Zorionak Tau!!! Damn, I couldn´t watch the game, I was in my way back to Euskal Herria, and when the game finished my brother sent the great message : Tau finalera!!!
I agree with Ivanovic being the best coach in the game right now, I´d like to see him in a football club, could his methods work?
Damn, finally it couldn't be, the first quarter was horrible, nothing similiar to the Baskonia we use to know, the second finished with the same score for both teams so Maccabi could keep their advantage, in the third i thought that it was possible the miracle, a fantastic TAU could reduce the diference just to 2 points but Maccabi was fantastic at the final quarter, Jasikevicius is sumply the best player out of NBA, 3rd Euroleague tittle consecutive for "Saras", what a game he made. Anyway congrats for the israelies, they have a really great team: Saras, Parker, Deon Thomas, Burstein... and thanks Baskonia for trying to get the Euroleague for the Basque Country for first time, no problem at all i'm sure that Bilbao Basket will get it sooner or later .
And I couldn't forget the final four's great sensation, the CSKA cheerleaders, the "red foxes", i'm not joking, it's their real nickname , i'm wondering why lol .
-"Choose one country to watch playing a World Championship final
Yes, it couldn´t be, Saras was unstoppable. Baskonia put a lot of heart in the game but Maccabi was superior, still at the end of the 3rd quarter it looked possible!! The key of the game was the great defense Maccabi made to Macijauskas, which added to the bad game of the lithuanian stopped Tau´s attacks. On the other side Baskonia couldn´t stop the other lithuanian, Jasikevicious. Mention Splitter´s great game, specially in defense, he´ll be great!
Congrats Baskonia for such a good Euroleague campaign and best wishes for the league playoffs!
On other note, David Herrero finally won the first victory of the season for Euskaltel, in Clásica Alcobendas, hope this is a turning point in the bad season of the orange team.
Yesterday Lopez de Munain crashed heavily in the Giro, he's got a broken shoulder, broken ribs and a broken collarbone
Well done TAU, it's really a great performance, it's a pity they couldn't make it in the end...
What does their team look like actually, do they have a only Basque policy just like Euskaltel and Athletic for example? Or do they play without Spaniards like Sociedad used to do, or are they just a 'normal' team with players from anywhere? I've got no clue, Basketball is really impopular in Holland, especially as the Dutch teams are crap, there's paid no attention at all to the Euroleague, could only follow it on the internet a bit.
What does their team look like actually, do they have a only Basque policy just like Euskaltel and Athletic for example? Or do they play without Spaniards like Sociedad used to do, or are they just a 'normal' team with players from anywhere? I've got no clue, Basketball is really impopular in Holland, especially as the Dutch teams are crap, there's paid no attention at all to the Euroleague, could only follow it on the internet a bit.
The truth is that TAU and Lagun Aro look like the United Nations team, TAU only haves one basque (Asier Arzalluz), but Calderón and Splitter are living in Bilbao long time ago, the brazilian played in Lagun Aro 2 years loaned by TAU, Lagun Aro is the same thing, there is only one basque, the point guard Javi Salgado. Basket is this way, Serbs, Americans, Lithuanians, Argentinians, also spanish... very cosmopolitan teams as you see.
-"Choose one country to watch playing a World Championship final
Fantastic win by Koldo GiL!!! The man deserves it, brave, hard-working... great to see him winning. A bit disappointed with Haimar,Garate and Unai Osa, I thought they could be in the first group with the better ones, but well, the Giro is very long and I´m sure we´ll have more to cheer about.
Portland San Antonio from Iruña is the new champion of the handball´s league, after their victory in León. Zorionak!! and aupa Jackson Richardson! he´ll be missed.
It can be a great year for the city if Osasuna wins the cup, imagine it!
And mention Juanma Garate´s great Giro stage yesterday, unfortunately he ended second.
Jimenez is leading in the general standings because of a huge escape in stage 2, Peña from Euskaltel finished 2nd in that stage.
