EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 1/18/2009

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Men News

*****************************************************
  ABA   


Last week results - by Gianni Pascucci
The Beijing Olympian team took two wins, the first one 114-95, after staying ahead all game long, over the Modesto Bearcats, the other one, 112-111, at the end of a veery more battled game, over the Maywood Buzz. The Jersey Express took a 97-93 victory over the New York Internationals at Drew University's Baldwin Gym. The Express, now 6-6, showed intensity on offense and defense. Alexus Foyle led all scorers with 33 points, adding 7 rebounds. Isaiah Hunter scored 26 points as the second game best scorer, the Internationalz were led by Marvin McCullough, who finished with 24 points. The Kentucky Bisons took another clear win, crushing the Kansas City Spartans by 49 points. The final score was 148-99, and Kentucky had eight players in double digit scoring, led by Kenny Jones, with a double-double and the team high 23 points. Jamie Jackson finished with 22 points, Boris Siakam also had a double-double ending with 16 pts, 12 rebounds. The West Virginia Blazers edned 1-1 their double meting with the Cleveland Rockers. Game 1, played on wednesday night, ended West Virginia 139, Cleveland 124 and the home team was led by Desi Crisp who scored 32 points. Yusuf Baker and Chris Nichols added 21 points apiece for the Blazers, Cleveland got 34 points from Antonn Melton and 33 from Wesley Fluellen. The night after, the Rockers won 131-127, with Wesley Fluellen and John Burge leading the way at 25 points each. Maurice Davis scored 44 points in losing effort, and Desi Crisp added 22 points. In the most interesting game of teh week, the #1 ranked Southeast Texas Mustangs defeated the #2 rankedTexas Fuel in Beaumont, TX, 102-93. Despite a Fuel quick start, thej home team took quickly the game control, ending the first half ahead 55-42. The Fuel tried to come back with a 14-4 run, but it wasn' t enough. The Mustangs were led in scoring by Tim Pledger with 24 points, DeRon Rutledge scored 16 points and Antonio Lawrence followed up with 15 points. Leonard Brown led the Fuel with 25 points in an outstanding all-around performance. Keith Simoson scored 14 points.

Standings
ABA Standings
Exhibition-Touring
 1. LA Slam 2-4 
 2. TH T.Blazers 1-1 
 3. Empire Rage 0-1 
 4. Tri-City Racers 0-1 
Northeast Div.
 1. Cleveland R. 8-1 
 2. S.Chicago BS 6-2 
 3. Jersey Expr. 6-6 
 4. W. Virginia B. 2-9 
 5. New York I. 1-2 
 6. Aurora Force 0-2 
 7. W.Virginia W. 0-2 
 8. Detroit Hoops 0-5 
Northwest Div.
 1. Beijing O. 9-2 
 2. Maywood B. 9-2 
 3. S.Francisco R. 3-3 
 4. Salt Lake S. 1-0 
 5. Washington R. 1-1 
 6. Modesto B. 1-5 
 7. LA Push 1-5 
 8. Sacramento 0-1 
Southeast Div.
 1. Kentucky B. 9-2 
 2. Nashville B. 4-5 
 3. Knoxville T. 3-2 
 4. Kansas City 2-2 
 5. Atlanta V. 0-0 
 6. Bahama PS 0-1 
 7. Georgia G. 0-6 
Southwest Div.
 1. Texas M. 11-1 
 2. South Texas 7-2 
 3. Las Vegas A. 6-1 
 4. W.Texas W. 3-2 
 5. Arizona R. 3-3 
 6. Fury 2-3 
 7. Mississippi B. 1-6 
 8. Texas City R. 0-3 
 9. Gallup T. 0-3 
 10. Houston T. 0-4 


*****************************************************
  ANGOLA   


ASA beat Petro - by Carlos Pereira
ASA make a very good game, a great defence an a solid offense. Petro lose for the first time in this year competition.
Best players :
For ASA - Idelfonso Kitecul and Jose Nascimento
For Petro - Milton Barros and Paulo Santana

Box score

Petro de Luanda: Eduardo Mingas (11 pontos), Roberto Fortes (3), Carlos Morais (9), Fernando Albano (3), Frederick Gentry (7), Paulo Santana (14), Victor Muzadi (2), Francisco (0), Milton Barros (14), Heshimo Evans (9), Vladimir Pontes (0), Abdel Bouckar (2).Coach: Alberto de Carvalho Ginguba

ASA: Wilson da Mata (8), Rui Matias (0), Edmundo Ventura (11), Hlder Ortet (0), Felipe Abro (13), Jos Nascimento (16), Wilson Carvalho (2), Idelfonso Kiteculo (19), Adolfo Quimbamba (5), Afonso Rodrigues (2), Francisco Gonalves (3), Cristvo Oliveira (2).Coach: Carlos Dinis.

In another game Recreativo do Libolo beat Promade at Cabinda by 79-66.

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


Libertad victorious against Flamengo in Sunchales - by Eurobasket News
Libertad - Flamengo 93:84

Libertad Sunchales gained the second win in the Liga Americas Group C but it was not enough to reach the Final Four stage. Libertad had to win by as many as 35 points to secure the Final Four birth. Flamengo had the easier task as the win would have sealed the Final Four ticket for them. But both teams came up short of the desired result. The hosts led by Willie Farley (195-G/F-75, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Fresno St.) jumped to the better start and piled up a 24:18 lead at the first intermission. Libertad maintained the gap and reached a 14-point advantage at halftime. Flamengo could not get the right rhythm and found themselves trailing by 22 points before the fourth quarter.
Things started to look hopeful for the Brazilian team in the final term. They went on a 14:2 rally to cut the distance. But Libertad did not panic and ensured the winning outcome at the end. Unfortunately for both teams it meant the end of the tournament for them. Willie Farley came up with 25 points for Libertad. Jason Osbourne (198-F, college: Alice Lloyd) contributed 19 points for the home team. Marcelinho Machado (200-F/G-75, agency: Interperformances) knocked down 23 points for Flamengo. Eduardo Duda Machado (197-F-82) finished with 19 points in the loss.

Libertad: Willie Farley 25, Jason Osbourne 19, Alejandro Zilli (200-F-82) 11, Sebastian Ginobili (190-G-72, agency: Interperformances) 11
Flamengo: Marcelinho Machado 23, Eduardo Duda Machado 19

LigaA Round: 13 (Regular Season, second phase) - by Eurobasket News
Independ.N. - El Nacional 95-90
Independiente outsmarted El Nacional keeping the second place in Liga A with 32.5 points (the first is Atenas with 35.5). Federico Marin top-scored for the winners with 18 points. Cedric Moodie had 17 points and 9 rebounds, while Brice Assie also helped the hosts with 17 pts. Ralphy Holmes shined in defeat delivering 27 points.

Atenas - Quilmes MP 98-82
The top-ranked Atenas was too strong for Quilmes thanks to Djibril Kante, while poured in 24 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Hernando Salles scored 18 points for the loosing side. His Quilmes now has 30.5 points, the same as Sionista and Libertad.

Obras - Regatas C. 66-63
Obras registered tiny home victory vs Regatas, thus the both teams currently have the same number of points (28) sharing the 12th place. Lazaro Borrell was a key player for the hosts as he collected 21 points and 9 boards. Regatas got double-double from Federico Kammerichs, 16 points and 10 boards.

Estudiantes - Gimn.CR 71-64
Edward Nelson one again was on a high level in Estu pacing it to home win against Gimnasia CR. This time Nelson stopped on 19 points and 5 boards. It is interesting, but he was the only one with double-digits in scoring for the hosts. Nicolas De los Santos, who came off the bench, netted 16 points for Gimnasia CR.

Quimsa - Boca Jrs 98-76
Quimsa celebrated comfortable win against Boca Juniors thanks to Julio Mazzaro (186-G-79) and his 32 points. Naikea Miller also shined adding 19 points and 9 boards. Boca Juniors got 18 points from Carl Edwards. Quimsa 28.5, Boca 27.5.

Ben Hur - Sionista 69-88
Sionista cruised past the last ranked Ben Hur jumping at the top part of the standings, together with Libertad and Quilmes. Chuck Robinson and Eduardo Villares combined 49 points for the winners. Sebastian Cabello had 16 points and 8 boards in Ben Hur.

Lanus - Cicl. Olimpico 60-70
The box-score will be available soon. Lanus 26, Ciclista Olimpico 29.5.

Standings - LigaA
LigaA Standings
 1. Atenas 35-5 
 2. Independ.N. 32-5 
 3. Estudiantes 31-0 
 4. Gimn.CR 31-5 
 5. Penarol 30-0 
 6. Libertad 30-5 
 7. Quilmes MP 30-5 
 8. Sionista 30-5 
 9. El Nacional 29-5 
 10. Cicl.Olimpico 29-5 
 11. Obras 28-0 
 12. Regatas C. 28-1 
 13. Quimsa 28-5 
 14. Boca Jrs 27-5 
 15. Lanus 26-0 
 16. Ben Hur 24-5 


TNA1 and TNA2 Round: 2 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Group TNA1
Union - San Mart.MJ 83-72
Union celebrated against San Martin MJ becoming the only undefeated team in TNA1 after two rounds. Jorge Toriano top-scored for the winners with 19 points. Mario Sepulveda was behind him adding 15 points and 6 boards. The visitors got 20 points from Diego Belvedere.

Ciclista - P.Echague 65-76
Pedro Echague was better than Ciclista on the road mostly owing to Alejandro Eiguren and Williard Ford, which drained 18 and 17 points respectively. Hakeem Rollins answered with 15 points and 7 boards in loss.

San Mart.C. - Belgrano SN 97-85
Mariano Caturi stepped up for San Martin C with 29 points and 5 boards leading it to home victory against Belgrano SN. Jamal Johnson was the best in the loosing squad with 16 points and 11 boads. It is the first win for San Martin C in TNA1.

La Union - Alma Juniors 84-66
The first win for La Union in TNA1, while at the same time it is the first defeat for Alma Juniors. Wendell Gibson, who came off the bench, led the hosts with 18 points and 4 rebounds. Leandro Portillo followed with 15 pts. Damian Palacios contributed with 13 points in defeat.


Group TNA2
Obera TC - Firmat SF 108-98
Rashad West was totally the best player in Obera nailing fantastic 41 points. Javier Ceci added 22. On the other side, Martin Ghirardi also was on fire draining 41 points in loss. Both teams entered into this game with 0-1.

GimnasiaLP - A.Italiana 81-75
Lisandro Villa stepped up for the hosts with 20 points and 9 rebounds. Fernando Small had 22 points for the loosing side. Gimnasia LP 2-0, A Italiana 1-1.

Atl.Echague - C.Entrerriano 86-102
Second win for C. Entrerriano in TNA2. This time Curtis Marshall shined for the winners with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Sebastian Pardal netted one point more without any missed shot. Derrick Miller had 23 points and 9 boards in loss.

A.Espanola - Argentino 67-87
2-0 for Argentino and 0-2 for A Espanola after this game. Jonatan Slider scored 21, while Jmahr Warren had 20 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. The hosts got 13 pts from Mauro Rotschy.

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  AUSTRALIA   


The Emus claim title - by Eurobasket News
Australian Junior National Team triumphed at the Youth Basketball Festival held in Sydney. The Emus overcame China in the Gold Medal Game to clinch the title. Aussie team edged China in the preliminary round by as many as 29 points however the decider was a completely different affair for both teams.
The teams entered the game trading baskets before China burst out. They went on an 11:2 rally and Hongfei Shi capped the first quarter outcome at 28:19. The teams kept on going step in step in the second frame. Hugh Greenwood (188-F-90) came up strong late in the first half as his three-pointer crowned it with the hosts trailing by 5 points.
Soon after the start of the third frame Aussies drew things level. Jackson Aldridge and Jackson Hussey orchestrated the comeback effort. Australia held their opponents to only 10 points in the frame and arrived at the fourth period ahead by 3 points. Samuel Rowley and Daniel Trist gave the hosts a 75:68 advantage midway through the fourth term. Minghix Ju trimmed the distance to 3 points before Austrlia restored the margin. Anthony Drmic and Hugh Greenwood organized a decisive run from the home team as they sealed a 98:82 win at the end.
Hugh Greenwood scored 27 points to lead the charge. Jackson Hussey added 20 points, while Anthony Drmic had 12 points for the Emus. Hongfei Shi replied with 27 points for China. Shang Gao contributed 21 points in the loss.

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  BALTIC LEAGUE   


Baltic-League Round: 18 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Group ChallengeCup
Suduva - Keizarmezs 76-85
Keizarmezs earned a key win over Suduva on the road to claim the spot in the top six teams that advanced to the next round from Group B. Reinis Strupovics secured 25 points to lead the Riga outfit. Edijs Slesers had 16 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds for the winners. Marius Valukonis provided 16 points and 8 rebounds for Suduva in defeat.

Neptunas - Liepaja 85-71
Neptunas edged Liepaja behind 22 points from Valdas Vasylius. Remigijus Trakimas had 20 points and 13 rebounds for the winners. Alexey Zorin answered with 18 points and 12 boards for Liepaja as they secured the spot in the top six teams in Group B.

Techasas - Valga Welg 84-75
Techasas finally found the way to the fourth victory in the tournament as they held on to win against Valga Welg at home. Philip Williams scored 18 points and 7 rebounds for the hosts. Darius Griskenas had 18 points for Panevezys. Veljo Vares responded with 24 points for Valga Welg.

Alytus Alita - VEF Riga 77-76
Vilius Gabsys drained a late three-pointer to eke out a narrow win over VEF Riga for Alytus. Nerijus Varnelis tallied 27 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. Vilius Gabsys finished with 22 points and 7 rebounds in the win. Evgeniy Kolesnikov had 18 points for VEF Riga as the visitors suffered just the third defeat.

Aisciai - ASK/Buki 77-74
Tautvydas Barstys hit a trey with 8 seconds remaining and Aisciai pulled away with a difficult victory over ASK/Buki. Egidijus Dimsa notched 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the hosts. Tautvydas Barstys topscored with 17 points in the win. ASK/Buki responded with 19 points from Uldis Rudzitis. Andrejs Jansons managed 18 points in defeat.

Sakalai - Tallinna Kalev 112-74
Sakalai celebrated the eleventh victory and caught up with VEF Riga on top of Group A. The Lithuanian team victimized Tallinna Kalev behind 23 points from Vytautas Sarakauskas. Arvydas Siksnius added 19 points for the winning side. Evgenyj Belousov answered with 27 points for Kalev Tallinn.

