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List of 2010-11 European Champions: Return from Barcelona edition

May 12, 2011

BallinEurope apologizes for the recent two-day drought of content in an attempt to catch up on “the day job” since returning from the Euroleague Final Four tournament. To (hopefully) make up for this dearth a bit, and in honor of Panathinaikos’ stirring win in the big league, BiE today presents an updated version of its List of 2010-11 European Champions.

See below for a roundup on the current situation in regular seasons and/or playoffs in the Continent’s domestic leagues. This list will be updated whenever possible.

Any information BallinEurope readers can provide is much appreciated as well.

Euroleague: Panathinaikos took its third championship in five years by decisively taking out first Montepaschi Siena and then Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Euroleague Final Four tournament. In the year of Dimitris Diamantidis, the PAO guard added another trophy to the mantelpiece by bagging the tourney’s MVP award.

ULEB Eurocup: Unics Kazan became the first unlicensed team to officially join the 2011-12 Euroleague ranks with a decisive 92-77 victory over Cajasol Sevilla in the championship match. Maciej Lampe contributed a huge effort with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Kelly McCarty went for 18 and Terrell Lyday put in 15. But it was Marko Popović who was named MVP for dishing out a Eurocup championship record 11 assists to go with his 18 points.

FIBA Eurochallenge: Krka Novo Mesto topped Lokomotiv Kuban 83-77 to take the 2011 FIBA EuroChallenge title in Belgium, thanks to a fourth-quarter comeback; in the third-place game, hosts Oostende snuck past Spartak St. Petersburg, 94-92, in overtime.

Adriatic League: Partizan Belgrade took its fifth straight NLB title by defeating fellow Euroleague side Union Olimipija, 77-74, in the championship game.

Balkan League: Macedonia’s KK Feni Indistrija won its first-ever BIBL title by defeating Rilski Sportist of Bulgaria, 88-75, in the championship game.

Baltic League: Žalgiris Kaunas defended home court with the magic of the “Green Death” to take the Baltic League title over VEF Riga, 75-67.

VTB United League: BC Khimki overcame fellow Muscovites of CSKA, 66-64, in the VTB championship game; Vitaly Fridzon was named Final Four tournament MVP. For third place, Eurocup champs Unics Kazan survived Azovmash Mariupol.

Albania: SK Tirana were crowned Albanian Basketball League champions after twice topping UAT. Despite going just 7-8 during the FSHB regular season, UAT snuck into the finals by upsetting theretofore-undefeated Studenti Tirana in a best-of-three round.

Austria: Regular-season no. 1 and no. 2 seeds Allianz Swans Gmunden and Oberwart Gunners each won their five-game semifinal series three games to two and will face off for the Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga championship beginning today.

Belarus: Is BC Minsk-2006 the European team of the year? Certainly, the Belarusian champions compiled one of the best single seasons ever in terms of straight-up record with a pair of 3-0 sweeps in the playoffs to bring their final mark for the 2010-11 season to a perfect 46-0.

Belgium: The Ethias League regular season runs through May 14.

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Last year’s championship finalists Siroki TT and BC Igokea Aleksandrovac now hold 1-0 leads in semifinal series against Mladost and Borac Nektar, respectively.

Bulgaria: Of the top four seeds from the regular season, three remain to play in the semifinals: Lukoil Academik, Levski Sofia and Rilski Sportist; the sole upset in the first round came when no. 6 Tundja, which had compiled a 10-18 record, upended no. 3 Balkan in two straight games.

Croatia: In stage 2 of the Croatian League, Cedevita Zagreb maintains their lead atop the table at 11-2, but KK Zadar and Zagreb Croatia Osiguranje are both nipping at the Eurocuppers’ heels at 10-3 after the latter upset them last weekend. Two games remain to play.

Cyprus: After a wacky playoff tournament which ultimately saw no. 4 seed Intercollege Etha Engomis face off against no. 6 AEL Limassol (who were just 6-10 in the regular season!) for the title, Etha was named 2011 champions in winning the series three games to two. Kudos to these champions, who reportedly have quite the long history of Cinderella and/or underdog status – and this season, league MVP Anthony King.

Czech Republic: The Czech Republic’s marquee team, CEZ Nymburk, has advanced to the quarterfinals, as have BK Decin, Prostejov and Pardubice. This round begins play on Saturday.

