Vreston's European Basketball thread

[Vreston]

Basketball

Greece A1 Playoff Semifinals:

Aris - Marousi
Pick: Aris -7 @ 1.90 - Won (69-45)

Aris is a better team. They signed two big men a few weeks ago to help in the paint and help the team in a position it needed help in. Unfortunately for them, they lost their first game in this series at home against a Marousi team that surprised them and it wasn't even close. Marousi has surprised everyone this year by finishing 5th when nobody even thought they would be in the top 10. They've also had a lot of problems with players leaving and generally the atmosphere has not been good. It's just the coach that's keeping them together. That of course gave us a great line for game 2 that I jumped on. (I tweeted that play). I think the Game 1 loss was more because the 2 new players didn't have time to adjust as they had just got there. Today they will be playing in a full house and they really want to get this win since they want to play in Euroleague next year. They have motivation and they have the ability to do this.

I really hope the winning continues!

Wow! What a gift this line was! I hope some of you cashed it with me!

[nthomas619]

definitely the under

[dimon]

anuthing interesting for today? haven't watched Euroleague this year at all

[Vreston]

anuthing interesting for today? haven't watched Euroleague this year at all

The pick I posted earlier was for today.
Not much else happening today. I have one that's already started, but I squeezed it in during breaks at work so I didn't have the chance to post it.

[chevy6]

What is your twitter????? nevermind...found it lol googlee

[tullamore21]

i am rolling with Maccabi ML and Maccabi -3,5 today at the final
Maccabi is the dog, but i think they will take this.

ML is +120 and -3,5 pays +210 @ BET365

[Vreston]

i am rolling with Maccabi ML and Maccabi -3,5 today at the final
Maccabi is the dog, but i think they will take this.

ML is +120 and -3,5 pays +210 @ BET365

I think you've made a mistake on the lines.

The lines at bet365 are:
Panathinaikos -3.5 @ 1.90 - ML 1.55
Maccabi +3.5 @ 1.90 - ML 2.40

It's been that way since this morning. Maccabi is getting points.

[vasilli07]

Hi, I followed your picks in the semi-finals. What's your pick for the Euroleague finals?

[Vreston]

OK here is my pick for the Euroleague Final:

Euroleague Final

Panathinaikos - Maccabi Electra
Pick: Maccabi +3.5 @ 1.90

This has been probably one of the hardest picks I've had to make in a long time! I've been thinking about this since Friday. Panathinaikos is a VERY experienced team with great players and probably the best coach in Europe. They turned it around against Barcelona, who had a home court advantage, and advanced in epic fashion. On Friday in their Final 4 game against Siena they started slowly but turned it around and won the game by 8 points. Their guard, Dimitris Diamantidis was voted Euroleague MVP and they have two players in the the top 5. They will be going for their 6th Euroleague title since the Euroleague was formed.

Maccabi on the other hand is a young and powerful team. During the season they were very dominant especially in home games and are rightfully in the final. I was very impressed by their performance on Friday in their final 4 game where they were close at the half with Real Madrid, but literally demolished them in the second half to win by 19! They have great player in the paint called Sofoklis Schortsianitis also known as "Big Sofo". He is a power to be reckoned with.
Their performance on Friday finally led me to choosing them at +3.5.

What I want is for Panathinaikos to win. But the best thing for me would be for them to win by 1, 2 or even 3 points so I can be doubly happy!

Game starts in 15 minutes. Sorry, but I couldn't get online earlier.

[vasilli07]

I also use bet365 as my bookmaker. Do you also bet on other basketball matches there?

[Vreston]

Bet365 is the main book I use. If I ever use any other book (which I rarely do) then I say it specifically.

I think they are the best book in Europe. Well them and Pinnacle of course. None of the other major books have so many live (in-play) games as they do and they don't have basic things like the ability to buy points, etc. like they do.

[Vreston]

OK here is my pick for the Euroleague Final:

Euroleague Final

Panathinaikos - Maccabi Electra
Pick: Maccabi +3.5 @ 1.90 - Loss (78-70)
This has been probably one of the hardest picks I've had to make in a long time! I've been thinking about this since Friday. Panathinaikos is a VERY experienced team with great players and probably the best coach in Europe. They turned it around against Barcelona, who had a home court advantage, and advanced in epic fashion. On Friday in their Final 4 game against Siena they started slowly but turned it around and won the game by 8 points. Their guard, Dimitris Diamantidis was voted Euroleague MVP and they have two players in the the top 5. They will be going for their 6th Euroleague title since the Euroleague was formed.

