It seems that Dimitrios Tsaldaris (195-G/F-80) is very close to coming back to Italy for the third season in his career. The greek player has already reached an agreement to part ways with is team Aris Thessaloniki and Umana Reyer Venezia expressed interest to bring back him to the Serie A.
Dimitrios Tsaldaris has already played two season in Italy with Fabi Shoes Montegranaro (2009-2010) and Banco di Sardegna Sassari (2010-2011). In this season Dimitrios Tsaldaris was averaging 7.8ppg in Greek A1.


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Standings - BJ League BJ Standings Eastern  1. Hamamatsu P. 31-14   2. Akita NH 27-21   3. Niigata Albirex 25-21   4. Yokohama BC 25-21   5. Toyama Grouses 24-22   6. Sendai 89ers 24-22   7. Shinshu BW 18-28   8. Chiba Jets 17-29   9. Saitama Bron. 14-31   10. Iwate Big Bulls 14-32  Western  1. Okinawa GK 35-13   2. Osaka Evessa 31-15   3. Shiga L-Stars 30-16   4. Kyoto Hannar. 30-16   5. Fukuoka Rizing 28-18   6. Shimane SM 25-22   7. Miyazaki SS 20-26   8. Oita H.Devils 19-26   9. Takamatsu FA 2-46  Regular Season: Round 53 Apr. 13: Yokohama BC - Takamatsu FA 98-78 Apr. 14: Sendai 89ers - Kyoto Hannar. Apr. 14: Toyama Grouses - Osaka Evessa Apr. 14: Saitama Bron. - Fukuoka Rizing Apr. 14: Chiba Jets - Miyazaki SS Apr. 14: Yokohama BC - Takamatsu FA Apr. 14: Shiga L-Stars - Shinshu BW Apr. 14: Shimane SM - Akita NH Apr. 14: Oita H.Devils - Hamamatsu P.

BJ League Stats Leaders PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Michael PARKER   Shimane SM   (202-F-81)   Avg: 23.1  1. Parker, Shimane SM 23.1   2. Hargrow, Chiba J. 21.7   3. Palmer, Fukuoka 21.3   4. Staten, Chiba Jets 21.0   5. Cummings, Oita H. 20.7   6. Flowers, Saitama 20.2   7. Woods, Akita NH 19.2   8. Fitzgerald, Sendai 19.0   9. Raivio, Shinshu BW 18.8   10. Burrell, Yokohama. 18.7  Rebounds Per Game  Chris HOLM   Niigata Albirex   (212-C/F-84)   Avg: 14.8  1. Holm, Niigata Albi. 14.8   2. Hamilton, Fukuok. 11.4   3. Rickert, Kyoto H. 10.9   4. Staten, Chiba Jets 10.8   5. Malloy, Iwate B. 10.5   6. Searcy, Toyama G. 10.5   7. Mims, Sendai 89ers 10.4   8. Roberts, Shins. 10.2   9. Blackledge, Osaka 10.0   10. Newton, Okinawa 9.8  Assists Per Game  Kenny SATTERFIELD   Saitam.   (188-PG-81)   Avg: 6.7  1. Satterfield, Saita. 6.7   2. Gardener, Akita NH 5.6   3. Takushi, Oita H. 5.5   4. Shimura, Sendai 5.5   5. Dixon, Hamamats. 5.3   6. Yamamoto, Shima. 5.0   7. Dukes, Sendai 89e. 4.6   8. Yamamoto, Iwate B. 4.4   9. Staten, Chiba Jets 4.2   10. Namizato, Okina. 4.2  Steals Per Game  Jamel STATEN   Chiba Jets   (198-G-83)   Avg: 2.9  1. Staten, Chiba Jets 2.9   2. Palmer, Fukuoka 2.5   3. Parker, Shimane SM 2.5   4. Smith, Takamats. 2.1   5. Humphrey, Saitama 2.0   6. Lyons, Miyazaki SS 2.0   7. Klaiber, Iwate B. 2.0   8. Dixon, Hamamats. 1.8   9. Joho, Toyama G. 1.8   10. Mito, Toyama G. 1.7  Blocks Per Game  Jeral DAVIS   Shimane SM   (216-C-84)   Avg: 3.8  1. Davis, Shimane SM 3.8   2. Singleton, Sendai 3.0   3. Blackledge, Osaka 3.0   4. Broxsie, Chiba Jets 2.7   5. Blackledge, Hamama. 2.3   6. Mims, Sendai 89ers 1.6   7. Hughes, Shinshu BW 1.5   8. Marshall, Osaka E. 1.5   9. Dukes, Sendai 89e. 1.4   10. Moliva, Chiba Jets 1.3

Lynn Washington (200-F-78, college: Indiana) has retired from basketball. The news has been announced by Osaka Evessa. One of the most recognized players in BJ League decided to step aside from professional basketball after a drug scandal he was involved in this spring. Lynn Washington was arrested in March for alleged involvement in drug smuggling. However he was later cleared of all charges. Lynn Washington played for Osaka Evessa since 2005. He was BJ League MVP in 2006 and 2008. The forward also led his team to BJ League titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008. This season Lynn Washington tallied 17.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Previously the forward had stints with Niigata Albirex, Tampere and Honka Espoo.


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LATVIA

LBL Standing LBL Standings  1. Liepaja 17-9  2. VEF Riga 15-1  3. Ventspils 15-1  4. Valmiera 13-13  5. LU 12-14  6. Jelgava 11-15  7. Jurmala 9-17  8. Turiba 9-17  9. U18 1-15 Quarter-Finals: Round 1 Apr. 12: Liepaja - Jelgava 78-66 Apr. 12: Valmiera - LU 76-87 Quarter-Finals: Round 2 Apr. 14: Jelgava - Liepaja Apr. 14: LU - Valmiera

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LEGAL CORNER

Powers of Attorney: A Cautionary Tale - by John Kern

Powers of Attorney: A Cautionary Tale

Today I want to relate an unfortunate and cautionary tale that grew out of a professional basketball player's claim for the recovery of $2.74 million in unpaid salaries that was reported by the FIBA Basketball Arbitral Tribunal in 2011. This decision carries a series of warnings to players who have their contracts wrongly cut by clubs and offers suggestions about guiding their actions in relation to a 'Power of Attorney.'

Lawrence Roberts is a former NCAA First Team All-American and NBA player with the Memphis Grizzlies. After two years in the NBA, he signed a two year contract for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons with Olympiakos in Athens. Roberts was to receive $1.5 million for the first year and $1.75 million for the second season with the Greek club.

It appears that Roberts was paid $550,000 by Olympiakos during the preseason and then, according to the BAT arbitrator, 'on about the 3rd of October 2007, the [club] decided that [Roberts] was not to continue as part of its team.' The reasons for this decision are not provided in the arbitration award, but on October 4, 2007, Euroleague.net reported that, 'Roberts failed to meet the expectations of head coach Pini Gershon, who decided to cut him and search for another player.'

Within a couple of days, a Greek agent that Roberts had included in the initial negotiations with the Club, Konstantinos Papadakis, showed up at Roberts' door and here came the player's first mistake. Roberts executed a blanket 'Power of Attorney' authorizing Papadakis to exercise all of the player's rights in seeking a settlement of his outstanding claims against the club. Now recall that as of this time, Roberts had not been paid $2.74 million of his $3.25 million contract. Consider also that Roberts had not put in place any back up contract with another team. (In fact, Roberts remained out of basketball for the remainder of the 2007-08 season.)

Incredibly, within 72 hours of receiving the 'Power of Attorney,' the Greek agent exercised the player's rights to negotiate a resolution on his $2.74 million claim against Olympiakos and reached, on Roberts behalf, a 'Termination Agreement' with Olympiakos providing Roberts with a settlement. Unfortunately for Roberts, the settlement amounted to $0.00 for the player. Zero. Niente. So in exchange for Roberts' $2.74 million in contract rights, Papadakis and Olympiakos agreed that the player would not receive a single dollar.

Moreover, not only were Roberts' rights against the club zeroed out by this 'Termination Agreement,' the arbitrator found that there was no fiduciary duty running from the agent to the player pursuant to the Olympiakos contract. This represents Roberts' second mistake. Roberts did not have prepared (or at least he did not submit) any other agreement as between himself and Papadakis establishing a duty on the agent to protect his rights, or any parameters for the eventual settlement of the Olympiakos claim, so he was unable to establish or even allege any contractual basis to recover against the agent and his claims against the agent were dismissed.

The third word of caution comes out of a legal doctrine known in Europe as venire contra factum proprium - a general principal providing that one's conduct or statements of intent concerning existing contractual rights can lead to a prohibition on the invocation of such rights. In the US and the UK, we know this as the doctrine of 'estoppel.' In the Roberts case, the application of this doctrine took two forms -- both Roberts' conduct and his statements -- which led to the dismissal of the Player's claim against Olympiakos.

First, the arbitrator noted the player's failure to undertake the prompt prosecution of the claim. The player waited nearly three years before bringing his case before the BAT, attributing the period of the delay to the need to formulate claims, gather evidence, locate witnesses, etc. His attorneys argued that the statute of limitations in Switzerland 10 years should be the BATs sole guide on the timeliness of the claim; nonetheless, the arbitrator disagreed, noting that there was no record of any written demands placed by Roberts on Olympiakos between the creation of the October 2007 Termination Agreement and the August 2010 BAT arbitration. Even though the arbitrator suggested it would have been reasonable for the player to wait until after the end of the 2008-09 season (when his duty to mitigate contract damages by securing other employment would have expired) the delay of an additional 14 months before the case was eventually filed was too much for the arbitrator.

Second, the arbitrator found that the player had given an interview to a Greek newspaper reporter in January 2010. In the interview, Roberts suggested that he was satisfied with the outcome of his contract by commenting on his season cut short by Olympiakos, 'besides I received a big part of the fees that were agreed for the first year.' Indeed, the arbitrator held, 'it seems inconceivable that [Roberts] would have made such conciliatory remarks about [Olympiakos] in January 2010 were arbitration proceedings in preparation.' This combination of the delay and this publicized remark was fatal to the player's claim which was dismissed in its entirety.

So, players, draw these lessons from Roberts v. KAE Olympiakos SPF & Papadakis (121/10 BAT):

* If forced to negotiate a settlement of your contract claims, don't hand over your rights through a 'Power of Attorney' to an agent without defining what are the limits on that agents negotiating authority.

* Always prepare a clear, written understanding of the parameters (the minimum limits) for the agent's exercise of those rights that establishes the agent's duty to you as the player.

* Don't delay in assembling the facts, witnesses (including witness statements) and theories in a contract claim and don't neglect sending the Club demands for their performance, even if you don't have all of the evidence about the case that you expect to gather from your witnesses.

* Don't talk to reporters about your contract rights.

I trust that the unfortunate experience of Mr. Roberts won't be visited upon other players in the future and that this article will help others avoid a similar fate.

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The Eurobasket Legal Corner is written and produced by John B. Kern, an American lawyer with offices in the United States and San Marino, who focuses on international sports rights and arbitrations. The legal principles discussed are general in nature. Laws change and even similar circumstances may call for the application of different laws.

If you have a question for a future edition of The Eurobasket Legal Corner, please write to Mr. Kern at kern@jbkinternational.com.

2012 JBK Intl Cons. LLC. All rights reserved. 120401


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LIGA AMERICAS

Standings Liga Americas Standings Group E  1. Obras 3-0   2. Pioneros 2-1   3. Itabom/Bauru 1-2   4. Bucaneros 0-3  Group F  1. Arecibo 1-0   2. Uniceub/BRB 1-0   3. Cocodrilos 0-1   4. La Union 0-1  Stage One Standings Second Stage: Round 2 Apr. 13: Cocodrilos - Uniceub/BRB 80-81 Apr. 13: La Union - Arecibo 68-72 Apr. 14: La Union - Uniceub/BRB Apr. 14: Arecibo - Cocodrilos Apr. 15: Arecibo - Uniceub/BRB Apr. 15: Cocodrilos - La Union

Stats Leaders PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Tony WASHAM   Obras   (200-F-82)   Avg: 22.6  1. Washam, Obras 22.6   2. Smith, La Union 20.3   3. Ayuso, Arecibo 19.0   4. Lewis, La Union 16.5   5. Hickerson, Bucan. 16.3   6. Nunes, Itabom/B. 16.2   7. Hornsby, Pioneros 16.0   8. Harris, Pioneros 16.0   9. Silva, Un. 15.8   10. Giovannoni, Unice. 13.8  Rebounds Per Game  Gregory LEWIS   La Union   (198-F-78)   Avg: 11  1. Lewis, La Union 11.0   2. Garces, Arecibo 9.0   3. Nunes, Itabom/B. 7.3   4. Hickerson, Bucan. 7.3   5. Gutierrez, Obras 7.0   6. Graterol, Cocodril. 6.8   7. Washam, Obras 6.8   8. Colmenares, Cocod. 6.8   9. Field, Obras 6.3   10. Giovannoni, Unice. 6.3  Assists Per Game  Alejandro KONSZTATD   Obras   (191-G-89)   Avg: 5.7  1. Konsztatd, Obras 5.7   2. Ribeiro, Un. 5.5   3. Farabello, La Union 4.8   4. Smith, La Union 4.3   5. Taylor, Itabom/B. 4.2   6. Pinnock, Arecibo 4.0   7. Elliott, Cocodrilos 3.5   8. Guevara, Bucaneros 3.5   9. Cedeno, Bucaneros 2.8   10. Mazzaro, Obras 2.8  Steals Per Game  Alexis ELSENER   Obras   (195-G-88)   Avg: 3.2  1. Elsener, Obras 3.2   2. Elliott, Cocodrilos 2.3   3. Colmenares, Cocod. 2.3   4. Washam, Obras 1.8   5. Deodato, Itabom/B. 1.7   6. Smith, La Union 1.5   7. Lewis, La Union 1.5   8. Ribeiro, Un. 1.5   9. Farabello, La Union 1.5   10. Taylor, Itabom/B. 1.4  Blocks Per Game  Alirio DE SOUZA   Un.   (208-C-77)   Avg: 1.3  1. de Souza, Un. 1.3   2. Graterol, Cocodril. 1.3   3. Bayona, Bucaneros 1.2   4. Mikulas, La Union 0.8   5. Wolkowyski, La Uni. 0.8   6. de Sousa, Itabom/. 0.8   7. Hickerson, Bucan. 0.8   8. Pinnock, Arecibo 0.8   9. Centeno, Cocodrilos 0.8   10. Gutierrez, Obras 0.8

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LITHUANIA

Standings - LKL LKL Standings  1. Zalgiris 20-1   2. Lietuvos rytas 18-4   3. Siauliai 16-6   4. Rudupis 16-6   5. Pieno Zvaigzdes 13-8   6. Neptunas 10-12   7. Baltai Kaunas 9-13   8. Kedainiai 9-13   9. Juventus 6-16   10. Sakalai 5-17   11. Lietkabelis 5-17   12. Naglis Palangos 4-18  Regular Season: Round 23 Apr. 13: Sakalai - Neptunas 97-98 OT Apr. 13: Kedainiai - Lietkabelis 88-68 Apr. 13: Naglis Palangos - Pieno Zvaigzdes 77-83 Apr. 13: Baltai Kaunas - Siauliai 75-86 Apr. 13: Juventus - Rudupis 70-87 Apr. 14: Pieno Zvaigzdes - Zalgiris

Stats Leaders - LKL PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Laurynas MIKALAUSKAS   Neptu.   (205-F-85)   Avg: 17.7  1. Mikalauskas, Neptu. 17.7   2. Mazeika, Neptunas 15.0   3. Valanciunas, Lietu. 14.7   4. Johnson, Naglis P. 14.6   5. Hughes, Pieno Z. 14.2   6. Cepukaitis, Lietka. 13.9   7. Seibutis, Lietuv. 13.5   8. Urbonas, Juventus 13.3   9. Long, Siauliai 13.0   10. Vasylius, Siauliai 13.0  Rebounds Per Game  Dane JOHNSON   Naglis P.   (208-C-86)   Avg: 10.3  1. Johnson, Naglis P. 10.3   2. Valanciunas, Lietu. 7.7   3. Mikalauskas, Neptu. 7.4   4. McClure, Kedainiai 7.0   5. Butkevicius, Rudup. 6.6   6. Cepukaitis, Lietka. 6.5   7. Bowles, Siauliai 6.4   8. Petrukonis, Juven. 6.4   9. Valeika, Neptunas 6.1   10. Adomaitis, Kedain. 5.8  Assists Per Game  Evaldas DAINYS   Neptunas   (180-PG-82)   Avg: 5.6  1. Dainys, Neptunas 5.6   2. Kalnietis, Zalgiris 4.9   3. Rice, Lietuvos. 4.5   4. Broadus, Siauliai 4.3   5. Peciukeviciu., Sak. 4.0   6. Kadziulis, Rudupis 3.9   7. Popovic, Zalgiris 3.8   8. Maceina, Juventus 3.6   9. Ezerskis, Lietkabe. 3.5   10. Janavicius, Balta. 3.4  Steals Per Game  TreVon HUGHES   Pieno Z.   (183-PG-87)   Avg: 2.3  1. Hughes, Pieno Z. 2.3   2. Long, Siauliai 1.9   3. Broadus, Siauliai 1.7   4. Ginevicius, Kedain. 1.6   5. Vasiliauskas, Liet. 1.6   6. Roberts, Lietuvos. 1.6   7. Seibutis, Lietuv. 1.6   8. Weems, Zalgiris 1.4   9. Juskevicius, Rudup. 1.4   10. Salenga, Zalgiris 1.4  Blocks Per Game  Jonas VALANCIUNAS   Lietuv.   (210-C-92)   Avg: 2  1. Valanciunas, Lietu. 2.0   2. Johnson, Naglis P. 1.8   3. Petrukonis, Juven. 1.2   4. Morgan, Pieno Z. 1.0   5. Staniulis, Lietkab. 1.0   6. Zelionis, Rudupis 1.0   7. Samardziski, Lietu. 0.9   8. Cepukaitis, Lietka. 0.9   9. McClure, Kedainiai 0.9   10. Javtokas, Zalgiris 0.8

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MALI

Ludovic Chelle selected the top Malian playing abroad in last week's games - by Eurobasket Center Traditionally, every week we bring you a list of the top performances of Malians who are currently playing abroad. Ludovic Chelle    #1. This week's number one is an international guard Ludovic Chelle (183-83), who plays in the French ProB (second division). Chelle could not help SPO Rouen (10-19) in their last game on Saturday. Despite his good performance SPO Rouen was defeated 90-86 on the road by the higher-ranked Bordeaux (#8). Chelle scored 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. This season Chelle averages: 6.6ppg, 1.9rpg, 2FGP: 35.0%, 3FGP: 38.2% and FT: 72.4%. He has a dual citizenship: Mali and French. Despite Chelle played previously for the French U20 national team, he is currently a member of the Mali senior national team. Tahirou Sani    #2. Second place goes to an international forward Tahirou Sani (204-85). Sani contributed to Blois' victory against the 11th-ranked Angers BC 49 (14-16) 90-77 in the French NM1 (third division) on Saturday night. He scored 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 16 minutes. ADA Blois Basket (20-10) is placed sixth in the NM1. There are only four games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game will be critical. It's Sani's first season with the team. This year Sani's overall stats are: 8.3ppg, 3.5rpg, 2FGP: 55.8%(96-172), 3FGP: 25.0% and FT: 73.5% in the 30 games he played so far. He is another player who holds two passports: Mali and French. Despite Sani played previously for the French national team, he is currently a member of the Mali senior national team. Dramane Diarra    #3. The Mali player who performed third best last week abroad was an international power forward Dramane Diarra (203-80, college: Kansas St.). Diarra managed to help Saint Vallier Basket Drome to win against the closely-ranked Olympique Antibes (13-16) 93-88 in the French ProB (second division) in Saturday night's game. He scored 5 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Saint Vallier Basket Drome (14-15) is placed ninth in the ProB. It was his team's third consecutive victory in a row. Diarra's total stats this season are: 5.7ppg, 2.8rpg, 2FGP: 62.5%(30-48), 3FGP: 34.1% and FT: 77.8%. Similarly like Sani and Chelle above he has both Mali and French nationalities. Diarra is also a member of the Mali senior national team. Ibrahim Saounera    #4. Guard Ibrahim Saounera (179-87) was not able to help Cognac (18-12) in their game against Orchesien BC (22-8) in the French NM1 (third division). He scored 7 points in 16 minutes. Cognac lost 81-91 at home to the higher-ranked (#3) Orchesien BC. It was Cognac's third consecutive loss in a row. There are only four games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game is very crucial. This year Saounera's total stats are: 6.4ppg, 1.9rpg and 1.9apg in the 29 games. Similarly like three previous players above, he also holds two passports: Mali and French. Despite Saounera played previously for the French national team, he is currently in the Mali national team roster. Mahamadou Drame    #5. International shooting guard Mahamadou Drame (188-86) was not able to secure a victory for Nantes (13-13) in their game against JL Bourg (14-15) in the French ProB (second division). Drame did not beat the league record on Friday evening. He scored only 2 points and added 4 assists. Nantes was defeated 72-60 in Bourg by the lower-ranked JL Bourg (#10). They ended the series of three consecutive victories. Drame has averaged so far 6.6ppg, 1.9rpg and 1.3apg. He has Mali and French nationalities. Drame plays currently for the Mali national team. Mahmoud Diakite    #6. Swingman Mahmoud Diakite (197-86, college: Wyoming) couldn't help Stade Clermont (8-22) in their game against Charleville-Mezieres (11-15) in the French NM1 (third division). He scored 8 points in 18 minutes. Stade Clermont lost in an overtime 84-96 on the opponent's court to the higher-ranked (#9) Charleville-Mezieres. It was Stade Clermont's seventh consecutive loss in a row. There are only four games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game will be important. Diakite has averaged so far 8.1ppg and 3.4rpg in the 29 games. Despite he played previously for the French national team, Diakite is also an international player who is currently on the senior Mali National Team roster. Sambou Traore    #7. An experienced international power forward Sambou Traore (199-79) couldn't help Limoges CSP Elite (22-7) in their game against Chalons-Reims (20-9) in the French ProB (second division). He cannot count Saturday's game as one of the best ones. Traore scored only 1 points. Limoges CSP Elite was defeated 82-77 on the opponent's court by the lower-ranked Chalons-Reims (#3). Traore has averaged so far 8.4ppg, 4.3rpg and 1.3apg. He is also Mali national team player. Modibo Niakate    #8. Guard Modibo Niakate (185-81, college: Cleveland St.) couldn't help Rueil (13-17) in their game against Souffelweyersheim (22-8) in the French NM1 (third division). Niakate cannot count Saturday's game as one of the best ones. He scored only 2 points in 20 minutes. Rueil was crushed 81-43 in Souffel. by the much higher-ranked (#4) Souffelweyersheim. It was Rueil's first loss after three consecutive victories. There are only four games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game will be extremely important. Niakate has relatively good stats this year: 11.4ppg, 2.1rpg and 2.4apg in the 20 games. He plays currently for the Mali national team. One more player who has never been selected to any of national teams, but has Mali passport:    #1. Mamoutou Diarra (200-F-80, agency: Two Points) was the major contributor in an overtime JSF Nanterre's surprising victory against the second-ranked Chalon/Saor (20-5) 109-99 in the French ProA in Friday night's game. He recorded 18 points in 39 minutes. JSF Nanterre (11-14) is placed tenth in the ProA. It was his team's third consecutive victory in a row. This year Diarra averages: 8.2ppg, 3.0rpg and 1.6apg in the 11 games he played so far. He has a dual citizenship: Mali and French. Despite Diarra's Mali passport, he previously played for the French national team and is probably not eligible to play for the Mali team.

