Virtus Bologna 47
Revealed: The EuroChallenge championship curse
Winning the EuroChallenge title is a good thing, right? After all, it’s typically the first Continental trophy to display on the mantelpiece and the champions label wins the club to right to play in the more prestigious (and more big-bucks) Eurocup competition the following season. Well, Uygar Karaca may convince believers otherwise. In the first […]
Ganon Baker Basketball holding two youth coach clinics in Italy
Attention, European youth basketball coaches: Skill development trainers Ganon Baker Basketball are announcing two weekend programs in Italy in April. Those seeking to glean some knowledge and insight from top names in coaching and training (see just below for a few more details) would do well to mark their calendars for international youth level coaches […]
Kobe Bryant: Virtus Bologna contract negotiation “was not a hoax”
Italy-based Corriere de Bologna, via Sky News, is today looking back nostalgically at those crazy days of the NBA player lockout – seems like forever ago, doesn’t it? – in quoting from an interview given by Kobe Bryant in Italian vis-à-vis the long flirtation Virtus Bologna and president Claudio Sabbatini carried on with the Los […]
Coppa Italia preview: Can anyone stop Montepaschi Siena?
February will see Turin playing host to the Coppa Italia, a grueling four-day tournament featuring Italy’s top eight teams. With the matchups now determined, BallinEurope’s man in Italy, Enrico Cellini, provides a brief preview of the competition. The first half of Serie A season is over and the table is set for a little appetizer […]
Anonymous party sends pig’s head to Scavolini Pesaro HQ; Team responds on court
BallinEurope’s man in Italy, Enrico Cellini, contributes quite a bizarre story out of league basketball there. (To think that Cibona Zagreb fans merely created an interesting image in protest of their team’s poor play.) The headline gives away the punchline so BiE won’t forestall this tale’s telling further … um, enjoy. On January 2, Scavolini […]
Earl Boykins and D.J. Mbenga to Olympiacos – If so, when?
So it’s not quite Kirilenko-to-CSKA, but it’s got BallinEurope on pins and needles. To wit, the ostensible signings of Earl Boykins, a free agent currently listed as the shorter player in the NBA ranks, and fan favorite D.J. Mbenga by Olympiacos. For nearly a week, the story of the Reds signing the 5’5” Boykins has […]
What might have been: Virtus Bologna’s Sabatini still claims deal made with Kobe
Sheesh, some people really don’t have the word “quit” in their vocabulary; one of these is surely Virtus Bologna owner Claudio Sabatini, the relentless pursuer of Kobe Bryant during the NBA lockout … and beyond, it seems. According to Corriere della Sport via Sportando, Sabatini still can’t get the L.A. Laker off his mind. Runs […]
Thanks for the memories: Top performances by locked-out NBA players in Europe
BallinEurope bids adieu to the all-too-brief wackiness that was the ENBA: A period of time shorter than Allen Iverson’s career with Beşiktaş, though for a sweet, brief while it seemed like forever … ah, the feeling of a too-fast love affair dragged down by unfeeling reality, leaving only fond memories and bitter tears to … […]
Real Madrid takes revenge on Unicaja Malaga, 96-80; wild finish avoided
Last March seems far away, doesn’t it? It probably feels like yesterday to fans of Real Madrid and Unicaja Malaga, though, for that’s when the two teams clashed in ACB play last season to produce one of the craziest, most dramatic endings in Liga Endesa history – and had commentator Oscar Cuesta going viral with […]
Kyrie Irving: “Overseas here I come” if NBA labor deal not done soon
All right, time for more speculation. To wit: Which European team could be most in need of a locked-out point guard itching to play some minutes? The CV of the player in question includes turns on the gold-medal Team USA of the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in addition to performances in the Nike Hoop Summit, […]
Coach Messina “going to Disneyland” (possibly on Kobe’s helicopter)
From Italy, BallinEurope’s Enrico Cellini has quotes from a conference attended by one of the nation’s finest-ever coaching minds, Ettore Messina, and collected a few thoughts from the new Los Angeles Lakers assistant on living in L.A., Kobe Bryant’s transport and going to Disneyland… After earning a status as one of the most successful coaches […]
Virtus Roma offers deals to Andrea Bargnani, interesting new sponsor
Now here’s an interesting twist in NBA player signings and one that brings new meaning to the expression “business affairs.” In following a model first tested by Beşiktaş in the signing of Deron Williams, Virtus Roma is pursuing Andrea Bargnani with at least two offers – a three-month deal and a full-season contract pending resurrection […]