Due to the tragic events in Norway, a sombre feeling overlay the past weekend when the Nordic Championships between national teams from Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland began in Sundsvall. The Norwegian team came and participated well nevertheless, considering that their senior national program in basketball has been non-existent the past few years.

Shooting guard Terrence Oglesby, 23 (Clemson University/CB Tarragona), was the backbone of a team that finished fourth after beating Denmark with surprising ease.

The talk of the town was of course Finland: This team has a good shot at the final place in Eurobasket 2011 in Lithuania. And they did impress, with youth and veterans, on the outside and inside.

The 35-year-old Hanno Möttölä, formerly of the Atlanta Hawks, did not play every game, but proved invaluable in the paint. Gerald Lee Jr. (Old Dominion/Prima Veroli) played well. Lee’s father came to play in Finland in the 1970s and stayed; Gerald’s uncle is Ron Lee, who today lives in Sweden and had a stellar NBA career, leading the league in steals in 1977-78.

But most impressive was the Finnish backcourt of Petteri Koponen (drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2007, but with rights currently held by the Dallas Mavericks) of Virtus Bologna and veteran Teemu Rannikko of Varese.

Hungary and Portugal better look out for the upcoming games in August to qualify for Eurobasket. as coach Henrik Dettmann’s team is in the driver’s seat. The Finns beat the hosting Swedish team, 85-63, the biggest margin of victory in the tournament since 1985.

Hosts Sweden missed a couple of key players, mainly Jonas Jerebko of the Detroit Pistons, who did not play due to his contract status and insurance issues. Also missing were SLUC Nancy point guard Kenny Grant Jr., out with a shoulder injury, and FIBA EuroChallenge Breakthorough Award winner Joakim Kjellbom of the Norrköping Dolphins.

Back on the team was PF Christian Maråker (Pacific University/Hokkaido) and new was SG Erik Rush (Montana State), but Sweden did not make any statement and coach Brad Dean has his hands full in making sure the team qualifies for Eurobasket 2013. Jerebko is certainly the key to future success and Jeffrey Taylor of Vanderbilt may join the team next summer.

Sweden’s U20 team did well in European championships and finished in ninth place. Some of those players will contribute in the future, including Chris Czerapowicz (Davidson College), Andreas Person (Helios Domzale), Viktor Gaddefors (Virtus Bologna), Alex Lindqvist (Solna Vikings) and Charles Barton (Oregon State), but it’s a big step to go up against the big men in Europe. The mental ability will prove the difference in the future for the Swedish team, since there is a lack of winning tradition in basketball, in contrast to country’s success in soccer and hockey.

Iceland lost Jon Stefansson (CB Granada) early in the first game against Sweden due to a shoulder injury and he was greatly missed.

The trio from the hometown club of Sundsvall — Jakob Sigurdasson, Hlynur Baeringsson and newly signed Pavel Ermolinski — all showed their talents from time to time. But Iceland’s lack of size and depth was felt, especially with Stefansson out.

One thing impresses about Iceland: Their hearts. It is a pleasure to watch these athletes giving absolutely everything out on the court. And it was a vital ingredient when Sundsvall Dragons won the Swedish title in May, featuring Sigurdarsson and Baeringsson.

Denmark still looks to come to terms with their greatest talent ever, Christian Drejer, having to retire due to injury at far too young an age a few years ago. He should have been the spine of this team, like Jerebko for Sweden. Now Denmark must wait for the talented (and big) group of boys born in 1993 and 1994.

Although a winner of European group C a year ago, Denmark has a tough future in the very competitive European scene of national teams.

The final standings in the 2011 Nordic Championship were as follows:
Finland 4-0
Sweden 3-1
Iceland 2-2
Norway 1-3
Denmark 0-4

The all-star team was comprised of Teemu Rannikko and Petteri Koponen of Finland; Jakob Sigurdarsson and Hlynur Baeringson of Iceland; and Sweden’s Christian Maråker.

The Nordic Championships 2011 belonged to Finland. Congratulations!

Magnus Dahlborn is quite the heavy hitter in the world of Swedish basketball broadcasting; he has been following hoops since the mid-1970s and does play-by-play TV commentary in Sweden on Euroleague and Swedish League (plus the FIBA World Championships and Eurobasket…), working 90 games in 2010-11 and around 500 over the last 10 years.

