EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 4/29/2009

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Men News

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  ANTIGUA   


Antigua edge out St. Kitts in exciting basketball season opener - by Eurobasket
THE 2009 St. Kitts Amateur Basketball Association (SKABA) league opened Sunday night (Apr. 26) with a thrilling battle between two of the Eastern Caribbeans top teams.
The Antigua Defence Force Warriors, led by Coach Bradbury Browne , are the reigning champions out of Antigua and Barbuda and came into their match-up Sunday night against the SKABA Premier Division Champion Rams Hitters ready for victory.
Warriors had the momentum coming into the game after defeating an all-star team from the Challengers Basketball League the night before, and the action at Basketball City was definitely fast-paced as Hitters stars such as Shawn Forbes (198-F) and Marlon Powell (183-G) clashed with their Antigua and Barbuda counterparts, Shawn Williams and Marlon Charles (186-G-76).
Though the battle was close throughout the game, Warriors pulled ahead in the final minutes and were able to walk away with the winning score of 81-80.
Despite Forbes and Powell scoring an outstanding 37 combined points, Warriors proved to be their offensive equal in a game that could have gone either way.
Earlier in the evening, the 2008 Runners-up in the Premier Division, S. L. Horsfords Ghetto Roots, were able to knock off one of their top competitors from last year, St. Pauls Hard Wine Tuff Knots.
Roots were coached by Dr. Garfield Alexander on the way to their 81-76 victory, who graduated to the Premier Division spot after coaching the Basseterre Senior High School Broncos to the finals of the Junior Division in 2008.
The revamped Roots were also assisted by former guard for the McKnight Trotters, Levi By-By Fyfield. Fyfield managed a massive 25 points, but was still outscored by teammate Carlos Monzac, who looked good with 33 of his own.
The SKABA season was officially opened by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Culture, Lloyd Lazar, and was also attended by the President of the St. Kitts-Nevis National Olympic Committee, Alphonso Bridgewater.
In his address to the 32 league teams and gathered fans, SKABA President James Barman Hanley noted that the league is still in search of a sponsor to partner with, which would help to facilitate the local players being able to compete in overseas regional tournaments.
To date, the only division to receive sponsorship has been the Junior Division, which is being backed by attorney Lindsay Grant
By Ryan Haas

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  ARAB CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS   


Day 4 - 22nd ACC - by Mohammed Malas
* Wednesday, 28/4 '22nd Arab Clubs Championship:

# Group A:

Al Kahraba Electricity (IRQ) 105 - Al Nizwa (OMA) 85 (Qs: 25-23, 56-45, 79- 63 & 105-85)
- Best scorers:
Kahraba [Nakiea Miller (204-C-79, agency: HM Sports Agency, college: Iona) '26 pts, 17 reb & 7 blks', Curtis Slaughter (201-G-80, agency: Promotex, college: Cal.St. Northridge) '23 pts' & Rashad Powell (198-G-81, college: Idaho) '20 pts']
Nizwa [Qasem Al Qaisi '21 pts', Faisal Jamoudi '16 pts' & Miljan Vicevic '16 pts'

Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut (LEB) 83 - ASPTT Alger (ALG) 76 (Qs: 32-30, 47-49, 67-70 & 83-76)
- Best scorers:
Riyadi [Fadi El Khatib (197-F-79, agency: Pro Management Agency) '30 pts' & Ahmad Ismail (201-F-76) '23 pts' ]

# Group B:

ASU Sports Club (JOR) 71 - Al Arabi (KUW) 66 (Qs: 25-19, 37-32, 52-48 & 71-66)
- Best scorers:
ASU [Tim Pickett (193-G/F-81, agency: Interperformances, college: Florida St.) '30 pts' & Chudney Gray (188-G-78, college: St.John's) '12 pts']
Arabi [Mike Fraser (203-C/F-84, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: Oklahoma Baptist) '23 pts, 16 reb' & Mikey Marshall (196-G-81, college: Texas Tech) '18 pts, 12 reb']

Sagesse - Al Hekmeh Beirut (LEB) 75 - Al Jaysh Army SC (QAT) 53 (Qs: 21-19m 36-27, 57-46 & 75-53)
- Best scorers:
Sages [Norman Nolan (202-F/C-76, college: Virginia) '17 pts' & Brian Feghali (204-F-77, agency: Pro Management Agency, college: LSU) '14 pts']
Army [Ali Turki (202-F-82) '16 pts' & Fadi Hani '15 pts']

# Day 5 - 22nd ACC (Beirut time, +3 GMT):
- Wednesday 29/4:
18:00 Tilal X De La Salle
20:00 ASPTT X Nizwa
22:00 Sage X Arabi

Standings
Arab Club Championships Standings
Group A
 1. Al Riyadi 3-0 
 2. Al Kahraba 2-1 
 3. ASPTT 1-1 
 4. Al Hilal 0-2 
 5. Al Nizwa 0-2 
Group B
 1. Sagesse 2-0 
 2. ASU 2-1 
 3. Al Jaysh 2-1 
 4. IRT 0-2 
 5. Al Arabi 0-2 
Group C
 1. Zain 2-0 
 2. Al Manama 1-1 
 3. De La Salle 0-1 
 4. Al Tilal 0-1 


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  ARGENTINA   


TNA, semifinals: La Union takes 2-0 lead - by Eurobasket News
San Mart.C. - La Union 75-78
2-0 for La Union, who this time got the most from Jason Osborne (204-F-74, agency: Court Side, college: Louisville) - 19 pts and 5 rebounds. Ariel Pau was second scorer of the team with 14, while Leandro Portillo and Rafael Costa helped with 10 pts apiece. The hosts got 19 points from Lucas Gornatti. Game No.3 is scheduled for April 30th.

Union - Ciclista 62-74 (1-1)
The box-score will be available soon.

Argentinian oficial Awards 2008/09 - by Facundo Iatzky
Liga A:

MVP: David Jackson (196-G-82, college: Penn St.) of penarol

Best team:
Juan Pablo Cantero (186-G-82) of sionista
David Jackson of penarol
Juan Locatelli (198-F-75) of Atenas
Federico Kammerichs (203-F-80) of Regatas
Roman Gonzalez (211-C-78, agency: HM Sports Agency) of penarol

Second team:
Jonathan Treise (182-G-85) of quimsa
Juan Espil (193-G-68, agency: Interperformances) of Boca
Federico Marin (199-G/F-82) of Independiente
Brice Assie (201-F-83, college: W.Connecticut) of independiente
Edward Nelson (203-F-82, college: Connecticut) of BB estudiantes

All domestic team:
Juan Pablo Cantero of sionista
Juan Espil of Boca
Juan Locatelli of atenas
Federico Kammerichs of regatas
Roman Gonzalez of penarol

All import team:
David Jackson of penarol
Cedric Moodie (187-G-78, college: Indianapolis) of independiente
Brice Assie of independiente
Edward Nelson of BB estudiantes
Djibril Kante (201-C-80, college: Indiana St.) of atenas

Best domestic player: Roman Gonzalez of penarol
Best import player: David Jackson of penarol
Best coach: Nicolas Casalanguida of Gimnasia CR
6th man: Juan Pablo Figueroa (184-G-86, agency: Interperformances) of Atenas
Most improved player: Juan Pablo Cantero of sionista
Best rookie: German Sciutto (190-F-78, agency: Interperformances) of Gimnasia

All rookie team:
Nicolas Laprovittola (191-G-90) of Lanus
German Sciutto of gimnasia
Miguel Gerlero (192-G-88) of olimpico
Alexis Elsener (196-G-88) of el nacional
Ariel Hillebrand (196-F-89) of Ben hur


TNA:

MVP: Alex Carcamo (200-F-77, agency: HM Sports Agency, college: E.Washington) of San martin corrientes

best team:
Emiliano Agostino (191-G-84) of gimnasia lp
Byron Wilson (192-F/G-71, college: Utah) of cilcista junin
Matias Tomatis (190-G-74) of alma jrs
Alex Carcamo of san martin corrientes
Ije Nwankwo (201-F-85, college: Cleveland St.) of san martin marcos juarez

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  AUSTRALIA   


New assistants for Boomers - by Eurobasket News
Three new assistant coaches have been named to help Brett Brown pilot Australia's men's basketball team through to the London Olympics in 2012.

Brown, who was named as the new Boomers coach last month, will be joined by Andrej Lemanis, Shane Heal and Marty Clarke and they will guide the Australian team through until at least 2012.

That means outgoing coach Brian Goorjian will have no role, while Brendan Joyce and Gordie McLeod also find themselves on the outer.

Basketball Australia Chief Executive Larry Sengstock was thrilled with the quality of the new assistant coaches and believes they will be able to help Brown guide the Boomers to an Olympic medal in 2012.

'We have entered a new era for the Boomers and I am excited and hopeful about what this coaching staff can deliver,' Sengstock said.

In addition to the selection of Lemanis, Heal and Clarke, Bill Tomlinson has also been drafted in as a network coach to assist in the development and preparation of players on an individual basis.

That means Brown will have four experienced people to call on for advice when required and this should help the Boomers in their quest for an Olympic medal.

Brown, who is currently in the United States working as an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA playoffs, was extremely happy with the selections of his assistants.

'They are a competitive, astute group and together we are excited to embrace the difficult challenge of securing Australian men's basketball's first medal in senior men's competition,' Brown said.

'Marty has a terrific record with the junior program and knows the playing group well from their time together at the Institute; as a four-time Olympian and former Boomers captain Shane is an untapped resource of great value and an inspirational leader; Andrej has an outstanding knowledge of the game and has done very good things with the New Zealand Breakers; and Billy has been one of the top coaches in Australia for the past 25 years.'

Courtesy of www.canberra.iprime.com.au

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  AUSTRIA   


Mike Dale back in Austria - by Stefan Prager
The Allianz Swans Gmunden announced that they signed Mike Dale (197-G/F-84, college: S.Illinois) (197-G/F-84, college: S.Illinois). Last season Dale played for current champion Fuerstenfeld. Dale played as a back up shooting guard for Samo Grum and was a
member of the championship team. Dale got signed as a replacement player for Deteri Mayes (189-G-74, agency: Court Side, college: Murray St.). Mayes had to undergo surgery on his toe because of a onychia. He played under immense pain in the playoff games against St. Poelten and is supposed to be sidelined for one to two weeks. This season Dale played in Hungary for Kecskemeti Univer KSE. Dale appeared in 17 games and averaged 14.5ppg in 17 minutes of action. As his team missed the playoffs Dale was free to sign.

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  BALTIC LEAGUE   


Nevezis retain BBL Elite Division spot - by Eurobasket News
Nevezis celebrated a 91:79 victory in the decisive third game of the series against Sakalai to secure the spot in the BBL Elite Division for the next season. The teams clashed in the best-of-three series as the last and the first teams of Elite Division and Challenge Cup respectively. Nevezis took a 1-0 lead after the opening game as Sakinis paced the hosts to a 94:83 win with 19 points. Paulius Pociuipa (197-G-81) and Juozas Ramanauskas (207-C-85) had 13 points apiece in the win. Sakalai responded with 16 points apiece from Nerijus Strazdauskas (198-F-84) and Laurynas Samenas (192-G-88).
Sakalai however bounced back and drew things level in the series claiming an 85:80 home victory. Grigori Shukhovtsov (211-C-83) stepped up with 20 points and 7 boards to lead the way for Sakalai. Labuckas had 15 points in the win. Aidas Viskontas (185-G-86) responded with 20 points in the loss.
Finally decisive game arrived as the teams clashed in Kedainiai. It was a tough game right from the start as the teams kept it close. The hosts however managed to jump in front and took a 7-point lead into halftime. Sakalai trimmed the margin to just 3 points before Leonavicius came up big for Nevezis. He nailed 8 straight points to stretch the margin to 11 points. Valdas Dabkus (204-F-84) and Paulius Pociuipa extended the lead to 17 points midway through the fourth term and Nevezis never looked back again en route to the success. Benas Veikalas (192-G-83, agency: Passing Lane, college: Metro St.) scored 29 points to lead Nevezis. Aidas Viskontas added 18 points in the winning case. Laurynas Samenas had 15 points and 5 assists for Sakalai in defeat.

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  BELIZE   


BECOL BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT RESULTS!!! - by David Magana

24th April, 2009
GAME 1
U-21
Hydro Power 54
Vandel Fuller 15 pts 9 rebs

Frank Fuller 10 pts 1 block

Benque Westside 34
Keaton Pollard 18 pts
Stephen Dickson 6pts

GAME 2
U-18
St. Ignatius 26
Akeem Thomas 14 pts
Uwani Arzu 6 pts

O-Ballaz 44
Vandell Fuller 20 pts 11 rebs 1block
Otto Coleman 6 pts 7 rebs

Game 3 - Belize Bank Veterans forfeited their game to Hydro Power

25th April, 2009
Game 1 Tuff Enuff Rebels nor Belize Bank Veterans didnt show up

GAME 2 this is a must win for either team
U-21
Flames 56
Ervin Orosco 16 pts

Shane Rosales 12 pts 6 rebs
Tyrone Rodgriguez 12 pts


Hardtime Hustlers 57
Floyd (Big Jim) Moro 20 pts 11 rebs
Omar Yacab 18 pts
Jerome (Diggy) Garcia 9 pts
Hardtime Hustlers win puts them in the playoff vs Belmopan Trojans. Flames lost eliminates
them from playoff contention.

GAME 3
Seniros
Cougars Club 62
Christian Rodriguez (188-G/F) (Rod) 18 pts
Jamaal Harris 14 pts 8 rebs
Dorian Jones (186-G) 10 pts 10 rebs

Perkup Blazers 61
Rhetton Belisle (186-G) 17 pts
Erick Reyes 13 pts
Denver Gillett (188-F) 9 pts

Playoff starts this Holiday weekend with for games to be played on Thursday and Friday

Thursday 30th April, 2009 Game 1 (U-18) O-Ballaz vs SHC
Game 2 (U-18) Mt. Carmel vs Christ for Life
Game 3 (O-21) Belmopan Trojans vs Hardtime Hustlers
Game 4 (Srs.) Cougars Club vs Perkup Blazers

Friday 1st May, 2009 Game 1 (O-21) SHC vs Hydro
Game 2 (O-35) Hydro Power vs Tuff Enuff Rebels
Game 3 (O-35) Belmopan Bandits vs Belize Bank Veterans
Game 4 (Srs.) E-3 Stars vs Christ for Life



Inter-Office Basketball games held on 24 & 26 April!!! - by David Magana
Please find below the results of the Inter-Office Basketball games held on 24 & 26 April:

Friday 24 April:
Game 1:
K.H.M.H - 20 Belize Healthcare Partners Ltd. - 0
Belize Healthcare lost by forfeit due to arriving late for game.

