EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 6/2/2009

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  AFGHANISTAN   


ASF Standing
ABL Standings
 1. Buzkashi 5-0 
 2. Khudrat 5-0 
 3. Lhmar 5-1 
 4. Tha City 4-2 
 5. Ballstarz 2-3 
 6. VA Finest 2-3 
 7. F.Fighters 2-3 
 8. Pamir 1-4 
 9. A.Stallions 0-5 
 10. Donia 0-6 


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  ARGENTINA   


Scola confirms he will play for Argentina on World Championships Qualifications - by Eurobasket News
Argentinean Federation has received some good news they needed after one of their best players, Manu Ginobili (198-G-77, agency: Interperformances) stated that he will not take participation with Argentinean National Team. However, Luis Scola (206-F/C-80), their best center has accepted the invitation, and he will be leading NT in the World Championships Qualifications. Scola has enjoyed a very successful season with Houston Rockets and now he is ready to help his National Team. He stated that he is looking forward to playing for Argentina and that he knows that the road to Turkey will be difficult. They will be facing stiff competition from Brazil, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic but Scola believes that even without Ginobili, Argentina will be able to reach its goal. Scola also expects that the team will be made over with some younger players getting a chance, so even though he is sad to see some veterans such as Ginobili or Nocioni go. He is confident that new players will be able to fit in nicely.
Scola has been a member of National Team which took participation in Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, in 2006 at World Championships in Japan and Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. In Japan in 2006 Scola was one of better players averaging 14.3 points and 7 rebounds in 9 games. In Olympic Games in Beijing when Argentina took Bronze Medal, Scola played in 7 games and had averages of 19.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Luis Scola started his career with Ferro Carril Oeste in Argentina. In January 1998 he signed with Tau Vitoria, but was loaned to Gijon where he played for two seasons. Upon his return to Tau, Scola developed into one of best center in Europe winning a host of individual awards such as 'Eurobasket.com All-Spanish ACB 1st Team from 2002-2006', and 'Eurobasket.com All-Spanish ACB Player of the Year in 2005'. With Tau he has won Spanish ACB Championship in 2002, Spanish Cup in 2002, 2004 and 2006 as well as Spanish ACB Supercup in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, Scola signed with Houston Rockets, where he has established himself as one of more important players.

Argentina defend U17 South American title - by Eurobasket News
Argentina U17 - Uruguay U17 63:50

Argentinean U17 National Team claimed the South American Championship title for the fourth straight time. They defeated hosting Uruguay in the Final game yesterday to lift up the trophy. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus qualified to the Fiba Americas U18 Championship.
Argentina entered the game confidently and eased to a 17:12 lead after ten minutes. But Uruguay were not about to give up that easily. They limited the visitors to 7 points in the second quarter to accumulate a 26:24 advantage at halftime. Argentina used the major break to sober up and struck back. They tipped the second half with an 11:2 run to regain the lead. Argentina took over and drove to a 7-point lead after thirty minutes of action. Uruguay tried hard but could not match superb Argentina.
Juan Giaveno (-92) provided 17 points to lead the charge. Carlos Paredes (-92) added 10 points in the winning effort. Diego Garcia (180-G-92) responded with 18 points for Uruguay. Mathias Calfani (199-C-92) finished with 10 points in defeat.
Argentina were slightly better on the boards 30:27 and shot solid 45% from beyond the arc.

Argentina U17: Juan Giaveno 17, Carlos Paredes 10, Joel Comba (198-F-92) 8, Matias Bortolin (-93) 8
Uruguay U17: Diego Garcia 18, Mathias Calfani 10

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  AUSTRALIA   


Majok years away from being NBA-ready, but may play proffesionally next year anyway - by James Hoff
Sudanese born, former Western Sydney resident Ater Majok (208-C/F) has been advised to go to his USA college for at least two years before wholly declaring for the NBA draft.

Although Majok was always likely to take up a basketball scholarship at the University of Connecticut rather than go straight from representative basketball in Australia to the NBA, he was touted by many to be a lottery pick in the 2010 NBA draft. Whilst his size has never been a weakness, he was said to be less athletic in person than many thought and underdone in game situations with other NBA draft prospects.

'He's five years away from being five years away', one high-level NBA executive said. 'He definitely needs to go back to school (sic)' said another. Majoks advisors have also conceded that they may look at finding him a job playing overseas, whether or not this is solely in Europe or even possibly in the reformed Australian national league is unknown.

Joe Ingles creating genuine draft buzz - by James Hoff
South Australian Joe Ingles (203-G/F-87, agency: Priority Sports) has been touted as a potetial smokey in the upcoming NBA draft in June, with renowned website Draftexpress saying his workouts with numerous NBA teams have been encouraging. Whilst intially Ingles had been generaly considered an outside chance of getting drafted this year, his stocks in solo workouts have made him into one of the more accomplished international small forwards according to multiple reports.

Ingles' length and added bulk since the last Olympics has particularly intrigued NBA scouts; with his shooting ability from long distance also something which has created buzz. Unfortunately due to Ingles having only completed predominantly solo workouts thus far, his passing and defensive abilities which were evident in the NBL over his career have not been seen by relevant scouts. Ingles' ability in game situations will be on show in Treviso, Italy during the renowned Reebok Eurocamp which takes place soon before the June Draft where he will also be joined by Boomers teammate Patrick Mills (183-G-88)

Ingles has a European passport and it is likely he will play in Europe next season if an NBA contract doesn't beckon. His likelihood of returning to the Australian league is highly unlikely given the fact that his former team the 2009 champion Melbourne South Dragons are no longer part of the eight team 'reformed competition'.

Mills to hire agent, stay in NBA draft - by James Hoff

Australian Olympic star Patrick Mills (183-G-88) will forego the final two years of college eligibility at St Mary's and hire an agent in the hope of getting drafted in the first round of this years NBA draft and score a guarenteed million dollar contract.

Mills did not hire an agent immediately after his last college season ended and thereby left the door open to returning to his third year at the California-based college which he has lead on-court for the past two seasons with numerous other Australian players. His workouts with NBA teams have been going so well however, that he has seen early nomination for the draft as being the best possibility for getting an NBA contract and joining fellow Torres Strait Islander Nathan Jawai (207-C-86, college: Midland CC) and Andrew Bogut (212-F/C-84, college: Utah) in the world's greatest league.





It is alleged he has campaigned to be taken by the Golden State Warriors, a team based in Oakland and not far from St Marys' Moraga campus. Golden State however have the seventh pick in the NBA draft to be held on June 25 at Madison Square Graden, New York. Mills has been touted by five renowned NBA draft websites to be selected in the first round, with NBAdraftnet predicting Mills could go as high as 20th. If Golden State were to want to select Mills later in the draft, they would more than likely need to trade a current player to a team with a selection between number 20 and 30.



Gold Coast sign two, re-sign two and lose one. - by James Hoff
The Gold Coast Blaze have managed to score the signature of Boomers squad member Adam Gibson after the demise of his former team the South Dragons as well as signing former Perth Wildcats guard Chris Goulding and retaining towering centre Greg Vanderjagt and guard/forward Tyson Demos. Ben Melmeth however announced his retirement.

Former Brisbane Bullets championship coach Joey Wright said of Gibson Im particularly excited to work with him again after our time together at the Brisbane Bullets, hes proven time and again hes a leader and a winner and his two championships in four years are testimony to that, he said.

Blaze CEO Dave Claxton said the marquee signing was largely due to securing Joey Wright as coach because he coached Gibson at the Bullets in 2007; Our recruiting has gone spectacularly well since we signed Joey as coach, Mr Claxton said. Adam is one of the really up-and-coming point guards in Australia. Hes strong, hes a member of the Boomers squad and hes already gained some invaluable experience at the highest level. Potentially he could be with us for many years to come, he said.

Wright said of Goulding 'its no understatement that Chriss signing could well be the League recruiting coup of the year, Hes probably the most talented one point rating in the League. He has outstanding offensive skills and will definitely challenge for court time in the one, two or three position.' The Blaze were also buoyed by the signing of the two players from last years squad who were likely to have been heavily sought after by opposition teams, along with all the players currently without a team due to the demise of the South Dragons and Sydney Spirit.

Melmeth played for six NBL teams over a 13 year career, four of which are no longer in existence. He was named to the all-NBL first team in 1998 as well as coming third in MVP voting and winning the most improved player award in that same season. He also competed for Australia at senior international level and won a gold medal for the under-23 team as well as winning a championship with the Sydney Kings in 2003.


Blaze sign two, re-sign two and lose one. - by James Hoff
The Gold Coast Blaze have managed to score the signature of Boomers squad member Adam Gibson after the demise of his former team the South Dragons as well as signing former Perth Wildcats guard Chris Goulding and retaining towering centre Greg Vanderjagt and guard/forward Tyson Demos. Ben Melmeth however announced his retirement.

Former Brisbane Bullets championship coach Joey Wright said of Gibson Im particularly excited to work with him again after our time together at the Brisbane Bullets, hes proven time and again hes a leader and a winner and his two championships in four years are testimony to that, he said.

Blaze CEO Dave Claxton said the marquee signing was largely due to securing Joey Wright as coach because he coached Gibson at the Bullets in 2007; Our recruiting has gone spectacularly well since we signed Joey as coach, Mr Claxton said. Adam is one of the really up-and-coming point guards in Australia. Hes strong, hes a member of the Boomers squad and hes already gained some invaluable experience at the highest level. Potentially he could be with us for many years to come, he said.

Wright said of Goulding 'its no understatement that Chriss signing could well be the League recruiting coup of the year, Hes probably the most talented one point rating in the League. He has outstanding offensive skills and will definitely challenge for court time in the one, two or three position.' The Blaze were also buoyed by the signing of the two players from last years squad who were likely to have been heavily sought after by opposition teams, along with all the players currently without a team due to the demise of the South Dragons and Sydney Spirit.

Melmeth played for six NBL teams over a 13 year career, four of which are no longer in existence. He was named to the all-NBL first team in 1998 as well as coming third in MVP voting and winning the most improved player award in that same season. He also competed for Australia at senior international level and won a gold medal for the under-23 team as well as winning a championship with the Sydney Kings in 2003.



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  AUSTRIA   


Wels ties the score to 1-1 in the Finals - by Eurobasket News
Gmunden - Wels 71-91
Wels destroyed the regular season champion on the road tying the score to 1-1 in Austrian Finals. Brandon Thomas (198-G/F-84, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Massachusetts) stepped up for the guests collecting 28 points and 5 rebounds. Armin Woschank (184-G-82, agency: R.H.Consultancy) added 17 pts, 6 boards and 5 assists. Deteri Mayes (189-G-74, agency: Court Side, college: Murray St.) and Elijah Palmer (201-F-81, agency: Court Side, college: Duquesne) answered with 18 and 15 pts respectively. Game 3 is scheduled June 4th at the Wels' home court.

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  BARBADOS   


Standings
Premier L. Standings
 1. Bulls 6-1 
 2. Pinelands 6-2 
 3. Cavaliers 6-2 
 4. Sonics 4-3 
 5. Lakers 4-3 
 6. Warriors 4-3 
 7. Tridents 4-4 
 8. Deacons 3-4 


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  BELGIUM   


Leuven Transfer News - by Peter Buyse
Spotter Leuven today announced the contract extension for American power forward Darren Fells (201-F/C-86).
The 23 year old Fells in his first year overseas after leaving Cal-Irvine had averages of 9.5 and 4.9 rpg during 30 regular season games.
Those stats together with his 52 pct FG average and 37 pct 3 pt shooting convinced Leuven to give the young forward a chance to develop even more next season.
The Leuven playes are expected back in Belgium on Aug 12th to start preparing for the new season.

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  BELIZE   


Individual Stats Leaders in the 2009 Inter-Office Basketball League!!! - by David Magana
Please find below the Individual Stats Leaders in the 2009 Inter-Office Basketball League:

Scoring Leader - Dale Turner (165-G) / Kolbe Foundation - 158 pts / 22.57 avg
Most 3-Pointers - Ishmarley Clarke / Castillo Sanchez & Burrell - 15 (3's) / 2.14 avg
Best Rebounder - Mervin Castillo (-C) 'Bae' / Belize Telemedia Limited - 70 rebounds / 10 avg
Most Assist - Bernard Felix (183-G-85) / Guardian-Housing Dept. - 24 assists / 3.43 avg
Most Blocks - Jason Hyde 'Magic' (196-F/C-81, college: Hawaii-Hilo) / Home Protector Insurance - 15 blocks / 2.14 avg
Most Steals - Desmore 'Wable' Edwards / Tuff e Nuff Tours - 35 steals / 5.8 avg

The regular Season MVP will be decided by the committee members and announced later.

Inter-Office All-Star activities and final regular season games!!! - by David Magana
Below are the results of the All-Star activities and final regular season games:

Friday 29 May: All-Star Activities

Skillz Competition Winner - Edward 'Thugs' Baptist / Central Bank
Freethrow Competition Winner - Greg Mahler / General Post Office
Three-Point Shoot Out - Dale Turner (165-G) / Kolbe Foundation

The the All-Star Game, the East beat the West with MVP honors going to:
Ludrick Beeks (Cellular Plus Customs) - 11 pts / 12 rebounds

Sunday 31 May: Final regular season games
Game 1
Home Protector Insurance - 59 Belize Electricity Limited - 45
Top Scorers
Home Protector - Tariq Diaz 10 pts / 2 assist
Michael Plunkett 9 pts / 8 rebounds / 2 blocks
B.E.L. - Kareem Thimbriel 15 pts / 6 rebounds / 1 assist / 1 block / 2 steals
Hershell Armstrong 9 pts / 8 rebounds / 2 assist / 1 steal
With the win, Home Protector secured themselves in the playoffs as the #7 seed.

Game 2
Central Bank - 0 Grace Kennedy Belize - 0
Both teams lost finishing 0-7 as none had 5 players to start the game.

Game 3
Tuff e Nuff - 75 Kolbe Foundation - 35
Top Scorers
Tuff e Nuff - Densmore 'Wabble' Edwards 22 pts / 2 rbs / 3 assist / 1 block / 11 steals
Amir 'Mir-dogg' Garcia 17 pts / 4 rebounds / 1 assist / 4 steals
Kolbe - Dale Turner 21 pts / 1 rebound / 2 steals
Nadir Ahmad 6 pts / 9 rebounds / 1 assist / 4 blocks / 4 steals
The 40pt victory for Tuff e Nuff edged out Aero Dispatch Services in points differential for the 8th and final seed in the playoffs.

Game 4
Aero Dispatch Services - 20 Youth for the Future - 0
YFF failed to show up for the game.

NEXT GAMES: 1st round of Playoffs (Single Elimination)

Wednesday 03 June, 7:00 pm at Civic Center
Game 1 - #2 Port of Belize (6-1) vs #7 Home Protector Insurance (5-2)
Game 2 - #1 Alamilla's Furniture / FCIB (7-0) vs #8 Tuff e Nuff Tours (5-2)

Friday 05 June 7:00 pm at Civic Center
Game 1 - #4 Atlantic Bank (6-1) vs #5 Guardian / Housing Dept. (6-1)
Game 2 - #3 Belize Water Services vs #6 Belize City Council (5-2

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  BRAZIL   


Brazil earn bronze medals in Uruguay - by Eurobasket News
Brazil U17 - Venezuela U17 107:62

Brazil clinched the third position in the South American U17 Championship in Trinidad. They overwhelmed Venezuela in the consolation final yesterday. The stakes were high in the encounter as the teams fought for the spot in Fiba Americas U18 Championship. Brazil outgunned their opponents and booked the place in the tournament.
Brazil led from start to finish. They toppled Venezuela 27:16 in the starting frame and continued to mount pressure in the second term. The scoreboard read 44:29 at halftime as Brazil coasted. Brazil never slowed down in the second half. They accounted for 31 points in the third frame to gain a 32-point lead before the fourth term. The teams cruised to the final buzzer, as the outcome was pretty clear at this point.
Felipe Taddei (-92) came up with 23 points to pace Brazil. Lucas Amarante (-93) added 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Lucas Baroni (-92) had 13 points in the victory. Junior Martinez (-92) replied with 13 points for Venezuela. Israel Blanco (-93) finished with 10 points in the losing effort. Brazil outmuscled their opponents on the boards 41:16 and limited Venezuela to just 37% of field goals.

Brazil U17: Felipe Taddei 23, Lucas Amarante 13+10 boards, Lucas Baroni 13
Venezuela U17: Junior Martinez 13, Israel Blanco 10

Barbosa will play for Brazilian National Team - by Eurobasket News
Leandrinho Barbosa (190-G-82) has confirmed that he will represent Brazil at FIBA Americas Tournament which, is qualifier for the World Championship 2010 in Turkey. This news comes as relief to Brazilian Basketball federation, who has encountered some troubles lately in managing to gather all of their best players. Barbosa said that it was an honor for him to represent Brazil at any competition and he hopes that the team will be at full strength for these qualifiers. Other than Barbosa, it is expected that Tiago Splitter (211-C/F-85, agency: Interperformances) will also be available for Brazilian National Team, while Hilario Nene (207-C-82) and Anderson Varejao (205-C-82) are still questionable.
So far Barbosa has represented Brasil and World Championship in Indianapolis in 2002 and in Japan in 2006. In 2007 Leandrinho Barbosa helped Brazil reach semifinals of Tournament of the Americas where he averaged 21.8 points, 1.5 boards and 2.8 assists per game. This years qualifying tournament is scheduled for 26th of August and it will last until 4th of September. Brazil will be facing stiff competition from the likes of Argentina, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic among other.
Leandrinho Barbosa played for Palmeiras and Buru in Brazil before going to NBA. In his last season with Bauru Basquete in 2003 he averaged 28.2 points, 7.0 assists, 4 rebounds and 2.8 steals in 20 games in Brazilian Championship. That same year he was drafted by San Antonio Spurs as 28th pick in 1st round of NBA but was immediately traded to Phoenix Suns. In his rookie season with Phoenix he played in 70 games and recorded averages of 7.9 points and 2.4 assists per game. Each year in NBA, Barbosa improved, helping his team reach three consecutive Pacific Division titles in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Barbosa was voted NBA 6th Man in 2007 after appearing in 80 games while posting averages of 18.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

Nene Broke His Arm in Game 6 - by Eurobasket News
The cynical would joke that a Denver Nuggets season wouldn't be complete without a catastrophic injury to Hilario Nene (6'10''-C-82), the Brazilian big man who this year -- a superb campaign, really -- played in at least 65 games for the first time since 2004. But there you go: in the Nuggets' final game of the 2008-09 season, Hilario Nene suffered a fractured arm in the fourth quarter, according to the Denver Post. He left the gym wearing a cast.There's no word on how long rehab will take. One would assume the injury may affect Hilario Nene's reported plans to play for Brazil in this summer's Copa America. Brazil needs to finish top five in the Copa (assuming already World-qualified Team USA also finished top five) to automatically qualify for the 2010 World Championships in Istanbul. Brazil's coach said Anderson Varejao has tentatively committed, but the Cavalier will likely enter free agency in July. Missing its two top big men could be trouble for the Brazilians.

Courtesy of www.newscred.com

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  CHILE   


Chile clinch the 7th spot in Uruguay - by Eurobasket News
Chile U17 - Paraguay U17 102:50

Chilean U17 National Team completed their South American Championship campaign in style. They thrashed Paraguay to claim the seventh overall spot in the ladder. Chile managed to leave a sour loss to Ecuador behind and got ready for the battle with Paraguay just all right. They did not waste too much to stun their opponents. Chilean team surprised their counterparts 22:12 in the first frame to take a comfortable lead. Chile never loosened the grip in the second period as they stretched the margin to as many as 17 points at the interval.
Paraguay could not change things in the third frame. Chile stayed calm and capitalized on numerous mistakes from Paraguay to take a massive 33-point advantage into the final term. Chile coasted in the final quarter thumping their opponents.
Franco Morales (179-G-92) tallied 25 points, 14 boards and 7 assists for Chile. Francisco Pavez (-92) notched 33 points and 6 steals for the winning side. Marcelo Vaccaro (178-G-93) had 14 points for Paraguay. Alex Emhart (196-F/C-92) finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds in defeat.
Chile outrebounded Paraguay 52:30 and forced Paraguay to 29 turnovers. Chile sank 44% from the field to ensure the victory.

Chile U17: Francisco Pavez 33, Franco Morales 25+14 boards, Gabriel Sanino (-92) 10, Rolando Arteaga (178-G-92) 10
Paraguay U17: Marcelo Vaccaro 14, Alex Emhart 10+15 boards

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  CHINA   


Zhe Jiang Lost to Hei Long Jiang - by Robert Wang
The very focused game last night in China national Games is the game between Zhe Jiang and Hei Long Jiang. There 2 China national team players included Ding Jin Hui and Luo Zhi with some other CBA experinced pro. players in Zhe Jiang team. In Hei Long Jiang team, only 1 giant is Sun Ming Ming. But other players never played in CBA pro. league. While Hei Long Jiang team beat Zhe Jiang team at 20 points. The score is 63:83. This is unbeliveable. no people can tell why the score like this. zhe jiang team will not go to finals. The season will be end of this year and it seemed that the team has long way to go.

CBA Summer Training Camp - by Robert Wang
After CBA's 'National Sports Games' event, they will gether for their summer training camp on July and August. All teams will train together and play some games against each other. This will make teams learn and improve. CBA has organized such event 2 years ago. Hope this would help teams.
China National team has been founded this year and all players have reported to Bei Jing already. Headcoach Guo Shi Qiang will lead team and they will play some games against Australian team on August. Coach Guo will play Asian Championship in Tian Jin without Yao Ming. Hope he can lead team and play well then.

CBA Info. - by Robert Wang
Now, alll CBA teams are playing in the biggest event in China called 'China National Sports Games'. This event somehow are considered the more important than CBA league. Most teams have played their games already and some teams will go to the finals on Oct. included Liao Ning team, Xin Jiang team, Ji Lin team and Ba yi team. But some teams are still strugglling for the finals like Zhe Jiang team. Zhe Jiang team lost to Shang hai team last night and they will play against Hei Long Jiang team tonight. The winner will go to the finals. We will follow the info. tonight.


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  COLOMBIA   


Colombian Finished 5th in the U-17 Soutamerican Championship - by Victor Garcia
Colombia change the way since a bad start and winning three games in a row finishing in the 5th place of Southamerican U-17 Championship in Uruguay, Colombia defeated Bolivia 70-50, Paraguay 61-56, and Ecuador 58 - 54.
Colombian began the change after the coach decides to give more minutes to Francisco Castro in the floor, Castro answer was a monster demonstration on the boards, the national team was easily outrebounded in the previous games.
Victor Lopez and Francisco Castro from Magdalena the National U-17 Champions and Edwin Cortes from Valle were the support of the team Castro and Corts had good performances in the boards, buts specially Castro with his 12,5 rebounds per game includig 23 rebounds against Paraguay and 17 against Ecuador, Castro also had 9,8 points per game in juts 24 minutes per game.
Edwin Cortes numbers of 10 rebounds per game and 12 points per game give a good look to his skills, was maybe the most solid player with good numbers in all the games.
Victor Lopez was the heart of the Colombias ofense in the first three games his 31 pts againts Brazil make all the defenses focused on him, and his numbers in the following games droped but he proves himself to be an elite three point shooter, Lopez ended with 13,7 points per game, 3 rebounds, 39% beyond the arc, 42% from the field and 73% from the free throws.
The fith place is not bad, but looks like the team still have the potential to had better numbers.
Colombias players final stats.
Victor Lopez 13,7 PPG, 3 RPG.
Edwin Cortes, 12 PPG , 10 RPG
Francisco Castro, 9,8 PPG and 12,5 RPG
Simon Granados 6,2 PPG and 3,3 APG
Leonardo Salazar 5 PPG and 1,2 RPG
Tomas Diaz 4,3 PPG, 1 APG
Tony Trocha 3,4 PPG, 2,5 RPG
John Maclean 3 PPG, 2 RPG
Enrique Deluque 2 PPG, 2 RPG
Halley Perez 1,6 PPG, 1,2 RPG
Daniel Quintero 1,5 PPG
Daniel Sanchez 0,5 PPG


Colombia hold off Ecuador for the fifth spot in Uruguay - by Eurobasket News
Colombia U17 - Ecuador U17 58:54

Colombia U17 celebrated the fifth spot at the South American Championship in Uruguay. They toppled Ecuador in the final day of the tournament to gain the position. Ecuador who completed the preliminary round winless managed to come up with quite surprising victory over Chile in the 5th-8th place qualifying games. They also lived up to the challenge against Colombia but fell just short at the end. The teams kept it close early in the game as Colombia had a one-point lead into the second frame. Ecuador stayed within striking distance and Colombia still led by a slender 1 points at the interval. Ecuador stepped on the gas after the major break. They outgunned Colombia to accumulate a 3-point cushion heading into the final period. But Victor Lopez (-93) gave a needed spark for Colombia in the fourth stanza as they eked out an exhausting victory at the end.
Victor Lopez finished with 18 points and 6 boards to pace Colombia. Francisco Castro (-92) added 15 points and 21 boards in the win. Diego Chachapollas (-92) fired 13 points for Ecuador. Martin Obando (-92) and Ricardo Icaza (-92) had 10 points apiece in the loss. Colombia boasted of a huge dominance on the glass 57:41 which proved decisive in this one.

