BallinEurope, the European Basketball news site

Episode #28 of the heinnews/BallinEurope co-produced podcast series is now available online. This week, we’re proud to have as a guest Larry Gordon, currently starring for upstarts Phoenix Hagen of the German Basketball Bundesliga. A product of NCAA Division II college Cal Poly Pomona, Gordon not only brings his electrifying spark plug of a game to Hagen but also makes for a nice symbol of his team’s recent fortunes.

After something of a troubled early upbringing, Gordon only took up basketball at about age 12 but his natural gifts (among them incredible leaping ability) got him a starting spot on the (Calif.) Montclair High School varsity team, with whom he’d average 24.6 points and 13.2 rebounds per game.

He then went on to play at Cal Poly after receiving offers from a handful of Division II schools; though his alma mater could be considered the go-to choice for a local boy, Gordon put a little more thought into his decision with an eye on the future: “I didn’t want to rebuild,” he explained, “I wanted to be in a team that was already good and bring what I have to make them even better.”

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Bobb, the Duke of Clutch

Xion Dukes Klosterneuburg reached the finals of the Austrian Admiral Basketball Bundesliga for the first time in 22 years as the nine-time champions roared back to beat ECE Bulls Kapfenberg, 98-90, to clinch their semifinals series 3-1 and set up a finals date with Allianz Swans Gmunden.

Trailing 87-80 on the road with just over four minutes left, Curtis Bobb nailed a three-pointer to start an 18-3 Dukes run and put Klosterneuburg back in the finals.

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Four teams remain in the Austrian basketball playoffs and BallinEurope contributing writer David Hein is paying close attention, giving us another roundup of recent action there.

Top-seeded Allianz Swans Gmunden roared back from a double-digit third quarter deficit to beat WBC Raiffeisen Wels in overtime in Game One to defend home court in the Austrian Admiral Basketball Bundesliga semifinal playoffs while ECE Bulls Kapfenberg stole home court advantage by beating Xion Dukes Klosterneuberg.

Morris Curry stayed red hot, scoring 31 points – including two free throws with three seconds left – and Dan Oppland collected 21 points and 19 rebounds as Gmunden beat fourth-seeded Wels 87-84 in overtime.

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With one eye on German basketball and another on European hoops in general, BallinEurope supposes David Hein is keeping his third eye viewing the happening in Austria’s Admiral Basketball Bundesliga. Today, the heinnews.com guy updates us on the playoffs over there which, despite some shocks in the tournament’s early going, has settled down a bit…

Despite the lowest three seeds all stealing home court advantage in the first round of the Austrian Admiral Basketball Bundesliga playoffs, the top four seeded teams all overcame surprises to book their spots in the semifinals.

Top seeded Allianz Swans Gmunden and No. 3 ECE Bulls Kapfenberg both dropped the first game in the best-of-five quarterfinals but knocked off BC Vienna and UBC Carefuel Güssing Knights, respectively, both winning in four games, 3-1.

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Wow, things in the Austrian playoffs started with a lotta oddity. David Hein fills us in on a troika of upsets in Bundesliga play…

The first round of the Austrian Admiral Basketball Bundesliga playoffs tipped off in thrilling fashion with the lowest three seeds UBC Carefuel Güssing, BSC Raiffeisen Fürstenfeld Panthers and BC Vienna all stealing home-court advantage while defending champions Oberwart Gunners lost their opener at WBC Raiffeisen Wels.

Stjepan Stazic’s three-pointer with two seconds left gave Vienna a 77-76 game one win yesterday against top seeded regular season champions and 2011 finalists Allianz Swans Gmunden, who failed to hold a 14-point lead with 12 minutes to play.

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In Austria today will be held what is certainly Europe’s latest all-star festivities; indeed, the Bundesliga playoffs begin on Sunday. BallinEurope contributing writer David Hein updates us on the playoff picture and well as a rundown on all-star event participants.

The 2011 finalists Allianz Swans Gmunden have secured home-court advantage over the course of the Austrian Admiral Bundesliga playoffs while defending champions Oberwart Gunners must steal a road game in their best-of-five showdown with fourth-seeded WBC Raiffeisen Wels.

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From the In Case You Missed It Department, David Hein reports to BallinEurope on recent events in the Austrian Bundesliga and most importantly on a ridiculous quadruple-overtime game that went down in late February amidst an incredibly tight race for the playoffs there.

Publicly accessible highlights of this “Thriller für die Ewigkeit”, ECE Bulls Kapfenberg’s 60-minute 137-127 victory over WBC Raiffeisen Wels, are lacking on YouTube, Daily Motion et al (not too much of a market for Austrian basketball it seems…), but a comprehensive highlight clip may be seen at the Admiral Basketball Bundesliga official website.

The race in the Austrian Admiral Basketball Bundesliga can hardly get any closer as the top five teams are just one game apart in the standings three games into the second stage of the season.

Regular season winners Xion Dukes Klosterneuberg dropped their third straight game to fall to 17-6 and are now in a tie with 2011 runners-up Allianz Swans Gmunden. Following these, knotted up at 16-7 are WBC Raiffeisen Wels, reigning champions Oberwart Gunners and ECE Bulls Kapfenberg while Carefuel Güssing Knights are 11-12 as the final team in the six-team second stage.

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