Euroleague 2011/2012 Final Four Istanbul

[Fiba basketball]

I was suprised there wasnt any thread aboute it so I made it now . Semi finals will be played on Friday , CSKA vs Panathinaikos ane Barcelona vs Olympiacos . CSKA is heavy favorite and they are probably going to win but everything can happen in one game . PAO is very expirienced team that knows how to play big games so that game could be finals before finals . Barcelona is a great team and they played very good in their last games but I have a feeling that Olympiacos is going to beat them . I cant wait to see who is going to make all EL first and second team , I dont think that it will make a difference how nominated players are going to play in Istanbul but who knows maybe someone of them has their best game of carere .

[Euroleague]

CSKA and Barca have not been playing that well lately in their domestic leagues. While Panathinaikos and Olympiacos were dominating. However, Panathinaikos lost a game to Kolossos.

Seems to me that Olympiacos is playing the best right now. They had something like 5 straight 20+ point wins.

[Fiba basketball]

CSKA and Barca have not been playing that well lately in their domestic leagues. While Panathinaikos and Olympiacos were dominating. However, Panathinaikos lost a game to Kolossos.

Seems to me that Olympiacos is playing the best right now. They had something like 5 straight 20+ point wins.
CSKA won VTB league ( played against Unics in finals without Khryapa and they didnt even try much ) and Barca won against Real ( great game by the way ) and beat some team ( I dont remember the name ) without Navarro and Lorbek . OLY and PAO have a lot weaker opponents in their league than CSKA or Barcelona have in their leagues .

[Euroleague]

CSKA won VTB league ( played against Unics in finals without Khryapa and they didnt even try much ) and Barca won against Real ( great game by the way ) and beat some team ( I dont remember the name ) without Navarro and Lorbek . OLY and PAO have a lot weaker opponents in their league than CSKA or Barcelona have in their leagues .

True. But Olympiacos had a 42 point win over Panionios. That's not easy to do. Panionios is a decent team, even though their starting SF Giankovits and starting C Stepheson were injured. They still had an 11 man lineup of,

PG Keys/Xanthopoulos
SG Diebler/Batis
SF Anathasoulas/Ioannou
PF Nadjfeji/Barlos/Kavvadas
C Sarikopoulos/Paragios

That team, even minus two starters would definitely make Top 16 of Eurocup, rather easily even. And they got beat by 42 against Olympiacos.

So, I think that is more impressive than say Barca beating Real by 2 points.

If you don't believe that Panionios is a decent team, then look at their last game against Panathinaikos. They only lost by 1 point. I am telling you, a 42 point win against Panionios is a bit crazy.

[chains5000]

The Panathinaikos vs CSKA game winner will win.

BTW, Lakas, there's a rumour Zizis's gonna sign with us, replacing Jackson.

[Euroleague]

The Panathinaikos vs CSKA game winner will win.

BTW, Lakas, there's a rumour Zizis's gonna sign with us, replacing Jackson.

Zisis and Katsikaris know each other well. But after the report came out, Zisis denied it and said it wasn't true.

I guess that if it is true, that he is waiting to see if Bilbao will qualify for the Euroleague again. Because I cannot see any way that a player like Zisis will go to a non-Euroleague team.

[chains5000]

Zisis and Katsikaris know each other well. But after the report came out, Zisis denied it and said it wasn't true.

I guess that if it is true, that he is waiting to see if Bilbao will qualify for the Euroleague again. Because I cannot see any way that a player like Zisis will go to a non-Euroleague team.
Same here.

[Fiba basketball]

True. But Olympiacos had a 42 point win over Panionios. That's not easy to do. Panionios is a decent team, even though their starting SF Giankovits and starting C Stepheson were injured. They still had an 11 man lineup of,

PG Keys/Xanthopoulos
SG Diebler/Batis
SF Anathasoulas/Ioannou
PF Nadjfeji/Barlos/Kavvadas
C Sarikopoulos/Paragios

That team, even minus two starters would definitely make Top 16 of Eurocup, rather easily even. And they got beat by 42 against Olympiacos.

So, I think that is more impressive than say Barca beating Real by 2 points.

If you don't believe that Panionios is a decent team, then look at their last game against Panathinaikos. They only lost by 1 point. I am telling you, a 42 point win against Panionios is a bit crazy.
I watched Panionios against OLY ( not this game ) and I know that Panionios isnt that bad but beating Unisc by 15 or Real by 2 is harder than beating Panionios by 42 .

