European domestic leagues review: June 9-15, 2008

Another thrilling basketball season is winding down as two more teams clinched domestic titles last week and only three more are up for grabs. This past week’s winners featured both the old and the new. In the French League, SLUC Nancy ended a streak of three straight losses in the title game by whipping defending champion Chorale Roanne 84-53 on Sunday in Paris to earn a spot in the 2008-09 edition of the Euroleague. Jeff Greer was named MVP after recording 29 points and 10 rebounds in the final as Nancy’s defense limited Roanne to just 19 second-half points. Meanwhile Montepaschi Siena capped a magical season by trumping Lottomatica Roma 4-1 to lift the Italian League crown. All-Euroleague point guard Terrell McIntyre averaged 14.4 points and 4.2 assists in the series, which helped him earn MVP honors as Montepaschi won its second straight Italian title, going 10-1 in the playoffs. The last three contested leagues are in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Germany and Serbia, with the final game of the domestic season set to be played sometime between Wednesday and Friday. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: June 2-8, 2008

A pair of domestic league title streaks that reached five or more seasons highlighted the ongoing parade of champions in European leagues this week. Panathinaikos won its sixth straight Greek League title by downing archrival Olympiacos 90-76 in do-or-die Game 5 of their final series at home in OAKA Sports Hall. Mike Batiste and Sarunas Jasikevicus scored 18 points apiece as the Greens won their 10th Greek League in the 11 years and 29th overall. Prokom Trefl Sopot took a fifth consecutive Polish League crown with a dramatic 70-76 road win in Game 7 over PGE Turow Zgorzelec. Milan Gurovic scored 11 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead three-pointer and late free throws to ice the victory with 14 seconds remaining. Drama was in the air, too, as Zadar lifted its second Croatian League, title trophy by thrashing Split 89-65 in the last game of their best-of-five finalas Andrej Stimac paced the winners with 21 points on 7-for-7 two-pointers and 2-for-3 triples. Union Olimpija clinched its 14th Slovenian League title when it beat defending champion Helios Domzale 60-84 in Game 4 on the road to win their best-of-five series 3-1 as Goran Dragic and Marko Milic scored 20 points each. CSU Asesoft Ploiesti wrapped up its fifth consecutive Romanian League championship by topping Cluj 82-66 in Game 7 as Bojan Obradovic scored 25 points and Arvydas Cepulis 23. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: May 27- June 1, 2008

Several more trophies were lifted across Europe this week as domestic competitions everywhere reached their final stages. The season's biggest surprise no doubt came in the Israeli League, where Hapoel Holon capped its debut season in the first division by taking a 72-73 thriller against perennial champ Maccabi Elite in the single-game final on the latter's home floor in Tel Aviv. Holon broke Maccabi's 14-year string of titles when Malik Dixon drove to score the game-winning shot with 2.3 seconds remaining. P.J. Tucker paced Holon with 18 points and Dixon finished with 10. Terence Morris scored 20 points for Maccabi, which lost the Israeli title for just the second time since 1970. Elsewhere, in the Belgian League, Justin Hamilton's layup in the closing seconds lifted Spirou Basket Charleroi to its seventh domestic title with a 59-61 decision over Basket Bree. Charleroi swept the best-of-five Belgian League playoff finals 3-0 to capture its first championship since 2004. Matt Walsh led the winners with 19 points. The week finished with MyGuide Amsterdam dethroning EiffelTowers Den Bosch as Dutch League champion with an 81-74 victory in the all-or-nothing Game 7 of their final series. Amsterdam won the series' two games to lift its sixth title in 11 years, but the first since 2005. Teddy Gipson, who hit back-to-back triples late in the fourth quarter to put Amsterdam ahead for good, led the winners with 27 points. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: May 19-26, 2008

