Eurobasket Daily News Report:

EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 6/6/2009

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Men News

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ADRIATIC LEAGUE

AFGHANISTAN

ASF Standing

ABL Standings

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

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ARGENTINA

National team 2009 - by Facundo Iatzky
Coach Sergio Hernandez announced the list of 20 players who will train looking for the best shape for the FIBA Americas championship 2009, that will start on August 26th in Puerto Rico.

point guards:

PABLO PRIGIONI 1.91 mts. / 32 years old (TAU CERAMICA, ESPAA)
JUAN PABLO FIGUEROA 1.84 mts. / 23 (ATENAS DE CORDOBA, ARGENTINA)
JUAN PABLO CANTERO 1.84 mts. / 26 (SIONISTA DE PARANA, ARGENTINA)
JUAN MANUEL FERNANDEZ 1.92 mts. / 18 (UNIVERSIDAD DE TEMPLE, USA)

shooting guards:

CARLOS DELFINO 1.98 mts. / 27 (KHIMKI, RUSIA)
PAOLO QUINTEROS 1.86 mts. / 30 (CAI ZARAGOZA, ESPAA)
DIEGO GARCIA 1.89 mts. / 29 (BURGOS, ESPAA)
MATIAS NOCEDAL 1.90 mts. / 19 (BASQUET VIC, ESPAA)

small forwards:

SEBASTIAN VEGA 2.00 mts. / 20 (PEAROL DE MAR DEL PLATA, ARGENTINA)
MATIAS SANDES 2.01 mts. / 24 (FUENLABRADA, ESPAA)
AXEL WEIGAND 2.00 mts. / 24 (ALICANTE, ESPAA)
FEDERICO KAMMERICHS 2.04 mts. / 28 (REGATAS CORRIENTES, ARGENTINA)
FABRICIO VAY 2.06 mts. / 23 (ARKADIA TRAISKIRCHEN LIONS, AUSTRIA)

power forwards:

LUIS SCOLA 2.06 mts. / 29 (HOUSTON ROCKETS, USA)
LEONARDO GUTIERREZ 2.00 mts. / 31 (ATENAS DE CORDOBA, ARGENTINA)
LEONARDO MAINOLDI 2.06 mts. / 24 (FUENLABRADA, ESPAA)
ANDRES PELUSSI 1.98 mts. / 31 (LIBERTAD DE SUNCHALES, ARGENTINA)
FEDERICO AGUERRE 2.02 mts. / 20 (ARGENTINO DE JUNIN, ARGENTINA)

centers:

ROMAN GONZALEZ 2.08 mts. / 31 (PEAROL DE MAR DEL PLATA, ARGENTINA)
JUAN PEDRO GUTIERREZ 2.05 mts. / 25 (GRANADA, ESPAA)

coach staff:

head coach: SERGIO HERNANDEZ
assistant coach: GONZALO GARCIA

source: www.cabb.com.ar

Stats Leaders - LigaA

Points Per Game

Edward NELSON
  Ponce
  (203-F-82)
  Avg: 20.1

1. Nelson, Estudiantes	20.1
2. Moodie, Independ.	19.9
3. Mazzaro, Quimsa	18.6
4. Jackson, Penarol	18.4
5. Espil, Boca Jrs	17.2
6. Assie, Independ.N.	17.0
7. Robinson, Sionista	16.7
8. Glover, Cicl.Olimpico	16.4
9. Taylor, Lanus	15.9
10. Osborne, Libert.	15.7

Rebounds Per Game

Federico KAMMERICHS
  Regatas C.
  (203-F-80)
  Avg: 10.7

1. Kammerichs, Regat.	10.7
2. Batista, Libertad	9.6
3. Williams, Cicl.Oli.	9.5
4. Assie, Independ.N.	8.5
5. Nelson, Estudiantes	7.9
6. Allen, Quimsa	7.7
7. Levy, Estudiantes	7.4
8. Mikulas, Quimsa	7.2
9. Taylor, Lanus	7.1
10. Kante, Aten.	7.1

Assists Per Game

Hernando SALLES
  Quilmes MP
  (188-G-79)
  Avg: 4.8

1. Salles, Quilmes MP	4.8
2. Cantero, Sionista	4.1
3. Treise, Quimsa	3.9
4. Franco, Estudiantes	3.8
5. Rodriguez, Penarol	3.6
6. Titarelli, Obras	3.4
7. Martinez, Sionista	3.4
8. La Bella, Estudiantes	3.2
9. Montecchia, Regat.	3.0
10. Cequeira, Reg.	2.9

Steals Per Game

Nicolas AGUIRRE
  Boca Jrs
  (182-G-88)
  Avg: 2

1. Aguirre, Boca Jrs	2.0
2. Assie, Independ.N.	2.0
3. Casini, Boca Jrs	2.0
4. Treise, Quimsa	1.9
5. Moodie, Independ.	1.9
6. Sciutto, Gimn.CR	1.9
7. Marin, Independ.N.	1.9
8. Bortz, Boca Jrs	1.8
9. Moore, El Nacional	1.7
10. Pelussi, Libert.	1.6

Blocks Per Game

James MOORE
  El Nacional
  (203-C-82)
  Avg: 1.9

1. Moore, El Nacional	1.9
2. Bortz, Boca Jrs	1.9
3. Allen, Quimsa	1.8
4. Kammerichs, Regat.	1.3
5. Williams, Cicl.Oli.	1.3
6. Smith, Lanus	1.1
7. Alston, Boca Jrs	1.1
8. Assie, Independ.N.	0.9
9. Gonzalez, Penarol	0.9
10. Torres, Quim.	0.8

Stats Leaders - TNA

Points Per Game

Curtis MARSHALL
  C.Entrerriano
  (196-G/F-83)
  Avg: 22.4

1. Marshall, C.Entrer.	22.4
2. Carcamo, San M.	19.7
3. Warren, Argentino	18.8
4. Frey, A.Italiana	18.5
5. Ghirardi, Firmat S.	18.2
6. Ford, P.Echague	18.2
7. Sucre, Union	17.6
8. Fabio, Obera TC	17.3
9. West, Obera TC	17.2
10. Nwankwo, San.	17.1

Rebounds Per Game

Alex CARCAMO
  San Mart.C.
  (200-F-77)
  Avg: 8.9

1. Carcamo, San M.	8.9
2. Rollins, Ciclista	8.9
3. Williams, A.Espanola	8.7
4. Robinson, Alma J.	8.7
5. Frey, A.Italiana	8.5
6. Osborne, La Union	8.3
7. Sucre, Union	8.1
8. Fabio, Obera TC	7.9
9. Brown, Firmat SF	7.8
10. Gibson, La Uni.	7.4

Assists Per Game

Cristian CADILLAC
  C.Entrerriano
  (194-G-83)
  Avg: 4.7

1. Cadillac, C.Entrer.	4.7
2. Sureda, Argentino	3.5
3. Costa, La Union	3.2
4. Rivero, Atl.Echague	3.0
5. Sartorelli, San M.	3.0
6. Saul, A.Italiana	2.8
7. Perez, GimnasiaLP	2.7
8. Schoppler, A.Esp.	2.5
9. Ederra, Firmat SF	2.3
10. Gamboa, Obera	2.3

Steals Per Game

Juan Angel LOPEZ
  A.Italiana
  (191-G/F-84)
  Avg: 2.4

1. Lopez, A.Italiana	2.4
2. Saul, A.Italiana	2.2
3. Eseverri, Belgrano.	2.1
4. Ford, P.Echague	1.9
5. Martin, Union	1.9
6. Eiguren, P.Echague	1.8
7. Marshall, C.Entrer.	1.7
8. Pau, La Union	1.7
9. Robinson, Alma J.	1.7
10. Ledesma, Atl.Ec.	1.6

Blocks Per Game

Hakeem ROLLINS
  Ciclista
  (202-C/F-83)
  Avg: 1.8

1. Rollins, Ciclista	1.8
2. Espinoza, Argentino	1.6
3. Nwankwo, San M.	1.5
4. Robinson, Alma J.	1.2
5. Marshall, C.Entrer.	1.1
6. Brown, Firmat SF	1.1
7. Porta, Atl.Echague	1.1
8. Gibson, La Union	0.9
9. Centeno, C.Entrer.	0.8
10. Aguerre, Argenti.	0.8

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AUSTRALIA

Pero Cameron commits to Gold Coast Blaze - by Eurobasket News
Gold Coast Blaze coach Joey Wright says hell be looking at the clubs latest player signing to bring his leadership skills to the table this year - on and off the court.

Birthday boy, genial Kiwi and Blaze establishment player, Pero Cameron (199-F-74, agency: Duran International) (35), on Friday committed to his third straight stint at the Gold Coast basketball club.

The 1.98m forward, who began playing at the elite level and won the New Zealand NBL Rookie of the Year in 1992, is the Coasts most experienced player so far signed.

The one-time New Zealand Breaker (2003-2004) is also a former captain of the New Zealand Tall Blacks men's national team, is a seven-time New Zealand NBL championship winner, a seven-time New Zealand All-Star Team member, a Sydney 2000 Olympian and the winner of five New Zealand MVP awards.

He also competed at the 2002 World Championships at Indianapolis in the United States and is the quintessential basketball journeyman having played professionally in the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Turkey and Iran.

Pero has already shown the world he has the talent, size and experience to dominate games and well aim to get that from him once again in a Blaze uniform this year, Wright said.

Well be looking to him to lend his leadership skills to the younger players and contribute in no small way to the mix of youth and experience that we are developing and which is inherent in all successful professional sporting outfits, he said.

Blaze Chief Executive Dave Claxton said fans can look forward to plenty of three-point action from Cameron.

Peros physical strength and passing ability around the basket makes him a difficult opponent along with his skill from the three point line, Claxton said.

Who can forget his enormous home game three-point shot last December against the Cairns Taipans with a second left on the clock to send the game into overtime?

Hes nicknamed 'The Rock' for good reason hes certainly an exciting player and the fans think hes terrific, he said.

Earlier this week the Blaze announced their first four confirmed players for season 2009/10.

Australian Boomers and former South Dragons player Adam Gibson will head to the Coast in about three weeks after a superb 2008/09 season that saw him help his team to the NBL championship and be named the leagues Best Defensive Player.

Hell join Blaze young gun Tyson Demos and towering centre Greg Vanderjagt who will line up for their second seasons on the Gold Coast alongside former Perth Wildcats guard Chris Goulding.

Courtesy of The Gold Coast Blaze

Michael Cedar signs with Crocs - by Eurobasket News
The Townsville Crocodiles have announced they have signed Townsville born and bred shooting guard Michael Cedar (195-G-86) for the upcoming 2009/10 season.

Cedar started with the Crocodiles in 2006 after progressing through the McDonalds Sharp Start program and various other local and national basketball development programs.

Crocodiles Head Coach Trevor Gleeson (agency: Warren Sports International ) believes Cedar has a lot of potential to develop into a seasoned player in the new league and is happy to have him back in a Crocodiles singlet.

Micks a very important part of the team and were excited to have him play with us again and to see him develop into a premium player in the league, Gleeson said.

The 23 year-old 190cm shooting guard had his career best season in 2008/09 with impressive stats in assists, rebounds and total points per game, achieving 8.9 points per game last season, a two-point increase from season 2007/08.

Michael Cedar's signing follows the announcement of Russell Hinders inclusion earlier in the week for the new upcoming basketball season.

Courtesy pf The Townsville Crocodiles

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AUSTRIA

UBC St. Poelten and Coach Radomirovic part ways - by Stefan Prager
UBC St. Polten head coach Miodrag Radomirovic announced that he got sacked yesterday. It seems like financial reasons were the case. Radomirovic led the UBC St. Polten to the playoffs for he first time this year. There the club suffered a 0:3 loss to Austrian power house Allianz Swans Gmunden. The UBC was just founded two years ago. RAdomirovic stated that he would like to stay in Austria but he is not sure about his future.

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BELIZE

Playoffs in the Inter-Office Basketball League: - by David Magana
Please find below the results of the first two (2) games held in the frist round of playoffs in the Inter-Office Basketball League:

Game 1
Port of Belize - 54 Home Protector Insurance - 52
Top Scorers
Port - Ian Augustine (191-F-73) 'AC' 17 pts / 13 rebounds / 2 blocks / 1 steal
Wilfred 'Chiquiblue'' Nicholas 7 pts / 6 rebounds / 1 block
Home Protector - MIlton Flores 20 pts / 3 rebounds / 1 assist
Marlon Middleton 11 pts / 1 rebound / 1 assist
Port moves on to play the winner of Belize Water Servies Limited vs Belize City Council

Game 2
Alamilla's Furniture / FCIB - 77 Tuff e Nuff Tours - 69
Top Scorers
Alamilla's - Jacob 'Snake' Leslie 21 pts / 2 rebounds / 2 assist / 1 block
Wes Mckenzie 15 pts / 9 rebounds / 2 assist / 2 steals
Tuff e Nuff - Densmore 'Wable' Edwards 19 pts / 4 rebounds / 2 assist
Orland 'Baaga' Ferguson 13 pts / 3 rebounds / 1 assist
Alamilla's move on to play the winner of Atlantic Bank vs Guardian / Housing Dept

NEXT GAMES: Playoffs Continue

Friday 05 June, 7:30 pm at Civic Center
Game 1 - #4 Atlantic Bank vs #5 Guardian / Housing Dept
Game 2 - #3 Belize Water Services vs #6 Belize City Council
Winners move to 2nd round of playoff action while losers go fishing.

Hopkins Comes Down To Earth and Belize Bank Benguche Continues to Roll!!! - by David Magana
Tuesday nights match-up was the battle of the unbeatens as Hopkins entered the night 3-0 and Ghans 2-0. By the end of the game, though, there would only be one team with a perfect 1.000 winning percentage. Coming off a one point, nail-biter over Rebuilders on Saturday, the Hopkins squad was looking to get back on track. Their usual stars struck again as double-double machine Macario Augustine had 15pts, 19rebs, and point guard Ivor Ventura added 15pts. However, that would not be enough to withstand the onslaught from Daniel Nolberto of Ghans Avenue , making an impressive first impression on the U19 season. His line read 33 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. It must be noted that Daniel Nolberto won last seasons scoring title in the senior division. Were definitely looking forward to seeing these teams down the road.

