EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 8/22/2008

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Men News

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


Svetislav Pesic very close to Crvena Zvezda - by Dragan Jankovski
Well respected Serbian coach Svetislav Pesic is very close to take over Crvena Zvezda. According to words of Zvezda's GM Milan Opacic almost all terms with Pesic are agreed.

'We are very close to the final agreement. I expected that Pesic officially become a new head coach of Crvena Zvezda on Saturday. We will have one more meeting when we suppose to finalize our deal and I really do not see what could be the possible problem. As I announced after our second meeting, until the end of the week Zvezda will get a new head coach. However, it is too early for celebration and we are looking forward to Saturday' - said Milan Opacic.

As a reminder, Svetislav Pesic's biggest success for sure is a Gold medal on World Championship 2002 in Indianapolis. Except of that Gold, Pesic also led Serbian National Team to the same medal a year before on European Championship 2001 in Turkey. With National Team of Germany he celebrated on Eurobasket 1993. He changed many teams over the past two decades. Some of them are Bosna Sarajevo, ALBA Berlin, Koln, Barcelona, Lottomatica Roma, Akasvayu Girona and Dynamo Moscow. With Girona he won FIBA EuroCup in 2007. With Barcelona Pesic grabbed three trophies. In 2002 Barca won Euroleague as well as Spanish ACB while a year later Pesic and his team defended Spanish title. His ALBA Berlin won four consecutive titles in Germany, from 1997-2000.

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


2008/09 leagues - by Facundo Iatzky

the following is the list of teams that will play in the three divisions of argentinian pro-basketball:

Liga A:
Atenas Cordoba
Ben Hur Rafaela
Boca Juniors
El Nacional Monte Hermoso
Bahia Blanca Estudiantes
Gimnasia Comodoro Rivadavia
Independiente Neuquen
Lanus
Libertad Sunchales
Obras Sanitarias
Olimpico La Banda
Penarol Mar del Plata
Quilmes Mar del Plata
Asociacion Quimsa
Regatas Corrientes
Sionista Parana

TNA:
Alma Juniors
Argentino Junin
Asociacion Espanola
Asociacion Italiana
Belgrano San nicolas
Central Entrerriano
Ciclista Juninense
Atletico Echague Parana
Firmat FC
Gimnasia La Plata
La Union Formosa
Obera TC
San Martin Corrientes
San Martin Marcos Juarez
Union Sunchales

Liga B:
ALMAGRO Esperanza
ALVEAR Villa Angela
ANZORENA Mendoza
ATLETICO REGINA
BANDA NORTE Rio Cuarto
BARRIO PARQUE Cordoba
BROWN San Vicente
CIUDAD DE BRAGADO
COLON Santa Fe
DEPORTIVO PUERTO MADRYN-BROWN
EL SURENO UNIVERSITARIO Tierra del Fuego
ESTUDIANTES Concordia
FACUNDO La Rioja
GIMNASIA VILLA DEL PARQUE

HURACAN Trelew
INDEPENDIENTE Tandil
JORGE NEWBERY Carmen de Patagones
LA UNION Colon
NAUTICO HACOAJ
9 DE JULIO Rio Tercero
RACING Gualeguaychu
ROSARIO CENTRAL
SAN MARTIN Junin
SARGENTO CABRAL Salta
SPORT CLUB CANADENSE
TOMAS DE ROCAMORA
UNION ELECTRICA Cordoba
UNION VECINAL La Plata
UNION FUERZA Saenz Pena
VELEZ SARSFIELD



*****************************************************
  AUSTRALIA   


Townsville Crocodiles inks Cameron Tovey - by Eurobasket News
Townsville have wasted no time in bolstering their NBL playing stocks in the wake of placing Steven Broom and Brad Sheridan on injury waivers.

The Crocodiles on Wednesday confirmed they had signed former Sydney King Cameron Tovey (202-F-85, college: Augusta St.) to a one-season deal.

Tovey had looked like he would have to sit out the 2008/09 season after the Kings' withdrawal from the league but Townsville threw the talented swingman a lifeline.

Chief executive Ian Smythe was amazed a player of Tovey's calibre had not been snapped up by a rival club, saying he would be a valuable addition to the Crocs.

The 23-year-old will likely play for Townsville in trial games in Cairns next week but whether he plays during the regular season could come down to Sheridan's recovery.

Sheridan has struggled to get back to full fitness following off-season ankle surgeries and further medical assessment will decide whether he is on a long or short-term waiver.

Young Australian Player Broom, meanwhile, will undergo partial reconstructive shoulder surgery next week, which will rule him out until at least Christmas.

Smythe said the club was yet to make any decision on a replacement for the centre but conceded they had 'plenty of balls in the air'.

Tovey, who will be entering his fourth season in the NBL, has averaged 5.3 points and 2.4 rebounds from 91 career games with Perth and Sydney.

'I'm absolutely amazed he has not been picked up by other clubs,' Smythe said.

'Cameron Tovey has been on our radar for the last two years as a young and up-and-coming Australian with good ability.

'We think he is probably one of the most athletic kids in the league and we were surprised no one has made him an offer.'

The Malaysian-born Tovey boasts a similar physique to former Crocodiles star Brad Newley, standing at 203cm and weighing 86kg.

Smythe was not about to hail Tovey as the next Newley, who was a second-round NBA draft pick last year, but said he had the ability to bring plenty of excitement.

'When you look across the league for a guy who is young and athletic and has the potential to deliver Newley-like ability you have got (Tovey) and Joe Ingles,' he said.

Tovey will have plenty to live up to if he does replace Sheridan, regarded as one of the best defensive players in the NBL.

But Smythe said there were plenty of similarities between the pair at the same age.

'Defensively he's very good, he's got big long arms and the thing that excites us the most is that it just adds further to that speed that we have on the team,' he said.

'We're still a little bit underdone in height but certainly what we lose in that we make up for in bringing the ball down the court.

'And Cameron in transition will be a great player he's probably one of the most athletic kids in the league at the moment.'

Tovey will arrive in Townsville on Saturday.

Courtesy of www.nbl.com.au

*****************************************************
  AUSTRIA   


U16 EC, division B: Belgium outplays Austria in Sarajevo - by Eurobasket News
U16 Belgium - U16 Austria 72-57

Belgium registered an easy victory in the first game of the Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place on U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo. Belgians were too strong for Austrians improving to 2-0 in Group G. It means that Belgium already qualified fro the semifinals despite there is one more game to be played at this stage. Austria doesn't have any chance for the semifinal and after tomorrow's game it will continue championship in Classification Round for 5th to 8th place.

Belgium took this one easily. Form the very beginning Belgians controlled their opponents which resulted with 21-15 at the end of the first frame. Amaury Gorgemans (202-C-92), Brett Hartshorne, Sam Renier were in a game mood what was enough for huge 48-24 already at the half time. Carlos Novas Mateo was the only player in Austria who was able to compete against strong Belgians but his team needed a way more. Belgians slowed down after the breather playing as much as it was necessary for the victory. Austrians exploited that chance to come just a bit closer and nothing more than that.

Amaury Gorgemans was the key player for Belgium today. He played 26 minutes scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 boards. Brett Hartshorne also demonstrated pretty good performance delivering 13 points and 7 rebounds while Sam Renier had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Carlos Novas Mateo was better than the others in Austria with 15 points and impressive 18 boards. Ferdinand Saukel (196-F-92) stopped on 10 points and 6 rebounds. Belgium's next rival will be Iceland while Austria will play against Estonia.


U16 Belgium - U16 Austria 72-57
(21-15, 27-19, 11-17, 13-16)

Belgium: Amaury Gorgemans 16 (10 rebs), Brett Hartshorne 13 (7 rebs), Sam Renier 12 (6 rebs, 4 as)
Austria: Carlos Novas Mateo 15 (18 rebs), Ferdinand Saukel 10 (6 rebs)

*****************************************************
  BELARUS   


Belarus snatch narrow win over Ukraine in Kiev - by Eurobasket News
Ukraine - Belarus 76:81

Belarusian National Team scored an impressive come-from-behind victory over Ukraine at the start of the International basketball tournament held in Kiev. Four teams are taking part in the event with Estonia and Slovakia completing the picture. Belarus jumped ahead early in the first period however Ukraine quickly denied it. Ivshyn capped the first period with a hook and Ukraine led 21:18. Six consecutive points allowed Ukraine to stretch the margin early in the second period. However Belarus refused to limp behind and they trailed by just 6 points at halftime. Artur Drozdov (198-G-80) and Vyacheslav Kravtsov (212-C-87) made it 44:34 for Ukraine early in the third frame. Later Artur Drozdov marked a 12-pont advantage for the hosts as they seemed to run away for good in this one. But Belarus managed to answer. They trimmed the deficit to 6 points at the end of the third quarter. Pavel Ulyanko (204-F/C-79) put Belarus in charge 73:72 with three minutes remaining in the game. The teams traded baskets before Alexander Kudrautsau (190-G-80) scored 4 straight points and the visitors accumulated a 77:73 advantage with 33 seconds left. Artur Drozdov cut the distance to minimum however Pavel Ulyanko and Heorhi Kandrusevich (197-F-78, agency: Promotex) sealed the winning outcome for Belarus from the stripe in the dying seconds.
Heorhi Kandrusevich led Belarus with 17 points. Yegor Mescheriakov (205-F-76, agency: Octagon, college: George Washington) had 16 points, while Dzianis Korshuk (204-C/F-78, agency: Agency No 10) added 14 for the winners. Ukraine were paced by 16 points from Artur Drozdov. Andriy Agafonov (207-F-86, agency: Interperformances) delivered 11 points in a losing effort. Ukraine will meet with Slovakia, while Belarus will oppose Estonia today.

Ukraine: Artur Drozdov 16, Andriy Agafonov 11
Belarus: Heorhi Kandrusevich 17, Yegor Mescheriakov 16, Dzianis Korshuk 14

U16 EC, division B: Tight win for Montenegro against Belarus - by Eurobasket News
U16 Belarus - U16 Montenegro 80-82

Montenegro succeeded to beat Belarus in a very important game of the Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place on U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo. With this tight victory Montenegro already secured a spot for the semifinals. Montenegrins currently have score 2-0 in Group E and in the last game of this stage they will meet Germany. The winner of this game will advance to the semis from top of Group E. On the other hand, Belarus will meet the hosts Bosnia and Herzegovina after what both teams will be transferred to Classification Stage for 5th to 8th place.

It was a very interesting game until the very end. After almost leveled first half, Nemanja Djurisic (-92) led his team to much better third quarter. Mostly owing to him Montenegro made ended this period making 15-7 run for solid 60-65. After lay-up by Andrija Mijanovic, Montenegro set the margin on 11 points with 2:41 remaining. Vitali Liutych (190-G-92) and his teammates didn't give up. Very quick they came on 77-80 having a chance to fight for over time but Nemanja Djurisic made two free throws with 17 seconds to go. At the last Belarus' possession Denis Azaare made a triple but only for 80-82.

Nemanja Djurisic was totally the best player in this game. He spent 33 minutes on court nailing 33 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Andrija Mijanovic helped the winning team with 15 points while Andrej Pajovic had 14 points and 6 boards. Belarus got the most from Vitali Liutych, who scored 28 points including 8 rebounds. Denis Azaare registered double-double, 19 points and 12 boards.


U16 Belarus - U16 Montenegro 80-82
(22-22, 19-17, 19-26, 20-17)

Belarus: Vitali Liutych 28 (8 rebs), Denis Azaare 19 (12 rebs)
Montenegro: Nemanja Djurisic 33 (7 rebs), Andrija Mijanovic 15, Anderj Pajovic 14 (6 rebs)

Belarus earn second straight win in Kiev - by Eurobasket News
Belarus - Estonia 79:63

Belarusian National Team extended their winning streak at the International Basketball Tournament in Kiev. Yesterday they defeated Estonia for the second victory in a row. Alexander Kudrautsau (190-G-80) notched game-high 22 points to pace Belarus. Dzianis Korshuk (204-C/F-78, agency: Agency No 10) added 18 points in the win. Belarus thus remained at the top of the standings, while Estonia fell to 1-1 record. Today Estonia will take on Ukraine, while Belarus will try to stay undefeated in the game against Slovakia.
Estonia got to a confident start to the game as they led throughout the major part of the first quarter. They secured a 21:18 lead ten minutes into the game however Belarus quickly tied the score early in the second period. Alexander Kudrautsau hit from beyond the arc to knot it at 23. The teams traded baskets for the reminder of the quarter and headed into the locker rooms squared up at 30. Back-to-back triples from Pavel Ulyanko (204-F/C-79) and Dzianis Korshuk set Belarus in charge early in the third period. Belarus kept in front throughout the third frame and ensured a 56:49 advantage before the last stanza. Alexander Kudrautsau and Yegor Mescheriakov (205-F-76, agency: Octagon, college: George Washington) stretched the margin to 10 points midway through the fourth quarter and Belarus never looked back in this one. Nikola Aliakseyeu (212-C-78, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents, college: Buffalo) had 13 points, while Yegor Mescheriakov added 12 in the win. Gregor Arbet (195-F/G-83) answered with 15 points for Estonia. Gert Kullamae (198-G/F-71) contributed 12 points in a losing effort.

Belarus: Alexander Kudrautsau 22, Dzianis Korshuk 18, Nikola Aliakseyeu 13
Estonia: Gregor Arbet 15, Gert Kullamae 12

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  BELGIUM   


U16 EC, division B: Belgium outplays Austria in Sarajevo - by Eurobasket News
U16 Belgium - U16 Austria 72-57

Belgium registered an easy victory in the first game of the Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place on U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo. Belgians were too strong for Austrians improving to 2-0 in Group G. It means that Belgium already qualified fro the semifinals despite there is one more game to be played at this stage. Austria doesn't have any chance for the semifinal and after tomorrow's game it will continue championship in Classification Round for 5th to 8th place.

Belgium took this one easily. Form the very beginning Belgians controlled their opponents which resulted with 21-15 at the end of the first frame. Amaury Gorgemans (202-C-92), Brett Hartshorne, Sam Renier were in a game mood what was enough for huge 48-24 already at the half time. Carlos Novas Mateo was the only player in Austria who was able to compete against strong Belgians but his team needed a way more. Belgians slowed down after the breather playing as much as it was necessary for the victory. Austrians exploited that chance to come just a bit closer and nothing more than that.

Amaury Gorgemans was the key player for Belgium today. He played 26 minutes scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 boards. Brett Hartshorne also demonstrated pretty good performance delivering 13 points and 7 rebounds while Sam Renier had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Carlos Novas Mateo was better than the others in Austria with 15 points and impressive 18 boards. Ferdinand Saukel (196-F-92) stopped on 10 points and 6 rebounds. Belgium's next rival will be Iceland while Austria will play against Estonia.


U16 Belgium - U16 Austria 72-57
(21-15, 27-19, 11-17, 13-16)

Belgium: Amaury Gorgemans 16 (10 rebs), Brett Hartshorne 13 (7 rebs), Sam Renier 12 (6 rebs, 4 as)
Austria: Carlos Novas Mateo 15 (18 rebs), Ferdinand Saukel 10 (6 rebs)

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  BOSNIA   


U16 EC, division B: Germany too strong for Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo - by Eurobasket News
U16 Germany - U16 Bosnia and Herzegovina 106-70

After the first game of Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place in Sarajevo, Germany already booked a spot for the semifinals. Germans were better than the hosts of U16 European Championship division B Bosnia and Herzegovina improving their score to 2-0 in Group E. Thus in the last game of this stage Germany will fight against Montenegro for top of Group E.

Game is decided during the first ten minutes. Germany opened it very aggressively in order to resolve question about the winner as soon as possible. Bosnia had many troubles with organizing the plays at the beginning while its defense was on poor level. Mathis Monninghoff (192-G-92) and Jarelle Reischel (194-F-92) were unstoppable at the offensive end what resulted with huge 31-18 at the end of the first frame. Bosnians showed slightly better performance in the next period but it was enough only for minus 15 at the half time. German put into the fifth gear after the breather having another brilliant quarter, 31-19. At that point of game the only question until the end was will Germans reach 100, what they easily done.

Mathis Monninghoff paced Germany to victory scoring 24 points and dishing out 4 assists. Jarelle Reischel also shined scoring 23 points. Sebastian Fulle followed these two players with 14 points. Interesting is that Bosnia had three players which scored 10 points Marko Miletic, Ranko Ivic and Goran Vucic. In the last round Bosnia will meet Belarus. However, Bosnians do not have any chance for the semifinals so after tomorrow's game they will continue championship in Classification Stage for 5th to 8th place.


U16 Germany - U16 Bosnia and Herzegovina 106-70
(31-13, 17-20, 31-19, 27-18)

Germany: Mathis Monninghoff 24 (4 as), Jarelle Reischel 23, Sebastian Fulle 14
Bosnia: Marko Miletic 10 (4 rebs), Ranko Ivic 10, Goran Vucic 10

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  BULGARIA   


U16 EC, division B: Bulgaria surprises Sweden in Sarajevo - by Eurobasket News
U16 Bulgaria - U16 Sweden 66-58

Bulgaria grabbed an extremely important victory against Sweden on U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo. It was a first game of the Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place where Bulgaria transferred defeat while Sweden brought win from the first stage. Thus both teams currently have score 1-1 in Group F and a chance to reach the semifinals. Everything depends on Bulgarians. If they celebrate against winless Finland in the last game one place in the semifinals will be reserved for them. In that case Sweden will continue championship in Classification Round for 5th to 8th place.

Bulgaria took control on Sweden from the early beginning. After triple by Tencho Tenchev in fifth minute it was 11-7 for Bulgaria. Until the end of the first frame Bulgaria made 11-4 run taking 11-point lead after ten minutes. In the second quarter Bulgaria touched 27-11 but Carl Gaddefors and Jonathan Person stepped up for Sweden stopping Bulgarians on their way. They succeeded to come on minus 13 at the half time what gave them some chances later. At the middle of third frame the Swedish closed the gap on 45-43 but their joy didn't last long. Very soon Georgi Sirakov (184-G-92, agency: Interperformances) led 8-3 run for 53-45. Last ten minutes were just the formality as Bulgarians played as much as it was necessary for the victory.

Georgi Sirakov was the key player for the winning team. He played 35 minutes netting 28 points including 5 triples. Interesting is that he was the only one with double figures in Bulgaria as Tencho Tenchev was the second scorer of the team with 9 points. Tenchev also grabbed 5 more rebounds. Carl Gaddefors added 14 points and 6 rebounds for Sweden while Jonathan Person had 13 points and 7 boards.


U16 Bulgaria - U16 Sweden 66-58
(22-11, 19-17, 12-17, 13-13)

Bulgaria: Georgi Sirakov 28, Tencho Tenchev 9 (5 rebs)
Sweden: Carl Gaddefors 14 (6 rebs), Jonathan Person 13 (7 rebs)

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  COSTA RICA   


Standings - D1
NL Standings
 1. Liceo 9-0 
 2. Barva 9-1 
 3. Santa Cecilia 6-3 
 4. Limon 6-4 
 5. Escazu 5-4 
 6. San Luis Gonzaga 4-5 
 7. UCR 3-6 
 8. Santa Ana 2-8 
 9. Goicoechea 1-8 
 10. Perez Zeledon 0-8 


Clausura Tournment updating - by Gianni Pascucci
In the last round of games, Santa Cecilia felt to BCR Colono Limon, 78-86, and this could mean the loss of the home advantage in the playoffs, where Santa hopes to advance. The other games ended as follows:
Santa Cecilia - El Parque Escaz 58-59
San Luis Gonzaga - Coyotes Santa Ana 76-70
Coyotes Santa Ana - Coopenae Liceo 57-80
San Luis Gonzaga - UCR 69-64
Goicoechea - Coopealianza Perez Zeledon 66-62

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  CROATIA   


Croatia U16 edges Israel U16 78:60 - by Eurobasket News
Israel U16-Croatia U16 60:78

Croatia U16 won the last game in Group F of the Qualifying Round of the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. The team overcame Israel U16 78:60 due to the second half. Stefan Zadravec (187-G-92) paced all the winners with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Marino Kucan (198-C-92, agency: Regeneracom Sports) nailed 14, while Boris Barac (202-F-92) scored 12. Tamir Simchony (192-G-92) and Bar Timor (-92) produced 14 points apiece in defeat. The win earns Croatia a 2-3 record and the fourth place in the group. Israel finished with a 1-4 record and the fifth place. Croatia will face Spain tomorrow while Israel will try to keep the ninth spot in reach against Ukraine.
Israel was lucky to score first 4 points in the game, but then Croatia started their scoring account. The latter was stronger in the end of the period and won it 20:13. In the second period it was Israel that started with 11-0 run for 24:20 lead. Katic closed the half as the score was tied at 33:33.
With 37:36 it was Croatian time for their run. They made a 10-0 run for 46:37 as Rogic made a three first and then nailed a jump-shot. Bar Timor reduced the gap for Israel at 43:52 after 30 minutes of the game. Levy brought his team to the closest 50:54 but then Croatia was too good in the end. They won the period 26:17 and the game itself 78:60.