Vicioso won stage 1, Arreitunandia won stage 3, well done to them! Stage 4A won Vicioso once again this morning, this afternoon there will be a time trial.
General standings before the timetrial:
1º 34 JIMENEZ, Eladio ESP ECV 12:09:28
2º 57 PALOMARES, Adrian ESP KAI a 3:01
3º 18 PEÑA, Aketza ESP EUS a 5:48
4º 28 RODRIGUEZ, Joaquin ESP SDV a 7:26
5º 105 GOLCER, Jure SLO ASA a 7:38
And the TT of the Euskal Bizikleta was for David Herrero. 3rd victory for him this season (Alcobendas, Laudio and this one) which are the 3 victories for Euskaltel this season. Zorionak David! Some people should be a bit ashamed now that a guy who earns much less than them is saving the team from ridicule.... at least Samu Sánchez tried it in Giro and Mayo is preparing the Tour but.... Zubeldia? Aitor González?
The first is the basque version of Alex Zulle, mr depressions and the second is a lazy fool but with a lot of class. Funny thing is that Aitor can have a bad season but then win a tour stage as he did last year without a great work, the guy has a lot of class. Still I prefer people with less class but more workers, I already said I prefered Juanma Garate for Euskaltel, and we all saw his hard fight in Giro.
Anyway, about Euskal Bizikleta, Adrián Palomares and Aketza Peña ended in the podium, zorionak for them. Btw we´ve noticed the Pro Tour in the participation..
What a final of the manomanista (pilota), a great comeback by Aimar Olaizola, he was 15-6 down to Martinez de Irujo and has won it by 22-18. Zorionak Aimar!! and for both for such an interesting final, although it wasn´t the best possible from the technical point of view it had a lot of heart!!
Looks like things start working for Euskaltel, Iñigo Landaluze is the new leader of Dauphiné.
1 Landaluze
2 A. Merckx a 2. 32
3 Leipheimer a 2. 51
4 Armstrong a 3. 12
They have a hard stage tomorrow including Joux Plane. It will be difficult for Iñigo to keep that first place, even more with the weak team Euskaltel sent, only 6 men and 2 have already retired, Iñigo only has Koldo Fernández, Aitor Silloniz and Joseba Zubeldia to help him. Anyway, he looks very strong so let´s wish him luck and hope Euskaltel repeates victory in the Dauphiné after last year´s Mayo exhibition.
BTW, Mayo will participate in the Swiss Tour that starts tomorrow, let´s see in what form he is for Le Tour.
Looks like things start working for Euskaltel, Iñigo Landaluze is the new leader of Dauphiné.
1 Landaluze
2 A. Merckx a 2. 32
3 Leipheimer a 2. 51
4 Armstrong a 3. 12
They have a hard stage tomorrow including Joux Plane. It will be difficult for Iñigo to keep that first place, even more with the weak team Euskaltel sent, only 6 men and 2 have already retired, Iñigo only has Koldo Fernández, Aitor Silloniz and Joseba Zubeldia to help him. Anyway, he looks very strong so let´s wish him luck and hope Euskaltel repeates victory in the Dauphiné after last year´s Mayo exhibition.
Ooh I'll pray for him, this is very great news, I can't see him make it to be honest, it shall be very, very tough, but already one day in the lead is great, hopefully he can extend it... with Landaluze doing so well it gives me some better hopes for Le Tour, hopefully Iban can do in Switzerland what Inigo did yesterday in France.
Well, not only he has kept it for one day, neither for two, but for three!!! Iñigo Landaluze champion of Dauphiné!!!
Yesterday he suffered in Joux Plane but could kept the yellow jersey by 49´ to Botero and today it was a fantastic stage!!