Group Elite Group
Lietuvos - Nevezis 92-87
Lietuvos Rytas earned the 12th win in the Elite Division and stayed on top of the ladder. Chuck Eidson had 17 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists for the winners. Mindaugas Lukauskis added 14 points for Lietuvos Rytas. Valdas Dabkus shone for Nevezis with 28 points, 6 boards and 5 steals in the loss.

Valmiera - ASK Riga 77-86
ASK Riga needed an overtime to prevail against Valmiera away from home. Sandis Valters scored 22 points and grabbed 8 rebounds as Riga posted the 8th win in the season. Dairis Bertans had 14 points for the visitors. Ingus Bakevics responded with 32 points for Valmiera. Ronald Clark pitched in 23 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in defeat.



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  BOSNIA   


Bosnian League 13 - 15TH round - by Elvir Halilovic
Igokea Partizan - Sloboda Dita 86:83
(16:14, 19:26, 24:28, 27:15)
ALEKSANDROVAC - SD Nenad Bastinac; Att.: 1.000; Ref.: Duskaj, Drmic, Ignjatovic
IGOKEA PARTIZAN: Carr 2, Vuksanovic 29, Bocka 9, Djerasimovic 19, Djurica 2, Bilanovic, Taylor 2, Radic, Mirkovic 5, Topolovic, Kovacevic 20, Matic 8
Coach: Dragan Bajic
SLOBODA DITA: Jakubovic, Jovanovic 29, Halilovic, Velimirovic 13, Hrncic 5, Halilbegovic 8, Albijanic, Persic 10, Leric 11, Markovic 7, Alibasic, Golijanin
Coach: Senad Muminovic

Standings - BIH League
D1 Standings
 1. Igokea 13-1 
 2. Zrinjski MC 12-2 
 3. Sloboda Dita 11-3 
 4. BoracNektar 9-5 
 5. Siroki Eronet 8-5 
 6. SL IAT Leotar 8-5 
 7. Mladost MG 6-8 
 8. Grude 5-8 
 9. Slavija 5-9 
 10. Vitez 4-9 
 11. Posusje 4-10 
 12. Hercegovac 4-10 
 13. Novi Grad 0-12 
Will join on later stage:
 1. Bosna S. - 


*****************************************************
  BRAZIL   


Franca Basquete enter Paulista League Final - by Eurobasket News
Franca Basquete - Paulistano 79:60

Franca Basquete completed an exciting semifinal series against Paulistano with a home win to reach the Gold Medal series. The drama was the word for the four games of this semifinal best-of-five series. However Franca Basquete saved enough energy for the decider. A tough defense and consistent offensive effort from Marcio Dornelles (195-F-75) allowed Franca to prevail in the fifth encounter. The hosts used a massive 26:10 run in the opening term to pile up an unassailable lead. Paulistano managed to slow their opponents down in the second quarter but they still trailed by 19 points at halftime. Marcio Dornelles and William Drudi (204-C/F-81) kept on delivering points after the long break and Franca ran away to a comfortable 33-point distance before the fourth stanza. Paulistano did not stop and won the fourth period 25:11 to make it look proper.
Marcio Dornelles led the action with 20 points. William Drudi added 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Matheus (-G) had 12 for the winners. Dede Stefanelli (195-F/G-84) answered with 18 points for Paulistano. Fernandinho Penna (189-G-83) had 15 points in the loss.
Franca will now take on Winner/Limeira in the best-of-five Final series. The first game of the series is scheduled for January 18.

Franca Basquete: Marcio Dornelles 20, William Drudi 15+10 boards, Matheus 12
Paulistano: Dede Stefanelli 18, Fernandinho Penna 15

Libertad victorious against Flamengo in Sunchales - by Eurobasket News
Libertad - Flamengo 93:84

Libertad Sunchales gained the second win in the Liga Americas Group C but it was not enough to reach the Final Four stage. Libertad had to win by as many as 35 points to secure the Final Four birth. Flamengo had the easier task as the win would have sealed the Final Four ticket for them. But both teams came up short of the desired result. The hosts led by Willie Farley (195-G/F-75, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: Fresno St.) jumped to the better start and piled up a 24:18 lead at the first intermission. Libertad maintained the gap and reached a 14-point advantage at halftime. Flamengo could not get the right rhythm and found themselves trailing by 22 points before the fourth quarter.
Things started to look hopeful for the Brazilian team in the final term. They went on a 14:2 rally to cut the distance. But Libertad did not panic and ensured the winning outcome at the end. Unfortunately for both teams it meant the end of the tournament for them. Willie Farley came up with 25 points for Libertad. Jason Osbourne (198-F, college: Alice Lloyd) contributed 19 points for the home team. Marcelinho Machado (200-F/G-75, agency: Interperformances) knocked down 23 points for Flamengo. Eduardo Duda Machado (197-F-82) finished with 19 points in the loss.

Libertad: Willie Farley 25, Jason Osbourne 19, Alejandro Zilli (200-F-82) 11, Sebastian Ginobili (190-G-72, agency: Interperformances) 11
Flamengo: Marcelinho Machado 23, Eduardo Duda Machado 19

Alex Garcia leads Universo/BRB into Liga Americas Final Four - by Eurobasket News
Universo/BRB - Deportes Castro 87:85

Brazilian Universo/BRB opened the third round of action in Group C of Liga Americas with a narrow win over Chilean Deportes Castro. Alexandre Garcia (191-G-80, agency: Interperformances) drained a decisive three-pointer with three seconds left in regulation to win it for Universo. The Brazilian team waited then for the outcome of Libertad vs. Flamengo clash to have finally found out that the Argentinean team victory was just enough for them to qualify into the tournaments Final Four. Deportes Castro entered the game winless but gave enough scares to their opponents. Universo led 8:0 early on before Jose Luis Campos (189-G-80) helped Castro to tie it at 8:8. Universo/BRB however managed to eke out a 22:21 lead after the opening term. The Chilean team would not go away as they traded baskets with the Universo and finally jumped to a 38:37 lead at halftime. Deportes Castro stayed consistent after the main break as they stretched the margin to 2 points after three quarters of action. Things looked unsolvable for Universo/BRB as they appeared trailing by 7 points late in the final quarter after a trey from Larry Posey (196-F-86, agency: Regeneracom Sports). However Arthur Luiz Belchior (197-G/F-82) and Jose Ferreira dragged the Brazilian team closer setting the scene for Alexandre Garcia last seconds heroics.
Alexandre Garcia knocked down 30 points to pace Universo/BRB. Valtinho Silva (187-G-77, agency: Interperformances) added 12 points for the winners. Larry Posey notched 23 points and 6 boards for Deportes Castro. Cornelius McFadgon (198-G-82, college: Tennessee) added 22 points in the losing effort.

Universo/BRB: Alexandre Garcia 30, Valtinho Silva 12, Diego Pinheiro (196-F/G-80) 11
Deportes Castro: Larry Posey 23, Cornelius McFadgon 22

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  BULGARIA   


Lukoil Academic took revenge from Levski (NBL Round 13) - by Valentin Anguelov
The champions of Bulgaria Lukoil Akademic took revenge for their only loss in the championship so far. After losing to Levski nearly two months ago 'The Students' managed to win convincingly today in Pravets - 93-64. The two teams made some changes in their rosters in the past months and it seems that has had more of a negative effect on Levski.

The game's start was very even and the score was tied at 15-15 in the 7th minute. In the next minutes of the first quarter the hosts played better and took a 9-point advantage. In the second quarter the players of Titi Papazov did try to come closer and cut the deficit to six. Unfortunately for them that was all they could do in the game. Lukoil Akademic once again managed to pull away and took a 17-point lead before Marcus Hall (185-G-85) scored his only three-pointer to finish the first half.

The third quarter started very strong for the hosts who quickly built an even bigger advantage winning the first quarter after the break by a 12 point margin and practically killing off the game. In the last ten minutes the teams played just to set the final score and didn't put too much effort into defence.

Veselin Veselinov (201-F-83) had his best game for his new team so far and it happened to be against the team he played for the last two seasons. He finished with 21 points and 8 rebounds missing only one three-point shot (3/4). Vladimir Mijovic (207-F-84) also had a nice game with his 20 points, including five three-pointers and 3 rebounds.

For Levski the only player who played near his best was captain Stefan Georgiev (206-C/F-78). The national team power forward finished with 26 points and 7 rebounds but never had the support of his teammates. The other star of the team Marcus Hall scored 13 but had a bad shooting night, going just 5 for 18 from the floor.

Now Lukoil Akademic have their postponed game versus Spartak in Pleven and then they travel to Varna to play Euroins Cherno More. Meanwhile Levski is to meet CSKA Interlogic in the basketball version of the 'eternal derby' in Bulgarian sports.

Yambol with a dramatic but important win over Rilski Sportist (NBL Round 13) - by Valentin Anguelov
The team of Yambol played one of its best games so far in the season and defeated one of the better teams Rilski Sportist 85-84 at home in Diana Hall. The 1500 spectators in the gym witnessed an intriguing and dynamic game with lots of come-backs and turnarounds. During the game there were 10 lead changes and 7 score ties.

The players of Yambol came out fully focused and had a 15-7 lead after five minutes. The lead even went up to 10 but the visitors cut it down, only to have it go up to 10 by the end of the opening period. Most of the second quarter was good for the hosts and after 17 minutes of play they were ahead by 14. However, in the last three minutes the visitors managed a 0-9 run and made it 44-39 at the break.

After halftime the game continued to be close and after six minutes the crowd witnessed the first tie in the game. Then the hosts again took a lead of 3-4 points and after 30 minutes the score was 63-61. In the last quarter Yambol took the lead but then again in the 5th minute of it the visitors tied the game. From then on the game was a real thriller and with 25 seconds to go Rilski Sportist went in front by a single point. With 7 seconds to go Pavel Marinov (196-G-88) went to the line and scored both free throws to give his team the lead. Then the visitors missed the opportunity to do something with their last possession and lost the game.

Rilski Sportist's Dragoslav Papic (205-C/F-87) had a second brilliant game in a row, after the one versus Euroins Cherno More - tonight he posted a double double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Bogdan Boev (196-G-82) added 16 points for the visitors.

For Yambol Byron Sanders (207-C-83) was at his best with 19 points and 17 rebounds, while Pavel Marinov scored 16.

In the next round Rilski Sportist hosts Sliven while Yambol travels to Pleven to meet Spartak.

Euroins Cherno More with first win of the new year (NBL Round 13) - by Valentin Anguelov
The team of Euroins Cherno More recorded its first win of the new year after a few disappointing defeats. Today the team from Varna defeated Sliven away 92-67 and came back to winning ways.

The big difference in the score doesn't reflect how the game went during the whole 40 minutes. After Euroins Cherno More won the first quarter 17-24 in the second the team of Sliven bounced back and cut the deficit to just three points at the break.

The start of the second half was good for the hosts who were close and stood in with a chance. The third quarter ended with Euroins Cherno More ahead by 8 points and the players of Sliven were still hoping for something more than a loss in this game. However the last quarter turned out to be disastrous for them as they lost the final ten minutes by 17 points and suffered yet another defeat.

Simeon Tsenov (196-F-82) showed he can be relied on and finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds. The two import big men - Atila Santos (208-C-83) and Michael Earl (203-F-85) - dominated the paint with 19 and 17 points respectively.

For Sliven Todor Tenev (204-C-83) followed up on his good performances of late and finished with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Hristo Gatev (190-G-85) was also in top form with his 17 points and 5 rebounds.

The team of Sliven continues to be rock bottom of the table without a single win while Euroins Cherno More went to third place in the standings with 8 wins and 5 losses, but 4th placed Spartak Pleven have a game in hand.

*****************************************************
  CAMEROON   


Beas Hamga goes to Valparaiso University - by Cyril Empig

Beas Hamga (213-C-88) (center, 7 foot, 230 lbs) chose to play at Valparaiso after leaving the University of Las Vegas-Nevada (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA) his sophomore year this 2008-09 season. His search for a new school ended Jan 2009 after also considering Indiana University, South Carolina and Mississippi University.

Hamga was highly-touted coming into college basketball back in 2007. He was rated a five-star recruit and the #26 player in the country by Rivals.com (a US high school basketball recruiting data service company) coming out of Decatur Christian High School (Illinois, USA) with 13 point-, 12 rebound-, 7 block-per game averages. With these stellar numbers, his high rankings on several college recruiting sites seemed warranted. He was furiously recruited by several college teams, finally choosing UNLV over Kentucky, Indiana, Iowa and New Mexico.


Hamga's journey to the US to play basketball was made possible primarily by A-HOPE Foundation (www.a-hope.org), a non-for-profit organization led by Mark Adams which assists players from Africa to come to the US to play basketball. In the past, A-HOPE had assisted Alfred Aboya of UCLA (Los Angeles, California, USA), Johann Mpondo (currently at the University of New Orleans (New Orleans, Louisiana, USA) and Fabrice Talfo, who had played at Hartford University (Hartford, Connecticut, USA). Hamga also played on Adam's AAU team 'Indiana Elite' (www.bloomingtonaau.com) during the off-season in high school.

Hamga's high school experience (which involved several high schools) and AAU experience allowed for him to shine and impress several college coaches and recruiters. His arrival was seen to be a major milestone for the basketball program at UNLV. Unfortunately, his first year that 2007-08 season was stalled by issues with his high school results coming out of Cameroon. These issues were substantial enough that the NCAA (US college basketball governing body) required Hamga to sit out his first year and was not allowed to play basketball, referred to as 'redshirting a season'. Basically, the NCAA did not think Hamga's high school records were acceptable for an incoming college student athlete in the US. Being forced to sit out his first year at UNLV proved frustrating to Hamga, after playing intense basketball in high school and in the off-season, it was tough not being allowed to play. To make matters worse, going into the current 2008-09 season, a number of players at UNLV have developed enough 'skill-wise' to now compete for the center position on the team along with Hamga. So, from being the starting center, Hamga was now having to compete for playing time. Thus, after playing only five games this season -- in which he averaged a paltry 1 point and 0.8 rebound, playing 5.2 minutes per game -- Hamga chose to transfer out of UNLV. Adams, Hamga's designated guardian in the US, does not seem to agree with Hamga's decision. For one, Hamga will have to sit out and not play another year now that he has transferred to another school. 'And there's nothing to be gained in that,' Adams said as reported by the Las Vegas Sun.


It will be interesting to see if Hamga's career could 'start' soon enough, and flourish, at Valparaiso. Hopefully, both happen. Good luck, Beas!

Thanks to The Times in Indiana, USA (http://www.nwi.com/) and The Las Vegas Sun (www.lasvegassun.com) for their stories on Beas Hamga.



