Scariolo: No, really, i can explain everything...

With one more week of Euroleague play to go before the field of viable contenders officially shrinks again, Ball in Europe contributor Francesco Cappelletti wraps the round that was in the big league. In this week’s roundup, Signor C. laments Montepaschi Siena’s fate, Sergio Scariolo’s precarious position and the reason Olympiacos might yet give Barca a workout before all is said and done (Hint: It starts with “Linas” and ends with “Kleiza”).

Group F focus
Oddly, the group which could have been in doubt until the buzzer of Week 6 suddenly has two qualified teams after five weeks: These are Real Madrid and Maccabi Tel Aviv, teams which will meet next Thursday at Palacio Vistalegre to define a first place currently in possession of the Israeli side for their 81-76 victory of February 4.

Montepaschi Siena was shocked by a 43-point fourth quarter scored by Alan Anderson and teammates. OK, take out the final (meaningless) 10 points, and 33 remain on the back of the Italian champions. How was this possible? MPS had recovered during the third period thanks to big hearted Terrell McIntyre and bad offensive decisions from previously unstoppable Doron Perkins, but, I mean, if you play with six men (seven minutes of nothing for Nikos Zisis in crisis, Ksistof Lavrinovic plagued by back spasms), and you enter the final fraction with a 3-point advantage at Yad Eliyahu, well, you know your destiny.

Montepaschi ran out of gas, watching the Anderson-David Bluthenthal duo destroy basket from the short or long range. Coach Simone Pianigiani has his faults, obstinate as he is about playing the same rotation every game in every competition. Somehow he didn’t notice the team aging, he didn’t want to accept that it might still be possible to win in Serie A by letting the likes of Tomas Ress, Marco Carraretto and Denis Marconato play more than Romain Sato and Shaun Stonerook…

An era is over, and the bad news is that the two new faces (Zisis and David Hawkins) brought in to represent a new beginning, are not worthy of Euroleague. Instead, Ettore Messina got in a full Abdi Ipecki and that away win he needed to be sure of a playoff spot. The second quarter was decisive, with four consecutive triples (two each for Jorge Garbajosa and Sergio Llull, again the best two on the floor) broke the game open and Efes Pilsen never managed to come back. Despite foul issues, Felipe Reyes was fundamental, giving an internal dimension Real often lacks in perimeter specialist Darjus Lavrinovic and Garbajosa.

On his part, Ergin Ataman forgot Daniel Santiago, very effective in just five minutes of use, while Igor Rakocevic has confirmed suspicions of those critics who say he hasn’t been playing because he no longer the same Igor Rakocevic. It seems Rakocevic has suddenly realized he’s 32 years old: He had the opportunity to turn around the worst Euroleague season of his career this week, but he wasn’t good at all.

Drew Nicholas: BallinEurope.com reader

Mental consistency
Sergio Scariolo must be furious. BC Khimki is now in third place in Group H and clearly not favoured to gain the group’s second pass to the playoffs. The Russians’ saga began with an amazing win in Baskonia, then it was time for a loss (with the same scoring differential!) in Moscow against Tiago Splitter-orphaned Caja Laboral, and the story continued with an unpredictable humiliation in Zagreb, where Cibona took the first success of its Top 16 and kept itself in the race to qualification.

The final week’s schedule shows an interesting game in BC Khimki-Olympiacos: Scariolo’s team must win by a margin of seven points more than Caja Laboral’s over Cibona. Otherwise, Scariolo is out. Out of Euroleague and, probably, his job. We’ll see if in Spain, Dusko Ivanovic will try to put injured Splitter back in the roster for the crucial game: Don’t tell him that Baskonia has a better look without the Brazilian and Mirza Teletovic is playing like an All-Star.

Talking about mental toughness – what BC Khimki hasn’t enough of – some word on Panathinaikos and Asseco Prokom is obligatory. The Greens saved their Euroleague season by winning in Belgrade (Did Drew Nicholas read the last Frank Euroleague Roundup? He answered it with an amazing 6-of-6 from beyond the arc) and messing up Partizan’s plans. Assuming Regal FC Barcelona doesn’t lose a decisive home game against Dule Vujosevic’s boys, the Serbian team is rooting for PAO to beat Maroussi BC, or the third Athenian club will go to playoffs to the Partizan’s detriment.