Another rush of country winners marked end-of-season drama in several countries. Azovmash Mariupol is the Ukrainian League champion for the third consecutive time after edging fellow ULEB Cup archrivals BC Kyiv 84-79 to win their best-of-five final series 3-1. Panagiotis Liadelis paced the winners with 22 points while Robert Archibald added 19 and Tomas Delininkaitis 15. Lukoil Academic completed a record-setting season win its sixth straight Bulgarian League championship after beating Balkan 68-90 to sweep their best-of-five finals. Lukoil finished its domestic season undefeated in the regular season, Bulgarian Cup and playoffs – a total of 44 games! Buducnost Podgorica defeated Budva 94-70 to sweep their best-of-five final 3-0 to take the second champions title ever awarded in the Montenegro League as Vladimir Dasic starred again. And Ovarense Aerosoles is the Portuguese League champ for a third season in a row after thrashing FC Porto Ferpinta 70-49 in do-or-die Game 7 of the finals as Graham Brown paced the winners with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: May 12-18, 2008

For the fifth time in six seasons, Zalgiris Kaunas is champion of the Lithuanian League after shocking fellow Euroleague power Lietuvos Rytas 75-81 in overtime on the road in Vilnius to win their best-of-seven final series 4-1. DeJuan Collins had 15 points, Jonas Maciulis 14 and Eurelijus Zukauskas 11 for the winners. Euroleague champion CSKA Moscow soared into the Russian League playoff finals with a 3-0 semifinals sweep of rival Dynamo Moscow, including a 62-76 road win in Game 3, when Matjaz Smodis scored 21 points. In the finals, CSKA will face Khimki, which won its semifinal 4-1 against Ural Great with a 70-77 road win in which Clay Tucker scored 17 points. The Spanish League will have a new king after Unicaja made history by upsetting the previous champs Real Madrid with a two-game sweep of their quarterfinal playoff. Carlos Cabezas and Berni Rodriguez scored 22 points each for Unicaja in a thrilling 88-86 victory in Game 2. AXA F.C. Barcelona also won its quarterfinal series with Bilbao in two games as Alex Acker exploded for 31 points in the second one, an 83-92 road win. ULEB Cup Final Eight team PGE Turow took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Polish League finals with a pair of home victories over defending champion Prokom Trefl Sopot. Turow won the opener 82-79 thanks to David Logan 26 points, including the game-winning lay-up with 6 seconds remaining. Turow won Game 2 comfortably, 89-71, as Thomas Kelati made 8 three-pointers among his 30 points. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: May 5-11, 2008

Defending champion EiffelTowers Den Bosch will defend its Dutch League title after winning its semifinal series over the weekend. EiffelTowers eliminated the West Brabant 3-1 with an 86-95 victory in Game 4 featuring 20 points from Travis Young and 16 from Kees Akerboom. EiffelTowers will face and regular season champion MyGuide Amsterdam in the playoff finals. Besiktas Cola Turka became the first team to reach the Turkish League semifinals thanks to a 96-102 road win at Banvit Bandirma to close their quarterfinal series. Besiktas started the series ahead 1-0 because uin Turkey, if one team won both regular season games between playoff opponents, their playoff series begins 1-0 in that team's favor. The series ended 3-1 as Besiktas won the second of two games in Bandirma as Kaya Peker had 21 points, Preston Shumpert 20. Earlier in the week, Le Mans assured itself first place in the French League regular season and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs by downing Strasbourg 67-88 on the road on Tuesday to move up to 22-7. Phil Ricci paced the winners with 16 points Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: April 29-May 4, 2008

