Eurobasket Daily News Report:

EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 5/7/2011

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Men News

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ABA

New team in North Carolina and tryout camp information - by Bruno Baltazar
ABA ANNOUNCES NEW TEAM IN ROCKY MOUNT,NC AND ANNOUCES IT HEAD COACH Johnny Tyson (6'11''-F/C-71, college: Cent.Oklahoma).FORMER PLAYER AND ASST. COACH OF THE 2010 ABA CHAMPS,THE SE TEXAS MAVERICKS,WHICH THEY WON IT AGAIN THIS YEAR.TYSON WAS GM/COACH FOR THE TEXAS FUEL THIS PAST YEAR CARRYING THEM ALONG WITH COACH THOMAS GIPSON TO A 16-4 AND 9-0 UNDEFEATED DIVISION RECORD AND 9TH RANK IN THE ABA TOP 25 POLL,BUT NOW HE TAKES HIS EXPERIENCE BACK HOME TO NORTH CAROLINA TO DR. LEVONDER BRINKLEY,OWNER OF ONE HER THREE PROFESSIONAL CATS TEAMS.DR. BRINKLEY IS A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS LADY AND SAY THE DOWNEAST TEAM IS GOING TO BE ONE OF HER BEST SUCCESSFUL FRANCHISE THIS UPCOMING SEASON.WE HAVE OUR 2ND TRYOUT CAMP COMING UP MAY 21ST AT NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY FROM 1-5PM.SIGN UP NOW OR IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.CONTACT TOMMY STEVENSON,CATS CEO AND PRESIDENT AT 910-494-2245 OR HEAD COACH/ASST GM Johnny Tyson AT 832-203-9644.ALSO OPENING POSITIONS FOR STAFF,COACHES AND PLAYERS FOR THE OTHER CATS TEAMS.SO CALL IN AND SIGN UP TODAY.

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ARGENTINA

Stats Leaders - LigaA

Points Per Game

Joseph BUNN
  Argentino
  (198-F/C-75)
  Avg: 20

1. Bunn, Argentino	20.0
2. Jackson, La Union	19.4
3. Johnson, Monte H.	16.8
4. Meyinsse, Club 9	16.6
5. Lo Grippo, Quimsa	16.6
6. Gutierrez, Obras	16.4
7. Galindo, Libertad	15.3
8. Gutierrez, Penarol	15.2
9. Taylor, Lanus	14.9
10. Salles, Monte H.	14.9

Rebounds Per Game

Ruben GARCES
  La Union
  (206-C/F-73)
  Avg: 11

1. Garces, La Union	11.0
2. Gutierrez, Obras	10.0
3. Kammerichs, Regat.	9.9
4. Battle, Libertad S.	9.1
5. Rollins, Gimnasia.	8.7
6. Williams, Atenas	8.3
7. Johnson, Monte H.	8.0
8. Kante, Olimpico LB	7.9
9. Bucknor, Club 9	7.3
10. Leiva, Penarol	7.3

Assists Per Game

Pepe SANCHEZ
  Estudian.
  (193-G-77)
  Avg: 6.9

1. Sanchez, Estudian.	6.9
2. Martinez, Regat.	5.7
3. Labaque, Atenas	5.1
4. Salles, Monte H.	4.8
5. Ginobili, Libertad	4.2
6. Cequeira, Obras	4.0
7. Franco, Sionista	3.7
8. Treise, Quimsa	3.3
9. Victoriano, Lanus	3.0
10. Sartorelli, Argen.	2.9

Steals Per Game

Pepe SANCHEZ
  Estudian.
  (193-G-77)
  Avg: 3.3

1. Sanchez, Estudian.	3.3
2. Sciutto, Monte H.	2.6
3. Martinez, Regat.	2.6
4. Salles, Monte H.	2.5
5. Cequeira, Obras	2.4
6. Labaque, Atenas	2.4
7. Selleaze, Libertad	2.3
8. Okosa, Gimnasia CR	2.3
9. Williams, Atenas	2.3
10. Moodie, Boca Jrs	2.2

Blocks Per Game

Robert BATTLE
  Libertad S.
  (204-C-81)
  Avg: 2

1. Battle, Libertad S.	2.0
2. Roe, Regatas C.	1.3
3. Johnson, Monte H.	1.3
4. Meyinsse, Club 9	1.3
5. Gutierrez, Obras	1.1
6. Kammerichs, Regat.	1.1
7. Alston, Boca Jrs	1.0
8. Williams, Atenas	0.9
9. Tintorelli, Quimsa	0.8
10. Aguerre, Estudian.	0.8

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ASIAN CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

Ittihad and Duhok to play in Manila - by Eurobasket News
Ittihad of Saudi Arabia and Duhok from Iraq will participate at the 22nd Fiba Asia Champions Cup in Philippines. The tournament is slated to tip off on May 28 in Manila.
Ittihad of Saudi Arabia will replace the Japanese representative that withdrew from the tournament. Duhok will represent Middle Asia at the tournament. Both teams will play in preliminary Group A alongside ASU of Jordan, KL Dragons of Malaysia and Filipino Smart Gilas. Syrian Jalaa are yet to be confirmed for the tournament.

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AUSTRALIA

Liam Rush and Neil Mottram win the title in Sweden - by Eurobasket News
Liam Rush (202-F/G-82) and Neil Mottram (205-F-81) just finished very successful season abroad. Two Australian players helped their team Sundsvall Dragons to win the title in Swedish league. The Dragons outplayed Norrkoping Dolphins 102-83 last night in decisive Game Seven of the Basketligan Finals. It means that the Dragons dethroned Norrkoping and grabbed back the title which they last time won in 2009. Liam Rush had 18 points and 8 rebounds last night, while Neil Mottram helped with 9 pts. Rush appeared 48 times in the league this season and was one of the best Sundavall players. He averaged 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Mottram played 31 games as he joined the club in January. He had 4 ppg and 3 rpg. Sundsvall Dragons also were the regular season champions this season.

City thanks Cairns Taipans for top season - by Eurobasket News
Taipans favourite Aaron Grabau (196-G-78) could not scribble his autograph fast enough at yesterday's appreciation barbecue on the Esplanade.

Hundreds of fans of all ages turned out to meet the side after their best ever season as the Cairns Regional Council put on a barbecue, music and entertainment for what was a momentous year for the Snakes.

Children scaled an inflatable rock wall while others crowded the stage for autographs and a chat with players; it was clear the Snake spirit was still alive and well after the side's best-ever season had come to a close.

Grabau, who has played for the Taipans since their NBL inception in 1999, said it was great to meet even more new fans for the first time.

'For a Thursday afternoon it's a great turn out,' he said.

'I haven't seen a lot of these faces before so it's good to see we are still generating new fans as well as keeping all the same old favourites.'

The father of four thanked everyone for making the effort to attend the barbecue and the council for organising the event.

The veteran will take a well-earned holiday to the Gold Coast but plans are to extend his NBL career for another two years at least.

'I'll take a good rest now; take the kids to the theme parks and let my body recover,' he said.

'And then wait to be offered a contract,' he added cheekily.

'If I can play another two years I'll be happy.'

American heroes Ron Dorsey and Ayinde Ubaka will head home on Saturday and next Thursday respectively and Cairns fans were hoping yesterday's public appearance wasn't the last time they would see them in Taipans colours.

Courtesy of The Cairns Post (Murray Wenzel)

Breakers parade in central Auckland - by Eurobasket News
Five-year-old Hugh Spottwoode faces a big dilemma - to wash his hand or not after high fiving his basketball idols.

The youngster was one of an estimated 2000 fans who gathered in Auckland today to celebrate the NZ Breakers basketball team's historic win last Friday. A parade up Queen St ended in Aotea Square.

The Breakers are the first New Zealand team in any sports code to win a title in a professional Australian sports league.

Hugh is a hard core fan, who says he screamed so loudly at the television set during last Friday's game he almost woke up his five-month-old sister.

And he never dreamed he would actually get to meet the players and high five them.

Hugh was not alone being star struck.

The smile said it all as eight year old Riley Graham waved to his heroes in the parade.

Riley, from Freeman's Bay, took a special half day off school to be at Queen St with dad Declan.

As two trucks took the team past Riley waved for all he was worth and his heroes waved back - bringing out a huge grin on his face.

'They won the trophy and I am a big supporter. I have been to two of their games,' he said.

Mayor, Len Brown greeted the players on arrival at Aotea Square, where the public met the players and were able to engage in a variety of activities including shooting hoops.

Brown said: 'I am absolutely stoked that the first New Zealand team to beat the very best Aussie team in an Australian professional sports league was an Auckland-based team.'

Courtesy of www.stuff.co.nz

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AUSTRIA

Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Stjepan STAZIC
  BC Vienna
  (199-G-78)
  Avg: 26.4

1. Stazic, BC Vienna	26.4
2. Vay, Arkadia	19.6
3. Kennedy, Worth.	19.4
4. Brokenboroug., Wel.	19.4
5. Houston, Arkadia	18.6
6. Mayes, Gmunden	17.3
7. Heard, Gussing	17.0
8. Shavies, Furstenf.	16.5
9. Nagler, Klostern.	16.3
10. Shawn, Oberwart	16.1

Rebounds Per Game

Marcus HEARD
  Gussing
  (201-F-84)
  Avg: 9.2

1. Heard, Gussing	9.2
2. Johnson, Oberwart	8.3
3. Graham, UBSC G.	7.9
4. Stazic, BC Vienna	7.9
5. Trepalovac, BC Vi.	7.8
6. Vay, Arkadia	7.6
7. Djuric, Gussing	7.5
8. Volcic, Oberwart	7.2
9. Oppland, Gmunden	7.1
10. Stegnjaic, UBSC G.	6.9

Assists Per Game

Markus CARR
  BC Vienna
  (185-G-79)
  Avg: 7.3

1. Carr, BC Vienna	7.3
2. Shavies, Furstenf.	7.1
3. Holcomb-Faye, Wels	6.6
4. Danek, Arkadia	6.3
5. Schreiner, St.Po.	5.4
6. Stazic, Furstenfeld	4.5
7. Miletic, UBSC G.	4.4
8. Stazic, BC Vienna	4.4
9. Parker, Oberwart	4.4
10. Coffin, BC Vienna	4.1

Steals Per Game

Thomas SCHREINER
  St.Po.
  (195-G-87)
  Avg: 2.4

1. Schreiner, St.Po.	2.4
2. Shavies, Furstenf.	2.2
3. Boylan, Gmunden	2.2
4. Jandl, St.Polten	2.0
5. Ray, Furstenfeld	1.9
6. Parker, Oberwart	1.9
7. Stazic, BC Vienna	1.7
8. Stazic, Furstenfeld	1.6
9. Matthews, Fursten.	1.6
10. Artner, Oberwart	1.6

Blocks Per Game

Russell HICKS
  Furstenfeld
  (213-C-85)
  Avg: 1.6

1. Hicks, Furstenfeld	1.6
2. Graham, UBSC G.	1.6
3. Hampton, Furstenf.	1.3
4. Pekovic, BC Vienna	1.2
5. Slack, Gmunden	1.1
6. Miljkovic, BC Vi.	0.8
7. Vay, Arkadia	0.8
8. Sally, Oberwart	0.8
9. Heard, Gussing	0.7
10. N''Diaye, BC.	0.7

A Bundesliga Semifinals: Both series tied at 2-2 - by Eurobasket News
Fourth games of the A Bundesliga Semifinals were played last night. Guests registered two wins and forced decisive Game Five. Gmunden grabbed 72-74 thriller win against Furstenfeld and Oberwart outplayed Arkadia 66-79. Fifth games are scheduled for Sunday. Gmunden and Oberwart will be the hosts.

Furstenfeld - Gmunden 72-74 (2-2)
It looked good early as Furstenfeld Panthers took an 2-point lead at the end of first quarter. But then Gmunden Swans had a 28-16 second period charge getting the lead and Furstenfeld Panthers were not able to take back game control losing it eventually 72-74. Gmunden Swans made 24-of-25 charity shots (96.0 percent) during the game. Worth to mention a great performance of American swingman Ian Boylan (197-G/F-83, college: Cal.St. Northridge) who helped to win the game recording 23 points. The former international guard Deteri Mayes (189-74, college: Murray St., agency: Court Side) contributed with 21 points for the winners. American guard De'Angelo Alexander (198-84, college: Charlotte) replied with 19 points (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) and his fellow American import forward Charles Gosa (202-77, college: N.Mexico St.) added 14 points and 6 rebounds in the effort for Furstenfeld Panthers.
Top scorers:
Furstenfeld: D.Alexander 19+2reb, C.Gosa 14+6reb, S.Stazic 9+4reb+4ast, L.O'Neal 8+3reb+2ast, R.Hicks 8+4reb, A.Shavies 8+3reb+6ast
Gmunden: I.Boylan 23+4reb+2ast, D.Mayes 21+3reb+1ast, D.Oppland 9+9reb+3ast, M.Mayer 8+9reb, F.Schoeninger 7+2reb+1ast, E.Murati 4+2reb

Arkadia - Oberwart 66-79 (2-2)
The game was mostly controlled by Oberwart Gunners. Arkadia Lions managed to win fourth quarter 21-20. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. American forward Joe Dean Shaw (199-87, college: Nevada) fired 24 points and 6 rebounds for the winners. The other American import forward Tyrone Sally (201-82, college: W.Virginia, agency: 540 Sports) chipped in 15 points and 7 rebounds. Four Oberwart Gunners players scored in double figures. Argentinian-Italian forward Fabricio Vay (206-86, agency: Interperformances) produced a double-double by scoring 21 points and 11 rebounds (made all of his seven free throws) and international guard Benedikt Danek (174-86) added 11 points respectively for lost side.
Top scorers:
Arkadia: F.Vay 21+11reb+1ast, B.Danek 11+3reb+3ast, K.Houston 9+5reb+1ast, D.Drenovac 9+4reb+2ast, K.Payton 8+2ast, M.Bralovic 4+2reb+1ast
Oberwart: J.Dean Shaw 24+6reb, J.Johnson 16+4reb, T.Sally 15+7reb, K.Parker 10+2reb+6ast, B.Volcic 9+5reb+2ast, D.Gonzalvez 3+2reb+3ast

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BAHRAIN

Al Ahli slump to second straight defeat - by Yousef Ahmed

AL AHLI's hopes of winning their second GCC Clubs Basketball Championship were dashed yesterday after a 61-76 defeat to hosts Ohod of Saudi Arabia in Jeddah. It was the second straight defeat for two-time GCC champions Al Ahli whose chances of regaining the title they last won in 1988 have gone up in smoke. The Bahrainis now have two points from two matches, with one game remaining against Oman's Nazwa, who also suffered a second defeat last night at the hands of Qatari club Al Gharafa.

Al Ahli's last match in the group stages against Nazwa, which is a no-bearing game, will take place tomorrow and is set to tip off at 4pm. Both Ohod and Al Ghaarafa, who secured their berths in the semi-finals, share the lead with four points each. They clash today to decide the winners and runners-up of this group. In Group 'B', Saudi's Al Ettihad, Kuwait's Al Qadsia, the UAE's Al Shabab and defending champions Al Rayyan of Qatar are vying for the crown. Al Ittihad and Al Rayyan share the lead with two points each from one match. Al Rayyan defeated Al Qadsia 93-74 last Wednesday while Al Ittihad bagged a narrow 79-77 victory over Al Shabab earlier yesterday. Despite their seven-point 69-76 defeat to Al Gharafa in the tournament's opener last Wednesday, Al Ahli went into their second game with high spirits.

The Bahraini representative had big hopes on former NBA veteran Lamond Murray (201-F-73, agency: Prossin Sports Management, college: California) and UAE's professional Salem Mubarak, who were the team's most experienced players. But it was the home team who proved the stronger side yesterday. They took a five-point lead in the first quarter, then extended their advantage to 38-33 at half-time. Ohod were relying on their most experienced player Mohsin Khalaf, who scored a three-pointer in the final second of their over-time 82-79 win over Oman's Nazwa in the group opener. halaf was again outstanding against Al Ahli, scoring 34 points in total as Ohod stretched their lead to 10 points (58-48) at the end of the third quarter, then kept their momentum in the fourth quarter for a 15-point victory.

Source GDN by RAMI HULAYYEL Posted on Friday, May 06, 2011

Muharraq cruise past Manama - by Yousef Ahmed

MUHARRAQ cruised past bitter rivals Manama 99-76 last night to secure a spot in the main round of the Zain Bahrain Basketball League. In the top-of-the-season clash, which took place, held at the Zain Basketball Arena in Um Al Hassam, national team stars Mohammed Abdulmajeed and Jassim Mohammed scored a combined total of 51 points to inspire the 2008 league champions to much-needed victory. It was the 13th win in 15 matches for Muharraq, coached by Walter Pereira , who moved one point at the top of this eight-team championship. They now have 28 points and sealed their berth among the competition's top six clubs in the main round. Also contributing to Muharraq's deserving win was American import Ira Clark (203-C/F-75, college: Texas), who scored 19 points and also made several defensive rebounds. The victors also comprised group of local talents like Yasser Bu Naffoor, Isa Ibrahim, Mohammed Abdulhakeem, Abdulmohsin Ali and skipper Ahmed Al Doy.

Dealt their third defeat in the season, Manama went down to second place with 27 points. The team in blue jerseys, coached by American Jason Rabedeaux (agency: Edge Sports ), was relying heavily on his American professional Darius Rice (208-F-82, college: Miami, FL) who scored 29 points and 12 rebounds. Others who spearheaded Manama yesterday included veteran Bader Abdulla with 12 points and 3 assists, and Local star Ahmed Al Mutawa (199-F/C-81, college: Broward CC) with 11 points, 15 rebouds and 3 blocks, But Manama had a poor shooting perfomance last night.

In another match played earlier yesterday, Al Hala boosted their chances of reaching the main round with a crucial 91-80 victory over Nuwaidrat. American import Patrick Simpson (206-F-83, college: SMU) top scored with 27 points, leading Saleh Al Haddad-coached Al Hala to their eighth win in 15 matches. Veteran Bahraini Ahmed Malallah, along with Abdulla Al Khaja, Ali Abbas and playmaker Ahmed Ali made key contributions to Al Hala's win. Al Hala, who moved ahead of Isa Town to claim fourth place with 23 points, were also spearheaded by a group of young players, including, Abbas Jawadi, Sadeq Shams and Hussain Murtada. For Nuwaidrat, who suffered their eighth defeat in the competition, went down to sixth with 22 points. Playing without a professional this season, Nuwaidrat had big hopes on their rising player Hussain Yousef who scored 28 points, the team's highest score in the game. Others who represented the losing team, coached by Hassan Makki, were Mohsin Makki, Ebrahim Al Basri, Jawad Abdulla , Mohammed Butti and Hussain Madan. Both Al Hala and Nuwaidrat headed into this game seeking the full points to keep their hopes alive of finishing in the top six.

After a poor start to the competition, Al Hala were looking to extend their impressive winning streak since the league's resumption last month. The team in orange jerseys showed outstanding teamwork, especially in the 10-minute first quarter, which ended in their favour by a huge margin of 17 points (40-23). Al Hala continued to show authority in the second quarter with some good handlings and accurate shootings to extend their lead to 23 points at the break. There was no stopping Al Hala who showed consistency in the remaining two quarters to win the game by an 11-point margin.

Meanwhile, the Bahrain Basketball Associaiton's technical committee issued the schedule of the Silver Square round, to be held right after the first round of the league. The all-new Silver Square stage will involve eight clubs ranked seventh to 12 at the end of the first round along with bottom sides Bahrain Club and Al Najma. It begins with a single round robin format, to be followed by the semi-finals knock-out stage involving this division's top four teams.

Source GDN By Rami Hulayyel , Posted on Friday, May 06, 2011

Standings

Premier League Stage Two Standings

1. Muharraq		13-2
2. Al Manama		12-3
3. Al Ahli		11-4
4. Al Hala		8-7
5. Issa Town		7-8
6. Nuwaidrat		6-9
7. Sitra		6-9
8. Al Ittihad		4-11

Stage One Standings

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BELARUS

The third match playoff for the 7-8 places between the teams Vitalyur-RGUOR and BC Borisfen - by Timur Tolokh
The third match playoff for the 7-8 places between the teams Vitalyur-RGUOR and BC Borisfen 'DO NOT TAKE

Please note that the third game playoff championship RB basketball for 7-8 places between the teams Vitalyur-RGUOR and BC Borisfen ', scheduled for May 6, 2011. Will not take place because of impossibility of the Mogilev team's arrival (due to lack of funding).

Thus, according to the Official Basketball Rules and Regulations of the Championship in this game BC Borisfen 'loses by forfeit. A team Vitalyur-RGUOR awarded the victory.

Accordingly, the team Vitalyur-RGUOR wins in the series against BC 'Borisfen with the score 3-0 and took 7 (seventh) place in the XIX Championship RB's Basketball Men's teams.

May 6-8, held Final Four Junior League XIII - by Timur Tolokh
May 6-8, held Final Four Junior League XIII
On Ural 3a, Hall BC Minsk-2006 'will be among the final four teams boys 1997 1998g.r.

Over the weekend, Final Four finish the season among teams XIII Junior League boys 1997-1998 g.g.r. We invite parents, basketball fans, all wanting to feel the heat of combat to support young basketball players.

6 May 2011.,-Friday

14.00 Minsk, CTW-97 (1) - Logoisk KSDYUSHOR

15.45 Gomel, GOTSOR - Minsk, CTW-97 (2)

7 May 2011. - Saturday

12.00 Logoisk KSDYUSHOR - Gomel, GOTSOR

13.45 Minsk, CTW-97 (2) - Minsk, CTW-97 (1)

8 May 2011. - Sunday

10.00 Minsk, CTW-97 (2) - Logoisk KSDYUSHOR

11.45 Minsk, CTW-97 (1) - Gomel, GOTSOR

Minsk-2006 defends the title of the country - by Eurobasket News
Minsk-2006 defends the title of the country as they won the Play-offs again. The team won ALL the games of the 2010/2011 season and swept the Final series as well.
In the decisive game 3 Minsk-2006 overcame Grodno-93 83:69. The favorites started with 22-19, but could save only 1 points at the halftime as Grodno responded with 21-19 in the second frame. The third quarter was decisive in the game as Minsk needed 25-13 to seal the win. Moreover the guests won the last frame 17-16 to triumph in the country.
Shawn King (208-C-82, college: ORU) stepped up with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Aliaksandr Kudrautsau (190-G-80) nailed 21. Dzianis Korshuk (201-F-78, agency: Agency No 10) netted 15 and Lashkevich scored 11. Lemik ended up with 18 points in the losing effort, whilst Vyacheslav Bogdanov (200-F-83, agency: Promotex) scored 14.

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BOSNIA

Adnan Hodzic to Play for Bosnian National team - by Sead Buljina
Adnan Hodzic spent four years dominating the low post for the Lipscomb Bisons. His accolades are nearly too many to mention. He was a three-time First Team All-Atlantic Sun Selection, an Associated Press All-American, and Lipscombs NCAA-era career leading scorer with 2,002 points.
It can be easy to write off a player from a Mid-Major school. But in 10 games against Major programs over the last three years he averaged 18.7 points and 7.7 rebounds. Now Hodzic will replace his purple and gold Lipscomb jersey for the blue and gold jersey of the Bosnian Senior National Team.
I get to represent my country which is just amazing, Hodzic said. I just feel blessed. Its the only thing to say. I feel like God gave me this opportunity. Not many players get to represent their country.

Hodzic returns to his home nation which he and his family fled in 1994 during the Bosnian war in order for Adnan to have eye surgery in the United States.Hodzic flies to Bosnia on July 16 to train with the national team and participate in a couple friendly games prior to the European Basketball Championship in Lithuania.

Bosnia is grouped with Macedonia, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, and one additional team to be determined. They will open with a game against Greece on August 31. The EuroBasket Championship continues through the finals on September 18 with the top two teams guaranteed spots at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

After the Bisons season ended in March, Hodzic quickly signed with Pro One Sports Management. He has finished classes at Lipscomb and will take two more online classes this summer to finish his degree in Marketing.

Hodzic will train in Indianapolis in May before heading to San Francisco to work out for a month. He hopes to work for several NBA teams throughout the period.

The Eurobasket Championship will feature the top talent throughout Europe and also draw the eyes of scouts from throughout the world. Assuming he isnt selected in the NBA draft on June 23, Hodzic plans to move swiftly on several professional offers instead of waiting until after the Eurobasket Championship.

I dont look at overseas as a secondary option, Hodzic said. I want to sign before I go over there in order to go over there and have fun instead of playing with the pressure to perform for better offers.

Hodzic hopes to land in Spains ACB league, which is generally regarded as the top league in the world outside of the NBA. He turned down a professional contract with an ACB team days after this years season ended, choosing to finish his degree at Lipscomb.

Teams in the Lega A in Italy and the Israeli Basketball Super League are also exhibiting strong interest in Hodzic. Teams are generally restricted to two Americans on their roster, but because Hodzic holds dual citizenship, he does not count towards that restriction which improves the financial offers he receives.

The situation is the most important thing I will look at when I sign, Hodzic said. I want to go somewhere that I can succeed and play in the best league possible.

Hodzics family currently resides in Indianapolis, but will travel to the EuroBasket Championship. They have yet to determine whether or not to return to Bosnia permanently.

The professional ranks will be significantly different than his time as a student-athlete with a dual purpose of maturing both as a player and a person.

Your next coach only cares about you to the extent that you perform, Hodzic said. Its something that is almost scary and I have to be smart from here on out.

Hodzic will relish his time at Lipscomb and the bonds that he has built.

This has been the best four years of my life, Hodzic said. It has been awesome to come to a place where my hard work paid off. My coaches cared about me. Sometimes you dont realize what you have until its time to move on to the real world.
(Courtesy of Lipscombsports.com)

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BULGARIA

Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Aaron HARPER
  Levski
  (199-G/F-81)
  Avg: 23.4

1. Harper, Levski	23.4
2. Lilov, Rilski S.	21.4
3. Dimitrov, Spartak	19.2
4. Naydenov, Chernom.	16.8
5. Bozov, Balkan	16.1
6. Davidov, Balkan	16.0
7. Govedarov, Tundja	15.3
8. Kambala, Lukoil A.	14.4
9. Yanev, Cherno More	14.1
10. James, Lukoil A.	13.9

Rebounds Per Game

Nikolay VARBANOV
  Tundja
  (209-C-85)
  Avg: 10.6

1. Varbanov, Tundja	10.6
2. Yanev, Cherno More	8.3
3. Todorov, Spartak	7.4
4. Radojevic, Rilski	7.3
5. Kolev, Cherno More	7.1
6. Georgiev, Levski	6.7
7. Peterson, Lukoil A.	6.7
8. Kambala, Lukoil A.	6.7
9. Morton, Balkan	6.5
10. Dimitrov, Spartak	6.4

Assists Per Game

Jason CROWE
  Levski
  (193-G-76)
  Avg: 5.6

1. Crowe, Levski	5.6
2. Alexiev, Cherno M.	4.2
3. Heath, Lukoil A.	4.0
4. Dyakovski, Spartak	4.0
5. Bozov, Balkan	4.0
6. James, Lukoil A.	3.9
7. Govedarov, Tundja	3.8
8. Lilov, Rilski S.	3.4
9. Gruev, Rilski S.	3.3
10. Zahariev, Chernom.	3.2

Steals Per Game

Jason CROWE
  Levski
  (193-G-76)
  Avg: 2.4

1. Crowe, Levski	2.4
2. Heath, Lukoil A.	2.3
3. Zahariev, Chernomo.	2.1
4. Radionov, Tundja	1.9
5. Bozov, Balkan	1.9
6. James, Lukoil A.	1.9
7. Bowman, Lukoil A.	1.6
8. Marinov, Balkan	1.6
9. Stojanovski, Lukoi.	1.6
10. Finzgar, Tundja	1.5

Blocks Per Game

Krum DOYCHINOV
  Balkan
  (206-C-86)
  Avg: 1.2

1. Doychinov, Balkan	1.2
2. Radojevic, Rilski	1.0
3. Varbanov, Tundja	1.0
4. Banev, Lukoil A.	0.7
5. Neuhaus, Chernomo.	0.7
6. Cole, Levski	0.7
7. Petkov, Tundja	0.6
8. Iliev, Cherno More	0.6
9. Mijovic, Rilski S.	0.6
10. Vaklinov, Rilski	0.6

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CBC CHAMPIONSHIPS

Confirmed Teams - CBC 2011 Men & Women Championships - by Kristian Santiago
(By Caribebasket.com)

As of April 29th the CBC has closed the registration of National Federations for participation in the 2011 CBC Senior Men and Women Championships scheduled for Nassau, Bahamas, July 25th to August 5th, 2011. The following National Federations has completed the registration process and are scheduled to participate in the Championships:

Male Teams: 10
1. Antigua & Barbuda
2. Bahamas
3. Bermuda
4. British Virgin Islands
5. Cayman Islands
6. Guyana
7. Jamaica
8. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
9. Turks and Caicos
10. U.S. Virgin Islands

Female Teams: 6
1. Bahamas
2. Cuba
3. Dominican Republic
4. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
5. Trinidad and Tobago
6. U.S. Virgin Islands

The CBC will prepare and issue the brackets, along with the schedule of competition by May 8th for both the male and female competitions. We thank those National Federations for participating in the upcoming competitions.

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CBL

Wilmington Sea Dawgs unleash 2011 roster - by Eurobasket News
As the team hits the road today for its first game of the season, the Wilmington Sea Dawgs organization is pleased to present its 2011 team roster.

*Alex Harper (6'4''-G-82, college: VCU) 6'-4' 190 lbs. Guard Virginia Commonwealth

*Zach Herrmann (6'0''-G-80) 6'-1' 170 lbs. Guard Augusta State

*Joe King 6'-1' 195 lbs. Guard UNCW

*Jay Cook 6'-4' 205 lbs. Forward UNCW

Deandre Bell 6'-3' 205 lbs. Forward Northampton H.S.

Mike Gibbs 6'-9' 270 lbs. Center UNCW

Sedale Threatt Jr. 6'-2' 200 lbs. Guard Lehigh

Mike Evanovich (6'8''-F, agency: Limelight Hoops) 6'-8' 220 lbs. Forward Fairfield

Quandrae Dixon 6'-5' 215 lbs. Forward T.C.I College

Masevai Davis 6'-1' 195 lbs. Guard UMass Lowell

* denotes returning player

'It seems like it's been a long time since our championship game last season against the Savannah Wildcats.', says Head Coach Dale Kuhl. 'We are excited about getting back in front of our home crowd on May 20th.'

The Sea Dawgs kick off their fifth season tonight on the road against the Cary Invasion at 7:00 p.m.

Courtesy of www.oursportscentral.com

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CHINA

China U-19 Loses to Regal of Barcelona 83-77 - by Arthur Volbert
China's U-19 team lost to Regal of Barcelona 83-77 in the Nike International Junior tournament. But China was clearly giving playing time to almost all its team. rather than using an 8 or 9 man rotation as it would if it were going all out for victory.

China nevertheless played a competitive game against a first-rate junior club, and much more resembled the top-notch team it has been for the past two years.

Guo Ailun (193-G-93) played 36 minutes but other top players saw about 20 minutes or less. Guo had 17 points on 8 of 15 shooting and 7 rebounds. He had 4 assists and 5 turnovers.

China as a team had 22 turnovers, the same as home-team Barcelona. It had 39 rebounds to 35 for Barcelona. Its most severe problem was 3-point shooting, where China was 3 for 18 while Barcelona was 9 for 25.

Zhu Xuhang had 12 points for China but only hit 3 of 13 shots. He added 7 rebounds. Wang Zhelin and Zhai Xiaochuan each had 10 points and 4 rebounds. Ju Mingxin had 10 points and 3 rebounds.

China led 21-19 after one quarter, but slipped in the second quarter to trail 42-32. It rallied a bit in the third quarter to trail 59-56 but Barcelona outscored it 24-21 in the fourth.

Josep Perez led Barcelona with 23 points, Luis Costa had 14 and Oriol Pauli had 12. Nick Spires and Alexandr Zigulin had 9 points and 9 rebounds apiece. Note that these are pro junior teams, not national teams, and have players that are not natives of the country or city that they play for. Spires comes from Sweden and Zhigulin from Kazakhstan.

Zalgiris, which blasted China yesterday, defeated Zalgiris Zvezda 74-65.

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

CROATIA

Croatian A1 round 11 (Second Stage) best performance: Ivan Batur - by Eurobasket News
Forward Ivan Batur (203-F-91) put on an extraordinary performance in the last round for Zadar, receiving a Eurobasket.com Player of the Week award for round 11 (Second Stage).
The 19-year old player was the main contributor (29 points, two rebounds) to his team's victory, helping them to beat Alkar Sinj (#7, 3-8) 76-61. Zadar maintains the 3rd position in Croatian A1. They would have been even better if they hadn't lost a few games earlier in Second Stage. Zadar will need more victories to improve their 8-3 record. In the team's last game Batur had a remarkable 90.9% from 2-point range. It's his second year at Zadar and it's hard to imagine this team without him. Ivan Batur averages this season 10.9ppg.

The second best player in last round's games was 26-year old former international Luka Zoric (211-C/F-84) of league's second-best KK Zagreb CO. Zoric had a very good evening with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Of course he lead KK Zagreb CO to another comfortable win outscoring the lower-ranked Borik (#6, 4-7) 96-71. KK Zagreb CO's second position in Group A has not changed. His team lost just two games this Second Stage, while they won 9 matches. Zoric is one of the most experienced players at KK Zagreb CO and has a reputation of one of team's most reliable players. He belongs to the best scorers in the league with 18.2ppg (#5). He also registered 7.0 boards per game.

