The "beautiful, enigmatic bastard"

Lazy Sunday? Great: BallinEurope has just the thing to occupy your time! Below run some quality articles and gawk-worthy YouTubes from the week that was in European basketball and NBA lockout land for your perusal. The bullet-point format is in effect and the show stars Danny Green, Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, Walter Szczerbiak, Spike Lee and Samuel L. Jackson. Enjoy!

• For an excellent and thorough piece on the Real Madrid offense (and concomitant weak interior defense) in light of Thursday night’s Euroleague loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv, check out this work at In The Game. Figures writer Rod Higgins in part: “…it is doubtful that [Real’s] current style will serve them particularly well once the regular season is over. Madrid get most of their wins by simply outscoring their opponents. This means that they have to improve defensively; Bilbao, Milano and Maccabi have repeatedly exposed the weak interior defense of the Merengues earlier in the season…”

• Hey, some positivity for the Lithuanian fans! Roll the top 10 plays by Lietuvos Rytas in October!

• Project Spurs is very proud of their boy Danny Green right now.

• Cameroon hoopster (and one of the game’s great names) Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje was forced to retire this week due to a heart condition. Boumtje-Boumtje played six full seasons in Greece and Germany after playing sparingly for the Portland Trail Blazers and had begun this season with FC Bayern München. Boumtje-Boumtje took one national championship, with EWE Baskets Oldenburg in 2009.

The center became something of a YouTube phenomenon while playing with Oldenburg; the classic “Top 10 Dunks over Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, 2008-09” as produced by a fan of the team has been removed – you can get an idea of Oldenburgers’ compilation of Ruben’s sadder moments in Germany here and here and here. On the plus side, the following is a nicely done tribute to Boumtje-Boumtje as he appears on the right end of a posterization, done up in the “Amazing Happens” format.

• Speaking of great names, Euroleague official website writer Vladimir Stankovic this morning contributed a nice bit of history on Walter Szczerbiak, the “superstar with the unpronounceable name.” (Really? What’s so difficult about “Walter”?)

• Yahoo Sports ran a slightly random piece about some random weirdness on Twitter due to the NBA lockout. You gotta love the suggestion “to replace the entire NBA with eager and skillful Afghanis,” but BallinEurope still doesn’t get the reticence of American NBA fans to, you know, check out this little association over here called “Euroleague.” Or even that “ACB” thing…

• Still no video posted by Euroleague on Jordan Farmar’s awesome 27-point show against Real Madrid, but here’s the game in its entirety, should you not have the Euroleague pass. The YouTube username for this contribution is given as “DejanBodyIsBack”; BiE’s glad to hear it, as Dejan has long been one of the great providers of European basketball clips to the ‘Tube.

• Is a “Free Kristers” campaign coming? Team Latvia U20 player Kristers Zeidaks has been ruled ineligible by NCAA officials to play with Mississippi State this season, due to participation in professional league play in his home country.

• Hardwood Paroxysm’s Noam Schiller wrote up an awesome bit of work on Andrei Kirilenko, the “beautiful and enigmatic bastard” who just kills in Europe – and how.

• Spike Lee has weighed in on the NBA lockout: He’s against it and reckons that “…one day, very soon, the Knicks will have an NBA championship.” – major surprises there. However, now might be a good time for a flashback. See below a couple of Nike ads from the 1998 player lockout starring Spike and Sam Jackson (that’s right).

He's baaaa-aaaack!

Returning from the surprise of 2010 are Robertas Javtokas, Mantas Kalnietis, Martynas Pocius, Tomas Delininkaitis, and Paulius Jankunas of Zalgiris Kaunas, plus Martynas Gecevicius and Simas Jasaitis of Lietuvos Rytas. Also named to Kemzura’s preliminary squad is Zalgiris’ Mindaugas Kuzminskas, who was a reserve for the 2010 Team Lithuania.

Lithuanian fans themselves surely must be cheered by the return of six former national team members, nearly all European legends: Sarunas Jasikevicius and Darjus Lavrinovic (Fenerbahce Ulker); Rimantas Kaukenas and Ksystof Lavrinovic (Montepaschi Siena); Darius Songaila (Philadelphia 76ers); and Marijonas Petravicius (AJ Milano).

NBA draftniks – and those looking to catch a glimpse at some of Europe’s up-and-coming talent – will be keeping an eye on Donatas Motiejunas, Jonas Valanciunas and Mindaugas Kuzminskas.

Others named to the 20-man roster were Deivydas Gailius (Virtus Bologna), Arturus Jomantas (Lietuvos Rytas), Mindaugas Lukauskis (EWE Baskets Oldenburg), and Renaldas Seibutis (Olin Edirne).

