EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 8/3/2008

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Men News

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  ABA   


GALLUP TALONS TRYOUT TOURNAMENT DATE CHANGED and JERSEY EXPRESS TO RETURN TO ITS NEWARK ROOTS - by Bruno Baltazar
The previously announced date of August 16 for the ABA Gallup Talons tryout 'Good Enough to Dream' Tournament has been changed to August 30 said Joe Kolb, team owner.
'We had a scheduling conflict at our gym and had to push the date back two weeks,' said Kolb.
'Rather than have players participate in a tryout individually,' Kolb added, 'we have decided to hold a tournament where they will play with guys they are familiar with. This alleviates much of the anxiety of trying out for a pro team on your own.'
The tournament, scheduled for August 30th at Miyamura High School will be a full day of 30-minute full court games. Teams are limited to 8-man rosters of players that have graduated high school.
Registration for each 8-man team is $175. Each player will receive a commemorative 'The Boys are Back in Town' Gallup Talon t-shirt and one free ticket to a regular season Talon game. Awards will be give to each player on the top three teams. The event is being co-sponsored by The Gallup Herald newspaper.
On-line registrations will be taken by submitting a roster and credit card information to ghsat@hotmail.com. Walk-in registration can be made at Herald Square, 1707 W. Hwy 66, Gallup NM. Registration deadline is August 15th. There will be no on-site registration the day of the tournament.
For more information, call (505) 488-4117.

The Jersey Express professional basketball team is proud to again call JFK Recreation Center its 'Official' practice facility. JFK is located at 211 W. Kinney Street, Newark, NJ.
During the inaugural season of the Express, then known as the Newark Express, JFK Recreation Center was then known as the 'Official' practice facility of the team. Now in its fourth season in the historic American Basketball Association, the Express, now known as the Jersey Express, have returned to its roots.
'We are excited that we have an opportunity to return to Newark and continue to build a relationship with the city that welcomed our then new team. We'd like to thank the Honorable Mayor Cory Booker; Manager of the Department of Recreation for the City of Newark Zaid Braswell and the staff at JFK Recreation Center for welcoming us back. Our Director of Community Affairs, Kirk Quockco, has been working extremely hard on maintaining the relationships that were developed in Newark,' noted team President Marsha Blount.
Drew University at 36 Madison Avenue in Madison, NJ continues to be the home of the Jersey Express.
Training Camp for the Jersey Express will begin in mid-October and will run through November 14th leading up to opening night on Saturday, November 15th. Opening night of training camp will be open to the public.
To register for the upcoming tryouts being held on Saturday, September 20th and Sunday, September 21st, or for more information about the Jersey Express, visit www.jerseyexpress.net.

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  ARGENTINA   


More transactions - by Facundo Iatzky
LIGA A:
Estudiantes Bahia Blanca signed Juan Cangelosi (195-G-81)
Ben Hur signed Cedric McGinnis (206-C-77, college: Georgia Southern)
Regatas Corrientes signed Carlos Jorge Riveros (190-G-85)

TNA:
Firmat FC signed Thomas Fairley (206-F/C-82, college: Lamar)
Atletico Echague Parana signed Emilio Dominguez (202-C-87)
Asociacion Espanola signed Maximiliano Marzilli (203-F/C-84) and Mauro Negri (200-C-81)
Belgrano San Nicolas signed Maximiliano Rios (185-G-81, agency: Next Level, college: Clayton St.) and Matthew Mitchell (199-F-77, college: Morningside) and Enzo Cafferatta (186-G-88)
Alma Juniors signed Javier Abbadie (202-C-82)
Gimnasia La Plata signed Emiliano Agostino (191-G-84)

Liga B:
Barrio Parque signed Jose Carlos Naon (192-G-73)
Ciudad Bragado signed Gaston Garcia (177-G-84) Marcos Moreno (200-F/C-80) and Lisandro Rasio (201-F/C-90)
Almagro Esperanza signed Gonzalo Bagatoli (196-F-83) Federico Bonini (194-F-84) Roy Melchiorre (180-G-72), Rodrigo Pascal (198-C-85) Andres Horst (197-G-81, college: Brescia (KY)) and Sebastian Punet (188-G-89).

Herrman resigned by Pistons - by Facundo Iatzky
Detroit Pistons announced officially earlier today that agreet to terms with argentinian forward Walter Herrmann (203-F-79) for the next season. It means that Argentina will have 5 players in the best league of the world the next season (Ginobili and Oberto in San Antonio, Nocioni in Chicago and Scola in Houston). Walter expect to play more minutes than the last season with the new head coach Michael Curry.

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  AUSTRALIA   


The Emus gain the second win over Junior Tall Blacks - by Eurobasket News
Australia U19 - New Zealand U19 86:71

The Australian U19 National Team celebrated their second straight win over New Zealand counterparts today. The victory meant the Aussies claimed the Oceania U19 Championship title and advanced to the U19 World Championship in 2009. New Zealand will also play at the event despite losing. They booked their spot as the hosts of the tournament. It will be the first ever appearance for the Junior Tall Blacks at this level. The Emus got to a quick start against New Zealand and built a 27:14 lead after the starting period. Dion Prewster (196-G/F-91) cut the deficit to 4 points in the second term but the Emus held on and piled up a 6-point halftime lead. Matthew Dellavedova (189-G-90) netted 8 points in the third period to pace the Aussie team to a 66:51 advantage at three quarter time. The teams traded baskets in the fourth quarter and the Emus secured the winning outcome at the end. Matthew Dellavedova notched 16 points for Australia. Jorden Page (183-G-90) and Brock Motum (205-F-90) had 13 points apiece for the winners. Brooke Ruscoe (189-G-90) answered with 26 points for the Junior Tall Blacks. Dion Prewster chipped in 14 points in defeat. The teams will meet again on Sunday for the third game of the series.

Australia U19: Matthew Dellavedova 16, Jorden Page 13, Brock Motum 13
New Zealand U19: Brooke Ruscoe 26, Dion Prewster 14

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  AUSTRIA   


U20 EC, division B: Estonia edges Austria in Targu Mures - by Eurobasket News
U20 Austria - U20 Estonia 86-93

Estonia together with Belgium remained perfect after two days in Preliminary Group C. This time Estonians were strong enough to beat Austria, which is winless yet on U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures.

Austria showed better performance at the couple of opening minutes taking four points lead, 10-6. Very soon Tanel Kurbas (195-F-88) started and finished 8-0 run helping his team to gain 15-18 after first 10 minutes. Christof Hetzmannseder (181-G-88) and Paul Radakovics (187-G-88) were on fire in the second stanza. Thanks to them Austrians went on the half time having plus 4. Their joy didn't last long as Estonia opened third frame with 13-4 keeping advantage of 9 points until the end of it. During the last ten minutes Austrians were able to come on minus 4 but it was all from them in this game.

Tanel Kurbas was totally unstoppable today. He dominated at the offensive end scoring 32 points including 4 boards for 37 minutes. It is important to be mentioned that Tanel Kurbas drained 5 of 8 attempts from behind the arc. Except of him, Estonia also got 22 points and 4 rebounds from Margus Klementsov (169-G-89). Christof Hetzmannseder netted 28 points for the loosing side while Paul Radakovics stopped on 27 points and 5 assists. In the next round of U20 European Championship division B Estonia will play against Slovak Republic while Austria will meet Switzerland.


U20 Austria - U20 Estonia 86-93
(15-18, 23-16, 13-26, 35-33)

Austria: Christof Hetzmannseder 28 (4 rebs), Paul Radakovics 27 (5 as)
Estonia: Tanel Kurbas 32 (4 rebs), Margus Klementsov 22 (4 as)

Pete Strobl joins Austrian National Team - by Eurobasket


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  BELGIUM   


U20 EC, division B: Belgium remains perfect after game vs Slovak Republic - by Eurobasket News
U20 Slovak Republic - U20 Belgium 47-75

Belgium continued its domination in Preliminary Group C of U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. As a reminder, Belgians blasted Austria yesterday so they remained undefeated after two days. On the other side it was a first appearance of Slovak Republic in Romania. Unfortunately they took on strong Belgians facing with first defeat.

It was an extremely easy win for Belgians today. Except of the first quarter, they had total control on Slovakia. First bigger advantage Belgium grabbed at the half way of the second period and it was 19-26. After that moment official visitor in this game kept it steady. Slovakians were able to net just 6 points in second and two more than that in third stanza. Anyway, Belgium didn't want to stop until the very end recording 16-29 in the last frame.

Boris Penninck (205-C-88) was the key player for Belgium in today's game. He spent 32 minutes on court netting 20 points and grabbing 10 boards. Armand Kabeya (197-F-88) contributed in this victory with 12 points and 8 rebounds. The loosing side got 16 points from Pavel Losonsky (203) while Peter Dorazil (198-C-89) had 10 points and 9 rebounds. In third day of U20 European Championship division B Slovakia will play against Estonia. Belgium will continue battle in Targu Mures on Monday.


U20 Slovak Republic - U20 Belgium 47-75
(17-18, 6-13, 8-15, 16-29)

Slovak Republic: Pavel Losonsky 16, Peter Dorazil 10 (9 rebs)
Belgium: Boris Penninck 20 (10 rebs), Armand Kabeya 12 (8 rebs)

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  BOSNIA   


U18 EC, division B: Montenegro better than Bosnia in ex Yugoslavian derby - by Eurobasket News
U18 Bosnia and Herzegovina - U18 Montenegro 54-69

Montenegro took care for the second win in Classification Round from 9th to 16th place on U18 European Championship in Debrecen. Thus Montenegro ended this round on the second place in Group G with a chance to reach 9th place at the end. Its next rival in Hungary will be top ranked team from Group H, Finland. On the other hand Bosnians will have to be satisfied with a battle for 13th place.

After almost leveled first stanza, Filip Barovic (205-F-90) and his teammates entered into the next one strongly. During the first couple of minutes they made 13-3 run setting the score on 16-28. Aldin Majstoric (198-G-90) pulled up some successful shots in third quarter bringing his team closer on 29-34 but Filip Barovic and Milorad Sutulovic (-90) answered quickly. Until the end of this frame they created big advantage of 13 points. During the last ten minutes Bosnians weren't able to come closer than 11 points. Montenegro finished this game having solid 57.9% for FG2. At the same time Montenegrins recorded 36.4% for 3-pts and 76.5 from the free throw line. Bosnian made just two triples during the entire time.

Filip Barovic was the key player of Montenegro in this game as he netted 18 points and grabbed 6 boards. Milorad Sutulovic was behind him with 17 points while Milos Lopicic (214-C-90) had 12 points and 4 rebounds. The loosing side got 16 from Aldin Majstoric, who was the top scorer of the Preliminary Round together with Czech Jan Vesely. Eldin Camdzic (195-G-90) contributed in this game with 11 points.


U18 Bosnia and Herzegovina - U18 Montenegro 54-69
(13-15, 6-17, 20-20, 15-17)

Bosnia: Aldin Majstoric 16, Eldin Camdzic 11
Montenegro: Filip Barovic 18 (6 rebs), Milorad Sutulovic 17, Milos Lopicic 12 (4 rebs)

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  BULGARIA   


Montenegro win second in a row - by Eurobasket News
Montenegro U20 - Bulgaria U20 76:68

Montenegrin U20 National Team celebrated their second win at the European Championship in Latvia. Vladimir Dasic (209-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) continued his impressive show as he tallied 32 points and 12 boards to propel Montenegro past Bulgaria. Ivan Lilov (196-F/G-88, agency: FCM) answered with 18 points and 10 boards but could not prevent Bulgaria from falling to 0-2 record. The teams traded baskets early in the game with Montenegro rolling to a 22:20 lead at the first break. They stretched the margin to 8 points early in the second but Bulgaria found the answer. They capped the first half with a 21:8 run to earn a 5-point lead at halftime. Montenegro failed to come any closer as they trailed by 6 points heading into the fourth term. But a 13:0 run from Montenegro changed it all on the court. Montenegrin players took over and easily secured their second win in the dying minutes. Krsto Bjelica (192-G-88) notched 12 points for Montenegro. Sead Sehovic (201-G/F-89) netted 11 points in a win. Chavdar Kostov (196-G-88, agency: Interperformances) produced 17 points and 8 rebounds for Bulgaria. Bulgaria outrebounded their opponents 38:33 but committed 30 turnovers down the stretch. Montenegro also sank 41% from the field.

Montenegro U20: Vladimir Dasic 32+12 boards, Krsto Bjelica 12, Sead Sehovic 11
Bulgaria U20: Ivan Lilov 18+10 boards, Chavdar Kostov 17

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  CHILE   


Dimayor 08/09: Round 5 results - by Daniel Valencia
On saturday night CD Universidad de Concepcion defeated Universidad Catolica 64-53 and remains as the unbeaten and exclusive leader of the north group. Jefferson Agba (210-F/C-80) was the scoring leader for the winner with 17 points. In Talca, Liceo Mixto defeated Espanol 78-69, with Patricio Briones (213-C-72) as the offensvie leader with 19 points. In the south group, Deportes Ancud and Deportes Castro won their respective games of saturday night against Osorno and Valdivia respectively. These are the complete results of saturday night.

Round 5

Boston College 83 - CD Puente Alto 100
Bos: Eduardo Sepulveda 21 pts. B.J. Puckett 14 pts. Jorge Valencia 12 pts.
Pue: John Davis 30 pts. German Siegmund 27 pts. Percy Werth 15 pts.

Espanol de Talca 67 - Liceo Mixto 78
Esp: Marques Hayden 18 pts. Daniel McFaul 16 pts. David Gonzalez 9 pts.
Lic: Patricio Briones 19 pts. Patrick Saez 16 pts. Rodrigo Espinoza 14 pts.

CD Universidad de Concepcion 64 - Universidad Catolica 53
Ucon: Jefferson Agba 17 pts. Evandro Arteaga 15 pts. Nakiea Miller 8 pts.
Uc: Juan Pablo Montas 12 pts. Felipe Contreras 11 pts. Christian Diaz 11 pts.

Universidad de Los Lagos 87 - Provincial Llanquihue 71
Ula: Dean Browne 26 pts. Leonel Mendez 21 pts. Tim Jennings 13 pts.
Llan: John A. Thomas 29 pts. Raheim Lowery 22 pts. Dominick Melton 12 pts.

Deportes Ancud 79 - Provincial Osorno 63
Anc: Leonardo Alves 24 pts. Marcos Hubner 14 pts. Eduardo Baeta 13 pts.
Oso: Rodrigo Zuniga 14 pts. DaJuan Gouard 12 pts. Cristian Perez 8 pts.

Deportes Castro 97 - Deportivo Valdivia 89
Cas: Roy Morris 28 pts. Gonzalo Velasquez 23 pts. P.J. Mills 20 pts.
Val: Deshawn Danzey 25 pts. Bobby Madison 25 pts. Tony Bishop 19 pts.

Dimayor 08/09: Round 3 pending games - by Daniel Valencia
On wednesday night were played two pending games of the third round. Deportivo Valdivia was too much for Provincial Osorno, with Bobby Madison (198-F-82)scoring 34 points and the other two americans combined for 32 points. 82-69 for Valdivia. In Puerto Montt, Deportes Castro won their second road game of the season, this time defeating Universidad de Los Lagos 92-84. The guards Morris, Velasquez and Campos combined for 70 points.

Round 3

Deportivo Valdivia 82 - Provincial Osorno 69
Val: Bobby Madison 34 pts. Tony Bishop 16 pts. Deshawn Danzey 16 pts.
Oso: DaJuan Gouard 18 pts. Cristian Perez 13 pts. Raphael Madera 11 pts.

Universidad de Los Lagos 84 - Deportes Castro 92
Ula: Donald Gray 27 pts. Dean Browne 23 pts. Leonel Mendez 9 pts.
Cas: Roy Morris 25 pts. Gonzalo Velasquez 25 pts. Jose Luis Campos 20 pts.

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  CROATIA   


Lithuania keep up winning pace in Riga - by Eurobasket News
Lithuania U20 - Croatia U20 88:69

Lithuanian U20 National Team maintained their perfect record at the start of the European Championship in Latvia. Yesterday they held off Croatian side to improve to 2-0 record on top of preliminary Group A. The win also meant Lithuania ensured their Qualifying round birth at the tournament. Croatia meanwhile suffered their first loss at the event and dropped to 1-1 record. The Baltic team dominated throughout the action and never raised any questions about the outcome. They got off to a better start and enjoyed a double-digit lead midway through the opening stanza. Teo Petani (190-G-88) hit a three-pointer late in the first frame to cut the deficit to 7 points for Croatia. But Lithuania never allowed Croatia to exploit success and kept them at distance throughout the second frame. Lithuania were well in control 39:29 at the interval and stretched the margin to 14 points early in the third frame. Back-to-back trebles from Martynas Gecevicius (194-G-88) gave Lithuania a 17-point advantage midway through the third period. They went on extending the margin and entered the fourth term ahead by 25 points. Croatia never bounced back in the fourth term and suffered their first defeat in the competition. Martynas Gecevicius led Lithuania with 18 points. Adas Juskevicius (193-G/F-89) added 17 points, while Lukas Brazdauskis (203-F-88) nailed 13 for the winners. Teo Petani came up with 13 points for Croatia. Miro Bilan (210-C/F-89) had 12 points in a losing case.

Lithuania U20: Martynas Gecevicius 18, Adas Juskevicius 17, Lukas Brazdauskis 13
Croatia U20: Teo Petani 13, Miro Bilan 12

Croatia fall in the semifinal - by Eurobasket News
Greece U18 - Croatia U18 82:62

Croatia failed to stop the winning rally of Greek U18 Team as they fell short in the semifinal of the European Championship. The tournaments hosts put on a sizzling show in the first half to knock down their opponents and never looked back en route to their seventh straight win at the competition. Leonidas Kaselakis (202-C-90) and Konstantinos Papanikolaou (203-F/G-90) chipped in 19 points apiece to lead Greece. The hosts will now take on Lithuania in the title game tomorrow. Konstantinos Papanikolaou keyed Greek success in the first half. He notched all of his 19 points in the starting two quarters and Greece built a massive 27-point cushion at the interval. The visitors managed to win the second half by 4 points but it was too little to seriously threaten the margin. Greece got 15 points from Nikolaos Pappas (194-G-90, agency: FCM), while Konstantinos Sloukas (192-G-90) added 13 points and 11 assists for the winners. Toni Prostran (188-G-91) answered with 15 points for Croatia. Tomislav Zubcic (213-C/F-90) delivered 13 points and 11 rebounds in defeat. Greece used a 28:9 rally in the opening stanza to clear off and never looked back again. They outrebounded their opponents 39:36 and overcame 19 turnovers showing some impressive field goal accuracy. Greece sank 58% from the field, while limiting their opponents to 32% only. Croatia will meet with France in the consolation final tomorrow.

Greece U18: Leonidas Kaselakis 19, Konstantinos Papanikolaou 19, Nikolaos Pappas 15
Croatia U18: Toni Prostran 15, Tomislav Zubcic 13+11 boards

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  CYPRUS   


Frederick University mens basketball team third in Europe - by Nemanja Bjedov
Panagiotis Trisokkas (206-C-80, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents) netted 26 points and Grigoris Pantouris added 24 as Frederick University beat University of Malaga, Spain, 60-57 to capture the bronze medal at the 8th European Universities Basketball Championship that was held in Novi Sad, Serbia, throughout the previous week.

In the opening game of Group D the Cypriot team upset University of Ljubljana 74-59 and then in the second round they eased pass the Swiss side, University of Bern, 86-50.

The quarterfinal draw set another clash between Frederick University and University of Ljubljana and the Cypriots overcame the stubborn Slovenians yet again, this time 96-93 after three exciting overtimes. University of Ljubljana had a seven-point lead with 40 seconds remaining on the clock but the Cypriot university managed to level the score and eventually come out victorious.

