EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 7/20/2008

Copyright © 1997-2008 Eurobasket
WARNING:
Do not copy, redistribute, publish or otherwise exploit information that you download from the site!
Do not encumber, license, modify, publish, sell, transfer or transmit, or in any way exploit, any of the
content of the report, nor will you attempt to do so.
More info:www.eurobasket.com


Men News

*****************************************************
  ADRIATIC LEAGUE   


Longin signed for Cibona! - by Dani Erceg
Branimir Longin (195-G-78) signed 1 year contract with Cibona. He played last season in German-1. Bundesliga team Oldenburg and averaged 11.3ppg, 3.1rpg, 1.3apg. He already played for Cibona in earlier seasons. Cibona did not sign any foreign player so far and the main reason is that foreign players are avoiding Cibona because of lack of payments!

*****************************************************
  ARGENTINA   


Argentina celebrates title at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship - by Eurobasket News
Argentina U18 - United States U18 77:64

Argentinean Junior National Team scored a comprehensive 77:64 win over the United States in the FIBA Americas Championship Final Game in Formosa. It was just the second loss for the United States team in the history of their participation at the event. Argentina was well cheered up by the supportive crowd of more than 5000 spectators to jump to an early lead. The hosts enjoyed a 20:11 advantage late in the opening stanza. Argentina built a 26:18 lead at the end of the quarter. The teams slowed down in the second frame as the tension grew stronger. The USA outscored their opponents 10:9 and trailed by 7 points at halftime 28:35. The teams traded the baskets early in the third stanza and the North Americans managed to cut the deficit to 6 points. However Argentina exploded with 11 points in a row to establish 53:36 advantage late in the frame. Argentina entered the final period up by 16 points. The USA fought bravely in the final period but the home team easily secured the winning outcome and was awarded Gold Medals. Mateo Gaynor (198-G-90) and Juan Manuel Fernandez (195-G-90) had 16 points for the winners. Matias Nocedal (192-G-90, agency: Interperformances) scored 15 points for Argentina. Kemba Walker (183-G-90) answered with 21 points and 7 boards for the USA. Walker was trumped the tournaments MVP after the game. Malcolm Lee (193-G) secured 13 points in a loss.

Argentina U18: Mateo Gaynor 16, Juan Manuel Fernandez 16, Matias Nocedal 15
USA U18: Kemba Walker 21, Malcolm Lee 13

*****************************************************
  BAHAMAS   


Mexico nips Bahamas to close their FIBA Americas U18 Championship campaign - by Eurobasket News
Mexico U18 - Bahamas U18 72:71 (OT)

Mexican U18 National Team needed overtime to topple Bahamas in the final game of the FIBA Americas Championship for both teams. Mexico managed to overcome an early 6-point deficit to force the extra period and pulled away with a narrow victory at the end. Mexican juniors thus clinched the 7th overall spot at the tournament leaving Bahamas winless at the 8th. Bahamas opened a 16:10 lead after the opening stanza and maintained it throughout the major part of the game. However Mexico bounced back in the final quarter. They denied the deficit and surged in front 60:54 with under 3 minutes left in regulation. Bahamas held on as Leon Cooper (188-G-91) notched a jumper sending the game into overtime. In the extra period Mexico turned out a bit luckier as they eke out a narrow victory. Carlos Toussaint (191-G-91) led all scorers with 23 points. Jorge Casillas (196-F-90) provided 22 points and 14 boards for the winners. Donathen Moss (201-C-90) answered with 15 points and 16 boards for Bahamas. Shavaro Bowleg (198-F-90) tallied 14 points, while Leon Cooper finished with 13 in a loss. Bahamas outrebounded their opponents 56:41 but committed 18 turnovers down the stretch. They also shot only 12% from downtown allowing Mexico to prevail at the end.

Mexico U18: Carlos Toussaint 23, Jorge Casillas 22+14 boards, Armando Fernandez (188-G-90) 11
Bahamas U18: Donathen Moss 15+16 boards, Shavaro Bowleg 14, Leon Cooper 13

*****************************************************
  BOSNIA   


Another bosnian player "stolen" - Edin Alispahic became Slovenian - by Nedzad Kladusak
The scenario has been seen so many times before. While Bosnia-Hercegovina prepares its young players for the EC Slovenia aquired another young bosnian player for its NT. Slovenia didn t care much about the fact that he already played for the bosnian NT, playing successfully games during the U-16 EC.
Edin Alispahic (207-F/C-88) refused to come to the preparations for more than 3 years. Now Slovenia revealed that Edin Alispahic became Slovenian and that he will be part of the slovenian U 20-NT.
He is the last name in a list including names like Hasan Rizvic, Mirza Begic, Aleksandar Capin, Emir Preldzic, Teoman Alibegovic....
It wouldn t be fair to blame only the clever and highly motivated slovenian basketball officials that backed by capable employees of the immigration office capture the most talented bosnian basketball prospects. The KS BIH is doing nothing to give the best bosnian prospects a chance to play for their country taking much more care that the NT roster displays the ethnical structure of BIH.
It is interesting that some of the finest players in Bosnia were born in and around Zenica, the hometown of KK Zenica a team that produced such names like Zoran Savic, Teoman Alibegovic, Emir Mutapcic.... and currently tries to increase its 110 000 (yearly) budget.

Bryan Bailey rejected Bosnas offer - Milosevic still interesting - by Nedzad Kladusak
Despite Bosna had positive impressions after the negotiations with Bryan Bailey (185-G-80, agency: Larry Fox Services, college: Bucknell) the results came to
a dissappointing end. Bryan Bailey informed the officials that he is not interested in extending the contract
since he in only interested in playing in the higher ranked Europe cup or Euroleague.
Not even the fact that many players made it to NBA playing previously in Adriatic league, nor the fact
that in the NLB league compete 3 Euroleague teams convinced him to stay in Bosna.
Abaz announced that he will start to look for a new PG admitting that Bailey perfectly fitted to the team.

Despite Bosna signed Nikola Vucurovic, the officials pointed out that Milan Milosevic the best young domestic
player is still an interesting topic. The chances to sign him considerably rose as some of the most serious rivals Partizan
and Red Star are reported to be in serious financial problems.

*****************************************************
  CANADA   


Canadian Junior Team clinches Bronze in Argentina - by Eurobasket News
Canada U18 - Puerto Rico U18 83:68

Tristan Thompson (203-F) led balanced offense with 18 points and 10 boards as Canada scored a comfortable win over Puerto Rico in the consolation final of the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. Canada got to a better start to the game as they enjoyed an 18:15 lead after ten minutes of action. Puerto Rico answered with a 14:4 run early in the second stanza to establish a 29:22 lead. Canada stayed cool and pulled away with a 37:34 halftime advantage. The North American team forced the issue early in the third frame when they posted an 11:0 surge and extended their lead to as many as 14 points. Canada maintained the gap well and earned a 13-point cushion heading into the final period. Puerto Rico however never gave it up as they clipped the distance to 4 points midway through the final frame. However Tristan Thompson and Mangisto Arop (197-G-90) secured the winning outcome for Canada at the end. Mangisto Arop delivered 16 points and 11 boards for Canadian team. Marc Trasolini (206-F-90) had 12 points and 11 boards for the winners. Raymond Cintron (186-G-90) replied with 21 points for Puerto Rico. Isaac Sosa (188-G-90) registered 19 points and 6 boards in defeat. Canada dominated the boards 49:29 and limited Puerto Rico to 34% accuracy from the field. Canada sank 56% of field goals for the win.

Canada U18: Tristan Thompson 18+10 boards, Mangisto Arop 16+11 boards, Marc Trasolini 12+11 boards
Puerto Rico U18: Raymond Cintron 21, Isaac Sosa 19

*****************************************************
  CAPE VERDE   


Seven Stars beat ABC and ties the Finals Series - by Pedro Gomes
Seven Stars tied the series 1-1 in the second game of the Santiago South championships, with the score of 71 to 63.

In a game where Seven showed all their character and determination to take the win form the reigning champions, going into the half with the lead 40 to 29.
The third period was were ABC leveled the game; they managed to reduce the advantage to one point. But, in the fourth quarter, Seven Stars took over, lead
by Ivan Almeida (197-F-89), and controlled the rest of the game until the end.

With this victory, Seven got their momentum back and tied this best of 5 series.

*****************************************************
  CHINA   


China Lost to Angola in Stankovic Cup - by Robert Wang
Today is the 2nd game in Stankovic cup between team China and team Angola. China lost to Angola at 71:72. Under the help of Yao Ming, China almost win at the last minute but made shot by Angola and china lost ths game. It is the first game that China lost today from all the games china played before Olympic game. Angola team was hugry for each rebound and great penetrated killed china team. They are very small but they got most rebounds, this made china team out of control. the tallest guy in Angola is only 6'9, but they won. Yi Jian Lian missed some shots at the 3 points line.The game result is: 1st quator, 19:19, 2nd quator, 32(Angola):31(China), 3rd, 59(Angola): 49(China), 4th quator, 72(Angola): 71(China) . Liu Wei did not play the game since he had an injury last game.


*****************************************************
  CROATIA   


Longin signed for Cibona! - by Dani Erceg
Branimir Longin (195-G-78) signed 1 year contract with Cibona. He played last season in German-1. Bundesliga team Oldenburg and averaged 11.3ppg, 3.1rpg, 1.3apg. He already played for Cibona in earlier seasons. Cibona did not sign any foreign player so far and the main reason is that foreign players are avoiding Cibona because of lack of payments!

*****************************************************
  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   


Standings - LIDOBA
LIDOBA Standings
North Division
 1. Marineros 1-0 
 2. Reales 1-0 
 3. Metros 0-1 
 4. Indios SF 0-1 
South Division
 1. Cocolos 1-0 
 2. Constituyentes 1-0 
 3. Caneros 0-1 
 4. Panteras DN 0-1 


LIDOBA FRIDAY RESULTS. - by Jaime Gomez
Cocolos de San Pedro de Macoris 95, Caneros de La Romana 86
For Cocolos de San Pedro de Macoris de San Pedro de Macoris, Sammy Villegas (198-G-83, agency: Next Level, college: Toledo) 22 points, 6 assists and 3 steals, Alberto Ozuna (203-F-82) 21 points and 6 assists,
Malcolm Battles (205-F/C-79, college: N.Mexico) 18 points an 9 rebounds, Henry Lalane (199-F-78, college: St.Francis,NY) 12 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.

For Caneros de La Romana de La Romana, Andy Williams (195-G/F-80, agency: Court Side) 24 points and 7 rebounds, Marlon Dumont (206-F-77, college: TCU) 19 points, Edward Santana (203-F-80) 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Constituyentes de San Cristobal 91, Panteras del Distrito Nacional 82.
For Constituyentes de San Cristobal, Franklin Western (200-F-72, college: Providence) 18 points and 6 rebounds, Hansel Salvador (186-G-80) 17 points and 6 assists, Josue Abreu (188-G-66) 14 points, Jose Fortuna (180-G-84) 13 points, Kyle Edwards (208-C-80, college: Texas A&M Int.) 11 points and 7 rebounds.

For Panteras del Distrito Nacional, Juan Bautista Araujo (206-F/C-83) 20 points, Oskaris Lenderborg (189-G/F-72) 15 points, Manuel Fortuna (187-G) 14 points.

Marineros de Puerto Plata 98, Indios de San Francisco 94.
For Marineros de Puerto Plata, Carlos Morban (187-G-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza, college: Florida Intern.) 24 points, Jamaal Thomas (202-F-80, college: Angelo St.) 16 points and 9 rebounds, Sandro Encarnacion (203-86) 14 points and 9 rebounds, Kelvin Pena (193-G-81, college: Southeastern CC) 14 points, Olivier Gonzalez 10 points, Derrick Franklin (208-C-81, agency: KMG Sports Management, college: Columbus St.) 9 points and 10 rebounds.

For Indios de San Francisco, Luis Nelson Ferreiras (191-F-76) 26 points and 18 rebounds, Michael Dean 22 points, Richard Ortega (188-G-82) 14 points and 9 assists, Henry Paulino (198-F-73) 13 points.

*****************************************************
  EUROBASKET SUMMER LEAGUE   


Eurobasket Summer League (Las Vegas) - Day 2 - by Darryl Reshaw
The Eurobasket Summer League in Las Vegas second day consisted of all the teams practicing for (40) minutes.
After the practice session there were two exciting games played in front of scouts from Italy, Spain, Germany, Finland, Japan, Mexico, Austria and etc.
The second day audience from the international coaching community increased as the majority of the people at the Tarkanian Basketball Academy was coaches from all over the world.

In the first game Brussels stormed back against Venice after being down by nine points at half time to earn an 86-76 victory.
During the first half Venice controlled the game and seem destined to play in the Championship game on Thursday but Brussels had a different plan.
Kyle Lamonte (191-G-84, agency: Beggs and Lane, college: William Carey) and Leonard Houston (191-G-85, college: Drake) the Co-MVPs from the Chicago ESL led Venice in the first half and ended with 21 and 16 points each.

However the outstanding defense, shooting and guard play from the Brussels team controlled the second half as they outscored Venice 54-35 in the period.
Brussels had a balance attack as all ten players scored between a minimum of 6 points with Temi Soyebo (183-G-84, college: NC-Wilmington) leading the way with 15 points.
They shot and amazing 65% from the field and well over 50% from the 3pt line in the second period.
There big guy Aristide Sawadogo (213-C-81, agency: 22ft, college: Clayton St.) was a defensive force in the middle blocking and altering shots all night which made the Venice team very hesitant to enter the paint.

The pro experience of Whit Holcomb-Faye (185-G-84, college: Radford) and Temi Soyebo was the difference in the game as they made better decisions than the talented young guards from Venice. Philip Scott (190-G-83, college: Prairie View A&M) also shot well all night for Brussels and ended with 10 points and at one point they hit six straight 3 pointers in the second period. Bennet Davis (206-F-84, agency: KMG Sports Management, college: Northeastern) also had an outstanding all around game with 9 points and 10 rebounds.
Reggie Huffman (201-F-82, college: UAB) was also very athletic and had a couple of serious dunks while Tim Morris (193-G-84, college: Washington), Dshon Cannon (178-G-84, college: Cal.St.-Monterey) and Dan Fitzgerald (206-F-84, college: Marquette) all looked good for Brussels.
The ESL staff felt that Nathan Green (203-F-75, college: Idaho St.) looked very good for Brussels getting a lot of offensive boards ending up with 10 rebounds and 8 points but the guards forgot to get him the ball.

In the second game of the night Monaco beat Geneva 91-80 as guard the play of Pele Paelay (193-G-84, college: Co.Carolina) (25pts) and Derrick Stevens (180-G-80, agency: , college: Colorado St.) (180-G-80, agency: (21pts) who both have professional experience dominated the game.
Derrick Stevens was outstanding during the game using great decision making and scoring skills. Pele Paelay put on a show using his athleticism and shooting ability while displaying a few dunks on the way.
The game was a seesaw battle all night as the teams exchanged momentum swings throughout the game.
Geneva was down at half time but came storming back and was in the position to win the game but did not benefit from a couple of dubious officiating no calls.
Geneva had six players in double figures and had some really talented players on their team including Bennett Davison (203-F-75, agency: Megasport, college: Arizona), Chad Bell (213-C-82, college: Nevada), Derrick Franklin (208-C-81, agency: KMG Sports Management, college: Columbus St.), Chris Brooks (193-G-81, college: Florida Southern), Tremaine Dalton (186-G-83, agency: AI Sports MM, college: St.Mary), J.J. Tauai (190-G-85, college: Bradley) and Joseph Frazier (188-G-83, college: Cal.St. Northridge).
Monaco added a new big guy Josh Stanhiser to their roster who had 11 rebounds and made several outstanding block shots.
Larry Morinia (180-G-80, agency: ProSportsCareers, college: Montana St.) also added a smooth 11 points for the winners of game 2 on Wednesday night.

Thursday at 6:30pm Brussels vs. Monaco in the ESL Las Vegas Championship:
8:30pm Venice vs. Geneva in the 3rd place game.

Game 1: Statistics

Brussels: 86

Whit Holcomb-Faye: 9pts; 3ast
Dan Fitzgerald: 6pts; 2rbs; 2ast
Temi Soyebo: 15pts; 5rbs; 3ast
Dshon Cannon: 6pts; 4rbs; 6ast
Philip Scott: 10pts; 4rbs; 3ast
Aristide Sawadogo (213-C-81, college: Clayton St.): 7pts; 6rbs; 2ast; 5blk
Bennet Davis: 9pts; 10rbs; 1ast; 1blk
Joseph Powell: 7pts; 2rbs; 5ast
Reggie Huffman: 8pts; 4rbs; 2ast

Venice: 76

Ryan Read: 12pts; 3ast
Zack Alvidrez: 0pts; 3rbs
Travis Knight: 8pts; 5rbs; 2ast; 2blk
Alex Davenport: 5pts; 1rbs; 1ast
Nathan Green: 9pts; 10rbs; 3ast; 1blk
Kyle Lamonte: 21pts; 1rbs; 6 ast
Leonard Houston: 16pts; 7rbs; 2ast; 2blk
Jermaine Dailey: 5pts; 11rbs; 1ast
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game 2: Statistics

Monaco: 91

Glen Elliot: 2pts; 5rbs; 3ast
Lance Ortiz: 7pts; 3rbs
William Maupins: 8pts; 3rbs; 2ast
Mario Brown: 7pts; 6rbs; 5ast
Tyler Franklin: 2pts; 1rb; 1ast
Jeffrey Mayi: 4pts; 1rbs
Larry Morinia: 11pts; 5ast
Pele Paelay: 25pts; 4rbs; 2ast
Derrick Stevens: 21pts; 1rbs; 6ast
Josh Stanhiser: 2pts; 12rbs; 3blk


Geneva: 80

Dedrick Bates: 5pts; 3rbs; 2ast
Tremaine Dalton: 10pts; 5rbs; 4ast
Bennet Davison: 11pts; 7rbs; 2ast
Derrick Franklin: 13pts; 4rbs; 1ast; 1blk
Chris Brooks: 10pts: 5rbs
Joseph Frazier: 13pts; 2rbs; 4ast
J.J. Tauai: 7pts; 6rbs; 7ast
Chad Bell: 11pts; 7rbs; 3ast; 2blk

Standings
Eurobasket Standings
Chicago
 1. London 3-0 
 2. Berlin 2-1 
 3. Madrid 2-1 
 4. Warsaw 2-1 
 5. Amsterdam 1-2 
 6. Athens 1-2 
 7. Rome 1-2 
 8. Paris 0-3 
Las Vegas
 1. Venice 0-0 
 2. Brussels 0-0 
 3. Geneva 0-0 
 4. Monaco 0-0 
New York
 1. Stockholm 0-0 
 2. Riga 0-0 
 3. Budapest 0-0 
 4. Helsinki 0-0 
 5. Istanbul 0-0 
 6. Kiev 0-0 
 7. Moscow 0-0 
 8. Prague 0-0 


ESL in New York at the start - by Eurobasket
ESL in New York will start today. Here is the completed list of the players, which will attend the camp. The players are split into six teams Follow standings to get the rosters of the teams.

Name 07-08 Team 07-08 stats College Awards
Shagari Alleyne (221-C-84) Reading Railers (PBL) N/A Kentucky PBL Semifinals -08
John Baiano Southern New Hampshire 11ppg, 6apg, 4rpg Southern New Hampshire Three NCAA Tourney bids
Rashaun Banjo (199-F-82) Vermont Frost Heaves (ABA) 11ppg, 5rpg Quinnipiac pro ball in Turkey and Portugal
Felipe Barrios (193-G/F-82) Cocodrilos (Venezuela) N/A Barry Bahama Pro Show
Rocky Batista (196-G/F-85) DNP N/A Delaware St. MEAC Tournament Finalist -06
Greg Bienemann (6'7''-F-85) Washington & Lee 22ppg; 7rpg; 59% FG Washington & Lee DIII Player of the Year Finalist
NABC 2nd team All District
Michael Binns (201-F-85) Fordham 3.3ppg, 1.7rpg Fordham Atlantic 10 Tournament Semifinals -06
Dwayne Birden (6'5''-F/G-84) Northern Colorado (06-07) 15ppg; 5rpg Northen Colorado Top 30 - Big Sky Conference in Scoring
Brandon Brigman (203-C-84) DNP N/A S.Florida
Marquis Brooks (191-G-85) Charleston Univ. 17ppg Charleston Univ. All-WVIAC 2nd Team -06, 07, 08
Calvin Brown (206-C-83) Akropol (Sweden) 4.0ppg, 4.7rpg Norfolk St. pro ball in Mexico and Sweden
Kenya Carruthers (201-F-79) San Marcos (El Salvador) N/A Kansas Wesleyan pro ball in Dominican Rep. , Uruguay ,
Argentina and El Salvador
Anwar Coleman (6'4''-G-79) Gorgan (IRAN) 26ppg; 5apg Virginia Union PBL Semifinals
Willie Coleman (6'0''-G-84) Hudson Valley Hawks (NPBL) 27ppg; 8apg N/A MVP of NPBL
Nate Connolly (6'5''-G/F-77) Otago (N.Zealand) N/A College of Saint Rose Pro basketball in Austria; Germany
Portugal; New Zeland and Iceland
Andrew David (196-G-84) Fresno Pacific 13ppg, 5apg Fresno Pacific
Ronnie Davis (211-C-82) Beaumont AAU 24ppg; 10rpg Sheridan College Played in Nicaragra and Iran
Hasan Diabi (196-F-79) District of Col. N/A District of Col. N/A
Corey Diamond (6'3''-G-84) Marymount University (06-07) 12ppg; 4rpg Marymount University Marymount Coaches Award - 06, 07
Marcus Dixon (203-C-84) Atlanta Vision (ABA) 8ppg, 5rpg Albany State ABA Quarterfinals -08
Wade Dunston (193-G) Maryland N-hawks (ABA) '07 N/A St.Bonaventure Atlantic 10 2nd Leading FT (81.0%) -06
Charles Easterling (188-G/F-83) Boston Blizzard (ABA) 27.1ppg, 15.8rpg Kilgore JC played pro ball in Mexico
Eric Ferguson (186-G-82) GUG (Dominican Rep.) N/A Arkansas pro bball in Poland , Cyprus
and Dominican Rep.
Chaz Franklin (180-G-81) Al Sahel (Kuwait) 18ppg, 7apg Roberts Wesleyan RWC MVP Award; All East Region
Joseph Frazier (188-G-83) Harlem Globetrotters '07 N/A Cal.St.-Northridge Big West All Tournament Team -04, 05
Kyle Garrison (6'7''-C-85) University of Charleston 4ppg; 4rpg University of Charleston
Damian Gay (6'5''-F-85) Mt St Vincent (Canada) 14ppg; 6rpg Mount St Vincent 1st Team All ACAA
1st Team All Candian CCAA
Drew Gibson (6'2''-G-85) Wofford College 13ppg; 6apg Wofford College All Souther Confernce Team
Brandon Giles (178-G-87) Longwood 6.5ppg, 3.7apg Longwood N/A
Adam Gonzalez (191-G-83) Quinnipiac 15ppg, 4rpg Quinnipiac NEC Tournament Semifinals -07
John Grazioli (6'7''-F-87) Hobart College 17ppg; 7rpg Hobart College 3 Time All Liberty league Team
2nd Team NABC; All Region DIII
Justin Griffin (193-G/F-83) Zacatecazs (Mexico) 12.1ppg, 2.2apg Hawaii-Hilo pro ball in Germany and Mexico
Fred Harrison (6'5''-G-86) Wilminton College 10ppg; 5rpg Wilminton College OAC All Conference
Cedrick Hensley (196-F/G-83) Furstenfeld (Austria) 4.1ppg, 1.8rpg Moorhead St., MN Austrian Bundesliga A Champion -08
James Hippolyte (6'6''-F-81) Mars Hill College 12ppg; 7rpg Mars Hill College SAC Senior Award
Rome Holley (186-G-81) Hartford CC N/A Hartford CC N/A
Rob Igbawua (198-F-86) Ft.Hays State 5ppg, 4rpg Ft.Hays State Nigerian
Tav Ikpah (188-G-86) Bismarck St. CC N/A Bismarck St. CC All-Conference
Justin James (6'6''-F-82) Snohomish (IBL) 11ppg; 7rpg Sacred Heart University
Kenyon Jones (6'7''-F-82) Glenville State N/A Glenville State
Shamel Jones (206-F/C-77) Strong Island Sound (ABA) 3pts, 3reb Memphis pro ball in Dominican Rep.,
Colombia and Mexico
Larry Kearney (6'8''-F-83) Eastern Nazerine Coll. (05) 17ppg, 10rpg - 05 Eastern Nazerine College All Conference 2nd Team
Robert Kelly (6'7''-F/C-83) Wesleyan University (06-07) 18ppg; 9rpg Wesleyan University Jamaican National Team Member
Willis Kettrell (196-F-87) St.Thomas Aquinas 10ppg, 4rpg St.Thomas Aquinas ECC Tournament Semifinals -08
Antjuan Koger (6'5''-F-84) Tennesse Tech 13ppg; 7rpg Tennesse Tech OVC Defensive Player of the Year -08
Ryan Lancaster (6'4''-G-85) Holy Family University 18ppg; 3rpg Holy Family University All CACC 1st Team -08
Trayvon Lathan (6'7''-G-85) Santa Barbara (IBL) 17ppg; 7rpg Chowan University NCCAA All American Team - 07; 06; 05
Travis Lay (196-F-85) American Univ. 5.8ppg, 4.0rpg American Univ. Patriot League Tournament Winner -08
Mark MacDonald (206-F-85) Brown University 6.0ppg, 1.3apg Brown University Ivy League Runner-Up -08
Joseph Mackey (6'2''-G-85) Union College, NY (06-07) 14ppg; 4rpg Union College 1st Team All Liberty Confernce -07
Justin Marshall (203-F-85) Sampaense (Portugal) 19.0ppg, 6.9rpg Iona Portuguese Proliga All-Star Game MVP -08
Mark McCarroll (208-F/C-80) Porvoon Tarmo (Finland) 18.6ppg, 12.2rpg Pittsburgh All-Finnish Korisliiga Center of The Year -08
Tony Murphy (193-G-86) Norfolk St. 17.9ppg, 3.1rpg Norfolk St. All-MEAC 1st Team -08
Bambale Osby (203-F-86) Maryland Univ. 11.5ppg, 6.5rpg Maryland Univ. MWC Tournament Winner -05
Michael Parker (192-G-80) Dorsten (Germany) 21.5ppg, 6.8rpg Springfield pro ball in Austria , Germany
and Lithuania
Robert Patterson (188-G-81) Hudson Valley Hawks (NPBL) 13ppg UCC College NPBL 6th man of the Year
Derick Payne (6'6''-F-83) Maryland Knighthawks (PBL) 17ppg; 8rpg Bowie State CIAA All Conference
2nd Team All South Atlantic
Eugene Pettway (198-G-85) Sacred Heart 4.7ppg, 2.1rpg Sacred Heart NEC Tournament Finalist -07, 08
Tyler Relph (183-G-84) St.Bonaventure 11.9ppg, 3.9apg St.Bonaventure 'Mr. Basketball' for the state of New York -03
Jerome Richardson (193-G-83) Louisiana Tech '07 6.4ppg, 4.4rpg '07 Louisiana Tech WAC Tournament Semifinals -06
Belgium Rose (196-G-81) Marysville Meteors (IBL) 10ppg, 5rpg Missouri Southern St.
David Ruffin (193-G/F-84) Elmira Bulldogs (NPBL) 34.6ppg, 7.4rpg Hartford NPBL Best Scorer
Dwayne Shackleford (178-G-81) Albany Patroons (CBA) 5.9ppg, 1.6rpg USC pro ball in Germany
Justin Skipwith (6'1''-G-83) Hudson Valley Hawks (NPBL) 15ppg; 6apg Post University 3rd Time All Leading Scorer at Post Univ.
Anthony Smith (196-F-74) DNP N/A Loyola, MD played pro ball in France
Jamar Smith (188-G-85) Morgan St. 16.6ppg, 5.4rpg Morgan St. All-MEAC Player of the Year -08
Chris Sockwell (203-F/C-80) U.Concepcion (Chile) 22.3ppg, 9.3rpg St.Francis, NY Chilean DIMAYOR Import Player of the Year -08
Woody Souffrant (184-G-83) Strong Island Sound (ABA) 4.5ppg, 1.7rpg Hofstra Haiti University National Team -05
Mike St.John (203-F-84) Gornik (Poland) 1.2ppg, 1.8rpg La Salle McDonald's High School All-American
James St.Robert (6'8''-F/C-86) Dowling College 13ppg; 8rpg Dowling College
Ronald Stokes (6'10''-F/C-83) New York State - Oneonta 4ppg; 4rpg New York State - Oneonta
Devon Sullivan (201-G/F-86) S.Connecticut 10ppg, 7rpg S.Connecticut N/A
Tony Tate (5'11''-G-82) Jacksonville Jam (ABA) 18ppg;3.5apg Florida AM MVP Florida A&M
1st Team All Confernce
Mensah Taylor (198-F-80) Treis-Karden (Germany) 29.4ppg Gardner-Webb played 3 years in Germany
Ibrahima Thioune (206-C-75) Maryland BayRayders (NPBL) N/A Oregon State N/A
Darren Travis (6'3''-G-84) Westchester Monarchs (NPBL) 19ppg; 4apg Columbia Union NCAA II All American
1st Team All ICAA
Greg Tyson (196-G-86) Heidelberg 10ppg, 4rpg Heidelberg
Eric Vierneisel (6'7''-F-85) University of California 6ppg; 4rpg University of California Pac-10 Tournament Finalist
Justin Walker (6'5''-G-85) University of DC 12ppg: 4rpg University of DC Six Man of the Year - Independents
Andrew Washington (191-G-84) Maryland Nighthawks (PBL) 20.5ppg Delaware semi-pro ball in 6 leagues
Josh Wentz (6'5''-F-84) East Stroudsburg University 11ppg; 5apg; 46% 3pt East Stroudsburg Univ. PSAC Player of the Week -07-08
Maurice Whitehurst (201-F) LIU - C.W.Post N/A LIU - C.W.Post JUCO All-Conference 2nd Team -05
Alfred Williams (193-F-83) Xavier (LA) 12ppg, 7rpg Xavier (LA) NAIA D1 Sweet 16 -07
Eric Williams (195-G-80) Jancksonville Slam (PBL) 12.5ppg (-07) Guilford played pro ball in UK and Belgium
Clive Williamson (182-G-81) Otago Nuggets (NZL) '06 N/A St.Rose pro ball in Portugal , Germany ,
Austria and New Zealand
Adrian Woodard (6'4''-F-86) Hampton University 7ppg; 6rpg Hampton University MEAC All Rookie Team -04-05
Dayshawn Wright (6'6''-F-85) Hudson Valley Hawks (NPBL) 15ppg; 10rpg Syracuse High School National Champion