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  CHINA   


The Emus claim title - by Eurobasket News
Australian Junior National Team triumphed at the Youth Basketball Festival held in Sydney. The Emus overcame China in the Gold Medal Game to clinch the title. Aussie team edged China in the preliminary round by as many as 29 points however the decider was a completely different affair for both teams.
The teams entered the game trading baskets before China burst out. They went on an 11:2 rally and Hongfei Shi capped the first quarter outcome at 28:19. The teams kept on going step in step in the second frame. Hugh Greenwood (188-F-90) came up strong late in the first half as his three-pointer crowned it with the hosts trailing by 5 points.
Soon after the start of the third frame Aussies drew things level. Jackson Aldridge and Jackson Hussey orchestrated the comeback effort. Australia held their opponents to only 10 points in the frame and arrived at the fourth period ahead by 3 points. Samuel Rowley and Daniel Trist gave the hosts a 75:68 advantage midway through the fourth term. Minghix Ju trimmed the distance to 3 points before Austrlia restored the margin. Anthony Drmic and Hugh Greenwood organized a decisive run from the home team as they sealed a 98:82 win at the end.
Hugh Greenwood scored 27 points to lead the charge. Jackson Hussey added 20 points, while Anthony Drmic had 12 points for the Emus. Hongfei Shi replied with 27 points for China. Shang Gao contributed 21 points in the loss.

China Places Second in Youth Festival -- Gao Shang, Li Muhao Among Players to Watch - by Arthur Volbert
China's Under-17 team won the silver medal at the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival. It lost to Australia 98-82 in the gold medal game. After leading 57-49 at the half, China ran out of steam in the second half. This is likely because China's young players are not used to playing at this intensity level. They will learn.

China did much better in the second game than in its first game against Australia, which it lost 105-76. There China was outscored 38-13 in the second quarter after only trailing 26-21 after the first. So China ran out of steam much earlier. The young Chinese team is indeed learning, but junior basketball is not yet played in China at the intensity level that the Australians play and likely there is a deficiency in weight training in China as well.

According to Australian reports, China has three near 7-footers on its team and is considerably taller than the Australian team. But heights of players are not listed on the Youth Festival website. The only Chinese player with whom I am truly familiar is Li Muhao (216-C), a 7-1 center from Dongguan. So the likelihood is that China has three true 7-footers on its team.

China blew out Japan 125-73 and swamped New Zealand 90-54. Below are box scores of China's games against Japan and Australia. The box score against New Zealand is not available.

The most interesting statistic from today's game against Australia was that Zhu Xuhang had 6 blocks against the Australians, along with 4 rebounds and 2 steals, in 22 minutes. Unfortunately, Zhu missed all four shots that he took and missed the two shots he attempted in the first game against Australia. However this young player must have athletic potential, and he has time to work on his shooting ability.

Li Muhao had 3 points and 4 rebounds today in 16 minutes. Li was 213 cm at the Asian Nike Camp last summer and I have been told he has grown to 216 cm.

China's best scorers, excluding the New Zealand game, were Gao Shang (21.0 ppg), Ju Mingxin (17.3), Shi Hongfei (15.7) and Shan Ximing (12.7). Gao was 197 cm at the Nike Camp. Ju, who was 199 cm at the Nike Camp, is another highly promising player from Guangdong, which knows how to develop young players. Shi Hongfei is a guard from Guangdong. Wang Pu, who saw significant playing time, is also from Guangdong.


2008 Asian Nike Camp
Ju Mingxin 199 cm Guangdong
Gao Shang 197 cm
Li Muhao 213 cm Dongguan

2008 Asian Adidas Camp
Wang Pu F Guangdong
Shi Hongfei G Guangdong

China 125 - Japan 73

CHINA: Gao Shang (24), Ju Mingxin (23), Shan Zhiming (17), Shi Hongfei (14), Bi Jiguang (10), Li HengYu (10), Zhu Xuhang (9), Wang Pu (8), Guo Zihao (4), Yu Gang (4), Li Muhao (2).

JAPAN: Sasahara (17), Takahashi (13), Bando (11), Nomoto (11), Kimura (10), Tawatari (4), Togashi (3), Sugimoto (2), Matsuzawa (2).


Australia 105 - China 76

AUSTRALIA: Aldridge (17), Trist (16), Hussey (14), Greenwood (12), Drmic (11), Wroe (10), Rowley (10), Mccarron (5), Owen (4), Gilmore (4), Rowe (2).

CHINA: Gao Shang (18), Ju Mingxin (13), Shan Zhiming (13), Shi Hongfei(6), Wang Pu(6), Li Hengyu (4), Guo Zihao(4), Li Muhao (4), Yu Gang(3), Ren Kai(2), Bi Jiguang (2), Zhu Xuhang (1).


China vs. New Zealand 90 - 54



Australia 98 - China 82

AUSTRALIA: Greenwood (27), Aldridge (20), Drimic (12), Rowley (11), Hussey (10), Trist (9), Wroe (9).

CHINA: Shi Hongfei (27), Gao Shang (21), Ju Mingxin (16), Shan Zhiming (8), Guo Zihao(3), Li Muhao (3), Li Hengyu (2), Wang Pu (2).

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  CYPRUS   


Brokenborough led Seastar APOEL over Intercollege/ETHA - by Nemanja Bjedov
Rasheed Brokenborough netted 23 points including five three-pointers to lift Seastar APOEL over Intercollege/ETHA 79-58 in the first game of the national basketball championship Round 12 on Friday night at the Lefkotheo Indoor Arena in Nicosia.

Seastar APOEL opened the game in a good offensive rhythm and they led 19-12 after the first ten minutes. They then increased their lead to 14 points by the half-time break, 42-28, with the visitors constantly trailing despite executing some quality plays. However, Antonis Konstantinidis men made a push in the third to get back in the game, but the hosts easily kept them at bay and then in the final quarter outscored their opponents 22-13 to pull off a convincing victory which temporarily lifts them to the third position in the standings with a 5-7 record.

Lonnie Cooper had 16 points for Seastar APOEL, while Joseph Garcia chipped in with 13.

Davorin Dalipagic led Intercollege/ETHA with 21 points, while Scott Merritt and Marko Car had 15 and 10 points respectively. The newly signed Slovenian guard Dejan Dunovic finished the game with seven points.

In the only game of today's program Keravnos Strovolos host BMC AEK at 18:00. In two games that are on program tomorrow afternoon with the tip-off scheduled for 17:00, Frederick Achilleas Kaimakliou host Proteas EKA AEL, while Pizza Express Prime Tel Apollon take on Ydra Asphalistiki ENAD in Limassol.

SOURCE: www.cybasketball.com

APOEL beats Etha! - by Nasios Orinos
Tonights verdict wasnt as much a referendum on Etha as it was a statement about APOEL's dominance. Being great at offense and with passion and guts has simply delivered a marvelous game, and succeeded an important victory on Etha. APOEL advanced to a 14 points lead in the 1st half, managing to close the game with 79-58.

APOEL did not in any way remind a team that looks 6th on the board and seems to be 'coming back'.
During the first quarter APOEL managed to outscore Etha with 19-12, with Garcia killing his opponents under the basket and finishing the quarter with 7 points.

At the second quarter Etha's 6 consecutive points cut the lead to 1 (19-18), but that was just not enough as APOEL with good defense forced Etha to turnovers and with fast breaks and 3-point shots closed the half with 42-28. During the 1st half APOEL delivered 5/10 behind the 3-point line, as opposed to 0/5 from Etha.

APOEL's dominance continued in the second half with APOEL delivering another 5- 3-pointers and running quite a few fastbreaks.

APOEL closed the game with 10/26 3-pointers as opposed to only 3/15 from Ehta. Both teams had an equal number of rebounds (29 each), assists (19 each) and turnovers (11 each).

Etha has a very good team with a complete roster and even though it was not in a good night, it will definitely be a great contender to everyone. Congratulations to Tonys Constantinides who seems to be doing an excellent job.

Periods: 19-12, 42-28, 64-41, 79-58

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  CZECH REPUBLIC   


NBL Round: 22 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Liberec - Opava 107-54
Liberec thumped Opava as Maurice Hampton nailed 26 points to lead the charge. Daniel Gajdosik contributed 18 points and 5 assists as Liberec climbed at 9-11 record. Ondrej Dygryn responded with 20 points for Opava as they suffered 13th loss in the season.

USK Praha - Nymburk 62-69
Nymburk coasted to the 19th victory in the championship as they dealt with USK Praha away from home. Ladislav Sokolovsky had 17 points to pace the victors. Petr Benda produced 12 points and 9 rebounds for the defending champions. Lukas Kotas had 15 points for USK Praha as they slipped at 9-11 record.

Kolin - Ostrava 72-74
Ostrava overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to pip Kolin on the road. Mike Mitchell scored three points in the final minute of regulation to seal the win for Ostrava. He finished with 20 points, 7 boards and 5 assists to lead the visitors. Marcus Arnold added 18 points and 13 boards as Ostrava climbed at 7-13 record. Jonas Brown answered with 20 points for Kolin. Jon Rogers had 14 points and 18 rebounds in defeat.

Geofin - Decin 84-73
Robert Sarovic scored 23 points to lead Geofin past Decin in Round 22 opener. Corey Muirhead produced 17 points and 11 boards as the winners improved at 16-4 record in the second position in the table. Tarvis Williams highlighted his debut for Decin with 26 game-high 26 points and 7 boards.William Hatcher added 25 points in the loss.



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  D-LEAGUE   


D-League Round: 43 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Rio Grande - Tulsa 104-100
Alpha Banura top-scored for the Vipers with 20 points, while Trent Strickland helped registering 19 points and 9 boards. Ronald DuPree was totally unstoppable on the other side with 33 points, 18 rebounds and 5 assists. Vipers 8-14, 66ers 5-14.

Erie - Dakota 75-80
Dakota improved on 13-9, while Erie dropped on 11-10 after this game. Renaldo Major shined for the Wizards collecting 28 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. On the other side, the BayHawks got 26 points, 11 boards and 6 assists from Erik Daniels.

Ft.Wayne - Sioux Falls 124-115
The Mad Ants outgunned their rivals on the road netting 124 points. Walker Russell (6'0''-G-82, college: Jacksonville St.) had 27 pts and 14 assists, Carl Elliott 25 pts, Chris Hunter 22 and Taj McCullough 21 points and 9 rebounds. Glen McGowan answered with 26 points and impressive 22 boards for the loosing side. Mad Ants 8-11, Skyforce 12-10.

Albuquerque - Los Angeles 111-99
The Thunderbirds won in LA improving on 9-10 score. David Monds drained 25 points and grabbed 9 rebounds for the winning squad, while David Noel reached triple-double 20 points, 13 boards and 10 assists. Joe Crawford answered with 24 points and 5 rebounds for the hosts (4-15).

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  FINLAND   


KORISLIIGA: Kataja lost at home - by Rauno Hurmalainen

Korisliiga, Round 23: Kataja (Joensuu) lost the second time this season at home tonight, when visitor Korihait (Uusikaupunki) won 80-85 after shooting better and taking more rebounds (25-36). Kataja's (16-7) first home loss came at the end of October (vs Tarmo, Porvoo), so almost three months Kataja was rolling at home and taking # 1 position in the League. Josh Gonner (188-G-82, college: S.Carolina) led Korihait with 26 pts (treys 6/9). Alain Laroche (198-F-83, agency: Court Side, college: N.Florida) added 18 and Mark Zoller (200-F-85, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Pennsylvania) 16 pts. Korihait hit from the FT line 90,5% (19/21). Kataja's Jeremiah Wood (200-F-85, agency: Court Side) had a double-double again (19/10). Quinnel Brown (198-G/F-83, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Auburn) added 17, Sami Lehtoranta (205-C/F-79, agency: ANYPEX) and Anssi Kinnaslampi (191-G-82) both 16 pts. Petri Virtanen DNP.

Kataja - Korihait 80-85 (34-31) (Jeremiah Wood 19/10, Quinnell Brown 17, Anssi Kinnaslampi 16 - Josh Gonner 26, Alain Laroche 18, Mark Zoller 16).

1.Division:

YMCA Helsinki - Korikobrat, Lapua 71-83 (36-36) (Sauli Silvonen 20, Eetu Nieminen 13 - Marko Piplovic 23/13, Jussi Turja 20).



Standings - Korisliiga
Korisliiga Standings
1. Kataja 16-7
2. Kouvot 16-7
3. Lahti 15-7
4. KTP 15-8
5. Korihait 14-9
6. Honka 13-10
7. LrNMKY 10-13
8. FoKoPo 9-14
9. ToPo 8-15
10. Componenta 8-15
11. Pyrinto 7-16
12. Tarmo 6-16


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  FRANCE   


Pau won after ages! - by Umberto Scogni
The ex-French giants Elan Bearnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez could manage a win ; after a humiliating run of results which is only 1 wins; in the first 13 games. Cholet Basket was the unlucky team as the opposition who lost against Orthez; and would possibly will face with some jokes about how they lost against ORthez. Game was a close one ; Cholet Basket lost in the end : 90-86 although they are ahead in the alst period with a 6 points margin. Dylan Page (204-F-82, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) scored 21 points in the victorious side; and Nando De Colo (202-G-87) 22 points could not earn a win for Cholet Basket

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  GERMANY   


ProA Round: 16 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Karlsruhe - teckproBraves 89-86
Karlsruhe narrowly defeatd teckproBraves at home court. Igor Simin scored 18 points off the bench to pace the hosts. Rouven Roessler and Dima Rastatter had 15 points apiece in the win. Pele Paeley responded with 24 points and 8 rebounds for the visitors.

Langen - Cuxhaven 88-85
Langer overcame a slopy start to knock down Cuxhaven before the home fans. Sebastian Barth provided 27 points as Langen climbed at 5-9 record. Robin Benzing had 23 points and 6 rebounds in the win. Brandon Watkins secured 25 points for Cuxhaven. Frank Kesli Bennett added 20 points in the losing effort.

MBC - B.Muenchen 84-64
MBC claimed the eighth straight win in the season as they thumped Bayern Muenchen. Wayne Bernard scored 21 points and 6 assists as MBC stayed on top of the ladder with 14-2 record. Johnnie Gilbert added 14 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Cedric Brooks added 19 points for Bayern in the loss.

Schalke - Hagen 74-94
Hagen thumped Schalke on the road to stay in the second spot in the standings. Chase Griffin led balanced effort with 20 points. Aaron Fleetwood added 19 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. T.J. Bannister responded with 26 points for Schalke. Melvin Hall secured 18 points in the loss.

