Watch this Tony Parker to Rudy Gobert alley-oop for France in the Eurobasket 2015 tournament:

France and Spain reach 2015 EuroBasket semifinals

Familiar foes France and Spain will meet once more in the EuroBasket 2015 semi-finals after both prevailed in their quarter-finals in Lille on Tuesday.

The European powers have met eight times at major competitions in the past five years, with Spain winning five of those contests - although France have the more recent advantage, edging their rivals in the EuroBasket 2013 semi-final and 2014 FIBA World Cup quarter-final.

They have also shared the last three EuroBasket titles, although only one will make the 2015 final after Spain clung on for a 73-71 defeat of Greece and France rose above Latvia 84-70…

Pau Gasol led the Spanish once again with 27 points and nine rebounds while his Chicago Bulls team-mate Nikola Mirotic added 18.

– Eurobasket2015.org

Here’s the Los Angeles Daily News blog reporting on Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson, who will be more rested coming into the upcoming NBA season, as explained below:

Jordan Clarkson had wanted to play for the Philippine national team. The team wanted Clarkson to play, too.

But amid concerns that his participation would conflict with his responsibilities to the Lakers, Clarkson will not play during for the Gilas Pilipinas during this month’s FIBA Asia championships, the Philippine Basketball Assn. announced on Tuesday on their website.

The statement added that Philippine national team executives Ricky Vergas and Patrick Gregorio met recently with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and president Jeanie Buss about Clarkson’s participation.

Here’s FIBA.com reporting on Nigeria, who will compete in the 2016 Olympics:

Nigeria beat Angola 74-65 in the Final of AfroBasket 2015 in Rades, Tunisia on Sunday to claim their first-ever continental championship.

Angola went into the game looking to win a 12th African title, but some poor shooting boosted Nigeria’s confidence as they led by as many as 19 points.

The win also saw Nigeria qualify for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

In finishing second, Angola joined third- and fourth-place teams Tunisia and Senegal in booking their places for the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs).

This summer, basketball teams around the world are trying to lock down spots in the 2016 Olympics. Here’s the Oregonian reporting on a new member of the Portland Trail Blazers:

Trail Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu helped Nigeria get one step close to qualifying for the 2016 Olympics on Wednesday. Aminu led his home country to an 88-63 win over the Central African Republic at the AfroBasket, a FIBA tournament held in Tunisia in which the winner earns an automatic bid to the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil.

Aminu scored a team-high 15 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists in just over 20 minutes of playing time. He hit 6 of 8 shots and added an impressive dunk in the opening minutes of the game when he finished a half court alley-oop lob from teammate Olaseni Lawal.

Here’s CSN Bay Area reporting on Warriors center Andrew Bogut, who is currently helping represent Australia on the court:

On Tuesday in Wellington, New Zealand, Bogut performed at a level that suggests he still has game.

The 7-foot center finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead Australia to an 89-79 win over New Zealand in a FIBA Oceana qualifying game that clinched the Aussies’ bid for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

And Bogut did this while fighting through same nagging back soreness that might be making the Warriors a bit nervous.

“The body felt good,” Bogut told reporters. “I was battling a few little things but if you take enough pills and things you end up getting there. It worked out all right. I felt pretty good out there. Tomorrow morning won’t be as good but we got the job done and we’re going to the Olympics.”

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on Dorell Wright, who will reportedly take his talents to the other side of the world:

Although he had expressed interest in a reunion with the Miami Heat as early as a month ago, free-agent forward Dorell Wright on Monday agreed to play the coming season in China.

Wright confirmed on his Twitter account the one-year contract with the Chongqing Soaring Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Wright, 29, was drafted by the Heat with the No. 19 pick in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft, spending his first six NBA seasons with the team. He spent the past two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, utilized primarily for his 3-point shooting.

