Eurobasket Daily News Report:

EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 2/20/2010

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Men News

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ABA

New ABA Power Rankings released - by Gianni Pascucci
Only some weeks before the start of the ABA playoffs, The SETX Mavericks confirm themselves at the top of the league Power Rankings, immediately followed by a rising Jersey Express team. Traditional San Francisco and Kenucky powerhouses confirm their good shape, and Chicago and Lake Michigan are the most serious threats from the MidWest. See the rankings here:

1. SETX Mavericks
2. Jersey Express
3. San Francisco Rumble
4. Kentucky Bisons
5. Chicago Steam
6. Bluegrass Stallions
7. Lake Michigan Admirals
8. Clayton Showtime
9. Los Angeles SLAM
10. West Texas Whirlwind
11. Seattle Mountaineers
12. New York Thunder
13. Riverside Rainmakers
14. North Texas Fresh
15. Maryland Marvels
16. West Virginia Blazers
17. Pittsburgh Phantoms
18. San Diego Surf
19. Sacramento Heatwave
20. California Seakings
21. New York Red Riders
22. Tri City Suns
23. Texas Fuel
24. Detroit Hoops

Standings

ABA Standings

Exhibition Team
1. Play2Win	10-4
2. Chico Rage	1-5
3. College Park	0-0
4. Smoky MJ	0-0
5. Crusaders	0-1
6. Arlington B.	0-2
7. Oklahoma	0-2
8. Modesto E.	0-6
NoCal Div.
1. S.Francisco R.	10-4
2. Clayton	9-3
3. California SK	9-6
4. Sacramento H.	9-10
5. Central Valley	4-10
North Central Div.
1. Chicago Steam	15-4
2. Lake Michigan	10-6
3. Columbus Crush	8-3
4. Pittsburgh P.	6-4
5. Detroit Hoops	6-5
6. Kansas City S.	4-0
7. Cleveland R.	2-2
8. G.Rapids F.	0-2
9. Youngstown S.	0-2
10. Akron R.	0-5
Northeast Div.
1. Jersey Expr.	11-4
2. NY Thunder	9-3
3. Maryland M.	7-9
4. NY Red Riders	6-9
5. Tri-City Suns	5-9
Pacific Northwest Div.
1. Seattle M.	8-6
2. Seattle ZG	3-0
3. Everett	2-2
4. Spokane Sunz	1-1
5. Washington R.	1-6
SoCal Div.
1. LA Slam	6-5
2. San Diego S.	5-6
3. Compton C.	4-2
4. Las Vegas A.	2-0
5. Riverside R.	2-3
6. Honolulu	1-1
7. California BB	1-4
South Central Div.
1. Kentucky S.	13-7
2. Kentucky B.	12-7
3. W.Virginia B.	6-10
4. St.Louis S.	0-3
Southeast Div.
1. Music City Stars	9-3
2. Mississippi B.	4-6
3. Columbus Life	3-5
4. Florida Th.	1-0
5. Charlotte	1-3
6. Carolina K.	0-0
7. Ga PROWL	0-1
Southwest Div.
1. SE Texas M.	19-3
2. N.Texas F.	10-4
3. W.Texas W.	7-5
4. Texas Fuel	3-7
5. Dallas G.	2-1
6. Texas Ch.	0-2
7. Houston T.	0-6

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AUSTRALIA

Stats Leaders - NBL

Points Per Game

Kirk PENNEY
  Breakers
  (196-G-80)
  Avg: 23.2

1. Penney, Breakers	23.2
2. McKee, Hawks	17.9
3. Ballinger, 36ers	17.6
4. Williams, Crocodiles	17.5
5. Hodge, Tigers	17.5
6. Gilchrist, 36ers	16.9
7. Bruton, Breakers	16.8
8. Worthington, Tig.	16.3
9. Ubaka, Blaze	16.3
10. Redhage, Perth	15.5

Rebounds Per Game

Rick RICKERT
  Breakers
  (211-F-83)
  Avg: 7.1

1. Rickert, Breakers	7.1
2. Davidson, Hawks	7.0
3. Worthington, Tig.	6.9
4. Rychart, Taipans	6.8
5. Roberts, Crocodiles	6.7
6. Petrie, Blaze	6.6
7. Maxey, Blaze	6.6
8. Schenscher, Perth	6.6
9. Burston, 36ers	6.5
10. Holmes, 36ers	6.4

Assists Per Game

Julius HODGE
  Tigers
  (201-G-83)
  Avg: 5.9

1. Hodge, Tigers	5.9
2. McKee, Hawks	4.5
3. Gibson, Blaze	4.5
4. Gilchrist, 36ers	4.2
5. Ubaka, Blaze	4.2
6. Williams, Crocodiles	3.4
7. Groves, 36ers	3.4
8. Crosswell, Tigers	3.4
9. Boucher, Breakers	3.3
10. Bruton, Breakers	3.3

Steals Per Game

CJ BRUTON
  Breakers
  (188-G-75)
  Avg: 1.4

1. Bruton, Breakers	1.4
2. Martin, Perth	1.4
3. Saville, Hawks	1.4
4. Jones, Taipans	1.3
5. Boucher, Breakers	1.3
6. Williams, Crocodiles	1.3
7. Hodge, Tigers	1.2
8. McKee, Hawks	1.2
9. Lisch, Perth	1.1
10. Gibson, Blaze	1.1

Blocks Per Game

Julius HODGE
  Tigers
  (201-G-83)
  Avg: 0.9

1. Hodge, Tigers	0.9
2. Williams, Crocodiles	0.8
3. Maxey, Blaze	0.7
4. Penney, Breakers	0.7
5. Rickert, Breakers	0.7
6. Rychart, Taipans	0.6
7. Melzer, Taipans	0.6
8. Redhage, Perth	0.6
9. Lisch, Perth	0.5
10. Crosswhite, Taipa.	0.5

NBL Semifinals: Hawks thump Crocs in Game One - by Eurobasket News
The Wollongong Hawks have moved to within one victory of reaching the Grand Final following an 87-68 victory over the Townsville Crocodiles at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday night.

The Hawks were never headed once they grabbed the lead at 4-2, and immediately had the Crocs on the back foot after converting 16 points off nine Townsville turnovers in the opening term.

Cameron Tragardh (209-C/F-83, college: ORU) (26 points, seven rebounds) and Larry Davidson (207-C-83, college: Boise St.) (17 points, five assists, five steals and five blocks) formed an unstoppable frontline combination, dismantling Townsville at both ends of the floor.

Corey Williams (191-G-77, college: Alabama St.) provided the only resistance, playing a lone hand for 12 points on a lacklustre night for Townsville.

With the win, the Hawks have now won their past six playoff bouts against the Crocs, dating back to game three of the 2001 Grand Final Series.

The best-of-three series now moves to The Swamp in Townsville for Game Two on Wednesday.

Wollongong cashed in on three early turnovers by the Crocs to establish an 11-4 advantage with Rhys Martin and Tragardh combining for all 11 points.

Williams hit a tough scoop in the lane to keep Townville in check, but five sudden points from Glen Saville, including a broken-play triple, opened up a 10-point gap at 18-8.

The Hawks continued to swarm on defence and closed the quarter riding a 12-4 surge to hold a commanding 27-12 lead.

The game slowed into a grinding battle in the second, but Townsville was unable to make any inroads into the deficit.

After missing his first six attempts, Mat Campbell connected on a baseline jumper to push the margin to 21 (38-17).

Wollongong was in full control at half-time, leading 50-26.

Tragardh provided 18 points (9-of-10 shooting), while Davidson was the backbone of the defence, producing a rare stat line of four blocks, four steals, four assists, four rebounds and four points in the first two quarters.

The visitors peeled off the opening eight points of the third, behind threes from Cam Tovey and Peter Crawford.

Davidson quickly replied with five points including a fall-away three from the corner to stabilise the home side.

The Crocs clawed back to within 16 points (46-62) on a three by Michael Cedar, but six late points from Davidson once again kept Townsville out of touch trailing 48-70 heading into the fourth.

The Hawks had little difficulty icing the game in the fourth and Illawarra junior products Dan Jackson and Zac Delaney got their first taste of playoff action in the final minutes.

Courtesy of NBL (www.nbl.com.au)

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BULGARIA

Levski with third win against Balkan this season - by Valentin Anguelov
The leaders in NBL Levski will stay on top after the 17th round. Today 'The Blues' defeated Balkan for third time this season, this time at home 84-69. The hosts had the lead for the whole game but it was close until the middle of the third quarter when they pulled away and went on to finish the game with ease.
Balkan took an early 5-3 lead but it was the only one in the game. Then BC Levski took over nad had 25-16 advantage after the first quarter. In the second one the visitors had good moment and came within a point at a numerous times but never had the lead. With little to go in the half Bobby Fraser scored a 3-pointer to put Levski ahead 41-37 after 20 minutes of play.
Immediately after the break the hosts built a 10-point lead. Balkan cut it to 5 but then allowed Levski to pull ahead once again and the hosts had a 13-point advantage after the third quarter. In the last ten minutes the visitors managed to come close to 9 points but then Levski built a 15-point lead and closed out the game.
Aaron Harper (199-G/F-81, agency: Strategic Sports, college: Mississippi) was once again the top performer on the court with his 30 points on 10/12 shooting and 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Donald Cole had 20 points while the captain Stefan Georgiev had a dominant presence under the basket with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
For the visitors Ivan Lilov had 22 points and 7 rebounds and Georgi Davidov scored 13 points.
What is ahead for Levski are two games in Eurohold Balkan league. First, next tuesday the team will travel to Montenegro for a game with Mornar and then at 4th of March will hosts Steaua. Then it's a visit to Chernomorets before the Cup Finals. Balkan will have two more games before the tournament in Yambol. First the team takes on Spartak Pleven at home and then it's an away game on March 6 at Rilski Sportist.

FULL STATS OF LEVSKI - BALKAN

Standings A1

NBL Standings

1. Levski	14-3
2. Lukoil A.	13-3
3. Balkan	8-9
4. Yambol	7-9
5. Spartak P.	6-10
6. Cherno More	6-10
7. Rila Sport	6-10
8. Chernomorets	5-11

Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Aaron HARPER
  Levski
  (199-G/F-81)
  Avg: 25.1

1. Harper, Levski	25.1
2. Durchev, Chernomo.	20.3
3. Cole, Levski	19.5
4. Bozov, Balkan	19.4
5. Gruev, Rilski Sport	17.9
6. Brown, Chernomo.	17.4
7. Antic, Lukoil A.	17.2
8. Lilov, Balkan	16.9
9. Mirakovski, Cherno M.	16.7
10. Angelov, Yambol	16.6

Rebounds Per Game

Bruce BROWN
  Chernomorets
  (213-C-83)
  Avg: 8.9

1. Brown, Chernomo.	8.9
2. Antic, Lukoil A.	8.0
3. Brown, Lukoil A.	8.0
4. Peterson, Rilski S.	7.8
5. Burgess, Rilski Sport	7.5
6. Kennerly, Spart.	7.4
7. Radev, Balkan	7.4
8. Dimitrov, Spart.	6.6
9. Morton, Chernomo.	6.5
10. Yanev, Cherno More	6.4

Assists Per Game

Walker RUSSELL
  Lukoil A.
  (183-G-82)
  Avg: 5.5

1. Russell, Lukoil A.	5.5
2. Jones, Rilski Sport	5.4
3. Aleksiev, Chernomo.	5.4
4. Gruev, Rilski Sport	4.8
5. Mirakovski, Cherno M.	4.3
6. Webb, Cherno More	4.1
7. Velikov, Levski	3.8
8. Frasor, Levski	3.5
9. Dimitrov, Spart.	3.3
10. Radionov, Yambol	3.3

Steals Per Game

Julian RADIONOV
  Yambol
  (188-G-79)
  Avg: 2.4

1. Radionov, Yambol	2.4
2. Wells, Lukoil A.	2.1
3. Russell, Lukoil A.	2.1
4. Harper, Levski	1.9
5. Lilov, Balkan	1.9
6. Angelov, Yambol	1.8
7. Velikov, Levski	1.8
8. Kyosev, Cherno M.	1.8
9. Bozov, Balkan	1.8
10. Dimitrov, Spart.	1.7

Blocks Per Game

Ernest BROWN
  Beijing
  (213-C-79)
  Avg: 1.5

1. Brown, Lukoil A.	1.5
2. Brown, Chernomo.	1.3
3. Gocevski, Yambol	0.9
4. Peterson, Rilski S.	0.9
5. Earl, Yambol	0.9
6. Cole, Levski	0.9
7. Radev, Balkan	0.7
8. Veselovs, Cherno M.	0.7
9. Burgess, Rilski Sport	0.6
10. Doychinov, Cherno M.	0.6

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CHINA

Standings - CBA

CBA Standings

1. Guandong	21-1
2. Zhejiang G.L.	20-3
3. Xinjiang	19-3
4. Jiangsu	18-6
5. Shanghai	17-6
6. Liaoning	14-8
7. Fujian	11-12
8. Shandong	10-12
9. Bayi	10-13
10. Zhejiang C.	9-14
11. DongGuan	7-15
12. Beijing	7-16
13. TianJin R.	7-16
14. Shanxi Zh.	7-16
15. Jilin	6-15
16. Qingdao DS	5-17
17. Shaanxi	4-19

Stats Leaders - CBA

Points Per Game

Andre EMMETT
  Shandong
  (196-G/F-82)
  Avg: 31.5

1. Emmett, Shandong	31.5
2. White, Zhejiang.	29.7
3. Edwards, Shaanxi	29.3
4. Gaines, Xinjiang	29.3
5. Pickett, Shaanxi	28.1
6. Rodgers, Jilin	27.7
7. Lamizana, TianJ.	26.5
8. Mays, Beijing	26.0
9. Lucas, Shanghai	25.9
10. Kelley, DongGuan	25.8

Rebounds Per Game

DeAngelo COLLINS
  Jilin
  (206-F-82)
  Avg: 15.4

1. Collins, Jilin	15.4
2. Mays, Beijing	13.2
3. Ramos, Zhejiang.	12.9
4. Swift, Shandong	12.1
5. Oyedeji, Liaoning	12.0
6. Harvey, Jiangsu	11.8
7. Williams, Zhejiang C.	11.8
8. Gaines, Xinjiang	11.4
9. Zhang, DongGuan	10.8
10. Crump, TianJin R.	10.6

Assists Per Game

XiaoMing LU
  Fujian
  (176-G-79)
  Avg: 7

1. Lu, Fujian	7.0
2. Hu, Jiangsu	5.6
3. Parker, Guandong	5.3
4. Allen, Xinjiang	4.9
5. Kelley, DongGuan	4.7
6. Lucas, Shanghai	4.6
7. Liu, Shanghai	4.6
8. Fahed, TianJin R.	4.5
9. White, Zhejiang.	4.1
10. Carr, Jilin	4.1

Steals Per Game

Chris WILLIAMS
  Qingdao DS
  (199-F/G-80)
  Avg: 4.7

1. Williams, Qingd.	4.7
2. Hu, Jiangsu	4.2
3. Parker, Guandong	3.3
4. Zhong, Jilin	2.6
5. Wang, Bayi	2.6
6. Emmett, Shandong	2.5
7. Allen, Xinjiang	2.4
8. Lu, Fujian	2.4
9. Liu, Shanghai	2.3
10. Pickett, Shaanxi	2.3

Blocks Per Game

Herve LAMIZANA
  TianJin R.
  (207-F/C-81)
  Avg: 3.8

1. Lamizana, TianJ.	3.8
2. Swift, Shandong	3.1
3. Collins, Jilin	2.8
4. Xu, Bayi	2.2
5. Steyn, Qingdao DS	2.2
6. Watkins, Jiangsu	2.0
7. Wang, Bayi	1.9
8. McCoy, Fujian	1.8
9. Simmons, DongGuan	1.7
10. Siler, Shanghai	1.6

CBA Returns from New Year's Break - by Arthur Volbert
The CBA returned from its New Year's break but league-leading Guangdong had a bye.

The second-place Zhejiang Lions improved their record to 20-3 with a 135-98 triumph over Dongguan. Rodney White had 29 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Peter John Ramos had 24 points and 13 rebounds. Zhang Wei had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Wang Bo had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Jin Lipeng scored 16. Lin Chih-Chieh had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Zhejiang is a veteran team that keeps performing on a high level. Tre Kelley led Dongguan with 21 points and 7 assists. Cedric Simmons had 19 points and 9 rebounds. Zhang Kai had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Song Kangming had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. He Zhongmian had 9 points and 7 rebounds. Qiu Biao scored 11. But Meng Duo, who averaged over 15 points last year, had only 4 points and 1 rebound. His regression, when development was expected, is a major reason for Dongguan's 7-15 record.

Third place Xinjiang imoproved its record to 19-3 with a 103-92 victory over Bayi. Charles Gaines had 28 points and 14 rebounds. Xu Guozhong had 28 points and 5 rebounds. Xue Yuyang had 13 points and 5 rebounds. Mengke Bateer had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Myron Allen and Sun Weibo each scored 9. Xirelijiang did not play, likely from an injury that preceded the New Year's break. Wang Zhizhi led Bayi with 26 points and 6 rebounds. Li Ke had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Wang Zhongguang had 20 points and 4 assists. Xu Zhonghao had 11 points and 8 rebounds. But Mo Ke and Wang Lei have had season-long injuries, and Li Nan has retired, which accounts for Bayi's 10-13 record.

Jiangsu moved to an 18-5 record with a 116-108 win over Jilin. Hu Xuefeng had 32 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Donnell Harvey had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Meng Da had 21 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Tang Zhengdong had 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Han Shuo scored 11. Donnell Harvey added to Jiangsu's veteran native players will make Jiangsu a formidable team in the playoffs. Leon Rogers returned from injury to lead Jilin with 38 points and 11 rebounds. Young Zhang Biao had his best game with 36 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Tasheed Carr had 12 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists. Zhong Cheng had 8 points and 8 rebounds.

Shanghai ruined Guo Shiqiang's return from training in the USA to be Liaoning's coach with an 83-76 victory. Shanghai improved to 17-6 while Liaoning dropped to 14-8. Liu Wei (190-G-80) had 25 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. John Lucas had 15 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Wang Yong scored 12. Zaid Abbaas had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Wang Ligang had 9 points and 10 rebounds. Zhang Qingpeng led Liaoning with 20 points and 5 rebounds. Brandon Robinson had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Li Xiaoxu had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Liu Xiangtao had 11 points and 5 rebounds. Olumide Oyedeji had 9 points and 17 rebounds.

Shanxi Zhongyu defeated Tianjin 108-101. Duan Jiangpeng had 30 points and 6 rebounds. Pan Jiang had 30 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Hou Bing had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Stephon Marbury had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 11 assists. Marbury has shown he can be an unselfish ball-distributor and gain wins over the CBA's lesser teams, but he still has not scored victories over the CBA's better clubs. Brandon Crump led Tianjin with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Herve Lamizana had 26 points, 4 rebounds and 7 blocks. Zhang Nan scored 23.

Shandong overwhelmed Zhejiang 113-86. Stromile Swift had 37 points, 20 rebounds and 4 assists. Cao Zhenhua had 24 points, 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Sui Ran had 20 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Listed as born in 1992, Sui is more and more looking like an emerging star. Liu Jiulong scored 10. Andre Brown had 28 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists for Zhejiang. Ding Jinhui had 24 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals. Ju Peng had 14 points and 4 rebounds. Marcus Williams did not play.

Gong Songlin had 30 points and 6 rebounds as Fujian defeated Shaanxi 121-96. Yang Genglin had 23 points and 9 rebounds. Chris Porter had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Li Hang scored 11. Sean Williams had 8 points and 8 rebounds. Tim Pickett had 28 points and 8 rebounds for Shaanxi. He Ben had 22 points and 6 rebounds. Zhao Nan scored 13. Zheng Zhun had 10 points and 4 rebounds and only hit on 3 of 13 shots.

Chen Lei had 28 points and 5 rebounds to lead Beijing to a 124-109 win over Qingdao. Cedric Bozeman had 26 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Ernest Brown had 20 points and 9 rebounds. Ji Zhe had 18 points and 5 rebounds. Xie Libin had 18 points and 3 rebounds. Chris Williams had 33 points, 12 rebounds and 5 steals for Qingdao. Zhao Anan had 20 points and 5 rebounds. Reggie Okosa had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Lu Keming scored 9.

CBA Round: 24 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Zhejiang G.L. - DongGuan 135-98
Zhejiang Lions improved to 20-3 record on the second place with a 135:98 triumph over Dongguan. White Rodney (206-F-80, college: Charlotte) stepped up with 29 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Tre Kelley led Dongguan with 21 points and 7 assists.

Shandong - Zhejiang C. 113-86
Shandong rolled over Zhejiang 113:86 as Swift Stromile (206-F-79, college: LSU) exploded with 37 points and 20 rebounds. Cao Zhenhua followed him with 24 points and 14 rebounds, while Sui Ran had 20 points. Andre Brown had 28 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists for Zhejiang.

Beijing - Qingdao DS 124-109
Beijing beat Qingdao 124:109 as Chen Lei (195-G/F-83) had 28 points and Cedric Bozeman posted 26 points. Chris Williams had 33 points, 12 rebounds and 5 steals for Qingdao, while Zhao Anan added 20 points.

Fujian - Shaanxi 121-96
Fujian beat Shaanxi 121:96 as Gong SongLin (195-G/F-81) stepped up with 30 points and Yang Genglin had 23 points and 9 rebounds. Tim Pickett answered with 28 points and 8 rebounds for Shaanxi.

