Florent Pietrus 22
Brief (and super-brief) histories of France vs. Russia, Spain vs. FYR Macedonia; plus Fearless Predictions™
While one half of the remaining 2011 EuroBasket semifinal matches is essentially devoid of history, the Russia-France duel brings something of a rivalry in the modern era. The teams have met in three international tournaments since 1990. A brief rundown of prior meetings follows (sadly, video clips are mostly lacking, unless BallinEurope readers could suggest […]
France outlasts Turkey for 68-64 win
Stationed in Lithuania, it’s BallinEurope’s Y. with his brief synopsis on France versus Turkey. Without further ado, here are his notes! Another great game at Eurobasket 2011, as France met Turkey today for a crucial game – but isn’t every single one? – in Group E.
Parker, Noah, Diot lead big names filling France’s Eurobasket 2011 squad
Twelve players and four backups have been selected to represent France at the upcoming Eurobasket 2011 tournament; gut reaction says that Les Bleus would appear to be one of the favorites to emerge out of Group B in pool play. The group competition will include Germany, Israel, Italy, Latvia and Serbia. The 12-man roster is […]
Euroleague week three talking points (part I)
Seven Euroleague games go off tonight as the season rounds into form a bit. The marquee match tonight has got to be the Khimki-Baskonia showdown to establish early supremacy in that tough Group A; Olympiacos-Unicaja will surely be worth the viewing as well, although the way the Reds have dominated on their home floor lately […]
Official BallinEurope Euroleague Power Rankings: The preseason
Since BallinEurope’s Official Power Rankings were so, um, popular during the FIBA World Championships, today we’re kicking off the same schtick for the upcoming Euroleague campaign. The rules, again: These rankings are basically purely subjective (at this point; once the games are played, actual wins and losses will be figured in) but are based loosely […]
Six NBA, three ACB, nine Pro A players among Team France preliminary roster
Vincent Collet has named 18 players to his Team France preliminary roster, including six from the NBA, three from Spain’s ACB and nine from French Pro A ball; in fact, five players played 2009-10 with Pro A championship finalists Le Mans and Cholet. Representing the NBA is quite an impressive core – even without Tony […]
Sportsbooks expecting blowout in France-Belgium AQR final
Whoa, can Team Belgium’s chances against France tonight really be as bad as the bookmakers insist? OK, so a Belgium victory tonight in Pau would indeed be considered “the shock of the summer” and perhaps the Belgians’ win over Les Bleus required a “nearly perfect game,” but come on! What does a team need to […]
Underdogs France, Bosnia & Herzegovina draw first blood (Hungary wins, too)
In last night’s EuroBasket 2009 additional qualifying round games, favorites Italy and Portugal fell victim to upsets to immediately throw a handy spanner in the AQR works. It was Bosnia & Herzegovina 62, Portugal 56 in the Group A game (told ya Portugal was ripe for an upset – call it The Curse of Cape […]
Betting on basketball: Sporting Bet handicaps Eurobasket additional qualifiers
On the eve of the EuroBasket 2009 additional qualifying round games, Euroleague/Ball in Europe partners SportingBet.com have posted their lines for wagering on the Italy-France and Portugal-Bosnia and Herzegovina games. Who are the favorites? Will the games be close? Ask an oddsmaker; his money’s riding on the outcome, after all. For Italy vs. France, Sporting […]
Noah with France for Eurobasket AQRs? Oui et non
Supporters of Team France are still holding their collective breath, as their national team yesterday officially announced that oui, Joakim Noah is still practicing with the team in preparation for EuroBasket, but non, no word had been given by Noah’s Bulls on whether the NBA team would allow Noah to play in the EuroBasket additional […]