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Archive for Brits Abroad
August 12, 2010 at 8:38 am · Filed under Brits Abroad, GB Men and Juniors
By Paul Nilsen
Great Britain big man Robert Archibald will spend another year at Unicaja Malaga after signing a contract extension. It will be their third season together. The center arrived in Malaga during the summer of 2008 from Azovmash Mariupol where he won the Ukrainian title. He also helped them to do it with 11.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg and 1.6 apg in 18 Superleague games. They also won the National Cup and Archibald was named best center. Before Azovmash, Archibald spent two years with Joventut Badalona. In the past he has also played for Scavolini Pesaro, Pamesa Valencia and Phoenix Suns. In his first season with Malaga, he collected 7.9 ppg and 4.5 rpg during 15 Euroleague games. In the ACB, Archibald added 8.7 ppg and 4.2 rpg in 38 appearances. Last season, he appeared 14 times in Euroleague with 9.1 ppg and 4.3 rpg but domestically, his numbers decreased to 7.5 ppg and 4 rpg respectively. Archibald of course played 9 games at EuroBasket in Poland last year where he had 8.3 ppg, 4 rpg and 2.3 apg but isn’t part of the current team trying to qualify for a place at EuroBasket in Lithuania next September.
August 9, 2010 at 4:11 am · Filed under Brits Abroad, European Basketball, GB basketball (General)
By Paul Nilsen
The word on the street in Spain is that Pops Mensah-Bonsu will be back in EuroLeague and back in the ACB next season in the Basque Country with Caja Laboral. Talks are rumoured to be at an advanced stage with ACB Champions Baskonia looking to find replacements for the likes of Tiago Splitter.
So, British company for young Devon Van Oostrum in Vitoria although perhaps he will be sent out on loan somewhere next season. We wait on both fronts with baited breath!
June 16, 2010 at 2:42 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Chris Scruton
Performer of the week – Nick George
Courtersey of the mirror.co.uk
Robert Archibald (Unicaja Malaga)
Malaga were swept aside once again by Barcelona in game 2 of the semi final. Going down 71-58, Robert returned to te team to registered 9 points in 20 minutes off 5-7 shooting, 5 rebounds, and 1 block. Game 3 and Malaga were finally put out of their misery. This time Barcelona defeated them 72-82. Robert hit just 6 points in 17 minutes off 4-8 shooting, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, but also fouled out.
Pops Mensah Bonsu (CSKA Moscow)
CSKA romped to a comfortable 3-0 series win against Khimky to claim yet another Russian Superleague playoff title. In game 1 they hammered their opponents 89-58. Pop’s played just 4 minutes, scoring 4 points off 3-5 shooting, 1 board, and a steal. Game 2 was a closer affair, and low scoring, but CSKA claimed a 69-54 win. Once again Pop’s played limited minutes, 5 in actual and scored 2 points from the line in which he went 2-4. Game 3 and it was all over, CSKA winning 76-60. Disappointingly Pop’s did not play in their final game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it was his last game for them.
Joel Freeland (Unicaja Malaga)
Joel scored 11 points in 19 minutes off a surprisingly low 6-14 shooting in game 2 of the semi final. He also added 5 rebounds, and a terrific 5 blocks too. In his last game of the season Joel put up 10 points off 7-10 shooting 5 boards, and a block.
Nick George (Fastweb)
Game 4 of the semi final was one sided as Sassari defeated Fastweb 100-86. Nick tried his best, although in vain as he put up another stellar perfomance to record 21 points off 10-17 shooting, 7 rebounds and a block in 31 minutes. To game 5, and in a very low scoring affair it was disappointment for Nick. They went down 57-54 to end their season. Nick scored 13 points off 5-13 shooting, and 13 rebounds.
Mike Lenzly (Nymburk)
Nymburk completed their domestic treble as they swept aside Prostejov 4-1 in playoff finals. Game 2 saw Michael score 6 pointsi n 11 minutes off 2-5 shooting, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. Game 3 saw a surprise win for Prostejov as they held off Nymburk for a 86-74 win. Michael did not play in this game, possibly due to injury. Game 4 and Nymburk recovered to hammer their rivals 90-60. Once again Michael did not play. Game 5 and Nymburk wrapped it up with a 75-67 home win. Michael again did not play as his team were crowned Czech Republic champions.