Lich - Chemnitz 77-93
Chemnitz notched the eighth win in the tournament as they outgunned Lich on the road. Nikita Khartchenkov came up with 23 points for the visitors. Torvoris Baker netted 20 points and collected 10 rebounds for the winning team. Johannes Lischka had 26 points and 13 boards for Lich in the loss.

Jena - Kirchheim 73-71
Jena held on to beat Kirchheim at home court. The winner thus caught up with Kirchheim in the standings as both teams tied at 9-7 record. Henry Uhegwu had 22 points to lead the way for the hosts. Jeremy Black added 19 points for Jena. The Khinghts responded with 17 points from Gordon Scott. Phillip Heyden notched 15 points and 9 rebounds in defeat.

ETB Wohnbau - Bremen 72-71
ETB Wohnbau narrowly defeated Bremen to clinch the 5th win. Brandon Lincoln nailed 16 points, while Tayron Thomas topscored with 17 for the Essen team. Christopher Thompson tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds but it was not enough for the Roosters to prevail.



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  GREECE   


Kavala Transfers - by Serafim Karaiskakis
It is said that a team with good results has no reason to change players but what happens in Kavala? The newcomers had a good start in the league with 4 wins but Billy Thomas, Alain Digbeu and Mladen Pantic left. Giedrius Gustas came to replace Billy Thomas, Laurynas Mikalauskas came to replace Mladen Pantic and since Gerald Fitch rejected their offer and agreed with Kepez Bld Antalya they are interested to sign Torrelll Martin who left from the same team !, Kepez Bld Antalya.The rumors say that the three players left from Kavala because of payment delays but nothing was official. We wait to see the new players and how the team will finish the league. We remind that in the begin of the season Kavala was doubtful to play in A1 and the league started without them but people from Kavala assured everything will be ok in the team and in the last 'minute' they succeed to play in A1.We hope we have one more competitive team in the strong A1 league and not a team with problems.

Panellinios humiliated Aris with 76-55 - by Simon Varvakis
Panellinios Athens defeated Aris Thessaloniki with an impressive 76-55 this afternoon in Athens. Panellinios Athens got into the game sluggishly and Aris managed to gain a small lead(10-17) but the players of Panellinios Athens reacted promptly and managed to turn the game around and it was a one-team show from there on.

Aris resorted to shooting a barrage of 3-pointers hoping that they would keep em in the game but in the end they were their undoing. (6/29) 20.6% is a terrible shooting percentage and in combination with the incredible passing abilities of Anthony Grundy (189-G-79, agency: Strategic Sports, college: N.Carolina St.) and Jurica Golemac (209-F-77), Panellinios Athens ran a multitude of fast breaks scoring easy baskets. This allowed to build a sustainable lead that they didn't lose but managed to expand it even further.

The players of Aris seemed really tired and coach Mazzon kept his starting five for an increased amount of time in the game, thus not allowing Aris to catch up in a game that seemed lost before the 3rd quarter. Only Dimitris Dimitrios Tsaldaris (196-F-80) put a decent effort from Aris and finished the game with 18 points and 3 rebounds.

The MVP of the game was admittedly Anthony Grundy who was the catalyst for Panellinios Athens in a great game. Grundy finished the game with 7 pts 5 reb 7 assists and 5 steals and also played great defense on the ailing Keydren Clark (173-G-84, college: St.Peter's).

On a sidnote, youngster Skordilis put up a good fight in almost 4 minutes that he played when the lead was already at +20 against his team, hence showing that he could've played earlier for his team and helped them in the fight of rebounds. Panellinios Athens had an impressive 43 rebounds over only 20 rebounds from Aris.

Aris Thessaloniki : Dimitrios Tsaldaris 18(3), Sean Marshall (198-G/F-85, college: Boston Coll.) 9(2) Keydren Clark 8, Blagota Sekulic (209-F/C-82) 8

Panellinios Athens : Ivan Radenovic (208-F-84, college: Arizona) 16, Brad Newley (199-G-85) 12, Manolis Papamakarios (190-G-80) 9, Jurica Golemac 9

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  HOLLAND   


FEB Results: Round 23 - by Sanders Jackson


Saturday night in FEB action, West-Brabant Giants got a signature win, putting an end to the six-game winning streak of defending Dutch champion Eclipse Jet/MyGuide, while Hanzevast Capitals and Matrixx Magixx remained in the hunt for the second place spot, and ZZ Leiden gets back on track again with a home win over BlueStream Seals.

In the Sporthallen-Zuid, West-Brabant Giants led from start to finish, building up a sizable lead at halftime (54-40), below delivering the knockout blow in the 3rd quarter, winning easily over Eclipse Jet/MyGuide 104-84. The Giants put the game out of reach for the defending FEB champs five minutes into the 3rd quarter, extending their lead to 73-46. In the 1st half the Giants shot an impressive 9 of 13 from the three-point line, making 15 of 27 total. West-Brabant had good balanced scoring, led by Carlos Taylor (185-G-86) with a game-high 24 pts., including 6 three-pointers. With the win, West-Brabant Giants improve to 10-11.


In the Dutch northern derby between Hanzevast Capitals and Aris Friesland in Leeuwarden, the guests came out on top, with a score by Daniel Novak (201-F/G-78, agency: Interperformances) the difference maker, helping Hanzevast win an 100-97 thriller. It was a game in which the lead changed 16 times with 8 ties. But bench scoring difference by Hanzevast (36-23 difference), more production in the paint, more defensive stops in crunch time and more efficent 2nd half shooting made the difference for Hanzevast. Not to mention that Aris had difficulties guarding the tandem of Dutch international Rogier Jansen (188-G-84, agency: Court Side) and recent addition Julian Khazzouh (209-C-86), who combined to shoot overal numbers of 21 of 28 FG, with Jansen also making 4 three-pointers and Khazzouh shooting an impressive 12 of 13 from the field. Jansen led Hanzevast with 30 pts., Khazzouh added 24 and Novak 16. Aris' Matt Bauscher (188-G-85, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement) led all scorers with a game-high 33 pts. With the win, Hanzevast gets back on track again after two consecutive losses, remaining in a tie for 2nd place with Matrixx Magixx at 14-8.


In the Hortstacker in the Matrixx Magixx-Rotterdam Challengers matchup, a three-pointer and two free throws by Matrixx Magixx PG Ryan Sears (185-G-79, agency: Court Side, college: Creighton) in crunch time helped Matrixx Magixx win closely 69-65. The Rotterdammers leading scorer Bobby Walker (188-G-84, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Va Commonwealth) led all scorers with a season-high 36 pts.


In Leiden, ZZ Leiden remained in the playoff hunt with an 88-79 win over BlueStream Seals. ZZ is one game behind Aris Friesland in the current FEB standings.



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  HUNGARY   


Wednesday's games - by Tamas Deri
DEBRECENI KE - FALCO-SZOVA KC SZOMBATHELY 85-95
(2024, 17-28, 22-22, 26-21)
Debrecen, Att. 800, Referes: Foldhazi T., Kiraly L., Fodor A.
DEBRECEN: Steve Dagostino (180-G-85, agency: Interperformances, college: St.Rose (NY)) 16/9, Gergely Kutasi (190-G-84, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 14/9, Valentino Maxwell (193-G-85, college: Concordia (TX)) 14, Kennerly 10, Ware 15, Toth 12/12. Takacs D. 4, Kovacs I., Coach: Fodor Pter
FALCO: Laszlo Kalman (186-G-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 23/3, Hudson 3, Ciric 13/3, Ivan Perincic (208-F-77, agency: Agency No 10) 25/6, Zoltan Horvath (207-F/C-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 17, Vrsaljko 8, Lakatos P. 4, Vida, Borszeki 2, Coach: Srecko Sekulovic


MARSO-VAGEP NYIREGYHAZA KK - ATOMEROMU SE 97-96
(27-19, 19-35, 23-22, 28-20)
Nyiregyhaza, Att.: 600, Referees: Adam, Gyorffy, Gal J.
NYIREGYHAZA: Savic 10/3, Roy Booker (191-G/F-84, agency: Globalsports, college: SE Missouri St.) 26/3, Darko Vujacic (201-G-79) 18/12, Erno Sitku (208-C-72, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 22, Z. Helbich 8, Attila Farkas (209-F-87) 13/3, Wehner, Coach: Zoran Kmezic
PAKS: Meszaros 12/6, Williams 16, Gosa 13, Ashante Johnson (203-F-76, agency: Edge Sports, college: Kansas) 30/12, Robert Gulyas (213-C-74) 22, Kiss Zs., Csaplar-Nagy E. 3, Medve, Coach: Sabali Balazs


ENTERNET-NTE HEGYVIDEK - POLAROID LAMI-VED KORMEND 74-80
(23-25, 17-19, 16-21, 18-15)
Budapest, Att.: 400, Referees: Benczur, Farkas G., Sojtory
HEGYVIDEK: Rujak 5/3, Hajmasy 10/9, Gabor Beak (196-G-82) 17/3, Lazar, Kovats 9/3, Keresztes 7, Krasznai 9, Nandor Simon (196-F-81) 17/3, Coach: Hartai Tams
KORMEND: Marton Fodor (191-G-81, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 10, Fodor G. 6/6, Rudolf Trummer (196-F-78, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 12/12, Zbigniew Bialek (203-F-82, agency: AB Agency) 18/9, George Banks (202-C/F-72, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: UTEP) 22/3, Garland 6, Ferencz 4/3, Toth G. 2, Coach: Hencsey Tamas

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  ICELAND   


Div 1 results. - by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Fjolnir 87 KFI 95. Bad loss for Fjolnir. Can cost them place in play-offs. Sindri Karason 22. Aegir Steinarsson 20 for Fjolnir. Craig Schoen (178-G-83, college: Georgetown, KY) 31. Pance Ilievski 30 for KFI.
Hamar 118. Armann 87. Hamar still not lost a game in the league and will probably move direct up to top league again. Marvin Valdimarsson (198-G-81) with great shooting 11/13 fron two points & 5/8 from threes & 43 pts. Jason Pryor 18 for Hamar. Gunnlaugur Elsuson 28 for Armann.
Thor had a good game against team in second place Haukar and won 76-67. Mark Woodhouse (205-F-82, college: N.Carolina A&T) had good game for Thor 26pts & 10 boards. Richared Fields 15 & 13 boards for Thor. George Byrd 18 + 16 for Haukar.
UMFH 103. Hottur 90. Caleb Holmes (198-G/F-85) had a good shooting day 8/10 & 6/12 from the floor and 43 pts. Bayo Arigbon (196-F-86, college: San Diego Chr.) also shooting well for Hottur 15/23 from the field and 42 pts & 11 boards.

13th round in top league. - by Siggi Hjorleifsson
KR still not lost game (13-0) Beat Keflavik in away game 97-88 leading by 14 at halftime and never look like they would loose. Great outside shooting from KR guards Stefansson 3/6 and Sigurdarson 4/4 from three's. Better shooting in all area from KR team.Keflavik big men Sigurdur Thorsteinson was their best player with 27 pts & 11 boards. Hordur Axel Vilhjalmsson 17. For KR Jon Stefansson 28. Jakob Sigurdarson 21.
FSU lost at home to Indastoll 69-77 Tindastoll got good game from Darrell Flake who came back from injury 23 pts. Svavar Birgisson 21 for visitors. Saevar Sigmundsson 20 for FSU.
Stjarnan beat IR 74-71 with a buzzer three pointer from Justin Shouse who had 21 pts. Jovan Zdravevski 23 for Stjarnan. Hreggvidur Magnusson 23 for IR.
Breida won a very important game against Thor 87-81. Both teams fighting for spot in play-offs and to not drop out of the league. Nemanja Sovic 18 Kristjan Sigurdsson 16 for Breidablik. Konrad Tota 26 for Thor.
Grindavik 113. Njardvik 85. Grindavik with Nick Bradford playing his first game for them. Brenton Birmingham 22. Pall Vilbergsson 21Nick Bradford 18 for Grindavik. Logi Logi Gunnarsson (190-G-81, agency: CAA Sports) 34 ( 27 in first half) Magnus Logi Gunnarsson 21.
Snaefell 104. Skallagrimur 62. Sigurdur Thorvaldsson 20 Atli Hreinsson & Slobodan Subasic 17 for Snaefell. Landon Quick 20 for Skallagrim

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


Givat Shmuel Defeat Galil Gilboa in a close one. - by Yoni Janis
Maccabi Givat Shmuel defeated Altshuler Saham Galil Gilboa 68-65. The game was close for most of the game, and Galil who led by 6
in final minutes of the game and thought they might escape with a win despite a terrible shooting night.
Maccabi Givat Shmuel who found it very hard to find shots for most of the game, But a 3 pointer by Greg Grays (185-G-79, agency: Interperformances, college: Detroit Mercy) followed by
another 3 pointer by Corry Carr (192-G-75, agency: Priority Sports, college: Texas Tech) finished a 10-2 run for Maccabi Givat Shmuel, and gave them a 1 point lead with a minute to go.
With the score 64-63 both teams traded 2 successful free throw's, then Guni Israeli (185-G-84, agency: Gross Zeev ISA) penetrated and got blocked by
Itay Greenboim (193-G-85, agency: Avi Zilberman), and Maccabi Givat Shmuel finished with a bucket with the buzzer to make the final score 68-65.
Scored for Maccabi Givat Shmuel: Corry Carr 16, Itay Greenboim 12, Johnathan Nir and Steffon Bradford 8.
Scored for Galil Gilboa: Brian Roberts 16, Elishay Kadir 14, Brain Randle 11.

*****************************************************
  JAPAN   


New Zealand edge Japan in Sydney - by Eurobasket News
New Zealand Junior National Team eked out an overtime 86:85 win over Japan in the Bronze Medal Game at the Youth Basketball Festival in Sydney. Ethan Rusbath scored 27 points and the Kiwis turned out a better side in this exciting clash. The victory became the second one for New Zealand over Japan at the tournament as they finished at 2-2 record. Japan completed their Sydney campaign winless.
The Kiwis looked solid in the opening minutes as they built a 9-point lead. However Japan answered with a 14:1 rally to surge ahead. However New Zealand finished the term strongly and led 20:19 at the first break. New Zealand raced in the second frame and piled up a 44:32 advantage at halftime. The Kiwis maintained the gap throughout the third quarter. The situation hardly changed early in the fourth quarter as New Zealand kept in front. But Japan went on an 18:7 rally in the second part of the fourth quarter to jump in the lead. Max Williams nailed a massive triple to draw things level at 77 with just over a minute left. Tia Temata-Frost had a chance to win it for Japan but got his shot blocked. The things stayed close in the extra period and the outcome was decided by a go-ahead three-pointer from Ethan Rusbatch with 40 seconds remaining. Japan failed to answer and New Zealand registered a tough win. Max Williams provided 17 points and 13 rebounds for New Zealand. Tepasu Thomas had 12 points and 20 rebounds for the Kiwis. Kengo Nomoto exploded with 29 points and 8 caroms for Japan. Kodai Kimura had 22 points, 10 boards and 7 assists in the loss.

