EuroCup Basketball

Summary

EuroCup Basketball, commonly known as the EuroCup and currently called BKT EuroCup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual professional basketball club competition organized by Euroleague Basketball. The league is regarded as Euroleague Basketball's second-tier professional basketball club tournament.

BKT EuroCup
Founded7 July 2002; 21 years ago (2002-07-07)[1]
First season2002–03
RegionEurope
Number of teams20
Promotion toEuroLeague
Current championsSpain Gran Canaria (1st title)
(2022–23)
Most championshipsSpain Valencia (4 titles)
TV partnersList of broadcasters
Websitewww.euroleaguebasketball.net/eurocup/
2023–24 EuroCup Basketball

Founded as ULEB Cup in 2002, the competition lasted until 2008 when a new competition was introduced after an agreement between ULEB and FIBA under the name of EuroCup for the 2008–09 season, following a change in format.[2] Given that the FIBA EuroChallenge was known as EuroCup until 2008, a new era of stronger cooperation between ULEB and FIBA Europe was set in 2008. The number of the new competition was increased to a total of 48 and the winner of the 3d tier FIBA EuroCup Challenge, formerly known as EuroCup would get an automatic qualification for the tournament's following season, for first time.

Though initially advertised as a new competition, the ULEB Cup and EuroCup Basketball are now considered the same competition, with the change of name being simply a re-branding.

Since the 2021–22 season both EuroCup finalists qualify for next season's EuroLeague. Until then only the winner was entitled to the one year licence.

The title has been won by 14 clubs, 3 of which have won the title more than once. The most successful club in the competition are Valencia Basket, with four titles. The current champions are Gran Canaria, winning their first title after defeating Turk Telekom in the 2023 Finals.

History edit

The competition was created in 2002, as the ULEB Cup, and has had several names:

Sponsorship names edit

On 7 July 2016, Chipita and Euroleague Basketball announced a strategic agreement to sponsor the European competition across the globe. According to the agreement, starting with the 2016–17 season, the competition would be named 7DAYS EuroCup. This title partnership was set to run for three seasons.[3]

Logos edit

Evolution of the EuroCup logo
2002–2008 2008–2016 2016–2023 2023-present
     

Qualification edit

Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their domestic leagues competitions. For this purpose, the clubs from countries participating in the ABA League qualify for the competition based on their performance in the ABA League, and not their domestic leagues.

Format edit

Starting with the 2016–17 season, the EuroCup's first phase is the Regular Season, in which 20 teams participate. The participants include 20 clubs automatically entered into the Regular Season. Each team plays two games (home-and-away) against every other team in its group. At the end of the Regular Season, the field is cut from 20 to 16. The next phase, known as the Top 16, then begins, featuring the 16 survivors of the Regular Season in four-team groups. As in the Regular Season, each Top 16 group is contest in a double round-robin format. The group winners and runners-up advance to the third phase, the Playoffs. Each playoff series is best-of-three, and the winners of each series advance to the next round persistently until the Finals. Home advantage in the series goes to the best placed team in the Top 16. The Finals features the two remaining series winners in a best-of-three series with home advantage in the series to the best placed team in the Top 16.

Previous EuroCup formats edit

Historically, the competition began with a group phase in which the starting field was reduced to 16 teams. The survivors then advanced to a knockout phase. In the inaugural 2002–03 season, the knockout phase consisted entirely of two-legged ties. In the following 2003–04 season, the final became a one-off game, but all other knockout ties remained two-legged.

In the 2007–08 season, the initial phase, now called the Regular Season, was only used to reduce the field to 32 teams. The survivors were paired into two-legged knockout ties, with the winners advancing to another set of two-legged ties. The survivors then entered the first-ever Final Eight phase in the competition's history, consisting of one-off knockout games.

The following 2008–09 season, was the first in which preliminary rounds were conducted. That year saw two preliminary rounds held, the first involving 16 teams, and the second involving the eight winners, plus eight teams that had received byes into that round. The survivors of the second preliminary round joined 24 direct qualifiers in the Regular Season. This season also saw the introduction of the Last 16 group phase, and proved to be the last for the Final Eight.

The last stage of the EuroCup, the EuroCup Finals, was reduced from eight teams to four, starting with the 2009–10 season. This stage was directly analogous to the EuroLeague Final Four, and like that stage of the EuroLeague, consisted of one-off knockout semifinals, followed by a single-game final. Unlike the EuroLeague Final Four, in which the third-place game and final are held two days after the semifinals, the corresponding games of the EuroCup were held the day after the semifinals.

