EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 7/7/2011

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Men News

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  ACPBL   


ACPBL announces the addition of the Hartford Lightning - by Gianni Pascucci
The Atlantic Coast Professional Basketball League (ACPBL) has officially added the Hartford Lightning to the leagues line-up of teams for the upcoming 2011-2012, season.
Peter Higgins, the CEO of the world famous greater Hartford Pro-AM tournament has been named director of operations and marketing for the Hartford Lightning professional basketball team. Joining him in the front office is team general manager Kyle Wright and team vice president Peter Fischer. The first head coach in Hartford Lightning team history will be none other then local legendary coach Izzy Caro. Malcolm Yelling will serve as the top assistant coach under Caro.
For years now, the best players in the world have arrived to play in the Hartford Pro-AM, stated ACPBL commissioner James R. Schutz . When Hartford Pro-AM CEO Peter Higgins sits down with Wright, Fischer and Caro, this could very well end up being the most talented team in ACPBL history.
For more information on the Hartford Lightning please visit www.hartfordlightning.com

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  ARGENTINA   


Argentina U19 needed overtime to send Brazil U19 out of 1/4 Finals - by Eurobasket News
Argentina U19-Brazil U19 71:69 OT

Argentina U19 needed overtime to send Brazil U19 out of 1/4 Finals of U19 FIBA World Championships. Argentina improved to 4-2 record, while Brazil finished with 3-3 as well as Russia and the latter advanced to the next stage.
Before the game started Brazil knew that Russia has ended a three game losing streak, beating the tournament hosts Latvia. Should Argentina win Russia advance but if they lose then Brazil hold onto their spot in the playoffs.
Brazil desired the win more and started with 19-8 in the opening tip. Cristiano Felicio made a dunk for 23-11 and Raul Neto nailed three for 30:22. Nicolas Copello reduced to 6 points as the teams went to the lockers. Bruno Irigoyen (202-G/F-92) later tied the game at 39:39, while Cristiano Felicio made a dunk for the Brazilian lead. Argentina however won the third frame 18-13 and trailed only 42:43 after thirty minutes. Luciano Massarelli (183-PG-93) tied the game at 46:46 and Lucas Nogueira (213-C-92) closed an improtant 7-0 run for Brazil to enjoy 53:46 with them. Franco Giorgetti (202-F-92) cut it to 58:57 with two minutes in the game, but Felipe Vezaro scored for 60:57. Franco Giorgetti reduced to 59:60 and Raul Neto was perfect from the free throw line for 59:62. Luciano Massarelli however scored from the arc to send the teams in overtime. In extra time Argentina produced 9-7 and won the game. Lucas Nogueira had a chance to send the teams to the second overtime but missed the shot.

Argentina U19: Luciano Massarelli 15, Franco Giorgetti 13
Brazil U19: Felipe Taddei (192-G-92) 15, Lucas Nogueira 13+13 rebs




Louis Roe re-signs with Regatas Corrientes - by Eurobasket News
Regatas Corrientes have secured the services of Louis Roe (200-F-72, college: Massachusetts) for another season. The 38-year-old forward renewed the contract with the team. Louis Roe joined Regatas in March. He averaged 15.1 points, 7.2 boards, 1.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.3 blocks per appearance. Louis Roe started the season in Halcones Xalapa. His stats read 14.7 points, 9.4 boards, 1.9 assists and 1.3 blocks in LNBP. In Liga Americas the forward delivered 18.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 2.0 assists. Latinbasket.com named Louis Roe All-Liga Americas Forward of the Year. Previously Louis Roe had stints in Spain, South Korea, CBA and NBA. Louis Roe was named ACB Import Player of the Year twice in 2005 and 2006.


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  ASIAN CHAMPIONSHIPS   


Iran to begin title defense in Group B; China opt for Gr. D; Lebanon in Gr. A - by Maarouf Mawloud
Twice defending champions Iran will match wits with GCC champions Qatar, East Asias Chinese Taipei and the qualifier from the Stan division of Middle Asia in Group B in the Preliminary Round of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship.

The draw for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship was completed at the host city Wuhan amidst a sparkling ceremony on the Yangzte River on Wednesday.

Vice Mayor of Wuhan Liu Shunni presided over the Draw Ceremony in the presence of Hu Dechun, Director of Administration of Sports of Hubei Province, Luo Changgang, Director of Economic and Technological Development Zone, Zhang Jin, Deputy Director of Admin. of Sports of Hubei Province, Former China National Team coach Liu Guiyi and the representatives of sponsors KIA Motors, PEAK and Sportsfive.

FIBA Asia Deputy Secretary General Hagop Khajirian along with FIBA Asia Hon. Chairman Xin Lancheng, also the Secretary General of CBA, supervised the Draw proceedings.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship, also the qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympics, will be held from Sept 15-25.

The champion team from Wuhan will directly qualify for the most significant sporting event at the British capital, while the No 2 and No 3 teams will qualify for the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament.

Hosts China as per the procedure of the draw opted to play in Group D after SEABA champions Philippines along with GCC duo UAE and Bahrain were drawn.

Lebanon, who qualified for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship directly by virtue of winning the title in the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup last year were drawn in Group A along with the qualifier from the SAARC division of Middle Asia, SEABAs Malaysia and recently crowned East Asian champions Korea.

Japan, who lost to Lebanon in the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup, were drawn into Group C along with SEABA runners-up Indonesia, 2009 FIBA Asia Championship bronze medalists Jordan and another WABA team Syria.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship is the fifth occasion when China will host this prestigious event 1989 Beijing, 2001 Shanghai, 2003 Harbin and 2009 Tianjin are the earlier occasions.

The Draw process

The four semifinalists of the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup Lebanon, Japan, Qatar and Philippines were seeded into four different groups, and the draw decided which group each of them will figure. Liu Guiyi conducted the draw for the seeded teams.

The two Middle Asian representatives along with Indonesia and UAE were drawn next. Hu Dechun drew the lots to decide which team goes where.

Luo Changgang conducted the draw for the next level involving Malaysia, Taipei, Syria and Bahrain to follow suit.

At this stage, China exercised their right as hosts of choice in the groupings and Zhang Jin drew Iran, Jordan and Korea into their respective groups.

Groupings for Preliminary Round
Group A: Lebanon, Middle Asia 1, Malaysia, Korea
Group B: Qatar, Middle Asia 2, Ch. Taipei, Iran
Group C: Japan, Indonesia, Syria, Jordan
Group D: Philippines, UAE, Bahrain, China.
Notes:
Middle Asia 1: New Delhi hosts the SAARC teams from July 13-15 to identify this qualifier.
Middle Asia 2: Navoi (UBZ) will host Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan as the four teams attempt to win this qualifying berth.
The top three teams from each group will advance to the Second Round in the following manner.
Second Round Groupings
Group E: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3
Group F: C1, C2, C3, D1, D2, D3
Each team will play the three (3) new teams in its own group (the final scores of all games played in the Preliminary Round are valid for this round). The top four from each group in the Second Round will advance to the knockout quarterfinal stage.

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  AUSTRALIA   


Australia fire past Poland, clinch top position in Group E - by Eurobasket News
Australia U19 - Poland U19 72:52

Australia overcame Poland at U19 World Championship Eighth-Final Round tonight. The victory propelled the Emus at 5-1 record on top of Group E. Poland fell at 4-2 record after the loss. Jackson Aldridge (185-PG-92) stepped up with 21 points to lead the winners.
Poland ensured the better start to the game. They recorded a 14:12 lead after ten minutes of action. Australia bounced back in the second period. The Emus established a 29:27 halftime advantage. The third term turned disastrous for Poland. The Emus limited their opponents to only 6 points in the frame and cleared off to a 20-point advantage. Australia wisely kept Poland at bay throughout the final quarter and rallied to a comfortable win at the end. Igor Hadziomerovic (195-G-92) netted 14 points, while Mitchell Creek (198-F/G-92) added 12 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Piotr Niedzwiedzki (210-F-93) responded with 11 points for Poland. Michal Michalak (194-G-93) contributed 9 points in defeat.

Australia U19: Jackson Aldridge 21, Igor Hadziomerovic 14, Mitchell Creek 12
Poland U19: Piotr Niedzwiedzki 11, Michal Michalak 9


Breakers to meet Hawks in pre-season - by Eurobasket News
The New Zealand Breakers will visit Hamilton and Tauranga as they prepare for another title assault on the iiNet NBL Championship, with both venues hosting pre-season games against fellow NBL team the Wollongong Hawks.

Hamilton will host the Breakers and Hawks on Thursday September 15th at the new Claudelands Arena while Tauranga sees the same two sides square off on Saturday 17th September, at the TECT Arena at Baypark Mount Maunganui.

Breakers General Manager Richard Clarke is delighted to have the support of both regions for what shapes as two hotly contested pre-season games.

It is great to take the Breakers on the road, both Hamilton and Tauranga have been very accommodating and I know will put on a great event for the locals, as will the playing rosters of both the Breakers and Hawks. We will certainly be at full strength, including our Tall Blacks and imports, all of whom will be in the country and getting ready for the new season.

It is all the more important knowing that we are effectively opening two wonderful new venues so the fans are in for a treat on all counts. However we wont just be coming to town to play the games, we will be offering our players and coaches for clinics and community activities that will hopefully further spread the excitement around basketball at the moment as we launch into another season with championship aspirations.

We wish we could comply with every request for these sorts of games and did plan to also be in Christchurch this pre-season but recent events have made this impossible in the short term but for sports fans in Hamilton and Tauranga I would suggest you book your tickets quickly for a taste of iinet Championship basketball of the highest order.

Claudelands Director of Business Development & Marketing Murray Jeffrey says it is a coup for the region to attract the Breakers, and hopes it is the first of many such occasions.

The Arena space is incredibly flexible and it will be great to see it operating for professional basketball as well as it has for live music shows and conferences. We are sure Hamilton would love to host more professional games and strong ticket sales for this match will encourage more tours so we are issuing a challenge to all Hamilton sports fans get your tickets now and be part of the team to welcome one of NZs finest sports teams Hamilton!

His Worship the Mayor of Tauranga Stuart Crosby is equally delighted to have the Breakers coming to his town.

'We will be thrilled to have the NBL Champions play at the TECT Arena at Baypark. This is an important venue for our growing city and it's great that we can welcome a team of this calibre to the new facility within its first month of opening.'

The full itinerary including community coaching clinics for players and coaches will be made available closer to the time and posted at www.nzbreakers.co.nz

Following the internal pre-season tour to Hamilton and Tauranga, the Breakers will play in the official iinet Championship pre-season tournament (date and venue to be confirmed). The final hit out for the team before embarking on the season however is October 2nd at the North Shore Events Centre when the club combines a competitive game against the Bartercard All Stars with an open day with coaching clinics and activities for the whole family, including the chance to have your photo taken with the iinet Championship Trophy.

The clubs first game in the iiNet NBL Championship regular season is against the Blaze on October 7th on the Gold Coast and then in Wollongong on the 9th, adding further spice to the pre-season road trip. The first home game for the Breakers is not until October 28th (post Rugby World Cup) against Sydney.

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



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  AUSTRIA   


Hungary U18 beat Austrian U18 selection twice in Wels - by Eurobasket News
Hungary U18 beat Austrian U18 selection twice in Wels. In Game 1 Hungary U18 produced a 84:67 win as they won the first half 42:34. For Austria in that game Luka Gvozden (182-G-93) scored 21 points and Popovics netted 10. Ljesevic ended up with 9 points, while Kapic netted 8 and Angeler chipped in 7.
In Game 2 Hungary U18 celebrated 89:73 win. Austria shocked the guests with 31-16 in the first period, but could not win the game. Hungary responded with 19-15 in the second period and won the third and the last periods. Hungary needed 26-16 in the third quarter and added 28-11 in the last stanza.
Laszlo Polyak (190-G-93) paced all the winners with 15 points, while Nagy nailed 14. Timur Bas (195-C-94) replied with 12 points for the home side and Gregor Wilk (178-G-93) netted 11. Alexander Oblak (182-G-93) and Kolb notched 10 points each and Angeler as well as Luka Gvozden scored 8 apiece.



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  BELARUS   


Ukraine U20 beat Belarus U20 in the capital - by Eurobasket News
Ukraine U20 selection outscored Belarus U20 in the test game in the preparation for U20 European Championship. The home side won 80:58 in Kiev in the first of three match-up scheduled between two teams.
The hosts started with 21-13 and never looked behind after. Ukraine added 20-9 in the second frame and improved to 41:22 before heading to the lockers. In the third quarter the home side produced 21-17 to take 23-point deficit. Belarus managed to reply with 19-18 in the last frame to reduce to 80:58 on the board.
Oleksandr Mishula (187-G-92) stepped up with 16 points and 5 rebounds, while Oleksandr Lypovyy (199-G-91, agency: Beo Basket) collected 13 points and 7 rebounds. Andriy Lebedintsev (187-PG-91) and Maksym Sandul (207-C-91) followed them with 11 points each in a win.
Game 2 is scheduled on Wednesday in Kiev. Also on Thursday both teams will close the campaign with the last game.



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  BRAZIL   


Argentina U19 needed overtime to send Brazil U19 out of 1/4 Finals - by Eurobasket News
Argentina U19-Brazil U19 71:69 OT

Argentina U19 needed overtime to send Brazil U19 out of 1/4 Finals of U19 FIBA World Championships. Argentina improved to 4-2 record, while Brazil finished with 3-3 as well as Russia and the latter advanced to the next stage.
Before the game started Brazil knew that Russia has ended a three game losing streak, beating the tournament hosts Latvia. Should Argentina win Russia advance but if they lose then Brazil hold onto their spot in the playoffs.
Brazil desired the win more and started with 19-8 in the opening tip. Cristiano Felicio made a dunk for 23-11 and Raul Neto nailed three for 30:22. Nicolas Copello reduced to 6 points as the teams went to the lockers. Bruno Irigoyen (202-G/F-92) later tied the game at 39:39, while Cristiano Felicio made a dunk for the Brazilian lead. Argentina however won the third frame 18-13 and trailed only 42:43 after thirty minutes. Luciano Massarelli (183-PG-93) tied the game at 46:46 and Lucas Nogueira (213-C-92) closed an improtant 7-0 run for Brazil to enjoy 53:46 with them. Franco Giorgetti (202-F-92) cut it to 58:57 with two minutes in the game, but Felipe Vezaro scored for 60:57. Franco Giorgetti reduced to 59:60 and Raul Neto was perfect from the free throw line for 59:62. Luciano Massarelli however scored from the arc to send the teams in overtime. In extra time Argentina produced 9-7 and won the game. Lucas Nogueira had a chance to send the teams to the second overtime but missed the shot.

Argentina U19: Luciano Massarelli 15, Franco Giorgetti 13
Brazil U19: Felipe Taddei (192-G-92) 15, Lucas Nogueira 13+13 rebs




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  CANADA   


Will locked-out NBA stars take their talents to Canada? - by Eurobasket News
If all goes well for the National Basketball League of Canada, LeBron James (203-F-84) could be trading a beach house in Miami for a rain slicker in Halifax. The league sent out a release on Tuesday night, inviting locked-out NBA stars to come play in Canada as an alternative during the regular season.

What a great opportunity for NBA players, league president Andre Levingston said in the release. NBL Canada can provide them with highly competitive play in professional arenas with great fan bases, while still being relatively close to home.

Two NBL teams, the Halifax Rainmen and the Saint John Mill Rats, boast head coaches with NBA experience. But dont get your hopes up just yet about seeing Kobe Bryant in a Mill Rats jersey Levingston expects the trickle of NBA players heading north will be not as high profile.

From The Chronicle Herald in Halifax:

'We don't think were gonna be able to land no LeBron James or Kobe Bryant because those guys will be fine (financially) during a lockout and Im sure have their own regimen that keeps them in shape.

But NBA guys need a basketball game and we definitely think we can lure the Tier 3 type players, the guys that maybe make the NBA minimum (salary), that would be interested in this opportunity.'

Courtesy of http://sports.nationalpost.com

Wildcats have priority in Coliseum - by Eurobasket News
Can the Moncton Coliseum accommodate two major tenants?

That's the question being asked with Moncton seemingly on the verge of landing a franchise in the National Basketball League of Canada. That's the question which concerns the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

'It won't be without its challenges, but I'm confident that we could make it work,' said Ian Fowler, the City of Moncton's general manager of economic development, tourism and culture.

'The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League regular season begins in September and the basketball league's regular season opens in late October or early November. The basketball league playoffs are done by mid March, just before the Wildcats begin their playoffs.'

The Moncton Coliseum runs into problems of building availability each year from mid February until the end of April. The stadium is bustling with trade shows and other events along with the Wildcats schedule.

'The basketball team is looking at 18 home dates in the regular season and a lot of their activity is pre-February before we run into our busiest time for scheduling in the building,' said Fowler. 'That works out in our favour.

'There would be a lot of activity in the building with two major tenants, but I'm confident we could make it work. The stadiums in Saint John and Halifax have both major junior hockey and professional basketball franchises and they make it work.'

The ownership group that was looking to put a professional basketball franchise in Kingston, Ont. has stopped negotiations with that city. News broke on Thursday night that the group has turned its attention to Moncton and has already started talks to reach a contract agreement with the city-owned Moncton Coliseum.

Canada's first professional basketball league expects to have seven teams in its first season. Moncton would join the Saint John Mill Rats, Halifax Rainmen, Quebec Kebs, Charlottetown, London, Ont. and Oshawa, Ont.

Saint John, Halifax and Quebec all left the Premier Basketball League following the 2011 season. They found new markets and in May announced the creation of the National Basketball League of Canada.

The new league will have a 36-game regular season that opens in late October or early November. The top four clubs make the playoffs, which conclude in mid March.

Fowler said the Coliseum could be used for a hockey game one night and a basketball game the next afternoon.

Halifax has had a professional basketball team the past four years and it averaged 4,000 fans per game in the 2011 season. Saint John is coming off a successful first season with an average of 3,700 fans per game.

The ownership group for a Moncton professional basketball team is now negotiating a deal with the Moncton Coliseum. A contract would need city council approval. The plan is to present a contract to city council for their consideration at the scheduled private session on July 11.

Moncton Wildcats general manager Wayne McDonald is upset the organization learned through the media about the possibility of having to share the stadium with a professional basketball team. He said the Wildcats have had no formal talks with the city on this topic.

'There is a significant level of disappointment as the primary tenant of the Moncton Coliseum with a 15-year history in how this whole process has unfolded and learning of it in this fashion,' he said. 'The next logical step now that we're aware of this is to contact the city and request a meeting.

'Where do we go from here? We don't know how this is going to alter our world with two teams scheduling games during the same time of year in the same building. There are a lot of uncertainties right now so we have a lot of concerns.

'We need to learn more about how we're going to share the building with a basketball team. How is the selection of game dates going to work? One of the fundamental issues we have is that after 15 years as the major tenant at the Moncton Coliseum whether we have priority for the selection of game dates.'

Fowler said the Wildcats would have first option on schedule dates as the building's senior tenant.

'All elements of the Wildcats contract will be honoured as we negotiate a contract with the potential basketball franchise,' he said.

'The Wildcats will not be asked to give up or make any concessions on the contract terms they currently have with the city.'

Courtesy of http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com

Serbia U19 grabbed 4-2 record in Group F - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U19-Canada U19 94:73

Serbia U19 grabbed 4-2 record in Group F of the U19 World Championship in Latvia. The European team overcame Canada U19 94:73 to send them to 2-4 record.
Sim Bhullar (223-C-92) gave Canada surprising 8:4 lead int he opening tip that was the last one for the North American squad. Serbia took 23-14 int he end of the first period and never looked behind after. Bogdan Bogdanovic (198-F-92) opened the second frame for Serbia and Luka Mitrovic increased to 32:16 later in the quarter. Djordje Drenovac (203-F-92, agency: Interperformances) and Julian Clarke exchanged the baskets at the end of the half for 47:26 at the halftime. Serbia also added 25-20 in the third quarter, whiel canada won the last period. Trailing 33 points with 6 minutes to go, Canada managed to cut it to 21.
Djordje Drenovac paced all the winners with 14 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic as well as Marko Gujanicic (202-F-92) added 13 each. Petar Lambic (195-G-92) followed them with 11 points in a winning effort. Junior Lomomba (193-G-93) ended up with 14 points in defeat, while Sim Bhullar posted 11.

Serbia U19: Djordje Drenovac 14, Bogdan Bogdanovic 13, Marko Gujanicic 13, Petar Lambic 11
Canada U19: Junior Lomomba 14, Sim Bhullar 11, Philip Scrubb (194-G-92) 10





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  CENTRAL AFRICA   


Paco Garcia appointed to coach the Central African Republic - by Kristian Santiago
Francisco 'Paco' Garcia (agency: Interperformances ) has been appointed to coach the Central African Republic in the next African Championships in Madagascar. Central African Basketball Federation President Elvis Bomayako announced the news recently. The former coach of Aquas De Sousas Club Ourense Baloncesto in the LEB Oro is going to coach the likes of Romain Sato (194-G/F-81, college: Xavier), James Mays (206-F-86, college: Clemson), Maxime Zianveni (198-F-79), Lionel Bomayako (196-G-78, agency: Court Side, college: Fairleigh Dickinson), Max Kougere and his former-player Michael Mokongo (180-PG-86).



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  CHINA   


Chinese NBL round 9 best performance: Alan Wiggins - by Eurobasket News
American forward Alan Wiggins (206-F-85) put on an extraordinary performance in the last round for second-ranked Whampoa, receiving a Asia-basket.com NBL Player of the Week award for round 9.
The 26-year old player had a double-double of 41 points and 17 rebounds, while his team edged out Heilongjiang (#9, 3-6) 91-89. Whampoa maintains the 2nd position in Chinese NBL. They would have been even better if they hadn't lost a few games earlier this season. Whampoa will need more victories to improve their 6-3 record. In the team's last game Wiggins had a remarkable 60.9% from 2-point range. He has many years of experience at Whampoa, through which he has constantly improved. Former University of San Francisco star has very solid stats this year. Wiggins is league's best scorer averaging so far 28.4ppg. Wiggins is in league's top in rebounds (5th best: 13.4rpg) and averages impressive 1.3bpg and 55.7% FGP.

The second best player in last round's games was 29-year old American DeAngelo Collins (206-F-82) of league's leader ShenYang. Collins had a very good evening with a double-double of 40 points and 19 rebounds. Of course ShenYang cruised to a 106-97 relatively comfortable win over the lower-ranked Hebei (#6, 4-5). Of course ShenYang still keep the league's top spot. His team lost just one game this season, while they won 8 matches. Collins is one of the most experienced players at ShenYang and has a reputation of one of team's most reliable players. He belongs to the best scorers in the league with 25.0ppg (#4). His other stats are also decent: 14.8rpg and 5.3apg.

Third on the list of top players last round was American forward Justin Bowen (200-F-83, agency: SportsList Inc.) of Guangzhou FM (#5). Bowen got into 30-points club by scoring 49 points in the last round. He went also for ten rebounds and five assists. He was a key player of Guangzhou FM, leading his team to a 115-107 win against slightly lower-ranked Ningxia Hanas (#7, 4-5). Guangzhou FM needs these victories very badly if they think about getting closer to top teams. Their record at this point is 5 victories and 4 lost games. Bowen has a very solid season. In 2 games in China he scored 31.0ppg.

Other top performing players last week:
4. T.J. Bannister (180-G-84) of Sichuan - 36 points, 4 rebounds and 14 assists
5. Christopher Lawson (193-F-83) of Hebei - 35 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists
6. Austen Powers (203-F-87) of Hangzhou - 32 points, 13 rebounds and 3 assists
7. Ramon Harris (201-F-88) of Ningxia Hanas - 26 points and 6 rebounds
8. Ma Chao (196-F-86) of Sichuan - 26 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists
9. Benson Egemonye (207-C-83) of Heilongjiang - 16 points, 13 rebounds and 2 assists
10. Dante Milligan (206-F-84) of Hangzhou - 20 points, 15 rebounds and 4 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)

Quarter-Final Matchups Set at U-19 Championship - by Arthur Volbert
Australia, Poland, Argentina and Russia made the quarter-finals in Group E while USA, Croatia, Lithuania and Serbia made i from Group G in the FIBA U-17 World Championship.

The USA will play Russia, Australia will play Serbia, Croatia will play Argentina and Poland will play Lithuania in games Friday.

Today Lithuania defeated Egypt 78-59, Serbia defeated Canada 94-73, Croatia defeated the USA 87-85, Australia defeated Poland 72-52, Russia defeated Latvia 73-53 and Argentina defeated Brazil 71-69.

China finished 13th in the Championships, Chinese Taipei 14th, Korea 15th and Tunisia 16th. With Serbia making the quarter-finals we can only wonder if China would have done so too if not for the loss to lowly Egypt. Could China have beated Canada and erratic Croatia which beat the USA but only defeated Egypt by 2?

Standings:
Group E
TEAM W/L P
1. Australia 5/1 11
2. Poland 4/2 10
3. Argentina 4/2 10
4. Russia 3/3 9
5. Brazil 3/3 9
6. Latvia 2/4 8

Group F
1. USA 5/1 11
2. Croatia 4/2 10
3. Lithuania 4/2 10
4. Serbia 4/2 10
5. Canada 2/4 8
6. Egypt 1/5 7


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  CROATIA   


Cibona land Damjan Rudez and Hrvoje Kovacevic - by Eurobasket News
Cibona have secured the services of Damjan Rudez (206-F-86) and Hrvoje Kovacevic (191-G-86) for the next season.
Both players spent the last season in Cedevita Zagreb. Damjan Rudez averaged 14.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in Croatian League. In Adriatic League the forward notched 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per appearance. In EuroCup Damjan Rudez posted 12.0 points, 2.4 boards and 1.4 assists. Damjan Rudez played for Croatian National Team in 2008-09 seasons.
Hrvoje Kovacevic tallied 2.7 points per game in EuroCup. In Adriatic League the guard produced 3.7 points per appearance. In Croatian League his stats read 8.2 points and 2.1 rebounds. Hrvoje Kovacevic is the member of Croatian B National Team.


Croatia slow down USA in Riga - by Eurobasket News
Croatia U19 - USA U19 87:85

Croatia earned a tough win over the USA in the final game of the Eighth-Final Round in Group F. The victory helped Croatia to 4-2 record in the ladder. The USA suffered the first defeat at the tournament but still clinched the top position in the group at 5-1 record. Toni Katic (188-PG-92) stepped up with 21 points to pace the winners.
The teams stayed close throughout the opening period. Croatia eked out a narrow 25:24 lead after ten minutes. The USA erased the deficit and grabbed a 5-point lead midway through the second term. But a strong half finish from the European team allowed them to restore a three-point lead 46:43. Dario Saric (207-F/C-94) and Mislav Brzoja helped Croatia to a 12-point advantage in the third quarter. The Croats established a 70:61 lead with one quarter to go. The USA used a 19:5 run in the final period to surge ahead 80:75. Dario Saric, Boris Barac (206-F-92) and Toni Katic bounced back putting Croatia back on top 84:83 with under a minute to go. Toni Katic and Boris Barac extended the gap to three points 86:83 with 34 seconds remaining. Jeremy Lamb (195-G/F-92) pulled the USA closer with a jumper. Toni Katic hit just one free throw and Jeremy Lamb had a chance to force overtime. But his jumper rimmed out sealing the victory for Croatia. Boris Barac provided 18 points, while Dario Saric finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds in the victory. Jeremy Lamb answered with 25 points for the USA. Patric Young (205-F/C-92) delivered 15 points and 8 boards in defeat.