Kleiza: How will Barca stop him?

The real contender
We’ll have to wait for the draw which will cross the four qualified teams at the Final Four. However, we can just say Asseco Prokom is not a serious rival for Olympiacos, so the Reds are quite sure to be in Paris. The impression is they are the only squad able to make Barcelona sweat on the way to winning the trophy. Olympaicos has the talent, length, weight, and experience.

And above all, they have Linas Kleiza.

“Experts” who describe Kleiza as a power forward make me laugh: Have they ever seen him in action? Maybe when he was at University of Missouri he was a power forward. Now, he’s something out of the European standards of small forward. He has the body of a four, the movements of a three, and the shoot of a SG or SF.

Who on Barcelona can guard him? Big men Fran Vazquez and Terrence Morris haven’t the feet speed to stay with him, Pete Mickeal is physically smaller. Lubos Barton (who played four minutes at Maroussi in his first Euroleague appearance of the year) is for me the ideal solution, even if I know he’s not healthy and Xavi Pascual’s not a lover of individual defensive tachtical moves. But more than pick-and-roll plays involving Milos Teodosic/Theo Papaloukas and Nikola Vujcic/Ioannis Bouroussis/Sofoklis Schortsanitis, over Josh Childress’ explosions to the basket, Oly depends on Kleiza. And on defense, unwatchable and absolutely to change for a team whose ambition is to replace mortal enemy Panathinaikos on the throne.

Mumble mumble…
The breakout games of Sergio Llull (14.5 points in the last two games) did coincide with a light dip in Rimas Kaukenas’ numbers (a total of four points in 23 minutes); Messina thanks his Spaniard but he knows first place in Group F is due to a Lithuanian resurrection … Andrey Vorontsevich is the nicest news for coach Pashutin: With his contribution, the solid Sasha Kaun and an outstanding Viktor Khryapa, Pashution can easily bench Pops Mensah-Bonsu, a big man someone (e.g. Montepaschi, BC Khimki) would welcome with a red carpet … Aleks Maric caught 12 rebounds against Panathinaikos (no Pekovic for Obradovic) and shot 2-of-10 from the paint: It’s hard to face athletic giants like Mike Batiste and Marcus Haislip … Marko Tomas keeps on shining: Real Madrid’s management must again think of that unhappy movement intented to confirm Louis Bullock and discharge the Croatian … Young Zalgiris Kaunas’s honouring its Euroleague Top 16 bid better than did Unicaja Malaga, who would have believed so two months ago…?

Related posts:

• The Frank Euroleague Roundup: Top 16, week three
• The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16 finales
• The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16, week four

Seriously. Montepaschi came into the game having looked strong in Euroleague competition this season thus far; with a good-enough win over Maccabi Tel Aviv to open the Euroleague Final 16 round and coming off a near-100 point win over Napoli in Serie A play, the visiting Italians entered the game a 3.5-point favorite.

So, to put it in a nutshell, what happened? Whither the outclassed play? And what does this say about Serie A ball, over which the suddenly visibly flawed MPS currently rules at 16-0. Managing to corner the busy Cappelletti for five minutes on chat, BiE asked a few simple questions.

BallinEurope: Okay, so basically, the question is this: What the fuck happened to MPS last night? i.e. What were the keys to their defeat, especially after that huge win the other day?

Francesco Cappelletti: So many reasons.

BiE: lol

FC: Remember: Napoli is not a real team. It’s near to failure. It has only 17-year-old players. Anyway, physically Montepaschi is in a bad moment. Lavrinovic has back spasms and it’s evident Montepaschi doesn’t have a frontline to face Efes Pilsen. If the referees are like those three of last night – I mean referees who love contact and allow a physical game – Siena doesn’t have any chance at the highest level, because near the basket it’s ridiculous. And if T-Mc and the others don’t put the 3s in … in the paint Eze and Stonerook are not worthy of the Euroleague Top 16 offensively, even less so with Lavrinovic at 50%.

