Cantu announced Artsiom Parakhouski

Big man made another step in his career.


Artsiom Parakhouski(2.11-C) is the new player of Cantu as it was announced via their official website earlier today. The Belarusian big man had big hopes of being the first player from Belarus in the NBA but he went undrafted in the end. So he signed last season with Riga in Latvia and played in the Eurocup, the Baltic League, the VTB league and helped Riga win the title of the Latvian league.

Now he makes the next step in his career playing for Euroleague rookie, Cantu the finalist of Lega A1. Parakhouski brings a formidable presence in the low-post but he is still developing as a player and this will be the crash test for him as he will battle it out with the best. His most notable performances were in the VTB league and the Baltic league. He averaged 12.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 10 games in the VTB and also 15.2 points and 5.7 rebounds in 25 games in the Baltic league.


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BC Khimki announced Rimas Kurtinaitis

BC Khimki and a well-known Lithuanian specialist Rimas Kurtinaitis signed an agreement to the end of the 2010/11 season, with a possible prolongation for another year.


The new coach will join the team in Tallinn, where the yellow-blue will go on Tuesday. The interim head coach Oleg Meleschenko has left the club.

Victor Bychkov, BC Khimki General Manager:

— Because of the fact our team can not reach its proper level, and also as a result of painful defeats from direct competitors in the fight for the PBL Championship medals — UNICS and CSKA Moscow, we have made a difficult decision: to part with Oleg Meleschenko, an interim head coach. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Oleg, who spent several good seasons within the club's coaching staff and who at a difficult time was not afraid to take on the duties of a head coach. We wish Meleschenko good luck and hope that his career will continue to emerge successfully. 


A new BC Khimki head coach will be a well-known Lithuanian specialist, an Olympic champion — Rimas Kurtinaitis. In 2009 Lietuvos Rytas with Kurtinaitis won the European Cup, defeated BC Khimki in the final — it was one of the most painful defeats in our history. Rimas is a very hard-working coach. Moreover the very tasks before the team have not been removed — it's still a good performance in the final of VTB United League, as well as in the PBL Championship which ensures the entrance to Euroleague. We hope that together with Rimas we will achieve all the goals. 


souce : bckhimki.ru


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Olimpija signed Davis Bertans

BC Union Olimpija signed Latvian small forward prospect Davis Bertans on professional multi-year contract.


18 years old and 205 cm tall forward is known to be one of the most talented European players of his generation. He started the season in Latvia, where he played for BK Barons Riga in Latvian first division. Bertans averaged 13 points, 5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.

During summer 2010 he also played on European Championship U18 in Lithuania, where he led his Latvian team to third place, averaging 14.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. He was also selected into all-tournament lineup.

source : union.olimpija.com

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Kambala could play for Akademik next season

The controversial player could land in Bulgaria next season.


According to bulgarianbasket.com, the Latvian center Kaspars Kambala (2.06-C) could play for Lukoil Akademik next season. The GM of the club, Alex Vezenkov confirmed that the team is in talks with Kambala and that is likely he will sign for them. This could be a major transfer for Akademik that lost Pero Antic(2.11-PF/C) to Spartak St. Petersburg.

Kambala has played for the last 2 seasons in Russia for Krasnoyarsk following a 2 year ban from basketball after a positive doping test. During that time he tried his luck as a boxer but without much success. Last season he averaged 14.5 points and 6.1 rebounds in 11 games in the Russian Superleague.


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VEF Riga announced Artsiom Parakhouski

Riga snatched Parakhouski for next season.


In a surprising turn of events, what seemed like a done deal, buckled under the pressure from both sides. Aris was in the lead to sign Artsiom Parakhouski(2.11-C) but there was one condition that neither the player or the team would agree on. Aris wanted a 2-season contract with a buy-out clause but Parakhouski wanted just a one season contract so that he would become a free agent in the summer.

It seems that Riga didn't have that problem and swiftly snatched the player from Aris. Vice president Vandis Valters said during the official announcement that Parakhouski was quite popular and many teams were interested to sign him, so he is quite pleased with how things turned out. In Aris they're back on the drawing board looking for a new center with a few candidates in mind.

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Tyler Cain signed with VEF Riga

Vermillion, S.D. – The University of South Dakota’s Tyler Cain has signed a contract to play for VEF Riga of the Baltic Basketball League in Latvia. Cain leaves tomorrow to join the squad.


“This all came together kind of quick,” Cain said. “It’s a lot of feelings. I’m excited about it and excited to be playing basketball. I have a job to do now and that’s go play hard.”

Founded in 2004, the BBL is divided into the Elite division and the Challenge Cup division. The 10 strongest Baltic clubs participate in the Elite division, while the rest compete in the Challenge Cup. The winner of the Challenge Cup is promoted to the Elite division and the last team of the Elite division is relegated to the Challenge Cup. The Challenge Cup runner-up challenges the ninth-place club of the Elite division in two matches for a place in the Elite division. VEF Riga, located in the city of Riga in the middle of the country, went 8-10 last season to finish sixth in the Elite Division.

“VEF Riga is a well-established team that is expected to do well each season,” Cain said. “It’s going to be a new experience playing with a new team, but hopefully I can find a way to help the team and adapt to how they play. I want to be a successful player and help them win.”

Cain notched one of the best all-around seasons in USD history as a senior in 2009-10. He earned Great West Conference Player of the Year, GWC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-GWC honors while leading the Coyotes to a 22-10 overall record and 11-1 in the conference. USD won the GWC regular season and tournament to qualify for the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Cain led the team in points (14.7), rebounds (10.4), blocks (3.0) and steals (1.5) while scoring in double figures in 27 games with 14 double-doubles. He posted a career-high 34 points against Texas-Pan American on March 3 and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds. He was named GWC Player of the Week twice and the student-athlete of the month for December.

A native of Rochester, Minn., Cain became the second player in USD men’s basketball history with 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. He finished 11th on USD’s scoring chart with 1,390 points, second in rebounding (1,088) and eighth in steals (184). He owns USD’s career blocked shots record with 361 and also set the top four single-season marks in the category. He notched 36 career double-doubles in 115 starts.

Cain graduated from USD in May with a bachelor’s degree in recreation, and earned GWC Academic All-Conference honors twice.


source : usdcoyotes.com

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KK Zagreb signed Alex Renfroe

Zagreb bagged one of the best PGs of last season from VEF Riga.

Since BC Zagreb decided not to prolong the contract with any player, who ran out of his 2009/10 deal, the need for new signings is in the center of the club's attention. On Wednesday Alex Renfoe was added to the list of new players

Renfoe is an American point-guard (190, 24), who was the MVP of the Baltic League in 2009/10 season playing for VEF Riga. 

source : adriaticbasket.info

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