While this roster appears pretty fearsome in combination with the homecourt advantage, veteran FIBA tournament coach and reputation earned in 2010, some Lithuanians are apparently not so easily impressed. Tweeted BiE compadre Simas Baranauskas minutes after the announcement: “Apparently what you need for an international call-up in Lithuania is 2.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per game in Euroleague. Artūras Jomantas…”

See below for a roundup on the current situation in regular seasons and/or playoffs in the Continent’s domestic leagues. This list will be updated whenever possible.

Any information BallinEurope readers can provide is much appreciated as well.

Euroleague: Panathinaikos took its third championship in five years by decisively taking out first Montepaschi Siena and then Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Euroleague Final Four tournament. In the year of Dimitris Diamantidis, the PAO guard added another trophy to the mantelpiece by bagging the tourney’s MVP award.

ULEB Eurocup: Unics Kazan became the first unlicensed team to officially join the 2011-12 Euroleague ranks with a decisive 92-77 victory over Cajasol Sevilla in the championship match. Maciej Lampe contributed a huge effort with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Kelly McCarty went for 18 and Terrell Lyday put in 15. But it was Marko Popović who was named MVP for dishing out a Eurocup championship record 11 assists to go with his 18 points.

FIBA Eurochallenge: Krka Novo Mesto topped Lokomotiv Kuban 83-77 to take the 2011 FIBA EuroChallenge title in Belgium, thanks to a fourth-quarter comeback; in the third-place game, hosts Oostende snuck past Spartak St. Petersburg, 94-92, in overtime.

Adriatic League: Partizan Belgrade took its fifth straight NLB title by defeating fellow Euroleague side Union Olimipija, 77-74, in the championship game.

Balkan League: Macedonia’s KK Feni Indistrija won its first-ever BIBL title by defeating Rilski Sportist of Bulgaria, 88-75, in the championship game.

Baltic League: Žalgiris Kaunas defended home court with the magic of the “Green Death” to take the Baltic League title over VEF Riga, 75-67.

VTB United League: BC Khimki overcame fellow Muscovites of CSKA, 66-64, in the VTB championship game; Vitaly Fridzon was named Final Four tournament MVP. For third place, Eurocup champs Unics Kazan survived Azovmash Mariupol.

Albania: SK Tirana were crowned Albanian Basketball League champions after twice topping UAT. Despite going just 7-8 during the FSHB regular season, UAT snuck into the finals by upsetting theretofore-undefeated Studenti Tirana in a best-of-three round.

Austria: Regular-season no. 1 and no. 2 seeds Allianz Swans Gmunden and Oberwart Gunners each won their five-game semifinal series three games to two and will face off for the Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga championship beginning today.

Belarus: Is BC Minsk-2006 the European team of the year? Certainly, the Belarusian champions compiled one of the best single seasons ever in terms of straight-up record with a pair of 3-0 sweeps in the playoffs to bring their final mark for the 2010-11 season to a perfect 46-0.

Belgium: The Ethias League regular season runs through May 14.

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Last year’s championship finalists Siroki TT and BC Igokea Aleksandrovac now hold 1-0 leads in semifinal series against Mladost and Borac Nektar, respectively.

Bulgaria: Of the top four seeds from the regular season, three remain to play in the semifinals: Lukoil Academik, Levski Sofia and Rilski Sportist; the sole upset in the first round came when no. 6 Tundja, which had compiled a 10-18 record, upended no. 3 Balkan in two straight games.

Croatia: In stage 2 of the Croatian League, Cedevita Zagreb maintains their lead atop the table at 11-2, but KK Zadar and Zagreb Croatia Osiguranje are both nipping at the Eurocuppers’ heels at 10-3 after the latter upset them last weekend. Two games remain to play.

Cyprus: After a wacky playoff tournament which ultimately saw no. 4 seed Intercollege Etha Engomis face off against no. 6 AEL Limassol (who were just 6-10 in the regular season!) for the title, Etha was named 2011 champions in winning the series three games to two. Kudos to these champions, who reportedly have quite the long history of Cinderella and/or underdog status – and this season, league MVP Anthony King.

Czech Republic: The Czech Republic’s marquee team, CEZ Nymburk, has advanced to the quarterfinals, as have BK Decin, Prostejov and Pardubice. This round begins play on Saturday.

Denmark: The Bakken Bears were named Ligaen champions after avenging last season’s championship series loss to Svendborg by sweeping the Rabbits 4-0 in the finals. Bakken’s former Texas Tech Red Raider Charlie Burgess was named league MVP.

Estonia: Kalev/Cramo looks poised to take the Estonian title as they hold a 3-0 lead over TU/Rock in the championship series. Game four will be played on Saturday.

Finland: Tampereen Pyrinto are the Finnish champions after destroying Kataja in the deciding game five of the finals, 80-57. Damon Williams was named regular-season MVP after compiling a fantastic line of 18.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per over 55 games.

