Olympiacos 301
Top 10 reasons why BallinEurope loves the Barcelona-Olympiacos final
How thrilled is BallinEurope to see tonight’s Barcelona-Olympiacos final? Let us count the ways… 10. Both teams earned the trip with tough semifinal wins. Against CSKA Moscow, Barcelona played smart while deploying Europe’s best defense in 2009-10 against a much bigger Red Army team; Olympiacos truly gave everything in overcoming plucky Partizan Belgrade. The result: […]
Olympiacos vs. the flu, part II: Teodosic questionable for Euroleague final [UPDATED]
With one game left to play in its Euroleague season, Olympiacos has only to face the same old enemy that has dogged their exceptional 2009-10 season. No, BiE’s not talking about Barcelona here or even home-country rivals Panathinaikos, but rather a flu bug. Olympiacos coach Panagiotis Giannakis stated on Saturday that, “After the game with […]
Must-see YouTubes: Highlights from the Euroleague Final Four semifinals
While BallinEurope attempts to awaken after one intense basketball evening, we present a compedium of clips from the games last night. Those of us on press row last evening, as the Olympiacos-Partizan game went into overtime were of a single-minded opinion. To wit: “Those folks in the ‘States don’t know what they’re missing.” In that […]
“This is the Final Four”: The Euroleague quotebook going into the semifinals
A quick collection of quotes for you, collected yesterday and today at various press conferences and media meetings. With just hours to go before tipoff, enjoy a bit of wit and wisdom from coaches and players on BallinEurope. On Paris “It is […] special to have the Final Four in Paris. This is the city […]
Euroleague Final Four history by the numbers
Attention, all statistics addicts! With the time to tipoff running down steadily, BallinEurope this morning puts things into a little numerical perspective. Which players, coaches and teams will forever be immortalized in the record books when all is said and done at the 2010 Euroleague Final Four? Some measuring sticks for would-be heroes are listed […]
Euroleague Final Four head-to-head matchups: Partizan Belgrade vs. Olympiacos
Whoa, the Final Four starts in two days? Almost unbelievable. But enough digression! Yesterday, BallinEurope presented a brief position-by-position rundown of Friday’s FC Barcelona-CSKA Moscow game. Today, a consideration of the late game, Partizan Belgrade vs. Olympiacos. Similarly to the early game, Partizan-Olympiacos also features a matchup between classic plucky underdog versus season-starting prohibitive favorite. […]
Update: How to sing along with Olympiacos
In reference to yesterday’s post on Euroleague final four fight songs, reader Simos, whose Greek is certainly, like, way better than mine, was kind enough to provide an English translation of the lyrics to “ΘΡΥΛΕ ΤΟΝ ΓΗΠΕΔΩΝ ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΕ” (a.k.a. “Thryle ton gipedon, Olympiake,” a.k.a. “Olympiacos, legend of the courts”). Words Greek nor English can express […]
Fun to be at the C-S-K-A: Euroleague Final Four fight songs
One area in which European basketball has it all over the American game? Fight songs! Indeed, this is one bit of international sporting lore that is mostly missing from stadia and arenas all across the U.S., a few more rabid university fan groups notwithstanding. Before anyone from the other side of the ocean can complain, […]
Sofoklis philosophizes in brief Euroleague interview
“Much speech is one thing, well-timed speech is another.” – Sophocles BallinEurope would be highly remiss if i didn’t turn you onto the Euroleague’s official interview with one of the main men ‘round this ‘site, Sofoklis Schortsanitis. Somewhat disappointingly, it’s fairly standard stuff, though Big Sofo does offer some insight into stopping the Partizan game, […]
Video: Euroleague All-Star nominees
From the ever-busy In Case You Missed It Department, below the break runs a few highlights from each of the 10 all-Euroleaguers for 2009-10. Based on a combination of fan and media voting, this final 10 will be further divided into All-Euroleague first- and second teams. The contents list for this three minutes of basketball […]
The best of times, the worst of times: Olympiacos YouTuber flashes back
Some people may be having a little trouble dealing with the anticipation in the leadup to the Euroleague Final Four. YouTube poster Bosiopan, a fan of Olympiacos – yeah, like those guys don’t have enough to worry about, standing as they are just 1/2 game up on Panathinaikos on the ESAKE table as well with […]
Eurocup final four: Four stories, one video, fearless predictions
The Eurocup tournament concludes this weekend with the quartet of matches comprising the competition’s final four. Backed by a handful of road-tripping fans, Alba Berlin will take on the Black Tide of Bilbao Bizkaia Basket in the late game. Starting things up tonight will be Victor Claver and his youthful Valencia Power Electronics (That’s the […]