Jiangsu - Jilin 116-108
Jiangsu produced a 116:108 win over Jilin. Hu XueFeng (185-G-80) top-scored with 32 points, while Donnell Harvey and Meng Da had 21 points apiece. Leon Rogers led Jilin with 38 points and 11 rebounds and Young Zhang Biao had 36 points.

Shanxi Zh. - TianJin R. 108-101
Shanxi Zhongyu outscored Tianjin 108:101 as Duan JiangPeng (197-F-90) and Pan Jiang delivered 30 points each. Hou, Bing netted 20 and Marbury posted 12. Brandon Crump led Tianjin with 28 points and 11 rebounds.

Shanghai - Liaoning 83-76
Shanghai outscored Liaoning 83:76 at the Regular Season Round 24. Liu Wei top-scored with 25 points and Lucas John

(180-G-82, college: Oklahoma St.) added 15 points.Zhang Qingpeng led Liaoning with 20 points and 5 rebounds.

Bayi - Xinjiang 92-103
Bayi lost to Xinjiang 92:103 as the latter got 28 points from each Xu GuoChong (198-F/G-81) and Gaines Charles. Xue YuYang scored 13 and Mengke Bateer had 12 points and 12 caroms. Wang ZhiZhi responded with 26 points in the losing effort.

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COSTA RICA

Dixon to join Liceo ? - by Gianni Pascucci
Well-known inside player Jefferson Dixon (196-C-84) joined last week Liceo de Costa Rica and started practicing with that team, even without having signed an official contract yet. The same was made by veterans Javier Bustamante (187-G/F-79) and Rayner Archer (G), who all could sign soon with Liceo. The 'Red Express' seems really determined to win something in 2010 edition of Liga de Baloncesto Superior (LBS) - Primera Division ....

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CROATIA

Croatian All-Stars Game Rosters - by Richard
NORTH:
Ivan Krolo (217-C-83) (Vrijednosnice OS Darda)
Matej Karlovic (200-F-89) (Brod Svjetlost)
Karlo Vragovic (192-G-89) (Dubrava)
Igor Peklaric (200-F-79) (Zabok)
Marin Rozic

(201-F-83)
Marko Tomas

(201-G-85)
Jamont Gordon

(193-G/F-87, college: Mississippi St.)
Bojan Bogdanovic (202-G/F-89) (Cibona)
Ante Tomic

(217-C-87)
Krunoslav Simon (197-G/F-85)
Luka Zoric

(211-C/F-84) (CO Zagreb)
Damjan Rudez (206-F-86)
Thomas Mobley

(195-F-81, college: Charleston) (Cedevita)
Reserves:
Tomislav Zubcic (214-C/F-90) (Cibona)
Zeljko Sakic (202-F-88) (Dubrava)
Coaches:
Denis Bajramovic (CO Zagreb)
Damir Voloder (Vrijednosnice OS Darda)

SOUTH:
Toni Bizaca (202-F-82) (Trogir)
Luka Petkovic (190-G-88)
Miro Bilan (212-F-89) (Sibenik)
Mario Delas (207-C/F-90)
Jere Macura

(205-F-80, college: Notre Dame) (Split CO)
Mate Mrva (195-F-83) (Borik Puntamika)
Antonio Ostric (200-G/F-89) (Dubrovnik)
Alen Blesic (198-G-89) (Kastel Gallery)
Rok Stipcevic

(188-G-86)
Hrvoje Peric

(203-F-85)
Vladimir Boisa (209-F/C-81, agency: World Sport Agency)
Marko Car (188-G/F-85)
Micah Downs (203-G-86, agency: Priority Sports, college: Gonzaga) (Zadar)
Reserves: Marko Batina (198-G-86) (Split CO)
Luka Drezga (196-G-87) (Trogir)
Coaches:
Zmagoslav Sagadin (Zadar)
Boris Kurtovic (Split CO)

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CZECH REPUBLIC

Dwight Burke Joins Ostrava for the Rest of the Season - by Surujh Roopnarine
After a humiliating 107-56 loss at Novy Jicin on February 5, their fifth consecutive defeat, the management of Ostrava decided change was necessary. The club decided to release Lavell Payne (203-F-85, college: Cent.Florida) and instead have signed rookie forward Dwight Burke (203-F-86, college: Marquette). Burke has so far played in two games for Ostrava (both losses) and scored 22 points on 8-11 shooting in a 98-88 loss to Podebrady on Wednesday. Dwight Burke is a 6-8 power forward from Brooklyn, NY who spent the last four seasons in school as a reserve big man for Marquette University. His senior season (2008-09) was his best, as he posted 2.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 35 games. He is a very good rebounder, especially on the offensive side, and will score most of his points in the paint. As he has not had any extensive playing time over his collegiate career, this will be an interesting gamble on the part of Ostrava to see if his talents can translate over the long term in the NBL.
Lavell Payne was in his third pro season after leaving Central Florida (NCAA) after the 06-07 campaign. On the season he appeared in 28 games for Ostrava and was averaging 11.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks while shooting 51.4% (30.3% from three-point range). Payne spent last season with Pardubice, and his rookie season in Bulgaria with BC CSKA Interlogic Sophia. He himself served as an early season replacement for fellow American import JR Inman (206-F-87, college: Rutgers), who was released in October. Ostrava are losers of seven in a row and currently reside in 10th place with an 8-22 record.

Nerijus Varnelis Splits with Novy Jicin - by Surujh Roopnarine
Lithuanian forward Nerijus Varnelis (200-F-78) has left Mlekarna Miltra Novy Jicin as the two sides could not agree on a restructuring of the players contract. Varnelis has appeared in 26 games this season for Novy Jicin, averaging 10.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists. Last season the 31 year old played in Lithuania for Alytus Alita where he was named an All-Star and selected to the Eurobasket.com All-Lithuanian LKL 1st Team after leading the domestic league in scoring at 22.8 points per game.

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DENMARK

Bakken Cruises Versus Naestved - by Evan Thompson
In the featured game of the week against playoff teams on DK4, The Bakken Bears beat up on Team FOG Naestved and cruised to an easy victory. Although Bakken's talent looked superior on Thursday night, it was their effort and Naestved's lack thereof that made this game hardly ever look competitive.

The first quarter set the tone for the game. It featured several transition opportunities for the Bears that were easily executed because Naestved did not get back on defense. This non-commitment to transition defense also allowed fans to watch the Torre Johnson (198-F-85, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) show. One can usually remember all the dunks that happen in a Danish league game, but not on this night. Suffice it to say, Johnson had several dunks and finishes around the basket that left fans feeling they got their money's worth.

Despite a plus-three-point advantage that Naestved gained in the second quarter alone, the game never was close. To make matters worse for Naestved, they were unable to hit a three-point shot until the third quarter (2/17 from 3-point range for the game) and all star guard Mickey Dennis (190-G/F-78, college: JMU) went without a field goal in the first half.

Naestved will try to rebound from this loss when they travel to Horsens IC for a game on Sunday. Bakken will face the Aalborg Vikings on Wednesday of next week.

Leading Performers:
Bakken Bears Bears - Torre Johnson (27pts (12/20 FG), 10rebs), Chris Christoffersen (218-C-79, college: Oregon) (18pts (8/10 FG), 10rebs)
Team FOG Naestved - Mickey Dennis (20pts, 7rebs), Karolis Kalvaitis (201-F-87) (16pts, 7rebs)

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D-LEAGUE

Latest Transactions - by Surujh Roopnarine
A gathering of general managers in Dallas for All-Star Weekend not only plays a big role in player movement in the NBA, but the D-League as well. Formal announcements have been made on some blockbuster trades, the returns of franchise players, as well as the movement of key role players to new locations, as teams gear up for a second-half surge towards the playoffs.

Rio Grande Valley: Signed Kevin Rogers (6'9''-F-86, college: Baylor) and waived Russell Carter (6'5''-G-85, college: Notre Dame) and Julian Sensley (6'9''-F-82, college: Hawaii). Rogers, a 69 rookie out of Baylor, teamed with Austin Toros All-Star guard Curtis Jerrells for four seasons in Waco. The Dallas, TX native began this season in Greece with Panionios, but was waived in November after three games (6.0ppg, 6.3rpg, 9-21 FG). An All-Big-12 Honorable Mention Selection his junior and senior seasons, Rogers averaged 12.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists last season at Baylor. Carter, the former Notre Dame guard, never appeared in a game for the Vipers since being acquired off waivers from Austin on February 8. Sensley, who was waived due to injury, appeared in 24 games for RGV, averaging 8.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 42.0% from the field.

Idaho: Reacquired Coby Karl

(6'5''-G-83, college: Boise St.). Karl returns to the Stampede after Golden State decided not to sign hom to a second 10-day contract. In four games for the Warriors, the former Boise State products averaged 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 26.3 minutes per. In five games for the Stampede, he is averaging 27.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

Erie: Reacquired Cedric Jackson (6'3''-G-86, college: Cleveland St.). Jackson played out two consecutive 10-day contracts with the Cleveland Cavaliers since his call-up on January 23. Jackson saw limited time in the NBA (three games, six minutes) as he provided emergency depth at the point guard position behind the banged up Maurice Williams and Delonte West. On the D-League season, he has appeared in 23 games for Erie, and is averaging 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists while shooting 43.1% from the field.

Austin: Acquired Luke Bonner (7'1''-C-85, college: Massachusetts). Bonner, the younger brother of San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner, comes to the D-League via the Premier Basketball League, where he appeared in one game prior to joining the Toros. The former Massachusetts backup center began this season in Hungary where he played for Albacomp. In six games he averaged 9.8 points and 3.8 rebounds before leaving in November.

Albuquerque: Acquired Sasha Cuic (6'10''-F-83, college: Oregon St.) and waived Kevin Pittsnogle (6'11''-C-84, college: W.Virginia) due to personal reasons. Cuic appeared in 12 games for Los Angeles earlier this year and averaged 5.8 points before being waived at the beginning of February. Pittsnoggle, the former West Virginia star, started 21 of the 28 games he appeared in for the Thunderbirds and averaged 11.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 38.9% from the field.

Dakota: Signed Cory Underwood (6'10''-F/C-80, college: SUNO) and waived Marcus Dove (6'9''-G/F-85, college: Oklahoma St.) due to injury. The 6-10 Underwood joins Dakota after being traded from Idaho to Maine earlier this month. In 11 games this season, split between Albuquerque and Idaho, Underwood is averaging 7.1 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting an effective 53.1% from the field. Marcus Dove started all 25 games he appeared in for the Wizards, averaging 8.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists.

Springfield: When you have the worst record in the league at 5-22, change is inevitable. Thus is the case with the Springfield Armor, who were able to find willing trade partners and have now completely revamped their roster for a second half aimed towards respectability. First the Armor swapped the D-Leagues leading scorer, Morris Almond (6'6''-F-85, college: Rice), along with T.J. T.J. Cummings (6'9''-F-81, college: UCLA) to Maine for veterans Tony Bobbitt (6'4''-G-79, college: Cincinnati) and Noel Felix (6'9''-C/F-81, college: Fresno St.). Almond, averaging 26.8 points in 22 games at the time of the trade, was a 2007 first round draft pick (26th overall) of the Utah Jazz, the guard out of Rice University split the past two seasons between the Jazz and their NBA D-League affiliate, the Utah Flash. Almond, 25, the all-time leading scorer in Rice history, has 34 NBA games to his credit. T.J. Cummings has appeared in 21 games this season for the Armor and is averaging 15.1 points per game and 8.9 rebounds. While Bobbitt has filled in admirably since Billy Thomas went down with injury, Almond is a better scorer, and Maine needed that. Felix is a very serviceable big man, but T.J. Cummings is a better rebounder, though undersized.
The Armor then added former Notre Dame sharp-shooting guard Kyle McAlarney (6'0''-G-87, college: Notre Dame) from Fort Wayne when they signed and then traded NBA veteran Dan Dickau (6'0''-G-78, college: Gonzaga) to the Mad Ants.

Fort Wayne: Traded Kyle McAlarney to Springfield for Dan Dickau. McAlarney appeared in 23 games (10 starts) for the Mad Ants and was averaging 10.5 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Dikau, the former Gonzaga Bulldog great, made his debut in Fort Wayne on Tuesday, scoring 15 points on 6-13 shooting. He spent last season in Germany playing for Brose Baskets Bamberg.

Tulsa: Reacquired Steven Hill

(7'0''-C-85, college: Arkansas). Hill, a 7-0 center out of Arkansas, returned from injury to log three minutes yesterday as the 66ers downed the Maine Red Claws 113-107. On the season he has appeared in nine games and is averaging 1.2 points and 2.0 rebounds.

Last Night in the D-League: Larry Owens Sensational Against Maine - by Surujh Roopnarine
Maine Red Claws (107) at Tulsa 66ers (113)
The Tulsa 66ers built a first half lead of 20 points, but had to hold on to turn away a re-vamped Maine Red Claws squad 107-113 yesterday afternoon in Tulsa. Larry Owens

(6'7''-G/F-83, college: ORU), who scored 20 of his game high 37 points in the first half, led Tulsa, while the recently acquired Morris Almond (6'6''-F-85, college: Rice) scored 20 points to lead Maine (19-12). Tulsa (17-14) shot 52.1% from the field, efficiently scoring, while Maine shot whenever open (73 FGA vs. 94 FGA). Tulsa did get to the free-throw line a staggering 37 times, making 30, while the red Claws went an efficient 16-18 in their limited attempts. Billy Thomas made his long-awaited return from injury, scoring 16 points off the bench for Maine. Mustafa Shakur provided the support to Owens, scoring 28 points in nearly 46 minutes of action.
RED CLAWS: Morris Almond (20pt+8rb+5to), Trey Gilder (17pt+6rb+5as), Billy Thomas (16pt), Russell Robinson (14pt+10as)
66ERS: Larry Owens (37pt+7rb+7as), Mustafa Shakur (28pt+7rb+7as), Moses Ehambe (22pt), Deron Washington (19pt+9rb)

Austin Toros (107) at Los Angeles D-Fenders (111)
The D-Fenders jumped out early on the visitors and staved off a furious fourth quarter comeback from the visiting Austin Toros to secure a 107-111 home victory. Seven D-Fenders players registered double-figures in scoring, led by Ryan Forehan-Kelly

(6'6''-F/G-80, college: California) who scored a team high 22 points on 8-12 shooting. Frank Robinson (6'4''-G-84, college: Cal.St. Fullerton) followed closely with 21 points of his own. The Toros, playing without Malik Hairston (who is expected to be re-called by San Antonio), were led by the dynamic rookie duo of Alonzo Gee (6'6''-G-87, college: Alabama) and Curtis Jerrells (6'1''-G-87, college: Baylor), who scored a combined 51 points on 15-33 shooting. Surprisingly the visiting Toros shot a despairingly high number of free throws as compared to LA (47-24), but only connected on 61.7% of their attempts (29 made free-throws). LA improves to 10-18 with the win, while Austin falls to 19-11.
TOROS: Alonzo Gee (27pt+5rb), Curtis Jerrells (24pt+6rb), Dwayne Jones (13pt+18rb), Eddie Basden (20pt+5rb+5st)
D-FENDERS: Ryan Forehan-Kelly (22pt), Frank Robinson (21pt+8rb+7as), Michael Fey (15pt+7rb), Diamon Simpson (14pt+9rb)

Minnesota Timberwolves Assign Nathan Jawai to Sioux Falls of the D-League - by Surujh Roopnarine
Because what is new is better than what is old (we guess), the Minnesota Timberwolves have assigned second-year forward/center Nathan Jawai (6'10''-C-86, college: Midland CC) to their NBA D-League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Jawai has appeared in 36 games for Minnesota this season, averaging 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in nearly 11 minutes. During his rookie campaign, Jawai played in six games for the Toronto Raptors and was assigned to the Idaho Stampede. During his two assignments in Boise he averaged 11.1 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 52.6 percent from the field in 14 games. The assignment comes on the heels of Minnesotas trade with the New York Knicks in which they swapped veteran forward Brian Cardinal (6'8''-F-77, agency: Priority Sports, college: Purdue) in exchange for Darko Milicic (7'0''-C-85), the second overall selection of the 2003 NBA Draft. Relegated to Mike DAntonis bench in New York, the 24-year old Milicic has only appeared in six games this season. Darko (and his agent Marc Cornstein) is hoping to get a fresh start in Minnesota. The assignment of Jawai at least clears a body out of the way for Darko to pick up time behind Al Jefferson, Kevin Love and Ryan Hollins. The Skyforce also waived guard Mike Nelson due to injury. Nelson appeared in 26 games for the Skyforce, averaging 7.4 points and 2.0 rebounds.

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ESTONIA

Standings - KML

EMKL Standings

1. Rakvere	17-6
2. TTU KK	16-6
3. TU/Rock	14-4
4. Kalev/Cramo	13-6
5. Valga Welg	10-10
6. Tallinna Kalev	6-14
7. Parnu	4-15
8. Kuremaa	1-20

Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Charron FISHER
  Kalev/Cramo
  (193-G/F-85)
  Avg: 23.4

1. Fisher, Kalev/Cr.	23.4
2. McGee, Kuremaa	19.1
3. Kurg, Kuremaa	17.9
4. Reed, Tallinna Kalev	17.8
5. Kriisa, Rakvere	17.8
6. Covington, Tallin.	17.3
7. Toome, TTU K.	16.7
8. Akognon, Kalev/Cr.	16.1
9. Raap, Parnu	15.3
10. Winston, Kuremaa	15.1

Rebounds Per Game

Brett MCGEE
  Kuremaa
  (198-G/F-84)
  Avg: 10.6

1. McGee, Kuremaa	10.6
2. Reed, Tallinna Kalev	10.4
3. Toome, TTU K.	8.8
4. Fisher, Kalev/Cr.	8.7
5. Keerles, Kalev/Cr.	8.2
6. Winston, Kuremaa	7.9
7. Ringmets, Parnu	7.8
8. Erm, Parnu	7.8
9. Talts, TU/Rock	7.6
10. Kriisa, Rakvere	7.6

Assists Per Game

Valmo KRIISA
  Rakvere
  (190-G-74)
  Avg: 4.8

1. Kriisa, Rakvere	4.8
2. Sokk, Kalev/Cramo	4.5
3. Rannula, Valga Welg	3.8
4. Sokk, TU/Rock	3.5
5. Winston, Kuremaa	3.4
6. Saage, Rakvere	3.1
7. Leppik, TU/Rock	3.0
8. Toome, TTU K.	2.8
9. Tein, TU/Rock	2.7
10. Raap, Parnu	2.5

Steals Per Game

Rannar RAAP
  Parnu
  (187-G-92)
  Avg: 2.5

1. Raap, Parnu	2.5
2. Covington, Tallin.	2.3
3. Saage, Rakvere	2.2
4. Veideman, Rakvere	2.2
5. Leppik, TU/Rock	2.1
6. Kurg, Kuremaa	1.9
7. Karner, Parnu	1.9
8. Tamm, TTU K.	1.8
9. Kriisa, Rakvere	1.8
10. Ringmets, Parnu	1.8

Blocks Per Game

Kennyetta JOHNSON
  Kalev/Cramo
  (210-C-78)
  Avg: 2.3

1. Johnson, Kalev/Cr.	2.3
2. Toome, TTU K.	1.7
3. McGee, Kuremaa	1.2
4. Talts, TU/Rock	1.2
5. Morrison, TU/Rock	1.0
6. Kitsing, TU/Rock	1.0
7. Hallik, Rakvere	0.9
8. Raadik, Parnu	0.6
9. Ilver, Tallinna Kalev	0.6
10. Hingla, Valga Welg	0.6

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EUROLEAGUE

The CHILDREN WIN Campaign: Diamantidis and Papaloukas raise a fund for an institution - by Kostas Papadopoulos
Only 24 hours before the beginning of the big final for the Greek Cup between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, I believe that it is a very good time to remind everybody about the campaign that two of the stars of each time support with all their strength: Dimitris Diamantidis (196-G-80) and Thodoros Papaloukas (200-G-77).
The CHILDREN WIN Campaign is an initiative taken by WIND Hellas, which, in the framework of its cooperation with both top Greek players, offers the amount of 100 EURO for every shot they score in the Greek Championship, the Euroleague and in the final of the Greek Basketball Cup. Last season the fund raised by Dimitris Diamantidis and Thodoros Papaloukas reached the amount of 24.600 EURO; this amount was donated to two welfare institutions selected by both players: Hatzikyriakio Institution of Childcare in Piraeus, where the heart of Olympiacos Team is beating and to the Kastoria Prefectural Association of Persons with a Disability located in Dimitris home-town.
This season, the campaign started with the Greek A1 League but from January 26th 2010 was extended also to Europe and to the finals of the Greek Basketball Cup. The goal? The leaders of Olympiacos and Panathinaikos teams keep on scoring in Greece and Europe for the children of Acharnes Municipality for the construction of an open-air basketball court in their area.
Until January 26th 2010, and in the framework of the aforementioned campaign, they have both raised the amount of 8.200 EURO (5.300 EURO by Dimitris and 2.900 EURO by Thodoros); it was anticipated that both international top players will give their best for the Top 16 and for the final of the Greek Basketball Cup, tomorrow, where they will be opponents.
Thodoros Papaloukas, referring to the expansion of the CHILDREN WIN Campaign to the Euroleague and to the final of the Greek Basketball Cup stated the following: 'Children always give you all the joy you can get. The expansion of the CHILDREN WIN Campaign to the Euroleague and to the final of the Greek Cup is quite significant, because we get the chance to raise even more funds for the construction of the basket-ball court in the Municipality of Acharnes. This is the season when all teams and players give their best since the titles we can get depend on that. One of these titles concerns the Greek Cup. Through competition and all the assistance I want to give to Olympiacos, children will be the final winners. This campaign is the actual proof, that athletes must and can make the difference as far as the lives of our fellow-men are concerned, plying, thus, a significant wider role in our society'.
Dimitris Diamantidis, on the other hand, stated the following: 'I dare to say that the CHILDREN WIN Campaign, in its second year, is becoming an institution. At the same time, its expansion to the Euro-league and to the finals of the Greek Cup constitutes an actual proof of the social responsibility exhibited by WIND, which once more makes all possible effort to support children and local communities. I hope to be healthy enough and score as much as I can for my team, Panathinaikos, to accomplish its goals starting from the Greek Cup title and for me to raise as much money as I can for the construction of the basket-ball court in the Municipality of Acharnes'.
Finally, it should be mentioned that the common blog of both athletes (papaloukas-diamantidis-blog.wind.com.gr) keeps on recording their efforts in all organizations they take part, while the special unit entitled CHILDREN WIN includes the amount raised by each one of them after the games they play.