Colombia U17: Victor Lopez 18, Francisco Castro 15+21 boards, Thomas Diaz (-93) 7
Ecuador U17: Diego Chachapollas 13, Martin Obando 10, Ricardo Icaza 10

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  COSTA RICA   


Playoffs on the way in LSB - by Gianni Pascucci
Thanks to a basket hit by Dario Fraile (194-F-81) on the buzzer, Escazu defeated Goicoechea on the road, 77-75 in Game 1 of the PLayoff Second Leg. Fraile led Escazu with 22 points, but the game top performer was Clifford Smith (193-G, college: Barry), who scored 22 points he too in losing effort. In the other games of the night, Ferreteria Brenes Barva defeated on teh way Perez Zeledon, 87-70, thanks to Amir Alvarado (198-G/F-84, college: Marshalltown CC), who scored 30 points and Coopenae Liceo de Costa defeated UCR 82-60. Among these six teams yet active, the three series winners and the best of the three losers will advance to semifinals.

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  CROATIA   


Kasun leads Efes Pilsen to Playoff Finals - by Eurobasket News
Efes Pilsen has managed to reach the Turkish Playoff Finals after eliminating Galatasaray 3-0 in the Semifinals series. Efes started it with 1-0 lead since they had better score during the regular season, won Game 2 by 26 points and Game 3 by 12. One of the players who were largely responsible for this was certainly Croatian international Mario Kasun (213-C-80). In Game 2, Kasun contributed with 12 points, 7 rebounds. This statistic is especially impressive since Kasun played for only 13 minutes due to the foul trouble. In Game 3, Kasun had even better game as he recorded double double. He finished the contest with 14 points, grabbed 10 boards and also managed to record 1 assist and blocked shot. Just like in every contest in the playoff so far at least 4 Efes players scored in double digits. Kasun had help from Charles Smith who had 18, Ender Arslan scored 17 and Preston Shumpert added 15 points. Efes will most likely play in the Finals against Fenerbahce who is expected to beat Turk Telecom. The series will start at 0-0 since the teams were even during the regular part of the season.
Mario Kasun is a member of Croatian National Team with whom he participated in European Championships in 2005 and 2007. He started his career with Zrinjevac Zagreb, and has also played for Rhein Energy Cologne and Frankfurt Opel Skyliners in Germany before heading to NBA. In 2002 he was drafted by Los Angeles Clippers as 41st pick in 2nd round but he never played for them. Instead he signed with Orlando Magic in 2004, but after failing to impress in 2 seasons there he returned to Winterthur F.C. Barcelona in 2006. After 2 years at Barcelona, Kasun signed this year with Efes Pilsen.

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  CYPRUS   


After the players, the coach..... - by Chris Mammides
Keravnos Strovolou after signing and renewing a number of players decided to sign a Head Coach. The well known (in Strovolos) Israeli Head Coach Adi Azoulay (agency: Arik Krayn Services ) will be the new 'leader' of the Strovolos team. Adi Azoulay was the head of the Strovolos team for one seazons (2004-2005), actually for half a seazon as he was replaced in december of 2004 during due to the picture that the Strovolos team had those days. The Israelli coach left quite friendly as he was in touch with the club for all these years. In fact, nearly every year the Israelli coach was visiting the island and was watching games of Keravnos Strovolou. This seazon came twice in the island, the last time was during the play-offs and he has been seen together with otehr memebrs of the management team of the Strovolos team. The Israelli Coach has the advantage of his previous experience in the island and hopefully he will be able to work (once more) in a team that is already up to a level developed in terms of the roster. It is worth mentioned the fact taht Keravnos (as most of the previous seazons) is the first team to agree financial terms with players and coach while other teams are stll on Summer vacations.
Eurobasket.com. wishes all the best to the Israelli Coach.

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  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   


jack Martinez with another Double-Double - by Oscar Peralta
Jack Michael Martinez (203-F/C-81, agency: Paris Global Sports) has another great performance in Venezuela. he score 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 steals to help his team Cocodrilos de Caracas come out with a win over Guaros de Lara by a score of 99-83. he is really making an impact on all his games under the boards. This is just another double-double for him to add to the books. He is well known for picking up double-doubles by nature.

Retiro 23 & Centro on Top - by Herubey Grassals
Retiro 23 win his second game in a row to claim to the first position on the San Pedro de Macoris basketball tournament, Retiro 23 defeat Los Titanes de Miramar 84-77 with a great debut from Jamal Brown (183-G-79) (198-F-78, agency: Tank Sports, college: TCU) (183-G-79) which finished with game high 23 points also added 10 boards, Thomas Batista had 15 points and 4 assist, Otto Vantroi finished with 13 points, for los titanes Danny Mendoza had 20 points, Mario Penn 15 and Bobby Pandy (198-F-84, college: Tex.A&M-Kingsv.) finished with 12.
In the second match of the day Club Centro defeat Correcaminos de Quisqueya 89-75 with another double - double from Jean Carlos Acosta which finished the game with 18 points and 10 boards, Wilson Suazo had 15 point and Eddy Rosario finished with 15 points and 14 boards, for Correcaminos de Quisqueya Josue Abreu (188-G-66) finished with 23 points and 6 assist, Franklin Gomez had 14 points.

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  ECUADOR   


Colombia hold off Ecuador for the fifth spot in Uruguay - by Eurobasket News
Colombia U17 - Ecuador U17 58:54

Colombia U17 celebrated the fifth spot at the South American Championship in Uruguay. They toppled Ecuador in the final day of the tournament to gain the position. Ecuador who completed the preliminary round winless managed to come up with quite surprising victory over Chile in the 5th-8th place qualifying games. They also lived up to the challenge against Colombia but fell just short at the end. The teams kept it close early in the game as Colombia had a one-point lead into the second frame. Ecuador stayed within striking distance and Colombia still led by a slender 1 points at the interval. Ecuador stepped on the gas after the major break. They outgunned Colombia to accumulate a 3-point cushion heading into the final period. But Victor Lopez (-93) gave a needed spark for Colombia in the fourth stanza as they eked out an exhausting victory at the end.
Victor Lopez finished with 18 points and 6 boards to pace Colombia. Francisco Castro (-92) added 15 points and 21 boards in the win. Diego Chachapollas (-92) fired 13 points for Ecuador. Martin Obando (-92) and Ricardo Icaza (-92) had 10 points apiece in the loss. Colombia boasted of a huge dominance on the glass 57:41 which proved decisive in this one.

Colombia U17: Victor Lopez 18, Francisco Castro 15+21 boards, Thomas Diaz (-93) 7
Ecuador U17: Diego Chachapollas 13, Martin Obando 10, Ricardo Icaza 10

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  EL SALVADOR   


Standings - Liga Superior
Liga Superior Standings
 1. ExSAL 12-0 
 2. Denver 8-4 
 3. UTEC 8-4 
 4. Cosmos 6-6 
 5. San Marcos 4-8 
 6. Leones 4-8 
 7. San Miguel 0-12 


LSB last results - by Jaime Arevalo
In the last Round of Regular Season, UTEC defeated 98-80 San Miguel despite 27 points scored by Gerson Lanza at the losing side. Jose Antonio Orellana (189-F-87) was the best scorer in UTEC with 15. Two days after, ExSal largely defeated UTEC, 122-87, with Nathan Watson (191-G-83, college: Auburn) leading the way at 33 points and Fabio Molina (195-G/F-81) adding 20. Alejandro Cajar was the main scorer in UTEC with 29. Leones Automoto felt to Denver, 73-104, and imports Hank Rivers (203-F-81, college: Stephen F. Austin) and Tony Jimmerson (196-F-81, agency: ProSportsCareers, college: N.Mexico Highlands) were unstoppable in Denver, with 32 and 25 pts, respectively. In the last game of the season, San Marcos defeated San Miguel 78-68, leaving that team with no wins in the table. Alberto Hinds (188-G-80) led the way at 30 in San Marcos, Edwin Guzman was the top scorer in San Miguel at 15. The LSB playoff start tonight, with the top four teams fighting for the Apertura title. The pairings of the Semifinals are as follows: #1 Ex Sal - #4 Cosmos and #2 Denver - #3 UTEC.

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  ESTONIA   


Kalev/Cramo celebrate SEB KML triumph - by Eurobasket News
Kalev/Cramo - TU/Rock 68:65

Kalev/Cramo retained the KML title after two-year pause. They defeated their archrivals TU/Rock in the sixth game to win the finals 4-2.
TU/Rock opened the game with four points in a row. Tein and Giorgi Tsintsadze (192-G-86) soon gave the visitors a 9:2 lead for the visitors. Keerles and Kristjan Kangur (202-F-82) narrowed the margin to two points midway through the opening frame but TU/Rock rebuilt a 6-point cushion. The Tartu team secured a 6-point advantage at the first intermission. Kristjan Kangur and Gregor Arbet (194-F/G-83) came up with back-to-back trebles for Kalev/Cramo midway through the second term to give the hosts their first lead of the game. Gregor Arbet and Linenah completed a 12:0 run from the home team as they gained a 37:32 lead. Kevin Lyde (206-C-80, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Temple) capped the first half with a bucket as Kalev/Cramo sealed the outcome at 39:34.
Janar Talts (205-C-83) opened the second half with 5 points in a row to level things up. Kristjan Kangur and Nate Fox (206-F-77, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Maine) retained the lead for the hosts. Tein, Janar Talts and Giorgi Tsintsadze fired right back keeping the teams balanced. The teams traded baskets to enter the final term all level at 52. Kevin Lyde scored 5 points to ignite a 10:0 run from the hosts early at the start of the fourth quarter. TU/Rock reacted with 6 points in a row to stay within striking distance. Giorgi Tsintsadze accounted for four points as TU/Rock jumped ahead 65:64 with under two minutes to go. Gregor Arbet stepped up for Kalev/Cramo hitting a jumper and putting the home side back into the drivers seat. Giorgi Tsintsadze and Doronin had the chance to save the game for the visitors but missed their attempts, while Nate Fox sealed the triumphant outcome for Kalev/Cramo.
Kristjan Kangur nailed 12 points to lead balanced effort from the Tallinn team. Nate Fox added 11 points and 8 rebounds, while Kevin Lyde provided 10 points and 6 boards for the new champions. Giorgi Tsintsadze replied with game-high 26 points for TU/Rock. Janar Talts finished with 18 points in the loss.

Kalev/Cramo: Kristjan Kangur 12, Nate Fox 11, Kevin Lyde 10
TU/Rock: Giorgi Tsintsadze 26, Janar Talts 18

Kristjan Kangur - the MVP of the Finals! - by Janar Filippov
Kristjan Kangur (202-F-82) was named the MVP of the Finals of Estonian Meistriliiga. The powerful SF of Estonian champion BC Kalev/Cramo averaged 11.7 pts, 5.3rbs and 1.8 steals in the final series.

Kangur was also chosen to the Estonian Meistriliiga All Star Team together with John Linehan (175-G-78, college: Providence) and Nate Fox (206-F-77, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Maine) of BC Kalev/Cramo and Giorgi Tsintsadze (192-G-86) and Janar Talts (205-C-83) of TU/Rock. Linehan averaged 12 pts, 3.5 rbs, 3.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game in final series, Fox 10ppg and 5.8 rpg. Tsintsadze averaged awesome 18 pts, 6 rbs and 4.3 assists in final series but that was not enough to help his team to third-straight Estonian championship title.

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  EUROBASKET SUMMER LEAGUE   


Eurobasket Summer League 2009 is ready for an exciting summer - by Darryl Reshaw

The Eurobasket Summer League (ESL) 09 is headed for an exciting summer featuring events in Malaga Spain, Las Vegas, New York City and Chicago.
In 2008 the ESL became the most important basketball summer exposure event on the international market after 50% of the players landed professional contracts in 40 different leagues around the world.
Please review the link below to verify the facts on the Eurobasket site.
http://www.usbasket.com/Eurobasket-Summer-League/ESL-Players-Abroad.asp

This summer the ESL will feature a lot of high quality players from the senior class of 2008-09 including NCAA Division All Conference Players, NAIA All Americans and NCAA Division II All Americans.
There will be a lot of quality players with international professional expereice playing at the ESL 09 events looking to showcase their games for better contract opportunities around Europe.

Our event in Spain is being co-sponsored by the city of Malaga and will feature some high quality prospects for the Western European market.
In addition the event will be played in a venue that was used by the ACB club in the past and there will be a variety of teams from Spain and the rest of Europe there to scout players.

Our Las Vegas event will be played at the pretigious Orleans Arena and already hundreds of scouts from Spain, France, Finland, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, England, Italy, Puerto Rico, Germany, Sweden and many other countires have registered for the ESL in Las Vegas.

The ESL Chicago event will be played again at Attack Athletics where last week the NBA pre-draft camp was help and to date the talent level at the Chicago ESL event is high quality featuring a lot post players with pro experience. Tim Grover who is Michael Jordan's former trainer owns Attack Athletics and is known as the best in the basketball training industry and currently trains a host of NBA players including Dwayne Wade.
The ESL 08 players loved the atmosphere of playing at Attack Athletics due to the fact that while they were playing you would see many NBA stars past though the gym and watch the games prior to their training.

A lot of the top agents in the markets are placing their clients in the ESL events around the United States and Spain and Eurobasket will start releasing the names of the players in the upcoming days.

The ESL scouting reports, statistics and day by day coverage will listed on Eurobasket which will provide additional exposure for the ESL players.

The Global Basketball Expo will feature a range of seminars fucussing on the globalization of basketball and our international coaching seminar will feature a range of top upcoming European coaches and a few NBA coaches including Herb Brown (agency: Strategic Sports ) of the Bobcats.

Other notable coaches appearing at the GBE International Coaching Seminar includes Sharon Drucker (agency: Beo Basket ) (agency: Beo Basket ), Guillermo Vecchio and Luca Banchi

The GBE and the ESL will be held simutaneously and will feature some of the most powerful basketball delegates in the world including coaches, agents, trainers and various international basketball federations.
Everyday a new international federation is reserving delegate passes for it's select members.

The GBE will also feature a group of exhibitors with some of the best basketball related products in the industry on display for the Global Basketball Community.

The ESL objective is to be the market leader of providing the best information and events for the global basketball market.
There are a lot of other exposure events in the market but they won't have the quality of talent as the ESL and they can't provide the extra visibilty for the players becuase the ESL is the only summer league totally on-line and followed by thousands of coaches who subscribed to Eurobasket.

As of result the ESL exposure creates more job opportunities for players who are trying to get to the next level.

In addition the ESL is an agent friendly summer league and our objective is to provide agents the opportunity to network with many of the international coaches that will atend the ESL.

The ESL utilizes Eurobasket's powerful resources to promote the event to our database of coaches and agents to ensure high attendence of coaches and quality players which are screened by the Eurobasket database.

The ESL is the best expose situation for players and agents on the market and coaches please buy your airplane tickets for the USA this summer to attend the ESL because are talent level is higher than last season which produces players in the NBDL, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Germany, Cyprus, Puerto Rico, Japan and many other leagues.

The ESL will provide teams in Europe an opportunity to locate that diamond players who may be a little under the radar.

For additional information or to volunteer to coach at the ESL please contact marketing@eurobasket.com



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  EUROLEAGUE   


Big Final: Game no.4 - Panathinaikos - Olympiakos 94-81 - by Chris Mammides

Panathinaikos Athens won their thirtieth Championship title and the tenth in eleven years on Monday night by beating Olympiakos in a thrilling game at the packed of 21,000 Green fans, OAKA in Greek basketball's showpiece event.
Dimitris Diamantidis (196-G-80) was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his 10-point, 5-rebound, 5-assists and 3-blockshots for the victorious Greens.
Panathinaikos Athens's Head Coach Zeljko Obradovic commented after the game, 'I'm proud of my team. It's been another successful season for Panathinaikos Athens and we are happy to end on such a high record with the Triple crown, giving our fantastic fans the win they deserved for their great support all the year around.'

The teams traded baskets in the opening minute, before Panathinaikos Athens went on a 4-0 run to take an early 10-4 lead. Yotam Halperin (196-G-84) and Greer were marking their selves out as difficult and tough contender to 'brake' the Green home court and with continuous points and despite, the Greens strength in the paint, were able to cut the deficit and give a small 3 points lead to their team, the Greens were awful from the charity line even though Andrew Nicholas (191-G-81, college: Maryland) was really hot from the parameter. Another 7-0 burst put the Greens to eight points difference before Erceg scores a three pointer and then two free throws to end the first period with 28-24 for the Greens.

Panathinaikos Athens rallied early in the second period, scoring 11 of the first 13 points from the parameter with Nickolas and Fotsis to score from the parameter while Mike Batiste (203-F-77, college: Arizona St.) earning quite a number of air battles over the Reds. Vujcic was not able to help while Bourousis was not in his best night. The Reds though, reduced the deficit to initially to five and then to three at 38-35 to Panathinaikos Athens. The Olympiakos' defense was much improved as they kept Panathinaikos Athens to just 47 points in half time.Greer and Erceg were the only reliable scoring players while Yotam Halperin helped initially but then stopped. The Reds came back also due to the technical foul called to Sarunas Jasikevicius (192-G-76, college: Maryland) (in 20 seconds the Reds scored 7 points, 4 by Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) and three by Greer). It is worth menioned that the Lithuanian star saw the rest of the gaem from the bench as Obradovic didn't use him at all in the second half.
Early in the third quarter Teodosic equalize the game to 47-47 the next couple of minutes baskets were scoring very difficult as Olympiakos initially and then Panathinaikos remain pointless for 3.5 and 2.5 minutes respectively. Greer and Yotam Halperin scored a couple of baskets before Nikos Chatzivrettas (195-G-77) and Fotsis do the same. Panathinaikos had better control of the game as Olympiakos was very nervous and was making stupid false balls, mostly from the young Serbs, Erceg and Teodocsic, especially the second was called a stupid technical when he tried to kick Spanoulis (unsuccessfully) Panathinaikos took a lead of 8 points and had the ball before Spanoulis in the 5.3 seconds give it to Greer and the amazing American scored from 11 meters a three pointer to cut the deficit to 5 with the buzzer beeper.

What followed was the most exciting basketball of the season, as Nikos Chatzivrettas scored a four pointer (three pointer and a foul) and increase the deficit to 9, Olympiakos battled frantically to produce a comeback but the very good defense over Childress (mainly due to Diamantidis) and the low productivity of the Reds in general with Greer and Erceg (occasionally) being the only real dangers for Panathinaikos couldn't do a lot so Nickolas (17 points), Spanoulis (17 points), Fotsis (13 points) and Batiste (11 points) were not easy to handle by just a couple of players. Panathinaikos was much better and won its opponent clearly and fairly.

Panathinaikos had 5 players with double digits and another three with 9,8,and 7 points respectively, while he got points from all the players used other than Perperoglou who only played 5 minutes.




PANATHINAIKOS IS THE CHAMPION!!! - by Chris Mammides

Panathinaikos Athens beat Olympiakos 94-81 and succeded the triple crown for a second time in the last 3 years. Panathinaikos Athens was much better in the game and especially in the fourht and most crucial period, Dimitris Diamantidis (196-G-80) was amazing and helped his team-mates to succed once mroe agaisnt Yannakis Reds. He scored, he rebound, he assist, he steal and he blocked three times his opponents. If a player from Panathinaikos Athens should nominated MVP this is definetely Dimitris Diamantidis not because he scored 9 points but he was a real leader in the court with many jobs shown in the court and with many other not like the amazing defence over the NBAer Childress to let him without a point in the game other than his 8 free throws. The Triple Corwn is a fact and Zeljko Obradovic is the best Head Coach in Europe for another time.

There is a huge number of records broken this seazon but mostly from Alvertis Fragiskos in his last period in action. The Greek Forward has an amazing record of titles which will not be broken for many years to come.



Milenko Tepic in Panathinaikos - by Zoran Popovic
Young Milenko Tepic (198-G-87, agency: Beo Basket) will spent next three seasons in Panathinaikos Athens. Management of European Champion decided to signed long-term contract with super talent player after two great seasons in Euroleague, Adriatic league, Serbian Championship and qualifications for European Championship in Poland. Tepic started career in Vojvodina Srbija Gas Novi Sad and played for them in period 2002-2006 and in season 2006-2007 moved to BC Partizan In his three seasons in BC Partizan Tepic was three times Champion of Serbian league, two times Champion of Adriatic league and two times won Serbian cup Radivoj Korac. In Euroleague Tepic helped his former team to quality in Top 16 in his first season and two times in Top 8 in seasons 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. In his last season in BC Partizan Tepic in Euroleague average scored 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.8 steals, in Adriatic league 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and in Serbian Superleague 8.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.7 steals per game. During the qualifications for European Championship in Poland Tepic average scored 6.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Milenko Tepis passed all young categories of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbian National team.

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  FYR MACEDONIA   


Feni Industri wins at Skopje, ties Finals series at 2-2! - by Eurobasket News
Fersped Rabotnicki - Feni Industri 71-74

Fersped Rabotnicki failed to capitalize on home court advantage and win the Game 4 which would bring them only one step away from the title. In a very close game, visiting players of Feni Industri were calmer and they managed to come back from 2-0 in this series and to tie it at 2-2 with 71-74 win. Now Feni has regained the home court advantage and the series will go back to Kavadarci for Game 5. This was a close match from the tip-off as both teams played pretty tight defense obviously knowing the importance of this game. Lead changed throughout the quarter but it was the host who after 10 minutes had 18-17 advantage. In the second period, every time Rabotnicki would make a run, visitors were able to counter with a run of their own so the score was still very close. In the closing minutes of the quarter, it was Feni who took advantage of few defensive breakdowns by Rabotnicki, and at the half they went for a break holding 32-34. After the breather both teams came out strong and as result we have witnessed another very close quarter. Score after three periods was 51-54 and the game was heading for a very suspense finish. In the fourth stanza the teams exchanged baskets and with few minutes left in the game Feni was still holding to its 3-point lead. In the last minute Rabotnicki tried to press and force turnovers, but Feni kept their cool, and with steady shooting from the free throw line they were able to conclude the game and win 71-74.
For Rabotnicki, 4 players finished with double digits with Dime Tasovski (201-F-80, agency: Interperformances) leading the way with 19 points and 7 rebounds. Bojan Trajkovski (206-C/F-88) scored 12 while Ognen Stojanovski (189-G-85) and Toni Simic (210-C-76, agency: Interperformances) finished the contest with 11 points each. For the winning team, Zlatko Gocevski (206-C-82, agency: Interperformances) led all scorers with 17 points, Bosko Jovovic (205-F/C-83) had 12 while Milan Prekovic (195-G/F-75) added 11 points and 7 rebounds. Ivan Bosnjak (197-G-82) scored 10 while Donald Cole (204-C-81, agency: Edge Sports, college: Sam Houston St.) had a fairly quiet game scoring 9 points. Game 5 is scheduled for June 4th.