France: The LNB regular season has concluded and eight teams will begin duking it out in the playoffs on May 17: Cholet Basket, SLUC Nancy, Chalon-sur-Saone, Gravelines Dunkerque, Chorale Roanne, ASVEL Basket, Hyeres-Toulon, and Le Mans Sarthe.

Germany: It’s another cliffhanging playoff tournament in the Bundesliga … Brose Baskets Bamberg and Deutsche Bank Skyliners have advanced to the semifinals, while the Artland Dragons-New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig and ALBA Berlin-EWE Baskets Oldenburg series are both knotted up at 2-2. The deciders will be played this weekend.

Greece: Surely no one would be surprised to see the traditional Greek final this year, as Olympiacos is now a record 28-0 against Greek sides this season, while surely still-high Euroleague champions Panathinaikos are coming from the other semifinal bracket; the Reds and Greens will have to get past Aris Thessaloniki and PAOK, respectively, first, however.

Holland: The DBL final will be played between the regular season’s top two seeds, the Eurochallenge’s ZZ Leiden and GasTerra Flames of 2010-11 Eurocup.

Hungary: In Hungary, a new champion will be crowned as defending champs ZTE were bounced earlier in the playoffs. Right now that titlist would appear to be Albacomp, which eliminated the 2009-10 runners-up Atomerőmű SE Paks in the semifinals and now holds a 2-0 lead over Szolnok.

Iceland: In what is perhaps Europe’s smallest league, the tinily-titled KR (a.k.a. KR Reykjavik if you’re not into the whole brevity thing) defeated Stjarnan, three games to one, to take the title.

Ireland: Killester Dublin made it back-to-back titles by defeating Neptune Cork, 84-80, in the championship.

Israel: The looooooooooooooong Ligat HaAl playoff tournament crawls onward, with eight teams still in contention. Surely nobody there wants to take on powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv after David Blatt’s boys suffered the Euroleague championship loss; they’re up 2-0 on poor Elitzur Netanya currently, with game three tonight.

Italy: Two more rounds of play remain in the Serie A regular season.

Latvia: In Latvia, that Baltic country with talent all out of proportion to its size, has a championship series featuring Eurochallengers Ventspils and Eurocup/VTB United League side VEF Riga. No. 1 seed Riga is up 1-0.

Lithuania: As expected, Žalgiris Kaunas and Lietuvos Rytas are dueling for LKL supremacy for an incredible 13th consecutive time, with the championship series at 1-1; BiE can only await some good ol’ off-court weirdness so representative of these two teams.

Luxembourg: The Diekirsch League begins its semifinal round this weekend, with matchups of Etzella vs. Sparta and Amicale against T71 Dudelange. Sheerly based on names, BiE is pulling for the Dudes and “This Is” Sparta.

Moldova: In Moldova, the semifinal matchups are no. 1 seed UASM against BC Gamma Cahul, while ASEM gets the awesomely-named Fire Ball Bender in the other series.

Norway: Baerum Basket bested the Tromso Storm in two straight games to win the Norwegian title.

Poland: Perpetual power Asseco Prokom is tied up with PGE Turow in the finals with one win apiece.

Portugal: The LPB finals begin tomorrow night with Porto Ferpinta (21-1 in the regular season) hosting Benfica.

Romania: Once again, the ever-reliable Adi Micinic of TotalBaschet.ro, provides BallinEurope’s with an update on the Romanian basketball playoffs: “In the decisive fifth game, U Mobitelco BT Cluj-Napoca beat Gaz Metan Medias, 80-70, to advance in the final for the second time in a row. Cluj won the series, 3-2.

“CSU Asesoft Ploiesti and Cluj-Napoca will meet in the championship final for the second consecutive year and for the fourth time since the 2005-06 season. Asesoft has won the title on all three previous occasions: In 2006 the score was 4-1, in 2008 it was 4-3, while last year it was a 4-0 sweep, all in favour of Asesoft. CSU Asesoft is going for its eighth Romanian championship in a row, while U Mobitelco Cluj are three times champions, the last title coming in 1996.

“Last season Cluj had home court advantage, but this season Ploiesti will have this advantage. The final is a best-of-seven series.

“Meanwhile, BC Miercurea Ciuc beat Politehnica Iasi, 102-87, in Game 5 of the relegation series. Miercurea Ciuc won the series by 3-2. Iasi are now relegated to Divizia B a season after they won promotion. CSU Cuadripol Brasov were already relegated after they lost 3-0 to SCM Universitatea Craiova.”

Russia: Two more rounds are left to play in PBL season; Unics Kazan, bounced in the VTB United League semis, has all but clinched the top seed for the playoff rounds; at 19-6, they’re 2½ games up on CSKA Moscow and Lokomotiv Kuban.

Serbia: Three more games are to be played by Serbian Superleague teams. Naturally, Partizan still tops the table at 10-1, while the Eurocup-contending 2010 runners-up KK Hemofarm are right behind the Black-and-Whites at 9-2.