New Site versus Belize Bank Benguche looked like an obvious mis-match on paper, but apparently no one told the young New Site team. They came out ready for action and took an early 5 point lead at the end of the first quarter. Benguche was able to take New Sites best shot and recovered to take a 7 point half time lead. New site was lead by Ray Cruz with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. In the second half Benguche employed what now seems to be their signature third quarter press and jumped all over New Site outscoring them 27-12 in that frame and 33-12 in the 4th. Benguche was led by Earl Johnson (188-F) 19pts, 7rebs, and 3 assists. Leon Williams (203-C) added 12pts and 10rebs. Other notables included, Adrian Garcia with 12pts and Adonis Martinez with 14pts, to complete the blowout win. They now sit comfortably at the top of the table with a 3-0 record.

John Ryhs
DBA Tournament Organizer

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BERMUDAS

Change Announced to Basketball Team - by Kristian Santiago
(By IslandStats.com)

The Bermuda Basketball Association have announced a change to the team that will represent the Country at the Island Games in Aland.

Head coach Roderick Spencer told www.islandstats.com, John Lee has withdrawn from the Island Games team to join the Bermuda National Team at the CBC team. Lee has been replaced by Kent Tacklyn'.

Bermudas Mens Island Games Basketball Team

1. Sullivan Phillips (196-F-79, college: Columbia Union)
2. Steven Simons (-82)
3. Kent Tacklyn
4. Chris Crumpler (-83)
5. Dale Jackson (-74)
6. Dean Jones (198-F-83)
7. Jonathan Minors
8. Jason Lowe (-85)
9. Jason Simons
10. Richard Warner
11. Jordan Knight
12. Phillip Davis (185-G-77)

Bermudas Mens Island Games Basketball Team Alternates

Richard Pully-Raynor
Lamont Vance (-82)
Charjuan Knight

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BOSNIA

Bosna ASA BHT inks PG Zlatko Jovanovic - by Eurobasket News
Bosna ASA BHT has continued with the reconstruction of its team by signing point guard Zlatko Jovanovic (181-G-84, agency: Beo Basket) from Sloboda Dita. Jovanovic is coming off a great season at Sloboda, so the call of one of the best teams in Bosnia is a nice reward. This is the first newcomer for Bosna ASA BHT, after they managed to retain their Head Coach Vlada Vukoicic and one of their best players from the last season, Ivan Ivanovic (205-F-80, agency: Beo Basket). Now Bosna's Management will look for reinforcements at other positions, since Jovanovic is expected to provide expirience and leadership at the point guard. He will be expected to replicate his energetic performances he displayed at Sloboda as Bosna ASA BHT hopes to retain the title they lost this year to Siroki.
Zlatko Jovanovic started his career with Polet Keramika Novi Becej in Serbian 1-B League. After 4 seasons with Polet, Jovanovic moved to Bosnia. In 2005 he signed with Banjalucka Pivarna. Following season he was at the trials with Vojvodina Novi Sad but he did not sign with them, instead returning to Borac Nektar Banja Luka. He helped Borac reach Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup Finals. That year, Jovanovic was voted as Bosnia and Herzegovina League Newcomer of the Year. After a good season in Banjaluka, where he was their starting point guard, Jovanovic moved to Sloboda Dita. That was for season 2008-2009. Again he was able to quickly become fans favorite with his energetic play on both offensive and especially defensive end.

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COSTA RICA

LSB updating - by Gianni Pascucci
Ferreterias Brenes Barva defeated Perez Zeledon 91-62 in Game 2, advancig to the Semifinals, the same made Liceo with UCR. Escazu defeated Goicoechea, but this last team advanced to the Semis as the best loser. Yesterday night, these four teams went back on the court. As usual in Costa Rica, the lower ranked hosted the higher ranked, this is why Escazu hosted Coopenae Liceo de Costa Rica at the Liceo de Escazu Gymnasium, and Goicoechea Brujas hosted Barva at the Municipal Gymnasium of Goicoechea. Tomorrow night wil be played game 2, and Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for tuesday, June 9.

Standings - D1

LBS Standings

1. Liceo	17-1
2. Barva	17-1
3. Escazu	12-6
4. Goicoechea	9-9
5. Limon	8-9
6. UCR	8-10
7. Perez Zeledon	6-10
8. USJ-San Ramon	3-13
9. Santa Ana	3-14
10. San Luis G.	3-14

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CROATIA

Prkacin tips the ball in with 0.7 seconds left for 69-71, brings Cibona the title in Croatia! - by Eurobasket News
Game 4: Zadar - Cibona 69-71 (click for stats)

Cibona celebrated in thriller 71-69 (3-1) taking back the Croatian title from Zadar. It was a very exciting game decided in the last second. Namely, with 30 seconds to go Rok Stipcevic (188-G-86) made a triple for Zadar tying the score to 67-67. Alan Anderson (198-G/F-82, college: Michigan St.) of Cibona was fouled and he scored both free throws. Zadar had 14.6 seconds and Rok Stipcevic drew a foul, draining two shots from the line for 69-69. There was 3 more seconds remaining at that moment. The hosts were happy because the score was leveled again, but on the other side the big guys Luksa Andric (210-C/F-85) and Nikola Prkacin (208-C-75) were already on the other side of the court. Andric received the long pass, but he missed a lay-up. That was not the end of this match as Nikola Prkacin was behind him tipping the ball in for unbelievable joy of Cibona's fans and new Croatian title. Rok Stipcevic tried with 0.7 seconds to score from the back court, but of course that attempt was unsuccessful.

Alan Anderson once again was the best player in Cibona collectign 24 points and 5 rebounds. He made 4 of 6 attempts from behind the arc. Davor Kus (192-G-78) had 16, while Luksa Andric added 10 pts and 7 rebounds. In Zadar, Todor Gecevski (209-C-77, agency: Interperformances) nailed 13 pts and grabbed 7 boards. Rok Stipcevic and Vladimir Boisa (209-F/C-81, agency: World Sport Agency) contributed with 11 pts each.

Split at the crossroads - by Eurobasket News
Split has entered this season with high ambitions, both in domestic and regional competitions. They have based their concept for success this year on giving their players from youth system a chance to develop through games. However, this has proved to be a not so brilliant idea since only one player has justified faith put in him, and that is Mario Delas (207-C/F-90). All other young hopes failed in their attempt to prove that they can shine in A1 Croatian League. As result of this decision, Split took a step back not building on success they achieved in Adriatic League last season, and finished this one in 10th place. At the same time, in Croatian A-1 League, they failed to finish 3rd which would guarantee them a place in next years edition of Adriatic League. To further make things worse, the club was hit by financial problems, lost one of their Head Coaches when Subotic resigned as result, and then almost lost another one when Teo Cizmic (205-F-71) resigned and then quickly withdrew his resignation. Now that this tremulous season is finally over, Split finds itself at the crossroads where they have to decide in which direction they will go in order to improve.
First order of business is to cure the financial predicament which has plagued the team and for this issue city officials are expected to step in and offer help. Another pressing issue is to decide on Cizmic's future, since he has stated that he would like to continue his work at Split. Still there are few more names of candidates for Head Coach which are thrown in the mix such as Josip Vrankovic (agency: Agency No 10 ) or Boris Kurtovic and Marko Vuskovic so it is yet to be seen if Cizmic will get a chance to stay on. Another decision Split will have to make is whether to apply for Adriatic League Wild Card since chances of team from Croatia getting invitation to fill the 14th place is small and they also face stiff competition from Dubrovnik and Cedevita. It is more likely that Split will use Croatian League to qualify for Adriatic in 2011, while at the same time trying to get more experience for its young players. Finally, depending on the financial situation, the personnel issue should be addressed, and maybe some more experienced players should be brought which could help with younger players transition to senior competition. Coming weeks and months should give answer to all of these questions but one thing is certain, and that is that whatever Splits management decide may shape the long term future of the club.

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CYPRUS

Cyprus en route to Gold - by Eurobasket News
Cyprus - San Marino 83:56

Cyprus made another confident step towards winning the XIII Games of the Small States of Europe. They defeated San Marino to climb at 3-0 record in the standings. With two more games left Cyprus are obvious favorites to defend their title.
Cyprus left no chance for San Marino from start to finish. The hosts jumped to an early lead as the teams traded baskets wishfully. Cyprus grabbed a 24:18 advantage after ten minutes of action. They however could not clear off substantially in the second frame. San Marino tried hard to stay in visibility as they trailed by 9 points at halftime.
But Cyprus shifted the gear in the third term. They limited San Marino to just 9 points in the period and piled up a 21-point lead before the fourth term. Cyprus easily kept San Marino at bay in the final stanza and recorded the third straight success at the tournament.
Panagiotis Trisokkas (206-C-80, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents) provided 14 points and 10 rebounds for Cyprus. Chris Kaskiris (206-C/F-79) added 13 points, while Grigoris Pantouris (190-G/F-82, agency: Globalsports/Globalevents) had 10 in the victory. Stefano Rossini (183-G-74) responded with 17 points for San Marino. Rashi notched 16 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.

Cyprus: Panagiotis Trisokkas 14+10 boards, Chris Kaskiris 13, Grigoris Pantouris 10
San Marino: Stefano Rossini 17, Andrea Raschi (200-G/F-79) 16+10 boards

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EUROCUP

Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Bruno SUNDOV
  Vive Menorca
  (220-C-80)
  Avg: 18.8

1. Sundov, ASK Riga	18.8
2. El-Amin, Azovmash	17.9
3. Neal, Benetton	17.5
4. Thompson, Le Havre	17.4
5. Labovic, FMP	17.2
6. Hansen, Dynamo M.	16.3
7. Nachbar, Dynamo M.	16.1
8. Eidson, Lietuvos	15.9
9. Fenn, Art.Dragons	15.8
10. McCarty, Khim.	15.7

Rebounds Per Game

Demetrius ALEXANDER
  BC Donetsk
  (204-F/C-75)
  Avg: 9.2

1. Alexander, Ba.	9.2
2. Sundov, ASK Riga	8.8
3. Slaughter, Le Havre	8.7
4. Ivanov, Zadar	8.6
5. Merriex, Le Havre	8.3
6. Veremeenko, Unics	8.1
7. Roberts, Crvena Z.	7.7
8. Wallace, Benetton	7.4
9. Dasic, Buducnost	7.4
10. Sekulic, Ar.	7.2

Assists Per Game

Khalid EL-AMIN
  T.Telekom
  (178-G-79)
  Avg: 5.3

1. El-Amin, Azovmash	5.3
2. Eidson, Lietuvos	5.1
3. Chatman, Besiktas	4.7
4. Thompson, Le Havre	4.5
5. Price, Dynamo M.	4.3
6. Jeanneau, AS.	4.2
7. Milisavljevi., Lietu.	4.2
8. Stipcevic, Zadar	4.2
9. Lee, Nymburk	4.2
10. Keys, C.C. Marou.	4.1

Steals Per Game

Mire CHATMAN
  Besiktas
  (187-G-78)
  Avg: 3

1. Chatman, Besiktas	3.0
2. Katz, Bnei Hasharon	2.6
3. Mancinelli, GMAC B.	2.5
4. Pellin, Roanne	2.3
5. Lyday, Unics	2.3
6. Baxter, Besiktas	2.3
7. Thompson, Azovmash	2.2
8. Lee, Nymburk	2.2
9. Fisher, Kalise G.C.	2.1
10. Eidson, Lietuv.	2.0

Blocks Per Game

Marcus SLAUGHTER
  Le Havre
  (203-F-85)
  Avg: 1.8

1. Slaughter, Le Havre	1.8
2. Turek, PGE Turow	1.8
3. Lishchuk, Azovmash	1.5
4. Mozgov, Khimky	1.5
5. Freeland, Kalise G.	1.2
6. Veremeenko, Unics	1.2
7. Samardziski, FMP	1.1
8. Wilkinson, Charleroi	1.0
9. Nielsen, Pamesa V.	1.0
10. Alexander,.	1.0

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EUROLEAGUE

Euroleague restructuring outlined in the 2009-12 strategic plan - by Eurobasket News
The restructuring of how teams gain access to the Euroleague, part of the 2009-12 strategic plan, is designed to include the best clubs and national leagues from Europe in a dynamic system that rewards consistent excellence while opening the door to solid new growth projects. The new system would promote stability through A licences earned by the competition's most accomplished clubs. It would recognize each season's best teams and national leagues with B and C licences. It also would widen potential Euroleague access to more countries through a new qualifying phase. Indeed, the system is so open and flexible that it could accommodate up to 18 national champions and up to 10 new teams in the Euroleague regular season each year. The plan does not change the existing Euroleague competition system, however, except to let the qualifying phase decide the last two regular season teams, further enhancing opportunity for emerging basketball countries. In the end, the new system assures that clubs consistently earning the best results on and off the court in European competition will find their commitment to excellence reciprocated by the Euroleague in a partnership that will strengthen basketball's long-term growth in Europe.

Courtesy of Euroleague

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FYR MACEDONIA

AMAK-SP ceases to exist - by Eurobasket News
In an shocking turn of events, this year's National Cup winner AMMAK SP Ohrid has announced they are withdrawing from participation in Macedonian First League. The team from Ohrid has sent an official letter to the Macedonian Basketball Federation in which they announce they will not be participating in the next year's League. As reason they have stated that the team will stop existing. As of April 30th, 2009 all contract with players have been terminated so this was probably the sign of how things will be developing for the club. It is still not totally clear what is the reasoning behind such drastic measure taken by club's owner, but it can be assumed that it is of financial nature. Even though this was probably the most successful season in club's history, financial hardship has probably forced management to shut down the club. It remains to be seen what effect this situation will have on Macedonian League as now that one place will have to be filled with a team from lower division. So far the main favorite for the 10th place in the First League is BC Kozuv from Gevgelija. They have finished 3rd in Macedonian 1B League so they have been invited to fill the place in First League. Still if for any reason they are not able to confirm participation, the invitation will also be sent to the 4th placed team ABA Strumica.
AMAK-SP was a fairly young team in Macedonia, but in short time they managed to achieve fairly good results. They gained promotion to Macedonian First League in 2007. This year team from Ohrid made it to Playoff Quarterfinals where they were eliminated from MZT Skopje 2 games to 1. They still had a successful season as they were able to win the Macedonian Cup.

