A pair of Euroleague signings were made official on Tuesday, with homegrown product Saul Blanco staying in Spain to sign with Unicaja Malaga and second-year pro Jamont Gordon arrives in Cibona Zagreb after the sinking of Fortitudo Bologna.
(Euroleague.net) – Unicaja announced that it has come to terms on a three-year agreement with shooting guard Saul Blanco, who will make his Euroleague debut next season. Blanco (195 cm, 24 years old) comes off a breakout season with Alta Gestion Fuenlabrada in which he averaged 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 29 Spanish League games. He played for Fuenlabrada in each of the last four seasons, becoming one of the top young Spanish players at either wing position. Blanco has also played for Gijon Baloncesto and Siglo XXI Pais Vasco in his native Spain, and was a member of the Spanish Under-16 and U20 national teams. Blanco is currently training with the Spanish national team, hoping to earn the spot on the EuroBasket 2009 roster left vacant by injured teammate Berni Rodriguez. He helped the Spanish U-16 national team win the bronze medal at the 2001 European Championships held in Riga, Latvia.
Cibona signed young scorer Jamont Gordon for the coming season on Tuesday. Gordon (194, 22) comes off a fine all-around rookie campaign in Europe for Italian side Fortitudo Bologna, in which he averaged 11.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks over 23 minutes in six Eurocup games. Gordon also recorded 11.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in the Italian League. Gordon arrived in Italy after an impressive college basketball career at Mississippi State University, where he posted 17.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 34 games as a uunior. His performances earned him a spot on the All-Southeastern Conference first team and earned him the Cellular South Howell Trophy, given annually to the state of Mississippi’s top collegiate men’s basketball player. At Cibona, Gordon will team with the recently signed Antonio Graves to give head coach Velimir Perasovic an explosive backcourt.
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