Maccabi on the other hand is a young and powerful team. During the season they were very dominant especially in home games and are rightfully in the final. I was very impressed by their performance on Friday in their final 4 game where they were close at the half with Real Madrid, but literally demolished them in the second half to win by 19! They have great player in the paint called Sofoklis Schortsianitis also known as "Big Sofo". He is a power to be reckoned with.
Their performance on Friday finally led me to choosing them at +3.5.

What I want is for Panathinaikos to win. But the best thing for me would be for them to win by 1, 2 or even 3 points so I can be doubly happy!

Game starts in 15 minutes. Sorry, but I couldn't get online earlier.

Congratulations to Panathinaikos for winning their 6th Euroleague trophy. They deserve it. They are they best basketball team in Europe by far in my opinion. I'm not a Panathinaikos fan, but they are the best and I have to recognize that.

Anyway, Maccabi completely choked in the second half. In the 4th quarter they couldn't make layups or free throws! In the final minutes they fouled a lot and the Pana players missed some free throws giving them the chance to get closer. With under 10 seconds left they had the ball and the score was 76-70 and with 4 seconds left they put up an off balance 3 point shot that would've made the score 76-73. Panathinaikos would've let the clock run down for sure and I would have been one happy man! But instead Panathinaikos got the rebound, Maccabi fouled and that led to the final 78-70.

It's been a great Euroleague season. Hopefully next year we can make some money together in Euroleague again.
In the meantime there are still some European basketball games to be played with playoffs in a lot of the leagues. If there is anything I like, then I'll try and post.

[Vreston]

Hi everybody. Unfortunately I wasn't able to post my plays mid week. I'm back though for some games this weekend. Hopefully I can keep the winners coming.

Greece Cup Final

Olympiakos - Panathinaikos
Pick: Panathinaikos -3 @ 1.90

This is an all time classic. Panathinaikos is now European Champion and they are battling their arch rivals in the Greek cup final. All games between these two teams are tough to pick, but I'll take Panathinaikos with all their momentum and desire to add another Cup to a great year. They also lost to Olympiakos twice this year and this is another reason they should try extra hard to win this game.

German Bundesliga Playoffs Quarterfinals Game 5

Artland Dragons - Braunschweig
Pick: Artland -6.5 @ 1.90

Artland should have finished this series off in my opinion already. They won the first game by 29 points and then went and lost twice coming back in a few days ago and won on Braunschweig's court. They have what it takes to win and cover. Of course this is a crazy league in my opinion an even though I was thinking of not making this play I went ahead and did.

Spain ACB

Caja Laboral - Lagun Aro GBC
Pick: Caja Laboral -14.5 @ 1.90

Caja hopes that Valencia will lose to Manresa which is quite unlikely but it's not bad to hope! Lagun is visiting Caja but they have nothing to play for. Caja does. They added 2 good players to their roster for the playoffs and they can make the difference and give some tired players some time to rest. They added Dragisevic and Milt Palacio. I know Palacio from his stay at the Greek team Kavala. He is a really good scorer. I'm going with Caja to win and cover. They have incentive and they should take care of this team.

Menorca - Real Madrid
Pick: Real Madrid -7 @ 1.90

Menorca is finished. They are being relegated. Real is finishing in second place for sure. They have played a lot of games lately and they will obviously be tired but I think they will win and cover to satisfy their fans. Remember they were eliminated by Maccabi in the Euroleague final 4 by 19 points and lost in the small final to Siena as well.

[Vreston]

Hi everybody. Unfortunately I wasn't able to post my plays mid week. I'm back though for some games this weekend. Hopefully I can keep the winners coming.

Greece Cup Final

Olympiakos - Panathinaikos
Pick: Panathinaikos -3 @ 1.90 - Loss (68-74)

This is an all time classic. Panathinaikos is now European Champion and they are battling their arch rivals in the Greek cup final. All games between these two teams are tough to pick, but I'll take Panathinaikos with all their momentum and desire to add another Cup to a great year. They also lost to Olympiakos twice this year and this is another reason they should try extra hard to win this game.