Game 2:
Belize City Council - 57 Police Department - 48
Top Scorers
City Council - Kenroy Usher 13 pts / 5 rebounds / 1 assist / 2 steals
Virgil Miller 11 pts / 8 rebounds / 3 assist / 2 steals
Police - Orlando Bowen 10 pts / 10 rebounds / 1 steal
Issac Pasqual 8 pts / 3 rebounds

Game 3:
Belize Telemedia Ltd. - 63 Belize Electricity Ltd - 47
Top Scorers
Telemedia - Devon Lozano (182-G-79) 27 pts / 3 rebounds / 1 steal
Mervin Castillo (-C) 'Bae' 10 pts / 13 rebounds / 1 assist // 1 block / 1 steal
B.E.L. - Brandon Cadle 12 pts / 8 rebounds / 1 steal
Austin Castro 12 pts / 1 rebound / 1 assist / 1 steal


Sunday 26 April:
Game 1:
SSB / BNTU - 69 Youth for the Future - 31
Top Scorers
SSB / BNTU - David Jones 19 pts / 5 rebounds / 1 assist / 1 steal
Daniel Maheia 10 pts / 5 rebounds / 2 assist / 2 blocks / 1 steal
YFF - Stanley Bradley 14 pts / 2 rebounds / 2 assist
Robert Foreman 11 pts / 4 rebounds / 1 assist / 3 steals

Game 2:
K.H.M.H. - 52 General Post Office - 41
Top Scorers
K.H.M.H. - Ryan Miller 9 pts / 9 rebounds / 2 assist / 1 block / 2 steals
Francis Lemmoth 9 pts / 2 rebounds / 3 assist / 1 steal
Post Office - Kevin Flowers 'Beano' 14 pts / 2 assist / 4 steals
Greg Mahler 11 pts / 11 rebounds / 3 assist / 4 steals

Game 3:
Atlantic Bank - 101 Grace Kennedy Belize - 50
Top Scorers
Atlantic Bank - Dave Apolonio 27 pts / 2 rebounds / 6 assist / 1 block / 4 steals
Darwin 'Doggy' Elijio 19 pts / 3 rebounds / 2 assist / 3 steals
Grace - Vernon Samuels 21 pts / 2 rebounds / 2 assist
Albert Kisling 13 pts / 3 rebounds / 1 block

Game 4:
Police Department - 66 Medical & Johnston Int'l - 59
Top Scorers
Police - Orlando Bowen 29 pts / 8 rebounds / 2 assist / 2 steals
Kennard Clarke 15 pts / 12 rebounds / 2 assist / 3 steals
Medical - Joshua Jones 14 pts / 3 rebounds / 2 assist / 3 steals
Clifton Gentle 14 pts / 5 rebounds

Game 5:
Alamilla's Furniture / FCIB - 72 Home Protector Insurance - 55
Top Scorers
Alamilla's - Wes Mckenzie 20 pts / 8 rebounds / 1 block / 2 steals
Ryan 'Benz' Bennett 12 pts / 1 assist
Home Protector - Milton Flores 18 pts / 4 rebounds
Keith 'Dos' Pollard 9 pts / 3 rebounds / 2 steals

NEXT GAMES - Monday 27 April, 6:30 pm at Civic Center

Game 1 - Youth for the Future vs Belize Water Services Limited
Game 2 - K.H.M.H. vs Police Department
Game 3 - Belize City Council vs General Post Office

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  BOSNIA   


Bosnian League 8, 10TH round - by Elvir Halilovic
Results:
Siroki Eronet - Hercegovac 92:64
Igokea Partizan - Zrinjski HT Mostar 79:78
SL IAT Leotar - Borac Nektar 89:85
Sloboda Dita - Bosna ASA BH Telecom (Wednesday, April 29TH)

Standings:
1. Siroki Eronet 8-2 /876:791/ +85 / 18
2. Igokea Partizan 8-2 /795:718/ +77 / 18
3. Bosna ASA BH Telecom 7-2 /782:659/ +123 / 16
4. Borac Nektar 4-6 /754:778/ -24 / 14
5. Sloboda Dita 4-5 /747:737/ +10 / 13
6. Zrinjski HT Mostar 3-7 /778:793/ -15 / 13
7. SL IAT Leotar 3-7 /690:759/ -69 / 13
8. Hercegovac 2-8 /678:867/ -189 / 12


IGOKEA PARTIZAN - ZRINJSKI HT MOSTAR 79:78
(19:21, 22:20, 23:19, 15:18)
Aleksandrovac SC Nenad Batinac; Att.: 800; Ref.: Jovanic, Sobot, Duskaj
IGOKEA: Castle 2, Vuksanovic 20, Bocka 4, McCaskill 10, Djurica 11, Djerasimovic 12, Taylor 13, Micic 5, Bilanovic, Misanovic, Kovacevic 2, Topolovic
Coach: Darko Russo
ZRINJSKI: Vujcic 6, Cular 6, Sarenac 22, Tomovic 11, Gligora, Oroz, Brecic, Vareslija, Vuckovic 19, Ceskovic 14
Coach: Kristijan Maric

Standings - BIH League
D1 Standings
League 8
 1. Siroki Eronet 8-2 
 2. Igokea 8-2 
 3. Bosna S. 7-2 
 4. Sloboda Dita 4-5 
 5. BoracNektar 4-6 
 6. Zrinjski MC 3-7 
 7. SL IAT Leotar 3-7 
 8. Hercegovac 2-8 
League 13
 1. Mladost MG 10-14 
 2. Vitez 9-15 
 3. Slavija 9-15 
 4. Grude 9-15 
 5. Posusje 8-16 
 6. Novi Grad 0-24 


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  BRAZIL   


Standings - BNL
NBB Standings
 1. Flamengo 21-2 
 2. Universo/BRB 20-4 
 3. Pitagoras/Minas 19-4 
 4. CISER/Araldite 18-6 
 5. Winner/Limeira 14-9 
 6. Vivo/Franca 13-10 
 7. Pinheiros 12-11 
 8. GRSA/Bauru 11-12 
 9. Paulistano 10-13 
 10. Conti/Assis 8-14 
 11. Lupo/Araraq. 8-15 
 12. CETAF 7-16 
 13. Univates/Bira 4-19 
 14. Saldanha 4-19 
 15. S.Jose/Vinac 4-19 


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  BULGARIA   


Standings A1
NBL Standings
 1. Lukoil A. 19-4 
 2. Levski 18-6 
 3. ChernoMore 12-10 
 4. Spartak P. 12-11 
 5. Rilski S-list 11-11 
 6. Yambol 7-15 
 7. Sliven 0-22 


Hattrick of wins for Levski over Lukoil Academic - by Valentin Anguelov
The team of Levski finished its regular season with a dramatic win in Pravets against the champion Lukoil Academic and once again showed that the playoffs will be very interesting this year. Despite the fact that the game wasn't important for the standings it had a lot to offer and desire from both teams to prove who the stronger one is before the playoffs. It was a mad game with a lot of ties, turnarounds and at the end the luck was with Levski - a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Asen Velikov gave 'The Blues' the win 82-84.

This was a third success for Levski against recently unbeatable Lukoil Academic and all successes came against three different coaches - Lubomir Minchev, Petko Marinov in the Cup final, and now Georgi Mladenov. This once again proved one thing - that to change the coach so often is not a thing that will resolve the problems in Lukoil who is now not more the hot favourite to defend the title. In fact exactly the permament shifting, mostly of the players who are coming to the team is one of the points that hasn't gone well this season. Even the hiring of Petko Marinov, a proven specialist, and now Georgi Mladenov couldn't change the things on the court and give back the reputaion of an unbeaten team in Bulgaria. In the final minute of the game Lukoil took the lead at 80-78 when Riste Stefanov scored a three-pointer. Then Stefan Georgiev (206-C/F-78, agency: Interperformances) scored a basket and one free throw to give the lead back to Levski. Willie Deane took the responsability for Lukoil and missed a difficult shot but managed to grab the rebound in the air and to take a shot and make it in the same time with 7 seconds to go. Then the players of Levski organized an attack as Charles Jones found Asen Velikov alone and the guard drained a three-pointer in the final second to give his team this important win before the end of the regular season.

Velikov finished with 6 points this game but the real hero was Stefan Georgiev who was like a lion under the basket. He finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists. Marcus Hall was the only other player for the visitors to score in double digits with 17 points. He also had 4 assists.

For Lukoil Academic Willie Deane had 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Todor Stoykov and Riste Stefanov scored 3 three-pointers apiece to finish with 16 and 13 points respectively with Stoykov grabbing also 7 rebounds. This was the final game for Levski of the regular season while Lukoil Academic will travel to Varna to meet Euroins Cherno More on Saturday.

FULL STATS FROM THE LUKOIL ACADEMIC - LEVSKI GAME

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  CHILE   


Dimayor: Heard joins Deportivo Valdivia - by Daniel Valencia
Deportivo Valdivia agreed terms with the american Jonathan Heard (198-G/F-86, agency: Passing Lane) to be their import player. Heard is a shooting guard/small forward from the university of Cal State Northridge with averages of 11.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in his college career. As a profesional, Heard has playing experience in minor leagues in the United States and also a productive season in Finland where he averaged 25.3 points and 9.1 rebounds. The player is supposed to arrive on wednesday to Valdivia and join the team to practice inmediately.

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  CROATIA   


Standings - Ozujsko A1 League
A1 Standings
Group 1-8
 1. KK Zagreb 8-1 
 2. Cibona 8-1 
 3. Zadar 7-1 
 4. KK Split 5-4 
 5. Dubrovnik 4-5 
 6. Cedevita 2-8 
 7. Sibenka 2-8 
 8. Svjetlost 1-9 
Group 9-14
 1. Dubrava 6-4 
 2. Kvarner NR 6-4 
 3. Alkar Sinj 5-5 
 4. Zabok 5-5 
 5. Trogir 4-6 
 6. Borik 4-6 


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  CZECH REPUBLIC   


Previewing the NBL Playoffs First Round - by Surujh Roopnarine
CEZ Nymburk (1) vs. USK Praha (8)
The unquestioned best team of the NBL with a 39-1 record, Nymburk finished atop the regular season standings for the sixth consecutive year and will be the favorites to win their sixth consecutive Championship. The well balanced squad features five players who average double-figures (Blake Schilb (201-G-83, college: Loyola, IL), Goran Jagodnik (202-F-74), Arthur Lee (185-G-77, college: Stanford), Petr Benda (203-F/C-82) and Justin Gray (188-G-84, college: Wake Forest)), while Ladislav Sokolovsky (201-F-77) averages 9.9 points per game. Floor leader Arthur Lee is one of the best three-point shooters in the entire league at 49.2% while Petr Benda shoots a remarkable 66.8% from the field. USK Praha, the eighth seed at 16-24 will have the daunting task of even trying to stay competitive with Nymburk. During their regular season matchups they fell 96-68 on the road, 62-69 at home, 91-52 on the road and 75-86 at home. Praha is led by American import center Roderick Platt (205-C-75, college: Loyola, MD) (15.3ppg, 8.1rpg) and swingman Lawrence Hamm (198-F-84, college: Towson) (13.7ppg).
Prediction: Nymburk 3-0

Geofin Novy Jicin (2) vs. BK Opava (7)
Maybe the only legitimate threat to another championship for Nymburk could come from Geofin, as they finished the regular season at 30-10, good for second in the standings. Big men Robert Sarovic (205-F-78) (15.7 points, 7.3 rebounds) and Kenny Walker (206-F/C-80, college: Alabama) (14.8points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.3 blocks) present an imposing frontline while guards Emanuel Ubilla (188-G-86, college: Fairleigh Dickinson) and mid-season acquisition Corey Muirhead (198-F-83, college: W.Carolina) provide a good combination of outside shooting and dribble-penetration. Geofin went 3-1 against Opava during the regular season, but did drop their last meeting on March 7 in Opava, 83-78. Opava (17-23) enters the playoffs having played much better during the second half, winning four of their last five to close the regular season and climb to the seventh position. Having no American imports, Opavas main weapon is 'Mr. Everything' Pavel Pumprla (194-G-86) who led the team in scoring (13.3ppg), rebounds (4.6rpg), steals (1.9spg) and blocks (0.5bpg).
Prediction: Novy Jicin 3-1

BK Decin (3) vs. BK Nova Hut Ostrava (6)
Narrowly edging BK Prostejov for third position is BK Decin who enters the playoffs after finishing 22-18 in the regular season. A team capable of amazing highs (handed Nymburk their only loss of the season) as well as baffling lows (losing to Pardubice 66-74 at home), Decin did close strong, winning their last two games including a 74-54 victory over Geofin in the regular season finale to secure the #3 seed. Guard William Hatcher (188-G-84, college: Miami, OH) is the leader of Ostrava, leading the team in scoring (15.9ppg) and assists (5.0apg) while his main support comes from Pavel Houska (201-F-84) (13.1ppg, 5.2rpg) and mid-season addition Tarvis Williams (205-F/C-78, college: Hampton) who leads the team in rebounds (6.6) and blocks (1.6).
Ostrava (17-23) will definitely provide a challenge to Decin, as they took the last two meetings of the season against Decin, 93-78 at home and 90-87 in Decin. Unfortunately, Ostrava also dropped their last three games of the season and will need to re-focus for the playoffs. Marcus Arnold (207-F/C-84, college: Illinois), one of the NBLs top big men at 18.2ppg and Ostravas leading rebounder at 8.3 per game is the main force in the middle and it will be interesting to watch his matchup against Houska and Williams of Decin. Mike Mitchell (183-G-83, college: N.Mexico St.) (13.0ppg, 4.1rpg, 4.9apg) and Marek Stuchyl will be relied upon heavily as well.
Prediction: Decin 3-1

BK Prostejov (4) vs. BK Kondori Liberec (5)
On paper, Prostejov (21-19) seems to have the right pieces in place to make a run at their second NBL Finals (2007). They made the finals of the Czech Cup this year, losing a tough contest against Nymburk, but did not finish the season strong, losing to Ostrava, Opava and Nymburk in three of their last four regular season games. The team which relies most heavily on imports, regularly starting five foreigners, is led by veteran guard Hurl Beechum (196-F-73, college: Iowa St.) (15.0ppg) and versatile big man Ian Hanavan (202-F-80, college: Evansville) (18.1ppg, 6.8rpg). Mid-season acquisitions Jason Miller (208-F/C-80, college: Oklahoma St.) and former Notre Dame sharp shooter Colin Falls (196-G-85, college: Notre Dame) add toughness and three-point shooting respectively. The team at times lives and dies by the three-point shot and it will be interesting to see if they can adjust their tactics if and when the shots stop falling from behind the arc. Prostejov went 3-1 on the season against Liberec, winning their last matchup on March 7, 83-74 at home. Liberec (17-23) is led by NBL leading scorer Maurice Hampton (188-G-84, college: Austin Peay St.) (20.0ppg) and mid-season acquisition Boris Meno (203-F-83, college: Davidson) (7.0rpg), who mans the middle. Liberec had the luxury of playing their final six regular season games at home, going 4-2 in that stretch. Expect high-scoring games when these two teams meet.
Prediction: Prostejov 3-0

*****************************************************
  DENMARK   


CDL Finals Game 5: It ain't no fun when the Rabbit's got the gun! Svendborg wins! - by Thomas Soltau

3-2 and the Rabbits cut the series lead.

Everyone thought it was over and down, after Bakken killed the Rabbits at home, but this is why basketball is such a fun game to follow. Svendborg somehow found a way to duplicate their great play and determination from game 3.

With their backs against the wall Svendborg surprised everyone in the NRGI Arena in Aarhus.

Maybe Bakken was already celebrating the Championship?

Bakken shot 38 percent overall from the floor versus Svendborg's 50 percent.

Svendborg came out the strongest, but Bakken was able to gain back some ground in the second quarter.

The Rabbits maintained their lead, and going into the fourth quarter with great play and effectiveness Svendborg expanded this lead to 21 points.

To add insult to injury, another Svendborg push saw the lead grow to 27 points and the end result of 63-90.

The saying goes: 'It ain't no fun when the Rabbit's got the gun.' And on this night Johnell Smith was the gunman!

But can Svendborg keep it up?

