Fenerbahce Ülker 150
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 […]
Fenerbahce Ulker whips Efes Pilsen (in possible last-ever meeting) to take TBL title
Congratulations go out today to Fenerbahçe Ülker, who tore apart Efes Pilsen at home, 76-51, to take the Turkish Basketball League title in six games. Four players – Mirsad Turkcan, Roko Ukic, Semih Erden and Tarance Kinsey – scored in double figures for Fenerbahçe, while Efes Pilsen was held to a lowly sub-33% on 16-of-49 […]
The Innocents Abroad, Part three: Final report cards on Europe’s NBA rookies and sophs
Fans of European basketball can take great pride in the achievements of its players recent to the NBA. Going into 2009-10, ten players from The Continent were entering their first or second season in the big league; throwing in Brandon Jennings (who BallinEurope will go down forever as believing that the youngster’s lone season with […]
Eight random odds ‘n’ ends on Euroleague playoff games three
This one’s exactly what it says: A grab bag of clippings and clips regarding the eight teams squaring off in tonight’s Euroleague semifinals games. Enjoy the factoids, enjoy the games! • If it’s March, tradition tends to demand that CSKA Moscow basketball augment its collection of trophies; 2010 is proving no exception. This month saw […]
Kanter: It’s Kentucky, not Washington
Turkish basketball sensation Enes Kanter has reportedly spurned the University of Washington, the school for which he’d informally announced an intention to play back in November, for University of Kentucky for the 2010-11 season. Kanter will reportedly sign a national letter of intent with Kentucky some time this week for next season, making another step […]
Lollis: Too many foreign players in Bundesliga
In German club basketball, too many foreign players are allowed; in fact, carrying eight or nine American players on a single roster certainly hurts quite a few Bundesliga teams and may be undermining most. Such an opinion is often heard these days about the free-for-all state of BBL contract rules, but rarely does a player […]
State of the nations: European basketball organizations today
While not interested in passing definitive judgment, we think it would be useful and fair to take a look at the European basketball panorama. There will be no ratings or rankings here, just a snapshot of what the most important ballin’ countries offer us. Ten years into the third millennium, it’s common to hear repeated […]
Euroleague Women locks in final three for quarterfinals tonight
The Euroleague Women’s “Eighth-final playoffs” conclude tonight with three best-of-three series looking to be settled. Teams already set to play in EL Women quarterfinals include Spartak Moscow region, Fenerbahce Ulker, UMMC Ekaterinburg, Good Angels Kosice, and Ros Casares. The winner of tonight’s Halcon Avenida-Bourges Basket match will see Ros Casares in the next round; surely […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup, week 10
BallinEurope’s man in Italy, Francesco Cappelletti, wraps up the wrap week of the 2009-10 Euroleague regular season in discussing — among other subjects — how justice was done in the Top 16 accession, why Ricky Rubio deserves our admiration, and how the next four groups look. Who deserves the Top 16 and who doesn’t In […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup, week nine
With just one more week to go in first-round play, Francesco Cappelletti touches on some issues regarding those teams positioning themselves for the Euroleague Top 16. Also examined frankly: Ergin Ataman’s tenuous position in Turkey, Zoran Planinic and Nikos Zisis embracing their positions on potential Final Four clubs; and bucking for position on Real Madrid. […]
SportingBet lines and odds for Euroleague week nine matchups
And Euroleague action is back for week nine action. Tonight’s slate of games is fit to make the playoff picture clearer. Lietuvos Rytas is in with a win, whereas a Khimki win or an Asseco Prokom loss gets the Moscow region team into the final 16. According to the bookmakers, the marquee game to watch […]
Who and what to watch for in 2010s European basketball
Welcome to the 10s, everyone! Now, enough with the pleasantries: With an entire demarcated decade stretching out before us, Ball in Europe wonders about future headlines, about who’s coming up, about “Who’s Next” in ESPNspeak. Here’s to thinking we’ll be talking about some of the following this decade… • Enes Kanter. It’s impossible to tell […]