Name: Tobias Borg
Country: Sweden
Position: SG
Height: 5’9” (1.82 meters)
Age: 17 (born in November 1993)
 
I had the pleasure of watching Tobias play at the Future Stars International Basketball Tournament on the 9th of July at Brunel University; I was impressed by how well he shot the ball firstly in the warm-up and then in the game, how well he played denial defence and hustled. He scorched the USA Select team to the tune of 33 points, including seven threes in addition to some emphatic breakaway dunks and steals.
 
Borg’s hot shooting seems to have carried over to the current Under 18 Division B Tournament, where, at the time of this writing, he is currently fifth in scoring at 17.5 ppg on 53.8% success from the field and 61.9% from within the arc. His three-point shot isn’t falling at the moment but that will hopefully come back. As well as the shooting/scoring, his ability to play denial defence has continued and he is currently four in steals with 3.5 per game, while his 3.5 assists (12th overall in the tourney) isn’t bad for a shooting guard. 
 
The one negative about Borg’s current play is his five turnovers per game! However, this doesn’t worry me as bad for two reasons: One, he is a shooting guard with a hot hand who doesn’t necessarily need to pass; two, he has solid fundamentals in the ability to make good, clean passes and his handling skills are fine – his problems are more a case of experience and playing against some of the top players in Europe.
 
I think Tobias has a great future ahead of him, after the injury to Marcus Eriksson, Sweden’s starting SG and a highly ranked prospect over at Euro Hopes; Tobias has filled in the scoring role perfectly and could potentially lead this team to a Division A promotion, if they can get back at Boris Bojanovsky and his Slovak Republic teammates. My tip is to look out for this guy at next year’s Under 20 Championship. 

Sam Chadwick is a university student, part-time sportswriter and a coach in the Solent Kestrels organization.

Dahlborn helpfully provided a correct list of awards given by the Swedish basketball league for the 2010-11 season, as those (purely unofficial) posted on Eurobasket.com were inaccurately reported. The list includes the following.

• MVP: Alex Wesby, Sundsvall Dragons
• Best Forward: Liam Rush, Sundsvall Dragons
• Best Guard: Johnell Smith, Södertälje Kings
• Best Center: Joakim Kjellbom, Norrköping Dolphins
• Best Defender: Alex Wesby, Sundsvall Dragons
• Best game arrangements: Sundsvall Dragons
• Best referee: Fedja Serhatlic
• Notable performance: Norrköping Dolphins (mainly for reaching Last 16 in EuroChallenge)

A tip of BiE’s cap, then, to Mr. Dahlborn; keep up the good work!

Imagine you have already won the game and you throw the ball up in the air for a last desperation shot. What can happen at that moment if you’re lucky is that you hit the shot. Look at the video below to see it.

After we relayed this video through our Monday’s cigarettes from a Swedish website, the story has been taken over by the French magazine Basketnews. This shot has been seen by the players of the French pro team of Strasbourg and they tried to copy it during their practice. And it was Gauthier Darrigand who nailed it, as only one of the team this incredible shot as you can see below.

The team asked their fans to meet the challenge set by Darrigand and so far, one fan has made the same difficult shot as you can see below.

So if you can top it, send your video to the Strasbourg basketball team and they will publish it on their website. Good luck!

The champions of the respective countries may be found in bold when the final is already decided. And the MVP cited is the Finals MVP, if such an award has been given.

Albania: ?

Austria: Fürstenfeld Panthers 3-2 Oberwart Gunners

Belarus: Vitalyur Minsk 3-0 OZAA Osipovichi

Belgium: Spirou Charleroi 3-0 Euphony Bree

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Bosna Sarajevo 2-1 Igokea Partizan Aleksandrovac

Bulgaria: Lukoil Academic 3-0 Balkan Botevgrad

Croatia: Zadar 3-2 KK Split

Cyprus: Keravnos 3-2 Apoel Nicosia

Czech Republic: Nymburk 4-1 Geofin

Denmark: Bakken Bears 4-0 Svendborg Rabbits

Estonia: Tartu Rock 4-0 BC Kalev (MVP: Brian Cusworth)

Finland: Honka Playboys 3-1 Kouvot Kouvola (MVP: Akeem Scott)

France: SLUC Nancy 1-0 Chorale de Roanne (MVP: Jeff Greer)

FYR Macedonia: Feni Industrija 4-3 Strumica

Georgia: Energy Rustavi 3-1 Avia Tblisi

Germany: ALBA Berlin 3-1 Telekom Baskets Bonn (MVP: Julius Jenkins)