In the semi-finals Vytautas Magnus Univerity of Lithuania proved to be too strong for Renos Pittalis men as they suffered their first defeat at the tournament 83-74. Keravnos Strovolos center Panayiotis Trisokkas led his team with 30 points, while Grigoris Pantouris chipped in with 16. The Lithuanians defeated University of Belgrade without any difficulties 97-70 in the final game to clinch the title.

Russian State Agricultural University captured the trophy in the womens tournament, while the Polish Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznan ended as runner-ups.

SOURCE: CyBasketball.com

Frederick Achilleas sign Dion Harris, Cyprus third in Jordan - by Nemanja Bjedov
Panayiotis Trisokkas poured in 26 points as Cyprus topped Qatar 79-77 and captured the third place at the 7th King Abdullah II tournament on Thursday night in Amman.

Alexis Liatsos and Jo Jo Garcia each had 19 points for Cyprus, while Andreas Pilavas chipped in with 13.

Trisokkas was also the leading scorer in the semi-final defeat to Egypt 66-55 with 18 points, while Liatsos, Garcia and Pilavas added 11 points each in that encounter.

Although spirits were low prior to the clash with Qatar, Christos Stylianides men managed to lift them to the occasion to claim the third position with a narrow victory in one of the last games before the start of the EuroBasket 2009 Division B Qualifying Round this September.

Cyprus is in Group B together with Belarus, Switzerland, Albania and Romania, and in their first game they will travel to Oradea to face Romania on September 6.

In the meantime in the local transfers market, Frederick Achilleas signed the American combo guard Dion Harris (190-G-85, agency: Edge Sports, college: Michigan). 23-year old Harris played for the University of Michigan where he averaged 13.4 points and 3.6 assists per game during his senior year. Last season he played in Poland with Polpak Swiecie and in 40 games averaged 5.3 points per game.

SOURCE: CyBasketball.com

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  CZECH REPUBLIC   


U18 EC, division B: Czechs edge Poles for the final and promotion to A division - by Eurobasket News
U18 Poland - U18 Czech Republic 47-71

Czech Republic didn't have a difficult job in the semifinals of U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen. Jan Vesely (210-F/C-90) and his teammates smashed Poland advancing to the big final. Very important thing is also that the Czechs got promotion to division A for the next European Championship. Earlier today Slovenia outplayed Slovak Republic which means that Czechs will have a chance to revenge thriller defeat from the Qualifying Round. Poland will try to reach the Bronze against Slovakia tomorrow at 18:15h. As a reminder, the final game is scheduled for 20:30h.

Except of the first ten minutes, Czechs controlled rhythm of the game during the entire time. At the half time they had plus 9 while their lead became even bigger after couple of minutes in third stanza, 28-42. Very soon Czech Republic stretched its advantage to 20 points what was the end of this game for the Poles. Tomas Satoransky (196-G/F-91, agency: PPGroup) and Jan Vesely once again were the leading players of their team. Tomas Satoransky spent 33 minutes on court missing only one rebound for double-double. He stopped on 17 points, 9 boards and 4 assists. Center Jan Vesely, who was the top scorer of Preliminary Round, also demonstrated great performance adding 17 points and 5 rebounds. Jiri Kysela (191-G-90, agency: PPGroup) followed these two players with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Piotr Pamula (190-G-90) had 15 points in Poland while Sebastian Szymanski (182-G-91) netted 11.


U18 Poland - U18 Czech Republic 47-71
(12-10, 8-19, 14-21, 13-21)

Poland: Piotr Pamula 15, Sebastian Szymanski 11
Czech Republic: Tomas Satoransky 17 (9 rebs, 4 as), Jan Vesely 17 (5 rebs), Jiri Kysela 11 (6 rebs)

U20 EC, division B: Czechs blast Ireland in Targu Mures - by Eurobasket News
U20 Ireland - U20 Czech Republic 42-98

Czech Republic demonstrated its power against Ireland today. It seems Czechs were angry on themselves because of yesterday's defeat against Sweden so they wanted to give their best today. It means that Czech Republic improved to 1-1 in Preliminary Group B while the Irish faced with defeat at their first appearance on U20 European Championship in Romanian city Targu Mures.

Ireland had surprisingly good first quarter of the game. It was 21-21 after 10 minutes. Nobody couldn't know at that time that it will be Irish maximum today. From the second period Czechs took full control on Ireland closing the half time with 17 points lead. Lukas Palyza (201-F-89) had impressive day while his teammates successfully followed him. They let Ireland to score just 12 points during the entire second half. Czechs totally outrebounded their rivals having 21 rebounds more while at the same time Ireland had only 7.7% from behind the arc. With these numbers the Irish couldn't expect anything better than 56 points defeat.

Lukas Palyza was unstoppable today netting 25 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. Vojtech Hruban (197-F-89) followed him with 15 points and 8 rebounds while Jiri Slavik (203-F-89) had 12 points and 9 boards. Ireland got 14 points from Cian Nihill (193-G-88) while Keith Anderson (188-G-89) had one point less than him. Ireland's rival in the next round will be strong Germany. On the other side Czech Republic will have a day-off after this magnificent victory.


U20 Ireland U20 Czech Republic 42-98
(21-21, 9-26, 6-29, 6-22)

Ireland: Cian Nihill (193-G-88) 14, Keith Anderson 13
Czech Republic: Lukas Palyza 25 (4 rebs), Vojtech Hruban 15 (8 rebs), Jiri Slavik 12 (9 rebs)

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  DENMARK   


U18 EC, division B: Tight win for Denmark against Portugal - by Eurobasket News
U18 Denmark - U18 Portugal 64-60

Denmark grabbed the first victory in the Qualifying Round on U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen. Interesting that three teams from Group F, Portugal, Slovakia and Denmark, have the same score 1-2 but because the better results in this 'circle' Slovakia advanced to the semifinals. Thus despite this victory, fourth place in Group F belongs to Denmark, which together with Portugal will continue battle for fifth position.

Interesting is that both teams finished the game with same number of rebounds 42. They also had similar percentage for FG2 while Denmark registered much better stroke from behind the arc. Portugal had slightly better performance in the first stanza ending it 14-17. Portuguese continued at the same rhythm during the next ten minutes and thanks to Andre Pereira (198-F, college: Rider) and Pinheiro went on the half time with plus 5. After the breather Denmark succeeded to tie the score on 32-32 and later on 42-42 but Portuguese made mini run 4-0 at the end of third frame. It was 42-46 before the closing stanza. Crucial period of the game were last five minutes of it when Phillip Hasselbalch (-91) and his teammates made 14-6 run for the final score 64-60.

The winning side got the most points from Phillip Hasselbalch, who netted 16. Lasse Hammar (182-G-90) had 15 points and 5 assists while Mads Frandsen (201-F-90) stopped on 12 points and magnificent 17 boards. Andre Pereira registered double-double for Portugal, 13 points and 10 rebounds. Pinheiro was behind him with 13 points and 4 rebounds.


U18 Denmark - U18 Portugal 64-60
(14-17, 8-10, 20-19, 22-14)

Denmark: Phillip Hasselbalch 16, Lasse Hammar 15 (5 as), Mads Frandsen 12 (17 rebs)
Portugal: Andre Pereira 13 (10 rebs), Pinheiro 13 (4 rebs)

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  ESTONIA   


U20 EC, division B: Estonia edges Austria in Targu Mures - by Eurobasket News
U20 Austria - U20 Estonia 86-93

Estonia together with Belgium remained perfect after two days in Preliminary Group C. This time Estonians were strong enough to beat Austria, which is winless yet on U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures.

Austria showed better performance at the couple of opening minutes taking four points lead, 10-6. Very soon Tanel Kurbas (195-F-88) started and finished 8-0 run helping his team to gain 15-18 after first 10 minutes. Christof Hetzmannseder (181-G-88) and Paul Radakovics (187-G-88) were on fire in the second stanza. Thanks to them Austrians went on the half time having plus 4. Their joy didn't last long as Estonia opened third frame with 13-4 keeping advantage of 9 points until the end of it. During the last ten minutes Austrians were able to come on minus 4 but it was all from them in this game.

Tanel Kurbas was totally unstoppable today. He dominated at the offensive end scoring 32 points including 4 boards for 37 minutes. It is important to be mentioned that Tanel Kurbas drained 5 of 8 attempts from behind the arc. Except of him, Estonia also got 22 points and 4 rebounds from Margus Klementsov (169-G-89). Christof Hetzmannseder netted 28 points for the loosing side while Paul Radakovics stopped on 27 points and 5 assists. In the next round of U20 European Championship division B Estonia will play against Slovak Republic while Austria will meet Switzerland.


U20 Austria - U20 Estonia 86-93
(15-18, 23-16, 13-26, 35-33)

Austria: Christof Hetzmannseder 28 (4 rebs), Paul Radakovics 27 (5 as)
Estonia: Tanel Kurbas 32 (4 rebs), Margus Klementsov 22 (4 as)

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  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS U18   


Division A. Semifinals - by Eurobasket News
Semifinals
Greece U18 - Croatia U18 82:62
Croatia failed to stop the winning rally of Greek U18 Team as they fell short in the semifinal of the European Championship. The tournaments hosts put on a sizzling show in the first half to knock down their opponents and never looked back en route to their seventh straight win at the competition. Leonidas Kaselakis (202-C-90) and Konstantinos Papanikolaou (203-F/G-90) chipped in 19 points apiece to lead Greece. The hosts will now take on Lithuania in the title game tomorrow. Konstantinos Papanikolaou keyed Greek success in the first half. He notched all of his 19 points in the starting two quarters and Greece built a massive 27-point cushion at the interval. The visitors managed to win the second half by 4 points but it was too little to seriously threaten the margin. Greece got 15 points from Nikolaos Pappas (194-G-90, agency: FCM), while Konstantinos Sloukas added 13 points and 11 assists for the winners. Toni Prostran (188-G-91) answered with 15 points for Croatia. Tomislav Zubcic (213-C/F-90) delivered 13 points and 11 rebounds in defeat. Greece used a 28:9 rally in the opening stanza to clear off and never looked back again. They outrebounded their opponents 39:36 and overcame 19 turnovers showing some impressive field goal accuracy. Greece sank 58% from the field, while limiting their opponents to 32% only. Croatia will meet with France in the consolation final tomorrow.

Greece U18: Leonidas Kaselakis 19, Konstantinos Papanikolaou 19, Nikolaos Pappas 15
Croatia U18: Toni Prostran 15, Tomislav Zubcic 13+11 boards


Lithuania U18 - France U18 79:55
Lithuanian Junior National Team will play in the Final of the European Championship. Today they thumped France to enter the championship game. Donatas Motiejunas (214-C-90) nailed 24 points to lead Lithuania to a cruising victory. Tomorrow the Baltic team will face undefeated Greece in the main game of the event. France will take on Croatia in the consolation final. Lithuania dominated in the game leading right from the start. France managed to keep it close at the early stages however an 8:0 run from Lithuanian side put them ahead and they rolled to a 22:14 lead at the first intermission. Lithuania opened a 15-point cushion midway through the second stanza. France failed to answer and trailed by 15 points after 20 minutes of action. Donatas Motiejunas scored 5 points early in the third frame and Lithuania cleared off to an 18-point distance. France simply had no answers for the onslaught and never recovered suffering a heavy loss at the end. Tautvydas Slezas (210-C-90) provided 17 points and 9 boards for Lithuania. Gilvydas Biruta (200-F-91) had 15 points in a winning case. Alexis Tanghe (207-F/C-90) netted 15 points for France. Andrew Albicy (178-G-90) knocked down 11 points in a losing effort. Lithuania outrebounded their opponents 42:28 and converted 59% from the field. Lithuania even dealt with 24 turnovers they committed as they limited France to woeful 32% accuracy from the field including 1/19 from beyond the arc.

Lithuania U18: Donatas Motiejunas 24, Tautvydas Slezas 17, Gilvydas Biruta 15
France U18: Alexis Tanghe 15, Andrew Albicy 11


Semifinals 5th-8th spots
Serbia U18 - Russia U18 85:63
Serbian Junior National Team unloaded all their guns against Russia to stun their opponents at the European Championship 5th-8th places semis. Bojan Bojan Subotic (204-F/C-90) knocked down 22 points to pace Serbia past their distressed opponents. Russia narrowly lost to Latvia the other day and just missed the semifinal stage at the tournament. They obviously lacked composure against Serbia and the Balkan side capitalized. They accounted for 26 points in the opening stanza and ran away to a 9-point distance at the first intermission. Serbia kept on pushing and Bojan Subotic stretched the gap to 11 points early in the second term. Bojan Subotic capped the second period with 11 straight points for Serbia as they built a 48:31 advantage at halftime. The complexion of the game never changed in the second half as Serbia kept Russia at bay deepening the damage. They accounted for an 18-point cushion at three-quarter time and cruised to an overall victory at the end. Filip Sepa (199-G/F-90) chipped in 12 points for Serbia. Dejan Musli (213-C-91) had 10 points in a winning case. Teymuraz Babunashvili (186-G-90) answered with 14 points for Russian team. Sergey Palkin (191-G-90) and Andrey Kirdyachkin (204-F/C-90) secured 10 points apiece in defeat. Serbia outrebounded Russia 47:30 and sank 54% from the field. Serbia will take on Spain for the 5th place today. Russia will continue rivalry against Latvia in the game for the 7th spot.

Serbia U18: Bojan Subotic 22, Filip Sepa 12, Dejan Musli 10
Russia U18: Teymuraz Babunashvili 14, Sergey Palkin 10, Andrey Kirdyachkin 10


Spain U18 - Latvia U18 107:91
Alberto Jodar (205-F/C-91) scored 21 points and Spain U18 burst out with a brilliant rally in the second half to ruin Latvia in the semifinal for the 5th -8th spots. Spain will now play for the 5th spot against Serbia today. Latvia will meet with Russia once again this time for the 7th place. Alberto Jodar and Daniel Perez (188-G-90) nailed back-to-back triples early in the game as Spain accumulated a 14:6 lead. However Maris Ziedins capped the first period with 4 straight points and Latvia trailed by just 2 points at the first intermission. Latvia tipped off the second frame with a 5:0 run to surge in front. The teams traded baskets and were all square at 43 after 20 minutes of action. Alberto Jodar, Daniel Perez and Adrian Laso lifted Spanish team to a 7-point lead early in the third frame. But Latvia stayed close and were down by just 4 points with one quarter remaining in the game. But Alberto Jodar and Jorge Santana (193-G-90) both fired from downtown in a 10:4 rally from Spain that put them ahead by 10 points midway through the fourth term. Martins Laksa (196-F-90) and Kalvis Krumins cut the deficit to 7 points late in the quarter but it was as close as Latvia could get. Adrian Laso, Franch and Hernandez were deadly from the stripe and ensured the winning outcome for Spain. Jorge Santana nailed 20 points for Spaniards. Daniel Perez came up with 19 points for the winners. Martins Laksa led all scorers with 28 points. Kristers Zeidaks (201-F-90) had 13 points and 11 boards in defeat.

Spain U18: Alberto Jodar 21, Jorge Santana 20, Daniel Perez 19
Latvia U18: Martins Laksa 28, Kristers Zeidaks 13+11 boards


Semifinals 9th-12th spots
Turkey U18 - Italy U18 80:73
Melih Mahmutoglu (191-G-90) topscored for Turkey for the second straight game and they posted another victory at the U18 European Championship in Greece. This time Turkish team held off Italian counterparts in the semifinal for the 9th-12th spots. Melih Mahmutoglu knocked down 18 points, while Enes Kanter (205-C-92) reigned in the paint with game-high 22 rebounds and Turkey secured a difficult victory at the end. Italy got to a slightly better start as they led throughout the first term. Riccardo Moraschini and Pasquale Paolisso crowned the quarter with 4 points and Italy enjoyed a 24:21 advantage. Erolcan Cinko, Ibrahim Yildirim (190-G-90) and Enes Kanter paced Turkey in front early in the second period but just to see the lead floating away late in the frame. Nicolo Melli (205-F-91) scored three points late in the half and Italy retained a 37:34 lead at the interval. David Cournooh (190-G-90), Andrea De Nicolao and Pasquale Paolisso stretched the margin to 7 points at the beginning of the third stanza. However Turkey used a 13:2 run to build a 4-point lead late in the period. Ibrahim Yildirim netted 4 points in a 6:0 rally from Turkish team to close the frame and they were up by 7 going into the final term. Enes Kanter and Melih Mahmutoglu dropped jumpers to deepen the damage. However Italy refused to fold. They cut the deficit to 2 points midway through the period following a layup from Sandri. Turkey stayed alert. Furkan Aldemir, Melih Mahmutoglu and Firat Toz were cool in the dying minutes and brought Turkey to the victory at the end. Ibrahim Yildirim poured in 15 points for Turkey. Enes Kanter and Erolcan Cinko netted 11 points apiece in a win. David Cournooh had 16 points for Italy. Nicolo Melli canned 11 points in a losing effort.

Turkey U18: Melih Mahmutoglu 18, Ibrahim Yildirim 15, Enes Kanter 11+22 boards
Italy U18: David Cournooh 16, Nicolo Melli 11


Israel U18 - Ukraine U18 76:75
Carmel Bouchman (205-F-91) converted a go-ahead layup with 8 seconds remaining in regulation to bring victory to Israel over Ukraine at the U18 European Championship. This shot was a part of an 8:0 Israeli run that closed the gap and sealed the win for them. Ruslan Otverchenko (192-F-90) hit a three-pointer to give Ukraine a 7-point lead with just over 2 minutes left. But Israeli side refused to give up. Yotam Shiran (198-F-90), Ben Reis (196-F-90) and Carmel Bouchman netted 8 points in a row and Israel pulled away with a dramatic victory at the end. Israel will now play for the 9th spot against Turkey today. Ukraine will oppose Italy in the game for the 11th place at the tournament. Ukraine exploded with high-paced basketball in the first frame and jumped to a 31:18 lead after ten minutes of action. But Israeli team came back to life in the second stanza. They tightened their defense and cut the deficit to 10 points at halftime. Tamir Ariely (190-G-90) netted 10 points in the third frame and Israel minimized the deficit to just 2 points. The drama was staged in the final minutes as Ukraine cleared off to a seemingly comfortable distance but Israel came from behind to secure a hard-fought win. Tamir Ariely and Yotam Shiran led Israel with 16 points apiece. Ben Reis added 14 points for the winners. Ruslan Otverchenko nailed game-high 25 points and grabbed 8 boards for Ukraine. Oleksandr Osnach (202-C-90) had 23 points and 9 rebounds in a losing case.

Israel U18: Tamir Ariely 16, Yotam Shiran 16, Ben Reis 14
Ukraine U18: Ruslan Otverchenko 25, Oleksandr Osnach 23

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  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS U20   


Division A. Preliminary round Day 2 - by Eurobasket News
Group A
Lithuania U20 - Croatia U20 88:69
Lithuanian U20 National Team maintained their perfect record at the start of the European Championship in Latvia. Yesterday they held off Croatian side to improve to 2-0 record on top of preliminary Group A. The win also meant Lithuania ensured their Qualifying round birth at the tournament. Croatia meanwhile suffered their first loss at the event and dropped to 1-1 record. The Baltic team dominated throughout the action and never raised any questions about the outcome. They got off to a better start and enjoyed a double-digit lead midway through the opening stanza. Teo Petani hit a three-pointer late in the first frame to cut the deficit to 7 points for Croatia. But Lithuania never allowed Croatia to exploit success and kept them at distance throughout the second frame. Lithuania were well in control 39:29 at the interval and stretched the margin to 14 points early in the third frame. Back-to-back trebles from Martynas Gecevicius gave Lithuania a 17-point advantage midway through the third period. They went on extending the margin and entered the fourth term ahead by 25 points. Croatia never bounced back in the fourth term and suffered their first defeat in the competition. Martynas Gecevicius led Lithuania with 18 points. Adas Juskevicius added 17 points, while Lukas Brazdauskis nailed 13 for the winners. Teo Petani came up with 13 points for Croatia. Miro Bilan had 12 points in a losing case.

