The first half of Serie A season is over and the table is set for a little appetizer to the final playoffs. In Turin, from February 16th to 19th, the top eight teams of the 2011-12 season’s first half will play each other in elimination games to conquer the Coppa Italia, the second-most important national trophy and litmus paper of each team’s ambitions.

The teams and matchups are as follows.

Montepaschi Siena (1) vs Banco di Sardegna Sassari (8)
EA7 Milano (4) vs Canadian Solar Bologna (5)
Scavolini Siviglia Pesaro (2) vs Umana Venezia (7)
Bennet Cantù (3) vs Sidigas Avellino (6)

Will this be an opportunity for Montepaschi Siena to reassert its dominance after a few unexpected losses or a chance for rampant new challengers to prepare for an assault on the throne?

Looking at the low end of the brackets first, Scavolini Siviglia Pesaro and Bennet Cantù look like the best-equipped teams to make it to the final, with a slight advantage for Cantù. Since the unpleasant episode of the pig’s head, Pesaro has won four consecutive games and looks like the team in the best physical and mental shape.

Cantù recently added the undersized-but-energetic center Greg Brunner and has a long and experienced rotation to oppose to the talented-yet-inconsistent Avellino firstly and then the energetic young Pesaro team.

Siena presumably won’t have too many problems in getting rid of the Cinderella team Sassari but will certainly face a hard nut to crack in the semifinal against the winner of the most balanced matchup of the cup, EA7 Milan vs Canadian Solar Bologna.

After Terrell McIntyre’s abrupt retirement due to chronic hip problems, Bologna point guard Giuseppe Poeta stepped up together with big man Angelo Gigli, quickly becoming the best pick-and-roll duo of the league. Milan, on the other hand, is still struggling to find a fluid game and consistency in results, despite the recent tab of the best Italian prospect Alessandro Gentile. If Coach Scariolo doesn’t fix things before mid-February, Bologna will get the ticket to the semifinal.

Anyway, even though both teams defeated Siena on their home courts this season, Montepaschi’s solid and experienced system makes the club appear more of a more reliable bet.

So, nothing but history repeating? A rerun of last year’s Siena vs Cantù final and a fourth consecutive Coppa Italia for Coach Pianigiani? Lame, yeah. But likely.

Siena has a number of inflammable players who can easily get in the zone and win a game pretty much on their own, like former Euroleague scoring-champ Igor Rakocevic; Bo McCalebb, the most dominant point guard; and young gun Pietro Aradori. In addition to this, Pianigiani can count on a solid core of experienced veterans (Shaun Stonerook above all, but also newcomers like David Andersen and Bootsy Thornton) able to provide the extra killer instinct needed on special occasions.

With such an uneven combination of talent and experience compared to their opponents, it’s hard to bet against Montepaschi in Coppa Italia’s Final 8. However, in America as well as in Europe, the golden rule in elimination-game events is always “Never underestimate the hunger of an underdog.”

And compared to Siena, any team in this tournament is an underdog.

Enrico Cellini is lifelong basketball fanatic and a long-time sportswriter with a focus on Italy and Spain. He was born among European hoops, was raised watching the NBA, and thinks choosing between American and European basketball is like choosing between one’s mother and father. You can follow him on Twitter or check out his Italian-language blog Hoop Addicted.

Near the top, Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Euroleague-side punishment of Union Olimpija shook things up a bit within the top 10 and Olympiacos reasserted its (possibly temporary) superiority over their Green rivals to swap spots in the top five.

Read on to read up on the most dominant team in Europe (they’re down there at no. 71), the worst week, the weirdest week, the re-entry of a couple old favorites on the chart and some good video embeds. As always, in a show of solidarity with those who would Back British Basketball, the current top team in Great Britain holds the number 100 spot on the list. (Sorry, Maccabi Haifa fans…)

1. (1) FC Barcelona (ESP), 348.18
2. (2) Real Madrid (ESP), 339.85
3. (3) Montepaschi Siena (ITA), 334.11
4. (5) Olympiacos (GRE), 331.44
5. (4) Panathinaikos (GRE), 326.61
6. (6) Fenerbahçe Ülker (TUR), 322.83
7. (10) Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR), 302.82 – The Stars’ dominant win to shrug off the Barcelona loss rewards Maccabi Tel Aviv with a relatively huge leap inside the top 10. Once again this looks to unquestionably be a Euroleague Final Four team.

8 (tie). (8) Caja Laboral Baskonia (ESP), 300.45
8 (tie). (9) Power Electronics Valencia (ESP), 300.45 – The gemini of Europe are once again knotted up in the ACB, knotted up in overall EL record, and knotted up in the BiE top 100. Perhaps things will become clearer after the Copa del Rey: On Thursday, Baskonia gets Bizkaia Bilbao Basket while Valencia takes on Vallalolid. Then again, maybe we’ll have to wait for March 9. (For the record, Baskonia won at Valencia in week six, 81-67.) And recall the stirring finish to these clubs’ meeting in the 2010 Supercopa…

10. (11) Efes Pilsen (TUR), 286.67
11. (7) Union Olimpija (SLO), 285.91 – The worst week in basketball? Well, that was certainly the Cleveland Cavaliers. But the pride of Slovenia was seriously saddened last week, first with the 104-67 demolishment Maccabi handed ‘em chased by this weekend’s 86-85 loss to Široki TT Kabeli (this week no. 80 on the BiE Top 100) that knocked Olimpija out of first place on the Adriatic League table (albeit certainly temporarily, given the wacky fluctuations of that association). How do you say, “Thank god that week’s over” in Slovenian?

