Young Legs, the 2006 senior division champs, used a 17-7 third quarter run en route to pinning a second successive loss, 75-60, on the Bad Boys who opened the season by losing to the East. The game highlighted Saturday night's BVI Basketball Federation feature game.

Jason Edwin had 16 points and Kennedy Bass followed up with 14 to lead Young Legs. Trevon 'Reese' Lewis and Trevor 'West' Stevens, added 10 points to the tally respectively. Bad Boys' Marlon Meyers finished with 15 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists. Eustace 'Boss' Freeman and Nathaniel 'Nat' Malone, follow up with 12 a piece.

The new look Guns were out of synch before finally putting it together in the fourth quarter to beat the Latinos 81-72. The Guns trailed 20-9 in the opening quarter, before using a 27-16 run to end the half tied at 36-36.

Calvert White had 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Houston Penn narrowly missed a double double with 17 points and nine boards. Steve Parillon and Cedric Smith contributed another 13 and 10 points to the final score.

Andy Ramirez paced the Latinos with a 29 point 12 rebound double, double. Sandy Nadal tossed in another 24.

The Finishers blew a 26 point, 51-24, halftime lead, then hanged on to beat Against Da Odds by two, 90-89. Phillip Glasgow narrowly missed a triple double with 22 points, 15 boards and nine steals. He also had six rebounds and six blocks. Nicola Charles and poured in another 22 and 18 points each. Nikos Penn led Against Da Odds with 22 points. Glenroy Charles had 19 points and pulled 18 off the glass. Jason Dunkley finished with 16 points to go with eight steals and five assists.

Another Level whipped All Ball, 99-27, Kimahni Walker led five scorers in double figures with 14 points. Norvin Smith followed up with 13. Glen Lamothe was All Ball's only scorer in double figures with 14.

Daryl George had 21 points as Off Da Chainz rolled over Squad Up, 70-31. Roger Farrington led Squad Up with 12.

Former champs And One had five scorers in double figures during a runaway, 93-37, whipping of Wolf Pack. Ryan Mills settled for an 18 point 10 rebounds double in leading And One. Dequan Bryan added 15 points, to go with seven rebounds, six steals and four assists. Wolf Pack's Kamal Brown, scored 10 points and snatched 14 rebounds.

Full Force used a 15-8 third quarter run and tuned a one point edge into an 18-point, 78-64, triumph over the Elmore Stoutt High School Rams.

Kishwan Pope had 18 points to lead five scorers in double figures, as Full Force outscored the Rams, 48-41, over the second half. Kemuel Jackson added 14 points to the tally, while Jerie Amaro narrowly missed a double, double with 11 points and nine rebounds. LeSean Moses and Karelle Parsons, followed up with another 10 points respectively. Moses also had six rebounds.

Norville Carey had and 18 point, 18 board double double for the Rams, who were outscored 39-20 between the second and third quarters. Shakeem Smith poured in 15 points to go with six assists. Ashan Beazer tossed in another 11 points.

Kirk Adams had 18 points and six blocks, to lead Outkast past the Rebels, 63-52. The Rebels fell apart in the third quarter as Outkast's defense forced several turnovers, during a 14-8 third quarter run that turned a 32-21 halftime edge into a 45-30 advantage.

Greg Massicote and Roger Frank added 15 points a piece with seven blocks and four steals a piece.

Canice Marquis had a game high 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Rebels. Junito Dias added another 11 points.

Standings - Men
BVIBF Standings
1. Guns 1-0
2. East 1-0
3. Young Leggs 1-0
4. Latinos 0-1
5. Bad Boys 0-2


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BULGARIA

Levski took the bronze -by Aglika Atanasova
Today in Triaditza hall the team of Levski achieved a very difficult victory with only one point over the team of Spartak. The hosts took the third game from the final series with 76:75. The game ended with five minutes additional time. The hosts were leading the score throughout most of the game, but then in the last quarter the guests equaled the result-70:70 which led to the additional 5 minutes time.

The team of Levski started well and the strong offensive game of Stefan Georgiev (206-C/F-78, agency: Interperformances) and Yulian Radionov (188-G-79)helped the team take the lead and so by the half of the first quarter they were already six points ahead-13:7. Then after a strong game from the team of Spartak the score was even a minute before the end of the first part-21:21. Yulian Radionov scored a three-pointer for the final result of 24:21.

In the second half of the game the captain of the guests Hrisimir Dimitrov (197-G/F-74, agency: Interperformances) played very strongly and several times led his team to equality. In this second half Dimitrov realized 13 points and had already 17 at the halftime. Only two from the points scored in the second quarter by the team of Spartak weren't scored by Dimitrov.

At the beginning of the third part the team from Sofia led by 5 points-41:36. During most of the time the margin was between 3 and 5 points for Levski. The good game of Hrisimir Dimitrov was again in favour of his team. Unfortunately, his team mates did many personnal fouls. The hosts played better in deffence during the third quarter. Aftrer a series of 5 points by Vesselinov, Levski was 7 points ahead-56:49. Anyway, until the end of this part the good performances of Dimitrov led the margin to only 4 points for Levski.

The last part began with a good game by the centers Topchov and Todorov but soon Todorov was out for five fouls. The result was even again but after Dimitrov's 2 points it became 64-62 for Spartak. Seconds later Spartak was already 6 points ahead. A three-pointer from Yulian Radionov got Levski back in the game-67-70. 20 seconds before the end the ball was for Levski and the result was 69-70 for Spartak. The guests did some fouls and finally Topchov was out for 5 fouls. 8 seconds before the end Yulian Radionov scored only one from the two fouls and so the result was 70-70 in the end.

During the additional time the teams scored only 3 points for playing more than 3 minutes on the court. Then Stanislav Slaveykov (198-F-86, agency: Interperformances) scored a three-74-72, which was immediately returned by Dimitrov-74:75. The last 2 points were scored by Stanislav Slaveykov 8 seconds before the end. The guests had a last attack which was unsuccessfully completed by Melvin Abrams (191-G-73, agency: 011 Sports, college: Johnson C. Smith) who was in a difficult position and failed to score. This brought the victory to Levski.

Hrisimir Dimitrov finished with the unbelievable 37 points and 13 rebounds. Sasha Topchov added 14 points.

For Levski Stefan Georgiev scored 20 points, followed by Yulian Radionov with 17 points.

Hristo Nikolov became a "student" -by Vladi Lazarova
One of the biggest Bulgarian young prospects - Hristo Nikolov became a 'student'. 200 cm tall forward, who was born in Burgas, but grown up like a player in CSKA, signed today 2-years contract with the best and the richest club in the country Lukoil Akademik. 22-years old talent will stay in the team till the summer of 2010. He rejected a 5-years offer from 'The Reds'. Nikolov said 'no' to the president Georgios Sterianopoulos and sports director Branislav Prelevic, who are on a verge of losing all of their players from this year.
The transfer was clear more than a month ago, but Hristo decided to stay loyal and wait to the last day of his contract with CSKA. Today Lukoil Akademik anoounced him like their first new addition for the new season.
'I am pleased and extremely happy, because I am getting a great chance to prove my skills and make a huge step in my career. My heart will stay with CSKA forever, but I am very ambitious and I know Lukoil is the right place for me at this moment. I believe in hard work and I will keep on working that hard in the future', said Nikolov.
'He is very talented and we believe his place is in our team. It depends on him how far he will go. We have been in contact with him since last month, but it was our duty to keep the silence and wait his contract to finish, so, we played fairplay with CSKA', added the sports director of Lukoil Sasho Vezenkov.

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CAPE VERDE

Praia to host International Tournament -by Pedro Gomes
The Seven Stars Club will host, next weekend, in the Vava Duarte Pavilion, in the city of Praia, an international tournament to celebrate their 30th anniversary since creation, and also the citys 150th anniversary.

According to the organizing committee, the event will count with the participation of Desportivo de Huila, who plays in the Angolan national championships, who is now coached by former Cape Verde national coach, Emanuel Trovoada, Mane.

The other teams that will participate in the tournament are Predio (from Santiago Island), Pantera Negra from Sal Island, and the host team.

The Schedule is set as follow: Seven Stars will open against Pantera Negra, on Saturday, and Predio will play Desportivo de Huila in the second game.

For the second round, Sunday, Predio plays Pantera Negra, while Seven Stars faces Desportivo de Huila to close the tournament. The winner will be determined by points.

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CHINA

Six Conference USA Players Added to Memphis but Stars are Gone -by Arthur Volbert
According to a report on http://forums.interbasket.net the Memphis Tigers squad that will play China on May 28, May 30 and June 1 will contain six players from other teams in Conference USA. But the major stars from the NCAA runnerup, Derrick Rose (193-G-88), Chris Douglas-Roberts and Joey Dorsey, who are expected to be selected in the NBA draft this year, will not be making the trip.

Memphis contributors Robert Dozier and Antonio Anderson, who applied for early entry but did not figure to be drafted, are listed as being on the team. Jeremy Wise and Andre Stephens of Southern Mississippi, Jerome Jordan and Ben Uzo of Tulsa, and Claude Britton and Julyan Stone of UTEP have been added to the touring squad.

Roster:
Jeremy Wise/ 190cm/ Southern Miss/ 18.7p/ 4.2a/ 3.1r
Ben Uzoh/ 193cm/ Tulsa/ 15.6p/ 5.4r/ 2.3a
Jerome Jordan/ 212cm/ Tulsa/ 10.5p/ 7.9r/ 3.7b
Robert Dozier/ 205cm/ Memphis/ 9.8p/ 6.8r
Antonio Anderson/ 197cm/ Memphis/ 8.6p/ 3.7r/ 3.4a
Doneal Mack/ 195cm/ Memphis/ 6.9p
Andre Stephens/ 202cm/ Southern Miss/ 6.3p/ 4.8r
Shawn Taggart/ 208cm/ Memphis/ 5.9p/ 4.2r
Willie Kemp/ 190cm/ Memphis/ 5.0p
Claude Britten/ 210cm/ UTEP/ 3.6p/ 2.2r
Jeff Robinson/ 195cm/ Memphis/ 3.0p/ 2.3r
Julyan Stone/ 197cm/ UTEP/ 2.8p/ 4.1r/ 3.5a

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CROATIA

Cibona, Zagreb force deciders -by Eurobasket News
Zagreb survived the tight battle against Zadar to force the third decisive game in the Croatian A1 semifinal. The regular season champions Zadar eased past their opponents in the first game of the series but Zagreb struck back at home. The hosts entered the game aggressively but Zadar kept it close and trailed by just a single point at the first intermission 19:20. But Zagreb kept on forcing the issue and ran away to a 17-point distance at the interval. Zadar reacted with a storming third stanza as they outgunned the home team 29:11 to spur ahead. The tension grew in the final minutes as Zadar surged ahead but Krunoslav Simon (198-G/F-85) tied it all late in regulation while Corey Brewer (188-G-75, college: Oklahoma) missed a potential game-winning attempt for Zadar. The teams stepped into overtime where the hosts quickly ran away to a 6-point distance. Shammel Stallworth stepped up for Zadar to cut the gap to one point but Krunoslav Simon accounted for key points in the dying seconds to bring Zagreb to a 96:92 victory at the end. He finished with 24 points to lead Zagreb. Mario Dundovic (200-F/C-77, agency: Court Side) had 22 points, while Ante Tomic provided 17 points and 8 boards for the winners. Corey Brewer answered with game-high 29 points for Zadar. Todor Gecevski (209-C-77, agency: Interperformances) nailed 17 points in defeat.
Cibona also stayed in the title race after they edged Split 96:87 at home. Split could not use their starting point guard Tony Atkins as he failed to pass drug-test. It never influenced the visitors in the starting frame as rolled to a 32:26 lead after 10 minutes of action. But Cibona gradually took over and fired back in the second stanza. The hosts accumulated a 55:47 advantage at the long break and never looked back in the second half. Damir Mulaomerovic (195-G-74, agency: FCM) knocked down 26 points for Cibona. Marin Rozic (201-F-83) had 21 points, while Sam Hoskin (206-F/C-79, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: De Paul) nailed 15 in a winning case. Marlon Garnett (188-G-75, college: Santa Clara) led Split with 31 points. Hrvoje Peric added 19 points in a loss.