Croatia U19: Toni Katic 21, Boris Barac 18, Dario Saric 17
USA U19: Jeremy Lamb 25, Patric Young 15


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  D-LEAGUE   


Mad Ants extend Meyer's contract - by Eurobasket News
The Fort Wayne Mad Ants have extended head coach Joe Meyer's contract for the 2011-12 season. Meyer was named to the position in June of 2009.

We are very happy to have coach back for another season, said Mad Ants President Jeff Potter. We have seen unquestioned improvements every year with Joey and we look forward to that trend continuing in the upcoming season.

In his first two seasons as head coach, Meyer has led the team to a 46-54 record. The 2010-11 team recorded the most wins in a season for the franchise and just shy of making the playoffs with a 24-26 record. Under Meyers two-year reign, the Mad Ants have had three players earn call-ups to the NBA.

This will be his 10th season as a head coach in the NBA Development League, where he has recorded the most wins of any coach and has two NBA D-League Championships.

I am excited to be back with Ants for a third season, said Meyer. I would like to thank Jeff and John for having me back. We have made improvements every year and will focus on making a run for the playoffs next season.

Courtesy of www.fwdailysports.com

*****************************************************
  DOMINICA   


Upcoming games in Lime National Basketbal League - by Eurobasket News
The 2011 Lime National Basketball League continues this week with games at Massacre, Goodwill and Paix Bouche.

Wednesday
Game 1 7.00pm Salisbury Juggernauts vs. Massacre Black Hawks @ Massacre referees H.Julian and D.Peters
Game 2 9.00pm Pichelin Pistons vs. Cornfield Hoyas @ Massacre referees B.Daniel and S. Stowe

Thursday
Game 1 7.00pm Malta India Marauderz vs. E.H Charles Crossover @ Goodwill referees Y.John and M.Hill
Game 2 9.00pm Paix Bouche Snipers vs. Wesley Raptors @ Goodwill referees M.Peters and Russel Moreau

Friday
Game 1 7.00pm Salisbury Juggernauts vs. Goodwill Starz @ Goodwill referees H.Julian and S.Stowe
Game 2 9.00pm Signman X-Men vs. United Insurance Sharks @ Goodwill -referees D.Burton and M.St Jean

Saturday
Game 1 7.00pm Element Agencies Ole Skool vs. Malta India Marauderz @ Massacre referees B.Daniel and M.Hill
Game 2 9.00pm Johnson Drigo Oilers vs. Dragon Stout Pros @ Massacre referees A.Harris/Leroy Dover and Allan Morris

Sunday
Game 1 5.00pm La Plaine Avengers vs. Ian Douglas Patriots @ Paix Bouche referees C.Xavier & C. Moses
Game 2 7.00pm Paix Bouche Eagles vs Gatorade Blazers @ Paix Bouche referees D. Burton and A. Morris.

THe Dominica Amateur Basketball Association was a recipient of some much needed sponsorship funds from CR17 to assist in the preparation of the national basketball team whom are preparing for the Windward Island Basketball Tournament to be hosted by Dominica in September 2011.

Courtesy of http://dominicanewsonline.com

*****************************************************
  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   


LNB: Indios and Leones made a big trade - by Kerwin Abreu
Los Indios de San Francisco traded Eulis Baez (201-F-82, college: W.Illinois) to los Leones de Santo Domingo and got Juan Bautista Araujo (206-F/C-83) and Yorkis Santana.

Eulis Baez played with los Indios just one year and never more, that is why the change was made, he wants to play for los Leones.

Los Indios adquired a very strong man in the person of Juan B. Araujo, he defends well and is good from short range shooting, an intense player, a player as we needed, said Esmurdoc General Manager.

Yorkis Santana is still young and can help us in the defense sense, a championable team needs defense, that is why he is very important for our team.

We welcome Eulis, he is going to make our team better and we are looking forward to become champions, said Eduardo Najri.

for more: www.masterdeportes.com


*****************************************************
  EGYPT   


Lithuania cruise past Egypt - by Eurobasket News
Lithuania U19 - Egypt U19 78:59

Lithuania clinched another win at the U19 World Championship in Latvia. They stormed past Egypt to improve at 4-2 record and clinched the second place in Group F of the Eighth-Final Round. Jonas Valanciunas (210-C-92) stepped up with 17 points and 13 boards for Lithuania. Egypt slipped at 1-5 record and would play at 9-12 place classification round.
Lithuania led right from the start. The Baltic team quickly cleared off to a 23:7 lead. Deividas Pukis (194-G/F-92) ensured a 41:21 lead for Lithuania midway through the second quarter. They established a 46:25 halftime lead. Lithuania earned a 28-point lead in the third quarter before Egypt cut the distance to 21-point mark with one quarter remaining 42:63. The fourth period was a mere formality as Lithuania coasted to the victory at the end. Renaldas Simanavicius (184-G-92) scored 14 points, while Deividas Pukis added 13 in the winning effort. Egypt answered with game-high 23 points and 19 rebounds from Assem Ahmed (205-C-92). Omar Mohammed delivered 14 points in the loss.

Lithuania U19: Jonas Valanciunas 17+13 boards, Renaldas Simanavicius 14, Deividas Pukis 13
Egypt U19: Assem Ahmed 23+19 boards, Omar Mohammed 14


*****************************************************
  EUROBASKET SUMMER LEAGUE   


ESL 2011 Las Vegas event is featuring All Pro Sports & Entertainement - by Darryl Reshaw
All Pro Sports & Entertainment (APSE) will feature an agency team in the 2011 Eurobasket Summer League (ESL) in Las Vegas.
APSE is a world-class sports management firm that specializes in representing, supporting, and maximizing the value of sports professionals.
APSE has represented and continues to represent some of the most respected and celebrated names throughout the sports world.
The founder and president of APSE, C. Lamont Smith, has been representing professional athletes for 26 years.
The New York Times has described Lamont as one of the most powerful agents in the country.
Lamont has been selected twice by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Minorities in Sports. In February 2011, Lamont was recognized for his achievements in the industry and was featured in Verizon Wireless national campaign Celebrate Your Story.
He is in good standing with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) as a Certified Contract Advisor.
The APSE team will be coached by former NBA player and coach Phil Hubbard .
Hubbard played 10 seasons in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
From 2003-2009, Hubbard was an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards, coaching All-Stars such as Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison.
Prior to joining the Wizards coaching staff, Hubbard was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks.
Hubbard is one of four players to have their number (35) retired at the University of Michigan.
Hubbard also won a gold medal in Montreal as a member of the United States Olympic Basketball team.

List of players on APSE 2011 ESL team:
Terrell Bell (6'6''-G/F-89)-Virginia Tech
David Fisher (6'10''-F/C-78, college: Colorado St.)r-New Mexico State
Brad Byerson (6'7''-F-85, agency: Global Sports Plaza, college: Virginia Union)-Virginia Union
Josh Southern (6'10''-C-89)-Boston College
Tomaul Hawkins (6'3''-G)-University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
Jabril Banks (6'7''-F-87, college: N.Colorado)-Northern Colorado
Michael Hunter (5'10''-PG, college: Cal-Irvine)-UC-Irvine


The following is the ESL Las Vegas Game Schedule:

Venue: Doolittle Community Center, 1950 J Street, Las Vegas, NV 89106


July 8th Games: Main Court:

G1) Team Brussels vs. Team Zurich 12:30pm
G2) Team Dublin vs. Team Venice (APSE) 2:00pm
G3) Team Geneva vs. Team Monaco (Union) 3:30pm
G4) Team Lugano vs. Team Manchester 5:00pm

July 9th Games: Main Court:

G5) Winner of G3 vs. Winner of G4 12pm
G6) Loser of G3 vs. Loser of G4 1:30pm
G7) Winner of G1 vs. Winner of G2 3pm
G8) Loser of G1 vs. Loser of G2 4:30pm

July 10th Games: Main Court:

G9) Loser of G6 vs. Loser of G8 12pm (7th Place)
G10) Winner of G6 vs. Winner of G8 1:30pm (5th Place)
G11) Loser of G5 vs. Loser of G7 3pm (3rd Place)
G12) Winner of G5 vs. Winner of G7 4:30pm (1st Place)

For additional information regarding the ESL Las Vegas Event please email: marketing@eurobasket.com



*****************************************************
  EUROCUP   


Valencia add Andrew James Ogilvy - by Eurobasket News
Valencia strengthened their frontcourt. They have agreed on terms of contract with Andrew James Ogilvy (211-C-88, college: Vanderbilt). The deal is meant for one season with an option of extension for another one. Last season the Australian centre played in Turkey. Andrew James Ogilvy averaged 10.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in EuroCup. In TBL his stats read 12.9 points, 6.5 boards, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 assist per appearance. Andrew James Ogilvy participated at 2011 TBL All-Star Game. The centre earned Eurobasket.com All-Turkish League Honourable Mention. Andrew James Ogilvy played for Australian National Team in 2008-2009 seasons. He won 2009 Oceania Championships with the Boomers.



Artem Zabelin will join Lokomotiv Kuban - by Eurobasket News
Artem Zabelin (215-F/C-88, agency: RU-Basket Management) has found the new team. He will continue his career in Lokomotiv Kuban. The centre has recently split ways with CSKA Moscow. Artem Zablein joined CSKA Moscow (A Superleague) in 2007. Last season the centre notched 3.8 points, 2.2 boards and 1.2 blocks per game in VTB League. In PBL Artem Zabelin averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per appearance. He also played for CSKA Moscow U23 team. Before joining CSKA Artem Zabelin had stints with Avtodor Saratov and Dynamo Saint Petersburg. Artem Zabelin used to play for Russian U18 and U20 National Teams. He participated at 2006 and 2008 European Championships.


*****************************************************
  EUROLEAGUE   


CSKA officially announce Milos Teodosic - by Eurobasket News
Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) is now officially the member of CSKA squad. The sides have agreed on terms of contract. The deal is meant for three seasons. Milos Teodosic is currently training with the Serbian National Team. The deal will be finalized after the guard passes all the medical tests. Last season Milos Teodosic spent with Olympiakos. He averaged 10.9 points, 3.6 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game in Euroleague. In A1 League the Serbian guard notched 9.6 points, 4.7 assists and 1.9 rebounds per appearance. He was named into Eurobasket.com All-Greek A1 League 2nd Team. Last season Milos Teodosic shone at World Championship in Turkey. He led Serbia into the semis tallying 11.3 points, 5.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds. Eurobasket.com named Milos Teodosic All-Europe Point Guard of the Year. He also made it into All-World Championship 1st Team.


Cibona land Damjan Rudez and Hrvoje Kovacevic - by Eurobasket News
Cibona have secured the services of Damjan Rudez (206-F-86) and Hrvoje Kovacevic (191-G-86) for the next season.
Both players spent the last season in Cedevita Zagreb. Damjan Rudez averaged 14.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in Croatian League. In Adriatic League the forward notched 10.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assist per appearance. In EuroCup Damjan Rudez posted 12.0 points, 2.4 boards and 1.4 assists. Damjan Rudez played for Croatian National Team in 2008-09 seasons.
Hrvoje Kovacevic tallied 2.7 points per game in EuroCup. In Adriatic League the guard produced 3.7 points per appearance. In Croatian League his stats read 8.2 points and 2.1 rebounds. Hrvoje Kovacevic is the member of Croatian B National Team.


Cantu is set to land David Lighty - by Eurobasket News
Bennet Cantu are looking for the ways to strengthen their backcourt. They are negotiating contract with David Lighty (195-G/F-88). The deal may be announced soon. The 23-year-old shooting guard has just graduated from the Ohio State University. He averaged 12.1 points, 4.0 boards, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game in his senior season. David Lighty made it into All-Big Ten 2nd Team. He was also named into Big Ten All-Defensive Team. David Lighty was the member of the USA U19 National Team. He participated at U19 World Championship in Serbia back in 2007. David Lighty notched 8.8 points and 3.9 boards per game in Novi Sad.


Ioannis Bourousis is on his way to Armani Milano - by Eurobasket News
More and more sources send Ioannis Bourousis (212-C-83, agency: FCM) to Armani Milano. The Greek big man parted ways with Olympiacos few days ago and is free agent.
The Greek Center stayed with Greek side from 2006 but decided to part away. Ioannis Bourousis joined Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1) in 2006 and debuted with 8.6ppg, 5.7rpg, 1.1spg, 2FGP-1 (76.5%), 3FGP: 40.9%, FT: 72.7% in EuroLeague. In Greek League Regular Season after 24 games he averaged 9.8ppg, Reb-4 (7.2rpg), Blocks-2 (1.1bpg), 2FGP: 61.0%, 3FGP: 35.0%, FT: 77.0%. In Greek Play-Offs after 13 games his stats read 6.7ppg, 6.5rpg, 1.2apg, 1.0spg, 2FGP: 71.0%, 3FGP: 29.0%, FT: 69.0%. In 2007-2008 for Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1, starting five) he showed 5.8ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 55.1%, 3PT: 43.2%, FT: 76.9% in EuroLeague, while in Greek League Regular Season his stats read 9.0ppg, Reb-4 (7.5rpg), 1.2apg, Blocks-3 (1.2bpg), 2FGP: 66.0%, 3PT: 40.0%, FT: 74.0%. In Greek Play-Offs after 12 games he had 9.3ppg, 8.9rpg, 1.1spg, 1.5bpg, 2FGP: 55.0%, 3PT: 31.0%, FT: 68.0%. In 2008-2009 he signed 400,000 deal with Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1) and in Euroleague after 21 games improved to 12.3ppg, Reb-3 (7.3ppg), FGP: 63.8%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 63.8%. In Greek League he showed 12.3ppg, Reb-3 (7.4rpg), 1.0apg, Blocks-3 (1.0bpg), FGP: 63.1%, 3PT: 43.9%, FT: 75.3%. In 2009-2010 had a deal of 1,670,000 for Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1, starting five) and in Euroleague after 17 games averaged 8.8ppg, 4.8rpg, FGP: 54.4%, 3PT: 47.1%, FT: 76.5%. In Greek League he showed 9.7ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 56.0%, 3PT: 20.0%, FT: 74.3%. The last season for Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1, starting five) after 30 games Ioannis Bourousis had 11.7ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.2apg, 1.0spg, Blocks-5 (1.1bpg), FGP: 63.6%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 81.7% in EuroLeague and averaged 10.7ppg, Reb-4 (6.6rpg), Blocks-5 (1.3bpg), FGP: 57.7%, 3PT: 36.7%, FT: 67.8% in Greek League.



ESL 2011 Las Vegas event is featuring All Pro Sports & Entertainement - by Darryl Reshaw
All Pro Sports & Entertainment (APSE) will feature an agency team in the 2011 Eurobasket Summer League (ESL) in Las Vegas.
APSE is a world-class sports management firm that specializes in representing, supporting, and maximizing the value of sports professionals.
APSE has represented and continues to represent some of the most respected and celebrated names throughout the sports world.
The founder and president of APSE, C. Lamont Smith, has been representing professional athletes for 26 years.
The New York Times has described Lamont as one of the most powerful agents in the country.
Lamont has been selected twice by Sports Illustrated as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Minorities in Sports. In February 2011, Lamont was recognized for his achievements in the industry and was featured in Verizon Wireless national campaign Celebrate Your Story.
He is in good standing with the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) as a Certified Contract Advisor.
The APSE team will be coached by former NBA player and coach Phil Hubbard .
Hubbard played 10 seasons in the NBA with the Detroit Pistons and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
From 2003-2009, Hubbard was an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards, coaching All-Stars such as Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison.
Prior to joining the Wizards coaching staff, Hubbard was an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors and Atlanta Hawks.
Hubbard is one of four players to have their number (35) retired at the University of Michigan.
Hubbard also won a gold medal in Montreal as a member of the United States Olympic Basketball team.

List of players on APSE 2011 ESL team:
Terrell Bell (6'6''-G/F-89)-Virginia Tech
David Fisher (6'10''-F/C-78, college: Colorado St.)r-New Mexico State
Brad Byerson (6'7''-F-85, agency: Global Sports Plaza, college: Virginia Union)-Virginia Union
Josh Southern (6'10''-C-89)-Boston College
Tomaul Hawkins (6'3''-G)-University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
Jabril Banks (6'7''-F-87, college: N.Colorado)-Northern Colorado
Michael Hunter (5'10''-PG, college: Cal-Irvine)-UC-Irvine


The following is the ESL Las Vegas Game Schedule:

Venue: Doolittle Community Center, 1950 J Street, Las Vegas, NV 89106


July 8th Games: Main Court:

G1) Team Brussels vs. Team Zurich 12:30pm
G2) Team Dublin vs. Team Venice (APSE) 2:00pm
G3) Team Geneva vs. Team Monaco (Union) 3:30pm
G4) Team Lugano vs. Team Manchester 5:00pm

July 9th Games: Main Court:

G5) Winner of G3 vs. Winner of G4 12pm
G6) Loser of G3 vs. Loser of G4 1:30pm
G7) Winner of G1 vs. Winner of G2 3pm
G8) Loser of G1 vs. Loser of G2 4:30pm

July 10th Games: Main Court:

G9) Loser of G6 vs. Loser of G8 12pm (7th Place)
G10) Winner of G6 vs. Winner of G8 1:30pm (5th Place)
G11) Loser of G5 vs. Loser of G7 3pm (3rd Place)
G12) Winner of G5 vs. Winner of G7 4:30pm (1st Place)

For additional information regarding the ESL Las Vegas Event please email: marketing@eurobasket.com



Vassilis Spanoulis will stay with Olympiacos - by Eurobasket News
Eurobasket wrote that Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) and Ioannis Bourousis (212-C-83, agency: FCM) left Olympiacos, however it is a pleasure to announce for the team keeping Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82, agency: Beo Basket). The Greek Guard will not have any cut in the payroll.
Vassilis Spanoulis played for both rivals, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos. In 2009-2010 for 1,900,000 he played for Panathinaikos Athens (A1, starting five) and in Euroleague after 13 games had 10.5ppg, 1.5rpg, 3.8apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 52.8%, 3PT: 26.7%, FT: 83.3%. In Greek League after 31 games he showed 10.1ppg, 1.3rpg, 3.3apg, FGP-2 (70.9%), 3PT: 43.3%, FT: 79.6%.
In 2010-2011 he moved to Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1, starting five) and in Greek League averaged 10.6ppg, 1.5rpg, Assists-2 (5.2apg), FGP: 51.6%, 3PT: 28.8%, FT: 78.4%. In Euroleague after 20 games his stats read 14.2ppg, 1.8rpg, Assists-5 (4.3apg), 1.2spg, FGP: 50.9%, 3PT: 34.7%, FT: 85.2%.
Vassilis Spanoulis is one of the most honored players in Greece. He is Greek League Regular Season Champion -06, 08, 10, 11, Greek League Champion -06, 08, 09, 10, Euroleague Champion -09, Eurobasket.com All-Greek A1 League Player of the Year -09, Eurobasket.com All-Greek A1 League Guard of the Year -09, Eurobasket.com All-Greek A1 League Domestic Player of the Year -09, Eurobasket.com All-Greek A1 League 1st Team -09 and Eurobasket.com Greek A1 League All-Domestic Players Team -09, 11.
Recently in Spanoulis Vasileios led Greece to the second win at the Preliminary Round of the World Championship. The European team handed Puerto Rico their second loss at 83:80. Spanoulis Vasileios paced all the winners with 28 points and Tsartsaris Konstantinos nailed 14.



*****************************************************
  EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS   


Steve Burtt will play for the National team of Ukraine - by Eurobasket News
Steve Burtt (185-G-84, college: Iona) will play for the National team of Ukraine at Eurobasket 2011. Steve Burtt joined Dnipro at the start of the previous season. The guard tallied 22.4 points, 5.5 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in Superleague. In VTB League Steve Burtt notched 18.7 points, 4.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 steal per appearance. The guard participated at Superleague All-Star Game. Eurobasket.com named the guard All-VTB League Import Player of the Year. Steve Burtt also made it into All-Ukrainian Superleague 2nd Team. Previously Steve Burtt had stints with Ferro-ZNTU, Apollon, Ashkelon, Menorca, Novara, Benfica, Olimpiada Patron. He was named Eurobasket.com All-Israeli League Player of the Year in 2008.
In his top game last season Steve Burtt unloaded 43 points at the Regular Season Round 5 when Ferro-ZNTU shot down Dnipro in overtime in a high-flying clash in Zaporozhye 121-114. Christian Burns stepped up with 27 points and 11 rebounds for Ferro-ZNTU. Keddric Mays contributed 24 points and 7 assists as the hosts climbed at 3-2 record after the win. Steve Burtt unloaded 43 points to lead Dnipro in defeat.
In the last game Ukraine NT overcame Great Britain in the final game of the EuroBasket Qualifying Round. The victory propelled Vitaly Cherniys team to the third place in Group B. It was announced earlier that the new Head Coach for the team will be Mike Fratello .



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


Etienne De Casabianca remain in Angers, Garry Florimont heads to Evreux - by Eurobasket News
Etienne De Casabianca (184-G-91) remain in Angers for the next season. The 1991 year born French Guard will play his season season with the team.
In 2010-2011 Etienne De Casabianca started for Angers BC 49 (NM1) and in 6 games averaged 2.3ppg, 1.2rpg. In his top game he nailed 9 points for his team. At the Regular Season Round 8 Angers BC 49 overcame Sorgues 76:69.
Abdoulaye Loum (210-F-91) meanwhile on the way to leave Le Havre. In 2008-2009 the French Forward joined STB Le Havre U21 team and in the last season debuted for STB Le Havre (ProA). He is a member of the French U18 National Team -09, reached French U21 Championships (Trophee du Futur) Semifinals -10 and is a member of the French U20 National Team -11.

Garry Florimont heads to Evreux. The French Center comes from Etoile Charleville-Mezieres.



Chris Oliver heads to Strasbourg - by Eurobasket News
Chris Oliver (198-F-85, college: Radford) heads to Strasbourg for the next season. The American Forward comes from Germany where he played for Walter Tigers Tuebingen.
In 2003-2004 he started for Radford (NCAA) and in 28 games debuted with 6.9ppg, 4.3rpg, 17ast. In his last season for Radford (NCAA) his stats read 18.8ppg, 8.3rpg, 2.1apg, 1.9spg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 48.7%, 3Pts: 25.8%, FT: 74.8%. In 2007-2008 Chris moved to Kaiserslautern Braves (Germany-ProA, starting five) and became the second top-scorer with 0.5ppg), Reb-5 (9.0rpg), 1.2apg, 1.3spg, 1.7bpg, FGP: 56%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 79.6%. In 2008-2009 moved to MEG Goettingen (Germany-1.Bundesliga) and had 10.6ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.4spg, FGP: 46.4%, 3PT: 37.0%, FT: 75.5%, injured (broken bone in his left foot) in Aug.'08 and was sidelined for 6 weeks. In 2009-2010 continued for MEG Goettingen (Germany-1.Bundesliga) and in EuroChallenge after 13 games showed 11.5ppg, 5.8rpg, 1.0spg, FGP: 41.7%, 3PT: 37.9%, FT: 77.1%, wjile in German League after 35 games averaged 14.1ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 50.9%, 3PT: 27.3%, FT: 80.9%.
The last season started for Walter Tigers Tuebingen (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five) and in 34 games averaged 13.5ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.3apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 46.8%, 3PT: 21.9%, FT: 78.9%.
Chris Oliver became Eurobasket.com All-German Bundesliga Honorable Mention -10, 11. Last year he became EuroChallenge Champion -10.



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


The Webmoebel Baskets Sign American Nick Freer - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber

The region of Paderborn welcomes a well known face with Nick Freer (198-G/F-85, college: Grand Valley St.) as the Webmoebel Baskets gave him a contract. Freer is a 25 year old 198cm shooting guard/small forwardfrom Stevensville, Michigan that can be very valuable to a team with his scoring machine qualites. Last season, he played in Australia for Newcastle Hunters (Australia-ABA, starting five): 21 games: 22.7ppg, 9.0rpg, 1.8apg, 2FGP: 41.8%, 3PT: 35.3%, FT: 80.5% and also for TV 1864 Salzkotten (Germany-Regionalliga) where he averaged 26,8ppg, 6,0rpg and 3,0apg. He also practiced with the Webmoebel Baskets last season. 'The Australien league is somewhere between the German PRO A and PRO B and Nick dominated there. I am not worried that he wont be able to play in the PRO A. Nick is a great guy and I am happy to be able to work with him again. He is a great athlete. I have not seen a player like him in the PRO A. He is very versatile and can play many positions and has experience', stressed Webmoebel coach Thomas Glasauer . Freer started his basketball career at Eastern Michigan where he played together with Ludwigsburg center John Bowler (206-F-84, agency: Limelight Hoops, college: E.Michigan). He played at Eastern Michigan from 2004-2007 before transfering to Grand Valley St. (NCAA2) for his senior year where he played 37 games: 7.0ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 48.5%, 3PT: 29.2%, FT: 77.9%. Awards/Achievements in his career have been GLIAC North Division Regular Season Champion -08, GLIAC Tournament Winner -08, NCAA D2 Elite Eight -08, IBL Regular Season Easteren Conference Champion -09, and Eurobasket.com All-Regionalliga West 2nd Team -11

Source: webmoebel Baskets

Dane Watts (Ratiopharm Ulm) I Think That John Bryant And I Will Compliment Each Other Well - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
Dane Watts (203-F-86, agency: Pro One Sports) is a 25 year old 203cm forward from Warrensburg that just completed his second season for the Walter Tigers Tuebingen averaging 13,7ppg, 7,6rpg and 1,1 apg. He played shortly in France recently for Hyeres-Toulon averaging 7,3ppg, 6,0rpg and 1,7apg. Recently he signedwith Ratiopharm Ulm for the 2011-2012 Beko BBL season. He played at Creighton (NCAA) from 2004-2008. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 11.3ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 53.4%, 3Pts: 42.5%, FT: 71.8%. In 2008, he came to Germany and started his professional basketball career with EnBW Ludwigsburg (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 32 games: 8.9ppg, 3.8rpg, FGP-1 (68.4%), 3PT: 30.8%, FT: 68.7%. Last season, he played for The Walter Tigers Tuebingen playing 34 games: 10.2ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 57.1%, 3PT: 37.6%, FT: 71.0%. Watts sat down with eurobasket and talked about basketball and RatiopharmUlm.

The Walter Tigers Tuebingen missed the Beko BBL playoffs and you have had an extended summer. How has your summer been? What has been your most enjoyable non basketball experience so far?

I feel like my summer has been shorter than usual. After our last game in Berlin I went to Toulon France for 3 weeks and ended up playing as long as most BBL teams. We just had the 4th of July here and it was a great time. I got to see some family that I had not seen in a while, always great to be around loved ones.

The Brose Baskets Bamberg beat Alba Berlin 3-2 to win their second league title in a row. Are Beko BBL teams getting better? Will it be more difficult for Bamberg in the upcoming season or will they be even stronger if they continue to keep bulk of team?

I think that they have a great team. There is a saying 'if its not broke, don't fix it.' They have won twice in a row now and will be the favorites until proven different.

You had many offers in the Beko BBL. Why did you sign with Ratiopharm Ulm?

I did not think Ulm was really an option for me until I talked with the coach. Getting to meet Coach Thorsten Leibenath face to face and hear what his plans were for the team and how he saw me helping them was key. Getting to see the improvements they made to be a more professional club and give players the opportunities to get better (practice facility, new arena, etc.) was something that I was looking for in a club. They seem to have high goals and that is something that I strive for as well.

Gordon Herbert was interested in your services to bring to Frankfurt. Then he went to Alba Berlin. Did that ruin your chances of becoming a Skyliner?

Frankfurt is a place that I am sure many players would love to play, there was some interest there and the timing just didnt work out with him leaving. It is always tricky with a coaching change, something that I experienced in Ludwigsburg my first year. I have learned that there is different levels of interest from teams in the offseason, some want you more than others and Coach Thorsten made it clear to me from the beginning that he wanted to work with me, and that meant a lot.