In the 2012–13 season, the final was decided by a single game format, after double-legged semifinals and quarterfinals. For the 2013–14 season, the competition increased from 32 to 48 teams in the Regular Season phase. Another innovation that started in the 2013–14 season, was that the clubs were divided into two regional conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference, for the Regular Season phase.[4] The size of the groups grew to six teams, where the first three qualified teams joined the Last 32 stage. In addition, the eight EuroLeague clubs that did not qualify for the EuroLeague Top 16 phase, joined the remaining 24 EuroCup teams and the Finals were decided by a double-legged series.

For the 2014–15 season, the competition contained 36 teams at the group stage. There were 6 groups, each containing 6 teams. The 36 teams consisted of the 7 teams that were eliminated in the 2014–15 Euroleague season qualification rounds, and 29 teams that qualified directly to the 2014–15 EuroCup, either through 2013–14 season results, or through wild cards. The top four teams from each of the Regular Season groups with the eight EuroLeague clubs that did not qualify for the EuroLeague Top 16 phase qualified to join the Last 32 stage. For the 2015–16 season, the competition contained 36 clubs automatically entered into the Regular Season and the eight EuroLeague clubs that did not qualify for the EuroLeague Top 16 phase qualified to join the Last 32 stage.

European professional basketball club rankings edit

Arena standards edit

Effective as of the 2012–13 season, all EuroCup clubs must host their home games in arenas that have a regular seating capacity of at least 2,500 (all seated), and an additional minimum capacity of 200 VIP seats available.[5] By comparison, EuroLeague licensed clubs host their home games in arenas that seat at least 10,000 people, while EuroLeague associated clubs must have arenas that seat 5,000.

Results edit

Year Final Semifinalists
Champion Score Second place Third place Score Fourth place
2002–03
Details
 
Pamesa Valencia
168–154
(78–90 / 78–76)
 
Krka
  Adecco Estudiantes and   DKV Joventut
2003–04
Details
 
Hapoel Jerusalem
83–72  
Real Madrid
  Adecco Estudiantes and   Reflex FMP
2004–05
Details
 
Lietuvos rytas
78–74  
Makedonikos
  Hemofarm and   Pamesa Valencia
2005–06
Details
 
Dynamo Moscow
73–60  
Aris TT Bank
  Hemofarm and   Hapoel Jerusalem
2006–07
Details
 
Real Madrid
87–75  
Lietuvos rytas
  FMP and   UNICS
2007–08
Details
 
DKV Joventut
79–54  
Akasvayu Girona
 
Dynamo Moscow
84–67  
Galatasaray Café Crown
2008–09
Details
 
Lietuvos rytas
80–74  
Khimki
  Hemofarm and   iurbentia Bilbao Basket
2009–10
Details
 
Power Electronics Valencia
67–44  
Alba Berlin
 
Bizkaia Bilbao Basket
76–67  
Panellinios
2010–11
Details
 
UNICS
92–77  
Cajasol
 
Cedevita
59–57  
Benetton Bwin
2011–12
Details
 
Khimki
77–68  
Valencia Basket
 
Lietuvos rytas
71–62  
Spartak Saint Petersburg
2012–13
Details
 
Lokomotiv Kuban
75–64  
Uxúe Bilbao Basket
  Budivelnyk and   Valencia Basket
2013–14
Details
 
Valencia Basket
165–140
(80–67 / 73–85)
 
UNICS
  Crvena zvezda Telekom and   Nizhny Novgorod
2014–15
Details
 
Khimki
174–130
(66–91 / 83–64)
 
Herbalife Gran Canaria
  Banvit and   UNICS
2015–16
Details
 
Galatasaray Odeabank
140–133
(66–62 / 78–67)
 
Strasbourg
  Dolomiti Energia Trento and   Herbalife Gran Canaria
2016–17
Details
 
Unicaja
2–1
(68–62 / 79–71 / 58–63)
 
Valencia Basket
  Hapoel Jerusalem and   Lokomotiv Kuban
2017–18
Details
 
Darüşşafaka
2–0
(78–81 / 67–59)
 
Lokomotiv Kuban
  Bayern Munich and   Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia
2018–19
Details
 
Valencia Basket
2–1
(89–75 / 92–95 / 89–63)
 
Alba Berlin
  MoraBanc Andorra and   UNICS Kazan
2019–20
Details
Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe
2020–21
Details
 
Monaco
2–0
(89–87 / 86–83)
 
UNICS
  Herbalife Gran Canaria and   Virtus Segafredo Bologna
2021–22
Details
 
Virtus Segafredo Bologna
80–67  
Frutti Extra Bursaspor
  MoraBanc Andorra and   Valencia Basket
2022–23
Details
 
Gran Canaria
71–67  
Türk Telekom
  Joventut and   Prometey

Awards edit

After a given EuroCup season, before the finals, annual EuroCup awards are handed out to players and coaches. These awards include:

Performance by club edit

 
Map of countries, teams from which have reached the regular season of the EuroCup Basketball.
  Country that has been represented in the regular season
  Not represented

A total number of 181 clubs from 30 countries have participated in the competition.