[Fiba basketball]

The Panathinaikos vs CSKA game winner will win.

BTW, Lakas, there's a rumour Zizis's gonna sign with us, replacing Jackson.
Where is Jackson going than ? I heard that Draper already agreed with Real and will play for them next season .

[chains5000]

Where is Jackson going than ?
Not clear yet.

[Grinder]

Surprised Real wants Draper, he's not that good.

I think it'll be CSKA vs. Bar

[Fiba basketball]

[QUOTE=Grinder]Surprised Real wants Draper, he's not that good.

I think it'll be CSKA vs. Bar

[Fiba basketball]

Navarro might not play .

[Euroleague]

I watched Panionios against OLY ( not this game ) and I know that Panionios isnt that bad but beating Unisc by 15 or Real by 2 is harder than beating Panionios by 42 .

I disagree. I think it's harder to beat Panionios by 42.


Where is Jackson going than ? I heard that Draper already agreed with Real and will play for them next season .

Supposedly, Jackson is going to Maccabi. I like Jackson. But I think Zisis would be a lot better fit for a team like Bilbao. If they can qualify for Euroleague (difficult, but doable) then I could see him going there. Zisis would manage their team a lot better, because his basketball IQ is really high and he hardly ever turns the ball over.

Jackson to Maccabi is just more of the same. He's a good player, but Maccabi has really gotten predictable since Blatt took them over. His style works wonders in a short tournament (Russian NT), but it is too predictable over a long club season. Jackson is the same type of athletic, but not true point guard type of player that Maccabi has been selecting.

Actually, they would be a lot smarter to sign someone like Zisis themselves.

Draper to Real.........Real is stupid. They have dumb management. Hell, I am sure if Zisis would consider Bilbao, then he would probably jump at Real. So would a lot of other point guards. Draper/Sergio PG combo is just not right for such a club.

[Euroleague]

Navarro might not play .

I am sure he will try to play. But if he is bothered by his foot, then that's bad for Barca. They are probably the most one player dependent team in the final four. Their whole offense is based on Navarro being able to get 20-30 points in any close game.

If he does not play or isn't effective, then Barca better really bring that defense, because Olympiacos is pretty much the most physical team in Europe.

[Euroleague]

http://www.euroleague.net/final-four/istanbul-2012/main-page/i/97296/7005

FC Barcelona Regal guard Juan Carlos Navarro:

"I feel better than I did yesterday and I believe I will feel even better tomorrow. This is nothing new, but I hope to be in better condition tomorrow. I am sure I will play. I have had fasciitis problems throughout the week and had a lot of pain yesterday. It felt a bit better today and I hope I feel better tomorrow. We are working hard so that I can in the best condition tomorrow. Once I am on the court, you have to forget about everything and help the team as much as I can. I am optimistic about playing tomorrow. We are here, I was able to take part in most of the practice and will try to give my best tomorrow."

[Fiba basketball]

After the game Teodosic said he is still far away from beeing a big player and that if they lost he wouldnt be able to sleep for a year .

[Euroleague]

I was absolutely appalled at the reffing in both of these games. In the first game they just suddenly started giving calls to CSKA to grant them the win at the end of the 4th.

That out of bounds call, where the ball clearly hit off Shved and they gave CSKA the ball...............:facepalm


Then in the second game, all of a sudden, at the end of the 4th quarter they started giving Barca all these nonsense calls trying to help them come back.......

WTF is this crap? I thought I was watching the NBA there. My God, Euroleague is turning into the NBA right before our eyes with this crap.

On the other hand, I guess what happened to Panathinaikos today was like a divine karma. The totally rigged the Greek Finals last year and it was almost like this was karma against them.

DAMN.....PAO versus OSFP Euroleague final would have been one of the greatest things ever in sports - like a sports wet dream come true.

Damn Euroleague refs. That would have been epic.

Oh well, I just hope the dam refs let both teams play in the final. I HATE this NBA crap of refs controling games coming into European basket. These games reminded of 2010 in Turkey..................

Kudos to Navarro. He played very well despite the painful foot injury and he didn't flop in this game.

N'Dong though.......................some of those flops, again it seemed like NBA playoffs with some of that crap.

[Euroleague]

After the game Teodosic said he is still far away from beeing a big player and that if they lost he wouldnt be able to sleep for a year .


Milos is smart and honest there. He knows CSKA didn't play well in that game and should have lost if not for the refs. I am sure he knows that they won't win against Olympiacos if they play that way. Because I don't see how the refs can get away with that twice in a row.