Slovakia: BK Astrum Levice were named 2011 Slovakian champions are beating BK SPU Nitra three games to two. Americans Mike English and Esian Henderson starred for Levice in the decisive game five, with the former putting in 21 points and seven rebounds, while the latter added a double-double of 15 and 11.

Slovenia: The second stage of Slovenian ball ends on May 17.

Spain: This weekend will cap the seemingly interminable ACB regular season. FC Barcelona has clinched the top spot for the tournament, while only a disastrous combination of two Madrid losses plus a PE Valencia win could keep Real out of the no. 2 seed (though factoring in the current tailspin the Whites are experiencing, i.e. three consecutive losses between ACB and Euroleague play, it’s possible, BiE supposes).

Also guaranteed berths are Caja Laboral Baskonia, Gran Canaria 2014, and Bizkaia Bilbao Baskets. A bit of a dogfight will be had over the final three spots, with Fuenlabrada (19-14), Unicaja Malaga (18-15) and Valladolid (18-15) still looking to see how things shake out.

Sweden: In a battle between the last two season’s champions, Sundsvall Dragons recaptured the Basketligan title from 2010 winners Norrköping Dolphins in seven games. The Dragons dominated the league’s awards for 2010-11 as well: Jakob Sigurdarson bagged MVP, Guard of the Year and Import Player of the Year nods; Forward of the Year was Alex Wesby; and finally, the MIP trophy went to Johan Jeansson.

Switzerland: Lugano Tigers have defended home court, taking a 2-0 over Fribourg in the championship series.

Turkey: The TBL playoff tournament has just gotten underway, with matchups pitting Fenerbahçe Ülker vs. Antalya; Efes Pilsen Istanbul vs. Karsiyaka; Banvit BK vs. Olin Edirne; and Galatasaray Café Crown vs. Beşiktaş Cola Turka … hey, wait a minute: Didn’t a certain Mr. Answer say he’d be back with Beşiktaş for the playoffs…?

Ukraine: Next week will see the tipoff of the championship series between regular-season top two seeds Budivelnyk and Eurocup’s BC Donetsk.

United Kingdom: Liverpool Mersey Tigers won the BBL championship in between Sharks Sheffield, 79-74, in the championship game.

Below, BallinEurope supplies information on the current situation in European Leagues’ regular seasons and/or playoffs. This list will be updated whenever possible.

Any information BallinEurope readers can provide is much appreciated as well.

Euroleague: The Euroleague Final Four tournament begins on May 6.

ULEB Eurocup: Unics Kazan became the first unlicensed team to officially join the 2011-12 Euroleague ranks with a decisive 92-77 victory over Cajasol Sevilla in the championship match. Maciej Lampe contributed a huge effort with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Kelly McCarty went for 18 and Terrell Lyday put in 15. But it was Marko Popović who was named MVP for dishing out a Eurocup championship record 11 assists to go with his 18 points.

FIBA Eurochallenge: On Friday, April 29, it’ll be Spartak St. Petersburg v. Lokomotiv Kuban, while Adriatic League quarterfinalist Krka makes another final four to take on BC Oostende.

Adriatic League: Partizan Belgrade took its fifth straight NLB title by defeating fellow Euroleague side Union Olimipija, 77-74, in the championship game.

Balkan League: Macedonia’s KK Feni Indistrija took its first-ever BIBL title by defeating Rilski Sportist of Bulgaria, 88-75, in the championship game.

Baltic League: Žalgiris Kaunas defended home court with the magic of the “Green Death” to take the Baltic League title over VEF Riga, 75-67.

VTB United League: BC Khimki overcame fellow Muscovites of CSKA, 66-64, in the VTB championship game; Vitaly Fridzon was named Final Four tournament MVP. For third place, Eurocup champs Unics Kazan survived Azovmash Mariupol.

Albania: SK Tirana were crowned Albanian Basketball League champions after twice topping UAT. Despite going just 7-8 during the FSHB regular season, UAT snuck into the finals by upsetting theretofore-undefeated Studenti Tirana in a best-of-three round.

Austria: Allianz Swans Gmunden and Oberwart Gunners hold 1-0 leads in the Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga semifinals over BSC Raiffeisen Furstenfeld Panthers and the Arkadia Traiskirchen Lions, respectively.

Belarus: BC Minsk will continue its incredible 2010-11 season, taking its 43-0 overall record into the best-of-five championship series against Grodno-93 beginning on Friday, April 29; Grodno was the second-place finisher in the Belarusian league at 25-15 – just 15 games behind the Minsk machine.

Belgium: The Ethias League regular season runs through May 14.

Bosnia-Herzegovina: The regular season has entered stage two in Bosnia; last year’s championship contenders Siroki TT and BC Igokea Aleksandrovac top the table at 7-1 thus far.

Bulgaria: Two more games are left for each team to play in the NBL.