It was a circuit of several laps with a mountain in the middle, Iñigo lost the group of the leaders with 2 laps to go but he caught them in the downhill, with one lap to go the same happened but he couldn´t caught them and started the last lap 15" after the main group. He made an incredible effort in that last lap and lost 39´ in the end, which was enough to keep the yellow jersey. It was fantastic to see that last lap with Botero and Leipheimer giving everything in the main group and Landaluze too in the other group, with some help from Mazzoleni and Bruseghin, it was really exciting!!
So congrats to Iñigo, he has won this race alone, without team, I don´t know how Euskaltel sent such a bad team to Dauphiné, Landaluze has been the only Euskaltel ending the race and they´ve ended last in the teams standigns. Anyway, fortunately Iñigo was strong enough to win the race even with all the attacks from his rivals.
Finally a good new this weekend, Zorionak Iñigo!! Those trainings I´ve seen you in Unbe have helped you eh!!
1 Landaluze
2 Botero a 11"
3 Leipheimer a 41
4 Armstrong a 59
5 Vinokourov a 1'02"
He was really the only Euskaltel driver who finished the race, magnificent he won it! I'm sooo happy for him! He got 50 ProTour points as well now, I believe this is the first ever major race he won, isn't it?
Mayo finished 7th in a mountain stage in Switzerland, hopefully he can continue this...
Out of surprise, I find one Basque at the back of one Chinese magazine... That is a ad featuring www.euskadi.net/business In the ad, they have the Basque flag and the slogan 'Basque Country...'! I have this 'discovery' also by chance. Lately I'm searching for another magazine as for subscription as a replacement for the disappointing Asia Time... Yesterday my boss throws out this 'Chinese news weekly' and I pick up to see if suitable to myself... But I wonder the usefulness of it....
And final victory for Aitor González in the Tour of Switzerland, funnily enough, what was being a horrible season for Euskaltel has turned into a great one in only one week, with victories in 2 prestigious races. Appart, Roberto Laiseka has won the mountain maillot of this race.
Hehe, I didn´t talk too well about Aitor some posts back in this thread didn´t I? Well, to be honest I keep on thinking the same about him, he´s a class cyclist who could be a star if he wasn´t so fool. Anyway, let´s see if he continues like this and makes a good Tour.
Mayo didn´t show up in Switzerland but I´m confident he will make a good Tour, and he will have less pressure than in the last years, thing that will favour him. Anyway, even if Mayo doesn´t appear in Le Tour, Euskaltel still has Landaluze, Egoi, A.González, Herrero.... to fight for stages and a good final position, also Samu Sánchez although I don´t know if he´ll go, btw another second place for him in Vuelta a Asturias, what a bad luck.
It was so exciting in the last kilometres, no one gave him a chance in the last 10 kilometres, it was him against a group of about 7 drivers, but he did it, very well done, after Landaluze won the Dauphiné, now Aitor did it in Switzerland, finally we wake up!
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Saras was unstoppable. Baskonia put a lot of heart in the game but Maccabi was superior, still at the end of the 3rd quarter it looked possible!! The key of the game was the great defense Maccabi made to Macijauskas, which added to the bad game of the lithuanian stopped Tau´s attacks. On the other side Baskonia couldn´t stop the other lithuanian, Jasikevicious. Mention Splitter´s great game, specially in defense, he´ll be great!
Aupa Koldo!!
The man deserves it, brave, hard-working... great to see him winning. A bit disappointed with Haimar,Garate and Unai Osa, I thought they could be in the first group with the better ones, but well, the Giro is very long and I´m sure we´ll have more to cheer about.
and aupa Jackson Richardson! he´ll be missed.
Those trainings I´ve seen you in Unbe have helped you eh!!
That is a ad featuring 
I have this 'discovery' also by chance. Lately I'm searching for another magazine as for subscription as a replacement for the disappointing Asia Time... Yesterday my boss throws out this 'Chinese news weekly' and I pick up to see if suitable to myself... But I wonder the usefulness of it....
Well, to be honest I keep on thinking the same about him, he´s a class cyclist who could be a star if he wasn´t so fool. Anyway, let´s see if he continues like this and makes a good Tour.
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