Euroleague Bracketology: According to Twitter, the 2013 Euroleague champion will be…

April 10, 2013

Now that BallinEurope has posted this website’s Official Euroleague Bracket as well as the only truly unassailable set of predictions, BiE takes stock of a little EL Bracketology from good ol’ Twitter. What sort of conclusions may be drawn from a sample size of 30 tweets (well, 29 plus Sannti’s) hashtagged with #ELbracket? Well…

The clear popular favorites within the sample to win their quarterfinals series are CSKA Moscow (with 93% of tweets liking the Red Army), FC Barcelona and Olympiacos (each with 77% of the “vote”). Surely to no one’s surprise, fandom was divided on the Real Madrid-Maccabi matchup, with Los Blancos liked 19-11 among our group.

Of the 16 possible finals matchups, seven combinations were covered. Again unsurprising was the fact that no one was gutsy enough to gamble on Anadolu Efes Pilsen getting so far, but two brackets with Caja Laboral Baskonia hoisting the trophy were found – and after the way these guys have squeaked in to advance twice this season, who can truly scoff? A final outcome of CSKA defeating Barca was chosen by nearly 33% of those who picked a tournament winner, and 60% predicted CSKA for 2013 Euroleague champions.

And some of BallinEurope’s favorite brackets were…

● In the category of “Best Presentation of a Euroleague Bracket” which BiE just made up, the winner is JovicaTasevski. Future bracketcrafters, this is your standard.

● As one of the few who picked Maccabi Tel Aviv to make the finals, Youvalv noted that “Sadly” the Israeli side “will not win the cup. But close.” After Panathinaikos upsets Barcelona, that is.

● In “swinging for the fences,” Euroleague Adventures’ Rob Scott was another to have PAO taking out Barca, and ultimately went with CSKA for champion. (Wait a minute, can British folks use that expression? Should “fences” be “pavilion” there…?)

● All-around European basketball guy-in-the-know Simonas Barnauskas of Lithuania Basketball took Efes Pilsen over Olympiacos. (Should we be listening?)

● And here they are: MikelFerEch and GonzakaB, they who took Baskonia to win it all:

Finally, the Official BallinEurope Fearless Predictions™ have Barcelona 3-1 over Panathinaikos, with the Greens winning one on a buzzer-beater/in overtime (Caveat: Though unpublished here, BiE’s prediction for this series was published online in the form of a Taking the Charge podcast which was recorded and released well before the opening tipoff of game one – heinnews and Euroleague Adventures are my witnesses); CSKA Moscow sweeping Baskonia; Olympiacos likewise running the table against Anadolu Efes Pilsen; and Maccabi Tel Aviv outlasting Real Madrid after the full five games.

Apr 10, 2013ballineurope

This post was published on April 10, 2013

Comments: 88

TJ
11 years ago
Olympiacos and Spanoulis (the “super scrub”) beat Efes and “Michael Jordan” Farmar………Olympiacos up 1-0.

The amount of butt hurt in this site from Gabe and mike is going to be unbearable………..
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- Gabe
  11 years ago
  That super scrub Spanoulis is going to go another year without a Euroleague MVP award. He cannot even win the MVP in Euroleague. In the the NBA he would be a role player at best.
  Meanwhile Sonny Weems and Rudy Fernandez leading their teams in victories in the playoffs. Wow from NBA scrubs to the top players on the top teams in Euroleage. I mean I know there was a gap between the NBA and Euroleague I just never realized how wide that chasm really is.
  Reply Cancel
  - ELPL
    11 years ago
    Wow Gabe you either are a troll robot machine designed to keep people arguing, or Spanoulis has had tender fun with your wife. 2 time final 4 mvp, sorry but in Europe season MVP does not really count for everyone. The lone 15 mins when new york plays basketball rather than this painful isolation BS are the 15 mins prigioni is in the game. Fernandez has been mediocre to say the least, and I don’t understand why he is in the All-Euroleague team. Rodriguez and Mirotic have both been more valuable, even Llull in fact. Let’s hope Euroleague ceases their dkriding of CSKA and we can see a clean 50-50 semifinal. Whoever takes CSKA-Olympiakos semifinal will lift the trophy, and Barcelona will continue their customer relations with the fascists from Madrid. Peace
    Reply Cancel
FUBAR
11 years ago
Oh right.Spanoulis won’t be MVP but…….according to YOU

it will be Hilton Armstrong

then Joey Dorsey

Then Bobby Brown

then Jordan Farnar

then Sonny Weems………..

so which flavor of the month are you on NOW?

FUCK YOU!
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Double D
11 years ago
“Meanwhile Sonny Weems and Rudy Fernandez leading their teams in victories in the playoffs. Wow from NBA scrubs to the top players on the top teams in Euroleage.”

>
Did this freaking a-hole just say Sonny Weems is the best player on CSKA?

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

OMG where the hell did this faggot come from?
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Gabe
11 years ago
I can’t say who the MVP will be for sure. I will just predict some NBA role player and not Spanoulis. Will this be Spanoulis’ 7th year in the league with no MVP? Perhaps he should go to Eurocup, he might have a chance to be MVP there but probably not. He is just not an elite player. There is a reason why is sucked in the NBA and lost to Nigeria!
He is not even in the top 50 players in the world.
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- Justin
  11 years ago
  Quote by Gabe: ‘I will just predict some NBA role player’.
  
  I can why Euroleague would pick an ex-NBAer to be the MVP, for commercial reasons it would be the wisest thing to do.
  Reply Cancel
  - Justin
    11 years ago
    *I can SEE why
    Reply Cancel
- Panagiotis Christo
  11 years ago
  Spanoulis twice(2x) voted finals mvp..2011in berlin when panathinaikos took it home and last year in istanbul when olympiakos won the whole thing..
  Reply Cancel
  - Miguel
    11 years ago
    Everyone that knows history of European basket knows this is the real MVP award. This new MVP award is just a thing to mimic NBA awards. It is not the real MVP award of the history of European club basket.
    
    That is without any question the Final Four MVP. That is REAL MVP award of Europe’s club basket. For any that says something different from this, such as this Gabe lunatic, they are morons and liars.
    
    Yes, this is REAL MVP award of Europe and that is how everyone in Europe sees it. Spanoulis has won the REAL and the actual important award twice. Only others in all of history to do that is Kukoc and Diamantidis.
    
    All these lies from people like this Gabe here is really insulting to history of our game in Europe. This imperialist scumbag will try to make it seem as if our history with players like Galis, Epi, Drazen, Kukoc, Radja, etc.never even happened.
    
    He can burn in hell for all his shit lies in this site, trying to tell us that the first 17 years of our Final Four and the REAL MVP awards of Europe does not even count.
    