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: ToPo crushed FoKoPo - by Rauno Hurmalainen
Korisliiga, round 35: Two contests tonight. Torpan Pojat (Helsinki) crushed FoKoPo (Forssa) by 54 points: 117-63. The hosts won the second half 66-29 and rebounds 46-29.
Tyray Pearson (201-F-80, college: Iowa St.) led ToPo with 26 pts and 11 rbs. FoKoPo had only two players over 10 pts. ToPo right now # 3 with 23-12 record. FoKoPo in big troubles with 8-27 record. YMCA Lahti defeated Honka (Espoo) 96-89 thanks to the fourth quarter (34-18). Ricky Hickman

(190-G-85, agency: Court Side, college: NC-Greensboro) scored game high 32 pts. Marcus Jackson (202-F-82, agency: Court Side, college: Marquette) added 16 pts. Honka had only four players on the court at the end. Six players were in double digits and four players fouled out. Tuukka Kotti

(205-F/C-81, college: Providence) led Honka with 23 pts/11 rbs.
Torpan Pojat - FoKoPo 117-63 (51-34) (Tyary Pearson 26/11, Elias Kajander 16, Michael Pounds 14 - Rodrick Stewart 13, Alex Barnett 12)
YMCA Lahti - Honka 96-89 (40-47) (Ricky Hickman 32, Marcus Jackson 16, Pasi Pekkola 11 - Tuukka Kotti 23/11, Carl Elliott 15, Tuomas Iiisalo 13).
1.Division:
YMCA Lahti II - BC Nokia 77-76 (38-37) (Olli Kaunomaki 24, Erno Johansson 10/10, Matti Nuutinen 10 - Henri Hirvikoski 23, Timo Riihela 22/10, Jeremy McCulloch 11/11).
BC JKL - Lapua 88-95 (42-45) (Tuukka Ahila 23, Reijo Ojanen 20, Harri Keskitalo 14 - Kyle Swanston 28, Rob Haynes 22, Ognjen Kuzmic 11).

Standings - Division I

1st Division Standings

1. Tarmo	16-3
2. Lapua	15-3
3. Honka	13-5
4. Jyvaskyla	11-7
5. LoKoKo	11-8
6. BC Nokia	10-9
7. Huima	9-9
8. Ura Basket	6-12
9. Uusimaa	6-12
10. Kerava ET	5-13
11. Wartti	4-14
12. Namika II	4-15

Stats Leaders - Division I

Points Per Game

Kyle SWANSTON
  Lapua
  (201-F-)
  Avg: 22.6

1. Swanston, Lapua	22.6
2. Haynes, Lapua	22.2
3. Coleman, LoKoKo	21.8
4. Leggett, Huima	20.8
5. Conerly, Tarmo	20.3
6. Riihela, BC Nokia	19.8
7. Jallow, Uusimaa	19.7
8. Kaunomaki, Namika I.	19.4
9. Stamper, Uusimaa	19.3
10. Pichon, LoKoKo	18.0

Rebounds Per Game

Arsene TOWA
  Kerava ET
  (191-F-81)
  Avg: 13.8

1. Towa, Kerava ET	13.8
2. Nash, Lapua	13.3
3. Coleman, LoKoKo	13.0
4. Sampay, Huima	12.1
5. Leggett, Huima	11.7
6. Jallow, Uusimaa	11.6
7. Pichon, LoKoKo	11.2
8. Douglas, Ura Basket	11.0
9. Stamper, Uusimaa	10.4
10. King, Jyvaskyla	10.3

Assists Per Game

Zach RAMEY
  LoKoKo
  (191-F/G-81)
  Avg: 4.8

1. Ramey, LoKoKo	4.8
2. Favors, Uusimaa	4.7
3. Nikitin, Honka	4.0
4. Conerly, Tarmo	3.5
5. Coleman, LoKoKo	3.2
6. Riihela, BC Nokia	2.9
7. Ahila, Jyvaskyla	2.8
8. Huff, LoKoKo	2.7
9. Rokala, Ura Basket	2.5
10. Pekkola, Namika II	2.4

Steals Per Game

Ville PEKKOLA
  Namika Lahti
  (192-G-89)
  Avg: 3.1

1. Pekkola, Namika II	3.1
2. Nash, Lapua	3.0
3. Stamper, Uusimaa	2.5
4. Favors, Uusimaa	2.4
5. Rokala, Ura Basket	2.3
6. King, Jyvaskyla	2.2
7. Conerly, Tarmo	2.2
8. Huff, LoKoKo	2.0
9. Hale, Tarmo	2.0
10. Thomas, LoKoKo	2.0

Blocks Per Game

Erno JOHANSSON
  Namika II
  (188-G-85)
  Avg: 0.9

1. Johansson, Namika I.	0.9
2. Graham, Tarmo	0.8
3. Hale, Tarmo	0.7
4. Hassinen, Wartti	0.7
5. Streng, Namika II	0.6
6. Little, Wartti	0.6
7. Egwuatu, Kerava ET	0.6
8. Raami, Honka	0.6
9. Paivinen, Wartti	0.5
10. Ahila, Jyvaskyla	0.5

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FRANCE

Antonio Grant joins JSA Bordeaux - by Laurent Maugein
Nicchaeus Doaks (202-F-87, college: Chattanooga) leaves JSA Bordeaux Basket after 21 games and 10.2 ppg (2PT 50.0%), 5.9 rpg. Tommy Davis was called to serve the experienced Grant Antonio (198-F-76, college: S.Carolina).
The amrican forward begin its fourth season in France. Antonio played two years for Cholet, he most recently conducted a freelance seven games for Nanterre.
This years, he evoluted with Taiwan Mobile Leopards where he compiled 13.5ppg, 4.5rpg, 1.8 apg and 1.4 spg in thirteen games before to released in february 2010.
Grant Antonio should be able to play as early as Tuesday against Pau-Lacq-Orthez.

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GERMANY

Phantoms Braunschweig fail before Labor Court - by Eurobasket
Application for a preliminary injunction against Andrew Drevo (202-F/C-81, agency: Warren Sports International, college: Nebraska) withdrawn.

Yesterday in New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig,a scheduled hearing before the Labor Board for the Bundesliga Phantoms New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig basketball with his application for adoption of an interim injunction to prevent the further participation of our client Andrew Drevo to playin the BundesligaLeague failed.

During yesterday's board appointment, Andrew Drevo together with his lawyers Holger Kern and Dr. Rainer Cherkeh, the Court rejected the Phantomsargument that the point raised by the Brunschweig, Bundesliga termination agreement from September 2009 contains no effective ban, as previously stated by Oliver Braun (208-F/C-73). Therefore, any argument to prevent Andrew Drevo from paticipation in the Bundesligais invalid.

At the urgent advice of the Labor Court and to avoid a negative for her ruling, the Phantoms New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig have therefore abandoned their claim in the chamber event. Therefore, all claims and assertions from Oliver Braun and the New York Phantoms that Andrew Drevo was not able to play this season for Bremerhaven were false and held no merit.

Standings - ProA

ProA Standings

1. Bayreuth	18-2
2. Cuxhaven	16-4
3. Karlsruhe	14-7
4. Kirchheim	13-7
5. Braves	13-7
6. B.Muenchen	11-9
7. Chemnitz	10-10
8. Hannover	10-10
9. Crailsheim	9-11
10. Heidelberg	9-11
11. Osnabrueck	9-11
12. Jena	7-14
13. ETB Wohnbau	6-14
14. Freiburg	6-14
15. Noerdlingen	6-14
16. Langen	4-16

Stats Leaders - 2.Bundesliga

Points Per Game

Tyler KEPKAY
  ETB Wohnbau
  (183-G-87)
  Avg: 23.5

1. Kepkay, ETB W.	23.5
2. Holloway, Hannover	22.0
3. Hodges, Heidelberg	20.0
4. Roessler, Karlsruhe	19.6
5. Jeka, Cuxhaven	19.0
6. Dorris, Cuxhaven	18.4
7. Burleson, Heidelberg	18.4
8. Komarek, Heide.	17.8
9. Wachalski, Osnab.	17.4
10. Holcomb-Faye, Bra.	17.1

Rebounds Per Game

Alonzo HIRD
  Langen
  (206-F-83)
  Avg: 11.1

1. Hird, Langen	11.1
2. Smallwood, Braves	10.0
3. Black, Karlsruhe	8.8
4. Baker, Osnabrueck	8.8
5. Maras, B.Muenchen	8.6
6. Rastatter, Chemn.	8.3
7. Richardson, Karls.	8.0
8. Jackson-W., Jena	8.0
9. Ferguson, Noerdlin.	7.6
10. Bynum, Crailsheim	7.6

Assists Per Game

Whit HOLCOMB-FAYE
  Braves
  (185-G-84)
  Avg: 7.8

1. Holcomb-Faye, Bra.	7.8
2. Jeka, Cuxhaven	5.7
3. Watson, Noerdlin.	5.6
4. Bynum, Crailsheim	5.6
5. Kepkay, ETB W.	5.1
6. Holloway, Hannover	5.0
7. Burleson, Heidelberg	4.9
8. Harrelson, Osnab.	4.5
9. Brooks, Kirchheim	4.4
10. Sharda, Freiburg	4.0

Steals Per Game

Cedric BROOKS
  Kirchheim
  (185-G-80)
  Avg: 2.7

1. Brooks, Kirchheim	2.7
2. Holloway, Hannover	2.5
3. Dorris, Cuxhaven	2.2
4. Burleson, Heidelberg	2.2
5. Scott, Kirchheim	2.1
6. Hunter, Freiburg	1.9
7. Jeka, Cuxhaven	1.8
8. Johnson, Chemnitz	1.7
9. Watson, Noerdlin.	1.7
10. Slack, Hannover	1.7

Blocks Per Game

Anthony SLACK
  Hannover
  (202-F/C-84)
  Avg: 2.2

1. Slack, Hannover	2.2
2. De Michael, Kirchheim	1.6
3. Schoo, Hannover	1.5
4. Hill, Jena	1.4
5. Maras, B.Muenchen	1.4
6. Fuller, Cuxhaven	1.2
7. Tarver, Braves	1.0
8. Buse, Osnabrueck	1.0
9. Smallwood, Braves	1.0
10. Seward, Bayreuth	1.0

Chris Copeland (TBB Trier) Pregame Thoughts To New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig Game February 21st - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
Christopher Copeland

(203-F-84, agency: 540 Sports, college: Colorado) is a 25 year old 203 cm power forward from Orange, New Jersey. He went to the University of Colorado from 2002-2006. In his senior year, he played 30 games averaging 12.1ppg, 5.1rpg, 1.6apg, 1.1bpg, FGP: 44%, 3PT: 35.7%, FT: 68.8%. In his first season overseas, he played for Beirasar Rosalia (Spain-LEB Gold, starting five), only pre-season, then moved to C.B. L'Hospitalet (Spain-LEB Gold, starting five) playing 4 games averaging 4.0ppg, 8.0rpg and then moved to Matrixx Magix Nijmegen (Holland-Eredivisie, starting five) playing 28 games and averaging 18.0ppg, 7.6rpg, 2.1apg, 1.5spg, 1.0bpg, FGP: 49.7%, 3PT: 40.3%, FT: 79.3%. Last season, he moved to Germany to TBB Trier playing 34 games averaging 13.2ppg, 4.9rpg, 2.3apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 56.9%, 3PT: 35.6%, FT: 74.8%. Chris Spoke to eurobasket shortly before the game The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig on February 21st.

At the moment TBB Trier is at 15th place. Could this be possibily the best 15th placed BBL team ever?

Haha I have so many answers for that one. But I am going to have to say no comment.

How urgent is getting a win for TBB Trier in Braunschweig? The next four of five games are on the road?

As urgent as ever. Playing on the road is tough but I am sure guys are up for the challenge. Once again we just have to take it one game at a time.

How well has guard Drew Neitzel been integrated into the team?

I think he is fitting well. He is a fast learner so he adjusted to our team's schemes very quickly. He is already a big factor for us.

How is the condition of George Evans? When will he play again?

It is tough to say. But he is doing everything he can to get back out there as soon as possible.

The next game is against The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig. What is your memory of the 82-67 loss at home?

I remember they were hot. They shot the ball a lot better than we did that game.

The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig seem stronger with the addition of Marcus Goree. What makes this club so strong?

I think they are strong because they play unselfish basketball. They seem to have one of the better balanced teams in the league.

Are you looking forward to playing against experienced Marcus Goree? How do you stop him?

Well you cant look just to him. I think all of their posts are tough. It will be a good challenge regardless of who the match-up is.

What will be the key to winning this game?

Defense. As I mentioned they shot the ball way better than we did last time we played them. We have to make things a lot tougher for them this time around. We can't rely on a good shooting night to deliver the win.

Did you watch the 2010 NBA Allstar game? What was your impression of the game and Slam Dunk contest?

Didn't actually watch the game I was asleep. But I caught the highlights from the game and dunk contest. Looks like I missed a great show.
Thanks Chris for the chat!

Quentin Pryor (Phoenix Hagen) Pregame Thoughts To Brose Baskets Bamberg Game February 20th - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
Quentin Pryor (193-G/F-83, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement, college: Morehead St.) is a 25 year old 193cm shooting guard/small forward from Eupora, Mississippi and is playing his second season with Phoenix Hagen. He started his college basketball career at Jackson State, before finishing at Morehead State from 2005-2007. In his senior year, he played 30 games averaging11.4ppg, 4.6rpg, 2.1apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 46.3%, 3Pts: 36.8%, FT: 71.7%. In 2007, he started his professional basketball career in Germany with FC Schalke 04 playing 29 games and averaging 15.1ppg, 4.3rpg, 2.2apg, Steals-1 (2.5spg), FGP: 55.8%, 3PT: 37.4%, FT: 75.2%. Last season for Phoenix Hagen, he played 30 games averaging 14.7ppg, 3.8rpg, 3.0apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 60.5%, 3PT: 30.3%, FT: 75.2%. This season, he is averaging 7,6ppg, 2,9rpg, 1,4apg and has scored in double figures in six games. He spoke to eurobasket about the next game against The Brose Baskets Bamberg on February 20th.

How tough are the times at the moment for Phoenix Hagen? A six game losing streak and very difficult opponents coming in the next weeks?

We have to remain upbeat. Its hard with the losing streak but we have to look past it and just focus on the next games and just play with all out effort. The next few games are tough but they are winnable. If they weren't it wouldn't be no point in playing.

Phoenix Hagen lost 86-66 in MBC. You guys shot only 35% and got outrebounded. What is missing with this team at the moment?

We are not playing with any heart at all. We are just letting teams do whatever they want. We have to start being more aggressive.

Phoenix Hagen is talented and still has every chance to stay in the league, but starting a run would be helpful. How is the moral with the team at the moment?

.The moral of the team is good. Everyone is still practicing hard and remaining focused too. We just have translate it over to the game for the full 40 minutes.

How well has Zygimantas Jonusas been integrated into the team?

Zygi is has adapted to the team real well. He picked all the plays quick and learned a lot about everyone within the past two weeks here. He will be a big help to us.

The next game is against The Brose Baskets Bamberg. What is your memory from the 77-54 loss in Bamberg besides being top scorer with 14 points?

They were more aggressive and kept us on our heels the whole game. Bamberg made us do things that we were not used to doing and we got away from our game plan.

Is the most positive thing that this game will be at home?

.It doesn't matter if the game is at home or away we still have to play. During the streak we've lost at home also. It can be a positive if we come and give all out effort and our crowd gets behind us.

What is Phoenix Hagen have to do to leave the court after 40 minutes as the winners?

We have to be aggressive from the start and do the things we practice the whole week for the full 40. Everyone just has to do their job every minute they on the floor and then at end we can walk away with the win.

How much are you looking forward to shutting down Brian Roberts?

I would like to get to guard him but I'm sure I probably will not be guarding him.

What was your impression of the 2010 NBA Allstar game?

It was a great scene. Playing in front of 108,000 I can only imaginge the gitters. But overall I think it was an ok game. There wasn't as many spectacular plays as there normally is but it was a very competitive game but with some crazy plays at the end.
Thanks Quentin for the chat.

Deandre Haynes (Paderborn Baskets) Pregame Thoughts To Artland Dragons Game February 20th - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
DeAndre Haynes

(187-G-84, college: Kent St.) is a 25 year old 187 cm guard from Detroit Michigan that is playing his first season in the BEKO BBL with The Paderborn Baskets. He played at Kent from 2002-2005 and at Kent state from 2005-2006. In his senior year, he played 34 games averaging 13.0ppg, 2.7rpg, 3.9apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 43.7%, 3PT: 39.7%, FT: 78.6%. He won the MAC Tournament in 2006 and was player of the year in the MAC conference in 2006. He came to Europe as a rookie and played in Belgium for BBC Royal Atomia Brussels playing 23 games and averaging 4.0ppg, 1.3rpg, 1.1apg, 1.0spg. The next season, he stayed in Belgium and played for Okapi Aalstar playing 35 games averaging 9.4ppg, 1.5rpg, 2.6apg, 1.3spg, 2FGP: 52.0%, 3PT: 34.0%, FT: 74.0%. Last season, he played in Hungary for Kecskemeti Univer KSE playing 26 games averaging 13.6ppg, 4.0rpg, 3.4apg, 2.1spg, FGP: 61.1%, 3PT: 37.5%, FT: 70.9%. He spoke to eurobasket before the game against The Artland Dragons.

Another tough loss at home against The new Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig. How was the carnival atmosphere in the Maspern Halle during the game?

The atmosphere started off well, but we also didn't have a packed house like I expected. We been struggling a lot, so I guess most people stayed at home or was out enjoying the carnival festivities.

Fans have stated that there is a lack of fighting mentality with certain players of the team. How much fight do the Paderborn Baskets still have from your view?

I think we still have a lot of fight in us, because we see that we still have a chance not to finish in the bottom of the league. There as been a lot of games where we played as individuals, and the outcome has always been bad for us as a team. We have to play together and show our fans that we are going to fight for Paderborn until the end of the season.

You had another solid game with 14 points as did Kevin Langford with 14 points and 10 rebounds. How much does it hurt when you play well but have to suffer a big loss?

No matter how I play as an individual, it's tough for me, the team,management, fans,etc to lose a game especially a stretch of games. I would like to continue to play well, but at the same time win more games.

Braunschweig got solid production from five players. Is that a big problem of Paderborn that there simply arent enough players who can step up each game?

Well the BBL is a good league, and there are a lot of teams that are stacked with great players that perform well together every game. We have the talent, but we are lacking the togetherness which cause us not to play well.

The next game is on the road against The Artland Dragons. What is your memory of the 81-53 loss earlier in the year?

I just remember them not wasting anytime on finishing the game on us. They hit 3 after 3, and controlled the entire game for 40 minutes. Let's hope we all forgot about that game, and go in with a fresh attitude and a strong will to win.

It is always tough to play at Artland plus the team signed an experienced player with Hollis Price. What do you know about him? He reached the NCAA Final 4 in 2002 with Oklahoma?

Well when I heard he signed there I just remember how hard he worked at Oklahoma as a point guard. When I was a freshmen in college our coach had us watch film on him just to show his effort, some years later now we would be on the same court.

Artland is very up and down and have the stress with the Eurochallenge play. Is this a chance for The Paderborn Baskets to sneak out a win? What will be the key to winning?

Considering the fact that we are at a down time right now we are more focused on us getting a win, so I guess I hope we'll be the ones trying to sneak out the win and not Artland. We would have to play hard for ourselves, and try to out play them next game.

What was your impression of the 2010 NBA Allstar game?

Allstar game is always a great game to watch, you have the best players in the league putting on a show for the world. I always enjoy seeing the entertainment of Allstar weekend.
Thanks Deandre fort he chat!

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

GREECE

HOLLAND

Tristan Blackwood To Replace Dean Oliver - by Fred Roggen
Tristan Blackwood (183-G-85) moved on Monday from the DeFriesland Aris to their cooperation partner Eiffel Towers Den Bosch. The point guard takes over the place of Dean Oliver, who got injured last week.
Eiffel Towers had to rely on the emergency rule in the cooperation contract, indicating that only in emergency cases, players can move.
Saturday night, Blackwood is playing his last match for DeFriesland Aris against WCAA Giants. The Aris Friesland will soon attract a replacement and expects to present the new player within a few days .

