Erazem Lorbek 52
The top 5½ European teams of the 2000s
In closing out the calendar on this decade – not technically, we know, but we’re going with the flow here – BallinEurope today considers the top European teams of the 2000s. (For BallinEurope’s official All-Decade All-Europe All-Star team, click here.) Though only Euroleague championship finalists were considered, domestic league records were also factored in vis-à-vis […]
The European Player of the Year nominees are…
The nominees are in over at FIBA Europe and, with the exception of one (or two, thanks to Rubiomania) categories, voting could be pretty tight in the FIBA Europe Player of the Year 2009. Yes, Pau Gasol and Ricky Rubio are on the list in a threat to become repeat winners in the Male POY […]
Euroleague team preview: Regal FC Barcelona
Over the next few days, BallinEurope.com will be running brief previews on Euroleague teams in advance of Opening Day (well, Opening Day for 92% of the league, anyway). Today, Jaime Martínez Lafargue, editor of the (mostly) Spanish-language website Solobasket.com, takes a look at the monsters from Barcelona. The Regal FC Barcelona roster is simply amazing. […]
The Spanish league explained: Part one
The quality of a national league here in Europe is not given by the value of top teams – every league has a number of top teams – but is more appropriately determined by how good the medium-to-low range clubs are. Spain’s are good like no others are: This is why ACB is today the […]
Betting on basketball: Khimki, anyone…?
If you dig wagering on – or even contemplating wagering on – underdogs and longshots, Euroleague/BallinEurope.com sponsor Sporting Bet may have the proposition for you: It’s called the “Russia Superleague A 2009-10 Outright Winner.”
After Eurobasket, the future: Part one
Ball in Europe contributor Francesco Cappelletti wraps Eurobasket 2009 with little surprise and a long view on the future of Europe’s premiere national basketball programs. Today, analysis on the tournament’s top four finishers. It was simply a result that we could take for granted: Spain at the top of Europe, with silver medalist Serbia beaten […]
Momentum shift! (Or, fearless predictions for Eurobasket 2009 day six)
Two days may not seem like much in reality (thus the bliss of a three-day weekend); in Eurobasket 2009, the 48 hours off for Group F teams could prove to be the most crucial stretch of the tournament. Today’s thought: Beware shifts in momentum. Fearless predictions for tonight’s three matches follow. Turkey v. Spain. Turkey […]
Betting on basketball: MVP, tops in points, rebounds, assists
Tomorrow is the day: Eurobasket 2009 finally tips off. Naturally, Euroleague/Ball in Europe sponsor SportingBet.com has a plethora of odds and lines for your amusement, including some intriguing fodder for discussion in the form of individual-awards proposition bets. So you think you know not only who’s going to stand atop the podium when it’s over, […]
Betting on basketball: EuroBasket 2009 Group C odds
In our ongoing look at the odds on EuroBasket 2009 (herein presented by Euroleague/Ball in Europe partner SportingBet.com), BallinEurope.com takes a few notes on the current odds and trends in Group C. Group C is the pool which is getting officially overhyped in this tournament as the “Group of Death” sports journalists so often seek […]
Euroleague Final Four Preview: CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow was the team I covered since before the season, so I have to go with it again now that the Final Four is approaching. Ettore Messina has once again put together a team that can win the supreme title, but this season, the task of winning the cup looks a bit more challenging […]
Why Americans should watch Euroleague Final Four
Many observers and participants are already calling the 2009 Final Four in Berlin in early May the best ever. While that remains to be seen, one thing that is certain is that the affair in the German capital is anything but just another European party. And American basketball fans will have plenty of reasons to […]
My Euroleague Playoff Tuesday
The Euroleague playoffs began this Tuesday and despite having practice during the evening, I tried to blog my playoff night as it happened. So the evening started in Moscow, of course, with the playoff opener in a tournament that is finally played in best-of-five mode.