Israel U16: Tamir Simchony 14, Bar Timor 14
Croatia U16: Stefan Zadravec 23+7 rebs, Marino Kucan 14, Boris Barac 12

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  CYPRUS   


U16 EC, division B: Cyprus outsmarts Ireland 71-70 in Sarajevo - by Eurobasket News
U16 Cyprus - U16 Ireland 71-70

Cyprus ended the first day of Classification Stage for 17th to 23rd place celebrating extremely tight victory. Cypriots currently have 1-1 in Group J but without chance to end it on top position because of defeat against Romania at the Preliminary Stage. On the other side, despite this defeat Ireland will have a chance to reach that place. Namely, if Ireland succeeds to beat Romania with more than nine points top of Group J will belong to it. As a reminder, two best teams from this group will have a chance to fight for 17th place.

Ireland had fantastic first quarter finishing it 8-20. Sound strange but the second one totally belonged to Cypriots, which showed even better performance 28-13. Thus the score at the half time was 36-33 for Cyprus. Game is decided at the very end. With 1:13 to go the score was tied 67-67. After that moment Patinios made two FTS for Cyprus after what Lucey made one for Ireland. Andreas Vlachos of Cyprus got fouled netting the second FT after that 71-68. Karlo Vasquez tried to respond but he missed a triple with 15 seconds to go, Herron grabbed the ball scoring under the basket, 71-70. At the last Cyprus' possession Patinios missed two FTs giving a chance to Ireland but Karlo Vasquez committed a turn over at the very end.

Riginos Kasinopoulos (185-G-92) and Andreas Vlachos were the best players for the winning team in this game. Riginos Kasinopoulos added 19 points and 4 assists while Andreas Vlachos followed with 18 points and 6 boards. Michalis Kantartzis (193-F-93) alos shined for the winners with 14 points and very good 11 rebounds. Peter Herron was better than the others for the loosing side collecting 16 points and 5 boards. Karlo Vasquez stopped on 11 points.


U16 Cyprus - U16 Ireland 71-70
(8-20, 28-13, 19-19, 16-18)

Cyprus: Riginos Kasinopoulos 19 (4 as), Andreas Vlachos 18 (6 rebs), Michalis Kantartzis 14 (11 rebs)
Ireland: Peter Herron 16 (5 rebs), Karlo Vasquez 11

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  CZECH REPUBLIC   


Lithuania U16 wins the battle between two perfect teams in Group E - by Eurobasket News
Lithuania U16-Czech Republic U16 76:48

Lithuania U16 wins the battle between two perfect teams in Group E at the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. In the last game of the group the Baltic side overcame Czech Republic U16 76:48. Jonas Valanciunas (209-C-92) led the winners with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Vytenis Cizauskas (188-G-92) netted 11 and Dovydas Redikas (193-F-92) scored 10. Jan Lipovy (187-G-92) ended up with 10 points, while David Hrncir (196-F-92) added 8. Lithuania finished with a 5-0 record, while the Czechs finished second with a 4-1. Lithuania will face France in one side of the semi-finals while the Czech Republic will play against Turkey.
Lithuania proved that the team was the favorite of the group and the top position should belong to them. They started with 9-0 run in the opening tip and then created a new run in the end. Sabonis finished the quarter with a jump-shot for 20:6. For the Czechs it was difficult to stay on the race as they trailed 17:42 later in the second. David Hrncir sent the teams to the lockers for 42:19 at the halftime.
Nothing specific had changed in the third period as Lithuania dominated the court. They enjoyed 66:32 after the thirty minutes of the game. In the last period Czech Republic U16 played much better with the previous quarters and could win the period 16:10. As a total it gave however Lithuania an easy 76:48 victory.

Lithuania U16: Jonas Valanciunas 13+9 rebs, Vytenis Cizauskas 11, Dovydas Redikas 10
Czech Republic U16: Jan Lipovy 10, David Hrncir 8

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  DENMARK   


Bakken Bears sign Karron Clarke - by Eurobasket
Bakken Bears signed American forward Karron Clarke (198-F, college: De Paul). Clarke played most recently at De Paul University (NCAA) in the U.S. It will be his first year in professional basketball. Clarke comes from a very reputable and strong basketball program ar De Paul. He averaged 8.1ppg and 4.8rpg in 30 games last season. His university make it to NIT Elite Eight two years ago.

U16 EC, division B: Denmark routs Luxemburg - by Eurobasket News
U16 Luxemburg - U16 Denmark 50-74

Denmark outplayed Luxemburg without any extra efforts improving to 2-0 in Group I of Classification Round for 17th to 23rd place. On the other hand Luxemburg remained winless on U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo.

Denmark had control on Luxemburg during the entire game. Danish players showed much better performance in all basketball elements. The fact that Denmark ended this game grabbing 66 rebounds while Luxemburg had only 29 talks everything about itself. After opening ten minutes Denmark already created plus 13. Second quarter was almost tied, which meant that Denmark kept its comfortable lead at the half time. Niels Andreasen was on fire in third frame and together with Christoffer Fugmann and Tue Nielsen lead Denmark to huge 37-60 before the last frame. Even before that, there was no any doubt about the winner. Luxemburg ended this game with just 21.7% for 3-pts and 30.2% for FG2.

Interesting is that each of three above mentioned players scored 10 points for the winning team. Christoffer Fugmann had ten rebounds more beside that while Tue Nielsen and Niels Andreasen had six. Luxemburg's best scorer was Alex Laurent with 13 points. He also grabbed 6 rebounds while Bob Melcher followed him scoring 12 points.


U16 Luxemburg - U16 Denmark 50-74
(6-19, 14-15, 17-26, 13-14)

Luxemburg: Alex Laurent 13 (6 rebs), Bob Melcher 12
Denmark: Christoffer Fugmann 10 (10 rebs), Tue Nielsen 10 (6 rebs), Niels Andreasen 10 (6 rebs),

*****************************************************
  D-LEAGUE   


Barron Leaves NBA for Italy - by Surujh Roopnarine
Miami Heat free agent big man Earl Barron (7'0''-C-81, college: Memphis) has signed with Fortitudo Bologna of Italy. The 27-year old former Memphis Tiger came off his most productive NBA season this past year posting career highs of 7.1 points and 4.3 rebounds while shooting 40.4% in 46 games (19 minutes per game). An absolute stud at the D-League and NBA Summer League levels, Barron has a nice jump shot and a finesse game that should suit him well in Italy. A late bloomer, Barron has spent time with Huntsville and Florida of the DLeague and has career number of 61 games, 12.0ppg and 6.1rpg while shooting 50.5% from the field. With nearly all NBA teams close to or at the salary cap, free-agent money has been hard to come by this season and a player like Barron, who has NBA ability and while not a starter, can be a solid contributor off the bench, is headed to Europe.

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  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   


Standings - LIDOBA
LIDOBA Standings
North Division
 1. Reales 12-2 
 2. Metros 7-7 
 3. Indios SF 5-9 
 4. Marineros 5-9 
South Division
 1. Constituyentes 10-3 
 2. Caneros 6-7 
 3. Panteras DN 5-7 
 4. Cocolos 3-9 


*****************************************************
  ESTONIA   


Estonia beat Slovakia in friendly game - by Eurobasket News
Estonia - Slovakia 77:53

The National Teams of Estonia and Slovakia opened the International basketball tournament in Kiev, Ukraine. They will play at the competition alongside Belarus and the hosts. Yesterday Estonia held off Slovakia in the first game of the event. Gert Kullamae (198-G/F-71) notched 12 points, Tanel Sokk (188-G-85) added 11 points and 7 boards to pace Estonia to the confident victory. Janar Talts (204-C-83) came up with 8 points and 11 boards, while Kristjan Kangur (202-F-82) added 10 points in the win. Gabriel Szalay (215-C-86) knocked down game-high 16 points for Slovakia.
Estonia dominated the game. They surged after a brief exchange of baskets early in the encounter and built a 19:15 lead after ten minutes of action. The Baltic team went on a key rally in the second period. They outscored Slovakia 21:12 and established a 40:27 advantage at halftime. Slovakia did not change the complexion of the game after the ling break. Estonian players looked better in the paint and ran quicker in fastbreaks. Estonia stretched the margin and headed into the fourth quarter up by 19 points. Slovakia failed to recover and suffered their first defeat in Kiev. Anton Gavel (189-G-84, agency: Pro One Sports) notched 11 points in defeat. Estonia outrebounded their opponents 44:33 and limited Slovakia to 31% accuracy from the field.
Estonia will face Belarus, while Slovakia will take on Ukraine today.

Estonia: Gert Kullamae 12, Tanel Sokk 11, Kristjan Kangur 10
Slovakia: Gabriel Szalay 16, Anton Gavel 11

Belarus earn second straight win in Kiev - by Eurobasket News
Belarus - Estonia 79:63

Belarusian National Team extended their winning streak at the International Basketball Tournament in Kiev. Yesterday they defeated Estonia for the second victory in a row. Alexander Kudrautsau (190-G-80) notched game-high 22 points to pace Belarus. Dzianis Korshuk (204-C/F-78, agency: Agency No 10) added 18 points in the win. Belarus thus remained at the top of the standings, while Estonia fell to 1-1 record. Today Estonia will take on Ukraine, while Belarus will try to stay undefeated in the game against Slovakia.
Estonia got to a confident start to the game as they led throughout the major part of the first quarter. They secured a 21:18 lead ten minutes into the game however Belarus quickly tied the score early in the second period. Alexander Kudrautsau hit from beyond the arc to knot it at 23. The teams traded baskets for the reminder of the quarter and headed into the locker rooms squared up at 30. Back-to-back triples from Pavel Ulyanko (204-F/C-79) and Dzianis Korshuk set Belarus in charge early in the third period. Belarus kept in front throughout the third frame and ensured a 56:49 advantage before the last stanza. Alexander Kudrautsau and Yegor Mescheriakov (205-F-76, agency: Octagon, college: George Washington) stretched the margin to 10 points midway through the fourth quarter and Belarus never looked back in this one. Nikola Aliakseyeu (212-C-78, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents, college: Buffalo) had 13 points, while Yegor Mescheriakov added 12 in the win. Gregor Arbet (195-F/G-83) answered with 15 points for Estonia. Gert Kullamae (198-G/F-71) contributed 12 points in a losing effort.

Belarus: Alexander Kudrautsau 22, Dzianis Korshuk 18, Nikola Aliakseyeu 13
Estonia: Gregor Arbet 15, Gert Kullamae 12

U16 EC, division B: Estonia smashes Iceland stopping it on 34 points - by Eurobasket News
U16 Estonia - U16 Iceland 71-34

Estonia made an easy victory against Iceland in the first game of the Qualifying Round for 9th to 16th place. It means that Estonia improved to 1-1 in Group G while Iceland dropped on the same score.

Estonia was much better team during the entire time. Iceland struggled a lot with its stroke, especially from behind the arc. Its players had 19 attempts without any successful. They also had just 25% for FG2 what for sure was not enough against dangerous Estonia. It is important to be mentioned that Estonia ended this game with 56 rebounds while Iceland had just 25. Estonians opened it making quick 11-0. Until the end of the first stanza they extended it to 21-8. Second quarter was the only one which Iceland finished with double digits but still Estonia won it 14-11. Nothing has changed after that. The official host of this game dominated at the offensive end while Iceland continued with missing the shots. At the middle of last frame it already was huge 60-28.

Estonia had four players with ten or more points. Rannar Rap had 13 while Remy Pold added 11 points and 7 rebounds. Mathias Liias and Riho Sulja scored 10 points each but Liaas had 11 more rebounds. Haukur Palsson was a way better that the others in Iceland adding more than 1/3 of Iceland's points.


U16 Estonia - U16 Iceland 71-34
(21-8, 14-11, 15-7, 21-8)

Estonia: Rannar Raap 13, Remy Pold 11 (7 rebs), Mathias Liias 10 (11 rebs), Riho Sulja 10 (6 rebs)
Iceland: Haukur Palsson 12 (9 rebs)

*****************************************************
  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS U16   


M-Standings - Group A
Standings
Group E
1. Lithuania5-0
2. Czech Repu.4-1
3. Spain3-2
4. Serbia2-3
5. Greece1-4
6. Ukraine0-5
Group F
1. France4-1
2. Russia4-1
3. Turkey4-1
4. Croatia2-3
5. Israel1-4
6. Latvia0-5
Group G
1. Italy2-0
2. Poland1-1
3. Hungary1-1
4. Georgia0-2


M-Standings - Group B
Standings Div.B
Group E
1. Germany2-0
2. Monteneg.2-0
3. Bosnia0-2
4. Belarus0-2
Group F
1. Slovenia2-0
2. Sweden1-1
3. Bulgaria1-1
4. Finland0-2
Group G
1. Belgium2-0
2. Estonia1-1
3. Iceland1-1
4. Austria0-2
Group H
1. Switzerl.2-0
2. U.Kingdom1-1
3. FYR Macedo.1-1
4. Portugal0-2
Group I
1. Denmark2-0
2. Holland1-1
3. Slovakia1-1
4. Luxembourg.0-2
Group J
1. Romania1-0
2. Cyprus1-1
3. Ireland0-1


Division A. The end of the Qualifying Round - by Eurobasket News

GROUP E

Spain U16-Greece U16 69:65

Spain U16 clinched the third place in Group E of the Termostep U16 European Championship Men. The team overcame Greece U16 69:65 trailing after the third period. Albert Ventura (190-F-92) led the winners with 15 points. Tomas netted 13, while Pedro Farina (196-F-92) collected 11 points and 10 rebounds. Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos (203-F-92) shined for the Greek side with 18 points and 16 rebounds and Panagiotis Papoulias (189-G-92) posted 14.
Spain looked better in the opening tip of the game taking 12:4 lead. Greece however remained in the game and tied the score at the end. Terpos made it 18:18 with a minute in the quarter, but Spain had 21:20 after the first 10 minutes. Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos gave Greece 22:21 lead in the beginning of the second but then could not set up the lead. Spain produced another run for 18:16 in the period. Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos could only sent the teams to the lockers wit 39:36.
The second half different a lot from the first. Greece U16 was too good in the third period and stormed past Spain 20:5. Panagiotis Papoulias and his team enjoyed 56:44 advantage after three quarters played. Spain did not fall down and replied with 13-0 in the beginning of the last. They never looked behind after that and led the game to 69:65 victory.

Spain U16: Albert Ventura 15, Tomas 13, Pedro Farina 11+10 rebs
Greece U16: Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos 18+16 rebs, Panagiotis Papoulias 14



Serbia U16- Ukraine U16 80:57

Serbia U16 left Ukraine U16 without wins in the Qualifying Round of the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. The last day of the Group E saw 80:57 for Serbia that finished with 2-3 record. Aleksandar Radenkovic (185-G-92) led the winners with 20 points. Djordje Drenovac (197-F-92) collected 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Luka Igrutinovic (194-G-92) netted 10. Vyacheslav Motorchuk (205-C-92) ended up with 17 points in defeat and Dmytro Marchenko (200-F-92) added 12. Serbia will now play the 5-8 games, while Ukraine, will play the 9-12 games. Ukraine will play Israel in the classification games while Serbia will face Russia in two days.
Serbia scored first five points in the game and proved the ambitions for the whole game. Ukraine however waited a bit and then produced their game when they had 10:9 lead. Moreover Mishula closed the opening quarter at 17:16. Serbia used a 10-0 run in the second quarter behind points by Aleksandar Radenkovic and Luka Igrutinovic to be separated from Ukraine by eight at the break, 38:30.
Another 6-0 run lifted Serbia up to 44:30 in the beginning of the third. Bobrov was the last to score in the period for 61:47. With 19:10 Serbia won the last period and increased the advantage to 80:57.

Serbia U16: Aleksandar Radenkovic 20, Djordje Drenovac 13+10 rebs, Luka Igrutinovic 10
Ukraine U16: Vyacheslav Motorchuk 17, Dmytro Marchenko 12



Lithuania U16-Czech Republic U16 76:48

Lithuania U16 wins the battle between two perfect teams in Group E at the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. In the last game of the group the Baltic side overcame Czech Republic U16 76:48. Jonas Valanciunas (209-C-92) led the winners with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Vytenis Cizauskas (188-G-92) netted 11 and Dovydas Redikas (193-F-92) scored 10. Jan Lipovy (187-G-92) ended up with 10 points, while David Hrncir (196-F-92) added 8. Lithuania finished with a 5-0 record, while the Czechs finished second with a 4-1. Lithuania will face France in one side of the semi-finals while the Czech Republic will play against Turkey.
Lithuania proved that the team was the favorite of the group and the top position should belong to them. They started with 9-0 run in the opening tip and then created a new run in the end. Sabonis finished the quarter with a jump-shot for 20:6. For the Czechs it was difficult to stay on the race as they trailed 17:42 later in the second. David Hrncir sent the teams to the lockers for 42:19 at the halftime.
Nothing specific had changed in the third period as Lithuania dominated the court. They enjoyed 66:32 after the thirty minutes of the game. In the last period Czech Republic U16 played much better with the previous quarters and could win the period 16:10. As a total it gave however Lithuania an easy 76:48 victory.

Lithuania U16: Jonas Valanciunas 13+9 rebs, Vytenis Cizauskas 11, Dovydas Redikas 10
Czech Republic U16: Jan Lipovy 10, David Hrncir 8



GROUP F

Russia U16-Turkey U16 55:67

Turkey U16 won a dramatic battle in the last game of Group F of the Qualifying Round. The Termosteps U16 European Championship Men saw the game that could be also named the best in the tournament. Turkey defeated Russia 67:55 and left them out of the semis. Enes Kanter (205-C-92) paced all the winners with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Safak Edge (185-G-92) supported him with 20, while Kevin Kaspar (180-G-92) scored 8. Dmitry Kulagin (194-G-92) ended up with 20 points in defeat and Andrey Loginov (202-F-93) posted 8. The win also means that the team to join Turkey will be France, also with a 4-1 record. Russia, the third team to finish with four wins, finished third in the tie-breaker and will play the 5-8 games. Turkey will take on the Czechs while Russia will face Serbia eying the fifth spot.
Russia that was undefeated before the game could not advance to the semis with the same 4-1 record. Russia played well in the beginning of the game and Menshikh closed the first at 14:14. In the second period Turkey stayed in front for some time, but Russia spurt in the end for 31:27 at the halftime.
Pavlenko made it 38:28 and for Turkey it meant that they had to score 17 more points than Russia. They managed to take the lead at the end of the third at 48:46. Turkey was on fire in the last period but Russia stayed calm even with 3 minutes remaining. Dmitry Kulagin made it 54:59 that was still ok for Russian team. Turkey however could not stop on that and scored more important points at the end to clinch the spot at the semis.