Croatia: In stage 2 of the Croatian League, it’s Cedevita Zagreb topping the table at 7-1.

Cyprus: After a wacky playoff tournament which ultimately saw no. 4 seed Intercollege Etha Engomis face off against no. 6 AEL Limassol (who were just 6-10 in the regular season!) for the title, Etha was named 2011 champions in winning the series three games to two. Kudos to these champions, who reportedly have quite the long history of Cinderella and/or underdog status – and this season, league MVP Anthony King.

Czech Republic: The quarterfinals begin on Wednesday; Eurocuppers CEZ Nymburk enter the tournament as the no. 1 seed, going 10-0 in stage two play.

Denmark: The Bakken Bears were named Ligaen champions after avenging last season’s championship series loss to Svendborg by sweeping the Rabbits 4-0 in the finals. Bakken’s former Texas Tech Red Raider Charlie Burgess was named league MVP.

Estonia: In the semifinals, TU/Rock and Kalev/Cromo hold 2-0 leads over TTU/Kalev and Rakvere, respectively.

Finland: Tampereen Pyrinto (37-7 in the Korisliiga regular season) has a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five championship series with Kataja (30-14), winning 82-73 on Monday.

France: The LNB regular season is still being played; as of this writing, the Euroleague’s Cholet Basket is in first place at 21-6, three games up on Chalon/Saone, Gravelines Dunkerque and SLUC Nancy.

FYR Macedonia:

Georgia:

Germany: Beginning on April 30, the Bundesliga quarterfinals will pit Deutsche Bank Skyliners vs. BG Göttingen; Alba Berlin vs. EWE Baskets Oldenburg; Brose Baskets Bamberg vs. Eisbären Bremerhaven; and Artland Dragons vs. New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig

Greece: The EΣAKE playoffs begin on Thursday with Olympiacos needing one more win to set a new record for Greek League victories in a single season.

Holland: DBL semifinals matchups include ZZ Leiden vs. ABC Amsterdam; Magixx Kids Rights Nijmegen vs. DeFriesland; GasTerra Flames vs. BS Weert; and Eiffel Towers den Bosch vs. Antwerp Giants.

Hungary: In the semifinals, Szolnok has a 1-0 lead over Fortress Körmend, while Albacomp is 1-0 on 2009-10 runners-up Atomerőmű SE Paks in the other bracket. The Atoms took out last year’s NBI champions ZTE in the first round.

Iceland: In what is perhaps Europe’s smallest league, the tinily-titled KR (a.k.a. KR Reykjavik if you’re not into the whole brevity thing) defeated Stjarnan, three games to one, to take the title.

Ireland: Killester Dublin made it back-to-back titles by defeating Neptune Cork, 84-80, in the championship.

Israel: The quarterfinals begin tonight, and stop BiE if you’ve heard this one before: Maccabi Tel Aviv has won the Ligat HaAl regular season with a 26-1 record. However, folks may recall the way last season ended for Maccabi; former head coach Pini Gershon, who once complained that the single-game elimination format was designed to end his franchise’s dominance has proven prophetic, as Tel Aviv has now gone down in the championship game two of the past three years

Italy: Three more rounds of play remain in the Serie A regular season.

Latvia: On Tuesday, April 26, the LBL playoffs continue with the semifinals seeing Ventspils vs. BK Barons Riga and VEF Riga vs. Liepaja Lauvas.

Lithuania: Does it really matter who’s matched up in the semifinals against Žalgiris Kaunas and Lietuvos Rytas…?

Luxembourg: Two more rounds of second stage play remain in the Luxembourg league.

Malta:

Moldova: In Moldova, the semifinal matchups are no. 1 seed UASM against BC Gamma Cahul, while ASEM gets the awesomely-named Fire Ball Bender in the other series.

Montenegro:

Norway: Baerum Basket bested the Tromso Storm in two straight games to win the Norwegian title.

Poland: Perpetual power Asseco Prokom has a commanding 3-1 lead over Energa Czarni; PGE Turow and Eurochallengers Trefl Sopot are knotted up at two games apiece in the other semifinal series.

Portugal: The quarterfinals pit Porto Ferpinta vs. Vitoria SC, and Eurochallenge team Benfica vs. Academica.

Romania: From reader Adi Micinic of TotalBaschet.ro, who heard BallinEurope’s plea for info on the Romanian basketball playoffs: “the first round of the playoffs finished with sweeps in favour of the seeded teams: CSU Asesoft Ploiesti vs BCM U Pitesti (3-0), U Mobitelco BT Cluj-Napoca vs CSU Atlassib Sibiu (3-0), Gaz Metan Medias vs CSM Oradea (3-0), and Steaua Turabo Bucuresti vs BC Mures (3-0).
“The 2nd round will be played in the best of five series: CSU Asesoft Ploiesti (no.1) vs Steaua Turabo Bucuresti (4), and U Mobitelco BC Cluj (2) vs Gaz Metan Medias (3).