Denmark: The Bakken Bears were named Ligaen champions after avenging last season’s championship series loss to Svendborg by sweeping the Rabbits 4-0 in the finals. Bakken’s former Texas Tech Red Raider Charlie Burgess was named league MVP.

Estonia: Kalev/Cramo looks poised to take the Estonian title as they hold a 3-0 lead over TU/Rock in the championship series. Game four will be played on Saturday.

Finland: Tampereen Pyrinto are the Finnish champions after destroying Kataja in the deciding game five of the finals, 80-57. Damon Williams was named regular-season MVP after compiling a fantastic line of 18.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals per over 55 games.

France: The LNB regular season has concluded and eight teams will begin duking it out in the playoffs on May 17: Cholet Basket, SLUC Nancy, Chalon-sur-Saone, Gravelines Dunkerque, Chorale Roanne, ASVEL Basket, Hyeres-Toulon, and Le Mans Sarthe.

Germany: It’s another cliffhanging playoff tournament in the Bundesliga … Brose Baskets Bamberg and Deutsche Bank Skyliners have advanced to the semifinals, while the Artland Dragons-New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig and ALBA Berlin-EWE Baskets Oldenburg series are both knotted up at 2-2. The deciders will be played this weekend.

Greece: Surely no one would be surprised to see the traditional Greek final this year, as Olympiacos is now a record 28-0 against Greek sides this season, while surely still-high Euroleague champions Panathinaikos are coming from the other semifinal bracket; the Reds and Greens will have to get past Aris Thessaloniki and PAOK, respectively, first, however.

Holland: The DBL final will be played between the regular season’s top two seeds, the Eurochallenge’s ZZ Leiden and GasTerra Flames of 2010-11 Eurocup.

Hungary: In Hungary, a new champion will be crowned as defending champs ZTE were bounced earlier in the playoffs. Right now that titlist would appear to be Albacomp, which eliminated the 2009-10 runners-up Atomerőmű SE Paks in the semifinals and now holds a 2-0 lead over Szolnok.

Iceland: In what is perhaps Europe’s smallest league, the tinily-titled KR (a.k.a. KR Reykjavik if you’re not into the whole brevity thing) defeated Stjarnan, three games to one, to take the title.

Ireland: Killester Dublin made it back-to-back titles by defeating Neptune Cork, 84-80, in the championship.

Israel: The looooooooooooooong Ligat HaAl playoff tournament crawls onward, with eight teams still in contention. Surely nobody there wants to take on powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv after David Blatt’s boys suffered the Euroleague championship loss; they’re up 2-0 on poor Elitzur Netanya currently, with game three tonight.

Italy: Two more rounds of play remain in the Serie A regular season.

Latvia: In Latvia, that Baltic country with talent all out of proportion to its size, has a championship series featuring Eurochallengers Ventspils and Eurocup/VTB United League side VEF Riga. No. 1 seed Riga is up 1-0.

Lithuania: As expected, Žalgiris Kaunas and Lietuvos Rytas are dueling for LKL supremacy for an incredible 13th consecutive time, with the championship series at 1-1; BiE can only await some good ol’ off-court weirdness so representative of these two teams.

Luxembourg: The Diekirsch League begins its semifinal round this weekend, with matchups of Etzella vs. Sparta and Amicale against T71 Dudelange. Sheerly based on names, BiE is pulling for the Dudes and “This Is” Sparta.

Moldova: In Moldova, the semifinal matchups are no. 1 seed UASM against BC Gamma Cahul, while ASEM gets the awesomely-named Fire Ball Bender in the other series.

Norway: Baerum Basket bested the Tromso Storm in two straight games to win the Norwegian title.

Poland: Perpetual power Asseco Prokom is tied up with PGE Turow in the finals with one win apiece.

Portugal: The LPB finals begin tomorrow night with Porto Ferpinta (21-1 in the regular season) hosting Benfica.

Romania: Once again, the ever-reliable Adi Micinic of TotalBaschet.ro, provides BallinEurope’s with an update on the Romanian basketball playoffs: “In the decisive fifth game, U Mobitelco BT Cluj-Napoca beat Gaz Metan Medias, 80-70, to advance in the final for the second time in a row. Cluj won the series, 3-2.