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CYPRUS

The same old story... -by Chris Mammides

As Eurobasket.com stated a month ago, the Greek Head Coach Frangias agreed financial terms with Keravnos for the next two years. So Keravnos Strovolou will break all the previous records in regards to the head coaching position as Frangias will be the first ever non Cypriot Coach that will be heading the Strovolos team for at least four season as he started in the season 2006-2007. The president of the club, Mr. Paris Papaellinas seems to be very decisive in creating a very strong team which could be the new powerhouse of Cyprus. Of course this will happen with some pre-requisites which hopefully the experienced president will take these vital pre-requisites in consideration.



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CZECH REPUBLIC

Nymburk will play in the NBL Final -by Eurobasket News
Nymburk - Pardubice 90:74

The defending champions Nymburk expectedly ensured their finals birth yesterday. The Czech powerhouse held off Pardubice at home to complete the semifinal series sweep. Pardubice threw all they had to try to break the deadlock and steal a win away from the league favorites. Stefan Svitek (203-F/C-77) and Tarvis Williams (205-F/C-78, college: Hampton) teamed up for first 15 points from Pardubice to give the visitors a 15:8 lead early in the game. Stefan Svitek completed his 14-point first quarter tally and Pardubice enjoyed a 19:12 lead after the opening stanza. However two quick trebles from Radoslav Rancik (207-F/C-78, college: St.Cloud St.) and Monty Mack trimmed the deficit to a single point early in the second period. Radoslav Rancik nailed another three-pointer a couple of minutes later to tie it at 25. Four straight free throws from Radoslav Rancik allowed the hosts to step in front midway through the second frame. Sanders and Sykora retained the lead for Pardubice and two free throws from Radoslav Rancik just cut the deficit to 1 point for Nymburk at halftime. The teams traded baskets at the start of the second half before back-to-back treys from Ladislav Sokolovsky (201-F-77, agency: PPGroup) and Monty Mack put the home side up by 5 points. However Pardubice would not give up. Sanders posted 5 point in a row and Gamma added a jumper for the visitors to regain the lead. Arthur Lee (185-G-77, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: Stanford) capped the third frame with 4 consecutive points for Nymburk and gave the hosts a 61:58 cushion before the final term. Schilb knocked down quick 7 points for Nymburk at the beginning of the fourth period to dim the hopes of Pardubice. Later 5 straight points from Benes allowed the hosts to run away to a 14-point distance and Nymburk coasted to an overall win in the dying minutes. Radoslav Rancik produced 26 points and 9 boards to pace the winners. Ladislav Sokolovsky had 13 points, while Arthur Lee added 12 for Nymburk. Stefan Svitek nailed 18 points and collected 6 boards for Pardubice. Jiri Novotny (199-F-77) accounted for 15 points in a loss. Nymburk will now await for the outcome of Geofin vs. Prostejov clash to learn their opponents in the finals.

Nymburk: Radoslav Rancik 26, Ladislav Sokolovsky 13, Arthur Lee 12
Pardubice: Stefan Svitek 18, Jiri Novotny 15

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EGYPT

Somouha is killing big teams & Itthad is giving thier fans a big shock -by Sherif Soliman
Somouha with great performance killed Gezira and Ahly on the roll .They started with gezira by a killing shot in the last second to win 63-62.Then they beated Ahly last night 60-57 to reach the second win in alexandria with no defeat.Somouha played great defence agaist both teams depending on the big guy HONDRE BREWER who made an averrage of 5 blocks in the last couple of games.On the other hand Itthad failed to win any of the last tow games with Ahly and Zamalek giving thier fans a big shock.Hondre Brewer (213-C-80, college: USF)

Super League Standings
Superleague Standings
Group A
 1. Gezira 10-2 
 2. Zamalek 9-3 
 3. Ahly 6-6 
 4. Al Ittihad 6-6 
 5. Sporting 5-7 
 6. Somouha 4-8 
Group B
 1. Geish Army 8-1 
 2. Shorta-Police 7-2 
 3. Shams 7-2 
 4. Gazco 7-3 
 5. Eastern Co. 5-4 
 6. Damenhor 1-8 


First round of the playoffs starts tonight in Alexandria -by Sherif Soliman
The playoffs of the super league will start tonight in Alexandria,First battle will be between AHLY Vs Itthad at 6 pm.Ahly will play tonight with the spirit of Tarek El ghanam who will participate with his team after a long suspension.On the other hand Itthad will benifit from the wining spirit in Alexandria stadiuem and the wondrefull support of itthad fans,Itthad just hurt Gezira last wendsday with the first lose in the super league and refresh their hope to win the league this season.Also Gezira will struggle with somouha at 4 pm .While Zamalek will bandle with Sporting at 8 pm.Danny Johnson (190-G-76, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Charleston)

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ESTONIA

KML Final: Rock is the Champion! -by Janar Filippov


KML Final: Rock is the Champion! -by Janar Filippov
Tartu University/Rock came out from a 19-point deficit in last 6 minutes and defeated BC Kalev/Cramo 64:59 in Game 4 of Estonian SEB Meistriliiga final series. Rock won the title by a clean sweep, 4:0. Brian Cusworth (213-C-84, college: Harvard) scored 19 points and took 11 rebounds and was honoured as the Finals MVP. Tanel Tein (194-G/F-78, college: St.Francis,NY) added 14 pts and 4 assists, Janar Talts (204-C-83) 9 pts and 10 rbs, including a key three-pointer with 3 minutes left and even more important offensive rebound plus tip-in with 1.30 left to play.
BC Kalev/Cramo, having lost three games in series, started well and led for 39 minutes, today. They won 1st quarter 20:14 (Ed Scott had 9 points) and made a guhe 14:0 run to end the first half 39:21. Rock had made 13 turnovers, already. In third quarter, nothing changed, as Kalev kept a firm lead - 44:21 with 2 minutes played in 3rd Qrt. Tanel Tein hit back-to-back three-pointers but Kalev still dominated until the middle of 4th quarter. Then, starting from 59:40 with 6 minutes left, Kalev fell apart. They made 4 turnovers and missed 10 shots and had no answer to opponent's deadly full court press. Rock made 4/5 three-pointers in last 6 minutes and finished the game with a 24:0 stretch to secure the title.

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EUROLEAGUE

CSKA extends Trajan Langdon and Matjaz Smodis -by Eurobasket News

Euroleague champion for the season 07/08, CSKA from Moscow, extended cotract with Trajan Langdon (192-G-76, college: Duke) and Matjaz Smodis (205-F-79).

Langdon, who plays one of the best seasons in his career, signed 2+1 contract with Russian giant. Thus CSKA fans for sure can count on him until the end of the season 09/10.

'I am extremely happy because I agreed terms with CSKA for two more seasons. It is honor to play for the team as CSKA is. We have two very successful seasons behind us but we always want more. We played with that vision in the past, we have it now and we will continue with it in the future' - Langdon said.
During the last four years Langdon got enormous number of awards. As a member of Dynamo Moscow he was voted to be the guard of the year in Russian Superleague for season 04/05. Later with CSKA he got the same award once again as well as award for the best defensive player of the league. This season he is named to be in the second team of Euroleague and he was MVP of the Final 4 in Madrid.

Slovenian power forward Matjaz Smodis put his signature on 3+1 deal with CSKA.

'It would be a stupid move if we did not extend contract with team which makes great success and which offered us very good conditions. I feel good at CSKA. We are the best team in Europe. I did not have any doubt when CSKA offered me a new contract' - said Smodis.
Smodis is a member of CSKA since summer 2005. When coach Ettore Messina came on the bench of the Rusian giant he immediately wanted to see Smodish in his team. Couple of years before CSKA, Smodis and Messina had a very good period with Kinder Bologna.



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

KORISLIIGA: Transfer news -by Rauno Hurmalainen

Finnish veteran F Martti Kuisma (208-C/F-70, college: Florida) continues his basketball career. Team Componenta (Karkkila) and Kuisma have signed 1-year-contract. Last season Kuisma played on Kataja's (Joensuu) roster averaging 7,3 ppg - 2,2 rpg in 19:44 mpg and 24 contests. Kuisma has played in eight countries and TC
will be his sixth team in Finland.
Juho-Matti Lehtoranta (191-G-89) and KTP (Kotka) have agreed a two-year-contract for the seasons 2008-10. Passed season KTP gave Lehtoranta 6:41 mpg playing
time and the player averaged 2,4 ppg - 0,9 rpg in 17 games. Aleksi Huuskonen (184-G-88) will leave BC Nokia and 1. division and the player's new address is
Pyrinto (Tampere) in Top League. Huuskonen averaged 14,4 ppg - 3,8 rpg last season.
YMCA Turku will give up in the 1.division. There are not enough players in Turku for the second highest level! There will be 13 teams in the 1.division next 2008-09 season. Head Coach Kimmo Vyyrylainen will coach Kaarinan Ura Basket (1.division) in the future.



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

Play-off final: 2-0 for Feni Industrija vs Strumica -by Eurobasket News
Feni Industria was better than Strumica 2005 for the fifth time this season. This victory was the more important than any other between those two rivals. After dramatic finish Feni celebrated 79-75 and because of their better position at regular season Feni now have lead 2-0 in the final.

Two best Macedonian teams played one more tough game with a lot of turns. Current Macedonian champion Strumica opened it a bit better setting the score on 12-3 after 5 minutes. Serbian tandem Damir Latovic (204-C-80) - Miljan Pupovic (210-C/F-83, agency: Interperformances) scored 17 of 22 points how much Strumica had at the first stanza. Feni's coach Rajkovic later introduced Cole and he changed picture on the court. Feni completed 10-2 run making turn 27-24. Until the last quarter both teams changed lead couple of times but it was no more than plus 3.
Game is decided in the last two minutes, mostly owing to two triples by Milan Prekovic (195-G-75). His second 3-pointer came on score 71-71 with less than a minute to go. Last 52 seconds both teams had couple of attempts from the free throw line but Strumica continued with not so good percentage as it was a trend almost the entire time. At the first possession Bogoev missed while at the next offense Tasovski also missed two FTs. On the other side Popovic was very concentrated extending Feni's lead to 76-72. Fifteen seconds before the end Samardziev scored for 78-73 destroying every hope of Strumica to tie the score in the final series.
Donald Cole (204-C-81, agency: Edge Sports, college: Sam Houston St.) scored 19 points for the winners while Milan Prekovic had 16 points and 4 steals. Tandem Damir Latovic - Miljan Pupovic netted 38 points for the defending champion Strumica 2005.