Fersped Rabotnicki beats Feni Industri at Kavadarci and takes 3-2 lead in Playoff Finals - by Eurobasket News
Feni Industri - Fersped Rabotnicki 60-70

Fersped Rabotnicki is one step closer to Macedonian title after securing massive away win against Feni Industri in Playoff Finals Series. Now they hold 3-2 lead, and will have yet another 'match ball' in Skopje in few days. It was visiting team who showed from the start that they are maximally prepared and motivated. Perfect execution on offensive end, as well as strong defense, enabled Rabotnicki to create 10-point lead at the end of the first quarter as the score stood at 12-22. In the second period Feni's players seemed to have awoken, and started playing more organized. Still they were unable to make a significant run, as Rabotnicki took 32-43 lead to the break. In the third we saw more of the same, as both teams exchanged baskets. This was more suitable for Rabotnicki who maintained 9-point deficit with ease. With 10 minutes left to play, score was 48-59. Feni opened the final quarter with several nice plays by Donald Cole and Prekovic. But all the hosts managed to do is to cut the lead to 7 points with 5 minutes left in the game. Rabotnicki still had enough energy and confidence to calmly bring the game to an end. After the final buzzer the scoreboard showed 60-70 win for Rabotnicki.
For the visitors, Bojan Trajkovski (206-C/F-88) led the way with 16 points and 11 boards, while Dime Tasovski (201-F-80, agency: Interperformances) added 13 points and 8 reboudns. Toni Simic (210-C-76, agency: Interperformances) and Toni Grncarov (191-G-80) were also good for Rabotnicki finishing with 11 points each. For Feni, it was Donald Cole (204-C-81, agency: Edge Sports, college: Sam Houston St.) again who was up to his usual standards with 23 points and 5 rebounds. Still he received little help as only Dimitar Mirakovski (180-G-81, agency: Interperformances) finished with double digits, scoring 13 points.

Feni Industri: Donald Cole 23+5 boards, Dimitar Mirakovski 13
Fersped Rabotnicki: Bojan Trajkovski 16+11 boards, Dime Tasovski 13+8 boards, Toni Grncarov 11, Toni Simic 11

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GERMANY

Derrick Allen(Deutsche Bank Skyliners) Remains in Frankfurt - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber

28 year old 203 cm forward Derrick Allen (203-F-80, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Mississippi) signed on the dotted line for another season in Frankfurt with The Deutsche Bank Skyliners for the 2009-2010 season. This will be his sixth season playing in the BBL and the most he has played for the same team in his career after playing two years for BG Karlsruhe from 2004-2006. In the 2008-2009 BBL season, he averaged in 37 games, 12,9ppg, 5,0rpg and 1,7 apg. He was the most consistent player fro Frankfurt scoring 25 times in double figures. He best game of the season was 29 points and 10 rebounds against TBB Trier. In 10 Eurochallenge games, he averaged 7,8ppg and 4,8rpg.

Coach Murat Didin was very happy to be able to further the services of Allen for another season. Derrick has already became a real Frankfurter, joked Murat Didin. 'Derrick is a very dependable player that is always working to get better. He gives the team experience and consistency, added Murat Didin. Allen has had great statistical years in Germany, but is still missing that cherished BBL title. 'I am happy to be in Frankfurt. The conditions are perfect here and I want to help the team win a championship', said Derrick Allen.

After a short vacation, most Deutsche Bank Skyliners will be awaited back on June 8th for individual training. Some players will not return like Lorenzo Gordon, Adam Emmenecker and Titus Ivoy who are rehabbing back in the States as well as Keith Simmons and Anthony KIng, who have to perform the duty of every US American when called apoun having the task of jury duty. All the players will be present at the ten year anniversary party in Frankfurt on June 28th.

Giants Noerdlingen hire Alexander Biller as new Head Coach - by Moritz Korff
Alexander Biller was named the new Head Coach of the Giants Noerdlingen, that have chosen to withdraw from the 1. Bundesliga just recently. He replaces Andreas Wagner who left the club after two years. Biller was standing at the helm of LTi Lich through the past two seasons.
Biller will have to look for a new coaching staff, as Georg Eichler and Phillip Moll, who both served as Assistants during 2008-09, will leave the Giants as well.

Daniel Hain(EWE Baskets Oldenburg) Thoughts To Game 2 Win And Game 3 Against The Brose Baskets Bamberg June 7th - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
23 year old German Daniel Hain is a 195 cm guard playing his second season for The EWE Baskets Oldenburg. He started his professional Basketball career for ETB Essen(2nd league) in the 2003-2004 season. He then played for the Hertener Lowen from 2004-2007. His first season for Herten, he played in the Regionaliga, but in last two seasons he played in the German second league. He has been part of the success of The EWE Baskets Oldenburg the last two seasons and spoke to Eurobasket after the game two win in Bamberg.

Daniel, congrats on the game two win in Bamberg. The EWE Baskets Oldenburg lead the semifinal series 2-0. How concentrated is the team at the moment. It seems like the team is on a mission and the first real celebrations will happen when you win the BBL title.

We take it step by step! To win the BBL title you first have to make it to the finals and we need one more win to accomplish this goal. If we can get this win we are going to talk about the next steps.

Oldenburg has a 5-1 record in the 2009 playoffs. You lost the last four games of the regular season, but then you changed gears and have been near flawless. What ahs changed in this period that has made the team so strong?

I think that nothing really changed. We played very well the most time of the regular season and struggled a little bit at the end. Every good team has a weaker period during such a long season. We are glad that we could leave our weaker period behind us with the start of the playoffs.

If you take away the 1,56 minutes that Jonathan Wallace played, Predrag Krunic continues to play a strong seven man rotation and no Jasmin Perkovic who is injured. How do these seven players continue to play at such a high level keeping their nerves and not getting physically or mentally tired?

First of all I think you have got to count Jonathans 1,56 minutes because in the playoffs every second is important. We are in an excellent shape and have 11 players that are physically and mentally ready to play and have a common goal!

What is always the most difficult thing with playing in Bamberg? The fans tend to be very energetic and like a sixth man hidden on the court.

The most difficult thing is that they have a strong team. When we play Bamberg we totally need to be focused on the game. The crowd doesnt really matter to us.

The score was 25-25 at halftime and very low scoring. What did coach Krunic tell the guys at halftime?

He told us to stick to our game plan and that was exactly what we did in the second half.

The two big men had similar stats as Ruben Boumtje Boumtje finished with eight points and 11 rebounds and Elton Brown with eight points and nine rebounds. It seemed like Boumtje Boumtje won the game two battle as he shot very well while Brown struggled with 4/11 shooting. Was the coverage of Boumtje Boumtje key in this battle?

Ruben is always a 'key' for us not just because of the matchup Boumtje Boumtje/ Brown. He delivers good things for us every night and I think we are glad to have him on our team.

The last quarter was very high scoring. Did the defense take a rest or why was there more scoring than in the first three quarters?

In such a defense oriented game like that we saw last Thursday its hard for both teams to keep up the defense at the same level for 40 minutes. The longer the game last the more mistakes happen defensively.

Oldenburg showed it so much in the Frankfurt series and did it again in the crunch time in Bamberg. After Brown brought Bamberg back closer to 48-51, Oldenburg shut the door on Bamberg going on a 6-0 run and not allowing Bamberg to score for more than three minutes. What has been the secret to the Oldenburg crunch time play in the 2009 playoffs?

Our decision making in crucial situations! Were able to get stops on the defensive end of the court
and to make the big plays offensively thanks to outstanding individual skills.

How important is Krunic in the crunch time and what kind of a role does he play for the team in this phase of the game?

Predrag is very important in crunch time because in the last timeouts of a game he is the one who calls the plays that we are going to run offensively and determines our strategy on defense.

We all know what Gardner, Paulding and Foster can do on the court. What kind of guys are they in the locker room and how do they help the younger players on the team?

Laid-back is probably the best description :). They are perfect teammates. As a younger player I think they are very supportive when you are playing on the court with them and it makes you a better player when your are competing with them during practice.

Game three is on Sunday in Oldenburg. What will be key for reaching the finals and not having to return to Bamberg for a fourth game?

We want to play strong defense and our goal is to protect the homecourt.

You have received your chance at times in the playoffs. What is the most important thing that you have learned this season as a player?

You have to ask me this question after our season...

What was the last DVD that you saw?

Seven Pounds

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IBL

Standings

IBL Standings

Eastern
1. Holland B.	11-2
2. Kankakee S.	10-6
3. G.Rapids F.	6-6
4. Japan T.	0-17
Independent
1. Yamhill H.	1-2
2. Red Rock R.	1-2
3. Arizona F.	0-1
4. Nevada P.	0-1
5. Chicago S.	0-1
6. Olympia R.	0-2
7. S.Illinois T.	0-2
Northern
1. Bellingham S.	12-3
2. Snohomish C.	6-6
3. Vancouver T.	4-11
4. USA All-Stars	4-16
Southern
1. Vancouver V.	10-3
2. Oregon Wave	8-4
3. C.Oregon H.	4-5
4. Shanxi Zh.	0-0
Western
1. Edmonton E.	8-3
2. L.Angeles L.	8-3
3. Seattle M.	8-6
4. Tacoma T.	7-2

Slam pushing for top playoff seed going into season's final quarter - by Eurobasket News
With just five games left in their regular season, the Bellingham Slam find themselves with a commanding lead in the International Basketball League's North Division, but is battling with several teams to secure the number one seed in the IBL's playoff tournament coming in July.

The IBL has grouped teams into two brackets, American and National, to play in two separate tournaments hosted by the Snohomish County Explosion in Monroe starting July 1. The winners of the two tournaments will meet in the IBL Championship Game in mid-July.

The Slam (currently 12-3) are part of the American bracket, which also features the Holland Blast (11-2), Edmonton Energy (8-2), Vancouver Volcanoes (11-3), Central Oregon Hotshots (4-6), and Vancouver Titans (4-11). The top two teams in each bracket will receive a bye into the tournament semi-finals, and would then need two wins to reach the league championship game.

For the Slam to grab the top seed in the bracket, they will likely need to win the remainder of their regular season games, which includes two tough road contests in Tacoma and Portland. The Slam claimed the number one seed in last season's conference tournament with a 16-4 record.

The Slam will be aided by the return of Ryan Diggs (6'2''-G-83, college: W.Washington), who scored 25 points against the Vancouver Titans on May 29 in his first game back with the Slam. Diggs will complement the abilities of IBL MVP candidate Tyler Amaya, who is leading the team with averages of a 26.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per game.

The Slam begin the final quarter of their regular season Friday, when they take on the Oregon Waves at Whatcom Pavilion at 7 p.m. Oregon's roster boasts seven former Division-I players, including four from the Pac-10. Their lineup also features both the shortest and tallest players in the IBL - former Portland State point guard Jeremiah Dominguez at 5'6' and ex-Southern Utah big man Brad Kanis at 7'2'.

For more information, contact the Slam at (360) 734-SLAM or visit their website at www.bellinghamslam.com.

Courtesy of The Bellingham Slam

Explosion prepping for Playoffs and the IBL All-Star Game - by Eurobasket News
Building on the great success of the 2008 Western Conference Playoffs and post-season All-Star Game, the Snohomish Co. Explosion are preparing for an even better show for 2009 when they will again play host to the IBL's 2009 Western Conference Playoff Tournament.

The Explosion are pleased to announce some major sponsorship deals for the season's final weekend extravaganza, including the Coca-Cola featured Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, just like the NBA's All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest. They also have the 3-Point Shootout presented by Canyons Restaurant along with the North vs. South All-Star Game presented by Hometown Value Coupon Magazine. This game last year featured former NBA All-Star Shawn Kemp for the 2008 game, this year the skills competition will also be added with a sponsor yet to be named. According to Explosion management, there are several other deals in the works for the mid-summer event. Among those announcements still to come will be the identity of the several NBA players who will play in the All-Star spectacular along with the IBL 2009 All Stars.

Location: The event will be held at the Monroe Sports Arena, located at 17001 Tester Road, Monroe, WA 98272, and will be going on from July 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Tickets: Individual Games: Tickets for individual games are $20 for courtside, $15 for reserved seating, and $10 for general admission,

Tournament Pass: The best value is a weekend passes (for all three days) and can be purchased now online for $60 for courtside seats, $40 for reserved and $30 for general admission. Tickets can be purchased through the team website, www.explosionbasketball.net or at http://store.fastcommerce.com/Explosion/home.html.

Courtesy of The Snohomish County Explosion

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ICELAND

Iceland nip Andorra in Nicosia - by Eurobasket News
Iceland - Andorra 82:77

Icelandic National Team gained the second win at the XIII Games of the Small States of Europe. They held off ambitious Andorra in the third round of action to improve at 2-1 record. Andorra suffered the first defeat and slipped at 2-1. Andorra gained an outstanding form and showed their highest ambitions in the opening rounds. They posted two straight victories and seemed ready for another challenge in the starting frame against Iceland. Andorra shot down their opponents and led by 9 points after the first term. Iceland got more physical in the second frame and paid off. They reigned under the rims and clipped the margin to 7 points at halftime. The third frame saw Iceland break through. They accounted for 22 points and secured a tie-game after thirty minutes. Iceland seemed to find the right path as they drove confidently to secure a tough win at the end.
Logi Gunnarsson (190-G-81) knocked down 17 points for Iceland. Magnus Gunnarsson (184-G-81) added 14 points in the win. Jose Bermudo (200-F-69) responded with 24 points for Andorra. Xavier Galera (182-G-82), Rafael Casals (208-C-76) and Daniel Marin (192-F-78) had 13 points apiece in the loss.
Iceland will take on San Daniel Marino, while Andorra will face Luxembourg today.

Iceland: Logi Gunnarsson 17, Magnus Gunnarsson 14, Pall Axel Vilbergsson (197-F/G-78) 11, Porvaldsson 11
Andorra: Jose Bermudo 24, Xavier Galera 13, Rafael Casals 13, Daniel Marin 13

Iceland heavily beat San Marino - by Eurobasket News
Iceland - San Marino 93:39

Icelandic National Team managed the third victory at the XIII Games of the Small States of Europe. They bruised San Marino in todays encounter to stay in the race for the top spots in Nicosia. San Marino at the same time suffered the fourth straight defeat at the tournament.
The first frame marked a more or less equal battle as Iceland were able to build a 10-point lead. But the second frame was quite a different story. Iceland held their opponents to 4 points in the frame and ballooned the lead to as many as 32 points at halftime. The game was pretty much done at this point and Iceland coasted to the win at the latter stages. Pall Axel Vilbergsson (197-F/G-78) finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds for Iceland. Sigur Porsteinsson had 14 points, while Logi Gunnarsson (190-G-81) dropped 13 points in the win. Enrico Zanotti (195-C-90) answered with 9 points and 10 boards for San Marino. Alex Dal Olmo had 8 points in the loss.
Iceland outrebounded San Marino 66:27 and easily overcame 20 turnovers to post the victory. Iceland also limited their counterparts to miserable 22% from the field.
Iceland will play against Luxembourg tomorrow. San Marino will hope to register the first win when they take on Malta on Saturday.

