Ömer Onan 9
Euroleague Power Rankings: Do-or-die Week Edition
The key word in week three of the 2011-12 Euroleague Top 16 round: Blowout. The closest game was decided by eight points (Bennet Cantù 82, Maccabi Tel Aviv 74) and the average match showed a 16-point differential as certain teams (CSKA Moscow, FC Barcelona, Montepaschi Siena) asserted their superiority, a couple of sleeping giants (Olympiacos, […]
Unics Kazan 76, Fenerbahçe Ülker 71: Impressions, highlights
Right, now we’re into it! BallinEurope was naturally pleased to see his dark horse elite-eight candidate Unics Kazan defend home court against Fenerbahçe Ülker on opening night of the 2011-12 Euroleague Top 16 round, 76-71 – though it sure wasn’t easy for Unics after they generously spotted the Turkish side a 17-point lead at halftime. […]
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.
Fenerbahçe Ülker outlasts Galatasaray Café Crown, 91-88, for TBL title
BallinEurope this morning congratulates newly-recrowned 2010-11 TBL champions Fenerbahçe Ülker, who topped Eurocup side Galatasaray Café Crown, 91-88, in game six of the championship series. This marks the fourth championship for Fenerbahçe in the last five years and a defense of their 2009-10 title. Fenerbahçe’s big guns were all firing in the game, with five […]
Championship basketball: Galatasaray stays alive; Barça, Mavericks take care of business
It’s hard to believe the 2010-11 season is drawing to a close, but so it goes. Leagues in Turkey, Spain and the United States could be all shutting down for the summer (or, in the latter’s case, perhaps a good deal longer) within a week. A brief roundup this morning, then, of action in this […]
Omer Önan: TBL second only to ACB
Team Turkey/Fenerbahçe Ülker guard Ömer Onan makes a few declarations in this morning’s Today’s Zaman, summing up well the current state of TBL and Turkish international ball. “[ACB] aside,” opines Onan, “in Turkish basketball, we have long surpassed important European domestic leagues, including the Italian and Greek leagues. In these countries, only one or two […]
Sunday roundup: Serbia, Germany, Greece, Tall Blacks win
A few exhibition games between national teams were played this weekend as the Istanbul Cup and the Love Cyprus Basketball Tournament wrapped with some interesting clashes, indeed. In Turkey, Team Serbia emphatically demonstrated that they should be discussed among the 2010 FIBA World Championship elite by decisively beating the home team in an 83-70 win. […]
After Eurobasket, the future: Part Two
In part two of Ball in Europe’s look at Europe’s top teams following Eurobasket 2009, Francesco Cappelletti contributes his analysis of present and future for those nations who did not finish in Eurobasket’s top four. Part one, featuring looks at Spain, Serbia, Greece, and Slovenia, may be found by clicking here. FRANCE Absences: Mickael Pietrus, […]
The BallinEurope playoff roundup
The race goes on in the major European leagues and the champions are soon to be known in most of the leagues. So here we are with another update of the most important leagues.