Eurobasket Daily News Report:

EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 6/2/2008

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Men News

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BELGIUM

Stats Leaders - Division I

D1 Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

1 Emmett, Liege 23.9
2 Freeman, Gent 18.8
3 Lewis, Leuven 17.8
4 Wilson, Pepinster 17.6
5 Miller, Gent 17.2

Rebounds Per Game

1 Fisher, Bree 10.8
2 Turek, Gent 10.6
3 Cantrell, Aalstar 8.6
4 Pelle, Liege Basket 7.4
5 Ebong, MHainaut 7.1
5 Poole, Aalstar 7.1

Assists Per Game

1 Perkins, Bree 5.8
2 Bosco, Leuven 3.8
3 Conlan, MHainaut 3.8
4 Van Rossom, Oostende 3.2
5 Hamilton, Spirou 3.1

Steals Per Game

1 Perkins, Bree 3.1
2 Sears, Antwerp 2.6
3 Bosco, Leuven 2.6

Blocks Per Game

1 Fisher, Bree 2.8
2 Riddick, Spirou 2.2
3 Turek, Gent 1.4

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BOSNIA

Play Out: Leotar stays in the 1st Division -by Sead Buljina
After a fight in the last game of the play out in Capljina it was decided that Leotar will compete in D1 again next season. Namely, Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina recorded decisive game for the play out winner 20:0 in favor of guests - Leotar from Trebinje. Since guests held first place prior to the last game of the play out they will stay in the 1st league of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Capljina can only regret behaviour of its fans who caused a fight in their own gym. To make things worse for hosts they had an 8-point lead at the moment fight broke out. They needed a 16-point win in order to stay among the best teams in the country. Capljina had built an 8-point lead and had a whole second half to try to win by 16 points. This way Capljina will be relegated to the 2nd division. Brcko and Radnik took third and fourth place respectivelly and will continue to compete in D2..

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BRAZIL

Flamengo Petrobras won over Universo BRB and needs one victory to be the Champion of Nacional Masculino 2008.- -by Ed Goodman
Flamengo Petrobras obtained their 2nd victory in Nacional Masculino 2008 Finals and with another victory their will be the Champions. the score was 91-76 in the 2nd quarter was when Flamengo open a great lead and mantained it during the rest of the game. The best scorers of the game were by Flamengo Marcelinho 25 Points, Fernando 18 Points and Duda 12 Points by Universo the best were Estevam 20 Points, Valtinho 16 Points and Cipriano 14 Points. Next Tuesday is the 3rd game between both teams and if Flamengo wins is the last game of Nacional Masculino 2008.-

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CHINA

All-Star Teams Selected at Nike Camp -by Arthur Volbert

They have selected the two all-star teams at Nike All-Asia camp. One of the best players is Zhang Dayu, a growing 213 cm center allegedly born in 1991 who played some games for Zhejiang this season.

Sui Ran, Wang Yingliang and Wang Yongpeng made the blue team. Wang and Sui played in the Nike Global Challenge last year and Zhang was on the Albert Schweitzer roster two years ago.

Ren Junwei of the white team and Ren Junfei of the blue team are twins.

All star white team:
Zhang Dayu 213cm Zhejiang ,Ren Junwei 200cm Guangdong,Zhong Cheng 204cm Jilin,Cao Fei 193cm Zhejiang,Guo Ailun 190cm Liaoning,Zhang Caibao 185cm,James Bradley 196cm Australia,Lewis Claybrin 202cm Australia,David Bryce 181cm Australia,Lee Daesung 191cm Korea.

All star blue team:
Zhang Yongpeng 208cm Zhejiang,Ren Junfei 203cm Guangdong,Anthony Dwayne 213cm Australia, John Matthew 214cm Australia, Ju Mingxing 199cm Guangdong, Chou Po-Chen 195cm Taiwan, Narito Namizato 172cm Japan, Miguel Antonio 'Mikke' R. Reys 173cm Philippines,Sui Ran 194cm Shandong, Wang Yingliang 184cm Liaoning.

Photos of the camp can be found at http://forums.interbasket.net/showthread.php?t=6883

I have rosters for the Adidas Nations Asian Camp that was held May 20-24 in Shanghai. But I have no heights or other information.

Dong Hanlin is a 207 power forward from Guangdong who was outstanding in camps last year. Zhang Zhuojun was a candidate for the Under-19 team last year. Luo Hanchen, a guard, is the only player listed as playing in both camps, though this may be a mistake.

Adidas Nations Asian Camp [May 20-24 Shanghai, China]
51 players
Coaches: Mo Williams (Bucks), Desmond Mason (Bucks), Detlef Schrempf, Dwane Casey, Bob Weiss, Terry Scott, Lionel Hollins

From China:
Dong Hanlin F Guangdong
Wang Pu F Guangdong
Li Xuesong G Guangdong
Wang Yang F Guangdong
Shi Hongfei G Guangdong
Wang Xiaoxin F Shanghai
Qi Qiaozheng G Beijing
Cai Lilong Jiangsu
Mao Yang Jiangsu
Jiang Junqi Dongguan
Rexiati Kalimu (Uighur: Reshet Karim) Dongguan
Chen Fei
Zhang Lixing
Luo Hanchen
Deng Qingshuo
Lian Ming Liaoning
Guo Ailun Liaoning
Tang Hanlin Liaoning
Tao Hanlin Shandong
Yang Yue Shandong
Zhang Zhuojun Zhejiang
Li Dongsheng Zhejiang
Yang Bolun Shaanxi
Li Xin Shaanxi
Liu Yu Shaanxi
Wang Chao Shaanxi
Liu Mingyu Shaanxi
Sun Tonglin Jilin
Huang Shiqian

Others:
Liam McInerney F Australia
Lim Shengyu F Singapore
Chia Calvin PG Singapore
Khaw Yeong Wai F Singapore/Malaysia
Chau Tsz Kin SG Hong Kong
Li Ka Wai C Hong Kong
Kim Hyunsoo G Korea
Park Jaehyun G Korea
Kevin Louie Alas G Philippines
Jose Eduardo Llanes G Philippines
Chou Yi-Hsiang F Taiwan
Sung Yu-Hsuan F Taiwan

China's Stars Don't Play But China Wins 91-68 -by Arthur Volbert
Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Wang Zhizhi, Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu did not play. Liu Wei was scoreless in 9 minutes. Nevertheless China routed Conference USA 91-68.

Zhang Kai and Zhang Qingpeng (189-G-85) led the scoring with 18 points apiece. Wang Lei scored 11, hitting 5 of 7 shots. China led 25-16 after the first quarter and 55-35 at the half. The score was 71-52 after three quarters. Zhang Kai had 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Zhang Qingpeng made 7 of 8 shots, added 3 assists and 2 steals, and made his case for being backup point guard.

Box Score:
http://cba.sports.sina.com.cn/look_scores.php?m_id=2056

China----- 25 30 16 20 91
Conf USA 16 19 17 16 68

Du Feng 12min+7p+3r, Li Nan 12min+5p, Sun Yue 24min+5p+1r+1a+2bl, Liu Wei 9min+0p+1r+1a, Zhang Kai 27min+18p+6r+1a+2s, Li Xiaoxu 19min+9p+2r+1a, Ding Jinhui 22min+9p+4r+2bl, Wang Lei 16min+11p+2r, Zhang Qingpeng 23min+18p(7-8)+3a+2s, Liu Xiaoyu 9min+2p, Chen Jianghua 13min+6p+2r, Zhou Peng 13min+1p(0-5)+2a

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CZECH REPUBLIC

Nymburk beats Novy Jicin 89:47 and leads 2:0 in the finals -by Ondra Simecek
CEZ Basketball Nymburk beats Geofin Novy Jicin in the second final game 89:47. Geofin was trying to resist in the first half of the game tonite and finnished the half time with 11 points loss. The second half was played in the tempo of Nymburk. Novy Jicin did not find power to get over the great defense of Nymburk, was losing balls, missing the shots and Nymburk made a great show for their fans on the homecourt. Novy Jicin had a support in their best scorer Robert Sarovic with 15 pts, no other player from his team had double digit number of points on the score board. Nymburk had support as usual in Rado Rancik (16 pts, 6 rbds, 4 ast), Petr Benda (16 pts, 5 rbds) and mainly Blake Schilb (201-G-83, college: Loyola, IL) (20 pts, 7 rbds, 3 ast) who is showing a great performance in the whole play-offs.
Third finals game is scheduled on the 4th June at 18:00 to Novy Jicin (fourth game 5th June, 18:00, Novy Jicin).