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


Regionalliga-News - by Moritz Korff
Tim Haley (188-G-83, college: Chico St.) signed a contract with the Bayer Giants Leverkusen (Regionalliga West) for the 2008-09 season. The team used to be the farmteam of the Bundesliga-side, but took over the name as the organisation, that won the German championship 14 times, moved to Duesseldorf. Haley averaged 23.1 points per game for UBC Hannover in this past season and led the Tigers to the runner-up spot in the Regionalliga North. He was named to the Eurobasket.com All-German Regionalliga North First Team after the season.

Lars Buss (202-C-78, agency: LimeLight) has agreed to terms with the Wuerzburg Baskets (Regionalliga South-East). The 30-year-old Center-veteran started the 2007-08 campaign with Science City Jena in the 1. Bundesliga (14 games: 4.1ppg) and moved to Mitteldeutscher BC in January 08. He played 15 times for the Wolves in the 2. Bundesliga Pro A and averaged 5.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per outing.

Recruit Benzing Will Not Enroll at Michigan - by Moritz Korff
University of Michigan men's basketball head coach John Beilein announced Friday (July 18) that recent signee Robin Benzing (209-F-89) (Seeheim-Jugenheim, Germany) will not enroll to the university due to NCAA initial eligibility requirements.

'We felt Robin had a very good chance of qualification, but in the end the NCAA Eligibility Center found him to be just short of eligibility to receive a scholarship from any Division I university,' said Beilein. 'While we were aware of the risk involved with this signing and we are disappointed for Robin, it does not deter our confidence in finding the right student-athletes for the future of this basketball program.'

'Robin is a fine young man and we will continue to provide him with the NCAA information he will need if he continues to pursue options in the United States. If he does not pursue these options, I assume he will begin playing at a professional level in Europe starting this fall.'

The Wolverines will have four newcomers to the roster next season: 7-0 center Ben Cronin (Syracuse, N.Y./ Henninger HS), 6-3 guard Stu Douglass (Carmel, Ind./ Carmel HS) and 6-5 guard Zack Novak (Chesterton, Ind./ Chesterton HS), as well as 6-3 guard Laval Lucas-Perry (Flint, Mich./ Flint Powers Catholic HS), who transferred from Arizona last season.

Courtesy of http://www.mgoblue.com/basketball-m

Fikiel and Wheeler will stay in Bremen - by Moritz Korff
Jan Fikiel (208-F-83, agency: LimeLight, college: Pennsylvania) and Quincy Wheeler (199-F-79) signed one-year contract extensions with 2. Bundesliga Pro A club Bremen Roosters. Fikiel, the 2005-06 Eurobasket.com All-German 2. Bundesliga Newcomer of the Year and former member of the German A2-National Squad, played 30 games for the Roosters in 2007-08 and averaged 6.7 points as well as 4.1 rebounds per contest. Wheeler added 0.5 points a game in 4 matches. Besides these two the 2008-09 Roosters' roster looks as follows at the moment: Jens Hakanowitz (204-F/C-80), Acha Njei (190-G-85, agency: Rasmussen Services), Fabian Franke (198-F-88), Jordan Sabourin (212-C-81, college: Oakland).

Olympic Qualifying Tournament: Though falling short to Croatia: German Olympic dreams still alive - by Moritz Korff
Despite a double-double performance by Dirk Nowitzki (211-F-78) the German National Team was unable to stop Croatia in the semifinal of the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens and lost 70:76. Thus, Croatia is the first of three teams to make the trip to Beijing. The Germans still have the chance to fulfil their Olympic dreams, if they will be able to win tomorrow's consolation game against Greece or Puerto Rico.
In the semifinal the Croatians started strong establishing a 24:14 lead in the first quarter. Germany responded in the second period and went on a 10:0-run. At halftime, however, Croatia was still ahead 36:31, though their shooting percentage had went down a little bit. Pascal Roller (180-G-76) hit a three-pointer at the end of the third quarter to tie the score at 42 and gave his team the first lead of the game only some seconds later. The closing ten minutes of the encounter turned into a thriller. With 180 seconds left to go Croatia was leading 63:53, but Germany had still something to give. In the last minute of the game Demond Greene (185-G-79, agency: Court Side) and Nowitzki each drained a shot from beyond the arc and reduced the gap to 67:69. However, the Croatians proved to have nerves of steel and made their free-throws to secure the victory.
Boxscore: click

Robert Lee pens deal with Schwelm - by Moritz Korff
Whether the Schwelmer Baskets will compete in the 2. Bundesliga Pro B, the Regionalliga West or in worst case only in the Landesliga in 2008-09 is still unsure. This matter is keeping lawyers busy at the moment. However, the club officials put together a team which they think would be strong enough to play in the Pro B: Robert Lee (191-G-85, agency: Heinrich Sports, college: W.Texas A&M) was the last piece in the jigsaw puzzle. The 22-year-old graduate of West Texas A&M University, a NCAA Division Two school, was announced as the final signing Saturday. Coach Raphael Wilder appointed Lee to replace Keith Harris (196-G/F-85, agency: Profibasketball.de, college: Oklahoma Christian) who had asked to cancel his contract for the 2008-09 campaign to pursue an acting career.
Lee appeared in 27 games for the WT Buffaloes during this past season with averages of 18.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals. It was his first and last campaign on the WT squad. Lee transfered from the University of Houston to West Texas A&M in 2007 and previously had suited up for Seminole Junior College. After his senior year awards came rolling in for Lee. The native of Corsicana, Texas was selected to attend the NCAA Division Two All-Star Game and was named a NCAA Division Two All-American by both the NABC and the Division II Bulletin.

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


2nd Semi Final - 3rd quarter: P. Rico Greece 50-68 - by Chris Mammides
The third quarter begun with a block shot of Sanchez over Vassilopoulos and an easy basket from Barea while Diamantidis answered with a 3pointer. Barea was on fire and with unanswered points cut the deficit to 41-51, 6.58 before the end of the third quarter. Barea continued to score and the difference went to 8 points, 45-53, 5.58 before the end of the quarter. Barea is the top scorer for the Puerto Rico team with 16 points, 8 of which were scored in the last 3 minutes with exactly the same way. Sofoklis Schortsianitis (206-C-85) (Big Sofo) though, was very hot, he scored 5 points with two goal-fouls nad brought the difference once more to 11 while he created big troubles in the centers of Puerto Rico as nearly every basket was foul too. Larry Ajuso scored his first points from the charity line 4.16 before the end of the third quarter. A magic assist from Papaloukas to Bouroussis made the score 49-62, 1.22 before the end of the quarter. A three pointer from Diamantidis put the tombstone to the Puerto Ricans dreams as the difference went up to 17 points, 50-67 0.24 before the end of the quarter. The final score for the third quarter was 50-68. Top performer for this quarter was definitely Sofoklis Schortsianitis with his 13 points in total but also the 5 fouls he won against the Puerto Rican centers.

2nd Semi Final 1st quarter: Puerto Rico Greece 11-17 - by Chris Mammides
The Puerto Rican team started the game with Aroyo, Ayuso, Jones Cama, Sanchez, Lee and Peter John Ramos (222-C-85) while Coach Yiannakis used today as starters the same five as in the Preliminary round: Spanoulis, Diamantidis, Vassilopoulos, Fotsis and Tsartsaris.
OAKA is packed! There are probably more than 18,000 Basketball fans in the court, the atmosphere once more is great. The game begun as usual with a basket by Diamantidis, followed by two free throws from Tsartsaris and a steal with a 2pointer by Spanoulis and a very early 6-0 in one minute. Tough defence from the Hellenic team and an early 2-10 but two fouls were called against Spanoulis. Lee scored 2 free throws for P. Rico while Fotsis scored his first 3pointer 5.55 before the end of the quarter. Another steal from Tsartsaris and Spanoulis is scoring an amazing reverse lay-up to shape a difference of 11 points 4-15, 5.34 before the end of the quarter. Lee scored the first P. Rican 3pointer 4.30 before the end. The first change for the Hellenic NT is Zisis over Spanoulis. Schortsianitis scored his first basket 10 seconds after his entrance in the game. The score is now 7-17, 2.49 before the end of the quarter. The captain of the Hellenic team entered to the court 2.25 before the end of the quarter. The quarter is finishing with 11-19. Top scorer for the Greek team are 4 players with 4 points while from the P. Rican team Peter John Ramos has 6 and Lee 5 as they are the only two players to score!.

2nd semi final - First half :P. Rico Greece 35-48 - by Chris Mammides
The second quarter started with a 2pointer of Big Sofo over Ramos. Barea became the 3rd P. Rican player to score after scoring the 1of 2 from the charity line. Rivera the ex AEKs player scored a long three pointer and cut the deficit to 15-21, 7.39 before the end of the first half but Tsartsaris was there to equalise the three pointers. Barea succeeded a goal foul over the newcomer Bourousis, while Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82) once more balanced the three point game with a three pointer from the arc. A couple of diverse fouls from the Spanish referee Mr. Hierrezuelo (Spanish to call P. Ricans??) brought the difference to only 6 points, 23-29, 5.07 before the end of the first half. Vassilis Spanoulis with another 3pointer, Bourousis with a goal-foul and Big Sofo with a basket in the paint after the amazing assist given by Papaloukas made the score 27-41, 1.37 before the end of the first half. The p. Ricans with 2 3 pointers cut the deficit to 10 before a new 3pointer from Vassilopoulos comes to increase the deficit to 13 by the end of the half. Score is 35-48 with top performer in this quarter Vassilis Spanoulis who scored 6 and Bourousis who scored 5.

Semi-Finals: The Greek team thrashed the Puerto Rico 63-88 - by Chris Mammides
The 4th and final score begun with Santiagos dunk and 1 free throw from Jones Cama, but the Head Coach of Puerto Rico Mr. Manuel Cintron was not calmed enough and was called a technical foul, the Greek team scored 2 easy points. The score became 55-70 with the 2 free throws from Sanchez, 6.35 before the end of the game. There have been many fights during the last minutes so the two coaches had to calm things and for this reason mainly Manuel Cintron took the time out for his team with the score being 55-73, 5.12 before the end of the game. The Greek team has currently 4 players with double digits, with Sofoklis Schortsianitis leading the race with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Not for long though as Diamantidis with his 4th 3pointer made his personal points 15 and the difference 19 with the board showing 57-76, 4.38 before the end. It is more than obvious that the Hellenic team will travel to China for the Olympic games!! The difference went up to 20 points for the first time 3.28 before the end of the game, 58-78, before Vassilopoulos scores another 3pointer and Papaloukas a lay-up t make the difference 58-83 and to 25 points, 2.24 before the end of the game. The rest is simply history! The final result was 63-88

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


Rishon inks Ken Tutt - by Yehonatan Eliahu
Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion announced deal for one season with American Guard Ken Tutt (185-G-84, agency: Strategic Sports, college: ORU) (185-G-84, agency: Strategic Sports, college: ORU). Playing NCAA basketball, Tutt graduated in Oral Roberts college, where he posted 16.2 points for game as a Senior. Tutt's first experience outside the states took place last season, while playing in Pro B for Hermine Nantes Atlantique , where he averaged 16.6 along with 2.8 assists for game. He will take over the spot of another player who came to Rishon out of France , Cedrick Banks (190-G-81, agency: N.E.T., college: Ill.-Chicago), as the starting Second Guard for the team. Tutt is the fourth signing for Rishon in this summer after the signings of Gili Mossinson, Avi Sukar and Raz Zehavian. Now the team shall sign three more foreigners and then complete it's squad for the upcoming season.

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


T.Klimavicius to Zalgiris - by Lukas Zajancauskas
Tadas Klimavicius (204-F-82, agency: Interperformances) returns to Zalgiris Kaunas and becomes the third new player (Willie Deane III (186-G-80, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Purdue) and Loren Woods (215-C-78, agency: Arik Krayn Services, college: Arizona) was the first signings) in LKL Champions team.

The contract will be signed on 2+1 basis.

Last season he played in Greece, AEL, Tadas averaged 9.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Also, he competed in an Greek All-Star game. Tadas Klimavicius played in Zalgiris in 2002-2003 season, but in the mid-season he was loaned to Alita.

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


Mexico nips Bahamas to close their FIBA Americas U18 Championship campaign - by Eurobasket News
Mexico U18 - Bahamas U18 72:71 (OT)

Mexican U18 National Team needed overtime to topple Bahamas in the final game of the FIBA Americas Championship for both teams. Mexico managed to overcome an early 6-point deficit to force the extra period and pulled away with a narrow victory at the end. Mexican juniors thus clinched the 7th overall spot at the tournament leaving Bahamas winless at the 8th. Bahamas opened a 16:10 lead after the opening stanza and maintained it throughout the major part of the game. However Mexico bounced back in the final quarter. They denied the deficit and surged in front 60:54 with under 3 minutes left in regulation. Bahamas held on as Leon Cooper (188-G-91) notched a jumper sending the game into overtime. In the extra period Mexico turned out a bit luckier as they eke out a narrow victory. Carlos Toussaint (191-G-91) led all scorers with 23 points. Jorge Casillas (196-F-90) provided 22 points and 14 boards for the winners. Donathen Moss (201-C-90) answered with 15 points and 16 boards for Bahamas. Shavaro Bowleg (198-F-90) tallied 14 points, while Leon Cooper finished with 13 in a loss. Bahamas outrebounded their opponents 56:41 but committed 18 turnovers down the stretch. They also shot only 12% from downtown allowing Mexico to prevail at the end.

Mexico U18: Carlos Toussaint 23, Jorge Casillas 22+14 boards, Armando Fernandez (188-G-90) 11
Bahamas U18: Donathen Moss 15+16 boards, Shavaro Bowleg 14, Leon Cooper 13

*****************************************************
  MONTENEGRO   


Zoran Milovic inks for BC Gaz Metan from Medias - by Dragan Scepanovic
DELFI SMG Agency announced that Montenegrin basketball player Zoran Milovic (204-C/F-77) (ex basketball player of BC Lovcen Cetinje) ho last basketball season play for Basketball Club Rapid form Bucurest singed contract for new season whit Basketball Club Gaz Metan form Medias member of Romanian A Division.In his basketball career Zoran Milovic play for Basketball Club Lovcen MNT, AEL Limasol CYP , Basketball Club Swisslion Vrsac SRB.

Vladimr Masulovic free player - by Dragan Scepanovic
Arbitration committee of Basketball Federation of Montenegro announced that they brake contract between Basketball Club Niksic and basketball player Vladimir Masulovic (212-C-85).
Vladimir Masulovic cast imputations upon Basketball Club Niksic for the reason of not pay monthly salarys .Vladimir Masulovic in season 2007-2008 for Basketball Club Niksic in MNT1A ,MNT Super League, MNT Semi Fimal of Play-Off and MNT Cup play 31games : 1.2ppg,2.3rpg,0.5apg,0.3spg

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


Warriors signs free agent Ronny Turiaf and Oklahoma City try to sign CJ Miles - by Bruno Baltazar
The Golden State Warriors acquisition of restricted free agent forward Ronny Turiaf (6'10''-C/F-83, college: Gonzaga) has been finalized, the acquisition became official when the Los Angeles Lakers declined their right to match the Warriors' offer for the restricted free agent by the end of the day on Friday, July 18 (seven days). Golden State had originally signed Turiaf to the offer sheet on Thursday, July 10.
We're fortunate to add a player with Ronny's intangibles to our team, said Mullin. He's a young, high-energy player who will provide our squad with additional frontcourt depth, rebounding and interior defense. He played a significant role and a lot of crucial minutes on a team that advanced to The NBA Finals last season.

Turiaf, 25, appeared in 78 games (21 starts) last season with the Lakers, averaging 6.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.38 blocks in 18.7 minutes per contest. In the 35 contests in which he played 20-or-more minutes last season, he averaged 10.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.14 blocks. A native of the French Caribbean island of Martinique, Turiaf ranked fifth in the NBA in blocked shots per 48 minutes played (3.56) and ranked 22nd in the league in blocked shots overall.
Turiaf will wear uniform #21 and to add to all this ,he is a motivator for the fans and for his teamates ,a true passionate player.

Also in another news the Oklahoma City has signed restricted free agent guard C.J. Miles (6'6''-G-87) to an offer sheet.
Miles was the 34th player chosen in the 2005 draft, selected by Utah out of Skyline High School in Dallas.
In three seasons, the 21-year old Miles has played in 120 games, averaging 4.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.8 assists. He also appeared in eight playoff games for the Jazz.

Rocky Mountain Revue 1st day recap - by Bruno Baltazar
Atlanta Hawks and the Dallas Mavericks was the first game and the first quarter ended with the score 28-21 in favor of the Hawks. Atlanta increased their lead to 14 points midway through the second quarter largely due to the impressive play of seventh year veteran guard Speedy Claxton.
The Mavericks were still in summer vacation mode during the first half which ended with the Hawks leading 51-38.
In the 2nd half the Mavs returned more organized,with 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter the Mavs made it a game, cutting the Hawks lead to 4 points at 64-68. Gerald Green out of Gulf shores Academy led the charge for Dallas in the 3rd with 14 points. The Hawks appeared to be a bit confused offensively at the end of the third quarter, but still maintained the lead a 72-66.

Early in the 4th quarter Atlantas Luke Jackson (6'7''-F/G-81, agency: Priority Sports, college: Oregon) (6'7''-F/G-81, agency: Priority Sports, college: Oregon) stretched the Hawks lead to 82-70 . Law took it coast to coast in the final two minutes of the game for an easy layup which cemented the eventual win for the Hawks.

Jeremy Richardson (6'7''-G/F-83, college: Delta St.) led in scoring on the game for the Hawks with 21 points; he also contributed 4 assists and 4 rebounds. Teammate Luke Jackson finished strong in the second half, with 20 points, 4 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Gerald Green led the Mavericks in the points category with 20 including 2 three pointers; he also contributed 2 assists and 1 steal to the losing effort for Dallas; 89 74.

The second game on the day featured the home team ,the Utah Jazz and the Spurs that with a good 3rd quarter won the game.
George Hill (6'2''-G-86) led the Spurs with 21 points and 3 assists. Morris Almond (6'6''-F-85, college: Rice) had 17 to lead Utah.The Jazz never could find their offense shooting only 29.8 percent for the game and had only one player in double figures with Almond. San Antonio finished with 44.8 percent and had four players in double figures. Ian Mahimmi had 11 points. Anthony Tolliver (6'9''-C-85, agency: Larry Fox Services, college: Creighton) and Brian Morrison (6'2''-G-82, college: UCLA) both finished with 10.
The game final result shows the 3rd quarter was the key quarter(28-9)82-57.

Denver nips Houston in overtime in Summer League - by Eurobasket News
Dahntay Jones (6'5''-F/G-80, agency: Priority Sports, college: Duke) converted a layup in the final second of the overtime to lift the Nuggets past the Rockets 105:104 in the NBA Summer League. Dahntay Jones scored 29 points to pace the winners. Elton Brown (6'9''-F/C-83, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Virginia) delivered 21 points and 12 boards for the Nuggets. Aaron Brooks (6'0''-G-85, agency: CAA Sports, college: Oregon) answered with 25 points and 10 assists for the Rockets. Denver led 97:90 with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. But Russell Robinson (6'1''-G-86) and Maarty Leunen (6'9''-F-85) ignited a 7:0 run for the Rockets to tie the score. Leunen then had a chance to win for Houston but his buzzer-beater missed the target. Joey Dorsey (6'9''-F-85, college: Memphis) secured 22 points and 13 boards for the Rockets in defeat.
Wilson Chandler (6'8''-F-87, agency: CGL Sports, college: De Paul) tallied 31 points and 12 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to an 85:80 victory over the Phoenix Suns. The Knicks denied a 5-point first period deficit to celebrate a difficult victory at the end. Chandler nailed 14 points in the final term including 10 of the final 15 New York points in the game. D.J. Strawberry (6'5''-G-85, college: Maryland) cut the deficit to two points with 19 seconds left but Wilson Chandler dropped two freebies to seal the winning outcome for the Knicks. Mardy Collins and Anthony Roberson nailed 13 points apiece for the winners. D.J. Strawberry secured 21 points for the Suns. Alando Tucker chipped in 19 points in a loss.
Quincy Douby (6'3''-G-84, college: Rutgers) poured in 36 points and Sacramento prevailed against Golden State 94:91. Jason Thompson (6'11''-F-86, agency: CAA Sports, college: Rider) ensured the victory for the Kings with three points in the final seconds. He finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds in a winning case. C.J. Watson (6'2''-G-84, college: Tennessee) answered with 24 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds for the Warriors.
Andray Blatche (6'11''-C-86) drained 22 points and pulled down 9 rebounds in Washingtons 72:69 victory over Cleveland. Dominic McGuire (6'8''-F/G-85, college: Fresno St.) hit 12 points, while Javale McGee added 11 for the winners. Romel Beck (6'8''-G/F-82, agency: Interperformances, college: UNLV) responded with 13 points for the Cavs in a loss.

*****************************************************
  NCAA1   


Argentina celebrates title at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship - by Eurobasket News
Argentina U18 - United States U18 77:64

Argentinean Junior National Team scored a comprehensive 77:64 win over the United States in the FIBA Americas Championship Final Game in Formosa. It was just the second loss for the United States team in the history of their participation at the event. Argentina was well cheered up by the supportive crowd of more than 5000 spectators to jump to an early lead. The hosts enjoyed a 20:11 advantage late in the opening stanza. Argentina built a 26:18 lead at the end of the quarter. The teams slowed down in the second frame as the tension grew stronger. The USA outscored their opponents 10:9 and trailed by 7 points at halftime 28:35. The teams traded the baskets early in the third stanza and the North Americans managed to cut the deficit to 6 points. However Argentina exploded with 11 points in a row to establish 53:36 advantage late in the frame. Argentina entered the final period up by 16 points. The USA fought bravely in the final period but the home team easily secured the winning outcome and was awarded Gold Medals. Mateo Gaynor (198-G-90) and Juan Manuel Fernandez (195-G-90) had 16 points for the winners. Matias Nocedal (192-G-90, agency: Interperformances) scored 15 points for Argentina. Kemba Walker (183-G-90) answered with 21 points and 7 boards for the USA. Walker was trumped the tournaments MVP after the game. Malcolm Lee (193-G) secured 13 points in a loss.