Lithuania U20: Martynas Gecevicius 18, Adas Juskevicius 17, Lukas Brazdauskis 13
Croatia U20: Teo Petani 13, Miro Bilan 12


Ukraine U20 - Greece U20 71:74
Ukrainian U20 National Team suffered their second straight loss at the European Championship in Riga. Yesterday they were narrowly edged by Greek side. Thus Ukraine fell to 0-2 record at the bottom of preliminary Group A. Vadym Norenko fired game-high 25 points but it was not enough to overcome perky Greece. It was a roller coaster type of game with both teams surging for the win. Ukraine led for most of the first frame but Michail Tsairelis knocked down 4 points in a 6:0 run from Greek team as they grabbed a 25:22 advantage at the end of the first period. Oleksandr Kolchenko, Sergiy Gladyr and Vadym Norenko answered with a 9:0 rally late in the second period when Ukraine turned a 5-point deficit into a 4-point advantage at halftime. The lead changed hands for 3 times in the third period before Greece went on a 13:0 run to build a 62:51 advantage. Charalampos Giannopoulos opened the final period with a three-pointer as Greece piled up a 12-point lead. However Oleksandr Kolchenko and Vadym Norenko cut the deficit to 5 points with under 4 minutes remaining. Vadym Norenko hit a jumper to trim the distance to just 3 points with under two minutes to go. However Mihalis Giannakidis and Nick Calathes hit four freebies and Greece pulled away with the victory. Michail Tsairelis and Mihalis Giannakidis produced 15 points each to pace Greece. Nick Calathes had 12 points for the winners. Oleksandr Kolchenko netted 14 points for Ukraine. Denys Lukashov added 10 points in a loss.

Ukraine U20: Vadym Norenko 25, Oleksandr Kolchenko 14, Denys Lukashov 10
Greece U20: Michail Tsairelis 15, Mihalis Giannakidis 15, Nick Calathes 12


Group B
Turkey U20 - Israel U20 75:65
Turkey stayed untamed at the U20 European Championship in Latvia. Yesterday they handled Israel and remained at helm of preliminary Group B. Azizcan Ozdemir netted 21 points to pace Turkish team to yet another impressive victory. Israel could not be saved by a 22-point haul from Anton Shoutvin and slipped to 0-2 record at the start of the tournament. Turkey jumped to an early 9:2 lead. Israel answered with an 8:0 rally of their own to grab the lead. But Turkey persisted and built a 23:17 advantage at the first intermission. Azizcan Ozdemir and Gokhan Karabiyik fired 5 points to open the second stanza and Turkey enjoyed an 11-point advantage. Turkey drove to a 10-point lead at the interval. Israel tried to stay at a striking distance throughout the third period and trailed by 6 points with one quarter to go. Shoutvin drained a three-pointer to tip off the fourth period and Israel came as close as 3 points from their opponents. But Azizcan Ozdemir and Gokper Gen lifted Turkey to a safe distance, while Gorur netted a three-pointer seconds later to reestablish a 10-point advantage for Turkish team. Israel never rebounded and had to surrender at the end. Baris Hersek had 13 points and 9 boards for Turkey. Gokper Gen provided 12 points for the winners. Anton Shoutvin topscored with 22 points and 8 boards for Israel. Sean Daniel contributed 12 points in a loss.

Turkey U20: Azizcan Ozdemir 21, Baris Hersek 13, Gokper Gen 12
Israel U20: Anton Shoutvin 22, Sean Daniel 12


Georgia U20 - Italy U20 70:63
Georgian U20 National Team scored an emphatic win over Italy in the second round of action at the European Championship. Giorgi Shermadini knocked down 23 points to pace Georgian side. Italy meanwhile suffered their first loss after they took care of Israel in the starting encounter. Italian team got to a better start as they led 22:19 after the starting period. The lead changed hands for 5 times throughout the second term before Gulisabedashvili hit a three-pointer and allowed Georgia to hold a 38:37 advantage at the interval. Tsivtisivadze and Giorgi Shermadini fueled a 6:0 run from Georgia midway through the third period as they gained an 8-point advantage. Georgia maintained the margin and entered the fourth term up by 6 points 58:52. Lorenzo D'Ercole and Giuri cut the deficit to just two points with under four minutes left but Georgia survived. Shengelia and Giorgi Shermadini were deadly from the stripe and Georgia ran away with a confident victory at the end. Giorgi Shermadini added 11 boards to his tally. He was well helped by 18 points from Beka Tsivtsivadze and 13 points from Giorgi Gaprindashvili. Lorenzo D'Ercole led Italy with 20 points. Pietro Aradori notched 14 points in defeat. Georgia outrebounded their opponents 47:27 and shot solid 46% from the field.

Georgia U20: Giorgi Shermadini 23+11 boards, Beka Tsivtsivadze 18, Giorgi Gaprindashvili 13
Italy U20: Lorenzo D'Ercole 20, Pietro Aradori 14


Group C
Montenegro U20 - Bulgaria U20 76:68
Montenegrin U20 National Team celebrated their second win at the European Championship in Latvia. Vladimir Dasic continued his impressive show as he tallied 32 points and 12 boards to propel Montenegro past Bulgaria. Ivan Lilov answered with 18 points and 10 boards but could not prevent Bulgaria from falling to 0-2 record. The teams traded baskets early in the game with Montenegro rolling to a 22:20 lead at the first break. They stretched the margin to 8 points early in the second but Bulgaria found the answer. They capped the first half with a 21:8 run to earn a 5-point lead at halftime. Montenegro failed to come any closer as they trailed by 6 points heading into the fourth term. But a 13:0 run from Montenegro changed it all on the court. Montenegrin players took over and easily secured their second win in the dying minutes. Krsto Bjelica notched 12 points for Montenegro. Sead Sehovic netted 11 points in a win. Chavdar Kostov produced 17 points and 8 rebounds for Bulgaria. Bulgaria outrebounded their opponents 38:33 but committed 30 turnovers down the stretch. Montenegro also sank 41% from the field.

Montenegro U20: Vladimir Dasic 32+12 boards, Krsto Bjelica 12, Sead Sehovic 11
Bulgaria U20: Ivan Lilov 18+10 boards, Chavdar Kostov 17


Spain U20 - Latvia U20 60:46
Spanish team managed to come back to life after a stunning loss to Montenegro in the opening day of the European Championship. They defeated hosting Latvia yesterday to show character and improved to 1-1 record. Latvia in the meantime slipped to 1-1 record and set up a must-win fight against Montenegro in the final preliminary round. Latvia were well in control in the first half. They were up 11:10 after a slow first frame and stayed in front in the second period. The hosts accumulated a 33:30 advantage at halftime. However Spain opened the second half with an 11:0 run to surge in front. Victor Claver and Marc Rubio teamed up for three straight triples and Spain piled up a 50:37 advantage late in the third period. Latvia never bounced back in the fourth period and suffered the initial loss at the tournament. Marc Rubio and Pablo Aguilar knocked down 12 points apiece for Spain. Xavier Rabaseda and Victor Claver came up with 9 points each in a win. Arturs Berzins notched 13 points for Latvia. Dairis Bertans had 12 points in defeat. Spain shot 39% from the field, while limiting their opponents to just 29% accuracy. The teams were quite matched on the boards with Spain pulling down 41 rebounds and Latvia going for 40 caroms.

Spain U20: Marc Rubio 12, Pablo Aguilar 12
Latvia U20: Arturs Berzins 13, Dairis Bertans 12


Group D
Serbia U20 - Slovenia U20 90:78
The European U20 defending champions Serbia posted their second consecutive win at the continental event in Latvia. They overcame Slovenia yesterday to remain on top of preliminary Group D. Miroslav Raduljica produced 22 points and 9 boards to lift Serbia to another successful game in Riga. Slovenia got 17 points from Mirko Mulalic as they slipped to 0-2 record. Slovenia were quick enough at the start to accumulate an 18:12 lead late in the opening period. They maintained the advantage and led 22:16 after the starting period. Two freebies from Danijel Vujasinovic gave Slovenia a 28:17 advantage midway through the second stanza. Serbia stayed in the race and trimmed the deficit to 5 points at halftime 37:42. Serbian side opened the second half with an 11:3 run to grab a 46:45 advantage. Consecutive triples from Jeremic and Katnic stretched the margin to 12 points late in the third quarter. Tomic and Mulajic dragged Slovenia within 5 points in the final stanza however a bunch of baskets from Miroslav Raduljica sealed the winning outcome for Serbia at the end. Marko Keselj knocked down 19 points for Serbian team. Boban Marjanovic had 12 points in a winning effort. Edin Alispahic finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds in a losing effort.

Serbia U20: Miroslav Raduljica 22, Marko Keselj 19, Boban Marjanovic 12
Slovenia U20: Mirko Mulalic 17, Edin Alispahic 14


Russia U20 - France U20 82:88
French U20 National Team celebrated their second consecutive win at the European Championship in Latvia. Antoine Diot nailed 23 points and dished out 6 assists to propel France a tough win over Russia. Russian team thus fell to 0-2 record and must win against Slovenia today to stay in the title race. The teams kept it close in the opening stanza with France securing a 22:21 lead after ten minutes of action. The lead changed hands for several times in the second term before Russia closed the frame with a 14:2 rally to grab a 44:38 halftime advantage. The teams traded baskets in the tense third quarter with neither side able to clear off to a safe distance. Russia maintained the lead as they entered the fourth period ahead by one 62:61. Adrien Moerman put France ahead early in the fourth period. French team used a 12:0 run later in the period to accumulate a 77:64 advantage midway through the term. Russia trimmed the deficit to 5 points with just over a minute remaining. However Mbaye and Antoine Diot scored three points and ensured the winning outcome at the end. Ludovic Vaty provided 15 points for France. Kim Tillie had 13 points in a win. Semen Antonov answered with 15 points for Russia. Valentin Novikov, Maxim Krivosheev and Alexey Shved netted 14 points apiece in defeat.

Russia U20: Semen Antonov 15, Valentin Novikov 14, Maxim Krivosheev 14, Alexey Shved 14
France U20: Antoine Diot 23, Ludovic Vaty 15, Kim Tillie 13


M-Standings - Division B
Standings Div.B
Group A
1. Portugal2-0
2. U.Kingdom1-1
3. Finland1-1
4. FYR Macedo.0-1
5. Norway0-1
Group B
1. Germany2-0
2. Sweden1-1
3. Czech Repu.1-1
4. Ireland0-1
5. Azerbaijan.0-1
Group C
1. Belgium2-0
2. Estonia2-0
3. Switzerl.0-1
4. Slovakia0-1
5. Austria0-2
Group D
1. Holland1-0
2. Romania1-0
3. Poland0-1
4. Hungary0-1


M Standings - Division A
Standings
Group A
1. Lithuania2-0
2. Croatia1-1
3. Greece1-1
4. Ukraine0-2
Group B
1. Turkey2-0
2. Georgia1-1
3. Italy1-1
4. Israel0-2
Group C
1. Monteneg.2-0
2. Spain1-1
3. Latvia1-1
4. Bulgaria0-2
Group D
1. Serbia2-0
2. France2-0
3. Russia0-2
4. Slovenia0-2


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  FINLAND   


U20 EC, division B: Finland beats Norway in Scandinavian derby - by Eurobasket News
U20 Norway - U20 Finland 87-99

After yesterday's defeat against Great Britain, Norway succeeded to grab the first one on U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. Thus Finland improved score to 1-1 in Preliminary Group A while Norway suffered defeat at its first appearance on this prestigious event.

Interesting is that both teams registered the same number of rebounds in this game, 34. Finland had much better stroke from behind the arc making 12 of 29 attempts, which is 41.4%. On the other side Norway had just 25%. After almost leveled first stanza, Finland grabbed the first bigger lead at the middle of the next one. In was 31-37 at that point of game. Antti Kanervo (193-G/F-89) and Aleksi Huuskonen (184-G-88) took care for 7-2 run before the half time setting the score on 38-50. During the next 20 minutes Finish players kept their lead without any bigger efforts. They didn't let Norway to come any closer than 7 points.

Antti Kanervo paced Finland to win in this game collecting 25 points, 5 boards and 4 assists. Aleksi Huuskonen also had fantastic performance adding 21 points and 7 rebounds while Juho-Matti Lehtoranta (191-G-89) stopped on 14 points and 8 rebounds. Terrence Oglesby (188-G-88) was totally the best in Norway today draining 32 points. Miilah Kombat (201-F-88) followed him with 17 points and 14 rebounds while Magne Fivelstad (193-G/F-89) had 12 points. In the next round Norway will take on Portugal while Finland has a day-off.


U20 Norway - U20 Finland 87-99
(22-21,16-29, 25-25, 24-24)

Norway: Terrence Oglesby 32, Miilah Kombat 17 (14 rebs), Magne Fivelstad 12
Finland: Antti Kanervo 25 (5 rebs, 4 as), Aleksi Huuskonen 21 (7 rebs), Juho-Matti Lehtoranta 14 (8 rebs)

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  FRANCE   


Lithuania romp France in semifinal in Greece - by Eurobasket News
Lithuania U18 - France U18 79:55

Lithuanian Junior National Team will play in the Final of the European Championship. Today they thumped France to enter the championship game. Donatas Motiejunas (214-C-90) nailed 24 points to lead Lithuania to a cruising victory. Tomorrow the Baltic team will face undefeated Greece in the main game of the event. France will take on Croatia in the consolation final. Lithuania dominated in the game leading right from the start. France managed to keep it close at the early stages however an 8:0 run from Lithuanian side put them ahead and they rolled to a 22:14 lead at the first intermission. Lithuania opened a 15-point cushion midway through the second stanza. France failed to answer and trailed by 15 points after 20 minutes of action. Donatas Motiejunas scored 5 points early in the third frame and Lithuania cleared off to an 18-point distance. France simply had no answers for the onslaught and never recovered suffering a heavy loss at the end. Tautvydas Slezas (210-C-90) provided 17 points and 9 boards for Lithuania. Gilvydas Biruta (200-F-91) had 15 points in a winning case. Alexis Tanghe (207-F/C-90) netted 15 points for France. Andrew Albicy (178-G-90) knocked down 11 points in a losing effort. Lithuania outrebounded their opponents 42:28 and converted 59% from the field. Lithuania even dealt with 24 turnovers they committed as they limited France to woeful 32% accuracy from the field including 1/19 from beyond the arc.

Lithuania U18: Donatas Motiejunas 24, Tautvydas Slezas 17, Gilvydas Biruta 15
France U18: Alexis Tanghe 15, Andrew Albicy 11

ProA & B : Last Market news - by Aurelien Hipp
*Strasbourg is getting rather active on the transfers market since after having announced the signatures of John Allen (196-F-82, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Seton Hall) and Brion Rush (186-G-84, agency: Court Side, college: Grambling St.), they have signed an additionnal player. David Simon (208-C-82, college: IPFW) will land in Strasbourg, leaving Dijon after one and a half season. Last year he posted 15.3ppg 6.2rpg.

*Shaun Fein (190-G-78, college: Georgia Tech) is back in ProB. He has been signed by Germain Castano and St-Quentin for next season. The american guard had several ProA experiences (Reims, Pau) but always felt more comfortable in the ProB division (more than 20ppg with Nantes and Reims, best scorer of the team with Quimper). Last season, Fein followed Olivier Cousin at Pau but has been seating on the bench all season long, since he did'nt seem to have new coach's confidence.

Russia unable to match France in Riga - by Eurobasket News
Russia U20 - France U20 82:88

French U20 National Team celebrated their second consecutive win at the European Championship in Latvia. Antoine Diot (191-G-89) nailed 23 points and dished out 6 assists to propel France a tough win over Russia. Russian team thus fell to 0-2 record and must win against Slovenia today to stay in the title race. The teams kept it close in the opening stanza with France securing a 22:21 lead after ten minutes of action. The lead changed hands for several times in the second term before Russia closed the frame with a 14:2 rally to grab a 44:38 halftime advantage. The teams traded baskets in the tense third quarter with neither side able to clear off to a safe distance. Russia maintained the lead as they entered the fourth period ahead by one 62:61. Adrien Moerman (204-F/C-88) put France ahead early in the fourth period. French team used a 12:0 run later in the period to accumulate a 77:64 advantage midway through the term. Russia trimmed the deficit to 5 points with just over a minute remaining. However Mbaye and Antoine Diot scored three points and ensured the winning outcome at the end. Ludovic Vaty (206-F-88, college: Moraine Valley CC) provided 15 points for France. Kim Tillie (206-F-88) had 13 points in a win. Semen Antonov (203-F-89) answered with 15 points for Russia. Valentin Novikov (195-F-89), Maxim Krivosheev (205-F/C-88) and Alexey Shved (196-G-88) netted 14 points apiece in defeat.

Russia U20: Semen Antonov 15, Valentin Novikov 14, Maxim Krivosheev 14, Alexey Shved 14
France U20: Antoine Diot 23, Ludovic Vaty 15, Kim Tillie 13

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  GEORGIA   


Georgia nip Italy for the first win in Riga - by Eurobasket News
Georgia U20 - Italy U20 70:63

Georgian U20 National Team scored an emphatic win over Italy in the second round of action at the European Championship. Giorgi Shermadini (216-C-89, agency: Life Sports) knocked down 23 points to pace Georgian side. Italy meanwhile suffered their first loss after they took care of Israel in the starting encounter. Italian team got to a better start as they led 22:19 after the starting period. The lead changed hands for 5 times throughout the second term before Gulisabedashvili hit a three-pointer and allowed Georgia to hold a 38:37 advantage at the interval. Tsivtisivadze and Giorgi Shermadini fueled a 6:0 run from Georgia midway through the third period as they gained an 8-point advantage. Georgia maintained the margin and entered the fourth term up by 6 points 58:52. Lorenzo D'Ercole (190-G-88) and Giuri cut the deficit to just two points with under four minutes left but Georgia survived. Shengelia and Giorgi Shermadini were deadly from the stripe and Georgia ran away with a confident victory at the end. Giorgi Shermadini added 11 boards to his tally. He was well helped by 18 points from Beka Tsivtsivadze (189-G-89) and 13 points from Giorgi Gaprindashvili (188-G-88). Lorenzo D'Ercole led Italy with 20 points. Pietro Aradori (192-G-88) notched 14 points in defeat. Georgia outrebounded their opponents 47:27 and shot solid 46% from the field.

Georgia U20: Giorgi Shermadini 23+11 boards, Beka Tsivtsivadze 18, Giorgi Gaprindashvili 13
Italy U20: Lorenzo D'Ercole 20, Pietro Aradori 14

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  GERMANY   


Paul Peterson joins Iserlohn - by Daniel Poerschke
The NOMA Iserlohn Kangaroos already had signed a new foreigner point guard, but their first choice - Vid Zarkovic (185-G-75, agency: Global Sports Plaza) - was drafted into the serbian army two weeks ago and could not get out of his commitments to play in the 1. Regionalliga West this season. So manager Michael Dahmen announced the signing of Paul Peterson (175-G-86, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement) today, to be the new playmaker for the Kangaroos. Peterson comes from BYU-Hawaii and was selected as a NCAA 2 All-Star this past season. He averaged 14.6ppg, 3.8apg and 2.5rpg in his senior season for the Seasiders. 'He is fast, a deadly outside shooter and a real playmaker, who can set up his teammates', was Manager Dahmen quoted in the local newspaper.