Iceland: Pall Axel Vilbergsson 15, Sigur Porsteinsson 14, Logi Gunnarsson 13
San Marino: Enrico Zanotti 9, Alex Dal Olmo 8

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IRAN

Iran National Team Preparation Plan .... - by Mohammad Ahmadi
The Iranian national team plan will be as follows:

1 - Iran National Team Camp in Germany...
Iran National Team will be in Germany as a preparation camp for Five days.
They will leave Iran in June 18th and will have some practice game.
Iran National Team's camp will be in Nuremberg City.

2 - Iran National Team Camp in Qatar...
During July 1st to July 5th, Iran National Team will be in Qatar Tournament with Jordan, Lebanon and Qatar National Teams.

3 - Iran National Team in Chinese Taipei...
After Qatar, Iran National Team will be in Chinese Taipe for William Jones Tournament.
Teams In this tournament are : Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, South Africa, Philippine.

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ITALY

Lega2 Round: 3 (Finals) - by Eurobasket News
Banco Sard. - Vanoli SO 75-77
Vanoli SO took 2-1 Final lead over Banco Sardegna after 77:75 in Game 3. Quadre Lollis (200-F/C-73, college: Montana St.) and Cusin Marco top-scored for the winners with 14 points each, while Bell Troy and Aguiar Mauricio had 12 apiece. Rowe Jason finished the night with 26 points for the hosts.

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LATVIA

Skele to Anwil, Valters to Pamesa? - by Eurobasket News
Due to some Latvian news sources Armands Skele (192-G-83, agency: Agency No 10) may decide on changing the team. He has been reportedly dissatisfied with the financial situation in Barons/LMT. So Anwil Wloclawek was mentioned as the possible next working place for a 26-year-old guard. He played in Anwil for three season in between 2001 and 2004. He then moved to Liege before returning to the Polish powerhouse in 2005. Next year Armands Skele came back to Latvia to play for Barons/LMT. His average stats came up to 16.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in Baltic League and 17.0 points per game in the Latvian League.
In the meantime Kristaps Valters (188-G-81) can start the new season in Pamesa Valencia. The Spanish powerhouse reportedly drew their interest to a 28-year-old point guard. Valters played an outstanding season in ACB with Fuenlabrada. He averaged 11.1 points and 4.8 assists per game there. Valters is the member of the Latvian National Team. Fuenlabrada started to bolster the squad signing Esteban Batista and Alan Voskul. They also reached an agreement on inking Chris Thomas of Murcia. The team was about to extend the contract of Valters but the Latvian player took some time to think over the opportunities. Pamesa is not the only option. The rumors are naming Joventut as another possible place of work for Kristaps Valters. Eurobasket.com will keep you informed on any possible updates concerning these players.

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LITHUANIA

Sarunas Jasikevicius stays in Panathinaikos Athens - by Eurobasket News
One of the best Lithuanian players ever, Sarunas Jasikevicius (192-G-76, college: Maryland), will stay in the reining Euroleague and Greek champion for 2 more years. 'Saras' agreed with the Greens at the beginning of the week and two days ago he officially signed the contract. Sarunas Jasikevicius appeared 18 times with PAO this season in Euroleague averaging 9.4 ppg, 3 apg and 1.4 rpg. What to say about his performance on Euroleague Final 4 in Berlin, when PAO took the title from CSKA Moscow, beating them in the Final. In Greek league 'Saras' played 19 games adding 11.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg and 1.5 rpg. As always, he was the best when it was the most important.
Sarunas Jasikevicius joined PAO in September 2007 from Golden State Warriors. From 2005 up to September 2007 he was a member of Indiana Pacers and shortly of Golden State. His last European season before moving overseas was in Maccabi Tel-Aviv. In the past he also played for Barcelona, Union Olimpija and Lietuvos Rytas. 'Saras' graduated at Maryland University in 1998. Over the past 10 years he grabbed huge number of trophies and awards in both, club's and National Team's competitions. He was named twice 'Eurobasket.com All-Euroleague European Player of the Year -04, 05.' Three times he won 'Eurobasket.com All-Europe Point Guard of the Year 2003, 2004, 2005.'

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LUXEMBOURG

Andorra sneak past Luxembourg - by Eurobasket News
Andorra - Luxembourg 97:95

Andorra celebrated the third win at the XIII Games of the Small States of Europe. They toppled Luxembourg in a close game today. Andorra improved at 3-1 record just behind leading Cyprus in the ladder. Luxembourg in the meantime slipped at 2-2 record. Andorra looked better in the first half. Dominating on the boards Andorran team built a 53:41 lead at the interval. But Martin Rajniak (205-F-78, college: CSU Bakersfield) helped Luxembourg to get back into this one. He ignited a comeback rally that saw Luxembourg cut the margin to a single point with one quarter remaining. But Daniel Marin (192-F-78) allowed Andorra to steal a narrow win at the end. Daniel Marin finished with game-high 29 points and 8 rebounds to pace Andorra. Jordi Olcina added 24 points, while Xavier Galera (182-G-82) posted 17 points for the winners. Martin Rajniak knocked down 25 points for Luxembourg. Larrie Smith (195-F-75, college: Tennessee Tech) notched 19 points and 7 rebounds in defeat.
Andorra will face Cyprus on the final day of the tournament. Luxembourg will challenge Iceland tomorrow.

Andorra: Daniel Marin 29, Jordi Olcina 24, Xavier Galera 17
Luxembourg: Martin Rajniak 25, Larrie Smith 19

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NAIA

Hannibal LaGrange Trojans Sign Honor Student - by Stephan Ditgens

Hannibal, MO - The Hannibal-LaGrange College Men's Basketball program is pleased to have signed Matt Leach from Germantown Hills, IL. Leach graduated from Illinois Central Christian School in Washington, IL, in 2009.

Leach will play JV basketball for the Trojans for the 2009-10 season. His honors and achievements in high school include being Valedictorian of his senior class, and a member of several all-tournament teams.

Leach plans on majoring in business at HLG.

HLG is a Division I NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) school and a member of the American Midwest Conference.

source: www.hlg.edu

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NBA

Kobe Bryant scores 40 pts for 1-0 lead in NBA Finals - by Eurobasket News
Magic - Lakers 75-100
Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) pounded his dribble the way he does when the game has come down to its final shot and its fate is in his hands. He whipped a dribble between his legs, backed in a few steps closer, then spun into the lane, hung in the air, drilled a line drive in through a foul, and marched to the line snarling, as if to announce again that he was still hungry for much more. There were still 15 minutes left to play. But Bryant had grabbed Game 1 of the NBA Finals as surely as if he had hit a last-second shot, driving the Los Angeles Lakers past the Orlando Magic, 100-75, with his most prolific-scoring game ever in the Finals. Bryant started slowly, then ran the Magic off the floor, scoring 40 points for the 46th 40-point game ever in the Finals, adding eight rebounds and eight assists. Pau Gasol (7'0''-F/C-80) was second scorer of the team with 16 points. He also collected 8 rebounds and 8 assists beside that. In Orlando, Mickael Pietrus (6'6''-F-82, agency: Court Side) delivered 14 points. The Magic's leading scorer in the playoffs and regular season, Dwight Howard (6'10''-F-85), had relatively little impact, scoring 11 points, making just 1 of 6 shots. Game 2 - June 7th at the Staples Center again.

*More comments about this game already posted in the previous news

Wyc Grousbeck: Garnett guarantees '10 & '11 titles for Boston Celtics - by Eurobasket News
Kevin Garnett's (6'10''-F-76) recovery from right knee surgery apparently is going well. Garnett expressed optimism in a recent conversation with team owner Wyc Grousbeck, who spoke yesterday at a corporate sponsorship event at the Boston Harbor Hotel.

'I talked to [Garnett] and he guaranteed the championship in 2010 and in 2011,' Grousbeck said. 'He was as fired up as he's ever been.'

Doctors removed bone spurs from Garnett's knee May 26. He is expected to be ready for training camp in late September.

Not at his best

Guard Ray Allen confirmed he was playing with a hamstring strain during the second round of the playoffs.

'It was something I had to deal with,' Allen said.

Allen did not talk about the hamstring problem during the playoffs and said it was not serious enough to be revealed. After the Celtics had been eliminated by the Magic, coach Doc Rivers announced Allen had been injured.

Asked if the injury affected his performance, Allen said, 'It wasn't anything that was going to keep me from playing.'

Allen averaged 18.2 points and shot 48 percent from the field (40.9 percent on 3-pointers) during the regular season. In the seven-game series against the Magic, he averaged 13.1 points and shot 34.4 percent (19 percent on 3-pointers). Allen scored 23 points on 9-of-18 shooting in a game-high 41 minutes in Game 7.

Operating room

Guard Tony Allen underwent arthroscopic right ankle surgery yesterday at New England Baptist Hospital. Team physician Brian McKeon performed the procedure . . . Point guard Rajon Rondo will join Houston's Aaron Brooks and Detroit's Rip Hamilton on a Nike-sponsored tour to China beginning tomorrow through June 13.

Courtesy of www.boston.com

Devin Brown exercises player option with Hornets - by Eurobasket News
New Orleans Hornets guard Devin Brown (6'5''-G/F-78, college: UTSA) has exercised his $1.1 million player option for the 2009-10 season, according to the team.

After signing in New Orleans for his second stint with the team, Brown (6-5, 210) appeared in 63 games (5 starts) with the Hornets this season, averaging 5.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game.

Brown shined with the Hornets during the 2006-07 season in Oklahoma City, averaging a career-high 11.6 points in 58 games in 49 starts. He set career-highs in minutes per game (28.7), rebounds (4.3) and assists (2.6).

The seven-year veteran out of UT-San Antonio has played with 5 different NBA teams. There we include the World Champion San Antonio Spurs in 2004-05. Brown has appeared in 32 career playoff games with Cleveland, New Orleans and San Antonio.

Courtesy of www.neworleans.com

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NCAA1

Coach Krzyzewski considers leading Team USA again - by Eurobasket News
Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski said Wednesday he will remain involved with the U.S. Olympic team, adding that there is a chance he will be Team USA's head coach again in 2012 for the Summer Olympics in London.

Last summer, Krzyzewski coached Team USA to the gold medal in Beijing, China.

'I'm going to be with the Olympic Team in some capacity,' Krzyzewski said at his K Academy camp on Duke's campus. 'It's just that the NBA season hasn't even ended. I think once the NBA season has ended, I'll have an even more clear picture of who's going to go forward, maybe, from the players, how we're going to do coaching.'

The Arizona Republic reported on its Web site Tuesday that USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo is scheduled to meet with Krzyzewski next week in Chicago to gauge his interest in returning.

'I want to give him as much time as he needs,' Colangelo told the Republic. 'I want him to feel comfortable. His gut says, 'Let's go,' but he really wants to be sure.'

Krzyzewski said the national team will have one event lasting about four days in Las Vegas this summer for 24 NBA players to add to the pool of athletes in the program.

Asked if he has an interest in coaching in the Olympics again, Krzyzewski said, 'We'll see,' and 'There's a chance.'

'How everything goes forward has not been clearly defined yet,' he said. 'The main thing is Jerry Colangelo now heads USA Basketball, which is great. Now what do you do with the culture and structure that you have developed for three years? Now what do you do? Part of that is coaching, but also part of that is a new pool of players, commitments from different people. There's a lot that goes on.'

Players take next step: Krzyzewski has made the rounds with the national media over the last few months promoting his book, 'The Gold Standard.'

But he met with the local media Wednesday for the first time since Gerald Henderson left for the NBA after his junior season and former guard Greg Paulus announced he would play football in 2009 at Syracuse.

'We knew that [Henderson], once he put his name in, was not coming back [to school],' Krzyzewski said. 'Otherwise he wouldn't have put his name in. ... I think things look good for him as long as he stays healthy, and we're totally happy and supportive.'

Krzyzewski said Henderson will work out today for the Charlotte Bobcats. Paulus' decision also was endorsed by Krzyzewski.

'Where he went, school-wise and opportunity-wise, is by far the best decision,' Krzyzewski said. 'And I think he's going to do well.'

Duke goes big: Krzyzewski said the 2009-10 Duke team will be quite different from the ones he has coached in recent years.

The traditionally guard-oriented Blue Devils have just three scholarship perimeter players -- Nolan Smith, Jon Scheyer and Elliot Williams -- returning. Krzyzewski said there is a chance that Kyle Singler, who has played power forward and center the past two seasons, will play entirely on the perimeter.

'I like our team,' Krzyzewski said. 'We're going to be a very big team, which is kind of unusual. So I'm excited about coaching a little bit of a different style.

'Not necessarily we won't run or whatever. But we have a big team.'

Courtesy of www.newsobserver.com

Jay Wright admires Sixers, but loves job at Villanova - by Eurobasket News
Jay Wright is a coach in demand since leading Villanova to its first Final Four in 24 years.

The charity requests, public speaking invitations, and the congratulatory messages have never really stopped since the Wildcats lost to North Carolina in the national semifinal.

Oh yeah, an NBA job interview with his hometown team also was on the schedule.

When the Philadelphia 76ers came looking to Wright to fill their coaching vacancy, he had to listen to team president Ed Stefanski's pitch. Wright and Stefanski are longtime friends and associates on the Philly basketball scene, and Wright was intrigued by the possibility of taking over a franchise that has made two straight playoff trips.

''It got me thinking for a day or so,'' Wright said by phone on Thursday. ''In the end, it wasn't that it's not a good job, it was a great job. I didn't want to leave Villanova. I love what we've got going on.''

as two trips to the regional final among Villanova's five straight NCAA tournament appearances on his resume, and has firmly established the Wildcats as a Big East contender and national power.
It also makes the well-dressed coach a desirable option for any team looking to make a coaching splash. He'd been rumored as a candidate the last two times the Kentucky job was open, only to affirm his commitment each time to Villanova.

The Sixers, though, were different.

Wright said he wouldn't have considered interviewing for any other opening except for the Sixers. The Wildcats play a few games each season in the Sixers' home arena, and players from each team play together in late-night summer scrimmages.

Wright told athletic director Vince Nicastro last month that he had to at least listen to Stefanski.

Wright, who would have given the Sixers a huge public relations boost, listened to the pros and cons of the job. Wright laughed when he said by the end of the interview, the pair were ''planning how to win an NBA championship.''

