BARCELONA — Regal Barcelona came into Thursday night letting up just 59 points per game. Montepaschi Siena scored more than half that in the final nine minutes and sent the team from Catalunya packing with their first loss of the year, a 77-74 final. And though Siena’s Coach Simone Pianigiani has locked up five straight Italian Championships and is coming off of a Euroleague Final Four, this win belongs right near the top of his list. Why? Because he beat Europe’s best
Gibson Column: Basile puts Cantu in Top 16; Bulls’ Mirotic killin’ it; ‘Melo crossed over by Bodiroga
BARCELONA — They say you should act like you’ve been there before. With a Euroleague-best 396 career 3-pointers, Cantu’s Gianluca Basile had been there plenty. Still, with the clock racing toward triple zeroes and the game tied at 64 in Bilbao, nobody thought Basile’s 35-foot heave would turn into number 397. Then it did, and some 8,000 Bilbao supporters sat in stunned silence. The scoreboard told them that Cantu had taken the lead 67-64, and that in one-tenth of a second their
Euroleague highlights from Week 5
I am unable to post the video, but I will give you a link to highlights from Week 5 in Euroleague, which includes glimpses of Serge Ibaka and Rudy Fernandez. The video is here. Also, I again recommend giving a read to Nick Gibson’s Euroleague 101 column from yesterday. At a certain point, basketball-starved Americans are going to want to keep an eye on what is happening across the pond. CSKA Moscow (with Andrei Kirilenko filling the stat sheet, and Nenad Krstic
Gibson Column: Batum, Krstic Shine, But This Is Navarro’s Euroleague
BARCELONA — Eleven men dressed in red and blue knelt to the floor and then rocked onto their backsides, some grabbing a heel, others a toe as they stretched. But Barcelona’s Juan Carlos Navarro remained standing, his heels and toes right behind the 3-point stripe. Unlike the others, he wore long black pants and a matching long-sleeved shooting shirt, and all it took was a raised eyebrow for the ball boy to get the hint; he fired one out as Juan
Yes, we have actual basketball highlights
By Chris Sheridan NEW YORK — Another lockout stakeout has begun, and I will be keeping you up to speed on whatever developments take place as the afternoon rolls along, perhaps into the evening. In the meantime, I can offer you some video of Andrei Kirilenko and Ty Lawson from last night’s Euroleague opener, won 87-74 by CSKA Moscow. There is a game recap below the video, plus some insight from a loyal reader in Tel Aviv, Israel: David “Dubi” Pick. CSKA won the opening tip and
Gibson column: Euroleague Preview
By Nick Gibson of EuroleagueAdventures.com Kevin Durant doesn’t seem too keen on spending his lockout overseas. Dwight Howard says he has a soft spot for China, but that’s what Dwight Howard does: says things. And though self-proclaimed Europhile Kobe Bryant has entertained overtures from Italian and Turkish squads (Chinese, too), not even the Black Mamba has inked a deal that would keep him busy while the NBA plays its games in conference rooms instead of on basketball courts. So no, we haven’t seen
Exclusive: Krstic has $1M buyout with CSKA Moscow
By Chris Sheridan KAUNAS, Lithuania — Contrary to prior reports, Nenad Krstic does have a buyout clause in his two-year contract with CSKA Moscow, and it’ll cost him $1 million to return to the NBA for the 2012-13 season. Krstic revealed the buyout terms Friday in an exclusive interview with SheridanHoops.com following Serbia’s 87-77 loss to Greece in a classification game at EuroBasket. The loss cost the Serbs a chance to qualify for the 2012 Olympics at next summer’s pre-Olympic tournament in early July. “Actually I
Eurobasket: Serbia-Greece to play for first time since brawl
By Chris Sheridan KAUNAS, Lithuania — The two European Olympic berths will be determined tonight in the EuroBasket semifinals as Macedonia plays Spain and Russia plays France. But first, there is a classification game between Greece and Serbia to determine which of the two teams will make it to next summer’s pre-Olympic qualifier (a.k.a. the FIBA second-chance tournament). Click here to see who is in that field so far. The last time the Serbs and the Greeks met, Nenad Krstic ended up spending the