Union Olimpija 75
Official BallinEurope Euroleague Power Rankings: October update
Got the vitriol brewing? All right, then, with BallinEurope now caught up on some preseason basketball viewing, it’s time for another edition of BiE’s Official Euroleague Power Rankings. Just one quick note for irritated fans (we’re looking at you, Olympiacos, Žalgiris and Lietuvos Rytas backers): Remember that these rankings are first totally subjective and secondly […]
FIBA slaps fine, penalties on Union Olimpija; more to come?
FIBA has slapped Union Olimpija with a €100,000 fine and has prohibited the club from signing any further players, due to non-payment of players Vlado Ilievski, Sašo Ožbolt and certain staff members. The penalty could even get worse, as further €100,000 fines could be assessed, FIBA warned, and at the extreme end the club could […]
Official BallinEurope Euroleague Power Rankings: The preseason
Since BallinEurope’s Official Power Rankings were so, um, popular during the FIBA World Championships, today we’re kicking off the same schtick for the upcoming Euroleague campaign. The rules, again: These rankings are basically purely subjective (at this point; once the games are played, actual wins and losses will be figured in) but are based loosely […]
Official first proclamation of Euroleague "Group of Death" status goes to…
It happens every time there’s a group draw in international competition. Begun by some twit sports journalist during the 1990 World Cup (if BiE recalls correctly), it has become requisite to label one bunch the “Group of Death,” as though advancement to subsequent rounds is any more difficult for the, say, no. 5 seed in […]
Euroleague 2010-11 groups set
Lebron who? Over here on The Continent, the biggest basketball news today is all about the pingpong balls which determined the groups for the 2010-11 Euroleague season. The 22 teams that have qualified for Euroleague play have been divvied up into the four groups who will duke it out in the regular season. Without further […]
Devotion down 3.5 percent: Final 2009-10 Euroleague attendance figures
During the 2009-10 Euroleague season, one of the most watched statistics was totally off-court; with financial stress pervasive throughout The Continent, most European basketball franchises prepared for the worst and tightened belts in expectation of lower turnouts. And once all was said and done, the results were … mixed. With last season’s biggest draw Alba […]
List of 2009-10 European basketball champions
League play is now accelerating to a close all over The Continent, and BallinEurope’s “List of European Champions” page gets more updates. Most men’s domestic leagues have completely closed up shoppe for 2009-10, but BiE has also listed a few details on where other leagues stand at present; links are provided where possible. If no […]
Impressions gleaned from Nike International Junior Tournament, day two
In the leadup to last night’s Euroleague semifinal games, BallinEurope only got the chance to check out a couple of Nike International Junior Tournament games yesterday; a few brief thoughts run below. Over at the big league’s official ‘site, the FMP Belgrad-KK Split Croatia Osiguranje game is being called “the best game in the tournament […]
Lalić signs with Olimpija: Is there hope?
Ball in Europe doesn’t know if the smoke is clearing for beleaguered Union Olimpija, but at least yesterday’s announcement of the Jure Lalić signing provides some seed for optimism. The 24-year-old Croatian had been playing for EuroCup team Spirou Charleroi. Much more than a single youth player, proverbial tremendous upside or no, will be required […]
Jeremy Tyler watch: Wait 'til next year!
It’s official: 18-year-old American phenom Jeremy Tyler has washed out with Israeli club Maccabi Haifa but will stay in Europe next season to further his career and heighten his currently well-low standing on 2011 NBA Draft boards. Tyler, as you may recall (funny how the early hype machine mysteriously went really silent for a long […]
Bet365 lines and odds for Euroleague week nine matchups
What’s at stake in Euroleague play tonight? A couple of Top 16 spots at least with one win-and-in scenario. Plus, there’s a bit of history as Union Olimpija hosts CSKA Moscow in a game the official Euroleague press calls “what is likely [Olimpija’s] last Euroleague game ever at Tivoli Arena.” According to Ball in Europe […]
Fantasy tips from the Euroleague boss, week 7
Hello everybody and greetings from Javier Gancedo at Euroleague headquarters. We are facing a fantastic Euroleague week, with a lot of teams fighting for survival and some others positioning themselves to win their regular-season groups. We have Khimki against Panathinaikos in Group D, but also AJ Milano against EWE Baskets Oldenburg in a make-or-break battle. […]