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MEXICO

Standings - CIBACOPA CIBACOPA Standings  1. Hermosillo 15-4   2. Guaymas 14-5   3. Tijuana 13-5   4. Nogales 12-7   5. Cananea 9-10   6. Los Mochis 8-11   7. Guasave 8-11   8. Culiacan 8-11   9. Navolato 6-13   10. Tepic 1-17  Regular Season: Round 18 Apr. 11: Navolato - Hermosillo 92-100 OT Apr. 11: Nogales - Culiacan 88-84 Apr. 11: Guasave - Guaymas 83-93 Apr. 11: Cananea - Tijuana 81-89 Apr. 11: Tepic - Los Mochis 75-87 Regular Season: Round 20 Apr. 14: Culiacan - Tijuana Apr. 14: Hermosillo - Nogales Apr. 14: Guaymas - Cananea Apr. 14: Los Mochis - Guasave Apr. 14: Tepic - Navolato

CIBACOPA Stats Leaders PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  O''Louis MCCULLOUGH   Nogales   (198-G/F-82)   Avg: 22.8  1. McCullough, Nogales 22.8   2. Robinson, Culiacan 22.1   3. Thomas, Cananea 20.7   4. Carter, Guasave 20.6   5. Selleaze, Navolato 20.3   6. Wiley, Los Mochis 19.8   7. Quintero, Tijuana 18.6   8. Gibson, Navolato 17.7   9. Sanders, Hermosillo 17.3   10. Habel, Guaymas 17.2  Rebounds Per Game  Markhuri SANDERS-FRISON   Nogales   (200-C-88)   Avg: 9.3  1. Sanders-F., Nogales 9.3   2. Selleaze, Navolato 8.8   3. Robinson, Culiacan 8.6   4. Lopez, Hermosillo 7.8   5. Zamora, Culiacan 7.6   6. Habel, Guaymas 7.2   7. Wiley, Los Mochis 7.1   8. McCullough, Nogales 7.0   9. Strobbe, Nogales 6.9   10. Little, Hermosillo 6.9  Assists Per Game  Tayloe TAYLOR   Los Mochis   (191-G-86)   Avg: 6.2  1. Taylor, Los Mochis 6.2   2. Nungaray, Guaymas 5.8   3. Monreal, Hermosillo 5.0   4. Pulido, Culiacan 3.6   5. McSwine, Navolato 3.3   6. Heredia, Nogales 3.2   7. Harris, Cananea 3.2   8. Quintero, Tijuana 3.1   9. McCullough, Nogales 3.1   10. Buelna, Guasave 3.1  Steals Per Game  Derek THOMAS   Cananea   (193-F-84)   Avg: 2  1. Thomas, Cananea 2.0   2. Gibson, Navolato 1.8   3. Buelna, Guasave 1.6   4. Carter, Guasave 1.5   5. Heredia, Nogales 1.4   6. Giron, Guasave 1.3   7. Pulido, Culiacan 1.3   8. Monreal, Hermosillo 1.2   9. Reatiga, Navolato 1.2   10. Robinson, Culiacan 1.1  Blocks Per Game  Sylvester SEAY   Tijuana   (208-F-85)   Avg: 1.8  1. Seay, Tijuana 1.8   2. Zamora, Culiacan 1.2   3. Habel, Guaymas 1.1   4. Robinson, Culiacan 1.0   5. Wiley, Los Mochis 1.0   6. Johnson, Guaymas 0.8   7. McCullough, Nogales 0.8   8. Clemmons, Cananea 0.7   9. Verdugo, Navolato 0.7   10. Tate, Tijuana 0.6

CIBACOPA Round 19: Rayos de Hermosillo keeps a leadership position - by Eurobasket News

CIBACOPA is at the halfway of the Regular Season and there are still another 19 rounds left.

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Rayos de Hermosillo as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Rayos de Hermosillo smashed 4th placed Fuerza Guinda Nogales at home 98-75. The game was mostly controlled by Rayos de Hermosillo. Fuerza Guinda Nogales managed to win second period 27-21. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. The former international forward Jesus Lopez (205-83, college: SW Baptist) fired a double-double by scoring 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. American forward Patrick Sanders (198-85, college: Cal-Irvine) chipped in 24 points (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Rayos de Hermosillo's coach Dan Tacheny felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American swingman O'Louis McCullough (198-82, college: Francis Marion) produced 19 points and 5 rebounds for lost side. Rayos de Hermosillo have a solid series of three victories in a row. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Fuerza Guinda Nogales at the other side keep the fourth place with seven games lost. Fuerza Guinda Nogales will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest in order to get back on the winning path. Rayos de Hermosillo will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked Fuerza Guinda Nogales at home.
Top ranked Ostioneros de Guaymas (14-5) recorded its fifth loss at the home court. Hosts were defeated by seventh ranked Mineros de Cananea (9-10) 93-79. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Ostioneros de Guaymas. The game was dominated by American players. Worth to mention a great performance of forward Derek Thomas (193-84, college: Appalachian St.) who helped to win the game recording 33 points (!!!) and 7 rebounds. Anthony Pettaway contributed with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. Mineros de Cananea's coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Forward Jerome Habel (208-85, college: San Diego St.) answered with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 12 rebounds for Ostioneros de Guaymas. Defending champion moved-up to fifth place. Ostioneros de Guaymas at the other side dropped to the second position with five games lost. Mineros de Cananea will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Ostioneros de Guaymas will play again at home against Mineros de Cananea and hope to get back on the winning track.
Sixth-ranked Caballeros de Culiacan (8-11) made lots of trouble for third ranked Tijuana Zonkeys (13-5) on Friday. The visitors from Tijuana managed to secure only one-point victory 92-91. However their fans expected easier game. It was a great evening for Cyrus Tate who led his team to a victory scoring 25 points and 7 rebounds. At the losing side Rob Robinson responded with 31 points and 8 rebounds. Caballeros de Culiacan's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Tijuana Zonkeys maintains third place with 13-5 record having just three points less than leader Hermosillo. Loser Caballeros de Culiacan keeps the sixth position with 11 games lost. They share it with Los Mochis and Guasave. Tijuana Zonkeys will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Caballeros de Culiacan will play again against Tijuana Zonkeys (#3) and hope to secure a win.
Coras de Tepic can celebrate finally their first win this season after 17 consecutive loses. They used home court advantage to defeat Garra Canera de Navolato (6-13) 92-84. It was an exceptional evening for Kavin Young who led the winners and scored 35 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 4 assists (made all of his thirteen free throws !!!). Garra Canera de Navolato's coach tested ten players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Coras de Tepic maintains tenth place with 1-17 record. It was Garra Canera de Navolato's eighth loss in a row. They keep the ninth position with 13 games lost. Coras de Tepic's next round opponent will be again higher ranked Garra Canera de Navolato (#9) at home and it will be quite challenging to get another victory.

In the last game of round 19 Guasave defeated Los Mochis in a road game 100-93.



Los Mochis - Guasave 93-100

There was a minor upset when 5th ranked Pioneros Los Mochis (8-11) were defeated at home by eighth ranked Frayles de Guasave (8-11) 100-93. Pioneros Los Mochis were ahead by 6 points after three quarters before a 32-19 charge of Frayles de Guasave, which allowed them to win the game. They made 22-of-29 charity shots (75.9 percent) during the game. It was an exceptional evening for American guard Russell Carter (196-85, college: Notre Dame) who led the winners and scored 33 points (!!!) and 6 rebounds. Naturalized Panamanian forward Gabriel Giron (192-88) accounted for 27 points and 10 rebounds for the winning side. American guard Tayloe Taylor (191-86, college: Livingstone) came up with a double-double by scoring 20 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists and the other American import forward Seth Scott (206-81, college: Portland St., agency: Court Side) added 25 points and 9 rebounds respectively for Pioneros Los Mochis in the defeat. Four Pioneros Los Mochis players scored in double figures. Frayles de Guasave moved-up to sixth place, which they share with Los Mochis and Culiacan. Frayles de Guasave will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Guasave: R.Carter 33+6reb+3ast, G.Giron 27+10reb+2ast, V.Buelna 16+8reb+5ast, C.Moore 9+5reb+2ast, A.Izaguirre 7+6reb+2ast, S.Spicer 6
Los Mochis: E.Cuen 26+2reb+4ast, S.Scott 25+9reb+1ast, T.Taylor 20+8reb+10ast, D.Pearson 10+12reb, J.Favela 7+4reb+5ast, M.Chavez 5+1reb+1ast

gschID: 171166

Tepic - Navolato 92-84

Coras de Tepic can celebrate finally their first win this season after 17 consecutive loses. They used home court advantage to defeat Garra Canera de Navolato (6-13) 92-84. The hosts were tied after three quarters but managed to speed up in last quarter eventually winning the game. Coras de Tepic made 23-of-26 charity shots (88.5 percent) during the game. Coras de Tepic outrebounded Garra Canera de Navolato 39-26 including 27 on the defensive glass. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 23 assists. It was an exceptional evening for Kavin Young who led the winners and scored 35 points (!!!), 8 rebounds and 4 assists (made all of his thirteen free throws !!!). American center Deangelo Riley (205, college: Azusa Pacific) accounted for 19 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 blocks for the winning side. Dominican-American guard Damien McSwine (193-78, college: Loyola, IL) came up with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists and American guard Matthew Gibson (196-84) added 19 points and 5 rebounds respectively for Garra Canera de Navolato in the defeat. Four Garra Canera de Navolato players scored in double figures. Garra Canera de Navolato's coach tested ten players, but that didn't help to avoid defeat in this game. Coras de Tepic maintains tenth place with 1-17 record. It was Garra Canera de Navolato's eighth loss in a row. They keep the ninth position with 13 games lost. Coras de Tepic's next round opponent will be again higher ranked Garra Canera de Navolato (#9) at home and it will be quite challenging to get another victory.
Top scorers:
Tepic: K.Young 35+8reb+4ast, R.Reese 23+5reb+2ast, D.Riley 19+13reb+8ast, C.Ledon 7+1reb, E.Swanson 6+5reb+7ast, J.Orduno 2
Navolato: M.Gibson 19+5reb+2ast, D.McSwine 18+7reb+5ast, R.Selleaze 17+3reb+2ast, F.Verdugo 13+5reb+3ast, J.Pablo Mora 6+4reb, J.Gutierrez 4+2reb

gschID: 171167

Hermosillo - Nogales 98-75

The game had a very big importance for second-ranked Rayos de Hermosillo as it allowed them to take a leadership position. Rayos de Hermosillo smashed 4th placed Fuerza Guinda Nogales at home 98-75. The game was mostly controlled by Rayos de Hermosillo. Fuerza Guinda Nogales managed to win second period 27-21. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. The former international forward Jesus Lopez (205-83, college: SW Baptist) fired a double-double by scoring 22 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. American forward Patrick Sanders (198-85, college: Cal-Irvine) chipped in 24 points (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field). Five Rayos de Hermosillo players scored in double figures. Rayos de Hermosillo's coach Dan Tacheny felt very confident that he used entire bench which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. American swingman O'Louis McCullough (198-82, college: Francis Marion) produced 19 points and 5 rebounds and the other American import guard Robert Jarvis (180-87, college: ORU) added 12 points respectively for lost side. Rayos de Hermosillo have a solid series of three victories in a row. As mentioned above they are alone now at the top position. Fuerza Guinda Nogales at the other side keep the fourth place with seven games lost. Fuerza Guinda Nogales will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest in order to get back on the winning path. Rayos de Hermosillo will try to continue on its current victory against fourth ranked Fuerza Guinda Nogales at home.
Top scorers:
Hermosillo: P.Sanders 24+2reb+1ast, J.Lopez 22+11reb+4ast, B.Hamilton 17+7reb+3ast, E.Little 13+11reb+2ast, S.Monreal 12+5reb+8ast, D.Palazuelos 3
Nogales: O.McCullough 19+5reb+1ast, R.Jarvis 12+4reb+2ast, B.Heredia 11+1reb+2ast, J.Mercado 11+5reb, M.Strobbe 9+5reb+2ast, M.Sanders-Frison 7+8reb+1ast

gschID: 171164

Guaymas - Cananea 79-93

Top ranked Ostioneros de Guaymas (14-5) recorded its fifth loss at the home court. Hosts were defeated by seventh ranked Mineros de Cananea (9-10) 93-79. It ended at the same time the three-game winning streak of Ostioneros de Guaymas. The game was mostly controlled by Mineros de Cananea. Ostioneros de Guaymas was better in fourth quarter 27-24. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. The game was dominated by American players. Worth to mention a great performance of forward Derek Thomas (193-84, college: Appalachian St.) who helped to win the game recording 33 points (!!!) and 7 rebounds. Center Anthony Pettaway (203-87, college: Defiance) contributed with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. Mineros de Cananea's coach allowed to play the deep bench players saving starting five for next games. Forward Jerome Habel (208-85, college: San Diego St.) answered with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 12 rebounds and guard Haakim Johnson (201-87, college: Pikeville) added 20 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists in the effort for Ostioneros de Guaymas. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Defending champion moved-up to fifth place. Ostioneros de Guaymas at the other side dropped to the second position with five games lost. Mineros de Cananea will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Ostioneros de Guaymas will play again at home against Mineros de Cananea and hope to get back on the winning track.
Top scorers:
Cananea: D.Thomas 33+7reb+1ast, A.Pettaway 21+8reb+5ast, F.Harris 17+2reb+5ast, J.Casillas 11+2reb, J.Arturo Farrera Chantiri 5+8reb+3ast, J.Verdugo 4+4reb+1ast
Guaymas: J.Habel 24+12reb+2ast, H.Johnson 20+9reb+5ast, J.Sanchez 15+1reb, M.Allen 11+3reb+7ast, F.Benitez 6+1reb+1ast, H.Carrillo 3+9reb+1ast

gschID: 171165

Culiacan - Tijuana 91-92

Sixth-ranked Caballeros de Culiacan (8-11) made lots of trouble for third ranked Tijuana Zonkeys (13-5) on Friday. The visitors from Tijuana managed to secure only one-point victory 92-91. However their fans expected easier game. The guests were tied at the half but managed to speed up in last two quarters eventually winning the game. Strangely Caballeros de Culiacan outrebounded Tijuana Zonkeys 36-24 including 26 on the defensive glass. It was a great evening for American power forward Cyrus Tate (203-85, college: Iowa, agency: Edge Sports) who led his team to a victory scoring 25 points and 7 rebounds. The former international point guard Omar Quintero (183-81, college: S.Nazarene) helped adding 19 points. Five Tijuana Zonkeys players scored in double figures. At the losing side American forward Rob Robinson (203-87, college: Robert Morris, agency: SDJ Sports) responded with 31 points and 8 rebounds and the former international center Victor Avila (210-77, college: Oklahoma) scored 15 points and 9 rebounds (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field). Caballeros de Culiacan's coach rotated ten players in this game, but that didn't help. Tijuana Zonkeys maintains third place with 13-5 record having just three points less than leader Hermosillo. Loser Caballeros de Culiacan keeps the sixth position with 11 games lost. They share it with Los Mochis and Guasave. Tijuana Zonkeys will have a break next round, and it should allow them to practice more before next game. Caballeros de Culiacan will play again against Tijuana Zonkeys (#3) and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Tijuana: C.Tate 25+7reb, O.Quintero 19+3reb+1ast, D.Hugee 17+2reb, A.Solares 11+5reb, M.Morrison 11+6reb+2ast, E.Medina 4+1reb+3ast
Culiacan: R.Robinson 31+8reb+2ast, V.Avila 15+9reb+1ast, R.Zamora 12+7reb+4ast, M.Henderson 8+4reb, R.Navarro 6+2reb, R.Lopez 5+1reb+1ast

gschID: 171163

Best players of Mexican CIBACOPA round 19 - by Eurobasket News

Kavin Young had an amazing evening in the last round for Tepic and that's him to receive a Latinbasket.com Player of the Week award for round 19.
The -year old had the game-high 35 points adding eight rebounds and four assists for Tepic in his team's victory, helping them to beat Navolato (#9, 6-13) 92-84. The game was not the highest importance and did not have significant influence on the top of the standings. Tepic maintains the 10th position in Mexican CIBACOPA. The season is in a full swing, so it's only a dream for the team to make it into top half of the standings. For contrary they may face relegation if the situation turns from bad to worse. Tepic have already lost 17 games and recorded just one victory. Young just recently signed at Tepic and it was his first game, where he immediately became new team's leader.

The second most remarkable performance in last round's games was 26-year old American forward Jerome Habel (208-F-85) of second-ranked Guaymas. Habel impressed basketball fans with a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds. Bad luck as Guaymas lost that game 79-93 to the lower-ranked Cananea (#5, 9-10). This loss caused Guaymas to drop to 2nd position in the standings. His team's 14-5 record is not bad at all. Habel is one of the most experienced players at Guaymas and has a reputation of one of team's most reliable players.

The third best performed player last round was former international forward Jesus Lopez (205-F-83) of top-ranked Hermosillo. Lopez showcased his all-around game by recording 22 points, eleven rebounds (!!!) and four assists in the last round. He was a key player of Hermosillo, leading his team to a 98-75 easy win against #4 ranked Nogales in a game of the week. Hermosillo confirms their top position in the standings. Their record at this point is 15 victories and 4 lost games. Lopez has a great season in Mexico. After 18 games, he made it on the list of the league's leaders in rebounds with 7.7rpg (4th best).