A season that was a test of courage ended in triumph on Sunday when the Guildford Heat, months after all-time scoring leader Brian Dux was hurt in a life-threatening auto accident, won the British League playoffs by beating the Marshall MK Lions 100-88 in the final. Danny Gilbert was named MVP after drilling 27 points on 5-for-7 three-point shooting in the title game, held in Birmingham. The Heat have now lifted all four pieces of British League silverware over the past two seasons. Mike Martin posted 25 points and 10 rebounds and Tony Dorsey added 19 points for the winners. Defending champion Ovarense Aerosoles advanced to the Portuguese League finals again by downing Figueira Ginasio 74-78 on the road in Game 4 to win their best-of-five semifinal series 3-1. Graham Brown had 24 points to pace Ovarense, which now faces Porto Ferpinta in the best-of-seven finals. Another defending champion, CEZ Nymburk of the Czech League, made quick work of its first playoffs opponent, sweeping Brno 3-0 in their best-of-five semifinal series with a resounding 116-58 home victory. Radoslav Rancik posted a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds while Arthur Lee scored 18 and dished 6 assists for Nymburk. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: April 21-28, 2008

A pair of Euroleague teams lifted the first national league trophies of the season over the weekend. Zalgiris Kaunas Baltic League champion by edging archrival Lietuvos Rytas 84-86 in Siauliai, Lithuania. Zalgiris won the four-year-old competiton for the second time after having lost to L. Rytas in the final in each of the last two seasons. After Hollis Price tied the game from the line with 4 seconds remaining, the final seemed destined for overtime. But DeJuan Collins had other plans and slashed through the L. Rytas defense for a game-wining layup at the buzzer. Collins, who was named MVP, finished with 29 points and Marcus Brown added 24 for Zalgiris. Meanwhile, Partizan Igokea rolled to the Adriatic League crown with a no-doubt-about it 69-51 victory over Hemofarm Stada in the title game in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Nikola Pekovic scored 22 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and was named Final Four MVP. Partizan became the first team to win back-to-back Adriatic League crowns. Pekovic scored 4 points in a 10-2 run at the end of the second period that gave Partizan a 40-27 halftime. A further 9-0 spurt in the third period finished off Hemofarm. Uros Tripkovic added 13 points, while Slavko Vranes scored 12 and had 3 blocked shots in 14 minutes for the winners. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: April 14-20, 2008

Panathinaikos became the Greek League regular season champion with a game left to play when it thrashed AEL 77-107 on the road to raise its record 22-3 as Dimitris Diamantidis led the winners with 21 points and just one shot missed in 19 minutes. The Greens are first due to a tie-break advantage over Olympiacos, second at 21-4, which saw the return this week of center Sofoklis Schortsianitis, who was out 10 months due to conditioning problems. He scored 10 points in 12 minutes in his return, a mid-week 84-52 win over Larissa. In the Lithuanian League quarterfinal playoffs, Lietuvos Rytas, Zalgiris Kaunas and Siauliai all swept their series in two games. In the series clinchers, L. Rytas downed Atletas Kaunas 67-87 away behind 16 points apiece from Marijonas Petravicius and Martynas Gecevicius, while Zalgiris scored an 80-90 win at Sakalai in as Marko Popovic scored 20. Besiktas Cola Turka clinched first place in the Turkish League a week before the end of the regular season by defeating TTNet Beykoz 75-86 on the road as Preston Shumpert scored 23 points. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: April 7-13, 2008

ASK Riga and Barons/LMT won respective second-leg playoff games to advance to the Baltic League's final four, joining season’s finalists Zalgiris Kaunas and Lietuvos Rytas. The event that begins on April 25. Sandis Valters buried 8 three-pointers to match his season high of 24 points as ASK beat Kalev/Cramo 79-72 at home to sweep its series. Riga had won the first game by 6 points on the road 48 hours previously. Euroleague Final Four-bound Maccabi Elite registered a wild, come-from-behind Israeli League overtime win against archrival Hapoel Jerusalem as Will Bynum scored 29 points. Maccabi trailed by 14 points in the fourth quarter before storming back for a 113-111 win at home. The Guildford Heat charged into second place in the British League with a 106-82 win over the Everton Tigers. Tony Dorsey paced the Heat with 23 points and 12 rebounds. SLUC Nancy made the French League race more interesting by dumping first-place Le Mans 84-62 with a 28-10 third-quarter takeover as Pape Philippe Amagou scored 14 points. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: April 1-6, 2008