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

IRELAND

Stats Leaders - Men

Points Per Game

Juwann JAMES
  Neptune
  (198-F-)
  Avg: 34.9

1. James, Neptune	34.9
2. Ratzsch, Belfast .	30.0
3. Aaron, Hoops	28.6
4. Turner, Killester	25.7
5. Robbins, UL Eagles	24.7
6. Perre, Belfast Star	23.0
7. Johnson, UCC D.	21.9
8. Fritsch, Moycullen	21.7
9. Cummins, Ulster Elks	19.2
10. Taylor, Hoops	19.0

Rebounds Per Game

Carlton AARON
  Hoops
  (206-C-79)
  Avg: 18.7

1. Aaron, Hoops	18.7
2. Robbins, UL Eagles	13.8
3. Johnson, UCC D.	13.6
4. Ratzsch, Belfast .	13.4
5. James, Neptune	12.3
6. Neal, Ulster Elks	12.0
7. Perre, Belfast Star	11.8
8. Turner, Killester	11.5
9. Trimmer, DCU S.	10.5
10. Foley, Ulster Elks	9.3

Assists Per Game

Scott KINEVANE
  UL Eagles
  (175-G-87)
  Avg: 8.8

1. Kinevane, UL Eagles	8.8
2. Drumm, Ulster Elks	5.8
3. Coughlin, UCC D.	4.1
4. Turner, Killester	4.0
5. McCrone, UCD M.	4.0
6. Cummins, Ulster Elks	3.9
7. Donnelly, DCU S.	3.7
8. James, UCD Marian	3.6
9. Noonan, Neptune	3.4
10. Ratzsch, Belfast .	3.4

Steals Per Game

Jermaine TURNER
  Killester
  (195-F-74)
  Avg: 3.3

1. Turner, Killester	3.3
2. Nihill, Moycullen	2.7
3. Kelly, Killester	2.6
4. James, Neptune	2.6
5. Perre, Belfast Star	2.6
6. Murphy, UCC Demons	2.4
7. Loughnane, Moycu.	2.3
8. Summersgill, Belfas.	2.3
9. Madsen, Killester	2.2
10. Donnelly, DCU S.	2.0

Blocks Per Game

Micheal TRIMMER
  DCU Saints
  (204-C-67)
  Avg: 2.3

1. Trimmer, DCU S.	2.3
2. James, Neptune	2.2
3. Fritsch, Moycullen	2.2
4. Bennett, Neptune	1.8
5. Neal, Ulster Elks	1.7
6. Johnson, UCC D.	1.4
7. Ratzsch, Belfast .	1.2
8. Perre, Belfast Star	1.2
9. Turner, Killester	1.2
10. Robbins, UL Eagles	1.2

Standings - EBS Superleague

SuperLeague Standings

North Conference
1. Killester	11-4
2. DCU Saints	7-6
3. Belfast Star	7-7
4. Ulster Elks	4-10
5. UCD Marian	3-10
South Conference
1. Eagles	13-2
2. Neptune	9-4
3. UCC Demons	9-5
4. Hoops	3-10
5. Moycullen	3-11

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

ISRAEL

Stats Leaders - National League

Points Per Game

Robert BROWN
  Hap.Haifa
  (195-F-80)
  Avg: 30.3

1. Brown, Hap.Haifa	30.3
2. Asbury, Hap.Tivon	27.1
3. Markson, Elitzur .	22.5
4. Byerson, Natzrath.	21.7
5. Paris, Hapoel Beeri	20.9
6. Clemente, Macc.Ash.	20.7
7. Hicks, Kohav Yair	20.6
8. Drayton, Beer Y.	20.6
9. Brandy, Hod H.	19.5
10. Simhon, Hod H.	19.4

Rebounds Per Game

Stanley BRANDY
  Hod Hasharon
  (200-F-67)
  Avg: 12.5

1. Brandy, Hod H.	12.5
2. Byerson, Natzrath.	12.2
3. Paris, Hapoel Beeri	11.7
4. Clemente, Macc.Ash.	11.4
5. Peterson, Elitzur .	10.9
6. Tzubrevitch, Elitzu.	10.3
7. Drayton, Beer Y.	9.6
8. Auter, Macc.Hab.	9.4
9. Lee, Kiryat Ata	9.2
10. Hicks, Kohav Yair	9.1

Assists Per Game

Ilan BERKOVICH
  Hap.Haifa
  (187-G-75)
  Avg: 7

1. Berkovich, Hap.H.	7.0
2. Nenikashvili, Megido.	6.3
3. Arieli, Hap.Tivon	5.7
4. Huli, Lev Hasharon	5.7
5. Rubinstein, Hapoel B.	5.4
6. Farchi, Macc.Ash.	5.4
7. Shifman, Hapoel Beeri	5.3
8. Golan, Lev Hasharon	5.1
9. Brandwein, Elitzu.	5.1
10. Levi, Beer Yaakov	4.6

Steals Per Game

Orit FARCHI
  Macc.Ashdod
  (163-G-87)
  Avg: 2.7

1. Farchi, Macc.Ash.	2.7
2. Berkovich, Hap.H.	2.3
3. Asbury, Hap.Tivon	2.3
4. Markson, Elitzur .	2.2
5. Matalon, Megido/Y.	2.1
6. Karpels, Elitzur .	2.0
7. Cohen, Hapoel Beeri	2.0
8. Brandy, Hod H.	1.7
9. Bank, Elitzur Ramla	1.6
10. Clemente, Macc.Ash.	1.5

Blocks Per Game

Adrian AUTER
  Macc.Habikaa
  (200-C-84)
  Avg: 1.8

1. Auter, Macc.Hab.	1.8
2. Byerson, Natzrath.	1.8
3. Paris, Hapoel Beeri	1.5
4. Tzubrevitch, Elitzu.	1.4
5. Aiden, Hapoel Beeri	1.3
6. Peterson, Elitzur .	1.2
7. Markson, Elitzur .	1.0
8. Martin, Elitzur Yavne	1.0
9. Carr, Megido/Yok.	0.9
10. Brandy, Hod H.	0.9

National League Round: 18 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Elitzur Yavne - Hapoel Beeri 102-94
Six players scored in double figures as Elitzur Yavne beat Hapoel Beeri 102:94. Yan Martin (203-F-84) poured in 21 points and Karpels Tal scored 17. Rubinstein Lior finished the night with 25 points fo the guests and Shifman Haran added 16.

Kohav Yair - Lev Hasharon 98-94
Kohav Yair cruised past Lev Hasharon 98:94 at the Regular Season Round 18. Shlomi Harush (185-G-87) was responsible for 29 points and Zelkovicth Aviram scored 19. Golan Nir repled with 34 points in the losing effort.

Macc.Ashdod - Hap.Haifa 88-105
Maccabi Ashdod lost to Hapoel Haifa 88:105 as the latter got 31 points from Robert Brown

(195-F-80, agency: Gross Zeev ISA, college: Buffalo). Moran Liran posted 20 and Eliyaho Elad added 15. Moreover Berkovich Ilan had triple double of 14 points, 10 boards and 10 assists. Clemente Ramon scored 21 points for the hosts.

Megido/Yok. - Natzrath Elite 91-79
Megido is with 13-5 record sharing the top after the win over Natzrath Elite 91:79. Marios Matalon (187-G-89, college: Wyoming) top-scored for the winners with 27 points and Carr Dennis added 16. Ben Hemo Oren and Byerson Brad finished the night with 19 points each in defeat.

Beer Yaakov - Macc.Habikaa 74-101
Maccabi Habikaa shares the top with 13-5 record beating Beer Yaakov 101:74. Adrian Auter (200-C-84) led the way wih 25 points and Gendel Gerry had 23 points and 9 rebounds. Levi Lior chipped in 17 points in the losing effort.

Hod Hasharon - Kiryat Ata 83-67
Hod Hasharon improved to 8-10 record defeating Kiryat Ata 83:67. Amit Simhon

(197-G-89) top-scored for the winners with 17 points and Brandy Stanley collected 13 points and 14 rebounds. Digmel Ofer ended up with 24 points while Jackson Cedric had 21 points and 12 boards.

Elitzur Ramla - Hap.Tivon 99-87
Elitzur Ramla cruised past Hapoel Tivon 99:87 as Damon Peterson

(201-F-68, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: Oklahoma) stepped up with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Almoznino Oshri added 22 and Shaltiel Or scored 13. Asbury Brian finished the night with 24 points in defeat.

Maccabi Tel-Aviv are the Cup Holders! - by Eurobasket News
Cup Final
Bnei Hasharon-Maccabi Tel-Aviv 70:77

Maccabi Tel-Aviv triumphed in the Cup Final celebrating the victory over Bnei Hasharon last night. The Euroleague representative lifted the Cup up with 77:70 win.
Sam Clancy

(201-F-80, college: USC) opened the scoring account for for Bnei Hasharon, however Maccabi grabbed10-2 lead after the run in the opening tip. The teams exchanged the baskets in the opening quarter or 20:10 after the first 10 minutes. A layup by David Bluthenthal put Maccabi up by 30:22 but Bnei Hasharon reduced to 35:31. Both squads went to the lockers for 38:33 Maccabi advantage. Lasme and Pnini brought 43:37, while Maccabi grabbed 51:47 midway through the third period. David Bluthenthal dazzled with another of his long range missiles from well behind the top of the arc as Maccabi led 63:56 at the end of thirty minutes. Bnei Hasharon was too far to give up and Sam Clancy got his team within three 65:62. Moreover Ron Steele delivered for 69:68 in the middle of the last stanza. Lasme increased the led for Maccabi a 75:70, while Sharp made the final score.
David Bluthenthal (202-F-80, college: USC) paced all the winners with 14 point to triumph in the country. Alan Anderson

(198-G/F-82, college: Michigan St.) netted 12, while Andrew Wisniewski (191-G-81, college: Centenary) posed 11. Guy Pnini

(201-G/F-83, agency: Arik Krayn Services) scored 10, Stephane Lasme added 9 and Derrick Sharp

(183-G-71, college: S.Florida) as well as D'or Fisher had 8 apiece. Shawn James

(208-F/C-83, agency: ZAG Advocates, college: Northeastern) responded with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Ori Ichaki

(195-G-81, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: Clemson) delivered 17 and Sam Clancy netted 10.

Maccabi Tel Aviv: David Bluthenthal 14, Alan Anderson 12, Andrew Wisniewski 11,Guy Pnini 10, Stephane Lasme 9, Derrick Sharp 8, D'or Fisher 8 pts+12 rebs, Chuck Eidson 5
Bnei Hasharon: Shawn James 20+12 rebs Ori Ichaki 17, Sam Clancy 10 , Ron Steele 7, Cookie Belcher 7, Erez Katz 5, Ben Rice 2, Isaac Rosenfelt 2

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

ITALY

Bologna and Avellino triumph in Italy Cup Quarterfinals - by Gianni Pascucci
Virtus Canadian Solar Bologna defeated yesterday night Pepsi Caserta 88-78 advancig to Semifinal Game of the 2010 edition of Italy Cup, hosted in PalaDelMauro Arena, Avellino. The game was played head to head almost all game long, but Bologna made the decisive rally during the fourth quarter, hitting some three pointers with Petteri Koponen

(193-G-88) and Dusan Vukcevic (201-F-75, agency: Interperformances). With 13 points, 4 rebs, 3 steals, 1 assist, David Moss (196-F-83, agency: SportsTalent, college: Indiana St.) was the game top performer, and four other teammates ende the game in double digits. Robert Hite

(188-G-84, college: Miami, FL) scored 16 points to be the game top scorer in losing effort.
In the second game of yesterday night, Air Avellino prevailed over higher ranked Armani jeans Milano 59-55 at the end of a low scoring game, in which Milano seemed to have the control till some minutes to the end, when was ahead by 7 points. At that point, two consecutive three pointers hit by Cenk Akyol (196-G-87) re-opened the game, and an impressive 11-0 rally of Air in front of its fans alllowed to home team to advance to tomorrow game vs. Virtus Bologna. Solid Polish center Szymon Szewczyk (209-C-82) scored 16 points and grabbed 7 rebounds to lead Avellino, Dee Brown (185-G-84, college: Illinois) added 13 pts, 5 assists and a very effective quarterbacking, Cenk Akyol was the sparkplug of the Air comeback with 9 points in clutch moments of the game. Mason Rocca (204-F-77, college: Princeton) scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebs in another time disappointing Armani Jeans Milano

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

JORDAN

Lett joins Zain - by Mohammed Malas
Zain basketball club management finalized the deal with Ontario Lett (198-F-79, college: Pittsburgh) to be the 2nd one with Rasheim Wright (194-G-81, college: District of Col.) (Who's considered as import in FIBA Asia club events) for the upcoming tournaments), Lett joined the team yesterday for the 13th WABA Clubs Championship which will be held in Tehran, Iran from the 8th of March until the 16th of the same month.

Lett has just finished his participation in the Iranian Superleague team Shahrdari Gorgan Municipality after the team's failure to reach the Play-Offs, Lett confirmed to Jo-Basket.com that he ended talks with Jordanian champions successfully to be back to the team where he played for in season 2004-2005 and last season 2008-2009.

Zain club has begun an intensive internal camp starting from today until the 5th of March the date of the team's departure to Tehran, Iran to participate in the West Asian event which will give qualification for 4 clubs from 4 different countried to the next FIBA Asia Clubs Championship in Doha, Qatar on May.

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

KUWAIT

Standings

D1 Standings

1. Al Kuwait	16-2
2. Al Qadsia	15-2
3. Kazma	15-3
4. Al Jahraa	15-3
5. Al Sahel	14-2
6. Al Arabi	10-8
7. An Nasr	7-9
8. Al Yarmook	5-13
9. Sulaibikhat	4-14
10. Al Tadhamon	4-15
11. Al Shabab	2-17
12. Al Salmiyah	1-20

Colson to Al Arabi - by Ali Ahmed
Al Arabi basketball team management agreed terms with the American Guard Sean Colson

(182-G-75, agency: GOTathletes, college: Charlotte) to play for them till the end of the season.

Outlook:
A tiny PG, born as an open court player, but who learnt to run a passing game offense year after year, thanks to very good court vision and passing skills; again excelling on the fast break, he can also be an interesting scorer, using a good first step and a very effective 3 points shoot; is a little in trouble in defense against bigger guards.

Awards/Achievements:
JUCO All-Region and All-Maryland -96
CUSA 2nd Team -97
CUSA 1st Team -98
USBL Player of the Year -00
USBL Champion -00
South American Club Championships Winner -00
CBA All-Star Game -01
All-CBA 1st Team -02
Eurobasket.com Polish PLK League All-Imports Team -03
Polish League Semifinals -03
Ukrainian Superleague Regular Season Runner-Up -04
Ukrainian Superleague Finalist -04
Eurobasket.com All-Italian Lega2 Import Player of the Year -05
Eurobasket.com All-Italian Lega2 2nd Team -05, 06
Italian Lega2 Semifinals -06
French ProA All-Star Game -08
French La Semaine des As Cup Semifinals -08
Eurobasket.com All-French ProA Guard of the Year -08
Eurobasket.com All-French ProA 1st Team -08
Eurobasket.com French ProA All-Imports Team -08

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

LATVIA

LBL Standing

LBL Standings

1. Barons	11-4
2. Liepaja	7-6
3. Valmiera	7-7
4. VEF Riga	5-1
5. Ventspils	4-3
6. Zemgale	2-15
7. Keizarmezs	0-18

Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Ivars TIMERMANIS
  Barons
  (202-F-82)
  Avg: 18.5

1. Timermanis, Barons	18.5
2. Berkis, Keizarmezs	18.5
3. Davis, Valmiera	17.1
4. Efejuku, Barons	17.1
5. Kojenets, Liepaja	16.5
6. Gulbis, Zemgale	16.4
7. Silavs, Keizarmezs	16.3
8. Valeika, Valmiera	15.1
9. Bertans, Ventspils	14.4
10. Nelyubov, VEF Riga	14.1

Rebounds Per Game

Arturas VALEIKA
  Valmiera
  (206-F-85)
  Avg: 10.5

1. Valeika, Valmiera	10.5
2. Kojenets, Liepaja	8.1
3. Zorin, Barons	7.1
4. Renfroe, VEF Riga	7.0
5. Silavs, Keizarmezs	6.0
6. Nelyubov, VEF Riga	5.6
7. Rozitis, Zemgale	5.5
8. Cresnar, Valmiera	5.4
9. Davis, Valmiera	5.1
10. Gulbis, Zemgale	5.1

Assists Per Game

Alex RENFROE
  VEF Riga
  (190-G-86)
  Avg: 6.7

1. Renfroe, VEF Riga	6.7
2. Silavs, Keizarmezs	5.6
3. Sirsnins, Barons	4.2
4. Vilums, Liepaja	3.6
5. Bergmanis, Zemgale	2.8
6. Efejuku, Barons	2.6
7. Valeika, Valmiera	2.4
8. Davis, Valmiera	2.2
9. Gulbis, Zemgale	2.2
10. Kisielius, Liepaja	2.1

Steals Per Game

Rinalds SIRSNINS
  Barons
  (186-G-85)
  Avg: 2.5

1. Sirsnins, Barons	2.5
2. Bertans, Ventspils	2.4
3. Renfroe, VEF Riga	2.4
4. Silavs, Keizarmezs	2.2
5. Osins, Keizarmezs	2.0
6. Davis, Valmiera	1.9
7. Vilums, Liepaja	1.7
8. Vitols, Barons	1.7
9. Ragsdale, Barons	1.6
10. Labuckas, VEF Riga	1.4

Blocks Per Game

Jekabs ROZITIS
  Zemgale
  (206-F/C-86)
  Avg: 1.5

1. Rozitis, Zemgale	1.5
2. Davis, Valmiera	1.2
3. Cresnar, Valmiera	1.1
4. Zorin, Barons	0.8
5. Nelyubov, VEF Riga	0.7
6. Labuckas, VEF Riga	0.6
7. Blaus, Ventspils	0.6
8. Ferguson, Barons	0.6
9. Kosuskins, Liepaja	0.5
10. Bambis, Zemgale	0.5

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

LITHUANIA

Standings - NKL

NKL Standings

1. Nafta Univ.	22-6
2. Delikatesas	21-7
3. Mazeikiai	20-8
4. Pieno Zv.	20-9
5. Naglis-Adakris	19-9
6. Erelita	18-10
7. Meresta Pak.	17-11
8. Triobet Malsta	15-13
9. Akademija	12-16
10. VKM-Perlas	11-17
11. Radviliskis	10-17
12. ABRO-Univ.	10-18
13. Silute	8-20
14. Zalgiris-Sab.	8-20
15. LKKA-Atletas	7-21
16. Bremena K.	6-22

Stats Leaders - LKL

Points Per Game

Gytis SIRUTAVIACIUS
  Salgotarjani
  (195-F-83)
  Avg: 20.8

1. Sirutavicius, Techa.	20.8
2. Kazevicius, Alytus A.	19.5
3. Aleksandrova., Alytus A.	18.8
4. Ruikis, Suduva	18.0
5. Sirvydis, Sakalai	17.9
6. Griskenas, Techasas	17.6
7. Kelys, Perlas	16.3
8. Vileita, Rudupis	15.5
9. Kieza, Suduva	15.3
10. Gailius, Siauliai	15.2

Rebounds Per Game

Aurimas KIEZA
  Keravnos
  (202-F-82)
  Avg: 8.6

1. Kieza, Suduva	8.6
2. Dimsa, Nevezis	8.5
3. Vilkius, Neptunas	7.5
4. Valanciunas, Perlas	7.5
5. Tatarunas, Alytus A.	7.4
6. Valukonis, Aisciai	7.2
7. Morkeliunas, Juven.	6.8
8. Adomaitis, Alytus A.	6.7
9. Griskenas, Techasas	6.6
10. Cepukaitis, Aisciai	6.5

Assists Per Game

Rashaun BROADUS
  Suduva
  (183-G-84)
  Avg: 6.4

1. Broadus, Suduva	6.4
2. Gaidamaviciu., Juven.	6.0
3. Low, Siauliai	5.1
4. Ginevicius, Lietuv.	5.0
5. Kelys, Perlas	4.6
6. Ezerskis, Techasas	4.6
7. Popovic, Lietuvos.	4.6
8. Maceina, Rudupis	4.4
9. Jomantas, Lietuv.	4.3
10. Kalnietis, Zalgiris	4.2

Steals Per Game

Andrius ALEKSANDROVAS
  Alytus Alita
  (197-G-86)
  Avg: 2.8

1. Aleksandrova., Alytus A.	2.8
2. Ginevicius, Lietuv.	2.4
3. Popovic, Lietuvos.	2.3
4. Vileita, Rudupis	2.3
5. Valukonis, Aisciai	2.2
6. Salenga, Zalgiris	2.2
7. Birgelis, Suduva	2.1
8. Kelys, Perlas	2.1
9. Jomantas, Lietuv.	2.1
10. Ezerskis, Techasas	2.1

Blocks Per Game

Aurimas KIEZA
  Keravnos
  (202-F-82)
  Avg: 2.7

1. Kieza, Suduva	2.7
2. Cepukaitis, Aisciai	1.5
3. Valanciunas, Perlas	1.5
4. Zyle, Aisciai	1.3
5. Begic, Zalgiris	1.3
6. Valukonis, Aisciai	1.1
7. Tatarunas, Alytus A.	1.1
8. Leonavicius, Sakalai	1.0
9. Klimavicius, Zalgiris	0.9
10. Volkus, Techasas	0.9

Standings - LKL

LKL Standings

1. Lietuvos Rytas	16-1
2. Zalgiris	14-1
3. Siauliai	14-3
4. Juventus	10-6
5. Neptunas	8-8
6. Techasas	8-10
7. Suduva	7-10
8. Perlas	7-10
9. Rudupis	6-9
10. Alytus Alita	5-11
11. Aisciai	4-11
12. Sakalai	4-12
13. Nevezis	2-13

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

LUXEMBOURG

Contern tab Silas Mills - by Eurobasket News
Contern signed a deal with Silas Mills (200-F-72, college: Utah St.). As Brandon Gary (202-F-83, agency: Pro Partner Sports Management, college: Hutchinson CC) suffered the injury the team had to enter the market. They opted for the 37-year-old forward. Silas Mills played for Indios Juarez in Mexico this season. Mills averaged 22.0 points, 9.2 boards and 2.8 assists per game in the LNPB. It was his third straight season in Mexico. Silas Mills used to play in Turkey, Italy, Greece, Philippines, Ukraine, China and France in his long career.