Points: Schilb 20, Benda 16, Rancik 16, Mack 10 - Sarovic 15, Reinberger 7, Walker 6, Pelikan 6

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EGYPT

Gezira crushes Itthad with one step ahead to win the league -by Sherif Soliman
Gezira 93-70 Itthad: gezira crushed Itthad last night to be one step ahead to be the champions of Egypt 2008.They need to win over Ahly tomorrow before facing Zamalek this win will be enough to hold the championship for Gaezira.Zamalek will be watching the game waiting for Ahlys gift. Amed Marey Gezira coach Said(We will finish it tomrrow,we benfit from alexandrias lesson and we are ready for glory). Sherif Aly (186-G-72)

Super League Standings

Superleague Standings

Group A
1. Gezira	12-3
2. Zamalek	10-5
3. Ahly	8-7
4. Al Ittihad	8-7
5. Somouha	6-9
6. Sporting	5-10
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

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FRANCE

Nancy, Le Mans on the cusp of LNB Finals -by Eurobasket News

Nancy and Le Mans opened their respective semifinal series with victories and stepped closer to the LNB Finals. The top-ranked Le Mans took care of Roanne 82:67 at home. Roanne played equally for three quarters before falling down in the final frame. The hosts led by just 2 points after the opening stanza and struggled to clear off substantially in the second. Le Mans managed to pile up a 4-point buffer at the interval. Finally things started to get rolling for the home team after the long break as they ran away to a 9-point distance heading into the final period. A solid performance from Nebojsa Bogavac (199-G-73, agency: Beo Basket) and Luka Bogdanovic (206-F-85, agency: Beo Basket) allowed Le Mans to keep their opponents at bay and celebrate a hard-fought win at the end. Luka Bogdanovic led the charge with 21 points. Nebojsa Bogavac added 16 points, while Nicolas Batum (201-F-88) had 15 in a winning case. Marc Salyers (205-F-79, college: Samford) answered with 30 points and 6 boards for Roanne. Brion Rush (186-G-84, college: Grambling St.) knocked down 11 points in a loss. The hosts outrebounded their opponents 40:34 and converted 46% from the field. Game 2 is scheduled for June 4 in Roanne.
Nance held off ASVEL 86:75 at home court. The second-ranked squad of the regular season got to a better start and accumulated a 27:19 lead after the starting stanza. ASVEL failed to threaten the deficit throughout the reminder of the contest and had to surrender at the end. Nance looked pretty comfortable driving to the victory in this one. Mike Bauer (203-F-81, college: Minnesota) topscored with 24 points and 8 boards for the hosts. Ricardo Greer (195-F/G-78, college: Pittsburgh) scored 17 points, while Jeff Greer (195-G/F-79, college: Rutgers) had 13 points for the winners. Laurent Foirest (197-F-73) answered with 15 points for ASVEL. Uche Nsonwu (208-F/C-78, agency: Beo Basket, college: Wyoming) provided 13 points and 9 boards in defeat. Game 2 will be played on Tuesday.

Nancy - Roannes 82:67
Nancy: Luka Bogdanovic 21, Nebojsa Bogavac 16, Nicolas Batum 15
Roannes: Marc Salyers 30, Brion Rush 11

Nancy - ASVEL 86:75
Nancy: Mike Bauer 24, Ricardo Greer 17, Jeff Greer 13
ASVEL: Laurent Foirest 15, Uche Nsonwu 13+9 boards

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GERMANY

Bundesliga Semifinals Results Sunday June 1st! -by Michael Taylor
The exciting Bundesliga playoffs continued with Game 3 of both Semifinal Series played Sunday June 1st as the Deutsche Bank Skyliners and Ewe Baskets Oldenburg took key victories with hardfought wins. Using their zone defense, Frankfurt edged Telekom Baskets Bonn 58-48 while Ewe Baskets Oldenburg captured an intense 79-73 road win at Max-Schmellinghalle in Berlin.

Deutsche Bank Skyliners 58 Telekom Baskets Bonn 48 (Frankfurt leads Series 2-1)
Deutsche Bank Skyliners outscored Telekom Baskets Bonn 16-2 in the 4Q earning a 58-48 Game 3 win Sunday at Ballsporthalle in Frankfurt that put them up 2-1 in their Bundesliga Semifinals Series. Pascal Roller topscored with 15pt while Ilian Evtimov added 13pt 11reb as the only double digit scorers for the Skyliners in the win. Bonn ran to a 19-12 1Q and held a 30-24 lead at half. Bonn took a 41-36 lead into the 4th before Head Coach Murat Didin and his team turned the game with their zone. The amazing 16-2 final quarter gave the Skyliners the tough win and series lead. Frankfurt shot 37% from the floor and outrebounded Bonn 42-33 while surviving 18turnovers in the win. Bonn shot 30% from the field. Skyliners enjoyed an advantage from the foul line making 18 of 26 FT (69%) compared with Bonn's 9 of 11 (81%). Eddie Basden led Bonn with 14pt 7reb in the loss. Game 4 is set for Tuesday night June 3rd for a 6:30pm tip in Bonn.

Ewe Baskets Oldenburg 79 ALBA Berlin 73 (ALBA leads Series 2-1)
Jasmin Perkovic led 5 Thunderbirds in double figures with 16pt 6reb as Ewe Baskets Oldenburg earned an exciting 79-73 road win over ALBA Berlin Sunday at MaxSchmellinghalle in their Bundesliga Semifinals series. Along with Perkovic's strong performance, Jason Gardner (15pt), Rickey Paulding (15pt), Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (13pt 9reb) and Branimir Longin (12pt 11reb) were all productive for Head Coach Predrag Krunic's team. ALBA led 21-16 after 1Q before taking a 40-32 halftime lead. Out of the lockerroom, Oldenburg ran to a 23-15 3Q and evened the game at 55 heading into the 4th. Oldenburg shot 49% for the game and made 18 of 25 FT (72%) while outrebounding Berlin 38-30. Immanuel McElroy paced ALBA with 24pt 6reb while Julius Jenkins added 17pt in the loss. ALBA shot 46% from the floor but only 18 of 31 FT (58%). The hardfought road win gives Oldenburg their first victory of the Semifinals Series and gives them a chance to even with a win in Game 4 scheduled for Tuesday night 8:45pm at Ewe Arena in Oldenburg.

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GREECE

Play offs, 3rd-4th place: Panionios succeeded the road win and balanced the series to 2-2 -by Chris Mammides

Panionios beat Marousi in Agios Thomas and is now one step ahead as it was down to 2-0 and balanced the series to 2-2 with the fifth and most vital game being played in three days in Panionios court.
The players of Markovic were much better than their opponents but especially Zoroski and Newley were magnificent on their shooting performances as they outscored all the defencive systems which Coach Soulis Markopoulos tried to develop. The two players bythe end of the third quarter had already 22 points each (mostly three pointers) while Dusan Sakota (209-F-86) was not bad at all.

The first quarter found Panionios to take the lead with 22-24 after a three pointer from Newley and before that a 'small fight' between the basketball fans of the two teams which (thank God) was solved without any serious problems. Milisavlievic and Kostas Kaimakoglou (206-C/F-83) were leading their team while Vasilis Xanthopoulos (188-G-84) and Baxter were very good on behalf of Markovic's team.

The second quater was a pure monologue from the amazing Zoroski who scored nearly all the points of his team during this period with the deficit goung up to 10 points by the end of the first half, 42-52 was the final score of the half time.

The 3rd quarter was the most crucial one for Soulis Markopoulos 's team as they gave their best shot and cut the deficit to 4 points up to a point though as Zoroski and Dusan Sakota were there to take their team on their responsibility on behalf of Panionios, the two, three point shooters overscored the tries of Nikos Boudouris (192-G-71) and Stevenson as the two veterans of MArousis couldn't follow the rythm of their opponnets, the score on the third quarter went to 15 points with the quarter ending to 59-74 and with Panionios allready being sure about the road win which so passionated wanted from the beggining.