Third on the list of top players last round was guard Aljosa Sarac (190-G-89) of Svjetlost Slavonski Brod (#-6). Sarac scored 15 points and passed eight assists. He was a key player of Svjetlost, leading his team to a 89-67 easy win against #-2 ranked Trogir in a game of the week. Svjetlost needs these victories very badly if they think about getting closer to top teams in Group B. Their record at this point is 6 victories and 4 lost games. Sarac has a very solid season. In 22 games in Croatia he scored 5.8ppg.

Other top performing players last week:
4. Krunoslav Simon (197-G/F-85) of KK Zagreb CO - 21 points and 5 rebounds
5. Milan Karakas (190-G-80) of Trogir - 18 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists
6. Rudolf Jugo (183-G-84) of Kvarner 2010 - 26 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists
7. Antonio Bicvic (199-F-82) of Darda - 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists
8. Marko Car (188-G/F-85) of Zadar - 11 points and 7 assists
9. Pankracije Barac (196-G-81) of Cibona - 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists
10. Josip Sobin (203-G/F-89) of KK Split - 16 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists

The Player of the week is choosen based on efficiency calculation, but also including game result, importance of the game, if played recorded double-double/triple-double, etc.
The efficiency formula is a combination of various formulas used by different basketball organizations/leagues. We got involved many basketball scouts and journalists to assure it's accuracy.
The formula: 1.5*PTS + 3*(REB+AST+ST+BL-TO) - 2*BSAG - 4*PF + 3*PFRV + 4*(2FGPM+3FGPM) + 1.5*FTM - 3*(2FGPA-2FGPM) - 3*(3FGPA-3FGPM) - (FTA-FTM)

Zagreb record second straight win in Barcelona - by Eurobasket News
IJT KK Zagreb - IJT FMP 86:65

IJT KK Zagreb recorded the second straight win at the Nike International Tournament. They overcame IJT FMP in Barcelona today. Dominik Mavra (190-F-94) unloaded 31 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to pace the Croatian team. IJT FMP fell at 0-2 record after the defeat.
FMP got to a slightly better start. They led by as many as five points after ten minutes. FMP continued to dominate in the second frame. They registered a 41:30 halftime lead. But KK Zagreb turned things around drastically in the second half. The Croats went on a 24:9 run in the third period to take a 4-point lead after three quarters of action. KK Zagreb unleashed 32 points in the final quarter to seal the comfortable win at the end. Mario Hezonja (195-G-95) had 20 points, while Dario Saric (205-F/C-94) finished with 17 points, 6 boards, 8 assists and 4 steals in the win. Nikola Pavlovic (195-F/G-93) and Stefan Popovski-Turanjanin (201-F-93) had 12 points each for FMP in defeat.

IJT KK Zagreb: Dominik Mavra 31, Mario Hezonja 20, Dario Saric 17
IJT FMP: Nikola Pavlovic 12, Stefan Popovski-Turanjanin 12

Stats Leaders - A1

Points Per Game

Hrvoje PULJKO
  Kvarner .
  (193-G-83)
  Avg: 23

1. Puljko, Kvarner	23.0
2. Car, Zadar	21.3
3. Zitko, Trogir	20.2
4. Bogdanovic, Cibona	20.1
5. Zoric, KK.	18.2
6. Krapic, Zabok	17.6
7. Bakovic, Darda	17.4
8. Petkovic, Svjetlost	17.4
9. Saric, Dubrava	17.2
10. Simon, KK.	16.5

Rebounds Per Game

Dario SARIC
  Dubrava
  (205-F/C-94)
  Avg: 10

1. Saric, Dubrava	10.0
2. Krapic, Zabok	9.4
3. Krolo, Darda	8.7
4. Bazdaric, Cedevita	7.4
5. Radic, Alkar Sinj	7.1
6. Sobin, KK Split	7.1
7. Brown, Zadar	7.0
8. Zoric, KK.	7.0
9. Ridl, Darda	6.5
10. Ivanov, Zadar	6.5

Assists Per Game

Milan KARAKAS
  Trogir
  (190-G-80)
  Avg: 7.1

1. Karakas, Trogir	7.1
2. Petkovic, Svjetlost	5.3
3. Car, Zadar	4.5
4. Jugo, Kvarner 2010	4.3
5. Tomeljak, Zabok	3.9
6. Blajic, Alkar Sinj	3.9
7. Renfroe, KK.	3.5
8. Saric, Dubrava	3.5
9. Dosen, Dubrovnik	3.4
10. Delas, Alkar Sinj	3.4

Steals Per Game

Alex RENFROE
  KK.
  (190-G-86)
  Avg: 2.8

1. Renfroe, KK.	2.8
2. Car, Zadar	2.4
3. Saric, Dubrava	2.0
4. Marcinkovic, Zadar	2.0
5. Anzulovic, Alkar S.	1.9
6. Brown, Zadar	1.9
7. Tomeljak, Zabok	1.8
8. Karakas, Trogir	1.8
9. Bicvic, Darda	1.7
10. Petani, Borik	1.7

Blocks Per Game

Luka ZORIC
  KK.
  (211-C/F-84)
  Avg: 1.7

1. Zoric, KK.	1.7
2. Kraljevic, Zabok	1.4
3. Vitali, Trogir	1.2
4. Saric, Dubrava	1.0
5. Krolo, Darda	1.0
6. Sobin, KK Split	0.9
7. Vukicevic, Svjetlo.	0.9
8. Sarlija, Borik	0.8
9. Vladovic, Trogir	0.8
10. Ridl, Darda	0.8

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CZECH REPUBLIC

Stats Leaders - NBL

Points Per Game

Terry SMITH
  BC Kolin
  (185-G-86)
  Avg: 17.4

1. Smith, BC Kolin	17.4
2. Houska, BK Decin	15.7
3. Landry, BK Prost.	15.6
4. Horak, Svitavy	14.7
5. Hatcher, BK Decin	14.4
6. Sedmak, Basketbo.	14.3
7. Veikalas, BK Prost.	14.0
8. Blazek, B&W Opava	14.0
9. Kotas, USK Praha	13.7
10. Field, BC Kolin	13.6

Rebounds Per Game

Boris MENO
  Basketbo.
  (203-F-83)
  Avg: 10.4

1. Meno, Basketbo.	10.4
2. Landry, BK Prost.	8.5
3. Houska, BK Decin	8.5
4. Arnold, BK Pardu.	7.6
5. Burke, NH Ostrava	7.6
6. Spagrud, NH Ostra.	7.3
7. Frana, Plzen	7.1
8. Gadri, BK Prostejov	7.0
9. Kramny, Svitavy	6.9
10. Klimes, USK Praha	6.7

Assists Per Game

Stepan VRUBL
  Plzen
  (186-G-76)
  Avg: 6

1. Vrubl, Plzen	6.0
2. Lawrence, BK Prost.	5.2
3. Jones, BC Kolin	3.8
4. Carnecky, B&W O.	3.7
5. Hatcher, BK Decin	3.6
6. Kotas, USK Praha	3.4
7. Sanders, BK Decin	3.3
8. Maio, Basketbo.	2.9
9. Macela, Svitavy	2.7
10. Channels, Novy Ji.	2.7

Steals Per Game

Lukas KOTAS
  USK Praha
  (194-F-84)
  Avg: 1.9

1. Kotas, USK Praha	1.9
2. Wright, BK Pardu.	1.8
3. Smith, BC Kolin	1.7
4. Hampton, BK Pardu.	1.7
5. Holloway, Basket.	1.7
6. Sirina, B&W Opava	1.6
7. Channels, Novy Jic.	1.4
8. Gajdosik, Basket.	1.4
9. Vrubl, Plzen	1.4
10. Landry, BK Prost.	1.4

Blocks Per Game

Martin MIKLOSIK
  B&W O.
  (226-C-86)
  Avg: 1.2

1. Miklosik, B&W O.	1.2
2. Trybanski, NH Os.	1.2
3. Hanke, USK Praha	1.1
4. Kramny, Svitavy	0.9
5. Egwuatu, Svitavy	0.8
6. Meno, Basketbo.	0.8
7. Gadri, BK Prostejov	0.8
8. Pelikan, Novy Jicin	0.8
9. Benda, CEZ Nymburk	0.7
10. Arnold, BK Pardu.	0.7

Final Statistics for Key Imports in 1.Liga - by Surujh Roopnarine
With the 1.Liga finals currently underway between Levharti Chomutov and BK Lions Jindrichuv Hradec, it is a good opportunity to look back on the season and review the output from the few imports playing in Czech's second division. ** Note, that this will not cover players from Slovakia.

Benjamin Hebl (189-G-83, college: Maryville Univ.) - BA Sparta - U.S. Virgin Islands
STATS: 26 games: 21.6mpg, 9.0ppg, 2.4rpg, 1.2apg, 1.3spg, 2FGP: 57.4%, 3PT: 41.3%, FT: 81.4%
NOTES: Sixth on team in minutes per game, attempted nearly 60% of his shots from three point range (43-104), taking the most of anyone on the team.

Vladimir Paunovic (189-G-82) - BK Prostejov B - Serbia
STATS: 23 games: 23.4mpg, 9.0ppg, 1.0rpg, 1.1apg, 2FGP: 50.8%, 3PT: 40.2%, FT: 76.0%
NOTES: Reached double-figures in scoring in nine games, recording a season-high 22 points on two occasions.

Antwann Cosey (201-F) - BK Usti nad Labem - America
STATS: 17 games: 14.5mpg, 4.8ppg, 3.9rpg, 2FGP: 52.2%, FT: 68.8%
NOTES: Joined team in November and saw very limited action until semi-final series against Jindrichuv Hradec. Averaged over 20 minutes per game in final series while only 10 per game otherwise. Season high in points and rebounds and field goals made during game one of semi-finals. Collegiate teammate of star guard Thad McFadden at St. Clair Community College.

Thaddeus McFadden (188-G-87, college: Fairmont St.) - BK Usti nad Labem - America
STATS: 32 games: 34.4mpg, 22.7ppg, 5.6rpg, 3.4apg, 2.5spg, 2FGP: 60.1%, 3PT: 36.7%, FT: 78.6%
NOTES: League leader in points and steals per game, third in minutes per game and eighth in assists. In fact, was leading scorer compared to all Mattoni NBL players as well.
In my opinion, undoubtedly the best player in the 1.Liga and should be awarded league-MVP. Scored 27 points in defeat against a superior Novy Jicin club during Czech Cup quarterfinals.

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

D-LEAGUE

Livingston signs one-year deal to stay with Stampede - by Eurobasket News
The Idaho Stampede have agreed to terms with Head Coach Randy Livingston (agency: Impact Basketball ) for a one-year contract extension for the 2011-12 season, the organization announced today. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

Livingston begins his second year as head coach after leading the Stampede to a 24-26 record last season. The Stampede's all-time leader in points, games, assists and steals helped the team finish the season on a 22-13 run.

'I'm thrilled to re-sign with the Idaho Stampede,' Livingston said. 'The Treasure Valley is a second home to me and I'm ready to get the season rolling after missing the playoffs last year. This is a first class organization and I expect us to be playing in the postseason next year.'

Livingston is the team's eighth coach in franchise history, and fifth to take the helm for more than one year, the first since Bryan Gates was the Stampede leader from 2006-2009.

'I am very pleased that Coach Livingston will be returning to the Idaho Stampede for another year,' Managing Investor Bill Ilett said. 'Coach and I both feel that we have unfinished business on the basketball court. I look forward to him starting next season and leading the Idaho Stampede to the 2012 playoffs.'

The 2010-11 season featured two NBA assignments sent to the team from the Portland Trail Blazers, Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson, and the signing of three-time NBA All-Star Antoine Walker.

'Coach Livingston's contract extension is exciting news for fans in the Treasure Valley,' Stampede President and General Manager Steve Brandes said. 'We look forward to him continuing the momentum of the last 35 games from last season. We are confident he will build a strong team that fans will enjoy watching this year.'

Courtesy of www.oursportscentral.com

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

EUROLEAGUE

Montepaschi Inquest Into Semi-Final Failure - by Paul Nilsen
Montepaschi Siena were left disappointed at not making the 2011 EuroLeague Final after their loss against Panathinaikos with the players quick to undertake a post mortem of their semi-final failure.

Guard Nikos Zisis was quick to admit that the Italian side had allowed an opportunity to slip away.

He said We lost a good chance tonight. We started the game very aggressive and with great intensity, rebounding very well at both ends and controlling the game tempo. We lost everything we built up until the fifteenth minute. We managed to regroup in the second half and made it a four point game despite a so-so start. We lost the game rhythm and Panathinaikos found easy shots. They managed to beat our zone defence and we had a lot of foul trouble.

Fellow guard Rimas Kaukenas reiterated the sentiments of Zsis when he admitted, We didnt play well for all 40 minutes and in this kind of game, we have to be focused and accurate throughout the entire game. We made a lot of defensive mistakes and that led to the easy baskets of Panathinaikos which cost us the game.

Coach Simone Pianigiani meanwhile was a little more philosophical after the loss and not too hard on his players.

He claimed I believe we did our best. We had a good approach and played good defence. Its clear that to win you have to score easy shots - not only three-point shots but also two point shots. The attack was good but we made mistakes and we needed to have more confidence. I believe both teams played balanced but we made more mistakes and lost. Objectively regarding basketball the 17 fouls we committed I think was too many As for free throws we also allowed too many. All my players did their best but didnt shoot great - this happens in games at this level.

Obradovic Already Excited For EuroLeague Final - by Paul Nilsen
Panathinaikos Coach Zeljko Obradovic is already focused on the Final of EuroLeague this coming Sunday after admitting he was feeling excited after the semi-final success against Montepaschi Siena.

He also spoke highly of semi-final MVP Nick Calathes who was one of the main architects of the win by the Greek side.

Its always difficult to play in a game like this against Siena, first because they are a good aggressive team. We tried to start without any pressure and we turned the ball over 5 times in the first five minutes,. After that, we played well., We also had a problem with the defensive rebounds. We talked about this and we talked about boxing out better and to run after the rebounds. We played better in the third quarter but we didnt score well. We took the advantage and I had experienced players that knew how to play in this situation. In the fourth we knew what to expect and handled their zone press.

I am always excited about playing the Final. If its against Real Madrid great, if its against Maccabi then also great. I cant forget the three wonderful years I had in Madrid.

For people who dont know (Nick Calathes) maybe it was a surprise to see how well he played. For me and the coaches it was not. I told him before the game what I expect from him. He also played like this in the play-offs. He has quality but hes young. He played excellent.

Panathinaikos in another European final!!! - by Chris Mammides
Panathinaikos Athens of Coach Zeljko Obradovic will participate in the Euroleague's final on Sunday after beating the Italian Sienna in a game which ended just some minutes ago! The MVP of the game was the young and talented Nick Calathes (198-G-89, college: Florida) in his best game since his arrival in Panathinaikos Athens! The international guard scored 17 points and was by far the top scorer of the Green team who saw its members playing like a real team with specific target and mission, the finals on Sunday. The mission accomplished!! Panathinaikos Athens - Siena 77-69

About the game now, the derby begun with both teams with their head coaches developing some test-tactics and the two teams not to score quite often but with the Italians being much better and closing the first half with a deficit of five points! Dimitris Diamantidis changed roles with Calathes as the first had pure organizational duties and the second took 3D's role and was scoring. Both teams were very bad in shooting and especially from the arc but the Italians were much better in the rebounding sector where they grabbed double the number rebounds than the Greek team.

The second period started exactly where it stopped with the Italians of Siena having the small deficit and Panathianikos losing nearly all the rebounds. A change that Zeljko Obradovic made five minutes before the end of the game when Ian Vougioukas (212-C/F-85, college: St.Louis) got into the game changed the rythm of the game and Panathinaikos Athens with an amazing crescent from the arc (three 3pointers on teh row) went to he half time with a four points deficit 40-36!

It was obvious that Zeljko Obradovic changed his tactics and the Italians delay a bit to realizing it and it was disaster for them as the experience of the Green players made the difference in the particular momentum of the game. Panathinaikos Athens took the initiatives for good getting a deficit to as many as 12 points 52-40 three minutes before the end of the 3rd period with Antonis Fotsis (210-F-81), Batiste and Calathes being the top perfomers and important help from Ian Vougioukas and 3D. The third quarter finally ended to nine points 57-69. Panathinaikos Athens players were simply playing a controlled basketball just to keep the deficit to 'Safe' figures for them.

the 4th and final quarter was one and the same as the previous two with Panathinaikos Athens leading and Siena following up until Malik Hurston and Shownrook scored two three pointers on the row and cut the deficit to five. Zeljko Obradovic took the time-out, gave the necessary briefing to his players and the rest is history!! Panathinaikos Athens will try against Real Madrd or Macabi Tel Aviv to win his sixth European title!

The quarters of this first semi-final were: 17-21, 40-36, 56-47, 77-69

Top scorers for the Greens were Calathes with 17, Batiste with 16 (most of them in the 4th period) and the 'silent' Fotsis with 14 points. 3D scored 8 points bust gave 8 assists too!

From Coach Pianicani's team top scorer was the Lithuanian Kaukenas with 13 followed by Herston who scored 12!

NBA Scouts Following Pargo and Eliyahu - by Paul Nilsen
Two of Europe's most prestigious basketball organizations , Maccabi Tel-Aviv & Real Madrid, will the parquet floor at the Palau Sant Jordi arena in less than 10 minutes to battle in a classic showdown for the honor and pride to be the second team to play in the Euroleague Final Four.

Maccabi will get a chance to match Madrid's Euroleague leading record in Final appearances currently standing on 14. Who will shine and who will excel is yet to be determined, However, Many European and NBA scouts who are in attendance came to follow and requite new players for their clubs, but on top of all, two names mark the top of the scouting report lists.

Maccabi's Israeli Forward Lior Eliyahu will be scouted and followed by representatives of the NBA's Houston Rockets. The Orlando Magic who has chosen Eliyahu with the 44th pick in the 2006 NBA draft, only to than forward their pick to the Rockets. In spite of the Forwards superb season averaging 11.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 1.1 asp, Eliyahu is marked as of the most improved players in Europe.

Another European Superstar who is ranked high up on the scouting reports is the outstanding American Point Guard, Jeremy Pargo. A former Zag and Israeli BSL champion, single handedly led his organization to the big stage after a devastating back court loss, in the likes of Combo-Guard Doron Perkins due to an injury.

'Eurobasket.com' spoke with Pargo's representatives, who have made it clear that the human highlight real is determined to follow his quest and make it to the NBA. Pargo recorded averages of 13 ppg, 3.9 rpg, and 3.5 apg, in his Euroleague Rookie season and has scored 49 points and dished out 9 dimes over the two final Euroleague series games Maccabi played against Caja Laboral without Perkins.

Many scouts and sports analysts believe the young talent has proven himself thus far worthy to play with the big boys, and if he does put on yet another expected show tonight, Europe might have to say its last goodbyes to Jeremy Pargo.

From Barcelona - David Pick

EuroLeague Final Four 2011 - Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 82 Real Madrid 63 - by Paul Nilsen
Maccabi Tel Aviv and Real Madrid took to the floor in the second semi-final of EuroLeague Final Four 2011in Barcelona looking to join Panathinaikos in the Final. While the game may have been taking place on Spanish soil it was noticeable inside the Arena that Real fans were outnumbered by Maccabi fans by as many as ten to one. In a sea of yellow shirts, the game could have been being played in Tel Aviv itself. Ante Tomic opened the scoring in the game for Real and it was quickly followed by a nice jump shot by Felipe Reyes as Real started strongly. It was Guy Pnini who finally got Maccabi off and running with a big triple and by the time Jeremy Pargo also converted from downtown, he had tied the game up at 8-8 with just under three minutes to play in the opening period.

An unsportsmanlike foul on Richard Hendrix gave Real Madrid the opportunity to restore their advantage but Ante Tomic missed both resulting free-throws. Both teams were tied down offensively but another outside score, this time by Pnini again helped his team into a 14-10 lead with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter. He was then back in the thick of the action after he was called for an unsportsmanlike foul for a heavy foul uner the hoop on D'or Fischer who cut the gap to leave Maccabi Tel Aviv 14-12 in front after the first period.

David Blu continued the excellent work of Maccabi from range as he buried a three-pointer and that kept the small numbr of Real fans even quieter than they already were. Reyes went to work inside and got one to drop as Real looked to get some momentum. That was always going to be difficult with Pnini still having the hot hand from downtown with yet another triple and when Sofoklis Schortstanitis flushed one down it was time for a Madrid time-out and 22-14 behind with 6:30 to go until the midway point of the game.

Madrid needed a lift badly and it was provided in the form of a first three-pointer of the game. Pablo Prigioni took Real to one of seven from outside which was in stark contrast to Maccabi who were five of seven from the arc and that was the story of the game. Real were always going to compete inside with the class and warrior like play from Reyes and he brought the Spanish side to within one shot of Maccabi at 22-19 approaching the midway point of the second period. A nice reverse lay-up by Chuck Eidson kept Maccabi in front but Prigioni was beginning to warm up as another three ensured Madrid posted an 8-2 run. That was the extended further with another score as Madrid tied things up through Tomic at 24-24.

Maccabi then got their noses back in thefront sparked by a big dunk by Hendrix but Tomic was supporting Reyes well for Madrid to keep things tight as the teams left court with Maccabi 32-29 ahead at the half.

They extended their advantage during the early exchanges when the game resumed with Schortstanitis getting the job done inside and then one of the highlights of day one as Jeremy Pargo threw one down to send the Maccabi fans into absolute raptures and take his team out to a 40-32 lead. After a quiet first half, Sergio Llull finally came alive with a three-pointer for Real but Maccabi supporters were still singing when Pargo then finished inside after a great spin-move.

After being pretty much the sole threat from downtown during the first half for Madrid, Pablo Prigioni continued his good work after draning another from the corner and that brought the Spanish side to within four at 42-38 with five minutes of the penultimate quarter remaining. Carlos Suarez then drained a triple from the top with a hand right in his face and suddenly Real had the momentum and David Blatt was looking agitated in the sideline. It was also around the same time Felipe Reyes moved on to a double-double in the game.

However Maccabi had other ideas and Blatt looked a lot more comfortable when his team made a big push in the closing minutes of the quarter. With 90 seconds remaining they led 50-43 and in a pivotal moment of the game, D'Or Fischer threw the ball away from under his own basket on the in-bound and that gave a gleeful Chuck Eidson a three point play as they went into a double figure lead at 53-43. While Real scored two of the last thre baskets in the period, Maccabi still held a healthy lead at 55-47 heading into the last ten minutes.

Real needed a strong start but it didn't arrive and they found themselves 14 points behind at 63-49 after successive threes by Eidson and Pargo. Maccabi threatened to blow the game wide open and Madrid were not yet on the floor but certainly on the ropes and in need of some inspiration. Some might argue that with six minutes left when David Blu put Maccabi 17 ahead, Real needed divine intervention. You would think by this point the Spanish team might have learned their lesson and tightened up their perimeter defence but the shooting class from the arc continued as Eidson made another triple.

Maccabi had one foot in the Final already and only a collapse of spectacularly epic proportions would deny them. When Schortsanitis scored inside and took it out to a twenty point margin it was all over at 71-51. Real could make no impression whatsoever as the downtown party for Maccabi continued to the final buzzer as they ran out comfortable 82-63 winners to face Panathinaikos in the 2011 Final.

The win really came courtesy of a stupendous 12 triples in the game with Chuck Eidson finishing with 19 points including 3 of 4 from outside as well as 6 steals and 6 rebounds. Guy Pnini was 4 of 6 from the arc while for Real, Reyes had a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds.

2011 Final Four opening press conference - by Eurobasket News
In a room steeped in centuries of history, eight central protagonists to the four teams aiming to celebrate at the end of the weekend gathered Thursday at the Salo de Cent in the Barcelona Town Hall for the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four official press conference. The head coach and one player representative from Panathinaikos, Montepaschi Siena, Real Madrid and Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv sat alongside Euroleague Basketball President and CEO Jordi Bertomeu and Barcelona Mayor Jordi Hereu at the dais as a packed hall full of reporters and cameramen documented their thoughts in a spectacular setting. With more than 700 media members on hand for the Turkish Airlines Final Four, the Salo de Cent was filled to capacity with the audience hanging on every word. Built in 1369 and renovated in the 17th century, the Salo de Cent is one of the citys most storied sites. Here is what they said:

Barcelona city mayor Jordi Hereu:

'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the city of Barcelona, a city that loves basketball. I want to welcome you to this historical building, built several centuries ago to represent the city. This is a press conference in which six languages - Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Greek, Hebrew and English - will be spoken. Using so many languages expresses the international relevance of this Final Four. This building was built in the 14th century and has been home to the city of Barcelona government since then. The city has been in touch with the world from the Mediterranean Sea since then, forming connections with many cities and countries in the Mediterranean world. We welcome you 600 years later. Barcelona speaks to the world through sports and basketball. I want to welcome all the fans, players, coaches and team managements of Panathinaikos, Montepaschi Siena, Maccabi Electra and Real Madrid to a city which has loved sports and basketball for many decades. It is a great pride for this city to host the Final Four and to have the Euroleague headquarters in Barcelona. I would like to thank Euroleague President & CEO Jordi Bertomeu and all the people that make this magnificent project work. Barcelona is honored to host so much basketball excellence. We have programmed a lot of side events to complement the Final Four in several neighborhoods, from the Raval to Montjuic. I love basketball in Barcelona; we've have had great basketball clubs for many decades. We follow sports with a lot of passion. We love sports and basketball, beginning with youth teams, but are also honored when all the best teams in Europe come to play the Final Four. It is not the first time we have organized the Final Four, but we are as excited as the first time. Welcome again to a city that loves basketball.'

Panathinaikos guard Dimitris Diamantidis (196-G-80):

Im no one to give advice because everyone knows what to do. As my coach said, we are proud to be here. I hope everyone enjoys this show and it will be a great show. I hope that at the end we will deserve to win the title.

Its clear if you watch the videos that [Panathinaikos and Montepaschi] has its philosophy. Well try to bring everything out to the court. I dont agree with Vassilis [Skountis] that [Siena] are a copy of Panathinaikos. We have to do our best to give 100% and to overcome the obstacles of the game.

Panathinaikos head coach Zeljko Obradovic :

In name of Panathinaikos, I want to say that we are happy to come to the Final Four again and to build the fans of basketball all over Europe. We hope it will be celebration of Basketball and we hope to play a good game. We want to say good luck to the other great teams. They are the best in the Euroleague this season.

Basketball is first of all a players game. They are the most important. I am happy and proud that I have this great player [Diamantidis] close to me. He is a captain, a leader. He knows what to do to be in the final one more time because in my mind we have only this game against Siena.

'It is very beautiful to play the Final Four in Barcelona, because I have a lot of friends that will come to see the Final Four. I am very happy to be here, it is a city that loves basketball. I am very glad that my team came here. It cost us a lot, we had to battle all season, especially against Barcelona. Everyone thought Barcelona was the favorite not only to win the playoffs, but the Euroleague. It is a good team, it was the defending champion and had played really well. The bottom line is that if my team can play the Final Four in any city in Europe, I will be happy.

Montepaschi Siena forward Rimantas Kaukenas (193-G-77, college: Seton Hall):

'First of all, I am happy to be back to a team like Montepaschi Siena and have the chance to enjoy a second road to the Final Four. It was not easy, we had a lot of ups and downs, overcame difficult moments and the actual road to the Final Four helped us to improve, get better and learn how to play with my teammates, which is really enjoyable. The Final Four goes down to a couple of games, the sum of all our work, all our struggle and all the beauty -- everything that we went through. Sitting and watching from the bench like I did in 2008 - Kaukenas was injured - is the most difficult part of it. There is nothing much you can do -- cheer people up and help in any way possible. I hope to be more help this time.'

'There are similarities between Panathinaikos and Montepaschi, but also differences. They play in a very clear way and the team is very prepared tactically. I cannot say who is the favorite or how the teams will play -- it all goes down to one game, the semifinal. We have our identity, know the way we want to play and our approach. I am sure that Panathinaikos has its own way too. We have to come to play our game and we will see the difference at the end.'

Montepaschi Siena head coach Simone Pianigiani :

'I am very proud to be here. I would like to thank the city of Barcelona for the great organization. This has always been a special place for sport and we are proud to be in this city, with great clubs and a great organization. I am really happy to be here and proud of our fans, who helped us to make it to this Final Four. We will see what happens, if we can make it to the final. We will try to do our best and are honored to be in the Final Four, with great games. The Euroleague level is really high and all of us had a tough road to get here. I am happy and proud of my players and everyone working in the club. It is a magic atmosphere, impossible to see anywhere else but in this extraordinary event.'

'Luckily, it is not the first time I've played against coach Zeljko Obradovic and Panathinaikos, a team that has won so much in the Euroleague's modern era. A coach like Obradovic makes you think things over, but this is what you expect when you play at the highest possible level. Everyone had a tough time to get here, but I think we have shown in the last two years that we can play at their level. We can win or lose but can definitely compete against them. We have a great respect for Obradovic and the entire Panathinaikos team. We managed to beat them in the Top 16 three games ago but they beat us in the playoffs two years ago. The games between both teams have been great and we have played a good number of times. Panathinaikos and Montepaschi play as teams, in every sense of the word. It will be a great basketball game, I am sure.'

'Our first Final Four was in this building in 2003 but the most important thing is that this is our fourth time in the event since then. Basketball has changed a lot - we used to have one and even two Italian teams in the Final Four in the past. Now we are here with teams from big capitals like Athens, Tel Aviv or Madrid, and other Euroleague teams have great investments in places like Barcelona or Istanbul. Being here is just special by itself. I believe that we lost the previous three semifinals due to small details. We have to go down to small details and take care of them, hoping that finally these will turn in our favor.'

Maccabi Electra center Sofoklis Schortsanitis (206-C-85):

Hello. I believe first of all that everyone needs to enjoy playing at the Final Four. Being here and playing can take a great mental and physical toll on the players and coaches. We need to not let our guard down, to always execute the plans our coaches design for us and to play hard and I believe that is what will lead us.

Coach Blatt speaks in such high words and I always try to justify them. Everyone at the Final Four is in great shape. Maccabi is here because we have great unity as a team. Everyone helps to be the best on the court and to be in the best shape. We have a lot of impact players and I will be there to help them and they will be there to help me.

Its true Madrid is great rebounding team. Each team has quality and lots of areas they are good at. They have great depth, a great frontline. We are a team that supports each other and helps others to do their job. We will do what we have done all year, keep working, keep working and try to beat the other team. This is what I am going to do Friday night too.

Like coach said before, before I signed we had a great talk in Cyprus. The thing he explained that he wanted from me and what his goals are, the way he talked made an impact. We have a great coach-player relationship. He demands and yells and I put my head down and listen. What helped me is that he demands a lot and gives me confidence because he believes that I can actually do it. The best thing he did was build my confidence and help me be one of the main guys on the team. That is one of the great things that happened this season. And also putting together a great group of guys that I can connect to and play with to the top of my ability.

Maccabi Electra head coach David Blatt :

We from Maccabi Elactra Tel Aviv are also proud to take part in this great event, the celebration of European basketball. It is great to be here as one of the coaches alongside three of the great coaches in our game, Zeljko Obradovic , Simone Pianigiani and Emanuele Molin and to do battle in a great and sporting atmosphere. How great is it to be at this press conference in this great and historic building. It will be great to do battle in what will be a great Final Four and to see the great things they can do on the court. I hope this will be an event to remember.

I dont know that most of the fans will be Maccabi fans, but I am happy for everyone that came to support us. I know they will give their all, as they have always done. People know that our fans are caring for the club for its history and what its done. Im very happy for our fans that invested to come and support us as I am for the fans of all the teams that will be here. This is not about one group, but the fans of basketball. We hope to share that with all of you.

Personally I never felt it was a risk [to sign Schortsanitis]. From the moment I sat with Sofo and spoke to him, I had nothing but a great feeling. He can tell you from the summer when we spoke in Cyprus, where we both were with our national teams, we had a great conversation. And from then it has been nothing but a wonderful process. He was always known as a great impact player and a winner. This is not his first Final Four. He has always accounted for himself. We are lucky to have such a good guy and good player. I hope to keep seeing him do well with us.

First of all Real Madrid is a big, active, agile and aggressive rebounding team. No team made the Final Four because they are strong in one area. All have quality, depth and numerous resources whether its the players they have at their disposal. Each game develops in a different way and you are never sure which will be the factor that will decide the game. [Schortsanitis] is one of our many go-to guys, but the job is not his alone. Rebounding is a team thing. Most important games and particularly Final Four games due to the pressure are generally lower level games than free-flowing unimportant games. They can be determined by possession characteristics and one of them is rebounding. We hope Sofo and the rest of players do their job and overcome Madrid that has capabilities in that area and others.

Real Madrid forward Felipe Reyes (203-F/C-80):

'Good afternoon everyone. It took us a lot of effort to reach this Final Four. We are a young team with little experience in this kind of event. We only have two players who have been there before and have previous Final Four experience - this is the fifth time for both of them. Along with coach Lele Molin, they showed us the path to follow to face these two intense days of games and try to achieve what everyone wants - the Euroleague title. These are tough games and the best advice, above all, is to play the way we know we can play, like we did most of the season. If we play as team and are together on and off the court, we can do it. We know it will be difficult, the playing level is high, there are three other very good teams, but if we are together and work as a great team, we can make it.'

'Playing the Final Four in Barcelona is great for any Madrid fans - and winning the title would be even better. I am in my first Final Four, however, and it is very special. I really don't mind playing it here or in any other European city. I wouldn't mind winning the title in Barcelona or just anywhere. Being at the Final Four is a maximum goal for a basketball player and yes, seeing Madrid win the title in Barcelona would be special. The most special feeling is to win the Euroleague title, no matter where.'