Fersped Rabotnicki: Dime Tasovski 19+7 boards, Bojan Trajkovski 12, Ognen Stojanovski 11, Toni Simic 11
Feni Industrija: Zlatko Gocevski 17, Bosko Jovovic 12, Milan Prekovic 11+7 boards, Ivan Bosnjak 10, Donald Cole 9

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  GERMANY   


Giants Noerdlingen withdraw from 1. Bundesliga - by Moritz Korff
The club officials of the Giants Noerdlingen have chosen to withdraw their team from the 1. Bundesliga. As a consequence the Giants will not play in the best German division in 2009-2010, though they finished the regular season 16th, one place ahead of the relegation spots. The 2008-09 season was Noerdlingen's first campaign in the 1. Bundesliga after moving up from the 2. Bundesliga Pro A.
According to a press release on the Giants' website they were not able to secure a deal with a main sponsor or a naming right sponsor and thus failed to achieve their budget target for the upcoming year.
It remains to be seen in which league the Noerdlingen team will go to the start in the 2009-2010 season.

Stats Leaders - 1.Bundesliga
Points Per Game
 Omari WESTLEY
  Noerdlingen
  (201-F-82)
  Avg: 15.9
 1. Westley, Noerdlingen15.9 
 2. Paulding, EWE B.15.3 
 3. Suput, Brose B.15.2 
 4. Jenkins, ALBA15.0 
 5. Callahan, Bremerha.14.9 
 6. Bowman, Telekom B.14.8 
 7. Katic, Walter Tigers14.8 
 8. Haynes, Walter T.14.4 
 9. Bailey, Goettingen14.4 
 10. McGhee, Noerdl.14.1 
Rebounds Per Game
 Jeff GIBBS
  ratiopharm
  (188-F-80)
  Avg: 10.4
 1. Gibbs, ratiopharm10.4 
 2. Ensminger, Pad.Bask.9.5 
 3. McGhee, Noerdlin.8.3 
 4. Brown, Brose B.7.8 
 5. Westley, Noerdlingen7.4 
 6. Katic, Walter Tigers7.1 
 7. Callahan, Bremerha.7.0 
 8. Gordon, Dt.7.0 
 9. Fenn, Art.Dragons6.8 
 10. Drevo, NY Phanto.6.5 
Assists Per Game
 Michael JORDAN
  Koeln 99ers
  (183-G-77)
  Avg: 6.2
 1. Jordan, Koeln 99ers6.2 
 2. Joyce, ratiopharm4.5 
 3. Whiting, Duesseldorf4.4 
 4. Jenkins, ALBA4.3 
 5. Watson, Bremerha.3.8 
 6. Gardner, EWE B.3.8 
 7. Franklin, NY Phant.3.7 
 8. Rowland, Telek.3.6 
 9. Anderson, Walter T.3.6 
 10. Gibson, Noerdling.3.5 
Steals Per Game
 Roderick TRICE
  Goettingen
  (191-F-84)
  Avg: 2.6
 1. Trice, Goettingen2.6 
 2. Foster, EWE B.1.8 
 3. McGhee, Noerdlin.1.7 
 4. Lee, Goettingen1.6 
 5. Peete, Duesseldorf1.5 
 6. Jordan, Koeln 99ers1.5 
 7. Jacobson, Goett.1.5 
 8. Paulding, EWE B.1.5 
 9. Franklin, NY Phant.1.5 
 10. Triplett, ratiopha.1.4 
Blocks Per Game
 Ken JOHNSON
  Telekom B.
  (210-C-78)
  Avg: 2.4
 1. Johnson, Telek.2.4 
 2. Gadri-N., Bremerha.1.4 
 3. Boumtje Boum., EWE B.1.0 
 4. Yarbrough, Telek.0.9 
 5. Majstorovic, EWE B.0.9 
 6. Sesay, ALBA0.9 
 7. Grunheid, Koeln 0.8 
 8. Drevo, NY Phantoms0.8 
 9. Flomo, Telekom B.0.8 
 10. Evans, TBB Tri.0.8 


Jared Newson(Brose Baskets Bamberg) Thoughts About Game One Loss And To Game Two Against The EWE Baskets Oldenburg June 4th - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
American Jared Newson (196-G/F-84, agency: Court Side, college: Tennessee-Martin) is a 196cm shooting guard/small forward playing his firsts eason for the Brose Baskets Bamberg.. He comes from Bellville, Illinois and went to Tennesse-martin University an din his senior year 2005-2006 averaged in 28 games: 18.8ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.4apg, 1.7spg, 2FGP: 45.3%, 3FGP. He came to Europe as a rookie an dlanded in Germany in the BBL and played for the Bayer Giants Leverkusen and averaged in 37 games: 13.3ppg, 5.5rpg, 1.2apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 46.6%, 3FGP: 33.9%, FT: 65.4%. He won the 2007 BBL Allstar Slam Dunk contest. In the summer of 2007, he played in the summer League for The Dallas Mavericks and was invited to training camp and was the last cut. He then went down under to Australia and played for Cairns Taipans where he averaged in 13 games: 13.4ppg, 5.5rpg, 1.9apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 41.4%, 3PT: 15.0%, FT: 63.4%. he also had a short stint in Poland with Polpak Swiecie. This season he is averaging 6,9ppg and 2,9rpg and is still fighting for playing time under coach Chris Flemming. He spoke to eurobasket after game one of the BBL Semifinals against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg.




You guys lost game one in Oldenburg 82-74. What were the main reasons for the loss?




Any game in the BBL Semifinals will not be easy. Jason Gardner and their good guard play put them over the edge.


If it isnt Rickey Paulding that hits the big shots, then it is Jason Gardner or Je Kel Foster. How difficult is it to adjust on defense to stopping one of these players?




This is very difficult. It is hard for any team to find match ups against their guards. We have more the post defenders, but we just try to find suitable matchups to try to stop them.



Je kel Foster had a big game one in Oldenburg. I think it is impossible to stop Gardner, Paulding and Foster in a game. How do you have to play defense in general against a team like Oldenburg?



We have to play hard for 40 minutes. It is common knowledge that they are a three point shooting team, but they are all good players. We try to focus on their outside shooting and then focus on their penetration.



You shot better from three point land and had less turnovers then Oldenburg. What further adjustments do you need to make against Oldenburg?



We have to have more ball movement on offense. Their three guards will always score so we have to limit guys like Scekic and Majstorovic to less scoring. We also have to work on containing their three point shooters.



Was Oldenburg mentally stronger than Bamberg in game one?



In general teams the home teams have the advantage and play better and their crowd really helped them in game one as well.



Predrag Suput and Elton Brown scored 24 and 23 points. Sometimes it seems like Bamberg is missing a consistent third scorer. Is that a fair assessment?



Yes it is. We are missing a strong third scorer. We need more scoring from the wing, but we have enough good players from the bench that could give this help in scoring.



How do you see the match up Elton Brown-Ruben Boumtje Boumtje progressing in this series?



I think Elton will be ok if he continues to get inside and limit the shot blocking from Boumtje Boumtje.



It has been a very disappointing season for you. A few months ago, you said that you still didnt really know why your not playing. Has anything changed in this time? Has coach Fleming given you a reason?



It is still the same situation. It is really a tough situation especially in a series like Oldenburg where I know I could really help the team with defense assignments. In the first game of the season in Oldenburg(6p, 3r, 2a, 2s 22min) where we lost a close game, I was able to help the team. However, I am a professional and just continue to work hard in practice and help scout along the way as well. I am a competitor and just try to stay positive.


How do you see the Alba Berlin-Oldenburg series?



I see an upset in the making. Bonn will win.



Everybody was talking about the big Kobe-Lebron final in the NBA playoffs, but a third player by the name of Dwight Howard has snuck through the backdoor and reached the final with the Orlando Magic. How do you see this final?



In the regular season, The Orlando Magic beat the Clevland Cavaliers. Orlando had their number and the Cavs had problems matching up. If a team has problems matching up then it will be difficult to win. I see the Lakers winning in seven games.



How do you see your Basketball future?



I still have a contract for next season. I love Freak city and the fans have supported me throughout the season which I am very thankful for. I will have to see what will happen this summer.


What was the last DVD that you saw?



Kung Fu Panda.

Shuler stays with TBBTrier - by Manuel Schust
After extending the contracts with James Gillingham (193-G-81, agency: Pro Partner Sports Management, college: Bradley) and Brian Brown (191-G-79, agency: Pro Partner Sports Management, college: Ohio St.) TBB Trier managed to keep another player from last year's roster: The club exercised a team option on 23-year old Jamal Shuler (191-G-86).
Consistency seems to be the number one aim for Trier in this off-season. With keeping Shuler the club already has hired 7 players of last seasons roster.
For Shuler Trier is his first overseas club. After a successful college career with Va Commonwealth (VCU) he joined TBB Trier last season and showed a lot of potential. In 34 games he averaged 9.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists. He also had 1.2 steals per game and was the 16th best player in this category last season. Shuler's season highs show that he could really become a great player. He scored 29 points against Walter Tigers Tuebingen, had 9 rebounds aginst Duesseldorf Giants and 6 assists against ratiopharm Ulm.

Ken Johnson(Telekom Baskets Bonn) Thoughts To Game One Win And To Game Two Against 8 Time BBL Champion Alba Berlin June 3rd - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber

Detroit native Ken Johnson (210-C-78, college: Ohio St.) is a 210cm center playing his first year for The Telekom Baskets Bonn. He played four years at Ohio State leading the nation in blocks in 1999-2000 with 5,6 blocks. He was drafted by the Miami Heat in 2001 and played 16 games in the NBA in the 2002-2003 season. Since then, he has had a steady Pro Basketball career having played in countries like Korea, China, Italy and France. He also played in the States in the D-League an dthe NBDL league. Last season, he was an important piece to the success of The Deutsche Bank Skyliners who lost in five games in the BBL semis to The Telekom Baskets Bonn. This season he averaged 8,2ppg, 3,6rpg and led the BBl with 2,5 bpg. He spoke to Eurobasket after game one of the BBL Semifinal series against Alba Berlin.
Congrats on beating 8 time BBL champion Alba Berlin in the O-2 arena. How did it feel like winning game one?
It was a great and just a terrific feeling winning in Berlin. We played with so much energy.
Berlin is playing very weak in the BBL playoffs and have just a record of 3-3. Did it surprise you that they struggled against The Paderborn Baskets?
No it didnt surprise me or shock me. Paderborn is always tough to beat. They were very hungry to win.
Alba Berlin outscored you 16-11 in the first quarter, but Bonn struck back in the second quarter outscoring Berlin 25-12. Why was the Bonn so strong in the second quarter?
Our defesne effort was great. We went out and gave it our best.
Alba Berlin came back in the third quarter with a strong 24-18 advantage. You had breakdowns on defense?
Yes we had a breakdown on defense and just made bad choices and that is what kills us often. But most importantly we put it together in the end and won.
In crunch time the Bonn defense was on fire. After the Vincent Yarbrough three pointer, Berlin played the last 2,29 minutes without scoring to end the game losing at home. What made your defense so strong in this phase?
It was amazing just watching how our defense was working at the end. The whole team was fired up and we played great. Our defense on pick and role, weakside and hedging was working well and this was one of our best defensive efforts of the season.
Vincent Yarbrough is a very strong defender, but can sink the three pointer if he has to. How important has he been for the Bonn success?
Vincent is a terrific player. He is always a tremendous factor for our success. He is a team player with great knowledge of the game and I can always count on him doing his job on defense.
What were the most important words that coach Michael Koch gave the team during crunch time?

Coach is always talking. He is always positive and never loud. He was a bit desperate then and made it clear to us that we had to win.
The self confidence of Bonn must really have risen with the win. Did you get the feeling that Alba Berlin is feeling a bit unsure with their game?
They are not unsure in their play. Alba Berlin is a tough team. Every team wants to beat them. The opponent always have an added feeling that they can go out and win and that is the key.
You guys did a good job limiting Immanuel Mcelroy to two points. Are you half way to winning when you shut down Mcelroy when Julius Jenkins has a hot night?
No team can truly stop Jenkins. He is one of those guys that is difficult to control. Stopping Mcelroy was an added bonus which lifted us up.
Bonn is not known as a strong shooting three point team, but you shot well in Berlin at 50%. What other adjustments does Bonn need to do in game two in on offense?
We have to come more together on offense, score well and limit turnovers.

Alex King had a good game with six points in nine minutes. He must be about as fired up as it gets?
Alex has much confidence and also gets it from the coach and his teammates. He is always working hard.
I am sure that there will be many Frankfurt fans at game 2 in Bonn to support you and Alex King.
Oh thats good, I miss the Frankfurt fans.
The Orlando Magic reached the NBA final against The Los Angeles Lakers. How do you see this NBA final?
Dwight Howard is a beast. He is unstoppable.

How would you fair against him on the court?
Well the best comparison would be Shaq-vs Muggsy Bogues. Lol
What was the last DVD that you saw?
The Mummy Returns.

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  GREECE   


Coaches - Transfer news - by Chris Mammides

Coach Demetris Liogas and HSBC Pagrati Athens will no longer be together, HSBC Pagrati Athens and Demetris Liogas agreed to move separately. The new head coach of HSBC Pagrati Athens is officially the Greek Head Coach Alekos Daglas , the Greek head coach was coaching succesfully the last two seazons the team of Ravenna Esperides / Glyfada and after nearly three years is returnign back to the Men's basketball.
Head Coach Takis Koroneos is returning to the Women's team of Panathinaikos Athens. The ex player of Panathinaikos Athens is going back to the greens after more than two years, it si obvious that Panathinaikos Athens is his favorite team.

Head Coach Demetrios Gerofotis renewed his contract with GAS Halkidonas for anotehr one seazon.

Panagiotis Zontos renewed his contract for anotehr seazon with Alfa Alimos. The same for the Greek Head Coach Nikos Kerameas , after driving Mas Mantoulidis to the second division, he officially renewed his contract for another seazon.

Another Coach returning to his beloved team, Coach Makis Giatras agreed financial terms with Keravnos Aigio Helesi for one year.

Doxa Lefkadas agreed terms with Nikos Vournas , there is no official announcement yet but it is expected to take place in a couple of days.

Vangelis Vlahos renewed his contract with Amyntas for another one year.

Costas Sorotos will lead Dafni Athens for another seazon. The experienced Head Coach renewed his contract for a fifth consecutive year with Dafni Athens.

Giorgos Vovoras is officially renewed his contract with OFI for another one seazon.

Panagiotis Kontogiannis renewed his contract with Anagennisi Floga.

Nikos Ekonomou renewed his contract with Ionikos Neas Filadelfeias and will be the head coach for the seazon 2009-2010.

Nikos Kalabakos will be the head coach of Perama/Ermis for the coming seazon, 2009-2010.

Vassilis Nipergialis is continuing his career with Koroivos Amaliadas for another seazon.

Elias Papatheodorou renewed his contract with A.O. Kiffisia for another one seazon.



Big Final: Game no.4 - Panathinaikos - Olympiakos 94-81 - by Chris Mammides

Panathinaikos Athens won their thirtieth Championship title and the tenth in eleven years on Monday night by beating Olympiakos in a thrilling game at the packed of 21,000 Green fans, OAKA in Greek basketball's showpiece event.
Dimitris Diamantidis (196-G-80) was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his 10-point, 5-rebound, 5-assists and 3-blockshots for the victorious Greens.
Panathinaikos Athens's Head Coach Zeljko Obradovic commented after the game, 'I'm proud of my team. It's been another successful season for Panathinaikos Athens and we are happy to end on such a high record with the Triple crown, giving our fantastic fans the win they deserved for their great support all the year around.'

The teams traded baskets in the opening minute, before Panathinaikos Athens went on a 4-0 run to take an early 10-4 lead. Yotam Halperin (196-G-84, agency: Arik Krayn Services) though and Greer were marking their selves out as difficult and tough contender to 'brake' the Green home court and with continuous points and despite, despite the Greens overhead in the paint were able to cut the deficit and give a small 3 points lead to their team, the Greens were awful from the charity line even though Andrew Nicholas (191-G-81, college: Maryland) was really hot from the parameter. Another 7-0 burst put the Greens to eight points difference before Erceg scores a three pointer and then two free throws to end the first period with 28-24 for the Greens.

Panathinaikos Athens rallied early in the second period, scoring 11 of the first 13 points from the parameter with Nickolas and Fotsis to score from the parameter while Mike Batiste (203-F-77, college: Arizona St.) earning quite a number of air battles over the Reds. Vujcic was not able to help while Bourousis was not in his best night. The Reds though, reduced the deficit to initially to five and then to three at 38-35 to Panathinaikos Athens. The Olympiakos' defense was much improved as they kept Panathinaikos Athens to just 47 points in half time.Greer and Erceg were the only reliable scoring players while Yotam Halperin helped initially but then stopped. The Reds came back also due to the technical foul called to Sarunas Jasikevicius (192-G-76, college: Maryland) (in 20 seconds the Reds scored 7 points, 4 by Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) and three by Greer). It is worth menioned that the Lithuanian star saw the rest of the gaem from the bench as Obradovic didn't use him at all in the second half.
Early in the third quarter Teodosic equalize the game to 47-47 the next couple of minutes baskets were scoring very difficult as Olympiakos initially and then Panathinaikos remain pointless for 3.5 and 2.5 minutes respectively. Greer and Yotam Halperin scored a couple of baskets before Nikos Chatzivrettas (195-G-77) and Fotsis do the same. Panathinaikos had better control of the game as Olympiakos was very nervous and was making stupid false balls, mostly from the young Serbs, Erceg and Teodocsic, especially the second was called a stupid technical when he tried to kick Spanoulis (unsuccessfully) Panathinaikos took a lead of 8 points and had the ball before Spanoulis in the 5.3 seconds give it to Greer and the amazing American scored from 11 meters a three pointer to cut the deficit to 5 with the buzzer beeper.

What followed was the most exciting basketball of the season, as Nikos Chatzivrettas scored a four pointer (three pointer and a foul) and increase the deficit to 9, Olympiakos battled frantically to produce a comeback but the very good defense over Childress (mainly due to Diamantidis) and the low productivity of the Reds in general with Greer and Erceg (occasionally) being the only real dangers for Panathinaikos couldn't do a lot so Nickolas (17 points), Spanoulis (17 points), Fotsis (13 points) and Batiste (11 points) were not easy to handle by just a couple of players. Panathinaikos was much better and won its opponent clearly and fairly.

Panathinaikos had 5 players with double digits and another three with 9,8,and 7 points respectively, while he got points from all the players used other than Perperoglou who only played 5 minutes.




PANATHINAIKOS IS THE CHAMPION!!! - by Chris Mammides

Panathinaikos Athens beat Olympiakos 94-81 and succeded the triple crown for a second time in the last 3 years. Panathinaikos Athens was much better in the game and especially in the fourht and most crucial period, Dimitris Diamantidis (196-G-80) was amazing and helped his team-mates to succed once mroe agaisnt Yannakis Reds. He scored, he rebound, he assist, he steal and he blocked three times his opponents. If a player from Panathinaikos Athens should nominated MVP this is definetely Dimitris Diamantidis not because he scored 9 points but he was a real leader in the court with many jobs shown in the court and with many other not like the amazing defence over the NBAer Childress to let him without a point in the game other than his 8 free throws. The Triple Corwn is a fact and Zeljko Obradovic is the best Head Coach in Europe for another time.

There is a huge number of records broken this seazon but mostly from Alvertis Fragiskos in his last period in action. The Greek Forward has an amazing record of titles which will not be broken for many years to come.



Division C: AEK Argos, Panelefsiniakos, Mantoulidis and M. Alexandros are the Champions - by Chris Mammides

AEK Argos, Panelefsiniakos, Mas Mantoulidis and M.Alexandros are the Champions and will be playing in the second division the coming seazon 2009-2010.
The group champions in more analysis:
South - First Group
Coach Kostas Ekonomakis's team, AEK Argos finally and after 26 weeks is the champion and will be playing in the second division the coming period, 2009-2010. The Argos team even though had exactly the same points and records as GS Agia Paraskevis (21-5) their in-between games given an obvious advantage to the Argos team. The leading figures for Coach Ekonomakis team were the veterans Giorgos Haralabakis (201-F-75), Dimitris Prokos (192-G-74) and Giorgos Bellis (208-C-82) and Christos Flevaris (183-G-86) while it is worth mentioning the young talent Tassos Mitropapas (194-G-94), the 15 years old player is really a player with very big capacities and if the scouters of the bigger teams realized that. Very soon the youngster will fly for bigger cities
In the same group the team of Coach Nikolaos Hatzipanagiris , GS Agia Paraskevis which finished on the second spot gain the right after a special league took place among the second teams of all four groups to play in the second division if there is a problem among the other teams to participate in the second division.
.

South - Second Group
The team of Coach Giorgos Skarafingas (he renewed his contract for the season 2009-2010) was the team to finally win the champion succeeded to finish at the top position in the group with just five negative results (21-5) the fight against Ierapetra was great and just three weeks ago everything were still open for the two gladiators. The leading figures for the Elefsina team were the following: the experienced player, Giorgos Tirlas (198-F-80), the ex Panathinaikos player Serafeim Theos (205-F-84) and Mathaios Karahalios (185-G-83). The team already created an internet side which will be dealing 100% with the basketball team, the side is: http://www.elefsisbc.gr

.
North - First Group
Coach Nikos Kerameas did a very good job in Mas Mantoulidis and that was more than obvious at the end of the league as Mas Mantoulidis was the champion and with the younger roster in the division, was able to lead the competition and gain position in the second division. The battle for the top position of the group was really amazing and the winning team was able to grab it only the very last week of the league as Aeolos Trikallon of Coach Giassaris with Katranas as a leading figure was up until the end the major competitor for the team of Mas Mantoulidis. The leading figures of the team of Coach Nikos Kerameas were the young talented Katsivelis, the veteran Giannis Gakis (186-G-69) who helped a lot and he was the second coach in the court, the experienced forward Kostas Pallis (200-F-80) who also helped a lot the young talents of Mas Mantoulidis, while the two youngsters Apollon Deligiorgis (192-G-93) (194-G-93) and Nikos Georgakis (198-F-93). The record of Mas Mantoulidis was 19-7

.
North - Second Group
The team of Giannis Kontonasios had the best record of the division and in all the four divisions with just 4 losses and 22 victories, M.Alexandros succeeded the best position in its short basketball history. Coach Kontonasios was able to mix a group of experienced players witha group of talented and very promising players. The leading figures of the team were the veteran Panagiotis Armoutis (197-F-75), the talented Giannis Maltesios (205-C-85) together with Tassos Dimas (195-F/C-88) and lastly the talented Dimitris Mitsikas (194-G-87)



First Quarter: Panathinaikos - Olympiakos 28-24 - by Chris Mammides
Live from OAKA: The first quarter just finished with Panathinaikos having a small deficit of four mainly due to the parameter as the Green players and especially Nickolas and Costas Tsartsaris (210-F-79) are quite effective from teh three point line. Thodoros Papaloukas (200-G-77) is in the court finally as the game so is crucial that a player like Thodoros Papaloukas can't miss it. Halperin is quite active on behalf of the reds as he scores also from the parameter too. MVP of this first quarter is Costas Tsartsaris with his 7 points and an amazing dunk in Bourousis face!!