12. (14) Unicaja Malaga (ESP), 283.03
13. (12) Partizan Belgrade (SER), 273.33
14. (13) Zalgiris Kaunas (LTU), 271.76
15. (15) Lietuvos Rytas (LTU), 262.19
16. (16) AJ Milano (ITA), 255.83
17. (17) Lottomatica Roma (ITA), 255.43
18. (19) BC Khimki Moscow region (RUS), 234.23
19. (18) CSKA Moscow (RUS), 231.78
20. (20) Cholet Basket (FRA), 228.70

21. (21) Brose Baskets Bamberg (GER), 217.86
22. (23) Unics Kazan (RUS), 217.80
23. (27) Cajasol Sevilla (ESP), 216.61
24. (22) Asseco Prokom (POL), 210.59
25. (28) Gran Canaria 2014 (ESP), 207.62 – The wildest week was certainly turned in by Gran Canaria. On Tuesday, the Islanders managed to shoot 53.4% overall (including over 48% on 3s) but lost the wild 104-100 overtime match to Cedevita Zagreb, which managed a ridiculous 54.4% success rate in a virtual clinic. Five days later, Jaycee Carroll followed his 28-point showing against Cedevita with a dominant 26-point display in a nail-biting two-point victory over Baskonia. Open note to Canaria fans: Try and give the heart a rest this week, eh? Do something more restful than watching your team before the Copa Del Rey; you know, like skydiving.

26. (33) Benetton Bwin Basket (ITA), 206.48
27. (30) Asefa Estudiantes (ESP), 205.23
28. (29) Tartu Rock (EST), 203.56
29. (34) Norrkoping Dolphins (SWE), 202.31
30. (31) BC Azovmash (UKR), 200.72

31. (24) Galatsaray Café Crown (TUR), 200.26
32. (38) Cedevita Zagreb (CRO), 199.54 – What’s that? Highlights from the Eurocup game of the week, i.e. Cedevita’s OT win over Gran Canaria? Sure!

33. (44) Budivelnik (UKR), 196.28
34. (32) Cibona Zagreb (CRO), 195.50
35. (41) Pepsi Caserta (ITA), 193.15
36. (40) Bennet Cantu (ITA), 191.67
37. (43) KK Krka (SLO), 190.92
38. (39) Aris BSA (GRE), 190.73
39. (42) BK Ventspils (LAT), 189.58 – This, posted on the Baltic Basketball League Facebook page this morning: “BK Ventspils’ board decided to fire team’s head coach Algirdas Brazys. At the start of the season, Brazys signed a two-year contract with the team, but lately got some bad losses and the loss to VEF juniors in LBL was the last drop in the cup. Brazys managed the team for 16 games in BBL and won 12 of them. BK Ventspils is currently [in second place in the BBL]. Gee, you’d never know these guys are 30-10 in 2010-11 and have a two-game lead in their domestic league…

40 (tie). (45) CEZ Nymburk (CZE), 184.02
40 (tie). (49) Hemofarm Stada (SER), 184.02
42. (47) Buducnost (MNT), 178.73
43. (50) Siauliai (LTU), 176.44
44. (46) Banvit BK (TUR), 176.16
45. (48) VEF Riga (LAT), 172.33
46. (26) Valladolid (ESP), 170.83 – The numbers caught up with the Blancos Rueda this week, but the surprise of the ACB will surely climb the post-Copa Del Rey charts.

47. (51) Alba Berlin (GER), 168.50
48. (53) PAOK BC (GRE), 166.06
49. (52) Pinar Karsiyaka (TUR), 165.26
50. (25) Spirou Charleroi (BEL), 164.42

51. (55) Le Mans (FRA), 160.83
52. (56) Panellinios BC (GRE), 159.53
53 (tie). (35) Bizkaia Bilbao Baskets (ESP), 155.83
53 (tie). (36) DKV Joventut (ESP), 155.83
53 (tie). (37) Fuenlabrada (ESP), 155.83
56. (54) Beşiktaş Cola Turka (TUR), 153.55
57. (57) Rudupis (LTU), 153.49
58. (61) BG Goettingen (GER), 149.37
59. (59) Gravelines Dunkerque (FRA), 149.29
60. (60) KK Zadar (CRO), 145.40

61. (58) KK Zagreb Croatia Osiguranje (CRO), 143.14
62. (64) Dnipro (UKR), 142.81
63. (65) Chorale Roanne (FRA), 135.29
64. (63) Asvel Basket (FRA), 133.77
65. (62) SLUC Nancy (FRA), 132.25
66. (71) Perlas (LTU), 131.67
67. (n/a) Air Avellino (ITA), 131.11 – The high debut of the week welcomes back old favorite Air Avellino. By outgunning Virtus Bologna in a 104-101 shootout on Sunday behind Szymon Szewczyk’s incredible 36-point 17-rebound performance, this side is now 10-8 and holds fourth place in the Serie A standings going into the cup tournament.

68. (70) Maroussi BC (GRE), 130.83
69. (72) TTU/Kalev (EST), 129.31
70. (73) Spartak St. Petersburg (RUS), 129.05
71. (83) BC Minsk 2006 (BLR), 128.76 – The most dominant team in Europe domestically? Not even close: Minsk now sports a ridiculous 28-0 record in Belarus, led by Larry Hall, Tywain McKee, and Melvin Sanders; you may remember them … you know, the only Americans playing ball in Belarus…?

Incidentally, as far as BiE knows, McKee is still searching for a new nickname.

72. (74) Nevezis (LTU), 128.16
73 (tie). (66) KK Igokea (BIH), 125.83
73 (tie). (67) KK Radnicki (SER), 125.83
75. (76) Liepaja Lauvas (LAT), 125.33
76. (69) Hapoel Jerusalem (ISR), 125.15
77. (75) Khimik Yuzhny (UKR), 124.01
78. (68) Turk Telecom Ankara (TUR), 123.12
79. (80) BC Lokomotiv Kuban (RUS), 121.67

80. (79) KK Siroki TT Kabeli (BIH), 119.08
81. (81) Lukoil Academic Sofia (BUL), 119.07

82. (77) BC Donetsk (UKR), 117.69
83. (85) Honka Espoo Playboys (FIN), 117.15
84. (78) Deutsche Bank Skyliners (GER), 113.33
85. (84) EWE Baskets (GER), 108.89
86. (87) Gasterra Flames (NED), 107.33
87. (89) BK Prostejov (CZE), 107.22
88. (82) Hapoel Gilboa/Galil (ISR), 104.24
89. (86) Hoverla (UKR), 101.33
90. (88) Anwil Wloclawek (POL), 100.38

91. (94) Ferro-ZNTU (UKR), 99.62
92. (90) KK Crvena zvezda (SER), 98.83
93. (91) Orleanaise Loiret (FRA), 96.81
94. (96) Pyrinto (FIN), 95.61
95. (95) Telekom Baskets Bonn (GER), 93.14
96. (93) Elitzur Netanya (ISR), 92.33
97. (106) Kalev/Cramo (EST), 91.58
98. (n/a) Hyeres-Toulon (FRA), 90.98 – Aaaaaand just squeaking in is this LNB team, who climbed to 10-7 and sixth place in France with an upset win in Orleans – better yet, the W also got Hyeres-Toulon into the French Cup tournament.