German Bundesliga Playoffs Quarterfinals Game 5

Artland Dragons - Braunschweig
Pick: Artland -6.5 @ 1.90 - Won (99-69)

Artland should have finished this series off in my opinion already. They won the first game by 29 points and then went and lost twice coming back in a few days ago and won on Braunschweig's court. They have what it takes to win and cover. Of course this is a crazy league in my opinion an even though I was thinking of not making this play I went ahead and did.

Spain ACB

Caja Laboral - Lagun Aro GBC
Pick: Caja Laboral -14.5 @ 1.90 - Loss (79-70)

Caja hopes that Valencia will lose to Manresa which is quite unlikely but it's not bad to hope! Lagun is visiting Caja but they have nothing to play for. Caja does. They added 2 good players to their roster for the playoffs and they can make the difference and give some tired players some time to rest. They added Dragisevic and Milt Palacio. I know Palacio from his stay at the Greek team Kavala. He is a really good scorer. I'm going with Caja to win and cover. They have incentive and they should take care of this team.

Menorca - Real Madrid
Pick: Real Madrid -7 @ 1.90 - Won (76-91)

Menorca is finished. They are being relegated. Real is finishing in second place for sure. They have played a lot of games lately and they will obviously be tired but I think they will win and cover to satisfy their fans. Remember they were eliminated by Maccabi in the Euroleague final 4 by 19 points and lost in the small final to Siena as well.

Sorry for not posting the results on these games earlier. I've been pretty busy and I forgot to post the results.

[Vreston]

There are some European playoff games today and I have the free time to post some plays finally.

Here we go:

French Pro A
Quarter Finals Game 3

Chalon - Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne
Pick: Chalon -2.5 @ 1.90

Villeurbanne lost their starting center Mensa who suffered a serious leg injury. Since going to Villeurbanne he helped the team very much scoring an average of 16.9 ppg and taking down 10 rebounds. I think his absence will cost the team seriously and so I'm going with Chalon to cover.

Nancy - Hyeres Toulon
Pick: Under 155.5 @ 1.90

In 4 of its last 5 games Nancy did not go over 148 points except in their last game against Toulon which went way over ending at 178. Six games ago Nancy played Toulon again (not in the playoffs) and that game ended at 155. I think that last game inflated the total and I will go with the under 155.5 here. I think Nancy will dictate the pace and keep things under control. I wanted to go with Nancy -8 but I saw that it was -9 and I backed off the spread.


Italy Lega 1 Quarterfinals

Canadian Solar Bologna - Montepaschi Siena
Pick: Siena -9.5 @ 1.90

In my opinion Siena will take care of business tonight. Bologna won their game now it's time for them to get out of the way. -9.5 seems to be a spread that's been hard to cover lately, but Siena was not playing hard at the end of the season plus it had to deal with some fatigue after the Euroleague final four. This team finished a whole 22 points over Bologna at the end of the regular season. I think they will get the job done.

[Vreston]

There are some European playoff games today and I have the free time to post some plays finally.

Here we go:

French Pro A
Quarter Finals Game 3

Chalon - Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne
Pick: Chalon -2.5 @ 1.90 - Loss (80-94)

Villeurbanne lost their starting center Mensa who suffered a serious leg injury. Since going to Villeurbanne he helped the team very much scoring an average of 16.9 ppg and taking down 10 rebounds. I think his absence will cost the team seriously and so I'm going with Chalon to cover.

Nancy - Hyeres Toulon
Pick: Under 155.5 @ 1.90 - Loss (96-71)

In 4 of its last 5 games Nancy did not go over 148 points except in their last game against Toulon which went way over ending at 178. Six games ago Nancy played Toulon again (not in the playoffs) and that game ended at 155. I think that last game inflated the total and I will go with the under 155.5 here. I think Nancy will dictate the pace and keep things under control. I wanted to go with Nancy -8 but I saw that it was -9 and I backed off the spread.


Italy Lega 1 Quarterfinals

Canadian Solar Bologna - Montepaschi Siena
Pick: Siena -9.5 @ 1.90 - Won (62-81)

In my opinion Siena will take care of business tonight. Bologna won their game now it's time for them to get out of the way. -9.5 seems to be a spread that's been hard to cover lately, but Siena was not playing hard at the end of the season plus it had to deal with some fatigue after the Euroleague final four. This team finished a whole 22 points over Bologna at the end of the regular season. I think they will get the job done.

