Russia Rebounds to Defeat McCalebb, Macedonia in EuroBasket Third Place Game
KAUNAS, Lithuania (Sept. 18) - Russia took advantage of the glass and was able to hold off Bo McCalebb and Macedonia 72-68 in the third place game of the 2011 FIBA European Championships on Sunday.
McCalebb - a former University of New Orleans and O. Perry Walker star - scored 22 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists to lead Macedonia to a fourth place finish.
The effort was not enough to overcome 22 offensive rebounds by the Russians.
Aiding the Russian effort away from the glass was Utah Jazz star Andrei Kirilenko, who scored 18 points for Russia, in addition to grabbing six rebounds.
Vlado Ilievski added 16 points for Macedonia, which failed to avenge a loss earlier in the tournament to the Russia national squad.
The performance for McCalebb cemented an all-tournament team selection for the guard. He was joined on the All-EuroBasket team by four NBA players - Tony Parker (France), Kirilenko (Russia), Pau Gasol (Spain) and tournament MVP Juan Carlos Navarro (Spain).
The next major competition for McCalebb and the Macedonia squad will be a pre-Olympic qualifier next July.
The Macedonians will be joined in the tournament by Lithuania, Greece, Russia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Angola, Nigeria, New Zealand and two qualifiers from the 2011 FIBA Asian Championships.
Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Lithuania have all expressed interest in hosting the event, in which the top three qualifiers earn a spot in the 2012 Summer Olympic basketball tournament.
Macedonia EuroBasket Schedule (all games on ESPN3.com)
Aug. 31st - Montenegro 70-65 Macedonia, OT (prelims)
Sept. 1st - Macedonia 78-76. Croatia (prelims)
Sept. 3rd - Macedonia 72-58. Greece (prelims)
Sept. 4th - Macedonia 72-70. Finland (prelims)
Sept. 5th - Macedonia 75-63 Bosnia-Herzegovina (prelims)
Sept. 8th – Macedonia 65-63 Georgia (second round)
Sept. 10th – Macedonia 68-59 Slovenia (second round)
Sept. 12th – Russia 63-61 Macedonia (second round)
Sept. 14th – Macedonia 67-65 Lithuania (quarterfinals)
Sept. 16th – Spain 92-80 Macedonia (semifinals)
Sept. 18th - Russia 72-68 Macedonia (third-place game)
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Spain Tops Macedonia, McCalebb; Third Place Game Awaits UNO Product
KAUNAS, Lithuania - Former University of New Orleans and O. Perry Walker standout Bo McCalebb will have to wait another year to earn a spot in the Olympics with Macedonia as his national squad fell 92-80 to Spain in the 2011 FIBA European Championship semifinals.
Juan Carlos Navarro scored 36 points including five three-pointers while Pau Gasol finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds as the Spanish squad overcame a one-point deficit to overwhelm Macedonia in the second half.
McCalebb scored 25 points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out five assists for Macedonia, which will play Russia in the third place game on Sunday.
For McCalebb and the Macedonians, the loss ended a 'Cinderella' run for the country of two million against some of the world's top basketball teams.
Not all was lost for the squad as the Macedonian side will get an opportunity to earn a spot in the 2012 Summer Olympics next July against a field that already includes Russia, Lithuania, Greece, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Angola, Nigeria, New Zealand, the Dominican Republic and two qualifiers from the 2011 FIBA Asian Championships.
The top three teams that emerge from the tournament will advance to the London Games.
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McCalebb, Macedonia Stun Lithuania, Advance to Face Spain
KAUNAS, Lithuania (Sept. 16) – Former University of New Orleans and O.P. Walker star Bo McCalebb scored 23 points as Macedonia overcame a partisan crowd of over 15,000 to defeat Lithuania 67-65 on Wednesday in the 2011 FIBA European Championships quarterfinals.
Macedonia advances to a Friday semifinal in which it will face Spain, an 86-64 winner over Slovenia in another quarterfinal contest on Wednesday. The Spaniards feature six NBA players including Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Rudy Fernandez, Ricky Rubio and Jose Manuel Calderon.
