EUROBASKET NEWS REPORT - 6/8/2012 1:04:01 AM

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Men News

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  ACPBL   



Trailblazers' Summer Schedule - by Mike Lee

The Norfolk Tru Hope Trailblazers will be competing in the Hampton Roads 7 Cities Pro-Am this summer. Their first game will be on Sunday, June 24th at Maury High School located in Norfolk, VA. Tipoff is at 3:00 pm.

The Trailblazers will also be participating in the upcoming Champions Challenge hosted by iBALLmag.com. The eight-team tournament will be held in July 2012 and will bring together current or recent champions of some of the most prominent minor leagues on the East Coast. The Hudson Valley Hype (2012 champion) and the Metro All-Stars (2011 champion) will represent the Eastern Basketball Alliance (EBA), the Beltway Bombers (2012 champion) and the Norfolk Tru Hope Trailblazers (2011 champion) will represent the ACPBL, and the Southern Generals (2011 champion) will represent the Universal Basketball Alliance. The Delaware Destroyers of the ACPBL will also participate in the eight-team tournament. Despite competing in the ACPBL this past season, the Delaware Destroyers won the EBA title in 2009 and 2010. Rounding out the competition are the DC Madness, winner of the 2011 DC Pro-Am and the Atlantic City All-Stars, winners of the 2011 Atlantic City Pro-Am.


More information concerning the ACPBL Summer League - by Mike Lee

In an earlier article, reference was made to an upcoming ACPBL Summer League. The league will be held in Brooklyn, NY and will officially start on June 23rd. Bishop Ford Central Catholic High School will serve as the host site for the league. The league will include several ACPBL teams like the Manhattan Pride, the New York City 524, and the North Jersey Pros, as well as some newly franchised teams, and some EBA teams.


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  ADRIATIC LEAGUE   


Szolnoki Olajbanyasz gets the wild card, all of the participants known - by Rado Markovic Hribernik

Szolnoki Olajbanyasz gets the last open spot for the next season in the adriatic league, the board of the league announced after the Thursdays meeting. This is the first time in history that a Hungarian team takes part in the Adriatic league, and Hungary becomes the 7th country to have a participant in the 2012/13 season.

The Hungarian champions will pay 150.000 for the wild card and contribute some additional funds to the league sponsorship, like Maccabi Electra Tel-Aviv did in previous season.

All of the 14 participants in the Adriatic league in the 2012/13 season:
KK Buducnost Voli Podgorica
KK Cedevita Zagreb
KK Cibona VIP Zagreb
Crvena Zvezda Beograd
BC Igokea Aleksandrovac
Krka Novo Mesto
KK MZT Skopje Aerodrom
BC Partizan MT:S Beograd
Radnicki Kragujevac
HKK Siroki WWin
KK Split
Szolnoki Olajbanyasz
Union Olimpija Ljubljana
KK Zadar



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  ALGERIA   

Standings

D1 Standings
 1. CSMC 23-4 
 2. WA Boufarik 22-5 
 3. GS Petroliers 21-4 
 4. CRB Dar El-B. 18-9 
 5. Trefle BB Blida 17-10 
 6. Skikda 15-13 
 7. NAH Dey 13-14 
 8. O Batna 12-15 
 9. US Setif 11-15 
 10. Arreridj 11-15 
 11. MS Cherchell 11-15 
 12. USM Blida 10-16 
 13. Staoueli 9-16 
 14. CRB Temouch. 9-18 
 15. Sidi-bel-Abbes 8-18 
 16. Annaba 2-25 

Regular Season: Round 29

Jun. 5: WA Boufarik - GS Petroliers 76-68



*****************************************************
  ARGENTINA   


Caja Laboral wants to keep Prigioni and Nocioni - by Eurobasket News

Caja Laboral wants to keep Pablo Prigioni (191-G-77) and Andres Nocioni (199-F-79) for the next season. The Spanish squad already made an offer for contract extension.
Pablo Prigioni played 10 Euroleague games for the club this season averaging 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.2 steals. In Liga Endesa, the point guard had 6.6 ppg, 3.3. rpg and 3.9 apg for 39 games. Prigioni returned to the club last summer from Real Madrid.
Andres Nocioni signed with Caja Laboral at the end of March. He appeared 12 times in Liga Endesa averaging 9.7 points and 3.5 rebounds. Nocioni started the season with Penarol Mar del Plata. There he had 16.5 ppg and 11 rpg for two games in Argentinean LigaA. After the NBA lockout, Nocioni returned to Philadelphia 76ers, where he registered 1.7 ppg and 1.3 rpg. Last season with the 76ers Nocioni averaged 6.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 54 games.


Torneo Federal 2011/12 recap - by Facundo Iatzky

Champion: La Union Colon
Runner-up: San Lorenzo chivilcoy

both of them promoted to TNA.

MVP: Mariano Mazzini (193-F-81) of la union
Best scorer: Gabriel Menza (186-F) of Del Bono
Best rebounder: Fernando gutman of Hispano Americano
Best assister: enzo Cafferata of Gorriti
best coach: Martin Guastavino of la union

Best 5:
Adrian Forastieri (185-G-83) of Instituto
Jose Muruaga (188-G-84) of Talleres Tafi viejo
Nicolas Boeri (193-F-89) of Hindu
Mariano Mazzini of La union
Hector Martirena (198-F/C-82) of San lorenzo




Season is over for Manu Ginobili and his Spurs - by Eurobasket News

2011/12 NBA season is over for the Argentinean superstar Emanuel Ginobili (198-G-77, agency: Interperformances) and his team San Antonio Spurs. They failed last night 99-107 in Game Six against the Oklahoma City Thunder losing the Western Conference Finals with 2-4. It means that Thunder advanced to the NBA Finals, while Spurs are out of the competition. Ginobili had 10 points and 5 rebounds for 36 minutes on the court. He exploded in Game Five with 34 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. Emanuel Ginobili appeared 48 times in the NBA this season. He averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds. He is a member of San Antonio since 2002. Before that, Ginobili played for Kinder Bologna, Reggio Calabria and Estudiantes Bahia Blanca. Emanuel Ginobili missed almost half of the games this season due to injury.


Olimpico LB land Ariel Eslava - by Eurobasket News

Olimpico de La Banda bolstered their froncourt. They signed contract with Ariel Eslava (203-G/F-79). The forward is meant to replace Cristian Amicucci who left for Argentino Junin. Ariel Eslava spent the last season with San Martin Corrientes. He tallied 6.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in LigaA. Previously the forward had stints in Argentina, Mexico and Spain. He was Copa del Rey winner in 2009 with Tau Ceramica.


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  AUSTRALIA   


Season is over for Patty Mills and his San Antonio Spurs - by Eurobasket News

2011/12 NBA season is over for the Australian star Patrick Mills (183-PG-88, college: St.Mary's, CA) and his team San Antonio Spurs. They failed last night 99-107 in Game Six against the Oklahoma City Thunder losing the Western Conference Finals with 2-4. It means that Thunder advanced to the NBA Finals, while Spurs are out of the competition. Patrick Mills arrived to San Antonio in March this year. He appeared 22 times in the NBA averaging 8.2 points, 2 assists and 1.4 rebounds. Mills started the season with Melbourne Tigers. He played 9 games in NBL registering 18.6 ppg, 5 apg and 2.3 rpg. In November the Tigers let him go to Chinese Xinjiang Gyang Hui Flying Tigers. There Mills exploded with 26.5 ppg 3.8 rpg, 3.8 apg and 2.3 spg for 12 games. Last season Patrick Mills spent with the Portland Trail Blazers. The point guard played for the Australian National Team at the 2010 World Championship in Turkey. He also played for the country at 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Mills graduated at St.Mary's University in 2009.


Tall Blacks squad - by Hugh McAuliffe

New Zealand Breakers stars Alex Pledger (213-C-87, college: Belm.Abbey) and Mika Vukona (198-F-82) headline the 17-man Tall Blacks squad named recently ahead of the New Zealand national teams campaign for an Olympic berth.

Pledger and Vukona, both members of the Breakers team to have won the past two consecutive NBL titles, are joined on the squad by 2011/12 Breakers teammates Isaac Fotu, Leon Henry, Morgan Natanahira and Josh Bloxham.

Perth's Jeremiah Trueman and Everard Bartlett have also been named.

The squad also includes former NBL players Casey Frank, Hayden Allen, Jeremy Kench and Lindsay Tait.

Former Breakers import Kevin Braswell has also been named but the American is in a race against the clock to win NZ citizenship this week in order to be eligible.

The Tall Blacks will contest the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Caracas, Venezuela, from July 2-8, and face Macedonia and Angola in pool play. They will attempt to nail down one of three spots remaining in the London Olympics basketball draw

New Zealand Tall Blacks Squad

Hayden Allen (Auckland Pirates), Josh Bloxham (Nelson Giants), Everard Bartlett (Hawke's Bay Hawkes), Isaac Fotu, Casey Frank (Wellington Saints), Leon Henry (OceanaGold Nuggets), Jeremy Kench (Wellington Saints), Jarrod Kenny (Bay Hawks), Robert Loe (University of St Louis Missouri), Morgan Natanahira (Hawke's Bay Hawks), Alex Pledger (Auckland Pirates), Lindsay Tait (Auckland Pirates), Jeremiah Trueman (Manawatu Jets), Mika Vukona (Nelson Giants), Tai Webster (Auckland Pirates)


Tigers announce two signings - by Hugh McAuliffe

The Melbourne Tigers are please to announce a further two key signings for the 2012/13 iiNet NBL Championship Season.

Tigers centre Matthew Burston (211-F/C-82) has signed a new contract to rejoin the club, while in a major coup the Tigers have secure the prize signature of young guard Nate Tomlinson (190-G-89) (University of Colorado). The duo joins Adam Ballinger, Tommy Greer, Lucas Walker, Ronald Dorsey and Liam Rush on the Tigers roster.

Burston, 211cm, battled injury last season missing 9 games; however in the games he did play he averaged 5.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in just 14 minutes. With an extended pre season and modified program, Burstons workloads and fitness levels will be managed with the expectation of him filling a prominent role in the Tigers front court.

Tigers Head Coach Chris Anstey said Burston was a priority signing:

Matt was a main target for us to re-sign. We love the way he works on and off the court, we know his work ethic and what he will give us day in, day out. He has had injury concerns however we are putting the resources around him to give him every opportunity to play at a high level for an extended period. When fit he is in the top echelon of big men in this league.

He has already started working hard, which is a credit to him and shows his intent for the upcoming season. He is fast becoming a fan favourite, supporters respect him because he gives his all each time he enters the court.

Burston was pleased to be staying with the Tigers:

It is great to be able to stay with the club. I met with Chris and he explained his coaching philosophies and plans for the season and I really bought in. I believe it will really help my development and I look forward to being able to contribute and build on last season. It is also great to have D-Mac back with the club, I have enjoyed the time he was part of the coaching panel in the past and he brings so much to the table.

"The new management has a number of great ideas and is taking the club in an exciting new direction and it is fantastic to be here and part of it.

The second key signing being announced today, Nate Tomlinson, has played college basketball for the past four years with NCAA Division 1 team the University of Colorado, while also spending time with the junior national team. Tomlinson is known as a tough 190cm guard who can play both the point and two guard positions. He has a great basketball IQ and natural court leadership, with very solid ball handling skills. During his collegiate career he played 129 games averaging 5.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 27.5 minutes per game. He also shot the ball well at 45% from the field and 41% from three point range.

Anstey was thrilled with the signing:

Nate was top of our list of young graduating talent and we are delighted he chose the Tigers, as there was interest from a number of other clubs. He joins the team physically ready to play, despite just finishing college. With one of Australias greatest point guards in D-Mac (Darryl McDonald) teaching him and assisting his game we see tremendous development opportunities for him and although there may be a period of adjustment required, he can fill a key role for the upcoming season and beyond. We see him as a long term prospect and want to give him every opportunity to be a Tiger for as long as possible.

Tomlinson, still in the USA until early July, was excited with the challenge.

I would like to thank Chris, D-Mac and the Melbourne Tigers organization for giving me this opportunity to play at this great club. I was born in Melbourne and the chance to come home and play in front of family and friends was something I couldn't turn down.

I like the new direction the club is moving towards and I want to play a big part in making the Tigers great again. Melbourne is the best sporting city in the country with the best fans and I look forward to helping bring the Tigers back to the top!

The Tigers will soon announce the playing venues for the upcoming season. Further signings will be also announced as they occur.


Boomers YouYi Games squad - by Hugh McAuliffe

A squad of 12 Australian basketball stars have been selected for the Boomers mens basketball team that will tackle China in the YouYi Games series, set to tip off in Perth tomorrow afternoon.

Headlining the team is local Perth hero Damian Martin, along with Matt Nielsen, Mark Worthington and internationally based Aussies David Barlow, Daniel Kickert and Matthew Dellavedova.

Boomers Head Assistant Coach Andrej Lemanis said that the team has enjoyed a tough week on the training court and the progress has been positive leading into the YouYi Games Series.

Its been a great week of practice. The guys have gone at it and battled hard. Weve had time to refine our offensive structure, and defensive sets as well. Our goal now is to continue to improve, this being stage one on our road to London, and I think these three games are a great way solidify this progress, said Lemanis.

Its great having a team of their quality by world standards close to us, so the ability for them to come out here and for us to get good hit-outs against them over here each year, I think its good for both countries. Again it is all a part of that building and learning process, he said.

Game One of the YouYi Games tips off tomorrow, Saturday 9 June at Challenge Stadium in Perth at 2:00PM. The series then moves to the Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre on Monday 11 June, with Game Two tipping off at 7:00PM. The third and final game of the series moves back to Challenge Stadium on Wednesday 13 June at Challenge Stadium and tips off at 8:00PM.

AUSTRALIAN BOOMERS YOUYI GAMES TEAM

David BARLOW / 205cm / Forward / 22-10-1983 / Murcia (Spain)

Aron BAYNES / 208cm / Centre / 9-12-1986 / Ikaros Kallitheas (Greece)

Ryan BROEKOFF / 201cm / Guard-Forward / 23-8-1990 / Valparaiso (US College)

Peter CRAWFORD / 193cm / Guard-Forward / 6-11-1979 / Townsville Crocodiles (NBL)

Matthew DELLAVEDOVA / 193cm / Guard / 8-9-1990 / St Mary's (US College)

Hugh GREENWOOD / 190cm / Guard / 6-3-1992 / New Mexico (US College)

Adam GIBSON / 188cm / Guard / 30-10-1986 / Gold Coast Blaze

Julian KHAZZOUH / 209cm / Centre / 23-2-1986 / Sydney Kings (NBL)

Daniel KICKERT / 208cm / Forward / 29-3-1983 / PGE Turow (Poland)

Damian MARTIN / 188cm / Guard / 2-9-1984 / Perth Wildcats (NBL)

Matt NIELSEN / 208cm / Forward / 3-2-1978 / BC Khimki (Russia)

Mark WORTHINGTON / 202cm / Forward / 8-6-1983 / Gold Coast Blaze (NBL)


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  BAHAMAS   


Bahamians sign on to play with major NCAA Division I Colleges - by Eurobasket News

Seated from left are Carey, Bail and Curtis. Standing is Lamar Consolidated High varsity head basketball coach Luke Lucky.

Bahamians Micheal Carey, Wannah Bail and Tristen Curtis, from Lamar Consolidated High School, recently signed their letters of intent to play NCAA Division I basketball. Curtis signed with Coastal Carolina University, and Bail and Carey are headed to play at Texas Tech.

Frank Rutherford's hand in the development of the future of basketball in The Bahamas is truly putting the country in a position to reap huge success at all levels in the future.

Shaquille Cleare, a 6'10 power forward, is headed to play in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for the University of Maryland. Danrad Knowles, a 6'10 small forward, signed with the University of Houston. Kendal Deveaux, a 6'8 power forward, committed to play at Coastal Carolina University. Tristen Curtis, a 6'8 small forward, also signed with Coastal Carolina University, and Wannah Bail and Michael Carey are headed to play at Texas Tech University.

This represents the biggest class of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I signees of Bahamian basketball players since the Miami Jackson Five in the 1970s. That group included two-time NBA Champion Mychal Sweet Bells Thompson, Cecil Rose, Charles Thompson and Osbourne Lockhart. This was the most successful group of Bahamians playing high school basketball in the United States in the history of sports in the country. That group produced multiple professional players, including the number one overall pick in the 1978 National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft, Mychal Sweet Bells Thompson, who is also the first foreign born player to be taken number one overall in the draft.

Rutherfords influence in putting young Bahamian basketball players in prime position to maximize their potential, goes beyond measure. His record speaks for itself as his program, based in Houston, Texas, continues to produce top talented Bahamians year after year. Rutherford has helped numerous young Bahamians obtain scholarships to further their education and pursue athletic dreams. In particular, he continues to guide young basketball players who want to play Division I basketball, get their college degree and have a chance to get to the NBA.

Source: Nassau Guardian Sports


Men getting ready for Centrobasket 2012 - by Eurobasket News

The Bahamas won the silver at last years CBC Championships for men, right here in The Bahamas. The national team will play in the Centrobasket Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from June 18-24.

Executive members in the Bahamas Basketball Federation (BBF) are hoping to have all hands on deck when the Centrobasket Championships tip off in June.
Calls were made by mens head coach Mario Bowleg to quite a few professional and college players earlier this year. Local players were also put on notice for the start of national basketball training. When the gym doors were opened, on Monday, Bowleg said the large number of players who were on hand is a positive sign.

We are very pleased with the turnout,?he said. We werent too keen about having 100 guys in the gym because we are looking at the guys who played on the CBC (Caribbean Basketball Confederation Championships) team and some of the other players who are in college or playing on the professional level. We want those players come home and play. Right now, in practice, we have persons who have played professional ball like Mitch Johnson (185-G, college: Stanford), Jeffrey Henfield (193-G-85, college: Tarleton St.) and Aaron Eneas (202-F-78, agency: Promotex). The college players are also home right now and we anticipate them competing.

I?just got a word from Bennet Davis this morning, that he has wrapped up his season in Japan and will be heading home some time at the end of the month. That will give him about three weeks to work out with the team prior to departure, so we are looking to improve as far as the statistics are concerned, especially from the last tournament.

The Centrobasket Championships, or the second leg of the qualifying round for Caribbean countries hoping to make it to the ultimate level, will be held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 18-24. The Bahamas will open up against Cuba on the first day of the tournament, June 18, at 3:30 p.m. Both teams are playing in Group A along with Puerto Rico, Panama and Nicaragua. Over in Group B are the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the U.S.?Virgin Islands, Mexico and Costa Rica.
If Team Bahamas is successful, they would head to the Tournament of Americas in July, which would bring them a step closer to Olympic qualification.
Bowleg said:?If we get all of the personnel that we want I?am sure we will qualify. We are still looking at some of the young players like Michael Carey and Shaquille Cleare. We should get a word back from them in short order, as far as it relates to their availability. They should be available, but?I think they have to do summer classes. If that is the case, then we hope that they can switch from the early summer classes and do the late summer classes so they can come home and represent their country.

Some of the other guys, we are working on trying to bring them home but we have to wait on them. Rony Cadot phoned me, on Tuesday, and advised me that he has training camp with the Houston Rockets. He will be working out with the Chicago Bulls too, but he intends to come home when that is finished, so, we in the executive of the BBF and the coaching staff are going to do our endeavor best to put the best team possible together, based on who we have available.
The team will have to use past experience when they head into competition in June since no warm-up tournaments are scheduled. However, Bowleg said a few scrimmage games will be played. Bowleg, who assisted Larry Brown in the last tournament, said the same system will be used but he intends to improve on it so it can fit the talent pool.

Practice sessions are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 6:30 pm, at the Kendal G.L.?Isaacs national Gymnasium. It continues on Saturdays at 8 a.m.

Source: Nassau Guardian Sports


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  BAHRAIN   

Standings

Premier Standings
Places 1-6
 1. Al Manama 2-1 
 2. Muharraq 2-1 
 3. Sitra 2-1 
 4. Al Hala 2-1 
 5. Al Ahli 1-2 
 6. Issa Town 0-3 
Places 7-11
 1. Al Ittihad 0-0 
 2. Al Najma 0-0 
 3. Bahrain Club 0-0 
 4. Nuwaidrat 0-0 
 5. Samaheej 0-0 
Stage One Standings

Second Stage: Round 3

Jun. 6: Issa Town - Al Manama 75-89
Jun. 6: Al Hala - Muharraq 73-95
Jun. 6: Sitra - Al Ahli 60-48

Second Stage: Round 4

Jun. 9: Sitra - Issa Town
Jun. 9: Al Manama - Al Hala
Jun. 11: Al Ahli - Muharraq



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  BELGIUM   


Ethias League Transfers - by Peter Buyse

Woth one game left in the playoffs, teams are already starting to get their rosters stacked for next season.
Belgian Cup Winner Generali Okapi Aalstar has added Belgian forward Thomas Dreesen (199-F-88) en former Leuven Center John Tofi (203-F/C-84, college: UTEP) to their 2012-2013 roster. This will be Tofi's 4th season in Belgium, after Verviers-Pepinster and Leuven.
The team has previously extended the contracts of Christopher Young (206-F/C-79, college: Michigan) and Hans Van Langenhove (200-F-80).

Belfius Mons-Hainaut also founds its first new recruit in Josh Bostic (196-F-87, college: Findlay, OH), who left a great impression during his first season in Belgium, becoming the 2nd leading scorer with 16.7 ppg to go with 5.7 rpg.


Leuven Transfer - by Peter Buyse

Stella Artois Leuven Bears today added former North Carolina State Power forward Tracy Smith (203-F, college: N.Carolina St.) to their roster for the coming season.
Smith played 4 seasons at NC State and his junior year was his best with averages of 16.6 ppg and 7.3 rpg which earned him ACC 2nd team honors.
His senior year he played in 21 games and averaged 14.0 ppg and 5.7 rpg. He missed 3 weeks of his senior season due to a knee injury.
This past season he played 14 games in Georgia for Tbilisi and scored 17.6 rpg to go with 9.0 rpg.
In 2007 he was a member of the U17 team USA.


