EuroChallenge

EuroChallenge

sport	basketball
Association	FIBA
League foundation	2003
League dissolution	2015
Teams	32
Country countries	All members of FIBA
Title holder	JSF Nanterre (1st title)
Record champions	12 clubs with 1 title each
↑ ULEB Eurocup

The FIBA Euro Challenge was under the auspices of FIBA Europe be registered competition for European Basketball - club teams of men. As part of the annual European Basketball Cup, it was the third most important of all competitions behind the ULEB Euroleague and the ULEB Eurocup .

A total of twelve seasons were completed from 2003 to 2015, in which the competition was sometimes also called the Europe League or EuroCup . In the summer of 2015, FIBA ​​decided to discontinue the EuroChallenge and to offer more competition with a new competition, the FIBA Europe Cup , the ULEB , which has been organizing the most important European Cup competitions since 2001.

history

EuroChallenge trophy. FIBA has already presented the same trophy to the winners of the European Champion Clubs' Cup .

After the European Champion 's Cup, which was run by FIBA, was discontinued in 2001 and the ULEB Euroleague had already started very successfully a year earlier, FIBA ​​founded the EuroCup Challenge for the 2002 season , which was discontinued in 2007.

For the 2003/04 season, FIBA ​​created another European Cup. The EuroChallenge started operations as the Europe League . After two completed seasons, the name of the competition was changed to EuroCup in 2005 . After consultation with FIBA, ULEB changed the name of its ULEB Cup to ULEB Eurocup , whereupon FIBA ​​hosted its tournament as a EuroChallenge from now on. This made the EuroChallenge the only competition for men directed by FIBA ​​and the least significant of the three European Cup basketball competitions, as the top teams of the individual countries competed in the Euroleague or the Eurocup.

Game mode

The EuroChallenge was played as follows in its last season 2014/15:

1st group stage

In the first group stage, 32 teams in 8 groups (A – H) played against each other in home and away games until each team had played six games. The two best teams in each group qualified for the second group stage. This group stage was held in two regional conferences in order to reduce travel and travel costs for the clubs.

2nd group stage

In the second group phase, the 16 remaining teams played against each other in 4 groups (I – L) in home and away games until each team had played six games. The two best teams in each group qualified for the quarter-finals. The application of two regional conferences as in the first group phase was not practiced here.

Quarter finals

In a “ best of three ” mode , the remaining eight teams competed against each other in four team encounters. The first in the group from the second phase enjoyed home rights in a possibly required third play-off game. The four teams that won these duels qualified for the final tournament.

Final Four

In a tournament that took place within a weekend, two teams each competed in semifinals. The winners qualified for the final, from which the winner of the EuroChallenge emerged. The two finalists qualified for the 2015/16 Eurocup season.

Historical game modes

In every EuroChallenge held, the final round consisted of a quarter-finals and the final final four.

The organizers changed the mode of the group stage several times. There were major differences to the group phase practiced today in the first two seasons, when the game was played with two groups of seven and two groups of eight, the best four teams of which reached the round of 16.

Finals

season	venue	winner	opponent	Result	MVP *
2003/04	Kazan	UNICS Kazan	TIM-Maroussi Athens	87: 63	Martin Müürsepp
2004/05	Istanbul	BK Dynamo Saint Petersburg	BK Kiev	85: 74	/ Kelly McCarty
2005/06	Kiev	DKV Joventut de Badalona	BK Khimki	88: 63	Rudy Fernández
2006/07	Girona	Akasvayu Girona	BK Azovmash Mariupol	79: 72	/ Ariel McDonald
2007/08	Limassol	BK Barons Rīga	Dexia Mons-Hainaut	63: 62	Giedrius Gustas
2008/09	Bologna	Virtus Bologna Fiere	Cholet Basket	77: 75	Keith Langford
2009/10	Goettingen	BG Göttingen	Krasnye Krylja Samara	83: 75	/ Taylor Rochestie
2010/11	East End	KK Krka Novo mesto	Kuban Krasnodar locomotive	83: 77	Goran Ikonic
2011/12	Debrecen	Beşiktaş Milangaz	Élan Sportif Chalonnais	91: 86	Pop's Mensah Bonsu
2012/13	Izmir	Krasnye Krylja Samara	Pınar Karşıyaka	77: 76	Chester Simmons
2013/14	Bologna	Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia	Triumph Lyubertsy	79:65	Andrea Cinciarini
2014/15	Trabzon	JSF Nanterre	Trabzonspor	64: 63	Jamal Shuler

^* The “ Most Valuable Player ” (MVP) belonged to the winning team of the “ Final Four ” tournament.

statistics

No club has won the EuroChallenge more than once. With Krasnye Krylja Samara there is a club that reached the finals twice.

Final Four rank club Participation 1 Triumph Lyubertsy 3 2 EKA AEL Limassol 2 BK Khimki BC Kiev Krasnye Krylja Samara Dynamo St. Petersburg Szolnoki Olaj KK 8th 33 other clubs 1

Statistics by country rank country title final Final Four 1  Russia 3 7th 13 2  Italy 2 2 4th 3  Spain 2 2 3 4th  France 1 3 5  Turkey 6th  Germany 1 1 3 7th  Latvia 1 1 1  Slovenia 9  Ukraine 0 2 3 10  Belgium 0 1 2 11  Greece 0 1 1 12  Hungary 0 0 2  Cyprus 14th  Estonia 0 0 1  Israel  Romania

See also

• List of European Basketball Cup winners

Web links

• FIBA Euro Challenge website ( Engl. )