EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 8/2/2008

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Men News

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  ARGENTINA   


Diamond Ball: Argentina grabs the trophy beating Aussies in the final - by Eurobasket News
Australia - Argentina 91-95

Reining Olympic champion Argentina outsmarts the Boomers in the final of prestigious 'Diamond Ball' tournament in Nanjing. Both teams demonstrated pretty good performance so far but according to Argentinean Andres Nocioni (199-F-79) he and his teammates are still far away from the right shape. The Boomers totally controlled rhythm of the game in the first half. After almost leveled opening quarter David Barlow (205-F-83, college: Metro St.), Patrick Mills (178-G-88) and their teammates smashed Olympic champions in the second stanza. Andres Nocioni's 18 points in the first half didn't help them to avoid big minus after 20 minutes. It was not a usual thing that some team net 47 points for one half time against tough Argentineans. Beginning of third quarter also belonged to the Boomers. They succeeded to extend lead to 19 points but then big come-back led by Emanuel Ginobili (198-G-77, agency: Interperformances) and Luis Scola (206-F/C-80) started. Luis Scola was unstoppable under the basket making 13 of 18 attempts while Emanuel Ginobili followed him with deadly penetrations and percentage from the free throw line. At the end players of head coach Brian Goorjian couldn't resist but still they impressed everyone with their current shape and team spirit.

Luis Scola led Argentina to trophy on 'Diamond Ball' collecting 32 points and 6 rebounds for 32 minutes. Emanuel Ginobili netted 24 points while Andres Nocioni followed with 20 points and 8 rebounds. David Barlow was the best scorer for the Boomers with 16 while Patrick Mills stopped in 14 points. Matt Nielsen (208-F/C-78) also had solid performance for the loosing side with 11 points.


Australia - Argentina 91-95
(25-24, 22-11, 22-27, 22-33)

Australia: David Barlow 16, Patrick Mills 14, Matt Nielsen 11
Argentina: Luis Scola 32 (6 rebs), Emanuel Ginobili 24, Andres Nocioni 20 (8 rebs)

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  AUSTRALIA   


The Emus beat the Junior Tall Blacks in Adelaide - by Eurobasket News
Australia U19 - New Zealand U19 94:67

Australian Junior National Team opened the Oceania U19 Championship series with the victory over New Zealand. Ryan Broekhoff (196-F-90) notched 25 points to pace the Emus as they grabbed a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. The games have qualifying purposes as both sides have already advanced to the U19 World Championship next year. Nevertheless the Emus made the first step towards gaining the Oceania title thumping their New Zealand counterparts at the Wayville Stadium. The Emus took over right from the start and drove to a 24:14 lead after ten minutes of action. Numerous turnovers plagued the Junior Tall Blacks as they struggled to put up a decent fight. But the Kiwi team still managed to outscore the hosts in the second period and cut the deficit to 9 points at halftime. The Emus regained control over the game in the third period. A string of three-pointers doomed the visitors as the gap grew to 12 points before the final term. The Emus exploded with 31 points in the final period and cruised to the win. Brock Motum (205-F-90) produced 14 points and 6 rebounds for the Aussies. Cody Ellis (202-F-90) nailed 10 points in a win. Brooke Ruscoe (189-G-90) and Dion Prewster (196-G/F-91) chipped in 17 points apiece for New Zealand. David Beck (204-F-90) notched 12 in a loss. The teams will meet again tomorrow.

Australia U19: Ryan Broekhoff 25, Brock Motum 14, Cody Ellis 10
New Zealand U19: Brooke Ruscoe 17, Dion Prewster 17

Diamond Ball: Argentina grabs the trophy beating Aussies in the final - by Eurobasket News
Australia - Argentina 91-95

Reining Olympic champion Argentina outsmarts the Boomers in the final of prestigious 'Diamond Ball' tournament in Nanjing. Both teams demonstrated pretty good performance so far but according to Argentinean Andres Nocioni (199-F-79) he and his teammates are still far away from the right shape. The Boomers totally controlled rhythm of the game in the first half. After almost leveled opening quarter David Barlow (205-F-83, college: Metro St.), Patrick Mills (178-G-88) and their teammates smashed Olympic champions in the second stanza. Andres Nocioni's 18 points in the first half didn't help them to avoid big minus after 20 minutes. It was not a usual thing that some team net 47 points for one half time against tough Argentineans. Beginning of third quarter also belonged to the Boomers. They succeeded to extend lead to 19 points but then big come-back led by Emanuel Ginobili (198-G-77, agency: Interperformances) and Luis Scola (206-F/C-80) started. Luis Scola was unstoppable under the basket making 13 of 18 attempts while Emanuel Ginobili followed him with deadly penetrations and percentage from the free throw line. At the end players of head coach Brian Goorjian couldn't resist but still they impressed everyone with their current shape and team spirit.

Luis Scola led Argentina to trophy on 'Diamond Ball' collecting 32 points and 6 rebounds for 32 minutes. Emanuel Ginobili netted 24 points while Andres Nocioni followed with 20 points and 8 rebounds. David Barlow was the best scorer for the Boomers with 16 while Patrick Mills stopped in 14 points. Matt Nielsen (208-F/C-78) also had solid performance for the loosing side with 11 points.


Australia - Argentina 91-95
(25-24, 22-11, 22-27, 22-33)

Australia: David Barlow 16, Patrick Mills 14, Matt Nielsen 11
Argentina: Luis Scola 32 (6 rebs), Emanuel Ginobili 24, Andres Nocioni 20 (8 rebs)

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  AUSTRIA   


U20 EC, division B: Belgium smashes Austria at the opening day - by Eurobasket News
U20 Belgium - U20 Austria 91-60

Belgium registered comfortable win at the opening day of U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. Belgians demonstrated much better performance than Austria but it is just the beginning because both teams will have to face Estonia, Switzerland and Slovak Republic in the battle for the one of first two places in Preliminary Group C. Third, fourth, and fifth ranked teams will instead of Qualifying Round continue championship in Classification Rounds.

Level of the quality between these two teams was already seen in the first quarter. Belgians controlled rebounding as well as all Austria's offensive sets. The fact that Belgium had 46 boards during the game while Austria had just 28 talks everything for itself. Belgium had an impressive start making 16-9 after five minutes. After Robin Mestdagh's (193-G-88) jump shot at the middle of the second frame, Belgium stretched its advantage to 18 points. Paul Radakovics (187-G-88) pulled some successful shots after the breather which resulted with slightly better digits for his team but still not enough for any serious threat. Belgium totally devastated it rivals in the last frame closing it 22-3.

Hockins was the leading player for Belgium today netting 22 points. Robin Mestdagh followed him with 15 points while Armand Kabeya (197-F-88) added 13 points and 7 rebounds. Paul Radakovics was the best for Austria posting 23 points including 4 boards. The loosing side also got 11 points and 4 rebounds from Lorenzo O'Neal (188-G-88). Belgium will play against Slovak Republic in the next round while Austria will meet Estonia.


U20 Belgium - U20 Austria 91-60
(31-17,18-14, 20-26, 22-3)

Belgium: Hockins 22, Robin Mestdagh 15, Armand Kabeya 13 (7 rebs)
Austria: Paul Radakovics 23 (4 rebs), Lorenzo O'Neal 11 (4 rebs)

U18 EC, division B: Austria grabs victory versus Sweden at the buzzer 71-69 - by Eurobasket News
U18 Sweden - U18 Austria 69-71

As it was earlier during the day when Slovenia celebrated against Czech Republic, the same scenario happened in the game between Sweden and Austria. It was a second game of the Qualifying Round when it was already known that none of these two teams won't reach semifinals of U18 European Championship division B. Austria finished this stage as a third ranked team of Group E while the fourth place belongs to Sweden.

Swedish controlled first quarter closing it with plus 4. After Christopher Czerapowicz's (195-G-91) triple at the middle of the second frame, Sweden grabbed the biggest lead in the first half. It was 29-23. Rasid Mahalbasic (203-F-90) and his teammates immediately answered creating 10-3 run taking one point lead at the half time. At the half way of third frame Lanegger made one free throw stretching advantage of his team to 5 points but their joy didn't last long as Christopher Czerapowicz (195-G-91) took care for 49-49 very soon. Game is decided at the very end, actually in the last second of it. After successful lay-up and a free throw by Andreas Person (188-G-91) Sweden tied the score on 69-69. Austria had 6 seconds for the last offense, Jesse Seilern (189-G-90) grabbed the ball and driving to the basket scored a winning lay-up for his team.

Rasid Mahalbasic was totally the best player for the winners today collecting 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Jesse Seilern contributed in this victory netting 14 points but also the winning lay-up at the very end. Sweden got the most from Christopher Czerapowicz, who finished the game pouring in 19 points and grabbing 11 boards. Filip Sjostrom (198-F-90) had 16 while Andreas Person netted 11 points. Austria will take on fourth team from Group F while Sweden will meet third ranked team from the same group tomorrow.


U18 Sweden - U18 Austria 69-71
(16-12,16-21,17-16,20-22)

Sweden: Christopher Czerapowicz 19 (11 rebs), Filip Sjostrom 16, Andreas Person 11
Austria: Rasid Mahalbasic 19 (8 rebs, 4 as), Jesse Seilern 14

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  AZERBAIJAN   


U20 EC, division B: Germany blasts Azerbaijan at the opening day - by Eurobasket News
U20 Germany - U20 Azerbaijan 124-38

Germany made more than comfortable win in the first round of U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. Difference in the quality level between these two teams was obvious. As a reminder Germany and Azerbaijan are placed in the Preliminary Group B together with Czech Republic, Sweden, and Ireland. Two best teams from this group will advance to the Qualifying Round. On the other side all other teams will continue championship in Classification Rounds.

Germany was better than Azerbaijanis today in all basketball elements. The fact that Germans had 52 rebounds matched with only 19 by Azerbaijan talks everything for itself. After plus 12 in the first stanza, Germany had furious 10 minutes closing it with unbelievable 40-5. Nothing has changed after the breather which finally resulted with magnificent 124-38. Interesting is that Germany netted its 100th point already in the closing seconds of third frame.

Philipp Schwethelm (200-F-89, agency: Court Side) collected 18 points, 6 boards and 5 assists for his team while Robin Benzing (209-F-89) also netted 18 points but with 4 rebounds. Elias Harris (202-F-89) contributed in this win adding 16 points and 6 rebounds. Azerbaijan got the most from Amil Hamzayev (200-C-90), who had 15 points and 6 rebounds. Anar Hajiyev (198-G-88) was the last player with double digits for the loosing side. Germany will meet Sweden tomorrow while Azerbaijan has a day-off.


U20 Germany - U20 Azerbaijan 124-38
(28-16, 40-5, 32-11, 24-6)

Germany: Philipp Schwethelm 18 (6 rebs, 5 as), Robin Benzing 18 (4 rebs), Elias Harris 16 (6 rebs)
Azerbaijan: Amil Hamzayev 15 (6 rebs), Anar Hajiyev 10

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  BELARUS   


U18 EC, division B: Georgia better than Belarus - by Eurobasket News
U18 Georgia - U18 Belarus 75-69

In the second game of Classification Round from 9th to 16th place Georgia demonstrated better performance than Belarus improving to 1-2 in Group H. However, despite this victory Georgia, as well as Belarus, won't have a chance to compete for 9th place. Both teams will continue championship battling for the position number 13th where Georgia will meet fourth ranked team from Group G while Belarus will take on third ranked team from the same group.

Georgia totally outrebounded its rivals today mostly owing to Giorgi Sharabidze (208-C-90) and Tornike Shengelia (201-G/F-91, agency: Life Sports). Gorgians finished the game grabbing 44 boards while Byelorussians has just 32. Both teams were extremely unsuccessful from behind the arc. Belarus had 25% while Georgia recorded just 7.7%. After almost leveled first stanza, Belarus grabbed first bigger lead. It was 23-26 in 14th minute. Giorgi Sharabidze and his teammates took care for that coming on minus one before the half time. Different scenario was seen in the second half. This time Georgia made advantage of 6 points which Belarus almost melted before the last frame. Crucial period of the game were couple of introducing minutes of this quarter when Georgians made 7-0 run setting the score on 60-51. After that moment they just kept their lead without any bigger efforts.

Giorgi Sharabidze was a key player for Georgia in this game registering double-double, 25 points and 10 rebounds. Davit Maisuradze (204-F/C-90) helped his team with 14 points and 5 rebounds while Tornike Shengelia (201-G/F-91, agency: Life Sports) stopped on 11 points and 7 boards. Valiantsin Ihnatchyk (190-G-91) posted 18 points for Belarus including 5 rebounds while Uladzimir Krysevich (205-C-91) had 16 points and 7 rebounds. The loosing side also got 12 points and 4 assists from Maksim Dabravolski (192-G-91).


U18 Georgia - U18 Belarus 75-69
(19-20,15-15,19-16,22-18)

Georgia: Giorgi Sharabidze 25 (10 rebs), Davit Maisuradze 14 (5 rebs), Tornike Shengelia 11 (7 rebs)
Belarus: Valiantsin Ihnatchyk 18 (5 rebs), Uladzimir Krysevich 16 (7 rebs), Maksim Dabravolski 12 (4 as)

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  BELGIUM   


U20 EC, division B: Belgium smashes Austria at the opening day - by Eurobasket News
U20 Belgium - U20 Austria 91-60

Belgium registered comfortable win at the opening day of U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. Belgians demonstrated much better performance than Austria but it is just the beginning because both teams will have to face Estonia, Switzerland and Slovak Republic in the battle for the one of first two places in Preliminary Group C. Third, fourth, and fifth ranked teams will instead of Qualifying Round continue championship in Classification Rounds.

Level of the quality between these two teams was already seen in the first quarter. Belgians controlled rebounding as well as all Austria's offensive sets. The fact that Belgium had 46 boards during the game while Austria had just 28 talks everything for itself. Belgium had an impressive start making 16-9 after five minutes. After Robin Mestdagh's (193-G-88) jump shot at the middle of the second frame, Belgium stretched its advantage to 18 points. Paul Radakovics (187-G-88) pulled some successful shots after the breather which resulted with slightly better digits for his team but still not enough for any serious threat. Belgium totally devastated it rivals in the last frame closing it 22-3.

Hockins was the leading player for Belgium today netting 22 points. Robin Mestdagh followed him with 15 points while Armand Kabeya (197-F-88) added 13 points and 7 rebounds. Paul Radakovics was the best for Austria posting 23 points including 4 boards. The loosing side also got 11 points and 4 rebounds from Lorenzo O'Neal (188-G-88). Belgium will play against Slovak Republic in the next round while Austria will meet Estonia.


U20 Belgium - U20 Austria 91-60
(31-17,18-14, 20-26, 22-3)

Belgium: Hockins 22, Robin Mestdagh 15, Armand Kabeya 13 (7 rebs)
Austria: Paul Radakovics 23 (4 rebs), Lorenzo O'Neal 11 (4 rebs)

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  BOSNIA   


Brian Bailey signs with Turow - Israel in good shape - by Nedzad Kladusak
Brian Bryan Bailey (185-G-80, agency: Larry Fox Services, college: Bucknell), who has been one of the key players of KK Bosna last year continues his career in Poland. Today Turow announced that Bryan Bailey signed and will have again the opportunity to play ULEB Cup.
It is interesting that Lance Williams also played already for Turow before rturning to KK Bosna.

Israel on of the opponents of the Bosnian NT is in a very good shape. In a match of the italian Bormio Cup Israel outclassed France 84-67.
Regardless of the fact that France played without its NBA stars these are not good news for coach Bajramovic who still waits for the arrival of J.R.Bremer.
The british team has been shocked after their best center R.Robert Jr. Archibald (211-C/F-80, agency: Priority Sports, college: Illinois) has picked up an injury that will sideline him for the next period.

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  BULGARIA   


Bulgarian U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Kolev


Kostov


Marinov


Lilov


Hristov
4 Kiril Istilyanov (176-G-89) of Rilski Sportist Samokov
5 Dimitar Vasilev (188-G-89) of Tundja Yambol
6 Nikolay Kolev (204-F/C-88) of BC Euroins-Cherno More
7 Pavel Ivanov (200-F-88) of BC Levski Ekopetroulium Sophia
8 Chavdar Kostov (196-G-88) of PBC Lukoil Akademik Sophia
9 Simeon Iliev (202-F-89) of Cherno More 2
10 Pavel Marinov (196-G-88) of Tundja Yambol
11 Ivan Lilov (196-F/G-88) of Balkan Botevgrad
12 Kalin Hristov (192-G-90) of PBC Lukoil Akademik Sophia
13 Simeon Mihaylov (205-F/C-89) of Cherno More 2
14 Stanislav Vaklinov (202-F-89) of Rilski Sportist Samokov
15 Sergey Tsvetkov (196-G-88) of BC CSKA Interlogic Sophia
Head Coach: Ivan Cholakov
Coach Assistant: Petko Pelev

Latvia tip off home European Championship with victory - by Eurobasket News
Latvia U20 - Bulgaria U20 95:67

Latvian U20 National Team celebrated an emphatic win over Bulgaria at the start of the European Championship in Riga. Kuksisks drained two three-pointers during an 8:0 run from Latvia as they cleared off to a 15:7 distance early in the game. Bulgaria answered with a 12:4 run to surge in front 21:19 late in the period. However Oskars Virsis (192-G-89) capped the first period with a jumper and Latvia held to a 24:23 lead at the first intermission. Oskars Virsis then knocked down a trey to open the second period and fueled a 25:4 rally from Latvia that resulted in the hosts taking a 49:29 advantage late in the second period. Dairis Bertans (192-G/F-89) and Andrejs Selakovs (210-C-88) continued the onslaught in the third frame as Latvia fully dominated. They opened a 30-point advantage and maintained the pressure on their opponents. Bulgaria managed to cut the deficit to 25 points in the final stanza but never seriously threatened the home team. Latvia cruised to an overwhelming victory at the end. Dairis Bertans knocked down 24 points for Latvia. Rihards Kuksiks (197-F-88) nailed 14 points, while Janis Strelnieks (183-G-89) added 13 for the winners. Chavdar Kostov (195-G-88, agency: Interperformances) answered with 21 points for Bulgaria. Nikolay Kolev (200-F-88) and Ivan Lilov (196-F-88, agency: FCM) netted 8 points apiece in a loss. Latvia converted solid 54% from the field and pulled down 31 boards including 11 offensive ones. They also forced Bulgaria to 16 turnovers.

Latvia U20: Dairis Bertans 24, Rihards Kuksiks 14, Janis Strelnieks 13
Bulgaria U20: Chavdar Kostov 21, Nikolay Kolev 8, Ivan Lilov 8

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  CHINA   


China Trounces Iran 75-46 to Finish Third in Diamond Ball Tourney - by Arthur Volbert
China trounced Iran 75-46 today to finish third in the FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament. China bounded out to a 19-11 first quarter lead and was ahead 37-21 at the half. After three quarters China led 53-27.

Iran was missing captain Samad Nikkhahbahrami and forward Oshin Sahakian was injured after 10 minutes. Center Hamed Ehadadi was injured in the fourth quarter. But China jumped off to a 13-4 lead and the game was never close after that.

Ehadadi hit only four of 13 shots against China's big men and grabbed 5 rebounds in 28 minutes. He did block four shots but also had 4 fouls and 4 turnovers. Yao Ming had 12 points and 4 rebounds in 19 minutes and Wang Zhizhi (214-C-79) had 15 points and 6 rebounds in 25 minutes. Yi Jianlian had 8 points and 9 rebounds in 25 minutes. Ehadadi did not hold up well against the Chinese big men.

Iran did outrebound China 39-33 but it grabbed 14 offensive rebounds since it only hit 27 percent of its shots. China hit 48 percent from the floor and grabbed 4 offensive rebounds. Iran had 16 turnovers to 12 for China. Javad Davari led the scoring for Iran with 12 points.

All twelve Chinese players participated in the game as this Chinese team showed it can excel against lesser competition. The question is how well it can do when it faces top-flight talent as it did Tuesday against Australia. But it did not get blown out by a better team and did blow out a lesser opponent. China is getting better even if it is not as good as it will be eventually.

Box Score:
http://www.nanjing2008.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/08/diamBall/men/scheResu/p/eventid//gamename/8/groupname/8/langlc//roundid/6362/fe_scheStat_boxScor.html

Argentina won the tournament title with a 95-91 win over Australia. Australia led 47-35 at the half and 69-62 after three quarters but Argentina outscored the Aussies 33-22 in the fourth quarter.

Luis Scola scored 32 for Argentina, Manu Ginobili scored 24 and Andres Nocioni had 20. David Barlow led Australia with 16 points. Andrew Bogut had only 4 points and 2 rebounds and played only 20 minutes.

Box Score:
http://www.nanjing2008.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/08/diamBall/men/scheResu/p/eventid//gamename/9/groupname/9/langlc//roundid/6362/fe_scheStat_boxScor.html

Serbia swamped Angola 99-62 to gain fifth place. It poured it on to outscore Angola 32-9 in the fourth quarter after leading 67-53 after three.

Milos Vujanic led Serbia with 18 points while Felizardo Ambrosio had 12 for Angola.