Real Madrid head coach Emanuele Molin :

'Good afternoon everyone. First of all, we are very proud to have taken a historical club like Real Madrid back to the Final Four. Madrid is back to this event, the most important one in European basketball. We arrive here with a lot of excitement and I would like to thank everyone that worked hard to achieve this success. The help of everyone, especially from our fans, has allowed us to reach this moment. Our goal is show our young face in this event. We are a young team that hopes to compensate its lack of experience in these games with a lot of excitement. We managed to get here by giving all we have and hope to play good basketball at the Final Four. This is a basketball party and an important experience for us. We have talked and understand what a club like Real Madrid needs to get back here.'

'There is a big difference between being assistant coach or head coach. I have been Madrid's head coach for just a few months and it goes down to the essence of it - basketball. As assistant, working for top teams in Europe and great coaches like Ettore Messina and several others for a long time. Making basketball decisions every day makes it completely different. It is like sitting at a difference side of the table. You can share your opinions as assistant and then the head coach can take it and transmit your opinion to the team - or not. Making the final decisions is different and more difficult, from my little experience in the last months.'

Courtesy of Euroleague

EuroLeague Final Four 2011 - Panathinaikos 77-69 Montepaschi Siena - by Paul Nilsen
EuroLeague 2011 tipped off in Barcelona at the Palau Sant Jordi amidst a sea of green as Montepaschi Siena tipped off against Panathinaikos in the first of the semi-finals and it was the Italian side that got the scoring underway in an impressive first quarter. Ksistof Lavrinovic (210-C-79) grabbed the first basket of the tournament for Siena and they continued to hold on to their lead for much of the first quarter - thanks mainly indeed to Lavrinovic who finished the period with 7 points. However it was the action in the last 20 seconds of the quarter which proved to be the real talking point as a triple was ruled out for Panthinaikos after basket interference was called on Mike Batiste (203-F-77, college: Arizona St.) and to compound the rage of the Greek fans, Nikos Zsis drained a buzzer beater down the other end to hand Montepaschi a 21-17 first quarter lead.

The atmosphere inside the Arena had a real edge to it going into the second quarter with the Maccabi and Madrid fans also beginning to filter inside ahead of their match up in the second semi-final of the day. Things then had a real edge on court too as Drew Nicholas drained a triple only for Panathinaikos joy to be tempered by an unsportsmanlike foul being called under the basket on Romain Sato. That helped Montepaschi maintain their cushion and three minutes into the second quarter, they still led at 26-20. However it wasn't all good news for the team with the lead after two quick fouls called on Lavrinovic meant he had to take a quick seat on the bench with three fouls to his name and almost six minutes of the first half still remaining.

Both teams were labouring at times and Siena could have made things worse for Panathinaikos had Shaun Stonerook not missed a lay-up. However team-mate BoMcCalebb made him feel better after producing an 'And-1' play to keep the six point margin at 30-24. Or at least it was until Panathinaikos responded with an 'And-1' play of their own via Ian Vougioukas. The Greek side were beginning to turn the screw and when they converted twice from downtown in quick succession through Fotsis and Perperoglou, they found thmselves 35-32 ahead and their fans were appreciative in the stands as they raised the volume another level.

To their credit, Montepaschi held on but things looked a little ominous when Mike Batiste (203-F-77, college: Arizona St.) slammed one down with just over a minute to go until the interval - a break which the Italians needed badly to stop the Panathinaikos momentum. Two foul shots by Dimitris Diamintidis stretched the lead out to five points but a jam by Jeleel Akindele gave the Italian side a real boost at just the right moment when things could have slipped away from them. With 35 seconds left and coming out of a time-out, Panathinaikos had the ball and found themselves back on the line after Fotsis drew a blocking foul on Tomas Ress. He could only convert once and that gave Montepaschi the last possession but Mc Calebb just rimmed out to ensure the Greeks led 40-36 heading into the third quarter.

The difference in the three-point shooting of both teams had been the big difference in the first half with Montepaschi knowing an improvement was required while Panathinaikos had turned the ball over far too many times meaning they also had areas to improve on. Both teams traded a basket each in the opening moments of the second half and there was little else to speak of in a drab four minutes with defences very much on top.

This wasn't necessarily bad news for Montepaschi who were doing a good job defensively on Panathinaikos as they held them to just the one basket in over five minutes of action - even if offensively they weren't any better. Unfortunately their aggressive defence also came at a cost as Lavrinovic picked up his fourth with just under 15 minutes of the game still to play. The margin was of course still four points as it was at the half with still only one basket scored by each team since they emerged from the locker rooms. Someone had to find their range soon and it was Panthinaikos who quickly found themselves seven points in front after a free throw and a beautiful slice to the hoop by Nick Calathes (198-G-89, college: Florida). Not surprisingly time-out was called by Simone Pianigiani as he looked to instil some belief in his team who had dried up completely with two points in seven minutes.

Things looked really tough for the Italians seconds later when Mike Batiste (203-F-77, college: Arizona St.) made a nice jump-shot and just when it looked like the Siena drought had ended with a Milovan Rakovic score, it was wiped off for a push in the back. To run salt into the wounds it was also his fourth foul while down the other end, Panathinaikos opened up the first double-digit advantage of the game to give Montepaschi a mountain to climb. They weren't helping themselves as they felt the game slipping away with their defence crumbling as they left Fotsis with an eternity to line-one up from the perimeter.

At least Malik Hairston responded with a three-pointer to temporarily stop their slump but Panathinaikos were looking comfortabl, even if a two foul-shots by Kaukenas trimmedthe margin to seven points. Thre was then a big potential swing in the momentum of the game when McCalebb rimmed out from downtown which could have cut the defict to just four and that led to Panathinaikos grabbing a score in transition and taking a 56-47 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Montepaschi needed a quick-fire start to have any chance at all of mounting a comeback in the final period and while an early triple helped them reduce the arrears to six again, Diamantidis drilled home a three-ball to reassert control for Panathinaikos. After a brief minute or two without any team really scoring, Shaun Stonerook got the Montepaschi fans on their feet and believing in an unlikely comeback when he continued the shooting fest from outside with a rare triple. That meant with seven minutes left, his team trailed 61-55 and went into a time-out wondering if they had put some doubt into the minds of the Panathinaikos players.

The resounding answer was that they mot definately had not as they held their nerve. Lavrinovic meanwhile picked up his fifth foul and couldn't believe the call during the subsequent time-out. It also signalled the Maccabi fans to show they were able to stake a big claim for the best fans of the weekend as they began their warm-up in style ahead of the next game. That in itself probably suggested that they, along with most other neutrals already had this one down as a Panathinaikos win, eventhough there were still over four minutes to play.

Nobody told Kaukenas it was over as he drained a three and got fouled on his way down to give him the chance of a rare four-point play which he took. However Montepaschi weren't boxing out and a put-back score by Batiste highlighted just why the comeback would take more than some impressive offence. Rakovic made a lay-up to make it a seven point margin at 70-63 with just under three minutes left but there was no stopping the powerful Batiste. Without defensive stops, Montepaschi were never going to get over the hump, even if they were doing a great job on the glass.

Rakovic scored again to bring it back to seven with two minutes to play but his team needed to lock down Panathinaikos and quickly. They did just that on the next offence when they worked down the shotclock and forced a carry call on Perperoglu. When Rakovic scored again, the dream looked alive but that man Batisite went to work down the other end of the floor to great effect once again. As Rakovic finally failed to convert on the next time down, it was effectively all over as Panathinaikos safely saw out the game from the free-throw line to book their place in Sunday's EuroLeague Final with a 77-69 success.

Nick Calathes was named MVP after 17 points and 6 rebounds but mianly because of his efficient 6 of 7 shooting from the field. Kaukenas top scored for Montepaschi with 13 points while Shaun Stonerook finished with 14 rebounds.

Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Bojan BOGDANOVIC
  Cibona
  (202-G/F-89)
  Avg: 18

1. Bogdanovic, Cibona	18.0
2. Langford, Khimky	17.8
3. Rakocevic, Efes P.	17.2
4. Teletovic, Caja L.	15.5
5. Mejia, Cholet	15.1
6. Spanoulis, Olympia.	14.2
7. Navarro, Regal B.	14.1
8. Gregory, Union O.	14.0
9. Freeland, Unicaja	13.9
10. San Emeterio, Caj.	13.7

Rebounds Per Game

Mirsad TURKCAN
  Fener.Ul.
  (206-F-76)
  Avg: 7.3

1. Turkcan, Fener.Ul.	7.3
2. Gist, Partizan	6.9
3. Jankunas, Zalgiris	6.9
4. Bourousis, Olympia.	6.6
5. Pleiss, Brose B.	6.3
6. Batista, Caja L.	6.3
7. Radosevic, Cibona	6.3
8. Freeland, Unicaja	6.3
9. Gregory, Union O.	6.1
10. Fischer, Real Mad.	6.0

Assists Per Game

Dimitris DIAMANTIDIS
  Panath.
  (196-G-80)
  Avg: 5.8

1. Diamantidis, Panat.	5.8
2. Huertas, Caja L.	5.6
3. Cook, Valencia	5.6
4. Spanoulis, Olympia.	4.3
5. Stipcevic, Cibona	4.1
6. Ilievski, Union O.	4.1
7. Pargo, Maccabi T-A	4.0
8. Papaloukas, Olymp.	3.8
9. Jerrells, Partizan	3.8
10. Gordon, CSKA	3.7

Steals Per Game

Chuck EIDSON
  Maccabi .
  (202-F/G-80)
  Avg: 2.7

1. Eidson, Maccabi	2.7
2. McCalebb, Montepa.	1.9
3. Goldsberry, Brose	1.9
4. Cook, Valencia	1.8
5. Smith, Lottomatica	1.8
6. Dedovic, Lottomat.	1.7
7. Ilievski, Union O.	1.7
8. Rubio, Regal Barca	1.7
9. Bogdanovic, Cibona	1.7
10. Ozbolt, Union O.	1.7

Blocks Per Game

Mirza BEGIC
  Zalgiris
  (216-C-85)
  Avg: 2.3

1. Begic, Zalgiris	2.3
2. Riddick, Charleroi	1.7
3. Pleiss, Brose B.	1.5
4. Fischer, Real Madr.	1.5
5. Eze, Khimky	1.3
6. Falker, Cholet	1.3
7. Bourousis, Olympia.	1.3
8. Shermadini, Union	1.1
9. Hines, Brose B.	1.1
10. Vazquez, Regal B.	1.0

Eidson Sets New Steals Record In EuroLeague Semi-Finals - by Paul Nilsen
Chuck Eidson (202-F/G-80, agency: Court Side, college: S.Carolina) was in irresistable form as Maccabi Tel Aviv humiliated Real Madrid 82-63 in the second semi-final at Palau Sant Jordi and while his three-point shooting caught the eye it was his defensive prowess that set a new record. In addition to his 19 points and 8 rebounds, Eidson also grabbed six steals to re-affirm his postion as the leader of steals. His all important sixth steal in the game set a new record for the semi-finals beating the five that were claimed way back in1995 by Madrid's Joe Arlauckas against Limoges and then the five also grbbed by Theo Papaloukas during 2007 when he was with CSKA Moscow.

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FINLAND

KORISLIIGA: Jeb Ivey continues in Finland - by Rauno Hurmalainen
American sharpshooter Jeb Ivey (190-G-80, college: Portland St.) continues his professional basketball career in Finland. Only the Team will change again. Ivey has signed a 1-year-contract with Top League newcomer LoKoKo (Loimaa). Ivey will start his third season in Finland. During the season 2009-10 he was part of Kataja (Joensuu) roster, last season Ivey played on KTP (Kotka) roster (18,1 ppg, 3,3 rpg, 3,6 apg in 36,3 mpg and 52 games) and next season Loimaa is then calling. Ivey hit passed season at least one 3-pointer in 50 games in a row. Ivey hit his treys with 39,9% accuracy. Ivey has played earlier also in Iceland and in Germany.

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FRANCE

Chalon hires Ulysse Adjagba - by Romain Brusc
Ulysse Adjagba (184-G-93) is the first CFBB player to find a new club for the next season. The 18-year-old guard is going to sign with Chalon (#2 in Pro A) as the French Federation gave its agreement. This season, Adjagba scores 9,7 points, takes 2,5 rebounds and gives 1,4 assist in NM1. In 2010, he won the Nike Euroleague Junior Tournament with CFBB. He is one of the team leaders since two years and he played European Championships U16 with the French National Team in 2009.

INSEP edge Fenerbahce Ulker in Barcelona - by Eurobasket News
IJT INSEP - IJT Fenerbahce Ulker 80:68

IJT INSEP recorded the first win at the Nike International Tournament. They held off IJT Fenerbahce Ulker for 1-1 record in Group A. Jean-Charles Livio (202-F/C-93) came up with 21 points and 13 boards to pace the French outfit.
INSEP shocked their opponents early in the encounter. The defending champions went on a 29:11 rally in the first term to leave Fenerbahce behind. The Turkish youngsters came back to life in the second term. They stopped the rot to cut the deficit 15 points at the interval. INSEP however remained in charge after the main break. They ensured a 16-point lead with one quarter remaining and rolled to the victory at the end. Hugo Invernizzi (196-F/G-93) scored 18 points for INSEP. Anthony Racine (188-G-94) added 16 points for the winners. Kerem Hotic (197-F-93) answered with 20 points for Fenerbahce Ulker. James Birsen (201-F-95) contributed 13 points in the losing effort.

IJT INSEP: Jean-Charles Livio 21+13 boards, Hugo Invernizzi 18, Anthony Racine 16
IJT Fenerbahce Ulker: Kerem Hotic 20, James Birsen 13

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FYR MACEDONIA

MZT Skopje is alive in the Semis - by Eurobasket News
Semifinals, Game 3: MZT Skopje - Rabotnicki 79-72 (1-2)

Third game of the Superleague Semifinals between MZT Skopje and Rabotnicki was played last night. MZT Skopje handed 79-72 loss to their rival extending the series for at least one more game. Rabotnicki celebrated in the first two meetings and they still need just one more win for the Finals. The next chance to do that they will have on Saturday. The game will be played at the Rabotnicki's home court. The first finalist is already known and it is Feni Industri.
The hosts trailed by 1 point at the halftime before their 35-27 charge in the second half, which allowed them to win the game. The best player for the winners was Serbian power forward Miljan Pupovic (209-83) who scored 20 points. American guard Darnell Lindsay (196-87, college: Tennessee Tech) chipped in 14 points. Four MZT Skopje players scored in double figures. MZT Skopje's coach Igor Gacov used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international center Pero Blazevski (200-72) who recorded 21 points and 9 rebounds and international guard Dimitar Mirakovski (180-81, agency: Interperformances) added 17 points and 5 assists respectively.

Top scorers:
MZT Skopje: M.Pupovic 20+3reb, D.Lindsay 14+4reb+2ast, N.Zivcevic 13+2reb+2ast, Z.Gocevski 13+3reb+1ast, S.Avramovski 7+4reb+2ast, J.Petrovski 6+4reb+6ast
Rabotnicki: P.Blazevski 21+9reb+3ast, D.Mirakovski 17+2reb+5ast, V.Filipovic 9+2reb, T.Simic 8+3reb, E.Bogoev 8+2reb+2ast, S.Bozic 4

Stats Leaders - Superleague

Points Per Game

Darko MATIC
  Kumanovo.
  (192-G-84)
  Avg: 21.5

1. Matic, Kumanovo.	21.5
2. Jovanovic, Ultima.	20.3
3. Trajkovski, Torus	18.0
4. Petkovski, Pelist.	16.8
5. Morban, Lirija	16.4
6. Filipovic, Ovce Po.	16.4
7. Mirakovski, Rabot.	15.8
8. Blazevski, Rabotni.	15.4
9. Nikolovski, MZT S.	14.5
10. Anakievski, Pelis.	14.3

Rebounds Per Game

Gjorgje JOVANOVIC
  Ultima.
  (209-C-80)
  Avg: 10.6

1. Jovanovic, Ultima.	10.6
2. Nikolovski, MZT S.	8.6
3. Pavlovski, Lirija	8.4
4. Talevski, Pelist.	8.1
5. Trajkovski, Torus	7.8
6. Jelesijevic, Torus	7.7
7. Chappell, ABA S.	7.7
8. Rejnerio, Lirija	7.6
9. Knezevic, Feni I.	7.4
10. Filipovic, Ovce P.	7.1

Assists Per Game

Carlos MORBAN
  Lirija
  (187-G-82)
  Avg: 5.1

1. Morban, Lirija	5.1
2. Mirakovski, Rabot.	4.7
3. Kostovski, Torus S.	4.7
4. Petrovski, MZT S.	3.9
5. Blazevski, Rabotni.	3.8
6. Mladenovic, Ultima.	3.7
7. Lazic, Ultimate.	3.3
8. Samardziev, Feni I.	3.1
9. Vukotic, Kumanovo.	3.1
10. Miljkovic, Torus	3.0

Steals Per Game

Gjorgi ANAKIEVSKI
  Pelist.
  (185-G-85)
  Avg: 2.5

1. Anakievski, Pelist.	2.5
2. Morban, Lirija	1.6
3. Petrovski, MZT S.	1.5
4. Boswell, ABA S.	1.5
5. Stojanovski, Feni	1.5
6. Blazevski, Rabotni.	1.5
7. Mladenovic, Ultima.	1.4
8. Frye, Feni Indistr.	1.4
9. Dimcevski, Torus S.	1.4
10. Gocevski, MZT S.	1.3

Blocks Per Game

Bojan TRAJKOVSKI
  Torus S.
  (206-C/F-88)
  Avg: 1.7

1. Trajkovski, Torus	1.7
2. Chappell, ABA S.	1.4
3. Jelesijevic, Torus	1.3
4. Dendra, Rabotnicki	1.1
5. Petric, Kumanovo.	1.1
6. Gocevski, Rabotnic.	1.0
7. Simic, Rabotnicki	1.0
8. Krstevski, Torus S.	0.9
9. Frye, Feni Indistr.	0.9
10. Avramovski, MZT S.	0.8

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GEORGIA

Geogian Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Beqa CHIKVILADZE
  GTU T.
  (195-G-91)
  Avg: 23.8

1. Chikviladze, GTU T.	23.8
2. Sanadze, Batumi	21.1
3. Parghalava, Sokhu.	20.6
4. Berishvili, TSU T.	19.9
5. Matiashvili, TSU T.	19.1
6. Panchulidze, TSU T.	19.1
7. Dvalishvili, Samed.	17.3
8. Tugushi, Army	16.9
9. Kvimsadze, Kutaisi	16.7
10. Tsekvava, Energy	16.0

Rebounds Per Game

Akaki DVALISHVILI
  Samed.
  (206-C-90)
  Avg: 11.2

1. Dvalishvili, Samed.	11.2
2. Damus, Sokhumi	10.6
3. Berishvili, TSU T.	10.1
4. Matiashvili, TSU T.	9.9
5. Keshelava, Batumi	9.1
6. Londaridze, TSU T.	9.0
7. Tugushi, Army	8.8
8. Imnadze, MIA T.	8.7
9. Ugrekhelidze, Army	8.7
10. Antadze, GTU T.	8.6

Assists Per Game

Beka TSIVTSIVADZE
  MIA T.
  (190-G-89)
  Avg: 6.8

1. Tsivtsivadze, MIA	6.8
2. Gaprindashvi., TSU	6.5
3. Kvimsadze, Kutaisi	5.3
4. Tugushi, Army	5.2
5. Artsividze, GSAU T.	5.0
6. Parghalava, Sokhu.	4.9
7. Harris, Sokhumi	4.8
8. Didia, Kutaisi	4.8
9. Tsivtsivadze, Ener.	4.4
10. Rogers, Samedicino	4.3

Steals Per Game

Vasili BERUASHVILI
  GTU T.
  (198-F-90)
  Avg: 3

1. Beruashvili, GTU T.	3.0
2. Tsekvava, Energy	2.8
3. Antadze, GTU T.	2.7
4. Berishvili, Kutaisi	2.6
5. Panchulidze, TSU T.	2.3
6. Parghalava, Sokhu.	2.3
7. Berishvili, TSU T.	2.2
8. Gaprindashvi., TSU	2.2
9. Gulisabedash., Sam.	2.2
10. Berishvili, Army	2.1

Blocks Per Game

Samuel LAMU
  Energy R.
  (204-C-81)
  Avg: 2.2

1. Lamu, Energy R.	2.2
2. Damus, Sokhumi	1.5
3. Bekauri, Samedicino	1.4
4. Berishvili, TSU T.	1.3
5. Dvalishvili, Samed.	1.2
6. Matiashvili, TSU T.	1.2
7. Toudjani, Energy R.	1.2
8. Imnadze, MIA T.	1.2
9. Damus, Sokhumi	1.0
10. Kobidze, GTU T.	1.0

Superleague Round 2 of Quarter-Finals - by Eurobasket News
Sokhumi - MIA Tbilisi 78-70

The hosts trailed by 7 points after three quarters before their 27-12 charge, which allowed them to win the game. Sokhumi made 22-of-27 free shots (81.5 percent) during the game. Sokhumi outrebounded MIA 43-32 including 18 on the offensive glass. 24 personal fouls committed by MIA helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Lasha Parghalava (191-87, college: Montana St. - Billin) chipped in 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists during the contest. Naturalized Azerbaijan forward Davit Barbakadze (203-82) responded with 14 points and 8 rebounds and guard Besik Lezhava (193-86) scored 16 points and 5 assists. Five MIA players scored in double figures.
Top scorers:
MIA Tbilisi: B.Lezhava 16+2reb+5ast, D.Barbakadze 14+8reb+1ast, D.Imnadze 13+7reb, I.Berishvili 12+3ast, G.Nikoladze 12+5reb, L.Lapanashvili 3+7reb
Sokhumi: I.Shanidze 13+7reb+1ast, L.Parghalava 13+5reb+5ast, R.Damus 9+11reb, E.Harris 7+1reb+4ast, I.Sordia 5+2reb

Energy Rustavi - Army 56-83

The guests trailed by 4 points after three quarters before their 36-5 charge, which allowed them to win the game. Army Sport Klub dominated on the defensive end, holding Energy Invest to just 5 points in fourth quarter. Army Sport Klub shot 20 for 29 from the free-throw line, while Energy Invest only scored four points from the stripe. They outrebounded Energy Invest 52-27 including a 32-17 advantage in defensive rebounds. The best player for the winners was the former international guard Kote Tugushi (192-84) who scored 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Center Giorgi Sharabidze (210-90) chipped in 21 points and 9 rebounds (on 7-of-9 shooting from the field). Four Army Sport Klub players scored in double figures. Cameroonian center Samuel Lamu (204-81) produced a double-double by scoring 22 points and 10 rebounds and guard Malkhazi Abaishvili (183-91) added 6 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists respectively for the hosts.
Top scorers:
Energy Rustavi: S.Lamu 22+10reb+1ast, J.Arabic 9+2reb, N.Abuladze 8+2reb, D.Gugava 7+3reb+4ast, M.Abaishvili 6+5reb+7ast, Z.Tvaradze 2
Army: K.Tugushi 22+8reb+4ast, G.Sharabidze 21+9reb+1ast, Z.Babiashvili 13+4reb, A.Boisa 11+10reb+4ast, B.Berishvili 6+7reb+7ast, I.Sakvarelidze 6+6reb+1ast

GTU Tbilisi - TSU Tbilisi 89-97

The guests were already 18 points ahead at halftime and as many as 21 after three quarters before a 35-22 last quarter charge of GTU cut the lead to 97-89 at the end of the game. TSU forced 25 GTU turnovers. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 24 assists. Center Richard Matiashvili (209-89) notched a double-double by scoring 28 points, 15 rebounds and 4 assists to lead the effort and forward Mikheil Panchulidze (192-83) supported him with 24 points and 5 rebounds. Even 24 points and 8 assists by guard Beqa Chikviladze (195-91) did not help to save the game for GTU. Forward Akaki Lomouri (198-91) added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the hosts. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games.
Top scorers:
GTU Tbilisi: B.Chikviladze 24+2reb+8ast, A.Lomouri 21+10reb, L.Chokhonelidze 11+4reb+1ast, G.Jangveladze 11+5reb, A.Dzidziguri 9+3reb+2ast, Z.Machaladze 4+5reb+4ast
TSU Tbilisi: R.Matiashvili 28+15reb+4ast, M.Panchulidze 24+5reb+3ast, M.Berishvili 16+8reb+2ast, I.Londaridze 12+4reb, G.Markhvashvili 8+1reb+5ast, G.Gaprindashvili 7+5reb+9ast

Samedicino - Kutaisi 75-83

The guests were already 19 points ahead at halftime and as many as 20 after three quarters before a 27-15 last quarter charge of Samedicino-Academia cut the lead to 83-75 at the end of the game. Kutaisi made 20-of-25 charity shots (80.0 percent) during the game. They shot the lights out from three nailing 15 long-distance shots on high 51.7 percentage. 24 personal fouls committed by Samedicino-Academia helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Guard Buba Kvimsadze (195-82) orchestrated the victory by scoring 20 points, 6 assists and 4 steals. Forward Giorgi Barbakadze (203-91) contributed with 17 points and 5 rebounds (was perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line) for the winners. Five Kutaisi players scored in double figures. American guard Jeff Rogers (185-73, college: W.Kentucky, agency: Impact Basketball) replied with 23 points and 8 rebounds and guard Mikheil Chochua (193-87) added 24 points and 6 rebounds in the effort for Samedicino-Academia. Samedicino-Academia's coach rotated eleven players in this game, but that didn't help.
Top scorers:
Samedicino: M.Chochua 24+6reb, J.Rogers 23+8reb+3ast, A.Dvalishvili 9+6reb, G.Gulisabedashvili 8+6reb+2ast, B.Bekauri 6+2reb+1ast, I.Lezhava 3
Kutaisi: B.Kvimsadze 20+3reb+6ast, G.Barbakadze 17+5reb+1ast, L.Tsekvava 15+2reb+1ast, R.Didia 15+5reb+2ast, T.Babunashvili 13+1reb+1ast, V.Koguashvili 2+4reb

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GERMANY

John Bynum (TBB Trier) Playoff Thoughts To Bamberg-Bremerhaven Series - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
John Bynum (191-G-78, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement, college: Metro St.) is a 33 year old 191 cm guard from Visalia California that is playing his first season with TBB Trier. He is a good fighter, fast and good in offensive playing. He is great athlete who can shoot the ball with consistency from 3 and finish with authority on the break. He is a tremendous defender on the ball. He played college basketball at College of the Sequoias Junior College:from 1996-1998 and then transferred to Metropolitan St. (NCAA2): and played there from 1998-2000. He started his professional basketball career in 2001 in the Uk for the Solent Stars (United Kingdom-NBLConf): 31 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assist. In 2002-2003, came his first tour of duty in Germany for BSG Grevenbroich (Germany-Regionalliga): 24.7ppg, 9.2rpg, 6.7apg, 3.5spg. In 2003-2004, he played for the Ulriken Eagles (Norway-BNLO): Regular Season: 14 games: 20,1ppg, 8,1rpg, 2,5apg, 2,9spg, 0,4bpg.In 2004-2005, he was back in Germany playing for BSG Grevenbroich (Germany-2.Bundesliga): 30 games: Score-5 (26.0ppg), 7.7rpg, Ast-4 (5.4apg), 1.7spg, 2FGP: 55.5%, 3FGP: 33.3%, FT: 63.6%. In 2005-2006, he played for InterCollege Etha Engomis (Cyprus-A1): only pre-season, then joined COOCOON Baskets Weiden (Germany-2.Bundesliga, starting five): 8 games: 15.6ppg, 5.9rpg, 2.0apg, 1.6spg, 2FGP: 51%, left in Jan.'06 and later that month signed at Eisbaeren Bremerhaven (Germany-1.Bundesliga): 21 games: 7.8ppg, 2.6rpg, 1.8apg, 2FGP: 56.5%. In 2006-2007, he played for the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven (Germany-1.Bundesliga): 31 games: 5.7ppg, 2.0rpg, 2.2apg, 2FGP: 43.1%, 3FGP: 25.0%, FT: 55.9%. In 2007-2008, he played for USC Heidelberg (Germany-ProA, starting five): 14 games: 14.4ppg, 4.4rpg, Assists-5 (4.6apg), 2.3spg, 2FGP: 54%, 3FGP: 27.3%, FT: 58.5%, left in Jan.'08 due to shoulder injury, in Feb.'08 moved to Digibu Baskets Paderborn (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 13 games: 6.3ppg, 3.0rpg, 2.4apg, 2FGP: 51.8%, 3PT: 14.3%, FT: 70.0%. Last season, he played in the PRO A for Proveo Merlins Crailsheim (Germany-ProA, starting five): 27 games: 16.9ppg, 7.1rpg, Assists-3 (5.4apg), 1.1spg, FGP: 51.8%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 62.8%. He spoke with eurobasket about the Bamberg-Bremerhaven playoff series.

Who will win the Bamberg-Bremerhaven?

Bamberg in this series in 4 games.

How important will new pickups Brewer and Jamison be for bremerhaven?

They will be very important for sure, because in a 5 game series your reserves are very important and match ups will be a key in this series.

Advantage guard play and why

I like Bambergs guards, Goldsberry controls the game and then you got Roberts who comes into the game and makes them a better team when he is on the court. Gavel brings a lot to the table as well as the Tadda as well and not to mention Casey jacobsen who brings so much as a player.

Advantage forwards and why

Bamberg once again, any time you talk about Suput then an advantage goes there. He causes so many match up problems, because he is an inside outside guy. Then you have Hines coming into the game and bringing his athleticsm and also Terry as well.

Advantage centers and why?

I think this one is even but Tibor has size and if he controls the paint then it wont look good for Bremerhaven.

Bench and why?

Bamberg is the deepest team in the league so they have a major advantage here as well.

Expereince and why?

Bamberg has played internationally all season long and have a lot of experience. I think Bamberg has the advantage here as well.

Coaching and why?

Both coaches are great coaches. I played for Doug and I know he will have a great game plan in each game. Chris is also a great coach and will have his team prepared as well.

How will Bamberg win this series

Bamberg just needs to do what they have been doing all season and just play hard and use there depth to their advantage.

How will Bremerhaven win this series?

Bremerhaven needs to control the tempo and not give up easy baskets and just find a way to control the boards and their second unit has to be ready to go to give starters a rest at all times.

Thanks John for the chat.

Kevin Hamilton (New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig) Pregame Thoughts To Game 3 Against The Artland Dragons - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
Kevin Hamilton (193-G-84, agency: Limelight Hoops, college: Holy Cross) is a 26 year old 193cm guard from Queens Village, New York. This season, he is playing for The New York Phantoms Braunschweig. He played at Holy Cross from 2002-2006 and played together with ex Skyliner Keith Simmons. In his senior year, he played 31 games averaging 17.6ppg, 6.3rpg, 3.5apg, 3.3spg, FG: 38.1%, 3PT: 33.2%, FT: 77.7%. In his rookie season 2006-2007, he came to Europe and played in Poland for Polpak Swiecie playing 19 games and averaging 13.0ppg, 4.5rpg, 3.8apg, Steals-2 (2.3spg), 2FGP: 44.8%, 3PT: 38.2%, FT: 64.2%. In 2007-2008, he played in France for Besancon Basket Comte Doubs (France-ProB) playing 2 games and averaging 6.0ppg, 2.5rpg, 2.5apg. He also had a short tenure in Mexico with Pioneros de Quintana Roo-Cancun. In 2008-2009, he returned back to Poland to play for SKK Kotwica Kolobrzeg playing 32 games averaging 11.0ppg, 5.1rpg, Assists-1 (6.4apg), Steals-1 (2.8spg), FGP: 43.6%, 3PT: 32.6%, FT: 66.5%. He was not lazy in the last three summers staying in game shape and playing in Puerto Rico playing 90 games. In tue summer of 2009, he played for Indios de Mayaguez playing 35 games and averaging 10.5ppg, 4.7rpg, Assists-3 (6.3apg), Steals-2 (1.7spg), FGP: 45.4%, 3PT: 28.1%, FT: 70.6%. His father was a draft pick of The Boston Celtics in 1980. Last season, he played his first season in Braunschweig playing 39 games: 10.1ppg, 3.8rpg, Assists-3 (5.4apg), Steals-2 (1.9spg), FGP: 63.7%, 3PT: 33.9%, FT: 77.6%. He spoke to eurobasket before game 3 against The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig May 7th.

A big 94-81 win in game 2 at home. What things did Braunschweig learn from the game one loss that they took into game 2?

I think most importantly we were just too timid. They took us out of a couple of our plays and we didn't really adjust well. We did a better job of it this last game.

Braunschweig ha dthe huge 46-30 lead at halftime. What was key for Braunschweig having the comfortable lead?

Getting stops defensively and getting some easy baskets.

Braunschweig had the big 73-49 lead after 30 minutes. Braunschweig allowed Artland to score 32 points in the fourth quarter. What was the reason for the letup on defense?

You are only going to hold off a good team like that for so long. Lucky we were in a pretty good position when they made their run.

Braunschweig had problems with Tyrese Rice who scored 21 points had six assists and six steals, but how important was it limiting Darren Fenn to 5 shots. I believe Braunschweig did a decent job against the Artland big men.

Our bigs did a great job.

How well has Uros Duvnjak developed since the TOP 4 in Bamberg. He had a solid game from the bench?

Uros has played real well. It was a tough situation for him to join the team at this stage and still be productive but he has done a great job and been a big part of our success.

What will be key to getting your first win in Artland this season after two loses?

Defense.

The Miami Heat are up 2-0. Are the Celtics finished?

Yup.

What will the Boston Celtics have to do better in game 3 and 4 in Boston?

Find a way to stop contain Lebron and Dwade.

Derrick Rose showed some real emotion in his NBA mvp speech showing tears. Were you surprised by his reaction?