So it was time for a chat with his family and Nicastro.

''I didn't need anything from Villanova,'' Wright said. ''I just needed to say to (Nicastro), if I did this, my next concern would be our program. The program's in good shape.''

college coaches who move to the NBA have the shelf life of an undrafted free agent. Plus, family was a concern. Wright has two teenage sons and a young daughter he wanted to watch grow up and be able to attend their game's on short notice.

So he told Stefanksi and the Sixers, thanks, but no thanks.

''At some time you're going to have to leave Villanova,'' Wright said. ''With everything in place, coming off a Final Four, it's not the time. We have so much we want to do here and we hope to be here a long, long time.''

Eddie Jordan was hired by the Sixers and signed an $8.1 million, three-year contract that dwarfs Wright's deal. Wright's contract takes him through the 2012-13 season, and he said more money or a contract extension was not an issue.

''It's not $3 million, but I'm well-compensated,'' Wright said.

Wright's flirtation with the NBA is similar to star point guard Scottie Reynolds' desire to see what's at the next level. The 6-foot-2 point guard declared for the NBA draft, but has not hired an agent and could decide to return to the Wildcats for his senior season.

Reynolds must decide by June 15 and has been working out for various NBA teams.

His half-court dash for the winning layup with 0.5 seconds left against Pittsburgh sent Villanova to the Final Four for the first time since 1985 and was one of the biggest baskets in program history.
Wright said Reynolds is ''leaning toward coming back.''

''I think his decision is, 'Do I want to go into the NBA this year maybe as a second-round pick with the confidence I'll make it, or do I want to wait and get my college degree and try and be a first-round pick next year?' '' Wright said.

Reynolds' return, along with one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, would make the Wildcats a favorite to return to the Final Four. Wright is glad he'll be along for the ride.
''I just have the best job for me,'' he said.

Courtesy of www.thespread.com

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NEW ZEALAND

Pero Cameron commits to Gold Coast Blaze - by Eurobasket News
Gold Coast Blaze coach Joey Wright says hell be looking at the clubs latest player signing to bring his leadership skills to the table this year - on and off the court.

Birthday boy, genial Kiwi and Blaze establishment player, Pero Cameron (199-F-74, agency: Duran International) (35), on Friday committed to his third straight stint at the Gold Coast basketball club.

The 1.98m forward, who began playing at the elite level and won the New Zealand NBL Rookie of the Year in 1992, is the Coasts most experienced player so far signed.

The one-time New Zealand Breaker (2003-2004) is also a former captain of the New Zealand Tall Blacks men's national team, is a seven-time New Zealand NBL championship winner, a seven-time New Zealand All-Star Team member, a Sydney 2000 Olympian and the winner of five New Zealand MVP awards.

He also competed at the 2002 World Championships at Indianapolis in the United States and is the quintessential basketball journeyman having played professionally in the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Turkey and Iran.

Pero has already shown the world he has the talent, size and experience to dominate games and well aim to get that from him once again in a Blaze uniform this year, Wright said.

Well be looking to him to lend his leadership skills to the younger players and contribute in no small way to the mix of youth and experience that we are developing and which is inherent in all successful professional sporting outfits, he said.

Blaze Chief Executive Dave Claxton said fans can look forward to plenty of three-point action from Cameron.

Peros physical strength and passing ability around the basket makes him a difficult opponent along with his skill from the three point line, Claxton said.

Who can forget his enormous home game three-point shot last December against the Cairns Taipans with a second left on the clock to send the game into overtime?

Hes nicknamed 'The Rock' for good reason hes certainly an exciting player and the fans think hes terrific, he said.

Earlier this week the Blaze announced their first four confirmed players for season 2009/10.

Australian Boomers and former South Dragons player Adam Gibson will head to the Coast in about three weeks after a superb 2008/09 season that saw him help his team to the NBL championship and be named the leagues Best Defensive Player.

Hell join Blaze young gun Tyson Demos and towering centre Greg Vanderjagt who will line up for their second seasons on the Gold Coast alongside former Perth Wildcats guard Chris Goulding.

Courtesy of The Gold Coast Blaze

Waikato climb back on top - by Eurobasket News
The NBL defending champion Waikato Pistons clinched the 12th win in the season. They defeated Harbour at the North Shore Events Centre to improve at 12-2 record in the ladder. The teams kept it close throughout the first half completing it tied at 37. But Waikato limited their opponents to 13 points in the third frame to surge in front. The visitors did not loosen the grip and ensured a comfortable win at the end. Thomas Abercrombie (198-G/f-87, college: Washington St.) had 19 points, 8 boards and 3 assists for the Pistons. Justin Bailey provided 18 points for the winners. Mike Bell (202-F-67, college: Oklahoma) responded with 20 points and 11 boards for the Heat. Mychal Green secured 16 points in the loss.
The Century City Saints posted the 11th win in the season as they narrowly defeated the LPG Bay Hawks at the Te Rauparaha Arena. The hosts maintained the pressure on the Saints throughout the first half and stretched the margin to 13 points in the third stanza. The Saints rebounded and leveled things up at 80 with three minutes remaining. Mike Efevberha (196-G-84, college: Cal.St. Northridge) and Damon Thornton nailed decisive buckets late in the encounter to ensure a tough win for the Saints. Mike Efevberha came up with 29 points for the victors. Arthur Trousdell had 17 points and 10 boards for the Saints. Christopher Daniel (197-G/F-85) responded with 16 points for the Hawks. David Cooper and Ben Hill finished with 14 points in the loss.
Hayden Allen (187-G-79) poured in 30 points to propel the Auckland Stars past the Dynamos Taranaki 94:84 at the TSB Stadium. Casey Frank notched 24 points in just the third win for Auckland in the season. Phillip Gilbert (191-G-82, college: Bradley) answered with 30 points for Taranaki as they remained winless.

Standings Men

NBL Standings

1. Waikato	12-2
2. Nelson	11-3
3. Wellington	11-3
4. Cougars	10-4
5. Harbour Heat	8-6
6. Bay Hawks	5-9
7. Manawatu	3-11
8. Auckland	3-11
9. Taranaki	0-14

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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.	17-0
2. Orthodox BJ	15-2
3. Sarriyet	14-3
4. De La Salle	13-4
5. Qalandia	12-5
6. Al Ahli	11-6
7. Orthodox R.	11-6
8. Hiteen	9-8
9. Catholic A.	8-9
10. RaI AlSaleh	8-9
11. Ebal	8-9
12. Islami	6-11
13. Huwara	5-12
14. AlBireh	5-12
15. Al Fara	4-13
16. Thaqafi BS	3-14
17. Balata	0-17
18. Thaqafi T.	0-17

SUPERLEAGUE FINISHES WITH GREAT SUCCESS IBDAA CHAMPIONS & ORTHODOXI BEIT JALA in 2nd Place - by Tamara Awartani
Ibdaa Dheisheh were crowned champions of the SuperLeague to be the only unbeatable team with a well deserved 2nd place for Orthodoxi Beit Jala after winning over strong teams like Sariyet Ramallah & De La Salle. The closing ceremony The Late George Rishmawi Tournament took place at the Catholic Action court with a dunk contest, 3points contest and an exciting game between Qalandia & De La Salle finishing the league.
Many player of different clubs took part in the contests and the results were as follows:
Dunk Contest:
1- Mahdi Eid (194-F-81) AlAhli Club
2- Raed Abu Rumman (188-F-81) Orthodoxi Beit Jala Club
3- Fadi Yaghmour De La Salle Club
3points Contest:
1- Shane Nichols (183-G-84, college: Wofford) Orthodoxi Beit Jala Club
2- Justin Williams Orthodoxi Ramallah Club
3- Ammar Nofal (190-F-84) De La Salle Club

Awarding the Teams, Media & Players
Media were rewarded for covering the league along with all the participating teams.
A prize was given for the oldest player in the league Charlie Qattan Orthodoxi Beit Jala and the youngest player in the league Ghaleb AlHreimi Islami Bethlehem.
Best Team: Balata Club 500$ Award
5th Place: Qalandia Club 500$ Award
4th Place: Sariyet Ramallah 1000$ Award
3rd Place: De La Salle 1500$ Award
2nd Place: Orthodoxi Beit Jala 2000$ Award
1st Place: Ibdaa Dheisheh 3000$ Award

Ibdaa Dheisheh will have a ceremony for winning the tournament in Dheisheh Camp- Bethlehem as well as the women winning the Volley Ball Tournament.

Qalandia vs. De La Salle 79 72
What an exciting game to finish up the league with! Both teams were playing hard with great defense & skills determined to win the game , Qalandia winning the game pushes them up to 5th place from 7th place, however De La Salle earned to stay in 3rd place with their points. De La Salle were focused from the first minutes of the game leading the first quarter while Qalandia took their time and led the rest of the game taking advantage of De La Salles foul trouble in the last 10seconds.
Brian Dalley stood out in the game with great shots, drives & rebounds along with Ismael Hamad and great 3pointers for Nizar Shehadeh from Qalandia. While De La Salle players didnt give up with several 3pointers especially in the 4th quarter by Ammar Nofal (190-F-84), Telly Rafidi one of the youngest players in the league, Labib Feidy (194-F-83, college: Florida Southern) with great moves under basket along with Fadi Yaghmour and Justin Bourne (198-F, college: Alaska-Fairb.) who had a great impact on the team.
1st 10 20, 2nd 19 14, 3rd 30 20, 4th 20 18

The PBBA SuperLeague Standings are as follows: (Last 6 down to Division one)
1- Ibdaa Dheish
2- Orthodoxi Beit Jala
3- De La Salle
4- Sariyet Ramallah
5- Qalandia
6- Orthodoxi Ramallah
7- Ahli Club
8- Hiteen
9- Eibal
10- RaI Saleh
11- Catholic Action
12- Islami Bethlehem
13- Huwara
14 AlBireh
15- AlFara
16 Balata
17 Thaqafi Beit Sahour
18 Thaqafi Toulkarem

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PBL

Former Millrat Anthony Anderson featured in Slam Online - by Eurobasket News
In recent years Massachusetts has become known for its pro teams, but not for sending guys to the NBA or even to big-name universities. While every now and then some talented players break the mold (Patrick Ewing, Rumeal Robinson, Dana Barros, Chris Herren and Will Blalock to name a few) most of the best hoopers in the state and more so, in the Boston area, earn their stripes during the summer.

Over the last few summers one baller in particular garnered the 'hardest to guard' title in Massachusetts. Former UMass Amherst Point God and Lynn native (25 miles north of Boston) Anthony Anderson (5'11''-G-81, agency: Pro Partner Sports Management, college: Massachusetts) (older brother to Memphis' grad Antonio Anderson) has taken over the state of Massachusetts. Whether it's his besting of Boston's own and former Detroit Piston Will Blalock in a recent summer tourney, or being one of the few players making it overseas, AA (as he is called on the streets) has become known as a warrior. After just getting back from leading the league in assists in Cyprus, AA sat down with SLAM and discussed his first season across the waters, his relationship with his brother (who is hoping to hear his name called in a couple weeks), and why, in his late-twenties, he is still proving himself.

SLAM: How did your first full year playing overseas go? Anthony Anderson: It was pretty good. It was a little more physical and different then where I had been playing (ABA, NBPL). It was my first full season overseas so I really got to see how ball is over there.

SLAM: What league did you play in? AA: It was the Cypress Basketball League, the team was AEK.

SLAM: How did the competition compare? AA: It was very good competition. It's just like when you see European guys in the NBA. There are a lot of skilled and crafty players, not overly athletic but very skilled. There were also a lot of American guys over there. Martin Zeno from Texas Tech, Darryl Mitchell from LSU, Brad Buckman from Texas-it was great competition over there.

SLAM: How did your team finish? AA: We did OK. We had trouble with bringing in our Americans. By mistake we used too many Americans, so for the last month I was the only American on the team. We finished sixth in the league and lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs. It was a great experience though, and I'm looking forward to coming back and playing at a higher level.

SLAM: How was it being an American in a foreign country? AA: There was a lot of staring at first but then they get used to it. They knew I played basketball. The set us up really nice, though. We lived a block from the beach and there was a KFC, McDonald's and a Friday's, and I'm a real picky eater so it was good.

SLAM: How was it being away from your wife and kids? AA: It was tough. My son is 7 so I didn't want to bring him over here and have him go from country to country or anything. We didn't get any breaks either. We didn't get a Christmas or Thanksgiving break. It was tough watching them open their gifts over the Skype.

SLAM: Any horror stories? AA: I've heard the stories and I was worried. At one point we had lost two games in a row and the president of the club was talking about taking 20 percent out of everybody's check. They definitely try to get over on you, especially if you're American. The Europeans have a union over there so if things go wrong they're taken care of, but not us. But fortunately nothing happened to me.

SLAM: What were your numbers like over there? AA: I was second in the league in scoring and first in assists.

SLAM: What was the best competition like? AA: Well I pretty much went up against an American every night. Darryl Mitchell from LSU was very tough and was very tough to defend.

SLAM: Before you went to Cypress you had some NBA tryouts, right? AA: Yes, before I went I had a three-day Pacers tryout.

SLAM: What has been the most criticized aspect of your game? Why aren't you in the NBA? AA: Well my agent said that the coaches said I was undersized. At my size you have to be exceptionally gifted, which I feel I am, but sometimes even when you have a workout the teams aren't necessarily looking for guys anyways. I wasn't really getting looked at. I take it for what it is. I also had some family problems right after I left college so it was hard to just get overseas for me.

SLAM: How old are you? AA: 27.

SLAM: So the family stuff is why it took a little longer? AA: My oldest son's mother had passed away. I put basketball on the back burner and got a job and did everything I had to do to get full custody of my son after that. I took about a year and a half off.

SLAM: So this year your brother was a senior at Memphis, were you able to watch the games? AA: Yeah, I have a box on my laptop where I'm able to watch my cable from back home. I had to stay up to 3 or 4 in the morning but I was able to watch him so it was cool.

SLAM: How was it growing up with your younger brother? AA: It's been big for where were from. It's big to Lynn and it's big to Massachusetts. When you see Antonio or you see Will Blalock it's really big for the state. And it's been fun to see Antonio kind of follow in my footsteps but at the same time go his own way. He's been working out for a couple teams and he's gotten really good feedback.

SLAM: Now are you trying to get on an NBA summer league team? AA: I'm looking into it. But my agent isn't going to send me there if there's not serious interest.