Russia U16: Dmitry Kulagin 20, Andrey Loginov 8
Turkey U16: Enes Kanter 24+15 rebs, Safak Edge 20, Kevin Kaspar 8

France U16-Latvia U16 88:65
France U16 hopes for the semifinal spot and there is nothing the team could do now on its own. They won the last game in Group F of the Qualifying Round of the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. France beat Latvia 88:65 and finished with 4-1 record. Now the team will wait for the result of the last game of the day between Turkey and Russia that will decide if they made it to the top four or not. Leo Westermann (196-G-92) led the winners with 15 points. Mathis Keita (191-G-92) and Evan Fournier (196-G-92) supported him with 13 points each. Niks Saknitis (202-F-92) and Edmunds Dukulis (201-F/C-92) ended up with 12 points apiece in the losing effort as Latvia finished with 0-5 record.
For the Baltic side it was not a must-win-game, but they managed to take a lead in the opening tip of the game. Misters gave his team the biggest 16:12 advantage with 3 minutes in the period. Evan Fournier's three however closed the quarter at 25:23. Latvia did not give up and stayed tough in the second quarter as well. Zarans's three was the last before the interim.
The third quarter was a disaster for Latvia. A 14-0 run in the third stretched the gap to 20 in favor of France and decided the match. French squad had 27:12 in the period that gave them 72:54 after thirty minutes of the game. In the last period it was not a big deal to keep the score for good. France U16 won the campaign and now hopes for the semis.

France U16: Leo Westermann 15, Mathis Keita 13, Evan Fournier 13
Latvia U16: Niks Saknitis 12, Edmunds Dukulis 12+11 rebs

Israel U16-Croatia U16 60:78
Croatia U16 won the last game in Group F of the Qualifying Round of the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. The team overcame Israel U16 78:60 due to the second half. Stefan Zadravec (187-G-92) paced all the winners with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Marino Kucan (198-C-92, agency: Regeneracom Sports) nailed 14, while Boris Barac (202-F-92) scored 12. Tamir Simchony (192-G-92) and Bar Timor (-92) produced 14 points apiece in defeat. The win earns Croatia a 2-3 record and the fourth place in the group. Israel finished with a 1-4 record and the fifth place. Croatia will face Spain tomorrow while Israel will try to keep the ninth spot in reach against Ukraine.
Israel was lucky to score first 4 points in the game, but then Croatia started their scoring account. The latter was stronger in the end of the period and won it 20:13. In the second period it was Israel that started with 11-0 run for 24:20 lead. Katic closed the half as the score was tied at 33:33.
With 37:36 it was Croatian time for their run. They made a 10-0 run for 46:37 as Rogic made a three first and then nailed a jump-shot. Bar Timor reduced the gap for Israel at 43:52 after 30 minutes of the game. Levy brought his team to the closest 50:54 but then Croatia was too good in the end. They won the period 26:17 and the game itself 78:60.


Israel U16: Tamir Simchony 14, Bar Timor 14
Croatia U16: Stefan Zadravec 23+7 rebs, Marino Kucan 14, Boris Barac 12

Classification Round
Georgia U16-Hungary U16 60:81
Georgia U16 is still without victories at Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. In the second game of the Classification Round the team lost to Hungary U16 60:81. The latter had a great last period to seal the first win. Adam Varga (190-G-92) top-scored for the winners with 19 points. Levente Misek (191-G-93) netted 14, while Bence Delity (192-F-92) scored 12. Levan Eliadze (196-F-92) ended up with 16 points for Georgia, whilst Merab Bokolishvili (197-G/F-92) and Nodar Tenieshvili (195-F-92) added 15 apiece.
Georgia U16 had a good start and was in front in the majority of the opening quarter. Hungary however bounced back in the end of the period for 17:14 advantage. Somogyfoki made 30:22 for his team but it was Georgian time to come back into the game. They produced 12-0 run taking 34:30 lead. Timko sent the teams to the lockers as the teams would have to start from the beginning, 34:34.
Anothet tough battle continued in the third period. Georgia stayed behind until the last minutes but then had 51:50 entering the last stanza. They could not find a match for Hungary that shined in the quarter. Hungarians dominated the court having 31:9 in the last period. It gave them 81:60 as a total win at Termosteps U16 European Championship Men.

Georgia U16: Levan Eliadze 16, Merab Bokolishvili 15, Nodar Tenieshvili 15
Hungary U16: Adam Varga 19, Levente Misek 14, Bence Delity 12

Poland U16-Italy U16 61:89
Italy U16 defeats Poland U16 at the Termostep U16 European Championship Men. The Classification Round of the tournament saw the second win of the hosts for 89:61. Marco Ceron (190-G-92) top-scored for the winners with 17 points. Ondo Mengue netted 16, while Giovanni Pini (200-F/C-92) collected 15 points and 9 rebounds. Wojciech Leszczynski (187-G-92) top-scored for the Polish side with 13 points and Kacper Stalicki (194-F-92) added 11.
Poland did not mind playing with the hosts and taking 8:3 lead in the opening tip. Poland led in the majority of the first, but the hosts produced 7-0 run for 27:21 advantage. Ingrosso made it plus 10 and Traini increased to 44:29. Sgobba closed the half for the Italians as they triumphed in the second period with 26:11.
The third quarter was even and both teams scored 16 points in the period. Giovanni Pini gave the hosts 69:48 advantage after thirty minutes in the game. Anther 11-2 run in the beginning of the last period was too much for the guests that could not follow the hosts. Dziemba was glad to score at the end but Italy celebrated 89:61 win in Chieti. Tomorrow Italy will play against Hungary, while Poland will face Georgia.

Poland U16: Wojciech Leszczynski 13, Kacper Stalicki 11
Italy U16: Marco Ceron 17, Ondo Mengue 16, Giovanni Pini 15+9 rebs


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


U16 EC, division B: Slovenia books a spot for the semifinals - by Eurobasket News
U16 Slovenia - U16 Finland 65-56

Slovenia is the first team which booked a spot for the semifinals of U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo. In the first game of the Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place Slovenia outplayed Finland improving to 2-0 in Group F. As a reminder, Slovenia transferred victory against Bulgaria form the Preliminary Round which automatically means that Slovenia is in the semifinals. On the other hand Finland lost all chances to do the same.

Slovenia played slightly better first quarter. Mostly owing to Jaka Brodnik, Slovenians had 12-6 with one minute remaining in the first period. Villematti Kopio (173-G-92) made a jump shot for his team entering into the second frame with minus 4. After that moment Finland took control on Slovenia ending the second period 14-22. It means that Finland had 26-30 at the half time. Slovenia succeeded to make a turn at the middle of third frame but Finland take back plus one before the last ten minutes. Jaka Brodnik and his teammates created fantastic 15-2 run setting the score on unreachable 64-54 with one minute to go.

Jaka Brodnik paced Slovenia to victory recording double-double. He spent 34 minutes on court collecting 14 points and 11 rebounds. Matej Rojc and Matej Luznar (186-G-92) helped their team scoring 9 points apiece. Villematti Kopio was the best player in Finland adding 16 points and 7 boards. Alex Vaeneberg was behind him with 12 points and 4 rebounds. Slovenia will meet Sweden tomorrow while Finland will take on Bulgaria.


U16 Slovenia - U16 Finland 65-56
(12-8, 14-22, 16-13, 23-13)

Slovenia: Jaka Brodnik 14 (11 rebs), Matej Rojc 9, Matej Luznar 9
Finland: Villematti Kopio 16 (7 rebs), Alex Vaenerberg 12 (4 rebs)

INTERNATIONAL: Petteri Koponen will play in Italy - by Rauno Hurmalainen
There will not be NBA basketball for Finnish NT PG Petteri Koponen (193-G-88) coming season, but there will be basketball on top level in Italy 2008-09, possibly 2008-2012! Portland Trail Blazers has the NBA rights on Koponen, but at this moment it's everyone's advantage, that Koponen is playing in a tough league and good team
in Europe. Virtus Bologna (ITA-Serie A) and Koponen have signed a 4-year-contract. Virtus Bologna's Head Coach is Renato Pasquali . Petteri Koponen is the
sixth Finnish player ever in Serie A/Italy. Martti Kuisma, Hanno Mottola, Teemu Rannikko and Tuukka Kotti have done it before, Samuel Haanpaa and Koponen will
do it coming season.

KORISLIIGA: FoKoPo signed Ray "Hoops" Cunningham - by Rauno Hurmalainen
Korsiliiga (Top League) newcomer FoKoPo (Forssa) has signed Team's first American player for 2008-09 season. FoKoPo and F Ray Cunningham (199-F-79, agency: Warren Sports International, college: Murray St.) have agreed and signed a 1-year-contract. Cunningham has played in most minor basketball leagues (ABA, WBA, IBL, CBA, USBL) in the USA and has some international experience from Iceland and Dominican Republic. FoKoPo is still after another American Forward and Center.

*****************************************************
  FRANCE   


Standings - N1
N1 Standings
 1. Chalons 0-0 
 2. Mulhouse 0-0 
 3. Reims 0-0 
 4. Blois 0-0 
 5. Centre Feder. 0-0 
 6. Angers 0-0 
 7. Fos Ouest 0-0 
 8. Prisse Macon 0-0 
 9. Get Vosges 0-0 
 10. Bordeaux 0-0 
 11. Bayonne 0-0 
 12. Longwy 0-0 
 13. Lievin 0-0 
 14. Boulogne 0-0 
 15. St Chamond 0-0 
 16. Challans 0-0 
 17. Lille 0-0 
 18. Roche-la-Moliere 0-0 
 19. Juvisy 0-0 


France U16 hopes for the semis - by Eurobasket News
France U16-Latvia U16 88:65

France U16 hopes for the semifinal spot and there is nothing the team could do now on its own. They won the last game in Group F of the Qualifying Round of the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. France beat Latvia 88:65 and finished with 4-1 record. Now the team will wait for the result of the last game of the day between Turkey and Russia that will decide if they made it to the top four or not. Leo Westermann (196-G-92) led the winners with 15 points. Mathis Keita (191-G-92) and Evan Fournier (196-G-92) supported him with 13 points each. Niks Saknitis (202-F-92) and Edmunds Dukulis (201-F/C-92) ended up with 12 points apiece in the losing effort as Latvia finished with 0-5 record.
For the Baltic side it was not a must-win-game, but they managed to take a lead in the opening tip of the game. Misters gave his team the biggest 16:12 advantage with 3 minutes in the period. Evan Fournier's three however closed the quarter at 25:23. Latvia did not give up and stayed tough in the second quarter as well. Zarans's three was the last before the interim.
The third quarter was a disaster for Latvia. A 14-0 run in the third stretched the gap to 20 in favor of France and decided the match. French squad had 27:12 in the period that gave them 72:54 after thirty minutes of the game. In the last period it was not a big deal to keep the score for good. France U16 won the campaign and now hopes for the semis.

France U16: Leo Westermann 15, Mathis Keita 13, Evan Fournier 13
Latvia U16: Niks Saknitis 12, Edmunds Dukulis 12+11 rebs

Bahrami and Falker to Cholet! - by Maxime Weber
Erman Kunter signed his two last players today. Randal Falker (201-F-85) from Southern Illinois University is the last inside player of the team. He will be the backup of Claude Marquis.
The 6th best scorer of the Olympics from Iranian NT will play in France and will be the first Iranian player to play in the french ProA. Bahrami Nikkhah (200-F/G-83, agency: ACMT) showed his quality during the Rocky Mountain Revue and during the Olympics tournament in Bejing. He's an interesting swingman, who has great ball handling skills, the shooting and the size to play an important role with the young team of Cholet Basket.

Now, Cholet is waiting the return from French national selection of Nando de Colo and Claude Marquis.

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


U16 EC, division B: England takes it easily over F.Y.R. of Macedonia - by Eurobasket News
U16 England - U16 F.Y.R. of Macedonia 87-68

It was a joyful first day of the Qualifying Round for 9th to 16th place for the British. They managed to beat F.Y.R. of Macedonia staying in the race for one of the first two places in Group H. Both teams currently have score 1-1 but everything its up on the British now. It they outplay Portugal in the last game of this stage they will continue battle for the ninth place. If not, Macedonians will do it.

Macedonians showed their nerves at the very beginning. In case of the win they could secure at least second position in Group H but it seems that pressure was a big problem for them. England netted 18 points in the first frame while Macedonia had just 6. Gorjan Markovski woke up in the next stanza which resulted with slightly better performance by Macedonia. However, it was enough only for 40-31 at the half time. England had four very motivated players. Joseph Hart, Devon Van Oostrum, James Blandford and John Gould were the biggest threat for Macedonia. They led crucial 12-2 run for their team at the beginning of third frame. It was big 52-34 after what Macedonia succeeded to touch minus 11 only once.

Joseph Hart was the best scorer for the winning team with 15 points. Devon Van Oostrum had one points less but he registered 6 rebounds and 6 assists beside that. James Blandford and John Gould helped England with 12 points each. Gorjan Markovski showed the best performance in Macedonia adding 18 points and 4 assists. Vladimir Gotik followed with 15 points.


U16 England - U16 F.Y.R. of Macedonia 87-68
(18-6, 22-26, 23-18, 24-18)

England: Joseph Hart 15, Devon Van Oostrum 14 (6 rebs, 6 as), James Blandford 12, John Gould 12
Macedonia: Gorjan Markovski 18 (4 as), Vladimir Gotik 15

D1 Standings
Superleague Standings
 1. Feni Indistrija 26-4 
 2. Strumica 22-8 
 3. AMMAK SP 19-11 
 4. F.Rabotnicki 17-13 
 5. Pelister 17-13 
 6. MZT Skopje 15-15 
 7. Vardar 10-20 
 8. Karpos 2-28 


Standings - Division II
D2 Standings
 1. Torus 22-8 
 2. Ovce Pole 21-9 
 3. Pop Sport S. 21-9 
 4. Goce Delchev 16-14 
 5. Centar S. 16-14 
 6. Teteks 13-15 
 7. Plejmejker C. 12-15 
 8. Kozuv 11-16 
 9. Negotino 11-19 
 10. Heraklea 9-19 
 11. ABA 7-21 


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


Hungary U16 beat Georgia U16 in Italy - by Eurobasket News
Georgia U16-Hungary U16 60:81

Georgia U16 is still without victories at Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. In the second game of the Classification Round the team lost to Hungary U16 60:81. The latter had a great last period to seal the first win. Adam Varga (190-G-92) top-scored for the winners with 19 points. Levente Misek (191-G-93) netted 14, while Bence Delity (192-F-92) scored 12. Levan Eliadze (196-F-92) ended up with 16 points for Georgia, whilst Merab Bokolishvili (197-G/F-92) and Nodar Tenieshvili (195-F-92) added 15 apiece.
Georgia U16 had a good start and was in front in the majority of the opening quarter. Hungary however bounced back in the end of the period for 17:14 advantage. Somogyfoki made 30:22 for his team but it was Georgian time to come back into the game. They produced 12-0 run taking 34:30 lead. Timko sent the teams to the lockers as the teams would have to start from the beginning, 34:34.
Anothet tough battle continued in the third period. Georgia stayed behind until the last minutes but then had 51:50 entering the last stanza. They could not find a match for Hungary that shined in the quarter. Hungarians dominated the court having 31:9 in the last period. It gave them 81:60 as a total win at Termosteps U16 European Championship Men.

Georgia U16: Levan Eliadze 16, Merab Bokolishvili 15, Nodar Tenieshvili 15
Hungary U16: Adam Varga 19, Levente Misek 14, Bence Delity 12

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


Bamberg signs Beckham Wyrick - by Manuel Schust

Brose Baskets Bamberg signed another player, who was a member of Bayer Giants Leverkusen. After signing John Goldsberry (191-G-82, agency: Pro One Sports, college: NC-Wilmington), Jared Newson (196-G/F-84, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Tennessee-Martin) and Eric Taylor (201-F-76, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: St.Francis,PA), Beckham Wyrick (198-F-83, agency: Pro One Sports, college: NC-Wilmington) is the forth former Leverkusen player to join Bamberg for next season.
The 24-year old forward spent his college days at NC-Wilmington. In 2006 he played his first year overseas with Bayer Giants Leverkusen. During the 2007-2008 campaign Wyrick established himself as a decent role player, averaging 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.

Head coach Chris Fleming is quoted on the team's homepage, that Wyrick suits perfectly to the new team. The versatile american will play on both forward positions.



Standings - ProA
2.Bundesliga ProA Standings
 1. Bayreuth 0-0 
 2. Heidelberg 0-0 
 3. B.Muenchen 0-0 
 4. Karlsruhe 0-0 
 5. MBC 0-0 
 6. Langen 0-0 
 7. Lich 0-0 
 8. Schalke 0-0 
 9. Essen 0-0 
 10. Jena 0-0 
 11. Chemnitz 0-0 
 12. Hagen 0-0 
 13. Bremen 0-0 
 14. Kirchheim 0-0 
 15. K-lautern 0-0 
 16. Cuxhaven 0-0 
 17. Speyer 0-0 


Standings - Pro B
2.Bundesliga ProB Standings
 1. Osnabrueck 0-0 
 2. Wolfenbuettel 0-0 
 3. Rhoendorf 0-0 
 4. Landshut 0-0 
 5. B'guessbach 0-0 
 6. Freiburg 0-0 
 7. Crailsheim 0-0 
 8. Mainz 0-0 
 9. SU Braunsch. 0-0 
 10. Herten 0-0 
 11. T.Muenchen 0-0 
 12. Ehingen 0-0 
 13. Franken Hexer 0-0 
 14. Stahnsdorf 0-0 


Schwenningen Panthers return big man Narr - by Moritz Korff
Only a couple of days after adding Jerome Stancil (198-F-85, agency: 540 Sports, college: Bryant), a Wingman with both German and US-American citizenship, to the 2008-09 roster the officials of the Schwenningen Panthers (Regionalliga South-West) announced the comeback of Oliver Narr (221-C-76). The 32-year-old Center left Schwenningen in 2006, but now returns to the basketball court. Narr also played for Bamberg and Trier in the 1. Bundesliga earlier in his career.

U16 EC, division B: Germany too strong for Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo - by Eurobasket News
U16 Germany - U16 Bosnia and Herzegovina 106-70

After the first game of Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place in Sarajevo, Germany already booked a spot for the semifinals. Germans were better than the hosts of U16 European Championship division B Bosnia and Herzegovina improving their score to 2-0 in Group E. Thus in the last game of this stage Germany will fight against Montenegro for top of Group E.

Game is decided during the first ten minutes. Germany opened it very aggressively in order to resolve question about the winner as soon as possible. Bosnia had many troubles with organizing the plays at the beginning while its defense was on poor level. Mathis Monninghoff (192-G-92) and Jarelle Reischel (194-F-92) were unstoppable at the offensive end what resulted with huge 31-18 at the end of the first frame. Bosnians showed slightly better performance in the next period but it was enough only for minus 15 at the half time. German put into the fifth gear after the breather having another brilliant quarter, 31-19. At that point of game the only question until the end was will Germans reach 100, what they easily done.

Mathis Monninghoff paced Germany to victory scoring 24 points and dishing out 4 assists. Jarelle Reischel also shined scoring 23 points. Sebastian Fulle followed these two players with 14 points. Interesting is that Bosnia had three players which scored 10 points Marko Miletic, Ranko Ivic and Goran Vucic. In the last round Bosnia will meet Belarus. However, Bosnians do not have any chance for the semifinals so after tomorrow's game they will continue championship in Classification Stage for 5th to 8th place.


U16 Germany - U16 Bosnia and Herzegovina 106-70
(31-13, 17-20, 31-19, 27-18)

Germany: Mathis Monninghoff 24 (4 as), Jarelle Reischel 23, Sebastian Fulle 14
Bosnia: Marko Miletic 10 (4 rebs), Ranko Ivic 10, Goran Vucic 10

Tyron McCoy named assistant coach in Ludwigsburg - by Manuel Schust
Today EnBW Ludwigsburg announced that Tyron McCoy (195-F/G-72, college: Va Commonwealth) will become Rick Stafford 's assistant coach.
Tyron McCoy was one of the best known and most popular players in german basketball over the last decade. With his departure from the court an era of german basketball ends. And even though the teams McCoy was part of never made it to the second play-off round, most fans will remember him to be one of the most terrific players of the late 90s and the early new century next to Wendell Alexis (204-F-64, college: Syracuse) or Derrick Taylor (184-G-63, college: LSU).

