Steven Smith is the starting power forward for the Greek team Panathinaikos, which will be competing in the Euroleague Final Four in Istanbul next month. After having a successful career at La Salle, where he was a two-time Atlantic 10 player of the year, the Philadelphia native took his talents overseas after a short spurt with the Philadelphia 76ers. After working his way through the ranks in Europe, Smith will get an opportunity to participate at the highest level of competition in
TEL AVIV — After yet another exciting game, Maccabi Tel-Aviv and Panathinaikos are set to face off in a do-or-die showdown in Greece next Thursday. Last night, Panathinaikos edged out Maccabi 78-69 in a grind-it-out duel, in which Panathinaikos held a mere three-point lead with two minutes remaining. Taking place in Tel-Aviv’s Nokia Arena, a relatively small gym that holds 11,000 rabid fans, the atmosphere had at least as much intensity as an NBA playoff game. Every possession was a battle,
In a rematch of last year’s Euroleague Championship, Maccabi Tel-Aviv is set to take on the Greek team, Panathinaikos, in the first round of the Euroleague playoffs. With both teams possessing several NBA-caliber talents, and Maccabi rolling with two of the top Greek players in Theo Papaloukas and Sofoklis “Sofo” Schortsanitis, this promises to be among the more exciting playoff battles. While two of the premier coaches in Europe, Zeljko Obradovic and David Blatt, will face off, this matchup contains some of
From euroleague.net
This past week, the majority of the leagues in Europe took a break from their season as teams competed in the Final Four of each country’s respected State Cups. Similar to the leagues in soccer, State Cups are a one-and-done tournament that consists of every team in the first and second division of each country, with two rounds being played out every six weeks or so. While the State Cup may not hold the same respect and demeanor as a
With their backs against the wall, Israel’s Maccabi Tel-Aviv kept their Euroleague chances alive with a resounding 75-60 home win against Italy’s Bennet Cantu. After struggling in both the Israeli league and the Euroleague over the past several weeks, Maccabi turned a corner in the third quarter, displaying the brand of basketball that propelled them to an excellent first round of the Euroleague. While many were anticipating former Maccabi point guard Doron Perkins’ debut with Cantu back in the familiar Nokia Arena,
TEL AVIV, Israel — Regal Barcelona put on a defensive clinic in Tel-Aviv against Maccabi in a round of 16 showdown between two of the powerhouse teams in the Euroleague. Barcelona’s stable of big men and heady guard play were too much for Maccabi to overcome, giving the Spanish squad a big 71-57 road victory. Barcelona’s frontcourt features two NBA prospects in Erazem Lorbek and Fran Vasquez, whose combination of size and skill was too much for Maccabi. With Sofoklis Schortsanitis
After an exciting first round that featured an unprecedented amount of imported talent due to the NBA lockout, the Euroleague is set to move on to its second round of competition. The “Round of 16” features the same number of teams as the NBA playoffs with a far different format. The 16 teams are split into four groups of four teams, where each group will play a round robin from which the top two teams in each group will advance. This type of