Crazy game, crazy series, and much more to come on Thursday! WOW!


Bakken: Andreas Jakobsen (187-G-83, college: Columbia (MO)) 15 points, Ivan Miskovic (203-F/C-84, college: Alaska-Fairb.) 14 points and 6 rebounds.
Svendborg: Johnell Smith 27 points, 12 boards, 6 assists and 6 steals, Ivan Hoger (225-C-82, agency: Global Sports Plaza) 18 points and 11 boards.



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


Interview with Daniel Horton - by Serafim Karaiskakis

Daniel Horton (191-G-84, agency: KMG Sports Management, college: Michigan) came out from college as one of the most promising guards in 2006 signing a temporary contract with Miami Heat. The last years Daniel Horton is playing in Europe to get experience and grow his skills in order be ready and return one day in the NBA.

You had a great career in NCAA playing in a top school, you signed in Miami Heat but you left shortly, why you did not make it? Do you believe now you are ready to try again to get a secure contract in NBA or you are familiar playing in Europe?

Daniel Horton: Honestly, I have no idea why I didn't make it. I was told it was a 'numbers game', meaning they just didn't have any room to keep me. I was very disappointed because I felt like I had played well enough and deserved to be there. It just wasn't in God's plan for me. And I will always be ready to try to take advantage of an opportunity to make it to the NBA. That is still my dream, eventhough I love playing in Europe.

How was your first experience in Europe, playing for Pinar Karsiyaka?

Daniel Horton: My first European experience was rough for me. I really struggled being out of the country for an extended period of time. I had been out of the U.S. a couple times already but never for months at a time, so I wasnt ready. I also played for three differen't coaches the couple of months I was there so that made it even tougher on the court. But overall it was a good experience for me; Turkey is a beautiful country and the fans of KSK were great.

It seems that the French league fits you, you played there for two teams with success. Whats your opinion about the France Pro-A league?

Daniel Horton: I really like the French Pro-A league because it is similar to the way basketball is played in the U.S. I think its that way because the league has alot of young talent and it is a very athletic league as a whole. No quite like the NBA but its very good. I also like the fact that there is more stability in the French league as well. I think I have been fortunate to plan for good clubs with very good coaches. Alain Weisz is one of my favorite coaches I have ever played for.

You last played for Pau Orthez, a team with history in France but they are having problems to stay in the league. Why they are in this difficult situation in your opinion?

Daniel Horton: I think that Pau is struggling this year because they are very young and and dont have alot of experience. I think next year and the years to come they will get back to where they are used to being if they keep that talent together; and keep coach Mopsis as the coach. He is a very good coach and has proven that he is the right leader for the club as the coach.

What leagues you are planning to try the following years?

Daniel Horton: I want to try whatever league that has a team or a club that wants me. In particular, I would love to play in Spain or Italy, maybe Russia as well. i am willing to play anywhere as long as its the right fit for my family and I. Hopefully I keep improving and a major club wants to bring me in to be their point guard.

Which aspect in your game you must improve and whats your strong point?

Daniel Horton: Right now I must improve my phycial conditioning. I had shoulder surgery in December so my physical conditioning isn't where I want it to be. I have been working hard at it but I still have a long way to go. I think the strong point of my game is my ability to lead and make plays. I always prided myself on making the right play and thats what I will continue to do.

If you could pick one player for your next team, who would it be and why?

Daniel Horton: Austin Nichols. He is hands down the best shooter I have ever played with, maybe the best shooter I've ever seen. We have good chemistry when we are on the court together and he competes hard everyday in practice and games. You realy cant ask for more from a teammate. I would also want to play with my brother, Jason Horton. He is a very good point guard and I think we would compliment each other very well. Alomst like thunder and lighting, because he is lighting quick with the ball. It also would be great to experience another country with my brother.


http://www.serwrites.blogspot.com/




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


Jarrid Frye leaves AMAK SP - by Eurobasket News
AMAK SP faced with big problem during the play-off quarterfinals against AMAK SP. Hero from the first game Jarrid Frye (190-G-85, agency: Liman Sports, college: Sacred Heart) left the team before the game No.2 in Skopje. According to some rumors he got an offer from Latin America and immediately decided to go. The team from Ohird suffered defeat in the second game without him and the score is tied now, 1-1. As a reminder, Jarrid Frye was a key player for his team in the first game collecting 18 points and 7 rebounds. AMAK SP grabbed that one 75-64.
Jarrid Frye arrived to AMAK SP during the summer 2007. That season he averaged 22.3 ppg and 6.2 rpg in Macedonian Superleague. This season he was once again one of the most important AMAK's players. He appeared 3 times in EuroCup Challenge registering 14 ppg and 3.7 rpg. He had the best game against Dutch Eiffel Towers - 18 pts. Frye graduated at the Sacred Heart in 2007. In his senior year he had 16.1 ppg and 6.5 rpg. He was named All-NEC 1st Team -07.

Play-off, quarterfinals: MZT Skopje ties the score to 1-1 - by Eurobasket News
MZT Skopje - AMAK SP 83-80

MZT survived last night in Skopje. AMAK SP had 1-0 lead from the first game and plus 2 after 30 minutes of the last one, but the hosts were strong enough when it was the most important to secure the third match. Pero Blazevski (200-C-72, agency: Global Sports Plaza) stepped up for MZT collecting 21 points and 6 rebounds. Darko Sokolov (190-G-86) also shined netting 18 pts and handing out 5 assists, while Milos Trailovic (198-G-81) added 16 pts and 6 rebs. On the other side, the team from Ohrid got 18 points from Vojdan Stojanovski (194-G-87). Mladen Gambiroza (206-C-75) was second scorer of the team with 17 points (also had 8 boards). Bogoev contributed with double-double, 15 pts and 10 as.
Everything started good for the team from Ohrid, who had 20-27 after ten minutes. During the next period the hosts intensified defense stopping AMAK SP on 15 pts. At the same time they scored 18 for 38-42 at the half time. Third quarter was almost leveled. Both sides were pretty aggressive at the defensive end, but MZT managed to cut the margin to 57-59. Last few minutes of the game were extremely exciting. MZT celebrated thanks to Darko Sokolov, who was concentrated from the line twice with less than 4 seconds to go. Visitors had the last possession, but there was not enough for them even to try. Third crucial game is scheduled for Wednesday. As a reminder, Swisslion Pelister already advanced to semis with 2-0 against Ovce Pole (they started with 1-0 because the results in regular season).

MZT: Pero Blazevski 21+6 boards, Darko Sokolov 18+5 as, Milos Trailovic 16+4 boards
AMAK SP: Vojdan Stojanovski 18, Mladen Gambiroza 17+8 boards, Bogoev 15+10 as

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


Pryor and Fleetwood re-sign with Phoenix Hagen - by Daniel Poerschke
Only two days after Phoenix Hagen secured the second spot in the final standings of the Pro A and the return to the BBL, the club management announced the re-signing of two key players for the upcoming BBL season: Quentin Pryor (193-G/F-83, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement, college: Morehead St.) and Aaron Fleetwood (206-F-84, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement, college: Delaware St.).
After Brandt Hagen went bankrupt in 2004, it took 5 years in the former 2. Bundesliga and Pro A for a team from Hagen to come back to the first league in Germany. Pryor and Fleetwood were very important key players for the squad of head coach Ingo Freyer .

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


Istvan Nemeth in ACB - by Patonay Adam
The Hungarian National Team's guard Istvan Nemeth (190-G-79, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) finished his season in Greece. He averaged 10.8 points with 44.9% 3PT percentage on 24.6 minutes in AEK. He scored 18 points against Panathinaikos on the last round and 34 against PAOK before and now trying to help Vive Menorca on their last two games. The spanish team is fighting for stay in ACB and they signed Nemeth until the end of the season for the games against Real Madrid and Cajasol.

Play-Out: tuesday's games - by Tamas Deri
Marso-Vagep Nyiregyhaza KK - Debreceni EKE 90-83
(22-24, 22-16, 19-20, 27-23)
Nyiregyhaza, Att.: 300, Referees: Bognar, Franyo, Jakab
NYKK: Savic 13, Roy Booker (191-G/F-84, agency: Court Side, college: SE Missouri St.) 16/3, Siska 6/6, Sitku 10, Z. Helbich 12, Darko Vujacic (201-G-79) 25/12, Lekli 8, Nagy K., Coach: Ferenczi Tamas
Debrecen: Steve Dagostino (180-G-85, agency: Interperformances, college: St.Rose (NY)) 18/6, Kutasi 5/3, Valentino Maxwell (193-G-85, college: Concordia (TX)) 21, Joe Kennerly (204-C/F-84, agency: Passing Lane, college: Cent.Oklahoma) 18, Ware 12, Toth G. 7/3, Kovacs I., Takacs D., Erdei 2, Coach: Fodor Peter


UNIVER-KECSKEMET - POLAROID-LAMI-VED-KORMEND 86-91
(27-20, 15-27, 23-16, 21-28)
Kecskemet, Att.: 500, Referees: Kiss L., Farkas G., Pozsonyi
KECSKEMET: Peter Toth (200-G-88) 22/6, Akos Horvath (194-G/F-81) 27/12, Molnar 4, Szabo Zs. 15/3, Horti 8, Kovacs A. 4, Tornoczky 6/6, Coach: Forray Gabor
KORMEND: Marton Fodor (191-G-81, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 12/6, Fodor G. 13/6, Ferencz 8/6, George Banks (202-C/F-72, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: UTEP) 37/6, Toth G. 1., Rudolf Trummer (196-F-78, agency: Laszlo Vinko Services) 15/9, Kocsis T. 5/3, Hegedu G., Coach: Hencsey Tamas

*****************************************************
  IBL   


Standings
IBL Standings
 1. S.Illinois T. 0-0 
Eastern
 1. Holland B. 7-1 
 2. G.Rapids F. 4-3 
 3. Kankakee S. 3-4 
 4. Japan T. 0-0 
Northern
 1. Bellingham S. 4-2 
 2. USA All-Stars 4-16 
 3. Vancouver T. 3-2 
 4. Snohomish C. 3-2 
Southern
 1. Vancouver V. 3-2 
 2. C.Oregon H. 0-0 
 3. Oregon Wave 0-0 
 4. Shanxi Zh. 0-0 
Western
 1. Seattle M. 4-1 
 2. Tacoma T. 0-0 
 3. Edmonton E. 0-0 
 4. L.Angeles L. 0-0 


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


Rimini adds Cacciola and Casale Schultze to playoff rosters - by Gianni Pascucci
oopsette Rimini Crabs announced the agreement with ARG-ITA inside player Sebastian Cacciola (207-C-82). The player has yet joined the team, and will go on the court in the first playoff game vs. Fastweb Casale Monferrato. This last team added to playoff roster German veteran Sven Schultze (208-C-78, agency: Court Side)

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


Standings - BJ League
BJ League Standings
Eastern
 1. Phoenix 36-16 
 2. Apache 33-19 
 3. 89ers 31-21 
 4. Albirex 24-28 
 5. Broncos 19-33 
 6. Grouses 11-41 
Western
 1. Golden Kings 41-11 
 2. Evessa 35-17 
 3. Five Arrows 33-19 
 4. Rizing 22-30 
 5. Lakestars 19-33 
 6. Heat Devils 8-44 


*****************************************************
  KOSOVO   


Sigal Prishtina to meet Bashkimi in big final - by Eurobasket News
Sigal Prishtine and Bashkimi Prizren will meet in the big final of Kosovan league. Sigal ended the semifinal series against Trepca with perfect 3-0. On the other side, Bashkimi Prizren had to work very hard and made it in the fifth decisive game against Peja 77-60.
As a reminder, Sigal started the semifinals against Trepca with 1-0 thanks to position in regular season. Later the team from Prishtina won 101-77 and 92-81 on the road.
Bashkimi Prizren and Peja were tied before the semis, 1-1. It celebrated as a guest 68-63 for 2-1 lead and after that suffered defeat at home 47-62.

The first game of the big final is scheduled for May 3rd. The regular season champ Sigal will have home court advantage and of course it has more chances to grab the championship title. If that happen it will be the fourth consecutive title for Sigal. They already have one trophy this season - National Cup.
Bashkimi Prizren was third ranked team in regular season with 13 wins and 7 defeats. However, its players showed promising quality eliminating No.2 Peja. Bashkimi reached National Cup semifinals this year.

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


Nevezis retain BBL Elite Division spot - by Eurobasket News
Nevezis celebrated a 91:79 victory in the decisive third game of the series against Sakalai to secure the spot in the BBL Elite Division for the next season. The teams clashed in the best-of-three series as the last and the first teams of Elite Division and Challenge Cup respectively. Nevezis took a 1-0 lead after the opening game as Sakinis paced the hosts to a 94:83 win with 19 points. Paulius Pociuipa (197-G-81) and Juozas Ramanauskas (207-C-85) had 13 points apiece in the win. Sakalai responded with 16 points apiece from Nerijus Strazdauskas (198-F-84) and Laurynas Samenas (192-G-88).
Sakalai however bounced back and drew things level in the series claiming an 85:80 home victory. Grigori Shukhovtsov (211-C-83) stepped up with 20 points and 7 boards to lead the way for Sakalai. Labuckas had 15 points in the win. Aidas Viskontas (185-G-86) responded with 20 points in the loss.
Finally decisive game arrived as the teams clashed in Kedainiai. It was a tough game right from the start as the teams kept it close. The hosts however managed to jump in front and took a 7-point lead into halftime. Sakalai trimmed the margin to just 3 points before Leonavicius came up big for Nevezis. He nailed 8 straight points to stretch the margin to 11 points. Valdas Dabkus (204-F-84) and Paulius Pociuipa extended the lead to 17 points midway through the fourth term and Nevezis never looked back again en route to the success. Benas Veikalas (192-G-83, agency: Passing Lane, college: Metro St.) scored 29 points to lead Nevezis. Aidas Viskontas added 18 points in the winning case. Laurynas Samenas had 15 points and 5 assists for Sakalai in defeat.

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


DBBL Final Four Set!! Sparta ousted by T71!!! Etzella, Contern, T71 & Musel Pikes in!!! - by Alex Meyers
Saturday, April 25, 2009

T 71 80 - Musel Pikes 58

Dudelange, Luxemborug
With Frank Muller and Tom Schumacher back, T71's engine is running more smoothly and is firing on all cylinders. In front of 600 spectators, T71 showed that is is fully
capable of going 'all the way' and is looking like a team that could take the double. Musel Pikes was coming off three wins in a row and were the hottest tream in the DBBL. Until they travelled to Dudelange on Saturday evening that is. T71 stifled the Musel Pikes attack completely shutting down Samy Picard(6 points) in the process.
Musel Pikes seemed ready as they jumped out to an 8-13 lead. From the middle of the 1st quarter until the final buzzzer, T71 owned Musel Pikes for a 22 point blow-out.
Tim Whitworth (198-G/F-81, agency: Court Side, college: Drexel) led T71 with 26 points followed by Martin Rajniak (205-F-78, college: CSU Bakersfield) with 17(9 rebounds). The rest of the T71 offensive production was by several key players: Frank Muller 14, Tom Schumacher 11(4 asssits) and Gilles Ruffato had 10. T71 struggled again from the free throw line however shooting only 7/12 for 59%. Musel Pikes had only 2 players reaching double figures in scoring: Guy Schmit and Laurent Schwartz with 17 and 16 points respectively. Chris Braier (195-F-84, college: Lawrence) was held to only 8 points, but was the match leader as usual in rebounding with 19. T71 takes the 3rd place in the final four and will now play Contern in a best of three series to see who will advance to the final against Etzella or Musel Pikes.