Strumica played this game without two important players. Toni Grncarov (191-G-80) was not able to play because of suspension while Viktor Krstevski (199-F-79) is injured.


Feni Industrija - Strumica 79-75

Feni: Cole 19, Prekovic 16 (4 st), Popovic 10
Strumica: Latovic 20, Pupovic 18, Bogoev 14

Standings - Division II
D2 Standings
 1. Torus 20-8 
 2. Pop Sport S. 20-8 
 3. Ovce Pole 19-9 
 4. Centar S. 16-12 
 5. Goce Delchev 15-13 
 6. Plejmejker C. 12-14 
 7. Teteks 12-14 
 8. Kozuv 11-15 
 9. Negotino 11-16 
 10. Heraklea 8-19 
 11. ABA 6-21 


*****************************************************
GABON

8th day of the elite National Championship: TOUNGUI BB explodes the favourite SOMO B 72-47 -by Tim Ndjiki

8th day of the elite National Championship: TOUNGUI BB explodes the favourite SOMO B 72-47
Eight better teams of Gabon play a championship named Elite National Championship. After the first phase Stade Mandji, Somo B, and Manga Basket are the three leaders.
At the Gymnasium last Saturday only one match was played of Libreville: TOUNGUI BB beat SOMO B on the score of 72-47. A shower for the team of the President NGALIBIKA. The best player was incontestably the 12 of TOUNGUI BB of RCA nationality. KOUZOU Jean Michel ;25 pts - 14 rbs.
Another match is played this Wednesday 21 May at the Gymnasium of Libreville: AOBB against TOUNGUI BB.
At the time of this truce of the first phase of the Elite National Championship, the FEGABAB allowed mutations to the club, called Mercato; It allowed certain club secured to recruit the foreign players of Senegal, Cameroon, of the RCA and the two CONGO.
This second phase will have a very elevated level; We attended a meeting of very high level between TOUNGUI BB and SOMO B, to-night it will be AOBB and TOUNGUI BB that are going to cross themselves; these meetings will allow clubs of the estuary to go in the competition, after having refused to participate in the Cup of Gabon that played with the Consecration of MANGA Basket.
We can affirm that spectators are going to attend the very committed matches at the time of this second phase that started: It will be necessary to a lot of concentrations and of rigors to referees, for better officer matches.

Roland Owoula (-85) SOMO B



The Cup of Gabon will take place of the 7 to May 11 to Port-Gentil -by Tim Ndjiki
The committed clubs in this competition are known
Ogoou Maritime League 4 clubs: Stade Mandji , Atomick, Cas 1987, ASSCTG and the LBC club all of Port-Gentil.
Woleu Ntem League : Engong BB of Oyem
Haut Ogoou League : Manga BB of Moanda
Moyen Ogoou League : IZ BB of Lambarn
8 clubs left in 2 groups of 4 teams; the technical meeting is foreseen the Wednesday 7 May to 20h to the domicile of the Vice President of the Maritime Ogoou League (Port-Gentil)
The pull to the fate and the calendar will be put back right away
No club of the League of the estuary will take part to this competition for the financial reasons; this competition qualifies the winner for the next continental competition.
The FEGABAB thanks the League of the Maritime Ogoou that accepted to take the organization in charge convenient of this competition.

Standings
Elite League Standings
 1. Stade Madji - 
 2. Somo B - 
 3. CAS 1987 - 
 4. Manga Basket - 
 5. AO BB - 
 6. Toungui - 
 7. Atomik - 
 8. ASSCTG - 


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

Giorgi Gamqrelidze destroyed Avia by six 3 pointers -by Levan Mikeladze
Energy beat Avia in their home court in Rustavi thanks to Georgian National Team poing guard Giorgi Gamqrelidze (183-G-86). Gamqrelidze made 26 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals. Zviadi Babiashvili (200-F-78) was dominating inside as well scoring 26 points and 5 rebounds. Jovan Stefanov (208-F-83, college: Ill.-Chicago) made double-double by scoring 10 points and 10 rebounds.

From Avia side, Konstantine Tugushi (193-G-84) was perfect again who was the true leader of the team and scored 22 points and 8 rebounds. Avia young big man Richard Matiashvili (210-C-89) was top around the rim making 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Energy beat opponents by seven points 90:83.

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GERMANY

Stats Leaders - 2.Bundesliga
Pro A Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Stapleton, Dssel 20.7
2 Oliver, Kaisersl 20.5
3 Crawford, Karlsr 19.2
4 McGhee, Cuxh 18.8
5 Francois, Cuxh 18.7
Rebounds Per Game
1 Berghoefer, Dss 11.4
2 Hamilton, Lich 11.3
3 Shaw, Nrdlingen 9.5
4 McGhee, Cuxhav 9.2
5 Oliver, Kaiserslaut 9.0
Assists Per Game
1 Holcomb-Faye, Kai 5.8
2 Russel, Chemnitz 4.9
3 Witt, Schalke 4.7
4 Crawford, Karlsruhe 4.6
5 Bynum, Heidelberg 4.6
Steals Per Game
1 Trice, Cuxhaven 2.9
2 Parker, Rhndorf 2.6
3 Pryor, Schalke 2.5
Blocks Per Game
1 Johnson, Dssel 2.0
2 Kelley, Langen 1.9
3 Fairley, Chemnitz 1.8
2FGP
1 Hird, Schalke 67.5
2 Buse, MBC 64.4
3 Krzyminski, Rhn 63.1
3FGP
1 Mallon, Dsseld 46.6
2 Grosse, Rhndorf 46.1
3 Baumann, Hagen 43.3
Free Throws
1 Chavis, MBC 91.7
2 Lake, Nrnberg 90.2
3 Oppland, Kaisers 87.0


Bundesliga Playoff results Wednesday May 21st! -by Michael Taylor
Wednesday May 21st
brose Baskets Bamberg 77 Ewe Baskets Oldenburg 47 (Oldenburg leads series 2-1)
Trailing in the series 2-0, with their backs against the wall, brose Baskets Bamberg showed the heart of champions Wednesday night in their powerful 2nd half which helped them earn a 77-47 home win over Ewe Baskets Oldenburg in Game 3 of their first round Bundesliga Playoff series at JAKO Arena. Head Coach Dirk Bauermann and his men trailed 14-13 after 1Q but fought back to take a 34-30 lead into half. Bamberg's 26-10 3Q gave them a 60-40 lead into the 4th and the defending Bundesliga champions cruised to the victory keeping their season alive. Bamberg shot 52% from the floor while limiting Oldenburg to 30 and 3 for 22 from beyond the 3pt arc. Bamberg also outrebounded Oldenburg 38-26 in the win and made 14 of 17 FT (82%). Dwayne Mitchell led Bamberg with 14pt while Demond Greene added 12pt, Steffen Hamann 11pt and Tim Ohlbrecht 10. Branimir Longin was the only Thunderbird to reach double figures with 10pt in the loss. With the win, Bamberg makes the series 2-1 and the two teams look forward to an exciting Game 4 8:45pm Friday night May 23rd at Ewe Arena in Oldenburg.

Daume remains with Heidelberg, Huber-Saffer and Wente leave -by Manuel Schust
Torsten Daume , who coached ProA team USC Heidelberg for the last one and a half seasons, signed a new contract and will remain with the club for at least one more year.
After a turbulent season, Heidelberg finished 13th in the standings, winning 10 out of 30 games.
Daume, who not only coaches the team, but also developed some marketing strategies, will have to rebuilt a new team as Peter Huber-Saffer (208-C-80, agency: Court Side) and Peer Wente (203-F/C-77) decided to leave the club.
As Eurobasket Germany already reported, Peer Wente will join BBL club BG 74 Goettingen for next season. Center Peter Huber-Saffer meanwhile decided to retire from professional basketball!
After playing a minor role for BBL club Telekom Baskets Bonn for some years, Huber-Saffer signed with second division team MTV Stuttgart in 05/06 and had an outstanding year averaging 13.0 points and 11.9 rebounds. For Heidelberg he produced 15.0points and 8.2 rebounds last season and was one of the best centers of this league.

Elephants acquire Sasa Zivanovic -by Moritz Korff
The Elephants Grevenbroich (Regionalliga West) add some more strength to their frontcourt for the 2008-2009 campaign. Sasa Zivanovic (200-F-80) will join the Elephants and build a powerful trio in the paint with his new teammates Timo Verwimp (202-F-81, college: Catawba) and Chris Wooldridge (198-F, college: Catawba). 27-year-old Zivanovic had to undergo knee-injury earlier this year and left the Duesseldorf Magics in March after almost six years. He appeared in 12 games for the Magics in 2007-08 and averaged 4.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per outing.

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

Play offs: Semi finals - Olympiakos in the finals but Marousi the moral winner -by Chris Mammides

Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus beat Marousi 64-63 due to a basket that never came from the fatal player of Marousi Branko Milisavljevic (193-G-76). The Serb took the responsibility (as always) to finish the last offense - with 15 seconds drive all the way from the middle of the court with Vasilopoulos being in reality allover him, the experience Serb though, passed by Vasilopoulos and shot the basket, the ball dramatically turn a couple of times around the basket and like in a roulettes game the ball went ito the red as it just went out of the basket and with 1.8 seconds remaining Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus took the game. Those were the last 15 seconds of the game but before that we had a derby among two equal 100%, teams! Soulis Markopoulos 's team was more of a team in the court and if it wasn't of the greatest game in the series by Vasilopoulos (in both edges) Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus would have probably suffered the worst defeat ever!
The two teams begun the game quite nervously with Marousi being a bit more than its opponents who saw Lynn Greer at the first half being quite drastic against the defense of Marousi, the first three minutes of the game found Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus being leading the game with 10-5 but Kostas Kaimakoglou (206-C/F-83) was in a very good shape (in the whole series of the play offs) and scored 5 an answered points bringing the visitor in the leading position 11-12 showing from the very beginning that it would have been a tough nut for Panagiotis Yiannakis team. The first half finished with 19-18 for the home team with Milos Teodosic (196-G-87) scoring a very difficult three pointer. At the beginning of the second half Marousi with Kostas Kaimakoglou on the leading role took an early lead of 7 points 22-29, with Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus remaining pointless for nearly 5 minutes. That was the time when the mean in gray decided to push the home team with a crescent of wrong calls (foul against Stevenson and false ball by Greer which never called, pushed head Coach Soulis Markopoulos to receive a technical foul and from then and on and for at least 8 minutes Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus ruled the game firstly by cutting the deficit to the minimum by the end of the first half (30-31) and then by overscoring his opponent with Vassilopoulos in his best performance scoring some very crucial points (mainly from the arc) finished the third quarter with 48-42. The fourth quarter was written by Hitchcock, the two teams were very close to the score with Teodosic scoring a 3 pointer 8 minutes before the end making the score 51-45 but Bryant was there with 4 personal points made the score 51-49 before two 'bombs' from the arc performed by Vasilopoulos and Branko Milisavljevic making the score initially 56-53 and then 56-56 with another three pointer from Branko Milisavljevic who was really 'hot' by that time. 2 minutes before the end the score was 61-61 and 1.18' before the end witht he three pointer from Konstantinos Haralabidis (by the way he performed perfectly against much stronger opponnents), AMrousi took the lead with 60-61, the Marousi players were more than sure that they would have been conquering SEF, but Vasilopoulos had a different idea with another 'bomb' made the score 63-61 with less than 40 seconds to go, the next its simply history, Konstantinos Haralabidis scored both his throws from the charity line, Vasilopoulos scored the one of two from and the MVP of the previous games Branko Milisavljevic lost the chance to become the slaughterer of another team, after Aris. Final score 64-63 and Olympiakos will face Panathinaikos this Saturday in OAKA.



