SAPPORO, Japan, Aug 21 - Russian mafia agents and sudden cases of spontaneous combustion are not what you expect to encounter on the road to the world basketball championship.

But several of the players currently competing at the tournament in Japan have done well to recover from some sticky situations, if the official media guide is anything to go by.

Nigeria centre Olumide Oyedeji endured "a tough year in Moscow at 16 where he was kind of (sic) kidnapped by agents close to the Russian mafia", according to basketball's world governing body FIBA.

It may have been no slam dunk but Oyedeji has had nine years to recover from the trauma at least.

Serbia & Montenegro guard Marko Marinovic apparently "exploded in 2004-05" but his rise was "abruptly halted by a serious hip injury."

The media guide does not elaborate as to whether Marinovic's hip injury was caused by his explosion.

It does, however, go the extra yard to 'big up' players who are not necessarily household names in Japan -- or even their own households.

BOLD CLAIM

FIBA's profile writers make the bold claim that Turkey guard Ender Arslan "changes directions so easily that his crossover can make a brick wall fall flat on its back."

United States guard Dwyane Wade, meanwhile, can apparently "change gears while driving", although the NBA star has no need to in Japan as the U.S. team is chauffeured around in a luxury bus.

The FIBA guide is also gentle on players who have served suspensions for taking banned substances.

Nigeria centre Julluo Nwosu, for example, was banned in 1998 "due to bad medication bought at a market in Lagos".

There are compliments aplenty for the players, although Serbia centre Kosta Perovic could bristle at being called "a giant with soft hands".

However, FIBA can hardly be accused of being unbalanced, criticising U.S. forward LeBron James for making little impact at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"James was a caricature of himself," the media guide says cryptically. "Running and banging without much anticipation."