Esta semana le tocA³ el turno a una de las jugadroas que siguen jugando desde la inaguraciA³n de la WNBA.

Pues esta semana le tocó el turno a katie Smith :)

Los grupos de la Euroliga femenina han quedado asi:

Grupo A

1.Halcon Avenida

2.Wisla Kracov

3.Bourges Basket

4.Besiktas

5.Nadezhda

6.MiZo Pecs

Grupo B

1.TTT Riga

2.ESB Lille

3.Gambrinus Brno

4.Venezia

5.CSKA Moskow

6.MKB Euroleasing

Grupo C

1.USK Prague

2.Lotos Gdynia

3.UMMC

4.Jolly Sibenik

5.Ros Casares

6.Union Hainaut

Grupo D

1.Broker Kosice

2.Teo Vilnius

3.Spartak M.R

4.Familia Schio

5.Fenerbahce

6.Montpellier

Esta semana he escrito sobre Sue Bird, que buenas jugadora es :)

A veces colaboro en una web de baloncesto femenino, y se ha creado una seccion nueva sobre jugadoras WNBA y he empezado con Diana, seguramente y estoy segura que me habre dejado muchas cosas, pero es para quien no la conozca en España, quien siga el baloncesto femenino pocos no la conoceran, sepa algo de ella.

Se que es muy poca cosa comparada con todos los articulos que salen sobre ella o entrevistas que salen, pero bueno... Digamos que la mia es muy sencilla.

No tiene nada que ver con el basquet, pero volvemos a ser Campeones de Europa despues de muchos años!!!

Hemos ganado la final contra Alemania por 1-0, gol de Fernando Torres.

Espectacular el equipo en todos los partidos de la Eurocopa!!!

España CAMPEONA!!!

Video de Diana Taurasi y Sue Bird

Sue

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/wnba/wnba/promos/nbat_9911_bird.asx

Diana

http://boss.streamos.com/wmedia/wnba/wnba/promos/nbat_9909_taurasi.asx

Ros Casares have completed their incredible summer signing campaign by adding another quality player to the frontline in the shape of Czech Republic EuroBasket champion Ivana Vecerová.

The 1.95m Vecerová, who just helped her country book a place at the Beijing Games via the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Athens, joins fellow Czech and former Gambrinus Brno teammate Jana Veselá in Valencia.

"Ivana shines in many aspects of the game," said Carme Lluveras, the Ros Casares general manager.

"She is a center that has good hands and does well on rebounds. Her best asset is that she knows the game to perfection."

The 29-year-old Vecerová has drawn the curtain on a magnificent career at Gambrinus, where she had played since 1997.

Vecerová was a part of the team's 2005-2006 EuroLeague Women title-winning campaign and also helped them upset Ros Casares in the quarter-finals on the way to the title showdown this year where they lost to Spartak Moscow Region.

She has signed a two-year deal.

At the recent FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women in Madrid, Vecerová averaged six points and 3.3 rebounds to help the Czechs reach Beijing.

Ros Casares reached the final of the EuroLeague Women two years ago and look very good bets on making it back after an amazing summer of player acquisitions.

In addition to Vecerová and Veselá, Ros have signed EuroBasket Women 2007 MVP Amaya Valdemoro, Slovakian sensation Regina Palusna and Valdemoro's Spain international teammate Anna Montañana.

Remaining at Ros Casares are the likes of Spain stars Elisa Aguilar and Laia Palau, and veterans Elena Tornikidou, DeLisha Milton-Jones, Marina Ferragut and Erika de Souza.

Belarus had it extremely tough making it to the Beijing Games and now they are facing a huge task in surviving the preliminary round at the Olympics after being drawn in a tough Group A.

Following Brazil's 72-67 win over Cuba on Sunday at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, the five teams that earn spots for China in Madrid at the qualifying event were drawn into their groups and last year's EuroBasket bronze medalists Belarus have ended up against world champions Australia, Korea, Latvia, Brazil and Russia.

Belarus lost to Cuba in Group D in Madrid but beat Brazil in overtime to advance to Beijing.

Spain and the Czech Republic are in Group B with the United States, hosts China, Mali and New Zealand.

Four teams from each pool will progress to the quarter-finals in Beijing.

