2008–09 Eurocup Basketball

2008–09 Eurocup Basketball was the seventh edition of Europe's second-tier level transnational competition for men's professional basketball clubs, the EuroCup, and the first to be contested under the Eurocup name.[1] From the inception of the competition in 2002, it had been known as the ULEB Cup. The EuroCup is the European-wide league level that is one tier below the EuroLeague level.

Eurocup 2008–09
LeagueEurocup
SportBasketball
Season MVP Chuck Eidson (Lietuvos rytas)
Top scorer Khalid El-Amin (Azovmash)
Finals
Champions Lietuvos rytas
  Runners-up Khimki
Finals MVP Marijonas Petravičius

During this season, there were 48 teams, from 22 countries. After the preliminary rounds, there were 32 teams left for the regular season, with the 16 eliminated teams being relegated down and parachuting into Europe's third-tier transnational competition, the EuroChallenge. Lithuanian club Lietuvos Rytas of Vilnius, won the tournament and promotion to the top level EuroLeague for the next season.

Teams of the 2008–2009 Eurocup

Format

The competition format was also revamped. A total of 48 clubs participated, down from 54 in the previous year's competition. The competition was jointly organized by Euroleague Basketball Company and FIBA Europe.[1]

First preliminary round

Sixteen teams competed in the first preliminary round, which was organised by FIBA Europe. These teams were paired in two-legged matches, with winners decided on aggregate score. The eight winners advanced to the second preliminary round, and the eight losers parachuted into the third-tier European competition, the EuroChallenge. The matches were played from October 14 through October 21.

Due to a decision of the Italian Basketball Federation to revoke Capo d'Orlando's first division license, followed by an Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) tribunal rejected appeal by the club, Capo d'Orlando lost the right to participate in European competitions.[2] As a result, Benetton Treviso automatically qualified to the group stage, while Benetton Fribourg advanced to the second qualification round where they met Kalise Gran Canaria.[2][3]

Second preliminary round

The second preliminary round, also organised by FIBA Europe, also featured 16 teams, with the eight winners from the first preliminary round joined by eight automatic qualifiers to that phase. As in the first preliminary round, matches were two-legged and decided on aggregate score, with the winners advancing to the Eurocup regular season and the losers parachuting into the EuroChallenge. Matches were played from November 4 to November 11.

Regular season

Thirty-two teams—24 automatic qualifiers and the eight survivors of the second preliminary round—entered the Regular Season. From this point onward, the competition is organised by Euroleague Basketball Company. The teams were divided into eight groups of four teams each, with each group playing a double round-robin schedule. The first and second-place teams in each group advanced to the Last 16. Regular Season matches were held from November 25, 2008 until January 13, 2009.

Last 16

For the first time in the history of the competition, a second group phase was played. The survivors of the Regular Season were divided into four-team groups, each playing a double round-robin schedule. This phase has a direct analogue in the top-tier EuroLeague, which conducts an identical group phase, the Top 16, at the same stage of the competition. As in the EuroLeague Top 16, the first- and second-place teams in each group advance to the next phase. However, unlike the EuroLeague, which conducts a separate quarterfinal round before its Final Four, the Eurocup sent its surviving teams into a single knockout tournament, the Final Eight. Last 16 matches were played from January 27 to March 10, 2009.

Final eight

Like the Euroleague Final Four, this was a knockout tournament, conducted in one-off matches, held at a single site. The semifinal losers played a single match for third place, and the semifinal winners played a single match for the Eurocup title and an automatic place in the 2009-10 Euroleague. This phase was carried over from the prior ULEB Cup format. Matches were played from April 9 through April 12.

This was the last season for the Final Eight format. From 2009–10 onward, a quarterfinal round has been introduced, consisting of two-legged ties between a group winner and the runner-up from a separate group, with the winner of each tie determined on aggregate score. The quarterfinal winners will advance to the Eurocup Finals, with one-off semifinals followed by a one-off final.

Preliminary rounds

Sixteen teams participated in the first preliminary round, and after the first preliminary round matches, sixteen teams played in a second preliminary round, with the top eight teams from the first preliminary round. Teams that were eliminated from the first or second preliminary round games competed in the EuroChallenge 2008-09.

