Benjamin Eze 10
Rumor du jour: Mirza Begic to Real Madrid nearly a done deal
Media in Lithuania and Turkey are reporting this morning that, having departed Žalgiris Kaunas, will be signing with Real Madrid any minute now… Lithuanina-language Krepsinis.net claims that although Begic also received a generous offer from none other than Beşiktaş Cola Turka, his signing with Real is essentially a done deal. Krepsinis goes on to speculate […]
Euroleague week three talking points (part I)
Seven Euroleague games go off tonight as the season rounds into form a bit. The marquee match tonight has got to be the Khimki-Baskonia showdown to establish early supremacy in that tough Group A; Olympiacos-Unicaja will surely be worth the viewing as well, although the way the Reds have dominated on their home floor lately […]
The Frank Euroleague Roundup: Top 16, week three
With a scene-shifting week three of Euroleague Top 16 play in the books, BallinEurope’s Francesco Cappelletti defines his surprise, from Montepaschi’s masterful play to Sasha Kaun’s success to the curse of a Panathinaikos title defense, and more. Read on! Pianigiani’s lesson to Messina “I think it was a masterpiece from my players. One of the […]
My chat with Francesco (or, WTF is up with Montepaschi Siena?)
Whilst watching the Efes Pilsen-Montepaschi Siena game with horror fascination last night – probably somewhere around the Ferdinando Minucci ejection – BiE couldn’t help but wonder what Francesco Cappelletti, this website’s man in Italy, thought of it all. Seriously. Montepaschi came into the game having looked strong in Euroleague competition this season thus far; with […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16, week one
Which team has already clinched a Euroleague Final Four spot? Who’s most to blame for Panathinaikos’ loss? What did Ergin Ataman do wrong? And why did Aito Garcia Reneses pull Cesar Augusto Lima with seven minutes to play? These questions are answered – OK, not that last one: That one’s a real riddle for the […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup, week five
Once again, BallinEurope.com contributor Francesco Cappelletti weighs in on all the happenings in Europe’s top basketball league in week five of play in ruminating on just how good FC Barcelona is; on CSKA Moscow’s resurrection due to coach Pashutin and possibly the “heart of a champion”; and on a flashback to one year ago. The […]
Euroleague team preview: Montepaschi Siena
Can Montepaschi still improve? That’s the question many fans and even Euroleague 2007-2008 Executive of the Year winner Ferdinando Minucci put to the team. It’s easy to talk about windows of opportunity, but never has it been so appropriate, as Montepaschi looks at perhaps its final opportunity to get to the top of Euroleague. In […]
Just how good is Montepaschi Siena, anyway?
Poring over some Sporting Bet odds and lines on Lega Uno basketball reveals a stunning amount of continued domination from Montepaschi Siena. Not only is Ferdinando Minucci’s team a 4/15 favorite to take the Italian title, they’re also an incredible 3/10 favorite to once again (again!) go undefeated at home. So the question to our […]
Yarone's Playoff joints (Round 1)
After a long rest due to Interpol checking into the legality of the Joints published on BIE, the most tiring piece of text on this blog is back, and no better timing than the quarterfinals. With all due respect to the handball match that went on in Moscow, the Game 1 joints will focus on […]
Good night to Montepaschi's title chances?
Montepaschi Siena’s chances of winning the Euroleague title took a huge blow on Wednesday when it was announced that power forward Ksistof Lavrinovic had broken his left hand and will miss at least a month of action. The Italian club said in a statement that the Lithuanian big man had undergone successful surgery Wednesday morning […]