January 30, 2003 Lely
Saturday the ProBuild Lions are up against Lely Amsterdam in the Indoor centrum Landsmeer. Lely seemed nearly invincible early in the season with a 7-9 winning record, but then surprisingly started a losing streak of four games. Last Wednesday however the streak was snapped with a convincing 79-61 Cup Competition-win at Dressguard Binnenland. Three days later the Amsterdam team routed Leiderdorp in a stunning 85-51 win. So coach Robert Nagel and his team somehow seems to have found their confidence back. "Practices went very well too last week", Nagel commented in the Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool. "Suddenly everything seemed to fall back in place again." Last Monday Nagel was spotted in Landsmeer watching ProBuild play against Leiderdorp. The Amsterdam team will be well prepared coming Saturday.
In the mean time ProBuild's new coach Tony Vujanic is 2-2 after two important wins against Groningen and Leiderdorp. The Lions seems to be on their way back too. Offensively Vujanic got his team in gear, with Lani Lawrence, Natalie Hudec and Jolanda Jansen playing on the level they showed at the beginning of the season. And what is more important, he has gotten the Lions playing as a team again. Question is: will the Lions be ready yet to beat one of the best teams of the league? It will be an interesting test case for the semi final of the Dutch Cup Competition on 19 February, when the Lions will be matched up with....Lely Amsterdam.
January, 27 2003 ProBuild to semi-finals
Teamwork again key-factor for Probuild Lions in cupgame against Leiderdorp
Coach Vujanic was very pleased with the result after Lions won with 66-49 from Leiderdorp. Just like the game on saturday it was a teamwin. Four players had double figures and the fifth almost, what more do you want.
After a great start, 8-0, Leiderdorp came back till six points in the eighth minute, 16-10. A score plus bonus from Lani Lawrence made the difference 9 points at the end of the quarter, 19-10. At the beginning of the second quarter the teams played an equal game, scores were made back and forth. Leiderdorp came in foul trouble though. Probuild wasn't able to use that efficiently though. The usually easy scoring Zuzana Sakava wasn't sharp with her freethrows. But the strong playing Natalie Hudec and the light injured but easy scoring Jasmijn Overbeeke made sure Probuild got further away. After 8 minutes the difference was 15 points, 32-17. Leiderdorp made the damage a little less after the fourth team foul of Lions and some good substitutes of Leiderdorp. Halftime: 32-24.
Zuzana Sakova started the third quarter with a 3-pointer. Burgundie Pointer ran into a trap and made her fourth foul. A technical foul of Vujanic, for talking to the referees (What a bullshit call!!) gave Leiderdorp 2 shots plus ball possession. The almost perfect shooting Mariska van Zegveld tightens the difference with just 5 points, 37-32. Lani Lawrence made it eight again. The next minutes of this quarter it was "Leontine Doorn-time", a score and two 3-pointers brought Lions back at a 14 point lead. The end of this quarter was 50-37.
In the fourth quarter Leontine Doorn -time wasn't over yet....In the first minute she started again with a 3-pointer. Leiderdorp did what they could by scores of again Mariska van zegveld and Renske van der Voort. Burgundie Porter, the american player of Leiderdorp, did her team no good. After a great coast-to-coast from Natalie Hudec, Porter made her 5th foul out off pure frustration. Her reaction against the referees also got her a technical foul. Hudec did what she had to do and made the score 59-41. She wasn't done yet. After a score of Leiderdorp she scored twice of with one 3-pointer. After the sixth minute, Vujanic gave the bench more playingtime.
Linda Buitenweg.
January 25, 2003 Teamwork keyfactor ProBuild's victory.
What more does a new coach want: to start with a victory . The victory was an achievement of the whole team. Last week the girls trained hard on their new systems.
The ProBuild team was almost complete, Jeanine is still injured and Leontine was in a car accident before the game and because of that she wasn't able to play a lot.
