Notes on LPB's Day 6

Ovarense made a big impact this week, visiting and winning at Guimarães, leaving Benfica as the only team with no defeats on the competition.

Jose Barbosa was the team MVP in a match where he scored 22 points and dished 5 assists. Fernando Neves' 21 points and Miguel Miranda's 9 rebounds were also of great importance, in a game where they faced a strong team with three North-American players. Nevertheless, it was Paulo Cunha, with a double-double (16 points, 16 rebounds) to make it as the Vitória's best player.

Notes on LPB Day 3

Alges made Benfica’s life harder than expected, going to the Luz Gym and leaving with a four point defeat. Benfica had an awful day shooting from 3 and was never able to find the right way to attack the defensive zone planed by the Greens. Antonio Pires, with 17 points and 10 assists, was the Alges main player, while LaceDarius Dunn made his premiere with the Reds’ shirt, scoring 4 points in 24 minutes, with 0-6 in three-point-shots.

Notes on LPB Day 2

The second day in the Portuguese League highlighted a surprise with Galitos flying to Azores and coming back with a fantastic win over Lusitania, 60-66.

In the Barreiro team, Pedro Pinto was the best scorer, with 23 points. Pinto hadn’t scored that many points since November 8^th 2009, when Barreirense (his former team) met Sampaense. Without Tomas Lopez available, Joao Fernandes was called to the point and Pedro Pinto stated his scoring abilities, something he seemed long forgotten.

Notes on LPB Day 1

The Portuguese League started with a big game, as the National Champions SL Benfica faced CAB Madeira, the second strongest team in the league. Benfica won it by two points (66-68) while the Madeira team faced an early out by injury, as Jose Costa didn't finished the first quarter.

5 players to follow in Portugal 2012/2013

When you talk about Basketball, Portugal isn’t the place you go looking for young talent. Mostly, because the Portuguese don’t usually are in the big competitions. With almost no teams playing in European Cups (Benfica was the exception in the 2010/11 Eurochallenge) and a weak National Team (after making it to Eurobasket 2011, losing all the five matches, Portugal lost their eight games in the Eurobasket 2013 Qualifications). But, still, talent watchers should follow what’s going on the Portuguese League.

Miguel Maria Cardoso (’93) is the most recent exportation, making an excellent first impression in the LNB Espoirs League, with 22 points and 14 assists in his first two matches. Still in Portugal are some youngsters you should definitely know more about.

Eurobasket 1938 - Italy wins on debut

Luis Cristóvão looks back to the first International Women’s Basketball Tournament. It was 1938, in Italy.

Portugal tastes silver in Canoe Sprint!

Fernando Pimenta and Emanuel Silva end wait for a medal in London

These weeks of the Olympics can be compared to a special course the world attends every four years. The objective? To get emotional while watching sports we really don’t understand. For the Portuguese, it happened with the Canoe Sprint, or the Kayak K2 1000 metres event, to be precise.

Portuguese Olympians’ quest for Medals

Seventy-seven athletes represent Portugal at London 2012 Olympics
In a new section PortuGOAL.net will be bringing you news from a range of Portuguese sports beyond football. On the eve of the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics, Luís Filipe Cristóvão gives the lowdown on expectations for Portugal’s delegation in London.


Portugal got its first Olympic medal, a bronze one, in 1924, when its team was third classified in the Equestrian Nations Competition. A total of 22 medals have been awarded to Portuguese athletes in Olympic history (four gold, seven silver, and eleven bronze). If any of the 77 Portuguese sportsmen and women present at London clinch another one, it will be his or her first – none of the previous medallists are returning to this year’s Olympics.

Educate now to win in the future

FIBAEurope.com met two coaches who reached the U16 European Championship Women Quarter-Finals but are looking for the future of basketball in their countries.

Evaristo Perez, head coach of Spain, and France head coach Arnaud Guppillotte both agree on the starting point: nine games in 11 tournament days is a strong experience for U16 players and, being a coach, the challenge is to help them realize what happens during these days.

"The competitive level and intensity of play is completely different from the games held in their countries," confirms Perez.

The Class of 1997

They are the surprise guests in this year's U16 European Championship Women, having arrived earlier than expected to this level of competition.

And they're not only appearing as guests, but stating they're some of the best players in the tournament.

They are the class of 1997.

Female referees giving an example

The U16 European Championship Women in Miskolc marks the international debut of a number of referees who got licensed last April, after a Referee Candidate Clinic in Manheim.

This group is highlighted by three women who opted for refereeing to keep working in the sport they love.

Mila Cavara from Bosnia and Herzegovina, a former professional player, English Kate Webb, a Sports teacher, and Portuguese Sonia Teixeira, the only woman to officiate in her country's top-flight, take their first steps in what is their common dream: being an international referee.

Crvendakik taking over responsability

It must have been a very difficult awakening for Aleksandra Crvendakic on Sunday morning.

Serbia's top scorer and the third-best scorer overall of the U16 European Championship Women will compete in the difficult Classification Round for 13th to 16th place after Saturday's defeat to Greece.

Surely this was not the plan of the 16-year-old who plays, in Miskolc, her third consecutive U16 European Championship Women.

In the past years the 1.87 m forward left no doubt there are great things to be expected from her in the future.

U16 European Championship Women Preview

With 214 teams participating in 14 tournaments this year, it is time for youth basketball to take the spotlight. The U16 European Championship Women, held in Miskolc from 12-22 July, promises to be one of the summer's major tournaments.

