Monday’s light cigarettes

A little later than you are used to, but here are some light cigarettes from this Monday evening.

• Devin Harris knows more French than “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?”
• A bit more about Brandon Jennings, who has learned about being kicked out of practice.
  
• ALBA Berlin recorded their second consecutive 13,000+ attendance in the Bundesliga. Watch some highlights of the game against Telekom Baskets Bonn.
• Staying in Germany, a game in the third league was stopped because of a double backboard demolition.
• With the start of the ACB, we are also happy to see the spectacular Top 5 plays from the Spanish league again.
• Napoli and Capo d’Orlando are now definitively banned from the Italian League. Until now, it is not clear where they will begin their seasons.
• The Baltic League started with some big surprises, as Valmiera beat Zalgiris and Tartu Rock surprised Lietuvos Rytas.

What’s going on with the Euroleague?

We’ve already spoken several times about the the Euroleague’s new formula. Now today, Euroleague.net published a report that was somewhat misleading: After the decision to make a semi-closed league was taken in Berlin before the summer, it now seems that we’re facing new changes for the major competition of European basketball.

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Kosta Perovic joins Pamesa Valencia

Alvaro gave us the heads up that Kosta Perovic, who was waived by his NBA club the Golden State Warriors last week, will be introduced to the Pamesa Valencia roster on Wednesday.

Now it is not more than a side note for us that he left the NBA to play in Europe: Perovic is a solid player, but has not yet developed into a big star.

What really caught our eye is the way Perovic will be presented.

Kosta Perovic will be introduced to - well, to who?! - since this will happen onboard a cruise ship named MSC Simfonia. Sure. Valencia is right on the Spanish east coast, but why would you introduce a new player on a cruise ship? I wonder if the local media has booked the trip to cover this event as well.

Just by looking at the article on Pamesa’s website, you can see that the real news is not Perovic, but the MSC Simfonia - Perovic gets mentioned once in the beginning, with the rest of the article all about that cruise ship.

The Spanish league explained

Is the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto still the best league in Europe? The question is now open, considering the recent arrivals of NBA stars to Russia and especially the return to the top level by many Italian teams. At the moment, though, the most admired European basketball is still played in Spain, at least partially because the ACB is where several world and Olympic champions show off.

Today, BallinEurope takes a look at the race for the ACB crown.

AXA FC Barcelona. As every September, you can hear voices from PaluBlaugrana saying, “We have the best team” and “We are candidates for everything.” True, it’s Barcelona’s management making this noise, and they have the right – historically, politically, economically – to do so. I’ll be more careful, though, because in the end, FC Barcelona hasn’t won the ACB since 2004 and Euroleague since 2003: Too much time for “mès que un club.” The huge investments on the market make this a crucial season, despite Ettore Messina still playing in Moscow. Xavi Pascual is now head coach, and we don’t know how ready his is to manage a group like this. With Navarro and David Andersen, the availability of talent has been improved, while Sada is one of the most interesting young Spanish players, and Barton is probably the best defender at forward in the entire ACB. Only the playmaking area raises a question, because Lakovic isn’t a winner and doesn’t convince at all, and as new backup, Andre Barrett is what this team with the Slovenian as starter absolutely doesn’t need: Barrett has playing instincts that don’t match with the European style.

Real Madrid. What went wrong this summer? Real Madrid didn’t free themselves from Papadopoulos. As for what went right, the team reached a deal with Jeremiah Massey and Pepe Sanchez. Summarizing the Merengues’ roster, aside from the basic arrivals of the dominant internal player from Aris and the Argentinean director of operations (essentially to take pressure off Raul Lopez and let Bullock play only shooting guard), Hervelle’s re-signing is remarkable. To strengthen the backcourt, Marko Tomas returns after a good year in Fuenlabrada (averaging 13.2 points per game) and Quinton Hosley awaits confirmation of the ability shown in Turkey that made him one of the most blossoming surprises in Europe last year. With great talent and a great bench, Real Madrid still lacks a shooter in a department where there are players able to create off the dribble (Bullock, Lopez), can assist divinely (Sanchez), and are strong enough to attack the basket (Tomas, Hosley). On the other hand, coach Plaza calls on great forwards and centers (also Felipe Reyes and Mumbrù), but can’t win Euroleague with them alone: Due to the competitiveness of the ACB, this is out of the question.