BiE: But MPS is 16-0 in Italy! How is that possible, given how bad they looked last night?

FC: MPS is 16-0 because the Italian League is going down and down. To imagine the state of Serie A, think about the money Toti invested on Roma and the youth program of Treviso – they’re out of Final Eight! And Caserta is in second place!

BiE: Yeah, i was looking at the standings. More than half the teams are 9-7, 8-8, or 7-9. Crazy.

For those interested in highlights from Siena’s deflating, not-nearly-that-close 88-78 loss to Efes Pilsen, video may be seen here. Not for the faint-hearted.

Related posts:

• The Frank Euroleague Roundup: Top 16, week five
• The Frank Euroleague Roundup: Top 16, week three
• Just how good is Montepaschi Siena, anyway?

Pointspreads and over/under lines for tonight’s games, as provided by Euroleague/Ball in Europe sponsor Sporting Bet, run below the break.

CSKA Moscow v Maccabi Tel Aviv
Handicap: CSKA minus 5
over/under: 147.5

Panathinaikos v Real Madrid
Handicap: Panathinaikos minus 7
over/under: 153.5

Efes Pilsen v Unicaja
Handicap: Efes Pilsen minus 5
Over/under: 152.5

Armani Jeans Milano v Asseco Prokom
Handicap: Milano minus 6
Over/under: 152.5

FC Barcelona v Zalgiris Kaunas
Handicap: Barcelona minus 21
Over/under: 146.5

Entente Orleanaise v Partizan
Handicap: Orleanaise plus 3
Over/under: 148.5

Sporting Bet has dozens of other lines and odds on Euroleague games and domestic basketball leagues in Europe. Click on either logos or banner at right for more information. Good luck, all, and especially Zalgiris with that three-touchdown handicap!

Related posts:

• Euroleague attendance figures mostly dismal through four weeks
• Betting on basketball: Pointspreads and odds for Euroleague week 3, part 2
• The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16 finales

Zalgiris Kaunas vs Barcelona
Handicap: Zalgiris Kaunas plus 7
Over/under: 146.5

Maccabi Tel Aviv vs CSKA Moscow
Handicap: Maccabi minus 4
Over/under: 150.5

Union Olimpija vs Caja Laboral Baskonia
Handicap: Olimpija plus 5
Over/under: 156.5

Partizan vs Entente Orleanaise
Handicap: Partizan minus 8
Over/under: 142.5

Real Madrid vs Panathinaikos
Handicap: Real Madrid minus 2
Over/under: 150.5

Unicaja vs Efes Pilsen
Handicap: Unicaja minus 6
Over/under: 146.5

So the book says Panathinaikos 76-74, eh? Sounds plausible, but this game may be even more high-scoring than that: The minimum either team posted in its first two games was Panathinaikos’ 75 in the game one win. Those 14/1 odds on the game to head into overtime are tempting, too.

If they pay attention to such things, the roster of powerhouse Barcelona might be miffed Sporting Bet are giving Kaunas only seven points; the Lithuanians should be afraid, methinks.

And as for that Partizan-Entente Orleanaise game, the only bet I’m willing to hedge is that one team will leave this game with its first win.

Sporting Bet has quite the selection of odds, handicap and proposition bets on tonight’s games in the Euroleague and elsewhere. For more information, click on the banner or logos at right. Good luck, everyone!

Related posts:

• SportingBet lines and odds for Euroleague week eight matchups
• Euroleague attendance figures mostly dismal through four weeks
• The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16 finales

•    October 15^th: Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv vs. Union Olimpija Ljubljana. As the 2009-10 season opener, of course this makes the list by dint of that reason alone. But after a disappointing campaign last year and a not-so-hot off-season thus far – essentially a switch from Lior Eliyahu to Maciej Lampe – Maccabi is surely going to be looking to make a statement early.

•    October 21/22: Partizan Belgrade vs. Unicaja. The year’s first Euroleague home game for Partizan. ‘Nuff said.

