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Over the long Easter weekend, the playoff picture in several domestic leagues became clearer, some tournaments advanced a round or two and the VTB United League crowned a champion.
Below, BallinEurope supplies information on the current situation in European Leagues’ regular seasons and/or playoffs. This list will be updated whenever possible.
With most leagues drawing to a close and playoffs beginning – not to mention champions already crowned in Albania, Cyprus, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Norway and a few regional leagues – BallinEurope returns its “List of European Basketball Champions.”
At present, only the above-listed domestic leagues have shut down for the summer; BiE supplies information on the current situation in the others’ regular seasons and/or playoffs. This list will be updated whenever possible.
Better late than never, as the old expression goes; and in the case of Unics Kazan’s 2010-11 season, continuing to achieve late could prove much better in the medium- and long-term future.
Few teams so actively rebuilt and retooled with purpose last offseason as Unics Kazan, bringing aboard Slavko Vranes out of Partizan Belgrade, 2009-10 Euroleague/FIBA Worlds sensation Kelly McCarty, and Zakhar Pashutin from Spartak St. Petersburg, among others while ensuring key big man Maciej Lampe would stick around for another couple seasons.
Massie: Massive en France
No relative merits or penalties were assessed for the league in which BiE’s all-stars compete, and domination in one league was a top criteria for making the team. Currently, just four players lead a major European domestic or regional league in two of the big three statistical categories (i.e. points, rebounds and assists) and all are represented with the below-listed magnificent seven.
These guys may not yet exactly be household names, but BiE’d go into battle with this quintet any day – especially right now when they’re hot.
Along with the Euroleague draws for the 2010-11 season, yesterday also saw the release of the matchups in the EuroCup qualifying tournament bracket. Sixteen teams start in the qualifiers, with eight winners of two-game series advancing to the EuroCup regular season.
The matchups are:
Besiktas Cola Turka vs. Deutsche Bank Skyliners
Hapeol Migdal Jerusalem vs. Belgacom Liege
Aris BSA 2003 vs. PBC Lukoil Academic
Gran Canaria 2014 vs. KK Zagreb Croatia Osiguranje
BC Azovmash Mariupol vs. Entente Orleanaise
BC Spartak vs. PAOK BC
Benetton Basket BWin vs. Apeol Nicosia
Dynamo Moscow vs. Cedevita Zagreb
Games one will be played on September 29, with home and visiting teams switching roles for a second game on October 6.
The primer for FIBA EuroChallenge 2009-10 continues at BallinEurope with a brief look at Group D, a quartet of teams fairly well familiar with European tournament play.