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

NAIA

Xavier to honor Alexander, Joseph-Richard at Allstate Sugar Bowl Crosstown Classic - by Richard
Two of Xavier (LA)'s greatest basketball coaches, Denny Alexander and Janice Joseph-Richard , will be honored Saturday night during the Allstate Sugar Bowl Crosstown Classic at The Barn.
Alexander and Joseph-Richard (last name pronounced REE-shard) will be honored between games of the Xavier-Dillard basketball doubleheader. The women's game will start at 5 p.m., followed by the men's game at 7. The doubleheader venue recently was moved from New Orleans Arena to The Barn.
Alexander coached the Gold Rush to five 20-win seasons and a 212-129 record in 12 seasons at Xavier (1978-90). His 1981-82 team won the first Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championship and set a school record for consecutive victories in a season, 29. His Xavier teams were 71-11 in conference during the first six seasons of the GCAC, winning the regular-season championship three times and finishing second the other three years. His teams qualified for the 1981 and 1982 NAIA National Championships.
Alexander also served as Xavier's director of athletics, as chairman of the NAIA District 30 men's basketball committee and as a rater/voter on the NAIA men's basketball national poll.
Joseph-Richard was a four-time GCAC Coach of the Year, and her teams won a school-record 82.4 percent of their games during her six seasons (1992-98). The Gold Nuggets were 159-34 during that time, winning five GCAC regular-season championships and five GCAC Tournament championships. Counting regular-season and tournament competition, the Gold Nuggets won their final 28 games against GCAC opponents.
'Coach Alexander and Coach Joseph-Richard are the epitome of class,' said Xavier men's basketball coach Dannton Jackson, who played for Alexander and was Joseph-Richard's assistant coach for five seasons. 'They both made a tremendous impact on the success of Xavier student-athletes and Xavier athletics, and they raised the bar for future Xavier coaches.'
Alexander, a graduate of Aquinas (Mich.) College and Central Michigan University, is an administrator for Roseville Community Schools in the suburbs of Detroit. He also was a head coach at Shepherd University in West Virginia. Joseph-Richard is in her third season as women's basketball head coach at her alma mater, Louisiana College. Her team is ranked among the top 25 in NCAA Division III and clinched the American Southwest Conference East Division championship this week. She also was a head coach at San Jose State University in California.
The ceremony honoring Alexander and Joseph-Richard will be the highlight of Rush/Nuggets Alumni Weekend, which is being held in conjunction with the Allstate Sugar Bowl Crosstown Classic.
General admission tickets for the Allstate Sugar Bowl Crosstown Classic cost $10. Tickets for children younger than 12 cost $3. No tickets will be sold Saturday unless there is available seating. The Xavier-Dillard men's basketball series dates to January 1948 and is the oldest college basketball rivalry involving two New Orleans teams
source: Xavier (LA)

Gold Rush gives Wolfpack seventh consecutive loss - by Richard
Devin Andrew (6'4''-G) scored 16 points Thursday to lead three from Xavier (LA) in double figures in a 62-54 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory at Loyola (LA).
The Gold Rush (15-12 overall, 6-9 GCAC) snapped a two-game losing streak and handed the Wolfpack (13-13, 5-10) its seventh loss in a row.
Michael Harvey (6'3''-G) added 13 points and Dannie Woods (6'7''-F-87) 10 for Xavier, which led 26-23 at halftime. Woods played after missing the previous 12 games because of injury.
Ryan Brock (6'3''-G) scored 16 points and Torry Beaulieu 12 for Loyola (LA), which has lost four straight at home.
Loyola (LA) entered the game averaging 79.4 points, but Xavier limited Loyola (LA) to its fewest points of the season. The Gold Rush had a 43-32 rebound advantage -- Xavier's best margin against a GCAC opponent this season -- and outshot the Wolfpack 47.7 to 31 percent from the floor. Xavier is second in NAIA Division I in field-goal percentage defense.
Darrinton Moncrieffe's free throw for Loyola (LA) tied the score at 29 with 15:40 remaining, but Xavier scored the next seven points -- two baskets by Andrew and a Harvey 3-pointer -- and never lost the lead again.
Landon Bussie (6'5''-F) led Xavier with a career-high-tying 10 rebounds, seven in the second half.
Xavier's bench outscored Loyola (LA)'s 32-15.
Xavier's next game will start at 7 p.m. Saturday at The Barn against Dillard in the Allstate Sugar Bowl Crosstown Classic
source: Xavier (LA)

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

NBA

Tracy McGrady to Kings, Kevin Martin to Rockets - by Eurobasket News
Published reports say the Houston Rockets have traded Tracy McGrady (6'8''-G/F-79) and his massive expiring contract to the Sacramento Kings for guards Kevin Martin (6'7''-G/F-83, agency: Arik Krayn Services, college: W.Carolina) and Sergio Rodriguez (6'3''-G-86, agency: Interperformances), center Hilton Armstrong

(6'10''-C/F-84, college: Connecticut) and forward Kenny Thomas (6'9''-F-77, college: N.Mexico).

The Kings also reportedly will get forward Carl Landry, Houston's most productive bench player this season, and seldom-used forward Joey Dorsey.

The deal was first reported by KRIV-TV and the Houston Chronicle early Thursday morning. ESPN.com reported that the New York Knicks will work with the Kings and Rockets on Thursday morning to acquire McGrady in a three-team swap.

The seven-time All-Star is making an NBA-high $23 million this season, the last year of his contract. - Courtesy of www.nesn.com

Meanwhile, the New Jersey Nets have needed a new home, whether in Newark or Brooklyn or your backyard, and good news thats been expected for a while is finally materializing. The team will, temporarily at least, play at basketball arena in Newark, New Jersey.

76ers trade Royal Ivey, Primoz Brezec to Bucks for Jodie Meeks, Francisco Elson - by Eurobasket News
A person with direct knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press that Milwaukee has agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers that would bring guard Royal Ivey (6'3''-G-81, college: Texas) back to the Bucks.

The person, who spoke Thursday on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been completed, said the Bucks would send rookie guard Jodie Meeks (6'4''-G-87, college: Kentucky) and center Francisco Elson (7'0''-C-76, agency: Court Side, college: California) to Philadelphia for Ivey, center Primoz Brezec

(7'1''-F/C-79) and a second-round pick in the 2010 draft. Ivey played for the Bucks in the 2007-08 season.

It would be the Bucks second trade agreement before Thursdays deadline. The first would send forwards Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander to Chicago for guard John Salmons.

Meanwhile, Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has acquired a protected 2010 second-round draft pick from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for guard/forward Dominic McGuire (6'8''-F/G-85, agency: Priority Sports, college: Fresno St.) and cash considerations. McGuire was initially acquired by Washington with the 47th overall pick in the second round of the 2007 NBA Draft. In 190 career games (58 starts) with Washington, McGuire has averaged 2.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game.

Courtesy of www.taragana.com

Jazz trade guard Ronnie Brewer to Memphis - by Eurobasket News
Utah Jazz general manager Kevin OConnor announced that the team has acquired a future first-round pick from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for guard Ronnie Brewer (6'7''-G-85, college: Arkansas). Following the trade, the Jazz roster now stands at 12 players.

We would like to thank Ronnie for his contributions over these past three-plus seasons, said general manager Kevin OConnor. We felt that this was the right move for the future of the Jazz organization at this time, and we wish Ronnie the best of luck in the future.

Brewer (6-7, 236, Arkansas), appeared in 53 games (all starts) for the Jazz this season, averaging 9.5 points, 2.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds in 31.4 minutes per game. Originally selected by the Jazz in the first round (14th overall pick) of the 2006 NBA Draft, the former Arkansas Razorback averaged 10.5 points, 1.8 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 266 career games (223 starts) over his three-and-a-half seasons with the Jazz.

Courtesy of www.kjzz.com

King Walsh.... - by Alex Yam

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walsh608-021810.jpg
Donnie Walsh's moves will give the Knicks more than $30 million this offseason to spend on free agents.
David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images
Walsh's bold plan could mean two big names for Knicks

By Adam Zagoria, for NBA.com
Posted Feb 18 2010 10:01PM

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Donnie Walsh is a man with a bold plan.

And he's sticking to it.

During a whirlwind couple of days leading up to Thursday's NBA trading deadline, the Knicks president got rid of six players, brought in half a dozen new ones with expiring contracts -- including seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady -- and now has between $33-$36 million in offseason salary cap space.

Now the Knicks have the option of targeting not one, but two maximum-contract free agents beginning July 1. That's when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Joe Johnson become unrestricted free agents.

It is the most attractive free agent class since 1996 when Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning and Reggie Miller hit the market.

'As of the trading deadline at 3 o'clock today, I think we've done what we could do to get as much cap room as we can next summer,' Walsh said 5 1/2 hours after the 3 p.m. ET deadline.

The Knicks get McGrady and his $23 million expiring contract and Sergio Rodriguez from Sacramento, while Houston acquired Kevin Martin and Hilton Armstrong from Sacramento and Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries from the Knicks. The Rockets and Knicks will swap first-round picks in 2011 and the Rockets will also receive the Knicks' 2012 first-round pick.

The '11 pick is top-1 protected and the '12 pick is top-5 protected, ESPN.com's Chad Ford reported.

Having shed the 2010-11 contracts of Jeffries ($6.9 million) and Hill ($2.7 million), the Knicks have just four players under contract for next season -- Danilo Gallinari, Eddy Curry, Wilson Chandler and Toney Douglas -- for a total of $17.7 million.

Asked how far under the salary cap the Knicks now were, Walsh said: 'It's a lot more than it was. It's a lot more than it was.'

If the salary cap number comes down to $53 million, as many project, that gives the Knicks more than $30 million to spend. If a maximum contract starts at $16-17 million in 2010, they would be in the neighborhood to afford two max-contract free agents.

'It is a lot of cap space and if you tried to figure it by how many max players are in there, I think ... it's probably true' that the Knicks could land two max-contract free agents, Walsh said.

Of course, the Knicks will be competing with the Heat, Wizards, Clippers, Nets and Bulls for the prize free agents. Those teams have cleared the most salary-cap space.

McGrady has averaged 21.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists over his career but has played in only 101 games over the last two years.

He had microfracture surgery on his left knee in February and played in just six games this year with Houston, averaging 3.2 points and 0.8 rebounds.

Still, Walsh said he believes McGrady can help the franchise this season, and potentially beyond should the Knicks opt to re-sign him. Walsh said McGrady was on his way to New York on Thursday, but it remains unclear if he will play Saturday against Oklahoma City.

'He's a great player and he didn't lose that. We'll have to see what his physical condition is, but I've been told that he's playing against guys both in Chicago and Houston,' Walsh said.

Asked if keeping McGrady beyond the final 29 games of this season was an option, Walsh said, 'All the options are open now.'

Walsh said he was also high on Rodriguez, who could spell Chris Duhon at the point or even take over the starting spot.

Walsh didn't gain any cap relief by trading away fan favorite Nate Robinson to Boston for Eddie House, J.R. Giddens and Billy Walker. But he may have done head coach Mike D'Antoni a favor. Robinson and D'Antoni often clashed and Robinson spent 14 straight games on the bench this season before emerging from the coach's doghouse. Walsh said that had nothing to do with his motivation to trade Robinson, a three-time Slam Dunk champion.

'Boston was interested. I thought it was a good situation for Nate. He'll be on a playoff team that could go deep in the playoffs and he'll play so it's a very good position for him,' Walsh said.

In an effort to land LeBron or one of the other big-time free agents, the Knicks have surrendered their 2009 lottery pick in Hill; they swapped out their '11 first-round pick to Houston; and they traded their '12 first-round pick.

Walsh said he's 'hopeful' that those picks won't turn out to be very high once they're used.

'I'm hopeful, but I don't know,' he said. 'That's the risk, that you don't know.'

He insisted he has added 'flexibility' to the franchise and remains confident that his plan is coming along nicely.

'I thought it was a good bet,' he said. 'This puts the franchise in a position where it can build a contending team.'

Thursday: Nuggets and Celtics grab thriller wins - by Eurobasket News
Denver N. - Cleveland C. 118-116 OT
Carmelo Anthony (6'8''-F-84, college: Syracuse) scored 40 points, including the winning basket, and Denver overcame LeBron James' (6'8''-F-84) monstrous night to end the Cavaliers' 13-game winning streak with a 118-116 victory in overtime Thursday night in Karl's first game since revealing he has neck and throat cancer. Kenyon Martn collected 18 points and 17 rebounds in this victory. James had triple-double in loss: 43 pts, 13 rebs and 15 assists.

Boston C. - LA Lakers 87-86
Ray Allen (6'6''-G-75, college: Connecticut) missed a potential game-winning shot at the final horn the last time the Boston Celtics played the Los Angeles Lakers. He was determined to make Derek Fisher suffer the same fate in the rematch. Allen scored 12 of his 24 points in the third quarter and made 10 of his first 11 shots, helping send the defending NBA champions to their first loss in five games since Kobe Bryant went down with a sprained left ankle. Pau Gasol (7'0''-F/C-80) scored 22 points, and Lamar Odom had 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers - who missed nine of 25 free throws.

Spurs trade Theo Ratliff to Bobcats - by Eurobasket News
Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Rod Higgins announced that the team has acquired center Theo Ratliff (6'10''-F/C-73, college: Wyoming) from the San Antonio Spurs in exchange for a protected second-round draft pick in 2016.

The 6-10 Ratliff is in his 15th NBA season, with career averages of 7.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 blocked shots, 0.6 assists and 0.5 steals in 25.7 minutes in 772 games played for Detroit, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Portland, Boston, Minnesota and San Antonio. The 18th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft, Ratliff was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team in 1999 and 2004 and was voted the starting center for the Eastern Conference in the 2001 NBA All-Star Game but was unable to play due to a stress fracture in his right wrist suffered four days before the game.

In 21 games played with San Antonio this season, Ratliff is averaging 1.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.9 blocked shots and 0.4 assists in 8.7 minutes.

Ratliff, who previously played for Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown in Philadelphia from 1997-2001, led the NBA in blocked shots per game in 2000-01, 2002-03 and 2003-04. One of only seven players in NBA history to lead the league in blocked shots at least three times, his 1,920 career blocked shots ranks 18th all-time and fifth among active players. He is the last NBA player to record at least 300 blocked shots in a season, finishing with 307 in 2003-04, and is the only player to do so since Dikembe Mutumbo in 1995-96.

Ratliff has also played in 39 career playoff games, averaging 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots in 21.2 minutes for Detroit and Philadelphia.

Courtesy of www.insidehoops.com

Bulls send Thomas to Bobcats for Murray, Law, pick - by Eurobasket News
The Charlotte Bobcats addressed coach Larry Brown's biggest wish on Thursday, acquiring power forward Tyrus Thomas (6'8''-F-86, agency: Elfus-Siegel Management (ESM), college: LSU) from the Chicago Bulls just before the trade deadline.

Charlotte sent a future first-round pick to Chicago, along with the expiring contracts of guards Ronald Murray (6'4''-G-79, college: Shaw) and Acie Law (6'3''-G-85, college: Texas A&M).

The Bobcats have lacked depth behind starting power forward Boris Diaw, and they hope Thomas will provide needed rebounding and shot-blocking as they look for their first playoff berth.

The 6-foot-10 Thomas is averaging 8.8 points and 6.3 rebounds and making $4.7 million in the final year of his contract. He'll be a restricted free agent this summer.

The Bobcats made another minor trade, acquiring veteran big man Theo Ratliff from San Antonio for a second-round pick.

It was a day of two trades for four expiring contracts for the Bulls, who are hoarding salary-cap space for this summer's highly touted free agent class. Chicago also acquired forwards Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander from Milwaukee for guard John Salmons.

The Bucks (24-28) and the Bobcats (26-26) are competing with the Bulls (27-26) for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.

The 23-year-old Thomas was the fourth overall pick in the 2006 draft - taken right after Bobcats part-owner Michael Jordan selected the disappointing Adam Morrison.

After spending just one season at LSU, Thomas has been inconsistent and far from dominant in the NBA. He missed seven weeks earlier this season with a broken left forearm and was suspended for a game earlier this month for conduct detrimental to the team.

But he's the kind of versatile, athletic big man Brown likes, and Charlotte hasn't been afraid to make deals. The Bobcats have made seven trades involving 21 players under the tinkering Brown in the past 16 months.

Brown had complained about Charlotte's lack of a true backup power forward for months. Thomas, who was mostly a starter last season before coming off the bench this season, gives the Bobcats an athletic, rebounding big man that would seem to pair well with All-Star small forward Gerald Wallace.

The deal also clears up Charlotte's logjam of guards that has kept rookie Gerald Henderson on the bench most of the season.

The 6-foot-3 Murray could pick up the scoring slack in Chicago for Salmons, who was averaging 12.7 points. Murray, who will join his ninth team, was averaging 9.9 points and shooting 31 percent from 3-point range while giving Charlotte a quick scoring burst off the bench behind Stephen Jackson and Raymond Felton.

The 6-3 Law, a backup point guard, played in only five games for Charlotte after being included in the November trade with Golden State that sent Jackson to Charlotte.

The Bobcats may need Thomas right away. They announced earlier Thursday that DeSagana Diop will miss up to two weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Centers Nazr Mohammed (back) and Tyson Chandler (ankle) have missed practice the past two days.

The 6-foot-10 Ratliff, who turns 37 in April, could help short term with depth. Ratliff, making $1.3 million in the final year of his deal, played under Brown in Philadelphia early in his career.

Ratliff has played in just 21 games this season and is averaging 1.6 points and 1.9 rebounds.

Chicago, meanwhile, is thinking about the future. It gets something for Thomas as it clears payroll for a chance to sign an elite free agent this summer.

It's the second first-round pick Charlotte owes to another team. Minnesota, through a deal it made with Denver, will get the Bobcats' first-round choice in 2010 if it's outside the top 12.

Courtesy of http://nbcsports.msnbc.com

Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

LeBron JAMES
  Cleveland C.
  (203-F-84)
  Avg: 29.9

1. James, Clevelan.	29.9
2. Durant, Oklah.Ci.	29.7
3. Anthony, Denver N.	29.5
4. Bryant, LA Lakers	28.0
5. Ellis, Golde S.	26.2
6. Wade, Miami Heat	26.1
7. Nowitzki, Dallas M.	24.7
8. Bosh, Toronto R.	24.5
9. Granger, Indiana P.	22.6
10. Roy, Portland TB	22.6

Rebounds Per Game

Dwight HOWARD
  Orlando M.
  (207-F-85)
  Avg: 13.4

1. Howard, Orlando M.	13.4
2. Camby, LA Clippers	12.1
3. Noah, Chicago B.	12.0
4. Randolph, Memph.	11.8
5. Love, Minnesota T.	11.4
6. Bosh, Toronto R.	11.4
7. Lee, New York K.	11.4
8. Gasol, LA Lakers	11.0
9. Duncan, San A.	11.0
10. Boozer, Utah Jazz	10.8

Assists Per Game

Chris PAUL
  N.Orleans H.
  (183-G-85)
  Avg: 11.2

1. Paul, N.Orleans H.	11.2
2. Nash, Phoenix Suns	11.2
3. Williams, Utah Jazz	9.9
4. Rondo, Boston C.	9.6
5. Kidd, Dallas M.	9.1
6. James, Clevelan.	8.4
7. Davis, LA Clippers	7.8
8. Westbrook, Oklah..	7.5
9. Arenas, Washingt.	7.2
10. Harris, New J.	6.6

Steals Per Game

Rajon RONDO
  Boston C.
  (186-G-86)
  Avg: 2.5

1. Rondo, Boston C.	2.5
2. Paul, N.Orleans H.	2.3
3. Ellis, Golde S.	2.2
4. Curry, Golde S.	1.9
5. Jackson, Charlott.	1.9
6. Kidd, Dallas M.	1.9
7. Iguodala, Philadel.	1.9
8. Davis, LA Clippers	1.8
9. Wade, Miami Heat	1.8
10. Ariza, Houston R.	1.8

Blocks Per Game

Dwight HOWARD
  Orlando M.
  (207-F-85)
  Avg: 2.8

1. Howard, Orlando M.	2.8
2. Oden, Portland TB	2.3
3. Oden, Portland TB	2.3
4. Bogut, Milwauke.	2.2
5. Dalembert, Philad.	2.1
6. Haywood, Washingt.	2.1
7. Camby, LA Clippers	2.0
8. Smith, Atlanta H.	2.0
9. Perkins, Boston C.	1.9
10. Lopez, New J.	1.9

Standings

NBA Standings

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Div.
1. Boston C.	34-18
2. Toronto R.	30-24
3. Philadelph.76	21-33
4. New York K.	19-34
5. New Jersey N.	5-50
Central Div.
1. Cleveland C.	43-13
2. Chicago B.	28-26
3. Milwaukee B.	25-28
4. Detroit P.	19-35
5. Indiana P.	18-36
Southeast Div.
1. Orlando M.	37-19
2. Atlanta H.	34-19
3. Miami Heat	29-27
4. Charlotte B.	27-26
5. Washington W.	19-33
Western Conference
Northwest Div.
1. Denver N.	36-19
2. Utah Jazz	34-19
3. Portland TB	32-24
4. Oklah.City T.	31-21
5. Minnesota T.	13-43
Pacific Div.
1. LA Lakers	42-15
2. Phoenix Suns	33-23
3. LA Clippers	21-33
4. Sacramento K.	18-36
5. Golde State W.	15-38
Southwest Div.
1. Dallas M.	34-21
2. San Antonio S.	32-22
3. N.Orleans H.	29-26
4. Houston R.	28-25
5. Memphis G.	27-27

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

NIGERIA

Basketball Seminar holds in Ilorin - by Enoma Ugheghe
he Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) organised seminar for match officials which began in Ilorin, Kwara State in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria on Thursday has witnessed a large turn out of participants with over 100 people on ground going by the last census conducted Friday morning.

