Plenty to savor in Europe

VILNIUS (Eurovision) - Has there ever been a better time to watch basketball in Europe than now?
 
The answer is absolutely, unequivocally no.
 
It’s not about following Europeans in the NBA, but watching leading players here on the old continent, be it in national team tournaments or club competitions.
 
One hotbed is Lithuania.
 
Italy coach Simone Pianigiani called Lithuania “a nation that breathes basketball” after Sunday’s EuroBasket draw in Vilnius.
 
A country that paid particular attention to the hoopla was Slovenia because in two years, that nation will host the EuroBasket.
 
Slovenian fans turned out in force to watch their team reach the Semi-Finals of EuroBasket 2009 in Poland, and they travelled in huge numbers to Turkey for the 2010 FIBA World Championship.
 
Right now, in their brand spanking new Stozice Arena, 13,000 fans show up to watch Union Olimpija play their home games in the Euroleague.
 
So it's not just Lithuania where there's a craze.
 
"I can say that in this moment, basketball is the national sport of Slovenia," said the recently appointed Slovenia coach, Bozidar Maljkovic, who was in Vilnius for the draw.
 
Last week in Istanbul, it was like the World Championship all over again.
 
It was hard not to get swept up in the excitement of the Euroleague Top 16 game between Fenerbahce Ulker and Power Electronics Valencia.
 
There were 15,600 fans jammed into the Sinan Erdem Dome to watch Fener edge Valencia, 75-73.
 
"It was a crazy atmosphere," Valencia big man James Augustine said.
 
"This is why you play the game. We loved it. It’s a shame we didn’t win because we would have been in a very good position."
 
In Vitoria, Caja Laboral – aka, Saskia Baskonia - hosted one of the most exhilarating contests of the year, a clash that Vilnius giants Lietuvos Rytas won 79-76 when Khalid El-Amin hit a long three-pointer at the buzzer.
 
How spoiled are the more than 9,000 spectators that turn out to watch games at the Fernando Buesa Arena, where greats like Luis Scola and Tiago Splitter played before leaving for the NBA?
 
The fans that watched El-Amin throw in the dagger returned four days later to see Brazil international Marcelo Huertas score on a last-second drive for a 76-74 Caja Laboral win over Unicaja Malaga.
 
Okay, so big names come and go. They leave for new challenges in the NBA, but there's plenty more to see.
 
Just look at Spain’s ACB.
 
Exhibit A: Bismack Biyombo; Exhibit B: Victor Claver; Exhibit C: Nikola Mirotic.
 
Congolese Bismack Biyombo is just 18 years old and plays at Fuenlabrada. The way he’s been blocking shots, it’s like the second coming of Dikembe Mutombo.
 
Claver, Mr Nice guy, the Power Electronics captain, is a high-flier now thriving under the tutelage of Svetislav Pesic.
 
He and his teammates and their remarkable turnaround have turned Valencia into a basketball city.
 
In the Spanish capital, they are witnessing the birth of greatness.
 
Real Madrid's 19-year-old Mirotic is at the beginning of what could be a spectacular career.
 
He had 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to lead Madrid past Montepaschi Siena in Italy last week, and Mirotic hit two clutch three-balls on Sunday as Madrid beat Manresa 62-61.
 
"I have many dreams," Mirotic said.
 
"I have the whole of my career ahead of me. My dream is to win as many titles as possible.”
 
Mirotic’s emergence contributed to the club’s decision to put Spain international Jorge Garbajosa on the transfer list. 
 
That would have been unimaginable at the start of the season.
 
Mirotic played for Spain at the U20 European Championship last year in Croatia.
 
One can’t help but think that Mirotic summed up the feelings of so many that are involved in the game in Spain, and Europe overall, with his final words.
 
"Basketball is my life,” he said.
 
“I don't think I would be the same person.
 
“It gives me everything."
 
Jeff Taylor