The Macedonians will play for a 2012 Summer Olympic bid against Spain, which would be the first in the small country of two million residents' history. The two 'EuroBasket' semifinal winners clinch an Olympic spot while Macedonia at the very least has staked a spot in next July's final 2012 Olympic qualifier.
Lithuania led for the first 24:08 of the contest before a McCalebb free throw with 5:52 remaining in the third quarter allowed Macedonia to move ahead 42-41. The Lithuanian advantage was as much as nine points at 31-22 prior to the run by the visiting squad.
Lithuania would take a 52-49 lead into the fourth quarter as Macedonia's time in the driver's seat was short-lived. The hosts maintained their edge despite several close calls until the final half-minute of play.
Macedonia's had their chance in the final seconds as McCalebb forced a Lithuania turnover with 33 seconds. McCalebb missed a lay-up and Lithuania turned over the ball, allowing Vlado Ilievski to hit a game-winning three-pointer with 11 seconds left.
Ilevski scored 12 points for Macedonia in the game while Vojdan Stojanovski added 15 points while connecting on all five three-point attempts.
Lithuania was led by Robertas Javtokas' 13 points. Former New Orleans Hornets forward Darius Songaila added 12 points.
Macedonia EuroBasket Schedule (all games on ESPN3.com)
Aug. 31st - Montenegro 70-65 Macedonia, OT (prelims)
Sept. 1st - Macedonia 78-76. Croatia (prelims)
Sept. 3rd - Macedonia 72-58. Greece (prelims)
Sept. 4th - Macedonia 72-70. Finland (prelims)
Sept. 5th - Macedonia 75-63 Bosnia-Herzegovina (prelims)
Sept. 8th – Macedonia 65-63 Georgia (second round)
Sept. 10th – Macedonia 68-59 Slovenia (second round)
Sept. 12th – Russia 63-61 Macedonia (second round)
Sept. 14th – Macedonia 67-65 Lithuania (quarterfinals)
Sept. 16th – Macedonia vs. Spain (semifinals)
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Russia's Last-Second Shot Spoils Macedonia Upset Bid
VILNIUS, Lithuania (Sept. 12) - Former University of New Orleans and O. Perry Walker star Bo McCalebb scored 16 points, but it was not enough as Russia snapped Macedonia's six-game winning streak with a 63-61 win on Monday in the 2011 FIBA European Championships.
Russia maintained its undefeated record for the EuroBasket and claimed the top seed out of Group F for the continental championships' knockout round.
Sergey Monya drained a three-pointer from the corner at the buzzer to hold off Macedonia's upset bid.
Macedonia trailed Russia by seven points with seven minutes remaining before scoring six straight points to pull within one as two minutes remained in regulation.
The Macedonians finally moved ahead when McCalebb made a pair of free throws with 41 seconds left to put his squad up 61-60. After the teams exchanged possessions without a score, Russia set up a three-point shot for Monya that won the game.
Aleksey Shved scored 14 points to lead a Russian squad that only received two points from NBA star Andrei Kirilenko.
Macedonia – making its first quarterfinal appearance in the country's history – will face Lithuania on Wednesday. A win against Lithuania will assure the Macedonians an appearance in the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying tournament.
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McCalebb, Macedonia Win Sixth Straight at FIBA EuroBasket
VILNIUS, Lithuania (Sept. 10) – Former University of New Orleans and O. Perry Walker star Bo McCalebb tallied 19 points as Macedonia extended its win streak to six games with a 68-59 victory over Slovenia in the 2011 FIBA European Championships.
Macedonia improved to 7-1 overall and 4-0 in 'Group F' with the victory, setting up a Monday showdown with Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko and Russia to determine the top seed out of the group in next week's 'knockout' round.
McCalebb scored 12 first half points as Macedonia entered the break with a 39-31 lead over Slovenia (4-3 overall, 1-3 Group F). The Macedonia squad, which trailed briefly in the first half, never lost control of the lead in the last 20 minutes on way to the victory.
Vlado Ilievski helped the cause with 14 points for Macedonia while Houston Rockets guard Goran Dragic paced the Slovenia team with 20 points.
