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
League	Eurocup
Sport	Basketball
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

Country Teams Clubs (ranking in national league) Russia 5 Khimki (2nd) Dynamo Moscow (3rd) Ural Great Perm (4th) UNICS (5th) Triumph Lyubertsy (6th) France 4 Chorale Roanne (2nd) ASVEL (3rd) Le Havre (5th) Cholet (8th) Spain 4 Pamesa Valencia (6th) Iurbentia Bilbao (7th) Cajasol (8th) Kalise Gran Canaria (9th) Germany 3 Telekom Baskets Bonn (2nd) Artland Dragons (6th) Brose Baskets (7th) Greece 3 Maroussi Costa Coffee (4th) Aris (5th) Panellinios (6th) Serbia 3 Hemofarm (2nd) Crvena zvezda (3rd) FMP (4th) Turkey 3 Türk Telekom (2nd) Beşiktaş Cola Turka (3rd) Galatasaray Café Crown (4th) Belgium 2 Spirou (2nd) Telindus Oostende (5th) Italy 2 Fortitudo Bologna (8th) Benetton Treviso (10th) Israel 2 Bnei HaSharon (3rd) Hapoel Jerusalem (6th) Latvia 2 Barons LMT (1st) ASK Riga (2nd) Lithuania 2 Lietuvos rytas (2nd) Šiauliai (3rd) Poland 2 Turów Zgorzelec (2nd) Energa Czarni Słupsk (10th) Ukraine 2 Azovmash (1st) Kyiv (2nd) Austria 1 Allianz Swans Gmunden (1st) Bulgaria 1 Lukoil Academic (1st) Croatia 1 Zadar (1st) Czech Republic 1 ČEZ Nymburk (1st) Estonia 1 Tartu Ülikool Rock (1st) Montenegro 1 Budućnost (1st) Netherlands 1 MyGuide Amsterdam (1st) Switzerland 1 Benetton Fribourg (1st)

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.Tooltip Aggregate score	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.Tooltip Aggregate score	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 Jerusalem	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	492	442	+50	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	511	−57	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	459	400	+59	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	453	435	+18	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	427	−65	8			54–76	78–76	89–86	—

Source: Eurocup Basketball

Group E AZO LRY ASV GRA AZO 76-66 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 6 4 2 484 472 +12 2. Lietuvos rytas 6 3 3 491 465 +26 3. ASVEL 6 3 3 475 514 -39 4. Kalise Gran Canaria 6 2 4 481 480 +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 65-84 53-67 39-69 Team Pld W L PF PA Diff 1. Spirou 6 5 1 485 415 +70 2. Crvena zvezda 6 5 1 490 425 +65 3. PGE Turów 6 2 4 411 453 -42 4. Brose Baskets 6 0 6 340 433 -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 6 6 0 497 414 +83 2. Artland Dragons 6 3 3 464 495 -31 3. Fortitudo Bologna 6 2 4 470 457 +13 4. FMP 6 1 5 398 463 -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 6 6 0 481 411 +70 2. Hemofarm 6 3 3 441 469 -28 3. ČEZ Nymburk 6 2 4 446 482 -36 4. Budućnost 6 1 5 419 425 -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 6 6 0 492 442 +50 2. Khimki 6 3 3 479 457 +22 3. Maroussi Costa Coffee 6 2 4 443 470 -27 4. Panellinios 6 1 5 467 512 -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 6 5 1 493 458 +35 2. Zadar 6 3 3 497 513 -16 3. UNICS 6 3 3 465 414 +51 4. Türk Telekom 6 1 5 452 522 -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 6 4 2 450 436 +14 2. Hemofarm 6 4 2 460 428 +32 3. Azovmash 6 3 3 477 457 +20 4. Crvena zvezda 6 1 5 437 503 -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 6 4 2 449 415 +34 2. Lietuvos rytas 6 4 2 467 406 +61 3. Spirou 6 3 3 453 473 -20 4. Artland Dragons 6 1 5 441 516 -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	76–67	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	Azovmash	11	197	17.90

Rebounds

Rank	Name	Team	Games	Rebounds	RPG
1.	C. J. Wallace	Benetton Treviso	13	96	7.38

Assists

Rank	Name	Team	Games	Assists	APG
1.	Khalid El-Amin	Azovmash	11	58	5.27

Awards

Eurocup 2008–09 MVP

• Chuck Eidson ( Lietuvos rytas )

Eurocup 2008–09 Finals MVP

• Marijonas Petravičius ( Lietuvos rytas )

All-Eurocup team

Season	Position	All-Eurocup First Team	Club Team	All-Eurocup Second Team	Club 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

• Milan Mačvan ( Hemofarm )

Coach of the Year

• Oktay Mahmuti ( Benetton Treviso )

See also

• 2008–09 Euroleague
• EuroChallenge 2008–09

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

External links

• EuroCup Official Website
• European Basketball Website