Box Score:
http://www.nanjing2008.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/08/diamBall/men/scheResu/p/eventid//gamename/7/groupname/7/langlc//roundid/6362/fe_scheStat_boxScor.html

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  CROATIA   


Croatia U20 beats Greece in overtime - by Eurobasket News
Croatia U20 - Greece U20 74:67

Croatian U20 National Team got to a winning start at the European Championship in Latvia. They pip Greece in overtime to earn the first victory in the preliminary Group A. Greece looked better in the three quarters but Croatia turned things around in the final stanza and were close to seal the winning outcome in regulation. However Greece forced the overtime just to see Balkan team pull away with win at the end. Greek team led 16:7 after a tight first period and did not allow Croatian team to surge in front in the second stanza. Greece enjoyed a 5-point advantage at halftime and continued to dominate after the long break. Greek team extended the gap to 7 points before the final term but Zeljko Sakic (203-F-88) fueled the fourth term rally from Croatia. They outscored Greece and piled up a 6-point lead with 40 seconds remaining in the period. But Greece first trimmed the distance to 3 points and then Giannopoulos hit a buzzer-beater to send game into extra period. Zeljko Sakic and Mario Filipovic (194-G-88) paced Croatia in the overtime and ensured the win. Zeljko Sakic provided 22 points and 8 boards for Croatia. Mario Filipovic netted 15 points, while Franjo Bubalo (192-G/F-88) had 12 points in a win. Nick Calathes (198-G/F) answered with 14 points for Greece. Michail Tsairelis (206-F/C-88) netted 10 points in defeat. Greece outrebounded Croatia 41:40 but sank just 29% from the field.

Croatia U20: Zeljko Sakic 22, Mario Filipovic 15, Franjo Bubalo 12
Greece U20: Nick Calathes 14, Michail Tsairelis 10

Croatian U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
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#e#6


Bubalo


Milekovic


Kruslin


Sarlija


Bilan
4 Teo Petani (190-G-88) of HKK Capljina Lasta (BIH)
5 Luka Klarica (190-G-89) of KK Split
6 Mario Filipovic (195-G-88) of BK Usti nad Labem (CZE)
7 Franjo Bubalo (194-G/F-88) of Siroki Prima pivo (BIH)
8 Ivan Milekovic (197-G/F-88) of KK Zrinjevac Zagreb
9 Filip Kruslin (198-G-89) of KK Rudes Zagreb
10 Zeljko Sakic (202-F-88) of KK Dubrava Zagreb
11 Marijo Hajdic (204-F/C-89) of KK Dubrovnik
12 Filip Vukicevic (202-F-88) of Sibenka Sibenik
13 Marino Sarlija (204-F/C-89) of KK Zadar
14 Ante Dugum (210-C-88) of Borik Puntamika Zadar
15 Miro Bilan (210-C/F-89) of Sibenka Sibenik
Head Coach: Ivan Sunara
Coach Assistants: Dario Gjerga , Mladen Erjavec

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  CYPRUS   


Another mission accomplished! - by Chris Mammides
Dragan Raca just came back from China.
The Serbian/Cypriot Head Coach was the special guest lecturer of the Chinese Basketball Federation in the annual Basketball Clinic for advanced coaches, which took place in Beijing, a week ago (20-30th of July) 2008.
Dragan Raca became well known to the Chinese basketball lovers after FIBAs 2007 Asian Basketball Games when Raca with his tiny little Lebanese National Team beat Yaos Super China succeeding the first ever victory of Lebanon over China, and took place in Philippines on the 15th of July 1007, a date which will remain in all Lebaneses heart.
The invitation to Dragan Raca is getting even bigger and greater as he has been accredited as the best lecturer ever (in this Chinese clinics) as he was the first ever coach from Europe, to give lectures to the Chinese advanced coaches, the previous two clinics were made by two legends of the NBA, Par Reilly and Del Harris.

The program was entitled: the differences of the Asian and European Basketball and had three major chapters: 1. Offence technical analysis, 2. Defence Technical Analysis and 3. The proper Scouting Analysis.

It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time that the experienced and Successful Head coach accepts such a big and honourable invitation from a National Basketball Federation as his resume is full of international accomplishments and successes, among these great basketball accomplishments are the production of several books about basketball, which have been already translated in more than 12 languages. Among the latest languages is the Chinese as three of his books were translated and were presented also in the Chinese clinic.

Raca's first book entitled Basketball (1998) was translated in eight languages and sold in 68.000 copies but his other books Scouting (1999), Physical preparation of professional teams (2000) and Basic of Basketball (2001) are now used as school books on many acclaimed Sport Universities in both USA and European entities. His method for physical preparation is officially approved by Indiana University in USA and there are at least

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  CZECH REPUBLIC   


U18 EC, division B: Slovenia celebrates in thriller against Czech Republic - by Eurobasket News
U18 Slovenia - U18 Czech Republic 78-77

Slovenia grabbed very important victory against powerful Czech Republic finishing Qualifying Round on top of Group E with prefect score. On the other side Czechs suffered thriller defeat today but they also advanced to the semifinals of U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen.

One of the main reasons of this victory is the fact that Slovenian big guys succeeded to stop the best scorer of the championship so far Jan Vesely (210-F/C-90). He spent 40 minutes on court scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds but with terrible shot percentage. Jan Vesely made 4 of 13 attempts for FG2, 1 of 2 for 3-pts and 2 of 6 from the free throw line. After totally leveled fist stanza, Czechs grabbed 8 points lead during the next ten minutes. Slovenia answered very quickly and through Dino Muric (198-F/C-90) and Marko Vranjkovic (202-F/C-90) entered into the last frame with 55-53. Czech Republic was close to win in the regular time as it had 63-67 with one minute to go. At the next Slovenia's offense Uros Zadnik (185-G-90) netted two FTs after what Luka Dimec (207-F/C-90) made a lay-up for 67-67. During the extra 5 minutes Slovenia had plus 3 at the one moment but Czechs one again were a small step away from the victory. With 00:09 to go Sarajlija made a lay-up for 78-77 after what Czechs had a last offense but Jakub Kudlacek (186-G-90) missed a lay-up for the win.

Dino Muric was the best player of Slovenia today missing only one rebound for double-double. He finished the game with 16 points, 9 boards and 5 assists. Anze Pelc (190-G-90) contributed in this victory with 13 points while Marko Vranjkovic added 10 points and 5 rebounds. The loosing side got 18 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assist from very good Tomas Satoransky (196-G/F-91, agency: PPGroup). Jakub Kudlacek had 16 points and 6 assists while Jiri Kysela (191-G-90, agency: PPGroup) scored 14 points.


U18 Slovenia - U18 Czech Republic 78-77
(18-18,13-21,24-14,12-14,11-10)

Slovenia: Dino Muric 16 (9 rebs, 5 as), Anze Pelc 13, Marko Vranjkovic 10 (5 rebs)
Czech Republic: Tomas Satoransky 18 (11 rebs, 4 as), Jakub Kudlacek 16 (6 as), Jiri Kysela 14, Jan Vesely 13 (10 rebs)

U20 EC, division B: Sweden too strong for Czech Republic - by Eurobasket News
U20 Czech Republic - U20 Sweden 88-93

Sweden has a reason for a joy after the opening day of U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. The Swedish were better that Czech Republic mostly owing to well played first half. As a reminder, these two teams will together with Germany, Azerbaijan and Ireland will try to reach one of the first two places in Preliminary Group B, which will take them to the Qualifying Round.

Sweden took control on its opponent already in the first quarter. Actually after opening 11-12, Sweden created 18-9 run taking 10 points lead after the first stanza. Jeffery Taylor (200-G/F-89) and Christian Koutras (189-G-88) were unstoppable at the offensive end for the Swedish which resulted with 26-44 at the middle of the second period. Sweden successful kept advantage of more than 20 points until the 28th minute when Czechs finally answered with 13-4 run but it was enough only for 61-74 before the crucial ten minutes. At the beginning of the last frame Christian Koutras and Jeffery Taylor resolved question about the winner setting the score on 61-80 in 33rd minute.

Jeffery Taylor had fantastic day. He drained 27 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 6 assists for 32 minutes. Christian Koutras also shined for the winning side collecting 23 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Petr Dokoupil (188-G-88) was the best in Czech Republic with 24 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while Hurban added 13 points and 6 boards. Sweden's next rival in Targu Mures will be Germany. On the other side Czech Republic will take on Ireland.


U20 Czech Republic - U20 Sweden 88-93
(20-30, 19-28, 22-16, 27-19)

Czech Republic: Petr Dokoupil 24 (4 rebs, 4 as), Vojtech Hruban (197-F-89) 13 (6 rebs)
Sweden: Jeffery Taylor 27 (8 rebs, 6 as), Christian Koutras 23 (4 rebs, 4 as)

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  D-LEAGUE   


Top Free Agent D-League Performers at 2008 NBA Summer Leagues - by Surujh Roopnarine
Stats for D-League players who have never appeared in an NBA game in their careers who are hoping that strong summer league performances will hopefully land them on an NBA roster this fall. In the case of Anthony Tolliver (6'9''-C-85, agency: Larry Fox Services, college: Creighton), the workhorse who played in al lthreesummer leagues, he earned a contract with the San Antonio Spurs.

Orlando Summer League
Name (NBA / D-League)
Nick Lewis (6'10''-F/C-83, college: San Diego) (OKC / IA/BAK): 5 games: 6.4ppg, 1.6rpg, FGP: 40.0%, 3PT: 28.6%, FT: 87.5%
Kevin Kruger (6'2''-G-83, college: UNLV) (ORL / UTA): 5 games: 6.6ppg, 2.0rpg, 4.0apg, FGP: 33.3%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 100.0%
BJ Elder (6'4''-G-82, college: Georgia Tech) (ORL / AUS): 4 games: 6.5ppg, 2.0rpg, FGP: 31.0%, 2PT: 22.2%, FT: 60.0%
Anthony Tolliver (NJN / IA): 5 games: 6.6ppg, 2.2rpg, FGP: 62.5%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 68.8%
Earl Calloway (6'3''-G-83, college: Indiana) (IND / FWN): 5 games: 14.2ppg, 3.6rpg, 4.8apg, FGP: 43.9%, 3PT: 50.0%, FT: 81.6%
Courtney Sims (6'11''-C-83, college: Michigan) (IND / IA): 5 games: 5.0ppg, 3.0rpg, FGP: 40.9%, FT: 92.3%

Rocky Mountain Revue
Name (NBA / D-League)
Glen McGowan (6'9''-F-81, college: Pepperdine) (Ambassadors / SIF): 3 games: 15.0ppg, 5.7rpg, FGP: 37.5%, FT: 80.0%
Nick Lewis (Ambassadors / IA/BAK): 3 games: 10.7ppg, 3.0rpg, FGP: 56.3%, FT: 75.0%
Josh Gross (6'6''-F-83, college: NC-Greensboro) (Ambassadors / AUS): 10.0ppg, 4.0rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 47.6%, FT: 80.0%
Carl Elliott (6'4''-G-83, college: George Washington) (Ambassadors / SIF): 3 games: 9.3ppg, 2.7rpg, 3.0apg, FGP: 38.5%, FT: 87.5%
Brian Hamilton (6'6''-F-82, college: La-Lafayette) (NJN / UTA): 3 games: 3.7ppg, 3.3rpg, 2.0spg, FGP: 45.5%, FT: 25.0%
Anthony Tolliver (SAS / IA): 4 games: 11.5ppg, 3.5rpg, FGP: 51.7%, 3PT: 53.3%, FT: 88.9%
Roger Powell (6'6''-F-83, college: Illinois) (SAS / ARK): 3 games: 6.3ppg, 1.7rpg, FGP: 35.3%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 62.5%
Earl Calloway (UTA / FWN): 5 games: 5.0ppg, 1.4rpg, 3.4apg, FGP: 29.2%, FT: 83.3%
Hiram Fuller (6'9''-F-81, college: Fresno St.) (UTA / FLO): 6 games: 5.0ppg, 4.5rpg, FGP: 36.7%, FT: 66.7%

NBA Summer League in Las Vegas
Clay Tucker (6'5''-G-80, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) (CLE / ARK): 5 games: 15.0ppg, 4.0rpg, 1.6apg, FGP: 40.5%, 3PT: 27.8%, FT: 100.0%
Elton Brown (6'9''-F/C-83, college: Virginia) (DEN / COL): 5 games: 13.4ppg, 10.0rpg, FGP: 57.8%, FT: 68.2%
Anthony Tolliver (SAS / IA): 3 games: 12.3ppg, 5.0rpg, FGP: 57.1%, 3PT: 61.5%, FT: 83.3%
Mike Taylor (6'2''-G-86, college: Iowa St.) (LAC / IDA): 5 games: 10.2ppg, 4.0rpg, 2.4apg, FGP: 37.5%, 3PT: 23.1%, FT: 60.0%
Eugene Jeter (5'11''-G-83, college: Portland) (MIN / COL): 5 games: 9.8ppg, 1.8rpg, 2.8apg, FGP: 60.6%, FT: 100.0%
J.R. Pinnock (6'5''-G-83, college: George Washington) (POR / ARK): 5 games: 9.6ppg, 2.4rpg, FGP: 59.4%, FT: 80.0%, 3PT: 85.7%
Michael Cuffee (6'4''-F-83, college: Middle Tenn.St.) (SAS / BAK): 3 games: 6.7ppg, 2.0rpg, 2.0apg, FGP: 33.3%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 100.0%
Jawad Williams (6'9''-F-83, college: N.Carolina) (CLE / ANA): 3 games: 6.3ppg, 3.7rpg, FGP: 43.8%, 3PT: 66.7%, FT: 60.0%
Roderick Riley (6'11''-C-81, college: Prairie View A&M) (MIL / COL): 3 games: 2.7ppg, 6.7rpg, FGP: 50.0%, FT: 40.0%
Deji Akindele (7'1''-C-83, college: Chicago St.) (TOR / IA): 5 games: 7.4ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 51.9%, FT: 81.8%
Brandon Bowman (6'9''-F-84, college: Georgetown) (NOH / BAK): 6 games: 7.0ppg, 4.7rpg, FGP: 43.3%, 3PT: 40.0%, FT: 63.6%
Roger Powell (SAS / ARK): 4 games: 7.0ppg, 3.0rpg, FGP: 40.9%, 3PT: 22.2%, FT: 66.7%
Roderick Wilmont (6'4''-G-83, college: Indiana) (MIL / FWN): 7.0ppg, 1.5rpg, FGP: 35.0%, 3PT: 16.7%, FT: 72.2%
Dwayne Mitchell (6'5''-G-82, college: La-Lafayette) (LAL / IA): 6 games: 6.7ppg, 1.5rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 61.9%, FT: 53.8%

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  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   


Indios Sign Chris Smith - by Kerwin Abreu
San Francisco De Macoris: Indios de San Francisco sign Chris Smith (201-F/C-82, college: St.Edward's) in substitution of Mike Dean. Smith has many international experience playing in Ireland, Finland. Dean left the team because of personal reasons with the team. Los Indios are 0-5 and will face Los Metros today. Dean was averaging 18.4 per games. He was 4th in scoring. Chris Smith will be with Jamal Holden (206-C-80, college: UALR) as the Indios reinforces players.

Los Indios also included Gregory Ventura to help Richard Ortega (188-G-82) at the PG spot. Luis Nelson Ferreiras (191-F-76) who was mentioned not to be with the team for this game, will be available.

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  ESTONIA   


U20 EC, division B: Estonia cruises past Switzerland in the first game - by Eurobasket News
U20 Estonia - U20 Switzerland 87-61

It was a joyful first day of U20 European Championship division B for Estonians. They grabbed an easy victory over Switzerland for 1-0 in Preliminary Group C. Except of these two teams, Slovakia, Austria and Belgium are also placed in the same group. Two top teams after five days will continue championship in the Qualifying Round while third, fourth and fifth ranked team will be transferred to the Classifications Rounds.

Estonia totally dominated under the basket in this game. Center Rain Raadik (204-C-89) grabbed 9 boards for 24 minutes while power forward Timo Eichfuss (199-F-88) had 13. At the end Estonia made almost 50 rebounds matched with only 29 by Switzerland. With this problem in the paint and with just 37.8% for FG2 Switzerland couldn't expect anything better that 26 points defeat. Everything was resolved already at the middle of the second frame when Estonia after Rain Raadik's jump shot set the score on 41-18. Spectators had an opportunity to watch only one team playing for the rest of the game as Switzerland wasn't able even to threat.

Interesting is that Margus Klementsov (169-G-89), Illimar Pilk (195-F-88) and Tanel Kurbas (195-F-88) scored 14 points each for the winning side. Rain Raadik followed them with 13 points and 9 boards. Miroslav Petkovic (183-G-88) was the best scorer in Switzerland with 16 points while Davide Garruti had 14. At the second day of the championship Estonia will try to remain undefeated against Austria. On the other side Switzerland will have a day-off, what could be useful after this inconvenient defeat.


U20 Estonia - U20 Switzerland 87-61
(25-9,24-26,19-12,19-14)

Estonia: Margus Klementsov 14 (5 rebs), Illimar Pilk 14 (4 rebs), Tanel Kurbas 14, Rain Raadik 13 (9 rebs)
Switzerland: Miroslav Petkovic 16, Davide Garruti 14

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  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS U20   


M-Standings - Division B
Standings Div.B
Group A
1. U.Kingdom1-0
2. Portugal1-0
3. Norway0-0
4. Finland0-1
5. FYR Macedo.0-1
Group B
1. Germany1-0
2. Sweden1-0
3. Ireland0-0
4. Azerbaijan.0-1
5. Czech Repu.0-1
Group C
1. Belgium1-0
2. Estonia1-0
3. Slovakia0-0
4. Switzerl.0-1
5. Austria0-1
Group D
1. Romania1-0
2. Holland1-0
3. Poland0-1
4. Hungary0-1


M Standings - Division A
Standings
Group A
1. Lithuania1-0
2. Croatia1-0
3. Greece0-1
4. Ukraine0-1
Group B
1. Italy1-0
2. Turkey1-0
3. Georgia0-1
4. Israel0-1
Group C
1. Latvia1-0
2. Monteneg.1-0
3. Bulgaria0-1
4. Spain0-1
Group D
1. France1-0
2. Serbia1-0
3. Russia0-1
4. Slovenia0-1


Division A. Preliminary Round Day 1 - by Eurobasket News
Group A
Lithuania U20 - Ukraine U20 93:91
Lithuanian U20 National Team opened their European Championship campaign with a narrow win over Ukraine today. The Baltic team managed to overcome a 38-point outburst from Sergiy Gladyr (196-G/F-89) to post the initial win at the tournament. Martynas Gecevicius (193-G-88) fired 30 points to pace Lithuania. The teams exchanged baskets before Vadym Norenko scored 5 points in a row to set Ukraine ahead 15:11. They maintained the lead and when Lukashov capped the first period with a long bomb Ukraine enjoyed a 26:22 advantage. Gladyr exploded with 14 points in the second frame but it still did not prevent Lithuania from gaining a 49:47 lead at the interval. Vadym Norenko and Gladyr quickly gave the lead back to Ukraine early in the third period. The game remained close and the lead changed hands for several times but Oleksandr Kolchenko (198-F/G-88) had the last laugh in the frame as Ukraine entered the final period up by 4 points. Andriy Novikov and Oleksandr Kolchenko stretched the margin to 6 points at the start of the fourth term but Lithuania refused to fold. They went on a 17:4 rally midway through the quarter to gain a 91:84 advantage with under 4 minutes left in regulation. Galdyr knocked down 5 straight points to drag Ukraine back into contest but Lithuania withstood the effort. Zygimantas Janavicius converted two freebies late in the game and sealed the winning outcome for the Baltic side at the end. Vytenis Lipkevicius (196-F-89) netted 15 points for Lithuania. Marius Valukonis (198-F-88) added 14 points and 8 boards in a win. Oleksandr Kolchenko finished with 22 points for Ukraine. Vadym Norenko dropped 13 points in a losing case.

Lithuania U20: Martynas Gecevicius 30, Vytenis Lipkevicius 15, Marius Valukonis 14
Ukraine U20: Sergiy Gladyr 38, Oleksandr Kolchenko 22


Croatia U20 - Greece U20 74:67
Croatian U20 National Team got to a winning start at the European Championship in Latvia. They pip Greece in overtime to earn the first victory in the preliminary Group A. Greece looked better in the three quarters but Croatia turned things around in the final stanza and were close to seal the winning outcome in regulation. However Greece forced the overtime just to see Balkan team pull away with win at the end. Greek team led 16:7 after a tight first period and did not allow Croatian team to surge in front in the second stanza. Greece enjoyed a 5-point advantage at halftime and continued to dominate after the long break. Greek team extended the gap to 7 points before the final term but Zeljko Sakic (203-F-88) fueled the fourth term rally from Croatia. They outscored Greece and piled up a 6-point lead with 40 seconds remaining in the period. But Greece first trimmed the distance to 3 points and then Giannopoulos hit a buzzer-beater to send game into extra period. Zeljko Sakic and Mario Filipovic (194-G-88) paced Croatia in the overtime and ensured the win. Zeljko Sakic provided 22 points and 8 boards for Croatia. Mario Filipovic netted 15 points, while Franjo Bubalo (192-G/F-88) had 12 points in a win. Nick Calathes (198-G/F) answered with 14 points for Greece. Michail Tsairelis (206-F/C-88) netted 10 points in defeat. Greece outrebounded Croatia 41:40 but sank just 29% from the field.