Referees from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, table officials and match statisticians are all featuring in the refresher program which kick starts the men's DStv League and Zenith Bank League for women. Technical partners of the sponsors and the Federation SuperSport and club coaches are also on ground.

The Vice president of the Federation Mr. Muktar Malone Khaleh told FIBA Africa that the event is aimed at getting every technical official involved with the league ready with all the updated rules of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

'It is mainly a program for the referees, technical commissioners and statisticians but we have brought in the coaches so that they are also updated. We have realised that some of the coaches are bit behind and feel cheated when updated rules of the game are applied. Those negative reactions can incite spectators and that is one of the things we don't want to keep happening in our leagues as we expand. There are also updated rules for our own leagues and we all need to be in perfect tune concerning these rules, Muktar said.

The program which is running at the Kwara State Stadium was declared open on Thursday by the state Commissioner for Sports Mr. Kalike who assured the participants that the state was returning in full steam into the Nigerian Basketball system.

It is good this (event) is holding here for a start but we also accepted to host the Division One league with our team Falcons deeply involved. We are preparing very hard to host and win and make it up into the DSTV Premier League. And by then we would have fixed this sports hall properly for the expected high level league, Kalike said.

The DSTV League Fixtures Committee made up of the NBBF Vice President, Hon. Tanko Dutse, Col Sam Ahmedu (rtd) and Rotimi Savage is also using the event to adopt inputs for the fixtures expected to be finalized by the weekend.

Participants began arriving in Ilorin since Wednesday and are billed to round off the program on Saturday with the departure date set for Sunday. The DStv League tentatively fixed for February 27th may likely start by early March.
By Pius Ayinor, FIBA Africa

Basketball Seminar holds in Ilorin - by Enoma Ugheghe
The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) organised seminar for match officials which began in Ilorin, Kwara State in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria on Thursday has witnessed a large turn out of participants with over 100 people on ground going by the last census conducted Friday morning.

Referees from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, table officials and match statisticians are all featuring in the refresher program which kick starts the men's DStv League and Zenith Bank League for women. Technical partners of the sponsors and the Federation SuperSport and club coaches are also on ground.

The Vice president of the Federation Mr. Muktar Malone Khaleh told FIBA Africa that the event is aimed at getting every technical official involved with the league ready with all the updated rules of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

'It is mainly a program for the referees, technical commissioners and statisticians but we have brought in the coaches so that they are also updated. We have realised that some of the coaches are bit behind and feel cheated when updated rules of the game are applied. Those negative reactions can incite spectators and that is one of the things we don't want to keep happening in our leagues as we expand. There are also updated rules for our own leagues and we all need to be in perfect tune concerning these rules, Muktar said.

The program which is running at the Kwara State Stadium was declared open on Thursday by the state Commissioner for Sports Mr. Kalike who assured the participants that the state was returning in full steam into the Nigerian Basketball system.

It is good this (event) is holding here for a start but we also accepted to host the Division One league with our team Falcons deeply involved. We are preparing very hard to host and win and make it up into the DSTV Premier League. And by then we would have fixed this sports hall properly for the expected high level league, Kalike said.

The DSTV League Fixtures Committee made up of the NBBF Vice President, Hon. Tanko Dutse, Col Sam Ahmedu (rtd) and Rotimi Savage is also using the event to adopt inputs for the fixtures expected to be finalized by the weekend.

Participants began arriving in Ilorin since Wednesday and are billed to round off the program on Saturday with the departure date set for Sunday. The DStv League tentatively fixed for February 27th may likely start by early March.

By Pius Ayinor, FIBA Africa

Basketball Seminar holds in Ilorin - by Enoma Ugheghe
The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) organised seminar for match officials which began in Ilorin, Kwara State in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria on Thursday has witnessed a large turn out of participants with over 100 people on ground going by the last census conducted Friday morning.

Referees from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, table officials and match statisticians are all featuring in the refresher program which kick starts the men's DStv League and Zenith Bank League for women. Technical partners of the sponsors and the Federation SuperSport and club coaches are also on ground.

The Vice president of the Federation Mr. Muktar Malone Khaleh told FIBA Africa that the event is aimed at getting every technical official involved with the league ready with all the updated rules of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

'It is mainly a program for the referees, technical commissioners and statisticians but we have brought in the coaches so that they are also updated. We have realised that some of the coaches are bit behind and feel cheated when updated rules of the game are applied. Those negative reactions can incite spectators and that is one of the things we don't want to keep happening in our leagues as we expand. There are also updated rules for our own leagues and we all need to be in perfect tune concerning these rules, Muktar said.

The program which is running at the Kwara State Stadium was declared open on Thursday by the state Commissioner for Sports Mr. Kalike who assured the participants that the state was returning in full steam into the Nigerian Basketball system.

It is good this (event) is holding here for a start but we also accepted to host the Division One league with our team Falcons deeply involved. We are preparing very hard to host and win and make it up into the DSTV Premier League. And by then we would have fixed this sports hall properly for the expected high level league, Kalike said.

The DSTV League Fixtures Committee made up of the NBBF Vice President, Hon. Tanko Dutse, Col Sam Ahmedu (rtd) and Rotimi Savage is also using the event to adopt inputs for the fixtures expected to be finalized by the weekend.

Participants began arriving in Ilorin since Wednesday and are billed to round off the program on Saturday with the departure date set for Sunday. The DStv League tentatively fixed for February 27th may likely start by early March.

By Pius Ayinor, FIBA Africa

Basketball Seminar holds in Ilorin - by Enoma Ugheghe
The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) organised seminar for match officials which began in Ilorin, Kwara State in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria on Thursday has witnessed a large turn out of participants with over 100 people on ground going by the last census conducted Friday morning.

Referees from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, table officials and match statisticians are all featuring in the refresher program which kick starts the men's DStv League and Zenith Bank League for women. Technical partners of the sponsors and the Federation SuperSport and club coaches are also on ground.

The Vice president of the Federation Mr. Muktar Malone Khaleh told FIBA Africa that the event is aimed at getting every technical official involved with the league ready with all the updated rules of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

'It is mainly a program for the referees, technical commissioners and statisticians but we have brought in the coaches so that they are also updated. We have realised that some of the coaches are bit behind and feel cheated when updated rules of the game are applied. Those negative reactions can incite spectators and that is one of the things we don't want to keep happening in our leagues as we expand. There are also updated rules for our own leagues and we all need to be in perfect tune concerning these rules, Muktar said.

The program which is running at the Kwara State Stadium was declared open on Thursday by the state Commissioner for Sports Mr. Kalike who assured the participants that the state was returning in full steam into the Nigerian Basketball system.

It is good this (event) is holding here for a start but we also accepted to host the Division One league with our team Falcons deeply involved. We are preparing very hard to host and win and make it up into the DSTV Premier League. And by then we would have fixed this sports hall properly for the expected high level league, Kalike said.

The DSTV League Fixtures Committee made up of the NBBF Vice President, Hon. Tanko Dutse, Col Sam Ahmedu (rtd) and Rotimi Savage is also using the event to adopt inputs for the fixtures expected to be finalized by the weekend.

Participants began arriving in Ilorin since Wednesday and are billed to round off the program on Saturday with the departure date set for Sunday. The DStv League tentatively fixed for February 27th may likely start by early March.

By Pius Ayinor, FIBA Africa

Basketball Seminar holds in Ilorin - by Enoma Ugheghe
The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) organised seminar for match officials which began in Ilorin, Kwara State in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria on Thursday has witnessed a large turn out of participants with over 100 people on ground going by the last census conducted Friday morning.

Referees from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, table officials and match statisticians are all featuring in the refresher program which kick starts the men's DStv League and Zenith Bank League for women. Technical partners of the sponsors and the Federation SuperSport and club coaches are also on ground.

The Vice president of the Federation Mr. Muktar Malone Khaleh told FIBA Africa that the event is aimed at getting every technical official involved with the league ready with all the updated rules of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

'It is mainly a program for the referees, technical commissioners and statisticians but we have brought in the coaches so that they are also updated. We have realised that some of the coaches are bit behind and feel cheated when updated rules of the game are applied. Those negative reactions can incite spectators and that is one of the things we don't want to keep happening in our leagues as we expand. There are also updated rules for our own leagues and we all need to be in perfect tune concerning these rules, Muktar said.

The program which is running at the Kwara State Stadium was declared open on Thursday by the state Commissioner for Sports Mr. Kalike who assured the participants that the state was returning in full steam into the Nigerian Basketball system.

It is good this (event) is holding here for a start but we also accepted to host the Division One league with our team Falcons deeply involved. We are preparing very hard to host and win and make it up into the DSTV Premier League. And by then we would have fixed this sports hall properly for the expected high level league, Kalike said.

The DSTV League Fixtures Committee made up of the NBBF Vice President, Hon. Tanko Dutse, Col Sam Ahmedu (rtd) and Rotimi Savage is also using the event to adopt inputs for the fixtures expected to be finalized by the weekend.

Participants began arriving in Ilorin since Wednesday and are billed to round off the program on Saturday with the departure date set for Sunday. The DStv League tentatively fixed for February 27th may likely start by early March.

By Pius Ayinor, FIBA Africa

Basketball Seminar holds in Ilorin - by Enoma Ugheghe
The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) organised seminar for match officials which began in Ilorin, Kwara State in the Middle Belt region of Nigeria on Thursday has witnessed a large turn out of participants with over 100 people on ground going by the last census conducted Friday morning.

Referees from the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, table officials and match statisticians are all featuring in the refresher program which kick starts the men's DStv League and Zenith Bank League for women. Technical partners of the sponsors and the Federation SuperSport and club coaches are also on ground.

The Vice president of the Federation Mr. Muktar Malone Khaleh told FIBA Africa that the event is aimed at getting every technical official involved with the league ready with all the updated rules of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

'It is mainly a program for the referees, technical commissioners and statisticians but we have brought in the coaches so that they are also updated. We have realised that some of the coaches are bit behind and feel cheated when updated rules of the game are applied. Those negative reactions can incite spectators and that is one of the things we don't want to keep happening in our leagues as we expand. There are also updated rules for our own leagues and we all need to be in perfect tune concerning these rules, Muktar said.

The program which is running at the Kwara State Stadium was declared open on Thursday by the state Commissioner for Sports Mr. Kalike who assured the participants that the state was returning in full steam into the Nigerian Basketball system.

It is good this (event) is holding here for a start but we also accepted to host the Division One league with our team Falcons deeply involved. We are preparing very hard to host and win and make it up into the DSTV Premier League. And by then we would have fixed this sports hall properly for the expected high level league, Kalike said.

The DSTV League Fixtures Committee made up of the NBBF Vice President, Hon. Tanko Dutse, Col Sam Ahmedu (rtd) and Rotimi Savage is also using the event to adopt inputs for the fixtures expected to be finalized by the weekend.

Participants began arriving in Ilorin since Wednesday and are billed to round off the program on Saturday with the departure date set for Sunday. The DStv League tentatively fixed for February 27th may likely start by early March.

By Pius Ayinor, FIBA Africa

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

PHILIPPINES

Purefoods just a win away from KFC-PBA Finals - by Eurobasket News
Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants are just a win away of entering the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup finals after beating San Miguel Beer, 94-82, in Game 5 of their best-of-7 semifinal series held Friday.

The troika of Kerby Raymundo (199-C-81), Roger Yap (186-G-77) and James Yap (191-F/G-82) spearheaded the Giants' strong start, while its second unit also delivered to maintain the big lead and take a 3-2 lead in the series.

Purefoods can close out the battle with another win on Sunday and gain the right to meet Alaska Aces in the best-of-7 championship series.

The Aces swept Barangay Ginebra, 4-0, in their own best-of-7 semifinal duel.

Raymundo and Roger Yap each had 18 points for Purefoods while James Yap added 17 for the Giants, who are inching closer to their 21st finals appearance overall, and 13th in All-Filipino tournaments.

'We are very much aware that it takes four wins to take the series so there's no reason for us to celebrate until we win the next game,' said Purefoods mentor Ryan Gregorio.

'There will be no let up. We don't want to give them a chance and hopefully we'll make it,' he added.

Since 1999, 21 of the 26 teams which took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series after a 2-2 split went on to win the series, with 14 of them clinching it in Game 6.

Defense again helped the Giants take the win as they did not give the Beermen the chance to get their rhythm and make a run in the final 12 minutes of the game.

The victory was the first back-to-back wins in the series.

Purefoods started the game with 6-0 run then took a 45-33 advantage late in the second period on Raymundo's jumper.

Nino Canaleta, Rafi Reavis and rookie Rico Maierhofer joined the scoring fray in the second half to help the Giants build their biggest lead at 82-68 with 5:21 left in the game. Reavis' tip in gave them a 91-78 advantage to put the game out of reach.

Jay Washington (206-C-81, college: Eckerd) led San Miguel with 21 points while Dennis Miranda (180-G-82) and Arwind Santos (193-F-81) contributed 15 and 12 markers respectively for coach Siot Tanquingcen.

Despite a 3-2 lead in the series, Gregorio said San Miguel has the capability to sweep the last two games.

'San Miguel is a very strong team. You can't blink, you have to be vigilant,' said Gregorio.

The last time the Giants were in the finals was in the 2007-08 Philippine Cup when they lost to Sta. Lucia Realty in 7 games.

Courtesy of www.abs-cbnnews.com

PBA Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Mark CARDONA
  Talk N Text
  (180-G/F-81)
  Avg: 19.4

1. Cardona, Talk N.	19.4
2. Williams, Santa Lucia	17.9
3. Santos, San Miguel	17.5
4. Yap, Purefoods	16.8
5. Mercado, Rain o.	16.4
6. Tubid, Ginebra	15.7
7. Alapag, Talk N Text	15.5
8. Miller, Alaska	15.4
9. Norwood, Rain o.	14.9
10. Tenorio, Alaska	14.7

Rebounds Per Game

Kelly WILLIAMS
  Santa Lucia
  (198-F-82)
  Avg: 14.6

1. Williams, Santa Lucia	14.6
2. Taulava, Coca-Cola	12.5
3. Santos, San Miguel	10.1
4. Reavis, Purefoods	9.1
5. Carey, Talk N Text	8.9
6. Pingris, Purefoods	8.3
7. Devance, Alaska	7.9
8. Pena, San Miguel	7.8
9. Alonzo, Barako Bull	7.4
10. Reyes, Rain o.	7.2

Assists Per Game

Alex CABAGNOT
  Burger King
  (183-G-82)
  Avg: 5.9

1. Cabagnot, Coca-Cola	5.9
2. Helterbrand, Gineb.	5.2
3. Villanueva, San M.	4.9
4. Alapag, Talk N Text	4.9
5. Reyes, Santa Lucia	4.6
6. Mercado, Rain o.	4.6
7. Taulava, Coca-Cola	4.5
8. Tenorio, Alaska	4.5
9. Miller, Alaska	4.2
10. Castro, Talk N Text	4.1

Steals Per Game

Ryan REYES
  Santa Lucia
  (188-G-83)
  Avg: 2.1

1. Reyes, Santa Lucia	2.1
2. Williams, Santa Lucia	1.7
3. Artadi, Purefoods	1.5
4. Lanete, Burger King	1.4
5. Norwood, Rain o.	1.4
6. Tenorio, Alaska	1.4
7. Buenafe, Burger K.	1.4
8. Caguioa, Ginebra	1.3
9. Castro, Talk N Text	1.3
10. Abarrientos, Gineb.	1.3

Blocks Per Game

Ali PEEK
  Talk N Text
  (194-F-75)
  Avg: 1.4

1. Peek, Talk N Text	1.4
2. Quinahan, Burger K.	1.3
3. Santos, San Miguel	1.3
4. Thoss, Alaska	1.1
5. Reavis, Purefoods	1.0
6. Maierhofer, Puref.	1.0
7. Norwood, Rain o.	0.8
8. Devance, Alaska	0.8
9. Belga, Burger King	0.8
10. Hrabak, Rain o.	0.8

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

PORTUGAL

LPB Round 14 Preview and Picks - by Antonio Santos
Academica - Ginasio
Ginasio narrowly lost the last two games it played, against the top 2 teams in the league. In fact, it blew good leads in both matches. Academica was somewhat lucky to get a win against Fisica, and followed that performance with being absolutely killed at Benfica.
Pick: Ginasio - Despite having home court advantage, Academica falls short

CAB - Benfica
Benfica hasn't lost, CAB has been under performing over and over again
Pick: Benfica - It should not even be a close game

Barreirense - Fisica
Fisica showed it still thinks playoffs after good displays the last two times it stepped on the court. Barreirense is all over the place, capable of surprising the top teams and losing games it should (at least on paper). It loses focus from one week to another so easily that one could argue it is a team suffering from ADD.
Pick: Barreirense - It will be close as Barreirense is too immature to kill a game

Illiabum - Vagos
Illiabum has been steadily improving. Vagos has been steadily worsening
Pick: Illiabum - See above, and yeah, Illiabum plays at home

Guimaraes - Sampaense
Guimaraes will be a contender by the time it is all said and done. Count on them to do some damage in the playoffs. Sampaense is very fragile.
Pick: Guimaraes - and it will be a blow out

Porto - Ovarense
Porto has been struggling for weeks now, despite its great effort on winning the league cup. The injuries of Jeremy Hunt

(196-G-83, agency: Buck Andre, college: Memphis) first and Carlos Andrade (197-F-78, college: Queens (NC)) second helps partially explaining it. Ovarense seems to have found some of its swagger back and beat Guimaraes.
Pick: Porto - the team will find a way to beat Ovarense's stifling defense

Portuguese Cup Draw - by Antonio Santos
The Portuguese Cup final 8 is being called this year the Final a Oito Jogos Santa Casa (Jogos Santos Casa final eight) after its sponsor, the Portuguese Lottery.

The draw has dictated the following games:

Thursday, March 4th
1) Ovarense vs. Ginasio
2) Barreirense vs. Sangalhos

Friday, March 5th
3) Benfica vs. Guimaraes
4) Porto vs. Academica

Saturday, March 6th
Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4

Sunday, March 7th
Final

It is worth noting that Sangalhos is the only Proliga (D2) team reaching the final eight.

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

ROMANIA

Stats Leaders - Men

Points Per Game

O''Darien BASSETT
  Craiova
  (188-G-86)
  Avg: 22.4

1. Bassett, Craiova	22.4
2. Krstanovic, U.Mobi.	20.6
3. Bubanja, Brasov	19.5
4. Peciukas, Mures	19.2
5. Pesic, Timisoara	19.2
6. Mack, Steaua T.	19.0
7. Santana, Municipal B.	18.2
8. Dzambic, Timisoara	18.1
9. Dawson, Gladiato.	17.9
10. Lawrence, U.Mobite.	17.8

Rebounds Per Game

Justin HERNDON
  CSU Sibiu
  (208-C-83)
  Avg: 10.4

1. Herndon, CSU Sibiu	10.4
2. Carutasu, Ploiesti	9.7
3. Trim, Rovinari	9.0
4. Masiulis, Mures	9.0
5. Krstanovic, U.Mobi.	8.9
6. Paltinisanu, Timis.	8.5
7. Smith, CSU Sibiu	7.8
8. Mijajlovic, Munici.	7.6
9. Popescu, Steaua T.	7.5
10. Nicoara, Gaz Metan	7.5

Assists Per Game

Jarrett HOWELL
  Gaz Metan
  (188-G-84)
  Avg: 5.7

1. Howell, Gaz Metan	5.7
2. Cooley, Mures	5.3
3. Dzambic, Timisoara	5.1
4. Cuic, U.Mobitel.CN	4.8
5. Fometescu, Dinamo B.	4.8
6. Mladenovic, Brasov	4.6
7. Helcioiu, Municipa.	4.4
8. Howard, Gladiato.	4.4
9. Dawson, Gladiato.	4.3
10. Bassett, Craiova	4.2

Steals Per Game

Brandon JOHNSON
  CSU Sibiu
  (185-G-86)
  Avg: 2.7

1. Johnson, CSU Sibiu	2.7
2. Cooley, Mures	2.6
3. Howell, Gaz Metan	2.6
4. Mitchell, Gaz Metan	2.2
5. Maric, Oradea	2.2
6. Medvedj, U.Mobite.	2.1
7. Dawson, Gladiato.	2.1
8. Hargrove, Ploiesti	2.1
9. Timus, Steaua T.	2.1
10. Fometescu, Dinamo B.	2.0

Blocks Per Game

Arturas MASIULIS
  Mures
  (210-C-80)
  Avg: 2.4

1. Masiulis, Mures	2.4
2. Lazar, Oradea	2.0
3. Herndon, CSU Sibiu	1.7
4. Dragovic, Craiova	1.7
5. Dragusin, Pitesti	1.6
6. Trim, Rovinari	1.1
7. Pantelic, Steaua T.	1.0
8. Vajda, Mures	1.0
9. Rhymer, Gaz Metan	1.0
10. Roland, CSU Sibiu	0.8

Preview of round 23 - by Sebastian Umbrich
Round 23 of the Romanian championship (Divizia A) will be the first, after two rounds in which some matches have been postponed, in which all teams will play.