Other teams that have also clinched a quarterfinal spot alongside Macedonia and Russia are Greece, France and Spain. France is led by Joakim Noah, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw while Spain's roster includes the Gasol brothers, Rudy Fernandez, Ricky Rubio and Serge Ibaka.
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McCalebb Delivers with Two Seconds, Macedonia Tops Georgia
Video - Last 18 Seconds of Macedonia Win
VILNIUS, Lithuania (Sept. 8) - Former University of New Orleans and O. Perry Walker star Bo McCalebb scored 27 points including the game-winning basket with two seconds left as Macedonia opened the second round of the 2011 FIBA European Championships with a 65-63 win over Georgia on Thursday.
The win improves Macedonia's mark in the tournament to 5-1 overall and 3-0 when playing against 'Group F' competition while dropping Georgia to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in 'Group F'.
Leading by 10 entering the fourth quarter, Macedonia's lead quickly evaporated as they failed to score over a five-minute period. With Georgia within two points, McCalebb came to life with four straight points, including a fast break lay-up off a steal to turn the momentum back in his team's favor.
Georgia held around, tying the contest at 63 after Macedonia captain Pero Antic fouled out with 18 seconds remaining. McCalebb took the ball on the next possession and scored a lay-up with two seconds left to cap a 10 of 13 performance from the field.
Former Denver Nuggets first round pick Nikoloz Tskitishvili scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Georgia.
Macedonia likely needs a single win in one of their two remaining 'Group F' contests against either Slovenia on Sept. 10 or Russia on Sept. 12 to secure passage into the 'knockout' round of the continental championship. It would be the first appearance beyond group play in the country's history.
McCalebb entered the game ranked fifth in scoring for the tournament with a 20.6 point per game average behind NBA players Luol Deng (Great Britain), Tony Parker (France), Andrea Bargnanni (Italy) and Pau Gasol (Spain). The New Orleans native ranked just ahead of Dirk Nowitzki (Germany).
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Macedonia Claims Group, Prepares for Second Round
ALYTUS, Lithuania (Sept. 5) - Former University of New Orleans and O.P Walker standout Bo McCalebb scored a game-high 22 points to lead Macedonia to a 75-63 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 2011 FIBA European Championships.
Macedonia (4-1) outscored their opponents from Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-3) 18-9 in the third quarter to open up a close contest. The victors started the second half by scoring the first 13 points.
By virtue of a win over Finland on Sunday, Macedonia had already clinched passage to the second round of the continental championships which determine the initial qualifiers for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
The Macedonia side advances out of Group C alongside Greece (4-1) and Finland (2-3) to join Group D competitors Russia (5-0), Slovenia (4-1) and Georgia (2-3) in 'Group F'. The three games for Macedonia against the Group D opposition will take place beginning Sept. 8 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The other second round group includes Spain, Turkey, Lithuania, Serbia, France and Germany.
The top four teams in each of the groups will advance to the knockout round which will get underway on Sept. 15th.
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Macedonia Clinches Second Round Berth, Defeats Finland
ALYTUS, Lithuania (Sept. 4) - The Macedonia national team clinched a spot in the second round of the 2011 FIBA European Championships with a 72-70 victory over Finland on Sunday.
Former University of New Orleans and O. Perry Walker standout Bo McCalebb tallied 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals in the victory.
McCalebb's teammate Pero Antic scored 14 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, including several key boards in the final seconds of play to clinch the victory.
The qualification for the second round of the European Championships represents the second time for the nation of two million people.
Macedonia will conclude preliminary round play on Monday against Bosnia and Herzegovina at 1 p.m. CT. The contest will be televised on ESPN3 with live stats available on FIBAEurope.com. Second round play will begin Sept. 8 for Macedonia.
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Macedonia Stuns Greece Behind McCalebb
ALYTUS, Lithuana (Sept. 3, 2011) – Former University of New Orleans and O. Perry Walker Bo McCalebb scored a game-high 27 points as Macedonia stunned Greece 72-58 in preliminary play at the 2011 FIBA European Championships on Saturday.
Macedonia (2-1) improved their chances at advancing out of group play with the victory over 'Group C' favorite Greece (2-1). The top three squads from each group move on to the second round.