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

Pete Miller new headcoach of Aris Friesland -by Fred Roggen
Aris Friesland has contracted Pete Miller as their new headcoach. The 56-year old American signed a contract for the coming three years.

Pete Miller played from 1975 up to 1978 three years for the well-known Donar from Groningen (now Hanzevast Capitals). His Nickname in that period was 'Pistol Pete' because he was more then a excellent shooter.
Later on Pete Miller moved to Germany where he played for Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

After his player-career, he started in 1985, a long career as a coach, he had long-term contracts with Munich, Landshut and Breittengussbach in Germany.
As of 2006, Pete Miller worked at the German Topteam Telekom Baskets Bonn as Direktor of Player development and coach of their U-19 team.

FEB Finals: Eiffel Towers Get Even, Wins Game #2 In Rout -by Sanders Jackson

Tueaday night in the Maaspoort in Game #2 of the Dutch FEB finals, defending Dutch champion Eiffel Towers proved that it will not relinquish its title without a fight, getting off to a strong start vs. MyGuide Amsterdam, eventually pulling away in the 3rd quarter and running away with a 91-71 rout. Eiffel led by scores of 24-13 at the end of the 1st quarter, 43-31 at halftime, and pulling further away with 74-50 at the end of the 3rd quarter, and it was all she wrote. Eiffel's patent three-point shooting game returned to life, making 10 three-pointers, while MyGuide strugled badly from the three-point line, shooting only 1 of 15 total. Darrell Tucker (206-F-80, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: USF) led five Eiffel players in double digits with 14 pts. Game #3 is in Amsterdam on Thursday night.

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

Seminfinals: home-court advantage kept -by Tamas Deri
There was the third game between the finalists of the last season in Szolnok last night. The guests started the game very well, Peter Vavra scored 6 points in two minutes and with the three pointer of Marton Fodor they were up by 6 points after 10 minutes.

In the second quarter the key players of the home team, Hollins and Kelley were unstoppable and got their team closer. After the third quarter they were up already by 3 points. In the last ten minutes the home team eliminated the guests and won the game by 15 points.

The three best players were the americans, Thomas Kelley scored 25, Vernard Hollins 18 points and from the guests was Kenneth Henderson the top scorer with his 23 points.

Szolnoki Olaj KK-Polaroid Lami-Ved Kormend 82:67
(15:21, 18:13, 21:17, 28:16)
Szolnok, Att.: 2500, Referees: Forrai, Benczur, Torok
Szolnok: KELLEY 25/9, Vernard Hollins (192-G-80, agency: Warren Sports, college: Wright St.) 18/9, Cziczas 5/3, Sabaliauskas 5/3, Andrius Jurkunas (205-F-76, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services, college: Clemson) 11/9, Molnar A. 7/3, Toth V. 1, Gbi 4, Cseh, Harazin 4, Gal, Szabo 2, Coach: Por Peter
Kormend: Thomas 11/9, Fodor M. 5/3, Ferencz 8/6, Ocitti, Vavra 9/3, Kenneth HENDERSON 23/3, Trummer 9/6, Kocsis, Fodor G. 2, Tth G., Coach: Dragoljub Krivacevic
Series: 2-1


Albacomp had one easy victory on Saturday in the game two. Coach Peresztegi said that the great defense of his team was the key of the victory, they kept the guests under 80 points.

But yesterday they could not make it again, as Falco eliminated them in the last quarter of the game.

There was a tied first half, and after 28 minutes the guests were leading by 5 points. But after that something happened and the home team had one crazy run: scored a lot of three pointers, 30 points in the last quarter.

Key players were Bam Doyne (193-G-84, college: Mississippi) with 22 points, Laszlo Kalman (186-G-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 21 points, on the other side Balazs Simon (188-G-80, agency: Court Side) and Cory Bradford (191-G-78, agency: Edge Sports, college: Illinois) were top scorers with 23 and 22 points.

FALCO-SZOVA KC SZOMBATHELYALBACOMP 92-87
(21-20, 24-28, 15-16, 32-23)
Szombathely, Att.: 3000, Referees: Valovics, Cziffra, Kapitany
FALCO: Laszlo Kalman 21/3, Bam Doyne 22/6, Ciric 9/3, Arnas Kazlauskas (204-C/F-76, agency: Court Side) 18/12, Nikola Aliakseyeu (212-C-78, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents, college: Buffalo) 14, Varadi 8/6, Borszeki, Feigl, Pankar: Coach: Srecko Sekulovic
ALBACOMP: Balazs Simon 23/9, Cory Bradford 22/18, Radovic 12, McClendon 15, Bencze 13, Boozer, Hanga 3, Soos, Coach: Peresztegi-Nagy Akos
Series: 2-1

Home victories for Falco, Szolnok -by Eurobasket News
Szolnok surged ahead in the semifinal series against Kormend beating their opponents 82:67 at home yesterday. Szolnok is now one step away from the title series and will try to book their finals ticket on Friday. Kormend jumped to an early lead in the encounter as Kenneth Henderson (201-F-82, college: Texas Arlington) was impressive for the visitors. Kormend drove to a 21:15 advantage after the opening stanza. However Szolnok adjusted their defense in the second period and limited the visiting side to just 13 points cutting the margin to a single point. The things changed in the second half as the hosts offensive schemes began working smoothly and Szolnok quickly soared in front. They stepped on the gas in the final quarter notching 28 points and securing a confident victory at the end. Thomas Kelley (188-G-76, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: Michigan St.) finished with 25 points to lead Szolnok. Vernard Hollins (192-G-80, agency: Warren Sports, college: Wright St.) knocked down 18 points, while Andrius Jurkunas (205-F-76, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services, college: Clemson) and Laszlo Cziczas (188-G-79) added 8 points apiece for the winners. Kenneth Henderson replied with 23 points for Kormend. Jermaine Thomas (187-G-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: La Salle) netted 11 points in defeat.
Falco came from behind in the fourth frame to topple Albacomp in the fourth game of the series. Trailing by 2 points before the final stanza Falco outgunned the visitors 32:23 and celebrated a key win in the race for the finals birth. Bam Doyne (193-G-84, college: Mississippi) came up with 22 points to pace the hosts. Laszlo Kalman (186-G-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) netted 21 points and grabbed 7 boards, while Arnas Kazlauskas (204-C/F-76, agency: Court Side) contributed 18 points in a winning clause. Balazs Simon (188-G-80, agency: Court Side) scored game-high 23 points for Albacomp. Cory Bradford (191-G-78, agency: Edge Sports, college: Illinois) provided 22 points in a losing effort. The series moves to Szekesfehervar for Game 4 on Friday.

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

STELLHEADS DEAL DEFENDING CHAMPS 1st loss -by John Gary
courtesy oursportscentral.com The Gary Steelheads earned their biggest win of the season saturday,delighting the home crowd of 2144, at the Genesis Center with a 95-90 victory over the wo time defending champion ELKHART EXPRESS. The loss is the first of the season for the Express.Shawn Fauntain scored 20 points to lead the balanced Steelheads attack. Kenyon Gamble added a team high 12 rebounds. Cedric Moode was the games top scorer with 26 points for the Express.

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

New schedule for the 3rd FIBA Diamond Ball for Men -by Houman Bagheri

GENEVA, Switzerland - FIBA and the Chinese Basketball Association would like to announce a game order change on the third competition day (31st July) of the 3rd FIBA Diamond Ball for Men which will be played in the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center, in Nanjing City (China), from 29th July to 1st August 2008.

The FIBA Diamond Ball for Men is an invitational tournament played once every four years.

1. COMPOSITION OF GROUPS:

Group A: Angola, Australia and China
Group B: Argentina, Iran and Serbia

2. SCHEDULE:
Please note that all hours listed on the below schedule are local time in Nanjing City:

29th July 2008:

16:00 hours: Argentina vs. Iran
19:30 hours: China vs. Angola

30th July 2008:

16:00 hours: Iran vs. Serbia
19:30 hours: Australia vs. China

31st July 2008:

16:00 hours: Angola vs. Australia
19:30 hours: Serbia vs. Argentina

1st August 2008:

14:00 hours: A3 vs. B3
16:00 hours: A2 vs. B2
19:30 hours: A1 vs. B1

Note: Unless playing in the A1 vs. B1 game, Chinas game will be played at 16:00 hours.



What matters more is that the team won: Tate -by Houman Bagheri
KUWAIT (FIBA Asia Champions Cup) - Seldom does one get to witness an individual player influence the result of a basketball game as American Dajuan Tate did for Saba Battery in the final of the 19th FIBA Asia Champions Cup on Monday.

The 26-year-old shot a staggering 14 points in less than four minutes, his impeccable shooting prowess on display in all glory, as Saba surged ahead from a par score to victory by what looked like a convincing margin.

Look, I hadnt been having a great tournament. So I thought it was my responsibility to deliver now, Tate told S Mageshwaran of FIBA Asia in a chat after the game.

There was no better moment than this to deliver. To influence the game, in the final five minutes of a championship game is a dream every professional lives for, he added.

But what gives me more happiness tonight is that whatever I did contributed to the team winning a championship game.

It was a May Day call from his agent that brought Tate to the Champions Cup.

My agent called me at 10 am and said You have a flight at 1. You are playing a tournament in Kuwait. I was like Hey Hang on. Thats why this kind of a performance becomes even more valuable to me, Tate said.

Tate came into the tournament with a huge reputation to protect. He was the No. 1 Position 2 guard in the draft for the Chinese league last summer picked by Jinlin Northeast Tigers from a field of close to 70 players. As if to justify that, he scored a stupendous 68 points as he led his team to beat Yunnan Honghe Running Bulls in the Chinese league. He went on to finish the CBA fourth on the leagues scoring leader board with an average of 26.3 points per game. But the way he started this tournament was far from that reputation.

Having missed the opener, against Al Qadsia, Tate was almost inconspicuous in the next game the defeat against Al Wasl. A game-high 42 points against the unfancied ONGC followed. And Tate was yet to prove his big name.

I knew there were a lot of eyes who were giving hey whats this guy up to kind of look. But I must say that my teammates and my coach never gave up on me. I had a long chat with my coach during one of the games and after that we got it going, Tate said.