T 71: 34 field goals. 5 three pointers, 7 for 12 free throws, 35 rebounds, 16 fouls and 10 turnovers
Whitworth 26, Rajniak 17, Ruffato 10, Muller 14, Schumacher 11, also Bemtgen, Hoffmann, Kostur, Siebenbour 2 and Steinmetz
Musel Pikes: 22 field goals, 6 three pointers, 8 for 18 free throws, 33 rebounds 10 fouls and 11 turnovers
Braier 8, Picard 6, G. Scmit 17, Scmitz 2, Schwartz 16, also Muller, R. Dentzer 3, C. Dentzer and Kox 6

Score by quarters: 1st Q 21-21, Halftime 43-36, 3rd Q 63-46, Final 80-58
600 Spectators

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


SL 10 Round ( last round S-League ): Easy job for Buducnost , Danilovgrad win in derby - by Dragan Scepanovic

In last round of Montenegrin Basketball Super League Basketball Club Buducnost win in city of Podgorica against Basketball Club ABS Primorje 89 - 57 ( 31-8,20-15,25-8,13-26 ).Best in team of Buducnost once again was Vladimir Dasic (208-F-88, agency: Beo Basket) ho score for 7 minutes of play 13 points,3 rebound and 2 asist whit +20 index points.In team of Buducnost good game play Sead Sehovic 15 points and Jenikngs 11 points.First game for new club play one of best U18 basketball players in region Filip Barovic ho score 8 points and 6 rebounds.In team of ABS good game play Jovan Bacvic with 19 points and Milan Vujovic 11 points.

BUDUCNOST : Sehovic 15 , Filip Barovic (206-F-90) 8 , Popovic , Bojovic 4, Otasevic 5 , Dragicevic 10, Simonovic 2 , Maras 7 , Vladimir Dasic 13 , Novakovic 4 , Jenkings 11 , Djurisic 10
ABS PRIMORJE : Bulatovic 3 , Tmusic ,Djuricic,Pajevic 9 , Komatina 3 , Misnjic , Bacvic 19 , Vujovic 11 , Vasilije Seferovic 2 , Mandic 10 , Medic .

In second game in city od Danilovgrad , Basketball Club Danilovgrad win in derby game against Basketball Club Primorje from Herceg Novi 83-81

Filip Barovic inks for Buducnost , Goran Gajovic inks for Primorje - by Dragan Scepanovic

DELFI SMG Agency announced that one of most prospect U18 basketball players in region and ex basketball player of Basketball Club Niksic Filip Barovic (206-F-90) singed new 4 year contract whit Basketball Club Buducnost from Podgorica. Barovic have many offre from other basketball clubs from Italy,Serbia,Spain and Greece but he take decision to stay in Montenegro.

In same way Goran Gajovic (199-G/F-88) singed contract whit Basketball Club Priomorje from Herceg Novi until end of basketball season 2008-2009. Both basketball player singed contract whit new basketball club after judgment of Arbitral Committee of Basketball Federation for brake out old contract whit Basketball Club Niksic.



Standings - 1A
1A Standings
Superleague
 1. Buducnost 10-0 
 2. Danilovgrad 5-5 
 3. Primorje-M. 5-5 
 4. Ulcijn 4-4 
 5. ABS Primorje 3-7 
 6. Mornar Bar 1-7 
Play-Out
 1. Lovcen 10-0 
 2. Mogren 7-3 
 3. Jedinstvo 7-3 
 4. Gorstak 4-6 
 5. Rudar 2-8 
 6. Niksic 0-10 


NT player Milko Bjelica grabs another trophy with Lietuvos Rytas - by Eurobasket News
Montenegrin National Team player, Milko Bjelica (207-C-84), celebrated in another final this season. His team Lietuvos Rytas was better than Zalgiris Kaunas 97-74. Serbian power forward collected 8 points and 4 rebounds for the winners. Bjelica played 19 games this season in BBL averaging 9.3 ppg and 4.1 rpg. Interesting is that hero of the final game was Chuck Eidson (201-F-80, agency: Court Side, college: S.Carolina), who drained magnificent 41 points. Lietuvos Rytas outplayed ASK Riga in the semis 85-76. It also important to mention that Rytas was regular season champion in BBL with 14-4 record.
As a reminder, it is not the first trophy for Milko Bjelica this season. Lietuvos Rytas became the EuroCup champion in Turin securing the participation in Euroleague for the next season. Rytas celebrated in the big final against Khimky Moscow 80-74 and Bjelica helped his team with 9 points in 11 minutes. In the semis Rytas outplayed Hemofarm 73-68, while before that the Lithuanians were better than Benetton 85-79. Milko Bjelica scored 12 points in that game. Rytas also celebrated in Lithuanian Cup this year. They will have a chance to grab the fourth trophy as Lithuanian domestic league is not over yet. Rytas currently has 1-0 lead against Siauliai.

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


Injured Luke Walton to miss at least a week - by Eurobasket News
Ankles were a popular topic for discussion after the Lakers' Game 4 victory over the Jazz. Not the ones that were figuratively broken by Kobe Bryant all night long, but the ones belonging to his teammates Trevor Ariza and Luke Walton (6'8''-F-80, college: Arizona).

Ariza stepped on the foot of Josh Powell during warm-ups, and aggravated the sprain during the game, which forced him to head to the locker room to get it re-taped. Ariza was able to come back and play, and is expected to be out there as usual when the Lakers tip-off Game 5 Monday night at Staples center.

The same cannot be said for Luke Walton.

Walton injured his ankle as well during Game 4, but his injury was a bit more serious. At the time, Walton said it felt like the (ankle) bone sheared forward and came back, and his diagnosis wasn't that far off. According to a statement from the Lakers' PR department:

Lakers forward Luke Walton, who suffered a sprained left ankle in Saturday nights Game 3 at Utah, had an MRI exam this morning. Results of the test show a partial tear of the deltoid ligament.

Walton will be out indefinitely and his status will be re-evaluated in approximately one week.

Walton hasn't been playing a ton of minutes in the post-season, at least not yet -- he's averaged just 12 minutes per game through the team's first four. But when he has played, he's played fairly well, facilitating the offense and doing the little things that keep the reserve unit running efficiently, now that Odom spends most of his time with the starters.

Being without Walton is not a huge blow to the Lakers, but especially with Andrew Bynum struggling to find his game lately, the team would like to have as many weapons as possible at their disposal as they advance into the later rounds of the playoffs.

Courtesy of www.nbclosangeles.com

Bowen may leave Spurs - by Demar Thomas
The Spurs have yet to begin discussions on what to do with the roster and, with Bruce Bowen (6'7''-F-71, college: Cal.St. Fullerton), there are several options.

They could keep him, and that would be easy enough. He's under contract next season.

But his salary is only partially guaranteed. The Spurs can buy him out for half of the $4 million he is due, then pursue someone else with the savings. Or they could trade him this summer, or they could trade him next season.

They already tried to trade him this season, and for a reason. Bowen might not be playing at all against Dallas if Manu Ginobili were healthy.

So the Spurs will evaluate, and they will repeat what they said last summer. They need to get younger, right?

Source: San Antonio Express-News

Los Angeles Lakers advance to Western Conference Semifinals with 4-1 - by Eurobasket News
Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) scored 31 points and the Los Angeles Lakers weathered a late Utah run to beat the Jazz, 107-96, to wrap up their Western Conference quarterfinal series in five games.

Lamar Odom (6'10''-F-79, college: Rhode Island) added 26 points and 15 rebounds, while Pau Gasol (7'0''-F/C-80) notched 17 points and 11 boards for the top-seeded Lakers, who will play either Portland or Houston in the next round. The fifth-seeded Rockets hold a 3-1 lead in that opening-round set and can wrap up their first playoff series win since 1997 by capturing Game 5 Tuesday night.

Including the playoffs and regular season, the Lakers have beaten the Jazz 12 straight times at the Staples Center. The Lakers have also won 13 of their last 14 home playoff games, but this time nearly blew a 22-point lead.

'We have to have a better effort and not give up easy baskets,' said Bryant. 'I feel we've improved from last year's playoffs. I'm ready for the next series, whoever it is.'

Paul Millsap (6'7''-F-85, college: Louisiana Tech) led a fourth-quarter charge and finished with 16 points for the Jazz, while Deron Williams (6'3''-G-84, college: Illinois) and Andrei Kirilenko (6'9''-F-81) each added 14 in defeat.

'The Lakers did a good job defensively, they took it to us in the second half,' said Jazz forward Carlos Boozer. 'Our guys that were our there, they played their butts off, unfortunately our season has come to an end. I'd like to come back, but I'll talk to may agent and family, and go from there.'

The Lakers went to the fourth quarter holding an 82-63 lead and were up 93-73 following a pair of free throws from Andrew Bynum with 8 1/2 minutes remaining.

That's when Millsap took matters into his own hands, recording a personal 11-0 spurt. Ronnie Brewer's follow dunk capped the run of 13 straight points.

Bryant interjected with a double-clutch jumper, but Kyle Korver drilled a three-pointer from the corner for a 95-89 difference with under four minutes left.

Utah, which was very tough in the final quarter, as evidenced by 15 rebounds and no turnovers, but the Jazz didn't get the foul calls. That upset coach Jerry Sloan, who was ultimately ejected with 1:09 remaining.

Sloan decided to play three reserves the entire final quarter, Millsap, Korver and Ronnie Price, as they combined for 29 of the team's 33 points. It still wasn't enough, though.

Trevor Ariza missed a three-pointer for the Lakers, but Utah couldn't capitalize at the other end as Okur missed a jumper and Price then was off the mark on a follow layup.

Ariza sank 1-of-2 foul shots with 2:04 left for a 96-89 cushion, and the whistles were silent from the officials when Utah attacked the basket the next time down the floor as Okur missed a jumper, and Price couldn't connect on a layup.

Odom jammed at the other end on the fast break to essentially seal the win at 98-89 with 1:32 left. Fisher tacked on a technical foul shot on Sloan's ejection.

After the game, Bryant was left with a pair of welts on his face, as he reflected on the Lakers beating Utah in the playoffs for a second straight year. In 2008 they beat the Jazz in six games in the West semis.

'No stitches, in the heat of battle, got marked up a little bit,' said Bryant. 'I think it was Brewer or Millsap, one of those two guys in the post.'

The first quarter was tight throughout with the teams even at 26 after 12 minutes, but the Lakers opened the second on a 14-3 spurt, capped by a Sasha Vujacic three-pointer. LA was on top 56-43 at the half, thanks mostly to a 28-15 rebounding advantage.

The Lakers continued to pull away in the third, expanding the lead to as many as 22. Odom's tip shot made it 80-58 with over two minutes left.

'We were concerned about blowing our 22-point lead, but we were able to finish well,' said Gasol. 'It's very satisfying to beat Utah in five games. We're ready for our next opponent.'

Game Notes: The Lakers have closed out their opponent on the first attempt 15 times in their last 17 opportunities dating back to 2001...Currently in his 18th postseason as a head coach, the Lakers' Phil Jackson is 48-1 in playoff series when holding a series lead of any kind...This marked the final game for Jazz broadcaster 'Hot' Rod Hundley, who announced his retirement last week. Hundley has been broadcasting Jazz games since 1974, when they were an expansion team playing in New Orleans...The Lakers are 26-4 in their last 30 home playoff games...This was Jackson's 282nd playoff game coaching the Lakers, tying an NBA record...Ariza had 12 points...Boozer had 10 points and nine boards for Utah, which also got 11 points from Korver and 10 from Brewer.

Courtesy of www.tsn.ca

NBA Round: 4 (Quarter-Finals) - by Eurobasket News

Eastern Conf
Hawks - Heat 81-71
The Atlanta Hawks grabbed 81-71 win in Miami last night tying the score to 2-2. Michael Bibby (6'2''-G-78, college: Arizona) led his team with 15, Joe Johnson had 14 and Josh Smith netted one point less. Zaza Pachulia helped with double-double, 12 pts and 18 rebounds. For the hosts Dwyane Wade had 22, Jermaine O'Neal 20 and James Jones scored 19 pts. Game number 5 is scheduled for tomorrow.

Celtics - Bulls 118-121 2OT
The Chicago Bulls grabbed 121-118 double overtime win at the United Center. It means that the Bulls tied the score in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Celtics to 2-2. Derrick Rose (6'4''-G-88, college: Memphis) was a key player in this victory almost registering triple-double: 23 pts, 11 rebs and 9 as. Ben Gordon drained 22, while John Salmons helped with 2 points less. It is important to mention that Gordon hit the tying 3-pointer in the first overtime. On the other side, Paul Pierce top-scored in loss with 29 points. He also grabbed 7 rebounds beside that. Ray Allen nailed 28, while Rajon Rondo contributed with triple-double: 25 pts, 11 rebs and 11 as. Game number 5 is scheduled for April 28 in Boston.

Magic - 76ers 84-81
The Orlando Magic celebrated 84-81 road win against the 76ers also tying the score in Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to 2-2. Hidayet Turkoglu (6'9''-F-79) was a game hero as he nailed a 3-pointer over Thaddeus Young with 1.1 seconds left. Hedo collected 17 pts in total. The same number also had Rashard Lewis. Dwight Howard was the leading scorer of his team with 18 pts (also had 18 rebs). Andre Miller answered with 17 points in defeat. Fifth game will be played tomorrow in Orlando.

Cavaliers - Pistons 99-78
LeBron James (6'8''-F-84) had 36 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 99-78 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday, sweeping the Eastern Conference first-round series. The top-seeded Cavs might be off for more than a week, waiting for Atlanta or Miami to advance. Detroit, meanwhile, will have its longest offseason since 2001 and about $20 million in salary-cap space to rebuild a once-proud team. James made his first four shots - including a windmill dunk. He helped put the Pistons away for good with a 16-6 run midway through the third quarter. Maurice Williams scored a career playoff-high 24 for the Cavs. Detroit's Antonio McDyess had 26 points, tying a career playoff high.


Western Conf
Trail Blazers - Rockets 88-89
Houston Rockets escaped with tiny 89-88 home win against the Blazers taking 3-1 lead in the quarterfinals. Ming Yao (7'5''-C-80) was a key player in victory nailing 21 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. Luis Scola followed him with 17 pts and 8 boards. The team from Portland got 31 points from Brandon Roy and 19 pts, plus 10 rebs from LaMarcus Aldridge. Fifth game will be played on April 28th.

Lakers - Jazz 108-94
3-1 for the team from LA. Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) was on fire in this one scoring 38 points. Pau Gasol had double-double (13 pts and 10 rebs) and Lamar Odom did the same (10 pts and 15 rebs). Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer combined 46 points, 21 rebounds and 18 assists for the hosts.

Nuggets - Hornets 121-63
Carmelo Anthony (6'8''-F-84, college: Syracuse) and his teammates smashed the NO Hornets letting them to score just 63 points for the game. It means that the Nuggets now need just one victory to reach the Westeren Conference Semifinals. Anthony was the best player in his squad collecting 26 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. Chauncey Billups had 17 pts and 8 assists, while Linas Kleiza added 14 pts. James Posey delivered 12 pts in defeat. Game number 5 - tomorrow.