    He can go fuck his colonialist self with all his hateful rhetoric and propaganda that he spews here.
    Reply Cancel
- Miguel
  11 years ago
  This is such hilarious trolling comedy. Really? “Maybe he can be MVP in Eurocup, but probably not” LMFAO
  
  The 2013 Eurocup MVP was Nich Calathes. The same Nick Calathes that was Spanoulis’ backup in Panathinaikos and Greek national team.
  
  Same Nick Calathes the Dallas Mavericks offered an NBA contract to this summer. I say this since you also claim Spanoulis is not good enough to play in the NBA.
  
  So in the mind of this imperialist stooge Gabe.
  
  1. Spanoulis is not good enough to play in NBA. Despite that his backup in two teams was offered an NBA contract.
  
  2. Spanoulis is not good enough to be the MVP of 2nd European level Eurocup competition. Despite that his backup on two teams was the MVP of that same league this season.
  
  Gabe is typical American imperialist pig.
  Reply Cancel
gabe is sick
11 years ago
Gabe
7 hours

I can’t say who the MVP will be for sure. I will just predict some NBA role player and not Spanoulis. Will this be Spanoulis’ 7th year in the league with no MVP? Perhaps he should go to Eurocup, he might have a chance to be MVP there but probably not. He is just not an elite player. There is a reason why is sucked in the NBA and lost to Nigeria!
He is not even in the top 50 players in the world.

–

this guy is sick. he has some serious mental issues.
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Jonas
11 years ago
All-Euroleague First Team:

G Vassilis Spanoulis
G Milos Teodosic
F Rudy Fernandez
F Viktor Khryapa
C Nenad Krstic

All-Euroleague Second Team:

G Dimitris Diamantidis
G Sonny Weems
F Kostas Papanikolaou
F Nikola Mirotic
C Ante Tomic

Euroleague MVP: Vassilis Spanoulis

The voting will go like that.

Gabe will be wrong yet again.
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- Ioannis
  11 years ago
  Olympiacos and Spanoulis 2 – Efes and “Michael Jordan of Europe” Farmar 0
  
  Gabe:
  
  “I guarantee that Jordan Farmar will be the best player in Euroleague, and he will TOTALLY DOMINATE that scrub Spanoulis EVERY time he plays against him”………………..LMFAO
  
  All-Euroleague First Team:
  
  G Vassilis Spanoulis
  G Milos Teodosic
  F Rudy Fernandez
  F Viktor Khryapa
  C Nenad Krstic
  
  All-Euroleague Second Team:
  
  G Dimitris Diamantidis
  G Sonny Weems
  F Kostas Papanikolaou
  F Nikola Mirotic
  C Ante Tomic
  
  Change Sonny Weems for Juan Carlos Navarro or Ricky Hickman and it looks good. Also, I think Maciej Lampe could also be taken as the 2nd center. Either him or Antic.
  
  P.S. Milano (Bourousis) is now ahead of Siena (Brown) in the Italian League standings. Every day, Gabe’s level of insane trolling here gets more and more exposed.
  Reply Cancel
Jack
11 years ago
Weems will not be in an all Euroleague team. No way has he played well enough.
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George
11 years ago
Does any European fan that comes here actually even bother reading the crap that a$$ clown Gabe posts anyway? Over the years, I’ve seen him say dozens of times here –

“Nikola Pekovic is an absolute scrub. He was dominant in Europe and the best center there, but in the NBA he will NEVER be anything more than a 3rd string center and a scrub.”

“Tiago Splitter is at best nothing more than a backup center and a borderline scrub. He was dominant in Europe and the best center there, but in the NBA he will NEVER be anything more than a backup center and a borderline scrub.”

“Pablo Prigioni was one of the best players in Europe and an ELITE Euroleague point guard. In the NBA, he will NEVER be anything more than a third string point guard, that plays maybe 15 to 20 games in the season, getting just garbage time scrub minutes.”

->

Those types of comments, for months, or years on end, in literally dozens of posts here by him. It pretty much proves he’s an enormours troll, a liar, an ignorant dumb ass, a jerk, a complete moron, and that he has absolutely zero basktball knowledge.

It also shows that he is an absolutely 100% pure HATER of an epic fashion when it comes to all things related to European basketball, and that he overrated the level of the NBA to a ludicrous degree.

As an American basketball fan and an NBA fan, I find Gabe to be one of the biggest trolls I’ve ever seen, and to be a guy that is doing a HUGE amount of damage to the image of American NBA fans everywhere with his completely ridiculous statements in this site.

I hope the Euro fans here understand that no American basketball fan that actually understands the game, and that actually knows about European basketball agrees with anything this fool Gabe says and that they consider him to be the absolute worst kind of troll.

George
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- Gabe
  11 years ago
  No George…anybody who has been on this site knows that you are the king troll.
  And everybody knows your MO.
  1. Exaggerate what the other person said
  2. Use a different name
  3. And say “as an American fan”..or as a “Laker Fan”. It is now obvious that anyone who says in their post that “as a” whatever is just that same old troll known as Euroleague in ISH.
  
  Can’t wait to another year passed and that scrub Spanoulis doesn’t win Euroleague MVP. I mean if you are not even voted the best player once after 7 or 8 year in a 2nd tier league you cannot be considered a top player.
  Kirilenko came of to Euroleague for one year, was selected Euroleague MVP and made the Euroleague final, comes back to the NBA and he is a role player on one of the worst teams in the league. There is a reason why Spanoulis who never was Euroleague MVP is 7 years came over to the NBA and was a scrub…he sucks.
  Reply Cancel
  - Panagiotis Christo
    11 years ago
    Neewsflash gabe
    Game 2
    Olympiakos efes 71-53
    27min playtime spanoulis 15p 4r 8as 1st
    25min playtime farmar 8p 2r 5as 0st
    Keep up the good work
    Reply Cancel
  - Gabe
    11 years ago
    No matter what excuses you make Spanoulis will never be Euroleague MVP and will always be a failure in the NBA. What a loser!
    Reply Cancel
- Panagiotis Christo
  11 years ago
  No worries my friend the only bad light shines on him and just him..we smart people over in Europe and no way we take the delirious nonsense of one maniac serious let alone believe that he speaks for the rest of all othr americans..I worked with americans many summers in greece and I got to know them as fun loving open minded people spending hours at a time talking women , politics and hoops (mostly talked about chicks) and my opinion about Americans is that u guys are fair and with respect to other cultures and values…this gabe guy is just an ugly abortion, there is one allways and everywhere. .nuff said
  Reply Cancel
serhat
11 years ago
Just to put the troll gabe in his place

euroleague announced rules changes this year and called it “kirilenko rule”.

See it used to be that after top 16 fans could vote for euroleague best 5 teams and for the mvp of euroleague. Fans could vote for this at the euroleague site in whatever language they needed.

Each IP could vote once a day.