Other top performing players last week:
4. Tayloe Taylor (191-G-86) of Los Mochis - 20 points, 8 rebounds and 10 assists
5. Deangelo Riley (205-C) of Tepic - 19 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists
6. Russell Carter (196-G-85) of Guasave - 33 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists
7. Gabriel Giron (192-F-88) of Guasave - 27 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists
8. Eric Cuen (196-F) of Los Mochis - 26 points, 2 rebounds and 4 assists
9. Cyrus Tate (203-F/C-85) of Tijuana - 25 points and 7 rebounds
10. Derek Thomas (193-F-84) of Cananea - 33 points and 7 rebounds

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)


Anthony Pettaway is a newcomer at Mineros de Cananea - by Eurobasket Center

Mineros de Cananea strengthened their roster with addition of 25-year old American center Anthony Pettaway (203-C-113kg-87, college: Defiance). In his first game he scored 21 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and 5 assists helping his new team beat Guaymas 93-79. Pettaway played most recently at SC Rist Wedel (Germany). He played also pro basketball in Germany and USA. Pettaway graduated Defiance College in 2009 and it will be his third season in pro basketball.

By Eurobasket Data Center


Ostioneros de Guaymas adds Allen to their roster - by Eurobasket Center

Ostioneros de Guaymas added to their roster 33-year old American Myron Allen (182-PG-79, college: Lee JC). In his first game he scored 11 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and 7 assists. Despite his good performance his new team lost to Cananea 79-93. Allen played most recently at Melbourne Tigers (Australia). He is a very experienced player. Allen played also pro basketball in Australia, Bosnia, China, Israel and Philippines. He graduated Lee College in 2003 and it will be his nineth season in pro basketball.

By Eurobasket Data Center


Brian Hamilton is a newcomer at Rayos de Hermosillo - by Eurobasket Center

Rayos de Hermosillo added to their roster 30-year old American forward Brian Hamilton (198-F-95kg-82, college: La-Lafayette). In his first game he scored 17 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and 3 assists helping his new team beat Nogales 98-75. Hamilton played most recently at Sioux Falls Skyforce (D-League) in the U.S. He is a very experienced player. Hamilton graduated University Louisiana at Lafayette in 2005 and it will be his seventh season in pro basketball.

By Eurobasket Data Center

Earl Watson selected the top Mexican playing abroad in last week's games - by Eurobasket Center Traditionally, every week we bring you a list of the top performances of Mexicans who are currently playing abroad. Earl Watson    #1. This week's number one is an experienced former international point guard Earl Watson (185-79, agency: Priority Sports, college: UCLA). He managed to help Utah Jazz in a victory against the Golden State Warriors (21-36) 104-98 in the NBA in Friday night's game. Watson recorded only 1 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 24 minutes on the court. The Utah Jazz has 31-28 record this season. This year Watson averages: 3.0ppg, 2.4rpg, 4.3apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 40.7%, 3FGP: 19.2% and FT: 67.4% in the 50 games he played so far. He is a naturalized American. Watson played for the Mexican senior national team five years ago. Strangely he has never played in Mexico. Gustavo Ayon    #2. Second place goes to former international power forward Gustavo Ayon (209-85, college: San Jose St.). Ayon contributed to a New Orleans Hornets' victory against the Sacramento Kings (19-40) 105-96 in the NBA last Wednesday. He scored 5 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. The New Orleans Hornets have not so impressive 16-42 record this season. Ayon's overall stats this year are: 6.0ppg, 4.7rpg, 1.4apg, 2FGP: 54.4% and FT: 62.3%. He played for the Mexican national team in 2010. Mark Sanchez    #3. The Mexican player who performed third best last week abroad was former international forward Mark Sanchez (201-87, agency: Court Side, college: Boise St.). Sanchez led Leeuwarden to a victory over the league outsider Rotterdam (4-23) crushing them 85-61 in the Dutch Eredivisie on Monday night. He was MVP of the game. Sanchez had a double-double by scoring 19 points and getting 11 rebounds. He also added 4 assists and 3 steals in 25 minutes; quite an impressive performance considering it's only Sanchez's third season in pro basketball. Lasaulec Aris Leeuwarden (10-18) is placed sixth in the Eredivisie. The Regular Season already ended. Sanchez is currently second on the league's list of best rebounders with 8.9rpg. This year his other stats are: 13.4ppg, 2.0apg, 2FGP: 59.9%(121-202) and FT: 76.9% in the 28 games. Sanchez is a naturalized American. Despite he played previously for the USA national team, Sanchez played also for the Mexican national team in 2010. He used to play for Lobos Grises de la UAD Durango in Mexican league. Diego Gonzalez    #4. Point guard Diego Gonzalez (175-84), who plays in the Uruguayan LUB could not help Aguada (0-0) in their last game on Monday. Despite Gonzalez's very good performance the first-placed Aguada was defeated 80-66 on the road by the leading Hebraica in the Serie 2. He was the second best scorer with 17 points. Gonzalez also added 4 rebounds and dished 6 assists. Gonzalez is currently second on the list of best passers. His overall stats this season are: 9.7ppg, 3.0rpg, 5.9apg and 1.6spg. Gonzalez has a dual citizenship: Mexican and Uruguayan. Despite he played previously for the Uruguayan national team, Gonzalez is currently in the Mexican national team roster. Noe Alonzo    #5. Former international forward Noe Alonzo (200-83, college: Grand Canyon) helped Caciques win their game against the fourth-ranked Capitanes (10-9) 98-90 in the Puerto Rican BSN last Thursday. He recorded 17 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 22 minutes. Caciques de Humacao (5-14) is located at the very bottom in the BSN. But the situation may improve as they ended a series of three consecutive loses. Alonzo has relatively good stats this year: 10.5ppg, 2.6rpg and 1.1apg in the 10 games. Despite he played previously for the Uruguayan national team, Alonzo is currently in the Mexican national team roster. Adam Parada    #6. Center Adam Parada (213-81, college: Cal-Irvine), who plays in the Filipino PBA was not able to help Alaska Aces (5-4) in their last game on Sunday. Despite his very good performance Alaska Aces were crushed 106-85 in Quezon by the lower-ranked Barako Bull (#5). Parada was the top scorer with 18 points. He also added 7 rebounds and dished 5 assists. Parada is currently seventh on the list of top scorers and also on the list of best rebounders (sixth place). He has individually a very good season with high stats. Parada averages: 19.3ppg, 14.1rpg, 1.8apg and 2.0bpg. Despite he played previously for the Uruguayan national team, Parada is also an international player who is currently on the senior Mexican National Team roster. Romel Beck    #7. Former international swingman Romel Beck (203-82, agency: Interperformances, college: UNLV) helped Ikaros win their game against the league outsider Marousi (1-23) crushing them 104-79 in the Greek A1 in Wednesday night's game. He scored only 3 points and added 5 passes in 12 minutes. Ikaros Kallitheas (8-16) is placed tenth in the A1. It was his team's third consecutive victory in a row. The Regular Season already ended. It's Beck's first season with the team. Beck is currently sixth on the list of top scorers with 14.8ppg. He also averaged so far 2.3rpg and 1.8apg in the 16 games. Beck is a naturalized American. He used to play for the Mexican national team three years ago. Beck played also for Correcaminos Victoria in Mexican league. Geoffrey Renon    #8. Center Geoffrey Renon (208-91) was not able to secure a victory for Vendee Challans (14-16) in their game against Etendard de Brest (16-14) in the French NM1 (third division). He cannot count Saturday's game as one of the best ones. Renon scored only 1 points. Vendee Challans was defeated 90-76 in Brest by the higher-ranked Etendard de (#9). It was Vendee Challans' fourth consecutive loss in a row. There are only four games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game will be critical. Renon's overall stats this season are: 3.8ppg and 2.3rpg. He used to play for the Mexican national team back in 2009. Other top Mexican players, who play abroad: Eduardo Najera (202-F-76) plays for Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA Roman Martinez (201-F-88) plays for Gran Canaria 2014 in Spanish ACB Paul Stoll (178-PG-85) plays for Gigantes in Venezuelan LPB Elijah Flores (G) plays for Houston Express in the UBA Enrico Tucker (183-PG-86) plays for Perla Harghitei in Romanian Div.A Michal Honzak (182-PG-94) plays for BK Kondori Liberec in Czech Republic 1Liga Jesus Guerrero plays for Leeds Carnegie in British EBL Notice: The list above includes only some of the Mexican playing currently abroad. Go to Mexican Abroad Page to see completed list.

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MONTENEGRO

Standings - 1A 1A Standings S-League  1. Buducnost 5-1   2. Mornar Bar 5-1   3. Sutjeska 4-2   4. Lovcen 2-4   5. Ulcinj 1-5   6. Teodo Tivat 1-5  Play-Out  1. KK Podgorica 5-1   2. Jedinstvo 4-2   3. ABS Primorje 4-2   4. Danilovgrad 3-3   5. Centar BP 2-4   6. Mogren 0-6  Erste Basketball League Standings Second Stage: Round 6 Play-Out Apr. 11: Danilovgrad - ABS Primorje 77-99 Apr. 11: Centar BP - Jedinstvo 72-79 Apr. 11: Mogren - KK Podgorica 0-20 S-League Apr. 11: Sutjeska - Mornar Bar 78-89 Apr. 13: Teodo Tivat - Lovcen 69-65 Apr. 11: Ulcinj - Buducnost 60-102 Second Stage: Round 7 Play-Out Apr. 16: Danilovgrad - Mogren Apr. 16: ABS Primorje - Centar BP Apr. 16: Jedinstvo - KK Podgorica S-League Apr. 16: Teodo Tivat - Ulcinj Apr. 16: Lovcen - Sutjeska Apr. 16: Mornar Bar - Buducnost

Nikola Vucevic's double-double lands him Player of the Week award among Montenegrins playing currently abroad - by Eurobasket Center We bring you last week's top performances from Montenegrins who are playing abroad and who all have had prior experience of national team duties at youth or senior level. Nikola Vucevic    #1. This week's number one is an international forward Nikola Vucevic (208-90, college: USC), who plays in the NBA. He could not help the Philadelphia 76ers (31-26) in their last game. Despite Vucevic's good performance the Philadelphia 76ers were crushed 103-79 on the road by the Boston Celtics. He had a double-double by scoring 14 points and getting 13 rebounds. Vucevic also added 2 blocks in 29 minutes on the court; quite an impressive performance considering it's only his third season in pro basketball. It's Vucevic's first year with the team. This season Vucevic averages: 6.0ppg, 4.8rpg, 2FGP: 47.4%, 3FGP: 37.5% and FT: 56.7% in the 44 games he played so far. He is currently a member of the Montenegrin senior national team. Nikola Pekovic    #2. Second place goes to an international center Nikola Pekovic (210-86, agency: Beo Basket), who plays in the NBA. Pekovic was not able to help the Minnesota Timberwolves (26-34) in their last game on Thursday. Despite his very good performance the Minnesota Timberwolves were defeated 95-82 in Los Angeles by the Clippers. Pekovic was the top scorer with 17 points. He also added 6 rebounds. It's Pekovic's first season with the team. Pekovic has individually a very good year with high stats. He averages: 13.4ppg, 6.9rpg, 2FGP: 57.3%(216-377) and FT: 77.3%. Pekovic is in the roster of the Montenegrin senior national team. Nikola Mirotic    #3. The Montenegrin player who performed third best last week abroad was an international power forward Nikola Mirotic (207-91), who plays in the Spanish ACB. He was not able to secure a victory for Real Madrid (21-7) in their last game. Despite Mirotic's good performance Real Madrid was edged 67-66 in Vitoria by the lower-ranked (#3) Caja Laboral. He was the second best scorer with 11 points. Mirotic also added 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 27 minutes. This year Mirotic's overall stats are: 8.9ppg, 4.5rpg, 2FGP: 53.5%, 3FGP: 37.1% in the 28 games. He has a dual citizenship: Montenegrin and Spanish. Despite Mirotic played previously for the Spanish U20 national team, he is currently a member of the Montenegrin senior national team. Boris Bakic    #4. Guard Boris Bakic (194-86, also represented by Beo Basket) led Radnicki Kragujevac to a victory over the seventh-ranked Hemofarm (1-5) 91-80 in the Serbian A League in Wednesday night's game. Bakic was MVP of the game. He scored 27 points (!!!) and added 3 passes. Radnicki Kragujevac (4-2) is placed second in SuperLiga group. Bakic's total stats this season are: 9.8ppg, 2.7rpg, 1.3apg and 1.3spg. Despite he played previously for the Spanish national team, Bakic is currently in the Montenegrin national team roster. Bojan Subotic    #5. International power forward Bojan Subotic (206-90) was the main contributor in Zvezda's victory against the sixth-ranked Radnicki Basket (3-3) crushing them 89-65 in a derby game in the Serbian A League last Thursday. He was the best player in that game. Subotic scored 16 points in a mere 19 minutes. Crvena Zvezda Beograd (0-0) is placed first in SuperLiga group. This year Subotic's total stats are: 6.3ppg and 1.8rpg in the four games. Despite he played previously for the Spanish national team, Subotic is currently in the Montenegrin national team roster. Milko Bjelica    #6. Center Milko Bjelica (207-84, another player represented by Beo Basket) faced previously mentioned Nikola Mirotic in the Spanish ACB last game. Bjelica contributed to a 1-point Caja Laboral's victory against the closely-ranked Real Madrid (21-7) 67-66. He recorded 8 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Bjelica has averaged so far 7.8ppg and 3.4rpg. Despite he played previously for the Serbian national team, Bjelica is also an international player who is currently on the senior Montenegrin National Team roster. Vladimir Dragicevic    #7. International power forward Vladimir Dragicevic (206-86) contributed to an easy victory against the closely-ranked Krasnie Krilya (7-9) crushing them 86-63 in the Russian PBL in Thursday night's game. He recorded 12 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in a mere 18 minutes. Spartak St.Petersburg (8-9) is placed fifth in the PBL. There are only two games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game will be critical. Dragicevic has averaged so far 7.8ppg and 3.2rpg in the 17 games. Despite he played previously for the Serbian national team, Dragicevic is currently in the Montenegrin national team roster. Goran Martinic    #8. Point guard Goran Martinic (184-87, agency: BeoExcell) was the major contributor in a CSM Bucuresti's victory against the second-ranked Timisoara (21-7) 97-84 in the Romanian Division A last Wednesday. He recorded 23 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals. CS Municipal Bucuresti (19-9) is placed seventh in the Division A. It was his team's fourth consecutive victory in a row. Martinic is one of the most experienced players in a team as it's his fifth year in CSM Bucuresti's roster. Martinic is currently third on the list of top scorers. This season he has very high stats. Martinic averages: 23.1ppg, 3.1rpg, 5.2apg and 1.6spg. Despite he played previously for the Serbian national team, Martinic is currently in the Montenegrin U21 national team roster. Sasha Pavlovic    #9. Former international swingman Sasha Pavlovic (200-83) faced previously mentioned Nikola Vucevic in the NBA last game. Pavlovic contributed to an easy victory against the Philadelphia 76ers (31-26) crushing them 103-79. He scored 6 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in 20 minutes. Pavlovic has averaged so far 2.5ppg and 1.3rpg in the 37 games. Despite he played previously for the Serbian national team, Pavlovic is currently in the Montenegrin national team roster. Omar-Sharif Cook    #10. Point guard Omar-Sharif Cook (186-82, another player represented by Beo Basket, college: St.John's) contributed to a Armani Milano's victory against the 11th-ranked Fabi Shoes Montegranaro (11-15) 98-92 in the Italian SerieA in Monday night's game. He recorded 7 points and added 7 passes. EA7 Emporio Armani Milano (16-10) is placed fourth in the SerieA. Cook is currently fourth on the league's list of best passers. He has averaged so far 7.8ppg, 3.1rpg, 5.0apg and 1.4spg. Cook is a naturalized American. Despite he played previously for the USA national team, Cook is also an international player who is currently on the senior Montenegrin National Team roster. Strangely he has never played in Montenegro.    #11. International center Mensud Julevic (200-85), who plays in the Slovenian Telemach League couldn't help Elektra (2-4) in their last game. Despite Julevic's very good performance the fifth-placed Elektra lost 68-72 in Ljubljana to the leading Union Olimpija in the Championship Group. He was the top scorer with 19 points. Julevic also added 7 rebounds in 38 minutes. He has relatively good stats this year: 13.0ppg, 5.0rpg and 1.3apg in the 23 games. Despite Julevic played previously for the Slovenian U21 national team, he is currently in the Montenegrin national team roster.    #12. International swingman Suad Sehovic (197-87) couldn't help Budivelnyk in their game against BC Kyiv in the Ukrainian Superleague. Sehovic scored 9 points and grabbed 5 rebounds (went 7 for 7 at the free throw line). His team was defeated 80-65. This season he has relatively solid stats: 10.1ppg, 5.6rpg and 1.2spg. Despite Sehovic played previously for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, he is currently in the Montenegrin national team roster.    #13. International guard Goran Jeretin (192-79, another player represented by Beo Basket) faced previously mentioned Mensud Julevic in the Slovenian Telemach League last game. Jeretin managed to help Union Olimpija Ljubljana in a victory against the fifth-ranked Elektra 72-68. He scored only 4 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 10 minutes. Jeretin has averaged so far 2.5ppg, 1.7rpg and 3.0apg in the six games. He is also Montenegrin national team player.    #14. International guard Bojan Bakic (197-83), who plays in the Serbian A League couldn't help Hemofarm (0-0) in their last game on Sunday. Despite Bakic's very good performance Hemofarm (#2) was crushed 91-64 in Beograd by the lower-ranked BKK Radnicki (#5) in the SuperLiga group. He was the top scorer with 21 points. Bakic also added made 3 passes and 3 steals. He has reliable stats this season: 13.2ppg, 2.2rpg, 3.0apg and 1.2spg. Despite Bakic played previously for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, he is currently in the Montenegrin national team roster.    #15. Former international forward Ivan Ivanovic (206-80) helped Gaz Metan win their game against the eighth-ranked Rovinari 86-71 in the Romanian Division A on Thursday night. Ivanovic scored 12 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished 3 assists in 33 minutes. His stats this year are: 14.1ppg, 6.0rpg and 2.5apg in the 28 games. Despite Ivanovic played previously for the Serbian national team, he is currently in the Montenegrin national team roster.

The Superleague Round 6 Closing Match: Teodo got the first win and lost the play-offs qualification battle - by Darko Pekic

Teodo's players found themselves in an awkward situation after the game tonight. They got the first win in the Superleague after they defeated Lovcen at home (69-65) but it was not enough to keep the play-offs qualification dreams alive. Lovcen was more successful in the first Superleague clash between two sides that was played on March 24 in Cetinje (80-69) so the small but ambitious club from Tivat had to reach the 12 points advantage in order to keep the hopes alive. They did not make it and the rest of the championship will be a chance for younger players to convince the coaching staff to give them more space next year.

The Podgorica born big man Aleksandar Radulovic (207-C-84) had a solid game under the basket. He scored 21 points and ld his team in scoring. On the other side Milos Lopicic (216-C-90) played another good game and scored 21 points to help the guest in their fight for the fourth place and the chance to face Buducnost in the Semifinals.

The Round 7 games will be played on Monday, after the Ortodox Easter. Here are the scheduled games:

Lovcen - Sutjeska,
Mornar - Buducnost
Teodo - Ulcinj


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MOROCCO

Theme Alert - by Christopher Rodgers


Assalamu Alaykum, Hello world,

Quarterfinal round is over. Our team defeated Tanger twice. Saturday in Tanger and then yesterday in casablanca. It was great win especially on saturday to be able to go into hostile enviroment and beat them on their own court. Game was close from start to finish. Theme alert! Once again i was able to hit shots and make key defensive stops down the stretch of the game. We won by three points 70-73 which brings our winning streak to 4games. Trust me win i say im not getting too bigheaded or ahead of myself just because were on a role. Are semifinal game will be the biggest test for us in the cup championship tournament. We host Sal this saturday. They are still top team in the league. Don't think for a sec that they don't know how big this game is for them as well. They are going to try and sweep us. We have not won against them at all this year. So i know forsure we got trouble heading our way. Last time around we gave them a good fight but we had the wrong defensive strategies and bad offensive execution down the stretch. Resulting in them beating us at our place for the second time in a row. This time around hoping things will turn out differently inchalah. If we can rebound, play the right defense against them (man to man) and execute in the fourth quarter, I think we can get pay back.

