Eurobasket Daily News Report: 6/25/2008

EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 6/25/2008

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Men News

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ARGENTINA

TNA: first movements - by Facundo Iatzky

As most of teams of Liga A are finishing their rosters, now the teams of second division start to sign players. These are the news:

Argentino junin: signed Leonardo Peralta (205-C-85) and Santiago Scala
Central Entrerriano: signed Sebastian Pardal (202-C-81), Sebastian Farias, Maximiliano Riolfo, Jose Luis Melchiori and Lucas Arn (194-G-89)
Ciclista juninense: hired Hernan Laginestra as head coach
Firmat FC: hired Mario Guzman as head coach.
La union: signed Leandro Portillo (185-G-85), Ariel Pau, javier Caceres, Rafael costa and Nathaniel Green (198-F-79, college: Dayton)
San Martin Corrietes: signed Lucas Gornatti (185-G-82), Luciano Rivero and Alejandro coronel
San Martin Marcos Juarez: signed Mauro Bulchi (203-C-83)
Union sunchales: signed Jorge Toriano, Miguel Isola, Gaston Luchino, Jorge Toriano, Mario Sepulveda (200-F-77) and Facundo Brizuela

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BELGIUM

Liege Transfer News - by Peter Buyse

Liege Basket has signed American guard Jamar Wilson (185-G-84, college: Albany) for the coming season.
It is the 4th player added to the 2008-2009 roster for Liege, others are Will Thomas, Larry Owens and Xavier Colette.
Wilson who played for Verviers-Pepinster this past season averaged 17.6 ppg, 3.0 apg and 2.2 rpg.
His 17.8 points ranked him 4th in the league.
The 2007-2008 season was his first overseas after leaving Albany as 2 time conference player of the year.

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BERMUDAS

Paget Bear Cats will play against St. George International in the Final - by Eurobasket News
The Bermuda leagues favorites Paget Bear Cats advanced to the championship game following their win in the semifinal. There the top seed faced Hamilton Tsunamis. The game was an evenly matched contest throughout the action. But the regular season MVP Chris Crumpler (-83) was the one to prove the difference. His impressive tally of 41 points allowed the Bear Cats to celebrate a tough 78:66 victory at the end. Shawn Palmer and Jonathan Noseworthy provided 16 points apiece for the Tsunamis.
Meanwhile another semifinal battle saw St. George International taking on Smiths Wild Cats. The game was also a tight affair with the outcome unknown till the final minutes. But St. George International were just little more accurate in the dying stages to pull away with a 79:68 win. John Lugo topscored with 29 points for the International. Steven Simons (-82) replied with game-high 31 points for the Wild Cats. So the Final game of the Premier Division is scheduled for Saturday at the MSA Gymnasium. The teams met once in the regular season. Paget Bear Cats claimed a 64:53 win in that clash. Chris Crumpler was impressive in the encounter with 34 points and 6 assists. So the question remains if the St. George International would be able to keep Crumpler quiet.

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BULGARIA

Aleksandar Todorov is the new coach of Rilski Sportist - by Valentin Anguelov
Macedonian Aleksandar Todorov is the new head coach of Rilski Sportist, according to the team's official website. The young specialist signed a contract with the team from Samokov.

Todorov is born on July 17th 1973 in Skopje. He starts his career as an assistant in MZT Skopje in 2000. In 2001 he is head coach of KK Kumanovo, and after that he is two years in a row in Vardar Skopje. He has also coached Fon Struga and Chukurova University in Turkey. Last season he starts in MZT Skopje, but he leaves during the season. From 2002 Todorov is vicepresident of the coaches' association in Macedonia.

Todorov was head coach of the U16 National Team in 1998 and assistant in the U20 formation in 2000 and 2001. He has also been an assistant coach in the men's NT from 1999 to 2002 and last summer with Jovica Arsic.

'Aleksandar Todorov is the new head coach of the men's team, but he will also be connected with the youth teams,' said executive director Borislav Chilingirov. 'Our goal is that next season we play in BIBL, and be one of the top Bulgarian clubs.'

Petko Delev is leaving, after his contract expired.

Nenad Canak stays in Lukoil for the new season - by Valentin Anguelov
Serbian Nenad Canak (204-F-76, agency: Beo Basket) will play for Lukoil Academic one more year, after the club and the player reacehd an agreement and signed a contract. Canak played good last season, as he was back-up for Pero Antic at the power forward.

Last year the Serbian came to Lukoil Academic after spending two seasons with ALBA Berlin.

'Canak is one of our best players. He is really valuable. Without shining, he helped the team a lot. We are happy that he will stay with us for another season, because we are sure that he will help us with his experience' Sasho Vezenkov said.

Nenad Canak was born on the 24th of April in 1976. He starts his career in Partizan in 1992, where he plays two years. After that from 1996 to 1999 he is in Spartak Subotica, and in the summer of 1999 he returns to Partizan. Canak stays there until 2003, as the team plays in the Adriatic League and in the Euroleague.

In 2003 he goes to Vojvodina, and next season he transfers to Makedonikos. He moved to Alba Berilin in 2005.

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CHILE

The chilean NT win "Copa Carranza" - by Daniel Valencia
Once again the NT gave us a surprise. On monday night, the team coached by Daniel Allende defeated Uruguay 75-74, recovering from a 10 point deficit to win 'Copa Carranza', just one week before the start of the SouthAmerican championship. On sunday night was Brazil, today was Uruguay, showing that the preparation that started in february is giving results. Once again the scoring leader for the NT was the center Patricio Briones (213-C-72), with 32 points in the night, but Erik Carrasco was the star with the last shoot that gave Chile the victory. In the game for the third place, Argentina defeated Brazil 85-70.

Chile 75 - Uruguay 74
Chi: Patricio Briones 32 pts. Evandro Arteaga (178-G-83) 18 pts.
Uru: Esteban Batista (208-F/C-83) 13 pts. Mauricio Aguiar (199-F-83) 10 pts.

Argentina 85 - Brazil 70
Arg: Paolo Quinteros (185-G-79) 33 pts. Roman Gonzalez (211-C-78) 10 pts.
Bra: Caio Torres 12 pts. Andre Luiz 10 pts.

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CHINA

Yi Scores 26 as China Defeats Lithuania 110-92 - by Arthur Volbert
Yi Jianlian scored 26 points in 26 minutes and grabbed 5 rebounds as China defeated the Lithuanian B team 110-92. Li Nan (198-F-76) also had an excellent game with 17 points on 5 of 5 shooting, also hitting all 4 free throws. But Zhu Fangyu had 14 points, hitting all 3 shots and 7 of 8 free throws, showing why he will start ahead of Li Nan.

Sun Yue had his best game of the pre-Olympic competition. He scored 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting and had 6 assists to 1 turnover in 20 minutes. I always thought that he might be slow to recover from a season playing against opponents with suspect competitive intensity in Singapore. So maybe he is finally beginning to realize the potential which caused him to be a second-round NBA pick. We'll see.

Zhang Qingpeng played well with 12 points on 4 for 4 shooting in 18 minutes. It is still possible that he could beat out Chen Jianghua as a small reserve combo guard. Wang Lei once again did nothing and seems even farther from earning a spot on the team. Zhou Peng again also did nothing to suggest that he should be seriously considered. Li Xiaoxu did not play again and may be hurt. Zhang Kai had a bad game, showing the inconsistency of inexperience, which is why he is most likely to only earn a seat at the end of the bench.

Wang Zhizhi had 16 points and 4 rebounds and looks like he will get all his minutes rather than yielding many to Zhang Kai.

China used 14 players. Liu Wei, Li Xiaoxu and Yao Ming did not play.

Box Score:
http://cba.sports.sina.com.cn/look_scores.php?m_id=2061
The columns, in order, are name, uniform number, starter, minutes, field goals attempted-made, three-pointers attempted-made, free throws attempted-made, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds, assists, fouls, steals, turnovers, blocks,?, ?, ?, total points

China---- 30 29 23 28 110
Lithuania 24 31 19 18 92

Yi Jianlian 11 26min+26+5r+3s+2bl, Wang Zhizhi 14 21min+16p+4r+2s, Wang Shipeng 7 16min+6p+4r+2a, Zhu Fangyu 8 20min+14p+1r+1a+1s+1bl, Zhang Qingpeng 17 18min+12p(4-4), Du Feng 15 13min+7p+2r+2a++1s+1bl+5fl, Chen Jianghua 16 4min+1a+3fl, Wang Lei 19 10min+1a+3to, Zhou Peng 21 4min+1r, Zhang Kai 2min+1r+3fl+1to, Sun Yue 9 20min+12p(4-5)+1r+6a+1s+1to, Li Nan 10 16min+17p(5-5)+2r+1a, Liu Xiaoyu 10min+1r+2a+1s+1to, Ding Jinhui 13min+2r+1a+3fl

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EUROBASKET SUMMER LEAGUE

Eurobasket Summer League 2008 at the start - by Darryl Reshaw
The first edition of Eurobasket Summer League (ESL) is about to start. The initial season is a combination of four camps located in Chicago (June 26-28), Las Vegas (July 8-10), New York City (July 19-20) and Salt Lake City (July 24-26). There is number of players with international experience as well as number of coaches from various pro leagues attending the event. It seems that Eurobasket Summer League could become one of the leading summer events in the U.S.A. in the years to come. The ESL is aimed on the players, who look for pro contracts overseas and in pro / semipro leagues in the States.
Just Chicago event will gather the group of players with strong experience from France, Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Colombia, Puerto Rico and various pro leagues in the States.