See this thing happened last season where the russian player andrei kirilenko got mvp award by one vote over vassilis spanoulis the greek player. But in the media vote spanoulis was named mvp.

The reason kirilenko won mvp was because he was voted it by fans that came to vote at the website.

May be hard for a troll like gabe but euroleague changed the rule and called it “kirilenko rule”. Notice now this year there is no such online vote after top 16?

See now there is NOTHING, even well into playoffs. Because euroleague changed the rule because they realize having fans to vote after top 16 and decide league mvp was not fair and was ilogical.

So the troll gabe can enjoy to know that online voters like himself that gave kirilenko a stolen mvp award from spanoulis actually made the rules be changed.

Is said really for such trolls like gabe………no more crazy ass things like Childress in 2nd team or kirilenko getting mvp or spanoulis will happen again now.

So no such crap as Jordan Farmar or Bobby Brown or Sonny Weems being league mvp this year, which is probable one of the 3 of those guys would have won it if the old voting rules were still being allowed.

If they bring fan vote back in after playoffs it will not matter. By then fans will not be able to stuff the votes like they could last year for kirilenko voting for so long as couple months or whatever it was.

So the trolls like gabe robbing some awards by online voting has backfired now on ones like gabe. Since now guys like Jordan Farmar won’t get mvp awards that otherwise might have got before with tons of usa voters stuffing online voting ballot for month or more to decide votes.

Sad for spanoulis though to lose mvp award from online fan voting.
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- Gabe
  11 years ago
  No matter what excuses or predictions you make, Spanoulis has never won a Euroleague MVP and he never will.
  Reply Cancel
oz
11 years ago
1st team

Teodosic
Spanoulis
Fernandez
Khryapa
Krstic

2nd team

Diamantidis
Hickman
Papanikolaou
James
Tomic

MVP – Spanoulis

I bet it is like this.
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Panagiotis c
11 years ago
1.bobby brown
2.bobby brown (r.i.p whitney houston’s ex)
3.bobby de niro
4.james brown
5. Charles bronson
According to gabe
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mike
11 years ago
The Euroleague Troll strikes again with a new bunch of names. Pathetic. Whether here in BIE or ISH, we will call you on your BS. You’re already one of the most hated on ISH. C’mon admit it. Get out of the closet already!
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Yanni
11 years ago
who are these mike and gabe anyway? I think these two are some kind of suck fucks.
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Yanni
11 years ago
who are these mike and gabe anyway? I think these two are some kind of sick fucks.
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- Gabe
  11 years ago
  Yeah that’s what she said…
  Reply Cancel
Pierre
11 years ago
Gabe’s team, the New York Knicks, have a washed up, over the hill, has been of a 36 year old rookie from the Euroleague as their starting point guard.

And this is on one of the best teams in the NBA.

And yet, this incredibly jackass has the gall to come here and say the NBA is better than the Euroleague. Yeah, sure it is pal. Also, the Pope isn’t Catholic either.
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- Gabe
  11 years ago
  Again…lies, lies and more lies.
  Last year in Euroleague Prigioni averaged 28:39 mpg
  Two years ago in Euroleague he averaged 25:31 mpg on a team that made the Final Four.
  In the NBA he is averaging 16.3 mpg.
  And remember an NBA game is 8 minutes longer!
  So last year in Euroleague he averaged 11:21 mpg on the bench
  The year before in Euroleague, on a Final Four team he averaged 14:29 mpg on the bench.
  In the NBA he is averaging 31.57 mpg on the bench
  And weren’t you the one who said starting means nothing. That is why you are in the argument for king of all trolls on ISH.
  Reply Cancel
Galaad
11 years ago
You should call these posts “bie’s retarded predictions”. Always underestimating the best european team of all time (Panathinaikos), always acting as the CSKA’s fan page… “Maccabi outlasting Real”, this is a complete joke… According to BiE, CSKA should have won every euroleage the last 10 years. Gabe, keep trolling…
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mike
11 years ago
Gabe, I like it when after you give the facts to the Troll, he has nothing to say but repeat what you say like a parrot. Noticed that on ISH and here. On ISH, the Troll is a complete disgrace but a source of great entertainment, but Gabe is clearly his nemesis. Most people know what the Troll says is complete BS, but a lot don’t have the time to dispute with statistics and a little research point for point his ridiculous assertions, but not Gabe.
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Dusko
11 years ago
mike
18 hours

Gabe, I like it when after you give the facts to the Troll, he has nothing to say but repeat what you say like a parrot. Noticed that on ISH and here. On ISH, the Troll is a complete disgrace but a source of great entertainment, but Gabe is clearly his nemesis. Most people know what the Troll says is complete BS, but a lot don’t have the time to dispute with statistics and a little research point for point his ridiculous assertions, but not Gabe.

—

What facts? Gabe is full of shit and all he ever does is lie. I am a Euroleague fan for the last 25 years and I can tell you this guy is so full of shit that it is mind boggling.

Pretty much everything he says here is a complete lie and totally made up.
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- Gabe
  11 years ago
  Every thing I saw his is true and is backed up by facts. I dare you to challenge one thing I have posted and I will reply with a link that shows it is fact. That is the difference between me and you troll.
  Reply Cancel
- Sam
  11 years ago
  I’m American and started watching Euroleague this playoffs.
  
  Spanoulis does not play against Jordan Farmar for example at all and I see you claiming he does at insidehoops where mike directed me.
  
  Farmar is a two guard on his team and matches against guys like Acie Law and Dimitrios Katsivelis and Martynas Gecevicius damn hard names to spell.
  
  Spanoulis is a point guard on his team and the guys he would match with are Kerem Tunceri and Jamon Alfred-Lucas.
  
  Occasionally when Farmar’s team can’t stop Spanoulis with the smaller guards they switch their forwards Sasha Vujacic and Josh Shipp on him and they send double teams with their big men.
  
  I never once in 3 games saw Farmar matched with Spanoulis. So yes, you definitely are a liar. I already saw that totally just from these last few playoff games of Euroleague that I started watching.
  Reply Cancel
Sissilio
11 years ago
The Knicks feature a 36 year old Euroleague has been in Prigioni, that is about 5 years past his prime, and a guy that spent years in Europe and could never even make a Euroleague roster in Copeland.

This is the team that Gabe says he roots for and this is supposedly one of the top teams in the NBA. That right there is 100% PROOF that the NBA is a total POS league.

Neither one of those guys would see that same amount of playing time they get with the Knicks if they were playing on any big Euroleague team.

And every time Gabe and mike say otherwise, they are FUCKING LYING BASTARDS. FUCKING LYING SCUM.
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mike
11 years ago
These comments don’t even deserve an answer. It’s flat out ridiculous! No one, and I mean no one, Euro or American, believes this BS from the Troll.
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Chris Spanos
11 years ago
I’ve been reading this blog for two years and the amount of personal assault and chilidish debate going on had most likely deterred many internet users from visiting this blog again. It’s mind boggling the amount of personal attack and vitriol that goes around. If I wasn’t using the internet enough I’d say all these “discussions” is a plan to hit the reputation of this blog and its contributors.