Club Winners Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
  Valencia Basket 4 2 2002–03, 2009–10, 2013–14, 2018–19 2011–12, 2016–17
  Rytas 2 1 2004–05, 2008–09 2006–07
  Khimki 2 1 2011–12, 2014–15 2008–09
  UNICS 1 2 2010–11 2013–14, 2020–21
  Real Madrid 1 1 2006–07 2003–04
  Lokomotiv Kuban 1 1 2012–13 2017–18
  Gran Canaria 1 1 2022–23 2014–15
  Hapoel Jerusalem 1 0 2003–04
  Dynamo Moscow 1 0 2005–06
  Joventut 1 0 2007–08
  Galatasaray 1 0 2015–16
  Málaga 1 0 2016–17
  Darüşşafaka 1 0 2017–18
  Monaco 1 0 2020–21
  Virtus Bologna 1 0 2021–22
  Alba Berlin 0 2 2009–10, 2018–19
  Krka 0 1 2002–03
  Makedonikos 0 1 2004–05
  Aris 0 1 2005–06
  Girona 0 1 2007–08
  Real Betis 0 1 2010–11
  Bilbao 0 1 2012–13
  Strasbourg 0 1 2015–16
  Bursapor 0 1 2021–22
  Türk Telekom 0 1 2022–23

Performance by country edit

Rank Nation Champion Finalist
1.   Spain 8
Valencia (4), Real Madrid (1), Joventut (1), Málaga (1), Gran Canaria (1)
7
Valencia (2), Real Madrid (1), Girona (1), Real Betis (1), Bilbao (1), Gran Canaria (1)
2.   Russia 5
Khimki (2), Dynamo Moscow (1), UNICS (1), Lokomotiv Kuban (1)
4
UNICS (2), Khimki (1), Lokomotiv Kuban (1)
3.   Turkey 2
Galatasaray (1), Darüşşafaka (1)
2
Bursaspor (1), Türk Telekom (1)
4.   Lithuania 2
Rytas (2)
1
Rytas (1)
5.   France 1
Monaco (1)
1
Strasbourg (1)
6.   Israel 1
Hapoel Jerusalem (1)
-   Italy 1
Virtus Bologna (1)
8.   Greece 2
Makedonikos (1), Aris (1)
-   Germany 2
Alba Berlin (2)
10.   Slovenia 1
Krka (1)

Statistical leaders and individual high performances edit

All-time leaders edit

Average Totals
Points   Igor Rakočević 19.05   Bojan Dubljević 1,217
Rebounds   Vladimir Golubović 8.39   Vladimir Veremeenko[6] 609
Assists   Omar Cook 6.44   Stefan Marković 491
Steals   Jerry McCullough 2.82   Mire Chatman 167
Blocks   Andre Riddick 1.77   Andre Riddick 147
Index Ratings   Michael Wright 22.14   Mire Chatman 1,472

Highest attendance records edit

Sponsors edit

Title sponsor
Premium partners
Global partners

Source:[8][9][10][11][12][13]

See also edit

Men's competitions
Women's competitions

References and notes edit

  1. ^ "ULEB assembly approves 32-team ULEB Cup". Euroleague. 8 July 2002. Archived from the original on 2 August 2002. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  2. ^ "ULEB, FIBA Europe announce new competitions names, formats". EuroCup Basketball. 2 July 2008. Archived from the original on 29 December 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  3. ^ "Introducing the 7DAYS EuroCup!". EuroCup Basketball. 7 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 July 2016.
  4. ^ Eurocup changes format, expands to 48 teams for 2013-14 season; Eurocupbasketball.com, 14 June 2013
  5. ^ C H A P T E R V I I Arenas. Archived 11 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Veremeenko becomes new Eurocup rebounding king!". EurocupBasketball.com. 13 November 2014. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  7. ^ "Crvena Zvezda sets crowd record at Belgrade Arena!". eurocupbasketball.com. 26 March 2014. Archived from the original on 6 April 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Global – Marketing Partners". Euroleague Basketball. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  9. ^ "Germany – Marketing Partners". Euroleague Basketball. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Russia – Marketing Partners". Euroleague Basketball. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Turkey – Marketing Partners". Euroleague Basketball. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Spain – Marketing Partners". Euroleague Basketball. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  13. ^ "Greece – Marketing Partners". Euroleague Basketball. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.

External links edit

  • EuroCup official website
  • All-time statistics with links to all results