Cibona Zagreb 100
Euroleague announces seedings for 2010-11 draw
In advance of the draws on Thursday, Euroleague basketball have announced the seeds of the 22 Euroleague teams that will be divvied into four divisions in the 2010-11 season, as well as the 16 teams competing for the remaining two EL spots in the Euroleague Qualifying Rounds. This seedings do not of course determine the […]
Vrankovic names preliminary Team Croatia roster; includes 11 Euroleaguers, just six from Eurobasket
How do you say, “Let’s clean house!” in Croatian? Because that’s the phrase Team Croatia coach Josip Vrankovic was certainly employing when he assembled his 17-man preliminary FIBA World Championship. After the disappointing finish by the Croats in the 2009 Eurobasket competition, then-head coach Jasmin Repesa hastily resigned and thereafter replaced by Vrankovic; now Vrankovic […]
Devotion down 3.5 percent: Final 2009-10 Euroleague attendance figures
During the 2009-10 Euroleague season, one of the most watched statistics was totally off-court; with financial stress pervasive throughout The Continent, most European basketball franchises prepared for the worst and tightened belts in expectation of lower turnouts. And once all was said and done, the results were … mixed. With last season’s biggest draw Alba […]
From A.I. to Zalgiris: The top stories in 2009-10 European basketball
As BallinEurope closes the book on the 2009-10 basketball season, it’s time to take stock of the year that was with the clarity of history. Without further ado, let’s retrospect on the top 10 Eurocentric basketball stories of the season.
Gershon out in Tel Aviv, Sakalauskas in in Kaunas
A couple of news bites this morning on some high-profile coach firings and hirings in European basketball. In Tel Aviv, Pini Gershon is out as head coach and heavy rumor-mongering has Maccabi picking up current Team Russia/former Aris Thessaloniki head coach David Blatt as a replacement. After two telephone meetings with club management, Maccabi officials […]
Partizan Belgrade takes Adriatic League in thriller
Partizan Belgrade completed the four-peat this weekend, with the team taking its fourth consecutive BBL title in extraordinary fashion. Dusan Kecman is today the toast of Belgrade (and owes Dame Fortuna quite a big favor) after sinking a three-pointer from beyond halfcourt to win over Cibona Zagreb, 75-74. (It just isn’t Cibona’s year, is it?) […]
Lalić signs with Olimpija: Is there hope?
Ball in Europe doesn’t know if the smoke is clearing for beleaguered Union Olimpija, but at least yesterday’s announcement of the Jure Lalić signing provides some seed for optimism. The 24-year-old Croatian had been playing for EuroCup team Spirou Charleroi. Much more than a single youth player, proverbial tremendous upside or no, will be required […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16 finales
Better late than never (totally BiE’s fault, let me tell you) comes Ball in Europe’s dispatch from Francesco Cappelletti rounding up the week that was in Euroleague basketball. For your amusement and edification, Francesco discusses, among other topics, the Terrell McIntyre Backup Curse, which teams should sweep into the Final Four, why Maccabi Tel Aviv […]
SportingBet lines and odds for final Euroleague Top 16 games (advertorial)
Nice of the Euroleague to stack up nearly every game in the last round of the Top 16 on one night, eh? Sheesh, this is worse (or better, depending on viewpoint) than the weekend following the All-Star Game in the NBA. Of the seven games on the slate, six will still help shape the final […]
Euroleague Top 10 plays of the week (Plus bonus Sofoklis clip!)
Just in case you missed it, below the break runs Euroleague’s official Top Ten Plays of the Week video clip. This week’s three minutes of fun features Jamont Gordon totally giving up the body, an emphatic rejection from D’Or Fischer, Juan Carlos Navarro looking a little like Steve Nash without the pass, Bo McCalebb going […]
Fantasy tips from the Euroleague Boss: Top 16, week five
Hello everybody, this is once again Javier Gancedo of Euroleague.net, ready for yet another SportingBet Euroleague Fantasy Challenge week. There are two more weeks in the Top 16. The good news is that it is being extraordinary. Nobody would have predicted that no teams would be 100% qualified after four weeks and that the only […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16, week four
The critical week four of Euroleague Top 16 action is in the books, but Ball in Europe’s man in Italy, Francesco Cappelletti, is still musing on the shifts ‘n’ events thanks to these eight games. This week’s frank roundup wishes Panathinaikos bye-bye, gives mucho deserved props to Pini Gershon, and bestows an “accolade” upon Zabian […]