Celeritudo was the leading team at the beginning of the game, after 7 minutes it was 9-2. But by bringing more rest into the game the first period ended with 18-13. In the first minutes of the second quarter ProBuild came back by a 0-8 run! After that both teams didn't score very much and that's why they went resting with 26-28 on the scoreboard.
After the break ProBuild became better and better. Slowly they took over the game. The third quarter ended in 39-48. Celeritudo tried all they could in the last quarter, but ProBuild knew what they want …win! And so they did: 51-61.
The team played very well. Jolanda and Zuzana could not be stopped, Natalie hit them with 3-pointers, but the name of the game is Lawrence, Lani Lawrence….6 blocks, 16 rebounds and 19 points, no one could stop her.
January 23, 2003 Celeritudo
MPC Celeritudo - ProBuild Lions
ProBuild Lions travels this weekend to Groningen (a 2,5 hour drive to the North). After one weekend off last week, the team didn't really have time to take a break. Tony Vujanic starts as the new head coach after the parting of Carlo Rizzone. In between Brian Benjamins (trainer and coach of the second team) took charge of the first team.
After a short introduction Vujanic had to get to work. He knows that he cannot change everything within a week, that's why there are only a few minor changes in the offence at this point.
The opponent Celeritudo is sixth in the competition, one position above Lions. Until now they won (4 out of 6) home games. On january 11th they won from BV Lely, one of the teams who will have much of a chance on winning the title. Last week though Celeritudo lost....and they lost big time: Leiderdorp beat them with 75-58. Leiderdorp, the team ProBuild is facing next Monday for the Dutch Cup Competition.
ProBuild knows what they have to do in Groningen. What exactly ?... ….. that we don't tell, but with the winning game against Utrecht in our minds a victory is a good option!
Linda Buitenweg.
January 20, 2003 Tony Vujanic new head coach ProBuild Lions.
The Probuild Management have signed Tony Vujanic (44 years) as the new trainer/coach of the women first team.
Vujanic already has a large basketball history . He played for several teams in the Promotion Division and later on he started as trainer/coach. For 2 seasons he was headcoach of the men's division 1 team in Rotterdam, Idétrading ('96-'97 and '97-'98). Both years the team reached the play-offs. In his second year at Idétrading he brought Chris McGuthrie to Rotterdam. McGuthrie is now one of the leading players of Ricoh Astronauts in Amsterdam.
The last couple of years Vujanic has worked in Germany, 3 seasons he coached Wolfenbüttel and last season he worked in Magdenburg. Both teams are playing in the second Leage of Germany.
At the end of last season Vujanic returned to the Netherlands because of personal circumstances.
January 19, 2003 National cupgame
ProBuild Lions is performing excellent in the battle for the national Cup. The team has already reached the quarter finals. In these quarter finals they will play against BV Leiderdorp. Leiderdorp is the current no.5, with 6 games won out of 11 games in the regular competition. ProBuild on the other hand is the no.7, with 5 games won out of 12 games. Interesting detail is though that ProBuild won their game against Leiderdorp in November with 76-57
The game will be played on monday January 27th in Landsmeer and starts at 8.30 pm.
January 12, 2003 Utrecht 63, ProBuild Lions 70 (OT)
The ProBuild Lions showed they still could win a close game. Zuzana Sukova had a season-high 21 points and Lani Lawrence and Jolanda Jansen both contributed 15 points. Lani Lawrence also had 12 rebounds before fouling out in the last seconds of the fourth quarter.
After Sakova scored a free throw to tie the game at 59-59 with a few seconds left in regulation, the Lions seemed energized, scoring 11 points in the extra session while holding Utrecht to just 3 points. Jolanda Jansen scored two decisive treys in overtime and closed the game with a steal and a lay-up.