He estado toda la semana en Madrid viendo el Preolimpico y a parte de que los cuatro equipos europeos que se jugaban la plaza se clasificaran, IZIANE CASTRO fue suspendida por el equipo brasileño a jugar, por que se negó a jugar en el partido contra Bielorrusia cuando su equipo mas la necesitaba, para mi un comportamiento muy malo pq es un insulto a tus compañeras y a tu pais.

Tambien estaba por las gradas de Madrid ANNE DONNOVAN, que en algun que otro partido la vimos dormida en su asiento, jejeje

A parte de España, me gustó muchisimo la jugadora de Bielorrusia NATALIA MARCHANKA, que en cuartos fue quien le diuo la victoria a su equipo, tambien me gusto GUNTA BASKO, jugadora de Letonia, muy buena, y espero que finalmente venga a jugar a España. Otra de las que pudimos ver fue e YUKO OGA, fue de las mejores de Japon.

The most valuable player of last year's U20 European Championship, Silvia Dominguez, was on Wednesday cut along with Anna Cruz from Spain coach Evaristo Perez's squad for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women.

Dominguez, a member of Spain's 2006 FIBA World Championship squad but left off last year's team, led the country to gold at the U20 event and did well with Perfumerias Avenida in 2007-08.

Former Under-20 star Anna Cruz, a shooting guard, is coming off a strong campaign in the Liga Femenina with Arranz Jopisa.

She averaged 13.1 points, five rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 steals with the club this season.

Four newcomers will play at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament along with eight holdovers from last year's silver-medal winning side at the EuroBasket Women.

The four new faces in the Spain squad are Alba Torrens and Laura Nicholls of Celta Vigourban, Maria Revuelto of CB San Jose Leon and Tamara Abalde of Lamar University in Texas.

Spartak Moscow Region underlined their status as the best club side in Europe by winning twice in the weekend at CSKA Moscow to clinch a 3-1 victory in the Russian Superleague Women play-off finals.

Lauren Jackson, who led Spartak to a second consecutive crown in the EuroLeague Women in April, had 30 points on Sunday as Spartak mauled CSKA 101-63 in the championship-clinching Game Four triumph.

With EuroBasket Women MVP Amaya Valdemoro unavailable for CSKA on Sunday, the home side was no match for a Spartak outfit that jumped out to a 24-15 lead by the end of the first quarter.

By half-time, the lead had ballooned to 53-32 and any hopes of a comeback by CSKA were gone by the end of the third when they were outscored 27-14.

Spartak split the first two games on their home floor in Vidnoje and then won Game Three away on Friday, 95-81.

Fibaueope

Match: CSKA Moscow - SPARTAK Moscow

Match 3 in Moscow

Coach Evaristo Perez made a family sad this week when he decided not to include EuroLeague Women All Star and 2004 Olympian Marta Fernandez in his preliminary squad for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Perez, who guided Spain to within a whisker of EuroBasket Women glory last year in Chieti, Italy, elected to bring back eight members of that group while also including a handful of youngsters like 2007 U20 European Championship MVP Silvia Dominguez.

Fernandez, a 26-year-old shooting guard with Wisla Can-Pack Krakow and a starter with the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, missed last summer with an ankle injury she picked up while playing in the United States but had expected to return to the set-up.

"What they have told me is what the coach has said in public, that there's a puzzle and I don't fit into it," a disappointed Fernandez said.

"I have no problems with anyone. Last year, it was a mutual decision that I didn't go to the national team because of the injury."

Fernandez came off the bench and helped the national team come back from a huge deficit against Poland in the bronze medal game of EuroBasket 2003 to win and qualify for the Athens Game in 2004.

The competition for places in the Spanish men's and women's teams is as fierce as it gets, though.

Her exclusion has certainly spoiled the party atmosphere in the Fernandez family.

Rudy Fernandez of DKV Joventut has been elected ACB Player of the Year and will carry his excellent form into the Beijing Games with the men's team.

Both Rudy and Marta Fernandez played at the Athens Games and he is stunned by Perez's decision.

"That one of the best players in Spain is not included in the list surprises me and many people," he told Spanish media.

Tamara Abalde, meanwhile, one of the youngsters called up by Perez for the 14-strong preliminary squad, is elated that she is being given a chance to go the Olympics.

"This call brings me great happiness," said Abalde, who just finished her freshman year at Lamar University in Texas.

"I am delighted because I didn't expect to be included. I thought it would be impossible that they would call me for the senior team.

"I'm going to work as hard as possible and I hope I can remain because it would be beautiful."

