Villeurbanne announced Dimitris Haritopoulos

A bargain!


ASVEL Villeurbanne announced the signing of Greek power forward Dimitris Haritopoulos(2.05-PF) via their official website. This will be the first time that Haritopoulos will play in a different league in Europe. He started his career in Aris Thessaloniki and after a tumultuous divorce with the team he went over to rivals Paok and also played for Panionios and Maroussi. In theory this will be the first time in his career that Haritopoulos will be paid on time and in full. He was even unlucky to play for Panionios the season that Elias Lianos had the unfortunate inspiration to step down as president and let others put the team in debt.

This season in Maroussi it was known in Greece that the team had no money whatsoever and the main reason that Haritopoulos and the others persevered was to get a better contract abroad. This has come to pass for Haritopoulos now who will soon be joining the rest of the players of Villeurbanne. He has averaged 12.1 points 7.6 rebounds in 14 games in the Greek A1 league this season.

Maroussi have almost certainly kicked the bucket and way or another their heading to relegation or disqualification from their league if the guarantor check bounces. Other players could soon follow Haritopoulos' example.

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Songaila and Galatasaray part ways

Early holidays for Songaila?


Darius Songaila and Galatasaray have reached a mutual agreement to terminate the contract and part ways, as the player did not meet the expectations of the club.

The Lithuanian forward, who spent seven seasons in the NBA before coming to Istanbul, will reportedly not play for the Turkish side in a Euroleague game against Olympiacos.

Songaila averaged 7.9 points and 2.7 rebounds for Galatasaray in the Turkish Basketball League (TBL), having almost identical statistics in Euroleague as well – 7.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.


source : lithuaniabasketball.com

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Dawson did not arrive to Ljubljana

A case of cold feet?


BC Union Olimpija Ljubljana agreed and signed a contract with US player Eric Dawson prior this week. Despite the valid contract signed by both sides and the fact that the management obtained all the necessary papers and Letter of Clearance, the player didn't arrive to Ljubljana, Slovenia on agreed date. Union Olimpija will take appropriate actions in this matter.

source : union.olimpija.com

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Hemofarm released all the pro players

Free for all now on experienced players.


According to novosti.rs, Hemofarm has released all the pro players of the club and they are now free agents. They are free to help the team in the Adriatic League if they please but if an offer comes for them and they leave to go to another club then they will be replaced by players from the junior teams of Hemofarm.

This creates quite a predicament where a number of experienced players are now free to pursue their fortunes elsewhere using their good run in Hemofarm. Boris Savovic has already left the club and others will possibly follow with Mladen Jeremic(1.98-SG/SF) being possibly the next one.

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Dominic James wants to leave Aris, Aris want to sell him

Time to bail out?


Dominic James(1.80-PG) didn't travel to Donetsk with the rest of the team of Aris. Instead he stayed on in Thessaloniki so that he can discuss with the administration the offers that Aris have from other teams.

According to the president's unofficial press representative James is actually owed one instalment of his contract. Rumors from the Exedra newspaper say that James has already been sold to a Russian team but he actually wants to go to Partizan for free. In Serbia the media say that James has already agreed with Partizan which is probably not far from the truth but what he wants and what the president wants are completely different things. The president's unofficial press representative says that the team's legal team will follow all the protocols to make sure that the team is covered. This one won't escape so easily it seems.

It was inevitable that something like that would happen to Aris as the president of the team has managed to alienate the shareholders and future investors of the team and now he is struggling on his own to manage the
unmanageable debts he has amassed. Selling players is his expertise anyway.

More on this to follow probably even through the course of the day. Aris might not be losing just James very soon but he might be losing his head coach as well as he made the president angry..


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Bilbao announced Mamadou Samb

Samb in, Hampl out


Tomas Hampl(2.15-C) will be moving to LEB Gold in order to get some playing time in a different team and Mamadou Samb(2.08-C) will be moving from LEB Gold and Granada to Bilbao according to Bilbao's official site. The Senegalese center gained the Spanish citizenship 3 years ago and has been a member of the Spanish Youth National Teams since then.