For the second time in three seasons, Prokom Trefl Sopot is the Polish Cup champion after downing ASCO Slask Wroclaw 81-69 in Sunday’s final as Milan Gurovic scored 20 points. Another weekend, another Italian League win for Montepaschi Siena, which celebrated its return to the Euroleague Final Four with a 76-78 road win against Lottomatica Roma as Bootsy Thornton led the winners with 18 points on 5-for-7 three-point shooting. Khimki took the big showdown in the Russia League and improved to 21-2, just a victory behind regular season champion CSKA Moscow, by downing Dynamo Moscow 94-87a Dan Ewing and Maciej Lampe put up 19 points each. In a Spanish League battle of quarterfinalists from ULEB Cup and the Euroleague, DKV Joventut downed Tau Ceramica 78-66 thanks to 28 points by Rudy Fernandez and as many turnovers forced on the visitors. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: March 24 - 31, 2008

Hemofarm, Partizan Igokea, Union Olimpija and Zadar advanced to the Adriatic League Final Four by surviving their respective best-of three quarterfinal playoff series against FMP, Cibona, Red Star and Buducnost. Partizan will face Hemofarm in the first semifinal on April 25 while Zadar is set to face Union Olimpija. Zadar advanced by edging FMP 74-73 in do-or-die Game 3 in one of the most balanced playoffs series ever seen in European basketball. The first two games went to overtime and Game 3 down to the wire, as Corey Brewer hit game-winning free throws with 10 seconds left. He also led the winners with 23 points while Todor Gecevski added 17. Elsewhere, Le Mans confirmed its status as the team to beat in the French League by topping second-place Asvel Basket 75-86 on the road as Nicolas Batum paced the winners with 23 points. CSKA Moscow became the Russian League regular season champion and improved to 22-1 by topping Triumph Lyubertsy 71-81 on the road on Thursday. Matjaz Smodis led the winners with 22 points. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: March 17-23, 2008

With spring having already begun, so has the approach of domestic league playoffs gotten closer. The Baltic League regular season has ended with Lietuvos Rytas and Zalgiris finishing first and second, and thus qualifying directly to the competition's Final Four on April 25 and 26. Eight others - including ULEB Cup teams ASK Riga, Ventspils, Kalev/Cramo and  Siauliai - enter playoffs. L. Rytas finished first with a 17-1 record by edging Kalev/Cramo 73-74 behind 16 points each from Jackson Vroman. The Adriatic League regular season ended also, with the top eight teams - Partizan Igokea, Zadar, Hemofarm Stada, Crvena Zvezda, Union Olimpija, Buducnost, FMP and Cibona - advancing into best-of-three quarterfinal playoffs. Partizan finished first at 24-2 by beating Split 78-67 behind 28 points from Uros Tripkovic. Finally, although it's regular season did not end yet, Euroleague playoff qualifier Montepaschi Siena became the earliest team in Italian League history to clinch first place when it won 66-74 at Benetton Treviso behind Vlado Ilievski's 18 points. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: March 10-16, 2008

With two games left in the Polish League regular season, there was a change at the top of the standings. ULEB Cup surprise PGE Turow Zgorzelec destroyed third-place Anwil Wloclawek 55-74 on the road to take a major step towards the regular season crown. David Logan led Turow with 25 points as the club improved to 16-6, taking advantage of a loss by the team it had been tied with for first place, defending champion Prokom Trefl Sopot, which lost at Stal Ostrow 81-79. Elsewhere around Europe, Le Mans Sarthe Basket is the sole leader in the French League after it was the only team among the top four in the standings to win. Le Mans won an all-Euroleague showdown with fourth-place Roanne 96-93 in an overtime thriller at home as Phil Ricci led six double-figure scorers with 21 points. Road teams took the Spanish League by storm by winning nine of 11 games on the weekend, key among them fourth-place AXA F.C. Barcelona defeating fifth-place Pamesa Valencia 68-75. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: March 3-9, 2008