I was a little surprised because I had never seen him like that but I am happy for him. He deserved it.

Thanks Kev for the chat.

Bryan Bailey (Artland Dragons) The Little Things Will Win Game 3 Against The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
Bryan Bailey (185-G-80, agency: Lanshire Group, college: Bucknell) is a 30 year old 185cm combo guard that is playing his 9th professional basketball season playing his 4th with The Artland Dragons. He is a true team leader both on and off the court. He possesses a diverse game, with an ability to stroke the long-range jumper, penetrate to the rim or distribute the ball. He is solid on the defensive end of the floor as well. His fierce competitive drive rubs off on his teammates. He started his professional basketball career at Bucknell and player there from 1998-2002 and in his senior year played 17games averaging 18.1ppg,5.3rpg,2.4apg. He made All-Patriot League 1st Team in 2001 and 2002. In 2002-2003, he started his professional basketball season in Germany with DJK S. Oliver Wurzburg (Germany-1Bundesliga, starting five): 26 games, 15.4ppg, 3.8rpg, 1.4spg. In 2003-2004, he played in Holland for Landstede Zwolle (Holland-Eredivisie, starting five): 35 games: 17.5ppg, 4.0rpg, 3.1apg, 2.4spg, 0.2bpg. He then played with The Artland Dragons from 2004-2007 reaching the league and cup final in 2007. His best statistical season was 2005-2006 playing 33 games and averaging 11.4ppg, 2.8rpg, 2.7apg, 1.7spg, 2FGP: 46.9%, 3PT: 25.3%. In 2007-2008, he played with Bosna ASA BH Telecom Sarajevo (Bosnia-D1, starting five): ULEB Cup: 12 games: 10.3ppg, 2.3rpg, 4.5apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 54.1%, 3PT: 20.8%, FT: 84.3%. In 2008-2009, he played in Poland for PGE Turow Zgorzelec (Poland-DBE): Eurocup: 6 games: 7.3ppg, 2.7rpg, 1.7apg, 1.7spg; Polish League: 32 games: 8.0ppg, 1.8rpg, 2.8apg, FGP: 51.9%, 3PT: 32.4%, FT: 77.0%. Last season, he played with the EWE Baskets Oldenburg playing Euroleague: 4 games: 8.3ppg, 1.5rpg, 1.8apg; German League: 6 games: 9.3ppg, 1.3apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 36.4%, FT: 89.7%. He sat down and spoke with Eurobasket before game 3 against The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig May 7th.

A tough 94-81 loss in game 2 in Braunschweig. What is always toughest playing a game 2 on the road after winning game one?

Road games are always tough when you have a loud crowd that is into the game.

Braunschweig had the huge 46-30 lead at halftime. What was key for Artland not being closer?

We did not execute our plays precisely and we were playing without focus.

Braunschweig had the big 73-49 lead after 30 minutes. Artland came back scoring 32 points in the last quarter. What adjustments did Artland make in the fourth quarter in comeback?

We made some hustle plays and got some easy baskets. But it was a little too late.

How tough was it stopping Brandon Thomas? He seemed to be in the zone with 26 points.

He got it going early in the first quarter. Once that happened, it was tough to stop him.

What will be key to getting the game 3 win at home? Is there anything a team can change or doesnt come down to the very little things?

I think the little things will win the game. We have to stay concentrated on both ends of the floor

The Miami Heat are up 2-0. Are the Celtics finished?

I wouldn't say they are finished, but its going to be tough to come back down 2 games.

What will the Boston Celtics have to do better in game 3 and 4 in Boston?

They have to be able to keep the Heat in a half court game and reduce their turnovers.

Derrick Rose showed some real emotion in his NBA mvp speech showing tears. Were you surprised by his reaction?

Not really. He's a pretty humble guy.

Thanks Bryan for the chat.

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

GREECE

Panathinaikos in another European final!!! - by Chris Mammides
Panathinaikos Athens of Coach Zeljko Obradovic will participate in the Euroleague's final on Sunday after beating the Italian Sienna in a game which ended just some minutes ago! The MVP of the game was the young and talented Nick Calathes (198-G-89, college: Florida) in his best game since his arrival in Panathinaikos Athens! The international guard scored 17 points and was by far the top scorer of the Green team who saw its members playing like a real team with specific target and mission, the finals on Sunday. The mission accomplished!! Panathinaikos Athens - Siena 77-69

About the game now, the derby begun with both teams with their head coaches developing some test-tactics and the two teams not to score quite often but with the Italians being much better and closing the first half with a deficit of five points! Dimitris Diamantidis changed roles with Calathes as the first had pure organizational duties and the second took 3D's role and was scoring. Both teams were very bad in shooting and especially from the arc but the Italians were much better in the rebounding sector where they grabbed double the number rebounds than the Greek team.

The second period started exactly where it stopped with the Italians of Siena having the small deficit and Panathianikos losing nearly all the rebounds. A change that Zeljko Obradovic made five minutes before the end of the game when Ian Vougioukas (212-C/F-85, college: St.Louis) got into the game changed the rythm of the game and Panathinaikos Athens with an amazing crescent from the arc (three 3pointers on teh row) went to he half time with a four points deficit 40-36!

It was obvious that Zeljko Obradovic changed his tactics and the Italians delay a bit to realizing it and it was disaster for them as the experience of the Green players made the difference in the particular momentum of the game. Panathinaikos Athens took the initiatives for good getting a deficit to as many as 12 points 52-40 three minutes before the end of the 3rd period with Antonis Fotsis (210-F-81), Batiste and Calathes being the top perfomers and important help from Ian Vougioukas and 3D. The third quarter finally ended to nine points 57-69. Panathinaikos Athens players were simply playing a controlled basketball just to keep the deficit to 'Safe' figures for them.

the 4th and final quarter was one and the same as the previous two with Panathinaikos Athens leading and Siena following up until Malik Hurston and Shownrook scored two three pointers on the row and cut the deficit to five. Zeljko Obradovic took the time-out, gave the necessary briefing to his players and the rest is history!! Panathinaikos Athens will try against Real Madrd or Macabi Tel Aviv to win his sixth European title!

The quarters of this first semi-final were: 17-21, 40-36, 56-47, 77-69

Top scorers for the Greens were Calathes with 17, Batiste with 16 (most of them in the 4th period) and the 'silent' Fotsis with 14 points. 3D scored 8 points bust gave 8 assists too!

From Coach Pianicani's team top scorer was the Lithuanian Kaukenas with 13 followed by Herston who scored 12!

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HOLLAND

Dutch Basketball League Playoffs: Gas Terra Flames, ZZ Leiden Win, On Step Closer To Finals - by Sanders Jackson

Thursday night in the DBL semis, both the defending Dutch champion Gas Terra Flames and #1 seed ZZ Leiden got the job done at home, with the Flames having a strong 2nd half in a blowout win over Eiffel Towers, and ZZ Leiden having a strong finish to pull away from Magixx Kidsright.

In the Martiniplaza in the Gas Terra Flames-Eiffel Towers clash, it was a scary moment in the first minutes of the game when DBL MVP Jason Dourisseau (196-G-83, college: Nebraska) left the game with an upper leg injury after a hard fall. Dourisseau would not return, and his status for Game #4 is unclear. But the Flames would not be fazed, with the team of head coach Marco van den Berg remaining focused on the task at hand. After a 33-31 halftime score, the Flames would break free in the second half to win convincingly 88-63.

The three-point line was friendlier to the Flames, making a playoff-high 12 three-pointers while also defending the three-point well, holding the guests to only 5 of 20. As has been the entire series, the Flames dominated the glass, with a 48-33 advantage (24 offensive), as well as forcing the Eiffel backcourt combination of Frank Turner (178-G-88, agency: Court Side, college: Canisius) and Rogier Jansen (188-G-84, agency: Court Side) to cough up the ball 10 times. Kees Akerboom (200-F-83, agency: Court Side) was also shut down, going only 1 for 7. Steve Ross (201-G/F-80, agency: Court Side, college: Santa Clara) led the Flames with a double-double of 16 pts. and 11 rebounds. Turner led Eiffel with a game-high 17 pts. The Flames have a chance to close out the series and return to the Dutch finals on Sunday in Den Bosch.

In the Vijfmeihal it was a dogfight in the second half, but ZZ Leiden captain Seamus Boxley (201-F-82, college: Portland St.) showed who had the most fight in him had, with a strong finish to helped overcome a Magixx comeback in a 70-62 win. With Magixx leading 59-57 in crunch time, Boxley would get two straight scores and an assist for a

Jesse Smith (211-F/C-82, college: Idaho St.) dunk to give ZZ the mental edge it needed to seal the deal. A Zaire Taylor (193-G-86, agency: 540 Sports, college: Missouri) three-pointer brought the guests closer to 65-62, but the #1 seed would hold the fort in the end. Boxley would led ZZ with a double-double of 16 pts. and 11 rebounds. The team of DBL Coach-of-the-Year Toon van Helfteren have a chance to close out the series on Sunday in Nijmegen.

Stats Leaders - Eredivisie

Points Per Game

Glenn STOKES
  BS Weert
  (170-G-76)
  Avg: 17

1. Stokes, BS Weert	17.0
2. Blue, Giants	16.3
3. Boxley, ZZ Leiden	15.7
4. Laing, Magixx	15.2
5. Mills, Eiffel Towe.	14.9
6. Tiedeman, Giants	14.9
7. McGhee, ZZ Leiden	14.7
8. Kimbrough, Giants	14.7
9. Brown, DeFriesland	14.6
10. Hilliman, Rotterd.	14.5

Rebounds Per Game

Robbie SIHOTA
  Rotterdam
  (198-F-87)
  Avg: 10.6

1. Sihota, Rotterdam	10.6
2. McDermott, Magixx	10.1
3. Hilliman, Rotterdam	9.6
4. Haryasz, GasTerra	9.4
5. Sanchez, DeFriesl.	8.8
6. Griffin, Giants	8.4
7. Ellis, GasTerra	8.1
8. de Randamie, ABC	8.0
9. McGhee, ZZ Leiden	7.8
10. Jackson, Eiffel T.	7.8

Assists Per Game

Frank TURNER
  Eiffel T.
  (178-G-88)
  Avg: 5.4

1. Turner, Eiffel T.	5.4
2. Bauscher, GasTerra	4.8
3. Stokes, BS Weert	4.0
4. Kimbrough, Giants	3.9
5. Jansen, Eiffel T.	3.7
6. Marshall, Lands.	3.6
7. Slagter, ZZ Leiden	3.5
8. Williams, DeFriesl.	3.3
9. Bostain, GasTerra	3.3
10. Mladenovic, Rotte.	3.1

Steals Per Game

Jason DOURISSEAU
  GasTe.
  (196-G-83)
  Avg: 2.3

1. Dourisseau, GasTe.	2.3
2. Turner, Eiffel T.	2.2
3. Stokes, BS Weert	2.1
4. Marshall, Lands.	2.1
5. Jackson, ZZ Leiden	2.1
6. Taylor, Magixx	2.1
7. McDermott, Magixx	2.0
8. McGhee, ZZ Leiden	1.9
9. Bostain, GasTerra	1.9
10. de Jong, ZZ Leid.	1.9

Blocks Per Game

Marcel AARTS
  Eiffel T.
  (213-C-83)
  Avg: 1.3

1. Aarts, Eiffel T.	1.3
2. Hairston, BS Weert	1.3
3. Blue, Giants	1.1
4. Hilliman, Rotterdam	1.0
5. Mullery, Landstede	0.9
6. McDermott, Magixx	0.9
7. Hamm, BS Weert	0.9
8. Hulzebos, Landste.	0.8
9. Boxley, ZZ Leiden	0.8
10. Minter, BS Weert	0.8

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IBL

Point Guard Lawrence Tyson impresses at tryouts- will play with Portland Chinooks - by Trask Frost
A six foot two point guard from Cal San Bernandino, Lawrence Tyson averaged 24 points per game in four USA All Stars games played in just two days. 'Tyson was the most impressive point guard seen in years' says the Portland Chinooks head coach Terrance Dickens. Tyson was extremely fast, a true point guard and a big time scorer. To view more information about the Portland Chinooks or the International Basketball League, visit the web site- www.iblhoopsonline.com.

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ICELAND

Jakob Sigurdarson leads Sundsvall Dragons to Swedish league title - by Eurobasket News
Jakob Sigurdarson (192-G-82, college: Birmingham Souther) just finished wonderful season with his team Sundsvall Dragons. The Icelandic scoring machine had 31 points last night in decisive Game Seven of the Swedish league Finals. His Dragons blasted Norrkoping Dolphins 102-83 winning the title with 4-3 in the Finals. Last time they did it in 2009. Sigurdarson spent 36 minutes on the court in this game and made 7 of 11 attempts from behind the arc. He appeared 51 times in the league this season averaging 16.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Jakob Sigurdarson is not the only Icelandic player in Sundsvall as there is also Hlynur Baeringsson (200-F/C-82). He helped Dragons this season with 13.2 ppg, 9.9 rpg and 3.9 rpg. Baeringsson joined them last summer from Ungmennafelagio Snaefell. They won the double last season.

Baeringson & Sigurdarson Swedish Champion 2011 - by Siggi Hjorleifsson
Sundsvall Dragons are Swedish Champions 2011 after one of the best final series ever as they say in Sweden. Two Icelandic players Hlynur Baeringsson (200-F/C-82) ( Agent. Icebasket) & Jakob Sigurdarson (192-G-82, college: Birmingham Souther) (Agent. Icebasket) have been key players for the Dragons. Sigurdarson is average the most minutes of all the players which shows how important he has been & Baeringson the smallest cener in the league is the leagues leading rebounder.
In game 6 away everybody in the gym thought the game was over when Norrkoping scored a basket to get the lead up to 3 points and about 6 sec left. But there was one player who did not agree on it was over, drippling from almost endline up the court and nail down a three pointer 2 sec left to send the game to overtime. Jakob Sigurdarson (192-G-82, college: Birmingham Souther) was the hero and in overtime he scored 5 of teams 8 points to secure a 1 point win. Sigurdarson ended the game with 28 points 6 rebounds and 2 assist. Baeringson also did a great job with 6 points, 9 rebs & 5 assist.
In game 7 the first half was owned by Sigurdarson who could hardly miss a shot and scored 26 points in first half including 6 out of 7 three pointers and ended the game with 31 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assist. Shooting 60% from 2 points, 64% from three points & 80% from free throw line.
Hlynur Baeringsson (200-F/C-82) also had a very good game with 9 oints, 9 rebounds & 3 assist and great defense on Norrkoping main inside player and keft him down to 4 points $ 1 rebound.
Jakob Sigurdarson (192-G-82, college: Birmingham Souther) was voted MVP of the game. Great season over for Sundsvall Dragons who also are Regular Season Champions

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ISRAEL

Stats Leaders - National League

Points Per Game

Brian ASBURY
  Hapoel T-A
  (200-F-86)
  Avg: 27

1. Asbury, Hapoel T-A	27.0
2. Hall, Beer Yaakov	24.3
3. Moragne, Hapoel B.	23.4
4. Delaney, Maccabi	22.6
5. Clemente, Megido.	22.6
6. Miller, Megido/Y.	22.0
7. Young, Hod Hashar.	20.8
8. Gomez, Beer Yaakov	20.4
9. Timberlake, Elitzu.	20.2
10. Wade, Lev Hashar.	19.6

Rebounds Per Game

Jason JOHNSON
  Ironi N.
  (203-F-86)
  Avg: 12.6

1. Johnson, Ironi N.	12.6
2. Rosefelt, Ironi R.	11.6
3. Clemente, Megido.	11.4
4. Brandy, Hod H.	10.1
5. Ibrahim, Kohav Y.	9.8
6. McFarlin, Lev H.	9.0
7. Wade, Lev Hasharon	9.0
8. Hardin, Elitzur Ya.	8.9
9. Strong, Hapoel T.	8.9
10. Moragne, Hapoel B.	8.8

Assists Per Game

Ofir FARHI
  Beer Yaakov
  (187-G-86)
  Avg: 6.6

1. Farhi, Beer Yaakov	6.6
2. Dobie, Lev Hashar.	6.4
3. Lahat, Hapoel T-A	6.4
4. Shaashoua, Hapoel	5.9
5. Bet-Yosef, Beer Y.	5.8
6. Eliyahu, Hapoel Af.	5.7
7. Fisher, Ironi R.	4.7
8. Timor, Hapoel Tivon	4.6
9. Berkowitz, Elitzu.	4.4
10. Harush, Kohav Yair	4.3

Steals Per Game

Nate MILLER
  Megido/Y.
  (193-F-87)
  Avg: 3.1

1. Miller, Megido/Y.	3.1
2. Eliyahu, Hapoel Af.	2.6
3. Bochman, Beer Y.	2.5
4. Delaney, Maccabi	2.2
5. Markson, Hapoel A.	2.2
6. Shaashoua, Hapoel	2.1
7. Fisher, Ironi R.	2.0
8. Young, Hod Hashar.	2.0
9. Naor, Hapoel T-A	2.0
10. Bet-Yosef, Beer	1.9

Blocks Per Game

Adrian UTER
  Hapoel T-A
  (201-F/C-84)
  Avg: 2.1

1. Utter, Hapoel T-A	2.1
2. Colwell, Ironi R.	2.0
3. Rosefelt, Ironi R.	2.0
4. Strong, Hapoel T.	1.9
5. Aidan, Hapoel Beeri	1.7
6. Johnson, Ironi N.	1.5
7. Hugee, Hapoel Afu.	1.5
8. Hardin, Elitzur Ya.	1.4
9. Brandy, Hod H.	1.2
10. Markson, Hapoel A.	1.2

Premier League Round 2 of Quarter-Finals - by Eurobasket News
Hapoel Holon - Galil Gilboa 67-66

Hapoel Holon earned the narrow win over visiting Galil Gilboa to level the quarterfinal series. The hosts trailed by 1 point after three quarters before their 15-13 charge, which allowed them to win the game. Hapoel Holon forced 21 Galil Gilboa turnovers. The best player for the winners was American power forward Rich Melzer (203-79, college: Wisc.-RiverFal., agency: Court Side) who scored 22 points and 7 rebounds. The former international point guard Moran Roth (183-82) chipped in 17 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists. American power forward Warren Carter (205-85, college: Illinois) produced 16 points and 9 rebounds and his fellow American import power forward Marco Killingsworth (202-82, college: Indiana) added 13 points and 6 rebounds respectively for the guests.
Top scorers:
Galil Gilboa: W.Carter 16+9reb+2ast, M.Killingsworth 13+6reb+1ast, J.McClinton 11+2reb+2ast, D.Yavzuri 9+2reb+2ast, C.Fells 7+3reb+3ast, I.Kozikaro 5+5reb
Hapoel Holon: R.Melzer 22+7reb+2ast, M.Roth 17+5reb+9ast, A.Ben David 10+3reb+2ast, K.Powell 7+7reb+2ast, S.Daniel 6+5reb+2ast, N.Cohen 5+8reb

Elitzur Netanya - Maccabi T-A 78-92

Maccabi Tel-Aviv celebrated the second straight win over Elitzur Netanya. Elitzur Netanya was ahead by 1 point at the halftime before a 50-35 second half run of Maccabi T-A. They outrebounded Elitzur Netanya 44-29 including a 35-20 advantage in defensive rebounds. It was a great shooting night for Maccabi T-A especially from behind the arc, where they had solid 55.0 percentage. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 24 assists. 25 personal fouls committed by Elitzur Netanya helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. American point guard Jeremy Pargo (188-86, college: Gonzaga, agency: Priority Sports) notched 19 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists to lead the effort and the former international forward David Blu (201-80, college: USC) supported him with 19 points and 5 rebounds. Five Maccabi T-A players scored in double figures. Even 25 points and 4 assists by American guard Adrian Banks (191-86, college: NW Mississippi CC) did not help to save the game for Elitzur Netanya. His fellow American import forward Romeo Travis (201-84, college: Akron) added 21 points and 7 rebounds for the hosts. Both coaches used bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games.
Top scorers:
Elitzur Netanya: A.Banks 25+1reb+4ast, R.Travis 21+7reb+1ast, T.Washam 9+3reb+2ast, L.Segev 8+2reb+1ast, E.Brown 6+3reb+1ast, S.Brener 4+6reb+5ast
Maccabi T-A: D.Blu 19+5reb+1ast, J.Pargo 19+6reb+7ast, C.Eidson 11+6reb+7ast, R.Hendrix 11+11reb+1ast, S.Schortsanitis 10+6reb+2ast, G.Pnini 8+3ast

Maccabi Ashdod - Hapoel J-M 68-69

Hapoel Jerusalem escaped with a narrow road win over Maccabi Ashdod to take 2-0 lead in the series. The guests were tied after three quarters but managed to speed up in last quarter eventually winning the game. Hapoel J-M forced 19 Maccabi Ashdod turnovers. American guard Jason Rich (191-86) saved the victory by scoring 29 points. International point guard Yogev Ohayon (189-87, agency: Lanshire Group) contributed with 10 points and 5 assists for the winners. Hapoel J-M's coach Oded Katash allowed to play the deep bench players in such tough game. American swingman Josh Carter (201-88, college: Texas A&M) replied with 21 points and his fellow American import power forward Josh Duncan (203-86) added 9 points and 11 rebounds in the effort for Maccabi Ashdod.
Top scorers:
Maccabi Ashdod: J.Carter 21+3reb, N.Berkowitz 10+2reb+3ast, M.Tapiro 10+5reb+2ast, O.Lafayette 9+1reb+2ast, J.Duncan 9+11reb+3ast, J.Martin 6+2reb
Hapoel J-M: J.Rich 29+3reb+1ast, Y.Ohayon 10+2reb+5ast, Y.Naimy 8+1reb+4ast, S.Clancy 7+4reb, J.Williams 7+3reb+1ast, B.Randle 5+7reb+2ast

Maccabi Rishon - Bnei Hasharon 81-79

Maccabi Rishon overcame Bnei Hasharon to square things up in the quarterfinal series. The hosts took control from the first minutes by winning the initial quarter 21-18. But Bnei Hasharon won second period 17-15. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. The game was decided in the last minutes when Maccabi Rishon won last quarter 23-23. They made 22-of-26 free shots (84.6 percent) during the game. The game was dominated by American players. Power forward Aaron McGhee (203-79, college: Oklahoma) had a double-double by scoring 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and power forward Raymar Morgan (202-88, college: Michigan St.) chipped in 17 points and 9 rebounds during the contest. point guard Ronald Steele (187-86, college: Alabama, agency: SportsTalent) responded with 17 points and 5 assists and power forward Lee Nailon (204-75, college: TCU, agency: Basket Law/NM Services) scored 18 points. Four Bnei Hasharon players scored in double figures.
Top scorers:
Bnei Hasharon: L.Nailon 18+1reb+2ast, R.Steele 17+4reb+5ast, B.Rice 13+5reb+1ast, D.Grunfeld 12+2reb+4ast, E.Katz 8+4reb+2ast, F.Rivera 6+2reb+2ast
Maccabi Rishon: A.McGhee 20+10reb+1ast, R.Morgan 17+9reb+3ast, Y.Orland 13, N.Hanochi 13+3reb+1ast, D.Mitchell 9+6reb+3ast, I.Swann 6+3reb+6ast

National League Round 1 of Finals. Maccabi HBK topple Hapoel - by Eurobasket News
Hapoel T-A - Maccabi HBK 76-86

Maccabi Habikaa earned the first win in the Finals. They upset Hapoel Tel-Aviv on the road. The guests trailed by 1 point at the halftime before their 43-32 charge in the second half, which allowed them to win the game. Maccabi HBK made 21-of-27 free shots (77.8 percent) during the game. It was a great shooting night for Maccabi HBK especially from behind the arc, where they had solid 52.4 percentage. 27 personal fouls committed by Hapoel T-A helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. American guard Paul Delaney (188-86, college: UAB, agency: Lanshire Group) stepped up with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 11 rebounds for the winners and his fellow American import forward Steffon Bradford (200-78, college: Nebraska, agency: Pro Partner Sports Management) chipped in 17 points and 13 rebounds. At the losing side American forward Brian Asbury (200-86, college: Miami, FL) responded with 18 points and 7 rebounds and Jamaican-American power forward Adrian Uter (201-84, college: Hofstra, agency: Gross Zeev ISA) scored 16 points and 7 rebounds. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures.
Top scorers:
Hapoel T-A: B.Asbury 18+7reb+1ast, A.Uter 16+7reb+1ast, G.Eytan 16+1reb, S.Haimovitch 11+2reb+2ast, Y.Shvartzman 9+4reb+1ast, Y.Lahat 4+3reb+5ast
Maccabi HBK: P.Delaney 23+11reb+3ast, I.Grinboim 17+7ast, S.Bradford 17+13reb+1ast, I.Lev 10+4reb+1ast, N.Matalon 6+4reb, E.Skverer 6+2reb+2ast

EuroLeague Final Four 2011 - Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 82 Real Madrid 63 - by Eurobasket News
Maccabi Tel Aviv and Real Madrid took to the floor in the second semi-final of EuroLeague Final Four 2011in Barcelona looking to join Panathinaikos in the Final. While the game may have been taking place on Spanish soil it was noticeable inside the Arena that Real fans were outnumbered by Maccabi fans by as many as ten to one. In a sea of yellow shirts, the game could have been being played in Tel Aviv itself. Ante Tomic (217-C-87) opened the scoring in the game for Real and it was quickly followed by a nice jump shot by Felipe Reyes (203-F/C-80) as Real started strongly. It was Guy Pnini (200-F/G-83) who finally got Maccabi off and running with a big triple and by the time Jeremy Pargo (188-PG-86, agency: Priority Sports, college: Gonzaga) also converted from downtown, he had tied the game up at 8-8 with just under three minutes to play in the opening period.

An unsportsmanlike foul on Richard Hendrix gave Real Madrid the opportunity to restore their advantage but Ante Tomic missed both resulting free-throws. Both teams were tied down offensively but another outside score, this time by Pnini again helped his team into a 14-10 lead with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter. He was then back in the thick of the action after he was called for an unsportsmanlike foul for a heavy foul uner the hoop on D'or Fischer who cut the gap to leave Maccabi Tel Aviv 14-12 in front after the first period.

David Blu continued the excellent work of Maccabi from range as he buried a three-pointer and that kept the small numbr of Real fans even quieter than they already were. Reyes went to work inside and got one to drop as Real looked to get some momentum. That was always going to be difficult with Pnini still having the hot hand from downtown with yet another triple and when Sofoklis Schortstanitis flushed one down it was time for a Madrid time-out and 22-14 behind with 6:30 to go until the midway point of the game.

Madrid needed a lift badly and it was provided in the form of a first three-pointer of the game. Pablo Prigioni took Real to one of seven from outside which was in stark contrast to Maccabi who were five of seven from the arc and that was the story of the game. Real were always going to compete inside with the class and warrior like play from Reyes and he brought the Spanish side to within one shot of Maccabi at 22-19 approaching the midway point of the second period. A nice reverse lay-up by Chuck Eidson (202-F/G-80, agency: Court Side, college: S.Carolina) kept Maccabi in front but Prigioni was beginning to warm up as another three ensured Madrid posted an 8-2 run. That was the extended further with another score as Madrid tied things up through Tomic at 24-24.

Maccabi then got their noses back in thefront sparked by a big dunk by Hendrix but Tomic was supporting Reyes well for Madrid to keep things tight as the teams left court with Maccabi 32-29 ahead at the half.

They extended their advantage during the early exchanges when the game resumed with Schortstanitis getting the job done inside and then one of the highlights of day one as Jeremy Pargo threw one down to send the Maccabi fans into absolute raptures and take his team out to a 40-32 lead. After a quiet first half, Sergio Llull (190-G-87) finally came alive with a three-pointer for Real but Maccabi supporters were still singing when Pargo then finished inside after a great spin-move.

After being pretty much the sole threat from downtown during the first half for Madrid, Pablo Prigioni continued his good work after draning another from the corner and that brought the Spanish side to within four at 42-38 with five minutes of the penultimate quarter remaining. Carlos Suarez then drained a triple from the top with a hand right in his face and suddenly Real had the momentum and David Blatt was looking agitated in the sideline. It was also around the same time Felipe Reyes moved on to a double-double in the game.

However Maccabi had other ideas and Blatt looked a lot more comfortable when his team made a big push in the closing minutes of the quarter. With 90 seconds remaining they led 50-43 and in a pivotal moment of the game, D'Or Fischer threw the ball away from under his own basket on the in-bound and that gave a gleeful Chuck Eidson a three point play as they went into a double figure lead at 53-43. While Real scored two of the last thre baskets in the period, Maccabi still held a healthy lead at 55-47 heading into the last ten minutes.

Real needed a strong start but it didn't arrive and they found themselves 14 points behind at 63-49 after successive threes by Eidson and Pargo. Maccabi threatened to blow the game wide open and Madrid were not yet on the floor but certainly on the ropes and in need of some inspiration. Some might argue that with six minutes left when David Blu put Maccabi 17 ahead, Real needed divine intervention. You would think by this point the Spanish team might have learned their lesson and tightened up their perimeter defence but the shooting class from the arc continued as Eidson made another triple.

Maccabi had one foot in the Final already and only a collapse of spectacularly epic proportions would deny them. When Schortsanitis scored inside and took it out to a twenty point margin it was all over at 71-51. Real could make no impression whatsoever as the downtown party for Maccabi continued to the final buzzer as they ran out comfortable 82-63 winners to face Panathinaikos in the 2011 Final.

The win really came courtesy of a stupendous 12 triples in the game with Chuck Eidson finishing with 19 points including 3 of 4 from outside as well as 6 steals and 6 rebounds. Guy Pnini was 4 of 6 from the arc while for Real, Reyes had a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds.

By Paul Nilsen

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ITALY

EuroLeague Final Four 2011 - Panathinaikos 77-69 Montepaschi Siena - by Paul Nilsen
EuroLeague 2011 tipped off in Barcelona at the Palau Sant Jordi amidst a sea of green as Montepaschi Siena tipped off against Panathinaikos in the first of the semi-finals and it was the Italian side that got the scoring underway in an impressive first quarter. Ksistof Lavrinovic (210-C-79) grabbed the first basket of the tournament for Siena and they continued to hold on to their lead for much of the first quarter - thanks mainly indeed to Lavrinovic who finished the period with 7 points. However it was the action in the last 20 seconds of the quarter which proved to be the real talking point as a triple was ruled out for Panthinaikos after basket interference was called on Mike Batiste (203-F-77, college: Arizona St.) and to compound the rage of the Greek fans, Nikos Zsis drained a buzzer beater down the other end to hand Montepaschi a 21-17 first quarter lead.

The atmosphere inside the Arena had a real edge to it going into the second quarter with the Maccabi and Madrid fans also beginning to filter inside ahead of their match up in the second semi-final of the day. Things then had a real edge on court too as Drew Nicholas drained a triple only for Panathinaikos joy to be tempered by an unsportsmanlike foul being called under the basket on Romain Sato. That helped Montepaschi maintain their cushion and three minutes into the second quarter, they still led at 26-20. However it wasn't all good news for the team with the lead after two quick fouls called on Lavrinovic meant he had to take a quick seat on the bench with three fouls to his name and almost six minutes of the first half still remaining.

Both teams were labouring at times and Siena could have made things worse for Panathinaikos had Shaun Stonerook not missed a lay-up. However team-mate BoMcCalebb made him feel better after producing an 'And-1' play to keep the six point margin at 30-24. Or at least it was until Panathinaikos responded with an 'And-1' play of their own via Ian Vougioukas. The Greek side were beginning to turn the screw and when they converted twice from downtown in quick succession through Fotsis and Perperoglou, they found thmselves 35-32 ahead and their fans were appreciative in the stands as they raised the volume another level.

To their credit, Montepaschi held on but things looked a little ominous when Mike Batiste (203-F-77, college: Arizona St.) slammed one down with just over a minute to go until the interval - a break which the Italians needed badly to stop the Panathinaikos momentum. Two foul shots by Dimitris Diamintidis stretched the lead out to five points but a jam by Jeleel Akindele gave the Italian side a real boost at just the right moment when things could have slipped away from them. With 35 seconds left and coming out of a time-out, Panathinaikos had the ball and found themselves back on the line after Fotsis drew a blocking foul on Tomas Ress. He could only convert once and that gave Montepaschi the last possession but Mc Calebb just rimmed out to ensure the Greeks led 40-36 heading into the third quarter.

The difference in the three-point shooting of both teams had been the big difference in the first half with Montepaschi knowing an improvement was required while Panathinaikos had turned the ball over far too many times meaning they also had areas to improve on. Both teams traded a basket each in the opening moments of the second half and there was little else to speak of in a drab four minutes with defences very much on top.

This wasn't necessarily bad news for Montepaschi who were doing a good job defensively on Panathinaikos as they held them to just the one basket in over five minutes of action - even if offensively they weren't any better. Unfortunately their aggressive defence also came at a cost as Lavrinovic picked up his fourth with just under 15 minutes of the game still to play. The margin was of course still four points as it was at the half with still only one basket scored by each team since they emerged from the locker rooms. Someone had to find their range soon and it was Panthinaikos who quickly found themselves seven points in front after a free throw and a beautiful slice to the hoop by Nick Calathes (198-G-89, college: Florida). Not surprisingly time-out was called by Simone Pianigiani as he looked to instil some belief in his team who had dried up completely with two points in seven minutes.

Things looked really tough for the Italians seconds later when Mike Batiste (203-F-77, college: Arizona St.) made a nice jump-shot and just when it looked like the Siena drought had ended with a Milovan Rakovic score, it was wiped off for a push in the back. To run salt into the wounds it was also his fourth foul while down the other end, Panathinaikos opened up the first double-digit advantage of the game to give Montepaschi a mountain to climb. They weren't helping themselves as they felt the game slipping away with their defence crumbling as they left Fotsis with an eternity to line-one up from the perimeter.