I think that Kirilenko seems to be the other way. They are just going to win no matter what. Teodosic knows better because he has more experience in Euroleague.

Kirilenko looked a bit shocked towards the end of the game that they were losing. After Perperoglou rejected his dunk attempt, he just stood there for a second in disbelief.

I don't think Kirilenko really knows how good the Euroleague players are - even though he thinks he does.

So that's a good sign from Milos. He knows he and their team need to play better.

Even with the refs help, they really only won because Diamantidis and Batiste played about as awful as they could. Diamantidis looked totally lost out there.

Shved. This kid is a monster in the making if he works hard.

[Fiba basketball]

Milos is smart and honest there. He knows CSKA didn't play well in that game and should have lost if not for the refs. I am sure he knows that they won't win against Olympiacos if they play that way. Because I don't see how the refs can get away with that twice in a row.

I think that Kirilenko seems to be the other way. They are just going to win no matter what. Teodosic knows better because he has more experience in Euroleague.

Kirilenko looked a bit shocked towards the end of the game that they were losing. After Perperoglou rejected his dunk attempt, he just stood there for a second in disbelief.

I don't think Kirilenko really knows how good the Euroleague players are - even though he thinks he does.

So that's a good sign from Milos. He knows he and their team need to play better.

Even with the refs help, they really only won because Diamantidis and Batiste played about as awful as they could. Diamantidis looked totally lost out there.

Shved. This kid is a monster in the making if he works hard.
Teodosic was asked does he think he traveled at the end and he said so what they traveled too and reffs didnt call it but than he said that he is kidding and that he doesnt think he traveled . PAO had last attack and chance to win but they didnt use it so I dont think reffs decided the game , who knows what would have happend if Teodosic didnt make jumper and gave CSKA a lead , or if Saras didnt hit a 3 in the last minutes , CSKA is a better team and they deserve to play finals because they are better than PAO . Schved is great player and he is probably next great sg , I just hope he stays in Europe . Schved is , in my oppinion , the type of sg that fits great with Teodosic , they could become the best pg/sg combo the history of modern Euroleague.

[Euroleague]

Teodosic was asked does he think he traveled at the end and he said so what they traveled too and reffs didnt call it but than he said that he is kidding and that he doesnt think he traveled . PAO had last attack and chance to win but they didnt use it so I dont think reffs decided the game , who knows what would have happend if Teodosic didnt make jumper and gave CSKA a lead , or if Saras didnt hit a 3 in the last minutes , CSKA is a better team and they deserve to play finals because they are better than PAO . Schved is great player and he is probably next great sg , I just hope he stays in Europe . Schved is , in my oppinion , the type of sg that fits great with Teodosic , they could become the best pg/sg combo the history of modern Euroleague.

Come on man. The refs clearly decided that game. Even Olympiacos fans are saying it.

Euroleague has always favored teams like PAO, CSKA, Barca. But they favor CSKA more than PAO, and Barca more than anyone.

That out of bounds call that was clearly off Shved, decided the game. If the correct call was made, then CSKA would have lost. So yes, the refs decided that game.

Whether CSKA is the best team or not makes absolutely no matter one bit. If the Euroleague starts picking and choosing the "best teams and players" to get help from the refs to win, then it is the SAME as the NBA.

A joke.

That game was a joke at the end. And the Barca - Oly game almost became one too.

Let me put it this way. The strange calls started in the second game at almost the same exact time on the clock as the strange calls started in the first game.

I mean, it was so blatant. It was to the level of what happened in Turkey 2 years ago at the World Championship.

Unfortunately for the refs, Barca just didn't make good of the ref help.

[Fiba basketball]

Come on man. The refs clearly decided that game. Even Olympiacos fans are saying it.

Euroleague has always favored teams like PAO, CSKA, Barca. But they favor CSKA more than PAO, and Barca more than anyone.

That out of bounds call that was clearly off Shved, decided the game. If the correct call was made, then CSKA would have lost. So yes, the refs decided that game.

Whether CSKA is the best team or not makes absolutely no matter one bit. If the Euroleague starts picking and choosing the "best teams and players" to get help from the refs to win, then it is the SAME as the NBA.

A joke.

That game was a joke at the end. And the Barca - Oly game almost became one too.

Let me put it this way. The strange calls started in the second game at almost the same exact time on the clock as the strange calls started in the first game.