99. BC Oostende (BEL), 90.73
100. (100) Mersey Tigers, n/a

Bubbling under: Maccabi Haifa (ISR), 90.21 points; Kryvbasbasket (UKR), 89.71; KTP Basket KOTKA (FIN), 86.46; Krasnye Krylia Samara (RUS), 85.00; Szolnoki Olaj (HUN), 84.33; Energa Czarni (POL), 80.52; Dexia Mons-Hainaut (BEL), 78.75; BC Kyiv (UKR), 74.67; SKS Polpharma-Pakmet (POL), 73.96; PGE Turow (POL), 73.33; Lisboa e Benfica (POR), 68.77; New Yorker Phantoms (GER), 65.95; Antwerp Giants (BEL), 65.42; Paris Levallois (FRA), 63.92; Artland Dragons (GER), 63.58; Apoel Nicosia (CYP), 62.28; LF Basket (SWE), 60.56; Enterprise Dynamo Moscow (RUS), 60.56; FMP (SER), 59.83; Trefl Sopot (POL), 58.33.

Best was a first-round draft choice of the Pacers in 1995. The point guard stuck with Indiana until 2002, when he was involved in the big seven-player trade that landed Ron Artest and Brad Miller with the Pacers while Best and Jalen Rose went to the Chicago Bulls.

Best’s success (and, in a lot of cases, playing time) decreased significantly in three more seasons in America with three further teams – the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets – creating the impetus for him to jump the Atlantic. Since 2005, Best has logged time with Unics Kazan, Virtus Bologna, Prokom Trefl Sport and Air Avellino.

In Russia in the 2005-06 season, Best went for 11.2 points and 2.7 assists in 29 minutes per game; 2006-07 with Virtus Bologna saw him figure for 8.4 ppg and 3.3 apg; and with Air Avellino last season, the veteran managed a line of 8.9 and 2.8 per game while shooting 49.3 percent on two-point shooting.

Announcing the transaction, Martos Napoli general manager Federico Pasquini stated that “Travis Best has experience, leadership, the ability to create a shot for himself and his teammates, and excellent skills in playing the pick-and-roll. I hope he can become a leader to guide the team in [the open-court game].”

Best was expected to join the club this weekend and was not listed on the roster for last night’s 96-64 loss at the hands of Benetton Treviso. The team’s next game is scheduled for Sunday, December 6, when Napoli travels to take on AJ Milano. Best will join fellow Americans/former NBA players Damon Jones and the immortal Robert “Tractor” Traylor on the team.

Napoli currently sits at the bottom of the Serie A table with a listed record of 0-8 and minus-2 points in the standings due to a league penalty.

Angelico Biella. Last year’s semifinal is only a memory: Biella must again plunge into the tough reality of its life as small basketball center among wealthier clubs and cities. On the other hand, the peacefulness and consciousness working in Biella makes it easier than in Milano to remain in Northern Italy. That’s what Fred Jones was surely thinking when he decided to cross the ocean and leave the NBA. The dunk specialist from Malvern is the noisiest acquisition an Italian club made this summer, and Jones could easily be Serie A MVP if he stays healthy. Joe Troy Smith is delegated to assist him, above and beyond scoring his usual 15 points per game, with support essential to a squad which has only one other pure shooter in Pietro Aradori. Aradori is set to confirm his past progress before returning to Roma, owner of his contract.

Coach Luca Bechi still seeks a backup point guard, after Valerio Spinelli did not agree with the club and stayed in Piemonte, mainly for economic reasons. To replace Vanja Plisnic, identified as starting power forward and now injured (out for two to three months), Sven Schulze has arrived. Centers Kieron Achara and Pervis Pasco don’t possess evident scoring tools, but their athleticism and dynamism keep the rhythm and tempo elevated. Matteo Soragna is the returning flagship who has been asked to be a locker room leader.

Pepsi Caserta. With a new and prepared coach – Stefano Sacripanti, who was great in Cantù and sufficient in Pesaro – and a sensational catch in Jumaine Jones, Caserta resets from an unlucky last season to begin another full of promise and renewed ambition. Jones has to expiate the sins of last year, when he signed with Armani Jeans Milano and Ural Great Perm at the same time, and must show the desire to play again at those standards of two years ago in Napoli, where half a season was enough to make him an idol and maybe the most talented player in Serie A. Jones’ pre-season has been encouraging, as have Caserta’s strong and convincing performances against Serie A rivals. Newcomer Timmy Bowers is fundamental for Sacripanti, due to his ability to play three spots and his court vision: He’ll help captain Fabio Di Bella and Lukasz Koszarek in handling the entire playbook, which has been announced as heavy. Ebi Ere is a guard without European experience and is very physical and unselfish. Antanas Kavaliauskas, Andrea Michelori and Phil Martin are great fighters near the basket. Caserta has a lot of points in its hands, though must raise its defensive intensity if the target is a playoff appearance.

Scavolini Spar Pesaro. Top scorer Mickael Hicks is no longer alone, but has Marques Green resolved those foot problems which interrupted his rise to the Euroleague level? That’s the main question Pesaro fans are afraid of, because Green can be considered a champion here in Italy, if he recovers the condition he had in Avellino two years ago. When he shined along with Eric Williams, the old-school center bought by Pesaro to again create a duo which must be the cornerstone of coach Dalmonte’s starting five. Instead, Williams has unspecified stomach problems that he wants to take care of in the US, so he’s out for a month or two; in his place is Lance Allred, a fugitive from Napoli. Without a pivot good at anchoring the paint and taking a position near to the basket, Marques Green has to be a finisher and not only a driver, to get the best out of Sam Van Rossom and Dusan Sakota. A team with too short a bench (Simone Flamini, Casey Shaw, full stop) and not-so-strong possibilities to score more than 70 points, whether or not Hicks and Green combine for 35 points per game.