SLAM: So who is going to win a 1-on-1 game between you and your brother? AA: [Laughs] I'm definitely gonna go with me and he'll probably go with him. He hasn't always been 6-7. He used to be a PG because he was short and now he's 6-7.

SLAM: Whose been your toughest opponent? AA: I can't really call it. There are a lot of good defenders. If I have a low scoring night I just miss, it's not the defense [laughs].

SLAM: How do you view summertime ball? AA: At the end of the day it's fun. But I get excited too because people are out, the sun is out and the best players usually come out. It's all bragging rights. People talk about it all winter.

SLAM: You're known to play any and everywhere, whether it's outside in the parks or in the gym. A lot of professional players won't do that. Why do you? AA: I understand why players don't play outside due to injuries, age, etc. At the end of the day this is where I'm from. I'm always gonna be available to play whether it's pickup, leagues, etc. As long as the competition is decent I'll do it. Some guys feel like playing, some don't, but I love ball too much not to play and I'm always up for a challenge. I was always the younger guy playing with the older guys, I love a challenge.

SLAM: So what's next? AA: Well I took a month off when I got back home. I'm working out now, staying in shape and waiting to hear from my agent. I'm trying to go to either Greece, Spain or Italy.

The Manchester Millrats are a Premier Basketball League (PBL) franchise entering their third season overall this year. In their first two seasons, the Millrats have reached the playoff semifinals each year and have posted an impressive 43-15 combined regular season record. In addition they have produced a league MVP, a General Manager of the Year, a Coach of the Month, a Defensive Player of the Year, and numerous other All-Star and All-League achievements.

For more information please contact the Premier Basketball League at (773) 844-7251 or visit the Premier Basketball League website at www.pblproball.com and the @SPORTS Television Network web site at www.atsportstv.com or contact Millrats GM Ian McCarthy at millrats@gmail.com or visit www.manchestermillrats.com.

Courtesy of the Manchester Millrats

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PORTUGAL

Benfica rightfully became the Champion of the country - by Eurobasket News
Ovarense - Benfica 59-75
Benfica rightfully became the Champion of the country sweeping the series over Ovarense 3-0. The last game brought 75:59 victory as the Winner of the Regular Season triumhed in Portugal. Elvis Evora (205-C-78, agency: Global Sports Plaza) and Seth Doliboa (203-F-80, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: Wright St.) led the winners with 14 points, while Santos Joao netted 12. Roberts Rolan finished the night with 15 points in the losing effort.

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SERBIA

KK Hemofarm Stada lands Marko Sutalo - by Zoran Popovic
KK Hemofarm Stada Vrsac signed two years contract with former player of Vojvodina Srbija Gas Novi Sad Marko Sutalo (194-G-83). Sutalo had very good season in Vojvodina Srbija Gas Novi Sad and last season in Adriatic league average scored 12.0 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals and in Serbian Superleague average scored 14.3 points, 0.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Sutalo started career in Signal Odzaci in season 2003-2004, moved to KK Novi Sad and played for them in period 2004-2008 and season 2008-2009 he played for BC Vojvodina Srbija Gas Novi Sad.

Branislav Ratkovica in Germany one more season - by Zoran Popovic
Serbian point guard Branislav Ratkovica (193-G-85, agency: Beo Basket) will stay in Germany for one more season. After good season, Management of Walter Tigers Tuebingen and Ratkovica made agreement terms for next season. This season Ratkovica average scored 9.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Before Walter Tigers Tuebingen, Ratkovica played for Beopetrol 2002-2003, Atlas Banka Novi Beograd 2003-2006, BC Mega Ishrana Beograd 2006-2007 and EWE Baskets Oldenburg 2007-2008. Ratkovica was member of Serbia and Montenegro U20 and U21 National team.

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SPAIN

Real Madrid and Unicaja tie the score against Tau and Barca in ACB Semis - by Eurobasket News
Real Madrid - Tau 102-82
Real Madrid outgunned the defending champion scoring 102 points. It was an easy win for the hosts meaning that the score is tied to 1-1. Real had couple of players in a game mood in this match. Felipe Reyes (203-F/C-80) top-scored with 18, Louis Bullock (186-G-76, college: Michigan) had 16, while Sergio Llull (178-G-87) delivered 2 points less. Alex Mumbru (201-F-79) followed them with 11 pts and 8 boards. The last one with double-digits in scoring was PG Raul Lopez (182-G-80) - 10 pts. On the other side, the team from Vitoria got 21 points from Sergi Vidal (198-F/G-81), who came off the bench. John Lucas (180-G-82, college: Oklahoma St.) added 16. Game 3 is scheduled for tomorrow at the Tau's home court.

Unicaja - Regal Barca 82-75
Unicaja was too strong for Regal Barca in Malaga 82-75 so the series is moving to Barcelona for third decisive match (June 7). Crucial period of the game was third quarter, which Unicaja ended 24-13. Boniface Ndong (213-C-77) was the most important player in the winning squad nailing 20 points. He missed only one board for double-double. Thomas Kelati (195-G/F-82, college: Washington St.) had 12 and Carlos Jimenez (203-F-76) helped with 11 pts. Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) drained 26 points and handed out 6 assists in loss.

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UNITED KINGDOM

Coach Fisher Names Final 21 for U16 Men - by Eurobasket News
England U16 men head coach Simon Fisher has named 21 players to attend the final selection camp at the end of June in London.

The selected squad has been formed through the sessions and games over the last two months, with some players who have developed over the year being promoted to the squad.

Coach Fisher and his assistant Karl Brown are delighted with the attitude of some of the new players that will be added to the squad.

The final fourteen players (12 players, 2 reserves) will be chosen at a selection camp at the end of June in London before embarking on a series of 11 international games in July. The team leave for Portugal in early August for the 2009 European Championship.

1993 Born selected squad (*1994 Born)
Joseph Hart (194-F-93) (capt) - Southend Swifts
Devon Van Oostrum (v.capt) - Sheffield Junior Sharks
Joshua McGinn - Manchester Magic
Aboudi Al-Qattan* - London Pioneers
Dominic Norton* - Youngbloods
Lewis Champion - Reading Rockets
John Gould (186-G-92) - Manchester Magic
Lamar Morrison - City of Birmingham
Thomas Riley - Plymouth Marjon Cannons
Joshua Ward-Hibbert* - Derby Trailblazers
Simeon Esprit - Eastside Eagles
Harrison Turner - Milton Keynes Lions
Jordan Culley - Torbay Tigers
John Stewart - Sheffield Junior Sharks
Raphell Thomas-Edwards - Leicester Warriors
Joshua Guddemi* - Nottingham Nova
Jesse Chuku - London Pioneers
Dale Francis* - Gran Canaria Academy
Dylan Johns - Ipswich Tomcats
Christopher Lloyd - Brentwood Fire
Mark Schroeder - Taunton Tigers
Courtesy of: http://www.englandbasketball.co.uk

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USBA

USBA Set For 2010 Basketball Season, Tip off April 7, 2010 - by USBA Media

The United States Basketball Association is pleased to announce their inaugural season opening on April 7, 2010. The league will take an aggressive posture by activating 18 teams housed in 3 divisions. Permanente home gymnasiums of each individual team are in the process of being completed. 'Come Hades or high water, we will tip off in 2010, we have agreements in place to use gymnasium for 12 of our teams already, the colleges and universities that we planned to occupy this year, understood the challenges we faced in 2009 and they graciously permitted the league to renew their commitment to play at their facilities,' said USBA president and C.E.O Duane Allen Jenkins. ' We anticipate having all locations set by early fall.'

The 2010 regular season will begin on April 7, 2010 and end on July 3, 2010. There is a mid season All Star Classic Game slated for May 22nd and May 23rd, 2010. The Championship game is scheduled for July 11, 2010. Both series will be held in Atlanta, Georgia. The top four teams in each division will secure playoff positions.
The Willie Joe Hunter Memorial Championship Trophy will be awarded to the top team.

The league will continue its partnership with churches, civic groups and charitable organizations in each individual team city. A special invitation has been extended to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Feed America and the USMC Toys for Tots. The league is also extending a very special invitation to children in foster care each city and children housed in juvenile detention centers. 'The league has authorized each team to conduct educational contest between clubs to select children to be official ball girls and boys. We'll invite all groups who help children to contact the league and well issue complimentary tickets to these groups to our home games. The selected children to be the ball kids will receive $25.00 apiece per game for their services,' said Jenkins.

The leagues three divisions, the Atlantic, the Appalachian and the Southern will consist of six teams in each division. 'With the economy stabilizing, its full steam ahead,' said USBA vice president of basketball operations, Kenneth Green. This is a prime opportunity for us to activate the league. Well get to know our fans and supporters in each city. We want our fans to be able to have ample access to the coaches and players, said Green. Tryouts will be held for teams on March 14th and 21st, 2010.

The league will make season ticket packages available. The availability of the 2010 USBA Season Ticket Extravaganza is October 1, 2009. This season ticket promotion is a special event for the fans and is sponsored by the advertisers and sponsors of the USBA. 'The league has set aside 1200 single season tickets for each city for this promotion. This collaborated effort includes the USBA, the USBA Youth Outreach, Inc and many of the leagues partners, sponsors and advertisers,' said Jenkins.

The league has set the price of $105.00 per season ticket and comes with admission to all fifteen home games and fifteen free single game tickets; this includes admittance to all home playoff games. As a bonus, fans receive priority seating, complimentary concessions, a free game day program and a 24-inch x 36-inch full color poster with the basketball team or the dance team. (The total number of admittance per season ticket is 30, which breaks down to $3.50 per admittance). We designed the USBA basketball games to be family friendly, our promotions, our entertainment and our prices will fit right into anyones budget, said Jenkins

'According to the league, each season ticket holder will be automatically included in a raffle sponsored by the USBA Youth Outreach, Inc. We're very excited about this promotion. Not only do fans get a chance to see high quality basketball at affordable prices, but also there is the chance to win a new car, a trip to see an NBA game and to go on a Disney World vacation'

The prize list is as follows:

* Grand Prize: 2010 Lincoln Mercury Grand Marquis LS
(one automobile and a $40.00 Quik Trip, BP or RaceTrac weekly gas card for one year, will be given away in each USBA team city, 18 total league wide),

* 2nd Prize: Disney World Family Vacation
(Family of four, rt airfare on Delta Airlines, transfers to and from the airport, daily Disney World Park passes, meals and lodging at a Disney World theme park hotel included, two given away in each USBA team city, 36 total league wide),

* 3rd prize: The NBA Extravaganza
( Trip for two to an NBA game, round trip airfare on Delta Airlines, overnight stay at Marriott Hotel, one day car rental from Enterprise, dinner for two at Outback Steak House and breakfast for two at International House of Pancakes, two given away in each USBA team city, 36 total league wide.)

* 4th Prize: The Trek Bicycle Explosion
(Six mens, six womens, six boys and six girls ten speed bicycles, 24 given away at each USBA team city, 432 total league wide)

* 5th Prize: The Outback Steak House Family Feast
(A $60.00 gift card, 25 given away in each USBA team city, 450 total league wide)

* 6th Prize: Russell Athletic Team Polo Shirts
(25 shirts will be given away in each USBA team city, 450 total league wide)

The Grand prize drawing for this promotion will be held at halftime of the teams home season opener, the drawings for the other prizes will be held at a special pre-game show. 'As far as we know, this is the biggest and most extravagant season ticket promotion in the history of minor league sports.' says Jenkins. 'Fans can visit our website at www.usbaball.com for rules and disclaimers about the raffle and the United States Basketball Association.' ' We plan to begin our first season with a bang.' 'All of our games will be geared toward top notched basketball competition, family fun and entertainment surrounded in a faith based environment, our goal is to offer each community a great experience' proclaimed, Mr. Jenkins. For more information, call the USBA league office at (770) 729-0306 or go to www.usbaball.com.

2010 USBA Season Ticket Extravaganza Rules and Disclaimer:
Purchase of a season ticket to any 2010 USBA team necessary to be included in the raffle drawing. The USBA Youth Outreach, Inc., is the sponsor of this promotion. This promotion is open to all residents of Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, South Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia, Mississippi, North Carolina and the District of Columbia who purchase a season ticket during this promotion. This promotion ends April 5, 2010 at midnight Eastern Daylight Time. USBA employees, family member of USBA employees, team members, Season Ticket Extravaganza sponsors, their employees and their families are ineligible to participate in this promotion. Participants must be at least 18 years old to participate in this promotion. One entry in raffle per season ticket purchased. No other restrictions apply. No substitution of prizes. Prizes are not refundable or transferable. Prize winners are responsible for all taxes and /or gratuity associated with prizes won in this promotion. Odds of winning any prize in this promotion will be determined in direct relation of the number of season tickets sold during this promotion. (Example: 1200 season tickets sold per USBA team season, Grand Prize winning odds are 1200 to 1, 2nd prize winning odds are 600 to 1, 3rd Prize winning odds are 600 to 1, 4th Prize winning odds are 50 to 1, each, 5th prize winning odds are 48 to 1, 6th Prize winning odds are 48 to 1. The USBA has set aside 1200 season tickets per USBA team city to be sold, a total 21,600 league wide. Odds of winning a prize in this promotion are derived on a per city basis only. If the same individual purchases two season tickets for the 2010 basketball season and before April 5, 2010 the odds will increase to give the ticket holder double the chance of winning a prize. This promotion is a USBA Youth Outreach sponsored event. The USBA Youth Outreach, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) not for Profit Company. Single ticket purchases are not included in this promotion. 2nd and 3rd Prizewinners must make travel reservation through the USBA. Travel blackout periods may effect certain travel dates. All NBA games must be east of the Mississippi River and in the Continental United States. Grand prizewinners have a choice of color. There is no time limit for any of the travel prizes, gift card or any other prize in this promotion. Promotion is void where prohibited by law.

United States Basketball Association Seek Head, Dance Team and Asst' Coaches - by USBA Media
The United States Basketball Association is pleased to announce their 2010 basketball season quest for Head Coaches, Dance Team Coaches and Assistant Coaches. The positions are for selected USBA team. The USBA has eighteen teams divided into three divisions, spread over ten southern states and the District of Columbia. Refer to league web site www.usbaball.com/teams.

'Collegiate, minor league and international coaches are invited to submit resumes and biographies for consideration. We are also extending a very special invitation to coaches who are based in our team cities.'

The USBA 2010 basketball season runs from April 7, 2010 to July 3, 2010. Each team plays a thirty game schedule, fifteen home and fifteen away. The league has a mid season All Star Game scheduled for the 3rd week of May. The USBA Championship Playoff series begins July 5, 2010 with the Championship game on July 11, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. Team tryouts are scheduled for March 13th and 20th, 2010.

