The European Basketball Championships, or Eurobasket, is set to begin.

Twenty-four European nations will battle over the next 19 days (August 31 – September 18, 2011) in this 37th continental championship.

Follow each game of Eurobasket 2011 in our Eurobasket forum.

Not only are bragging rights at stake, but the top two teams will receive automatic bids to the 2012 Olympics held in London.

The tournament will feature 24 teams – the host nation  (Lithuania), nine teams that qualified through the 2010 World Championshisp (Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey), five teams that qualified through the Eurobasket qualifying round (Belgium, Great Britain, Israel, Macedonia, and Montenegro), seven made the tournament through FIBA’s decision (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Georgia, Italy, Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine), and the final two teams through an Additional Qualifying Round (Finland and Portugal).

The Minnesota Timberwolves are looking at the possibility of bringing Nikola Peković to the NBA next season.

The center of Panathinaikos was drafted 31st overall in 2008 NBA Draft by the Timberwolves.

After two years in Greece and one Euroleague title, 24-year-old Montenegrin is considering the option of playing on the other side of the Atlantic.

The buy-out clause in Pekovic’s contract shouldn’t be an obstacle for the Timberwolves as it is relatively low. The negotiations between the players and the club are already taking place. More developments in this story are to be expected in summer once the season is over, Pekovic’s agent told to sportando.net.

Panathinaikos outlasted Olympiacos 84-82 in the Euroleague’s second semifinal during Final Four held in Berlin, Germany (Discuss the EL Final Four)

A see-saw battle in the fourth period ultimately saw the two Greek clubs go down low to their centers; Ioannis Bourousis of Olympiacos and Nikola Pekovic of Panathinaikos would clash on the inside.

Greek center Bourousis tied the game at 82-82 with a little over a minute to play, but Montenegrin pivot Pekovic would score inside to make the final margin.

In the final seconds, Olympiacos forced the ball inside again, but  Bourousis would missed. Former NBA player Josh Childress got the offensive rebound, but missed the follow-up and the Greens hung on to celebrate their win over the Reds.

Panathinaikos had only six players that scored Friday night, but that’s all the Greens needed.

Four Pana players scored between 18-20 points for the Greek club, led by Nikola Pekovic’s 20 points.  Mike Batiste added 19 with 6 rebounds, while the Pana backcourt of Vassilis Spanoulis and Sarunas Jasikevicius added 18 apiece.

Sarunas Jasikevicius scored eight points in the final quarter for Pana.  Jasikevicius hit four shots from downtown.  Saras also added a team-high five assists.

The Reds were led by Lynn Greer’s 18 points, 14 from Nikola Vujcic, 11 from Childress, Bourousis added 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds.  Greek Olympiacos players Theodoros Papaloukas and Georgios Printzias each added 9 points to the cause.

With the win, Panathinaikos will face Euroleague defending champion CSKA Moscow in Sunday’s title game (Discuss: Who will win the championship?) while Olympiacos will play Regal F.C. Barcelona for the third place game.

The Russian and Greek clubs are two of the most successful in Euroleague history.  CSKA is looking for their seventh Euroleague championship, while a championship would give Panathinaikos their fifth title.  The third place game and finale will be played on Sunday, May 3rd, 2009.

Links and Resources: Euroleague final: Panathinaikos vs CSKA Moscow (Interbasket), Olympiacos and Panathinaikos Boxscore (Euroleague.net), Poll: Who will become 2009 Euroleague Champion? (Interbasket), Euroleague Final 4 in Berlin (Interbasket), Final 4 MVP? (Interbasket)

Depending on where you’re located, either we’re really late to the game or you could be hearing about Nikola Peković for the first time.

Though the 6-10 center from Montenegro (which used to be Serbia & Montengro, which used to be part of Yugoslavia) is only 23 years old,  Peković is no longer considered an up-and-coming player, but a full on star in the Euroleague.

Nikola has already helped Partizan Belgrade to three Serbian League Championships (2006, 2007, 2008), two Adriatic League Championships (2007, 2008), and the Serbian Cup in 2008.  He was the Adriatic League’s Final Four MVP in 2008 and named to the All-Euroleague 2nd Team during the  2007-08 campaign.

He also was honored as  Interbasket’s Under-22 Rising Star in 2007 beating out the likes of Ricky Rubio and Kostas Koufos.   From there, Pekovic signed with Panathinaikos B.C. and was selected 31st overall in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Pekovic’s contract with the Greek team will likely keep the hulking center in Europe until at least 2010 and he shows no real desire to go to the NBA as of yet.

“I don’t think now about NBA.  I really don’t like to speak about it,” Pekovic told BallinEurope in January 2009. “I am very happy in Panathinaikos right now and I don’t think about the NBA.”

Nikola Pekovic got his chance after the departure of veteran frontcourt Partizan players Kosta Perovic (to the NBA) and Predrag Drobnjak (to the ACB). That gave the then 21-year old Pekovic the opportunity to display his skills.

He didn’t waste any time.  Pekovic dropped 29 points on 13-14 shooting in the first game of his breakout season and was named MVP of Euroleague Week One of the 2007-08 season.

Classic Center
Pekovic is schooled in the more classic sense.  He isn’t a jump out of the gym-kind of guy, and he himself recognizes that.  Nikola knows how to get things done around the basket with what he has and what Pekovic has is a wide 6-11, 247lb frame trained to move without the ball, with an affinity for hook shots, mid-range jumpers, putbacks, and dunks – definitely a big reason why Pekovic is always hanging around 65% from the field.

Many of Peković’s points come in the point after strong position.  Pekovic uses his solid base to continually bump his defender for better position or simply pinning a smaller defender with his body.   He creates even more space by turning over his left shoulder for his favorite right-handed shot.  Once the large Montenegrin gets the ball down low and a double-team doesn’t come, he is very tough to stop with the combination of his physical attributes, body separation, soft hands, and a nice touch.

Though Pekovic’s vision is above-average, his passes lack zip and that will certainly be an issue if he wants to continue his career in the NBA without turning over the ball.  He is much like Yao Ming in this manner, a willingness to pass, but his passes lack strength.  Another weakness of Pekovic’s is his ability to create around the basket, relying almost solely on using his bulk and a couple dribbles  to create space.  And despite his size, he doesn’t block many shots.

But being a dominant player in the rough Euroleague at such a young age has certainly opened some eyes.  In his fourth season, his first with Panathinaikos, Pekovic’s stats have regressed some averaging just 12.1 pts and 3.7 rebounds after averaging career highs of 16.4 points and 6.9 rebounds.

Links and Resources:  Interbasket’s 2007 Under-22 Rising Star (Interbasket), Nikola Pekovic: “I don´t think about the NBA now!” (BallinEurope.com), Nikola Pekovic Draft Profile (DraftExpress.com), Nikola Pekovic Euroleague Profile (Euroelague.net)