Tau Vitoria. Home sweet home: Dusko Ivanovic is in Vitoria again. Is that enough to become convinced of a legitimate run for the ACB throne? Spahija wasn’t so well seen, but had a great season in carrying Baskonia to the Supercopa, the national title, and the usual qualification in the Euroleague Final Four. In the end, his legacy is not so easy to define; instead, Ivanovic has been considered a king in the Fernando Buesa Arena. He will enjoy Splitter for another year (the center has extended his contract until 2012) and Rakocevic is still Tau’s guide, but the market hasn’t smiled on the champions yet: The expected return of Goran Dragic from Lubiana, where he shined last season, didn’t happen, with the Slovenian playmaker desirous to fly overseas to Phoenix to play with the team that acquired him in a trade with San Antonio, who chose him as 45th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft. Until this knot is resolved, Tau has some problems at PG, where Prigioni can’t guarantee more than 15 quality minutes. This means Tau is on the shoulders of Rakocevic, now that Planinic is in Messina. San Emeterio could confirm his great progress in playing with Girona to gain authority in the national team as a great addiction off the bench. He’s no worse than Berni Rodriguez. However, the market isn’t closed yet, and in Vitoria two or three more players should arrive.

Unicaja Malaga. No doubt Malaga has made the best moves on the Spanish market. Signing Omar Cook (hey, he’s from New York!); Thomas Kelati (a useful all-arounder revealed himself last year in Turow); the unflinching Robert Archibald; and retaining the most of last year’s squad (Kus has gone to Cibona, the disappointing Popovic to Bruesa), Unicaja is a strong candidate for the title. Also, the departure of Sergio Scariolo has been amortized with Aito Garcia Reneses, one of the chief characters for the beautiful Joventut Badalona. Without Santiago (Where will he go? To the NBA?), Malaga’s play will be less anchored in the paint, speedier, and in the hands of Cook, a slightly selfish star-in-waiting endowed with an awesome understanding for the game. Cabezas will get back several balls to handle, Welsch will try to be what Rudy Fernandez was in Badalona, while N’Dong and Haislip are two athletic big men which perfectly suit Aito’s system. The debut game against Real Madrid will tell us how high Unicaja Malaga’s ambitions can go.

DKV Joventut Badalona. Badalona can’t be a title contender for one simple reason: Rudy Fernandez is now a Blazer. And his loss probably becomes a larger specific burden than Ricky Rubio’s explosion did, because after the Olympic final in which the 18-year-old embarrassed NBA veteran Jason Kidd, this is Rubio’s team. He is the cornerstone of a group refreshed by Simas Jasaitis from Tau, Bracey Wright from Aris, Pops Mensah-Bonsu from Granada, and Luka Bogdanovic from Le Mans – young and promising guys all, just as Penya management wants. New coach Alonso (Aito’s former assistant) makes you ask about Badalona’s ambition. Wrong: Badalona trusts its sons and the results (last year, the team won the Copa del Rey and the ULEB Cup) are available to everyone. 2008/2009 will mark the first season of a new successful era for Joventut.

Pamesa Valencia. Someone should call Valencia “no victory’s land.” This is an empty and distressing palmares, unacceptable after years of huge outlays on the market. This is Pamesa Valencia, an elite Spanish club which can show only a Saporta Cup and a Copa del Rey as its trophies. The 2008/2009 season begins with confirmed coach Katsikaris and four new faces (Florent Pietrus, Dikoudis, Kuqo and Rafa Martinez) to join the big three of Ruben Douglas (15 ppg over the last two years), Shammond Williams (4.8 assists per game last season) and Vule Avdalovic. The roster, including Miralles and prospect Victor Claver, is not so bad at this stage, but GM Johnny Rogers is keeping the door open for another acquisition at either playmaker or center, depending on how Avdalovic recovers from his knee problems. As things stand, Valencia doesn’t seems so strong in the paint (both Kuqo and Dikoudis love to play five meters from the basket), while the backcourt is rich in great catalysts and bad defenders. Must Pamesa’s fans expect another tormenting season?