*****************************************************
  JORDAN   


Semi Final - Jordan Cup - by Mohammed Malas
* Saturday 17/1:

# Semi-Final - Jordan Cup:

Zain 64 - ASU Sports Club 63 (Qs: 10-13, 40-25, 42-38 & 64-63)
- Best scorers:
Islam Abbas (201-C-80) '21 pts' from ASU Sports Club
Enver Soobzokov (193-G/F-78, college: Cal.St.-San Bernar.) '15 pts' from Zain
Nidal Shareef (190-G-82) '14 pts' from ASU Sports Club
Zaid Al Khas (205-C-76, college: Gannon) '13 pts' from Zain
Mohammad Hamdan (201-F-84) '13 pts' from Zain

Al Riyadi Amman 101 - Orthodox 90 (Qs: 17-23, 46-52, 75-73 & 101-90)
- Best scorers:
Ayman Idais (205-C-78, agency: Court Side) '36 pts' from Orthodox
Wesam Sous (181-G-83) '21 pts' from Al Riyadi Amman
Hussam Lutfi (198-F/C-73) '21 pts' from Al Riyadi Amman
Naser Bassam (198-G/F-76) '20 pts' from Orthodox
Issa Kamel (192-F-83) '18 pts' from Al Riyadi Amman
Faisal Kheir (204-C-85) '14 pts' from Al Riyadi Amman
Malek Khashan (185-G-85) '14 pts' from Al Riyadi Amman
Ghazi Naber (178-G-76) '12 pts' from Orthodox

# Final game - Jordan Cup game schedule (Jordan Time '+2 GMT'):
- Monday 19/1:
18:00 Al Riyadi Amman X Zain

*****************************************************
  LEBANON   


The Tiger & Nate carry Riyadi to a win over Champville - by Hassan Thini
Just 24 hours after the champions routed Sagesse at Manara stadium, our guys were standing at the same floor ready to take on another team without Captain Ismail Ahmad. Tonight was the first game of this season between Riyadi and Champville.

The game started off with a good show from Riyadi, though Elie Estephan's shooting was keeping the opponent in the game. The score was close throughout the quarter, until Fadi and Nate started putting great effort offensively. The quarter closed out with an 8 point lead, 28-20, for Riyadi. Coach Fouad used Ali, Nate, Fadi, Tawbe, and Joe as the starting line up, while Coach Sarkis had a surprise with Rami Akkiki sitting on the bench.
With a line up change from both sides at the point guard position, Rami Akkiki and Moe Ibrahim took the court. Champville started the quarter on a quick 9-2 run in the first 3 minutes, and after taking the lead in the mid thirties, coach Fouad was forced to use one of his time outs. Coming in after the time out was Ali Fakhreddine who has been playing very consistently in the past few games. Fadi started getting the calls he was looking for, and Nate was in attack mode. Behind a big push from Chris Charles and Elie Estephan, Champville were not letting out, and the quarter ended with a slight 49-45 Riyadi lead.
As usual, Coach Fouad gets his team mentally ready for a pivotal third quarter, and as expected Riyadi started the quarter with swarming defense and amazing fast break to take a quick 66-49 lead. Fadi and Nate as we got used to all night led the run. Behind their captain, and some good points from William Pippen, Champville answered back with a 10-3 run to slice it down to a 10 point lead entering the fourth.

Riyadi started the fourth quarter increasing the lead to 14 points, where Nate Johnson started his great quarter with a three pointer. Fadi was scoring inside, giving amazing assists to Joe vogel and Champville never got any closer. With 1 minute and 40 seconds left, Nate scored his 30th point, 10 seconds later, Fadi hit his forty second point. After that Fadi fouled out, and Nate went on to score 5 more points to end the night with 35. The two Riyadi beasts, Nate Johnson and Fadi Al Khatib ended the night with an amazing 77 points combined output. The game ended with another victory from the champions with a 101-91 score

Other notes: Vogel had 10 points, while Elie Estephan had 21 to lead Champville, along with Charles who had 20, and Rami Akkiki the ex Riyadi player who had 4 three pointers on his old home court.

Riyadi's next game is a rematch of last year 's finals game against Mottahed on Monday.

Match resumes with a Riyadi sweeping victory - by Hassan Thini
Players warming up, Ghayath has the camera in his face introducing the game, coaches are giving last minute remarks, both teams taking the court with no sweat yet. This is usually what happens at the beginning of games, except this time the score board did not read quarter 1, nor 10 minutes, nor where the scores 0-0, this time it was the 3rd quarter, 34-26, fouls spread around the board, and 8 minutes 20 seconds remained.
This is what happens when barbaric acts take place, and increase to an extent that no one can bare them anymore and the game is stopped. With just a few fans, some members, families of the players, and admins watching the game, the Riyadi Sagesse game was continued at Manara stadium today.

The continuation of the game started with a quick run by Riyadi. Riyadi had the same 5 players take the court as when the game was stoped 2 days ago, with Joe, Ali F, Fadi, Nate, and Moe Ibrahim. With the abscence of the two Sagesse ball handlers, the offense was stagnant and the ball was in the hands of Balaa and Marcus the whole time. Balaa missed shot after shot, Joe was having some great inside defense, and Ali along with Joe were rebounding the ball very effeciently. This combined with Nate's 2 threes and Fadi's long range shot gave riyadi a direct 20 point lead after it was only 9. Marcus Melvin was the only one scoring, and was trying to do it alone. This was proven in the 1 assist only for Sagesse during the game up till that point. With the quarter winding down, Joe hit a 3 pointer to beat the buzzer and giver Riyadi a 23 point lead.

The start of the fourth showed Ali Mahmoud taking the court for Moe, and Ali was in attack mode like never before. He had back to back and 1 buckets and Riyadi were rolling. Fadi was connecting on his attempts as well as Nate. At the 4 minute mark, Coach Fouad took out Joe Vogel putting an end to his game, and giving the final remark that the game was over. The rest of the game was just scoring baskets to pass time. With 2 minutes to go, Coach Fouad took everyone out and got in Yehya Sabra, Abdalla Hijazi, and 2 prospect young players with Ali Fakhredine. Yehya Sabra hit a three to put the final mark on the game and give Riyadi a huge 74-49 win.

Other Notes: Fadi and Melvin scored 19 each, Joe and Nate had 16 a piece, and Ali Mahmour had 9 to go along with the 6 points and very good defense from Ali Fakhredine.

*****************************************************
  LIGA AMERICAS   


Standings
Liga Americas Standings
Group A
 1. Arecibo 2-1 
 2. Merengueros 2-1 
 3. Minas 2-1 
 4. Pioneros 0-3 
Group B
 1. Bigua 2-0 
 2. Regatas C. 1-1 
 3. Penarol 1-1 
 4. U.Concepc. 0-2 
Group C
 1. Universo/BRB 2-1 
 2. Flamengo 2-1 
 3. Libertad 2-1 
 4. Dep.Castro 0-3 
Group D
 1. Quimsa 0-0 
 2. Halc. Xalpa 0-0 
 3. Soles 0-0 
 4. Liceo 0-0 


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


Butkevicius to Zalgiris - by Simas Baranauskas
B.C. Zalgiris Kaunas will strenghten their squad with Povilas Butkevicius (201-F-87), who started the season in BC Kaunas Triobet. The 21 year old talented forward will join the team practices from today and will be able for Zalgiris' match against one of the Lithuanian league outsiders Suduva on tuesday. Butkevicius averaged 12.7 points and 8.9 boards in an average of around 29 minutes per game in LKL, while scoring 11.3 points, grabbing 7.9 rebounds in the BBL Challenge Cup competition.

Changes in Kaunas Triobet - by Simas Baranauskas
LKL debutants BC Kaunas Triobet have anounced about signing a contract with Aurimas Birgelis (190-G-88). The club from Kaunas needed to strenghten their roster after Sarunas Vasiliauskas (188-G-89), Arturas Milaknis (195-G-86), Vytenis Cizauskas (189-G-92) and Povilas Butkevicius (201-F-87) left the club to join B.C. Zalgiris Kaunas, Sarunas Velius (207-C/F-83) also left the club earlier. Birgelis averaged only 1.9 points and 1.6 assists during the 13 minutes he spent a game. BC Kaunas Triobet claimed that the club doesn't have any ties with B.C. Zalgiris Kaunas (and visa versa), but a strange movement of players within these two clubs clearly exists. According to rules no team is allowed to have a second team in the elite division.

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


Musel Pikes with OT win in Heffingen! Etzella victorious at T71! - by Alex Meyers
January 10, 2009

Heffingen 80 - Musel Pikes 89 1OT

Heffingen, Luxembourg
Heffingen gave Musel Pikes all they could handle, taking them to overtime, before bowing out losing 8-17 in prolongation period. Heffingen comitted 24 fouls compared to Musel Pikes' 11. this was the diference that made Musel Pikes take home their 9th victory of the season and stay in 2nd place. Willie Irick (198-F-84, agency: Warren Sports International, college: Oklahoma City) had 25 points and 12 rebounds for Heffingen. Claude Weyrich, who has been playing better and better each week also had a double-double notching 17 points and 10 rebounds. The rest of Heffingen's scoring was balanced with 4 others scoring 8 points. Heffingen, the youngest team in the DBBL proved they can hand the level of the DBBL by staying in this game until the very end. The future will be good for this young squad. They hit 8 of 9 free throws and put Musel Pikes on the line 35 times where they were able to capitalize on 24 of them. Without this huge difference, the home team wins. There is no HCA in Luxembourg basketball. Samy Picard lit it up for the visitors of the Moselle by dropping 38. Guy Schmit a had a superb offensive effort as well with 25 points. Chris Braier (195-F-84, college: Lawrence) was held to 13 points but grabbed 15 rebounds and took 3 steals.

Heffingen: 32 field goals, 8 three pointers, 8 for 9 free throws, 34 rebounds, 24 fouls and 17 turnovers
Hetto 8, J. Thesen 8, C. Weyrich 17, Scholtus 8, Irick 25, also Schmit 8, M. Weyrich 4 and D. Weyrich 2
Musel Pikes: 29 field goals, 7 three pointers, 24 of 35 free throws, 35 rebounds, 11 fouls and 7 turnovers
Schwartz 4, G. Schmit 25, Picard 39, Braier 13, Schmitz, also Kirch 2, C. Schmit 2, Kox and Dentzer 5

Score by quarters: 1st Q 17-21, Halftime 33-35, 3rd Q 55-53, 4th Q 72-72, 1OT 80-89
100 Spectators


T71 80 - Etzella 93

T71 came out of the gates on fire and looked great in the early minutes of the first quarter. Marcus Kennedy (193-F-84, college: Montevallo) and Nelson DelGado kept Etzella in the game helping their team with steals and key scores each time the T71 went on a run. Kennedy finished with 34 points and 10 rebounds and DelGado had 25 points and three steals. Raphael Albaladejo took several key rebounds(12) and had 12 points. Jairo DelGado and Tim Giver also reached double figures with 12 and 10 respectively. Etzella's defensive intensity force 19 T71 turnovers which was the biggest key for the road win for Etzella. T71 had 4 players in double figures. Martin Rajniak(13 rebs) led with 25 and followed by Tim Whitworth (198-G/F-81, agency: Court Side, college: Drexel) with 23. Gilles Ruffato scored 13 and Bob Kieffer 11. Etzella played with only 6 players the entire game.

T71: 33 field goals, 6 three pointers, 8 for 13 free throws, 37 rebounds, 20 fouls and 19 turnovers; Unsportsmanlike foul 40' Bob Kieffer; Rajniak 40' fouled out
Rajniak 25, Whitworth 23, Ruffato 13, Klein, Siebenbour 2, also Kieffer 11, Hoffmann, Kostur 2 and Steinmetz 4
Etzella: 36 field goals, 5 three pointers, 16 for 20 free throws, 34 rebounds, 15 fouls and 8 turnovers;
N. DelGado 25, Kennedy 34, J. DelGado 12, Albaladejo 12, Giver 10, also Garganese

Score by quarters: 1st Q 26-27, Halftime 40-52, 3rd Q 63-68, Final 80-93
400 spectators

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


NBA Round: 79 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Magic - Lakers 109-103
The Magic grabbed very important victory in Staples Center jumping on 32-8, what is the second best record in the league (after Cavs' 31-7). On the other side the LA Lakers fell on 31-8. Jameer Nelson (6'0''-G-82, college: St.Joseph's) came up with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists for the Magic. Dwight Howard also registered double-double, 25 points and impressive 20 boards (8 off). Kobe Bryant had triple double for the hosts 28 points, 13 rebs and 11 as.

Raptors - Pacers 104-111
Indiana Pacers outgunned the Toronto Raptors improving on 15-25 record. Danny Granger scored, 23, Mike Jr. Dunleavy had 22, while Jarrett Jack helped the winners with 17 points and 7 assists. Chris Bosh shined in loss collecting 25 points and 16 boards. His Raptors dropped on 16-25.

Spurs - 76ers 87-109
Thaddeus Young stepped up for Philadelphia in this game nailing 27 points and grabbing 5 rebounds. Andre Iguodala followed with 21 points, 5 boards and 8 assists. On the other side, Tim Duncan answered with 20 pts and 12 rebs. 76ers 19-20, Spurs 25-13.

Knicks - Wizards 89-96
The Wizards grabbed this one thanks to Antawn Jamison, who registered 28 points and 8 rebounds. Michael James added 19 and Caron Butler stopped on 11 points and 7 assists for the winners. The Knicks got 18 points from Al Harrington, 16 from Wilson Chandler and double-double from David Lee, 15 points and 21 boards without any missed shot. Wizards 8-31, Knicks 15-23.

Hornets - Cavaliers 78-92
LeBron James drained 29 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and handed out 7 assists helping the Cavs to jump on 31-7 record. Aleksandar Pavlovic followed with 19, while Maurice Williams netted 17 points. David West scored 23 points in defeat. Hornets 23-13.

Jazz - Grizzlies 101-91
Utah registered road victory against the Grizzlies mostly owing to Deron Williams, who collected 27 points and 12 assists. Ronnie Brewer also was on high level pouring in 21 pts. OJ Mayo shined for the hosts with 23 points. Jazz 24-16, Grizzlies 11-28.