At least Malik Hairston responded with a three-pointer to temporarily stop their slump but Panathinaikos were looking comfortabl, even if a two foul-shots by Kaukenas trimmedthe margin to seven points. Thre was then a big potential swing in the momentum of the game when McCalebb rimmed out from downtown which could have cut the defict to just four and that led to Panathinaikos grabbing a score in transition and taking a 56-47 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Montepaschi needed a quick-fire start to have any chance at all of mounting a comeback in the final period and while an early triple helped them reduce the arrears to six again, Diamantidis drilled home a three-ball to reassert control for Panathinaikos. After a brief minute or two without any team really scoring, Shaun Stonerook got the Montepaschi fans on their feet and believing in an unlikely comeback when he continued the shooting fest from outside with a rare triple. That meant with seven minutes left, his team trailed 61-55 and went into a time-out wondering if they had put some doubt into the minds of the Panathinaikos players.

The resounding answer was that they mot definately had not as they held their nerve. Lavrinovic meanwhile picked up his fifth foul and couldn't believe the call during the subsequent time-out. It also signalled the Maccabi fans to show they were able to stake a big claim for the best fans of the weekend as they began their warm-up in style ahead of the next game. That in itself probably suggested that they, along with most other neutrals already had this one down as a Panathinaikos win, eventhough there were still over four minutes to play.

Nobody told Kaukenas it was over as he drained a three and got fouled on his way down to give him the chance of a rare four-point play which he took. However Montepaschi weren't boxing out and a put-back score by Batiste highlighted just why the comeback would take more than some impressive offence. Rakovic made a lay-up to make it a seven point margin at 70-63 with just under three minutes left but there was no stopping the powerful Batiste. Without defensive stops, Montepaschi were never going to get over the hump, even if they were doing a great job on the glass.

Rakovic scored again to bring it back to seven with two minutes to play but his team needed to lock down Panathinaikos and quickly. They did just that on the next offence when they worked down the shotclock and forced a carry call on Perperoglu. When Rakovic scored again, the dream looked alive but that man Batisite went to work down the other end of the floor to great effect once again. As Rakovic finally failed to convert on the next time down, it was effectively all over as Panathinaikos safely saw out the game from the free-throw line to book their place in Sunday's EuroLeague Final with a 77-69 success.

Nick Calathes was named MVP after 17 points and 6 rebounds but mianly because of his efficient 6 of 7 shooting from the field. Kaukenas top scored for Montepaschi with 13 points while Shaun Stonerook finished with 14 rebounds.

A dilettanti Round 2 of Quarter-Finals - by Armando Caporaso

In the second round of the PlayOff (3 days ago) in the group A Brescia obtained the second victory against Perugia for 74-60 thanks a great last quarter (22-12) and at the 17 points of Nicholas Crow (199-F-89) with 5/10 at shoot, 2 blocks and 10 steals! For the others there was 11 points of Mario Jose Ghersetti (200-F-81) with 6 rebounds, 10 points of Lorenzo Gergati (188-G-84) with 4 steals, 9 points of Franko Bushati (188-G-85), 8 points + 6 rebounds and 4 steals for Massimo Farioli (202-F/C-77, agency: Interperformances) and only 5 points but 5 assist for Rodolfo Rombaldoni (190-G-77, agency: Players Group). For the visitors second decisive defeat away from home, 12 points of Mattia Caroldi (185-G-82), 11 points for Simone Bonamente (202-C-79) with 11 rebounds and 8 steals (but 5 turnovers and 5/14 at shoot) and for Marco Pazzi (203-C-79) with 6 rebounds and 10 points + 6 steals and 5 assist for Bernardo Musso (193-G-86).

Important victory of Treviglio on the court of Piacenza (1-1) with the result of 80-70 thanks a good start and a good last quarter guided by the good offensive performance of Andrea Vitale (199-G/F-82, agency: Interperformances) with 15 points in 23 minutes, good job also for Davide Reati (193-G-88) with 12 points and 3 assist, for Gabriele Zanella (204-F/C-81) with 11 points, of Thomas De Min (203-F-86) with the double-double (10+11 rebounds) and for Tommaso Marino (190-G-86, agency: Interperformances) with just 8 points (1/9 at shoot) but 9 fouls suffered and 4 assist. For the hosts the top scorer was Nelson Rizzitiello (198-G/F-84) with 19 points (8/11 total), 15 points and 5 assist for Marco Passera (180-G-82), 12 points for Federico Bolzonella (185-G-84) and German Scarone (190-G-75) and only 5 points for Mirko Trapella (206-F-88) that caught 13 rebounds.

For the group B Ostuni exceeds Ruvo after the defeat in game 1 (77-67) thanks the 30-17 in the first 10 minutes. Silvio Gigena (200-F-75) is the MVP (starting by bench) with 21 points (7/11), 13 rebounds and 4 assist! For the other players there are 14 points of Antonio Ruggiero (190-G-81), 13 points with 8 rebounds and 6 assist for Mario Gigena (198-F-77) (34 points + 21 rebounds + 10 assist for the two Argentinian brothers!), 6 points + 8 rebounds for Francesco Basei (207-C-83) and 8 points with 3 assist of Valerio Circosta (188-G-87). For the Adriatica 15 points of Simone Bonfiglio (181-G-88) with 4 assist, 11 points of Andrea Pilotti (196-F/G-80, agency: Players Group) (3 steals and 4 assist) and for Stefano Provenzano (195-F-86), 8 points of Francesco Modica (203-F-82) and 7 points for Francesco Ihedioha (196-F-86, agency: Interperformances) with as many rebounds.

In the other game Trapani wins easily for 79-48 against S.Antimo (2-0 in the series) with a perfect second half (48-26), 19 points of Luca Bisconti (206-F/C-82) and 11 points for Walter Santarossa (200-F-78) and Francesco Guarino (182-G-79) while for the visitors (without the absent Dante Calabria (194-G-73, college: N.Carolina)) 12 points of Carlo Cantone (187-G-85), single player in double digit.

The results of the first round of the PlayOut:

Bitumcalor Trento - Benacquista Latina 60-74 (F.Ruini 21 pts & 4 stl & 8 reb, D.Zivic 9 reb, A.Forray 5 ass & 7 stl, A.Benevelli-F.Amoroso 18 pts)

Ford Molfetta - Aps Trieste 52-67 (F.Maiocco 21 pts, D.Corral 11 reb & 4 stl, M.Benfatto 11 reb, L.Busca 7 ass, M.Contento 5 stl, O.Petrazzuoli 6 stl)

Bawer Matera- P.Mitchell Pavia 77-62 (P.Biligha 22 pts, A.Lagioia 20 pts, D.Cristelli 9 reb, C.Vico 4 ass, F.Gilardi 5 ass, I.Cisse 2 stl)

SBS Castelletto - Publisys Potenza 85-65 (A.Chiarastella 21 pts, L.Masieri 20 pts & 4 ass, S.Bagnoli 12 reb & 4 ass, D.Sandri 3 blk & 7 ass, M.Giuri 5 ass, A.DeNicolao 4 stl & 4 ass, G.Palombita 7 stl)

Sunday 8/5 game 2!

A dilettanti Round 3 of Quarter-Finals - by Eurobasket News
Ruvo - Ostuni 67-60

Ruvo forced 21 Ostuni turnovers. It was an exceptional evening for forward Francesco Ihedioha (196-86, agency: Interperformances) who led the winners and scored 13 points and 6 rebounds. Guard Davide Bonacini (190-90, agency: Interperformances) accounted for 11 points and 5 rebounds for the winning side. Four Ruvo players scored in double figures. Center Francesco Basei (207-83) came up with a double-double by scoring 10 points and 10 rebounds and naturalized Argentinian forward Silvio Gigena (200-75) added 10 points and 7 rebounds respectively for Ostuni in the defeat.
Top scorers:
Ruvo: F.Ihedioha 13+6reb+1ast, S.Bonfiglio 12+2reb+2ast, D.Bonacini 11+5reb+3ast, A.Pilotti 10+6reb+2ast, A.Zerini 9+6reb+2ast, R.Marzoli 8+3reb+3ast
Ostuni: V.Circosta 10+3reb+3ast, S.Gigena 10+7reb+2ast, F.Basei 10+10reb, D.Morena 9+6reb, A.Ruggiero 8+1reb+3ast, C.Tommasini 5+4reb+2ast

Perugia - Brescia 62-55

The hosts took control from the first minutes by winning first half. But Brescia won fourth quarter 19-18. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. The best player for the winners was naturalized Argentinian guard Bernardo Musso (193-86) who scored 19 points. Center Simone Bonamente (202-79) chipped in 12 points and 6 rebounds. At the other side the best for losing team was naturalized Argentinian forward Mario Jose Ghersetti (200-81) who recorded 14 points and 5 rebounds and power forward Massimo Farioli (202-77, agency: Interperformances) added 9 points and 6 rebounds respectively.
Top scorers:
Perugia: B.Musso 19+4reb+1ast, S.Bonamente 12+6reb+1ast, M.Caroldi 8+2reb, C.Cutolo 6, M.Pazzi 6+5reb+1ast, G.Chiatti 5+5reb+1ast
Brescia: M.Jose Ghersetti 14+5reb, M.Farioli 9+6reb+1ast, S.Stojkov 9, F.Bushati 8+2reb+1ast, M.Rezzano 6+6reb, L.Gergati 5+5reb+1ast

Treviglio - Piacenza 74-68

The hosts trailed by 4 points after three quarters before their 14-10 charge, which allowed them to win the game. It was a good game for power forward Gabriele Zanella (204-81) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 19 points and 12 rebounds. Swingman Andrea Vitale (199-82, agency: Interperformances) contributed with 13 points and 4 steals for the winners. Treviglio's coach Simone Lottici used a ten-player rotation which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. The former international guard German Scarone (190-75) answered with a double-double by scoring 14 points and 11 rebounds and the former international power forward Riccardo Perego (203-81) added 15 points and 9 rebounds in the effort for Piacenza.
Top scorers:
Treviglio: G.Zanella 19+12reb+3ast, T.Marino 15+1reb+1ast, A.Vitale 13+4reb+1ast, T.De Min 9+8reb, R.Castelli 7+10reb, T.Milani 5+4reb+4ast
Piacenza: R.Perego 15+9reb, G.Scarone 14+11reb+3ast, F.Bolzonella 12+3reb, N.Rizzitiello 9+4reb, M.Trapella 8+5reb, R.Cazzaniga 5+9reb+1ast

S.Antimo - Trapani 85-81

Antimo overcame Trapani 85:81 for 1-2 record in the Quarterfinals.

Umana Reyer add Raimonds Gabrans - by Eurobasket News
Umana Reyer continued to strengthen their roster prior to the start of LegaDue playoffs. They announced the signing of Raimonds Gabrans (188-G-84). The 27-year-old guard started the season in Liepajas Lauvas. He tallied 6.8 points, 3.6 boards and 3.0 assists per Baltic League game. In LBL his stats read 6.0 points, 3.3 boards and 2.3 assists. In November Raimonds Gabrans moved to Valmiera. The guard posted 7.8 points, 3.0 boards and 3.0 assists per game in Baltic League with his new team. In LBL his stats reached 12.4 points, 4.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds. Raimonds Gabrans played for Latvia at the 2009 EuroBasket. He averaged 2.0 points, 1.0 board and 1.0 steal per appearance.

Lega2 Round 30: Umana Venezia beats Sigma Barcellona in the most crucial game of the week - by Eurobasket News
The Regular Season in Lega2 just ended.

An exciting game between Top Four teams was played in Venezia. Second ranked Umana Venezia faced 3rd ranked Sigma Barcellona. Host Umana Venezia (21-9) defeated guests from Barcellona (19-11) 91-83. The hosts took control from the first minutes by winning first half. But Sigma Barcellona won third quarter 26-17. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. The game was decided in the last minutes when Umana Venezia won last quarter 23-17. They made 16-of-21 free shots (76.2 percent) during the game. The best player for the winners was American forward Tamar Slay (204-80, college: Marshall) who had a double-double by scoring 27 points and 12 rebounds. The other American import guard Alvin Young (189-75, college: Niagara) chipped in 19 points. At the other side the best for losing team was Scottish-Nigerian power forward Kieron Achara (208-83, college: Duquesne) who recorded a double-double by scoring 23 points and 14 rebounds. Sigma Barcellona's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Umana Venezia claimed the second spot in the ladder. Newly promoted Sigma Barcellona finished in the fifth place.
Leader Fastweb CM delivered the twentieth first victory. This time they crushed 10th ranked Aget Imola (13-17) 92-61 in Casale. It was a good game for the former international forward Tommaso Fantoni (203-85, agency: Players Group) who led his team to a victory with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists (perfect from the field making all six shots). Matteo Malaventura contributed with 18 points for the winners. American guard Trent Whiting (185-76, college: BYU) replied with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for Aget Imola. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Fastweb CM maintains first position with 21-9 record. Aget Imola lost third consecutive game. They keep the tenth place with 17 games lost.
The game in Udine was also quite interesting. Fourth ranked Immobiliare SR (19-11) played at the court of 7th ranked Snaidero Udine (17-13). Immobiliare SR managed to secure a 8-point victory 70-62 on Friday. Terrence Roderick scored 21 points and 5 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners. The best for the losing side was Gerald Lee with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Immobiliare SR have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to third place. Snaidero Udine lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the seventh position with 13 games lost.
Twelfth-ranked Tezenis Verona (11-19) made lots of trouble for sixth ranked Sunrise Scafati (19-11). Sunrise Scafati managed to secure only two-point victory 74-72. However their fans expected much easier game. Jimmie Hunter notched 17 points to lead the effort. Sunrise Scafati moved-up to the fourth position. Newly promoted Tezenis Verona dropped to the fifteenth position with 19 games lost.
We should mention about the upset which took place in Reggio Emilia, where higher ranked Prima Veroli (18-12) was outleveled in a road game by fifteenth ranked Trenkwalder RE (12-18) 83-62 on Friday. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Prima Veroli. The best player for the winners was Troy Bell who scored 20 points and 7 rebounds. Prima Veroli's coach Demis Cavina gave up on the game allowing to play eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Trenkwalder RE moved-up to eleventh place. Prima Veroli at the other side dropped to the sixth position with 12 games lost.

Rest of the games of round 30 were quite predictable and ended without any surprises. Here they are:
Fileni BPA was defeated by Tuscany PT in Pistoia 84-73. Bottom-ranked San Severo was smashed by Forli at home 82-121. N.Ferrara lost to Assigeco on the opponent's court 72-85.

Tuscany PT - Fileni BPA 84-73

We cannot really consider it an upset in the game between close teams when 8th ranked Fileni BPA (14-16) was defeated on the road by ninth ranked Tuscany Pistoia (14-16) 84-73 on Friday. The best player for the winners was American guard Joseph Forte (193-81, college: N.Carolina, agency: JEMsports) who scored 22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. The other American import forward Jarvis Varnado (206-88, college: Mississippi St.) chipped in 14 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international center Michele Maggioli (212-77) who recorded 22 points and naturalized Argentinian guard Franco Migliori (197-82) added 12 points and 7 rebounds respectively. Five Fileni BPA players scored in double figures. Tuscany Pistoia moved-up to eighth place.
Top scorers:
Tuscany PT: J.Forte 22+6reb+6ast, F.Toppo 18+6reb+1ast, J.Varnado 14+8reb+5ast, J.Porzingis 9+1reb, G.Fucka 9+4reb+1ast, A.Filloy 8+4reb+4ast
Fileni BPA: M.Maggioli 22+2reb, B.Elder 13+3reb+3ast, F.Migliori 12+7reb+2ast, M.Rossi 11+5reb+1ast, M.Tusek 11+8reb, M.Tagliabue 2+1reb

San Severo - Forli 82-121

No shocking result in a game when fourteenth ranked MarcoPoloShop.it (12-18) smashed on the road bottom-ranked Mazzeo San Severo (6-24) 121-82 on Friday. The game without a history. MarcoPoloShop.it led from the first minutes and controlled entire game increasing their lead in each quarter. They were well out of reach of Mazzeo San Severo shooting 70.3 percent from the field and made 16-of-18 free shots (88.9 percent) during the game. They outrebounded Mazzeo San Severo 30-13 including a 23-10 advantage in defensive rebounds. MarcoPoloShop.it shot the lights out from three sinking 15 long-distance shots on high 62.5 percentage. The best player for the winners was Finnish swingman Shawn Huff (198-84, college: Valparaiso) who scored 30 points and 8 rebounds. American forward Bobby Jones (201-84, college: Washington) chipped in 23 points and 9 rebounds. Five MarcoPoloShop.it players scored in double figures. MarcoPoloShop.it's coach Nenad Vucinic felt very confident that he used 10 players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. At the other side the best for losing team was Czech guard Jakub Kudlacek (193-90) who recorded 21 points and 6 assists and the former international guard Fabio Zanelli (196-76) added 27 points respectively. MarcoPoloShop.it have an impressive six-game winning streak. They moved-up to the ninth position. Mazzeo San Severo lost eighth consecutive game. Mazzeo San Severo, also newcomer in the league, stay dead last with 24 lost games.
Top scorers:
Forli: S.Huff 30+8reb, L.Goldwire 24+1reb+2ast, B.Jones 23+9reb, A.Ranuzzi 14+2reb+1ast, M.Poletti 10+4reb+1ast, M.Nardi 10+2reb+8ast
San Severo: F.Zanelli 27+1reb+1ast, J.Kudlacek 21+2reb+6ast, K.Dickens 19+3reb, L.Ianes 7+4reb, P.Chiarello 6, M.Ferri 2+2reb+3ast

Fastweb CM - Aget Imola 92-61

Leader Fastweb CM delivered the twentieth first victory. This time they crushed 10th ranked Aget Imola (13-17) 92-61 in Casale. The game was mostly controlled by Fastweb CM. Aget Imola was better in second period 22-15. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Aget Imola 30-18 including 21 on the defensive glass. It was a good game for the former international forward Tommaso Fantoni (203-85, agency: Players Group) who led his team to a victory with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists (perfect from the field making all six shots). The former international guard Matteo Malaventura (196-78) contributed with 18 points for the winners. Five Fastweb CM players scored in double figures. American guard Trent Whiting (185-76, college: BYU) replied with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and naturalized Argentinian guard Patricio Prato (193-79, college: St.Bonaventure) added 16 points in the effort for Aget Imola. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Fastweb CM maintains first position with 21-9 record. Aget Imola lost third consecutive game. They keep the tenth place with 17 games lost.
Top scorers:
Fastweb CM: M.Malaventura 18+2reb, T.Fantoni 16+8reb+4ast, R.Hickman 14+6ast, S.Masciadri 12+2reb, O.Nnamaka 11+6reb+1ast, S.Gentile 7+2ast
Aget Imola: P.Prato 16+1reb, T.Whiting 11+5reb+4ast, M.Ringstrom 8+3reb+1ast, Y.Moreno 8+2ast, A.Amici 6+3reb, K.Ongenaet 6+4reb

Sunrise Scafati - Tezenis Verona 74-72

Twelfth-ranked Tezenis Verona (11-19) made lots of trouble for sixth ranked Sunrise Scafati (19-11). Sunrise Scafati managed to secure only two-point victory 74-72. However their fans expected much easier game. It looked good early as Tezenis Verona took an 7-point lead at the end of first quarter. But then Sunrise Scafati had a 19-11 second period charge getting the lead and Tezenis Verona was not able to take back game control losing it eventually 72-74. Sunrise Scafati made 19-of-24 charity shots (79.2 percent) during the game. American guard Jimmie Hunter (196-77, college: Life) notched 17 points to lead the effort and the other American import guard Ronald Davis (190-82, college: Wisc.-Milwaukee) supported him with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Even 17 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists by naturalized Argentinian guard Antonio Porta (188-83, agency: Players Group) did not help to save the game for Tezenis Verona. Latvian swingman Mareks Jurevicus (198-85) added 17 points and 8 rebounds. Sunrise Scafati clinched the fourth spot. Newly promoted Tezenis Verona dropped to the fifteenth position with 19 games lost.
Top scorers:
Sunrise Scafati: J.Hunter 17+4reb+3ast, R.Davis 17+6reb+1ast, N.Radulovic 16+5reb+2ast, M.Levin 9+4reb+5ast, F.Amoni 7+1reb, P.Baldassarre 6+2reb+1ast
Tezenis Verona: M.Jurevicus 17+8reb+2ast, A.Porta 17+6reb+6ast, K.Waleskowski 13+3reb, J.Trepagnier 9+3reb, F.Bellina 7+7reb, A.Renzi 7+4reb+2ast

Umana Reyer - Barcellona 91-83

An exciting game between Top Four teams was played in Venezia. Second ranked Umana Venezia faced 3rd ranked Sigma Barcellona. Host Umana Venezia (21-9) defeated guests from Barcellona (19-11) 91-83. The hosts took control from the first minutes by winning first half. But Sigma Barcellona won third quarter 26-17. However it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. The game was decided in the last minutes when Umana Venezia won last quarter 23-17. They made 16-of-21 free shots (76.2 percent) during the game. The best player for the winners was American forward Tamar Slay (204-80, college: Marshall) who had a double-double by scoring 27 points and 12 rebounds. The other American import guard Alvin Young (189-75, college: Niagara) chipped in 19 points. At the other side the best for losing team was Scottish-Nigerian power forward Kieron Achara (208-83, college: Duquesne) who recorded a double-double by scoring 23 points and 14 rebounds and Panamanian guard Michael Hicks (193-76, college: Texas A&M - C.C.) added 16 points and 10 rebounds respectively. Five Umana Venezia and four Sigma Barcellona players scored in double figures. Sigma Barcellona's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Umana Reyer occupied the second place in the ladder. Newly promoted Sigma Barcellona fell at the fifth position with 11 games lost.
Top scorers:
Umana Reyer: T.Slay 27+12reb+3ast, A.Young 19+4reb, C.Di Giuliomaria 12+4reb+4ast, M.Allegretti 10+4reb+1ast, K.Clark 10+3reb+9ast, A.Causin 7+1reb
Barcellona: K.Achara 23+14reb+2ast, J.Crispin 20+3reb+2ast, M.Hicks 16+10reb+3ast, R.Bucci 13+1reb+2ast, M.Cardinali 7+2reb+1ast, A.Ghiacci 2+1ast

Assigeco - N.Ferrara 85-72

There was a minor upset in Lodi where 11th ranked Naturhouse Ferrara (12-18) was defeated by thirteenth ranked Assigeco BPL (12-18) 85-72 on Friday. The game was mostly controlled by Assigeco BPL. Naturhouse Ferrara was better in third quarter 24-21. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They outrebounded Naturhouse Ferrara 37-18 including a 24-13 advantage in defensive rebounds. Assigeco BPL looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists comparing to just 10 passes made by Naturhouse Ferrara's players. The best player for the winners was power forward Diego Banti (204-83, agency: Interperformances) who scored 17 points and 5 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field). American guard Paul Marigney (192-82, college: St.Mary's, CA) chipped in 9 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Four Assigeco BPL players scored in double figures. At the other side the best for losing team was naturalized Albanian swingman Klaudio Ndoja (198-85) who recorded 20 points and American guard Jermaine Boyette (188-78, college: Weber St., agency: SportsTalent) added 14 points respectively. Assigeco BPL moved-up to eleventh place.
Top scorers:
Assigeco: D.Banti 17+5reb, A.Chiumenti 15+6reb, P.Ezugwu 12+4reb+1ast, R.Boykin 11+7reb+1ast, B.Cerella 10+6reb+2ast, P.Marigney 9+7reb+5ast
N.Ferrara: K.Ndoja 20+4reb+1ast, J.Boyette 14+1reb+1ast, D.Farabello 10+3ast, D.Cournooh 9+1reb+2ast, R.Hoover 9+2reb+2ast, T.Kotti 6+6reb+1ast

Trenkwalder - Prima Veroli 83-62

We should mention about the upset which took place in Reggio Emilia, where higher ranked Prima Veroli (18-12) was outleveled in a road game by fifteenth ranked Trenkwalder RE (12-18) 83-62 on Friday. It ended at the same time the five-game winning streak of Prima Veroli. The hosts trailed by 1 point after first quarter, but they stormed back to get the 8-point lead at the halftime and eventually won the game 83-62. Trenkwalder RE dominated on the defensive end, holding Prima Veroli to just 7 points in third quarter. The best player for the winners was American guard Troy Bell (186-80, college: Boston Coll.) who scored 20 points and 7 rebounds. Lithuanian guard Donatas Slanina (192-77) chipped in 15 points. At the other side the best for losing team was the former international forward David Brkic (210-82, agency: Interperformances) who recorded 11 points and 8 rebounds and American guard Jarrius Jackson (188-85, college: Texas Tech) added 16 points respectively. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Prima Veroli's coach Demis Cavina gave up on the game allowing to play eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Trenkwalder RE moved-up to eleventh place. Prima Veroli at the other side dropped to the sixth position with 12 games lost.
Top scorers:
Trenkwalder: T.Bell 20+7reb+2ast, D.Slanina 15+4reb, D.Robinson 10+3reb+3ast, R.Valenti 10+6reb+1ast, M.Frassineti 9+2reb+1ast, R.Chiacig 8+5reb
Prima Veroli: J.Jackson 16+3reb, D.Brkic 11+8reb, A.Kavaliauskas 10+3reb+1ast, I.Gatto 10+2reb, G.Rosselli 5+1reb, M.Rossetti 5+4reb

Snaidero UD - Immobiliare SR 62-70

The game in Udine was also quite interesting. Fourth ranked Immobiliare SR (19-11) played at the court of 7th ranked Snaidero Udine (17-13). Immobiliare SR managed to secure a 8-point victory 70-62 on Friday. The guests trailed by 8 points at the halftime before their 40-24 charge in the second half, which allowed them to win the game. Immobiliare SR dominated down low during the game scoring 52 of its points in the paint compared to Snaidero Udine's 32. Immobiliare SR forced 22 Snaidero Udine turnovers. American swingman Terrence Roderick (195-88, college: UAB, agency: Interperformances) scored 21 points and 5 rebounds to lead the charge for the winners and the former international forward Demian Filloy (198-82, agency: Interperformances) chipped in 10 points and 12 rebounds during the contest. Four Immobiliare SR players scored in double figures. The best for the losing side was Finnish-American forward Gerald Lee (208-87, college: ODU) with 13 points and 6 rebounds and American swingman Jason Williams (197-83, college: UTEP) scored 11 points and 6 rebounds. Immobiliare SR have a solid three-game winning streak. They moved-up to third place. Snaidero Udine lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the seventh position with 13 games lost.
Top scorers:
Immobiliare SR: T.Roderick 21+5reb+1ast, D.Vukcevic 12+1reb+2ast, G.Tomassini 10+1reb+2ast, D.Filloy 10+12reb+1ast, F.Foiera 8+2reb, A.Piazza 6+3reb
Snaidero UD: G.Lee 13+6reb+1ast, J.Williams 11+6reb+1ast, C.Cotis Harrison 11+3reb+3ast, R.Truccolo 8+3reb+2ast, T.Rinaldi 5+7reb, D.Pascolo 4+6reb+2ast

Standings - Lega 2

Lega2 Standings

1. Fastweb CM		21-9
2. Umana Reyer		21-9
3. Immobiliare SR		19-11
4. Sunrise Scafati		19-11
5. Barcellona		19-11
6. Prima Veroli		18-12
7. Snaidero UD		17-13
8. Tuscany PT		14-16
9. Fileni BPA		14-16
10. Aget Imola		13-17
11. Assigeco		12-18
12. Forli		12-18
13. Trenkwalder		12-18
14. N.Ferrara		12-18
15. Tezenis Verona		11-19
16. San Severo		6-24

Stats Leaders - Lega2

Points Per Game

Trent WHITING
  Aget Imola
  (185-G-76)
  Avg: 22.4

1. Whiting, Aget Imola	22.4
2. Crispin, Barcellona	20.8
3. Robinson, Trenkwal.	19.7
4. Gordon, Forli	19.5
5. Jackson, Prima Ver.	19.4
6. Ebi, Aget Imola	19.2
7. Goldwire, Forli	19.1
8. Forte, Tuscany PT	18.9
9. Clark, Umana Reyer	18.3
10. Marigney, Assigeco	17.8

Rebounds Per Game

Demian FILLOY
  Immobili.
  (198-F-82)
  Avg: 9.3

1. Filloy, Immobili.	9.3
2. Ebi, Aget Imola	9.2
3. Varnado, Tuscany	8.9
4. Boykin, Assigeco	8.1
5. Dickens, San Seve.	8.0
6. Chiacig, Trenkwald.	7.9
7. Waleskowski, Tezen.	7.9
8. Johnson, San Seve.	7.8
9. Gordon, Forli	7.8
10. Lollis, Immobili.	7.8

Assists Per Game

Antonio PORTA
  Tezenis .
  (188-G-83)
  Avg: 5.1

1. Porta, Tezenis	5.1
2. Crispin, Barcellona	4.9
3. Goldwire, Forli	4.5
4. Clark, Umana Reyer	3.9
5. Hickman, Fastw.	3.9
6. Marigney, Assigeco	3.8
7. Mathis, Snaidero.	3.8
8. Whiting, Aget Imola	3.8
9. Farabello, N.Fer.	3.7
10. Nardi, Forli	3.7

Steals Per Game

Ndudi EBI
  Aget Imola
  (206-F-84)
  Avg: 2.9

1. Ebi, Aget Imola	2.9
2. Roderick, Immobi.	2.7
3. Robinson, Trenkwal.	2.6
4. Davis, Sunrise	2.5
5. Piazza, Immobili.	2.5
6. Filloy, Immobili.	2.5
7. Achara, Barcellona	2.4
8. Cerella, Assigeco	2.4
9. Whiting, Aget Imola	2.4
10. Hunter, Sunrise	2.4

Blocks Per Game

Jarvis VARNADO
  Tuscany PT
  (206-F-88)
  Avg: 2.8

1. Varnado, Tuscany	2.8
2. Ebi, Aget Imola	1.4
3. Achara, Barcellona	1.2
4. Maggioli, Fileni B.	1.1
5. Frosini, Trenkwald.	0.7
6. Cervi, Trenkwalder	0.7
7. Bryan, Umana Reyer	0.7
8. Cutolo, San Severo	0.7
9. Boykin, Assigeco	0.7
10. Radulovic, Sunris.	0.6

stats leader

Points Per Game

Marco EVANGELISTI
  Trapani
  (198-G-84)
  Avg: 18.3

1. Evangelisti, Trapa.	18.3
2. Tassinari, Moncali.	17.6
3. Musso, Perugia	17.2
4. Rugolo, Molfetta	16.8
5. Ricciardi, Palestr.	16.8
6. Masper, Moncalieri	16.7
7. Vico, Matera	16.0
8. Carrizo, Ferentino	15.9
9. Conte, Trento	15.8
10. Marino, Treviglio	15.6

Rebounds Per Game

Simone BAGNOLI
  Potenza
  (206-F/C-81)
  Avg: 11.4

1. Bagnoli, Potenza	11.4
2. Rosignoli, Biscegl.	9.8
3. Corral, Molfetta	9.4
4. Basei, Ostuni	9.0
5. Capitanelli, Pales.	8.8
6. Zambon, Rieti	8.7
7. Chiaramello, Recan.	8.6
8. Facenda, Senigallia	8.1
9. De Min, Treviglio	7.9
10. Soloperto, Latina	7.9

Assists Per Game

Simone FERRARESE
  Trento
  (182-G-87)
  Avg: 4.9

1. Ferrarese, Trento	4.9
2. Marino, Treviglio	4.8
3. Virgilio, Rieti	4.0
4. Scarone, Piacenza	3.9
5. Tomasiello, Comsum.	3.7
6. Marcante, ASD P.	3.7
7. Paparella, Potenza	3.4
8. Gnaccarini, Senig.	3.4
9. Cantone, S.Antimo	3.4
10. Passera, Piacenza	3.3

Steals Per Game

Francesco GUARINO
  Trapani
  (182-G-79)
  Avg: 3.8

1. Guarino, Trapani	3.8
2. Bonamente, Perugia	3.2
3. De Nicolao, Castel.	3.0
4. Gullo, Patti	2.9
5. Malamov, Ruvo	2.8
6. Bushati, Brescia	2.8
7. Cisse, ASD Pavia	2.7
8. Musso, Perugia	2.7
9. Palombita, Castell.	2.7
10. Casadei, Comsum.i.	2.6

Blocks Per Game

Andrea ZERINI
  Ruvo
  (201-F-88)
  Avg: 1.8

1. Zerini, Ruvo	1.8
2. Ancellotti, Patti	1.6
3. Corral, Molfetta	1.3
4. Capitanelli, Pales.	1.1
5. Raminelli, Castell.	1.0
6. Candido, Ferentino	0.9
7. Spippoli, Palestri.	0.9
8. Biligha, ASD Pavia	0.9
9. Basei, Ostuni	0.9
10. Pozzi, Molfetta	0.8

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

JAPAN

BJ League Round 2 of Play-Offs. Shiga and Fukuoka advance to the next stage - by Eurobasket News
Fukuoka Rizing - Shimane 88-75

The hosts trailed by 4 points after first quarter, but they stormed back to get the 6-point lead at the halftime and eventually won the game 88-75. Fukuoka Rizing made 31-of-40 free shots (77.5 percent) during the game, while Shimane Magic only scored eight points from the stripe. Fukuoka Rizing forced 21 Shimane Magic turnovers. 26 personal fouls committed by Shimane Magic helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. American swingman Michael Parker (200-81, college: Evergreen St.) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 37 points (!!!) and 11 rebounds. Nigerian forward Abdullahi Kuso (206-84, college: Tallahassee CC) contributed with a double-double by scoring 18 points and 12 rebounds for the winners. American forward Reggie Golson (201-81, college: SE Missouri St., agency: Court Side) replied with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and his fellow American import center Jeral Davis (216-84) added 17 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks in the effort for Shimane Magic.
Top scorers:
Fukuoka Rizing: M.Parker 37+11reb+1ast, A.Kuso 18+12reb, A.Takeno 13+2reb+2ast, N.Murry 9+3reb+5ast, J.Nakanishi 7+3reb+1ast, T.Cordeiro 4+8reb
Shimane: R.Golson 20+5reb+4ast, J.Davis 17+11reb, T.Yokoo 9+5reb+1ast, T.Evans 9+6reb+2ast, T.Ishizaki 9+5reb+3ast, W.Caudle 8+5reb+2ast

Shiga Lakestars - Kyoto Hannaryz 88-60

The game without a history. Shiga Lakestars led from the first minutes and controlled entire game increasing their lead in each quarter. They dominated on the defensive end, holding Kyoto Hannaryz to just 7 points in second quarter. American power forward Gary Hamilton (208-84, college: Miami, FL) orchestrated the victory by scoring 8 points and 15 rebounds. The other American import forward Lamar Rice (203-82, college: Georgetown, KY) contributed with 17 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Four Shiga Lakestars players scored in double figures. Trinidad and Tobago power forward Kibwe Trim (208-84, college: Sacred Heart) replied with a double-double by scoring 15 points and 13 rebounds and American forward Reginald Warren (204-81, college: W.Florida) added 17 points in the effort for Kyoto Hannaryz. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games.
Top scorers:
Shiga Lakestars: L.Rice 17+5reb, M.Joho 15+1reb+3ast, R.Schafer 15+7reb, M.Marshall 10+6reb+2ast, Y.Okada 9+3reb+3ast, G.Hamilton 8+15reb+3ast
Kyoto Hannaryz: R.Warren 17+3reb+2ast, K.Trim 15+13reb, H.Kusaka 7+3reb+1ast, G.Klaiber 6+3reb, M.Fey 6+5reb, M.Abdul-Rauf 6+5reb+2ast

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

LITHUANIA

Zalgiris topple Crvena Zvezda at Nike International Junior tournament - by Eurobasket News
IJT Zalgiris - IJT Crvena Zvezda 74:65

IJT Zalgiris climbed on top of Group B at the Nike International Junior Tournament. They held off Crvena Zvezda on the second day of the tournament to improve at 2-0 record. Arturas Gudaitis (208-C-93) scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to pace the winners.
Zalgiris led from the start. They earned a 19:16 lead after ten minutes. The margin kept on growing in the second frame. Zalgiris recorded a 42:32 halftime lead. Crvena Zvezda shifted the gear in the third term. They increased the tempo and cut the distance to only 3 points with one quarter to go. Zalgiris stiffened their defense in the final period limiting Crvena Zvezda to just 13 points and celebrated a tough win at the end. Kaspars Vecvagars (191-G-93) produced 15 points in the win. Marius Grigonis (195-F-94) added 11 points for Zalgiris. Andrija Bojic (206-G/F-93) replied with 20 points and 7 rebounds for Crvena Zvezda. Ivan Marinkovic (207-F-93) netted 12 points in the loss.