Is it the food or landscape of the Schwaben land or why do you continue to stay there having played for cities like Ludwigsburg and Tuebingen?

I have enjoyed my time in the South these last 3 year and I am glad that I can continue to get Schwabien food. The people have been great to me and my family at every stop, that has meant a lot to us.

What do you expect from coach Thorsten Leibenath? Do you think that you will have a similar role as you had in Tuebingen?

I think that he will put players in a position to use there individual skills as best they can for the team. He mentioned that he liked my versatility so I hope that I will be able to further develop and show myself in the BBL in Ulm.

Ratiopharm Ulm will have a strong front court with John Bryant and yourself. How happy are you seeing Bryant bang with opponents instead of banging against you this season under the court?

He is a big fella and I felt some of his hits when we played them. I think that we will compliment each other well on the court and give each other opportunities to play our game.

Ratiopharm Ulm is still building the new team. You have never reached the Beko BBL playoffs. With guys like Per Guenter and Rocky Trice and John Bryant on board and Isaiah Swann also there, will Ratiopharm Ulm have a chance to make the playoffs?

There will be many teams competing for the playoffs like every year and now Munich is involved. Ulm has higher goals for the next few years and reaching the playoffs is part of that, I want to help them achieve that.

How far away is Dane Watts (203-F-86, agency: Pro One Sports) from playing for a team like Alba Berlin or Bamberg?

I guess you would have to ask the people at Alba and Bamberg. I will continue to prove myself and compete every night against the competition no matter what jersey I am wearing.

On what things will Dane Watts (203-F-86, agency: Pro One Sports) be working most on this summer in the gym?

Continue to strengthen what I do best and improve my versatility. Work on my ball handling. Stay conditioned for the season and add some new tricks.

What is your summary of the NBA lockout? Will both sides get this resolved soon?

It seems that the managers want more than the players can give, just like any agreement there has to be a middle ground. Seems like it is lopsided right now, one side will have to give in to the demands if the can't come to mutual terms.

What was the last DVD movie that you saw?

Watching the Pirates of the Caribbean series before I see the new one.

Thanks Dane for the chat.

Leitershofen/Stadtbergen Kangaroos sign Stutz and Gerve, keep six players - by Moritz Korff
Pro A newcomer BG Leitershofen/Stadtbergen has confirmed the signing of Logan Stutz (205-F-88, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement) and Simon Gerve (188-G-85). The Kangaroos also revealed that Jonathan Genck (185-G-86), Dominik Veney (200-F-87), Alexander Chalusiak (188-G-91), Christoph Kemmer (183-G-88), Valerian Zenk (199-F-89) and Felix Foerster (193-F-84) were handed contract extensions for the upcoming season.
Stutz will make his first trip to German basketball following the end of a stellar NCAA career. He saw action in 27 games of the 2010-11 campaign, leading the Washburn University Ichabods in scoring (20.0ppg), rebounding (7.1rpg) and field goal percentage (65.5%), which put him in 7th place in FG% in the entire NCAA Division 2.
Gerve comes off a two-year stay at TSV Schwaben Augsburg. He dominated the Oberliga and hauled in 27.9 points per outing throughout the 2010-11 season. Gerve has previously played for Freiburg and Kaiserslautern in the 2. Bundesliga.

BG Goettingen Hold Nico Adamczak And Malte Herwig - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
BG Goettingen have stayed faithful to holding their young players and helping them further develop as they gave Nico Adamczak (189-G-90) a two year contract with an option and Malte Herwig (202-C-92) a three year contract with an option. Both players will have a double license to play in the Regionaliga as well. Adamczak is a 21 year old 189 cm guard who came to Goettingen in January 2010 playing for BG 74 Goettingen II (Regionalliga): 6 games: 12.3ppg, had also a license to play for MEG Goettingen (1.Bundesliga): 5 games: 0.4ppg. Last season, he played for BG 74 Goettingen II (Regionalliga): 1 game: 3pts, 1reb, had also a license to play for BG Goettingen (1.Bundesliga). He played one game for BG Goettingen last season scoring a three pointer in one minute of play against Giessen. 'Nico is a good team player that does a team good. We will give him another chance to show what he can do in the Beko BBL', stressed BG Goettingen coach Stefan Mienack . Malte Herwig (202-C-92) is a 19 year old 203cm center who was part of the BG Goettingen roster last year. He also played for the ASC 46 Goettingen Regionaliga team and in the NBBL where he averaged 16,7ppg and 8,6rpg. 'There are little young big man talents in Germany. We are happy that we can keep him in Goettingen. He is a very hard worker and fits to us', stressed BG Goettingen sport director Jan Schiecke.

Source: BG Goettingen

Wuerzburg recruit Oliver Clay - by Eurobasket News
Wuerzburg penned deal with Oliver Clay (205-F/C-87). The 23-year-old centre spent the previous season with TBB Trier. He tallied 2.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in 1.Bundesliga. Previously Oliver Clay played for ALBA Berlin II and TUS Lichterfelde Berlin in Regionalliga and ProB. Oliver Clay was the member of German U20 National Team back in 2007.


The Walter Tigers Tuebingen Bring In NCAA Rookie Tyrone Nash - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
Not only top class football comes from Notre Dame, but basketball has devloped more and more in the last years and the beko BBL has hauled in two former Notre Dame players in the last week as FC Bayern Munich brought in Ben Hansbrough (190-G-87, college: Notre Dame) and now the Walter Tigers Tuebingen have scooped up his teammate Tyrone Nash (203-F-88) and signed him for the upcoming season. Nash is a 22 year old 203cm 100 kilo forward from Queens, New York that played center for the fighting Irish. In his senior year,Nash played 34 games: 9.5ppg, 5.9rpg, 2.6apg, FGP: 48.7%, 3PT: 50.0%, FT: 68.9%. After observing many videos, Tigers coach Igor Perovic is certain that the left hander will help his squad. 'I am happy that we could convince Tyrone for our concept. He is a versatile player that is fast, athletic,strong and a good ball handler with good passing qualities. Notre Dame had four players in their starting lineup that were 200cm or bigger. Tyrone was the strongest and played center. On account of his size qualities, he can easily defend the positions 2-5, which will help our game', stated Tuebingen coach Igor Perovic . 'I have heard many good things about the German league and the Tigers. The talk with coach Perovic convinced me also. I will do what it takes to help the team win as many games as possible. Important for the start of my career is thatI get as much playing time as possible and can develop further. I have agood feeling about Tuebingen', stressed Tyrone Nash (203-F-88). Awards/Achievements in his career have been Big East Regular Season Runner-Up -08, 11, NIT Final Four -09,and Big East Tournament Semifinals -10, 11.

Source: Walter Tigers Tuebingen.
.




The Saar Pfalz Braves Bring In Lee Jeka - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
The Saar Pfalz Braves have brought in experience and 2011 PRO A MVP Lee Jeka (187-G-83, agency: Limelight Hoops) giving him a two year deal. Jeka is a 28 year old 187cm guard that has played many years in Australia, but found a home in Germany the last years. last season, Jeka played for PRO A team s Oliver Baskets Wuerzburg (Germany-ProA, starting five): 30 games: 14.7ppg, 2.9rpg, 4.5apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 45.1%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 65.9%. The club had had an eye on the Australien-Brit Jeka. 'Lee Jeka (187-G-83, agency: Limelight Hoops) was our absolute desired player that we wanted for the playmaker position. We have had him on our list the last years, but never got him. Now we are very happy that he has chosen us', stressedSaar Pfaltz Braves manager Stephan Seile . Jeka started his basketball career in 2001 for the Western Devils (ABA-Big V) where eh played until 2003. He then played shortly for the Brisbane Bullets (NBL) before coming to Germany in 2004 playing for Rot-Weiss Cuxhaven (Germany-2.Bundesliga, starting five): 28 games: 20.1ppg, 4.4rpg, 3.1apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 50.7%, 3FGP: 27.0%, FT: 67.7%. In 2005-2006, he played for Cuxhaven BasCats (Germany-2.Bundesliga) until 2007 where eh averaged 19ppg in both seasons.In 2007-2008, he played for Lausanne Morges Basket (Switzerland-LNA): 1 game: 6pts, 1ast, 1steal, only pre-season, in Dec.'07 moved to Lusitania Angra Patrimonio Mundial (Portugal-UZO Liga): 13 games: 6.2ppg, 1.8rpg, 3.5apg, 1.0spg, 2FGP: 59.6%, 3PT: 29.4%, FT: 69.2%.In 2008-2009, he played for USC Freiburg (Germany-ProB, starting five): 27 games: 17.4ppg, 3.7rpg, 4.0apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 46.3%, 3PT: 36.8%, FT: 76.5%.In the 2009-2010 season,he returned back to Cuxhaven BasCats (Germany-ProA, starting five): 29 games: Score-3 (19.6ppg), 3.4rpg, Assists-2 (5.5apg), 1.6spg, FGP: 50.9%, 3PT: 44.2%, FT: 78.4%. 'I always need point guards that control the game and players.lee fits perfect into this profile',added Saar Pfalz Braves coach Nenad Josipovic . Awards/Achievements in his career have been Eurobasket.com All-German 2.Bundesliga Bosman Player of the Year -06, Eurobasket.com German 2.Bundesliga All-Bosmans Team -06, Eurobasket.com German 2.Bundesliga North All-Bosmans Team -07, Portuguese League Cup Semifinals -08, Eurobasket.com All-Portuguese League Bosman of the Year -08, Eurobasket.com All-German 2.Bundesliga Pro B All-Bosmans Team -09, Eurobasket.com All-German 2.Bundesliga Pro A Bosman Player of the Year -10, Eurobasket.com All-German 2.Bundesliga Pro A 2nd Team -10, German 2.Bundesliga Pro A Runner-Up -10, 11, Eurobasket.com All-German 2. Bundesliga Pro A 1st Team -11,and Eurobasket.com German 2. Bundesliga Pro A All-Imports Team -11.

Source: Saar Pfalz Braves

Oliver Clay Moves To The s. Oliver Baskets Wurzburg - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber

The s. Oliver Baskets Wurzburg have brought in some youth by signing Oliver Clay (205-F/C-87) who is the fourth new player for the new season. Clay is a 23 year old 205cm power forward. Last season, he belonged to the youth project of Henrik Rodl in Trier playing 33 games: 2.5ppg, 1.9rpg. His best game last season was 9 points in 16 minutes against Phoenix Hagen. 'He is a hopeful young German talent that we want to continue to develop. This is an importnat step for him in his career. He has learned a lot in Berlin and Trier. Phyisically he has everything that he needs to play at this level. He presented himself very well in our games in Japan', stressed assistant coach Marcel Schroeder. Clay was top scorer in an 80-67exhibition game loss against Japan scoring 15 points. 'It wasnt easy to leave Trier. But I think that it was an important step to come to Wurzburg. I think that we can have success with John Patrick. I want to develop further and willdo everything to have a bigger role here and take more responsobility. I have already met some of my new teammates in Japan and I am sure we will have a good season', stressed Oliver Clay (205-F/C-87). Clay started his basketball career in 2006 with TUS Lichterfelde Berlin (2.Bundesliga): 25 games: 3.2ppg, 2.7rpg. He played for ALBA Berlin II (Regionalliga) from 2008-2010. Awards/Achievements in his career have been, German Bundesliga U-20 All-Star Game -07, German U20 National Team -07, Eurobasket.com German All-Regionalliga North Domestic Players Team -09, 10, Eurobasket.com German All-Regionalliga North Second Team -09, 10,and German Regionalliga (North Group) Champion -10

Source: s.Oliver Baskets Wrzburg

A.J. Rudowitz set to join SC Rasta Vechta - by Moritz Korff
SC Rasta Vechta (2. Bundesliga Pro B) has added a third import player to the roster for the 2011-12 season by bringing in A.J. Rudowitz (198-F-88, college: Stonehill). The Stonehill graduate hails from Monroe Township, N.J. and is 23 years of age. Rudowitz has one year experience as a professional basketball player in Germany. In this past season he excelled in the 1. Regionalliga South-West, averaging 20.2 points as well as 8.3 boards per contest for ASC Theresianum Mainz, while receiving Eurobasket.com All-RLSW honors. Rudowitz completed his four year-college career at NCAA D2 school Stonehill in 2010. As a senior he scored 14.3 points, pulled down 7.2 rebounds, dished out 2.5 assists and and blocked 1.5 shots a game.

German National Team Named For Spain Training Course - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
German national team coach Dirk Bauermann (agency: Pro One Sports ) has named the players that wil meet in Gran Canaria, Spain for a training course from July 22nd until August 3rd. The club will be geraing up in preparation for the 2011 European championships. Their first friendly game will be August 5th against Finland in Hagen Germany. Bauermann also announced that long time assistant coach of the Bayer Giants Leverkusen/Gloria Giants Duesseldorf Hansi Gnad will be returning back to the team as an assistant.Gnad is not an unknown face to the German national team as he was a player in the 90s and was an assistnat as well dating back to the 2008 Olympic games in Peiking. 'I am looking forward to working together with Hansi Gnad who is an experienced basketball specialist who does good work together with Volker Stix and Marcus Lindner', expressed German national coach Dirk Bauermann (agency: Pro One Sports )n. 201 NCAA champion Niels Giffey will join the team on July 25th after the U-20 European championships.

Nominated Players:

Dominik Bahiense de Mello (EWE Baskets Oldenburg),
Robin Benzing (last team ratiopharm Ulm),
Niels Giffey* (University of Connecticut/USA),
Per Gunter (ratiopharm Ulm),
Steffen Hamann (FC Bayern Mnchen),
Johannes Herber (Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt),
Jan-Hendrik Jagla (Last team Trk Telekomspor Ankara/Trkei),
Christopher McNaughton (Eisbren Bremerhaven),
Tim Ohlbrecht (Last team Telekom Baskets Bonn),
Tibor Pleiss (Brose Baskets Bamberg),
Heiko Schaffartzik (ALBA Berlin),
Sven Schultze (ALBA Berlin),
Philipp Schwethelm (FC Bayern Mnchen),
Lucca Staiger (ALBA Berlin),
Konrad Wysocki (Last team Turow Zgorzelec/Polen)
Philip Zwiener (TBB Trier).

Source: DBB

*





A2 Team edged Greece U20 in a test game - by Eurobasket News
A2 Team-Greece U20 77:66 (23:20, 17:17, 21:5, 16:24)


A2 Team overcame Greece U20 in a test game. After defeating twice U20 Germany, the more experienced players won last night 77:66.
Both A2 Team and Greece U20 started well and scored 43 points in the opening quarter. Germany won the first period 23-20 and then also had 3-point halftime advantage. The squads nailed 17 points each in the second period for 40:37 German lead. The third period was a nightmare for the Greek side that scored only 5 points. A2 Team produced massive 21-5 and then did not mind losing the last period 16-24.
Johannes Lischka (203-F/C-87) stepped up with 16 points and Bastian Doreth (183-G-89) scored 13. Karsten Tadda (189-G-88, agency: Pro One Sports) delivered 12, while Andreas Seiferth (206-F/C-89, college: ALBA Berlin II) ended up with 7. Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos (206-F-92) responded with 15 points in the losing effort and Spyridon Motsenigos (194-G/F-92) scored 13.



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  GREECE   


A2 Team edged Greece U20 in a test game - by Eurobasket News
A2 Team-Greece U20 77:66 (23:20, 17:17, 21:5, 16:24)


A2 Team overcame Greece U20 in a test game. After defeating twice U20 Germany, the more experienced players won last night 77:66.
Both A2 Team and Greece U20 started well and scored 43 points in the opening quarter. Germany won the first period 23-20 and then also had 3-point halftime advantage. The squads nailed 17 points each in the second period for 40:37 German lead. The third period was a nightmare for the Greek side that scored only 5 points. A2 Team produced massive 21-5 and then did not mind losing the last period 16-24.
Johannes Lischka (203-F/C-87) stepped up with 16 points and Bastian Doreth (183-G-89) scored 13. Karsten Tadda (189-G-88, agency: Pro One Sports) delivered 12, while Andreas Seiferth (206-F/C-89, college: ALBA Berlin II) ended up with 7. Linos-Spyridon Chrysikopoulos (206-F-92) responded with 15 points in the losing effort and Spyridon Motsenigos (194-G/F-92) scored 13.



Vassilis Spanoulis will stay with Olympiacos - by Eurobasket News
Eurobasket wrote that Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) and Ioannis Bourousis (212-C-83, agency: FCM) left Olympiacos, however it is a pleasure to announce for the team keeping Vassilis Spanoulis (193-G-82, agency: Beo Basket). The Greek Guard will not have any cut in the payroll.
Vassilis Spanoulis played for both rivals, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos. In 2009-2010 for 1,900,000 he played for Panathinaikos Athens (A1, starting five) and in Euroleague after 13 games had 10.5ppg, 1.5rpg, 3.8apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 52.8%, 3PT: 26.7%, FT: 83.3%. In Greek League after 31 games he showed 10.1ppg, 1.3rpg, 3.3apg, FGP-2 (70.9%), 3PT: 43.3%, FT: 79.6%.
In 2010-2011 he moved to Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1, starting five) and in Greek League averaged 10.6ppg, 1.5rpg, Assists-2 (5.2apg), FGP: 51.6%, 3PT: 28.8%, FT: 78.4%. In Euroleague after 20 games his stats read 14.2ppg, 1.8rpg, Assists-5 (4.3apg), 1.2spg, FGP: 50.9%, 3PT: 34.7%, FT: 85.2%.
Vassilis Spanoulis is one of the most honored players in Greece. He is Greek League Regular Season Champion -06, 08, 10, 11, Greek League Champion -06, 08, 09, 10, Euroleague Champion -09, Eurobasket.com All-Greek A1 League Player of the Year -09, Eurobasket.com All-Greek A1 League Guard of the Year -09, Eurobasket.com All-Greek A1 League Domestic Player of the Year -09, Eurobasket.com All-Greek A1 League 1st Team -09 and Eurobasket.com Greek A1 League All-Domestic Players Team -09, 11.
Recently in Spanoulis Vasileios led Greece to the second win at the Preliminary Round of the World Championship. The European team handed Puerto Rico their second loss at 83:80. Spanoulis Vasileios paced all the winners with 28 points and Tsartsaris Konstantinos nailed 14.



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  HOLLAND   


Stepco BS Weert adds Yamene Coleman - by Fred Roggen
Stepco BS Weert have shored up their frontcourt with the addition of center Yamene Coleman (206-C-86, agency: Court Side, college: Troy).
Yamene Coleman arrives from BC Perla Harghitei Miercurea Ciuc (Romania-Div.A) and averaged 15.3 points, 10.5 rebounds in 35 games last season.
The graduate of Troy university was awarded Eurobasket.com All-Romanian League Defensive Player of the Year.


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  HUNGARY   


Hungary U18 beat Austrian U18 selection twice in Wels - by Eurobasket News
Hungary U18 beat Austrian U18 selection twice in Wels. In Game 1 Hungary U18 produced a 84:67 win as they won the first half 42:34. For Austria in that game Luka Gvozden (182-G-93) scored 21 points and Popovics netted 10. Ljesevic ended up with 9 points, while Kapic netted 8 and Angeler chipped in 7.
In Game 2 Hungary U18 celebrated 89:73 win. Austria shocked the guests with 31-16 in the first period, but could not win the game. Hungary responded with 19-15 in the second period and won the third and the last periods. Hungary needed 26-16 in the third quarter and added 28-11 in the last stanza.
Laszlo Polyak (190-G-93) paced all the winners with 15 points, while Nagy nailed 14. Timur Bas (195-C-94) replied with 12 points for the home side and Gregor Wilk (178-G-93) netted 11. Alexander Oblak (182-G-93) and Kolb notched 10 points each and Angeler as well as Luka Gvozden scored 8 apiece.



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  IRAN   


Iran to begin title defense in Group B; China opt for Gr. D; Lebanon in Gr. A - by Maarouf Mawloud
Twice defending champions Iran will match wits with GCC champions Qatar, East Asias Chinese Taipei and the qualifier from the Stan division of Middle Asia in Group B in the Preliminary Round of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship.

The draw for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship was completed at the host city Wuhan amidst a sparkling ceremony on the Yangzte River on Wednesday.

Vice Mayor of Wuhan Liu Shunni presided over the Draw Ceremony in the presence of Hu Dechun, Director of Administration of Sports of Hubei Province, Luo Changgang, Director of Economic and Technological Development Zone, Zhang Jin, Deputy Director of Admin. of Sports of Hubei Province, Former China National Team coach Liu Guiyi and the representatives of sponsors KIA Motors, PEAK and Sportsfive.

FIBA Asia Deputy Secretary General Hagop Khajirian along with FIBA Asia Hon. Chairman Xin Lancheng, also the Secretary General of CBA, supervised the Draw proceedings.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship, also the qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympics, will be held from Sept 15-25.

The champion team from Wuhan will directly qualify for the most significant sporting event at the British capital, while the No 2 and No 3 teams will qualify for the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament.

Hosts China as per the procedure of the draw opted to play in Group D after SEABA champions Philippines along with GCC duo UAE and Bahrain were drawn.

Lebanon, who qualified for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship directly by virtue of winning the title in the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup last year were drawn in Group A along with the qualifier from the SAARC division of Middle Asia, SEABAs Malaysia and recently crowned East Asian champions Korea.

Japan, who lost to Lebanon in the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup, were drawn into Group C along with SEABA runners-up Indonesia, 2009 FIBA Asia Championship bronze medalists Jordan and another WABA team Syria.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship is the fifth occasion when China will host this prestigious event 1989 Beijing, 2001 Shanghai, 2003 Harbin and 2009 Tianjin are the earlier occasions.

The Draw process

The four semifinalists of the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup Lebanon, Japan, Qatar and Philippines were seeded into four different groups, and the draw decided which group each of them will figure. Liu Guiyi conducted the draw for the seeded teams.

The two Middle Asian representatives along with Indonesia and UAE were drawn next. Hu Dechun drew the lots to decide which team goes where.

Luo Changgang conducted the draw for the next level involving Malaysia, Taipei, Syria and Bahrain to follow suit.

At this stage, China exercised their right as hosts of choice in the groupings and Zhang Jin drew Iran, Jordan and Korea into their respective groups.

Groupings for Preliminary Round
Group A: Lebanon, Middle Asia 1, Malaysia, Korea
Group B: Qatar, Middle Asia 2, Ch. Taipei, Iran
Group C: Japan, Indonesia, Syria, Jordan
Group D: Philippines, UAE, Bahrain, China.
Notes:
Middle Asia 1: New Delhi hosts the SAARC teams from July 13-15 to identify this qualifier.
Middle Asia 2: Navoi (UBZ) will host Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan as the four teams attempt to win this qualifying berth.
The top three teams from each group will advance to the Second Round in the following manner.
Second Round Groupings
Group E: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3
Group F: C1, C2, C3, D1, D2, D3
Each team will play the three (3) new teams in its own group (the final scores of all games played in the Preliminary Round are valid for this round). The top four from each group in the Second Round will advance to the knockout quarterfinal stage.

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  ISRAEL   


Eurobasket Exclusive: Romeo Travis stays in Israel, will join Galil/Gilboa - by David Pick
After releasing the dominant Israeli point guard Gal Mekel to Benetton Treviso (Italy), and signing their first three free agents of the summer in the likes of Jan Martin, Nimrod Tishman and American PG Chaisson Allen, Israeli runner-up Hapoel Galil/Gilboa came to an agreement on terms of a one year deal with the 'Fab-Five' member and University of Akron product, forward Romeo Travis, according to sources with knowledge of the decision.

The 27-year-old athlete came to Israel last season for the first time in his career as he joined Elitzur Netanya after two and a half years in Germany. Travis led his organization to the Israeli state cup finals and to the first domestic playoff round where they fell 0:3 to Maccabi T.A. Galil/Gilboa approved the information at hand as Travis is expected to sign the official papers any day now.

Travis' performances didn't go unnoticed by the league members, as coach Lubin was the first to put his hands on the Akron standout. In the BSL Travis posted numbers of 14.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 block shots per game. In Netanya's EuroChallenge competition, Travis improved his numbers averaging 16 points and 7.4 rebounds in almost 30 minutes of play.




Israeli U22 National Team 2011 - by Greg
Starting five
#s#
Gal Eytan
Eytan
Dori Assaf
Assaf
Eran Asante Asare
Asante Asare
Ben Rice
Rice
Sean Daniel
Daniel
#e#5
Gal Eytan 182-G-87 Hapoel T-A Israel
Dori Assaf 178-PG-87 Bnei Hasharon Israel
Eran Asante Asare 194-G/F-88 Elitzur Netanya Israel
Ben Rice 195-F-90 Bnei Hasharon Israel
Sean Daniel 197-F-89 Hapoel Holon Israel
Anton Shoutvin 206-C/F-89 Freiburg Germany
Daniel Gor Arie 202-F/C-87 Maccabi Ashdod Israel
Raviv Pitshon 202-C/F-89 Lev Hasharon Israel
Omer Rub 173-G-90 Kohav Yair Israel
Daniel Aidan 204-F-89 Hapoel Beeri Israel
Omer Shmidt 193-G-87 Hapoel Afula Israel
Yoad Bet-Yosef 182-G-87 Beer Yaakov Israel
Eyal Shulman 192-G-87 Maccabi Rishon Israel
Shlomi Harush 185-G-87 Kohav Yair Israel
Inam Eiram 194-F/G-88 Lev Hasharon Israel
Gilad Karni 195-F/G-87 Beer Yaakov Israel

Roni Boussani Head Coach


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  ITALY   


Cantu is set to land David Lighty - by Eurobasket News
Bennet Cantu are looking for the ways to strengthen their backcourt. They are negotiating contract with David Lighty (195-G/F-88). The deal may be announced soon. The 23-year-old shooting guard has just graduated from the Ohio State University. He averaged 12.1 points, 4.0 boards, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game in his senior season. David Lighty made it into All-Big Ten 2nd Team. He was also named into Big Ten All-Defensive Team. David Lighty was the member of the USA U19 National Team. He participated at U19 World Championship in Serbia back in 2007. David Lighty notched 8.8 points and 3.9 boards per game in Novi Sad.


Ioannis Bourousis is on his way to Armani Milano - by Eurobasket News
More and more sources send Ioannis Bourousis (212-C-83, agency: FCM) to Armani Milano. The Greek big man parted ways with Olympiacos few days ago and is free agent.
The Greek Center stayed with Greek side from 2006 but decided to part away. Ioannis Bourousis joined Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1) in 2006 and debuted with 8.6ppg, 5.7rpg, 1.1spg, 2FGP-1 (76.5%), 3FGP: 40.9%, FT: 72.7% in EuroLeague. In Greek League Regular Season after 24 games he averaged 9.8ppg, Reb-4 (7.2rpg), Blocks-2 (1.1bpg), 2FGP: 61.0%, 3FGP: 35.0%, FT: 77.0%. In Greek Play-Offs after 13 games his stats read 6.7ppg, 6.5rpg, 1.2apg, 1.0spg, 2FGP: 71.0%, 3FGP: 29.0%, FT: 69.0%. In 2007-2008 for Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1, starting five) he showed 5.8ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 55.1%, 3PT: 43.2%, FT: 76.9% in EuroLeague, while in Greek League Regular Season his stats read 9.0ppg, Reb-4 (7.5rpg), 1.2apg, Blocks-3 (1.2bpg), 2FGP: 66.0%, 3PT: 40.0%, FT: 74.0%. In Greek Play-Offs after 12 games he had 9.3ppg, 8.9rpg, 1.1spg, 1.5bpg, 2FGP: 55.0%, 3PT: 31.0%, FT: 68.0%. In 2008-2009 he signed 400,000 deal with Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1) and in Euroleague after 21 games improved to 12.3ppg, Reb-3 (7.3ppg), FGP: 63.8%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 63.8%. In Greek League he showed 12.3ppg, Reb-3 (7.4rpg), 1.0apg, Blocks-3 (1.0bpg), FGP: 63.1%, 3PT: 43.9%, FT: 75.3%. In 2009-2010 had a deal of 1,670,000 for Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1, starting five) and in Euroleague after 17 games averaged 8.8ppg, 4.8rpg, FGP: 54.4%, 3PT: 47.1%, FT: 76.5%. In Greek League he showed 9.7ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 56.0%, 3PT: 20.0%, FT: 74.3%. The last season for Olympiakos S.F.P. Pireus (A1, starting five) after 30 games Ioannis Bourousis had 11.7ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.2apg, 1.0spg, Blocks-5 (1.1bpg), FGP: 63.6%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 81.7% in EuroLeague and averaged 10.7ppg, Reb-4 (6.6rpg), Blocks-5 (1.3bpg), FGP: 57.7%, 3PT: 36.7%, FT: 67.8% in Greek League.



