NBA Commissioner Adam Silver reaffirmed Thursday that the league, in partnership with FIBA, is pressing forward on plans to bring a new league to Europe but stopped short of making any formal announcements regarding timelines or which teams may be committed to coming aboard.

Silver spoke before the Memphis-Orlando game in Berlin, the first of two NBA Europe Games on this trip; the Grizzlies and Magic play again in London on Sunday. And to Silver, even discussing the notion of the long-planned new league in Germany made a lot of sense — given that nation currently holding the World Cup and EuroBasket titles.

“We’re the fastest-growing sport right now in this country,” Silver said. “There’s, in essence, a golden era, I would say, of the sport. … The 1936 Olympics here in Berlin, that’s when basketball was first introduced into the Olympic movement. In fact, James Naismith came here to Berlin for those games and purportedly tossed up the ball for the opening tip of the Games. So, there is that long history here.”

NCAA players, gamblers charged

PHILADELPHIA — An investigation into a sprawling betting scheme to rig NCAA and Chinese Basketball Association games has ensnared 26 people, including more than a dozen college basketball players who tried to fix games as recently as last season, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

The scheme generally revolved around gamblers who placed bets and recruited players with the promise of a big payment in exchange for purposefully underperforming during a game, prosecutors said. Those fixers would then bet against the players’ teams in those games, defrauding sportsbooks and other bettors, authorities said.

Calling it an “international criminal conspiracy,” U.S. Attorney David Metcalf told reporters in Philadelphia that this case represents a “significant corruption of the integrity of sports.” The indictment suggests many others, including unnamed players, had a role in the scheme but weren’t charged, and Metcalf said the investigation was continuing.

The indictment is the latest gambling scandal to hit the sports world since a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision unleashed a meteoric rise in legal sports betting.

It follows a federal takedown of illegal gambling operations linked to professional basketball, NCAA lifetime bans on at least 10 basketball players for betting and two Major League baseball players facing federal charges that they took bribes to help gamblers.

The varying charges against the 26 defendants, filed in federal court in Philadelphia, include bribery, wire fraud and conspiracy. Five of the defendants were described as fixers; three with connections to players through coaching and training and two described as gamblers and sports handicappers.

Red Flash lose by two points

NORTH EASTON, Mass. — Despite cutting a double-digit margin to one point with 92 seconds left, Saint Francis fell, 59-57, to Stonehill in NEC women’s basketball action on Thursday at Merkert Gymnasium.

Gemma Walker paced the Red Flash with 17 points, including the 3-pointer that cut the margin to one point in the final two minutes. Shelby Ricks added a double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Walker had a good look from the top of the key in the final seconds, but her shot did not fall.

Saint Francis returns to action on Saturday at CCSU. Game time is 1 p.m.

SAINT FRANCIS (1-15): Walker 7-12 0-0 17, Ricks 5-14 0-0 10, Sato 2-5 1-1 5, Ward 2-6 0-0 4, Thornhill 2-5 0-0 4, James 4-9 0-0 8, Short 1-3 0-0 3, Hawthorne 0-6 2-2 2, Minnis 1-4 0-0 2, Eke 0-1 2-2 2, Assefa 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-66 5-5 57.

STONEHILL (6-10): Paquette 4-14 6-6 17, Webster 7-15 0-0 15, Delaney 5-8 0-0 10, Pelletier 2-9 1-2 5, Arca 0-1 0-0 0, Dowdy 4-7 1-2 9, Elkis 1-2 0-0 2, Dadson 0-4 1-2 1, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Mallory 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 23-62 9-12 59.

Saint Francis 21 8 16 12 — 57

Stonehill 13 22 19 5 — 59

3-Point Goals–Saint Francis 4-20 (Walker 3-7, Short 1-3, Ricks 0-1, Sato 0-1, Thornhill 0-1, James 0-2, Minnis 0-2, Hawthorne 0-3), Stonehill 4-13 (Paquette 3-9, Webster 1-1, Delaney 0-1, Pelletier 0-1, Elkis 0-1). Rebounds–Saint Francis 43 (Ricks 10), Stonehill 38 (Pelletier 10). Assists–Saint Francis 11 (Ward 3, Hawthorne 3), Stonehill 16 (Paquette 6). Total Fouls–Saint Francis 15, Stonehill 9. A–101.

From Mirror, wire reports