I mean, it was so blatant. It was to the level of what happened in Turkey 2 years ago at the World Championship.

Unfortunately for the refs, Barca just didn't make good of the ref help.
after that out of bounds call CSKA scored only 3 points ( shoot fts 1 of 4 after that ) so no that didnt decided the game . In second game as soon as I saw that Lamonica is one of the reffs I knew what will happen at the end but Oly was just too good for Barca .

[chains5000]

Shved. This kid is a monster in the making if he works hard.
Agreed.

Guess which team has beaten both CSKA and Olympiacos this season?:pimp:

[Fiba basketball]

Agreed.

Guess which team has beaten both CSKA and Olympiacos this season?:pimp:
Galatasaray :)

[Maga_1]

I need a stream

[Fiba basketball]

I need a stream
I need it too

[Maga_1]

http://www.sport24.me/streams/CreepyTV2.html

[winwin]

Deron William sighting

[zizozain]

wow v-span is very bad at free throws

:facepalm

[Jasi]

Lol, i switched channel at the end of the 3rd because the game was done... And here we go.

[Jasi]

Can't believe it!

What a game!!!

[Jasi]

I feel sorry for Siskauskas, he's one of my favourite players ever but that ball must have been boiling hot

[Euroleague]

Like I said, beating Panionios by 42 points was the omen......

This Olympiacos is the most unbelievable team ever.

Teodosic and Siska..........what can you say. Great players, two of my favorites ever, but they showed their true stripes.

Teodosic did his usual go nuts and lose his mind act and Siska once again blew the free throws that could have iced a huge championship.

These guys have got be sick right now.

The CSKA fans - the looks on their faces, it felt like a suicide watch was on.

Sloukas, Mantzaris, Papanikoloau...............these guys have the magic. Greek basketball will be unbelievable in the future.

[Fiba basketball]

Papanikolau deserved final four MVP more than Spanoulis . Only players in CSKA that deserve a mention are Teodosic and Kirilenko . I think that Teodosic was supoused to shoot last fts and not Siskauskas but who cares aboute what ifs , Oly deserved to be Euroleague champion . Congratulation to doctor and proffesor of basketball Dusan Ivkovic , the best coach in Europe :cheers:

[chains5000]

Simply amazing



Poor Siskauskas, he's not going to sleep well in a long time

[Euroleague]

Papanikolau deserved final four MVP more than Spanoulis . Only players in CSKA that deserve a mention are Teodosic and Kirilenko . I think that Teodosic was supoused to shoot last fts and not Siskauskas but who cares aboute what ifs , Oly deserved to be Euroleague champion . Congratulation to doctor and proffesor of basketball Dusan Ivkovic , the best coach in Europe :cheers:

Kirilenko, Siska, Teodosic, and Krstic all choked the game away. Each one of them made several incredibly stupid and ridiculous plays down the stretch.

[Fiba basketball]

CSKA should fire Kazlauskas and get Obradovic for next season . I dont see anyone beating then if that happens .

[Euroleague]

CSKA should fire Kazlauskas and get Obradovic for next season . I dont see anyone beating then if that happens .

Supposedly Real wants Obradovic too. And supposedly Messina is thinking about coming back to Euroleague.

I never liked Kazlauskas. He almost destroyed Greece's national team. The Greek national team is still trying to recover from him.

He took this team:

Spanoulis/Calathes
Zisis/Perperoglou
Diamantidis/Printezis
Fotsis/Tsartsaris/Kaimakoglou
Bourousis/Schortsanitis/Vougioukas

To ELEVENTH PLACE at FIBA World Cup. Just think about that. The strongest roster in the whole tournament and they ended up in 11th place, and I think it was almost all due to his bad coaching.

I think even with Zouros they would have won the gold medal.

I just don't trust Kazlauskas. This was another one of his gems.

I'm not sure about them bringing in Obradovic though, because he needs a while to get his system implemented. Ivkovic didn't have his system implemented last year very well in Olympiacos.

Look at the result. The team that had by far the biggest budget in Europe, had poor results, all things considered, even accounting for the injuries to their 3 main players.

Obradovic is so particular about his system and players. I honestly think it might take a year to get it implemented right. Of course, he could just not make changes and do better than Kazlauskas.

But, the one thing I've never liked about Obradovic is how he handles adjustments during games. He is the master at planning a strategy before games, and making adjustments during a series, but his in-game adjustments have always been lacking.