USBA president Duane Jenkins says, 'Announcing now gives us a prime opportunity for us to get to know our coaches. We want our fans to be able to become familiar with their head coach and quite simply, the coach will have ample time be able to select the players or dance team members of his or her choice.'

The league has developed a comprehensive package for the coaches. Head Coaches are paid $500.00 per week, assistant coaches receive $275.00 per week and Dance Team coaches receive $275.00 per week. Coaches also receive housing, when needed, and a daily meal at Golden Corral Buffet Restaurant. As a bonus coaches receive compensation for sponsor speaking engagements.

According to the league, each coach candidate should submit his or her resume to kennethgreen@usbaball.com or president@usbaball.com. 'All candidates will receive a response. We expect a huge response and I suggest any candidate wishing to be considered should submit their resume no later than September 15, 2009,' said USBA Vice President Basketball Operation Kenneth Green. 'Were very excited about the upcoming season. Some of our teams have a coaching staff in place already and for each team in need of a coach, this is a great opportunity for an aspiring individual who has the propensity to lead and succeed.'

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Women News

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AUSTRALIA - Women

Australia U19 win the opener in France - by Eurobasket News
Australia U19-Belgium U19 65:50

Youth international basketball tournament opened the doors for 8 teams including the home side, France. The tournament for the young players is scheduled from 4 until 7 June 2009.
The defending champions Lithuania will not be around to defend their crown but Australia are coming back. Group A consists of France, China, Czech Republic and Sweden. In Group B Australia who finished second last year will play with Belgium, Russia and Turkey.
Australia won the opener of the tournament beating Belgium 65:50. Belgium started better and opened the game with 17:14 lead after the opening quarter. Australia held the opponents in defense and produced 12-4 in the second period to take 26:24 advantage at the halftime. The Gems rained in threes in the third quarter to lead by 12 points at the final break. Belgium fought back within five but the Aussies steadied to take the 15-point win. The final whistle showed the first victory for the Australian team, 65:50.
Stephanie Cumming (178-G-90) led all the winners with 13 points, while Bree Farley (178-G-90) and Rachel Jarry (185-G-91) added 11 each. Jana Raman (183-F-91) ended up with 26 points in the losing case. Miete Celus (175-G/F-91) netted 8, while De Meyer scored 4.
The Gems will play Turkey tonight before Russia tomorrow night.

AUSTRALIA: Stephanie Cumming 13, Bree Farley 11, Rachel Jarry 11
BELGIUM: Jana Raman 26, Miete Celus 8, L De Meyer 4

NZ Tall Fern signs with the Dandenong Jayco Rangers - by Eurobasket News
WNBL Dandenong Jayco Rangers Head Coach, Dales Waters is delighted to announce the signing of ex-NZ Tall Fern Toni Edmondson (180-F-87) for the forthcoming WNBL season.

Toni is a member of the NZ Tall Ferns, and is a tremendous athlete. Toni is currently playing for Albury in SEABL, and has been tearing it up. Shell add another dimension to our perimeter game, said Waters.

In regards to other recruits, were very close to signing a couple more high profile players, so watch this space!

Edmondson has represented New Zealand through the age groups, including the NZ U21 Tall ferns last year.

She made her international debut in 2007, is 22 years of age and stands at 1.81 metres. This guard will be a key addition to our back court this season coming.

Courtesy of The Dandenong Jayco Rangers

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BELGIUM - Women

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EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS - Women

Eurobasket introduces the teams: 2 days to go - by Eurobasket News
The calendar shows June 5th and it means that two days are left for Eurobasket 2009 in Latvia. This time Eurobasket introduces the teams to pay closer attention to the favorites.
Russia will be the first team to be announced as the candidate for their defending title. In 2007 Russia overcame Spain 74:68 in the final of the 2007 EuroBasket Women. Ilona Korstine (183-G-80) led the way for Russia with 18 points while Tatiana Shchegoleva chipped in 14 points off the bench including the decisive lay-up with 13 seconds remaining after Spain had missed a chance to trim the margin to two points 10 seconds earlier. Russia won all the friendly games to prove the ambitions for the upcoming tournament. Russia topped Spain 75:71 in Kaunas in a great game from both sides played in the beginning of June. Russia also won over Hungary, Ukraine, Israel and Lithuania. The defending champions settled down in Group C along with Turkey, Lithuania and Serbia.
Spain did not look that hot in the friendly games before the tournament, however still will be another candidate for the Gold medals. Spain will play in Group A with Czech Republic, Slovak Republic and Ukraine. The latter together with Italian National Team advanced from 2009 EuroBasket Additional Qualifying Round and might bring another surprise.
France will definitely be the favorite of Group D, however Belarus, Israel and Italy will try to get their ticket to the next round as well. French National Team recently 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. Sandrine Gruda (191-F/C-87) notched 16 points and 7 rebounds to pace Les Bleus. Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui added 12 points, while Endene Miyem and Emmanuelle Hermouet had 8 points each in the win.
Latvia due to the home support can reach the top places settling down in Group B. Greece, Poland and Hungary will compete with the hosts. Latvian National Team won the last six friendly games in preparation for the upcoming home EuroBasket 2009. They bruised Turkey in Liepaja in the last one. Zane Tamane (196-C-83, college: W.Illinois) tallied 21 points and 10 rebounds for Latvia. Liene Jansone added 17 points, while Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (177-G-83) had 14 points, 6 assists and 5 boards in the winning case.

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FRANCE - Women

The home side defeats Swedish youngsters - by Eurobasket News
France U18-Sweden U18 62:35 (12-8, 15-10, 12-10, 23-7)

France U18 opened their home tournament in Reze with a win over Sweden U18.
Youth international basketball tournament opened the doors for 8 teams including the home side, France in Reze. The tournament for the young players is scheduled from 4 until 7 June 2009.
The defending champions Lithuania will not be around to defend their crown but Australia are coming back. Group A consists of France, China, Czech Republic and Sweden. In Group B Australia who finished second last year will play with Belgium, Russia and Turkey.
France finished the opening quarter with 12:8 and then improved to 27:18 at the halftime. The tempo remained the same in the beginning of the second half as the hosts had 12-10 in the period. The last quarter was the most problematic for the guests that failed 7-23. As a total it gave 62:35 for the French outfit in the opener of the tournament in Reze. Farhiya Abdi (185-F/C-92) tried hard in the losing effort producing 12 points. Cleopatra Forsman-Goga (180-G-91) nailed 9,while Binta Drammeh (179-F-92) posted 5. Hayet Neffati ended up with 4 points, Julia Vestin (184-F-91) scored 3 and Frida Fogdemark added 2.

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HOLLAND - Women

Allison fit for double Dutch - by Eurobasket News
EDINBURGH Kool Kat Rebecca Allison (168-G-91) is fit to play for Scotland's basketball team against the Dutch in a two-game International Challenge at Edinburgh University's Pleasance Games Hall tomorrow (3pm) and Sunday (2pm).
The 18-year-old Portobello High School pupil, who is bound for Old Dominion University in Virginia on a four-year sports scholarship in August, had an ankle injury but it has responded to treatment.

She said: 'I'll play with it strapped up just as a precaution.'

Scotland coach Donna Finnie said: 'I'm glad she's back as she adds an extra dimension to us which no-one else can bring she's a proven scorer at this level.'

Courtsey of:: Edinburgh Evening News

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ISRAEL - Women

ISRAELI NATIONAL TEAM - by Gil Goshen

The Israeli national team roster was published
today by the head coach Eli Rabi:

Liron Cohen, Naomi Kolodny ( The starter point guard of Ramat Hasharon ) , Shimrit Gigi, Shay Doron , Laine Selwyn,
Zairy Shiran, Abramzon Katia, Epstain Michal, Merav Dori, Liad Suez Karni
Lvitsky Katia , Jennifer Fleischer.

The team will will vs. France, Italy and Belarus.
Liron Cohen who is the best offensive player in the team summarize for us the expectations'

'Reaching the EuroBasket back-to-back doesn't happen for us every time, but it's important that we also play good basketball to show how much progress we have made in the last years.
'We don't belong in the top six teams in the competition, but the beauty in sports is that on a given day, you can beat anybody.'

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LATVIA - Women

Latvian National Team 2009 - by Gunars Gailitis

Tamane

Basko

Jansone

Jekabsone-Zogota

Krumberga

5 Anda Eibele (170-G-84) of SK Cesis
6 Zane Eglite (170-G-84) of TTT Riga
7 Zane Tamane (196-C-83) of Nadezhda Orenburg (RUS)
8 Gunta Basko (181-F-80) of Perfumerias Avenida Salamanca (ESP)
9 Liene Jansone (190-F/C-81) of Tarbes Gespe Bigorre (FRA)
10 Anete Jekabsone-Zogota (177-G-83) of Connecticut Sun (USA)
11 Aija Putnina (191-F-88) of C.B. Olesa Espanyol (ESP)
12 Dita Krumberga (183-F-84) of TTT Riga
13 Ieva Tare (185-F-74) of SK Cesis

15 Aija Brumermane (191-C-86) of TTT Riga
17 Kristine Karklina (175-G-83) of SK Cesis
21 Sabine Niedola (182-F-91) of Liepajas metalurgs
Head Coach: Ainars Zvirgzdins

Assistants: Karlis Muiznieks, Julian Alman Martinez , Viktors Lacis

Managers: Edgars Buls, Edijs Eglitis

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LUXEMBOURG - Women

Malta clinch XIII Games of the Small States of Europe title - by Eurobasket News
Malta - Luxembourg 48:45

Malta became the XIII Games of the Small States of Europe champions. They came from behind to beat Luxembourg today claiming the third straight win at the tournament. The victory put them beyond reach in the standings. Malta looked comfortable early in the game as they held off their opponents in the opening frame. Malta earned an 8-point lead after ten minutes of action but Luxembourg gradually took over in this one. They capitalized on woeful 25% of accuracy from Malta to limit those to just 6 points in the second stanza. Luxembourg trailed by just four points at the interval 22:26 but did not waste too much time to surge ahead in the third stanza. Luxembourg increased the tempo and finished the third quarter up by 2 points. Malta needed some heroics and first-class performance from R. Brincat to save the day. They eked out a tough win at the end celebrating the title at the competition.
R. Brincat had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Malta. Vella added 10 points in the win. Nadia Mossong (182-F-86) responded with 11 points for Luxembourg. Lisy Hetting (173-G-90) and Michele Orban (190-C-86) posted 10 points each in defeat.

Malta: R. Brincat 23+10 boards, Vella 10, Josephine Grima (190-C-84) 7
Luxembourg: Nadia Mossong 11, Lisy Hetting 10, Michele Orban 10

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MALTA - Women

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MOLDOVA - Women

Crasnoscioc top-scored and finished the season abroad - by Eurobasket News
Irina Crasnoscioc (190-F-81, agency: LBM Management) finished the season in Ukraine with her Yuzhna Palmira - ONAHT Odessa. The Moldovan player was the key one in the team and contributed a lot for the team. Irina Crasnoscioc top-scored in the last game as Yuzhna Palmira finished 7th in the season.

In the game for the seventh place Yuzhna Palmira rolled over TNU 70:58. The winners started with 25-11 however had some difficulties increasing the score after. TNU managed to tie the score in the second period at 20-20 and won the third period 20-9. Only due to 16-7 and a great game of Irina Crasnoscioc, Yuzhna Palmira celebrated the win. The Moldovan player led the winners with 24 points and 4 rebounds.

In the beginning of the Elite Eight Donbas edged Palmira 76:67 only due to the last period that they won 26-17. In the rest of the game the teams stayed even and finished 30 minutes at 50:50. Solonar top-scored for the winners with 24 points and Natalia Isachenko added 19. Irina Crasnoscioc finished the night with 23 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort.

Irina Crasnoscioc nailed 35 points in the game for 5/8 places however it was not enough against Luganski Lastivki. The latter used the team game to take 83:69 victory.

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NEW ZEALAND - Women

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PUERTO RICO - Women

New Sheriff in Aguas Buenas - by Raul Colon
In an attempt to boost the 2009 edition of the Aguas Buenas Tigresas, franchise owner, Henry Marcano, introduced on Wednesday Jorge Otero as the team new head coach. Otero, who two years ago guided the fortunes of the Montaneras de Morovis, brings in experience and a level of enthusiasm sorely missed by the Tigresas last season.
Jorge is a person that is committed to our basketball and will bring in a new element to our team said Marcano. Last season we had an up and down year, but with Oteros experience, we hope to have a stable team for a long time.
This is going to be a very successful year. The team has a great nucleus of players, native and imports, that give the roster good balance said Otero who became the sixth head coach in the Tigresas brief history.
In other news, the team confirmed the signing of Eshaya Murphy. Murphy was selected in the most recent WNBA Draft. Also in the roster is Puertorricans descendent, Mercedes Dukes. Aside the duo, new general manager, Gregorio Marcano, announced that Madeline Ramirez and Puerto Rico National Team point guard, Lindsay Gonzalez will be part of the Tigresas roster.
Also joining the team is Kia Wright. Wright has WNB experience and is expected to bring Aguas Buenas a much needed offensive punch.

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RUSSIA - Women

Sholokhova and Legostaeva bring gold from Ukraine - by Eurobasket News
The season for Victoria Sholokhova (188-F-86) and Elena Legostaeva (188-F-86) was the most successful in Ukraine as the Russian players together with Dynamo-NPU claimed the first ever UBL championship title. Dynamo-NPU held off the regular season champions Dnipro in the Final game. Joei Clyburn proved her status of one of the best performers in the league scoring 26 points to lead Dynamo-NPU to the triumph.
Dnipro were widely taken as the main favorites before the game as they suffered just defeat in the season prior to the title game. But Dynamo-NPU marked their ambitions early in the encounter. A Volodymir Rizhov team raced to a 5-point lead after ten minutes of action. Dnipro turned the tables in the second term as they show some energy to clip the deficit to just 3 points at halftime. Dynamo-NPU however regained control in the third frame. Veteran Natalia Silyanova orchestrated the game well, while Joei Clyburn was unstoppable as Dynamo stretched the gap to comfortable 10 points with one quarter remaining. Dnipro failed to rebound in the final term as Dynamo-NPU wisely kept them at bay.
Victoria Sholokhova notched 14 points and 15 rebounds for Dynamo-NPU. Natalia Silyanova and Elena Legostaeva provided 13 points each in the victory. Yuliya Yakhina answered with 24 points and 7 boards for Dnipro. Olga Lyashkova managed 13 points in defeat.
Before that Dynamo-NPU became the first UBL finalist after they dealt with Galitskaya Akademia 83:51 in the semifinals opener. Dynamo-NPU relied mainly on a storming first frame as they rallied to a 31:16 lead. The Ivano-Frankovsk outfit seemed to slow down their opponents in the second period as did not allow Dynamo to extend the advantage. But the second half proved the difference. Dynamo NPU eased to a 22-point lead with one quarter remaining and never looked back en route to an impressive victory.
Joei Clyburn led the charge with 19 points and 6 rebounds for Dynamo NPU. Evgeniya Stelmakh added 17 points, while Marinela Agalareva had 13 points for the winners. Victoria Sholokhova ended up with 10 points, while Elena Legostaeva netted 5. Valentina Voronova and Viktoriya Pazyuk came up with 10 points apiece for Galitskaya Akademia in the loss.