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  BOSNIA   


TOP 10 UNDER 22 PROSPECTS FROM BOSNIA AND HERCIGOVINA - by Chris Mathieu

TOP 10 UNDER 22 PROSPECTS FROM BOSNIA AND HERCIGOVINA
BiH has a long tradition of producing top tier talent in Europe and for the NBA from Mirza Delibasic, Predrag Danilovic, Vladmir Radmanovic, Damir Mulaomerovic, Damir Markota, Aleksandar Radojovic to more recent draftees Emir Preldzic, Nedzad Sinanovic, Edin Bavcic, Bojan Bogdanovic. Bosnia is entering an interesting period as for the first time in 20 years, they are approaching a youth generation, those born after the end of the war in 1995.
They are starting to produce some top tier talent and also attracting scouts and coaches from the top leagues in Europe, mostly Spain instead of just regionally for Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia. Basketball in Bosnia is becoming better organized on the youth level and fewer of these talents are slipping through the cracks as well. Bosnia is getting well recognized for producing the talent that it has done so consistently for over 30 years.
With that in mind this is a list of Bosnian talent, regardless of the league they play in, what passport they are acquiring or what nationality they consider themselves to be.
1. Nedim Dedovic SG More talented than his famous older brother who has a chance to get drafted this summer by the NBA. Nedim is a more natural shooter, with a more smooth polished game for such a young player. Spain and Bosnia has pursued him for their national teams for years but he hasnt made a commitment to either as of yet. Nedim looks to be a top flight European player at the worst. If he continues to develop he as a good shot at getting drafted by the NBA.
2. Sandro Gacic PG another silky smooth player with a polished game for such a young player. Sandro is the best PG prospect from Bosnia since Zoran Planinic. A good shooter and ball handler he has a good chance of being drafted by the NBA as well.
3. Jusuf Nurkic C Jusuf has a chance to be the best of this list, his talent is huge and his upside is off the charts. A mini version of Arvydas Sabonis he can do it all, pass, shoot, rebound and block shots. He has a good NBA body for such a young player albeit underdeveloped. He is a surprisingly good athlete but is uber talented as well. If he gets good coaching and works hard he could be an NBA lottery pick.
4. Samir Sehic PF One of the best HS prospects in the US. Samir has an excellent skill set and ability. He is getting excellent high school coaching in the US and should be a valuable asset to the team in the future. A bit undersized for the NBA at 68 if he grows a couple more inches and continues to develop he could be a beast. He is quick into his moves on the court even if he isnt an outstanding athlete. He is very fundamentally sound, is a good shooter from the outside and an underrated passer.
5. Nedim Buza Ultra talented player with a very nice skill set. He can operate on the perimeter and has some skills attacking the basket. Nedim exudes talent and ability, he just lacks a position at this point in his career. He tends to operate near the perimeter but looks like he would be best served learning some post moves like an up and under or a simple drop step. He would benefit from playing at a 3 or 4 position learning the fundamentals with a quality coach and expanding his repertoire from there and then expanding it out from there.
6. Adnan Vrabac A ultra-talented guard with great size, Adnan is just too soft and inconsistent at this point. He really needs to figure out what he does well either outside shooting, attacking the basket or developing a midrange game and build upon that. He doesnt use his size well at this point and needs to add weight and refine his skills; he is very raw at this point. One of the hardest things to ever coach up is softness, either youre a tough player or not. If he puts in the time and adds a couple of consistent moves he could be special.
7. Adnan Omeragic A Spainish born Bosnian who has a nice all around skill set. He does a lot of the little things that will help a team win. He should develop into an excellent glue guy at worst and could develop into a 2-3 tier starter on a good team. He reminds me of another Bosnian Dusan Vukcevic who had an excellent career in Europe even if he was very underrated.
8. Dzenan Kurtic Has already started to see limited minutes for his French club in Euroleague. He has been pursued by the French National Teams and has turned down those offers even if he hasnt made any of the Bosnian teams yet. He looks like he will be a solid pro in Europe for years to come.
9. Doko Salic A talented big man big who shows a good overall skill and is developing early. Doko would benefit greatly working with a man coach and becoming more of a post presence. Already highly regarded in Serbia he should go onto become a very solid European pro.
10. Nermin Buza Named the captain of the famed KK BOSNA franchise after the dismissal of star Dzenan Rahimic. Nermin just started to get playing time this season and responded well, even if he was inconsistent. Nermin needs consistently close to thirty minutes a game to prove his talent. It is hard to tell if he will ever develop into a big-time player.
Honorable mention: Dino Muminovic G/F, Miralem Halilovic G/F, Dejan Todorovic SF, Emir Sulejmanovic PF, Mirza Alibegovic G, Djordje Micic SF, Darijan Stipanovic F/C, Boris Barac F, Marko Miletic SG, Alen Omic C, Armin Mazic SF, Stefan Durasinovic F, Kenan Karahodzic F,


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  BRAZIL   


Splitter blasted and benched in Spurs closeout game - by Mel Devonne

It wont go down as the best moment for Brasil basketball, but Tiago Splitter (211-C/F-85, agency: Interperformances) caught the attention
of national viewers of the NBA when he was publicly blasted from his head coach Greg Popivich
in game 6 of the 2012 NBA playoffs as the Spurs lost 4-2 in the NBA western conference finals.
Splitter missed a double team assignment and then fouled Kevin Durrant for a 3 point play during the 3rd
quarter of game 6 of the Western conference finals. After Splitter commited the foul, Spurs coach, Greg
Popivich screamed at Splitter and quickly removed him from the game where he didnt return in a
closing game loss for the Spurs.
Its a tough way to end the season for the Spurs, and really tough for Splitter who will have to live with this
til next season. Splitter, who had a productive season for the Spurs must keep his concentration, and
stay focused during the NBA playoffs. Lets hope Splitter will bounce back with the London Olympics,
and continue his NBA career.


Marcelinho Huertas' wild triple at the buzzer brings Barcelona 1-0 lead in Spanish league Finals - by Eurobasket News

Regal Barca is 1-0 up in Liga Endesa Finals against Real Madrid. The hosts trailed by 12 points after three quarters before their 27-14 charge, which allowed them to win the game. Actually, it was Marcelinho Huertas (191-PG-83, agency: Edge Sports) who made a wild triple at the buzzer for the final 81-80 victory. It was the first lead for Regal Barca in the second half. Before Huertas' bomb of the board, Sergio Llull missed a triple for Real Madrid. Regal FC Barcelona made 16-of-19 free shots (84.2 percent) during the game. Juan Carlos Navarro (192-G-80) drained 21 points for the winners, Slovenian big guy Erazem Lorbek (209-84, college: Michigan St.) had 18 points and 5 rebounds (on 8-of-9 shooting from the field) and American forward Pete Mickeal (199-78, college: Cincinnati) added 17 points and 5 rebounds. At the losing side American-Azerbaijani point guard Jaycee Carroll (188-83, agency: Priority Sports) responded with 18 points and Croatian center Ante Tomic (217-87) scored 16 points and 7 rebounds. Four Real Madrid players scored in double figures. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. The format is best-of-five and second game is scheduled for Friday. That game will also be played at the Palau Blaugrana. Barca is the defending champion and they also were the regular season champs.

Click HERE to see Huertas' triple.

Marcelinho Huertas averages 8.3 points, 3.4 assists and 2.6 rebounds in Spain.


Latinbasket.com All-Brazilian League Awards 2011-12 - by Paulo Freire

Latinbasket.com All-Brazilian League 1st Team 2012
#s#
Murilo Becker
Becker
Fulvio de Assis
de Assis
Alex Ribeiro
Ribeiro
Marquinhos Vieira
Vieira
Guilherme Giovannoni
Giovannoni
#e#5

Player of the Year: Murilo Becker (210-C/F-83) of S.Jose/Unimed
Guard of the Year: Fulvio de Assis (187-G-81) of S.Jose/Unimed
Forward of the Year: Guilherme Giovannoni (202-F-80) of Uniceub/BRB
Center of the Year: Murilo Becker (210-C/F-83) of S.Jose/Unimed
Import Player of the Year: David Jackson (196-G-82) of Flamengo
Newcomer of the Year: Luciano Gonzalez (196-F-90) of Obras Argentina
Most Improved Domestic Player of the Year: Gui Deodato (190-F-91) of Itabom/Bauru
Domestic Player of the Year: Murilo Becker (210-C/F-83) of S.Jose/Unimed
Defensive Player of the Year: Atila Santos (208-C-83) of Flamengo
Coach of the Year: Regis Marrelli of S.Jose/Unimed

1st Team
G: Fulvio de Assis (187-81) of S.Jose/Unimed
G: Alex Ribeiro (191-80) of Uniceub/BRB
F: Marquinhos Vieira (207-84) of Pinheiros/Sky
F: Guilherme Giovannoni (202-80) of Uniceub/BRB
C/F: Murilo Becker (210-83) of S.Jose/Unimed

2nd Team
PG: Welington Dos Santos (185-81) of Uniceub/BRB
F/G: Marcelo Magalhaes (199-75) of Flamengo
SG: Shamell Stallworth (196-80) of Pinheiros/Sky
F: Olivinha Rodriguez (202-83) of Pinheiros/Sky
F/C: Lucas Cipolini (206-86) of Unitri/Universo

Honorable Mention
Rashad Bishop (198-F-88) of Cia do Terno
Kojo Mensah (185-PG-85) of Cia do Terno
Kenny Dawkins (175-G-87) of Liga Sorocaba
Cristiano Felicio (206-C-92) of Minas
Matheus Barba (198-F-91) of Vila Velha
Eddy Carvalho (194-G/F-87) of Paulistano
Betinho Nardi Duarte (195-G/F-88) of Paulistano
Paulinho Boracini (183-G-84) of Pinheiros/Sky
Dede Stefanelli (196-F/G-84) of S.Jose/Unimed
Ronald Ramon (185-G-86) of Winner/Limeira
Renato Scholz (197-F-88) of Cia do Terno
Robert Day (197-F-82) of Unitri/Universo
Robby Collum (185-G-81) of Unitri/Universo
David Jackson (196-G-82) of Flamengo

All-Domestic Players Team
G: Fulvio de Assis (187-81) of S.Jose/Unimed
G: Alex Ribeiro (191-80) of Uniceub/BRB
F: Marquinhos Vieira (207-84) of Pinheiros/Sky
F: Guilherme Giovannoni (202-80) of Uniceub/BRB
C/F: Murilo Becker (210-83) of S.Jose/Unimed

All-Imports Team
G: Larry Taylor (185-80) of Itabom/Bauru
G: Kevin Sowell (190-81) of Vivo/Franca
SG: Shamell Stallworth (196-80) of Pinheiros/Sky
F/C: Guillermo Kammerichs (203-80) of Flamengo
F/C: Jefferson Agba (209-80) of Itabom/Bauru

All-Defensive Team
Kenny Dawkins (175-G-87) of Liga Sorocaba
Alex Ribeiro (191-G-80) of Uniceub/BRB
Olivinha Rodriguez (202-F-83) of Pinheiros/Sky
Murilo Becker (210-C/F-83) of S.Jose/Unimed
Atila Santos (208-C-83) of Flamengo


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  BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS   


RANDY GEORGE to the FCM (FC Mulhouse Basket): - by David Edole

Randy George (200-F-81, college: Henderson St.) is the third rookie of the FCM (N2) to sign with FC Mulhouse Basket. George signing came as a result of Coach Jamel Beabid;s hard work. George was the first recruit of the team but only signed last week as the transfer paper work was being finalized. George completes the preliminary round of signings with Mario Porter, Jean-Michel Montabord and Xavier Di Marzio. The 6-foot-8 forward just finish a stint with Sainte - Marguerite Basket (N3) in December 2010. George was a potent scorer and put up 265 points in 12 games (2010-11). This past season, Randy George - 471 points in 22 matches - finished in 2nd place of the best scorers, behind El Hadji N'Diaye (24.28) and Moustapha Diop (19.91). Note that these three players will find themselves in pool D of N2: George to the FCM, N'diaye to KB and Diop to the SSA.




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  CHINA   


New Coach signed in China - by Robert Wang

Jiangsu team was the last place last season and they named their former star Hu Wei Dong as the head coach after the season. Now, they changed their head coach Hu and signed a new coach mr. Qui Da Zong. Coach Qiu coached CBA between 2000-2005. And also coached Jiang Su team on the season of 2003-2004. Qiu brought new ideas to Jiang Su team and led team to the second place from the 9th place. But failed at semifinal against Ba Yi team. But his coaching ability was accepted by the club. Coach Qiu went to Xin Jiang team on the season of 2004-2005. But was released on Jan. 2005. Then he went back tai wan league and coached Tai Wan Beer, Dong Sen and Da Xin teams. Qiu has good experience in CBA already and Jiang Su club put lots wish on him and hope him bring team to the playoff this year.


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  DOMINICAN REPUBLIC   


Dominican's men's national team will train in Kentucky - by Eurobasket News

The men's basketball national preselection, presented during a press conference at the headquarters building of course, official team sponsor, will begin his training on Friday at the University of Kentucky, under the direction of renowned U.S. coach John Calipari , with a view to participation in the tournament Centrobasket 2012 and Olympic Championship Playoff.

The group called for the practice is headed by Al Horford, Jack Michael Martinez, Francisco Garcia, Eulis Baez, Josh Asselin and Edgar Sosa.

Also part of the preselected Creole, Charlie Villanueva, Luis Flores, Gerardo Suero, Juan Coronado, Manuel Fortuna, Liz Victor, Ronald Ramon, Alejandro Salas, Orlando Sanchez, Eloy Vargas, Karl Towns, Manuel Guzman, Dagoberto Pena, James Feldeine, Manuel Quezada Sammy Mejia and Ricky Greer.

Calipari, who repeated as the leader of the Dominican team will be assisted by coaches Del Harris, Orlando Antigua and Rod Strickland Jose - Maita - Mercedes.

Information was provided by Rafael Uribe, president of the Dominican Basketball Federation (Fedombal) and Eduardo Najri, general manager of selected native, in the course of the meeting held with the press, involving Sprite, Powerade, Crucible, Antena Latina and Insurance Banreservas as sponsoring brands of the Dominican team.

Speaking at the ceremony, Uribe said that "in this list have bonded with the best talent available in the country in the discipline and includes basketball players who were in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Mar del Plata and others who will have the opportunity to selection. "

"This group of 12 players will be chosen to serve on the national team, whose names will be announced in due course and after being tested in practice," he said.

In turn, Najri Eduardo, who is also the representative of SouthGate Sports, a company in charge of management and administration of the Dominican team, said the facilities offered by Calipari, for the national pre-selected to train again in modern and comfortable facilities University of Kentucky, whose team heads into the NCAA tournament.

"Once again our players will enjoy a concentration and preparation at the highest level, without distractions and in an environment where athletes and coaches live together as a family," said Calipari.

The training will take place from 1st to 15th of next June, at the Joe Craft Center in Lexington, Kentucky and then the group will travel to Puerto Rico to compete in the tournament Centrobasket 2012 Pre-qualifying for next year's World.

Due to his responsibilities as coach of the University of Kentucky, Calipari could not be present at the tournament in Puerto Rico, to be played in San Juan, from 18 to 24 June, so that the reins of the selection in that event will be held by Del Harris and Orlando Antigua .

Coach Cal, will join the team in Venezuela to lead the group in their exhibition games and Olympic Championship Playoff. In this event, to be held in Caracas, Venezuela, from 2 to 8 July, 12 teams will see action and the occupants of the top three achieved their place in London in 2012.

The Olympics begin on July 27 in London and regardless of the outcome of the playoffs, the Dominican team will play an exhibition game against the United States, July 12 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Calipari will try to lead the Dominican Republic its first Olympic games, after being on the verge of doing last summer. Under his leadership, the team conquered native bronze medal at the FIBA ??Americas Olympic Qualifying Tournament, held in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

In that event, the Dominican Republic defeated archrival and Puerto Rico beat Brazil, a global power in basketball, which failed to qualify for the Olympic playoffs, to be in third place.

Source: Press Release Dominican National Team


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  EUROLEAGUE   


Mahmudi deal not reached yet - by Ugur Turker

Oktay Mahmudi (agency: Beo Basket ) did not sign contract extension with Galatasaray Medical Park Istanbul, yet. The club had announced mid May that they reached an agreement about 2+2 contract extension with Turkish Specialist. Nevertheless,today, Galatasaray Medical Park Istanbul Board asked to change contract conditions, just before singing official agreement. Represantative of Oktay Mahmudi (agency: Beo Basket ) left Turkey and it is unsure when negotiations will continue. " I do not want to make comment about what is the problem, right now " Misko Raznatovic said Eurobasket.com Turkey. Oktay Mahmudi (agency: Beo Basket ) had signed with Galatasaray Medical Park Istanbul at beginning of 2010-2011 season and his team showed impressive performances in TBL and Euroleague last two season.


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  FINLAND   


KORISLIIGA: Dallis Joyner signed with Kouvot - by Rauno Hurmalainen

American Center Dallis Joyner (200-F-90) will start his professional basketball career in Finland. Joyner has signed with Kouvot (Kouvola) and will join team roster in August-September. Joyner was the starting C at Stony Brook University, where he averaged 8,8 ppg - 6,5 rpg in 26,0 mpg and 31 games. Joyner was shooting with 60,3% accuracy (2 FGP) and 56,5% (FT). Kouvot has now 10 players signed for coming 2012-13 season, among them Joyner and American G-F Chris Hester (192-G/F-79, college: E.Washington).


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  FRANCE   


Nantes extends Elson Mendy until 2014 - by Eurobasket News

Hermine Nantes Atlantique announced signing of a 2-year contract extension with Elson Mendy (200-F-85). It means that the Senegalese forward will stay with the club until the end of the 2013/14 season. Mendy arrived to Nantes in March this year. He appeared 9 times in ProB averaging 11 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists. It seems that was enough for extension. The player started the season with JDA Dijon. There he had 2.7 ppg and 1 rpg for 3 games in ProA. Elson Mendy played for Diijon also in 2010/11 season. He registered 9.7 ppg and 3.8 rpg for 28 games with the club. In the past, he spent couple of years with Strasbourg IG. Mendy also has experience from Switzerland (Boncourt).


Cognac inks 2-year deal with PG Vincent Mouillard - by Eurobasket News

Vincent Mouillard (187-PG-87) will continue his career in Cognac. The French point guard signed a 2-year deal with the club. He arrives to Cognac from Quimper, where he had 7.4 ppg, 4.3 apg and 1.5 rpg for 23 games this season (ProB). Mouillard spent 2010/11 with Quimper as well. He averaged 9.3 points, 3.3 assists and 2 rebounds for 23 games at that time. From 2008 to 2010, Vincent Mouillard was a member of Limoges. They reached ProB Finals twice and also played in the French Cup Semis. Mouillard played for Quimper also from 2004 to 2007 and after that he spent one season with Paris-Levallois in ProA. With Quimper he reached ProB Finals in 2007. Three years before that, Mouillard won the ProB title with Chalons-en-Champagne. The point guard also has experience from Cholet and French youth National Teams.


Pierric Poupet joins Bourg - by Eurobasket News

According to French media (Catch-and-shoot), Pierric Poupet (191-G-84) is no longer a member of Rouen. Reportedly, he left the club and will join Bourg for the next season. Poupet arrived to Rouen in 2009 and he had one more year left in his contract, but he became a free agent earlier this week. He appeared 33 times in ProB this season averaging 10.8 points, 4.4 assists and 2.8 rebounds. Rouen ended as No.14 in the league with 14-20 record. In 2010/11 season, the player had 9.6 ppg, 4.1 apg and 3.1 rpg for 36 games. Before Rouen, Pierric Poupet played for Roanne. He spent two years with them. Poupet also has experience from Orleans, Bourg, Limoges and Golbey-Epinal. In 2008 with Roanne, Pierric Poupet reached ProA Finals. In 2006 with Bourg, he reached Semaine des As Finals. Poupets new team finished this season as No.9 in ProB with 16-18 record.

Update: Pierric Poupet signed 2-year deal with Bourg.


Chalons-Reims extends deal with Bryan Mullins - by Eurobasket News

Chalons-Reims announced signing of a one-year contract extension with Bryan Mullins (185-PG-87, college: S.Illinois). It will be third season for the American/Irish point guard with the club. He joined them in 2010 from Bourg. In their first season together Mullins averaged 9.1 points, 5 assists, 2.2 steals and 2.1 rebounds in 34 games. This season the point guard had slightly better numbers. For 39 games he registered 9.6 ppg, 5.6 apg and 2.3 rpg. He was named to Eurobasket.com French ProB All-Bosmans Team -10, 11. Bryan Mullins graduated at the Southern Illinois University in 2009. He played for the Irish National Team that same year. Mullins appeared 4 times with them at EuroBasket Division B averaging 16.3 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals.


Philippe Braud joins Bourg - by Eurobasket News

Bourg continued to strengthen their roster. They landed Philippe Braud (194-G-85). The team signed a two-year deal with the guard. He comes on board after Alexis Tanghe (208-F/C-90, agency: Beo Basket) and Pierric Poupet (191-G-84).
Philippe Braud spent the last season in Roanne. He tallied 6.6 points and 1.4 rebounds per EuroChallenge game. In ProA the guard notched 6.7 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per appearance. It was the second straight season with Roanne for Philippe Braud. Previously he played for Chalon-Sur-Saone. Philippe Braud was the member of U20 French National Team back in 2005.


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  FYR MACEDONIA   


Macedonian U16 National Team preparations for European Championships Div.B - by Greg

The Basketball Coach of the U16 National Team Igor Mihajlovski , tonight at the gym "Independent Macedonia" in Skopje will deal with the last of those unofficial training. This Weekend they play Final Four tournament league for youth players and immediately after, begin preparations for the official presentation of the EC team in Romania.
Representation of Macedonia under 16 years, this summer will play the European Cup ( B Division ) in Romania, in the same group with Bulgaria , Slovakia , Denmark and Belgium. Tournament begins on 19 July and will last 10 days. On the competition for places in A - Division are total of 21 teams.


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  GERMANY   


John Bynum (Ulm Cant Have Any Let Ups, Because 2 Bad Minutes In Bamberg Can Determine A Game) - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber

John Bynum (191-G-78, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement, college: Metro St.) is a 34 year old 191 cm guard from Visalia California that recently completed his second season with TBB Trier. He is a good fighter, fast and good in offensive playing. He is great athlete who shoot the ball with consistency from 3 and finish with authority on the break. He is a tremendous defender on the ball. He played college basketball at College of the Sequoias Junior College:from 1996-1998 and then transferred to Metropolitan St. (NCAA2): and played there from 1998-2000. He started his professional basketball career in 2001 in the Uk for the Solent Stars (United Kingdom-NBLConf): 31 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assist. In 2002-2003, came his first tour of duty in Germany for BSG Grevenbroich (Germany-Regionalliga): 24.7ppg, 9.2rpg, 6.7apg, 3.5spg. In 2003-2004, he played for the Ulriken Eagles (Norway-BNLO): Regular Season: 14 games: 20,1ppg, 8,1rpg, 2,5apg, 2,9spg, 0,4bpg.In 2004-2005, he was back in Germany playing for BSG Grevenbroich (Germany-2. can Bundesliga): 30 games: Score-5 (26.0ppg), 7.7rpg, Ast-4 (5.4apg), 1.7spg, 2FGP: 55.5%, 3FGP: 33.3%, FT: 63.6%. In 2005-2006, he played for InterCollege Etha Engomis (Cyprus-A1): only pre-season, then joined COOCOON Baskets Weiden (Germany-2.Bundesliga, starting five): 8 games: 15.6ppg, 5.9rpg, 2.0apg, 1.6spg, 2FGP: 51%, left in Jan.'06 and later that month signed at Eisbaeren Bremerhaven (Germany-1.Bundesliga): 21 games: 7.8ppg, 2.6rpg, 1.8apg, 2FGP: 56.5%. In 2006-2007, he played for the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven (Germany-1.Bundesliga): 31 games: 5.7ppg, 2.0rpg, 2.2apg, 2FGP: 43.1%, 3FGP: 25.0%, FT: 55.9%. In 2007-2008, he played for USC Heidelberg (Germany-ProA, starting five): 14 games: 14.4ppg, 4.4rpg, Assists-5 (4.6apg), 2.3spg, 2FGP: 54%, 3FGP: 27.3%, FT: 58.5%, left in Jan.'08 due to shoulder injury, in Feb.'08 moved to Digibu Baskets Paderborn (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 13 games: 6.3ppg, 3.0rpg, 2.4apg, 2FGP: 51.8%, 3PT: 14.3%, FT: 70.0%. In 2009-2010, he played in the PRO A for Proveo Merlins Crailsheim (Germany-ProA, starting five): 27 games: 16.9ppg, 7.1rpg, Assists-3 (5.4apg), 1.1spg, FGP: 51.8%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 62.8%. Last season with TBB Trier, he played 35 games: 6.9ppg, 3.7rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 47.9%, 3PT: 24.0%, FT: 64.3%. He sat down with Eurobasket before the 2012 Beko BBL final between Bamberg and Ulm.

If someone had told you before the 2011-2012 Beko BBL season started that ratiopharm Ulm would be in the final what would you have said?


Well I wouldn't say they were on the list of teams that were on anyone's list but they have some great players who came together and played really well together but I can't say that I expected them to be there from the opening day.

Were you surprised that the Brose Baskets Bamberg and ratiopharm Ulm were able to sweep their series?


I was surpised at the Bamberg Artland series. In my opinion and no disrespect to Ulm but that was the series I thought would determine the champion. I was really surprised about the outcome of the series between Bamberg and Artland but not really surpised about the Ulm series, they matched up well against Wurzburg.

Who wins the guard matchup? Bamberg without classic point guard John Goldsberry, but with their experience, routine and top point guard Anton Gavel and Mr I can make shots in bunches Brian Roberts vs the consistent guard duo of Per Guenther and Tommy Mason-Griffin?


Well I have to go with experience. I like bambergs duo at the point guard position. Griffin mason is a going to be huge in the series for Ulm. I think he will be getting a lot more minutes but even so Roberts and Gavel are tough. At the end of the Bamberg guards have played so much together this season.

Is Per Guenther the best German point guard at the moment?

He is up at the top of the list for sure. I like Heiko in Berlin as well but I think those are the best two hands down at the pg position for Germans.