The fourth quarter was a simple case for Ivan Zoroski (MVP of the game and top scorer) and his team-mates as they simply kept the difference and overscored their opponents by 12 points at the final score, 84-96 was the big victory for Panionios which is now a step towards his first participation in the Eurolegue of the seazon, 2008-2009.

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HOLLAND

ZZ Leiden adds Niels Meijer to their roster -by Fred Roggen
Dutch NT-player, forward Niels Meijer

(204-F-80, agency: R.H.Consultancy) play the coming two seasons for ZZ Leiden. The power-forward played the last two seasons for Hanzevast Capitals in Groningen.
For that he ended up for Ricoh astronaut, the current MyGuide Amsterdam.
With attracting of the 2.04 meters long, experienced Niels Meijer, ZZ Leiden expected to strengthened up their frontcourt.
Niels Meijer finished last season with 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, shooting 57% from the floor.

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HUNGARY

MAFC won, but it was not enough to stay in the first division -by Tamas Deri
There was a very exciting last round of the play-out this season in Hungary! MAFC and Bodrogi Bau were fighting to reach the 13th place and stay in the first division!

Anthony Harris and Andras Vavra were unstopable and lead MAFC to one easy victory against Kaposvar, but Bodrogi Bau could win also by 5 points against ZTE KK and with the better results against each other stays in the first division!

MAFC - Kaposvari KK 100-68
(26-20, 24-24, 26-13, 24-11)
MAFC: Harris 46/15, Misek 4, Wehner 6, Vavra 28/12, Fulop 8, Graczer 6/6, Kecskes 2, Radovics, Fodor, Bodrogi, Coach: Dinnyes Attila
KKK: Csirke 9/3, Kiss 7/3, Szoke 10, Hendlein 16/3, Orosz 3, Tomosvary 21/6, Markus 2, Kovacs, Biro, Romanek, Coach: Horvath Imre

Bodrogi-Bau Vasarhely - ZTE KK 83-78
Vasarhely: Drahos 13, Brooks 31/15, Kovats 8, Freeman 8, Gemes 18, Boszormenyi 5, Babut, Coach: Czuprak Laszlo
ZTE KK: Simon 8, Kovats 2, Gaspar 14/3, Kaman 24/3, Hoffmann 15/3, Baki 15/9, Vertetics, Coach: Nikola Lazic

Albacomp reached the 3rd place -by Tamas Deri
In the first game Albacomp had one easy victory and could even beat Szolnok last night by 2 points, so they got the third place!
The first 5-6 minutes were tied, but than the guests started to rule the game, and Thomas Kelley could not keep his team alone (20-27).
Until the halftime with a very great defense Albacomp could get a bigger difference and was leading by 10 points after 20 minutes.

They could even win the third quarter by one point, but our favourite sport is basketball, where a lot of things can happen in ten minutes. Szolnok - leaded by Vernard Hollins - got closer minute to minute and two minutes before the end could tie the game (71-71). Hollins made a dunk in the last minute of the game and Szolnok was leading by one point. Albacomp took a time-out, and after that Simon made his shoot and the guests won 74-73.

SZOLNOKI OLAJ KK-ALBACOMP 73-74
(20-27, 15-18, 17-18, 21-11)
Szolnok, Att.: 1700, Refeees: Forrai, Foldhazi, Kiraly
SZOLNOK: Thomas Kelley (188-G-76, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: Michigan St.) 17/9, Cziczas 5/3,Vernard Hollins (192-G-80, agency: Warren Sports, college: Wright St.) 25/3, Donatas Sabaliauskas (200-F-75) 10/6, Jurkunas 6/3, Molnar A. 5, Harazin 3, Gobi 2, Cseh Gy., Coach: Por Peter
ALBACOMP: Balazs Simon (188-G-80, agency: Court Side) 16/6, Cory Bradford (191-G-78, agency: Edge Sports, college: Illinois) 16/6, Velibor Radovic (202-F/G-72, agency: Beo Basket) 16, McClendon 4, Zoltan Bencze (213-C-81) 20/3, David G., Boozer, Hanga 2, Coach: Peresztegi-Nagy Akos

Next season: without a team from our capital city again? -by Tamas Deri

There was a very exciting last round of the play-out this season in Hungary! MAFC and Bodrogi Bau were fighting to reach the 13th place and stay in the first division!

Anthony Harris (188-G) and Andras Vavra (202-F-78) were unstopable and lead MAFC to one easy victory against Kaposvar, but Bodrogi Bau could win also by 5 points against ZTE KK and with the better results against each other stays in the first division!

MAFC - Kaposvari KK 100-68
(26-20, 24-24, 26-13, 24-11)
MAFC: Anthony Harris 46/15, Misek 4, Wehner 6, Andras Vavra 28/12, Fulop 8, Graczer 6/6, Kecskes 2, Radovics, Fodor, Bodrogi, Coach: Dinnyes Attila
KKK: Csirke 9/3, Kiss 7/3, Szoke 10, Hendlein 16/3, Orosz 3, Mate Tomosvari (203-F-83) 21/6, Markus 2, Kovacs, Biro, Romanek, Coach: Horvath Imre

Bodrogi-Bau Vasarhely - ZTE KK 83-78

(17-22, 17-10, 25-22, 24-24)
Vasarhely: Drahos 13, David Brooks (191-G-82, college: Niagara) 31/15, Kovats 8, Freeman 8, Gemes 18, Boszormenyi 5, Babut, Coach: Czuprak Laszlo
ZTE KK: Simon 8, Kovats 2, Gaspar 14/3, Tamas Kaman (200-F-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 24/3, Hoffmann 15/3, Baki 15/9, Vertetics, Coach: Nikola Lazic

Finals: Kormend won by 2 points, Series: 1-1 -by Tamas Deri
Both teams were steping in hoping of a victory on the court last night. With a win Falco has could been lead the series 2-0 and finish the finals on Tuesday in the own arena, and Kormend had to win to have at least one more home game this season.

Falco won the first quarter by 4 points (29-25), Doyne and Kazlauskas were unstopable int he first ten minutes. The lithuanian forward did not miss any of his shoots during this period. Him and Doyne scored 27 of Falco's 51 points in the first half, when the guests were leading 52-41. From the home team Thomas and Henderson tried to keep Kormend as close as possible, the american forward made all of his 4 shoots in the first half.

Kormend repeated the third quarter of the Game 1 and won it by 8 points (65-68).

There was a very exciting last quarter, Kormend could tie the game in the 39. minute the first time last night, and with Jermaine Thomas (187-G-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: La Salle)'s very important baskets win it! The american guard was the player of the game with 32 points (6/9 2pt', 4/5 3pt's, 8/11 FT's), 8 fouls against, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

POLAROID - LAMI-VED KORMEND - FALCO - SZOVA KC - SZOMBATHELY 95 -93
(25-29, 16-23, 24-16, 30-25)
Kormend, Att.: 2.500, Referees: Valovics, Adam, Kapitany
Kormend: Jermaine Thomas 32/12, Gergely Fodor (193-G-77, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents) 9/9, Ferencz 9/3, Peter Vavra (203-F/C-80) 13, Ocitti 10/6, Kenneth Henderson (201-F-82, college: Texas Arlington) 13, Fodor M. 9, Toth G., Trummer, Coach: Dragoljub Krivacevic
Falco KC: Laszlo Kalman (186-G-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 22/6, Bam Doyne (193-G-84, college: Mississippi) 16/9, Ciric 15/9, Arnas Kazlauskas (204-C/F-76, agency: Court Side) 21/12, Aliakseyeu 8, Borszeki 6/6, Varadi 5/3, Feigl, Pankar, Coach: Srecko Sekulovic
2pointers: 18/34 (53%) - 15/29 (52%)
3pointers: 11/22 (50%) - 15/26 (58%)
Free Throws: 26/37 (70%) - 18/26 (69%)
Rebounds: 21- 31
Assists: 14 - 11
IBM: 126 - 118

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IRAN

Iran wins "Bandiera Blu" tournment -by Gianni Pascucci
Team Itall felt to Itan 79-86 yesterday night in Roseto, in the Final Game of 'Bandiera Blu' International tournment, and this result allowed Team Iran to be crowned as the competition champion. Pointing on his center Hamed Hadadi (218-C-85, agency: Huss Sport Agency), the guest team outrebounded Italy 38-29, and stayed ahead in the score almost all game long. All the Iranian players showed interesting improvements from the first games. The main performers were Hadadi, who ended the game with 18 pts, 17 rebounds and 4 assists, Samad Nikkhah (200-F/G-83, agency: Huss Sport Agency), who scored 19 points, and Mehdi Kamrani (181-G-82, agency: Huss Sport Agency), who added 16 points and an effective quarterbacking. The Italians were limited by the absence of Fantoni, Boscagin and Cinciarini, all injured, and weren' t able to play at the same level of the previous nights. Luca Garri (207-C/F-82) was the last to surrender, ending the game at 22 points in losing effort. The third place in the 'Bandiera Blu' tournment went to Croatia, winner over Algeria 120-69 in the first game played yesterday.