You know, Im the sort of a player who thinks of the team first. Im an offensive player and I think Im blessed with the ability to put the ball into the basket, he said.

But what matters to me more than scoring is helping another teammate score. Ultimately, it doesnt matter who scores. What matters is whether the scoring helped the team win. If its me who score Im happier, he said.

Talking more about his MVP performance in the final, Tate said I think the fact I didnt have too many good games earlier came as a blessing in disguise.

I think their scouts completely missed me. They were concentrating more on Gabe (Enyinn Mounike, Hamed (Ehadadi) and Samad (Nikkah). It was not deliberate on my part that I didnt do well in the earlier games. But I think that helped, he said with twinkle in his eyes.

Playing in this part of the world has been fun. I find basketball a lot better organized than a lot of other places. This place has a future, he dwelled.

Id love to come back and play, he concluded.

So do we Tate!

Courtesy FIBA Asia
(S Mageshwaran)




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

Regular Season ends -by Netanel Dahan

The regular season of the BSL finished, Gilboa/Afula go down to the National League(D2).
Hapoel Holon finished at the first place, Maccabi Tel Aviv at the second place.

Those are the team that advance to the Final Four.
Hapoel Holon.
Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Bnei Hasharon.
Ironi Nahariya.

The Final Four games:
Hapoel Holon-Ironi Naharia.
Maccabi Tel Aviv Bnei Hasharon.
The Final Four games will be start at May 27.

Round 27 First team:

Round 27 MVP:Jermaine Hall (196-F-80, college: Wagner)

Jermaine Hall (196-F-80, college: Wagner) Jermaine was great and lead Afula to their first win since 5 games; he scored 23 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 4 steals.
Elton Brown (206-F/C-83, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Virginia) Elton scored 21pts in just 27 minutes; 7 rebounds, 8 fouls and 2 assists.
Terence Morris (206-F-79, college: Maryland) Terence scored 18 pts,10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.
Yotam Halperin (196-G-84, agency: Arik Krayn Services) Yotam scored 17 points, 2 rebounds, 7 fouls, 7 assists, and 2 steals.
John Gilchrist (187-G-84, college: Maryland) John scored 24 points in just 23 minutes, 2 rebounds, 7 fouls, 3 assists and 1 steal.



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

Lega2-Playoff SF Game 2 -by Gabriele Fioretti
Five players in double figure, with Alessandro Frosini (207-C-72) a10+10 and Andrea Ghiacci (200-G/F-81) (scored 25 pts) that led their team to the second victory in the serie against Soresina (J.R. Reynolds (188-G-84, agency: Arik Krayn Services, college: Virginia) at 23 scored) and so Caserta need only one more success to go to the final.
In the other semifinal, Reggio Emilia tied with a consistent success on Jesi, thanks to the usual great game by Alvin Young (191-F-75, agency: SportsTalent, college: Niagara) (20 scored) and with the help of Luca Infante (204-F/C-82) (13 scored and great difense on Michele Maggioli (212-C-77)) and by the new rising star born in 1991 Nicolo Melli (204-F-91) (9 pts and 5 rebs).
Game-3 will be played on friday at Soresina and Jesi.
Caserta-Soresina 90-72 (Caserta leads the serie 2-0)
Reggio Emilia-Jesi 73-66 (Serie tied 1-1)
See complete boxscores at www.legaduebasket.it

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KUWAIT

Little signs for Al Jahraa -by Ali Ahmed
Al Jahraa basketball team management agreed terms with the American Center Donald Little (211-C-78, college: Cincinnati) to play for them the final four.




Very energetic & extremely physical PF/C who loves to play above the rim with his NBA prototype build. Runs the floor very well and gets as high as any player with his combination of speed,length, and athleticism. At 6'11 has excellent agility and quickness to move up and down the court and very effective on both ends. A devastating shot-blocker with great rebounding effectiveness and post scoring ability.




Awards/Achievements:
Conf.USA Champion -00
NCAA Sweet 16 -01
Conf.USA Regular Season Champion -01
Conf.USA Tournament Finalist -01
Conf.USA Tournament Winner -02
FIBA Europe League Quarterfinals -04
Romanian Cup Semifinals -07
Bahrain Cup Champions -08
Bahrain Leauge Finals -08

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LIGA CENTROAMERICANA

Liga Centroamericana
Liga Centroamericana Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 K.Jones,Liceo 23.9
2 F.Martinez,SAT 26.0
3 L.Hicker,Pioneros 25.0
4 E.Zuniga,Pioneros 14.9
5 R.Amaya,SAT 13.0
Rebounds Per Game
1 J.Echeniq,Icevic 11.0
2 L.Clark,Liceo 7.7
3 P.Salazar,Icevic 6.7
4 T.Gillespie,SAT 6.3
5 P.Culver,Liceo 8.1
Assists Per Game
1 E.Zuniga,Pioneros 3.5
2 C.Moreno,Naciona 5.0
3 A.Sanchez,Liceo 2.8
4 K.Jones,Liceo 3.0
5 W.Solis,UAM 2.6
Steals Per Game
1 O.Rivera,SAT 2.6
2 J.Jimenez,UAM 2.8
3 J.Parker,Icevic 2.7
Blocks Per Game
1 T.Gillespie,SAT 1.8
2 G.Duarte,SAT 1.6
3 P.Salazar,Icevic 1.1
3FGP
1 E.Lopez,Naciona 47.1
2 E.Huie,Icevic 43.5
3 F.Martinez,SAT 41.1
Free Throws
1 F.Martinez,SAT 91.2
2 K.Jones,Liceo 86.0
3 A.Sanchez,Liceo 84.6


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

Zavackas to Vilnius -by Simas Baranauskas
After the end of the LKL season Lietuvos Rytas keeps a fast pace in the changing of the team. The team from VIlnius signed the Siauliai forward Donatas Zavackas (203-F-80, college: Pittsburgh). The contract is signed on a 2+2 basis. The 28 year old lithuanian averaged 17,8 points, 6,8 boards and 2,8 assists in the LKL and was elected the MVP of the regular season. Zalgiris Kaunas and other teams had shown interest in this player before. As you know the Lithuanian basketball league runner-up team Lietuvos Rytas has been 'under reconstruction' and is changing some staff members.

Lietuvos Rytas makes changes -by Simas Baranauskas
After losing the LKL finals 1-4 to their biggest rivals Zalgiris Kaunas, Lietuvos Rytas has decided to make some crucial changes to their squad for the next season. The head coach Alexandar Trifunovic didn't get his contract extended and will not be present in Vilnius for the next season, his assistant Ivan Jeremic will leave the club too. There are doubts about Hollis Price, who will probably also leave the club, after receiving good offers from other teams. Jared Jordan is also said to be leaving. Furthermore, Jonas Vainauskas, the general manager of Lietuvos Rytas has also resigned and will be replaced by Martynas Purlys. The club will have less foreign players in the next season.

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

Liga del Sureste updatings -by Gianni Pascucci
Leopardos and Dorados won a game each of their double meeting in the past days. The first match was taken by Leopardos de Mrida 91-83, with Nick Jones (190-G-81, college: UCSB) leading the way at 30 points and Harold Arceneaux (198-F-77, college: Weber St.) adding 21. Greg Lewis (198-F-78, college: Winthrop) was the best in Dorados at 27, and James Penny (198-F-76, college: TCU) added 19. The day after, Dorados won 87-78, taking back the top of the table, led by the new import Leon Smith (209-F-80). Reggie Jordan (193-G-68, college: N.Mexico St.) and Harold Arceneaux were the best at the losing side, with 21 and 20, respectively

Standings - Lower Leagues
Other Standings
CIMEBA Northern
 1. Cuervos 0-0 
 2. Aztecas 0-0 
 3. Chamanes 0-0 
 4. Titanes 0-0 
CIMEBA Southern
 1. Coras 0-0 
 2. Caudillos 0-0 
 3. Indios 0-0 
 4. Guerreros 0-0 
Liga del Sureste
 1. Dorados 8-4 
 2. Peppers 6-4 
 3. Leopardos 6-4 
 4. Marineros 4-4 
 5. Aluxes 0-6 


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

Chicago wins top pick in Draft -by Eurobasket News
Chicago could have hardly hoped for the top Draft pick being seeded #9 and being estimated to have 1.7% chance of getting the top Draft choice. So now as many predict the Bulls will opt for either Michael Beasley (6'9''-F-89) or Derrick Rose (6'4''-G-88). The Chicago Bulls would not call the season a successful one as they missed the playoffs and changed the coach. Jim Boylan stepped down from the position after the season and now the Bulls are in the process of looking for a new head coach. Probably the Draft luck will help the Bulls to reignite things inside the franchise.
The obvious #1 picks are Michael Beasley of Kansas State and Derrick Rose from Memphis. Beasley averaged 26.2 points and NCAA-best 12.4 boards in the season. Rose came up with 14.9 points and 4.7 assists per appearance for Memphis as they nearly missed the NCAA title. Rose is a Chicago native and would have a warm welcome in the place.
The Miami Heat landed the second choice of the night. They had the best chances for the top pick finishing the season with NBA-worst record of 15-67. The Minnesota Timberwolves will choose third. The Seattle Supersonics who had the second best chances fell to the 4th place. Memphis will choose 5th, New York will be 6th, then the LA Clippers in the 7th place, followed by Milwaukee, Charlotte and New Jersey. Indiana will pick 11th, while the Pacers will be followed by Sacramento, Portland and Golden State. Last season Portland and Seattle had the top picks and opted for Greg Oden (7'0''-C-88, college: Ohio St.) and Kevin Durant (6'9''-G/F-88, college: Texas) respectively.
The NBA Draft will be held on June 26 in New York.

Boston keeps on winning at home -by Eurobasket News
The Boston Celtics got to a victorious start of their Eastern conference finals against Detroit. The Celtics that are yet to suffer a defeat at home in the playoffs this season handled the Pistons 88:79 to grab a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Kevin Garnett (6'10''-F-76) notched 26 points and 9 boards to lead the hosts to the 9th straight home success in the postseason. However they are plagued by losses away from home as they stay at 0-6 record on the road. The Celtics jumped to a quick 8:0 lead at the beginning of the encounter. Detroit balanced back and took a 13:12 lead later in the frame. The seesaw battle continued throughout the first half and the Celtics led 41:40 at the interval. However the home side limited Detroit to only 17 points in the third stanza and managed to clear off to a 12-point distance heading into the fourth term. The Pistons cut the gap to 8 points late in regulation but Rajon Rondo (6'1''-G-86, college: Kentucky) fired a three-pointer to ensure the winning outcome for the hosts. Paul Pierce (6'7''-F-77, college: Kansas) came up with 22 points for the Celtics. Rajon Rondo contributed 11 points, 7 assists and 5 steals, while Kendrick Perkins finished with 10 boards in a win. Tayshaun Prince (6'9''-F-80, college: Kentucky) answered with 16 points for the Pistons. Richard Hamilton had 15 points and Antonio McDyess (6'9''-F-74, college: Alabama) tallied 14 points and 11 boards in a losing effort. The teams were well-matched on the boards with 37 caroms apiece. The hosts in the meantime shot 52% from the field and committed only 11 turnovers. Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday.