The list of players attending the first ESL camp in Chicago:

Name	07-08 Team	07-08 stats	College	Awards
Diego Aguiar (6'7'-F-83)	Unerlandia (Brasil)	14ppg; 7rpg	NSU
Tyrone Anderson (6'4''-G-84)	Pittsburgh Xplosion (IBL)	12ppg; 5rpg	Concord University	CBA All Rookie Team NCAA II All American '07
Marcus Arnold (6'8''-F-84)	N/A, Univ. of Illinois '07	2.0ppg, 1.3rpg (07)	Univ. of Illinois	NCAA Finalist -05
Junior Austin (6'4''-G-81)	Texas Redhawks (TPBL)	18ppg	Philander Smith Coll.	All Conference; Defensive Player of the Year
Terry Ayers (6'3''-G-83)	Crossroads College	14ppg; 6rpg	Crossroads College	NAIC All Conference
Daniel Bandy (5'10''-G-84)	Missouri-Ozarks	19ppg, 4apg	Missouri-Ozarks	MCAC Player of the Year -08 NAIA Player of the Year Nominee -08
Giani Bearden (6'2'-G)	Chicago Rockstars (ABA)	N/A	N/A
Elzie Bibbs (6'4''-G/F-82)	Holland Blast (IBL)	11ppg; 5rpg	Ferris State	Adidas Big Time Tournament
Demarius Bolds (6'3''-G-83)	St.Louis Stunners (ABA)	N/A	Missouri Western	All-MIAA 1st Team -06
Courtney Bradley (6'5''-F-83)	JL Bourg (France)	17ppg	Jacksonville State	All OVC 1st Team - 07 All Newcomers Team
Lawrence Brooks (6'4''-G-84)	Jamestown	17ppg; 5rpg	Jamestown	NAIA All American Honorable Mention
Danny Brown (6'4''-G-84)	St Louis university	7ppg; 3rpg	St Louis university
Dshon Cannon (5'10''-G-84)	Cal State-Monterey Bay	16ppg; 4apg	Cal St-Monterey Bay	2008 All CCAA 1st Team NABC All West 2nd Team
Brian Carter (6'4'-F-82)	N/A	N/A	Lewis Univ. '06	All-Conference
Maurice Carter (6'3''-G-74)	Twin City Ballers (ABA)	29ppg; 8rpg	Brandon Univ. (CAN)	All-Canadian 2nd Team, Irish passport
Kevin Chester (6'8''-C-84)	Nova Southeastern	13ppg; 7rpg	Nova Southeastern	Nova SE Male Sportsmanship Award -08
Brent Cowles (6'1''-G-84)	USA Team Select	13ppg; 7rpg	Livingstone Coll.	All Conference- Livingstone College
Dane Cruz (5'9''-G-86)	Doane College	19ppg, 4apg	Doane College	NAIA All-American HM -08; 1st Team GPAC -08
Jermaine Dailey (6'7''-F-86)	Illinois-Chicago	6ppg, 5rpg	Illinois-Chicago
Alex Davenport (6'5''-G-85)	Fort Hayes State	13ppg; 6rpg	Fort Hayes State
Yannick Driesen (7'1''-C-88)	Estudiantes (Spain)	13ppg; 6rpg	Belgian Passport	NBA Prospect 2009 Belgium National Team
Olalekan Esho (6'3''-G-79)	San Francisco Rumble (ABA)	16ppg: 8rpg	Rust College	ABA Quarterfinals
Jeremy File (6'1''-G-84)	Holland Blast (IBL)	15ppg; 5apg	Spring Arbor	MAC Champions NCAA Berth -04
Brian Filyes (6'5'-F-84)	Moody Bible	16ppg, 6rpg	Moody Bible	NCCAA DII Honorable Mention all-American -07
Stephan Flucker (6'5'-F-86)	Lane College	21ppg, 8rpg	Lane College	All SIAC Conference; First Team All American
Peter Gecelovsky (6'10''-F/C-80)	Semi-Pro (Canada)	12ppg; 12rpg	Northern Michigan
Maurice Gibbs (6'2''-G-85)	UAB (06-07)	6ppg; 3rpg	Alabama Birmingham
Jessan Gray (6'10''-F-84)	Vacallo (Switzerland)	N/A	Iowa St.
Patrick Grayson (6'0''-G-82)	ETSU	N/A	ETSU
Lantrice Green (6'3''-G-83)	Halifax Rainmen (ABA)	14ppg; 5apg	Virginia Union	NCAA Division 2 National Championship
John Griffin--
Keith Hampton (6'6''-G/F-80)	Twin City Ballers (ABA)	19ppg	St. Francis Xavier	All ABA - 2nd Team 2007
Joel Haviland (6'8''-G/F-83)	Frase Valley	11ppg; 6rpg	Frase Valley	Led Canada in scoring in 2007-08
Jeremy Hinkle (6'4''-G-78)	N/A - former USBL	N/A	Oklahoma St.	2 yrs in USBL and 1 yr in Mexico
Leonard Houston (6'3''-G-85)	Drake University	14ppg; 5rpg	Drake University	All-MVC 2nd Team -08
Che Jangki (5'8''-G)	Basketball Acad. (JPN)	30ppg; 6apg	Kyushu Intl College (JPN)
Edward James (6'1''-G-86)	Malcolm X College	11ppg, 4apg	Malcolm X College	Defensive Player of the Year
David Johnson (6'4''-G-85)	SE Missouri St.	4.7ppg, 3.3rpg	SE Missouri St.	JUCO All-region and all-conference -05
Justin Johnson (6'8''-F-83)	St.Louis Stunners (ABA)	14ppg, 10rpg	St.Louis Univ.
David Jordan (6'2''-G-82)	Atlanta Vision (ABA)	N/A	Tennesse - Martin
Marcus King-Stockton (6'9''-F-85)	University of Colorado	3ppg; 3rpg	Univ. of Colorado	6th All Time Block leader in Colorado history
Kyle Lamonte (6'3''-G-84)	William Carey University	20ppg; 5rpg	William Carey Univ.y	Conference Player of the Week
Jordan Lear (6'7''-F-86)	Tusculum	18ppg; 7rpg	Tusculum	All-SAC 2nd Team -08
Emmanuel Little (6'5''-F-85)	University of North Dakota	17ppg; 9rpg	Univ. of North Dakota	All NCC 1st Team; NCC Player of the Week
John Little (5'11''-G-84)	Peoria Kings (ABA)	7ppg; 2apg	Northern Iowa	MVC Tournament Semifinals
Reo Logan (6'11''-C-81)	East Kentucky Miners (CBA)	5.8ppg, 4.7rpg	Georgia St.	All-WBA 2nd Team -07
Mike Lytle (6'7''-G-83)	Bryan College	7ppg; 9apg	Bryan College	Lead NAIA in Asssits per game
Matt Martin (6'2''-G-85)	University of Montana	11ppg; 3apg	Univ. of Montana	All Big Sky Tournament Team
Jeffrey Mayi (6'7''-F-84)	Manatee College	9ppg; 4rpg	Manatee College	French nationality
Jimmie Miles (6'2''-G)	Chicago Throwbacks (PBL)	17ppg, 3PT-1(48.4%)	Valparaiso	NAIA D1 Final Four -07
Tyler Moretto (6'2''-G-86)	Robert Morris	18ppg; 5apg	Robert Morris	NAIA All American - 3yrs
Andre Muse (6'5''-G-86)	Quincy	18ppg; 5rpg; 3apg	Quincy	All-GLVC 1st Team -08
Jermel Nelson (6'4''-G-81)	Indiana Northwest (2005)	N/A	Indiana Northwest	N/A
Corey Niles (6'3''-G-86)	Toronto Eels (Canada)	37ppg; 8rpg	Soth Alabama	Canadian National Team Canadian Dunk Champion
Ryosuke Nozawa (5'10''-G-82)	Los Angeles (IBL)	5ppg, 3apg	Hawaii-Hilo	All Japanese Team in High school
Fred Oguns (6'7''-G/F-82)	Western Illinois (06-07)	13ppg; 5rpg (06)	Western Illinois	Nigerian Jr National Team Member
Michael Rembert (6'9''-C-84)	Southeast Missouri State	7ppg; 7rpg	SE Missouri St.	USA Preseason OVC Player of the Year
Matt Salley (6'7''-F-86)	Bradley Univ.	6.1ppg, 6.7rpg	Bradley Univ.	MVC Tournament Semifinals -07
Tyler Sickmeyer (6'6'-F-84)	Lincoln Christian '07	N/A	Lincoln Christian	All-Conference
Roddrick Smith (6'4''-G-81)	US Academy Pro Camp	N/A	Houston Baptist Univ,	Houston Undertakers (ABL)
Vangelo Smith (6'4''-G-84)	Arkansas- Pine Bluff	7ppg; 3rpg	Arkansas - Pine Bluff	SWAC All Defense Team
Eugene Seals (6'7''-F-82)	Battle Creek Knights (IBL)	15ppg; 7rppg	Miami-Ohio	IBL Champion
Chip Sodemann (6'0''-G-83)	Washington Generals	N/A	Truman State	Honorable Mention All Conference
Mark Stovall (6'6''-F-84)	Alcaldia de Tunja (Col.)	10ppg; 4rpg	McKendree	All-AMWC Team -07
J.J. Tauai (6'3''-G-85)	Bradley University (06-07)	7ppg; 4rpg - 07		NCAA Sweet 16
Stanley Thomas (6'3''-G-80)	Chicago Throwbacks (PBL)	21ppg; 4rpg	Robert Morris Coll.	All PBL Team
Florentino Valencia (6'5''-F-85)	Baymon Vaqers (P.Rico)	9ppg; 4rpg	University of Toledo	All MAC Honorable Mention - 2006-07
Eric Vierneisel (6'7''-F-85)	University of California	6ppg; 4rpg	Univ. of California	Pac-10 Tournament Finalist
Jason Warren (6'8''-F-83)	Chicago Throwbacks (PBL)	11ppg; 5rpg	Missouri Western	All-MIAA Honorable Mention -06
Brandon Watkins (6'0''-G-81)	Elgin Racers (IBL)	20ppg	Penn State	IBL All Star Game -05
Jontee Willhite (6'1''-G-86)	E.Illinois	7.1ppg, 3.8rpg	E.Illinois
Jimmy Williams (6'5''-F-86)	Alderson Broaddus	15ppg; 8rpg	Alderson Broaddus	WVIAC -All Confernece WVIAC All Tournament
Ervin Youmans (5'11''-G-85)	University of North Dakota	15ppg; 3apg	Univ. of North Dakota	NCC Player of the Week
Jerrah Young (6'7''-F-85)	University of Toledo	11ppg; 7rpg	University of Toledo