Croatia U20: Zeljko Sakic 22, Mario Filipovic 15, Franjo Bubalo 12
Greece U20: Nick Calathes 14, Michail Tsairelis 10


Group B
Turkey U20 - Georgia U20 69:51
Turkish U20 National Team grabbed their initial win at the European Championship in Riga today. They defeated Georgia to open the event. Dogus Balbay (185-G-89) nailed 16 points, grabbed 6 boards and dished out 5 assists to pace balanced Turkish team. Giorgi Shermadini (216-C-89, agency: Life Sports) shone for Georgia as he posted game-high 20 points. Dogus Balbay and Can Ozcan (200-F-89) put Turkey in front 9:2 early in the encounter. Georgia cut the deficit but Gokhan Karabiyik (205-F-88) converted two free throws to give Turkey a 16:9 lead at the first intermission. The teams traded baskets in the second frame with Turkey keeping in front. They secured an 8-point cushion at halftime. Giorgi Shermadini and Levan Shengelia (203-F/C-90) opened the third frame with 6 straight points and Georgia cut the deficit to 3 points. However back-to-back baskets from Tunca and a trey from Gorur stretched the margin to 12 points midway through the period. Georgia trailed by 11 points with one quarter remaining in the contest. Turkey never allowed their opponents closer than 10 points in the fourth term and cruised to a solid win in the first game of the tournament. Gokhan Karabiyik and Can Ozcan provided 9 points apiece for Turkey. Sevinc netted 7 points for the winners. Levan Shengelia dropped 8 points and collected 12 boards for Georgia in a loss. Turkey will take on Israel, while Georgia will oppose Italy tomorrow.

Turkey U20: Dogus Balbay 16, Gokhan Karabiyik 9, Can Ozcan 9
Georgia U20: Giorgi Shermadini 20, Levan Shengelia 8+12 boards


Italy U20 - Israel U20 69:67
Italian U20 National Team pulled away with a narrow victory over Israel in the European Championship opener today. Marco Ammannato (203-F/C-88) nailed 14 points to pace Italian team. It was an extra close game throughout the action with neither side able to clear off substantially. Israel led by 2 points after the starting period. Italy spurred ahead and now they accumulated a two-point advantage at halftime. Giacomo Eliantonio (205-C-88) hit a three-pointer to lift Italy to a 49:42 lead midway through the third quarter. But Israel bounced back and drew things level at 49 with one quarter to go. Lorenzo D'Ercole (190-G-88),, Ferrero and Marco Ammannato propelled Italian team to a 4-point advantage with under 2 minutes remaining. Gal Mekel (190-G-88) later cut the deficit to 2 points with 11 seconds left. Tomassini however was cold-blooded from the charity stripe and brought Italy to the win at the end. Lorenzo D'Ercole chipped in 10 points for Italy. Donato Cutolo (200-F-87) and Giacomo Eliantonio nailed 8 points apiece for the winners. Gal Mekel led all scorers with 23 points for Israel. Anton Shoutvin (206-C-89) dropped 14 points in a losing effort. The teams were well matched on the boards but Italy committed just 10 turnovers down the stretch. They also converted 40% from the field.

Italy U20: Marco Ammannato 14, Lorenzo D'Ercole 10, Donato Cutolo 8, Giacomo Eliantonio 8
Israel U20: Gal Mekel 23, Anton Shoutvin 14


Group C
Montenegro U20 - Spain U20 74:65
Montenegrin U20 National Team wrote history in Riga today. They registered their first ever Division A victory beating Spain. Vladimir Dasic (209-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) produced 17 points, 13 boards and 2 blocks for Montenegro. Spain got to a woeful start of the game and Montenegro capitalized running clear. The last years runners-up found themselves trailing by 5 points. Durisic and Sead Sehovic (200-G-89) nailed back-to-back trebles to stretch the lead to 9 points early in the second period. Vladimir Dasic and Vranjes dropped 5 straight points for Montenegro late in the second stanza to build a massive 46:28 advantage at halftime. Vladimir Dasic marked a 19-point Montenegrin lead at the start of the third stanza but Spain refused to surrender. They exploded with a 13:0 run to trim the deficit. The game turned into a dogged fight with both sides working hard for every ball. Victor Claver (206-F/C-88) and Sergio De La Fuente (198-C-89) notched 6 points in a row to cut the distance to 4 points. But Sead Sehovic, Krsto Bjelica (191-G-88) and Vladimir Dasic were deadly from the stripe to secure the historic victory for Montenegro at the end. Krsto Bjelica knocked down 14 points for Montenegro. Sead Sehovic tallied 12 points, 8 boards and 6 assists in a win. Sergio De La Fuente and Victor Claver answered with 12 points apiece for Spain. Joaquin Colom had 11 points in a losing effort.

Montenegro U20: Vladimir Dasic 17+13 boards, Krsto Bjelica 14, Sead Sehovic 12
Spain U20: Sergio De La Fuente 12, Victor Claver 12


Latvia U20 - Bulgaria U20 95:67
Latvian U20 National Team celebrated an emphatic win over Bulgaria at the start of the European Championship in Riga. Kuksisks drained two three-pointers during an 8:0 run from Latvia as they cleared off to a 15:7 distance early in the game. Bulgaria answered with a 12:4 run to surge in front 21:19 late in the period. However Oskars Virsis capped the first period with a jumper and Latvia held to a 24:23 lead at the first intermission. Oskars Virsis then knocked down a trey to open the second period and fueled a 25:4 rally from Latvia that resulted in the hosts taking a 49:29 advantage late in the second period. Dairis Bertans (192-G/F-89) and Andrejs Selakovs continued the onslaught in the third frame as Latvia fully dominated. They opened a 30-point advantage and maintained the pressure on their opponents. Bulgaria managed to cut the deficit to 25 points in the final stanza but never seriously threatened the home team. Latvia cruised to an overwhelming victory at the end. Dairis Bertans knocked down 24 points for Latvia. Rihards Kuksiks (197-F-88) nailed 14 points, while Janis Strelnieks (183-G-89) added 13 for the winners. Chavdar Kostov (195-G-88, agency: Interperformances) answered with 21 points for Bulgaria. Nikolay Kolev (200-F-88) and Ivan Lilov (196-F-88, agency: FCM) netted 8 points apiece in a loss. Latvia converted solid 54% from the field and pulled down 31 boards including 11 offensive ones. They also forced Bulgaria to 16 turnovers.

Latvia U20: Dairis Bertans 24, Rihards Kuksiks 14, Janis Strelnieks 13
Bulgaria U20: Chavdar Kostov 21, Nikolay Kolev 8, Ivan Lilov 8


Group D
Serbia U20 - Russia U20 84:75
Serbian U20 National Team posted their first win at the European Championship in Latvia. The defending champions held off Russia in the opener. Miroslav Raduljica (213-C-88, agency: CAA Sports) notched 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead Serbia. The Serbs managed to overcome a 39-point outburst from Russian sensation Alexey Shved (196-G-88). The teams were all knotted at 20 after ten minutes of action. The exchange of baskets continued in the second term. The lead changed hands for four times before Milan Macvan (206-F/C-89) sealed the first half outcome at 43:42 for Serbia. Russia went on an 8:0 run in the third stanza to jump to a 58:54 advantage. However Milan Macvan cut the deficit to a single point with ten minutes remaining in the game. Serbia used a 12:0 run midway through the fourth quarter to spur ahead 71:64 with 4 minutes left. Miroslav Raduljica nailed 11 points in the final minutes and brought Serbia to the victory. Milan Macvan provided 21 points and 11 boards for Serbia. Mladen Jeremic (196-G-88, agency: CAA Sports) had 11 points, 6 boards and 5 assists for the winners. Dmitri Khvostov (191-G-89) dropped 13 points for Russia in defeat. Serbia outrebounded their opponents 46:31 and sank impressive 51% from the field. Serbia will next play against Slovenia, while Russia will take on France.

Serbia U20: Miroslav Raduljica 30+13 boards, Milan Macvan 21+11 boards, Mladen Jeremic 11
Russia U20: Alexey Shved 39, Dmitri Khvostov 13


France U20 - Slovenia U20 91:46
French U20 National Team posted a comprehensive victory at the start of the European Championship in Latvia. France thrashed Slovenia in the preliminary Group D action. Ludovic Vaty (206-F-88, college: Moraine Valley CC) and Kim Tillie teamed up for 16 points in the starting period and France built a 26:11 advantage heading into the second stanza. Slovenia failed to strike back after the intermission as France continued to dominate. They ensured a 40:23 cushion at the interval. France opened the third stanza with an 11:3 rally to maintain the pressure. Slovenia had little answers for the tempo proposed and trailed by 35 points before the fourth term. France breezed to the victory in the fourth term and scored an impressive one at the end. Edwin Jackson (191-G-89) paced balanced offense with 15 points. Ludovic Vaty had 13 points and 8 boards, while Antoine Diot (192-G-89) provided 12 points for the winners. Mirko Mulalic (195-F-88) replied with 18 points for Slovenia. Edin Alispahic (207-F/C-88) secured 9 points in a loss. France outrebounded their opponents 55:40 and forced Slovenian players to 18 turnovers. France converted 47% from the field, while limiting Slovenia to only 26% of field goals.

France U20: Edwin Jackson 15, Ludovic Vaty 13, Antoine Diot 12
Slovenia U20: Mirko Mulalic 18, Edin Alispahic 9

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  FINLAND   


U18 EC, division B: Finland takes it easily over Romania - by Eurobasket News
U18 Finland - U18 Romania 73-61

Finland recorded the second win in Classification Stage from 9th to 16th place on U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen. It means that the top of Group H belongs to Finland, which will tomorrow meet Montenegro. The winner of this game will fight for 9th place against the better one between Romania and Netherlands.

The main problem for Romanians today were turnovers as they committed 24. Romanians were almost an equal rival to Finland in all other basketball elements except of that extremely important one. Finland took control on Romania from the early begging. Roopi Ahonen (185-G-90) and Jouni Vanttaja (203-F-91) had few successful jump shots what was enough for plus 7 after first 10 minutes. Situation has chaned in the next quarter. Rolland Torok (198-C-90) and Adrian Gutoaia (195-C-90) woke up creating run 15-6 and taking one point lead at the half time. They couldn't know that Georgians will enter into the next 20 minutes very aggressively. Their strong willingness and performance by Roopi Ahonen and Sasu Salin (187-G-91) brought Georgia fantastic 20-6 run for 48-36. Romanians couldn't recover from this shock making this job even easier for Georgians until the end.

Roopi Ahonen was the top scorer in Finland netting 16 points. Sasu Salin added 14 points and 4 rebounds for the winning side while Jouni Vanttaja had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Rolland Torok was totally the best player in Romania today. He drained 21 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and dished out 4 assists but his wonderful performance didn't help his team today. The second and at the same time the last player with double-digits in Romania was Adrian Gutoaia, who added 20 points and 4 rebounds.


U18 Finland - U18 Romania 73-61
(20-13, 9-17,30-14, 14-17)

Finland: Roopi Ahonen 16, Sasu Salin 14 (4 rebs), Jouni Vanttaja 10 (7 rebs)
Romania: Rolland Torok 21 (17 rebs, 4 as), Adrian Gutoaia 20 (4 rebs)

U20 EC, division B: Easy win for Great Britain against Finland - by Eurobasket News
U20 Finland - U20 Great Britain 73-90

Great Britain opened the first day of U20 European Championship division B with a victory. Finland wasn't able to resist Great Britain, which demonstrated pretty good basketball level in this game. These two teams are together with Portugal, F.Y.R. Macedonia and Norway placed into Preliminary Group A. The best two team from this group will advance to the Qualifying Round while all other teams will have to be satisfied with Classification Rounds.

Great Britain had full control under the basket in this game. Orlan Jackman (196-F-88) and his teammates grabbed 50 boards matched with only 26 by Finland. Great Britain opened the game strongly making 9-20 after 5 minutes. Finland struggled a lot with its offensive sets while on the other side Morakinyo Williams and Orlan Jackman had no mercy. After half way of the second stanza it already was 22-43. Nothing has changed after the breather as Great Britain continued on its way. With ten minutes to go the game was already over for Finland, 44-71.

Orlan Jackman paced Great Britain to win in this game collecting 19 points and 10 rebounds. Ashley Hamilton (201-F-88) netted 16 points while Morakinyo Williams also shined adding 14 points and 7 rebounds. Finland got the most from Antti Kanervo (193-G/F-89), who netted 19 points. Juho-Matti Lehtoranta (191-G-89) followed him with 14 points. In the next round Great Britain will take on Portugal while Finland will meet Norway.


U20 Finland - U20 Great Britain 73-90
(19-27, 10-22, 15-22, 29-19)

Finland: Antti Kanervo 19, Juho-Matti Lehtoranta 14
Great Britain: Orlan Jackman 19 (10 rebs), Ashley Hamilton 16, Morakinyo Williams 14 (7 rebs)

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  FRANCE   


French U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Diot


Mbaye


Houmounou


Vaty


Moerman
4 Antoine Eito (187-G-89) of Adecco ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne
5 Thomas Heurtel (189-G-89) of Elan Bearnais Pau-Orthez
6 Antoine Diot (191-G-89) of Le Mans Sarthe Basket
7 Abdoulaye Mbaye (188-G-88) of ASCC BOPP (SEN)
8 Rudy Jomby (196-G/F-88) of STB Le Havre
9 Meridis Houmounou (188-G-88) of ALM Evreux Basket
10 Johwe Casseus (211-C-89) of Entente Orleans 45
11 Edwin Jackson (191-G-89) of JSF Nanterre
12 Kevin Seraphin (205-C-89) of Cholet Basket
13 Kim Tillie (206-F-88) of University of Utah (USA)
14 Ludovic Vaty (206-F-88) of Elan Bearnais Pau-Orthez
15 Adrien Moerman (204-F/C-88) of Entente Orleans 45
Head Coach: Richard Billant
Coach Assistants: Laurent Hantz , Olivier Bourgain

Poland prevail against France in Bormio - by Eurobasket News
Poland - France 82:76

Poland scored their first win at the International Exhibition tournament in Bormio, Italy. Yesterday they defeated France in a closely fought clash. The French team that was bolstered by the appearance of Nando De Colo (202-G-87) on the squad got to a better start. They outscored Polish team 19:15 in the first frame. The tempo raised in the second term as the teams exchanged baskets in a highly-paced ball game. France however maintained the lead and managed to stretch it to 7 points at halftime. However a balanced offense helped Poland to recover after the long break. They cut the deficit to a single point heading into the fourth stanza. Poland kept mounting the pressure and overwhelmed their opponents late in the game. Krzysztof Szubarga (184-G-84, agency: AB Agency) and Michal Ignerski (205-F-80, agency: Stanley International, college: Mississippi St.) carried Poland to the victory. Five Polish players scored in double figures. Krzysztof Szubarga and Lukasz Koszarek (187-G-84) led the charge with 13 points apiece. Szymon Szewczyk (209-C-82), Michal Ignerski and Wojciech Szawarski (195-F-76) provided 12 points apiece for the winners. Nando De Colo answered with 22 points for France. Thomas Dubiez (195-G-80) chipped in 12 points in a losing effort. Poland will take on Israel next. France will face the hosts Italy later tonight.

Poland: Krzysztof Szubarga 13, Lukasz Koszarek 13
France: Nando De Colo 22, Thomas Dubiez 12

France destroy Slovenia in Riga - by Eurobasket News
France U20 - Slovenia U20 91:46

French U20 National Team posted a comprehensive victory at the start of the European Championship in Latvia. France thrashed Slovenia in the preliminary Group D action. Ludovic Vaty (206-F-88, college: Moraine Valley CC) and Kim Tillie (206-F-88) teamed up for 16 points in the starting period and France built a 26:11 advantage heading into the second stanza. Slovenia failed to strike back after the intermission as France continued to dominate. They ensured a 40:23 cushion at the interval. France opened the third stanza with an 11:3 rally to maintain the pressure. Slovenia had little answers for the tempo proposed and trailed by 35 points before the fourth term. France breezed to the victory in the fourth term and scored an impressive one at the end. Edwin Jackson (191-G-89) paced balanced offense with 15 points. Ludovic Vaty had 13 points and 8 boards, while Antoine Diot (192-G-89) provided 12 points for the winners. Mirko Mulalic (195-F-88) replied with 18 points for Slovenia. Edin Alispahic (207-F/C-88) secured 9 points in a loss. France outrebounded their opponents 55:40 and forced Slovenian players to 18 turnovers. France converted 47% from the field, while limiting Slovenia to only 26% of field goals.

France U20: Edwin Jackson 15, Ludovic Vaty 13, Antoine Diot 12
Slovenia U20: Mirko Mulalic 18, Edin Alispahic 9

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  FYR MACEDONIA   


U20 EC, division B: Portugal outsmarts F.Y.R. of Macedonia at the opener - by Eurobasket News
U20 Portugal - U20 F.Y.R. of Macedonia 76-71

Portugal celebrated at the opening day of U20 European Championship division B in Romanian city Targu Mures. As a reminder Portugal and Macedonia are together with Norway, Great Britain and Finland placed in Preliminary Group A. Two top teams of this group will advance to the Qualifying Round while all other teams will continue championship in Classification Rounds.

Portugal took this one mostly owing to well played first stanza as well as pretty good stroke from behind the arc. Portuguese made 9 of 21 attempts which is almost 43%. Macedonians opened this game showing their nerves. They threw couple of bad passes and missed few lay-ups and jump shots what Portugal exploited setting the score on 12-4 after 5 minutes. Until the end of the first quarter Portuguese extended its lead to 14. They succeeded to keep it until 28th minute after what Macedonia made mini run 4-0 for 36-26 at the half time. Aleksandar Kostoski (188-G-88, agency: Octagon) and his teammates showed much better performance in third quarter. After every minute they melted Portugal's lead which finally resulted with 54-51 before the last frame. Portugal opened it with 7-2 after what Macedonia succeeded to come on minus 3 just once. It seemed the Portugal controlled the entire quarter without any bigger efforts.

Fabio Lima (196-C-88) paced Portugal to win netting 22 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. Jose Silva (195-F-89) followed him with 18 points while Pedro Pereira (185-G-89) stopped on 12 points and 4 assists. Aleksandar Kostoski was totally the best player in Macedonia registering double-double 20 points, 10 assists and 7 boards. Marko Simonovski (190-G-89) was behind him with 15 points while Aleksandar Kostevski (-88) contributed scoring 12 points. Portugal will take on Great Britain tomorrow while Macedonia has a day-off. Macedonians will continue championship on Sunday against the same rival, Great Britain.


U20 Portugal U20 F.Y.R. of Macedonia 76-71
(21-7,15-19,18-25,22-20)

Portugal: Fabio Lima 22 (8 rebs), Jose Silva 18, Pedro Pereira 12 (4 as)
Macedonia: Aleksandar Kostoski 20 (7 rebs, 10 as), Marko Simonovski 15, Aleksandar Kostevski (-88) 12

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  GEORGIA   


Georgian U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
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#e#6


Gulisabedashvili


Shengelia


Tsivtsivadze


Shermadini


Gaprindashvili
4 Giorgi Gulisabedashvili (194-G-88) of Dinamo Tbilisi
5 Levan Shengelia (205-F/C-90) of Akademija-MRU Vilnius (LTU)
6 Giorgi Pirvelashvili (201-F-88) of Maccabi Brinkford Tbilisi
7 Beka Tsivtsivadze (189-G-89) of Dinamo Tbilisi
8 Levan Tsekvava (190-G-89) of Energy Invest Rustavi
9 Giorgi Shermadini (216-C-89) of Maccabi Brinkford Tbilisi
10 Irakli Ivaneishvili (194-G-89)
11 Erekle Jgerenaia (200-F-88) of TSU Tbilisi
12 Giorgi Gaprindashvili (188-G-88) of Midland CC (USA)
13 Richard Matiashvili (209-C-89) of Avia Tbilisi
14 Luka Nozadze (207-F/C-88) of B.C. Vita
15 Levan Patsatsia (198-G-88) of The University of Arkansas (USA)
Head Coach: David Ustiashvili
Coach Assistant: Mikheil Beruashvili

U18 EC, division B: Georgia better than Belarus - by Eurobasket News
U18 Georgia - U18 Belarus 75-69

In the second game of Classification Round from 9th to 16th place Georgia demonstrated better performance than Belarus improving to 1-2 in Group H. However, despite this victory Georgia, as well as Belarus, won't have a chance to compete for 9th place. Both teams will continue championship battling for the position number 13th where Georgia will meet fourth ranked team from Group G while Belarus will take on third ranked team from the same group.

Georgia totally outrebounded its rivals today mostly owing to Giorgi Sharabidze (208-C-90) and Tornike Shengelia (201-G/F-91, agency: Life Sports). Gorgians finished the game grabbing 44 boards while Byelorussians has just 32. Both teams were extremely unsuccessful from behind the arc. Belarus had 25% while Georgia recorded just 7.7%. After almost leveled first stanza, Belarus grabbed first bigger lead. It was 23-26 in 14th minute. Giorgi Sharabidze and his teammates took care for that coming on minus one before the half time. Different scenario was seen in the second half. This time Georgia made advantage of 6 points which Belarus almost melted before the last frame. Crucial period of the game were couple of introducing minutes of this quarter when Georgians made 7-0 run setting the score on 60-51. After that moment they just kept their lead without any bigger efforts.

Giorgi Sharabidze was a key player for Georgia in this game registering double-double, 25 points and 10 rebounds. Davit Maisuradze (204-F/C-90) helped his team with 14 points and 5 rebounds while Tornike Shengelia (201-G/F-91, agency: Life Sports) stopped on 11 points and 7 boards. Valiantsin Ihnatchyk (190-G-91) posted 18 points for Belarus including 5 rebounds while Uladzimir Krysevich (205-C-91) had 16 points and 7 rebounds. The loosing side also got 12 points and 4 assists from Maksim Dabravolski (192-G-91).