In Granada he averaged 10.9 points and 4.7 rebounds in 14 games playing in the LEB Gold but now he'll be playing on a whole different level. If he gets any playing minutes that is. The contract signed will last until the end of the season with the option of renewal for one or more seasons. Hampl will be returning to Bilbao in the summer as he will be given away on-loan.

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Partizan consider Dominic James? possibly in vain..

His performance this season hasn't gone unnoticed.


Dominic James(1.80-PG) seems to be on the sights of Partizan Belgrade according to sportske.net. The Serbian portal says that James was considered during the summer as well but A.C. Law was signed instead. James was the driving force behind the team's rebirth this season and managed to turn the tide around and the team won some very important games and also qualified to the next stage of the Eurocup.

James is averaging 14.2 points 2 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 13 games in Greece and also 14.7 points 2.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 7 games in the Eurocup at the moment attracting looks from all around Europe. He is an NBA caliber athlete although his point guard skills need some polishing up and his long range shot leaves something to be desired. It needs to be said that he has improved his long range shot and his free throw percentage this season. The Serbian portal says that James reminds them of Bo McCalebb with his ability to attack the basket and they are hoping that the financial problems of Aris will make him an easy target.

Aris BC are indeed in a dire financial situation(massive debts) with no money coming in from the lack of sponsors and season tickets which is a testament to the incompetence of their administration. However the president's unofficial press representative has declared that James is not one of the players that is still awaiting late payments. James is Aris' hottest asset and as the Greek A1 league offers no incentive of a Euroleague participation (only through the qualifying rounds and even that is not certain) he might be an asset that will be sold to the highest bidder and thus covering some of the older debts of the team. Some of them date back to season 2005-2006.

So if Partizan can cough up the dough they might bag themselves James. If not then James becomes a free agent next season where he will be able to claim a much more lucrative contract than what he earns currently.

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Khimki announced Marijonas Petravicius

Another big man for Euroleague hopefuls


Lithuanian center Marijonas Petravicius, can also play power forward, signed a contract with our club. The agreement is considered till the end of the current season with the possibility of prolongation. Marijonas has already come to Khimki and successfully passed medical examination.

MARIJONAS PETRAVICIUS

Position – power forward/center.

Birthday – October 24, 1979.
Height – 209 cm. Weight – 120 kg.
Nationality – Lithuania

Teams played:

1996-1997 – VJSM (Lithuania),
1997-1998 – Silute (Lithuania),
1998-1999 – New Hampton, NH Prep, (Iowa, USA),
1999-2003 – South Carolina (NCAA, USA),
2003-2004 – Mittledeutscher (Germany),
2004-2005 – Telindus BC Oostende (Belgium),
2005-2006 – BK Ventspils (Latvia),
2006-2009 – Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania),
2009-2011 – Armani Jeans Milano (Italy),
2011-2012 — BC Azovmash (Ukraine),
Since January, 2012 – BC Khimki

Achievements:

FIBA Europe Cup Winner, FIBA Europe Cup Final Four MVP – 2004,
Belgian League Semifinalist — 2004,
Latvian League Regular Season Champion, Latvian League Champion, Latvian League Finals MVP — 2006,
ULEB Cup Finalist — 2007,
Baltic League Champion – 2007,
Lithuanian League Regular Season Runner-Up — 2007, 2009,
Lithuanian League Finalist — 2007, 2008,
Baltic League All-Star Game, Lithuanian Cup Finalist, Baltic League Finalist, Baltic League Regular Season Champion — 2008,
Lithuanian Cup Winner, Eurocup Winner, Eurocup Final Eight MVP, Baltic League (Elite Group) Champion — 2009,
Italian SerieA Semifinals — 2011

Player of the Lithuanian National Team since 2004:

Olympic Games in Beijing (China) — 2008,
European Championship in Poland — 2009,
European Championship in Lithuania — 2011

source : bckhimki.ru


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Olimpija signed Eric Dawson

Union Olimpija agrees with Eric Dawson


Union Olimpija signed center Eric Dawson (208cm, 1984) until end of season with option to extend him for another one. He started the season in D-League with Austin Toros where he had an average of 16,2 points and 10,6 rebounds per game. He played collegiate basketball at the Midwestern State University. He already played twice international basketball as he spent time in Japan and South Korea. This will be his first time in Europe.

source : union.olimpija.com

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