Sigma Coatings Montegranaro. Few people look at Montegranaro as one of the likely candidates for a playoff spot. Maybe last summer’s episodes – Shawn Kemp’s trick and GM Roberto Carmenati’s departure – are still fresh in the minds of fans and journalists. Despite this, to me Montegranaro made smart moves on the smart market, with some acquisitions underestimated early but worth mentioning in a hypothetical list of “deals”. Robert Hite comes from Belgium (Oostende), but his previous experiences at a high European level – a few games with Tau Vitoria, then at Galatasaray Istanbul – suggest he can become a top player in Italy. He’s the perfect combo-guard lookalike, can handle the ball and score from the distance, can assists and get to the rim. To make him free to create for himself and his teammates, Anthony Maestranzi is the solution on the backcourt while Marquinhos is the other star in waiting for new coach Fabrizio Frates. The Brazilian, coming from NBA and just in Montegranaro in 2005, is a small forward of 207 centimeters, capable in the mid-range game and overpowering when shooting from distance against shorter defenders or forwards not so happy to leave the the paint. Under the basket, logically there’re two fighters in Greg Brunner (last year in Biella) and Bulgarian Dejan Ivanov, who at the end of last season caught eight rebounds in 25 minutes per game, with Brandon Hunter before him. Pay attention to Michele Antonutti, a possible starter at small forward, while Luca Lechtaler and Daniele Cavaliero are in search of verification of their Serie A careers.

Air Avellino. Dee Brown is as talented as Morris Finley; DeMarcus Nelson is as skilled as Ricky Minard; Cenk Akyol is as worthy as Davor Kus. So why are they in Avellino trying to avoid relegation to Legadue while their counterparts are with more important clubs? Perhaps the simple past form should be used: Brown, Nelson and Minard *were* as talented as, etc. Avellino has bet on men who could soon be waived or just as easily become heroes like Marques Green, Devin Smith and Eric Williams were. We have to see how Cesare Pancotto explains to a backcourt composed of guards used to dribbling for 15 seconds per play that there’s only one ball to play with, and that it must be passed to a low-post scorer like Chevon Troutman. Szymon Szewczyk has improved his scoring tools and he’s ready to stay on the court for at least 20 minutes, Filip Dylewicz is the only pure wing in the roster, and he can play power forward sometimes as well. Anyway, everything depends on the Brown-Nelson-Akyol trio, with the Turkish guard who must take advantage of Avellino’s opportunit, to get a national-team call-up in the year of Turkish World Championships and restore his reputation at the highest levels.

Carife Ferrara. A nice city to visit, to eat and to see a good basketball team. In its second year in Serie A, Ferrara established itself as a solid presence in the Italian panorama. This year, management wanted to build a team not only strong enough to battle to remain in the first league, but also fun to watch. So Anthony Grundy and Luke Jackson are in, and goodbye was wished to flag-bearer Andre Collins. Grundy is coming off two devastating seasons at Panellinios, where he often did more than they asked him; he’s overdue to take control of Ferrara’s operations, representing a dependable go-to guy on a team that, apart from Luke Jackson (not as crack as some think: He’s a tremendous shooter but has to be served in the right way to be fruitful), has not a lot of talent. Yohann Sangarè believes he is a worthy Euroleague playmaker and he’ll get the chance to prove it in Ferrara, where he’s the starting point guard; Harold Jamison and Joel Salvi (over to Oluoma Nnamaka) are not at all convincing for a roster that a Grundy demands. That’s the conundrum: Grundy runs, Ferrara walks.

NGC Medical Cantù. Cantù’s budget goes down year after year, but in the end, GM Bruno Arrigoni succeeds on scooping up players – often unknowns – from all around the world to stay in Serie A. Baby coach Andrea Trinchieri (who just guided Cremona to the first league) hopes the magic happens again, so as not to fail in his first experience among more high-level coaches. Othyus Jeffers, an athletic player who loves to attack the basket but is only 195 cm tall is the new name coming from US minor leagues, and his pre-season has pleasantly surprised all those managers too tired to go to America to see players like him. Jeffers is a risk, and the insurance policy is Maarten Leunen, the former Darussafaka Istanbul forward (averaging 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds) who does his best when he can shoot from five meters out, and shooting guard Manuchar Markoishvili, just 23 but with a long career in Europe (with Benetton Treviso, Mitteldeutscher, Union Olimpija, and BK Kiev). From Rieti arrived Jerry Green, a setup man whose brain is brighter than his talent: That counts in Cantù, where the others are role players (Nicolas Mazzarino, Benjamin Ortner, Tautvydas Lydeka) and Arrigoni is sure he doesn’t have to repair their mistakes.

Vanoli Cremona. This newcomer from Legadue hasn’t a great tradition, but is the expression of an Italian area full of businessmen and opulence. So in its first year in Serie A, Cremona has built a team which can ask for something more than simple safety. E.J. Rowland is a guard who deserves attention after remarkable seasons in Germany and a Eurobasket 2009 played with Bulgaria thanks to his passport. He’s a modern point guard, doesn’t tend to overplay and has a nice feel for the game. He’s consistent, and “consistency” is the thing coach Stefano Cioppi wants from his men — and mainly from Gary Forbes, in Italy again after Napoli’s swindle last summer. Huge expectations are on Forbes, a powerful forward who knows how to use his body either against guards or big men, and is useful in several zones of the court. Consistency is what Vangelis Sklavos (last year in Rieti), Brandon Brown (last year in Teramo) and Troy Bell will surely give to Cremona, while the Italian core is led by Marco Cusin and his desire to emerge: He’s the starting center, with Sklavos behind him, and he can’t go wrong. Look at the names: Would you be able to tell Cremona is enjoying its Serie A debut?

Cimberio Varese. One year of Legadue hell for a club which has so many Italian championships and Euroleague trophies inside its showcase was sufficient. Now it’s time for Varese to try to remain in Serie A, even if the team hasn’t much money to steal an interesting player or two from mid-level teams. Ronald Slay and Jobey Thomas arrive after being turned down by a number of Italian teams; Michel Morandais is not at fault if his career’s gone south since his physique hasn’t held up; Randolph Childress, nearly 38 years old (!), needs an oxygen tank under the bench. As it stands, captain Giacomo Galanda remains the key to a team endowed with valuable young Italians: forward Nicolò Martinoni, on loan from Treviso for a second year, center Riccardo Antonelli, and guard Fabio Mian (born in 1992). If nothing works with the “seniors,” coach Pillastrini can teach his “juniors” instead.