Having won the championship six times in the past eight years, defending champions Spain are considered favourites. Whilst providing a totally revamped team compared to last year, head coach Evaristo Perez knows how to win.

Besides Spain, the teams of Italy, Belgium, Turkey and the Netherlands will hope to end the tournament on a high note, as they will represent Europe at the upcoming U17 World Championship, staged in Amsterdam from 17-26 August.

2010 champions Russia finished sixth in last year's campaign and are eager to rectify the result this year. Likewise, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Croatia will try to improve their performances with more experienced rosters.

JOÃO PEREIRA AND THE DILEMMA OF LUNGS VERSUS BRAIN

Paulo Bento, the Portuguese national coach, recently caused dismay in some quarters when he persisted with João Pereira as his first choice for the right back spot in the Selecção. The Lisbon native’s career has had too many ups and downs for all and sundry to accept his place, particularly with Sílvio and Bosingwa as competition. This is exacerbated when performances for his club, Sporting, are often marred by inconsistency. For all this, I invite you to look at the way João Pereira plays.  

Toughness, pace, aggression. Three adjectives that are easily associated with the Leões number 47. All three were already in his DNA when, in 2003, he first appeared at Benfica. Pereira was, in fact, one of few players in the last decade who progressed directly from the youth ranks to first team at Estádio da Luz.

SPORTING AND THE LOURINHÃ DREAM

It is surely a dream of many non-league supporters. To wake up one day and have their little-known team stuffed full of bright young prospects from one of the most acclaimed academies in the world. It might not happen often, or almost never. And I say almost, because it happened once. In Lourinhã, a small town near Lisbon.

Sporting Clube Lourinhanense was founded in 1926 and spent most of its history in Lisbon’s District Non-League Championship. In the 1990’s, Lourinhanense clawed their way up to the national league, competing in the Segunda and Terceira Divisão (the Portuguese equivalents of League One and League Two). It was a project initiated by a group of men who tried to put their town’s team on the map, benefiting from the local Mayor’s help. 

THE FIRST HAND OF GOD

We all remember 1986, when Diego Armando Maradona used the Hand of God to score against England in the World Cup quarter-finals, but in my home town, a handball goal has been part of the history of Grupo Desportivo Serra da Vila since 1972.

In a country dominated by the Salazar regime (a populist right wing dictatorship which only ended in 1974), football was one of the ways to (re)unite people. Football tournaments could be found in every county, with the teams of each village competing. Torres Vedras (best known for the Lines of Fortresses that halted the Napoleonic Invasion at the start of the 19th century) was no exception.

Eurobasket – And in the end, Russia won

For those who watched the games, this women's Eurobasket was a real promotion to the women’s game.

During 15 days, we had great games, full of excellent players and unpredictable results. We saw favorites going down to their knees and we learned to respect new powerhouses in the European Basketball.   It was a really exciting competition.

And in the end, Russia won.

Write down this name. Elena Danilochkina. She’s 25 and spent her last two seasons in Vologda-Chevakata, in the Russian League. In the European Competitions, she disputed Eurocup. During the 2010 World Cup, she was Becky Hammon’s substitute, and she was ready to continue like that, if Epiphanny Prince had come to play in Poland. But she didn’t. We heard that Russia would feel their lack of quality in the point guard position.

And then Danilochkina stepped in.

Eurobasket: New Seattle Storm Signing Ewelina Kobryn & The Americans in the Competition

It’s all happening in Poland, as Eurobasket is played.

The competition has started off with surprises, with all the teams giving their best to reach the London 2012 Olympics. One team that won’t be there is the big favorite, Spain. After losing to Croatia in the last game of the second phase, the Spanish side (where Sancho Lyttle has left a lot to be desired…) is living one of the worst basketball moments of  these last years.  But we’ll analyze that in another article.

For now, all the American attention has turned to Ewelina Kobryn, after the Seattle Storm signed her to help out after  the loss of center Lauren Jackson, reportedly out 12 weeks due to injury. Seattle had already shown interest in Kobryn during the preseason, but, as she told to the Polish website pracuj.pl, "they wouldn’t let me play Eurobasket and I couldn’t accept that".

As things turned out, Kobryn was able to play Eurobasket in her own country and will have now a place on the roster of the defending WNBA champions.

Ros Casares’ Dream Team

After a season when Ros Casares fell short of their desired titles (Spanish Liga Femenina and Euroleague), team president German Ros had only one option moving forward: in Valencia, it’s time to go big for the 2011-12 season.

On their roster, we’ll find three WNBA draft number one picks, two Euroleague champions, the Spanish Liga Femenina's MVP and some other European stars. Valencia will be a place to visit in the next European season.

It's hard to decide where to start analyzing this team that made a few big additions.

But Lauren Jackson, who just recently signed with Ros Casares, should be first.

Euro-Seasons: The Champion That Came In From The Cold

Three-time Russian league champion UMMC Ekaterinberg completed league play with no defeats either in the regular season or playoffs.

It was a historic season which would have been perfect if they hadn't lost to Spartak Vidnoje in the Euroleague semifinals.

We visit Ekaterinburg to discover the role that WNBA players - and particularly Candace Parker - had in this epic season. We also take the opportunity to check-out which players are a must-know in the Russian league.

Candace Parker's crew

Did a team that made a clean sweep straight to the PBL Women's Basketball Finals still have anything to prove in their last games? I would say their pride was at stake, after losing to Spartak in the Euroleague semi-finals, played in Ekaterinburg.