Tau Ceramica and Asvel Basket both fortified rosters today in officially announcing new signings. Guard Pau Ribas jumps to Tau from DKV Joventut, while Kristjan Kangur moves from his native Estonia to Asvel. Perhaps the biggest score of the day (thus far), however, was Asvel’s inking of French homegrown talent Thomas Heurtel.
(Euroleague.net) – Tau Ceramica improved its roster for the upcoming season by inking combo guard Pau Ribas to a four-year deal. Ribas (193 cm, 22 years old) arrives from DKV Joventut, where he averaged 7 points and 2.3 assists in 10 Euroleague games last season. In his four seasons with Joventut – two of them also playing for CB Prat – Ribas helped Joventut win the FIBA EuroCup title in 2006; Joventut would take the ULEB Cup and the Spanish King’s Cup trophies in 2008. Ribas has been a member of the Spanish under-18 and under-20 national teams. He helped Spain win the silver medal at the 2007 European under-20 Championships in Nova Gorica, Slovenia, where he averaged 14.4 points and 3.5 assists in eight games. Ribas had a Euroleague-career high 12 points against Tau Ceramica last season.
Asvel Basket added depth to its roster as it readies for a return to the Euroleague by bringing in forward Kristjan Kangur and young guard Thomas Heurtel. Kangur (202, 26) arrives from BC Kalev/Cramo, whom he led to the Estonian League title last season, earning finals MVP honors along the way. Kangur averaged 11.8 points and 4.5 rebounds over the course of the Estonian League season and 11.8 points and 5.9 rebounds in the Baltic League. He faced Asvel twice with BC Kalev/Cramo in the 2007-08 ULEB Cup and averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in those games. Asvel will mark the second time he plays outside his native Estonia after spending two years with Bayer Giants Leverkusen in Germany.
Heurtel (188, 20), considered one of the top young players in France, agreed to terms on a four-year deal. He will officially sign the contract when he returns from the European Under-20 Championships in Rhodes, where he is representing the French national team. Heurtel comes from Pau-Orthez, where he averaged 10 points and 6.2 assists per game in the French League last year, his first season as a full-time player. At the end of the season, he was awarded the Meilleur Espoir Pro A 2009 trophy as the best prospect in the French League.
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