Alessandro Ramagli remain with Banca Tercas - by Eurobasket News
Alessandro Ramagli (agency: Players Group ) remain with Banca Tercas for the next season. The head Coach of the Italian team will start with the team that he joined in November 2010.
Alessandro Ramagli (agency: Players Group ) started with Fila Biella (SerieA) in 2001. In 2002-2003 joined Acqua Lauretana Biella (SerieA) and in 2006-2007 moved to Scavolini-Gruppo Spar Pesaro (Lega2), hired in Jan.'07. In 2007-2008 appeared in Benetton Treviso (SerieA); left in Nov.'07. In 2008-2009 joined Trenkwalder Reggio Emilia (Lega2) and in 2010-2011 was a Head Coach of Banca Tercas Teramo (SerieA).
Banca Tercas finished the last season with 10-20 record on the 15th place. In the last game of the Regular Season fifteenth-ranked Banca Tercas (10-20) were very close to win a game against eighth ranked CS Bologna (15-15). CS Bologna managed to secure only two-point victory 96-94. However their fans expected much easier game. Banca Tercas were trailing by 2 points at halftime but managed to get 4-point lead after three quarters before a 29-23 charge of CS Bologna, which allowed them to win the game.




*****************************************************
  IVORY COAST   


Natxo Lezkano new head coach of the Ivory Coast - by Kristian Santiago
Faymasa Palencia Baloncesto head-coach Nacho Lezkano will be trying to guide the Ivory Coast to the next Olympics. The Spaniard and the Elephants will be heading to Madagascar in late August to compete in the African Championships, but before doing so, there will be two stages in Paris in July and in the United States for the team to prepare intensively for the prestigious continental tournament.
The 38-year old Lezkano has been coaching for Faymasa Palencia Baloncesto in the last four years and was also previously working as an assistant-coach with Caja Laboral Vitoria for six years and as a result, won one Spanish title, three Copa Del Rey trophies with Vitoria and also gained promotion to LEB Oro with Faymasa Palencia Baloncesto in 2009.


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


Oita HeatDevils name Yukinori Suzuki head coach - by Eurobasket News
The Oita HeatDevils announced that Yukinori Suzuki has retired as a player and would take the position of the teams head coach. Yukinori Suzuki played for Oita since 2005. He was named into Asia-Basket.com All-Japanese BJ League 1st Team in 2006. Before joining Oita HeatDevils the guard played for Niigata in JBL. Yukinori Suzuki will replace L.J. Hepp who was fired before the end of the last season.


Yokohama land Takeshi Hotta and Masayuki Kabaya - by Eurobasket News
The Yokohama B-Corsairs continued to shape up their roster for the upcoming BJ-League season. They have lately agreed on terms of contracts with two free agents. Takeshi Hotta (196-F-78) and Masayuki Kabaya (183-G/F-82) are set to join the team.
Takeshi Hotta played for the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins since 2008. Last season the 33-year-old forward averaged 0.8 points and 0.6 boards per game. Previously Takeshi Hotta had stints with Niigata, Fukuoka, OSG Phoenix. Takeshi Hotta was the member of Japanese University National Team back in 1999/03 seasons.
Masayuki Kabaya was also the member of Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins since 2009. Last season the 29-year-old forward produced 0.7 points and 0.5 boards per appearance. Before joining the Diamond Dolphins Masayuki Kabaya had a stint with Toyama Grouses.



*****************************************************
  JORDAN   


Iran to begin title defense in Group B; China opt for Gr. D; Lebanon in Gr. A - by Maarouf Mawloud
Twice defending champions Iran will match wits with GCC champions Qatar, East Asias Chinese Taipei and the qualifier from the Stan division of Middle Asia in Group B in the Preliminary Round of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship.

The draw for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship was completed at the host city Wuhan amidst a sparkling ceremony on the Yangzte River on Wednesday.

Vice Mayor of Wuhan Liu Shunni presided over the Draw Ceremony in the presence of Hu Dechun, Director of Administration of Sports of Hubei Province, Luo Changgang, Director of Economic and Technological Development Zone, Zhang Jin, Deputy Director of Admin. of Sports of Hubei Province, Former China National Team coach Liu Guiyi and the representatives of sponsors KIA Motors, PEAK and Sportsfive.

FIBA Asia Deputy Secretary General Hagop Khajirian along with FIBA Asia Hon. Chairman Xin Lancheng, also the Secretary General of CBA, supervised the Draw proceedings.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship, also the qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympics, will be held from Sept 15-25.

The champion team from Wuhan will directly qualify for the most significant sporting event at the British capital, while the No 2 and No 3 teams will qualify for the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament.

Hosts China as per the procedure of the draw opted to play in Group D after SEABA champions Philippines along with GCC duo UAE and Bahrain were drawn.

Lebanon, who qualified for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship directly by virtue of winning the title in the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup last year were drawn in Group A along with the qualifier from the SAARC division of Middle Asia, SEABAs Malaysia and recently crowned East Asian champions Korea.

Japan, who lost to Lebanon in the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup, were drawn into Group C along with SEABA runners-up Indonesia, 2009 FIBA Asia Championship bronze medalists Jordan and another WABA team Syria.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship is the fifth occasion when China will host this prestigious event 1989 Beijing, 2001 Shanghai, 2003 Harbin and 2009 Tianjin are the earlier occasions.

The Draw process

The four semifinalists of the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup Lebanon, Japan, Qatar and Philippines were seeded into four different groups, and the draw decided which group each of them will figure. Liu Guiyi conducted the draw for the seeded teams.

The two Middle Asian representatives along with Indonesia and UAE were drawn next. Hu Dechun drew the lots to decide which team goes where.

Luo Changgang conducted the draw for the next level involving Malaysia, Taipei, Syria and Bahrain to follow suit.

At this stage, China exercised their right as hosts of choice in the groupings and Zhang Jin drew Iran, Jordan and Korea into their respective groups.

Groupings for Preliminary Round
Group A: Lebanon, Middle Asia 1, Malaysia, Korea
Group B: Qatar, Middle Asia 2, Ch. Taipei, Iran
Group C: Japan, Indonesia, Syria, Jordan
Group D: Philippines, UAE, Bahrain, China.
Notes:
Middle Asia 1: New Delhi hosts the SAARC teams from July 13-15 to identify this qualifier.
Middle Asia 2: Navoi (UBZ) will host Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan as the four teams attempt to win this qualifying berth.
The top three teams from each group will advance to the Second Round in the following manner.
Second Round Groupings
Group E: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3
Group F: C1, C2, C3, D1, D2, D3
Each team will play the three (3) new teams in its own group (the final scores of all games played in the Preliminary Round are valid for this round). The top four from each group in the Second Round will advance to the knockout quarterfinal stage.

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


Kosovo U18 National Team 2011 - by Eurobasket
Ard Islami
Arian Mehmeti
Endrit Elshani Bashkimi Kosovo
Arianit Mallaku
Granit Hyseni
Leonard Mekaj
Luard Halili
Qndrim Ajazaj
Ujkan Karanezi 198-F-95 Bashkimi Kosovo
Besnik Trepa
Soner Kovaq
Erzen Sopi
Florent Rexhepi
Valon Vitaku

Albert Sylejmani Head Coach


*****************************************************
  LATVIA   


Russia defeats Latvia and thank Argentina - by Eurobasket News
Latvia U19-Russia U19 63:73

Russia U19 won over the Baltic side and advanced to the Quarterfinals. The Russian selection grabbed 73:63 over Latvia U19 at the 2011 U19 FIBA World Championships. Argentina later helped the European team to advance to the next stage as they beat Brazil in overtime.
It was a tough start and it proved the battle until the very end. Latvia erupted for 18-6, however Russia reduced to 21-15 at the end of the first period. They even closed it to just one, but managed to win the second period only 12-11 and trailed 27-32 at the halftime. The Baltic side led in the whole third period and enjoyed 49:43 after thirty minutes. Russia, however exploded in the last frame and won the thriller. The Russian team needed 30-14 as Alexander Varnakov (185-G-92) made the final 73:63 victory.
Alexander Varnakov top-scored for the winners with 21 and Dmitry Kulagin (195-G-92) posted 15. Kaspars Vecvagars (191-G-93) finished the game with 17 points in defeat, while Janis Timma (201-F/G-92) added 15.

Latvia U19: Kaspars Vecvagars 17, Janis Timma 15
Russia U19: Alexander Varnakov 21, Dmitry Kulagin 15



*****************************************************
  LEBANON   


Iran to begin title defense in Group B; China opt for Gr. D; Lebanon in Gr. A - by Maarouf Mawloud
Twice defending champions Iran will match wits with GCC champions Qatar, East Asias Chinese Taipei and the qualifier from the Stan division of Middle Asia in Group B in the Preliminary Round of the 26th FIBA Asia Championship.

The draw for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship was completed at the host city Wuhan amidst a sparkling ceremony on the Yangzte River on Wednesday.

Vice Mayor of Wuhan Liu Shunni presided over the Draw Ceremony in the presence of Hu Dechun, Director of Administration of Sports of Hubei Province, Luo Changgang, Director of Economic and Technological Development Zone, Zhang Jin, Deputy Director of Admin. of Sports of Hubei Province, Former China National Team coach Liu Guiyi and the representatives of sponsors KIA Motors, PEAK and Sportsfive.

FIBA Asia Deputy Secretary General Hagop Khajirian along with FIBA Asia Hon. Chairman Xin Lancheng, also the Secretary General of CBA, supervised the Draw proceedings.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship, also the qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympics, will be held from Sept 15-25.

The champion team from Wuhan will directly qualify for the most significant sporting event at the British capital, while the No 2 and No 3 teams will qualify for the FIBA Olympic qualifying tournament.

Hosts China as per the procedure of the draw opted to play in Group D after SEABA champions Philippines along with GCC duo UAE and Bahrain were drawn.

Lebanon, who qualified for the 26th FIBA Asia Championship directly by virtue of winning the title in the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup last year were drawn in Group A along with the qualifier from the SAARC division of Middle Asia, SEABAs Malaysia and recently crowned East Asian champions Korea.

Japan, who lost to Lebanon in the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup, were drawn into Group C along with SEABA runners-up Indonesia, 2009 FIBA Asia Championship bronze medalists Jordan and another WABA team Syria.

The 26th FIBA Asia Championship is the fifth occasion when China will host this prestigious event 1989 Beijing, 2001 Shanghai, 2003 Harbin and 2009 Tianjin are the earlier occasions.

The Draw process

The four semifinalists of the 3rd FIBA Asia Stankovic Cup Lebanon, Japan, Qatar and Philippines were seeded into four different groups, and the draw decided which group each of them will figure. Liu Guiyi conducted the draw for the seeded teams.

The two Middle Asian representatives along with Indonesia and UAE were drawn next. Hu Dechun drew the lots to decide which team goes where.

Luo Changgang conducted the draw for the next level involving Malaysia, Taipei, Syria and Bahrain to follow suit.

At this stage, China exercised their right as hosts of choice in the groupings and Zhang Jin drew Iran, Jordan and Korea into their respective groups.

Groupings for Preliminary Round
Group A: Lebanon, Middle Asia 1, Malaysia, Korea
Group B: Qatar, Middle Asia 2, Ch. Taipei, Iran
Group C: Japan, Indonesia, Syria, Jordan
Group D: Philippines, UAE, Bahrain, China.
Notes:
Middle Asia 1: New Delhi hosts the SAARC teams from July 13-15 to identify this qualifier.
Middle Asia 2: Navoi (UBZ) will host Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan as the four teams attempt to win this qualifying berth.
The top three teams from each group will advance to the Second Round in the following manner.
Second Round Groupings
Group E: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3
Group F: C1, C2, C3, D1, D2, D3
Each team will play the three (3) new teams in its own group (the final scores of all games played in the Preliminary Round are valid for this round). The top four from each group in the Second Round will advance to the knockout quarterfinal stage.

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


Lithuania cruise past Egypt - by Eurobasket News
Lithuania U19 - Egypt U19 78:59

Lithuania clinched another win at the U19 World Championship in Latvia. They stormed past Egypt to improve at 4-2 record and clinched the second place in Group F of the Eighth-Final Round. Jonas Valanciunas (210-C-92) stepped up with 17 points and 13 boards for Lithuania. Egypt slipped at 1-5 record and would play at 9-12 place classification round.
Lithuania led right from the start. The Baltic team quickly cleared off to a 23:7 lead. Deividas Pukis (194-G/F-92) ensured a 41:21 lead for Lithuania midway through the second quarter. They established a 46:25 halftime lead. Lithuania earned a 28-point lead in the third quarter before Egypt cut the distance to 21-point mark with one quarter remaining 42:63. The fourth period was a mere formality as Lithuania coasted to the victory at the end. Renaldas Simanavicius (184-G-92) scored 14 points, while Deividas Pukis added 13 in the winning effort. Egypt answered with game-high 23 points and 19 rebounds from Assem Ahmed (205-C-92). Omar Mohammed delivered 14 points in the loss.

Lithuania U19: Jonas Valanciunas 17+13 boards, Renaldas Simanavicius 14, Deividas Pukis 13
Egypt U19: Assem Ahmed 23+19 boards, Omar Mohammed 14


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


Pacers formally introduce Frank Vogel as head coach - by Eurobasket News
Its been a strange ride for Frank Vogel. He wasnt exactly a hoops hero coming out of high school, and considered himself lucky to play three years at Div. III Juniata. He transferred as a senior to Kentucky, but did so knowing full well he wasnt going to play for the Wildcats -- he was to be the video coordinator for Rick Pitino.

When Pitino jumped to the NBA, he took Vogel with him, and ever since, Vogel has been one of the backroom guys who help make a team run -- not only was he a video coordinator, but he was a scout and an assistant coach, too.

Now, at age 38, he finds himself in charge of the Indiana Pacers. Vogel was named the teams head coach on Wednesday, after serving as the interim coach following the firing of Jim OBrien in late January.

Once he took over, Vogel led the Pacers to a 20-18 finish and their first postseason spot since 2006, and was given a three-year contract (the third year is a team option) as a reward.

I dont think anybody envisions being a head coach in the NBA at 38 years old, Vogel said during Wednesdays press conference. Im very honored and Im going to work my tail off to take advantage of this opportunity. ... To be a head coach in the NBA is such an honor because this is the highest level of basketball in the world. And to do it in Indianapolis, where people love and appreciate basketball as much as I love and appreciate basketball, its pretty cool.

It took the Pacers a while to make the choice official, and they did investigate other candidates. But ultimately, the players wanted Vogel -- and that resonated with management.

Were very happy to have Frank as our coach, team president Larry Bird said. As I stated after the season, I was in no hurry regarding (hiring) the coach, mainly because I knew I had a good candidate in Frank. But we wanted to get through the draft, and I wanted to have numerous conversations with Frank about a staff that will cover all areas. I feel strongly he is doing that, and this coaching staff, as a whole, will help this franchise continue to move forward.

Birds concerns about filling out the rest of the coaching staff stem from Vogels relative inexperience -- he has never been a head coach before. The Pacers have hired longtime Lakers assistant Brian Shaw, a former teammate of Birds in Boston, to be Vogels lead assistant.

Thats not a problem for Vogel, who is grateful to have a chance to build on the momentum the team developed in the last part of the 2010-11 season.

We took a huge step as a team and a franchise, but were not satisfied by any stretch, Vogel said. Theres a fearlessness about this team thats exciting to be a part of. Its going to be fun and exciting going forward. This is the new Pacers and we shoot for the moon. We dream big and work our tails off to reach those dreams.

Courtesy of http://aol.sportingnews.com

Timberwolves F Beasley ticketed for marijuana - by Eurobasket News
Police say Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley (6'9''-F-89, college: Kansas St.) was ticketed for possessing marijuana and speeding in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka last week.

Capt. Scott Boerboom said Thursday that an officer stopped Beasley around 3 a.m. on June 26 on Interstate 394 after clocking him going 84 mph in a 65 mph zone. He says the officer smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car.

The report says the officer found 16.2 grams of it under the front passenger seat of Beasley's car. It says Beasley claimed the marijuana was not his, but belonged to a friend whom he had just dropped off.

The possession charge is a petty misdemeanor that carries a fine of $128. The Timberwolves say they can't comment during the lockout.

Courtesy of www.sacbee.com

UNLV great and former NBA player Armen Gilliam dies at 47 - by Eurobasket News
UNLV great and former NBA player Armen Gilliam died Tuesday night while playing pickup basketball at a Pittsburgh-area health club. He was 47.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday that Gilliam died Tuesday night at the LA Fitness gym in Bridgeville while he was playing basketball.

The office says a cause of death has not yet been determined pending an autopsy.

Gilliam, a 6-foot-9 forward, played 13 NBA seasons with six teams after leading UNLV to a 37-2 record and the Final Four in 1987. He was the No. 2 overall pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 1987 NBA draft.

Nicknamed 'The Hammer,' Gilliam played for the Suns, Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz.

'We are deeply saddened to learn about the loss of Armen Gilliam,' said Rod Thorn, president of the 76ers. 'He was a hard-working, physical player during his distinguished 13 years in the NBA and we are proud of the contributions he made to the Sixers from 1990 to 1993.

'On behalf of the entire Sixers organization, we send our deepest condolences to the Gilliam family during this very difficult time.'

Gilliam, who averaged 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds during his NBA career, changed the spelling of his first name from Armon to Armen during his professional playing days.

UNLV retired Gilliam's No. 35 jersey in 2007 and inducted him into the school's athletic hall of fame in 2008. He was a consensus second-team All-America and Big West player of the year in 1986-87 as UNLV went 18-0 in conference play and reached the school's second-ever Final Four.

'He was one of the greatest Rebels ever and one of the best players we have ever had,' Jerry Tarkanian, his coach at UNLV, said in a statement released by the university. 'He was such a great person. Everybody loved him and he loved everybody. He was such a gentle person and such a caring guy. I am all shook up over it. I think the world of him and am just really shocked.'

Gilliam coached and played for the Pittsburgh Xplosion in the American Basketball Association in 2005 and 2006. He also coached Division III Penn State-Altoona from 2002-05.

'The Runnin' Rebel family lost a true legend,' current UNLV coach Dave Rice said. 'As great a player as Armen was, he was even a better person.'

Courtesy of ESPN

N.B.A. disputes Forbes analysis suggesting league is profitable - by Eurobasket News
In a statement e-mailed to The Times, Tim Frank, a spokesman for the National Basketball Association, has disputed an analysis by Forbes Magazine suggesting that the N.B.A. turned a $183 million operating profit in its 2009-10 season. Instead, according to Mr. Frank, the league lost $340 million that year and has lost money every year during the current collective bargaining agreement.

Mr. Frank also disputes several other claims in the Forbes analysis, which was the basis of my article on the leagues financial condition this morning. In addition, he has disputed claims about the leagues accounting procedures and financial condition made by other sources cited in the article, and the attendant characterizations about them in the FiveThirtyEight analysis.

Mr. Franks full statement is reproduced below:

The information from Forbes that serves as the basis for this article is inaccurate and we do not know how they do their calculations. Forbes does not have the financial data for our teams and the magazines estimates do not reflect reality.

Precisely to avoid this issue, the N.B.A. and its teams shared their complete league and team audited financials as well as our state and Federal tax returns with the Players Union. Those financials demonstrate the substantial and indisputable losses the league has incurred over the past several years.

The analysis that was posted this afternoon has several significant factual inaccuracies, including:

[The N.B.A.] is a fundamentally healthy and profitable business

The league lost money every year of the just expiring CBA. During these years, the league has never had positive Net Income, EBITDA or Operating Income.

Many of the purported losses result from an unusual accounting treatment related to depreciation and amortization when a team is sold.

We use the conventional and generally accepted accounting (GAAP) approach and include in our financial reporting the depreciation of the capital expenditures made in the normal course of business by the teams as they are a substantial and necessary cost of doing business.

We do not include purchase price amortization from when a team is sold or under any circumstances in any of our reported losses. Put simply, none of the league losses are related to team purchase or sale accounting.

Another trick moving income from the teams balance sheet to that of a related business like a cable network

All revenues included in Basketball Related Income (BRI) and reported in our financial statements have been audited by an accounting firm jointly engaged by the players union and the league. They include basketball revenues reported on related entities books.

Ticket revenues are up 22% compared to 1999-2000 season

Ticket revenues have increased 12% over the 10 year period, not the 22% reported.

17 teams lost money according to Forbes Most of these losses were small

Forbess claim is inaccurate. In 2009-10, 23 teams had net income losses. The losses were in no way small as 11 teams lost more than $20M each on a net income basis.

The profits made by the Knicks, Bulls and Lakers alone would be enough to cover the losses of all 17 unprofitable teams.

The Knicks, Bulls and Lakers combined net income for 2009-10 does not cover the losses of the 23 unprofitable teams. Our net loss for that year, including the gains from the seven profitable teams, was -$340 million.

Forbess estimates a $183 million profit for the NBA in 2009-10, and those issued by the league, which claim a $370M loss

Forbess data is inaccurate. Our losses for 2009-10 were -$340 million, not -$370 million as the article states.

The leaked financial statements for one team, the New Orleans Hornets, closely matched the Forbes data

This is not an accurate statement as operating income in the latest Forbes data (2009-10) is $5M greater than what is reported in the Hornets audited financials.

One specific point of clarification: the Hornets leaked financial data reported a $6.4 million loss in 2007-8 but a $5.9 million gain in 2008-9. By comparison, the Forbes data estimated a $3 million gain in 2007-8 but a small loss of less than $1 million in 2008-9. The difference between the two figures an average of about $1.5 million over the two-year period is small. Mr. Frank, however, is referring to the Hornets financial performance in 2009-10, which was not detailed in the leaked data.

Otherwise, I simply have no way to adjudicate the N.B.A.s claims. Mr. Franks statement includes several specific claims that have the league has not made publicly before, but in general the league has not made substantial detail on its financial condition, or its accounting procedures, available to the general public.

The Forbes data may suffer from this lack of publicly-available information, but they remain the only independent estimates of the leagues financial condition. In my view, a degree of skepticism is appropriate toward any claims made about the N.B.A.s finances.

I look forward to continuing to report on the story as further information becomes available.

Courtesy of http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com

Owners are the bad guys in NBA lockout - by Eurobasket News
News stories regarding the NBA lockout have generally expressed the sentiment that both sides are equally in the wrong in a professional sports labor dispute. The players are greedy, the owners are greedy and the fans are the ones who have the listen to rich people whine about not having enough money, or so the thinking goes.

It's the safe position to take, because most fans feel this way and most reporters, wanting to stay 'objective,' think it puts them in the journalistic 'middle' on the issue.
What it does, though, is fail to educate fans about the real nature of the lockout and ignores the fact that, in this particular lockout, in this particular year, one side is much more wrong than the other.

Contrary to popular opinion, it ain't the players.

Players who were smart will not go hungry while the NBA suspends operations. The average NBA salary is $4.79 million, according to the Global Sports Salaries Report, so there should be no crying for guys who make $92,199 per week.

A worker doesn't have to be poor to be poorly treated in collective bargaining negotiations, though. The narrative of the lockout began with reports that 17 owners lost money in 2009-10 and more than 20 owners could lose money in 2011, so they needed a greater share of the revenue pie to be profitable.

Under the old collective bargaining agreement, the owners -- the majority of whom few fans can name -- received about 43 percent of league revenues, while the players -- the ones who are household names all the way down to the 12th men barely hanging on -- received about 57 percent.

The owners want something closer 50-50 and preferrably 55-45 in their favor.

An even split may seem fair, but one noteworthy group did not feel a 50-50 divide was necessary: the owners themselves, the last time we were here. When these rules were set in the last lockout in 1999, the feeling was that the owners got what they wanted. They won. The 'soft' salary cap, the villified 'mid-level exception' and the maximum contract were ideas the owners said would control costs. The players' share of revenues stayed at 57 percent in the new CBA.

Yet 13 years later, what the owners said would work hasn't worked. And they now expect anyone to believe they have the better plan this time?

Consistency of message often is one of the most important things in public negotiations, whether legal, political or sports-related. It's easier for a disinterested public to understand an issue if it focuses on one aspect that is hammered away at over and over.

A good example is the 18-game season NFL owners pushed at the beginning of their lockout. The players were able to use that easily understood concept to point out the increase in injuries that would come with it and the unfairness of increasing their workloads without increasing their pay.

The NBA owners can't even seem to say what they hope to gain from the lockout. They have argued at times that they want to improve competitive balance among the large market and small market teams. At other times, they've said they need to increase their overall revenues. These ideas are totally at odds.

To generate more money, the owners would be best served to funnel the best talent and put the most marketing muscle behind the Lakers, Knicks, Heat, Bulls and Celtics. Those teams generate enough revenue, according to financial records, to essentially pay for the entire league. Improving competitive balance would mean taking away from those franchises.

Recognizing this, the players called the owners' bluff by proposing an expanded revenue sharing system. The owners responded that CBA talks were not the right time to discuss revenue sharing, which they say is separate from the labor negotiations.

It is, but it isn't. If the idea truly were to improve competitive balance, a revenue sharing system is the most logical approach. By turning it down, the owners confirmed that the lockout isn't about competitive balance, but about squeezing every nickel possible from the players.

The players union has yet to make much headway in the realm of public opinion, in part because the owners keep trotting out statistics they say show they are losing money. There are lots of problems with this claim -- as laid out best by the New York Times' Nate Silver -- but it's a good sound byte and most fans are guillible enough to believe it.

Still, the players still can turn the tables by making one more big concession: Agree to the 50-50 revenue split.

The message to fans would be clear, that the players are willing to divide everything right down the middle. No hard salary cap or restrictive individual salary limits are necessary; with an added 7 percent of $4 billion (roughly $280 million), surely owners can find a way to make ends meet. If they still can't, well, maybe these savvy businessmen shouldn't be the professional sports business anymore.

The league has gotten virtually everything it wanted in the past 13 years. Dress code? Check. Prohibition of straight-from-high-school players? Check. Adding two games to first-round playoffs series? Check.

Maybe it's time the NBA doesn't get whatever it wants.

Courtesy of www.nesn.com (by Ben Watanabe)

Lockout slows Warriors' transition - by Eurobasket News
If it were up to Stephen Curry (6'3''-PG-88, college: Davidson), hed be using the next couple months to rehab his surgically repaired right ankle at the Golden State Warriors practice facility under the watch of the teams training and medical staffs. Hed also use the time to get to know Mark Jackson and the rest of the Warriors new coaches, and better familiarize himself with the system they plan to implement.

The NBA lockout has put most of those plans on hold. Instead, Curry will rehab in Charlotte, N.C., and Washington with his own doctors and trainer. Nor can he speak to Jackson or anyone in the Warriors front office, which also has been overhauled since the season ended.