An important win for the Lions, but coach Brain Benjamin was not very satisfied afterwards. 'I thought we were not executing very well in the first three quarters. We played sloppy, we had to many turnovers and did not pass the ball well. It seemed to me we were lacking discipline on the floor. Only in the fourth quarter and in overtime we showed that we know how to play.' Coach Benjamin stuck to a seven-player rotation. Jeanine Tjin-A-Sioe was injured and Jasmijn Overbeeke was not available due to illness. So Benjamin had to turn to second-team veteran player Chantall Breyaen, who did an admirable job, scoring 5 points and pulling down 9 boards.
The Lions eventually had trouble stopping Utrecht's new American players Joskeen Garner and Ekuah Ramsey, but overcame a bad first half in the third quarter, when they gained a 30-37 lead. At the end of the quarter the Lions cooled off dramatically and in the fourth period they trailed by five points (57-52) with five minutes on the clock. Somehow they were able to close the gap to one point and with a few seconds to go Zuzana Sakova was on the line and made one free throw to tie the game.
January 10, 2003 Jutrekt
Sunday ProBuild Lions pays a visit to Utrecht, to meet the team of former Lions assistant-coach Robin Hollander. Utrecht is 3-10, ProBuild 4-10 and both teams are battling for a playoff spot. Utrecht didn’t live up to the high expectations in the beginning of the season, when all the insiders predicted a top ranking. Just before Christmas the Utrecht management fired Americans Brooke Carrigan and Cynthia Camacho, who both failed to produce. Two new players were contracted. Long Beach State University’s Ekuah Ramsey averaged 19 points and 9 rebound per game in her last season. Joskeen Garner is a 6.2 forward averaging 14.5 points and 7.6 rebounds in her senior year with North Western State University. On the other hand Utrecht lost Dutch star player Petra Rutgers to Binnenland Barendrecht. Meanwhile interim-coach Brian Benjamin and his team worked hard to get into shape again and to learn some new plays. Hopefully it will work out against Utrecht. From now on every point will count in the chase for a playoff spot.
Januari 5, 2003 ProBuild Lions - Perik Jumpers
Zuzana Sakova was the only Lions player in double figures with 15 points on Saturday as the Lions dropped a 51-64 decision to the Perik Jumpers. Lani Lawrence and Jolanda Jansen both added 7 points.
Perik Jumper's Marloes Roetgerink had 14 of her 23 points in the first half as the Jumpers cruised to a 23-26 lead by halftime. In the third quarter Perik widened the gap to 37-44. In the 9th minute of the fourth quarter Zuzana Sakova buried a trey to score 51-58, but Perik answered with a decisive 8-0 burst.
Januari 2, 2003 ProBuild Lions Fire Carlo Rizzone
ProBuild Lion's President Vincent Post announced this evening that the organization has relieved Carlo Rizzone of his coaching responsibilities with the club.
"We regret that we had to make this decision" said Post. "We all have the utmost respect for Carlo Rizzone as a coach and as a person. However, we have not maximized the potential of our existing roster and a change was necessary".
After a good start, the effort has become lacklustre, and the Lions have lost ground in the chase for a playoff spot. "We just fell back in poor effort", Post said. "We figured it was better not to wait until next season to make a change."
A new head coach has not been appointed yet. Coach Brian Benjamin of the second team will take Rizzone's spot temporarily.
Januari 2, 2003 ProBuild Lions - Perik Jumpers
Saturday ProBuild Lions is facing an old foe, the Perik Jumpers from Tubbergen. (The village of Tubbergen is situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands, near the German border). Perik is the reigning Champion of the Netherlands. In the 2000-2001 season the Lions and the Jumpers fought a long and furious battle in the finals of the Play Offs, which ended in a championship for the Lions. Last season Perik Jumpers took revenge by beating ProBuild 2-1 in the second round of the Play Offs, heading straight for the championship. This season the Jumpers are doing all right too, being comfortable in second place behind Binnenland Barendrecht. And they’re expected to do even better, now their new addition arrived from the United States: Cynthia Hall from Mississippi State University. Miss Hall is a 5.6 shooting guard averaging 12.7 points in her last year with MSU. “Ruthie”, as she is nicknamed, ranked 25th in the nation in three-pointers per game.