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SCOTLAND - Women

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SPAIN - Women

Sparks waive Fernandez and Paris, Storm releases Franklin and Parham - by Eurobasket News
The Los Angeles Sparks have waived guard Marta Fernandez (5'10''-F-81) and forward Ashley Paris (6'3''-F-87, college: Oklahoma) it was announced today. The Sparks roster now stands at 12.
The Sparks drafted Ashley Paris with the 22nd overall pick in the 2009 WNBA draft and signed Fernandez in March of this year to a training camp contract. The Sparks tip-off the 2009 WNBA season on June 6th against the Defending Champion Detroit Shock at 11:30am at STAPLES Center on ABC. For more information on tickets please visit www.lasparks.com or call 1-877-44-SPARKS.

The Seattle Storm announced today guard A'Quonesia Franklin (5'3''-G-85, college: Texas A&M) and forward Aja Parham (6'0''-G/F-84, college: Boston Coll.) have been waived from the team. The roster now stands at 13 players, including two overseas.

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SWEDEN - Women

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TURKEY - Women

Last 2 Days for Euro 2009 - by Cem Guvener
Turkish Women's National Basketball Team will be fighting to secure a place in next year's World Cup. Turkey will be playing against the strong Russia National Team in the first game of the group stages. Lithuania and Serbia games will be crucial in the following days through this journey. Turkey will be playing a fast tempo basketball as they will try to outscore their opponents. Turkey will have a good chance to make their way into the World Cup as they have performed well in the warm-up games even though they are without Isil Alben at point guard due to her injury.

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UNITED KINGDOM - Women

Team Northumbria, UWIC Season Reviews - by Eurobasket News
By Dave Ryan

Team Northumbria

League record: 14-6
Overall record: 16-8

A best-ever third placed finish in Division One was the highlight of Team Northumbrias third season in the top flight.

Deirdre Hayes team had the top two scorers in Division One, with Sabra Wrice (173-G-86, college: Fairfield) leading the way with 25.7 points per game, and Loui Hall (183-F-84, college: Duquesne) just behind on 25.42ppg. Wrice also pulled down 9.7 rebounds per game to finish fourth in the final table and dished out 3.95 assists per game.

Northumbria opened the league campaign with a tight 86-82 victory against Nottingham Wildcats, and wins against Leeds Carnegie, Sevenoaks Suns and Solent Suns saw Hayes team start the season with a 4-0 record.

Eventual champions City of Sheffield Hatters ended that perfect start with 97-60 victory, and although London Mets and Manchester Mystics were beaten, losses against London Heathrow Acers and UWIC Archers sent them into Christmas with a 7-3 record.

Northumbria opened 2009 with a 23 point hammering of Leeds to start a three game winning streak before losses against Wildcats and Hatters saw the former pressure them for third place. However, Hayes team held their nerve and five straight victories saw them exceed last seasons fourth spot in final table.

The National Cup provided mixed results. Even without the services of Wrice, 31 Hall points helped them to an 84-53 home victory against Bury Blue Devils in the first round, but for the second season in succession, City of Sheffield Hatters stood in their way in the second round and despite a good first half, it was the Hatters who progressed with a 99-77 victory.

A home game against Solent Suns awaited Hayes club in the playoff quarter-finals, and the visitors repeated the previous seasons victory as they won 63-54 to progress to the Final Four. Hall (15) and Wrice (11) were held to low scores as the Suns led at each break before wrapping up the win with a 12-9 final period.

UWIC Archers
League record: 18-2
Overall record 14-4

Archers second season in the top division saw them complete a hat-trick of runners-up spots finishing behind City of Sheffield Hatters in all three competitions.

While they will be disappointed not to have won any EBL honours, the Welsh side have the consolation of the most successful season in their ten year history and they did win the BUCS (university) title with a 67-58 victory against London Mets.

Progress to the National Cup semi-finals proved to be relatively straightforward with comfortable victories against South Birmingham Bears (82-52), Barking Abbey Rhondda Rebels (77-54) and Taunton Tigers (105-59).

A trip to London Heathrow Acers was their reward in the semi-final, and despite a strong fourth period from the home side, Archers held on to reach their first final. That was as good as it got for Jennings team, though, and despite 19 points from Megan Hoffman (183-F-82, college: Adams St.), Sheffield Hatters collected the trophy with a 76-59 victory.

The Archers opened the league season with a 93-60 victory against London Heathrow Acers, before winning a thriller 58-57 against Manchester Mystics. That set the tone as they won their next 11 games, and the trip to face title rivals City of Sheffield Hatters in early December put Archers in the driving seat as they returned home with an 80-79 victory.

However, an 84-76 loss at Nottingham Wildcats on Valentines Day saw Hatters move back level with them at the top of the table. The key game came on the penultimate weekend of the season when they hosted Hatters and despite 18 points apiece from Hoffman and Steph Collins, an 83-76 home loss against the Sheffield side saw their title challenge effectively end.

The runners-up trophy never looked in doubt as Archers completed their most successful season with only two league defeats.

A home game against Acers was their reward for second place, and with Leah Dehaan (178-G-89) leading the way with 26 points they made short work of the London side as they ran out 100-53 winners. Their semi-final against Nottingham Wildcats proved to be a much tougher test, but led by 25 Hoffman points, the Welsh side outscored their opponents 24-18 in the final period to wrap up an 84-75 victory.

Hatters awaited UWIC in the title game, and a bout of food poisoning following the win against Wildcats the previous night, effectively ended their chances. The Hatters led 28-15 at the first break, and outscored Archers in each of the next two periods on their way to an 81-48 victory as UWICs season ended in disappointment.

Hoffman finished sixth in both the scoring and rebounding tables, chalking up 20.05 points and 9.43 boards per game, while Collins was the leagues second leading assist player with 4.24 per game.
Courtsey of: http://www.englandbasketball.co.uk

U16 Women Finish 3rd in France - by Eurobasket News
By Dave Ryan

England Under 16 women had a successful time in France as they finished third in the Tournoi International de Salies du Salat last weekend.

Karen Burton s team won all three pool games, and having suffered a surprise loss in the semi-final, bounced back to win the third placed playoff in the three-day competition.

All of their opponents were French National League under 18 teams, and England opened the competition with a 45-20 hammering of CUC. A 33-27 victory against Nice followed, and they wrapped up the opening stage with a 62-25 win against Salies.

Toulouse Nets proved too strong in the semi-final, winning 31-25, before Salies were again comfortably beaten 50-20 to seal the bronze medal.

'The team and coaching staff were made to feel most welcome, and the girls represented their country with pride as head coach Karen Burton would have expected them to,' said Team Manager Ollie Jerram.. 'They made many new friends and even taught the French a new dance which was so popular it ended up as part of Englands warm up routine!'
Courtsey of: http://www.englandbasketball.co.uk

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WNBA - Women

Mystics release forward Kristen Mann and center Kelly Schumacher - by Eurobasket News
General Manager Angela Taylor announced the release of forward Kristen Mann (6'2''-F-83, college: UCSB) and center Kelly Schumacher (6'5''-C-77, college: Connecticut) by the team today. The Mystics training camp roster stands at 12 with the final team to be announced tomorrow.

Following is the Mystics current roster:

No. Player Pos. Ht. /Wt. Birthdate College WNBA Exp.

22 Matee Ajavon (5'8''-G-86, college: Rutgers) G 5-8/160 5/07/86 Rutgers 1

20 Alana Beard (5'11''-G/F-82, college: Duke) G/F 5-11/160 5/14/82 Duke '04 5

32 Nikki Blue (5'8''-G-84, college: UCLA) G 5-8/163 4/29/84 UCLA'06 3

4 Marissa Coleman (6'1''-G/F-87, college: Maryland) G/F 6-1/160 1/04/87 Maryland '09 1

25 Monique Currie (6'0''-G/F-83, college: Duke) F 6-0/177 2/25/83 Duke '06 3

10 Lindsey Harding (5'8''-G-84, college: Duke) G 5-8/139 6/12/84 Duke '07 2

34 Tasha Humphrey (6'3''-F-85, college: Georgia) C 6-3/190 12/29/85 Georgia '08 1

1 Crystal Langhorne (6'2''-F/C-86, college: Maryland) F/C 6-2/190 10/27/86 Maryland '08 1

44 Chasity Melvin (6'3''-C/F-76, college: N.Carolina St.) C/F 6-3/185 5/03/76 NC State '98 10

33 Bernice Mosby (6'1''-F-84, agency: LBM Management, college: Baylor) F 6-1/140 2/14/84 Baylor '07 2

41 Josephine Owino (6'4''-C-83, college: Union (TN)) C 6-3/ 8/28/83 Union '09 R

43 Nakia Sanford (6'4''-F/C-76, college: Kansas) F/C 6-4/200 5/10/76 Kansas '99 6

The Washington Mystics will tip off the 2009 season on Saturday, June 6, on the road against the Connecticut Sun. Washington will host the club's home opener on Sunday, June 7, against the Atlanta Dream. Season and group tickets for the 2009 season are currently on sale and can be purchased by calling the Mystics Sales Office at 1-877-DC-HOOP1 or by visiting the Mystics web site at www.washingtonmystics.com.

The Washington Mystics organization is dedicated to providing affordable entertainment, serving as an impactful community partner and maintaining accessibility to positive female role models. Supported by passionate fans, the Mystics are elite, hardworking athletes continually striving to win a Championship.

Courtesy of The Washington Mystics

Indiana Fever final roster set for 10th season - by Eurobasket News
Four Olympians, three former WNBA champions, five WNBA finalists and five past WNBA All-Stars comprise what is the most star-studded roster in Indiana Fever history, as announced today by Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Kelly Krauskopf.

The Fever opens its 10th season Saturday at Atlanta (7:00 p.m., 1070 The Fan and WNBA LiveAccess), before returning to Indianapolis for its home opener on Sunday against the Minnesota Lynx (7:00 p.m., FOX Sports Indiana and 1070 The Fan).

Released Thursday were rookie center Danielle Campbell, a third-round draft pick who helped lead Purdue to the NCAA Elite Eight in last year's NCAA Tournament; and four-year guard Tan White, the Fever's top draft pick in 2005. White boasted a 9.2-point career scoring average with the Fever. Despite making just 34 starts over four seasons, she is the second-leading scorer in franchise history (1,240) and ranks fourth in games played (135).

Indiana's roster is paced by nine-year Fever star Tamika Catchings (6'1''-F-79, college: Tennessee), who was recently selected by WNBA GMs as the best small forward in the league. The two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist and five-time All-Star is joined on the Fever by three other former Olympians - Tully Bevilaqua (5'5''-G-72) (Australia), Yolanda Griffith (6'4''-C/F-70, college: Florida Atlantic) (USA) and Tammy Sutton-Brown (6'4''-C-78, college: Rutgers) (Canada).

Catchings joins Dixon, Griffith, Sutton-Brown and Katie Douglas (6'1''-G/F-79, college: Purdue) as WNBA All-Stars on the 2009 Fever roster. Catchings and seven-time All-Star Griffith both have been named the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Griffith, a former league MVP (2001), will share duties at power forward with five-year Fever star Ebony Hoffman (6'2''-C/F-82, college: USC) who was named the league's Most Improved Player last season.

With Catchings as the face of the franchise since 2001, Indiana has made five playoff appearances including four straight since 2005. What she and the Fever seek, however, is a shot at a WNBA title. Three of Catchings' teammates have won that title - Dixon (2001 and 2002 with Los Angeles), Bevilaqua (2004 with Seattle) and Griffith (2005 with Sacramento). Douglas and Sutton-Brown both reached the WNBA Finals with Connecticut and Charlotte, respectively.

While the 2009 roster is now laden with experience, it also boasts energy and youth. First-round draft pick Briann January (5'8''-G-87, college: Arizona St.) will make a bid to become the team's starting point guard, with second-round pick Christina Wirth (6'1''-G/F-87, agency: LBM Management, college: Vanderbilt) regarded as a valuable shooter and versatile forward. Second-year stars Erica White (5'3''-G-86, college: LSU) and Khajijah Whittington complete the roster.

2009 indiana fever ROSTER

No Player Pos Ht Wt Birthdate College Yr

41 Tully Bevilaqua G 5-7 145 07/19/1972 Australia 10

24 Tamika Catchings F 6-1 167 07/21/1979 Tennessee '01 8

21 Tamecka Dixon (5'9''-G-75, agency: Merit Sports, college: Kansas) G 5-9 148 12/14/1975 Kansas '96 12

23 Katie Douglas G-F 6-0 165 05/07/1979 Purdue '01 8

33 Yolanda Griffith C-F 6-4 175 03/01/1970 Florida Atlantic '93 10

32 Ebony Hoffman F 6-2 215 08/27/1982 USC '04 5

20 Briann January G 5-8 144 01/11/1987 Arizona State '09 R

8 Tammy Sutton-Brown C 6-4 199 01/27/1978 Rutgers '01 8

7 Erica White G 5-3 135 08/26/1986 Louisiana State '08 1

1 Khadijah Whittington (6'1''-F-86, college: N.Carolina St.) F 6-1 185 08/05/1986 NC State '08 1

34 Christina Wirth F 6-1 172 04/18/1987 Vanderbilt '09 R

The Indiana Fever celebrates its 10th anniversary season in 2009, opening the summer season at Atlanta on Saturday, June 6 (7:00 p.m.), and hosting the Minnesota Lynx on June 7 (7:00 p.m.) - exactly 10 years after the franchise was founded (June 7, 1999). Season tickets are available at FeverBasketball.com, or by calling (317) 917-2500.

Courtesy of The Indiana Fever