West Midlands Basketball League

Sentjur and Parklji book final places for round of champion LJUBLJANA (Telemach Liga) - Sentjur and Parklji beat Sencur CP Kranj and Geoplin Slovan respectively in their last regular season games to qualify for the round of champion. They will join six other teams, including Union Olimpija, and compete for four semi-finals berths. Sentjur crushed ...

CHARLOTTE (NBA) - The NBA's Board of Governors unanimously approved Michael Jordan's $275 million bid to purchase the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday evening. Jordan will acquire the franchise from Robert L Johnson, who paid $300 million for the then expansion team in 2003. "Purchasing the Bobcats is the culmination of my post-playing career goal ...

COLORADO SPRINGS (Nike Hoop Summit) - The World Select Team that will face the best American high-school age basketball players at the Nike Hoop Summit on 10th April has been named. The World Select Team consists of 10 players - aged 19 or younger - who hail from nine countries across four continents and all boast vast international experience. The ...

ATHENS (A1 Ethniki) - Panathinaikos overcame the absence of injured Greece international Vassilis Spanoulis and prevailed 81-63 over Kavala in Wednesday’s latest round of Greek top flight action. Spanoulis has tendinitis in his left knee and was kept out of the game but is expected to return to the line-up soon. Mike Batiste finished with 18 points and 10 ...

SYDNEY (NBL) – Professional men’s basketball will be played in Sydney once again following an NBL announcement that the city is to have an expansion team. The new side will begin play in the 2010-11 campaign. The Sydney Kings once played in the Australian top flight but financial difficulties led the termination of their NBL ...

SALT LAKE CITY (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Turkey's NBA trio were in action on Wednesday night and two of them tasted victory. Utah's Mehmet Okur and Toronto's Hedo Turkoglu celebrated wins over Minnesota and Atlanta while Ersan Ilyasova and the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks went down to a surprising defeat to the Los Angeles Clippers. Okur and the ...

ISTANBUL (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Bogdan Tanjevic doesn't mince his words when the subject of Ömer Asik comes up. The veteran coach works with Asik at Fenerbahce, and with Turkey's national team. "Asik is somebody that is the biggest improvement in Turkish basketball in probably the last 20 years," Tanjevic said to ...

BOURGES (2010 FIBA World Championship for Women) - Greece could not have asked for a tougher draw for their first-ever appearance at a FIBA World Championship for Women. In Ostrava, the Czech Republic, later this year, the team led by Kostas Missas will take on Olympic gold medalists Team USA, European champions France and Afrobasket Women winners ...

ATHENS (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Nick Calathes is hoping to follow up his senior team debut with Greece at last year’s EuroBasket in Poland by competing for the national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey. The Panathinaikos rookie played an important role for the Greeks off the bench last summer, helping Jonas ...

HAGEN (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Germany will take on Puerto Rico in their last couple of warm-up games for the 2010 FIBA World Championship. As part of a double-header on August 20 in Halle with Germany's women, who will take on Slovakia in the first game, Dirk Bauermann's men will take on the Puerto Ricans. Germany will then face the FIBA ...

SACRAMENTO (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Spain's Pau Gasol and Team USA's Kobe Bryant combined for 58 points as the Los Angeles Lakers claimed a 106-99 victory at Sacramento on Tuesday evening. The defending NBA champions hit the 50-win plateau with international superstars Gasol and Bryant doing a little bit of everything. Gasol, the 2006 World ...

ARECIBO (Baloncesto Superior Nacional) – Capitanes de Arecibo saw off Leones de Ponce 74-66 on Tuesday night to stand as the last undefeated team in BSN. David Cortes had a game-high 20 points, Angelo Reyes added 13 and Courtney Sims chipped in with 12 for Capitanes who improved to 3-0. The defeat was the first of the season for Leones ...

WARSAW (EuroBasket Division A) - Poland didn’t reach the 2010 FIBA World Championship but last year’s EuroBasket hosts captured the heart of their nation with some gritty performances under Muli Katzurin. The Poles, looking to keep the momentum going, have put Anwil Wloclawek boss Igor Grischuk in charge of the national team. The position ...

HOUSTON (2010 FIBA World Championship) - It’s not going to happen very often that Team USA forward Carmelo Anthony pours in 45 points for Denver and loses, but it did on Monday night in Houston. Anthony was an impressive 18 of 35 from the floor, including three of five from long range, and also sank six of seven free-throws but it wasn’t ...

PARIS (2010 FIBA World Championship for Women) – Pierre Vincent wears two hats as a leading coach in France. Not only does he guide juggernauts Bourges, one of the most famous clubs in Europe. He also holds the reins to France’s national team, the side he guided to an unexpected gold medal at last year’s EuroBasket Women in ...

MADRID (FIBA) – The Spanish Secretary’s Office of State for International Cooperation and the Spanish Basketball Federation’s (FEB) Socio-cultural Foundation on Monday signed an agreement to launch joint projects and new activities. Soraya Rodríguez, Secretary of State for International Cooperation, and José Luis ...

LE MANS (LNB PRO A) - Le Mans conceded a 19-0 run late in the final quarter as Poitiers surprisingly beat them 81-71 on their home court. The hosts were up 64-55 midway through the final frame but the visitors then reeled off 19 unanswered points to record an important result in their quest for a playoff ...

ISTANBUL (TBL Beko Basketbol Ligi) - Fenerbahce Ulker edged out Tofas 88-86 to stay in front of Efes Pilsen in the table on point difference. Bogdan Tanjevic's side made key free-throws down the stretch and committed a timely foul in the closing seconds to improve to 19-3 on the season. The game was ...

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA (2010 FIBA World Championship) - Kostas Vasileiadis could not have received a better 26th birthday present than being named Player of the Week in Spain’s ACB. A shooting guard looking to garner consideration for Greece’s national team ahead of the 2010 FIBA World Championship in Turkey, Vasileiadis had a game-high 27 ...

MILWAUKEE (2010 FIBA World Championship) – Australia center Andrew Bogut is building up a full head of steam before the 2010 FIBA World Championship with the seven-footer so dominant for the Milwaukee Bucks that he has been named the NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week. The 25-year-old led the Bucks to three straight victories by averaging ...