U20 EC, division B: This time Germany too strong for Sweden - by Eurobasket News
U20 Sweden - U20 Germany 64-90

Germany continued with demonstrating its power on U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. Spectators of the yesterday's game between Germany and Azerbaijan for sure didn't forget performance by the winning team. Today, Germans once again were on a high level beating Sweden with plus 26. It means that Germany remained perfect in Preliminary Group B after two days while Sweden dropped on 1-1.

Sweden couldn't handle strong Germans today. The Swedish had only 37.5% for FG2 and 28.6% for 3-pts thus with that kind of percentage they couldn't survive in today's game. After plus 6 in the first frame, Philipp Schwethelm (200-F-89, agency: Court Side) and his teammates intensified defense which resulted with just 8 points by Sweden in the second frame. On the other side Germans were unstoppable at the offensive end closing first half with plus 24. The game is decided at the beggining of third frame when Germany thanks to Gunther and Philipp Schwethelm touched 29-45.

Philipp Schwethelm was the best player in Germany as he collected 19 points and 9 boards. Lucca Staiger (196-G-88) also shied with 16 points and 4 rebounds while Gunther and Elias Harris (202-F-89) netted 13 points apiece. Sweden got 13 points and 6 rebounds from Carl Saks (201-G-89). Jeffery Taylor (200-G/F-89) followed him adding 12 points and 9 rebounds. Germany will try to remain undefeated tomorrow against Ireland while Sweden will take on Azerbaijan.


U20 Sweden - U20 Germany 64-90
(21-15, 8-26, 17-23, 18-26)

Sweden: Carl Saks 13 (6 rebs), Jeffery Taylor 12 (9 rebs)
Germany: Philipp Schwethelm 19 (7 rebs), Lucca Staiger 16 (4 rebs), Gunther 13 (7 as), Elias Harris 13 (8 rebs)

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  GREECE   


Latest transfer news - by Chris Mammides
A1 Transfer news
AEK Athens
Coach Flevarakis and Team Manager Christos Tsekos have agreed financial terms with Giannis Kyriakopoulos (185-G-83) while they re very close to renew the contract of Dimitris Papanikolaou, it seems though that Christos Tapoutos is not going to be playing in AEK Athens as he does have much better financial offers from Panionios and Aris Thessalonikis respectively, both teams with much higher targets especially Panionios is rejuvenating and will play in Euroleague this season.In the mean time, Vassilis Simtsak will probably remain in AEK as even though his rights belong to MR Drosos president of PAOK, he will let him stay in Athens

Panionios
Ibrahim Jaaber is officially Panionios player as the Italian Roma never endorse the money (300,000) to the Greek team so automatically according to the contract of the American with bossman passport, point guard becomes Coach Trifunovic player, furthermore, the ambitious Head Coach seems to have really very high expectations from his team and this season Panionios will be much stronger from all the aspects as the talented ex Akasvayu player, Branko Cvetkovic (200-G-84) is officially Panionios player, the 23 years old guard/forward had around 10 points in both Spanish league and Uleb Cup while he was dashing down at least 6 rebounds per game.

Olympia Larissas
The Larissa team agreed financial terms with the German International Sven Shultze while at the same time lost its top player and scorer Giorgos Tsiaras who is heading to PAOK Thessalonikis

PAOK
Already, President Drosos start doing business and agreed financial terms with Head Coach Pedoulakis, Assistant Coach Giorgos Vovoros and the players, Giorgos Tsiaras, Christos Harisis and Alexis Kyritsis while another three players will be sign their contracts very soon, Dimitris Verginis (on a lending agreement from Panathinaikos), Panagiotis Kafkis from Olympiakos and Amara Sy from AEK, while among the top priorities are K Wesson from AEK and Iakovos Tsakalidis ex player of Olympiakos

Trikalla 2000
The newcomers in the A1 succeeded a great transfer as they stole the experience shooting guard Greek-Cypriot Prodromos Nikolaoidis, Prodromos was among Coach Flevarakis's targets for AEK but Trikalla 2000 offered better financial wise contract so he preferred the newcomers of Coach Tzimas.

AEL 1964
The second team of Larissa agreed financial terms with two American players, Torin Francis (210-F-83, college: Notre Dame) and Bruce Price (191-G-83) are the new players for the Thessalia team. Further to the Americans, Panagiotis Karavanas agreed also the financial terms with AEL and is officially Larissas player

Egaleo
The Skourthopoulos team agreed financial terms with Anthony Goldwire (186-G-71, college: Houston), Themis Koupidis and Kioulanin

European Championship U18: Greece is in the finals! - by Chris Mammides
The passionate Hellenic team did it again, Coach Vlassopouloss talented players are simply the best, tonight they thrashed the Croatian team with 82-62 in a game which could have been event to forty points for the Greeks as the level of the basket of these two teams was not comparable, the Greek team played more than a quarter with the benchers and still the score remained in such a high level.

The definition of team spirit is the U18 Hellenic team as there are not any signs of egoism and the maturity of these 17 years old kids is simply amazing, they play like mature men like players that they play decades and decades in the European courts, players such us Sarikopoulos, Leonidas Kaselakis (202-C-90), Nikolaos Pappas (194-G-90), Konstantinos Sloukas (192-G-90) and many others is a live prove that Basketball was is and will be for many years to come, a Hellenic sport, in all the ways. The amazing phenomenon is the fact that most of these players are playing in teams that belong in the third and fourth national divisions, i.e. Kostantinos Konstantinos Sloukas, Dimitris Katsivelis and Georgiso Georgakis are Mantoulidis players.

The Hellenic National team once more played with excitement and passion and dedicate once more the game to their unlucky teammate, Vladimir Jankovic who got injured in the second game and will remain out of the courts for at least two months.

In regards to the seventh winning game for the Hellenic team (in 7 games), the rhythm was simply Hellenic as the talented players of Greece got by surprise the Croatian team and before the end of the first quarter the deficit and the difference for the two teams went up to 20 points (where it stayed like that) as the first quarter ended with 28-9 with the Hellenic team having an amazing Papanikolaou, the talented forward who by the way extended his contract with Aris for another 5 years!!, was simply amazing, with very good defence and very good shooting skills, the young player from North Hellas was the MVP of this semi-final.

The Greek team followed the same tempo in the second quarter with Sarikopoulos being the master of the air as he out beat the big Croatian star Mario Delas, Delas ended the game with 8 points while his records and his averages in the previous six games was 20-21 points per game. At the same time, Konstantinos Sloukas, Mantzaris and Nikolaos Pappas were ruling the game and with their excellent organisational skills didnt not left any doubt as on the whos the best team in the court, the second quarter was a continuous monologue for the Greek team, with lot of concentration, very good psychology and maturity Vlassopouloss team finished the game with 53-26!
The offensive and defensive crescent continued at the first five minutes of the third quarter when the score reached the 40 points (37 to be more prcised)
During the last 15 minutes the Hellenic team played with the benchers and that is the only reason why the Croats were able to cut the deficit to just 20 minutes
The top scorers of the game were:
Konstantinos Papanikolaou (203-F/G-90) 19 points 8 rebounds, Konstantinos Sloukas 13 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds loosing an amazing triple double figures for 2 rebounds, Leonidas Kaselakis 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Nikolaos Pappas 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists with 3 steals.
For the Croats, top scorer were: Croatian guard Toni Prostran (188-G-91) and Croat center Zubcic with 15 and 13 points respectively.

Tomorrow night at 20.30 in Pyrgos the Hellenic team will try to get its first ever Gold medal as three time lost the chance after loosing in the finals, the opponent will be a team between Lithuania and France which are currently playing in the Semis.

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  HOLLAND   


U18 EC, division B: Netherlands easily beats Switzerland - by Eurobasket News
U18 Switzerland - U18 Netherlands 71-105

Netherlands grabbed the second win in Classification Round from 9th to 16th place. It means that Netherlands remained on top of Group G and its next opponent on U18 European Championship division B will be Romania. On the other hand Switzerland lost all chances for position number nine. It will continue championship battling for 13th place.

Netherlands had magnificent shot percentage in this game. Its player made 13 of 21 attempts form behind the arc which is almost 62%. At the same time they had 67.5% for FG2 and 75% from the free throw line. Everything started good for the official visitor in this game. They made 9-18 after 5 minutes while until the end of the first quarter it already was 16-29. Next period didn't change anything as Jeroen van Vugt (191-G-91) and his teammates continued in the same rhythm. At the middle of third frame it was already clear that Switzerland won't be able to do anything as Netherlands created huge plus 28.

Jeroen van Vugt paced Netherlands to victory scoring 23 points. Stefan Mladenovic (188-G-90) followed him with 15 points while Jesse Voorn (186-G-90) netted 14. Stefan Petkovic (182-G-92) was the best scorer in Switzerland with 16 points. Brian Savoy (186-G-92) added 14 while Roman Albrecht (207-C-90) stopped on 13 points and 8 rebounds.


U18 Switzerland - U18 Netherlands 71-105
(16-29, 17-23, 14-25, 24-28)

Switzerland: Stefan Petkovic 16, Brian Savoy 14, Roman Albrecht 13 (8 rebs)
Netherlands: Jeroen van Vugt 23, Stefan Mladenovic 15, Jesse Voorn 14

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  HUNGARY   


U18 B division EC Debrecen - Sum up - by Balazs Radics
Hungarian youngstairs captured the disapointing 17th place. We couldn't have wasting such a long time with this news, just noticing an other failure from the hungarian youth basketball, BUT going a little bit more into details there is some promising fact which shows that we still have some values. First of all we expected something from Zsott Lakosa and Bulcsu Sarosi team like they have done sensationally last year by promoting to the A division as finished 2nd behind Poland in Skopje. This competition started completly otherway as 2 of the better players - U18 MVP David Vojvoda (191-G/F-90, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) and last year's EC All Star Adam Lepsenyi (201-C-91, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) - didnt showed up in the training camp, so the hosting National Team picked up 2 easy loss against Finnland and Georgia. Than a wake up call came too late (Hungary beat Denmark by 12) as we defeated once again in a tough crutial game against Slovakia, where just a minute before time Hungary was on the top of group D - and than just 60 secound later we ended up the last! extreamly unlucky. Considering the fact that Slovakia reached the semi-final it could have happened easily with the hungarian squad if we had been through. Than the last 3 games was a kind of cure as the U18 boys defeated Norway, Ireland and England. Norbert Takacs (196-G-90) was one of the most consistent player of the whole competition as he scored double figures in all 7 games finished the tournament with the averages of 16.3 ppg, 3.1 apg(6th), 2.9 rpg, 2.6 spg(6th), 36.0% 3fg, 91.7% ft(1st), while Janos Eilingsfeld (198-F/C-91, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) continued well his International carieer, after an EC MVP last year he contributed this summer 14.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg, with 55.6% fg(4th). Also Mate Mohacsi (192-F-90) 11.3 ppg with 6.3 rpg and Andras Helmeczi (192-G-90) 11.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.0 spg is honorable to mention. Well this team would have deserved much more but ended up 17th. We will see in 2 years at the U20 as they will have their last chance to show that they have more in potential, much more.

U18 EC, division B: Hungary smashes Ireland - by Eurobasket News
U18 Hungary - U18 Ireland 106-60

Hungary clinched the second victory in Classification Round from 17th to 20th position on U18 European Championship in Debrecen. It means that Hungary improves to 2-0 in Group I with nice chances for position number 17. On the other side Ireland is winless yet on this championship. Most probably the Irish will end it at the last 20th place.

Hungarians took control on their rival at the early beginning. They dominated in all basketball elements. Ireland had many problems on both ends of the court, as it was case during the entire championship. Mark Mondzinger (200-F/C-90) and his teammates exploited all of those grabbing comfortable 24 points lead already at the half time. Ireland showed some attitude after the breather but it wasn't enough against the host Hungary, which players were in the right mood in this game. The fact that Hungary succeeded to net more than 100 points talks for itself about the Irish defense and basketball level at this moment.

Mark Mondzinger had the best digits in Hungary collecting 17 points and 7 rebounds. Laszlo Kothay (183-G-90) also netted 17 points while Janos Eilingsfeld (198-F/C-91, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) and Gergely Kovacs (189-G-91) scored 14 points each. Ciaran O'Sullivan (193-G-90) added 16 points for Ireland. The loosing side also got 11 points and 6 rebounds from Conor James (191-G/F-90).


U18 Hungary - U18 Ireland 106-60
(18-12, 25-7, 29-23, 34-18)

Hungary: Mark Mondzinger 17 (7 rebs), Laszlo Kothay (183-G-90) 17, Janos Eilingsfeld 14 (8 rebs), Gergely Kovacs 14
Ireland: Ciaran O'Sullivan 16, Conor James 11 (6 rebs)

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  IRELAND   


U20 EC, division B: Czechs blast Ireland in Targu Mures - by Eurobasket News
U20 Ireland - U20 Czech Republic 42-98

Czech Republic demonstrated its power against Ireland today. It seems Czechs were angry on themselves because of yesterday's defeat against Sweden so they wanted to give their best today. It means that Czech Republic improved to 1-1 in Preliminary Group B while the Irish faced with defeat at their first appearance on U20 European Championship in Romanian city Targu Mures.

Ireland had surprisingly good first quarter of the game. It was 21-21 after 10 minutes. Nobody couldn't know at that time that it will be Irish maximum today. From the second period Czechs took full control on Ireland closing the half time with 17 points lead. Lukas Palyza (201-F-89) had impressive day while his teammates successfully followed him. They let Ireland to score just 12 points during the entire second half. Czechs totally outrebounded their rivals having 21 rebounds more while at the same time Ireland had only 7.7% from behind the arc. With these numbers the Irish couldn't expect anything better than 56 points defeat.

Lukas Palyza was unstoppable today netting 25 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. Vojtech Hruban (197-F-89) followed him with 15 points and 8 rebounds while Jiri Slavik (203-F-89) had 12 points and 9 boards. Ireland got 14 points from Cian Nihill (193-G-88) while Keith Anderson (188-G-89) had one point less than him. Ireland's rival in the next round will be strong Germany. On the other side Czech Republic will have a day-off after this magnificent victory.


U20 Ireland U20 Czech Republic 42-98
(21-21, 9-26, 6-29, 6-22)

Ireland: Cian Nihill (193-G-88) 14, Keith Anderson 13
Czech Republic: Lukas Palyza 25 (4 rebs), Vojtech Hruban 15 (8 rebs), Jiri Slavik 12 (9 rebs)

U18 EC, division B: Hungary smashes Ireland - by Eurobasket News
U18 Hungary - U18 Ireland 106-60

Hungary clinched the second victory in Classification Round from 17th to 20th position on U18 European Championship in Debrecen. It means that Hungary improves to 2-0 in Group I with nice chances for position number 17. On the other side Ireland is winless yet on this championship. Most probably the Irish will end it at the last 20th place.

Hungarians took control on their rival at the early beginning. They dominated in all basketball elements. Ireland had many problems on both ends of the court, as it was case during the entire championship. Mark Mondzinger (200-F/C-90) and his teammates exploited all of those grabbing comfortable 24 points lead already at the half time. Ireland showed some attitude after the breather but it wasn't enough against the host Hungary, which players were in the right mood in this game. The fact that Hungary succeeded to net more than 100 points talks for itself about the Irish defense and basketball level at this moment.

Mark Mondzinger had the best digits in Hungary collecting 17 points and 7 rebounds. Laszlo Kothay (183-G-90) also netted 17 points while Janos Eilingsfeld (198-F/C-91, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) and Gergely Kovacs (189-G-91) scored 14 points each. Ciaran O'Sullivan (193-G-90) added 16 points for Ireland. The loosing side also got 11 points and 6 rebounds from Conor James (191-G/F-90).


U18 Hungary - U18 Ireland 106-60
(18-12, 25-7, 29-23, 34-18)

Hungary: Mark Mondzinger 17 (7 rebs), Laszlo Kothay (183-G-90) 17, Janos Eilingsfeld 14 (8 rebs), Gergely Kovacs 14
Ireland: Ciaran O'Sullivan 16, Conor James 11 (6 rebs)

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  ISRAEL   


Turkey beat Israel to stay perfect - by Eurobasket News
Turkey U20 - Israel U20 75:65

Turkey stayed untamed at the U20 European Championship in Latvia. Yesterday they handled Israel and remained at helm of preliminary Group B. Azizcan Ozdemir (201-F-88) netted 21 points to pace Turkish team to yet another impressive victory. Israel could not be saved by a 22-point haul from Anton Shoutvin (205-C/F-89) and slipped to 0-2 record at the start of the tournament. Turkey jumped to an early 9:2 lead. Israel answered with an 8:0 rally of their own to grab the lead. But Turkey persisted and built a 23:17 advantage at the first intermission. Azizcan Ozdemir and Gokhan Karabiyik (205-F/C-88) fired 5 points to open the second stanza and Turkey enjoyed an 11-point advantage. Turkey drove to a 10-point lead at the interval. Israel tried to stay at a striking distance throughout the third period and trailed by 6 points with one quarter to go. Shoutvin drained a three-pointer to tip off the fourth period and Israel came as close as 3 points from their opponents. But Azizcan Ozdemir and Gokper Gen (188-G-89) lifted Turkey to a safe distance, while Gorur netted a three-pointer seconds later to reestablish a 10-point advantage for Turkish team. Israel never rebounded and had to surrender at the end. Baris Hersek (204-F/C-88) had 13 points and 9 boards for Turkey. Gokper Gen provided 12 points for the winners. Anton Shoutvin topscored with 22 points and 8 boards for Israel. Sean Daniel (200-F-89, agency: Arik Krayn Services) contributed 12 points in a loss.

Turkey U20: Azizcan Ozdemir 21, Baris Hersek 13, Gokper Gen 12
Israel U20: Anton Shoutvin 22, Sean Daniel 12

Market News - by Tamar Goldman

Maccabi Rishon Le Zion inked its third foreigner the American forward Louis Graham (203-F-84, agency: Pro One Sports). This would be Grahams first season abroad after playing for Georgia Southern for the last four seasons .Graham joins James Hughes (211-C-83, agency: 540 Sports, college: N.Illinois) and Ken Tutt (185-G-84, agency: Strategic Sports, college: ORU) and now Rishon is looking for the final peace of the puzzle. In his last year in collage Graham averaged 32 games: 16.8ppg, 6.8rpg, 1.6spg, 1.7bpg.


Maccabi Haifa made its first perches in the foreigner field and signed the 31 years old guard BJ McKie (188-G-77, college: S.Carolina). Mckie started his carrier out of the states in sep. 1999 in France. At the end of that season he moved back to the US and his next stop in Europe was on 2002/03 in Cyprus. Before coming to Italy, where he spent the last three seasons he played in Germany.


The Israeli Guard, Shmulik Brener (187-G-81, agency: Gross Zeev ISA) will stay in Ramat Gan, this would be Breners third season in the club



Carmel Bouchman lifts Israel past Ukraine - by Eurobasket News
Israel U18 - Ukraine U18 76:75

Carmel Bouchman (205-F-91) converted a go-ahead layup with 8 seconds remaining in regulation to bring victory to Israel over Ukraine at the U18 European Championship. This shot was a part of an 8:0 Israeli run that closed the gap and sealed the win for them. Ruslan Otverchenko (192-F-90) hit a three-pointer to give Ukraine a 7-point lead with just over 2 minutes left. But Israeli side refused to give up. Yotam Shiran (198-F-90), Ben Reis (196-F-90) and Carmel Bouchman netted 8 points in a row and Israel pulled away with a dramatic victory at the end. Israel will now play for the 9th spot against Turkey today. Ukraine will oppose Italy in the game for the 11th place at the tournament. Ukraine exploded with high-paced basketball in the first frame and jumped to a 31:18 lead after ten minutes of action. But Israeli team came back to life in the second stanza. They tightened their defense and cut the deficit to 10 points at halftime. Tamir Ariely (190-G-90) netted 10 points in the third frame and Israel minimized the deficit to just 2 points. The drama was staged in the final minutes as Ukraine cleared off to a seemingly comfortable distance but Israel came from behind to secure a hard-fought win. Tamir Ariely and Yotam Shiran led Israel with 16 points apiece. Ben Reis added 14 points for the winners. Ruslan Otverchenko nailed game-high 25 points and grabbed 8 boards for Ukraine. Oleksandr Osnach (202-C-90) had 23 points and 9 rebounds in a losing case.

