In Greece today, in the Balkan League, Delios Mantinezzos had a solid breakout game of 19 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Teammate Salivekos Orikalkos had 16 points on 6-10 shooting and 2 steals, and backup big man Eleazar Rugioth was involved in several great defensive blocks and gobbled up key rebounds in the tune of 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. Cyprusi Mantcullen's Bulgarian guard Mermis Sadaine had a solid outing against Tal Verjil with 5 points, but his main assignment was holding Turkish guard Sumy Vezghev, who had 8 points and 4 assists but was prevented from taking shots due to the harassing defense of Sadaine. An athletic Turkish guard in the youth league is starting to sink into the minds of NBA scouts, and his name is Kahsee Morten, Matthias Morten's younger brother. Morten knows how to contort his body and is extremely flexible and athletic, but lacks situational awareness of overall basketball understanding. He put up solid double digit games over teams in the youth competition, and had a breakout 21 point, 6 rebound, 5 steal game against Aerci.

 

Yugoslavia had Yanny Nezgarov pour in 11 points on 3-11 shooting against Navaly, but his teammates picked up the slack, as 5-11 teammate Iokan Lujerev had 16 points and 5 assists in the win. Elsewhere, Ergy Salari continued his ever-so-solid pace of 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, while Veltair Lambardos's Jure Kimensev  produced a power game consisting of 15 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. The youth leagues saw Palaj Terrin produce 15 points and 7 assists against Alipo, and Terrin's PG skills are really something that will bump him into the domestic leagues really quickly.

 

Spain saw a new player, Ludor Castro, who got his chance to shine as teammate Felix Merres missed a game with a sore right hamstring. In a win against FC Barcelona, Spain's strongest team, Castro produced 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and displayed some lockdown defense on some of Barcelona's top players. Castro is starting to make a name for himself and has appeared on our 2008 mock draft, being still a young prospect. Salvo Gispi also produced for Lagos Surreptitia, with 8 points and 5 assists against Bacardi. Portugal saw its top prospect, Erzmaran Savejos, come through with 11 points (mostly off garbage buckets/dunks), 6 rebounds and 2 blocks, altering many shots and staying out of foul trouble. He's still a prospect, but his potential is enormous.

 

Lithuania saw its twin towers strike again, with Erdrich Tarev taking some offensive slack and Andreas Luzio taking the defensive reins. Tarev produced with 17 points on 4-12 shooting, but hit 9-12 free throws in the outing. Luzio had 6 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. Luzio is slowly becoming a great prospect, but withstanding some questions about his athleticism, conditioning and speed, we'll hold up to put him in the mocks.

 

In the German league, Paulus Jeffny actually managed to overshadow teammate Vans Hollerein for one game, producing 15 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks, although doing it effortlessly and none of which really standing out. Jeffny has proven to be an X-factor for Vatish Vogue, however. Jeffny had another off-game, a rather inconsistent showing, with 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a block, as most of his scoring came in bunches and he was silent the next half. Rave Monta had another excellent showing for Adelis Acapulco, explaining why in the first place he can potentially be NBA caliber--Monta had 14 points on 5-7 shooting, although most coming with shots off the dribble.

 

In France, #1 prospect Antoine Surronay had a great game with 24 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 blocks, which sadly has ended his streak of double-doubles. Nonetheless, his great game in a blowout victory against Shirar Farare has given his team the top record in the French domestic league. In the Louvre Region, Yiago Heiness simply keeps persisting to keep his NBA dreams alive by kicking to the tune of 15 points and 4 assists. His ballhandling skills have improved a bit, but his passing is still below par. Turrein's Augo Bercher produced yet another solid game, with 12 points and 2 steals, but still continues to persist as a role player. Versaine Majurie's Mickael Orgene had a silent game today with only 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block, and teammate Jeremiah Hennessy didn't pick up the slack with only 10 points on 4-13 shooting.

 

That's all for updates on this front. Be sure to check back next week for updates on the Yugo players!