I’ll say it as a personal plea and nothing more. Please keep it civil and try to be argumentative and respect the others. This whole gabe vs the world thing is repulsive. Both parties should tone down and start to make this place looks like a crossroad of thoughts and opinions and not a warring arena.

The non gabers need to stop centering and tunneling to gabe and gabe needs to articulate his opinions differently for the sake of him, the other visitors and more importantly this blog’s contributors.

Seriously, enjoy the game and try to be civil.
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Goran
11 years ago
I remember how this forum was before the gabe found it. It was a nice play to discuss international basketball, NBA, national teams, Olympics, Euroleague, etc.

Then the gabe started posting. Ever since then the forum has been a nightmare. The gabe is a clear as day psychopath and he ruined this whole site with all of his endless hate and attacks.

The mike, who is probably his friend or his alias is not much better.
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Sam
11 years ago
Watched another Olympiacos and Efes playoff game. For the whole game I never saw a single double team on Jordan Farmar or any other Efes player. For the whole game I saw Spanoulis get double teamed (sometimes triple teamed) every time he touched the ball just about, and certainly every time in the set offense.

No other Olympiacos players got doubled. I would think that if Spanoulis was a terrible player and a scrub that he would not need such defensive focus from the other team. I would also think that if Farmar is Europe’s Michael Jordan, which Gabe has asserted here many a time, I would think that Farmar might see a little more than a single man coverage. In truth, he didn’t even get trapped or switched out on pick and rolls.

I find all of what Gabe has been saying here for so long very odd within this context of actually watching these games. I was waiting for this to see Spanoulis and Farmar play against each other so that I could know if Gabe is a troll and a liar, of if the “Euros” really are “crazy”.

What I have seen so far is that Farmar does not even match against Spanoulis, as they have different roles and positions, despite Gabe claiming many a time here that they go head to head with other, and that Olympiacos pays no more attention to Farmar on defense than they do to any other Efes player.

Actually, what I see is that Jamon Lucas is the clear focal point of the Efes offense and not “Europe’s Michael Jordan”. Again, I really wonder why Spanoulis would be double teamed as soon as the ball comes his way, with a third defender showing out on him if he tries to do anything but immediately pass? I don’t grasp this concept and defensive strategy by the coach of Efes. Why would you pay so much attention on defense to a scrub? Seems odd to me.

I will wait to make a final conclusion until after the 5th and final game of this playoff series. But as it looks so far, it does indeed seem that Gabe is a deranged whack job and is completely lying about everything he says here all the time.

Of course, I am sure that mike will soon appear to say I am lying, and then Gabe will say that he only provides facts, that he proved everything he said, and that i lied. Then mike will confirm that and call me a troll.

That seems to be the standard posting pattern from them. Anyway, they led me to as an American check this Euroleague playoff series out myself, and pretty much so far it’s totally proven that the “Euros” are telling the truth here and that Gabe and mike are some kind of insane mad dogs.

My final conclusion will be posted after game 5 of the series. But as things stand now, Gabe and mike do appear to be gigantic liars.
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mike
11 years ago
What a dramatic rant by Euroleague. You’re not fooling us. It’s just you. You really got owned today on ISH, huh? LOL
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Max
11 years ago
After Olympiacos beats Efes in game 5. Gabe and mike should man up and take a self imposed ban for the rest of the Euroleague season and leave the European fans in peace.

If they don’t even have the courtesy to do that, after all this endless trash talking, then they truly are scum.
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Yanni
11 years ago
Panathinaikos had two straight games of 30,000 attendance at OAKA.

http://www.tubasket.com/noticia/fc-barcelona-regal/lio-vista-dueno-panathinaikos-pagara-avion-100-radicales-ir-la-guerra-palau/2964808/6305

But according to Gabe and mike, no team in Euroleague history ever even had 20,000.

AGAIN these two are caught in lies.
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mike
11 years ago
2 moderators on ISH threatened to ban Euroleague Troll with his insane views on Spanoulis/Greece/Olympia and cussing every other sentence. . Check the thread he posted, “Eurole is 7-11 vs NBA.” American fans on ISH, and even some Europeans are calling him on his BS.

I really don’t have a rooting interest with these EL Playoffs, so I don’t know what you’re talking about me predicting anything. I think Spanoulis could win again. Sure, why not? After all, it’s just NBA bench player Farmar we’re talking about here Olympi is struggling against. I really like it when you squirm to explain Spanoulis’ loses, though.LOL

At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter until Spanoulis proves himself in the NBA. In the minds of Americans, 2.7ppg in Houston is what will be remembered. And among all Europeans, not just Greek, people will remember his string of loses in international play climaxing in that terrible loss to Nigeria. Embarrassing.

If I were in charge of the Greek NT, I would rebuild. Losing to Nigeria is a warning sign of something really wrong. If you’re in denial mode, Greece will prolong the agony.

Greece probably has younger top end European talent waiting in the wings and can be a force again in world basketball, but not if Greece follows the advise of this Troll that there is nothing wrong with their NT program.
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- Derrick
  11 years ago
  ‘And among all Europeans, not just Greek, people will remember his string of loses in international play climaxing in that terrible loss to Nigeria. Embarrassing. ‘
  
  I read international forums every day. I dont see ppl talking trash like you are. So are just dising.
  You attitude is really sad. All players have low moments. Do ppl actually remember them for their low or for their high moments.
  
  Jasikevicius is typically underperforming all year till the playoffs,
  but everybody respects him from both sides of the atlantic.
  He had an amazing performance for many big games against USA etc.
  Or Carmelo, would has been fat for a while. big deal…
  Or Lebron James had lost (a few year back) many clutch shots…
  Or even the USA team which lost the Greece team. They all suck?
  
  So, stop being so pathetic.
  
  In another note,
  The North Americans remember their big lose to Spanoulis, and pay him respect. His underperfomance in NBA could be just because he was homesick. I am out of Greece for so many years (and I have traveled around) and I can tell you that, NO PLACE COMPARES TO GREECE. Especially the USA… Greece is like paradise, in so many ways (especially when you have money!). Perhaps Italy and Spain come close…
  So not only your judgement is wrong, but you are not even suitable to judge.
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  - Gabe
    11 years ago
    Spanoulis 1-14 with 8 turnovers in his last two games, both loses, in the quarter-finals. Well that’s what happens when you face a team with NBA “talent” like “Michael” Jordan Farmar. This after losing to Nigeria this summer. Spanoulis should just retire. He is not only embarrassing himself, his family and his fans but the whole nation of Greece. I have never seen such an overrated player. Looks like another year with no Euroleague MVP for that scrub Spanoulis.
    