The 35-year McCoy old american spent almost his entire pro career in Germany. After beginning his overseas career in Austria with Gmunden, 'the cat' joined MTV Giessen in 1998. The following year he signed with league newcomer TV Lich and become the league's topscorer averaging 22.9 points per game.
In the year 2000 McCoy signed a two-year contract with Frankfurt Skyliners and had the opportunity to show his skills in Euroleague. Tyron averaged impressive 15.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists in Europe's elite league.
His second year in Frankfurt was overshadowed by a severe injury. McCoy got replaced by Chad Austin (188-G-75, agency: Larry Fox Services, college: Purdue) and joined EWE Baskets Oldenburg during the 2001-2002 campaign. Who would have guessed that 'the cat' would remain with Oldenburg for the next 5 seasons? Tyron became Oldenburg's franchise player finishing every season with double figures.
After Don Beck 's departure from Oldenburg and the rebuilding of the team, McCoy had to go. But he was still hungry and spent last season with Bayer Giants Leverkusen. With his experience of 13 pro years, McCoy became an important role player for coach Achim Kuczmann and was one of the best sixth man in the entire league. As a 35-year old he still averaged 9.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.5 asissts and 1.5 steals per game.
Tyron McCoy now looks forward to his new coaching career and the fans in Germany are happy that he is still a part of german basketball.

Koeln hires Zarryon Fereti - by Manuel Schust
Koeln 99ers signed australian-samoan guard Zarryon Fereti (191-G-84, college: S.Idaho JC) for next season. Fereti spent the last 5 years in the USA, playing college hoops with Southern Idaho and St.Bonaventure.
Last season he averaged 13.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
Stephan Baeck, Koeln's managing director, said that they were looking for a Shooting Guard who can penetrate inside, but also shoot reliable from down the arc.
During a try-out phase Fereti could impress the coaching staff and the management and signed a contract for the upcoming season. It will be Feretis first pro season.

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


Spain U16 clinched the third place in Group E - by Eurobasket News
Spain U16-Greece U16 69:65

Spain U16 clinched the third place in Group E of the Termostep U16 European Championship Men. The team overcame Greece U16 69:65 trailing after the third period. Albert Ventura (190-F-92) led the winners with 15 points. Tomas netted 13, while Pedro Farina (196-F-92) collected 11 points and 10 rebounds. Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos (203-F-92) shined for the Greek side with 18 points and 16 rebounds and Panagiotis Papoulias (189-G-92) posted 14.
Spain looked better in the opening tip of the game taking 12:4 lead. Greece however remained in the game and tied the score at the end. Terpos made it 18:18 with a minute in the quarter, but Spain had 21:20 after the first 10 minutes. Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos gave Greece 22:21 lead in the beginning of the second but then could not set up the lead. Spain produced another run for 18:16 in the period. Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos could only sent the teams to the lockers wit 39:36.
The second half different a lot from the first. Greece U16 was too good in the third period and stormed past Spain 20:5. Panagiotis Papoulias and his team enjoyed 56:44 advantage after three quarters played. Spain did not fall down and replied with 13-0 in the beginning of the last. They never looked behind after that and led the game to 69:65 victory.

Spain U16: Albert Ventura 15, Tomas 13, Pedro Farina 11+10 rebs
Greece U16: Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos 18+16 rebs, Panagiotis Papoulias 14

Standings - B Division
B Standings
 1. Sporting 0-0 
 2. Komotini 0-0 
 3. Ikaros K. 0-0 
 4. Halkida 0-0 
 5. Amyntas 0-0 
 6. AIAS Evosmou 0-0 
 7. Aigio Helesi 0-0 
 8. Doukas 0-0 
 9. OFI 0-0 
 10. Arkadikos 0-0 
 11. Lavrio 0-0 
 12. Apollon K. 0-0 
 13. Goumenissa 0-0 
 14. Anagennisi 0-0 
 15. Aiolos T. 0-0 
 16. A.O. Kiffisia 0-0 


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


Smalligan Latest Addition For Landstede Zwolle - by Fred Roggen
Landstede Zwolle are pleased to announce the signing of American center Jamie Smalligan (213-C-84, college: W.Virginia) to their roster. This season Landstede hopes that Smalligan will provide some much needed height to defend the interior.
Smalligan played for the West Virginia Mountaineers and comes to Landstede Zwolle on the advice of John Beilein, an acquaintance of coach Herman van den Belt.
Landstede is still in negotiation with other Americans.

U16 EC, division B: Thriller win for Netherlands against Slovakia, two OT - by Eurobasket News
U16 Slovakia - U16 Netherlands 97-104

Netherlands grabbed thriller win against Slovakia in the first game of the Classification Stage for 17th to 23rd place on U16 European Championship division B. As a reminder, Netherlands transferred one defeat from the Preliminary Round thus it improved on 1-1 in Group I. Slovakia also has 1-1 as it entered into the same group with one victory.

It was a very exciting game with two over times. Netherlands had comfortable 32-49 at the half time but Slovakia didn't give up. Mostly owing to Tomas Kisel'a and Jaroslav Moravek (-92), Slovakians succeeded to make a big turn with 1:39 to go, 73-70. With two lay-ups Ivan Filipan made turn 73-74 but thanks to one free throw by Luley Slovakia reached an over time. Slovakia were lucky at the end of the extra five minutes as Stefanec drained a triple at the buzzer for 85-85. Finally Netherlands succeeded to crush Slovakia in the second over time ending it 12-19.

Sam De Haas and Ivan Filipan demonstrated very good performance. De Haas had 17 points missing only one rebound for double-double while Filipan also had 17 points but with one rebound less. Very important role in his team had Sven Burger, who followed Filipan and De Hass with 16 points and 8 rebounds. The leading scorer for the loosing side was Tomas Kisel'a, who netted 19 points. Jaroslav Moravek had 14 points, impressive 15 rebounds and 4 assists while Michal Saminsky stopped on 13 points and 4 assists.


U16 Slovakia - U16 Netherlands 97-104
(16-14, 16-35, 22-11, 20-14, 11-11, 12-19)

Slovakia: Tomas Kisel'a 19, Jaroslav Moravek 14 (15 rebs, 4 as), Michal Seminsky 13 (4 as)
Netherlands: Sam De Haas 17 (9 rebs), Ivan Filipan 17 (8 rebs), Sven Burger 16 (8 rebs)

Jerome Beasley and Anthony Richardson to EiffelTowers Den Bosch - by Fred Roggen
EiffelTowers Den Bosch have finished recruiting their team for the 2008/09 season, with the exciting announcement that Jerome Beasley (208-F-80, college: N.Dakota) and Anthony Richardson (201-F-83, agency: 540 Sports, college: Florida St.)
will be joining the team at the end of August. Both players have NBA experience and signs for one year.
Jerome Beasley played last year as a starting center in Israel for Maccabi Ramat Gan.
Forward Richardson comes from the German Ludwigsburg, after a short period with the New Orleans Hornets in the NBA.
Coach Randy Wiel: 'Beasley has European experience in Spain and Turkey and Richardson gives the team speed and scoring ability at both the 4 as the 3'.

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


Hungary U16 beat Georgia U16 in Italy - by Eurobasket News
Georgia U16-Hungary U16 60:81

Georgia U16 is still without victories at Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. In the second game of the Classification Round the team lost to Hungary U16 60:81. The latter had a great last period to seal the first win. Adam Varga (190-G-92) top-scored for the winners with 19 points. Levente Misek (191-G-93) netted 14, while Bence Delity (192-F-92) scored 12. Levan Eliadze (196-F-92) ended up with 16 points for Georgia, whilst Merab Bokolishvili (197-G/F-92) and Nodar Tenieshvili (195-F-92) added 15 apiece.
Georgia U16 had a good start and was in front in the majority of the opening quarter. Hungary however bounced back in the end of the period for 17:14 advantage. Somogyfoki made 30:22 for his team but it was Georgian time to come back into the game. They produced 12-0 run taking 34:30 lead. Timko sent the teams to the lockers as the teams would have to start from the beginning, 34:34.
Anothet tough battle continued in the third period. Georgia stayed behind until the last minutes but then had 51:50 entering the last stanza. They could not find a match for Hungary that shined in the quarter. Hungarians dominated the court having 31:9 in the last period. It gave them 81:60 as a total win at Termosteps U16 European Championship Men.

Georgia U16: Levan Eliadze 16, Merab Bokolishvili 15, Nodar Tenieshvili 15
Hungary U16: Adam Varga 19, Levente Misek 14, Bence Delity 12

Even ASE's roster is complete - by Tamas Deri
Darris Nichols (188-G) can be the point guard of hungarian top team Atomeromu SE. The american guard is one of the best rookies point guards on the european market. The 188 cm tall Nichols graduated this summer on the University of Western Virginia, where he had a great basketball carreer. He put up the best number in his junior season when he averaged 10.9 points, 4.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game and won the NIT championship. In his senior season he averaged 10.7 points, 3.3 asssists and 3.2 rebounds per game and was leading his team into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

ZTE KK signed Ryan De Michael - by Tamas Deri
Ryan De Michael signed a one-year deal with hungarian club ZTE KK. His contract shall be guaranteed after the two weeks try-out period.

The american power forward graduated on Tennessee-Martin University and averaged 15 points and 9 rebounds in his senior season with UTM in the second division of NCAA basketball. He started his european carreer in Finland with the team of Pussihukat and averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds per game. After his first european season he just signed with SG Schechtern in the german second division where he averaged 23 points and 9.5 rebounds in two seasons. After his first stop in Germany he played also two seasons in Luxemburg with AB Contern before coming to Germany where he got married and also the german passport. He spent the season 2004-05 with TV Lich in the second division and averaged 20.2 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. After his succesfull comeback to Germany he signed with first division team of Nuernberg and played there two seasons. He played there his best european season in 2006-07 when he averaged 12.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game and got voted to the german All-Star game. The last season he spent with Tuebingen in and averaged 5.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.


*****************************************************
  ICELAND   


U16 EC, division B: Estonia smashes Iceland stopping it on 34 points - by Eurobasket News
U16 Estonia - U16 Iceland 71-34

Estonia made an easy victory against Iceland in the first game of the Qualifying Round for 9th to 16th place. It means that Estonia improved to 1-1 in Group G while Iceland dropped on the same score.

Estonia was much better team during the entire time. Iceland struggled a lot with its stroke, especially from behind the arc. Its players had 19 attempts without any successful. They also had just 25% for FG2 what for sure was not enough against dangerous Estonia. It is important to be mentioned that Estonia ended this game with 56 rebounds while Iceland had just 25. Estonians opened it making quick 11-0. Until the end of the first stanza they extended it to 21-8. Second quarter was the only one which Iceland finished with double digits but still Estonia won it 14-11. Nothing has changed after that. The official host of this game dominated at the offensive end while Iceland continued with missing the shots. At the middle of last frame it already was huge 60-28.

Estonia had four players with ten or more points. Rannar Rap had 13 while Remy Pold added 11 points and 7 rebounds. Mathias Liias and Riho Sulja scored 10 points each but Liaas had 11 more rebounds. Haukur Palsson was a way better that the others in Iceland adding more than 1/3 of Iceland's points.


U16 Estonia - U16 Iceland 71-34
(21-8, 14-11, 15-7, 21-8)

Estonia: Rannar Raap 13, Remy Pold 11 (7 rebs), Mathias Liias 10 (11 rebs), Riho Sulja 10 (6 rebs)
Iceland: Haukur Palsson 12 (9 rebs)

*****************************************************
  IRELAND   


U16 EC, division B: Cyprus outsmarts Ireland 71-70 in Sarajevo - by Eurobasket News
U16 Cyprus - U16 Ireland 71-70

Cyprus ended the first day of Classification Stage for 17th to 23rd place celebrating extremely tight victory. Cypriots currently have 1-1 in Group J but without chance to end it on top position because of defeat against Romania at the Preliminary Stage. On the other side, despite this defeat Ireland will have a chance to reach that place. Namely, if Ireland succeeds to beat Romania with more than nine points top of Group J will belong to it. As a reminder, two best teams from this group will have a chance to fight for 17th place.

Ireland had fantastic first quarter finishing it 8-20. Sound strange but the second one totally belonged to Cypriots, which showed even better performance 28-13. Thus the score at the half time was 36-33 for Cyprus. Game is decided at the very end. With 1:13 to go the score was tied 67-67. After that moment Patinios made two FTS for Cyprus after what Lucey made one for Ireland. Andreas Vlachos of Cyprus got fouled netting the second FT after that 71-68. Karlo Vasquez tried to respond but he missed a triple with 15 seconds to go, Herron grabbed the ball scoring under the basket, 71-70. At the last Cyprus' possession Patinios missed two FTs giving a chance to Ireland but Karlo Vasquez committed a turn over at the very end.

Riginos Kasinopoulos (185-G-92) and Andreas Vlachos were the best players for the winning team in this game. Riginos Kasinopoulos added 19 points and 4 assists while Andreas Vlachos followed with 18 points and 6 boards. Michalis Kantartzis (193-F-93) alos shined for the winners with 14 points and very good 11 rebounds. Peter Herron was better than the others for the loosing side collecting 16 points and 5 boards. Karlo Vasquez stopped on 11 points.


U16 Cyprus - U16 Ireland 71-70
(8-20, 28-13, 19-19, 16-18)

Cyprus: Riginos Kasinopoulos 19 (4 as), Andreas Vlachos 18 (6 rebs), Michalis Kantartzis 14 (11 rebs)
Ireland: Peter Herron 16 (5 rebs), Karlo Vasquez 11

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


Jerusalem announced Haluska - by Yehonatan Eliahu
As we anticipated last week, Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem signed American guard Adam Haluska (196-G-83, agency: Octagon, college: Iowa) as it's fourth foreigner for the coming season. The team came out with an announcment today afternoon. Coming out of Iowa college, Haluska went drafted by the Houston Rockets in the 43th pick in 2007 NBA Draft. Then he has been sent to gain experience in the NBDL league, playing again for his hometown's team, Iowa Energy, where he averaged 18.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He will reunite with his teammate as a Freshman, Rahshon Clark (198-F-84), who already signed with the team. Jerusalem will now put their mind to a high-class Center. Some candidates which already came up are Kenny Adeleke (205-C-83, college: Hartford) and Travis Watson (203-F/C-81, college: Virginia).

Croatia U16 edges Israel U16 78:60 - by Eurobasket News
Israel U16-Croatia U16 60:78

Croatia U16 won the last game in Group F of the Qualifying Round of the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. The team overcame Israel U16 78:60 due to the second half. Stefan Zadravec (187-G-92) paced all the winners with 23 points and 7 rebounds. Marino Kucan (198-C-92, agency: Regeneracom Sports) nailed 14, while Boris Barac (202-F-92) scored 12. Tamir Simchony (192-G-92) and Bar Timor (-92) produced 14 points apiece in defeat. The win earns Croatia a 2-3 record and the fourth place in the group. Israel finished with a 1-4 record and the fifth place. Croatia will face Spain tomorrow while Israel will try to keep the ninth spot in reach against Ukraine.
Israel was lucky to score first 4 points in the game, but then Croatia started their scoring account. The latter was stronger in the end of the period and won it 20:13. In the second period it was Israel that started with 11-0 run for 24:20 lead. Katic closed the half as the score was tied at 33:33.
With 37:36 it was Croatian time for their run. They made a 10-0 run for 46:37 as Rogic made a three first and then nailed a jump-shot. Bar Timor reduced the gap for Israel at 43:52 after 30 minutes of the game. Levy brought his team to the closest 50:54 but then Croatia was too good in the end. They won the period 26:17 and the game itself 78:60.


Israel U16: Tamir Simchony 14, Bar Timor 14
Croatia U16: Stefan Zadravec 23+7 rebs, Marino Kucan 14, Boris Barac 12

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


Italy U16 defeats Poland U16 in Chieti - by Eurobasket News
Poland U16-Italy U16 61:89

Italy U16 defeats Poland U16 at the Termostep U16 European Championship Men. The Classification Round of the tournament saw the second win of the hosts for 89:61. Marco Ceron (190-G-92) top-scored for the winners with 17 points. Ondo Mengue netted 16, while Giovanni Pini (200-F/C-92) collected 15 points and 9 rebounds. Wojciech Leszczynski (187-G-92) top-scored for the Polish side with 13 points and Kacper Stalicki (194-F-92) added 11.
Poland did not mind playing with the hosts and taking 8:3 lead in the opening tip. Poland led in the majority of the first, but the hosts produced 7-0 run for 27:21 advantage. Ingrosso made it plus 10 and Traini increased to 44:29. Sgobba closed the half for the Italians as they triumphed in the second period with 26:11.
The third quarter was even and both teams scored 16 points in the period. Giovanni Pini gave the hosts 69:48 advantage after thirty minutes in the game. Anther 11-2 run in the beginning of the last period was too much for the guests that could not follow the hosts. Dziemba was glad to score at the end but Italy celebrated 89:61 win in Chieti. Tomorrow Italy will play against Hungary, while Poland will face Georgia.

Poland U16: Wojciech Leszczynski 13, Kacper Stalicki 11
Italy U16: Marco Ceron 17, Ondo Mengue 16, Giovanni Pini 15+9 rebs

*****************************************************
  LATVIA   


France U16 hopes for the semis - by Eurobasket News
France U16-Latvia U16 88:65

France U16 hopes for the semifinal spot and there is nothing the team could do now on its own. They won the last game in Group F of the Qualifying Round of the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. France beat Latvia 88:65 and finished with 4-1 record. Now the team will wait for the result of the last game of the day between Turkey and Russia that will decide if they made it to the top four or not. Leo Westermann (196-G-92) led the winners with 15 points. Mathis Keita (191-G-92) and Evan Fournier (196-G-92) supported him with 13 points each. Niks Saknitis (202-F-92) and Edmunds Dukulis (201-F/C-92) ended up with 12 points apiece in the losing effort as Latvia finished with 0-5 record.
For the Baltic side it was not a must-win-game, but they managed to take a lead in the opening tip of the game. Misters gave his team the biggest 16:12 advantage with 3 minutes in the period. Evan Fournier's three however closed the quarter at 25:23. Latvia did not give up and stayed tough in the second quarter as well. Zarans's three was the last before the interim.
The third quarter was a disaster for Latvia. A 14-0 run in the third stretched the gap to 20 in favor of France and decided the match. French squad had 27:12 in the period that gave them 72:54 after thirty minutes of the game. In the last period it was not a big deal to keep the score for good. France U16 won the campaign and now hopes for the semis.

France U16: Leo Westermann 15, Mathis Keita 13, Evan Fournier 13
Latvia U16: Niks Saknitis 12, Edmunds Dukulis 12+11 rebs

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


Lithuania U16 wins the battle between two perfect teams in Group E - by Eurobasket News
Lithuania U16-Czech Republic U16 76:48

Lithuania U16 wins the battle between two perfect teams in Group E at the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. In the last game of the group the Baltic side overcame Czech Republic U16 76:48. Jonas Valanciunas (209-C-92) led the winners with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Vytenis Cizauskas (188-G-92) netted 11 and Dovydas Redikas (193-F-92) scored 10. Jan Lipovy (187-G-92) ended up with 10 points, while David Hrncir (196-F-92) added 8. Lithuania finished with a 5-0 record, while the Czechs finished second with a 4-1. Lithuania will face France in one side of the semi-finals while the Czech Republic will play against Turkey.
Lithuania proved that the team was the favorite of the group and the top position should belong to them. They started with 9-0 run in the opening tip and then created a new run in the end. Sabonis finished the quarter with a jump-shot for 20:6. For the Czechs it was difficult to stay on the race as they trailed 17:42 later in the second. David Hrncir sent the teams to the lockers for 42:19 at the halftime.
Nothing specific had changed in the third period as Lithuania dominated the court. They enjoyed 66:32 after the thirty minutes of the game. In the last period Czech Republic U16 played much better with the previous quarters and could win the period 16:10. As a total it gave however Lithuania an easy 76:48 victory.

Lithuania U16: Jonas Valanciunas 13+9 rebs, Vytenis Cizauskas 11, Dovydas Redikas 10
Czech Republic U16: Jan Lipovy 10, David Hrncir 8

*****************************************************
  LUXEMBOURG   


U16 EC, division B: Denmark routs Luxemburg - by Eurobasket News
U16 Luxemburg - U16 Denmark 50-74

Denmark outplayed Luxemburg without any extra efforts improving to 2-0 in Group I of Classification Round for 17th to 23rd place. On the other hand Luxemburg remained winless on U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo.