While they continue an already great run in the ULEB Cup elimination rounds, Artland Dragons are now along at the top of the German League thanks to a blowout 97-66 home victory over last-place that coincided with Alba Berlin getting shocked at home, 90-94, by 13th-placed Ulm. Adam Chubb led Artland with 17 points. Elsewhere around Europe, Partizan Igokea clinched first place in the Adriatic League with three games still left in the regular season by downing Union Olimpija 86-81 at home with Nikola Pekovic scoring 20 points. In the Turkish League, Besiktas JK ColaTurka continued as undisputed leader thanks to a 66-83 road with over fellow Last 16 ULEB Cup team Galatasaray Cafe Crown behind 20 from Preston Shumpert. Asvel Basket was the only one of the top three teams in the French League to win over the weekend, downing Orleans 95-89 as Laurent Foirest paced the winners with 24 points. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: Feb. 25-March 2, 2008

A head-to-head battle for first place in the Turkish League went to ULEB Cup survivor Besiktas ColaTurka after it downed shorthanded Efes Pilsen 72-64. Kaya Peker, with 22 points and 9 rebounds, led the winning effort for Besiktas agains this former team. Efes was without three of the players who skipped last week's Euroleague trip to Belgrade. Elsewhere around Europe, Le Mans held onto a share of first place in the French League in spectacular fashion as Raviv Limonad's three-pointer, steal and three-pointer combination in the final 8 seconds of overtime beat Le Havre 98-99 on the road. Nicolas Batum led Le Mans with 21 points and 12 rebounds. In the Russian League, an all-ULEB Cup showdown finished with Khimki still holding second place after edging Unics Kazan 77-71 as Maciej Lampe exploded for 30 points. In the Spanish League, Real Madrid shook off its first Top 16 defeat by overwhelming Valladolid 114-80 behind 26 points from Felipe Reyes. And in the Baltic League, ASK Riga held on for a 75-69 home victory over Zalgiris Kaunas as Sandis Valters made 6 three-pointers among his 24 points. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: Feb. 18-24, 2008

An all-Euroleague clash in the Greek League saw Aris TT Bank hand Panathinaikos its first domestic loss after 17 victories this season by 82-75 as Bracey Wright had 20 points, Jeremiah Massey 19 and ex-Green Giorgos Kalaitzis 18 for the winners. Elsewhere, in a showdown between ULEB Cup teams in the Spanish League, Pamesa Valencia rallied from a 16-point deficit to edge Kalise Gran Canaria 80-84 on the road behind 24 points from Victor Claver. In the Russian League, CSKA Moscow welcomed Matjaz Smodis back to the lineup after two months of inaction due to injury by thrashing last-place Enisey 113-60. Smodis and Nikos Zisis scored 17 points each. And CEZ Nymburk recorded its 27th consecutive Czech League victory by downing fourth-place Pardubice 90-71 as Blake Schlib and Arthur Lee scored 14 points apiece. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: Feb. 10-17, 2008

The resumption of regular season domestic action across Europe saw at least one team still thinking about the previous cup week - and taking revenge! Without injured big men Nikola Vujcic and Marcus Fizer, Maccabi Elite blasted Hapoel Jerusalem 85-101 in the Israeli League just 10 days after the latter won their national cup final. This time Terence Morris made sure for Maccabi with his18 points and 17 rebounds. Elsewhere, the biggest derby in the Greek League saw Panathinaikos swamp Olympiacos 64-82 on the road as Kennedy Winston buried 7 of 8 three-pionters for 26 points. In the Baltic League, Zalgiris Kaunas and Lietuvos Rytas remain tied for first place at 14-1 each after close calls. L. Rytas escaped 88-86 against visiting BK Ventspils as Kenan Bajramovic scored 19 points. Zalgiris won back-to-back games over 24 hours, the second by 104-98 over visiting Neptunas as Jonas Maciulis scored 18. In the Adriatic League, the Begrade derby saw Partizan Igokea retain first place by edging archrivals Red Star 81-88 in as Milt Palacio scored 24 points, while FMP won 78-84 on the road on to end Zadar's 14-game winning streak as Zoran Erceg put up 22. Follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues, cups review: Feb. 4-9, 2008