Israel U18: Tamir Ariely 16, Yotam Shiran 16, Ben Reis 14
Ukraine U18: Ruslan Otverchenko 25, Oleksandr Osnach 23

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  ITALY   


Turkey narrowly escape Italy in Pyrgos - by Eurobasket News
Turkey U18 - Italy U18 80:73

Melih Mahmutoglu (191-G-90) topscored for Turkey for the second straight game and they posted another victory at the U18 European Championship in Greece. This time Turkish team held off Italian counterparts in the semifinal for the 9th-12th spots. Melih Mahmutoglu knocked down 18 points, while Enes Kanter (205-C-92) reigned in the paint with game-high 22 rebounds and Turkey secured a difficult victory at the end. Italy got to a slightly better start as they led throughout the first term. Riccardo Moraschini (192-G-91) and Pasquale Paolisso (203-F/C-90, agency: Court Side) crowned the quarter with 4 points and Italy enjoyed a 24:21 advantage. Erolcan Cinko (188-G-90), Ibrahim Yildirim (190-G-90) and Enes Kanter paced Turkey in front early in the second period but just to see the lead floating away late in the frame. Nicolo Melli (205-F-91) scored three points late in the half and Italy retained a 37:34 lead at the interval. David Cournooh (190-G-90), Andrea De Nicolao and Pasquale Paolisso stretched the margin to 7 points at the beginning of the third stanza. However Turkey used a 13:2 run to build a 4-point lead late in the period. Ibrahim Yildirim netted 4 points in a 6:0 rally from Turkish team to close the frame and they were up by 7 going into the final term. Enes Kanter and Melih Mahmutoglu dropped jumpers to deepen the damage. However Italy refused to fold. They cut the deficit to 2 points midway through the period following a layup from Sandri. Turkey stayed alert. Furkan Aldemir (205-F-91), Melih Mahmutoglu and Firat Toz (187-G-91) were cool in the dying minutes and brought Turkey to the victory at the end. Ibrahim Yildirim poured in 15 points for Turkey. Enes Kanter and Erolcan Cinko netted 11 points apiece in a win. David Cournooh had 16 points for Italy. Nicolo Melli canned 11 points in a losing effort.

Turkey U18: Melih Mahmutoglu 18, Ibrahim Yildirim 15, Enes Kanter 11+22 boards
Italy U18: David Cournooh 16, Nicolo Melli 11

Georgia nip Italy for the first win in Riga - by Eurobasket News
Georgia U20 - Italy U20 70:63

Georgian U20 National Team scored an emphatic win over Italy in the second round of action at the European Championship. Giorgi Shermadini (216-C-89, agency: Life Sports) knocked down 23 points to pace Georgian side. Italy meanwhile suffered their first loss after they took care of Israel in the starting encounter. Italian team got to a better start as they led 22:19 after the starting period. The lead changed hands for 5 times throughout the second term before Gulisabedashvili hit a three-pointer and allowed Georgia to hold a 38:37 advantage at the interval. Tsivtisivadze and Giorgi Shermadini fueled a 6:0 run from Georgia midway through the third period as they gained an 8-point advantage. Georgia maintained the margin and entered the fourth term up by 6 points 58:52. Lorenzo D'Ercole (190-G-88) and Giuri cut the deficit to just two points with under four minutes left but Georgia survived. Shengelia and Giorgi Shermadini were deadly from the stripe and Georgia ran away with a confident victory at the end. Giorgi Shermadini added 11 boards to his tally. He was well helped by 18 points from Beka Tsivtsivadze (189-G-89) and 13 points from Giorgi Gaprindashvili (188-G-88). Lorenzo D'Ercole led Italy with 20 points. Pietro Aradori (192-G-88) notched 14 points in defeat. Georgia outrebounded their opponents 47:27 and shot solid 46% from the field.

Georgia U20: Giorgi Shermadini 23+11 boards, Beka Tsivtsivadze 18, Giorgi Gaprindashvili 13
Italy U20: Lorenzo D'Ercole 20, Pietro Aradori 14

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  LATVIA   


Spain crushes Latvia in Greece - by Eurobasket News
Spain U18 - Latvia U18 107:91

Alberto Jodar (205-F/C-91) scored 21 points and Spain U18 burst out with a brilliant rally in the second half to ruin Latvia in the semifinal for the 5th -8th spots. Spain will now play for the 5th spot against Serbia today. Latvia will meet with Russia once again this time for the 7th place. Alberto Jodar and Daniel Perez (188-G-90) nailed back-to-back triples early in the game as Spain accumulated a 14:6 lead. However Maris Ziedins (198-F/C-90) capped the first period with 4 straight points and Latvia trailed by just 2 points at the first intermission. Latvia tipped off the second frame with a 5:0 run to surge in front. The teams traded baskets and were all square at 43 after 20 minutes of action. Alberto Jodar, Daniel Perez and Adrian Laso (204-F/C-90) lifted Spanish team to a 7-point lead early in the third frame. But Latvia stayed close and were down by just 4 points with one quarter remaining in the game. But Alberto Jodar and Jorge Santana (193-G-90) both fired from downtown in a 10:4 rally from Spain that put them ahead by 10 points midway through the fourth term. Martins Laksa (196-F-90) and Kalvis Krumins (182-G-90) cut the deficit to 7 points late in the quarter but it was as close as Latvia could get. Adrian Laso, Franch and Hernandez were deadly from the stripe and ensured the winning outcome for Spain. Jorge Santana nailed 20 points for Spaniards. Daniel Perez came up with 19 points for the winners. Martins Laksa led all scorers with 28 points. Kristers Zeidaks (201-F-90) had 13 points and 11 boards in defeat.

Spain U18: Alberto Jodar 21, Jorge Santana 20, Daniel Perez 19
Latvia U18: Martins Laksa 28, Kristers Zeidaks 13+11 boards

Spain recover edging hosts in Latvia - by Eurobasket News
Spain U20 - Latvia U20 60:46

Spanish team managed to come back to life after a stunning loss to Montenegro in the opening day of the European Championship. They defeated hosting Latvia yesterday to show character and improved to 1-1 record. Latvia in the meantime slipped to 1-1 record and set up a must-win fight against Montenegro in the final preliminary round. Latvia were well in control in the first half. They were up 11:10 after a slow first frame and stayed in front in the second period. The hosts accumulated a 33:30 advantage at halftime. However Spain opened the second half with an 11:0 run to surge in front. Victor Claver (204-F/C-88) and Marc Rubio (193-G-88) teamed up for three straight triples and Spain piled up a 50:37 advantage late in the third period. Latvia never bounced back in the fourth period and suffered the initial loss at the tournament. Marc Rubio and Pablo Aguilar (203-F/C-89) knocked down 12 points apiece for Spain. Xavier Rabaseda (199-G-89) and Victor Claver came up with 9 points each in a win. Arturs Berzins (202-C/F-88) notched 13 points for Latvia. Dairis Bertans (192-G/F-89) had 12 points in defeat. Spain shot 39% from the field, while limiting their opponents to just 29% accuracy. The teams were quite matched on the boards with Spain pulling down 41 rebounds and Latvia going for 40 caroms.

Spain U20: Marc Rubio 12, Pablo Aguilar 12
Latvia U20: Arturs Berzins 13, Dairis Bertans 12

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  LITHUANIA   


Lithuania keep up winning pace in Riga - by Eurobasket News
Lithuania U20 - Croatia U20 88:69

Lithuanian U20 National Team maintained their perfect record at the start of the European Championship in Latvia. Yesterday they held off Croatian side to improve to 2-0 record on top of preliminary Group A. The win also meant Lithuania ensured their Qualifying round birth at the tournament. Croatia meanwhile suffered their first loss at the event and dropped to 1-1 record. The Baltic team dominated throughout the action and never raised any questions about the outcome. They got off to a better start and enjoyed a double-digit lead midway through the opening stanza. Teo Petani (190-G-88) hit a three-pointer late in the first frame to cut the deficit to 7 points for Croatia. But Lithuania never allowed Croatia to exploit success and kept them at distance throughout the second frame. Lithuania were well in control 39:29 at the interval and stretched the margin to 14 points early in the third frame. Back-to-back trebles from Martynas Gecevicius (194-G-88) gave Lithuania a 17-point advantage midway through the third period. They went on extending the margin and entered the fourth term ahead by 25 points. Croatia never bounced back in the fourth term and suffered their first defeat in the competition. Martynas Gecevicius led Lithuania with 18 points. Adas Juskevicius (193-G/F-89) added 17 points, while Lukas Brazdauskis (203-F-88) nailed 13 for the winners. Teo Petani came up with 13 points for Croatia. Miro Bilan (210-C/F-89) had 12 points in a losing case.

Lithuania U20: Martynas Gecevicius 18, Adas Juskevicius 17, Lukas Brazdauskis 13
Croatia U20: Teo Petani 13, Miro Bilan 12

Lithuania romp France in semifinal in Greece - by Eurobasket News
Lithuania U18 - France U18 79:55

Lithuanian Junior National Team will play in the Final of the European Championship. Today they thumped France to enter the championship game. Donatas Motiejunas (214-C-90) nailed 24 points to lead Lithuania to a cruising victory. Tomorrow the Baltic team will face undefeated Greece in the main game of the event. France will take on Croatia in the consolation final. Lithuania dominated in the game leading right from the start. France managed to keep it close at the early stages however an 8:0 run from Lithuanian side put them ahead and they rolled to a 22:14 lead at the first intermission. Lithuania opened a 15-point cushion midway through the second stanza. France failed to answer and trailed by 15 points after 20 minutes of action. Donatas Motiejunas scored 5 points early in the third frame and Lithuania cleared off to an 18-point distance. France simply had no answers for the onslaught and never recovered suffering a heavy loss at the end. Tautvydas Slezas (210-C-90) provided 17 points and 9 boards for Lithuania. Gilvydas Biruta (200-F-91) had 15 points in a winning case. Alexis Tanghe (207-F/C-90) netted 15 points for France. Andrew Albicy (178-G-90) knocked down 11 points in a losing effort. Lithuania outrebounded their opponents 42:28 and converted 59% from the field. Lithuania even dealt with 24 turnovers they committed as they limited France to woeful 32% accuracy from the field including 1/19 from beyond the arc.

Lithuania U18: Donatas Motiejunas 24, Tautvydas Slezas 17, Gilvydas Biruta 15
France U18: Alexis Tanghe 15, Andrew Albicy 11

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  MONTENEGRO   


U18 EC, division B: Montenegro better than Bosnia in ex Yugoslavian derby - by Eurobasket News
U18 Bosnia and Herzegovina - U18 Montenegro 54-69

Montenegro took care for the second win in Classification Round from 9th to 16th place on U18 European Championship in Debrecen. Thus Montenegro ended this round on the second place in Group G with a chance to reach 9th place at the end. Its next rival in Hungary will be top ranked team from Group H, Finland. On the other hand Bosnians will have to be satisfied with a battle for 13th place.

After almost leveled first stanza, Filip Barovic (205-F-90) and his teammates entered into the next one strongly. During the first couple of minutes they made 13-3 run setting the score on 16-28. Aldin Majstoric (198-G-90) pulled up some successful shots in third quarter bringing his team closer on 29-34 but Filip Barovic and Milorad Sutulovic (-90) answered quickly. Until the end of this frame they created big advantage of 13 points. During the last ten minutes Bosnians weren't able to come closer than 11 points. Montenegro finished this game having solid 57.9% for FG2. At the same time Montenegrins recorded 36.4% for 3-pts and 76.5 from the free throw line. Bosnian made just two triples during the entire time.

Filip Barovic was the key player of Montenegro in this game as he netted 18 points and grabbed 6 boards. Milorad Sutulovic was behind him with 17 points while Milos Lopicic (214-C-90) had 12 points and 4 rebounds. The loosing side got 16 from Aldin Majstoric, who was the top scorer of the Preliminary Round together with Czech Jan Vesely. Eldin Camdzic (195-G-90) contributed in this game with 11 points.


U18 Bosnia and Herzegovina - U18 Montenegro 54-69
(13-15, 6-17, 20-20, 15-17)

Bosnia: Aldin Majstoric 16, Eldin Camdzic 11
Montenegro: Filip Barovic 18 (6 rebs), Milorad Sutulovic 17, Milos Lopicic 12 (4 rebs)

Montenegro win second in a row - by Eurobasket News
Montenegro U20 - Bulgaria U20 76:68

Montenegrin U20 National Team celebrated their second win at the European Championship in Latvia. Vladimir Dasic (209-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) continued his impressive show as he tallied 32 points and 12 boards to propel Montenegro past Bulgaria. Ivan Lilov (196-F/G-88, agency: FCM) answered with 18 points and 10 boards but could not prevent Bulgaria from falling to 0-2 record. The teams traded baskets early in the game with Montenegro rolling to a 22:20 lead at the first break. They stretched the margin to 8 points early in the second but Bulgaria found the answer. They capped the first half with a 21:8 run to earn a 5-point lead at halftime. Montenegro failed to come any closer as they trailed by 6 points heading into the fourth term. But a 13:0 run from Montenegro changed it all on the court. Montenegrin players took over and easily secured their second win in the dying minutes. Krsto Bjelica (192-G-88) notched 12 points for Montenegro. Sead Sehovic (201-G/F-89) netted 11 points in a win. Chavdar Kostov (196-G-88, agency: Interperformances) produced 17 points and 8 rebounds for Bulgaria. Bulgaria outrebounded their opponents 38:33 but committed 30 turnovers down the stretch. Montenegro also sank 41% from the field.

Montenegro U20: Vladimir Dasic 32+12 boards, Krsto Bjelica 12, Sead Sehovic 11
Bulgaria U20: Ivan Lilov 18+10 boards, Chavdar Kostov 17

Andrija Pejovic inks for Danilovgrad , Bulatovic Milutin and Goran renew whit ABS - by Dragan Scepanovic
DELFI Sport Management Group announced that basketball player Andrija Pejovic (205-C-83) (ex basketball player of Basketball Club Ulcinj ) singed 1 - year contract whit Basketball Club Danilovgrad.In season 2007-2008 Andrija Pejovic play in Regular part of league 18 games : 9.6ppg and 6.rpg and in MNT Play-Out League play 10 games : 16.2ppg, 8.6rpg .Basketball players Milutin Bulatovic (185-G-84) and Goran Bulatovic (184-G-88) renew contract whit Basketball Club ABS Primorje from Hreceg Novi for more one season.

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  NBA   


Lakers signed guard Dwayne Mitchell and Clippers withdraw qualifying offer to Fazekas - by Bruno Baltazar

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent guard Dwayne Mitchell (6'5''-G-82, agency: Pro One Sports, college: La-Lafayette) (6'5''-G-82, agency: Pro One Sports, college: La-Lafayette).

Mitchell played the majority of last season for the Iowa Energy of the NBA Development League before leaving in February to join Brose Baskets Bamberg in Germany. In 31 games including 29 starts with the Energy, Mitchell averaged 20.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.60 steals in 37.3 minutes, earning a spot in the 2008 D-League All-Star game.
In 20 games with Bamberg, Mitchell, 25, averaged 10.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists while shooting .504 from the field.
Most recently, Mitchell played for the Lakers 2008 Summer-Pro League team in Las Vegas, averaging 6.7 points on .619 shooting, 1.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.83 steals in 15.0 minutes over six games.

The Clippers announced that the team and forward Nick Fazekas (6'11''-F-85, agency: Octagon, college: Nevada) have agreed to the withdrawal of the teams qualifying offer dated June 25, making Fazekas an unrestricted free agent. Signed by the Clippers as a free agent on March 18, Fazekas appeared in 26 games last season for Los Angeles, averaging 4.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 10.3 minutes.
The Clippers roster now stands at 12 players after the most recent signing of forward Brian Skinner (6'10''-F-76, college: Baylor) on July 31, as Los Angeles has revamped its roster by adding a total of eight new players for the 2008-09 season.



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  NCAA2   


Paul Peterson joins Iserlohn - by Daniel Poerschke
The NOMA Iserlohn Kangaroos already had signed a new foreigner point guard, but their first choice - Vid Zarkovic (185-G-75, agency: Global Sports Plaza) - was drafted into the serbian army two weeks ago and could not get out of his commitments to play in the 1. Regionalliga West this season. So manager Michael Dahmen announced the signing of Paul Peterson (175-G-86, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement) today, to be the new playmaker for the Kangaroos. Peterson comes from BYU-Hawaii and was selected as a NCAA 2 All-Star this past season. He averaged 14.6ppg, 3.8apg and 2.5rpg in his senior season for the Seasiders. 'He is fast, a deadly outside shooter and a real playmaker, who can set up his teammates', was Manager Dahmen quoted in the local newspaper.

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  NEW ZEALAND   


The Emus gain the second win over Junior Tall Blacks - by Eurobasket News
Australia U19 - New Zealand U19 86:71

The Australian U19 National Team celebrated their second straight win over New Zealand counterparts today. The victory meant the Aussies claimed the Oceania U19 Championship title and advanced to the U19 World Championship in 2009. New Zealand will also play at the event despite losing. They booked their spot as the hosts of the tournament. It will be the first ever appearance for the Junior Tall Blacks at this level. The Emus got to a quick start against New Zealand and built a 27:14 lead after the starting period. Dion Prewster (196-G/F-91) cut the deficit to 4 points in the second term but the Emus held on and piled up a 6-point halftime lead. Matthew Dellavedova (189-G-90) netted 8 points in the third period to pace the Aussie team to a 66:51 advantage at three quarter time. The teams traded baskets in the fourth quarter and the Emus secured the winning outcome at the end. Matthew Dellavedova notched 16 points for Australia. Jorden Page (183-G-90) and Brock Motum (205-F-90) had 13 points apiece for the winners. Brooke Ruscoe (189-G-90) answered with 26 points for the Junior Tall Blacks. Dion Prewster chipped in 14 points in defeat. The teams will meet again on Sunday for the third game of the series.

Australia U19: Matthew Dellavedova 16, Jorden Page 13, Brock Motum 13
New Zealand U19: Brooke Ruscoe 26, Dion Prewster 14

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  NICARAGUA   


Premier League Updating - by Gianni Pascucci
Fupade Coast-Super Santiago prevailed over Jaguares UAM in Game One of the Liga Premier Finals on the past thursday. Game 2 was suspended due to rain (the game was being played outdoor...) and will be played again on Monday, August 4, at 6:30 p.m. in the home court of Juaguares. The Final Series is best of three games.

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  NORWAY   


U20 EC, division B: Finland beats Norway in Scandinavian derby - by Eurobasket News
U20 Norway - U20 Finland 87-99

After yesterday's defeat against Great Britain, Norway succeeded to grab the first one on U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. Thus Finland improved score to 1-1 in Preliminary Group A while Norway suffered defeat at its first appearance on this prestigious event.

Interesting is that both teams registered the same number of rebounds in this game, 34. Finland had much better stroke from behind the arc making 12 of 29 attempts, which is 41.4%. On the other side Norway had just 25%. After almost leveled first stanza, Finland grabbed the first bigger lead at the middle of the next one. In was 31-37 at that point of game. Antti Kanervo (193-G/F-89) and Aleksi Huuskonen (184-G-88) took care for 7-2 run before the half time setting the score on 38-50. During the next 20 minutes Finish players kept their lead without any bigger efforts. They didn't let Norway to come any closer than 7 points.