Argentina U18: Mateo Gaynor 16, Juan Manuel Fernandez 16, Matias Nocedal 15
USA U18: Kemba Walker 21, Malcolm Lee 13

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


New Zealand is held off by Greece - by Eurobasket News
Greece - New Zealand 75:48

New Zealand was just a whisker away from the qualification to the Olympic Games but failed to make that step. They came up short against powerful Greek team in Athens yesterday and were eliminated from Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament. Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82, agency: Beo Basket) nailed 14 points as Greece rolled to a comfortable win at the end. They will now face Puerto Rico in the semifinal. None of the Tall Black players managed to deliver in double figures. Lindsay Tait (194-G-82) secured 9 points in defeat. Greek defense limited Kirk Penney (194-G-80, college: Wisconsin) to just 8 points on a 1/11 three-point field goal shooting. He also committed uncharacteristic 6 turnovers down the stretch. Greece opened the game in a storming manner going 15:2 early on. The hosts controlled the tempo and maintained a 22:12 lead at the first intermission. The Kiwis stayed within striking distance in the second frame but Greece capped the first half on a 7:1 run to close it and accumulated a 17-point advantage at the interval. Lindsay Tait and Kirk Penney scored free throws, while Pero Cameron (199-F-74, agency: Duran International) nailed a three-pointer as New Zealand cut the deficit to 12 points midway through the third stanza. But Greece easily restored a 19-point cushion to enter the final term. Paora Winitana drilled a three-pointer but Greece answered with 8 unanswered points to clear off for good early in the fourth quarter. Dimitris Diamantidis (196-G-80) netted 11 points for Greece. Pero Cameron and Mika Vukona (197-F-82) dropped 8 points in a losing effort. Greece outrebounded the Tall Blacks 39:23 and forced those to 17 turnovers. New Zealand shot only 30% from the field and 70% from free throw line.

Greece: Vassilis Spanoulis 14, Dimitris Diamantidis 11
New Zealand: Lindsay Tait 9, Mika Vukona 8, Pero Cameron 8, Kirk Penney 8

*****************************************************
  OLYMPIC GAMES   


2nd Semi Final - 3rd quarter: P. Rico Greece 50-68 - by Chris Mammides
The third quarter begun with a block shot of Sanchez over Vassilopoulos and an easy basket from Barea while Diamantidis answered with a 3pointer. Barea was on fire and with unanswered points cut the deficit to 41-51, 6.58 before the end of the third quarter. Barea continued to score and the difference went to 8 points, 45-53, 5.58 before the end of the quarter. Barea is the top scorer for the Puerto Rico team with 16 points, 8 of which were scored in the last 3 minutes with exactly the same way. Sofoklis Schortsianitis (206-C-85) (Big Sofo) though, was very hot, he scored 5 points with two goal-fouls nad brought the difference once more to 11 while he created big troubles in the centers of Puerto Rico as nearly every basket was foul too. Larry Ajuso scored his first points from the charity line 4.16 before the end of the third quarter. A magic assist from Papaloukas to Bouroussis made the score 49-62, 1.22 before the end of the quarter. A three pointer from Diamantidis put the tombstone to the Puerto Ricans dreams as the difference went up to 17 points, 50-67 0.24 before the end of the quarter. The final score for the third quarter was 50-68. Top performer for this quarter was definitely Sofoklis Schortsianitis with his 13 points in total but also the 5 fouls he won against the Puerto Rican centers.

2nd semi final First half: P. Rico Greece 35-48 - by Chris Mammides
The second quarter started with a 2pointer of Big Sofo over Ramos. Barea became the 3rd P. Rican player to score after scoring the 1of 2 from the charity line. Rivera the ex AEKs player scored a long three pointer and cut the deficit to 15-21, 7.39 before the end of the first half but Tsartsaris was there to equalise the three pointers. Barea succeeded a goal foul over the newcomer Bourousis, while Spanoulis once more balanced the three point game with a three pointer from the arc. A couple of diverse fouls from the Spanish referee Mr. Hierrezuelo (Spanish to call P. Ricans??) brought the difference to only 6 points, 23-29, 5.07 before the end of the first half. Spanoulis with another 3pointer, Bourousis with a goal-foul and Big Sofo with a basket in the paint after the amazing assist given by Papaloukas made the score 27-41, 1.37 before the end of the first half. The p. Ricans with 2 3 pointers cut the deficit to 10 before a new 3pointer from Vassilopoulos comes to increase the deficit to 13 by the end of the half. Score is 35-48 with top performer in this quarter Spanoulis who scored 6 and Bourousis who scored 5.


2nd Semi Final 1st quarter: Puerto Rico Greece 11-17 - by Chris Mammides
The Puerto Rican team started the game with Aroyo, Ayuso, Jones Cama, Sanchez, Lee and Peter John Ramos (222-C-85) while Coach Yiannakis used today as starters the same five as in the Preliminary round: Spanoulis, Diamantidis, Vassilopoulos, Fotsis and Tsartsaris.
OAKA is packed! There are probably more than 18,000 Basketball fans in the court, the atmosphere once more is great. The game begun as usual with a basket by Diamantidis, followed by two free throws from Tsartsaris and a steal with a 2pointer by Spanoulis and a very early 6-0 in one minute. Tough defence from the Hellenic team and an early 2-10 but two fouls were called against Spanoulis. Lee scored 2 free throws for P. Rico while Fotsis scored his first 3pointer 5.55 before the end of the quarter. Another steal from Tsartsaris and Spanoulis is scoring an amazing reverse lay-up to shape a difference of 11 points 4-15, 5.34 before the end of the quarter. Lee scored the first P. Rican 3pointer 4.30 before the end. The first change for the Hellenic NT is Zisis over Spanoulis. Schortsianitis scored his first basket 10 seconds after his entrance in the game. The score is now 7-17, 2.49 before the end of the quarter. The captain of the Hellenic team entered to the court 2.25 before the end of the quarter. The quarter is finishing with 11-19. Top scorer for the Greek team are 4 players with 4 points while from the P. Rican team Peter John Ramos has 6 and Lee 5 as they are the only two players to score!.

Semi Finals - 1st quarter: Croatia - Germany 24-14 - by Chris Mammides
The Croats with an amazing Marko Tomas (200-G-85) overscored Dirk Nowitzki's team with ten points in this first quarter. The big Dirk was only able t oscore 6 points and mainly it was the reason why the Croats were able to take this quite big difference at the beggining of the game. Anotehr factor is obviously the very good defence of the Croats especially against the shorter players of the German team as Roller and Green are having big troubles agains the Croats. Top scorer as mentioned before was Marko Tomas with 11 poitns in less than 8 minutes.

2nd semi final - First half :P. Rico Greece 35-48 - by Chris Mammides
The second quarter started with a 2pointer of Big Sofo over Ramos. Barea became the 3rd P. Rican player to score after scoring the 1of 2 from the charity line. Rivera the ex AEKs player scored a long three pointer and cut the deficit to 15-21, 7.39 before the end of the first half but Tsartsaris was there to equalise the three pointers. Barea succeeded a goal foul over the newcomer Bourousis, while Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82) once more balanced the three point game with a three pointer from the arc. A couple of diverse fouls from the Spanish referee Mr. Hierrezuelo (Spanish to call P. Ricans??) brought the difference to only 6 points, 23-29, 5.07 before the end of the first half. Vassilis Spanoulis with another 3pointer, Bourousis with a goal-foul and Big Sofo with a basket in the paint after the amazing assist given by Papaloukas made the score 27-41, 1.37 before the end of the first half. The p. Ricans with 2 3 pointers cut the deficit to 10 before a new 3pointer from Vassilopoulos comes to increase the deficit to 13 by the end of the half. Score is 35-48 with top performer in this quarter Vassilis Spanoulis who scored 6 and Bourousis who scored 5.

Semi-Finals: The Greek team thrashed the Puerto Rico 63-88 - by Chris Mammides
The 4th and final score begun with Santiagos dunk and 1 free throw from Jones Cama, but the Head Coach of Puerto Rico Mr. Manuel Cintron was not calmed enough and was called a technical foul, the Greek team scored 2 easy points. The score became 55-70 with the 2 free throws from Sanchez, 6.35 before the end of the game. There have been many fights during the last minutes so the two coaches had to calm things and for this reason mainly Manuel Cintron took the time out for his team with the score being 55-73, 5.12 before the end of the game. The Greek team has currently 4 players with double digits, with Sofoklis Schortsianitis leading the race with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Not for long though as Diamantidis with his 4th 3pointer made his personal points 15 and the difference 19 with the board showing 57-76, 4.38 before the end. It is more than obvious that the Hellenic team will travel to China for the Olympic games!! The difference went up to 20 points for the first time 3.28 before the end of the game, 58-78, before Vassilopoulos scores another 3pointer and Papaloukas a lay-up t make the difference 58-83 and to 25 points, 2.24 before the end of the game. The rest is simply history! The final result was 63-88

Semi Finals: 2nd quarter- Croatia Germany 36-31 - by Chris Mammides
Nowitzki's great performance in the first 3 minutes, the German NBAer scored 10 points and cut the deficit to a single basket 26-24. The Croats in the first 3.45 were able to score just a two free throws. The next couple of minutes belonged to Planinic and Loncar as the two players scored blocked and rebound in less than 3 minutes, bringing the score into a safety figure for their team, score 2.49 before the end of the first half 36-26.
The next two minutes was a monologue on behalf of the superstar NBAer Dirk Nowitzki (211-F-78) as he scored, earn a couple of fouls and rebound but he was all alone as his team-mates and especially the guards forgot their good form and were not able to help their leader. The score was 36-31 1.06 before the end of the game. The Croats loose another couple of baskets so the scored remained unchanged for the last minutes. Top scorer of this quarter was Dirk Nowitzki with his 19 points. On behalf of the Croat NT, Tomas didnt score but he remains at the top as the other Croat with some decent figures was Planinic with his 6.

Semi Finals: 3rd quarter Croatia Vs Germany 47-48 - by Chris Mammides
OAKA is slowly slowly becoming more crowded, Hellenic flags, cups and jerseys are colouring in blue OAKAs atmosphere, the game follows between Greece and Puerto Rico is sold out. In regards to the game now, Loncar scored the first basket while Kaman answer with a basket in the paint scoring his 6th point. The scored remain 2-2, 7.30 before the end of the third quarter, the negative factor for the German NT is the 3rd foul which was called for Kaman 7.17 before the end of the 3rd quarter. Kaman lost the last 4 offences for his team before he was able to score 4 unanswered points 4.26 before the end making the score 40-39 (Nowitzki added another two points from the charity line), the 2 NBAers have now 31 points from the German team (21 by Nowitzki and 10 by Kaman). In the next 2 minutes, Planininc succeeded I tip in after his own shot while Roller scored his first three pointer and soon after a two pointer bringing his team in the leading role 1.42 before the end 42-44. Tomas balanced the game with two shots from the free throw line and Zoran Planinic (198-G-82) scored a two pointer but 0.10 before the end of the 3rd quarter was called a technical foul (he wanted a foul in an attempt for a three pointer which was never called) and the German team with Nowitzki scored the one out of 2. Chris Kaman (213-C-82, college: Cent.Michigan) was the top performer in the 3rd quarter as he scored 8 points.

1st Semi Final Game: Croatia beat the Germans and is waiting an opponent for the finals - by Chris Mammides

The 4th quarter begun with a 3pointer scored by Davor Kus, a 2pointer scored by Prkcin while was continued with a couple of false balls by the German NT. The score was 52-49, 6.49 before the end of the game. Prkacin was hot and he proved it with another 3 points scored against the Big Dirg as he succeeded a goal-foul. Prkacin had now 8 points. The score was now 55-51, 5.10 before the end of the game. Tomas succeeded the highlighted scene of the game as he scored an amazing basket against Schultze. The game was turning now towards the Croats as Nowitzki was not able to score while Kus scored another 3pointer, brining the score to 63-53. The German NT had only 3.32 to fight the game and diverse the deficit of -10 points. Was it possible?? They just needed a small miracle to happen. The Greek fans were obviously voting for Germany.

The game was over only when an offensive rebound was won by the Croats. Marko Tomas (200-G-85) was the MVP of the game with his 21 points. The game was over, the Croats with more physical strength, better psychology and way much better basketball at the fourth and most crucial quarter, beat the Germans with 76-70 even though Dirk Nowitzki gave his best shot, he was all alone for another one tournament, the German team will now wait to see their opponent for a position in the Olympic games in less than two months in Beijing. For the History to add that Dirk Nowitzki finsihed the game with 30 points ,13 rebounds and 18 drawn fouls



*****************************************************
  POLAND   


Ronald Burrell in Prokom. - by David Roguski

Polish League Champion, Prokom Trefl Sopot decided to sign Ronnie Burrell (204-F-83, agency: Pro One Sports, college: NC-Greensboro), who played in Telekom Baskets Bonn last season was averaging 12.4 ppg and 5.0 rpg. He played for North Carolina University and later in France /for Levallois SCB/ and Germany /for RheinEnergie Koeln/. Burrell typically positioned as power forward. American player is the next strenghtening after David Logan. Burrell signed one-year contract with Prokom.



*****************************************************
  PORTUGAL   


Portugal under20 team wins against Holland - by Bruno Baltazar
In the first game ever in the new arena of Ancas in Anadia ,Portugal keeped their preparation to the European under 20 to be held soon.
In a very balanced game in a festivity arena (even the Holland national team head coach was surprised by the athmosphere lived in the new arena) Portugal won in the last seconds on the game just by 1 point , 65-64 was the final result of another preparation game.

Portugal 64 - Russia 86 - by Bruno Baltazar
After the yesterday pathetic(due the difference of points) defeat against Spain , Portugal played against the European champs in Caceres,Spain in the International Extremadura Tournament.
The first half was a copy of the entire game against Spain,in the 1st quarter a partial of 21-8 decided the game and Portugal needs to improve alot as seems they cant do nothing right,in 10 minuts they only made 1 field goal and the many struggles on the ofensive game shows they need to practise alot on the tathical field.
The 2nd quarter Portugal did more scoring 12 points,at the half Russia had 47pts and Portugal stats were a shame with 4-21 in field goals,15 turnovers,16 fouls.
In the 3rd quarter everything was diferent with the 3 point shots Portugal ended the period with a tie in those 10 minuts(24-24) and won the last quarter with a partial of 20-15 due the fact Russia in the last quarter was using their bench ,Paulo Cunha only played 1.08minuts because he got himself injured.

PORTUGAL (64) - Joao Figueiredo (8), Mario Fernandes (0), Joao Santos (13) Miguel Miranda (0) and Elvis Evora (13). Paulo Cunha (0), Jaime Silva (3), Nuno Cortez (3), Jorge Coelho (0), Carlos Andrade (9), Nuno Marcal (9) and Jose Costa (6).

Head coach: Moncho Lopez

RUSSIA (86) - Holden (4), Bykov (3), Monya (7), Kirilenko (7) and Savrasenko (7). Shabalkin (0), Morgunov (4), Samoylenko (3), Pashutin (7), Ponkrashov (4), Keyru (7) and Shved (5), Vitali Fridzon (195-G-85) (15), Vorontsevich (13), Kaun (0).

Head coach: David Blatt

Partiais: 8-21, 12-26, 24-24 and 20-15

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


Canadian Junior Team clinches Bronze in Argentina - by Eurobasket News
Canada U18 - Puerto Rico U18 83:68

Tristan Thompson (203-F) led balanced offense with 18 points and 10 boards as Canada scored a comfortable win over Puerto Rico in the consolation final of the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. Canada got to a better start to the game as they enjoyed an 18:15 lead after ten minutes of action. Puerto Rico answered with a 14:4 run early in the second stanza to establish a 29:22 lead. Canada stayed cool and pulled away with a 37:34 halftime advantage. The North American team forced the issue early in the third frame when they posted an 11:0 surge and extended their lead to as many as 14 points. Canada maintained the gap well and earned a 13-point cushion heading into the final period. Puerto Rico however never gave it up as they clipped the distance to 4 points midway through the final frame. However Tristan Thompson and Mangisto Arop (197-G-90) secured the winning outcome for Canada at the end. Mangisto Arop delivered 16 points and 11 boards for Canadian team. Marc Trasolini (206-F-90) had 12 points and 11 boards for the winners. Raymond Cintron (186-G-90) replied with 21 points for Puerto Rico. Isaac Sosa (188-G-90) registered 19 points and 6 boards in defeat. Canada dominated the boards 49:29 and limited Puerto Rico to 34% accuracy from the field. Canada sank 56% of field goals for the win.

Canada U18: Tristan Thompson 18+10 boards, Mangisto Arop 16+11 boards, Marc Trasolini 12+11 boards
Puerto Rico U18: Raymond Cintron 21, Isaac Sosa 19

Puerto Rico to face Germany in quest for Olympic Berth - by Luis Ramirez
Puerto Rico failed to gain an Olympic berth today as Greece defeated Puerto Rico 88-63. Puerto Rico fell behind in the opening minutes of the 1st quarter and was never able to answer Greece intensity thru out the games. The first quarter ended in favor of Greece 19-11. In the 2nd quarter it was much the same as the 1st, Puerto Rico seemed out of sync while Greece would go on to take a 13 point advantage to end the 1st half 48-35. At the start of the 3rd quarter Puerto Rico seemed to come alive as Jose Juan Barea (181-G-84, agency: KMG Sports Management, college: Northeastern) used his speed to score and trim the lead somewhat but Greece once again went on an offensive run of their own and once again ran their lead up to 18 points as the 3rd quarter came to an end 68-50. In the 4th quarter Puerto Rico started showing signs of frustration. Greece continued to dominate at will and it was just a matter of time as Greece would win a spot along with Croacia at the China Olympics. Now Puerto Rico will have to defeat Germany tomorrow if they are to earn the last qualifying spot for the Olympics. For Greece, Dimitris Diamantidis scored 15 points followed by Vasileios Spanaoulis with 14 points. For Puerto Rico, Jose Juan Barea scored 16 points to be the only Puerto Rico player to reach double figures in the game.

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


Khryapa will continue recovering in Moscow - by Marina Vyalova
After practicing with the National Team, CSKA`s forward Victor Khryapa got back from Italy yesterday to have additional medical testing on injured ankle. His participation in the Olympics is still undecided.
MRI revealed torn ligaments in Khryapa's ankle. According to doctors, Victor should not load his ankle for a week. Presumably he could start practicing again only on August the 10th.


- It's a pity that I have to stop preparing for the Olympics, - Khryapa said. - But in Italy, I could not practice at full strength. I stepped onto the parquet
only a day before yesterday, and not because of basketball - just to be with the team. Today we talked on the phone with general manager Sergei Tarakanov and decided to discuss
my future on the team after it's return to Moscow.

BC Khimky latest news: one new player and new head coach assistant - by Aleksandra Sanders

Carlos Delfino became the BC Khimki player

BC Khimki signed a 3-years contract with Olympic Champion, the guard of National team of Argentina Carlos Delfino. The signature of this contract has become one of the most important operation in Europe.
Carlos Delfino became the BC Khimki player
18 July 2008
BC Khimki signed a 3-years contract with Olympic Champion, the guard of National team of Argentina Carlos Delfino. The signature of this contract has become one of the most important operation in Europe.


With great pleasure I can establish a fact that the negotiations are concluded with success, said the general director of BC Khimki Victor BYCHKOV. We signed a long-term contract with great Argentinian player, the Olympic champion-2004, the guard who played in NBA and had much playing time Carlos Delfino. Many great teams from NBA and Europe hold an interest in him. But Delfino chose BC Khimki . Our exalted aims attract him.

Delfino has spent the past season playing for Toronto Raptors where he averaged 8,6 poiints, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 assistants per game.

'I am so excited about joining Khimki' said Delfino. I really wanted to play in Europe again. Khimki has a very ambitious project and they are on their way to becoming one of the strongest teams in Russia and in Europe. Im going to give it all I have'.

Delfino is now on the roster of the Argentinean National Team and will participate at the Olympics Games that will take place in August in Beijing. On September 10th he will sign his contract and make the official presentation with the local media in Moscow Region.


Oleg Meleschenko will assist Kestutis Kemzura


The well-known former guard Oleg Meleschenko returned to the BC Khimki coachs staff. Last season he started as a head coach of Lokomotiv Rostov and then he became a scout of BC Khimki. Next season he will be an assistant of head coach Kestutis Kemzura.


I am very happy to work in BC Khimki, in which I feel myself at home said Meleschenko. It is very pleasantly for me being a part of professional collective, who has only exalted aims.

Oleg Meleschenko
As a player he was popular at the end of 80es and nineties. His career began in SKA (Alma-Ata) headed by Oleg Kim. Then he became a playmaker of National team of USSR, earned silver medal of World Championship 1990.

Teams played: Samara, CSK VVS (Samara), Lokomotiv (Mineralnye Vody), Arsenal (Tula) and the club from Prievidza (Slovakia). The champion of Czechoslovakia, twice champion of Slovakia. Last season as a player he played in BC Khimki (2001-02).

As a coach he debuted in 2005-06 in Dynamo Saint-Petersburg. Then he became an assistant of Kestutis Kemzura in BC Khimki. The first part of season 2007-08 he headed the team Lokoimotiv Rostov. And then he returned to the coachs staff of BC Khimki.



*****************************************************
  SEBL   


SEBL City B-League & WSEBL Scores for Saturday July 19th... - by David Archer

Cartersville, GA - The SEBL City B-League Conference and WSEBL continued play on Saturday at JH Morgan Gym on Aubrey Street. Results are listed below.

--------------------------------------------------
Sat., July 19th @ JH Morgan Gym:

(WSEBL) House of Liberty 41 Prime Time 33... HOL, sponsored by WHLB 104.9, played a great game and pulled of an upset of Prime Time. Timolyn Dudley downed 13 points for HOL, while Monesha Wilkins had 9, Chantel Bradley 8, Brooke Spencer 6, and Jessica Leonard 4. For Prime Time, Racquel McGee had 13 and Miecha Baker got six.


(WSEBL) Kennesaw 44 Lady Colonels 28... Kennesaw had to fight for a 16-point victory. Lady Colonels just kept hanging around until the final stretch when Mattatha decided to carry Kennesaw home by scoring 10 of her 15 total down the stretch. Amanda had 13, Shannon six and Stacy six. For the Lady Colonels, Jasmine Mays got seven, Jasmine Wilson six and Natasha Morris five.


Summer Hill 72 Rockmart 46... Despite playing with out several players, SH managed to put together a solid team defensive efforts in its victory over Rockmart. SH held Rockmart to 18 first half points, while taking a 23 point lead into the break. Then, they cruised to their 5th win of the summer behind the balanced scoring of Chris Brown and Mike Linley, who both had 17 points. Chris Jones also got 15, Mike Reynolds 10, Chris Palmore six, Marcus Henderson four and Antone Anderson three. For Rockmart, Kyle Hoxie got 13, Deun Hoxie seven. Blake Albert, Jamie Williams and Darius White each tallied six in the loss fo Rockmart.



Owen FH 75 Dalton Wholesale 73 (OT)... Owen Funeral home came roaring back from a big deficit. They trailed 40-30 at the break, but were down by as many as 19 (37-18) in the first half, before beginning a methodical comeback to tie the game at 69-all and force OT. Ronnie Donaldson's presence in the paint was the big difference, as he was unstoppable around the basket and opened the offense up for Roman Gilliam and Michael Woodward to work the perimeter for baskets. Donaldson helped Owen to their first win of the summer with 23 points, Gilliam followed with 22, Woodward 16, Jon Owen six, Clay Howell five and Georgie Russell three. For Dalton, who led the entire game before crumbling down the stretch, Allen Moore had 18, TJ McClain 17, Tim Fortenberry 14, Devante McClain 13, Josh Wilson eight and Joel Wilson two.


North Metro 61 Polk County 46... North Metro Tech's team of potential recruits turned another impressive defensive effort with a 15-point win over an improved Polk team. the first half was tight, as NMTC got out to a 10 point lead, only to see the quicker Polk team rally to trim it to 23-20 by the half.. North Metro opened with a bucket to start the second half, but again Polk rallied and took the lead at 28-27 on a Byron Hall triple from deep. After a timeout, NMTC went on a 10-0 run, capped by a slam by Scott Windom and timely three-pointer by PG Daryl Williams, Jr. NMTC was able to keep an insurmountable spread the rest of the way. Windom led all scorers wtih 20, while Williams had 12, Breion Brazier 10, Omar Prewitt seven points and two charges taken, Andra Pope seven points and 1 charge taken, and Brandon Harris three. For Polk, Montero Fezzia had 14, Patrick Printup had 13, Hall nine, Tie Fezzia five, Jarmond Bailey three and Ladarius Strickland two.


Sixers 100 Cedartown 87 (forfeited game)... Cedartown was supended until league fees are tendered, but a game was still played. The Sixers played an exhibition game, of sorts. During the run, Timmy Dudley shined with 31 points, while Mario Jordan had 24, Lamar Hudson 21, Demtrius Metcalf 18, Ricardo Dupervil 14, Darrell Wilkins 13, Evan Wilson 8 and Sammy George four. The Sixers moved to 2-3 on the summer. Cedartown will have until Friday to comply with league fee guidelines. If they fail to submit, they will be terminated from the SEBL City B-League.


AWU-Howren 89 Knicks-2 50... AWU-Howren had an easy go of it against a roster depleted Knicks-2 squad in the night-cap. The Knicks-2 who were very competitive with a re-vamped roster last Tuesday night, had several players suspended for failure to comply with league fee guidlines and subsequently took a big hit, rendering them with out the ability to compete at a high-level. AWU took fule advantage and they raced to a 20 point lead quickly and never looked back. Rod Ashmore led the way with 24, while Mike Howren had 21, Kevin Hammit 16, Carter Deems 12, Junior Gonzalez nine and newcomer Deron Davis seven. For the Knicks-2, Blake King, Cory Warn and Terrick Cochran all had 15, while Chaz Leonard got three, Michael Frazier two and Chris Nichols two.
---------------------------------------------------

A complete City B-League and WSEBL schedule may be viewed at: http://www.leaguelineup.com/topnews.asp?url=sebl&sid=708305499&itemid=1668530

A Full Metro A-League schedule may be viewed at: http://www.leaguelineup.com/topnews.asp?url=sebl&sid=708305499&itemid=1668541

General Information about the SEBL can be viewed at: http://www.leaguelineup.com/sebl




Standings
SEBL Standings
City B-East
 1. Summ.Hill BD 5-0 
 2. BC Sixers 2-3 
 3. Owen FH 1-2 
 4. BC Howren 1-2 
 5. Polk Co. 0-4 
City B-West
 1. Metro Tech 3-0 
 2. Cedart.B. II 2-2 
 3. BC Dalton 2-3 
 4. Rockmart 1-2 
 5. BC Knicks-2 1-3 
Metro A-North
 1. Cartersville W. 3-0 
 2. BC Force 2-1 
 3. BC Skyline 2-1 
 4. ServPro-1 2-1 
 5. Marietta O. 1-1 
 6. BC Celtics 1-2 
 7. Smyrna K. 0-2 
 8. Supreme 0-3 
Metro A-South
 1. Speedboys 4-1 
 2. BC Lakers 4-1 
 3. Young Gunz 3-2 
 4. Tri-County 2-3 
 5. Black Monop 2-3 
 6. D.O.T.S. 0-5 


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


Primoz Brezec in Lotomatica Virtus Roma - by Jan Flac
Guessings where an NBA player Primoz Brezec (216-F/C-79) will continue his career are over, as he just signed a new contract with Lottomatica Virtus Roma and joined Sani Becirovic, another Slovenian basketball virtuoso in the team. . .