May 29, 2010 at 3:16 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Matt Clear
Performer of the week: Joel Freeland
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Picture courtesy basketballgb.com
Robert Archibald (Unicaja Malaga)
Archibald, unusually, did not play for two games in a row as Malaga defeated Valencia 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the ACB playoffs.
Malaga’s “reward” was a spot in the semi-finals against newly-crowned Euroleague champions Barcelona. Archibald got on the court in Game One, but only played one minute, though he did record two rebounds in that time. Malaga lost 96-82, and probably stand little chance in Game Two tomorrow.
Pops Mensah Bonsu (CSKA Moscow)
CSKA advanced to the Russian Superleague finals, recording their second straight 3-0 sweep, this time against local rivals Dynamo Moscow. Pops hasn’t gotten much burn, however, as Coach Pashutin continues to give most of the minutes to his starters (he went with a seven-man rotation in Game Three). Pops’ only court time this week came in Game Two, as he went scoreless with two rebounds in three minutes of action.
Dan Clark, Estudiantes
Clark’s season ended this week as Estu were swept 2-0 in the quarter-finals by ACB powerhouse Caja Laboral. Clark didn’t play in either game.
Joel Freeland (Unicaja Malaga)
Freeland started the week slowly, fouling out of Game One against Valencia after 23 minutes having scored only six points, though he did it on 3-4 shooting and added four rebounds and two blocks.
He was back on top form for Game Two, however, leading his team in scoring and rebounding with 16 and 7 on 6-12 shooting. He was even better against Barcelona’s formidable frontcourt, recording 17 points on 7-11 shooting, to go with eight boards.
Nick George (Fastweb)
George seems to be the only Brit involved in a close series, as Fastweb lead 2-1 in the Lega 2 semi-finals against Banco Sardegna, with Game Four on Sunday.
George had a solid Game One, with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds, though he did miss all four of his three-point attempts. He followed that up with a monster Game Two double-double of 22 points and ten rebounds. The Mancunian swingman shot 7-9 from the field to lead his team to a road win that levelled the series.
George was much quieter in Game Three, making 2-4 shots for four points and three rebounds in 29 minutes of court time.
Mike Lenzly (Nymburk)
Nymburk progressed to the Czech play-off finals this week. But they did suffer a rare loss, dropping Game Three of their semi-final series against Pardubice. Lenzly was on fire in this game as he shot 7-11 (including 3-7 on threes) for 29 points. Lenzly got to the line twelve times, making every free throw, and added six rebounds, two assists and four steals as he played all 40 minutes.
Bizarrely, Lenzly was then limited to just 16 minutes in Game Four, which Nymburk won to close out the series. The Oxford-born guard had eight points, four rebounds and two assists.
Nymburk drew first blood in the playoff finals, winning Game One against Prostejov 85-70. Lenzly scored twelve points on 3-7 shooting, again making the most of his trips to the charity stripe with six makes on seven attempts.
Nate Reinking (Dexia Mons Hainaut)
Reinking’s season is also over after Mons were swept from the first round of the playoffs by Oostende. Reinking played 19 minutes in Game One, as the first guard off the bench, and did what he does best with 11 points on the back of 3-5 shooting from downtown. The veteran guard also had two rebounds and two steals. Stats for Mons’ Game Two loss were unfortunately not available.
May 19, 2010 at 2:30 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Chris Scruton
Performer of the week – Nick George
Kieran Achara – Angelico BI ( Italy Serie A)
Angelico survived relegation by defeating their other relegation rival Carife 82-79. Kieran had a quiet game in this tense contest, and could only manage 2 points in 8 minutes off 1-3 shooting. Kieran’s season is now over and he will look back on this campaign as indifferent. Hopefully he will take the positives into GB training camp where he has got a fight on his hands to land one of the 4 spot berths.
Robert Archibald – Malaga ( Spain ACB)
Malaga continued their fine form of late by producing a very good dsiplay to beat second placed Caja Laboral 70-62. Robert joint led his team scoring with 12 points off 7-11 shooting, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals in just 15 minutes! Malaga finish the regular season in a respectable 5th place after an horrendous start their campaign. They now face Valencia in the quarter finals of the playoffs starting Thursday.
