2023–24 Basketball Champions League

Basketball Champions League
The Štark Arena in Belgrade hosted the Final Four
Season2023–24
DatesQualifying:
24 September – 1 October 2023
Competition proper:
17 October 2023 – 28 April 2024
TeamsCompetition proper: 32
Total: 53 (from 28 countries)
Regular season
Season MVPMarcelo Huertas
(Tenerife)
Finals
Champions Unicaja (1st title)
Runners-up Lenovo Tenerife
Third place UCAM Murcia
Fourth place Peristeri
Final Four MVPKendrick Perry
(Unicaja)
Awards
Best CoachVassilis Spanoulis
(Peristeri)
Best Young PlayerTidjane Salaün
(Cholet)
Statistical leaders
Points Kyle Guy (Tenerife) 21.5
Rebounds Austin Wiley (Tofaş) 8.9
Assists Joe Ragland (Peristeri) 8.9

The 2023–24 Basketball Champions League was the 8th season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL), the premier European professional basketball competition for clubs launched by FIBA. The season began on 17 October 2023 and ended with the championship game on 28 April 2024.[1]

Telekom Baskets Bonn were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Peristeri in the quarter-finals. The Štark Arena in Belgrade hosted the Final Four and the championship game, the second time the competition had a neutral venue for its conclusion.[1] Unicaja won its first Champions League title following their win over Lenovo Tenerife in the final.[2] As champions, Unicaja also qualified for the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

Team allocation

Country rankings

The BCL Country Ranking is used to define the number of clubs each country is entitled to enter into the various stages of the BCL.

The results are based on the results of the past three seasons (the 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons).[3]

Rank Association Average points Teams
1  Spain 104.75 5
2  Germany 69.00 4
3  France 63.77
4  Turkey 63.20 5
5  Israel 63.00 3
6  Bosnia and Herzegovina 63.00 1
7  Czech Republic 56.00
8  Hungary 49.00
9  Greece 43.25 4
10  Italy 41.33
11  Romania 41.00 1
12  Russia (suspended) 40.50 0
13  Latvia 38.00 1
14  Belgium 34.50 2
15  Lithuania 34.50
16  Ukraine 26.00
0
17  Denmark 24.00 1
18  Portugal 21.00
Rank Association Average points Teams
19  Poland 19.00 2
20  Belarus 15.00 0
21  Estonia 12.00 1
22  Cyprus 8.00
23  Switzerland 7.00
24  Netherlands 4.00
25  Slovakia 4.00
26  Serbia 4.00
27  Finland 3.00
28  Great Britain 3.00
29  Austria 3.00 0
30  Croatia 2.00
31  Montenegro 2.00
32  Bulgaria 2.00
33  Sweden 1.00 1
34  North Macedonia 1.00 0
35  Kosovo 1.00 1

Teams

A total of 54 teams from 29 countries participated in the 2023–24 Basketball Champions League.[4] 15 of them were domestic champions in the previous season. Two teams were invited as a wild card entries.[5]

If one or more clubs do not exercise their right to participate in the BCL, the FIBA may decide to allocate the respective place(s) to other clubs of the same or other National Federation(s).[6]

League positions after playoffs of the previous season shown in parentheses. The Basketball Champions League rankings are taken into consideration.

  • TH: Champions League title holders
  • WC: Wild card.
  • AV: Allocation vacant.NOTE

NOTE: According to BCL rankings, National Federations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia and Hungary should had two berths in Regular season, as well as one berth for the champion of Romania (U-BT Cluj Napoca decided to play Eurocup), and one berth for the Russian representative (banned from competition). Their places were allocated to the teams from Turkey (3), Spain (1) and Poland (1).

Qualified teams for 2023–24 Basketball Champions League (by entry round)
Regular season
Pınar Karşıyaka (2nd) AEK (6th)WC JDA Dijon (5th) Opava (1st)
Bursaspor İnfo Yatırım (5th) Unicaja (3rd) Le Mans Sarthe (6th) Falco Szombathely (1st)
Darüşşafaka Lassa (6th)AV Lenovo Tenerife (6th) Hapoel Jerusalem (3th) VEF Rīga (1st)
Tofaş (7th)AV UCAM Murcia (9th) Hapoel Holon (4th) Rytas (2nd)
Galatasaray Nef (8th)AV Río Breogán (10th)AV Bertram Derthona (3rd) King Szczecin (1st)AV
Peristeri bwin (3rd) Telekom Baskets Bonn (2nd)TH Dinamo Sassari (4th)
PAOK (4th) MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (4th) Filou Oostende (1st)
Promitheas (5th)WC EWE Baskets Oldenburg (6th) Igokea (1st)
Qualifying rounds
Cholet (7th) Kalev/Cramo (1st) CBet Jonava (4th) Patrioti Levice (1st)
SIG Strasbourg (8th)WC Karhu (2nd) Mornar Barsko zlato (3rd) Monbus Obradoiro (11th)
Happy Casa Brindisi (7th) TSU Tbilisi (1st) Heroes Den Bosch (3rd)[Note NED] Norrköping Dolphins (1st)
Openjobmetis Varese (13th)WC Göttingen (7th) Legia Warsaw (4th)WC Fribourg Olympic (1st)
Telenet Giants Antwerp (2nd) Caledonia Gladiators (4th) Benfica (1st)
AEK Larnaca (1st) Ironi Ness Ziona (6th) CSM Oradea (2nd)
Bakken Bears (1st) Peja (1st) FMP Meridian (2nd)