Martos Napoli. This team was once called Nuova Sebastiani Rieti, and it failed at the end of last season. Its owner is Gaetano Papalia, who has found a way to continue his dubious activity in Italian basketball by moving the club from Rieti to Napoli, whose own team itself failed a year ago. This attempt at deceit has just been unmasked, however, with the revelation that Papalia has no money to pay players (Lance Allred and J.R. Reynolds have just fled), coaches, or infrastructure. Today, Napoli-Rieti has eight players and some youth. It’s the result of the reigning chaos here in Italy, where a new rule declares that, starting with the 2010-2011 season, the penultimate team will pay €500,000 euros to the second newcomer from Legadue in order to remain in Serie A. That’s what a man like Gaetano Papalia wants and that’s why Italian professional basketball is hopeless.

Group C is the pool which is getting officially overhyped in this tournament as the “Group of Death” sports journalists so often seek to pigeonhole one quartet in such international tournaments. To those opining such, we can simply say, “Whatever.” I mean, just look at today’s lines for the group.

EuroBasket 2009 – Group C – Outright Winner
Spain: 3/10
Serbia: 19/4
Slovenia: 19/4
Great Britain: 125/1

Sure, this is a group of death – if you’re any team not named “Spain.” Not only has Team Spain’s odds for taking this group improved, having gone from 1/3 favorites to 3/10, the odds on their taking the whole EuroBasket 2009 enchilada are getting shorter all the time. Spain currently sits atop the “Outright Winner” odds table in a steady progression from 6/5 to 1/1 to today’s 3/4 to win it all.

Meanwhile, Serbia is getting few takers at the bookmakers’, apparently, having lengthened their odds from 15/4 to today’s 19/4. Team Britain, meanwhile, has gone from a please-bet-two-pounds-on-this 18/1 line to a hefty 125/1 after Luol Deng announced he wouldn’t play.

On the other hand, Serbia’s loss is Slovenia’s gain. If you’re a believer in this bunch get about the punters’ bandwagon now because these odds are dropping faster than knickers at a Dwyane Wade pool party: Once 8/1 at Sporting Bet, Slovenia is down to even with Serbia at 19/4 odds to take Group C and should be seen as second-favorites in this group before this group round tips off.

Recommendations? Well, you can’t bet against Spain, but this Team Slovenia is one to keep an eye on in this tournament – they could surprise. For your further consideration, see the quite impressive extended roster, which includes 10 Euroleaguers and three from the NBA:

Sani Becirovic (Roma), Mirza Begic (Union Olimpija), Primoz Brezec (Roma), Goran Dragic (Phoenix Suns), Jurica Golemac (Roma), Goran Jagodnik (Nymburg), Nebojsa Joksimovic (Hemofarm Vrsac), Jaka Klobucar (Union Olimpija), Matej Krusic (Helios Domzale), Jaka Lakovic (FC Barcelona), Domen Lorbek (Benetton Treviso), Erazem Lorbek (CSKA Moscow), Marko Maravic (Union Olimpija), Bostjan Nachbar (Dynamo Moscow), Saso Ozbolt (Union Olimpija), Emir Preldzic (Fenerbahce Ulker), Uros Slokar (GMAC Bologna), Matjaz Smodis (CSKA Moscow), Marko Tusek (Air Avellino), Beno Udrih (Sacramento Kings), Samo Udrih (Estudiantes), Sasha Vujacic (Los Angeles Lakers), Gasper Vidmar (Fenerbahce Ulker), Miha Zupan (Union Olimpija).

For the calculations of this ranking, we took into account all the games of the regular season and the Top16. It is also important to know that Partizan Belgrade played one game in the Belgrade Arena which gives them a higher average than the size of their usual arena. Here we go for the results of the 2008/2009 season.

1. ALBA Berlin 11263.9 spectators per game (versus last season: NQ)
2. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv 10937.5 (-0.11%)
3. Panathinaikos 10212.5 (-10.42%)
4. TAU Ceramica 8985.6 (+10.80%)
5. Unicaja Malaga 8893.8 (-1.67%)
6. Partizan Belgrade 8617.6 (+48.06%)
7. Real Madrid 8437.5 (-8.49%)
8. Olympiacos 7740.0 (+21.89%)
9. SLUC Nancy 5628.4 (NQ)
10. DKV Joventut Badalona 5513.2 (NQ)
11. Regal FC Barcelona 5175.9 (+6.59%)
12. Cibona Zagreb 4975.0 (+48.82%)
13. Zalgiris Kaunas 4881.8 (-1.72%)
14. Le Mans 4840.0 (+19.72%)
15. Montepaschi Siena 4735.1 (-5.98%)
16. Efes Pilsen Istanbul 4600.0 (-2.13%)
17. Union Olimpija 4340.0 (-16.77%)
18. Fenerbahce Ulker 4337.5 (-11.48%)
19. CSKA Moscow 3825.0 (-28.50%)
20. Lottomatica Roma 3787.6 (-14.49%)
21. Armani Jeans Milano 3050.3 (+29.01%)
22. Asseco Prokom Sopot 3050.0 (+4.66%)
23. Air Avellino 3007.0 (NQ)
24. Panionios Athens 2460.0 (NQ)

The average attendance of a Euroleague game has increased by 1.28% to 6193.8 spectators per game. A new individual game record has been set during the Top16 match between Partizan Belgrade and Panathinaikos Athens with 22567 official spectators. ALBA Berlin immediately stormed to the top of the list with the inauguration of their brand new O2 World Arena. The biggest increase in terms of spectators was registered by Cibona Zagreb where the average rocketed by 48.82%.

Other nice improvements have been registered at Olympiacos and also for Armani Jeans Milano who slowly start to attract more people to their arena.

Dickau cleared the air in an interview with BIE’s David Hein, which was published in German basketball magazine Five.

Here an excerpt from the interview:

This summer is the European basketball championships in Poland. There are conflicting reports on your status with the Polish national team. Are you eligible to play for the host nation this summer and do you think you will play?