There are still some places available for the camps in Las Vegas (July 8-10), New York City (July 19-20) and Salt Lake City (July 24-26). You can apply on http://www.eurobasket.com/summer-league/basketball.asp

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FRANCE

France U18 team plays a string of exhibition games - by Eurobasket News
French Junior National team is getting fit for the upcoming European championship. The tournament is due to be held in Greece starting July 25. France were selected into preliminary Group C together with Ukraine, Germany and Russia. They will tip off the campaign against Germany on July 25.
With less than a month left till the event French youngsters are getting fit with a number of friendly games. Recently they played three exhibition encounters. They opened the last weeks action against Germany. The future opponents in Group C of the European championship turned out stronger claiming a narrow 75:66 win at the end. French juniors were paced by 17 points from Alexis Tanghe (207-F/C-90). Andrew Albicy (178-G-90) and Jonathan Bourhis (182-G-90) netted 13 points apiece in a losing case.
The losing skid continued for France one day later. They faced Croatia and suffered yet another defeat. Croatian team got to a braver start as they accumulated a 40:29 lead at halftime. France struggled to adjust their offense and were easily held off 47:80 at the end. Andrew Albicy provided 13 points for French team. Alexis Tanghe secured 10 points in a loss.
Finally France grabbed their initial victory as they outgunned Latvia 85:54. They limited their opponents to just 14 first-half points to maintain a 16-point buffer at the main change. Alexis Tanghe had a pivotal night for French U18 side as they kept Latvia at bay in the second half. Jonathan Bourhis and Sanchez scored 12 points apiece for France.

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GERMANY

Vid Zarkovic is the new Point Guard in Iserlohn - by Daniel Poerschke
The NOMA Iserlohn Kangaroos of the 1. Regionalliga West announced today, that Vid Zarkovic (185-G-75, agency: Global Sports Plaza) will be their new Point Guard for the upcoming season. Zarkovic was the dream-player of Head Coach Dragan Torbica, who knows the player from Serbia for a couple of years already. The new Point Guard has vast experience on the european top level (ULEP Cup and Euroleague), as he played in the first leagues of Slovenia, Hungary, Belgium and Czech Republic before.

Braunschweig signs Wisconsin-guard - by Moritz Korff
The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig (1. Bundesliga) added Michael Flowers (188-G-86, agency: CAA Sports) to the roster for the 2008-09 season. The 21-year-old Guard played college-basketball at the University of Wisconsin and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 with the Badgers earlier this year. He appeared in 36 games during his senior-season and produced the following statistics: 9.6ppg, 3.9rpg, 2.7apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 44.6%, 3Pts: 41.2%, FT: 70.4%. In 2007 Flowers was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.

Goldsberry moves from Quakenbrueck to Bamberg - by Moritz Korff

John Goldsberry (191-G-82, agency: Pro One Sports, college: NC-Wilmington) will follow Coach Chris Fleming from Quakenbrueck to Bamberg and suit up for the Brose Baskets in the next two years. Goldsberry started his professional career in Leverkusen and joined the Artland Dragons for the 2007-08 campaign. He scored 7.8 points, handed out 4.0 assists, grabbed 1.6 rebounds and snagged 1.4 steals in 38 Bundesliga-games for the Dragons in this past season. Goldsberry helped the Quakenbrueck-team to its first ever title and was a starter when the Dragons defeated Ludwigsburg in the final game of the German Cup-competition.

Meanwhile, German U20-international Karsten Tadda (190-G-88) received contract-extension for one year and will also keep playing for Bamberg's cooperation-team TSV Breitenguessbach in the 2. Bundesliga Pro B. Team captain Chris Ensminger (209-C-73, college: Valparaiso), who played for Bamberg since 2001 and was named the Eurobasket.com Bundesliga Center of the Year in 2003 and 2005, did not receive a new contract and will probably leave the team.

Markus Zilch new coach in Freiburg - by Moritz Korff
Markus Zilch has been named new Head Coach of USC Freiburg (2. Bundesliga Pro B), as announced by the club today. Until 2005 Zilch worked several years for ETB SW Essen in the 2. Bundesliga and then took the head coaching-job at Macabido Oberwart Gunners of the Austrian Bundesliga. In 2007-08 Zilch was standing at the helm of the Duesseldorf Magics and led the team to a 10th place in the 2. Bundesliga Pro A.

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GREECE

Panathinaikos announced Drew Nicholas - by Simon Varvakis
Panathinaikos Athens announced the acquisition of Drew Nicholas (191-G-81, college: Maryland) via the team's official website. Drew Nicholas will be a player for the 'greens' for the next 2-years and will be one of the import players of Panathinaikos Athens Athens. The announcement is very simple and it just says that Nicholas will be a player of Panathinaikos Athens for the next 2 years.

Drew Nicholas is one of the best scorers in the Euroleague. These are his stats in the season 2007-2008:
2007-2008: Efes Pilsen Istanbul (Turkey-TBL, starting five)
Euroleague: 14 games: 16.5ppg, 3.0rpg, 2.9apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 52.4%, 3PT: 35.3%, FT: 72.9%, released in Feb.'08
Turkish League: 16 games: 12.7ppg, 3.0rpg, 3.8apg, 2FGP: 46.9%, 3PT: 46.7%, FT: 65.5%

Drew Nicholas was released by Efes Pilsen in February because he didn't follow the team to Belgrade to play against Partizan. The reason for that was because the american embassy warned him not to go, the area was unsafe for american citizens.

Drew Nicholas was also the leading scorer of the Euroleague 2005-2006 playing for Benetton.
Euroleague: 20 games: Score-1(18.4ppg), 2.7rpg, 2.7apg, 2FGP: 50.4%, 3PT: 45.6%, FT: 82.6%

Panathinaikos announced Antonis Fotsis - by Simon Varvakis
Panathinaikos Athens announced today via the team's official website the acquisition of Antonis Fotsis (210-F-81) with a new 3-year contract. Antonis Fotsis is returning to the team that he started his professional career. After a short period in the NBA where he played 28 games for the Memphis Grizzlies he returned to Panathinaikos Athens but then signed a 3-year contract with Real Madrid. After 2 years in Madrid he went to Russia where he played for Dynamo Moscow.

Antonis Fotsis is one of the first greeks to go to the NBA and also a vital member of the Greek Men's National Team.