*****************************************************
  TOURNAMENT OF THE AMERICAS U18   


FIBA Americas U18 Championship. Finals - by Eurobasket News
Final
Argentina U18 - United States U18 77:64
Argentinean Junior National Team scored a comprehensive 77:64 win over the United States in the FIBA Americas Championship Final Game in Formosa. It was just the second loss for the United States team in the history of their participation at the event. Argentina was well cheered up by the supportive crowd of more than 5000 spectators to jump to an early lead. The hosts enjoyed a 20:11 advantage late in the opening stanza. Argentina built a 26:18 lead at the end of the quarter. The teams slowed down in the second frame as the tension grew stronger. The USA outscored their opponents 10:9 and trailed by 7 points at halftime 28:35. The teams traded the baskets early in the third stanza and the North Americans managed to cut the deficit to 6 points. However Argentina exploded with 11 points in a row to establish 53:36 advantage late in the frame. Argentina entered the final period up by 16 points. The USA fought bravely in the final period but the home team easily secured the winning outcome and was awarded Gold Medals. Mateo Gaynor (198-G-90) and Juan Manuel Fernandez (195-G-90) had 16 points for the winners. Matias Nocedal (192-G-90, agency: Interperformances) scored 15 points for Argentina. Kemba Walker (183-G-90) answered with 21 points and 7 boards for the USA. Walker was trumped the tournaments MVP after the game. Malcolm Lee (193-G) secured 13 points in a loss.

Argentina U18: Mateo Gaynor 16, Juan Manuel Fernandez 16, Matias Nocedal 15
USA U18: Kemba Walker 21, Malcolm Lee 13


Bronze Medals Game
Canada U18 - Puerto Rico U18 83:68
Tristan Thompson (203-F) led balanced offense with 18 points and 10 boards as Canada scored a comfortable win over Puerto Rico in the consolation final of the FIBA Americas U18 Championship. Canada got to a better start to the game as they enjoyed an 18:15 lead after ten minutes of action. Puerto Rico answered with a 14:4 run early in the second stanza to establish a 29:22 lead. Canada stayed cool and pulled away with a 37:34 halftime advantage. The North American team forced the issue early in the third frame when they posted an 11:0 surge and extended their lead to as many as 14 points. Canada maintained the gap well and earned a 13-point cushion heading into the final period. Puerto Rico however never gave it up as they clipped the distance to 4 points midway through the final frame. However Tristan Thompson and Mangisto Arop (197-G-90) secured the winning outcome for Canada at the end. Mangisto Arop delivered 16 points and 11 boards for Canadian team. Marc Trasolini (206-F-90) had 12 points and 11 boards for the winners. Raymond Cintron (186-G-90) replied with 21 points for Puerto Rico. Isaac Sosa (188-G-90) registered 19 points and 6 boards in defeat. Canada dominated the boards 49:29 and limited Puerto Rico to 34% accuracy from the field. Canada sank 56% of field goals for the win.

Canada U18: Tristan Thompson 18+10 boards, Mangisto Arop 16+11 boards, Marc Trasolini 12+11 boards
Puerto Rico U18: Raymond Cintron 21, Isaac Sosa 19


5th-6th spots
Venezuela U18 - Uruguay U18 74:63
Venezuelan Junior National Team clinched the 5th spot at the FIBA Americas Championship in Argentina. Yesterday they wrapped up their campaign with a comfortable win over Uruguay. Venezuela stressed the defense in the encounter and the scheme worked out smoothly. They limited their opponents to only 11 points in the first quarter and piled up a 17:11 lead into the second frame. The complexion of the game hardly changed in the second stanza as Venezuelan side answered every other basket from Uruguay and kept their opponents at bay. Venezuela rolled to a 36:28 advantage at the interval. Uruguay failed to cut the distance in the third quarter as Gregory Echenique (208-C-90) paced Venezuela to another success at the tournament. They stretched the margin to 13 points before the final quarter and easily withstood all the Uruguayan efforts in the dying stages. Gregory Echenique finished the game with 21 points and 12 boards for Venezuela. Miguel Rivas (182-G-90) knocked down 15 points in a win. Bruno Fitipaldo (193-G-91) dropped 20 points for Uruguay. Nicolas Catala (196-F-91) posted 8 points and 12 boards in a losing effort. The teams were almost equally matched in the paint as Uruguay outrebounded Venezuela 36:34. Venezuela in the meantime limited their opponents to 35% accuracy from the field, while converting 39% of field goals.

Venezuela U18: Gregory Echenique 21+12 boards, Miguel Rivas 15, Yonaiker Ecker (179-G-90) 12
Uruguay U18: Bruno Fitipaldo 20, Nicolas Catala 8+12 boards


7th-8th spots
Mexico U18 - Bahamas U18 72:71 (OT)
Mexican U18 National Team needed overtime to topple Bahamas in the final game of the FIBA Americas Championship for both teams. Mexico managed to overcome an early 6-point deficit to force the extra period and pulled away with a narrow victory at the end. Mexican juniors thus clinched the 7th overall spot at the tournament leaving Bahamas winless at the 8th. Bahamas opened a 16:10 lead after the opening stanza and maintained it throughout the major part of the game. However Mexico bounced back in the final quarter. They denied the deficit and surged in front 60:54 with under 3 minutes left in regulation. Bahamas held on as Leon Cooper (188-G-91) notched a jumper sending the game into overtime. In the extra period Mexico turned out a bit luckier as they eke out a narrow victory. Carlos Toussaint (191-G-91) led all scorers with 23 points. Jorge Casillas (196-F-90) provided 22 points and 14 boards for the winners. Donathen Moss (201-C-90) answered with 15 points and 16 boards for Bahamas. Shavaro Bowleg (198-F-90) tallied 14 points, while Leon Cooper finished with 13 in a loss. Bahamas outrebounded their opponents 56:41 but committed 18 turnovers down the stretch. They also shot only 12% from downtown allowing Mexico to prevail at the end.

Mexico U18: Carlos Toussaint 23, Jorge Casillas 22+14 boards, Armando Fernandez (188-G-90) 11
Bahamas U18: Donathen Moss 15+16 boards, Shavaro Bowleg 14, Leon Cooper 13

*****************************************************
  U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS   


V.I . kids travel to Orlando for AAU - by David Edole
Twelve young Virgin Islanders will have a chance to showcase their basketball talent when they play in Disney's Wide World of Sports 2008 AAU Super Showcase. The team left the territory on Friday and is set to register for games in the 15 Under/ 9th Grade division that is slated to start on Monday and ends on Wednesday. Most of the kids come out of the Zero Tolerance Organization program with two coming from St. Croix by way of the Ronald Charles Biddy Basketball Organization. All games will be played in Orlando, Florida.
Zero Tolerance has been placed in Pool J along with Georgia Stars Black, Martin Bros. Select and Courtside Cavalier.

The Players: Agei Gregory, Jonathan Fontanelle, Corey Joseph, Sekai Petersen (13 years old) , Deshawn Holliday, Mewin Potter, Kishawn Fleming, Demetri Matthias, Shanel Caines, Jamoi Edinborough, Kashawn Francis and Adis Elliot

The Schedule
07/21 Zero Tolerance vs. Georgia Stars Black 11:30 AM @ Jostens Center 1
07/21 Zero Tolerance vs. Martin Bros. Select 5:00 PM @ Jostens Center 5
7/22 Zero Tolerance vs. Courtside Cavalier 11:30 AM @ Cypress Creek

To follow the teams progress click HERE..

V.I. Finest wins, Jah Youths clinch series in ABA Men's Summer hoops playoffs - by David Edole
ST. THOMAS - Jah Youths advanced to the next round while V.I. Finest forced a Game 3 in their series on Thursday night in ABA Men's Summer Basketball League playoff action at the BCB gym.

In the first game, Jah Youths completed a sweep of their first-round series by beating Top Dogs, 108-99. Jeff Roberts led Jah Youths with 20 points and 23 rebounds, followed by Jamari Maduro with 17 points and four assists, while Kevin Abbott and Troy Willock added 14 points each, and Zack Coffelt dished out 9 assists.

Top Dogs were led by Devon Lake with 28 points and 20 rebounds. Aubrey Daniel followed with 24 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Jason Hercules scored 20 points while Randolph Dunlop collected 16 rebounds.

Jay Youths advanced to face TWI at 8:45 p.m. tonight.

In the night's second game, V.I. Finest edged the Heavy Hitters, 63-61, to force Game 3 at 7 p.m. tonight. Fitzroy Dunrod led V.I. Finest with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Ackie Matthew and Weston Matthew followed with 12 points each, and Ackie added 9 rebounds.

Rocardo Oquendo led the Heavy Hitters and all scorers with 32 points while pulling in 15 rebounds and 4 assists. Keenan George followed with 11 points and 3 rebounds.

*****************************************************
  URUGUAY   


Venezuela beats Uruguay for the 5th spot in Formosa - by Eurobasket News
Venezuela U18 - Uruguay U18 74:63

Venezuelan Junior National Team clinched the 5th spot at the FIBA Americas Championship in Argentina. Yesterday they wrapped up their campaign with a comfortable win over Uruguay. Venezuela stressed the defense in the encounter and the scheme worked out smoothly. They limited their opponents to only 11 points in the first quarter and piled up a 17:11 lead into the second frame. The complexion of the game hardly changed in the second stanza as Venezuelan side answered every other basket from Uruguay and kept their opponents at bay. Venezuela rolled to a 36:28 advantage at the interval. Uruguay failed to cut the distance in the third quarter as Gregory Echenique (208-C-90) paced Venezuela to another success at the tournament. They stretched the margin to 13 points before the final quarter and easily withstood all the Uruguayan efforts in the dying stages. Gregory Echenique finished the game with 21 points and 12 boards for Venezuela. Miguel Rivas (182-G-90) knocked down 15 points in a win. Bruno Fitipaldo (193-G-91) dropped 20 points for Uruguay. Nicolas Catala (196-F-91) posted 8 points and 12 boards in a losing effort. The teams were almost equally matched in the paint as Uruguay outrebounded Venezuela 36:34. Venezuela in the meantime limited their opponents to 35% accuracy from the field, while converting 39% of field goals.

Venezuela U18: Gregory Echenique 21+12 boards, Miguel Rivas 15, Yonaiker Ecker (179-G-90) 12
Uruguay U18: Bruno Fitipaldo 20, Nicolas Catala 8+12 boards

*****************************************************
  VENEZUELA   


Venezuela beats Uruguay for the 5th spot in Formosa - by Eurobasket News
Venezuela U18 - Uruguay U18 74:63

Venezuelan Junior National Team clinched the 5th spot at the FIBA Americas Championship in Argentina. Yesterday they wrapped up their campaign with a comfortable win over Uruguay. Venezuela stressed the defense in the encounter and the scheme worked out smoothly. They limited their opponents to only 11 points in the first quarter and piled up a 17:11 lead into the second frame. The complexion of the game hardly changed in the second stanza as Venezuelan side answered every other basket from Uruguay and kept their opponents at bay. Venezuela rolled to a 36:28 advantage at the interval. Uruguay failed to cut the distance in the third quarter as Gregory Echenique (208-C-90) paced Venezuela to another success at the tournament. They stretched the margin to 13 points before the final quarter and easily withstood all the Uruguayan efforts in the dying stages. Gregory Echenique finished the game with 21 points and 12 boards for Venezuela. Miguel Rivas (182-G-90) knocked down 15 points in a win. Bruno Fitipaldo (193-G-91) dropped 20 points for Uruguay. Nicolas Catala (196-F-91) posted 8 points and 12 boards in a losing effort. The teams were almost equally matched in the paint as Uruguay outrebounded Venezuela 36:34. Venezuela in the meantime limited their opponents to 35% accuracy from the field, while converting 39% of field goals.

Venezuela U18: Gregory Echenique 21+12 boards, Miguel Rivas 15, Yonaiker Ecker (179-G-90) 12
Uruguay U18: Bruno Fitipaldo 20, Nicolas Catala 8+12 boards



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

Women News

*****************************************************
  ALBANIA - Women  


Albania U16 to play in the Final - by Eurobasket News
Albania U16 - Scotland U16 59:57

Albanian U16 National Team edged the defending champions Scotland to advance to the Final of the European Championship in Division C. Yesterday Albanian team showed some heroics overcoming a 6-point halftime deficit and earning a difficult victory at the end. Albania got to a slightly better start to the game as they jumped ahead early on. Dashja and Mustafa once again were the main figures on the court for Albania as they ensured a 13:9 lead after the opening stanza. Scotland however quickly rebounded and answered with a rally fueled by Erin McGarrachan. Scottish team outscored their opponents 22:12 to accumulate a 31:25 advantage at the interval. Albania though were not surprised and kept mounting the pressure. They clipped the difference to just a single point at the end of the third stanza. Later Albania showed some defensive brilliancy as they limited Scottish players to just 11 points in the fourth stanza and pulled away with a hard-fought victory. Ingrit Dashja led the charge with 21 points and 13 boards. Irisi Mustafa had 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Merlina Metani secured 9 points for the winners. Erin McGarrachan answered with 23 points and 13 boards for Scotland. Jennifer Lynn provided 10 points and 8 boards in a loss. Albania had an edge under the rims as they outrebounded Scottish team 54:46. Scotland also shot just 1/25 from beyond the arc.
Albania will now take on Island in the championship game tonight. Scotland will be opposed by Malta in the consolation Final.

Albania U16: Ingrit Dashja 21+13 boards, Irisi Mustafa 16+16 boards, Merlina Metani 9
Scotland U16: Erin McGarrachan 23+13 boards, Jennifer Lynn 10

*****************************************************
  BARBADOS - Women  


Centrobasket 2008: Mexico outplays Barbados for 2-0 - by Eurobasket News
Barbados - Mexico 70-84

Mexico was too strong for Barbados in the second round of Centrobakset 2008. It means that the Mexicans are on top of Group A together with the host Puerto Rico. Barbados and Costa Rica are still winless after two games. Difference in quality between these two teams was seen already in the first frame. Mexico took control on its opponent playing strongly at the both ends of the court. Thanks to Abril Garcia (190-F/C-81, college: ORU) and Mariana Cota, Mexico had advantage of 6 points after first ten minutes. Nothing has changed in the next stanza as Mexicans went on the half time having plus 11. Jamila Griffith (183-G/F-82, college: Md-Eastern Shore) brought some hope for Barbados in third quarter that they are able to come a bit closer but it was a kind of a signal for Mexico. They once again put into the fifth gear confidently keeping its lead until the very end.

Abril Garcia paced the winners recording double-double, 24 points and 14 rebounds. Mexico got 17 points from Mariana Cota, who also had an important role in this win. Nubia Garcia (188-F) also shined collecting 13 points and 8 rebounds. Jamila Griffith was totally the best in Barbados delivering 22 points including 13 rebounds. Toni Atherley (173-G-83) was behind her with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Mexico will meet Puerto Rico tomorrow and the game will decide which team will finish competition in Group A on top. On the other side Costa Rica and Barbados will fight for the third place.


Barbados - Mexico 70-84
(16-22,18-23,19-23,17-16)

Barbados: Jamila Griffith 22 (13 rebs), Toni Atherley 18 (11 rebs)
Mexico: Abril Garcia 24 (14 rebs), Mariana Cota 17, Nubia Garcia 13 (8 rebs)

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


Bulgaria victorious at the start of U18 European Championship - by Eurobasket News
Bulgaria U18 - Belarus U18 69:62

Bulgarian Junior National Team celebrated their first win at the European Championship in Slovak Republic. Yesterday they opened their campaign with a narrow victory over Belarus in preliminary Group C. Stefka Nikolova (170-G-90) notched 26 points hitting 6/10 from beyond the arc to pace the winners. Stefka Nikolova and Aleksandra Kancheva (184-F-90) sparked the quick start for Bulgaria as they built an 18:10 lead 6 minutes into the game. However Veranika Valeuskaya (170-G-91) nailed 4 points in a 6:0 run from Belarus to cap the opening stanza and the gap was cut to 2 points. Belarus opened the second frame with a 7:0 rally to jump in front. Bulgaria needed three-pointers from Kocheva and Stanislava Stankova (170-G-90) to reestablish their lead again midway through the period. Aleksandra Kancheva netted a layup to finalize a 43:37 advantage for Bulgaria at halftime. A couple of treys from Stefka Nikolova allowed Bulgarians to remain ahead throughout the third stanza. Moreover they opened a 10-point cushion heading into the final quarter. Stefka Nikolova and Georgieva widened the damage to 13 points midway through the fourth stanza for it proved unassailable at the end. Aleksandra Kancheva and Stanislava Stankova secured 11 points apiece for Bulgaria. Boshkova pulled down 13 boards for the winners. Maryia Filonchyk (187-F-92) had 21 points and 9 boards for Belarusian team. Veranika Valeuskaya contributed 17 points in a losing effort.

Bulgaria U18: Stefka Nikolova 26, Aleksandra Kancheva 11, Stanislava Stankova 11
Belarus U18: Maryia Filonchyk 21+9 boards, Veranika Valeuskaya 17

Lenka Sipova paces Czech Republic past Belarus - by Eurobasket News
Czech Republic U20 - Belarus U20 78:69

Lenka Sipova (185-C-88) dropped 20 points and Czech Republic U20 National Team toppled Belarusian counterparts in Italy today. Czechs will now play for the 9th spot against Italy. Belarus will have a chance to finish the event at the 11th spot when they take on Montenegro tomorrow. Tatsiana Likhtarovich (179-G-88) exploded with 25 points and 5 steals but her effort was gone fruitless as Czech Republic prevailed in the end. Andrea Ovsikova (178-F-89) and Gabriela Giacintova (171-G-88) teamed up for 10 points in the first period as Czech Republic grabbed a 22:17 advantage. Czech team posted a 7:0 run early in the second period to open up a double digit lead. Belarus cut it back to 3 points late in the quarter but Obrusnikova crowned the first half with a layup to make it 45:40 for Czechs. The teams exchanged the baskets throughout the third stanza and Tatsiana Likhtarovich drew things level with a three-pointer late in the third frame. However Eva Mrhalkova (175-F/G-88) managed to put Czech Republic in front 61:59 at the end of the third stanza. Belarus stayed in the striking distance throughout the first part of the final period but eventually Czech Republic ran away. Sipova nailed a jumper to ignite a 9:0 run that put Czechs away for good. Katerina Hindrakova (176-G/F-88) and Eva Mrhalkova dropped 14 points apiece for the winners. Natallia Kozun (189-F-88) answered with 18 points and 7 boards for Belarus in defeat. Czech Republic outrebounded their opponents 46:25 including 18 offensive rebounds.

Czech Republic U20: Lenka Sipova 20, Katerina Hindrakova 14, Eva Mrhalkova 14
Belarus U20: Tatsiana Likhtarovich 25, Natallia Kozun 18

Belarusian U18 National Team 2008 - by Kasia
#s#
#e#6


Adamik


Filonchyk


Zubrytskaya


Valeuskaya


Adamik
4 Karalina Padshyvalava (164-G-92)
5 Aliaksandra Shymkaviak (166-G-92)
6 Maryia Rashchenia (182-F-92)
7 Viktoryia Adamik (182-F-90) of Victoria-UOR Grodno
8 Maryia Filonchyk (187-F-92) of Victoria-UOR Grodno
9 Nadzeya Bohdan (182-F-93)
10 Yuliya Zhuk (174-G-91) of Victoria-UOR Grodno
11 Aliaksandra Zubrytskaya (172-G-90) of Cityfarma Spartak Myjava (SVK)
12 Anzhela Kakhanskaya (182-F-91)
13 Veranika Valeuskaya (170-G-91)
14 Veronika Adamik (181-F-90) of Victoria-UOR Grodno
15 Katsiaryna Kashlei (166-G-90) of Victoria-UOR Grodno
Head Coach: Alaksandr Shymkaviak

*****************************************************
  BELGIUM - Women  


Bulgaria secures Division A spot, sends Belgium to Division B - by Eurobasket News
Bulgaria U20 - Belgium U20 74:68

Bulgaria U20 National Team improved to 2-1 record in the Classification round of the European Championship and secured their Division A birth for the next year. They shot down Belgian counterparts in a must-win fixture for both sides. Belgium dominated the starting minutes as Tracy Wittebolle (193-C-88), Sara Leemans (178-G/F-88), Romina Ciappina (180-F/G-88) and Fanny Tirtiaux (183-G/F-89) all scored in 13:0 run that put them ahead 14:4. Soon Sara Leemans and Romina Ciappina teamed up for several more accurate attempts and Belgium led 21:8 late in the period. Jaklin Zlatanova (190-F-88) and Ilieva cut the deficit to 7 points at the end of the stanza. Veselka Todorova (192-C-88) scored 4 points and Dimana Georgieva (189-C-88) added two freebies as Bulgaria surged ahead 32:31 midway through the second frame. Jaklin Zlatanova and Daniela Peteva (179-F-89) crowned the first half with 5 points in a row and Bulgaria enjoyed a 37:31 advantage at the interval. Dimana Georgieva, Jaklin Zlatanova and Veselka Todorova opened a double-digit lead for Bulgaria early in the third frame. They maintained it well throughout the quarter and entered the final term up by 10 points. Veselka Todorova and Daniela Peteva tipped off the fourth stanza with 4 more points to stretch the lead. Belgium fought bravely and Romina Ciappina and Sara Leemans shaved the distance to 7 points several times. Sara Leemans fially dragged Belgium within 6 points with under two minutes remaining but Bulgaria reacted with Jaklin Zlatanovas jumper to ice Belgian effort. Daniela Peteva finished with 17 points to lead the charge. Jaklin Zlatanova had 15 points and 15 boards for the winners. Sara Leemans answered with 23 points for Belgium. Romina Ciappina delivered 18 points in a losing case.

Bulgaria U20: Daniela Peteva 17, Jaklin Zlatanova 15+15 boards, Veselka Todorova 14
Belgium U20: Sara Leemans 23, Romina Ciappina 18

*****************************************************
  BULGARIA - Women  


Bulgaria secures Division A spot, sends Belgium to Division B - by Eurobasket News
Bulgaria U20 - Belgium U20 74:68

Bulgaria U20 National Team improved to 2-1 record in the Classification round of the European Championship and secured their Division A birth for the next year. They shot down Belgian counterparts in a must-win fixture for both sides. Belgium dominated the starting minutes as Tracy Wittebolle (193-C-88), Sara Leemans (178-G/F-88), Romina Ciappina (180-F/G-88) and Fanny Tirtiaux (183-G/F-89) all scored in 13:0 run that put them ahead 14:4. Soon Sara Leemans and Romina Ciappina teamed up for several more accurate attempts and Belgium led 21:8 late in the period. Jaklin Zlatanova (190-F-88) and Ilieva cut the deficit to 7 points at the end of the stanza. Veselka Todorova (192-C-88) scored 4 points and Dimana Georgieva (189-C-88) added two freebies as Bulgaria surged ahead 32:31 midway through the second frame. Jaklin Zlatanova and Daniela Peteva (179-F-89) crowned the first half with 5 points in a row and Bulgaria enjoyed a 37:31 advantage at the interval. Dimana Georgieva, Jaklin Zlatanova and Veselka Todorova opened a double-digit lead for Bulgaria early in the third frame. They maintained it well throughout the quarter and entered the final term up by 10 points. Veselka Todorova and Daniela Peteva tipped off the fourth stanza with 4 more points to stretch the lead. Belgium fought bravely and Romina Ciappina and Sara Leemans shaved the distance to 7 points several times. Sara Leemans fially dragged Belgium within 6 points with under two minutes remaining but Bulgaria reacted with Jaklin Zlatanovas jumper to ice Belgian effort. Daniela Peteva finished with 17 points to lead the charge. Jaklin Zlatanova had 15 points and 15 boards for the winners. Sara Leemans answered with 23 points for Belgium. Romina Ciappina delivered 18 points in a losing case.

Bulgaria U20: Daniela Peteva 17, Jaklin Zlatanova 15+15 boards, Veselka Todorova 14
Belgium U20: Sara Leemans 23, Romina Ciappina 18

Bulgarian U18 National Team 2008 - by Kasia
#s#
#e#6


Zagorova


Kancheva


Stankova


Nikolova


Kocheva
4 Ralitsa Georgieva (180-F-90)
5 Hristina Gerdzhikova (183-F-90)
6 Veronika Dzhikova (178-F-90) of Rilski Sportist Samokov
7 Mihaela Dilova (175-G-90) of NSA Delta Sofia
8 Antonia Zagorova (184-C-90) of Cherno More Odessos
9 Violina Kocheva (174-F-91) of Rilski Sportist Samokov
10 Anna-Maria Boshkova (182-F-90)
11 Aleksandra Kancheva (184-F-90) of Dunav Econt Rouse
12 Mariya Rangelova (185-C-90)
13 Stanislava Stankova (170-G-90) of Cherno More Odessos
14 Stefka Nikolova (170-G-90) of Slavia Sofia
15 Reni Petkova (190-C-90) of Cherno More Odessos
Head Coach: Ventislav Gechev
Coach Assistant: Elena Stankova

Bulgaria victorious at the start of U18 European Championship - by Eurobasket News
Bulgaria U18 - Belarus U18 69:62

Bulgarian Junior National Team celebrated their first win at the European Championship in Slovak Republic. Yesterday they opened their campaign with a narrow victory over Belarus in preliminary Group C. Stefka Nikolova (170-G-90) notched 26 points hitting 6/10 from beyond the arc to pace the winners. Stefka Nikolova and Aleksandra Kancheva (184-F-90) sparked the quick start for Bulgaria as they built an 18:10 lead 6 minutes into the game. However Veranika Valeuskaya (170-G-91) nailed 4 points in a 6:0 run from Belarus to cap the opening stanza and the gap was cut to 2 points. Belarus opened the second frame with a 7:0 rally to jump in front. Bulgaria needed three-pointers from Kocheva and Stanislava Stankova (170-G-90) to reestablish their lead again midway through the period. Aleksandra Kancheva netted a layup to finalize a 43:37 advantage for Bulgaria at halftime. A couple of treys from Stefka Nikolova allowed Bulgarians to remain ahead throughout the third stanza. Moreover they opened a 10-point cushion heading into the final quarter. Stefka Nikolova and Georgieva widened the damage to 13 points midway through the fourth stanza for it proved unassailable at the end. Aleksandra Kancheva and Stanislava Stankova secured 11 points apiece for Bulgaria. Boshkova pulled down 13 boards for the winners. Maryia Filonchyk (187-F-92) had 21 points and 9 boards for Belarusian team. Veranika Valeuskaya contributed 17 points in a losing effort.