Who wins the forward matchup? Bamberg with the nonstop power of PJ Tucker, Predrag Suput and Casey Jacobson vs Ulm with their versatility in Dane Watts, Steven Esterkamp and Keaton Nankivil?

I think Bamberg has the advantage here as well. I think Tucker is a tough matchup for any of the guys you named for Ulm. You also got to find someone to chase around Casey off the 200 screens they set for him as well. But don't count out Esterkamp he can shoot the ball really well and I like Watts a lot as well he really does a lot of things that don't show up on the stat sheet for Ulm.

Who wins the center matchup. Brose Bamberg with future NBA player and much improved Tibor Pleiss against the current Beko BBL MVP John Bryant?


Well I like John Bryant in this match up. Tibor has to find a way to keep JB out the paint and use his length to his advantage because if JB gets deep position it's going to be a long series for Tibor and Tibor will have to step out because Bryant can shoot the mid range jumper as well.

What will be key for ratiopharm Ulm/Brose Baskets Bamberg to winning the 2012 Beko BBL title?


Well I think for Bamberg it's going to be slowing down Swann and containing Bryant. Bamberg is so deep ulm can not have any let ups from the bench because two bad minutes against a team like Bamberg can determine the game especially in Bamberg. But overall it's going to be a tough task to beat Bamberg. I think for Ulm to win they just have to play their game and keep doing what they have been doing all year and that is playing together.

Thanks John for the chat.


Dennis Nawrocki Remains With Wolfenbuettel - by Miles Schmidt-Scheuber


After keeping Jack Hanley, Henje Knopke and Frank Theis, MTV Herzoege Wolfenbuettel have announced that Dennis Nawrocki (190-G-92) will also play this season for the PRO B club. Nawrocki is a 19 year old 190cm guard and last season showed his qualities as a teenager in the PRO B playing 26 games: 10.3ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.9apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 31.8%, FT: 64.6%. "Dennis isnt only an excellent defender, but can also give the game impulses. He doesnt only score, but also has eye for his teammates. He still has so much more potential and will continue to improve and continue to be an important part of the team", added head coach Benjamin Travnizek.

Source: MTV Herzoege Wolfenbuettel


Gotha Rockets sign three new players for 2012-13 Pro A season - Will POY Marcus Monk come back? - by Moritz Korff

The summer break has only just begun, but Pro A newcomer Gotha Rockets has already come far in building the roster for the 2012-13 season.
Today the Rockets announced the signing of three new players: Ahmad Smith (194-G-84, college: St.Bonaventure), Jan Lipke (193-G-83, agency: Court Side) and Joleik Schaffrath (206-C-88, agency: The House of Baller!Stars) will quality and experience to Mario Simic's team in its first Pro A season. Also Leo Niebuhr (208-F-86), Dmitrj Kreis (185-G-88) and Torvoris Baker (203-F-83, college: Detroit Mercy) were handed contract extensions. However, it remains to be seen if fan favorite Marcus Monk (198-G/F-86, agency: The House of Baller!Stars, college: Arkansas), the 2011-12 Eurobasket.com Pro B Player of the Year, will return to Gotha.
Smith transfers from Pro A runner-up Kirchheim Knights to Gotha. He was a Eurobasket.com Pro A First Team selection and led the league in assists per game (6.7). He also scored close to 10 points per contest for the Knights and pulled down 6.1 rebounds per contest. Just like Smith, Lipke will bring lots of experience to the Rockets' squad. The 28-year-old has more than 200 BBL appearances under his belt and also played a single season at Passe Partout Basket Groot Leuven of Belgium. In the 2011-12 campaign the former German A2 international averaged 16.4 points per contest for Pro A team Leitershofen/Stadtbergen. Schaffrath saw action in 32 Pro A games on the BV Chemnitz team. He scored 8.2 points and corraled 5.6 rebounds a contest.


Germany U16 lose to France in Vittel - by Eurobasket News

France U16 - Germany U16 59:57

German U16 National Team travelled to France to play three exhibition games. They took on the hosts on Tuesday in the opener in Vittel. France eked out a narrow two-point victory at the end.
The home team led by two points after the starting quarter 17:15. Germany took over in the second quarter. The visitors knocked down 21 points to ensure a 36:32 halftime lead. The German youngsters stretched the margin to as many as 6 points before the final term. But France went on a 15:7 run in the fourth quarter and snatched a narrow win at the end. Constantin Ebert (180-PG-96) stepped up with 15 points to lead Germany. Lars Kamp (182-G-96) added 14 points, while Andreas Obst (190-G-96) had 6 points in the loss.


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  IBL   


Vancouver's Andre Murray named Player of the Week - by Kip Leonetti

Vancouver Volcanoes guard Andre Murray (6'2''-G-87, college: Portland St.) has been selected as the International Basketball League's Player of the Week after averaging 31 points and 8 rebounds per game in two games last weekend.

On Friday night, Murray led the Volcanoes with 33 points while chipping in 6 rebounds and 4 assists as they fell to league leading Bellingham 128-115. The next night he had 29 points, 10 rebounds,and 3 blocked shots and helped Vancouver to a 148-108 win over the Nippon Tornadoes. For the weekend, Murray shot 50 percent from the field including 9 three-point baskets.

The 6-foot-2 guard out of Portland State University now leads the league in scoring with 27.4 points per game -- after averaging around 25 the previous two seasons -- and has the Volcanoes in the top spot in the IBL's Continental Conference standings with an 8-4 record.

''Leading the league in scoring wasn't my main focus but scoring is one of the main categories I focus on this year,'' said Murray, who doesnt feel the pressure of having a target on his back. ''I do see teams or certain individuals keying in on me more but, I like the challenge and as a player I need to make the right adjustments to become successful throughout a game so that their defensive schemes don't work against me.''

Head Coach Joe Navarro took over this season for the Volcanoes and has been thoroughly impressed with Murrays work ethic and leadership. ''Andre leads us on and off the court. Hes never missed a practice this season and is always the first one there. His style of play is exciting to watch and his one of the crowd favorites,'' commented Navarro who, along with Murray, has guided the Volcanoes to a strong start a season removed from their IBL Championship. ''He is a very underrated defender because of all the points he scores. He is consistently in the league lead in steals, and usually gets matched with the opponents best perimeter scorer.''

Murray, who has also played overseas in previous years with the Bochum Astro Stars in Germany, is looking forward to the home stretch and defending the Volcanoes championship. ''I would say we are working on everything on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, we don't have many struggles so once we fix the little things on the defensive side we will be just fine,'' explained Murray, who wasnt happy about dropping their home game against Bellingham. "No ones likes to lose and especially at home. But we are looking forward to playing them in the future, especially me.''


Former Sonics Legend Gary Payton Pays Reign a Visit - by Kip Leonetti

The Olympia Reign had a special guest Thursday night in nine-time NBA All-Star Gary Payton. The former Supersonic great, nicknamed the Glove, watched as they defeated the Nippon Tornadoes 136-129 in front of a crowd of more than 800 fans as the Reign increased their following at their new home inside the Skookum Creek Events Center at Little Creek Casino Resort.

Payton, who is currently living in Las Vegas, was invited a few weeks back by a close family friend and CEO of the Little Creek Casino where the Reign play their home games. Reign owner Mark Felton got a chance to spend the game with Payton. ''We introduced him. He stood up and signed a lot of autographs. I talked to him the majority of the game. We put him up in a suite so he could watch the game from there. Hes a good guy,'' said Felton of the future NBA Hall of Famer.

It didn't take long for Payton to make his way down to the court though. ''During the game he was on the sideline for a little bit and he called [Marcus Whittaker] over and told him he wanted to see him move his feet. The next time down Marcus moved his feet and got in front of his player and Gary said, 'See, thats just what we gotta do.''' The moral of the story: when a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year gives you advice, you should probably take it and Whittaker did just that to a successful outcome.

Payton was impressed by the Skookum Creek Event Center, the Reign's new venue, as well as many of the players. Felton mentioned that Payton showed some interest in being a guest coach during a practice or assisting the organization in some other way in the future. Overall, it was a great experience for Felton, the players and the fans. With several NBA connections already, the International Basketball League's reputation and atmosphere is quickly becoming big news.


*****************************************************
  IRELAND   


Chalons-Reims extends deal with Bryan Mullins - by Eurobasket News

Chalons-Reims announced signing of a one-year contract extension with Bryan Mullins (185-PG-87, college: S.Illinois). It will be third season for the American/Irish point guard with the club. He joined them in 2010 from Bourg. In their first season together Mullins averaged 9.1 points, 5 assists, 2.2 steals and 2.1 rebounds in 34 games. This season the point guard had slightly better numbers. For 39 games he registered 9.6 ppg, 5.6 apg and 2.3 rpg. He was named to Eurobasket.com French ProB All-Bosmans Team -10, 11. Bryan Mullins graduated at the Southern Illinois University in 2009. He played for the Irish National Team that same year. Mullins appeared 4 times with them at EuroBasket Division B averaging 16.3 points, 4.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals.


*****************************************************
  ITALY   

Stats Leaders - Lega2

Points Per Game
 Troy BELL
  S.Antimo
  (186-PG-80)
  Avg: 23.2
 1. Bell, S.Antimo23.2 
 2. Hardy, Giorgio22.8 
 3. Marigney, Givova S.21.2 
 4. Freeman, MarcoPol.20.9 
 5. Voskuil, Morpho B.18.8 
 6. Maggioli, Fileni B.18.5 
 7. Robinson, Trenkwal.18.0 
 8. McConnell, Fileni17.6 
 9. Taylor, Trenkwal.17.1 
 10. Brooks, Fileni BPA17.0 
Rebounds Per Game
 James THOMAS
  Givova S.
  (203-F/C-80)
  Avg: 11.8
 1. Thomas, Givova S.11.8 
 2. Anderson, Morpho B.8.2 
 3. Jones, Giorgio7.9 
 4. Maggioli, Fileni B.7.7 
 5. Baldassarre, Bianc.7.5 
 6. Waleskowski, Tezen.7.4 
 7. Borovnjak, Enel B.7.2 
 8. Diliegro, Assi Ost.7.1 
 9. Kotti, Aget Imola6.9 
 10. Brooks, Fileni BPA6.9 
Assists Per Game
 Mike GREEN
  Sigma B.
  (185-PG-85)
  Avg: 4.9
 1. Green, Sigma B.4.9 
 2. Johnson, Assi O.4.5 
 3. Porta, Tezenis4.4 
 4. Kelley, Biancobl.3.5 
 5. Whiting, Aget Imola3.4 
 6. McConnell, Fileni3.4 
 7. Marigney, Givova S.3.4 
 8. Renfroe, Enel B.3.3 
 9. Blizzard, Biancobl.3.0 
 10. Goldwire, Centra.3.0 
Steals Per Game
 Mario WEST
  Tezenis .
  (195-G-84)
  Avg: 3.1
 1. West, Tezenis3.1 
 2. Thompson, Centra.2.6 
 3. Green, Sigma B.2.6 
 4. Robinson, Trenkwal.2.4 
 5. Baldassarre, Bianc.2.4 
 6. Porta, Tezenis2.3 
 7. Radulovic, Givova2.3 
 8. Marigney, Givova S.2.3 
 9. Goldwire, Centra.2.2 
 10. McConnell, Fileni2.1 
Blocks Per Game
 Riccardo CERVI
  Trenkwalder
  (215-C-91)
  Avg: 2.2
 1. Cervi, Trenkwalder2.2 
 2. Maggioli, Fileni B.1.7 
 3. Thomas, Givova S.0.9 
 4. Radulovic, Givova0.9 
 5. Brkic, Prima Veroli0.8 
 6. Chiacig, Trenkwald.0.7 
 7. Da Ros, Sigma B.0.6 
 8. Kotti, Aget Imola0.6 
 9. Zerini, Enel Brind.0.6 
 10. Busma, Centrale.0.5 


Cimberio Varese officially hires Francesco Vitucci - by Eurobasket News

As expected, Francesco Vitucci officially takes over Cimberio Varese as Head Coach. The Italian specialist signed a 2-season deal with the club. Vitucci spent last two years with Avellino. They were No.9 in the league this season with 15-17 record. Before Avelino, Vitucci coached Benetton Treviso. He was hired by Benetton as Assistant Coach in 2003 and finally in 2009 he got the promotion. However, Vitucci was Head Coach of the team for only few months as they parted ways in January of 2010. In the past, Francesco Vitucci coached Scafati and Imola. In 2009, he served as Assistant Coach of the Italian National Team. They competed at Mediterranean Games and EuroBasket in Poland. Vitucci's new team Cimberio Varese reached SerieA Quarterfinals this year. They ended as No.8 of the regular season with 17-15 record.


Riccardo Cervi prolongs contract with Trenkwalder - by Eurobasket News

Trenkwalder have agreed on terms of contract extension with Riccardo Cervi (215-C-91). The centre signed a new three-year contract with the Reggio Emilia team. The contract has an NBA out clause. Riccardo Cervi joined Trenkwalder back in 2009. Last season he tallied 4.5 points, 4.5 rebounds per appearance. He was the member of U16, U18 and U20 Italian National Teams. Last year Riccado Cervi participate at U20 European Championship in Spain. The centre averaged 4.2 points, 2.1 boards and 1.4 blocks per game in Bilbao.
In the meantime Trenkwalder did not manage to re-sign contract with Dawan Robinson (189-G-82, college: Rhode Island). The guard moved to Reggio Emilia back in 2010/11 season. Last season he posted 18.0 points, 4.6 boards and 2.7 assists per appearance.


Lega2 Round 1 of Finals. Enel Brindisi cruise to the victory - by Eurobasket News

Enel Brindisi - Giorgio Tesi PT 79-47

Enel Brindisi got to a victorious start of LegaDue Finals as they stormed past Pistoia. The game was mostly controlled by Enel Brindisi. Tuscany Pistoia managed to win fourth quarter 17-16. But it was not enough to take a lead and get a victory that evening. They dominated on the defensive end, holding Tuscany Pistoia to just 6 points in third quarter. They outrebounded Tuscany Pistoia 41-26 including a 32-14 advantage in defensive rebounds. American point guard Alex Renfroe (191-86, college: Belmont) stepped up and scored 21 points and 6 rebounds for the winners and Serbian power forward Dejan Borovnjak (207-86, agency: Beo Basket) chipped in 15 points and 7 rebounds (on 6-of-7 shooting from the field). At the losing side American forward Bobby Jones (201-84, college: Washington) responded with 10 points and 8 rebounds and the other American import point guard Dwight Hardy (188-87, college: St.John's) scored 14 points. 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:
Enel Brindisi: A.Renfroe 21+6reb+2ast, D.Borovnjak 15+7reb+2ast, J.Gibson 14+3reb+5ast, A.Zerini 8+7reb, C.Callahan 8+3reb+1ast, K.Ndoja 8+4reb+1ast
Giorgio Tesi PT: D.Hardy 14+2reb+1ast, B.Jones 10+8reb, F.Toppo 8+5reb+1ast, G.Gurini 4+1reb+3ast, L.Saccaggi 4+3reb+1ast, G.Galanda 4+3reb+1ast
gschID: 177508



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


BJ announces Protected Players - by John Scribe

The BJ (Basketball Japan) League today announced the protection list prior to the 2012 expansion draft.
Tokyo and Gunma will be entering the fold for the 2012-2013 season and an expansion draft will occur in the coming days.

Each existing team has the right to protect a number of players so the expansion franchise can not select them. Each protected
player will be given a guaranteed "A" contract for the upcoming season; which guarantees a minimum 3,000,000yen in salary.

Protected Players:

Iwate Big Bulls:
Makoto Sawaguchi
Hayato Kantake
Yoshiaki Yamamoto

Akita Northern Happinets:
Ryosuke Mizumachi
Yoshimune Sano
Yuki Kikuchi

Sendai 89ers:
Takehiko Shimura
Takuya Komoda
Hikaru Kusaka

Niigata Albirex BB:
Hirotaka Kondo
Kimitake Sato
Yuichi Ikeda

Toyama Grouses:
Takeshi Mito
Masashi Joho

Nagano Shinshu Brave Warriors:
Takanori Goya
Takato Saito
Yosuke Saito

Saitama Broncos:
Yuki Kitamuki
Yasuaki Arai
Masahide Harada

Chiba Jets:
Hiroki Sato
Kensuke Tanaka
Takaki Ishida

Yokohama B-Corsairs:
Masayuki Kabaya
Kenji Yamada
Taketo Aoki

Hamamatsu-Higashi Mikawa Phoenix:
Masahiro Oguchi
Atsuya Ota
Shoji Nakanishi

Shiga Lakestars:
Shinya Ogawa
Takamichi Fujiwara
Jumpei Honda

Kyoto Hannaryz:
Kyosuke Setoyama
Haruyuki Ishibashi
Taizo Kawabe

Osaka Evessa:
Masashi Obuchi
Satoshi Takeda
Shota Konno

Shimane Susanoo Magic:
Edward Yamamoto
Kouki Yabuuchi
Tatsuhiro Yokoo

Takamatsu Five Arrows:
Hiroyuki Kikuchi
Makoto Kita
Masaaki Suzuki

Rizing Fukuoka:
Jun Nakanishi
Akitomo Takeno
Masahiro Kanou

Oita Heatdevils:
Kouhei Mitomo
Naoto Takushi
Masahiro Ohara

Miyazaki Shining Suns:
Yuta Kojima

Okinawa Ryukyu Golden Kings:
Tsubasa Yonamine
Naoto Kosuge
Morihisa Yamauchi


BJ League: Players announcing free agency - by John Scribe

The BJ (Basketball Japan) League announced players that will be exercising their options for free agency this offseason.

According to BJ League rules, players have to be placed on the active players list (listed on the bench for official games) for 80% of a said season for a total of 3 seasons to obtain free agency.

Below are the list of players that will exercise their right for unrestricted free agency. Each player is free to negotiate contracts with other teams in the league.
Some of the top players listed include Osaka's Cohey Aoki (167-G-80), Shiga's Kazuya Hatano (192-F-82), Shimane's Junpei Nakama, and Miyazaki's Shimizu. Each player have been named All-Stars in the past, with Cohey headlining all of them as one of the greatest Japanese players in league history. Other interesting names include Takamatsu's Takada. Takada had been playing in relative obscurity for the abysmal Five Arrows team over the last 3-4 seasons, yet putting up impressive numbers as a Japanese forward. Sendai's Takahashi is a deadly shooter that could be a big piece for a contending team that needs a specialist around the perimeter.

Akita Northern Happinets:
Makoto Hasegawa (186-G-71)
Kazuhiro Shoji (191-F-74)

Sendai 89ers:
Kenichi Takahashi (181-G-80)
Daisuke Takaoka (191-F-81)

Niigata Albirex BB:
Shuhei Komatsu (185-G-85)

Toyama Grouses:
Ryuichi Horikawa (191-F-79)

Saitama Broncos:
Daiki Terashita (190-F-80)

Chiba Jets:
Reina Itakura (194-F-81)
Tomoya Nakamura (198-C/F-83)

Hamamatsu-Higashi Mikawa Phoenix:
Shingo Okada (186-G/F-83)

Shiga Lakestars:

Kyoto Hannaryz:
Naoto Nakamura (192-SG-76)
Sunao Murakami

Osaka Evessa:

Shimane Susanoo Magic:
Junpei Nakama (193-G/F-83)

Takamatsu Five Arrows:
Shuichi Takada (194-F-83)

Oita Heatdevils:
Wendell White (198-G-84, agency: Top Notch Sports, college: UNLV)

Miyazaki Shining Suns:
Taishiro Shimizu (183-G-81)


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


NT Players to JBF: Zain or us? - by Omar Shafaamri


After signing the Sponsorship between Jordan Basketball Federation (JBF) and Zain Telecommunications Company for the National Team and WABA competitions, the National Team Players decided to stand by their teammates and National Team stars Ayman Idais (205-C-78, agency: Court Side) and Enver Soobzokov (201-G/F-78, college: CS San Bernar.) against Zain Company who are currently in court with each other.The Players handed JBF a signed paper asking Zain Company to either give them their full contractual rights they deserve or remove the company as sponsors of the team and WABA competition, and If neither occurs the 12 Players will boycott this WABA 23rd Championship which will kick off next Monday in Amman.

Enver Soobzokov and Ayman Idais played for Zain Club (Fastlink then), Enver played from (Season 2003-2010) while Ayman (Season 2003-2006 & 2009-2010) both Players has Contractual Rights against Zain Club after dissolving the Team in 2010 while their Contracts were still Valid, Zain from the other hand Zain Company denies these rights which forced both parties to go to the Court.

and here is the Full Text of the signed Letter sent by the Players to JBF yesterday:

"Jordan Basketball Federation:
We, the National Team players are informed of the sponsorshipby Zain Telecommunications Company for the National Team and WABA competitions. We have decided to stand by our teammates and National Team stars Ayman Idais and Enver Soobzokov against Zain Telecommunications Company who are currently in court with each other.We are asking for ZainCompany to either give them their full contractual rights they deserve or remove the company as sponsors of the team and WABA competitions. If neither occurs we will boycott this competition.

We are asking the Jordanian Basketball Federation to stand by our players.Many players on the team have played for Zain Club and we know it was not a sponsorship and the company did indeed create the club for promotions.

We have played there for many years and were not given our full rights after they decided to stop the club as well. Now we are asking for justice.
We feel that the lack of support by thefederation (s) over the years have allowed this to carry in the court for 4 years already. Ayman Dais and Enver Soobzokov must take their full rights if they want National Basketball players to accept them as sponsors to promote their company again.

Sincerely,

Jordan National Team:
1. Sam Daghlas
2. Zaid Abbas
3. Fadel Najjar
4. Abdullah abu Qoura
5.Mohammad Shaher
6. Issa Kamel
7. Ali Jamal
8. Khaldoun Abu Ruqayyah
9. Mousa Awadi
10. Mahmoud Abdeen
11. ahmad Hamarsheh
12. Ibrahim Bassam



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


Donatas Motiejunas' double-double lands him Player of the Week award among Lithuanians playing currently abroad - by Eurobasket Center

We bring you last week's top performances from Lithuanians who are playing abroad and who all have had prior experience of national team duties at youth or senior level.

Donatas Motiejunas
Donatas Motiejunas
   #1. This week's number one is an international power forward Donatas Motiejunas (213-90, agency: Interperformances). He led Asseco Prokom to a victory over the second-ranked Trefl Sopot (6-4) 76-68 in the Polish PLK in Wednesday night's game. Motiejunas was MVP of the game. He had a double-double by scoring 23 points and getting 11 rebounds in 35 minutes on the court. It was the game of the round between two top 3 ranked teams in Group A. Asseco Prokom Gdynia (8-2) is placed first. It was his team's fourth consecutive victory in a row. Motiejunas is ranked sixth on the list of the top scorers in the league with 15.7ppg. He also averaged so far 6.6rpg, 1.4apg, 1.4spg, 2FGP: 52.1%, 3FGP: 28.6% and FT: 66.7% in the 25 games he played so far. Motiejunas is currently a member of the Lithuanian senior national team.

Ksistof Lavrinovic
Ksistof Lavrinovic
   #2. Second place goes to an experienced international center Ksistof Lavrinovic (210-79). He was the major contributor in a Montepaschi Siena's victory against the closely-ranked Banco di Sardegna Sassari (20-12) 79-64 in the Italian SerieA last Friday. Lavrinovic scored 12 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. It was the game of the round between two top 4 ranked teams. Montepaschi Siena (24-8) is placed first in the SerieA. It's Lavrinovic's fifth season with the team. He has relatively good stats this year: 12.1ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.2apg, 2FGP: 63.6%(96-151), 3FGP: 36.4% and FT: 79.7%. Lavrinovic is in the roster of the Lithuanian senior national team.

Rimantas Kaukenas
Rimantas Kaukenas
   #3. The Lithuanian player who performed third best last week abroad was an international guard Rimantas Kaukenas (192-77, college: Seton Hall) is a teammate of previously mentioned Ksistof Lavrinovic and both played together in the last Italian SerieA game. Kaukenas contributed to an easy victory against the closely-ranked Banco di Sardegna Sassari (20-12) 79-64. He scored 10 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 17 minutes. This year Kaukenas averages: 9.8ppg, 2.1rpg, 1.8apg, 3FGP: 36.4% and FT: 86.8% in the 19 games. He is also a member of the Lithuanian senior national team.