This would be a crucial time for us to get together with our new coach and new front office staff, and try to figure out the direction our team wants to go and get set, Curry said. All the players have to do it individually now. That part of it is huge for us trying to get to where we want to go.

Jackson and Warriors assistant Michael Malone visited Curry in Charlotte for dinner last week in advance of the lockout. They also went to Memphis, Tenn., to meet with Monta Ellis (notes) and to St. Louis to visit David Lee (notes). Curry said Jackson and Malone preached the importance of improving the teams defense, and suggested the Warriors players work out together as much as possible during the lockout to build camaraderie.

I like the hiring, Curry said of Jackson. He knows the game, and the only knock against him right now is he doesnt have any coaching experience. For him to hire Pete Myers and Michael Malone behind him [as assistants] helps start a great staff. From what I can tell from the meeting with [Jackson] and Mike, they had a great chemistry just from the start. Its going to be a work in progress day to day with the coaching philosophies he wants to implement for us and get us to where he wants us to go.

Curry said he, Ellis, Lee and Dorell Wright (notes), who lives in Los Angeles, plan to meet in each others cities for workouts. The Warriors have tried to downplay speculation they want to trade Ellis. Jackson has claimed to be a big fan of the Warriors leading scorer.

I dont know about the talks he had with the front office or where they ended before the lockout, but as of right now, hes still a Warrior, Curry said of Ellis. We want him with our team. He makes us better. And I think with a fresh start and all the new faces with the organization that will help him forget about the past and not really affect what is going on right now.

I know there has been a lot of turmoil with him and the organization in the past. I cant speak for him, but I think the new look of our organization will help him make a difference.

Curry also hopes to be ready for the start of training camp whenever that may be after having ankle surgery. In anticipation of the lockout, Curry wanted to have the surgery done near his native Charlotte. The Warriors helped him find Dr. Bob Anderson, a Charlotte-based foot and ankle specialist who has worked with several Charlotte Bobcats and other NBA players. The Warriors also had Curry visit with an ankle specialist in Baltimore for another opinion.

Curry had surgery May 25. With his NBA medical insurance canceled with the lockouts arrival, Curry made sure his bills were paid in advance with enough leeway to cover the first two weeks of July. He just began his first week of physical therapy and hopes to be on the court doing drill and conditioning work in two weeks with his trainer Steve Kostorowski in Washington.

During the lockout, the Warriors are not allowed to communicate with Curry or his doctor or trainer.

I dont know how I can get information to them about my progress, Curry said. It is basically on me to make sure I stay on my rehab. The doctor here really cant bounce any ideas off our team doctor. The communication lines have been cut off between us and them.

Curry also has some other plans for July: He and his fiance, Ayesha Alexander, are getting married in Charlotte at the end of the month. He expects eight Warriors teammates, other NBA players like Rudy Gay (notes), Ronny Turiaf (notes) and Corey Maggette (notes) and members of former Warriors coach Keith Smarts staff to attend. Hes still waiting to see if Warriors front office officials and Bobcats assistant coach Stephen Silas, a former Golden State assistant, can get cleared by the NBA to go. Miami Heat officials were recently given permission to attend Chris Boshs (notes) wedding.

They all sent their regards and petitioned the league to come to the wedding, so theyre not breaking any rules, Curry said. As of right now, they cant come. I dont know how the process is going. If they show up, they show up. If not, I understand why.

Like most players, Curry remains hopeful the lockout wont drag on too long.

I just want to see when the pressure starts, when the money that people are going to start to lose comes into play on both ends, he said. Not just the players with the paychecks, but the owners with the money they were getting from us playing. Reality is coming right around the corner.

Courtesy of Yahoo

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


TCU hires Rob Evans as assistant basketball coach - by Eurobasket News
TCU has hired Rob Evans , a former head basketball coach at Arizona State and Mississippi, as an assistant coach on Jim Christian's staff.

Evans has been a coach on the Division I level for 42 years. He spent the last four seasons as an assistant at Arkansas.

TCU announced Evans' hiring Tuesday.

Evans was an assistant coach for 24 years before becoming head coach at Ole Miss from 1993-98, leading the Rebels to consecutive NCAA tournaments after they had made it only one other time. He then went to Arizona State until 2006.

His coaching career began as an assistant for Lou Henson at New Mexico State, his alma mater. He then was an assistant at Texas Tech and Oklahoma State.

Courtesy of www.usatoday.com

UNLV great and former NBA player Armen Gilliam dies at 47 - by Eurobasket News
UNLV great and former NBA player Armen Gilliam died Tuesday night while playing pickup basketball at a Pittsburgh-area health club. He was 47.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday that Gilliam died Tuesday night at the LA Fitness gym in Bridgeville while he was playing basketball.

The office says a cause of death has not yet been determined pending an autopsy.

Gilliam, a 6-foot-9 forward, played 13 NBA seasons with six teams after leading UNLV to a 37-2 record and the Final Four in 1987. He was the No. 2 overall pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 1987 NBA draft.

Nicknamed 'The Hammer,' Gilliam played for the Suns, Charlotte Hornets, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz.

'We are deeply saddened to learn about the loss of Armen Gilliam,' said Rod Thorn, president of the 76ers. 'He was a hard-working, physical player during his distinguished 13 years in the NBA and we are proud of the contributions he made to the Sixers from 1990 to 1993.

'On behalf of the entire Sixers organization, we send our deepest condolences to the Gilliam family during this very difficult time.'

Gilliam, who averaged 13.7 points and 6.9 rebounds during his NBA career, changed the spelling of his first name from Armon to Armen during his professional playing days.

UNLV retired Gilliam's No. 35 jersey in 2007 and inducted him into the school's athletic hall of fame in 2008. He was a consensus second-team All-America and Big West player of the year in 1986-87 as UNLV went 18-0 in conference play and reached the school's second-ever Final Four.

'He was one of the greatest Rebels ever and one of the best players we have ever had,' Jerry Tarkanian, his coach at UNLV, said in a statement released by the university. 'He was such a great person. Everybody loved him and he loved everybody. He was such a gentle person and such a caring guy. I am all shook up over it. I think the world of him and am just really shocked.'

Gilliam coached and played for the Pittsburgh Xplosion in the American Basketball Association in 2005 and 2006. He also coached Division III Penn State-Altoona from 2002-05.

'The Runnin' Rebel family lost a true legend,' current UNLV coach Dave Rice said. 'As great a player as Armen was, he was even a better person.'

Courtesy of ESPN

Croatia slow down USA in Riga - by Eurobasket News
Croatia U19 - USA U19 87:85

Croatia earned a tough win over the USA in the final game of the Eighth-Final Round in Group F. The victory helped Croatia to 4-2 record in the ladder. The USA suffered the first defeat at the tournament but still clinched the top position in the group at 5-1 record. Toni Katic (188-PG-92) stepped up with 21 points to pace the winners.
The teams stayed close throughout the opening period. Croatia eked out a narrow 25:24 lead after ten minutes. The USA erased the deficit and grabbed a 5-point lead midway through the second term. But a strong half finish from the European team allowed them to restore a three-point lead 46:43. Dario Saric (207-F/C-94) and Mislav Brzoja helped Croatia to a 12-point advantage in the third quarter. The Croats established a 70:61 lead with one quarter to go. The USA used a 19:5 run in the final period to surge ahead 80:75. Dario Saric, Boris Barac (206-F-92) and Toni Katic bounced back putting Croatia back on top 84:83 with under a minute to go. Toni Katic and Boris Barac extended the gap to three points 86:83 with 34 seconds remaining. Jeremy Lamb (195-G/F-92) pulled the USA closer with a jumper. Toni Katic hit just one free throw and Jeremy Lamb had a chance to force overtime. But his jumper rimmed out sealing the victory for Croatia. Boris Barac provided 18 points, while Dario Saric finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds in the victory. Jeremy Lamb answered with 25 points for the USA. Patric Young (205-F/C-92) delivered 15 points and 8 boards in defeat.

Croatia U19: Toni Katic 21, Boris Barac 18, Dario Saric 17
USA U19: Jeremy Lamb 25, Patric Young 15


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


Slessinger takes over at New Orleans - by Eurobasket News
Mark Slessinger on Wednesday was formally introduced as New Orleans head mens basketball coach. The 12th head coach in program history, Slessinger served as the top assistant coach for Mike McConathy at Northwestern State for the past 11 years. In addition to his coaching responsibilities, Slessinger served as the recruiting coordinator for the NSU program.

During Slessingers tenure at NSU, the Demons won three Southland Conference titles and compiled signature victories against Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, Oregon State and a 2006 NCAA Tournament first-round victory against Iowa.

A native of Bloomington, Ind., Slessinger, 37, coached at his alma mater, Aurora, as an assistant coach during the 1995-96 season before moving on to Central Michigan, where he served as an assistant during the 1996-97 campaign.

Following his run at CMU, Slessinger spent three years at Northland Pioneer (Ariz.) College, the last two as head coach. His teams posted a 36-25 record with eight players signing on at the Division I level before he departed to join McConathys staff at NSU.

Our university is excited to introduce Mark Slessinger as our head mens basketball coach, UNO athletic director Amy Champion said. Marks track record as an assistant coach and an active participant within the NSU athletic department speaks for itself.

Everyone we talked to reiterated that Mark has a unique ability to connect with everyone from student-athletes and campus administrators to boosters and community members. It was clear as we took him around campus that not only was this case, but he was an ideal fit for our university.

Regarded in coaching circles as a strong recruiter, Slessinger will aim to bring players from around the state of Louisiana to the Crescent City. More than 70 percent of the players on Slessingers roster at NSU hailed from the state.

It was important that we hired someone that could recruit this state and build a program that is part of the conversation for a national championship at the Division II level, Champion said. Having recruited, signed, coached and graduated players from all corners of Louisiana, Mark knows what it takes to build a contender from this state and region.

Slessinger is looking forward to the opportunity to take the reins of a program at the NCAA level, particularly one with a track record of success.

Becoming the head coach at UNO is a culmination of a lifelong dream to be a NCAA head coach, Slessinger said. UNO is a university storied in tradition and history, and I welcome the challenge of bringing success back to the basketball program.

The long-time NSU assistant believes that his tenure working under McConathy groomed him for his new position. I have been blessed to work with one of the greats of Louisiana Basketball in Coach Mike McConathy, Slessinger said. His knowledge, character, reputation, passion, and love for student-athletes is unparalleled in the state.

He has allowed me to have tremendous responsibility and grow over the past 11 seasons and groom me to build a champion at UNO.

Slessinger will have a heavy task in front of him as New Orleans moves into the Gulf South Conference (GSC), regarded as one of the most competitive leagues at the Division II level.

Courtesy of www.ncaa.com

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


Injury hurts Kench's Tall Blacks chances - by Eurobasket News
Jeremy Kench's (187-G-84) Tall Blacks dream this season appears in tatters as he has surgery today in Christchurch on a stress fracture in his foot.

Kench, 27, was sidelined from the national basketball league in May when he suffered a broken bone in his left foot in an incident just after the tip-off to an NBL match between his adopted Manawatu Jets team and Southland.

Initially it was thought that the injury would take about a month to heal and Kench was expecting to be back for the latter part of the Jets' season. However, another X-ray has shown that while the bone was healing with a metal screw in the foot, a stress fracture remained.

'I didn't really realise I was carrying a stress fracture, it just seemed like a niggle and it wasn't too bad,' he said.

Kench will have his foot in a cast for a fortnight and then in a moonboot before beginning the rehabilitation process.

'They are talking about it taking eight to 10 weeks,' he said.

The injury has ruled Kench out of the Tall Blacks' European tour in August, which is their build-up to the Olympics Oceania qualifying series against Australia in Australia from September 7-11.

'I guess if I can't make the trip to Europe it will make it very hard to be fit for the series,' said Kench, who was a member of the Tall Blacks at the world championships in Turkey last year.

'There's not much you can do about these things, they are just part and parcel of sport, I guess. It's just really unfortunate.'

Kench will also miss the Jets' top-six NBL play-offs next week. He played seven matches before the injury and averaged 12 points, four assists and five rebounds a game.

Kench had signed to play for the Christchurch Cougars this year, but the February 22 earthquake forced the team out of the league.

He said he was uncertain about what his plans were for next season.

Courtesy of www.stuff.co.nz

Breakers to meet Hawks in pre-season - by Eurobasket News
The New Zealand Breakers will visit Hamilton and Tauranga as they prepare for another title assault on the iiNet NBL Championship, with both venues hosting pre-season games against fellow NBL team the Wollongong Hawks.

Hamilton will host the Breakers and Hawks on Thursday September 15th at the new Claudelands Arena while Tauranga sees the same two sides square off on Saturday 17th September, at the TECT Arena at Baypark Mount Maunganui.

Breakers General Manager Richard Clarke is delighted to have the support of both regions for what shapes as two hotly contested pre-season games.

It is great to take the Breakers on the road, both Hamilton and Tauranga have been very accommodating and I know will put on a great event for the locals, as will the playing rosters of both the Breakers and Hawks. We will certainly be at full strength, including our Tall Blacks and imports, all of whom will be in the country and getting ready for the new season.

It is all the more important knowing that we are effectively opening two wonderful new venues so the fans are in for a treat on all counts. However we wont just be coming to town to play the games, we will be offering our players and coaches for clinics and community activities that will hopefully further spread the excitement around basketball at the moment as we launch into another season with championship aspirations.

We wish we could comply with every request for these sorts of games and did plan to also be in Christchurch this pre-season but recent events have made this impossible in the short term but for sports fans in Hamilton and Tauranga I would suggest you book your tickets quickly for a taste of iinet Championship basketball of the highest order.

Claudelands Director of Business Development & Marketing Murray Jeffrey says it is a coup for the region to attract the Breakers, and hopes it is the first of many such occasions.

The Arena space is incredibly flexible and it will be great to see it operating for professional basketball as well as it has for live music shows and conferences. We are sure Hamilton would love to host more professional games and strong ticket sales for this match will encourage more tours so we are issuing a challenge to all Hamilton sports fans get your tickets now and be part of the team to welcome one of NZs finest sports teams Hamilton!

His Worship the Mayor of Tauranga Stuart Crosby is equally delighted to have the Breakers coming to his town.

'We will be thrilled to have the NBL Champions play at the TECT Arena at Baypark. This is an important venue for our growing city and it's great that we can welcome a team of this calibre to the new facility within its first month of opening.'

The full itinerary including community coaching clinics for players and coaches will be made available closer to the time and posted at www.nzbreakers.co.nz

Following the internal pre-season tour to Hamilton and Tauranga, the Breakers will play in the official iinet Championship pre-season tournament (date and venue to be confirmed). The final hit out for the team before embarking on the season however is October 2nd at the North Shore Events Centre when the club combines a competitive game against the Bartercard All Stars with an open day with coaching clinics and activities for the whole family, including the chance to have your photo taken with the iinet Championship Trophy.

The clubs first game in the iiNet NBL Championship regular season is against the Blaze on October 7th on the Gold Coast and then in Wollongong on the 9th, adding further spice to the pre-season road trip. The first home game for the Breakers is not until October 28th (post Rugby World Cup) against Sydney.

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



Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
 Jack LEASURE
  Taranaki.
  (191-G-86)
  Avg: 23.3
 1. Leasure, Taranaki.23.3 
 2. Pace, Bay Hawks19.8 
 3. Polyblank, Southla.19.5 
 4. Webster, Wellingt.19.5 
 5. Abercrombie, Waika.19.2 
 6. Campbell, Taranaki.19.2 
 7. Jones, Nelson G.19.1 
 8. Dora, Nelson G.18.9 
 9. Hudson, Manawatu.18.9 
 10. Hagan, Manawatu18.7 
Rebounds Per Game
 Alex PLEDGER
  Waika.
  (216-C-87)
  Avg: 12
 1. Pledger, Waika.12.0 
 2. Vukona, Nelson G.11.2 
 3. Horvath, Manawatu.11.1 
 4. Campbell, Taranaki.10.3 
 5. Allred, OceanaGo.10.1 
 6. Grizzard, Nelson G.8.7 
 7. Johnson, Wellingt.8.6 
 8. Bradshaw, OceanaG.8.5 
 9. Boucher, Auckland.8.2 
 10. Trousdell, Bay H.7.9 
Assists Per Game
 Jason CROWE
  Waikato P.
  (193-G-76)
  Avg: 6.7
 1. Crowe, Waikato P.6.7 
 2. Dickel, Southland6.4 
 3. Tait, Wellington S.6.2 
 4. Braswell, Southlan.5.2 
 5. Kench, Manawatu J.4.4 
 6. Hagan, Manawatu J.4.2 
 7. Boucher, Auckland.4.1 
 8. Martin, Auckland.3.7 
 9. Smith, Waikato P.3.6 
 10. Leasure, Taranaki.3.5 
Steals Per Game
 Jason CROWE
  Waikato P.
  (193-G-76)
  Avg: 3.2
 1. Crowe, Waikato P.3.2 
 2. Boucher, Auckland.2.7 
 3. Smith, Waikato P.2.6 
 4. Hagan, Manawatu J.2.3 
 5. Dickel, Southland2.1 
 6. Kench, Manawatu J.2.0 
 7. Rose, Southland S.2.0 
 8. Braswell, Southlan.1.6 
 9. Leasure, Taranaki.1.6 
 10. Allen, Waikato P.1.6 
Blocks Per Game
 Alex PLEDGER
  Waika.
  (216-C-87)
  Avg: 2.7
 1. Pledger, Waika.2.7 
 2. Allred, OceanaGo.1.4 
 3. Iti, Southland S.1.4 
 4. Brown, Auckland P.1.0 
 5. Johnson, Wellingt.1.0 
 6. Spicer, Southlan.1.0 
 7. Anthony, Waika.1.0 
 8. Campbell, Taranaki.0.9 
 9. Vukona, Nelson G.0.9 
 10. Adams, Wellington0.9 


Standings Men
NBL Standings
 1. Wellington S. 13-3 
 2. Waikato P. 12-3 
 3. Bay Hawks 11-4 
 4. Nelson G. 8-7 
 5. Southland S. 6-8 
 6. Manawatu J. 6-9 
 7. Auckland P. 5-10 
 8. Taranaki MA 4-11 
 9. OceanaGold N. 2-12 


*****************************************************
  NIGERIA   


Fund stops Nigeria from Africa, World Championship - by Olusegun Ikuesan
The inability of the Nigeria government through the Federal Ministry of Youth Sports and Social Development and the National Sports Commission to release funds to the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) may have put paid to the country hope of participating in the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship for U16 Men and Women in Egypt and the FIBA World Championship for U19 Women in Chile.

NBBF President, Tijjani Umar who was saddened by the development told our correspondent that with Nigeria not being able to take part in the three cadet championships may move the development of basketball backward in Nigeria.

The Nigeria Sports Ministry and NSC cited the none implementation of the 2011 budget as responsible for the inability of the ministry to release fund to the NBBF for the three championships.

In its build-up to the FIBA World U19 Championship slated for Chile from July 21-31 the U19 team took part in two warm-up competitions in France last month where it performed creditably well and was getting set for the world fiesta before the announcement that funding will not allow the team honour the world championship.

Nigeria qualified alongside Egypt to represent Africa in the World Championship which the NBBF hope to build a formidable future senior national team.

The federation is saddened with the latest development after it has prepare so hard for the three championship with the U16 teams preparing for the Africa Championship back home while our U19 is doing its own in the United States and our recent participation in two separate warm-up competitions indicate that the future of the game is very bright in Nigeria but this latest set-back will definitely have an adverse effect on the game.

We will continue to do our bid in developing the game no matter the set back as we are optimistic that same fate will not befall our senior teams for this year Afrobasket in Madagascar and Mali, the NBBF president said.

The two U16 Africa Championship for Men and Women holds from July 8-17 and July 22-31 respectively


*****************************************************
  NORWAY   


Gimle add Anders Stien - by Eurobasket News
Gimle have bolstered their roster. They agreed on terms of contract with Anders Stien (195-G-90). The 21-year-old guard spent the previous season in Sweden. Anders Stien averaged 5.8 points, 2.2 boards and 1.3 assists per game for Jamtland in Basketligan. Before moving to Sweden Anders Stien spent four seasons in Asker Aliens in Norway. Last year Anders Stien took part at U20 European Championship in Division B. The guard posted 13.6 points, 2.4 boards, 1.3 steals and 1.2 assists per game for Norway in Austria.


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


2011 FIBA-Asia Men's Championship Draw Results: - by Enzo Flojo
Group A: Lebanon, S. Korea, Malaysia, Middle Asia Qualifier #1
- Could be a tough group if Kazakhstan gets to qualify and ends up here. Regardless though, only Malaysia has a really weak chance of advancing.
- Top place should be a toss-up between Lebanon & S. Korea, but the Lebanese have a stronger chance.

Group B: Iran, Qatar, C. Taipei, Middle Asia Qualifier #2
- The toughest group, even if the weaker Middle Asia qualifying country is inserted here.
- If the 4th slot is given to the Kazakhs, then this will undoubtedly be the Group of Death.
- Iran & Qatar should advance, with C. Taipei's fate dependent on who the 4th member is. If it's a team other than Kazakhstan, the Taiwanese should have no problems, but if it's the Kazakhs then it'll be an all-out brawl.

Group C: Jordan, Japan, Syria, Indonesia
- Doesn't look too tough, but the Syrians can upset either of the top two teams (Jordan & Japan).
- Indonesia is the only sure bet to crash out.
- Jordan is favored to get the top spot due to their superior size and, well, they have naturalized American Rasheim Wright.

Group D: China, Philippines, UAE, Bahrain
- Probably the easiest group, with China and the Philippines being clear-cut favorites.
- China is the strongest here and will probably sweep the opposition, but the Pinoys have an outside chance to upset them, especially with Marcus Douthit and 4 PBA reinforcements in tow.
- Bahrain and UAE have a 1-1 record against each other from the Gulf sub-zone qualifiers. It should be interesting to see which one takes the 3rd spot in the next round.

*Remember: Top 3 teams from each group will advance to the Eighth-Final Round. A team's win-loss record against the other two advancing teams from the same group will be carried over. Each team will play against all three advancing team from the partner group --
Top 3 from Groups A & B will comprise Group E while top 3 from Groups C & D will make up Group F. Top 4 from each new group of the Eight-Final Round will advance to the Single-Elimination Final Round. Quarterfinal pairings: 1E vs 4F, 2F vs 3E, 1F vs 4E, and 2E vs 3F. Winners move on to the Semifinals and then winners there dispute the 2012 London Olympics slot in the Championship game.

*Just for fun, let's see how things MIGHT go:
- Let's say Kazakhstan gets into Group A and India qualifies into Group B.
- Givens: Lebanon will not have Jackson Vroman and Matt Freije; Iran will have Hamed Haddadi; China will not have Yao Ming, but will have Yi Jianlian; Other than those conditions, all teams will be at full-strength

- Teams whom I think will advance to the Eighth-Final Round:
Group A: Lebanon, S. Korea & Kazkahstan
Group B: Iran, Qatar & C. Taipei
Group C: Jordan, Japan & Syria
Group D: China, Philippines & UAE

- From here, I'll pick Iran, Lebanon, S. Korea & Qatar to advance from Group E.
- I'll also pick China, Philippines, Jordan & Japan to advance from Group F.

- IF that happens, this could be the Championship Round pairings:
Iran vs Japan -- Iran should win quite handily.
Philippines vs S. Korea -- Tough to call since S. Korean NT has never played the Pinoys with Douthit around. I'll be biased and pick PHL.
China vs Qatar -- China hands down.
Lebanon vs Jordan -- Should be close, with Fadi El-Khatib outplaying Sam Dahglas just enough for Lebanon to advance.

- Semis: Iran vs Philippines and China vs Lebanon -- If Haddadi is healthy then Iran will have the edge while China should have enough to hurdle Lebanon.
- Finals: Iran vs China -- China will avenge its 2009 championship loss and beat Iran to advance to the 2012 London Olympics.

Source: HoopNut.blogspot.com


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


Australia fire past Poland, clinch top position in Group E - by Eurobasket News
Australia U19 - Poland U19 72:52

Australia overcame Poland at U19 World Championship Eighth-Final Round tonight. The victory propelled the Emus at 5-1 record on top of Group E. Poland fell at 4-2 record after the loss. Jackson Aldridge (185-PG-92) stepped up with 21 points to lead the winners.
Poland ensured the better start to the game. They recorded a 14:12 lead after ten minutes of action. Australia bounced back in the second period. The Emus established a 29:27 halftime advantage. The third term turned disastrous for Poland. The Emus limited their opponents to only 6 points in the frame and cleared off to a 20-point advantage. Australia wisely kept Poland at bay throughout the final quarter and rallied to a comfortable win at the end. Igor Hadziomerovic (195-G-92) netted 14 points, while Mitchell Creek (198-F/G-92) added 12 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Piotr Niedzwiedzki (210-F-93) responded with 11 points for Poland. Michal Michalak (194-G-93) contributed 9 points in defeat.

Australia U19: Jackson Aldridge 21, Igor Hadziomerovic 14, Mitchell Creek 12
Poland U19: Piotr Niedzwiedzki 11, Michal Michalak 9


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


Its official: No Portuguese teams in European competitions - by Luis Filipe Cristovao

As FIBA Europe announced which teams will play Eurocup and Eurochallenge during 2011-12 season, its now confirmed that any Portuguese team will play in European competitions.

After the good image shown by Sport Lisboa Benfica in last season Eurochallenge, reaching the Top 16, the Portuguese teams preferred to stay out, mainly by money problems. But, in the other hand, that will be a step back for Portuguese hoops, who will spend one more year without comparing their game to other European teams.

As for the Womens competition, we must wait for the official confirmations, even if Cascais Mayor had previously announced that he will support Quinta dos Lombos presence in Eurocup.






Check for more at www.porbasket.blogspot.com



Portuguese Basketball Revolution day 1? - by Luis Filipe Cristovao

20 teams from LPB and Proliga presented, today, a document which states their desire of change in the Portuguese Basketball.

Their propositions include the reduction of money spent with referees and officials transports, education for statistical technicians in each team, possibility of letting each team negotiate their own television rights, new formats to the competitions starting in the 2012/13 season, no inscription taxes to teams this season, more regulations for teams inscriptions (letting out teams with salaries and tax debts) and a new investment in marketing by the Portuguese Federation.

The teams that sign this document are Porto, Benfica, Sampaense, Ovarense, Barcelos, Guimaraes, Ginasio, Illiabum, Sangalhos, Gaeirense, Maia, Beira-Mar, Barreirense, Guifoes, Terceira, CAB, Angra, Acadmica, Seixal and Alges, and you can find it here.

Next Saturday, a meeting will be held between the Federation and the District Associations, where teams expect this measures to be discussed.