These are his stats from last year:
2007-2008: Dynamo Moscow (Russia-A Superleague, starting five): ULEB Cup: 17 games: 10.3ppg, 6.2rpg, 1.0apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 59.4%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 80%; Russian League: 24 games: 9.8ppg, 6.1rpg, Blocks-2(1.1bpg), 2FGP: 51.7%, 3PT: 34.1%, FT: 82.8%

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HUNGARY

Market news - by Tamas Deri
ZTE KK signed hungarian big man, Zoltan Trepak (210-C-77, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) for two years. The 31 years old center spent the last two seasons in Nyiregyhaza, where he was a key-bench-player averaging 5.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 15 minutes per game.
The management of ZTE KK published also the signing of experienced coach and scouter Imre Patonay also for two years! Patonay was a player and coach in Kormend, used to be the coach of our national team, but after the change of the management in Kormend in the summer 2007 he left his hometown and worked for the second division team in Budaors. Now, he is back to the highest league, but to the one of the biggest rival of his hometown!

The management of Albacomp had some great news for the fans: the point guard of our NT, Balazs Simon (188-G-80, agency: Court Side) resigned with them and also the experienced big man, Henrik Gobi (206-C-71, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) will be back! The management is working hard on signings of the foreigners for the next season!

The biggest sensation of the last days is the signing of Kornel Varadi (198-G-87, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) by Szolnok! One of the best hungarian young prospects is leaving his hometown and try to make better stats in hoping of a big deal somewhere in Europe!

B Division awards 2007/08 - by Balazs Radics
Player of the Year - Gabor Toth (196-F-78, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) (Debrecen)
Guard of the Year - Artur Puskas (190-G-76) (Elite)
Forward of the Year - Gabor Toth (Debrecen)
Center of the Year - Joe Kennerly (204-C/F-84, agency: Passing Lane, college: Cent.Oklahoma) (Debrecen)
Most Improved Player of the Year - Balint Agfalvi (199-F-85) (Baja)
Coach of the Year - Karoly Walke (Debrecen)

1st Team

Artur Puskas (190cm, 1976, G) of Elite (20 ppg, 8 rpg, 7 apg)
Peter Farago (182-G-84) (188cm, 1984, G) of Veszprem (17 ppg, 3 rpg)
Gabor Toth (196cm, 1978, F) of Debrecen (19 ppg, 6 rpg)
Daniel Koma (201-F-79) (200cm, 1979, F/C) of Flextronics (24 ppg, 7 rpg)
Joe Kennerly (205cm, 1984, C) of Debrecen (20 ppg, 9 rpg)

2nd Team

Gabor Javorszki (188-G-77) (187 cm, 1977, G) of Tiszaujvaros (18 ppg, 4 rpg, 3 apg)
Tamas Sebok (191-G-77) (191cm, 1977, G) of Kaszasok (21 ppg, 6 rpg, 4 apg)
Balint Agfalvi (199cm, 1985, F) of Baja (26 ppg, 8 rpg, 3 apg)
Gergely Hegedus (198-F-83) (198cm, 1983, F) of Veszprem (19 ppg, 5 rpg)
Gordan Filipovics (203-C-65) (203cm, 1965, C) of Melo Diak (20 ppg, 14 rpg)

Honorable Mentions

Arnold Csaplar-Nagy (212cm, 1977, C) of SMAFC (18 ppg, 11 rpg)
Malick Lo El Hadji (206cm, 1976, C) of Jaszbereny (18 ppg, 11 rpg)
Attila Farkas (208cm, 1987, F/C) of Nagykallo (28 ppg, 10 rpg)
Balazs Kollar (182cm, 1982, G) of Elite (23 ppg, 4 apg)
Peter Kovacs (189cm, 1988, G) of Baja (16 ppg, 5 rpg)
Jozsef Lekli (206cm, 1987, F) of Univer (16 ppg, 8 rpg)
Tamas Hidi (189cm, 1979, G) of Fehervar (24 ppg)
Attila Lukacs (185cm, 1981, G) of Bonyhad (23 ppg, 5 rpg, 3apg)
Mate Karoly (190cm, 1981, G) of Budafok (22 ppg, 6 rpg, 3 apg)
Balazs Szabo (198cm, 1980, C) of Kanizsa (19 ppg, 10 rpg)
Miklos Bovanovics (200cm, 1978, F/C) of Veszprem (15 ppg, 5 rpg)
Gabor Gombas (200cm, 1985, F) of SMAFC (16 ppg, 8 rpg, 4 apg)
Attila Kovacs (203cm, 1985, F) of Budaors/Szedeak (18 ppg, 8 rpg)

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INDIA

Punjab lifts Sub Jr National Boys title - by Anil Kumar
Punjab and Chhattisgarh successfully defended the boys and girls titles respectively in the 35th National sub-junior basketball championship at the Sainik School courts, here on Saturday.
at Kaprthala in Punjab.

Punjab boys dominated the proceedings against Delhi and won 43-36.

In the girls final, Saranjeet Kaur was the star as she slotted 26 points to help Chhattisgarh score a 60-31 triumph over Uttar Pradesh.

The scores: Boys: Final: Punjab 43 bt Delhi 36.

Third place: Uttar Pradesh 48 (Aman Singh 12) bt Chhattisgarh 44 (Vijay Pratap Singh 16, Murali 14).

Girls: Final: Chhattisgarh 60 (Saranjeet Kaur 26, Sangeeta 10) bt Uttar Pradesh 31 (Sweta 15).

Third place: Tamil Nadu 42 (Shiny Prasanna 15, Suganya 10) bt Jharkhand 25 (Aditi Tudu 10).

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IRAN

Standings - Superleague

Superleague Standings

1. Mahram	20-2
2. Saba	18-4
3. Zob Ahan	16-6
4. Kaveh	15-7
5. Pardis	13-9
6. Petrochimi	12-10
7. BEEM	11-11
8. Ararat	9-13
9. Gorgan	7-15
10. Gol-e Gohar	5-17
11. Azad	4-18
12. Tarbiat B.SK	1-21

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ISRAEL

Market News - by tamar goldman
The new addition to the Super league, Givat Shmuel started its preparation to the up coming season and three Israelis were signed in the beginning of the week. The first one is Itay Greenboim (193-G-85, agency: Avi Zilberman), a 23 years old guard that spent the last season in the second Div. with Givat Shmuel. His debut in the First Div. was in Ramat Gan where he played for two seasons. The second one to sign in Givat Shmuel is Ezequiel Skverer (188-G-89) the 19 years old guard that grew up in Maccabi Tel Avivs Youth Section. The last addition is another kid from Maccabis Youth Section - Anton Shutvin.
Erez Katz (191-G-80, agency: Interperformances), signed a new contract with Bnei Hasharon and will start his third year in the club. Ben Reis (196-F-90) He too from Maccabi Tel Aviv Youth Section also signed with Bnie Hasharon

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ITALY

Morris Finley to Siena - by Stefano Pini
Montepaschi Siena, to stay at the top, announced the deal with Morris Finley

(180-G-81, college: UAB) for three years. The pointguard was impressive last season at Rieti and was appreciated for his quickness and his ability to score (20.3 ppg). Morris' arrival could mean that Terrell McIntyre (175-G-77, college: Clemson) will travel abroad (Barcelona?). Also Cant had an important sign: Herve Toure

(202-F-82, agency: ACMT), the forward that in 2008 gave a precise identity to Tisettanta with 11,7 points and 6,7 rebounds per game.

Lega2 - Market news - by Gabriele Fioretti
After the other big sign of Alex Bougaieff (208-C-77, agency: Passing Lane) by Venezia, the team managed by former point guard Casarin is looking for a small forward and rumours talks about an interest on Andrea Ghiacci (200-G/F-81). The forward could interest also to Reggio Emilia and Casale, that is looking for a young italian power forward: Tommaso Fantoni (203-F-85, agency: Players Group) and Joel Zacchetti (209-C/F-82), but also the old guy Francesco Foiera (207-C-75, agency: Interperformances) could be the solution for the '4-5' spot. Guido Rosselli (196-G-83), Fiorello Toppo (198-F/C-80) and former guard from Fabriano Alessandro Infanti (191-G-85) are the targets of Pistoia. Jesi is scared about Michele Maggioli (212-C-77): the italian center could receive an offer from Teramo, where had just announced former coach of Jesi Andrea Capobianco and are trying to sign David Moss (196-F-83, agency: SportsTalent, college: Indiana St.). Also another forward from Legadue could go in Serie A: rumours talks about Omar Thomas (195-F-82, college: UTEP) from Rimini. The sign announced today is Nkechi Ezugwu (203-C-76, agency: World Sport Agency, college: E.Michigan) that will play next season at Sassari, team that had announced to agreed terms with Valeriano D'Orta as assistant coach of Demis Cavina.