Pops Mensah Bonsu – CSKA Moscow ( Russia )
In game one of the quarter final playoffs CSKA beat Krasnie 64-57. Pop’s played just 6 minutes, but in that time he scored 3 points off 1-2 fg shooting, but was only 1-4 from the line, a weakness of his. He did though grab an impressive 8 rebounds during his brief stint on court. In game two, another low scoring win saw CSKA take contrl of the series. The game finished 62-47, but this time Pop’s did not see any action. Game three and it was over for Krasnie as once again CSKA grabbed the low scoring win, 61-47. This time Pops did play and had one of his best games in a CSKA shirt. Scoring 12 points off 6-13 shooting, and 8 rebounds in 17 minutes. Hopefully this performance will propel Pop’s to seeing more court time as CSKA advance to the semi finals against Dynamo Moscow or Kuban.
Dan Clarke – Estudiantes ( Spain ACB)
Estudiantes finished their regular season on a high as they beat Xacobeo 88-78. Dan got some playing time for the first time in three games as he played just three minutes without registering a point or stat of worth. Estudiantes finish sixth in the table and now face a daunting task of trying to overcome Caja Laboral in the quarter finals of the playoffs.
Joel Freeland – Malaga ( Spain ACB)
Joel as per the norm contributed well in his last regualr league game of the season. On court for 20minutes he scored 12 points of 7-12 shooting, 4 rebounds, and a blocked shot.
Nick George – Fastweb ( Italy Lega 2)
Fastweb bounced back after their first game defeat in the playoff quarter finals by beating Snaidero 71-68. Nick produced a very good performance by hitting 16 points off 9-12 shooting including 2-3 from downtown. Together with that he pulled down 5 rebounds, and a steal. Game 3 saw Fastweb grab the upper hand by defeating their opponents 66-59. Nick this time had 7 points in 21 minutes off 3-6 shooting, 5 boards and a block. Fastweb wrapped it up in game 4 with Nick producing the game of his season. Scoring 20 points off 8-9 fg, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, and an assist in 39 minutes of action. Nick will now go into the semi finals with his teamates on a high, as they prepare for another tough set of games.
Michael Lenzley – Nymburk ( Czech Republic )
Nymburk face Pardubice last week in the first game ofthe semi final playoffs. As you would’ve probably guessed Nymburk steam rolled their opponents 99-76. Mike contributed well scoring 13 points off 6-13 shooting, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists in 19 minutes.Game 2 was a close affair, but the same outcome as Nymburk prevailed 82-75. Mike this time scored 7 points in 34 minutes off 5-13 shooting. He also chipped in with a healthy 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Nymburk go into game 3 looking to finish te job off on Wednesday night.
Nate Reinking – Mons ( Belgium )
Mons were thumped last week by Liege 94-63. Nate had a mare of a game missing all 5 of his shots in 24 minutes. He did manage 3 assists, a steal, and a rebound whilst on court. Mons finished their regular season on high as they beat Antwep by 1 point in thrilling game. With game finishing 78-77 Nate bounced back in some style hitting 19 points off 8-10 shooting, including a perfect 5-5 from 3 point land in 24 minutes. A timely boost for himself and his team as they go into a playoff quarter final against Oostende. Mons finished the regular season on 15-17 record and sixth in the table.
May 12, 2010 at 2:36 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Chris Scruton
Performer of the week – Nate Reinking
Kieran Achara – Angelico BI ( Italy Serie A)
Angelico suffered a second consecutive narrow defeat away Avellino. With the game finishing 77-74 Kieran put up good numbers of 7 points, 5 rebounds in 12 minutes. Angelico are periousley close to being relegated, and with just 1 game to play they know they must win to avoid the drop.
Robert Archibald – Malaga ( Spain ACB)
Malaga had a hard fought 86-79 win at Granada over weekend. Robert played 25 minutes scoring 4-5 from the field for 8 points, and just a single rebound. Malaga move up to 5th with just 1 game left before the playoffs, and look to have found some decent form just in time.