Check for more at www.porbasket.blogspot.com


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


Stats Leaders - BSN
Points Per Game
 Peter John RAMOS
  Quebradillas
  (222-C-85)
  Avg: 22.7
 1. Ramos, Quebradillas22.7 
 2. Vassallo, Guaynabo22.7 
 3. Johnson, Humacao21.2 
 4. Dalmau, Bayamon20.8 
 5. Villegas, Coamo19.1 
 6. Harris, San German18.4 
 7. Ayuso, Arecibo18.3 
 8. Randolph, Isabela18.0 
 9. Carmona, Mayaguez17.0 
 10. Pellot-Rosa, San16.9 
Rebounds Per Game
 Mike HARRIS
  San German
  (198-F-83)
  Avg: 12.4
 1. Harris, San German12.4 
 2. Randolph, Isabela12.3 
 3. Narvaez, Coamo11.6 
 4. Pruitt, Guaynabo11.6 
 5. Ramos, Quebradillas10.5 
 6. Lloreda, San G.9.9 
 7. Clemente, Mayaguez9.1 
 8. Sweetney, Santurce9.1 
 9. Rickert, Bayamon8.7 
 10. Johnson, Humacao8.5 
Assists Per Game
 Daniel BROWN
  Quebradillas
  (185-G-84)
  Avg: 5.9
 1. Brown, Quebradillas5.9 
 2. Rivera, San German5.6 
 3. Dalmau, Bayamon5.5 
 4. Clinch, Isabela4.5 
 5. Clemente, Humacao4.4 
 6. Rivera, Mayaguez4.2 
 7. Apodaca, Quebradil.4.1 
 8. Bruton, Quebradill.4.1 
 9. Copeland, San G.3.8 
 10. Hinson, Isabela3.7 
Steals Per Game
 Darnell HINSON
  Isabela
  (186-G-80)
  Avg: 1.8
 1. Hinson, Isabela1.8 
 2. Rivera, Mayaguez1.6 
 3. Clinch, Isabela1.5 
 4. Hodge, Santurce1.4 
 5. Chaney, Santurce1.3 
 6. Mojica, Bayamon1.3 
 7. Santiago, Santurce1.3 
 8. Pinnock, Arecibo1.2 
 9. Rivera, San German1.2 
 10. Pellot-Rosa, San1.2 
Blocks Per Game
 Kleon PENN
  Humacao
  (211-C-86)
  Avg: 2.6
 1. Penn, Humacao2.6 
 2. Santiago, Arecibo2.0 
 3. Sanchez, Santurce2.0 
 4. Aubry, Arecibo1.7 
 5. Lee, Bayamon1.6 
 6. Randolph, Isabela1.4 
 7. Harris, San German1.4 
 8. Ramos, Quebradillas1.3 
 9. Freije, Coamo1.1 
 10. Shannon, Bayamon1.0 


Bayamon sign Lee Benson - by Eurobasket News
Bayamon have agreed on terms of contract with Lee Benson (208-F/C-73, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: Brown Mackie). The 37-year-old centre will replace Rick Rickert (211-F-83, agency: Court Side, college: Minnesota) on the roster. Lee Benson started the previous season in China. He tallied 16.5 points, 14.6 boards and 1.5 blocks per game for TianJin Rongcheng. In March Lee Benson moved to Argentina. He joined Regatas Corrientes and posted 7.0 points, 8.0 boards and 1.0 steal per game in Liga Ameicas. Later Lee Benson moved to Lebanon. The centre penned deal with Champville. His stats read 13.3 points, 20.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.7 blocks per game. Lee Benson used to be All-Puerto Rican BSN Import Player of the Year back in 2005 while playing for Humacao. He was also trumped All-Uruguayan, All-Venezuelan and All-Chinese Leagues Centre of the Year.


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


Nizhny Novgorod tab Vladimir Ivlev - by Eurobasket News
Nizhny Novgorod have secured the services of Vladimir Ivlev (204-F-90). The youngsters signed a two-year deal with the team. Vladimir Ivlev spent the last five seasons with Dynamo Moscow. Last season the forward appeared in one EuroCup Qualifying Round game scoring 7 points and pulling down 4 boards. In five PBL appearances his stats read 0.8 points and 1.2 boards. Vladimir Ivlev mainly played for Dynamo-2. He tallied 14.4 points, 9.0 boards, 2.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game there. Lat season Vladimir Ivlev participated at U20 European Championship. He averaged 14.8 points, 11.4 boards and 1.2 steals per game in Croatia. Vladimir Ivlev made it into Eurobasket.com All-European Championship 2nd Team.



Artem Zabelin will join Lokomotiv Kuban - by Eurobasket News
Artem Zabelin (215-F/C-88, agency: RU-Basket Management) has found the new team. He will continue his career in Lokomotiv Kuban. The centre has recently split ways with CSKA Moscow. Artem Zablein joined CSKA Moscow (A Superleague) in 2007. Last season the centre notched 3.8 points, 2.2 boards and 1.2 blocks per game in VTB League. In PBL Artem Zabelin averaged 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per appearance. He also played for CSKA Moscow U23 team. Before joining CSKA Artem Zabelin had stints with Avtodor Saratov and Dynamo Saint Petersburg. Artem Zabelin used to play for Russian U18 and U20 National Teams. He participated at 2006 and 2008 European Championships.


CSKA officially announce Milos Teodosic - by Eurobasket News
Milos Teodosic (195-G-87) is now officially the member of CSKA squad. The sides have agreed on terms of contract. The deal is meant for three seasons. Milos Teodosic is currently training with the Serbian National Team. The deal will be finalized after the guard passes all the medical tests. Last season Milos Teodosic spent with Olympiakos. He averaged 10.9 points, 3.6 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game in Euroleague. In A1 League the Serbian guard notched 9.6 points, 4.7 assists and 1.9 rebounds per appearance. He was named into Eurobasket.com All-Greek A1 League 2nd Team. Last season Milos Teodosic shone at World Championship in Turkey. He led Serbia into the semis tallying 11.3 points, 5.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds. Eurobasket.com named Milos Teodosic All-Europe Point Guard of the Year. He also made it into All-World Championship 1st Team.


Russia defeats Latvia and thank Argentina - by Eurobasket News
Latvia U19-Russia U19 63:73

Russia U19 won over the Baltic side and advanced to the Quarterfinals. The Russian selection grabbed 73:63 over Latvia U19 at the 2011 U19 FIBA World Championships. Argentina later helped the European team to advance to the next stage as they beat Brazil in overtime.
It was a tough start and it proved the battle until the very end. Latvia erupted for 18-6, however Russia reduced to 21-15 at the end of the first period. They even closed it to just one, but managed to win the second period only 12-11 and trailed 27-32 at the halftime. The Baltic side led in the whole third period and enjoyed 49:43 after thirty minutes. Russia, however exploded in the last frame and won the thriller. The Russian team needed 30-14 as Alexander Varnakov (185-G-92) made the final 73:63 victory.
Alexander Varnakov top-scored for the winners with 21 and Dmitry Kulagin (195-G-92) posted 15. Kaspars Vecvagars (191-G-93) finished the game with 17 points in defeat, while Janis Timma (201-F/G-92) added 15.

Latvia U19: Kaspars Vecvagars 17, Janis Timma 15
Russia U19: Alexander Varnakov 21, Dmitry Kulagin 15



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


Serbia U19 grabbed 4-2 record in Group F - by Eurobasket News
Serbia U19-Canada U19 94:73

Serbia U19 grabbed 4-2 record in Group F of the U19 World Championship in Latvia. The European team overcame Canada U19 94:73 to send them to 2-4 record.
Sim Bhullar (223-C-92) gave Canada surprising 8:4 lead int he opening tip that was the last one for the North American squad. Serbia took 23-14 int he end of the first period and never looked behind after. Bogdan Bogdanovic (198-F-92) opened the second frame for Serbia and Luka Mitrovic increased to 32:16 later in the quarter. Djordje Drenovac (203-F-92, agency: Interperformances) and Julian Clarke exchanged the baskets at the end of the half for 47:26 at the halftime. Serbia also added 25-20 in the third quarter, whiel canada won the last period. Trailing 33 points with 6 minutes to go, Canada managed to cut it to 21.
Djordje Drenovac paced all the winners with 14 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic as well as Marko Gujanicic (202-F-92) added 13 each. Petar Lambic (195-G-92) followed them with 11 points in a winning effort. Junior Lomomba (193-G-93) ended up with 14 points in defeat, while Sim Bhullar posted 11.

Serbia U19: Djordje Drenovac 14, Bogdan Bogdanovic 13, Marko Gujanicic 13, Petar Lambic 11
Canada U19: Junior Lomomba 14, Sim Bhullar 11, Philip Scrubb (194-G-92) 10





*****************************************************
  SLOVAKIA   


D2 - Standings
League One Stage Two Standings
Places 1-8
 1. Trnava 9-5 
 2. Slavia Kosice 9-5 
 3. Nova Ves B 9-5 
 4. Petrzalka 8-6 
 5. Roznava 8-6 
 6. SKP Filozof 7-7 
 7. Levice B 4-10 
 8. Michalovce 2-12 
Places 9-16
 1. Zvolen 10-4 
 2. Inter B 9-5 
 3. Trencin 9-5 
 4. Ziar/Hronom 8-6 
 5. MBK Karlovka 6-8 
 6. Lucenec 5-9 
 7. Holic 5-9 
 8. Presov 4-10 
Stage One Standings


*****************************************************
  SOUTH KOREA   


Kobe Bringing Basketball Clinic to Korea - by Kevin Campigotto
Lakers all Star Kobe Bryant (198-G-78) will be involved in a clinic as part of a Nike-run, 'Bryant Korea Tour 2011.' The camp will be for high school and college students and include a 3-on-3 tournament. here is a rough outline of the schedule:

<3 vs 3 Round of 32 Qualifying Tournament Schedule>
Time - 12 to 13 July 6:00 p.m. to 8:00
Middle School - Mok 88 Gymnasium
High School - TBD

College - Jamsil Gymnasium Secondary Basketball


Date - July 14, Korea University Gymnasium Hwajeong
16:00 to 16:05 - Opening Event
16:05 to 16:35 - Basketball Clinic (

16: 35 - 16:50 - 1-on-one confrontation

16:50 to 17:20 - Basket & Talk

17:20 to 17:40 - press conference and the closing

more details at www.kobekoreatour.com




Mobis signed with Malcolm Thomas - by JungHwan Seo
Mobis Phoebus completed their off-season moves acquiring Malcolm Thomas (206-F-88).

Mobis Phoebus announced today that they signed with Thomas on condition of 350,000 US dollars for upcoming season.

Thomas led his team San Diego state to the sweet sixteen in the NCAA tournament this year. He was trying to go to NBA but, he did not be drafted by any NBA teams. Now, he decided to start his professional career in Korea.

'He is a fast and athletic guy. He keeps the ball and can pass well with his size. That's why we want him.' Mobis Phoebus staff said.

Thomas will join to Mobis Phoebus by the middle of August.


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


Unicaja Malaga targets Labovic - by Eurobasket News
Unicaja Malaga targets Dragan Labovic (207-C/F-87, agency: Alti Sport) for the next season. The Spanish side is on the way to offer a contract for the Serbian Big Man.
Dragan Labovic played for FMP Zeleznik Beograd almost for the entire career. In 2009/2010 season (Serbia-A League) he started for the team in his last season there and in Adriatic League averaged 4.3ppg, 3.2rpg. In EuroChallenge his stats read 3.0ppg, 3.5rpg, 1.0apg, while in January 2010 moved to Aris Thessaloniki (Greece-A1) and in EuroCup had 2.3ppg, 1.5rpg. In March 2010 signed at Deutsche Bank Skyliners Frankfurt (Germany-1.Bundesliga) and in 23 games showed 8.6ppg, 3.6rpg, FGP: 49.0%, 3PT: 31.3%, FT: 77.6%. The season 2010-2011 Dragan Labovic appeared for Enisey Krasnoyarsk (Russia-PBL, starting five) and in EuroChallenge Qualifying Round had massive 18.5ppg, 5.5rpg, 1.0apg, 1.5spg, 1.0bpg. In Russian League after 33 games he had 13.8ppg, 5.0rpg, 1.2spg, FGP: 47.2%, 3PT: 36.4%, FT: 85.0%.
Dragan Labovic recorded 25 points at the Semi-Finals Game 2 when Enisey rolled over Krasnie Krilya 82-64. Serbian power forward Dragan Labovic scored 25 points and 7 rebounds (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line) to lead the charge for the winners and American center Lonny Baxter chipped in 9 points and 6 rebounds during the contest.





Natxo Lezkano new head coach of the Ivory Coast - by Kristian Santiago
Faymasa Palencia Baloncesto head-coach Nacho Lezkano will be trying to guide the Ivory Coast to the next Olympics. The Spaniard and the Elephants will be heading to Madagascar in late August to compete in the African Championships, but before doing so, there will be two stages in Paris in July and in the United States for the team to prepare intensively for the prestigious continental tournament.
The 38-year old Lezkano has been coaching for Faymasa Palencia Baloncesto in the last four years and was also previously working as an assistant-coach with Caja Laboral Vitoria for six years and as a result, won one Spanish title, three Copa Del Rey trophies with Vitoria and also gained promotion to LEB Oro with Faymasa Palencia Baloncesto in 2009.


Paco Garcia appointed to coach the Central African Republic - by Kristian Santiago
Francisco 'Paco' Garcia (agency: Interperformances ) has been appointed to coach the Central African Republic in the next African Championships in Madagascar. Central African Basketball Federation President Elvis Bomayako announced the news recently. The former coach of Aquas De Sousas Club Ourense Baloncesto in the LEB Oro is going to coach the likes of Romain Sato (194-G/F-81, college: Xavier), James Mays (206-F-86, college: Clemson), Maxime Zianveni (198-F-79), Lionel Bomayako (196-G-78, agency: Court Side, college: Fairleigh Dickinson), Max Kougere and his former-player Michael Mokongo (180-PG-86).



Valencia add Andrew James Ogilvy - by Eurobasket News
Valencia strengthened their frontcourt. They have agreed on terms of contract with Andrew James Ogilvy (211-C-88, college: Vanderbilt). The deal is meant for one season with an option of extension for another one. Last season the Australian centre played in Turkey. Andrew James Ogilvy averaged 10.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in EuroCup. In TBL his stats read 12.9 points, 6.5 boards, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 assist per appearance. Andrew James Ogilvy participated at 2011 TBL All-Star Game. The centre earned Eurobasket.com All-Turkish League Honourable Mention. Andrew James Ogilvy played for Australian National Team in 2008-2009 seasons. He won 2009 Oceania Championships with the Boomers.



*****************************************************
  SWITZERLAND   


Stats Leaders - LNB
LNB Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
1 Jefferson, Neuchatel 22.9
2 Bozovic, Fribourg 17.7
3 Barattolo, Momo 17.5
4 Madiamba, Fribourg 16.7
5 Koludrovic, Momo 16.7
Rebounds Per Game
1 Madiamba, Fribourg 12.5
2 Bozovic, Fribourg 11.9
3 Johnson, Villars 10.6
4 Dubas, Martigny 9.6
5 Mladjan, Lugano 9.5
Assists Per Game
1 Jaunin, Bernex 6.4
2 Jefferson, Neuchatel 6.0
3 Nattiel, Bern 4.5
4 Johnson, Villars 4.3
5 Mayor, Vernier 3.9
Steals Per Game
1 Jaunin, Bernex 5.3
2 Tindom, Martigny 3.5
3 Jefferson, Neuchatel 3.2
4 Mayor, Vernier 3.0
5 Porchet, Vevey 2.8
Blocks Per Game
1 Atcho, Pully 1.9
2 Mladjan, Lugano 1.5
3 Tutonda, Vernier 1.4
4 Dubas, Martigny 1.2
5 Bozovic, Fribourg 1.1
2FGP
1 Porchet, Vevey 85.7
2 N'Dong, Bernex 76.9
3 Ramseier, Bernex 69.6
4 Boubaker, Chene 69.2
5 Jaunin, Bernex 68.8
3FGP
1 Boveda, Vevey 62.5
2 Samb, DDV 53.8
3 Haefliger, Swiss C. 50
4 Stallkamp, Swiss C 50
5 Schiesser, Pully 45.5
Free Throws
1 Raga, Momo 92.9
2 Veglio, Momo 86.4
3 Guettinger, Swiss C 85.7
4 Jefferson, Neuch. 85.4
5 Bugnon, Fribourg 83.3
Ranking
1. Johnson, Villars 25.3
2. Studer, Vevey 22.2
3. Jaunin, Bernex 21.5
4. Jefferson, Neuch. 20.8
5. Kovac, Momo 18.8


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


Antalya land Jacob Pullen - by Eurobasket News
Antalya brought in another rookie. After securing the services of Deangelo Casto (203-F-90, agency: VVG Sports) the Turkish team have agreed on terms of conract with Jacob Pullen (182-G-89). The 21-year-old guard has just graduated from the Kansas State University. Jacob Pullen averaged 20.2 points, 3.7 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game in his senior season. The guard was named into USBasket.com All-NCAA D1 3rd Team. Jacob Pullen also made it into Big 12 All-Defensive Team.


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


Ukraine U20 beat Belarus U20 in the capital - by Eurobasket News
Ukraine U20 selection outscored Belarus U20 in the test game in the preparation for U20 European Championship. The home side won 80:58 in Kiev in the first of three match-up scheduled between two teams.
The hosts started with 21-13 and never looked behind after. Ukraine added 20-9 in the second frame and improved to 41:22 before heading to the lockers. In the third quarter the home side produced 21-17 to take 23-point deficit. Belarus managed to reply with 19-18 in the last frame to reduce to 80:58 on the board.
Oleksandr Mishula (187-G-92) stepped up with 16 points and 5 rebounds, while Oleksandr Lypovyy (199-G-91, agency: Beo Basket) collected 13 points and 7 rebounds. Andriy Lebedintsev (187-PG-91) and Maksym Sandul (207-C-91) followed them with 11 points each in a win.
Game 2 is scheduled on Wednesday in Kiev. Also on Thursday both teams will close the campaign with the last game.



Budivelnyk joined VTB United League - by Eurobasket News
Budivelnyk joined VTB United League for 2011/2012 season. The Ukrainian team will be the third representative from the country in the next season.
Ukraine proved to have tough and decent teams for VTB United League this year. Azovmash became the first one to follow three Russian titans and left Lithuanian, Latvian, Finnish, Belarusian, Estonian and Polish teams behind.
Last season Budivelnyk started at the EuroLeague Qualifying Round and was beaten only by Khimky. As expected, Khimky celebrated the victoryand advanced to the next stage. Keith Langford scored 14 points for the home side. Visitors got 16 points and 5 boards from Michailis Anisimovas (214-C-84).
In the National League Budivelnyk celebrated the Superleague title. They shocked BC Donetsk on the road in the seventh game of the championship series. Dewarick Spencer (193-G-82, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Arkansas St.) stepped up with 20 points to pace the visitors. Budivelnyk overcame a 9-point deficit at halftime to deliver the crucial victory at the end.



Politekhnika Halychyna ink deal with Vedran Morovic - by Eurobasket News
Politekhnika Halychyna have added the first import player in pre-season. They landed Vedran Morovic (184-G-83, agency: Beo Basket, college: Olney Central CC). The 28-year-old guard spent the last season in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Vedran Morovic played for Siroki TT Kabeli. The guard averaged 10.5 points, 4.0 assists, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in Bosnian League. In Adriatic League his stats read 15.2 points, 4.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.0 steal per appearance. Vedran Morovic earned Eurobasket.com All-Adriatic League Honourable Mention. He also received All-Bosnia and Herzegovina League Honourable Mention. Before joining Siroki TT Kabeli the Croatian player had stints with Zadar, Zagreb, Cibona, Union Olimpija, Bologna and Ludwigsburg. The guard was the member of Croatian U17 and U20 National Teams.


Azovmash Mariupol bring Drozdov back to Ukraine - by Eurobasket News
Azovmash Mariupol add Artur Drozdov (199-G-80) for 2011/2012 season. The Ukrainian player comes back from Italy as he played for Vanoli-Braga Cremona.
After playing for many years in France, in 2006-2007 Artur Drozdov moved to BC Kyiv. In 2009-2010 headed to BC Donetsk (Ukraine-Superleague), but in April 2010 moved to Budivelnyk Kyiv (Ukraine-Superleague, starting five) and in 14 games averaged 12.0ppg, 6.1rpg, 1.6apg, 1.7spg, FGP-3 (69.4%), 3PT: 28.8%, FT-1 (94.9%). In 2010-2011 started for Vanoli-Braga Cremona (Italy-SerieA, starting five) and in 28 games averaged 12.3ppg, 5.6rpg, 1.3apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 61.0%, 3PT: 43.0%, FT: 72.5%.
Artur Drozdov recorded 26 points in SerieA versus Benetton TV and scored 20 points during the last game. His former Vanoli CR lost to Dinamo Sassari 82-88. Vanoli-Braga was trailing by 1 point at halftime but managed to get 1-point lead after three quarters before a 24-17 charge of Dinamo Sassari, which allowed them to win the game. Ukrainian guard Artur Artur Drozdov replied with 20 points and Slovenian forward Marko Milic added 18 points and 5 rebounds in the effort for Vanoli-Braga.



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


GB U20 Men defeat Denmark twice - by Eurobasket News
The Standard Life GB U20 Men remained unbeaten in their warm ups for the European Championship with a pair of victories over Denmark in Colchester.

In the first game on Sunday afternoon it was the Devon van Oostrum show as he led GB to a 79-66 victory with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals.

GB trailed 39-32 at half-time, but had a 16-0 run in the second half of the third period sparked by the play of van Oostrum and Alex Marcotullio (190-G-91). A Will Saunders three pointer at the third quarter buzzer put GB into a 56-50 lead, which they built on in the fourth quarter.

Marcotullio added 13 points and Saunders had 12. Denmark were led by 20 points and 9 rebounds from Thomas Laerke (194-G/F-91) with Jonas Zohore Bergstedt adding 16 points and 11 boards.

In game 2 on Monday evening Ryan Richards was the driving force behind a 70-58 as he racked up 38 points and 7 rebounds.

The Danes remained close throughout and GB led just 51-49 going into the final period, but the visitors couldn't stop Richards from scoring and GB dominated the final minutes with a 13-5 run to finish the game for a reasonably comfortable victory. Van Oostrum added 12 points despite playing limited minutes due to foul trouble.

Thomas Laerke again led Denmark with a 20 point, 15 rebound double-double along with 3 blocks.

Head Coach Tim Lewis had this to say after the two game series: 'We're pleased with how it's going, but there's still a lot of stuff to work on. We're still relatively backward in terms of contact time with the kids, but eight and nine point quarters against Denmark shows the resolve we have. We've done that two nights in a row now.

'It was a better performance from Ryan in terms of his leadership and all round game tonight (Monday), and we're going in the right direction - that's the important thing.'

GB now face a two game series against Belgium on Wednesday (6pm) and Thursday (3pm) at the Braintree Campus, Colchester.
Courtesy of: http://www.englandbasketball.co.uk



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


Tabare won the promotion to the LUB - by Hector Lopez
Brian Craig (206-C-79, college: Miles) scored 24 points leading Tabare to defeat Nacional 69-61 winning the promotion to the Uruguayan League 2012. Nacional, Larranaga, Goes will play for the second promotion with Urunday or Atenas. The results for the forth round of the Metro second stage were:
Tabare 69 - Brian Craig 24 points , 6 rebounds Ivan Loriente (186-G-92) 19 points 6 rebounds
Nacional 61 -Terrence Shelman (198-F-78) 14 points 12 rebounds 2 blocks
- - -
Urunday 76 - Juan Garbarino (185-G-89) 27 points, Steven Toyloy (203-C-87, college: Cincinnati) 15 points 10 rebounds
Larranaga 74 - Jose Mackiewicz (201-F/C-79) 22 points, Jimmy Boston (201-F-77, college: N.C.Central) 12 points 11 rebounds 2 blocks
- - -
Goes 74 - Johnny Rodriguez (197-F-83) 17 points 4 rebounds
Atenas 59 - Jorge Trindade (205-F-89) 17 points 8 rebounds, Quentin Smith (205-C-77, college: Mississippi St.) 10 points 13 rebounds.
- - -
Standings: Tabare 23, Larranaga and Nacional 21, Goes 20.5, Urunday 20, Atenas 19

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


Echenique prepares to help Venezuela in the road to London 2012 - by Francisco Vega
Barquisimeto, Venezuela.- Venezuelan PF and C Gregory Echenique (205-C-90) is preparing to travel back to Venezuela and help the Senior NT in the upcoming FIBA Americas Olympic Qualy Tournament to be played in Mar del Plata, Argentina, from Augusth 30th till September 12th, according to a report published by Steven Pinovar in the Omaha World Herald.

'This is a great opportunity for me', said Echenique, who has been training with his college teammates back in Omaha, Nebraska, where he's a starter for the Creighton Blue Jays in the NCAA's first division basketball.

'I've never been in this type of competition, facing guys that have played in the Olympics and NBA post players. It's definitely going to be a challenge and it's going to give me a chance to see just where I'm at as a player', he added.

His previous experience with Venezuela's Senior NT was in an ABASU South American Championship in which Venezuela finished in fourth place behind Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay in Neiva, Colombia, and lost the ticket for the Pan American Games, to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico in October.

Echenique also mentioned that he's talked to the new head coach of Venezuela, former NBA coach Eric Musselman . 'I've talked to him and I'm excited to get the chance to work with him. In the past, I've played on our national teams and we've usually been coached by a local coach from Venezuela. This is the first time I've had a chance to work with someone with his background and he'll have a lot that he can offer me'.

Even his college head coach, Greg McDermott, sees clear benefits from Echenique's upcoming experience. 'I think it can only help him to get better. It's going to force him to elevate his game. In our league, there are not many guys Gregory's size. He's going to be facing guys that are 6-11 and 7-foot night in and night out, as well as in practice on a daily basis. I think this experience can only enhance Gregory's development'.

According to the report, Echenique, who averaged 10.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots in 30 games in his first season with Creighton after his departure from Rutgers and earned spots on the Missouri Valley's all newcomer and all-defensive teams, will miss 10 official practices and exhibition matches to be played in Bahamas due to his departure to Venezuela. Practice in La Guaira will begin on July 12th.

'This is a big opportunity for Venezuela', added Echenique. 'We're probably entering the competition looked at as an underdog but that's fine. We're going to have the chance to prove to people that we're capable of playing at that level'.

He's even had teachers help him work in advance regarding the next semester so he can take the trip with no academic worries at all. 'I've really gotten a lot of support here and from people back home. This is a busy summer for me and probably one of the most important summers for me in terms of my basketball career. I feel good about this opportunity and I'm going to do everything I can to make the most of it'.