Martynas Pocius
Martynas Pocius
   #4. Guard Martynas Pocius (196-86, also represented by Interperformances, college: Duke) contributed to a Real Madrid's victory against the closely-ranked Caja Laboral (23-11) 76-69 in the Spanish ACB in Saturday night's game. Pocius scored 8 points. It was the game of the round between two top 4 ranked teams. Real Madrid (26-8) is placed second in the ACB. Pocius' overall stats this season are: 5.2ppg and 1.7rpg. He is also Lithuanian national team player.

Sarunas Jasikevicius
Sarunas Jasikevicius
   #5. International guard Sarunas Jasikevicius (192-76, college: Maryland), who plays in the Greek A1 could not help one of league's weakest teams Panathinaikos (22-2) to beat Olympiacos (23-1). Jasikevicius scored only 4 points in 15 minutes. Panathinaikos lost 76-82 in a derby game to the leading Olympiacos. This year Jasikevicius' overall stats are: 8.2ppg and 3.1apg in the 35 games. He plays currently for the Lithuanian national team.

Martynas Gecevicius
Martynas Gecevicius
   #6. Guard Martynas Gecevicius (193-88) faced previously mentioned Sarunas Jasikevicius in the Greek A1 last game. Gecevicius managed to help Olympiacos S.F.P. Pireus to win against the closely-ranked Panathinaikos (22-2) 82-76 in a derby game. He scored only 2 points. Gecevicius' total stats this season are: 7.7ppg, 1.3rpg and 1.1apg. He is an international player who is currently on the senior Lithuanian National Team roster.

Tautvydas Lydeka
Tautvydas Lydeka
   #7. Former international power forward Tautvydas Lydeka (208-83) was not able to help Scavolini Pesaro (19-13) in their game against Armani Milano (22-10) in the Italian SerieA. Lydeka scored 8 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 16 minutes. Scavolini Pesaro was badly defeated 84-68 on the road by the second-ranked Armani Milano. This year Lydeka's total stats are: 7.5ppg and 4.6rpg in the 41 games. He used to play for the Lithuanian national team six years ago.

Saulius Kuzminskas
Saulius Kuzminskas
   #8. Power forward Saulius Kuzminskas (210-82, college: California) was not able to secure a victory for Trefl Sopot (6-4) in their game against Asseco Prokom (8-2) in the Polish PLK. Kuzminskas recorded 6 points and grabbed 4 rebounds. The second-placed Trefl Sopot was defeated 79-71 at home by the leading Asseco Prokom in the Group A. Kuzminskas has averaged so far 3.5ppg and 2.3rpg. He used to play for the Lithuanian national team back in 2004.

Other top Lithuanian players, who play abroad:

Darjus Lavrinovic (212-C-79) plays for CSKA Moscow in Russian PBL
Ramunas Siskauskas (197-G-78) plays for CSKA Moscow in Russian PBL
Marijonas Petravicius (208-F/C-79) plays for Khimky in Russian PBL
Jonas Maciulis (198-G/F-85) plays for Montepaschi Siena in Italian SerieA
Donatas Zavackas (203-F-80) plays for VEF Riga in Latvian LBL
Antanas Kavaliauskas (208-C-84) plays for VEF Riga in Latvian LBL
Linas Kleiza (203-F-85) plays for Toronto Raptors in the NBA
Arminas Urbutis (205-C/F-86) plays for Scavolini Pesaro in Italian SerieA

Notice: The list above includes only some of the Lithuanian playing currently abroad. Go to Lithuanian Abroad Page to see completed list.


*****************************************************
  MEXICO   

CIBACOPA Stats Leaders

Points Per Game
 Devon PEARSON
  Los M.
  (198-F-84)
  Avg: 27.5
 1. Pearson, Los M.27.5 
 2. Reese, Tepic24.4 
 3. Thomas, Cananea22.6 
 4. Scott, Los Mochis22.6 
 5. McCullough, Nogales22.3 
 6. Robinson, Culiacan22.1 
 7. Alexander, Cananea21.8 
 8. Carter, Guasave20.4 
 9. Selleaze, Navolato20.3 
 10. Hornsby, Tijuana20.0 
Rebounds Per Game
 Deangelo RILEY
  Tepic
  (205-C-)
  Avg: 11.2
 1. Riley, Tepic11.2 
 2. Alexander, Cananea10.1 
 3. Pearson, Los M.10.0 
 4. Selleaze, Navolato8.4 
 5. Sanders-F., Nogales8.2 
 6. Scott, Los Mochis7.9 
 7. Robinson, Culiacan7.8 
 8. Habel, Guaymas7.7 
 9. Moore, Navolato7.6 
 10. Strobbe, Nogales7.4 
Assists Per Game
 William FUNN
  Los Mochis
  (188-G-82)
  Avg: 9.5
 1. Funn, Los Mochis9.5 
 2. Allen, Guaymas7.3 
 3. Monreal, Hermosillo5.8 
 4. Taylor, Los Mochis5.8 
 5. Hornsby, Tijuana4.7 
 6. Harris, Cananea4.6 
 7. Nungaray, Guaymas4.2 
 8. Riley, Tepic4.1 
 9. Pulido, Culiacan3.9 
 10. Quintero, Tijuana3.8 
Steals Per Game
 Brian HAMILTON
  Hermosillo
  (198-F-82)
  Avg: 1.9
 1. Hamilton, Hermosil.1.9 
 2. George, Nogales1.8 
 3. Gibson, Navolato1.6 
 4. Monreal, Hermosillo1.5 
 5. Riley, Tepic1.5 
 6. Thomas, Cananea1.4 
 7. Hornsby, Tijuana1.4 
 8. Toussaint, Los M.1.3 
 9. Carter, Guasave1.3 
 10. Buelna, Guasave1.3 
Blocks Per Game
 Deangelo RILEY
  Tepic
  (205-C-)
  Avg: 3.5
 1. Riley, Tepic3.5 
 2. Habel, Guaymas1.3 
 3. Zamora, Culiacan1.3 
 4. Wiley, Los Mochis1.0 
 5. Young, Tepic0.9 
 6. Alexander, Cananea0.9 
 7. Davis, Nogales0.8 
 8. Robinson, Culiacan0.8 
 9. Scott, Los Mochis0.8 
 10. Tate, Tijuana0.7 


Hermosillo and Tijuana are one win away from CIBACOPA Finals - by Eurobasket News

Fifth games of CIBACOPA Semifinals were played last night. Hermosillo and Tijuana celebrated against their rivals for 3-2 lead in the series. The format is best-of-seven, so they are now one win away from the Finals. Sixth games are scheduled for Friday, when Hermosillo and Guaymas will be the hosts. Hermosillo was the regular season champion in CIBACOPA and they will have a chance to close the Semifinals series in the front of their fans. If Hermosillo advances to Finals, they will also have a home court advantage in the series. Guaymas will also play in the front of their fans on Friday and will try to stay alive in the series against Tijuana. Guaymas was No.2 in regular season, while Tijuana was No.3.

Los Mochis - Hermosillo 83-87 (2-3)
Pioneros Los Mochis were ahead by 3 points after three quarters before a 21-14 charge of Rayos de Hermosillo, which allowed them to win the game. The game was also dominated by American players. Forward Patrick Sanders (198-F-85, college: Cal-Irvine) orchestrated the victory by scoring 32 points. Forward Brian Hamilton (198-82, college: La-Lafayette) contributed with a double-double by scoring 14 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists for the winners. Guard William Funn (188-82, college: Portland St.) answered with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists and forward Seth Scott (208-81, college: Portland St.) added 23 points and 6 rebounds in the effort for Pioneros Los Mochis. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures.
Top scorers:
Los Mochis: W.Funn 27+7reb+9ast, S.Scott 23+6reb+3ast, D.Pearson 16+9reb+3ast, E.Cuen 15+7reb, P.Torres 2+2reb, E.Hare 0
Hermosillo: P.Sanders 32+3reb+2ast, E.Little 15+1reb+2ast, B.Hamilton 14+10reb+4ast, A.Izaguirre 10+5reb+1ast, S.Monreal 9+7reb+4ast, J.Manuel Esteva 5+7reb+3ast
gschID: 177529


Tijuana - Guaymas 86-79 (3-2)
Ostioneros de Guaymas trailed by 17 points after 3 quarters before a 24-14 run in the last quarter cut the deficit to 79-86 at the end of the game. Tijuana Zonkeys forced 23 Ostioneros de Guaymas turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. 24 personal fouls committed by Ostioneros de Guaymas helped opponents get some easy free throw opportunities. The game was dominated by American players. The best player for the winners was power forward Robert Hornsby (196-82, college: Troy) who scored 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Swingman Marcus Morrison (198-84, college: Middle Tenn.St.) chipped in 19 points and 7 assists. Guard Haakim Johnson (201-87, college: Pikeville) produced a double-double by scoring 19 points and 11 rebounds and forward Jerome Habel (208-85, college: San Diego St.) added 17 points and 12 rebounds respectively for the guests. Four Tijuana Zonkeys and five Ostioneros de Guaymas players scored in double figures. Ostioneros de Guaymas' coach rotated twelve players in this game, but that didn't help.
Top scorers:
Guaymas: H.Johnson 19+11reb+3ast, J.Habel 17+12reb+2ast, M.Allen 12+6reb+5ast, F.Benitez 10+1reb, H.Carrillo 10+2reb, A.Pedroza 7+1ast
Tijuana: R.Hornsby 19+7reb+4ast, M.Morrison 19+2reb+7ast, L.Ramirez 12+1reb, E.Medina 12+3reb+1ast, C.Tate 11+6reb+3ast, A.Solares 6+2reb+3ast


Ayon likely staying a Hornet, agent says - by Eurobasket News

The New Orleans Hornets have yet to exercise the option on the contract of Mexican big man Gustavo Ayon (6'10''-F/C-85, agency: Duran International, college: San Jose St.) and may still wait a few weeks to do so, according to agent Emilio Duran.

"The Hornets have until July 25 to pick up the option and I've been told by the team's management that the intention is to pick it up, but apparently they can't do it yet because there's some paperwork left to do with the new ownership," Duran told HoopsHype. "Anyway, the plan is for Ayon to stay."

The 6-foot-9 Ayon, a late-bloomer that was competing in the Spanish second division just two years ago, has been drawing interest from European clubs already just in case he ends up becoming a free agent. A return to Europe, where he last played for Fuenlabrada of the Spanish ACB, is unlikely, though.

"I've spoken with a couple of European teams already, but mostly out of courtesy because there's a very small chance he plays in Europe," Duran said. "I would be surprised if New Orleans doesn't exercise the contract option. But if that happened, I would be very surprised if Ayon doesn't play in the NBA with another team next season anyway. There was interest from other teams like Denver and Oklahoma City in the past. He's done more than enough to warrant another contract."

Ayon, a polished low-post scorer, averaged 5.9 ppg and 4.9 rpg in his rookie year with New Orleans. If his contract option is picked up by New Orleans, he will make $1.5 million next season.

Courtesy of http://hoopshype.com


*****************************************************
  MONGOLIA   


COLD MONGOLIAN BASKETBALL NIGHTS - by Eurobasket Center

By Raymond Rolak

Ulanbaatan, Mongolia - It was supposed to be a festive evening. It was American Thanksgiving and the two basketball players for the BZ Bulls in the Mongolian Pepsi National League were stoked that their team general manager had planned a special dinner for them. Chicken and rice with mushroom soup was on the menu but Raphael Harris (201-F) (Masters College, Santa Clarita, CA-2010) was craving dessert. Ryan Nelson (198-G-87, college: Valdosta St.) went at a strapping 6'6 and he said, A can of Pringles sounds good about now. You know, since Pepsi sponsors the league..you would think we would get complimentary Pepsi products.
They started walking for their apartment accompanied in a freezing cold Mongolian evening (-30F) when Harris mumbled, Ya gonna learn today. He was always saying that. Right then, five toughies came up behind them and jumped them. They held their own but were soon tackled and the jackals started to kick them.
The perpetrators ran off eventually, but no one could tell the American basketball players why this had happened. Stranger still, the General Manager, Chimba, was angry that the two tall players filed a police report and he forbade them from going to the American Embassy for satisfaction and assistance. This will reflect badly on our company Chimba said through team interpreter J. Sainaa, (they also owned the Everyday Food Markets.) Some said it was a cultural rite of passage, that drunken male bonding dictated that the lonely males jump on a bigger man. Its a Mongolian thing.
Their teammate and interpreter, Turuu Sulde didnt come over that evening to check on his associates. Sulde was disappointed with management and he also left the team. He took them to the hospital the next morning for medical attention.
Maybe yes, maybe no, but I dont think Genghis Khan would have approved. How non-ambassadorial. F.I.B.A. need to get involved and make amends to these two players.
What a turn of events for Nelson who was playing his first season overseas. He was having a great year averaging 28 points and 15 boards. Other than the strange food and bitter cold everything was going great.
A couple of curve balls though. The apartment sucked. The neighborhood was real bad, blood on the ceiling, no washing machine, cold showers and no internet. How could Ryan text his mom for some extra spending money?
After Chimba would not satisfy the players basic needs, they said, See you later, we are out of here. The team coaxed Harris back with a larger per-diem and a new apartment and added playoff bonus. The BZ Bulls ended up playoff champions. Harris was MVP but the other new American; Dean just got jammed up with a false accusation regarding a vicious bar fight.
Nelsons advocacy for better treatment did have a legacy affect though. Smoking will be banned in the intimate Ulanbaatan Sports Center Arena. I couldnt take it. Running up and down the court and having to suck-up second hand smoke. Management just didnt get it, he said.
Its not that I couldnt cowboy-up. The locals werent anti-American, Nelson added. They just couldnt understand why we were so tall.


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

Stats Leaders

Points Per Game
 Kobe BRYANT
  LA Lakers
  (198-G-78)
  Avg: 28.2
 1. Bryant, LA Lakers28.2 
 2. Durant, Oklah.Ci.28.0 
 3. James, Miami Heat27.9 
 4. Love, Minnesota T.26.0 
 5. Westbrook, Oklah..23.3 
 6. Anthony, New Y.23.1 
 7. Wade, Miami Heat22.3 
 8. Nowitzki, Dallas M.22.0 
 9. Rose, Chicago B.21.9 
 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 Lakers11.7 
 4. Humphries, New J.11.0 
 5. Cousins, Sacramen.11.0 
 6. Griffin, LA Clipp.10.3 
 7. Gasol, LA Lakers10.3 
 8. Gortat, Phoenix10.0 
 9. Smith, Atlanta H.9.9 
 10. Chandler, New Y.9.8 
Assists Per Game
 Rajon RONDO
  Boston C.
  (185-PG-86)
  Avg: 11.7
 1. Rondo, Boston C.11.7 
 2. Nash, Phoenix Suns10.7 
 3. Paul, LA Clippers8.9 
 4. Calderon, Toron.8.8 
 5. Williams, New J.8.7 
 6. Rubio, Minnesot.8.2 
 7. Wall, Washington W.8.0 
 8. Rose, Chicago B.7.9 
 9. Parker, San A.7.5 
 10. Conley, Memphis G.6.7 
Steals Per Game
 Chris PAUL
  LA Clippers
  (183-PG-85)
  Avg: 2.5
 1. Paul, LA Clippers2.5 
 2. Rubio, Minnesot.2.2 
 3. Conley, Memphis G.2.1 
 4. Rondo, Boston C.2.0 
 5. James, Miami Heat1.9 
 6. Millsap, Utah Jazz1.8 
 7. Kidd, Dallas M.1.8 
 8. Allen, Memphis G.1.7 
 9. Iguodala, Philadel.1.7 
 10. Shumpert, New Y.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. Bynum, LA Lakers2.1 
 5. Hibbert, Indiana P.2.1 
 6. Jordan, LA Clippers2.0 
 7. McGee, Denver N.2.0 
 8. Gasol, Memphis G.1.9 
 9. Biyombo, Charlott.1.8 
 10. Udoh, Golde S.1.7 


Stiemsma, Thomas added to U.S. select team - by Eurobasket News

Boston Celtics center Gregory Stiemsma (6'11''-C-85, agency: N.E.T., college: Wisconsin) and Lance Thomas (6'8''-F-88, college: Duke) of the New Orleans Hornets have been added to the select team of young players that will train against the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team.

Also, USA Basketball has announced that Orlando forward Ryan Anderson has withdrawn, leaving the roster at 14 players.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo says Wednesday the Americans were committed to inviting two players from their Pan American Games team that won a bronze medal last summer.

The select team will train July 6-11 against the Americans in Las Vegas. The roster also includes Rookie of the Year Kyrie Irving, Jeremy Lin, John Wall, Kawhi Leonard, DeJuan Blair, DeMarcus Cousins, DeMar DeRozan, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Paul George, Taj Gibson and Klay Thompson.

Courtesy of ESPN


Latest attempt to bring Phil Jackson to Magic falls flat - by Eurobasket News

The most recent attempt by former Magic player Sam Vincent to broker an agreement that would place Phil Jackson in the Orlando Magic front office failed to gain traction with team officials, the Orlando Sentinel has learned.

In their search to replace Otis Smith, the Magic currently plan to hire someone who will be in Orlando on a full-time basis and has experience working at the highest levels of an NBA front office.

SI.com reported that Vincent's latest proposal stipulates that Jackson would work in Orlando one week out of every month. As part of the package, Vincent also would receive a front-office job. Meanwhile, Brian Shaw would come aboard as the team's head coach, while former NBA All-Star Scottie Pippen would work as Shaw's lead assistant.

Vincent declined to comment when reached by the Sentinel on Wednesday.

But it should be emphasized that the Magic never approached Jackson and haven't had contact with Jackson.

Todd Musburger, one of Jackson's agents, did not return a phone call from the Sentinel for comment. But Musburger told NBA.com, "One, Phil never voiced any interest in Orlando, never had us check it out, never checked it out himself. Two, Orlando never called."

Indeed, the possibility of Jackson working for the Magic was broached to the Magic by Vincent, who played 151 games for the Magic from 1989-90 through 1991-92 and served as the Charlotte Bobcats' head coach during the 2007-08 season.

Last Thursday, the Sentinel reported that Vincent scheduled a meeting with Magic CEO Alex Martins in which Vincent pitched the idea of Jackson joining the Magic front office. In Vincent's initial plan, Pippen, not Shaw, was going to serve as the Magic's next head coach.

At the time, Vincent said that Jackson had backed out after showing some initial interest. But Vincent also stressed that he would approach the Magic again.

The Magic have been searching for someone to head their basketball operations department since the team parted ways with Smith on May 21. That same day, the team fired coach Stan Van Gundy.

Martins will not comment about his search to find Smith's replacement, but the Sentinel has learned that Martins has conducted initial interviews with six candidates and has no more interviews scheduled.

Martins has met with former New Orleans Hornets general manager Jeff Bower and is believed to have met with San Antonio Spurs vice president/assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey, Oklahoma City Thunder vice president/assistant general manager Troy Weaver, Thunder assistant GM Rob Hennigan, Indiana Pacers director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard and former Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers executive Tom Penn.

But Martins has not yet submitted a list of finalists to the DeVos family.

The DeVos family, including Magic chairman Dan DeVos and owner Rich DeVos, ultimately will meet with the finalists.

Then, and only then, the family will make the final decision in consultation with Martins.

Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers to a total of 11 NBA championships, but he has not led an NBA front office.

Jackson, 66, hypothetically could be courted by the Los Angeles Clippers, who have a front-office vacancy after general manager Neil Olshey on Monday left the team and joined the Portland Trail Blazers as their GM.

Jackson has homes in southern California and in Montana.

Martins and the Magic would not need to hire Jackson in a front-office role in order to consider Shaw for the Magic's head-coaching job.

Shaw enjoyed his three seasons playing for the Magic in the mid-1990s, and the DeVos family likes him. Also, currently there is only one other NBA head-coaching vacancy, and that job with the Bobcats is not as attractive as the Magic's head-coaching job.

Shaw, 46 served as an assistant coach under Jackson with the Lakers for six full seasons. Shaw now is the Pacers' associate head coach.

The Magic hope to hire Smith's replacement at least a week before the NBA draft on June 28.

Courtesy of Orlando Sentinel


Sources: Magic interested in veteran exec Penn - by Eurobasket News

While two eye-catching names -- Phil Jackson and Shaquille O'Neal (7'2''-C-72, college: LSU) -- were reported and then quickly dismissed as candidates to be the Orlando Magic's next general manager, sources say the team has been having talks with a less-splashy-but-more-substantive possibility: Tom Penn.

Penn, who declined to comment, has served in the front offices of both the Portland Trail Blazers and Memphis Grizzlies.

An NBA analyst for ESPN focusing primarily on salary-cap issues, Penn, 44, has a legal and financial background. Increasingly, NBA teams are giving that kind of experience more weight than having played in the league when hiring front-office personnel.

Recently hired GMs Bob Myers (Golden State) and Neil Olshey (Portland) both have backgrounds that are more academic than athletic.

Penn worked for seven seasons (2000-2007) as both legal counsel and assistant general manager for the Grizzlies and then three seasons as assistant GM with the Blazers. While with Portland, Penn helped the team pare a bloated payroll while remaining competitive but shedding their "JailBlazers" image. Penn also has some experience as a player agent.

Former New Orleans Hornets GM Jeff Bower also has been reported to be a candidate, according to CBS Sports.

Courtesy of http://abclocal.go.com


James scores 45, sends East finals to Game 7 - by Eurobasket News

LeBron James (6'8''-F-84) pushed away elimination, right along with any defender who tried to stop him.

He wasn't going to let another season end in Boston. The Eastern Conference finals, and his chase of an NBA championship, are headed back to Miami for a Game 7.

James had 45 points and 15 rebounds, overwhelming the Celtics and leading the Heat to a 98-79 victory Thursday night that forced the decisive game.

"He was absolutely fearless tonight, and it was contagious," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "The way he approached the last 48 hours, and not only LeBron, but everybody else. Nobody likes getting dirt thrown on your face before you're even dead. He showed great resolve."

James shot 19 of 26 from the field and finished four points shy of his playoff career-high while playing 45 minutes, not sitting down until the victory was long secured.

After two days of questions about the Heat's future and his own history, James provided his response in resounding fashion in a building where Miami had lost 15 of its previous 16 games.

"In an environment like this, you want to have a big game," he said. "I wanted to be there for my teammates, no matter what was going on throughout the course of the game.

"This was a gut check for us, and it's good to see we were able to bounce back after that loss, after that Game 5 loss at home."

Dwyane Wade (6'4''-G-82, college: Marquette) added 17 points for the Heat, who need a victory at home Saturday night to return to the NBA finals. And if James plays like this again, Miami should have no problem getting it.

"He played amazing. He was locked in from the beginning of the game like I've never seen him before," Wade said.

Rajon Rondo (6'1''-PG-86, college: Kentucky) had 21 points and 10 assists for Boston. Kevin Garnett (6'11''-F-76) and Brandon Bass (6'8''-F-85, college: LSU) each scored 12 points, but Paul Pierce (6'7''-F/G-77, college: Kansas) had only nine on 4-of-18 shooting.

In the site of some of James' biggest disappointments, the only disappointed ones Thursday were the thousands of fans who hoped to see a celebration but instead filed out of the TD Garden midway through the fourth quarter, just before the league MVP called it a night.

"He was comfortable all night," Rondo said. "We didn't get into his air space."

Miami barely won Game 2 before dropping the next three games, but this one was never in doubt. James was a one-man force on what's supposed to be a Big Three, carrying the Heat in the first half while Wade made only 1 of 6 shots.

The Celtics were hoping to complete a comeback from a 2-0 deficit, as Oklahoma City did in the Western Conference, and advance to face the Thunder in the NBA finals. But they missed 13 of 14 3-point attempts and will have to win a second straight game in Miami to play for the title.

James' season was twice ended in Boston while playing for Cleveland, the Celtics emerging as the winner in a Pierce-James duel in Game 7 of the 2008 East semifinals, then beating the Cavs in Game 6 of the second round two years later.

That was James' last game with Cleveland, leaving that summer for Miami and the All-Star help that Wade and Chris Bosh could provide.

He needed none of it Thursday.

He had 30 points by halftime and spent the night silencing the Celtics crowd and perhaps some of the doubters he somehow still has. He set the tone for the game by making 6 of 7 shots and scoring 14 points in the first quarter, and he made sure the Heat were never challenged from there.