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JAPAN

Standings - JBL

JBL Standings

1. Aishin	26-9
2. Toyota	21-14
3. OSG	20-15
4. Panasonic	18-17
5. Mitsubishi	18-17
6. Hitachi S.	16-19
7. Toshiba	13-22
8. Hokkaido	8-27

JBL2 Standings

1. Chiba	15-1
2. Toyota Tsusho	14-2
3. Tochigi Brex	13-3
4. Ishikawa	8-8
5. Hitachi C.B.	6-10
6. Toyoda Gosei	5-11
7. Kuroda Electric	4-12
8. Aisin AW	4-12
9. Tokyo Marine	3-13

Standings - BJ League

BJ League Standings

1. Evessa	30-13
2. Five Arrows	29-14
3. 89ers	29-14
4. Apache	26-17
5. Albirex	26-17
6. Broncos	21-22
7. Fukuoka	20-24
8. Heat Devils	19-24
9. Golden Kings	10-34
10. Grouses	6-37

Stats Leaders - JBL Superleague

JBL Pro Superleague Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Estill OSG 24.88
Williams HOK 24.69
O'Bannon TOY 24.17
Hawkins OSG 23.50
Klette PAN 20.97

Rebounds Per Game

Estill OSG 16.03
Custis PAN 12.49
Cornell HIT 12.06
Newton HOK 10.97
Smith TOS 10.71

Assists Per Game

Hawkins OSG 7.53
Campbell TOY 6.17
Custis PAN 4.60
Sakurai HOK 4.06
Kashiwakura MIT 4.03

Steals Per Game

Hawkins OSG 2.29
Honeycutt MIT 2.26
Kashiwagi AIS 2.21
Custis PAN 2.09
O'Bannon TOY 1.57

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KAZAKHSTAN

Standings - D2

D2 Standings

1. Kazygurt	20-1
2. BK Bars	19-2
3. Tobol-2	12-9
4. Barsy-2	11-10
5. Almaty A-A	8-13
6. Kaspiy Aktau	8-13
7. Irtysh	4-17
8. TSM-2	2-19

Stats Leaders

Standings -D1

D1 Standings

1. BK Almaty	16-4
2. Ast.Tigers	14-6
3. TSM Kapsh.	10-10
4. Tobol	9-11
5. Barsy Atyrau	1-19

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KUWAIT

Standings

D1 Standings

1. Al Kuwait	18-0
2. Al Jahraa	13-5
3. Al Qadsia	13-5
4. Al Arabi	12-6
5. Al Sahel	10-8
6. Kazma	9-9
7. An Nasr	9-9
8. Al Yarmook	3-15
9. Al Tadhamon	3-15
10. Sulaibikhat	0-18

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LEBANON

Standings - Division A

Div.A Standings

1. Al Riyadi	14-0
2. Moutahed	11-3
3. Sagesse	9-5
4. Blue Stars	6-8
5. Feytroun	5-9
6. Champville	5-9
7. Antranik	5-9
8. Anibal	1-13

Standings - Div.1

Div.1 Standings

1. Tebnine	17-1
2. Antonins	16-3
3. Kahraba	15-4
4. ENB	14-6
5. Tadamon	11-8
6. Homenetmen	10-9
7. Club Central	9-11
8. Army	7-13
9. Animation	5-14
10. St.Georges	4-15
11. Ghazir	4-15
12. Anoubine	1-14

Stats Leaders - Men

Div.A Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

1 J.Merrill, Champ 25.4
2 Aaron Haynes 24
3 D.Kelly, Moutah 22
4 N.Nolan,Moutah 21.3
5 W.Brown,B.Stars 20.2

Rebounds Per Game

1 A.Haynes, Feyt. 17.8
2 L.Malloy,Antranik 14.7
3 J.Merrill, Champ 12.3
4 J.Bell, B.Stars 12.3
5 K.Jhonson, Sag 10.9

Assists Per Game

1 D.Kelly, Moutah 7.7
2 S. Khouri , Sag 6.3
3 G.Badawi, Antranik 6.1
4 I. Ahmad, Riyadi 6.1
5 A.Haynes, Feyt. 5.8

Steals Per Game

1 D.Kelly, Moutah 3.3
2 E.Estephan,Champ 3
3 Gh.Reda, Champ 2.7

Blocks Per Game

1 A.Haynes, Feyt. 2.2
2 J. Vogel, Riyadi 1.7
3 L.Malloy,Antranik 1.4

2FGP

1 Mneimneh,Riyadi. 67.4
2 K.Jhonson, Sag 66.2
3 J. Ghattas , Sag 61.5

3FGP

1 Eskidjian ,Antran 50
2 N.Nolan,Moutah 44
3 J. Murr , B. Stars 42.9

Free Throws

1 A.Haynes, Feyt. 82.8
2 J. Vogel, Riyadi 81.8
3 K.Jhonson, Sag 78.4

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MEXICO

Joshua Reisman Returns to the LNBP but with Which Team - by Justin Brink

Joshua Reisman (188-G-82, agency: Huss Sport Agency, college: Gonzaga) is hangin' in L.A. for the summer putting on a few lb's (nearly 20) and beefing up his offensive repertoire. It's likely the exposive combo guard (1/2) will be back in Mexico plying his wares for the LNBP, what's unclear is for which team he'll be doing it for. Reisman averaged nearly 14 points a game last year in his rookie season for the Panteras of Aguascalientes but his rights are owned by the Halcones of Cordoba which means they could determine where he ends up as of July 31st, opening day for the LNBP.

Read on below for an interview by the LNBP of Reisman that was published by the league last week. The translation into English was completed by En Fuego Hoops which is where you can also see Reisman's pre LNBP profile.

Translated by EFH, interview by Roberto Alvarez of the LNBP Press During last season in the LNBP, there were many rookies in the league that gave us a lot to talk about. In the case of the Panteras of Aguascalientes, Joshua Reisman succeeded in winning over fans of this city with his talents on the court and his humility off of it. Joshua is currently in Los Angeles preparing himself for his return to the LNBP next season. The dynamic guard gave us a few minutes to interview him, this is what he commented to us... The complete interview can be read here.

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MONTENEGRO

NT U21 start preparation in Cetinje - by Dragan Scepanovic
Montenegrin basketball National Team start preparation for EC group A in city of Cetinje.Head coach of NT U21 Mr. Dejan Radonjic with assistant Dragan Radovic on first traning work with Kastratovic,Gajovic,Vranjes,Pavlicevic,Djokovic(BC Niksic), Bjelic,Djurisic,Vujosevic,Djelosevic(Mornar Bar),Ivanovic,Lalic,Lutrsek(BC Lovcen), Sehovic,Bjelica (BC Buducnost),Milatovic (BC Danilovgrad), Ljujuc (BC Jedinstvo).Tomorrow will arrived Vladimir Dasic (Buducnost),Radovic (BC Mornar Bar) and from Italy Stijepovic and Kavaric. Because of injury in Cetinje do not arrived Sturanovic from BC Niksic

NT U21 head coach Dejan Radonjic until today was head coach of BC Buducnost Podgorica and U21 team in EC group B were NT of Montenegro was best team. Before starting coaching Radonjic was very successful basketball player in BC Lovcen , BC Buducnost Podgorica,Profikolor , FMP Belgrade and BC Vojvodina N.Sad.In last two basketball season he was best coach in Montenegro.With Basketball Club Buducnost he win in two championship 2007 and 2008 , in two MNT Cup 2007 and 2008 in ABA League in season 5th place and in season 2008 5th place.In season 2008 in uLEB cup have score 8-4 (1/8 Final)

Head Coach of MNT U18 NT announced names of basketball players for preparation - by Dragan Scepanovic
Member of U18 NT of Montenegro :

Milos Lopicic (213-C-90) BC Lovcen
Petar Stojanovic (185-G-90) BC Lovcen
Filip Barovic (205-F-90) BC Niksic
Bojan Dubljevic BC Nksic
Milos Kuveljic (195-G/F-91) BC Niksic
Nikola Ljujic BC Buducnost
Milorad Sutulovic BC Buducnost
Stefan Vulevic (190-G-90) - BC Mornar Bar
Mihailo Sekulovic BC Mornar Bar
Vladimir Mihailovic (193-G-90) BC Mornar Bar
Nemanja Radovic BC Mornar Bar
Amar Abaspahic BC Rudar Pljevlja
Vladimir Bulatovic BC Ibar
Slobodan Miljanic BC Primorje H. Novi
Milos Rajovic BC Sutomore
Stevan Lazovic BC Bari Italy
Filip Patkovic - BC Vojvodina N. Sad -Serbia
Igor Bilic - BC Partizan Belgrade- Srbija
Nedeljko Bogdanovic (187-G-90) BC Hemofarm Vrsac - Srbija
Marko Loncovic (200-F-91) BC Crvena zvezda Belgrade - Srbija

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NBA

Team USA announced - by Eurobasket News
The USA Team for the Olympic Games in Beijing was announced on Monday. Mike Krzyzewski will steer a 12-player roster during a highly ambitious Beijing campaign. Last Olympic Games turned into a third-place finish for the USA but now the expectations are higher. The selected team consists of the NBA superstars and the aim is only winning. The leagues MVP Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) will pace the team trying to sweeten the bitter end of the NBA season. Moreover Kobe Bryant will have plenty of help from his teammates. Dwyane Wade (6'4''-G-82, college: Marquette), Jason Kidd (6'4''-G-73, college: California), Chris Paul (6'0''-G-85, college: Wake Forest), Deron Williams (6'3''-G-84, college: Illinois) and Michael Redd (6'6''-G-79, college: Ohio St.) will comprise the backcourt for the team. Carmelo Anthony (6'8''-F-84, college: Syracuse), LeBron James (6'8''-F-84), Tayshaun Prince (6'9''-F-80, college: Kentucky) and Carlos Boozer (6'10''-F/C-80, college: Duke) will be forwards on the squad. Finally Chris Bosh (6'11''-F-84, college: Georgia Tech) and Dwight Howard (6'10''-F-85) will make up for the USA frontcourt. The roster was selected based on no trails. The team will meet this week in Las Vegas for a minicamp. Then the USA team will play a friendly game versus Canada before leaving for China. The USA tips off the Olympic Games against China on August 10.
The last Olympic Games campaign was not far from being successful. The USA team lost to Puerto Rico, Argentina and Lithuania in Athens going for 5-3 overall record. However the stakes are at maximum for the team now. The USA got into preliminary Pool B together with Angola, Spain and China. Two more teams will be known after the Olympic Qualifying tournament in July.