Bulgaria U18: Stefka Nikolova 26, Aleksandra Kancheva 11, Stanislava Stankova 11
Belarus U18: Maryia Filonchyk 21+9 boards, Veranika Valeuskaya 17

*****************************************************
  CENTROBASKET - Women  


Standings (Women)
A Standings
 1. MEX 2-0 
 2. PUR 2-0 
 3. CUB 2-0 
 4. DOM 2-0 
 5. GUA 0-2 
 6. TRI 0-2 
 7. BAR 0-2 
 8. CRC 0-2 


*****************************************************
  COSTA RICA - Women  


Centrobasket 2008: Puerto Rico dominates against Costa Rica - by Eurobasket News
Costa Rica - Puerto Rico 50-81

The hosts of Centrobasket Championship 2008, Puerto Rico, confidently finished the second day of the competition. It seems that the defending champion Cuba and Puerto Ricans will be the main candidates for the Gold medal on this championship. On the other hand Costa Rica suffered two defeats in the first two rounds. They couldn't handle Puerto Ricans at their furious beginning. The hosts showed strong willingness to resolve the question about the winner as soon as they can. Plus 15 points after the first frame was a good signal for them. Second quarter brought even more joy for Puerto Ricans as they created advantage of 26 points until the breather. Following two quarters were the opportunity for some of the best player from Puerto Rico to take a rest. Their opponent exploited it but they couldn't come any closer than 30 points.

The winners got the most from Cynthia Valentin (173-G-84, agency: LBM Management, college: Indiana), who had 17 points and 5 rebounds. Yoliana Cabrera also showed a decent level adding 13 points and 4 rebounds while Gonzales stopped on 12 points. Natalia Galvez (-85) netted 20 points and grabbed 4 rebounds for the loosing side. Costa Rica also got 11 points and 11 boards from Liliana Lewis (-80). Puerto Rico will play the very important game tomorrow against Mexico. Costa Rica will try to celebrate for the first time on Centrobasket and its rival will be Barbados.


Costa Rica - Puerto Rico 50-81
(12-27,13-24,13-15,12-15)

Costa Rica: Natalia Galvez 20 (4 rebs), Liliana Lewis 11 (11 rebs)
Puerto Rico: Cynthia Valentin 17 (5 rebs), Yoliana Cabrera 13 (4 rebs), Gonzales 12

*****************************************************
  CROATIA - Women  


Serbian U18 Team begins title defense with a win - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U18 - Croatia U18 76:62

Serbian Junior National Team celebrated a cruising victory over Croatia on the opening day of the European Championship in Slovakia. The defending European champions got 19 points from Nevena Jovanovic (179-G-90) to hold off their arch-rivals Croatia. Popovic and Nevena Jovanovic opened the game with 6 unanswered points to pit Serbia in charge. However Croatia reacted with 15:0 run to stun their opponents. Buzov scored 6 points late in the quarter and Croatia rolled to a 23:11 advantage at the first intermission. Nevena Jovanovic took over in the second stanza as she dropped 12 points and Serbia clipped the deficit to 5 points at halftime. Mia Carapina (190-F-90) tipped off the third frame with 5 straight points and Nevena Cilic (190-C-90) added two more for a 46:34 Croatian advantage. Nevena Jovanovic and Sara Krnjic (194-C-91) teamed up for 12 points and Serbia trailed by 5 points heading into the final stanza. Nevena Jovanovic had 5 points and Sara Krnjic nailed a jumper to tie the scoreline at 55 with 2 minutes gone in the fourth term. Sara Krnjic and Nevena Jovanovic stretched their scoring outburst adding 7 more points and Serbia jumped ahead 62:55. Orozovic and Sara Krnjic added four points and Serbia opened a double-digit lead with just over two minutes remaining. Croatia failed to strike back and Nevena Jovanovic sealed the winning outcome with a jumper. Sara Krnjic produced 18 points and 13 boards for Serbian U18 Team. Tina Jovanovic (191-F/C-91) had 17 points in a winning effort. Tomica Bacic (182-F-90) dropped 23 points for Croatia. Mia Carapina delivered 15 points and 7 caroms in defeat.

Serbia U18: Nevena Jovanovic 19, Sara Krnjic 18+13 boards, Tina Jovanovic 17
Croatia U18: Tomica Bacic 23, Mia Carapina 15

Croatian U18 National Team 2008 - by Kasia
#s#
#e#6


Miloglav


Buzov


Carapina


Bacic


Cilic
4 Carmen Miloglav (172-G-91) of PGM Ragusa Dubrovnik
5 Tea Buzov (172-G-90) of Splicanka Split
6 Zana Cvjetkovic (175-F-90) of ZKK Vidici Dalmostan
7 Mia Carapina (190-F-90) of Brotnjo 94 Citluk (BIH)
8 Petra Dubelj (178-F-91) of PGM Ragusa Dubrovnik
9 Jelena Nakic (179-G-90) of Brotnjo 94 Citluk (BIH)
10 Diana Babic (182-F-90) of Splicanka Split
11 Josipa Zovko (186-F-90) of Splicanka Split
12 Tomica Bacic (182-F-90)
13 Petra Ercegovic (184-C-90) of ZKK Pozega
14 Nevena Cilic (190-C-90) of Jablanica Granit (BIH)
15 Lenka Kusic (183-F/C-90)
Head Coach: Stipe Bralic
Coach Assistants: Tina Perisa , Vladimir Englman

*****************************************************
  CUBA - Women  


Centrobasket 2008: Another comfortable victory for Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago still winless - by Eurobasket News
Trinidad & Tobago - Cuba 39-99

Defending champion Cuba ended the second day of Centrobasket 2008 in style. Thus Cuba and Dominican Republic are on top of Group B with score 2-0. Trinidad & Tobago wasn't able to resists strong Cubans so they dropped on 0-2. Interesting is that the host in this game succeeded to score just 2 points for the entire third quarter. Cuba got the most points from Suchitel Avila (183-F-82), who counted until 19. Yayma Boulet (193-C-83) also demonstrated good performance collecting 17 points and 7 rebounds. Yakelin Plutin (186-F-79) stopped on 16 points while Marlen Cepeda (193-C-85) had a great rebounding nigh catching 14 points. At the same time she netted 7 more points. Patrice Edwards (198-C-84, college: Texas Tech) was the best player in Trinidad & Tobago but her 16 points was not enough for them even to threat Cubans in this game. Gay was the last player in Trinidad who made double digits. She added 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

As it was against Guatemala in the first round, Cuba totally dominated against Trinidad & Tobago. After two rounds of Centrobasket it is clear that the Cubans are one of the biggest candidates to defend the Gold medal which they won two years ago. Third round is scheduled for tomorrow when Cuba will plays against Dominican Republic. Trinidad & Tobago will meet Guatemala.


Trinidad & Tobago - Cuba 39-99
(17-26,6-19,2-29,14-25)

Trinidad & Tobago: Patrice Edwards 16, Gay 10 (6 rebs, 4 as)
Cuba: Suchitel Avila 19, Yayma Boulet 17 (7 rebs), Yakelin Plutin 16, Marlen Cepeda 7 (14 rebs)

*****************************************************
  CZECH REPUBLIC - Women  


Lenka Sipova paces Czech Republic past Belarus - by Eurobasket News
Czech Republic U20 - Belarus U20 78:69

Lenka Sipova (185-C-88) dropped 20 points and Czech Republic U20 National Team toppled Belarusian counterparts in Italy today. Czechs will now play for the 9th spot against Italy. Belarus will have a chance to finish the event at the 11th spot when they take on Montenegro tomorrow. Tatsiana Likhtarovich (179-G-88) exploded with 25 points and 5 steals but her effort was gone fruitless as Czech Republic prevailed in the end. Andrea Ovsikova (178-F-89) and Gabriela Giacintova (171-G-88) teamed up for 10 points in the first period as Czech Republic grabbed a 22:17 advantage. Czech team posted a 7:0 run early in the second period to open up a double digit lead. Belarus cut it back to 3 points late in the quarter but Obrusnikova crowned the first half with a layup to make it 45:40 for Czechs. The teams exchanged the baskets throughout the third stanza and Tatsiana Likhtarovich drew things level with a three-pointer late in the third frame. However Eva Mrhalkova (175-F/G-88) managed to put Czech Republic in front 61:59 at the end of the third stanza. Belarus stayed in the striking distance throughout the first part of the final period but eventually Czech Republic ran away. Sipova nailed a jumper to ignite a 9:0 run that put Czechs away for good. Katerina Hindrakova (176-G/F-88) and Eva Mrhalkova dropped 14 points apiece for the winners. Natallia Kozun (189-F-88) answered with 18 points and 7 boards for Belarus in defeat. Czech Republic outrebounded their opponents 46:25 including 18 offensive rebounds.

Czech Republic U20: Lenka Sipova 20, Katerina Hindrakova 14, Eva Mrhalkova 14
Belarus U20: Tatsiana Likhtarovich 25, Natallia Kozun 18

Czech Rep. U18 National Team 2008 - by Kasia
#s#
#e#6


Hanusova


Zavazalova


Bartonova


Stara


Rosenbaumova
4 Alena Hanusova (187-C-91)
5 Karolina Elhotova (179-G-92)
6 Katerina Zavazalova (171-G-90) of Sokol VCP Hradec Kralove
7 Eva Skutilova (182-F-90) of Kara Trutnov
8 Dominika Behalova (166-G-90) of Sparta Praha
9 Katerina Bartonova (174-G-90) of Sokol VCP Hradec Kralove
10 Michaela Stara (172-G-90) of BK Czech coal Aldast Strakonice
11 Adela Filarova (174-G-91)
12 Klara Rosenbaumova (182-F-90) of Sokol VCP Hradec Kralove
13 Pavla Svrdlikova (184-F-90)
14 Renata Brezinova (189-C-90) of Sokol VCP Hradec Kralove
15 Aneta Pulpanova (176-G-90)
Head Coach: Romana Ptackova
Coach assistant: Miroslav Vondricka , Pavel Milos

*****************************************************
  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Women  


Centrobasket 2008: Dominican Republic easy beats Guatemala - by Eurobasket News
Guatemala - Dominican Republic 58-80

Dominican Republic grabbed the second victory on Centrobasket Championship 2008 in Puerto Rico. On the other side Guatemala dropped on score 0-2. As a reminder Dominican Republic yesterday was better than Trinidad & Tobago while Guatemala suffered serious defeat against Cuba. Dominican R. totally outrebounded its rival grabbing 16 offensive and 23 defensive rebounds. Interesting is that Dominican Republic committed more turnovers than Guatemala but that didn't affect their comfortable win. Dominican Republic started the game better taking 6 points lead after first quarter. Guatemala had just Blanca Amado (-80) who was in the right mood for the game. Later, from quarter to quarter Dominican Republic just kept extending its lead. The biggest domination they showed in third stanza which ended 14-23.

Adalgisa Brito was the best player for Dominican Republic in this game collecting 17 points and 6 rebounds. Gomez followed her with 13 points and 9 rebounds while Andreina Paniagua (-79) registered double-double. She stopped on 12 points and 10 rebounds. Guatemala got 22 points and 8 rebounds from Blanca Amado. Maria Fleischmann (-F/C-78) was a way behind her scoring 8 points. In the next round Dominican Republic will meet the defending champion Cuba while Guatemala will take on Trinidad & Tobago.


Guatemala - Dominican Republic 58-80
(11-17,15-18,14-23,18-22)

Guatemala: Blanca Amado 22 (8 rebs), Maria Fleischmann 8
Dominican Republic: Adalgisa Brito 17 (6 rebs), Gomez 13 (9 rebs), Andreina Paniagua 12 (10 rebs)

*****************************************************
  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS U16 - Women  


Division C. Semifinals - by Eurobasket News
Semifinals
Albania U16 - Scotland U16 59:57
Albanian U16 National Team edged the defending champions Scotland to advance to the Final of the European Championship in Division C. Yesterday Albanian team showed some heroics overcoming a 6-point halftime deficit and earning a difficult victory at the end. Albania got to a slightly better start to the game as they jumped ahead early on. Dashja and Mustafa once again were the main figures on the court for Albania as they ensured a 13:9 lead after the opening stanza. Scotland however quickly rebounded and answered with a rally fueled by Erin McGarrachan. Scottish team outscored their opponents 22:12 to accumulate a 31:25 advantage at the interval. Albania though were not surprised and kept mounting the pressure. They clipped the difference to just a single point at the end of the third stanza. Later Albania showed some defensive brilliancy as they limited Scottish players to just 11 points in the fourth stanza and pulled away with a hard-fought victory. Ingrit Dashja led the charge with 21 points and 13 boards. Irisi Mustafa had 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Merlina Metani secured 9 points for the winners. Erin McGarrachan answered with 23 points and 13 boards for Scotland. Jennifer Lynn provided 10 points and 8 boards in a loss. Albania had an edge under the rims as they outrebounded Scottish team 54:46. Scotland also shot just 1/25 from beyond the arc.
Albania will now take on Island in the championship game tonight. Scotland will be opposed by Malta in the consolation Final.

Albania U16: Ingrit Dashja 21+13 boards, Irisi Mustafa 16+16 boards, Merlina Metani 9
Scotland U16: Erin McGarrachan 23+13 boards, Jennifer Lynn 10

Iceland U16 - Malta U16 85:33
Icelandic Cadet Team cruised past Maltese counterparts in the semifinal of the European Championship in Division C yesterday. It was the third straight win for Iceland at the tournament and they advanced to the title decider to be played later tonight. Iceland will be opposed by Albanian team in the championship encounter. Malta meanwhile will take on Scotland in Bronze medals game. All players on Icelandic starting five delivered points as the team ran away to a 14:8 distance early in the first period. Magnusdottir and Einarsdottir teamed up for 12 points and Iceland stretched the gap to 28:15 at the end of the first period. Naudi and Cassar cut the distance to 11 points early in the second frame but Iceland answered with an 8:0 run to clear off. Sverrisdottir and Traustadottir capped the first half with Iceland leading 44:26. Traustadottir picked up from where she left in the second frame and notched 5 straight points to tip off the third one. The margin soon grew to 30 points as Iceland dominated the game. They entered the final period leading by 37 points and never looked back. Moreover Maltese offensive schemes collapsed as they managed just 2 point in the final stanza losing the game. Gudbjorg Sverrisdottir (175-G-92) led the winners with 14 points, 6 boards and 6 steals. Dagmar Traustadottir nailed 13 points, while Maria Einarsdottir had 11 for Iceland. Rebecca Naudi and Louisa Serge replied with 8 points apiece in a loss.

Iceland U16: Gudbjorg Sverrisdottir 14, Dagmar Traustadottir 13, Maria Einarsdottir 11
Malta U16: Louisa Serge 8, Rebecca Naudi 8

*****************************************************
  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS U18 - Women  


Division A: Day 1 - by Eurobasket News
Pool A
Slovak Republic U18 - Czech Republic U18 76:72
Veronika Cernakova (174-G-90) dropped 23 points and Slovak Republic Junior Team got to a winning start of the home European championship. They held off a fierce comeback effort from Czech Republic in the second half to celebrate the initial win in Nitra. The teams got into preliminary Group A and tipped off the action earlier today. Katerina Bartonova (174-G-90) and Katerina Zavazalova opened an early lead for Czechs. However Klaudia Lukacovicova (193-C-90) scored 4 straight points to put Slovak Republic in front 11:9 midway through the starting stanza. Cernakova posted 4 points in a row and Slovak Republic claimed a 20:13 advantage late in the period. The hosts kept in front and they opened a double-digit advantage late in the second frame. Barbora Novocka (168-G-90) converted a freebie to give Slovak Republic 47:36 lead at halftime. Klaudia Lukacovicova added 4 points to begin the second half as Slovak team enjoyed a 51:36 advantage. A scoring outburst from Stara as she nailed 9 points allowed Czech Republic to shave the deficit to 8 points. Katerina Bartonova, Aneta Pulpanova and Behalova clawed Czech way within 2 points before Natalia Spodniakova (170-G-90) and Barbora Novocka finalized a 62:56 advantage at the end the third quarter. Elhotova and Svrdlikova propelled Czechs in front 69:68 with just over 5 minutes remaining in regulation. But Slovak Republic retained the lead and were deadly from free throw line to keep their opponents at bay throughout the rest of the contest. Klaudia Lukacovicova produced 20 points and 12 boards for Slovak Republic. Katerina Bartonova answered with 13 points for Czech Republic. Alena Hanusova (187-C-91) had 11 points and 8 caroms in a losing effort.

Slovak Republic U18: Veronika Cernakova 23, Klaudia Lukacovicova 20, Natalia Spodniakova 9, Barbora Novocka 9
Czech Republic U18: Katerina Bartonova 13, Alena Hanusova 11

Ukraine U18 - Romania U18 70:64
Ukrainian U18 National Team opened the European Championship campaign with a hard-fought win over Romania. Ol'ha Maznichenko (186-F-91) exploded with 33 points and 8 rebounds to propel Ukraine to a come-from-behind victory over determined Romanian side. Elisabeth Pavel (192-C-90) scored 6 points early in the clash and Romania jumped to a 10:2 lead. However Kateryna Dorogobuzova (187-F-90) sparked a 10:2 rally from Ukraine to surge in front and later sealed the 17:16 lead for her team at the end of the quarter. The lead changed hands for several times in the second stanza and Romania stayed in charge 31:30 at halftime. Another scoring burst from Elisabeth Pavel allowed Romania to keep their opponents at bay throughout the third stanza. Alina Chivu (180-F-90) hit a jumper to give Romania a 49:45 advantage into the final term. Alina Chivu and Pop stretched the gap to 6 points at the start of the final quarter. Ukraine stayed at the striking distance and later Ol'ha Maznichenko converted a three-point play to pull them in front. She later added four consecutive freebies, while Kateryna Dorogobuzova nailed a jump shot for a 67:62 advantage with just over 2 minutes remaining. Romania never recovered and suffered a bitter loss at the end. Kateryna Dorogobuzova provided 22 points and 6 boards for Ukraine. Alina Chivu had 21 points to pace Romania. Elisabeth Pavel was impressive with 25 points and 11 boards in defeat. Ukraine outrebounded their opponents 42:32 and shot 41% from the field. Ukraine faces Czech Republic, while Romania takes on hosting Slovakia today.

Ukraine U18: Ol'ha Maznichenko 33, Kateryna Dorogobuzova 22
Romania U18: Elisabeth Pavel 25+11 boards, Alina Chivu 21


Pool B
Italy U18 - Poland U18 59:56
Italian Junior National Team got to a winning start at the European Championship in Slovak Republic today. They overcame Polish counterparts for the lead in the preliminary Group B. The lead changed hands for 4 times early on before Poland went on a 7:0 run to pile up a 14:8 lead. Klaudia Sosnowska capped the first period with a jumper and Polish side had an 18:13 advantage at the first intermission. Klaudia Sosnowska picked up from where she left in the first quarter and dropped 3 points early in the second frame to keep Poland rolling. Pasqualin finally tied the score late in the half and then Erika Striulli (170-G-90) and Martina Bestagno (189-F/C-90) finalized a 31:28 advantage for Italy at halftime. Martina Bestagno added three points for Italy to stretch the gap to 7 points. Paulina Antczak (180-F-90) and Olivia Tomialowicz hit back-to-back trebles to close the gap. Poland soon sparked with a 13:0 run to post a 49:39 cushion late in the third quarter. The seesaw action continued in the final term. The teams were all knotted at 54 with just under 3 minutes remaining. Magda Kaczmarska put Polish team ahead but Rulli struck back with over a minute left. Nausicaa Fassina then hit a three-pointer to seal the winning outcome for Italy. Magda Kaczmarska missed a potential tying trey and Italy got away with a win. Erika Striulli scored 15 points to lead Italian team. Martina Bestagno dropped 11 points for the winners. Olivia Tomialowicz and Paulina Antczak had 16 points for Poland. Klaudia Sosnowska delivered 8 points and 18 rebounds in defeat. Italy will face Turkey, while Poland will take on Lithuania tomorrow.

Italy U18: Erika Striulli 15, Martina Bestagno 11, Federica Nannucci (169-G-91) 8
Poland U18: Olivia Tomialowicz 16, Paulina Antczak 16

Lithuania U18 - Turkey U18 79:56
Lithuanian U18 Team grabbed their first win at the European Championship in Slovak Republic. Earlier today Lithuania overcame Turkey in the preliminary Group B action. Aurime Rinkeviciute (180-F/G-90) tallied 23 points and pulled down 13 boards to pace Lithuanian youngsters to a comfortable victory. Gamze Takmaz (180-F-91) notched 17 points and 9 boards but could not prevent Turkish team from falling short. Rinkeviciute nailed 8 points in the opening stanza as Lithuania jumped to a 19:14 advantage at the first intermission. Takmaz scored 5 straight points for Turkey as they clipped the distance to 4 points early in the second frame. However Marina Solopova (178-G-90) and Aurime Rinkeviciute drained back-to-back treys to put Lithuania away to a 9-point distance. Lithuania later finalized a 15:0 run and accumulated a 43:25 advantage at halftime. Marina Solopova and Gabriele Gutkauskaite opened the third stanza with triples as the margin grew to 25 points. The Baltic team secured a 20-point advantage at three-quarter time. Demirok and Gezgin cut the deficit at the start of the fourth term but Marina Solopova quickly iced the effort from beyond the arc. Turkey never recovered in the dying minutes and Lithuania ensured the winning outcome at the end. Marina Solopova dropped 23 points, while Giedre Paugaite (192-C-90) provided 12 points and 15 boards for the winners. Ozge Yavas (170-G-91) and Tugce Canitez (188-F-90) answered with 11 points apiece in a loss. Lithuania enjoyed a massive 56:37 advantage on the boards. They also limited Turkish Juniors to just 26% from the field.

Lithuania U18: Aurime Rinkeviciute 23+13 boards, Marina Solopova 23, Giedre Paugaite 12+15 boards
Turkey U18: Gamze Takmaz 17, Ozge Yavas 11, Tugce Canitez 11


Pool C
Bulgaria U18 - Belarus U18 69:62
Bulgarian Junior National Team celebrated their first win at the European Championship in Slovak Republic. Yesterday they opened their campaign with a narrow victory over Belarus in preliminary Group C. Stefka Nikolova (170-G-90) notched 26 points hitting 6/10 from beyond the arc to pace the winners. Stefka Nikolova and Aleksandra Kancheva (184-F-90) sparked the quick start for Bulgaria as they built an 18:10 lead 6 minutes into the game. However Veranika Valeuskaya (170-G-91) nailed 4 points in a 6:0 run from Belarus to cap the opening stanza and the gap was cut to 2 points. Belarus opened the second frame with a 7:0 rally to jump in front. Bulgaria needed three-pointers from Kocheva and Stanislava Stankova (170-G-90) to reestablish their lead again midway through the period. Aleksandra Kancheva netted a layup to finalize a 43:37 advantage for Bulgaria at halftime. A couple of treys from Stefka Nikolova allowed Bulgarians to remain ahead throughout the third stanza. Moreover they opened a 10-point cushion heading into the final quarter. Stefka Nikolova and Georgieva widened the damage to 13 points midway through the fourth stanza for it proved unassailable at the end. Aleksandra Kancheva and Stanislava Stankova secured 11 points apiece for Bulgaria. Boshkova pulled down 13 boards for the winners. Maryia Filonchyk (187-F-92) had 21 points and 9 boards for Belarusian team. Veranika Valeuskaya contributed 17 points in a losing effort.

Bulgaria U18: Stefka Nikolova 26, Aleksandra Kancheva 11, Stanislava Stankova 11
Belarus U18: Maryia Filonchyk 21+9 boards, Veranika Valeuskaya 17

Russia U18 - Spain U18 82:66
Russian Junior National Team grabbed an overwhelming victory over Spain in a highly-anticipated game at the start of the European Championship. Spain were runners-up in the last edition of the event, while Russia scored Bronze medals in 2007. However Russian team proved the lay of the land can change this year. Spain got to a better start as they led early in the starting stanza. But a bunch of free throws from Tatiana Petrushina (185-F-90) and Melnikova allowed Russia to surge in front. Anna Ostroukhova capped the frame with 4 points to give Russian team a 23:17 advantage. Russia added a 6:0 run midway through the second frame to extend their lead to 9 points. Kiryanova soon opened a double-digit advantage as Russia prevailed 44:34 in the first half. Marta Xargay hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit early in the third stanza but it was a just a spark for Spanish side. Russia kept their opponents at bay and easily secured a 63:49 cushion before the final term. Melnikova and Loginova extended the margin to 18 points midway through the fourth quarter and never looked back again. Alexandra Tarasova (192-C-91) led the charge with 16 points and 9 boards. Anastasia Logunova (188-C-90) scored 14 points, while Tatiana Petrushina had 13 in a win. Leonor Rodriguez (177-G-91) answered with 15 points, 5 boards and 4 assists for Spanish team. Isabel Perez secured 9 points in a losing effort. Spaniards will take on Belarus, while Russia will clash with Bulgaria today.

Russia U18: Alexandra Tarasova 16, Anastasia Logunova 14, Tatiana Petrushina 13
Spain U18: Leonor Rodriguez 15, Isabel Perez 9


Pool D
France U18 - Sweden U18 91:60
French Junior National Team routed Swedish team in the European Championship opener. French side had to overcome a sloppy start to the game to deliver a first-class performance in three frames and celebrate a comfortable victory at the end. Stefanie Yderstrom (172-G-90) scored 7 points in the first frame as Sweden enjoyed a 20:18 advantage at the first intermission. France opened the second frame with a 9:0 rally to grab a 7-point lead. Aminata Konate and Isabelle Strunc (177-G-91) accounted for back-to-back trebles to stretch the gap to 11 points midway through the frame. French team never loosened the grip and secured a 52:35 advantage at halftime. Frida Fogdemark (185-F-91) and Danielle Hamilton Carter (187-C-90, college: Fayetteville) cut the distance to 13 points at the start of the third stanza. But consecutive treys from Igoufe and Plagnard established an 18-point lead. Margaux Zouzouo (183-F-91) hit two more triples for France as the difference grew to as many as 24 points. Swedish side failed to recover and trailed 49:74 at three quarter time. Four points from Aminata Konate deepened French advantage to 30 points early in the final quarter. Sweden had not a single chance in the reminder of the contest and France clinched a confident win at the end. Margaux Zouzouo secured 17 points for France. Laurie Datchy (175-G/F-90) and Isabelle Strunc had 11 points in a winning effort. Stefanie Yderstrom nailed 17 points for Sweden. Danielle Hamilton Carter and Frida Fogdemark dropped 10 points each in a loss.

