With 2.5 seconds remaining, Monya, the captain, caught an inbounds pass from Aleksey Shved, stepped behind the arc and spun before shooting and banking in the shot to give Russia a 63-61 victory.

As the buzzer sounded, Russia’s players charged onto the court from the bench along with coach David Blatt to celebrate with Monya because the victory kept the team unbeaten and also set up a Quarter-Final with Serbia.

“It was a big shot,” Monya said. “There was very little time to do something. I had to act fast. I told Shved to pass me the ball, he did and I went up for the shot. It’s really a great feeling. It was a very tough game.”

Had Russia lost, they would have face Lithuania, the host nation, in the last eight.

“Now we will face Serbia in the Quarter-Finals,” Monya said. “We will gather some energy and study Serbia the best we can because we don’t plan to stop here.”

F.Y.R. of Macedonia had nothing to hang their heads about after the game.

One of the surprise packages of EuroBasket 2011, Marin Dokuzovki’s side nearly won a seventh straight game.

“It was a very difficult game,” said Macedonia guard Vlado Ilievski.

“It came down to the last second and then Monya made a big shot.

“We had a chance to win the first place and it’s very disappointing.”

The game was played at a tempo the Macedonians would have liked, and if they had made their free-throws, first place would have been theirs.

While shooting nine of 21 from long range, F.Y.R. of Macedonia converted just 10 of 18 shots from the charity stripe.

Russia won despite hitting only five of 18 from the arc, the biggest of those coming from Monya.

Andrei Kirilenko, the EuroBasket 2007 MVP, made just one of nine shots from the floor for Russia and had two points.

Macedonia will now have to quickly forget the setback and prepare for their next game.

“We’ll need to recover from this quickly because the next game is against Lithuania,” Ilievski said. “We will play them in front of 15,000 people in a new arena.

Shved was outstanding again for Russia, scoring 14 points, handing out four assists and corralling six rebounds. Bo McCalebb had 16 points and Pero Antic, the F.Y.R. of Macedonia captain, poured in 15 and also grabbed 10 rebounds.

Read the original article at FIBA.com.

The European Basketball Championships, or Eurobasket, is set to begin.

Twenty-four European nations will battle over the next 19 days (August 31 – September 18, 2011) in this 37th continental championship.

Follow each game of Eurobasket 2011 in our Eurobasket forum.

Not only are bragging rights at stake, but the top two teams will receive automatic bids to the 2012 Olympics held in London.

The tournament will feature 24 teams – the host nation  (Lithuania), nine teams that qualified through the 2010 World Championshisp (Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey), five teams that qualified through the Eurobasket qualifying round (Belgium, Great Britain, Israel, Macedonia, and Montenegro), seven made the tournament through FIBA’s decision (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Italy, Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine), and the final two teams through an Additional Qualifying Round (Finland and Portugal).

Up until recently, rookie Timofey Mozgov’s claim to fame in the NBA was being known as the infamous Russian guy on the Knicks that was dunked on by Blake Griffin.

Then he exploded against the Detroit Pistons for career highs of 23 points and 14 rebounds in 40 minutes. Mozgov had not cracked double-digits in either points nor rebounds in 26 career games.

What’s even more surprising, before his breakout, Mozgov hadn’t left the bench in 10 straight games.

The opportunity for Mozgov came because the Knicks were depleted from injuries (Wilson Chandler’s sore calf), suspensions (Shawne Williams) and foul trouble (Ronny Turiaf).

From the New York Times: “He played great,” Stoudemire said. “He’s one of those players where he keeps working, and keeps trying to improve as a young player.”

Mozgov showed much more poise than he did in November. After missing his first three attempts Sunday — nervously flinging two shots long — he settled down and found a rhythm. He slammed through two putbacks and dunked a lob from Toney Douglas.

“I just breathed a little bit,” Mozgov said, exhaling loudly for effect, “and tried to play aggressive, that’s it.”

In Russia, the fans used to chant his full name. But he appreciated the enthusiastic chants of his last name.

For the fans, there was happy delirium, and chants of “Moz-gov!” after he scored his final points on a 19-foot jumper.

“I feel really, really excited,” he said. “Thank you, the fans.”

“Twenty-three and 14?” said Knicks Coach Mike D’Antoni, chuckling. “I think I’ll try it again. But we always liked him. That’s why he started the year. We thought he had that potential.”