Denmark had control on Luxemburg during the entire game. Danish players showed much better performance in all basketball elements. The fact that Denmark ended this game grabbing 66 rebounds while Luxemburg had only 29 talks everything about itself. After opening ten minutes Denmark already created plus 13. Second quarter was almost tied, which meant that Denmark kept its comfortable lead at the half time. Niels Andreasen was on fire in third frame and together with Christoffer Fugmann and Tue Nielsen lead Denmark to huge 37-60 before the last frame. Even before that, there was no any doubt about the winner. Luxemburg ended this game with just 21.7% for 3-pts and 30.2% for FG2.

Interesting is that each of three above mentioned players scored 10 points for the winning team. Christoffer Fugmann had ten rebounds more beside that while Tue Nielsen and Niels Andreasen had six. Luxemburg's best scorer was Alex Laurent with 13 points. He also grabbed 6 rebounds while Bob Melcher followed him scoring 12 points.


U16 Luxemburg - U16 Denmark 50-74
(6-19, 14-15, 17-26, 13-14)

Luxemburg: Alex Laurent 13 (6 rebs), Bob Melcher 12
Denmark: Christoffer Fugmann 10 (10 rebs), Tue Nielsen 10 (6 rebs), Niels Andreasen 10 (6 rebs),

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


U16 EC, division B: Tight win for Montenegro against Belarus - by Eurobasket News
U16 Belarus - U16 Montenegro 80-82

Montenegro succeeded to beat Belarus in a very important game of the Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place on U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo. With this tight victory Montenegro already secured a spot for the semifinals. Montenegrins currently have score 2-0 in Group E and in the last game of this stage they will meet Germany. The winner of this game will advance to the semis from top of Group E. On the other hand, Belarus will meet the hosts Bosnia and Herzegovina after what both teams will be transferred to Classification Stage for 5th to 8th place.

It was a very interesting game until the very end. After almost leveled first half, Nemanja Djurisic (-92) led his team to much better third quarter. Mostly owing to him Montenegro made ended this period making 15-7 run for solid 60-65. After lay-up by Andrija Mijanovic, Montenegro set the margin on 11 points with 2:41 remaining. Vitali Liutych (190-G-92) and his teammates didn't give up. Very quick they came on 77-80 having a chance to fight for over time but Nemanja Djurisic made two free throws with 17 seconds to go. At the last Belarus' possession Denis Azaare made a triple but only for 80-82.

Nemanja Djurisic was totally the best player in this game. He spent 33 minutes on court nailing 33 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Andrija Mijanovic helped the winning team with 15 points while Andrej Pajovic had 14 points and 6 boards. Belarus got the most from Vitali Liutych, who scored 28 points including 8 rebounds. Denis Azaare registered double-double, 19 points and 12 boards.


U16 Belarus - U16 Montenegro 80-82
(22-22, 19-17, 19-26, 20-17)

Belarus: Vitali Liutych 28 (8 rebs), Denis Azaare 19 (12 rebs)
Montenegro: Nemanja Djurisic 33 (7 rebs), Andrija Mijanovic 15, Anderj Pajovic 14 (6 rebs)

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


Miami Heat reaches terms with Dorell Wright - by Eurobasket News
Forward Dorell Wright (6'8''-G/F-85) has agreed to terms on a two-year deal with the Miami Heat, with his contract expected to be signed later this week.

Wright, who has been everything from a starter to an end-of-bench reserve for the Heat since being selected with the No. 19 pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, was a restricted free agent, with the Heat having the right to match outside offers.

With little outside interest, Wright will receive a deal that will start at roughly the $2.9 million qualifying offer he had been extended by the Heat for 2008-09.

Despite starting 34 of his 44 appearances last season before being sidelined by a knee injury, Wright, 22, likely will have to battle for playing time on a roster that has been bolstered at small forward by the offseason additions of 3-point specialist James Jones and defensive specialist Yakhouba Diawara.

Veteran Shawn Marion, who was acquired at midseason, likely will go into camp at the top of the depth chart at small forward.

Once Wright signs, it will leave the Heat with 13 players under guaranteed contract for next season: Centers Mark Blount and Joel Anthony, forwards Wright, Jones, Diawara, Marion, Udonis Haslem, Stephane Lasme and Michael Beasley, and guards Dwyane Wade, Daequan Cook, Marcus Banks and Mario Chalmers.

That total does not include center Alonzo Mourning, who is recovering from a knee injury, and guard Chris Quinn, who has the right to accept a qualifying offer.

The return of Wright also impacts the roster chances of forward Kasib Powell, who has been extended a non-guaranteed qualifying offer by the Heat.

Teams are limited to 12 active players per game and a maximum of 15 players under contract at the start of the regular season.

Courtesy of www.sun-sentinel.com

Brett Gunning departs Villanova for NBA's Houston Rockets - by Eurobasket News
Villanova associate head coach Brett Gunning is departing the university to accept the position of director of player development with the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association, it was announced today. Gunning had served alongside Wildcat head coach Jay Wright for the last 14 years at Hofstra and Villanova. He was the last remaining member of Wright's original 2001 Villanova staff.

'Brett has been an integral part of our Villanova basketball family over the last seven years and an important part of our success,' stated Wright. 'He is one of the game's bright young coaches and made a great impact on our program. We will miss him but it's always exciting when a member of our staff has the chance to pursue their dream and this opportunity in Houston allows Brett to do that. He'll always be a Wildcat to us, though.'

Gunning, 36, is a native of Broomall, Pa., who began his association with the basketball program as an undergraduate at Villanova in 1990. He served as a student assistant to coach Rollie Massimino for two seasons before transferring to UNLV where he completed his degree in 1994. When Wright, Massimino's assistant at both Villanova and UNLV, was named head coach at Hofstra in 1994, he hired Gunning as an assistant coach.

At Hofstra, Gunning was part of a staff that built the Pride into an America East powerhouse that posted a 72-22 (.766) record from 1998-2001. On March 28, 2001 he was introduced as part of the new Villanova staff at Wright's opening press conference. Since that point he has played a vital role in recruiting and developing a unit that has secured four straight NCAA Tournament berths and made three appearances in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. He was named associate head coach in 2005.

'I am blessed to have been a part of the Villanova family since Coach Mass first took me under his wing years ago,' states Gunning. 'Villanova is a special place to me and my family and it will always be a part of me. I have learned an unbelievable amount from Coach Wright, not just about basketball, but more importantly about life. I have also learned so much from many of the players and coaches who have come through the program.

'It's always been a dream of mine to coach in the NBA and this was an exciting opportunity that I couldn't pass up. It wasn't an easy decision to leave Villanova but I will always be grateful for the time spent here and the many great people I got to know.'

Courtesy of www.villanova.com

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


Brett Gunning departs Villanova for NBA's Houston Rockets - by Eurobasket News
Villanova associate head coach Brett Gunning is departing the university to accept the position of director of player development with the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association, it was announced today. Gunning had served alongside Wildcat head coach Jay Wright for the last 14 years at Hofstra and Villanova. He was the last remaining member of Wright's original 2001 Villanova staff.

'Brett has been an integral part of our Villanova basketball family over the last seven years and an important part of our success,' stated Wright. 'He is one of the game's bright young coaches and made a great impact on our program. We will miss him but it's always exciting when a member of our staff has the chance to pursue their dream and this opportunity in Houston allows Brett to do that. He'll always be a Wildcat to us, though.'

Gunning, 36, is a native of Broomall, Pa., who began his association with the basketball program as an undergraduate at Villanova in 1990. He served as a student assistant to coach Rollie Massimino for two seasons before transferring to UNLV where he completed his degree in 1994. When Wright, Massimino's assistant at both Villanova and UNLV, was named head coach at Hofstra in 1994, he hired Gunning as an assistant coach.

At Hofstra, Gunning was part of a staff that built the Pride into an America East powerhouse that posted a 72-22 (.766) record from 1998-2001. On March 28, 2001 he was introduced as part of the new Villanova staff at Wright's opening press conference. Since that point he has played a vital role in recruiting and developing a unit that has secured four straight NCAA Tournament berths and made three appearances in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. He was named associate head coach in 2005.

'I am blessed to have been a part of the Villanova family since Coach Mass first took me under his wing years ago,' states Gunning. 'Villanova is a special place to me and my family and it will always be a part of me. I have learned an unbelievable amount from Coach Wright, not just about basketball, but more importantly about life. I have also learned so much from many of the players and coaches who have come through the program.

'It's always been a dream of mine to coach in the NBA and this was an exciting opportunity that I couldn't pass up. It wasn't an easy decision to leave Villanova but I will always be grateful for the time spent here and the many great people I got to know.'

Courtesy of www.villanova.com

Will Kellner joins Nicholls State - by Eurobasket News
Will Kellner enters his first season with the Colonels after spending the past two seasons at Kilgore College under head coach Scott Schumacher.

'I am excited to have Will on our staff,' noted Head Coach J.P. Piper. 'He has great recruiting connections as well as an intimate knowledge of the game. He will be a great fit for us.'

As an assistant for the Rangers, Kellner helped guide Kilgore to a 31-29 overall record in his two-year stint, including a 10-0 start and No. 10 national ranking in 2006-07. During that time Kellner led two National Junior College Athletic Association All Americans: Marcus Thornton (Baton Rouge, La.) and Ridge McKeither (Danville, Va.) Five Kilgore student-athletes went on to sign Division I scholarships during Kellner's time with the Rangers.

Prior to his tenure at Kilgore, Kellner served as a graduate assistant at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette under head coach Robert Lee. During his time at UL-Lafayette Kellner worked with two players who have signed NBA contracts: Orien Greene - the 53rd overall pick of the Boston Celtics who went on to play for the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings - and Dwayne Mitchell, who signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. Seven other players went on to play professionally overseas.

Before working at UL-Lafayette, Kellner coached some of the top talent in the state of Louisiana while working with various AAU programs.

Kellner is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana and attended St. Thomas More High School. He earned his B.A. in English and M.B.A from UL-Lafayette.

He is engaged to Virginia Simon of Lafayette, La.

Courtesy of www.geauxcolonels.com

*****************************************************
  NCAA2   


Tyson Schnitker is new USI assistant coach - by Eurobasket News
USI named Tyson Schnitker (6'2''-G-85, college: Indiana St.) its new assistant coach.

Schnitker, a Robinson, Ill., native, joins Aaron Brothers on Rick Herdes' coaching staff just a few months after suiting up for the Eagles.

Schnitker was fourth on the team in scoring with 10.1 points per game and led the squad with 3.3 assists per contest in his only season with USI. The native of Robinson, Illinois, had a career-best 30 points against Drury University and six assists in four different games.

Schnitker transferred to USI after spending three seasons at Indiana State University. He averaged 7.6 points and 2.1 assists per game in 79 appearances as a Sycamore.

Schnitker was a part-time assistant coach at Lincoln Trail College in 2006-07.

He earned a masters degree in business administration from USI this summer and a

bachelors degree in business administration from Indiana State in 2007.

He replaces Marc Hostetter, who left USI this month after seven seasons to become an insurance agent in Evansville.

Herdes said last week that he had someone in mind for the position but didn't want to announce it until all Schnitker's paperwork was clear.

'Tyson has become integral part of our program in a short time and will make major contributions in his new position, Herdes said in a statement. He has a great work ethic and knowledge of the game, along with good people skills to be a great recruiter.

Courtesy of www.courierpress.com

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  NCAA3   


Juniata College named Neil Rager assistant coach - by Eurobasket News
Juniata College decided to hire Neil Rager as an assistant coach.

Neil Rager returns to his alma mater as an assistant men's basketball coach. He spent last season as a graduate assistant coach and head junior varsity coach at Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y. At Alfred, Rager was primarily responsible for coaching the guards coordinating film exchange. He also monitored student-athletes' academic progress while assisting with recruitment and practice planning. He is a 2007 graduate of Juniata with a bachelor's degree in secondary education, concentration in social studies. Rager previously served as a manager and later student-assistant coach for the Eagle men's basketball program during his four years at Juniata.

Courtesy of www.juniata.edu

"New boy Hainje can be Magic leader" - D3 All-American takes his game to England - by Moritz Korff
MANCHESTER Magic have secured a leader in their second signing of the close-season.

Coach Jeff Jones has landed Nate Hainje (6'5''-F-85) from the University of Chicago, after bringing in point-guard Brandon Kimbrough (6'2''-G-84, college: Drury) last month.

The 6ft 5ins forward was named an NCAA Division Three All-American among a host of accolades after leading his team the UAA championship.

Averaging 16 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, Hainje inspired Chicago to an 18-8 record and was the only player in the conference to rank among the top 10 in scoring, rebounding, and assists during the regular season.

And while his figures will give Magic fans something to get excited about, it is his leadership skills and attitude that have impressed Jones most.

He is just the kind of player we need, said the Magic coach. He is a consistent scorer and a solid player, but he is a team player and a leader as well.

He is similar to Pat Dwyer from last season and will, like Pat, be very good for our young players to learn from.

Hainje finished his university career ranked among Chicagos all-time leaders in scoring (1,119 - 11th), assists (268 - 5th), rebounds (588 - 7th), three-point field goals (146 - 6th), and free throws (211 - 9th), earning a reputation as an unselfish player.

He developed into the go-to man on the court for the Maroons, with team-mate Jake Pancratz saying: You could count on him without hesitation on the court because he did it every day in practice.

During practice, he was the one to get us going. He was really intense with everything he dida leader in every way possible.

Head basketball coach Mike McGrath added of his captain: Nates had a presence on the team and on campus from the moment he arrived.

Hes an energetic guy. He brings a positive spirit to practice and to campus, and hes been a lot of fun to coach because of that.

With Hainje and Kimbrough in for last years US duo of Dwyer and Jamaal Hilliard, Jones still has some adjustments to make to his roster as Magic defend their EBL treble.

Young Brit Orlan Jackman and Canadian Andrew MacKay have also left, but Jones has commitments from the bulk of his British contingent.

Further new blood could come in the form of a pair of young London-based English prospects that the coach is checking out and graduates from the clubs successful youth teams.

Courtesy of http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

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  NEW ZEALAND   


Kiwi impact in the ANBL - by Eurobasket News
The ANBL preseason games tipped off this week with the Kiwi players taking active part in the encounters. The Melbourne South Dragons improved to 4-0 record in the preseason and Nick Horvath (208-F/C-81, college: Duke) and Mika Vukona (197-F-82) were in the mix. Nick Horvath tallied 16 points, 7 boards and 3 assists as the South Dragons secured a 114:103 victory over the Perth Wildcats. Mika Vukona added 5 points, 7 boards and 4 assists in the win. Nick Horvath was impressive in the previous two games for the South Dragons. He notched 31 points and 13 boards when the Dragons burnt the ANBL defending champions and their cross-town rivals Melbourne Tigers 113:99. Mika Vukona added 18 points and 11 boards in the win. Later in the week the South Dragons took care of the Perth Wildcats 107:86. Horvath provided 16 points and 10 boards for the winning side. Vukona did not miss from the field and secured an 11-point and 7-rebounds haul in the win.
Pero Cameron (199-F-74, agency: Duran International) knocked down 5 points, 5 boards and 5 assists for the Gold Coast Blaze as they were beaten by Purdue 107:115. Casey Frank (203-F-77, college: N.Arizona) added 7 points and 5 boards for the Blaze in the loss.
Tall Black Lindsay Tait (194-G-82) came up with 14 points and 8 boards for the Wollongong Hawks but could not prevent his side from falling short. The Hawks were tamed by the Sydney Spirit 105:111.
Paora Winitana (195-G-76) fired 25 points and pulled down 9 rebounds for the Adelaide 36ers. Adelaide however were defeated by the Melbourne Tigers 92:96 on Wednesday.

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  NORWAY   


Standings - 1Div.
1Div. Standings
 1. Centrum 13-2 
 2. OSI 11-3 
 3. Langhus 10-2 
 4. Froya 7-7 
 5. NTNUI 6-7 
 6. Persbraaten 4-8 
 7. Stavanger 4-8 
 8. Varden 3-10 
 9. Trondheim 0-11 


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  PALESTINE   


Martyrs 28th Basketball Tournament Update - Day 6 & 7 - by Tamara Awartani
Day 6 - 20th of Aug

Hiteen vs. Al'Amal 107-69
A good game for both teams with exciting fastbreaks & 3points shots. Hateen was all the time taking the lead, the scores were: 26-18, 23-11, 28-16, 30-24 The game started off with Asad Affouri, Maisara Itmeh, Shadi Takrouri, Saed Darwazeh, Mohammed AlHilu for Hiteen's Team and with Ricardo Jothman, Firas Freij, Shadi Nabhan, Yassin Sharabati and Yousef for Al'Amal. Top scorers for Hateen are: Shadi Takrouri 53points (highest in tournament till now), Asad Afouri, Mohammed Alhilu and Maisara Atmeh, as for Al'Amal the top scorers were Firas Freij and Shadi Nabhan. Al'Amal's Coach gave a chance to the younger players to gain experience which is great.

Orthodoxi Beit Jala vs. Eibal 81-61
A tough exciting game specially in the first half until it changed its a way for ORC Beit Jala leading the game. The scores were as follows: 15-13, 17-19, 24-13,25-16. The game started off with Raed Abu Romman, Josh Holy, Osama AbdRabo, Charlie Qattan, Kamal Mkarkar for ORC Beit Jala, while Basheer AbdelAziz, Tamer Qanadilo, Asem Masri, Anan Fahoum, Na3im Turabi played for Eibal. The top scorers were Ra'ed with 35points along with a block shot & a great Slam Dunk with an assist from Kamal and Josh with 23points and two block shots. However the top scorers for Eibal were Anan with 19points and Basheer with 17points.


Day 7 - 21st of Aug

Orthodoxi Bethlehem vs. Jensafot 96-82
A close point by point game till the 4th quarter, Jensafot lead the first quarter 20 - 19, then ORC Bethlehem started to lead 20-27, then 22-20 for Jensafot and ended by 20-29 for ORC Bethlehem. Bassem Freij, Basheer Shatara, Awad AlHreimi, Jaired Saulice & Ibrahim AlBandak played for ORC Bethlehem with Jaired (34 points), Raed (19 points) & Basheer (13points) as top scorers, 7 3points for Jaired, two great block shots for Ibrahim & one for Basheer. While Dirar AbdelRahman, Shadi Shobaki, Ahmad Sabra, Sabe' Ghaleb and Saed Haji played for Jensafot with Shadi (22points), Dirar (20points), Saed (20 points) & Bassem Odeh (15points)as top scorers.

De La Salle vs. AlBireh 65-47
A close low score game until the 3rd quarter where AlBireh lead then de la salle made their jump in the 4th quarter winning the game, the scores were 18-12, 19-14, 11-16, 17-5. Hassan Awad, Tawfiq Richard, Labib Faidi, Ammar Nofal, Fadi Yaghmour played for De La Salle, with Michael Li (19points) & Labib Faidi (13points) as the top scorers, two block shots for Fadi, one for Ammar & Labib. While Shadi Bagali, Shaker Khoury, Fuad Jarrar, Mostafa Sandouka & Ahmad Awadallah played for Al Bireh, with Fuad as the top scorer (14 points )for his team, one block shot for Shadi & Ahmad.


Today's games are: Ma'lia vs Eibal at 6, Orthodoxi Ramallah vs. Al'Amal at 7.30, Ma'lia vs Ahli at 9

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  PBL   


PBL adds former NBA D-league president - by Gianni Pascucci
The Premier Basketball League made an interesting move officially announcing that Phil Evans, the former NBA Development League President and current President of Evans Sports and Media Group, will join the PBL as a consultant to League Operations. With his vast experience in professional basketball, we are proud to welcome Phil to our staff, stated Premier Basketball League Chairman of the Board Dr. Severko Hrywnak . Our strategic plan is moving along to make the PBL the only minor league basketball circuit with a business model where the owners can make a profit. Statistics have proven time and time again that minor league sports is a losing venture, our model is changing that. Phil's expertise will help us to achieve those business goals for our owners while providing high caliber basketball entertainment for the fans.' Prior to joining the NBA, Evans served in a variety of senior management positions for the Continental Basketball Association. Evans was hired by the NBA in April 2001 to serve as the NBAs Director of Legal and Business Affairs. Following the D-Leagues inaugural season, Evans was promoted to League President, where he served from 2002-2007. During his tenure at the D-League, Evans is credited with turning the eight-team start-up league into a twelve-team league generating an annual profit for the NBA. Evans also initiated national marketing partnerships for the D-League, as well as team partnerships with companies based in local markets. Sev, Tom and their team did a tremendous job launching the PBL last season, said Evans. I look forward to building on the foundation they created to take the league to the next level.