List of the international TV channels that will broadcast the 2011 FIBA AMERICAS Championship - by Jonathan Leon
The list of international TV channels that will broadcast the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship, to be played in Mar del Plata on August 30 - September 11, has been announced.
This way, People from Canada, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Panama, Argentina, Paraguay and other Nations are going to be able to follow their favorite basketball team

TV Broadcast:

Europe
Armenia / NTV Plus
Belarus / NTV Plus
Cyprus / TV Lumiere
Georgia / NTV Plus
Moldova / NTV Plus
Russia / NTV Plus
Ukraine / NTV Plus

Middle East
Bahrain / Al Jazeera
Iran / Al Jazeera
Iraq / Al Jazeera
Jordan / Al Jazeera
Kuwait / Al Jazeera
Lebanon / Al Jazeera
Oman / Al Jazeera
Qatar / Al Jazeera
Saud Arabia / Al Jazeera
Siria / Al Jazeera
The Palestinian Territories / Al Jazeera
UAE / Al Jazeera
Yemen / Al Jazeera

Asia
Azerbaijan / NTV Plus
Chinese Taipei / Video land
Japan / J-Sports
Kazakhstan / NTV Plus
Kyrgyzstan / NTV Plus
Philippines / Solar / Basketball TV
Tajikistan / NTV Plus
Turkmenistan / NTV Plus
Uzbekistan / NTV Plus

Africa
Algeria / Al Jazeera
Chad / Al Jazeera
Djibouti / Al Jazeera
Egypt / Al Jazeera
Libya / Al Jazeera
Mauritania / Al Jazeera
Morocco / Al Jazeera
Somalia / Al Jazeera
Sudan / Al Jazeera
Tunisia / Al Jazeera

Americas
Antigua / Fox Sports
Argentina / Canal 7 - La TV Publica / Direct TV & TyC Sports
Aruba / Fox Sports
Barbados / Fox Sports
Belize / Fox Sports
Bolivia / Direct TV & TyC Sports
Brazil / ESPN Brazil & Sport TV Globo & Esporte Interactivo & Band Sports
Cayman Islands / Fox Sports
Chile / Direct TV & TyC Sports
Columbia / Direct TV & TyC Sports
Costa Rica / Fox Sports
Cuba / Fox Sports
Dominica / Fox Sports
Dominican Republic / Fox Sports & Pio Deportes
Ecuador / Direct TV & TyC Sports
El Salvador / Fox Sports
Grenada / Fox Sports
Guatemala / Fox Sports
Guyana / Fox Sports
Haiti / Fox Sports
Honduras / Fox Sports
Jamaica / Fox Sports
Mexico / Fox Sports
Montserrat / Fox Sports
Nicaragua / Fox Sports
Panama / Fox Sports
Paraguay / Direct TV & TyC Sports
Peru / Direct TV & TyC Sports
Puerto Rico / Canal 6 (PRTV)
St. Kitts & Nevis / Fox Sports
St. Lucia / Fox Sports
St. Vincent & the Grenadines / Fox Sports
Surinam / Fox Sports
Trinidad & Tobago / Fox Sports
Uruguay / Direct TV & TyC Sports
USA / ESPN Deportes & ESPN 3
Venezuela / Direct TV



*****************************************************
  VTB UNITED LEAGUE   


Budivelnyk joined VTB United League - by Eurobasket News
Budivelnyk joined VTB United League for 2011/2012 season. The Ukrainian team will be the third representative from the country in the next season.
Ukraine proved to have tough and decent teams for VTB United League this year. Azovmash became the first one to follow three Russian titans and left Lithuanian, Latvian, Finnish, Belarusian, Estonian and Polish teams behind.
Last season Budivelnyk started at the EuroLeague Qualifying Round and was beaten only by Khimky. As expected, Khimky celebrated the victoryand advanced to the next stage. Keith Langford scored 14 points for the home side. Visitors got 16 points and 5 boards from Michailis Anisimovas (214-C-84).
In the National League Budivelnyk celebrated the Superleague title. They shocked BC Donetsk on the road in the seventh game of the championship series. Dewarick Spencer (193-G-82, agency: Higher Vision Sports, college: Arkansas St.) stepped up with 20 points to pace the visitors. Budivelnyk overcame a 9-point deficit at halftime to deliver the crucial victory at the end.



*****************************************************
  WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS U19   


Eighth-Final Round in Riga. Day 3 - by Eurobasket News
Group E
Latvia - Russia 63-73
Russia U19 won over the Baltic side and took the last spot in the Quarterfinals. The Russian selection grabbed 73:63 over Latvia U19 at the 2011 U19 FIBA World Championships. It was a tough start and it proved the battle until the very end. Latvia erupted for 18-6, however Russia reduced to 21-15 at the end of the first period. They even closed it to just one, but managed to win the second period only 12-11 and trailed 27-32 at the halftime. The Baltic side led in the whole third period and enjoyed 49:43 after thirty minutes. Russia, however exploded in the last frame and won the thriller. The Russian team needed 30-14 as Alexander Varnakov (185-G-92) made the final 73:63 victory. Alexander Varnakov top-scored for the winners with 21 and Dmitry Kulagin (195-G-92) posted 15. Kaspars Vecvagars (191-G-93) finished the game with 17 points in defeat, while Janis Timma added 15.

Argentina - Brazil 71-69 OT
Argentina U19 needed overtime to send Brazil U19 out of 1/4 Finals of U19 FIBA World Championships. Argentina improved to 4-2 record, while Brazil finished with 3-3 as well as Russia and the latter advanced to the next stage. Before the game started Brazil knew that Russia has ended a three game losing streak, beating the tournament hosts Latvia. Should Argentina win Russia advance but if they lose then Brazil hold onto their spot in the playoffs. Brazil desired the win more and started with 19-8 in the opening tip. Cristiano Felicio made a dunk for 23-11 and Raul Neto (186-PG-92) nailed three for 30:22. Nicolas Copello reduced to 6 points as the teams went to the lockers. Bruno Irigoyen (202-G/F-92) later tied the game at 39:39, while Cristiano Felicio made a dunk for the Brazilian lead. Argentina however won the third frame 18-13 and trailed only 42:43 after thirty minutes. Luciano Massarelli (183-PG-93) tied the game at 46:46 and Lucas Nogueira (213-C-92) closed an improtant 7-0 run for Brazil to enjoy 53:46 with them. Franco Giorgetti cut it to 58:57 with two minutes in the game, but Felipe Vezaro scored for 60:57. Franco Giorgetti reduced to 59:60 and Raul Neto was perfect from the free throw line for 59:62. Luciano Massarelli however scored from the arc to send the teams in overtime. In extra time Argentina produced 9-7 and won the game. Lucas Nogueira had a chance to send the teams to the second overtime but missed the shot.

Australia - Poland 72-52
Australia overcame Poland at U19 World Championship Eighth-Final Round tonight. The victory propelled the Emus at 5-1 record on top of Group E. Poland fell at 4-2 record after the loss. Jackson Aldridge (185-PG-92) stepped up with 21 points to lead the winners. Poland ensured the better start to the game. They recorded a 14:12 lead after ten minutes of action. Australia bounced back in the second period. The Emus established a 29:27 halftime advantage. The third term turned disastrous for Poland. The Emus limited their opponents to only 6 points in the frame and cleared off to a 20-point advantage. Australia wisely kept Poland at bay throughout the final quarter and rallied to a comfortable win at the end. Igor Hadziomerovic netted 14 points, while Mitchell Creek (198-F/G-92) added 12 points and 8 rebounds for the winners. Piotr Niedzwiedzki (210-F-93) responded with 11 points for Poland. Michal Michalak (194-G-93) contributed 9 points in defeat.

Group F
Serbia - Canada 94-73
Serbia U19 grabbed 4-2 record in Group F of the U19 World Championship in Latvia. The European team overcame Canada U19 94:73 to send them to 2-4 record. Sim Bhullar gave Canada surprising 8:4 lead int he opening tip that was the last one for the North American squad. Serbia took 23-14 int he end of the first period and never looked behind after. Bogdan Bogdanovic (198-F-92) opened the second frame for Serbia and Luka Mitrovic (204-F/C-93) increased to 32:16 later in the quarter. Djordje Drenovac and Julian Clarke exchanged the baskets at the end of the half for 47:26 at the halftime. Serbia also added 25-20 in the third quarter, whiel canada won the last period. Trailing 33 points with 6 minutes to go, Canada managed to cut it to 21. Djordje Drenovac paced all the winners with 14 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic as well as Marko Gujanicic added 13 each. Petar Lambic followed them with 11 points in a winning effort. Junior Lomomba (193-G-93) ended up with 14 points in defeat, while Sim Bhullar posted 11.

USA - Croatia 85-87
Croatia earned a tough win over the USA in the final game of the Eighth-Final Round in Group F. The victory helped Croatia to 4-2 record in the ladder. The USA suffered the first defeat at the tournament but still clinched the top position in the group at 5-1 record. Toni Katic (188-PG-92) stepped up with 21 points to pace the winners. The teams stayed close throughout the opening period. Croatia eked out a narrow 25:24 lead after ten minutes. The USA erased the deficit and grabbed a 5-point lead midway through the second term. But a strong half finish from the European team allowed them to restore a three-point lead 46:43. Dario Saric and Mislav Brzoja (192-F/G-94) helped Croatia to a 12-point advantage in the third quarter. The Croats established a 70:61 lead with one quarter to go. The USA used a 19:5 run in the final period to surge ahead 80:75. Dario Saric, Boris Barac and Toni Katic bounced back putting Croatia back on top 84:83 with under a minute to go. Toni Katic and Boris Barac extended the gap to three points 86:83 with 34 seconds remaining. Jeremy Lamb pulled the USA closer with a jumper. Toni Katic hit just one free throw and Jeremy Lamb had a chance to force overtime. But his jumper rimmed out sealing the victory for Croatia. Boris Barac provided 18 points, while Dario Saric finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds in the victory. Jeremy Lamb answered with 25 points for the USA. Patric Young delivered 15 points and 8 boards in defeat.

Egypt - Lithuania 59-78
Lithuania clinched another win at the U19 World Championship in Latvia. They stormed past Egypt to improve at 4-2 record and clinched the second place in Group F of the Eighth-Final Round. Jonas Valanciunas (210-C-92) stepped up with 17 points and 13 boards for Lithuania. Egypt slipped at 1-5 record and would play at 9-12 place classification round. Lithuania led right from the start. The Baltic team quickly cleared off to a 23:7 lead. Deividas Pukis (194-G/F-92) ensured a 41:21 lead for Lithuania midway through the second quarter. They established a 46:25 halftime lead. Lithuania earned a 28-point lead in the third quarter before Egypt cut the distance to 21-point mark with one quarter remaining 42:63. The fourth period was a mere formality as Lithuania coasted to the victory at the end. Renaldas Simanavicius scored 14 points, while Deividas Pukis added 13 in the winning effort. Egypt answered with game-high 23 points and 19 rebounds from Assem Ahmed. Omar Mohammed delivered 14 points in the loss.



Stats Leaders
Points Per Game
 Jonas VALANCIUNAS
  LTU
  (210-C-92)
  Avg: 20.7
 1. Valanciunas, LTU20.7 
 2. Ahmed, EGY19.0 
 3. Barac, CRO18.3 
 4. Lamb, USA18.2 
 5. Drmic, AUS16.8 
 6. Ponitka, POL16.8 
 7. Saric, CRO16.6 
 8. Vecvagars, LAT16.5 
 9. Cvetkovic, SRB16.5 
 10. Katic, CRO15.8 
Rebounds Per Game
 Jonas VALANCIUNAS
  LTU
  (210-C-92)
  Avg: 13.3
 1. Valanciunas, LTU13.3 
 2. Ahmed, EGY12.0 
 3. Saric, CRO11.2 
 4. Dukulis, LAT9.8 
 5. Nogueira, BRA9.7 
 6. Delia, ARG8.2 
 7. M''Rad, TUN8.0 
 8. Mitchell, USA8.0 
 9. Barac, CRO7.8 
 10. Felicio, BRA7.8 
Assists Per Game
 Giyun KIM
  (184-G-92)
  Avg: 5.4
 1. Kim, KOR5.4 
 2. Grochowski, POL5.3 
 3. Hossam, EGY5.0 
 4. Cizauskas, LTU5.0 
 5. Katic, CRO4.8 
 6. Vecvagars, LAT4.2 
 7. Chen, TAI4.0 
 8. Jackson, USA4.0 
 9. Ahmed, EGY4.0 
 10. Neto, BRA3.8 
Steals Per Game
 Jeremy LAMB
  (195-G/F-92)
  Avg: 2.5
 1. Lamb, USA2.5 
 2. Chen, TAI2.2 
 3. Moon, KOR2.2 
 4. Ahmed, EGY2.2 
 5. Creek, AUS2.0 
 6. Pangos, CAN1.8 
 7. Abada, TUN1.8 
 8. Zhai, CHN1.8 
 9. Wang, CHN1.6 
 10. Roudesli, TUN1.6 
Blocks Per Game
 Jonas VALANCIUNAS
  LTU
  (210-C-92)
  Avg: 3.5
 1. Valanciunas, LTU3.5 
 2. Nogueira, BRA3.3 
 3. Karnowski, POL1.8 
 4. Mitchell, USA1.7 
 5. Niedzwiedzki, POL1.7 
 6. Mockevicius, LTU1.5 
 7. Delia, ARG1.3 
 8. Lee, KOR1.3 
 9. Jankovic, CAN1.2 
 10. Garino, ARG1.0 


Standings
Standings
Group E
1. Australia5-1
2. Poland4-2
3. Argentina4-2
4. Russia3-3
5. Brazil3-3
6. Latvia2-4
Group F
1. USA5-1
2. Croatia4-2
3. Lithuania4-2
4. Serbia4-2
5. Canada2-4
6. Egypt1-5
Group Places 13-16
1. China2-0
2. Taiwan1-1
3. S.Korea1-1
4. Tunisia0-2




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Women News

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


Marsh to lead Waves - by Eurobasket News
After nine years with the West Coast Waves and several as co-captain, Melissa Marsh (175-G-85) will lead the Perth team in the Womens National Basketball League in her 10th season.

The 177cm shooting guard said the Waves had been establishing a core group of players over the past few seasons and were ready to tackle finals.

For the first time in eight or nine years weve got a group of players that can be competitive at this level, Marsh said.

We beat the top teams last year and now just need to put it together and be consistent.

The Waves lost former Opals player Tully Bevilaqua at the end of last season but gain Olympian Rohanee Cox, who is expected in Perth next month for the coming campaign.

Having someone like Tully here who was so well known was great for the profile of womens basketball and we carry that on this season with Rohanee, Marsh said.

Shes an Olympian and has played for years representing Australia, made squads, toured and had experience with other WNBL clubs.

The pair started their basketball careers as juniors with the Willetton Tigers and Cox was part of the Perth Lynx team in Marshs first year playing for WA.

Marsh, who comes from a family of Australian and state cricketers, said she was training nearly every day and had dropped down to four days of work a week to give basketball a real crack to see what I can really do.

Ive still got lots to work on but Herbies (David Herbert) a great coach, especially with my shooting, she said.

The Waves kick off the 2011-12 season away against Adelaide on October 7.

Courtesy of www.inmycommunity.com.au

Cayla Francis named QBL Player of the Week - by Eurobasket News
Australian Opals squad member and key player in the Logan Thunders maiden finals run last season Cayla Francis (192-C-89), has been awarded the Queensland Basketball Leagues Player of the Week.

Playing for the Cairns Dolphins, Francis picked up the award for the third time this off-season after returning from a stint with the Australian Opals to help Cairns defeat the previously undefeated Gladstone Port City Power.

Cairns had not defeated the Jess Bibby led Power since 2008, but Francis played all 40 minutes and finished with 29 points, 19 rebounds and 4 blocks, while connecting on 56.5 per cent of her shots, to lead her side to victory.

Francis averages an outstanding 24.1 points, 18.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocks per game this QBL season, continuing on her stellar performance for the Logan Thunder in the WNBL last season where she led the league in rebounds per game.

Francis was also named in the Australian World University Games team and will compete in Shenzhen, China from August 11 23.

Other key WNBL performers this round included Tegan Cunningham (Rockhampton), Nicole Romeo (Rockhampton), Jillian Houghton (Townsville), Jess Bibby (Gladstone), Emma Langford (Ipswich).

Courtesy of WNBL (www.wnbl.com.au)

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


Preparations for 2011 Universiade begin with DWNT tryout - by Eurobasket News
Canada Basketball is set to begin preparations for the Development Womens National Team (DWNT) with a Tryout by Invitation Camp. Canada Basketball is proud to announce the 15 athletes and team staff that will attend the camp at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C., Aug. 25.

This summer, the DWNT is heading to Shenzhen, China. to compete at the Summer Universiade from Aug. 12-23. This marks the 26th time the International University Sports Federation (FISU) will host the Summer Universiade, which is the second largest multi-sport event in the world, next to the Olympic Games.

The tryout by invitation roster consists of talent from coast to coast with no shortage of international experience. Of the 15 players invited, seven players have played internationally as part of Canadas National Team Program, including Megan Pinske (Coquitlam, B.C.), Julie Seabrook (North Vancouver, B.C.), Justine Colley (East Preston, N.S.), Elyse Jobin (Moncton, N.B.), Kendel Ross (Sarnia, Ont.), Zara Huntley (Halifax) and Kelsey Hodgson (Fredericton). Hodgson is the only returning member from the last World University Games in 2009, when Canada finished 15th in Belgrade, Serbia.

The tryout roster also includes two members from the reigning Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national champion University of Windsor Lancers, Raelyn Prince (Harrow, Ont.) and Miah-Marie Langlois (Windsor, Ont.). Langlois capped off an impressive CIS Final 8 Championship by helping Windsor take home its first ever national championship for womens basketball and winning the Tournament MVP award.

Also invited to camp are two members of the runner-up University of Saskatchewan Huskies, Jill Humbert (Saskatoon) and Katie Miyazaki (Richmond, B.C.), who was named to the CIS Final 8 Tournament All-Star Team and the CIS Defensive Player of the Year for the past two seasons.

This marks the first time Lisa Thomaidis (Dundas, Ont.) will serve as head coach for a team in the National Program. Currently the head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, she has been with the National Team Program since 2001, when she was video assistant for the Senior Womens National Team (SWNT) for two years. She was then named an apprentice coach for the team in 2003, and has served as the teams assistant coach for the past eight years under Head Coach Allison McNeill.

Joining Thomaidis on the DWNT Coaching Staff are head coach of the University of Calgary Shawnee Harle (Campbell River, B.C.) and head coach of the University of Alberta Scott Edwards (Duncan, B.C.).

Harle has served as the head coach of the University of Calgary since 1994 and is the only basketball coach in Canada to attain her Level 5 National Coaching Certification. Her international coaching experience is vast, as she was the assistant coach for the SWNT at the 1994 Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia, and at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Edwards has been head coach for the past five years at the University of Alberta. During his tenure coaching the Pandas, he has won silver and bronze medals at both the Canada West and CIS Championships. This will be his first experience coaching at the international level with the National Team Program.

Canada was assigned to Pool C, where DWNT will play Russia, Poland and South Africa in the preliminary round. Sixteen countries will compete for the FISU gold this summer in Shenzhen.

Since basketball was included in the FISU games for women in 1961, Canada has a total of two medals, both bronze, in 1979 and 1991.

Below are the tryout by invitation rosters, coaching staff and pools for the 2011 Universiade. To follow the event and Team Canada, visit http://www.sz2011.org/Universiade and http://www.basketball.ca.

2011 DEVELOPMENT WOMENS NATIONAL TEAM TRYOUT BY INVITATION ROSTER
Name Position Height University (2010-2011) Hometown
Justine Colley G 59 Saint Marys University Halifax, NS
Kelsey Hodgson G 510 Cape Breton University Fredericton, NB
Jill Humbert G 57 University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, SK
Zara Huntley F 62 University of British Columbia Halifax, NS
Elyse Jobin G 511 Laval University Moncton, NB
Takima Keane F 511 Cleveland State University (NCAA) Ajax, ON
Elle Kerfoot G 57 Seattle University (NCAA) Surrey, BC
Miah-Marie Langlois G 58 University of Windsor Windsor, ON
Lindsay Ledingham G 60 University of Regina Regina, SK
Julie Seabrook F 63 University of Colorado (NCAA) North Vancouver, BC
Katie Miyazaki G 59 University of Saskatchewan Richmond, BC
Megan Pinske G 59 Western Washington University (NCAA-2) Coquitlam, BC
Raelyn Prince F 62 University of Windsor Harrow, ON
Folade (Nayo) Raincock-Ekunwe F 62 Simon Fraser University (NCAA-2) Vernon, BC
Kendel Ross G/F 61 Dayton University (NCAA) Sarnia, ON

2011 DEVELOPMENT WOMENS NATIONAL TEAM - STAFF
Name Position University
Lisa Thomaidis Head Coach University of Saskatchewan
Shawnee Harle Assistant University of Calgary
Scott Edwards Assistant University of Alberta
Anne Marie Thuss Team Manager McMaster University
Patrice Pepin Physiotherapist

2011 UNIVERSIADE POOLS:
Pool A: China, Taiwan, France, Lithuania
Pool B: USA, England, Slovakia, Brazil
Pool C: Russia, Poland, CANADA, South Africa
Pool D: Australia, Czech Republic, Japan, Sweden

Courtesy of www.basketball.ca

Preparations For 2011 UNIVERSIADE Begin WITH DWNT TRYOUT - by John Gary
a special thanks to basketball.ca Canada Basketball is set to begin prepartions for the development Womens National Team with a tryout by inviation camp. Canada basketball is proud to announce the 15 atheletes and team staff that will attend the camp at the University of Fraser Valley in Abbotsford BC. August 2-5.This summer the DWNT is heading to Shenzhen CHINA to compete at the Summer Universiade from August 12-23. This marks the 26th time the International University Sports Federation will host the summer Universiade which is the second largest multi sport event in the world next to the OLympic games. The tryout by inviation roster consists of talent from coast to coast with no shortage of international experience. Of the 15 players invited, seven players have played as part of Canada National team program.

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  EUROLEAGUE - Women  


MKB Euroleasing Sopron becomes UNIQA EUROLEASING SOPRON - by Eurobasket News
MKB Euroleasing Sopron will be named UNIQA EUROLEASING SOPRON in the 2011/2012 season. The team already announced almost the whole roster for the next season that you can read below.
MKB Euroleasing won three straight games against Pecs 2010 to take back the Hungarian league title. They grabbed 79-83 OT win in Pecs last night for 3-2 victory in the Finals. Amber Holt and her teammates were 0-2 down after first two games, but they didn't panic and blasted Pecs in the next two meetings. Finally, last night they took back the title after one year. Pecs was the defending champion and they had three 'match points' in this series, but it was not enough.
MKB Euroleasing advanced to Playoffs as No.2 with 22-2 record. They eliminated Szolnok in the Quarterfinals and Szeged in the Semis, both with perfect 2-0. MKB Euroleasing was the Hungarian league champion in 1993, 1999, 2002, 2007, 2008, and 2009.




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  GERMANY - Women  


Birte Thimm stays in Oberhausen - by Marsha Owusu Gyamfi
National team player Birte Thimm (180-F-87) signed another one year contract with the Bundesliga-Team evo New Basket Oberhausen

The extension of the contract of Birte Thimm a very important building block for the upcoming season for NBO. The forward has developed in recent years an indispensable size of the team of Julia Gajewski , even though they often act more inconspicuously.

Birte Thimm has taken herself some weeks the decision to stay at evo NBO more time. Headcoach Julia Gajewski is happy to have Thimm on the team, well knowing her strength in defense an ability to do so many things on the court. The 24-year-old does not play spectacular, but is a consitent teamplayer who still has potential to improve her offenisve skills and output. On the defensive side, Thimm is often the key for her team defending the most dangerous player of the opponent and usually solves this problem brilliantly.

Last year Birte Thimm had 6.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists in 25 minutes per game, playing 23 games and helping her team to stay in the league. With the national team she made it to the european championship.

*****************************************************
  HUNGARY - Women  


MKB Euroleasing Sopron becomes UNIQA EUROLEASING SOPRON - by Eurobasket News
MKB Euroleasing Sopron will be named UNIQA EUROLEASING SOPRON in the 2011/2012 season. The team already announced almost the whole roster for the next season that you can read below.
MKB Euroleasing won three straight games against Pecs 2010 to take back the Hungarian league title. They grabbed 79-83 OT win in Pecs last night for 3-2 victory in the Finals. Amber Holt and her teammates were 0-2 down after first two games, but they didn't panic and blasted Pecs in the next two meetings. Finally, last night they took back the title after one year. Pecs was the defending champion and they had three 'match points' in this series, but it was not enough.
MKB Euroleasing advanced to Playoffs as No.2 with 22-2 record. They eliminated Szolnok in the Quarterfinals and Szeged in the Semis, both with perfect 2-0. MKB Euroleasing was the Hungarian league champion in 1993, 1999, 2002, 2007, 2008, and 2009.




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  ITALY - Women  


Kathrin Ress signs with Taranto - by Eurobasket News
Kathrin Ress (196-C-85, college: Boston Coll.) signs with Taranto for the next season. The Italian Center comes back from Spain after a season with Gran Canaria La Caja de Canarias (Spain-LFB, starting five).
In 2010/2011 she moved to Spain and in EuroCup averaged 14.9ppg, 8.6rpg, 1.4apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 55.4%, FT: 78.7%. In Spanish League after 26 games her stats read 11.5ppg, 7.7rpg, 1.6apg, FGP: 39.4%, 3PT: 17.6%, FT: 78.8%.
In EuroCup Kathrin Ress recorded 20 points at the Qualifying Round Round 2 when it was first appearance for Granca in EuroCup this season and their first win. Kathrin Ress shined for the guests with 20 points and 8 rebounds. Nicole MIchael followed with 18 points and 6 rebs. In the loosing squad (0-2), Bernadett Nemeth delivered 19 points.
In the National League she erupted with 22 points at the Regular Season Round 5 when Cadi la Seu lost to Gran Canaria 63-74 Kathrin Ress shined for the winners with 22 points and 6 rebounds. She reached valuation 27.



*****************************************************
  NCAA1 - Women  


Moore wins Honda-Broderick Cup - by Eurobasket News
Former Connecticut star Maya Moore (6'0''-F-89, college: Connecticut) has won the Honda-Broderick Cup for the second consecutive year as the top female college athlete.

Moore, the No. 1 overall draft pick of the Minnesota Lynx, joined swimmer Tracy Caulkins (1982 and '84) as the only athletes to win the award twice.

The announcement was made Monday at Columbia University as Moore beat out fellow finalists Sheila Reid, a distance runner from Villanova, and Penn State volleyball player Blair Brown.

Moore is the fourth-leading scorer in NCAA history and helped lead the Huskies to four Final Four appearances, including two national titles.

Previous winners include: Candace Parker (2008), Misty May (1999), Mia Hamm (1994) and Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1985).

Courtesy of www.ncaa.com

*****************************************************
  NCAA2 - Women  


Queens names Bet Naumovski Head Coach - by Eurobasket News
Brian DeMasters, acting director of athletics at Queens (N.Y.) College, recently announced that Elizabeth Bet Naumovski has been named the Knights head womens basketball coach. Naumovski brings 15 years of coaching experience to Queens, including nine seasons of coaching at the college level both in the United States and her native (Toronto) Canada.

It is with excitement that I announce the hiring of Elizabeth Naumovski as our head womens basketball coach, said DeMasters. Coach Naumovski shares Queens Colleges vision to develop students in the classroom, in the community, and on the court. Her experience and determination will add tremendous strength to our program.

Naumovskis previous college coaching experience comes from a two-year stint as assistant coach at NCAA Division I institution, Binghamton University. Naumovski coached a pair of America East conference all-stars in each campaign, and helped the Bearcats to the 2009 conference semifinals. She was actively involved in recruitment, film breakdown, scouting, player development, offensive and defensive strategies and tactics, as well as all other facets of the program. Among the highlights of Naumovskis time at BU was her development of Erica Carter who ranked No. 4 nationally in 3-point field goals per game in 2009-10, No. 7 in 3-point field goal percentage, and holds the Bearcats single-game, single-season and career 3-point field goal records.

'This is an exciting time to be a part of Queens College and I am honored to be selected to lead the women's basketball program, stated Naumovski, who is one of only four female basketball coaches to receive the title of Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC) from the Coaches of Canada organization. Queens has a renewed energy and a clear vision for athletics that is in line with my aspirations for the women's basketball program. I want to express my deepest thanks to (chief operating officer and vice president for institutional advancement) Dr. Sue Henderson, Brian DeMasters and (assistant director of athletics) Leslie Busch for their support and confidence. This is a great place to be a student-athlete and I hope that women's basketball will soon be a point of pride for our campus, community and alumni.'

From 2005-07, Naumovski was the head coach of the Toronto-Five O AAU team. She led her squad to the Ontario Cup in 2006 and 2007 finishing in the top-eight out of over 225 teams each time. The previous two summers, she was the head coach for the Ontario provincial Under-17 team, and her team toppled a pair of college squads in preseason college prep tournaments.

At the college level, Naumovski was an assistant coach with the University of Toronto from 1999-03. While there, the team advanced to the conference finals in 2000 and 02, winning the title in the latter campaign while holding a top-10 national ranking and an undefeated home record. Before arriving at the University of Toronto, Naumovski was an assistant coach at the University of Guelph.

Since 2006, Naumovski has been the Head Coach and Program Director for the Mississauga Minor Basketball Association. She was built the club to its highest membership (2,000 members), and started the Under-17 Mississauga Monarchs girls basketball squad.

