74 is the magic number: Nancy takes French title; Barcelona wins game two; Freak City cruises in Germany

While much of the basketball hype from the ‘States in currently focused on tonight’s scintillating NBA championship game six, BiE today runs a quick jaunt through Europe’s championship action, with video-embedded stops in France, Spain and Germany. Official BallinEurope Fearless Prediction™ at the very bottom. First up, congratulations to new LNB champs SLUC Nancy, who earned a 2011-12 Euroleague bid in nipping Cholet Basket, 76-74, in France’s one-game winner-take-all championship final yesterday. Despite shooting a woeful 26-of-89 overall (that’s just over 29%), Cholet managed to stay in the game by dominating the boards. Randal Falker was good for nine rebounds in the game, while Antywane Robinson, Team France’s Luc-Artur Verbobe and Samuel Mejia each contributed six, as Cholet won this battle 41-28. No matter, though, as ultimately the two shots that mattered came directly at the conclusion of the match. Game MVP and high-scorer John Linehan put in his 14th and 15th points of th...