World of Basketball March 18th

Asia-Oceania

Two of the teams at the top of the standings were meeting this weekend in Japan so there were definitely going to be changes in the hunt for the top seed. After the Antelopes won the first game, the Sunflowers struck back and got the split. Those results allowed the Red Wave to move into the top position after their sweep of the Magic, getting a 30 point game from Yuki Miyazawa. The Iris swept the last place Egrets to remain a game back of the lead. The other sweep was by the Koalas against the Aranmare. That meant splits between the Wings and the Cougars, the Sunshine Rabbits and the Rabbits after overtime in the second game, and the Queen Bees and the Vickies.

The finals are set in South Korea after both semifinals concluded this week. On Tuesday, Park Ji-Hyun had a 27 point, 11 rebound, 12 assist triple-double to help Woori Bank bounce back from an early home loss to the Blue Minx. The Stars finished their easy sweep of Hana Bank on Wednesday. It was Kim Dan-Bi’s turn to lead Woori Bank on Thursday and they won again on the road on Saturday to advance past the Blue Minx.

Another week of single site matches in Kazakhstan was played to complete a third round-robin and Aktobe, Astana Tigers, and Turan ended up tied at the top of the standings. From an individual perspective nobody scored more points in a game than Elizaveta Mitina after her 37 point effort while Ganna Rulyova turned in 31 and 33 point outings.

Another round-robin was played in Taiwan and Taiyuan Textile won all of their games while Chunghwa Telecom went winless. Cathay Life edged Taiwan Power in their matchup to finish in second place ahead of next weekend’s round-robin to complete this third stage.

The regular season ended in China with a little bit of seeding to be determined. Inner Mongolia will be the top seed ahead of Sichuan while Jiangsu held on to the last bye behind Guangdong. The All Star festivities were this weekend before the playoffs start and the South defeated the North behind an MVP performance from Han Xu that included a dunk. Huang Sijing won the three point contest after prevailing in the tiebreaker.

It was another double round week in North West Tasmania and the highest scoring game came from Amber Brazendale with 30 points to help Somerset finish off a perfect week and move into the top half. Devonport was other team with two wins, allowing them to tie Penguin at the top of the standings. Smithton remains winless and Ulverstone remains clear of them after prevailing in their matchup on Friday. Burnie was the other team to lose twice, dropping them to .500 and below the rest of the contending pack.

Americas

Some of the series in Mexico started on Friday this week as it was the originally scheduled last weekend of the regular season and some of the makeup games were played as well. Mieleras finished with a perfect record after sweeping Avispas and Blueskas. Libelulas got upset by Quetzales, but did win the second game in overtime despite 31 points from Clenia Noblet, but still won the North after Mineras was swept by Cinnamon. Toritas stayed ahead of Husky’s and last place with a sweep. The U-18 national team was swept by Blueskas and then Avispas.

There were two games in Brazil on Tuesday and Sampaio won the first game at Ponta Grossa. Thaissa Frediani had 32 points to lead Catanduva in a win over Campinas. Wednesday’s game was a decisive win for Ituano over Mesquita. There were two games on Thursday as Sampaio rolled past Blumenau and Araraquara defeated Sao Jose. Babi Honorio had an 11 point, 14 rebound, 14 assist triple-double to help Campinas win the first game on Friday against Mesquita and then Santo Andre defeated Ponta Grossa. Saturday’s lone game was a Corinthians win over Catanduva. Sao Jose had a big win over Ponta Grossa on Sunday and Sampaio defeated Catanduva on Monday.

Around Europe

Bashkimi sealed the top seed in the unified competition between Albania and Kosovo with another win over Prishtina. Asia Henderson had 20 rebounds in the only game featuring teams from both countries. In Kosovo’s semifinals, Davion Wingate had 36 points and Jenna Mastellone had 34 points in losing efforts. Bernada Rreshpja had a 34 point game in Albania. The regular season finished in the Baltic and the quarterfinals began to qualify teams for the final weekend. In Lithuania’s second division, Danguole Pupkeviciute had 34 points to help her team pick up their first win, but did not play in a crushing loss that saw the opposition only play their starters for the whole game. Statlines in that contest included a 35 point game from Justina Leskauskaite, a 21 rebound effort from Lina Grite, and a 14 point, 19 assist, 13 steal triple-double from Milda Sauliute. Gabija Segzdaite also had a 12 point, 10 rebound, 13 assist triple-double in this competition.

The playoffs started in Norway and Natalie Villaflor had a 31 point game. Dudelange defeated Grengwald Hueschtert to win the cup in Luxembourg. Temi Fagbenle was the MVP in the British All Star Game after she led the South past the North. Hannover edged Donau-Ries to win the cup in Germany. Plamen Pozega defeated Ragusa Dubrovnik to win the cup in Croatia. The only league game of the week saw Shaniya Jones score 32 points and Tamara Jovancevic grab 21 rebounds in the win.

Chase for Promotion

In Ukraine’s second division, Anastasia Shepeliuk had a pair of 33 point games. Zonguldak sealed the top spot in Turkey’s second division with results over the weekend and another team no longer fulfilling their schedule. Aliyah Mazyck had 47 points to help her team win while Chanel Mokango had 34 points for the opposition and Lauren Ebo had a 33 point game. Jovana Arsic had a 32 point game in Serbia’s second division. All the quarterfinals ended in sweeps in Romania’s second division as Iustina-Gabriela Hurmuz had 34 points, but could not keep her team from being eliminated. LaQuanza Glover grabbed 23 rebounds in Portugal’s second division, but the big game was the one where Ke’Vonshaye Stackhouse had 30 points and Quintessa Zamolyi had 24 rebounds to secure a spot in the top division for Sanjoanense. Giulia Sorrentino had a 16 point, 10 rebound, 10 assist triple-double in Italy’s second division to help her team win while Amaiquen Siciliano had a 31 point game for the opposition. Shameka McNeill had a 50 point game in Iceland’s second division, but it was not enough with Sianni Martin scoring 32 points in the win and Aniya Thomas had a 35 point game. Nice climbed back into the last playoff spot in France’s second division, overcoming their points deduction for now.

Notable Individual Performances

A double round week in Switzerland included Sydney Brown scoring 35 points and Amaya Scott adding 33 points in a game that saw Virginie Bruchez score 30 points for the opposition and Adama Coulibaly had a 36 point, 23 rebound game. Mia Heide had a 20 rebound game in Sweden. In Portugal, Ana Paz had 30 points and Becca Wann-Taylor had 21 rebounds. Natalija Spaic had a 32 point game in Montenegro. Irina Nebesnaia had a 22 rebound game in Moldova. In Finland, II’mar’I Thomas had 38 points and Randi Brown had 40 points. In the Bosnian league, Ksenija Kuzmanovic had 36 points and Jovana Milakovic grabbed 23 rebounds to help their team win.