FIBA 339
Fearless predictions: 2010 FIBA World Championship, day three
Who had Germany to win in a nail-biter over Serbia in the 2010 FIBA World Championship game last night? That’s right: BallinEurope, baby! As Sidney Deane once said, “I don’t mean to brag, but I’m the greatest.” (Of course, we’ll not be discussing the performance of Team France, who followed up the stunning win over […]
Fearless predictions: 2010 FIBA World Championship, day two
Whither Spain? In yet another example of “that’s why they play ‘em on paper,” the mighty Spaniards went down thanks to a French attack led by Nicolas Batum (14 points on 4-of-9 shooting, two rebounds, two blocks and one awesome jam), Andrew Albicy (!) and Mickael Gelabale (!!!) and brutal fourth-quarter shooting “highlighted” by three […]
Fearless predictions: 2010 FIBA World Championship, day one
With just hours left before the 2010 FIBA World Championship tournament in Turkey, BallinEurope quits stalling to briefly drop some surely instant-classic Fearless Predictions™ for today’s games. Wall-to-wall coverage as well as all games broadcast live on your computer is available at the FIBA TV website. Incidentally, if you’re up for the live chat experience […]
Non, Nando, non! (or, key games in the 2010 FIBA World Championship)
When is a game-winning shot not a game-winning shot? When you’re playing in a FIBA tournament! Just ask Nando de Colo. In Eurobasket 2009, Team France took its undefeated streak into the final game of pool play with Greece. In a hard-fought contest, de Colo burned Nikos Zisis for an outside two with 0.2 seconds […]
Greek, Serbian suspensions handed down by FIBA: Krstic out for three Worlds games
It’s official: Suspensions from the 2010 FIBA World Championship have been handed out as a result of Greece-Serbia brawl last Thursday; Team Serbia’s Nenad Krstic will be missing the first three games of the tournament (against Angola, Germany and Jordan, respectively) while teammate Milos Teodosic got a two-game suspension. For Greece, Antonis Fotsis and Sofoklis […]
BallinEurope’s 2010 FIBA World Championship power rankings 5.0
Right. It’s time for the final edition – pending Nenad Krstic’s prospective suspension by FIBA – of BallinEurope’s 2010 FIBA World Championship power rankings. Now that Team USA has had it out with Spain and Greece, we can see the picture a little more clearly heading into the tournament tipping off Saturday. There’s a clear […]
Plotlines to look for in tonight’s Greece vs. USA game
Unbelievable though it seems, tonight’s 2010 FIBA World Championship warmup game in Athens represents one of the last such games before the big tournament goes down. And though coach Jonas Kazlauskas has played down the importance of the game, stating that what happens tonight will have “nothing to do with” the Turkey tournament. (“Είναι ένα […]
Rondo leaves Team USA; FIBA Worlds roster set
It’s a good news/bad news news item for Team USA backers: The good news is that the Red-White-and-Blues finally have their 12-man roster for the 2010 FIBA World Championship roster; the bad news is that the electrifyingly exciting Rajon Rondo won’t be on, having essentially decided to leave the team proactively before his dismissal. Figuring […]
Spain vs. USA friendly: Five things to watch for
The biggest of all this year’s international basketball friendly matches goes down in Madrid tonight at 7pm GMT (9pm CET, 1pm EST) as prospective 2010 FIBA World Championship favorites Spain and USA meet in the first truly serious test for either team. It’s also a rematch of the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold match of sorts; […]
Post-fight wrap: Vassilakopoulos says no punishment; Presti, Krstic talk; Team USA watches
A little fallout – but not too much pointed commentary – appeared in local media yesterday after the Acropolis rumble between Serbia and Greece. Former FIBA Europe head George Vassilakopoulos is reportedly not too worried about any Hellas players receiving suspensions during 2010 FIBA World Championship games, telling Greece-based media that though the option of […]
BallinEurope’s 2010 FIBA World Championship power rankings 4.1
Whoa … anyone who thinks these “friendly” games in the runup to the 2010 FIBA World Championship don’t matter to the teams involved certainly wasn’t paying attention the literal battle that ensued during last night’s final game of the Acropolis Basketball Tournament between Greece and Serbia. With the Acropolis tourney now in the books and […]
Interview: The Man Who Would Save British Basketball
While much of international basketball fandom is anticipating the 2010 World Championship and the powerful teams’ backers dream of glory, one national team is fighting for its very survival against what some feel is an unfair burden placed upon them by FIBA and the IOC: Great Britain. Great Britain held on for their fifth consecutive […]