Lauren Jackson buried six of 12 shots from three-point range on her way to a game-high 34 points as EuroLeague Women champions Spartak Moscow Region beat CSKA Moscow 93-78 on Tuesday to level the Russian Superleague title showdown at 1-1.



CSKA, who won the opening game 90-71 after limiting Jackson to just five points, took a 21-16 lead in the first quarter in Game Two and still led 45-39 at half-time.

Spartak seized command in the third quarter, outscoring Gundars Vetra's team 22-9 and then cruised to victory in the final period.

Diana Taurasi also had 23 points for Spartak.

CSKA got 26 points from Becky Hammon, who drilled five of eight shots from three-point range, while Maria Stepanova weighed in with 14 and 10 rebounds.

Game Three will be played at CSKA Moscow on Friday.

Ros Face Avenida In Spain Final

Ros Casares will play fellow EuroLeague Women side Perfumerias Avenida in the best-of-three Spanish Liga Femenina final, which tips off in Valencia on Thursday.

And Ros will be leaning heavily on their in-form Brazil international center Erika de Souza, who averaged 18 points and 15 rebounds in the play-off semi-final win over CB San Jose de Leon.

"I arrive to the final in the best form," said Erika, who missed the early part of the season through injury but has now fully recovered.

"The months that I was out of action, I kept all that energy and now I hope to give the best to help my team win the title.

"We knew that the opponent in the final would be Perfumerias Avenida and we are ready to compete against them.

"The team is ready and we will fight with all our efforts to win the title. If it can be done in two games, all the better.

"We depend on our fans to win the title and I am certain that on Thursday there will be many people at the Fonteta."

dibaeurope.

Spartak Moscow Region survived a furious fight-back from hosts Gambrinus Brno on Sunday to capture the EuroLeague Women title for the second time in a row.

Lauren Jackson scored 18 points and pulled down 12 rebounds to lead Spartak to a 75-60 triumph. The Australia superstar, who had 35 in Spartak's semi-final success against Ekaterinburg, was named Final Four MVP.

"We really wanted to win this so badly because I love the girls on the team," Jackson said.

Spartak's Tina Thompson, who had 12 points and eight rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team with Jackson, said: "We're so excited, we've worked so hard all year for this.

Spartak coach Natalia Hejkova also added to her already famous reputation as one of the best coaches of all time in the women's game by leading a team to back-to-back EuroLeague titles for the second time in her career.

She also accomplished the feat in 1999 and 2000 as the boss of SCP Ruzomberok, and on that team was a young Slovakian named Zuzana Zirkova - the leading player of Gambrinus this season.

Zirkova, who had 28 points in Friday's overtime win against Bourges, finished with a team-high 16.

Spartak looked as if they were going to blow out Gambrinus when they stretched a 43-27 half-time advantage to 58-33 with four minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Gambrinus, electing to go to full-court pressure, closed the quarter on a 9-2 run, though, to trim the gap to 60-42.

Jan Bobrovsky's Brno then got the crowd excited by reducing the deficit even further.

When Marina Karpunina fouled Zirkova while she was attempting a three-pointer, the point guard went to the line and sank all three free throws to cut the lead to 62-53.

Gambrinus then twice got to within seven points at 65-58 and 67-60 after getting a three-ball from Zirkova and a basket down low from Timea Beres.

They got no closer, though, and failed to score for the final two and a half minutes.

Bobrovsky, who had called Spartak the best team in Europe ahead of the game, had mixed feelings after the defeat.

"The atmosphere was fantastic," he said. "I've never experienced anything like this in my country.

"I'm not disappointed with the result. I'm only disappointed with the way we played for a big part of the game.

"We have definitely played better games in the past. The amazing press was great but we couldn't play that for 20 minutes."

Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, who like Thompson will represent the United States at the Olympics this summer when they face Jackson and Australia, had 14 points apiece.

Spartak ended up out-rebounding Gambrinus 42-34.

Jackson continued her outstanding shooting from long range.

The best shooter from behind the arc in Europe this season at better than 54%, Jackson nailed two of three against Gambrinus.

She was three of four on her three-ball attempts in Friday's 78-68 win over Ekaterinburg.

"It's been a very long year and we have more basketball to come," Thompson said.

Indeed they do.

After the celebrations in Brno, Spartak will turn their attention to retaining the Russian Superleague title.

"To get here and win it all is very fulfilling," said Thompson.