First Half: Panathinaikos-Olympiakos 47-44 - by Chris Mammides
Panagiotis Yannakis Reds had an amazing quarter and with a series of 0-10 in combination with the fourth and the third foul (technical) of Pekovic and Jasikevicius, Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus with Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) scored a 7pointer (with a three pointer from Lynn Greer (186-G-79, college: Temple)) in the same offence! to bring the game for Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus 40-42. Panathinaikos is very nervous in this second quarter and its players are doing really some not so mature things while Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus is getting points from all his players (Yotam Halperin (196-G-84), Milos Teodosic, Lynn Greer) asre some of the players to score while Panathinaikos lost 6 free throws in this second quarter showing how nervous is in the specific quarter not to mention the stupid technical foul which an experience player such as Jasikevicius is not to be excused. Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus is really very solid tonight and is expected a very interesting game untill the last minute. Among the weaknesses of the Greens is definetely the 4th foul of Pekovic since the 17th minute which simply means that he is more or less useless for the rest 23 minutes. Spanoulis lost three free throws in this quarter while Zoran Erceg (210-C/F-85) is 100% successfull and is basecally the MVP of the specific quarter with 7 points (a three pointer and 4 free throws). Olympiakos is doing its best game since the begginign of the play-offs while Panathinaikos is doing the most unbalance game and the amazing percentages (57%) of the free throws are quite unique - negative wise

Third quarter: Panathinaikos-Olympiakos 67-62 - by Chris Mammides
Greer with an amazing three pointer from the 11.5 meters is keeping Olympiakos in the game as Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82) false ball 5 seconds before the end of the game gave teh chance to Greer to cut the deficit from 9 and probably 11 (without Vassilis Spanoulis mistake) to just six points. In the best quarter for the home team, Panathinaikos couldn't get the difference wanted even if the deficit went up to 10 points mainly due to the MVP of this quarter, Antonis Fotsis (210-F-81) (13 points). Olympiakos begun a bit better but Panathinaikos took the initiatives and got a safety difference of ten but couldn't kept it. Olympiakos is very good team tonight and it will be definetely a great last quarter.

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  HOLLAND   


FEB Finals: Eclipse Jet/MyGuide Repeat As FEB Champions! - by Sanders Jackson


Sunday afternoon in the deciding game between Eclipse Jet/MyGuide and Eiffel Towers, the FEB trophy remained in Amsterdam for at least another year, as Eclipse Jet/MG were able to capitalize on a comfortable lead and having the necessary resistance and intangibles to prevent Eiffel from making a last moment push, winning Game #7 by the score of 83-71. It was the end of a series what became a sort of a sideshow, laced with protests and controversy over the handing out of the winning prizes. But nonetheless, when it all was said and done, Eclipse Jet/MG were the ones left standing as once again proving themselves as the best team Dutch basketball has to offer. It was the club's third FEB title in six seasons and the seventh title overal.


In a sequel to last season's Game #7 finals, Eclipse Jet/MG ace Teddy Gipson (193-G/F-80, agency: 540 Sports, college: Arkansas) once again stepped up with making big shots in the clutch and a strong start, scoring 13 pts. in the 1st quarter to help stake Eclipse Jet/MG to a 29-18 1st quarter lead, then in the last five minutes coming up with a clutch three-pointer and a layup off a CC Harrison (194-G-76, agency: Court Side, college: N.Carolina St.) to put the game out of reach for Eiffel. Eclipse Jet/MG led at one point in the game by the score of 64-44, kept making it difficult for Eiffel to get witin striking distance. Eiffel could get no closer than within 8 pts. Eclipse Jet/MG also made their free throws (21 of 22 total), were stronger on the boards (40-31 difference), took care of the ball extremely well (only 8 turnovers), and held Eiffel to only 39% FG. Gipson led all scorers with 26 pts., Harrison added 21 and FEB MVP Peter Van Paassen (210-C/F-78, agency: Court Side, college: St.Bonaventure) added a double-double of 14 pts. and 14 rebounds. Taron Downey (186-G-83, college: Wake Forest) led Eiffel in scoring with 23 pts.


Congratulations once again to Eclipse Jet/MyGuide and to head coach Arik Shivek and his coaching staff.



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  IBL   


Mikaal Dulio Speaks Out on the Prospect of the IBL BEING A GLOBAL LEAGUE - by John Gary
REcently, I set down with IBL commissionor Mikaal Dulio and got his thoughts on the possibilty of the IBL becoming a true global league and producing a true world champion. 'I think we are set up for this better than anybody. The way are markets are designedis a big help. In addition to this,the activities are teams participate in makes this type of concept a possibility for us.

Three Year Plan In Place To Build Energy Fan Base - by John Gary
The Edmonton Energy arent drawing the crowds they would like to but there no need to panic the semi-probasketball club says. After playing their first 8 IBL home games of the season,the Energy has attracted around 250-300 fans on most nights. ' We are suprised,' We did expect more,' energy business manager Chad Butler said prior to saturdays game with the Oregon Waves. courtesy oursportscentral.com


Standings
IBL Standings
Eastern
 1. Holland B. 11-2 
 2. Kankakee S. 10-6 
 3. G.Rapids F. 6-6 
 4. Japan T. 0-16 
Independent
 1. Yamhill H. 1-2 
 2. Arizona F. 0-1 
 3. Nevada P. 0-1 
 4. Chicago S. 0-1 
 5. Olympia R. 0-2 
 6. S.Illinois T. 0-2 
 7. Red Rock R. 0-2 
Northern
 1. Bellingham S. 12-3 
 2. Snohomish C. 5-6 
 3. Vancouver T. 4-10 
 4. USA All-Stars 4-16 
Southern
 1. Vancouver V. 10-3 
 2. Oregon Wave 6-4 
 3. C.Oregon H. 4-5 
 4. Shanxi Zh. 0-0 
Western
 1. L.Angeles L. 8-2 
 2. Edmonton E. 8-3 
 3. Seattle M. 8-5 
 4. Tacoma T. 7-2 


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  ITALY   


SerieA Round: 2 (Semi-Finals) - by Eurobasket News
Angelico BI - Armani MI 82-81
Angelico Biella secured the first win in the semifinal series against Armani Jeans. Angelico Biella needed an extra period to defeat the visitors for a 1-1 tie. Valerio Spinelli (184-G-79) hit a buzzer-beating jumper to lift the hosts to the victory. Luca Garri had 14 points, while Joe Smith added 13 points and 6 steals in the victory. David Hawkins replied with 25 points, 8 assists and 5 boards for Armani Jeans in the losing case.

Benetton - Montepaschi 72-92
Montepaschi went on a 2-0 Semifinal lead over Benetton after 92:72 in Game 2. After 20-19 in the opening quarter the favorites pushed the tempo for good and deserved the second win. Romain Sato (194-G-81, college: Xavier) led the winners with 17 points, while Eze Benjamin nailed 14. Neal Gary responded with 27 points in the losing case.

Market News and Rumors - by Stefano Pini
Cantu announced the deal with Andrea Trinchieri for two seasons. Andrea Trinchieri was Leagadue's coach the year at Veroli in 2009 leading the team to the victory in Legadue's cup. Rumors around Caserta's bench. It seems that Stefano Sacripanti can be announced in the next days. Stefano Sacripanti reached playoff last season at Pesaro. Lino Lardo (agency: Players Group ) should be the chosen one for Virtus Bologna, that will have Andre Collins (183-G-82, college: Loyola, MD) as new pointguard.

Serie A Semifinals: Biella tied the series (1-1) - by Stefano Pini
Valerio Spinelli (184-G-79), with a lay up at 4' to the end of the OT, decided game 2.
Milano started the game giving the ball inside to Maurice Taylor (206-F-76, college: Michigan)r, that scored 8 points in a while.
But then, Biella was able to stop Armani low post game and we had a balanced and intense playoff game.
David Hawkins (193-G-82, agency: CAA Sports, college: Temple) leaded Milano with 25 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds.
Biella had 6 players in double digit.
Angelico tried to attack the rim, they gained 26 free throws (converted only with 61,5%).
Milano controlled the game at rebound (34-29)
Game 3 is scheduled for tomorrow, at Milano. It will be a news if Armani won't end a game at fotofinish. 


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  NBA   


These Lakers ready for knockout in NBA Finals - by Eurobasket News
Beat L.A.?

Go ahead and try that now. You might wind up with a flagrant foul to the chops.

These Lakers are a whole lot tougher than last year's Western Conference winners.

They proved it by standing up to the 'Thug-gets.' They showed this is not last spring when they demolished the Rockets in Game 7 in the semifinals.

This Laker team looks like it could take on the 2008 Celtics and actually put up a fight. This isn't last June.

'It's different,' Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) said late Friday night in Denver after L.A. advanced to its 30th Finals.

The Lakers had to be different this time around. After cruising through the West last spring, they were 'out-toughed,' to use Phil Jackson's words, by the Celtics. They took a 39-point beating from Boston in the finale, then had their team bus rocked by Celtics fans outside the new Garden.

But as they've shown this spring, that harsh Finals lesson has prepared them to take the last step.

'We weren't pushed and tested last year the way that we have been in the Houston series and now the series against Denver,' said the Lakers' Derek Fisher. 'At least theoretically, we're more prepared to play against teams that are physical or extremely athletic.'

The Nuggets - skilled, dangerous and with a mean streak that Detroit's old Bad Boys would appreciate - were a good test for L.A. until they wilted in Game 6, 119-82.

'Huge problem for us,' Bryant said after the 27-point dismantling. 'And because of that, we had to elevate our level as a unit. And if we didn't do that, we'd be going home early.'

Don't get us wrong. It's not as if these Lakers are suddenly Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The East will still send a representative to the Final.

But the Lakers learned from their two no-show games in Houston. They took what the Nuggets had to give them, the physical play that Jackson called 'unsportsmanlike' and gave it right back to Chauncey Billups and his bunch.

'I saw little cracks in the Lakers and somehow we've cemented those cracks back up and I think they're the best team right now in the
NBA,' Denver coach George Karl said. 'In a lot of ways, we've helped them put their pieces back together.'

They're better than in 2008. How much?

Now they can actually win.


T-Wolves' new pack

It's not surprising that the Timberwolves hired David Kahn as GM and didn't bother to call Larry Harris, Bernie Bickerstaff or Billy King, all of whom have run NBA teams and had expressed interest in their GM vacancy.

In filling the league's last GM opening, the T-Wolves went with Kahn, a non-basketball exec, who will work with Rob Moor, the team's CEO who also happens to be owner Glen Taylor's son-in-law.

In what could be a risky move, the T-Wolves are allowing Moor to have a major voice in basketball decisions. That will start with the draft, where the Timberwolves have the No. 6 pick.

Moor wants to have a big influence on the direction of the team, so Harris (who ran Milwaukee), Bickerstaff (Charlotte) and King (Philadelphia) really didn't have a chance to get a call back. Ex-Miami GM Randy Pfund interviewed for the post, but later took his name out of consideration.

Kahn was involved in the business side of team operations and the building of the Pacers' Conseco Fieldhouse when he worked under Donnie Walsh in Indiana. So he's exactly the kind of GM that Moor wants in place. ... After phasing out scrimmaging in its Chicago pre-draft camp, turning it into a 'skills session,' the NBA has gone to a new format for teams to see potential draftees in action. Golden State, Minnesota and the Nets will host mass workouts, where upwards of 30 draft-eligible players will participate in games and practices for all teams. The new format starts this week with the Warriors hosting their camp. ... The Charlotte Bobcats just went on the market, so it's still too early to tell whether Michael Jordan is going to be a serious buyer or will just kick the tires. Jordan, the team's top basketball exec, has the connections to put together a group to buy the Bobcats from Robert Johnson. But Jordan also has a track record for blowing hot and cold on deals. League insiders also don't know if he will be willing to put in the time to run the team.

Courtesy of www.nydailynews.com

Nene Broke His Arm in Game 6 - by Eurobasket News
The cynical would joke that a Denver Nuggets season wouldn't be complete without a catastrophic injury to Hilario Nene (6'10''-C-82), the Brazilian big man who this year -- a superb campaign, really -- played in at least 65 games for the first time since 2004. But there you go: in the Nuggets' final game of the 2008-09 season, Hilario Nene suffered a fractured arm in the fourth quarter, according to the Denver Post. He left the gym wearing a cast.There's no word on how long rehab will take. One would assume the injury may affect Hilario Nene's reported plans to play for Brazil in this summer's Copa America. Brazil needs to finish top five in the Copa (assuming already World-qualified Team USA also finished top five) to automatically qualify for the 2010 World Championships in Istanbul. Brazil's coach said Anderson Varejao has tentatively committed, but the Cavalier will likely enter free agency in July. Missing its two top big men could be trouble for the Brazilians.

Courtesy of www.newscred.com

Sixers hire Jordan as new Head Coach - by Eurobasket News
And the winner is Eddie Jordan.

The Stefanski Stakes came to a close Friday night when shortly after 7 p.m., CSNPhilly.com learned that Jordan would in fact be the next head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers.

Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed, but a source has confirmed it to be a three-year deal.

'I saw first-hand the immense impact Eddie Jordan had in helping the Nets reach two NBA Finals and as the head coach in Washington, he consistently put his teams in a position to win on a nightly basis,' Sixers president and general manager Ed Stefanski said in a statement. 'He embodies all the qualities I was looking for in the next head coach of the Sixers and we are very excited to have him in Philadelphia.'

The search for the Sixers' 22nd head coach lasted 18 days and covered six known candidates, the first of which was Jordan. Prior to Jordan having his interview with Stefanski, he said he was very interested in the position and that he thought, it fit like a glove.

Jordans Wizards teams ran the Princeton offense that he has tweaked, put his stamp on it, and it results in putting points on the board. It is also an equal opportunity system. Consider this. Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison all became All-Stars under Jordan. None had that status prior to playing for him. That Jordan was a favorite in the early going was not a surprise because he was an assistant coach in New Jersey for four years when Stefanski was working in the Nets front office. But as the process dragged on, there was reason to question why Jordan was not already named. Repeatedly, Stefanski said he would take his time and be thorough in a wide open search. He was both.

The Sixers will introduce Jordan as their new man on Monday afternoon. Jordans staff is to be determined. The current Sixers assistants are under contract for one more season. In Washington, Jordans number one assistant was Mike OKoren. Numerous calls to Jordan were not immediately returned.

With the NBA pre-draft camp taking place in Chicago through Sunday, all 30 teams have various personnel in attendance. One league executive responded to Jordans hiring saying, They will be good offensively. Defensively they will struggle. I think Ed Stefanski could not afford to take a gamble. In my opinion, Ed did a good job with what was available in his price range.

Another person close to the situation said it came down to Jordan or Dwayne Casey and because of a comfort level having had a previous relationship with Jordan, he made Casey the runner up.

Jordan grew up in Washington, D.C. but played his college ball at Rutgers University. He and his family still maintain a home in Princeton. Jordan has compiled a 230-288 career head coaching record in one-and-a-half seasons in Sacramento, the other team he also interviewed with in the last three weeks, and then five-plus seasons in Washington where four times he guided the Wizards to the postseason.

Couresy of www.csnphilly.com

Ben Wallace ponders retiring - by Eurobasket News
The Cleveland Cavaliers' crushing defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic Saturday may not have been their only loss. Ben Wallace (6'9''-C-74, college: Virginia Union), their enforcer and starting center for most of the season, said after the game that he may retire.

'I'm going to sit down and talk with my family, weigh my options and come up with a decision,' the 34-year-old Wallace said after Cleveland's 103-90 loss. 'Nothing's definite, but there's a strong possibility that this was my last season.'

Wallace has one year and $14 million left on his contract. He has not yet spoken with Cavaliers management about retirement or a buyout.

'I haven't talked to Ben at all about his future,' said general manager Danny Ferry, who was surprised to hear about Wallace's comments.

Wallace, a veteran of 13 seasons, sighted his declining health as a major reason he may hang up his sneakers. He missed 25 games due to injury this season, sitting out with a right forearm laceration, a fractured right fibula, a bruised left knee and a strained left patella tendon.

'It's tough being on the sidelines when you're banged up,' he said. 'Then you've got to put in all that work to get back in the rotation. It's becoming a young man's game.'

If Wallace chooses to retire, he will almost certainly seek a buyout since retiring outright would cost him next season's salary. But he said money will not be the determining factor in his decision.

'I think I deserve [a buyout],' Wallace said. 'But if I don't get one and I've just got to give it up, that's what I'll do.'

Despite Wallace's declining production, losing him would be a big blow to the Cavaliers. With Anderson Varejao, who replaced Wallace in the starting lineup during the playoffs, and Joe Smith both becoming free agents, the only returning big man in their rotation would be Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who will turn 34 next week.

A Wallace retirement would also give Varejao added leverage in contract negotiations this summer. As a restricted free agent last year, Varejao sat out nearly half the season due to a contract dispute. He's unrestricted this year and his agent, Dan Fegan, is likely to seek a long-term deal worth about $10 million annually.

But re-signing Varejao at that type of number could hinder the Cavaliers' ability to sign a star free agent such as Chris Bosh in the summer of 2010.

Wallace, who was nicknamed 'Body' by his teammates because of his imposing physique, has been one of the most inspiring stories in the NBA. Undrafted out of Virginia Union, he became a star in his fifth season.

Traded from Orlando to Detroit in 2000 as part of a package for Grant Hill, he became the league's premier rebounder and shot blocker. A four-time all-star and four-time Defensive Player of the Year, he anchored the Pistons' championship team that upset the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004.

After signing a four-year, $60 million deal with Chicago as a free agent in 2006, Wallace was traded to Cleveland last season.

He's averaged 10.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks for his career, including a career-high 15.4 rebounds in 2002-03. Wallace averaged just 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks for the Cavs this season. Coming off the bench against the Magic, he averaged 2.7 rebounds in 12 minutes this series.

Wallace, who is less than a year's worth of credits away from graduating from Virginia Union, said he plans to earn his bachelor's degree and then attend law school once he retires.

Courtesy of the ESPN (www.espn.com)

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


Southern Cal's Marcus Johnson gets extra year - by Eurobasket News
Southern California forward Marcus Johnson (6'6''-G/F-87) has been granted another year of eligibility.

Coach Tim Floyd said Thursday that the NCAA granted a 'season of competition' waiver for Johnson on the condition that he be withheld from the first two games of the 2009-10 season, when he will be considered a senior.

Johnson applied for the waiver because he competed in just one exhibition game during the 2007-08 season at Connecticut before transferring to USC.

He averaged 3.1 points and 1.8 rebounds while playing 16 games for the Trojans last season. Johnson sat out the first 11 games after transferring from Connecticut, and then missed seven games with a strained rotator cuff. He was named Pac-10 Tournament Winner -09. Three years before he was Big East Regular Season Champion with Connecticut.

Courtesy of www.sportingnews.com

Memphis mess falls on Johnson's shoulders - by Eurobasket News
Memphis athletic director R.C. Johnson was honored with a roast Thursday night, and the timing was hilarious if only because it must've been uncomfortable. As you can imagine, there was plenty of material considering the school had just released a letter from the NCAA that accused the men's basketball program of major rules violations. So there were SAT jokes and John Calipari jokes, and everybody laughed and had a good time.

But it's really not a laughing matter.

The reality is that Johnson has mishandled these NCAA allegations in multiple ways.

Here are three of those ways:

1. As wild as it is to believe, new Memphis coach Josh Pastner has repeatedly said he had no idea that the school had been charged with major violations when he accepted the offer to replace John Calipari, meaning Johnson never sat Pastner down and explained the details of a letter sent to Memphis nearly three months before Calipari left for Kentucky.

That's disgraceful.

A coach deserves to know what he's getting into, if only so he knows what to expect. But because Johnson never told Pastner about the details of these allegations, Pastner was never able to prepare recruits and their parents or handlers, and some of those folks are none too happy. Sources have told CBSSports.com that a few of the prospects Memphis has been recruiting feel like they've been misled. That's because Johnson didn't lead appropriately, wasn't forthcoming with the man he tabbed to keep his program afloat, all of which is now hindering Pastner's ability to do his job.

The task of replacing Calipari was going to be hard enough on its own.

Pastner didn't need his boss making it harder.

2. When it became clear that Kentucky was seriously interested in Calipari, Memphis countered with a contract worth more than the contract Kentucky offered. That was bold. But as it turns out, all the school had to do to keep Calipari was leak the NCAA letter.

It really would've been that easy.

Remember, there was a big debate about whether UK should mess with Calipari and his reputation; that was the hurdle. And though the pro-Calipari people ultimately convinced the anti-Calipari people that winning is the most important thing, that would've been an impossible task had the NCAA letter leaked then and created all the negative headlines it has created this week.

Here's a hypothetical timeline of how this could've gone down:

March 29: CBSSports.com reports that Calipari plans to talk with UK.

March 30: Memphis officials leak the NCAA letter of allegations to the the Commercial Appeal.

March 31: Kentucky, under pressure and worried about all the negative press, turns its attention to Oklahoma State's Travis Ford.

No question, that's what would've happened (give or take the Ford part). Memphis would've kept its coach, its recruiting class and had a team ranked in the top five of preseason polls, and UK would've looked elsewhere. As it is, the Tigers lost their coach, most of their recruits, and now Memphis fans will have to watch Calipari (and those recruits) be ranked No. 1 in some preseason polls while their favorite team moves along with a first-year coach, a depleted roster and NCAA violations to address while Calipari is, as he put it, 'at no risk.'

Honestly, could Memphis have misplayed its hand any worse?

Johnson had the trump card.

And he sat on it.

3. Again, Memphis probably should've released the letter of allegations in January, you know, when the letter arrived. Short of that, Memphis absolutely should've released the letter when Kentucky pursued Calipari, you know, to keep UK from taking its coach and some recruits. But I fully acknowledge those theories can be debated, although I'm pretty sure I could win either debate.

What can't be debated is that sitting on the letter this long was wrong.

Memphis is scheduled to appear before the NCAA next week, and yet the school seemed content to try to do it in secrecy despite the fact that it's pretty hard to meet with the NCAA and endure penalties without people knowing. That strategy backfired when the Commercial Appeal asked for the letter via a Freedom of Information Act request, which prevented Johnson from controlling the message of when and how the letter was released and left Pastner trying to recruit while the words 'Memphis' and 'Major Violations' appeared every 30 minutes on ESPN for the latter part of the week.

And yes, that hurts.

'Any time you have a kid that is starting his freshman year, you want him to go into a calmer setting rather than having a cloud over [his] head,' Lynbert Johnson, the father of Class of 2009 standout Noel Johnson, told Scout.com's Evan Daniels on Tuesday morning upon announcing a decommitment from Southern California.

Why is this relevant, you ask?

Because Memphis was almost certainly going to be involved with Johnson.

But now Memphis has a cloud, too.

And though Memphis is unlikely to endure any harsh future penalties, it's difficult for Pastner to assure prospects of as much because the coverage of these alleged violations has been heavy, and the story remains fresh. In other words, nothing looks calm at Memphis right now. So a top 75 prospect might be off the table, and other prospects could be skeptical, and Pastner is reduced to trying to explain away things he should've been allowed to explain away a long time ago, things that should be a non-story by now.

Instead, those things are a major story right now.

A national story right now.

And I can't help but think there was a better way to go about all this.

Courtesy of www.cbssports.com

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


Former Francis Marion player now with Globetrotters - by Eurobasket News
A former Francis Marion men's basketball player has traded in his red, white, and blue Patriot uniform for a red, white, and blue ball and an extensive travel schedule. Former FMU player Vony Rivers is currently travelling the world as a member of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Rivers, a 6-2 182-pound guard, goes by the nickname 'Rocket' and wears jersey number 17. The Burton, S.C., native is in his second year with the Clown Princes of Basketball, and has been on five different tours across the globe.

Rivers played two seasons (2004-06) at Francis Marion and earned a B.B.A. degree in management in 2006.

