European domestic leagues review: November 24-30, 2008

Partizan Belgrade regained the top spot in the Adriatic League over the weekend thanks to a little help from a rival. Partizan pounded Vojvodina Srbijagas 81-52 behind 14 points apiece from Novica Velickovic and Zarko Rakocevic to improve to 9-1, while Hemofarm Stada handed Red Star its second loss, 84-65, to join its opponenet in a tie for second place at 8-2. Bojan Krstovic was the hero for Hemofarm with a career-high 27 points. There is a familiar face in first place in the Russian League as reigning champion CSKA Moscow remained undefeated by topping Dynamo Moscow 86-78. Ramunas Siskauskas drilled 5 triples en route to 22 points and Nikos Zisis came off the bench for 17 points and 7 assists. CSKA now boasts a 6-0 record, while Khimki is 6-1. In the Bulgarian League, it's business as usual with defending champ Lukoil Academic trouncing Sliven 103-49 behind a 20-point, 16-rebound showing from Kenny Adelke. Meanwhile, Benfica Lisbon extended its unbeaten run atop the Portuguese League standings after scoring a 76-85 road win at Academica behind Diogo Carreira's 19 points. Be sure to follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and Eurocupbasketball.com all season long!

European domestic leagues review: November 17-23, 2008

Only a handful of teams can still boast perfect records in their domestic competitions more than halfway into the month of November. One of them comes from the Italian League, where defending champion Montepaschi Siena handled Premiata Montegranaro 88-62 on Sunday. Playmaker Terrell McIntyre was once again the star of the show with 18 points and 5 assists as Montepaschi improved to 7-0. In the Czech League, CEZ Basket Nymburk has not lost a regular season game in over a year. This weekend Nymburk expanded its perfect record to 13-0 by pounding BK Synthesia Pardubice 49-71 as Arthur Lee netted 13 points. Turk Telekom tops the table in the Turkish League with a perfect 7-0 mark after beating Besiktas Cola Turka 87-83 in Ankara. Kennedy Winston finished with 19 points and Tutku Acik scored 18 and dished 6 assists to lead Telekom. Meanwhile there are no more unbeaten teams in the Greek League after Nikola Pekovic led Panathinaikos past archrival Olympiacos 86-69 in the battle of Athens. It was the Reds first loss and they now join the Greens and two others in a tie for first place. Be sure to follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and Eurocupbasketball.com all season long!

European domestic leagues review: November 10-16, 2008

It was a weekend of classic rivalries and heated derbies in many of the top domestic leagues in Europe. In the Baltic League, Lietuvos Rytas sits alone in first place after edging Lithuanian League rivals Zalgiris Kaunas 68-70 in a down-to-the-wire thriller. Branko Milisavljevic paced the winners with 14 and Chuck Eidson added 13. In the Turkish League, the two Euroleague teams each met one of the two team that played in last year’s ULEB Cup Final Eight in a pair of Istanbul derbies. Devin Smith scored 20 as defending champion Fenerbahce Ulker outclassed rivals Besiktas ColaTurka 74-47 to remain undefeated. Bootsy Thornton shined with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists for Efes Pilsen as it won its fourth straight game, 84-91, at Galatasaray Cafe Crown. The Belgrade derby took center stage in the Adriatic League, where Red Star handed Partizan its first loss, 80-81, thanks to a combined 41 points from Elmedin Kikanovic and Marko Marinovic. The two teams are now tied for first place. In the Ukrainian League, BC Kyiv topped defending champ Azovmash Mariupol 84-76 in a rematch of last season’s finals. Alex Scales scored 21 for the winners. Be sure to follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and Eurocupbasketball.com all season long!

European domestic leagues review: November 3-9, 2008

The top teams in some of Europe's best domestic leagues are starting to separate themselves from the competition. But if there is one surprise in the upper echelons, it must be the fact that Kalise Gran Canaria has tied Tau Ceramica are tied for first place in the Spanish League thanks to its fifth victory in a row. Tau had the weekend off, while Gran Canaria downed visiting Unicaja 74-68 behind Carl English's 22 points. At the same time, Regal FC Barcelona fell from its part of the first-place tie by losing at home 71-72 to Estudiantes despite 24 points from Juan Carlos Navarro. Meanwhile, Real Madrid brought its four-game losing streak in specatacular fashion, using a 0-20 game-closing run to beat DKV Joventut 68-79 on the road in Badalona. Asseco Prokom hung on for an overtime win to grab sole possession of first place in the Polish League. Prokom entered the weekend tied with PGE Turow, but the latter was rocked by Polpharma while the defending champs held on to beat Kotwica 84-89. Dan Ewing led Prokom with 21 points, Filip Dylewicz posted 20 points and 9 rebounds and David Logan added 17 points. BC Kyiv is alone in first in the Ukrainian League after rival Azovmash was edged 87-89 by Khimik. Kyiv blasted Sumykhimprom 70-110 as Jovo Stanojevic netted 20 points. BC Kalev/Cramo and Taru Rock defended their perfect records in the Estonian League. Kristjan Kangur totaled 30 in a pair of wins for Cramo, while Timo Eichfuss scored 15 to lead Rock over Rakvere Tarvas 72-91. Be sure to follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and Eurocupbasketball.com all season long!