    What a joke he is!! hahahahah
    Reply Cancel
    - Derrick
      11 years ago
      Yes.
      Reply Cancel
    - Nasos
      11 years ago
      Olympiakos will win game 5. I strongly suggest bans for Gabe and mike after this.
      
      The site owner should do what is right. Enough of this insane insults here.
      Reply Cancel
- Nasos
  11 years ago
  You are a so fucking stupid it’s beyond belief.
  Reply Cancel
  - Nasos
    11 years ago
    directed to mike.
    
    This stupid arrogant POS saying Greece is a bad national team and needs to rebuild and kick Spanoulis off the team? I have never seen such an outrageous trolling in any sports forum ever in my whole life.
    Reply Cancel
Nasos
11 years ago
Yes, but Derrick according to these crazy people like Gabe, Team USA has never lost any games ever. They just deny this ever happened.
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- Gabe
  11 years ago
  Let’s compare the stats of Vassilis “scrub” Spanoulis and “Michael” Jordan Farmar for the quarter finals
  Spanoulis – 8.3 ppg 31.6% 2 fg 5.6% 3fg 3.3 tpg
  Farmar – 12 ppg 47.8% 2 fg 29.4% 3f g 3 tpg
  
  You see Spanoulis was a top player in Euroleague because it was such a low level of basketball i.e. the D-League. But now that more NBA back-ups and roles player (Farmar, Fernandez, Kirilenko, Krtic, etc…) are going back into Euroleague Spanoulis’ time as a top player, even in that 2nd tier league has come to an end. Too bad he never got Euroleague MVP.
  Wow shooting 1-18 for 3s in the quarter-finals. Spanoulis has become a joke. At least he’s hitting his free throws unlike he did against Nigeria.
  Reply Cancel
  - Kleipidas
    11 years ago
    Gabereplied:
    4 hours
    
    Let’s compare the stats of Vassilis “scrub” Spanoulis and “Michael” Jordan Farmar for the quarter finals
    Spanoulis – 8.3 ppg 31.6% 2 fg 5.6% 3fg 3.3 tpg
    Farmar – 12 ppg 47.8% 2 fg 29.4% 3f g 3 tpg
    
    You see Spanoulis was a top player in Euroleague because it was such a low level of basketball i.e. the D-League. But now that more NBA back-ups and roles player (Farmar, Fernandez, Kirilenko, Krtic, etc…) are going back into Euroleague Spanoulis’ time as a top player, even in that 2nd tier league has come to an end. Too bad he never got Euroleague MVP.
    Wow shooting 1-18 for 3s in the quarter-finals. Spanoulis has become a joke. At least he’s hitting his free throws unlike he did against Nigeria.
    
    >
    
    You really are a true moron of the highest order. Listen IDIOT, you made a BIG mistake by trash talking before that series is over.
    
    You WILL regret it.
    
    I am Lithuanian and this is full truth of how it will go.
    
    1. Olympiakos will best Efes in game 5.
    
    2. Farmar will NOT be Euroleague MVP. Farmar will NOT be all Euroleague first team. Farmar will NOT be Euroleague Final Four MVP.
    
    So all your predictions and guarantees here will NOT come true.
    
    2. Spanoulis WILL be All Euroleague First Team and you know what else? There is a VERY good chance and even probably he will be Euroleague MVP.
    
    It is clear that you have never followed Euroleague, you have never seen a Euroleague game, and that you are only here to stir up controversies and to cause anger and hate at Europeans basketball.
    
    Of course even now when you say you follow Euroleague you do nothing but look at box scores. It is more than obvious that you are retarded and crazy and that you actually DO believe these fantasies of yours.
    
    But it really is pathetic at how much of a fool you are that you would not even know better than not to troll before that series is over. I have followed Euroleague since last 20 years and chance of Efes getting win in an elimination game at Piraeus is about 1 out of 10.
    
    Olympiakos will win that game and then you will be proven and outed as nothing but a complete and total troll that is only here to antagonize.
    
    If you had any intelligence, which you do not, you would have at least waited until Olympiakos actually got eliminated from something before you did this crazy trolling.
    
    But I guess since you are so retarded and so crazy that from the start here you said Jordan Farmar was Michael Jordan of Europe, would win the title, and all the awards, I guess you can just not help yourself.
    
    I guess you are just truly THAT fucking nuts.
    
    I already know hot his will go, after game 5 you will start back on your Sonny Weems trolling. Weems will be MVP, win all the awards, and the title.
    
    You keep changing all season. Now, you say NOTHING about Bobby Brown, after months on end you trolled here about him. After you were proven wrong, and the European fans here were proven right about that, you just never mentioned it again, and were back to Farmar trolling.
    
    mike was trying to deny it ever even happened and saying no such things were ever said about Bobby Brown. The problem is though that this time you have trolled too much. You have trolled non stop on this Jordan Farmar Spanoulis thing and your comeuppance is definitely at hand.
    
    I for one will NOT let you and mike sweep it under the carpet this time. Forever and ever as long as you post here your bullshit trolling about Farmar and Efes is going to haunt you.
    
    The really pathetic thing is that you have not even watched one of these games and you won’t of course watch game 5. You have never once seen a Euroleague game.
    
    It would only be fitting if you got so deluded in your own bullshit that you watched game 5 expecting your hated Spanoulis (who slept with your mother) to be “owned”.
    
    I would love nothing more than to know you watched game 5 and had to see all your trolling come back once and for all. Not one of my friends that is a basketball fan that I asked thinks Efes will win. Not a one of them. EVERYONE of them said Olympiakos will win.
    
    I for one cannot wait to be here Friday. Of course, YOU and mike will be nowhere to be found.
    Reply Cancel
    - Gabe
      11 years ago
      You missed the point. It doesn’t matter if Efes loses the series and Farmar doesn’t win Euroleague MVP or even is Euroleague 1st team. What matters is that so far in the quarter finals of Euroleague the “great” Spanoulis has been outplayed by an NBA back-up…and I mean badly outplayed. To think Spanoulis could be a top NBA player is delusional since he gets bested by NBA back-ups all the time (not to mention scrubs like Dagunduro). It seems the bigger the stage the bigger the choke for Spanoulis.
      Reply Cancel
      - Lars
        11 years ago
        I watched the games gabe, Spanoulis and Farmar don’t ever play against each other. Farmar is a two guard. They have not guarded each other at all in 4 games.
        
        There is no reason for you to keep up this charade here. Unlike you, those of us who follow Euroliga watch those games and we all saw that Farmar has not played against Spanoulis at all.
        
        There is no such thing as Spanoulis going up against Farmar. You are making that up to suit your trolling purposes. Farmar is playing against Acie Law and Dimitrios Katsivelis (who would be a college junior if he was American).
        