1-2 day yesterday. Chalon started out well, but crumbled in the second half. Also it turns out I should have taken Nancy on the spread instead of the under like I mentioned above. Oh well...
Siena came through in a big way though and saved the day.

[alamo]

Interesting thread. I watch some of these games. Good luck and will be reading your stuff.

[Vreston]

Thanks a lot!
Too bad things are winding down for this year.

[Vreston]

Here's some picks on the fly because, as usual, I have to work.

Spanish ACB: Semi Finals Game 1
Real Madrid - Bilbao
Pick: Bilbao +8.5 @ 1.90


Real Madrid - Bilbao
Pick: under 148 @ 1.83


French Pro A: Semi Finals Game 1
Cholet - Gravelines
Pick: Under 146 @ 1.83


Like I said, I didn't have much time to cap so I hope things turn out for the best! Got to run.

[alamo]

nice job

[Vreston]

Here's some picks on the fly because, as usual, I have to work.

Spanish ACB: Semi Finals Game 1
Real Madrid - Bilbao
Pick: Bilbao +8.5 @ 1.90 - Loss (78-67)


Real Madrid - Bilbao
Pick: under 148 @ 1.83 - Won (78-67)


French Pro A: Semi Finals Game 1
Cholet - Gravelines
Pick: Under 146 @ 1.83 - Won (77-62)


Like I said, I didn't have much time to cap so I hope things turn out for the best! Got to run.

Not bad since I made my picks in a hurry. Made up for the mediocre day on Thursday. Caught a bad beat on Bilbao +8.5. Could've gone my way, but I'm not complaining. They've been good to me this year.

[Vreston]

nice job

Thanks!

[Vreston]

There are some plays I like for today. I would've posted earlier, but I was out BBQing!

So here we are:

Basketball - German Bundesliga Semi Finals Game 4
Alba Berlin - Deutsche Bank Skyliners
Pick: Deutsche Bank Skyliners +8.5 @ 1.90

I think the Skyliners (Frankfurt) are a tough team. Their games have been close except for the last one where Alba trashed them. I'm counting on them to come back today and play a better game and at least cover.

Spanish ACB: Semi Finals Game 2
Real Madrid-Bilbao
Pick: Under 148 @ 1.83

I got paid a few days ago on this same pick and I'm not messing with a successful recipe. Real is usually an under team and they're playing in the playoffs so they should be careful and play a good defense. Bilbao is also a good defensive team and I'm hoping this one will stay under.

[alamo]

Cash the winners ! Great calls dude. I was on the Madrid under with you here. Totally agree with your breakdown esp after watchin game 1 !

[Vreston]

Cash the winners ! Great calls dude. I was on the Madrid under with you here. Totally agree with your breakdown esp after watchin game 1 !

Thanks a lot! It's good to know that someone made some money from my plays!
The playoffs have been really hard to call this year. Whether it's NBA or European Basketball. Teams have been playing hard.

Which game did you watch? The Real-Bilbao game?

[Vreston]

There are some plays I like for today. I would've posted earlier, but I was out BBQing!

So here we are:

Basketball - German Bundesliga Semi Finals Game 4
Alba Berlin - Deutsche Bank Skyliners
Pick: Deutsche Bank Skyliners +8.5 @ 1.90 - Won (74-83)

I think the Skyliners (Frankfurt) are a tough team. Their games have been close except for the last one where Alba trashed them. I'm counting on them to come back today and play a better game and at least cover.

Spanish ACB: Semi Finals Game 2
Real Madrid-Bilbao
Pick: Under 148 @ 1.83 - Won (66-71)

I got paid a few days ago on this same pick and I'm not messing with a successful recipe. Real is usually an under team and they're playing in the playoffs so they should be careful and play a good defense. Bilbao is also a good defensive team and I'm hoping this one will stay under.

Nice day again today going 2-0 in my basketball picks. Frankfurt (Skyliners) won outright as a +8.5 point underdog and I didn't have to really sweat out the under in the Real-Bilbao game since it was under by 11. Too bad Bilbao didn't cover last game when I had them to. I was thinking about taking them again today at +9.5 and I decided to go with the under instead. Still a win is a win.
It's been a great couple of days. 2 soccer wins yesterday and 1 today (I tweeted that one, but didn't have time to post it in my soccer thread) and the 2 basketball games.
Goodnight everyone!