IJT Zalgiris: Arturas Gudaitis 15+12 boards, Kaspars Vecvagars 15, Marius Grigonis 11
IJT Crvena Zvezda: Andrija Bojic 20, Ivan Marinkovic 12

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

MEXICO

Fuerza Guinda roster change - by Alex
Fuerza Guinda de Nogales has made a splash in the news by announcing the signing of veteran forward Joseph Bunn (198-F/C-75, college: Phillips, OK). Bunn is well known in South America having played in Argentina LNB, Venezuela and overseas in countries like Italy, Korea, Phillipines and Spain. The well traveled forward has several scoring titles under his belt, recently achieving the top scorer while playing in Argentina's LNB (Liga A) just last month. He joins Nogales for this last 10 regular season games and the playoffs. To make room in the roster, Fuerza Guinda has released forward Damone Brown (204-F-79, college: Syracuse). Nogales hosts Los Mochis this weekend as it is aiming at opening the 1st round of the playoffs at home.

CIBACOPA Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Davin WHITE
  Cananea
  (186-G-81)
  Avg: 27.9

1. White, Cananea	27.9
2. Gale, Mexicali	27.5
3. Sowell, Culiacan	27.3
4. Brown, Tepic	25.0
5. Gabbidon, Tijuana	24.4
6. Sims, Los Mochis	24.3
7. Thomas, Cananea	23.5
8. White, Los Mochis	23.5
9. Tate, Tijuana	23.4
10. Barrett, Guasave	23.1

Rebounds Per Game

Ryan MOSS
  Nogales
  (200-F/C-74)
  Avg: 10.8

1. Moss, Nogales	10.8
2. Angounou, Guasave	9.8
3. Brown, Tepic	9.3
4. Broxsie, Nogales	9.3
5. Malloy, Los Mochis	8.7
6. Shipley, Tijuana	8.6
7. Avila, Culiacan	8.4
8. Rougeau, Culiacan	8.3
9. Tate, Tijuana	8.0
10. Gonzalez, Culiacan	7.9

Assists Per Game

William FUNN
  Guasave
  (188-G-82)
  Avg: 8.5

1. Funn, Guasave	8.5
2. Watson, Tijuana	6.1
3. White, Los Mochis	5.5
4. Thomas, Hermosillo	5.1
5. Nungaray, Guaymas	4.7
6. White, Cananea	4.6
7. Marentes, Guaymas	4.3
8. Monreal, Hermosillo	4.2
9. Meza, Culiacan	4.1
10. Ford, Tepic	4.1

Steals Per Game

Davin WHITE
  Cananea
  (186-G-81)
  Avg: 2.1

1. White, Cananea	2.1
2. Rougeau, Culiacan	1.9
3. Thomas, Cananea	1.9
4. Matthews, Nogales	1.7
5. Gale, Mexicali	1.7
6. Brown, Nogales	1.7
7. Funn, Guasave	1.6
8. White, Los Mochis	1.5
9. Gonzalez, Culiacan	1.4
10. Sowell, Culiacan	1.4

Blocks Per Game

Kevin SOWELL
  Culiacan
  (190-G-81)
  Avg: 3.2

1. Sowell, Culiacan	3.2
2. Webb, Culiacan	2.6
3. Gale, Mexicali	2.4
4. Thomas, Hermosillo	2.4
5. Brown, Nogales	2.3
6. Matthews, Nogales	2.2
7. Brown, Tepic	2.2
8. Shipley, Tijuana	2.2
9. Brown, Nogales	2.1
10. Brown, Tepic	2.1

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

NBA

Stacey Augmon of Denver Nuggets named as UNLV assistant basketball coach - by Eurobasket News
UNLV is welcoming former NBA player and Denver Nuggets assistant coach Stacey Augmon (6'9''-F-68, college: UNLV) as its new men's assistant basketball coach.

The announcement Tuesday came a month after Dave Rice was named the team's new coach.

Augmon played for UNLV from 1987 through 1991.

He earned a degree in social work and went on to play for Atlanta, Detroit, Portland, Charlotte and Orlando during his 15-year NBA career.

Most recently, he worked for the Nuggets for four seasons.

Rice says he is excited to have another former Rebel join the coaching staff.

Rice and Augmon were teammates on the 1990 NCAA championship team and 1991 Final Four team.

Former head coach Lon Kruger left UNLV following seven seasons to become Oklahoma's new coach in April.

Courtesy of www.kdvr.com

Ainge: 'I believe Shaq's playing' in Game 3 - by Eurobasket News
Celtics president Danny Ainge was a guest on The Big Show Friday afternoon and he said that yes, he believes that Shaquille O'Neal (7'2''-C-72, college: LSU) will be ready to play Saturday when the Celtics resume their series with Miami. 'I think Shaq is going to give it a go tomorrow,' Ainge said. 'We'll see. I believe Shaq's playing tomorrow.'

Asked about expectations for him, Ainge said it was impossible to predict. 'I don't know the answer to that yet,' Ainge said. 'It will be determined by how well he plays and how effective he is and how he feels.'

Reminded that there was skepticism that Shaq would play after so many false starts, Ainge said, 'I think all those times there was some hope because he was making progress but I see more in him right now than any of those times. I understand. I can't sit here and say 100 percent either. I'm not skeptical of what I'm saying but there's no certainty until you see him out there.'

Here are more highlights from a wide-ranging interview:

On Paul Pierce's ejection in Game 1: 'I still don't agree with the ejection. I've argued my case to the league. They disagreed with me obviously but I don't agree with the ejection.

On what Pierce said to Dwyane Wade: 'He said that's not going to bother me. With a little bit more colorful language. The bottom line is Paul was not taunting. Paul was not starting a confrontation. He knew what Wade was doing. Wade ran right through them and he was basically like you're going to get me to that way. There's trash talking that goes on throughout the game. You can make a case that you can call a technical overtime down the court if you're going to base it on what [Pierce] did.'

On what he told Pierce: 'What I told was this, 'Paul I think it was ridiculous that you were ejected from the game. I did not think that warranted a technical foul. But the first technical in your little nose-rubbing with James Jones, you can't do that because it takes away any room for error.' You just never know what's going to happen. I thought that one was uncalled for and he should have avoided that one. He was flagrantly fouled by James Jones, but so what? Get up and make the free throws, take the ball out of bounds and stay away from that confrontation. I think Paul's emotions were in control. I think Paul was playing the game the way he always plays the game.'

Ainge added that the officials weren't the reason the Celtics lost in Miami. 'I will just say this: As frustrating as it at times for me, we do have the best officials in any league,' Aineg said. 'We have the best of the best. It's frustrating that they're not perfect. It's frustrating that they don't see it the way I see it all the time. The officials are not the reason that we're down 0-2.'

On Jeff Green: 'I think he has provided us a lot. I'm not down on Jeff Green in any way. I think Jeff is a good player who's trying to find his way. The other night you saw he was capable.'

On Nenad Krstic: 'What happened with Krstic, he got off to a great start and then he went into a little bit of a funk. I thought he was going through a phase where he was just thinking too much. Then he bruised his knee. Then he bruised his knee a second time. I would say right now he's just back healthy. Right now. He's been able to play. He's not been 100 percent.'

Courtesy of www.weei.com

Lakers confident despite 2-0 hole - by Eurobasket News
A confident, cheery and somewhat defiant Los Angeles Lakers team took to the practice court Thursday less than 24 hours after falling behind 2-0 in their Western Conference semifinals series with the Dallas Mavericks.

Was it a time for panic? Worry? Fear? Hardly.

'I'd like to cry, but I can't right now,' said Lakers coach Phil Jackson . 'It's a game and we know it's a game. When we play it, we play it hard and we anticipate winning in Dallas.'

The Lakers spent the practice session working on their defensive rotations and pick-and-roll coverage after allowing Mavericks guard Jose Barea to rack up eight points and two assists in the fourth quarter of L.A.'s 93-81 Game 2 loss.

'We went over quite a bit of things,' said Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78). 'Learned a lot. Saw a lot and are ready to make adjustments.'

Jackson echoed Bryant on the Lakers' focus on making corrections.

'I think there are spaces on the floor that are confusing to our players,' Jackson said. 'There are various spots on the floor that we change our rotation and I think it confused the players where we had to get that straight again to where we have to be.'

The mood of the team seemed considerably lighter than it's been in weeks, despite the fact the league doled out a one-game suspension to Ron Artest for his late hit to the face of Barea.

Some of the more controversial quotes to come out of the postgame locker room on Wednesday were addressed, starting with Andrew Bynum's claim that there were 'trust issues' among the team.

'I thought he was speaking about trusses, my dad wore a truss,' Jackson cracked. 'I thought that's what he was speaking about ... So we talked a little bit about 'truss' issues.'

Lakers executive Magic Johnson did not gloss over Bynum's remarks as easily.

'Bynum should have never made those comments publicly,' Johnson wrote on his Twitter account. 'Call a players only meeting and discuss those issues internally with your teammates.'

Johnson later was a guest on SportsCenter and said, 'Pat Riley would have probably thrown Bynum off the team' for saying what he did.

Kobe Bryant, who is tied with Johnson with five championship rings as a member of the Lakers, did not pay much credence to the franchise legend's stance on the subject.

'What the hell do I care?' Bryant said. 'It means nothing, whether he said it or not doesn't really mean a damn thing. We just got to win a game.'

Later, Jackson explained the breakdowns on the court that Bynum was alluding to.

'Andrew, if his guy gets five dunks in the process of coming over and help, he has to come over the sixth time,' Jackson said. 'It's as simple as that. Somebody else has to take responsibility for his guy. So, that's the trust factor that he's thinking about.'

Bynum did not speak to reporters on Thursday.

Jackson also said he didn't go through with his plan of 'flogging' his players as punishment for their poor play, as he deadpanned was his intent on Wednesday night.

'I didn't flog them physically, but I did a little mental flogging today,' he said.

Bryant followed up his declaration from Wednesday, when he said, 'Everybody's tripping' about the Lakers' predicament, by projecting an even-keel perspective again on Thursday.

'You just play the next game. It's not that big of a deal to win two games in a row,' said Bryant. 'Stop acting like we've never won two games in a row. It's silly.'

And as for what's sure to be a raucous American Airlines Arena home crowd for Friday's Game 3?

'Like noise is going to block a jump shot,' Bryant said. 'It's just noise.'

The Lakers are trying to become just the fourth team in league history to drop their first two games at home and come back to win a best-of-seven series. The only others to do it were the 1969 Lakers, 1994 Houston Rockets and the 2005 Mavericks.

Some of the members of the Lakers actually already have experience rallying from down 2-0 and winning a series. Los Angeles did just that in 2004, beating the Spurs in six games after losing the first two games of their second-round series in San Antonio.

Jackson encouraged the Lakers to focus on past success to inspire confidence in their ability to make adjustments throughout the course of a series.

'We just had to pull them up and say, 'Recall Orlando, recall Phoenix, recall some of these things that we've done in the past and maybe you guys will summon back some of the things that you're familiar with,'' he said.

As Jackson finished up his media session to catch the team's 2 p.m. PT flight to Dallas, he was asked if he had thought about the possibility that he could be leaving Los Angeles for the last time as the Lakers coach.

'We'll be back on Tuesday night,' Jackson said, swatting away the notion of a sweep and preparing to continue his 'last stand' season at Staples Center for Game 5 and beyond.

Courtesy of ESPN

(2)Lakers vs. (3)Mavericks: Unfamiliar Territory - by Daniel Gibson

(2)Lakers vs. (3)Mavericks: Unfamiliar Territory - by Daniel Gibson
DALLAS---Not many people, myself included, expected the Dallas Mavericks to go into the Staples Center and beat the Los Angeles Lakers in two straight games.

But just a reminder to the Mavs fans, the last time they were up 2-0 in a series was the 2006 Finals when Dwyane Wade (6'4''-G-82, college: Marquette) led the Heat to the title.

This isn't the same Mavs team as years passed though. This team is much more complete with multiple weapons at each
position.

Dirk Nowitzki (6'11''-F-78) has been unstoppable. His size and shooting touch is a matchup nightmare for the Lakers.

Ron Artest (6'7''-G-79, college: St.John's) is stronger but Nowitzki shoots right over him. Pau Gasol (7'0''-F/C-80) is taller but Dirk drives around him or hits fade-away jumpers in his face. Odom is a mix of Gasol and Artest and he hasn't had any success in slowing down Dirk either.

Tyson Chandler (7'1''-C-82) and Brendan Haywood (7'0''-C-79, college: N.Carolina) have brought a toughness and defensive intensity that the Mavs never had in the past. They block shots and grab rebounds that lead to fast breaks and easy baskets at the other end.

Jason Kidd (6'4''-G-73, college: California) is still a triple-double threat every time he steps onto the court and his three-point stroke is the best it has ever been at any point in his career. Shawn Marion (6'7''-F-78, college: UNLV) is a versatile player that can do everything on the court well. Desean Stevenson is a streaky shooter but he has size, plays defense, and is also a tough competitor who doesn't back down.

There isn't a drop off when Rick Carlisle goes to the bench, Jason Terry (6'2''-G-77, college: Arizona) can start over Stevenson but the team would rather bring Terry off the bench to provide a legit scoring threat.

Terry and Jose Juan Barea (5'11''-G-84, college: Northeastern) come off the bench and have the ability to stretch a lead that the starters made or bring the team back from behind. Caron Butler has been out for months with an injury and depending on how far the Mavs advance he may be available to play.

Peja Stojakovic is playing like that Peja from the Sacramento Kings era when he used to give the Lakers trouble before being eliminated and watching the Lakers advance to the next round.

This time Stojakovic might be on the winning side.

The Lakers are frustrated and it seems like they expected the Mavs to lay down and take the beating while they march on to the Finals and defend the title.

You would think that after the Mavs came back from being down 16 in the second half of game one and winning the Lakers would understand that they are in for a fight.

But still the Lakers didnt seem have the desperate mentality that a team down 0-1 at home should have.

Derrick Rose (6'4''-G-88, college: Memphis) made sure that the Bulls didn't drop both home games to the Atlanta Hawks, Kevin Durant (6'9''-G/F-88, college: Texas) and Russell Westbrook (6'3''-G-88, college: UCLA) lead the Thunder over the Grizzlies to ties the series 1-1 heading to Memphis. The big three in Miami didn't mess around and won both home games against the Celtics.

But the Lakers came out in game two looking like they were supposed to win without actually putting in the work to do so.

Ron Artest (6'7''-G-79, college: St.John's) was so frustrated at the end of game two that he went out of his way to palm Barea's face like a basketball earning him a one game suspension in the biggest game of the Lakers season.

If the Lakers go down 3-0 against the Mavs with game four being in Dallas the series is as good as over.

Andrew Bynum (7'0''-C-87, agency: David Lee services) is already talking about how the team has trust issues and they wont be able to win unless everybody buys into the system.

Its a bit late in the year to be talking about trust issues and buying into the system at this point.

The Lakers entered the playoffs with a 3-peat as the goal, now the goal is to survive bring the series back to LA.
Kobe Bryant (6'6''-G-78) has put up good scoring games with 36 in game one and 23 in game two but he has struggled to make shots in crunch time of both games.

Phil Jackson has said that this will be his last season I know he wants to go out on top and Kobe wants to tie Jordan with 6 rings but they have to put those goals to the side for now.

They have to focus on winning one game against the Mavs first.

Lakers forward Ron Artest suspended for Game 3 against Dallas Mavericks - by Eurobasket News
Ron Artest (6'7''-G-79, college: St.John's) won't have to worry about trying to defend Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki tonight when Game 3 of the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series moves to American Airlines Center.

Artest won't even be at the AAC. The NBA suspended the Los Angeles Lakers forward for one game without pay (roughly $57,000) after he swung his arm and clobbered guard J.J. Barea across the face with 24.4 seconds left in Game 2 on Wednesday night at Staples Center.

Artest was assessed a technical foul and ejected from the game. The NBA also classified his infraction as a flagrant foul two.

After the game, Mavericks guard Jason Terry joked about the hit on Barea, saying: 'That was nothing. I don't know what it was, but it wasn't much. [Barea is] tough. He can take it.'

Down 2-0 with losses at home and without Artest, the Lakers will likely start Matt Barnes or Shannon Brown. Another option is to start Lamar Odom on the front line next to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

Courtesy of www.star-telegram.com

Frank Vogel interviewed for Rockets job - by Eurobasket News
Maybe it's just a threat or maybe it's a sign, but Pacers interim coach Frank Vogel interviewed for the Houston Rockets head coaching position, according to the Indianpolis Star.

The Pacers would be making a big mistake letting Vogel walk as he proved down the stretch of the regular season and also during Indiana's five-game opening round loss to the Bulls that he works well with the team. He seemed to really have their ear, had them playing hard and appears to be a rising young coach.

No surprise the Rockets interviewed him though. Basically if you're affiliated with basketball and available, you've interviewed with the Rockets. Vogel worked with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey in Boston.

Vogel said during his season-ending press conference last week that he would like to return as Pacers coach. It's just a matter if the feeling is mutual.

I'm curious though as to if it's just a little nudge from Vogel to the Pacers. The front office is a bit up in the air with Larry Bird's future not entirely certain. So obviously the organization wants to get things straightened from the top down before locking up Vogel. Something tells me that Vogel's future is with the Pacers though.

Bird will likely stay with the franchise and ownership really seemed to be pleased with the progress by the team.

Vogel led the Pacers to a 20-18 record and to the playoffs for the first time since 2006 after taking over for Jim OBrien who was fired in late January.

Courtesy of www.cbssports.com

Knicks owner James Dolan reportedly won't bring back Isiah Thomas - by Eurobasket News
Knicks president Donnie Walsh hasn't yet come to terms on an agreement to stay with the team, but the two sides are said to be close to a new contract that would keep him on for another two years. And just to make sure that Walsh is more comfortable, team owner James Dolan is said to have scrapped the idea of hiring back former coach and president Isiah Thomas in any capacity.

The New York Post, citing two sources, reports that Dolan has remained friendly with Thomas but no longer trusts him to the point of giving him another basketball job. Thomas was hired by Dolan as a part-time consultant last summer, sparking chatter that Dolan would consider replacing Walsh with Thomas.

That talk only intensified during the negotiations regarding Carmelo Anthony, whom the Knicks acquired in a blockbuster deal in February. Thomas was rumored to have been involved in getting that deal done, and Thomas has since passed on the chance to deny it.

Thomas was hired as the Knicks president late in 2003, and had an unsuccessful and even humiliating run with the franchise. He pushed the teams payroll to the highest in the league, made the disastrous hiring of Larry Brown as coach, stepped out of the front office to coach the team himself and was ultimately let go in the wake of an embarrassing sexual harassment case.

Courtesy of http://aol.sportingnews.com

Thunder's Ibaka misses practice - by Eurobasket News
Starting power forward Serge Ibaka (6'10''-C/F-89) did not participate in the Oklahoma City Thunder's practice Thursday because of a sprained left ankle.

Coach Scott Brooks says Ibaka is day-to-day. The Thunder are officially listing him as probable for Game 3 on Saturday in Memphis. The series is tied 1-1.

Ibaka had the most blocked shots in the NBA this season and has had double-doubles in four of Oklahoma City's seven games this postseason. Before twisting his ankle in the fourth quarter, Ibaka hurt his right knee in the third quarter of Game 2.

Courtesy of www.seattlepi.com

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NCAA1

Valparaiso's Wood to transfer to Michigan State - by Eurobasket News
Valparaiso guard Brandon Wood (6'2''-G-89) is planning to transfer to Michigan State after earning his bachelor's degree.

Crusaders coach Homer Drew disclosed the news Friday. The redshirt junior from Kokomo, Ind., was the Horizon League's No. 3 scorer last season at 16.7 points and was the only non-senior chosen to the all-league first team.

NCAA rules allow schools to apply for a waiver that would allow a transfer to play immediately if they have earned a degree, have eligibility remaining and enroll in a graduate-level program.

It's a big addition to Michigan State's roster. Senior guard Kalin Lucas is out of eligibility, and coach Tom Izzo kicked Korie Lucious off the team last season, leaving a hole on the perimeter that Wood can help fill.

Courtesy of www.dailytribune.com

Source: Lonergan close to taking GW job - by Eurobasket News
A university official with knowledge of the situation says Mike Lonergan is in the final stages of talks to become the men's basketball coach at George Washington.

The official said that Lonergan was on campus Friday and that the hire was expected to be made soon. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the athletic department had yet to make an announcement.

Lonergan has been the coach at Vermont for six seasons. He has a 126-68 record with the Catamounts and led them to the NCAA tournament in 2010.

The GW job would return him to the nation's capital, where he won the NCAA's Division III national title in 2001 with his alma mater, Catholic.

He would replace Karl Hobbs, who was fired last month after 10 seasons with the Colonials.

Courtesy of http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com

Stacey Augmon of Denver Nuggets named as UNLV assistant basketball coach - by Eurobasket News
UNLV is welcoming former NBA player and Denver Nuggets assistant coach Stacey Augmon (6'9''-F-68, college: UNLV) as its new men's assistant basketball coach.

The announcement Tuesday came a month after Dave Rice was named the team's new coach.

Augmon played for UNLV from 1987 through 1991.

He earned a degree in social work and went on to play for Atlanta, Detroit, Portland, Charlotte and Orlando during his 15-year NBA career.

Most recently, he worked for the Nuggets for four seasons.

Rice says he is excited to have another former Rebel join the coaching staff.

Rice and Augmon were teammates on the 1990 NCAA championship team and 1991 Final Four team.

Former head coach Lon Kruger left UNLV following seven seasons to become Oklahoma's new coach in April.

Courtesy of www.kdvr.com

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NEW ZEALAND

Breakers parade in central Auckland - by Eurobasket News
Five-year-old Hugh Spottwoode faces a big dilemma - to wash his hand or not after high fiving his basketball idols.

The youngster was one of an estimated 2000 fans who gathered in Auckland today to celebrate the NZ Breakers basketball team's historic win last Friday. A parade up Queen St ended in Aotea Square.

The Breakers are the first New Zealand team in any sports code to win a title in a professional Australian sports league.

Hugh is a hard core fan, who says he screamed so loudly at the television set during last Friday's game he almost woke up his five-month-old sister.

And he never dreamed he would actually get to meet the players and high five them.

Hugh was not alone being star struck.

The smile said it all as eight year old Riley Graham waved to his heroes in the parade.

Riley, from Freeman's Bay, took a special half day off school to be at Queen St with dad Declan.

As two trucks took the team past Riley waved for all he was worth and his heroes waved back - bringing out a huge grin on his face.

'They won the trophy and I am a big supporter. I have been to two of their games,' he said.

Mayor, Len Brown greeted the players on arrival at Aotea Square, where the public met the players and were able to engage in a variety of activities including shooting hoops.

Brown said: 'I am absolutely stoked that the first New Zealand team to beat the very best Aussie team in an Australian professional sports league was an Auckland-based team.'

Courtesy of www.stuff.co.nz

Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Darryl DORA
  Nelson G.
  (206-C-85)
  Avg: 22.3

1. Dora, Nelson G.	22.3
2. Hudson, Manawatu.	21.7
3. Leasure, Taranaki.	21.3
4. Polyblank, Southla.	20.7
5. Smith, Waikato P.	20.4
6. Pace, Bay Hawks	20.3
7. Mickens, Auckland.	20.0
8. O''Gallagher, Ocean.	19.0
9. Brown, Auckland P.	18.5
10. Allen, Waikato P.	18.0

Rebounds Per Game

Lance ALLRED
  OceanaGo.
  (211-C-81)
  Avg: 10.3

1. Allred, OceanaGo.	10.3
2. Johnson, Wellingt.	10.3
3. Frank, Wellington	10.0
4. Bradshaw, OceanaG.	10.0
5. Trousdell, Bay H.	9.4
6. Seay, Waikato P.	9.3
7. Grizzard, Nelson G.	9.0
8. Dawson, Southlan.	9.0
9. Henry, Wellington	9.0
10. Brown, Auckland P.	8.3

Assists Per Game

Jeremy KENCH
  Manawatu J.
  (187-G-84)
  Avg: 6.7

1. Kench, Manawatu J.	6.7
2. Le''afa, Wellingt.	6.3
3. Dickel, Southland	6.0
4. Martin, Auckland.	4.5
5. O''Gallagher, Ocean.	4.0
6. Smith, Waikato P.	4.0
7. Frank, Wellington	3.8
8. Kenny, Bay Hawks	3.3
9. Fitchett, Nelson G.	3.0
10. Leasure, Taranaki.	3.0

Steals Per Game

Hayden ALLEN
  Waikato P.
  (187-G-79)
  Avg: 2.8

1. Allen, Waikato P.	2.8
2. Smith, Waikato P.	2.8
3. Kench, Manawatu J.	2.7
4. Dickel, Southland	2.3
5. Seay, Waikato P.	2.3
6. Polyblank, Southla.	2.0
7. Frank, Wellington	1.8
8. Johnson, Wellingt.	1.8
9. Hudson, Manawatu.	1.7
10. Dempster, Nelson	1.7

Blocks Per Game

Marcus CAMPBELL
  Taranaki.
  (214-C-82)
  Avg: 2.5

1. Campbell, Taranaki.	2.5
2. Seay, Waikato P.	1.5
3. Spicer, Southlan.	1.3
4. Anthony, Waika.	1.3
5. Brown, Auckland P.	1.3
6. Frank, Wellington	1.3
7. Henry, Wellington	1.0
8. Beck, Auckland P.	1.0
9. Smith, Waikato P.	1.0
10. Bailey-N., Tarana.	0.8

Standings Men

NBL Standings

1. Bay Hawks		7-0
2. Wellington S.		5-0
3. Manawatu J.		2-1
4. Waikato P.		2-3
5. Southland S.		1-2
6. Auckland P.		1-3
7. Nelson G.		1-3
8. Taranaki MA		1-4
9. OceanaGold N.		0-4

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PUERTO RICO

Standings - BSN

BSN Standings

1. Quebradillas		9-3
2. Bayamon		9-4
3. Guaynabo		9-6
4. Santurce		7-7
5. Humacao		7-7
6. San German		7-7
7. Arecibo		6-7
8. Coamo		6-8
9. Isabela		5-9
10. Mayaguez		3-10

Stats Leaders - BSN

Points Per Game

Angel Daniel VASSALLO
  Guaynabo
  (198-G/F-86)
  Avg: 23.6

1. Vassallo, Guaynabo	23.6
2. Ramos, Quebradillas	22.3
3. Dalmau, Bayamon	21.9
4. Robinson, Mayaguez	21.8
5. Villegas, Coamo	19.9
6. Clinch, Isabela	19.7
7. Clemente, Humacao	19.2
8. Romero, Mayaguez	18.6
9. Johnson, Humacao	17.8
10. Brown, Quebradill.	17.6

Rebounds Per Game

Peter John RAMOS
  Quebradillas
  (222-C-85)
  Avg: 11.8

1. Ramos, Quebradillas	11.8
2. Narvaez, Coamo	11.8
3. Randolph, Isabela	11.6
4. Pruitt, Guaynabo	11.4
5. Lloreda, San G.	10.9
6. Harris, San German	10.4
7. Shannon, Bayamon	9.8
8. Romero, Mayaguez	9.7
9. Robinson, Mayaguez	9.3
10. Sweetney, Santur.	8.7

Assists Per Game

Christian DALMAU
  Bayamon
  (194-G-77)
  Avg: 6.6

1. Dalmau, Bayamon	6.6
2. Brown, Quebradillas	6.4
3. Clemente, Humacao	5.6
4. Guzman, Guaynabo	5.1
5. Clinch, Isabela	4.9
6. Cruz, Arecibo	4.8
7. Rivera, Mayaguez	4.2
8. Vega, Coamo	3.9
9. Garcia, Humacao	3.9
10. Berdiel, Humacao	3.8

Steals Per Game

Eddin ''Guayito'' SANTIAGO
  Santurce
  (185-G-79)
  Avg: 2.3

1. Santiago, Santurce	2.3
2. Hinson, Isabela	2.1
3. Rodriguez, Guayna.	2.0
4. Clinch, Isabela	1.9
5. Robinson, Mayaguez	1.8
6. Carmona, Mayaguez	1.5
7. Robinson, Humacao	1.5
8. Berdiel, Humacao	1.5
9. Cruz, Arecibo	1.5
10. Pinnock, Arecibo	1.5

Blocks Per Game

Herve LAMIZANA
  Mayaguez
  (207-F/C-81)
  Avg: 3

1. Lamizana, Mayaguez	3.0
2. Penn, Humacao	2.5
3. Traylor, Bayamon	2.0
4. Romero, Mayaguez	1.9
5. Santiago, Arecibo	1.9
6. Shannon, Bayamon	1.6
7. Aubry, Arecibo	1.5
8. Randolph, Isabela	1.5
9. Robinson, Mayaguez	1.5
10. Sanchez, Santurce	1.4

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ROMANIA

Stats Leaders - Men

Points Per Game

LeRoy DAWSON
  Polite.
  (188-G-81)
  Avg: 22.6

1. Dawson, Polite.	22.6
2. Krstanovic, U.Mobi.	20.6
3. Hannah, Miercure.	20.5
4. Dykes, U.Mobite.	20.1
5. Tomic, CSM B.	19.9
6. Pesic, Timisoara	19.8
7. Horton, Craiova	19.6
8. Darby, Rovinari	19.1
9. Vujacic, Pitesti	19.0
10. Gennie, Pitesti	18.8

Rebounds Per Game

Kenneth SIMMS
  Craiova
  (203-C-)
  Avg: 11

1. Simms, Craiova	11.0
2. Coleman, Miercure.	10.3
3. Bennett, CSM B.	9.6
4. Bigus, Rovinari	9.3
5. Krstanovic, U.Mobi.	9.3
6. Nicoara, Gaz Metan	9.0
7. Forte, Mures	8.5
8. Burlacu, Ploiesti	7.9
9. Eichelberger, Pite.	7.7
10. Carutasu, Steaua	7.7

Assists Per Game

JuJuan COOLEY
  Mures
  (175-G-82)
  Avg: 8.3

1. Cooley, Mures	8.3
2. Dzambic, CSM B.	7.9
3. Hannah, Miercure.	6.0
4. Howell, Gaz Metan	5.3
5. Stojakovic, Craiova	5.2
6. Cuic, U.Mobitel.CN	5.2
7. Blidaru, Ploiesti	5.0
8. Medvedj, Otopeni	4.9
9. Gennie, Pitesti	4.8
10. Dzambic, Timisoara	4.7

Steals Per Game

Nikola STOJAKOVIC
  Craiova
  (188-G-84)
  Avg: 2.5

1. Stojakovic, Craiova	2.5
2. Harrison, CSU Sibiu	2.4
3. Gennie, Pitesti	2.4
4. Cooley, Mures	2.4
5. Howell, Gaz Metan	2.3
6. Mitchell, Gaz Metan	2.2
7. Cuic, U.Mobitel.CN	1.9
8. Medvedj, Otopeni	1.9
9. Blidaru, Ploiesti	1.9
10. Loyd, CSU Sibiu	1.9

Blocks Per Game

Michael HARRISON
  CSU Sibiu
  (206-F/C-84)
  Avg: 1.8

1. Harrison, CSU Sibiu	1.8
2. Capusan, Rovinari	1.6
3. Eichelberger, Pite.	1.6
4. Masiulis, CSU S.	1.5
5. Herndon, CSU Sibiu	1.4
6. Mladenovic, Mures	1.4
7. Simms, Craiova	1.3
8. Lazar, Oradea	1.2
9. Waterstradt, CSM B.	0.9
10. Thomson, U.Mobite.	0.9

Ploiesti advanced to the Finals - by Eurobasket News
Ploiesti advanced to the Finals beating Steaua Turabo 85:81 in the fourth game. U.Mobitel.CN overcame Gaz Metan to tie the series at 2-2.