        Spanoulis is being matched up with Jamon Alfred-Lucas (the guy that actually run’s the offense of Efes – instead of Farmar, as you wrongly imply here), Sasha Vujacic, Josh Shipp, and Sinan Guler.
        
        Farmar is not playing against Spanoulis at all. You can just please stop that trolling already. It is not necessary and it only further degrades this site and it only further makes you look even more insane than you already look to everyone in Europe.
        
        Both you and mike can please stop calling everyone here that watches the games and calls out your lies to be a liar and a nut. The only nuts I see here are the two of you.
        
        This is just a perfect example, of how those two players never played against each other in the whole series and yet you are pretending to everyone here that they did.
        
        In Spain we have a word for people like you…please just stop all of this nonsense and out of control trolling, lying, and hate here. Just stop it please and maybe this site can be salvaged.
        Reply Cancel
  - Josh
    11 years ago
    Better than Rubio’s numbers in Euroleague.
    
    It’s odd how you claimed here for years that Rubio dominated in Europe and was the best point guard and best player in Europe when he had worse numbers than those in Euroleague.
    
    But in the case of Spanoulis, better numbers than Rubio suddenly becomes a horrible scrub that should not even be allowed to play in Europe or for Greece’s national team.
    
    Oh OK, alright then.
    Reply Cancel
mike
11 years ago
@Derrick. I’m sure Greece is a great place and I would love to visit Greece someday, but we’re talkin’ basketball here. Being in denial mode has hurt many teams, American or whatever. Losing to a 2nd tier basketball power like Nigeria is a huge warning flag. I’m not necessarily saying it’s Span they should get rid off, but wholesale changes need to be made since it’s obvious much of the Greek talent is over rated.

Even the US rebuilt their program after loses in 2002 and 2004. Instead of sending a rag tag team of stars, they started sending real teams. When they lost to Greece in 2006, more changes were made, and have been undefeated since that.

On Spanoulis, we’re just pointing to the facts. Who knows what the real reason was for V-Spans disaster in Houston, but it certainly had to do in large part to superior competition, within Houston itself , and the rest of the league. And no, Sarunas is not respected or even discussed here in the US. He played very well vs Team USA in the early 2000’s, but he eventually bombed in the NBA after a decent start with Indiana, who gave him significant playing time.

It’s one thing to surprise Team USA a couple of times, and it’s another thing to do it night in and night out in the NBA.
Reply Cancel
- Derrick
  11 years ago
  @Mike
  
  There could have been something wrong in order to lose to Nigeria.
  Even though we can always argue that miracles do happen (that is for the Nigerians). There is always this small probability you will lose to a much worse team.
  With picking up the roster Greece cant really go bad there, since the good material is about 15 ppl?
  While for USA that should be over 30.
  For me it’s either the mentality of the Greek athletes itself,
  Or the coaching staff to blame.
  However, if the athletes have a bad mentality,
  then it still is the coach’s responsibility to get their ‘shit’ together.
  In addition, taking into account that these players are quite good, but dont really win through just from personal talent(due to the European style of BB), but through great teamwork, then the coaching staff is to blame.
  
  Hopefully with the new staff, the team should be where it should be.
  I believe that is top5 in the world.
  
  As far as the under-performance is concerned, for me it more a personal reason (how you have been raised in Europe) rather than a set of skill’s issue.
  
  If you are
  not happy with the environment,
  you are not treated as star,
  you have to work on a higher competition,
  and you have to do it 3 times per week, why bother?
  
  It’s a European mentality that applies to other types of job.
  Try to find a job in the USA.
  You ll get more money, but you ll have to work hard and have only 2 weeks of vacations per year (that is one of the worse in the whole planet)
  You might as well work in Europe, have more fun, and 4 weeks of vacation…
  Reply Cancel
- Kleipidas
  11 years ago
  mike
  3 hours
  
  @Derrick. I’m sure Greece is a great place and I would love to visit Greece someday, but we’re talkin’ basketball here. Being in denial mode has hurt many teams, American or whatever. Losing to a 2nd tier basketball power like Nigeria is a huge warning flag. I’m not necessarily saying it’s Span they should get rid off, but wholesale changes need to be made since it’s obvious much of the Greek talent is over rated.
  
  Even the US rebuilt their program after loses in 2002 and 2004. Instead of sending a rag tag team of stars, they started sending real teams. When they lost to Greece in 2006, more changes were made, and have been undefeated since that.
  
  On Spanoulis, we’re just pointing to the facts. Who knows what the real reason was for V-Spans disaster in Houston, but it certainly had to do in large part to superior competition, within Houston itself , and the rest of the league. And no, Sarunas is not respected or even discussed here in the US. He played very well vs Team USA in the early 2000′s, but he eventually bombed in the NBA after a decent start with Indiana, who gave him significant playing time.
  
  It’s one thing to surprise Team USA a couple of times, and it’s another thing to do it night in and night out in the NBA.
  
  >
  
  From a Lithuanian to you – you are fucking CRAZY as fuck.
  Reply Cancel
mike
11 years ago
Derrick=normal European decent guy
Kleipidas= Euroleague Crazed Troll

It’s easy to spot.
Reply Cancel
- Lars
  11 years ago
  Both you and gabe come across as American psychos, just like the movie.
  Reply Cancel
Lars
11 years ago
There are already reports that Spanoulis will play with the Detroit Pistons next year and be their starting point guard.

gabe and mike suicide watch commences in 3…2…1…
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mike
11 years ago
@Lars LOL. Not even close. I have said here on this site many times that Spanoulis coming back to the NBA will be a treat for me. I love story lines and intriguing sports stories, especially with my Sixers likely being non-factors for the foreseeable future.

Also, this thing with Obradovich coming over to Detroit will be a very welcome thing. I hope he does come over, and it will be interesting to see if he indeed he would want to sign V-Span. If he does sign Span, it’s a vote of confidence on Span that he can play well in the NBA, but if he doesn’t, well, you get the picture.
Reply Cancel
- Fruit
  11 years ago
  You must be stupid. You never saw Spanoulis play obviously. He’s way better of a player than a guy like Calderon. Not even remotely close.
  Reply Cancel
Fruit
11 years ago
@lars – ‘gabe’ is the ultimate stats cherry picker of basketball history.

I’ve never seen a bigger asshole than him on any blog.
Reply Cancel
- Gabe
  11 years ago
  1-14 shooting don’t lie.
  Reply Cancel
Jacker
11 years ago
For anyone that wants to know, “Gabe” is the poster KWSN-Men at forums.interbasket.net

He is a Turkish Albanian guy that lives in USA and has an EXTREME HATRED of all Greek peoples.
Reply Cancel
Jacker
11 years ago
http://forums.interbasket.net/member.php?5057-KWSN-Men

That’s this “Gabe” jerk. You can browse through his posts and see what a complete disturbed PSYCHOPATH he is.
Reply Cancel
Euros > Gabe
11 years ago
Dominique Wilkins – Greek League practices were too much for him…….

http://www.sport24.gr/Basket/h_kontra_malkovits-oyilkins_kala_kratei.2224370.html

The Malkovich-Wilkins Beef Remains Strong

After 17 years, Bozidar Malkovic and Dominique Wilkins continue to aim their arrows towards each other.