The biggest break in the European season, to play national cups in several countries, served to establish a clear trend: ULEB Cup teams are on the rise. From Russia to Spain and several points in between, ULEB Cup challengers vaulted above their Euroleague counterparts to lift national cups. In the Spanish Cup, it was DKV Joventut outlasting Tau Ceramica 80-82 on the latter's home floor on a 32-point MVP show by Rudy Fernandez. In the Russian Cup, it was Khimki knocking off mighty CSKA Moscow 85-67 behidn Maciej Lampe's 23 points and 13 rebounds. In the Turkish Cup , it was Turk Telekom downing Oyak Renault 61-80 in the title game as Khalid El-Amin was MVP with 25 points. In the Israeli Cup, it was Hapoel Jerusalem rallying from 22 points down in the second half to defend its title by beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 89-93 as Jaime Arnold amassed 29 points and 11 rebounds. In the Ukranian Cup, it was Azovmash Mariupol outlasting fellow ULEB Cup team BC Kyiv 73-63 as Gerrod Henderson led the winners with 18 points. In the Austrian Cup, it was Allianz Swans Gumnden edging Furstenfeld 75-76 on the latter's home floor as Deteri Mayes had 34 points and was named MVP. Three Euroleague teams walked off with trophies, too. Union Olimpija lifted the Slovenian Cup by beating Helio Domzale 66-85 as Jasmin Hukic pumped in 19 points. Partizan Igokea took the Serbian Cup 64-73 over Hemofarm Stada as Dusan Kecman scored 15. And Zalgiris Kaunas was crowned Lithuanian Cup champ after defeating Lietuvos Rytas 83-72 behind 27 points from DeJuan Collins. Follow domestic league results from around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: Feb. 1-3, 2008

Anwil Wloclawek took advantage of Prokom Trefl’s day off to take sole possession of the top spot in the Polish League. Lukasz Koszarek recorded 18 points, 7 assists and 4 steals to lead Anwil to a 90-83 home win over Polonia Warsaw, which improved the team's record to 13-2 – one victory more than the idle defending champs. Elsewhere around Europe, Efes Pilsen raised the level of excitement in the Turkish League by edging Turk Telekom 92-93 on the road, creating a four-way tie for the best record with three teams from the ULEB Cup Last 32 – Turk Telekom, Besiktas ColaTurka and Galatasaray Cafe Crown. Ermal Kuqo and Kerem Gonlum paced Efes with 16 points and 6 rebounds apiece. Lukoil Academic Sofia remained unbeaten in the Bulgarian League as the second phase of the competition got underway. Academic recorded its 19th win in as many games by thrashing cross-town rival CSKA 110-52 behind 25 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists from Pero Antic. Follow domestic league results from around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: Jan. 21-27, 2008

Euroleauge and ULEB Cup teams continue to rule the Russian League as the only team to lose among five headed to either the Top 16 or the elimination rounds did so at the hands of one of the others. That was in CSKA Moscow's 63-75 road win at Unics Kazan as Ramunas Siskauskas put up 20 points for the winners. CSKA remains tied for first place with Khimki, which defeated sixth-placed Rostov 77-68 behind 19 points from Maciej Lampe. Triumph Lyubertsy won 100-75 over visiting Sibertelekom while Dynamo Moscow thrashed St. Petersburg 66-89 on the road. Elsewhere, a pair of Adriatic League showdowns included Zadar ending Partizan Igokea's 13-game win streak with a 70-54 home victory in which Corey Brewer scored 18 points, while Cibona edge visiting Union Olimpija 82-80 as Chris Warren exploded for 37 points. Sluc Nancy is once again the exclusive leader atop the French League at 13-3 after beating Paris-Levallois 64-79 on the road behind Cyril Julian's 17 points while Asvel Basket lost 87-65 at Dijon. Follow domestic league results from around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: Jan. 15-20, 2008