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ITALY

Iran wins "Bandiera Blu" tournment -by Gianni Pascucci
Team Itall felt to Itan 79-86 yesterday night in Roseto, in the Final Game of 'Bandiera Blu' International tournment, and this result allowed Team Iran to be crowned as the competition champion. Pointing on his center Hamed Hadadi (218-C-85, agency: Huss Sport Agency), the guest team outrebounded Italy 38-29, and stayed ahead in the score almost all game long. All the Iranian players showed interesting improvements from the first games. The main performers were Hadadi, who ended the game with 18 pts, 17 rebounds and 4 assists, Samad Nikkhah (200-F/G-83, agency: Huss Sport Agency), who scored 19 points, and Mehdi Kamrani (181-G-82, agency: Huss Sport Agency), who added 16 points and an effective quarterbacking. The Italians were limited by the absence of Fantoni, Boscagin and Cinciarini, all injured, and weren' t able to play at the same level of the previous nights. Luca Garri (207-C/F-82) was the last to surrender, ending the game at 22 points in losing effort. The third place in the 'Bandiera Blu' tournment went to Croatia, winner over Algeria 120-69 in the first game played yesterday.

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JORDAN

JBF approves their schedule for next season -by Mohammed Malas

The Jordanian Basketball Federation (JBF) agreed with the local clubs in Jordan about the agenda of the basketabll rules and competitions for next season in the meeting which was held the JBF's headquarters in Amman yesterday.

# The main decisions were:
1- Pre-Season Summer League (During August & May), Dates will be decided later.
2- Jordan Cup (From 12th of December 2009 until the end of the year).
3- 2008/2009 Excellent League Season (Will begin in the 1st week of January until the end of March 2009).
4- Putting some restrictions on clubs in signning with free agents (Maximum 2 per team).
5- Excellent League clubs agreed on not having any imports next season to spend more money on signning with high-level coaches to build better teams for future, A suggestion to have one import only for each team may be discussed later.
6- Each team in Men' level can use only 2 players from the youngesters' teams.
7- The new age of releasing players (Who does'nt have a contract with his origin team) is 20 years.

Most of those decisions were decided to give the National Team the chance to prepare for Asian Championship 2009 adding to build a new system of local tournaments based on givinng the Jordanian player more chance to develop himself under better atmosphere and coaching with ability to enter the good enough imports to the system in the near future.

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LIBYA

Libyan League's Week 18 Results -by Anas Seddigh
The results of week 18 of the libyan league were as follows :
Jazera - Ahli Tripoli 56-63
Shabab - Ittihad 70-79
Yarmok - Madina 57-83
Tahade - Ahli Benghazi 52-83
Wahda - Hilal 56-67
Moroj - Naser 64-69
with these results Ittihad and Ahli Tripoli continues their race to the title , while Wahda suffered their 18th straight loss.
Week 19 :
Friday 6\ june\2008 :
Naser - Wahda , Place : Solaiman Darat Arena , Benghazi
Hilal - Ahli Tripoli , Place : Solaiman Darat Arena , Benghazi
Madina - Moroj , Place : Cortoba sports Gym. ,Tripoli
Shabab - Tahade , Place : Cortoba sports Gym. ,Tripoli
Saturday 7\ june\2008 :
Ahli Benghazi - Yarmok , Place : Solaiman Darat Arena , Benghazi
Jazera - Ittihad , Place : Nelson Mandela sports Gym. , Zwara

Standings

D1 Standings

1. Ittihad	15-3
2. Ahli	15-3
3. Nasr	14-4
4. Shabab	14-4
5. Alibenghazi	12-6
6. Madina	10-8
7. Hilal	8-10
8. Jazeera	7-11
9. Morog	6-12
10. Yarmook	4-14
11. Tahaddi	3-15
12. Wahda	0-18

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LITHUANIA

Market News and Rumors -by Lukas Zajancauskas

News and rumors related to Lithuanian clubs or players :

First rumors related with Zalgiris. They are close to agreement with DeJuan Collins (188-G-76, college: Tuskegee) and Paulius Jankunas (204-F-84, agency: Interperformances). It's rumoured that Lietuvos Rytas is also interested in Paulius Jankunas, but it's very reliable that Paulius and DeJuan will return to Kaunas next season. Zalgiris are negotiating with Damir Markota (209-C/F-85) and Jonas Maciulis (200-G/F-85, agency: Interperformances). Probably there will be no spot in the team for Goran Jurak (203-F/C-77) and Mamadou N'Diaye (212-C-75, college: Auburn). Zalgiris is looking for lithuanian players for those positions.

Former Lithuanian NT guard Vidas Ginevicius (194-G-78, agency: Interperformances) extended his contract with Spartak Primorie Vladivostok. Last season he played 36 games, averaged 7.7 points, 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals in Russian Premier League.

Lietuvos Rytas denied recent information that they signed a contract with Tadas Klimavicius (204-F-82, agency: Interperformances). Lietuvos Rytas GM Martynas Purlys said that they are interested in this power forward, but there is a small chance of signing a contract. The basketball players agent also denied this info, which was announced in Greek media.

Italian media are publishing that Darjus Lavrinovic (212-C-79) has contract offers from many European clubs, such as Montepaschi, Barcelona, Maccabi, Pamesa and even Lithuanian clubs. Supposedly, he will earn about 1.2-1.5 mln. euros per season.

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MEXICO

Wins for Dorados and Peppers -by Gianni Pascucci
The first LBS weekend games had a succesful ending for Dorados and Peppers. The team from Playa del Carmen defeated on the road, 100-84 Marineros de Cozumel with Greg Lewis (198-F-78, college: Winthrop) leading the way at 34 points and Gustavo Ayon (211-F/C-85, college: San Jose St.) adding 21, while Kris Collins (188-G-83, agency: ProSportsCareers, college: N.Mexico) took the top scoring honors in the home team. Peppers de Progreso prevailed over Aluxes de Cancun 96-92 at the end of a game closer than expected. Ronnie Coleman (199-F-68, college: USC) led Peppers with 25 points, and Forrest Fisher (193-G-84) added 21.

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	10-5
2. Leopardos	9-5
3. Marineros	7-6
4. Peppers	6-7
5. Aluxes	0-13

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PANAMA

1st. date of CBS 2008,- Fieras and Navieros started winning.- -by Eddie Munoz

In the 1st date of CBS 2008 Fieras de Juan Diaz won over Colosos de Tumba Muerto 81-62 . In the 1st quarter Fieras took a comfortable lead of 22 Points but in the 2nd quarter Colosos reduced it to 10 Points ending the 1st half 39-29 the 3rd quarter was very disputed but in the 4th Fieras again open a lead of 19 Points. Fabio Gomez with 18 Points was the best scorer for Fieras and Julio Petana with 24 Points by Colosos. In the 2nd game the 2 finalists of last season played a very disputed game who was decided in the last minute of the game, Navieros defeated Magnates de Calidonia 86-80 Carlos Hoy with 20 Points was the best by Navieros and Joel Munoz (179-G-80, agency: HM Sports Agency) 27 Points, 5 Assistances. Next Tuesday June 3, Caimanes de Rio Abajo will face Colosos de Tumba Muerto and the 2nd game Canguros de Parque Lefevre vs. Toros del Chorrillo.