"I hope now you guys can stop talking about LeBron and he doesn't play in big games," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "He was pretty good tonight. So we can put that to bed and go play Game 7."

Meanwhile, Pierce, whose 3-pointer over James was the biggest basket of Boston's Game 5 victory, missed 13 of 16 shots through three quarters, including all six 3-point attempts.

The Heat obviously weren't deflated by that loss and came to fight, scoring 10 straight points to build a 10-point lead shortly after Mario Chalmers was called for a technical foul after getting mixed up with Ray Allen. They extended it to 12 points later in the period, taking a 26-16 lead into the second after shooting 58 percent in the period.

Wade finally got on the board with a jumper to open the second, but he seemed strangely passive even with Miami trying to save its season.

No matter. James didn't need the help.

He had consecutive baskets for a 15-point lead and came up with a basket every time the Celtics tried to get any rhythm. He soared high above the rim - and any other player - for a follow dunk after the Celtics had crept within eight in the final 2 minutes of the half. Miami led 55-42 at the break.

James made 12 of his first 13 shots before missing from the perimeter on his final attempt of the half.

Only Rondo kept it from being a blowout, scoring 19 points and adding five assists in the half. Relishing the challenge, he even emulated Garnett by doing a couple of knuckle pushups after being knocked to the court while drawing a foul, but he couldn't keep up with James and needed some help that never arrived.

The Celtics, trying desperately for one last championship before the expected breakup of their Big Three, hope this one doesn't get added to recent series losses against Orlando in 2009 and the Lakers in the NBA finals in 2010, when they lost Game 6s with chances to win series and then fell in Game 7.

James' first basket of the third quarter increased the lead to 17 points, and from there it was just a matter of coming up with another score any time the Celtics tried to make a run.

Boston never came close, and when a 3-pointer by Shane Battier made it 81-63 with 10:19 to play, Rivers spent part of a timeout standing alone on the court with his arms folded, leaving it to the players to try to come up with an answer that wasn't there.

Bosh entered with 5 minutes left in the first quarter of his second game back after missing nine with a lower abdominal strain, finishing with seven points and six rebounds.

Notes: James is the first player to score at least 25 points against the Celtics in eight consecutive postseason games since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar from April 28, 1974, to May 27, 1984. ...The NBA playoff record for points in a half is 39, set by Golden State's Eric "Sleepy" Floyd on May 10, 1987, against the Lakers. Floyd finished with 51 points. ... The Heat switched to their red road jerseys after losing in the black here earlier in the series.

Courtesy of www.ktvn.com


Spoelstra says Bosh will play more in Game 6 - by Eurobasket News

Despite being surrounded by trying circumstances, Chris Bosh (6'11''-F-84, college: Georgia Tech) gave the Miami Heat a lift Tuesday during his 14 minutes. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra says Bosh will likely get even more of an opportunity Thursday in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Boston Celtics.

Bosh scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds Tuesday in his first game since suffering an abdominal injury May 13. Bosh was effective when he first checked in Tuesday, but didnt play much after his opening stint on the floor. He didnt play at all in the fourth quarter, sitting on the bench while the Celtics took control of the game and series, going up 3-2.

Spoelstra said afterward he didnt think it would have been fair to throw Bosh back on the floor in the closing minutes of the game. In addition to not playing for three weeks, a massage therapist died at Boshs home Monday after fainting. He and his wife called 911.

Courtesy of The Sports Xchange (via www.insidehoops.com)


Ayon likely staying a Hornet, agent says - by Eurobasket News

The New Orleans Hornets have yet to exercise the option on the contract of Mexican big man Gustavo Ayon (6'10''-F/C-85, agency: Duran International, college: San Jose St.) and may still wait a few weeks to do so, according to agent Emilio Duran.

"The Hornets have until July 25 to pick up the option and I've been told by the team's management that the intention is to pick it up, but apparently they can't do it yet because there's some paperwork left to do with the new ownership," Duran told HoopsHype. "Anyway, the plan is for Ayon to stay."

The 6-foot-9 Ayon, a late-bloomer that was competing in the Spanish second division just two years ago, has been drawing interest from European clubs already just in case he ends up becoming a free agent. A return to Europe, where he last played for Fuenlabrada of the Spanish ACB, is unlikely, though.

"I've spoken with a couple of European teams already, but mostly out of courtesy because there's a very small chance he plays in Europe," Duran said. "I would be surprised if New Orleans doesn't exercise the contract option. But if that happened, I would be very surprised if Ayon doesn't play in the NBA with another team next season anyway. There was interest from other teams like Denver and Oklahoma City in the past. He's done more than enough to warrant another contract."

Ayon, a polished low-post scorer, averaged 5.9 ppg and 4.9 rpg in his rookie year with New Orleans. If his contract option is picked up by New Orleans, he will make $1.5 million next season.

Courtesy of http://hoopshype.com


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


Dual-sport star Sam Craft commits to Memphis - by Eurobasket News

When a team can get a quality basketball prospect without using a scholarship, it's tough to pass up that opportunity.

That's what Josh Pastner did on Tuesday night, when local prospect Sam Craft committed to Memphis' football program to play quarterback, CBSSports.com's Gary Parrish first reported. Craft, a 5-foot-11 point guard, also announced he would walk on to the basketball team.

'I talked to coach Pastner and he's 100 percent OK with me playing both sports', Craft told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. 'As soon as I'm done with football, I'll play basketball.'

From a basketball standpoint, Auburn, Cincinnati and Tennessee had offered Craft. He's a quick guard who defends well, is used to playing with talent he's started with the YOMCA and Bluff City Legends AAU programs the past two seasons.

Courtesy of www.cbssports.com


Arkansas to play Syracuse at Bud Walton Arena - by Eurobasket News

Arkansas' men's basketball team will host Syracuse this fall in the SEC-Big East Challenge.

The university announced Friday that the game was set for Nov. 30, with the time to be determined later.

Arkansas was 18-14 last season in Mike Anderson's first season as Razorbacks head coach. Syracuse was 34-3 and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals.

The only other time Arkansas and Syracuse played was in the NCAA Tournament in 1995. Arkansas beat the Orange, 96-94, in overtime of a second-round game. The Razorbacks went on to win the national championship.

Arkansas is 1-1 in SEC-Big East Challenge games, losing to Connecticut last season and beating Seton Hall the year before.

Courtesy of http://online.wsj.com


Former Wisconsin players Jarrod Uthoff to stay in Big Ten, transfer to Iowa - by Eurobasket News

Jarrod Uthoff (6'8''-F) is staying in the Big Ten - and he figures to see plenty more of Bo Ryan over the next few years.

Uthoff told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Wednesday night that he's transferring to Iowa even though Badgers coach Bo Ryan restricted the Hawkeyes from contacting him.

Uthoff he'll have to pay his own way next year at Iowa and will also have to sit out the 2012-13 season per NCAA transfer rules. But that's not an issue for Uthoff, who hails from nearby Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

"I just didn't want money to be a factor in where I wanted to play," Uthoff said.

Ryan's decision to place what many believed were heavy restrictions on Uthoff's list of transfer options drew national criticism.

Uthoff had previously told an Iowa-based high school sports website, metrosportsreport.com, that Ryan has placed every Big Ten and ACC school, plus Iowa State and Marquette, on the list of schools that can't contact him.

Wisconsin later trimmed the list of schools restricted from talking to Uthoff to the Big Ten.

Uthoff, a 6-foot-8 forward who redshirted in 2011-12, wasn't able to speak directly with Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery. But he left Wisconsin in part because he felt the Badgers methodical style didn't fit his skill set, and he said he feels the Hawkeyes uptempo pace will.

Uthoff also told the AP that he hasn't spoken to Ryan since he told him of his plans to transfer, even though Ryan had told Uthoff he'd call him once he returned from vacation.

Ironically, Iowa let prep guard Ben Brust out of his letter of intent back in 2009 when the coach who recruited him, Todd Lickliter, was fired. Brust signed with Ryan and Wisconsin.

Courtesy of www.therepublic.com


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


Tall Blacks squad - by Hugh McAuliffe

New Zealand Breakers stars Alex Pledger (213-C-87, college: Belm.Abbey) and Mika Vukona (198-F-82) headline the 17-man Tall Blacks squad named recently ahead of the New Zealand national teams campaign for an Olympic berth.

Pledger and Vukona, both members of the Breakers team to have won the past two consecutive NBL titles, are joined on the squad by 2011/12 Breakers teammates Isaac Fotu, Leon Henry, Morgan Natanahira and Josh Bloxham.

Perth's Jeremiah Trueman and Everard Bartlett have also been named.

The squad also includes former NBL players Casey Frank, Hayden Allen, Jeremy Kench and Lindsay Tait.

Former Breakers import Kevin Braswell has also been named but the American is in a race against the clock to win NZ citizenship this week in order to be eligible.

The Tall Blacks will contest the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Caracas, Venezuela, from July 2-8, and face Macedonia and Angola in pool play. They will attempt to nail down one of three spots remaining in the London Olympics basketball draw

New Zealand Tall Blacks Squad

Hayden Allen (Auckland Pirates), Josh Bloxham (Nelson Giants), Everard Bartlett (Hawke's Bay Hawkes), Isaac Fotu, Casey Frank (Wellington Saints), Leon Henry (OceanaGold Nuggets), Jeremy Kench (Wellington Saints), Jarrod Kenny (Bay Hawks), Robert Loe (University of St Louis Missouri), Morgan Natanahira (Hawke's Bay Hawks), Alex Pledger (Auckland Pirates), Lindsay Tait (Auckland Pirates), Jeremiah Trueman (Manawatu Jets), Mika Vukona (Nelson Giants), Tai Webster (Auckland Pirates)


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


Vasquez D'Tiger killer? - by Iwedi Ojinmah

Ask Greivis Vasquez what he expects to be doing come July and his answer will be killing Tigers. Nigerian Tigers to be exact and DTigers to be specific.

For the record the Nigerian Mens Basketball team are the only type of Tigers indigenous to Africa and lately they have sprouted both fang and claw and are now Ranked 20th in the World.

Venezuela ranked just two spots behind Nigeria at 22, are no slouches either and that is who he plays for. In addition to the streaky ex Maryland star, arguably their biggest Ace in the hole remains their veteran Coach Musselman who will seek to motivate the South Americans to an Olympic ticket.

But the team belongs to Vasquez. There is no doubt about that.

He will bring the ball up, direct the offence and hopefully for the Venezuelans rain precise threes from behind the arc to draw the West Africans out and open things up for passes to Creightons Center Gregory Echenique.

At a mere 69 the latter shouldnt really be a concern height wise. But he is 270 pounds - and thats before dinner - so if the Nigerians were to get into foul trouble they may run out of bodies to post him up. This in addition to Vasquez's continious tantalising cross overs constantly probing the defence for lay ups and easy baskets may be too much for them to handle.

What will be interesting is what D Tigers coach will throw at Vasquez and how deep he will be confronted when he gets the inbound. Will he nip at Greivis all day in attempt to derail the temperamental star and hope he gets flustered ? Having played against the Duke fans for four years in the ACC my money is on Vasquez and I think Nigeria will have to beat Venezuela despite his points.

But at the end of the day it is nothing more than an educated guess and that it why as they say, 'play the game'.

Cant wait.


*****************************************************
  PANAMA   


Panama National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket Center

Panama National Team 2012
#s#
Josimar Ayarza
Ayarza
Joshua Chambers
Chambers
Ernesto Oglivie
Oglivie
Eduardo Archibold
Archibold
Nicanor Alvarez
Alvarez
#e#5
Josimar Ayarza 205-F-87 Bayamon Puerto Rico
Joshua Chambers 195-G/F-83 P.Lefevre Panama
Ernesto Oglivie 199-F-89 ExSAL ST El Salvador
Eduardo Archibold 206-C-87 Le Moyne USA
Nicanor Alvarez 192-G/F-91 Calidonia Panama
Israel Munoz 195-F-91 P.Lefevre Panama
Daniel King 203-F-87 Texas Southern USA
Enrique jr Grenald 175-G-93 Rio Abajo Panama
Jamahr Johnson 192-G-81 Navieros Panama
Josimar Stewart 193-F-89 Navieros Panama
Xavier Acosta F San Miguelito Panama
Derrick Bolanos 185-G Barry USA
Miguel Gotti 205-F/C-88 W.Nebraska CC USA
Errick Clarke C-89 Rio Abajo Panama

David Rosario Head Coach Arecibo Puerto Rico
Jose Devandas Assistant
Rodolfo Fonseca Assistant



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

Standings - PBA Fiesta Conference

PBA Standings
 1. Rain or Shine 4-0 
 2. B-Meg Llam. 3-1 
 3. Petron Blaze 3-1 
 4. Ginebra Kings 2-2 
 5. Powerade T. 2-2 
 6. Air21 Express 1-2 
 7. Barako Bull 1-2 
 8. Alaska Aces 1-3 
 9. Meralco Bolts 1-3 
 10. Talk N Text 1-3 

Regular Season: Round 9

Jun. 6: Rain or Shine - Ginebra Kings 93-90
Jun. 6: Meralco Bolts - B-Meg Llam. 83-88

Regular Season: Round 10

Jun. 8: Barako Bull - Petron Blaze
Jun. 8: Rain or Shine - Powerade T.


PBA Stats Leaders

Points Per Game
 Zach GRAHAM
  Air21 E.
  (198-G-89)
  Avg: 35.3
 1. Graham, Air21 E.35.3 
 2. Harris, Talk N Text27.8 
 3. David, Powerade T.27.5 
 4. Bozeman, Ginebra27.0 
 5. Blakely, B-Meg L.25.3 
 6. Basden, Petron B.25.0 
 7. Cornley, Rain o.25.0 
 8. Forte, Alaska Aces23.3 
 9. Oguchi, Meralco Bo.20.3 
 10. Peterson, Barako18.7 
Rebounds Per Game
 Zach GRAHAM
  Air21 E.
  (198-G-89)
  Avg: 15.7
 1. Graham, Air21 E.15.7 
 2. Forte, Alaska Aces15.0 
 3. Blakely, B-Meg L.13.8 
 4. Peterson, Barako B.13.0 
 5. Cornley, Rain o.12.5 
 6. Harris, Talk N Text12.0 
 7. Bozeman, Ginebra10.8 
 8. Hugnatan, Meralco9.5 
 9. Santos, Petron B.9.0 
 10. Basden, Petron B.8.8 
Assists Per Game
 Jimmy ALAPAG
  Talk N Text
  (177-PG-77)
  Avg: 8.7
 1. Alapag, Talk N Te.8.7 
 2. Casio, Powerade T.6.5 
 3. Miller, Barako Bull6.0 
 4. Hubalde, Air21 E.5.3 
 5. Tenorio, Alaska A.5.3 
 6. Ross, Meralco5.0 
 7. Blakely, B-Meg L.4.8 
 8. Lutz, Petron Blaze4.5 
 9. Bozeman, Ginebra4.5 
 10. Cortez, Ginebra4.5 
Steals Per Game
 Marqus BLAKELY
  B-Meg L.
  (196-F-89)
  Avg: 3.5
 1. Blakely, B-Meg L.3.5 
 2. Basden, Petron B.2.8 
 3. Cortez, Ginebra2.0 
 4. Chan, Rain or Shine1.8 
 5. Ildefonso, Petron1.7 
 6. Mercado, Meralco1.5 
 7. Harris, Talk N Text1.5 
 8. Hatfield, Ginebra1.5 
 9. Urbiztondo, B-Meg1.5 
 10. Dillinger, Talk N.1.5 
Blocks Per Game
 Marqus BLAKELY
  B-Meg L.
  (196-F-89)
  Avg: 2.3
 1. Blakely, B-Meg L.2.3 
 2. Forte, Alaska Aces1.7 
 3. Maierhofer, Ginebr.1.7 
 4. Thoss, Alaska Aces1.5 
 5. Norwood, Rain o.1.3 
 6. Faundo, Air21 E.1.3 
 7. Baguio, Alaska Ac.1.3 
 8. Seigle, Barako Bull1.3 
 9. Basden, Petron B.1.0 
 10. Santos, Petron B.1.0 


Latest games - by Eurobasket News

Meralco Bolts - B-Meg Llam. 83-88
Marqus Blakely (196-F-89, college: Vermont) and Marc Pingris (195-C-81) gave B-Meg some semblance of order at the crunch, resulting in a hard-earned 88-83 win over Meralco Wednesday in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Blakely scored eight of his game-high 31 points in the fourth period while Pingris accounted for the Llamados' last seven points that boosted them out of an 81-83 bind going into the last 2:31 of play. Despite the win, his team's third straight in four games, B-Meg coach Tim Cone was far from being content as his charges committed 21 turnovers that helped sour-shooting Meralco make a game of it. "I'm happy we won, but I'm not pleased with our performance," said Cone. "We did not play a good game tonight," he added. "Still the guys hung in there and gave themselves a chance to win down the stretch. But we were sloppy, not giving much attention to detail." For the 14-time champion coach, it is the consequence of his charges still not being able to get over their Commissioner's Cup title conquest. "We have a team that's relaxing and not bringing it their all right now," stated Cone. "I'm truly disappointed. We can't play like this and expect to continue to win. We've got to be able to step it up. So far, we've hard a hard time grappling with our championship hangover." Champ Oguchi had two chances to redeem himself, first by bailing the Bolts out of an 83-85 bind and to tie the game at 86. But each time the Nigerian-American missed clear looks from beyond the arc, capping a 0-for-10 three-point shooting night. "Oguchi had open 3s and it's a good thing he misses those. It's pure tsamba," said Cone. "He's too good a shooter to leave open." Oguchi wound up with just 12 points in what could prove to be the final game of the man who averaged 28.3 points in 11 games for Meralco in two conferences last year. His replacement, former Atlanta Hawk Mario West (195-G-84, college: Georgia Tech), was set to arrive later Friday evening. In the meantime, Meralco could reflect on the other blown opportunities it had to avoid a third straight defeat and a 1-3 win-loss slate overall that relegated it at the bottom alongside sister team Talk N Text. Reynel Hugnatan also had the chance to tie it at 85 following Oguchi's miss, but the southpaw's right-handed baseline layup just nipped the side rim and Pingris collared the rebound that led to his split charities following Asi Taulava's foul. Macmac Cardona snapped out of his recent two-game funk wherein he averaged just 5.0 points, by scoring a team-high 27 points, including 11 straight during a 13-4 surge that lifted Meralco from a 70-77 count. After Pingris' short stab tied it up at 83 and off a Meralco timeout, Cardona himself became one of the goats when he lost the ball off a double-team anchored on Blakely, leading to two more Pingris charities that pushed B-Meg ahead to stay. That crucial defensive play was one of the few times in the game that pleased Cone. "It was a big defensive stop," noted Cone. "It goes to show, between him and Ping we've got guys who are shut-down defenders on this team." Blakely also wound up with seven rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks while Pingris finished with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds despite his dislocated left ring finger getting a hit early in the game. James Yap chipped in 19 points and he also had three rebounds, three assists and as many blocks, all on Cardona in the game's early goings. Chris Ross had a personal conference-high 18 points and Taulava added 11 points. But even those could not make up for Sol Mercado notching just eight points, 13 below his tournament average, and the entire Bolts team going 32-for-82 from the field, including a 1-for-19 three-point shooting. Those put to waste Meralco's best defensive effort so far that saw it holding an opponent below 90 points for the first time in the conference, plus forcing B-Meg into committing its most turnovers in a game in the season-ender. The Llamados went into game averaging just 15 miscues but already had 13 at the half, including seven in the second quarter that enabled the Bolts to trail by just 39-40 at the turn. (NC) *Courtesy of www.pba.ph

Rain or Shine - Ginebra Kings 93-90
A rookie that unafraid to take big shots, Paul Lee (191-G) fired a huge three-pointer enabling Rain or Shine to keep its perfect slate four games into the PBA Governors Cup. Lee nailed a trey with 2.6 seconds to go and the red-hot Elasto Painters preserved their unbeaten start in the season-ending tourney with a heart-stopping 93-90 win over the Barangay Ginebra Kings at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night. It's the best start in any conference for the Asian Coating Inc. franchise. For coach Yeng Guiao, it's the best since recording the same opening run in the 2002 Philippine Cup with Red Bull. 'We're happy we treated the fans with a nice game. We're happy we're winning games -- the close ones we're able to stay focused; we're able to play through the pressure moments,' said Guiao. 'For a young team like ours, any coach will be happy,' Guiao also said. As Cedric Bozeman (198-G-83, college: UCLA) missed his own three-point attempt at the buzzer, Ginebra let Rain or Shine move to the brink of the semifinals. The Kings bungled a chance to gain a piece of league leadership and instead slid to joint fourth place with the Powerade Tigers at 2-2. Jamelle Cornley helped make it happen for Rain or Shine with another solid all-around game highlighted by a crucial steal off Bozeman allowing the Elasto Painters to set their winning play. 'Cornley showed his true worth. He kept the team in the game, showing leadership qualities on the floor,' said Guiao. 'We actually wanted the ball in his hands (in our last possession). But we didn't regret going to Paul Lee. The next best thing is for the ball to be in Paul's hands,' Guiao also said. Lee proved up to the task, showing great confidence and composure in firing away the game-winning triple off an outstretched arm by Rudy Hatfield. 'Paul Lee is playing like a 10-year veteran. He's taking responsibility, not afraid to take the ball in his hands and put the game on line,' said Guiao. Lee went 4-of-5 from the three-point area and wound up with 18 points that went with four assists and three rebounds in 31 minutes of action. Cornley led all scorers with 27 points and also hauled down 14 rebounds as against Bozeman's 22 markers and 13 boards. In an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation, Rain or Shine seemed to have blinked with back-to-back errors by Lee and Cornley in the homestretch. After Lee fumbled and eventually sent the ball out-of-bounds, Bozeman scored on a strong drive to tie the count at 90-all. Then came Cornley's own error off a good defensive stance by Kerby Raymundo. Cornley, however, made up for it with his big steal off Bozeman. (SB) *Courtesy of www.pba.ph


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


Eurobasket.com All-Polish League Awards 2011-12 - by Eurobasket Center

Eurobasket.com All-Polish League 1st Team 2011-2012
#s#
Jerel Blassingame
Blassingame
Lukasz Koszarek
Koszarek
Walter Hodge
Hodge
Adam Waczynski
Waczynski
Donatas Motiejunas
Motiejunas
#e#5

Finals MVP: Jerel Blassingame (175-G-81) of Asseco Prokom
Player of the Year: Walter Hodge (183-PG-86) of Zastal ZG
Guard of the Year: Walter Hodge (183-PG-86) of Zastal ZG
Forward of the Year: Donatas Motiejunas (213-F/C-90) of Asseco Prokom
Center of the Year: John Turek (205-F/C-83) of Trefl Sopot
Most Improved Player of the Year: Marcin Dutkiewicz (196-G-86) of AZS Koszalin
Rising Star Award: Mateusz Ponitka (196-G-93) of Asseco Prokom
Bosman Player of the Year: Donatas Motiejunas (213-F/C-90) of Asseco Prokom
Import Player of the Year: Walter Hodge (183-PG-86) of Zastal ZG
Domestic Player of the Year: Lukasz Koszarek (187-G-84) of Trefl Sopot
Defensive Player of the Year: Piotr Szczotka (196-F-81) of Asseco Prokom
Coach of the Year: Karlis Muiznieks of Trefl Sopot

1st Team
G: Lukasz Koszarek (187-84) of Trefl Sopot
PG: Walter Hodge (183-86) of Zastal ZG
F: Adam Waczynski (199-89) of Trefl Sopot
F/C: Donatas Motiejunas (213-90) of Asseco Prokom
F/C: John Turek (205-83) of Trefl Sopot

2nd Team
G: Jerel Blassingame (175-81) of Asseco Prokom
G: Robert Skibniewski (182-83) of Slask Wroclaw
F: Filip Dylewicz (202-80) of Trefl Sopot
F/C: Aleksandar Mladenovic (207-84) of Slask Wroclaw
C/F: Corsley Edwards (205-79) of Anwil

Honorable Mention
Stanley Burrell (190-PG-84) of Energa Czarni
Adam Hrycaniuk (206-C-84) of Asseco Prokom
Kirk Archibeque (205-C-84) of Zastal ZG
Krzysztof Szubarga (182-G-84) of Anwil
Daniel Kickert (208-C-83) of PGE Turow
Marcin Dutkiewicz (196-G-86) of AZS Koszalin
Darrell Harris (208-F/C-84) of Kotwica
LaMarshall Corbett (190-G-88) of Siarka Jezioro
Michal Michalak (194-G-93) of LKS Lodz
Damian Kulig (205-F/C-87) of PGE Turow
Mateusz Ponitka (196-G-93) of Asseco Prokom
Callistus Eziukwu (208-F/C-85) of AZS Koszalin

All-Domestic Players Team
G: Lukasz Koszarek (187-84) of Trefl Sopot
G: Robert Skibniewski (182-83) of Slask Wroclaw
F: Adam Waczynski (199-89) of Trefl Sopot
F: Filip Dylewicz (202-80) of Trefl Sopot
C: Adam Hrycaniuk (206-84) of Asseco Prokom

All-Imports Team
PG: Walter Hodge (183-86) of Zastal ZG
G: Jerel Blassingame (175-81) of Asseco Prokom
G: LaMarshall Corbett (190-88) of Siarka Jezioro
F/C: John Turek (205-83) of Trefl Sopot
C/F: Corsley Edwards (205-79) of Anwil

All-Bosmans Team
G: Djordje Micic (195-83) of PBG Basket
G/F: Slavisa Bogavac (200-80) of Slask Wroclaw
F/C: Donatas Motiejunas (213-90) of Asseco Prokom
F/C: Aleksandar Mladenovic (207-84) of Slask Wroclaw
C: Daniel Kickert (208-83) of PGE Turow


Polish U20 National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket Center

Starting five
#s#
Grzegorz Grochowski
Grochowski
Michal Michalak
Michalak
Mateusz Ponitka
Ponitka
Tomasz Gielo
Gielo
Przemyslaw Karnowski
Karnowski
#e#5
Grzegorz Grochowski 178-PG-93 MKS DG Poland
Michal Kwiatkowski 190-PG-92 Kotwica Poland
Sebastian Kowalczyk 190-PG-93 AZS PW Poland
Michal Michalak 194-G-93 LKS Lodz Poland
Mateusz Dziemba 194-G-92 AZS AWF K-ce Poland
Michal Sokolowski 196-G-92 Anwil Poland
Mateusz Ponitka 196-G-93 Asseco Prokom Poland
Lukasz Bonarek 198-F-93 Znicz Basket Poland
Jaroslaw Trojan 207-C-93 SMS PZKosz Poland
Tomasz Gielo 205-F-93 Liberty USA
Piotr Niedzwiedzki 209-F-93 Slask Wroclaw Poland
Przemyslaw Karnowski 214-C-93 Siarka Jezioro Poland
Jaroslaw Zyskowski 201-G-92 LKS Lodz Poland
Maciej Kucharek 204-SF-93 AZS PW Poland
Filip Matczak 184-PG-93 Zastal ZG Poland

Mariusz Niedbalski Head Coach PGE Turow Poland
Michal Spychala Assistant Znicz Basket Poland
Artur Gronek Assistant AZS PW Poland



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


Capitanes bring Smith: - by Marcos Carlo

Capitanes de Arecibo signed forward Jeremis Smith (203-F-86, college: Georgia Tech) for the rest of the final series. He reaplces Ike Diogu who left in the Round Robin stage due to injury.