Dickau: They came out to L.A. last year and expressed their interest and I told them I was interested in it as well. It’s something that I haven’t totally committed to. I’ve let my agent kind of handle the information and they have been going back and forth as of now. So I haven’t actually spoken directly to the Polish federation in a while. But I haven’t completely shut that out of my mind. If they’re still interested and it’s still possible then I may do that. It’s really kind of hard to say because I don’t know all the final dates. I don’t know how long this season is gonna last. Those are all different considerations as well in making a yes or no answer.

But are you eligible to play for Poland right now?

Dickau: As far as I know yes.

So you do have a Polish passport?

Dickau: I do not have a Polish passport as of now. But we’re in the process of getting one.

There were also conflicting reports early this season regarding your departure from the Italian club Air Avellino, ranging from cortisone shots for back pain to a refusal to take a test for illegal substances, to problems with housing. Could you clear the air on this issue so that everyone knows what happened?

Dickau: I’ll clear the air on some of it. I had some back spasms and some issues, I had to sit out a couple practices and they took that as I wasn’t healthy. Well, that doesn’t make any sense because two days later I’m in training camp with the (Golden State) Warriors. So my back obviously isn’t that bad. After a couple days where my back was sore or stiff with spasms, they wanted to give me a shot in my back. I said no (laughing), this is my back. I’ve never had any problems with it before. I don’t need a shot. I’ve never been a guy who takes Advil or anything for pain. I’ve always just done it naturally. So that’s what that was. To the day, I haven’t had any other back pains. So it was really interesting.
As far as the housing, sometimes when guys come over to Europe, things are set up how they’re used to. That wasn’t the case. Nothing was ready. So my family and I were in a hotel for two and a half weeks. With three kids that’s not easy. I’m not pointing fingers or blaming anyone. I just don’t think it was the right situation for us as a family at time. We moved on. We haven’t said anything negative to Avellino or about Avellino because I don’t think it was their fault and I don’t think it was our fault. It’s just something that didn’t work out.

Dickau was also asked about an incident in 2005 when he slammed a door on the fingers of Dirk Nowitzki during his short time together with the German superstar at the Dallas Mavericks:

It seems kind of ironic that you landed in Germany after playing a short time in 2005 with Dirk Nowitzki. What do you think when I say: “‘Dude, open the door. My fingers are in there.”

Dickau: (Lets out a big laugh) Aah, that was one of the funniest experiences I have ever had – whether it be family, friends, teammates or whatever. And it happened to be with one of the 10 best basketball players in the world. A few of us were going out to dinner. I just closed the door and the next thing I hear he’s asking me to open it back up. And I’m thinking what the heck is going on. I look back and his fingers are sticking in the door. But it didn’t matter. I think it helped him the next day. The next night I think he had something like 42 points against Miami. So maybe he needs to have his fingers shut in the door more often.

• Always a beauty, the ACB has come up with the best plays of the most spectacular players of the season so far. And no surprise here: The top 3 is composed of Sergio Llull, Quinton Hosley and Marcus Haislip.
• How to come back from a 16-point deficit against TAU Ceramica Vitoria.
• A preview of the Semaine des As, the French version of the Copa del Rey.
• An interview with former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket and Indiana Pacer Travis Best, who plays now for Air Avellino in Italy.
• After the arrival of Tony Parker as shareholder in ASVEL Villeurbanne, French basketball media discuss how supposed future French National Team coach Vincent Collet reacts when he’s the boss of TP for the nationals while working as Parker’s employee at ASVEL.
• Sometimes, European basketball fans talk about the lesser media coverage of the Euroleague in their respective countries and envy the all-around marketing machine of the NBA. But what happens these days around All-Star Day makes me think we have Euroleague coverage sufficient enough for me, because who cares if Allen Iverson cut his hair?????? I read at least four reports about that story in the few RSS feeds I subscribe to. When will the Euroleague follow and talk us about Igor Rakocevic’s newest haircut? I can’t wait…
• With the FMP City of Belgrade Tournament, 6 of the 8 participants to the Nike International Junior Tournament are known. Admitted to the event, organized during the Final Four in Berlin, are Kalise Gran Canaria, Montepaschi Siena, Lietuvos Rytas, Unicaja Malaga, FMP Zeleznik and Hemofarm Vrsac. Additionally, two teams will be determined by a wildcard playoff.

Part I will present all that before Part II, in which the games in Barcelona and Roma take center stage.

Just almost…

Prokom’s Pat Burke came very close this week to writing his name in the Euroleague history books. Burke finished the game in Kaunas with 20 rebounds and could have become just the fourth player in Euroleague history to notch a 20-20 game, but instead scored 18 and stayed off the list. The only three players who registered a 20-20 performance remain: Spencer Nelson, Antonis Fotsis and Mirsad Turkcan. The first two are only playing in the Eurocup this season. Behind them is a list of four more performances by players who reached 20 rebounds or more, but failed to connect on enough points. Turkcan is in charge of three of them, while the fourth is Dejan Milojevic’ 17-point, 20-rebound game. Burke scored his 18th point when there were still four minutes to play, and actually had a great chance to make the list with a shot under the rim in the closing seconds of an already decided game, but was blocked by … Loren Woods, which leads us right into the next joint.

Blocking tree

Philosophy still hasn’t found an answer to the question, “If a shot is rejected in the middle by Woods and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”, but Prokom felt Loren’s presence all the way. That block on Burke was only one of seven the Zalgiris center delivered on Thursday night, finishing with seven points, 14 rebounds to go with the seven blocks: Not too far from the third triple-double in Euroleague history and the first to be reached with blocks. The Euroleague record for blocks in a single game belongs to Ukrainian big man Grygorii Khizhniak, probably the best shot blocker in Euroleague’s history. Khizniak also played for Zalgiris when he put in his eight-block game back in the debut season of the Euroleague in 2000. That game, by the way, went into overtime and Khiz played over 40 minutes, so that record will carry an asterisk. Khizniak also had two additional games with 7 blocks, tying him with Woods and yet another former player of Zalgiris, Darjus Lavrinovic, who reached that figure in only 27 minutes. In total, Zalgiris holds the top five shot blocking performances in the list. Behind them are four players with six block: Fred Weis who pulled it off in 23 minutes; Maceo Baston, who notched the total in a Final Four semifinal game; another Maccabi player in Terence Morris; and Marcus Haislip in his days with Efes.