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  POLAND   


Italy U16 defeats Poland U16 in Chieti - by Eurobasket News
Poland U16-Italy U16 61:89

Italy U16 defeats Poland U16 at the Termostep U16 European Championship Men. The Classification Round of the tournament saw the second win of the hosts for 89:61. Marco Ceron (190-G-92) top-scored for the winners with 17 points. Ondo Mengue netted 16, while Giovanni Pini (200-F/C-92) collected 15 points and 9 rebounds. Wojciech Leszczynski (187-G-92) top-scored for the Polish side with 13 points and Kacper Stalicki (194-F-92) added 11.
Poland did not mind playing with the hosts and taking 8:3 lead in the opening tip. Poland led in the majority of the first, but the hosts produced 7-0 run for 27:21 advantage. Ingrosso made it plus 10 and Traini increased to 44:29. Sgobba closed the half for the Italians as they triumphed in the second period with 26:11.
The third quarter was even and both teams scored 16 points in the period. Giovanni Pini gave the hosts 69:48 advantage after thirty minutes in the game. Anther 11-2 run in the beginning of the last period was too much for the guests that could not follow the hosts. Dziemba was glad to score at the end but Italy celebrated 89:61 win in Chieti. Tomorrow Italy will play against Hungary, while Poland will face Georgia.

Poland U16: Wojciech Leszczynski 13, Kacper Stalicki 11
Italy U16: Marco Ceron 17, Ondo Mengue 16, Giovanni Pini 15+9 rebs

Standings - DBE
DBE Standings
 1. Slask 0-0 
 2. Anwil 0-0 
 3. Sportino I. 0-0 
 4. Polonia 0-0 
 5. Politechnika 0-0 
 6. Gornik W. 0-0 
 7. AZS Koszalin 0-0 
 8. Kotwica 0-0 
 9. Turow 0-0 
 10. Atlas Stal 0-0 
 11. Energa Czarni 0-0 
 12. Znicz J. 0-0 
 13. Prokom 0-0 
 14. Polpharma 0-0 
 15. Basket 0-0 


Standings - 1 Liga
1Liga Standings
 1. BT Wozki 0-0 
 2. Zastal ZG 0-0 
 3. Stal SW 0-0 
 4. Siarka T. 0-0 
 5. Resovia 0-0 
 6. Zubry 0-0 
 7. Sudety JG 0-0 
 8. LKS Lodz 0-0 
 9. AZS Kalisz 0-0 
 10. Sokol L. 0-0 
 11. Big Star 0-0 
 12. Polonia 2011 0-0 
 13. MOSiR Kr. 0-0 
 14. MMKS DG 0-0 
 15. Prokom II 0-0 
 16. AZS AWF K-ce 0-0 


Standings - 2 Liga
2Liga Standings
Group A
 1. Legia W. 0-0 
 2. Ksiezak L. 0-0 
 3. SIDEn 0-0 
 4. Astoria 0-0 
 5. Rosasport 0-0 
 6. AZS PW 0-0 
 7. Norgips 0-0 
 8. Bonduelle 0-0 
 9. Tur Bielsk Podl. 0-0 
 10. AZS Kutno 0-0 
 11. Trojeczka 0-0 
 12. Nowy Dwor Gd. 0-0 
 13. OSSM Sopot 0-0 
 14. UKS Leczyce 0-0 
Group B
 1. VB Leasing 0-0 
 2. Szesnastka 0-0 
 3. OSSM Wroc. 0-0 
 4. Doral-Nysa 0-0 
 5. Tarnovia 0-0 
 6. AZS PP 0-0 
 7. AZS Opole 0-0 
 8. Spojnia S. 0-0 
 9. Slask II W. 0-0 
 10. AZS Szczecin 0-0 
 11. MKKS R. 0-0 
 12. Open Basket 0-0 
 13. MKKS Zabrze 0-0 
 14. Pogon P. 0-0 
Group C
 1. Pogon RS 0-0 
 2. UMKS K. 0-0 
 3. SKK S-ce 0-0 
 4. Start AZS 0-0 
 5. Alba 0-0 
 6. AZS Radom 0-0 
 7. Limanowa 0-0 
 8. Cracovia 0-0 
 9. Wisla Kr. 0-0 
 10. HK Zory 0-0 
 11. Basket K. 0-0 
 12. MCKiS Jaw. 0-0 
 13. OSSM W-wa 0-0 


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  PORTUGAL   


U16 EC, division B: Switzerland cruises past Portugal in Sarajevo - by Eurobasket News
U16 Switzerland - U16 Portugal 89-60

Switzerland didn't have to work very hard in order to beat Portugal on U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo. It was a first game of the Qualifying Round for 9th to 16th place after what Switzerland improved its score on 2-0. As a reminder Switzerland transferred victory against England from the Preliminary Round. Portugal had 0-2 and it doesn't have any chance to reach one of first two places in Group H.

Switzerland had better beginning making 12-6 in just four minutes. After lay-up by Zoran Zivanovic (200-F-92) ten minutes later, Switzerland grabbed 26-17. At the middle of the second frame Portugal came on 27-23 but Stefan Petkovic (182-G-92) and his teammates answered very soon. They took care for 14-3 until the half time setting the margin on 14 points. Situation on the court didn't change after 15-minute break. Stefan Petkovic continued to lead his team and after his lay-up in 25th minute it was huge 50-29. It was a clear signal that the game is already over for Portugal.

Stefan Petkovic was the leading player of Switzerland in this game collecting 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists for 30 minutes. Zoran Zivanovic shined adding 15 points and 11 rebounds while Brian Savoy (186-G-92) also had 15 points but with 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Rafael Wildner scored 14 points for the loosing side while Eduardo Gimaraes had 11 points.


U16 Switzerland - U16 Portugal 89-60
(20-14, 21-13, 22-14, 16-19)

Switzerland: Stefan Petkovic 20 (5 rebs, 6 as), Zoran Zivanovic 15 (11 rebs), Brian Savoy 15 (4 rebs, 5 as)
Portugal: Rafael Wildner 14, Eduardo Guimaraes 11

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


Turkey U16 takes a semifinals spot from Russia U16 - by Eurobasket News
Russia U16-Turkey U16 55:67

Turkey U16 won a dramatic battle in the last game of Group F of the Qualifying Round. The Termosteps U16 European Championship Men saw the game that could be also named the best in the tournament. Turkey defeated Russia 67:55 and left them out of the semis. Enes Kanter (205-C-92) paced all the winners with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Safak Edge (185-G-92) supported him with 20, while Kevin Kaspar (180-G-92) scored 8. Dmitry Kulagin (194-G-92) ended up with 20 points in defeat and Andrey Loginov (202-F-93) posted 8. The win also means that the team to join Turkey will be France, also with a 4-1 record. Russia, the third team to finish with four wins, finished third in the tie-breaker and will play the 5-8 games. Turkey will take on the Czechs while Russia will face Serbia eying the fifth spot.
Russia that was undefeated before the game could not advance to the semis with the same 4-1 record. Russia played well in the beginning of the game and Menshikh closed the first at 14:14. In the second period Turkey stayed in front for some time, but Russia spurt in the end for 31:27 at the halftime.
Pavlenko made it 38:28 and for Turkey it meant that they had to score 17 more points than Russia. They managed to take the lead at the end of the third at 48:46. Turkey was on fire in the last period but Russia stayed calm even with 3 minutes remaining. Dmitry Kulagin made it 54:59 that was still ok for Russian team. Turkey however could not stop on that and scored more important points at the end to clinch the spot at the semis.

Russia U16: Dmitry Kulagin 20, Andrey Loginov 8
Turkey U16: Enes Kanter 24+15 rebs, Safak Edge 20, Kevin Kaspar 8

Pre-season preparations of CSKA and Ural-Great - by Eurobasket
CSKA will spend 5 frendship games in Italy.
On 29 of August CSKA team starts pre-season trainings and 2 days after the team goes to Italy where 5 frenship games will take place.
10 of sept.- Verona - VS Armani Jeans
12 of sept. - Venezia - VS
15 of sept. - Bologna - VS Virtus
17 of sept. - Siena - VS Montepaschi
19 of sept. - Ferrara - VS Ferrara

Ural-Great - Balkan Mountains - pre-season camps
Ural-Great team spends pre-season trainings in Slovenia. THe first part of the training camp the team will spend in 'Rogla' since 18 till 20 of august. Then the team will transfer to Zadar city where several games against croation teams Sibenka, Zadar, Split,Puntamica, slovenian Olimpija and ukranian Azovmash will take place.
Ural-Great will stay in Croatia till the 15 of september.

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  SERBIA   


Serbia U16 left Ukraine U16 winless in Group E - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U16- Ukraine U16 80:57

Serbia U16 left Ukraine U16 without wins in the Qualifying Round of the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. The last day of the Group E saw 80:57 for Serbia that finished with 2-3 record. Aleksandar Radenkovic (185-G-92) led the winners with 20 points. Djordje Drenovac (197-F-92) collected 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Luka Igrutinovic (194-G-92) netted 10. Vyacheslav Motorchuk (205-C-92) ended up with 17 points in defeat and Dmytro Marchenko (200-F-92) added 12. Serbia will now play the 5-8 games, while Ukraine, will play the 9-12 games. Ukraine will play Israel in the classification games while Serbia will face Russia in two days.
Serbia scored first five points in the game and proved the ambitions for the whole game. Ukraine however waited a bit and then produced their game when they had 10:9 lead. Moreover Mishula closed the opening quarter at 17:16. Serbia used a 10-0 run in the second quarter behind points by Aleksandar Radenkovic and Luka Igrutinovic to be separated from Ukraine by eight at the break, 38:30.
Another 6-0 run lifted Serbia up to 44:30 in the beginning of the third. Bobrov was the last to score in the period for 61:47. With 19:10 Serbia won the last period and increased the advantage to 80:57.

Serbia U16: Aleksandar Radenkovic 20, Djordje Drenovac 13+10 rebs, Luka Igrutinovic 10
Ukraine U16: Vyacheslav Motorchuk 17, Dmytro Marchenko 12

Svetislav Pesic very close to Crvena Zvezda - by Dragan Jankovski
Well respected Serbian coach Svetislav Pesic is very close to take over Crvena Zvezda. According to words of Zvezda's GM Milan Opacic almost all terms with Pesic are agreed.

'We are very close to the final agreement. I expected that Pesic officially become a new head coach of Crvena Zvezda on Saturday. We will have one more meeting when we suppose to finalize our deal and I really do not see what could be the possible problem. As I announced after our second meeting, until the end of the week Zvezda will get a new head coach. However, it is too early for celebration and we are looking forward to Saturday' - said Milan Opacic.

As a reminder, Svetislav Pesic's biggest success for sure is a Gold medal on World Championship 2002 in Indianapolis. Except of that Gold, Pesic also led Serbian National Team to the same medal a year before on European Championship 2001 in Turkey. With National Team of Germany he celebrated on Eurobasket 1993. He changed many teams over the past two decades. Some of them are Bosna Sarajevo, ALBA Berlin, Koln, Barcelona, Lottomatica Roma, Akasvayu Girona and Dynamo Moscow. With Girona he won FIBA EuroCup in 2007. With Barcelona Pesic grabbed three trophies. In 2002 Barca won Euroleague as well as Spanish ACB while a year later Pesic and his team defended Spanish title. His ALBA Berlin won four consecutive titles in Germany, from 1997-2000.

Samardzija and Glisovic in Romania, important news from Napredak Rubin - by Dragan Jankovski
Romanian team Gaz Metan from Mediash signed one-year deal with guard Ognjen Samardzija (-86) and a big guy Nikola Glisovic (209-C-73). Samardzija played last two seasons for Beovuk 72, which competed in Serbian B league. Before that he was a member of FMP cadet team and Zeleznik Workers. Experienced Glisovic played last season for Radnicki 034 Group averaging 10.1 ppg and 4.2 rpg for 20 games in A1. In the past he used to play for Ase Doukas Athens, Age Halkidas, Soproni, Borac Nektar and Kumanovo.

Participant of Serbian A1 league Napredak Rubin from Krusevac started preparations for the upcoming season. As a reminder, Napredak succeeded to survive last season in A1 thanks to nice performance at the very end. Six players from the last season will stay in the club: Dragan Markovic (202-F-74, agency: Beo Basket), Dejan Gajic (195-G-86), Dragan Zivanovic (197-G-80), Dragan Milosavljevic (198-G-89), Konstantin Kocergin (190-G-85) and Mladen Misic (186-G-89). Vojislav Gojnic (208-C-80, agency: Beo Basket), Marko Milicevic (204-F-82), Marko Karapandzic (194-G-85), Filip Gavranovic (205-F/C-86), Ljubisa Vukosavljevic (180-G-86), Predrag Miletic (193-G-84) and Dejan Simic (206-C-75) left the team.
New head coach of Napredak Rubin will be Radenko Varagic, who already spent some time in Krusevac in the past. Napredak also inked few acquisitions for 08/09. Slobodan Pejovic (194-G-86), who arrived from Sloga, was the first team's signing. Later Napredak agreed terms with center Borislav Djurovic (205-F-80), ex Proleter Naftagas. Bosko Jovovic (205-F/C-83), who spent last season in Macedonian team Feni Industri and Srdjan Zivkovic (199-G-86, agency: Interperformances) from Strumica 2005 also joined Napredak. Maybe the biggest reinforcement of the team is Ivan Miceta (205-C/F-81, agency: 011 Sports). Former player of Polpak Swecie Nenad Sulovic (202-F/C-85) was the last one who joined Napredak.

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  SLOVAKIA   


Estonia beat Slovakia in friendly game - by Eurobasket News
Estonia - Slovakia 77:53

The National Teams of Estonia and Slovakia opened the International basketball tournament in Kiev, Ukraine. They will play at the competition alongside Belarus and the hosts. Yesterday Estonia held off Slovakia in the first game of the event. Gert Kullamae (198-G/F-71) notched 12 points, Tanel Sokk (188-G-85) added 11 points and 7 boards to pace Estonia to the confident victory. Janar Talts (204-C-83) came up with 8 points and 11 boards, while Kristjan Kangur (202-F-82) added 10 points in the win. Gabriel Szalay (215-C-86) knocked down game-high 16 points for Slovakia.
Estonia dominated the game. They surged after a brief exchange of baskets early in the encounter and built a 19:15 lead after ten minutes of action. The Baltic team went on a key rally in the second period. They outscored Slovakia 21:12 and established a 40:27 advantage at halftime. Slovakia did not change the complexion of the game after the ling break. Estonian players looked better in the paint and ran quicker in fastbreaks. Estonia stretched the margin and headed into the fourth quarter up by 19 points. Slovakia failed to recover and suffered their first defeat in Kiev. Anton Gavel (189-G-84, agency: Pro One Sports) notched 11 points in defeat. Estonia outrebounded their opponents 44:33 and limited Slovakia to 31% accuracy from the field.
Estonia will face Belarus, while Slovakia will take on Ukraine today.

Estonia: Gert Kullamae 12, Tanel Sokk 11, Kristjan Kangur 10
Slovakia: Gabriel Szalay 16, Anton Gavel 11

U16 EC, division B: Thriller win for Netherlands against Slovakia, two OT - by Eurobasket News
U16 Slovakia - U16 Netherlands 97-104

Netherlands grabbed thriller win against Slovakia in the first game of the Classification Stage for 17th to 23rd place on U16 European Championship division B. As a reminder, Netherlands transferred one defeat from the Preliminary Round thus it improved on 1-1 in Group I. Slovakia also has 1-1 as it entered into the same group with one victory.

It was a very exciting game with two over times. Netherlands had comfortable 32-49 at the half time but Slovakia didn't give up. Mostly owing to Tomas Kisel'a and Jaroslav Moravek (-92), Slovakians succeeded to make a big turn with 1:39 to go, 73-70. With two lay-ups Ivan Filipan made turn 73-74 but thanks to one free throw by Luley Slovakia reached an over time. Slovakia were lucky at the end of the extra five minutes as Stefanec drained a triple at the buzzer for 85-85. Finally Netherlands succeeded to crush Slovakia in the second over time ending it 12-19.

Sam De Haas and Ivan Filipan demonstrated very good performance. De Haas had 17 points missing only one rebound for double-double while Filipan also had 17 points but with one rebound less. Very important role in his team had Sven Burger, who followed Filipan and De Hass with 16 points and 8 rebounds. The leading scorer for the loosing side was Tomas Kisel'a, who netted 19 points. Jaroslav Moravek had 14 points, impressive 15 rebounds and 4 assists while Michal Saminsky stopped on 13 points and 4 assists.


U16 Slovakia - U16 Netherlands 97-104
(16-14, 16-35, 22-11, 20-14, 11-11, 12-19)

Slovakia: Tomas Kisel'a 19, Jaroslav Moravek 14 (15 rebs, 4 as), Michal Seminsky 13 (4 as)
Netherlands: Sam De Haas 17 (9 rebs), Ivan Filipan 17 (8 rebs), Sven Burger 16 (8 rebs)

Ukraine rebound well against Slovakia - by Eurobasket News
Ukraine - Slovakia 81:74

Ukrainian National Team secured their first win at the International Basketball Tournament in Kiev. They lost to Belarus in the opening round but managed to find the right rhythm and held off Slovakia in the second round of the event. Slovakia in the meantime suffered their second loss in a row. However the start of the game was in favor of the visitors. They went on a 9:0 run to accumulate a 15:5 lead midway through the first quarter. But Ukraine answered with an 18:4 run to cap the first period and gained a 23:19 advantage. Oleksandr Kolchenko (198-F/G-88) and Roman Gumenyuk (221-C-87) teamed up for 16 points in the second period for Ukraine and the hosts ran away to a 47:34 distance at halftime. The home team kept their opponents at distance in the third frame and entered the fourth quarter ahead by 8 points. Martin Sykora (190-G/F-81) opened the fourth term with a three-pointer and Slovakia came as close as 5 points from Ukraine. Later Anton Gavel (189-G-84, agency: Pro One Sports) and Martin Sykora trimmed the deficit to a single point with back-to-back trifectas. Gabriel Szalay (215-C-86) put Slovakia in charge seconds later 61:60. Artur Drozdov (198-G-80) and Anton Gavel exchanged three-pointers before Artur Drozdov netted one more long bomb to lift Ukraine back in front. The hosts cleared off to a 77:70 distance with just over one minute left. Dusan Pandula (195-F-84) and Anton Gavel shaved the deficit to 3 points with 43 seconds remaining. Dmitri Zabirchenko (191-G-84) was perfect from the stripe and Andriy Agafonov (207-F-86, agency: Interperformances) sealed the winning outcome with a jumper in the dying seconds. Rostislav Krivych (198-F/G-78) topscored with 19 points for Ukraine. Artur Drozdov added 18 points, while Andriy Agafonov had 11 points and 11 boards for the winners. Anton Gavel answered with 18 points for Slovakia. Dusan Pandula delivered 12 points in defeat.
Ukraine will meet Estonia, while Slovakia will take on Belarus today.

Ukraine: Rostislav Krivych 19, Artur Drozdov 18, Andriy Agafonov 11+11 boards
Slovakia: Anton Gavel 18, Dusan Pandula 12

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  SLOVENIA   


U16 EC, division B: Slovenia books a spot for the semifinals - by Eurobasket News
U16 Slovenia - U16 Finland 65-56

Slovenia is the first team which booked a spot for the semifinals of U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo. In the first game of the Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place Slovenia outplayed Finland improving to 2-0 in Group F. As a reminder, Slovenia transferred victory against Bulgaria form the Preliminary Round which automatically means that Slovenia is in the semifinals. On the other hand Finland lost all chances to do the same.

Slovenia played slightly better first quarter. Mostly owing to Jaka Brodnik, Slovenians had 12-6 with one minute remaining in the first period. Villematti Kopio (173-G-92) made a jump shot for his team entering into the second frame with minus 4. After that moment Finland took control on Slovenia ending the second period 14-22. It means that Finland had 26-30 at the half time. Slovenia succeeded to make a turn at the middle of third frame but Finland take back plus one before the last ten minutes. Jaka Brodnik and his teammates created fantastic 15-2 run setting the score on unreachable 64-54 with one minute to go.