When asked how he earned a roster spot on the Globetrotters, Rivers said 'After I graduated from FMU, I played for a very short stint in the ABA. I was not satisfied with how that turned out, so I started going to different exposure camps and workouts. At one of the workouts, a talent recruiter for the Globetrotters named Al Clocker discovered me and extended me the invitation to come workout with the team. So my first time on an airplane was a trip to Houston, Texas, for my workout. I did a great job and was offered a rookie contract.'

'As far as my role on the team, I'm kind of an all around guy, so I'm labeled as a playmaker. That consists of ball handling, dunking, dribbling, and whatever else the team needs me to do at the time.'

Rivers name was mentioned in a recent Sports Illustrated article about the
Globetrotters.

'The travel is a grind, but it just may be the best part! I have been to places that most people can only dream of, including multiple countries in South America, Europe, and Africa, not to mention all over the United States and Canada.'

When asked about his most memorable experience, Rivers responded, 'My most memorable moment has to be when we traveled to Israel and I had the opportunity to walk where Jesus walked and pray on the stone where his body was laid at his final resting place. There are no words in any language that can describe the feeling or experience of those moments.'

The Globetrotters recently concluded a 209-city tour, which produced team box office records in 62 markets, as the team visited 43 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, seven Canadian provinces and Puerto Rico.

In his two seasons at Francis Marion, Rivers averaged 7.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game during the 2004-05 season and 14.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game as a senior in 2005-06. During his two years in Florence, he connected on 34.4 percent of his three-point attempts and compiled more assists than turnovers (117/99) while recording 79 steals
in 54 games.

He was twice named to the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll and the FMU Swamp Fox Athletic-Academic Honor Roll.

Former FMU head coach John Schweitz said of Rivers, 'Vony was one of those players, using the coaching clich, that just gets it. He was an extremely competitive player and practiced as hard as he played. He was also a very dedicated student. He was the kind of person, student and player that all coaches wish they had more of on their teams.'

According to the Globetrotters' website, Rivers said that to be a Globetrotter means 'the opportunity to showcase to the world my love and passion for this game. It also gives me a means through which I can give people a getaway and a chance for complete happiness no matter what they're going through in their everyday lives.'

Rivers played one season at Erskine College, where he averaged 12.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game during the 2001-02 season and was named the CVAC Freshman of the Year, prior to transferring to Francis Marion.

He is a graduate of Battery Creek High School.

Courtesy of Francis Marion

*****************************************************
  NCAA3   


Former Pioneer stand out release from Pro team. - by Joan Manuel Sanchez
William Paterson alum Luis Martinez (6'6''-F-84, college: William Pater.) who has emerge as one of the top players in Dominican Republic, has being release by Trotamundos in Venezuela.

Luis has played pro-ball in the Dominican Republic, Mexico and a short sting in Venezuela.

The William Paterson stand out is being consider to join the Dominican Republic national team.

Luis joined Edgar Lugo (6'3''-G-82, agency: HM Sports Agency, college: Lehman) has the other Division III member that has made a career out of basketball after their college career at the division III level.


*****************************************************
  NICARAGUA   


First ACB results - by Gianni Pascucci
Jaguares UAM started with the right pace, defeating 81-72 Delfines de la BICU-INATEC in their comeback in the league. Carlos Gonzalez led the way with 32 points, Roger Munoz scoreed 15 and Manuel McKenzie added 12 pts. At the losing side, Windell Sloan scored 20 points. Two nights after, Jaguares UAM defeated 76-66 Panteras UNICIT after an OT and now lead the table with a 2-0 record. In the other games, Tiburones Bancentro defeated 95-88 Tigres UdeM, in which Jason Walters plays as a domestic player, after having received the Nicaraguan passport. Noel McKenzie led Tiburones with 22 pts, Serbio Abea led Tigres at 24. Tigres UdeM eventually defeated 99-93 Delfines, taking their first win. The standings are now as follws:
1. Jaguares UAM 2-0
2. Tiburones Bancentro 1-0
3. Tigres UdeM 1-1
4. Panteras UNICIT 0-1
5. Dolphins Bicu Inatec 0-2

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


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


*****************************************************
  PARAGUAY   


Chile clinch the 7th spot in Uruguay - by Eurobasket News
Chile U17 - Paraguay U17 102:50

Chilean U17 National Team completed their South American Championship campaign in style. They thrashed Paraguay to claim the seventh overall spot in the ladder. Chile managed to leave a sour loss to Ecuador behind and got ready for the battle with Paraguay just all right. They did not waste too much to stun their opponents. Chilean team surprised their counterparts 22:12 in the first frame to take a comfortable lead. Chile never loosened the grip in the second period as they stretched the margin to as many as 17 points at the interval.
Paraguay could not change things in the third frame. Chile stayed calm and capitalized on numerous mistakes from Paraguay to take a massive 33-point advantage into the final term. Chile coasted in the final quarter thumping their opponents.
Franco Morales (179-G-92) tallied 25 points, 14 boards and 7 assists for Chile. Francisco Pavez (-92) notched 33 points and 6 steals for the winning side. Marcelo Vaccaro (178-G-93) had 14 points for Paraguay. Alex Emhart (196-F/C-92) finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds in defeat.
Chile outrebounded Paraguay 52:30 and forced Paraguay to 29 turnovers. Chile sank 44% from the field to ensure the victory.

Chile U17: Francisco Pavez 33, Franco Morales 25+14 boards, Gabriel Sanino (-92) 10, Rolando Arteaga (178-G-92) 10
Paraguay U17: Marcelo Vaccaro 14, Alex Emhart 10+15 boards

Libertad defeats San Jose - by Gianni Pascucci
In the last day of the Apertura Semifinal Round, even Libertad defeated Deportivo San Jose, this time 100-90, with Bruno Zanotti (197-F-82, agency: Megasport, college: Merrimack) leading the way at 26 points and P.J. Mills (201-F) adding 20. Carlos Jorge Riveros (190-G-85) scored 26 pts at the losing side, but it wasn' t enough. The standings are now as follows:
1. Libertad 3-0
2. Sol de America 2-1
3. San Jose 0-4
As everyone can see, there will be a Final Series between Sol and Libertad, the two best teams of the last seasons in Paraguay..

Another win for Libertad - by Gianni Pascucci
Defeating Sol de America 81-80, Libertad advanced to the Apertura Final Series. P.J. Mills (201-F) scored 20 points at the winning side, Ricardo Ozuna (185-G/F-82) added 20 he too, and Daniel Perez (190-G/F-84) topped the scoring at 21. Panamanian Jamaal Levy (206-C/F-83, agency: Priority Sports, college: Wake Forest) was the game top scorer with 23 pts in losing effort, and Guillermo Araujo (204-C-82) scored 16. Sol de America will now meet Deportivo San Jos in another 'qualifying series', but no one believes that they will fall.. The Final will be Sol de America -Libertad ....

*****************************************************
  PHILIPPINES   


PBA Quarterfinals: Rain or Shine and Santa Lucia take 1-0 lead - by Eurobasket News

1/4 finals
Rain or Shine - Purefoods 96-87
Rain or Shine blew hot and cold and then hot again in the final stretch as it repulsed a weary Purefoods, 96-87, Sunday to seize the opener of their best-of-three quarterfinal showdown in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Big Dome. Jai Lewis (201-F-83, agency: Court Side, college: George Mason) rammed through 26 points and 17 boards while Rob Wainwright (196-F-73, college: Solano CC) had 16 points including four booming triples as the Elasto Painters registered their first playoff win since gaining entry three seasons ago. In Purefoods, Marquin Chandler (202-F-82, college: San Jose St.) collected 34 points and 11 rebounds.

Santa Lucia - Burger King 93-84
Santa Lucia Realty import Anthony Johnson (198-G/F-79, college: La-Lafayette) shrugged off the pains of an injured groin to score 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, enabling the Realtors to notch a 93-84 victory over the Burger King Whoppers Wednesday at the start of the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference quarterfinals at the Araneta Coliseum. Norman Gonzales (193-F-76) also played a major role with eight of his 17 points in the final canto, but it was Johnson's splendid job down the stretch that spelled the biggest difference as Sta. Lucia took what could be a decisive head-start in their best-of-three duel. Shawn Daniels (200-C-79, college: Utah St.) responded with monster double-double in loss, 22 pts and 20 rebounds.

*****************************************************
  POLAND   


Polpharma add two players - by Eurobasket News
Polpharma Starograd have started to shape up their roster for the forthcoming PLK season. The teams signed two new players namely Lukasz Zytko (181-G-81, agency: AB Agency) and Lukasz Majewski (199-F-82).
Lukasz Zytko spent the last season with Sportino Inowroclaw. A 28-year-old guard averaged 6.9 points, 2.8 assists and 2.0 boards per game as a starter. That was his fourth year with Sportino, while earlier he played for Czarni Slupsk, Stargrad and Torun.
Lukasz Majewski arrived to Polpharma from Atlas Stal Osrow. A 27-year-old forward scored 6.4 points and pulled down 2.4 boards per appearance last season.
Stal Stalowa Wola that made it into PLK for the next season announced that they are going to release Dawid Szewczyk (190-F-85) and Rafal Sobilo (188-G-89).
Szewczyk averaged 2.2 points per game in just 9 appearances for Stal Stalowa Wola in the 2009 season. Sobilo scored 2.7 points in his second year with Stal.
In the meantime 1Liga Big Star inked Marcin Salamonik (202-F-83) from Mosir Krosno. A 26-year-old centre played a solid season with Mosir Krosno posting 15.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per encounter. Marcin signed one-year contract with the Tichy outfit. Salamonik is going to replace Pawel Zmarlak (195-F-82) on the roster. Zmarlak will continue his career in MKS Dabrowa Gornicza.

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


Guzman to Guaynabo and maybe Danny Santiago will join Vaqueros in the postseason - by Rafael Otero
BSN had a busy day since the deadline to make moves comes to an end. The Guaynabo Conquistadores made a great effort to get their team better adding speedy Ansel Guzman (175-PG-84) from the Grises for PG Ismael Caro, a 2010 first round draft pick and cash considerations. They also changed both imports adding Monty Wilson (197-F-73, agency: Edge Sports, college: Tennessee St.) and Jabari Smith (211-C/F-77, college: LSU), both let free by Bayamon earlier this week. Bayamon Management made a couple of moves of their own, strengthen their team towards the postseason. They signed free agent Carmelo Lee and reported that Nathan Peavy (203-F-85, agency: LimeLight, college: Miami, OH) will join the team next week straight from the Bundesliga in Germany. Unofficial sources also told that they have reached a preliminary agreement with former Puerto Rico's National Team center Daniel Santiago (216-C-76, agency: Priority Sports, college: N.Mexico) to join the team in the post season that is near to come. He will be here just his season in Spain with the Regal Barcelona ends. His team is playing right now in the ACB's semifinals versus Unicaja Malaga, his former team. Carolina replaced Ekene Ibekwe (206-F-85, college: Maryland) with proven scorer Lee Benson (208-F/C-73 college: Brown Mackie) who was licensed by Guaynabo. Carolina is also waiting for his starting PG Filiberto Rivera (187-G-82, college: UTEP) who still playing in the Bundesliga playoffs. Rumors that rookie and NBA prospect A.D. Vassallo (198-G/F-86, college: Virginia Tech) will get traded from the Criollos dont materialized.

BSN representation in the KBL tryout List - by Rafael Otero

Rick Ross, our Eurobasket correspondent in Korea, reported that the KBL has announced 212 players for the 2009 Try-Out Camp in Las Vegas and will announce a final list of invites by June 19th. The list includes various well known players for the Puertorrican crowd. Both active and former BSN players were invited and it seems to be a very competitive tryouts since the KBL's 10 teams are only allowed to have two imports players on their rosters. This year 730 applicants were the most since their creation on 1997. Previous high was 616 in 2007. This year BSN imports selected to participated in the tryout were: Keith Butler (Caguas 213-C-83, agency: Huss Sport Agency, college: De Paul) ), Dan Langhi (Mayaguez 208-F-77, college: Vanderbilt), Kurt Looby (Humacao 208-F/C-84, college: Iowa), Glen Mcgowan(Bayamon206-F-81, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Pepperdine), Shawn Redhage (Piratas 202-F-81, agency: Warren Sports International college: Arizona St.) Jabari Smith (Bayamon first now Guaynabo) and Darian Townes (Ponce 208-F/C-84). Also, players with BSN experience like Kevin Pittsnogle (210-C-84, college: W.Virginia), Uka Agbai (Recently acquired by Bayamon) and Rodney White (206-F-80, college: Charlotte) were selected. Well Known Ebi Ere (Carolina) was one of the few guards selected. Angelo Reyes (suspended for the remaining of this season for violating the league's drug policy), Angel Buster Figueroa (current BSN MVP) and Jeff Aubry (205-C-76, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Cornell), all Puertorrican natives, were part of the list also. The Korean tournament is from September to March and the players, if eventually get selected on the draft, will receive the net amount of US$25,000 per month plus bonuses.



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


Stats Leaders - Superleague B
Superleague B Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Samokhin, Kursk 17.4
2 Kuznecov, Saran 16.8
3 Sergeenko, Ural 15.7
4 Lunev, Magnitog. 15.4
5 Ageev, Autodor 15.1
Rebounds Per Game
1 Ekimov, Revda 9.2
2 Stepanenkov, Rya 7.4
3 Averyanov, Ural 7.3
4 Semerninov, Sar 6.6
5 Manikhin, Magnit. 6.9
Assists Per Game
1 Glazunov, Magnit. 6.5
2 Mateyunas, Avtodor 5.0
3 Golovin, Revda 5.0
4 Penkin, N.Novg. 4.4
5 Savelev, Novosyb. 4.6
Steals Per Game
1 Gladyshev, Naltchik 2.8
2 Semerninov, Sara 2.1
3 Bartunov, Revda 2.0
Blocks Per Game
1 Ekimov, Revda 1.5
2 Yakovenko, Avtodor 1.2
3 Ponosov, Krasnod. 1.4


Standings - Higher League
Higher League Standings
Div.A
 1. Tambov 33-15 
 2. Tula 33-15 
 3. Dizelist 29-19 
 4. Volzhan.-GES 28-20 
 5. Akad.-Globus 26-22 
 6. Stary Sobol 24-24 
 7. Voronezh 24-24 
 8. Stavropol 23-25 
 9. Dinamo May. 22-26 
 10. Ukhta 22-26 
 11. Orenburg 22-26 
 12. Lobnya MR 15-33 
 13. Lipetsk 11-37 
Div.B Center
 1. Bryansk 17-3 
 2. Tolyatti 16-4 
 3. Cherkessk 9-11 
 4. Orel 8-12 
 5. Izhevsk 1-20 
 6. Avtodor-2 0-0 
 7. Ufa 0-0 
 8. Kostroma 0-0 
 9. Severstal-2 0-0 
Div.B Ural-Siberia
 1. Tobolsk 14-4 
 2. NGU Novosyb. 12-6 
 3. Yantar-TGASU 10-8 
 4. Magnitogorsk-2 1-18 
 5. Omsk 0-0 


New Superleague season will tip off on October 15 - by Eurobasket News
The Russian Superleague board decided on the starting date for the upcoming 2009-2010 season. The decision was made to start the new season on October 15. The number of teams to participate will be known by July 1. The board announced the date to be last one for all the teams to pay the entrance fee.
In the meantime two more players were announced to join the first training camp of the Russian National Team. Anton Ponkrashov (200-G-86) and Vitaly Fridzon (195-G-85) will join the list of players to take part in the camp. The event is scheduled to take place from June 15 to 25 in Novogorsk.

Eurobasket.com All-Russian B Superleague Awards 2008-09 - by Eurobasket
#s#
AgeevAgeev
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LunevLunev
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EkimovEkimov
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GlazunovGlazunov
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AwojobiAwojobi
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#e#6
Player of the Year: Anton Ageev (191-G-84) of Avtodor Saratov
Guard of the Year: Anton Ageev (191-G-84) of Avtodor Saratov
Forward of the Year: Aleksandr Lunev (201-F-80) of Metallurg-University Magnitogorsk
Center of the Year: Alexei Ekimov (211-F/C-81) of TEMP-SUMZ Revda
Import Player of the Year: Tunji Awojobi (201-F-73) of Avtodor Saratov
Domestic Player of the Year: Anton Ageev (191-G-84) of Avtodor Saratov
Defensive Player of the Year: Alexei Ekimov (211-F/C-81) of TEMP-SUMZ Revda
Coach of the Year: Yuri Selikhov of Avtodor

1st Team
Anton Glazunov (182-G-86) of Metallurg-University Magnitogorsk
Anton Ageev (191-G-84) of Avtodor Saratov
Aleksandr Lunev (201-F-80) of Metallurg-University Magnitogorsk
Tunji Awojobi (201-F-73) of Avtodor Saratov
Alexei Ekimov (211-F/C-81) of TEMP-SUMZ Revda

2nd Team
Andrey Mateyunas (180-G-88) of Avtodor Saratov
Valentin Kubrakov (195-G-72) of Kuban Krasnodar
Aleksandr Golubev (196-F-78) of Metallurg-University Magnitogorsk
Alexei Kuznetsov (203-F/C-84) of Ruskon-Mordovia Saransk
Nikita Stepanenkov (207-C-87) of BC Rjazan

Honorable Mention
Aleksey Kotishevskiy (190-F-85) of Avtodor Saratov
Artem Yakovenko (206-F-88) of Avtodor Saratov
Roman Semerninov (200-F-81) of Ruskon-Mordovia Saransk
Ilia Evgrafov (188-G-79) of TEMP-SUMZ Revda
Aleksei Kiryanov (206-F-81) of Sibirtelekom-Lokomotiv Novosybirsk
Ivan Savelev (190-G-87) of Sibirtelekom-Lokomotiv Novosybirsk
Sergey Karpov (200-F-80) of BC Sojuz Zaretchny
Fedor Averyanov (202-F-84) of Ural Ekaterinburg
Anatoli Serguienko (196-F/G-80) of Ural Ekaterinburg
Vasili Gladyshev (188-G-83) of Rosneft-KBTK Naltchik
Oleg Bartunov (198-F-85) of TEMP-SUMZ Revda
Tomas Sharapov (201-F-78) of Severstal Cherepovec

All-Defensive Team
Roman Semerninov (200-F-81) of Ruskon-Mordovia Saransk
Alexei Ekimov (211-F/C-81) of TEMP-SUMZ Revda
Artem Yakovenko (206-F-88) of Avtodor Saratov
Vasili Gladyshev (188-G-83) of Rosneft-KBTK Naltchik
Oleg Bartunov (198-F-85) of TEMP-SUMZ Revda

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


Milenko Tepic in Panathinaikos - by Zoran Popovic
Young Milenko Tepic (198-G-87, agency: Beo Basket) will spent next three seasons in Panathinaikos Athens. Management of European Champion decided to signed long-term contract with super talent player after two great seasons in Euroleague, Adriatic league, Serbian Championship and qualifications for European Championship in Poland. Tepic started career in Vojvodina Srbija Gas Novi Sad and played for them in period 2002-2006 and in season 2006-2007 moved to BC Partizan In his three seasons in BC Partizan Tepic was three times Champion of Serbian league, two times Champion of Adriatic league and two times won Serbian cup Radivoj Korac. In Euroleague Tepic helped his former team to quality in Top 16 in his first season and two times in Top 8 in seasons 2007-2008 and 2008-2009. In his last season in BC Partizan Tepic in Euroleague average scored 9.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.8 steals, in Adriatic league 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and in Serbian Superleague 8.5 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.7 steals per game. During the qualifications for European Championship in Poland Tepic average scored 6.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Milenko Tepis passed all young categories of Serbia and Montenegro and Serbian National team.

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  SOUTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS U17   


Argentina clinch the fourth straight title - by Eurobasket News
Final

Argentina U17 - Uruguay U17 63:50
Argentinean U17 National Team claimed the South American Championship title for the fourth straight time. They defeated hosting Uruguay in the Final game yesterday to lift up the trophy. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus qualified to the Fiba Americas U18 Championship.
Argentina entered the game confidently and eased to a 17:12 lead after ten minutes. But Uruguay were not about to give up that easily. They limited the visitors to 7 points in the second quarter to accumulate a 26:24 advantage at halftime. Argentina used the major break to sober up and struck back. They tipped the second half with an 11:2 run to regain the lead. Argentina took over and drove to a 7-point lead after thirty minutes of action. Uruguay tried hard but could not match superb Argentina.
Juan Giaveno (-92) provided 17 points to lead the charge. Carlos Paredes (-92) added 10 points in the winning effort. Diego Garcia (180-G-92) responded with 18 points for Uruguay. Mathias Calfani finished with 10 points in defeat.
Argentina were slightly better on the boards 30:27 and shot solid 45% from beyond the arc.

Argentina U17: Juan Giaveno 17, Carlos Paredes 10, Joel Comba 8, Matias Bortolin 8
Uruguay U17: Diego Garcia 18, Mathias Calfani 10

Bronze medals game

Brazil U17 - Venezuela U17 107:62
Brazil clinched the third position in the South American U17 Championship in Trinidad. They overwhelmed Venezuela in the consolation final yesterday. The stakes were high in the encounter as the teams fought for the spot in Fiba Americas U18 Championship. Brazil outgunned their opponents and booked the place in the tournament.
Brazil led from start to finish. They toppled Venezuela 27:16 in the starting frame and continued to mount pressure in the second term. The scoreboard read 44:29 at halftime as Brazil coasted. Brazil never slowed down in the second half. They accounted for 31 points in the third frame to gain a 32-point lead before the fourth term. The teams cruised to the final buzzer, as the outcome was pretty clear at this point.
Felipe Taddei (-92) came up with 23 points to pace Brazil. Lucas Amarante added 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Lucas Baroni had 13 points in the victory. Junior Martinez (-92) replied with 13 points for Venezuela. Israel Blanco finished with 10 points in the losing effort. Brazil outmuscled their opponents on the boards 41:16 and limited Venezuela to just 37% of field goals.

Brazil U17: Felipe Taddei 23, Lucas Amarante 13+10 boards, Lucas Baroni 13
Venezuela U17: Junior Martinez 13, Israel Blanco 10

5th-6th spots

Colombia U17 - Ecuador U17 58:54
Colombia U17 celebrated the fifth spot at the South American Championship in Uruguay. They toppled Ecuador in the final day of the tournament to gain the position. Ecuador who completed the preliminary round winless managed to come up with quite surprising victory over Chile in the 5th-8th place qualifying games. They also lived up to the challenge against Colombia but fell just short at the end. The teams kept it close early in the game as Colombia had a one-point lead into the second frame. Ecuador stayed within striking distance and Colombia still led by a slender 1 points at the interval. Ecuador stepped on the gas after the major break. They outgunned Colombia to accumulate a 3-point cushion heading into the final period. But Victor Lopez (-93) gave a needed spark for Colombia in the fourth stanza as they eked out an exhausting victory at the end.
Victor Lopez finished with 18 points and 6 boards to pace Colombia. Francisco Castro added 15 points and 21 boards in the win. Diego Chachapollas (-92) fired 13 points for Ecuador. Martin Obando and Ricardo Icaza had 10 points apiece in the loss. Colombia boasted of a huge dominance on the glass 57:41 which proved decisive in this one.