Pass last Logan

Still along the line of Zalgiris blocks, more or less, here’s the story of Prokom’s David Logan in Kaunas wherein he finished the game with no fewer  than 21 attempts from the field: not a figure you see every week in the Euroleague. The bad news was that he connected on only five of those shots on the way to a terrible 23.8% night. Logan actually scored his last field goal in the final minute of the third quarter, cutting the difference to 57-54 and reaching a not-so-fun-in-the-first-place 5-for-13 on field goals. The problem was that in the last quarter he missed all of his eight shots, and dropped to the terrible numbers above. During that run of missed shots, Logan was blocked three times and reached a total of four received blocks in the games. If it’s any comfort, he wasn’t the only one to suffer so this week.

Chris too

After the terrible performance last week against Maccabi it was time for Chris Warren of Avellino to wake up. He provided 16 points and 6 rebounds as his team once again gave Unicaja a hard time but, like Logan, Warren was blocked four times. For Chris, it happened in a span of 18 minutes and each block was made by a different opposing player. Not an easy experience.

Bluth and D. Spen are tied

Two more games to go in the season and this race will be decided only on the last game. David Bluthenthal and Dewarick Spencer are now tied 4-4 in the weekly race for “Who took more field goal shots for Le Mans?” Bluth won 12-10 this week, an expected score, since he played against his former club Maccabi.

Where We Stand, Group A

So now it’s final and official. The four teams to qualify to the Top 16 are: Olympiacos, Unicaja, Cibona and Maccabi. Le Mans will host Avellino next week to try and avoid a winless season before flying to Greece. Right after the break, get ready for a big show when Olympiacos comes to Tel Aviv to meet former coach Pini Gershon. All is open among the four as they still have to play one another. Maccabi will travel to Malaga in the last week, so they are in charge of their own destiny, but a 19-point loss in Greece and a 7-point home loss to Unicaja makes make the task difficult. The next round of games will decide if it’s a Olympiacos-Unicaja battle on top and a Maccabi-Cibona fight for 3rd place or just a free-for-all.

True survivors

Efes Pilsen had to win in Athens to avoid an uncomfortable situation, considering their last two games are against CSKA and at Real. Efes lost to Panionios in the first leg, 78-69, and replied with a close result but five points better for them, 78-74. Coach Ergin Ataman decided to bet on his veterans and it paid off big time: 31-year-old Bootsy Thornton had started in all of Efes’ Euroleague games this season, but for 32-year-old Greek forward Michalis Kakiouzis, it was the first time. Neither wasted time in making a statement: The Turks took a 11-4 lead after five minutes, while Kakiouzis had seven points and two assists in the run – nothing but perfection. After a Peker dunk, it was Bootsy’s time. He scored seven points in a row for Efes and saw Kakiouzis reappear with another assist as Efes took a 22-6 lead they never relinquished. Both veterans provided their season highs just in time. Bootsy had 18 points on 5-for-7 from the field, 6-for-6 from the line, three rebounds and four assists to reach an index rating of 25. Kakiouzis returned with 15 points, 5-for-8 from the field, 4-for-4 from the line and five rebounds on the way to an index rating of 22.

Where we stand, Group B

It’s very unlikely Barcelona won’t finish first after their performance in the last two weeks, so the big is on the 2nd spot and it will take place right after the break in Siena. Montepaschi will host Pao with both teams tied at 6-2. Pao won by five in the first leg, so anything but a five-point win by the Italians will give Pao second place. Things are wide open at the bottom, as Zalgiris can still escape from a terrible 0-7 start to gain a spot in the Top 16. Right after the break, they  host SLUC Nancy; a 15-point win, not an unreachable goal considering their shape in the last two games, would give them the first place in the tiebreaker with the French and Prokom. If no huge upsets happen, that win would be enough for Zalgiris to qualify. A Lithuanian win of less than 15 will push Prokom into the next stage. A French win would punch Nancy a shocking Top 16 ticket.

The future!

OK, there was one more thing to follow in that game if you’re a diehard youth basketball fan. In fact, if you’re a scoutk then this game is a must-see, as 1989-born Georgian center Giorgi Shermadini, who was recently signed by Pao on a long-term contract, took the court for the first time and played more than 10 minutes in which he felt the big difference between dominating European youth championships and the real world of basketball. On the other end waited the 214-cm, 1988-born big man from Niger, Amadou Aboubakar Zaki who spent a season-high 20 minutes on court. The kids combined for one point, and if you are curious how they did on court, well, there are other places on the web to hunt for that type of information.

The matchup that never happened

The Le Mans-Unicaja match had the potential to host one of the most intriguing match-ups Euroleague 2008/09 can offer. Unicaja’s big lead allowed coach Aito Garcia Reneses to send 1989-born guard Raimundo Lopez De Vinuesa, who certainly sports one of the coolest names in the competition, on court for the closing minutes. On the other bench waited Le Mans’ 1990 born guard Pierre-Etienne Drouault, but coach Jackson decided to keep him there, preventing two of the longest names in the Euroleague to go head-to-head. Who cares about Chase vs. Cook who these two young fellas can challenge any TV commentator?

Cyril goes on the road

Some players feel better at home. The rims are more familiar, the chants of the fans give them confidence, the five-minutes-before-tipoff hot dogs taste better and the cheerleaders, too. For Nancy’s Cyril Julian the case is different. Maybe he’s not a big fan of the local rims, perhaps the fans haven’t found a cool rhyme for his name; it’s possible the Nancy hot dogs are too expensive, and the cheerleaders…

So far in two home games, Julian hasn’t scored more than six points, hasn’t grabbed more than five rebounds and his highest index rating is thus far six. On the road, in three difficult spots as at Sopot, at Montepaschi and at Barcelona, he has scored at least 17 points, seven rebounds, and an index of at least 23.