Antti Kanervo paced Finland to win in this game collecting 25 points, 5 boards and 4 assists. Aleksi Huuskonen also had fantastic performance adding 21 points and 7 rebounds while Juho-Matti Lehtoranta (191-G-89) stopped on 14 points and 8 rebounds. Terrence Oglesby (188-G-88) was totally the best in Norway today draining 32 points. Miilah Kombat (201-F-88) followed him with 17 points and 14 rebounds while Magne Fivelstad (193-G/F-89) had 12 points. In the next round Norway will take on Portugal while Finland has a day-off.


U20 Norway - U20 Finland 87-99
(22-21,16-29, 25-25, 24-24)

Norway: Terrence Oglesby 32, Miilah Kombat 17 (14 rebs), Magne Fivelstad 12
Finland: Antti Kanervo 25 (5 rebs, 4 as), Aleksi Huuskonen 21 (7 rebs), Juho-Matti Lehtoranta 14 (8 rebs)

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  PHILIPPINES   


PBa Fiesta Cup Semifinals Summary - by Lorenzo Gahol
SEMIFINALS (BEST-OF-SEVEN)
July 20 (Sun) Cuneta Astrodome (Game 1)
Air21 87 Magnolia 113
Red Bull 82 Ginebra 108

July 23 (Wed) Araneta Coliseum (Game 2)
Ginebra 111 Red Bull 104
Magnolia 102 Air21 103

July 25 (Fri) Ynares Center (Game 3)
Air21 82 Magnnolia 78
Red Bull 91 Ginebra 94

July 27 (Sun) Araneta Coliseum (Game 4)
Ginebra 101 Red Bull 97 (OT)
Magnolia 104 Air21 102

July 30 (Wed) Araneta Coliseum (Game 5)
Air21 92 Magnolia 82

August 1 (Fri) Cuneta Astrodome (Game 6)
Magnolia 91 Air21 99

FINALS (BEST-OF-SEVEN)
Air21 Vs. Ginebra

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  POLAND   


U18 EC, division B: Czechs edge Poles for the final and promotion to A division - by Eurobasket News
U18 Poland - U18 Czech Republic 47-71

Czech Republic didn't have a difficult job in the semifinals of U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen. Jan Vesely (210-F/C-90) and his teammates smashed Poland advancing to the big final. Very important thing is also that the Czechs got promotion to division A for the next European Championship. Earlier today Slovenia outplayed Slovak Republic which means that Czechs will have a chance to revenge thriller defeat from the Qualifying Round. Poland will try to reach the Bronze against Slovakia tomorrow at 18:15h. As a reminder, the final game is scheduled for 20:30h.

Except of the first ten minutes, Czechs controlled rhythm of the game during the entire time. At the half time they had plus 9 while their lead became even bigger after couple of minutes in third stanza, 28-42. Very soon Czech Republic stretched its advantage to 20 points what was the end of this game for the Poles. Tomas Satoransky (196-G/F-91, agency: PPGroup) and Jan Vesely once again were the leading players of their team. Tomas Satoransky spent 33 minutes on court missing only one rebound for double-double. He stopped on 17 points, 9 boards and 4 assists. Center Jan Vesely, who was the top scorer of Preliminary Round, also demonstrated great performance adding 17 points and 5 rebounds. Jiri Kysela (191-G-90, agency: PPGroup) followed these two players with 11 points and 6 rebounds. Piotr Pamula (190-G-90) had 15 points in Poland while Sebastian Szymanski (182-G-91) netted 11.


U18 Poland - U18 Czech Republic 47-71
(12-10, 8-19, 14-21, 13-21)

Poland: Piotr Pamula 15, Sebastian Szymanski 11
Czech Republic: Tomas Satoransky 17 (9 rebs, 4 as), Jan Vesely 17 (5 rebs), Jiri Kysela 11 (6 rebs)

U18 EC, division B: Poland outplays Slovakia for the semifinals - by Eurobasket News
U18 Slovak Republic - U18 Poland 74-91

Poland continues with smashing its rivals in Qualifying Round on U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen. It means that the Poles ended it with perfect score 3-0 in Group F. Their rival in the semifinals will be the second ranked team from group E, which is Czech Republic. Slovakia also succeeded to reach the semis despite Portugal and Denmark had the same score 1-2. Slovakians will take on tough Slovenia in semifinals.

Poland had full control under the basket in this game. Wojciech Fras (202-F-91) and his teammates grabbed magnificent 53 rebounds. It is important to be mentioned that 24 of those 53 were at the offensive end. Slovakia had much better beginning and thanks to Richard Grznar (187-G-91) had 7 points lead at the half time. It was a kind of a signal for Poles to start playing tougher. They done it, especially in defense, which resulted with just 7 points in third quarter by Slovakians. On the other side Wojciech Fras and Piotr Pamula (190-G-90) had no mercy making big turn before the last frame, 58-69. Until the end of the game Poles didn't let Slovakians to come any closer than 7 points.

This time Poland got the most from Wojciech Fras, who collected 18 points and 14 boards. Piotr Pamula contributed in this win adding 12 points and 4 assists. Richard Grznar had fantastic performance for the loosing side. He netted 32 points, grabbed 4 boards and dished out 4 assists for 35 minutes. It didn't help his team in this game as the first player behind him was Tomas Bauer (192-G-90), who scored just 9 points.


U18 Slovak Republic - U18 Poland 74-91
(24-25, 27-19, 7-25, 16-22)

Slovak Republic: Richard Grznar 32 (4 rebs, 4 as), Tomas Bauer 9
Poland: Wojciech Fras 18 (14 rebs), Piotr Pamula 12 (4 as)

Martin signed in Turkey - by Filip Stanczyk

Torrell Martin (196-G-85, agency: 540 Sports, college: Winthrop), one of the key players for ASCO Slask Wroclaw in the last season signed a 1-year deal with Kepez Bld Antalya. Martin, after a very promising year, surprisingly changed his team, which was 3rd in the country, for Turkish outsiders (11th place in the league in season 2007/2008). However, it seems to be an effect of inner-club problems in Slask. Bronze medalists were coping with some business matters, which has end just a few days ago.

Martin played a super-universal role in Wroclaw, where he was showing his impressive abilities at almost every part of the game. Without his pace, power and energy Slask played much less agressive basketball. What should be mentioned, Martin sufferd a knee injury last season, what excluded him from the game for a few weeks. Nevertheless he came back for play-offs in a good shape and led his crew to the third place in Poland.


Source: http://slaskpress.wordpress.com



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  PORTUGAL   


B-Div Eurochamps 2008 in wheelchair Portugal ended in the 7th place - by Bruno Baltazar
The portuguese wheelchair national team ended in the 7th place of this European division B in Nottwil ,Switzerland.
If in the last European Portugal disputed the division C and won it ,expectations were high in the division B.

Portugal were the first to score and appeared to be the better team in the opening encounters. At half-time only three players from each team had recorded a score Litvyak, Mateev and Kirillov for Russia and Cardoso, Goncalves and Lourenzo for Portugal who had a 7 point advantage. In the third period Portugal only managed to increase their lead by one point. With 5 minutes remaining in the game Russia took the lead for the first time. As time slowly ran out Portugal had to make fouls to stop the clock and put Russia on the line hoping their three point shots would force overtime and allow them to regain the lead. Top scorer of game Lourenzo (Portugal) 24
By Quarters
Russia
8
24
38
63
Portugal
11
31
46
60

Both teams were playing their second game of the competition and Portugal were hoping to record their first win. Bosnia were able to find the goal better and had an eight point lead at the first break. By the sixth minute of the second quarter Portugal had reduced this deficit and took the lead. At half-time they still led but the lead had changed a further six times in that time. Portugal were unable to maintain this advantage and by the mid-point of the third session Bosnia had restored their eight point advantage but Portugal refused to give up and were trailing by only three at the final break. In the closing encounter Bosnia were dominant restricting Portugal to six points while scoring 18 themselves. This was a marathon game of two hours fifteen minutes and 66 fouls. Game top scorer Batista with 27 points
By Quarters
Portugal
14
37
49
55
Bosnia
22
36
52
70

Portugal v Belgium Allan McAleese

In this the sixth game of Pool A Portugal were able to open up a 5 point lead by the first break. In the second quarter after five minutes Belgium managed to level the score but they were unable to sustain their pressure and Portugal widen the gap to 6 points by half-time. In the third session Portugal got further ahead so in the final 10 minutes Belgium knew they had to work hard to maintain their 100% record in the competition. With 2 minutes remaining in the contest Belgium finally took the lead and they held on to the end.

Despite being fouled off in the third quarter the top scorer in this game was Batista with 23 points

Portugal
14
34
46
54

Belgium
9
28
39
58

Croatia v Portugal Fernando Zappile

Best game seen in this championship, played very well by both teams. After second quarter score was 34 - 33 and the game was played point to point; Probably Portugal was tired because of the game played against Belgium. In the morning; even if they lost it; Croatia started third quarter very good thanks to the player number 5 Stimal, one of the best player of the championship. At the end of third quarter the score was 60-45 and that was the end for Portugal. Fourth quarter the same music; Croatia won at the end for 79-61.

Croatia
17
34
60
79

Portugal
17
33
45
61

Classification: Pool A
P Team G W L D S P/F P/C Points
1 BELGIUM - M 3 3 0 0 0 211 151 6
2 BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA 3 3 0 0 0 181 156 6
3 CROATIA - M 3 1 2 0 0 180 208 4
4 RUSSIA - M 3 1 2 0 0 160 177 4
5 PORTUGAL 4 0 4 0 0 230 270 4

Lithuania v Portugal by Dirk Cossaer

The second cross-over game of the day, to decide who goes to Division C, was a close one. Lithuania was leading for 80 percent of the game. At the end of the 3rd quarter Portugal game back to within one point. In the last quarter the teams were alternating the lead. It was the Portuguese # 9, captain Gonalves Pedro, who scored 5 of his 7 points in the this quarter, who made the difference at the end of the game and gave Portugal the victory.

Team 1st 2nd 3rd Final

Lithuania 14 24 34 48

Portugal 10 21 33 52

Slovenia v Portugal by Fernando Zappile

This game was not interest because of the fact that both teams are remaining in Division B, but both did not want to loose; Few emotions for Portugal always in control, except from their coach who was behaving like an actor on the stage, but always helping his team. Portugal seemed stronger and with more experience winning the game for 37 - 48

Team 1st 2nd 3rd Final

Slovenia 10 14 28 37

Portugal 14 34 44 48

To say in the final game of the competition,Bosnia won 57-53 against Belgium and both teams goes for the division A.
Bosnia v Belgium Allan McAleese

U18 EC, division B: Tight win for Denmark against Portugal - by Eurobasket News
U18 Denmark - U18 Portugal 64-60

Denmark grabbed the first victory in the Qualifying Round on U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen. Interesting that three teams from Group F, Portugal, Slovakia and Denmark, have the same score 1-2 but because the better results in this 'circle' Slovakia advanced to the semifinals. Thus despite this victory, fourth place in Group F belongs to Denmark, which together with Portugal will continue battle for fifth position.

Interesting is that both teams finished the game with same number of rebounds 42. They also had similar percentage for FG2 while Denmark registered much better stroke from behind the arc. Portugal had slightly better performance in the first stanza ending it 14-17. Portuguese continued at the same rhythm during the next ten minutes and thanks to Andre Pereira (198-F, college: Rider) and Pinheiro went on the half time with plus 5. After the breather Denmark succeeded to tie the score on 32-32 and later on 42-42 but Portuguese made mini run 4-0 at the end of third frame. It was 42-46 before the closing stanza. Crucial period of the game were last five minutes of it when Phillip Hasselbalch (-91) and his teammates made 14-6 run for the final score 64-60.

The winning side got the most points from Phillip Hasselbalch, who netted 16. Lasse Hammar (182-G-90) had 15 points and 5 assists while Mads Frandsen (201-F-90) stopped on 12 points and magnificent 17 boards. Andre Pereira registered double-double for Portugal, 13 points and 10 rebounds. Pinheiro was behind him with 13 points and 4 rebounds.


U18 Denmark - U18 Portugal 64-60
(14-17, 8-10, 20-19, 22-14)

Denmark: Phillip Hasselbalch 16, Lasse Hammar 15 (5 as), Mads Frandsen 12 (17 rebs)
Portugal: Andre Pereira 13 (10 rebs), Pinheiro 13 (4 rebs)

U20 EC, division B: Portugal celebrates over Great Britain for 2-0 in Group A - by Eurobasket News
U20 Great Britain - U20 Portugal 62-73

Portugal is the only undefeated team in Preliminary Group A so far. After yesterday's victory against F.Y.R. Macedonia in the opener, Portuguese were better than Great Britain. Thus after second round Portugal improved to 2-0 while Great Britain dropped on 1-1.

Interesting is that Great Britain registered 20 rebounds more than Portugal in this game. Its biggest problem were turnovers as well as stroke from behind the arc. Portugal closed first stanza with a triple by Sico, which brought them 14-17. During the next couple of minutes Jose Silva (195-F-89) and Tiago Pinto (183-G-88) woke up stretching advantage of their team to 20-28. Great Britain didn't wait too long for an answer as Benjamin Allison (201-F-88) and Matthew Bryan-Amaning (206-F-88) immediately took care for amazing 16 -2 run grabbing plus 6 at the half time. The British succeeded to keep that lead until 2:30 remaining in third quarter when Portuguese made 11-0 run. Crucial period of the game was middle of the last frame when Portuguese made another 8-2 series resolving question about the winner.

Portugal got 15 points from Tiago Pinto while Jose Silva collected 13 points and 7 rebounds. Fabio Lima (196-C-88) followed these two players also with 13 points but with 4 rebounds. On the other side Benjamin Allison was the best player in Great Britain with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Matthew Bryan-Amaning was behind him finishing the game with 14 points and 5 boards. Portugal will meet Norway tomorrow while Great Britain will play against Macedonia.


U20 Great Britain - U20 Portugal 62-73
(14-17, 22-13, 10-16, 16-27)

Great Britain: Benjamin Allison 15 (7 rebs), Matthew Bryan-Amaning 14 (5 rebs)
Portugal: Tiago Pinto 15, Jose Silva 13 (7 rebs), Fabio Lima 13 (4 rebs)

Portuguese NT goes back at work and Joao Figueiredo could miss start of the season - by Bruno Baltazar

Next monday portuguese national team re-starts their final preparation to the qualification in September.
From next Monday to the day 11,they will practise in the city of Rio Maior with 2 practises a day(at10m and 6pm-portuguese hour) ,in August 12th ,they will leave the country to Slovakia where they will play a tournament against the national teams of Slovakia and Holland .

Heres the complete list of players called by Moncho Lopez :
Carlos Andrade (197-F-78, agency: Players Group, college: Queens (NC))
Elvis Evora (205-C-78, agency: Global Sports Plaza)
Francisco Jordao (203-C-79)
Jaime Silva (187-G-80, agency: Players Group)
Miguel Minhava (197-G-83)
Filipe Da Silva (193-G-79, agency: Players Group)
Joao Santos

Jorge Coelho (200-F-78, agency: Players Group)
Jose Costa (187-G-73)
Mario Fernandes (176-G-82, agency: Duran International)
Miguel Miranda (205-F-78)
Nuno Cortez (205-C-82)
Nuno Marcal (205-F-75)
Paulo Cunha (199-G/F-80)

Head coach: Moncho Lopez
Assistant coach : Rui Alves and Rui Miranda

Joao Figueiredo (183-G-79) (183-G-79),the portuguese PG will not play for the next 2 months due to a injury and will likely miss the start of the season with his team-Porto,his head coach in Porto,Julio Matos already said he is worried about his surgery and it will be a tremendous loss for the team but believes Daniel Monteiro (182-G-82) will do well replacing him in Porto.



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


Russia unable to match France in Riga - by Eurobasket News
Russia U20 - France U20 82:88

French U20 National Team celebrated their second consecutive win at the European Championship in Latvia. Antoine Diot (191-G-89) nailed 23 points and dished out 6 assists to propel France a tough win over Russia. Russian team thus fell to 0-2 record and must win against Slovenia today to stay in the title race. The teams kept it close in the opening stanza with France securing a 22:21 lead after ten minutes of action. The lead changed hands for several times in the second term before Russia closed the frame with a 14:2 rally to grab a 44:38 halftime advantage. The teams traded baskets in the tense third quarter with neither side able to clear off to a safe distance. Russia maintained the lead as they entered the fourth period ahead by one 62:61. Adrien Moerman (204-F/C-88) put France ahead early in the fourth period. French team used a 12:0 run later in the period to accumulate a 77:64 advantage midway through the term. Russia trimmed the deficit to 5 points with just over a minute remaining. However Mbaye and Antoine Diot scored three points and ensured the winning outcome at the end. Ludovic Vaty (206-F-88, college: Moraine Valley CC) provided 15 points for France. Kim Tillie (206-F-88) had 13 points in a win. Semen Antonov (203-F-89) answered with 15 points for Russia. Valentin Novikov (195-F-89), Maxim Krivosheev (205-F/C-88) and Alexey Shved (196-G-88) netted 14 points apiece in defeat.

Russia U20: Semen Antonov 15, Valentin Novikov 14, Maxim Krivosheev 14, Alexey Shved 14
France U20: Antoine Diot 23, Ludovic Vaty 15, Kim Tillie 13

Serbia will play for the 5th spot in Greece - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U18 - Russia U18 85:63

Serbian Junior National Team unloaded all their guns against Russia to stun their opponents at the European Championship 5th-8th places semis. Bojan Bojan Subotic (204-F/C-90) knocked down 22 points to pace Serbia past their distressed opponents. Russia narrowly lost to Latvia the other day and just missed the semifinal stage at the tournament. They obviously lacked composure against Serbia and the Balkan side capitalized. They accounted for 26 points in the opening stanza and ran away to a 9-point distance at the first intermission. Serbia kept on pushing and Bojan Subotic stretched the gap to 11 points early in the second term. Bojan Subotic capped the second period with 11 straight points for Serbia as they built a 48:31 advantage at halftime. The complexion of the game never changed in the second half as Serbia kept Russia at bay deepening the damage. They accounted for an 18-point cushion at three-quarter time and cruised to an overall victory at the end. Filip Sepa (199-G/F-90) chipped in 12 points for Serbia. Dejan Musli (213-C-91) had 10 points in a winning case. Teymuraz Babunashvili (186-G-90) answered with 14 points for Russian team. Sergey Palkin (191-G-90) and Andrey Kirdyachkin (204-F/C-90) secured 10 points apiece in defeat. Serbia outrebounded Russia 47:30 and sank 54% from the field. Serbia will take on Spain for the 5th place today. Russia will continue rivalry against Latvia in the game for the 7th spot.

Serbia U18: Bojan Subotic 22, Filip Sepa 12, Dejan Musli 10
Russia U18: Teymuraz Babunashvili 14, Sergey Palkin 10, Andrey Kirdyachkin 10

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


Last round of SEBL City B-League games... - by David Archer

Cartersville, GA - The final day of SEBL City B-League egular season games set the playoff brackets for next week. Game results and playoff matchups are listed below...

------------------------------------------
Sat., Aug. 2nd @ JH Morgan Gym:


Baseline-3 55 Lady Colonels 43... Melissa Bunce tallied 21 points to lead Baseline-3 to a win over the Lady Colonels. Tamara Watkins had nine, while Shameeka Doxie and Shana Perkinson each had eight. Jasmine Wilson led the Lady Colonels with 22 and Ashley Perkinson got eight points.