Colombia U17: Victor Lopez 18, Francisco Castro 15+21 boards, Thomas Diaz 7
Ecuador U17: Diego Chachapollas 13, Martin Obando 10, Ricardo Icaza 10

7th-8th spots

Chile U17 - Paraguay U17 102:50
Chilean U17 National Team completed their South American Championship campaign in style. They thrashed Paraguay to claim the seventh overall spot in the ladder. Chile managed to leave a sour loss to Ecuador behind and got ready for the battle with Paraguay just all right. They did not waste too much to stun their opponents. Chilean team surprised their counterparts 22:12 in the first frame to take a comfortable lead. Chile never loosened the grip in the second period as they stretched the margin to as many as 17 points at the interval.
Paraguay could not change things in the third frame. Chile stayed calm and capitalized on numerous mistakes from Paraguay to take a massive 33-point advantage into the final term. Chile coasted in the final quarter thumping their opponents.
Franco Morales tallied 25 points, 14 boards and 7 assists for Chile. Francisco Pavez (-92) notched 33 points and 6 steals for the winning side. Marcelo Vaccaro (178-G-93) had 14 points for Paraguay. Alex Emhart finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds in defeat.
Chile outrebounded Paraguay 52:30 and forced Paraguay to 29 turnovers. Chile sank 44% from the field to ensure the victory.

Chile U17: Francisco Pavez 33, Franco Morales 25+14 boards, Gabriel Sanino 10, Rolando Arteaga 10
Paraguay U17: Marcelo Vaccaro 14, Alex Emhart 10+15 boards

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  SOUTH KOREA   


2009 KBL Tryout Invited Players (212Players) - by Rick Ross
The KBL has announced 212 players for the 2009 Try-Out
Camp and will announce a final list of invites by june 19th
The list here is based on a published report from the KBL's
Website: http://www.kbl.or.kr/
No. First Nam Last Name Univ.
1 Uka Agbai Boston College
2 Chris Alexander Iowa St.
3 Demetrius Alexander Alabama
4 Justin Allen Arizona St.
5 Marcus Allen Jacksonvile
6 Jeffrion Aubry Cornell
7 Menelik Barbary San Jose St.
8 Ousmane Barro Marquette
9 Mengke Bateer
10 Robert Battle Drexel
11 Mike Bell FAU
12 Rashad Bell Boston
13 Brandon Bender Robert Morris
14 Mario Bennett Arizona St.
15 Tyrell Biggs Pittsburgh
16 Jason Blair San Diego St.
17 Tyrelle Blair Boston College
18 Odartey Blankson Marquette
19 Luke Bonner Massachussetts
20 Christopher Booker Purdue
21 Dreike Bouldin Fresno
22 Ruben Boykin N. Arizona
23 Craig Bradshaw Winthrop
24 Bruce Brown Hampton
25 Damone Brown Syracuse
26 Graham Brown Michigan
27 Jamaal Brown Cal.St.Fullerton
28 Raheim Brown Florida
29 Antoine Broxsie Oklahoma St.
30 John Bryant Santa Clara
31 Melvin Buckley South Florida
32 Keith Butler Temple
33 Justin Cage Xavier
34 Babacar Camara Fullerton St.
35 Demarre Carroll Missouri
36 Nate Carter Oklahoma
37 Stephen Castleberry Rider
38 Marquin Chandler San Jose St.
39 Gyasi Cline-Heard Penn St.
40 Brandon Cole Xavier
41 Daniel Coleman Minnesota
42 Taylon Coppenrath Vermont
43 Marcus Cousin Houston
44 Larry Cox Miss Valley St.
45 Robert(T.J) Cummings UCLA
46 Dwayne Curtis Mississippi
47 Brian Cusworth Harvard
48 Joe Dabbert Creighton
49 Adeola Dagunduro Nebraska
50 Chris Daniels Georgia
51 Robert(Chris) Daniels Texax A&M
52 Kendall Dartez Louisville
53 Quincy Davis Tulane
54 James Davis Lamar
55 Eric Dawson Midwestem St.
56 Christopher Devine UCSB
57 Anthony Dill Taxas St.
58 Nigel Dixon W.Kentucky
59 Seth Doliboa Wright St.
60 Jakim Donaldson Edinboro
61 Robert Dozier Memphis
62 E.J Drayton Charlotte
63 Johnny Dukes San Bernardino CC
64 Chris Ellis Wake Forest College
65 Ebi Ere Oklahoma
66 Duane Erwin Memphis
67 Marquis Estill Kentucky
68 Peter Ezugwu E.Michigan
69 Thomas Fairley Lamar
70 Desmond Ferguson Detroit Mercy
71 Michael Fey UCLA
72 Angel Figueroa Dowling
73 Alton Ford Houston
74 Jean Francois Georgia Southern
75 Gabriel Freeman Costa Mesa JC
76 Will Frisby Miami
77 Elbert Fuqua UT-San Antonio
78 Christopher Garnett Indiana SE
79 Travis Garrison Maryland
80 Brandon Gary Hutchinson CC
81 Reginald George Robert Morris
82 Johnnie Gilbert Oklahoma
83 Taylor Griffin Oklahoma
84 Simeon Haley Missouri
85 Hernol Hall Lon Morris JC
86 Gary Hamilton Miami
87 Lamont Hamilton St.John's
88 Brian Harper Paine
89 Darrell Harris Rhode Island
90 Evan Harris Harvard
91 Aaron Haynes Boise St.
92 Adrian Hill Rutgers
93 Herbert Hill Louisville
94 Randy Holcomb San Diego St.
95 Jamal Holden UALR
96 Daniel Horace Miami
97 Justin Howard Mercer
98 Kaelvin Howell Kansas St.
99 Gabriel Hughes Califonia
100 Ryan Humphrey Nortre Dame
101 Chris Hunter Michigan
102 Gerald Inman Rutgers
103 Cedric Jackson Troy.St.
104 Anthony Johnson LA-Lafayette
105 Ivan Johnson Cal.St. San Berner.
106 Jasper Johnson S.Mississppi
107 Kevin Johnson Tulsa
108 Jonathan Jones Barat college
109 Vincent Jones Jackson St.
110 Bradley Kanis S.Utah
111 Joe Kennerly Cent. Oklahoma
112 Darren Kent Kansas St.
113 Darnell Kirkwood Lynn
114 Gordon Klaiber Fairleight
115 Travis Knight Connecticut
116 Joe Krabbenhoft Wisconsin
117 Abdullahi Kuso Gonzaga
118 Sean Lampley California
119 Dan Langhi Vanderbilt
120 Gimel Lewis Mobile (AL)
121 Marcus Lewis ORU
122 Donald Little Cincinnati
123 Art Long Cincinnati
124 Longar Longar Oklahoma
125 Kurt Looby Lowa
126 Corey Louis Florida St.
127 Kevin Lyde Temple
128 Leo Lyons Missouri
129 Kevin Martin Florida
130 Bryant Mathews Virigina Tech
131 Amal Mccaskill Marqueette
132 Ben McCauley N. Carolina St.
133 Glen Mcgowan Pepperdine
134 Bryson McKenzie Northern Illinois
135 Alex Mclean Liberty
136 Tyrone Mcneal Miami Dade CC
137 Jarred Merrill Oklahoma Christian
138 Erron Mexey Providence
139 Corey Minnifield Loyola
140 Marcel Momplaisir Rhode Island
141 Sylvester Morgan Georgia
142 Scott Morrison Portland St.
143 Faheem Nelson Montana St.
144 Ahmad Nivins St. Joseph's
145 Yemi Ogunoye ORU
146 Patrick Okafor Houston
147 Randall Orr Georgia
148 Bambale Osby UNLV
149 David Paris Bowie
150 Keven Perry Norfolk St.
151 Omari Peterkin Boston
152 James Peters UNLV
153 Brent Petway Michigan St.
154 Marvin Phillips Claflin
155 Kevin Pitttsnogle W.Virginia
156 Ricardo Powell S.Carolina
157 Shaun Pruitt Illinois
158 Ryan Randle Maryland
159 BJ(Benjamin) Raymond Xavier
160 Shawn Redhage Arizona
161 Travis Reed Long Beach St.
162 Angelo Reyes x
163 Darius Rice Miami
164 Dewayne Richardson Fairmont St.
165 Eddie Robinson Oklahoma
166 Jason Robinson Pikeville
167 Kevin Rogers Baylor
168 Ron Rollerson Temple
169 Jeremiah Russell Louisvile
170 Tyrone Sally West.Va
171 Soumaila Samake from Mali
172 Lee Scruggs Geprgetown
173 Kahiem Seawright Rhode Island
174 Julian Sensley Hawaii
175 Diamon Simpson St.Mary
176 Marcus Sloan TCU
177 Andre Smith N. Dakota St.
178 Donte Smith S.Illinois
179 Jabari Smith LSU
180 Tyler Smith Penn St
181 Michael Southall Louisiana-Lafayette
182 Jarrett Stephens Penn St.
183 Frans Steyn SW Baptist
184 Greg Stiemsma Wisconsin
185 Mohammed Tangava Arizona
186 Joseph Taylor Wyoming
187 Thomas Terrell Georgia
188 Charles Thomas Arkansas
189 Harvey Thomas Baylor
190 Victor Thomas La Salle
191 Garnett Thompson Providence
192 Jhamar Thorpe Louisville
193 Darian Townes Arkansas
194 Mark Tuck Colorado
195 Larry Turner Tennessee
196 Cory Underwood Southern Univ.
197 Adrian Uter Hofstra
198 Tiras Wade Louisanan-Lafayette
199 Jermaine Walker Miami
200 Samaki Walker Louisville
201 Gary Ware Purdue
202 Reginald Warren W.Florida
203 Tyrone Washington Mississippi
204 Isacc Wells Arkansas St.
205 DeSean White Northwood Fl.
206 Rodney White Indian Hills CC
207 Gary Wilkinson Salt Lake CC
208 James Williams Brown Mackie
209 Tarvis Williams Hampton
210 Waki Williams Memphis
211 Major Wingate Tennessee
212 Ricky Woods SE Louisiana

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


Tau Ceramica close to sign Serbian NT player Uros Tripkovic - by Eurobasket News
The Spanish defending champion started ACB Semifinals good beating Real Madrid 91-80, but at the same time Tau Ceramica Vitoria is working on the next season also. The team almost agreed terms with Uros Tripkovic (196-G-86, agency: Beo Basket), player of Serbian powerhouse Partizan Belgrade. The contract is not signed yet, but it seems that Tau won't wait the ACB Finals and it is expected to sign the player as soon as the Semifinals series finish. Partizan Belgrade already set the buy-out fee for the player, what according to the rumors Tau accepted to pay.
Uros Tripkovic was one of the key players in his team Partizan Belgrade, who grabbed three trophies this season. The Serbian squad managed to defend Adriatic league title, Serbian league title and Serbian National Cup. In Euroleague they reached the quarterfinals, where CSKA edged them 0-3. In season 07/08 Tau Ceramica Vitoria was the team who eliminated Partizan 2-1 in Euroleague quarterfinals.
Uros Tripkovic appeared 18 times in Euroleague this season averaging 10.6 ppg and 1.6 rpg. In Adriatic league he had 9.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg and 1.3 apg for 24 games, while in Serbian league he added 12.1 ppg and 1.5 rpg. Tripkovic was the top-scorer of the Serbian championship this year and was named 'Eurobasket.com All-Serbian League 1st Team'. He also was a member of Team Serbia last summer for EuroBasket 2009 qualifications with 8.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg and 1 apg in 8 games. The player won 6 titles in Serbian championship with Partizan, 3 in Adriatic league and also celebrated twice in National Cup. Tripkovic was a member of Team Serbia on the World Championship 2006 in Japan. Before that he played for U20 and U18 Serbia.

Game 2 between Tau and Real Madrid is set for Thursday (in Madrid).

Matchmind and Huelva get promotion to LEB Silver - by Eurobasket News
Matchmind - Promobys 87-85
Matchmind celebrated in thriller against Promobys booking a place for LEB Silver 09/10. Paul Williams (208-F-83, agency: AMI, college: St.Bonaventure) was the most important player for the winners collecting 25 points and 9 rebounds. DeSean Hadley (193-G-77, college: E.Michigan), Patrick Hilliman (206-F/C-82, college: High Point) and Jermaine Turner (195-F-74, agency: BrezoPro, college: Dowling) answered with 11 pts each in the loosing squad.

Molina - Huelva 58-62
Huelva managed to beat Molina in the last game of the season and to earn a promotion for LEB Silver. Ryan McLemore (206-F-85, college: Edinboro) shined in victory netting 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Roma Bas (192-G-83) netted 14 pts for the hosts.

*****************************************************
  TAIWAN   


Eight teams in 2009 Kainan International Basketball Invitational - by Chris Wang
Eight teams from five countries will play in the forthcoming 2009 Kainan International Basketball Invitational tournament from June 8-11, which is organized by Taiwan's Kainan University, in Taoyuan County, Taiwan.

Last year, Canada's University of British Columbia beat compatriots University of Toronto in the title game.

Participating teams and grouping:

Group A:
Kainan Univ., Taiwan
Bond Univ., Australia
Univ. of Tokyo, Japan
National Central Univ., Taiwan

Group B:
Corvinus Univ., Hungary
Humboldt State Univ., USA
National Taiwan Normal Univ., Taiwan
Shih Chien Univ., Taiwan

The tournament runs from June 8-11 with top two teams from Group A and B meet in a crossover semifinal before the championship game.

NTNU won the Div-I title of Taiwan's university league this year. 13 of 19 players on its roster play in Taiwan's pro league SBL and around 6 or 7 of them are starters. Among the notable players are 6-8 center Wu Tai-hao, who played in the U.S. NCAA Div-II BYU-Hawaii, Su Yi-chieh -- starting point guard of the SBL title team Dacin Tigers, Pure Youth forward Chien Chia-hong and Dacin starting SF Lin Yi-hui.

NTNU also has a junior varsity team. I'm not sure which team is in the tourney. My guess is it sent the A team. If it does, NTNU will be a tough team to beat.

Shih Chien Univ. finished as 6th place in the Div-II this year. I have no idea about the National Central University.

*****************************************************
  U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS   


More Fire Sweeps 10-12 Basketball Championships - by David Edole
More Fire of St. Croix completed a sweep of the Housing, Parks and Recreation Youth Champion of Champions basketball tournament Sunday by beating Come 2 Defend of St. Thomas 51-35 for a 2-0 sweep of their best two-of-three championship series at the Central High gymnasium.
The contest was over early as More Fire led by 11 points from Tikoy Felix in the opening stanza. The St. Croix team was able to sprint to a 17-8 first-quarter lead. It was a lead they would not relinquish. Come 2 Defend got six points from Troy Esprit.
More Fire cooled offensively in the second period, but turned up the heat defensively, holding Come 2 Defend to just five points in the quarter while scoring seven themselves for a 24-13 lead going into the locker room at the half.
Come 2 Defend played a much better second half, but still the home team proved to be too much for the squad from St. Thomas. Every run they made was countered by More Fire. They closed the gap to eight points in the third quarter, only to see a strong finish for More Fire extend the lead to 13 points at the end of the period, 38-25.
Any hopes of a comeback by Come 2 Defend in the fourth quarter were quickly dashed as More Fire's Nicholas Springer took the game over defensively and offensively. He exploded for eight fourth-quarter points and controlled the paint on defense for his team as the rolled to a decisive 51-35 victory. Rashad Creque netted six points in the final period for the visitors.
Felix, who netted 15 first-half points for More Fire, scored just two in the second half, but still ended up with a game-high 17 points to lead his team. His teammate Springer, on the other hand, finished strongly, with 11 second-half points for a total of 16 for the game. He was also named the tournament's most outstanding player. Creque led the way for Come 2 Defend with 12 points. No other member of his team got into double figures.
by Dave Davis

Dowling removes name from coaching searches - by David Edole
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. -- Slippery Rock University Assistant Men's Basketball Coach Jareem Dowling (198-F-81) announced Friday that he had withdrawn his name from consideration for a head coaching position and numerous assistant positions.

I am very happy with the success of this years team, the team we have coming back at Slippery Rock next year and the program that we are building here, Dowling said in confirming that he will be part of The Rock's 2009-10 coaching staff. Im looking forward to being a part of some more exciting things at Slippery Rock in the near future.

Dowling, who has been a part of four coaching staffs that have had a 'Coach of the Year' honoree, will enter his second season as the top assistant to Rock Head Coach Kevin Reynolds.

The Rock had a 21-8 record last winter and finished second in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division final standings.

The Rock will return three of its top five scorers and three of its top five rebounders next season, including guards Maurice Douglas and Michael Evans Jr. and forward Maron Brown.

Dowling was instrumental in the recruitment of many of The Rock's 2008-09 standout student-athletes, including PSAC-West 'Player of the Year' and all-region selection Denell Stephens, point guard Kyle Camper, who set PSAC single-game and single-season assists records, and Brown.

*****************************************************
  URBL   


Jermaine Barnes named URBL Most Valuable Player - by URBL media

Texas, May 31, 2009 Jermaine Barnes of the Dallas Ft. Worth Disciples is the winner of the Mac Claire Trophy as the 2008-09 URBL Most Valuable Player, the URBL announced today.
Barnes totaled 830 points, including 25 first place votes, from a panel of 30 coaches and owners throughout the URBL.
Rounding out the top five in voting for this seasons award were DFWs Jerome Boyd (2 points), Irvings Rick James (2 points) and Converse's Geoff Harner (1 points).

Barnes finished the season ranked first in the league in scoring at 41.5 ppg, having shot .519 from the field, .840 from the free-throw line and .461 from three-point range. In addition, Barnes added 10.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 5.1 steals per game. The 6-5 guard led the Disciples to the best record in the URBL (17-3) and a URBL Championship. 'I just want to thank my teammates and Mac Claire for this award', said Barnes.

The URBL MVP trophy is named in honor of the owner Mac Claire, the first commissioner of the URBL.

Jermaine Barnes, a native of Atlanta, GA was a stand out at Atlanta Christian College were he was Named NCAA Division 3 National Player of the Year(06). Also Named 1st Team All-American and led the nation is scoring with a 26.4ppg average. After a very successful collegiate career, Barnes took his show to Japan(Proline Kings). Barnes was again the top scorer averaging 48.2ppg and winning Aichi League Most Valuable Player. Barnes led the Proline Kings to the All-Japan Championship (were Barnes posted his unforgettable 63 point game), it mark the first time a JBL3 team has made it to All-Japan.

Barnes is now signed with Low Country Sports Management (agent: Corey Washington), which Barnes will be the first player in the URBL to go overseas. Barnes has recently signed to play in The Middle East (team not to be named). To top it all off Barnes has also signed an endorsement deal(shoe and cloths) with Hang Time Sports (Owner: Jerone Dodd). 'Hang Time Sports has the best shoes and cloths in Japan. Mr. Jerone Dodd made me a deal I couldn't refuse, I'm honored to be apart of the team'.

When asked about people who have help him along the way Barnes just laughed, followed by a....'where do I start', said Barnes


'I would like to thank God, my parents (Gary and Adrienne Barnes), The Barnes Family, Sherman Douglas, Corey Washington, Jerone Dodd, Sam Aggrey, Gaydrick Barnes, Mac Claire, Jered McClinic, Mike Davis, Robert Moore, Jay Livingstone, Derrick Stroud, Will De La Cruz and Royal Maxwell'.

Well one thing is for sure, Jermaine Barnes has a bright future ahead of him. (writer: Mac Claire)
Jermaine Barnes (6'5''-G/F-82, agency: Low Country Sports Management, college: Atlanta Christian)



Barnes adds Star Power to the URBL - by URBL media

Interview with Jermaine 'JB' Barnes - March 10, 2009
Currently joining the Dallas Ft. Worth Disciples in there first season Jermaine Barnes (6'5''-G-82, college: Atlanta Christian,GA) or 'JB' as he is affectionately known, has landed in Dallas,TX doing what he does best.putting on a show. The Atlanta born guard out of Atlanta Christian College took some time to answer a few questions in the days leading up to the opening game. Starting guard for the Dallas Ft. Worth Disciples (URBL) Barnes brings Japan star power to the new league, while in Japan he was named the JBL3 Most Valuable Player and the leagues top scorer(48.3ppg). Also being name the 1st selection in the 09' URBL draft.

Q: Hey 'JB' congratulations on becoming the 1st player taking the this years draft. How did you end up playing in Japan and now the URBL?

A: I ended up in Japan due to a close friend (Jerone Dodd), he got me my first shot to play out of college. Seeing that I went to a D3 college alot of teams were afraid to take me but he gave me a chance. I guess you could say it paid off. He really taught me how to be a professional, on and off the court. The URBL was more of a business move. Sherman Douglas who is a close friend of mine purchased the team. Long story short, he hates to lose so I came.

Q: How has the transition been with your teammates and coach?

A: The transition has been good between me and the team and coach. I came in a little bit out of shape and didn't have much time to get ready but we(me and D.J. Douglas) made it work.. Sherman has put me through extra workouts, extra running, extra shootingBut most of all I like the group he has put together. Royal Maxwell (6'9''-F-80, college: Jackson St.), is hands down our best player. He can do it all at 6-9, Jared McClinic (6'4'-F-80, college: Morris Brown), is a freak and Jerome Boyd (6'8'-F-C-84, college: Clayton St.) is a great post. He can use both hands and can flat out score. Im just trying to come in and win.

Q: You were named D3 National Player of the Year, All-Japan MVP, URBL MVP?

A: 'God willing'.

Q: You have excelled as a scorer on every level, the NCAA(26.1), Japan(48.3), ABA(26.2) and EBA(23.1). Why do you feel your not in the NBA?

A: 'To be honest I get this question alot, but it's very easy to answer. I had to go D3 in college because of my grades. So I had to prove that I wasn't just a small league star. When I went to Japan I had to start at the bottom, but I worked my way up. The Japanese teams and agents told me I had to play in the ABA,NBDL and CBA if I wanted a chance at the big league there and in the NBA. But now I have proven that I can play on all level. Now im ready to take my game to another level. But if I could play in the NBA that would be a blessing'.

Q: Who is the best player you have played with or against?

A: 'Wow, great question. That would have to be Royal Maxwell. He can do it all. He's 6-9 and plays like a guard'. Against would have to be Sherman Douglas, he cheats'. As far as a teammate Mike Kearse maybe the best. A 6-4 PG who can do it all. He belongs in the NBA.

Q: Where did you learn to shoot? People say you have the best mid range in the south?

'A: My uncle James Smith and Sherman Douglas. There's not secret to shooting, just hard work. They pushed me to be the player I am today. James tought me how to believe in me. My uncle believed in me when i didn't. And til this day I still can't out shoot either one of them'. (lol)

Q: As far as coaching. Who was your favorite and who was the toughest?

A: My favorite coach was Robert 'Reed' Moore. He was great. He could sell papaer to a tree. I can honestly say he brought the 'JB' out of Jermaine Barnes. The toughest was hands down 'Jay Livingstone'. Coach Jay was a great coach.

Q: What were you doing to keep busy while playing in Japan?

A: I really didnt do much in Japan but work on my game. I had alot to prove my first two season in the JBL3'

Q: There's a rumor that you scored 60 point twice while in Japan, is this true?

A: Very much so. The first time I did it was my first year with Proline. We were down big and God took over. I really can't say it was me. The second time was last year in the All-Japan Tournament. I had 63 but we lost in the Championship.

Q: Ok, now focusing on your present situationWhat are you doing to prepare for the upcoming season in the URBL?

A: Well my goals are simple. I want the win the URBL championship and be the MVP of the league. Anything else will be a failure.

Q: Who would you say helped you get to this point in life as a player and a person?

A: 'My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Followed by my mother and father. I had a great dad. He always pushed me to be the best in everything I did. He made me believe in my dreams. He pushed me. My mother was a strong women of God and she pushed me in my foundation in the Lord. Those two where very important in my growth as a person. As a player Sherman Douglas, Jared McClinic, Mike Davis, Sam Orum, Royal Maxwell, Derrick Stroud, Dorian Lee, Tink and Shonna Barnes and Mike Kearse. Those guys helped me as a player and are my dear friends.



All-URBL Awards 2009 Summary - by URBL media
#s#
BarnesBarnes
Barnes
BoydBoyd
Boyd
JamesJames
James
HarnerHarner
Harner
WitherspoonWitherspoon
Witherspoon
#e#6

League owner Mac Claire announced the USBasketball.com All-URBL Awards for the 2009 season.