U18 Georgia - U18 Belarus 75-69
(19-20,15-15,19-16,22-18)

Georgia: Giorgi Sharabidze 25 (10 rebs), Davit Maisuradze 14 (5 rebs), Tornike Shengelia 11 (7 rebs)
Belarus: Valiantsin Ihnatchyk 18 (5 rebs), Uladzimir Krysevich 16 (7 rebs), Maksim Dabravolski 12 (4 as)

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  GERMANY   


Roosters welcome Jeremy Weddle - by Moritz Korff
Jeremy Weddle (183-G, college: Lambuth) has put pent-to-paper on a one year-contract with the Bremen Roosters from the 2. Bundesliga Pro A. The 22-year-old Guard out of Jackson, TN spent the past two years at Lambuth University (NAIA1) and graduated in spring 2008. As a senior he played 33 games for the Eagles with averages of 16.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.6 steals.
With Weddle the Roosters now have four import players on their 2008-09 squad: Weddle, Scott Freymond (188-G-80, college: Cent.Washington), Josh Mueller (180-G-82, college: S.Dakota), Jordan Sabourin (212-C-81, college: Oakland).

Ludwigsburg lands Marco Sanders - by Moritz Korff
EnBW Ludwigsburg (1. Bundesliga) has completed the signing of Marco Sanders (202-F-79, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Point Park). The 28-year-old Forward was born in Rochester, New York to an American father and a German mother. He spent parts of his childhood in Heidenheim. Sanders accepted a two-year deal with the club.
Until 2003 he played college-basketball at Point Park University (NAIA Division 2). In 2004-05 Sanders averaged 21.9 points and 10.5 rebounds per game for the Finnish second division-team Lapuan Korikobrat and made the All-League First Team. He took his game to Hungary, Italy, Switzerland in the following years and averaged 14.4 points and 6.0 rebounds in 25 games Gunaras KC Dombovar (Hungary, A-Division) in this past season.

Jena hires former Nigerian international - by Moritz Korff
Henry Uhegwu (191-G-82, agency: Beo Basket, college: S.Utah) and Science City Jena (2. Bundesliga Pro A) have made an agreement for the 2008-09 campaign. The Shooting Guard was a member of the Nigerian National Team in 2007. Uhegwu attended the same school as Jena's Head Coach Sean McCaw, Southern Utah University (NCAA1). He had 29 appearances as a senior (05-06) and averaged 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per outing. He spent his first year as a pro in Hungary and played 23 games for Klima-Vill Kaposvar SE during 2006-07, averaging 11.4 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 2.9 steals.

Schaffartzik back in Giessen - by Moritz Korff
Heiko Schaffartzik (182-G-84) returns to Giessen and inked a one year contract with the 1. Bundesliga's 46ers today. The 24-year-old Guard played 24 games for Giessen in the 2004-05 season, but had to go after failing a doping-test in July 2005. The German A2-international spent the following years in Nuernberg, Oldenburg and most recently in Ludwigsburg, averaging 10.1 points in 24 Bundesliga-games during the 2007-08 campaign.

Trier clinches Shtein move - by Moritz Korff
Maksym Shtein (206-C-80, agency: LimeLight) is going to play for TBB Trier (1. Bundesliga) in the upcoming season. The Center's switch from Frankfurt to Trier has been announced today. According to information on the clubs' website this has been the final transfer of Coach Yves Defraigne this summer.
28-year-old Shtein spent one year with the Skyliners and produced 2.4 points as well as 1.6 boards per contest over 36 Bundesliga-games in this past season. He has previously had five years at ratiopharm Ulm and won the championship-title of the 2. Bundesliga South in 2006.

U20 EURO: Germany cruise to 124:38 win over Azerbaijan - by Moritz Korff

The German U20-National Team opened the U20 European Championships (Division B) in Romania with a dominating 124:38 win over Azerbaijan today.
Philipp Schwethelm (200-F-89, agency: Court Side) and Robin Benzing (209-F-89) led the German point production with 18 apiece, Elias Harris (202-F-89) followed with 16 points, Tibor Pleiss (215-F/C-89) and Robert Oehle (209-C-88) each had 13 points and Lucca Staiger (196-G-88) finished the game with 12 points.
Germany never trailed in the EURO-opener, only for the first minutes of the game, Azerbaijan played neck-and-neck with the Germans. A couple of free-throws from Pleiss and a jumper by Staiger gave Germany a 5:0 start. Germany then went on a 8:0 run to take a 16:8 lead. At the end of the first period the score was 28:16. Germany opened the second quarter with a 17:0 spurt, putting the game out of reach early on. Another 19 straight points gave the Germans a 68:21 lead at halftime. They crossed the 100 point-mark already in the final seconds of the third stanza and went into the closing ten minutes being 68 points ahead (100:32). Germany did not show any sign of slowing down in the last quarter and kept the Azerbaijan offense under 40 points.
The next German game is scheduled for Saturday against Sweden.

Boxscore: click



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  GREECE   


Croatia U20 beats Greece in overtime - by Eurobasket News
Croatia U20 - Greece U20 74:67

Croatian U20 National Team got to a winning start at the European Championship in Latvia. They pip Greece in overtime to earn the first victory in the preliminary Group A. Greece looked better in the three quarters but Croatia turned things around in the final stanza and were close to seal the winning outcome in regulation. However Greece forced the overtime just to see Balkan team pull away with win at the end. Greek team led 16:7 after a tight first period and did not allow Croatian team to surge in front in the second stanza. Greece enjoyed a 5-point advantage at halftime and continued to dominate after the long break. Greek team extended the gap to 7 points before the final term but Zeljko Sakic (203-F-88) fueled the fourth term rally from Croatia. They outscored Greece and piled up a 6-point lead with 40 seconds remaining in the period. But Greece first trimmed the distance to 3 points and then Giannopoulos hit a buzzer-beater to send game into extra period. Zeljko Sakic and Mario Filipovic (194-G-88) paced Croatia in the overtime and ensured the win. Zeljko Sakic provided 22 points and 8 boards for Croatia. Mario Filipovic netted 15 points, while Franjo Bubalo (192-G/F-88) had 12 points in a win. Nick Calathes (198-G/F) answered with 14 points for Greece. Michail Tsairelis (206-F/C-88) netted 10 points in defeat. Greece outrebounded Croatia 41:40 but sank just 29% from the field.

Croatia U20: Zeljko Sakic 22, Mario Filipovic 15, Franjo Bubalo 12
Greece U20: Nick Calathes 14, Michail Tsairelis 10

U18 - European Championship Men- Semis: Croatia - Greece - Game Overview - by Chris Mammides
Greece moved unbeaten the previous two rounds at the U18 European Championship Men without and today will play against the Croatians for the semi-final showdown with high expectations of winning the nation's first gold medal at this age group.

Things will not be easy for the hosts as Croatia is a tough team and consider having the best starting five in this tournament. The Croatians who qualified simply because of the small miracle which Latvia succeeded after beating Russia in the buzzer.

Among the keys to the game will be how Zisis Sarikopoulos (212-C-90) and Greek power forward Leonidas Kaselakis (202-C-90) play against Croatia's versatile low post stars Mario Delas (210-C-90) and Tomislav Zubcic (213-C/F-90).

'It is going to be really tough for me and Leonidas Kaselakis to match up with Croatia's versatile low post stars Mario Delas and Tomislav Zubcic. But I think we can stop them,' Zisis Sarikopoulos admitted.

Giorgos Vlassopoulos 's Greeks have achieved their first goal of reaching the semi-finals and center Zisis Zisis Sarikopoulos expects the team to get a boost from the home fans in Pyrgos, saying: 'It's a huge advantage for us that we're playing here. We have the crowd with us. I think we will play our best because we really want to go to the final.'

Greece have never won U18 gold, losing to Serbia in the 2007 final while also capturing bronze in 1998, 2000 and 2002 and silver way back in 1970.

Vladimir Vanjak 's Croatians look to return to the final for the sixth time and would like to add the 2008 hardware to gold from 1996 and 2002.

Croatian guard Toni Prostran will be looking for redemption after apparently being confused and attempting a heavily-contested three-pointer from the top of the circle with three seconds left and his team down by just one point against France with a spot in the semi-final going to the winner.

The talented Croatian scoring playmaker will have a second chance now. But he faces a tough assignment in trying to stop and get by Greek point guard Sloukas, who has been one of the tournament's most effective players.

Another key to the game could be free throws, if the game is tight down the stretch. Croatia is the best foul shooting team in the tournament at 73 percent. The Hellenic NT had an Achilles heel which is no other than the free throws as they are just counting 55% with one of the nest centers of the Tournament (if not the best) Zisis Sarikopoulos to have just 20% with 4/20.

Greek U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
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Giannakidis


Karavasanis


Tsairelis


Sigkounas


Calathes
4 Georgios Bogris (209-C/F-89) of Ilysiakos Athens
5 Marios Matalon (187-G-89) of AEL 1964 Larissa
6 Antonios Michaloglou (202-F-88) of Ilysiakos Athens
7 Mihalis Giannakidis (193-G-88) of MENT Vassilakis
8 Charalampos Giannopoulos (208-F-89) of PAOK Marfin Thessaloniki
9 Evangelos Sakellariou (196-F/G-89) of Air Avellino (ITA)
10 Ioannis Karavasanis (191-G-88) of Olimpia GE Larissa
11 Panagiotis Koukounias (199-F-88) of DASH Peristeri Athens
12 Michail Tsairelis (206-F/C-88) of AEL 1964 Larissa
13 Alexandros Sigkounas (200-F-88)
14 Christos Lymperopoulos (190-G-88) of Ilysiakos Athens
15 Nick Calathes (196-G/F-89) of University of Florida (USA)
Head Coach: Georgios Sigalas
Coach Assistant: Giannis Eleftheriadis

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  HOLLAND   


U20 EC, division B: Joyful first day for Netherlands - by Eurobasket News
U20 Netherlands - U20 Hungary 82-66

Hungary couldn't handle tough Netherlands at the opening day of U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. These two teams will together with Romania and Poland try to reach one of the first two places in Preliminary Group D which will take them to the Qualifying Round. On the other side third and fourth ranked teams will continue their way in Targu Mures in the Classification Rounds.

It was a game with lot of mistakes as both teams registered 47 turnovers together. It seems that Netherlands get used to this kind of game much better. Ewoud Kloos (-89) and his teammates took care for the bigger lead at the very beginning. They entered into the game with attitude which resulted with tough and moveable defense at the one side and many easy points at the other one. After 10 minutes Netherlands already had comfortable plus 16. Hungary wasn't able to do anything important until the half time, except they came just a small step closer on 43-30. Dutch machine continues to 'grind' its opponent creating plus 18 before the last frame. Actually it already meant that the game is over for Hungary.

Ewoud Kloos was the key player for Netherlands today. He spent 34 minutes on court netting 21 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. It is important to be mentioned the he made 3 of 4 attempts from behind the arc today. Hieronymus Van Der List (211-C-89) helped his team with 14 points and 8 rebounds while Mattijs Hak (187-F-88) also shined adding 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Roeland Schaftenaar (211-F/C-88) had 10 points also but with 4 rebounds. Hungary got 15 points and 10 boards from Milan Csorvasi (209-F/C-88, agency: FCM). Peter Hajmasy (194-F-88) followed him scoring 12 points. In the second round of U20 EC division B, which is scheduled for Sunday, Netherlands will play versus Poland. On the other side Hungary will meet Romania.


U20 Netherlands - U20 Hungary 82-66
(28-12,15-18,24-19,15-17)

Netherlands: Ewoud Kloos 21 (4 rebs), Hieronymus Van Der List 14 (8 rebs), Mattijs Hak 10 (7 rebs, 5 as), Roeland Schaftenaar 10 (4 rebs)
Hungary: Milan Csorvasi 15 (10 rebs), Peter Hajmasy 12

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  HUNGARY   


U20 EC, division B: Joyful first day for Netherlands - by Eurobasket News
U20 Netherlands - U20 Hungary 82-66

Hungary couldn't handle tough Netherlands at the opening day of U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. These two teams will together with Romania and Poland try to reach one of the first two places in Preliminary Group D which will take them to the Qualifying Round. On the other side third and fourth ranked teams will continue their way in Targu Mures in the Classification Rounds.

It was a game with lot of mistakes as both teams registered 47 turnovers together. It seems that Netherlands get used to this kind of game much better. Ewoud Kloos (-89) and his teammates took care for the bigger lead at the very beginning. They entered into the game with attitude which resulted with tough and moveable defense at the one side and many easy points at the other one. After 10 minutes Netherlands already had comfortable plus 16. Hungary wasn't able to do anything important until the half time, except they came just a small step closer on 43-30. Dutch machine continues to 'grind' its opponent creating plus 18 before the last frame. Actually it already meant that the game is over for Hungary.

Ewoud Kloos was the key player for Netherlands today. He spent 34 minutes on court netting 21 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. It is important to be mentioned the he made 3 of 4 attempts from behind the arc today. Hieronymus Van Der List (211-C-89) helped his team with 14 points and 8 rebounds while Mattijs Hak (187-F-88) also shined adding 10 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Roeland Schaftenaar (211-F/C-88) had 10 points also but with 4 rebounds. Hungary got 15 points and 10 boards from Milan Csorvasi (209-F/C-88, agency: FCM). Peter Hajmasy (194-F-88) followed him scoring 12 points. In the second round of U20 EC division B, which is scheduled for Sunday, Netherlands will play versus Poland. On the other side Hungary will meet Romania.


U20 Netherlands - U20 Hungary 82-66
(28-12,15-18,24-19,15-17)

Netherlands: Ewoud Kloos 21 (4 rebs), Hieronymus Van Der List 14 (8 rebs), Mattijs Hak 10 (7 rebs, 5 as), Roeland Schaftenaar 10 (4 rebs)
Hungary: Milan Csorvasi 15 (10 rebs), Peter Hajmasy 12

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  ICELAND   


Pavel Ermolinskij signs for La Palma in LEB gold, Spain - by Einar Johannsson
Pavel Ermolinskij (202-G/F-87, agency: Octagon) has signed for U.B. La Palma in LEB gold in Spain. Ermolinskij who is a 202 cm point guard has been on a contract with Unicaja Malaga for 4 years but was on loan with C.B. Axarquia in LEB silver 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 along with his obligation with Malaga. Last season he was with Ciudad de Huelva in LEB gold also on loan from Malaga.

Ermolinskij now signs for U.B. La Palma, and this young guard with great size will work hard to get good role on the U.B. La Palma team for upcoming season. Ermolinskij is also involved with Icelandic national team this summer. The team is playing in tournament in Ireland late august and then play in B division in EC. Iceland is in group with Denmark, Holland, Austria and Montenegro.

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  IRAN   


Hadadi's injury, the worst nightmare for Iran - by Houman Bagheri
(BEIJING, August 1) -- Iran's Men's Basketball team has no time to review the heavy 75-46 loss they suffered against China on August 1 as they are anxiously awaiting the medical results for mainstay center Hamed Ehadadi, who injured his right ankle in the fourth quarter.

China's 29-point victory earns them a third place finish in the 2008 FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament, which has been hosted by Nanjing.

The first half of the game went as expected, with China building an early 13-4 lead and taking the first quarter 19-11. China then went on an 11-4 run to start the second and then extended their lead to 37-21 by halftime.

Going into the third quarter with a large lead, the Chinese team began mixing-in different offensive strategies, particularly passing the ball inside. But poor transitions and ball distribution led to meager production in the quarter. Star center Yao Ming scored just six points four off free throws and China scored 16 overall.

It was China's strong defense, though, that clinched victory. They allowed Iran only six points in the third quarter, effectively putting the game out of reach. A meaningless fourth quarter turned into a heartbreaker for Iran as Hamed Hadadi injured his right ankle fighting for an offensive rebound.

China has been criticized in the Chinese media for its lackluster performances in the last month, particular in its loss to Australia on Thursday. China had 24 turnovers in that game, most of which happened as the team's guards tried to pass the ball into Yao Ming. Helped, in part, by weaker defense by Iran, China reduced its turnovers to 12 in Friday's match.

Wang Zhizhi was the top scorer for China, dropping 15 points while grabbing six rebounds. Yi Jianlian contributed eight points and nine rebounds. Yao Ming scored 12 points on eight attempts.

Iran shot 33 percent within the arc and just 12 percent behind it. They grabbed 15 offensive rebounds but wasted most of them. Point guard Javad Davari did best for Iran, netting 12 points. Hadadi scored 10 points before his injury.

Diamond Ball: Third place belongs to China, Iran fourth - by Eurobasket News
China - Iran 75-46

China blasted Iran in the game for third place on 'Diamond Ball' tournament which was held in Nanjing. As a reminder, Iranians made wonderful surprise two days ago against strong Serbia winning 72-70. It was Hamed Ehadadi (218-C-85, agency: Agency No 10) who paced Iran to that victory but this time he and his teammates couldn't survive against the host China. Since the opening quarter China was the team which dominated. Second stanza also belonged to Chinese which created plus 16 after 20 minutes. After that moment it was clear that the players of head coach Rajko Toroman won't be able to repeat nice performance from two days ago. After the breather Chinese intensified defense even more letting Iran to score just 6 points in third frame what was the end of this game for reining Asian champions. Anyway, Iranians remains one on the most pleasant surprises on 'Diamond Ball 2008'.

Except of this win and third place on 'Diamond Ball', the good thing for Chinese is for sure a fact that Ming Yao (226-C-80) successfully made one more step forward after inconvenient foot surgery. He nailed 12 points and grabbed 4 rebounds for 19 minutes. What is the most important he stated that he feels better and he supposes to be 100% ready for the first game in Beijing. Wang Zhizhi (214-C-79) was the best scorer in China today with 15 points but he also made 6 more rebounds. Iran got the most from Javad Davari (185-G-83), who added 12 points and 6 rebounds. Hero of the game against Serbia Hamed Ehadadi collected 10 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks.


China - Iran 75-46
(19-11, 18-10, 16-6, 22-19)

China: Wang Zhizhi 15 (6 rebs), Ming Yao 12 (4 rebs)
Iran: Javad Davari 12 (6 rebs), Hamed Ehadadi 10 (5 rebs, 4 blk)

Iran thrashes Jordan in Yemen - by Eurobasket News
Iran U18 - Jordan U18 114:56

Iranian U18 National Team continued to march confidently through the WABA Championship. Yesterday they gave no chance for Jordanian team en route to the second win at the tournament. Jordan in the meantime suffered their third straight loss. Iran will host the FIBA Asia U18 Championship later this month and showing some great form prior to the continental contest. Iran and Syria are on top of the ladder at the moment. Their clash will be decisive in the spot distribution at the competition.

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  ISRAEL   


Israeli U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
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#e#6


Daniel


Shoutvin


Mekel


Asante


Pitshon
4 Ido Stolero (192-G-88) of Hapoel Lev Hasharon
5 Sean Daniel (200-F-89) of Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan
6 Tal Ronen (192-G-88) of Baitar Benyamina
7 Hen Gonshor (189-G-89) of Maccabi Rishon Le-Zion
8 Anton Shoutvin (205-C/F-89) of Maccabi Givat Shmuel
9 Gal Mekel (195-G-88) of Wichita State University (USA)
10 Oded Brandwein (188-G-88) of Elitzur Ramla
11 Eran Asante (196-G/F-88) of Hapoel Gilboa-Galil Elyon
12 Or Brenner (192-G-88) of Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan
13 Ahiad Bukra (205-F/C-88) of Elitzur Ramla
14 Evgeni Lioutrine (201-C/F-88)
15 Raviv Pitshon (202-C/F-89) of Maccabi Ashdod
Head Coach: Ariel Halachmi
Coach Assistant: Gilad Katz

Italy narrowly defeat Israel in Riga - by Eurobasket News
Italy U20 - Israel U20 69:67

Italian U20 National Team pulled away with a narrow victory over Israel in the European Championship opener today. Marco Ammannato (203-F/C-88) nailed 14 points to pace Italian team. It was an extra close game throughout the action with neither side able to clear off substantially. Israel led by 2 points after the starting period. Italy spurred ahead and now they accumulated a two-point advantage at halftime. Giacomo Eliantonio (205-C-88) hit a three-pointer to lift Italy to a 49:42 lead midway through the third quarter. But Israel bounced back and drew things level at 49 with one quarter to go. Lorenzo D'Ercole (190-G-88),, Ferrero and Marco Ammannato propelled Italian team to a 4-point advantage with under 2 minutes remaining. Gal Mekel (190-G-88) later cut the deficit to 2 points with 11 seconds left. Tomassini however was cold-blooded from the charity stripe and brought Italy to the win at the end. Lorenzo D'Ercole chipped in 10 points for Italy. Donato Cutolo (200-F-87) and Giacomo Eliantonio nailed 8 points apiece for the winners. Gal Mekel led all scorers with 23 points for Israel. Anton Shoutvin (206-C-89) dropped 14 points in a losing effort. The teams were well matched on the boards but Italy committed just 10 turnovers down the stretch. They also converted 40% from the field.

