Jawai on the move

Aussie big man Nathan Jawai was part of a four team mega deal recently completed in the NBA.

The trade saw Shawn Marion go to Dallas, Jerry Stackhouse go to Memphis where he has been waived, in addition to Jawai forward Kris Humphries went from Toronto to Dallas. Additionally, Greg Buckner went from Memphis to Dallas with the Mavericks sending Antoine Wright and Devean George to Toronto.

Rounding out the deal, Memphis received a second round pick and cash from Toronto while Orlando recieved cash from both the Raptors and Mavericks.

World Under 19 Championships Report

courtesy of : www.fiba.com

AUCKLAND (FIBA U19 World Championship) - Australia, Croatia, Greece and the USA will battle it out for the medals after an absorbing quarter final day at the FIBA U19 World Championship in New Zealand.

The game of the day was played between Australia and France. When Ryan Broekhoff nailed a three with 2:08 remaining in the third quarter, Australia led 58-49. But baskets to Nicolas Lang (17 points) and Christophe Leonard (22 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists) ensured Les Bleus were within striking distance at three quarter time.

The final quarter was a classic, with Australia extending their lead to 7 points, but France charging back behind Leonard, who scored 11 points for the quarter. When Lang (17 points, 5/10 3pfg) nailed a tough three from the corner they led 71-66 with 4:37 to play.

Then Matthew Dellavedova (18 points) hit from the perimeter, Jorden Page hit two tough shots, and Cody Ellis (14 points, 10 rebounds) nailed a long three to give Australia a 79-73 victory, and a place in the semi finals.

Greece also had to work hard to beat Puerto Rico and book their place in the semis, where they will meet Australia.

The game seemed all over shortly after half time when Croatia jumped to a 54-33 lead. But an 11-0 run in two minutes had Puerto Rico within 10 points, and back to back threes from Jio Fontan left the game in the balance at three quarter time, 64-57.

Mike Rosario threatened to take over the game early in the last term, as Puerto Rico closed to 71-68 half way through the period. Tomislav Zubcic then stepped up and put the game finally out of reach, scoring 7 points in just 75 seconds.

Zubcic finished with 27 points and 8 rebounds, with strong support from Prostran (20 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds) and Mario Delas (19 points, 10 rebounds). Rosario (25 points, 7 rebounds) and Fontan (20 points, 4 assists, 3 steals) were outstanding for Puerto Rico.

Greece made a statement that they are finding their best form at the right time, demolishing Argentina 86-60.

Greece extended their 25-17 quarter time lead to 41-32 at half time, and continued to suffocate the Argentine offence in the third. When Epameinondas Papantoniou nailed a three pointer with 1:30 remaining to three quarter time, and Nikos Pappas hit a buzzer beater to finish the period, the score was 59-42 and the contest effectively over.

Leonidas Kaselakis was outstanding for Greece with 20 points on 8/13 shooting and 8 rebounds, and was well supported by Kostas Papanikolaou (17 points) and Georgios Georgakis (11 points, 6 rebounds).

For Argentina, only Fabián Ramírez Barrios (10 points) reached double figures, as his team coughed up 21 turnovers and shot just 32% from the field.

In the day’s last quarter final, the USA blew Canada off the court with an 11/16 three point shooting clinic in the first half. The US won the second half 42-37 to record a 93-73 win and move on to face Croatia in a mouth-watering semi final match-up.

For the USA, Gordon Hayward (20 points), Howard Thompkins, Seth Curry (both 12), Tyshawn Taylor and John Shurna (both 10) all scored in double figures. The Canadians were led by Tristan Thompson (18 points, 8 rebounds) and Kelly Olynk (14 points, 7 rebounds).

The semi final line up at the North Shore Events Centre is as follows:

Australia v Greece; 6:15pm

USA v Croatia; 8:30pm

Limited tickets are still available, and both games will be shown on FIBA TV.


In the classification games for positions 9-12, Lithuania made light work of Kazakhstan, scoring the biggest score of the tournament in their 113-79 victory.

For Lithuania, Eimantis Bendzius (21 points, 5 rebounds) , Dovidas Redikas (19 points, 8 rebounds), Adomas Drungilis (16 points, 10 rebounds), and Vytenis Cizauskas (14 points, 4 assists, 4 steals) all enjoyed a day out.

Alexandr Tyutyunik again led the way for Kazakhstan, scoring 20 points and grabbing 6 rebounds. The strong 200cm forward is third in tournament scoring with over 19ppg. Shooters Pavel Illin (12 points) and Anton Arsenyev (11) also scored in double figures.

Egypt came out determined to upset Spain and move into the top ten at the tournament. The African champions led by 4 points at quarter time, and refused to lie down for the full 40 minutes.

Ultimately it was the class of guards Alex Hernandez (16 points) and Daniel Perez (15) that made the difference. Amro Sherif Abdelhalim (17 points, 7 rebounds) led the way for Egypt, while Toni Vicens (18 points, 8 rebounds) and Egyptian seven footer Omar Tarek Oraby (13 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks) enjoyed an entertaining battle in the low block.

The classification games for Saturday at the North Shore Events Centre are as follows:

Kazakhstan v Egypt; 9:00am (for positions 11 and 12)
Spain v Lithuania; 11:15am (for positions 9 and 10)
Argentina v France; 1:30pm (for positions 5-8)
Puerto Rico v Canada; 4:00pm (for positions 5-8)