First preliminary round
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Šiauliai 136–167 Galatasaray Café Crown 73–73 63–94
MyGuide Amsterdam 133–143 FMP 66–60 67–83
Energa Czarni Słupsk 126–151 UNICS 76–62 50–89
Allianz Swans Gmunden 146–139 Tartu Ülikool Rock 86–64 60–75
Panellinios 154–124 Telekom Baskets Bonn 69–54 85–70
Triumph Lyubertsy 146–159 Telindus Oostende 78–78 68–81
ASK Riga 142–137 Cholet 69–62 73–75

Second preliminary round
Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Galatasaray Café Crown 147–176 Budućnost 85–83 62–93
FMP 138–118 Ural Great Perm 69–61 69–57
UNICS 161–142 Hapoel Migdal 88–66 73–76
Allianz Swans Gmunden 163–178 Crvena zvezda 82–82 81–96
Panellinios 168–165 Kyiv 96–69 72–96
Le Havre 172–168 Telindus Oostende 84–85 88–83
Benetton Fribourg 125–195 Kalise Gran Canaria 64–92 61–103
ASK Riga 151–134 Cajasol 83–69 68–65

Regular season
Key to colors
     Top two places in each group advance to Top 16

Group A
Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification MAR ZAD ASK ROA
1 Maroussi Costa Coffee 6 4 2 493 468 +25 10 Advanced to Top 16 — 91–75 82–77 88–73
2 Zadar 6 4 2 505 480 +25 10 87–79 — 83–68 82–70
3 ASK Riga 6 3 3 496 478 +18 9 84–70 106–94 — 86–70
4 Chorale Roanne 6 1 5 430 498 −68 7 72–83 66–84 79–75 —
Source: Eurocup Basketball

Group B
Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification UNI DYN BAR LUK
1 UNICS 6 6 0 488 435 +53 12 Advanced to Top 16 — 80–71 76–55 79–72
2 Dynamo Moscow 6 4 2 490 442 +48 10 77–87 — 84–74 94–78
3 Barons LMT 6 1 5 443 489 −46 7 81–86 61–80 — 84–88
4 Lukoil Academic 6 1 5 454 489 −35 7 79–80 62–86 75–88 —
Source: Eurocup Basketball

Group C
Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification KHI BEN BEŞ LEH
1 Khimki 6 5 1 450 400 +50 11 Advanced to Top 16 — 80–71 91–65 79–55
2 Benetton Treviso 6 4 2 478 443 +35 10 77–59 — 80–89 91–67
3 Beşiktaş Cola Turka 6 3 3 459 471 −12 9 69–71 72–77 — 96–91
4 Le Havre 6 0 6 413 495 −82 6 63–79 76–82 61–68 —
Source: Eurocup Basketball

Group D
Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification TÜR PNE ARI BNE
1 Türk Telekom 6 4 2 393 344 +49 10 Advanced to Top 16 — 70–64 78–65 20–0
2 Panellinios 6 3 3 452 435 +17 9 82–74 — 69–71 85–70
3 Aris 6 3 3 457 459 −2 9 79–75 72–77 — 84–71
4 Bnei HaSharon 6 2 4 362 426 −64 8 54–76 78–76 89–86 —
Source: Eurocup Basketball

Group E

AZO LRY ASV GRA
AZO 79-66 87-74 92-90
LRY 83-64 95-74 74-64
ASV 85-83 93-90 69-81
GRA 74-82 94-83 78-80
Team Pld W L PF PA Diff
1. Azovmash 642484472+12
2. Lietuvos rytas 633491465+26
3. ASVEL 633475514-39
4. Kalise Gran Canaria 624481480+1

Group F

SPI CZV TUR BRO
SPI 71-65 89-69 64-62
CZV 93-91 97-69 82-65
TUR 61-86 76-86 67-56
BRO 76-86 53-67 39-69
Team Pld W L PF PA Diff
1. Spirou 651485415+70
2. Crvena zvezda 651490425+65
3. PGE Turów 624411453-42
4. Brose Baskets 606340433-93

Group G

VAL ART FOR FMP
VAL 84-67 80-74 83-58
ART 79-89 87-78 73-62
FOR 71-77 89-93 88-61
FMP 65-84 93-65 59-70
Team Pld W L PF PA Diff
1. Pamesa Valencia 660497414+83
2. Artland Dragons 633464495-31
3. Fortitudo Bologna 624470457+13
4. FMP 615398463-65

Group H

BIL HEM NYM BUD
BIL 78-67 93-72 69-66
HEM 62-82 82-74 89-85
NYM 79-92 80-82 75-70
BUD 65-67 70-59 63-66
Team Pld W L PF PA Diff
1. Iurbentia Bilbao 660481411+70
2. Hemofarm 633441469-28
3. ČEZ Nymburk 624446482-36
4. Budućnost 615419425-6

Top 16

The second grand stage begins from January 27, 2009.