I'll keep it short today and follow up soon inchalah with an update after the match this weekend.
Intil than take care everyone!

peace


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NBA

Standings NBA Standings Eastern Conference Atlantic Div.  1. Boston C. 34-25   2. Philadelph.76 31-27   3. New York K. 31-28   4. New Jersey N. 22-38   5. Toronto R. 21-39  Central Div.  1. Chicago B. 45-14   2. Indiana P. 37-22   3. Milwaukee B. 28-30   4. Detroit P. 22-37   5. Cleveland C. 19-38  Southeast Div.  1. Miami Heat 41-17   2. Atlanta H. 34-24   3. Orlando M. 33-25   4. Washington W. 14-45   5. Charlotte B. 7-50  Western Conference Northwest Div.  1. Oklah.City T. 43-16   2. Denver N. 32-26   3. Utah Jazz 31-29   4. Portland TB 27-32   5. Minnesota T. 26-34  Pacific Div.  1. LA Lakers 38-22   2. LA Clippers 36-23   3. Phoenix Suns 31-28   4. Golde State W. 21-36   5. Sacramento K. 19-41  Southwest Div.  1. San Antonio S. 41-16   2. Memphis G. 34-24   3. Dallas M. 34-26   4. Houston R. 32-27   5. N.Orleans H. 17-42  Regular Season: Round 107 Apr. 13: Detroit P. - Milwaukee B. 97-113 Apr. 13: N.Orleans H. - Utah Jazz 96-85 Apr. 13: Portland TB - Dallas M. 94-97 Apr. 13: Philadelph.76 - New Jersey N. 89-95 Apr. 13: Toronto R. - Boston C. 84-79 Apr. 13: Orlando M. - Atlanta H. 81-109 Apr. 13: Oklah.City T. - Sacramento K. 115-89 Apr. 13: Miami Heat - Charlotte B. 105-82 Apr. 13: Houston R. - Phoenix Suns 105-112 Apr. 13: LA Lakers - Denver N. 103-97 Apr. 13: New York K. - Washington W. 103-65 Apr. 13: Indiana P. - Cleveland C. 102-83 Regular Season: Round 108 Apr. 14: LA Clippers - Golde State W. Apr. 14: New Jersey N. - Boston C. Apr. 14: Memphis G. - Utah Jazz Apr. 14: San Antonio S. - Phoenix Suns Apr. 14: Washington W. - Cleveland C. Apr. 14: Minnesota T. - Oklah.City T. Apr. 14: Milwaukee B. - Indiana P.

Stats Leaders PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Kobe BRYANT   LA Lakers   (198-G-78)   Avg: 28.1  1. Bryant, LA Lakers 28.1   2. Durant, Oklah.Ci. 27.6   3. James, Miami Heat 26.8   4. Love, Minnesota T. 26.0   5. Westbrook, Oklah.. 24.1   6. Wade, Miami Heat 22.5   7. Rose, Chicago B. 22.4   8. Ellis, Golde S. 21.9   9. Anthony, New Y. 21.8   10. Aldridge, Portlan. 21.7  Rebounds Per Game  Dwight HOWARD   Orlando M.   (211-C-85)   Avg: 14.5  1. Howard, Orlando M. 14.5   2. Love, Minnesota T. 13.4   3. Bynum, LA Lakers 12.1   4. Cousins, Sacramen. 11.1   5. Humphries, New J. 11.0   6. Griffin, LA Clipp. 10.9   7. Gasol, LA Lakers 10.5   8. Chandler, New Y. 10.1   9. Gortat, Phoenix 9.9   10. Monroe, Detroit P. 9.7  Assists Per Game  Rajon RONDO   Boston C.   (185-PG-86)   Avg: 11.4  1. Rondo, Boston C. 11.4   2. Nash, Phoenix Suns 11.1   3. Paul, LA Clippers 8.9   4. Calderon, Toron. 8.8   5. Williams, New J. 8.6   6. Rubio, Minnesot. 8.2   7. Rose, Chicago B. 7.9   8. Wall, Washington W. 7.7   9. Parker, San A. 7.7   10. Lowry, Houston R. 7.0  Steals Per Game  Chris PAUL   LA Clippers   (183-PG-85)   Avg: 2.4  1. Paul, LA Clippers 2.4   2. Conley, Memphis G. 2.3   3. Rubio, Minnesot. 2.2   4. James, Miami Heat 1.9   5. Shumpert, New Y. 1.8   6. Kidd, Dallas M. 1.8   7. Iguodala, Philadel. 1.8   8. Rondo, Boston C. 1.8   9. Millsap, Utah Jazz 1.8   10. Ariza, N.Orleans 1.7  Blocks Per Game  Serge IBAKA   Oklah.Ci.   (208-C/F-89)   Avg: 3.6  1. Ibaka, Oklah.Ci. 3.6   2. McGee, Washingt. 2.5   3. Howard, Orlando M. 2.1   4. Jordan, LA Clippers 2.1   5. Bynum, LA Lakers 2.0   6. Hibbert, Indiana P. 2.0   7. Gasol, Memphis G. 1.9   8. Smith, Atlanta H. 1.8   9. Dalembert, Houst. 1.7   10. Kaman, N.Orlean. 1.7

Exciting Friday: 12 games - by Eurobasket News

N.Orleans H. - Utah Jazz 96-85
Eric Gordon (6'4''-G-88, college: Indiana) crouched near the 3-point line, dribbling between his legs, again and again, all but lulling Utah's Gordon Hayward (6'9''-G/F-90, agency: Priority Sports, college: Butler) into a trance. The moment Hayward appeared sufficiently mesmerized, Gordon stepped back and made a 23-foot jumper, punctuating a game-changing performance against a Jazz squad that needed to win a lot worse than the Hornets did. Gordon scored 10 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, and New Orleans won its first game under prospective new owner Tom Benson, 96-85 over Utah on Friday night. 'I just love those situations in the fourth quarter,' Gordon said. 'The second half is the toughest part of the game. ... We play hard defensively and keep the game close and I try to take over those games when it's late in the fourth quarter.' Chris Kaman added 19 points as the Hornets won for the third time in four games while delivering a critical loss to the Jazz, who entered the night 1 1/2 games out of the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot. Hours earlier, Benson, the longtime owner of the NFL's Saints, agreed to buy the Hornets from the NBA, virtually assuring the club's long-term presence in New Orleans. Then Gordon returned from a two-game absence caused by back soreness and delivered a crowd-pleasing performance as the Hornets won their second straight. 'We want to give our fans something to be excited about going into the summer,' Hornets coach Monty Williams said. Paul Millsap scored 27 points for Utah, while Al Jefferson had 19. Derrick Favors added 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz. Greivis Vasquez and Al-Farouq Aminu each scored 11 points for the Hornets, who shot 55 percent (38 of 69). Utah shot 45.2 percent (33 of 73) and went only 2 of 11 from 3-point range, but still led 82-81 after Jamaal Tinsley's floater in the lane in the middle of the fourth quarter. New Orleans then stormed ahead for good when Jason Smith's jumper started a 13-0 run. Soon after, Gordon took over -- by design -- as the Hornets drew as many defenders away from Gordon as they could to set him up in isolation with his primary defender. 'Coach said, 'Get away. Go flat.' We were just like, 'OK.' He's that pivotal player where you can give it to him and [Williams] doesn't need a play run for him,' Smith said. 'That's a rarity in this league. A lot of guys say they go 1-on-1, but he can truly go 1-on-1.' Gordon scored the last seven points of the run on a driving layup through a crowd, a 3-pointer and his step-back jumper over Hayward. 'We just couldn't stop Eric tonight,' Hayward said. 'We made him take some difficult shots and he was able to knock them down. He's a tough player to guard.' The run gave New Orleans a 94-82 lead with 2:18 to go, and Utah could not recover. 'We had opportunities to win the ball game and get out of here,' Jazz coach Ty Corbin said. 'We told them at halftime, 'You can't let this team hang around.' They get close at the end and they have guys that are capable of making shots, and that's what happened.' The Hornets led most of the third quarter, when Kaman scored 10 of his points on an array of layups and jump shots as deep as 14 feet. But the gap remained single digits and Utah briefly tied it at 68 on Millsap's fast-break layup. The Hornets scored the next five points on Vasquez's jumper and Landry's three-point play, then Favors threw down a driving dunk to trim New Orleans' lead to 73-70 heading into the final period. Neither team led by more than seven points in a first half that included nine lead changes and nine ties. Millsap had 14 points in the first quarter. Gordon, returning after a two-game absence because of back soreness, scored 11 in the first half, which ended in a 47-all tie. *Courtesy of www.cbssports.com

Portland TB - Dallas M. 94-97
Dirk Nowitzki (7'0''-F-78) had 24 points and nine rebounds, Delonte West added 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Portland Trail Blazers 97-94 on Friday night. Shawn Marion had 17 points and 14 rebounds for defending champion Dallas, which has a 1 1/2-game lead over Denver and Houston for the sixth playoff spot in the Western Conference. Brandan Wright added 13 points and eight rebounds. Nicolas Batum had 20 to lead the Blazers, Jamal Crawford scored 18 and Wesley Matthews had 15 points and seven rebounds. The Mavericks jumped out to an early lead and held Portland at a comfortable distance for 3 1/2 quarters. Dallas was up by 24 points in the third and 16 points with less than four minutes to go in the game. However, Portland put together a 19-5 run to pull to 93-89 with less than a minute remaining. Nowitzki then knocked in two free throws and Wright finished a fast break with a dunk to put the game away. Matthews made a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer. Coming off a win at Golden State on Thursday night, the Mavericks have won the first two on their four-game road trip. With the playoffs approaching, Dallas' 39-year-old point guard Jason Kidd was inactive for the game to give him a rest. Portland's playoff hopes have all but evaporated after the team announced on Thursday that All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge would need arthroscopic surgery on his hip and would be shut down for the rest of the season. Aldridge was eighth in the league in scoring at 21.7 points per game. J.J. Hickson started in place of Aldridge for the second straight game and had 13 points and 10 rebounds, his third double-double in three games. Dallas jumped out to a 9-0 lead and held a 30-16 advantage after the first quarter. West scored to make it 38-18 early in the second. Batum scored 10 points in short order, keying a 21-7 Portland run to cut the lead to 45-39, but the Mavericks closed out the half with their own 11-2 run. Dallas opened up the third on another run and eventually led 79-55. *Courtesy of www.foxnews.com

Indiana P. - Cleveland C. 102-83
Danny Granger (6'8''-F-83, agency: Priority Sports, college: N.Mexico) scored 18 points to help the Indiana Pacers defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-83 on Friday night and clinch a playoff berth. Tyler Hansbrough scored 16 points, George Hill had 15 and seven assists, Leandro Barbosa scored 13 points and Roy Hibbert added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacers, who have won seven of eight. The Pacers have won all three games Hill has started at point guard while Darren Collison has recovered from a sore groin. Indiana (37-22) matched its win total from last season. The Pacers are in third place in the Eastern Conference standings. Omri Casspi matched a season high with 14 points and Samardo Samuels had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Cleveland shot just 35 percent from the field. The Pacers, best known for their defense, scored more than 100 points for the eighth time in nine games. Indiana won the season series 3-1. Indiana trailed 36-23 in the second quarter, but Hill scored five points during a 9-0 run to tighten the game. Cleveland led 43-41 at halftime. A basket by Hibbert tied the game at 43 less than a minute into the third quarter, and a basket by David West gave Indiana a 45-43 lead. A dunk by Granger gave Indiana a 53-45 lead. Cleveland made just 1 of its first 11 shots in the second half before calling a timeout. It didn't help. A dunk by Dahntay Jones increased Indiana's lead to 66-50, and the Pacers led 75-56 at the end of the quarter. Indiana outscored Cleveland 34-13 in the period as the Cavaliers shot 3 for 18. *Courtesy of www.boston.com

Miami Heat - Charlotte B. 105-82
The Miami Heat don't get discouraged when they don't have Dwyane Wade in the lineup. They know they can win without him. LeBron James (6'8''-F-84) had 19 points and nine rebounds to lead the short-handed Heat to a 105-82 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night. 'It's business as usual,' forward Chris Bosh said of the star guard's absence. He's only slightly exaggerating as Miami improved to 11-1 in Wade's absence. He is expected back for Sunday's game at New York. Bosh had 18 points and seven rebounds as the Heat completed a three-game season-series sweep of Charlotte. Miami led by 22 after three quarters and rested James, who also had five assists, the entire final period. Miami bounced back after a disappointing 96-86 overtime loss at Chicago on Thursday night that likely ended the Heat's hopes of getting the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. 'It was important for us to get better tonight and get a win,' James said. Derrick Brown had 21 points and nine rebounds to lead Charlotte, which lost its 15th straight. The Bobcats trailed 33-19 after the first quarter and got no closer than 15 points in the second half. Miami was also without starting forward Udonis Haslem (stomach virus) and reserve forward Mike Miller (ankle). The absences from forced Miami to have its third different starting lineup in three games. Swingman James Jones (six points on 2-for-7 shooting) started for Wade, and center Joel Anthony replaced Haslem, who got his first start a night earlier at Chicago in place of Ronny Turiaf. However, the injuries didn't ease Charlotte coach Paul Silas one bit. 'If Wade, Bosh, and LeBron were out then I'd be smiling,' he said before the game. The Bobcats were also short-handed, starting the game with just 10 players in uniform. Among the missing were forward Tyrus Thomas (right knee contusion), center DeSagana Diop (left Achilles), forward Corey Maggette (right Achilles), and forward Eduardo Najera (frontal bone fracture). Then, forward D.J. White was hit in the head in the second quarter and the resulting headache meant he didn't play in the second half. 'I think we played hard,' Brown said. 'We're short-handed right now. This team just keeps on playing through adversity. Obviously, it's bad but we need to continue to play as hard as we can to get ready for the future.' The Bobcats, a league-worst 7-51, are in danger of not reaching double-digit victories in this lockout-shortened 66-game season. Charlotte needs three victories in the final eight games. Miami made quick work of the Bobcats. The Heat took a 58-39 halftime lead by shooting 58.5 percent from the field and holding Charlotte to 38.5 percent. Charlotte didn't offer much resistance. Brown had a good night, guard Gerald Henderson chipped in with 14 points, and rookie center Bismack Biyombo had 10 points, eight rebounds and rookie guard Kemba Walker added 11 points. The Heat reserves, outscored 47-7 by their Chicago counterparts a night earlier, finished with 44 points and 17 rebounds against the Bobcats. Center Dexter Pittman had a career-best 16 points. *Courtesy of www.chron.com

Detroit P. - Milwaukee B. 97-113
Drew Gooden (6'10''-F-81, college: Kansas) scored 26 points, and the Milwaukee Bucks pulled away from the Detroit Pistons in the third quarter for a much-needed 113-97 win Friday night. Milwaukee is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, trailing the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers by two games in the race for the playoffs. The Bucks led 52-47 after two quarters but pushed the lead to double digits early in the second half and eventually led by 20. The Pistons fought back to get within 12 after three, but Milwaukee maintained a comfortable advantage throughout the final quarter. Brandon Jennings had 20 points and 10 assists for Milwaukee, which had all five starters score in double figures. Brandon Knight scored 25 points for the Pistons, and Ben Gordon added 24. After two straight losses, including a crucial one at home to the Knicks on Wednesday, Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said matter-of-factly before Friday's game that the Bucks needed to win out. His team got off to a nice start, hounding the Pistons with pressure defense and taking control well before the fourth quarter. Milwaukee has seven games remaining, including one against the 76ers. The Pistons led 16-11 early, but the Bucks seemed to get a hand on every Detroit pass for a brief stretch. Carlos Delfino stole the ball and dunked at the other end to put Milwaukee up 17-16. Moments later, Gooden added a steal of his own that led to a dunk by Monta Ellis. The Pistons turned the ball over six times in the first quarter, but they managed to stay in the game until the third. Gooden's shot from the perimeter gave the Bucks a 61-51 lead, and Ersan Ilyasova added a 3-pointer to make it 72-56. It was 83-63 after a 3-pointer by Mike Dunleavy. Detroit then went on an 8-0 run, but that was the only major push from the Pistons. Ellis scored 18 points and Delfino had 16. Ilyasova contributed 14. Milwaukee had 36 assists and only eight turnovers. Gooden had eight assists and Ellis added seven. Greg Monroe had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons. *Courtesy of www.newsobserver.com

LA Lakers - Denver N. 103-97
Andrew Bynum (7'0''-C-87, agency: David Lee services) had 30 points and eight rebounds, Matt Barnes added a season-high 24 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers clinched a playoff berth without Kobe Bryant or coach Mike Brown, holding off the Denver Nuggets 103-97 Friday night. Pau Gasol had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Pacific Division-leading Lakers (38-22), who have won three of four without Bryant. The NBA scoring leader is resting his bruised shin. Los Angeles also played without Brown, who left Staples Center shortly before tipoff for undisclosed personal reasons. Assistant coach John Kuester ran the team. Barnes played an enormous game in a reserve role while matching his highest-scoring performance in two seasons with the Lakers. He scored six consecutive points after Denver trimmed Los Angeles' lead to one point, hitting a 3-pointer and adding a clutch jumper with 1:29 to play. Andre Miller scored 20 points and Al Harrington added 18 for the Nuggets, who had won five of seven. Arron Afflalo also had 18 for Denver, which is hanging on to a playoff spot. Los Angeles led for all but the opening minutes, going up 87-75 with 9:25 left. Denver trimmed the lead to one point with a 15-4 run capped by Harrington's 3-pointer with 3:38 left, but Barnes hit a clutch 3-pointer and added a free throw and a jumper before throwing a phenomenal half-court alley-oop to Bynum in the final minute. Despite committing 23 turnovers, the Lakers took three of four from Denver to win the season series after the Nuggets took it in each of the past two years. With six games left, Los Angeles is 1 games ahead of the Clippers for the division lead and the No. 3 playoff seed. Kuester filled in when Brown left Staples Center after his regular media briefing about 75 minutes before game time. Bryant also moved up next to the assistant coaches, yelling out advice and strategy. Bryant is no longer wearing a protective boot. The fifth-leading scorer in NBA history is walking without pain, but must run and jump without pain before he'll return. Bryant has built a career on playing through any amount of pain, but with the Lakers comfortably in the playoff picture, he apparently feels he can take a brief rest from the compacted regular season. Brown wouldn't speculate on how long Bryant will sit, saying they'll re-evaluate his injury before Sunday's game against the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. Bryant hadn't missed a game all season before his current week off, and he has missed just 99 games in his 16 NBA seasons. He is closing in on his third scoring title with 28.1 points per game, slightly ahead of Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, who won the last two scoring crowns. The Lakers started well without Bryant, picking up from their emphatic road win over San Antonio by jumping to a 14-point lead in the first quarter. Barnes scored 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the first half, including a rainbow jumper at the buzzer. Denver kept it close with relentless attention to Bynum, who had 30 rebounds against the Spurs. *Courtesy of www.ktvn.com

Philadelph.76 - New Jersey N. 89-95
Gerald Green (6'8''-G/F-86) scored 23 points, and Kris Humphries had 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead the New Jersey Nets to a 95-89 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night. Deron Williams had 11 points and 10 assists, MarShon Brooks scored 22 points and Jordan Williams had 13. New Jersey's 13 road wins are four more than they have at home. Jrue Holiday led the Sixers with 19 points, Evan Turner had 18 and Thaddeus Young 13. The Sixers snapped a two-game winning streak and suffered a big blow in their push up the Eastern Conference standings. They started the game clinging to seventh place and play six of their final seven games on the road. This was a game they could not afford to lose. The Sixers, who started 20-9, have not won three straight games since March 7-11. *Courtesy of www.cbsnews.com

New York K. - Washington W. 103-65
Baron Davis (6'3''-PG-79, college: UCLA) scored a season-high 18 points on his 33rd birthday, JR Smith had 23, and the New York Knicks surged into a tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference by routing the Washington Wizards 103-65 on Friday night. Carmelo Anthony and Steve Novak also had 18 for the Knicks, who could now be looking at a playoff preview when they host second-place Miami on Sunday. The Knicks tied Philadelphia after the 76ers lost earlier Friday to New Jersey, and New York holds the tiebreaker for the No. 7 seed. Anthony was well off his NBA-leading average of 32.4 points through his first five games in April. But he only played 29 minutes as the Knicks narrowly missed their second 40-point victory under interim coach Mike Woodson. *Courtesy of www.cbsnews.com