For the last five-plus years, Naumovski served as the owner and operator of Court Vision, where she ran one of the only organized summer leagues for high school girls in Toronto, as well as one of the only NCAA exposure events for high school girls in Canada.

A certified Level 4 coach by Canada Basketball (Level 5 can only be achieved once coaching a national team), Naumovski received specialized honors in acquiring her bachelors degree in kinesiology and the health sciences at York University (Ont.), where she graduated in 1998 and was an Academic All-Canadian honoree on the basketball court. She also received a masters of kinesiology in coaching degree from the school.

What theyre saying about Bet Naumovski

Wayne Parro, Coaches of Canada executive director

Bet epitomizes professional coaching through her commitment to self-improvement and professional development, as well as her experience and ethical approach to her profession. She is one of four female basketball coaches in Canada to have achieved the highest level of recognition by the coaching profession as a Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC). Under Bets leadership, athletes at Queens College will benefit from her tireless work ethic and commitment to strengthening the basketball program.

Mike Terry, University of Vermont associate head womens basketball coach

I have known Bet for many years and I have always respected the professionalism with which she handles herself. As a coach at the developmental level she is one of the best at teaching the fundamentals of the game. She has a great background working with athletes at varying stages of development and has had success with all of them. Her knowledge of the game is extensive and she is committed to winning the right way. She is an honest and demanding coach that will quickly move the Queens College program in a championship direction.

Courtesy of www.queensknights.com

Texas A&M-Kingsville tabs new coach - by Eurobasket News
Texas A&M-Kingsville Director of Athletics Kenneth Oliver announced that Michael Trujillo is the new head coach for the Javelinas on Tuesday afternoon.

Michael was extremely prepared during the interview process and he really distinguished himself from the other candidates, Oliver said. We are excited to welcome he and his family to the athletic department and think he will do an outstanding job.

Trujillo had been an NCAA Division I assistant coach for the past eight years and began his career as a student assistant for the womens basketball program at Northern Arizona. He spent the last four years at Texas State where he was a part of one Southland Conference regular season championship team that made an appearance in the WNIT. He spent one season as an assistant coach at his alma mater Northern Arizona and three seasons at Sam Houston State. At all three schools, he was directly involved in recruiting and on-court coaching.

Trujillo plans to lead by example and mentioned that changing the mentality of the players in the program will probably be his greatest challenge in his first year. My vision for the program is a commitment to excellence in everything we do on the court, in the classroom and in the community, said Trujillo.

Heading into his first role as a head collegiate coach, Trujillo talked about having many emotions all wrapped into one. I have been looking forward to it (getting a head coaching job) for several years, Trujillo said, and cant wait to get started.

Trujillo has recruited the same general region in his seven years at Sam Houston State and Texas State that he will be recruiting at A&M-Kingsville. He has developed strong contacts among the AAU and high school coaches in the region. Having already recruited the region and knowing the coaches makes it that much easier on me when it comes to recruiting because I already have a relationship with the coaches, said Trujillo.

Assistant coach Crystal Oates, who served as the interim head coach for the past few months, will be retained on Trujillos staff and he looks forward to working with her. I felt very comfortable knowing that I would be working with Crystal, said Trujillo. I have known her for several years out on recruiting and have always been impressed by her. We have talked a few times already and we are on the same page with a lot of things already.

Trujillo will officially begin in Kingsville on June 27 and he takes over for Scott Hyland who was the head coach for four years previously. This is a tremendous opportunity for me and my family, said Trujillo. I am extremely excited about it and am thankful for Dr. Tallant, Ken Oliver and the search committee giving me this opportunity.

Courtesy of www.ncaa.com

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  NCAA3 - Women  


St. Mary's names Crystal Gibson Head Coach - by Eurobasket News
Scott Devine, the director of Athletics and Recreation at St. Mary's College of Maryland, exclaimed Tuesday morning, 'It is my pleasure to announce Crystal Gibson as our next head women's basketball coach.' Gibson becomes the 13th mentor in the 30-year history of the program.

Gibson joins the St. Mary's family after three years at the helm of the Arcadia University women's basketball program in Glenside, Pennsylvania. While at Arcadia, she also served as the assistant sports information director. Gibson has also had assistant coaching positions at Frostburg State University and her alma mater, Lebanon Valley College; both are NCAA Division III institutions.

Devine continued, 'Crystal was an outstanding player at Lebanon Valley, where she began her coaching career serving as an assistant coach at her alma mater. Her further experiences as an assistant and head coach at Frostburg State and Arcadia Universities, respectively, have prepared her well to assume our head coaching position. Given her academic and athletic background, I know Crystal will be an articulate ambassador of the liberal arts and the educational experience that is provided here at St. Mary's.'

'Coach Gibson will bring an ability to recruit, teach, mentor, and lead our women's basketball program. We look forward to her joining our staff and accepting the challenge to compete for CAC championships with high quality student-athletes,' added Devine.

From 2006-2008, Gibson served as the primary assistant at Frostburg State, where she was responsible for opponent scouting and player development, including teaching offensive and defensive techniques and fundamentals as well as recruiting. She served as the assistant coach at Lebanon Valley during the 2005-06 season. Gibson also spent that year as an assistant coach for the LVC women's track & field team.

Gibson stated, 'I am extremely excited about the opportunity to return to the state of Maryland and lead such a talented young group of women. I look forward to working towards challenging for a CAC championship with hard work, dedication, and recruitment. Maryland has a perfect blend of exceptionally talented women's basketball players as well as great students, making St. Mary's College of Maryland a perfect fit. Keeping the best players in the state and educating them on the expansive opportunities SMCM has to offer is a welcoming challenge.'

A two-sport athlete at Lebanon Valley, Gibson received her undergraduate degree in biology in 2005 and is currently pursuing a master's in business administration from Frostburg State. She was a four-year starter at point guard for the Dutchmen, earning second team All-Commonwealth Conference and team MVP recognition as a junior (2003-04). Gibson also graduated Lebanon Valley as the program's all-time assists leader with 528.

She was also a four-year letter winner on the outdoor track & field team who picked up All-America honors in the high jump in 2002 with her fifth-place finish at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Other accolades included LVC Outstanding Women's Athlete Award (2004-05) as well as holding the school record in the high jump at 1.72m.

Courtesy of www.cacsports.com

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  NEW ZEALAND - Women  


Tall Fern Rooney opts not to join Wildcats - by Eurobasket News
Hopes the Canterbury Wildcats women's basketball team would be bolstered by the inclusion of Tall Fern Erin Rooney (172-G, college: Monmouth) for the remaining two national league tournaments have been dashed.

Rooney told coach Paul Neilson she does not want to jeopardise her American college eligibility status by playing at the tournament starting today at North Harbour. Rooney will return to a new American college Fordham University in September after spending two years at Monmouth and does not want to risk her amateur status.

However, the Basketball New Zealand Federation sanctioned events are not semi-professional with players not being paid to play.

While Neilson understood and respected Rooney's decision, he could not help feeling disappointed.

The young Canterbury team failed to win a match in the opening series at Palmerston North in June but he said they were not outclassed, keeping most opposition to around 10 point margins.

'Having Erin there would have given the girls a boost and just made us that much more competitive,' he said.

Neilson is also having to cope with not having athletic forward Fran Edmondson available nor injured starting guard Hannah Mackay and another guard, Zoe Rippon.

Replacing them are Mandy Caldwell, now based in Auckland, Anita Snowden from North Canterbury and Roseanna Katene.

Canterbury faces Otago and the New Zealand Force Academy in the opening matches today.

Courtesy of www.stuff.co.nz

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  POLAND - Women  


Charity Egenti Szczechowiak backs to Torun - by Lukasz Lukaszewski
Charity Egenti (191-C-85, college: Stephen F. Austin) Szczechowiak backs to Torun after one year pause. She had been representing Energa Torun in the season 2009/2010. She was one of the leaders in the team which celebrated the bronze medal of the PLKK the biggest achievement in clubs history.

Charity Egenti Szczechowiak was born in Lagos, in Nigeria. When she was young her parents move to USA. In college she had been playing for Stephen F. Austin. In 2006-2007
season she averaging 16.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. Then, She had played for USP CEU - Adecco Estudiantes (Spain-LF2). After that she was in Ukraine for one season
2008-2009 , in team Kozachka-Zalk Zaporozhye. She ended the season as best shooter in the whole league with 19,4 points per game and as a best rebounder in the league with
12,2 rebounds per game. Thanks to this good statistics in October 2009 she signed at Energa Torun. She had been representing this club to the end of the season.

During 2010/2011 season she married the assistant coach in Energa Torun Jacek Szczechowiak. She had changed the surname - Now, She is Charity Egenti. She was
pregnant. In January , She gave a birth to her daughter Emmanuela. Charity Egenti - Szczechowiak have a chance to get a polish passport. In this year she had also an knee
surgery. But now Charity Egenti Szczechowiak is ready to get back to basketball trainings.

Current roster of Energa Torun:
Coach Elmedin Omanic , Roze Ratajczak (183-G-91), Emilia Tlumak (183-F-82), Monika Krawiec (172-G-84), Leah Metcalf (173-G-83, college: N.Carolina), Weronika Idczak (177-G-89) Charity Egenti, Marta Jujka (192-C-88)



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  PORTUGAL - Women  


CAB announced new signings - by Luis Filipe Cristovao
After the Portuguese internationals Tamara Milovac (186-C-86) (CDTN) and Diana Neves (Boa Viagem), CAB Madeira signed two North-American players to their roster.

Ashley Hayes (178-G/F-87, college: Murray St.) is a small forward who graduated at Murray St. Last season, she played in the German League, in Herner TC. She has 1.78m and was born in 1987.

The other signing is a comeback. Candice Champion (185-F-87, college: Texas Arlington) played in Madeira in the 09/10 season. With 1.85m, the 87 born forward graduated in Texas Arlington. Last year, she played in Poland, at AZS Poznan.



Check out for more at www.porbasket.blogspot.com





CAB Madeira Women Summer Camp - by Luis Filipe Cristovao
The CAB Madeira Women's Team starts working this week, focused in improving the playability of their athletes and correction of problems that some of them demonstrated during the last season. The fundamental purpose of the bi-weekly training sessions, which take place throughout the month of July under the guidance of Joao Paulo Silva (Juca), is to make the set of players more fluid in order to allow the group to be even more competitive during the 2011/2012 season.

According to information released by the Club, some of the names that will integrate these work sessions are Marta Bravo, Carla Relva, Carla Freitas, Marcy Goncalves, Catarina Caldeira, Carolina Escorcio and Vitoria Pacheco. Also part of the working group are the athletes Mariana Barros and Mafalda Pinto, who played in the younger teams, options that clearly reveal the intention to ensure the progressive and gradual integration of players formed in Madeira in the squad that will play in Liga Feminina.



Check out for more at www.porbasket.blogspot.com





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  SLOVENIA - Women  


Merkur Celje tab Maja Bosnjak - by Eurobasket News
Merkur Celje signed a deal with a talented player. They have agreed on terms of contract with Maja Bosnjak (186-F-95). The contract is meant for four seasons. The 16-year-old forward spent the previous season in Odeja. Maja Bosnjak tallied 3.6 points and 3.4 boards per game in SKL. Last year Maja Bosnjak participated at U16 European Championship. Her stats read 5.4 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in Skopje.



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  TONGA - Women  


Ofa Tulikihihifo sign with BG 74 Gottingen - by Eurobasket News
Ofa Tulikihihifo (180-G/F-84, college: Cal.St. Northridge) sign with BG 74 Gottingen for the next season. The player from Tonga remains one of the best players abroad.
In 2005-2006 Ofa joined CSU-Northridge (NCAA1) and in 2006-2007 played for Cal.St. Northridge (NCAA, starting five). In 26 games she averaged 15.2ppg, 7.3rpg, 3.0apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 44.7%, 3Pts: 29.0%, FT: 64.7%. In 2007-2008 played for BG 74 Goettingen (Germany-DBBL, starting five) and after 22 games became the top-scorer of the League with 19.5ppg, Reb-2 (9.5rpg), 2.9apg, 2.8spg, 2FGP: 46.3%, 3PT: 34.6%, FT: 72.6%.
After the promotion in the 2nd DBBL,Goettingen was able to sign one of the top players of the 1st DBBL Ofa Tulikihihifo. She is very known by the fans from the season 2007/08, where she led the team under Vlastibor Klimes. In the mean time, she played in Poland and Sweden bevor she came back to join the DBBL last season. Ofa Tulikihihifo played for the BC Wildcats Wolfenbuettel also under Head Coach Vlastibor Klimes , where she was the TopScorer of the team and 6th in scoring in the league with 16.3ppg. She also snatched 5.8rpg, 1.9apg, 1.6spg, and helped the team reaching the Top4 in German Cup.



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  UNITED KINGDOM - Women  


GB U20 Women ready for European Championship - by Eurobasket News
Standard Life GB Under 20 Women step into unchartered territory on Thursday when they open their European Championship campaign.

Damian Jennings' team became the first GB or home nation age group squad to win promotion to Division A since the format was adopted in 2005 by winning the Division B title last season with a 47-46 victory against Slovakia. They will now compete in the 16-team Division A tournament for the first time, which this season is being staged in Novi Sad, Serbia.

The women have been drawn in Group D - facing Slovak Republic, Latvia and Spain in three successive days. If they finish in the top 3 of the group they will progress onto Group F, where they will face the top 3 from Group C, which consists of Belarus, Netherlands, France and Italy.

They open their campaign on Thursday evening when they face a Slovak side who are sure to want revenge for last season's defeat in the Division B title game. Last season, the Slovaks lost their opening game 72-68 against Poland but then reeled off five straight wins to seal promotion before losing to GB in the championship game.

Friday will see GB face a Latvia side that finished third in last summer's Division A competition in a key test for Jennings and his team. The Latvians won five of their six games in the opening two rounds before knocking out Turkey with a 64-57 quarter-final victory. Spain ended their gold medal dreams with a 56-52 semi-final victory before they bounced back to win the third place game as Anete Steinberga's two free throws with 3.5 seconds left on the clock secured the bronze medal with a 53-49 victory over France.

Only four of that squad are eligible for this summer's competition but, perhaps ominously for GB, they can return two of their top three scorers from 2010. Latvia will look to last season's Under 18 squad for the rest of their roster, which may give GB some hope as they finished bottom of Division A with just one win in nine games.

It doesn't get any easier the following day as GB wrap up the first phase of the competition when they face last season's silver medallists Spain. The Spanish dominated in the opening two stages of last summer's tournament, winning their six games with an average of 21 points with only Serbia managing to keep the margin in single figures as they went down 75-67. A 75-74 victory against Ukraine in the quarter-final was followed by the win against Latvia, but they will be keen to go the full distance this year having lost 75-74 against Russia in the gold medal game.

The Spaniards will bring plenty of experience at this level into the championships, with seven of last year's squad still eligible for the 2011 tournament.

The Standard Life GB Under 20 Women tip off their European Championship campaign on Thursday 7 July at 5:15pm. Live Stats will be avilable at the tournament website as well as through our FIBA live stats widget.

The squad for the tournament is -

Becca Allison (Scotland)
Gemma Bullard (177-G-92) (England)
Renee E. Busch (174-G-92) (England)
Katrin Chiemeka (170-G-91) (England)
Ella Clark (190-F-92) (England)
Temitope Fagbenle (191-F-92) (England)
Dee Hayward (Scotland)
Jessica Hurd (182-F-92) (England)
Erin McGarrachan (180-G-92) (Scotland)
Josephine Salmon (170-G/F-91) (England)
Kristie Sheils (170-G-91) (England)
Kathryn Taylor (188-C-91) (Scotland)
Courtesy of: http://www.englandbasketball.co.uk



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  WNBA - Women  


Standings
WNBA Standings
Eastern
 1. Atlanta D. 0-0 
 2. Chicago S. 0-0 
 3. Connecticut S. 0-0 
 4. Indiana F. 0-0 
 5. New York L. 0-0 
 6. Washington M. 0-0 
Western
 1. L.Angeles S. 0-0 
 2. Minnesota L. 0-0 
 3. Phoenix M. 0-0 
 4. S.Antonio SS 0-0 
 5. Seattle S. 0-0 
 6. Tulsa S. 0-0 


Ketia Swanier injury update - by Eurobasket News
With 2:55 remaining in the third quarter of last night's game against the Los Angeles Sparks, Mercury guard Ketia Swanier (5'7''-G-86, college: Connecticut) received an elbow to the left eye from Sparks guard Kristi Toliver that sent Swanier to the locker room for the remainder of the game. Toliver was assessed a flagrant foul on the play and the Mercury subsequently went on a 14-2 run to end the quarter. Phoenix won the contest 101-82 for its sixth win in the last seven games.

Swanier was evaluated by doctors at the arena Tuesday night and was treated throughout the evening. She will visit an eye doctor this afternoon for further evaluation. Swanier is currently listed as day-to-day pending the results of this afternoon's evaluation.

Courtesy of www.oursportscentral.com

Rebekkah Brunson becomes first-ever Lynx player to be named Western Conference Player of the Month - by Eurobasket News
The WNBA named Minnesota Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson (6'3''-F/C-81, agency: LBM Management, college: Georgetown) its Western Conference Player of the Month for June. Brunson becomes the first-ever Lynx player to win Western Conference Player of the Month honors.

Over nine games in June, Brunson, who was honored as the Western Conference Player of the Week for games played June 3 through June 12, averaged 12.1 points, a WNBA-leading 11.7 rebounds and a career-high 1.3 assists per game in leading Minnesota to a 6-3 start and second place in the Western Conference. Highlighting Brunson's memorable month was a string of six straight double-doubles to start the season, which tied the league record shared by Lisa Leslie (2003) and Candace Parker in (2010). Over that stretch, the 6-2 forward averaged 14.5 points and 13.3 rebounds per game while shooting .614 percent from the floor. Included in Brunson's double-double streak was a 22-point, 14-rebound effort - the fourth 20+-point, 10+-rebound performance of her career, all in a Lynx uniform -- that lifted the Lynx to an 81-74 win at Seattle back on June 9. The win snapped Minnesota's 10-game losing streak at KeyArena and the Storm's 18-game regular-season home winning streak. During the streak, Brunson also had games of 10 pts/12 rebs/4 asts (career-high) at Los Angeles, 10 pts/15 rebs vs. Los Angeles, 17 pts/15 rebs vs. Tulsa, 18 pts/14 rebs vs. Atlanta and 10 pts/10 rebs at Atlanta.

Brunson's six double-doubles in June led the league and pushed her total in a Lynx uniform to a franchise-record 18, and her career total to 44, good for 11th all-time in WNBA history. The two-time WNBA All-Star totaled four games of 14+ rebounds and brought in at least seven rebounds in every game. Brunson is on pace to tie the WNBA record for rebounds in a single-season (398), set last season by Connecticut's Tina Charles, and break her own franchise record for defensive rebounds in a single season (190). She also led the Lynx in rebounds in six of nine contests and in points on two occasions. Brunson's current scoring average of 12.1 ppg is just shy of her single-season career high of 12.3 ppg, set back in 2009, and through nine games, the Washington, D.C., native is shooting .570 percent from the floor, good for fourth-best in the league.

In addition to her individual success early in the season, Brunson has played a vital role in Minnesota's rise to the top of many team statistical categories. The Lynx currently stand as the best rebounding team in the WNBA, averaging 39.1 rebounds per game. Minnesota has also dominated its opponents on the break this season, averaging a league-high 18.7 fast-break points per game, while giving up a league-low 6.6 points on the break per game. A season after finishing ninth in opponent field goal percentage and points per game allowed, the Lynx have turned the tables, as they rank first in opponent field goal percentage (.397 percent) and second in points per game allowed (72.6 ppg).

As of June 30, Brunson sat fourth among Western Conference forwards in All-Star voting with 6,886 votes, behind teammate Maya Moore (12,762), Swin Cash (8,972) and Tina Thompson (7,072). Vote for Brunson and her Lynx teammates on wnba.com, through mobile phones by texting the player's last name to 6-9-6-2-2 or by visiting m.wnba.com on any wireless carrier. All balloting will conclude at midnight ET on July 10. Following the completion of fan voting, the WNBA will unveil the starters on ESPN2 on July 14 during the nationally televised game between the Seattle Storm and San Antonio Silver Stars. The 2011 WNBA All-Star Game will be nationally broadcast on ABC, Saturday, July 23, at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Courtesy of www.oursportscentral.com

Fowles pours in 34, Sky take down struggling Mystics - by Eurobasket News
Sylvia Fowles (6'6''-C-85, college: LSU) scored a season-high 34 points and pulled down 16 rebounds as the Chicago Sky defeated the struggling Washington Mystics, 78-65.

Epiphanny Prince (5'9''-G-88, college: Rutgers) added 14 points and five steals for the Sky, who snapped a three-game skid.

Marissa Coleman (6'1''-G/F-87, college: Maryland) finished with 14 points for the Mystics, who are 2-7 on the young season. Matee Ajavon (5'8''-G-86, college: Rutgers) and Jasmine Thomas donated 11 points apiece.

Washington, which shot 1-of-13 from three-point range, was without leading scorer Crystal Langhorne (sore back) for a second straight game.

Courtesy of www.digtriad.com

Storm can't break Fever, loses 78-61 - by Eurobasket News
The Indiana Fever showed the Seattle Storm why it is leading the WNBA's Eastern Conference on Tuesday, holding off a late surge by the visitors and extending its league-best winning streak to five games.

Using a balanced scoring attack, the Fever led nearly the entire game en route to a 78-61 decision. The Fever opened a 19-point advantage in the third quarter and answered a challenge in the final period when Seattle cut the gap to six points.

Jessica Davenport (6'5''-C-85, college: Ohio St.) led Indiana (8-3) with 15 points, connecting on 7 of 11 attempts from the field. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound center also had a season-high three assists and four of Indiana's six blocked shots.

'I kind of let the game come to me,' Davenport said. 'They double-teamed a lot early. I was able to move the ball so people on the weak side could get open shots. Towards the end of the game, they started playing single, and I was able to get my game doing down low.'

'We have the best depth in the league. We can go from one through 11 and play all of our players,' said Tangela Smith, who had 10 points for Indiana.

Tamika Catchings scored 11 for the Fever.

Seattle (5-4) was led by Sue Bird (5'9''-G-80, college: Connecticut) with 21 points and Swin Cash (6'2''-F-79, agency: Josep and Nicolas, college: Connecticut) had 13.

'It was a tough game,' Bird said. 'For Indy, they played well and did what they had to do. For us, we let them get a big lead that we could not cut into. They responded to everything we gave them.'

A 43 percent shooting effort and 20 turnovers were costly to Seattle. The Fever scored 20 points on 20 Seattle turnovers, and Indiana shot nearly 54 percent from the field.

'Indiana played very well,' said Seattle coach Brian Agler. 'They disrupted our offense. We couldn't get in the flow.'

'We did a good job sharing the ball,' said Indiana coach Lin Dunn. 'We did not turn the ball over much (11). We did a great job of going inside to Davenport.'

Indiana, which had defeated Seattle only twice in the teams' last eight meetings, built its biggest lead at 48-28 on a short jumper by Davenport with 7:39 remaining in the third period.

The Storm got as close as six points twice in the final period. After a short jumper by Tanisha Wright left Seattle trailing 60-54 with 7:41 to play, Indiana responded with a seven-point run and Seattle never got within single digits again.

Seattle took the lead at 7-6 on a three-pointer by Cash, and Camille Little then put the Storm up by three, its only leads of the game.

But Indiana responded with 12 consecutive points, starting with a pair of three-pointers by Katie Douglas (6'1''-G/F-79, college: Purdue). The Storm had three turnovers and missed its only shot attempts a pair of three-point efforts during the run that put Indiana up 20-11 with 3:49 left in the period.

Indiana helped itself by outscoring Seattle 14-2 from the free-throw line.

Courtesy of http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com

Taurasi, Dupree score 20 points each to lead Mercury to 101-82 win over Sparks - by Eurobasket News
Diana Taurasi (6'0''-F/G-82, college: Connecticut) and Candice Dupree (6'2''-F/C-84, agency: LBM Management, college: Temple) scored 20 points each, helping the Phoenix Mercury rally past a scary injury to guard Ketia Swanier to beat the Los Angeles Sparks 101-82 Tuesday night.

Phoenix opened the third quarter with a big run and kept it going after Swanier was helped off the court following an elbow to the head by Sparks guard Kristi Toliver. The Mercury turned a 10-point deficit into a 14-point lead in the quarter and never let up on the way to their sixth win in seven games.

Penny Taylor (6'1''-F-81) had 16 points and Kara Braxton (6'6''-C-83, college: Georgia) added 14 for Phoenix.

Ebony Hoffman (6'2''-F/C-82, college: USC) had 21 points and LaToya Pringle (6'3''-F/C-86, college: N.Carolina) 12 for Los Angeles in its second game without former league MVP Candace Parker. The Sparks fell to 0-5 on the road this season.

Swanier went down in a heap late in the third quarter after taking an elbow to the left eye from Toliver, who swung her arm while trying to protect the ball. Swanier lay on the floor for several minutes while writhing in pain, then had to be helped to the locker room.

Toliver was hit with a flagrant foul after initially being called for an offensive foul, and Sparks assistant Joe Bryant exacerbated the situation by arguing the call and was hit with a technical. Toliver also was called for a technical foul on another call a few minutes later.

DeWanna Bonner hit two free throws in place of Swanier, Taurasi added another for Bryant's technical and the Mercury kept pouring it on, leading 79-65 after a 37-point third quarter.

The outcome wasn't much of a surprise the way Los Angeles has been playing on the road. The Sparks came into Tuesday's game with four straight away-from-LA losses, the latest a three-point setback at Connecticut last Tuesday.

It didn't figure to get any easier against the Mercury without Parker, who's expected to miss at least five weeks after tearing cartilage in her right knee against New York on June 26. Los Angeles had trouble inside without Parker against the Sun, allowing Tina Charles to score 22 points and grab 23 rebounds, one short of the league record.

The Sparks did beat Phoenix with Parker in the lineup on June 10, holding Taurasi to nine points in a 14-point win in Los Angeles, but were facing a different Mercury team from the first time around.

The league's highest-scoring team for the fifth straight season, Phoenix followed a loss to San Antonio on June 17 by winning five of six, the latest by 13 over Chicago on Friday after hitting a franchise record 42 free throws while rallying from a 15-point deficit.

Los Angeles looked plenty rested in the first half after a week off, running its offense smoothly to set up good looks and earn trips to the free-throw line _ hitting 13 of 14 _ while limiting Phoenix's chances on the break. Led by Hoffman's 13 points and seven rebounds, the Sparks hit 16 of 32 shots, including five 3-pointers, to lead 50-42 at the half.

The Mercury trimmed the deficit quickly in the third quarter behind their defense, getting 14 combined points from Taylor and Dupree to go up 65-63 with just over 3 minutes left. Swanier got hurt right after that and Phoenix seemed to play even harder, never giving Los Angeles a chance.

Courtesy of www.newser.com <<>><<>>

Moore wins Honda-Broderick Cup - by Eurobasket News
Former Connecticut star Maya Moore (6'0''-F-89, college: Connecticut) has won the Honda-Broderick Cup for the second consecutive year as the top female college athlete.

Moore, the No. 1 overall draft pick of the Minnesota Lynx, joined swimmer Tracy Caulkins (1982 and '84) as the only athletes to win the award twice.

The announcement was made Monday at Columbia University as Moore beat out fellow finalists Sheila Reid, a distance runner from Villanova, and Penn State volleyball player Blair Brown.

Moore is the fourth-leading scorer in NCAA history and helped lead the Huskies to four Final Four appearances, including two national titles.

Previous winners include: Candace Parker (2008), Misty May (1999), Mia Hamm (1994) and Jackie Joyner-Kersee (1985).

Courtesy of www.ncaa.com