Smith played for Maccabi Haifa in Israel with averages of 12.5 points and 6.6 rebounds in 13 games. He also has experience in Mexico, Venezuela and Argentina.

He will make his debut tonight in Arecibo. Capitanes trail the series 2-1 and they also have to play tomorrow in Mayaguez.


Indios one win away from BSN Championship: - by Luis Modestti

Indios de Mayaguez edged Capitanes de Arecibo 91-89 to be one game away from their first BSN championship. The series is 3-1 in favor of Indios and gave five is Friday in Mayaguez.

Oritseweyinmi Efejuku (196-G-86, college: Providence) had 20 points, Alexander Franklin (196-PF-88, college: Siena) 17 and Ricardo Sanchez (212-C-87) 15 for Indios who started the game slowly but recovered and eventually got the win on the road.

Capitanes won the first quarter 23-12 led by Danilo Pinnock (196-G-83, college: G.Washington) who scored 15 points. In the second quarter Mayaguez reacted led by Sanchez and Efejuku who netted 12 each.

Both teams fought hard in the second half and traded the lead many times. Efejuku went to the free throw line with 9.7 seconds and tied the game at 81. After a defensive stand by Mayaguez the game was forced into overtime.

In overtime both teams traded baskets but Mayaguez stayed more aggressive, attacking the basket and making better decisions. Donta Smith went to the line with 12.9 seconds left and put the score 91-89. Arecibo called a timeout and Larry Ayuso shot an air ball from three to end it.

Pinnock led Arecibo with 24 points and also had 8 rebounds.


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


CSKA Moscow's official statement - by Eurobasket News

In the weeks after the end of the season in Russia the media has spread a lot of rumors about possible changes in our teams roster and staff. In this regard, CSKA officially declares:

- the club is not in talks with any candidates for head coaching position;
- the key questions on the roster and staff for the next season will be solved by PBC CSKA Board meeting held in the mid of June 2012.

The only trustworthy information about the team and the club is the one published by PBC CSKA official website. Any other news in the media should be perceived as rumors which cannot be commented by PBC CSKA representatives.

Courtesy of CSKA Moscow


*****************************************************
  SAINT LUCIA   


St Lucia National Basketball Championship Game this Saturday - by Eurobasket News

The eagerly anticipated finals of the Rooster Select National Men's Basketball tournament commenced this past Sunday and once again the fans at the Beausejour Indoor Facility were treated to a double header; starting with game one of the third place game between the VBCC Warlords and Gardens Athletic Club; followed by game one of the Championship game between two-time defending champions Courts Jets and Canaries Moon River Champs.

In game one after an early onslaught by the Gardens, the VBCC Warlords were able to impose their will defensively in the second half of the game to record a 65-53 win. VBCC was lead once again by their big man in the middle Marcion Calderon who registered 24 points and 13 rebounds. For the Gardens; veteran forward Germaine Thomas led the way with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals in the loss. Gardens will look to equalize the series in game two which will be held this coming Saturday June 9th.

Game two featured the marquis championship matchup between the heavily favoured Courts Jets and underrated Canaries Moon River Champs. From the tip off, the action between the lines did not disappoint. Canaries was the aggressor throughout the game; clearly expressing their disapproval through their play - of the many who thought that they could not compete with the Jets. As is customary the Jets mounted a furious late game comeback, but Canaries kept their composure to secure a 68-62 victory.

For Canaries, there was a balanced attack led by their passionate captain Durocher Antoine who had 18 points, 6 steals and 4 assists. Canaries forward Larry Shepherd had a solid double double with 15 points and 14 rebounds. The Jets were once again led by their prolific guard Ron Demurville, with 18 points in a losing effort.

Canaries leads the series 1-0 and will look to close out game two to secure the championship of the Rooster Select National Men's Basketball Tournament this coming Saturday, June 9th at the Beausejour Indoor Facility.
Courtesy of: caribbeanbasketball.com













*****************************************************
  SENEGAL   


Nantes extends Elson Mendy until 2014 - by Eurobasket News

Hermine Nantes Atlantique announced signing of a 2-year contract extension with Elson Mendy (200-F-85). It means that the Senegalese forward will stay with the club until the end of the 2013/14 season. Mendy arrived to Nantes in March this year. He appeared 9 times in ProB averaging 11 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists. It seems that was enough for extension. The player started the season with JDA Dijon. There he had 2.7 ppg and 1 rpg for 3 games in ProA. Elson Mendy played for Diijon also in 2010/11 season. He registered 9.7 ppg and 3.8 rpg for 28 games with the club. In the past, he spent couple of years with Strasbourg IG. Mendy also has experience from Switzerland (Boncourt).


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


Marek Kozlik signs with Komarno - by Eurobasket News

Marek Kozlik (187-F-86) is on his way back to Slovakia. The forward has agreed on terms of contract with Komarno. Marek Kozlik left Slovakia before the start of the last season. He moved to Czech Republic to join Plzen. The forward averaged 8.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 steal per game in NBL. Previously Marek Kozlik played for Pezinok. He participated at 2011 Slovakian League All-Star Game. The forward was the member of Slovakian National Team in 2009/10 seasons. Marek Kozlik participated at 2011 Qualifications to the European Championship in Division B. His stats read 4.0 points, 2.0 boards and 1.0 assist in two appearances.


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

Stats Leaders - LEB Gold

Points Per Game
 Troy DEVRIES
  Melilla
  (193-G-82)
  Avg: 19.1
 1. DeVries, Melilla19.1 
 2. Witt, Knet Clavijo18.2 
 3. Feldeine, Breogan17.7 
 4. Quezada, Leon16.5 
 5. Franklin, Huesca16.2 
 6. Bivia, Mallorca16.0 
 7. Fernandez, Granada15.7 
 8. Moss, Palencia15.4 
 9. Antelo, Caceres14.7 
 10. Leonavicius, Hue.14.7 
Rebounds Per Game
 Olaseni LAWAL
  Knet Clavijo
  (208-F/C-86)
  Avg: 10.6
 1. Lawal, Knet Clavijo10.6 
 2. Diouf, Palencia8.8 
 3. Donaldson, Canarias8.8 
 4. Kuzmin, Clinicas.8.6 
 5. Starosta, Navarra8.2 
 6. Antelo, Caceres7.8 
 7. Mortellaro, Leon7.7 
 8. Sikma, La Palma7.7 
 9. Fernandez, Granada7.6 
 10. Williams, Caceres7.4 
Assists Per Game
 Oscar ALVARADO
  La Palma
  (184-PG-91)
  Avg: 6.1
 1. Alvarado, La Palma6.1 
 2. Bivia, Mallorca5.1 
 3. Witt, Knet Clavijo4.5 
 4. Norris, Lleida4.3 
 5. Lopez, Burgos4.0 
 6. Bernabe, Leon3.7 
 7. Sabat, Canarias3.6 
 8. Perez, Menorca3.6 
 9. Quezada, Leon3.4 
 10. DeVries, Melilla3.4 
Steals Per Game
 Alexander FRANKLIN
  Huesca
  (196-PF-88)
  Avg: 2.5
 1. Franklin, Huesca2.5 
 2. Toledo, Burgos2.1 
 3. Bernabe, Leon2.0 
 4. Xavier, Palencia2.0 
 5. Norris, Lleida1.9 
 6. Alonso, Mallorca1.8 
 7. Abrines, Clinic.1.8 
 8. Green, Mallorca1.8 
 9. Rost, Canarias1.7 
 10. Guerra, Granada1.6 
Blocks Per Game
 Ognen KUZMIN
  Clinicas.
  (215-C-90)
  Avg: 2.1
 1. Kuzmin, Clinicas.2.1 
 2. Lawal, Knet Clavijo1.7 
 3. Diouf, Palencia1.6 
 4. Green, Mallorca1.3 
 5. Odiakosa, Melilla1.2 
 6. Olmos, Caceres1.1 
 7. Coleman, Girona1.1 
 8. Samb, Granada1.1 
 9. Donaldson, Canarias0.9 
 10. Starosta, Navarra0.9 


Banca Civica bank confirms their support for basketball in Sevilla as their club returns with the previous name of Cajasol - by Antonio Carlo

Banca Civica high rank director Antonio Pulido has confirmed the involvement of his bank in sponsoring the Andalucian Basket club.
Antonio Prieto also confirmed that the club will be competing in the elite of Spanish basketball in the ACB league under the name of Cajasol Banca Civica Sevilla as they did in previous years. Recently the Banca Civica bank has emerged with another bank franchise called Caixabank.
Prieto said: "We will be supporting the project of Basketball in Sevilla. I can guarantee the future of our club in the ACB Liga Endesa and the rest of the youth teams to parents, directors, players and coaching staff. Everybody has to be aware that we are making an important effort to support the club under the financial difficulties that our country is going through nowadays", he added.
Banca Civica director Antonio Prieto and club president Juan Carlos Ollero corroborated the news in an official reception to celebrate the victory of their team in the Spanish Championship under-16 who was coached by Rafa Monclova.


Lucentum Alicante is a step closer from extinction - by Antonio Carlo

Only a miracle could prevent Lucentum Alicante going bust next week. Despite the club completing a very successful season on the court, things off the court has not been working at all. The situation is pretty desperate.
Lucentum Alicante desperately needs to clear their debts mounting to 600,000 euros in order to avoid going out of business. The club has been ordered by a judge to settle the salaries of the players otherwise he will go ahead with the closure of the club.
If Lucentum Alicante goes out of business, the players will not be paid. Only two players from the current roster Bulgarian Kaloyan Ivanov and Croatian Mario Stojic are under contract. The rest of the players are free and currently trying to sort out their futures by signing new deals with different clubs.
It has been rumoured that the coach who took Lucentum Alicante this season, Txus Vidorreta is heading to Sevilla to take over Cajasol, replacing Joan Plaza. If Vidorreta takes the job at Cajasol, his playmaker this season at Alicante, Pedro Llompart will follow him at the Andalucian club.
If the club from Alicante goes out of business the hierarchy of ACB has to decide to readmit relegated club Estudiantes from Madrid or go ahead with a league with odd numbers.


Serge Ibaka and his Thunder to fight for NBA title - by Eurobasket News

Serge Ibaka (208-C/F-89) and his team Oklahoma City Thunder will have a chance to fight for the NBA league title this season. They outplayed San Antonio Spurs last night 107-99 winning the Western Conference Finals with 4-2. Ibaka helped his team with 10 points and 4 rebounds for 32 minutes on the court. The Thunder now waits for the winner of Boston - Miami series. Boston currently has 3-2 lead. Serge Ibaka joined OC Thunder in 2009 from Ricoh Manresa. He averages 9.4 points and 7.2 rebounds in the NBA this season. Ibaka appeared in 81 games so far. The Spanish National Team member started the season with Real Madrid. There he had 5.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg and 2 bpg for 6 Euroleague games. The player also added 6.7 ppg and 4 rpg for 6 appearances in Liga Endesa. Last summer with the Spanish National Team Serge Ibaka won the Gold at the EuroBasket in Lithuania.


Caja Laboral wants to keep Prigioni and Nocioni - by Eurobasket News

Caja Laboral wants to keep Pablo Prigioni (191-G-77) and Andres Nocioni (199-F-79) for the next season. The Spanish squad already made an offer for contract extension.
Pablo Prigioni played 10 Euroleague games for the club this season averaging 7.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.2 steals. In Liga Endesa, the point guard had 6.6 ppg, 3.3. rpg and 3.9 apg for 39 games. Prigioni returned to the club last summer from Real Madrid.
Andres Nocioni signed with Caja Laboral at the end of March. He appeared 12 times in Liga Endesa averaging 9.7 points and 3.5 rebounds. Nocioni started the season with Penarol Mar del Plata. There he had 16.5 ppg and 11 rpg for two games in Argentinean LigaA. After the NBA lockout, Nocioni returned to Philadelphia 76ers, where he registered 1.7 ppg and 1.3 rpg. Last season with the 76ers Nocioni averaged 6.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 54 games.


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


Thabo Sefolosha advances to NBA Finals with Thunder - by Eurobasket News

Thabo Sefolosha (199-G-84, agency: ACMT) and his team Oklahoma City Thunder will have a chance to fight for the NBA league title this season. They outplayed San Antonio Spurs last night 107-99 winning the Western Conference Finals with 4-2. Sefolosha helped his team with 9 points and 4 rebounds for 26 minutes on the court. The Thunder now waits for the winner of Boston - Miami series. Boston currently has 3-2 lead. Thabo Sefolosha arrived to OC Thunder in 2009 from the Chicago Bulls. He averages 5 points, 3 rebounds and 1.2 assists this season. So far he appeared in 57 games. The Swiss guard started this season with Fenerbahce Ulker, due to the NBA lockout. He had 11.4 ppg, 6 rpg and 2.1 spg for 7 Euroleague games.


*****************************************************
  TAIWAN   


Taiwan U18 NT gearing up for Asian competition - by Chris Wang

A total of 24 players were named by the CTBA to the preliminary roster for the 22nd FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Men in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Training camp for the tournament, which will be held from Aug. 17-26, opened on June 6 in Taipei with former Taiwan NT point guard Yen Hsin-Shu (183-G-76), assistant on Taiwans U19 World Championship team last year, serving as the head coach.

Yang Yi-feng and Hsu Shi-ching serve as assistants.

24-man Roster:
Cheng Chi-kuan, Song-shan HS
Fang Shih-en, Song-shan HS
Wu Chia-chun, Nan-shan HS
Lu Kuan-hsuan, Nan-shan HS
Chiu Jih-cheng, Nan-shan HS
Huang Tsun-han, Nan-shan HS
Liu Jen-hao, Nen-jen HS
Lu Tsun-lin, Nen-jen HS
Huang Hung-han, Nen-jen HS
Lee Kun-yu, Nen-jen HS
Lin Kuan-chun, Nen-jen HS
Chin Ming-ching, Chiang-shu HS
Tseng Pin-fu, Chiang-shu HS
Chiang Sheng-yu, Keelung Vocational HS
Lin Wei-che, Keelung Vocational HS
Lee Chia-jui, Keelung Vocational HS
Lo Yu-hung, Keelung Vocational HS
Chen Po-liang, San-min HS
Lee Yu-wei, Hsin-jung HS
Wu Yu-ta, Hsin-jung HS
Hsieh Tsun-jung, Heping HS
Lin Yu-ping, San-chung Vocational HS
Lee Chun-min, Nan-hu HS
Wu Yung-cheng, Chinhua Junior HS


CTBA names 2012 Taiwan national mens teams - by Chris Wang

The top five star players, including Chen Hsin-an and Tien Lei, were included in the 30-man rosters of the 2012 Taiwan mens national teams announced by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association on May 23.

Hsu Chin-tse, who led Pure Youth to its first ever SBL title last month, would be the head coach of Taiwans national team while Chiu Da-tsun, coach of Dacin Tigers, would be the head coach of the national second team, which is also known as Kwang Hua team.

Hsu and Chiu have both submitted their 15-man rosters to the CTBA.

Pure Youth assistant Ben Metcalf and Lee Po-lun, head coach of National Taiwan University of Art, champion of the University Basketball Association this year, would join Hsu as Taiwan NTs assistants.

Chen Hsin-an, Tseng Wen-ting, Wu Tai-hao, Lin Chih-chieh and Tien Lei are all on the first team, which will begin its training on July 2.

Former TB player Yang Ching-min, who currently plays in China, and Jet Chang would be the first replacement options if any player is injured, according to the CTBA.

Assistants of Kwang Hua will be Fan Ken-hsiang and Yen Chia-wei.

2012 Taiwan mens NT roster
Wu Tai-hao, 202cm, 1985/02/07, 27, TB
Mao Chia-en, 196cm, 1982/11/16, 29, PY
Chien Chia-hung, 197cm, 1987/03/06, 25, PY
Lu Cheng-ju, 194cm, 1986/08/23, 25, Yulon
Su Yi-chieh, 182cm, 1987/01/28, 25, TM
Lee Hsueh-lin, 175cm, 1984/01/31, 28, Beijing (China)
Tseng Wen-ting, 202cm, 1984/07/06, 27, Shanghai (China)
Lin Chih-chieh, 192cm, 1982/06/11, 29, Zhejiang (China)
Chen Hsin-an, 195cm, 1980/07/01, 31, PY
Chou Po-chen, 196cm, 1990/08/08, 21, Yulon
Tien Lei, 202cm, 1983/06/01, 29, Dacin
Lin Yi-hui, 193cm, 1986/03/24, 26, Dacin
Doug Creighton, 197cm, 1985/03/07, 27, PY
Liu Cheng, 192cm, 1990/11/24, 21, KKL
Chen Shih-chieh, 176cm, 1984/09/24, 27, PY

2012 Taiwan mens second NT roster
Peng Chun-yen 185cm, 1989/12/05, 21, PY
Chen Che-yu, 184cm, 1991/05/12, 21, NTUA
Chen Ying-chun, 182cm , 1993/06/09, 19, Belmont Abbey College
Lo Yu-chun , 185cm, 1988/05/07, 24, Dacin
Sung Yu-hsuan, 185cm, 1989/12/05, 22, CCU
Chou Yi-hsiang, 193cm, 1991/02/04, 21, Salt Lake Community College
Chen Yi-an 195cm, 1989/01/02, 22, Dacin
Lin Yao-tsun, 193cm, 1990/09/07, 21, Mindao Univ.
Chang Chia-jung, 194cm, 1988/09/28, 23, Hsing Wu College
Hu Lung-mao, 195cm, 1992/12/22, 19, Chaminade Univ. (D-II)
Wu Hung-hsing 202cm, 1989/10/21, 21, Dacin
Hung Kang-chiao, 191cm, 1992/04/22, 20, NTNU
Chen Hsiao-jung , 197cm, 1990/05/30, 22, TM
Liu Yuan-kai, 205cm, 1991/07/09, 20, FJU
Chen Kuan-chuan, 195cm, 1993/12/30, 18, Nan-shan HS

The two teams are scheduled to participate in a pair of tournaments this summer -- the 34th William Jones Cup tournament which will be held in TPEC Gym in Tienmu, Taipei from Aug 18-26 and the FIBA Asia Cup from Sept. 14-22 in Tokyo, Japan.

Taiwan will vie for a berth of the Asian Championship in the FIBA Asia Cup, which is previously known as the Stankovic Cup.


*****************************************************
  TRBL   


Sea Dawgs see a plan come together with TRBL - by Eurobasket News

The Wilmington Sea Dawgs are about to wrap up their first season in the basketball league the team's owner helped create, and they couldn't be happier about it.

Sea Dawgs owner Peter Gratale and Cary Invasion owner Mark Janus collaborated to form the Tobacco Road Basketball League after years of dealing with frustrating minor-league experiences.

The result was a six-team league with all the teams based in the Carolinas, a shortened schedule, increased talent and a bit more organization. Gratale said the league also has had several more teams apply for membership starting next year.

"This is absolutely the model," Gratale said. "I do think we'll have another five or six teams. I think all the teams will be back. We had a really good year. There's been a lot of emails going back and forth between the owners and they're all saying it was a great year for them."

Originally, the Tobacco Road Basketball League planned to send its champion to a national minor-league tournament.

But that event couldn't be organized in time, so the TRBL will finish its season with a four-team tournament this year, and the Sea Dawgs will be either the No. 3 or No. 4 seed.

Despite that setback, Gratale said he was happy with the structure of the league, which included several teams without home venues. That meant cheaper operating costs and also more home games and ticket sales for established teams like Wilmington and Cary. Several teams have added home venues for next season, according to Gratale.

"A couple of our travel teams have venues now," Gratale said. "We've almost created an incubator system. They can start with fewer games, all on the road, to the next year they don't have to do a whole slate of home games."

For the time being, the Sea Dawgs have plenty to like about the current setup. The timing of a condensed season allowed teams to pull talented players from Europe and other international leagues onto their roster.

Players like Damien Brown (6'7''-C/F-87, college: Averett), Shelton Carter (6'5''-G-87, college: Winston Salem) and Marsharee Neeley led the team in scoring, and Brown and Carter both said they enjoyed the experience of playing in Wilmington during the season.

League owners are debating whether to move the season later into the summer to recruit more players returning from oversees play, or to stay in the current setup to take advantage of regional excitement from the NCAA final four and the NBA playoffs.

"I think we hit 90 percent of our goals," Gratale said. "And there are still a couple of things left to work out."

Courtesy of www.starnewsonline.com


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


Mahmudi deal not reached yet - by Ugur Turker

Oktay Mahmudi (agency: Beo Basket ) did not sign contract extension with Galatasaray Medical Park Istanbul, yet. The club had announced mid May that they reached an agreement about 2+2 contract extension with Turkish Specialist. Nevertheless,today, Galatasaray Medical Park Istanbul Board asked to change contract conditions, just before singing official agreement. Represantative of Oktay Mahmudi (agency: Beo Basket ) left Turkey and it is unsure when negotiations will continue. " I do not want to make comment about what is the problem, right now " Misko Raznatovic said Eurobasket.com Turkey. Oktay Mahmudi (agency: Beo Basket ) had signed with Galatasaray Medical Park Istanbul at the beginning of 2010-2011 season and his team showed impressive performances in TBL and Euroleague last two seasons.