Steaua Turabo - Ploiesti 81-85

The guests were already 11 points ahead after 3 quarters before a 23-16 Steaua Turabo's run in the last quarter cut the lead to 85-81 at the end of the game. Ploiesti forced 21 Steaua Turabo turnovers. Steaua Turabo was plagued by 27 personal fouls down the stretch. Worth to mention a great performance of the former international guard Adrian Blidaru (182-85) who helped to win the game recording 16 points and 7 assists and international center Adrian Gutoaia (195-90, agency: Court Side) who added 15 points during the contest. Four Ploiesti players scored in double figures. At the losing side the former international power forward Virgil Stanescu (207-77, college: S.Alabama, agency: Interperformances) responded with 22 points and 7 assists (made all of his eight free throws) and the former international forward Bogdan Popescu (201-78, college: Alaska-Fairb.) scored 18 points. Steaua Turabo's coach Niksa Bavcevic rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help.
Top scorers:
Ploiesti: A.Blidaru 16+3reb+7ast, Q.Calhoun 16+1reb, A.Gutoaia 15+3reb+2ast, K.Ford 11+3reb, L.Szijarto 11+1reb+3ast, C.Burlacu 6+10reb
Steaua Turabo: V.Stanescu 22+4reb+7ast, B.Popescu 18+4reb, I.Tomeljak 11+4ast, A.Mandache 10+3ast, G.Hafnar 9+3reb+3ast, H.Nikolov 5+13reb

Gaz Metan - U.Mobitel.CN 78-84

Gaz Metan was tied after three quarters but could not keep up in the last quarter eventually losing the game. U-Mobitelco made 22-of-25 free shots (88.0 percent) during the game. 26 personal fouls committed by Gaz Metan helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. Worth to mention a great performance of Serbian center Zoran Krstanovic (205-82) who helped to win the game recording 17 points and 8 rebounds. American swingman Kyndall Dykes (191-87, college: New Orleans, agency: Edge Sports) contributed with 17 points for the winners. Dykes is a former Eurobasket Summer League player, which is considered top international summer league in the market. Four U-Mobitelco players scored in double figures. Montenegrin-Serbian forward Ivan Ivanovic (205-80, agency: Beo Basket) replied with 27 points and Serbian guard Uros Velickovic (190-83, agency: BeoExcell) added 16 points and 4 assists in the effort for Gaz Metan.
Top scorers:
U.Mobitel.CN: Z.Krstanovic 17+8reb, K.Dykes 17+3reb+3ast, M.Silvasan 17+5reb, T.Morris 14+5reb+3ast, B.Cuic 8+5reb+1ast, S.Thomson 7+3reb+1ast
Gaz Metan: I.Ivanovic 27+4reb+3ast, U.Velickovic 16+2reb+4ast, D.Mitchell 10+3reb, T.Nicoara 9+4reb+1ast, J.Howell 9+6reb+2ast, D.Kinloch 7+6reb

Group Relegation

Politehnica Iasi - Miercurea Ciuc 105-90

It looked good early as Miercurea Ciuc took an 4-point lead at the end of first quarter. But then Politehnica Iasi had a 26-18 second period charge getting the lead and Miercurea Ciuc was not able to take back game control losing it eventually 90-105. Politehnica Iasi made 17-of-19 charity shots (89.5 percent) during the game. Worth to mention a great performance of the former international guard Brice Kabengele-Kalala (196-81) who helped to win the game recording 32 points and 6 rebounds and American guard LeRoy Dawson (188-81, college: S.Nazarene, agency: Global Sports Plaza) who added 16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists during the contest. At the losing side American forward Levi Levine (198-82, college: Albany) responded with 24 points and 7 rebounds and his fellow American import center Yamene Coleman (206-86, college: Troy, agency: Court Side) produced a double-double by scoring 16 points and 18 rebounds. Five Politehnica Iasi and four Miercurea Ciuc players scored in double figures.
Top scorers:
Politehnica Iasi: B.Kabengele-Kalala 32+6reb+2ast, C.Amarghioalei 17+3reb+2ast, L.Dawson 16+8reb+7ast, B.McCullough 16+5reb+4ast, M.Nicolae 15+6reb+1ast, I.Huludet 9+7reb
Miercurea Ciuc: L.Levine 24+7reb+3ast, C.Hannah 18+6reb+4ast, Y.Coleman 16+18reb, E.Tucker 14+2reb+3ast, Z.Samuila 9+1reb+1ast, A.Rosu 6+2reb

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RUSSIA

Standings - Superleague A

PBL Standings

1. Unics		17-6
2. Lokomotiv		16-7
3. CSKA		15-8
4. Spartak SP		15-8
5. Khimky		15-8
6. Enisey		12-12
7. Krasnie Krilya		8-16
8. N.Novgorod		8-16
9. Dynamo		7-17
10. Triumph		4-19

Stats Leaders - Superleague A

Points Per Game

Keith LANGFORD
  Khimky
  (193-G/F-83)
  Avg: 18.2

1. Langford, Khimky	18.2
2. Baxter, Enisey	16.3
3. Lampe, Unics	16.3
4. Domercant, Spart.	16.2
5. Williams, Enisey	15.5
6. Keyru, Dynamo	15.1
7. Labovic, Enisey	14.5
8. Vyaltsev, Triumph	13.7
9. Wilkinson, Lokomot.	13.6
10. Beverley, Spart.	13.6

Rebounds Per Game

Alexey ZHUKANENKO
  Dynamo
  (210-F-86)
  Avg: 7.6

1. Zhukanenko, Dynamo	7.6
2. Lampe, Unics	7.1
3. Beverley, Spart.	6.9
4. Baxter, Enisey	6.6
5. Brezec, Krasnie	6.3
6. Monya, Khimky	6.3
7. Massey, Lokomotiv	6.1
8. Wilkinson, Lokomot.	6.0
9. Papadopoulos, Khi.	5.9
10. Labovic, Enisey	5.4

Assists Per Game

Marcus WILLIAMS
  Enisey
  (191-G-85)
  Avg: 7.2

1. Williams, Enisey	7.2
2. Bremer, Krasnie	5.8
3. Vyaltsev, Triumph	4.8
4. Ponkrashov, Spart.	4.8
5. Popovic, Unics	4.6
6. Khvostov, Dynamo	4.1
7. Planinic, Khimky	4.0
8. Holden, CSKA	3.5
9. Rush, Krasnie Kril.	3.2
10. Samoylenko, Unics	3.0

Steals Per Game

Patrick BEVERLEY
  Spart.
  (185-G-88)
  Avg: 2.1

1. Beverley, Spart.	2.1
2. Voronov, Dynamo	1.8
3. Surovtsev, Lokom.	1.6
4. Ponkrashov, Spart.	1.5
5. Bremer, Krasnie	1.4
6. Labovic, Enisey	1.4
7. Lyday, Unics	1.4
8. Pashutin, Unics	1.4
9. Komarovskiy, Eni.	1.3
10. Massey, Lokomotiv	1.3

Blocks Per Game

Sergey VARLAMOV
  Triumph
  (208-C-84)
  Avg: 1.1

1. Varlamov, Triumph	1.1
2. Eze, Khimky	1.1
3. Kaun, CSKA	1.0
4. Zabelin, CSKA	1.0
5. Yakovenko, N.Nov.	1.0
6. Monya, Khimky	1.0
7. Zhukanenko, Dynamo	0.9
8. Likhodey, Triumph	0.9
9. Sokolov, CSKA	0.8
10. Antonov, N.Novgo.	0.8

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

SAINT VINCENT

King Shawn wins the title abroad - by Eurobasket News
Shawn King (208-C-82, college: ORU) and his Belarusian Minsk-2006 defends the title of the country as they won the Play-offs again. The Vincentian player and his team won ALL the games of the 2010/2011 season and swept the Final series as well.
In the decisive game 3 Minsk-2006 overcame Grodno-93 83:69. The favorites started with 22-19, but could save only 1 points at the halftime as Grodno responded with 21-19 in the second frame. The third quarter was decisive in the game as Minsk needed 25-13 to seal the win. Moreover the guests won the last frame 17-16 to triumph in the country.
Shawn King stepped up with 23 points and 11 rebounds, while Kudrautsau Aliaksandr nailed 21. Korshuk Dzianis netted 15 and Lashkevich scored 11. Lemik ended up with 18 points in the losing effort, whilst Bogdanov scored 14.

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

SERBIA

Zagreb record second straight win in Barcelona - by Eurobasket News
IJT KK Zagreb - IJT FMP 86:65

IJT KK Zagreb recorded the second straight win at the Nike International Tournament. They overcame IJT FMP in Barcelona today. Dominik Mavra (190-F-94) unloaded 31 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to pace the Croatian team. IJT FMP fell at 0-2 record after the defeat.
FMP got to a slightly better start. They led by as many as five points after ten minutes. FMP continued to dominate in the second frame. They registered a 41:30 halftime lead. But KK Zagreb turned things around drastically in the second half. The Croats went on a 24:9 run in the third period to take a 4-point lead after three quarters of action. KK Zagreb unleashed 32 points in the final quarter to seal the comfortable win at the end. Mario Hezonja (195-G-95) had 20 points, while Dario Saric (205-F/C-94) finished with 17 points, 6 boards, 8 assists and 4 steals in the win. Nikola Pavlovic (195-F/G-93) and Stefan Popovski-Turanjanin (201-F-93) had 12 points each for FMP in defeat.

IJT KK Zagreb: Dominik Mavra 31, Mario Hezonja 20, Dario Saric 17
IJT FMP: Nikola Pavlovic 12, Stefan Popovski-Turanjanin 12

Zalgiris topple Crvena Zvezda at Nike International Junior tournament - by Eurobasket News
IJT Zalgiris - IJT Crvena Zvezda 74:65

IJT Zalgiris climbed on top of Group B at the Nike International Junior Tournament. They held off Crvena Zvezda on the second day of the tournament to improve at 2-0 record. Arturas Gudaitis (208-C-93) scored 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to pace the winners.
Zalgiris led from the start. They earned a 19:16 lead after ten minutes. The margin kept on growing in the second frame. Zalgiris recorded a 42:32 halftime lead. Crvena Zvezda shifted the gear in the third term. They increased the tempo and cut the distance to only 3 points with one quarter to go. Zalgiris stiffened their defense in the final period limiting Crvena Zvezda to just 13 points and celebrated a tough win at the end. Kaspars Vecvagars (191-G-93) produced 15 points in the win. Marius Grigonis (195-F-94) added 11 points for Zalgiris. Andrija Bojic (206-G/F-93) replied with 20 points and 7 rebounds for Crvena Zvezda. Ivan Marinkovic (207-F-93) netted 12 points in the loss.

IJT Zalgiris: Arturas Gudaitis 15+12 boards, Kaspars Vecvagars 15, Marius Grigonis 11
IJT Crvena Zvezda: Andrija Bojic 20, Ivan Marinkovic 12

Eurobasket.com All-Serbian B League Awards 2010-11 - by Greg
Player of the Year: Slobodan Lalic (197-G-86) of Radnicki BG
Guard of the Year: Dragan Bjelica (198-G-81) of Viva Basket
Forward of the Year: Nemanja Knezevic (203-F-87) of Vojvodina
Center of the Year: Slobodan Gugleta (C-83) of Zeleznicar
Bosman Player of the Year: Bojan Subotic (206-F/C-90) of Radnicki Basket
Defensive Player of the Year: Slobodan Gugleta (C-83) of Zeleznicar
Coach of the Year: Dragan Nikolic of Radnicki BG

1st Team
G: Slobodan Lalic (197-86) of Radnicki BG
G: Dragan Bjelica (198-81) of Viva Basket
F: Nemanja Knezevic (203-87) of Vojvodina
F: Ivan Dukanac (199-80) of Mladost Cacak
C: Slobodan Gugleta (-83) of Zeleznicar

2nd Team
G: Zarko Karic (191-84) of Radnicki BG
G: Nenad Kasabasic (190-84) of Zeleznicar
G: Vojin Svilar (188-86) of Smederevo
F/C: Bojan Subotic (206-90) of Radnicki Basket
F/C: Aleksandar Vuletic (203) of Viva Basket

Honorable Mention
Dragan Petronic (206-F/C-82) of Radnicki BG
Vladimir Jojic (185-G-75) of Zeleznicar
Miodrag Dinic (197-G-80) of Spartak
Kemal Karahodzic () of Spartak
Miroslav Radic (195-G-84) of Spartak
Uros Zivanovic (204-F/C-85) of Smederevo
Nikola Glisovic (209-C-73) of Student
Milos Trailovic (198-G-81) of Sindjelic Nis
Tomislav Ivosev () of Vojvodina
Aleksandar Petrovic (206-C-72) of Viva Basket
Dragan Boricic (201-F-77) of Radnicki OB
Vladislav Stanisavljevic (185-G-91) of Jagodina

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

SPAIN

Regal Barcelona hold off Team China - by Eurobasket News
IJT Regal Barcelona - IJT Team China 83:77

IJT Regal Barcelona celebrated the first win at the Nike International Junior Tournament. The hosts edged IJT Team China tonight to improve at 1-1 record in Group B. Team China fell at 0-2 record after the loss. Josep Perez (183-G-94) scored 23 points to lead the home team.
Team China started the game aggressively trying to leave the opening loss behind. They outscored Barcelona for a 21:19 lead after ten minutes. But the hosts bounced back in the second frame. Barcelona went on a deadly 23:11 run in the second term to build a 42:32 halftime advantage. Team China did not allow the home team to run away. The Asian youngsters outscored their European counterparts 24:17 in the third term to trail by only 3 points at the final intermission. But Regal Barcelona proved the difference in the final stanza. The Spaniards scored 24 points and sealed the winning outcome at the end. Lluis Costa (186-G-93) notched 14 points, while Pauli Oriol (196-G-94) contributed 12 points in the victory. Guo Ailun (193-G-93) answered with 17 points and 7 rebounds for Team China. Zhu Xuhang (207-F-93) provided 12 points and 7 rebounds in defeat.

IJT Regal Barcelona: Josep Perez 23, Lluis Costa 14, Pauli Oriol 12
IJT Team China: Guo Ailun 17, Zhu Xuhang 12

EuroLeague Final Four 2011 - Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 82 Real Madrid 63 - by Eurobasket News
Maccabi Tel Aviv and Real Madrid took to the floor in the second semi-final of EuroLeague Final Four 2011in Barcelona looking to join Panathinaikos in the Final. While the game may have been taking place on Spanish soil it was noticeable inside the Arena that Real fans were outnumbered by Maccabi fans by as many as ten to one. In a sea of yellow shirts, the game could have been being played in Tel Aviv itself. Ante Tomic (217-C-87) opened the scoring in the game for Real and it was quickly followed by a nice jump shot by Felipe Reyes (203-F/C-80) as Real started strongly. It was Guy Pnini (200-F/G-83) who finally got Maccabi off and running with a big triple and by the time Jeremy Pargo (188-PG-86, agency: Priority Sports, college: Gonzaga) also converted from downtown, he had tied the game up at 8-8 with just under three minutes to play in the opening period.

An unsportsmanlike foul on Richard Hendrix gave Real Madrid the opportunity to restore their advantage but Ante Tomic missed both resulting free-throws. Both teams were tied down offensively but another outside score, this time by Pnini again helped his team into a 14-10 lead with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter. He was then back in the thick of the action after he was called for an unsportsmanlike foul for a heavy foul uner the hoop on D'or Fischer who cut the gap to leave Maccabi Tel Aviv 14-12 in front after the first period.

David Blu continued the excellent work of Maccabi from range as he buried a three-pointer and that kept the small numbr of Real fans even quieter than they already were. Reyes went to work inside and got one to drop as Real looked to get some momentum. That was always going to be difficult with Pnini still having the hot hand from downtown with yet another triple and when Sofoklis Schortstanitis flushed one down it was time for a Madrid time-out and 22-14 behind with 6:30 to go until the midway point of the game.

Madrid needed a lift badly and it was provided in the form of a first three-pointer of the game. Pablo Prigioni took Real to one of seven from outside which was in stark contrast to Maccabi who were five of seven from the arc and that was the story of the game. Real were always going to compete inside with the class and warrior like play from Reyes and he brought the Spanish side to within one shot of Maccabi at 22-19 approaching the midway point of the second period. A nice reverse lay-up by Chuck Eidson (202-F/G-80, agency: Court Side, college: S.Carolina) kept Maccabi in front but Prigioni was beginning to warm up as another three ensured Madrid posted an 8-2 run. That was the extended further with another score as Madrid tied things up through Tomic at 24-24.

Maccabi then got their noses back in thefront sparked by a big dunk by Hendrix but Tomic was supporting Reyes well for Madrid to keep things tight as the teams left court with Maccabi 32-29 ahead at the half.

They extended their advantage during the early exchanges when the game resumed with Schortstanitis getting the job done inside and then one of the highlights of day one as Jeremy Pargo threw one down to send the Maccabi fans into absolute raptures and take his team out to a 40-32 lead. After a quiet first half, Sergio Llull (190-G-87) finally came alive with a three-pointer for Real but Maccabi supporters were still singing when Pargo then finished inside after a great spin-move.

After being pretty much the sole threat from downtown during the first half for Madrid, Pablo Prigioni continued his good work after draning another from the corner and that brought the Spanish side to within four at 42-38 with five minutes of the penultimate quarter remaining. Carlos Suarez then drained a triple from the top with a hand right in his face and suddenly Real had the momentum and David Blatt was looking agitated in the sideline. It was also around the same time Felipe Reyes moved on to a double-double in the game.

However Maccabi had other ideas and Blatt looked a lot more comfortable when his team made a big push in the closing minutes of the quarter. With 90 seconds remaining they led 50-43 and in a pivotal moment of the game, D'Or Fischer threw the ball away from under his own basket on the in-bound and that gave a gleeful Chuck Eidson a three point play as they went into a double figure lead at 53-43. While Real scored two of the last thre baskets in the period, Maccabi still held a healthy lead at 55-47 heading into the last ten minutes.

Real needed a strong start but it didn't arrive and they found themselves 14 points behind at 63-49 after successive threes by Eidson and Pargo. Maccabi threatened to blow the game wide open and Madrid were not yet on the floor but certainly on the ropes and in need of some inspiration. Some might argue that with six minutes left when David Blu put Maccabi 17 ahead, Real needed divine intervention. You would think by this point the Spanish team might have learned their lesson and tightened up their perimeter defence but the shooting class from the arc continued as Eidson made another triple.

Maccabi had one foot in the Final already and only a collapse of spectacularly epic proportions would deny them. When Schortsanitis scored inside and took it out to a twenty point margin it was all over at 71-51. Real could make no impression whatsoever as the downtown party for Maccabi continued to the final buzzer as they ran out comfortable 82-63 winners to face Panathinaikos in the 2011 Final.

The win really came courtesy of a stupendous 12 triples in the game with Chuck Eidson finishing with 19 points including 3 of 4 from outside as well as 6 steals and 6 rebounds. Guy Pnini was 4 of 6 from the arc while for Real, Reyes had a double-double of 15 points and 14 rebounds.

By Paul Nilsen

Stats Leaders-LEB Silver

Points Per Game

Matt WITT
  Clavijo
  (183-PG-84)
  Avg: 16.4

1. Witt, Clavijo	16.4
2. Barcelo, Plasencia	15.7
3. O''Leary, Oviedo F.	15.6
4. Ramsdell, Avila	15.4
5. Ratzsch, Oviedo F.	15.1
6. Paez, Lan M.	15.0
7. Bratton, Lan M.	14.9
8. Mortellaro, Lan M.	14.8
9. Bivia, Mallorca	14.8
10. Mesa, Clavijo	14.7

Rebounds Per Game

Olaseni LAWAL
  Guadalajara
  (206-F/C-86)
  Avg: 10.8

1. Lawal, Guadalajara	10.8
2. O''Leary, Oviedo F.	9.3
3. De Santana, Clavijo	8.8
4. Chubrevich, Illesc.	8.4
5. Mortellaro, Lan M.	8.1
6. Mesa, Clavijo	7.9
7. Adams, Coruna	7.8
8. Ramsdell, Avila	7.6
9. Larry, Regal F.	7.1
10. Howard, Andorra	6.9

Assists Per Game

Matt WITT
  Clavijo
  (183-PG-84)
  Avg: 6

1. Witt, Clavijo	6.0
2. Uriz, Santurtzi	5.0
3. Ibargutxi, Lan M.	5.0
4. Lopez, Coruna	4.6
5. Bivia, Mallorca	4.0
6. Pampin, Mallorca	3.6
7. Marco, ADT T.	3.6
8. Machuca, Illescas	3.4
9. Rufian, Promobys	3.4
10. Garcia, Avila	3.2

Steals Per Game

Mikel URIZ
  Santurtzi
  (180-G-89)
  Avg: 2

1. Uriz, Santurtzi	2.0
2. Barcelo, Plasencia	2.0
3. Adams, Coruna	1.9
4. Smith, Guadalajara	1.8
5. Bratton, Lan M.	1.8
6. Martinez, Plasencia	1.7
7. Witt, Clavijo	1.7
8. Guirao, ADT T.	1.6
9. Pampin, Mallorca	1.6
10. Creus, Regal F.	1.5

Blocks Per Game

Bismack BIYOMBO
  Illescas
  (204-C-92)
  Avg: 1.9

1. Biyombo, Illescas	1.9
2. Mbaye, Regal F.	1.8
3. Todorovic, Prat J.	1.5
4. Green, Mallorca	1.3
5. Lawal, Guadalajara	1.3
6. De Santana, Clavijo	1.3
7. Conde, Avila	1.2
8. Cage, ADT Tarrago.	1.0
9. Hampl, Santurtzi	0.9
10. Chubrevich, Illes.	0.9

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

SUDAN

A list of Sudanese players in the U.S. - by Kristian Santiago
Here is a list of Sudanese basketball players currently in high school and in colleges in the United States.

Name/Height/School

Cheir Ajou (216-C) 7-1 Culver Academies (IN) committed to New Mexico for 2011-2012 season
Obij Aget (216-C) 7-0 La Lumiere School (IN)
Peter Jurkin (213-C) 7-0 United Faith Christian HS (NC) committed to Indiana for 2012-2013 season
Leek Leek (203-C) 6-6 Tallahasssee CC
David Nyarsuk (216-C), 7-1 Mountain State Univ.
Mading Thok (211-C) 6-11Mount Michael HS (NE)
Deng Gol (208-C) 6-10 Mount Michael HS (NE)
Deng Leek (211-C) committed to Western Kentucky for 2011-2012 season
Akoy Agau 6-8 Omaha Central (NE)
Angelo Chol (211-F-93) committed to Arizona for 2011-2012 season
Peter Jok 6-3 Roosevelt HS (IA)
Dau Jok (193-G) 6-4 Pennsylvania
Ring Ayuel (225-C-88) 7-3 Ohlone CC
Steven Gatkuoth (213-C-88) 7-0 Mars Hill
Thon Luony (198-F) Lewis & Clark CC
Victor Abass 6-4 Johnson State College
Koang Doluony (200-F) 6-7 Indiana State
Justin Anyijong (205-F/C-88) 6-9 Toledo
Teeng Akol (210-F/C) 6-11 Western Kentucky
John Riek (215-F-89) Mississippi
Majok Majok (206-F) 6-9 Midland JC
Goldeng Deng (187-G) Park

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

TAIWAN

Yulon named Chiu Chi-yi new coach - by Chris Wang
The original leading paragraph should have been like this:

Yulon Luxgen, which finished a disappointing 2011 season after losing in the first round playoff, fired its head coach Zhang Xuelei and named former Yulon player Chiu Chi-Yi (185-G-75) as its new head coach last week.

The thing is, Yulon did not fire Zhang. Instead, its management invented a term called 'executive coach' and gave Chiu that position. In other words, Zhang will still be Yulon's head coach on paper despite he will no longer involve in operation, training and on-court coaching of the team.

Chiu, 35, retired early due to foot injury and has worked for the team as its public relation director. He also tried to get involved in coaching in the past two years but had only handled minor duty.

He was known for his scoring ability in his career and played for Taiwan internationally. However, he was never considered a core player on the national team.

According to Chinese-language Chins Times newspaper, Chiu was surprised he got picked as the new coach because he is one of the youngest Yulon coaches.

He pledged to continue the 'youth movement' and to take four-time SBL champion Yulon to the top of the league. Young players, including Chou Po-chen, Lin Chieh-min, Wu Fong-cheng and Lee De-wei, will play much larger role in the future.

Chiu said he will trying bring back Chen Hsin-an, Lee Hsueh-lin and Tseng Wen-ting, former Yulon players who opted to play in China or Japan.

Back to the issue of 'executive coach.' It was not the first time Taiwanese basketball teams did this -- keeping a man who should've been fired or had nothing to do with coaching on the head coach position and naming a person as an 'executive coach' to handle everything a head coach does. And I always wonder why this idea even came up.

Let's take former Hungfu Rams American coach J.T. Prada as an example. Prada's official position on the team was a technical consultant, but he functioned as a head coach. The head coach Chen Ching-lang was just a head coach on paper.

The strange arrangement puzzled stats staff of the CBA (Chinese Basketball Alliance -- Taiwan's pro league from 1993-1999) and meat the time. We were not sure we should put the win-loss record under Prada or Chen.

At the end of the day, it's ridiculous when a head coach is not actually a head coach.

CTBA announces 24-man preliminary roster of Taiwan men's NT - by Chris Wang
The Chinese Taipei Basketball Association approved the 24-man preliminary roster of Taiwan men's NT for the East Asian Basketball Championship, a qualifier for the 2011 FIBA Asia Championship for Men, submitted by Taiwan NT head coach Chou Jun-san Friday.

Six oversea players, including the trio playing in China -- Lin Chih-Chieh (192-F/G-82), Chen Hsin-an and Lee Hsueh-lin, Tseng Wen-ting, who is playing for BJ League's Osaka Evessa in Japan, and the pair playing in the U.S. -- Jet Chang and Chou Yi-hsiang.

Chang finished a brilliant junior season with the NCAA Div-II BYU-Hawaii, leading the Seasiders to the championship game and scoring 78 points in two games in the Final Four. He became the first Taiwanese player to be named the Most Outstanding Player in Div-II Final Four. He averaged 21.2 points during the season.

20-year-old Chou, a 6-4 freshman in Salt Lake Community College, averaged 4.6 points in 15.1 minutes in his first year in the U.S.

Preliminary roster:

Yang Ching-min, 188cm, 1984/01/22, 27, TB
Wu Tai-hao, 202cm, 1985/02/07, 26, TB
Cheng Jen-wei, 194cm, 1987/04/06, 24, KKL
Chen Shih-nian, 180cm, 1984/04/08, 27, TB
Ho Shou-cheng, 196cm, 1983/02/15, 28, TB
Doug Creighton, 195cm, 1985/03/07, 26, TB
Tien Lei, 202cm, 1983/06/01, 27, Dacin
Chang Chih-feng, 183cm, 1981/04/22, 30, Dacin
Chen Tse-wei, 200cm, 1985/01/30, 26, Dacin
James Mao, 196cm, 1982/11/16, 28, PY
Chien Chia-hung, 197cm, 1987/03/06, 24, PY
Lu Cheng-ju, 194cm, 1986/08/23, 24, Yulon
Chen Shun-hsiang, 190cm, 1985/05/02, 26, BOT
Su Yi-chieh, 182cm, 1987/01/28, 24, TM
Chen Ching-huan, 190cm, 1987/12/18, 25, KKL
Chang Jung-hsuan, 194cm, 1986/02/03, 23, KKL
Lee Hsueh-lin, 175cm, 1984/01/31, 27, Beijing (China)
Tseng Wen-ting, 202cm, 1984/07/06, 26, Osaka (Japan)
Lin Chih-Chieh, 192cm, 1982/06/11, 28, Zhejiang (China)
Chen Hsin-an, 195cm, 1980/07/01, 30, Dong Guan (China)
Jet Chang, 192cm, 1988/12/27, 22, BYU-Hawaii (US)
Chou Po-chen, 196cm, 1990/08/08, 20, Taiwan Normal University
Chou Yi-hsiang, 194cm, 1991/02/04, 20, Salt Lake CC (US)

Meanwhile, Chou has nominated PY head coach Hsu Chin-tse as one of his assistants. The other assistant coach remains to be named.

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

TUNISIA

Standings - D1

D1 Stage Two Standings

Play-Off Group A
1. ES Sahel		3-0
2. Ezzahra		1-2
3. JS Kairouan		1-3
Play-Off Group B
1. Stade Nabeulien		3-0
2. ES Rades		2-1
3. C Africain		0-4
Places 7-12
1. C Cheminots		10-12
2. US Monastir		9-13
3. CA Bizerte		6-16
4. EOG Kram		6-16
5. JS Manazeh		6-16
6. C Tunisair		5-17

Stage One Standings

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

TURKEY

Standings - TBL

TBL Standings

1. Fener.Ulker		27-3
2. Galatasaray		22-7
3. Banvit		22-7
4. Efes Pilsen		21-8
5. Karsiyaka		20-9
6. Besiktas		18-11
7. Olin Edirne		17-12
8. Antalya		13-16
9. Tofas		12-17
10. Turk Telekom		12-18
11. Trabzonspor		10-19
12. Erdemir		10-19
13. Mersin		10-19
14. Aliaga		9-20
15. Bornova		7-22
16. Oyak Renault		3-26

INSEP edge Fenerbahce Ulker in Barcelona - by Eurobasket News
IJT INSEP - IJT Fenerbahce Ulker 80:68

IJT INSEP recorded the first win at the Nike International Tournament. They held off IJT Fenerbahce Ulker for 1-1 record in Group A. Jean-Charles Livio (202-F/C-93) came up with 21 points and 13 boards to pace the French outfit.
INSEP shocked their opponents early in the encounter. The defending champions went on a 29:11 rally in the first term to leave Fenerbahce behind. The Turkish youngsters came back to life in the second term. They stopped the rot to cut the deficit 15 points at the interval. INSEP however remained in charge after the main break. They ensured a 16-point lead with one quarter remaining and rolled to the victory at the end. Hugo Invernizzi (196-F/G-93) scored 18 points for INSEP. Anthony Racine (188-G-94) added 16 points for the winners. Kerem Hotic (197-F-93) answered with 20 points for Fenerbahce Ulker. James Birsen (201-F-95) contributed 13 points in the losing effort.

IJT INSEP: Jean-Charles Livio 21+13 boards, Hugo Invernizzi 18, Anthony Racine 16
IJT Fenerbahce Ulker: Kerem Hotic 20, James Birsen 13

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

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

Super 12..Who I like for next season - by David Edole
ST. CROIX --This summer will be critical for boys basketball in the Virgin Islands. Way too many players have too much holes to fill in their games and must use the summer time to correct those problems. When I was constructing this list I ran into so many problems. I added and toke away players. This was the first year I had to sit down and really think of a list. So gentlemen you better hit the gym hard!

12. Kelvin Thomas, Guard, 5-8, Central High, Class of 2013
Comment: I love his on the ball pressure. Thomas was the reason Central High pulled away from Educational Complex in the championship game. He took the ball from offensive played and dished it to wide open teammates. He uses his track and field speed to create havoc on the basketball court
NEEDS: A jump shot

11. Deshawn Garvey, Guard, 5-10, Educational Complex, Class of 2012
Comment: Virgin Islands edition of Black Magic. Garvey is a heady basketball player; his game is tricking you into doing something you dont want to do. His ball handling is excellent but he is not that very quick.
NEEDS: Get stronger, defense

10. Dekwani Norford, Forward, 6-5, Charlotte Amalie, Class of 2012
Comment: Norford is just 16 years old and will be in the 12th grade. His biggest asset is blocking shots and rebounding. With more playing time, he should blossom in his final year as a Chicken Hawk. In order to dominate, Norford needs to hit the weight room religiously.
NEEDS: Get Stronger and work hard in the offseason.

9. Kareem Harris, Guard, 6-1, Manor School, Class of 2012
Comment: Harris can flat out shoot! He had his coming out party when he scored 35 points in a win over Antilles at the Basketball Jam. He has the best no, an outstanding form. I dont know if Coach Cuthbert George taught him that but it is outstanding.
NEEDS: To get to the basket. If the outside shot is not falling one must get to the hoop.

8. Adrian Kolarik, Guard, 5-11, Eudora Kean, Class of 2013
Comment: Kolarik is another outstanding shooter from the Virgin Islands. This cat put up 33 points on All Saints and was tough enough to knock down free throws that knocked out Central High out of their own tournament. The lefty has a set shot that sends opposing fans crazy.
NEEDS: Driving to the basket and defense.