Remote possibilities. Kalise Gran Canaria starts its run from the comfortable 9th place of last season. There still are key players like shooter English and big man Freeland; furthermore, landed are Joshua Fisher; Melvin Sanders, who can make the difference on both ends of the floor when he wants to; and James Augustine, just returned from an unsatisfying experience in NBA and ready to show his athleticism and mental toughness. Iurbentia Bilbao finished its amazing last season in the quarterfinals, losing 2-0 against Barcelona; a repeat of that result could be too difficult, but the team moved very well on the market, inking a solid playmaker in Janis Blums and Seibutis, the man who was considered Rimas Kaukenas’ substitute for the future Lithuanian national team. Seibutis is due for a breakout season, now that he will exploit much more minutes than in Piraeus and Maroussi. Bilbao’s season passes from him, and from the ability of the rest of the roster to increase its scoring tools, now that Huertas has gone to Fortitudo Bologna. MMT Estudiantes will try to get into the postseason: The team isn’t full of talent, but Vonteego Cummings, Martin Rancik and Iker Iturbe know the way to achieve the goal. And the Spanish movement hopes this will be Carlos Suarez’s season because, at the age of 22, he hasn’t yet made a name for himself. Vive Menorca expects to make a push for a playoff spot: It has expanded the skilled backcourt base that showed just Stojic and Bazdaric (25 points per game together), and now has grown in value with Pooh Jeter and Duda Machado. Boisa-Eley is the new frontline starter for a team whose most evident shortcoming is a poor bench. Cajasol Siviglia has landed Andrea Pecile from Granada, a move not to be underestimated. The Italian combo guard will provide offensive impact, creativity, and great leadership, now that everyone has seen that Tyrone Ellis is a perfect second fiddle, stop. Ilic-De Miguel will not struggle in grabbing rebounds and representing a decent threat around the basket, while Dusko Savanovic has a less limited shooting range that will allow him to play several minutes as small forward.

The rest. If CB Murcia can repeat its 12th place finish of last season, it will be a miracle. It’s not easy, but the two new big men, Lamont Barnes and Chris Moss must lock up the paint, while Chris Thomas, Taquan Dean and Momotou Diarra will be the offensive finishers. Bojan Bogdanovic, on loan from Real Madrid, is a great project, but we don’t know how many minutes he’ll find in the rotation. Alta Gestiòn Fuenlabrada is ready to launch Kristaps Valters and P.J. Ramos, but how about the reaminder of the team…? CB Granada lost Pecile and is now relying on Hunter and Videnov (Is there enough ball for both?), but for the fourth season, fingers must be crossed for Borchardt, one of the best all-around centers in Spain when healthy. Cai Zaragoza, newly arrived from the LEB, came to terms with a great name from the US: Taurean Green, a two-time NCAA champion with the Florida Gators. Green is unproven in Europe, but he can be a great addition to a roster that is aging (Ruben Garces is 34, Larry Lewis is 38 years old) and, barring Victoriano, Guerra and Phillip, has no ACB experience. The bright side is one of the best groups among that clubs seeking to stay in the top Spanish league. The other newly-admitted from the LEB, GBC Bruesa, has signed former top players searching for the final contracts of their career (Marconato, Roe) or an opportunity to forget previous disasters (Bojan Popovic, Urtasun); if coach Pablo Laso understands how to make them play as a team rather than individuals, he could fulfil a few expectations. Furthermore, what newcomer has ever lined up a playmaker as Sergio Sanchez in its first year in ACB? Ricoh Manresa remains. A name and a surname to analyze it: Serge Ibaka. But is he enough to keep the club in ACB? Perhaps not. Just wait to see him though. Before he flies to Oklahoma City, that is.

Article written by Francesco Cappelletti.

ACB remains leader in attendance

UPDATE (16/6/2008): BallinEurope checked the attendance figures of the different European leagues and has compiled some stats based on the averages. We didn’t see any big surprises, as Spanish ACB still tops the list.

