Monday, July 24, 2006

Samuel Haanpaa (Finland/Cornerstone Christian, Texas) scored 28 points and pulled down seven rebounds Sunday in Lisbon, Portugal, leading Finland to a 91-75 win over Poland and a third place finish at the U20 European Championships.

The 6'8" guard, who will begin his Crusader career this winter, led the Finns in scoring during the 10-day tournament, averaging 17.3 points per game including four 20-plus point efforts. His scoring average ranked 12th among all players in the tournament's B Division. Haanpaa also knocked in 29-of-79 (36.7%) three-point attempts over eight games, second among all players in makes, and averaged 4.8 rebounds per contest.

The Finns finished the tournament 7-1, losing only to eventual champion Georgia in the semi-final round.

Fellow incoming freshman Paul Guede (London, England/Grace Christian School, N.C.) also closed out his run at the U20 European Championships Sunday, scoring nine points in Great Britain's 83-70 loss to the Slovak Republic.

Guede led Great Britain (1-7, 14th place) in scoring at 15.0 points per game during the tournament, finishing 18th in scoring in the B Division. Guede, whose tournament including a 27-point game and a double-double, finished second on Great Britain with a 4.8 rebound per game average.