Spurs - Mavericks 90-99
3-1 for the Mavs and this time it was Josh Howard (6'6''-F-80, college: Wake Forest) who scored the most - 28 points. Jason Kidd collected 17 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, while Dirk Nowitzki added 12 pts and 13 rebs. Tony Parker was on fire for the Spurs draining 43 points. Tim Duncan was close to triple-double: 25 pts, 10 rebs and 7 as. Game No.5 - April 28th.

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


Grant fills out coaching staff at Alabama - by Eurobasket News
New Alabama basketball coach Anthony Grant has retained Antoine Pettway and hired one of his own college coaches as assistants.

Grant announced Saturday that he will hold over Pettway from Mark Gottfried's staff and has also hired John Brannen and Dan Hipsher, a Dayton coach during Grant's playing days, as assistant coaches.

He named Tony Pujol director of basketball operations, James Kane basketball video coordinator and Andy Weigel strength and conditioning coach.

'I'm excited about the staff we've assembled and I think it speaks volumes for the perception and reputation of Alabama basketball on the national scene,' Grant said. 'We have been able to attract a staff of high character, knowledge and experience. I'm definitely excited about the steps we've taken in cultivating this staff.'

All but Pettway and Hipsher worked for Grant at Virginia Commonwealth.

Pettway returned to his alma mater last season after two years on Jacksonville State's staff. The former point guard helped Alabama make its only Elite Eight appearance in 2004.

Hipsher, a 29-year college coaching veteran, coached Grant during his playing days at Dayton and spent the past two seasons as South Florida's associate head coach. He is a former Arkansas assistant and spent nine years as Akron's head coach. Grant was on his staff for a season at Stetson.

Brannon played for Grant when the latter was an assistant at Marshall and spent three seasons at VCU.

Pujol has spent five seasons in college coaching after leading Northwest Christian Academy in Miami to three state titles.

Kane and Weigel both spent the past two years under Grant at VCU.

Courtesy of www.usatoday.com

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall agrees to one-year contract extension - by Eurobasket News
Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall has agreed to a one-year contract extension. Athletic director Eric Sexton announced in a release Monday that Marshall's contract has been extended through April 15, 2015. The Shockers went 17-17 last season, an improvement from their 11-20 record in Marshall's first year.

Meanwhile, Mississippi State forward Jarvis Varnado (6'9''-F/C-88) announced Monday that he has declared for the NBA Draft but won't hire an agent. The 6-9, 210-pound junior from Brownsville, Tenn., said in a school news release that he wanted to get a feel for his draft status. By not signing with an agent, he could return to Mississippi State. The draft is June 25.


Early entries

Players have until June 15 to remove their name from the draft.

'I just want to test the water to see where I stand,' Varnado said in the release.

This past season, Varnado averaged a team-high 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds, finished as the nation's leading shot blocker with 170 and led the Bulldogs on an unlikely run to the NCAA tournament and a Southeastern Conference tournament title.

He won the Howell Trophy given to the state's top male basketball player and had to file his paperwork with the NBA by midnight Sunday.

'We are in full support of Jarvis and his father's decision to enter the NBA Draft and test the waters,' said Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury. 'It will be a great opportunity for Jarvis to experience some workouts and gain knowledge of things he needs to work on.'

A two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year, if Varnado returned for his senior season he would need just 19 blocks to surpass former LSU center Shaquille O'Neal's SEC career mark of 412. The NCAA record is 535 set in 2002 by Louisiana-Monroe's Wojciech Mydra.

Courtesy of www.cbssports.com

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


Standings Men
NBL Standings
 1. Nelson 7-2 
 2. Wellington 6-2 
 3. Cougars 6-2 
 4. Waikato 5-1 
 5. Bay Hawks 4-3 
 6. Harbour Heat 4-4 
 7. Auckland 2-5 
 8. Manawatu 1-8 
 9. Taranaki 0-8 


*****************************************************
  PALESTINE   


PSL(10): Ibdaa Heading the League & A Close Win for AlBireh - by Tamara Awartani

Ibdaa vs. Orthodoxi Ramallah 89 77
One of the most beautiful games to watch in the league, both teams didnt lose one game half way, two complete teams with locals and two strong imports. Ibdaa the unbeatable is leading the league but still has a couple of strong games ahead of them, against Orthodoxi Beit Jala, Sariyet Ramallah & De La Salle.
While Orthodoxi Ramallah known for their strong defense and skilled shooting guards didnt make it easy for Ibdaa, playing hard till the last second & still yet to have several strong games against Saryiet Ramallah & De La Salle. Ibdaa led the first quarter, tying the second & leading the fourth through Jimmy Williams (196-G-86, college: Alders.-Broad.) who stood out in the game scoring 37 points having 10 rebounds & 5 beautiful assists, while Yahia Al Khatib (190-G-77) had 4 smooth 3pointers scoring 22points while Iyad Yousef Abdalla (205-C-80) was unstoppable under basket having over 10 rebounds scoring 12points along with Nader Yousef & Munir Barakat.
However, the experience of Ghassan Elayan of Orthodoxi Ramallah along with Ahmad Deeb, Mohammed Khalili and Ahmad Ameen great skills & shots with Ramzi AlMasou under basket , as well as Justin Williams who had a big share in leading the team.
1st 26 14, 2nd 22-22, 3rd 14-19, 4th 27 22


AlBireh vs. AlFara 79 - 74
A close game that showed same level of playing at some point, AlFara started off more focused while AlBireh took their time to get into the game but led from the second quarter onwards.
AlBireh was led by Fuad Jarrars strong drives and great shots along with Mustafa Yasers shots with Mohammed Hirmas rebounds & Ahmad Awadallah while AlFaraa players who stood out were Ahmad Saed, Ashraf Biladi, Fares Waleed, Saif Nazmi and Osama Bahdawi.
1st 18 27, 2nd 18-10, 3rd 17-16, 4th 26-21

Updates:
- Two Exciting hard to predict Beautiful Games will take place tom the 29th of April in Bethlehem
Sariyet Ramallah vs. Orthodoxi Ramalllah
Ibdaa vs. Orthodoxi Beit
- De La Salle lost their first game in the Arab Clubs tournament against AlManameh AlBahraini 74 92
- De La Salle next game in the Arab Clubs tournament against Tilal AlYamani is at 6pm 29th of April



Standings - Men
PBBA Standings
Gaza Group
 1. Khadamat B. 4-0 
 2. Gaza SC 3-1 
 3. Rafah 3-1 
 4. Khadamat DA. 2-2 
 5. Khadamat KY. 1-4 
 6. Khadamat J. 0-5 
West Bank Group
 1. Ibdaa D. 10-0 
 2. Orthodox R. 9-1 
 3. Orthodox BJ 9-1 
 4. Sarriyet 9-1 
 5. De La Salle 8-2 
 6. Hiteen 7-3 
 7. Qalandia 7-4 
 8. Al Ahli 6-4 
 9. Ebal 5-4 
 10. Catholic A. 5-5 
 11. AlBireh 4-6 
 12. Islami 4-6 
 13. Huwara 3-7 
 14. RaI AlSaleh 2-8 
 15. Thaqafi BS 2-9 
 16. Al Fara 2-9 
 17. Thaqafi T. 0-9 
 18. Balata 0-11 


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


LPB review - by Luis Rocha
Finally the regular season come to its end. It was a poor season, firat of all the model of this competition was all wrong, then the budgets of the clubs were adjusted poorly, just in order to take part in the competition, in most of the cases notreally to be competitive. Benfica won the regular season with no defeats... 30 games, 30 wins, this is the perfect example of the weakest League since a good deal of time. This team is the clear favourite to the tilte, good and experienced players, that can be decisive at all times in offense, but not as good when it comes to defend. players capable to drive , shoot and pass, but not as keen to bend over and start defending. CAB made a great season, with not a big roster. They finish second, and they are a Team that at home can be very hard to beat, outside their premises they not as tough, but nevertheless, they played enough to desrve their spot. Ovarense had a season with a lot of ups and downs. They had injuries on lead players, they take some time finding a center that played according to the team needs, and at ht end they finish third. If everybody on the roster stays healthy, they will certainly be a strong contender, but this was one of the clubs that cut down on budget, and they lack some of their old players that perform above the level. Vagos finish fourth, but Rico Hill one of theior best players have drug problems and the team will miss him, hes susoended, and the future of the team will rest on a achance of getting some guy to help, otherwise, the playoffs will not be a good ride. Academica was fifth, nice season, they have a well squeezed lemon, no big stars on the team, but quality, companionship and hard work. A solid team, that is coming to the best possible and took everuthing they can, so far. Barreirense sixth, another missed season for this club, year after year their youngsters seem capable of everything, but year after year they fail. And so many years pass, and now some of the guys are not so young anymore. Tey keep bringging new guys from the junior team, but the quality of the game is not consistent, and that keeps the team out of making solid performances and win. Vitoria was seventh, another team that played behind expectations. Many problems in find the right foreign players, many injuries, and diseases, all togheter combine to a weak performance of a club that was expected to do great things this season. Porto was the last team able to achieve the playoffs, unbelievable their classification, nobody expected that. Too many problems with injuries bring the team down, they gonna have to face Benfica (the first), at the beggining nobody thought they can play as badly as they did, no sparks, on their game, a big lack of togherness on the court, maybe the quality and the model of the Leagur didnt keep everybody really focused..., at the end it tuns out as it was.
The Portuguese Federation can do , and have to do better, next season, the quality of the game, and the players that played, were not as good as on other seasons, people didnt went to arenas on the same number, Tvs didnt show as many games as before, interest falls. Something has to be done, quickly and right, in order to bring a nice competition next year

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  PUERTO RICO   


Standings - BSN
BSN Standings
 1. Bayamon 6-0 
 2. Santurce 3-1 
 3. Arecibo 3-2 
 4. Quebradillas 3-3 
 5. Carolina 2-2 
 6. Ponce 2-3 
 7. San German 2-3 
 8. Mayaguez 2-3 
 9. Caguas 2-4 
 10. Guaynabo 1-3 
 11. Humacao 1-3 


*****************************************************
  SAINT KITTS   


Antigua edge out St. Kitts in exciting basketball season opener - by Eurobasket
THE 2009 St. Kitts Amateur Basketball Association (SKABA) league opened Sunday night (Apr. 26) with a thrilling battle between two of the Eastern Caribbeans top teams.
The Antigua Defence Force Warriors, led by Coach Bradbury Browne , are the reigning champions out of Antigua and Barbuda and came into their match-up Sunday night against the SKABA Premier Division Champion Rams Hitters ready for victory.
Warriors had the momentum coming into the game after defeating an all-star team from the Challengers Basketball League the night before, and the action at Basketball City was definitely fast-paced as Hitters stars such as Shawn Forbes (198-F) and Marlon Powell (183-G) clashed with their Antigua and Barbuda counterparts, Shawn Williams and Marlon Charles (186-G-76).
Though the battle was close throughout the game, Warriors pulled ahead in the final minutes and were able to walk away with the winning score of 81-80.
Despite Forbes and Powell scoring an outstanding 37 combined points, Warriors proved to be their offensive equal in a game that could have gone either way.
Earlier in the evening, the 2008 Runners-up in the Premier Division, S. L. Horsfords Ghetto Roots, were able to knock off one of their top competitors from last year, St. Pauls Hard Wine Tuff Knots.
Roots were coached by Dr. Garfield Alexander on the way to their 81-76 victory, who graduated to the Premier Division spot after coaching the Basseterre Senior High School Broncos to the finals of the Junior Division in 2008.
The revamped Roots were also assisted by former guard for the McKnight Trotters, Levi By-By Fyfield. Fyfield managed a massive 25 points, but was still outscored by teammate Carlos Monzac, who looked good with 33 of his own.
The SKABA season was officially opened by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Culture, Lloyd Lazar, and was also attended by the President of the St. Kitts-Nevis National Olympic Committee, Alphonso Bridgewater.
In his address to the 32 league teams and gathered fans, SKABA President James Barman Hanley noted that the league is still in search of a sponsor to partner with, which would help to facilitate the local players being able to compete in overseas regional tournaments.
To date, the only division to receive sponsorship has been the Junior Division, which is being backed by attorney Lindsay Grant
By Ryan Haas

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  SEBL   


Baseline USA vs All Army Elite - by Bobby Rouse
On Saturday May 2, 2009 at 1PM, Baseline USA of the SEBL will play an exhibition game against the All Army Elite Men's Basketball team in Atlanta, GA on Fort Gillem. The game is a tune up for the All Army team as they prepare for the Armed Forces Tournament of Champions later in May. Bobby Rouse who is the General Manager of the Cartersville Warriors of the WBA will coach the team in the exhibition. The roster for Saturday will consist of:

PG-
Jeremy Law (6'5''-G-82, college: Jacksonville St.) - 6'3' - Whitfield, AL
Andrew Jones - 6'3' - Dallas, GA

SG-
A.J. Mastin (6'2''-G-83, college: So.Polytechnic St.) - 6'3' - Chatanooga,TN
Karl Hollingsworth (6'3''-F/G-82, college: Stetson) - 6'3' - Stockbridge, GA

SF-
Shannon Chambers (6'7''-F-81, college: Charleston) - 6'8' - Los Angeles, CA
Robert Cox (6'5''-G/F-84, agency: Team Quest Inc., college: So.Polytechnic St.) - 6'6' - Macon, GA

PF-
Xavier Morton (6'9''-F/C-80, college: Clark Atlanta) - 6'9' - Atlanta, GA
Kedrione Harris (6'7''-F/C, college: Ft.Valley St.) - 6'8' - Fort Valley, GA
Ozzie Henderson (6'6''-F-84, college: Edward Waters) - 6'6' - Jacksonville, FL

C-
Donovan McMullen (6'10''-C-85, college: Reinhardt) - 6'10' - McDonough, GA
Justin Billingslea (6'10''-F-85, college: Georgia St.) - 6'10' - Atlanta, GA

Coach-
Bobby Rouse - 6'5' - Barnwell, SC

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


Aleksandar Icic leaves Metalac Valjevo - by Zoran Popovic
Aleksandar Icic decided to leave bench of Vujic Metalac Valjevo before the game against FMP in the last round of Swisslion Superlegue. The main reason of was disagreement with Management of the club. Icic took the team in December 2008 after Vlado Djurovic moved to BC Vojvodina. Led by Icic Vujic Metalac Valjevo finished Regular season of Serbian A league on the 3rd place. Before Vujic Metalac Valjevo, Icic was coach of young categories, coach assistant of Vladislav Lucic and Jovica Antonic and head coach of Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje.

Partizan ends Superleague regular season perfect - by Eurobasket News

Group A
Partizan - Vojvodina 95-57
As it was expected, Partizan was too strong for Vojvodina for perfect 6-0 record in Group A. It means that Partizan will have home court advantage during the playoffs and its first rival will be Hemofarm (semifinals). Cedomir Vitkovac (201-F-82) and Uros Tripkovic top-scored in victory with 16 points. Each of them spent just 13 minutes on the floor. Charron Fisher had double-double in loss, 23 pts and 10 rebs. Vojvodina will play next season in A league.

FMP - Metalac 76-66
FMP outplayed Metalac at home 76-66 ending the Superleague regular season on the second place in Group A with 3-3 record. Filip Covic (180-G-89) came up with 18, Dragan Labovic had 15 pts and 7 rebs, while Branko Lazic netted 11 pts. Visitors got 21 pts from Jovan Teodosic, falling to 1-5. FMP will meet Crvena Zvezda in the semis.