Italy U20: Marco Ammannato 14, Lorenzo D'Ercole 10, Donato Cutolo 8, Giacomo Eliantonio 8
Israel U20: Gal Mekel 23, Anton Shoutvin 14

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  ITALY   


Italy narrowly defeat Israel in Riga - by Eurobasket News
Italy U20 - Israel U20 69:67

Italian U20 National Team pulled away with a narrow victory over Israel in the European Championship opener today. Marco Ammannato (203-F/C-88) nailed 14 points to pace Italian team. It was an extra close game throughout the action with neither side able to clear off substantially. Israel led by 2 points after the starting period. Italy spurred ahead and now they accumulated a two-point advantage at halftime. Giacomo Eliantonio (205-C-88) hit a three-pointer to lift Italy to a 49:42 lead midway through the third quarter. But Israel bounced back and drew things level at 49 with one quarter to go. Lorenzo D'Ercole (190-G-88),, Ferrero and Marco Ammannato propelled Italian team to a 4-point advantage with under 2 minutes remaining. Gal Mekel (190-G-88) later cut the deficit to 2 points with 11 seconds left. Tomassini however was cold-blooded from the charity stripe and brought Italy to the win at the end. Lorenzo D'Ercole chipped in 10 points for Italy. Donato Cutolo (200-F-87) and Giacomo Eliantonio nailed 8 points apiece for the winners. Gal Mekel led all scorers with 23 points for Israel. Anton Shoutvin (206-C-89) dropped 14 points in a losing effort. The teams were well matched on the boards but Italy committed just 10 turnovers down the stretch. They also converted 40% from the field.

Italy U20: Marco Ammannato 14, Lorenzo D'Ercole 10, Donato Cutolo 8, Giacomo Eliantonio 8
Israel U20: Gal Mekel 23, Anton Shoutvin 14

Last Lega 2 transactions - by Gianni Pascucci
Scafati Basket inked import player Dillion Sneed (203-C-84, college: E.Tenn.St.). Benetton Treviso agreed to loan to Cimberio Varese Niccolo Martinoni (202-G/F-89). Edimes Pavia announced the agreement with Matteo Metz (195-G-88), who inked a three year contract. Vanoli Soresina signed local player Luca Bernardi (184-G-84). Pallacanestro Roseto 1946 announced the signing of Andrea La Gioia (193-G-86) and Stefano Borsato (190-G-86). Prefabbricati Pugliesi Brindisi confirmed in roster Michele Cardinali (190-G-78) and should announce soon the agreements with Marcus Hatten (186-G-80, college: St.John's) and Davide Bruttini (203-F-87).

Serie A market news - by Gianni Pascucci
Virtus Roma announced the agreement with Andre Hutson (202-F-79, college: Michigan St.) and should announce soon the signing of Angelo Gigli (209-F/C-83) and Luigi Datome (202-G/F-87). Fortitudo Bologna agreed to terms with Slovenian Uros Slokar (210-F/C-83), who inked a two year contract. Pierrel Capo d'Orlando signed Simone Flamini (204-G/F-82). Banca Tercas Teramo officially announced the agreement with Bruno Cerella (194-G/F-86). Carife Ferarra agreed to terms with veteran Massimiliano Rizzo (203-F-68)

Italian U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
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#e#6


D'Ercole


Aradori


Bonessio


Raspino


Mazzola
4 Giovanni Tomassini (189-G-88) of Scavolini Spar Pesaro
5 Roberto Rullo (192-G-90) of Benetton Treviso
6 Giacomo Eliantonio (204-C-88) of Harem Scafati
7 Marco Giuri (192-G-88) of Basket Livorno
8 Marco Ammannato (202-F/C-88) of Nuova Pallacanestro Pavia
9 Lorenzo D'Ercole (190-G-88) of Snaidero Udine<
10 Pietro Aradori (192-G-88) of Angelico Biella
11 Daniele Bonessio (197-G/F-88) of Ital Green Energy Ostuni
12 Tommaso Raspino (197-G-89) of Angelico Biella
13 Costantino Cutolo (198-G/F-89) of Pool Firenze
14 Valerio Mazzola (205-F/C-88) of Carife Ferrara
15 Giancarlo Ferrero (194-G-88) of Consum.IT Siena
Head Coach: Stefano Sacripanti
Coach Assistants: Massimiliano Oldoini , Furio Steffe

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  JORDAN   


Iran thrashes Jordan in Yemen - by Eurobasket News
Iran U18 - Jordan U18 114:56

Iranian U18 National Team continued to march confidently through the WABA Championship. Yesterday they gave no chance for Jordanian team en route to the second win at the tournament. Jordan in the meantime suffered their third straight loss. Iran will host the FIBA Asia U18 Championship later this month and showing some great form prior to the continental contest. Iran and Syria are on top of the ladder at the moment. Their clash will be decisive in the spot distribution at the competition.

Neptunas turns the way to other options - by Mohammed Malas
Neptunas Klaipeda of Lithuania are not interested anymore with Jordan & Zain's captain Zaid Al Khas (205-C-76, college: Gannon) and decided to turn to other options according to Krepsinis.net website.....

This action was taken following the obstacles in contacting the club management to ask about the availablity of the player and to go further in negotiations, Other players are now o nthe list of the club and they will decide him in the following few days.

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  LATVIA   


Latvia tip off home European Championship with victory - by Eurobasket News
Latvia U20 - Bulgaria U20 95:67

Latvian U20 National Team celebrated an emphatic win over Bulgaria at the start of the European Championship in Riga. Kuksisks drained two three-pointers during an 8:0 run from Latvia as they cleared off to a 15:7 distance early in the game. Bulgaria answered with a 12:4 run to surge in front 21:19 late in the period. However Oskars Virsis (192-G-89) capped the first period with a jumper and Latvia held to a 24:23 lead at the first intermission. Oskars Virsis then knocked down a trey to open the second period and fueled a 25:4 rally from Latvia that resulted in the hosts taking a 49:29 advantage late in the second period. Dairis Bertans (192-G/F-89) and Andrejs Selakovs (210-C-88) continued the onslaught in the third frame as Latvia fully dominated. They opened a 30-point advantage and maintained the pressure on their opponents. Bulgaria managed to cut the deficit to 25 points in the final stanza but never seriously threatened the home team. Latvia cruised to an overwhelming victory at the end. Dairis Bertans knocked down 24 points for Latvia. Rihards Kuksiks (197-F-88) nailed 14 points, while Janis Strelnieks (183-G-89) added 13 for the winners. Chavdar Kostov (195-G-88, agency: Interperformances) answered with 21 points for Bulgaria. Nikolay Kolev (200-F-88) and Ivan Lilov (196-F-88, agency: FCM) netted 8 points apiece in a loss. Latvia converted solid 54% from the field and pulled down 31 boards including 11 offensive ones. They also forced Bulgaria to 16 turnovers.

Latvia U20: Dairis Bertans 24, Rihards Kuksiks 14, Janis Strelnieks 13
Bulgaria U20: Chavdar Kostov 21, Nikolay Kolev 8, Ivan Lilov 8

Latvian U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
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#e#6


Silavs


Bertans


Kuksiks


Freimanis


Selakovs
4 Janis Strelnieks (185-G-89) of BK Ventspils
5 Janis Kaufmanis (185-G-89) of SK Valmiera
6 Oskars Virsis (190-G-89) of Ventspils augstskola
7 Sandis Silavs (193-G-88) of BK Keizarmezs Riga
8 Kristaps Kanbergs (190-G-88) of Ventspils augstskola
9 Dairis Bertans (192-G/F-89) of ASK Riga
10 Rihards Kuksiks (197-F-88) of Arizona State University (USA)
11 Rolands Freimanis (208-F/C-88) of ASK Riga
12 Andrejs Selakovs (209-C-88) of VEF Riga
13 Arturs Berzins (202-C/F-88) of BK Keizarmezs Riga
14 Zintis Plivda (207-C-88) of Bumerangs/Gulbene/ASK
15 Toms Celmins (195-F-88) of Bumerangs/Gulbene/ASK
Head Coach: Agris Galvanovskis
Coach Assistant: Gints Fogels

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  LEBANON   


Syria beat Lebanon in WABA U18 Championship - by Eurobasket News
Syria U18 - Lebanon U18 77:70

Syria posted their second win at the 10th WABA U18 Championship in Yemen. They took care of the hosts in the opener and faced Lebanese team yesterday. Lebanon got to a better start and enjoyed a 21:17 lead after the starting period. They maintained the gap holding to a 4-point advantage at the interval. However Syria recovered well after the long break and pulled away with a hard-fought win at the end. Syria topped the ladder despite missing some of their key performers at the tournament.

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  LITHUANIA   


USA cruise past Lithuania - by Eurobasket News
USA - Lithuania 120:84

The United States Team continued the series of exhibition games prior to the Olympic Games. Yesterday the USA took on Lithuania in Macao and put up another high-beat blistering performance to sink their opponents. Dwyane Wade (6'4''-G-82, college: Marquette) nailed 19 points and the USA had little problems en route to another impressive success. Dwight Howard (6'10''-F-85) came up with 17 points in the third straight friendly win for the USA. The North American side built a 12:2 lead with just over 2 minutes gone. They soon accumulated a 25:5 advantage late in the opening period. Lithuania cut the deficit a bit and trailed 15:31 after ten minutes of action. The Baltic team fought bravely and trimmed the deficit to 13 points twice through the second term. However the USA rolled to a 56:39 advantage at the interval. The Europeans opened the third frame on a 13:5 rally and shaved the distance to 9 points. However Carmelo Anthony drained a trey to ice Lithuanian effort. USA took over and controlled the pace further on. They finalized the game with a 16:3 run to register another comfortable victory. Michael Redd (6'6''-G-79, college: Ohio St.) had 16 points, while LeBron James (6'8''-F-84) contributed 15 for the winners. Rimantas Kaukenas (6'4''-G-77, college: Seton Hall) answered with 17 points for Lithuania. Robertas Javtokas (6'11''-C-80, agency: Interperformances, college: Arizona) and Ramunas Siskauskas (6'6''-G-78) had 11 points apiece in defeat. The United States team shot solid 64% from the field and forced Lithuania to 23 turnovers down the stretch. Lithuania answered with 41% field goal accuracy and outrebounded their opponents 39:37.

USA: Dwyane Wade 19, Dwight Howard 17, Michael Redd 16
Lithuania: Rimantas Kaukenas 17, Robertas Javtokas 11, Ramunas Siskauskas 11

Lithuanian U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
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#e#6


Janavicius


Lipkevicius


Brazdauskis


Gecevicius


Cepukaitis
4 Zygimantas Janavicius (195-G-89) of Zalgiris-Sabonio mokykla Kaunas
5 Sarunas Vasiliauskas (190-G-89) of Zalgiris-Sabonio mokykla Kaunas
6 Adas Juskevicius (193-G/F-89) of Zalgiris-Sabonio mokykla Kaunas
7 Vytenis Lipkevicius (200-F-89) of Zalgiris-Sabonio mokykla Kaunas
8 Donatas Motiejunas (214-C-90) of Zalgiris-Sabonio mokykla Kaunas
9 Evaldas Zabas (198-F-88)
10 Rokas Uzas (203-F-88) of SK Dextera Jonavos
11 Lukas Brazdauskis (203-F-88) of Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius
12 Marius Valukonis (198-F-88) of Marijampole Suduva-Arvi
13 Martynas Gecevicius (194-G-88) of Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius
14 Pranas Skurdauskas (209-C-88) of Aisciai-Atletas Kaunas
15 Vaidas Cepukaitis (206-C-89) of Zalgiris-Sabonio mokykla Kaunas
Head Coach: Rimvydas Samulenas
Coach Assistant: Arunas Visockas , Mindaugas Brazys

Lithuania topple Ukraine despite 38 points from Sergiy Gladyr - by Eurobasket News
Lithuania U20 - Ukraine U20 93:91

Lithuanian U20 National Team opened their European Championship campaign with a narrow win over Ukraine today. The Baltic team managed to overcome a 38-point outburst from Sergiy Gladyr (196-G/F-89) to post the initial win at the tournament. Martynas Gecevicius (193-G-88) fired 30 points to pace Lithuania. The teams exchanged baskets before Vadym Norenko (204-F-88) scored 5 points in a row to set Ukraine ahead 15:11. They maintained the lead and when Lukashov capped the first period with a long bomb Ukraine enjoyed a 26:22 advantage. Gladyr exploded with 14 points in the second frame but it still did not prevent Lithuania from gaining a 49:47 lead at the interval. Vadym Norenko and Gladyr quickly gave the lead back to Ukraine early in the third period. The game remained close and the lead changed hands for several times but Oleksandr Kolchenko (198-F/G-88) had the last laugh in the frame as Ukraine entered the final period up by 4 points. Andriy Novikov (196-F-89) and Oleksandr Kolchenko stretched the margin to 6 points at the start of the fourth term but Lithuania refused to fold. They went on a 17:4 rally midway through the quarter to gain a 91:84 advantage with under 4 minutes left in regulation. Galdyr knocked down 5 straight points to drag Ukraine back into contest but Lithuania withstood the effort. Zygimantas Janavicius (195-G-89, agency: Interperformances) converted two freebies late in the game and sealed the winning outcome for the Baltic side at the end. Vytenis Lipkevicius (196-F-89) netted 15 points for Lithuania. Marius Valukonis (198-F-88) added 14 points and 8 boards in a win. Oleksandr Kolchenko finished with 22 points for Ukraine. Vadym Norenko dropped 13 points in a losing case.

Lithuania U20: Martynas Gecevicius 30, Vytenis Lipkevicius 15, Marius Valukonis 14
Ukraine U20: Sergiy Gladyr 38, Oleksandr Kolchenko 22

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  MONTENEGRO   


Montenegro U20 stun Spain to post their first win in Division A - by Eurobasket News
Montenegro U20 - Spain U20 74:65

Montenegrin U20 National Team wrote history in Riga today. They registered their first ever Division A victory beating Spain. Vladimir Dasic (209-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) produced 17 points, 13 boards and 2 blocks for Montenegro. Spain got to a woeful start of the game and Montenegro capitalized running clear. The last years runners-up found themselves trailing by 5 points. Durisic and Sead Sehovic (200-G-89) nailed back-to-back trebles to stretch the lead to 9 points early in the second period. Vladimir Dasic and Vranjes dropped 5 straight points for Montenegro late in the second stanza to build a massive 46:28 advantage at halftime. Vladimir Dasic marked a 19-point Montenegrin lead at the start of the third stanza but Spain refused to surrender. They exploded with a 13:0 run to trim the deficit. The game turned into a dogged fight with both sides working hard for every ball. Victor Claver (206-F/C-88) and Sergio De La Fuente (198-C-89) notched 6 points in a row to cut the distance to 4 points. But Sead Sehovic, Krsto Bjelica (191-G-88) and Vladimir Dasic were deadly from the stripe to secure the historic victory for Montenegro at the end. Krsto Bjelica knocked down 14 points for Montenegro. Sead Sehovic tallied 12 points, 8 boards and 6 assists in a win. Sergio De La Fuente and Victor Claver answered with 12 points apiece for Spain. Joaquin Colom (187-G-88) had 11 points in a losing effort.

Montenegro U20: Vladimir Dasic 17+13 boards, Krsto Bjelica 14, Sead Sehovic 12
Spain U20: Sergio De La Fuente 12, Victor Claver 12

Montenegrin U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
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#e#6


Bjelica


Gajovic


Dasic


Bijelic


Djokovic
4 Nemanja Vranjes (188-G/F-88) of KK Niksic
5 Krsto Bjelica (192-G-88) of BC Buducnost Podgorica
6 Nikola Djokovic (191-G-89) of KK Niksic
7 Dusan Stijepovic (194-G-88) of Banca Nuova Trapani (ITA)
8 Milos Durisic (194-G-88) of KK Mornar Bar
9 Nikola Pavlicevic (192-G-88) of KK Niksic
10 Sead Sehovic (201-G/F-89) of BC Buducnost Podgorica
11 Goran Gajovic (199-G/F-88) of KK Niksic
13 Marko Ljujic (205-F/C-90) of KK Lovcen Cetinje
15 Vladimir Dasic (209-F-88) of BC Buducnost Podgorica
16 Igor Bijelic (207-F/C-88) of KK Mogren Buvda
17 Radoje Yujosevic (210-C-89) of KK Mornar Bar
Head Coach: Dejan Radonjic
Coach Assistants: Dragan Radovic , Igor Jovovic

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  NBA   


USA cruise past Lithuania - by Eurobasket News
USA - Lithuania 120:84

The United States Team continued the series of exhibition games prior to the Olympic Games. Yesterday the USA took on Lithuania in Macao and put up another high-beat blistering performance to sink their opponents. Dwyane Wade (6'4''-G-82, college: Marquette) nailed 19 points and the USA had little problems en route to another impressive success. Dwight Howard (6'10''-F-85) came up with 17 points in the third straight friendly win for the USA. The North American side built a 12:2 lead with just over 2 minutes gone. They soon accumulated a 25:5 advantage late in the opening period. Lithuania cut the deficit a bit and trailed 15:31 after ten minutes of action. The Baltic team fought bravely and trimmed the deficit to 13 points twice through the second term. However the USA rolled to a 56:39 advantage at the interval. The Europeans opened the third frame on a 13:5 rally and shaved the distance to 9 points. However Carmelo Anthony drained a trey to ice Lithuanian effort. USA took over and controlled the pace further on. They finalized the game with a 16:3 run to register another comfortable victory. Michael Redd (6'6''-G-79, college: Ohio St.) had 16 points, while LeBron James (6'8''-F-84) contributed 15 for the winners. Rimantas Kaukenas (6'4''-G-77, college: Seton Hall) answered with 17 points for Lithuania. Robertas Javtokas (6'11''-C-80, agency: Interperformances, college: Arizona) and Ramunas Siskauskas (6'6''-G-78) had 11 points apiece in defeat. The United States team shot solid 64% from the field and forced Lithuania to 23 turnovers down the stretch. Lithuania answered with 41% field goal accuracy and outrebounded their opponents 39:37.

USA: Dwyane Wade 19, Dwight Howard 17, Michael Redd 16
Lithuania: Rimantas Kaukenas 17, Robertas Javtokas 11, Ramunas Siskauskas 11

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  NCAA2   


2008 Great Alaska Shootout Field is Set - by Sanjey Noriega
The teams and matchups have been announced for the 2008 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout which is sceduled for November 25-29. The participating temas will be Hampton, Louisiana Tech, Northern Illinois, Portland State, San Diego State, Seattle, Western Carolina andAlaska Anchorage. The matchups will be Hampton-UAA and Portland State-Northern Illinois on Wednesday, followed by Seattle-Louisiana Tech and San Diego State-Western Carolina on Thursday. Game times will be announced at a later date.
MEN
Alaska Anchorage bounced back from a tough 2007 Shootout to post one of the best seasons in school history, going 29-6 and advancing to the NCAA Div. II Semifinals. Coach Rusty Osborne new-look 2008-09 squad will be looking to defending its Great Northwest Athletic Conference title despite returning no starters from a year ago. The Seawolves are 28-62 all-time in the Shootout.

Hampton posted a 18-12 record in 2007-08, including an 11-5 mark in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Pirates, of Hampton, Va., are led by head coach Kevin Nickelberry, who will return high-scoring guard Vincent Simpson among his top players. Hampton will be the first MEAC school to appear in either the womens or mens Shootout.

Louisiana Tech becomes the first squad to come north as part of the Shootouts scheduling agreement with the Western Athletic Conference. The Bulldogs, under coach Kerry Rupp, are coming off a 6-24 record, however they return one of the top scorers in the nation in junior guard Kyle Gibson. Louisiana Tech is located in Ruston, La.

Northern Illinois hails from the always-tough Mid-American Conference, having gone 6-22 last year. Head coach Ricardo Pattons Huskies return five letterwinners, including 2008 MAC Freshman of the Year Damion Anderson. NIU is from DeKalb, Ill.

Portland State had its finest season as a Division I program in 2007-08, going 23-10 and capturing the Big Sky Conference regular- and post-season titles before losing to eventual national champion Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. Big Sky Coach-of-the-Year Ken Bone returns the bulk of last years team and could be the league favorite again.

San Diego State, under the direction of Steve Fisher, should be one of the favorites in the Mountain West Conference this season. The Aztecs return three double-digit scorers, including two-time All-MWC pick Lorenzo Wade and forward Ryan Amoroso, who helped Marquette to its 2005 Shootout title before transferring to SDSU.

Seattle, a former league rival of the host Seawolves, will make its Shootout debut in 2008 as it returns to the Division I ranks for the first time since 1980. The Redhawks, coached by Joe Callero, were 18-9 a year ago in their last season as a Div. II program.

Western Carolina posted a 10-21 record in 2007-08, finishing 6-14 in the challenging Southern Conference. The Catamounts, led by head coach Larry Hunter, will return their top two leading scorers in 2008-09, including guard Brandon Giles and his 15.3 ppg. WCU is located in Cullowhee, N.C.

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  NEW ZEALAND   


The Emus beat the Junior Tall Blacks in Adelaide - by Eurobasket News
Australia U19 - New Zealand U19 94:67

Australian Junior National Team opened the Oceania U19 Championship series with the victory over New Zealand. Ryan Broekhoff (196-F-90) notched 25 points to pace the Emus as they grabbed a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. The games have qualifying purposes as both sides have already advanced to the U19 World Championship next year. Nevertheless the Emus made the first step towards gaining the Oceania title thumping their New Zealand counterparts at the Wayville Stadium. The Emus took over right from the start and drove to a 24:14 lead after ten minutes of action. Numerous turnovers plagued the Junior Tall Blacks as they struggled to put up a decent fight. But the Kiwi team still managed to outscore the hosts in the second period and cut the deficit to 9 points at halftime. The Emus regained control over the game in the third period. A string of three-pointers doomed the visitors as the gap grew to 12 points before the final term. The Emus exploded with 31 points in the final period and cruised to the win. Brock Motum (205-F-90) produced 14 points and 6 rebounds for the Aussies. Cody Ellis (202-F-90) nailed 10 points in a win. Brooke Ruscoe (189-G-90) and Dion Prewster (196-G/F-91) chipped in 17 points apiece for New Zealand. David Beck (204-F-90) notched 12 in a loss. The teams will meet again tomorrow.