France U18: Margaux Zouzouo 17, Laurie Datchy 11, Isabelle Strunc 11
Sweden U18: Stefanie Yderstrom 17, Danielle Hamilton Carter 10, Frida Fogdemark 10

Serbia U18 - Croatia U18 76:62
Serbian Junior National Team celebrated a cruising victory over Croatia on the opening day of the European Championship in Slovakia. The defending European champions got 19 points from Nevena Jovanovic (179-G-90) to hold off their arch-rivals Croatia. Popovic and Nevena Jovanovic opened the game with 6 unanswered points to pit Serbia in charge. However Croatia reacted with 15:0 run to stun their opponents. Buzov scored 6 points late in the quarter and Croatia rolled to a 23:11 advantage at the first intermission. Nevena Jovanovic took over in the second stanza as she dropped 12 points and Serbia clipped the deficit to 5 points at halftime. Mia Carapina (190-F-90) tipped off the third frame with 5 straight points and Nevena Cilic added two more for a 46:34 Croatian advantage. Nevena Jovanovic and Sara Krnjic (194-C-91) teamed up for 12 points and Serbia trailed by 5 points heading into the final stanza. Nevena Jovanovic had 5 points and Sara Krnjic nailed a jumper to tie the scoreline at 55 with 2 minutes gone in the fourth term. Sara Krnjic and Nevena Jovanovic stretched their scoring outburst adding 7 more points and Serbia jumped ahead 62:55. Orozovic and Sara Krnjic added four points and Serbia opened a double-digit lead with just over two minutes remaining. Croatia failed to strike back and Nevena Jovanovic sealed the winning outcome with a jumper. Sara Krnjic produced 18 points and 13 boards for Serbian U18 Team. Tina Jovanovic (191-F/C-91) had 17 points in a winning effort. Tomica Bacic (182-F-90) dropped 23 points for Croatia. Mia Carapina delivered 15 points and 7 caroms in defeat.

Serbia U18: Nevena Jovanovic 19, Sara Krnjic 18+13 boards, Tina Jovanovic 17
Croatia U18: Tomica Bacic 23, Mia Carapina 15

*****************************************************
  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS U20 - Women  


Division A. Semifinals - by Eurobasket News
Semifinals
Russia U20 - Serbia U20 49:47
Russian U20 National Team withstood a fierce comeback effort from Serbian team to celebrate a dramatic victory in the semifinal of the European championship. Russia is looking to retain the title they possess in 2000, 2004 and 2006. Natalia Vieru (198-C-89) and Olga Petrova got things rolling for Russia at the start of the game. The first stanza was really slow as the teams stressed the defense. Keyru and Natalia Zhedik (182-G-88) finished the period with 5 points and Russian team enjoyed a 10:3 advantage at the first intermission. Jelena Milovanovic (191-F/C-89) scored 7 points early in the second period to singlehandedly drag Serbia back to life. Dragana Gobeljic soon cut the deficit to one point however Yulia Lukina (185-F-88) and Elena Pavlova secured Russian lead at halftime 22:18. Russia kept in front throughout the third frame. Jelena Milovanovic accounted for the last basket in the third quarter and Serbia trailed 29:30 heading into the final stanza. Maja Miljkovic and Iva Roglic (189-F-88) opened the fourth term with 4 points in a row to give Serbia their first lead of the game. The advantage changed hands for a couple of times before Natalia Vieru hit two freebies and Romanova added a jumper to establish a 45:42 advantage for Russia. Serbia cut the distance back to a single point but Natalia Zhedik converted two free throws, while Jelena Milovanovic managed just one free throw and Russia pulled away with a narrow victory. Natalia Vieru tallied 15 points and 9 boards to pace Russia. Yulia Lukina had 8 points, while Natalia Zhedik knocked down 7 for the winners. Jelena Milovanovic answered with 16 points for Serbia. Sonja Petrovic (189-F-89) and Iva Roglic delivered 9 points apiece in defeat. Russia will now face France in the Final tomorrow.

Russia U20: Natalia Vieru 15, Yulia Lukina 8, Natalia Zhedik 7
Serbia U20: Jelena Milovanovic 16, Sonja Petrovic 9, Iva Roglic 9


France U20 - Spain U20 61:56
Spanish U20 National Team ceased their title defense campaign in the semifinal today. Spanish team could not overcome French counterparts and failed to enter the title game at the European championship. The teams traded baskets in the opening stanza but Anna Carbo (176-F-88) scored 6 straight points late in the period and Bokesa capped the frame with a jumper to give Spain a 22:18 lead. Anna Carbo converted a three-pointer and Spain went up 31:23 early in the second stanza. However 5 points from Carine Paul (176-F/G-88) and a trey from Lucie Bouthors (174-G-88) drew things level midway through the frame. Doriane Tahane and Lorraine Lokoka crowned the first half with consecutive jump shots and France enjoyed a 35:31 advantage at the interval. France stayed in front in the third frame and entered the fourth term up by 3 points. France looked cool in the final stanza and kept their opponents at bay in the fourth quarter. Spain still managed to claw their way within one point from French team but Amant and Carine Paul stretched the gap back to 5 points. Ingrid Tanqueray (164-G-88) hit a freebie for a 60:54 advantage with 24 seconds left. Noelia Oliva shaved the deficit to 4 points with just 15 seconds remaining but Carine Paul sealed the winning outcome from charity stripe. Lucie Bouthors led the charge with 15 points. Carine Paul added 12 points, while Ingrid Tanqueray had 8 points and 11 boards for the winners. Gaby Ocete (170-G-88) netted 19 points for Spain. Anna Carbo delivered 17 points and 7 rebounds in a losing effort. France outrebounded their opponents 45:36 and limited Spain to 31% from the field.

France U20: Lucie Bouthors 15, Carine Paul 12, Ingrid Tanqueray 8+12 boards
Spain U20: Gaby Ocete 19, Anna Carbo 17


5th-8th spots semifinals
Latvia U20 - Lithuania U20 83:73 (OT)
Latvian U20 National Team secured a difficult win over their archrivals Lithuania to play for the 5th spot at the European Championship in Italy. Sabine Niedola (182-F-91) came up with monster double-double of 21 points and 22 boards to pace Latvia to the win. She eclipsed a sizzling performance from Gintare Petronyte (195-C-89) as Lithuanian rising star tallied 26 points and 15 boards in defeat. Lithuania jumped to an early lead as Nacickaite and Saule Kontautaite (175-G-89) hit trebles. Saule Kontautaite soon added another three-pointer to give Lithuania a 16:9 advantage midway through the opening term. However Latvia managed to cut the deficit to a single point 19:20 at the first intermission. Back-to-back treys from Egle Sarapaite and Sarune Povilionyte opened a double-digit lead for Lithuania. They rolled to a 39:31 advantage at halftime. Petronyte scored a layup for a 44:31 Lithuanian cushion early in the third stanza and the situation seemed well in control by Lithuania. But Latvian players had some other thoughts about it. They went on an 18:2 rally to step in front 49:46 late in the third quarter. Petronyte and Sarune Povilionyte retained the lead for Lithuanian team but Niedola drew things level at 53 heading into the fourth term. The teams exchanged the baskets at the beginning of the final period before Anna Gailite and Kristine Vitola (196-C-91) spurred Latvia ahead 69:63 with under two minutes left. But Lithuanian side replied with a three-pointer from Saule Kontautaite to clip the distance to 3 points. Nacickaite converted a free throw, while Gintare Petronyte hit a jumper to send game into overtime. Baiba Eglite (175-G-89) and Kristine Vitola carried Latvia to a 75:70 advantage in the extra period. Niedola then added two points and Latvia never looked back to race past Lithuania. Baiba Eglite and Kristine Vitola knocked down 19 points apiece for the winners. Saule Kontautaite delivered 12 points in defeat.

Latvia U20: Sabine Niedola 21+22 boards, Baiba Eglite 19, Kristine Vitola 19
Lithuania U20: Gintare Petronyte 26+15 boards, Saule Kontautaite 12


Ukraine U20 - Turkey U20 78:67
Ukrainian U20 National Team outgunned their Turkish counterparts and got the chance to fight for the 5th overall spot at the European championship. Oleksandra Prystupa (205-C-89, agency: LBM Management) secured 19 points and 16 boards to pace Ukraine. Yasemin Dalgalar (183-F-88) led all scorers with 27 points for Turkey but could not prevent loss. Ukraine will now take on Latvia for the 5th spot tomorrow. Turkey will face Lithuania in the game for the 7th spot. The teams kept it close in the opening stanza and Ukraine ensured a 21:18 lead after ten minutes of action. Olena Samburska (172-G-89) scored 7 points in a 16:0 run from Ukraine that put them ahead 42:25 late in the second frame. Turkey trailed 28:44 at the sides change. Olena Samburska accounted for 4 more points and Bovykina added two more for Ukraine to go 60:40 up late in the third quarter. Dalgalar and Erbas narrowed the gap to 14 points with a quarter to go. Dalgalar, Bahar Caglar (188-F-88) and Melek Bilge cut the deficit to 8 points midway through the fourth term. However Prystupa and Kisilova nailed 4 points in a row to give Ukraine some more breathing space. Dalgalar and Bahar Caglar combined for 6 points to spark hope for Turkey but Arina Lysyuk (170-G-89) silenced Turkish team with a trey. Olena Samburska scored 17 points, while Arina Lysyuk added 14 for the winners. Bahar Caglar drained 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for Turkey in defeat.

Ukraine U20: Oleksandra Prystupa 19+16 boards, Olena Samburska 17, Arina Lysyuk 14
Turkey U20: Yasemin Dalgalar 27+10 boards, Bahar Caglar 23+11 boards


9th-12th spots semifinals
Italy U20 - Montenegro U20 73:51
Italian U20 Team earned a cruising win over Montenegro earlier today. The victory means Italy will fight for the 9th spot tomorrow. Tomorrow the hosts will take on Czech Republic. Montenegro will clash with Belarus for the 11th overall spot on the final day of action. The home team opened the game on a 13:2 run to set the tone early. Rossi and Chiara Consolini (182-F-88) capped the first frame to give Italian team a 22:10 advantage at the first intermission. Chiara Consolini notched 6 points early in the second period to keep Italy rolling. They easily withheld all comeback efforts from Montenegro to enjoy a 39:23 advantage at halftime. Biljana Turcinovic (186-F-89) opened the third frame with 5 points as Montenegrin team cut the deficit to 11 points. However the hosts easily secured a safe distance and entered the fourth term up by 16. Vujadinovic tipped off the fourth period with back-to-back treys as Montenegro trailed by 10 points. Battisodo, Arianna Zampieri (181-F-88) and Martina Crippa (175-G/F-88) immediately answered with an 8:0 run to take a sigh of relief. Montenegro could not answer at the closing stages and lost the battle. Chiara Consolini and Martina Crippa scored 15 points apiece for Italy. Arianna Zampieri dropped 9 points in a winning case. Milica Jovanovic (187-F/C-89) answered with 16 points and 9 rebounds for Montenegro. Biljana Turcinovic and Snezana Aleksic (171-G-89) netted 10 points and collected 10 boards apiece.

Italy U20: Chiara Consolini 15, Martina Crippa 15, Arianna Zampieri 9
Montenegro U20: Milica Jovanovic 16, Biljana Turcinovic 10+10 boards, Snezana Aleksic 10+10 boards


Czech Republic U20 - Belarus U20 78:69
Lenka Sipova (185-C-88) dropped 20 points and Czech Republic U20 National Team toppled Belarusian counterparts in Italy today. Czechs will now play for the 9th spot against Italy. Belarus will have a chance to finish the event at the 11th spot when they take on Montenegro tomorrow. Tatsiana Likhtarovich (179-G-88) exploded with 25 points and 5 steals but her effort was gone fruitless as Czech Republic prevailed in the end. Andrea Ovsikova and Gabriela Giacintova teamed up for 10 points in the first period as Czech Republic grabbed a 22:17 advantage. Czech team posted a 7:0 run early in the second period to open up a double digit lead. Belarus cut it back to 3 points late in the quarter but Obrusnikova crowned the first half with a layup to make it 45:40 for Czechs. The teams exchanged the baskets throughout the third stanza and Tatsiana Likhtarovich drew things level with a three-pointer late in the third frame. However Eva Mrhalkova (175-F/G-88) managed to put Czech Republic in front 61:59 at the end of the third stanza. Belarus stayed in the striking distance throughout the first part of the final period but eventually Czech Republic ran away. Sipova nailed a jumper to ignite a 9:0 run that put Czechs away for good. Katerina Hindrakova (176-G/F-88) and Eva Mrhalkova dropped 14 points apiece for the winners. Natallia Kozun (189-F-88) answered with 18 points and 7 boards for Belarus in defeat. Czech Republic outrebounded their opponents 46:25 including 18 offensive rebounds.

Czech Republic U20: Lenka Sipova 20, Katerina Hindrakova 14, Eva Mrhalkova 14
Belarus U20: Tatsiana Likhtarovich 25, Natallia Kozun 18

*****************************************************
  FRANCE - Women  


French U18 National Team 2008 - by Kasia
#s#
#e#6


Plagnard


Tchatchouang


Datchy


Medenou


Vernerey
4 Myriam Igoufe (176-G-90) of Centre Federal BB
5 Aminata Konate (168-G-90) of US Valenciennes Olympic II
6 Alexia Plagnard (172-G-90) of Centre Federal BB
7 Isabelle Strunc (177-G-91) of Centre Federal BB
8 Diandra Tchatchouang (186-F/C-91) of Centre Federal BB
9 Laurie Datchy (175-G/F-90) of Centre Federal BB
10 Margaux Zouzouo (183-F-91) of Centre Federal BB
11 Medelome Medenou (188-F-90) of Centre Federal BB
12 Allison Vernerey (191-C-91) of FC Mulhouse
13 Pauline Thizy (190-C-90) of Centre Federal BB
14 Bettina Kadila (184-F-90)
15 Chloe Westelynck (188-F-91) of Centre Federal BB
Head Coach: Gregory Halin
Coach Assistant: Alban Le Bigot , Laure Savasta

France dethrone Spain at the European Championship - by Eurobasket News
France U20 - Spain U20 61:56

Spanish U20 National Team ceased their title defense campaign in the semifinal today. Spanish team could not overcome French counterparts and failed to enter the title game at the European championship. The teams traded baskets in the opening stanza but Anna Carbo (176-F-88) scored 6 straight points late in the period and Bokesa capped the frame with a jumper to give Spain a 22:18 lead. Anna Carbo converted a three-pointer and Spain went up 31:23 early in the second stanza. However 5 points from Carine Paul (176-F/G-88) and a trey from Lucie Bouthors (174-G-88) drew things level midway through the frame. Doriane Tahane (191-C-89) and Lorraine Lokoka (184-C/F-89) crowned the first half with consecutive jump shots and France enjoyed a 35:31 advantage at the interval. France stayed in front in the third frame and entered the fourth term up by 3 points. France looked cool in the final stanza and kept their opponents at bay in the fourth quarter. Spain still managed to claw their way within one point from French team but Amant and Carine Paul stretched the gap back to 5 points. Ingrid Tanqueray (164-G-88) hit a freebie for a 60:54 advantage with 24 seconds left. Noelia Oliva (175-G-88) shaved the deficit to 4 points with just 15 seconds remaining but Carine Paul sealed the winning outcome from charity stripe. Lucie Bouthors led the charge with 15 points. Carine Paul added 12 points, while Ingrid Tanqueray had 8 points and 11 boards for the winners. Gaby Ocete (170-G-88) netted 19 points for Spain. Anna Carbo delivered 17 points and 7 rebounds in a losing effort. France outrebounded their opponents 45:36 and limited Spain to 31% from the field.

France U20: Lucie Bouthors 15, Carine Paul 12, Ingrid Tanqueray 8+12 boards
Spain U20: Gaby Ocete 19, Anna Carbo 17

French Juniors crush Sweden in Slovak Republic - by Eurobasket News
France U18 - Sweden U18 91:60

French Junior National Team routed Swedish team in the European Championship opener. French side had to overcome a sloppy start to the game to deliver a first-class performance in three frames and celebrate a comfortable victory at the end. Stefanie Yderstrom (172-G-90) scored 7 points in the first frame as Sweden enjoyed a 20:18 advantage at the first intermission. France opened the second frame with a 9:0 rally to grab a 7-point lead. Aminata Konate (168-G-90) and Isabelle Strunc (177-G-91) accounted for back-to-back trebles to stretch the gap to 11 points midway through the frame. French team never loosened the grip and secured a 52:35 advantage at halftime. Frida Fogdemark (185-F-91) and Danielle Hamilton Carter (187-C-90, college: Fayetteville) cut the distance to 13 points at the start of the third stanza. But consecutive treys from Igoufe and Plagnard established an 18-point lead. Zouzouo hit two more triples for France as the difference grew to as many as 24 points. Swedish side failed to recover and trailed 49:74 at three quarter time. Four points from Aminata Konate deepened French advantage to 30 points early in the final quarter. Sweden had not a single chance in the reminder of the contest and France clinched a confident win at the end. Zouzouo secured 17 points for France. Laurie Datchy (175-G/F-90) and Isabelle Strunc had 11 points in a winning effort. Stefanie Yderstrom nailed 17 points for Sweden. Danielle Hamilton Carter and Frida Fogdemark dropped 10 points each in a loss.

France U18: Margaux Zouzouo (183-F-91) 17, Laurie Datchy 11, Isabelle Strunc 11
Sweden U18: Stefanie Yderstrom 17, Danielle Hamilton Carter 10, Frida Fogdemark 10

*****************************************************
  GUATEMALA - Women  


Centrobasket 2008: Dominican Republic easy beats Guatemala - by Eurobasket News
Guatemala - Dominican Republic 58-80

Dominican Republic grabbed the second victory on Centrobasket Championship 2008 in Puerto Rico. On the other side Guatemala dropped on score 0-2. As a reminder Dominican Republic yesterday was better than Trinidad & Tobago while Guatemala suffered serious defeat against Cuba. Dominican R. totally outrebounded its rival grabbing 16 offensive and 23 defensive rebounds. Interesting is that Dominican Republic committed more turnovers than Guatemala but that didn't affect their comfortable win. Dominican Republic started the game better taking 6 points lead after first quarter. Guatemala had just Blanca Amado (-80) who was in the right mood for the game. Later, from quarter to quarter Dominican Republic just kept extending its lead. The biggest domination they showed in third stanza which ended 14-23.

Adalgisa Brito was the best player for Dominican Republic in this game collecting 17 points and 6 rebounds. Gomez followed her with 13 points and 9 rebounds while Andreina Paniagua (-79) registered double-double. She stopped on 12 points and 10 rebounds. Guatemala got 22 points and 8 rebounds from Blanca Amado. Maria Fleischmann (-F/C-78) was a way behind her scoring 8 points. In the next round Dominican Republic will meet the defending champion Cuba while Guatemala will take on Trinidad & Tobago.


Guatemala - Dominican Republic 58-80
(11-17,15-18,14-23,18-22)

Guatemala: Blanca Amado 22 (8 rebs), Maria Fleischmann 8
Dominican Republic: Adalgisa Brito 17 (6 rebs), Gomez 13 (9 rebs), Andreina Paniagua 12 (10 rebs)

*****************************************************
  HOLLAND - Women  


U20 EC, division B: Netherlands too strong for Ireland - by Eurobasket News
Netherlands - Ireland 61-43

Netherlands made first step in the battle for fifth place on U20 European Championship division B in Poland. Irish was an equal rival to Netherlands only in first quarter, which they closed having 3 points lead. After successful attempt form behind the arc by Doyle at the beginning of the second frame, Ireland extended lead to 6. It didn't last long as Netherlands answered through Francisca Donders (170-G-89) and Kraak creating 10-0 run. Thanks to triple by O'Connor Ireland ended the first half with deficit of just one point. After the breather Irish somehow stopped playing. Netherlands was the team who dominated which resulted with 40-40 with three minutes remaining in third quarter. During the first two minutes of the last stanza Irish had a chance for a turn as they get closer on 42-37. Unfortunately to British fans they missed two shots after that. Netherlands grabbed this present setting the score to 51-37 very soon.

Interesting is that Rianne de Roos (190-C-89) was the only player in Netherlands who registered double digits. She netted 10 pointes grabbing 5 more rebounds. Francisca Donders followed her with 9 points and 5 rebounds while Myrthe Beld (180-G-89) also had 9 points but with 4 assists. Shauna O'Connor (182-F-88) drained 10 points for the Ireland while Rachel Clancy (178-G-88) had just 6 points and 4 rebounds in this game.


Netherlands - Ireland 61-43
(10-13,17-13,15-8,19-9)

Netherlands: Rianne de Roos 10 (5 rebs), Francisca Donders 9 (5 rebs), Myrthe Beld 9 (4 as)
Ireland: Shauna O'Connor 10, Rachel Clancy 6 (4 rebs)

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


Iceland routs Malta to reach the Final of U16 European Championship - by Eurobasket News
Iceland U16 - Malta U16 85:33

Icelandic Cadet Team cruised past Maltese counterparts in the semifinal of the European Championship in Division C yesterday. It was the third straight win for Iceland at the tournament and they advanced to the title decider to be played later tonight. Iceland will be opposed by Albanian team in the championship encounter. Malta meanwhile will take on Scotland in Bronze medals game. All players on Icelandic starting five delivered points as the team ran away to a 14:8 distance early in the first period. Magnusdottir and Einarsdottir teamed up for 12 points and Iceland stretched the gap to 28:15 at the end of the first period. Naudi and Cassar cut the distance to 11 points early in the second frame but Iceland answered with an 8:0 run to clear off. Sverrisdottir and Traustadottir capped the first half with Iceland leading 44:26. Traustadottir picked up from where she left in the second frame and notched 5 straight points to tip off the third one. The margin soon grew to 30 points as Iceland dominated the game. They entered the final period leading by 37 points and never looked back. Moreover Maltese offensive schemes collapsed as they managed just 2 point in the final stanza losing the game. Gudbjorg Sverrisdottir (175-G-92) led the winners with 14 points, 6 boards and 6 steals. Dagmar Traustadottir nailed 13 points, while Maria Einarsdottir had 11 for Iceland. Rebecca Naudi and Louisa Serge replied with 8 points apiece in a loss.

Iceland U16: Gudbjorg Sverrisdottir 14, Dagmar Traustadottir 13, Maria Einarsdottir 11
Malta U16: Louisa Serge 8, Rebecca Naudi 8

*****************************************************
  IRELAND - Women  


U20 EC, division B: Netherlands too strong for Ireland - by Eurobasket News
Netherlands - Ireland 61-43

Netherlands made first step in the battle for fifth place on U20 European Championship division B in Poland. Irish was an equal rival to Netherlands only in first quarter, which they closed having 3 points lead. After successful attempt form behind the arc by Doyle at the beginning of the second frame, Ireland extended lead to 6. It didn't last long as Netherlands answered through Francisca Donders (170-G-89) and Kraak creating 10-0 run. Thanks to triple by O'Connor Ireland ended the first half with deficit of just one point. After the breather Irish somehow stopped playing. Netherlands was the team who dominated which resulted with 40-40 with three minutes remaining in third quarter. During the first two minutes of the last stanza Irish had a chance for a turn as they get closer on 42-37. Unfortunately to British fans they missed two shots after that. Netherlands grabbed this present setting the score to 51-37 very soon.

Interesting is that Rianne de Roos (190-C-89) was the only player in Netherlands who registered double digits. She netted 10 pointes grabbing 5 more rebounds. Francisca Donders followed her with 9 points and 5 rebounds while Myrthe Beld (180-G-89) also had 9 points but with 4 assists. Shauna O'Connor (182-F-88) drained 10 points for the Ireland while Rachel Clancy (178-G-88) had just 6 points and 4 rebounds in this game.


Netherlands - Ireland 61-43
(10-13,17-13,15-8,19-9)

Netherlands: Rianne de Roos 10 (5 rebs), Francisca Donders 9 (5 rebs), Myrthe Beld 9 (4 as)
Ireland: Shauna O'Connor 10, Rachel Clancy 6 (4 rebs)

*****************************************************
  ISRAEL - Women  


U20 EC, division B: Romania outsmarts Israel in the classification round - by Eurobasket News
Romania - Israel 77-64

Romania outplayed Israel in the first game of classification round from 5th to 8th position on U20 European Championship division B. Romania dominated under the basket having 15 rebounds more that its opponent. At the same time Romanians were very confident from the free throw line as well as for FG2. Israel took control on Romania at the early beginning making quick 10-5 run. After just minute and a half Romania tied the core on 12-12 after what they made fantastic 12-4 series closing the first quarter with plus 8. Beginning of the next stanza once again belonged to Israel, which came on minus one at the middle of it. However they weren't able to make a turn as Romania went on the breather with 34-32. First double digits lead in the second half Romania had with minute a half remaining in third stanza. It was 53-43. Until the end of the game Israel threatened coming on minus one but they weren't able to do nothing more than that. Romania dominated during the last 5 minutes making a step forward to fifth place on the championship.

Claudia Pop (186-F-89, agency: LBM Management) was a clutch player for the winners collecting 23 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. Anita Meszaros (190-C-88) also was unstoppable adding 21 points and 8 rebounds. Andreea Hutanu (188-C-88) followed these two players with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Nofar Shalom (177-F-88) and Lin Golan (172-G-89) netted 17 points each for Israel. The loosing side also got 13 points and 6 assists from Hadas Levy (165-G-88).


