Olympiacos 295
Vranković: “Montepaschi Siena very good, Panathinaikos better”
Stojko Vranković is no stranger to championship-level basketball: In 1996, he and Dominique Wilkins led Panathinaikos to its first-ever Euroleague title, played in two EL Final Fours with Aris Thessaloniki, and won Olympic silver medals with Team Yugoslavia and Team Croatia. The former Boston Celtic gave an interview to Sport.gr on the eve of the […]
Euroleague Final Four, 2011: Some trivia and factoids on this year’s tourney
As with any major sport tournament these days, the informational factoids flow freely through fandom, giving both typical fans and stat addicts extra stuff to look for in the games ahead … and who is BallinEurope to buck such a habit? Below run a few interesting milestones, achievements and straight-up trivia about the 2011 Euroleague […]
Euroleague Final Four flashback: Kinder Bologna wows Palau Sant Jordi crowd, 1998
While Barcelona has played host to the Euroleague Final Four three times before, the Palau Sant Jordi has served as home venue only twice; the first of these was in 1998, some eight years after the stadium was opened. That year’s EL Final Four featured Kinder Bologna making the big tournament for the first time […]
Greek basketball in 2010-11: Worst season ever?
While Olympiacos continues to chase history in a story that will be continued tonight against Kolossos Rhodes while seemingly on the way to another memorable finals clash with rival Panathinaikos, some are not so positive about the current state of Hellas’ game. Sport.gr writer Costas Papantoniou gives a rundown of what he calls “the worst […]
List of 2010-11 European Basketball Champions
With most leagues drawing to a close and playoffs beginning – not to mention champions already crowned in Albania, Cyprus, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Norway and a few regional leagues – BallinEurope returns its “List of European Basketball Champions.” At present, only the above-listed domestic leagues have shut down for the summer; BiE supplies information on […]
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, […]
Greek League wrap: Olympiacos perfect, Panathinaikos breaks records against Panellinios, AEK relegated
Despite playing without Vassilis Spanoulis and Theo Papaloukas, Olympiacos kept its date with the history books in easily defeating Iraklis Thessaloniki last night in front of a mostly empty stadium, 83-44. The Reds thus conclude the EΣAKE regular season at 26-0, becoming the first team ever to do so and the first to go undefeated […]
Olympiacos tops Panathinaikos in OT, 87-83; two games away from Apollonian feat
Greek powerhouses Olympiacos may have been bounced from Euroleague competition, but Reds heads have surely already forgotten all about Montepaschi Siena and that lot as their side rips through Greek basketball. In finishing off rivals Panathinaikos, 87-83 in overtime, just before midnight last night, Olympiacos completes the season sweep of the Greens while extending its […]
Euroleague Playoffs: Games four highlights
And suddenly, the Spanish influence on the Euroleague has been reduced to just one team in the final four – exactly as many squads as Greece, Israel and Italy’ll have. Caja Laboral in the end just didn’t have enough answers for Maccabi Tel Aviv’s depth and star power, while Panathinaikos displayed the blueprint for taking […]
Bits, bites and videos going into Euroleague playoff games three
Tonight: Which Euroleague teams will be bounced to end their 2010-11 bid? And which will force a game five? A few bits, bites and videos’ worth of notes on tonight’s games below the break from BallinEurope via a buncha other sources – many of which are not actually named “YouTube.” Plus, of course, those patented […]
All-Euroleague Team 2010-11: BallinEurope’s ballot
Beyond checking out the wild Menorca-Caja Laboral Baskonia game yesterday, BiE spent a good deal of time this weekend contemplating an empty 2010-11 All-Euroleague team ballot. The EL folks sure don’t make things easy for the voter, providing 60 names are allowing one to vote for just five – not that anyone would ever think […]
Euroleague Playoffs: Games One highlights
For your convenience, BallinEurope brings you a quick collection of highlight clips from Euroleague Playoffs games one last night. Below the break, relive (or don’t, if you’re a Montepaschi Siena fan) the posterable moments from four games’ worth of home-team victories. Enjoy!