Houston R. - Phoenix Suns 105-112
Marcin Gortat (7'0''-C-84) had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Steve Nash had 18 points and 10 assists and the Phoenix Suns boosted their playoff hopes with a 112-105 win over the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Jared Dudley scored 19 points, Michael Redd added 13 and Sebastian Telfair had 12 for the Suns, who moved into the ninth spot in the Western Conference. Phoenix also moved within one game of the Rockets, who came in holding the No. 7 seed in the West. Grant Hill had four points and six rebounds in his first game back following March 30 surgery to repair a medial meniscus tear in his right knee. Marcus Camby had 14 points and 18 rebounds and Luis Scola scored 21 for the Rockets. Nash had five assists in the first nine minutes, but Camby had eight points, seven rebounds and four assists over that span for the Rockets, who led most of the first quarter. Houston hit 12 of 24 shots and Camby grabbed 10 rebounds in the quarter, and the Rockets led 28-21. Camby fought three Suns for an offensive rebound - his 13th rebound of the game - and hit a fadeaway jumper for a 43-38 Houston lead. Chase Budinger sank Houston's first 3-pointer with just over two minutes left in the half to stretch the lead to eight. Camby had 10 points and 18 rebounds at halftime, and Houston led 55-51 at the break. Houston started 2-for-8 from the field out of halftime, including two misses from 3-point range. Camby was whistled for a technical foul after snapping at referee Brent Barnaky, and the Suns added to the lead. Redd's first 3-pointer pushed the lead to 10, as the Rockets continued to misfire. Houston went 6-for-23 from the field in the third quarter and trailed 81-69. Rookie Markieff Morris then opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play, and Telfair sank two free throws to finish a 17-2 Phoenix run. The Rockets missed five straight shots before Scola's baseline jumper with 8:45 remaining. But that only cut the Suns' lead to 88-75, and Telfair answered with a 3-pointer to put the Suns up 91-75. Phoenix led 95-81 with 5:58 to go when Nash returned from a long break. Gortat scored inside seconds later, and the Suns matched their biggest lead. Chandler Parsons broke free for a two-handed dunk to cap a quick 10-2 Houston run. But Parsons fouled Nash on a drive, and the two-time MVP sank both free throws for a 101-91 lead. Goran Dragic sank two free throws and swished a straight-on 3-pointer to start Houston's last-ditch rally. The Suns led only 105-100 after Scola scored inside with 1:52 remaining. But Courtney Lee missed a 3-point try with a minute left, and Dudley swished a 3 at the other end with 36 seconds left to put it away for the Suns. *Courtesy of www.ktvn.com

Oklah.City T. - Sacramento K. 115-89
Daequan Cook (6'5''-G-87, college: Ohio St.) left the Oklahoma City Thunder locker room, joking that he didn't want to stick around just to hear Russell Westbrook talk about his jaw-dropping dunk. Kevin Durant couldn't help but razz his All-Star teammate before giving him a few well-deserved compliments. In the middle of a to-be-expected blowout by the West-leading Thunder, Westbrook stole the show with his one-handed, high-rising slam of Durant's alley-oop during Oklahoma City's 115-89 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. 'That dunk by Russ, that was nice. That was one of our best dunks of the year,' said Kendrick Perkins, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds for only his second double-double of the season. 'That was pretty nasty.' Durant led Oklahoma City with 29 points and nine rebounds, and Westbrook scored 22 - none more impressive than his right-handed jam that was the highlight of an 18-2 run just before halftime that put the Thunder in control. Westbrook had to reach back with his right hand to corral Durant's lob but was still able to power it down for an electrifying dunk that brought the sellout crowd to its feet. 'I don't want to give him too much credit. It was a great pass by myself,' Durant said, eliciting an 'Oh my gosh!' from Westbrook. 'No, that was one of the most athletic plays I've ever seen,' Durant said. 'I think it was probably the dunk of the year.' Durant later admitted that it was a 'terrible' pass. 'It was kind of high, but Kevin, I guess, assumed that I could go get it,' Westbrook said. 'I just tried to go get it for him so we wouldn't get a turnover.' Westbrook then followed Thabo Sefolosha's 3-pointer with a driving layup, and Serge Ibaka's two free throws made it 56-37 with 40 seconds to go before halftime. The Kings were never closer than 16 in the second half, falling behind by 23 at the end of the third quarter and by 32 in the fourth. The Thunder (43-16) didn't even need their starters - or top reserve James Harden, who sat out with a sore right knee - in the fourth quarter to hang onto the best record in the Western Conference. Rookie Isaiah Thomas scored 21 points and DeMarcus Cousins had nine points and 12 rebounds for the Kings, who dropped their seventh straight for their longest losing streak of the season. Earlier in the day, a tentative deal to build a new arena and keep the Kings in Sacramento fell apart, leaving the future of the club beyond next season uncertain once again. 'We just focus on the games. We can't control that part,' coach Keith Smart said. 'That's really with our management side and our ownership group and the city. 'As far as myself and the team, I've got to focus on keeping them prepared and ready to play. They have to focus on preparing to play and playing.' Tyreke Evans, the Kings' top pick - No. 4 overall - in the 2009 draft, had a career-worst two points in only 13 minutes. He headed to the bench after picking up two fouls in the first 3 1/2 minutes, then also got a quick hook in the second half even though his foul situation didn't get any worse. 'I think foul trouble got him a little sideways a little bit early on and then after that, we were down by 25 or 30 points. I'm going to play the other guys right now because we weren't going to catch up in the game the way we were playing,' Smart said. Evans had scored 22 points to lead the Kings to a 106-101 win over Oklahoma City in the teams' first meeting this season in early February. The Thunder, who had lost four of their previous six games, had no such trouble this time in the first of three meetings between the teams in a 12-day span. Oklahoma City amassed a 58-41 rebounding advantage, outscored Sacramento 48-26 in the paint and blocked nine shots - seven by Ibaka, who had 10 the last time the teams played. 'You've got to match their physicality,' Smart said. 'You've got to match it and if you don't match it, you're going to be pushed all over the floor.' Oklahoma City moved one game ahead of second-place San Antonio (41-16) in the West but remains tied in the loss column. The Spurs would get the tiebreaker if the teams finish with the same record. In the race for the league's best record, the Thunder trail Chicago (45-14) by two games with seven to play. Oklahoma City starts a five-game road trip - matching its longest of the season - on Saturday night at Minnesota. *Courtesy of www.ktvn.com

Toronto R. - Boston C. 84-79
Demar DeRozan (6'7''-F/G-89, college: USC) scored 13 of his 22 points in the third quarter and made four pivotal free throws down the stretch as the short-handed Toronto Raptors held off the Boston Celtics 84-79 Friday night. DeRozan was a perfect 13-for-13 from the line as the Raptors ended a four-game losing skid despite being without two of their top players. Big man Andrea Bargnani was shut down for the rest of 2011-12 with an aggravation of a lingering left calf injury that had forced him to miss nearly half the season, while point guard Jose Calderon was still feeling the effects of a right eye bruise and was kept out as a precaution. Paul Pierce's 18 points paced the Celtics (34-25), who nearly wiped out a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit but ultimately fell shot in the opener of a dizzying stretch that will see them play six games in six different cities over an eight-day span. Boston remained three games ahead of Philadelphia atop the Atlantic Division after the 76ers dropped a 95-89 decision to the New Jersey Nets. The Celtics used relentless full-court pressure and timely shot-making to erase Toronto's double-digit edge, pulling to within one on a three-point play by Pierce with 38.8 seconds remaining. DeRozan drew a foul on Toronto's next possession and made both free throws to put Toronto ahead 78-75, but Pierce answered with a one-handed slam to trim the deficit with 20.5 seconds left. Two more free throws by DeRozan extended the lead, and Pierce missed badly on a game-tying 3-point attempt. Linas Kleiza knocked down four free throws in the waning moments to put the game away, giving Toronto a split of the four-game season series. Kleiza added 17 points in a reserve role for Toronto, which finished with a 50-37 rebounding edge. Down 36-30 despite shooting 9-for-39 in the opening half, the Raptors pushed the tempo early in the third quarter and eventually pulled ahead on a long DeRozan jumper with 7:49 remaining. Alan Anderson followed with a three-pointer from the right corner and Amir Johnson added a short hook shot with 5:17 left to cap Toronto's 17-4 quarter-opening run. DeRozan knocked down a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock. Pierce responded with his own, but Kleiza's 3 on Toronto's next possession helped propel the Raptors to a 57-47 edge entering the fourth. Anderson's 3-pointer in the opening two minutes of the quarter extended the advantage to 15, and he hit another three from the right corner while being fouled to bring the Air Canada Crowd of 17,270 to its feet. He completed the four-point play to put Toronto up 72-57, cueing the Celtics' comeback. Kevin Garnett had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, while Rajon Rondo dished out 12 assists, giving him 20 straight games with double-digit assists. *Courtesy of www.startribune.com

Orlando M. - Atlanta H. 81-109
Jannero Pargo (6'2''-G-79, agency: Priority Sports, college: Arkansas) hit five 3-pointers and scored 17 points, and Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Marvin Williams each had 16 as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 109-81 on Friday night The Hawks earned their third straight win over the Magic this season and have now won six consecutive regular-season meetings over their division mates. Atlanta shot 50 percent from the field (40 for 79) for the game, including 14 3-pointers. The Hawks led by 35 at one point. Glen Davis and Von Wafer each scored 16 points to lead the Magic. Orlando lost its second straight and fell to 1-4 without center Dwight Howard, who sat for the fifth time in seven games with back spasms. The Hawks exploited Howard's absence in the middle from the opening tip, driving the ball into the heart of the Magic's defense at will in the early going. Atlanta scored 16 points in the paint in the first quarter and shot 75 percent (15 for 20) from the field to build a 13-point lead. That advantage grew to 62-42 at the half, with the Hawks still shooting 56 percent (22 for 39) heading into the break. The Magic briefly showed life, pulling to 74-60 late in the third quarter, but it was short-lived as the Hawks' 15-2 run quickly pushed the lead to 27 and they were able to cruise the rest of the way. It got so bad in the fourth quarter as the Hawks' lead reached 30 points that the Magic were even whistled for a technical for excessive timeouts. The real damage was done much earlier, though. The 62 points scored by Atlanta in the first half was a new high for a Magic opponent in the opening half this season, surpassing the old mark of 60 set by Milwaukee last month. Offensively for the Hawks it was the Johnson and Smith show early as they combined to shoot 7 for 11 and score 21 points in the opening 24 minutes. The Magic were forced to play very small at times, going with a lineup at one point of Ish Smith, Von Wafer, Quentin Richardson, Ryan Anderson and Earl Clark to try to use their speed. It had minimal success, though, with their attack limited almost exclusively to pick-and-rolls. Minus their inside-out sets to set up shooter, the Magic's outside shooting suffered as well. For the game they went just 6 for 28 from 3. Davis tried to carry the scoring load with eight points, but Orlando's 10 first-half turnovers didn't help. Van Gundy, who had managed to control his usually fiery temper with referees this season, was also whistled for his first technical foul of the season for arguing what appeared to be questionable offensive foul call on Wafer late in the half. *Courtesy of www.miamiherald.com


Pacers win in a blowout, Pacers102 - Cavaliers 83 - by Daniel Gibson

INDIANA, Ind---The Pacers were pushed to overtime a few days again in Cleveland against the Cavaliers. Tonight, back in the comfort of their own arena the Pacers cruised to an easy win and were never threatened.

The Pacers beat the Cavs 102-83 and the game was as easy as the score indicates.'The Captain,' Danny Granger scored 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting to lead all scorers. He had plenty of help with six Pacers scoring in double-figures. Tyler Hansbrough came in off the bench and went to work with 16 points. Roy Hibbert contributed with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are missing their star rookie, Kyrie Irving, and wins are hard to come by. Omar Casspi led the scoring for the Cavs with 14 points and the veteran Antwain Jamison added 12 points.


"Why The Top Teams Will or Won't Win It All" - by Miguel Rivera

With the NBA playoffs just 15 days away, its time to look at the top contenders in the league, and examine the biggest reasons why they will, and why they will not be the 2012 NBA Champs.
Ill be examining three teams from each conference, giving three reasons why and why not for each team.

Saturday: Boston Celtics
Sunday: Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat
Monday: Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs
Tuesday: Chicago Bulls

BOSTON CELTICS
3 Reasons the Boston Celtics Will Win the Championship:
Rajon Rondo- There is arguably nobody playing better basketball right now that Rajon Rondo. Rondo is currently on a 19-game double-digit assist streak. Hes being the leader of this veteran squad, and is reigniting the flame behind 3 future All-Stars.
Smaller=Bigger- The Celtics have gotten smaller in their starting lineup, moving power forward Kevin Garnett to the starting Center position, and starting 62 Avery Bradley at the 2-guard position. This has made Boston a dominant defensive team once again, and has improved their offense with KG outplaying most of his counterparts.
Experience- Lets face it, when it comes to the playoffs, experience plays as big a factor as anything. The core of this group has played in 2 NBA Finals in the last 5 years. When it comes to a 7-game series, the Celtics will know how to close the deal.

3 Reasons the Boston Celtics Will Not Win the Championship
Lack of depth- After Ray Allen, Mickael Pietrus and Greg Stiemsma coming off the bench, the cupboard gets bare very quickly for Boston. Also, if Doc Rivers decides to insert Ray Allen back into the starting 5, then Avery Bradley returns to the bench where he is not as effective.
Condensed schedule- Yes, the playoff schedule will more resemble a typical NBA schedule, but theres no denying that the Celtics legs are getting older and if they have to play deep into the playoff rounds, theres not telling how they will hold up.
Chicago/Miami- Theres no getting around itfor the Celtics to even reach the Finals, theyll have to get through BOTH the Bulls and the Heat. Can they really withstand the physical and emotional toll that those two series will play on them? Probably not.


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NEW ZEALAND

Standings Men NBL Standings  1. Bay Hawks 7-0   2. Auckland P. 7-2   3. Wellington S. 5-3   4. Taranaki MA 4-6   5. Hub Jets 3-2   6. OceanaGold N. 3-5   7. Nelson G. 2-5   8. Harbour H. 2-6   9. Southland S. 2-6  Regular Season: Round 7 Apr. 9: Bay Hawks - OceanaGold N. 99-76 Apr. 11: Auckland P. - Hub Jets 96-83 Apr. 13: OceanaGold N. - Bay Hawks 72-82 Apr. 13: Wellington S. - Nelson G. 102-95 Apr. 13: Taranaki MA - Harbour H. 100-77 Apr. 14: Southland S. - Bay Hawks Apr. 14: Hub Jets - Nelson G.

Stats Leaders PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Phill JONES   Nelson G.   (196-G-74)   Avg: 26.3  1. Jones, Nelson G. 26.3   2. Gurley, Wellington 24.0   3. Wright, OceanaGo. 23.9   4. Tisby, OceanaGo. 21.8   5. Leasure, Taranaki. 21.4   6. Hudson, Taranaki. 21.3   7. Braswell, Southlan. 21.1   8. Bradshaw, Southlan. 19.3   9. Winitana, Bay H. 19.2   10. Tait, Auckland P. 19.0  Rebounds Per Game  Antoine TISBY   OceanaGo.   (203-F/C-83)   Avg: 12.3  1. Tisby, OceanaGo. 12.3   2. Atkinson, Harbo. 10.0   3. Johnson, Bay Hawks 9.6   4. Abney, Southland 9.6   5. Muhammad, Aucklan. 9.3   6. Frank, Wellington 9.1   7. Wright, OceanaGo. 9.0   8. Young, Bay Hawks 8.1   9. Abdelhamid, Tarana. 7.3   10. Abrams, Taranaki. 7.2  Assists Per Game  Jason CROWE   Wellington S.   (193-G-76)   Avg: 9.9  1. Crowe, Wellington 9.9   2. Tait, Auckland P. 7.3   3. Dickel, OceanaGo. 6.4   4. Jones, Nelson G. 5.7   5. Bailey, Harbour H. 4.6   6. Wright, OceanaGo. 4.0   7. Kenny, Bay Hawks 4.0   8. Young, Bay Hawks 3.9   9. Leasure, Taranaki. 3.9   10. Braswell, Southla. 3.9  Steals Per Game  Jason CROWE   Wellington S.   (193-G-76)   Avg: 2.9  1. Crowe, Wellington 2.9   2. Braswell, Southlan. 2.8   3. Leasure, Taranaki. 2.2   4. Muhammad, Aucklan. 2.1   5. Tait, Auckland P. 2.1   6. Wright, OceanaGo. 2.1   7. Bailey, Harbour H. 2.0   8. Gurley, Wellington 2.0   9. Dickel, OceanaGo. 1.9   10. Abney, Southland 1.5  Blocks Per Game  Antoine TISBY   OceanaGo.   (203-F/C-83)   Avg: 2  1. Tisby, OceanaGo. 2.0   2. Wright, OceanaGo. 1.3   3. Trousdell, Wellin. 1.3   4. Abney, Southland 1.1   5. Frank, Wellington 1.0   6. Atkinson, Harbo. 1.0   7. Cartwright, Auckla. 0.9   8. Prewster, Southlan. 0.7   9. Newbold, Auckland. 0.6   10. Dempster, Nelson 0.6

Kirk Penney selected the top New Zealander playing abroad in last week's games - by Eurobasket Center Traditionally, every week we bring you a list of the top performances of New Zealanders who are currently playing abroad. Kirk Penney    #1. This week's number one is an international guard Kirk Penney (196-80, college: Wisconsin), who plays in the Spanish ACB. He could not help Baloncesto Fuenlabrada (11-17) in their last game. Despite Penney's very good performance Baloncesto Fuenlabrada was edged 69-66 on the road by the league outsider (#18) Blancos de Rueda. He was the top scorer with 19 points in 32 minutes on the court. It's Penney's first season with the team. Penney is currently seventh on the list of top scorers with 14.3ppg. He also averaged so far 2.2rpg, 1.1apg, 2FGP: 53.7%, 3FGP: 34.8% and FT: 78.6% in the 27 games he played so far. Penney is currently a member of the New Zealand senior national team. Thomas Abercrombie    #2. Second place goes to an international swingman Thomas Abercrombie (198-87, agency: Priority Sports, college: Washington St.). He led New Zealand Breakers to an easy victory against the closely-ranked Townsville Crocodiles (15-13) 97-80 in the Australian NBL last Saturday. Abercrombie scored 19 points. It was the game of the round between two top 4 ranked teams. New Zealand Breakers (21-7) are placed first in the NBL. It was his team's sixth consecutive victory in a row. Abercrombie is one of the most experienced players in a team as it's his fourth year in New Zealand Breakers' roster. He is currently ninth on the list of top scorers. Abercrombie has individually a very good season with high stats. He averages: 15.5ppg, 4.7rpg, 1.6apg, 2FGP: 47.2%, 3FGP: 43.4% and FT: 73.9%. Ex-Waikato Pistons player is in the roster of the New Zealand senior national team. Mika Vukona    #3. The New Zealand player who performed third best last week abroad was an international forward Mika Vukona (198-82) is a teammate of previously mentioned Thomas Abercrombie. But that was another game of his team in Australian NBL which we would like to mention. Vukona led New Zealand Breakers to an overtime victory against the closely-ranked Perth Wildcats (19-9) 104-98. He recorded 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 28 minutes. It was the game of the round between two top 4 ranked teams. New Zealand Breakers (21-7) are placed first in the NBL. It was his team's sixth consecutive victory in a row. This year Vukona's overall stats are: 8.8ppg, 6.1rpg, 2.0apg, 2FGP: 53.3% and FT: 68.8% in the 32 games. He has a dual citizenship: Fijian and New Zealand. Despite Vukona played previously for the Fijian national team, he is currently a member of the New Zealand senior national team. Alex Pledger    #4. Center Alex Pledger (213-87, college: Belm.Abbey) is a teammate of previously mentioned Thomas Abercrombie. However that was another game of his team in Australian NBL which brought him to that list. Pledger led New Zealand Breakers to a victory against the closely-ranked Townsville Crocodiles (15-13) 94-83. He scored 12 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. It was the game of the round between two top 4 ranked teams. New Zealand Breakers (21-7) are placed first in the NBL. It was his team's sixth consecutive victory in a row. Pledger's total stats this season are: 8.3ppg and 5.4rpg. Despite he played previously for the Fijian national team, Pledger is currently in the New Zealand national team roster. Dillon Boucher    #5. Former international forward Dillon Boucher (196-75) is a teammate of previously mentioned Thomas Abercrombie. He played also in the last Australian NBL game facing Mika Vukona (above) in the other team. Boucher contributed to an overtime New Zealand Breakers' victory against the closely-ranked Perth Wildcats (19-9) 104-98. He recorded 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in 21 minutes. Boucher has been at the team for four years. This season Boucher's total stats are: 2.4ppg, 3.9rpg and 2.5apg in the 32 games. Despite he played previously for the Fijian national team, Boucher is currently in the New Zealand national team roster. Leon Henry    #6. Swingman Leon Henry (200-85, college: S.Idaho JC) is a teammate of previously mentioned Thomas Abercrombie. He played also in the last Australian NBL game facing Alex Pledger (above) in the other team. Henry contributed to a New Zealand Breakers' victory against the closely-ranked Townsville Crocodiles (15-13) 94-83. He scored 6 points and grabbed 8 rebounds. Henry has averaged so far 3.0ppg and 3.0rpg. Despite he played previously for the Fijian national team, Henry is also an international player who is currently on the senior New Zealand National Team roster. Aron Baynes    #7. International center Aron Baynes (208-86, college: Washington St.) helped Ikaros win their game against the league outsider Marousi (1-23) crushing them 104-79 in the Greek A1 in Wednesday night's game. He scored 8 points and blocked 2 shots in only 8 minutes. Ikaros Kallitheas (8-16) is placed tenth in the A1. It was his team's third consecutive victory in a row. The Regular Season already ended. Baynes is currently first on the list of best rebounders with 8.7rpg. He also averaged so far 13.6ppg in the 23 games. Despite Baynes played previously for the Australian national team, he is currently in the New Zealand national team roster. Brendon Polyblank    #8. Swingman Brendon Polyblank (197-78, college: Texas St.) was not able to help Fribourg (4-1) in their game against SAV Vacallo (13-10) in the Swiss LNA. Polyblank scored 8 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. Fribourg was edged 70-67 in Chiasso by the lower-ranked SAV Vacallo (#5). They ended the series of six consecutive victories. Polyblank has averaged so far 9.3ppg, 3.7rpg and 1.9apg. Despite he played previously for the British national team, Polyblank is currently in the New Zealand national team roster. Dion Prewster    #9. University international swingman Dion Prewster (195-91, college: SF Austin) is a teammate of previously mentioned Thomas Abercrombie and both played together in the last Australian NBL game. Prewster managed to help New Zealand Breakers in a victory against the closely-ranked Townsville Crocodiles (15-13) 97-80. He scored only 3 points. This year Prewster averages just 1.1ppg in the 11 games. He is a naturalized American. Prewster is also in the roster of the New Zealand university national team. He used to play for Wellington Exodus Saints in New Zealand league.