It was a big weekend for Euroleague and ULEB Cup teams in the French League as five teams - Asvel Basket, Nancy, Le Mans, Choral Roanne and Pau-Orthez - registered victories, while the sixth, Strasbourg, fell victim to one of the others. The big winner, perhaps, was co-leader Nancy, which defeated fifth-place Vichy 62-76 on the road thanks to a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds from Ricardo Greer. Asvel remains tied for first place while Euroleague teams Le Mans and Roanne tie for third. Elsewhere around Europe, the big derby of Euroleague teams in Istanbul saw Fenerbahce Ulker top Efes Pilsen 78-70 in Turkish League play as newcomer Omer Asik had 15 points and 13 rebounds. In the Spanish League, Real Madrid remained in first place with a 76-79 road win at Fuenlabrada in which Louis Bullock scored 17 points, and DKV Joventut is still third after topping Menorca 87-71 as Rudy Fernandez exploded for 35 points, while Grupo Dunas Gran Canaria upset visiting Barcelona 88-74 behind 28 points from Carl English. Follow domestic league results from around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: Jan. 9-14, 2008

A team fighting for survival in its first ULEB Cup season knocked off one of the Euroleague's hottest teams in domestic action over the weekend. It happened in the Lithuanian League, where Siauliai won 76-70 at home against Zalgiris Kaunas, whose five-game Euroleague win streak had qualified it for the Top 16 last week. Marius Prekevicius had 12 points to lead Siauliai. Another Top 16 team, Lietuvos Rytas, is undefeated in first place in Lithuania. Meanwhile, a showdown between ULEB Cup teams for first place in the Turkish League proved to be surprisingly one-sided as Turk Telekom blasted Besiktas Cola Turka 65-86 on the road in Istanbul was Chris Williams buried 23 points. In the Bulgarian League, a pair of double-doubles pushed Lukoil Academic to a 105-85 home win against Yambol. With a 15-0 record, Lukoil already clinched first place in the regular season's first stage. Pero Antic scored 28 points and grabbed 10 boards for Lukoil while Willie Deane posted 23 points and 12 assists. In the Spanish League, Unicaja and Akasvayu Girona mathematically reached the prestigious King's Cup final eight with victories. Unicaja edged archrival Cajasol 82-77 as Marcus Haislip put up 22 points and Girona topped Valladolid 87-74 with Marc Gasol scoring 23. Follow domestic league results from around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: Dec. 31, 2007-Jan .8, 2008

The best start in the five-season history of the Adriatic League continued as Partizan Belgrade demolished visiting FMP Zeleznik by 90-68 behind 16 points from Milenko Tepic even as Zadar moved into second place by beating Union Olimpija 66-75 on the road as Juby Johnson tallied 28 points. Elsewhere around Europe, Real Madrid took over first place in the Spanish League by outlasting Cajasol 74-77 in the road in Seville behind 23 points from Felipe Reyes. An all-ULEB Cup showdown in the Belgian League saw Telindus Oostende keep exclusive hold on first place by winning 81-84 at Spirou Charleroi with Jerry Green leading five double-figure scorers for the winners. Ovarense vaulted atop the Portuguese League by winning a first-place showdown at Porto 62-67 thanks to Miguel Miranda's 18 points. Follow domestic league results from around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: Dec. 24-Dec. 30