Standings - CBS

CBS Standings

1. Navieros	1-0
2. Fieras	1-0
3. Toros	0-0
4. Canguros	0-0
5. Caimanes	0-0
6. Magnates	0-1
7. Colosos	0-1

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PHILIPPINES

Standings - PBA Fiesta Conference

PBA Standings

1. Coca-Cola	8-4
2. Red Bull	8-5
3. Air21	8-5
4. Talk N Text	7-6
5. Sta Lucia	6-5
6. Alaska	6-6
7. Magnolia	6-6
8. Purefoods	5-6
9. Ginebra	4-8
10. Welcoat D.	3-9

PBA Fiesta Cup Results -by Lorenzo Gahol

Tugade

Thomas

Holcomb

May 25 (Sun) Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay City
Alaska 110 Talk N Text 98
AA: Randy Holcomb (204-F/C-79) 29 pts, 17 rebs, Tenorio 19 pts, Miller 19 pts
TNT: McGhee 24 pts, 10 rebs

Purefoods 82 Sta. Lucia 74
PUR: Simon 22 pts, J.Yap 21 pts
SLR: Williams 22 pts

May 28 (Wed) Araneta Coliseum
Red Bull 109 Air21 119
A21: Edgar Billones 23 points
RBB: Parada 28 pts, 12 rebs, 4 blks

Ginebra 87 Magnolia 76
BGK: Helterbrand 23 pts, 4 asts
MBM: Watkins 22 pts, 12 rebs

May 30 Ynares Center, Antipolo City
Coca-Cola 94 Welcoat 87
CCT: Dixon 26 pts, 18 rebs
WD: Reyes 18 pts, 6 rebs

Purefoods 60 Alaska 88
ALA: Holcomb 19 pts, 11 rebs, Miller 18 pts
PG: Rahlimi 13 pts, 12 rebs

May 31 (Sat) Puerto Princesa Coliseum, Palawan
Magnolia 84 Talk N Text 82
MBM: Lordy Tugade (192-F-77) 29 pts, Watkins 21 p[ts 23 rebs
TNT: Alapag 14 pts, Ritualo 14 pts

June 1 (Sun) Araneta Coliseum
Ginebra 82 Red Bull 86
RBB: Parada 23 pts, 23 rebs, 4 blks, Duncil 18 pts, Baguio 18 pts
BGK: Alexander 27 pts, 29 rebs, blk

Air21 95 Sta. Lucia 93 (OT)
A21: Steve Thomas (203-F-81) 24 pts, 21 rebs, 10 asts David 24 pts
SLR: Williams 27 pts, 7 rebs

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POLAND

Lampe in Khimky for three more years -by Piotr Biernikowicz
Maciej Lampe (210-C-85, agency: Edge Sports) has extended the deal with BC Khimky Moscow Region for three more years. He had a contract with an option to extend it for next season but he decided to sign a new one.

23 year old player had great season in Russia. His team has won the Russian Cup, Maciej was the MVP of the finals, they were Russian League finalists.

Lampe admitted that he would like to play for the Polish National Team. He missed the Eurobasket 2007 because of an injury but in the same time he played the exhibition game in Russia. Now he's ready to work with the new coach of the NT - Muli Katzurin .

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PORTUGAL

And the Winner is......... FISICA -by Nuno Vieira
Fisica Desportiva T.Vedras won the PROLIGA title!!!!
The club with one of the smaller budgets of the Proliga have won 3-1 against Guimaraes the winner of the Portuguese Cup 2008.
After a fantastic season of all teams of the league, Fisica Desportiva T.Vedras showed what a strong group can do.
in the first round beat Illiabum, in the semi final killed Benfica the big dog in the block (team with maybe the biggest budget in the league), and in the final beat Guimaraes a very strong team.

Game by game

1Game
Vitoria 88 - 93 Fisica Desportiva T.Vedras *Stats1

2Game
Vitoria 85 - 81 Fisica Desportiva T.Vedras *Stats2

3Game
Fisica Desportiva T.Vedras 96 - 79 Vitoria *Stats3

4Game
Fisica Desportiva T.Vedras 79 - 65 Vitoria *Stats4

And now the Group -

Coach - Jose Tavares
Assistant - Gil

Players

(cap) Ekjersey Viana (203-F/C-77)
Marcel Momplaisir (205-C-81, college: Rhode Island)
Kendell Craig (188-G-80, college: Adelphi)
Miguel Barroca (182-G-84)
Romero Junior (200-F-74)
Amadeu Cordeiro (192-G/F-78)
Mohamed Camara (196-F-83)
Bruno Santos (191-F-81)
Tiago Saraiva (205-C-87)
Ricardo Gaocho (190-G-87)
Filipe Macedo (182-G-86)
Rui Parente (187-G/F-86)
Antonio Joaquim (193-F-86)

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PUERTO RICO

Standings - BSN

BSN Standings

Super 6
1. Santurce	16
2. Carolina	15
3. Arecibo	12
4. Guaynabo	11
5. Caguas	11
6. Fajardo	7
Others
1. Bayamon	16-16
2. Humacao	16-16
3. Ponce	15-17
4. San German	15-17
5. Mayaguez	7-25
6. Guayama	6-26

Crabbers need overtime to beat Criollos -by Luis Ramirez
The Santurce Crabbers had to play an extra period of play in order to defeat a pesky Caguas Criollos team 99-93. The Criollos took the 1st quarter 23-17, they also took the 2nd quarter 17-15 to lead as the 1st half came to a close 40-35. In the 3rd period the Crabbers just could not miss and had a very good defensive quarter to hold the Criollos to just 13 points while they would go on to score 32 points to take an 11 point advantage. In the 4th quarter it was the Criollos turn to shoot lights out as they came back to tie the game at 84 all. In the overtime period the Crabbers were able to continue their good defense while the Criollos seemed to be somewhat out of breath during this final period. For Santurce, Larry Ayuso (190-G-77, agency: Edge Sports, college: USC) scored 35 points followed by Robert Traylor with 20 points. For Caguas Bryan Bracey scored 26 points followed by Peter John Ramos with 16 points. Rick Apodaca (192-G-80, agency: World Sport Agency, college: Hofstra) was playing his first game for the Crabbers this year and scored 11 points to help his team gain the win.

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

Pezinok outsmart Inter in thriller -by Eurobasket News
Pezinok - Inter 100:97

The Extraliga Finals got under way yesterday when Pezinok hosted Inter. The Bratislava outfit was just coming out of a weary semifinal series against Nova Ves and needed some heroics to challenge well rested Extraliga top seeds. The start of the game lived up to the expectations as Pezinok grabbed the initiative and started to get away. The hosts outgunned Inter in the starting frame and accumulated a 5-point lead ten minutes into the contest. The crowd cheered the home side to keep rolling and Pezinok fired down Inter in the second frame to build a 13-point advantage at halftime. But the visitors were far from being done. They gradually took over in the third frame and cut the deficit by a single point at three quarter time. Pezinok defense simply stopped in the final frame as Inter exploded with 29 points to even the game and forced overtime. Inter kept running fast and jumped to a 6-point lead early in the extra term. However Andrej Lukjanec (203-F/C-69) nailed back-to-back triples for the home side as Pezinok got back on track. They outscored the visitors and snatched a hard win at the end. Andrej Lukjanec led all scorers with 31 points for Pezinok. Marek Kozlik (187-F-86) had 14 points, while Peter Micuda (206-C-72) and Glen Whisby (203-C/F-72, college: S.Mississippi) provided 11 points apiece in a win. Dusan Pandula (195-F-84) and Martin Micka (180-G-81, agency: Promotex) answered with 25 points apiece for Inter. Futo produced 15 points in defeat. Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday in Bratislava.
In the meantime Handlova toppled Nova Ves 83:80 to spur ahead in the Bronze medals series. Handlova trailed by 7 points heading into the final frame but managed to recover outlasting the hosts in the fourth quarter and celebrating a narrow win. Milan Golian (207-C-74) came up with 25 points for Handlova. Igor Pesta (203-F/C-84) replied with 20 points for Nova Ves in a loss.

Pezinok: Andrej Lukjanec 31, Marek Kozlik 14, Peter Micuda 11, Glen Whisby 11
Inter: Dusan Pandula 25, Martin Micka 25

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

Alpos Sentjur is building the team for the next season -by Uros Vujic
Alpos Sentjur's head coach Bostjan Kocar attended a training camp in Sarajevo, organized by BH Basket agency. Asmir Sadibasic (204-PF/C-82), Armin Avdibegovic (189-G-84) from Zenica Celik and Dejan Mikic (201-F-86) from Ergonom Nis, were invited for a try-out in Slovenia. The team from Sentjur will celebrate it's 40th aniwersary this year, so the management is determine to build a solid and competitive team for the next season.