Pistons - Thunder 79-89
Kevin Durant, who drained 32 points and grabbed 6 rebounds, paced his Thunder to another victory, the 8th one this season (8-33). It seems after arrival of the big guy Nenad Krstic the Thunder improves rapidly. Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince scored 18 points apiece for the Pistons (22-16).

Timberwolves - Suns 105-103
Randy Foye's 20-foot jumper with 1:58 remaining propelled Minnesota to road win against the Suns. Foye finished the game with 15 pts in total. Al Jefferson top-scored for the winners with 22 points, also including 12 rebs. Shaquille O'Neal had 22 points and 11 boards for the hosts. Leandrihno Barbosa, who came off the bench, also nailed 22. Wolves 12-26, Suns 22-15.

Bucks - Kings 129-122
The Bucks made it in Sacramento thanks to fantastic performance by Michael Redd, who delivered 44 points (6 triples). Charlie Villanueva added 25 pts and 12 rebs. Kevin Martin, John Salmons and Jason Thompson combined 70 points in loss. Bucks 20-22, Kings 10-31.

Hawks - Warriors 114-119
12-29 for the Warriors and 23-16 for the Hawks after this game. Jamal Crawford scored 29, while Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette drained 24 pts apiece (Maggette had 16 rebs beside that). Atlanta got 25 points and 6 assists from Joe Johnson.

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


New Zealand edge Japan in Sydney - by Eurobasket News
New Zealand Junior National Team eked out an overtime 86:85 win over Japan in the Bronze Medal Game at the Youth Basketball Festival in Sydney. Ethan Rusbath scored 27 points and the Kiwis turned out a better side in this exciting clash. The victory became the second one for New Zealand over Japan at the tournament as they finished at 2-2 record. Japan completed their Sydney campaign winless.
The Kiwis looked solid in the opening minutes as they built a 9-point lead. However Japan answered with a 14:1 rally to surge ahead. However New Zealand finished the term strongly and led 20:19 at the first break. New Zealand raced in the second frame and piled up a 44:32 advantage at halftime. The Kiwis maintained the gap throughout the third quarter. The situation hardly changed early in the fourth quarter as New Zealand kept in front. But Japan went on an 18:7 rally in the second part of the fourth quarter to jump in the lead. Max Williams nailed a massive triple to draw things level at 77 with just over a minute left. Tia Temata-Frost had a chance to win it for Japan but got his shot blocked. The things stayed close in the extra period and the outcome was decided by a go-ahead three-pointer from Ethan Rusbatch with 40 seconds remaining. Japan failed to answer and New Zealand registered a tough win. Max Williams provided 17 points and 13 rebounds for New Zealand. Tepasu Thomas had 12 points and 20 rebounds for the Kiwis. Kengo Nomoto exploded with 29 points and 8 caroms for Japan. Kodai Kimura had 22 points, 10 boards and 7 assists in the loss.

*****************************************************
  PBL   


Vermont rallies for victory over Halifax - by Carl Berman
The Vermont Frost Heaves defeated the Halifax Rainmen 107-99 at Memorial Auditorium on Friday night. Halifax forward Rob Sanders had cut Vermonts lead to a single point with a couple of free throws, but Frost Heaves guard John Williams (6'0''-G-84, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Bryant) stole the ball on the visitors next possession and found Plummer for the clinching shot. Greg Stevenson and Williams sealed the victory with free throws the rest of the way.

After nursing a one-point lead midway through the second quarter, the Frost Heaves went on a 14-5 run to seize a 56-46 lead at the half. Vermonts advantage held steady at 80-70 after three quarters. But then Sanders went to work, leading a Halifax charge that brought the visitors to within four points with five minutes to play, and two with three minutes left. Vermonts Joe Nixon sank his fourth three-pointer of the game to edge the hosts back out to a five-point lead and, after Sanders sank four unanswered free throws, set the stage for Plummers big shot.

Williams led all scorers with 25 points, including four three-pointers of his own. Plummer added 22 and Nixon 16 for the Heaves, who have never lost in Burlington in the franchises three seasons of existence. Sanders led Halifax, 3-2, with 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Glen Dandridge added 15. Vermont, 2-2, has an interdivisional date at defending Premier Basketball League champion Rochester on Martin Luther King Day, a match-up that will air as the PBL Game of the Week on atsportstv.com at 5 p.m. on Monday. After two more road games, at Quebec and Montreal, the Frost Heaves return home for a Jan. 31 matinee rematch with Halifax at the Barre Auditorium. That Saturday will be Bump the Mooses Birthday, with all the action beginning at 1:05 p.m.

Rochester announces TV schedule - by Carl Berman
The 2008 Premier Basketball League champions, the Rochester RazorSharks announced today that five (5) games will be televised live from the Blue Cross Arena at the Rochester Community War Memorial on TWSN/Channel 26 on time Warner Cable. The RazorSharks were the first local professional sports team to sign on to the network, states Orest Hrywnak, Owner and President, and Im glad for basketball fans, that we can bring our fantastic product into their homes, live! For the first televised game, which is this Monday, January 19th against the Vermont Frost Heaves, tip off at 5:05pm, the special guest play by play announcer is Tyriq Spence of the wakeup club on 104 WDKX. Color analyst is Ed Baron

Below is the list of games, along with times and opponent.

Monday, January 19th vs. Vermont Frost Heaves- 5:05pm
Monday, February 16th vs. Augusta Groove- 5:05pm
Saturday, February 21st vs. Mid-Michigan Destroyers- 2:05pm
Tuesday, March 17th vs. Wilmington Sea Dawgs- 7:05pm
Saturday, March 28th vs. Chicago Throwbacks- 2:05pm

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


Portuguese Cup Final 8 - by Portugal Eurobasket
The draw for the Final 8 of the Portuguese Cup put FC Porto against Benfica in quarter-finals as 2 Proliga teams managed also the ticket to Barreiro which will held the competition: Illiabum and Queluz which will face Ovarense and Barreirense. As for title holders Vitoria they were sent home by Benfica in eights-of-final. CAB Madeira faces Vagos as both also qualified for Final 8. The results of the previous round were: FC Porto-Sampaense, 124-71, Maia BC-CAB Madeira, 66-111, Vitoria-Benfica, 59-73, Esgueira-Ovarense, 64-93, Barreirense-Ginasio, 74-72, Montijo 60-81 Queluz, BC Valenca 57-121 Illiabum, Electrico-Vagos, 78-81
Here are the games of the Cup, which will be held from 22 to 25 January in Barreiro:

January 22
Ovarense-Illiabum
Benfica-FC Porto

January 23
Vagos-CAB Madeira
Barreirense-Queluz

January 24
Winners of January 22
Winners of January 23

January 25FINAL

LPB round 13 - by Portugal Eurobasket
Second leg of regular season starts today as FC Porto tries to reach topper spots when they host Academica. This will be one of the biggest games this saturday as Julio Matos' team recorded an awful 2-7 record against LPB teams which put them on a strange 8th place. As for Sport Lisboa Benfica, the leadership is more than safe as they have 16 wins in 16 games, they travel to Ginasio which was held against Queluz in last week crossed round. Meanwhile in Ovar, champions Ovarense host Vagos in a Aveiro region derby as the hosts lost Greg Stempin again due to injury. Surprising CAB Madeira hosts last spot Fisica in Funchal and Barreirense entertain Vitoria.

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


Absent an NBA shot, Ayuso to play in Europe - by Luis Ramirez
It seems that Larry Ayuso has decided to leave behind his dream of playing in the NBA, at least for now. Ayuso has been playing in the NBA D-League in hopes of attracting a spot on an NBA team, but up to this point nothing seems to indicate that it will happen anytime soon. Playing for the Iowa Energy in the D-League Ayuso did not have a great game during the Showcase games played in Utah recently. In 14 games Ayuso is averaging 13.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg and 1.9 assists.

According to local reports his representative on the Island has indicated that Ayuso is currently looking to play in Croatia. No specific team was mentioned, although he has played previously with KK Split and Cibona. In the next couple of weeks we should have more information on this. Please stay tuned.
Larry Ayuso (190-G-77, agency: Global Sports Plaza, college: USC)

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


Nikolic, Cakic and Bratic are free agents - by Zoran Popovic
Goran Nikolic (205-C-76, agency: Beo Basket), Goran Cakic (207-C/F-80, agency: Beo Basket) and Sasa Bratic (202-F/G-81, agency: Beo Basket) are free agents. Goran Nikolic started this season in Panionios ON Telecoms Athens and in Euroleague average scored 5.5 points, 1.2 rebounds, in Greek championship average he scored 2.8 points, 0.8 rebounds. Before Panionios ON Telecoms Athens, Nikolic played for Ibon Nikisc, FMP, Efes Pilsen, BC Kyiv, Adecco Estudiantes Madrid and ALBA Berlin.
After the financial problems of Khimik-OPZ Yuzny, Goran Cakic and Sasa Bratic decided to terminate their contract with Ukrainian team. In this season Cakic average scored in Eurochallenge cup 9.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, in Ukrainian championship average scored 8.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists. Before Khimik-OPZ Yuzny Cakic played for Beobanka, Radnicki Beograd, Buducnost Podgorica, Crvena Zvezda, Partizan and Apollon Patras.
For Khimik-OPZ Yuzny this season Sasa Bratic in Eurochallenge cup average scored 13.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, in Ukrainian championship average scored 11.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists. Before Khimik-OPZ Yuzny Bratic played for Beovuk Beograd, Crvena Zvezda, Radnicki Beograd, FMP, Atlas Novi Beograd, Lavovi 063 Beograd, Zdravlje Leskovac and Hapoel Galil Elyon.

*****************************************************
  SYRIA   


Standings - D1
D1 Standings
 1. Jalaa 11-0 
 2. Jeish 10-1 
 3. Wehda 10-2 
 4. Ittihad 7-5 
 5. Yarmouk 7-5 
 6. Talee'a 7-5 
 7. Hurriya 4-8 
 8. Wathba 4-8 
 9. Kasyoun 3-8 
 10. Nawayeer 3-8 
 11. Karameh 3-8 
 12. Hutteen 0-11 


*****************************************************
  TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO   


Standings - Men
Super Ten Standings
 1. Shaq Attack 7-0 
 2. Jazz 6-2 
 3. UTT 6-2 
 4. NFM 5-3 
 5. Lions 5-4 
 6. Defence Force 4-3 
 7. Raptors 3-2 
 8. Heat 3-4 
 9. Mirak Stars 2-5 
 10. All-Stars 2-6 
 11. Pacers 0-0 
 12. Clippers 0-10 


Jazz outplays Diego Martin - by Don Farrell
Forward Louie Davis bounced back from a poor shooting performace against Detour Shak Attack on January 11 to score 22 points which included four three-point baskets as Petrotrin Jazz defeated Diego Martin All Stars 88-64 in Wednesdays feature match. Petrotrin, on the verge of qualifying for their first Big-Four semi-finals for almost a decade led the contest throughout with scores of 19-11, 43-25 and 62-45 after three sessions of play. It was the Jazz sixth win from eight matches, while Diego Martin All Stars, last years losing team in the title series, lost for the sixth time in outings.

Mens SBL SCORES:

PETRO JAZZ (Michael Pantin 23 pts, 5 rebs; Louie Davis 22 pts 9 rebs; Curland Dottin 10 pts; Denny Collins 10) v DIEGO MARTIN ALL STARS 64 (Curwin Blades 10 pts; Lebron Bain 10 pts).

National Federation look's at development - by Don Farrell
The National Basketball Federation of T&T (NBFTT) will be geared towards development and growth in 2009, according to members of the associations executive who met with the media yesterday. The meeting which included former chief of defence staff and NBFTT president Brigadier Carl Alfonso, Josef Baptiste, vice president of Finance of the NBFTT and Earle Noel, vice president of organisational and development, was held at the M&M Insurance Building in Mavaral. The NBFTT will this year introduce its Mini to Master programme which will widen participation to include students from ages 10 to seniors 60 years and over.

At the lower end of the spectrum, each school will be allowed to send 25 students to seven approved venues all around the country to participate in the mini-basketball which will use smaller balls and lower nets. This is expected to encourage the development of basic skills in students from a young age paving a way for their long-term involvement in the sport. The masters phase, on the other hand, will attempt to capture season players, who it is hoped will lend a hand in the development of the organisation.

The new mini to masters programme will allow us to develop the sport of basketball in T&T the way it should be. We are hoping that if we encourage a more inclusive approach we would in the short term have larger numbers involved in the sport, said Noel. The association also announced that they will partner with T&T Association for Retired Person (TTARP) to encourage a wider level of participation among the seniors. First match in the new masters category, which will be divided into three divisions40-50, 50-60 and 60 and overbegins on February 15.

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  TURKEY   


Kepez signed with Fitch and released Martin - by Mustafa Bozkurt
Kepez Bld Antalya signed with scorer guard Gerald Fitch (191-G-82, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Kentucky). South team finally decided the name of their new player. They brought Gerald Fitch who played for Galatasaray Cafe Crown in 2006-07 season and led the scoring with 19.3 points. Experienced player couldnt play against to Oyak Renault today in Beko Basketball League. Fitch rejected Greece team Kavala/Panorama's offer and he choosed Kepez Bld Antalya. On the other hand Kepez released Torrelll Martin (196-G/F-85, agency: 540 Sports, college: Winthrop). Kavala/Panorama is also interested with Torrell.