The drama remains in the Turkish League as five teams – all Euroleague and ULEB Cup contenders – are within one victory of one another in the top five spots in the competition. Chris Owens and Charles Gaines recorded double doubles as Galatasaray Cafe Crown trashed Oyak Renault of Bursa 76-57 and Rick Apodaca shined with 18 points and 5 assists as Besiktas ColaTurka downed TTNet Beykoz 92-81. The two winners now sit at 11-3, with Fenerbahce Ulker, Efes Pilsen and Turk Telekom hot on their heels. Elsewhere, in the Spanish League, iurbentia Bilbao Basket finished 2007 as the league leader with a 12-3 record after topping MMT Estudiantes 73-67 behind 13 points from Quincy Lewis. Real Madrid trails only by a tiebreaker after thrashing Ricoh Manresa 94-70 with 17 points from Louis Bullock and 16 each from Felipe Reyes and Charles Smith. Previous co-leaders DKV Joventut, which lost to Tau Ceramica 80-73 in Vitoria, and AXA FC Barcelona, which lost 85-68 at ViveMenorca, dropped to 11-4. The participants for the Italian TIM Cup final eight were determined as the Italian League regular season reached its halfway mark. Undefeated leader Montepaschi Siena is joined by Angelico Biella, Premiata Montegranaro, Lottomatica Roma, Air Avellino, Scavolini Spar Pesaro, Pierrel Capo D'Orlando and host La Fortezza Bologna for the basketball frenzy set for February 7-10. Follow domestic league results from around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: Dec. 17-Dec. 23

Montepaschi Siena kept its amazing run atop the Italian League standings going with its 15th win in as many games by thrashing Cimberio Varese 103-74 at home on Saturday. Ben Eze led the winners with 20 points, while Tomas Ress, Rimantas Kaukenas and Romain Sato each added 15 for Montepaschi. Also in Italy, Armani Jeans Milano moved up to 7-8 and rejoined the race to make it to the Italian TIM Cup by edging Legea Scafati 85-78 at home on Saturday behind 21 points from Danilo Gallinari. Elsewhere, in the Adriatic League, Partizan Igokea survived a tough test and improved to 14-1 in the standings by edging Zagreb 76-78 on the road on Sunday. Milt Palacio led the winners with 21 points, as Partizan held off a Zagreb rally in the final minutes. Zadar is still second with a 12-3 record after topping Buducnost 86-81 at home on Saturday behind 24 points from Corey Brewer. Lietuvos Rytas took the big showdown in the Lithuanian League by downing Zalgiris 74-64 in Vilnius on Saturday. L. Rytas improved to 9-0 while Zalgiris is now second at 8-1. Marijonas Petravicius paced the winners with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Follow domestic league results from around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!

European domestic leagues review: Dec. 10-Dec. 16

In a battle of between Euroleague and ULEB Cup teams in the French League over the weekend, SLUC Nancy once again became the exclusive leader in the standings by thrashing defending champion Chorale Roanne 85-58 at home as Cyril Julian had 17 points and 13 rebounds while Zab Dowdell added 16 points. Nancy improved to 10-2 and took advantage over Asvel Basket, another ULEB Cup team, losing in overtime on the road at Vichy. Elsewhere around Europe, a first-place showdown in the Spanish League saw Real Madrid scored the game's last 9 points to defeat DKV Joventut 65-71 as Louis Buillock scored 19. Both teams joined a first-place tie with Barcelona, which needed overtime to edge Tau 89-85 as Jaka Lakovic led the way with 16 points and forced overtime with free throws. The four quad-leaders of the Belgian League - Dexia Mons-Hainaut, Telindus Oostende, Belgacom Liege Basket and Spirou Charleroi - all won to keep their four-way tie intact. There's a trio of leaders now in the Polish League now as PGE Turow topped PGE Turow 67-93 on the road while first-place Prokom Trefl Sopot fell on the road 69-69 to Anwil. Those two join Turow with 8-2 records.Follow domestic league results from around Europe on Euroleague.net and ULEBcup.com!