Discuss Russian Basketball in our forum.

The Los Angeles Clippers looks like they’re on their way to having another terrible season, but Billy Crystal and other Clips fans have a legit reason to be hopeful for the future.

(Discuss Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers in our NBA basketball forum)

That reason being a 21-year old power forward by the name of Blake Griffin.

Last night against the Knicks, the 6-10 monster with unbelievable hops was a highlight reel at the expense of two of New York’s international players – Italian forward Danilo Gallinari and 7-2 Russian rookie center Timofey Mozgov. (Check out the video below)

Griffin had an extra hop last night with a career-high 44 points and added 15 rebounds, but despite his spectacular individual performance, the Clippers lost to the Knicks 124-115.

Amare Stoudemre had 39 points while Gallanari scored 31 for New York.

The 24-year old Russian rookie takes a pass from Amare Stoudemire and dunks against the Washington Wizards last night:
The 7-1, 270lb Mozgov is in his first year with the New York Knicks.

Russia’s size has worn down New Zealand, 78-56, in a tense Eight Final encounter at the FIBA World Championship, setting up an encounter with old rival the USA in the Quarter Finals.

(Discuss Russia vs. New Zealand in our forum)

Russia broke clear of the Oceania champions in the third quarter with Tall Blacks stars Kirk Penney (21 points) and Mika Vukona on the bench with four fouls. Led by the superb Andrey Vorontsevich (18 points, 7/8 fg, 11 rebounds), Russia peeled off a 13-0 run late in the third quarter to break open what had been an arm wrestle.

Russia out-rebounded New Zealand 31-15 after quarter time, while the Tall Blacks made just 5/24 from three point range, missing repeated open looks. Timofey Mozgov (14 points, 7 rebounds) was strong inside for Russia, while Thomas Abercrombie (13 points, 4 rebounds) was tireless in his team’s loss.

New Zealand started quickly, leading, 9-2 after less than four minutes. But a number of missed open shots left the door open for Russia and they gained the ascendency if the half court grind, four straight points from Dmitriy Khvostov levelling the scores at 11-11.

While the Tall Blacks again started quickly in the second quarter, opening up a 21-16 lead on a Penney triple, Russia started to assert their authority in the paint. Defensively they locked New Zealand down, and a Sergey Monya three-pointer gave them a 29-21 lead with 3:41 to play in the half.

New Zealand finished the half strong behind Abercrombie, and when he scored their first eight points of the second half the Tall Blacks closed to 38-35. But first Penney and then Vukona picked up their fourth fouls and Russia took full advantage.

View the original article on FIBA.com.

The game everyone has been eagerly anticipating in Group C will be a must-see as Turkey take on rivals and neighbours Greece on Tuesday night.

(Find out where to watch the Greece-Turkey game live or discuss in our forum!)

The two teams enter the contest with perfect records (2-0) and neither side will settle for anything less than a win. The result of this game is likely to have a huge bearing on the pool’s final standings.

Greece head coach Jonas Kazlauskas tried to downplay the rivalry and the importance of the derby to put the focus back where he felt it belongs – on the fixture being just one of five in his team’s march to the next round.

“I understand the importance of the games between Greece and Turkey. It is like the games we had between Lithuania and Russia,” he said. “But at the same time it’s one game.”

Kazlauskas’s words though will fall on deaf ears among the Turkish supporters.

Turkey have all the motivation in the world for this game. Of course they are playing at home and want to give their fans something to cheer about, but they would like to get a measure of revenge over the Greeks for last summer’s EuroBasket quarter-final defeat.

Erden Arslan sent that game to overtime with a lay-up at the end of regulation but then missed a potential game-winning three-pointer in the dying seconds.

Greece will get a huge lift with the return to action of team captain Antonios Fotsis and Sofoklis Schortsanitis, who missed the first two games through suspensions.

Efstratios Perperoglou sat out Monday’s practice because of an infection but is expected to recover and play.

Before the derby, Puerto Rico will approach their game against China as a must-win situation following tough defeats against Russia and Greece over the weekend.

“We have to make sure we beat China,” said guard JJ Barea who has had to carry the scoring load, especially after backcourt mate Carlos Arroyo went down with an injury.

“After that we have to come out and play against Turkey, do our best and see what happens. We have to take care of the Ivory Coast next time. If we win two games and China lose the rest of theirs, we will move on to the next round. That is what we are looking for.”