First match: 19th February 2010
BCM Elba Timisoara Dinamo Bucharest
Timisoara comes after an impressive win 94-77 away against Craiova, while Dinamo comes after two more impressive wins (86-81 away against Sibiu and 81-74 against Rovinari on home ground). These two victories kept Dinamos chances for the play-offs alive, bringing Dinamo to an 8-14 record (ranked 12th). Timisoara has one match less, has a 12-9 record, being ranked 5th. In their first meeting, Timisoara won 74-65.

Second match: 20th February 2010
BCM Pitesti Gaz Metan Medias
BCM Pitesti comes after a surprising loss away against CSM Bucharest, score 81-74, while Gaz Metan Medias won last rounds and the championships derby against CSU Asesoft Ploiesti on home ground, score 77-69. Before this match, BCM Pitesti is ranked 6th with a 12-10 record, while Medias is on the second place, with an 18-4 record. This will be a balanced match. In their first meeting, Medias won 65-46.

Third match: 20th February 2010
Steaua Turabo Bucharest CSM Municipal Bucharest
After its last round meeting against CSU Brasov has been postponed, Steaua Bucharest had some additional rest. CSM Bucharest couldnt benefit such a rest, being forced to win against Pitesti (fact which happened) in order to hope further for one play-off slot. Before this match Steaua is ranked 9th, with a 10-11 record, while CSM is ranked 13th, with 8-14 record. In their first meeting, Steaua won 79-78, after overtime.

Fourth match: 20th February 2010
CSU Atlassib Sibiu CSU Cuadripol Brasov
After two lost matches (against Dinamo on home ground and Mures away) Sibius coach got a warning from the clubs director, but it seems that he will be coach of Sibiu at least until the play-offs. Sibiu (15-7 record, ranked 4th) has an easy match on home ground against the last team in the championship CSU Brasov (2-19 record). Brasovs center, Zeljko Bubanja (210-C-73), will come back in Sibiu, a team with whom he won two silver medals and one bronze medal in the 1990s. While Sibiu complains about that 0-2 streak, Brasov is on a 0-12 streak. In their first meeting, Sibiu won 91-76 away.

Fifth match: 20th February 2010
Energia Rovinari BC Mures Targu Mures
After a sensational start in the season after the winter holiday break, Rovinari surprisingly lost against Dinamo, 74-81. Last round, Mures won 88-79 against CSU Sibiu. After these matches, Rovinari fell on 10 (10-12 record), while BC Mures rose to 8 (11-11 record). This will be an interesting match, bot teams trying to catch a free slot for the play-offs, and this will be, how the Romanians say, a 4-points match. In their first meeting, Mures won 92-77 against Rovinari.

Sixth match: 20th February 2010
SCM U Craiova Gladiator Cluj-Napoca
Both teams are trying to get back in shape, and are trying to end some negative streaks. While Craiova lost last round against Timisoara, and has now a 3-18 record, while Gladiator, who cancelled its last round match, is ranked 14th, with a 5-15 record. It seems that both teams will have to play in the play-outs, both of them having to fight to stay in the first division next season, too. In their first meeting, Gladiator won 95-90.

Seventh match: 20th February 2010
CSM Oradea U Mobitelco Cluj-Napoca
The seventh match will be the Western derby, facing Oradea (11th place, 9-12 record) and U Mobitelco ranked 1st, 18-2 record. While U Cluj postponed its last two round matches, Oradea clearly won away against Otopeni, score 84-69. While Cluj is trying to stay on 1st place, Oradea is forced to win, so that they could hope for the play-offs. In their first meeting, U Cluj won 74-58.

Eight match: 21st February 2010
CSU Asesoft Ploiesti - CS Otopeni
Third ranked CSU Ploiesti is facing another difficult match, facing Otopeni. Both teams lost last rounds matches (Ploiesti losing against Medias, while Otopeni lost against Oradea). Before this round, Ploiesti is ranked 3rd, with an 18-4 record, while Otopeni is ranked 6th, with a 12-9 record. In their first meeting, Ploiesti won 86-64.

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SENEGAL

Ndong goes after Copa glory with Barcelona - by Enoma Ugheghe
Senegal international center Boniface Ndong came within a whisker of lifting the Copa del Rey last season with Unicaja Malaga but ended up looking on sadly as Caja Laboral celebrated a 100-98 overtime win in the final.

On Thursday night in Bilbao, Ndong, the MVP of Afrobasket 2005, goes after Copa glory again only this time as a member of powerhouse Regal Barcelona.

The team's first game is against a very dangerous Cajasol Sevilla that has been reenergized this season following the appointment of Catalan coach Joan Plaza.

'I have a lot of thoughts before the Copa, Ndong said.

'Last year I felt like with Unicaja, we were very close to success but that's the beauty of basketball.

'Now a year later, I have the opportunity to win again.'

Barcelona, who are coached by Xavier Pascual, are playing extremely well these days, bringing back memories of 2003 when they won a Copa del Rey, the Euroleague and ACB treble.

They are the favorites to win the Copa this time, too.

In Spain, however, there are never any guarantees because from top to bottom in the ACB, there are solid teams.

The players of all the sides taking part in the Copa this week have stressed that any of the eight sides are good enough to go on a three-game winning streak to win the competition.
'Surprises can always happen, that's clear, Ndong said.

'But it's time to show we are superior and that we can win the Copa del Rey.
'It would be very special to me.

For me, it would also be my first title in Spain after the Supercopa.

Ndong had 13 points in Barcelona's 86-82 triumph over Real Madrid in the Supercopa back on October 3.

Barcelona last won the Copa del Rey in 2007 with a 69-53 triumph over Real Madrid.

They were coached at the time by Dusko Ivanovic, while Madrid were led by Plaza.
FIBA

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

SERBIA

Standings - A Liga

A Standings

1. Borac	16-5
2. Metalac	15-6
3. Beograd	14-7
4. Tamis	14-7
5. Vojvodina	14-8
6. Novi Sad	12-9
7. Proleter Naft.	12-9
8. Napredak	11-10
9. Mega Vizura	10-11
10. Sloga	10-12
11. Masinac	9-12
12. Radnicki Basket	6-15
13. Ergonom	4-17
14. KG 06	1-20
Will join on later stage:
1. Radnicki K.	-
2. Crvena Zvez.	-
3. Partizan	-
4. Hemofarm	-
5. FMP	-

Stats Leaders - 1A

Points Per Game

Vladimir PANIC
  Metalac
  (194-F-82)
  Avg: 18.8

1. Panic, Metalac	18.8
2. Markovic, Tamis	17.7
3. Jorovic, Borac	17.1
4. Mladenovic, Ergon.	17.1
5. Markovic, Napredak	16.9
6. Martinic, Vojvodina	15.8
7. Micevic, Borac	15.3
8. Vukosavljevi., Prolet.	15.2
9. Rakic, Novi Sad	15.1
10. Milosevic, KG 06	14.8

Rebounds Per Game

Aleksandar MLADENOVIC
  Ergonom
  (207-F/C-84)
  Avg: 7.5

1. Mladenovic, Ergon.	7.5
2. Mikic, KG 06	6.9
3. Ljubojevic, Novi S.	6.5
4. Lukovic, Radnic.	6.4
5. Jelovac, Mega V.	6.2
6. Dramicanin, Borac	6.1
7. Borovcanin, Sloga	6.1
8. Bosnjak, Vojvodina	6.0
9. Marojevic, Metalac	5.8
10. Buric, Tamis	5.7

Assists Per Game

Vid ZARKOVIC
  Proleter Naft.
  (189-G-75)
  Avg: 7.2

1. Zarkovic, Prolet.	7.2
2. Rakic, Novi Sad	4.4
3. Stefanovic, Metal.	4.3
4. Korac, Beograd	4.1
5. Martinic, Vojvodina	4.0
6. Djordjevic, Sloga	3.9
7. Dimitrijevic, Sloga	3.7
8. Radulovic, Masinac	3.5
9. Prolovic, Borac	3.3
10. Tresac, Borac	3.0

Steals Per Game

Goran MARTINIC
  Vojvodina
  (186-G-87)
  Avg: 2.3

1. Martinic, Vojvodina	2.3
2. Vulin, Proleter Naft.	2.2
3. Zarkovic, Prolet.	1.9
4. Dundjerski, Beograd	1.7
5. Djordjevic, Sloga	1.7
6. Kovacevic, Novi Sad	1.6
7. Rakic, Novi Sad	1.6
8. Tresac, Borac	1.6
9. Tomasevic, Vojvo.	1.6
10. Ljubojevic, Metal.	1.5

Blocks Per Game

Nikola MARAVIC
  Mega Vizura
  (212-C-89)
  Avg: 1.2

1. Maravic, Mega V.	1.2
2. Buric, Tamis	1.2
3. Lukovic, Radnic.	1.2
4. Bircevic, Metalac	1.1
5. Mladenovic, Ergon.	1.1
6. Ljubojevic, Novi S.	0.9
7. Dramicanin, Borac	0.8
8. Arsic, Masinac	0.8
9. Cvetkovic, Mega V.	0.7
10. Bjegovic, Masinac	0.7

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SLOVENIA

Zlatorog, Slovan advance to semifinals - by Zeljko Zule
Zlatorog and Geoplin Slovan advanced to the semifinals of 2010 Slovenian Cup Spar.
Quaterfinals - Day 1 (18/02): Zlatorog-TCG Mercator 83-76 OT: Nejc Strnad (190-G-83, agency: VTBM) made a layup at the buzzer to send the game into overtime (69-69). In the overtime period, Zlatorog never trailed. Nejc Strnad scored 23 points, Esmir Rizvic had 13 points and 12 rebounds, Miljan Goljovic and Drazen Bubnic posted 12 points each and David Collins netted 11points. Zlatorog trailed 44-54 late in the final quarter, but took a 62-61 lead. TCG Mercator was outrebounded 33-48. Blaz Mahkovic scored 19 points, Mensud Julevic collected 14 points and 11 rebounds, Mirko Mulalic added 11points and Simon Finzgar and Tomo Cajic 10 apiece.
Geoplin Slovan-Sentjur 87-85: After almost erasing a 54-73 deficit, Sentjur could not complete the comeback. Marcus Crenshaw missed a game-tying lay-up with 3 seconds remaining and Edin Alispahic grabbed the offensive rebound and missed the jumper with the buzzer. For Slovan, Bojan Jovanovic scored 23 points, Ernest Novak added 17 and Milan Klepo had 12 points and 12 rebounds before he fouled out.Slovan shot 52percent (12-of-23) behind the 3-point line while Sentjur hit just 6-of-22 shots. Sandi Cebular posted 19 points and Marcus Crenshaw added 16.
Day 12 (19/02): Union Olimpija-Helios, Krka-Hopsi.

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SOUTH KOREA

KBL Round: 49 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
SK Knights - Daegu Orions 76-79
SK Knights lost to Daegu Orions 76:79 at the end of the Regular Season Round 49. Hill Herbert (203-F-84, college: Providence) collected 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Heo Il-Young posted 15. Kim Julian ended up with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Mobis Phoebus - KCC Egis 81-68
Mobis Phoebus improved to 35-12 record beating KCC Egis 81:68. Ham Ji-Hoon (198-C/F-84) top-scored for the winners with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Kim Hyo-Bum nailed 18 and Dunston Bryant had 12 points and 13 boards. Johnson Ivan (203-C-84, agency: Union Sports, college: Cal.St.-San Bernar.) responded with 23 points in the losing effort.

KCC Egis - Daegu Orions 82-77
KCC Egis cruised past Daegu Orions 82:77 as Johnson Ivan nailed 27 points for the winners and Akins Tony scored 18. Choo Seung-Kyun notched 16, while Leather Terrence and Kang Byung-Hyun had 9 each. Jung Jae-Hong produced 22 points in defeat.

LG Sakers - ET Land B.Sl. 78-73
LG Sakers is with 28-19 record after the win over ET Land 78:73. Stevenson Greg (198-F-78, agency: SportsTalent, college: Richmond) stepped up with 18 points and 11 rebounds while Cho Sang-Hyun added 14. Seo Jang-Hoon and Lee Hyun-Ho nocthed 21 points each in the losing case.

Samsung Th. - Sonic Boom KT 82-88
Samsung lost to Sonic Boom KT 82:88 as the latter improved to 34-13 record. Song Young-Jin (198-C/F-78) paced all the winners with 18 points and Johnson Jasper netted 17. Johnson Jasper respoded with 20 points in defeat and Brand Micah added 16.

Dongbu Promy - KT&G Kites 82-74
Dongbu Promy rolled over KT&G Kites 82:74 as Yoon Ho-Young (198-F-84) and Kim Joo-Sung paced all the winners with 18 points each. Chandler Marquin nailed 17 and Lee Kwang-Jae had 10. Daniels Chris delivered 27 points and 18 rebounds in the losing case.

Standings

KBL Standings

1. Mobis Phoebus	35-12
2. Sonic Boom KT	34-13
3. KCC Egis	33-15
4. Dongbu Promy	31-16
5. LG Sakers	28-19
6. Samsung Th.	21-25
7. ET Land B.Sl.	15-32
8. KT&G Kites	13-33
9. SK Knights	13-35
10. Daegu Orions	12-36

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

SPAIN

Spanish Cup QF: Llull and Jaric lead Real Madrid past way Joventut - by Natxo Mendaza
Real Madrid found no resistance in the last game of the Spanish Cup Quarter Finals and defeated DKV Joventut 90-82 at Bilbao Exhibition Centre on Friday night, led by an outstanding Sergio Llull

(190-G-87), who hit 6 out of his 9 three point attempts for a 29points performance. The whites struggled in the early going and trailed 13-14 after 6 minutes, but it was nothing but an illusion once Jaric and Llull decided to run the show. A couple of threes by Llull built a two-digit lead for the whites at halftime, and Real never looked back. Messina's team kept exploiting the soft deffensive approach of Joventut after the break, raising differences to 16 points, 57-41, in the third period. Youngster David Jelinek became an unexpected weapon for Joventut, as he led his team to reduce the gap to only 7 points few minutes later. Nevertheless, Real needed only to adjust its deffense a little bit better and play longer possessions in offense to find Llull outside and retain its lead and prevent Joventut from rallying.

Jorge Garbajosa took over for the whites with 5 points, including an opening three pointer, for a quick 7-2 lead in the early going. The answer came from the duo Valters - Bogdanovic, who broke Messina's defensive scheme to bring Joventut back to the game and take its first lead of the night, 13-14, midway through the first period. Then, Marko Jaric became the go-to man for Real Madrid, supporting his team offense to regain the lead and keep the whites ahead at the end of the first period, 23-20, behind 11 points by the Serbian guard.

DKV Joventut resisted for a few more minutes, tying the game 25-25 after 22 minutes thanks to Henk Norel and Sonseca activity under the boards, but that was the beginning of the end for the Catalonians. Hansen decided to join Jaric to boost a terrifying 14-2 run that knocked down DKV Joventut for the rest of the half. Sito Alonsos team started to struggle in a serious way, as neither Valters nor Fernandez were able to run the team. In addition, Tucker was a ghost in offense, needing more than 16 minutes to take his first basket, while his team signed a poor 8% from behind the arc. Llull, with back-to-back threes at the end of the second quarter extended whites lead to 51-39 at halftime.

The trend didn't change after the intermission. DKV Joventut wasn't able to increase its defensive activity, allowing Real to keep a safe margin without great effort. Differences rose up to 17 points, 60-43 after 24 minutes, as everything seemed to be decided already. But Joventut hadn't told its last word, and found an unexpected leader in the youngster David Jelinek, who sparked a 3-13 to bring his team within only 7 points, 63-56, with 3 minutes to go. Clay Tucker joined the party, but he had to head the bench after committing his fourth foul, leaving Joventut without its main scoring tool. Jaric and Llull came to the rescue then, allowing Real to reach the end of the third period with a comfortable margin, 67-58.

Differences remained stable in the last period, as both teams exchanged baskets during the first minutes. Joventut tried to find Tucker on the wings, but the US guard wasnt at the expected level and couldnt provide consistency to his teams offense. On the opposite side, Real found Jaric and Llull over and over again, enough to retain a double digit-lead, 78-65, with less than 5 minutes to go. Even though joventut tried a zone defense as a last attempt to change the trend, Real just needed to give the ball to Llull outside to retain a safe margin until the end.

Spanish Cup QF: Caja Laboral crushes Bizkaia Bilbao Basket from behind the arc on its way to the semis - by Natxo Mendaza
Caja Laboral showed unreachable for Bizkaia Bilbao Basket in the third game of the Spanish Cup quarterfinals, which ended with a solid 62-75 for the current title holders.. Bilbao, this year's Cup host, couldnt lead the game for a single minute, as Caja Laboral put up an incredibly shooting performance from behind the arc to destroy Bilbao's dreams. Caja Laboral broke the game right after the intermission thanks to a 0-11 run, enjoying a game-high 23 point difference few seconds before the end of the third quarter. Fernando San Emeterio

(198-G/F-84) led the way for the guests with 22 points, while Marko Banic

(204-F-84) had 23 in a losing effort.

Despite the absence of its injured starting center Tiago Splitter, Caja Laboral showed up more focused and accurate than the home team, who kept also Marko Banic on the bench in the beginning. Pau Ribas and Fernando San Emeterio boosted Caja Laboral in the early going, hitting twice from downtown to give the visitors a 3-8 lead after 3 minutes. Bizkaia Bilbao Basket was unable to find a balanced offense, committing too many turnovers and missing open shots, as Caja Laboral didnt need too much to find good shooting options outside. Fernando San Emeterio took over for the guests, leading the way for a 6-17 Caja Laboral edge with 3 minutes to go. Situation seemed to be critical for Bilbao, but once Salgado stepped in, his team managed to react and stop the drought to trail 11-20 at the end of the first period.

Deffenses prevailed over offenses after the break, with both teams using their second-line. The pace of the game slowed down, but neither Caja Laboral nor Bizkaia Bilbao basket managed to take control. Marko Banic were supporting his team, but it seemed not enough to reduce differences. As such, the guests exchanged baskets and kept a solid 10-point margin, 17-27, after 16 minutes. Bilbao didnt panic, however, as Mumbru joined Marko Banic to spark a 9-3 run that brought the hosts within 4 points, 26-30, with 2 minutes go to halftime. Salgado made it a three point game few seconds later, but Caja Laboral managed to prevent Bilbao from completing the comeback thanks to Eliyahu and Teletovic, who helped Baskonia to retain a slight margin, 31-37, at the end of the second quarter.

Katsikaris decided again to keep Marko Banic on the bench, while Ivanovic started with Singletary guarding Salgado as an attempt to reduce the impact his game had had in the game so far. The strategy worked out well for the guests, as Bilbao remained scoreless for five minutes. Caja Laboral took advantage of Bilbao offensive blindness to spark a 0-11 run behind 6 points by Fernando San Emeterio, good for a 31-48 lead after 24 minutes. Bilbao tried to react, but was stopped by the incredibly shooting accuracy of Caja Laboral shooters, with Teletovic running the show with a pair of nine-meters bombs. As such, the margin kept increasing and reached a 22-point peak, 41-63, entering the last minute of the period. Blums and Moiso hit from downtown once each to close the quarter, but the game was already broken.

Marko Banic did his best to bring his team back into the game from then on, but he found himself alone all game long. With the outcome in no doubt, Baskonia didnt need much to retain a solid lead throughout the last period, and tried to get players like Stanko Barac (217-C-86) involved, looking for a good preparation for the following semifinals challenge on Saturday. Caja Laboral relaxed, as Bilbao used a late rally to reduce the differences, 62-75, to avoid a more painful defeat.