Published: April 23, 2013 16:34

It may have been 17 years, but this dispute still remains…Bozidar Maljkovic and Dominique Wilkins still do not want to see each other.

In statements to the telecast, Bozidar Maljkovic said that he still cannot forgive the American superstar, who was absent from their summer preparation.

“You were with us in July, never practiced hard with us, never put effort into workouts. I remember the first practice. He was behind the basket, scared.” Said the Serbian coach, who continued:

“I saw him use an inhalation machine. I asked him what it was, and he told me, coach, I have asthma. In Athens, allergies are very bad and I cannot train the same as the others. I replied, you make $3,500,000, you have the right to do something different”.

For his part, Wilkins revealed how he never liked Malkovic as a coach: “The practices were crazy, too long, and often had nothing to do with basketball. To possibly suggest that I was lying about having asthma? It’s medically confirmed.

That’s why I didn’t like Malkovic. I think he was a liar. I can say that he was a good coach. But in the NBA, with his kind of practices, he could not coach anyone!”.
Reply Cancel
- Gabe
  11 years ago
  “We’re talking about practice. I mean listen, we’re sitting here talking about practice, not a game, not a game, not a game, but we’re talking about practice. Not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last but we’re talking about practice man.” — Allen Iverson
  Reply Cancel
mike
11 years ago
LOL Gabe. That quote is legendary in Philly. Iverson has turned out to be such a tragic character. So much heart and will, but so little regard for his team mates.

Anyway @Euro >Gabe’s post is the same exact post on ISH. Word for word. Hmmm. BTW, I’m Dr.J4ever on ISH, and I know Gabe is Gabepizza, so time to fess up euroleague? We know it’s you. It’s okay, it’s just basketball.
Reply Cancel
mike
11 years ago
BTW, Euroleague. Have a question for you. Is Obradovich the best coach in Europe by reputation? Because if he is, I would be interested in discussing the possibility of him taking over as Sixers coach on Philly.com and see what the Philly denizens think about a foreign coach.
Reply Cancel
MIKE
11 years ago
Ivkovic is the best coach in Europe “by reputation”. Obradovic is better than any NBA coach though.
Reply Cancel
mike
11 years ago
Well, ranking Obradovich higher than any NBA coach is totally subjective. In Philly today, there is an ongoing debate about the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagle’s new hire of a coach, Chip Kelly. Kelly, by reputation, was an offensive genius in the college ranks with the U of Oregon dominating the last few years.

Kelly does not have any NFL experience, though. Although Kelly says football will always be 11 on 11, this does not mean he has the tools to deal with various egos and personalities. Coaching in the NBA, with all the divas and mercurial personalities, could be a real challenge for any European coach not immersed in American culture. Coaching is really much more than X’s and O’s.

If he does take the plunge, he will need a strong assistant who is American, or form a core of veteran Euros to be the nucleus of his team. Or both.
Reply Cancel
- Derrick
  11 years ago
  It is very hard to compare.
  1) Different rules
  2) Different court size
  3) Different culture.
  4) Different schedule (more games=different rotation+different strategies etc)
  5) Different responsibilities (the coaching staff in US is way bigger).
  
  Of course, the same applies for any US coach that wants to coach in Europe.
  Reply Cancel
  - mike
    11 years ago
    @Derrick. completely agree.
    Reply Cancel
Jim
11 years ago
Gabe is a fucking moron. He was on this site arguing with Euros about Giannis Adetokoubo. One of the Greek fans here mentioned him as one of the young Greek talents and said he was considered the biggest young talent in Europe.

Gabe then went off on this huge tirade of totally made up bullshit about how he had never heard of him, if he was any good he would be on NBA mock drafts, how there was no way he could be a first round draft pick – “I guarantee no way in hell” is I believe how he put it……

He was bashing that Greek guy, calling him names, calling him a liar, saying he was not even considered at all in the best young players in Europe and he was saying that no way in hell did Greece produce any good players, saying they only had one good team for a couple years in their whole history, their whole history of success was just off two players (Papaloukas and Diamantidis) and that they never would never win anything again and never produce anything but total scrubs ever again.

He said something like “Greece won’t even be one of the top 20 teams in the world for the next 20 years or so”.

Now, here we are a few months later and Adetokoubo is projected to go 11th in the draft by nbadraft.net and this is a guy that would be a high school senior if he was playing in the US, so he’s younger than the guys ahead of him on the mock draft.

And I just read an article from some Spanish basketball scouts that said they think Adetokoubo is the biggest talent to come out of Europe in the last 15 years………

There could not possibly be a bigger proof of Gabe being a lying trolling SOB than this. He is absolutely doing nothing but trolling here and this guy mike REALLY needs to stop supporting him, agreeing with him, backing him up, etc. unless he just wants to prove that he is also Gabe posting with a different name.

Gabe’s statements about Adetokoubo and Greece’s basketball system are absolute proof of him being a colossally gigantic troll. Of course him and mike were calling the Greek guy a troll, when it turns out everything he said was completely and totally accurate and true.

Gabe is a super troll.
Reply Cancel
- mike
  11 years ago
  I support the truth, not any individual or agendas. I hate exaggerations and I hate propaganda. I will go by the facts and analysis by respected experts.
  
  When a guy like Chris Sheridan reports a buzz surrounding Adetok, then I believe that. I am just so disappointed again with my Sixers not trying to find top tier international talent. Why aren’t we sending scouts to find out about this guy? I guess we have to make do with the Primo Brezecs of the world.
  Reply Cancel
Erik
11 years ago
Olympiacos 82 Efes 72.

Where are Gabe and mike?

Unbelievable the amount of trolling from those two. Hopefully they got a ban for awhile, as they clearly needed a timeout.
Reply Cancel
- mike
  11 years ago
  As I said, I don’t know anything about this Efes-Olymp series except from what others have posted. I didn’t make any predictions, but this result doesn’t call for any arrogance. The questions to ask here is who was Farmar in the NBA, and who is Farmar in the Euroleague ?The answer to these questions should put the right perspective in all this.
  Reply Cancel
Erik
11 years ago
mikereplied:
1 hour ago

I support the truth, not any individual or agendas. I hate exaggerations and I hate propaganda. I will go by the facts and analysis by respected experts.