7. Charles Sealey, Forward, 6-3, Educational Complex, Class of 2012
Comment: Mountain the third, after Akeem and Joaquim, can jump out of the gym. His game is to get to the basket by slashing. His best game of the season was an 18 point effort in a regular season win over Central High.
NEEDS: Not a great shooter

6. Shomari Francis, Guard, 6-1, Central High, Class of 2012
Comment: Eyes to the ground is what I call Francis. Francis would pull a rebound and immediately look to the ground and bring the ball up. Magically, he would find an open player. I cant explain it. Francis is a good shooter and is a leaper. He had a couple of 20 point games and should be primed for a big senior season.
NEEDS: To improve ball handling.

5. Shanoi Miller, Guard, 5-11, Charlotte Amalie, Class of 2012
Comment: Miller is set to inherit the title as the man at Charlotte Amalie. Now it will be interesting to see what he does with it. Miller is an outstanding defender and I dont ever remember him getting tired. He was often second or third on the Hawks in scoring. He gets most of his points by playing the passing lane. Miller can knock down a set three pointer and is a good passer but can he handle the point guard? He had 5 turnovers in the all-star game and no assists.
NEEDS: Work on the outside shot and becoming a point guard for the Hawks.

4. Razeem Huggins, Forward, 6-2, Central, Class of 2012
Comment: Huggins was the best offensive player on the court for the St. Croix All-Stars. He led the team with 16 points but needed 17 shots. Huggins uses his awesome athletic ability to rebound as he finished with eight.
NEEDS: To bulk up, get stronger and defense is a part of the game.

3. Agyei Gregory (94), Guard, 6-1, Antilles, Class of 2012
Comment: Gregory was on his way to a monster all-star game when he fell hard and messed up his chin. The one in Antilles one-two punch had eight points in just 12 minutes played. Gregory is a good outside shooter and can get to the basket. He always get the ball to the rim, I have seen him make some weird and impossible shots.
NEEDS: To improve stamina and defense

2. Dornell Weaver (94), Forward, 6-6, Antilles, Class of 2012
Comment: Weaver should be dominating, he has all the tools. He has size, power and strength. However when the game is on he gives 50%. His 50% was good enough for 14 rebounds in the all-star game and just six points. Weaver plays a strong man game. He loves to overpower opponents but now needs to learn some post moves. With all that said, Weaver owns a nice 10-to-15 foot jump shot. If Antilles make a push for the territorial championship it will be because of Weaver.
Needs: Improve ball handling and give 100%.

1. Xavier Richards, Guard, 6-1, Eudora Kean, Class of 2012
Comment: Anyone who attended Sun Stroke ALL V.I. Hoop Classic went away impressed with Richards leaping ability. He used his jumping ability to come away with a game high 15 rebounds. He also had 11 points and easily won the Slam Dunk Competition. X uses his strength to score in a variety of ways; he drives hard to the basket, he can hit the spot up three-pointer and knock down his free throws.
NEEDS: TO play his position, he can be found playing in the paint.

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UBA

URBL Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Jermaine BARNES
(194-G/F-82)
Avg: 27.3

1. Barnes, GIE M.	27.3
2. Barrett, S.Generals	26.6
3. Perkins, Austin K.	24.3
4. Kearse, Dallas S.	24.0
5. Sloan, S.Generals	24.0
6. James, DFW W.	22.5
7. Holmes, Atlanta A.	21.7
8. Allison, Norman E.	21.6
9. Clark, St.Mount.	21.1
10. Grismore, C.Tex.	19.9

Rebounds Per Game

Sylvester MORGAN
  USA
  (208-C-83)
  Avg: 13.1

1. Morgan, GIE M.	13.1
2. Dailey, GIE M.	12.6
3. Hall, St.Mount.	10.8
4. Bryant, Dallas S.	10.5
5. Hill, C.Texas C.	10.3
6. Hill, DFW Warriors	10.2
7. Akpele, S.Generals	10.1
8. Wilson, Tennesse.	9.7
9. Holmes, Atlanta A.	9.6
10. Shewmake, Tennes.	9.6

Assists Per Game

DeAndre BRAY
(168-G-85)
Avg: 9.9

1. Bray, S.Generals	9.9
2. Horton, DFW W.	9.5
3. De La Cruz, S.Gen.	9.3
4. Haskins, C.Texas C.	8.3
5. Williams, GIE M.	8.3
6. Belton, GIE M.	7.9
7. Belton, Atlanta A.	7.9
8. Beaulah, GIE M.	6.4
9. Douglas, DFW W.	6.3
10. Taylor, Tennesse.	6.0

Steals Per Game

Freddie WILLIAMS
(188-G-87)
Avg: 3.6

1. Williams, S.Genera.	3.6
2. Kearse, Dallas S.	3.5
3. Williams, GIE M.	3.3
4. Bray, S.Generals	3.0
5. Taylor, Tennesse.	2.7
6. Brown, Norman E.	2.7
7. Haskins, C.Texas C.	2.5
8. Snell, Atlanta A.	2.4
9. Barnes, GIE M.	2.4
10. Clark, St.Mount.	2.1

Blocks Per Game

Demario WILLIAMS
(216-C-85)
Avg: 6.2

1. Williams, GIE M.	6.2
2. Moore, S.Generals	5.5
3. Morgan, GIE M.	5.0
4. Bryant, Dallas S.	4.7
5. Davis, Dallas Stars	3.2
6. Wilson, Tennesse.	3.0
7. Hall, St.Mount.	2.9
8. Hill, DFW Warriors	2.5
9. Williams, Norman E.	2.4
10. Dailey, GIE M.	2.4

Standings

UBA Standings

Eastern
1. Southeast H.		26-4
2. Cleveland V.		23-5
3. Columbus C.		10-14
4. Colonial F.		6-21
5. NE Air Soul		2-26
Southern
1. S.Generals		35-5
2. GIE Morrow D.		31-14
3. Atlanta A.		21-11
4. Georgia L.		10-24
5. St.Mountain H.		3-25
Western
1. C.Texas C.		26-6
2. Tennessee D.		25-11
3. Norman E.		23-8
4. DFW Warriors		16-14
5. Austin K.		15-13
D-League
1. Irie M.		0-0
2. Proline		0-0
3. Team Japan		0-0
Travel Teams
1. Columbus Crush		9-2
2. Dallas Star		8-23
3. Houston X.		6-0
4. Oklahoma S.		1-28
5. Nashville B.		0-16
6. Metro Atlanta		0-19

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UKRAINE

Stats Leaders - Men

Points Per Game

Steve BURTT
  Dnipro
  (185-G-84)
  Avg: 22.4

1. Burtt, Dnipro	22.4
2. Flores, BC Donetsk	16.7
3. Burns, Fe.	16.7
4. Washington, BC Od.	16.4
5. Curry, Azovmash	16.1
6. Wiggins, Halychyna	15.1
7. Millage, Khimik	14.9
8. Love, Mykolaiv	14.7
9. Bakic, Kryvbasb.	14.5
10. Fraser, DniproAzot	14.5

Rebounds Per Game

Michael FRASER
  DniproAzot
  (203-C/F-84)
  Avg: 10.9

1. Fraser, DniproAzot	10.9
2. Wiggins, Halychyna	9.3
3. Burns, Fe.	8.1
4. Saltovets, BC Kyiv	7.6
5. Austin, Dnipro	7.3
6. Morrison, Halyc.	7.2
7. Owens, Azovmash	6.6
8. Chappell, Hoverla	6.6
9. Hunter, Fe.	6.5
10. Coleman, Hoverla	6.5

Assists Per Game

Steve BURTT
  Dnipro
  (185-G-84)
  Avg: 5.5

1. Burtt, Dnipro	5.5
2. Abernethy, Halyc.	5.2
3. Zimmerman, Hoverla	4.9
4. Sparks, BC Odessa	4.8
5. Funn, Halychyna	4.7
6. Vasiljevic, BC Do.	4.7
7. Millage, Khimik	4.5
8. Brewer, BC Odessa	4.5
9. Slipenchuk, Kryvba.	4.2
10. Sirsnins, DniproA.	3.9

Steals Per Game

Curtis MILLAGE
  Khimik
  (185-G-81)
  Avg: 2.4

1. Millage, Khimik	2.4
2. House, Azovmash	1.9
3. Sparks, BC Odessa	1.8
4. Sirutavicius, Dnip.	1.5
5. Mazutis, Mykolaiv	1.5
6. Burns, Fe.	1.5
7. Love, Mykolaiv	1.4
8. Swanson, Hoverla	1.4
9. Sirsnins, DniproAz.	1.4
10. Chappell, Hoverla	1.4

Blocks Per Game

James HUGHES
  Mykolaiv
  (211-C-83)
  Avg: 2.1

1. Hughes, Mykolaiv	2.1
2. Kravtsov, BC Do.	1.9
3. Hunter, Fe.	1.5
4. Zaitsev, Kryvbasb.	1.4
5. Morrison, Halyc.	1.4
6. Turner, BC Odessa	1.3
7. Coleman, Hoverla	1.3
8. Pettway, Dnipro	1.2
9. Balashov, BC Odes.	1.2
10. Onufriyev, Mykola.	1.1

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

VENEZUELA

Standings - LPB

LPB Standings

1. Cocodrilos		23-7
2. Marinos		23-9
3. Trotamundos		22-10
4. Guaiqueries		18-13
5. Bucaneros		17-16
6. Gigantes		16-16
7. Panteras		15-18
8. Toros		11-23
9. Guaros		10-20
10. Gaiteros		5-28

LPB Round 39: Marinos are upset by Bucaneros - by Eurobasket News
The game between second ranked Marinos (23-9) and sixth ranked Bucaneros (17-16) was the most important one in the last round on Thursday night. Marinos were defeated by Bucaneros in a tough game in Puerto La Cruz 87-95. Bucaneros moved-up to fifth place. Marinos at the other side keep the second position with nine games lost. Bucaneros will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Marinos will play on the road against Gigantes in Puerto Ordaz and are hoping to win this game.
Bottom-ranked Gaiteros managed to get a fifth victory, breaking the series of twelve consecutive loses. This time they won against eighth-ranked Toros in Maracaibo 79-73. Gaiteros maintains tenth place with 5-28 record. Toros lost eighth consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with 23 games lost. Gaiteros will play against higher ranked Guaros (#9) in Barquisimeto in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Toros will play on the road against the league's leader Cocodrilos where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.

Marinos - Bucaneros 87-95
The game between second ranked Marinos (23-9) and sixth ranked Bucaneros (17-16) was the most important one in the last round on Thursday night. Marinos were defeated by Bucaneros in a tough game in Puerto La Cruz 87-95. Bucaneros moved-up to fifth place. Marinos at the other side keep the second position with nine games lost. Bucaneros will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Marinos will play on the road against Gigantes in Puerto Ordaz and are hoping to win this game.

Gaiteros - Toros 79-73
Bottom-ranked Gaiteros managed to get a fifth victory, breaking the series of twelve consecutive loses. This time they won against eighth-ranked Toros in Maracaibo 79-73. Gaiteros maintains tenth place with 5-28 record. Toros lost eighth consecutive game. They keep the eighth position with 23 games lost. Gaiteros will play against higher ranked Guaros (#9) in Barquisimeto in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Toros will play on the road against the league's leader Cocodrilos where they are definitely not considered as a favorite in this game either.

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Women News

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

ADRIATIC LEAGUE - Women

Ivankovic steps down as coach of Lupa, replaced by Ciglar - by Zeljko Zule
After two and half seasons, Vladimir Ivankovic has decided to step down as coach of Lupa promotion Novi Zagreb. He led the team from A-2 League to the Croatian Championship and Cup both semifinals and to the 7th place in club's Adriatic League inaugural season 2010-11. The club announced that experienced Zeljko Ciglar (agency: Global Sports Plaza ) has been hired to replaced Ivankovic behind the bench. Ciglar helped Croatia to win the 2001 Mediterannean Games, a silver medal at U-16 European Championship 2010 and a bronze medal at U-16 European Champinship 2001.

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CROATIA - Women

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FRANCE - Women

Bourges dethrones Tarbes, takes back the LFB title - by Eurobasket News
LFB Finals, Game 2: Bourges - Tarbes 71-59 (2-0)

Bourges outplayed Tarbes once again winning the LFB title with perfect 2-0 in the Finals. It was a 71-59 home win and before that Bourges was too strong for their rival on the road 53-71. It means that Bourges dethroned Tarbes to take back the title which they last time won two years ago. Bourges also was the LFB champion from 1995 to 2000, than in 2006 and 2008. Styliani Kaltsidou (188-C/F-83, agency: Josep and Nicolas) was the leading player for the hosts last night with 15 points. Catherine Joens (180-G-82) scored 11, while Anael Lardy (170-G-87, agency: Josep and Nicolas) and Paoline Salagnac (176-G-84, agency: Josep and Nicolas) added 10 points each. In the loosing squad, Ivanka Matic (195-F/C-79) delivered 14 points. Brooke Smith (191-F/C-84, agency: LBM Management, college: Stanford) (9 rebs) and Pauline Lo (193-F/C-87) netted 12 and 11 pts respectively. Third quarter was the crucial one in this game as Bourges won it 26-9. Before that, Tarbes made 19-20 in the first period and the hosts replied with 13-12 after that. Bourges grabbed 17-point lead in Q3 and had no troubles to keep it for rest of the game.
Bourges was the regular season champion with 24-2 record. Later in the Semifinals they eliminated Lattes Montpellier with perfect 2-0.

Bourges: Styliani Kaltsidou 15, Catherine Joens 11, Anael Lardy 10, Paoline Salagnac 10
Tarbes: Ivanka Matic 14, Brooke Smith 12+9 boards, Pauline Lo 11

Eurobasket.com All-French LFB Awards 2010-11 - by Greg

All-French LFB 1st Team 2010-2011

Ndongue

Hurst

Joens

Akonga Nsimbo

Bass-Williams

Player of the Year: Emmeline Ndongue (190-C-83) of Bourges
Guard of the Year: Catherine Joens (180-G-82) of Bourges
Forward of the Year: Pauline Akonga Nsimbo (187-F/C-82) of Arras
Center of the Year: Emmeline Ndongue (190-C-83) of Bourges
Domestic Player of the Year: Emmeline Ndongue (190-C-83) of Bourges
Import Player of the Year: Mistie Bass-Williams (191-C-83) of Challes
Bosman Player of the Year: Jelena Dubljevic (192-C-87) of Tarbes
Defensive Player of the Year: Alison Bales (201-C-85) of Union Hainaut
Coach of the Year: Pierre Vincent of Bourges

1st Team
G: Natalie Hurst (163-83) of Aix-en-Provence
G: Catherine Joens (180-82) of Bourges
F/C: Pauline Akonga Nsimbo (187-82) of Arras
C: Mistie Bass-Williams (191-83) of Challes
C: Emmeline Ndongue (190-83) of Bourges

2nd Team
G: Kristen Sharp (175-81) of Mondeville
G: Caroline Aubert (168-80) of Nantes
F: Aurelie Bonnan (187-83) of Mondeville
C: Jennifer Humphrey (191-84) of Landes
C: Jelena Dubljevic (192-87) of Tarbes

Honorable Mention
Chandrea Jones (175-G-87) of Toulouse
Paoline Salagnac (176-G-84) of Bourges
Brooke Smith (191-F/C-84) of Tarbes
Caroline Aubert (168-G-80) of Nantes
Ana Lelas (183-G/F-83) of Lattes Montp.
Aurelie Bonnan (187-F-83) of Mondeville
Alison Bales (201-C-85) of Union Hainaut
Arhonda Covington (185-F-85) of Union Hainaut
Djene Diawara (192-C-85) of Charleville
Kristen Mann (188-F-83) of Charleville
Olayinka Sanni (188-C-86) of Villeneuve
Hollie Grima (190-C/F-83) of Aix-en-Provence

All-Domestic Players Team
G: Paoline Salagnac (176-84) of Bourges
G: Caroline Aubert (168-80) of Nantes
F: Mame-Marie Sy-Diop (185-85) of Nantes
F: Aurelie Bonnan (187-83) of Mondeville
C: Emmeline Ndongue (190-83) of Bourges

All-Imports Team
G: Catherine Joens (180-82) of Bourges
G: Kristen Sharp (175-81) of Mondeville
F/C: Pauline Akonga Nsimbo (187-82) of Arras
C: Jennifer Humphrey (191-84) of Landes
C: Mistie Bass-Williams (191-83) of Challes

All-Bosmans Team
G: Katarina Manic (181-80) of Landes
G/F: Ana Lelas (183-83) of Lattes Montp.
F: Romy Bar (189-87) of Challes
C/F: Iva Perovanovic (190-83) of Lattes Montp.
C: Jelena Dubljevic (192-87) of Tarbes

LFB Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

Mistie BASS-WILLIAMS
  Challes
  (191-C-83)
  Avg: 19.1

1. Bass-W., Challes	19.1
2. Akonga Nsimb., Arr.	16.4
3. Grima, Aix-en-P.	15.9
4. Humphrey, Landes	15.3
5. Dubljevic, Tarbes	15.0
6. Sanni, Villeneuve	14.7
7. Sharp, Mondeville	14.3
8. Mann, Charleville	14.3
9. Hurst, Aix-en-P.	14.1
10. Covington, Union	14.0

Rebounds Per Game

Aurelie BONNAN
  Mondeville
  (187-F-83)
  Avg: 10.8

1. Bonnan, Mondeville	10.8
2. Humphrey, Landes	10.0
3. Diawara, Charlevil.	9.7
4. Bass-W., Challes	9.3
5. Bales, Union Haina.	8.8
6. Sanni, Villeneuve	8.6
7. Kamba, Union H.	8.2
8. Matic, Tarbes	6.8
9. Grima, Aix-en-P.	6.8
10. Thomas, Villeneuve	6.5

Assists Per Game

Caroline AUBERT
  Nantes
  (168-G-80)
  Avg: 5

1. Aubert, Nantes	5.0
2. Hurst, Aix-en-P.	4.7
3. Manic, Landes	4.2
4. Lepron, Tarbes	4.1
5. Mitchell, Arras	4.0
6. Tanqueray, Villene.	3.8
7. Bar, Challes	3.7
8. Carpreaux, Villene.	3.5
9. Aubert, Toulouse	3.5
10. Sharp, Mondeville	3.3

Steals Per Game

Johanne GOMIS
  Arras
  (177-G-85)
  Avg: 2.6

1. Gomis, Arras	2.6
2. Bar, Challes	2.4
3. Skrela, Lattes M.	2.2
4. Milovanovic, Toulo.	2.1
5. Poto, Lattes M.	2.0
6. Young, Landes	1.9
7. Bouderra, Charlevi.	1.9
8. Bonnan, Mondeville	1.8
9. Mitchell, Arras	1.7
10. Beikes, Union Hai.	1.7

Blocks Per Game

Alison BALES
  Union Hainaut
  (201-C-85)
  Avg: 2.1

1. Bales, Union Haina.	2.1
2. Ndongue, Bourges	1.6
3. Jones, Toulouse	0.7
4. Sy-Diop, Nantes	0.7
5. Bertal, Villeneuve	0.7
6. Dowdell, Toulouse	0.7
7. Bonnan, Mondeville	0.7
8. Humphrey, Landes	0.6
9. Bass-W., Challes	0.6
10. Smith, Tarbes	0.6

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GREECE - Women

Styliani Kaltsidou wins the title in France - by Eurobasket News
Styliani Kaltsidou (188-C/F-83, agency: Josep and Nicolas) just finished very successful season abroad. The Greek power forward/center and her team Bourges dethroned Tarbes with 2-0 in the Finals and grabbed back the title which they last time won two years ago. Bourges celebrated 71-59 win last night and Kaltsidou shined with 15 points.
Styliani Kaltsidou appeared 29 times in French league this season and was very important Bourges player. She had 7.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Kaltsidou also played 15 games for the club in Euroleague. There she had 10.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg and 2.4 apg. Kaltsidou joined Bourges in 2009. She is also an active member of the Greek National Team. At the World Championship last summer she had 13.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg and 2.3 apg.

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LUXEMBOURG - Women

Musel Pikes are Diekirch League champions - by Eurobasket News
Etzella - Musel Pikes 55:74

Musel Pikes earned the Diekirch League title. They overcame Etzella on the road to sweep the championship series. It is the second straight championship title for Musel Pikes. Irina Mazjoukhina (181-F-76) scored 27 points to lead the winners.
Musel Pikes led from start to finish in this one. They outscored the hosts 24:9 in the opening period to build a comfortable lead. Musel Pikes limited the hosts to only 12 points in the second frame to boost the margin to 20 points. The teams traded baskets throughout the third term as Musel Pikes managed to maintain a 20-point cushion at the final intermission. Etzella were able to outscore Musel Pikes in the final period but it was far from enough to hope for the victory. Musel Pikes clinched the title! Carine Cigrang (175-F-85) had 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, while Christine Fisher (183-F-83) accounted for 7 points and 14 rebounds in the victory. Katie Donovan (183-F-82) answered with 22 points and 14 boards for Etzella. Lisy Hetting (173-G-90) finished with 11 points in the loss.

Etzella: Katie Donovan 22+14 boards, Lisy Hetting 11
Musel Pikes: Irina Mazjoukhina 27, Carine Cigrang 19, Christine Fisher 7+14 boards

Stats Leaders - Women

Points Per Game

Siarre EVANS
  Racing
  (178-G/F-88)
  Avg: 32

1. Evans, Racing	32.0
2. Bingham, Amicale	29.2
3. Geehan, AB Contern	25.1
4. Spencer, Heffingen	24.2
5. Fitz, Basket Esch	23.8
6. Fisher, Musel Pikes	23.4
7. Underwood, Resid.	22.0
8. Donovan, Etzella	21.8
9. Walton, Black Star	21.7
10. Barnes, T71 D.	18.1

Rebounds Per Game

Siarre EVANS
  Racing
  (178-G/F-88)
  Avg: 18.4

1. Evans, Racing	18.4
2. Fitz, Basket Esch	15.5
3. Bingham, Amicale	14.6
4. Geehan, AB Contern	14.6
5. Spencer, Heffingen	12.9
6. Walton, Black Star	12.4
7. Underwood, Resid.	12.4
8. Fisher, Musel Pikes	12.3
9. Barnes, T71 D.	11.0
10. Donovan, Etzella	9.4

Assists Per Game

Andrea HARIS
  Basket Esch
  (169-G-78)
  Avg: 4.1

1. Haris, Basket Esch	4.1
2. Schmit, Musel Pikes	3.6
3. Donovan, Etzella	3.3
4. Bingham, Amicale	3.1
5. Evans, Racing	3.0
6. Petrova, Black Star	2.8
7. Meintz, Amicale	2.8
8. Kugener, T71 D.	2.7
9. Cigrang, Musel Pik.	2.6
10. Van Dyck, Amicale	2.6

Steals Per Game

Cathy SCHMIT
  Musel Pikes
  (169-G-90)
  Avg: 3.3

1. Schmit, Musel Pikes	3.3
2. Underwood, Resid.	3.1
3. Geehan, AB Contern	3.1
4. Petrova, Black Star	3.0
5. Wagener, T71 D.	2.8
6. Evans, Racing	2.8
7. Fisher, Musel Pikes	2.7
8. Meynadier, Musel P.	2.3
9. Bingham, Amicale	2.2
10. Bach, Residence	2.2

Blocks Per Game

Stephanie GEEHAN
  AB Contern
  (191-F-88)
  Avg: 2.3

1. Geehan, AB Contern	2.3
2. Bingham, Amicale	1.5
3. Fitz, Basket Esch	1.4
4. Hetto, Heffingen	1.3
5. Mazjoukhina, Musel	1.3
6. Bertrand, Musel P.	1.0
7. Spencer, Heffingen	0.8
8. Evans, Racing	0.8
9. Barnes, T71 D.	0.7
10. Walton, Black Star	0.6

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SERBIA - Women

Maja Miljkovic wins the title in France - by Eurobasket News
Maja Miljkovic (175-G-88) just ended very successful season in France. She helped her team Bourges to dethrone Tarbes with 2-0 in the Finals and to grab back the title which they won last time two years ago. Bourges won in Game One on the road 53-71 and last night outplayed Tarbes 71-59.
Maja Miljkovic joined Bourges last summer from MKB Euroleasing Sopron. She appeared 29 times in LFB averaging 4.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists. In Eurolegaue, Miljkovic added 6.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg and 2.4 apg. Before Bourges and MKB Euroleasing Sopron, Miljkovic was a member of Spanish Celta Vigo. She started her career with Dubocica and later played two years for Usce. From 2007 to 2009, Miiljkovic was a member of the Serbian National Team. She also played for the Serbian NT youth selections in the past.

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SLOVAKIA - Women

Stats Leaders - Women

Extraliga Stats Leaders

Points Per Game

1 Guzman, Nitra 20.5
2 Talajkova, Slovan 18.6
3 Sujova, Samorin 17.7
4 Simova, B.Bystrica 16.8
5 Risper, Presov 15.8

Rebounds Per Game

1 Dosty, Nitra 12.29
2 Talajkova, Slovan 10.17
3 Libicova, Roznava 9.11
4 Smith, Ruzom. 8.52
5 Jurcenkova, D.Anjeli 7.26

Assists Per Game

1 Sujova, Samorin 5.05
2 Musovic, D.Anjeli 4.76
3 Jalcova, D.Anjeli 4.23
4 Bucakova, Ruzom. 4.16
5 Borovickova, Nitra 3.82

Eurobasket.com All-Slovakian Extraliga Awards 2010-11 - by Karol

All-Slovakian Extraliga 1st Team 2010-11

Jurcenkova

Guzman

Brackett

Kupcikova

Laskova

Player of the Year: Anna Jurcenkova (195-C-85) of Dobri Anjeli
Guard of the Year: Carmen Guzman (175-G-85) of Nitra
Forward of the Year: Lucia Kupcikova (184-F-84) of Dobri Anjeli
Center of the Year: Jenna Smith (191-C-88) of MBK Ruzomb.
Import Player of the Year: Carmen Guzman (175-G-85) of Nitra
Domestic Player of the Year: Lucia Kupcikova (184-F-84) of Dobri Anjeli
Defensive Co-Player of the Year: Sybil Dosty (191-C-86) of Nitra
Coach of the Year: Stefan Svitek of Dobri Anjeli

1st Team
G: Carmen Guzman (175-85) of Nitra
G: Natasha Brackett (175-83) of Poprad
F: Lucia Kupcikova (184-84) of Dobri Anjeli
F: Lucia Laskova (187-80) of Poprad
C: Jenna Smith (191-88) of MBK Ruzomb.

2nd Team
G: Timea Sujova (174-84) of Samorin
F: Erin Marie Lawless (188-85) of Dobri Anjeli
G: Jennifer Risper (175-87) of Presov
F: Jessica Dickson (178-84) of MBK Ruzomb.
C: Sybil Dosty (191-86) of Nitra

Honorable Mention
Beata Simova (184-F-87) of Banska Bystrica
Renata Talajkova (190-C-81) of Slovan
Viera Libicova (190-C-80) of Roznava
Romina Ciappina (180-F/G-88) of Presov
Christina Wirth (186-G/F-87) of Presov

All-Domestic Players Team
G: Timea Sujova (174-84) of Samorin
G: Andrea Oravcova (175-87) of Poprad
F: Lucia Kupcikova (184-84) of Dobri Anjeli
F: Lucia Laskova (187-80) of Poprad
C: Anna Jurcenkova (195-85) of Dobri Anjeli

All-Imports Team
G: Carmen Guzman (175-85) of Nitra
G: Natasha Brackett (175-83) of Poprad
F: Jessica Dickson (178-84) of MBK Ruzomb.
C: Jenna Smith (191-88) of MBK Ruzomb.
C: Sybil Dosty (191-86) of Nitra

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TAIWAN - Women

2011 Taiwan women's NT rosters - by Chris Wang
The CTBA announced preliminary rosters of Taiwan women's NT, Taiwan U19 women's NT and Taiwan U16 women's NT, which are listed as follow.

Taiwan women's NT for FIBA Asia Women's Championship: (16 players)
Lee Wan-ting (Cathay Life)
Huang Pin-chen (Cathay Life)
Lan Hao-yu (Cathay Life)
Chu Yung-hsuan (Cathay Life)
Chen Yi-feng (Cathay Life)
Huang Fan-shan (Cathay Life)
Tsai Pei-chen (Taiyuan Textile)
Liu Chun-yi (Taiyuan Textile)
Ma Yi-hung (Taiyuan Textile)
Lin Chi-wen (Taipower)
Liu Yi-chun (Taipower)
Chang Shih-chieh (Taipower)
Huang Shu-chen (Taipower)
Liu His-yeh (Chunghwa Telecom)
Chiang Yi-lien (Applause)
Chiang Feng-chun
Head coach: Chang Hui-ying
Assistants: Wang Ling, Ke Meng-yi

Taiwan women's NT for FIBA U19 Women's World Championship: (17 players)
Chang Chi-fang (Hujaing HS)
Lin Yu-ting (Tamsui HS)
Wei Yu-chun (Taipower)
Liu Jung-shing (Chunghwa Telecom)
Lee Ching-ning (CCU)
Chen Tsai-yi (Tamsui HS)
Yang Jung (Tamsui HS)
Cheng Yi-shiou (Pu Men HS)
Wu Ying-chieh (Taiyuan Textilte)
Huang Hsiang-ting (Haishan HS)
Chen Yu-chen (Tamsui HS)
Chang Yi-lin (Fo Guang)
Chen Chung-wei (Hujiang HS)
Kuo Chia-wen (Pu Men HS)
Wang Wei-lin (Haishan HS)
Pan Tse-yin (Chunghwa Telecom)
Li Yu-tse (Anle HS)
Head coach: Chen Mei-li
Assistants: Wang Wei-chieh, Teng Pi-chen, Hung Yi-chuan

Taiwan women's NT for FIBA Asia U16 Women's Championship: (24 players)
Huang Jou-chen (Haishan HS)
Chen Yu-ling (Haishan HS)
Lu Yi-han (Haishan HS)
Lee Ching-ya (Haishan HS)
Lin Wen-yo (Haishan HS)
Chen Wei-an (Haishan HS)
Tai Yi-ting (Haishan HS)
Su Yi-ching (Haishan HS)
Cheng Yu-chieh (Tamsui HS)
Han Ya-en (Tamsui HS)
Chen Yi-wen (Tamsui HS)
Ou Chieh (Tamsui HS)
Cheng Yu-chieh (Taipei First Girl's HS)
Min Hsuan-yi (Taipei First Girl's HS)
Liao Hui-wen (Hujiang HS)
Mo Yi-wen (Hujiang HS)
Huang Hsiang-ju (Hujiang HS)
Hsu Hsiao-tung (Hujiang HS)
Chen Ting-yu (Jinou HS)
Yo Yu-chen (Jinou HS)
Shi Ching-ju (Jinou HS)
Yang Wan-chien (Nanhu HS)
Lee Yi-chien (Nanhu HS)
Lo Chi-ling (Nanhu HS)
Head coach: Shih Chao-chieh
Assistants: Ho Su-ching, Lin Ming-hsien

Meanwhile, Taiwan NT for the FIBA U19 Men's World Championship will primarily based on the roster of last year's FIBA Asia U18 Men's Championship, as the team will still be coached by Huang Wan-lung, head coach of Song-shan HS who led the school to unprecedented three-peat in the high school league in March, the CTBA said.

Training camp opened May 2 in Song-shan HS. The championship will be held in Latvia from June 30 to July 10, 2011.

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TOURNAMENT OF THE AMERICAS - Women

Draw takes place in Neiva, Colombia - by Eurobasket News
2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Women Draw was held in Neiva, Colombia. The participating 10 teams were divided into two groups. Best two teams from each group will qualify into semifinals. The winner of the tournament will automatically receive the ticket into 2012 Olympic Games. The teams that occupy 2nd-4th places will have the right to take part at the Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament. 2011 FIBA American Championship is slated to take place from September 24th through October 1st in Neiva, Colombia.

Group A: Cuba, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Puerto Rico
Group B: Canada, Jamaica, Brazil, Mexico, Paraguay.

Here is the schedule for the preliminary round:
24 September: Day 1
Group A Chile vs. Colombia
Group A Puerto Rico vs. Cuba
Group B Brazil vs. Paraguay
Group B Mexico vs. Canada
Bye: Argentina / Jamaica

25 September: Day 2
Group A Argentina vs. Chile
Group A Colombia vs. Puerto Rico
Group B Jamaica vs. Mexico
Group B Canada vs. Brazil
Bye: Cuba / Paraguay

26 September: Day 3
Group A Cuba vs. Colombia
Group A Puerto Rico vs. Argentina
Group B Paraguay vs. Canada
Group B Brazil vs. Jamaica
Bye: Chile / Mexico

27 September: Day 4
Group A Chile vs. Puerto Rico
Group A Argentina vs. Cuba
Group B Jamaica vs. Paraguay
Group B Mexico vs. Brazil
Bye: Colombia / Canada

28 September: Day 5
Group A Colombia vs. Argentina
Group A Cuba vs. Chile
Group B Canada vs. Jamaica
Group B Paraguay vs. Mexico
Bye: Puerto Rico / Brazil.

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WNBA - Women

Indiana Fever waives Joy Cheek before camp opens - by Eurobasket News
The Indiana Fever has waived forward Joy Cheek (6'1''-F-88, college: Duke), reducing its training camp roster to the mandated 15 players.

Cheek was Indiana's third-round pick in 2010. She played in seven games, averaging 2.1 points and 0.4 rebounds. The 6-foot-1 Cheek played college ball at Duke.

The Fever reports to training camp May 16. Indiana's first preseason game is May 24 at Minnesota, and rosters must be reduced to 11 before the June 2 season-opener against Chicago.

Courtesy of www.mercurynews.com