Milos and Peja’s home visit

When players go back to face their former team, in an arena they are very familiar with, they usually excel more than the usual. When Milos Vujanic went back to Pionir with Efes to meet Partizan, he was anything but excelling. Milos grew up in Red Star, which is yet another great reason for him to do his best to torture Partizan, but made his breakthrough to Europe’s center stage with Partizan. In 2002/03, he was the top scorer of the Euroleague at 25.8 points per game.

Actually if you count only his games in Pionir, his season low was 26 points. His next visit to Pionir was in 2004/05 with Fortitudo Bologna, and he scored 25 with five assists to reach an index of 26. Leave out his next and last visit, as a back up player of Pao, and you’ll find his visit this week, once again as a key leading player, as the exception. Vujanic fouled out after less than 23 minutes on court in which he went only 2-for-5 from the field, scored eight points and lost three balls.

Even for Predrag Drobnjak, in his re-debut with Efes, in a gym he spent so many hours and big games on his way to greatness and the way back from there, it wasn’t a happy visit. The veteran played less than four minutes, scored two points and turned the ball over once.

Showing how to get it done

So Milos blew his home coming game against Partizan, but there’s someone who didn’t. The story goes that in the 1999/2000 season Sarunas Jasikevicius returned to his hometown Kaunas with Olimpija. The season before that, he had returned from five years in the USA and wanted to fulfill the dream of any Kaunas kid: to wear the jersey of Zalgiris. Only the green club had different ideas, so the kid had to cross the street and play for Rytas.

Zalgiris went on to win their historical Euroleague title that season, but Saras waited for the right time. In that Zalgiris-Olimpija game, the locals held a 17-point lead before Saras led his team back in the game, all the way to an 85-84 win. With the buzzer, Saras started his own private celebration. He ran around the court for a while with his fists in the air, expressing his joy in the most extroverted possible way. Legend tells he even stopped in front of Zalgiris bench and said “My name is Sarunas. I grew up here, but you didn’t want me and now I beat you,” or something like that.

Whether there’s any truth to that legend or not doesn’t really matter. His obvious post-game celebrations were noticed by all, but it doesn’t seem like it was enough for Saras to feel like he had cashed his check yet. In any season he faced Zalgiris, there was at least one game in which he excelled (and in the other less so). Even his career highs in points (37) and index rating (37) were tallied against his hometown team in the famous game in Tel Aviv when the teams went head-to-head for a win-or-die Final Four ticket match. This season has been no exception: One week after we mentioned his streak was over after he finished a Euroleague game with no points, came a 15-point, four-assist, 22-index night in less than 22 minutes at Zalgiris.

Mirror performance

Olimpija’s Mirza Begic was one of the nicest surprises in the first three weeks of the Euroleague; once teams put more focus on him, though, things have changed, and Begic has not reached double-digits in the last three weeks. The best example of the change was this week, when his team suffered its worst home defeat ever, 86-65 to Joventut. When the teams met in Week 1, back in the day when Joventut still had Pops, Begic scored 17 points on 8-for-9 from the field and 1-for-3 from the line. This week, they didn’t leave him a choice, played much more physical defense on him, and didn’t allow him any easy baskets. Begic finished the game versus Joventut almost with numbers mirroring the first encounter: 0-for-1 from the field and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. Kudos to Joventut’s bigs and coach Sito Alonso for a well executed plan.

Devil Smith

Devin Smith arrived in Istanbul as an intriguing player. The season before, he had led Avellino to a great campaign which eventually got them a ticket into the Euroleague. With Fenerbahce Ulker, Smith is doing well in the Turkish league but so far hasn’t foundnd his game in the Euroleague. He stands on only eight points per game with a sub-39% two-point ratio and awful 14.8% from long range. Actually, if you take out his game at Joventut, Smith has made just one three-pointer on 20 attempts in five games.

This week, Smith tallied his worst game yet, finishing the match against Tau missing all his six attempts from the field, didn’t make it to the line even once and committed three turnovers. In total, that’s a minus-5 index rating. Some might say the Euroleague is too big for Smith, and that’s debatable, but he’s still a better player than the numbers show so far. If it’s any comfort, his block on Begic near the end of the 2OT win over Olimpija will stay one of the highlights of the season.

When it all connects

Already last week it was pointed out here that CSKA Moscow is having trouble on the road. The near losses in Madrid and Beograd included a few made three pointer nights, and it was the same in Milano. This time, the percentages were much better, but CSKA connected only five times from long range. Matjaz Smodis finished 0-for-4 from the field but 8-for-8 from the line, and Siska … well, that was covered already. Zoran Planinic was sweeter than sweet in the first half while CSKA took a 20-point lead on the way to what seemed like another walk in the park, but … not that night.

So you know youngster Luca Vitali, a long-time Italian prospect, shone at five for six from long range, but the performance of David Hawkins in the last 11 minutes of the game was something you have to catch. He scored 15 points in that span, including seven in the final two minutes and the last five points from Milano in the game. In that run he missed just a single shot, and broke CSKA’s defense piece by piece. Even more surprisingly was the return to life, at least for a few minutes, of Massimo Bulleri, who scored six points in the fourth quarter. What stood out most in this win was Milano’s aggressive defense, especially in the fourth. For several minutes, it actually felt like CSKA was facing a … CSKA defense.

The uncompleted comeback

Last week, you were asked to check out the “Play of the Week”: Aaron Miles’ coast-to-coast drive to beat the halftime buzzer. This week his coast-to-coast to beat the buzzer also beat Real Madrid, but the story of the game was Real’s comeback. The Whites actually started the game with a 10-2 lead. but from that moment Panionios took over and in the next 20 minutes went on a 53-17 run, to reach a 55-27 lead in the 27th minute.

Then it all started. Real stormed back with a 31-5 run in nine minutes and later on even got the lead back, but their run is worth a closer look. During those nine minutes, Panionios made no fewer than eight turnovers, almost one per minute, but if you think Real was perfect on the other side, you’ve got the wrong picture. Coach Joan Plaza’s boys were actually 5-of-11 from the free throw line and lost four balls in that run but still managed to get it done. It was thanks to massive control on the offensive glass, where their hands were quicker or longer no fewer than eight times. Those extra possessions and easier access to the basket, as usually happens after an offensive rebound, allowed them to stand on 11-of-17 from the field in that run. Marko Tomas was the main man behind the comeback when he scored all of his 18 points of the game in the closing 13 minutes.