Key to colors
     Top two places in each group advance to final eight

Group I

DYN KHI MAR PNE
DYN 73-68 94-73 91-84
KHI 69-77 94-69 101-94
MAR 76-80 71-58 83-85
PNE 72-77 73-89 59-71
Team Pld W L PF PA Diff
1. Dynamo Moscow 660492442+50
2. Khimki 633479457+22
3. Maroussi Costa Coffee 624443470-27
4. Panellinios 615467512-45

Group J

BEN ZAD UNI TÜR
BEN 94-81 68-66 89-87
ZAD 76-84 93-91 94-86
UNI 81-59 69-71 72-57
TÜR 67-99 89-82 66-86
Team Pld W L PF PA Diff
1. Benetton Treviso 651493458+35
2. Zadar 633497513-16
3. UNICS 633465414-51
4. Türk Telekom 615452522-70

Group K

VAL HEM AZO CZV
VAL 65-60 68-66 82-80
HEM 66-62 84-74 88-73
AZO 91-88 89-71 62-74
CZV 73-85 65-91 72-95
Team Pld W L PF PA Diff
1. Pamesa Valencia 642450436+14
2. Hemofarm 642460428+32
3. Azovmash 633477457+20
4. Crvena zvezda 615437503-66

Group L

BIL LRY SPI ART
BIL 67-59 82-78 71-62
LRY 73-71 77-56 105-64
SPI 59-79 78-74 88-79
ART 84-79 70-79 82-94
Team Pld W L PF PA Diff
1. Iurbentia Bilbao 642449415+34
2. Lietuvos rytas 642467406+61
3. Spirou 633453473-20
4. Artland Dragons 615441516-75

Final eight

The Final Eight was the last stage of EuroCup 2008-09.

Quarter finals

April 2, Pala Alpitour, Turin

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Dynamo Moscow 85–93 Hemofarm
Benetton Treviso 79–85 Lietuvos rytas

April 3, Pala Alpitour, Turin

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Pamesa Valencia 73–76 Khimki
Iurbentia Bilbao 79–73 Zadar

Semi finals

April 4, Pala Alpitour, Turin

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Hemofarm 68–73 Lietuvos rytas
Khimki 79–73 Iurbentia Bilbao

Final

April 13, Pala Alpitour, Turin

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Lietuvos rytas 80–74 Khimki
2008–09 Eurocup Champions

Lietuvos rytas
2nd title

Individual statistics

Points
Rank Name Team Games Points PPG
1. Khalid El-Amin Azovmash1119717.90

Rebounds
Rank Name Team Games Rebounds RPG
1. C. J. Wallace Benetton Treviso13967.38

Assists
Rank Name Team Games Assists APG
1. Khalid El-Amin Azovmash11585.27

Awards

Eurocup 2008–09 MVP

Eurocup 2008–09 Finals MVP

All-Eurocup team
SeasonPositionAll-Eurocup First TeamClub TeamAll-Eurocup Second TeamClub Team
2008–09
G
 Chuck Eidson Lietuvos rytas Khalid El-Amin Türk Telekom
2008–09
G
 Kelly McCarty Khimki Gary Neal Treviso
2008–09
F
 Boštjan Nachbar Dynamo Moscow Travis Hansen Dynamo Moscow
2008–09
F
 Marko Banić Bilbao Matt Nielsen Valencia
2008–09
C
 Todor Gečevski Zadar Sandro Nicević Treviso

Rising Star

Coach of the Year

See also

Notes and references
  1. "ULEB, FIBA Europe announce new competitions names, formats" (Press release). Euroleague.net. 2008-07-02. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
  2. Clubs Replaced In European Competitions
  3. Benetton Basket Tamoil subs Orlandina Basket, Benetton Olympic Fribourg joins second qualifying round
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