“In the 2011 Romanian Cup final, Gaz Metan Medias beat Steaua Turabo Bucuresti, 71-61. In the semifinals Steaua beat seven-time back-to-back champions CSU Asesoft.

“ICIM Arad beat CSM Satu Mare 3-1 in the Women’s Romanian Championship Final. These teams also met in the final of the Romanian Cup, which was also won by ICIM Arad (85-63, on Satu Mare’s home court!)”

Russia: Five weeks remain in the PBL season; Unics Kazan, bounced in the VTB United League semis, holds a tenuous lead atop the table at 15-5.

Serbia: Five more games are to be played in the Serbian Superleague. Naturally, Partizan tops the table currently at 6-1, while the Eurocup-contending 2010 runners-up KK Hemofarm are at the Black-and-Whites’ heels at 6-2.

Slovakia: In the finals, it’s BK Astrum Levice against BK SPU Nitra. Game one of the finals is Wednesday.

Slovenia: The second stage of Slovenian ball ends on May 17.

Spain: Three weeks of play remain in the ACB; FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, PE Valencia and Caja Laboral Baskonia have clinched playoff spots while some eight teams remain in contention for seeds five through eight going into this weekend.

Sweden: The quest of defending Basketligan champion Norrköping Dolphins for a repeat title got more difficult, as the 2009 title-winning Sundsvall Dragons took game two of the championship series, 94-93, to knot up the best-of-seven series at 1-1.

Switzerland: Lugano Tigers have a 2-0 lead over Monthey, while the Fribourg-Geneve Lions series is tied at one game apiece.

Turkey: The TBL still has two games left to play in its 2010-11 regular season. The top seven – Fenerbahçe Ülker, Galatasaray Café Crown, Efes Pilsen, Banvit BK, Beşiktaş Cola Turka, Pinar Karsiyaka, Olin Edirne – would all appear to be set for the playoffs with Fenerbahçe all but guaranteed the no. 1 seed for the playoff tournament and only a complete disaster should eject Antalya from that last spot.

Ukraine: The quarterfinal rounds are currently underway and will wrap by April 30.

United Kingdom: The British championship will see One Health Sharks Sheffield face off against regular-season table-toppers Mersey Tigers.

• First up, congratulations from BallinEurope go out to Unics Kazan, who became the first unlicensed team to officially join the 2011-12 Euroleague ranks with a decisive 92-77 victory over Cajasol Sevilla in the ULEB Eurocup championship match. Maciej Lampe contributed a huge effort with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Kelly McCarty went for 18 and Terrell Lyday put in 15. But it was Marko Popović who was named MVP for dishing out a Eurocup championship record 11 assists to go with his 18 points.

• Mostly because BiE digs its slick production values, below runs a nicely packaged clip of Deutsche Bank Skyliners’ 78-60 win over Bonn yesterday. With one week to play in the Bundesliga, the Skyliners are now ensconced as the no. 2 seed in the eight-team playoffs. Rounding out the top six are Brose Baskets Bamberg (31-2); Alba Berlin (23-10); Artland Dragons (22-11); New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig (19-14); and EWE Baskets Oldenburg (19-14).

The German playoffs begin on April 30.

• And you know there had to be wackiness in Spain yesterday … sure enough, there was Real Madrid, having spent most of the season clawing its way back up to rival Barcelona’s top spot on the ACB table, losing to 11th-place Zaragoza, 86-84.

• Speaking of ACB ball: In case you’re wondering what happened to red hot Jaycee Carroll of Gran Canaria 2014, well, the news ain’t spectacular. Carroll chased up back-to-back 30-point performances by contributing 18 points in the Canaries’ 79-74 win over Lagun Aro GBC – but on dismal 5-of-14 overall shooting.

• The best Gasol yesterday? Marc, of course!

• Ah, the wonder of YouTube! Every day you can learn something useful! Like in the below clip wherein young basketballers are shown exactly how not to show off while dunking.

• What is basketball? Euroleague TV last week introduced a quasi-campaign in which the question was posed to the big league’s stars. According to BiE’s count, just under half (48.6%) of those polled defined “basketball” as “life.” Another 14% equated basketball with “love,” while “passion” was the third most popular choice.

• And on that note, here’s how Moses Guthrie defines “basketball.” Have a funky week, BallinEurope readers!

A total of 32 teams will play in the Eurocup regular season: The field is made up of 10 direct qualifiers, 14 from Euroleague qualifying rounds, and eight who earned their way in through Eurocup qualifiers.

Once the list of all 32 participating teams is finalized, a regular season draw to divide the teams into regular season groups will be scheduled, with the opener slated for November 16.