•    October 21/22: Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius vs. Efes Pilsen Istanbul. Welcome back to the Euroleague, Lietuvos Rytas, and welcome back to Vilnius, Efes Pilsen SK! Efes Pilsen last came to Siemens Arena in 2007 during EuroCup play, while Lietuvos last played Euroleague baskeball in 2007-08, when all they did was go 11-3 for the best record ever by a Lithuanian team in Euroleague play. Basketball-mad Vilnians will pack the 11,000-seat house for this one, to be sure, creating an awesome environment for Lietuvos Rytas’ reentry. You may begin pitying Efes Pilsen now.

•    October 28/29*: ALBA Berlin vs. CSKA Moscow. This one depends on Berlin surviving the qualifiers, of course, but O2 Arena proved to be quite the swell venue during the Final Four last year, and its first Euroleague home game of the year will probably be well worth the watching for atmosphere alone. Having perennial powerhouses CSKA as guests will help to ensure that all eyes are watching.

•    November 4/5: Real Madrid vs. Panathinaikos Athens. Twin towers meet to define the Group D race early.

•    December 16/17: Panathinaikos Athens vs. Real Madrid. Twin towers meet to define the Group D race – and the playoff matchups – late.

•    January 13/14: Qualifying team vs. Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv; Virtus Roma vs. Union Olimpija Ljubljana; CSKA Moscow vs. Tau Ceramica. Sorry, just can’t help it. I’m obsessed with Group C. Yes, American sportswriters love to overuse the expression “Group of Death” in international pool-play competitions, but 2009-10 Euroleague Group C lives up to the name.

This week in January will see the wrap-up of 30 bruising, demanding games between some truly excellent Euroleague squads. One could easily imagine four of these teams tied atop the table at 5-4 going into this final week, and that CSKA Moscow/Tau Ceramica game could very well send a great team home beaten and disappointed … but hey, somebody has to lose, right?

Related posts:

• Groupings announced, Euroleague 2009-10 tips off (sorta)
• Euroleague, Eurocup, EuroChallenge participants announced
• Euroleague attendance figures mostly dismal through four weeks

From the notebook, then, a few choice words of wisdom after the results of the draw were announced.

“Today we are at a key point in Euroleague history. Today we celebrate the first event of the new Euroleague. … A new foundation based upon a high level of consensus amongst clubs, leagues, national federations, FIBA Europe and FIBA World. A consensus reached following two years of debate and dialogue, comprehension and flexibility, sacrifice and identification of the common interests.”

“Nobody has reached 100% of their goals. Yet everybody understands that the new Euroleague is much better than the Euroleague we left behind.” – Euroleague CEO Jordi Betromeu kicking things off seriously and concisely. The full text of Betromeu’s speech is available here.

“Lior Eliyahu is now playing for Tau Ceramica. It will be something very strange to have to play against one of our players.” – Maccabi Tel Aviv chairman Shimon Mizrahi, who really did appear quite sad about Eliyahu’s departure.

“From the marketing side, [it’s] a very good group.” – CSKA Moscow CEO Andrey Vatutin

“It’s good news for marketing, this group.” – Tau Ceramica general manager Carlos Izar; think any of these guys are worried about their economic situations?

(Visible wince, trace of a smirk, brief pause.) – Vatutin’s immediate response to the suggestion of Euroleague’s Frank Lawlor that CSKA Moscow may be “a bit of an underdog this year.”

“We always try to win the title, [and] we’re going to win one more time. I think.” – Panathinaikos team manager Manos Papadopoulos

“The group is … I … I think is … we can arrive in the Top 16.” – Montepaschi president Ferdinando Minucci (Anybody penciling in a finals of Panathinaikos vs. Montepaschi…?)

“We had started the season with two wins and then we lost incredibly at home to a low-ranked team, and then we couldn’t make the Top 16 for the first time in Efes Pilsen history, which was a disaster for us, so we have to forget this…” – Efes Pilsen general manager Engin Ozerhun, who clearly has *not* forgotten, reliving his team’s 2008-09 Euroleague bid.