Australia U19: Ryan Broekhoff 25, Brock Motum 14, Cody Ellis 10
New Zealand U19: Brooke Ruscoe 17, Dion Prewster 17

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  NORWAY   


U18 EC, division B: This time England outplays Norway - by Eurobasket News
U18 England - U18 Norway 84-71

After yesterday's victory against Ireland, England took care for another one today outplaying Norway without any bigger efforts. Thus England improved its score to 2-0 in Group I of Classification Round from 17th to 20th place. On the other side hopeless Norway remains without victory yet on U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen.

This time Norway had much better performance under the basket that it was during the entire championship. Norwegians grabbed 29 boards while England had 6 of the less. It seems that the first quarter of the game actually was the crucial one as England made plus 12 at the end of it. After following ten minutes the official host in this game extended its to 15. William Neighbour (203-F-90) and Joshua Houghton (188-G-91) were the best players for England in the first half. Norwegians finally started to play little bit better in third stanza. Roy Nwachukwu (193-F-90) and Aksel Bolin (195-G-90) made few jump shots but it was enough only for minus 11 at the middle of this period. Norway's offense wasn't so bad but its defense looked very slow and without any system. That trend continued until the end so England didn't have any problems to keep its lead.

This time England got the most points from James Glen (199-F-90), who netted 16. William Neighbour helped his team adding 15 points and 4 rebounds while Joshua Houghton and Michael Manghum (182-G-91) had 13 points each. Aksel Bolin was the best scorer in Norway with 18 points. Roy Nwachukwu followed him with 12 points and 4 rebounds.


U18 England - U18 Norway 84-71
(23-11,17-14, 19-21, 25-25)

England: James Glen 16, William Neighbour 15 (4 rebs), Joshua Houghton 13, Michael Manghum 13
Norway: Aksel Bolin 18, Roy Nwachukwu 12 (4 rebs)

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  PANAMA   


Navieros and Caimanes to the Final of CBS 2008.- - by Eddie Munoz
Navieros de Colon who defeated Magnates de Caldonia in Semifinals 104-85 game where the top scorer was Joel Munoz (179-G-80, agency: HM Sports Agency) with 30 Points. Caimanes de Rio Abajo won last night over Canguros de Parque Lefevre 120-109 and advance with Navieros to the Final next Sunday. Mauro Oglivie with 30 Points ws the best by the winners and Akbar Lawson 24 Points and Daniel Munoz (178-G.84: PanaSport ) with 20 Points by Canguros de Parque Lefevre.

Standings - CBS
CBS Standings
 1. Caimanes 12-0 
 2. Navieros 8-3 
 3. Canguros 6-6 
 4. Magnates 6-6 
 5. Fieras 5-7 
 6. Colosos 3-9 
 7. Toros 0-11 


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  PARAGUAY   


Riveros goes to Argentina - by Gianni Pascucci
Argentinean Liga A team Regatas de Corrientes agreed to terms with Carlos Jorge Riveros (190-G-85), who will make his debut in a foreign league next fall. Riveros was the top scorer of Deportivo San Jose Asuncion in recently ended National League. Before to negotiate with him, Regatas had tried to sign Renzo Ferrari (191-G/F-84), from Sol de America, but this last player opted to stay in Paraguay.

Sanchez will coach Libertad - by Gianni Pascucci
Libertad will play in the upcoming 'Top 5 Tournment' witha brand new coach. He is Valentin Sanchez , who signed a contract with the team yesterday and will be introduced to media soon. The 'Top 5' will start on August 7.

Catolica leads the Final - by Gianni Pascucci
Universidad Catolica (UCA) defeated Universidad Autonoma (UAA) in Game 2 of the Metropolitan League Final Series and now leads 2-1 in the aggregate, given that received a 1 win bonus for having ended at the first place the regular season. The main performers in Game 2 were Hector Vairoletto (188-F), who scored 21 pts, Oscar Vairoletto (198-F/C-84), Guillermo Osorio (-F) and Alejandro Perez (-G/F) who added 17 pts each in UCA, while the best in UAA was Aldo Acosta (192-F/G-76) with 28 pts. Universidad Autonoma had won Game 1 72-62, but now faces the decisive, win-or-die Game 3, scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 2.

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  POLAND   


Poland prevail against France in Bormio - by Eurobasket News
Poland - France 82:76

Poland scored their first win at the International Exhibition tournament in Bormio, Italy. Yesterday they defeated France in a closely fought clash. The French team that was bolstered by the appearance of Nando De Colo (202-G-87) on the squad got to a better start. They outscored Polish team 19:15 in the first frame. The tempo raised in the second term as the teams exchanged baskets in a highly-paced ball game. France however maintained the lead and managed to stretch it to 7 points at halftime. However a balanced offense helped Poland to recover after the long break. They cut the deficit to a single point heading into the fourth stanza. Poland kept mounting the pressure and overwhelmed their opponents late in the game. Krzysztof Szubarga (184-G-84, agency: AB Agency) and Michal Ignerski (205-F-80, agency: Stanley International, college: Mississippi St.) carried Poland to the victory. Five Polish players scored in double figures. Krzysztof Szubarga and Lukasz Koszarek (187-G-84) led the charge with 13 points apiece. Szymon Szewczyk (209-C-82), Michal Ignerski and Wojciech Szawarski (195-F-76) provided 12 points apiece for the winners. Nando De Colo answered with 22 points for France. Thomas Dubiez (195-G-80) chipped in 12 points in a losing effort. Poland will take on Israel next. France will face the hosts Italy later tonight.

Poland: Krzysztof Szubarga 13, Lukasz Koszarek 13
France: Nando De Colo 22, Thomas Dubiez 12

U20 EC, division B: Romanians edges Poles in Targu Mures - by Eurobasket News
U20 Romania - U20 Poland 82-76

Romania celebrated in the first day of U20 European Championship division B at the front of their fans. Titus Nicoara (200-F-88, agency: Interperformances) and Vlad Moldoveanu (208-F-88), which mixed 52 points and 20 boards together, were too strong for the Poles. It means that the host of the championship has 1-0 in Preliminary Group D, where except of Poland its rivals will also be Netherlands and Hungary. Two top teams of this group will advance to the Qualifying Round while third and fourth ranked teams will continue competition in the Classification Rounds.

Romania had much better rebounding day than its rival. Romanians caught 34 boards while Poles had just 22. Interesting is that Poland had pretty good stroke from behind the arc making 12 of 24 attempts but it seems it wasn't enough for the win. Romania confirmed its class making 31-20 in the first quarter. Later Romanians stretched it to 47-30 what was the sign on what direction this game will go on. However, Dardan Berisha (193-G-88, agency: Global Sports Plaza) and Michal Nowakowski (199-F-88) finally woke up creating 15-6 run for 56-51. Fortunately to the hosts Titus Nicoara immediately answered leading 13-5 run. It means that Romania had plus 13 before the last frame. Until the end Poles succeeded to come on minus 4 twice but it was their maximum in this game.

As it was mentioned above, Titus Nicoara and Vlad Moldoveanu were the best players on this game. The first one took care for 28 points and 11 boards while the other one stopped on 24 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Dardan Berisha and Michal Nowakowski added 20 points each for the loosing side. Romania will take on Hungary in the next round while Poland waits Netherlands.


U20 Romania - U20 Poland 82-76
(31-20, 19-18, 19-18, 13-20)

Romania: Titus Nicoara 28 (11 rebs), Vlad Moldoveanu 24 (9 rebs, 5 as)
Poland: Dardan Berisha 20 (4 rebs, 5 as), Michal Nowakowski 20

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


U20 EC, division B: Portugal outsmarts F.Y.R. of Macedonia at the opener - by Eurobasket News
U20 Portugal - U20 F.Y.R. of Macedonia 76-71

Portugal celebrated at the opening day of U20 European Championship division B in Romanian city Targu Mures. As a reminder Portugal and Macedonia are together with Norway, Great Britain and Finland placed in Preliminary Group A. Two top teams of this group will advance to the Qualifying Round while all other teams will continue championship in Classification Rounds.

Portugal took this one mostly owing to well played first stanza as well as pretty good stroke from behind the arc. Portuguese made 9 of 21 attempts which is almost 43%. Macedonians opened this game showing their nerves. They threw couple of bad passes and missed few lay-ups and jump shots what Portugal exploited setting the score on 12-4 after 5 minutes. Until the end of the first quarter Portuguese extended its lead to 14. They succeeded to keep it until 28th minute after what Macedonia made mini run 4-0 for 36-26 at the half time. Aleksandar Kostoski (188-G-88, agency: Octagon) and his teammates showed much better performance in third quarter. After every minute they melted Portugal's lead which finally resulted with 54-51 before the last frame. Portugal opened it with 7-2 after what Macedonia succeeded to come on minus 3 just once. It seemed the Portugal controlled the entire quarter without any bigger efforts.

Fabio Lima (196-C-88) paced Portugal to win netting 22 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. Jose Silva (195-F-89) followed him with 18 points while Pedro Pereira (185-G-89) stopped on 12 points and 4 assists. Aleksandar Kostoski was totally the best player in Macedonia registering double-double 20 points, 10 assists and 7 boards. Marko Simonovski (190-G-89) was behind him with 15 points while Aleksandar Kostevski (-88) contributed scoring 12 points. Portugal will take on Great Britain tomorrow while Macedonia has a day-off. Macedonians will continue championship on Sunday against the same rival, Great Britain.


U20 Portugal U20 F.Y.R. of Macedonia 76-71
(21-7,15-19,18-25,22-20)

Portugal: Fabio Lima 22 (8 rebs), Jose Silva 18, Pedro Pereira 12 (4 as)
Macedonia: Aleksandar Kostoski 20 (7 rebs, 10 as), Marko Simonovski 15, Aleksandar Kostevski (-88) 12

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


U20 EC, division B: Romanians edges Poles in Targu Mures - by Eurobasket News
U20 Romania - U20 Poland 82-76

Romania celebrated in the first day of U20 European Championship division B at the front of their fans. Titus Nicoara (200-F-88, agency: Interperformances) and Vlad Moldoveanu (208-F-88), which mixed 52 points and 20 boards together, were too strong for the Poles. It means that the host of the championship has 1-0 in Preliminary Group D, where except of Poland its rivals will also be Netherlands and Hungary. Two top teams of this group will advance to the Qualifying Round while third and fourth ranked teams will continue competition in the Classification Rounds.

Romania had much better rebounding day than its rival. Romanians caught 34 boards while Poles had just 22. Interesting is that Poland had pretty good stroke from behind the arc making 12 of 24 attempts but it seems it wasn't enough for the win. Romania confirmed its class making 31-20 in the first quarter. Later Romanians stretched it to 47-30 what was the sign on what direction this game will go on. However, Dardan Berisha (193-G-88, agency: Global Sports Plaza) and Michal Nowakowski (199-F-88) finally woke up creating 15-6 run for 56-51. Fortunately to the hosts Titus Nicoara immediately answered leading 13-5 run. It means that Romania had plus 13 before the last frame. Until the end Poles succeeded to come on minus 4 twice but it was their maximum in this game.

As it was mentioned above, Titus Nicoara and Vlad Moldoveanu were the best players on this game. The first one took care for 28 points and 11 boards while the other one stopped on 24 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Dardan Berisha and Michal Nowakowski added 20 points each for the loosing side. Romania will take on Hungary in the next round while Poland waits Netherlands.


U20 Romania - U20 Poland 82-76
(31-20, 19-18, 19-18, 13-20)

Romania: Titus Nicoara 28 (11 rebs), Vlad Moldoveanu 24 (9 rebs, 5 as)
Poland: Dardan Berisha 20 (4 rebs, 5 as), Michal Nowakowski 20

U18 EC, division B: Finland takes it easily over Romania - by Eurobasket News
U18 Finland - U18 Romania 73-61

Finland recorded the second win in Classification Stage from 9th to 16th place on U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen. It means that the top of Group H belongs to Finland, which will tomorrow meet Montenegro. The winner of this game will fight for 9th place against the better one between Romania and Netherlands.

The main problem for Romanians today were turnovers as they committed 24. Romanians were almost an equal rival to Finland in all other basketball elements except of that extremely important one. Finland took control on Romania from the early begging. Roopi Ahonen (185-G-90) and Jouni Vanttaja (203-F-91) had few successful jump shots what was enough for plus 7 after first 10 minutes. Situation has chaned in the next quarter. Rolland Torok (198-C-90) and Adrian Gutoaia (195-C-90) woke up creating run 15-6 and taking one point lead at the half time. They couldn't know that Georgians will enter into the next 20 minutes very aggressively. Their strong willingness and performance by Roopi Ahonen and Sasu Salin (187-G-91) brought Georgia fantastic 20-6 run for 48-36. Romanians couldn't recover from this shock making this job even easier for Georgians until the end.

Roopi Ahonen was the top scorer in Finland netting 16 points. Sasu Salin added 14 points and 4 rebounds for the winning side while Jouni Vanttaja had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Rolland Torok was totally the best player in Romania today. He drained 21 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and dished out 4 assists but his wonderful performance didn't help his team today. The second and at the same time the last player with double-digits in Romania was Adrian Gutoaia, who added 20 points and 4 rebounds.


U18 Finland - U18 Romania 73-61
(20-13, 9-17,30-14, 14-17)

Finland: Roopi Ahonen 16, Sasu Salin 14 (4 rebs), Jouni Vanttaja 10 (7 rebs)
Romania: Rolland Torok 21 (17 rebs, 4 as), Adrian Gutoaia 20 (4 rebs)

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  RUSSIA   


Serbia successfully began title defense - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U20 - Russia U20 84:75

Serbian U20 National Team posted their first win at the European Championship in Latvia. The defending champions held off Russia in the opener. Miroslav Raduljica (213-C-88, agency: CAA Sports) notched 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead Serbia. The Serbs managed to overcome a 39-point outburst from Russian sensation Alexey Shved (196-G-88). The teams were all knotted at 20 after ten minutes of action. The exchange of baskets continued in the second term. The lead changed hands for four times before Milan Macvan (206-F/C-89) sealed the first half outcome at 43:42 for Serbia. Russia went on an 8:0 run in the third stanza to jump to a 58:54 advantage. However Milan Macvan cut the deficit to a single point with ten minutes remaining in the game. Serbia used a 12:0 run midway through the fourth quarter to spur ahead 71:64 with 4 minutes left. Miroslav Raduljica nailed 11 points in the final minutes and brought Serbia to the victory. Milan Macvan provided 21 points and 11 boards for Serbia. Mladen Jeremic (196-G-88, agency: CAA Sports) had 11 points, 6 boards and 5 assists for the winners. Dmitri Khvostov (191-G-89) dropped 13 points for Russia in defeat. Serbia outrebounded their opponents 46:31 and sank impressive 51% from the field. Serbia will next play against Slovenia, while Russia will take on France.

Serbia U20: Miroslav Raduljica 30+13 boards, Milan Macvan 21+11 boards, Mladen Jeremic 11
Russia U20: Alexey Shved 39, Dmitri Khvostov 13

Russian U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Novikov


Khvostov


Shved


Krivosheev


Yakovenko
4 Valentin Novikov (195-F-89) of BC Khimky-2 Moscow reg.
5 Dmitry Golovin (192-G-88) of BC Khimky-2 Moscow reg.
6 Alexandr Korchagin (188-G-88) of Spartak St.Petersburg
7 Dmitriy Khvostov (191-G-89) of Dynamo Moscow
8 Ilya Syrovatko (193-G-88) of Dynamo-2 Moscow
9 Evgeny Zhukov (204-F/C-88) of Sibirtelekom-Lokomotiv Novosybirsk
10 Alexey Shved (196-G-88) of CSKA Moscow
11 Semen Antonov (203-F-89) of Avtodor Saratov
12 Maxim Krivosheev (205-F/C-88) of Sibirtelekom-Lokomotiv Novosybirsk
13 Artem Zabelin (215-F/C-88) of CSKA Moscow
14 Ivan Nelyubov (207-C-88) of CSKA-Trinta Moscow
15 Artem Yakovenko (206-G/F-88) of BC Sojuz Zaretchny
Head Coach: Sergey Bazarevich
Coach Assistant: Dmitri Shakulin

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  SEBL   


SEBL Cleveland Invitational Classic results... - by David Archer

Cleveland, GA - SEBL Cleveland Invitational Classic I on Friday, Aug. 1st @ Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, GA

Round Robin:

BC Saints 50 BC Bears 42... Saints open round-robin play with a tough win over the Bears. The game was a see-saw battle. The Bears lead by one with a couple of minutes left, but the Saints went on a 6-0 putting the Bears on their heels.

Summer Hill/Baseline 62 Blue Devils 46... SH-Baseline took advantage of a non-cohesive Blue Devils squad. The Devils made several runs but could not sustain a prolonged team effort to stay in the game.

Summer Hill/Baseline 50 BC Bears 47... SH-Baseline led most of the way, but the Bears stayed with in striking distance. SH-Baseline fought off several Bear attacks late to hang on for their second win. The win put SH-Baseline in the Title game, even with one left to play against the Saints.

BC Saints 70 Blue Devils 51... The Saints jumped out to a big lead early, leading by as many as 31-10 at the mid-way point of the first half. The Blue Devils managed to cut the Saints lead down to 11 by the intermission. The Devils stepped up their defensive effort in the second half, forcing the Saints into missed jumpers and off-balanced shots, but they could not capitalize in order to effectively get back into the game.

BC Bears 46 Blue Devils 32... The Bears chalked up their first win of the Classic, by badgering the Blue Devils into repeated turnovers and errant shots.

Summer Hill/Baseline 62 BC Saints 56... In what was essentially the Title Game between the two teams with the best records, SH-Baseline worked out to an eight point lead early and was able to hang on that lead through out the game, despite several Saints threats. The Saints were unable to compete in the schedule Championship Game, so by virtue of record the Bears and Blue Devils would play for the right to face SH-Baseline in the Finals.

Consolation:


BC Bears 53 Blue Devils 44.. The Blue Devils were a bit more game this time, but still suffered from too many turnovers and forced shots. The Bears took advantage with a tough defensive effort, taking offensive charges and grabbing offensive rebounds and put backs. The Bears advanced to the Finals.


Championship:


Summer Hill/Baseline 73 BC Bears 70... SH-Baseline again worked out to a steady seven to eight point lead, but could never put the hard-playing Bears away. Summer Hill let their lead slip with several bad decisions in the final minute. The Bears fought back to trim the score to 71-70 on a three pointer by Deuce Jackson. SH-Baseline's Courtney George calmly nailed two freethrows with nine seconds on the clock. The Bears miss a chance to send it to over time when they missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer
--------------------------------------------------


SEBL Invitational Classic I Final Records


Summer Hill-Baseline.... 4-0

BC Saints....................... 2-1

BC Bears........................ 2-3

Blue Devils..................... 0-4



SEBL Summer Invitational Classics are set.... - by David Archer

Cartersville, GA - Baseline Sports Management has announced the schedule of dates and tentative participants in the SEBL Summer Invitational Classic Series. Each Classic will consist of four teams, playing a one day round-robin style tournament. Each Classic will conclude with consolation and championship games. The schedule is listed below...

==================================================================
SEBL Cleveland Summer Invitational Classic I
Fri., Aug. 1st @ Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, Georgia
10:30am BC Bears vs BC Saints
11:30pm Summer Hill/Baseline vs North Metro Blue Devils
12:30pm BC Bears vs Summer Hill/Baseline
1:30pm BC Saints vs North Metro Blue Devils
2:30pm BC Bears vs North Metro Blue Devils
3:30pm BC Saints vs Summer Hill/Baseline
4:30pm Consolation
5:30pm Championship

===================================================================
SEBL Morrow Summer Invitational Classic II:
Fri., Aug. 15th @ Clayton State Athletics & Fitness Center in Morrow, GA
10:30am BC Lakers vs TBA
11:30pm BC Bears vs SH-Baseline
12:30pm BC Lakers vs BC Bears
1:30pm BC TBA vs SH-Baseline
2:30pm BC Lakers vs SH-Baseline
3:30pm TBA vs BC Bears
4:30pm Consolation
5:30pm Championship


===================================================================
Cartersville location is tentative and based on interest level: (Teams subject to Change...)