Group B
Swiss.Lions - Crvena Zvez. 52-64
Crvena Zvezda cruised past Swisslion on the road 64-52 for position No.1 in Group B with 5-1. The same numbers has the second ranked Hemofarm. Elmedin Kikanovic (206-C-88, agency: Beo Basket) paced his team to victory last night with 14 points. Andre Owens netted 2 pts less. Dusan Knezevic delivered 13 for the hosts. Crvena Zvezda will meet FMP in the semifinals. Swisslion will participate in Adriatic league next season.

Hemofarm - Borac 78-72
Position No.2 for Hemofarm, who will meet Partizan in the play-off semifinals. Stefan Markovic (194-G-88) helped his team yesterday with 17 points and 6 assists. Vladan Vukosaljevic nailed 13 pts. Borac got 32 pts and 7 rebs from Ivan Zigeranovic.

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


Standings - 1A
Liga UPC Standings
Places 1-8
 1. U.Olimpija 9-1 
 2. Helios 8-2 
 3. Krka 7-3 
 4. Slovan 5-5 
 5. Zlatorog 5-5 
 6. Polzela 4-6 
 7. Luka Koper 1-9 
 8. Elektra 1-9 
Places 9-13
 1. TCG Mercator 12-18 
 2. Zagorje 12-18 
 3. Alpos S. 11-19 
 4. Epic Misel 10-20 
 5. Nova Gorica 9-21 


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


Sundsvall beats Solna, take 3-2 advantage - by Antonio Matek
Solna Vikings - Sundsvall Dragons 70-87
(24-15, 10-14, 15-22, 21-36)
Sundsvall Dragons have a great oppurtunity to win the finals after defeating Solna Vikings 70-87 in Solnahallen. 1164 spectators attended the game that seemed to be over after the first quarter. The second quarter was not too exciting, as Solna kept the lead. During the second half of the game, Sundsvall made several tough shot, while being able too use more players compared to their opponents. The big knock-out punch came when Juha Sten (191-G-83, agency: Rasmussen Services) fouled out, forcing Solna to roll on fewer players, and the visitors could go on to win the contest.
Solna took the oppurtunity too use the home court advantage by setting a high pace in the first half. Alex Wesby (196-G-80, agency: R.H.Consultancy, college: Temple) made the first shot for Sundsvall, 0-2, but the team would trail for the rest of the quarter. Led by Mats Levin (188-G-77), who wore new shoes after his slippery game 4 in Sundsvall, as Solna took charge of the important fifth battle. Martin Pahlmblad (193-G-86) was also a strong factor as he made several three-pointers. During the first quarter, Levin dished out good passes to open teammates, just like when he found Peter Bogner (198-G-80) with 2:28 left of Q1. Bogner made the shot, putting his team ahead 19-9. The first quarter ended with a 24-15 home team lead after a strong finish by Sundsvalls Olivier Ilunga (185-G-84, agency: Interperformances). Ilunga found a good flow while making two tough and important three-pointers that kept his team in the game.
The game continued with a bad offensive second quarter, as the team missed shot after shot. Wesby scored the first points in Q2 after 2:35, and then came nothing until 6:30 when Solna finally managed to end their drought. Saulius Dumbliauskas (202-C-81, agency: Court Side, college: St.Bonaventure) grabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball in. The home team went to half break with a 34-29 lead after finishing well, but the game stayed alive thanks to strong perfomances by Wesby and Liam Rush (203-F/G-82).
However, Sundsvall set a new tempo in the second half. Led by Srdan Subotic (193-G-80, agency: Interperformances) (who was back after what seems to be a minor heart problem) and Wesby, the guests got ahead for the first time since the beginning of the game after a Subotic three-pointer. Aki Ulander (208-C-81) made a dunk to make the score 37-40, and Sundsvall went on to remain on top after Q3 leading 49-51. In the fourth quarter, the guests pulled away to 49-56. Coach Pekka Salminen decided to take a time-out when Wesby burried a trey for the visitors. The time-out gave Solna some strength, as they fought back and got within one point, 58-59. Suddenly it was Peter Oqvist's turn to take a time-out. Sundsvall pulled away again, and when Rush scored, giving his team a 58-67 advantage, Salminen took one more time-out, but it did not help. Wesby hit a tough in-the-face-floater, giving his team a 60-73 lead. The guests never looked back as they outscored their opponents 36-58 to secure their third win in the finals. Sundsvall hit 13 out of 25 shots (52%) from down town compared to Solnas 12-for-29 (giving a solid 41,4% shooting).
Levin (12 pts, 4 ass, 5 to) and Pahlmblad (15 pts, 5/9 3p) were the best player for the hosts. Dumbliauskas made another strong perfomance, ending the game with 10 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Wesby made a game high 21 points, followed by Rushs 18 points, Subotics 17(3/4 3p, 8/8 ft) and Ilungas 16.
Solna: Martin Pahlmblad 15, Jermaine 'Jonte' Flowers 13 (6 reb, 2blk), Mats Levin 12, Saulius Dumbliauskas 10 (11 reb), Juha Sten 7, Lesli Myrthil 7, Samuel Desport 3, Peter Bogner 3.
Sundsvall: Alexander Wesby 21 (7 reb), Liam Rush 18 (6 reb, 5 ass), Srdan Subotic 17 (5 ass), Olivier Ilunga 16, Doug Thomas 6 (11 reb), Michael Palm 4, Adam Alexander 3, Aki Ulander 3 (6 reb), Andre Nilsson 2


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


Al Jeish to the Finals - by Emile Aaji
After beeting Al Wehda Damascus in the 3rd game 77-72 . Al Jeish Army Damascus qualified to the finals to face the champions Al Jalaa Aleppo in 5 games .
The game was close and Al Wehda Damascus had a chance to win it but eventuly Al Jeish Army Damascus hang on to the victory .
The finals will start on wednesday 29th of April in Aleppo .
1st , 3rd and 5th game will be played in Aleppo
Anyone who wins 3 games will be the champion of Syria
Al Jalaa Aleppo allready has 25 league titles . Al Jeish Army Damascus has 2 .

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


Karadag quits at Selcuk - by Sinan Can
Mutlu Aku Selcuk Universitesi Head Coach Cengiz Karadag announced his unexpected resignation. Karadag, who'd be nominated as 'Coach of the Year' in Beko Basketball League by helping his young team to remain in Turkey's top contest among the big budget rivals quoted that he will not be in charge at last two games of regular season. 'Because of some new conditions' said Karadag in his brief official announcement. Club board made a statement that Assitant Coach Gokhan Guney will be in charge for the last two games. Konya team is 13th place with a 10-18 record.

Final Days for Turkish Division 2 - by Mustafa Bozkurt
Final Four just started in Turkish Division 2. Trabzonspor, ITU, Tofas and Bornova Belediyesi are fighting for TBL. The teams ll play 6 games and first two teams ll go to the TBL. First round ll play in Konya and second round ll play in Antalya. In the opening game of Final Four, Tofas beat Bornova Belediyesi with 94-86. Second game of the first day ITU knocked down Trabzonspor with 87-85. Ibrahim Kutluay scored 32 points and was the scorer of the game.

*****************************************************
  UKRAINE   


Standings - Higher League
UBL Standings
Group A
 1. Kryvbasbasket 5-2 
 2. DniproAzot 4-3 
 3. BC Odessa 4-4 
 4. Hoverla 3-4 
 5. Cherkasy 2-5 
Group B
 1. Budivelnyk 6-1 
 2. Politek.Lviv 5-2 
 3. Ferro-ZNTU 3-4 
 4. Dnipro 3-5 
 5. Gryfony 1-6 


*****************************************************
  UNITED KINGDOM   


24-man GB squad announced - by Eurobasket News
The GB Squad for this summer's O2 Tournament and Eurobasket '09 has been leaked to a national newspaper! More news to follow on this shocking breach of security at Team GB HQ, but in the meantime here is the squad.


The 24-man roster:

Kieron Achara (Fortitudo, ITA)

Rob Archibald (Unicaja, ESP)

Andrew Betts (216-C-77, college: Long Beach St.) (Aris Thesaloniki, GRE)

Eric Boateng (208-C-85, college: Duke) (Arizona State, USA)

Flinder Boyd (Leicester Riders, GBR)

Matthew Bryan-Amaning (University of Washington, USA)

Dan Clark (Estudiantes, ESP)

Daryl Corletto (Melbourne Tigers, AUS)

Luol Deng (201-F-85, agency: Arik Krayn Services, college: Duke) (Chicago Bulls, USA)

Germayne Forbes (Nyon, SWI)

Joel Freeland (Gran Canaria, ESP)

Nick George (Gravelines Dunkerque, FRA)

Ben Gordon (188-G-83, college: Connecticut) (Chicago Bulls, USA)

Randall Hanke (Providence, USA)

Jarrett Hart (Keravnos, CYP)

Dzaflo Larkai (L'Hospitalet, ESP)

Mike Lenzly (Harem Scafati, ITA)

Steve Leven (West Brabant-Giants NED)

Pops Mensah-Bonsu (206-F-83, agency: SportsTalent, college: George Washington) (Toronto Raptors, CAN)

Richard Midgley (Everton Tigers, GBR)

Nate Reinking (Mons Hainaut, BEL)

Justin Robinson (Rider University, USA)

Andrew Sullivan (CSK VVS Samara, RUS)

Tafari Toney (Newcastle Eagles, GBR)

Courtesy of www.basketball247.co.uk

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


Standings - Metropolitan League
Metropolitan Standings
 1. Montevideo 3-0 
 2. 25 de Agosto 2-1 
 3. Welcome 2-1 
 4. Nacional 2-1 
 5. Urunday Univ. 2-1 
 6. Olivol Mundial 1-1 
 7. Yale 1-1 
 8. Verdirrojo 1-2 
 9. Larranaga 1-2 
 10. Larre Borges 1-2 
 11. Capitol 1-2 
 12. Goes 0-3 


*****************************************************
  USBA   


Capitals add local star Helton; Williams, Turner sign also - by USBA Media
The West Virginia Capitals would like to announce the signing of James Helton (6'6''-F), Mark Williams (6'4''-G/F-78, college: Sinclair CC), and Wesley Turner (6'8''-F, college: W.Virginia St.).
Helton, a 6-foot-6 forward from Columbus, Ohio, averaged 18 points and nine rebounds, while shooting 52 percent from the field, during his senior year (2007-2008) at West Virginia State University. In addition, Helton, who was given the name Worm by his peers because he is so tall and long, was named as a West Virginia Conference mens basketball first team selection and 2008 NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) Division II East Region second team selection during his senior season.
Helton recently returned to the West Virginia area after completing his first season of international basketball in Belgium.
We are ecstatic to have James join our team, said Capitals head coach Thomas Jones.
He is a great player and he will pose problems for defenders with his ability to play with his back to the basket or shoot the three. He also has the ability to play the two, three, and four position and that really speaks for itself. But, I really like the fact that he is a competitor the most. He is going to make everyone around him better.
Williams, a 6-foot- 4 guard/forward from Dayton, Ohio, attended Sinclair Community College, where he was named first-team all conference. In addition, Williams holds Sinclair CC single game scoring record of 50 points. Since then, Williams has played in the IBL for the Dayton Jets and in Istanbul.
Mark is a great addition to the team because he has experience playing minor league basketball, Jones said. With his size and strength, we will be able to play him at multiple positions.
Turner, a 6-foot-8 forward from Salisbury, NC, was also a member of the 2007-2008 West Virginia State University basketball squad after transferring from Division I school Georgia State. As a reserve forward for the WV State Yellow Jackets, Turner averaged one point and two rebounds in limited action.
You really cant base how good this kid will be from his stats, Jones said. He didnt play a lot during his stay at State [West Virginia State], but this kid has talent. He is very long and athletic. He is a good rebounder and I believe his skills will be a great asset to the team.
To make room for the three players, the Capitals have released Melvin Garrett and Anthony Bitting from their contracts.

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


LPB 2009 - Week 9 (Sunday): La Guaira stops Guaros, Guaiqueries sweep Gaiteros, Toros and Panteras resist - by Francisco Vega

Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- La Guaira BBC ended a five-game winning streak of Guaros de Lara, while Guaiqueries de Margarita was able to sweep Gaiteros del Zulia at their own court, something that hadn't happened since 1998. Toros de Aragua completed a sweep over Gigantes de Guayana and Panteras de Miranda is still alive and defeated Trotamundos de Carabobo.

La Guaira BBC 95 - Guaros de Lara 87
Jose Maria Vargas Arena - La Guaira, Vargas

Quarter by quarter
LG: 14-25-22-34= 95
GUA: 19-25-28-15= 87

Scorers
GUA: Jason Edwin (196-G/F-81) 16 points, Heissler Guillent (191-G-86) 15 points, Torraye Braggs (203-F/C-76) 12 points

LG: Edgar Lugo (189-G-82) 19 points, Jose Martinez (196-F-82) 18 points, Victor Gonzalez (200-F-69) 16 points


Guaiqueries de Margarita 86 - Gaiteros del Zulia 82
Belisario Aponte Arena - Maracaibo, Zulia

Quarter by quarter
GAI: 19-18-18-27= 82

GUAI: 18-18-21-29= 86

Scorers
GUAI: Carlos Cedeno (193-G/F-85) 21 points, Chris Jackson (208-C-81) 19 points

GAI: Alejandro Barrios (205-C-79) 23 points, Chris Jeffries (199-F-80, college: Wash.-St.Louis) 18 points


Panteras de Miranda 84 - Trotamundos de Carabobo 82
Jose Joaquin Carrillo Arena - Caracas, D.C.

