FIBA 348
Has it really been 18 years? Remembering Drazen Petrovic
An entire generation has entered basketball since his untimely passing and while ever-growing numbers of NBA and European stars who have never seen him play emerge, all owe a debt to Dražen Petrović. It was on this day in 1993 that the only man who realistically could have held claim to the sobriquet of “the […]
Kestutis Kemzura names 20 to preliminary Team Lithuania roster
Team Lithuania coach Kestutis Kemzura this morning named 20 players to his preliminary squad in advance of the Eurobasket 2011 tournament. The home team will be returning seven players from the side that took bronze in the 2010 FIBA World Championship and including one NBAer – but not Linas Kleiza. Returning from the surprise of […]
Krka Novo Mesto wins Eurochallenge over Lokomotiv Kuban; Oostende third
Congratulations from BallinEurope go out this morning to Krka Novo Mesto, who topped Lokomotiv Kuban 83-77 to take the 2011 FIBA EuroChallenge title in Belgium; in the third-place game, hosts Oostende snuck past Spartak St. Petersburg, 94-92, in overtime.
Tony Parker confirms participation with Team France for Eurobasket 2011
Perhaps further contemplating a lockout, the San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker declared he will suit up for Team France in Eurobasket 2011. In an interview with French TV, Parker stated emphatically that he “will be at Eurobasket this summer” and that he is “eager to get started.” Though the Spur believes that Les Bleus “have […]
Jeremy Pargo to play for Team Georgia? Nah.
Reports of Jeremy Pargo’s impending Georgian citizenship have been greatly exaggerated, it seems. Earlier this week, English-language Eurobasket.com reported that the Georgian Basketball Federation is willing to offer All-Euroleague nominee Jeremy Pargo a passport. To wit: “Reports says that the Georgian federation are considering naturalizing Pargo so [that] he will play for Georgia in Eurobasket […]
Playing with money: Are some European NBA players worth it?
Finally blessed with a bit of time to peruse ESPN’s compelling financial stats as presented in its magazine’s “All About the Money” issue (check them out if you haven’t already; big numbers are fun!), BallinEurope just couldn’t help, well … noodling around with the numbers some more! Over at the big network’s Chicago Blackhawks blog, […]
Nike Hoop Summit, Euroleague Women Final Four on FIBA TV
A quick reminder, just in case you’re an utter hoops fanatic (or up in the wee hours of Sunday morning for some reason): FIBA TV will be showing the Nike Hoop Summit live online for free from Portland at 10pm EST – that’s right, that means 4am CET. FIBA TV will also be broadcasting a […]
Elitzur Ramla 61, Arras 53: Israel’s first-ever European women’s champion crowned
Slightly belated congratulations from BallinEurope go out to the women of Elitzur Ramla for their recent coronation as 2011 FIBA Eurocup Women champions by dint of a 61-53 victory over Arras Pays d’Artois in France. In the match, second leg in the two-game playoff format, Elitzur dug themselves an eight-point hole early but stormed back […]
On the map, in the news: Maccabi Tel Aviv legend Tal Brody
One old-timer’s name popping up in the news lately is former Maccabi Tel Aviv/Team USA great Tal Brody. Actually, to define Brody as “great” in his years with Maccabi is overwhelming understatement, as the man’s career has weaved a thread through the club’s and, to an arguable extent (and o, it will be argued; see […]
Remember this name, NBA Draftniks: Nikola Mirotic
Despite his impressive performance at the FIBA U20 European Championship and a nice 14-point seven-rebound performance in the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit game, Nikola Mirotic hasn’t fully captured the imagination of international basketball media types until just about three months ago with Real Madrid. In was in week 13 of the ACB when then coach-Ettore […]
Top 100 teams in Europe: The Return
After a few weeks off, BallinEurope finally returns the Top 100 list for your perusal this week. With Euroleague ball on a break, not much has changed near the top of the table, though Olympiacos’ dominance in EΣAKE ball has again leapfrogged them over Real Madrid for the no. 2 spot on the BiE table […]
FIBA grants Team Great Britain its Olympic bid for 2012 Games
Congratulations from BallinEurope go out tonight to Luol Deng, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and the boys of Team Britain tonight; the message came across to BiE via Facebook and read simply: “FIBA Central Board has GRANTED Team GB an automatic host place at the 2012 London Olympics.” We’ll see you in London, guys!