Kennesaw 43 House of Liberty 17... Mattatha Bunson paced Kennesaw to victory by chalking up 15 points. Jocquelyn Callahan downed 13 for a roster depleted HOL squad.


Dalton W 91 AWU-Howren 83... Dalton fought off AWU-Howren down the stretch behind Tim Fortenberry's 32 points. TJ McDaniel downed 26, Byron Washington 13 and Todd Stephens 12 for Dalton. Kevin Hammett also had 32 for AWU and Junior Gonzalez had 19, Mike Howren 15 and Armond Knowles 14.


Summer Hill 74 Cedartown 73... Cedartown jumped out to an 11-0 run and led by as many as 14 in the first half, before Summer Hill finally decided to wake up and play. SH battled back to trail by only 35-34 by the half. In the second half, SH worked out to a 10 point lead of their own. But, Cedartown got three pointers from brothers Deon and Nagee Smith to reclaim the lead with under a minute left, at 73-72. SH's Marcus Henderson got fouled in the paint, went to the line and sank both freethrows to give Summer Hill the winning nudge. Chris Jones led a balanced SH attack, while Antonio Cook had 16, Henderson 12 and Mike Linley 12. For Cedartown, Nagee ahd 28, Deon 24 and Bryce Kellog.


North Metro 81 Owen FH 45... North Metro jumped out to a 12-0 lead, weathered an OFH run, then cruising to a big in their regular season finale. Owen did manage to make it interesting by battling back to trim their deficit to 34-28 by intermission. North Metro re-generated and blew OFH off the floor with a myriad of treys and dunks. Rod Williams led the way with 22, while Mark Christmas had 21, Darryl Williams 16, Josh White 18 and Justin Beavers four. For Owen, Roman Gilliam had 21 and Michael Woodard nine.


Polk County 74 Rockmart 71... Rockmart did it again. They led 35-31 at the half and seemed to be in control of the game, but fizzled and went down at the hands of Polk, who got 27 points from Tie Fezzia and 15 from Tory Levarity. Jarmond Bailey also got 12 and Byron Hall nine. For Rockmart, James Williams downed 24 and Kyle Hoxie had 12.


Sixers 77 Knicks-2 71... The Sixers held on to the second seed in the East Division after getting out to a 20-7 lead early, then fighting off a late-game run by the Knicks-2. Timmy Dudley and Demetrius Metcalf both had 20, while Darrell Wilkins had 16 and Sammy George 10. For the Knicks-2, Blake King got 19, Patrick Printup 18 and Cory Warn 16.


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


SEBL City B-League & WSEBL Playoff Matchups...


Mon. Aug. 4th @ JH Morgan Gym: Play-in Games...
6:30pm - WSEBL: #5 Seed vs. #4 seed
7:30pm - City: E#5 Polk vs. E#4 AWU-Howren
8:30pm - City: W#5 Rockmart vs. W#4 BC Knicks-2
------------------------------------------------------------------
Tue. Aug. 5th @ JH Morgan Gym: City Conf. Quarter-Finals...
6:30pm - City: E#3 Owen FH vs. E#2 BC Sixers
7:30pm - City: W#3 Dalton vs W#2 Cedartown
8:30pm - City: Winner E4/E5 vs. E#1 Summer Hill
9:30pm - City: Winner W4/W5 vs. W#1 North Metro
------------------------------------------------------------------
Fri. Aug. 8th @ JH Morgan Gym:
7:00pm - City: East Division Semis
8:00pm - City: West Division Semis
------------------------------------------------------------------
Sat. Aug. 9th @ JH Morgan Gym:
3:30pm - WSEBL: Semis #3 seed vs. #2 seed
4:30pm - WSEBL: Semis #4/5 vs. #1 seed
----------------------------------------------
Sunday August 10th:


WSEBL CHAMPIONSHIP...
Aug. 10th 3:00pm - WSEBL Women's


City Conference CHAMPIONSHIP...
Aug. 10th 4:30pm - SEBL City B-League
==============================================
SEBL Summer Pro Am League
A Division of The Human Race, Inc.,
a Georgia 501(c)3 Non-profit Corp.
Post Office Box 2282
Cartersville, Georgia 30120
770-606-3764 (ph) / 770-382-0281 (f)
Email: darcherjr@yahoo.com
www.leaguelineup.com/sebl
www.usbasket.com/gba/gba.asp



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


*****************************************************
  SERBIA   


Serbia will play for the 5th spot in Greece - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U18 - Russia U18 85:63

Serbian Junior National Team unloaded all their guns against Russia to stun their opponents at the European Championship 5th-8th places semis. Bojan Bojan Subotic (204-F/C-90) knocked down 22 points to pace Serbia past their distressed opponents. Russia narrowly lost to Latvia the other day and just missed the semifinal stage at the tournament. They obviously lacked composure against Serbia and the Balkan side capitalized. They accounted for 26 points in the opening stanza and ran away to a 9-point distance at the first intermission. Serbia kept on pushing and Bojan Subotic stretched the gap to 11 points early in the second term. Bojan Subotic capped the second period with 11 straight points for Serbia as they built a 48:31 advantage at halftime. The complexion of the game never changed in the second half as Serbia kept Russia at bay deepening the damage. They accounted for an 18-point cushion at three-quarter time and cruised to an overall victory at the end. Filip Sepa (199-G/F-90) chipped in 12 points for Serbia. Dejan Musli (213-C-91) had 10 points in a winning case. Teymuraz Babunashvili (186-G-90) answered with 14 points for Russian team. Sergey Palkin (191-G-90) and Andrey Kirdyachkin (204-F/C-90) secured 10 points apiece in defeat. Serbia outrebounded Russia 47:30 and sank 54% from the field. Serbia will take on Spain for the 5th place today. Russia will continue rivalry against Latvia in the game for the 7th spot.

Serbia U18: Bojan Subotic 22, Filip Sepa 12, Dejan Musli 10
Russia U18: Teymuraz Babunashvili 14, Sergey Palkin 10, Andrey Kirdyachkin 10

Branko Cvetkovic in Greece - by Zoran Popovic
After the successful season in Spain Branko Cvetkovic (200-G-84) moved in Greece and sign contract with Panionios ON Telecoms Athens. In season 2007-2008 Cvetkovic played for Akasvayu Girona and in ULEB Cup scored 10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and in Spanish ACB league on 34 games average 9.1 points, 2.2 rebounds per game. Before Spain and Greece Cvetkovic played for Serbian teams Spartak Subotica, Borac Cacak and FMP Zeleznik. In season 2006-2007 Cvetkovic with FMP Zeleznik won Serbain National cup Radivoj Korac.
Head coach Aleksandar Trifunovic next season will have small colony of former FMP Zeleznik players. Except Cvetkovic for Panoinios will play Ivan Zoroski and Goran Nikolic

Serbia fire down Slovenia - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U20 - Slovenia U20 90:78

The European U20 defending champions Serbia posted their second consecutive win at the continental event in Latvia. They overcame Slovenia yesterday to remain on top of preliminary Group D. Miroslav Raduljica (212-C-88, agency: CAA Sports) produced 22 points and 9 boards to lift Serbia to another successful game in Riga. Slovenia got 17 points from Mirko Mulalic (195-F-88) as they slipped to 0-2 record. Slovenia were quick enough at the start to accumulate an 18:12 lead late in the opening period. They maintained the advantage and led 22:16 after the starting period. Two freebies from Danijel Vujasinovic (180-G-89) gave Slovenia a 28:17 advantage midway through the second stanza. Serbia stayed in the race and trimmed the deficit to 5 points at halftime 37:42. Serbian side opened the second half with an 11:3 run to grab a 46:45 advantage. Consecutive triples from Jeremic and Katnic stretched the margin to 12 points late in the third quarter. Tomic and Mulajic dragged Slovenia within 5 points in the final stanza however a bunch of baskets from Miroslav Raduljica sealed the winning outcome for Serbia at the end. Marko Keselj (206-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) knocked down 19 points for Serbian team. Boban Marjanovic (221-C-88) had 12 points in a winning effort. Edin Alispahic (208-F/C-88) finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds in a losing effort.

Serbia U20: Miroslav Raduljica 22, Marko Keselj 19, Boban Marjanovic 12
Slovenia U20: Mirko Mulalic 17, Edin Alispahic 14

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


U20 EC, division B: Belgium remains perfect after game vs Slovak Republic - by Eurobasket News
U20 Slovak Republic - U20 Belgium 47-75

Belgium continued its domination in Preliminary Group C of U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. As a reminder, Belgians blasted Austria yesterday so they remained undefeated after two days. On the other side it was a first appearance of Slovak Republic in Romania. Unfortunately they took on strong Belgians facing with first defeat.

It was an extremely easy win for Belgians today. Except of the first quarter, they had total control on Slovakia. First bigger advantage Belgium grabbed at the half way of the second period and it was 19-26. After that moment official visitor in this game kept it steady. Slovakians were able to net just 6 points in second and two more than that in third stanza. Anyway, Belgium didn't want to stop until the very end recording 16-29 in the last frame.

Boris Penninck (205-C-88) was the key player for Belgium in today's game. He spent 32 minutes on court netting 20 points and grabbing 10 boards. Armand Kabeya (197-F-88) contributed in this victory with 12 points and 8 rebounds. The loosing side got 16 points from Pavel Losonsky (203) while Peter Dorazil (198-C-89) had 10 points and 9 rebounds. In third day of U20 European Championship division B Slovakia will play against Estonia. Belgium will continue battle in Targu Mures on Monday.


U20 Slovak Republic - U20 Belgium 47-75
(17-18, 6-13, 8-15, 16-29)

Slovak Republic: Pavel Losonsky 16, Peter Dorazil 10 (9 rebs)
Belgium: Boris Penninck 20 (10 rebs), Armand Kabeya 12 (8 rebs)

U18 EC, division B: Poland outplays Slovakia for the semifinals - by Eurobasket News
U18 Slovak Republic - U18 Poland 74-91

Poland continues with smashing its rivals in Qualifying Round on U18 European Championship division B in Debrecen. It means that the Poles ended it with perfect score 3-0 in Group F. Their rival in the semifinals will be the second ranked team from group E, which is Czech Republic. Slovakia also succeeded to reach the semis despite Portugal and Denmark had the same score 1-2. Slovakians will take on tough Slovenia in semifinals.

Poland had full control under the basket in this game. Wojciech Fras (202-F-91) and his teammates grabbed magnificent 53 rebounds. It is important to be mentioned that 24 of those 53 were at the offensive end. Slovakia had much better beginning and thanks to Richard Grznar (187-G-91) had 7 points lead at the half time. It was a kind of a signal for Poles to start playing tougher. They done it, especially in defense, which resulted with just 7 points in third quarter by Slovakians. On the other side Wojciech Fras and Piotr Pamula (190-G-90) had no mercy making big turn before the last frame, 58-69. Until the end of the game Poles didn't let Slovakians to come any closer than 7 points.

This time Poland got the most from Wojciech Fras, who collected 18 points and 14 boards. Piotr Pamula contributed in this win adding 12 points and 4 assists. Richard Grznar had fantastic performance for the loosing side. He netted 32 points, grabbed 4 boards and dished out 4 assists for 35 minutes. It didn't help his team in this game as the first player behind him was Tomas Bauer (192-G-90), who scored just 9 points.


U18 Slovak Republic - U18 Poland 74-91
(24-25, 27-19, 7-25, 16-22)

Slovak Republic: Richard Grznar 32 (4 rebs, 4 as), Tomas Bauer 9
Poland: Wojciech Fras 18 (14 rebs), Piotr Pamula 12 (4 as)

U18 EC, division B: Slovenia advances to the final qualifying for A division - by Eurobasket News
U18 Slovenia - U18 Slovak Republic 81-53

Slovenia cruised past Slovakia in the first semifinals game of U18 European Championship division B. Slovenians reached the final and what is the most important they advanced to A division for the next European Championship. It was a main goal of this team before the trip to Debrecen. On the other side Slovakia will have to be satisfied with a battle for the Bronze. Final game is scheduled for tomorrow at 20:30h when Slovenia will meet Czech Republic. Slovakia will take on Poland for third place at 18:15h.

Slovenia was much better team today. 21 rebounds more than Slovakia talks for itself about the difference between these two teams. Since the very beginning Slovenia took control on its opponent closing first stanza 16-8. After few minutes in the second period Slovenians already grabbed plus 15, 25-10. It wasn't the end of good performance by the official host in this game. After the breather Slovenian players wanted to resolve question about the winner quick. They done it very soon setting the score 50-28 after what there was not any doubt who will take this one.

Mitja Nikolic Smrdelj (201-F-91) was the best player in Slovenia today collecting 15 points and 7 rebounds. Mirza Sarajlija (183-G-91) also netted 15 points but with 4 assists while Marko Vranjkovic (202-F/C-90) had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Richard Grznar (187-G-91) once again shined in Slovakia adding 18 pints and 4 rebounds. Oto Ulman (202-C-90) followed him with 11 points and 8 boards.


U18 Slovenia - U18 Slovak Republic 81-53
(16-8, 18-14, 26-8, 21-23)

Slovenia: Mitja Nikolic Smrdelj 15 (7 rebs), Mirza Sarajlija 15 (4 as), Marko Vranjkovic 10 (12 rebs)
Slovak Republic: Richard Grznar 18 (4 rebs), Oto Ulman 11 (8 rebs)

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


U18 EC, division B: Slovenia advances to the final qualifying for A division - by Eurobasket News
U18 Slovenia - U18 Slovak Republic 81-53

Slovenia cruised past Slovakia in the first semifinals game of U18 European Championship division B. Slovenians reached the final and what is the most important they advanced to A division for the next European Championship. It was a main goal of this team before the trip to Debrecen. On the other side Slovakia will have to be satisfied with a battle for the Bronze. Final game is scheduled for tomorrow at 20:30h when Slovenia will meet Czech Republic. Slovakia will take on Poland for third place at 18:15h.

Slovenia was much better team today. 21 rebounds more than Slovakia talks for itself about the difference between these two teams. Since the very beginning Slovenia took control on its opponent closing first stanza 16-8. After few minutes in the second period Slovenians already grabbed plus 15, 25-10. It wasn't the end of good performance by the official host in this game. After the breather Slovenian players wanted to resolve question about the winner quick. They done it very soon setting the score 50-28 after what there was not any doubt who will take this one.

Mitja Nikolic Smrdelj (201-F-91) was the best player in Slovenia today collecting 15 points and 7 rebounds. Mirza Sarajlija (183-G-91) also netted 15 points but with 4 assists while Marko Vranjkovic (202-F/C-90) had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Richard Grznar (187-G-91) once again shined in Slovakia adding 18 pints and 4 rebounds. Oto Ulman (202-C-90) followed him with 11 points and 8 boards.


U18 Slovenia - U18 Slovak Republic 81-53
(16-8, 18-14, 26-8, 21-23)

Slovenia: Mitja Nikolic Smrdelj 15 (7 rebs), Mirza Sarajlija 15 (4 as), Marko Vranjkovic 10 (12 rebs)
Slovak Republic: Richard Grznar 18 (4 rebs), Oto Ulman 11 (8 rebs)

Serbia fire down Slovenia - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U20 - Slovenia U20 90:78

The European U20 defending champions Serbia posted their second consecutive win at the continental event in Latvia. They overcame Slovenia yesterday to remain on top of preliminary Group D. Miroslav Raduljica (212-C-88, agency: CAA Sports) produced 22 points and 9 boards to lift Serbia to another successful game in Riga. Slovenia got 17 points from Mirko Mulalic (195-F-88) as they slipped to 0-2 record. Slovenia were quick enough at the start to accumulate an 18:12 lead late in the opening period. They maintained the advantage and led 22:16 after the starting period. Two freebies from Danijel Vujasinovic (180-G-89) gave Slovenia a 28:17 advantage midway through the second stanza. Serbia stayed in the race and trimmed the deficit to 5 points at halftime 37:42. Serbian side opened the second half with an 11:3 run to grab a 46:45 advantage. Consecutive triples from Jeremic and Katnic stretched the margin to 12 points late in the third quarter. Tomic and Mulajic dragged Slovenia within 5 points in the final stanza however a bunch of baskets from Miroslav Raduljica sealed the winning outcome for Serbia at the end. Marko Keselj (206-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) knocked down 19 points for Serbian team. Boban Marjanovic (221-C-88) had 12 points in a winning effort. Edin Alispahic (208-F/C-88) finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds in a losing effort.

Serbia U20: Miroslav Raduljica 22, Marko Keselj 19, Boban Marjanovic 12
Slovenia U20: Mirko Mulalic 17, Edin Alispahic 14

*****************************************************
  SPAIN   


Spain recover edging hosts in Latvia - by Eurobasket News
Spain U20 - Latvia U20 60:46

Spanish team managed to come back to life after a stunning loss to Montenegro in the opening day of the European Championship. They defeated hosting Latvia yesterday to show character and improved to 1-1 record. Latvia in the meantime slipped to 1-1 record and set up a must-win fight against Montenegro in the final preliminary round. Latvia were well in control in the first half. They were up 11:10 after a slow first frame and stayed in front in the second period. The hosts accumulated a 33:30 advantage at halftime. However Spain opened the second half with an 11:0 run to surge in front. Victor Claver (204-F/C-88) and Marc Rubio (193-G-88) teamed up for three straight triples and Spain piled up a 50:37 advantage late in the third period. Latvia never bounced back in the fourth period and suffered the initial loss at the tournament. Marc Rubio and Pablo Aguilar (203-F/C-89) knocked down 12 points apiece for Spain. Xavier Rabaseda (199-G-89) and Victor Claver came up with 9 points each in a win. Arturs Berzins (202-C/F-88) notched 13 points for Latvia. Dairis Bertans (192-G/F-89) had 12 points in defeat. Spain shot 39% from the field, while limiting their opponents to just 29% accuracy. The teams were quite matched on the boards with Spain pulling down 41 rebounds and Latvia going for 40 caroms.

Spain U20: Marc Rubio 12, Pablo Aguilar 12
Latvia U20: Arturs Berzins 13, Dairis Bertans 12

Spain crushes Latvia in Greece - by Eurobasket News
Spain U18 - Latvia U18 107:91

Alberto Jodar (205-F/C-91) scored 21 points and Spain U18 burst out with a brilliant rally in the second half to ruin Latvia in the semifinal for the 5th -8th spots. Spain will now play for the 5th spot against Serbia today. Latvia will meet with Russia once again this time for the 7th place. Alberto Jodar and Daniel Perez (188-G-90) nailed back-to-back triples early in the game as Spain accumulated a 14:6 lead. However Maris Ziedins (198-F/C-90) capped the first period with 4 straight points and Latvia trailed by just 2 points at the first intermission. Latvia tipped off the second frame with a 5:0 run to surge in front. The teams traded baskets and were all square at 43 after 20 minutes of action. Alberto Jodar, Daniel Perez and Adrian Laso (204-F/C-90) lifted Spanish team to a 7-point lead early in the third frame. But Latvia stayed close and were down by just 4 points with one quarter remaining in the game. But Alberto Jodar and Jorge Santana (193-G-90) both fired from downtown in a 10:4 rally from Spain that put them ahead by 10 points midway through the fourth term. Martins Laksa (196-F-90) and Kalvis Krumins (182-G-90) cut the deficit to 7 points late in the quarter but it was as close as Latvia could get. Adrian Laso, Franch and Hernandez were deadly from the stripe and ensured the winning outcome for Spain. Jorge Santana nailed 20 points for Spaniards. Daniel Perez came up with 19 points for the winners. Martins Laksa led all scorers with 28 points. Kristers Zeidaks (201-F-90) had 13 points and 11 boards in defeat.