SEBL North Metro Tech Summer Invitational Classic III:
Sat., Aug. 30th @ JH Morgan Gym in Cartersville, GA
10:30am North Metro vs SH-Baseline
11:30pm BC Bears vs BC Lakers
12:30pm North Metro vs BC Bears
1:30pm SH-Baseline vs BC Lakers
2:30pm North Metro vs BC Lakers
3:30pm SH-Baseline vs BC Bears
4:30pm Consolation
5:30pm Championship
=================================================================


For more information, please contact David Archer, Jr. at darcherjr@yahoo.com

You can also visit http://www.leaguelineup.com/sebl




*****************************************************
  SENEGAL   


Stats from all African players playing in the NBA Summerleague - by Kristian Santiago
Let's take a quick look on how African players performerd during the summer in the U.S. :

Kenny Adeleke (205-C-83, college: Hartford) : 1,5 ppg in two games
Jeleel Akindele (216-C-83, college: Chicago St.) 7,4 ppg ; 5,2 rpg ; 1,2 bpg in five games
Koko Archibong (202-F-81, college: Pennsylvania): 1,5 ppg ; 1,3 rpg in four games
Malick Badiane (211-F/C-84): 4,4 ppg ; 4,4 rpg in five games
Ndudi Ebi (206-F-84, agency: Arik Krayn Services, college: Arizona): 3,6 ppg ; 2,4 rpg in five games and 5 ppg in one game (OKC)
Ebi Ere (195-G/F-81, college: Oklahoma): 8,2 ppg in five games
Ekene Ibekwe (206-F-85, agency: Octagon, college: Maryland): 3,2 ppg; 2,2 rpg in five games
Thomas Kelati (195-G/F-82, college: Washington St.) : DNP
Longar Longar (211-C-83): 3 ppg in three games
Luc Mbah a Moute (200-G/F-88, college: UCLA): 9 ppg; 6,6 rpg in five games
Pops Mensah-Bonsu (206-F-83, agency: SportsTalent, college: George Washington): 14,3 ppg; 5,5 rpg ; 1,5 bpg in four games
Maleye N'Doye (203-F-80, college: Furman): DNP
Olumide Oyedeji (208-C/F-81): 6,3 ppg ; 6,7 rpg in three games and 5,0 ppg and 3,8 rpg in four games (ATL)
Cheikh Samb (215-C-84): 10 ppg ; 4,6 rpg; 2,0 bpg in five games
Pape Sow (208-F-81, college: Cal.St. Fullerton): 6,4 ppg; 5,2 rpg in five games
Amara Sy (202-F-81): 4 ppg in one game
Jeff Ngutar Varem (198-G/F-83, agency: Larry Fox Services, college: Washington St.): 1,8 ppg ; 3,4 rpg in five games
Mike Efevberha (196-G-84, college: Cal.St. Northridge): 2,0 ppg ; 1,8 rpg in five games (UTA)
Stephane Lasme (203-F-82, college: Massachusetts): 8,8 ppg ; 3,2 rpg ; 1,6 bpg in five games

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  SERBIA   


Serbian U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Sinovec


Keselj


Katnic


Raduljica


Macvan
4 Mladen Jeremic (196-G-88) of FMP Zeleznik Beograd
5 Stefan Sinovec (195-G-88) of Vizura Beograd
6 Petar Despotovic (195-G-88) of KK Hemofarm Stada Vrsac
7 Nikola Koprivica (200-G/F-88) of Washington State University (USA)
8 Marko Keselj (206-F-88) of Koeln 99ers (GER)
9 Dusan Katnic (193-G-89) of BC Mega Aqua Monta Beograd
10 Stefan Stojacic (195-G-89) of BC Mega Aqua Monta Beograd
11 Bojan Radetic (203-F-88) of KK Borac Cacak
12 Boban Marjanovic (221-C-88) of KK Hemofarm Stada Vrsac
13 Miroslav Raduljica (212-C-88) of FMP Zeleznik Beograd
14 Marko Cakarevic (200-F/G-88) of Adecco ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne (FRA)
15 Milan Macvan (205-F/C-89) of KK Hemofarm Stada Vrsac
Head Coach: Slobodan Klipa
Coach Assistants: Vladimir Jovanovic , Milan Mandaric

Serbia successfully began title defense - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U20 - Russia U20 84:75

Serbian U20 National Team posted their first win at the European Championship in Latvia. The defending champions held off Russia in the opener. Miroslav Raduljica (213-C-88, agency: CAA Sports) notched 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead Serbia. The Serbs managed to overcome a 39-point outburst from Russian sensation Alexey Shved (196-G-88). The teams were all knotted at 20 after ten minutes of action. The exchange of baskets continued in the second term. The lead changed hands for four times before Milan Macvan (206-F/C-89) sealed the first half outcome at 43:42 for Serbia. Russia went on an 8:0 run in the third stanza to jump to a 58:54 advantage. However Milan Macvan cut the deficit to a single point with ten minutes remaining in the game. Serbia used a 12:0 run midway through the fourth quarter to spur ahead 71:64 with 4 minutes left. Miroslav Raduljica nailed 11 points in the final minutes and brought Serbia to the victory. Milan Macvan provided 21 points and 11 boards for Serbia. Mladen Jeremic (196-G-88, agency: CAA Sports) had 11 points, 6 boards and 5 assists for the winners. Dmitri Khvostov (191-G-89) dropped 13 points for Russia in defeat. Serbia outrebounded their opponents 46:31 and sank impressive 51% from the field. Serbia will next play against Slovenia, while Russia will take on France.

Serbia U20: Miroslav Raduljica 30+13 boards, Milan Macvan 21+11 boards, Mladen Jeremic 11
Russia U20: Alexey Shved 39, Dmitri Khvostov 13

Serbia swamps Angola for the fifth place on 'Diamond Ball' - by Dragan Jankovski
Serbian National Team finally registered win on prestigious tournament 'Diamond Ball' in Chinese city Nanjing. After inconvenient defeats against Iran and reining Olympic champion Argentina, players of head coach Dusan Ivkovic demonstrated pretty good basketball level beating African champion Angola 99-62. Serbia had advantage almost the entire time. After opening ten minutes it already was plus ten for ex European and World champion. Few minutes before the half time Serbians touched plus 20 what was a sign that Angola won't have any chance until the end. Milos Vujanic and Milenko Tepic (198-G-87, agency: Beo Basket) had fantastic stroke from behind the arc leading their team to this comfortable win. Milos Vujanic was unmistakable draining six triples from six attempts while Milenko Tepic made three of four. Serbia finished the game having magnificent 58.3% for 3-pts. Their stroke for FG2 also was good while on the other side Angola struggled from the same position having less than 39%.

Milos Vujanic got 10 minutes in this game netting above mentioned 6 triples. Milenko Tepic was the best player for Serbia today finishing the game with 16 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists for 24 minutes. Ex NBAer, now one of the players with the biggest salary in Europe, Nenad Krstic (213-C-83) stopped on 14 points and 6 rebounds for 20 minutes. Angola got 12 points and 6 boards from Felizardo Ambrosio (201-F-87) while Olimpio Cipriano (193-F-82) had 11 points. Milton Barros (184-G-84) helped his team today scoring 10 points.


Angola - Serbia 62-99
(14-24, 19-21, 20-22, 9-32)

Angola: Ambrosio 12 (6 rebs), Cipriano 11, Barros 10
Serbia: Vujanic 18, Tepic 16 (3 rebs, 4 as), Krstic 14 (6 rebs)

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  SLOVENIA   


Slovenian U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
#s#
#e#6


Tomic


Lapornik


Dragic


Cigoja


Alispahic
4 Matija Trampus (203-C-89) of Tinex Medvode
5 Jakob Virk (201-F/C-89) of Jance STZ Ljubljana
6 Boban Tomic (190-G-88) of GD Hrastnik
7 Luka Lapornik (195-G-88) of Alpos Sentjur
8 Mirko Mulalic (195-F-88) of Triglav Kranj
9 Danijel Vujasinovic (180-G-89) of Hopsi Polzela
10 Ilija Gavric (199-F-88) of Mario Primorac Maribor
11 Sinisa Bilic (200-F-89) of Triglav Kranj
12 Klemen Muha (201-F-89) of Misel Postojnska jama Postojna
13 Zoran Dragic (195-G-89) of Geoplin Slovan Ljubljana
14 Dejan Cigoja (204-F/C-88) of Rogla Zrece
15 Edin Alispahic (208-F/C-88) of Zlatorog Lasko
Head Coach: Mirsad Alilovic
Coach Assistant: Andrej Zakelj

France destroy Slovenia in Riga - by Eurobasket News
France U20 - Slovenia U20 91:46

French U20 National Team posted a comprehensive victory at the start of the European Championship in Latvia. France thrashed Slovenia in the preliminary Group D action. Ludovic Vaty (206-F-88, college: Moraine Valley CC) and Kim Tillie (206-F-88) teamed up for 16 points in the starting period and France built a 26:11 advantage heading into the second stanza. Slovenia failed to strike back after the intermission as France continued to dominate. They ensured a 40:23 cushion at the interval. France opened the third stanza with an 11:3 rally to maintain the pressure. Slovenia had little answers for the tempo proposed and trailed by 35 points before the fourth term. France breezed to the victory in the fourth term and scored an impressive one at the end. Edwin Jackson (191-G-89) paced balanced offense with 15 points. Ludovic Vaty had 13 points and 8 boards, while Antoine Diot (192-G-89) provided 12 points for the winners. Mirko Mulalic (195-F-88) replied with 18 points for Slovenia. Edin Alispahic (207-F/C-88) secured 9 points in a loss. France outrebounded their opponents 55:40 and forced Slovenian players to 18 turnovers. France converted 47% from the field, while limiting Slovenia to only 26% of field goals.

France U20: Edwin Jackson 15, Ludovic Vaty 13, Antoine Diot 12
Slovenia U20: Mirko Mulalic 18, Edin Alispahic 9

U18 EC, division B: Slovenia celebrates in thriller against Czech Republic - by Eurobasket News
U18 Slovenia - U18 Czech Republic 78-77

Slovenia grabbed very important victory against powerful Czech Republic finishing Qualifying Round on top of Group E with prefect score. On the other side Czechs suffered thriller defeat today but they also advanced to the semifinals of U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen.

One of the main reasons of this victory is the fact that Slovenian big guys succeeded to stop the best scorer of the championship so far Jan Vesely (210-F/C-90). He spent 40 minutes on court scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds but with terrible shot percentage. Jan Vesely made 4 of 13 attempts for FG2, 1 of 2 for 3-pts and 2 of 6 from the free throw line. After totally leveled fist stanza, Czechs grabbed 8 points lead during the next ten minutes. Slovenia answered very quickly and through Dino Muric (198-F/C-90) and Marko Vranjkovic (202-F/C-90) entered into the last frame with 55-53. Czech Republic was close to win in the regular time as it had 63-67 with one minute to go. At the next Slovenia's offense Uros Zadnik (185-G-90) netted two FTs after what Luka Dimec (207-F/C-90) made a lay-up for 67-67. During the extra 5 minutes Slovenia had plus 3 at the one moment but Czechs one again were a small step away from the victory. With 00:09 to go Sarajlija made a lay-up for 78-77 after what Czechs had a last offense but Jakub Kudlacek (186-G-90) missed a lay-up for the win.

Dino Muric was the best player of Slovenia today missing only one rebound for double-double. He finished the game with 16 points, 9 boards and 5 assists. Anze Pelc (190-G-90) contributed in this victory with 13 points while Marko Vranjkovic added 10 points and 5 rebounds. The loosing side got 18 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assist from very good Tomas Satoransky (196-G/F-91, agency: PPGroup). Jakub Kudlacek had 16 points and 6 assists while Jiri Kysela (191-G-90, agency: PPGroup) scored 14 points.


U18 Slovenia - U18 Czech Republic 78-77
(18-18,13-21,24-14,12-14,11-10)

Slovenia: Dino Muric 16 (9 rebs, 5 as), Anze Pelc 13, Marko Vranjkovic 10 (5 rebs)
Czech Republic: Tomas Satoransky 18 (11 rebs, 4 as), Jakub Kudlacek 16 (6 as), Jiri Kysela 14, Jan Vesely 13 (10 rebs)

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  SPAIN   


Relief as Granca Keep English - by Paul Nilsen
Gran Canaria have announced that they have finally reached an agreement to retain the services of influential shooter Carl English (192-G-81, college: Hawaii).

English will re-join his team-mates as they prepare not only for the new ACB season but also the Eurocup. English has been courted by many teams in Europe after his productive season with Granca last year but after lengthy negotiations, an agreement has been settled, much to the relief of the player.

English was one of the top scorers in the ACB last year and will continue in his role of providing essential firepower to the Canary Islanders with the player himself delighted to stay with the team, his full comments at www.acb-basket.com

English averaged over 15 points per game last season and was also pivotal in the European campaign of Granca.

Spanish U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
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Tomas


Colom


Rabaseda


Aguilar


Claver
5 Jose Marco (180-G-89) of Polaris World Murcia
6 Raimundo Lopez (185-G-89) of Clinicas Rincon Axarquia
8 Pere Tomas (201-F-89) of C.B. Prat
9 Alejandro Llorca (190-G-89) of C.B. L'Hospitalet
10 Marc Rubio (193-G-88) of C.B. Prat
11 Joaquin Colom (187-G-88) of CAI Zaragoza
12 Xavier Rabaseda (199-G-89) of WTC Cornella
13 Sergio De La Fuente (198-C-89) of C.B. Valladolid
14 Oscar Raya (206-F/C-89) of WTC Cornella
15 Pablo Aguilar (203-F/C-89) of Real Madrid
16 Javier Vega (205-C-88) of Fuenlabrada II Madrid
17 Victor Claver (204-F/C-88) of Pamesa Valencia
Head Coach: Gustavo Aranzana
Coach Assistants: Jesus Sala , Antonio Perez

Sada Signs Four Year Deal While Cajasol, Manresa and Menorca Swoop - by Paul Nilsen
The relentless pursuit of players to deliver silverware in 2008/09 continues at Barca after their impressive summer shopping spree extended after deciding to bring the talented Victor Sada (192-G-84) back to Blaugrana writes www.acb-basket.com

24 year old guard Sada has penned a four year deal with Barca and this will give Xavi Pascual a much needed defensive option, presumably off the bench. While those looking at the statistical return of Sada while at the now defunct Girona during the last couple of ACB campaigns, the fact remains that Sada is a sought after player still relatively early in his career.

That is because the Badalona born Sada is a solid defensive player who can get steals and run the team capably on the floor with some nice passing skills. Always looking for an assist it is notable that he wont have to do very much in the scoring stakes with the likes of Navarro and Anderson now in the azulgrana vest and so from that perspective it is a very smart signing.

He had originally made his debut with Barcelona back when he was 19 years old and eventually having been handed an opportunity by Svetislav Pesic. The quieter environment of the Fontjau meant that he could grow in Girona, and that Sada has certainly achieved during 74 ACB games, establishing himself as one of the most solid and competitive guards in the league.

Not only that but he has also had European experience from Gironas successful run to the ULEB Cup Final last year, essential for this season when he will be back in Europe, albeit it at the higher level of Euroleague.

Elsewhere there have been a couple of interesting signings around the league. The man charged with leading ViveMenorca on the court in their annual pursuit of ACB survival is Eugene Jeter (179-G-83, agency: CAA Sports, college: Portland) who arrives on the back of a stellar season at BC Kiev. The 24 year old who has also played for Colarado in the D League averaged over 12 points and 3 assist per game last season while he bettered that in European competiton scoring over 14 points each outing. The point guard hails from LA and still has an outside shot of attracting NBA interest although the clause in his contract will expire in a few days and he will almost certainly be in the Balearics for 2008/09.

Manel Comas and Cajasol continue to build an impressive mid and front-court which just keeps growing in terms of size and talent. Their latest recruit is American forward and University of Illonois graduate Warren Carter (206-F-85, college: Illinois). Standing at 2.06 metres, the 23 year old arrives having played for Secluk University last year in the Turkish first division where he averaged 18 points and 8.5 rebounds per game during 29 outings for the club where he was a main starter. Carter also represented Dallas Mavericks in the summer league during 2007. Comas is delighted to get his man claiming he is very athletic, versatile in that he can play a few spots and has a good shot from outside for a big man. Indeed Carter averaged over 33% from the arc last year.

Ricoh Manresa have swooped for hot prospect Serge Ibaka (208-C/F-89), signing the 18 year old for three seasons. The 6ft 10 in Congelese forward was drafted by the Seattle Supersonics this year but will play in the ACB - something that is a dream come true according to the player himself. He is a tremendously athletic player who can finish and block shots but still young, his career in the ACB will be more concerned with getting vital big game experience in a top league and developing more facets to his game and adding some post moves and finesse to what is some special raw potential and talent. A great pick up for Manresa. Particularly since Ibaka has experience of playing in Spain having played in LEB Oro with L'Hospitalet located just minutes away from his new base.

English extended - by Robert Mayor

Carl English (192-G-81, college: Hawaii) will continue next season in Kalise Gran Canaria. Canadian guard (5th best scorer of the Competition) had several offers from other clubs, but decided to continue one more year in island team, where last season averaged more than 15 point, 3 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

English arrived last season from KK Zadar and confirmed in ACB that is a sensational shooter.



Montenegro U20 stun Spain to post their first win in Division A - by Eurobasket News
Montenegro U20 - Spain U20 74:65

Montenegrin U20 National Team wrote history in Riga today. They registered their first ever Division A victory beating Spain. Vladimir Dasic (209-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) produced 17 points, 13 boards and 2 blocks for Montenegro. Spain got to a woeful start of the game and Montenegro capitalized running clear. The last years runners-up found themselves trailing by 5 points. Durisic and Sead Sehovic (200-G-89) nailed back-to-back trebles to stretch the lead to 9 points early in the second period. Vladimir Dasic and Vranjes dropped 5 straight points for Montenegro late in the second stanza to build a massive 46:28 advantage at halftime. Vladimir Dasic marked a 19-point Montenegrin lead at the start of the third stanza but Spain refused to surrender. They exploded with a 13:0 run to trim the deficit. The game turned into a dogged fight with both sides working hard for every ball. Victor Claver (206-F/C-88) and Sergio De La Fuente (198-C-89) notched 6 points in a row to cut the distance to 4 points. But Sead Sehovic, Krsto Bjelica (191-G-88) and Vladimir Dasic were deadly from the stripe to secure the historic victory for Montenegro at the end. Krsto Bjelica knocked down 14 points for Montenegro. Sead Sehovic tallied 12 points, 8 boards and 6 assists in a win. Sergio De La Fuente and Victor Claver answered with 12 points apiece for Spain. Joaquin Colom (187-G-88) had 11 points in a losing effort.

Montenegro U20: Vladimir Dasic 17+13 boards, Krsto Bjelica 14, Sead Sehovic 12
Spain U20: Sergio De La Fuente 12, Victor Claver 12

ACB Fans Excited As Fixtures Revealed! - by Paul Nilsen
ACB and Spanish basketball fans are licking their lips in anticipation at another spectacular season of basketball after the full 2008-9 calendar was revealed today writes www.acb-basket.com

Supporters of ACB teams worldwide were feverishly scanning for the first and last games, the games against the big rivals and of course for some, who they might have to beat to stay in the division or to maybe secure a play-off spot.

Unusually of course there is one team resting during each round of fixtures this season after the league was reduced to just 17 teams after the withdrawal of Girona last week due to extreme financial difficulties.

The first week of fixtures will take place on the weekend of October 5 & 6

New to the league, CAI Zaragoza can enhance their reputation as the best supported team in the whole of Europe when they face the ambitious Pamesa Valencia who have made a couple of stellar signings this year and look to be really pushing for those top four spots and some silverware.

Fellow new boys Bruesa GBC who return at the first attempt after only a years absence will get back into ACB action with a trip to Andalucia with a clash against CB Granada, a game that will see new coach Trifon Poch take his bow in front of his home fans supporters that may have to pinch themselves that they made it after that incredible win against Tau and stunning performance by Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

Talking of the Great Britain forward, the question remains whether he will go to the NBA or honour his pre-contract and turn out for DKV Joventut. If Pops decides to come to Spain then he will be up against Barca in the Catalan Classic in what is the game of Round 1. Barca have been the most active in the market with massive signings and surely will be pushing Real and TAU all the way for the title of top Spanish team.

The game will have Rudy Fernandez missing but coming in the other direction of course is Juan Carlos Navarro, assured of a heroes return at Palau Blaugrana ion what will surely be a full house of spectators.

The reigning play-off champions TAU travel to the Balearic Islands to face ViveMenorca while league winners Real Madrid travel to Unicaja in a game that certainly rivals the Barca one for the best curtain raiser in week one. It will of course be a repeat of last seasons play-offs with Joan Plaza and his team no doubt desperate to eradicate their nightmare memories of the Martin Carpena.

MMT Estudiantes have survived twice in recent months, firstly on the court and then off it. After dodging two bullets, they will just be relived to be standing with 10,00 of their comrades in the stands, albeit where has still to be 100% confirmed as they face Bilbao.

Elsewhere, Fuenla host Murcia, Cajasol travel to Barcelona travel to face Ricoh Manresa and the first team to sit in front of the television with their feet up on the resting rota will be Kalise Gran Canaria.

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  SWEDEN   


U20 EC, division B: Sweden too strong for Czech Republic - by Eurobasket News
U20 Czech Republic - U20 Sweden 88-93

Sweden has a reason for a joy after the opening day of U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. The Swedish were better that Czech Republic mostly owing to well played first half. As a reminder, these two teams will together with Germany, Azerbaijan and Ireland will try to reach one of the first two places in Preliminary Group B, which will take them to the Qualifying Round.

Sweden took control on its opponent already in the first quarter. Actually after opening 11-12, Sweden created 18-9 run taking 10 points lead after the first stanza. Jeffery Taylor (200-G/F-89) and Christian Koutras (189-G-88) were unstoppable at the offensive end for the Swedish which resulted with 26-44 at the middle of the second period. Sweden successful kept advantage of more than 20 points until the 28th minute when Czechs finally answered with 13-4 run but it was enough only for 61-74 before the crucial ten minutes. At the beginning of the last frame Christian Koutras and Jeffery Taylor resolved question about the winner setting the score on 61-80 in 33rd minute.

