Bennet Cantù 26
11-for-11: BallinEurope’s Most 11 popular stories from 2011
So 2011 may have been few people’s favorite year personally, European basketball fans have certainly got to be taking solace in the fact that the past 12 months featured a seriously great run of Continental-flavored hoops. To wit, in 2011, we enjoyed: • an exciting round of Euroleague playoffs which included FC Barcelona’s surprising tournament-round […]
Euroleague Top 16 Draw: Final results, early reactions
Get ready for phase two of the 2011-12 Euroleague season, as today league officials will be determining the groupings for the Top 16 round. BallinEurope will be watching the live stream over at Euroleague.tv, though quite a few nations — Spain, Greece, and Israel among them — have local sports stations shows the draw as […]
Euroleague Top 16: Sorting out the advancement scenarios (plus Official Fearless Predictions™)
It’s one Euroleague game remaining in 2011 for each of the regular-season entrants, and with only four teams mathematically eliminated – Asseco Prokom, SLUC Nancy, Spirou Charleroi, Union Olimpija – a great many of the 16 matches on tonight and tomorrow night’s slate remain significant. BallinEurope takes a look at the opportunities for advancement into […]
On the road, where clutch happens: Top three Euroleague buzzer-beaters
Here on the Continent, we realize what NBA fanatics have been missing as they twiddled thumbs waiting for cessation to the player lockout – and continue to twiddle as they await Christmas opening day. BallinEurope’s Enrico Cellini, however, knows better; below, he lists his top three buzzer-beaters thus far into the 2011-12 Euroleague – where […]
Euroleague week four bullets: Aldemir debuts nicely, true Bogdanovic emerges
Five Euroleague games were played last night and things were interestingly shaken up a bit when the final buzzers sounded. Tonight’s slate looks even nicer, with Montepaschi Siena vs. FC Barcelona and possible instant classic Panathinaikos vs. CSKA Moscow. To get you up to date and ready – plus possibly take up a minutes of […]
One of us: Benetton Treviso fans loving Brian Scalabrine’s success
Whether you know him as Scal, Mr. Hustle or the White Mamba, Benetton Treviso fans recognize new signee Brian Scalabrine as “one of us” – and with good reason. The former Boston Celtic is enjoying a banner year with the Eurocup side and has established himself as a bona fide team leader in Serie A […]
Euroleague Power Rankings: November edition
With two Euroleague games in the books for each team and something of an overall picture developing, BallinEurope unleashes the November edition of its ever-“popular” power rankings for the two dozen squads. For reference, edification and jollies, the preseason edition of the ‘rankings may be seen here. Once again, advisories in effect: These ratings are […]
Super-brief Fearless Predictions™ for tonight’s Euroleague games
Sure, BallinEurope should quit while ahead, having nailed the outcome of the opening-day CSKA Moscow-Žalgiris Kaunas game exactly, but hey: Brains are overrated. With a bit of time left before the 6pm CET (noon EST) tipoff of Montepaschi Siena at Unics Kazan, BiE offers the following Official Fearless Predictions™: Siena wins away by five; Fenerbahçe […]
Euroleague 2011-12: BallinEurope Official Fearless Predictions™ – in haiku form!
Right, then: It’s finally time. The top professional basketball league in the world (Now that bears some thinking about now, dunnit?) tips off its 2011-12 regular season tonight as Žalgiris Kaunas hosts AK47-armed, Teodosic-toting CSKA Moscow. Almost as anticipated as the actual Euroleague opening game is of course another round of BallinEurope’s Official Fearless Predictions™ […]
Euroleague Power Rankings: First of the Season edition
Right, then. With the last teams advancing into the Euroleague two dozen for the regular season and a break in the Kobe-to-Bologna soap opera today, BallinEurope breaks out an old favorite: power rankings! Once again, the BallinEurope Euroleague Power Rankings are based on current trends, i.e. who’s hot, who’s not. For this edition of the […]
FC Barcelona, Montepaschi Siena take national cups
A pair of unsurprising results came in last night, with Euroleague superpowers FC Barcelona and Montepaschi Siena taking national cups. In the Liga Endesa Supercopa, Barcelona handled Caja Laboral Baskonia, 82-73, for its third consecutive title and its seventh in the past eight years. Stop BiE if you’ve heard this before, but Juan Carlos Navarro […]
Basketball weekend: Tournaments in Germany, (probably) Italy ending; Eurobasket Women starting
The 2010-11 professional basketball season may effectively be over this weekend, with a final championship series game scheduled in Germany tonight plus a possible elimination game in Italy happening on Sunday. But no worries: the end of club play means the beginning of summertime national-team tournaments, starting with the 2011 FIBA Eurobasket Women competition. In […]