I'm not sure if he would have reacted any better than Kazlauskas did during that run. However, I think he would have benched Teodosic during the 4th quarter, when he got out of control. Kazlauskas does not seem to have the guts to do stuff like that.

It's the same thing that happened with Greece NT in 2010. Everything just fell apart within the team because Kazlauskas would not act as the controlling authority within the team. He basically let Diamantidis take over, and didn't act as the coach should.

Basically, in the final, Teodosic acted as the coach of the team, and he lost his mind in the second half. As a coach you can't allow that, no matter how good your point guard is.

I just think of how Giannakis and Ivkovic handled Teodosic. As soon as he started to get out of control, they sent him to the bench. If he stayed playing that way after he came back in the game, he was benched again and didn't play again.

That's how you ave to handle that. And under those coaches, Teodosic was clearly at his best. They made him focus and behave a certain way, controlling his personality. Kazlauskas failed to do so in the final.

So yeah, I don't think they need someone like Obradovic, they just need a strict coach with a personality to have control over the team and to be able to keep Teodosic more focused.

Personally, if I was CSKA, I would think hard about getting Bartzokas as the coach. He's an exceptional young coach and is totally under the radar in Europe. Ivkovic even said recently that he is the most talented coach of the next generation. The guy was a miracle worker with Maroussi.

[Fiba basketball]

Supposedly Real wants Obradovic too. And supposedly Messina is thinking about coming back to Euroleague.

I never liked Kazlauskas. He almost destroyed Greece's national team. The Greek national team is still trying to recover from him.

He took this team:

Spanoulis/Calathes
Zisis/Perperoglou
Diamantidis/Printezis
Fotsis/Tsartsaris/Kaimakoglou
Bourousis/Schortsanitis/Vougioukas

To ELEVENTH PLACE at FIBA World Cup. Just think about that. The strongest roster in the whole tournament and they ended up in 11th place, and I think it was almost all due to his bad coaching.

I think even with Zouros they would have won the gold medal.

I just don't trust Kazlauskas. This was another one of his gems.

I'm not sure about them bringing in Obradovic though, because he needs a while to get his system implemented. Ivkovic didn't have his system implemented last year very well in Olympiacos.

Look at the result. The team that had by far the biggest budget in Europe, had poor results, all things considered, even accounting for the injuries to their 3 main players.

Obradovic is so particular about his system and players. I honestly think it might take a year to get it implemented right. Of course, he could just not make changes and do better than Kazlauskas.

But, the one thing I've never liked about Obradovic is how he handles adjustments during games. He is the master at planning a strategy before games, and making adjustments during a series, but his in-game adjustments have always been lacking.

I'm not sure if he would have reacted any better than Kazlauskas did during that run. However, I think he would have benched Teodosic during the 4th quarter, when he got out of control. Kazlauskas does not seem to have the guts to do stuff like that.

It's the same thing that happened with Greece NT in 2010. Everything just fell apart within the team because Kazlauskas would not act as the controlling authority within the team. He basically let Diamantidis take over, and didn't act as the coach should.

Basically, in the final, Teodosic acted as the coach of the team, and he lost his mind in the second half. As a coach you can't allow that, no matter how good your point guard is.

I just think of how Giannakis and Ivkovic handled Teodosic. As soon as he started to get out of control, they sent him to the bench. If he stayed playing that way after he came back in the game, he was benched again and didn't play again.

That's how you ave to handle that. And under those coaches, Teodosic was clearly at his best. They made him focus and behave a certain way, controlling his personality. Kazlauskas failed to do so in the final.

So yeah, I don't think they need someone like Obradovic, they just need a strict coach with a personality to have control over the team and to be able to keep Teodosic more focused.

Personally, if I was CSKA, I would think hard about getting Bartzokas as the coach. He's an exceptional young coach and is totally under the radar in Europe. Ivkovic even said recently that he is the most talented coach of the next generation. The guy was a miracle worker with Maroussi.
I thought Real was happy with Laso , he got them the cup and if he wins Endesa league he will probably stay as their coach . I dont like Messina , I think he is overrated and I also dont like him because he didnt let Velickovic play in Real . I dont know if you noticed but during TO when CSKA was leading Kazlauskas was celebrating like they already won . What do you think aboute Vujosevic coming to CSKA again ? I know that he was bad last season but he had worse team than CSKA has now and I cant see any coach not reaching F4 with this CSKA team .

