Pops Mensah-Bonsu 59
“This is the Final Four”: The Euroleague quotebook going into the semifinals
A quick collection of quotes for you, collected yesterday and today at various press conferences and media meetings. With just hours to go before tipoff, enjoy a bit of wit and wisdom from coaches and players on BallinEurope. On Paris “It is […] special to have the Final Four in Paris. This is the city […]
Fifteen minutes with CSKA Moscow and FC Barcelona
Ah, open interview day! BiE just got back from the open 15 minutes granted media by the Euroleague with the players of each team. The boys from FC Barcelona and CSKA Moscow – particularly the outstanding Pops Mensah-Bonsu; more on this momentarily – generously gave of some time after practice to take questions from eager […]
Euroleague Final Four head-to-head matchups: CSKA Moscow vs. FC Barcelona
With the Euroleague Final Four mere days away, the giddiness increases at the prospect of figuring that, yes, without hyperbole, basketball fans could well be getting a complete slate of four classic games. While FC Barcelona and Olympiacos are the heavy favorites (and, ahem, BallinEurope.com’s teams predicted to make the finals at the beginning of […]
Eight random odds ‘n’ ends on Euroleague playoff games three
This one’s exactly what it says: A grab bag of clippings and clips regarding the eight teams squaring off in tonight’s Euroleague semifinals games. Enjoy the factoids, enjoy the games! • If it’s March, tradition tends to demand that CSKA Moscow basketball augment its collection of trophies; 2010 is proving no exception. This month saw […]
Token Saturday morning highlight video clips
Mentally battered and otherwise worked over since this morning’s 4am True Hoop live blogging, BallinEurope nevertheless wanted to post *something* with which the loyal readers might waste some time on Saturday. And so, ladies and gentlemen, the token YouTube video highlight collection post of the day. The Euroleague Top 10 Plays of the Week clip […]
In case you missed it: CSKA Moscow-Zalgiris Kaunas highlights (or Pops' big night out)
So you thought the CSKA Moscow-Zalgiris Kaunas game was irrelevant last night, eh? After all, CSKA has the top spot in the group clinched and the Lithuanian side had been eliminated: ergo, nothing to play for. Apparently, however, no one told the Muscovite home crowd, who were as stoked for this contest as any game […]
The Frank Euroleague Roundup: Top 16, week five
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 […]
The Frank Euroleague Roundup: Top 16, week three
With a scene-shifting week three of Euroleague Top 16 play in the books, BallinEurope’s Francesco Cappelletti defines his surprise, from Montepaschi’s masterful play to Sasha Kaun’s success to the curse of a Panathinaikos title defense, and more. Read on! Pianigiani’s lesson to Messina “I think it was a masterpiece from my players. One of the […]
VTB United League final four tips off tonight; also, how to watch
The VTB United League’s inaugural season draws to a close today and tomorrow with its Final Four round. The all-Russian semifinal game represents potential Euroleague semifinals preview – hey, it does say “potential” – and yet another chapter in the burgeoning CSKA Moscow-BC Khimki rivalry. Over at the league’s official site, CSKA coach Eugeniy Pashutin […]
Euroleague Top 16 draw: The Frank take
The Euroleague Top 16 group draw was orientated, due to the guidelines, well before it started. So, while Group G and Group H were fixed, it remained to see where Maccabi Tel Aviv and Efes Pilsen Istanbul would be directed: to the Barcelona-Panathinaikos group or the Real Madrid-Montepaschi gang. The two teams went into the […]
(Belated) Fantasy tips from the Euroleague boss, week 10
Hello everybody, once again this is Javier Gancedo of Euroleague Basketball. First of all, I am sorry I’m a bit late with this column this week. A lot of circumstances went against me: I have been sick since Sunday with a temperature, but trying to work since this week is critical for all of us. […]
Pops Mensah-Bonsu back with Toronto Euro-Raptors
Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Team Great Britain stud and former teammate of Ricky Rubio with DKV Joventut, is back with the Toronto Raptors after spending six days on waivers. Mensah-Bonsu was waived by the Houston Rockets on Friday after signing with the team as a free agent in the 2009 off-season. Pops played in 19 games with […]