Saturday coach Brian Benjamin will take Carlo Rizzone’s spot on ProBuild’s bench. His main task will be to avoid a four-game losing streak.
3 januari 2002 Site down
Door een technische storing is deze site de afgelopen dagen down geweest.
Due to Technical difficulties this website has been down since december 30th.
December 15, 2002 ProBuild 67, Den Helder 68
Liz Tucker made a spin move and hit a game-winning desperation jumper with two seconds left after Noordkop Den Helder came up with a clutch steal. Tucker collected fourteen points and was one of five Den Helder players in double figures. After dropping two games against Katwijk and Lieshout, the Lions were trying to avoid a three game losing streak, but did not succeed. Coach Carlo Rizzone was disappointed, but also saw some bright spots. "We were not sharp in the first minutes of the game", he said. "And maybe not in the last. But in the second and third period we went out there and dominated the game. I saw some things I have not seen for while, like a tight defense and a good ball circulation in offence. I thought we moved the ball well and created some good looks at the basket."
Zuzana Sakova was on the court despite her ankle sprain, but was limited in her moves and scored just 5 points. Natalie Hudec played a solid game, scoring 13 points and 3 threepointers. It took Lani Lawrence a while to get her game going, but she was a big factor in defense. The Lion's starting center collected 10 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Den Helder took a 0-12 lead in the first quarter before Jasmijn Overbeeke scored the first points for the Lions in the fifth minute.
In the second period ProBuild was able to cut the deficit to one point, 31-32. Jolanda Jansen scored 8 of her 14 points in the last two minutes. Natalie Hudec and Den Helder's Tirza Pentury traded threepointers just before halftime (34-35).
The Lions opened the third quarter with a 7-0 spurt to take the lead and never trailed again until the last second of the game. Jolanda Jansen, Natalie Hudec and Leontine Doorn scored consecutive threepointers to close the third period with a 52-44 lead. In the fourth quarter Lani Lawrence was fouled out with six minutes to go. By playing a full-court pressing defense Den Helder was able to close the gap to one point. In the last seconds ProBuild lost the ball and it ended up in the hands of Liz Tucker, who knew just what to do.
11 december 2002 Landsmeer
For our international readers we have asked club-member and famous photographer Cees Hartman to put together a photo-tour of Landsmeer and het Ilperveld.
December 11, 2002 Nortcop
The ProBuild Lions hope to avoid their first three-game losing streak since years on Saturday night when they host Noordkop Den Helder at the Indoor Centrum Landsmeer. The Lions have lost two games in a row and three of the last four. ProBuild is 4-9, Noordkop 6-9. The team from Den Helder (the Navy city of the Netherlands) posted a 70-63 victory on Leiderdorp last week, while ProBuild stumbled to a 65-51 setback against the Katwijk Grashoppers. Another setback was the injury of Zuzana Sakova, who suffered a sprained ankle and is 'listed day-to-day' now. X-rays revealed no fractures. Hopefully she will be back on the court Saturday despite the sprain, but probably may see less minutes. Saturday's game will be the last before the winter break. The competition continues on 4 January.