Mannheim 2012: Denmark edge New Zealand to occupy the 15th place - by Eurobasket News

Denmark U18 - New Zealand U18 81:62

Denmark finally gained victory at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament. The Scandinavian team toppled New Zealand to occupy the 15th overall position. Peter Moeller (186-G-94) posted 21 points and 5 assists to lead the winners.
Denmark gained a narrow 18:16 lead after ten minutes of action. The teams exchanged baskets throughout the second quarter. The European side managed to secure a 29:27 halftime advantage. Denmark boosted the margin in the third term. They cleared off to a 10-point distance at the final break 52:42. Denmark unloaded 29 points in the fourth frame and gave no chance for New Zealand to bounce back. Tobias Christensen (95) provided 11 points, while Adam Holm-Weber (178-G-94) contributed 10 in the victory. Tom Vodanovich (198-F-94) answered with 16 points for New Zealand. Reuben Te Rangi (201-F-94) chipped in 12 points in the loss.

Denmark U18: Peter Moeller 21, Tobias Christensen 11, Adam Holm-Weber 10
New Zealand U18: Tom Vodanovich 16, Reuben Te Rangi 12


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NIGERIA

Akinlolu Akingbala's double-double lands him Player of the Week award among Nigerians playing currently abroad - by Eurobasket Center Here is the weekly review of the top performing Nigerian players, who play currently abroad. Akinlolu Akingbala    #1. This week's number one is former international center Akinlolu Akingbala (208-83, college: Clemson), who plays in the French ProA. He could not help Sluc Nancy (16-10) in their last game. Despite Akingbala's good performance Sluc Nancy lost 79-84 on the road to the second-ranked Chalon/Saor. He had a double-double by scoring 11 points and getting 13 rebounds. Akingbala also added 2 blocks in 33 minutes on the court. There are only four games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game will be critical. It's Akingbala's fourth season with the team. He belongs to league's best rebounders (ranked #3) and also on the list of best blockers (third place). Akingbala has very reliable stats this year: 12.5ppg, 7.8rpg, 1.2bpg, 2FGP: 63.3%(131-207) and FT: 52.9% in the 26 games he played so far. He played for the Nigerian senior national team three years ago. Ekpe Udoh    #2. Second place goes to former international power forward Ekpe Udoh (208-87, college: Baylor). Udoh contributed to a Milwaukee Bucks' victory against the Charlotte Bobcats (7-49) 95-90 in the NBA last Friday. He recorded 9 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. The Milwaukee Bucks have 27-30 record this season. This year Udoh averages: 5.6ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.3apg, 1.8bpg, 2FGP: 42.5% and FT: 73.3%. He played for the Nigerian national team in 2009. Ben Uzoh    #3. The Nigerian player who performed third best last week abroad was former international point guard Ben Uzoh (191-88, college: Tulsa). Uzoh was not able to help the Toronto Raptors (20-39) in their game against the Cleveland Cavaliers (19-37) in the NBA. He recorded 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 34 minutes. But the Toronto Raptors lost 80-84 in Cleveland to the Cavaliers. It was Raptors' fourth consecutive loss in a row. This year Uzoh's overall stats are: 3.0ppg, 2.0rpg, 2.6apg, 2FGP: 39.3% and FT: 45.5% in the nine games. He has a dual citizenship: Nigerian and American. Despite Uzoh played previously for the USA national team, he played also for the Nigerian national team in 2009. Uche Nsonwu-Amadi    #4. An experienced power forward Uche Nsonwu-Amadi (208-78, agency: Beo Basket, college: Wyoming) led Chorale de Roanne to an overtime victory against one of league's weakest teams Pau-Lacq-Orthez (6-19) 97-87 in the French ProA in Saturday night's game. Nsonwu-Amadi recorded 16 points. Chorale de Roanne Basket (13-12) is placed seventh in the ProA. Nsonwu-Amadi is currently fifth on the list of best rebounders. This season he has very good stats: 11.0ppg and 7.0rpg. Despite Nsonwu-Amadi played previously for the USA national team, he is currently in the Nigerian national team roster. Michael Umeh    #5. International point guard Michael Umeh (188-84, agency: Pro One Sports, college: UNLV), who plays in the German BBL was not able to secure a victory for New Yorker Phantoms (16-14) in their last game. Despite Umeh's very good performance New Yorker Phantoms was edged 91-88 in Muenchen by the higher-ranked (#5) Bayern. He was the second best scorer with 19 points. Umeh also added 7 rebounds in 30 minutes. There are only three games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game is very crucial. Umeh has relatively good stats this year: 11.3ppg, 3.4rpg and 2.2apg in the 18 games. He is another player who holds two passports: Nigerian and American. Despite Umeh played previously for the USA national team, he is currently in the Nigerian national team roster. Alade Aminu    #6. Power forward Alade Aminu (207-87, college: Georgia Tech) couldn't help Chalon/Saor (21-5) in their game against JSF Nanterre (11-14) in the French ProA. Aminu recorded 8 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Chalon/Saor was defeated in an overtime 109-99 in Nanterre by the much lower-ranked JSF Nanterre (#10). There are only four games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game will be important. This season Aminu has relatively solid stats: 12.2ppg and 6.8rpg. Despite he played previously for the USA national team, Aminu is also an international player who is currently on the senior Nigerian National Team roster. Ime Udoka    #7. International forward Ime Udoka (198-77, agency: Priority Sports, college: Portland St.) led UCAM Murcia to a victory over the sixth-ranked Lagun Aro GBC (16-12) 71-67 in the Spanish ACB in Sunday night's game. He was MVP of the game. Udoka recorded 19 points and added 5 passes in 29 minutes. UCAM Murcia (24-6) is placed in the ACB. Udoka belongs to league's most steals and is ranked #2 with 1.7spg. He also averaged so far 11.5ppg, 4.8rpg and 2.0apg in the 13 games. Udoka has both American and Nigerian nationalities. Despite he played previously for the USA national team, Udoka is currently in the Nigerian national team roster. Tony Skinn    #8. Guard Tony Skinn (185-83, college: George Mason), who plays in the Israeli Premier League couldn't help Ironi Ashkelon (10-12) in their last game on Sunday. Despite his very good performance Ironi Ashkelon was defeated 85-75 at home by the higher-ranked Hapoel Holon (#5). Skinn was the second best scorer with 19 points. He also added 4 passes (went 7 for 7 at the free throw line). There are only three games left until the end of the Regular Season. So now every game will be extremely important. It's Skinn's first season with the team. Skinn's total stats this year are: 10.0ppg, 2.1rpg, 2.8apg and 1.7spg. He also holds two passports: Nigerian and American. Despite Skinn played previously for the USA national team, he is currently in the Nigerian national team roster. Oritseweyinmi Efejuku    #9. Former international guard Oritseweyinmi Efejuku (196-86, college: Providence), who plays in the Puerto Rican BSN couldn't help Indios (15-4) in their last game. Despite Efejuku's very good performance the league leader Indios lost 79-87 in San German to the lower-ranked (#6) Atleticos. He was the top scorer with 20 points. Efejuku also added 5 rebounds and dished 3 assists in 28 minutes; quite an impressive performance considering it's only his third season in pro basketball. Efejuku has reliable stats this year: 14.8ppg, 3.5rpg and 2.7apg in the 13 games. Despite he played previously for the Jamaican national team, Efejuku is currently in the Nigerian national team roster. Ekenechukwu Ibekwe    #10. Forward Ekenechukwu Ibekwe (206-85, college: Maryland), who plays in the German BBL couldn't help BBC Bayreuth (12-19) in their last game on Sunday. Despite his very good performance BBC Bayreuth was crushed 98-74 in Bremerhaven by the higher-ranked Eisbaeren (#10). Ibekwe was the second best scorer with 20 points. He also added 9 rebounds and made 3 blocks. There are only three games left until the end of the Regular Season. Ibekwe is ranked third on the list of the best blockers in the league. He has very solid stats this season: 11.2ppg, 5.6rpg and 1.7bpg. Ibekwe holds both American and Nigerian passports. Despite he played previously for the USA national team, Ibekwe is also a former international player as three years ago he still played for the Nigerian senior national team.    #11. Former U22 international power forward Chukwudinma Odiakosa (203-85, agency: N.E.T., college: Illinois St.), who plays in the Spanish LEB Gold (second division) couldn't help Melilla Baloncesto (18-14) in their last game. Despite his very good performance Melilla Baloncesto lost 76-80 in Logrono to the lower-ranked (#9) CB Clavijo. Odiakosa was the second best scorer with 15 points. He also added 5 rebounds and made 3 blocks in 21 minutes. Odiakosa belongs to league's best blockers and is ranked #5 with 1.2bpg. This year he also averages: 10.6ppg and 5.6rpg in the 32 games. Despite Odiakosa played previously for the USA national team, he is currently in the Nigerian U22 national team roster.    #12. Former international power forward Kieron Achara (208-83, agency: Two Points, college: Duquesne) helped Assignia Manresa win their game against the closely-ranked Unicaja Malaga 96-81 in the Spanish ACB on Sunday night. Achara recorded 6 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. His total stats this season are: 6.3ppg and 3.5rpg. Despite Achara played previously for the Scottish national team, he is currently in the Nigerian national team roster.    #13. Former international power forward Chinemelu Elonu (206-87, college: Texas A&M) faced previously mentioned Uche Nsonwu-Amadi in the French ProA last game. Elonu, who plays in the French ProA couldn't help Pau-Lacq-Orthez (6-19) in their last game. Despite his good performance Pau-Lacq-Orthez lost in an overtime 87-97 on their home court in Pau to the much higher-ranked (#7) Chorale de Roanne. Elonu recorded 11 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in only a mere 13 minutes. Elonu is currently second on the league's list of best rebounders and also on the list of best blockers (fifth place). He has very solid stats this year: 10.2ppg, 8.2rpg and 1.1bpg in the 25 games. Despite Elonu played previously for the Scottish national team, he is currently in the Nigerian national team roster.    #14. International forward Derrick Obasohan (199-81, also represented by Beo Basket, college: Texas Arlington) couldn't help FIATC Joventut in their game against Valencia Basket in the Spanish ACB. Obasohan recorded 9 points. His team was crushed by 23 points 90-67. His total stats this season are: 9.0ppg, 2.1rpg and 1.3apg. Obasohan holds both American and Nigerian passports. Despite he played previously for the USA national team, Obasohan is currently in the Nigerian national team roster.    #15. International forward Koko Archibong (202-81, college: Pennsylvania) helped LTi 46ers win their game against the closely-ranked TBB Trier 80-66 in the German BBL on Wednesday night. He recorded 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in 30 minutes. This year Archibong's total stats are: 8.5ppg and 4.5rpg in the 31 games. He holds both American and Nigerian passports. Despite Archibong played previously for the USA national team, he is currently in the Nigerian national team roster.

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PANAMA

Danilo Pinnock's double-double lands him Player of the Week award among Panamanians playing currently abroad - by Eurobasket Center Here is the weekly review of the top performing Panamanian players, who play currently abroad. Danilo Pinnock    #1. This week's number one is an international guard Danilo Pinnock (196-83, college: G.Washington), who plays in the Puerto Rican BSN. He could not help Capitanes (10-9) in their last game. Despite Pinnock's very good performance Capitanes lost 90-98 on the road to the league outsider (#8) Caciques. He had a double-double by scoring 23 points and making 10 passes in 31 minutes on the court. It was Capitanes' first loss after three consecutive victories. Pinnock is ranked fifth on the list of the best passers in the league and also on the list of most steals (second place). He has individually a very good year with high stats. Pinnock averages: 15.5ppg, 6.1rpg, 4.6apg, 1.7spg, 2FGP: 49.5%, 3FGP: 34.0% and FT: 76.1% in the 19 games he played so far. He is a naturalized American. Despite Pinnock played previously for the USA national team, he is currently a member of the Panamanian senior national team. Pinnock used to play for Toros de Chorrillo in Panamanian league. Levour Warren    #2. Second place goes to former international forward Levour Warren (196-81, agency: SportsTalent, college: S.Carolina). He led Cedevita to an easy victory against the third-ranked Jolly (16-4) crushing them 89-68 in the Croatian A1 last Saturday. Warren scored 16 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. It was the game of the round between two top 3 ranked teams in Group Championship. KK Cedevita Zagreb (6-1) is placed second in Championship Group. It was his team's fourth consecutive victory in a row. It's Warren's first season with the team. He has relatively good stats this year: 12.0ppg, 4.6rpg, 2.0apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 61.8%(21-34), 3FGP: 31.3%. Warren is a naturalized American. Despite he played previously for the USA national team, Warren played also for the Panamanian national team in 2005. Strangely he has never played in Panama. Gabriel Giron    #3. The Panamanian player who performed third best last week abroad was former international forward Gabriel Giron (192-88). Giron was the major contributor in a Frayles de Guasave's victory against the closely-ranked Pioneros Los Mochis (8-11) 100-93 in the Mexican CIBACOPA on Friday night. He had a double-double by scoring 27 points and getting 10 rebounds. Giron also added 2 blocks in 38 minutes. Frayles de Guasave (8-11) is placed seventh in the CIBACOPA. Giron has very impressive stats this year: 16.9ppg, 5.3rpg, 2.2apg, 1.3spg, 2FGP: 62.1%(90-145), 3FGP: 34.8% and FT: 63.6% in the 18 games. He has a dual citizenship: Panamanian and Mexican. Despite Giron played previously for the Mexican university national team, he played also for the Panamanian national team in 2005. Gary Forbes    #4. Swingman Gary Forbes (201-85, college: Virginia), who plays in the NBA was not able to help the Toronto Raptors (21-39) in their last game on Wednesday. Despite Forbes' good performance the Toronto Raptors were badly defeated 93-75 in Philadelphia by the 76ers. He scored 10 points. Forbes' overall stats this season are: 6.0ppg and 2.1rpg. He is a naturalized American. Despite Forbes played previously for the USA national team, he is currently in the Panamanian national team roster. Apparently Forbes has never played in Panama. Leonardo Pomare    #5. International forward Leonardo Pomare (203-86, agency: Top Notch Sports, college: San Diego) led Hamamatsu Phoenix to a victory against the sixth-ranked Sendai 89ers (24-22) 78-70 in the Japanese BJ League last Sunday. He had a double-double by scoring 17 points and getting 10 rebounds. Pomare also added 4 blocks (made all of his five free throws) in 27 minutes; quite an impressive performance considering it's only his third season in pro basketball. Hamamatsu-Higashi Mikawa Phoenix (31-14) is placed first in Eastern group. This year Pomare's overall stats are: 6.0ppg and 5.2rpg in the 39 games. He is a naturalized American. Despite Pomare played previously for the USA national team, he is currently in the Panamanian national team roster. Pomare used to play for Fieras de Cocle in Panamanian league. Jose Lloreda    #6. Power forward Jose Lloreda (201-80, agency: Paris Global Sports, college: LSU), who plays in the Puerto Rican BSN was not able to secure a victory for Atleticos (13-10) in their last game on Wednesday. Despite his very good performance Atleticos was edged 74-71 in Bayamon by the second-ranked Vaqueros. Lloreda was the top scorer with 16 points. He also added 7 rebounds and made 2 blocks (went 6 for 6 at the free throw line). It was his first game for Atleticos this season. Despite Lloreda played previously for the USA national team, he is also an international player who is currently on the senior Panamanian National Team roster. Jamaal Levy    #7. International center Jamaal Levy (206-83, college: Wake Forest), who plays in the Argentinian LigaA couldn't help Lanus (2-1) in their last game. Despite Levy's good performance Lanus lost 68-79 in Corrientes to the much lower-ranked (#10) Regatas. He was the top scorer with 13 points. Levy also added 5 rebounds in 23 minutes. This year Levy's total stats are: 7.9ppg and 5.7rpg in the 47 games. Despite he played previously for the USA national team, Levy is currently in the Panamanian national team roster. Dionisio Gomez Camargo    #8. Forward Dionisio Gomez Camargo (203-80, college: Arkansas) contributed to a Shiga L-Stars' victory against the fifth-ranked Fukuoka Rizing (28-18) 87-77 in the Japanese BJ League last Saturday. He scored 13 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Shiga Lakestars (30-16) are placed third in Western group. It was his team's sixth consecutive victory in a row. This season Gomez Camargo has relatively solid stats: 12.3ppg, 8.4rpg and 1.9apg. Despite he played previously for the USA national team, Gomez Camargo is currently in the Panamanian national team roster. Ruben Garces    #9. An experienced international power forward Ruben Garces (206-73, college: Providence) is a teammate of previously mentioned Danilo Pinnock. But that was another game of his team in Liga Americas which we would like to mention. Garces managed to help Capitanes de Arecibo in a victory against the closely-ranked La Union (0-1) 72-68. He scored only 2 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in 26 minutes. Capitanes de Arecibo (1-0) is placed second in group F. Garces belongs to league's best rebounders and is ranked #2 with 9.0rpg. This year his other stats are: 4.8ppg in the four games. Garces is also in the roster of the Panamanian national team.

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PBL

Stats Leaders PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Keith RADCLIFF   Indiana D.   (186-G-86)   Avg: 23.8  1. Radcliff, Indiana 23.8   2. Favors, Sauk V. 20.5   3. Simpson, Scranton. 19.6   4. Inabnit, Indiana D. 19.3   5. Commons, Scranton. 19.3   6. Love, Chicago M. 19.2   7. Hill, St. Louis P. 18.3   8. Harris, Dayton A.S. 17.5   9. Petty, Cent.Ill. 16.9   10. Hill, Chicago M. 16.8  Rebounds Per Game  Billy PETTIFORD   India.   (201-F-)   Avg: 12.5  1. Pettiford, India. 12.5   2. Hill, Chicago M. 10.8   3. Fay, Sauk Valley P. 8.4   4. Slack, Cent.Ill. 7.7   5. Davis, Rochester R. 7.7   6. Harris, Sauk V. 7.1   7. Hill, St. Louis P. 6.9   8. Harris, Dayton A.S. 6.8   9. Russ, Dayton A.S. 6.6   10. Love, Chicago M. 6.6  Assists Per Game  Herman FAVORS   Sauk V.   (174-G-84)   Avg: 8.2  1. Favors, Sauk V. 8.2   2. Simpson, Scranton. 6.6   3. Snow, Lake M. 5.4   4. Ruffin, Cent.I. 4.9   5. Crouch, Rocheste. 4.9   6. Petty, Cent.Ill. 4.7   7. Smith, Dayton A.S. 4.1   8. Anderson, Chica. 4.0   9. Carr, Rochester R. 4.0   10. Council, Rocheste. 4.0  Steals Per Game  Marcel ANDERSON   Chica.   (175-PG-86)   Avg: 1.9  1. Anderson, Chica. 1.9   2. Rose, Sauk V. 1.6   3. Pettiford, India. 1.5   4. Polk, St. Louis P. 1.5   5. Ruffin, Cent.I. 1.4   6. Crouch, Rocheste. 1.4   7. Snow, Lake M. 1.3   8. Favors, Sauk V. 1.3   9. Smith, Dayton A.S. 1.2   10. Bobo, Lake M. 1.2  Blocks Per Game  Shagari ALLEYNE   Lake M.   (221-C-84)   Avg: 2.5  1. Alleyne, Lake M. 2.5   2. Commons, Scranton. 1.9   3. Slack, Cent.Ill. 1.8   4. Webster, Rocheste. 1.3   5. Pettiford, India. 1.1   6. Davis, Rochester R. 1.0   7. Hill, Chicago M. 0.9   8. Peterson, Cent.I. 0.8   9. Hipp, Sauk V. 0.8   10. Gorman, Scranton. 0.7

Drive beat RazorSharks, take 1-0 Finals lead - by Eurobasket News

The Central Illinois Drive, presented by Sonic, took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Premier Basketball League Finals by defeating the Rochester RazorSharks on their home floor, 98-91, in front of 5,555 fans.

