By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The next challenge resurfaces Toney Douglas in the Basketball Champions League Qualifiers.
Douglas, 36, was officially signed by Benfica and is expected to be a key player in the Qualifying Group in Lisbon in late September. In a similar bid, he joined Sakarya but the Turkish side was eliminated in the 2018 Qualifiers by Fribourg Olympic. The former NBA and Turkish Airlines EuroLeague player hopes to get it done in the Champions League.
“I want to play in the Basketball Champions League and go far in the competition. I want to win domestic competitions, the league and cup, everything. I always set high standards,” he commented on penning a two-year contract to join Benfica. The champions of Portugal also retained both Cape Verdean swingman Ivan Almeida and Tunisian center Makrem Ben Romdhane, so far in the offseason.
Spanish shooting guard Marc Garcia inked a deal with fellow Qualifiers outfit Rio Breogan. The team coached by Veljko Mrsic has confirmed Victor Arteaga, Scott Bamforth, Luka Brajkovic, Sergi Garcia, Ethan Happ, Justus Hollatz, Marko Lukovic, Stefan Momirov, Toni Nakic, Nemanja Nenadic, Erik Quintela, and Sergi Quintela on the squad.
Bosnian champion Igokea m:tel signed 25-year-old American point guard Bryant Crawford. Getting ready with a direct ticket to the Regular Season of the Champions League, Haris Delalic, Kendrick Ray, and Dusan Tanaskovic were the previous additions, while Stefan Djordjevic, Kosta Kondic, James Robinson, Deshawn Stephens, and Nikola Tanaskovic were retained.
PAOK mateco penned Tyler Polley to a one-year contract. The rookie coming out of Connecticut followed in the footsteps of Vassilis Christidis, Zaccheus Darko-Kelly, Yannick Franke, Jaylen Hands, Vangelis Margaritis, Jalen Riley, Diamantis Slaftsakis, and Nikos Tsiakmas. And Nate Renfro is coming back with a new contract.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL