Scoonie Penn 8
Panathinaikos destroys Olympiacos, 73-54: Going to YouTube for answers
More than a shocker and well into slap-in-the-face territory was game one of the EΣAKE championship series, where hometown Panathinaikos took care of all business in dispatching Olympiacos, 73-54. Though BallinEurope did not see the match and knows empirically that games should never be judged on the stat line, one number still stands out like […]
Top 10 reasons why BallinEurope loves the Barcelona-Olympiacos final
How thrilled is BallinEurope to see tonight’s Barcelona-Olympiacos final? Let us count the ways… 10. Both teams earned the trip with tough semifinal wins. Against CSKA Moscow, Barcelona played smart while deploying Europe’s best defense in 2009-10 against a much bigger Red Army team; Olympiacos truly gave everything in overcoming plucky Partizan Belgrade. The result: […]
“This is the Final Four”: The Euroleague quotebook going into the semifinals
A quick collection of quotes for you, collected yesterday and today at various press conferences and media meetings. With just hours to go before tipoff, enjoy a bit of wit and wisdom from coaches and players on BallinEurope. On Paris “It is […] special to have the Final Four in Paris. This is the city […]
Euroleague Final Four head-to-head matchups: Partizan Belgrade vs. Olympiacos
Whoa, the Final Four starts in two days? Almost unbelievable. But enough digression! Yesterday, BallinEurope presented a brief position-by-position rundown of Friday’s FC Barcelona-CSKA Moscow game. Today, a consideration of the late game, Partizan Belgrade vs. Olympiacos. Similarly to the early game, Partizan-Olympiacos also features a matchup between classic plucky underdog versus season-starting prohibitive favorite. […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16, week two
It’s time for the look back at the wacky Euroleague week that was with Francesco Cappelletti. This week, BallinEurope’s man in Italy examines messing with rotations in Olympiacos and Unicaja; praises Partizan for the potential blueprint win over FC Barcelona; and chides the narcissistic defending champions for their shameful general laziness. No instant replay, Partizan […]
Teodosic Euroleague player of the month; first great player of the '10s?
This season has already been seen as a “Next Level” step for the 22-year-old and with Euroleague officials of naming him Player of the Month for January 2010, the confirmation of Milos Teodosic as the first great new star of the ‘10s is here. After the youngster was named to the Eurobasket 2009 All-Tournament Team, […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup, week nine
With just one more week to go in first-round play, Francesco Cappelletti touches on some issues regarding those teams positioning themselves for the Euroleague Top 16. Also examined frankly: Ergin Ataman’s tenuous position in Turkey, Zoran Planinic and Nikos Zisis embracing their positions on potential Final Four clubs; and bucking for position on Real Madrid. […]
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 […]