Nine rounds and it's crystal clear

LONDON (The Friday Eurovision) - Nine rounds into the Euroleague season and it's crystal clear.

Some things never change.

As long as Luis Scola plays for Tau Ceramica, Vitoria will have the luxury of watching one of, if not the best player in the world who is currently not in the NBA.

Another certainty is that no matter what team Pini Gershon coaches, it will win.

And Maccabi Tel Aviv are always tough.

The real applause - everyone, stand up and clap - must go to Neven Spahija, the new man in charge of Maccabi Tel Aviv.

When Spahija coached Croatia at EuroBasket 2005, he had a team capable of winning gold but saw his players cruelly eliminated from medal contention by Spain in the quarter-finals.

It was painful watching.

There was a huge disparity in fouls in favour of Spain, etc.

Spahija did not let that disappointment get the better of him.

He left Euro Roseto in Italy's Lega A and took over ULEB Cup champions Lietuvos Rytas, coaching the Lithuanian team in the Euroleague and then, last summer, moved into the Maccabi hot-seat.

Spahija has been masterful in leading Maccabi to a 6-3 record.

Consider what he's had to overcome.

First of all, Spahija had the pressure of following in the footsteps of the great Gershon. Then, he discovered Maccabi's Euroleague stars Anthony Parker and Maceo Baston were leaving for the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers, respectively, instead of staying in Israel.

War broke out between Israel and Lebanon, and Spahija found out that players did not want to play in Israel due to the conflict.

As if that wasn't enough to overcome, Spahija had the ridiculous situation of coaching Maccabi against six NBA teams when in truth, he'd probably rather spend more time in practice getting to know his personnel.

Fortunately, center Nikola Vujcic, who played for Spahija with Croatia, is a Maccabi veteran who hung around and has enjoyed a prolific campaign so far, averaging 14.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and four assists.

All of his stats add up to a player ranking of 21.44 - tops in the Euroleague. Newcomer Lior Eliyahu, a EuroCup All-Star last season with Galil Elyon, has also played well under Spahija, averaging almost 12 points and 5.6 rebounds.

Spahija even had the distraction of a big internal dispute which almost led to the resignation off Maccabi Tel Aviv's legendary team manager, Moni Fanan. Players, some who look at Moni like a father, cried when he threatened to step down.

Thankfully, Moni stayed on.

Another key for Spahija was that the Maccabi fans immediately recognised some of the problems he was facing.

They felt a sense of urgency with Parker and Baston no longer around and got right behind the team.

As for Tau, they are big factors again because of Scola. He was named Player of the Month for December after leading the Spanish giants (8-1) to top of Group A.

Scola, an Olympic champion with Argentina in 2004, is shooting almost 61% from the field.

With this power forward, you have a player of great strength in the low post that prefers the old fashioned lay-up off the glass to the dunk, a man with a quick first step. If only his coach, Velimir Perasovic, would smile a little more.

When Scola is on the court, it creates openings for team-mates.

While on the subject of Tau, look at their other former Argentinian in the NBA, Andres Nocioni of the Chicago Bulls. In this his third season, Nocioni has had all-star quality with his shooting range and, above all, his toughness. There is not a tougher guy in the NBA.

As for Gershon, he sought a new challenge this year after a remarkable run at Maccabi Tel Aviv where he captured a SuproLeague crown and then back-to-back Euroleague titles (2003-04, 2004-05) before falling to Ettore Messina's CSKA Moscow in 2006. He joined the Reds of Olympiacos and, surprise surprise, they have been winning.

Not surprisingly, Gershon has elevated the game of the Greek giants who are second only to Tau in Group A at 7-2.

One reason Gershon and Olympiacos are so good is that they beat Maccabi to the signature of exciting guard Alex Acker, who's been the revelation of the Euroleague.

His introduction must have gone something like this.

Gershon: "Alex, your first game in the Euroleague is against Tau Ceramica, a team that reached the Final Four the last two years so don't make me look bad for bringing you to Athens."

Alex: "Not a problem, Coach. Just give me the rock."

The former Pepperdine star, whose play some have likened to Gershon's former star Parker, lit up Scola and Tau for 25 points and also pulled down 13 rebounds, and Olympiacos handed the Basques their only Euroleague defeat of the season so far, romping to a 97-78 opening day triumph in Piraeus.

There is a long, very long way to go in this Euroleague season.

CSKA Moscow are the defending champions and will be major players down the stretch with just one defeat so far in Group C.

I’m flying to Treviso on January 10 to watch CSKA and Theo Papaloukas take on his Greek buddy,  Nikos Zisis, of Benetton. I hear Erazem Lorbek may be on his way back to Italy for the rest of the season to play for Benetton. That will be quite an addition for David Blatt if true. I'll then go to Rome the following day to watch Panathinaikos take on Lottomatica Roma.

We've hardly discussed that Panathinaikos are, arguably, the team to beat. The word that springs to mind is awesome.

Zeljko Obradovic's men are 9-0 at the top of Group B and looking hell-bent on reaching the Euroleague Final Four in Athens. We'll look at them in the weeks ahead.

Until next time ... Happy New Year.

By Jeff Taylor Exclusively for FIBA