“CSU Asesoft Ploiesti and Cluj-Napoca will meet in the championship final for the second consecutive year and for the fourth time since the 2005-06 season. Asesoft has won the title on all three previous occasions: In 2006 the score was 4-1, in 2008 it was 4-3, while last year it was a 4-0 sweep, all in favour of Asesoft. CSU Asesoft is going for its eighth Romanian championship in a row, while U Mobitelco Cluj are three times champions, the last title coming in 1996.

“Last season Cluj had home court advantage, but this season Ploiesti will have this advantage. The final is a best-of-seven series.

“Meanwhile, BC Miercurea Ciuc beat Politehnica Iasi, 102-87, in Game 5 of the relegation series. Miercurea Ciuc won the series by 3-2. Iasi are now relegated to Divizia B a season after they won promotion. CSU Cuadripol Brasov were already relegated after they lost 3-0 to SCM Universitatea Craiova.”

Russia: Two more rounds are left to play in PBL season; Unics Kazan, bounced in the VTB United League semis, has all but clinched the top seed for the playoff rounds; at 19-6, they’re 2½ games up on CSKA Moscow and Lokomotiv Kuban.

Serbia: Three more games are to be played by Serbian Superleague teams. Naturally, Partizan still tops the table at 10-1, while the Eurocup-contending 2010 runners-up KK Hemofarm are right behind the Black-and-Whites at 9-2.

Slovakia: BK Astrum Levice were named 2011 Slovakian champions are beating BK SPU Nitra three games to two. Americans Mike English and Esian Henderson starred for Levice in the decisive game five, with the former putting in 21 points and seven rebounds, while the latter added a double-double of 15 and 11.

Slovenia: The second stage of Slovenian ball ends on May 17.

Spain: This weekend will cap the seemingly interminable ACB regular season. FC Barcelona has clinched the top spot for the tournament, while only a disastrous combination of two Madrid losses plus a PE Valencia win could keep Real out of the no. 2 seed (though factoring in the current tailspin the Whites are experiencing, i.e. three consecutive losses between ACB and Euroleague play, it’s possible, BiE supposes).

Also guaranteed berths are Caja Laboral Baskonia, Gran Canaria 2014, and Bizkaia Bilbao Baskets. A bit of a dogfight will be had over the final three spots, with Fuenlabrada (19-14), Unicaja Malaga (18-15) and Valladolid (18-15) still looking to see how things shake out.

Sweden: In a battle between the last two season’s champions, Sundsvall Dragons recaptured the Basketligan title from 2010 winners Norrköping Dolphins in seven games. The Dragons dominated the league’s awards for 2010-11 as well: Jakob Sigurdarson bagged MVP, Guard of the Year and Import Player of the Year nods; Forward of the Year was Alex Wesby; and finally, the MIP trophy went to Johan Jeansson.

Switzerland: Lugano Tigers have defended home court, taking a 2-0 over Fribourg in the championship series.

Turkey: The TBL playoff tournament has just gotten underway, with matchups pitting Fenerbahçe Ülker vs. Antalya; Efes Pilsen Istanbul vs. Karsiyaka; Banvit BK vs. Olin Edirne; and Galatasaray Café Crown vs. Beşiktaş Cola Turka … hey, wait a minute: Didn’t a certain Mr. Answer say he’d be back with Beşiktaş for the playoffs…?

Ukraine: Next week will see the tipoff of the championship series between regular-season top two seeds Budivelnyk and Eurocup’s BC Donetsk.

United Kingdom: Liverpool Mersey Tigers won the BBL championship in between Sharks Sheffield, 79-74, in the championship game.

May 12, 2011ballineurope
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Comments: 11
  1. mr. T
    12 years ago

    Latvia ain’t Balkan, they are Baltic state xD

    ReplyCancel
  2. milaz
    12 years ago

    Man… you keep on making these small silly mistakes… PAO took out Siena and then Maccabi, not Real.

    ReplyCancel
    • Os Davis
      12 years ago

      @ Milaz, Mr. T: D’oh, yeah. My head is still in Spain. Corrections made … thanks for the extra sets of eyes!

      ReplyCancel
  3. Zisi Lives
    12 years ago

    Os, this is off topic, but what do you think about this interview Vassilis Spanoulis gave to the Greek press for NBA Greece where he basically said that Tom Thibodeau was the actual head coach of the Rockets and that it was not actually Jeff Van Gundy?