Aliaga eyes point guard Taylor Rochestie - by Eurobasket News

According to Turkish media (Salsabasket), Aliaga wants to sign Taylor Rochestie (185-PG-85, college: Washington St.) for the next season. Reportedly, two sides could be already in talks. The American point guard, with Montenegrin passport, currently plays for Le Mans. They will meet Cholet on Saturday in decisive Game Three of the ProA Semifinals. Rochestie appeared 35 times for the club so far in ProA averaging 16.7 points, 6.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds. In EuroCup, he had 12.5 ppg, 4.4 apg and 3.6 rpg. Taylor Rochestie already played in Turkey. He signed with Galatasaray during the summer of 2010, but they parted ways in February next year. For 16 games in TBL the point guard had 7.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg and 3.1 apg. He also added 6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.5 apg and 1.6 spg for 11 EuroCup games. Rochestie ended 2010/11 season with ALBA Berlin. Before Galata, he played for German MEG Goettingen. With Goettingen, Rochestie won the EuroChallenge title in 2010 and was named MVP of the season. The player graduated at the Washington State University in 2009.


*****************************************************
  U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS   


Duncan not ready to decide on future - by David Edole


By Mike Monroe

OKLAHOMA CITY-- After a season in which he didn't miss a single game because of injury, his scoring and rebounding averages up, his energy increased to a level that had the entire NBA trying to figure out the location of the fountain of youth in which he had bathed during the long offseason, the end of the Spurs season hit team captain Tim Duncan (211-F/C-76, college: Wake Forest) hard Wednesday.

Duncan made 11 of 23 shots, scored 25 points, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, blocked two shots and had two assists in Game 6, doing what he could to extend the season.

Making such a major contribution was no consolation whatsoever.

Very, very disappointing, is how he described his feelings after the Thunder's 107-99 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals at Chesapeake Energy Arena that sent Oklahoma City to its first NBA Finals and sent Duncan and his teammates back to San Antonio to contemplate the future.

The 36-year-old veteran of 15 seasons in silver and black faces a summer of big decisions. He will become an unrestricted free agent July 1, already having declared himself a Spur for life. With a left knee that requires wearing a brace even when he is not playing, he must decide if another summer or two of conditioning and healthy eating is something he wants to continue.

Decision-making will wait until Duncan and his family have had a chance to exhale after the compressed post-lockout season concluded in such disappointment.

The disappointment, he said, won't factor into his decision.

Not really, he said. Bottom line is the summer is going to come. The summer is going to be here, and it is what it is. I'll figure it out when I come to it. I haven't even thought about it, and I really don't care. I'll figure it out when it happens, just like everything else.

For a while, though, Duncan will think about what happened in the final four games of the Thunder series, when a 2-0 lead became four straight losses and elimination.

The widely held belief that this playoff run was the last, best title chance for the Spurs' Big Three Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker is not shared by Duncan.

I've never doubted the fact we'd have an opportunity and the talent enough (for a few more runs), he said. The front office has the ability to put a team together to continue to make runs.

That's not what we're going to think about right now. We're going to stew on this loss here and figure it out when it's time to figure it out.


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


Uruguay beat Chile in Santiago - by Eurobasket News

Chile - Uruguay 83:87 (OT)

Uruguay claimed the victory in the opening clash of the exhibition series versus Chile. Uruguay overcame Chile in overtime in Santiago. The game turned into a thriller. Uruguay faced a 10-point deficit after the starting quarter 14:24. They narrowed the gap at 4-point mark at halftime 34:38. Uruguay stayed aggressive and trimmed the distance to a single point 53:54 with one quarter remaining. Finally Uruguay denied the deficit as Nicolas Borselino (201-C-86) sent the game into overtime. Uruguay proved the strength eventually stealing a tough win at the end. Joaquin Osimani (193-G-87) and Brian Craig (206-C-79, college: Miles) scored 16 points each to lead Uruguay. Nicolas Borselino added 14 points for the winners. The teams are scheduled to meet again in Valparaiso.


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


Marinos defend LPB title, Sucre is MVP of the Finals - by Eurobasket News

Sixth game of the LPB Finals was played last night. Marinos celebrated 93-80 home victory against Trotamundos closing the series with 4-2. It means that Marinos defended the LPB title from the last season. They were LPB champions also in 1991, 1993, 1998, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2009. Leon Rodgers (199-F-80, college: N.Illinois) stepped up for Marinos in Game Six with 28 points. Axiers Sucre (198-F-78) secured a great help adding 18 pts to this victory. Sucre was named MVP of the Finals. Marinos took control on their rival from the very beginning. They started with 12-2 run and later jumped to 24-8 lead. With something more than a minute to go in the first quarter Shaun Pruitt (208-C-85, agency: Edge Sports, college: Illinois) and Miguel Marriaga (208-C-84) had an episode of boxing on the court. Both of them were expelled by the referees and soon after that David Cubillan (183-PG-87, college: Marquette) was also sent to the showers. Marinos finished first quarter with 29-12 and they reached plus 31 after the breather, 61-30. Trotamundos came to minus 9 (85-76) with 3 minutes remaining in the game, but it was all from them last night.


*****************************************************
  WILLIAM JONES CUP   


CTBA names 2012 Taiwan national mens teams - by Chris Wang

The top five star players, including Chen Hsin-an and Tien Lei, were included in the 30-man rosters of the 2012 Taiwan mens national teams announced by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association on May 23.

Hsu Chin-tse, who led Pure Youth to its first ever SBL title last month, would be the head coach of Taiwans national team while Chiu Da-tsun, coach of Dacin Tigers, would be the head coach of the national second team, which is also known as Kwang Hua team.

Hsu and Chiu have both submitted their 15-man rosters to the CTBA.

Pure Youth assistant Ben Metcalf and Lee Po-lun, head coach of National Taiwan University of Art, champion of the University Basketball Association this year, would join Hsu as Taiwan NTs assistants.

Chen Hsin-an, Tseng Wen-ting, Wu Tai-hao, Lin Chih-chieh and Tien Lei are all on the first team, which will begin its training on July 2.

Former TB player Yang Ching-min, who currently plays in China, and Jet Chang would be the first replacement options if any player is injured, according to the CTBA.

Assistants of Kwang Hua will be Fan Ken-hsiang and Yen Chia-wei.

2012 Taiwan mens NT roster
Wu Tai-hao, 202cm, 1985/02/07, 27, TB
Mao Chia-en, 196cm, 1982/11/16, 29, PY
Chien Chia-hung, 197cm, 1987/03/06, 25, PY
Lu Cheng-ju, 194cm, 1986/08/23, 25, Yulon
Su Yi-chieh, 182cm, 1987/01/28, 25, TM
Lee Hsueh-lin, 175cm, 1984/01/31, 28, Beijing (China)
Tseng Wen-ting, 202cm, 1984/07/06, 27, Shanghai (China)
Lin Chih-chieh, 192cm, 1982/06/11, 29, Zhejiang (China)
Chen Hsin-an, 195cm, 1980/07/01, 31, PY
Chou Po-chen, 196cm, 1990/08/08, 21, Yulon
Tien Lei, 202cm, 1983/06/01, 29, Dacin
Lin Yi-hui, 193cm, 1986/03/24, 26, Dacin
Doug Creighton, 197cm, 1985/03/07, 27, PY
Liu Cheng, 192cm, 1990/11/24, 21, KKL
Chen Shih-chieh, 176cm, 1984/09/24, 27, PY

2012 Taiwan mens second NT roster
2012 Taiwan mens second NT roster
Peng Chun-yen 185cm, 1989/12/05, 21, PY
Chen Che-yu, 184cm, 1991/05/12, 21, NTUA
Chen Ying-chun, 182cm , 1993/06/09, 19, Belmont Abbey College
Lo Yu-chun , 185cm, 1988/05/07, 24, Dacin
Sung Yu-hsuan, 185cm, 1989/12/05, 22, CCU
Chou Yi-hsiang, 193cm, 1991/02/04, 21, Salt Lake Community College
Chen Yi-an 195cm, 1989/01/02, 22, Dacin
Lin Yao-tsun, 193cm, 1990/09/07, 21, Mindao Univ.
Chang Chia-jung, 194cm, 1988/09/28, 23, Hsing Wu College
Hu Lung-mao, 195cm, 1992/12/22, 19, Chaminade Univ. (D-II)
Wu Hung-hsing 202cm, 1989/10/21, 21, Dacin
Hung Kang-chiao, 191cm, 1992/04/22, 20, NTNU
Chen Hsiao-jung , 197cm, 1990/05/30, 22, TM
Liu Yuan-kai, 205cm, 1991/07/09, 20, FJU
Chen Kuan-chuan, 195cm, 1993/12/30, 18, Nan-shan HS

The two teams are scheduled to participate in a pair of tournaments this summer -- the 34th William Jones Cup tournament which will be held in TPEC Gym in Tienmu, Taipei from Aug 18-26 and the FIBA Asia Cup from Sept. 14-22 in Tokyo, Japan.

Taiwan will vie for a berth of the Asian Championship in the FIBA Asia Cup, which is previously known as the Stankovic Cup.



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

Women News


Argentinian National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket Center

Starting five
#s#
Erica Sanchez
Sanchez
Sandra Pavon
Pavon
Agostina Burani
Burani
Paula Reggiardo
Reggiardo
Andrea Boquete Manna
Boquete Manna
#e#5
14 Erica Sanchez 184-F/C-76 Orion-GDKO Spain
12 Sandra Pavon 175-PG-85 Velez S. Argentina
10 Agostina Burani 188-F/C-91 Lanus Argentina
6 Paula Reggiardo 178-F-84 Velez S. Argentina
8 Andrea Boquete Manna 183-F/C-90 Lanus Argentina
9 Marina Cava 168-G-85 Velez S. Argentina
11 Melisa Gretter 170-PG-93 Union Florida Argentina
15 Melisa Pavicich 182-F-91 Lanus Argentina
5 Ornella Santana 184-F/C-90 Velez S. Argentina
13 Melani Soriani 180-F/C-87 Lanus Argentina
7 Diana Cabrera 187-C-93 Union Florida Argentina
4 Debora Gonzalez 172-PG-90 Chieti Italy



*****************************************************
  BELARUS   


Belarus edge Russian University team - by Eurobasket News

Belarus-Russia University Team 69:53

Belarus edge Russian University team in their first clash. The home side celebrated a 69:53 victory.
Belarus started better and took 23:17 after the first period. They played even better in the second quarter paying more attention to defense and as a result limited Russia to just 8 points. The guests replied with 16-13 in the third quarter but could not come closer. Kress brought 55:41 and Muravskaya made it 57:46. Anastasiya Veremeenko (194-C-87) scored for 61:48 and Kress later scored for 63:51. Volha Istseliatsova (189-F/C-88) brought the last points for the winning side.
Anastasiya Veremeenko paced all the winners with 12 points and Anyfrienka netted 9. Alexandra Tarasava (170-PG-88), Lihtarovich and Zhanna Horodetskaya (180-G-79) delivered 8 apiece. Tatiana Petrushina (185-F-90) ended up with 14 points in defeat and Veronika Dorosheva (188-PF-91) scored 11.

Belarus: Anastasiya Veremeenko 12, Anyfrienka 9, Alexandra Tarasava 8, Lihtarovich 8, Zhanna Horodetskaya 8
Russian University team: Tatiana Petrushina 14, Veronika Dorosheva 11


*****************************************************
  BELGIUM   


Belgian National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket

Starting five
#s#
Julie Vanloo
Vanloo
Sara Leemans
Leemans
Anne-Sophie Strubbe
Strubbe
Jana Raman
Raman
Sofie Hendrickx
Hendrickx
#e#5
4 Inge Meylemans 168-PG-92 Waregem Belgium
5 Julie Vanloo 171-PG-93 Waregem Belgium
7 Jasmina Rosseel 172-G-89 Kangoeroes-B. Belgium
8 Antonia Delaere 175-SG-94 Kangoeroes-B. Belgium
10 Sara Leemans 178-SF-88 Sint Katelijne Belgium
11 Noemie Mayombo 170-PG-91 Point Chaud Belgium
12 Anne-Sophie Strubbe 182-SF-90 Waregem Belgium
16 Jana Raman 186-PF-91 Waregem Belgium
18 Sofie Hendrickx 186-PF-86 Kangoeroes-B. Belgium
44 Dana Boonen 197-C-79 Kangoeroes-B. Belgium



*****************************************************
  BULGARIA   


Bulgarian National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket Center

Starting five
#s#
Daniela Peteva
Peteva
Vera Perostiyska
Perostiyska
Jaklin Zlatanova
Zlatanova
Radostina Slavova-Naneva
Slavova-Naneva
Zornitsa Kostova
Kostova
#e#5
23 Daniela Peteva 179-F-89 Arxil Pontev. Spain
12 Vera Perostiyska 196-C-82 Union Hainaut France
11 Jaklin Zlatanova 190-F-88 Rivas Ecopolis Spain
13 Radostina Slavova-Naneva 188-F/C-86 Alghero Italy
6 Zornitsa Kostova 176-G-82 Dunav 8806 Bulgaria
15 Dimana Makarieva 188-C-88 Montana 2003 Bulgaria
4 Marieta Karchovska 171-G-86 Beroe 07 Bulgaria
8 Stefka Nikolova 173-G-90 Slavia Bulgaria
22 Aleksandra Delcheva 202-C-87 Slavia Bulgaria
5 Hristina Ivanova 183-F-89 Levski Bulgaria
14 Stefka Miteva 190-C-89 Levski Bulgaria
9 Zoya Stanoeva 182-F-76 Beroe 07 Bulgaria
10 Radoslava Bachvarova 183-F-87 Union Hainaut France



*****************************************************
  CANADA   


Canadian National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket Center

Canadian National Team 2012
#s#
Natalie Achonwa
Achonwa
Chelsea Aubry
Aubry
Miranda Ayim
Ayim
Teresa Gabriele
Gabriele
Lizanne Murphy
Murphy
#e#5
Natalie Achonwa 190-F-92 Notre Dame
Chelsea Aubry 188-F-84 Bendigo S. Australia
Miranda Ayim 191-F/C-88 Istanbul Univ. Turkey
Teresa Gabriele 165-G-79 Simon Fraser Canada
Lizanne Murphy 185-F-84 Aix-en-Provence France
Krista Phillips 198-C-88 Dandenong R. Australia
Courtnay Pilypaitis 184-G-88 VICI Aistes Lithuania
Michelle Plouffe 191-F-92 Utah
Kimberley Smith 187-F-84 Ibiza Spain
Alisha Tatham 180-G-86 Point Chaud Belgium
Tamara Tatham 185-F-85 Halle Germany
Shona Thorburn 178-G-82 Aix-en-Provence France



*****************************************************
  FINLAND   


Finnish National Team 2012 - by Simas

Starting five
#s#
Taru Tuukkanen
Tuukkanen
Vilma Kesanen
Kesanen
Laura Wilson
Wilson
Heta Korpivaara
Korpivaara
Tiina Sten
Sten
#e#5
5 Taru Tuukkanen 190-C-77 Cajarural Spain
6 Vilma Kesanen 179-G-88 Catz Finland
7 Anni Makitalo 175-F-91 Trutnov Czech Republic
8 Emmi Leino 182-F/G-94 Espoo Team Finland
9 Laura Wilson 184-SG-84 Espoo Team Finland
11 Heta Korpivaara 186-G/F-84 Ferrol Spain
12 Krista Gross 182-F-90 N.Carolina USA
13 Tiina Sten 189-G/F-85 Cadi la Seu Spain
14 Dionne Pounds 174-F-84 Catz Finland
15 Sofia Pelander 188-C-92 TuRi Finland
20 Henna Salomaa 175-G-89 Cajarural Spain
21 Linda-Lotta Lehtoranta 175-G-91 PeKa Finland

Anton Mirolybov Head Coach MBC Germany



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


French National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket Center

Starting five
#s#
Nwal-Endene Miyem
Miyem
Sandrine Gruda
Gruda
Celine Dumerc
Dumerc
Emilie Gomis
Gomis
Diandra Tchatchouang
Tchatchouang
#e#5
4 Isabelle Yacoubou-Dehoui 190-C-86 Ros Casares Spain
5 Nwal-Endene Miyem 188-PF-88 Bourges France
6 Clemence Beikes 180-G-83 Union Hainaut France
7 Sandrine Gruda 193-C-87 UMMC Russia
8 Florence Lepron 182-F-85 Tarbes France
9 Celine Dumerc 169-G-82 Bourges France
10 Jennifer Digbeu 190-F/C-87 Villeneuve France
11 Emilie Gomis 180-G/F-83 Lattes Montp. France
12 Diandra Tchatchouang 190-F-91 Perpignan France
13 Elodie Godin 190-C-85 Familia Schio Italy
14 Marielle Amant 191-F/C-89 Bourges France
15 Anael Lardy 170-G-87 USK Praha Czech Republic

Pierre Vincent Head Coach ASVEL France
Valerie Garnier Assistant Bourges France
Francois Brisson Assistant



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


German National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket

Starting five
#s#
Romy Bar
Bar
Anne Breitreiner
Breitreiner
Sarah Austmann
Austmann
Tina Menz
Menz
Katharina Fikiel
Fikiel
#e#5
4 Romy Bar 189-F-87 Challes France
5 Anne Breitreiner 183-G/F-84 Villeneuve France
6 Dorothea Richter 176-G-83 Heli Girls Germany
7 Pia Mankertz 170-G-90 BG 89 Avides Germany
8 Sarah Austmann 179-G/F-85 Oberhausen Germany
10 Stephanie Wagner 181-F-90 Rhein MB Germany
11 Tina Menz 174-G/F-88 Marburg Germany
12 Anna-lisa Rexroth 174-G-90 Rhein MB Germany
15 Katharina Fikiel 193-F/C-87 Wolfenbuettel Germany
21 Charmaine Callahan 183-F/C-83 Wolfenbuettel Germany
24 Sonja Greinacher 193-F-92 Gonzaga USA

Andreas Wagner Head Coach Bayreuth Germany



*****************************************************
  HUNGARY   


Hungarian National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket

Starting five
#s#
Katalin Honti
Honti
Zsofia Simon
Simon
Krisztina Raksanyi
Raksanyi
Nora Nagy
Nagy
Dora Horti
Horti
#e#5
Katalin Honti 175-G-87 Rivas Ecopolis Spain
Zsofia Simon 180-G-89 UNI SEAT Hungary
Krisztina Raksanyi 180-G-91 Pecs 2010 Hungary
Nora Nagy 185-F-85 UNI SEAT Hungary
Dora Horti 195-C-87 Wisla Can-Pak Poland
Orsolya Szecsi 190-G/F-92 Duquesne USA
Allie Quigley 180-G-86 Seattle S. USA
Orsolya Zsovar 182-G/F-84 UNIQA Eurol. Hungary
Anna Vida 184-F-85 ZTE Hungary
Anna Lakloth 182-G-88 UNI SEAT Hungary
Timea Czank 176-G-86 UNIQA Eurol. Hungary

Stefan Svitek Head Coach Good Angels Slovakia



Dora Szondy moves to Slovakia - by Tamas Deri

Hungarian guard, Dora Szondy (173-G-88, agency: TSS Management) and her agency, TSS Management just informed us that the young player will play for MBK Samorin in the coming season. The 24 years old, 173 cm tall guard can play on both positions and was a key player of her team BSE-FCSM last season averaging 14.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 2.4 assists per game. She used to play in all U-NT of Hungary and was also a member of the senior NT in 2009.
"I am very happy, that my agency got me a chance to show my skills outside of Hungary and very proud, that a very good club decided to sign me! I know that my new team run a great season and finished on the 3rd place behind two very strong teams as Kosice and Ruzomberok, which also played in European Competitions as the Euroleague and Eurocup. I really hope that i will be able to help my new team a lot and build up a european carreer!' - said Szondy.


*****************************************************
  ISRAEL   


Israeli National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket Center

Starting Five
#s#
Katia Levitsky
Levitsky
Noa Ganor
Ganor
Liron Cohen
Cohen
Shay Doron
Doron
Ekaterina Abramzon
Abramzon
#e#5
4 Katia Levitsky 190-PF-85 Elitzur Ramla Israel
6 Noa Ganor 171-G-86 Elitzur Netanya Israel
7 Liron Cohen 173-G-82 Familia Schio Italy
8 Shay Doron 175-SG-85 UMMC Russia
9 Shiran Tzairi 166-PG-86 Maccabi R.Hen Israel
10 Shani Levi 177-G-84 Bnot Hasharon Israel
12 Ortal Oren 175-SG-84 Maccabi Ashdod Israel
13 Ekaterina Abramzon 185-F-87 Alba Iulia Romania
14 Brasheeda Elohim 183-G-80 Maccabi Ashdod Israel
15 Jennifer Fleischer Priolo Italy
21 Shira Shecht 182-F-91 Monmouth USA
22 Alison Hinton 185-F-88 Elitzur Ramla Israel

Eliyahu Rabi Head Coach Ironi Ashkelon Israel



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


Spain defeat Latvia in Kaunas - by Eurobasket News

Spain - Latvia 68:63

Spain registered the second straight win at the international tournament in Kaunas. They held off Latvia tonight. Marta Fernandez (178-F-81) stepped up with 13 points to lead the winners.
Spain scored 21 points in the opening quarter take a 2-point lead. Spain held their opponents to 13 points in the second quarter to deepen the distance. They established a 38:32 halftime lead. Latvia however matched the tempo in the third quarter. They unloaded 21 points of their own in the quarter and levelled things up at 53. Spain needed to turn on their best defence in the final period to hold off Latvia and celebrate a tough win at the end. Anna Montanana (186-F-80, agency: Josep and Nicolas, college: G.Washington) posted 9 points, while Cristina Ouvina (174-G-90), Laia Palau (178-G-79) and Lucila Pascua (195-C-83) added 7 points each in the win. Aija Putnina (192-F/C-88, agency: Josep and Nicolas) answered with 22 points for Latvia. Ieva Krastina (175-G/F-90, agency: LBM Management) finished with 11 points in the loss.

Spain: Marta Fernandez 13, Anna Montanana 9, Cristina Ouvina 7, Laia Palau 7, Lucila Pascua 7
Latvia: Aija Putnina 22, Ieva Krastina 11


Latvian National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket

Starting five
#s#
Kristine Karklina
Karklina
Ieva Krastina
Krastina
Anete Steinberga
Steinberga
Sabine Niedola
Niedola
Ieva Kublina
Kublina
#e#5
Kristine Karklina 175-G-83 Cadi la Seu Spain
Ieva Krastina 175-G/F-90 TTT Riga Latvia
Anete Steinberga 187-F-90 UTEP USA
Sabine Niedola 184-F-91 Cajarural Spain
Ieva Kublina 193-C-82 UNI SEAT Hungary
Kristine Vitola 193-F-91 UTEP USA
Anete Horelika 177-F-87 Cesis Latvia
Santa Dreimane 176-G-85 Cesis Latvia
Anda Eibele 170-G-84 Cesis Latvia
Liene Priede 177-G-90 Missouri USA
Agnija Reke 175-G-86 Cesis Latvia

Aigars Nerips Head Coach TTT Riga Latvia



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


Lithuanian National Team 2012 - by Simas

Starting five
#s#
Inesa Visgaudaite
Visgaudaite
Rasa Zemantauskaite
Zemantauskaite
Kristina Vengryte
Vengryte
Lina Pikciute
Pikciute
Gintare Petronyte
Petronyte
#e#5
4 Gabriele Gutkauskaite 172-PG-90 Lemminkainen Lithuania
5 Inesa Visgaudaite 172-PG-91 Lemminkainen Lithuania
6 Marina Solopova 180-G/F-90 Union Hainaut France
7 Rasa Zemantauskaite 177-G-81 Sirenos Lithuania
8 Greta Sniokaite 180-G-91 Kibirkstis-Tiche Lithuania
9 Gintare Mazionyte 186-F/C-91 Lemminkainen Lithuania
10 Mante Kvederaviciute 180-G-90 VICI Aistes Lithuania
11 Kristina Vengryte 190-C-81 Kibirkstis-Tiche Lithuania
12 Lina Pikciute 192-F-90 VICI Aistes Lithuania
13 Gintare Petronyte 196-C-89 Kibirkstis-Tiche Lithuania
14 Julita Bungaite 186-PF-87 Lemminkainen Lithuania

Algirdas Paulauskas Head Coach UMMC Russia



Lithuania fire past Sweden in Kaunas - by Eurobasket News

Lithuania - Sweden 82:47

Lithuania celebrated the second straight win at the Kaunas international tournament. They knocked down Sweden for 2-0 record. Lithuania will now take on undefeated Spain for the trophy tomorrow. Sweden will look for the initial win when they face Latvia on Friday.
Lithuania cleared off in the starting quarter. They posted a 22:14 lead after ten minutes. The Baltic team held the visitors to 9 points in the second frame to ensure a 41:22 halftime lead. Lithuania stretched the gap in the third term. They accumulated a 28-point lead with one quarter remaining. Sweden failed to stop the bleeding as Lithuania cruised to a stunning win at the end. Gintare Petronyte (196-C-89) accounted for 21 points and 13 rebounds for Lithuania. Rasa Zemantauskaite (177-G-81) delivered 12 points in the win. Elin Eldebrink (174-G-88, agency: Josep and Nicolas) answered with 9 points for Sweden. Kadidja Andersson (185-F-80, college: Minnesota), Anna Barthold (183-F-80, agency: Josep and Nicolas, college: St.Peter's) and Louice Halvarsson (189-C-89, agency: Josep and Nicolas) had 6 points each in the loss.

