December 2009 35
FIBA 2010 Worlds: Dates to mark on the calendar
Is it too early to start planning your basketball viewing for late August? Nah! And after looking over the 2010 FIBA World Championship schedule released yesterday, i’m already feeling anticipation for a bunch of matches in this year’s Europe-heavy tournament. The official BallinEurope-recommended dates and games Europe needs to mark on its collective calendar include: […]
SportingBet lines and odds for Euroleague week eight matchups
Another Thursday, another round of Euroleague lines for your perusal. First thought? “Whoa, Partizan is favored by just three at Orleans?” Second thought: “And that’s the closest game on the slate, as the ‘book sees it?” Whoa. Pointspreads and over/under lines for tonight’s games, as provided by Euroleague/Ball in Europe sponsor Sporting Bet, run below […]
Fantasy tips from the Euroleague boss, week 8
Hello everybody, this is Javier Gancedo, ready to do the last weekly SportingBet Fantasy Challenge column in this 2009. It’s been quite an eventful week for me, and this is why this is being published a bit late. First of all, it was my birthday on Monday: I just turned 36 and celebrated all weekend […]
For FIBA Worlds, it's Germany, Russia, Lithuania and … Lebanon!
Congratulations go out this morning to Germany, Russia, Lithuania and – whoa, really? – Lebanon, for their bestowal of a “wild card” bid to the 2010 FIBA World Championship by the organization’s central board. The draw for placement into pools will be upon on Wednesday. Official FIBA press release follows. (FIBA) — During today’s meeting […]
The Frank Euroleague roundup, week seven
With four more tickets punched to the Euroleague 2009-10 Top 16, Francesco Cappelletti takes a look at what lies ahead for the top league’s remaining contenders. Top 16 coming up Four teams have just qualified for the Top 16: Regal FC Barcelona and Montepaschi Siena in Group A, CSKA Moscow in Group C, and Panathinaikos […]
2010 FIBA Worlds wild card draw a Europe-heavy slam dunk?
On Monday, certainly to much pomp and fanfare, FIBA officials will announce the four “wild card” entries that will round out the 2010 World Championship field of 24. The world may indeed be watching, with basketball fans in up to 15 nations truly believing their national team will be named, but is this a serious […]
SportingBet lines and odds for Euroleague week seven matchups
A great slate of games on tap tonight as Euroleague week seven wraps up. Unicaja, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Montepaschi Siena look to clinch a Top 16 spot, while Cibona Zagreb hopes to stave off elimination and things in Group B are destined to get knottier. The bookmakers’ lines on the games forecast at least […]
Fantasy tips from the Euroleague boss, week 7
Hello everybody and greetings from Javier Gancedo at Euroleague headquarters. We are facing a fantastic Euroleague week, with a lot of teams fighting for survival and some others positioning themselves to win their regular-season groups. We have Khimki against Panathinaikos in Group D, but also AJ Milano against EWE Baskets Oldenburg in a make-or-break battle. […]
Bet365 lines and odds for Euroleague week seven matchups
It’s do-or-die time in Euroleague this week. In tonight’s games, subplots include must-win games to avoid mathematical elimination from the postseason for Asvel Basket and Entente Orleanaise; possible second round-clinching wins from Panathinaikos, Montepaschi Siena and probably Unicaja; and the AJ Milano-EWE Baskets Oldenburg game in which the loser sees its advancement opportunities dwindle. The […]
The Innocents Abroad, Part Two: Assessing the US' Euroleague rookies and sophs
Yesterday, Ball in Europe had a look at about a dozen newbies in the NBA from Europe; today, we’re flipping continents for a brief look at players from the US trying to make it in European basketball. With about one-third of the Euroleague season in the books, how are the first- and second-year Americans faring […]
The Innocents Abroad, Part one: Assessing Europe's NBA rookies and sophs
With the NBA regular season nearly one-quarter finished (yeesh, when did that happen?), Ball in Europe takes a look at the league’s freshmen and sophomores from The Continent. The NBA currently lists over 80 international players on its rosters, with exactly 50 coming from European quarters. About one-fifth of those are recent enough entries to […]
Best of the (basketball) net: It's gotta be the hair edition
Not enough time for reading up on everything basketball this week? Have no fear, for BallinEurope.com has collected a top-five for your perusal this Sunday. • Not sure if this was the best basketball-themed piece of the week, but it certainly was the most unique(?): Sneaker specialists Kickz.com took a brief sojourn from dressing up […]