TBL 80
Nolan Smith throws a towel, Ataman says he could be done
Tensions flared early in Galatasaray’s 69-67 loss to Banvit as Nolan Smith threw a towel when being taken out for the Istanbul club. The game between Galatasaray and Banvit was barely finding its feet when Nolan Smith did this. Galatasaray coach Ergin Ataman left no doubt of his views on Smith’s behaviour after the game. […]
2012: The year in Euro-centric basketball highlight clips
What say we close out 2012 with a whole bunch of highlight clips? BiE knew you’d be willing. Tomorrow, a list of the most popular BallinEurope stories of the calendar year will be running, but today comes an attempt to encapsulate the past 365 days in European hoops, YouTube style. From Ibaka’s blocks to the […]
Monday hangover: It’s all about Fenerbahçe Ülker
BallinEurope had planned this second edition of the “Monday Hangover” to take a wide look at events in Euroleague play and top European domestic leagues, but the headlines vis-à-vis Continental basketball have been dominated by Fenerbahçe Ülker… Talk about your roller-coaster weeks: The Istanbul side entered Euroleague week two as the vogue choice for a […]
Besiktas 80, Anadolu Efes 76: The BallinEurope review of a triple-crown season
Congratulations go out from BallinEurope to Beşiktaş Milangaz, who capped a fascinating whirlwind run last night with an 80-76 victory over Anadolu Efes in game six of the TBL championship series. The Black Eagles may add the trophy to their Turkish Cup and FIBA Eurochallenge title in 2011-12, certainly the most successful – and among […]
Besiktas 81, Anadolu Efes 55: Hawkins leads, Pops dunks – plus 3D fan vid
Hours before the Boston Celtics were putting the Miami Heat on the brink of elimination, Beşiktaş Milangaz was doing the same to 13-time national champion Anadolu Efes in whupping the Euroleaguers, winning 81-55 at the Black Eagles’ nest. In short, Beşiktaş destroyed on the boards, beating the disheartened Anadolu 40 to 20 in the stat. […]
Pops the tops: Mensah-Bonsu leads Besiktas to win, produces fantastic highlight clips
Now that leagues are heading into their championship homestretch, the crème de la crème in Europe is tending to rise to the top – perhaps none more so than BallinEurope fave Pops Mensah-Bonsu. (And yeah, BiE has heard of that Vassilis Spanoulis guy, but run with yet for a moment.) Not only did Pops earn […]
Euroleague 2012-13: An attempt to deduce the composition (plus Official Fearless Prediction™)
Yesterday, the basketball-centered bit of the Twitter universe was centered in two real-life locales: New York City and Barcelona. Topics in play were the falling of ping-pong balls in New York City and Euroleague’s incipient decision on the construction of Euroleague 2012-13. Hopefully, BallinEurope will get something together on the former later, but for now, […]
The EuroChallenge Championship Curse: What of Beşiktaş’ future?
In this second piece of a two-part series, sportswriter/commentator Uygar Karaca again considers the EuroChallenge Championship Curse, with special reference to this year’s champions, Beşiktaş; unfortunately for the Eagles, Karaca feels a distressing amount of déjà vu… In this article, I will try to answer the question as to whether Beşiktaş Milangaz fits into the […]
Topsy-turvy Turkey as Galatasaray pushes Anadolu Efes down the TBL table
Strange days indeed in Turkey … just three days after Galatasaray and Anadolu Efes were bounced from Euroleague play, the TBL standings have become nearly unrecognizable; for the first time in probably forever, clubs named “Efes” or “Fenerbahçe Ülker” do not appear in the top two on the Turkish league table after Galatasaray’s 74-65 win […]
National Cups: Real Madrid ends 19 years of futility; Beşiktaş, Chalon take first-ever titles; Montepaschi Siena continues dominance
Congratulations go out from BallinEurope today to a quartet of national Cup holders in Real Madrid, Beşiktaş Milangaz, Chalon-sur-Saone and Montepaschi Siena. The former three victories are set to be particularly noted in club annals: Real ended a 19-year drought while Beşiktaş and Chalon both bagged their first-ever championships in their respective national cup tournaments […]
Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Beşiktaş vs. Banvit today in Turkish Cup final
Today sees the culmination of the Turkish Cup with a stunning finals matchup between Beşiktaş Milangaz – who took out Euroleague Top 16 side Galatasaray on Thursday – and the TBL’s fourth-place Banvit. Key to the former’s success in reaching the Cup match was BallinEurope fave Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who contributed an insane double-double in the […]
TBL roundup: Bandirma Kirmizi stuns Fenerbahce Ulker; Morrison, Pops star for Besiktas; Galatasaray holds on to third place
The Turkish Basketball League, rapidly becoming the most competitive European basketball league, saw a number of key games go down this weekend to tighten things up some at the top of the table. While TBL teams gained much international attention for signing big-name NBAers, e.g. Deron Williams, Sasha Vujacic, Ersan Ilyasova, Mehmet Okur, etc., during […]