Spain U18: Alberto Jodar 21, Jorge Santana 20, Daniel Perez 19
Latvia U18: Martins Laksa 28, Kristers Zeidaks 13+11 boards

*****************************************************
  SWEDEN   


U20 EC, division B: This time Germany too strong for Sweden - by Eurobasket News
U20 Sweden - U20 Germany 64-90

Germany continued with demonstrating its power on U20 European Championship division B in Targu Mures. Spectators of the yesterday's game between Germany and Azerbaijan for sure didn't forget performance by the winning team. Today, Germans once again were on a high level beating Sweden with plus 26. It means that Germany remained perfect in Preliminary Group B after two days while Sweden dropped on 1-1.

Sweden couldn't handle strong Germans today. The Swedish had only 37.5% for FG2 and 28.6% for 3-pts thus with that kind of percentage they couldn't survive in today's game. After plus 6 in the first frame, Philipp Schwethelm (200-F-89, agency: Court Side) and his teammates intensified defense which resulted with just 8 points by Sweden in the second frame. On the other side Germans were unstoppable at the offensive end closing first half with plus 24. The game is decided at the beggining of third frame when Germany thanks to Gunther and Philipp Schwethelm touched 29-45.

Philipp Schwethelm was the best player in Germany as he collected 19 points and 9 boards. Lucca Staiger (196-G-88) also shied with 16 points and 4 rebounds while Gunther and Elias Harris (202-F-89) netted 13 points apiece. Sweden got 13 points and 6 rebounds from Carl Saks (201-G-89). Jeffery Taylor (200-G/F-89) followed him adding 12 points and 9 rebounds. Germany will try to remain undefeated tomorrow against Ireland while Sweden will take on Azerbaijan.


U20 Sweden - U20 Germany 64-90
(21-15, 8-26, 17-23, 18-26)

Sweden: Carl Saks 13 (6 rebs), Jeffery Taylor 12 (9 rebs)
Germany: Philipp Schwethelm 19 (7 rebs), Lucca Staiger 16 (4 rebs), Gunther 13 (7 as), Elias Harris 13 (8 rebs)

*****************************************************
  SWITZERLAND   


U18 EC, division B: Netherlands easily beats Switzerland - by Eurobasket News
U18 Switzerland - U18 Netherlands 71-105

Netherlands grabbed the second win in Classification Round from 9th to 16th place. It means that Netherlands remained on top of Group G and its next opponent on U18 European Championship division B will be Romania. On the other hand Switzerland lost all chances for position number nine. It will continue championship battling for 13th place.

Netherlands had magnificent shot percentage in this game. Its player made 13 of 21 attempts form behind the arc which is almost 62%. At the same time they had 67.5% for FG2 and 75% from the free throw line. Everything started good for the official visitor in this game. They made 9-18 after 5 minutes while until the end of the first quarter it already was 16-29. Next period didn't change anything as Jeroen van Vugt (191-G-91) and his teammates continued in the same rhythm. At the middle of third frame it was already clear that Switzerland won't be able to do anything as Netherlands created huge plus 28.

Jeroen van Vugt paced Netherlands to victory scoring 23 points. Stefan Mladenovic (188-G-90) followed him with 15 points while Jesse Voorn (186-G-90) netted 14. Stefan Petkovic (182-G-92) was the best scorer in Switzerland with 16 points. Brian Savoy (186-G-92) added 14 while Roman Albrecht (207-C-90) stopped on 13 points and 8 rebounds.


U18 Switzerland - U18 Netherlands 71-105
(16-29, 17-23, 14-25, 24-28)

Switzerland: Stefan Petkovic 16, Brian Savoy 14, Roman Albrecht 13 (8 rebs)
Netherlands: Jeroen van Vugt 23, Stefan Mladenovic 15, Jesse Voorn 14

*****************************************************
  TURKEY   


Turkey narrowly escape Italy in Pyrgos - by Eurobasket News
Turkey U18 - Italy U18 80:73

Melih Mahmutoglu (191-G-90) topscored for Turkey for the second straight game and they posted another victory at the U18 European Championship in Greece. This time Turkish team held off Italian counterparts in the semifinal for the 9th-12th spots. Melih Mahmutoglu knocked down 18 points, while Enes Kanter (205-C-92) reigned in the paint with game-high 22 rebounds and Turkey secured a difficult victory at the end. Italy got to a slightly better start as they led throughout the first term. Riccardo Moraschini (192-G-91) and Pasquale Paolisso (203-F/C-90, agency: Court Side) crowned the quarter with 4 points and Italy enjoyed a 24:21 advantage. Erolcan Cinko (188-G-90), Ibrahim Yildirim (190-G-90) and Enes Kanter paced Turkey in front early in the second period but just to see the lead floating away late in the frame. Nicolo Melli (205-F-91) scored three points late in the half and Italy retained a 37:34 lead at the interval. David Cournooh (190-G-90), Andrea De Nicolao and Pasquale Paolisso stretched the margin to 7 points at the beginning of the third stanza. However Turkey used a 13:2 run to build a 4-point lead late in the period. Ibrahim Yildirim netted 4 points in a 6:0 rally from Turkish team to close the frame and they were up by 7 going into the final term. Enes Kanter and Melih Mahmutoglu dropped jumpers to deepen the damage. However Italy refused to fold. They cut the deficit to 2 points midway through the period following a layup from Sandri. Turkey stayed alert. Furkan Aldemir (205-F-91), Melih Mahmutoglu and Firat Toz (187-G-91) were cool in the dying minutes and brought Turkey to the victory at the end. Ibrahim Yildirim poured in 15 points for Turkey. Enes Kanter and Erolcan Cinko netted 11 points apiece in a win. David Cournooh had 16 points for Italy. Nicolo Melli canned 11 points in a losing effort.

Turkey U18: Melih Mahmutoglu 18, Ibrahim Yildirim 15, Enes Kanter 11+22 boards
Italy U18: David Cournooh 16, Nicolo Melli 11

Turkey beat Israel to stay perfect - by Eurobasket News
Turkey U20 - Israel U20 75:65

Turkey stayed untamed at the U20 European Championship in Latvia. Yesterday they handled Israel and remained at helm of preliminary Group B. Azizcan Ozdemir (201-F-88) netted 21 points to pace Turkish team to yet another impressive victory. Israel could not be saved by a 22-point haul from Anton Shoutvin (205-C/F-89) and slipped to 0-2 record at the start of the tournament. Turkey jumped to an early 9:2 lead. Israel answered with an 8:0 rally of their own to grab the lead. But Turkey persisted and built a 23:17 advantage at the first intermission. Azizcan Ozdemir and Gokhan Karabiyik (205-F/C-88) fired 5 points to open the second stanza and Turkey enjoyed an 11-point advantage. Turkey drove to a 10-point lead at the interval. Israel tried to stay at a striking distance throughout the third period and trailed by 6 points with one quarter to go. Shoutvin drained a three-pointer to tip off the fourth period and Israel came as close as 3 points from their opponents. But Azizcan Ozdemir and Gokper Gen (188-G-89) lifted Turkey to a safe distance, while Gorur netted a three-pointer seconds later to reestablish a 10-point advantage for Turkish team. Israel never rebounded and had to surrender at the end. Baris Hersek (204-F/C-88) had 13 points and 9 boards for Turkey. Gokper Gen provided 12 points for the winners. Anton Shoutvin topscored with 22 points and 8 boards for Israel. Sean Daniel (200-F-89, agency: Arik Krayn Services) contributed 12 points in a loss.

Turkey U20: Azizcan Ozdemir 21, Baris Hersek 13, Gokper Gen 12
Israel U20: Anton Shoutvin 22, Sean Daniel 12

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  UKRAINE   


Another narrow defeat for Ukraine in Latvia - by Eurobasket News
Ukraine U20 - Greece U20 71:74

Ukrainian U20 National Team suffered their second straight loss at the European Championship in Riga. Yesterday they were narrowly edged by Greek side. Thus Ukraine fell to 0-2 record at the bottom of preliminary Group A. Vadym Norenko (204-F-88) fired game-high 25 points but it was not enough to overcome perky Greece. It was a roller coaster type of game with both teams surging for the win. Ukraine led for most of the first frame but Michail Tsairelis (206-F/C-88) knocked down 4 points in a 6:0 run from Greek team as they grabbed a 25:22 advantage at the end of the first period. Oleksandr Kolchenko (198-F/G-88), Sergiy Gladyr (196-G/F-89) and Vadym Norenko answered with a 9:0 rally late in the second period when Ukraine turned a 5-point deficit into a 4-point advantage at halftime. The lead changed hands for 3 times in the third period before Greece went on a 13:0 run to build a 62:51 advantage. Charalampos Giannopoulos (208-F-89, agency: FCM) opened the final period with a three-pointer as Greece piled up a 12-point lead. However Oleksandr Kolchenko and Vadym Norenko cut the deficit to 5 points with under 4 minutes remaining. Vadym Norenko hit a jumper to trim the distance to just 3 points with under two minutes to go. However Mihalis Giannakidis (193-G-88, agency: FCM) and Nick Calathes (196-G/F-89) hit four freebies and Greece pulled away with the victory. Michail Tsairelis and Mihalis Giannakidis produced 15 points each to pace Greece. Nick Calathes had 12 points for the winners. Oleksandr Kolchenko netted 14 points for Ukraine. Denys Lukashov (187-G-89) added 10 points in a loss.

Ukraine U20: Vadym Norenko 25, Oleksandr Kolchenko 14, Denys Lukashov 10
Greece U20: Michail Tsairelis 15, Mihalis Giannakidis 15, Nick Calathes 12

Carmel Bouchman lifts Israel past Ukraine - by Eurobasket News
Israel U18 - Ukraine U18 76:75

Carmel Bouchman (205-F-91) converted a go-ahead layup with 8 seconds remaining in regulation to bring victory to Israel over Ukraine at the U18 European Championship. This shot was a part of an 8:0 Israeli run that closed the gap and sealed the win for them. Ruslan Otverchenko (192-F-90) hit a three-pointer to give Ukraine a 7-point lead with just over 2 minutes left. But Israeli side refused to give up. Yotam Shiran (198-F-90), Ben Reis (196-F-90) and Carmel Bouchman netted 8 points in a row and Israel pulled away with a dramatic victory at the end. Israel will now play for the 9th spot against Turkey today. Ukraine will oppose Italy in the game for the 11th place at the tournament. Ukraine exploded with high-paced basketball in the first frame and jumped to a 31:18 lead after ten minutes of action. But Israeli team came back to life in the second stanza. They tightened their defense and cut the deficit to 10 points at halftime. Tamir Ariely (190-G-90) netted 10 points in the third frame and Israel minimized the deficit to just 2 points. The drama was staged in the final minutes as Ukraine cleared off to a seemingly comfortable distance but Israel came from behind to secure a hard-fought win. Tamir Ariely and Yotam Shiran led Israel with 16 points apiece. Ben Reis added 14 points for the winners. Ruslan Otverchenko nailed game-high 25 points and grabbed 8 boards for Ukraine. Oleksandr Osnach (202-C-90) had 23 points and 9 rebounds in a losing case.

Israel U18: Tamir Ariely 16, Yotam Shiran 16, Ben Reis 14
Ukraine U18: Ruslan Otverchenko 25, Oleksandr Osnach 23

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  UNITED KINGDOM   


U20 EC, division B: Portugal celebrates over Great Britain for 2-0 in Group A - by Eurobasket News
U20 Great Britain - U20 Portugal 62-73

Portugal is the only undefeated team in Preliminary Group A so far. After yesterday's victory against F.Y.R. Macedonia in the opener, Portuguese were better than Great Britain. Thus after second round Portugal improved to 2-0 while Great Britain dropped on 1-1.

Interesting is that Great Britain registered 20 rebounds more than Portugal in this game. Its biggest problem were turnovers as well as stroke from behind the arc. Portugal closed first stanza with a triple by Sico, which brought them 14-17. During the next couple of minutes Jose Silva (195-F-89) and Tiago Pinto (183-G-88) woke up stretching advantage of their team to 20-28. Great Britain didn't wait too long for an answer as Benjamin Allison (201-F-88) and Matthew Bryan-Amaning (206-F-88) immediately took care for amazing 16 -2 run grabbing plus 6 at the half time. The British succeeded to keep that lead until 2:30 remaining in third quarter when Portuguese made 11-0 run. Crucial period of the game was middle of the last frame when Portuguese made another 8-2 series resolving question about the winner.

Portugal got 15 points from Tiago Pinto while Jose Silva collected 13 points and 7 rebounds. Fabio Lima (196-C-88) followed these two players also with 13 points but with 4 rebounds. On the other side Benjamin Allison was the best player in Great Britain with 15 points and 7 rebounds. Matthew Bryan-Amaning was behind him finishing the game with 14 points and 5 boards. Portugal will meet Norway tomorrow while Great Britain will play against Macedonia.


U20 Great Britain - U20 Portugal 62-73
(14-17, 22-13, 10-16, 16-27)

Great Britain: Benjamin Allison 15 (7 rebs), Matthew Bryan-Amaning 14 (5 rebs)
Portugal: Tiago Pinto 15, Jose Silva 13 (7 rebs), Fabio Lima 13 (4 rebs)

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  URUGUAY   


More import players for the LUB - by Hector Lopez
More import players were announced by the teams playing the Uruguayan League, scheduled to begin Aug. 18. Each team is allowed for ink two import players and te following were the last announcements:
Bigua -
Kevin Young (206-C-84, college: Missouri)
Victor Ramalho (206-F-84)
Cordon -
Sam Carey (203-C, agency: Passing Lane)
Hebraica -
Corey Smith (196-G/F, agency: Warren Sports International, college: Vanderbilt)
Angelo Reyes (205-F/C-81)
Olimpia
Reque Newsome (203-C-82, college: S.Indiana)
Sayago
J.T. Williams (196-F-83, college: Mc Neese St.)
Trouville
Oliver Morton (207-C-78, college: Chattanooga)
Welcome
Brad Kanis (218-C)
Myron Allen (180-G-79, college: Lee JC

Aguada will play the promotion final games - by Hector Lopez
Wendell Gibson scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds leading Aguada to beat Goes 79-78, and his team qualified to play for the promotion to the Uruguayan League againsta Nacional. at the end of the game, players and fans figthed in the court among themselves and against the Police. For Goes Howard Wilkerson netted 24 points , adding 9 rebounds and 3 assists. The best of three final againsta Nacional will begin next Tuesday.

Malvin and Bohemios choose import players - by Hector Lopez
Ronald Allen (208-F/C-84, college: Cincinnati) will be the import player for Malvin and the team ald said they will choose the second import during the next week. Bohemios said that Anthony Rice (193-G-83, college: Memphis) and Rodrigue Djahue (201-F/C-80, college: Miami, FL) will be their two import player por the Uruguayan League scheduled to start Aug. 18, with 14 teams. Malvin was the League champions during the 2006 season and Bohemios is returning to the Uruguayan League after two years.



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Women News

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  AUSTRALIA - Women  


The Gems advance to the U19 World Championship - by Eurobasket News
Australia U19 - New Zealand U19 78:51

The Australian Junior National Team overcame New Zealand opponents in the second game of the best-of-three U19 Oceania Championship series in Adelaide. The victory meant the Gems qualified for the U19 World Championship to be held in Thailand next year. The Aussies won the opening games of their series against the Junior Tall Ferns to guarantee the win in the series. The teams will meet again in the third encounter later tonight. The Junior Tall Ferns capitalized on numerous misses from the hosts in the starting stanza and built a 17:13 lead going into the second period. The Junior Tall Ferns continued to impose tight defense and pressure on the hosts but Australia gradually came back to life. They outscored their opponents 17:13 in the second frame and tied it all at 30 at halftime. The breakthrough for the home team came in the third period. Paced by Elisabeth Cambage the Gems tallied a 28:8 rally to pile up a comfortable advantage at three-quarter time. New Zealand had little to answer with and failed to recover in the final stanza. The Gems drove to a confident victory and booked their World championship ticket. Elizabeth Cambage poured in 19 points to lead all scorers. She also added game-high 11 boards to her tally. Stephanie Cumming dropped 12 points, while Kate Gaze (172-G-90) had 10 points in a winning case. Erin Rooney answered with 14 points for New Zealand. Zoe Kensington provided 9 points in defeat.

Australia U19: Elizabeth Cambage 19+11 boards, Stephanie Cumming 12, Kate Gaze 10
New Zealand U19: Erin Rooney 14, Zoe Kensington 9

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  NEW ZEALAND - Women  


Tall Ferns fall to Belarus - by Kahn Hart
The New Zealand Tall Ferns have lost 63-71 to European team Belarus in Beijing. The Kiwi women started the game well and led through the first quarter before belarus took the lead in the second quarter and never looked back, however New Zealand did manage to pull within 6 points in the final quarter but were forced to foul and fell away. Coach Mike McHugh was satisfied with his teams effort against their much bigger European opponents, the Tall Ferns were using this game as preparation for their matches against Spain and Czech Republic who are also much bigger than New Zealand. Belarus finished fourth at last years European Championships and earned their spot in the Olympics through the recent qualifying tournament in June. Point Guard Angela Marino (166-G-86) paced the Tall Ferns with 15 points while Charmain Purcell (180-G/F-79) performed well also. New Zealand have another warm up game scheduled against Brazil and are hoping to schedule another possibly against Belarus.

The Gems advance to the U19 World Championship - by Eurobasket News
Australia U19 - New Zealand U19 78:51

The Australian Junior National Team overcame New Zealand opponents in the second game of the best-of-three U19 Oceania Championship series in Adelaide. The victory meant the Gems qualified for the U19 World Championship to be held in Thailand next year. The Aussies won the opening games of their series against the Junior Tall Ferns to guarantee the win in the series. The teams will meet again in the third encounter later tonight. The Junior Tall Ferns capitalized on numerous misses from the hosts in the starting stanza and built a 17:13 lead going into the second period. The Junior Tall Ferns continued to impose tight defense and pressure on the hosts but Australia gradually came back to life. They outscored their opponents 17:13 in the second frame and tied it all at 30 at halftime. The breakthrough for the home team came in the third period. Paced by Elisabeth Cambage the Gems tallied a 28:8 rally to pile up a comfortable advantage at three-quarter time. New Zealand had little to answer with and failed to recover in the final stanza. The Gems drove to a confident victory and booked their World championship ticket. Elizabeth Cambage poured in 19 points to lead all scorers. She also added game-high 11 boards to her tally. Stephanie Cumming dropped 12 points, while Kate Gaze (172-G-90) had 10 points in a winning case. Erin Rooney answered with 14 points for New Zealand. Zoe Kensington provided 9 points in defeat.

Australia U19: Elizabeth Cambage 19+11 boards, Stephanie Cumming 12, Kate Gaze 10
New Zealand U19: Erin Rooney 14, Zoe Kensington 9

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  SLOVENIA - Women  


Slovenia names U-18 EC team - by Zeljko Zule
Slovenia named its roster for the U-18 European championship Division B.
#4 Julija Lojen (168-G-91) of Sentjur Smarje, #5 Anja Klavzar (177-F-90) of Merkur Celje, #6 Ines Kerin (172-G-90) of Merkur Celje, #7 Tjasa Gortnar (182-F-92) of Triglav, #8 Ines Marijan (175-G-90) of Novo mesto, #9 Nika Baric (168-G-92) of Merkur Celje, #10 Teja Oblak (172-G-90) of Odeja, #11 Polona Zalar (176-F-91) of Ilirija, #12 Lea Jagodic (179-F-91) of Merkur Celje, #13 Katja Starcek (176-G-90) of Janina, #14 Ursa Bajec (183-F-90) of Neso lhke, #15 Vesna Lesnjak (192-C-90) of Jezica. COACH: Damir Grgic . ASSISTANT: Saso Rebernik .