The Macedonians used a 22-11 fourth quarter to propel themselves ahead of the Greeks, who were led by Antonio Fostes' 16 points
The Macedonia squad has remaining contests against Finland on Sunday before concluding group play on Monday against Bosnia and Herzegovina. All games of the European Championships are available on ESPN3.
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McCalebb Scores Game-High 19 in Win over Croatia
ALYTUS, Lithuania (Sept. 1, 2011) - Former University of New Orleans and O.Perry Walker standout Bo McCalebb scored a game-high 19 points as Macedonia defeated Croatia 78-76 on Thursday in preliminary round play of the 2011 FIBA European Championships.
McCalebb added five assists for Macedonia (1-1), who scored the go-ahead basket on a Vlado Ilievski jumper with 10 seconds remaining in the game. Dontaye Draper had 13 points for Croatia (1-1).
The Macedonia squad will take Friday off before resuming play on Saturday at 10 a.m. CT against a Greece squad led by Denver Nuggets star Kostas Koufos. The Greeks are the lone 2-0 squad in Group C with four squads knotted at 1-1.
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Macedonia Falls 70-65 in Overtime to Montenegro
ALYTUS, Lithuania (Aug. 31, 2011) - Bo McCalebb scored a team-high 17 points in Macedonia's 70-65 loss to Montenegro in 2011 FIBA European Championship preliminary play on Wednesday. McCalebb added four points and four assists as the Macedonia national team (0-1) rallied from a five-point deficit with two minutes to go in regulation to force the extra period.
Montenegro (1-0) was led by Vladimir Dasic's 20 points and 16 rebounds. The victors never trailed in overtime, outscoring Macedonia 9-4 in the extra period. Next up for Macedonia is a Sept. 1 game against Croatia scheduled for a 2 p.m. Central time tip on ESPN3.
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McCalebb Leads Macedonia into FIBA European Championships
ALYTUS, Lithuania - The University of New Orleans' all-time leading scorer Bo McCalebb will play in his most important professional basketball competition to date as he joins the Macedonia national team in the 2011 FIBA European Championships.
The continental championship serves as a qualifying event for the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
The Macedonian national squad qualified for the event known as 'EuroBasket' last August just weeks after McCalebb gained dual citizenship. The appearance is the third for the country since 1999, a large accomplishment for a country of two million people that declared its independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
A standout on European basketball juggernaut Montepaschi Siena, McCalebb is no stranger to playing premiere international competition.
The former O. Perry Walker standout has competed in the last two EuroLeague Final Fours, considered most prestigious club basketball championship outside of the NBA Finals in the United States.
The road through the European Championships will be a tough one for McCalebb and Macedonia.
The team's 'Group C' includes competition from Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Finland and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Of the five opposing teams in the group, both Croatia and Greece competed in the 2010 FIBA World Championships with the Greek squad having placed in the top four in the last three European Championships.
To prepare for the tournament, the Macedonia squad has played several tune-up games. McCalebb missed the first several international “friendlies” as he completed his preparation for the tournament at Lakefront Arena alongside former teammates Kyndall Dykes and James Parlow.
When he returned, he directed Macedonia to victories over Montenegro and FIBA Oceania champion New Zealand before losing a pair of games against Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman's Germany squad. In the most recent contest against the German side on Sunday, McCalebb led all scorers with 24 points.
The all-time leading scorer in UNO and Sun Belt Conference history, McCalebb can be followed throughout the tournament in the U.S. on ESPN3.
Further updates on McCalebb and the Macedonia squad will be provided throughout the tournament on UNOPrivateers.com and on Twitter (@UNOPrivateers).
Macedonia EuroBasket Preliminary Round Schedule (all games on ESPN3.com)
Aug 31st - Montenegro 70-65 Macedonia, OT
Sept 1st - Macedonia vs. Croatia, 2 p.m. CT
Sept 3rd - Macedonia vs. Greece, 10 a.m. CT
Sept 4th - Macedonia vs. Finland, 8:30 a.m. CT
Sept 5th - Macedonia vs Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1 p.m. CT
Any additional games in the tournament outside of preliminary play involving Macedonia will also be shown on ESPN3.com.