“It was because of our great play. Because we played very well in the first part of the season, and the people start to be crazy in Belgrade. I hope it will be similar this year.” – Partizan general manager Mladan Silobad, on *those* crowds in Belgrade, which set an attendance record for Partizan last season.

Related posts:

• The Frank Euroleague roundup: Top 16, week two
• Groupings announced, Euroleague 2009-10 tips off (sorta)
• Euroleague Top 16 draw: The Frank take

Group A
Regal FC Barcelona
Montepaschi Siena
Cibona Zagreb
Fenerbahce Ulker
Zalgiris Kaunas
ASVEL Lyon Villeurbanne

Group B
Olympiacos Piraeus
Partizan Belgrade
Unicaja
Efes Pilsen Istanbul
Lietuvos Rytas
(qualifying team TBD)

Group C
CSKA Moscow
Tau Ceramica
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv
Virtus Roma
Union Olimpija Ljubljana
(qualifying team TBD)

Group D
Panthinaikos Athens
Real Madrid
Armani Jeans Milano
Asseco Prokom
BC Khimki Moscow region
EWE Baskets Oldenburg

Over the next few days, BallinEurope.com will take a more in-depth look at each group, team by team, but for now … Oh, the questions! Oh, the speculation! Which bunch could become known as the “Group of Death,” A or C? How much damage can Zalgiris Kaunas do against the generally bigger teams in Group A? How much would Greek fans dig seeing either Maroussi Athens or Aris Thessaloniki – the teams meet in the first round of the qualifying tournament and draw the winner of Le Mans-ALBA Berlin – in that Group B with Olympiacos?

And finally, how long is it before the season starts?

Related posts:

• Euroleague, Eurocup, EuroChallenge participants announced
• Euroleague attendance figures mostly dismal through four weeks
• Attendance Figures for European Competitions (Euroleague)

And now, the list!

(But first, a quick primer brought to you by FIBA Europe:

•  The Euroleague regular season will feature 24 teams. Twenty-two teams qualify directly into the Euroleague, with the remaining two teams to be determined by an eight-team, two-round tournament.

•  The Eurocup regular season will feature 32 teams. The six teams who fail to qualify for the Euroleague will remain in Eurocup, joining 18 teams who qualify directly, and eight teams who will qualify via the 16-team Eurocup qualifying round.

•  The eight teams who do not progress past the Eurocup qualifying round will join the 24 teams already qualified for The FIBA EuroChallenge listed below.

End primer.)

Euroleague regular season – automatically qualified
Cibona Zagreb (Croatia)
Asvel Lyon Villeurbanne (France)
EWE Baskets Oldenburg (Germany)
Olympiacos Piraeus (Greece)
Panathinaikos Athens (Greece)
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv (Israel)
Armani Jeans Milano (Italy)
Virtus Roma (Italy)
Montepaschi Siena (Italy)
Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania)
Zalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania)
Asseco Prokom (Poland)
CSKA Moscow (Russia)
BC Khimki Moscow Region (Russia)
Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)
Union Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia)
Real Madrid (Spain)
Regal FC Barcelona (Spain)
Tau Ceramica (Spain)
Unicaja (Spain)
Efes Pilsen Istanbul (Turkey)
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul (Turkey)

Euroleague qualifying round
Alba Berlin (Germany)
Entente Orleanaise Loiret (France)
Maroussi Costa Coffee (Greece)
Benetton B. Gioco Digitale (Italy)
Spirou Basket (Belgium)
BK Ventspils (Latvia)
Aris Thessaloniki (Greece)
Le Mans Sarthe Basket (France)

EuroCup regular season – automatically qualified
KK Zadar (Croatia)
CEZ Basketball Nymburk (Czech Republic)
Cholet Basket (France)
SLUC Nancy Basket (France)
Telekom Baskets Bonn (Germany)
Angelico Biella (Italy)
BC Siauliai (Lithuania)
PGE Turow Zgorzelec (Poland)
UNICS Kazan (Russia)
BC Triumph Lyubertsy (Russia)
Spartak St. Petersburg (Russia)
Hemofarm (Serbia)
KK Crvena Zvezda (Serbia)
DKV Joventut (Spain)
CB Gran Canaria (Spain)
Turk Telekom (Turkey)
Galatasaray Cafe Crown (Turkey)
BC Azovmash Mariupol (Ukraine)