Eurocup qualifying round winners include Aris BSA 2003 (Greece); BC Azovmash (Ukraine); Benetton Basket Bwin (Italy); Besiktas Cola Turka, Galatasaray Cafe Crown (Turkey); KK Cedevita Zagreb (Croatia); Gran Canaria 2014 (Spain); and Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem (Israel).

The list of 22 qualified teams is comprised of Anwil Wloclawek (Poland); Asefa Estudiantes, Cajasol (Spain); Asvel Basket, Chorale Roanne (France); Banvit BK (Turkey); BG Goettingen, EWE Baskets Oldenburg (Germany); BC Siauliai (Lithuania); Budivelnik (Ukraine); CEZ Nymburk (Czech Republic); GasTerra Flames (Netherlands); Hapoel Gilboa Galil (Israel); Hemofarm Stada (Serbia); KK Buducnost (Montenegro); Krasnie Krylia (Russia); NGC Medical Cantu, Pepsi Caserta (Italy); Panellinios BC, PAOK Thessaloniki (Greece); Unics Kazan (Russia); and VEF Riga (Latvia).

There’re thrills, chills and a few ills in today’s selection of eminently watchable and rewatchable YouTube videos. Enjoy!

15. Top 10 Dunks over Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje, 2008-09. While Boumtje-Boumtje was a big fan favorite playing for EWE Baskets Oldenburg, his devotees still realized his shortcomings. This fan (really) vid is pretty amazing as a result. You know, it’s hard to believe that “Schadenfreude” is a German word…

14. And why stop with laughing at (not with) Boumtje-Boumtje? Here’s the Top 10 missed dunks by Vince Carter.

13. Vince Carter dunk over Fred Weis. To make up for the above, BiE runs this instant classic again.

12. NBA’s top 10 blocks of all-time. If only for the David Robinson and Manute Bol multi-swat clips does this make the list.

11. For those who weren’t there, it’s impossible to understand the phenomenon of *those* Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. Though the stats tend to speak for them themselves – back-to-back 70-win seasons blab volumes, after all – and old farts like me will wax poetic for hours if you’d like, nothing says “awesome” like a nicely edited YouTube clip: Rodman-Jordan-Pippen By DeniroC is a good start, though much of the stuff by The Worm isn’t from his Chicago playing days.

Tomorrow: The superstars come out for top 10 time, with videos featuring Pau Gasol, Drazen Petrovic, Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan and the Human YouTube Clip his bad self.

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.

Already in for the 2010-11 EuroCup season are EWE Baskets Oldenburg, Panellinios BC, Siauliai, Anwil Wloclawek, Cajasol, Asefa Estudiantes, VEF Riga, BG Göttingen, Krasnye Krylya Samara and NGC Medical Cantu.

A further fourteen teams will be added from the Euroleague qualifying rounds.

And once all was said and done, the results were … mixed. With last season’s biggest draw Alba Berlin not in the competition, the overall 2009-10 Euroleague attendance figures for regular-season/Top 16 play decreased 3.5% overall year-on-year, bringing total attendance just under the 1 million threshold achieved in 2008-09.

(For comparison’s sake, NBA regular-season attendance figures for 2009-10 were down just about 2% against 2008-09.)

While the best numbers were completely unsurprisingly turned in by Maccabi Tel Aviv and Partizan Belgrade, the level of (financial) devotion shown in some areas was quite eye-opening. Spain and Greece, two of the EU nations thought to be hit the hardest by the limp global economy, actually impressive rises in their flagship clubs’ attendance rates: FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Baskonia, Unicaja, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos all posted gains on 2008-09. Good to know folks in these great basketball cultures have their priorities straight.

Attendance figures follow; teams are ranked in terms of straight-up attendance while ranking in average capacity is in parentheses and average capacity filled per game is expressed as a percentage at the end of a given line. Efes Pilsen and Oldenburg played some games in larger arenas, while Pionir Arena was alternately fitted to seat 6,000 or 6,700 this season. And speaking of Partizan Belgrade, that average attendance rate is no typo: All but one Euroleague game in Belgrade were played before a standing-room-only full-capacity crowd.