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SPAIN

A dagger through Barca hearts as Tau win game two -by Paul Nilsen
Tau Ceramica have one hand on the ACB Play-off championship after they picked up a second victory in Palau Blaugrana against Barcelona who now look to have had their dreams shattered by the side from Vitoria-Gasteiz.

Tau secured the 74-78 win and can land the trophy with a clean 3-0 sweep at the Fernando Buesa Arena on Tuesday night and for Barca they will at least take heart that they have managed a win in the Basque Country previously - but whether they can repeat Tau's achievements and win twice is perhaps doubtful.

For Coach Spahija and his team look powerful and quick right now with the heart and drive that is way above Barca - perhaps strange in the sense that Xavi Pascual and his team were so fired up in the semi-finals - something they have completely failed to replicate in the finals.

While this game was a lot closer than game one, again Barca only threatened briefly to take control yet again whenever they started looking good, they never followed it up. For instance even when Jaka Lakovic got going in this game with a great first half, he disappeared in the second. Poor Illyasova desperately needed someone to support him again but nothing comprehensive in the backcourt emerged - and that has been the problem of Barca.

Not only that, but Barca also fell to the superior inside power of Tau who seem to be able to have a Plan B if Splitter is under pressure. In game one it was James Singleton and this time it was Pete Mickeal (198-F-78, college: Cincinnati) who finished the game with 20 points. Unlike Barca they also had a back-court player on song with Igor Rakocevic scoring 17 points while Bosnian Mirza Teletovic provided the outside threat with a nice cameo with a trio of three-pointers.

Again it was Tau that controlled the game in the first half . They went into a 6-15 lead after a Teletovic triple and still led 16-20 at the end of the first quarter. After the visitors extended their lead to 8 points, a Neal three -pointer sparked a 7-0 Barca run.

It was the exact opposite to game one when this was the period that Barceloan effectively lost the game. During a ragged four minute spell. Soon Lakovic nailed another three-pointer and captain Roger Grimau pulled the home team level at 28-28.

Once again though, Tau pulled away again and held a slender 38-40 advantage going into the locker room at the half.

Lakovic and Rakocevic didn't have best of games for their respective teams and especially the former. However both players had 9 points each at the half with the aggressive Pete Mikeal of Tau the only player into double figures with 10.

The size and defence of Mario Kasun was this time doing a reasonable job containing Splitter and he got Barcas only two points in the first four minutes of the second half when they dried up. A Rakocevic three-pointer handing Tau a 47-40 lead and still held a seven point advantage after a Teletovic dunk at the midway point of the third period.

At 44-53 to the Vitorians, Barcelona looked flat but suddenly a 7-0 run got them back into the game as they picked up their defence. It was a period of play that made Spahija call a time out with his side having looked comfortable, now ahead by only two points.

The revival gave much gusto to Xavi Pascual who was considerably animated in the time-out looking to finally see his team get a foothold in the series - let alone the game. Much was due to the minutes played by Pepe Sanchez during the period leading up to the time-out.

However Tau pulled away yet again with Barca's continual failure to box out and keep Tau off the offensive glass proving costly at times. Despite this, Grimau kept the home team in the hunt with three free-throws in quick succession to ensure they went into the last quarter just 54-57 behind.

Marconato got Barca straight back to within one point but that was as close as they got as Tau eased away and kept their noses in front until the end of the game. A crucial moment came in the last minute when at 72-75, Roger Grimau missed both of his free throws while Tau , through Splitter and Mickeal made enough to keep their heads above the water.

Can Barca respond? Well if they are to do that, Acker or Lakovic have to step up in the back court while the likes of Vasquez needs to show why he is of interest to the NBA because of late his performances have been very, very ordinary - although that is something that could be levelled at a few Barca players.

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URUGUAY

Results for the Metro League 15th round -by Hector Lopez
Capurro with a 10-3 record and Aguada with 10-4 are leading the Metro League after 15th rounds. The results, incluiding foreing players numbers, were:
Nacional 77 - Marcelo Correa (208-C-77, college: San Diego St.) 18 points and 11 rebounds
Olivol Mundial 57
- - -
Goes 86 - Howard Wilkerson (198-F-84, college: Wofford) 26 points 8 rebounds 5 blocks
Larranaga 79
- - -
Capurro 76 - Brian Craig (206-C-79, college: Miles) 10 points 4 rebounds 2 blocks
Yale 69 - Tarrie Monroe (202-F-77, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Lewis) 19 points 12 rebounds 2 blocks
- - -
Waston 91 - Alexander Blackwell (205-F/C-70, agency: Duran International, college: Monmouth) 32 points 13 rebounds
Urunday 81
- - -
Aguada 94 - Wendell Gibson (201-F/C-83, college: Hofstra) 18 points 14 rebounds 2 blocks
Larre Borges 78 - 'Pop' Thornton (201-F-74, college: W.Kentucky) 19, 2 rebounds 1 block
- - -
25 de Agosto 97
Marne 90 - Antonio McMillion (196-F-83, college: Md-Eastern Shore) 23 points 13 rebounds 2 blocks

Standings - Metropolitan League

Metropolitan Standings

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

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VENEZUELA

Standings - LPB

LPB Standings

1. Trotamundos	32-6
2. Cocodrilos	25-13
3. Gatos	22-12
4. Guaiqueries	22-14
5. Gaiteros	22-14
6. Marinos	22-16
7. Guaros	15-24
8. Dep.Tachira	12-20
9. Panteras	8-31
10. Gigantes	7-32

*****************************************************
WBA

Standings

WBA Standings

1. Buford M.	2-1
2. Mississippi HH	2-1
3. Memphis B.	2-1
4. Decatur CK	1-1
5. Tri-State	1-1
6. Cartersville W.	0-3

WBA Results for week #2.... -by David Archer

Miller

Stewart

Arnold

Spivey

The WBA continued with it's second weekend of games. So far the competition has been very balanced with all games being hotly contested.

Friday: 5/30/08 WBA Scores...

Memphis Blue Tornadoes 93 Mississippi Hardhats 89...

Memphis held off Mississippi to even its record at 1-1. The Hardhats slipped to 1-1 on the young season.

Decatur Court Kings 100 Buford Majic 92...

Magic: Roy Bright #23- 29pts, 4reb, Wayne Arnold (6'4''-G-84) #15- 20pts, 3reb, James St.Roberts #32- 19pts, 5reb
Both Roy Bright & James St.Roberts led Buford at the half with 14pts.
Court Kings: Anthony Miller (6'9''-C-71) #32- 31pts, 16reb, Al Stewart (5'10''-G-83) #10- 22pts, 7reb, Brandon Proby #1, 17pts, 3reb, 5/9 from 3pt range.
Anthony Miller led Decatur at the half with 14pts 9reb followed by Brandon Proby with 12pts, who was 4/7 from three point range at the half

1st qtr: Buford led 17-22, Half: Buford led 42-46, 3rd: Decatur led 75-63, Final Score: Decatur 100, Buford 92
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday: 5/31/08 WBA Scores...

Buford Majic 114 Tri-State Crusaders 89...
The Majic got back on the winning track with a relatively easy win over the Crusaders. Wayne Arnold exploded for 48 points in the Buford win, while B.J. Puckett also had 20 point. Buford moved to 2-1, while the Crusaders fell to 1-1.

Mississippi Hardhats 97 Cartersville Warriors 93...

After enduring a logistical nightmare and finally arriving at the correct venue, the Warriors fought hard but fell to the Hardhats on the road. The game was changed from Holly Springs (MS) to the campus of LeMoyne Owen College in Memphis, TN. The Hardhats improved to 2-1, as Cartersville is 0-2. Jermaine Spivey (6'3''-G-72) played well for the Warriors but could not push his team over the hump.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunday: 6/1/08 WBA Scores...

Memphis Blue Tornadoes 105 Cartersville Warriors 96...