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  U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS   


MLK Jr. tourney results - by David Edole
Group A Group B
Educational Complex (2-0) Charlotte Amalie (3-0)
Elmore Stout (1-1) Central (1-1)
Eudora Kean (1-1) Sts. Peter & Paul (1-2)
All Saints (0-2) Antilles (0-2)

Day 1 Results
Game 1. Charlotte Amalie 50 Antilles 15
CAHS: Merwin Potter 12, Ryan Mills 12
Antilles: P. Weaver 4

Game2: Eudroa Kean 45 All Saints 27
Kean: Jeff Faustin 17
AS: Jelani Foy 14

Game 3: Central 57 Sts. Peter and Paul 33
Central: Taaron Jones 21
Sts.P&P: Michael Venzen 19

Day 2 Results (Saturday)
Game 4: Educational Complex 47 All Saints 18
Complex: Timothy Sneed 16

Game 5: Charlotte Amalie 55 Sts. Peter and Paul 43
CAHS: Jakeel Fleming 12
Sts. P&P: Michael Venzen 19

Game 6: Elmore Stout 49 Eudora Kean 47
ES: Deron Edwin 21
Kean: Jeff Faustin 21

Game 7: Sts Peter and Paul 39 Antilles 35
Sts. P&P: Michael Venzen 15
Antilles: P. Weaver 11

Game 8: Charlotte Amalie 52 Central High 34
CAHS: Ryan Mills 13
Central: Taaron Jones 13

Game 9: Educational Complex 55 Elmore Stout 44
Complex: Kyle Sylvester 14
ES: Deron Edwin 15

Sundays Games
9:30 am Central vs. Antilles
Educational Complex vs. Eudora Kean
(G) Central vs. Antilles .The winner advances to championship game versus Charlotte Amalie HS on Monday. The tip is scheduled for 10:30 am.
Elmore Stout vs. All Saints
Group B 1st place vs. Group A second Place
Group B second place vs. Group A 1st place

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  UKRAINE   


Standings - Higher League
Higher League Standings
 1. Kremen-Pol. 9-1 
 2. Vinnitsky Zu. 7-1 
 3. Koksokh-St. 7-3 
 4. Domograd 4-4 
 5. KTU Kriv.R. 3-5 
 6. Avantazh-Pol. 2-6 
 7. Ternopil 1-7 
 8. Orlan-NAPSK 1-7 


Superleague Round: 15 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Mykolaiv - Azovmash 66-86
Azovmash posted the 12th win in the season despite all the woes with roster. They outgunned Mykolaiv on the road behind 18 points and 7 rebounds from Hasan Rizvic. Dijon Thompson added 15 points in the win. Michal Hlebowicki tallied 15 points and 11 boards for the hosts as they suffered the sixth loss in the last 7 games.

Sumykhimpr. - BC Kyiv 60-61
BC Kyiv eked out a narrow win over Sumykhimprom to improve at 13-2 record on top of Superleague ladder. Clay Tucker nailed a late go-ahead three-pointer to propel the visitors to the win. He finished with 16 points and 7 boards for BC Kyiv. Kenan Bajramovic added 13 points for the winners. Corey Santee nailed 16 points, 6 boards and 3 assists for Sumykhimprom. Abdullahi Kuso had 13 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.

Poltava - BC Donetsk 87-90
Haywood Owens and Zydrunas Urbonas scored 3 points in the final two minutes of the game to lead Donetsk to a tough win over Poltava on the road today. Igor Kryvych banked 22 points to lead the way for Donetsk. Milutin Aleksic added 21 points and 8 rebounds in the win. Gytis Sirutvicius responded with 18 points for Poltava. Jayson Wells debuted for the hosts with 17 points and 7 rebounds.

Pulsar - Khimik 61-64
Khimik axed five players from the squad after a miserable performance against Galatasaray in EuroChallenge but it never was an obstacle in a road win against Pulsar. Wykeen Kelly stepped up with 18 points and 11 rebounds for the visitors. Olu Famutimi knocked down 19 points to lead Khimik to the 8th win in the season. Pavel Ulyanko secured 15 points for Pulsar. Dmitri Briantsev had 12 points in the losing effort.



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  URUGUAY   


New import players are arriving for the LUB - by Hector Lopez
Five new players import were announced by the Uruguayan teams, Hebraica, Malvin, Olimpia, Tabare and Atenas. Michael Chappell (205-F/G-78, college: Michigan St.) will play for Hebraica Macabi, replacion Anthony Johnson (18 games, 18.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg 1.7 apg). Darrell Harris (208-C-84, college: Rhode Island) is the new import player for Malvin, replacing Jarrett Stephens (38 games, 15.7 ppg, 8.1 rpg 1.3 apg). Nashid Beard (208-F-83, college: Lamar) is expected for Olimpia replacing Jeffries Simpsons (2 games 7 ppg, 7.5 rpg). Tabere announced they have inked Gabriel Lee (206-C-81, college: Massachusetts) after the departure of Ryan Blankson (37 games 15.9 ppg, 11.66 rpg 1.7 apg). Finally Atenas is expecting the arrival of Darius Rice (208-F-82, college: Miami, FL) to replace Earl Drayton (3 games, 11 ppg, 7.7 'pg 1.0 apg)

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  VENEZUELA   


Osiris Duquela Experience enough - by Yelitza La Torre
With a month remaining towards starting season 36th of the Venezuela's professional Basketball League; Toros de Aragua, Panteras de Miranda, and now, Gaiteros Del Zulia, haven't officially announced the 'Head Coaches'. Many names could come out trying to take over of this important position, particularly, because our basketball league is one of the best from America's continent which is very good.
Since the former Special League, Venezuela has been opening its doors to many foreign professionals, especially, basketball coaches. As a matter of fact, this year plenty of them are going to be coaching in our basketball arenas.
Let's consider this article as a wake up call. Coach Osiris Duquela is a basketball authority in Venezuela and he is ready to go.

February 19 is the meeting. - by Carlos Santander
Owners, general managers and LPB staff, are going to get together next February 19 in the LPB's offices.
The main reason of this meeting, is to have every team owner formalizing their participation in the season XXXVI of the Venezuela's Professional Basketball League. This day, they have to present the list of local and foreign basketball players, including its reserves. Every team is allowed to enroll two American players and just one Latino that could be from South America, Central America or the Caribbean.



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Women News

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  AUSTRALIA - Women  


The Gems victorious in Sydney - by Eurobasket News
Australian Junior National Team claimed the title at the Youth Basketball Festival held in Sydney. The Gems posted the fourth straight win today as they outgunned Japan in the title decider. It was another cruising success for the Gems as they dominated inside and shot better throughout the game. Australia looked too good for the Japanese squad in the opening term as the hosts piled up a 25:9 advantage. The lead snowballed to as many as 33 points at halftime. Japan showed they were not done just yet opening the second half with 5 straight points. Australia lived up to the challenge and struck back winning the third frame 20:14 to balloon the margin to massive 39 points with one quarter to go. Japanese players still stayed contestant and fought till the final buzzer. They outscored the home team 22:20 in the final term but lost 54:91 at the end. Rebecca Cole stepped up with 17 points for Australia. Gretel Tippett produced 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Allyson Brown delivered 14 points for the Gems. Naho Miyoshi and Aya Tsurumi answered with 10 points each for Japan. Mika Nozoe had 8 points in the losing case. The Gems suffered 24 turnovers but dominated the glass with 54 rebounds against 24 from Japan. They also shot 54% from the field comparing to 28% from their opponents.

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  BELGIUM - Women  


Italy head to EuroBasket - by Eurobasket News
Italy - Belgium 75:64

Italian National Team held on to beat Belgium in the 2009 EuroBasket Additional Qualifying Round in Siracusa yesterday. The win became the third straight one for Italy as they sealed their EuroBasket birth. Belgium fell at 1-3 record in the second spot in the pool. The hosts won the opening frame 18:16 but stretched the margin in the second quarter. Simona Ballardini (183-F-81) and Raffaella Masciadri (185-F-80) paced the hosts as they accumulated a 40:32 advantage at the interval. Belgium failed to rebound after the main break. Italy continued to mount their advantage as it reached an 18-point mark at three-quarter time. Belgium finally managed to strike back in the fourth quarter. The visitors limited Italy to 11 points and trimmed the gap. However it was far from being enough to threaten the margin and Italy sealed the win at the end. Simona Ballardini and Raffaella Masciadri scored 18 points apiece to lead Italy. Laura Macchi (187-F-79) had 8 points and 6 boards for the winners. Laurence Van Malderen (193-C-81, agency: LBM Management) scored 15 points to pace Belgium. Sara Leemans (178-G/F-88) had 13 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.

Italy: Simona Ballardini 18, Raffaella Masciadri 18, Laura Macchi 8
Belgium: Laurence Van Malderen 15, Sara Leemans 13

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  CZECH REPUBLIC - Women  


Gambrinus pip USK Praha - by Eurobasket News
USK Praha - Gambrinus 58:76

The ZBL defending champions Gambrinus avenged the Round 7 home loss to their archrivals USK Praha coasting to an early victory in Prague today.
Petra Kulichova (198-C-84) and Eva Viteckova (190-F-82) jumped on the hosts early leading Gambrinus to a 10:1 advantage. Katerina Elhotova (179-G-89) and Lindsay Whalen (173-G-82, college: Minnesota) finally stopped bleeding for the hosts with back-to-back baskets. Evanthia Maltsi (180-F-78) nailed 4 free throws late in the first term as USK Praha tied things up at 19. Katerina Elhotova opened the second term with a three-pointer to give USK Praha the first lead of the game. Eva Viteckova matched her with her own treble and then added a jumper to regain the advantage for Gambrinus. The teams traded leads for several times in the second frame before Linda Frohlich (188-F/C-79, agency: LBM Management, college: UNLV) set it at 42:40 for the visitors at the interval.
Hamchetou Maiga (184-G/F-78, college: ODU) nailed 8 points for the Brno team in the third frame and Gambrinus extended the margin to 8 points with one quarter left. Hamchetou Maiga added four more points to tip off the final term as the defending champions enjoyed a 64:52 advantage. USK Praha struggled offensively and soon Gambrinus stretched the gap to as many as 15 points. Whitmore and Eva Viteckova added pain to the hosts as Gambrinus breezed to the victory at the end.
Eva Viteckova provided 25 points for Gambrinus. Hamchetou Maiga added 14 points and 6 boards, while Petra Kulichova recorded 10 points and 11 boards in the win. Evanthia Maltsi answered with 18 points for USK Praha. Katerina Elhotova had 10 points in the loss.

USK Praha: Evanthia Maltsi 18, Katerina Elhotova 10
Gambrinus: Eva Viteckova 25, Hamchetou Maiga 14, Petra Kulichova 10+11 boards

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  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS - Women  


Italy and Ukraine clinch places in the EuroBasket Women 2009 in Latvia - by Eurobasket News

Even though the 2009 EuroBasket Additional Qualifying Round is not over Italy and Ukraine head to the EuroBasket main stage.

Italian National Team held on to beat Belgium in the 2009 EuroBasket Additional Qualifying Round in Siracusa yesterday. The win became the third straight one for Italy as they sealed their EuroBasket birth. Belgium fell at 1-3 record in the second spot in the pool. The hosts won the opening frame 18:16 but stretched the margin in the second quarter. Simona Ballardini (183-F-81) and Raffaella Masciadri (185-F-80) paced the hosts as they accumulated a 40:32 advantage at the interval. Belgium failed to rebound after the main break. Italy continued to mount their advantage as it reached an 18-point mark at three-quarter time. Belgium finally managed to strike back in the fourth quarter. The visitors limited Italy to 11 points and trimmed the gap. However it was far from being enough to threaten the margin and Italy sealed the win at the end. Simona Ballardini and Raffaella Masciadri scored 18 points apiece to lead Italy. Laura Macchi (187-F-79) had 8 points and 6 boards for the winners. Laurence Van Malderen (193-C-81, agency: LBM Management) scored 15 points to pace Belgium. Sara Leemans (178-G/F-88) had 13 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.
Italy - Belgium 75:64
Italy: Simona Ballardini 18, Raffaella Masciadri 18, Laura Macchi 8
Belgium: Laurence Van Malderen 15, Sara Leemans 13



The Azzurri beat Croatia in Venice for 2-0 record in their EuroBasket Women Additional Qualifying Round. Italy celebrated 83:50 win to become the leader of the group. Giorgia Sottana (177-G-88) and Simona Ballardini (183-F-81) paced the winners with 14 points each, while Manuela Zanon (185-F-80) added 12. Jelena Ivezic (184-G-84) produced 12 points in defeat, whilst Ana Lelas (183-G/F-83) and Marija Vrsaljko (195-C-89) scored 8 each.
Croatia grabbed a 5:2 lead, but then missed 16-0 run that lifted Italy to 18:5 lead. Raffaella Masciadri had five points, and both Simona Ballardini and Kathrin Ress four in that early scoring explosion by the Italians. Croatia poured in nine consecutive points to trail 18:14, but Giorgia Sottana closed the first period at 21:14. With 19-17 in the second Italians reached 40:31 at the halftime.
In the second half there was only one team in the court that dominated it. At first Simona Ballardini opened the scoring account in the third period and Italy improved to 56:41 after 30 minutes of the game. Pastore made it 58:41 opening the last frame in the game. In the rest of it the squads were killing time as the winner was known at that time. A 27-9 in the last quarter brought 83:50 on the board. Nadalin made a jump-shot to bring success in the city of the water.

Italy - Croatia 83:50
Italy: Giorgia Sottana 14, Simona Ballardini 14, Manuela Zanon 12
Croatia: Jelena Ivezic 12, Ana Lelas 8, Marija Vrsaljko 8




Italy made one more step towards reaching the 2009 EuroBasket. The Azzurri crushed Belgium on the road to improve at 1-0 record in Group B. They now share the top position with Croatia. The teams are scheduled to face each other on Saturday in Italy. Belgium in the meantime fell at 0-2 record and lost the chance to play in Latvia this year.
Italy looked the better side right from the start. The visitors led at every change and posted a well-deserved win at the end. Italy grabbed a 22:20 advantage after ten minutes of action and stretched the margin to 4 points 47:43 at the interval. Simona Ballardini (183-F-81) and Laura Macchi added to the tempo in the third frame as Italy ran away to an 11-point distance. Belgium failed to adjust and had to surrender in the final quarter.
Simona Ballardini netted 17 points, grabbed 9 rebounds and dished out 7 assists to lead Italy. Kathrin Ress (193-F-85, college: Boston Coll.) and Laura Macchi (187-F-79) had 12 points each for the winners. Laurence Van Malderen (193-C-81, agency: LBM Management) notched 21 points for Belgium. Stephanie Dubuc (175-F/G-85) and Sara Leemans (178-G/F-88) knocked down 14 points apiece in the loss.

Belgium - Italy 69:81

Belgium: Laurence Van Malderen 21, Stephanie Dubuc 14, Sara Leemans 14
Italy: Simona Ballardini 17, Kathrin Ress 12, Laura Macchi 12





Ukraine lost the final game of the 2009 EuroBasket Additional Qualifying Round but still advanced to the main summer event of the year. Ukraine visited Germany and the hosts had to win by at least 27 points to have a chance to overcome Ukraine in the race for the only available ticket to EuroBasket. But the visitors stayed alert and never allowed their opponents to succeed in the task. Petra Glaser (196-F/C-81, college: Long Beach St.) and Romy Bar (188-F-87) put Germany ahead 5:0 early in the game but Ukraine responded pretty quickly. Biryuk scored 5 points to fuel a 9:2 run from the visitors as they surged in front. The teams exchanged the baskets throughout the opening term and finished it tied at 19. The tension mounted as the teams combined for only 13 points in the second term. Lisa Koop (197-C-85, college: Winthrop) and Romy Bar put the hosts ahead 26:22 but Olexandra Gorbunova (186-F-86) capped the first half with a three-pointer to make it 26:25 at halftime.
Olena Zherzherunova (191-F-78, agency: LBM Management) fired 9 straight points for Ukraine at the start of the third quarter as the visitors pulled ahead 34:30. Lyubov Alyoshkina (202-C-81, agency: LBM Management) and Inna Kochubei (173-G-82) finalized the third period outcome at 39:32 for Ukraine. However Romy Bar scored 8 points in the final term to win it for Germany. She first tied it at 43 with a trey. Petra Glaser and Olena Zherzherunova traded baskets before Romy Bar hit another three-pointer to seal the deal for Germany at 48:45.
Romy Bar came up with 17 points and 10 rebounds for Germany. Lisa Koop and Katja Bavendam (203-C-85, college: New York U.) added 7 points apiece for the winners. Olena Zherzherunova notched 19 points and 9 boards for Ukraine. Olexandra Gorbunova had 7 points in the loss.