*****************************************************
NIGERIA

Union Bank struggle to beat 8-man Dodan Warriors -by Olusegun Ikuesan
The fortune of Union Bank basketball club receives a boost Tuesday night after it struggles to beat an 8-man Dodan Warriors basketball club in a Lagos City League pairing.

The week-3 pairing saw the bankers who before Tuesday has recorded three straight loses in the Premier league rose from a near defeat to upstaged the Edwin Jerry inspired Warriors who led the bankers until mid-way into the last quarter.

The Union Bank side was the preseason toast of fans due to the avalanche of quality players at their disposal, players who have played for the Nigeria national team at different levels but is not finding the going too good and smooth.

The Stallion Boy as the side is also known first taste the bitter pill of defeat in the hands of Islanders followed by another lose to Ebun Comets then Kano Pillars but manage a 78-72 points win over Dodan Warriors who could not feed a full squad due to complicity in its registration with the organizers of the City league.

The Coach Gboyega Vidal tutored Bankers will Thursday take on minor, Flames basketball club in a City league match considered by basketball enthusiasts as a warm-up game before its Premier league game against Nigeria Customs basketball club on Saturday in Lagos.

Friday Ujor a key player with the Union Bank says it is good to be back in winning ways.

Ujor a former Dodan Warriors forward says the entire team of the Bode Thomas, Lagos-based side was not happy with the series of loses it has recorded so far blaming it on ill luck.

The forward who is down with an injury plead with his colleague to return the club back to it former ways.

In the first City league pairing billed for Tuesday at the sports hall of the Lagos National Stadium, Warriors Academy will lock horn against its senior side Dodan Warriors basketball club at 12.00 hours.

The match will be a kind of test-case for coaches Peter Ahmedu and Adeka Daudu as the Academy head coach, Dosu Mensah commence his two-match ban imposed on him by organizers of the City league for misconducts, Ikorodu Kings basketball club will engage Whales basketball club at 13.30 hours while Islanders basketball club will do battle against Rookies Basketball Academy at 15.00 hours.

Union Bank struggle to beat 8-man Dodan Warriors -by Olusegun Ikuesan


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

National League Standings
National Standings
Group A
 1. D.San Jose 0-0 
 2. Sol de Am. 0-0 
 3. Libertad 0-0 
Group B
 1. America 0-0 
 2. Sacachispas 0-0 
 3. Felix Perez 0-0 


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

Standings - BSN
BSN Standings
Super 6
 1. Bayamon 0-0 
 2. Caguas 0-0 
 3. Arecibo 0-0 
 4. Santurce 0-0 
 5. Guaynabo 0-0 
 6. Fajardo 0-0 
Others
 1. Carolina 18-14 
 2. Humacao 16-16 
 3. Ponce 15-17 
 4. San German 15-17 
 5. Mayaguez 7-25 
 6. Guayama 6-26 


Carolina Giants take first game from Caguas Criollos -by Luis Ramirez
With the round of play in the Super 6 fully underway, the Carolina Giants overcame the Caguas Criollos 82-80. The Criollos took the 1st quarter 19-18, they took a 3 point advantage at the end of the 1st half 39-36. In the 3rd quarter the Giants made an offensive run to reclaim the lead as the quarter came to an end 59-57. In the 4th quarter both teams played to an even level as both teams scored 23 points thus giving the Giants their 1st win in the Super 6 post season play. At present, the Santurce Crabbers lead the way with 5 points. The two teams with the most points at the end of this post season play will advance to the BSN Finals. For Carolina, Ebi Ere (195-G/F-81, college: Oklahoma) scored 26 points followed by Filiberto Rivera with 18 points. For Caguas, Marlyn Bryant (193-G-82, agency: Champion Sports Management, college: S.Florida) scored 20 points followed by Ricardo Melendez with 19 points.

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

CSKA extends Trajan Langdon and Matjaz Smodis -by Eurobasket News

Euroleague champion for the season 07/08, CSKA from Moscow, extended cotract with Trajan Langdon (192-G-76, college: Duke) and Matjaz Smodis (205-F-79).

Langdon, who plays one of the best seasons in his career, signed 2+1 contract with Russian giant. Thus CSKA fans for sure can count on him until the end of the season 09/10.

'I am extremely happy because I agreed terms with CSKA for two more seasons. It is honor to play for the team as CSKA is. We have two very successful seasons behind us but we always want more. We played with that vision in the past, we have it now and we will continue with it in the future' - Langdon said.
During the last four years Langdon got enormous number of awards. As a member of Dynamo Moscow he was voted to be the guard of the year in Russian Superleague for season 04/05. Later with CSKA he got the same award once again as well as award for the best defensive player of the league. This season he is named to be in the second team of Euroleague and he was MVP of the Final 4 in Madrid.

Slovenian power forward Matjaz Smodis put his signature on 3+1 deal with CSKA.

'It would be a stupid move if we did not extend contract with team which makes great success and which offered us very good conditions. I feel good at CSKA. We are the best team in Europe. I did not have any doubt when CSKA offered me a new contract' - said Smodis.
Smodis is a member of CSKA since summer 2005. When coach Ettore Messina came on the bench of the Rusian giant he immediately wanted to see Smodish in his team. Couple of years before CSKA, Smodis and Messina had a very good period with Kinder Bologna.



*****************************************************
RWANDA

CSK A go top -by Roger Karake
League
UNR 58-86 CSK A
KIE 68-92 Espoir
UGB v APR-called off
Rusizi v Marine -called off

CSK A climbed to the top of the 2008 national basketball league table after Saturdays 86-58 win over Rwanda National University.
Rwandas shooting guard Gerol Ndugu led the way with 30 points, six rebounds and four assists as last years losing finalists wrapped up their third straight win in as many games this year.
Olivier Kanamugire added 23 points for CSK A while Eric Rwakayiro top scored for UNR with 16 points. In the other game, Claude Bizimungu and Emmanuel Uwinoni overshadowed their star player Valery Uwineza to top score for Espoir.
Bizimungu scored 22 points while Uwinoni added 16 to impel Espoir to a 92-68 win over Kigali Institute of Education, their second of the season.
The result also maintain KIE's horrendous run in the league. After five attempts, the institute team is yet to win a league game.
And while the UGB-APR tie was called off following the death of a UGB club member, it is still not clear why the Rusizi-Marine game was not played although sources close to Times Sport say that it has something to do with some new Marine signings.

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

Superleague, round 11 - Tight victory of Vojvodina against Swisslions -by Dragan Jankovski
At the opening game of Superleague round 11 Vojvodina Srbijagas beat Swisslions Takovo 79-74. It was a very interesting game and it would not be undeserved if Swisslions celebrated last night. After leveled first stanza, Swisslions had a constant lead. They created maximum advantage on the half time, 34-42. Vojvodina's captain Ivanovic missed the most of his shots while on the other side Markovic and Dragojlovic led Swisslions in the first half. Visitors continued in same rhythm at the first couple of minutes of the third quarter but Vojvodina finally answered starting to play much better. Mostly owing to Ivan Paunic (194-G-87) Tulips ended third period accumulating 21-11. At the very interesting finish Ivanovic drained 2 clutch three point shots which were enough for Vojvodina's sixth victory in Superleague.
Young Ivan Paunic paced the winners netting 21 points. Ha also had 4 steals for 34 minutes. Istvan Nemeth (190-G-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services), Goran Bajic (207-C-83) and Dusan Djordjevic (195-G-83) followed him scoring 11 points each. Swisslions got 19 points from Radovan Markovic (192-G-82) and 17 points from power forward Vladislav Dragoljovic (206-C-79, agency: Beo Basket).

Head coach of Vojvodina Srbijagas Ivica Mavrenski did not hide happiness after the game. He stated that he is satisfied because after terrible first halt his team was capable to make a turn. He also stated the after this win his team has a chance to fight for position 4 and semifinals of play-off.

On the other side head coach of Swisslions Dejan Mijatovic after the game said: 'We had very good 34 minutes but at the end we let Ivanovic to score two triples. Vojvodina is much experienced team than we are and I am not disappointed because of this defeat.'


Vojvodina Srbijagas - Swisslions Takovo 79-74
(20-20,14-22,21-11,24-21)

Vojvodina: Paunic 21 (4 st), Nemeth 11, Bajic 11 (5 rebs), Djordjevic 11 (6 rebs, 5 as)
Swisslions: Markovic 19, Dragoljovic 17 (6 rebs), Jovanovic 10 (5 rebs)

Serbians in Russia -by Dragan Jankovski
Ognjen Askrabic (207-C/F-79), Dusko Savanovic (204-F/C-83, agency: Beo Basket) and a coach Aco Petrovic finished the season in Russia. Askrabic of Triumph Lybertsy succeeded to reach fifth place in Russian Superleague. On the other side Triumph's opponent Unics has to be satisfied with 6th position at the end despite the team from Kazan finished regular season on the third place with score 17-7.
At the game for the fifth place Triumph triumphed on the road against Unics 77-69. Crucial period of the game was the third stanza which Triumph finished having advantage of 9 points. After that moment it was just a question how big difference will be at the end of the game.
Askrabic was not able to play in this game due to slight injury. On the other side Unics, with Aco Petrovic on the bench, got 7 points and 4 rebounds from Dusko Savanovic.

Vanja Plisnic (207-F/C-80, agency: Beo Basket) of Ural Great still struggles with Dynamo Moscow for the third place. The decisive game will be played in Moscow on Sunday. At the first match in Perm, Ural totally destroyed Dynamo 92-68. The hosts made plus 16 already at the first quarter while on the half time its lead extended to 23 points. Serbian power forward Vanja Plisnic registered double-double. He collected 23 points and 11 boards (8 at the defensive end). Milos Vujanic (190-G-80) of Dynamo had only 2 points. Second game Dynamo won 76-61.

Lokomotiv Rostov na Donu, whose head coach is Milan Minic, finished season on the 7th place. Lokomotiv beat Spartak Primorie on the road 80-75.

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

Krka defeat Helios to force Game 3 -by Zeljko Zule
Krka pulled out a 77-75 victory over defending champion Helios, tying the Play-Off semifinals 1-1.Krka trailed 66-67 in the middle of last quarter but fought back with a 9-2 run. Marko Rakocevic scored 20 points, Thomas John Sorrentine 16, Davor Marcelic (200-F/G-69, college: S.Utah) had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Jure Balazic added 14 points. Krka shot 59% for 2-points and grabbed just one offensive board while Helios shot just 26-of-64 from the field and missed 11 free throws. Robert Troha collected 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists before he fouled out, Jack Ingram added 15 points on shooting just 4-of-17 and Ziga Zagorc netted 10 points.

Matjaz Smodis stays in CSKA Moscow -by Matej Bergant
CSKA Moscow announced that Slovenian National Team player Matjaz Smodis (205-F-79) signed 3+1 seasons extension contract with the club. Smodis finished this years Euroleague season with 14.3ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.1apg in 11 games. He also won the Euroleague Championship earlier this month. He expressed his happines on official CSKA Moscow site: 'I am very happy to stay in Moscow. It would be stupid to leave the team right now, it is more important to be part of the team to continue success. I want to stay in the organization that proved to be one of the best in Europe. I worked hard to get on the pro level like this and I want to stay at the level as long as possible. I am happy my family supported me in my decision.'