The game was mostly played at a slower pace than the Drive were used to, as the first quarter ended 17-16 in favor of the Drive. They extended that lead to 9 in the second quarter, but a Todd McCoy (6'4''-F-84, agency: 22ft, college: Indiana St.) jumper at the end of the first half gave Rochester a 41-38 lead at the break.

The third quarter was all Drive, opening the second half with a 12-0 run over the first 2:32, to take a 9-point lead. Rochester again made a run at the end of the quarter, cutting the gap to three.

But the Drive controlled the fourth quarter, opening up a 13-point lead on a Daniel Ruffin (5'10''-G-84, agency: Scenic Sports Group, LLC., college: Bradley) three-pointer with 6:15 to play in the game. Rochester again attempted to make a run, getting to within five, but free throws by Nathan Fuqua, Ruffin, and Perry Petty (6'1''-G-88, agency: SDJ Sports, college: UTPA) with less than a minute to play sealed the game.

Ruffin finished with 22 points. Illinois State product Anthony Slack (6'8''-F/C-84, college: Illinois St.) added 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Game 2 is set for Sat., April 14 at U.S. Cellular Coliseum. The Drive could clinch the PBL Championship with a win.

Courtesy of http://wjbc.com


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PORTUGAL

Exclusive interview with portuguese top scorer,Nate Bowie - by Bruno Baltazar

Its playoff time in Portugal and we interviewing a player that made his mark in his second season in Portugal ,representing Terceira Basket ,best scorer in the regular season ,it was a great year that projects his european resume ,giving him already the oportunity in the Qatar league Cup for Al Ahli.
Back to the portuguese league we wanted from a stand point of the players view to see what he think about the league and the upcoming playoffs ,giving us a value inside view of the game and league.

Q-How do you see the season you did in a team (Terceira Basket) and personal level?
Nate Bowie (183-G-86, college: Cent.Arkansas)- Well I think that the season could of easily been a successful season if a few things was done differently. We had the right personal to win many games and to be in the middle of the pack, but the wrong management to do so. We started off the season great with high hopes and wins but that quickly turned around due to several negative things in the team. As far as on a personal level, I couldn't ask for a more better season. I didn't know that I would have the opportunity to led the league in scoring, that wasn't my goals at the beginning of the season. But quickly became it late down the straight. Not to mention I'm top ten in Assist and Steals.

Q-Whats in your opinion the level of competition and level of the players in the league?
Nate Bowie- Well from an outside view meaning scouts, agents, other teams that contacted me; they really don't think Portugal is a well respected league. I would say the level of Portugal league isn't to bad. Of course every league has its better teams and worse. Overall I guess having Benfica not playing or qualifying for the EuroChallenge this year really brought the league down, and not having other teams compete in another league besides the actual Portuguese League.

Q-What do you expect in this playoffs? Who will win?
Nate Bowie- I think it should be a competitive playoffs. I seen that Porto strength their team adding an extra guard. Of course people might say that it will be Benfica and Porto in the finals, but I like Barreirense style of play. Kind of remind me of the Mizzou Tigers 40 minutes of hell. I think if they use there advantages they could be dangerous in the playoffs.

Q-Most surprising teams and any interesting stories?
Nate Bowie- I think the most surprising teams would be Lusitania and Barreirense. Both teams people from an outside view wouldn't expect them to do so well this year, but only people that knows the game and basketball know they had the right pieces. I think the best story this year is when Lusitania beat Benfica on the island. It was a big upset that the Portuguese League wasn't expecting.

Q-In a personal level what to expect from you next season?Back to Portugal,experience the european leagues?
Nate Bowie- On a personal level I attend on continuing a great career in the 2012-2013 season. No days off for me this summer.
Hahahaha funny joke Bruno. But no for my career standpoint I want to aim for a higher level of play next season. I already had a few contract offers for the next season which is good because it really let me know that this season was a success because the 2011-2012 season isn't even over yet but I will leave that business to my agents to handle . I think they have a plan for me which we set down and discuss already .

Q- Whats the difference between the league in Portugal and Qatar?
Nate Bowie- I think the most difference that you can see right away is the way they treat you from the start. I mean yes I haven't played for other teams in the Portuguese league but heard stories of course so it would be bias to say all teams. But here they make you feel comfortable off the court first as well as on. They have the Qatar Olympic International Hospital here that takes you through 2 to 2 Weeks of test, which is very professional. From your bones to your teeth to your muscles. Another difference is most teams are located around the capital city of Doha, which is where I'm located but each have their own state of the art gyms. We played our cup games at the Qatar Olympic gym which is the home gym of Al Gharrafah.
The refs are different here than there. In Portugal/Europe they call more fouls. Here they let a lot go making the league very physical. The players here are a lot athletic many being from Africa. There are also players here with a lot of experience like Cory Bradford (191-G-78, agency: Edge Sports, college: Illinois) a former Illinois Alumni which I had the pleasure in playing with and Darren Kelly (195-G-78, college: Texas) who is a Texas alumni. So I learned quite a bit in my short time playing here in the Cup games.

Q-How was your experience in the Qatar Cup?
Nate Bowie- My experience on and off the court was very exciting. Me to experience the middle east for my first time and the style of playing. Sadly we fell one game out of the Semi Finals but it was an experience to remember.

I want to thank my endorser Richard Rivera for allowing me to be the face of his 2 D-Hole Apparel (Slam Magazine). I also want to think my friends and family for sticking by me this season as I experience a few difficulty which we all go through. Want to wish Tony Murphy (193-G-86, agency: KMG Sports Management, college: Norfolk St.) and Durrell Nevels (198-F-86, agency: Pro Partner Sports Management, college: Cent.Arkansas) a good summer and a solid upcoming season. I also want to thank Al Ahli for giving me this opportunity to work for them, as well as Bruno for this interview and sticking by my side.

Always Remember- Believe with all your heart that you will do what you we're made to do.

Interview conducted by Bruno Baltazar,thank you for all your words and taking time to do this interview.


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PUERTO RICO

Standings - BSN BSN Standings  1. Mayaguez 16-4   2. Bayamon 11-9   3. Guaynabo 11-9   4. Quebradillas 11-10   5. Arecibo 10-9   6. San German 10-10   7. Guayama 6-14   8. Humacao 5-15  Regular Season: Round 19 Apr. 12: Arecibo - Humacao 90-98 Apr. 12: Guayama - Quebradillas 84-91 Apr. 13: Quebradillas - Guaynabo 84-106 Apr. 13: Bayamon - Guayama 79-72 Apr. 13: Humacao - Mayaguez 74-89 Regular Season: Round 20 Apr. 14: Mayaguez - Arecibo Apr. 14: Guaynabo - San German Apr. 15: Bayamon - Humacao Apr. 15: Arecibo - Guayama

Stats Leaders - BSN PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Al THORNTON   Guayama   (203-F-83)   Avg: 24.7  1. Thornton, Guayama 24.7   2. Sensley, Humacao 21.5   3. Harris, San German 20.9   4. Ayuso, Arecibo 19.9   5. Dalmau, Bayamon 19.1   6. Ramos, Quebradillas 18.6   7. Maye, Guaynabo 17.0   8. Galindo, Guayama 16.8   9. Smith, Mayaguez 16.0   10. Rivera, San German 15.8  Rebounds Per Game  Mike HARRIS   San German   (198-F-83)   Avg: 10  1. Harris, San German 10.0   2. Thornton, Guayama 9.6   3. Ramos, Quebradillas 9.2   4. Sensley, Humacao 9.1   5. Burgess, Guaynabo 9.0   6. Narvaez, Guaynabo 8.1   7. Shannon, Quebradil. 8.1   8. O''Bryant, Mayaguez 8.0   9. Sweetney, Bayamon 7.7   10. Pinkney, San G. 7.2  Assists Per Game  Filiberto RIVERA   San German   (190-PG-82)   Avg: 6  1. Rivera, San German 6.0   2. Smith, Mayaguez 5.8   3. Guzman, Guaynabo 5.6   4. Pagan, Guayama 5.0   5. Pinnock, Arecibo 4.6   6. Cruz, Quebradillas 4.3   7. Garcia, Humacao 4.1   8. Williams, Quebradi. 4.1   9. Dalmau, Bayamon 4.1   10. Rodriguez, San G. 3.8  Steals Per Game  Donta SMITH   Mayaguez   (201-G-83)   Avg: 2.4  1. Smith, Mayaguez 2.4   2. Pinnock, Arecibo 1.7   3. Mojica, Bayamon 1.6   4. Ramirez, Mayaguez 1.5   5. Thornton, Guayama 1.4   6. Cotto, Mayaguez 1.4   7. Williams, Quebradi. 1.3   8. Figueroa, Guaynabo 1.3   9. Rivera, Mayaguez 1.3   10. Strong, San Germ. 1.2  Blocks Per Game  Mamadou LAMIZANA   Bayamon   (207-F/C-81)   Avg: 2.2  1. Lamizana, Bayamon 2.2   2. Thornton, Guayama 1.8   3. O''Bryant, Mayaguez 1.7   4. Burgess, Guaynabo 1.6   5. Shannon, Quebradil. 1.6   6. Harris, San German 1.2   7. Ramos, Quebradillas 1.0   8. Smith, Mayaguez 1.0   9. Santiago, Arecibo 0.9   10. Sensley, Humacao 0.9

Guzman's double-double lands him Player of the Round award - by Eurobasket News

27-year old point guard Ansel Guzman (174-PG-84, agency: Paris Global Sports) put on an amazing game in the last week for Guaynabo and receives a Latinbasket.com Player of the Round 19.
He got a double-double of 28 points and 10 assists, while his team crushed Quebradillas (#4, 11-10) with 22-point margin 106-84. The game was between two of the league's top four teams. Guaynabo maintains the 3rd position in Puerto Rican league. Guaynabo is a typical solid league team placed somewhere in the middle or a little bit lower in the standings. They need more victories to improve their 11-9 record. In the team's last game Guzman had a remarkable 90.0% from 2-point range. It was one of impressive evenings for him as usually he does not deliver so high stats. Guzman has impressive league stats. He is in league's top in assists (3rd best: 5.4apg) and averages solid 56.9% FGP.

Second best performed player last week was Peter John Ramos (222-C-85) of Quebradillas. He is naturalized American center in his first season at Quebradillas. In the last game Ramos recorded impressive double-double of 30 points and 12 rebounds. Of course Quebradillas cruised to a 91-84 relatively comfortable win over the lower-ranked Guayama (#7, 6-14). Despite this victory Quebradillas slide down in the standings to 4th position. His team's 11-10 record is not bad at all. Ramos is one of the most experienced players at Quebradillas and has a reputation of one of team's most reliable players. He belongs to the best scorers in the league with 19.0ppg (#6). He also registered 9.3 boards per game.

Third place about best performers goes to forward Al Thornton (203-F-83) of Guayama (#7). Thornton showcased his all-around game by recording 27 points, thirteen rebounds (!!!) and four assists in the last week. Despite Thornton's great performance Guayama lost 84-91 to the higher-ranked Quebradillas (#4, 11-10). But his team cannot count on just a single shooter as he also needs help of the other teammates. The chances of Guayama not to end season at such low position in the league, however are less than slim as they have already lost 14 games, recording just six victories. With bigger assistance of his teammates, Thornton could try to bring Guayama's a little bit higher in the standings. Thornton has individually a great season in Puerto Rico. After 19 games, he made it on the list of the league's leaders in points with 24.7ppg (best scorer) and rebounds with 9.4rpg (2nd best). He also has 1.8bpg and FGP: 51.9%.

Other top performing players last week:
4. Kleon Penn (213-C-86) of Humacao - 20 points and 10 rebounds
5. Danilo Pinnock (196-G-83) of Arecibo - 23 points and 10 assists
6. Shavlik Randolph (208-F-83) of Quebradillas - 27 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists
7. Josh Powell (206-F-83) of Guayama - 19 points and 14 rebounds
8. Al Thornton (203-F-83) of Guayama - 23 points and 13 rebounds
9. Shavlik Randolph (208-F-83) of Quebradillas - 20 points and 14 rebounds
10. Angel Rosa-Clemente (206-F/C-84) of Arecibo - 9 points and 20 rebounds

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)


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QATAR

Gharrafah level Emir Cup semifinal series against Rayyan - by Eurobasket News

Rayyan - Gharrafah 62:71

Gharrafah registered the first win in the semifinal series versus Rayyan. They claimed a 9-point victory to level things up at 1-1. Suleiman Braimoh (203-F-89, college: Rice) posted 21 points and 10 rebounds to pace the winners.
Gharrafah and Rayyan stayed neck and neck throughout the opening quarter. The scoreboard read 11:11 after ten minutes. Rayyan pulled ahead early in the second frame. They grabbed a 5-point lead before Gharrafah cut it to a single point 23:24 at the interval. Gharrafah opened the third term on a 15:2 run to take a 38:26 advantage. They stretched the gap to as many as 19 points 50:31 at the final intermission. Gharrafah maintained the lead afterwards cruising to the victory at the end. Ousseynou N'Diaye (196-G/F-85, agency: Court Side) had 21 points, while Omar Salem (190-G) and Boney Watson (183-G, college: Sam Houston St.) added 13 points each in the victory. Tanguy Ngombo (197-F-84) answered with 15 points and 7 rebounds for Rayyan. Malik Abdulla chipped in 14 points in the loss.

Rayyan: Tanguy Ngombo 15, Malik Abdulla 14
Gharrafah: Suleiman Braimoh 21+10 boards, Ousseynou N'Diaye 21, Omar Salem 13, Boney Watson 13


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RUSSIA

Standings - Superleague A PBL Standings  1. Khimky 15-2   2. CSKA 14-1   3. Triumph 10-5   4. Lokomotiv 9-7   5. Spartak SP 8-9   6. Krasnie Krilya 7-9   7. Spartak-Prim. 7-9   8. Unics 6-10   9. Enisey 2-14   10. N.Novgorod 2-14  Regular Season: Round 19 Apr. 5: Spartak-Prim. - N.Novgorod 91-80 Apr. 5: Spartak SP - Krasnie Krilya 86-63 Apr. 11: Triumph - Spartak SP 82-73 Apr. 8: Spartak SP - CSKA 78-88 Apr. 9: Khimky - Unics 75-58 Apr. 6: Enisey - Triumph 73-91 Apr. 5: Unics - Khimky 65-73 Regular Season: Round 20 Apr. 13: Unics - Spartak-Prim. Apr. 15: Lokomotiv - Triumph Apr. 24: Enisey - Spartak SP Apr. 24: CSKA - Khimky Apr. 14: N.Novgorod - Enisey

Stats Leaders - Superleague A PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Davon JEFFERSON   Triumph   (204-F-86)   Avg: 20.7  1. Jefferson, Triumph 20.7   2. Rush, Krasnie Kril. 17.2   3. Thomas, Spartak-. 16.4   4. Beverley, Spart. 16.1   5. Massey, Lokomotiv 14.8   6. Victor, Spartak-. 14.5   7. McKee, Triumph 14.2   8. Fridzon, Khimky 13.9   9. Karasev, Triumph 13.7   10. Bykov, Lokomotiv 13.2  Rebounds Per Game  Cuthbert VICTOR   Spartak-.   (197-F-83)   Avg: 8.6  1. Victor, Spartak-. 8.6   2. Massey, Lokomotiv 8.3   3. Jefferson, Triumph 7.6   4. Landry, Triumph 6.6   5. Khryapa, CSKA 6.3   6. Kirilenko, CSKA 6.2   7. Baxter, Enisey 6.0   8. Beverley, Spart. 5.9   9. Savenkov, Spartak. 5.8   10. Monya, Khimky 5.7  Assists Per Game  Aaron MILES   Krasnie Krilya   (186-G-83)   Avg: 6  1. Miles, Krasnie Kri. 6.0   2. Beverley, Spart. 5.1   3. Thomas, Spartak-. 5.0   4. Teodosic, CSKA 4.8   5. Halperin, Spart. 4.6   6. Samoylenko, Unics 4.5   7. McKee, Triumph 4.5   8. Planinic, Khimky 4.4   9. Rush, Krasnie Kril. 3.6   10. Khryapa, CSKA 3.5  Steals Per Game  Patrick BEVERLEY   Spart.   (185-PG-88)   Avg: 2.4  1. Beverley, Spart. 2.4   2. Massey, Lokomotiv 2.3   3. Thomas, Spartak-. 2.0   4. Baburin, Spartak-. 1.9   5. Jefferson, Triumph 1.8   6. Halperin, Spart. 1.7   7. Planinic, Khimky 1.7   8. Victor, Spartak-. 1.5   9. Rush, Krasnie Kril. 1.5   10. Miles, Krasnie Kr. 1.4  Blocks Per Game  Andrei KIRILENKO   CSKA   (205-F-81)   Avg: 1.3  1. Kirilenko, CSKA 1.3   2. Jefferson, Triumph 1.3   3. Likhodey, Spart. 1.0   4. Vasiliev, Krasni. 0.9   5. Savenkov, Spartak. 0.9   6. Traore, Lokomotiv 0.8   7. Lavrinovic, CSKA 0.7   8. Monya, Khimky 0.7   9. Baxter, Enisey 0.7   10. Balashov, Krasni. 0.7

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SAUDI ARABIA

D1 Standings Premier League Standings  1. Uhud 18-2   2. Al Ittihad 16-5   3. Al Fath 15-4   4. Al Ahli 15-5   5. Al Wehda 10-10   6. Al Ansar 9-7   7. Al Qadisiya 9-9   8. Al Hilal 7-10   9. Al Nahdha 5-12   10. Al Jubail 5-15   11. Al Kweldeeh 3-14   12. Al Safa 0-19  Regular Season: Round 21 Apr. 12: Al Fath - Al Qadisiya 90-84 Apr. 12: Al Hilal - Al Jubail 84-76 Apr. 12: Al Ittihad - Uhud 79-74 Apr. 12: Al Ahli - Al Ansar 71-66 Apr. 12: Al Safa - Al Nahdha 58-92 Apr. 12: Al Kweldeeh - Al Wehda

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SERBIA

Mannheim 2012: Serbia rolls past Germany, into Final - by Eurobasket News

Serbia U18 - Germany U18 68:58

Serbia became the second finalist of Albert Schweitzer Tournament. They handed hosting Germany the first defeat at the tourney and advanced into the title game. Serbia will face Spain in the Final tomorrow. Germany will take on Turkey for the Bronze.
Serbia stunned the hosts in the first quarter. The Balkan team went on a 21:10 run to leave the home team behind. Serbia consolidated the lead in the second quarter. The visitors held Germany to 20 points in the half to establish a 36:20 halftime advantage. Germany adjusted their defence in the third term. They cut the deficit but just by one point trailing 36:51 at the final break. Germany made a strong rally in the fourth term to cut the deficit to 6 points 58:64 with under a minute to go. But Nikola Rebic (186-PG-95) nailed four free throws in the dying seconds and sealed the win for Serbia. Nikola Radicevic (196-G-94) posted 22 points for the winners. Mihajlo Andric (197-F-94) and Nikola Rebic added 12 points each for Serbia. Ismet Akpinar (188-PG-95, agency: Beo Basket), Robin Jorch (206-F-94) and Paul Zipser (195-G-94) chipped in 11 points apiece for the hosts.

Serbia U18: Nikola Radicevic 22, Mihajlo Andric 12, Nikola Rebic 12
Germany U18: Ismet Akpinar 11, Robin Jorch 11, Paul Zipser 11


Third division ends this week, Vladicin Han and Velika Plana celebrate - by Ivan Milenkovic

Seasons in all 4 groups of First Serbian league (3rd division) are ending this week. Winners of all groups will play in First B league next season. In group Center, Partizan MTS II and Kolubara from Lazarevac finished the season with 22 wins and 4 losses, but young ''black and white'' players won promotion thanks to two wins against their biggest rivals. Both this season's games between Partizan II and Kolubara were extremely interesting. Partizan youngsters won 75:74 at home in 4th round and 79:80 in Lazarevac in 17th round. Kolubara will have to wait for next season to promote to First B league (finished second for two seasons in a row). Third was Kotez with 21 wins, others were far behind top three teams. Torlak finished in 4th (17-9) and Zvezdara in 5th position (15-11). All three teams are from Beograd.

Group West was least exciting. Plana from Velika Plana won this group convincingly with 21-5 record. Masinac (Kraljevo) and Novi Pazar had 8 defeats before their game in last round, which will decide who will end in second position. Fourth is Zeleznicar from Cacak with 16-10 score, while Priboj and Temnic (Varvarin) ended with 15 wins. Congratulations to Plana who won their second promotion in two years. They were playing in Second Serbian league (4th division) in 2010/2011 season, but will play in First B league from later this year.