Germany - Ukraine 48:45
Germany: Romy Bar 17+10 boards, Lisa Koop 7, Katja Bavendam 7
Ukraine: Olena Zherzherunova 19, Olexandra Gorbunova 7


Ukrainian National Team claimed the third straight win at the 2009 EuroBasket Additional Qualifying Round in Group A. Ukraine team pulled away with a thrilling 67:61 victory over Bulgaria to improve at 3-0 record in the ladder. Another step towards Riga was possible due to a pivotal performance from Olexandra Gorbunova (186-F-86). She tallied impressive 32 points, 10 boards and 3 assists to make sure Ukraine overcome awful 25 turnovers for the positive result at the end.
The hosts limited Bulgaria to just 6 points in the opening frame and seemed to be on the way to a comfortable win. However Bulgaria tightened their defense in the second term and looked much more consistent offensively to trim the gap to only 5 points at halftime. Back-to-back three-pointers from Milena Tomova (191-F/C-82, college: Florida Intern.) and Ivelina Vrantcheva (175-G-82) silenced the crowd in Meridian as Bulgaria took a 46:44 lead with just over 2 minutes left in the third stanza. However Olga Dubrovina (170-G-87, agency: Promotex) closed the term with 4 consecutive points and allowed Ukraine to enjoy a 52:46 advantage at three-quarter time. Noelle Quinn (183-G-85, college: UCLA) and Kostova ensured the visitors run late in the fourth quarter as Bulgaria tied things up at 61 with under 2 minutes to go in the game. Iryna Biryuk (178-G-78, agency: Promotex) responded with a timely bucket for Ukraine and then Olexandra Gorbunova converted after Olena Zherzherunova (191-F-78, agency: LBM Management)s defensive stop to regain a 4-point lead for the home team. Gergana Slavcheva (186-F-79) missed her attempt and Olena Zherzherunova sealed the outcome from the stripe.
Olga Dubrovina had 13 points, while Olena Zherzherunova knocked down 12 points and grabbed 7 boards for the winners. Noelle Quinn responded with 16 points for Bulgaria. Vera Perostiyska (196-C-82, college: Florida Intern.) finished with 10 points as Bulgaria fell at 0-3 record.


Ukraine - Bulgaria 67:61



Ukraine made a huge step towards reaching the 2009 EuroBasket Final Round today as they thumped Germany in the Ukrainian capital. The win propelled Ukraine to a 2-0 record in Group A and seat well ahead of Bulgaria and Germany in the ladder.
Olexandra Gorbunova (186-F-86) orchestrated the win with 20 points and 9 rebounds for the hosts. Olena Zherzherunova (191-F-78, agency: LBM Management) added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the winners. Romy Bar (188-F-87) gave the visitors a 3:0 lead early in the game but soon it was the hosts who took over. They went on a 25:2 run to close the first period building a 29:11 advantage after ten minutes. Olena Zherzherunova and Valeriya Berezhynska (193-C-86, college: Rice) delivered early in the second term as the gap grew to 21 points. The game slightly turned into a one-way traffic as Ukraine boosted their advantage to as many as 24 points at the interval. Romy Bar scored 8 points in the third frame but Germany trimmed the deficit to only 19 points. The home team gave no chance for the visitors in the final term posting the second straight win at the 2009 EuroBasket Additional Qualifying Round.
Romy Bar led all scorers with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Lisa Koop (197-C-85, college: Winthrop) added 5 points in the loss.


Ukraine - Germany 73:47

Ukraine: Olexandra Gorbunova 20, Olena Zherzherunova 13+11 boards, Olena Ogorodnikova (186-F-81) 12
Germany: Romy Bar 21, Lisa Koop 5




Ukraine opened the Additional Qualifying Round of EuroBasket with an impressive come-from-behind win in Rouse. Thus they made the first step towards qualifying to the Final Round of the main European tournament.
Ukraine jumped to an early lead as Iryna Biryuk (178-G-78, agency: Promotex), Olena Zherzherunova (191-F-78, agency: LBM Management) and Olexandra Gorbunova (186-F-86) accounted for points. Soon Olexandra Gorbunova drained a three-pointer to give the visitors a 15:9 lead. However the hosts closed the frame on a 9:1 run to lead by 2 points at the intermission. The hosts dominated in the second frame as Natalia Topalova-Shopova (187-F-80) and Gergana Slavcheva (186-F-79) stretched the margin to 7 points. Tomova, Gergana Slavcheva and Zornitza Kostova (176-G-82) then ballooned the gap to 12 points. Ukraine finally broke the silence as Korovnikova and Olga Dubrovina (170-G-87, agency: Promotex) secured a 7-point distance between the teams at halftime.
Bulgaria maintained the lead early in the third quarter but the visitors found the rhythm soon. They went on a 19:3 rally to close the frame leading by 8 points 67:59. Bulgaria trimmed the deficit to 6 points with just over two minutes remaining but a timely bucket from Olexandra Gorbunova sealed the deal in this one.
Olexandra Gorbunova paced the victors with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Iryna Biryuk added 16 points for Ukraine. Noelle Quinn (183-G-85, college: UCLA) responded with 19 points for Bulgaria. Gergana Branzova-Erdenay (193-F/C-76) came up with 18 points in defeat.


Bulgaria - Ukraine 76:81
Bulgaria: Noelle Quinn 19, Gergana Branzova-Erdenay 18
Ukraine: Olexandra Gorbunova 22+11 boards, Iryna Biryuk 16, Olga Dubrovina 10



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  GERMANY - Women  


Germany out of EURO 2009 - by Moritz Korff
Though defeating the Ukraine 48:45 at Stadtgartenhalle in Saarlouis on Friday the German Women's National Team has failed to qualify for the 2009 European Championships. The team of Head Coach Imre Szittya would have needed a 26-points margin to go through after the visitors had prevailed in the first game 73:47.
Germany started the contest with Lea Mersch (170-G-87), Anne Breitreiner (183-G/F-84), Katja Bavendam (203-C-85, college: New York U.), Petra Glaeser (196-F/C-81, college: Long Beach St.) and Romy Baer (188-F-87) and scored the first five points of the game. After ten minutes played the score was even at 19 and the German offense struggled in the following two stanzas. In the final period Germany came from behind to snap the narrow win: Local hero Baer, who led the German point-production with 17, hit the game-winning three pointer just before the buzzer sounded.
Boxscore: click

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  ITALY - Women  


Italy head to EuroBasket - by Eurobasket News
Italy - Belgium 75:64

Italian National Team held on to beat Belgium in the 2009 EuroBasket Additional Qualifying Round in Siracusa yesterday. The win became the third straight one for Italy as they sealed their EuroBasket birth. Belgium fell at 1-3 record in the second spot in the pool. The hosts won the opening frame 18:16 but stretched the margin in the second quarter. Simona Ballardini (183-F-81) and Raffaella Masciadri (185-F-80) paced the hosts as they accumulated a 40:32 advantage at the interval. Belgium failed to rebound after the main break. Italy continued to mount their advantage as it reached an 18-point mark at three-quarter time. Belgium finally managed to strike back in the fourth quarter. The visitors limited Italy to 11 points and trimmed the gap. However it was far from being enough to threaten the margin and Italy sealed the win at the end. Simona Ballardini and Raffaella Masciadri scored 18 points apiece to lead Italy. Laura Macchi (187-F-79) had 8 points and 6 boards for the winners. Laurence Van Malderen (193-C-81, agency: LBM Management) scored 15 points to pace Belgium. Sara Leemans (178-G/F-88) had 13 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.

Italy: Simona Ballardini 18, Raffaella Masciadri 18, Laura Macchi 8
Belgium: Laurence Van Malderen 15, Sara Leemans 13

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  JAPAN - Women  


The Gems victorious in Sydney - by Eurobasket News
Australian Junior National Team claimed the title at the Youth Basketball Festival held in Sydney. The Gems posted the fourth straight win today as they outgunned Japan in the title decider. It was another cruising success for the Gems as they dominated inside and shot better throughout the game. Australia looked too good for the Japanese squad in the opening term as the hosts piled up a 25:9 advantage. The lead snowballed to as many as 33 points at halftime. Japan showed they were not done just yet opening the second half with 5 straight points. Australia lived up to the challenge and struck back winning the third frame 20:14 to balloon the margin to massive 39 points with one quarter to go. Japanese players still stayed contestant and fought till the final buzzer. They outscored the home team 22:20 in the final term but lost 54:91 at the end. Rebecca Cole stepped up with 17 points for Australia. Gretel Tippett produced 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Allyson Brown delivered 14 points for the Gems. Naho Miyoshi and Aya Tsurumi answered with 10 points each for Japan. Mika Nozoe had 8 points in the losing case. The Gems suffered 24 turnovers but dominated the glass with 54 rebounds against 24 from Japan. They also shot 54% from the field comparing to 28% from their opponents.

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  TANZANIA - Women  


Jeshi Stars beat Don Bosco in RBA league - by Carlos Pereira
Jeshi Stars laboured yesterday to beat determined Don Bosco-Lady Lions in the 58-53 in the RBA Ladies match at the National Indoor Stadium in Dar es Salaam yesterday. The match started in a cracking pace with both teams exchanging quick points in turn.

In the first quarter the scoreboard read 12-11 in favour of the victors. The battle was even fierce in the second quarter, which saw the two sides tied on 15 points apiece. But Jeshi Stars came a stronger side in the third quarter as they completely outsmarted, out thought and outfought their opponents to record a 17-8 points.
Don Bosco retaliated in the last quarter and somehow they managed to reduce the tally. Jeshi Stars Anomiasta Antony scored 16 points while here team mate Faraja Malaki netted 15 points. Amina Ahmed and Mina Mliga scored 15 points apiece for Don Bosco Lady Lions. Jeshi Stars are now placed second with four points, two behind leaders JKT Stars.

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  TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - Women  


Defence Force beats Brian Chase Academy - by Don Farrell
Defence Force jump started their title quest for the womens crown in the Stag Super 10 Basketball League with a comfortable 86-40 win over Brian Chase Academy at the Jean Pierre Sports Complex last night. National centre Alicia Liverpool scored 24 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and forward Rhonda John-Davis supported with 23 points ad eight rebounds. For BCA, forward Allison Young had 13 points and ten rebounds


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  U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS - Women  


MLK Jr. tourney results - by David Edole
Group
Charlotte Amalie (3-0)
Central (1-1)
Antilles (1-1)
Eudora Kean (0-3)

Game 1: Charlotte Amalie 49 Antilles 16
CAHS: Lashonda Creque 12, Shayla Kelly 12
Antilles: Victoria Hamilton 9

Game 2: Central wins a game forfeited by Eudora Kean

Game 3: Antilles wins a game forfeited by Eudora Kean

Game 4: Charlotte Amalie 39 Central 24
CAHS: Aesha Peters 12


Sundays Games
9:30 am Central vs. Antilles
Educational Complex vs. Eudora Kean
(G) Central vs. Antilles .The winner advances to championship game versus Charlotte Amalie HS on Monday. The tip is scheduled for 10:30 am.
Elmore Stout vs. All Saints
Group B 1st place vs. Group A second Place
Group B second place vs. Group A 1st place

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  UKRAINE - Women  


Ukraine reach 2009 EuroBasket - by Eurobasket News
Germany - Ukraine 48:45

Ukraine lost the final game of the 2009 EuroBasket Additional Qualifying Round but still advanced to the main summer event of the year. Yesterday Ukraine visited Germany and the hosts had to win by at least 27 points to have a chance to overcome Ukraine in the race for the only available ticket to EuroBasket. But the visitors stayed alert and never allowed their opponents to succeed in the task. Petra Glaser (196-F/C-81, college: Long Beach St.) and Romy Bar (188-F-87) put Germany ahead 5:0 early in the game but Ukraine responded pretty quickly. Biryuk scored 5 points to fuel a 9:2 run from the visitors as they surged in front. The teams exchanged the baskets throughout the opening term and finished it tied at 19. The tension mounted as the teams combined for only 13 points in the second term. Lisa Koop (197-C-85, college: Winthrop) and Romy Bar put the hosts ahead 26:22 but Olexandra Gorbunova (186-F-86) capped the first half with a three-pointer to make it 26:25 at halftime.
Olena Zherzherunova (191-F-78, agency: LBM Management) fired 9 straight points for Ukraine at the start of the third quarter as the visitors pulled ahead 34:30. Lyubov Alyoshkina (202-C-81, agency: LBM Management) and Inna Kochubei (173-G-82) finalized the third period outcome at 39:32 for Ukraine. However Romy Bar scored 8 points in the final term to win it for Germany. She first tied it at 43 with a trey. Petra Glaser and Olena Zherzherunova traded baskets before Romy Bar hit another three-pointer to seal the deal for Germany at 48:45.
Romy Bar came up with 17 points and 10 rebounds for Germany. Lisa Koop and Katja Bavendam (203-C-85, college: New York U.) added 7 points apiece for the winners. Olena Zherzherunova notched 19 points and 9 boards for Ukraine. Olexandra Gorbunova had 7 points in the loss.

Germany: Romy Bar 17+10 boards, Lisa Koop 7, Katja Bavendam 7
Ukraine: Olena Zherzherunova 19, Olexandra Gorbunova 7

Standings - UBL - by Eurobasket
UBL Standings
 1. Dnipro 11-0 
 2. Dynamo-NPU 10-1 
 3. KPU Zaporoz. 8-3 
 4. Yuzh.Palmira 6-5 
 5. Galitskaya A. 6-5 
 6. TNU Simf. 5-6 
 7. Donbas 4-6 
 8. Marel-Cherkasy 2-9 
 9. Polit.Galitsiya 2-9 
 10. Luganski Last. 0-10