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ULEB Summer League welcomes international talent
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 The first ULEB Summer League is here! Dozens of international basketball talents have gathered in Jesolo, Italy for a full, four-day weekend's worth of competition with the intention of making a name for themselves in European basketball. An international continegent of coaches and general managers is also due in Jesolo to follow their progress. Among the players who will be seen here are some who have already established themselves in the ULEB Cup or the Euroleague and are looking for a step up headed into next season. One such players was one of the top performers in the ULEB Cup last season, forward Leon Rodgers, who not only averaged 22.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 10 ULEB Cup games for EiffelTowers, but also earned weekly MVP honors twice throughout the regular season. He'll be playing for the Euroleague free agent team in Jesolo, which also has hopefuls Zoltan Horvath of Hungary and Alen Trepalovac of Croatia, as well as scoring ace Quinton Day from the U.S.. Meanwhile, the ULEB Cup free agent team features Yassin Idbihi of Germany, an intriguing big man who posted averages in 15.8 points and 9.3 rebounds in at Buffalo University in the NCAA last season, while Jo Jo Garcia of the U.S. arrives with a reputation as an outstanding rebounder. History will be made in the ULEB Summer League. The entry of a Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) team in the competition is the latest step in a growing partnership between Euroleague Basketball and the CBA. Gang Wang (10.9 ppg.) and Jie Sun (13.6 ppg.) have been double-digit scorers playing for the Shangdong Lions this season.
 Loyal to its roots and always ready to give young players a chance, Zalgiris arrives to the USL with an all-Lithuanian roster led by Mantas Kalnietis, one of European basketballs rising star. Kalnietis, age 21, already started for Lithuania at the 2006 World Championships and has an unique combination of size, quickness, driving skills and athleticism. Three players - Kalnietis, Andrius Aleksandrovas and Vytenis Jasikevicius - helped Zalgiris to win the 2003 International Junior Tournament in Barcelona. Miha Zupan and Sandi Cebular are the biggest stars in Union Olimpija's roster, along with guard Kevin Burleson. Zupan will be the first deaf player to play in a Euroleague game next season, accomplishing something truly remarkable. Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv enters the USL with a group of homegrown talents complemented by some free agents who hope to honor some of the most famous team colors in Europe. Ben Ries and Daniel Rom already showed their talent in the Nike International Junior Tournament with Maccabi Teddy a few months ago with 12 and 7 points per game, respectively. The Benetton Basket Team are represented solely by free agents. Its best player in the event may well be Ron Slay, who averaged 17.3 points and 7.6 rebounds in the Italian League with surprising Premiata Montegranaro this season. Tyler Smith and John Gilchrist will be other players to watch. Last, but not least, Lottomatica Roma arrives with established first-team veterans Jacopo Giachetti, Luca Garri and Daniele Cinciarini, all ready to shine in the event. Matt Sylvester, son of the famous American-Italian big man Mike Sylvester, is also ready to show his skills for Roma.
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Euroleague.net
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