Here’s Euroleague.net reporting news on a player NBA fans will be familiar with:

Reigning Eurocup champion Khimki Moscow Region continued to bolster its roster ahead of its return to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague, signing a two-year deal with swingman Zoran Dragic, club announced on Thursday. Dragic (1.96 meters, 26 years old) has spent last season in the NBA, playing first part of the season with Phoenix before getting traded to Miami, but has appeared in a total of 16 games. He previously spent two seasons with Unicaja Malaga, and has played 44 Euroleague games during that time.

Basketball Australia is excited to announce that NBA Championship-winner Patrick Mills has been added to the Australian Boomers’ team to take on New Zealand in the 2015 FIBA Oceania Championships.

Mills comes into the line-up following a left ACL tear to Dante Exum in last Wednesday’s game against Slovenia, reducing the Boomers to 11 players.

Talking from the United States, Mills said that he was excited by the opportunity to play for automatic qualification for Rio 2016.

“I’m looking forward to joining my Boomers teammates for this very important qualification series against New Zealand,” he said.

– Basketball.net.au

Here’s Euroleague.net with an update on a name that dedicated NBA fans will recognize:

Stelmet Zielona Gora reached an agreement with point guard Dee Bost to work together next season, the club announced Friday night. Bost (1.88 meters, 25 years old) arrives from Trabzonspor Medical Park, where he averaged 7.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals in 32 Turkish League games last season. He helped Trabzonspor reach the Turkish League semifinals and the EuroChallenge title game, losing against JSF Nanterre at the buzzer.

FIBA on Friday awarded the hosting rights for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup to China.

The People’s Republic of China and the Republic of the Philippines were the two finalists bidding to host FIBA’s flagship event four years from now.

The decision was taken by FIBA’s Central Board after both candidates submitted their bids and each gave presentations during the Host Announcement Ceremony.

The Central Board vote saw 14 in favour of China’s bid, with seven backing that of Philippines.

This is the first time that China will host FIBA’s flagship event.

Yao Ming, the Ambassador for the China 2019 bid, said: “It’s such an exciting moment to bring the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup to China and I’m sure that millions of fans are sharing this joy with us.

“We have to pay tribute to the Philippines delegation. They were great opponents. Only opponents like them could really push us to our limits to test how capable we are. Even if we were opponents on this occasion, we still have a friendship with them.

“I know what it’s like to play a top level basketball tournament in front of home fans because I played at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Having the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup will inspire a lot of people and particularly more young athletes to participate in basketball.”

Horacio Muratore, the President of FIBA, said: “This was a very difficult decision because we had two national federations who did excellent work. However, there can only be one host country for our event in 2019 and it will be China.

“We would like to congratulate both national federations for their outstanding work and bids. This is what we wanted: to have national federations put together top quality bids to host our flagship event.

“We look forward to the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which will be the first of a new era with 140 teams competing during a 15-month qualification period to be among the 32 playing in China.”

China’s bid calls for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup to be played in eight cities – Beijing, Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan.

After a physical exam, which included a MRI, San Antonio Spurs center Boban Marjanović has been diagnosed significant bony edema in his left ankle. The exam was performed by Dr. Richard Ferkel, director of sports medicine at the Southern California Orthopedic Institute.​

The Spurs medical team, in conjunction with Dr. Ferkel’s recommendation, has determined the injury compromises Marjanović’s ability to play basketball without compromising long-term health and future injury.

As a result of these findings and in the best interest of his future health, Spurs officials have informed Marjanović and the Serbian Basketball Federation that, under the agreement between FIBA and the NBA, Marjanović will not be allowed to participate with the Serbian National Team in Eurobasket 2015.

Dr. Ferkel is a member of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, Arthroscopy Association of North America, American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and International Society for Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery and Orthopedic Sports Medicine.

Enjoy these recent video highlights of NBA Cares at Basketball Without Borders in Africa:

Here’s Euroleague.net with news on James “Flight” White:

Cedevita Zagreb added experience and athleticism to its roster at once by signing James White. The high-flying small forward arrives from Russian side Unics Kazan. Last season White (2.01 meters, 32 years old) averaged 10 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 10 Turkish Airlines Euroleague appearances. He also posted 13.4 points and 3.3 boards in 12 Eurocup games to help the club reach that competition’s semifinals and 9.0 points and 3.8 rebounds in the VTB United League as Unics advanced to the quarterfinals.

