Petteri Koponen 10
The Susijengi story has only just begun
Finland’s exit from EuroBasket 2022 on Tuesday was the end of an era for two stalwarts but, Emmet Ryan writes, the beginning of a bright new future for hoops in Suomi. There was a different flavour to the disappointment that Finnish fans felt on Tuesday, a taste that they weren’t used to but one that […]
FIBA World Cup: Three-point barrage sees Finland past Ukraine 81-76
The boys with the banner may have been a touch over-confident but Ukraine knew they were entering the lion’s den on Sunday as once more Bilbao became Helsinki South. A third quarter barrage by Finland put Mike Fratello’s charges in a deep hole. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk led a spirited comeback but the Finns stood tall and […]
BallinEurope’s All-FIBA EuroBasket 2013 Qualifying Round Team
Last night’s recap of the action in FIBA EuroBasket 2013 qualifying round, in brief: Serbia and Turkey took care of business, the miracle campaign of dark horse Azerbaijan ended sadly, and the 24 teams that will comprise The Continent’s big tournament are now known. BallinEurope has a podcast with Germany-based heinnews on more general matters […]
EuroBasket power rankings, post round one edition
The 2011 FIBA EuroBasket tournament gets things started again today, after the 12 advancing teams get in a couple days’ worth of hard-earned rest. With the dust now settled, BallinEurope takes a look at how the dozen sides look going into the second round of play (numbers in parentheses represent each team’s win-loss record brought […]
Eurobasket 2011: A brief roundup
On the eve of Eurobasket 2011 (finally), BallinEurope’s man in the U.K., Sam Chadwick, makes his own version of BiE’s patented Fearless Predictions™ with his own brief take on the tournament contender’s chances. And if you don’t think these prognostications are indeed fearless, just scroll down to the bottom to see who he’s got taking […]
Update from the North: 2011 Nordic Championship roundup
From Sweden, sportswriter/broadcaster Magnus Dahlborn checks in with BallinEurope today to give us reportage on the recently completed Nordic Championship tournament, which saw the title awarded to undefeated Team Finland. Due to the tragic events in Norway, a sombre feeling overlay the past weekend when the Nordic Championships between national teams from Sweden, Finland, Norway, […]
Representing the Continent in the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit
Portland, Oregon, will tomorrow see the tipoff of the 2010 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, a showcase event featuring 20 of the world’s greatest youth basketball players going head-to-head in the 11th annual match between USA and “World” teams. As the official site and concomitant PR material likes to point out, the Nike Hoop Summit […]
Who and what to watch for in 2010s European basketball
Welcome to the 10s, everyone! Now, enough with the pleasantries: With an entire demarcated decade stretching out before us, Ball in Europe wonders about future headlines, about who’s coming up, about “Who’s Next” in ESPNspeak. Here’s to thinking we’ll be talking about some of the following this decade… • Enes Kanter. It’s impossible to tell […]
The Italian League explained: Part one
Some consider Serie A to be the second best European league behind (and I mean, kilometers behind) only the ACB, others consider the league’s unstoppable decreasing level which began at the beginning of new millennium. Anyway, between clubs which fail year by year, rules about US and EU players never staying consistent for more than […]
Who’s next? Three national teams to watch for
As we await the two-game showdown between France and Belgium for the final spot in the FIBA Eurobasket 2009 tournament and Eurobasket Division B pool play enters the homestretch, Ball in Europe takes a speculative look at three national programs we might be hearing a lot more about in 2010 and beyond. Finland. When Finland […]