Arroyo has internal bleeding in his left quadriceps. There is no exact timetable as to when he can be expected back.

China will have to do a better job of closing out the game against Manolo Cintron’s side than they did against Ivory Coast. Leading 66-51 to start the fourth quarter, they ended up winning by a margin of 83-73 which was not very convincing.

Tuesday’s action will begin with Russia taking on Ivory Coast as they look to bounce back from their 65-56 defeat against Turkey.

The game will feature the return of the teams’ respective key players – Viktor Khryapa for the Russians and Pape-Philippe Amagou for the Ivorians.

“Viktor will play on Tuesday,” Russia head coach David Blatt said on Sunday. “We need him for the last three games to make sure we get through to the next round.”

The versatile forward missed the tournament’s first three games because of an injury to his left foot.

Amagou, meanwhile, has recovered from a sprained big toe and will regain his rightful place in his team’s starting backcourt, an area which suffered greatly in his absence.

“We were mentally ready but we did not perform well in the first two games. We lost one of our best players (Amagou) and then our other point guard (Issife Soumahoro) got injured against Turkey,” said head coach Randoald Dessarzin.

Discuss the World Championships or go to FIBA and read the original article at FIBA.com.

Puerto Rico star Carlos Arroyo will not play against Greece on Sunday in Ankara after suffering an injury on Saturday.

(Discuss the World Championships of Basketballin our forum)

Arroyo took a knee from Andrey Vorontsevich in the second half of Puerto Rico’s 75-66 defeat against Russia. His status is day-to-day.

“Carlos is really hurt. He has a contusion in his quadriceps, very close to his left hip,” said Puerto Rico head coach Manolo Cintron.

“He is undergoing physical treatment and taking medication to make the swelling go down.”

The Puerto Rican team did not practice on Sunday ahead of their game against Greece.

Read the original article at FIBA.com.

Are you looking to watch Lebanon vs. Canada or Russia vs Puerto Rico in the first day of World Championships’ group play?

Follow all the pool play matches in Interbasket’s World Championships of Basketball forum where we’ve created game-specific threads so you can follow your favorite national teams,

find out where to watch the game online, comment, and cheer along with Puerto Ricans, Angolans, Lebanese and other diehard basketball fans from abroad.  Check out the individual game threads below:

* Looking for Greece-China and the earlier matches – go here: Watch Greece-China Live in World Championships

According to the New York Times, Mikhail D. Prokhorov is inching closer and closer to becoming the first overseas owner of an NBA franchise. The billionaire is planning on moving the Nets from New Jersey to Broolyn, New York:

The Russian billionaire Mikhail D. Prokhorov moved closer to taking control of the Nets on Tuesday night when he signed formal contracts to buy a controlling stake in the team and to invest in its new home, a billion-dollar arena planned as part of a development in Brooklyn.

Prokhorov’s company, Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holdings, is paying $200 million for an 80 percent stake in the Nets and a 45 percent interest in the arena. He has also agreed to cover the team’s losses, up to $60 million, until the Nets move to the new arena, presumably by June 2012. The Nets currently play in East Rutherford, N.J.

I wonder if Prokhorov got a better deal considering the Nets’ infamous start to the season? What kind of business man wouldn’t try to bargain the price down after such depreciation? Read the full article in the New York Times.

It’s been a busy week for FIBA as they announced the four wild cards on Saturday, and determined the top four seeds for the World Championships of Basketball on Sunday.

Now the federation that overseas international basketball has announced the draw results that will determine the groupings for the 2010 world basketball event in Istanbul, Turkey.

The 24 participating nations were drawn into four groups of six teams each:

• Group A: Serbia, Argentina, Australia, Jordan, Germany, Angola
• Group B: Croatia, Brazil, Tunisia, Slovenia, Iran, USA
• Group C: China, Turkey, Russia, Puerto Rico, Ivory Coast, Greece
• Group D: Lithuania, Lebanon, France, Spain, Canada, New Zealand

(Discuss the draw results in our forum)

The draw was held at the the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul, on 15th December 15th, 2009 at 11:30AM local time.

The draw was conducted jointly by FIBA and the LOC in the presence of participating nations’ representatives, “National Federation members, prominent public figures and members of the international media.”

The FIBA World Championships are held every four years and determines the world’s top country in basketball.

