PBL 22
Highlight of the weekend: Spartak Vladivostok get surprise assist in match vs. Unics Kazan
A shout out to Sportando, which draws our attention this morning to what could very well be “The Assist of the Year.” From the yesterday’s Unics Kazan-Spartak Vladivostok PBL match, here’s Troy Gillenwater beating a zone defense by cleverly finding the open man – Gundars Vetra – who in turn feeds Aleksei Golyakhov for the […]
Here come the Men in Red and Blue!
Dear CSKA Moscow Studios, BiE was happy to hear that the exciting new cinematic blockbuster from your studios has now entered the production phase. The choices for leads in the “Men in Red and Blue” (or “MiRB” – nice bit of online-centric marketing consciousness shown there, might BiE say) motion picture are intriguing, indeed. Sonny […]
Vlado Ilievski: FIBA partly to blame for FYR Macedonia defeat
How do you say “sour grapes” in Macedonian? In looking for reasons for his side’s loss to Team Dominican Republic in Olympic qualifiers, Vlado Ilievski sounded off on FIBA organization itself. “Teams from South America had more time for preparation,” Ilievski is quoted in FYR Macedonia-based Dnevnik. “They played in continental championships and were [in […]
The top 10 plays from the Russian PBL in 2011-12 (even some not by CSKA Moscow)
As chosen by online voting, here are the Russian PBL’s top 10 plays of 2011-12. In case you’re wondering, yes, CSKA Moscow is all over this thing with a couple of alley-oops involving Andrey Vorontsevich and a ridiculously effortless longer-than-halfcourt pass from Milos Teodosic to Andrei Kirilenko.
Ramunas Siskauskas: The BallinEurope video tribute
On Monday, European basketball great Ramunas Šiškauskas announced his retirement from the game: A story that was noteworthy enough for even North Korean sports fans to be notified. In his official statement, Šiškauskas said that he’d “made my choice in the middle of the season. It was not connected with anything specific – I just […]
CSKA Moscow takes VTB United League title; first in history-making triple crown?
Congratulations go out from BallinEurope to the 2011-12 VTB United League champions – to the surprise of few, CSKA Moscow. The Red Army’s 74-62 victory over Unics Kazan in a rematch of last year’s final represents not only its second VTB championship in three seasons of the league’s existence, but the first title in a […]
Referee scandals in Russia lead to protest, in Italy to suspensions
A BallinEurope question has been reopened today, to the detriment of Russian professional basketball’s reputation. About two weeks ago, a PBL game which will likely determine the league’s upcoming playoff tournament saw an extremely high number of, let’s say, questionable calls. According to Spain-based SoloBasket, these were certainly enough oddity for the losing side, Spartak […]
Spartak St. Petersburg 82, Triumph Lubertsy 73: Epic display of flopping, personal vendetta or match-fixing conspiracy?
Criticizing the referees is the international pastime for fans of every sport as losses are bemoaned and shortcomings blamed on those unloved (and allegedly) myopic zebras. Nothing new here. Cynicism and conspiracy theorizing are particularly rife in this part of formerly Soviet-influenced Europe, with anything up to and including Eurobasket losses. Again, nothing new here. […]
BC Khimki Moscow region: In 15th anniversary year, on the verge of lucky three
In the leadup to the 2011-12 Eurocup Final Four tournament beginning on Saturday, Eurosport Turkey basketball commentator Uygar Karaca contributes a series of previews on the remaining quartet entitled “Four Teams, Four Stories” to BallinEurope. Today, the final chapter of the series is devoted to BC Khimki Moscow region. With VTB United League and Russia […]
Spartak St. Petersburg: The Hunger of Experienced Rookies
In the leadup to the 2011-12 Eurocup Final Four tournament beginning on Saturday, Eurosport Turkey basketball commentator Uygar Karaca contributes a series of previews on the remaining quartet entitled “Four Teams, Four Stories” to BallinEurope. Today taking a look at one of the two remaining Russian sides, Karaca writes “Zenit St. Petersburg reached its zenith […]
Why Andrei Kirilenko and CSKA Moscow must win the Euroleague
Regular readers of BallinEurope may recall a similarly entitled writeup on Montepaschi Siena on these pages from a long time ago – actually two weeks, but already it *feels* like quite a spell. Contributing writer Enrico Cellini was as surprised as any of us when Olympiacos began Siena’s ejection from the tournament, Facebook-messaging BiE with […]
Surprise! With five weeks to play, Lithuanian league reduces playoff tournament
Only in Lithuania? In what is surely perceived of by fans of Lithuanian teams such as Pieno žvaigždės, KK Baltai, Kėdainiai and Juventus as (an unwelcome slap in the face) a controversial decision, LKL officials have decided today (!) to reduce the league’s playoff tournament from eight to six teams. Yesterday, league commissioner Mindaugas Balčiūnas […]