Jaka Brodnik paced Slovenia to victory recording double-double. He spent 34 minutes on court collecting 14 points and 11 rebounds. Matej Rojc and Matej Luznar (186-G-92) helped their team scoring 9 points apiece. Villematti Kopio was the best player in Finland adding 16 points and 7 boards. Alex Vaeneberg was behind him with 12 points and 4 rebounds. Slovenia will meet Sweden tomorrow while Finland will take on Bulgaria.


U16 Slovenia - U16 Finland 65-56
(12-8, 14-22, 16-13, 23-13)

Slovenia: Jaka Brodnik 14 (11 rebs), Matej Rojc 9, Matej Luznar 9
Finland: Villematti Kopio 16 (7 rebs), Alex Vaenerberg 12 (4 rebs)

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  SPAIN   


Spain U16 clinched the third place in Group E - by Eurobasket News
Spain U16-Greece U16 69:65

Spain U16 clinched the third place in Group E of the Termostep U16 European Championship Men. The team overcame Greece U16 69:65 trailing after the third period. Albert Ventura (190-F-92) led the winners with 15 points. Tomas netted 13, while Pedro Farina (196-F-92) collected 11 points and 10 rebounds. Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos (203-F-92) shined for the Greek side with 18 points and 16 rebounds and Panagiotis Papoulias (189-G-92) posted 14.
Spain looked better in the opening tip of the game taking 12:4 lead. Greece however remained in the game and tied the score at the end. Terpos made it 18:18 with a minute in the quarter, but Spain had 21:20 after the first 10 minutes. Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos gave Greece 22:21 lead in the beginning of the second but then could not set up the lead. Spain produced another run for 18:16 in the period. Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos could only sent the teams to the lockers wit 39:36.
The second half different a lot from the first. Greece U16 was too good in the third period and stormed past Spain 20:5. Panagiotis Papoulias and his team enjoyed 56:44 advantage after three quarters played. Spain did not fall down and replied with 13-0 in the beginning of the last. They never looked behind after that and led the game to 69:65 victory.

Spain U16: Albert Ventura 15, Tomas 13, Pedro Farina 11+10 rebs
Greece U16: Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos 18+16 rebs, Panagiotis Papoulias 14

Iturbe completes MMT Estudiantes - by Robert Mayor
Veteran player Iker Iturbe (200-F/C-76, agency: Court Side, college: Clemson) will play for MMT Estudiantes next seaosn. After one year in UPIM Bolonia and Real Madrid, Basque forward returns to MMT Estudiantes, club where he spent six seasons before leaving past summer. Iturbe completes capital team roster after several important signings like Martin Rancik (204-F/C-78, college: Iowa St.) or Vonteego Cummings (192-G-76, college: Pittsburgh).

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  SWEDEN   


U16 EC, division B: Bulgaria surprises Sweden in Sarajevo - by Eurobasket News
U16 Bulgaria - U16 Sweden 66-58

Bulgaria grabbed an extremely important victory against Sweden on U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo. It was a first game of the Qualifying Round for 1st to 8th place where Bulgaria transferred defeat while Sweden brought win from the first stage. Thus both teams currently have score 1-1 in Group F and a chance to reach the semifinals. Everything depends on Bulgarians. If they celebrate against winless Finland in the last game one place in the semifinals will be reserved for them. In that case Sweden will continue championship in Classification Round for 5th to 8th place.

Bulgaria took control on Sweden from the early beginning. After triple by Tencho Tenchev in fifth minute it was 11-7 for Bulgaria. Until the end of the first frame Bulgaria made 11-4 run taking 11-point lead after ten minutes. In the second quarter Bulgaria touched 27-11 but Carl Gaddefors and Jonathan Person stepped up for Sweden stopping Bulgarians on their way. They succeeded to come on minus 13 at the half time what gave them some chances later. At the middle of third frame the Swedish closed the gap on 45-43 but their joy didn't last long. Very soon Georgi Sirakov (184-G-92, agency: Interperformances) led 8-3 run for 53-45. Last ten minutes were just the formality as Bulgarians played as much as it was necessary for the victory.

Georgi Sirakov was the key player for the winning team. He played 35 minutes netting 28 points including 5 triples. Interesting is that he was the only one with double figures in Bulgaria as Tencho Tenchev was the second scorer of the team with 9 points. Tenchev also grabbed 5 more rebounds. Carl Gaddefors added 14 points and 6 rebounds for Sweden while Jonathan Person had 13 points and 7 boards.


U16 Bulgaria - U16 Sweden 66-58
(22-11, 19-17, 12-17, 13-13)

Bulgaria: Georgi Sirakov 28, Tencho Tenchev 9 (5 rebs)
Sweden: Carl Gaddefors 14 (6 rebs), Jonathan Person 13 (7 rebs)

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  SWITZERLAND   


U16 EC, division B: Switzerland cruises past Portugal in Sarajevo - by Eurobasket News
U16 Switzerland - U16 Portugal 89-60

Switzerland didn't have to work very hard in order to beat Portugal on U16 European Championship division B in Sarajevo. It was a first game of the Qualifying Round for 9th to 16th place after what Switzerland improved its score on 2-0. As a reminder Switzerland transferred victory against England from the Preliminary Round. Portugal had 0-2 and it doesn't have any chance to reach one of first two places in Group H.

Switzerland had better beginning making 12-6 in just four minutes. After lay-up by Zoran Zivanovic (200-F-92) ten minutes later, Switzerland grabbed 26-17. At the middle of the second frame Portugal came on 27-23 but Stefan Petkovic (182-G-92) and his teammates answered very soon. They took care for 14-3 until the half time setting the margin on 14 points. Situation on the court didn't change after 15-minute break. Stefan Petkovic continued to lead his team and after his lay-up in 25th minute it was huge 50-29. It was a clear signal that the game is already over for Portugal.

Stefan Petkovic was the leading player of Switzerland in this game collecting 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists for 30 minutes. Zoran Zivanovic shined adding 15 points and 11 rebounds while Brian Savoy (186-G-92) also had 15 points but with 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Rafael Wildner scored 14 points for the loosing side while Eduardo Gimaraes had 11 points.


U16 Switzerland - U16 Portugal 89-60
(20-14, 21-13, 22-14, 16-19)

Switzerland: Stefan Petkovic 20 (5 rebs, 6 as), Zoran Zivanovic 15 (11 rebs), Brian Savoy 15 (4 rebs, 5 as)
Portugal: Rafael Wildner 14, Eduardo Guimaraes 11

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  TURKEY   


Standings - TB2L
TB2L Standings
Group A
 1. Tofas 17-3 
 2. Pertevniyal 16-4 
 3. Vestel 15-5 
 4. Usak 12-8 
 5. Eyup 10-10 
 6. Akcakoca P. 10-10 
 7. Genc Banvit. 10-10 
 8. FMV Isik 10-10 
 9. Gazi Univ. 8-12 
 10. Orman 6-14 
 11. Cukurova 4-16 
 12. Izmir Bld. 2-18 
Group B
 1. Aliaga 18-2 
 2. Erdemir 16-4 
 3. ITU 14-6 
 4. Canakkale 13-7 
 5. Duzce Genclik 12-8 
 6. Yesilyurt 11-9 
 7. Bursa B-bol 9-11 
 8. Ankara Basket 9-11 
 9. Gelisim 8-12 
 10. TED Istanbul 7-13 
 11. Golcuk 3-17 
 12. Anadolu Univ. 0-20 


Turkey U16 takes a semifinals spot from Russia U16 - by Eurobasket News
Russia U16-Turkey U16 55:67

Turkey U16 won a dramatic battle in the last game of Group F of the Qualifying Round. The Termosteps U16 European Championship Men saw the game that could be also named the best in the tournament. Turkey defeated Russia 67:55 and left them out of the semis. Enes Kanter (205-C-92) paced all the winners with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Safak Edge (185-G-92) supported him with 20, while Kevin Kaspar (180-G-92) scored 8. Dmitry Kulagin (194-G-92) ended up with 20 points in defeat and Andrey Loginov (202-F-93) posted 8. The win also means that the team to join Turkey will be France, also with a 4-1 record. Russia, the third team to finish with four wins, finished third in the tie-breaker and will play the 5-8 games. Turkey will take on the Czechs while Russia will face Serbia eying the fifth spot.
Russia that was undefeated before the game could not advance to the semis with the same 4-1 record. Russia played well in the beginning of the game and Menshikh closed the first at 14:14. In the second period Turkey stayed in front for some time, but Russia spurt in the end for 31:27 at the halftime.
Pavlenko made it 38:28 and for Turkey it meant that they had to score 17 more points than Russia. They managed to take the lead at the end of the third at 48:46. Turkey was on fire in the last period but Russia stayed calm even with 3 minutes remaining. Dmitry Kulagin made it 54:59 that was still ok for Russian team. Turkey however could not stop on that and scored more important points at the end to clinch the spot at the semis.

Russia U16: Dmitry Kulagin 20, Andrey Loginov 8
Turkey U16: Enes Kanter 24+15 rebs, Safak Edge 20, Kevin Kaspar 8

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  UKRAINE   


Ukraine rebound well against Slovakia - by Eurobasket News
Ukraine - Slovakia 81:74

Ukrainian National Team secured their first win at the International Basketball Tournament in Kiev. They lost to Belarus in the opening round but managed to find the right rhythm and held off Slovakia in the second round of the event. Slovakia in the meantime suffered their second loss in a row. However the start of the game was in favor of the visitors. They went on a 9:0 run to accumulate a 15:5 lead midway through the first quarter. But Ukraine answered with an 18:4 run to cap the first period and gained a 23:19 advantage. Oleksandr Kolchenko (198-F/G-88) and Roman Gumenyuk (221-C-87) teamed up for 16 points in the second period for Ukraine and the hosts ran away to a 47:34 distance at halftime. The home team kept their opponents at distance in the third frame and entered the fourth quarter ahead by 8 points. Martin Sykora (190-G/F-81) opened the fourth term with a three-pointer and Slovakia came as close as 5 points from Ukraine. Later Anton Gavel (189-G-84, agency: Pro One Sports) and Martin Sykora trimmed the deficit to a single point with back-to-back trifectas. Gabriel Szalay (215-C-86) put Slovakia in charge seconds later 61:60. Artur Drozdov (198-G-80) and Anton Gavel exchanged three-pointers before Artur Drozdov netted one more long bomb to lift Ukraine back in front. The hosts cleared off to a 77:70 distance with just over one minute left. Dusan Pandula (195-F-84) and Anton Gavel shaved the deficit to 3 points with 43 seconds remaining. Dmitri Zabirchenko (191-G-84) was perfect from the stripe and Andriy Agafonov (207-F-86, agency: Interperformances) sealed the winning outcome with a jumper in the dying seconds. Rostislav Krivych (198-F/G-78) topscored with 19 points for Ukraine. Artur Drozdov added 18 points, while Andriy Agafonov had 11 points and 11 boards for the winners. Anton Gavel answered with 18 points for Slovakia. Dusan Pandula delivered 12 points in defeat.
Ukraine will meet Estonia, while Slovakia will take on Belarus today.

Ukraine: Rostislav Krivych 19, Artur Drozdov 18, Andriy Agafonov 11+11 boards
Slovakia: Anton Gavel 18, Dusan Pandula 12

Serbia U16 left Ukraine U16 winless in Group E - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U16- Ukraine U16 80:57

Serbia U16 left Ukraine U16 without wins in the Qualifying Round of the Termosteps U16 European Championship Men. The last day of the Group E saw 80:57 for Serbia that finished with 2-3 record. Aleksandar Radenkovic (185-G-92) led the winners with 20 points. Djordje Drenovac (197-F-92) collected 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Luka Igrutinovic (194-G-92) netted 10. Vyacheslav Motorchuk (205-C-92) ended up with 17 points in defeat and Dmytro Marchenko (200-F-92) added 12. Serbia will now play the 5-8 games, while Ukraine, will play the 9-12 games. Ukraine will play Israel in the classification games while Serbia will face Russia in two days.
Serbia scored first five points in the game and proved the ambitions for the whole game. Ukraine however waited a bit and then produced their game when they had 10:9 lead. Moreover Mishula closed the opening quarter at 17:16. Serbia used a 10-0 run in the second quarter behind points by Aleksandar Radenkovic and Luka Igrutinovic to be separated from Ukraine by eight at the break, 38:30.
Another 6-0 run lifted Serbia up to 44:30 in the beginning of the third. Bobrov was the last to score in the period for 61:47. With 19:10 Serbia won the last period and increased the advantage to 80:57.

Serbia U16: Aleksandar Radenkovic 20, Djordje Drenovac 13+10 rebs, Luka Igrutinovic 10
Ukraine U16: Vyacheslav Motorchuk 17, Dmytro Marchenko 12

Belarus snatch narrow win over Ukraine in Kiev - by Eurobasket News
Ukraine - Belarus 76:81

Belarusian National Team scored an impressive come-from-behind victory over Ukraine at the start of the International basketball tournament held in Kiev. Four teams are taking part in the event with Estonia and Slovakia completing the picture. Belarus jumped ahead early in the first period however Ukraine quickly denied it. Ivshyn capped the first period with a hook and Ukraine led 21:18. Six consecutive points allowed Ukraine to stretch the margin early in the second period. However Belarus refused to limp behind and they trailed by just 6 points at halftime. Artur Drozdov (198-G-80) and Vyacheslav Kravtsov (212-C-87) made it 44:34 for Ukraine early in the third frame. Later Artur Drozdov marked a 12-pont advantage for the hosts as they seemed to run away for good in this one. But Belarus managed to answer. They trimmed the deficit to 6 points at the end of the third quarter. Pavel Ulyanko (204-F/C-79) put Belarus in charge 73:72 with three minutes remaining in the game. The teams traded baskets before Alexander Kudrautsau (190-G-80) scored 4 straight points and the visitors accumulated a 77:73 advantage with 33 seconds left. Artur Drozdov cut the distance to minimum however Pavel Ulyanko and Heorhi Kandrusevich (197-F-78, agency: Promotex) sealed the winning outcome for Belarus from the stripe in the dying seconds.
Heorhi Kandrusevich led Belarus with 17 points. Yegor Mescheriakov (205-F-76, agency: Octagon, college: George Washington) had 16 points, while Dzianis Korshuk (204-C/F-78, agency: Agency No 10) added 14 for the winners. Ukraine were paced by 16 points from Artur Drozdov. Andriy Agafonov (207-F-86, agency: Interperformances) delivered 11 points in a losing effort. Ukraine will meet with Slovakia, while Belarus will oppose Estonia today.

Ukraine: Artur Drozdov 16, Andriy Agafonov 11
Belarus: Heorhi Kandrusevich 17, Yegor Mescheriakov 16, Dzianis Korshuk 14

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  UNITED KINGDOM   


U16 EC, division B: England takes it easily over F.Y.R. of Macedonia - by Eurobasket News
U16 England - U16 F.Y.R. of Macedonia 87-68

It was a joyful first day of the Qualifying Round for 9th to 16th place for the British. They managed to beat F.Y.R. of Macedonia staying in the race for one of the first two places in Group H. Both teams currently have score 1-1 but everything its up on the British now. It they outplay Portugal in the last game of this stage they will continue battle for the ninth place. If not, Macedonians will do it.

Macedonians showed their nerves at the very beginning. In case of the win they could secure at least second position in Group H but it seems that pressure was a big problem for them. England netted 18 points in the first frame while Macedonia had just 6. Gorjan Markovski woke up in the next stanza which resulted with slightly better performance by Macedonia. However, it was enough only for 40-31 at the half time. England had four very motivated players. Joseph Hart, Devon Van Oostrum, James Blandford and John Gould were the biggest threat for Macedonia. They led crucial 12-2 run for their team at the beginning of third frame. It was big 52-34 after what Macedonia succeeded to touch minus 11 only once.

Joseph Hart was the best scorer for the winning team with 15 points. Devon Van Oostrum had one points less but he registered 6 rebounds and 6 assists beside that. James Blandford and John Gould helped England with 12 points each. Gorjan Markovski showed the best performance in Macedonia adding 18 points and 4 assists. Vladimir Gotik followed with 15 points.


U16 England - U16 F.Y.R. of Macedonia 87-68
(18-6, 22-26, 23-18, 24-18)

England: Joseph Hart 15, Devon Van Oostrum 14 (6 rebs, 6 as), James Blandford 12, John Gould 12
Macedonia: Gorjan Markovski 18 (4 as), Vladimir Gotik 15



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Women News

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  AUSTRALIA - Women  


Australia edge China to face USA in the Final - by Eurobasket News
Australia - China 90:56

The World champions Australia secured their birth in the championship game of the Olympic Games Basketball tournament in China. Earlier today they dismantle hosting China to reach the title decider. China fought bravely however could not keep it up with the Opals during the whole game. The teams looked well matched in the first period as Chinese players tried to answer every basket from the favorites. Chen Xiaoli (193-C-82) capped the quarter with a jumper and the hosts trailed by only 2 points 11:13. However the Aussies opened the second frame on a 7:0 run to clear off. Australia also finished the half strongly outscoring China 12:2 in the final 4 minutes to accumulate a 16-point buffer before the second half. Chen Nan (197-C-83) and Miao Li Jie (180-G-81) tried to reignite the intrigue early in the third frame. They cut the deficit to 13 points but the Opals mounted the pressure and Suzy Batkovic (193-C-80), Kristi Harrower (166-G-75) and Belinda Snell (182-F-81, agency: LBM Management) made it 57:39 for the visitors at three-quarter time. Australia used a 12:0 rally midway through the fourth stanza to ensure the winning outcome and the ticket to the main game of the tournament. Belinda Snell led 5 players to score in double figures for Australia with 16 points. Kristi Harrower added 14 points, while Lauren Jackson (196-F/C-81) had 11 points for the Penny Taylor-less Australia. Bian Lan (182-G-86) topscored with 20 points for China. Miao Li Jie added 10 points in defeat. Australia shot 52% from the field, while limiting China to only 31% accuracy. The Opals also dominated the boards with 56 caroms and forced the home team to as many as 20 turnovers.

Australia: Belinda Snell 16, Kristi Harrower 14, Lauren Jackson 11
China: Bian Lan 20, Miao Li Jie 10

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  BULGARIA - Women  


Montana 2003 inks Vera Perostiyska, Olena Samburska in Lukoil Neftochimik - by Eurobasket News
Vera Perostiyska (196-C-82, college: Florida Intern.) agreed terms with Montana 2003. Perostiyska is experienced center, who spent last season in Slovakian team Kosice. She was one of the most important players in her team as she averaged 14.2 ppg, 8.6 rpg and 2.4 apg for 32 Extraliga games. Before Kosice, she spent three years in Turkey. The first and third one she spent in Cankaya Universiteti while on 05/06 she played for Ceyhan Belediyespor. She registered the best digits in 04/05 adding 16.6 ppg and 7.3 rpg. Perostiyska also had pretty good 06/07season in Turkey when she was voted 'Eurobasket.com All-Turkish TBBL Bosman Player of the Year -07'. She has experiences from NCAA as a member of Florida International.

Head coach of the team Slavko Dimitrov stated that Montana 2003 really need such player as Vera Perostiyska.

'Perostiyska will help us a lot next season as she is very good player with huge experience. She recorded wonderful digits last year with Kosice and she is exactly the player we need under the basket'- said Slavko Dimitrov.

Bulgarian runner-up Lukoil Neftochimik announced signing of Olena Samburska (172-G-89, agency: LBM Management) on a one-year deal. Samburska is Ukrainian hot prospect, who played this summer on U20 European Championship in Chieti. He added 10.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.5 apg and 1.9 spg for 8 games. She played last two seasons in Olimp-NAEK Yuzhnoukrainsk and it will be her first one outside the Ukraine. In the past Samburska was a member of Ukrainian U16 as well as U18 National Team.