Standings - LEB Gold

LEB Gold Standings

1. Melilla	18-6
2. CAI Zaragoza	17-6
3. Burgos	16-8
4. La Laguna	15-9
5. Vive Menorca	14-9
6. Breogan	13-10
7. Leon	13-10
8. Caceres	12-11
9. Ourense	12-12
10. Girona	12-12
11. La Palma	11-12
12. Mallorca	11-13
13. Tenerife	10-14
14. Clin.Rincon	9-14
15. Palencia	9-15
16. Cornella	9-15
17. CB Tarragona	7-17
18. Vigo	4-19

Stats Leaders - LEB Gold

Points Per Game

Darren PHILLIP
  CAI Zaragoza
  (201-F-78)
  Avg: 18.2

1. Phillip, CAI Z.	18.2
2. Riera, Mallorca	17.6
3. Morley, Burgos	17.6
4. Donaldson, La La.	17.1
5. Hughes, Leon	16.3
6. Roe, Tenerife	16.1
7. Guillen, La Laguna	16.0
8. Quinteros, CAI Z.	15.9
9. Blanch, Mallorca	15.0
10. Rabaseda, Cornella	14.9

Rebounds Per Game

Jakim DONALDSON
  La Laguna
  (203-C/F-83)
  Avg: 10.9

1. Donaldson, La La.	10.9
2. Starosta, Melilla	9.8
3. Sinanovic, Clin.Rin.	9.1
4. Lima, Clin.Rincon	8.4
5. Adrien, Breogan	7.9
6. Arteaga, Palencia	7.7
7. Humphrey, Leon	7.5
8. Padgett, La Palma	7.4
9. Phillip, CAI Z.	7.4
10. Ayon, Tenerife	7.4

Assists Per Game

Diego CIORCIARI
  Vive Menorca
  (185-G-80)
  Avg: 4.9

1. Ciorciari, Vive M.	4.9
2. Mendiburu, CB Tarra.	4.1
3. Mena, La Palma	4.1
4. Perez, Cornella	3.6
5. Jimenez, Melilla	3.6
6. Garrido, La Laguna	3.2
7. Riera, Mallorca	3.0
8. Lescano, CAI Z.	3.0
9. Rodriguez, CB Tarra.	3.0
10. Quinteros, CAI Z.	3.0

Steals Per Game

Matias LESCANO
  CAI Zaragoza
  (196-G/F-79)
  Avg: 3.2

1. Lescano, CAI Z.	3.2
2. Rabaseda, Cornella	2.4
3. Blanch, Mallorca	2.2
4. Fuentes, Clin.Rincon	2.1
5. Quinteros, CAI Z.	2.0
6. Ayon, Tenerife	1.9
7. Boccia, Tenerife	1.9
8. Perez, Cornella	1.8
9. Xavier, Breogan	1.7
10. Morley, Burgos	1.7

Blocks Per Game

Andrew NAYMICK
  Caceres
  (208-C-85)
  Avg: 1.9

1. Naymick, Caceres	1.9
2. Sinanovic, Clin.Rin.	1.9
3. Diouf, CB Tarragona	1.5
4. Donaldson, La La.	1.5
5. Ayon, Tenerife	1.3
6. Joseph, Cornella	1.3
7. Samb, Cornella	1.3
8. Elonu, CAI Zaragoza	1.3
9. Roe, Tenerife	1.1
10. Mirotic, Palencia	0.9

Regal F.C. Barcelona Vs. Cajasol Post-Game Quotes - by Natxo Mendaza
Xavier Pascual We feel happy that we were able to make this first step. The game wasn't too far from what we expected. We needed some more time than them to get into the game, and despite we amassed a good margin later, their zone deffense in the last quarter made us lose all advantages. We missed a better shooting percentage tonight, because they are aggressive, but we managed to handle the situation and hit the key free throws in a tight end.

Jaka Lakovic (186-G-78): It was a very tough game, we had a very bad start. It takes some extra effort to get into the groove in the beginning of this kind of tournaments, and we noticed it tonight. They were on fire in the first quarter, however, and that helped them to stay alive and have winning chances all game long.

Joan Plaza : I have congratulated my players becase we were competitive tonight and made Barcelona feel pretty uncomfortable. There is nothing to criticize, we lost because of the small things, it was not a serious issue on any aspect of our game. We know that Barcelona is able to raise their intensity level in a way they only can do, and everyone could see it tonight. When you are involved in this kind of competitions, you have to be ready for that. But we kept the chances till the last minutes, and that makes us feel proud of ourselves.

Tariq Kirksay

(199-F-79, college: Iona): I'm not happy at all after this defeat, but there are a lot of different ways to lose. We believe in ourselves and in our game, Regal F.C. Bacelona played better and showed they deserved the win tonight, I have nothing to say against that.

Bilbao Basket Vs. Caja Laboral Post-Game Quotes - by Natxo Mendaza
Fotis Katsikaris : We didn't fight at the level we should have fought in the beginning of the game. They are more experienced than us, we missed to step up in terms of aggresiveness both in offense and deffense. The comeback turned into a very difficult task. They made almost every outisde shot after halftime, showed great confidence and we found ourselves unable to react.

Javier Salgado

(180-G-80): We had a bad start, stuck in offense and that allowed them to get the first advantages. They can score very easily and that gave them a lot of of confidence. We managed to get back into the game at the end of the second period, but after the break they hit some amazing threes that allowed them to play calm.

Dusko Ivanovic : We played deffensively at the level we wanted to do tonight, we prepared ourselves for it. We struggled in deffensive rebounding in some moments of the game, but we managed to solve it after halftime. We had a good ball circulation, and a very good shooting accuracy, especially from behind the arc.

Fernando San Emeterio

(198-G/F-84): We played a very serious game, playing hard in deffense since the tip-off, and we managed to keep them at 62 points, which was our target. This was, probably, my best game since i came to Vitoria. I'm happy that it came tonight, in this tournament. We achieved nothing so far, we came here to win the title and there are 2 games left. When you step into the court and play focused, it gives you confidence and helps you.

Spanish Cup QF: Regal F.C. Barcelona meets the expectations and makes it to the semis - by Natxo Mendaza
Regal F.C. Barcelona lived up to the expectations and defeated Cajasol 77-72, earning a berth in the Spanish Cup semifinals. The Catalonians had to overcome an early 10-point deficit in the first period, but found the way to the win once they adjusted their defense and took control of the boards. Barcelona built a 12-point lead after halftime, but saw how Cajasol reacted and came within one point midway through the last quarter. Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) led the way for the winners with 15 points, while Tariq Kirksay

(199-F-79, college: Iona) had also 15 for the losers. Barcelona will meet Power Electronics Valencia in the semifinals.

Cajasol showed no fear in the beginning of the game despite facing the current ACB leader and top seed Regal F.C. Barcelona. Thanks to a very balanced offense and a solid defense, the Andalusians overcame a 0-4 opening run by the Catalonians and managed to take an early lead, 10-19, after 7 minutes. Even with its second-line on court, Cajasol didnt allow Barcelona to rally, as Earl Calloway gave his team the first double-digit lead, 13-23, on a nice jumper entering the last minute of the first period. But Basile, with a three, Lakovic, with a smooth layup off-the-dribble, and Morris, with a buzzer-beater alley-oop, came to the rescue and avoided an early crisis for their team to close the first quarter with Barcelona trailing 20-24.

Even though Douglas opened the second quarter with a basket-plus-foul play, Barcelona had adjusted much better its defense on the most dangerous players of Cajasol. Earl Calloway fed his team for a while, but was forced to look for one-on-one situations, as Barcelona found four different players in offense to tie the game, 29-29, with 6 minutes to go for halftime. No one was able to take control of the game then, so it remained balanced and the score tied 37-37, at the end of the second quarter.

Both squads remained scoreless for the first 2 minutes after intermission, but Barcelona was the first one to switch on to scoring mode thanks to Ricky Rubio and Pete Mickeal. They both boosted a 9-2 run that gave Barcelona a 49-42 edge and forced an urgent timeout by Cajasol head coach Joan Plaza midway through the third period. It didnt work, however, as Barcelona kept increasing the margin, step by step, thanks to a terrifying defense and second-chance baskets until they reached a 10-point lead, 55-45, entering the last minute. Tariq Kirksay kept the hopes alive for Cajasol with a pair of buckets that avoided a most painful result at the end of the third period, which ended with Barcelona leading 59-49.

But Cajasol hadnt told its last word, however. Joan Plaza switched to zone-deffense since the beginning of the quarter as Douglas and Radenovic combined for 8 points to bring their team within 4 points, 61-57, after 33 minutes. Although Barcelona found a pair of free throws by Mickeal, Radenovic hit from downtown to make it a one-point game, 63-62, with less than 5 minutes to go. Juan Carlos Navarro finished with the shooting drought of Barcelona with a huge three, while Vazquez went for a monster dunk to make Barcelona breath again, 70-63, after 38 minutes. Cajasol tried, but couldnt come back, as the full-court pressure was not enough to make Barcelona panic. As such, the current ACB leaders needed only to hit the free throws and wait for the final buzzer to secure a deserved win.

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UKRAINE

Tate Decker is back to Ukraine - by Eurobasket News
Hoverla added Tate Decker (209-C-77, college: Oklahoma City) to their roster. The player is far from being new to Ukraine. The 32-year-old centre started the season in Hoverla but moved to Cyprus just after one game. Last year Tate Decker also played for the Ivano-Frankivsk team. He tallied 13.8 points, 4.5 boards and 1.3 assists per game. Tate Dekcer used to play in Spain, Japan, Philippines, Australia, Poland, Puerto Rico and Germany.

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URUGUAY

Trouville took a 2-1 lead over Atenas - by Hector Lopez
Trouville, with 17 points by Marques Lewis (203-F-83, college: UAB), beat Atenas 71-69 to take a 2-1 lead for the LUB best of five quarter final and will play a fourtth game next Monday. Lewis also grabbed 12 rebounds . Also for Trouville Gordon James (198-F-79, college: Bridgeport) netted 13 points, with 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks. For Atenas Luis Silveira (190-G/F-71) scored 19 points with 6 rebounds and 2 assists, Elgrace Wilborn (203-F-83, agency: Liman Sports, college: W.Kentucky) scored 15 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks, Will Caudle (206-C-82, agency: Liman Sports, college: Xavier) 5 points 4 rebounds. The winner will play against Defensor Sporting or Bigua (1-1).

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USBA

USBA Inaugural Basketball Season set to start, Wednesday April 7, 2010 - by USBA Media

Atlanta, Ga. (February 19, 2010) ---The United States Basketball Association (USBA) is ready for its inaugural season. Opening day is scheduled for April 7, 2010. The league will field 16 teams housed in 3 divisions. Permanent home gymnasiums of each individual team are complete. 'We see no economic challenges between now and the beginning of the season, we will tip off on Wednesday night, April 7, 2010, we have agreements in place to use gymnasium for all of our teams, 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 have arenas set in each city; we will disclose the locations in the very near future.'

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 the All Star game and the Championship game 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. The USBA announced its continuation of their support to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Feeding 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 league has three divisions, the Atlantic, the Appalachian and the Southern. The divisions make up the Southeastern Conference. '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. 'We'll have an opportunity to 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. A National Player Tryout Combine is scheduled for March 6, 2010. An Open House, Job Fair and Individual tryouts for each team will be held on March 13th and 20th, 2010 in each team city.

The leagues season ticket packages are now available. The season ticket promotion is called the 2010 USBA Season Ticket Extravaganza; the promotion is available in each city. This season ticket promotion is a special event for the fans and is sponsored by the advertisers and sponsors of the USBA. The league made 1200 single season tickets available in 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. Each season ticket comes with admission to all fifteen home games and fifteen free single game tickets; this also 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, RaceTrac or local fuel company 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 Schwinn 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,' said 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 detailed information, call or email the USBA league office at (678) 966-9993 or usba@usbaball.com . For further information on the USBA go to www.usbaball.com/seasonticketextravaganza .

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 6, 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 will 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

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VENEZUELA

Standings - LPB

LPB Standings

1. Marinos	2-0
2. Trotamundos	2-0
3. Guaros	2-0
4. Cocodrilos	1-0
5. Guaiqueries	1-1
6. Gaiteros	1-1
7. Panteras	0-1
8. Gigantes	0-2
9. La Guaira BBC	0-2
10. Toros	0-2

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Women News

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CROATIA - Women

Standings - Women

A1 Stage Two Standings

Places 1-6
1. Croatia 2006	0-0
2. Zadar	0-0
3. Split	0-0
4. Studenec O.	0-0
5. Pozega	0-0
6. Biska Pula	0-0
Places 7-12
1. Tresnjevka	0-0
2. Agram	0-0
3. Sibenik	-
4. Ragusa	-
5. Gospic	-
6. Medvescak	-

Stage One Standings

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ESTONIA - Women

Standings - Women

Meistriliiga Standings

1. Eclex Tallinn	11-0
2. TLU	6-5
3. Audentes	5-7
4. Tartu Ulikooli	1-11

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LITHUANIA - Women

Standings - LMKL

LMKL Standings

1. TEO Vilnius	20-2
2. Cesis	19-2
3. Aistes-Atletas	13-8
4. Lemminkain.	12-9
5. Laisve	12-10
6. MRU	5-16
7. Ruta Siauliai	4-17
8. LAMMKK	0-21

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RUSSIA - Women

Standings Women D1

A Superleague Standings

1. UMMC	14-0
2. Spartak V MR	12-1
3. Nadezhda O.	9-5
4. Dynamo NSU	6-7
5. Dynamo K.	5-7
6. Spartak SP	5-8
7. Dynamo M.	4-8
8. Chevakata	2-11
9. Spartak M.	2-12

A Superleague Round: 15 (Regular Season) - by Eurobasket News
Spartak M. - Spartak V MR 54-89
Spartak Moscow Region imrved to 12-1 record after 89:54 win over Spartak SHVSM. Five players scored in double digits as Diana Taurasi (182-F/G-82, college: Connecticut) led them all with 17 points. Medvedeva Viktoria ended up with 11 points for the home side.

UMMC - Dynamo NSU 91-68
UMMC outscored Dynamo NSU 91:68 on February 16th. Belgian International Ann Wauters (194-C-80) top-scored for the winners with 20 points and Pondexter, Cappie nailed 16. Khazova Marina chipped in 18 points in defeat, while Poto Sally netted 15.

Spartak V MR - Spartak SP 94-62
Spartak Moscoe Region overcame Spartak SP 94:62 on February 17th. Ilona Korstine (183-G-80) stepped up with 15 points, Fowles Sylvia delivered 14 and Diana Taurasi netted 13. Moore Jessica finished the night with 16 points in the losing effort and Petrakova Anna notched 14.

UMMC - Chevakata 104-59
UMMC smashed Chevakata 104:59 at the Regular Season Round 15. Agnieszka Bibrzycka (184-F/G-82, agency: Data Plus Group, college: Abil.Christian) poured in 23 points and Gruda Sandrine notched 20. Sokolovskaya Irina chipped in 15 points in the losing effort and Danilochkina Elena notched 15.

Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Marina KUZINA
  Dynamo M.
  (195-C-85)
  Avg: 24.2

1. Kuzina, Dynamo M.	24.2
2. Snytsina, Nadezhda.	20.3
3. Mosch, Nadezhda O.	19.1
4. Parker, UMMC	15.3
5. Taurasi, Spartak .	15.2
6. Snow, Dynamo K.	15.2
7. Firsova, Spartak SP	14.8
8. Danilochkina, Cheva.	13.4
9. Korstine, Spartak .	13.1
10. Petrovic, Spartak .	12.6

Rebounds Per Game

Anastasiya VEREMEENKO
  Nadezhda O.
  (192-C-87)
  Avg: 10.3

1. Veremeenko, Nadezhda.	10.3
2. Baranova, Nadezhda.	10.3
3. Kiseleva, Dynamo N.	9.5
4. Zakalyuzhnay., Nadezh.	7.9
5. Stepanova, UMMC	7.8
6. Kuzina, Dynamo M.	7.3
7. Vodopyanova, Dynamo M.	7.1
8. Snow, Dynamo K.	6.8
9. Bolsunovskay., Dynamo N.	6.5
10. Yakovleva, Cheva.	6.3

Assists Per Game

Cappie PONDEXTER
  UMMC
  (175-G-83)
  Avg: 4.9

1. Pondexter, UMMC	4.9
2. Dumerc, UMMC	4.3
3. Berseneva, Nadezhda.	4.0
4. Poto, Dynamo NSU	3.9
5. Firsova, Spartak SP	3.6
6. Mosch, Nadezhda O.	3.5
7. Keyru, Dynamo M.	3.5
8. Nolan, UMMC	3.4
9. Miller, Spartak .	3.2
10. Linkeviciene, Dynamo K.	3.1

Steals Per Game

Katerina SNYTSINA
  Nadezhda O.
  (188-F-85)
  Avg: 3.3

1. Snytsina, Nadezhda.	3.3
2. Bolsunovskay., Dynamo N.	3.2
3. Beglova, Spart.	2.7
4. Poto, Dynamo NSU	2.3
5. Popova, Dynamo M.	2.3
6. Bibrzycka, UMMC	2.2
7. Linkeviciene, Dynamo K.	2.1
8. Vorozhtsova, Spart.	2.0
9. Belyakova, Spart.	2.0
10. Nolan, UMMC	2.0

Blocks Per Game

Anastasiya VEREMEENKO
  Nadezhda O.
  (192-C-87)
  Avg: 3.1

1. Veremeenko, Nadezhda.	3.1
2. Kiseleva, Dynamo N.	1.8
3. Osipova, Spartak .	1.5
4. Kuzina, Dynamo M.	1.2
5. Stepanova, UMMC	1.2
6. Loginova, Spart.	1.1
7. Lisina, Spartak .	1.0
8. Parker, UMMC	1.0
9. Fowles, Spartak .	0.9
10. Yakovleva, Cheva.	0.9

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SPAIN - Women

Stats Leaders - LFB

Points Per Game

Eshaya MURPHY
  Mariana
  (--85)
  Avg: 19.1

1. Murphy, Mariana	19.1
2. Borges, Cadi la Seu	18.9
3. Warburton, Gran C.	17.8
4. Milton-Jones, Ros C.	15.9
5. Staknevicien., Real C.	15.8
6. Covington, Cadi l.	15.8
7. Lyttle, Perfumer.	15.7
8. De Forge, Hondar.-.	15.3
9. Vega, Mariana	15.3
10. Garcia, Real Canoe	15.1

Rebounds Per Game

Sancho LYTTLE
  Perfumerias
  (193-C-83)
  Avg: 11.4

1. Lyttle, Perfumer.	11.4
2. De Souza, Ros C.	10.2
3. Sliskovic, Real C.	8.9
4. Sanford, EBE I.	8.7
5. Chones, Girona	8.1
6. Vega, Mariana	7.8
7. Bavendam, Hondar.-.	7.8
8. Ujhelyi, Rivas E.	7.7
9. Langhorne, Rivas E.	7.6
10. Perovanovic, Olesa	7.2

Assists Per Game

Elisa AGUILAR
  Ros Casares
  (178-G-76)
  Avg: 3.8

1. Aguilar, Ros C.	3.8
2. Bermejo, Rivas E.	3.7
3. Garcia, Real Canoe	3.5
4. Jordana, Real C.	3.5
5. Palau, Ros Casares	3.4
6. Infantes, EBE I.	3.2
7. Ouvina, Mann Filter	3.2
8. Hammon, Ros C.	3.0
9. Antoja, Girona	2.9
10. Johnson, EBE I.	2.9

Steals Per Game

Marta BLANES
  Real Canoe
  (184-F-77)
  Avg: 2.9

1. Blanes, Real Canoe	2.9
2. Lyttle, Perfumer.	2.8
3. Murphy, Mariana	2.6
4. De Forge, Hondar.-.	2.2
5. Ygueravide, Estudian.	2.1
6. Hammon, Ros C.	2.1
7. Palau, Ros Casares	2.1
8. Johnson, EBE I.	2.1
9. Borges, Cadi la Seu	2.0
10. Garcia, Real Canoe	1.9

Blocks Per Game

Erika DE SOUZA
  Ros Casares
  (197-C-82)
  Avg: 1.3

1. De Souza, Ros C.	1.3
2. Bavendam, Hondar.-.	1.2
3. Lyttle, Perfumer.	1.1
4. Page, Mariana	1.0
5. Sliskovic, Real C.	0.9
6. Gardin, Cadi la Seu	0.9
7. Chones, Girona	0.8
8. Podkovalniko., Perfum.	0.7
9. Borges, Cadi la Seu	0.6
10. Henry, Gran Canaria	0.6

Standings - LFB

LFB Standings

1. Ros Casares	19-1
2. Perfumerias	17-2
3. Rivas Ecopolis	17-3
4. Real C.Vigo	12-8
5. Mann Filter	11-9
6. Olesa	10-9
7. Mariana	9-11
8. Gran Canaria	8-11
9. Girona	8-12
10. Cadi la Seu	7-12
11. Estudiantes	5-14
12. Real Canoe	5-14
13. Hondar.-Irun	5-14
14. EBE Ibiza-PDV	3-16

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U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS - Women

Carey scores 20 more - by David Edole
The Jones County Junior College Bobcat basketball teams will be both seeded second when the MACJC State Tournament tips off next week at East Mississippi Community College.

The Lady Bobcats trailed for around 30 minutes of the game, but rolled past East Central Community College down the stretch en route to a 94-85 victory here Thursday night at the Brackeen-Wood Physical Education Building.

Jones trailed 42-30 in the first half and 48-39 at halftime. They took the lead for good at 61-60 with 10:20 left when Kiana Harris hit an 18-footer. The Lady Bobcats longest lead of the night was 79-69 with 2:41 left when Dominique Evans scored off an assist by Erica Moore.

Ashley Lee paced Jones, 19-5 overall and 9-3 in South Division play, with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Tanecka Carey added 20 points, while Moore added 11 points and seven assists and Harris finished with 10 points.

Danielle Cole had 25 points for East Central, 13-10 overall and 5-7 in the league. Hannah Lee added 19, Yolanda Jones had 14 and Shantell Neely had 11. The Lady Warriors finished fourth in the division and will also advance to the state tournament.

Bobcats 97, Warriors 57

JCJC controlled the game from the start.

The Bobcats led 45-27 at halftime.

Pascagoula High School freshman Andrew Marshall led the Bobcats, 16-8 overall and 9-3 in division play, with 18 points. Kendrick McDonald added 16, Tyrone Brinson had 12 and Tiaj Kelly had 10.

East Central, who ends the year at 5-17 overall and 1-11 in the division, got 24 points from Antonio Grace.

WOMEN

Jones County 94, East Central 85

JONES COUNTY (19-5 overall, 9-3 South Division) Ashley Lee 26, Tanecka Carey 20, Erica Moore 11, Kiana Harris 10, Brigit Taylor 9, Dominique Evans 8, Kerri Simmons 6, Crystal Tucker 4.
EAST CENTRAL (13-10 overall, 5-7 South Division) Danielle Cole 25, Hannah Lee 19, Yolanda Jones 14, Shantell Neely 11, Demetria Slocum 8, Sierra Croff 4, Quentinette Odom 2, Jakiala McWilliams 0, Shanequa Bufkin 0, Alise Bryant 0.
Jones County 39-55 94
East Central 48-37 85