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PHILIPPINES

PBA Fiesta Cup Results - by Lorenzo Gahol

McCaskill

David

Benson

Helterbrand

June 13 (Fri) Cuneta Astrodome
Sta. Lucia 74 Magnolia 80
MGM: Amal McCaskill (211-F/C-73) 16 pts, 18 rebs
SLR: Benson 19 pts, 17 rebs, 2 blks

Air21 112 Talk N Text 111
A21: Gary David (187-G/F-78) 25 pts, Thomas 23 pts
TNT: Leather 29 pts, 12 rebs

June 15 (Sun) Araneta Coliseum
Coca-Cola 84 Ginebra 91
BGK: Anthony Helterbrand (183-G-76) 27 pts, Caguioa 14 pts
CCT: Copeland 18 pts, Catli 18 pts, Belasco 18 pts

Red Bull 91 Purefoods 93
PG: James Yap (190-F/G-82) 25 pts
RBB: Baguio 24 pts

June 18 (Wed) Araneta Coliseum
Welcoat 87 Air21 91
A21: Thomas 29 pts, 13 rebs
WD: Gainous 34 pts, 9 rebs

Alaska 75 Sta. Lucia 95
SLR: Lee Benson (208-F/C-73) 22 pts, 28 rebs
AA: Holcomb 16 pts, 8 rebs

June 20 (Fri) Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay
Purefoods 101 Talk N Text 102
TNT: Terrence Leather (206-C-81, college: S.Florida) 39 pts, 22 rebs, 3 blks
PG: Rhalimi 21 pts, 15 rebs, 3 blks

Magnolia 81 Coca-Cola 77
MBM: Tugade 14 pts, Pena 13 pts
CCT: Catli 17 pts

Sunday's games postponed due to typhoon Fengshen

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ROMANIA

Pogonaru to be named head coach of Dinamo Bucharest - by Adrian Popa
Valentin Pogonaru is in poll position to be the new head coach of Dinamo Bucharest in the 2008-2009 season. An official source from the club says the technical staff will be completed by Stojadin Markovic, assistant coach and Alexandru Vinereanu, technical director.

Valentin Pogonaru said for www.halfcourt.info web site: 'Yes I have discussed with the general manager this possibility, to take over the team, and a final decision will be taken soon. Pogonaru was the assistant coach last season, under Alexandru Vinereanu and was also named by the Romanian Basketball Federation head coach of U18 National Team.
Pogonaru, 44, is a former national team member and he started his coaching career in 1998-1999 season when he was still a player. He took Erbasu Bucuresti from second league to the first league as head coach and player and next season he stayed with the club as assistant coach and player.

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

RUSSIA

Spartak Saint Petersburg sings Andrew Wisniewski - by Eurobasket News
Spartak SP agreed on terms of the contract with guard Andrew Wisniewski (191-G-81, college: Centenary). Wisniewski spent the last season playing in Ural Great. He averaged 15.7 points and 5.1 assists per game in Russian Superleague. He also played in the EuroCup with the Perm outfit. There his average stats reached 10.4 points and 4.3 assists per game. Wisniewski is Centenary graduate. In his senior year in NCAA he scored 21.9 points and dished out 4.3 assists per game. He later had stints with Crvena Zvezda, Udine and Bonn.
Meanwhile Ural Great can lose one more player. Some sources reported that centre Aleksander Bashminov (213-C-78) would not extend his contract after six years in Perm.
In the meantime Triumph officially confirmed the signing of Turkish point guard Kerem Tunceri (190-G-79). The 29-year-old guard stayed in Spain last season playing for Real Madrid. There he averaged 6.7 points and 1.9 assists per game in ACB league. He came up with 7.6 points and 2.6 assists per appearance in Euroleague. Tunceri started his career in Galatasaray where he played for 5 seasons before moving to Efes Pilsen. After four years in Efes Kerem Tunceri sparked in Besiktas and Ulker. In 2006 he decided to continue his career in Spain and joined Real Madrid. Tunceri played for Turkish National team in World Championship in Indianapolis and the European Championship in Belgrade.
Unics bolster their squad with the addition of guard Evgeni Voronov (192-G-86). The 22-year-old played for Samara last season. There he averaged 10.4 points per game.

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SERBIA

Nenad Canak extends contract with Lukoil Akademik - by Zoran Popovic
After very good season Nenad Canak (204-F-76, agency: Beo Basket) extends contract with Bulgarian champion PBC Lukoil Akademik Sophia. Contract is signed on one year. In the last season Canak won National championship title and National Cup with PBC Lukoil Akademik Sophia and scored 11.3Pts, 3.9Reb, 1.7Ast per game in national league and 8.1ppg, 3.8rpg in ULEB Cup.

Before PBC Lukoil Akademik Sophia Canak played for Partizan, Spartak Subotica, BC Vojvodina, Makedonikos Kozani and ALBA Berlin. With Partizan he won National Cup and National championship 2002 and Bundesliga Cup winner 2006. with ALBA Berlin.

Vukoicic new head coach of Oostende - by Zoran Popovic
Serbian coach Vlada Vukoicic signed one year contract with Telindus BC Oostende. In season 2007-2008 in Serbia Vukoicic started season as a head coach of FMP Zeleznik Beograd, but in January 2008 he resigned. In March 2008 he took KK Hemofarm Stada Vrsac to the end of the season and played with them final game of Adriatic league and final of Serbian play-off.

Vukoicic was head coach of FMP Zeleznik Beograd from 2005 and with them he won Adriatic league 2006, Serbian national Cup (Radivoj Korac) 2007. He was assistant coach of Serbia and Montenegro national team 2006. Adriatic league assigned him as a coach of the season 2006.

MVP rewards for Ilic and Pekovc - by Zoran Popovic
Nikola Ilic (207-C/F-85) (207-C/F-85) Borac Cacak will get reward of MVP Swisslion Superleague and Nikola Pekovic (210-C-86, agency: Beo Basket) Partizan Igokea, will get the same reward for the MVP of Serbian play-off 2008. The best shooter in Serbian league is Zoran Erceg (211-C/F-85), which will share reward for the best deffence player with Goran Bajic (207-C-83) BC Vojvodina. Omar Cook (186-G-82, college: St.John's) from Crvena Zvezda will get reward as a best assistant in league. Winning 7th consecutive title Dusko Vujosevic will get reward as the best coach in Serbian league.

Rewards will be assigned in Thursday, June 26th, in Serbian basketball association

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SEYCHELLES

Premium Cobras, HotShots lead at halfway stage - by Carlos Pereira
PREMIUM COBRAS (Mens Division One) and HotShots (Womens League) are in the lead at the halfway stage of their championships.

The Cobras, who did not look like championship material especially after easily losing 59-71 to Baya brought themselves back into contention with a come-from-behind 89-86 win against defending champions PLS Hawks.
On this occasion, their go-to guy Nigerian Alao Solomon scored a season-leading 52 points to bring Premium Cobras points tally to 17.
Coach Guy Halls team thus lead the Hawks on the head-to-head rule as the reigning champions also boast 17 points after brushing aside Bayas challenge in an 87-78 win last Saturday at the Palais des Sports.
Reigning basketballer of the year, Ugandan Stephen Omony came off the bench to score a game-high 18 points in his first match of the season after returning from his homeland only last Thursday.
Its going to be interesting to see Omony square up against Solomon in the second-round fixture, and already PLS Hawks coach Tony Juliette has said the match is going to be a cracker.
On Sunday, Angels beat Razors 86-75 to shoot to fifth place in the standings with 14 points.
On holiday from China where he is studying, Steven Servina showed he has lost none of his scoring abilities with a game-high 34 points, including five 3-pointers.
Interestingly this year, Mens Division One matches will be played on Praslin and the first game is slated for Saturday July 19. Premium Cobras will travel to Praslin to face Praslin Warriors at the Grand Anse court.
This is a good opportunity for Praslinois to see some of the countrys best teams and players in action.

