The playoff picture in the Swedish Basketball League is just about set as five teams battle for four spots in the second season with American players figuring prominently throughout the league. Forward Aaron Anderson and guards Skyler Bowin and Cris Czerapowic have powered three-time defending champion Södertälje to a 20-2 record. Three Americans are among the 40 U.S. players currently active in the top division of Swedish basketball.
Södertälje extended its season-long winning streak to 10 on February 7 with an 86-72 win over fourth-place Sundsvall. Croatian forward Toni Bizaca led all scorers with 26 points for the Kings. Bowin, who is the Kings’ point guard, had 20 points and eight assists while Czerapowic had 18 points and five rebounds. Anderson also pulled down five boards and sank one bucket. The win gave the Kings a three-game cushion over second-place Norrköping, which fell to 18-5 after LF Basket pounded the Dolphins 93-62 on February 9.

Other U.S. imports
Jaraun Burrows, a Bahamian-born product of Indiana University Ft. Wayne, fired in 28 points for Luleå to lead all scorers while Temple graduate Alex Wesby had 14. Johnell Smith, the elder statesman among U.S. players in Sweden, had 14 points for the Dolphins. Smith went to Sweden after he graduated from the University of New Orleans in 2002. Josh Hairston, a 2014 product of Duke University, had eight points for Norrköping.
Norrköping, LF and Borås are locked in a three-way battle for the final two spots in the playoffs. Luleå and the Dolphins each have 15-9 records while Borås is 13-9 with two games in hand. Borås is coming off a 97-65 shellacking of Malbas Malmö. Borås point guard Omar Krayem, a Cal Baptist product, had a triple-double for the winners, scoring 18 points, pulling down 11 rebounds and dishing 11 assists. Krayem also had seven steals. Former Pacific University star Michael Palm also had 18 points for Borås while Ronald Boggs had 14. Kristoffer Gafor led Malbas with 20 points.