Romania - Israel 77-64
(24-16,10-16,22-19,21-13)

Romania: Claudia Pop 23 (13 rebs, 6 as), Anita Meszaros 21 (8 rebs), Andreea Hutanu 12 (7 rebs)
Israel: Nofar Shalom 17 (5 rebs), Lin Golan 17 (4 rebs), Hadas Levy 13 (6 as)

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


Italian U18 National Team 2008 - by Kasia
#s#
#e#6


Striulli


Tava


Tognalini


Fassina


Bestagno

4 Giulia Pasqualin (177-G-91) of Pool Comense
5 Federica Nannucci (169-G-91) of Meccanica Nova Bologna
6 Giulia Rulli (178-G-91)
7 Erika Striulli (170-G-90) of Libertas Sporting Udine
8 Elena Bestagno (177-G-91) of Pool Comense
9 Irene Pieropan (181-G/F-91) of Lavezzini Parma
10 Alice Quarta (175-G-91) of Fiera di Roma basket Pomezia
11 Alessandra Tava (183-F-91) of Castelnuovo Scrivia
12 Federica Tognalini (181-F-91) of Umana Reyer Venezia
13 Nausicaa Fassina (180-G-90) of Umana Reyer Venezia
14 Alice Richter (184-F-91) of New Wash Montigarda
15 Martina Bestagno (189-F/C-90) of TermoCarispe La Spezia

Head Coach: Marco Rota

Coach Assistant: Mauro Cavaliere



Italy thumps Montenegro at the U20 European Championship - by Eurobasket News
Italy U20 - Montenegro U20 73:51

Italian U20 Team earned a cruising win over Montenegro earlier today. The victory means Italy will fight for the 9th spot tomorrow. Tomorrow the hosts will take on Czech Republic. Montenegro will clash with Belarus for the 11th overall spot on the final day of action. The home team opened the game on a 13:2 run to set the tone early. Rossi and Chiara Consolini (182-F-88) capped the first frame to give Italian team a 22:10 advantage at the first intermission. Chiara Consolini notched 6 points early in the second period to keep Italy rolling. They easily withheld all comeback efforts from Montenegro to enjoy a 39:23 advantage at halftime. Biljana Turcinovic (186-F-89) opened the third frame with 5 points as Montenegrin team cut the deficit to 11 points. However the hosts easily secured a safe distance and entered the fourth term up by 16. Vujadinovic tipped off the fourth period with back-to-back treys as Montenegro trailed by 10 points. Battisodo, Arianna Zampieri (181-F-88) and Martina Crippa (175-G/F-88) immediately answered with an 8:0 run to take a sigh of relief. Montenegro could not answer at the closing stages and lost the battle. Chiara Consolini and Martina Crippa scored 15 points apiece for Italy. Arianna Zampieri dropped 9 points in a winning case. Milica Jovanovic (187-F/C-89) answered with 16 points and 9 rebounds for Montenegro. Biljana Turcinovic and Snezana Aleksic (171-G-89) netted 10 points and collected 10 boards apiece.

Italy U20: Chiara Consolini 15, Martina Crippa 15, Arianna Zampieri 9
Montenegro U20: Milica Jovanovic 16, Biljana Turcinovic 10+10 boards, Snezana Aleksic 10+10 boards

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


Latvian U20 Team prevails in Baltic clash - by Eurobasket News
Latvia U20 - Lithuania U20 83:73 (OT)

Latvian U20 National Team secured a difficult win over their archrivals Lithuania to play for the 5th spot at the European Championship in Italy. Sabine Niedola (182-F-91) came up with monster double-double of 21 points and 22 boards to pace Latvia to the win. She eclipsed a sizzling performance from Gintare Petronyte (195-C-89) as Lithuanian rising star tallied 26 points and 15 boards in defeat. Lithuania jumped to an early lead as Nacickaite and Saule Kontautaite (175-G-89) hit trebles. Saule Kontautaite soon added another three-pointer to give Lithuania a 16:9 advantage midway through the opening term. However Latvia managed to cut the deficit to a single point 19:20 at the first intermission. Back-to-back treys from Egle Sarapaite (172-G-88) and Sarune Povilionyte (183-F-88) opened a double-digit lead for Lithuania. They rolled to a 39:31 advantage at halftime. Petronyte scored a layup for a 44:31 Lithuanian cushion early in the third stanza and the situation seemed well in control by Lithuania. But Latvian players had some other thoughts about it. They went on an 18:2 rally to step in front 49:46 late in the third quarter. Petronyte and Sarune Povilionyte retained the lead for Lithuanian team but Niedola drew things level at 53 heading into the fourth term. The teams exchanged the baskets at the beginning of the final period before Anna Gailite (197-C-90) and Kristine Vitola (196-C-91) spurred Latvia ahead 69:63 with under two minutes left. But Lithuanian side replied with a three-pointer from Saule Kontautaite to clip the distance to 3 points. Nacickaite converted a free throw, while Gintare Petronyte hit a jumper to send game into overtime. Baiba Eglite (175-G-89) and Kristine Vitola carried Latvia to a 75:70 advantage in the extra period. Niedola then added two points and Latvia never looked back to race past Lithuania. Baiba Eglite and Kristine Vitola knocked down 19 points apiece for the winners. Saule Kontautaite delivered 12 points in defeat.

Latvia U20: Sabine Niedola 21+22 boards, Baiba Eglite 19, Kristine Vitola 19
Lithuania U20: Gintare Petronyte 26+15 boards, Saule Kontautaite 12

*****************************************************
  LITHUANIA - Women  


Lithuanian U18 National Team 2008 - by Kasia
#s#
#e#6


Solopova


Rinkeviciute


Paugaite


Siksniute


Visgaudaite

4 Gabriele Gutkauskaite (174-G-90) of Ruta Siauliai
5 Marina Solopova (178-G-90) of Lemminkainen Klaipeda
6 Inesa Visgaudaite (174-G-91) of Lemminkainen Klaipeda
7 Lina Pikciute (188-F-90) of Lemminkainen Klaipeda
8 Egle Vitkute (185-F-91) of Arvi Marijampole
9 Mante Kvederaviciute (180-G-90)
10 Aurime Rinkeviciute (180-F/G-90) of Arvi Marijampole
11 Giedre Paugaite (192-C-90) of Arvi Marijampole
12 Gintare Mazionyte (185-C-91) of Lemminkainen Klaipeda
13 Egle Taraseviciute (182-F-90) of Lintel 118 Lithuanian Junior Team
14 Egle Siksniute (193-F-91) of Lemminkainen Klaipeda
15 Kristina Alminaite of Lintel 118 Lithuanian Junior Team

Head Coach: Ramune Kumpiene
Coach Assistants: Dalius Ubartas , Nijole Kregzdiene



Latvian U20 Team prevails in Baltic clash - by Eurobasket News
Latvia U20 - Lithuania U20 83:73 (OT)

Latvian U20 National Team secured a difficult win over their archrivals Lithuania to play for the 5th spot at the European Championship in Italy. Sabine Niedola (182-F-91) came up with monster double-double of 21 points and 22 boards to pace Latvia to the win. She eclipsed a sizzling performance from Gintare Petronyte (195-C-89) as Lithuanian rising star tallied 26 points and 15 boards in defeat. Lithuania jumped to an early lead as Nacickaite and Saule Kontautaite (175-G-89) hit trebles. Saule Kontautaite soon added another three-pointer to give Lithuania a 16:9 advantage midway through the opening term. However Latvia managed to cut the deficit to a single point 19:20 at the first intermission. Back-to-back treys from Egle Sarapaite (172-G-88) and Sarune Povilionyte (183-F-88) opened a double-digit lead for Lithuania. They rolled to a 39:31 advantage at halftime. Petronyte scored a layup for a 44:31 Lithuanian cushion early in the third stanza and the situation seemed well in control by Lithuania. But Latvian players had some other thoughts about it. They went on an 18:2 rally to step in front 49:46 late in the third quarter. Petronyte and Sarune Povilionyte retained the lead for Lithuanian team but Niedola drew things level at 53 heading into the fourth term. The teams exchanged the baskets at the beginning of the final period before Anna Gailite (197-C-90) and Kristine Vitola (196-C-91) spurred Latvia ahead 69:63 with under two minutes left. But Lithuanian side replied with a three-pointer from Saule Kontautaite to clip the distance to 3 points. Nacickaite converted a free throw, while Gintare Petronyte hit a jumper to send game into overtime. Baiba Eglite (175-G-89) and Kristine Vitola carried Latvia to a 75:70 advantage in the extra period. Niedola then added two points and Latvia never looked back to race past Lithuania. Baiba Eglite and Kristine Vitola knocked down 19 points apiece for the winners. Saule Kontautaite delivered 12 points in defeat.

Latvia U20: Sabine Niedola 21+22 boards, Baiba Eglite 19, Kristine Vitola 19
Lithuania U20: Gintare Petronyte 26+15 boards, Saule Kontautaite 12

*****************************************************
  MALTA - Women  


Iceland routs Malta to reach the Final of U16 European Championship - by Eurobasket News
Iceland U16 - Malta U16 85:33

Icelandic Cadet Team cruised past Maltese counterparts in the semifinal of the European Championship in Division C yesterday. It was the third straight win for Iceland at the tournament and they advanced to the title decider to be played later tonight. Iceland will be opposed by Albanian team in the championship encounter. Malta meanwhile will take on Scotland in Bronze medals game. All players on Icelandic starting five delivered points as the team ran away to a 14:8 distance early in the first period. Magnusdottir and Einarsdottir teamed up for 12 points and Iceland stretched the gap to 28:15 at the end of the first period. Naudi and Cassar cut the distance to 11 points early in the second frame but Iceland answered with an 8:0 run to clear off. Sverrisdottir and Traustadottir capped the first half with Iceland leading 44:26. Traustadottir picked up from where she left in the second frame and notched 5 straight points to tip off the third one. The margin soon grew to 30 points as Iceland dominated the game. They entered the final period leading by 37 points and never looked back. Moreover Maltese offensive schemes collapsed as they managed just 2 point in the final stanza losing the game. Gudbjorg Sverrisdottir (175-G-92) led the winners with 14 points, 6 boards and 6 steals. Dagmar Traustadottir nailed 13 points, while Maria Einarsdottir had 11 for Iceland. Rebecca Naudi and Louisa Serge replied with 8 points apiece in a loss.

Iceland U16: Gudbjorg Sverrisdottir 14, Dagmar Traustadottir 13, Maria Einarsdottir 11
Malta U16: Louisa Serge 8, Rebecca Naudi 8

*****************************************************
  MEXICO - Women  


Centrobasket 2008: Mexico outplays Barbados for 2-0 - by Eurobasket News
Barbados - Mexico 70-84

Mexico was too strong for Barbados in the second round of Centrobakset 2008. It means that the Mexicans are on top of Group A together with the host Puerto Rico. Barbados and Costa Rica are still winless after two games. Difference in quality between these two teams was seen already in the first frame. Mexico took control on its opponent playing strongly at the both ends of the court. Thanks to Abril Garcia (190-F/C-81, college: ORU) and Mariana Cota, Mexico had advantage of 6 points after first ten minutes. Nothing has changed in the next stanza as Mexicans went on the half time having plus 11. Jamila Griffith (183-G/F-82, college: Md-Eastern Shore) brought some hope for Barbados in third quarter that they are able to come a bit closer but it was a kind of a signal for Mexico. They once again put into the fifth gear confidently keeping its lead until the very end.

Abril Garcia paced the winners recording double-double, 24 points and 14 rebounds. Mexico got 17 points from Mariana Cota, who also had an important role in this win. Nubia Garcia (188-F) also shined collecting 13 points and 8 rebounds. Jamila Griffith was totally the best in Barbados delivering 22 points including 13 rebounds. Toni Atherley (173-G-83) was behind her with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Mexico will meet Puerto Rico tomorrow and the game will decide which team will finish competition in Group A on top. On the other side Costa Rica and Barbados will fight for the third place.


Barbados - Mexico 70-84
(16-22,18-23,19-23,17-16)

Barbados: Jamila Griffith 22 (13 rebs), Toni Atherley 18 (11 rebs)
Mexico: Abril Garcia 24 (14 rebs), Mariana Cota 17, Nubia Garcia 13 (8 rebs)

*****************************************************
  MONTENEGRO - Women  


Roster of Montenegrin U16 NT - by Dragan Scepanovic
Head coach of MNT U16 NT Mirko baletic announced names of basketball players for EC U16 - 2008 Group B.
In preparation for EC tournament U16 NT of Miontenegro will play tree frendly game 22.,23 and 24 July against Serbia and on 25 and 27 July will play against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

1.Jovana Pasic
2.Jelena Vucetic
3.Ana Turcinovic (185-C-93)
4.Milica Radonjic
5.Milica Milosev
6.Milica Grnovic
7. Snezana Lazovic
8.Ivana Nikic
9. Ivana Jovic
10. Nataa Orbovic,
11. Jovana Jovanovic
12. Cvetana Jovanov

Roster of Montenegrin NT - by Dragan Scepanovic
Head Coach of MNT NT Mr. Miodrag Baletic announced names of basketball palyer for preparation in Niksic

1.MILUTINOVIC Maja , MNT 02.10.1987 Podgorica 175 G Buducnost
2.ALEKSIC Snezana, MNT 14.01.1989 Podgorica 171 G Buducnost ,MNT U20 2008
3.SKEROVIC Jelena , MNT 23.12.1980 Podgorica 172 G Visla POL
4.BURDZOVIC Melisa , MNT 17.07.1986 B.Polje 174 G Jedinstvo
5.KNEZEVIC Sanja , MNT 23.01.1984 B.Polje 185 F Jedinstvo
6.BALETIC Ana , MNT 19.07.1985 Niksic 187 F Buducnost
7.VUCINIC Bojana , MNT 14.08.1982 Podgorica 176 F/G Jedinstvo
8.IVOVIC Marijana , MNT 13.02.1979 Kotor 196 C MUKS Poz. POL
9.PEROVANOVIC Iva MNT 01.09.1983 Podgorica 190 C Umbertide ITA
10.JEKNIC Slavica , MNT 10.12.1983 B.Polje 190 C/F Jedinstvo
11.POPOVIC Natasa , MNT 1984 Niksic 192 C/F Raguza CRO
12.BJELICA Milka , SRB 22.06.1980 Beograd 190 - R.C. Valensija SPA
13.UTVIC Danijela 193 - USA College
14.RADUNOVIC Hajdana , MNT 10.01.1978 Podgorica 192 C/F Strasbur FRA
15.JOVANOVIC Milica , MNT 14.08.1989 Niksic 186 C/F Buducnost , MNT U20 2008

Italy thumps Montenegro at the U20 European Championship - by Eurobasket News
Italy U20 - Montenegro U20 73:51

Italian U20 Team earned a cruising win over Montenegro earlier today. The victory means Italy will fight for the 9th spot tomorrow. Tomorrow the hosts will take on Czech Republic. Montenegro will clash with Belarus for the 11th overall spot on the final day of action. The home team opened the game on a 13:2 run to set the tone early. Rossi and Chiara Consolini (182-F-88) capped the first frame to give Italian team a 22:10 advantage at the first intermission. Chiara Consolini notched 6 points early in the second period to keep Italy rolling. They easily withheld all comeback efforts from Montenegro to enjoy a 39:23 advantage at halftime. Biljana Turcinovic (186-F-89) opened the third frame with 5 points as Montenegrin team cut the deficit to 11 points. However the hosts easily secured a safe distance and entered the fourth term up by 16. Vujadinovic tipped off the fourth period with back-to-back treys as Montenegro trailed by 10 points. Battisodo, Arianna Zampieri (181-F-88) and Martina Crippa (175-G/F-88) immediately answered with an 8:0 run to take a sigh of relief. Montenegro could not answer at the closing stages and lost the battle. Chiara Consolini and Martina Crippa scored 15 points apiece for Italy. Arianna Zampieri dropped 9 points in a winning case. Milica Jovanovic (187-F/C-89) answered with 16 points and 9 rebounds for Montenegro. Biljana Turcinovic and Snezana Aleksic (171-G-89) netted 10 points and collected 10 boards apiece.

Italy U20: Chiara Consolini 15, Martina Crippa 15, Arianna Zampieri 9
Montenegro U20: Milica Jovanovic 16, Biljana Turcinovic 10+10 boards, Snezana Aleksic 10+10 boards

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


Polish U18 National Team 2008 - by Kasia
#s#
#e#6


Tomialowicz


Kaczmarska


Sosnowska


Antczak


Skowronek
4 Aleksandra Dziwinska (170-G-91) of Arcus SMS PZKosz Lomianki
5 Olivia Tomialowicz (178-G-90) of Lotos PKO BP Gdynia
6 Agnieszka Modelska (181-F-90) of Arcus SMS PZKosz Lomianki
7 Roze Ratajczak (178-G-91)
8 Agnieszka Sniezek (175-G-91) of Arcus SMS PZKosz Lomianki
9 Anna Soszynska (187-F/C-90) of Arcus SMS PZKosz Lomianki
10 Magda Kaczmarska (183-F-90) of Arcus SMS PZKosz Lomianki
11 Klaudia Sosnowska (184-F-90) of Lotos PKO BP Gdynia
12 Natalia Pacula (185-F-90)
13 Paulina Antczak (180-F-90) of MUKS Poznan
14 Barbara Skowronek (189-F/C-90) of MUKS Poznan
15 Marta Oledzka (196-C-91) of Arcus SMS PZKosz Lomianki
Head Coach: Roman Skrzecz
Coach Assistant: Ryszard Pietruszak

*****************************************************
  PORTUGAL - Women  


B.Viagem sign Lakethia - by Luis Rocha
Lakethia Hampton (183-F/C-83) is the new signing of B.Viagem. Lakethis is a strong center that last season played for Algs. She made good performances and finished with nice numbers. Algs improved a lot since she went there and was vice champion in a dramatic game played just till the last second. Now she gets to Aores, and can certainly help a lot ina position where B:Viagem has had some problems over the years.

U20 EC, division B: Ninth place belongs to Portugal, Great Britain tenth - by Eurobasket News
Portugal - Great Britain 69-57

Portugal succeeded to beat Great Britain once again finishing the U20 European Championship division B on position number 9. On the other hand British ended the competition on 10th place winless. As it was during the entire tournament, Nadia Tavares (178-F-88) was the key player for Portugal again. She was unstoppable for British collecting 25 points and 7 rebounds. In this game Portugal also got important help from Catia Lirio (182-C-89), who had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Joana Bernardeco (171-G-90) netted 12 points and dished out 5 assists. Great Britain got 13 points and 5 rebounds from Harriett Yea (180-G-89). Mairi Cowan Buchan (188-C-90) was the last player with double digits for the loosing side scoring 19 points.

Today's game started good for Portuguese. They made express 6-0 run at the very beginning. Later, British came closer on 10-9 but Tavares and her teammates immediately answered with another 6-0 run. In the next quarter British succeeded to resists stopping Portugal on their way to create bigger lead. Thus, the first half finished 27-23 for Portuguese. Situation on the court has changed in third frame. At the middle of it Portugal created plus 10, 38-18, what was unreachable for the British until the very end. Actually Great Britain succeeded to come on minus 5 in the last stanza but it was their maximum today.


Portugal - Great Britain 69-57
(18-11,9-12,20-15,22-19)

Portugal: Nadia Tavares 25 (7 rebs), Catia Lirio 12 (7 rebs), Joana Joana Bernardeco 12 (5 as)
Great Britain: Harriett Yea 13 (5 rebs), Mairi Cowan Buchan 10

*****************************************************
  PUERTO RICO - Women  


Centrobasket 2008: Puerto Rico dominates against Costa Rica - by Eurobasket News
Costa Rica - Puerto Rico 50-81

The hosts of Centrobasket Championship 2008, Puerto Rico, confidently finished the second day of the competition. It seems that the defending champion Cuba and Puerto Ricans will be the main candidates for the Gold medal on this championship. On the other hand Costa Rica suffered two defeats in the first two rounds. They couldn't handle Puerto Ricans at their furious beginning. The hosts showed strong willingness to resolve the question about the winner as soon as they can. Plus 15 points after the first frame was a good signal for them. Second quarter brought even more joy for Puerto Ricans as they created advantage of 26 points until the breather. Following two quarters were the opportunity for some of the best player from Puerto Rico to take a rest. Their opponent exploited it but they couldn't come any closer than 30 points.

The winners got the most from Cynthia Valentin (173-G-84, agency: LBM Management, college: Indiana), who had 17 points and 5 rebounds. Yoliana Cabrera also showed a decent level adding 13 points and 4 rebounds while Gonzales stopped on 12 points. Natalia Galvez (-85) netted 20 points and grabbed 4 rebounds for the loosing side. Costa Rica also got 11 points and 11 boards from Liliana Lewis (-80). Puerto Rico will play the very important game tomorrow against Mexico. Costa Rica will try to celebrate for the first time on Centrobasket and its rival will be Barbados.


Costa Rica - Puerto Rico 50-81
(12-27,13-24,13-15,12-15)

Costa Rica: Natalia Galvez 20 (4 rebs), Liliana Lewis 11 (11 rebs)
Puerto Rico: Cynthia Valentin 17 (5 rebs), Yoliana Cabrera 13 (4 rebs), Gonzales 12

*****************************************************
  ROMANIA - Women  


Ukraine U18 eke out win over Romania - by Eurobasket News
Ukraine U18 - Romania U18 70:64

Ukrainian U18 National Team opened the European Championship campaign with a hard-fought win over Romania. Ol'ha Maznichenko (186-F-91) exploded with 33 points and 8 rebounds to propel Ukraine to a come-from-behind victory over determined Romanian side. Elisabeth Pavel (192-C-90) scored 6 points early in the clash and Romania jumped to a 10:2 lead. However Kateryna Dorogobuzova (187-F-90) sparked a 10:2 rally from Ukraine to surge in front and later sealed the 17:16 lead for her team at the end of the quarter. The lead changed hands for several times in the second stanza and Romania stayed in charge 31:30 at halftime. Another scoring burst from Elisabeth Pavel allowed Romania to keep their opponents at bay throughout the third stanza. Alina Chivu (180-F-90) hit a jumper to give Romania a 49:45 advantage into the final term. Alina Chivu and Pop stretched the gap to 6 points at the start of the final quarter. Ukraine stayed at the striking distance and later Ol'ha Maznichenko converted a three-point play to pull them in front. She later added four consecutive freebies, while Kateryna Dorogobuzova nailed a jump shot for a 67:62 advantage with just over 2 minutes remaining. Romania never recovered and suffered a bitter loss at the end. Kateryna Dorogobuzova provided 22 points and 6 boards for Ukraine. Alina Chivu had 21 points to pace Romania. Elisabeth Pavel was impressive with 25 points and 11 boards in defeat. Ukraine outrebounded their opponents 42:32 and shot 41% from the field. Ukraine faces Czech Republic, while Romania takes on hosting Slovakia today.

Ukraine U18: Ol'ha Maznichenko 33, Kateryna Dorogobuzova 22
Romania U18: Elisabeth Pavel 25+11 boards, Alina Chivu 21

U20 EC, division B: Romania outsmarts Israel in the classification round - by Eurobasket News
Romania - Israel 77-64

Romania outplayed Israel in the first game of classification round from 5th to 8th position on U20 European Championship division B. Romania dominated under the basket having 15 rebounds more that its opponent. At the same time Romanians were very confident from the free throw line as well as for FG2. Israel took control on Romania at the early beginning making quick 10-5 run. After just minute and a half Romania tied the core on 12-12 after what they made fantastic 12-4 series closing the first quarter with plus 8. Beginning of the next stanza once again belonged to Israel, which came on minus one at the middle of it. However they weren't able to make a turn as Romania went on the breather with 34-32. First double digits lead in the second half Romania had with minute a half remaining in third stanza. It was 53-43. Until the end of the game Israel threatened coming on minus one but they weren't able to do nothing more than that. Romania dominated during the last 5 minutes making a step forward to fifth place on the championship.

Claudia Pop (186-F-89, agency: LBM Management) was a clutch player for the winners collecting 23 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. Anita Meszaros (190-C-88) also was unstoppable adding 21 points and 8 rebounds. Andreea Hutanu (188-C-88) followed these two players with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Nofar Shalom (177-F-88) and Lin Golan (172-G-89) netted 17 points each for Israel. The loosing side also got 13 points and 6 assists from Hadas Levy (165-G-88).


Romania - Israel 77-64
(24-16,10-16,22-19,21-13)

Romania: Claudia Pop 23 (13 rebs, 6 as), Anita Meszaros 21 (8 rebs), Andreea Hutanu 12 (7 rebs)
Israel: Nofar Shalom 17 (5 rebs), Lin Golan 17 (4 rebs), Hadas Levy 13 (6 as)

Romanian U18 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Barbu


Pop


Chivu


Ferenczi


Pavel
4 Raluca Alecu (170-G-90) of BC CSS MCM Targoviste
5 Bianca Barbu (169-G-90) of BC Teleorman Alexandria
6 Andreea Pop (185-C-90) of U Trustul Cre Cluj Napoca
7 Alina Chivu (180-F-90) of BC Teleorman Alexandria
8 Flavia Ferenczi (175-F-91) of U Trustul Cre Cluj Napoca
9 Gabriela Munteanu (180-F-90)
10 Adina Stoiedin (187-C-91) of BC CSS MCM Targoviste
11 Doinita Panait (184-C-90) of BC National Iasi
12 Crenguta Teodorescu (176-F-90) of BC Teleorman Alexandria
13 Ozana Marginean (176-G-90) of BC ICIM Arad
14 Adina Lovasz (184-F/C-91)
15 Elisabeth Pavel (192-C-90) of BC ICIM Arad
Head Coach: Madalin Piperea
Coach Assistant: Liviu Manea

*****************************************************
  RUSSIA - Women  


Russia leaves no chance for Spain in Nitra - by Eurobasket News
Russia U18 - Spain U18 82:66

Russian Junior National Team grabbed an overwhelming victory over Spain in a highly-anticipated game at the start of the European Championship. Spain were runners-up in the last edition of the event, while Russia scored Bronze medals in 2007. However Russian team proved the lay of the land can change this year. Spain got to a better start as they led early in the starting stanza. But a bunch of free throws from Tatiana Petrushina (185-F-90) and Melnikova allowed Russia to surge in front. Anna Ostroukhova (170-G-90) capped the frame with 4 points to give Russian team a 23:17 advantage. Russia added a 6:0 run midway through the second frame to extend their lead to 9 points. Kiryanova soon opened a double-digit advantage as Russia prevailed 44:34 in the first half. Marta Xargay (180-G-90) hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit early in the third stanza but it was a just a spark for Spanish side. Russia kept their opponents at bay and easily secured a 63:49 cushion before the final term. Melnikova and Loginova extended the margin to 18 points midway through the fourth quarter and never looked back again. Alexandra Tarasova (192-C-91) led the charge with 16 points and 9 boards. Anastasia Logunova (188-C-90) scored 14 points, while Tatiana Petrushina had 13 in a win. Leonor Rodriguez (177-G-91) answered with 15 points, 5 boards and 4 assists for Spanish team. Isabel Perez secured 9 points in a losing effort. Spaniards will take on Belarus, while Russia will clash with Bulgaria today.