Andrew Betts – Aris (Greece)
Aris were swept 2-0 by Olympiakos in the quarter finals of the playoffs. The first game finished 75-63 with Andrew scoring 8 points off 4-5 shooting, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block shot. In game 2 Aris went down 85-75. This time Andrew contributed 10 points, 5 boards, 1 assist, and 2 blocks in 26 minutes. Decent numbers from the big man especially considering he has been struggling with a back injury which has ruled him out of the Eurobasket qualifiers. Andrew has had a decent season, and shows he still can compete at the highest level in Europe. Here’s hoping he gets fully fit for next season and who knows he might well make the 2012 olympic squad, never nind (touch wood) Eurobasket 2011.
Pops Mensah Bonsu – CSKA Moscow ( Russia )
It was a dissapointing weekebd for Pops’s and CSKA. They were defeated 64-54 by Barcelona in the Euroleague semi final in Paris. Pop’s only played 3 minutes in which time he offered nothing apart from a foul. Pop’s was overlooked for the 3rd/4th playoff as CSKA bounced back to seal an exciting 90-88 OT victory against Partizan Belgrade. Pop’s will hope to see more playing time in the Russian playoffs as he will look to finisf his stop strart season in style, and also bag himself a long term contract, something that has eludd him since he turned pro.
Dan Clarke – Estudiantes ( Spain ACB)
For the second week on a run Dan did not play, possibly due to injury, Estudiantes shook off a stuborn Alicante side to win 83-77. Estudiantes lie 7th with a game to go, and if results go their way can finish as high as 5th going into the playoffs.
Joel Freeland – Malaga ( Spain ACB)
Joel did not play in the win over Granada, most likely due to injury. Here is hoping it is not to serious and he will be back in time to a spearhead a playoff challenge
Nick George – Fastweb ( Italy Lega 2)
Fastweb went down in the first game of their quarter final playoff game against Snaidero 73-69. Nick had a very good game, and his showing he his more capable of backing up Deng in the GB team. He scored 14 points off 10-18 shooting and grabbed a massive 16 rebounds in 39 minutes.
Michael Lenzley – Nymburk ( Czech Republic )
No game at weekend.
Nate Reinking – Mons ( Belgium )
Nate’s purple patch continued as he justfied his call up once again to the national squad. Mons beat bottom of the table Gent 79-72 with Nate hitting 24 points off 12-17 shooting, including 4-6 3 pointers. A Timely boost for Nate who has been suffering with a calf problem this season, may have thought his inclusion in the GB squad was under threat.
May 8, 2010 at 2:47 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
Luol Deng will have a new boss next season following the unsurprising news that Vinny Del Negro has been fired as head coach of Chicago Bulls.
Under Del Negro’s play-calling, the Bulls scraped into the play-offs before losing in the first round against Cleveland Cavaliers. Although Del Negro could point to an injury-hit season for his side, a disagreement with executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxon over court-time for centre Joakim Noah on his return from injury effectively spelt an end to his two year reign at the club.
Paxon is reported to have pushed Del Negro, and although the latter walked away from the confrontation, his days were clearly numbered.
Del Negro is likely to receive $2 million for the remaining year on his contract, and his firing came as a blow to Noah: “It’s always a tough decision when someone gets fired” he told ESPNChicago.
“I learned a lot from him and I got two great playoff appearances with him. Coaching the Bulls is a tough job; there are a lot of demands and expectations. I wish him the best. He’s a good guy. With the way he developed the players here I’m sure he won’t have too hard of a time finding another coaching job.”
Among the people being tipped for the job are Jeff Van Gundy, Dwane Casey, Byron Scott, Sam Mitchell, Lawrence Frank, Avery Johnson, Doug Collins, Maurice Cheeks and Eric Musselman.
May 7, 2010 at 6:26 am · Filed under Brits Abroad, European Basketball
Pops Mensah-Bonsu has spoken of his excitement ahead of EuroLeague Final Four in Paris by claiming it will represent the pinnacle of his basketball career so far.
Speaking ahead of the semi-final clash with Regal FC Barcelona, the Great Britain National Team star explained, “I am excited and taking in all of the excitement. This is new to me. I have never been to anything like this. This is probably the biggest event so far in my basketball career. I am just hoping I am able to perform. I am definitely excited now.”