Rasho Nesterovic uses his option year with Raptors -by Matej Bergant
Slovenian NT captain Radoslav Nesterovic (212-C-76) exercised the player option on his contract with Toronto Raptors (NBA) for next season. Rasho averaged 7.8ppg and 4.8rpg in 71 games in his second season with Raptors. This means Rasho will play next season his 10th in the NBA. During his time in the NBA he already won Championship with Spurs in 2005. He also won Euroleague in 1998 with Kinder Bologna. During the summer he will play for Slovenian National Team on pre-Olympic tournament in Greece.

Assistant Cerar promoted to replace Stanisak -by Zeljko Zule

Elektra Esotech promoted Borut Cerar to head coach, replacing Croatian Ivan Stanisak. Cerar has spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach.

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

KBL Tryout in Vegas -by Eurobasket
As day of May, 14th, 99 players sent their applications to the KBL for participating the tryout camp which is going to held at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas from July 17th to 19th, 2008. Marcus Session and Kar Mitchell, who were played last season for KTF, were sent thier application form and Lavor Postell and Tony Farmer, who had NBA experiences, were also sent an application form. The deadline of the KBL Tryout application is May 22nd, 2008. (Korean Time).

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

Real Go For Gasol? & sign rising star Martinez -by Paul Nilsen


The fall-out from Real Madrid and their failure to get through to the semi-finals of the play offs is being felt around the ACB. The rumours have started that the club will be looking to make Marc Gasol an offer he cant refuse in the summer and will break the bank to get him to Vistalegre although this might be more complicated than just being about the amount of Euros they are willing to hand him.

Some big stars and especially the likes of Popodopalous and Mumbru are getting some criticism for the failure of the Whites on internet message boards while Joan Plaza should cling on to his job although nothing is certain.


Rafael Martinez (191-G-82) has been rewarded for his stellar season at Ricoh Manresa by being signed by Real although what kind of court time he will get in a roster jam packed with players in his position is not yet known. However it is difficult for a player never to have played for a big club not to take up a dream to play his ball in the capital.



ACB Pay-Off Quarter Finals Third Game -by Paul Nilsen
There will be a semi-final play-off derby after DKV Joventut overcame Akasvayu Girona 86-75 in the third game of the quarter finals to set up a series with Barcelona.

Pau Ribas (182-G-87) led the way for Badalona with some deadly perimeter shooting landing 4 three-pointers on his way to 18 points while Rudy Fernandez was back on song with 24 points. Marc Gasol had his usual gigantic game for the visitors with another impressive double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds despite foul trouble which might should have limited his game in parts.

Joventut dominated the first half and were up but as many as 44-30 shortly before half time but Girona launched a great third quarter fight back when they came back from 16 down with an 18-2 run to tie the game at 59-59 going into the last quarter.

However the home team stepped up a gear with Ricky Rubio getting a fourth foul on the influential Gasol also pivotal as the home team took control again to outscore their opponents 27-16 and send the majority of the 8,500 fans home happy.

In Vitoria the home team came out on top against Pamesa Valencia and Tau Ceramica will face Unicaja, surprise conquerors of Real in the semi-finals. The home team cruised to an 82-61 victory with Pamesa poor from start to finish. Tau opened up a double-figure lead inside seven minutes and barely looked back. At 41-19 just before the break, it was just about a done deal for Baskonia and a Valencia revival never seemed likely at any stage.

While Dejan Milojevic claimed a double-double 12 points and 12 rebounds for the visitors, Brazilian forward Tiago Splitter was the MVP with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists although the biggest cheer of the night was reserved for NBA star Jose Manuel Calderon watching the game from the stands.

*****************************************************
SWITZERLAND

Nyon inks a new player -by Eurobasket News
Sdent BBC Nyon got a new reinforcement for the next season. The team announced signing of Canadian guard Stephen Sir (198-G-82, college: N.Arizona), who played previous season in Basket-Club Boncourt. As a member of Boncourt Sir averaged 20.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg and 1.4 apg. He graduated on Northern Arizona University and later he moved to Switerzland. The contract will keep Sir in Nyon until the end of the season 08/09.

Nyon finished this season on 9th place of Swiss LNA with 9 wins and 13 defeats. The team was close to qualify for the play-off quarterfinals.

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

Fenerbahce beats Efes Pilsen to reach Final -by Eurobasket News
Fenerbahce surpassed Efes Pilsen 82:75 at home to ensure their Final appearance. Fenerbahce will now wait for the outcome of Turk Telecom vs. Besiktas matchup to know their opponents in the finals. Will Solomon (187-G-78, college: Clemson) scored 20 points to pace Fenerbahce to the second straight win over Efes Pilsen and with one win in store the TBL third-ranked team entered the championship series. The hosts relied mainly on the rally in the second term when Fenerbahce exploded with a 24:9 run to accumulate a 17-point advantage at halftime. Efes Pilsen did not surrender and battled back in the third period. They cut the deficit by 9 points and trailed 52:60 at three-quarter time. But Fenerbahce wisely kept the visitors at bay throughout the final frame and celebrated a key win in the series. Mirsad Turkcan (206-F-76) contributed 18 points and 10 boards, while Omer Onan and Emir Preldzic scored 9 points apiece for the winners. Ermal Kurtoglu (207-C-80, agency: Beo Basket) answered with 27 points for Efes Pilsen. Mustafa Abi, Ender Arslan and Bradshaw nailed 9 points each in a loss.
Meanwhile Turk Telecom surged ahead in the series against Besiktas. Khalid El-Amin (178-G-79, agency: Beo Basket, college: Connecticut)-led Turk Telecom nipped Besiktas 79:74 at home to grab a 2-1 lead in the clash. The third game in the series is scheduled for Wednesday. Khalid El Khalid El-Amin tallied 23 points, while Erwin Dudley (204-F/C-81, agency: Interperformances, college: Alabama) produced 20 points and 10 boards to propel Turk Telecom to another impressive victory. Besiktas spurred ahead to a 48:36 advantage at halftime but the hosts replied with a one-sided second half. They stormed past the visitors 43:26 in the second part of the encounter and secured an impressive win at the end. Tutku Acik (193-G-80, agency: Interperformances) dropped 10 points and distributed 10 assists for the winners. Predrag Drobnjak (212-F/C-75) replied with 20 points for Besiktas. Sandro Nicevic (210-C-76, agency: Beo Basket) had 11 points in a losing effort.

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

Kelly, Khimik Shock Politekhnika, Take Game 3, 2:1 Series Lead -by Alexei Naumov
BC Khimik Yuzhne was victorious in yet another nail-biting finish against Politekhnika-Galychyna Lviv, stealing a huge 75:76 win in game 3 of the Bronze series.

Khimik seemed to have carried the momentum over from game 2, as Goran Ciakic drained a 3 to make it 12:18 and, later, a free throw to finish the quarter 14:24 all part of a 14:4 run since the score was deadlocked at 10.

The visitors continued to lead most of the way in the second frame, having an 8-point advantage after Darrius Jacksons two with 4 minutes on the clock. Lviv, at this point, replied with a 9:0 run, but Andriy Agafonovs three and Olu Famutimis two kept Khimik ahead by 2 at the half.

Numerous lead changes occurred in the game in the 3rd and 4th quarter and the score was tied at 71 with 2 minutes to go in the final stretch. Lvivs Yaroslav Zubritskiy scored a couple of free throws and a two to put his team up by 4 with 15 seconds to go.

Khimik called a time out and Sasa Bratic, who had only scored 2 points prior to the episode, drained a triple with 8 seconds to go. A time-out by Lviv led to a poorly executed inbound pass and a steal by Wykeen Kelly (186-G-79, agency: Court Side, college: Salem Intern.), who laid the ball up with 4 seconds to go, putting his side up by 1. The demoralized Politekhnika had no answer to that.

Game 4 will be in Lviv on Friday.

Click here for game stats and updated leader-board.

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URUGUAY

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


The Metro League has three leaders -by Hector Lopez
Aguada, Capurro and Verdirrojo are now sharing the Metro League leadership after the 12nd round,. with a 8/3 record. Capurro which was the only leader was defeated by Waston 74-73, Verdirrojo beat 97-88 Marne and Aguada was off for this round. The results and import players were:
Capurro 73 - Brian Craig (206-C-79, college: Miles) 7 points one rebound
Waston 74 - Alexander Blackwell (205-F/C-70, agency: Duran International, college: Monmouth) 13 points and 9 rebounds
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Verdirrojo 97 - Cam-Ron Clay (203-F) 9 points and 9 rebounds
Marne 88 - Antonio McMillion (196-F-83, college: Md-Eastern Shore) 17 points 10 rebounds
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Larre Borges 92 - 'Pop' Thornton (201-F-74, college: W.Kentucky) 22
Nacional 52 - Marcelo Correa (208-C-77, college: San Diego St.) 17 points 8 rebounds
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Urunday Universitario 83
Olivol mundial 88
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25 de Agosto 74
Goes 72 - Howard Wilkerson (198-F-84, college: Wofford) 23 points and 17 rebounds
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Larraaga 97
Yale 71 - Tarrie Monroe (202-F-77, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Lewis) 32 points

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VENEZUELA

Standings - LPB
LPB Standings
 1. Trotamundos 28-6 
 2. Cocodrilos 20-12 
 3. Guaiqueries 19-12 
 4. Gatos 19-12 
 5. Marinos 19-14 
 6. Gaiteros 19-14 
 7. Dep.Tachira 12-20 
 8. Guaros 12-22 
 9. Panteras 8-26 
 10. Gigantes 7-27 


Diego Guevara and Rafael Perez, out in Puerto Rico -by Francisco Vega
Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- Venezuelan players Diego Guevara (184-G-77, agency: HM Sports Agency, college: Charlotte) and Rafael Perez (185-G-82, agency: Huss Sport Agency) could not avoid their elimination after Vaqueros de Bayamon lost their sectional series against Gigantes de Carolina, 2-1, in Puerto Rico's Baloncesto Superior Nacional. The third game ended with a tight triumph for Carolina, 81-79.

Guevara played 30 minutes and finished up with 12 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, while Perez played 35 minutes and was the second best scorer of Bayamon with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Carolina's best scorers were Ebi Ere (195-G/F-81, college: Oklahoma) with 18 points, Alejandro Carmona (194-G/F-83, agency: Next Level) with 18 points and Filiberto Rivera (187-G-82, college: UTEP) with 13 points and 10 assists. For Bayamon, Lee Benson (208-F/C-73, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Brown Mackie) ended up with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

Guevara will now travel back to Venezuela and his native city of Barquisimeto to play for Guaros de Lara in LPB 2008, while Perez, who belongs to Trotamundos de Carabobo, should report soon to Venezuela's National Team trainings in Caracas, after he got called up by head coach Nelson Solorzano to try and gain a spot in the team that will travel to Chile and play in the South American Championship.

Venezuela's National Team Update -by Francisco Vega
Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- Venezuela's National Team will start official trainings on June 6th for the upcoming South American Championship, to be played in Puerto Montt, Chile, from June 30th till July 7th, and they will do so with 18 players and some more new names possibly getting added in the next few days by head coach Nelson Solorzano and the main members of the Venezuelan Basketball Federation. The team will start their practices in the city of Caracas.