Jeffery Taylor had fantastic day. He drained 27 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 6 assists for 32 minutes. Christian Koutras also shined for the winning side collecting 23 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Petr Dokoupil (188-G-88) was the best in Czech Republic with 24 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while Hurban added 13 points and 6 boards. Sweden's next rival in Targu Mures will be Germany. On the other side Czech Republic will take on Ireland.


U20 Czech Republic - U20 Sweden 88-93
(20-30, 19-28, 22-16, 27-19)

Czech Republic: Petr Dokoupil 24 (4 rebs, 4 as), Vojtech Hruban (197-F-89) 13 (6 rebs)
Sweden: Jeffery Taylor 27 (8 rebs, 6 as), Christian Koutras 23 (4 rebs, 4 as)

U18 EC, division B: Austria grabs victory versus Sweden at the buzzer 71-69 - by Eurobasket News
U18 Sweden - U18 Austria 69-71

As it was earlier during the day when Slovenia celebrated against Czech Republic, the same scenario happened in the game between Sweden and Austria. It was a second game of the Qualifying Round when it was already known that none of these two teams won't reach semifinals of U18 European Championship division B. Austria finished this stage as a third ranked team of Group E while the fourth place belongs to Sweden.

Swedish controlled first quarter closing it with plus 4. After Christopher Czerapowicz's (195-G-91) triple at the middle of the second frame, Sweden grabbed the biggest lead in the first half. It was 29-23. Rasid Mahalbasic (203-F-90) and his teammates immediately answered creating 10-3 run taking one point lead at the half time. At the half way of third frame Lanegger made one free throw stretching advantage of his team to 5 points but their joy didn't last long as Christopher Czerapowicz (195-G-91) took care for 49-49 very soon. Game is decided at the very end, actually in the last second of it. After successful lay-up and a free throw by Andreas Person (188-G-91) Sweden tied the score on 69-69. Austria had 6 seconds for the last offense, Jesse Seilern (189-G-90) grabbed the ball and driving to the basket scored a winning lay-up for his team.

Rasid Mahalbasic was totally the best player for the winners today collecting 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Jesse Seilern contributed in this victory netting 14 points but also the winning lay-up at the very end. Sweden got the most from Christopher Czerapowicz, who finished the game pouring in 19 points and grabbing 11 boards. Filip Sjostrom (198-F-90) had 16 while Andreas Person netted 11 points. Austria will take on fourth team from Group F while Sweden will meet third ranked team from the same group tomorrow.


U18 Sweden - U18 Austria 69-71
(16-12,16-21,17-16,20-22)

Sweden: Christopher Czerapowicz 19 (11 rebs), Filip Sjostrom 16, Andreas Person 11
Austria: Rasid Mahalbasic 19 (8 rebs, 4 as), Jesse Seilern 14

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  SWITZERLAND   


U20 EC, division B: Estonia cruises past Switzerland in the first game - by Eurobasket News
U20 Estonia - U20 Switzerland 87-61

It was a joyful first day of U20 European Championship division B for Estonians. They grabbed an easy victory over Switzerland for 1-0 in Preliminary Group C. Except of these two teams, Slovakia, Austria and Belgium are also placed in the same group. Two top teams after five days will continue championship in the Qualifying Round while third, fourth and fifth ranked team will be transferred to the Classifications Rounds.

Estonia totally dominated under the basket in this game. Center Rain Raadik (204-C-89) grabbed 9 boards for 24 minutes while power forward Timo Eichfuss (199-F-88) had 13. At the end Estonia made almost 50 rebounds matched with only 29 by Switzerland. With this problem in the paint and with just 37.8% for FG2 Switzerland couldn't expect anything better that 26 points defeat. Everything was resolved already at the middle of the second frame when Estonia after Rain Raadik's jump shot set the score on 41-18. Spectators had an opportunity to watch only one team playing for the rest of the game as Switzerland wasn't able even to threat.

Interesting is that Margus Klementsov (169-G-89), Illimar Pilk (195-F-88) and Tanel Kurbas (195-F-88) scored 14 points each for the winning side. Rain Raadik followed them with 13 points and 9 boards. Miroslav Petkovic (183-G-88) was the best scorer in Switzerland with 16 points while Davide Garruti had 14. At the second day of the championship Estonia will try to remain undefeated against Austria. On the other side Switzerland will have a day-off, what could be useful after this inconvenient defeat.


U20 Estonia - U20 Switzerland 87-61
(25-9,24-26,19-12,19-14)

Estonia: Margus Klementsov 14 (5 rebs), Illimar Pilk 14 (4 rebs), Tanel Kurbas 14, Rain Raadik 13 (9 rebs)
Switzerland: Miroslav Petkovic 16, Davide Garruti 14

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  SYRIA   


Syria beat Lebanon in WABA U18 Championship - by Eurobasket News
Syria U18 - Lebanon U18 77:70

Syria posted their second win at the 10th WABA U18 Championship in Yemen. They took care of the hosts in the opener and faced Lebanese team yesterday. Lebanon got to a better start and enjoyed a 21:17 lead after the starting period. They maintained the gap holding to a 4-point advantage at the interval. However Syria recovered well after the long break and pulled away with a hard-fought win at the end. Syria topped the ladder despite missing some of their key performers at the tournament.

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  TURKEY   


Turkish U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
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Balbay


Hersek


Yildiz


Ozcan


Ozdemir
4 Dogus Balbay (184-G-89) of The University of Texas (USA)
5 Baris Hersek (204-F/C-88) of Efes Pilsen Istanbul
6 Gokper Gen (188-G-89) of Pinar Karsiyaka SK Izmir
7 Alican Guney (198-G/F-89) of Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
8 Melih Yildiz (193-G-89) of Tofas Bursa
9 Tufan Onen (202-F-89) of Oyak Renault Bursa
10 Ogun Sevinc (198-F/G-88) of Alpella Trabzon Spor
11 Mustafa Gorur (204-F-88) of FMV Isikspor Istanbul
12 Gokhan Karabiyik (205-F/C-88) of Tofas Bursa
13 Deniz Tunca (204-C-88) of Alpella Trabzon Spor
14 Can Ozcan (201-F-89) of Alpella Trabzon Spor
15 Azizcan Ozdemir (201-F-88) of FMV Isikspor Istanbul
Head Coach: Orhun Ene
Coach Assistants: Erol Pehliuan , Ahmet Gurgen , Omer Ugurata

Standings - TBL
TBL Standings
1. Besiktas 24-6
2. Efes P. 22-8
3. Fenerbahce 21-9
4. T.Telekom 20-10
5. Galatasaray 19-11
6. Antalya 18-12
7. Karsiyaka 17-13
8. Banvit 14-16
9. TED Koleji 13-17
10. Mersin 13-17
11. Kepez Bld 12-18
12. Oyak Renault 12-18
13. Selcuk Uni. 10-20
14. Darussafaka 9-21
15. Alpella 8-22
16. Beykoz 8-22


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  U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS   


Jam Squad Retains ABA championship - by David Edole
ST. THOMAS - It took five games to determine a champion, but when the action on the floor quieted after a wild Thursday night game, Jam Squad stood victorious for the third straight season.

Jam Squad played an impressive fourth quarter to pull ahead of Jah Youths and win, 80-70, taking the best-of-five series 3-2.

'That's three in a row. It's sweet,' said Jam Squad coach Jojo Gumbs. 'It was tough. This team ... I really have a lot of respect for these guys.'

The first three quarters were much like the rest of the four-game series. Both teams played fast, aggressive basketball dominated by outside shooting. But Jam Squad made the game their own in the fourth quarter.

Jam Squad used a 12-2 run in the fourth to paint Jah Youths into a corner. They did not back down or lose focus during the final minutes and, with a slam dunk in the final seconds by Devon Louis, sealed the win and championship.

For his leadership role in the series, Calvert White (191-G/F-75, college: SE Missouri St.) earned the MVP award. He scored a triple double - 16 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists.

'The coach came before the game and said he was looking for me to lead them and that's what I did,' White said. 'I was much more aggressive. I went to my strength, which is penetration, and also finding the guys in the corners.'

Akil Lewis (183-G-82, college: Lynn) led Jam Squad with 22 points; Dewitt Henley (183-G-86) scored 19 points with six rebounds; and Louis grabbed 12 rebounds.

Jabahri Brown (209-F/C-79, college: Oklahoma) led Jah Youths with 19 points and 20 rebounds; James Faulkner scored 17 points with six rebounds; and Jeff Roberts (202-F/C-77, college: Spoon River JC) scored 11 points and had 13 rebounds.

Jah Youths coach Tumba Swan said that his team just could not maintain their momentum in the end.

'They wanted it more,' Swan said. 'We fell apart in the end.'

By Sean McCoy

Guidance Blows by Legacy 82-64 to Advance to Second Round of CBA Playoffs - by David Edole
Guidance stormed into the second round of the Choices Basketball Association summer league playoffs Wednesday with a lopsided 82-64 whipping of the young but talented Legacy squad at the Central High gym.
This was definitely a statement game for the veteran Guidance squad, which had to gut out a hard-fought 78-75 win in the opening game of this best-of-three series on Monday without its star player, Calvert White. In fact, they trailed into the final minute of that one before coming out on top. This time, however, with their full complement of players on hand, Guidance completely dominated the youngsters. The only time Legacy was really in the game was in the first quarter, when they only trailed by one at the end of that period at 13-12.
Guidance came out hot in the second quarter and quickly blew the game wide open with a tenacious defense and explosive scoring. What was a one-point lead would swell to a 20-point lead as they outscored Legacy 32-13 in the quarter to go into the locker room leading 45-25.
The 20-point advantage would stay in place for most of the third quarter, but in the latter stages, Legacy did make a small run -- with Guidance's top players on the bench -- to get to within 12 points at 58-46 after three quarters. They outscored Guidance 21-13 in the period.
A 5-0 run topped by a three-pointer by Chris Floyd to open the fourth quarter and Legacy was within seven at 58-51. They would get no closer, however, as the Guidance starters quickly reentered the game and order was quickly restored. Richard Isles came on to explode for 10 of his 14 points in the final quarter to help squash any hopes of an upset by Legacy. The seven-point lead would balloon to as many as 23 points as Guidance began to have their way with the youngsters. Legacy could get no closer than 18 points the rest of the way, and they were sent packing until next summer 82-64.
Ryan Rawlins led five Guidance players in double figures with 15 points, Quenton 'Q' Guirty and Luis Lopez both dropped in 14, and C. White and Akeem Thompson netted 13 and 10 points, respectively. For Legacy, Stephen O'reilly led the way with 14 points, while teammates Kareem Newton and Floyd both finished with 10 points apiece.
by Dave Davis

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  UKRAINE   


Lithuania topple Ukraine despite 38 points from Sergiy Gladyr - by Eurobasket News
Lithuania U20 - Ukraine U20 93:91

Lithuanian U20 National Team opened their European Championship campaign with a narrow win over Ukraine today. The Baltic team managed to overcome a 38-point outburst from Sergiy Gladyr (196-G/F-89) to post the initial win at the tournament. Martynas Gecevicius (193-G-88) fired 30 points to pace Lithuania. The teams exchanged baskets before Vadym Norenko (204-F-88) scored 5 points in a row to set Ukraine ahead 15:11. They maintained the lead and when Lukashov capped the first period with a long bomb Ukraine enjoyed a 26:22 advantage. Gladyr exploded with 14 points in the second frame but it still did not prevent Lithuania from gaining a 49:47 lead at the interval. Vadym Norenko and Gladyr quickly gave the lead back to Ukraine early in the third period. The game remained close and the lead changed hands for several times but Oleksandr Kolchenko (198-F/G-88) had the last laugh in the frame as Ukraine entered the final period up by 4 points. Andriy Novikov (196-F-89) and Oleksandr Kolchenko stretched the margin to 6 points at the start of the fourth term but Lithuania refused to fold. They went on a 17:4 rally midway through the quarter to gain a 91:84 advantage with under 4 minutes left in regulation. Galdyr knocked down 5 straight points to drag Ukraine back into contest but Lithuania withstood the effort. Zygimantas Janavicius (195-G-89, agency: Interperformances) converted two freebies late in the game and sealed the winning outcome for the Baltic side at the end. Vytenis Lipkevicius (196-F-89) netted 15 points for Lithuania. Marius Valukonis (198-F-88) added 14 points and 8 boards in a win. Oleksandr Kolchenko finished with 22 points for Ukraine. Vadym Norenko dropped 13 points in a losing case.

Lithuania U20: Martynas Gecevicius 30, Vytenis Lipkevicius 15, Marius Valukonis 14
Ukraine U20: Sergiy Gladyr 38, Oleksandr Kolchenko 22

Ukrainian U20 National Team 2008 - by Eurobasket
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Tonchenko


Gladyr


Kolchenko


Shurmel


Norenko
4 Vladyslav Tonchenko (185-G-89) of MBC Mykolaiv
5 Sergiy Popov (193-G-88) of Khimik-OPZ Yuzny
6 Denys Lukashov (187-G-89) of BC Kyiv-2-KPI
7 Sergiy Gladyr (196-G/F-89) of MBC Mykolaiv
8 Oleksandr Kolchenko (198-F/G-88) of Khimik-OPZ Yuzny
9 Oleksandr Sizov (200-F-88) of Khimik-OPZ Yuzny
10 Vsevolod Shurmel (207-F/C-88) of MBC Mykolaiv
11 Denys Parvadov (200-G/F-88) of Khimik-2 Yuzhniy
12 Andriy Novikov (200-F-89) of BC Kyiv-2-KPI
13 Stanislav Tymofeyenko (204-F-89)
14 Vadym Norenko (204-F-88) of MBC Mykolaiv
15 Ievgenii Larin (213-C-89) of Akademija-MRU Vilnius (LTU)
Head Coach: Denys Zhuravlev
Coach Assistant: Vladimir Polyakh

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  UNITED KINGDOM   


U20 EC, division B: Easy win for Great Britain against Finland - by Eurobasket News
U20 Finland - U20 Great Britain 73-90

Great Britain opened the first day of U20 European Championship division B with a victory. Finland wasn't able to resist Great Britain, which demonstrated pretty good basketball level in this game. These two teams are together with Portugal, F.Y.R. Macedonia and Norway placed into Preliminary Group A. The best two team from this group will advance to the Qualifying Round while all other teams will have to be satisfied with Classification Rounds.

Great Britain had full control under the basket in this game. Orlan Jackman (196-F-88) and his teammates grabbed 50 boards matched with only 26 by Finland. Great Britain opened the game strongly making 9-20 after 5 minutes. Finland struggled a lot with its offensive sets while on the other side Morakinyo Williams and Orlan Jackman had no mercy. After half way of the second stanza it already was 22-43. Nothing has changed after the breather as Great Britain continued on its way. With ten minutes to go the game was already over for Finland, 44-71.

Orlan Jackman paced Great Britain to win in this game collecting 19 points and 10 rebounds. Ashley Hamilton (201-F-88) netted 16 points while Morakinyo Williams also shined adding 14 points and 7 rebounds. Finland got the most from Antti Kanervo (193-G/F-89), who netted 19 points. Juho-Matti Lehtoranta (191-G-89) followed him with 14 points. In the next round Great Britain will take on Portugal while Finland will meet Norway.


U20 Finland - U20 Great Britain 73-90
(19-27, 10-22, 15-22, 29-19)

Finland: Antti Kanervo 19, Juho-Matti Lehtoranta 14
Great Britain: Orlan Jackman 19 (10 rebs), Ashley Hamilton 16, Morakinyo Williams 14 (7 rebs)

U18 EC, division B: This time England outplays Norway - by Eurobasket News
U18 England - U18 Norway 84-71

After yesterday's victory against Ireland, England took care for another one today outplaying Norway without any bigger efforts. Thus England improved its score to 2-0 in Group I of Classification Round from 17th to 20th place. On the other side hopeless Norway remains without victory yet on U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen.

This time Norway had much better performance under the basket that it was during the entire championship. Norwegians grabbed 29 boards while England had 6 of the less. It seems that the first quarter of the game actually was the crucial one as England made plus 12 at the end of it. After following ten minutes the official host in this game extended its to 15. William Neighbour (203-F-90) and Joshua Houghton (188-G-91) were the best players for England in the first half. Norwegians finally started to play little bit better in third stanza. Roy Nwachukwu (193-F-90) and Aksel Bolin (195-G-90) made few jump shots but it was enough only for minus 11 at the middle of this period. Norway's offense wasn't so bad but its defense looked very slow and without any system. That trend continued until the end so England didn't have any problems to keep its lead.

This time England got the most points from James Glen (199-F-90), who netted 16. William Neighbour helped his team adding 15 points and 4 rebounds while Joshua Houghton and Michael Manghum (182-G-91) had 13 points each. Aksel Bolin was the best scorer in Norway with 18 points. Roy Nwachukwu followed him with 12 points and 4 rebounds.


U18 England - U18 Norway 84-71
(23-11,17-14, 19-21, 25-25)

England: James Glen 16, William Neighbour 15 (4 rebs), Joshua Houghton 13, Michael Manghum 13
Norway: Aksel Bolin 18, Roy Nwachukwu 12 (4 rebs)

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  VENEZUELA   


Domingo Cirigliano, Thank you for your memories - by Wolfgang Lucena

The Captain Domingo Cirigliano pulls in the anchor up back to the ship. Domingo has been conducting Marinos de Anzotegui since 1975. He was also with Marinos during the former Basketball Special League of Venezuela among Super Start basketball players like; Harold Keeling, Luis Sosa, Luis Regnault, Gabriel Botalico, etc; giving Venezuelas basketball fans a great and unforgettable time.
During the last 18 years Marinos de Anzotegui had won 6 championships from 9 finals series that had been attended

'I'm not just about to win the championship, but about to win it with dignity 'Domingo Cirigliano


Domingo Cirigliano has been with Marinos de Anzotegui in 1483 games, which are 1258 regular season, 166 semi finals, 59 final series, 859 games won (734 during the regular season, 92 during semi finals and 33 during finals); also 14 seasons consecutively classifying to the post season, and 19 win in a row, which is a record in Venezuela Basketballs history.

'I want to thank a lot of people, especially my wife Maribel and my daughter Maria whom were always there for me during the lonely defeated times.' Domingo Cirigliano



Too much team, Gaiteros del Zulia defeated Cocodrilos - by Antonio Gomez
Maracaibo, Venezuela.- The gaitas was too much music for the Cocodrilos de Caracas and the zulian team won tonight 88-79 in the third game of the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto Finals, at the Pedro Elias Belisario Aponte Arena, in Maracaibo.

We are working as a team, we are looking for the next level in the court, said Hernan Salcedo after the game. With this victory, Gaiteros take the lead 2-1 in the series.

Salcedo was inspired and scored 25 points, Chris Jeffries made others 19 and Luis Felipe Lopez 16. In the other side, Yack Martinez wih 25 (15 rebounds) and Kevin Freeman made 21.

We play with the heart. I hope that Gaiteros will win here, with our fans, said Jorge Arrieta, Gaiteros head coach.



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Women News

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  CANADA - Women  


Canadian Senior Women defeat Germany in tournament opener - by Simon Yau
KOSICE, Slovak Republic Canadas Senior Womens National Team opened the 2008 Grand Prix Slovakia Tournament on Thursday with a 61-44 victory over the Senior National team of Germany.

Mission, B.C., native Teresa Gabriele (165-G-79) keyed a much improved offensive effort from the Canadians, scoring a game-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and three steals to pace Team Canada to its first win in the four-team tournament.

Montreal product Amanda Brown chipped in with eight points and five boards for Canada, which led for most of the game despite not acoring for the first three minutes of the match.

We played great defence this game and we were very pleased to hold them to 44 points, said Canadian head coach Allison McNeill. Teresa played well offensively and got others going. I feel were starting to improve on that end of the floor.

Coming off back-to-back losses in which Canada shot poorly from the field, the Canadians broke through to score at an efficient 51 per cent clip against the Germans, while also racking up seven more assists as a team.

Anne Breitreiner led Germany with 13 points and three rebounds in the loss, but received little help as eight members of the German squad we held to three points or under while only two other players scored more than seven.

Our offensive flow this game seemed better, said Gabriele after the match. Hopefully we can continue this in the next few games.

Canada will next face Italy on Friday then host nation Slovakia on Saturday to finish the exhibition tournament.

The Senior Women will then close their tour of Europe with one final exhibition game against the Slovaks before heading home for the summer.

For boxscores and more information, visit: www.basketball.ca

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  GERMANY - Women  


Germany Fall to Slovakia, 61:92 - by Moritz Korff
Germany's Women's National Team dropped a 61:92 final to Slovakia at the Four Nations Tournament in Poprad, Slovakia.
The host jumped out to a good start and had a comfortable 22:11-lead after the first quarter. Slovakia shot well from beyond the arc and the Germans could not prevent it, while a lot of unforced errors gave them a hard time as well. The host maintained the double-digit advantage throughout the game and outscored Germany 25:12 in the third period. At 66:37 in Slovakia's favor the game went into the final ten minutes. Germany stepped up in offense and made it a balanced closing quarter (24:26).
Anne Breitreiner (183-G/F-84) scored 16 points for Germany in the loss, Sabine Loewe (193-C-82, college: San Diego) added 11.
With the loss, Germany falls to 0:2 in the tournament standings and will take on Italy in the game for the third place on Saturday.

Germany (points): Breitreiner (16), Loewe (11), Mersch (7), Janzon (6), Richter (6), Austmann (5), Koop (4), Bavendam (3), Danckert, von Geyr.