1. (2) Maccabi Tel Aviv: 11,000/11,000 – 100%
2. (19) Panathinaikos: 10,508/19,000 – 55.3%
3. (15) Real Madrid: 9,954/13,780 – 72.2%
4. (3) Caja Laboral Baskonia: 9,313/9,635 – 96.7%
5. (6) Unicaja: 8,941/10,000 – 89.4%
6. (13) Lietuvos Rytas: 8,370/11,000 – 76.1%
7. (17) Olympiacos: 7,214/11,039 – 65.3%
8. (12) Efes Pilsen: 6,875/3,500 or 11,356 – 79.2%
9. (7) Regal FC Barcelona: 6,719/7,711 – 87.1%
10. (1) Partizan Belgrade: 6,300/6,000 or 6,700 – 100.6%
11. (4) Asvel Basket: 5,395/5,601 – 96.3%
12. (5) Zalgiris Kaunas: 4,777/5,000 – 94.5%
13. (9) Union Olimpija: 4,406/5,300 – 83.1%
14. (8) KK Cibona Zagreb: 4,368/5,200 – 84%
15. (10) Montepaschi Siena: 4,079/5,070 – 80.5%
16. (21) Lottomatica Roma: 4,143/10,074 – 41.1%
17. (11) Entente Orleanaise: 4,018/5,070 – 79.3%
18. (14) CSKA Moscow: 3,748/5,043 – 74.3%
19. (16) BC Khimki Moscow region: 3,610/5,020 – 71.9%
20. (24) Maroussi BC: 3,198/19,000 – 16.8%
21. (20) EWE Baskets Oldenburg: 3,170/5,028 or 8,800 – 44.5%
22. (18) Asseco Prokom: 3,154/5,000 – 63.1%
23. (22) AJ Milano: 2,640/11,210 – 23.2%
24. (23) Fenerbahce Ulker: 2,420/11,356 – 21.3%

Typical scene from Belgrade

Incredibly enough, three teams – BC Khimki, Montepaschi Siena and Unicaja – saw significant *drops* in attendance for Top 16 games. In contrast, Maroussi BC might have saved any budget for 2010-11 it had, as the club’s woeful regular-season attendance of 2,218 was more than doubled to 4,833 per game in three Top 16 home matches. Maroussi set the mark for low draw of 2009-10 when just 585 watched them defeat Union Olimpija in week seven.

As for performance against last season, the majority of returning clubs – 11 of 18 – showed an upswing in gate from 2009-10. Having a particularly impressive season in terms of draw, Efes Pilsen increased its receipts by nearly 50% year-on-year: Clearly these guys should be playing more often in the 11,356-seat Abdi Ipekçi Sports Hall. Oddly enough, fellow Turkey-based squad Fenerbahçe Ülker shed an incredible 44.2% in Euroleague attendance year-on-year to occupy the bottom spot on this table.

Barça was rewarded for its superstar roster and excellent Euroleague play with a big 29.8% increase in attendance, while rivals Real Madrid managed an 18% jump. While Maccabi was able to improve on its amazing 2008-09 rate by selling every seat to every game, Partizan’s growth number was a bit deceiving.

Guess where...

Though on paper, the Undertakers saw a more than 25% decrease in attendees, this may be attributed solely to a single game played at 22,000-seat Belgrade Arena in 2009, which seriously inflated last year’s numbers; subtracting this game, Partizan saw only a 6.1% drop off the record-setting season of 2008-09. Certainly those crowds of 20,000-plus and 21,000-plus for the playoff games against Maccabi made up for it in the Black-and-White coffers.

Efes Pilsen Istanbul +49.5%
Regal FC Barcelona +29.8%
Real Madrid, +18%
Lottomatica Roma, +9.4%
Olympiacos, +7.3%
Unicaja Malaga, +5.4%
Caja Laboral Baskonia, +3.6%
Asseco Prokom, +3.04%
Panathinaikos +2.9%
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, +1.57%
Union Olimpija, +1.5%
CSKA Moscow, -2.1%
Žalgiris Kaunas, -2.15%
Cibona Zagreb, -12.3%
Armani Jeans Milano, -13.5%
Montepaschi Siena -13.75%
Partizan Belgrade, -26.9% (-6.1%)
Fenerbahçe Ülker, -44.2%

BallinEurope will now attempt to seek out attendance figures from across Europe for 2009-10; they’ll be presented as they come in.

Steffen Hamann, Lucca Staiger (ALBA Berlin); Demond Greene (Larissa); Yassin Idbihi, Heiko Schaffartzik (New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig); Robin Benzing, Per Guenther (ratiopharm Ulm); Philipp Schwethelm (Eisbären Bremerhaven); Chad Toepper (Albuquerque Thunderbirds); Konrad Wysocki (Turow Zgorzelec); Elias Harris (Gonzaga); Jan-Hendrik Jagla (Asseco Prokom); Johannes Strasser, Tim Ohlbrecht (Telekom Baskets Bonn); Tibor Pleiss (Brose Baskets Bamberg); and Christopher McNaughton (EWE Baskets Oldenburg). Plus, “on call” is Patrick Femerling (Antalya BSB).

That’s right: no Dirk Nowitzki, no Chris Kaman.

For now.

As David Hein of independent heinnews notes, “Bauermann and his coaching staff will welcome Nowitzki and Kaman to the team should they decide to return following the NBA season” and that “[Christopher] McNaughton is only an option if Nowitzki and Kaman do not decide to play in Turkey.”

As for the reaction from German basketball fandom, German-speakers will surely enjoy checking out the Schönen Dunk forum, where BiE’s poor homeboy Chad Töpper gets particularly lambasted. (Albuquerque, represent!)