After weeks of speculation, FIBA has chosen the four final countries, Germany, Lebanon, Lithuania, and Russia, that will represent in the 2010 World Championships of Basketball.

(germany-lebanon-lithuania-and-russia-awarded-12172/#post”>Discuss FIBA’s four wild card selections in our forum)

The maximum three -from-one-region wild cards went to Europe, leaving Great Britain as the only European finalist without a ticket. With their resurgence onto the basketball scene as the hosts of the 2012 Summer Olympics being held in London, Great Britain was likely fifth place in the voting

The other three finalists that were in the running were two nations from Africa, Cameroon and Nigeria, and one from Asia – Korea.

The wild card process started with 14 nations, which was whittled down to eight before the FIBA board chose the four federations last night. Congratulations to Germany, Lebanon, Lithuania, and Russia.

Former NBA player Gerald Green has signed with Lokomotiv Kuban, a club in Russia.

The high-flying 6-8 forward, who has played for the Boston Celtics, Minnesota, Houston and Dallas, has been without a basketball team since the start of the NBA season.

Green, who was selected 18th overall in the 2005 NBA draft, is talented, gifted, can jump out of the gym, and just 23 years old, but he bounced around the NBA because of his maturity and work ethic.

He played for four teams in his first five years, never a good sign when coupled with the words “potential.”

“He has to mature,” Doc Rivers said, Green’s coach in Boston for two years. “Before you can take the next step, you have to understand you need the work and you need to do the work. Gerald does it, just not as consistently as coaches would like him to do.”

From Boston, Green spent only a month in Minnesota, when the Timberwolves decided not to exercise his fourth year.

“(Green) frustrated Randy quite a bit.” Rivers said about Minnesota’s coach Randy Wittman at that time. “The difference between Randy and me was that Randy didn’t feel the need to play him. We played him anyway.”

Green’s fourth year in the league, he played just four minutes in one game for the Houston Rockets before being waived. Green then spent a forgettable season in Dallas last year, playing in juts 38 games then being released.

Without any bites in the NBA, the former NBA Slam Dunk Champion now finds himself in Europe in an extremely different culture. Will being in Russia change Gerald Green’s path? B.C. Lokomotiv Kuban is about to find out.

We are onlyy one day away from FIBA announcing the final four countries that will fill the tournament field for the 2010 World Championships.

(Predict the four teams to WC2010)

The Wild Card process started with 14 teams hoping for one of the four remaining spots; now it’s been whittled down to just eight basketball federations and  their current FIBA world rankings: Cameroon (#43), Germany (7), Great Britain (73), Korea (27), Lebanon (24), Lithuania (6), Nigeria (22), and Russia (17).

From FIBA’s world rankings, the four wild cards should go to Lithuania (6), Germany (7), Russia (17) and Nigeria (22), but who knows what FIBA is thinking, but they consider three criteria when selecting wild cards; sporting, economics, and governing aspects for each country.

Wild-card hopefuls must also pay a controversial 500,000 € fee, prior to FIBA’s decision, with the fees going into the marketing and promotion of basketball through FIBA’s International Basketball Foundation.

A maximum of three teams from one region will be allowed, meaning that Europe can only have 3/4 teams that can be awarded the Wild Card, and it’s not unlikely that Europe will get three teams.

Stay tuned, there will be some very happy teams and some very unhappy teams come Saturday night.

The FIBA Wild Cards will determine four teams’ fates for the 2010 World Championships of basketball.

With a few days remaining before FIBA announces their selections, which countries do you think FIBA will select for the event in Turkey in 2010? Below are Interbasket’s top 11 contenders:

• Cameroon
• Dominican Republic
• Germany
• Great Britain
• Korea
• Lebanon
• Lithuania
• Nigeria
• Poland
• Russia
• Taiwan

Seems that Interbasket members mostly agree that Russia and Germany will be locks to receive a ticket to the huge basketball event.

Go to our forum and pick the four countries that you think FIBA will choose based on their criteria of sporting, economics, and governing factors with a maximum of three wild cards from any one zone (that means you, Europe!).

It’s already been hinted that the sporting factor will weigh more heavily, benefiting teams from Europe and the Americas.

After the Wild Cards have been determined, the draw for the World Championships will be held at the Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel, Istanbul on Tuesday, 15th December 2009 at 11:30AM local time.