Greece: Panathinaikos 3-2 Olympiakos

Hollang: Myguide Amsterdam 4-3 Eiffel Towers (MVP: Peter van Paassen)

Hungary: Falco Szombathely 3-1 Kormend

Iceland: Kevflavik 3-0 Snaefell (MVP: Gunnar Einarson)

Ireland: Abrakebabra Tralee Tigers 1-0 DART Killester (MVP: Michael Quirke)

Israel: Hapoel Holon 1-0 Maccabi Tel Aviv

Italy: Montepaschi Siena 4-1 Lottomatica Roma (MVP: Terrell McIntyre)

Kosovo: Sigal Prishtina 3-2 BC Peja

Latvia: Barons/LMT Riga 4-1 ASK Riga (MVP: Armands Skele)

Lithuania: Zalgiris Kaunas 4-1 Lietuvos Rytas (MVP: Marcus Brown)

Luxembourg: Sparta Bertrange 2-0 Musel Pikes (MVP: Larrie Smith)

Malta: BUPA Luxol 2-1 Compleet IS

Moldova: ?

Montenegro: Buducnost Podgorica 3-0 Mogren Budva

Norway: Asker Aliens 3-0 Harstad Vikings

Poland: Prokom Trefl Sopot 4-3 Turow Zgorzelec

Portugal: Ovarense Aerosoles 4-3 FC Porto Ferpinta (MVP: Graham Brown)

Romania: CSU Asesoft Ploesti 4-3 UMobitelco Cluj

Russia: CSKA Moscow 3-0 Khimky Moscow (MVP: JR Holden)

Scotland: Edinburgh Kings

Serbia: Partizan Belgrade 3-1 Hemofarm Vrsac

Slovakia: Pezinok 3-1 Inter Bratislava

Slovenia: Olimpija Ljubljana 3-1 Helios Domzale

Spain: TAU Cerimca Vitoria 3-0 AXA FC Barcelona (MVP: Pete Mickeal)

Sweden: Solna Vikings 3-0 Sundsvall Dragons

Switzerland: Benetton Fribourg 3-0 Lugano Tigers

Turkey: Fenerbahce Ülker Istanbul 4-1 Türk Telekom Ankara

Ukraine: Azovmash Mariupol 3-1 BC Kyiv (MVP: Robert Archibald)

United Kingdom: Guildford Heat 1-0 Milton Keynes Lions

Aside from all champions and runners-up, it’s always nice to hear the names of teams I am not that familiar with and of course, I have my favorites: the Svendborg Rabbits and the Abrakebabra Tigers Tralee.

As Reuters tells, the 42-year-old American, who played alongside Michael Jordan and helped the Chicago Bulls to win six NBA titles, will play for Sundsvall on January 11 when they take on Akropol at home in the Swedish basketball league.

We will let you know what happened during these games and will find out what Scottie Pippen was capable to do. OK, three games is not like a play off season in the NBA but it looks like Scottie has something to prove – well or maybe he just really needs the money as this blog here tells us:

The Missouri Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling from last year in St. Louis County in which a judge agreed that Pippen owed U.S. Bank about $5.021 million in principal, interest and attorney fees from a dispute over a private jet and company Pippen once owned.

Pippen said the charter-plane issue is one of many poor business decisions that were made primarily by a former agent, whom he blames for causing him to lose about $27 million in bad investments and questionable accounting. Pippen sued his former law firm in 2005, claiming he had been swindled, but he lost the case.

Anyway – make yourself  a Scottie Pippen tour plan if you live up in the north of Europe – I am sure he still will fill those 4000+ gyms ..

Mbemba, who is with the Skyliners for several seasons now, is a 1987 born Point Guard from Sweden with incredible athletic abilities and defensive qualities but actually a bit limited in offense to poor shot selection and lacking three-point danger. But then send him to a fourth division when you have a 1987 born player that can average about 5 points per game on the highest German level is surprising to me.

The question is however if Mbemba will really play for Kronberg this season as the official press release only states that Mbemba “should” play for Kronberg in 2007-2008. It is improbable that the MVP of the Reebok Eurocamp 2007 will move his ambitions down as he wants to become an impact player on the European level or in the NBA.

For those who don’t know him, here are a few nice clips of Mbemba’s athletic abilites. Just to remember that he officially is measured ad 1m77.