Another team from town with no basketball tradition promoted from group East. Morava from Vladicin Han had 24 wins and only two losses this season, but didn't win their group easily. Jablanica from Medvedja will finish second only thanks to worse head to head record. Morava won their home game by 7 in 18th round, while Jablanica won with two points difference only in 5th round. Pirot (22-4) was third, followed by Prokuplje (19 wins), while others were far behind. Zdravlje from Leskovac and Nis in 5th had 6th have 12 losses.

Finally, Meridiana from Novi Sad is winning group North. They have 23-2 record, Srem (Sremska Mitrovica) 22-3 before their final games. But, Meridiana lost by two points in Sremska Mitrovica in 7th round and later in 20th round won at home with 7 points of difference against Srem. Mladost from Backi Jarak is 3rd (18-8), followed by Stara Pazova (9 losses) and Topola from Backa Topola (15-11).

To summarize, new teams in First B league will be Partizan MTS II, Plana, Morava and Meridiana.


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SLOVAKIA

Final Round - by Bobby Davis

It's been a long great season and this is the part where every team wants to be at the end. Only two teams has made it this far and it comes down on who wants it more. We are going up against the #1 seed in our league. They are a great team and has been playing very well these past few months. They are very deep and have a lot of players who can put up numbers. This series is going to be based on who plays the better defense. We have been through two tough series and have been testes on our defense and we have came out successful in both series. It is a blessing to be playing for a championship, not too many players have this opportunity. Two great teams will be playing for a championship and I know both of the teams who made it wasn't picked to get this far. I know our fans in Prievidza has been waiting for this for a long time. The games are going to be in a great atmosphere for both teams fans so I am excited to get this opportunity. Hopefully in my next blog I will be writing on how we won a championship but until then let's see what happens.


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SLOVENIA

1B Stats Leaders D2 Standings  1. Grosuplje 20-5   2. Sencur CP 20-6   3. Postojna 19-6   4. Splosna plovba 17-9   5. Triglav Strazisce 16-9   6. Branik 14-11   7. Terme Olimia 13-12   8. Hrastnik 11-14   9. Medvode 10-15   10. Radenska 10-16   11. Jance Prit 9-17   12. Konjice 8-15   13. Litija 8-17   14. Nova Gorica 0-26  Regular Season: Round 26 Apr. 13: Sencur CP - Jance Prit 82-73 Apr. 14: Branik - Litija Apr. 14: Konjice - Radenska Apr. 14: Hrastnik - Grosuplje Apr. 14: Postojna - Triglav Strazisce Apr. 14: Terme Olimia - Medvode

Stats Leaders - 1B PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Igor SPESIC   Radenska   (204-F/C-83)   Avg: 20.9  1. Spesic, Radenska 20.9   2. Erzen, Sencur CP 19.6   3. Mlakar, Jance Prit 18.6   4. Abramovic, Terme O. 18.4   5. Dzombic, Hrastnik 18.2   6. Moro, Splosna 18.1   7. Remus, Branik 17.7   8. Hren, Litija 16.3   9. Sivka, Konjice 16.3   10. Ribic, Konjice 16.0  Rebounds Per Game  Igor SPESIC   Radenska   (204-F/C-83)   Avg: 9.6  1. Spesic, Radenska 9.6   2. Kavgic, Splosna 9.3   3. Erzen, Sencur CP 8.1   4. Dolinar, Medvode 7.9   5. Klepo, Postojna 7.9   6. Barovic, Branik 7.7   7. Dzombic, Hrastnik 7.5   8. Tusek, Hrastnik 7.2   9. Korosec, Trigla. 6.8   10. Hren, Litija 6.8  Assists Per Game  Rok PERKO   Splosna .   (179-G-87)   Avg: 5.7  1. Perko, Splosna 5.7   2. Mlakar, Jance Prit 4.7   3. Ovnik, Hrastnik 4.6   4. Jereb, Konjice 4.2   5. Jersin, Trigla. 4.2   6. Blazevic, Sencur CP 4.2   7. Suran, Radenska 4.0   8. Macek, Terme Olimia 3.9   9. Brolih, Branik 3.7   10. Panic, Litija 3.3  Steals Per Game  Dragan PUSIC   Sencur CP   (193-G-84)   Avg: 2  1. Pusic, Sencur CP 2.0   2. Jereb, Konjice 1.9   3. Jerman, Grosuplje 1.8   4. Misic, Grosuplje 1.7   5. Jersin, Trigla. 1.7   6. Brolih, Branik 1.6   7. Percel, Hrastnik 1.5   8. Spesic, Radenska 1.5   9. Mlakar, Jance Prit 1.5   10. Buncic, Medvode 1.5  Blocks Per Game  Davor BAROVIC   Branik   (211-C-90)   Avg: 1.1  1. Barovic, Branik 1.1   2. Klepo, Postojna 1.0   3. Trampus, Grosuplje 1.0   4. Kunc, Grosuplje 0.9   5. Hren, Litija 0.8   6. Dolinar, Medvode 0.7   7. Lobe, Grosuplje 0.7   8. Globovnik, Terme O. 0.6   9. Kavas, Jance Prit 0.5   10. Novak, Radenska 0.5

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SOUTH KOREA

18 year old Korean boy got 42 rebounds in a game - by JungHwan Seo

A Korean high school player made an unbelievable record.

Lee Jonghyun (206cm/106kg/1994), a starting center of Kyungbock high school, scored 26 points and grabbed 42 rebounds against Gyesung high school on 11th April in Sang-Ju, South Korea. Kyungbock beat Gyesung to 67-61 and advanced to the championship match.

42 rebounds in a game by single player are the most in Korean basketball history since KBA (Korean Basketball Association) processed their statistics automatically by computer system. Terrence Leather (204-C-81, college: S.Florida) got 31 boards on last December. That was the most in KBL (Korean Basketball League).

'At the beginning of the game, I was out of control. But at the second half, I was trying to focus on rebounds' Lee said after the game.

Lee did not know that how many rebounds he got during the match. After the game, he got a hundred of missed calls from many people. Then, he realized that he became a superstar in this country.

'There is no other player who is better than me in high school level. Nobody can stop me' He showed lots of confidences.

Lee continued his dominant performance in final match against Muryong high school on Friday. Lee scored 46 points which was his career most during his high school days. Especially, he scored 40 points at second half. Kyungbock won over Muryong to 75-63 and they got their second straight championship in this season.

'I feel great. But, I am not satisfied with this. We will conquer all the rest of competitions too' Lee added.

KBA is seriously considering that selecting him as a member of senior national team for Olympic qualifying matches this summer in Venezuela. South Korea will face Russia and Dominican Republic in June.

'I want to play in senior national team. I want to compete with so many great players in the world. This is a great opportunity for me' Lee expected.

Lee is definitely the future of Korean basketball now.


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SPAIN

Standings - LEB Gold LEB Gold Standings  1. Canarias 24-8   2. Burgos 21-11   3. Navarra 20-12   4. Menorca 20-12   5. Lleida 20-12   6. La Palma 19-13   7. Melilla 18-14   8. Breogan 17-14   9. Knet Clavijo 17-15   10. Palencia 16-16   11. Caceres 15-16   12. Girona 15-16   13. Mallorca 14-17   14. Leon 14-17   15. Huesca 12-20   16. CB Tarragona 11-21   17. Granada 7-25   18. Clinicas Rincon 5-26  Regular Season: Round 32 Apr. 13: Palencia - Canarias 92-84 Apr. 13: Knet Clavijo - Melilla 80-76 Apr. 13: CB Tarragona - Burgos 73-78 Apr. 13: Huesca - Menorca 68-65 Apr. 13: Lleida - La Palma 58-54 Apr. 13: Navarra - Granada 104-90 Apr. 14: Mallorca - Girona Apr. 14: Clinicas Rincon - Caceres Apr. 14: Breogan - Leon

Stats Leaders - LEB Gold PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Troy DEVRIES   Melilla   (193-G-82)   Avg: 19.1  1. DeVries, Melilla 19.1   2. Witt, Knet Clavijo 18.0   3. Feldeine, Breogan 17.1   4. Quezada, Leon 16.5   5. Franklin, Huesca 16.4   6. Bivia, Mallorca 16.2   7. Antelo, Caceres 15.6   8. Moss, Palencia 15.4   9. Fernandez, Granada 15.3   10. Detrick, Lleida 15.3  Rebounds Per Game  Olaseni LAWAL   Knet Clavijo   (208-F/C-86)   Avg: 10.5  1. Lawal, Knet Clavijo 10.5   2. Diouf, Palencia 8.8   3. Donaldson, Canarias 8.6   4. Starosta, Navarra 8.1   5. Sikma, La Palma 8.0   6. Fernandez, Granada 7.8   7. McDermott, Palen. 7.8   8. Kuzmin, Clinicas. 7.7   9. Antelo, Caceres 7.5   10. Mortellaro, Leon 7.5  Assists Per Game  Oscar ALVARADO   La Palma   (184-PG-91)   Avg: 6.1  1. Alvarado, La Palma 6.1   2. Bivia, Mallorca 5.1   3. Witt, Knet Clavijo 4.4   4. Norris, Lleida 4.3   5. Lopez, Burgos 4.0   6. Bernabe, Leon 3.8   7. Perez, Menorca 3.7   8. Sabat, Canarias 3.7   9. Quezada, Leon 3.4   10. Garrido, Palencia 3.4  Steals Per Game  Alexander FRANKLIN   Huesca   (196-PF-88)   Avg: 2.3  1. Franklin, Huesca 2.3   2. Toledo, Burgos 2.3   3. Bernabe, Leon 2.1   4. Xavier, Palencia 2.1   5. Norris, Lleida 1.9   6. Abrines, Clinic. 1.9   7. Alonso, Mallorca 1.8   8. Green, Mallorca 1.7   9. Rost, Canarias 1.7   10. Sanz, Navarra 1.6  Blocks Per Game  Ognen KUZMIN   Clinicas.   (215-C-90)   Avg: 2  1. Kuzmin, Clinicas. 2.0   2. Lawal, Knet Clavijo 1.7   3. Diouf, Palencia 1.6   4. Green, Mallorca 1.3   5. Odiakosa, Melilla 1.2   6. Coleman, Girona 1.1   7. Samb, Granada 1.1   8. Antelo, Caceres 1.0   9. Donaldson, Canarias 0.9   10. Arteaga, Menorca 0.8

Louis Bullock will not play for Asefa Estudiantes - by Eurobasket News

Louis Bullock (185-G-76, college: Michigan) is not going to play for Asefa Estudiantes after all. The guard joined the team earlier this month. However bad luck as Louis Bullock suffered an injury in the first training with Asefa Estudiantes. The injury will keep him out of the game for at least 15 days. The sides have agreed on terms of contract termination.
The guard spent the last season with Cajasol Sevilla. Louis Bullock tallied 11.8 points, 1.8 assists, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in EuroCup. In ACB his stats read 12.1 points, 2.3 assists, 1.4 rebounds and 1.0 steal per appearance. He helped Cajasol Sevilla reach EuroCup Final in 2011. Previously Louis Bullock had stints with Real Madrid, Pennsylvania Valley Dawgs, Unicaja Malaga, Milano and Verona. Eurobasket.com named Louis Bullock into ULEB Cup All-Imports Team in 2007. Year before the guard made it into Euroleague All-Imports Team. Louis Bullock used to be the member of USA U22 National Team.


Mannheim 2012: Josep Perez carries Spain past Turkey - by Eurobasket News

Spain U18 - Turkey U18 90:76

Spain became the first finalists of Albert Schweitzer Tournament. They overcame Turkey to enter the title game. Josep Perez (183-PG-94) led the charge scoring 26 points for the winners. Spain will face the winners of Germany vs. Serbia clash in the Final.
Turkey jumped to a 17:10 lead midway through the opening quarter. But Spain reacted quickly and established a 25:24 lead after ten minutes. The lead changed hands several times throughout the second quarter before Spain managed to secure a 46:39 halftime advantage. The Spaniards kept their opponents at distance throughout the third term. They entered the fourth frame up by 7 points 64:57. Juan Saiz (200-C-94) and Guillermo Hernangomez (203-C-94) stretched the margin to 13 points midway through the final frame. Turkey cut the deficit to 8 points but failed to get any closer and had to surrender at the end. Guillermo Hernangomez posted 18 points, while Juan Saiz added 13 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. Burak Yildizli (200-F-94) produced 23 points for Turkey. Tayfun Erulku (188-G/F-94) had 17 points in the losing effort.

Spain U18: Josep Perez 26, Guillermo Hernangomez 18, Juan Saiz 13+10 boards
Turkey U18: Burak Yildizli 23, Tayfun Erulku 17


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SWEDEN

Stats Leaders - Basketligan PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Evaldas ZABAS   Jamtland   (188-PG-88)   Avg: 21.9  1. Zabas, Jamtland 21.9   2. Sigurdarson, Sunds. 19.2   3. Flowers, Solna 19.0   4. Krayem, Boras 18.8   5. Smith, Sodertalje 18.4   6. Relphorde, LF Ba. 18.4   7. McKnight, Boras 17.0   8. Palm, Boras 16.9   9. Watt, Eco Orebro 16.6   10. Jeansson, Uppsala 16.1  Rebounds Per Game  Delvon JOHNSON   Uppsala   (206-F/C-89)   Avg: 10.2  1. Johnson, Uppsala 10.2   2. Baeringsson, Sunds. 10.1   3. Palm, Boras 9.9   4. Toombs, Eco Orebro 9.6   5. Ramsey, LF Basket 9.2   6. Simms, Sodertalje 8.9   7. Watt, Eco Orebro 8.5   8. Lalugba, Jamtland 8.4   9. Stamper, Jamtland 8.0   10. McKnight, Boras 7.9  Assists Per Game  Andrew PLEICK   Eco Orebro   (196-G-80)   Avg: 6.4  1. Pleick, Eco Orebro 6.4   2. Mbemba, LF Basket 6.4   3. Krayem, Boras 6.1   4. Carter, Uppsala 5.7   5. Ermolinskij, Sunds. 5.0   6. Zabas, Jamtland 4.6   7. Beck, Solna 4.6   8. Chuk, Sodertalje 4.6   9. Mitchell, Norrkopi. 4.1   10. Jeromanovs, Norrk. 3.8  Steals Per Game  Jonte FLOWERS   Solna   (196-F/G-85)   Avg: 2.8  1. Flowers, Solna 2.8   2. Smith, Sodertalje 2.8   3. Carter, Uppsala 2.5   4. Tyndale, Sundsvall 2.2   5. Mbemba, LF Basket 2.2   6. Ramsey, LF Basket 2.0   7. Krayem, Boras 1.9   8. Mitchell, Norrkopi. 1.9   9. Ermolinskij, Sunds. 1.8   10. Johnson, Sundsva. 1.8  Blocks Per Game  Dino GREGORY   Sundsvall   (200-F-89)   Avg: 1.5  1. Gregory, Sundsvall 1.5   2. Simms, Sodertalje 1.5   3. Johnson, Uppsala 1.5   4. Ramsey, LF Basket 1.5   5. Toombs, Eco Orebro 1.3   6. Lalugba, Jamtland 1.1   7. Watt, Eco Orebro 1.0   8. Palm, Boras 1.0   9. Doychinov, Solna 1.0   10. Nystrom, 08 0.7

Basketligan Semifinals: Both series go to crucial Game Five - by Eurobasket News

Boras - Norrkoping 87-75 (2-2)
The game without a history. Boras Basket led from the first minutes and controlled entire game increasing their lead in each quarter. They made 18-of-20 free shots (90.0 percent) during the game. Worth to mention a great performance of American forward Christopher McKnight (201-87, college: Akron) who helped to win the game recording 26 points and 8 rebounds. The other American import guard Omar Krayem (185-86, college: Cal.Baptist, agency: Pro One Sports) contributed with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists for the winners. Five Boras Basket players scored in double figures. American guard Andrew Mitchell (181-79, college: Kent St.) replied with 12 points and 6 assists and Lithuanian center Petras Balocka (205-86, college: Hawaii) added 10 points and 8 rebounds in the effort for Norrkoping Dolphins.
Top scorers:
Boras: C.McKnight 26+8reb+1ast, O.Krayem 16+6reb+8ast, J.Thomas 14+7reb+2ast, R.Zamroz 14+3reb+4ast, M.Palm 10+11reb+1ast, M.Paravinja 4+1reb+2ast
Norrkoping: A.Mitchell 12+3reb+6ast, P.Sakinis 12+1reb, P.Balocka 10+8reb, F.Drains 8+3reb+2ast, M.Lindquist 8+2reb+3ast, E.Jeromanovs 8+3reb+4ast

gschID: 174119

LF Basket - Sodertalje 82-60 (2-2)
The game without a history. LF Basket led from the first minutes and controlled entire game increasing their lead in each quarter. Worth to mention a great performance of American-German center Urule Igbavboa (205-87, college: Valparaiso) who helped to win the game recording 21 points and 8 rebounds and American forward Keith Ramsey (205-87, college: Missouri, agency: Hart Sports Mngm) who added 6 points and 14 rebounds during the contest. Four LF Basket players scored in double figures. At the losing side Lithuanian forward Mantas Griskenas (200-85, college: Wichita St.) responded with 12 points and 9 rebounds and American center Kenneth Simms (203-86, college: Cumberland, agency: JEMsports) scored 13 points and 7 rebounds. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games.
Top scorers:
LF Basket: U.Igbavboa 21+8reb+2ast, M.Relphorde 17+1reb, A.Person 15+1reb+2ast, C.Ryan 12+3reb+2ast, K.Ramsey 6+14reb+3ast, M.Pahlmblad 4+4reb+1ast
Sodertalje: T.Borg 13+1reb, K.Simms 13+7reb, M.Griskenas 12+9reb+1ast, A.Chuk 7+1reb+2ast, D.Pita 5+2reb+1ast, M.Joseph 4+2reb+4ast

Fifth games are scheduled for Sunday. Norrkoping and Sodertalje will be the hosts.


Mannheim 2012: China hold off Sweden - by Eurobasket News

China U18 - Sweden U18 78:63

China finished the Albert Schweitzer Tournament with victory. They overcame Swedish counterparts to clinch the 11th overall position. Luo Kaiwen (198-F-95) posted 16 points to lead the effort.
China started to build their advantage in the first quarter. They erupted for 30 points in the opening period to take an 11-point lead. China maintained the lead throughout the second quarter. The Asian team established a 50:36 halftime lead. China did not loosen the grip in the third term. They held the Scandinavians to just 11 points to ensure a 17-point advantage with ten minutes remaining. Sweden managed to outscore China in the fourth term but never threatened the margin. Zhou Qi (215-C-96) accounted for 14 points, while Zhao Jiwei (185-G-95) contributed 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in the win. Sweden answered with 20 points from Niklas Larsson (196-G-94). Alexander Gorski (193-G-94) notched 17 points and 9 caroms in the loss.

China U18: Luo Kaiwen 16, Zhou Qi 14, Zhao Jiwei 13
Sweden U18: Niklas Larsson 20, Alexander Gorski 17


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SWITZERLAND

Stats Leaders LNA PPG RPG APG SPG BPG Points Per Game  Mohammed ABUKAR   Lugano T.   (208-F-85)   Avg: 20.2  1. Abukar, Lugano T. 20.2   2. Sharper, Boncourt 19.9   3. Burrows, Starwings 18.2   4. Jenkins, Starwings 17.8   5. Calasan, Boncourt 17.7   6. Barnette, Geneve 17.5   7. Smith, Monthey 17.0   8. Jones, SAM M. 16.8   9. Mitrovic, SAM M. 16.3   10. Gibson, SAV Vacal. 16.2  Rebounds Per Game  Babacar TOURE   Geneve Lions   (205-F/C-85)   Avg: 9.6  1. Toure, Geneve Lio. 9.6   2. Calasan, Boncourt 9.1   3. Bing, Geneve Lions 8.6   4. Knutson, BBC Nyon 8.3   5. Burrows, Starwings 8.1   6. Esterkamp, Fribo. 8.0   7. Barnette, Geneve 7.5   8. Molteni, SAM M. 7.5   9. Sloan, SAV Vacallo 7.3   10. Jones, SAM M. 7.3  Assists Per Game  Rickey GIBSON   SAV Vacallo   (191-G-84)   Avg: 6.7  1. Gibson, SAV Vacallo 6.7   2. Brown, Lugano T. 6.3   3. Jenkins, Starwings 5.3   4. Draughan, Lugano 4.9   5. Petkovic, Starw. 4.7   6. Boylan, Monthey 4.2   7. Bobetso, BBC Nyon 4.0   8. Buscaglia, Geneve 3.9   9. Petkovic, Fribourg 3.8   10. Esterkamp, Fribo. 3.2