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Perennial ULEB Cup power Unics Kazan will have a new head coach on its bench as it tries to bounce back from a poor start to the regular season with the announcement over the weekend that Aco Petrovic has taken over for Antanas Sireika. Petrovic brings with him previous ULEB Cup experience, having led FMP to the quarterfinals in 2004. The coach was also the assistant coach for the Serbian national team in 2002, which won the gold medal at the World Championships in Indianapolis, USA. Petrovic’s coaching resume also includes head coaching positions with Hemofarm Vrsac in his native Serbia and Russian club Lokomotiv Rostov, where he spent the past two-and-a-half seasons. Sireika will remain with the club in an advisory role. Coincidentally, Petrovic will make his debut with the club against his namesake, Zadar head coach Aleksandar Petrovic, in Croatia on Tuesday.

Group F co-leader Dynamo Moscow has made a move to strengthen its frontcourt with the signing of promising forward Yaroslav Korolev, who arrives from the Los Angeles Clippers. Korolev (20, 206) left for America after a promising junior career at CSKA Moscow under Sergei Bazarevich, who is now an assistant coach at Dynamo. He led the CSKA team to the title at the 2005 international junior tournament at the Euroleague Final Four in Moscow, averaging 17.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists in four games. Korolev was then drafted with the 12th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft by the Clippers, where he spent two seasons, but was only involved in 34 games. Now he returns to his homeland looking to regain the form that once made him one of the top prospects in the continent, while helping Dynamo make a run at the ULEB Cup.

Panellinios, which has lost four consecutive games in the Greek League and the ULEB Cup combined, fired head coach Giorgos Kalafatakis on Sunday. The decision was taken after the surprising home loss to AEL on Saturday. Assistant coach John Korfas also left the team, which is now searching for a new head coach. The team’s second assistant coach, Vangelis Mageiras, will take over the role on the Panellinios bench for Tuesday’s ULEB Cup game against versus Telindus Oostende, but will do so on an interim basis.

Already tied for first place in its ULEB Cup group, Galatasaray Cafe Crown has shown that it's not done yet by bringing in Turkish national team forward Cenk Akyol on loan for the remainder of the season. Akyol (20, 200) arrives from Efes Pilsen, where he has spent his entire career thus far. He left Efes earlier this season by mutual consent as he was disappointed in his lack of playing time. Akyol has represented Turkey at the 2005 and 2007 European Championships and at the 2006 World Championships in Japan, where the team took sixth place.



After signing the deal, Akyol said: "I will try to do everything I can for my new team for success both in the ULEB Cup and Turkish League. Galatasaray is a great club with great tradition and it's a big honor for me to be here."

Beghelli Bologna on Friday announced the addition of veteran forward Iker Iturbe for the second half of the ULEB Cup regular season. Iturbe (1.99, 31) was without a team so far this season after having spent the last nine in the capital of his native Spain, from 1999 to 2002 with Real Madrid, and from 2002 to 2007 with Estudiantes. His last ULEB Cup season was 2005-06, when Iturbe averaged 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists in eight games with Estudiantes. He ranked third in three-point accuracy (20 for 39, 50.1%) in that regular season.

[quote name='"Arkadios":d7429']



Perennial ULEB Cup power Unics Kazan will have a new head coach on its bench as it tries to bounce back from a poor start to the regular season with the announcement over the weekend that Aco Petrovic has taken over for Antanas Sireika. Petrovic brings with him previous ULEB Cup experience, having led FMP to the quarterfinals in 2004. The coach was also the assistant coach for the Serbian national team in 2002, which won the gold medal at the World Championships in Indianapolis, USA. Petrovic’s coaching resume also includes head coaching positions with Hemofarm Vrsac in his native Serbia and Russian club Lokomotiv Rostov, where he spent the past two-and-a-half seasons. Sireika will remain with the club in an advisory role. Coincidentally, Petrovic will make his debut with the club against his namesake, Zadar head coach Aleksandar Petrovic, in Croatia on Tuesday.[/quote]

Two Lithuanian coaches fired from foreign clubs in recent time (Brazys from Azovmash and now Sireika). Sireika himself admitted that summer signings were not as good as expected. Darjuš Lavrinovi? got injured and that added one more problem to the team. Unics GM said that there was no defense in the game. That can be said about last 2 teams that Sireika coached before quitting or being fired (Žalgiris and Lithuania NT). I wish him all the best. I hope he'll find a new club and won't stay as an advisor at Unics for too long. We also have a new coach at EL team - Tomas Pa??sas is now a head coach of Prokom Trefl.