Russia U18: Alexandra Tarasova 16, Anastasia Logunova 14, Tatiana Petrushina 13
Spain U18: Leonor Rodriguez 15, Isabel Perez 9

Russia scores dramatic win over Serbia in Italy - by Eurobasket News
Russia U20 - Serbia U20 49:47

Russian U20 National Team withstood a fierce comeback effort from Serbian team to celebrate a dramatic victory in the semifinal of the European championship. Russia is looking to retain the title they possess in 2000, 2004 and 2006. Natalia Vieru (198-C-89) and Olga Petrova (184-G-88) got things rolling for Russia at the start of the game. The first stanza was really slow as the teams stressed the defense. Keyru and Natalia Zhedik (182-G-88) finished the period with 5 points and Russian team enjoyed a 10:3 advantage at the first intermission. Jelena Milovanovic (191-F/C-89) scored 7 points early in the second period to singlehandedly drag Serbia back to life. Dragana Gobeljic (185-F-88) soon cut the deficit to one point however Yulia Lukina (185-F-88) and Elena Pavlova (184-G/F-89) secured Russian lead at halftime 22:18. Russia kept in front throughout the third frame. Jelena Milovanovic accounted for the last basket in the third quarter and Serbia trailed 29:30 heading into the final stanza. Maja Miljkovic (176-G-88) and Iva Roglic (189-F-88) opened the fourth term with 4 points in a row to give Serbia their first lead of the game. The advantage changed hands for a couple of times before Natalia Vieru hit two freebies and Romanova added a jumper to establish a 45:42 advantage for Russia. Serbia cut the distance back to a single point but Natalia Zhedik converted two free throws, while Jelena Milovanovic managed just one free throw and Russia pulled away with a narrow victory. Natalia Vieru tallied 15 points and 9 boards to pace Russia. Yulia Lukina had 8 points, while Natalia Zhedik knocked down 7 for the winners. Jelena Milovanovic answered with 16 points for Serbia. Sonja Petrovic (189-F-89) and Iva Roglic delivered 9 points apiece in defeat. Russia will now face France in the Final tomorrow.

Russia U20: Natalia Vieru 15, Yulia Lukina 8, Natalia Zhedik 7
Serbia U20: Jelena Milovanovic 16, Sonja Petrovic 9, Iva Roglic 9

*****************************************************
  SCOTLAND - Women  


Albania U16 to play in the Final - by Eurobasket News
Albania U16 - Scotland U16 59:57

Albanian U16 National Team edged the defending champions Scotland to advance to the Final of the European Championship in Division C. Yesterday Albanian team showed some heroics overcoming a 6-point halftime deficit and earning a difficult victory at the end. Albania got to a slightly better start to the game as they jumped ahead early on. Dashja and Mustafa once again were the main figures on the court for Albania as they ensured a 13:9 lead after the opening stanza. Scotland however quickly rebounded and answered with a rally fueled by Erin McGarrachan. Scottish team outscored their opponents 22:12 to accumulate a 31:25 advantage at the interval. Albania though were not surprised and kept mounting the pressure. They clipped the difference to just a single point at the end of the third stanza. Later Albania showed some defensive brilliancy as they limited Scottish players to just 11 points in the fourth stanza and pulled away with a hard-fought victory. Ingrit Dashja led the charge with 21 points and 13 boards. Irisi Mustafa had 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Merlina Metani secured 9 points for the winners. Erin McGarrachan answered with 23 points and 13 boards for Scotland. Jennifer Lynn provided 10 points and 8 boards in a loss. Albania had an edge under the rims as they outrebounded Scottish team 54:46. Scotland also shot just 1/25 from beyond the arc.
Albania will now take on Island in the championship game tonight. Scotland will be opposed by Malta in the consolation Final.

Albania U16: Ingrit Dashja 21+13 boards, Irisi Mustafa 16+16 boards, Merlina Metani 9
Scotland U16: Erin McGarrachan 23+13 boards, Jennifer Lynn 10

*****************************************************
  SERBIA - Women  


Russia scores dramatic win over Serbia in Italy - by Eurobasket News
Russia U20 - Serbia U20 49:47

Russian U20 National Team withstood a fierce comeback effort from Serbian team to celebrate a dramatic victory in the semifinal of the European championship. Russia is looking to retain the title they possess in 2000, 2004 and 2006. Natalia Vieru (198-C-89) and Olga Petrova (184-G-88) got things rolling for Russia at the start of the game. The first stanza was really slow as the teams stressed the defense. Keyru and Natalia Zhedik (182-G-88) finished the period with 5 points and Russian team enjoyed a 10:3 advantage at the first intermission. Jelena Milovanovic (191-F/C-89) scored 7 points early in the second period to singlehandedly drag Serbia back to life. Dragana Gobeljic (185-F-88) soon cut the deficit to one point however Yulia Lukina (185-F-88) and Elena Pavlova (184-G/F-89) secured Russian lead at halftime 22:18. Russia kept in front throughout the third frame. Jelena Milovanovic accounted for the last basket in the third quarter and Serbia trailed 29:30 heading into the final stanza. Maja Miljkovic (176-G-88) and Iva Roglic (189-F-88) opened the fourth term with 4 points in a row to give Serbia their first lead of the game. The advantage changed hands for a couple of times before Natalia Vieru hit two freebies and Romanova added a jumper to establish a 45:42 advantage for Russia. Serbia cut the distance back to a single point but Natalia Zhedik converted two free throws, while Jelena Milovanovic managed just one free throw and Russia pulled away with a narrow victory. Natalia Vieru tallied 15 points and 9 boards to pace Russia. Yulia Lukina had 8 points, while Natalia Zhedik knocked down 7 for the winners. Jelena Milovanovic answered with 16 points for Serbia. Sonja Petrovic (189-F-89) and Iva Roglic delivered 9 points apiece in defeat. Russia will now face France in the Final tomorrow.

Russia U20: Natalia Vieru 15, Yulia Lukina 8, Natalia Zhedik 7
Serbia U20: Jelena Milovanovic 16, Sonja Petrovic 9, Iva Roglic 9

Serbian U18 Team begins title defense with a win - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U18 - Croatia U18 76:62

Serbian Junior National Team celebrated a cruising victory over Croatia on the opening day of the European Championship in Slovakia. The defending European champions got 19 points from Nevena Jovanovic (179-G-90) to hold off their arch-rivals Croatia. Popovic and Nevena Jovanovic opened the game with 6 unanswered points to pit Serbia in charge. However Croatia reacted with 15:0 run to stun their opponents. Buzov scored 6 points late in the quarter and Croatia rolled to a 23:11 advantage at the first intermission. Nevena Jovanovic took over in the second stanza as she dropped 12 points and Serbia clipped the deficit to 5 points at halftime. Mia Carapina (190-F-90) tipped off the third frame with 5 straight points and Nevena Cilic (190-C-90) added two more for a 46:34 Croatian advantage. Nevena Jovanovic and Sara Krnjic (194-C-91) teamed up for 12 points and Serbia trailed by 5 points heading into the final stanza. Nevena Jovanovic had 5 points and Sara Krnjic nailed a jumper to tie the scoreline at 55 with 2 minutes gone in the fourth term. Sara Krnjic and Nevena Jovanovic stretched their scoring outburst adding 7 more points and Serbia jumped ahead 62:55. Orozovic and Sara Krnjic added four points and Serbia opened a double-digit lead with just over two minutes remaining. Croatia failed to strike back and Nevena Jovanovic sealed the winning outcome with a jumper. Sara Krnjic produced 18 points and 13 boards for Serbian U18 Team. Tina Jovanovic (191-F/C-91) had 17 points in a winning effort. Tomica Bacic (182-F-90) dropped 23 points for Croatia. Mia Carapina delivered 15 points and 7 caroms in defeat.

Serbia U18: Nevena Jovanovic 19, Sara Krnjic 18+13 boards, Tina Jovanovic 17
Croatia U18: Tomica Bacic 23, Mia Carapina 15

*****************************************************
  SLOVAKIA - Women  


Slovakian U18 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Novocka


Cernakova


Balintova


Felixova


Lukacovicova
4 Kornelia Laszloova (181-F-90) of Viktoria PCSP Kosice
5 Anna Medvidova (170-G-90) of CBK Cassovia Kosice
6 Barbora Novocka (168-G-90) of MBK Ruzomberok
7 Veronika Cernakova (174-G-90) of MBK Ruzomberok
8 Dominika Baburova (183-F-91) of Siemens Poprad
9 Martina Kissova (184-F-93)
10 Alexandra Peliova (185-F-90) of CBK Cassovia Kosice
11 Natalia Spodniakova (170-G-90) of MBK Ruzomberok
12 Katarina Balintova (177-G-90) of CBK Cassovia Kosice
13 Zuzana Smutekova (181-F-90) of Slovan La Futura Bratyslava
14 Maria Felixova (190-C-90) of MBK Ruzomberok
15 Klaudia Lukacovicova (193-C-90) of MBK Ruzomberok
Head Coach: Michal Porubcan
Coach Assistant: Anton Panis

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


France dethrone Spain at the European Championship - by Eurobasket News
France U20 - Spain U20 61:56

Spanish U20 National Team ceased their title defense campaign in the semifinal today. Spanish team could not overcome French counterparts and failed to enter the title game at the European championship. The teams traded baskets in the opening stanza but Anna Carbo (176-F-88) scored 6 straight points late in the period and Bokesa capped the frame with a jumper to give Spain a 22:18 lead. Anna Carbo converted a three-pointer and Spain went up 31:23 early in the second stanza. However 5 points from Carine Paul (176-F/G-88) and a trey from Lucie Bouthors (174-G-88) drew things level midway through the frame. Doriane Tahane (191-C-89) and Lorraine Lokoka (184-C/F-89) crowned the first half with consecutive jump shots and France enjoyed a 35:31 advantage at the interval. France stayed in front in the third frame and entered the fourth term up by 3 points. France looked cool in the final stanza and kept their opponents at bay in the fourth quarter. Spain still managed to claw their way within one point from French team but Amant and Carine Paul stretched the gap back to 5 points. Ingrid Tanqueray (164-G-88) hit a freebie for a 60:54 advantage with 24 seconds left. Noelia Oliva (175-G-88) shaved the deficit to 4 points with just 15 seconds remaining but Carine Paul sealed the winning outcome from charity stripe. Lucie Bouthors led the charge with 15 points. Carine Paul added 12 points, while Ingrid Tanqueray had 8 points and 11 boards for the winners. Gaby Ocete (170-G-88) netted 19 points for Spain. Anna Carbo delivered 17 points and 7 rebounds in a losing effort. France outrebounded their opponents 45:36 and limited Spain to 31% from the field.

France U20: Lucie Bouthors 15, Carine Paul 12, Ingrid Tanqueray 8+12 boards
Spain U20: Gaby Ocete 19, Anna Carbo 17

Russia leaves no chance for Spain in Nitra - by Eurobasket News
Russia U18 - Spain U18 82:66

Russian Junior National Team grabbed an overwhelming victory over Spain in a highly-anticipated game at the start of the European Championship. Spain were runners-up in the last edition of the event, while Russia scored Bronze medals in 2007. However Russian team proved the lay of the land can change this year. Spain got to a better start as they led early in the starting stanza. But a bunch of free throws from Tatiana Petrushina (185-F-90) and Melnikova allowed Russia to surge in front. Anna Ostroukhova (170-G-90) capped the frame with 4 points to give Russian team a 23:17 advantage. Russia added a 6:0 run midway through the second frame to extend their lead to 9 points. Kiryanova soon opened a double-digit advantage as Russia prevailed 44:34 in the first half. Marta Xargay (180-G-90) hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit early in the third stanza but it was a just a spark for Spanish side. Russia kept their opponents at bay and easily secured a 63:49 cushion before the final term. Melnikova and Loginova extended the margin to 18 points midway through the fourth quarter and never looked back again. Alexandra Tarasova (192-C-91) led the charge with 16 points and 9 boards. Anastasia Logunova (188-C-90) scored 14 points, while Tatiana Petrushina had 13 in a win. Leonor Rodriguez (177-G-91) answered with 15 points, 5 boards and 4 assists for Spanish team. Isabel Perez secured 9 points in a losing effort. Spaniards will take on Belarus, while Russia will clash with Bulgaria today.

Russia U18: Alexandra Tarasova 16, Anastasia Logunova 14, Tatiana Petrushina 13
Spain U18: Leonor Rodriguez 15, Isabel Perez 9

*****************************************************
  SWEDEN - Women  


French Juniors crush Sweden in Slovak Republic - by Eurobasket News
France U18 - Sweden U18 91:60

French Junior National Team routed Swedish team in the European Championship opener. French side had to overcome a sloppy start to the game to deliver a first-class performance in three frames and celebrate a comfortable victory at the end. Stefanie Yderstrom (172-G-90) scored 7 points in the first frame as Sweden enjoyed a 20:18 advantage at the first intermission. France opened the second frame with a 9:0 rally to grab a 7-point lead. Aminata Konate (168-G-90) and Isabelle Strunc (177-G-91) accounted for back-to-back trebles to stretch the gap to 11 points midway through the frame. French team never loosened the grip and secured a 52:35 advantage at halftime. Frida Fogdemark (185-F-91) and Danielle Hamilton Carter (187-C-90, college: Fayetteville) cut the distance to 13 points at the start of the third stanza. But consecutive treys from Igoufe and Plagnard established an 18-point lead. Zouzouo hit two more triples for France as the difference grew to as many as 24 points. Swedish side failed to recover and trailed 49:74 at three quarter time. Four points from Aminata Konate deepened French advantage to 30 points early in the final quarter. Sweden had not a single chance in the reminder of the contest and France clinched a confident win at the end. Zouzouo secured 17 points for France. Laurie Datchy (175-G/F-90) and Isabelle Strunc had 11 points in a winning effort. Stefanie Yderstrom nailed 17 points for Sweden. Danielle Hamilton Carter and Frida Fogdemark dropped 10 points each in a loss.

France U18: Margaux Zouzouo (183-F-91) 17, Laurie Datchy 11, Isabelle Strunc 11
Sweden U18: Stefanie Yderstrom 17, Danielle Hamilton Carter 10, Frida Fogdemark 10

*****************************************************
  TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - Women  


Centrobasket 2008: Another comfortable victory for Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago still winless - by Eurobasket News
Trinidad & Tobago - Cuba 39-99

Defending champion Cuba ended the second day of Centrobasket 2008 in style. Thus Cuba and Dominican Republic are on top of Group B with score 2-0. Trinidad & Tobago wasn't able to resists strong Cubans so they dropped on 0-2. Interesting is that the host in this game succeeded to score just 2 points for the entire third quarter. Cuba got the most points from Suchitel Avila (183-F-82), who counted until 19. Yayma Boulet (193-C-83) also demonstrated good performance collecting 17 points and 7 rebounds. Yakelin Plutin (186-F-79) stopped on 16 points while Marlen Cepeda (193-C-85) had a great rebounding nigh catching 14 points. At the same time she netted 7 more points. Patrice Edwards (198-C-84, college: Texas Tech) was the best player in Trinidad & Tobago but her 16 points was not enough for them even to threat Cubans in this game. Gay was the last player in Trinidad who made double digits. She added 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

As it was against Guatemala in the first round, Cuba totally dominated against Trinidad & Tobago. After two rounds of Centrobasket it is clear that the Cubans are one of the biggest candidates to defend the Gold medal which they won two years ago. Third round is scheduled for tomorrow when Cuba will plays against Dominican Republic. Trinidad & Tobago will meet Guatemala.


Trinidad & Tobago - Cuba 39-99
(17-26,6-19,2-29,14-25)

Trinidad & Tobago: Patrice Edwards 16, Gay 10 (6 rebs, 4 as)
Cuba: Suchitel Avila 19, Yayma Boulet 17 (7 rebs), Yakelin Plutin 16, Marlen Cepeda 7 (14 rebs)

*****************************************************
  TURKEY - Women  


Turkish U18 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Saylar


Takmaz


Gezgin


Canitez


Murat
4 Cansu Aslan (170-G-90)
5 Pinar Demirok (180-F-91)
6 Serenay Cakmakci (182-F-91)
7 Yasemen Saylar (174-G-90) of Galatasaray Istanbul
8 Gamze Takmaz (182-F-91) of Botasspor Adana
9 Safiye Karaman (180-F-91)
10 Ozge Yavas (169-G-91) of Antalya Buyuksehir Belediye
11 Damla Gezgin (172-G-90)
12 Tugce Canitez (188-F-90) of Ceyhan Belediyespor
13 Duygu Firat (189-F-90) of Fenerbahce Istanbul
14 Tugce Murat (190-C-91) of Fenerbahce Istanbul
15 Esra Ural (197-C-91) of Pankup Ted Kayseri Kolejspor
Head Coach: Ayhan Avci
Coach Assistants: Yasin Akinci , Halil Demirbilek

Ukraine will play for the 5th place in Italy - by Eurobasket News
Ukraine U20 - Turkey U20 78:67

Ukrainian U20 National Team outgunned their Turkish counterparts and got the chance to fight for the 5th overall spot at the European championship. Oleksandra Prystupa (205-C-89, agency: LBM Management) secured 19 points and 16 boards to pace Ukraine. Yasemin Dalgalar (183-F-88) led all scorers with 27 points for Turkey but could not prevent loss. Ukraine will now take on Latvia for the 5th spot tomorrow. Turkey will face Lithuania in the game for the 7th spot. The teams kept it close in the opening stanza and Ukraine ensured a 21:18 lead after ten minutes of action. Olena Samburska (172-G-89) scored 7 points in a 16:0 run from Ukraine that put them ahead 42:25 late in the second frame. Turkey trailed 28:44 at the sides change. Olena Samburska accounted for 4 more points and Bovykina added two more for Ukraine to go 60:40 up late in the third quarter. Dalgalar and Erbas narrowed the gap to 14 points with a quarter to go. Dalgalar, Bahar Caglar (188-F-88) and Melek Bilge (193-C-89) cut the deficit to 8 points midway through the fourth term. However Prystupa and Kisilova nailed 4 points in a row to give Ukraine some more breathing space. Dalgalar and Bahar Caglar combined for 6 points to spark hope for Turkey but Arina Lysyuk (170-G-89) silenced Turkish team with a trey. Olena Samburska scored 17 points, while Arina Lysyuk added 14 for the winners. Bahar Caglar drained 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for Turkey in defeat.

Ukraine U20: Oleksandra Prystupa 19+16 boards, Olena Samburska 17, Arina Lysyuk 14
Turkey U20: Yasemin Dalgalar 27+10 boards, Bahar Caglar 23+11 boards

*****************************************************
  UKRAINE - Women  


Ukraine will play for the 5th place in Italy - by Eurobasket News
Ukraine U20 - Turkey U20 78:67

Ukrainian U20 National Team outgunned their Turkish counterparts and got the chance to fight for the 5th overall spot at the European championship. Oleksandra Prystupa (205-C-89, agency: LBM Management) secured 19 points and 16 boards to pace Ukraine. Yasemin Dalgalar (183-F-88) led all scorers with 27 points for Turkey but could not prevent loss. Ukraine will now take on Latvia for the 5th spot tomorrow. Turkey will face Lithuania in the game for the 7th spot. The teams kept it close in the opening stanza and Ukraine ensured a 21:18 lead after ten minutes of action. Olena Samburska (172-G-89) scored 7 points in a 16:0 run from Ukraine that put them ahead 42:25 late in the second frame. Turkey trailed 28:44 at the sides change. Olena Samburska accounted for 4 more points and Bovykina added two more for Ukraine to go 60:40 up late in the third quarter. Dalgalar and Erbas narrowed the gap to 14 points with a quarter to go. Dalgalar, Bahar Caglar (188-F-88) and Melek Bilge (193-C-89) cut the deficit to 8 points midway through the fourth term. However Prystupa and Kisilova nailed 4 points in a row to give Ukraine some more breathing space. Dalgalar and Bahar Caglar combined for 6 points to spark hope for Turkey but Arina Lysyuk (170-G-89) silenced Turkish team with a trey. Olena Samburska scored 17 points, while Arina Lysyuk added 14 for the winners. Bahar Caglar drained 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for Turkey in defeat.

Ukraine U20: Oleksandra Prystupa 19+16 boards, Olena Samburska 17, Arina Lysyuk 14
Turkey U20: Yasemin Dalgalar 27+10 boards, Bahar Caglar 23+11 boards

Ukrainian U18 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Maznichenko


Havrylyuk


Berezynets


Malashenko


Dorogobuzova
4 Darya Zavidna (178-G-93)
5 Hanna Yeremeychuk (178-G-90)
6 Viola Onyshchenko (170-F-90) of Dnipro Dnepropetrovsk
7 Kateryna Rymarenko (183-F-90) of Kozachka-Zalk Zaporozhye
8 Viktoriya Skubiy (180-F-92)
9 Ol'ha Maznichenko (186-F-91) of Tim-Scuf Kyiv
10 Anastasiya But (175-G-90) of Kozachka-Zalk Zaporozhye
11 Nataliya Havrylyuk (178-G-90)
12 Yuliya Berezynets (180-G-90)
13 Olesya Malashenko (188-F-91) of Dexia Namur (BEL)
14 Anastasiya Bogdanova (179-G-91) of Byelaia Akacia Odessa
15 Kateryna Dorogobuzova (187-F-90) of Tim-Scuf Kyiv
Head Coach: Feodora Kochergina
Coach Assistant: Valeriy Zhartun

Ukraine U18 eke out win over Romania - by Eurobasket News
Ukraine U18 - Romania U18 70:64

Ukrainian U18 National Team opened the European Championship campaign with a hard-fought win over Romania. Ol'ha Maznichenko (186-F-91) exploded with 33 points and 8 rebounds to propel Ukraine to a come-from-behind victory over determined Romanian side. Elisabeth Pavel (192-C-90) scored 6 points early in the clash and Romania jumped to a 10:2 lead. However Kateryna Dorogobuzova (187-F-90) sparked a 10:2 rally from Ukraine to surge in front and later sealed the 17:16 lead for her team at the end of the quarter. The lead changed hands for several times in the second stanza and Romania stayed in charge 31:30 at halftime. Another scoring burst from Elisabeth Pavel allowed Romania to keep their opponents at bay throughout the third stanza. Alina Chivu (180-F-90) hit a jumper to give Romania a 49:45 advantage into the final term. Alina Chivu and Pop stretched the gap to 6 points at the start of the final quarter. Ukraine stayed at the striking distance and later Ol'ha Maznichenko converted a three-point play to pull them in front. She later added four consecutive freebies, while Kateryna Dorogobuzova nailed a jump shot for a 67:62 advantage with just over 2 minutes remaining. Romania never recovered and suffered a bitter loss at the end. Kateryna Dorogobuzova provided 22 points and 6 boards for Ukraine. Alina Chivu had 21 points to pace Romania. Elisabeth Pavel was impressive with 25 points and 11 boards in defeat. Ukraine outrebounded their opponents 42:32 and shot 41% from the field. Ukraine faces Czech Republic, while Romania takes on hosting Slovakia today.

Ukraine U18: Ol'ha Maznichenko 33, Kateryna Dorogobuzova 22
Romania U18: Elisabeth Pavel 25+11 boards, Alina Chivu 21

*****************************************************
  UNITED KINGDOM - Women  


U20 EC, division B: Ninth place belongs to Portugal, Great Britain tenth - by Eurobasket News
Portugal - Great Britain 69-57

Portugal succeeded to beat Great Britain once again finishing the U20 European Championship division B on position number 9. On the other hand British ended the competition on 10th place winless. As it was during the entire tournament, Nadia Tavares (178-F-88) was the key player for Portugal again. She was unstoppable for British collecting 25 points and 7 rebounds. In this game Portugal also got important help from Catia Lirio (182-C-89), who had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Joana Bernardeco (171-G-90) netted 12 points and dished out 5 assists. Great Britain got 13 points and 5 rebounds from Harriett Yea (180-G-89). Mairi Cowan Buchan (188-C-90) was the last player with double digits for the loosing side scoring 19 points.

Today's game started good for Portuguese. They made express 6-0 run at the very beginning. Later, British came closer on 10-9 but Tavares and her teammates immediately answered with another 6-0 run. In the next quarter British succeeded to resists stopping Portugal on their way to create bigger lead. Thus, the first half finished 27-23 for Portuguese. Situation on the court has changed in third frame. At the middle of it Portugal created plus 10, 38-18, what was unreachable for the British until the very end. Actually Great Britain succeeded to come on minus 5 in the last stanza but it was their maximum today.


Portugal - Great Britain 69-57
(18-11,9-12,20-15,22-19)

Portugal: Nadia Tavares 25 (7 rebs), Catia Lirio 12 (7 rebs), Joana Joana Bernardeco 12 (5 as)
Great Britain: Harriett Yea 13 (5 rebs), Mairi Cowan Buchan 10

*****************************************************
  WNBA - Women  


Chicago sends Connecticut to the fifth straight loss - by Eurobasket News
The Chicago Sky held off the Connecticut Sun 73:65 yesterday to hand the 5th defeat in a row to the ailing Sun. Jia Perkins (5'8''-G-82, agency: Merit Sports, college: Texas Tech) nailed 15 points to pace balanced offense in a win. Chasity Melvin secured 13 points, while Kristen Sharp (5'9''-G-81, college: Cincinnati) delivered 12 points for the Sky. Asjha Jones netted 18 points for the Sun who slipped to 13-10 record. The Sky led comfortably by 13 points late in the third stanza. However Connecticut went on a 15:2 rally to cut the deficit. Later the visitors spurred ahead but Jia Perkins nailed two free throws to square things up 60. Kristen Sharp drained a three-pointer to carry the hosts in front. Jia Perkins and Kristen Sharp secured the winning effort in the dying seconds. Tamika Whitmore (6'2''-C/F-77, college: Memphis) produced 13 points in defeat.
Meanwhile the Seattle Storm showed they can win without Lauren Jackson. The Storm posted their 7th straight win overcoming the Indiana Fever 65:59 away from home. The Fever got to a confident start of the game and enjoyed a 17-point advantage in the first half. But Seattle recovered after the long break. Sue Bird (5'9''-G-80, college: Connecticut) scored all her 11 points in the second half to pace the visitors to yet another impressive win. Sheryl Swoopes (6'0''-F/G-71, college: Texas Tech) got more playing time after Lauren Jackson left to train with Australian National Team. She finished with 15 points and 6 boards for the winners. Camille Little (6'2''-F/G-85, college: N.Carolina) nailed 13 points and 7 boards for the Storm. Tammy Sutton-Brown (6'4''-C-78, college: Rutgers) answered with 12 points and 7 boards for the Fever. Katie Douglas got 11 points as Indiana slipped to 10-11 record.

Standings
WNBA Standings
Eastern
 1. Detroit S. 16-7 
 2. Connect. S. 13-10 
 3. New York L. 12-9 
 4. Indiana F. 10-11 
 5. Washingt. M. 8-14 
 6. Chicago Sky 7-14 
 7. Atlanta D. 3-20 
Western
 1. S.Antonio SS 16-7 
 2. Seattle S. 15-7 
 3. L.Angeles S. 13-9 
 4. Sacram. M. 11-11 
 5. Minnesota L. 10-11 
 6. Phoenix M. 10-12 
 7. Houston C. 10-12