The Tornadoes took advantage of a road weary Warriors squad. The Warriors, dropped to 0-3, while Memphis moved to 2-1. The Warriors, who have played all three games on the road to start the season, will finally play at home for the first time on Friday and Saturday.

Buford Majic @ Decatur Court Kings... (late)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game summaries will be posted shortly.

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

Women News

*****************************************************
BELARUS - Women

Belarus dominates Latvia in Riga -by Eurobasket News
Latvia - Belarus 66:71

Belarusian National team rolled past Latvia in friendly game played in Riga yesterday. Both teams are getting ready for the upcoming Olympic Qualifying tournament to be held n Madrid starting June 9. Latvia will play in Pool A together with Japan and Senegal. Belarus will fight for the Beijing tickets in Pool D alongside Chinese Taipei and Cuba.
The teams are tight now in the late preparatory stages for the event and never forced the issue in yesterday's game. The teams traded baskets early in the game playing a bit sloppy defensively. Belarus that played a couple of friendlies in Czech Republic previously found their rhythm faster and grabbed a 29:25 lead after one quarter of action. But Latvia kept it close and when tightened up defense in the second period managed to cut the gap to 2 points at halftime. However an inspirational performance from Anastasiya Verameyenka (191-C-87) allowed the visitors to spur ahead after the long intermission as they posted a 6-point lead heading into the final frame. And though Latvia dominated the paint and seemed dominant in the final period Belarus still got away with a road win. Anastasiya Verameyenka notched 18 points and 9 boards to lead the visitors. Olga Masilionene (181-F-80, agency: LBM Management) had 13 points, while Yelena Leuchanka (196-C-83, college: W.Virginia) tallied 10 points and 5 assists for the winners. Zane Tamane (194-C-83, college: W.Illinois) and Liene Jansone (188-F/C-81, college: Siena) scored 12 points apiece for Latvia. Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (176-F-83) had 9 points and 7 assists in defeat. Latvia outrebounded Belarus 35:22 but committed 17 turnovers and shot just 42% from the field. Belarus converted 45% of field goals including 43% from downtown. The teams will play again on Monday.

Latvia: Zane Tamane 12, Liene Jansone 12, Anete Jekabsone-Zogota 9
Belarus: Anastasiya Verameyenka 18, Olga Masilionene 13, Yelena Leuchanka 10

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

Zeljeznicar defends title! -by Sead Buljina
Zeljeznicar from Sarajevo is new/old champion of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In decisive game Zeljeznicar beat Mladi Krajisnik 80:78 on the road. Host neede a win by margin of victory of at least 19 points since they lost first game in Sarajevo. However, Zeljeznicar won both games and as undefeated wins another championship title. At the half guests from Sarajevo had a 9-point lead (42:33) and it seemed as if the game was decided by the half time. Mladi Krajisnik took the second place in the championship after winning the National Cup earlier this season. Zeljeznicar won the League 4 and whole championship with an impressive record of 24 wins and no losses.

*****************************************************
CANADA - Women

Acadia, Waterloo and St. Francis get new coaches -by Eurobasket News
The Acadia Axewomen got to know their new head coach. Bev Greenlaw was announced as the new head coach of the team yesterday. He will step up at the position in July. Bev Greenlaw has a wide coaching experience as he started his career in 1987 leading Nova Scotia to Gold Medals at the Canada Games. He then was at the helm of University of King's College and Dalhousie University. During his career, Greenlaw has been named National Coach of the Year by the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association, Sport Nova Scotia and Basketball Nova Scotia. In 2007, he coached Nova Scotia's Under 17 Girls Provincial team to a bronze medal at the Canada Basketball National Championships. Acadia finished the last season at 7-13 record and lost to Dalhousie in the Atlantic division quarterfinals.
Waterloo decided to announce Tyler Skipp as the new head coach for the Warriors team. Last season Tyler Skipp worked as assistant coach with the Simon Frazer University team. Previously he spent three years as an assistant coach with the University of New Brunswick. Tyler Skipp is due to start working with the Warriors on June 1. Waterloo completed the last season on a 12-10 record in the OUA West division. They then fell to McMaster in the OUA quarterfinals.
In the meantime St. Francis hired Matt Skinn as the new head coach for the X-Women team. Matt has been the head assistant coach of the University of Calgary Dinos men's basketball team for the past four years. Last season the Dinos were ranked second in the country. As a player Skinn played for the Cape Breton University team. Matt Skinn will succeed Brent Baker who has decided to take up a coaching job at the University of New Brunswick.

*****************************************************
LATVIA - Women

Belarus dominates Latvia in Riga -by Eurobasket News
Latvia - Belarus 66:71

Belarusian National team rolled past Latvia in friendly game played in Riga yesterday. Both teams are getting ready for the upcoming Olympic Qualifying tournament to be held n Madrid starting June 9. Latvia will play in Pool A together with Japan and Senegal. Belarus will fight for the Beijing tickets in Pool D alongside Chinese Taipei and Cuba.
The teams are tight now in the late preparatory stages for the event and never forced the issue in yesterday's game. The teams traded baskets early in the game playing a bit sloppy defensively. Belarus that played a couple of friendlies in Czech Republic previously found their rhythm faster and grabbed a 29:25 lead after one quarter of action. But Latvia kept it close and when tightened up defense in the second period managed to cut the gap to 2 points at halftime. However an inspirational performance from Anastasiya Verameyenka (191-C-87) allowed the visitors to spur ahead after the long intermission as they posted a 6-point lead heading into the final frame. And though Latvia dominated the paint and seemed dominant in the final period Belarus still got away with a road win. Anastasiya Verameyenka notched 18 points and 9 boards to lead the visitors. Olga Masilionene (181-F-80, agency: LBM Management) had 13 points, while Yelena Leuchanka (196-C-83, college: W.Virginia) tallied 10 points and 5 assists for the winners. Zane Tamane (194-C-83, college: W.Illinois) and Liene Jansone (188-F/C-81, college: Siena) scored 12 points apiece for Latvia. Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (176-F-83) had 9 points and 7 assists in defeat. Latvia outrebounded Belarus 35:22 but committed 17 turnovers and shot just 42% from the field. Belarus converted 45% of field goals including 43% from downtown. The teams will play again on Monday.

Latvia: Zane Tamane 12, Liene Jansone 12, Anete Jekabsone-Zogota 9
Belarus: Anastasiya Verameyenka 18, Olga Masilionene 13, Yelena Leuchanka 10

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NCAA1 - Women

California ends Africa tour on 3-0 record -by Eurobasket News
California University women's basketball team travelled to Africa to play three exhibition games in Tunisia and Senegal. The Golden Bears opened the tour in Tunisia against the local National team. Senior guard Alexis Gray-Lawson (5'8''-G-87) tallied 20 points, 8 boards and 6 assists for California as they edged the hosts 67:42 in the opening game of the tour. The game took place at the Monastir Gym and saw a tight battle early on. Rim Gannar put the home team ahead 8:7 midway through the first frame however the Golden Bears reacted immediately. Natasha Vital (5'7''-G-88) sparked a 13:0 run from the visitors with a three-pointer and California grabbed a comfortable lead. California extended the lead to 20 points at halftime 39:19. Alexis Gray-Lawson came up for the Golden Bears in the second half knocking down 3 trebles and allowing the visitors to cruise to an overall victory at the end. Lauren Grief scored 12 points, while Shantrell Sneed (6'0''-F) had 8 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Rim Gannar and Henda Chebli answered with 13 points apiece for Tunisia.
One day later California took Tunisia again. And once again it was Alexis Gray-Lawson who led the charge for the Golden Bears. She poured in 30 points to propel the Golden Bears for the second straight win 74:56. Gray-Lawson hit 7/9 from downtown and added 5 steals and 5 rebounds for the winners. Tunisia opened the game more confidently and held a 39:36 lead at halftime behind 15 points from Aida Soltani (-83). Gray-Lawson took the floor in the third period singlehandedly carrying the college team in front. She scored 11 unanswered points and the Golden Bears finished the third period up by 13 points. The visitors wisely kept Tunisia at bay in the final frame and secured their second win in Africa. Ashley Walker (6'1''-F-87) provided 13 points in a win. Aida Soltani answered with 15 points for Tunisia.
Finally California team moved to Dakar, Senegal where they faced Senegalese U20 National team. This time it was much more difficult test for the Golden Bears as they snatched a narrow 65:63 victory to complete the African tour undefeated. Natasha Vital netted 19 points to lead the visitors. Ashley Walker had 15 points, while Krista Foster contributed 14 points and 6 boards in a win.