[Euroleague]

I thought Real was happy with Laso , he got them the cup and if he wins Endesa league he will probably stay as their coach . I dont like Messina , I think he is overrated and I also dont like him because he didnt let Velickovic play in Real . I dont know if you noticed but during TO when CSKA was leading Kazlauskas was celebrating like they already won . What do you think aboute Vujosevic coming to CSKA again ? I know that he was bad last season but he had worse team than CSKA has now and I cant see any coach not reaching F4 with this CSKA team .

Vujosevic is a good coach obviously, but the problem is that he can't speak English fluently. So he does not fit to CSKA, where all the team is managed in English.

Yeah, Messina is really overrated. In USA, they are all calling him, "best European coach ever". Typical NBA hype machine BS.

About Obradovic, the speculation in Greece is that he is going to Barca next year.

[Fiba basketball]

Vujosevic is a good coach obviously, but the problem is that he can't speak English fluently. So he does not fit to CSKA, where all the team is managed in English.

Yeah, Messina is really overrated. In USA, they are all calling him, "best European coach ever". Typical NBA hype machine BS.

About Obradovic, the speculation in Greece is that he is going to Barca next year.
I heard that DD will come to Barca too . So Pasqual will leav ? I dont like him too because he started writting books after he won EL and acting like he is the best coach in Europe . What will happen to PAO now ?

[chains5000]

I don't see Pascual leaving unless he doesn't make the Finals.

I'd fire him though. Barcelona should play better than they do with the roster they have.

[Euroleague]

I heard that DD will come to Barca too . So Pasqual will leav ? I dont like him too because he started writting books after he won EL and acting like he is the best coach in Europe . What will happen to PAO now ?

PAO is having another budget cut next year from 24 million euros to 20 million euros.

That means that one of Diamantidis, Obradovic, or Batiste will be gone from the team. Batiste is a free agent. The other two are still under contract.

Obradovic and Diamantidis will still be retained under that new budget and are still under contract.

The problem is that Obradovic is starting to bitch and moan and complain that budget "isn't enough" for his "standards".

Already the speculation is about him going to Barca, because they have a 25 million budget.

Remember, Obradovic was used to those days when PAO had budgets anywhere from 25-35 million euros. Even this year, the "cheap team" had a 24 million budget.

So I guess he is just really overboard with his demands.

Anyway, I guess Diamantidis leaving would be final proof of just what a colossal douche bag he really is. Not being able to play with any other coach, except the one that babies him.

I can tell you right now, Diamantidis will never work with Navarro. Diamantidis has a massive ego and he demands that everything revolve around him. He is a huge prima donna and he has a terrible personality.

If Obradovic and Diamantidis try to run in there and takeover Navarro's team it won't work. That will be a mistake by Barca. And of Diamantidis leaves PAO like that, even though they won't cut his salary...........

he's already hugely hated and despised in Greece by everyone but PAO fans, and even many PAO fans hate him. Over how he has acted regarding the Greek national team, and all his antics to the players and fans of other teams.

If he quits on PAO like that...........only the crazy Diamantidis worshipers (KWSN-Men) will think anything good of him.

It wouldn't surprise me though. Obradovic has such high demands for the budget of the club and Diamantidis is such an egotistical prick.

[Euroleague]

I don't see Pascual leaving unless he doesn't make the Finals.

I'd fire him though. Barcelona should play better than they do with the roster they have.

To be fair though, the loss in last year's playoffs of Euroleague was to Panathinaikos. That's the same team that ended up winning 3 Euroleague titles in 5 years. They simply lost to the most dominant team of Europe in that era.

So no blame really there, especially considering how awful Rubio played. I don't think he was to blame for Rubio just being awful.

Then, this year they lost the Cup final to Real Madrid, but that was kind of a fluke game, where Llull and Carroll both had the biggest games of their whole career and every 3 point bomb just started falling.

It happens in one game finals. So, I can't really blame there either.

Now, about the loss to Olympiacos this year in the semifinal. Well, Olympiacos was just a better team, especially considering that Navarro looked only about 80-85 percent healthy to me.

However, that loss to Baskonia in 2010 ACB Finals.......that was pretty bad. He deserves blame on that one. But then again, to be fair, Rubio deserved the most blame. It was like the series against Panathinaikos. Rubio's horrid play was the cause of losing both those series.

So, while it's true that such a team should have better results in theory, at the same time, if you really look at the losses, it's really not on the coach. At least to me.

But, with that being said, I don't like Pascual's attitude. I just think of how he clashed with Terrence Morris for example. The guy retired because of it. Look what they get? CJ Wallace instead.

