The last NIKEiD Fantasy Challenge winner of 2008 clearly tilted the weekly awards in favor of one country. Ferran Valle was the fourth out of eight weekly winners so far this season to come from Spain. His team, called "Baila Cassanovaaa" pulled in 231.7 points in Week 8, the third-highest single-game total of the season. Ferran won an official Euroleague game ball and this season's official Media Guide on DVD and he'll be entered in the end-of-season drawing for more prizes. The last game of the 2008 also proved a time to recognize some girl power in this contest as Mariette Svrcek took over first place in the overall standings. Mariette is from the United States, another novelty in the five-year history of the contest. Her team, called "b-crickets", has moved up from 10th place to first since Week 5. She has now amassed 1,327.4 points over eight weeks, and now carries almost a 30-point advantage over second place going into the regular season's penultimate game. Indeed, with only two weeks left in the regular season and six more in the Top 16, the race for the big end-of-phase and grand prizes is looking as strong as the actual Euroleague races. The eventual overall grand prize winner will get the chance to enjoy VIP status at the 2009 Final Four in Berlin as a guest of Euroleague Basketball, including a spot on the O2 World floor to witness the new champions celebrating the Euroleague title. For now, just make you don't miss the Week 9 deadline, 18:15 CET on Wednesday, January 7, one hour before Efes Pilsen vs. CSKA Moscow. NIKEiD Fantasy Challenge is back in action for 2009. Enjoy!
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FANTASY CHALLENGE RUNDOWN
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GROUP A
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Air Avellino:
- Head coach Zare Markovski has a full squad available for Wednesday’s game at Le Mans. |
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Cibona:
- Forward Rawle Marshall, the team's second-best scorer so far, was de-registered by Cibona before its Group A home game with Unicaja on Thursday.
- Newly signed swingman Alan Anderson could make his first appearance in the Euroleague for the club this week. He scored 18 in his Adriatic League debut last weekend.
-Signed center Bruno Sundov and registered him in time for Thursday's home game with Unicaja.
- Released forward Franko Kastropil. |
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Le Mans:
- Head coach J.D. Jackson has a full squad available to face Air Avellino on Wednesday. |
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Maccabi Electra:
- Center D'or Fischer is back in action after missing one game with a broken finger.
- Big man Marcus Fizer could make his first appearance of the season after recovering from a knee injury. Fizer took part in several exhibition games with Maccabi during the winter break.
- Big man Elton Brown has been released. |
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Olympiacos:
- Forward Panagiotis Vasilopoulos remains sidelined due to a broken middle finger on his left hand.
- Big man Ioanis Bourousis returned to action in the Greek League earlier than expected after suffering a knee injury. He should play in Tel Aviv.
- Big man Sofoklis Schortsanitis is expected to play in Tel Aviv despite missing Saturday’s Greek League game due to a glaucoma problem on his eye.. |
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Unicaja:
- Center German Gabriel could make his first Euroleague appearance of the season after missing the first few months due to torn ankle ligaments suffered in a Spanish League game.
- Big man Paul Shirley is no longer with the club after his one-month contract expired.
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GROUP B
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Asseco Prokom:
- Head coach Tomas Pacesas has a full squad available for Wednesday’s game against Regal FC Barcelona. |
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Montepaschi Siena:
- Point guard Morris Finley has missed the past month with a calf injury. His participation in Thursday’s game against Panathinaikos is doubtful.
- Guard Rimas Kaukenas has missed Montepaschi’s last three Italian League games due to an injury to his left hand.
- Newly signed point guard Arriel McDonald is fit to play against Panathinaikos. |
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SLUC Nancy:
- Center Akin Akingbala, signed for Nancy last month, was registered and is eligible to play in the team's road game against Zalgiris.
- Forward Victor Samnick missed his team’s last French League game with an ankle injury. His participation in Thursday’s game at Zalgiris is in question.
- Guard T.J. Parker is expected to miss the entire season with a knee injury. |
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Panathinaikos:
- Head coach Zeljko Obradovic has a full squad available for the game against Montepaschi. |
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Regal FC Barcelona:
- Guard Juan Carlos Navarro did not fly with the team to play at Asseco Prokom due to a back injury.
- Guard Jaka Lakovic returned to practice and flew to Poland for Wednesday's game following a lengthy leg injury. |
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Zalgiris:
- Center Loren Woods is considered a game-time decision to play at home against Nancy on Thursday due to an injury. |
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GROUP C
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Alba Berlin:
- Center Patrick Femerling continues to be troubled by a knee injury and is not expected to play this week.
- Forward Ansu Sesay twisted his ankle on Saturday in A German League game, but is expected to play against DKV Joventut.
- Guard Julius Jenkins has recovered from the ankle injury that caused him to miss the last four Euroleague contests and will be available this week. |
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DKV Joventut:
- Forward Luka Bogdanovic is one question mark ahead of this week's clash with Alba Berlin. He suffers from a muscle injury that kept him out of last weekend's Spanish League game. |
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Fenerbahce Ulker:
- Shooting guard Gordan Giricek remains sidelined due to a stomach muscle injury.
- Center Omer Asik is sidelined long term after undergoing surgery to repair damaged ligaments in his knee. |
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Lottomatica Roma:
- Head coach Nando Gentile has a full squad available to face Tau Ceramica. |
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Tau Ceramica:
- Head coach Dusko Ivanovic has a full squad available for the clash with Lottomatica Roma on Thursday.
-Point guard Vlado Ilievski was signed over the holiday break but is ineligible to appear for Tau until the Top 16 because he previously played for another Euroleague team this regular season. |
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Union Olimpija:
- Team captain Marko Milic returned to action over the weekend in the Adriatic League after undergoing knee surgery. He is expected to play against Fenerbahce Ulker on Thursday. |
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GROUP D
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Armani Jeans Milano:
- Big man Pape Sow broke his nose playing in the Italian League over the weekend, but is expected to play against Real Madrid Thursday with a protective mask.
- Guard Ariel Filloy has undergone surgery on a broken bone in his right hand and is expected to miss three weeks. |
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CSKA Moscow:
- CSKA Moscow head coach Ettore Messina finally has a full squad available. Forwards Ramunas Siskauskas and Matjaz Smodis, who both missed the last game before the winter break with ankle injuries, played regularly in the Russian League on Saturday. |
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Efes Pilsen:
- Center Mario Kasun has returned to practice after undergoing surgery on his wrist. There is a chance that he could see some action if needed this week against CSKA Moscow.
- Forward Mustafa Abi remains sidelined after undergoing knee surgery.
- Guard Engin Atsur continues to suffer from pain on the back of the foot and is out. |
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Panionios On Telecoms:
- Branko Cvetkovic missed his team’s Greek League game over the weekend due to a virus, but should be fit to face Partizan. . |
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Partizan Igokea:
- Forward Zarko Rakocevic remains sidelined after breaking a finger on his left hand in an Adriatic League game last month. |
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Real Madrid:
- Forward Axel Hervelle remains sidelined after suffering a broken nose in a Spanish League game last month.
- Center Tomas Van den Spiegel is set to play for his fourth Euroleague team after joining Madrid last month. |