[alamo]

Thanks a lot! It's good to know that someone made some money from my plays! The playoffs have been really hard to call this year. Whether it's NBA or European Basketball. Teams have been playing hard. Which game did you watch? The Real-Bilbao game?

Yup watched Real/Bilbao game. Under always looked like money but those last few seconds were scary. A Three at the death wouldve meant OT and a bad beat. Thkfully justice was served! Look forward to seeing your next plays

[Vreston]

Yeah, overtime is something you can't take into consideration when making a play.
Do you live in Spain? Where did you watch the game?

[petermans23]

Hi Vreston,

What is your results so far since you started this thread? I mean how many units plus or minus? I didn´t find that anywere. You know like sweetjones55 keep a record of his plays and the results.

Would appriciate if you could inform all of us visiting this thread with a write up record so far since the start of this thread.

Thanks.

[Vreston]

I haven't checked my win-loss record yet. I thought I'd do it at the end of the European Basketball seasons in the different leagues so it could be final. So far I think it's been pretty good.
Also I've never posted units next to my plays. Mainly because I don't want to affect people in a negative way. Lets say someone feels like following one of my plays and I put more units than the usual next to it and it doesn't win. Then that person will have lost more money than he would have if he hadn't followed my units. I wouldn't want that to happen. So what matters is that hopefully I have more wins than losses at the end of this season.
Also if I post a play, then I like it pretty much the same as all the others I've posted. Of course there are times when I go heavier on a play. I wish those heavy ones would all hit!

[petermans23]

Ok Vreston,

Thanks for your replay and good luck!

[Vreston]

Sending from phone. Going a little risky.

Spain
Bilbao-Real Madrid
Pick: Bilbao +2.5 @ 1.90

[Vreston]

Sending from phone. Going a little risky.

Spain
Bilbao-Real Madrid
Pick: Bilbao +2.5 @ 1.90 - Won (68-51)

Sorry for the last minute post, but I was out and didn't have internet access. I found a spot and sent from my phone. Too bad I didn't have time today. It would have been an even better day. One win is all I need though!
Bilbao made easy work of Real Madrid tonight. I believed in this team from the start, as I have made a play on them from the first game of this series. On Saturday I had them to cover ats but they didn't. Then they won outright twice in a row and the series is now 2-1 in their favor. They won the last game in Madrid so they gained home court advantage. Also the under hit again easily today even though the linesmaker took the total down 2 points to 145.5.
Bilbao also has a really good coach in Fotis Katsikaris plus a tightly knit team. Everyone is happy at the moment since they have already done much better than was expected of them this year so they are not playing with stress. I heard an interview yesterday from one of their players Mavroeidis. He was asked what the coach has told the players and he answered that he told them not to feel any stress and play for themselves and for the fans. Everyone is already very happy with their performance. The fans, the owner, the coach so just enjoy the game.
It turns out that they are for real. I don't know if Real will or can turn this series around. They might. They have a very "heavy" name and you never know. They seem to be drained though after a long season and the Euroleague Final Four. We'll see.
In Italy Siena beat Benetton Treviso 79-58 and covered, in Germany Brose Baskets beat Artland 83-55 and covered and in France Cholet beat Gravelines 84-80 in Gravelines and covered as well.

[Vreston]

There are some more playoff games in Europe today and I decided to make some picks. Yesterday would've been a great day if I'd posted all the games I was thinking about. I really hope that my plays today hit. The playoffs can be quite unpredictable, but I think these plays have a good chance.

Basketball - French Pro A
Semi Finals Game 2
Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne - Nancy: Pick: Under 166.5 @ 1.90

Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne - Nancy: Pick: Nancy +5 @ 1.90

I took the total here because the last game between these two ended at 202 points. In their last six meetings the highest score between them was 153 points. I think the last game was just one of those things. Thus the line is probably inflated. I don't remember exactly what the line in their last game was though, but I'll take my chances. Also I believe Nancy to be the better team.


German Bundesliga
Semi Finals Game 5
Deutsche Bank Skyliners - Alba Berlin: Pick: Skyliners (Frankfurt) -1.5 @ 1.90

This has been an up and down series. It's tied at 2-2 with both teams losing both games at home. Come on! Frankfurt was given 8.5 points in their last game and won outright by 9. Today I think they will finish this series. Alba of course is a good team with a lot of talent, but I think Frankfurt will cover.

[alamo]

Vreston do you like the under again in the Madrid \ Bilbao game