Here’s Euroleague.net with an update on a player NBA fans will be familiar with:

Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul bolstered its frontcourt by inking center Ekpe Udoh to a one-year deal on Tuesday. Udoh (2.08 meters, 28 years old) arrives from Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA, where he averaged 0.8 points in 37 games last season. He started his career with Golden State of the NBA and joined Israeli side Bnei Eshet Tours Hasharon for just one game in the 2011-12 season, in which he had 22 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks.

The Brooklyn Nets will host Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul of the Turkish Basketball League for a preseason game on October 5, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at Barclays Center, General Manager Billy King announced today.

“We are excited to be hosting Fenerbahce, as it will be a reunion for Bojan Bogdanovic with his former team,” said King. “Our fans will have an opportunity to see one of the best coached teams in all of Europe when they come to Brooklyn.”

As a member of Fenerbahce, Nets guard/forward Bojan Bogdanovic led the team to the Turkish Basketball League Championship in 2013-14. This past season, the club reached the finals of the Turkish Cup and the final four in the Euroleague.

Here’s Euroleague.net reporting on a well-known overseas player:

CSKA Moscow reached a new agreement with team captain Viktor Khryapa to keep working together next season, the club announced Thursday. CSKA keeps an option to extend the deal until the end of the 2016-17 season. Khryapa (2.03 meters, 32 years old) is set to enter his 11th season with CSKA and has been ths club’s captain for the last six years. In his 10 seasons with the club, Khryapa helped CSKA win 10 Russian League titles, lifting the VTB League trophy five teams. Above all, Khryapa helped CSKA win the Euroleague title in 2008. Khryapa has made it to the Final Four nine times - an achievement that only Euroleague legend Theo Papaloukas can claim. He is the Euroleague Final Four’s all-time leading rebounder (92).

Here’s Euroleague.net reporting on a well-known former NBA point guard and international star, Carlos Arroyo:

FC Barcelona Lassa found a new point guard in Carlos Arroyo, who inked a one-year deal with his new team on Friday. Arroyo (1.88 meters, 35 years old) has played for Galatasaray Liv Hospital Istanbul in the last three seasons. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.3 assists in 15 Turkish Airlines Euroleague games last season. Arroyo went on to play for Cangrejeros de Santurce, averaging 14.7 points and 6.5 assists in 39 Puerto Rican League games, leading his team to the finals. He has also played for Toronto, Denver, Utah, Detroit, Orlando, Miami and Boston of the NBA, Tau Ceramica Vitoria of Spain, Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel and Besiktas Istanbul of Turkey.

Here’s the New York Post reporting that Carmelo Anthony still has interest in Team USA, which is not involved in international competition this summer but is sorting itself out for 2016:

Carmelo Anthony chose not to come to Las Vegas to catch a Knicks summer league game or attend the Players Choice Awards or union meetings, but he will be descending on Sin City next month for the red, white and blue.

According to a source, Anthony has informed U.S. Olympic Team officials he will attend the Aug. 11-13 minicamp as the team gears up for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Anthony is still rehabbing from February’s left-knee surgery so he will not be a fully active participant, according to a source. Team USA CEO Jerry Colangelo has encouraged roster members to come to the minicamp even if they can’t play due to injury.

Former Celtic Gigi Datome signs overseas

Here’s the Boston Herald reporting on a former Celtic who was not going to be a part of the team’s future:

As much as Gigi Datome wanted a chance to sign with an NBA team, where he could play a regular role this summer, the former Celtics guard finally decided his best opportunity was back on the international circuit — this time with the Turkish team Fenerbahce.

Datome, who had lost hope with the Celtics as they focused on their frontcourt with their most recent moves, has reportedly signed a three-year deal worth just shy of $2 million per season.

Datome, 27, posted both thanks to the NBA and hopes for his new team last night on his Facebook page.