Wallace is a good player, I like him actually. He's talented and good. But he doesn't fit to Barca's team at all. Morris on the other hand, was a perfect fit.

But Pascual was arrogant and though it was no problem. He thought he could run out Morris over a personal issue and replace him with Fotsis, and actually get an upgrade and have another perfect fit, that was even a better player.

Well, the problem is that Milan offered Fotsis more money than Barca could. So the result was they ended up with Wallace. I think if Barca still had Morris that they could have won Euroleague.

So, I don't think Pascual is too blame for anything based on the teams they have had, but he is to blame for stuff like the Morris thing, and that probably cost them this year. But I will say this, Morris always had a reputation in USA that he had a very bad attitude. So, again, I am not sure that Pascual actually did anything wrong.

I expect Barca to win the ACB title. I honestly don't see them firing Pascual if they do.

[Fiba basketball]

PAO is having another budget cut next year from 24 million euros to 20 million euros.

That means that one of Diamantidis, Obradovic, or Batiste will be gone from the team. Batiste is a free agent. The other two are still under contract.

Obradovic and Diamantidis will still be retained under that new budget and are still under contract.

The problem is that Obradovic is starting to bitch and moan and complain that budget "isn't enough" for his "standards".

Already the speculation is about him going to Barca, because they have a 24 million budget, the same as PAO had this year.

Remember, Obradovic was used to those days when PAO had budgets anywhere from 25-35 million euros. Even this year, the "cheap team" had a 24 million budget.

So I guess he is just really overboard with his demands.

Anyway, I guess Diamantidis leaving would be final proof of just what a colossal douche bag he really is. Not being able to play with any other coach, except the one that babies him.

I can tell you right now, Diamantidis will never work with Navarro. Diamantidis has a massive ego and he demands that everything revolve around him. He is a huge prima donna and he has a terrible personality.

If Obradovic and Diamantidis try to run in there and takeover Navarro's team it won't work. That will be a mistake by Barca. And of Diamantidis leaves PAO like that, even though they won't cut his salary...........

he's already hugely hated and despised in Greece by everyone but PAO fans, and even many PAO fans hate him. Over how he has acted regarding the Greek national team, and all his antics to the players and fans of other teams.

If he quits on PAO like that...........only the crazy Diamantidis worshipers (KWSN-Men) will think anything good of him.

It wouldn't surprise me though. Obradovic has such high demands for the budget of the club and Diamantidis is such an egotistical prick.
I wish Partizan would be able to cut fro 24 to 20 mil in the future , I would be happy if Partizans budget is more than 4 mil but I dont see that happening . When I read that PAO is breaking apart and cuting their budget I thought they will change whole team and that they will be among poorest teams in Europe and it turns out that they will have "only" 2 mil . If what you wrote aboute DD is true that he has more fan here in Serbia than in Greece . After game 5 in top 8 , I read comments aboute him beeing best player in Europe . He is great player but he wasnt best player this season and he in my oppinion didnt deserve to be in all EL first team and Navarro didnt deserve to be in second . I know Obradovic works only in big budget clubs and thats why I think ( not only me , here in Serbia a lot of people think that ) Ivkovic is better coach than him.

[Fiba basketball]

CSKA wants Blat for next season .

[Euroleague]

I wish Partizan would be able to cut fro 24 to 20 mil in the future , I would be happy if Partizans budget is more than 4 mil but I dont see that happening . When I read that PAO is breaking apart and cuting their budget I thought they will change whole team and that they will be among poorest teams in Europe and it turns out that they will have "only" 2 mil . If what you wrote aboute DD is true that he has more fan here in Serbia than in Greece . After game 5 in top 8 , I read comments aboute him beeing best player in Europe . He is great player but he wasnt best player this season and he in my oppinion didnt deserve to be in all EL first team and Navarro didnt deserve to be in second . I know Obradovic works only in big budget clubs and thats why I think ( not only me , here in Serbia a lot of people think that ) Ivkovic is better coach than him.

All of that media is just sensalitionist nonsense. The whole last summer Olympiacos was "poor", was "breaking up", had a "tiny budget".

Yes, 21.5 million euros budget team called that way. The same with all this nonsense about Panathinaikos.

What people don't seem to understand is that you are talking about teams that were used to 35-40 million euro budgets. So, in dropping down to 20-25 million range, it is a "huge budget cut".

The owners of the clubs are trying to get down to about 20 million euros a year budgets and are doing it step by step, over 2-3 seasons. Those are still huge budgets. Real Madrid's budget is 20 million euros.