December 7, 2002 Grasshoppers 65, Lions 51
The Lions staged a great comeback, erasing a 15-point deficit, but eventually had to leave the victory to the Katwijk Grasshoppers. Worse, they lost Zuzana Sakova for at least a few weeks. At the end of the second quarter the Slowakian forward left the game with a badly sprained ankle. Jeanine Tjin-A-Sioe stayed in Landsmeer with the flu. Coach Carlo Rizzone did not look too happy after the game. "We lost the game in the first half", he said. "Our plan was to bring the ball inside from the top, taking advantage of the size of our centers. But instead we ended up shooting jumpers, just what they probably wanted us to do. And while our shots did not went in, theirs did." So that was why ProBuild trailed at halftime by 38-23. In the third quarter the Lions started a comeback, led by Jasmijn Overbeeke and Lani Lawrence. Defensively they fell back into a zone defense, holding the Grasshoppers to just nine points in the third period (37-47). An offensive rebound and a score by Jasmijn Overbeeke and a lay-up by Jolanda Jansen cut the deficit to 47-41. Natalie Hudec went coast-to-coast and made a jumper, 52-48. Next Jasmijn Overbeeke grabbed another offensive rebound and scored, closing the gap to 52-50. With two minutes on the clock it seemed the Lions were able to win the game, but from that moment on everything went wrong. Too many fouls were being made, which enabled the Grasshoppers to win the game from the free throw line. Lani Lawrence, Jolanda Jansen and Jasmijn Overbeeke fouled out, leaving just four of their teammates on the floor. A buzzerbeating threepointer by Katwijk's Tanya Bröring finished the Lions off.
December 5, 2002 Kaahtwaik
Saturday night coach Rizzone and his team will face Gibo Group Grasshoppers in Katwijk (pronounce: Kaahtwaik), a fishing town on the North Sea coast near Rotterdam. The Grasshoppers reached the first round of the Play Offs last year, but are 2-8 now. Coach Rick Driessen's team seems to be a little bit off balance, with lots of good shooting forwards and guards, but lacking a legitimate frontcourt. They can all shoot the trey, though. Once they have their shots falling, they can give their opponents a really hard time. Playing a tight defense is the key to the game. Taking advantage of the size of the ProBuild frontcourt also seems to be a good idea. Bri Fecteau from Bentley College, Ms., USA is the only international player in the Grasshopper's line up. At Bentley College she used to be teammates with Kelly Barker, who's playing for 3Es Lieshout this year. Game starts at 7.30 pm CET in Katwijk.
December 1, 2002 ProBuild Lions routs the Black Eagles, 116-38
Natalie Hudec and Zuzana Sakova both had 24 points as the ProBuild Lions rolled to a 116-38 victory over the Rosmalen Black Eagles. Jasmijn Overbeeke scored 21 points, Jolanda Jansen chipped in with 19 and Lani Lawrence had 12. The Lions advanced to the next round of the Dutch Cup Competition. "I was happy to see we played well", coach Carlo Rizzone said. "Of course we had to, playing a minor league team which did not had a win yet this season. But it's always hard to keep up the concentration in games like this. I was glad to see Natalie hitting the basket again and I thought Jasmijn played a great fourth quarter." At halftime the Lions led with 57-18. Jasmijn Overbeeke scored ten consecutive points in the fourth quarter to finish the period with 17. Jeanine Tjin-A-Sioe closed the game with a buzzerbeating trey.
The ProBuild Lions showed they still could win a close game. Zuzana Sukova had a season-high 21 points and Lani Lawrence and Jolanda Jansen both contributed 15 points. Lani Lawrence also had 12 rebounds before fouling out in the last seconds of the fourth quarter.
After Sakova scored a free throw to tie the game at 59-59 with a few seconds left in regulation, the Lions seemed energized, scoring 11 points in the extra session while holding Utrecht to just 3 points. Jolanda Jansen scored two decisive treys in overtime and closed the game with a steal and a lay-up.
An important win for the Lions, but coach Brain Benjamin was not very satisfied afterwards. 'I thought we were not executing very well in the first three quarters. We played sloppy, we had to many turnovers and did not pass the ball well. It seemed to me we were lacking discipline on the floor. Only in the fourth quarter and in overtime we showed that we know how to play.' Coach Benjamin stuck to a seven-player rotation. Jeanine Tjin-A-Sioe was injured and Jasmijn Overbeeke was not available due to illness. So Benjamin had to turn to second-team veteran player Chantall Breyaen, who did an admirable job, scoring 5 points and pulling down 9 boards.