In the Womens League, HotShots havent put a foot wrong in five matches and they have a maximum 10 points.
Losers to HotShots on a 46-57 score in the first-round match-up, defending champs Anse Etoile Stars consolidated second place with nine points after beating bottom side Juniors 109-19 on Sunday.
The Stars had six players scoring in double figures skipper Simone Malbrook (24 points), Lucia Souffe (16), Georgia Dsir (16), Dynah Louis (13), Karil Thlermont (10) and Jennifer Bonne (10).
As for Juniors, they were led in scoring by Samia Asba with 10 points.
In the Mens Division Two, RA Herons walked over Fire Brigade.

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SLOVENIA

Slovan inks Grkovic and target Macek, Venta moves to Nymburk - by Zeljko Zule

Geoplin Slovan inked CAN-CRO Dejan Grkovic (203-F-84, college: NC-Wilmington) ex Rogla for the upcoming season with renewal for optional additional one year and is very close to Andrej Macek (183-G-83) ex Zlatorog.

Matej Venta (187-G-84) ex Geofin Novy Jicin signed for Czech champion Nymburk.

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SOUTH KOREA

(149 players) Registered For The KBL Pre-Draft Tryout Camp - by Rick Ross
The Korean Basketball League will hold its annual Pre-Draft Camp
JULY 17TH tHRU JULY 19TH AT Bishop Gorman High School (�Z 702-871-0096)
2730 S. Rancho Las Vegas, NV 89102,

The KBL Has narrowed its list from 604 seekers to 149 Invite's,
Eurobasket doesn't take any responsibility for the list provided and is only
Providing a Shared knowledege of the KBL'S intent to inform the Viewing public and
The Global World of its 2008 Pre-Draft Camp Invite's.

Congratulations and Good Luck to all The Participants..........!
Coach Ross Rick

Please feel free to contact the KBL if you have any further question or Visit
http://www.kbl.or.kr/

Jung-bong Kim
Tel : 82-2-2106-3052
Fax : 82-2-2106-3094
Korean Basketball League / Operation Department

Agbai Uka-Akins Tony-Alexander Chris-Allen Justin-Allen Steve-Aubry Jeff
Bailey Corey-Bangura Alpha-Barlow David-Bassette Reggie-Bell Chad-Blair Jason
Blair Tyrelle-Blanks Lakeith-Boggans Marb-Bowen Justin-Boykin Ruben-Bradford Steffon
Bramlett Aaron-Brand Micah-Brock Evan-Broxsie Antoine-Bryant Marlyn-Burgess Samuel

Camara Babacar-Carmona Alejandro-Chenowith Eric-Chitwood Calvin-Clack Kris
Cole Brandon-Collins Deangelo-Coly Boubacar-Cotton Schea-Cowan Jaz-CunninghamⅡ Ray
Daniels Robert-Davis Quincy-Drafts Trenton-Drayton E.J-Dunston Bryant-Edwards Bryan
Elisma Eddie-Elliot Rodney-Ellis Chris-Fairley Thomas-Fall allan-Fey Michael-Figueroa Angel

Fox Isaiah-Freeman-McKamey Duke-Fuqua Elbert-Garnett Chris-Goodwin Josh-Green Nathan
Harper Brian-Harris Darrell-Haynes AAron-Haywood Curtis-Hazekton Scott-Holden Jamal
Hunter Terrance-Hyman Antoine-Ibrahim Sani-Jackson Christopher-Jackson James-Johnson Anthony
Johnson Ivan-Johnson Justin-Johnson Kevin-Joiner Michael-Jolly Bruce-Jones Jonathan

Keep Jason-Kelley Mark-Kirkland Armein-Knight William(Billy)-Langhi Dan-Larkai Dzaflo
Lauderdale Priest-Leach George-Linton Orion-Little Donald-Louis Corey-Lucas David-Lugo Richard
Matthews Bryant-McCoy Lennox-McLean Alex-Merrill Jarred-Minnifield Corey-Morris Toree
Nicholson Yemi-Oden John-Okafor Patrick-Parham Ashely-Patterson Andre-Payne Lavell-Peters James
Phillips Marvin-Phillips Sullivan-Pippen Williams-Pointer Sidney-Powell Ricardo-Pruitt Shaun
Randle Ryan-Richard Ja Ja-Robinson Brian-Robinson Kevin

Sasser Jason-Scott Akeem-Smith Jabari-Smith Jason-Smith Karim-Smith(Guruci)Leon-Smith Marvin
Sneed Dillion-Stallworth Albert-Stiemsma Greg-Summers Robert-Tayor Terrell-Thomas Harvey
Thomas Steve-Thompson Garnett-Thorton Damon-Tuck Mack-Vann Christopher-Victor Cuthbert
Wells Isaac-Wilkins Anthony-William Tarvis-Williams Curtis-Williams Demetrius-Williams Jermaine
Young Korleone-Tischer Lucas-Smith Jonathan........

VETERAN Players 2007 KBL
Blankson Odartey-Carmelo Lee-Crump Brandon-Cummings TJ-Mitchell Carl
Session Marcus-Shannon Terrence-Thomas Victor-Warner Calvin-Wrenn Douglas
Young Keena

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TANZANIA

Inter-Cities Basketball Opens - by Carlos Pereira
by Majuto Omary

Dar es Salaam city basketball team 'The Dream Team' meet Kampala in the tenth edition of the Inter-Cities tourney's opener at the National Indoor Stadium today.
Basketball Dar es Salaam (BD) information officer Michael Maluwe said yesterday that the match takes off 16.00 hours .
All preparations for the tournament are over and Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Membe is expected to grace the opening ceremony, he stated.
The opening match will be preceded by the opening ceremony at 14.00.
The Kampala basketball team had already arrived in Dar while teams from Nairobi, Jinja and Mombasa were expected to arrive late yesterday.
Other teams to feature in the tournament are Mwanza, Mbeya, Arusha, Zanzibar, Addis Ababa, Kigali, Lumbumbashi and Mogadishu.
The fixture for the ladies teams is expected to be released today, with teams from Dar es Salaam, Mombasa, Kampala and Nairobi confirming to compete.
Uniliver is the main sponsor of the tourney through its detergent brand, Omo.

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VENEZUELA

Here we go Venezuela! - by Wolfgang Lucena
The Venezuela Basketball Federation showed to the media, the 2008 Senior National Team.
After many days wondering about the participation of, Hector Romero, Richard Lugo and Greivis Vasquez with the renovated national team of Venezuela The also new head coach Nelson Solrzano wrote down the name of the twelve players whom are going to represent us in the 2008 South American of nations at Port Montt, Chile, between 1st until the 6th of July

Point Guard
Carlos Cedeno (193-G/F-85,)
Two Guards
Jesus Centeno (190-G-85), Rafael Guevara (194-F-79), Rafael Perez (185-G-82,).
Shooting Guard
Oscar Torres (195-F/G-76,captain), Jose Vargas (196-G/F-82,).
Power Forward
Luis Julio (199-F-80), Axiers Sucre (198-F-78,).
Centers
Roque Osorio (206-C-76,), Miguel Angel Marriaga (207-C-84), Luis Bethelmy (200-C-86,) Amber Marin (208-C-81,)
Head Coach
Nelson Solrzano.
Assistants
Carl Herrera , Gustavo Garcia.
Lets hope the best for our nation in the new era of the Vinotinto.

Here we go family!

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Women News

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ADRIATIC L. (W) - Women

Englert and Evotukhovitch moves to France - by Zeljko Zule

Orsolya Englert (170-G-80) has left Croatian team Gospic to join Reims.
Slovenian champion Merkur Celje re-signed Iva Ciglar (170-G-85) and Milijana Evtoukhovitch (190-C-81) has left Slovenian champion to join Villeneuve d'Ascq.

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AUSTRALIA - Women

Lithuania U18 wins exhibition tournament in France - by Eurobasket News
Lithuania U18 - Australia U18 90:59

Lithuanian U18 National team grabbed the Gold medals at the Reze international friendly tournament in France. Lithuania toppled Australia in the title decider. The game started slowly with the teams keeping it close. Lithuanian youngsters drove to a 15:14 lead after the opening stanza. The complexion of the game hardly changed in the second term and the Gems drew things level at 34 at the interval. However Lithuanian team capitalized on the size and physical strength of their players. The European team jumped ahead and opened a double-digit lead soon. A couple of three-pointers from Lithuanian team allowed them to enjoy a 60:47 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. The Gems obviously ran out of steam in the final minutes and Lithuania breezed to an overall victory at the end. Marina Solopova (178-G-90) topscored with 28 points for Lithuanian team. Aurime Rinkeviciute (180-F/G-90) had 23 points, while Egle Siksniute (193-F-91) had 22 points and 9 boards for the winners. Kate Gaze (172-G-90) answered with 15 points for the Gems. Stephanie Cumming secured 10 points in a losing effort. Lithuania converted solid 57% from the field. They also shot 35 free throws, while allowing the Gems to go to charity stripes just 8 times. The Gems and Lithuania will have three days off before tipping off another friendly tournament in France. This time they will play in Fougeres together with France, Romania and Turkey.