“It is good to see some of these great players and be at the highest level of European basketball. Hopefully we will get the win. Barcelona is a very high tempo team. They can put a lot of points on the board.
“I think that if we happen to control the tempo, we will have the game in our favour. If we try to run up and down, they are possibly the best team at that, next to Olympiacos. We have to control the tempo – and control the rebounds too.”
May 5, 2010 at 2:45 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
By Chris Scruton
Performer of the week – Michael Lenzley
Kieran Achara – Angelico BI ( Italy Serie A)
Angelico suffered a narrow 68-63 defeat to Armani Mila at weekend. Kieran played 15 minutes scoring 7 points from 5-11 shooting, and grabbed 6 boards. With just 2 games to play Angelico are staring at the bottom of the league, and possible relegation on a 9-17 record, joint worst in the division.
Robert Archibald – Malaga ( Spain ACB)
Malaga bounced back at weekend to hammer Valladolid 88-58. Robert saw 18 minutes of action, and he contributed well in this time scoring 9 points off 6-11 shooting , and 3 rebounds. Malaga stay 6th in the table on a 15-17 record with 2 games left in the regular season.
Andrew Betts – Aris (Greece)
Aris finished their regular season last Wednesday on a low not as they were beaten 84-76 by Marousi. Andrew returned from injury contributing 8 points off 5-6 shooting, 5 rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes. Aris finished their campaign with a record of won 12, lost 14, and claimed 7th spot in the table. Aris now faced a playoff Quarter final against Olympiakos, and with form Olympiakos claim a first game win 85-75. Andrew returned to the starting lineup scoring 10 points in 26 minutes off 8-10 shooting. With that he grabbed 5 boards, 1 assist and 2 blocks. Decent numbers against one of the best teams in Europe, and coming back from an injury.
Pops Mensah Bonsu – CSKA Moscow ( Russia )
No game at weekend
Dan Clarke – Estudiantes ( Spain ACB)
Dan did not play in the 78-73 win over Bilbao. Estudiantes, with 2 games left are 7th in the table on a 17-15 record.
Joel Freeland – Malaga ( Spain ACB)
Joel scored 12 points off 6-12 shooting, 7 boards, 1 assist, and a steal in 21 minutes in the win over Vallodolid. -
Nick George – Fastweb ( Italy Lega 2)
Fastweb finished their regular season on a sour note going down heavily 75-54 against Scafati. Nick played 25 minutes scoring 7 points off 4-9 shooting, 5 rebounds and a steal. Fastweb finish 4th on a 18-12 record, and now look forward to a Quarter final playoff against Snaidero.
Michael Lenzley – Nymburk ( Czech Republic )
Nymburk once again crushed Kolin in game 2 of the Quarter final playoffs. Finishing 90-57, Michael scored 10 points of 6-10 shooting, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 21 minutes. It was the same again in game 3 as Nymburk swept their opponents 87-68. This time Michael hit 15 points off 9-12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and a block shot. Good stats from him late in the season, as Nymburk look for the clean sweep.
Nate Reinking – Mons ( Belgium )
Nate produced arguably his best performance of the season as they defeated lowly Leuven 91-69. Nate hit 17 points off 6-9 shooting including 5-8 from downtown in 27 minutes. Mons move on to a 12-16 record with 4 to play.
Andrew Sullivan – Newcastle Eagles
Eagles season came to abrupt end as they were totally outplayed in the 2 legged semi against Everton Tigers. In the first game Andrew was the pick of his team as he scored 25 points off 14-22 shooting, 8 rebounds, and 2 assists. This was all in vain as they lost out 95-79. In the second leg, strangley enough the scoreline was the same. Andrew could not help his team overturn the deficit as he scored 10 points off a poor 7-16 shooting, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Andrew will hopefully now have a deserved rest and holiday before he starts his preparation for GB training camp.
May 1, 2010 at 2:34 am · Filed under Brits Abroad
Well, I’ve seen people look happier, but then GB head coach Chris Finch was being hassled by the man on mic, as his Rio Grande Valley Vipers reiceved the NBA D-League trophy.
Picture courtesy & copyright of NBAE/Getty Images.
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