Quarter by quarter
PAN: 17-21-19-27= 84
TRO: 24-17-23-18= 82

Scorers
TRO: Jose Vargas (196-G/F-82) 23 points, Cedric Moodie (187-G-78) 20 points, Gustavo Barrera (194-G-85) 10 points, Miguel Marriaga (206-C-84) 9 points, Mark Bortz (208-F/C-82) 9 points, Richard Lugo (209-C-73) 8 points and 10 rebounds, Leonardo Cappare (186-G-80) 3 points, Manuel Berroteran (185-G-80) 2 points, Pedro Brito (202-F/C-82) 0 points, Yorvis Umbria (203-F-85) 0 points, Luis Carmona (191-F/G-90) 0 points, Ronald Guillen (206-C-84) 0 points

PAN: Devougn Lamont (208-F-84) 16 points, Eduardo Torres (195-F-81) 15 points, Blake Walker (196-G/F-82) 13 points, Brian Latham (184-G-83) 11 points, Deivis Ananguren (192-F-85) 8 points, Darwin Jaramillo (192-F-86) 7 points, Roque Osorio (206-C-76) 6 points, Derwin Ramirez (191-F-82) 2 points, Michael Flores (192-G-85) 2 points, Richard Mejias (187-G-78) 2 points, TomJim Colina (186-G-77) 2 points, Edgar Sifontes (185-F-85) 0 points


Toros de Aragua 86 - Gigantes de Guayana 67
El Limon Colisseum - Maracay, Aragua

Quarter by quarter
TOR: 30-19-22-15= 86
GIG: 23-11-19-14= 67

Scorers
TOR: Kenya Capers (194-F-73) 29 points, Alejandro Flores (202-F-81) 16 points and 10 rebounds, Taliek Brown (186-G-82) 15 points, Amber Marin (208-C-81) 8 points, Ernesto Mijares (190-G-76) 7 points, Peter Kvietek (203-C-77) 4 points, Jesus Urbina (201-F-84) 4 points, Luis Julio (199-F-80) 3 points, Ruben Pachano (185-G-76) 0 points, Rodrigo Rodriguez (198-F-80) 0 points, Jean Carlos Espinoza (190-G/F-74) 0 points, Alejandro Otaiza (190-F-76) 0 points

GIG: Clarence Matthews (201-F-83) 14 points and 7 rebounds, Douglas Rodriguez (185-G-79) 12 points, Omar Quintero (183-G-81) 10 points, Daniel Macuare (190-F-84) 6 points, Jose Ramos (198-F-71) 6 points, Victor David Diaz (195-F-68) 5 points, Kevin Palacios (203-F/C-84) 4 points, Ludwing Irazabal (201-C/F-73) 3 points and 7 rebounds, Pedro Montano (201-F-84) 3 points, Levi Stukes (188-G-84) 2 points, Jorge Leon (186-G-79) 2 points, Nestor Moran (178-G-87) 0 points



*****************************************************
  WBA   


Baseline USA vs All Army Elite - by Bobby Rouse
On Saturday May 2, 2009 at 1PM, Baseline USA of the SEBL will play an exhibition game against the All Army Elite Men's Basketball team in Atlanta, GA on Fort Gillem. The game is a tune up for the All Army team as they prepare for the Armed Forces Tournament of Champions later in May. Bobby Rouse who is the General Manager of the Cartersville Warriors of the WBA will coach the team in the exhibition. The roster for Saturday will consist of:

PG-
Jeremy Law (6'5''-G-82, college: Jacksonville St.) - 6'3' - Whitfield, AL
Andrew Jones - 6'3' - Dallas, GA

SG-
A.J. Mastin (6'2''-G-83, college: So.Polytechnic St.) - 6'3' - Chatanooga,TN
Karl Hollingsworth (6'3''-F/G-82, college: Stetson) - 6'3' - Stockbridge, GA

SF-
Shannon Chambers (6'7''-F-81, college: Charleston) - 6'8' - Los Angeles, CA
Robert Cox (6'5''-G/F-84, agency: Team Quest Inc., college: So.Polytechnic St.) - 6'6' - Macon, GA

PF-
Xavier Morton (6'9''-F/C-80, college: Clark Atlanta) - 6'9' - Atlanta, GA
Kedrione Harris (6'7''-F/C, college: Ft.Valley St.) - 6'8' - Fort Valley, GA
Ozzie Henderson (6'6''-F-84, college: Edward Waters) - 6'6' - Jacksonville, FL

C-
Donovan McMullen (6'10''-C-85, college: Reinhardt) - 6'10' - McDonough, GA
Justin Billingslea (6'10''-F-85, college: Georgia St.) - 6'10' - Atlanta, GA

Coach-
Bobby Rouse - 6'5' - Barnwell, SC

Warriors set to play All-Armed Forces Squad. - by David Archer
#s#
LawLaw
Law
HollingsworthHollingsworth
Hollingsworth
CoxCox
Cox
MortonMorton
Morton
BillingsleaBillingslea
Billingslea
#e#5

Cartersville, GA - The Cartersville-Baseline Warriors of the WBA and SEBL will play an exhibition game against the All-Army Elite Men's Basketball team in Saturday May 2, 2009 at 1PM at Fort Gillem.

The game is a tune up for the All Army team as they prepare for the Armed Forces Tournament of Champions later in May. Bobby Rouse who is the General Manager of the Cartersville Warriors of the WBA will coach the team in the exhibition.

The roster for Saturday will consist of:

Jeremy Law (6'3''-G-82, Jacksonville State) of Cartersville Baseline Warriors - Whitfield, AL
Andrew Jones - 6'3'-SG-82, Miles College) - Dallas, GA

David Graham (6'4''-G-85, College: Georgetown (NAIA)
A.J. Mastin (6'2''-G-83, college: So.Polytechnic St.) - Chatanooga,TN
Karl Hollingsworth (6'3''-F/G-82, Stetson Univ.) of Cartersville Baseline Warriors - Stockbridge, GA
Shannon Chambers (6'7''-F-81, college: Charleston) - Los Angeles, CA
Robert Cox (6'5''-G/F-84, Southern Poly Tech) of Cartersville Baseline Warriors - Macon, GA
Ozzie Henderson (6'6''-F-84, college: Edward Waters) - Jacksonville, FL
Kedrione Harris (6'7''-F/C, college: Ft.Valley St.) - Fort Valley, GA
Xavier Morton (6'9''-F/C-80, Clark-Atlanta) of Cartersville Baseline Warriors - Atlanta, GA
Donovan McMullen (6'10''-C-85, Reinhardt College) of Cartersville Baseline Warriors - McDonough, GA
Justin Billingslea (6'10''-F-85, Georgia State) of Cartersville Baseline Warriors - Atlanta, GA

Coach: Bobby Rouse

The game will also assist the Warriors in preparations for the upcoming 2009 WBA spring season which kicks off on May 29th. The Warriors will have tryouts on May 23rd, and immediately begin Vet Camp on May 24th. For more information contact Bobby Rouse at prohoopsatl@yahoo.com or visit http://www.wbawarriors.com





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

Women News

*****************************************************
  AUSTRALIA - Women  


Jess Bibby named QBL Player of the Week - by Eurobasket News
After having a field day in her first game in central Queensland, Canberra Capital Jessica Bibby (169-G-79), now playing with the Gladstone Power collected the Player of the Week Award in Round 1 of the QBL.

hoosing to forgo a relaxed entrance into the 2009 season, Bibby hit the court running against the Bundaberg Bears on Saturday night and has immediately stamped her authority on the League. She racked up a solid double-double with 29 points @ 52%, 12 rebounds and 5 assists, with the best part being that it was all achieved in a tiny 28 minutes on-court. There is a sense that this is only the tip of the iceberg, given that in her most recent season in the WNBL with the Canberra Capitals she averaged 14.3ppg, 2.2rpg and 1.1apg. Bibby was recently touted as one of the best ever recruits to arrive in Gladstone and post-Round 1 she has certainly lived up to the expectation.

Having played in 58 international games, it is a fact that Bibby will bring individual excellence to Gladstone. More than that though, this level of international exposure stands to reinvigorate the senses of players and spectators in Gladstone alike and will no doubt prove fruitful come the play-offs in August, which have been out of reach for the Power women for many years. After playing a large part in the 107-60 win over the Bundaberg Bears, expectations have now been put in place for this weekend where the Power will take on the two-time National Champ's, Townsville Flames, who are on the hunt for win number 50 in a row.

Other achievers of Round 1 from the WNBL include Marianna Tolo (Canberra Capitals) of the Mackay Meteorettes who collected 23 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists and 1stl; teammate Rohanee Cox (Townsville Fire) was unstoppable with 30 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 31 minutes; Bianca Abbott (Logan Thunder) of the Northside Wizards unable to get the team over the Capitals but still collected 20 points, 17 rebounds, 4 steals; and Aaron Edgar (Townsville Fire) of the Townsville Flames stepped up to the plate with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals in 24 minutes.

Courtesy of the Queensland Basketball League

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


Dexia Namur clinch two titles in Belgium - by Eurobasket News
Dexia Namur overcame Waregem in the second game of the final series and triumphed in the Division 1 championship. Dexia swept the series and avenged the last seasons loss to Waregem. The victory marked the sixth top success for Dexia in last seven years. Dexia took it all in Belgium this year as they clinched the Coupe De Belgique title just days before. The stats for the decisive second game of the final series will be available shortly.
Dexia preceded the heroics in the championship series with an impressive victory over Waregem in the Coupe de Belgique. The teams met at the weekend in the final game of the Cup and Dexia secured a 64:52 victory. Dexia opened the second stanza on a 7:2 run to ensure an 8-point lead. Waregem managed to trim the margin at 4 points midway through the third quarter but failed to get any closer. Dexia controlled the game and sealed the winning outcome at the end. Pauline Akonga Nsimbo (187-F/C-82, agency: LBM Management) had 22 points and 8 boards for Dexia. Romina Ciappina (180-F/G-88) had 11 points and 8 rebounds in the winning effort. Tamara Van Respaille (186-C-77) responded with 13 points for Waregem. Nele Deyaert (186-F-79) had 23 points and 11 boards in the loss.

*****************************************************
  BOSNIA - Women  


Standings - Women
D1 Standings
Liga 4
 1. Zeljeznicar 1-0 
 2. M.Kraj. BL 1-0 
 3. Celik 0-1 
 4. Jedinstvo 0-1 
Places 5-12
 1. Brotnjo 94 13-7 
 2. Trebinje 13-7 
 3. Sloboda 12-8 
 4. Banovici 10-10 
 5. Borac-Mladost 7-12 
 6. Livno 5-14 
 7. Bugojno 1-19 
 8. Zrinjski 1-19 


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


Standings - Women
A1 Standings
First Four
 1. Lukoil 4-2 
 2. Dunav 3-3 
 3. Montana 2003 3-3 
 4. Minor 2-4 
Second Five
 1. Beroe 2007 8-0 
 2. Rilski Sportist 6-2 
 3. Slavia 4-4 
 4. NSA 1-7 
 5. Tony 7 1-7 


*****************************************************
  CANADA - Women  


Sutton-Brown advances to the Finals - by Eurobasket News
Tammy Sutton-Brown (193-C-78, college: Rutgers) and her Turkish Fenerbahce advances to the Finals of the Play-offs.Fenerbahce had a thrilling road victory over Galatasaray last night to advance to the Finals. The Winner of the Regular Season is close to grab the Gold of the Play-offs.
Fenerbahce lost the first game away from home and decided not to go back to the home arena for the decisive game. The favorites opened the scoring account far from the basket, and did not shine that well in the opening quarter. Galatasaray led 23:18 due to Braxton and Augustus baskets. The teams finished the first frame with 25:20 home advantage. In the second period the picture did not change much as the hosts remained in front. The tempo however slowed down and both teams nailed 28 points together in the frame. After 15-13 in the quarter Galatasaray took 42:35 halftime lead.
It was hot in the court later in the game as both squads showed their best performance. Katie Smith tied the game at 55:55, while Ajavon and Powell made it 63:59. Augutus nailed tied the game again at 63:63, but Fenerbahce made the last push for the winning outcome. Ajavon led the winners with 20 points, while Katie Smith nailed 16 and Tammy Sutton-Brown collected 6 points and 4 rebounds. Augustus replied with 21 points in the losing effort and Young scored 16 points.
Before that Galatasaray reduced the gap to 1-2 against the Winner of the Regular Season, Fenerbahce after 76:66 in the home game. The win was reached due to the third period when the hosts produced 22-10 to take the initial victory in the Semifinal clash. Young led all the winners with 23 points, while Seimone Augustus supported her with 22. Nevriye Yilmaz top-scored for the guests with 18 points and Tammy Sutton-Brown had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.
Fenerbahce won the first game over Galatasaray 82:72 and has now 2-0 in the series due to the wins in the Regular season. Galatasaray started with 23-13 in the opening quarter, however had 5 points lead at the halftime. With 26-12 in the third period Fenerbahce took a control of the rest of the game and won the clash. Matee Ajavon ended up with 19 points for the hosts, Powell scored 16 and Tammy Sutton-Brown grabbed 14 points and 9 rebounds. Sophie Young delivered 21 points in the losing effort.

*****************************************************
  FYR MACEDONIA - Women  


Vigor Skopje and Biljana 006 advance to big final - by Eurobasket News
The reigning champion Vigor Skopje devastated Student in the play-off semifinals 96-39 advancing to big final with 2-0. As a reminder, Vigor started the semifinals series with 1-0 because of the better position in regular season. Just ten minutes was enough for the hosts to resolve question about the winner. Agic and her teammates were on fire from the early beginning scoring 30 points in the opening frame. On the other side Student had just 10. Nothing has changed later as Vigor totally controlled rhythm of the game. At the half time it was 54-17 and later 78-31. Finally the hosts ended this game with huge plus 57. Agic led the scorers with 17 points. Zorica Ackovska (171-G-88) followed with 15, while Zivkovic added one point less. Vesna Domlevska (185-C-80) helped with 12 points. Student had Bisera Stojanovska (172-G-88) with 11 and Krasnic with 10 pts.

In the second semifinals Biljana 006 advanced to big final without playing against Mladinec. Biljana also had 1-0 because of the score in regular season and Mladinec failed to show up in Ohrid. Thus the game is registered 2-0 for the hosts. The play-off final supposes to start on May 9. However, there was some talks it will start earlier because the semifinals are already over.

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


Quarterfinals tip off in Eredivisie - by Eurobasket News
The Eredivisie playoffs got under way yesterday with eight teams hitting the road for the pedestal. The regular season champions HLB Accountants proved their ambitions with a stunning defeat of Celeritas-Donar. Anna Vicenzetto (183-C/F-77) nailed 31 points and grabbed 8 boards as the league favorites stormed to a 111:54 victory. Marloes Roetgerink (189-C-77) had 23 points, 7 boards and 6 steals in the winning case. Celeretis-Donar used a sloppy form of the hosts to take a 15:14 lead after the starting frame. But HLB Accountants struck back scoring 35 points in the second stanza and taking a 23-point advantage into halftime. The home team dominated throughout the third term and ensured an easy win at the end.
Perik Jumpers quite unexpectedly fell short against Amazone 72:78 at home court. The hosts looked solid in the starting frame and piled up a 6-point lead at the interval. But AutoCAD Amazone turned the game around after the main break and enjoyed a one-point lead with ten minutes to go. The visitors stayed concentrated in the fourth quarter and celebrated an important away from home success. Sharon Bos (181-F-79) scored 16 points and grabbed 7 boards for Amazone. Audrey Tabon (190-C-85, college: Illinois) and Sigrid van der Toorn (177-F-86) added 13 points apiece in the win. Laura Dinkins (180-F-85, agency: LBM Management, college: N.Arizona) responded with 24 points for Perik Jumpers.
ProBuild Lions held off Renes/Binnenland 59:43 in the opener. The teams started the game slowly and were tied at 14 after ten minutes of action. But the Lions used some stifling defense in the second term to accumulate an 8-point lead at halftime. Renes/Binnenland failed to recover after the main break and had to surrender at the end. Chelsey Warburton (173-G-85, college: Weber St.) provided 15 points for the Lions. Marie Hoogstraten (175-F-88) contributed 14 points, while Belinda Bos nailed 10 points and pulled down 9 boards for the winning team.
The second games in the series are scheduled for Wednesday.

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


Eurobasket.com All-Lithuanian LMKL Awards 2008-09 - by Eurobasket
#s#
PetronytePetronyte
Petronyte
SauliuteSauliute
Sauliute
LanghorneLanghorne
Langhorne
BimbaiteBimbaite
Bimbaite
MarmieneMarmiene
Marmiene
#e#6
Player of the Year: Gintare Petronyte (195-C-89) of TEO
Guard of the Year: Milda Sauliute (175-G-81) of Arvi
Forward of the Year: Crystal Langhorne (188-F/C-86) of TEO
Center of the Year: Gintare Petronyte of TEO
Import Player of the Year: Crystal Langhorne of TEO
Domestic Player of the Year: Gintare Petronyte of TEO
Defensive Player of the Year: Gintare Petronyte of TEO
Coach of the Year: Rutenis Paulauskas of TEO

1st Team
Ausra Bimbaite (179-G-82) of TEO
Milda Sauliute of Arvi
Gintare Petronyte of TEO
Crystal Langhorne of TEO
Jolanta Marmiene (181-F-79) of Laisve

2nd Team
Daina Staugaitiene (182-G/F-80) of TEO
Vaida Pacauskiene (176-G-79) of Arvi
Egle Zygelyte (166-G-84) of Lemmin.
Kornelija Balciunaite (177-F-81) of Aistes
Lina Aglinskaite (181-F/C-87) of Ruta

Honorable Mention
Aurime Rinkeviciute (180-F/G-90) of TEO
Lizanne Murphy (185-F-84) of Arvi
Ligita Kinkeviciene (173-G-76) of Arvi
Rita Milieskiene (175-G-78) of Lemmin.
Irma Raugaite (176-G-84) of Laisve
Kristina Alminaite (204-C-90) of Laisve
Gabriele Gutkauskaite (174-G-90) of Ruta
Ieva Preskienyte (193-C-93) of Alytus

All-Domestic Players Team
Gintare Petronyte of TEO
Milda Sauliute of Arvi
Ausra Bimbaite of TEO
Jolanta Marmiene of Laisve
Egle Zygelyte of Lemmin.