Lithuania U18: Marina Solopova 28, Aurime Rinkeviciute 23, Egle Siksniute 22
Australia U18: Kate Gaze 15, Stephanie Cumming 10

Australia goes 2-0 against Russia - by Eurobasket News
Australia - Russia 68:51

Australia celebrated the second straight win over Russia in exhibition series in Brunico, Italy. Once again the Opals had to overcome a sloppy start to deliver after the long break. Russian team jumped to an early lead as they accounted for the first seven points in the encounter. But the Opals adjusted pretty quickly and managed to pull away with a 19:15 lead after the opening stanza. The teams kept it close in the second frame with neither side able to clear off. Russia surged back in front and enjoyed a 31:29 advantage at halftime. But the things changed radically in the third period. A stiff defense from the Opals limited the European champions to just 6 third-quarter points. Australia fired 18 and piled up a comfortable 10-point cushion before the fourth term. Russia did not recover in the final period and suffered the second loss in a row. Suzy Batkovic (193-C-80) led the Opals with 13 points and 6 boards. Rohanee Cox (182-F-80) nailed 11 points for the winners. Marina Karpunina (180-F-84) and Marina Kuzina (195-C-85) had 12 points apiece for Russian team. Marina Kuzina also added 8 boards in a losing effort. The third game of the series is scheduled for today in Brunico.

Australia: Suzy Batkovic 13, Rohanee Cox 11
Russia: Marina Karpunina 12, Marina Kuzina 12

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FINLAND - Women

SM-SARJA: Espoo Team signs new players - by Rauno Hurmalainen
Watch out! Espoo (Basket) Team will be tough next season. Team has signed three new players recently. Susanna Rinta (176-G-79), who helped PeKa (Kotka) last
season to Finnish Championship, will play next on Espoo Team roster. Rinta played last season 39 games averaging 13,9 ppg and 3,3 rpg.
After winning two Finnish Championships (2007, 2008) at PeKa (Kotka) American F Ashley Haynes (176-G/F-84, college: Austin Peay St.) has decided to return again back to Finland. There was a bunch of Finnish teams after Haynes who chose Espoo Team for her new team. Also Haynes played 39 games last season and averaged 17,2 ppg - 11,0 rpg. Espoo Team has found and signed also a new American F. Whitney Allen (180-F-85) will start her international playing career in Espoo and Finland. Allen comes from George Washington University, where she averaged as a Sr 8,5 ppg - 6,3 rpg. Espoo Team's new Head Coach is Ilpo Rantanen .

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FRANCE - Women

French U20 team grabs three victories in a row - by Eurobasket News
French U20 team prepare for the upcoming European championship. The vent will take place in Italy from July 11 to 20. France will play in preliminary Group A alongside Serbia, Italy and Germany. French U20 team played three teams as the part of build up for the tournament. France opened the series against Germany in Bourg-en-Bresse. The hosts dominated right from the start leading by as many as 17 points at halftime. Germany never recovered in the second half and France celebrated an easy 83:61 victory. Lorraine Lokoka (184-C-89) ensured the winning outcome with 17 points. Cata-Chitiga dropped 16 points, while Carine Paul (176-F-88) had 10 in a win.
Next French U20 squad met with Turkish counterparts. This time it was stifling defense that helped France to hold off their opponents. The home side limited Turkey to just 15 points in the first half building an 18-point buffer at the long break. France controlled the tempo in the second half and posted another comfortable 69:43 victory. Ingrid Tanqueray (164-G-88) nailed 15 points for French team. Lorraine Lokoka had 11 points and Carine Paul provided 10 for the winners.
France rounded up their campaign with the game against Czech Republic. And once again the hosts left no chance for the opponents. Ana-Maria Cata-Chitiga (191-C-89) and Lorraine Lokoka canned 13 points apiece and France celebrated a 70:55 success. Carine Paul delivered 12 points in a winning effort.

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ITALY - Women

Italy U20 wins Coconuda Cup - by Eurobasket News
Italian U20 National team is gearing up before the European championship. The event will take place in Italy from July 11 to 20. Italy continued their build-up at the international tournament Coconuda Cup. The tourney was held in Ponticelli, Italy and invited Israeli, Romanian U20 squads alongside Selection Campania.
Italy tipped off the tournament with the clash versus Israel. The hosts posted their dominance right from the start outscoring the Israeli counterparts 19:11 in the starting frame. Italian team stretched the gap to 17 points at halftime and never looked back. They eased past their opponents finalized a massive 74:45 victory at the end. Giulia Gatti (168-G-89) led the winners with 14 points. Elisa Templari (172-G-89) had 13 points, while Emilia Bove (185-C-88) nailed 10 as Italy gained their first win.
Later Italy faced Selection Campania and drove to a stunning 95:43 success. The teams were well matched early on as the scoreline read 17 apiece at the first intermission. But Italian youngsters raised the tempo in the second term to outgun Campania 29:8 and built an unassailable lead at halftime. They cruised in the second half and grabbed the second consecutive win at the tourney. Elisa Templari and Enrica Pavia (173-G-89) delivered 14 points each to pace Italy U20. Sabrina Cinili (185-F-89) and Valeria Battisodo (175-G-88) dropped 10 apiece for the winning side.
Italian U20 team remained perfect and clinched the title on the third day of action. They beat Romania 68:65 in overtime to maintain their spotless record. Italy piled up a comfortable 10-point cushion before the final period but Romanian team refused to surrender and tied it at 58 at the end of regulation. Italy however proved strength in the extra term claiming their third successful outing at the Coconuda Cup. Chiara Rossi (170-G-88) led the charge with 22 points. Arianna Zampieri (182-F-88) and Elisa Templari notched 9 points each for the winners.

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JAPAN - Women

Standings - JBL Women

JBL Standings

1. Red Wave	17-4
2. Sunflowers	15-6
3. V-Magic	14-7
4. Antelopes	13-8
5. Rabbits	12-9
6. Iris	3-18
7. Squirrels	0-0
8. Koalas	0-0

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KAZAKHSTAN - Women

Standings - Women

D1 Standings

1. Okzhetpes	7-0
2. Astana T.	6-1
3. Barsy Atyr.	5-2
4. Okzhetpes-2	4-3
5. Kustanay	3-4
6. MKTU	2-5
7. Astana T.-2	1-6
8. BK Almaty	0-7

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LEBANON - Women

Standings - Women League

Premier League Standings

1. Antranik	12-0
2. Al Riyadi	10-2
3. Homentmen A.	8-4
4. Champville	5-7
5. Blue Stars	3-9
6. Anibal	3-9
7. Homentmen B.	1-11
8. Byblos	0-0

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LITHUANIA - Women

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MONTENEGRO - Women

MNT U21 win against BC K.Nuovo in frendly game 97-41 - by Dragan Scepanovic
Basketball NT U21 win in friendly game against Basketball Club Kastel Nuovo membere of MNT1A League in city of Cetinje 97-41 (23-13,29-5,21-20,26-6).In NT of Montenegro best was Snezana Aleksic (170-G-89) whit 27 points (7/7 for 1,5/4 for 2 and 9/4 for 3 points), good game play Culafic with 19 points and Mihajlovic and Jovanovic with 10 points. Head coach Petrovic only was satisfied with results but for tactical element he will try to setup all necessary thing until the NT go to European championship in Italy.

MONTENEGRO U21:
Aleksic 27 , Culafic 19 , Mihajlovic 10 , Jovanovic 10 , Mijatovic 4 (start five ), Turcinovic 4 , Terzic 1 , Jovovic 6 , Djurovic , Vujadinovic 2 , Nikolic , Knezevic I. 2 , Stanisic , Vukmarkovic 3

For Kastel Nuovo in First period play some basketball player form NT U21
Vujadinovic 4 pionts , Cavic 10 , Ratkovic 5

Knezevic II not play because of injury .

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RUSSIA - Women

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SLOVENIA - Women

Merkur extends Ciglar, Triglav inks Markovic, Erzen and Zdolsek - by Zeljko Zule
Merkur Celje re-signed Iva Ciglar (170-G-85) for the upcoming season and Milijana Evtoukhovitch (190-C-81) has left Slovenian champion to join Villeneuve d'Ascq.
Hit Kranjska Gora extended the contract of Simona Jurse (171-G-71) and Domenika Gacner (174-G-85).
AJM Maribor inked their former member Maja Drozg (179-F/C-81) ex Landes.
Triglav inked Mojca Markovic (177-G-79) ex Hit Kranjska Gora, Spela Erzen (190-C/F-80) ex Hit Kranjska Gora and Ziva Zdolsek (174-G-89) ex Merkur and re-signed Teja Kropivsek (-89).
Domzale signed Katja Fink (-86) ex Crnomelj.
City center added Eva Grm (190-F-85) ex Merkur Celje.