May 2010 76
Ten nations in rebellion against FIBA Europe
Ten countries have come together to establish a coalition formally protesting the current management situation at FIBA Europe, charging that the recently-formulated newest board does not adequately represent The Continent. Within the group are some national basketball organizations quite significant to the federation, including Russia (currently at no. 4 in FIBA’s combined rankings) Greece (no. […]
Team USA to take on Greece in leadup to 2010 FIBA World Championship
Tickets went on sale yesterday for this summer’s friendly match between Team USA and Team Greece in the leadup to the 2010 FIBA World Championship tournament. The Americans will be taking on Hellas in Olympic Stadium on August 25. Ticket prices range from €20 to €100. Team USA’s national team training camp runs July 19 […]
No. 5 seed Brose Baskets tops NY Phantoms, advances to Bundesliga finals
In the topsy-turvy world of the Bundesliga playoffs, the one-eyed man – i mean, no. 5 seed Brose Baskets Bamberg – is king after this weekend’s semifinal victory over New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig, 94-82 to sweep the no. 8 team out of the playoffs. In a tournament which saw all four teams atop the table […]
Dennis Hooper, “Shooter” of “Hoosiers” fame, dies at 74
Actor Dennis Hopper died in his California home yesterday at the age of 74. Though he’ll always be remembered among cinema freaks for well-praised American films like Easy Rider (awesome) and Blue Velvet (ugh), basketball fans will always recall first his turn in Hoosiers. The so-cheesy-it’s-good movie about a small-town Indiana high school basketball team […]
Watching the Greek finals, Spanish semifinals online
Two of Europe’s finest, most hard-fought leagues are coming to a head with crucial games going down today in both Greece and Spain – and with no NBA playoffs on the schedule, you have no excuse to miss either.
Official 2010 BallinEurope mock draft, version 2.0: Round two
BallinEurope today presents round two of our 2010 NBA Draft mockup; there’s a pleasing European accent to the list, with the big Belarusian Artsiom Parakhouski figuring to go in this round (see to whom in this projection and quiver) and the tantalizing possibility of Kevin Seraphin potentially becoming the 12th French player in the NBA. […]
On the origins of the Dragon-Machine feud
From the always-busy Whoda Thunk It Department comes a real mind-boggler of a statement regarding tonight’s Western Conference Championship game six: The matchup of Sasha “The Machine” Vujacic on Goran “The Dragon” Dragic matters. After the Phoenix Suns’ bench absolutely immolated the Los Angeles Lakers in game four of the series – The Dragon Was […]
A look at Gilil/Gilboa's stunning Israeli championship win
In an upset some are calling “history-making” while others (okay, Pini Gershon) grouse about the Israeli league playoff format, Galil/Gilboa pulled off the big upset away over Maccabi Tel Aviv, 90-77. This marked the second time in three years that Maccabi lost in the single-game final after having taken the previous 36 of 37 national […]
Panathinaikos destroys Olympiacos, 73-54: Going to YouTube for answers
More than a shocker and well into slap-in-the-face territory was game one of the EΣAKE championship series, where hometown Panathinaikos took care of all business in dispatching Olympiacos, 73-54. Though BallinEurope did not see the match and knows empirically that games should never be judged on the stat line, one number still stands out like […]
FIBA’s Baumann frets about British basketball post-2012; Spice reassures
UK-based Sporting Life recently posted an couple of articles regarding the odd state of the national program and which insinuate FIBA’s greater concern with basketball in the country. On Monday, the ‘paper presented a long interview with FIBA secretary-general/International Olympic Committee inspector Patrick Baumann. Among other issues, Baumann spoke at length about what he and […]
Amadou, Dylan Page, Nsonwe-Amadi lead Roanne over Orleans, 78-71, and into French semis
Entente Orleanaise will probably not be returning to the Euroleague for 2010-11 season as the 45ers were bounced from the LNB tournament by EuroChallenge final four team Chorale de Roanne last night, 78-71. Buoyed by the home support at Vacheresse Hall, Roanne quickly took the lead and expanded the advantage to as much as 16 […]
WWDD? (What would Dirk do?) Four destinations for free agent Nowitzki
So the big German’s gonna do it, huh? The ever-loyal Dirk Nowitzki, he whom many would dub “the greatest European player of all-time,” will apparently be leaving the only NBA home he’s ever known to test the free-agent waters this summer, opting out of his contract with the Dallas Mavericks. Not that anyone asked, but […]