    That has to be pretty big for an NBA players to just come out and say it like that in the press about their former NBA head coach………

    http://nba.sport24.gr/article/858443/spanoulis-mpasket-logw-bulls

    http://www.redplanet.gr/basket/spanoulhs-mpasket-logw-bulls.859355.html

    Spanoulis: “Basketball, Because Of The Chicago Bulls”

    Nikos Papaioannou

    Posted: Thursday, May 11, 2011 02:02
    Updated: Thursday, May 11, 2011 04:57

    “I started to love basketball because of the Chicago Bulls”, admits Vassilis Spanoulis, who spoke to the official Greek language version of the NBA website about the Houston Rockets, the best European players that have played in the NBA, and the NBA Coach of the Year, Tom Thibodeau.

    Vassilis Spanoulis went to play in the NBA for one season to fulfill what had been a big dream of his. “Kill Bill” spent the 2006-07 season wearing the jersey of the Houston Rockets. The Olympiacos point guard spoke exclusively to the official Greek language website of the NBA – http://nba.sport24.gr/ – about his beloved childhood NBA team, the all-time best European players that have played in the NBA, and also about the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau, for whom he played under, while on the Rockets.

    Spanoulis first discovered the magical world of the NBA at the age of 10, thanks to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls dynasty. As he says, his love for the Bulls is what began his passion for basketball:

    “I grew up during the time of the 90’s Chicago Bulls, following them from when I was 10 years old. Following Jordan and his team. We are all lucky to have been able to see the best of all time. My love for basketball became even stronger because of watching that team.”

    He admits that signing a contract with the Houston Rockets gave shape to his NBA dream. He had good and bad times in Houston, where despite the promises that were made to him by the front office managers of the Rockets, he had little playing time. Spanoulis also talks about the distinguished assistant coach of Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau.

    Thibodeau, the current head coach of the Bulls, was crowned the NBA Coach of the Year a few days ago. In Houston, he was the assistant to head coach Jeff Van Gundy, and Spanoulis said that he was the one that did the bulk of the coaching work on the team:

    “It was Thibodeau who did most of the coaching on our team. He was a great defensive coach at the practices. He had very good ideas, discipline, and was very good during the training. One of the assistant coaches said that, wherever he goes, he will end up being great someday. I will follow his head coaching career that has begun so beautifully for him, and I think he will continue to be a very good coach.”

    Spanoulis, in his career with the Rockets, averaged 2.8 points and 0.9 assists per game [including the playoffs]. Since then, he has spent the last four seasons in Greece, playing the last several months with Olympiacos. He still however monitors what is happening on the other side of the Atlantic, and in particular, this year’s NBA playoffs, for which he said:

    “There is not any big favorite, like in other years. Several teams could make it to the Finals. We saw two big surprises with both San Antonio and Orlando going out in the first round. And in the second round, we have already seen Memphis win in Oklahoma City and Dallas win in Los Angeles. Anyone can beat anyone. Generally, the games are unpredictable, so interest in them is high.

    He also believes, that at the current time, the five best players in the NBA are: Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, and Kevin Garnett. Very close to the level of those players are two Europeans, Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol. Spanoulis feels that the Spanish and German are perhaps the best European players of all-time, that have played in the NBA:

    “Next to Howard and Garnett, you could put Nowitzki and Gasol. It is a question that many ask, Gasol or Nowitzki? They are both huge players. Two of the best European players of all-time that have gone to play in the NBA, if not the best. Certainly, in the past, there have been others that we cannot forget. Such as, Vlade Divac, Peja Stojakovic, Dino Radja, and the unforgettable Drazen Petrovic. They were also huge players, but certainly, those two (Nowitzki, Gasol), are probably the best.”

    Watch the NBA Greece video clip, with Spanoulis’ comments, at dailymotion.com:

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xikhd3_yy-nba-yyyyyy-yyyyyyyy_sport

    ReplyCancel
    • Os Davis
      12 years ago

      @ Zisis: Wow, thanks for the post … as though the Houston Rockets needed more problems, then this revelation…

      ReplyCancel
  4. Zisi Lives
    12 years ago

    Sorry, the part I meant to post is here:

    He admits that signing a contract with the Houston Rockets gave shape to his NBA dream. He had good and bad times in Houston, where despite the promises that were made to him by the front office managers of the Rockets, he had little playing time. Spanoulis also talks about the distinguished assistant coach of Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau.

