Montepaschi and Lottomatica sign American guards

Drake Diener

12-02-2008 15:26

Both Italian teams that made it to the Top 16 in the Euroleague have been active on the transfer market in the last few days before it all gets underway.

Italian champion Montepaschi Siena has confirmed the addition of guard Drake Diener, who arrives from Pierrel Capo d'Orlando. Diener (26, 196) arrives after lengthy negotiations between the two teams, which began in December after Rimantas Kaukenas was injured. He has recently recovered from an injury to the quadriceps muscle in his left leg and is not expected to make his Euroleague debut for at least another week. This season is Diener’s second in Italy, following a successful four-year college basketball career at DePaul University. Last season he made his European debut in the Italian second division with Ignis Castelletto Ticino, averaging 17 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game. He was averaging 18.2 points per game this season for Capo d’Orlando.

Lottomatica Roma announced Monday the addition of guard Ibrahim Jaaber for the remainder of the season. Jaaber (23, 188) arrives from Greek side Egaleo, where he was that league’s leading scorer this season. He passed his physical on Monday morning, finalizing the move. Jaaber takes over the roster spot for Jacopo Giachetti, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last month. Jaaber is in his first as a professional, after four successful seasons of college basketball at the University of Pennsylvania. He was averaging 22.4 points in 15 games for Egaleo. He also led the star laden Greek League with 2.8 steals per game and his 4.2 assists per game were second in the league. Jaaber's Euroleague debut could come on Wednesday when Roma faces CSKA Moscow in the Russian capital.