Player of the Year: Jermaine Barnes (6'5''-G/F-82) of Dallas-Ft. Worth
Defensive Player of the Year: Jerome Boyd (6'8''-F/C-85) of Dallas-Ft. Worth
Impact Player of the Year: Ricky James (6'3''-G-84) of Irving Assault
Rookie of the Year: Geoff Harner (6'1''-G-83) of Converse Flight

URBL Finals MVP: Sherman Douglas (6'2''-G-82, college: Faulkner) (6'2'-G-82) of Dallas Ft. Worth
Coach of the Year: Michael Davis (coach-82, college: Savannah State)

All-URBL 1st Team
Jermaine Barnes (6'5'-G/F-82) of Dallas Ft. Worth
Jerome Boyd (6'8'-F/C-84) of Dallas Ft. Worth
Ricky James (6'3'-G/F-83) of Irving Assault
Geoff Harner (5'10'-G-83) of Converse F.
Kitus Witherspoon (6'8''-F/C-82) of San Antonio

All-URBL 2nd Team
Zeke Fisher (5'6''-G, college: Missouri Baptist) of Converse F
Royal Maxwell (6'9''-F-80, college: Jackson St.) of Dallas Ft. Worth
Anthony Oxley (5'8''-G-86, college: Mount Aloysius) of Austin F
Sherman Douglas (6'2''-G-82) of Dallas Ft. Worth
Will De La Cruz (6'2''-G-80, college: Atlanta Christian) of Irving Assault:

All-URBL 3rd Team
Spivey Conwill (6'3''-G-81) (6'3''-G-81) of Converse F:
Sergio Negrin (5'6''-G-85, college: Southeastern) of Houston S
Solomon Humphrey (6'1''-G-88, college: North Lake CC) of Irving Assault
Scott Tranquier (6'1''-G-85) of Texas M
Joshua Harris (6'5''-G/F-86) of Texas M

URBL All-Defensive Team
Kitus Witherspoon (6'8''-F/C-82) of San Antonio
Jermaine Barnes (6'5''-G/F-82) of Dallas Ft. Worth
Solomon Humphrey (6'1''-G-88) of Irving Assault
Zeke Fisher (5'6''-G-83) of Converse F.
Ricky James (6'3''-G-84) of Irving Assault
Joshua Harris (6'5''-G/F-86) of Texas M
Jerome Boyd (6'8'-F/C-84) of Dallas Ft. Worth


URBL Records

Points: Jermaine Barnes (50) of Dallas Ft. Worth
Rebounds: Kitus Witherspoon (22) of San Antonio
Assist: Sherman Douglas (19) of Dallas Ft. Worth
Steals: Zeke Fisher (9) of Converse
Blocks: Jerome Boyd (7) of Dallas Ft. Worth
3PT Made: Geoff Harner (11) of Converse
Geoff Harner (6'1''-G-83) of Converse



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  URUGUAY   


Argentina defend U17 South American title - by Eurobasket News
Argentina U17 - Uruguay U17 63:50

Argentinean U17 National Team claimed the South American Championship title for the fourth straight time. They defeated hosting Uruguay in the Final game yesterday to lift up the trophy. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus qualified to the Fiba Americas U18 Championship.
Argentina entered the game confidently and eased to a 17:12 lead after ten minutes. But Uruguay were not about to give up that easily. They limited the visitors to 7 points in the second quarter to accumulate a 26:24 advantage at halftime. Argentina used the major break to sober up and struck back. They tipped the second half with an 11:2 run to regain the lead. Argentina took over and drove to a 7-point lead after thirty minutes of action. Uruguay tried hard but could not match superb Argentina.
Juan Giaveno (-92) provided 17 points to lead the charge. Carlos Paredes (-92) added 10 points in the winning effort. Diego Garcia (180-G-92) responded with 18 points for Uruguay. Mathias Calfani (199-C-92) finished with 10 points in defeat.
Argentina were slightly better on the boards 30:27 and shot solid 45% from beyond the arc.

Argentina U17: Juan Giaveno 17, Carlos Paredes 10, Joel Comba (198-F-92) 8, Matias Bortolin (-93) 8
Uruguay U17: Diego Garcia 18, Mathias Calfani 10

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  USBA   


USBA and Clear Channel Communications Negotiate Radio Agreement - by USBA Media

The United States Basketball Association (USBA) and its parent company the Alden Group LLC are in the process of negotiating a multi-year agreement with Clear Channel Communication, Inc., to radio broadcast all mens basketball games beginning with the 2010 season. 'A partnership with Clear Channel Radio will substantially strengthen the promotion of our mens basketball program within our teams markets and it will provide our association a step up in minor league basketball, 'said USBA president Duane Jenkins.

If an agreement can be reached, Clear Channel affiliates will broadcast all of the USBAs regular season and postseason games, including a 30-minute pregame show and a 15-minute post game show. The stations will also be the radio home of the Coaches Corner, a live weekly radio program with the head coach of each team hosting a informal sports forum, designed to introduce players and coaches to their communities.

'We are very excited to partner with Clear Channel, whose stations boasts the rare combination of championship heritage with excellent programming that has risen to new heights and will help our exciting young league. We are committed to bringing our listeners the best in sports as our fan base is very knowledgeable and very passionate about the game of basketball, ' said Jenkins.

In addition to broadcasts, the partnership will fully integrate mens basketball into programming and promotion of each station including: on-air/on-line imaging, on-site events, enhanced coverage of games and, and multi-media advertising to promote its association. Production initiatives will include live coverage of mens basketball

events, with the opportunity to promote and highlight USBA teams ticketing and marketing initiatives.

Under the proposal, Clear Channel and its affiliates would provide enhanced streaming and pod casting of programming that could be simulcast on www.usbaball.com, at no additional cost to the sponsors or the advertisers of the USBA, making free content available league wide.

'Additional components of the partnership would include weekly USBA updates to occur during daily programming, and the airing of the basketball coachs show.
Increasing visibility for our entire league, particularly our basketball games, is a significant step in our growth,' said Jenkins.

'We are pleased to be expanding our radio broadcast reach for our mens basketball program.' 'With this new affiliation, we can greatly benefit our sponsors, advertisers and fans throughout our southern footprint.'

No agreements have been signed to date. Negotiations are progressing and still ongoing.



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


LPB 2009 - Week 14 (Saturday): Cocodrilos defeats Guaros, Panteras eliminated - by Francisco Vega

Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- Cocodrilos de Caracas defeated Guaros de Lara to get into half a game of the LPB 2009's first place in the standings, while Marinos de Anzoategui won against Panteras de Miranda and left out of the competition for a spot in the playoffs. Trotamundos de Carabobo enjoyed a thrilling last second triumph over Gaiteros del Zulia and La Guaira BBC got closer to sixth place with a victory over Guaiqueries de Margarita.

Cocodrilos de Caracas 79 - Guaros de Lara 77
Naciones Unidas Park - Caracas, D.C.

Quarter by quarter
COC: 19-22-20-18= 79
GUA: 18-18-22-19= 77

Scorers
COC: Jack Michael Martinez (203-F/C-81) 24 points and 11 rebounds, Carl Elliott (193-G-83) 19 points, Leandro Garcia Morales (186-G-80) 14 points, Luis Bethelmy (200-C-86) 11 points and 8 rebounds, Jesus Centeno (190-G-85) 9 points, Juan Herrera (197-F-81) 2 points, Windi Graterol (204-C-86) 0 points, Kenji Urdaneta (188-G-85) 0 points, Henry Paez (184-G-70) 0 points, Jhoyfer Diaz (196-F-87) 0 points, Derson Santos (197-F-84) 0 points, Wladimir Saavedra (200-F-77) 0 points

GUA: Torraye Braggs (203-F/C-76) 22 points and 7 rebounds, Heissler Guillent (191-G-86) 16 points and 7 assists, Pablo Machado (207-C-77) 12 points and 9 rebounds, Jason Edwin (196-G/F-81) 7 points, Leonardo Berroteran (192-F/G-81) 6 points, Kervis Ramirez (190-G-78) 5 points, Francisco Centeno (201-G/F-85) 3 points, Albert White (197-G/F-77) 2 points, Johan Pinero (183-G-76) 2 points, Kervin Bracho (204-F/C-78) 2 points, Sonys Reyes (181-G-86) 0 points, Juan Manaure (188-G-79) 0 points


Trotamundos de Carabobo 82 - Gaiteros del Zulia 81
Forum of Valencia - Valencia, Carabobo

Quarter by quarter
TRO: 18-21-20-23= 82
GAI: 15-25-30-11= 81

Scorers
TRO: Gary Forbes (201-G/F-85) 24 points, 6 assists and 6 steals, Jose Vargas (196-G/F-82) 19 points, Richard Lugo (209-C-73) 13 points and 11 rebounds, Manuel Berroteran (185-G-80) 10 points, Miguel Marriaga (206-C-84) 5 points, Louis Truscott (199-F-78) 4 points, Corey Williams (191-G-77) 4 points, Leonardo Cappare (186-G-80) 3 points, Freddy Del Pino (180-G-89) 0 points, Pedro Brito (202-F/C-82) 0 points, Ronald Guillen (206-C-84) 0 points, Johan Perez (198-F-82) 0 points

GAI: Askia Jones (196-G-71) 23 points, Ruben Nembhard (191-G-72) 20 points, Rafael Guevara (194-F-79) 14 points, Chris Jeffries (199-F-80) 12 points and 6 steals, Alexis Montas (202-F/C-79) 6 points and 8 rebounds, Enielsen Guevara (204-F/C-82) 4 points, Jose Juan Bravo (200-C-80) 2 points, Leinert Zerpa (182-G-82) 0 points, Francisco Hernandez (191-F-81) 0 points, Jose Lopez (188-F) 0 points, Pedro Cubillan (187-G-82) 0 points


Marinos de Anzoategui 82 - Panteras de Miranda 80
Luis Ramos Arena - Puerto La Cruz, Anzoategui

Quarter by quarter
MAR: 25-13-23-21= 82
PAN: 15-20-11-34= 80

Scorers

MAR: Andre Emmett (196-G/F-82) 37 points, 6 rebounds and 6 steals, Axiers Sucre (198-F-78) 13 points, Diego Guevara (184-G-77) 8 points, Michael Gale (193-G-82) 8 points, Gustavo Ayon (209-F/C-85) 7 points and 6 rebounds, Jhon Romero (199-F-85) 6 points, David Cedeno (190-G-83) 3 points, Ruben Contreras (196-F-87) 0 points, Luis Sanchez (186-G-88) 0 points, Henry Caten (201-F-80) 0 points, Adan Reyes (183-G-83) 0 points, Jose Manuel Briceno (203-C/F-79) 0 points

PAN: Deivis Ananguren (192-F-85) 17 points and 6 steals, Brian Latham (184-G-83) 16 points and 7 assists, Darwin Jaramillo (192-F-86) 11 points, Roque Osorio (206-C-76) 9 points, Richard Mejias (187-G-78) 9 points, Eduardo Torres (195-F-81) 8 points, Michael Flores (192-G-85) 4 points, Ja Ja Richards (207-C-75) 4 points and 5 rebounds, TomJim Colina (186-G-77) 2 points, Daimon Gonner (198-F-80) 0 points, Edgar Sifontes (185-F-85) 0 points


La Guaira BBC 81 - Guaiqueries de Margarita 75
Jose Maria Vargas Arena - La Guaira, Vargas

Quarter by quarter
LG: 23-22-14-22= 81
GUAI: 20-13-18-24= 75

Scorers
LG: Hiram Fuller (206-F/C-81) 19 points, Mike Campbell (197-G/F-75) 18 points, Ricky Johns (190-G-85) 14 points

GUAI: Kelvin Pena (193-G-81) 35 points, Carlos Cedeno (193-G/F-85) 13 points



Brazil earn bronze medals in Uruguay - by Eurobasket News
Brazil U17 - Venezuela U17 107:62

Brazil clinched the third position in the South American U17 Championship in Trinidad. They overwhelmed Venezuela in the consolation final yesterday. The stakes were high in the encounter as the teams fought for the spot in Fiba Americas U18 Championship. Brazil outgunned their opponents and booked the place in the tournament.
Brazil led from start to finish. They toppled Venezuela 27:16 in the starting frame and continued to mount pressure in the second term. The scoreboard read 44:29 at halftime as Brazil coasted. Brazil never slowed down in the second half. They accounted for 31 points in the third frame to gain a 32-point lead before the fourth term. The teams cruised to the final buzzer, as the outcome was pretty clear at this point.
Felipe Taddei (-92) came up with 23 points to pace Brazil. Lucas Amarante (-93) added 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Lucas Baroni (-92) had 13 points in the victory. Junior Martinez (-92) replied with 13 points for Venezuela. Israel Blanco (-93) finished with 10 points in the losing effort. Brazil outmuscled their opponents on the boards 41:16 and limited Venezuela to just 37% of field goals.

Brazil U17: Felipe Taddei 23, Lucas Amarante 13+10 boards, Lucas Baroni 13
Venezuela U17: Junior Martinez 13, Israel Blanco 10

LPB 2009 - Week 14 (Sunday): Cocodrilos climbs to first place, Trotamundos sweeps - by Francisco Vega

Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- Cocodrilos de Caracas swept Guaros de Lara as hosts to remove them from first place in the LPB 2009 standings and hold a half-game advantage over them. Meanwhile, Trotamundos de Carabobo completed a sweep over Gaiteros del Zulia.

Cocodrilos de Caracas 99 - Guaros de Lara 83
Naciones Unidas Park - Caracas, D.C.

Quarter by quarter
COC: 24-13-33-29= 99
GUA: 23-16-27-17= 83

Scorers
COC: Jack Michael Martinez (203-F/C-81) 18 points and 12 rebounds, Leandro Garcia Morales (186-G-80) 16 points, Luis Bethelmy (200-C-86) 16 points, Carl Elliott (193-G-83) 15 points, 5 assists and 5 steals, Henry Paez (184-G-70) 14 points, Juan Herrera (197-F-81) 11 points, Jesus Centeno (190-G-85) 9 points, Windi Graterol (204-C-86) 0 points, Kenji Urdaneta (188-G-85) 0 points, Jhoyfer Diaz (196-F-87) 0 points, Derson Santos (197-F-84) 0 points, Wladimir Saavedra (200-F-77) 0 points

GUA: Albert White (197-G/F-77) 19 points, Torraye Braggs (203-F/C-76) 18 points and 6 rebounds, Heissler Guillent (191-G-86) 15 points, Jason Edwin (196-G/F-81) 10 points, Pablo Machado (207-C-77) 8 points, Kervis Ramirez (190-G-78) 6 points, Francisco Centeno (201-G/F-85) 5 points, Leonardo Berroteran (192-F/G-81) 2 points, Johan Pinero (183-G-76) 0 points, Kervin Bracho (204-F/C-78) 0 points, Sonys Reyes (181-G-86) 0 points, Juan Manaure (188-G-79) 0 points


Trotamundos de Carabobo 85 - Gaiteros del Zulia 71
Forum of Valencia - Valencia, Carabobo

Quarter by quarter
TRO: 24-23-17-21= 85
GAI: 11-27-15-18= 71

Scorers
TRO: Richard Lugo (209-C-73) 22 points, 14 rebounds and 5 steals, Gary Forbes (201-G/F-85) 15 points, Miguel Marriaga (206-C-84) 13 points and 6 rebounds, Corey Williams (191-G-77) 10 points, Pedro Brito (202-F/C-82) 8 points, Jose Vargas (196-G/F-82) 7 points, Manuel Berroteran (185-G-80) 5 points, Leonardo Cappare (186-G-80) 3 points, Louis Truscott (199-F-78) 2 points, Freddy Del Pino (180-G-89) 0 points, Ronald Guillen (206-C-84) 0 points, Johan Perez (198-F-82) 0 points

GAI: Alexis Montas (202-F/C-79) 23 points and 14 rebounds, Chris Jeffries (199-F-80) 14 points, Askia Jones (196-G-71) 13 points, Rafael Guevara (194-F-79) 9 points, Ruben Nembhard (191-G-72) 6 points, Jose Lopez (188-F) 3 points, Enielsen Guevara (204-F/C-82) 2 points, Leinert Zerpa (182-G-82) 1 point, Jose Juan Bravo (200-C-80) 0 points, Francisco Hernandez (191-F-81) 0 points, Pedro Cubillan (187-G-82) 0 points



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


Decatur gets pro basketball team - by Eurobasket
The city of Decatur has most everything its residents need. To the list of shopping, schools, restaurants and bars, one can now add professional sports teamfor the summer.

The Decatur Court Kings and the World Basketball Association (WBA) will kick off its 2009 season with home games played at Agnes Scott College. The Court Kings are following up on their 2008 championship season.

Founded in 2002 by Leroy McMath, the WBA was created to generate exposure for players who are trying to make it to the NBA. Players who are seeking a career in basketball outside of the NBA also use the WBA as a stepping stone, according to McMath. Markell King, the current Court Kings head coach, played in the WBA and has played professionally in Lebanon. Basketball players can make $25,000 per month playing abroad, according to King, a healthy stipend for those who dont make to the NBA.

Players, many of whom attended a tryout camp to make the team, are given a small stipend to play in the WBA. McMath said the business model of the WBA is a low overhead community-driven business. The emphasis is not on paying players lots of money, rather the league tries to help players stay in shape and attract the attention of pro scouts.

Several NBA players have either played or had roles in the league, including Harold Ellis from the Denver Nuggets, Lionel Garrett, a former Harlem Globetrotter, and Jamario Moon, a forward for the Miami Heat. Former Atlanta Hawk Mike Glenn and Josh Powell, who played for the Dallas Mavericks, also had roles in the league. Theo Ratliff, a former Atlanta Hawk, was a WBA team owner and Tree Rollins was a former WBA coach.

Nine teams make up the WBA. Six of the teams are located in Georgia. Others are located in Tennessee, Mississippi and Florida. The season consists of a combined 30 games. Decatur will play 10 games from May 23 until June 28. The first home game takes place June 4. This is a community team, said King. Everyone cant go downtown to watch the Hawks play, but theres a professional basketball team playing quality basketball in Decatur.

Source: http://championnewspaper.com/court_kings.html (Brian Egeston)

Standings
WBA Standings
 1. Cartersville W. 2-0 
 2. Buford M. 1-0 
 3. Decatur CK 1-0 
 4. Tupelo 1-1 
 5. Rome Rage 0-1 
 6. Memphis B. 0-3 
Expansion Teams
 1. Macon B. 0-0 
 2. Marietta S. 0-0 
 3. Palm Coast 0-0 
 4. S.Crescent L. 0-0 




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

Women News

*****************************************************
  ANGOLA - Women  


First Deepwater pound Sunshine 75-33. As First Bank bomb I.G Queens 82-19 - by Olusegun Ikuesan
Nigeria team of the moment First Deepwater basketball club Monday pounded Sunshine Angels basketball club of Akure by 75-33 points to register its first major win in a competitive game since joining the legion of teams in the Nigeria women league.

The Coach Lateef Erinfolami tutored side used the first two quarters to size up their opponent wining both quarters with a minimal margin of 14-02 and 11-07 to end the first half by 25-09 points.

The Coach Andrew Isokpehi tutored Sunshine Angels side showed some promises in the third quarter but their efforts was not good enough to pick the quarter which they lost by 16-14.

The First Deepwater girls came out smoking in the last quarter pummeling their hapless opponent ending the quarter by 34-10 points for a cumulative score-line of 75-33 points.

Coach Erinfolami and his wards will file out against I.G Queens in Day-2 of the tournament at 14.00 hours.

In the first game of the day on Monday Nigeria perennial champion, First Bank basketball club walloped I.G Queens by as much as 63 points difference of 82-19 points to warn other would-be contenders to beware.

The Elephant Girls as the bankers are often referred to won in all four quarters of 24-04, 12-08, 19-02 and 27-05.

The Nigerian reigning champion will take on sunshine Angels in the second game of Day-2 at the sports hall of the national stadium, Lagos at 16.00 hours

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


France win international tournament in Paris - by Eurobasket News
France - Australia 80:60

French National Team triumphed at the international tournament in Paris. They defeated Australia on the last day of the competition to claim the top spot winning all three encounters. The Opals finished in the second position losing just once.
France surprised the worlds powerhouse with a striking start to the game. Les Bleus went on a 13:0 run midway through the first stanza to pile up a comfortable 23:10 lead after ten minutes. The Opals turned more physical in the second term but France stayed alert. Emmanuelle Hermouet (184-F-80) fired from beyond the arc to give the hosts a 45:26 lead late in the first half. Alicia Poto capped the half with a three-pointer of her own but France still led by comfortable 16 points at halftime.
France maintained the advantage throughout the third quarter. Moreover they stretched it to as many as 19 points after a busket from Lepron. The margin grew at 21 points at the start of the final quarter as France dominated. The Opals never bounced back losing the battle.
Sandrine Gruda (191-F/C-87) notched 16 points and 7 rebounds to pace Les Bleus. Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui (195-C-86) added 12 points, while Endene Miyem (188-F-88) and Emmanuelle Hermouet had 8 points each in the win. Abby Bishop (189-C-88) answered with 13 points for Australia. Deanna Smith (179-G-80, agency: LBM Management) and Kathleen Macleod (167-G-86) knocked down 8 points each in the loss.

France: Sandrine Gruda 16, Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui 12, Endene Miyem 8, Emmanuelle Hermouet 8
Australia: Abby Bishop 13, Deanna Smith 8, Kathleen Macleod 8

Sparks beat Sun 80-77 in exhibition Finale - by Eurobasket News
There is a chance that salvation may yet come for Connecticut Sun players on the bubble this week in practice.

Maybe coach Mike Thibault hasn't settled on his 11-player roster. So there's still time to make an impression before cutdown day Friday and Saturday's WNBA season opener against Washington.

But it was clear the five players who played most of the fourth quarter Sunday against Los Angeles were fighting for their spots.

Rookies Lyndra Littles (6'1''-F-87, college: Virginia), Carrem Gay (6'2''-F-87, college: Duke), Lauren Ervin (6'3''-F-85, college: Arkansas) and veterans Ketia Swanier (5'7''-G-86, college: Connecticut) and Barbara Turner (6'0''-G/F-84, college: Connecticut) had a chance to prove themselves in a close game in the Sun's 80-77 loss before 6,630 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

'It was good for some of those young kids to figure out what it's like to play in those late-game situations,' Thibault said. 'But what you get out of exhibition games is a mixed bag.'

Swanier shot 1-for-5 for five points in 18 minutes. She played 42 minutes in the three exhibition games, shooting 1-for-8.

She is likely battling free agent Kristi Cirone (5'8''-G-87, college: Illinois St.) for a spot, that is if Thibault even feels he needs a third point guard behind Lindsay Whalen and Erin Phillips (5'8''-G-85).

Phillips led the Sun with 11 points. Whalen had two in 15 minutes.

'If it comes down to that, well, there must be a greater plan for me,' said Swanier, the former UConn point guard. 'That's the way I have to look at it.'

While the Sun have multiple decisions to make, the Sparks likely have only one spot to fill. And this was their only exhibition game.

'It's been very strange,' said the Sparks' Jessica Moore, a former UConn center. 'But in a way it's helped because we've had two-a-days every day and we've been playing actual games against a team of 11 guys game mode, refs and everything.'

Moore is highly valued by coach Michael Cooper because of her defense, rebounding and personality. But she played only nine minutes Sunday and has some competition in Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Ashley Paris, rookies from Purdue and Oklahoma.

'This year is very difficult because there are only 11 [roster] spots, but you can't come into the season dwelling about it,' Moore said. 'There's only so much you can do. All you can do is control how you play and if you can stay true to yourself, you can always say I gave my best and they can take it or leave it.'


