Sergey Monya 11
Highlights: Top five plays from VTB United League quarterfinals
Flawed, top-heavy and not exactly consistent in attendance it may be, but the VTB United League still garners BallinEurope’s attention – particularly come playoff time when ages-old rivalries add new chapters to stories first begun in the days of the Soviet Union. Besides, who needs an excuse to run another YouTube highlight clip…? From the […]
Spain 67, Russia 59: Gasols et al earn gold-medal try as Reds go Serbia cold in second half
Okay, so maybe Team Spain was playing possum. Or perhaps they merely hit the snooze on the alarm clock a tad too late in London. No matter: In the end, all history will remember is the final result – Spain 67, Russia 59 – and that it will be Los Rojos and not the Reds […]
Lithuania “struggles” in 77-68 loss to Russia: Kaun nets 21; Valanciunas gets 12, eight boards
For lack of YouTube clips and FIBA posts, BallinEurope directs you to Lithuania Basketball for a brief writeup on the Russia-Lietuva friendly in Houston last night. The general gist: Despite taking a 37-35 lead into halftime, Team Lithuania struggled enough in the third quarter to take a 77-68 loss. In fact, “struggle” appears to be […]
2012 Olympic Qualifying Tournament Preview: Team Russia
With the lengthily-named 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men tipping off in Venezuela on Monday, BallinEurope takes some time this week to catch up on the four European squads in the running for a trip to London and reckon on a brief assessment of each’s chances in the competition. First up is Russia, […]
BC Khimki overcome Caner-Medley, Valencia to take 2012 Eurocup title, 77-68
Congratulations go out from BallinEurope this morning to the first entrant into Euroleague 2012-13, BC Khimki Moscow region, with their win over BC Valencia in the Eurocup championship game yesterday. In a possible Euroleague title-game preview – at least in terms of home bases – the Russian side topped the Spaniards, 77-68. In the consolation […]
Eurocup Championship, Khimki vs Valencia: The Official BallinEurope (sort of) Fearless Prediction™
BallinEurope this morning sends out congratulations to BCs Valencia and Khimki Moscow region for their advancement into the 2011-12 Eurocup finals . The Spanish representative managed to get up to a 20-point lead before fending off a furious comeback by Lietuvos Rytas to take the 80-70 victory. Khimki meanwhile won the battle of Russian sides, […]
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 […]
Official Fearless Predictions™: France vs. Greece, Russia vs. Serbia
All right, so who had FYR Macedonia winning that game? Come on! While the BallinEurope prognosticators took something of a hit in the comments section here beginning a few nanoseconds after Vlado Ilievski’s game-winner, few truly had this one pegged. Team Russia coach David Blatt kinda sorta probably wasn’t surprised, but even the mystical crustacean […]
Russian Revolution: Ten teams announce break with Superleague to form new basketball association
In response to a “last straw,” i.e. the Russian Basketball Federation reformatting its season-ending tournament, 10 clubs in the country have announced their withdrawal from the competition and plans to make up a new Russian league. The list includes essentially all the top names in Russian professional basketball and clubs who play Euroleague, EuroCup and […]
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, […]
After the Olympics: What's the future of Russia?
Russia, the surprising Eurobasket winner of 2007 (yes, we can now say that it was a surprise) comes from a disappointing performance during the Beijing Olympics. An official 9th place was far below the expectations for a country with one of the strongest leagues in Europe.