Weekly European Basketball Update - 11/14/11

So, I had hoped not to have to do these updates every week in lieu of actual Spurs basketball.  Obviously, we're not going to have Spurs basketball back anytime soon, and it may be very, very different when it does come back(another post for another time).  In the meantime, we'll keep covering each week's Eurolepean hoops action.  Because it's basketball, and we need our darn fix.

Come on in for your weekly update.

Euroleague Week 4 Results

Group A

Bennet Cantu 64, Olympiacos 63

Ouch.  Olympiacos is still in last place in the group, and Vasillis Spanoulis just can't get any help.  23 points, 3 boards and 3 assists for the former Spur.

Bizkaia Bilbao 70, Fenerbahce Ulker 73

So Ulker is back to .500 after an 0-2 start, largely on the back of Curtis Jerrells' 15 points, 3 steals, and 2 boards.  Good game for Curtis - I just wish he would get some assists.  James Gist chipped in 10 points, 5 boards, 2 assists and 2 steals of his own.  Hopefully, the Spurs' training camp duo is starting to their stride and help Ulker to a good season.

SLUC Nancy 90, Caja Laboral 85

Nic Batum is a freaking monster.  That is all.

Group B

Unicaja 99, KK Zagreb 85

In my season preview, I put down Unicaja a bit, as I didn't know how they even qualified for Euroleague.  Turns out they belong there after all, so egg on my face.  Nothing really of note for Spurs fans in this game, but Unicaja is apparently trying to sign Tiago Splitter(according to ProjectSpurs).  Now that the NBA season is all but lost, we'll see if he takes the offer.

Zalgiris Kaunas 81, Brose Baskets 70

So, Zalgiris finally got a W, even if it was against a pretty bad opponent.  Sonny Weems did most of the damage in this one, but Spurs draft pick Robertas Javtokas put in 6 points and grabbed 4 boards.

Panathinaikos 76, CSKA Moscow 78

So, the game of the week season was just as good as advertised, coming down to the final possession... in overtime.  Ramunas Siskaukas(pronounce THAT) hit the winning shot and led both teams with 14 points, despite his bigger-name teammates(Khryapa, Kirilenko, Krstic, Teodosic) getting all the hype.  Former Spur Romain Sato was quiet offensively, with 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals.

Group C

Anadolu Efes 72, Maccabi Electra 79

Sasha Vujacic had 21 points, but it wasn't enough against his suddenly-unstoppable Nets teammate Jordan Farmar, who had 18 points, 5 boards and 6 assists.

Belgacom Spirou 76, EA7 Emporio Armani 81

There is no reason for this game to have been as close as it was.  Armani continues to play well below what their talent level would sugggest, and Malik Hairston struggled for the second week in a row.  8 points, 4 board and 3 assists for Malik, but he's starting to lose minutes(predictably) to Danilo Gallinari.  Ioannis Bourousis also had a forgettable game with 11 points but only 2 boards.

Partizan Belgrade 80, Real Madrid 79

This is a surprising win for Belgrade, especially considering the amount of cash Madrid shells out on talent annually trying to keep up with arch-rivals Barcelona.  Good for them.  Wolves big man Nikola Pekovic led the way with 20 points.

Group D

Union Olimpija 70, Galatasaray 79

Danny Green was understandably disappointed after this one, after going 1-8 from the field(all threes) and committing 3 turnovers.  He still seems like a good kid, so I hope he doesn't get too down about it.  Davis Bertans barely even played, going 0-1 from the field.

Asseco Prokom 68, Unics Kazan 72

Not exactly the match of the year.  I see no reason to comment on this game.

Regal Barcelona 92, Montepaschi Siena 75

Just to give an idea of how good Barca is, remember that both teams came into this game undefeated.  Spurs draft pick(by way of Pacers) Erazem Lorbek had 17 points, 3 boards and 2 assists.  Again, not a great rebounder.  Huertas and Navarro continue to dominate opposing backcourts.

_______________________________

Euroleague Standings

Upcoming Schedule

All times Spurs time

Euroleague

Watch on EUROLEAGUE.TV

Teams with Spurs players in bold

Wednesday 11/16/11

10:15AM - Unicaja @ CSKA Moscow
12:15PM - Bennet Cantu @ Fenerbahce Ulker
1:30PM - Bizkaia Bilbao @ Caja Laboral
1:45PM - Zalgiris Kaunas @ KK Zagreb
2PM - SLUC Nancy @ Olympiacos

Thursday 11/17/11

11:45AM - Union Olimpija @ Unics Kazan
12PM(noon) - Regal Barcelona @ Galatasaray
1PM - Belgacom Spirou @ Maccabi Electra
1PM - Asseco Prokom @ Montepaschi Siena
1:45PM - Panathinaikos @ Brose Baskets
1:45PM - Anadolu Efes @ Real Madrid
1:45PM - Partizan Belgrade @ EA7 Emporio Armani

Eurocup

Europe's second-tier basketball league starts competition on Tuesday, when all 32 teams will play their first games.  That's right, 16 games on the same day.  We're just going to zero in on a couple of them, and the Spurs players that are taking part.

Power Electronics Valencia @ ASVEL - Tuesday 12:30 PM

Tony Parker and Nando De Colo head to head?  Yes please.  If anyone finds a feed for this, feel free to post it in the comments - nobody in the US broadcasts Eurocup games, so it's safe.  EDIT:  There are links here - happy watching!

Khimki Moscow vs. Cholet Basket - Tuesday 1:30 PM

Chris Quinn plays the point for Khimki, with NBA'ers Austin Daye and Timofey Mozgov as some of the available passing options.

_______________________________

Other teams

Assignia Manresa Basket (Spain)

So, 2011 Spurs darft pick Adam Hanga plays for Manresa, which is off to a pretty good 4-3 start in the ACB.  In fact, they even knocked off last year's ACB runner-up Bizkaia Bilbao in their last game.  Hanga hasn't really made a big impression, but he hasn't been bad either.  He's just sort of... there.  This is somewhat expected of someone who is playing at a much higher level of competition than he's ever seen before, but I hope he picks it up by the end of the season.  They'll be playing CAI Zaragoza(currently 2-4) on Saturday at 5:15AM Spurs time(ouch) - I'm not sure if it will be streamed, but be sure to check ACB TV if you're up early on Saturday to find out.

Statistically, through 6 games, Hanga is putting up 8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 24 minutes per game.  I hope they stream the game, though, as watching him is really the only way to figure if his defense is improving.

Lugano Tigers (Switzerland)

I can't find much info on the Swiss league, but Ryan Richards took a big step down this offseason in terms of competition.  I found his stats here: 13 points, 8.9 rebounds per game.  47% shooting, but only 27% from 3.  Not dominant enough, in my opinion, for such a small-time league.

_______________________________

Due to the NBA's nuclear winter, we will inevitably see more Spurs players head overseas(notably Tiago and Manu, but possibly more).  As it becomes clear what teams they will end up with, we'll follow those teams more closely.  Until then, see y'all next week.