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  CHINA - Women  


Australia edge China to face USA in the Final - by Eurobasket News
Australia - China 90:56

The World champions Australia secured their birth in the championship game of the Olympic Games Basketball tournament in China. Earlier today they dismantle hosting China to reach the title decider. China fought bravely however could not keep it up with the Opals during the whole game. The teams looked well matched in the first period as Chinese players tried to answer every basket from the favorites. Chen Xiaoli (193-C-82) capped the quarter with a jumper and the hosts trailed by only 2 points 11:13. However the Aussies opened the second frame on a 7:0 run to clear off. Australia also finished the half strongly outscoring China 12:2 in the final 4 minutes to accumulate a 16-point buffer before the second half. Chen Nan (197-C-83) and Miao Li Jie (180-G-81) tried to reignite the intrigue early in the third frame. They cut the deficit to 13 points but the Opals mounted the pressure and Suzy Batkovic (193-C-80), Kristi Harrower (166-G-75) and Belinda Snell (182-F-81, agency: LBM Management) made it 57:39 for the visitors at three-quarter time. Australia used a 12:0 rally midway through the fourth stanza to ensure the winning outcome and the ticket to the main game of the tournament. Belinda Snell led 5 players to score in double figures for Australia with 16 points. Kristi Harrower added 14 points, while Lauren Jackson (196-F/C-81) had 11 points for the Penny Taylor-less Australia. Bian Lan (182-G-86) topscored with 20 points for China. Miao Li Jie added 10 points in defeat. Australia shot 52% from the field, while limiting China to only 31% accuracy. The Opals also dominated the boards with 56 caroms and forced the home team to as many as 20 turnovers.

Australia: Belinda Snell 16, Kristi Harrower 14, Lauren Jackson 11
China: Bian Lan 20, Miao Li Jie 10

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  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS U16 - Women  


Division A. Championship leaders - by Eurobasket News
The best scorer of U16 European Championship is Snezana Colic (175-G-92) of Serbia. Her team finished it on not so good 14th place but Colic demonstrated pretty good performance. She averaged 17.4 ppg in five games reaching competition-high in the fourth game against Latvia when she scored 22 points.
The second scorer of the championship is Farhiya Abdi (186-F-92) with 17.1 ppg. She played 8 games and netted 50 points more than Colic in total but it was not enough for the top. Abdi touched 21 points twice. It happened against Belgium in the second and Turkey in third game.
Third place is reserved for Julie Vanloo (174-G-93) of Belgium, who had 15.8 ppg. Her team ended championship on fifth position while she touched the sky in seventh game pouring in 24 points.

Monika Grigalauskyte (188-F-92) is top rebounder of U16 EC. She played 8 games grabbing impressive 13.3 boards. Farhiya Abdi is on another list. After award for the second scorer she is also the second rebounder of this event with 11.5 rpg. Yulia Stepanova (188-C-92) of Russia is on third place with 10.4 rpg.

Ramona Cossengue Casimiro (173-G-92) grabbed the award for top assistant. For 8 games she succeeded to dish out 41 assists what is 5.1 per game. Pelin Gulbag (171-G-92) followed her with 4.3 apg. Third place belongs to Julia Gaudermann (165-G-92), who had 3.8 apg.

Farhiya Abdi is named to be the MVP of the championship. She helped Sweden to reach fourth place in Katowice averaging 17.1 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 2.9 apg and 1.9 spg. It is Sweden's best resulted ever on U16 European Championships.
Other four members of the 'All-Tournament team' are Alessandra Formica (189-F/C-93) of Italy, France forward Eleonore Grossemy (184-F-92), Belgium guard Julie Vanloo and Queralt Casas (177-F-92) of Spain.

Division B. Championship leaders - by Eurobasket News
Award for the top scorer of U16 European Championship division B in Pravetz / Botevgrad belongs to Jovana Pasic of Montenegro. Pasic had 7 appearances in Bulgaria netting 18 ppg. She recorded the best digits at the opening day against Finland when she scored 23 points.
Anne Pedersen of Denmark is the second scorer of this event. She played 8 games leading her team pretty good seventh place. Pedersen had 140 points in total (the most on the championship), which means that she averaged 17.5 ppg.
Another player of Montenegro is on the list with best three scorers. It is Ana Turcinovic (185-C-93), who had 17.4 ppg for 5 games. Her Montenegro ended competition on position number twelve.

Lorraine Scanlon is the top rebounder of U16 EC division B. She played 8 games catching fantastic 15.6 rpg. Ana Turcinovic of Montenegro is the second on this list with 13.2 rpg. Third place is reserved for Nina Premasunac (184-F-92), who had 13 rpg for 7 games.

Twelfth ranked Montenegro once again. This time it is Jelena Vucetic, who is the best assistant of the championship. He played 7 games dishing out 5.3 apg. Lucija Strmelj of Croatia and Denisa Domiterova of Slovakia share second place with 3.7 apg each.

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  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS U18 - Women  


Division B. Championship leaders - by Eurobasket News
Israel ended U18 European Championship division B on twelfth place but it has the best scorer of it. Naama Shafir (165-G-90) played 8 games for her team draining 21 ppg what is 168 points in total. Her championship-high happened in seventh game against Bosnia and Herzegovina when she stopped on huge 39 points.
Second scorer of U18 EC division B in Skopje is Ida Preetzmann (178-G-90). She played 7 games for Denmark helping it with 19.4 ppg. Interesting is that Ana Tanturovska (170-G-90) of F.Y.R. of Macedonia has the same digits. Each of these two players registered 7 appearances netting of course 136 points in total. Preetzmann touched 30 once while Tanturovska had 34 against Slovenia.

Jil Haentges (182-C-90) of Luxemburg ended this championship as a top rebounder. She played 8 games grabbing 110 boards what is 13.8 per game. Karina Van den Nieuwendijk (195-C-90) of Netherlands is behind her with 13.5 rpg also for 8 games. Kerttu Jallai (180-F-90) of Estonia is on third place with 11.4 rpg.

Top assistant of the competition is Nika Baric (168-G-92) of Slovenia. She appeared 8 times delivering 6.6 apg. Kia Ignatius (176-G-90) of Finland is on the second place with 5.4 apg while third place belongs to Jelena Antic (181-F-91), who dished out 5 apg in 7 games.

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  FINLAND - Women  


EUROBASKET: Finland - Turkey 66-81 - by Rauno Hurmalainen
EuroBasket Women qualifying Round, Group B: 20.8. Bosnia and Herzegovina - Italy 53-68. Finland - Turkey 66-81 (30-44). Quarters: 7-27, 23-17, 17-18, 19-19.
Finland, with three starters on injured list, got a lesson from Turkey in Espoo, Finland on Wednesday night. Visitor Turkey won the first quarter by 20 pts and the rest was cosmetics. Tall Nevriye Yilmaz (195-C-80) (18/9) and Nevin Nevlin (17) were too strong under the boards. Heta Korpivaara (187-G/F-84, college: Seton Hall) led Finland with 19 pts. Michaela Moua (182-F/C-76, agency: LBM Management, college: Ohio St.) added 17 and Tiina Sten (185-G/F-85) 16 pts + seven rbs. Taru Tuukkanen DNP. Niina Laaksonen DNP. Reetta Piipari DNP. Next games: 23.8. Poland vs Finland and Bosnia&Herzegovina vsTurkey.

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  FYR MACEDONIA - Women  


Standings - Women
D1 Standings
 1. Vigor Skopje 16-1 
 2. Mladines 13-4 
 3. Biljana 9-8 
 4. Pelister 9-8 
 5. V.Lisici 6-11 
 6. Kumanovo 5-12 
 7. Gostivar 0-12 


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  GERMANY - Women  


Q&A with Mike Sigfrids from Athletes in Action - by Cornelius Damm
August 9th through August 20th the Athletes in Action Women Team USA toured through East Germany. During their stay the team played three games against second league teams Berlin Baskets, TuS Jena and first league club SV Halle Lions. After the game in Halle eurobasket.com took the chance for a little interview with Mike Sigfrids, International Basketball Representative from Athletes in Action.

Mr. Sigfrid, can you shortly describe the organization Athletes in Action?
AiA is a Christian sport organisation founded in 1966. With a staff of 500 people, AiA is now operating in more than 50 countries all over the world. The goal is to let players learn more about different cultures and countries. Very important to us is their faith in Christ. AiA is a very spiritual organisation where we like to use the unique platform of sport to share our faith in God. At AiA we are active in different kind of sport events. One of them is to build up teams in a variety of sports (Volleyball, Athletics, Baseball and many more) that tour all over the world.

Please go ahead and give us some information on how you pick up your players. In addition please tell us something about this particular women team right here.
Throughout the years we have established a large network of coaches and scouts in college and professional sports. This is helping us to recruit the players for our teams. Most of it happens on recommendation. The players then will go out and find sponsors in their private surrounding to finance these overseas trips.
Now to this team there is to say that it consist of former and actual NCAA Divison I and NAIA Division I girls. They come from schools like Stanford, Drake, St.Louis or Bethel-College, just to name some of them. Five of them are still in college at this time and five have already graduated. Some of them are now serving as assistant coaches in university like Jamie Woudstra the sister of Ludwigsburg BBL great Brandon Woudstra. The girls met each other for the first time ten days ago as we departed in New York. They practiced together only three times but still played some good ball. But not only did they connect on the court the girls picked up the purpose of this trip very fast und interacted just fine with their team mates and staff but also with the people we met along our trip.

What has been your schedule during these past days?
Well, we stayed in Berlin the first days where we practiced together with the Berlin Baskets team. We played them twice on August 14th and August 16th winning both games 107-45 and 103-54. We then moved on to Jena on August 18th for another game (109-33) before coming to Halle a day later for the final 90-61 game. Although we won again, Halle still was the most competitive team on our tour.
But like I explained it earlier our focus is not only on the game of basketball. Furthermore our goal was to learn more about German history and so we toured through Berlin experiencing how history formed this city and also went on to visit the KZ Sachsenhausen. We stopped in Weimar as well and of course saw a bit of Jena and Halle. We also enjoyed the engagement with the other teams as we shared dinner with them after the games. Speaking to girls from a different culture that share the same love for sport just like them was great experience for our team.

How was the feedback of the girls regarding this trip?
For most of them this has been the first time they have left the US. Experiencing a different culture, together with a group of people that were complete strangers for them some days ago, but connect so well because of the same intense faith in Jesus Christ; let them grow in their personality. This trip can be considered as a great success. The feedback was nothing but positive.


Thanks for your time Mr. Sigfrid. For further information click on www.aia.com

The girls blog on this trip can be check out here: http://aia.com/TeamBlogs/category/Basketball---Germany.aspx

Freiburg completes its roster with Hope Foster - by Cornelius Damm
Eisvogel USC Freiburg fills its second import spot on the team with Hope Foster (188-F/C-86). The 2008 graduate of Bucknell will replace Eurobasket.com All-German DBBL 2007/08 Defensive Player of the Year Melissa Dennett (188-F-83, college: Colorado St.). Foster seems to be the perfect match for this role. The PF/C and three-time All-Conference First Team Selection was nationally ranked in the top 20 in blocks per game in all of her four years of eligibility at Bucknell. In her sophomore and junior years she even made it to the top 10 with 3.3 (8th) and 3.0 (9th) in the same statistic category. Foster finished her playing career as Bucknell's all-time leader in rebounding (904) and blocked shots (344), where she is also tied for 18th in NCAA annals. Furthermore she's also the programs ninth best overall scorer (1,256) and was a key member of Bucknell's second-ever NCAA Tournament team that faced North Carolina in the first round of this past March's NCAA Tournament. Foster finished the 2007/08 season with 11.1 PPG shooting .440 from the field and .703 from the foul line, added 7.2 RPG and 2.6 BPG.

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  OLYMPIC GAMES - Women  


Semifinals results and stats - by Eurobasket News
USA - Russia 67:52
The USA National Team booked their Final birth at the Olympic Games basketball tournament. The United States team celebrated their 6th straight win at the tournament today. They defeated Russia in a tense semifinal clash to advance to the title decider. There they will take on the winner of Australia vs. China encounter. Russia looked determined early in the game as they built a 7-point advantage early on. The North American team cut the deficit to 3 points at the first intermission 13:16. The USA kept it close in the second frame and managed to surge ahead 33:32 at the interval. Russia regained the advantage at the start of the third quarter 37:33 but the USA reacted immediately. They went on a 12:0 run to establish a decisive advantage. Diana Taurasi (182-G-82, college: Connecticut) paced the American players as they ran away in this one. The USA entered the fourth quarter with an 8-point buffer. Russia failed to come closer in the fourth period and the USA sealed the tough victory at the end. Diana Taurasi finished the game with 21 points and 9 boards. Tina Thompson (6'2''-F-75, agency: Merit Sports, college: USC) added 15 points, while Sylvia Fowles (6'6''-C-85, college: LSU) had 8 points and 10 boards for the winners. Maria Stepanova (6'8''-C-79) answered with 14 points for Russia. Tatiana Shchegoleva (6'4''-F/C-82) had 12 points, while Ilona Korstine (6'0''-G-80) secured 11 points in defeat.
The USA outrebounded their opponents 52:33 and limited Russia to 36% from the field. Russian players also sank just half of their free throw attempts.

USA: Diana Taurasi 21, Tina Thompson 15, Sylvia Fowles 8+10 boards
Russia: Maria Stepanova 14, Tatiana Shchegoleva 12, Ilona Korstine 11

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Australia - China 90:56
The World champions Australia secured their birth in the championship game of the Olympic Games Basketball tournament in China. Earlier today they dismantle hosting China to reach the title decider. China fought bravely however could not keep it up with the Opals during the whole game. The teams looked well matched in the first period as Chinese players tried to answer every basket from the favorites. Chen Xiaoli (193-C-82) capped the quarter with a jumper and the hosts trailed by only 2 points 11:13. However the Aussies opened the second frame on a 7:0 run to clear off. Australia also finished the half strongly outscoring China 12:2 in the final 4 minutes to accumulate a 16-point buffer before the second half. Chen Nan (197-C-83) and Miao Li Jie (180-G-81) tried to reignite the intrigue early in the third frame. They cut the deficit to 13 points but the Opals mounted the pressure and Suzy Batkovic (193-C-80), Kristi Harrower (166-G-75) and Belinda Snell (182-F-81, agency: LBM Management) made it 57:39 for the visitors at three-quarter time. Australia used a 12:0 rally midway through the fourth stanza to ensure the winning outcome and the ticket to the main game of the tournament. Belinda Snell led 5 players to score in double figures for Australia with 16 points. Kristi Harrower added 14 points, while Lauren Jackson (196-F/C-81) had 11 points for the Penny Taylor-less Australia. Bian Lan (182-G-86) topscored with 20 points for China. Miao Li Jie added 10 points in defeat. Australia shot 52% from the field, while limiting China to only 31% accuracy. The Opals also dominated the boards with 56 caroms and forced the home team to as many as 20 turnovers.

Australia: Belinda Snell 16, Kristi Harrower 14, Lauren Jackson 11
China: Bian Lan 20, Miao Li Jie 10


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  POLAND - Women  


Matovic, latest signing of Gdynia - by Maciej Schwarz
Lotos PKO BP Gdynia has signed Serbian center Ivana Matovic (197-C-83), who spent last season in the Euroleague champion Spartak Moscow Region. Matovic (197 cm) is 25 years old well known player in Europe with a great experience in Euroleague. She has started her career in Vojvodina Novy Sad but in 2003/2004 she signed contract with USK Blex Praha. Her first season in Euroleague was very successful. A lot of good European clubs wanted her but she decided to play for Euroleasing Sopron. She spent in Hungarian team three great seasons and signed with Spartak Moscow Region. Unfortunately, she didnt play as much as she expected. Ivana decided to change the club.

-I am very happy and proud of our last transfer. Ivana Matovic is not only a very good center. She is also very ambitious player and strong personality. I believe, she can be one of the best player in our history said Mieczyslaw Krawczyk, Lotos PKO BP Gdynia president.

-I wanted her in our team because she is a very strong and young center, one of the best in Europe Ivana is a good rebounder and defender and also usually scores a lot of points. I believe, she is going to be a very important player in Lotos PKO BP Gdynia said coach Jacek Winnicki.

Lotos PKO BP Gdynia squad so far: Paulina Pawlak (170-G-84) (guard), Natalia Marchanka (170-G-79) (guard), Katsiaryna Snytsina (188-G/F-85) (guard/forward), Olivia Tomialowicz (182-G-90) (guard), Emilja Podrug (190-C-79) (power forward), Jennifer Fleischer (195-C-84, agency: LBM Management, college: Pennsylvania) (center), Michelle Maslowski (188-F/C-79, college: Drexel) (forward), Ivana Matovic (center), Marta Jujka (192-C-88) (center), Magdalena Leciejewska (191-C-86) (power forward), Alana Beard (180-G/F-82, college: Duke) (point guard), Karolina Ambrosiewicz (174-G-87) (guard), Ewelina Gala (185-F-90) (power forward), Klaudia Sosnowska (186-F-90) (forward).

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  RUSSIA - Women  


USA make it to the Final in Beijing - by Eurobasket News
USA - Russia 67:52

The USA National Team booked their Final birth at the Olympic Games basketball tournament. The United States team celebrated their 6th straight win at the tournament today. They defeated Russia in a tense semifinal clash to advance to the title decider. There they will take on the winner of Australia vs. China encounter. Russia looked determined early in the game as they built a 7-point advantage early on. The North American team cut the deficit to 3 points at the first intermission 13:16. The USA kept it close in the second frame and managed to surge ahead 33:32 at the interval. Russia regained the advantage at the start of the third quarter 37:33 but the USA reacted immediately. They went on a 12:0 run to establish a decisive advantage. Diana Taurasi (6'0''-G-82, college: Connecticut) paced the American players as they ran away in this one. The USA entered the fourth quarter with an 8-point buffer. Russia failed to come closer in the fourth period and the USA sealed the tough victory at the end. Diana Taurasi finished the game with 21 points and 9 boards. Tina Thompson (6'2''-F-75, agency: Merit Sports, college: USC) added 15 points, while Sylvia Fowles (6'6''-C-85, college: LSU) had 8 points and 10 boards for the winners. Maria Stepanova (6'8''-C-79) answered with 14 points for Russia. Tatiana Shchegoleva (6'4''-F/C-82) had 12 points, while Ilona Korstine (6'0''-G-80) secured 11 points in defeat.
The USA outrebounded their opponents 52:33 and limited Russia to 36% from the field. Russian players also sank just half of their free throw attempts.

USA: Diana Taurasi 21, Tina Thompson 15, Sylvia Fowles 8+10 boards
Russia: Maria Stepanova 14, Tatiana Shchegoleva 12, Ilona Korstine 11

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  WNBA - Women  


USA make it to the Final in Beijing - by Eurobasket News
USA - Russia 67:52

The USA National Team booked their Final birth at the Olympic Games basketball tournament. The United States team celebrated their 6th straight win at the tournament today. They defeated Russia in a tense semifinal clash to advance to the title decider. There they will take on the winner of Australia vs. China encounter. Russia looked determined early in the game as they built a 7-point advantage early on. The North American team cut the deficit to 3 points at the first intermission 13:16. The USA kept it close in the second frame and managed to surge ahead 33:32 at the interval. Russia regained the advantage at the start of the third quarter 37:33 but the USA reacted immediately. They went on a 12:0 run to establish a decisive advantage. Diana Taurasi (6'0''-G-82, college: Connecticut) paced the American players as they ran away in this one. The USA entered the fourth quarter with an 8-point buffer. Russia failed to come closer in the fourth period and the USA sealed the tough victory at the end. Diana Taurasi finished the game with 21 points and 9 boards. Tina Thompson (6'2''-F-75, agency: Merit Sports, college: USC) added 15 points, while Sylvia Fowles (6'6''-C-85, college: LSU) had 8 points and 10 boards for the winners. Maria Stepanova (6'8''-C-79) answered with 14 points for Russia. Tatiana Shchegoleva (6'4''-F/C-82) had 12 points, while Ilona Korstine (6'0''-G-80) secured 11 points in defeat.
The USA outrebounded their opponents 52:33 and limited Russia to 36% from the field. Russian players also sank just half of their free throw attempts.

USA: Diana Taurasi 21, Tina Thompson 15, Sylvia Fowles 8+10 boards
Russia: Maria Stepanova 14, Tatiana Shchegoleva 12, Ilona Korstine 11