The Lions eventually had trouble stopping Utrecht's new American players Joskeen Garner and Ekuah Ramsey, but overcame a bad first half in the third quarter, when they gained a 30-37 lead. At the end of the quarter the Lions cooled off dramatically and in the fourth period they trailed by five points (57-52) with five minutes on the clock. Somehow they were able to close the gap to one point and with a few seconds to go Zuzana Sakova was on the line and made one free throw to tie the game.
ProBuild Lions - Perik Jumpers
Liz Tucker made a spin move and hit a game-winning desperation jumper with two seconds left after Noordkop Den Helder came up with a clutch steal. Tucker collected fourteen points and was one of five Den Helder players in double figures. After dropping two games against Katwijk and Lieshout, the Lions were trying to avoid a three game losing streak, but did not succeed. Coach Carlo Rizzone was disappointed, but also saw some bright spots. "We were not sharp in the first minutes of the game", he said. "And maybe not in the last. But in the second and third period we went out there and dominated the game. I saw some things I have not seen for while, like a tight defense and a good ball circulation in offence. I thought we moved the ball well and created some good looks at the basket."
Zuzana Sakova was on the court despite her ankle sprain, but was limited in her moves and scored just 5 points. Natalie Hudec played a solid game, scoring 13 points and 3 threepointers. It took Lani Lawrence a while to get her game going, but she was a big factor in defense. The Lion's starting center collected 10 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Den Helder took a 0-12 lead in the first quarter before Jasmijn Overbeeke scored the first points for the Lions in the fifth minute.
In the second period ProBuild was able to cut the deficit to one point, 31-32. Jolanda Jansen scored 8 of her 14 points in the last two minutes. Natalie Hudec and Den Helder's Tirza Pentury traded threepointers just before halftime (34-35).
The Lions opened the third quarter with a 7-0 spurt to take the lead and never trailed again until the last second of the game. Jolanda Jansen, Natalie Hudec and Leontine Doorn scored consecutive threepointers to close the third period with a 52-44 lead. In the fourth quarter Lani Lawrence was fouled out with six minutes to go. By playing a full-court pressing defense Den Helder was able to close the gap to one point. In the last seconds ProBuild lost the ball and it ended up in the hands of Liz Tucker, who knew just what to do.
The Lions staged a great comeback, erasing a 15-point deficit, but eventually had to leave the victory to the Katwijk Grasshoppers. Worse, they lost Zuzana Sakova for at least a few weeks. At the end of the second quarter the Slowakian forward left the game with a badly sprained ankle. Jeanine Tjin-A-Sioe stayed in Landsmeer with the flu. Coach Carlo Rizzone did not look too happy after the game. "We lost the game in the first half", he said. "Our plan was to bring the ball inside from the top, taking advantage of the size of our centers. But instead we ended up shooting jumpers, just what they probably wanted us to do. And while our shots did not went in, theirs did." So that was why ProBuild trailed at halftime by 38-23. In the third quarter the Lions started a comeback, led by Jasmijn Overbeeke and Lani Lawrence. Defensively they fell back into a zone defense, holding the Grasshoppers to just nine points in the third period (37-47). An offensive rebound and a score by Jasmijn Overbeeke and a lay-up by Jolanda Jansen cut the deficit to 47-41. Natalie Hudec went coast-to-coast and made a jumper, 52-48. Next Jasmijn Overbeeke grabbed another offensive rebound and scored, closing the gap to 52-50. With two minutes on the clock it seemed the Lions were able to win the game, but from that moment on everything went wrong. Too many fouls were being made, which enabled the Grasshoppers to win the game from the free throw line. Lani Lawrence, Jolanda Jansen and Jasmijn Overbeeke fouled out, leaving just four of their teammates on the floor. A buzzerbeating threepointer by Katwijk's Tanya Bröring finished the Lions off.
ProBuild Lions routs the Black Eagles, 116-38