Not enough of foreign players to make All-Imports and All-Bosmans selections this year

Stats Leaders - LMKL
LMKL Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Aglinskaite, Ruta 20.8
2 Petronyte, TEO 18.5
3 Milieskiene, Lem 17.2
4 Marmiene, Laisve 15.8
5 Langhorne, TEO 14.8
Rebounds Per Game
1 Balciunaite, Aistes 9.9
2 Petronyte, TEO 9.7
3 Preskienyte, Alytus 8.1
4 Langhorne, TEO 8.1
5 Svaryte, Ruta 7.8
Assists Per Game
1 Zygelyte, Lemm 5.9
2 Rinkeviciute, TEO 3.3
3 Sauliute, Arvi 3.2
4 Bimbaite, TEO 3.0
5 Gutkauskaite, Ruta 2.8
Steals Per Game
1 Balciunaite, Aistes 3.8
2 Bimbaite, TEO 3.2
3 Gutkauskaite, Ruta 3.0
Blocks Per Game
1 Petronyte, TEO 3.0
2 Alminaite, Laisve 2.8
3 Paugaite, Arvi 1.5
2FGP
1 Langhorne, TEO 69.0
2 Staugaitiene, TEO 66.5
3 Petronyte, TEO 61.7
3FGP
1 Sauliute, Arvi 44.3
2 Staugaitiene, TEO 42.5
3 Sniokaite, Arvi 41.5
Free Throws
1 Pacauskiene, Arvi 85.1
2 Naideniene, Lemm 84.6
3 Raugaite, Laisve 84.3


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


NBA PLAYOFFS 2009! - by Mark DeBono
Article by Scott Spreitzer
Edited by Mark DeBono

'The NBA playoffs have started'

The BEST teams have been trying to save something lately for the games that really matter most. Once the seedings are pretty much in place, theres no reason to go all out in early April. Coaches want their players to do enough to stay sharp, but they also want to rest up for the true wars coming up in the postseason. Pointspread results just dont matter for these teams. I wouldnt say theyre going at half speed. Maybe three-quarter speed. Impressive teams will post some unimpressive results in early April. Once the playoffs start, you need to think of those teams as impressive rather than unimpressive.

Teams in the bottom half of the brackets really emphasized late March and early April because they wanted to make sure they made the playoffs. They were going all out most nights, and are due to hit a wall very soon. The recent results look impressive, but you cant assume theyre going to carry into the second season. Its like exhausting yourself climbing a mountain only to find Sasquatch at the top. Who are you going to like between Sasquatch and an exhausted climber? The quality of the climb really doesnt matter at that point.

If you want to pick winners in the opening weekend of the playoffs, and all through the postseason, focus on these keys:

Defense! Its always the most important factor in the playoffs. Its the reason Boston beat the Lakers last year. Its the reason San Antonio has been a dynasty (when healthy) the past several seasons. You can go all the way back to Bill Russell's days with the Celtics. Defense wins championships in this sport. Look at defensive field goal percentages, forced turnovers, steals, blocked shots, defensive efficiency (points allowed adjusted for possessions), and a knack for preventing the opposing star from getting good looks at the basket (the hidden secret to San Antonios dynasty).

Teamwork! This is important on both sides of the ball. Its a big part of defense, because so much of modern defense is about rotating properly to make sure opponents dont get easy shots. And, its a big part of offense because you have to work as a team to get your own open looks. Look at assist numbers on offense. Look for a balance of scoring from a variety of weapons. Look for contributions from behind the arc, as most top teams now have guys they can count on to hit threes from long range. The TV networks tend to focus on the high scorer for each team. Winning handicappers will be looking for balance across the full spectrum of weapons.

Respect from the Refs! Its a shame that officiating plays such a big role in this sport. But avid fans know what Im talking about. The team thats likely to get more respect from the refs is likely to get a few extra calls go their way in a close game. When the pointspreads are close to pick-em (which they often are when top teams are playing each other), thats going to heavily influence pointspread results. Use your knowledge of NBA officiating to its fullest. And, watch the early round games to see if any new young stars are starting to get some respect.

Health! It has to be said this year that injuries are going to loom large over both conferences. San Antonio will miss Manu Ginobili for the playoffs and Tim Duncan is playing on one leg. Andrew Bynum just came back from an injury, probably making the top seeded Lakers even stronger. Kevin Garnett of Boston probably wont be able to have the impact on this years playoffs that he did last year. Time will tell regarding that. If shorthanded teams wear down or give up hope, nothing else is going to matter.

Defense, teamwork, and respect from the refs only will win playoff games if youre healthy! '



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  NCAA1 - Women  


Obama honors Huskies at White House - by Eurobasket News
The University of Connecticut women's basketball team capped off their championship season this afternoon with what has become the annual rite of champions -- a visit to the White House.

The team set goals at the start of the season. Conference title. Conference tournament title. Undefeated season. National championship. Once all of those were accomplished, center Tina Charles stated one more during a victory rally in Storrs.

'I'm just overwhelmed right now and thank you and I'm seeing Barack Obama. Thanks!'

Tina got her wish this afternoon as President Obama greeted coach Geno Auriemma, his assistant coaches and the team at the White House.

The president lauded the team's off court excellence as well. Maya Moore (6'0''-F-89) was chosen an academic All-American -- an outgrowth of perhaps the program's most impressive statistic.

And it was not only the commander in chief who lauded these women. It was also the first father of the United States.

Coach Auriemma has a pretty good chance of returning to the White House, along with some of the players on this team. He has been named coach of Team USA and will be coaching the U.S. team in the 2012 Olympics.

Courtesy of www.necn.com

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  PALESTINE - Women  


PBBA Women Standing
DBBA Standings
 1. De La Salle J. 2-0 
 2. S. Ramallah 1-0 
 3. T. Jerusalem 0-0 
 4. Ibdaa D. 0-0 
 5. Catholic A. 0-0 
 6. T. Beit Sahour 0-0 
 7. O. Beit Sahour 0-0 
 8. O. Beit Jala 0-0 
 9. De La Salle B. 0-1 
 10. O. Ramallah 0-2 


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  POLAND - Women  


Eurobasket.com All-Polish PLKK Awards 2008-09 - by Eurobasket
#s#
CatchingsCatchings
Catchings
ZohnovaZohnova
Zohnova
SissokoSissoko
Sissoko
RobbinsRobbins
Robbins
FernandezFernandez
Fernandez
#e#6
Player of the Year: Tamika Catchings (186-F-79) of Lotos PKO BP
Guard of the Year: Katerina Zohnova (179-G-84) of KSSSE AZS PWSZ
Forward of the Year: Tamika Catchings of Lotos PKO BP
Center of the Year: Djenebou Sissoko (190-F/C-82) of MUKS Poznan
Bosman Player of the Year: Katerina Zohnova of KSSSE AZS PWSZ
Import Player of the Year: Tamika Catchings of Lotos PKO BP
Domestic Player of the Year: Ewelina Kobryn (193-C-82) of Wisla Can Pack
Defensive Player of the Year: La'Tangela Atkinson (188-G/F-84) of Utex Row Rybnik
Coach of the Year: Jacek Winnicki of Lotos PKO BP

1st Team
Katerina Zohnova of KSSSE AZS PWSZ
Tamika Catchings of Lotos PKO BP
Jillian Robbins (185-F-84) of CCC
Djenebou Sissoko of MUKS Poznan
Marta Fernandez (178-F-81) of Wisla Can Pack

2nd Team
Amisha Carter (188-F/C-82) of CCC
Danielle Page (188-F-86) of PTK Aflofarm Vicard Pabianice
Ewelina Kobryn of Wisla Can Pack
Alana Beard (180-G/F-82) of Lotos PKO BP
Ashley Shields (178-G-85) of PKM Duda Super Pol

Honorable Mention
Nicky Anosike (192-C-86) of KSSSE AZS PWSZ
Lindsay Taylor (203-C-81) of KSSSE AZS PWSZ
Joanna Czarnecka (192-C-82) of PKM Duda Super Pol
Aleksandra Chomac (191-C-85) of Utex Row Rybnik
Nataliya Trafimava (186-F-79) of Utex Row Rybnik
Ivana Matovic (197-C-83) of Lotos PKO BP
Magdalena Leciejewska (191-C-86) of Lotos PKO BP
Samantha Richards (167-G-83) of KSSSE AZS PWSZ
Chamique Holdsclaw (188-F-77) of Wisla Can Pack

All-Domestic Players Team
Ewelina Kobryn of Wisla Can Pack
Joanna Czarnecka of PKM Duda Super Pol
Aleksandra Chomac of Utex Row Rybnik
Magdalena Leciejewska of Lotos PKO BP
Joanna Walich (183-F/C-81) of INEA AZS Poznan

All-Imports Team
Tamika Catchings of Lotos PKO BP
Jillian Robbins of CCC
Djenebou Sissoko of MUKS Poznan
Amisha Carter of CCC
Danielle Page of PTK Aflofarm Vicard Pabianice

All-Bosmans Team
Katerina Zohnova of KSSSE AZS PWSZ
Marta Fernandez of Wisla Can Pack
Jelena Skerovic (172-G-80) of Wisla Can Pack
Nataliya Trafimava of Utex Row Rybnik
Ivana Matovic of Lotos PKO BP

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


Liga Feminina Finals - by Luis Rocha
Olivais and Vagos will play the final in this season Liga. They already played the final of Portugal Cup, wich Olivais won. This two teams were able to maintain their chances in the semis, and now the reward has come. Olivais is the team that appear as the favourite, they play really though on defense, and can maintain a nice pace on offense. They also do very quick transitions, they read the game well and their passing skills is excellent. Except for their lead point guard Filipa de Freitas (165-G-87)(injured9, everybody else seems in perfect conditions to play, so Vagos will have a hard task to perform. In Vagos theres some doubts to be solved. The team also defends well, they not as quick as Olivais in transitions, theyre offense game is strong and well balanced, but right now Clarissa dos Santos (182-C-88), seem to have a injury that can affect her playing, and if that injury is capable to take the player out of the game, that will be decisive in the series. To Olivais winning will be a repetition of last season, to Vagos is the first experience in Finals, each team will certainly do the best to achieve their goal, but is of my understanding that Olivais can take the trophy home. Vagos will do everything not to be only a sparring partner, but they come as the underdogs. Both coaches deserve congratulationson a well done job, troughout the all season.

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


UMMC upset Spartak to earn Superleague title - by Eurobasket News
UMMC - Spartak Moscow Region 70:68

UMMC clinched a dramatic victory in the championship series decider against Spartak MR to earn the first title Superleague title in five years.
UMMC stunned the visitors early in the game as Svetlana Abrosimova (188-F-80, college: Connecticut), Agnieszka Bibrzycka (184-F/G-82, college: Abil.Christian) and Cappie Pondexter (175-G-83, college: Rutgers) gave the hosts a 7:0 lead. Shchegoleva finally broke the silence scoring the first points for Spartak. Soon Bird, Diana Taurasi (182-G-82, college: Connecticut) and Lauren Jackson (196-F/C-81) narrowed the margin to just 4 points. Svetlana Abrosimova and Agnieszka Bibrzycka kept UMMC rolling with four points before Lauren Jackson fired from downtown to seal the first frame outcome at 15:20. Agnieszka Bibrzycka opened the second frame with 4 points in a row and then Maria Stepanova (202-C-79) added two more as UMMC earned a 26:17 lead. Maria Stepanova hit another bucket, while Penny Taylor followed with two points of her own and the home team stretched the gap to as many as 11 points. UMMC stayed dominant as Cappie Pondexter made it 35:23 midway through the second frame. Penny Taylor capped a 10:2 UMMC run with four straight points and the hosts gained a 41:25 lead. Maria Stepanova stepped up for UMMC late in the half as she drained 6 points to ensure a 48:29 advantage for the Yekaterinburg outfit after twenty minutes of action.
Spartak entered the second half determined as Karpunina and Diana Taurasi ignited a 7:2 run. Bird, Osipova and Diana Taurasi maintained the pressure as Spartak cut the deficit to just 12 points. Sylvia Fowles (198-C-85, college: LSU) exploded with 7 timely points as Spartak continued to get closer. Lauren Jackson and Diana Taurasi teamed up for 5 points in a row as the defending champions narrowed the margin to 4 points. Lauren Jackson drained a three-pointer to open the fourth quarter, while Diana Taurasi followed with four points in a row to give Spartak the initial lead in the encounter. Cappie Pondexter responded with a trey to level things up at 63. The teams could not score for almost three minutes late in the game before Sylvia Fowles tied it all up at 68 with sixty seconds to go. Bird missed a potential go-ahead bucket, while Agnieszka Bibrzycka answered with a jumper to put UMMC in front 70:68 with just 2 seconds remaining. Spartak failed to come up with a saving attempt and UMMC became the Russian Superleague champions!
Maria Stepanova scored 18 points and 12 boards to lead UMMC. Agnieszka Bibrzycka added 17 points in the victory. Diana Taurasi had 17 points, while Lauren Jackson nailed 14 points for Spartak MR.

UMMC: Maria Stepanova 18+12 boards, Agnieszka Bibrzycka 17, Cappie Pondexter 10
Spartak MR: Diana Taurasi 17, Lauren Jackson 14

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  TURKEY - Women  


Fenerbahce becomes the first Finalist - by Eurobasket News
Fenerbahce had a thrilling road victory over Galatasaray last night to advance to the Finals. The Winner of the Regular Season is close to grab the Gold of the Play-offs.
Fenerbahce lost the first game away from home and decided not to go back to the home arena for the decisive game. The favorites opened the scoring account far from the basket, and did not shine that well in the opening quarter. Galatasaray led 23:18 due to Braxton and Seimone Augustus (185-G-84, college: LSU) baskets. The teams finished the first frame with 25:20 home advantage. In the second period the picture did not change much as the hosts remained in front. The tempo however slowed down and both teams nailed 28 points together in the frame. After 15-13 in the quarter Galatasaray took 42:35 halftime lead.
It was hot in the court later in the game as both squads showed their best performance. Katie Smith (180-G-74, college: Ohio St.) tied the game at 55:55, while Matee Ajavon (173-G-86, college: Rutgers) and Powell made it 63:59. Seimone Augustus nailed tied the game again at 63:63, but Fenerbahce made the last push for the winning outcome. Matee Ajavon led the winners with 20 points, while Katie Smith nailed 16. Seimone Augustus replied with 21 points in the losing effort and Young scored 16 points.
Fenerbahce is waiting now for the winner in the series between Mersin and Samsun. Mersin tied the series over Samsun as they beat them 81:78. It was another thriller from both teams that definitely both could deserve a place in the Final.