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NEW ZEALAND - Women

Japan wear down New Zealand in Spain -by Eurobasket News
Japan - New Zealand 71:67

New Zealand suffered their second loss on the European tour when they were beaten by Japan at the Torneo Paterna in Spain. New Zealand will play three more games in Europe as the part of their built-up before the Olympic tournament in Beijing. Japan and New Zealand are now just one step away from each other in the world ranking as Japan seats at the 15th spot, while the Tall Ferns occupy the 16th. And the game showed their equality. Tall Ferns got to a slightly better start as they drove to a 22:20 lead after the starting frame. They stretched the advantage to as many as 9 points in the second period before giving the floor to Japan. The Asian powerhouse took over late in the second stanza to jump to a 34:33 lead at halftime. Tall Ferns scored only 9 points in the third period to enter the final period down by 5 points. And though the Kiwis were able to outscore Japan in the final frame they still lost the ballgame. Angela Marino (166-G-86) topscored with 18 points for the Kiwis. Jillian Harmon (185-F-87) knocked down 10 points in a losing effort. Tall Ferns shot only 34% from the field, while conceding 53%. New Zealand will now have a day of rest before taking on Angola in Madrid. Tall Ferns will wrap up their European tour against Czech Republic on June 4 and 5. Japan will play against Spain for the Torneo Paterna crown before taking part in Torneo Alcobendas together with Spain, Argentina and China.

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TUNISIA - Women

California ends Africa tour on 3-0 record -by Eurobasket News
California University women's basketball team travelled to Africa to play three exhibition games in Tunisia and Senegal. The Golden Bears opened the tour in Tunisia against the local National team. Senior guard Alexis Gray-Lawson (5'8''-G-87) tallied 20 points, 8 boards and 6 assists for California as they edged the hosts 67:42 in the opening game of the tour. The game took place at the Monastir Gym and saw a tight battle early on. Rim Gannar put the home team ahead 8:7 midway through the first frame however the Golden Bears reacted immediately. Natasha Vital (5'7''-G-88) sparked a 13:0 run from the visitors with a three-pointer and California grabbed a comfortable lead. California extended the lead to 20 points at halftime 39:19. Alexis Gray-Lawson came up for the Golden Bears in the second half knocking down 3 trebles and allowing the visitors to cruise to an overall victory at the end. Lauren Grief scored 12 points, while Shantrell Sneed (6'0''-F) had 8 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. Rim Gannar and Henda Chebli answered with 13 points apiece for Tunisia.
One day later California took Tunisia again. And once again it was Alexis Gray-Lawson who led the charge for the Golden Bears. She poured in 30 points to propel the Golden Bears for the second straight win 74:56. Gray-Lawson hit 7/9 from downtown and added 5 steals and 5 rebounds for the winners. Tunisia opened the game more confidently and held a 39:36 lead at halftime behind 15 points from Aida Soltani (-83). Gray-Lawson took the floor in the third period singlehandedly carrying the college team in front. She scored 11 unanswered points and the Golden Bears finished the third period up by 13 points. The visitors wisely kept Tunisia at bay in the final frame and secured their second win in Africa. Ashley Walker (6'1''-F-87) provided 13 points in a win. Aida Soltani answered with 15 points for Tunisia.
Finally California team moved to Dakar, Senegal where they faced Senegalese U20 National team. This time it was much more difficult test for the Golden Bears as they snatched a narrow 65:63 victory to complete the African tour undefeated. Natasha Vital netted 19 points to lead the visitors. Ashley Walker had 15 points, while Krista Foster contributed 14 points and 6 boards in a win.

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WNBA - Women

USA Olympic Team are being shaped -by Eurobasket News
USA Basketball announced the first nine members of the USA National Team that will represent the country at the Beijing Olympic Games this summer. Three more players will be named following the discussion of the USA Basketball Women's Senior National Team Committee. The final roster is due to be announced by July 1. The team is led by three-time Olympic champion Lisa Leslie (6'5''-C-72, college: USC) of the Los Angeles Sparks. She is accompanied by two-time Olympic champion Katie Smith (5'11''-G-74, college: Ohio St.) of the Detroit Shock. Other players named are Sue Bird (5'9''-G-80, college: Connecticut) of Seattle, Diana Taurasi (6'0''-G-82, college: Connecticut) of Phoenix, Tina Thompson (6'2''-F-75, agency: Merit Sports, college: USC) of Houston, Seimone Augustus (6'1''-G-84, college: LSU) of Minnesota, Sylvia Fowles (6'6''-C-85, college: LSU) from Chicago, Candace Parker (6'4''-F/C-86, college: Tennessee) of Los Angeles and Phoenix's Cappie Pondexter (5'9''-G-83, college: Rutgers). The USA team celebrated the Olympic Games title for three consecutive times. Lisa Leslie and Katie Smith also won two World championships with the USA team. Augustus, Pondexter, Smith, Parker, Thompson and Bird all played for the USA team during the 2007 FIBA Americas tournament. The team won the tournament posting a 5-0 record and earning the only direct ticket to the Olympic Games.
The USA team will play in Pool B in Beijing. They will be opposed by hosting China, Mali, New Zealand and two teams that are going to be selected during the Olympic Qualifying tournament to be held later this month. The Olympic basketball tournament is scheduled to tip off on August 9. The USA played at the Good Luck Beijing tournament in April losing to China in the Final game and registering 4-1 record.

Turn of Fortune's wheel -by Eurobasket News
Just a year ago the Phoenix Mercury were the best team in the league. They deservedly won the WNBA crown looking dominant at the scene. The Minnesota Lynx struggled at the bottom of the ladder missing the postseason. Now one year after the things changed drastically. The Lynx held off the Phoenix Mercury 94:83 yesterday to send the reigning champions to a woeful 0-4 record. The hosts in the meantime improved to 4-0 record at the start of the season. Seimone Augustus (6'1''-G-84, college: LSU) knocked down 22 points to lead the Lynx. Minnesota's rookies looked impressive as Charde Houston (6'1''-F-86, college: Connecticut) came up with 18 points and 13 boards, while Candice Wiggins added 17 points and 12 assists for the winners. Houston and Wiggins teamed up for 16 points in the fourth term when the Mercury kept it close to ensure the winning outcome for the hosts. Cappie Pondexter (5'9''-G-83, college: Rutgers) answered with game-high 31 points for the visitors. Diana Taurasi netted 17 points and Tangela Smith contributed 14 points and 10 boards in a loss.
The Detroit Shock overcame the Indiana Fever 74:65 at the Conseco Fieldhouse. The Shock relied on a 13:0 run late in the third and early in the fourth term to run away for good. Katie Smith (5'11''-G-74, college: Ohio St.) poured in 19 points to lead the charge for Detroit. Elaine Powell contributed 14 points for the winners as they improved to 5-1 record. Tan White answered with 14 points for the Fever. Hoffman had 12 points in a losing effort.
Candace Parker (6'4''-F/C-86, college: Tennessee) registered her third double-double at the pro level leading the Los Angeles Sparks past the Washington Mystics 70:59 in the capital. The visitors enjoyed a 16-point lead in the third period before wasting it all and trailing by 1 midway through the fourth stanza. But the Sparks came back to life late in regulation and capped the game with an 18:6 run to snatch victory. Candace Parker finished with 15 points and 11 boards for the winners. Lisa Leslie (6'5''-C-72, college: USC) topscored with 17 points for the Sparks. Monique Currie (6'0''-G/F-83, agency: Ronsport, college: Duke) replied with 15 points for the Mystics as they fell to 2-3 record.

Standings

WNBA Eastern Standings

1. Detroit S.	5-1
2. Minnesota L.	4-0
3. Seattle S.	4-1
4. Connect. S.	4-1
5. L.Angeles S.	3-1
6. Indiana F.	3-2
7. S.Antonio SS	2-2
8. Sacram. M.	2-3
9. Washingt. M.	2-3
10. Chicago Sky	1-2
11. New York L.	1-3
12. Charlotte S.	0-0
13. Houston C.	0-4
14. Phoenix M.	0-4