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Monday’s cigarettes

More and more leagues are coming to an end while the transfer market is heating up. Additionally, the NBA Draft is approaching…

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The BallinEurope playoff round-up

As the playoffs are running across Europe, BallinEurope will give you some regular updates about series in the different countries and the stories that you don’t read in the box scores.

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Monday’s cigarettes

The playoffs have begun and there are already big surprises in various European leagues.

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Relegation is not that obvious (Part 3)

Maku, a loyal BallinEurope reader and the expert who made Tau Ceramica predictions for us sent the following email:

Let’s start with a bit of legal background: The Spanish Sport Act recognises the possibility that an association of clubs constitutes itself a Professional League. This legal figure allows the Association of Clubs of Basketball (ACB) to organise their competition with a certain autonomy apart from the FEB (Spanish Federation) thanks to an agreement between both entities, in which it’s also stated how the promotion and relegation system between their respective competitions works. In order to join the ACB League, a club must not only win their spot in the LEB League (2nd division, organized by FEB), but also fulfil some predetermined economic requisites such as a 5,000-seat arena, paying a fee to ACB, and transforming the club into a Joint-Stock Company.
But let me get back to 1990. Club Obradoiro from Santiago de Compostela and CB Murcia had to struggle for a place in ACB, granted to the winner of a play-out series. Meanwhile the loser got relegated to “Primera B” (the second division, at the time). Although Murcia won on court, Obradoiro claimed that one of their rival’s players, Esteban Perez, who was Argentinian, was playing with the license of a Spanish player. At the time, only one foreign player was allowed, and later in 1994, the player was condemned for fraud of public documents.
Even after the fraud wasproved, the Federation denied granting Obradoiro said spot, so the Club went through the long (and slow!) Spanish judicial system, reaching the Supreme Court, who, 17 years afterward!!!, forced the ACB to readmit Obradoiro for next season, within the same financial conditions required for 1990. This is quite controversial because the ACB had not been part of the process at any time, as it all went against Murcia and the Spanish Federation who was responsible for issuing the player license.

So what happened next? The agreement between ACB and FEB, established that every year, two teams would be relegated from ACB, and two others would be promoted from LEB. As ACB blamed FEB for being responsible in issuing the license, in order to protect the teams that are already part of ACB, the solution would have been to take one of the teams out of the Federative League to give its spot… BUT! (Yes, there’s always a “but.”) The judgement came out once that this present season had started, and moreover when FEB had changed the system to reach ACB (a first-place finish at the end of the regular season gets one spot, and the other is given by a playoff and final four between those placing 2nd to 9th), the system could not be changed in the middle of a running competition.
What’s the solution, then? ACB and FEB, with the intervention of Consejo Superior de Deportes (Spain’s highest administration body on sport), resolved the following in the negotiation of their last collective agreement, apart from the fact that ACB has shown it in its interest to reduce the number of teams to 16.

So, in case Obradoiro fulfils the requisites to integrate ACB for the 2008-09 season, there could be 19 clubs for one season! This would contract to 18 the following season. If Obradoiro decides to join ACB a season later, only one team would be promoted from LEB in addition to the Galicians.
Moreover, at same meeting, the ACB announced and agreed to use the right to reduce its competition to 16 teams at its own discretion (so, the intention).
Is this the only issue arising in Spain? Of course not! The economic crisis affects several construction companies sponsoring various teams.
In Murcia (yet again the same club that caused all trouble with Obradoiro!), main sponsor Polaris World has publicly announced its intention to sell its shares. In the case that somebody buys the majority of shares, the team could be moved to another city. A public platform called “cbmurcianosevende” (CB Murcia is not for sale) wants to implicate the public institutions, in order to keep the team in the city.

Other teams to look at carefully in the future are MMT Estudiantes, with its serious inner power struggle in which the president is in confrontation with some of the board of directors and public declarations announcing a cessation of payments, and CB Girona, who carries a 3,000,000-euro debt, is two months behind in paying salaries, and has an elapsing contract with main sponsor construction firm Akasvayu.

We’ll keep an eye on them.

Berni Rodriguez sinks Real Madrid, writes history

Everything was prepared for a historic night in Malaga. After having won the playoff opener in Madrid, Sergio Scariolo’s team could go for the surprising upset in Round 1 of the ACB playoffs.

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