Open Practice
The Sun will hold a practice Tuesday open to the public at St. Joseph College's O'Connell Center in West Hartford from 6 to 8 p.m. Thibault said there will be an intrasquad scrimmage. There will be an autograph session immediately following practice. ... Liberty coach Pat Coyle and assistant Anne Donovan were scouting the game. The Sun play at New York next Sunday. ... May Kotsopoulos, a starter on the Vermont team defeated by UConn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March, is working as a summer intern for the Sun.

Courtesy of www.courant.com

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  CZECH REPUBLIC - Women  


Hungary hold off Czech Republic in Paris - by Eurobasket News
Hungary - Czech Republic 67:46

Hungary completed their campaign in Paris on a positive note. They bruised Czech Republic to earn the first win and the third spot in the final ladder of the tourney. Czech Republic stayed winless at the bottom of the standings. Czech Republic looked solid against France and Australia but struggled in offense in this one. None of Czech players scored in double figures en route to miserable 46 points at the end. Hungary capitalized earning a confident success. Dora Horti (195-C-87) came up with 15 points to pace the winners. Anna Vajda (191-F/C-84) added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Hungary.
Czech Republic got to the better start and built a 17:13 lead into the second frame. But Hungary responded with a 23-point second quarter to gain a 7-point lead at halftime break. Things got just worse for Czech team after the main intermission. They managed only 11 points in the third quarter and Hungary took off to an 11-point distance with one quarter remaining. Czech Republic posted 6 points in the final term just giving up at the end.
Zsofia Fegyverneky (178-G-84) provided 12 points in the victory. Eva Viteckova (190-F-82) had 8 points to lead Czech Republic. Katerina Bartonova (174-G-90) and Marketa Bednarova (178-F-81) finished with 6 points each in the loss.

Hungary: Dora Horti 15, Anna Vajda 14+10 boards, Zsofia Fegyverneky 12
Czech Republic: Eva Viteckova 8, Katerina Bartonova 6, Marketa Bednarova 6

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  FRANCE - Women  


Pierre Vincent names the squad for EuroBasket 2009 - by Eurobasket News
Pierre Vincent announced the names of twelve players that would represent France at the 2009 EuroBasket in Latvia. These are:

Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui (195-C-86) - Tarbes (FRA)
Endene Miyem (188-F-88) - Bourges (FRA)
Catherine Melain (184-F-74) - Bourges (FRA)
Sandrine Gruda (191-F/C-87) - UMMC (RUS)
Emmanuelle Hermouet (184-F-80) - Toulouse (FRA)
Celine Dumerc (168-G-82) - Bourges (FRA)
Pauline Krawczyk (180-F-85) - Montpelier (FRA)
Emilie Gomis (180-F-83) - Naples (ITA)
Florence Lepron (183-G-85) - Villenueve (FRA)
Elodie Godin (190-C-85) - Taranto (ITA)
Emmeline Ndongue (191-F/C-83) - Bourges (FRA)
Anael Lardy (170-G-87) - Clermontois (FRA)

After playing a number of friendly games in France all thought are about Latvia now. The team will play in Group D in Valmiera alongside Italy, Belarus and Israel. Les Bleus tip off the action on June 7 against the Azzurri.

France win international tournament in Paris - by Eurobasket News
France - Australia 80:60

French National Team triumphed at the international tournament in Paris. They defeated Australia on the last day of the competition to claim the top spot winning all three encounters. The Opals finished in the second position losing just once.
France surprised the worlds powerhouse with a striking start to the game. Les Bleus went on a 13:0 run midway through the first stanza to pile up a comfortable 23:10 lead after ten minutes. The Opals turned more physical in the second term but France stayed alert. Emmanuelle Hermouet (184-F-80) fired from beyond the arc to give the hosts a 45:26 lead late in the first half. Alicia Poto capped the half with a three-pointer of her own but France still led by comfortable 16 points at halftime.
France maintained the advantage throughout the third quarter. Moreover they stretched it to as many as 19 points after a busket from Lepron. The margin grew at 21 points at the start of the final quarter as France dominated. The Opals never bounced back losing the battle.
Sandrine Gruda (191-F/C-87) notched 16 points and 7 rebounds to pace Les Bleus. Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui (195-C-86) added 12 points, while Endene Miyem (188-F-88) and Emmanuelle Hermouet had 8 points each in the win. Abby Bishop (189-C-88) answered with 13 points for Australia. Deanna Smith (179-G-80, agency: LBM Management) and Kathleen Macleod (167-G-86) knocked down 8 points each in the loss.

France: Sandrine Gruda 16, Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui 12, Endene Miyem 8, Emmanuelle Hermouet 8
Australia: Abby Bishop 13, Deanna Smith 8, Kathleen Macleod 8

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  HUNGARY - Women  


Hungary hold off Czech Republic in Paris - by Eurobasket News
Hungary - Czech Republic 67:46

Hungary completed their campaign in Paris on a positive note. They bruised Czech Republic to earn the first win and the third spot in the final ladder of the tourney. Czech Republic stayed winless at the bottom of the standings. Czech Republic looked solid against France and Australia but struggled in offense in this one. None of Czech players scored in double figures en route to miserable 46 points at the end. Hungary capitalized earning a confident success. Dora Horti (195-C-87) came up with 15 points to pace the winners. Anna Vajda (191-F/C-84) added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Hungary.
Czech Republic got to the better start and built a 17:13 lead into the second frame. But Hungary responded with a 23-point second quarter to gain a 7-point lead at halftime break. Things got just worse for Czech team after the main intermission. They managed only 11 points in the third quarter and Hungary took off to an 11-point distance with one quarter remaining. Czech Republic posted 6 points in the final term just giving up at the end.
Zsofia Fegyverneky (178-G-84) provided 12 points in the victory. Eva Viteckova (190-F-82) had 8 points to lead Czech Republic. Katerina Bartonova (174-G-90) and Marketa Bednarova (178-F-81) finished with 6 points each in the loss.

Hungary: Dora Horti 15, Anna Vajda 14+10 boards, Zsofia Fegyverneky 12
Czech Republic: Eva Viteckova 8, Katerina Bartonova 6, Marketa Bednarova 6

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  ISRAEL - Women  


Israeli Women win first Pre-Tournament Match 77-76 over Bulgaria - by Joshua Halickman
Shay Doron led Israel to its first victory in European Championship Pre-Tournament matches 77-76 over Bulgaria.
Playing in Slovakia, Israel trailed Bulgaria 25-20 after the first quarter and 44-41 at the half, but kept the game close going into the fourth quarter down by only 3 60-57. That is when Shay Doron (16pts) took over the match and helped Israel takes its first victory.
Ekaterina Abramzon (186-F/C-87, agency: ZAG Advocates) added 15 points and 9 rebounds as Liron Cohen chipped in with 13 points of her own.
'I am happy we did the right things down the stretch of the game and scored our first win', said coach Eli Rabi. 'We still have things to work on, but we are preparing according to plan and we have another game against host Slovakia tomorrow.'

Israel Loses its Final Warm Up Game 75-51 to Slovakia - by Joshua Halickman
Israel lost its final tune up before the European championships 75-51 to Slovakia on Sunday. Slovakia started out stong and never looked back as it led after the first quarter 22-9. Israel came back in the second frame to narrow the lead to 8 points, 33-25. But Slovakia poured on the offense in the 3rd quarter outscoring Israel 25-8 to build a 58-35 lead and send Israel into the European Championships in Latvia on a down note. Katia Levitsky (194-C-85, agency: Data Plus Group, college: Villanova) finished the game with 15 points, but Shay Doron (175-G-85, college: Maryland) and Ekaterina Abramzon (186-F/C-87, agency: ZAG Advocates) each finished with 2 points in the loss.

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  ITALY - Women  


The Italian list for Latvia 2009 - by Carlo Grilli
Italy NT coach Giampiero Ticchi officialised today the 12 athletes for Eurobasket 2009 in Latvia.

4 Licia Corradini (173-G-85) Umana Venezia
5 Maria Chiara Franchini (182-G-79) Lavezzini Parma
6 Chiara Pastore (172-G-86) Famila Schio
8 Simona Ballardini (183-F-81) Umana Venezia
9 Francesca Modica (175-G-81) Atletico Faenza
11 Kathrin Ress (193-F-85, college: Boston Coll.) Famila Schio
13 Manuela Zanon (185-F-80) Bracco S.S.Giovanni
14 Adriana Grasso (188-C-74) Phonica Pozzuoli
15 Marte Alexander (196-C-76, college: Arizona) Club Atletico Faenza
20 Laura Macchi (187-F-79) Famila Schio
23 Mariangela Cirone (171-G-76) Umana Venezia
33 Raffaella Masciadri (185-F-80) Famila Schio

In a friendly match played tonight in Porto San Giorgio (Italy) the last one before departure for Latvia the Azzurre fell short to Serbia.

Italy-Serbia 56-60 (12-13; 23-30; 38-42)
Italy: Corradini, Franchini, Pastore dnp, Ballardini 7, Modica 2, Ress 4, Zanon 4, Grasso 8, Alexander 2, Laura Macchi 18, Cirone 3, Masciadri 8.
Serbia: Miljkovic 6, Petrovic 2, Rizvic, Tamara Radocaj (168-G-87) 11, Kresovic 11, Roglic 4, Puskar 5, Perovic, Ajanovic 7, Dabovic, Grubor 4, Musovic 10.

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  NCAA1 - Women  


UH Hires Takahara-Dias to coach Wahine Basketball - by Eurobasket News
The University of Hawaii has hired Dana Takahara-Dias as the new head coach of the Wahine basketball team.

The official announcement is expected on Thursday evening.

There have been questions about whether or not she met minimum qualifications. Takahara-Dias interviewed for the vacant head coaching job of the Rainbow Wahine basketball team on Wednesday.

Takahara-Dias currently works for the city, as director of the Department of Customer Service.

She is a former player and administrative assistant under former Wahine head coach Vince Goo and is a former head coach and athletic director at Moanalua High School.

'As a basketball player, former coach, and fan, and as someone who's coached alongside her, I'm fully confident of Dana's ability to recruit the best student-athletes, fill the Stan Sheriff Center, and restore the prestige and success of the Wahine program,' Mayor Mufi Hannemann said in a written statement.

Takahara-Dias takes over for Jim Bolla. Bolla was accused of kicking a player.

Bolla was hired in 2004 to replace Goo. He had a 64-80 record in his five seasons at UH.

Bolla filed a lawsuit against the school and individual leaders in response to his removal from his post.

Bolla's attorney said his client was really fired for complaining that the women's basketball program was not funded as well as the men's program. Federal law requires parity between men and women's programs at universities that get federal funding.

Besides the school, Bolla sued UH President David McClain, UH Manoa Chancellor Virginia Hinshaw, Donovan and UH Assistant Athletics Director Carl Clapp.

Courtesy of www.msnbc.msn.com

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  NIGERIA - Women  


First Deepwater pound Sunshine 75-33. As First Bank bomb I.G Queens 82-19 - by Olusegun Ikuesan
Nigeria team of the moment First Deepwater basketball club Monday pounded Sunshine Angels basketball club of Akure by 75-33 points to register its first major win in a competitive game since joining the legion of teams in the Nigeria women league.

The Coach Lateef Erinfolami tutored side used the first two quarters to size up their opponent wining both quarters with a minimal margin of 14-02 and 11-07 to end the first half by 25-09 points.

The Coach Andrew Isokpehi tutored Sunshine Angels side showed some promises in the third quarter but their efforts was not good enough to pick the quarter which they lost by 16-14.

The First Deepwater girls came out smoking in the last quarter pummeling their hapless opponent ending the quarter by 34-10 points for a cumulative score-line of 75-33 points.

Coach Erinfolami and his wards will file out against I.G Queens in Day-2 of the tournament at 14.00 hours.

In the first game of the day on Monday Nigeria perennial champion, First Bank basketball club walloped I.G Queens by as much as 63 points difference of 82-19 points to warn other would-be contenders to beware.

The Elephant Girls as the bankers are often referred to won in all four quarters of 24-04, 12-08, 19-02 and 27-05.

The Nigerian reigning champion will take on sunshine Angels in the second game of Day-2 at the sports hall of the national stadium, Lagos at 16.00 hours

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  POLAND - Women  


Last friendly games before Latvia - by Maciej Schwarz
On May 30th and 31st Polish Women National team took on Belarussian team with games in Gdynia and Bydgoszcz respectively. First game was a winning game for Poland 66:64 (16:16, 16:11, 13:21, 21:16). Top scorers for Poland: Ewelina Kobryn (193-C-82, agency: Data Plus Group), Agnieszka Skobel (181-F-89) and Agata Gajda (174-G-80) 11. Coach Krzysztof Koziorowicz could designate all the players but Agnieszka Bibrzycka (184-F/G-82, agency: Data Plus Group, college: Abil.Christian), who rested. Small ankle sprain injury of Paulina Pawlak (170-G-84, agency: Data Plus Group) may be a problem for coach Koziorowicz.

2nd game went for Belarus winning: 55:65 (13:20, 12:14, 13:15, 17:16).
Top scorers for Poland: Agnieszka Bibrzycka 15, Agnieszka Skobel 9, Drzewinska 8. 2nd game was much worse for team Poland, as 1st playmaker Paulina Pawlak was out.

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  PORTUGAL - Women  


Eurobasket.com All-Portuguese League Awards 2008-09 - by Eurobasket
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Player of the Year: Ambrosia Anderson (186-F-84) (Olivais Coimbra)
Guard of the Year: Carla Nascimento (171-G-86) (Vagos)
Forward of the Year: Ambrosia Anderson (186-F-84) (Olivais Coimbra)
Center of the Year: Clarissa dos Santos (182-C-88) (Vagos)
Newcomer of the Year: Michelle Brandao (171-G-91) (Olivais Coimbra)
Most Improved Player of the Year: Michelle Brandao (171-G-91) (Olivais Coimbra)
Import Player of the Year: Ambrosia Anderson (186-F-84) (Olivais Coimbra)
Domestic Player of the Year: Joana Lopes (185-G/F-86) (Boa Viagem)
Defensive Player of the Year: Aja Parham (183-G/F-84) (Olivais Coimbra)
Coach of the Year: Jose Araujo (Olivais Coimbra)

1st Team
Carla Nascimento (171-G-86) (Vagos)
Amanda Jackson (175-G-85) (Alges)
Ambrosia Anderson (186-F-84) (Olivais Coimbra)
Aja Parham (183-G/F-84) (Olivais Coimbra)
Clarissa dos Santos (182-C-88) (Vagos)

2nd Team
Fatima Silva (169-G-73) (CAB Madeira)
Joana Lopes (185-G/F-86) (Boa Viagem)
Fernanda Neves Beling (180-F-82) (Vagos)
Breanne Watson (185-F-85) (CAB Madeira)
Lakethia Hampton (183-F/C-83) (Boa Viagem)

Honorable Mention
Joana Araujo (171-G-78) (Alges)
Gilda Correia (178-F-80) (CAB Madeira)
Casey Nash (185-F-82) (CAB Madeira)
Susan Foreid (180-F-80) (Alges)
Nordia Henry (190-F/C-86) (GDESSA)
Emily Guimond (-C) (BCBarcelos)
Alexis Castro (183-F-86) (GDESSA)

All-Domestic Players Team
Carla Nascimento (171-G-86) (Vagos)
Fatima Silva (CAB Madeira)
Joana Araujo (Alges)
Gilda Correia (CAB Madeira)
Joana Lopes (185-G/F-86) (Boa Viagem)

All-Imports Team
Amanda Jackson (175-G-85) (Alges)
Aja Parham (183-G/F-84) (Olivais Coimbra)
Ambrosia Anderson (186-F-84) (Olivais Coimbra)
Fernanda Neves Beling (Vagos)
Clarissa dos Santos (182-C-88) (Vagos)

All-Defensive Team
Joana Araujo (Alges)
Amanda Jackson (175-G-85) (Alges)
Casey Nash (CAB Madeira)
Aja Parham (183-G/F-84) (Olivais Coimbra)
Clarissa dos Santos (182-C-88) (Vagos)

All-Newcomers Team
Michelle Brandao (Olivais Coimbra)
Maria Correia (172-G/F-91) (CAB Madeira)
Sara Djassi (180-F-89) (GDESSA)
Catia Lirio (182-C-89) (CDPovoa)
Rosinha Rosario (178-F-89) (Uniao Madeira)

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  ROMANIA - Women  


New season draw system in season 2009-2010 - by Gyurko Balazs
By the latest decision of the Romanian Basketball Federation the upcoming season will have a whole new organizational system. There will be 16 teams, newcomers are Timisoara and Brasov, the 16 teams being split into two conferences. One conference, the South-Eastern will include CS Teleorman Alexandria, CSM Universitatea Craiova, MCM Targoviste, the three teams of Bucharest: CS Olimpia Bucuresti, Sportul Studentesc Omnilogic Bucuresti and CS Rapid CFR Marfa Bucuresti, CS National Iasi and CS CET Govora teams. (By the information of some sources CS CET Govora team will retire from the championship, I'll get back with further information). The North-Western conference will include the two newcomers, Brasov and Timisoara, BC ICIM Arad, CSM U Oradea, U Trustul Cre Cluj Napoca, CSM Satu Mare, CSM U Alba Iulia and last but not least CSS LMK Sf. Gheorghe. First four teams will qualify to the next round in series A1 taking with them the direct scores achieved in the first round, the same thing happens with teams 5-8 in series A2. The third round are the playoffs.

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  SLOVAKIA - Women  


Slovak Republic thump Israel in friendly - by Eurobasket News
Slovakia - Israel 75:51

Slovakia showed they are ready for the upcoming EuroBasket event posting the third straight win in friendly outings. After two victories over Bulgaria a Chatman team denied Israel in Nitra.
Slovakia got things rolling right from the start. They dominated in almost every facet of the game and eased to a 22:9 lead after ten minutes. Israel adjusted in the second frame and began crawling back in this one. They limited the home team to only 11 points and clipped the margin to 8 points at halftime. But Slovakia went off the dressing room firing from all guns. They stormed to a 20+ lead and ensured a 23-point cushion heading into the final stanza. Israel failed to recover in the final stages of the encounter and surrendered at the end.
Martina Luptakova (184-F-77) provided 18 points to pace the charge. Lucia Kupcikova (184-F-84) added 10 points, while Lucia Laskova (187-F-80, agency: LBM Management) had 9 points in the victory. Katia Levitsky (194-C-85, agency: Data Plus Group, college: Villanova) responded with 15 points for Israel. Naomi Kolodny (171-G-82) finished with 8 points in defeat.
Slovakia tips off their EuroBasket campaign on June 7 against Ukraine. Israel will face Belarus the same day.

Slovakia: Martina Luptakova 18, Lucia Kupcikova 10, Lucia Laskova 9
Israel: Katia Levitsky 15, Naomi Kolodny 8

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  SPAIN - Women  


Delisha Milton-Jones stays with Ros Casares - by Eurobasket News
Veteran forward Delisha Milton-Jones (186-F-74, college: Florida) extended her contract with the Spanish champions Ros Casares for one more year. A 35-year-old player will return to Spain after the WNBA season to help Ros Casares in LFP and Euroleague next season.
She was one of the main figures in Ros Casares triumph this year averaging 13.5 points, 4.4 boards and 1.6 steals per game. She also helped the Spanish champions reach the quarterfinal stage in Euroleague. Her stats in the tournament came up to 16.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.2 steals per appearance. She was the Olympic Games champion as well as two-time World champion with the USA.
Delisha Milton-Jones is now in the USA getting ready for the WNBA season with the Los Angeles Sparks.

*****************************************************
  WNBA - Women  


Dream waives Chantelle Anderson and Marlies Gibson - by Eurobasket News
The Atlanta Dream announced today the team has waived center Chantelle Anderson (6'7''-C-81, college: Vanderbilt) and forward Marlies Gipson (6'0''-F-87, college: Kansas St.). Today's moves cut the Dream's roster to 12 players. All teams must finalize their 11-player roster by Friday, June 5.

Anderson, a 6-6 center from Vanderbilt University, was originally acquired by the Dream in the 2008 WNBA Expansion Draft from the San Antonio Silver Stars. She missed the 2008 season due to a torn ACL but stayed in Atlanta to serve as an ambassador for the team, doing extensive work in the community. The second overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft, Anderson's career in the WNBA has been hindered by injuries. In her five-year career, she is averaging 4.1 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. Anderson appeared in one pre-season game for the Dream on May 27 vs. the Connecticut Sun.

Gipson, a 6-0 forward from Kansas State University, was signed to a training camp contract by the Dream on May 12, 2009. A four-year starter at Kansas State, Gipson was also a college teammate of the Dream's 2009 second round draft pick, Shalee Lehning. Gipson saw four minutes of action in the Dream's pre-season game against the Sun. She recorded five points on 2-2 shooting from the field.

The Dream will tip off its second season on Saturday, June 6, 2009 at 7 p.m. against the Indiana Fever at Philips Arena. For more information and to purchase season tickets, fans can call 404.604.2626 or visit www.AtlantaDream.net. Single game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 1-877-WNBA-TIX, at AtlantaDream.net, at the Philips Arena box office and at all Ticketmaster outlets.

Courtesy of The Atlanta Dream

Sparks beat Sun 80-77 in exhibition Finale - by Eurobasket News
There is a chance that salvation may yet come for Connecticut Sun players on the bubble this week in practice.

Maybe coach Mike Thibault hasn't settled on his 11-player roster. So there's still time to make an impression before cutdown day Friday and Saturday's WNBA season opener against Washington.

But it was clear the five players who played most of the fourth quarter Sunday against Los Angeles were fighting for their spots.

Rookies Lyndra Littles (6'1''-F-87, college: Virginia), Carrem Gay (6'2''-F-87, college: Duke), Lauren Ervin (6'3''-F-85, college: Arkansas) and veterans Ketia Swanier (5'7''-G-86, college: Connecticut) and Barbara Turner (6'0''-G/F-84, college: Connecticut) had a chance to prove themselves in a close game in the Sun's 80-77 loss before 6,630 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

'It was good for some of those young kids to figure out what it's like to play in those late-game situations,' Thibault said. 'But what you get out of exhibition games is a mixed bag.'

Swanier shot 1-for-5 for five points in 18 minutes. She played 42 minutes in the three exhibition games, shooting 1-for-8.

She is likely battling free agent Kristi Cirone (5'8''-G-87, college: Illinois St.) for a spot, that is if Thibault even feels he needs a third point guard behind Lindsay Whalen and Erin Phillips (5'8''-G-85).

Phillips led the Sun with 11 points. Whalen had two in 15 minutes.

'If it comes down to that, well, there must be a greater plan for me,' said Swanier, the former UConn point guard. 'That's the way I have to look at it.'

While the Sun have multiple decisions to make, the Sparks likely have only one spot to fill. And this was their only exhibition game.

'It's been very strange,' said the Sparks' Jessica Moore, a former UConn center. 'But in a way it's helped because we've had two-a-days every day and we've been playing actual games against a team of 11 guys game mode, refs and everything.'

Moore is highly valued by coach Michael Cooper because of her defense, rebounding and personality. But she played only nine minutes Sunday and has some competition in Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Ashley Paris, rookies from Purdue and Oklahoma.

'This year is very difficult because there are only 11 [roster] spots, but you can't come into the season dwelling about it,' Moore said. 'There's only so much you can do. All you can do is control how you play and if you can stay true to yourself, you can always say I gave my best and they can take it or leave it.'


Open Practice
The Sun will hold a practice Tuesday open to the public at St. Joseph College's O'Connell Center in West Hartford from 6 to 8 p.m. Thibault said there will be an intrasquad scrimmage. There will be an autograph session immediately following practice. ... Liberty coach Pat Coyle and assistant Anne Donovan were scouting the game. The Sun play at New York next Sunday. ... May Kotsopoulos, a starter on the Vermont team defeated by UConn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March, is working as a summer intern for the Sun.

Courtesy of www.courant.com