Here are some facts on Venezuela's NT:
-Greivis Vasquez (196-G-87) announced he won't be playing for Venezuela in Chile due to compromises with the University of Maryland, his team in the NCAA.
-Tomas Aguilera (198-F-77) said thanks to the coach, but he's currently playing through a shoulder injury and won't be 100 percent ready, so he prefers not to be part of the team.
-The FVB is reconsidering the possibility of bringing back center Richard Lugo (209-C-73), who just finished playing in Puerto Rico for San German.
-The FVB will insist with Diego Guevara (184-G-77) to see if he can play in Chile.
-Team doctors will check on Alejandro Barrios (205-F-79) to see if he's gonna be able to play or not
-The team is considering the return of Hernan Salcedo (198-F-80) and the addition of Roque Osorio (206-C-76) to the official list
-Jesus Urbina (201-F-84) will not be part of Venezuela's NT this time cause he's been inactive for the past six months after graduation from George Mason (NCAA)
-Even Victor David Diaz (195-F-68) could be called again by the head coach, as the FVB has now changed their policy at least on surface, saying they want 'the best available players' and not like before, when they said the wanted 'a younger team' on court
-Players in foreign countries who've never played in Venezuela, such as John Cox (196-G-81) and Javier Roman (207-F/C-80), have an unclear status for now
-Junior star Gregory Echenique (208-C-90) won't be part of the Senior NT cause the FVB wants him to be the key player in the U19 team that will try to advance to the FIBA U19 World Cup later this year
-The official list for now includes Jose Vargas (196-G/F-82), Carlos Cedeno (193-G/F-85), Alejandro Barrios, Kevin Palacios (203-F/C-84), Miguel Angel Marriaga (207-C-84), Axiers Sucre (198-F-78), Luis Bethelmi (200-C-86), Luis Julio (199-F-80), Rafael Guevara (194-F-79), Eduardo Torres (195-F-81), Amber Marin (208-C-81), Jesus Centeno (190-G-85), Hector Romero (202-F-80), Oscar Torres (195-F/G-76) and Rafael Perez (185-G-82).

Oscar Torres finished campaign in Italy -by Francisco Vega
Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- Venezuelan forward Oscar Torres (195-F/G-76, agency: Interperformances) said goodbye to the 2007-2008 season of Italy's Lega A basketball after his team, UPIM Fortitudo Bologna, got eliminated from the Quarter Finals round by Montepaschi Siena, in a series that ended 3-0.

Torres, 31 years old, battled through the whole season with knee pains and only in the second half of the tournament, he got back his usual shape, though in the way he lost his place in the starting lineup that had been given to him by former coach Andrea Mazzon , later substituted by Dragan Sakota .

Torres averaged 9.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 33 games, though during the playoffs, he played his basketball of the whole season, averaging 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in three games. It was his third complete season in Italy after the ones he played back in 2002 and 2003 for Pompea Napoli.

This year, he also had the chance to play Europe's ULEB Cup, in which he played 10 games and averaged 10.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He had played it before back in 2006 with the russian team BC Khimki, a team he played for till February of 2007, when he was traded in a historic transaction in russian basketball to the powerful CSKA Moscow, with whom he finished the 2006-2007 season earning championship titles in Superliga A and the Russian Cup, as well as the runner-up spot in the prestigious Euroleague.

Torres was called up by head coach Nelson Solorzano to play for Venezuela's NT in the upcoming South American Championship of Puerto Montt, Chile, to be played from June 30th till July 7th.



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Women News

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SERBIA - Women

Junior NT - Head coach Kovacic announced list of candidates -by Dragan Jankovski
Head coach of Serbian junior National Team, Zoran Kovacic, announced which players he called for the upcoming European Championship. As a reminder, Serbian juniors went gold on the previous EC in Novi Sad and they will try to defend title in Slovakia from 18th to 27th of July. For the preparations, which will start on the 2nd of June in Novi Becej, Kovacic will count on:

Sara Krnjic (194-C-91)
Milena Stanic (173-G-91)
Latinka Dusanic (178-G-90)
Sandra Boskovic
Aleksandra Dobranic (192-F/C-91)
Milica Paligoric (191-C-90)
Jelena Jovanovic (184-F-90)
Milana Zivadinovic (172-G-91)
Maja Vucurovic (188-F-91)
Jasna Vasilev (170-G-91)
Tina Jovanovic (191-F/C-91)
Nevena Jovanovic (179-G-90)
Tatjana Zivanovic (188-F-90)
Kristina Baltic (186-G-90)
Sanja Orozovic (184-G-90)
Tijana Ajdukovic (197-C-91)
Jovana Popovic (175-G-90)
Ana Rodovic
Jelena Gornik (172-G-90)

Head coach Kovacic also announced who will assist him in his future work with junior National Team. It is Miomir Tasic and Milkan Mrdja while Jova Buha will take care about physical shape.

Blue girls will travel to Novi Becej on 2nd of June and they will stay there until 16th of June. After that juniors will travel to Loznica where Serbian cadet National Team will join them on final preparations. List with the names of cadet NT is not published yet.

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SLOVENIA - Women

Merkur Celje claims sixth title -by Zeljko Zule
Merkur Celje won their sixth Slovenian Title when it overcame defending champion Hit Kranjska Gora 3-0 in a Play-Offs Finals. Miljana Evtoukovitch collected 20 points and 13 rebounds, Monique Blake (188-F-85, agency: Merit Sports, college: Seton Hall) had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Lucie Conkova posted 19 points and grebbed 8 rebounds as Merkur crushed Hit Kranjska Gora 78-43 in Game 3. Merkur trailed just once (14-15) and made a 22-2 run in last quarter. Lidija Becanovic led the guests with 20 points and 9 rebounds and Mojca Markovic added 10 points.

Celje is the new SKL champion! -by Eurobasket News
Celje - Hit Kranjska Gora 78:43

Celje revenged for the last seasons loss in the SKL Final to Hit Kr. Gora sweeping them in three games this year and claiming the Slovenian crown. Merkur Celje dominated the first two games of the finals and looked natural favorites of the third game. Hit Kranjska Gora however put on a dogged fight in the starting stanza to keep the teams close. Celje enjoyed just a 14:13 lead ten minutes into the game. But a strong defensive effort from the hosts allowed them to gradually clear off in the second period. They piled up a 6-point cushion at halftime and looked confident and ready for the title. Five hundred spectators pushed their favorites ahead as Celje stiffened the defense even more in the third stanza and stretched the lead to 10 points. Hit Kr. Gora obviously lost their faith in the positive outcome and collapsed allowing the hosts to cruise to the championship title. Celje opened the fourth term with a 16:0 run and never looked back again. Milijana Evtoukhovitch (190-C-81) finished with 20 points and 13 boards for Celje. Lucie Conkova (186-F-83) had 19 points and 8 boards, while Monique Blake (188-F-85, agency: Merit Sports, college: Seton Hall) added 18 points and 10 boards for the winners. Lidija Becanovic (188-F/C-80) answered with 20 points and 9 boards for Hit Kranjska Gora. Mojca Markovic (177-G-79) delivered 11 points in a loss. Celje outrebounded their opponents 32:32 and committed just 7 turnovers down the stretch. Hit Kr. Gora managed just 1/17 from beyond the arc and converted 27% from the field.

Celje: Milijana Evtoukhovitch 20+13 boards, Lucie Conkova 19, Monique Blake 18+10 boards
Hit Kr. Gora: Lidija Becanovic 20, Mojca Markovic 11

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VENEZUELA - Women

Venezuela's NT travels to Ecuador -by Francisco Vega
Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- The Venezuelan Women National Team traveled to Loja, Ecuador, to play in the 2008 South American Championship from May 24th till the 30th against seven other countries, in an attempt to secure one of the three available tickets to the FIBA Americas World Cup Qualy Tournament and try to make it to a FIBA Americas Women World Cup for the first time in the history of the country.

Coach Enrique Gil and his assistant, Oscar Velasquez, will use Maria Villarroel (174-G-78, college: Oklahoma), player of Sierre Basket in Switzerland, as their main star and offensive weapon. She'll have plenty of company with NCAA players Yesi Castillo (175-F, college: E.Oklahoma St. JC) and Ivaney Marquez (-83), followed by Jofranny Guerra and Veronica Hernandez, who just finished playing in a semi pro league in Ecuador as imported players.

The rest of the team is formed by members of the U19 squad that won the South American gold medal last year in Ecuador and that are going to play in the FIBA Americas U19 World Cup Qualy Tournament in Argentina, later this year. They are Cleider Blanco (-90), Yosimar Corrales (-90), Endrina Bolivar (-90), Maria Requena (-90), Maria Cabrices (-90), Roselis Silva (-91) and Kiancy Barragan (-90). Their goal will be to defeat direct rivals such as Colombia or Chile. Brazil is the current gold medal holder and Argentina finished in second place.

In preparation for this tournament, Venezuela defeated Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba while in concentration back home, in the city of San Juan de los Morros, Guarico. The team has a 20 year-old average but the handicap is their low height, stated at 1.75m in average.

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WNBA - Women

San Antonio sends defending champions to 0-2 start -by Eurobasket News
The San Antonio Silver Stars rallied past hapless Phoenix 81:76 to hand over the second straight loss to reigning WNBA champs. Sophia Young (6'1''-F-83, college: Baylor) fired 25 points to lead the San Antonio who were coming out of a sour season opener after losing to the Sacramento Monarchs. The Silver Stars held the visitors to a 2/15 field goal shooting in the second quarter and piled up an 11-point cushion at the interval. Phoenix stayed close in the second half and managed to trim the deficit to 6 points after Cappie Pondexter (5'9''-G-83, college: Rutgers) hit a trey midway through the final term. However the Silver Stars capitalized on a technical foul called on Diana Taurasi (6'0''-G-82, college: Connecticut) and stretched the gap to 9 points with just over 4 minutes left. Phoenix never recovered suffering the second consecutive loss in the regular season. Becky Hammon (5'6''-G-77, college: Colorado St.) scored 14 points, while Erin Buescher added 13 for the winners. Cappie Pondexter dropped 23 points for the Mercury. Diana Taurasi contributed 20 in a loss.
In the meantime the Seattle Storm posted their second win in a row. They handled the Sacramento Monarchs 74:62 at the Key Arena. Seattle trailed for the major part of the first half and managed to cut the deficit to 5 points midway through the third stanza. The hosts tied the scoreline at 47 early in the final frame. Then Gearlds and and Sue Bird (5'9''-G-80, college: Connecticut) exploded with a bunch of trebles to put the home side up by 7 points. Lauren Jackson (6'5''-F/C-81) added her own three-pointer moments later and Seattle accumulated a 61:51 advantage. Sacramento never threatened the lead in the dying minutes and Seattle celebrated their second straight success. Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird and Swin Cash (6'2''-F-79, college: Connecticut) came up with 17 points apiece to lead the Storm. Rebekkah Brunson (6'3''-F/C-81, agency: LBM Management, college: Georgetown) responded with 15 points for the Monarchs.