Eurocup qualifying round
WBC Kraftwerk Wels (Austria)
Dexia Mons-Hainaut (Belgium)
Apoel Nicosia (Cyprus)
Chorale Roanne Basket (France)
Brose Baskets (Germany)
Panellinios B.C. (Greece)
Hapoel Jerusalem (Israel)
VEF Riga (Latvia)
Bancatercas Teramo (Italy)
KK Buducnost m:tel (Montenegro)
EclipseJet Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Dynamo Moscow (Russia)
Pamesa Valencia (Spain)
Bilbao Basket (Spain)
Besiktas JK Cola Turka (Turkey)
BC Donetsk (Ukraine)

FIBA EuroChallenge Regular Season – automatically qualified
Aalstar (Belgium)
Antwerp Giants (Belgium)
Liege (Belgium)
Minsk (Belarus)
Zagreb (Croatia)
Cedevita (Croatia)
Proteas EKA AEL (Cyprus)
Keravnos (Cyprus)
Kalev (Estonia)
Tartu Rock (Estonia)
Gravelines (France)
Chalon (France)
Strasbourg (France)
Gottingen (Germany)
Artland Dragons (Germany)
Scavolini Spar Pesaro (Italy)
Eiffel Towers (Netherlands)
Ploesti (Romania)
Rostov (Russia)
Krasnoyarsk (Russia)
CSK VVS Samara (Russia)
Banvit (Turkey)
Khimik (Ukraine)
BC Kyiv (Ukraine)

Related posts:

• Groupings announced, Euroleague 2009-10 tips off (sorta)
• Attendance Figures for European Competitions (Euroleague)
• First thoughts on first Euroleague outright winner odds

The club rankings are dominated by ACB teams, which is not a big surprise. The only exception is ALBA Berlin, which moved up to second place because of the new O2 World arena which provided them so many opportunities. Zaragoza could not really do better, as they improved by just 0.62% over last season despite moving up a division. ALBA increased their average attendance by 35.5% to 9360 spectators per game. Third place went to TAU Ceramica, also the third team to be above the 9000 mark, with 9231 spectators per game.

The ACB has nine of the top 10 spots in the rankings, while it only has three teams in the second 10. From 11 to 20, you can find the top Italian team (La Fortezza Bologna), the second-best German squad (Brose Baskets) and the Israeli champs Maccabi Tel Aviv. A nice surprise is the presence of Zadar in 16th place with an 5772.7 average in the Adriatic League. The biggest increase since last year for all teams on which data was available was shown by Russian’s Spartak Saint Petersburg, which moved its average by 120.43% to 3481.8 fans in the arena.

Another interesting point is the presence of proposed Euroleague A-License teams in the rankings. While three Spanish teams (TAU, Unicaja and Real) are in the top ten, the next are far lower in the ranking. Maccabi Tel Aviv finishes in 14th place, while Montepaschi comes in at number 21.

After having already seen a decrease in their average attendance in the Euroleague, CSKA did not fare better in the Russian Superleague, finishing only 106th overall, with a decrease of 11.16% to 2165.7 spectators per game. The worst Euroleague A-License team for attendance is Efes Pilsen Istanbul, though, with a stunning average of 391.7 “fans” to rank 284th.

The full rankings include all the teams for which we found data available until today, and the data represents only regular season games. Additionally, it should be noted that the Greek teams only published the number of sold tickets per game, which does not include season ticket holders and thus their averages can be considered higher than posted.

Related posts:

• ACB remains leader in attendance
• The Euroleague group draw 2008
• Attendance Figures for European Competitions (Euroleague)

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.

Related posts:

• The Euroleague group draw 2008
• Euroleague, Eurocup, EuroChallenge participants announced
• Euroleague Transfers Table 2008/2009