Five great reasons to bet on the 2013/14 EuroLeague

Five great reasons to bet on the 2013/14 EuroLeague

By Michael Gales Oct 9, 2013

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With past and future NBA stars, an exciting format and unbeatable odds at Pinnacle Sports, it wasn’t difficult to find these five great reasons why every basketball bettor should bet on the 2013/14 EuroLeague.

Exciting format & familiar names

The EuroLeague is a fast paced, exciting basketball tournament which sees the best teams across Europe compete for the ultimate international prize: the EuroLeague Championship. Think of it as the basketball equivalent of Champions League soccer, with many of the same names competing like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos & Bayern Munich who debut this season.

The EuroLeague is made up of 24 teams, divided into four groups of six – 22 clubs gain automatic places via the licensing system (combining domestic performance, tv revenue and home attendances) plus two teams from a qualifying competition.

The culmination of the regular season sees 16 teams – the top four teams in each group – progress to the Top 16 knockout. This stage sees the 16 teams, drawn into eight-team groups, with the top four of each group qualifying for the quarterfinals – a best-of-five series.

The remaining teams then compete in the drama of the Final Four, with two semi-final and the Championship game played over three days at the same venue, guaranteeing a unique atmosphere.

Much like the Champions League in soccer, this is a grueling competition as teams juggle domestic commitments with the drive to win the EuroLeague Championship.

A positive to the grueling schedule is that there is rarely a dead game. Teams are either vying for seeding, or showing they are worth a spot next year, which is perhaps the biggest difference with the NBA.

NBA players of the past & future

The EuroLeague is increasingly becoming a stepping-stone to the NBA, while an influx of past NBA stars are moving in the opposite direction as the standard continues to increase. This gives an advantage to those bettors with a good knowledge of the NBA, while studying EuroLeague will then lend itself for betting action on the other side of the Atlantic.

NBA stars of the past include – Botjan Nachbar (FC Barcelona), Sasha Vujacic (Anadolu Efes) and Marcus Williams (Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar). The latest of the NBA stars of the future to originate in EuroLeague is Pero Antic who after winning back-to-back EuroLeague titles with Olympiacos now moves to the Atlanta Hawks for the coming season.

In addition to NBA stars, the Euroleague is full of players who have competed at the recent Eurobasket. French coach – Vincent Collet – and two players Antoine Diot and Alexis Ajina are signed to Strasbourg IG – France were crowned the Eurobasket champions.

It’s not just players, either – coaches also switch between the NBA and the EuroLeague as they implement different styles and philosophies across the pond. CSKA Moscow head coach Ettore Messina was previously part of the LA Lakers staff and was rumoured to be on the verge of becoming the first European born coach to get a top job in the NBA when the Atlanta Hawks spoke to him in May 2013.

Watching the EuroLeague is therefore a great way of gaining an insight into the future of the NBA, giving a bettor an opportunity to gain an edge in the future.

Powerful dynasties not guaranteed success

The NBA is based around the salary cap, which creates parity between franchises, however the EuroLeague has no such restrictions.

With no constraints, the powerhouses of the EuroLeague – Panathinaikos, Olympiacos and CSKA Moscow – are capable of spending huge sums of money, while smaller, less fashionable teams in Germany, France, Slovenia and Croatia have smaller budgets.

What does this mean for bettors? A handful of teams have dominated EuroLeague over its 57 Championships but as in all sports dynasties rise and fall. Real Madrid have a record 8 titles but their last was in 1995. Olympiacos Piraeus are two-time reigning champions but are only sixth favourites at Pinnacle Sports to land a hat-trick.

Given that EuroLeague runs in parallel to domestic seasons, this creates a significant pressure on competitors, which inevitably leads to lapses in form and upsets.

EuroLeague margins & limits best in the business

Pinnacle Sports are renowned in the betting industry as the market leaders for offering the best odds and smallest margins on mainline sports and it’s no different for the EuroLeague.

EuroLeague margins on all lines are set at a world-beating 2.44%. Click here to see why we offer the best basketball odds.

EuroLeague limits are set at $5,000 on the Asian handicap and $3,000 for 1×2 and Totals enough to accommodate even the most serious bettors. In addition to this, Pinnacle Sports is offering 1st half and 1st quarter odds on all games. To add even more interest we will post a number of props for each game, covering how many points some of the key starters will score. Look out for those nearer game time.

Immerse yourself in the live action

The EuroLeague is renowned for its fast pace, raucous crowds and electric atmosphere. You won’t miss out on the action, as the season is broadcast live on television in 199 countries.

To accompany this Pinnacle Sports are offering live betting for all EuroLeague games this season, with margins of just 3.84%.

Nothing showcases this more than the EuroLeague Final Four. The spectacle sees four teams compete in six games over three days to determine the EuroLeague winner. This season the Final Four will be held at the 13,000 capacity Mediolanum Forum in the historic basketball capital of Milan in Italy.

There is a long road to the Final Four in Milan, with the potential for 255 exciting EuroLeague games to look forward to before the final, and plenty of great reasons to bet all the action at Pinnacle Sports.

Click here to see the latest EuroLeague odds.

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