This "the Greek clubs are collapsing and have tiny budgets" is all just out of some dumb people's imaginations. They can't seem to grasp that if you cut your budget 40%, it does really mean anything, if your budget was 35 million euros to begin with or whatever.

So, the Greek clubs have simply adjusted their budgets downwards, due to the economic issues in Greece. They want to stay around 20 million euros budgets, because that is more doable financially now.

Maccabi for instance has a 17 million euro budget, and people call it, "huge budget club". There has never been one iota of truth to any of those stories about Olympiacos and Panathinaikos going to very small budgets.

It's just pure imagination out of the minds of idiots. Yes, the budget cuts are big, and yes a lot of big name players end up leaving, but even with 20 million euros, you can form any team you want almost.

Olympiacos won Euroleague this year with a 21.5 million budget, so it's obviously plenty of money for the budget. Like I said, all they have to do is let Batiste go, and his salary and player taxes, and his bonuses (house, car, etc.) will cover the 4 million euros budget cut.

Batiste is old, and on his last legs and needs to retire anyway. So, it's not even like a budget cut at all in reality.

I am sure that most clubs would love to have the "huge financial problems and extremely tiny budgets" that the Greek clubs supposedly have the last couple summers.

The stuff is comedy. I remember all the "Olympiacos has a 8 million euro budet" and "Panathinaikis has a 10 million euro budget" bull shit this summer. Yeah, you can sign rosters and coaches like those for 8-10 million euros.........

:lol :roll: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :facepalm :facepalm

Just Spanoulis' salary, taxes, and bonuses alone is something like 5 million euros. Yet we were supposed to believe, according to stupid media, and some idiot fans that believe it, that all those other players and that coach only cost 3 million.........

Yes, you can sign all that and that coach, plus the taxes, and the bonuses for 3 million..............................:roll:

There are a lot of morons out there.

[Euroleague]

I wish Partizan would be able to cut fro 24 to 20 mil in the future , I would be happy if Partizans budget is more than 4 mil but I dont see that happening.

It's amazing though what Partizan does with their budget. As an example, Panionios' owner said that if they win the 3rd place for Euroleague, that they can have a 4 million budget. I think they had something 4.5 3 years ago when they were in Euroleague.

Just think about that.........Panionios (when they qualify for EL) have basically the same budget as Partizan. It's just amazing what Partizan does most years with their budget, and how their fans help them win games.

[SwayDizzle]

Olympiakaaaraaaaa

[Euroleague]

According to some media, Olympiacos is the first team in the modern era (final four era 1988-2012) to win the Euroleague final without a single point scored from an American player in the game for them.

And also the youngest team to win it...I'm not sure about that either, as compared to say, Partizan in 1992.

I don't know if this is true or not..........but that's quite interesting if it is.

[Fiba basketball]

According to some media, Olympiacos is the first team in the modern era (final four era 1988-2012) to win the Euroleague final without a single point scored from an American player in the game for them.

And also the youngest team to win it...I'm not sure about that either, as compared to say, Partizan in 1992.

I don't know if this is true or not..........but that's quite interesting if it is.
Partizan in 1992 didnt even had american player and I m pretty sure they had junger team than Oly .

[Fiba basketball]

Olympiakaaaraaaaa
Are you from Greece ?

[Fiba basketball]

It's amazing though what Partizan does with their budget. As an example, Panionios' owner said that if they win the 3rd place for Euroleague, that they can have a 4 million budget. I think they had something 4.5 3 years ago when they were in Euroleague.

Just think about that.........Panionios (when they qualify for EL) have basically the same budget as Partizan. It's just amazing what Partizan does most years with their budget, and how their fans help them win games.
I think thats because all ( well not all but 99% ) of most talented Serbian players want to play for Partizan . Every year Partizan changes pg , pf and C but get new that are also good , because Partizan plays in EL players will acept to play for less money than they deserve . This season we didnt made it to top 16 but future is bright . Lucic will became one of the better SFs in Europe , he is very athleatic and very good all around player . Then there is Miljenovic one of the most talented pgs in Europe , dominated junior compatitions and played very good in Serbian league this year ( he was player of the week once ) . Andjusic is great shooter and was Serbian Cup finals MVP , I think he will became player like Rasic . Bertans , Pesakovic , Bogdanovic they are all amaizing shooters , there are also few more but you get the point . Partizan will fight for top 8 once again .