European domestic leagues review: October 27- November 2, 2008

More than a third of the Euroleague teams remain undefeated in their domestic competitions after another week of exciting games across the continent. Panathinaikos needed to knock off another Euroleague side to stay perfect in the Greek League, topping Panionios On Telecoms 71-91. The visitors controlled the paint as the frontline duo of Nikola Pekovic and Mike Batiste combined for 41 points. Hot shooting from Yotam Halperin and Milos Teodosic helped Olympiacos also keep its record unblemished. In the Adriatic League, Partizan Belgrade is now 6-0 after recording an 85-71 win over Buducnost. The hosts needed a late 17-1 run before putting the game away. Stephane Lasme led Partizan with 18 points and Zarko Rakocevic added 15. Defending champion Montepaschi Siena and runner-up Lottomatica Roma are 4-0 in the Italian League after wins on Sunday. Montepaschi routed Carife Ferrara 89-60 as Henry Domercant led five Siena scorers in double figures with 18. Lottomatica used a balanced effort to top Banca Tercas Teramo 96-75. Roberto Gabini paced Roma with 13 points. Le Mans has sole possession of the top spot in the French League at 5-0 following an 85-67 win over Hyeres Toulon. Brian Chase netted 16 points and Alain Koffi posted 15 for Le Mans. Be sure to follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and Eurocupbasketball.com all season long!

European domestic leagues review: October 20-26, 2008

There are three undefeated teams left in the Russian League, but the edge for now goes to Khimki after it improving to 4-0 with a 66-58 win over Lokomotiv Rostov as Maciej Lampe netted 19 points. Euroleague champion CSKA Moscow has a 2-0 record now after defeating Spartak St. Petersburg 73-81 on the road as Terence Morris led four scorers in double figures with 18 points. Unics Kazan is also 2-0 thanks to a 78-52 decision against University Surgut behind 17 points from Kresimir Loncar. Asseco Prokom shares first place once again in the Polish League after downing previously undefeated Polpharma 80-81 as Ronnie Burrell scored 20 points and Pat Burke 18. In the Belgian League, champion Spirou Charleroi remained perfect by beating Optima Gent on the road 70-81. Andre Riddick and Jerry Johnson scored 15 each to help Spirou improve to 4-0. The reigning champion in the Bulgarian League, Lukoil Academic, is also perfect after blasting CSKA Sofia 128-87 for its third win. Tim Pickett posted a game-high 27 points for Academic. Be sure to follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and Eurocupbasketball.com all season long!

European domestic leagues review: October 6-12, 2008

Although the 2008-09 European domestic seasons are just at the outset, some teams have already lifted their first trophies. Turk Telekom won the Turkish President's Cup by downing Fenerbahce Ulker 79-83 in the title game on Saturday. Serkan Erdogan led the winners with 20 points while Rod Blakney and Kris Lang each added 14 for Turk Telekom, which lifted its first President's Cup trophy since 1997. Some of the biggest leagues in European basketball had their opening games this week. Montepaschi Siena confirmed that it is the team to beat in the Italian League by by overwhelming NGC Cantu 61-96 on the road on Sunday. Rimantas Kaukenas led the winners with 20 points, Terrell McIntyre added 16 and Benjamin Eze had 14 for Montepaschi. The Greek League also tipped off this weekend with Panathinaikos and Olympiacos registering respective wins against Maroussi Costa Coffee and Egaleo. A big showdown took place in the Spanish League, where Tau Ceramica edged Unicaja 69-75 in Malaga on Sunday behind 20 points from an unstoppable Igor Rakocevic. Tau is now tied atop the standings with Regal FC Barcelona, which defeated Pamesa Valencia 74-58 thanks to 21 points from Gianluca Basile. Be sure to follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and Eurocupbasketball.com all season long!

European domestic leagues review: Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2008

Some of the biggest leagues in Europe flung open their doors for action with the first games of the regular season this weekend. That was the case in the French League, where defending champion SLUC Nancy faced down a challenge from Asvel Basket before winning at home 76-73 thanks to a double-double of 15 points, 11 rebounds from Victor Samnick. In the Spanish League, a pair of all-Euroleage clashes marked opening weekend as Regal F.C. Barcelona grabbed a 95-77 derby victory over DKV Joventut with Roger Grimau contributing 15 points and 6 assists, while Unicaja downed Real Madrid 82-65 as Marcus Haislip and Carlos Cabezas combined for 30 points. In the Adriatic League, only defending champs Partizan won among three Euroleague teams, downing Krka Novo Mesto 74-67 at home behind Milenko Tepic's 20 points. In the Ukrainian League, defending champs Azovmash Mariupol started with an 83-72 home-victory against BC Poltava as Tomas Van Den Spiegel debuted with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. In the British League, meanwhile, another reigning champ, Newcastle Eagles, has even bigger news thanks to an 85-98 road win over Worthing Thunder. Newcastle is the competition's only undefeated team after just two games. Be sure to follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and Eurocupbasketball.com all season long

European domestic leagues review: Sept. 25-28, 2008

Each week that passes sees the domestic seasons heat up as the Euroleague and Eurocup openers draw nearer. This weekend saw three more leagues open up with a number of teams from Europe’s top club competitions taking part. Defending champion Asseco Prokom and runner-up PGE Turow coasted to big wins in the Polish League. Prokom downed Bank BPS Basket Kwidzyn 75-60 at home as Filip Dylewicz recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Turow routed AZS Koszalin 88-61 behind Damir Miljkovic’s 14 points. In the German League, Alba Berlin toasted the LTi Giessen 46ers 66-81 to remain perfect through two games. Immanuel McElroy and Ansu Sesay combined for 35 for the winners. Eurocup side Telekom Bonn edged EWE Baskets Oldenburg 65-62 to also improve to 2-0. Siauliai got the Lithuanian League going in style by thrashing Aisciai 72-57 at home on Sunday. Gintautas Vileita paced the winners with 17 points in 22 minutes. And the defending champion Newcastle Eagles defeated rival Guildford Heat 86-81 in the British League behind Andrew Bridge’s 17-point performance. Be sure to follow domestic league results around Europe on Euroleague.net and Eurocupbasketball.com all season long!