    Thibodeau, the current head coach of the Bulls, was crowned the NBA Coach of the Year a few days ago. In Houston, he was the assistant to head coach Jeff Van Gundy, and Spanoulis said that he was the one that did the bulk of the coaching work on the team:

    “It was Thibodeau who did most of the coaching on our team. He was a great defensive coach at the practices. He had very good ideas, discipline, and was very good during the training. One of the assistant coaches said that, wherever he goes, he will end up being great someday. I will follow his head coaching career that has begun so beautifully for him, and I think he will continue to be a very good coach.”

    ReplyCancel
  5. sinai
    12 years ago

    Here’s a question perhaps you can answer: what about the Med basketball league they were talking about earlier this year? did that plan fall through? Rumor here in Israel is that Maccabi will join the Adriatic League next year.

    ReplyCancel
    • Os Davis
      12 years ago

      @ Sinai: I do searches for stuff on the Mediterranean League every week, but i’ve seen no new substantial news on this association since maybe earlier this year. Hopefully something will come out this offseason…

      ReplyCancel
  6. Zoys
    12 years ago

    Congratulations for the post!

    ReplyCancel
  7. Shah Zina
    12 years ago

    yeah smmaller teams do have a difficult time playing the big guns, but i solemnly believe that if they wud’ve chosen to pass instead of hurting the opponent they probably would’ve come closer to scoring…
    i was horrified watching this game. Was Málaga effin serious? And they got away with it!!!!!
    I was glad to note that barca scored 2 wonderful goals (ibra’s goal was really good and messi’s assist was amazing as well)…this game shudve been 5-0…but still: a wins a win
    Great Job in the season so far Barcelona.

    ReplyCancel
  8. Os Davis
    12 years ago

    @ Shah Zina: Huh?

    ReplyCancel

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12 years ago 11 Comments EuroLeague, More, National LeaguesAdriatic League, ALBA Berlin, Albacomp Székesfehérvár, Alex Wesby, Allen Iverson, Allianz Swans Gmunden, Amicale Steinsel, Aris Thessaloniki, Artland Dragons, Asseco Prokom, Asvel Basket, Balkan, Balkan Basketball League, BC Donetsk, BC Lokomotiv Kuban, BC Miercurea Ciuc, BC Minsk-2006, BC Ventspils, Benfica, BK Astrum Levice, BK Decin, BK Pardubice, BK Prostejov, BK SPU Nitra, Brose Baskets Bamberg, Budivelnyk Kiev, CEZ Nymburk, Chalon-Sur-Saone, Cholet Basket, Chorale Roanne, CSKA Moscow, CSU Asesoft Ploiesti, CSU Cuadripol Brasov, Damon Williams, Deutsche Bank Skyliners, Dimitris Diamantidis, Elitzur Netanya, Esian Henderson, Etzella, EuroCup, EuroLeague, EWE Baskets Oldenburg, FIBA EuroChallenge, Fribourg, GasTerra Flames Gröningen, Gaz Metan Medias, Gravelines-Dunkerque, Hyères-Toulon, Jakob Sigurdarson, Johan Jeansson, Kalev/Cramo, Kataja, KK Cedevita Zagreb, KK Hemofarm, KK Zadar, KK Zagreb Croatia Osiguranje, Krka Novo Mesto, Le Mans Sarthe Basket, Levski Sofia, Lietuvos Rytas, Lokomotiv Kuban, Lugano Tigers, Lukoil Academik, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Mersey Tigers, Mike English, New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig, Norrkoping Dolphins, Oberwart Gunners, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, PAOK, Partizan Belgrade, PGE Turow, Politehnica Iasi, Porto Ferpinta, Rilski Sportist, SCM Universitatea Craiova, Sheffield Sharks, SLUC Nancy, Sparta, Sundsvall Dragons, Szolnoki Olaj, T71 Dudelange, Tampereen Pyrinto, TU/Rock, Tundja, U Mobitelco BT Cluj-Napoca, UNICS Kazan, VEF Riga, VTB United League, Zalgiris Kaunas, ZZ Leiden
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