Turkish Basketball League 11
Euroleague needs Pinar Karsiyaka
Since beating Fenerbahce, Karsiyaka fans have been calling for a wild card. Emmet Ryan says it should be Euroleague begging them to take part Turkey will, without question, have three teams in Euroleague next season. Anadolu Efes, Fenerbahce, and one other will be granted A licences. The third is a wild card spot and Darussafaka […]
Comeback kings Karsiyaka beat Efes to take 3-1 lead in Turkish finals
Never count out Pinar Karsiyaka, that was the lesson on Tuesday night as an epic comeback from 15 points down saw them beat Anadolu Efes 91-88 in overtime to take a 3-1 lead in the Turkish Finals After 70 minutes of looking ordinary in the last two games, it only took 15 more to be […]
DJ Strawberry carries Karsiyaka to 2-1 series lead in Turkish Finals
A fantastic individual display from DJ Strawberry was critical for Pinar Karsiyaka as they took Game 3 of the TBL Finals 71-65 to take a 2-1 series lead over Anadolu Efes Efes had a plan for the road trip to Karsiyaka and it radically changed the expected tempo of this game. Outright stopping Bobby Dixon […]
You need to watch the Turkish Basketball Finals
If you like explosive fun basketball with ludicrous endings and all the drama then do yourself a favour and watch the best series in Europe right now, writes Emmet Ryan Pinar Karsiyaka have been threatening this since laying the smackdown on Banvit in the decisive third game of their quarter final series. Anadolu Efes have […]
Kardiac Kids Karsiyaka Kan’t be Kontrolled
Anadolu Efes and Pinar Karsiyaka served up another absolute epic in Istanbul on Thursday evening and it was the visitors who pulled it out in ridiculously dramatic style 85-86 to tie it up at 1-1 as the series moves to Karsiyaka on Sunday Efes have proven without doubt that they are not as foolish as […]
Efes and Karsiyaka played a classic, can we have 6 more?
Anadolu Efes needed overtime to take down Pinar Karsiyaka 95-92 in Game 1 of the Turkish League finals and Emmet Ryan says if the rest of the series is half this fun it’ll be a wild one There’s no keeping Bobby Dixon down. Another game, another ridiculously confident performance by the American point guard backed […]
Bobby Dixon leads Karsiyaka to rout of Fenerbahce
It was a massacre and a limp end to a season that promised so much for Fenerbahce. Emmet Ryan on how Bobby Dixon ripped the Istanbul giants assunder to send Pinar Karsiyaka to the Turkish Basketball League Finals The final score said Karisyaka won by 18 points but for a full 40 minutes it was […]
Money does not equal professionalism
The Belgrade derby ends in a 3-on-4 match-up and then an Istanbul derby doesn’t happen at all. These are supposed to be finals, the pinnacle of the season. Emmet Ryan writes on why, irrespective of individual fault, this makes all involved look bad. It’s been one of those weeks (and a bit), the type we […]
From Tennessee to Turkey, Tyler bounces back
Anyone worried about former Tennessee Volunteer forward Tyler Smith’s viability in the upcoming NBA draft and/or his ability to play basketball after dealing with an arrest, court case, and dismissal from his college team within five weeks of early 2010 can put their worries at ease: Smith is back and just as good as ever. […]
The Innocents Abroad, Part Two: Assessing the US' Euroleague rookies and sophs
Yesterday, Ball in Europe had a look at about a dozen newbies in the NBA from Europe; today, we’re flipping continents for a brief look at players from the US trying to make it in European basketball. With about one-third of the Euroleague season in the books, how are the first- and second-year Americans faring […]
FIBA EuroChallenge capsule previews: Group F
Onto Group F of the 2009-10 FIBA EuroChallenge go the BallinEurope.com primers … Group F features quite a grab-bag of contenders, once each from Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia and Turkey. Should be a weird one.