When a guy like Chris Sheridan reports a buzz surrounding Adetok, then I believe that. I am just so disappointed again with my Sixers not trying to find top tier international talent. Why aren’t we sending scouts to find out about this guy? I guess we have to make do with the Primo Brezecs of the world.

>

Then why the hell are you always defending Gabe’s comments here and always saying that the people that disagree with him are liars, nuts, etc,?

Gabe is a pure liar, he is full of propaganda, and he only posts with an agenda – to bash European basketball and European basketball players.

So if what you say is true, then why the hell are you backing up that enormous troll Gabe? Who does NOTHING but lie and spread false propaganda.
Reply Cancel
Erik
11 years ago
mikereplied:
1 hour ago

As I said, I don’t know anything about this Efes-Olymp series except from what others have posted. I didn’t make any predictions, but this result doesn’t call for any arrogance. The questions to ask here is who was Farmar in the NBA, and who is Farmar in the Euroleague ?The answer to these questions should put the right perspective in all this.
>

In the NBA, Jordan Farmar was a rotation player on a team that made the finals in 3 straight seasons, and won back to back NBA championships.

In the Euroleague, Jordan Farmar is an overrated, overpaid typical American NBA player that thinks he’s better than he is.

Playing defense and and showing up when his team needs him the most is something he does not do. In the Euroleague, he’s the guy that helped choke away a 15 point lead in a deciding playoff game, against the “super scrub” Spanoulis.

The same Spanoulis that you claim is not good enough to play in the NBA, because it’s a “fact” that he “sucked dick” in the NBA with the Rockets, in the “big boys league”.

Yeah well, in the “junior varsity league”, Spanoulis goes to the final four and Farmar goes back to the Turkish League. The same Farmar that was good enough in the NBA to be in that rotation of a mini dynasty Lakers team.

THAT is what Farmar is in NBA and Euroleague.

NEXT
Reply Cancel
- mike
  11 years ago
  Again, I never said V-span was a scrub in the EL. I have said before that he is probably the best pg in the EL. Nobody can deny, though, that he had “scrub” like numbers in the NBA. This is just a fact. Now, were there reasons to explain this? Maybe. Maybe not. There’s just no evidence either way.
  
  I have said that he could play in the NBA depending on the team. Perhaps we will see him in the upcoming season as you claim of rumors in Greece.
  
  On Gabe, he was wrong on the result of this series, but you can’t really say he has always been wrong and you have always been right in the past. So if and when he emerges, I suspect he may bring up the times in the past when you have been wrong as well. Humility, my friend.
  
  Look, this whole argument really revolves around your insistence of Euroleague equality to the NBA. I’m sorry but objective people know the answer to this. I’ll make a deal with you. If you concede the NBA has more of the talented players in the world, I will concede that the Euroleague is the 2nd best league in the world. This is a no brainer since even V-span admitted this.
  
  This is not to take away the STYLE of the Euroleague which is second to none since this is a matter of taste, To this day, perhaps more Americans prefer the college game as a more “pure” basketball experience. So same thing for the EL. I concede that many Euros may actually prefer the EL game over the NBA game, which is fine by me.
  Personally, I like international basketball tournaments, in particular, second to the NBA.
  
  Deal?
  Reply Cancel
  - The Word
    11 years ago
    NBA does not have superior players. That’s a nonsense myth that comes solely from USA patriotism.
    Reply Cancel
Erik
11 years ago
http://www.talkbasket.net/7740-olympiacos-punches-the-final-ticket-to-london.html

Printezis hit 15 points and seven rebounds while Vassilis Spanoulis finally discovered his scoring touch to lead the winners with 19 points and five assists as the reigning Euroleague champions turned a 15-point, second quarter deficit on its head as a lay-up from Spanoulis with 4:00 left gave the hosts the lead which they never relinquished.

Anadolu Efes were defeated and broken. Their players unable to talk to the media. This loss hurt, from the moment Olympiacos grabbed the lead in the fourth to the final buzzer, this was their worst nightmare, multiplied by 100. Coach Oktay Mahmuti was however available for post-game quotes but was brief and to the point.

“Congratulations to Olympiacos,” he said. And nothing else.

Olympiacos hit back though in the third quarter, roared on by their raucous followers, a triple from Spanoulis tied the game at 49-49, as the momentum was in favour of the Reds. Anadolu Efes looked out of ideas, unable to run simple sets and opting for isolation plays that led to nothing, the omens looked good for the hosts.

The Istanbul side steadied the ship as the third drew to a close, Kerem Gonlum helped his side back into it and he sunk a pair of free throws to push Efes ahead 55-54, heading into the final period.

Olympiacos though had all the answers, led by Spanoulis, they completely erased the earlier deficit and sealed a decisive win that books their ticket to the O2 Arena.
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Erik
11 years ago
http://www.eurohoops.net/2013/04/league-action/23746

The law of the home court prevailed and with a big three by Acie Law 1,5 minute before the end of the game, Olympiacos got a six points lead (76-70) that led to a 82-72 win over Anadolu Efes. The defending Euroleague champions with 3-2 wins prevailed after a hard fought series.

In the most crucial game of the season so far, Olympiacos leader Vasilis Spanoulis responded by scoring 19 points and dishing 5 assists.
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Erik
11 years ago
http://www.euroleague.net/main/results/showgame?gamecode=248&seasoncode=E2012#!report

Olympiacos KOs Efes, heads to London to defend crown

Reigning Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus will head to London to defend its crown after knocking out Anadolu Efes Istanbul with an 82-72 victory Fridat at Peace and Friendship Stadium in the fifth and final game of their exciting playoff series. 2012 Final Four MVP Vassilis Spanoulis led the champs with 19 points and 5 assists as Olympiacos rallied from a 15-point second-quarter deficit to win the game and series. Spanoulis’s layup with four minutes left game his team the lead for good, 68-67, and started a 16-5 charge to finish the game. In London, Olympiacos will face CSKA Moscow in the semifinals in a rematch of their thrilling championship game from last season. Georgios Printezis added 15 points and 7 rebounds as Olympiacos got points from 11 different players. Jamon Lucas led Efes with 14 points and 5 assists, Dusko Savanovic added 12 points and Jordan Farmar 11 in the loss.
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Hoops
11 years ago
lol at “when Gabe is right”………..

I have been reading here for 5 years and this nutcase Gabe was right only when he said Kirilenko would be Euroleague MVP.

I don’t count any of that BS trolling he does about Team USA, as any moron can come here and predict they win a gold medal. None of that crap means a thing.

He has said hundreds upon hundreds of things here and guaranteed they would happen and he has been wrong EVERY time and about EVERY single thing he said, except like I said, the Kirilenko MVP thing.

He is probably about 1 for 500 in his predictions here. What in the world are you smoking to tell someone to man up about the times when Gabe is right here?

Yeah, no way on God’s green earth is mike not an alias of Gabe. No one could be that seriously mentally disturbed.
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