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Euroleague Basketball and The National Basketball Association (NBA) have announced that two Euroleague teams will compete in four preseason games from October 3 to 12, 2009 in the United States. The four games, which are part of the Euroleague American Tour 2009, will be played by Olympiacos Piraeus of Greece and Partizan Belgrade of Serbia. The two Euroleague teams will face four NBA opponents: the Denver Nuggets, the Phoenix Suns, the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers.





"We are very proud about this kind of initiative, which is very attractive for our clubs and fans, confirms the globalization of basketball and reinforces the healthy relationship between Euroleague Basketball and the NBA," Euroleague Basketball CEO Jordi Bertomeu stated.

"These games continue our collaboration with Euroleague Basketball as we work together to grow the game of basketball globally," said David Stern, NBA Commissioner.

The Euroleague American Tour 2009 continues a tradition of friendly competition between NBA and Euroleague teams that dates back to 1978, when Maccabi Tel Aviv played the Washington Bullets in Tel Aviv, Israel. A total of 57 games have been played between European and NBA clubs.

The Euroleague American Tour 2009 will tip off on Saturday, October 3 in Denver, Colorado, where Partizan Belgrade makes its North American debut against the Nuggets. Partizan's second preseason game will take place in Phoenix, Arizona, against the Suns on Tuesday, October 6.

Olympiacos Piraeus will play two games in the United States. First, the 2008-09 Euroleague semifinalists will face the four-time NBA champion Spurs (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007) in San Antonio, Texas on Friday, October 9. Three days later, on Monday, October 12, Olympiacos will make the last stop in the Euroleague American Tour 2009 with a showdown in Cleveland against the Cavaliers.

Another Euroleague team appearing next autumn in the United States is Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, which is scheduled to play the New York Knicks on Sunday, October 18 in New York, and the Los Angeles Clippers two nights later, on Tuesday, October 20, in Los Angeles.

Two NBA teams -- the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz - will participate in NBA Europe Live 2009 presented by EA Sports. The Jazz will play the Bulls on Oct. 6 at the O2 in London, followed by the Jazz versus Real Madrid of the Euroleague on Oct. 8 at the Palacio de Deportes in Madrid.


I think its very good for european clubs to promote them selfs in USA.

Not sure about Partizan, but Olympiacos should provide the NBA teams with good competition. Bet both teams win at least one game.

I bet Sacramento plays in Maccabi next season because of Omri Casspi.

Preseason or not, OLY definitely wants to win at least one of these games vs. the Cavs and Spurs. I want to see Sofo eat LeBron.

Olympiacos will get destroyed in both games, they will play with NBA rules against championship contenders in their own home court. Now, if those were to happen in Europe, under international rules, it would have been much more interesting.

AdamTheGreek wrote: I want to see Sofo eat Shaq.

More like this, we will finally see this matchup happen.

Apollo64 wrote:Olympiacos will get destroyed in both games, they will play with NBA rules against championship contenders in their own home court. Now, if those were to happen in Europe, under international rules, it would have been much more interesting.

At Staples Center Barcelona almost win Lakers last year, so everything is possible

http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/081018_g ... elona.html

Apollo64 wrote:Olympiacos will get destroyed in both games, they will play with NBA rules against championship contenders in their own home court. Now, if those were to happen in Europe, under international rules, it would have been much more interesting.

They can still win with NBA rules.

PopularByDemand wrote:

Apollo64 wrote:Olympiacos will get destroyed in both games, they will play with NBA rules against championship contenders in their own home court. Now, if those were to happen in Europe, under international rules, it would have been much more interesting.

They can still win with NBA rules.

Panathinaikos played the Spurs and Rockets two years ago in the US, they were in hell trying to cope with the different rules and officiating there and lost with a wide margin. Olympiacos may fare better, because they actually have players with NBA experience like Childress, Kleiza and Wafer, but i don't think they would be good enough for a win there.

It's really matter of getting use to the rules and how NBA teams play.

And based on who Olympiacos is playing, I think they can definitely beat Phoenix and even Denver.

PopularByDemand wrote:It's really matter of getting use to the rules and how NBA teams play.

And based on who Olympiacos is playing, I think they can definitely beat Phoenix and even Denver.

I thought they were playing the Spurs and the Cavs?