Lithuania: Gintare Petronyte 21+13 boards, Rasa Zemantauskaite 12, Giedre Paugaite 10
Sweden: Elin Eldebrink 9, Kadidja Andersson 6, Anna Barthold 6, Louice Halvarsson 6


Lithuania U16 play first friendly game in France - by Eurobasket News

Lithuanian U16 National Team travelled to France to play three-game test series versus the hosts. They played the first game on Wednesday.
The first game ended with France taking a 64:52 victory. France dominated in the first half. They recorded a 34:27 halftime lead. The home team stretched the lead to as many as 17 points before the fourth quarter. Lithuania went on a 16:11 run in the final frame but could not escape the loss at the end. Agne Cerneckyte (171-SG-96) stepped up with 14 points to lead Lithuania. Daugile Sarauskaite added 10 points and 17 rebounds, while Lauritos Jurciutes had 8 points in defeat. The teams are scheduled to play the second game tonight.


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


Polish National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket Center

Starting five
#s#
Paulina Pawlak
Pawlak
Agnieszka Szott
Szott
Agnieszka Skobel
Skobel
Izabela Piekarska
Piekarska
Martyna Koc
Koc
#e#5
4 Weronika Idczak 177-G-89 Energa Torun Poland
5 Anna Pietrzak 167-PG-87 Lider Pruszkow Poland
6 Paulina Pawlak 170-PG-84 Wisla Can-Pak Poland
7 Agnieszka Szott 185-F-82 Artego Bydg. Poland
8 Olivia Tomialowicz 184-G-90 Lider Pruszkow Poland
9 Agnieszka Skobel 179-F-89 Gorzow Poland
10 Joanna Walich 183-F/C-81 CCC Polkowice Poland
12 Agnieszka Majewska 195-C-82 CCC Polkowice Poland
14 Izabela Piekarska 196-C-85 Union Hainaut France
15 Patrycja Gulak-Lipka 192-C-82 Alcamo Italy
21 Aleksandra Chomac 191-C-85 Lider Pruszkow Poland
22 Martyna Koc 186-C-83 Artego Bydg. Poland

Jacek Winnicki Head Coach PGE Turow Poland
Dariusz Raczynski Assistant Tecza Leszno Poland
Krzysztof Szewczyk Assistant CCC Polkowice Poland



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


Puerto Rican National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket Center

Puerto Rican National Team 2012
#s#
Angelica Bermudez
Bermudez
Esmary Vargas-Sanchez
Vargas-Sanchez
Carla Escalera
Escalera
Marie Placido
Placido
Angiely Morales
Morales
#e#5
Angelica Bermudez 179-G-89 San German Puerto Rico
Esmary Vargas-Sanchez 192-C-81 Carolina G. Puerto Rico
Carla Escalera 180-PF-84 Mayaguez I. Puerto Rico
Marie Placido 182-F-87 Morovis M. Puerto Rico
Angiely Morales 180-SG-87 Carolina G. Puerto Rico
Cristina Centeno 173-G/F-90 Siena USA
Frances Flores San Juan W. Puerto Rico
Pamela Rosado 166-PG-86 Morovis M. Puerto Rico
Carla Cortijo 173-G-87 Carolina G. Puerto Rico
Gileysa Penzo 97
Kiara Quinones-Noa 93 Carolina G. Puerto Rico
Krystal Luciano 96
Claudia Ortiz 96
Megan Vasquez 172-G-91 Yale USA
Deanna Ortiz 177-G De Paul USA
Jennifer O'Neill 167-G Kentucky USA
Natalia Diaz



*****************************************************
  ROMANIA   


Romanian National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket Center

Starting five
#s#
Alexandra Uiuiu
Uiuiu
Annemarie Parau
Parau
Andreea Hutanu
Hutanu
Elisabeth Pavel
Pavel
Gabriela Marginean
Marginean
#e#5
6 Alexandra Uiuiu 183-F-89 Targoviste Romania
7 Annemarie Parau 175-G-84 Satu Mare Romania
8 Anita Meszaros 190-C-88 Satu Mare Romania
10 Andreea Orosz 180-G/F-86 Satu Mare Romania
12 Anca Sipos 185-F/C-85 Targoviste Romania
15 Andreea Hutanu 188-C-88 Targoviste Romania
20 Elisabeth Pavel 192-C-90 Napoli S.Dike Italy
23 Ramona Tarta 173-G-89 Alba Iulia Romania
24 Ancuta Stoenescu 169-G-80 Alba Iulia Romania
33 Cristiana Cutas 187-C-84 Targu Mures Romania
35 Cristina Bigica 177-G-92 Marquette USA
44 Gabriela Marginean 182-F-87 Arras France

Dan Fleseriu Head Coach Satu Mare Romania



CSU Alba Iulia signs Jovana Vukoje - by Eurobasket News

Jovana Vukoje (174-G-86) stays in Romania. The Serbian guard penned a one-year deal with CSU Alba Iulia. Vukoje spent this season with BCM Bega Danzio Timisoara. She appeared 34 times with the club averaging 14.1 points 3.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals. They reached Playoff Quarterfinals. Jovana Vukoje played for Lupa Promotion Novi Zagreb in 2010/11 season. She helped them reach the Slovenian league and Cup Semifinals. The guard had 10.5 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.2 apg and 1.9 spg for 17 games in the regional championship. She registered almost the same numbers in EuroCup. In the past, Vukoje played for Vozdovac, Vojvodina, Crvena Zvezda and Partizan. In 2010, she was named Eurobasket.com All-Serbian League Guard of the Year -10 and played for the Serbian National Team.


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


Belarus edge Russian University team - by Eurobasket News

Belarus-Russia University Team 69:53

Belarus edge Russian University team in their first clash. The home side celebrated a 69:53 victory.
Belarus started better and took 23:17 after the first period. They played even better in the second quarter paying more attention to defense and as a result limited Russia to just 8 points. The guests replied with 16-13 in the third quarter but could not come closer. Kress brought 55:41 and Muravskaya made it 57:46. Anastasiya Veremeenko (194-C-87) scored for 61:48 and Kress later scored for 63:51. Volha Istseliatsova (189-F/C-88) brought the last points for the winning side.
Anastasiya Veremeenko paced all the winners with 12 points and Anyfrienka netted 9. Alexandra Tarasava (170-PG-88), Lihtarovich and Zhanna Horodetskaya (180-G-79) delivered 8 apiece. Tatiana Petrushina (185-F-90) ended up with 14 points in defeat and Veronika Dorosheva (188-PF-91) scored 11.

Belarus: Anastasiya Veremeenko 12, Anyfrienka 9, Alexandra Tarasava 8, Lihtarovich 8, Zhanna Horodetskaya 8
Russian University team: Tatiana Petrushina 14, Veronika Dorosheva 11


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


CSU Alba Iulia signs Jovana Vukoje - by Eurobasket News

Jovana Vukoje (174-G-86) stays in Romania. The Serbian guard penned a one-year deal with CSU Alba Iulia. Vukoje spent this season with BCM Bega Danzio Timisoara. She appeared 34 times with the club averaging 14.1 points 3.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.2 steals. They reached Playoff Quarterfinals. Jovana Vukoje played for Lupa Promotion Novi Zagreb in 2010/11 season. She helped them reach the Slovenian league and Cup Semifinals. The guard had 10.5 ppg, 4 rpg, 2.2 apg and 1.9 spg for 17 games in the regional championship. She registered almost the same numbers in EuroCup. In the past, Vukoje played for Vozdovac, Vojvodina, Crvena Zvezda and Partizan. In 2010, she was named Eurobasket.com All-Serbian League Guard of the Year -10 and played for the Serbian National Team.


Maljkovic cuts two more players from the National Team - by Tamara Ruzic

Head Coach Marina Maljkovic waved to Iva Roglic (189-PF- 88), and Natasa Krnjetin (180-G-88).
Top Serbian basketball players will travel on June 13th, to Cetinje to face Montenegro National Team to start qualifications and qualify for the European Championsips in France 2013. Sixteen players will continue:Tijana Ajdukovic, Milica Dabovic, Milica Ivanovic, Nevena Jovanovic, Dunja Prcic, Tamara Radocaj, Nevena Saponjic, Dajana Butulija, Maja Skoric, Jelena Milovanovic, Baltic Kristina, Sara Krnjic, Marina Mandic, Ivanka Matic Jelena Maksimovic and Ana Dabovic. Dajana Butulija and Jelena Milovanovic still recover from injuries.
Serbia's rivals in EuroBasket Qualifications are Poland, Montenegro, Switzerland and Estonia. Two best teams will book a spot for the final tournament. The qualifications start on June 13th and last game is scheduled for July 14th. Serbia will play against Montenegro in Round One. After that, Serbia will take on Switzerland, Poland and Estonia.


Serbian National Team 2012 - by Tamara Ruzic

Starting five
#s#
Tamara Radocaj
Radocaj
Marina Mandic
Mandic
Ivanka Matic
Matic
Milica Dabovic
Dabovic
Maja Skoric
Skoric
Ana Dabovic
Dabovic
#e#1

4 Tamara Radocaj 170-PG-87 Partizan Serbia
5 Marina Mandic 181-G-83 Hemofarm Serbia
6 Nevena Jovanovic 179-G-90 Radivoj Korac Serbia
8 Milica Ivanovic 175-G-88 Vozdovac Serbia
9 Sara Krnjic 193-C-91 UNIQA Eurol. Hungary
11 Ivanka Matic 195-F/C-79 Galatasaray Turkey
13 Milica Dabovic 175-PG-82 Partizan Serbia
14 Tijana Ajdukovic 197-C-91 Hemofarm Serbia
15 Jelena Maksimovic 192-C-82 Energa Torun Poland
20 Kristina Baltic 187-F/C-90 AJM Maribor Slovenia
23 Ana Dabovic 183-G/F-89 Wisla Can-Pak Poland
24 Maja Skoric 184-F-89 DKSK Hungary


 Marina Maljkovic Head Coach Partizan Serbia
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*****************************************************
  SLOVENIA   


Slovenian National Team 2012 - by Simas

Starting five
#s#
Ziva Zdolsek
Zdolsek
Sasa Panic
Panic
Nika Baric
Baric
Maja Erkic
Erkic
Martina Dover
Dover
#e#5
Ziva Zdolsek 178-G-89 Triglav Slovenia
Sasa Panic 171-PG-86 Grosuplje Slovenia
Nika Baric 169-PG-92 Spartak V MR Russia
Maja Erkic 183-G/F-85 Familia Schio Italy
Martina Dover 177-G-86 Gospic Croatia
Teja Oblak 171-G-90 Athlete Celje Slovenia
Polona Zalar 176-G-91 Triglav Slovenia
Lea Jagodic 182-F-91 Athlete Celje Slovenia
Tina Trebec 189-F-90 Athlete Celje Slovenia
Sandra Pirsic 195-C-84 Villeneuve France
Tina Jakovina 182-F-92 Grosuplje Slovenia
Tjasa Gortnar 187-F-92 Georgia Tech USA
Eva Rupnik 177-F-92 Jezica Slovenia

Boris Zrinski Head Coach AJM Maribor Slovenia
Emir Haskic Assistant Hit K.Gora Slovenia
Tomo Oresnik Assistant Triglav Slovenia



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


Cadi la Seu keeps Cristina Garcia for 2012/13 - by Eurobasket News

Cristina Garcia (183-G-84, agency: Regeneracom Sports) will stay with Cadi la Seu for the next season. The Spanish guard signed a one-year contract extension yesterday. Garcia arrived to Cadi la Seu last summer from Zaragoza. She played 27 games in LFB collecting 9.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.6 apg and 1.6 spg. In 2010/11, the player averaged 9.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg and 1.4 apg for 52 games in LF2 with Zaragoza. From 2007 to 2010, Cristina Garcia was a member of Femeni Sant Adria. They competed in LF2 all three years. From 2004 to 2006, the guard played for Universitat de Barcelona - FC Barcelona. They won the LFB title together in 2005. A year later the team reached LFB Finals, but failed to defend the trophy. In the past, Garcia played for Puig d'en Valls, Sedis Cad, Siglo XXI and La Salle Bonanova. She also played for Spanish youth National Teams.


Spain defeat Latvia in Kaunas - by Eurobasket News

Spain - Latvia 68:63

Spain registered the second straight win at the international tournament in Kaunas. They held off Latvia tonight. Marta Fernandez (178-F-81) stepped up with 13 points to lead the winners.
Spain scored 21 points in the opening quarter take a 2-point lead. Spain held their opponents to 13 points in the second quarter to deepen the distance. They established a 38:32 halftime lead. Latvia however matched the tempo in the third quarter. They unloaded 21 points of their own in the quarter and levelled things up at 53. Spain needed to turn on their best defence in the final period to hold off Latvia and celebrate a tough win at the end. Anna Montanana (186-F-80, agency: Josep and Nicolas, college: G.Washington) posted 9 points, while Cristina Ouvina (174-G-90), Laia Palau (178-G-79) and Lucila Pascua (195-C-83) added 7 points each in the win. Aija Putnina (192-F/C-88, agency: Josep and Nicolas) answered with 22 points for Latvia. Ieva Krastina (175-G/F-90, agency: LBM Management) finished with 11 points in the loss.

Spain: Marta Fernandez 13, Anna Montanana 9, Cristina Ouvina 7, Laia Palau 7, Lucila Pascua 7
Latvia: Aija Putnina 22, Ieva Krastina 11


*****************************************************
  SWEDEN   


Lithuania fire past Sweden in Kaunas - by Eurobasket News

Lithuania - Sweden 82:47

Lithuania celebrated the second straight win at the Kaunas international tournament. They knocked down Sweden for 2-0 record. Lithuania will now take on undefeated Spain for the trophy tomorrow. Sweden will look for the initial win when they face Latvia on Friday.
Lithuania cleared off in the starting quarter. They posted a 22:14 lead after ten minutes. The Baltic team held the visitors to 9 points in the second frame to ensure a 41:22 halftime lead. Lithuania stretched the gap in the third term. They accumulated a 28-point lead with one quarter remaining. Sweden failed to stop the bleeding as Lithuania cruised to a stunning win at the end. Gintare Petronyte (196-C-89) accounted for 21 points and 13 rebounds for Lithuania. Rasa Zemantauskaite (177-G-81) delivered 12 points in the win. Elin Eldebrink (174-G-88, agency: Josep and Nicolas) answered with 9 points for Sweden. Kadidja Andersson (185-F-80, college: Minnesota), Anna Barthold (183-F-80, agency: Josep and Nicolas, college: St.Peter's) and Louice Halvarsson (189-C-89, agency: Josep and Nicolas) had 6 points each in the loss.

Lithuania: Gintare Petronyte 21+13 boards, Rasa Zemantauskaite 12, Giedre Paugaite 10
Sweden: Elin Eldebrink 9, Kadidja Andersson 6, Anna Barthold 6, Louice Halvarsson 6


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


Ukrainian National Team 2012 - by Simas

Starting five
#s#
Iryna Tsekova
Tsekova
Inna Kochubei
Kochubei
Viktoria Mircheva
Mircheva
Kateryna Rymarenko
Rymarenko
Olena Zherzherunova
Zherzherunova
#e#5
5 Jevgenija Sharovka 175-G-88 Lemminkainen Lithuania
6 Iryna Tsekova 177-G/F-78 Dynamo Ukraine
7 Inna Kochubei 174-G-82 Odra Brzeg Poland
10 Alina Iagupova 186-G-92 Bar Regina-B. Ukraine
14 Viktoria Mircheva 190-C-87 Nantes France
15 Lyubov Alyoshkina 203-C-81 Olimpia Belarus
17 Tetiana Panchenk-Stakhova 173-G/F-79 Dynamo Ukraine
21 Olena Samburska 172-G/F-89 Targoviste Romania
23 Ganna Zarytska 182-F-86 Bar Regina-B. Ukraine
28 Anna Pokoiova 188-F-87 Olimpia Belarus
29 Kateryna Rymarenko 185-F-90 Dynamo Ukraine
30 Olena Zherzherunova 191-C/F-78 Targoviste Romania



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


British National Team 2012 - by Eurobasket

Starting five
#s#
Natalie Stafford
Stafford
Stefanie Collins
Collins
Julie Page
Page
Johannah Leedham
Leedham
Temitope Fagbenle
Fagbenle
#e#5
4 Natalie Stafford 173-G-76 Sydney UF Australia
5 Rose Anderson 175-G-88 UWIC Archers United Kingdom
6 Stefanie Collins 174-G-82 UWIC Archers United Kingdom
7 Rachel Vanderwal 176-G-83 UL Aughinish Ireland
8 Chantelle Handy 191-F/C-87 Athinaikos Greece
10 Julie Page 188-F/C-83 Energa Torun Poland
12 Lauren Thomas-Johnson 178-G-88 Sheffield Hatters United Kingdom
13 Johannah Leedham 180-G/F-87 Bulleen B. Australia
14 Azania Stewart 193-C-89 Florida USA
15 Stephanie Gandy 178-F-82 Sheffield Hatters United Kingdom
20 Temitope Fagbenle 193-F-92 Harvard USA
21 Dominique Allen 187-C-89 ORU USA
23 Jenaya Wade-Fray 175-G-88 Sheffield Hatters United Kingdom



*****************************************************
  WBCBL   


WBCBL Ultra-Competitive NorthEast Regional View Already Cloudy! - by Lucius Jones

This extremely competitive Region has always been known for it's Big East-like feel with quality franchises defeating each other during the regular season year in and year out. 2012 is no different as all 4 NorthEast Region teams have already experienced wins and losses in this very young season. Here's the scoop:

Flint Lady Monarchs: Initial contest versus State rival Detroit turned out to be a tough road loss to the tune of 68-65. The very next night hosting Cleveland, Flint was able to get an exciting 100-87 win at home.

Detroit Black Hawks: Opening with a 76-51 loss to Columbus, then taking a tough 79-63 defeat to Cleveland obviously wasn't how Detroit expected to start. However, the BlackHawks showed their traditional resilience in beating defending Regional Champ Flint 68-65.

Cleveland Crush: Beat Columbus 79-73, then beat Detroit 79-63 to start off well and establish themselves early. Traveling to Flint proved to be the stumbling block with a score of 100-87.

Columbus Hidden Gems: Lost to Cleveland at their place with a 20pt 3rd quarter lead, then won at Detroit the next day 76-51.

NorthEast Regional action picks up at Flint with Detroit visiting in the Battle for Michigan bragging rights of the moment. The balanced attack of Flint with multiple scoring options like Natasha Morris (5'8''-G/F-88, agency: Dow Sports Management, college: St.Peter's) and Nanyamka Moore (5'8''-G-87, agency: Dow Sports Management, college: IPFW) versus the Kevin Durant-like abilities of the Joei Clyburn (6'1''-G/F-84, college: Xavier) led Black Hawks.

In Columbus, where the Hidden Gems will look to avenge their loss to Ohio rival Cleveland, the Ohio contest will see the Columbus Hidden Gems debut a pair of Buckeyes from the Ohio State University in Star Allen (5'11''-F-85, college: Ohio St.) and Debbie Merrill (6'1''-F/C, college: Ohio St.) as well as a pair of Sweden's best in Ashleigh Brown (6'0''-F/G-87, college: Miami, OH) and 2010 Regional POY Jeannie Saunders (5'8''-G-86, college: Salem Intern.). Cleveland will again look to use the defensive intensity of Erica Glover (5'5''-G, college: Akron) and the exceptional rebounding of Catherine Cain (5'11''-F, college: USC Aiken) to get back on the winning track.


*****************************************************
  WNBA   

Standings

WNBA Standings
Eastern
 1. Indiana F. 4-1 
 2. Connecticut S. 4-1 
 3. Chicago S. 4-1 
 4. Atlanta D. 2-4 
 5. New York L. 2-5 
 6. Washington M. 1-4 
Western
 1. Minnesota L. 8-0 
 2. L.Angeles S. 4-2 
 3. S.Antonio SS 2-3 
 4. Phoenix M. 2-4 
 5. Seattle S. 2-4 
 6. Tulsa S. 0-6 

Regular Season: Round 10

Jun. 5: New York L. - Atlanta D. 79-74
Jun. 6: Minnesota L. - Seattle S. 79-55
Jun. 8: Washington M. - New York L.
Jun. 8: Indiana F. - Connecticut S.
Jun. 8: Atlanta D. - S.Antonio SS
Jun. 8: Chicago S. - Tulsa S.
Jun. 8: L.Angeles S. - Phoenix M.


Lynx roll over Storm 79-55 without Augustus - by Eurobasket News

The Lynx took one step closer to a WNBA record with their 79-55 win over Seattle at Target Center on Wednesday night. They sent a message to the rest of the league as they dominated the Storm without their best player Seimone Augustus (6'2''-G-84, college: LSU) who was held out of the game with a leg injury that head coach Cheryl Reeve described as muscular.

''I told Seimone, 'it must feel good that we really don't need you,''' joked Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve. ''It felt good for Maya and Wiggins because our thing was when we're a man down we've got to man up. We didn't want to have any heroes. We were going to do it as a team and cover for Seimone.''

Without Augustus in the lineup, the Lynx proved the depth that has been talked about as the strength of this team was a little more than just talk. Taj McWilliams-Franklin (6'3''-C-70, agency: Josep and Nicolas, college: St.Edward's) started strong on the offensive end of the floor, setting the tone for her best offensive game of the season as she led the team with 17 points. She was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field in just under 20 minutes of action. Rookie sensation Devereaux Peters (6'2''-F-89, college: Notre Dame) continued to build on her stron start adding 14 points and dishing four assists off the bench.

The Lynx jumped out to a great start, leading 17 after the first quarter, holding the Storm to only eight points. They led by 13 at the half, their sixth game out of eight played where the team has a double-digit advantage at the mid-way point. Most impressively, the team continues their white hot shooting from the field. It is extremely easy when you shoot nearly 55 percent from the field, and that is a big reason this team is undefeated.

The Storm made a run after trailing by 13 at the half and cut the lead to seven on a Tina Thompson three pointer. They would get no closer as the Lynx closed the third quarter on a 18-5 run. The play of the night came on the first offensive posession of the fourth quarter when Candice Wiggins (5'11''-G-87, college: Stanford) found McWilliams-Franklin on an alley oop that stretched the lead to 21. Wiggins played huge scoring 12 points on 4-for-7 from three-point range. She also pulled down a team high six rebounds and dished a pair of assists, including the alley to Taj's oop.

With the win the Lynx remain undefeated and move one game closer to the WNBA record of 9-0 to start the season set by the 2001 and 2003 Los Angeles Sparks. The Lynx hit the road Saturday as they travel to Tulsa to face the Shock.

Courtesy of www.myfoxtwincities.com