Notes

  1. ^
    Netherlands (NED): ZZ Leiden would have qualified as the winners of the 2022-23 BNXT Dutch Playoffs, but withdrew from applying because their arena did not meet FIBA Europe's capacity standards.[7] As a result, the spot was given to Heroes Den Bosch, third in the national league.

Qualifying rounds

Draw

The draw for the qualifying rounds will be made on 5 July 2023. The 25 teams were divided into six pots. The top eight national champions from the unrepresented nations were placed into Pots 1 and 2, and the remaining clubs into Pots 3–6. Pots are arranged based on the competition's club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking.[8]

The three winners of the finals will then qualify for the regular season and join the 29 directly qualified teams in the main draw. The rest of the teams will be demoted, if they apply, to the FIBA Europe Cup.[8]

Venue

On July 27, 2023, it was announced that Antalya Sports Hall in Antalya, Turkey, has been selected as the host city for the Qualification Rounds which was scheduled to take place from 24 September to 1 October.[9]

Champions Path

Pot 1
Team Pts
Bakken Bears 24
Benfica 18
Kalev/Cramo 11
Patrioti Levice 4
Pot 2
Team Pts
Norrköping Dolphins 1
AEK Larnaca 1
Peja 1.00
TSU Tbilisi 0.00

Main Path

Pot 3
Team Pts
SIG Strasbourg 100
Happy Casa Brindisi 35
Cholet 11
Legia Warszaw 8
Pot 6
Team Pts
CSM Oradea 41.00
CBet Jonava 36.50
Telenet Giants Antwerp 34.50
Winner of the Preliminary round
Preliminary Pot
Team Pts
Caledonia Gladiators 3.00
Fribourg Olympic 7
Pot 4
Team Pts
FMP Meridian 4
Heroes Den Bosch 2
Karhu 2
Mornar Bar 2
Pot 5
Team Pts
Monbus Obradoiro 102.25
Göttingen 67.75
Ironi Ness Ziona 62.00
Openjobmetis Varese 41.33
Notes
^† Indicates teams with no club points, therefore using the country points as a tiebreaker.

Pre-qualifier

The pre-qualifier round match consists of a one leg match that is expected to take place at a neutral venue.

The winner of the pre-qualifiers round match will be drawn to Pot 6 and advanced to the main qualifying rounds. The losers of the pre-qualifiers is transferred (if they apply) to the FIBA Europe Cup

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Fribourg Olympic 57–51 Caledonia Gladiators

Qualification Group I

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
25 September
 
 
Bakken Bears103
 
27 September
 
Peja79
 
Bakken Bears68
 
25 September
 
Norrköping Dolphins78
 
Kalev78
 
29 September
 
Norrköping Dolphins82
 
Norrköping Dolphins73
 
25 September
 
Benfica83
 
Benfica122
 
27 September
 
TSU Tbilisi62
 
Benfica87
 
25 September
 
AEK Larnaca59
 
Patrioti Levice66
 
 
AEK Larnaca 74
 

Qualification Group II

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
27 September
 
 
Cholet76
 
29 September
 
Antwerp Giants72
 
Cholet96
 
27 September
 
Varese88
 
FMP71
 
1 October
 
Varese73
 
Cholet80
 
27 September
 
Brindisi69
 
Brindisi 77
 
29 September
 
Oradea74
 
Brindisi78
 
27 September
 
Heroes Den Bosch63
 
Heroes Den Bosch96
 
 
Göttingen84
 

Qualification Group III

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
26 September
 
 
SIG Strasbourg83
 
28 September
 
Jonava78
 
SIG Strasbourg79
 
26 September
 
Ironi Ness Ziona74
 
Karhu56
 
30 September
 
Ironi Ness Ziona92
 
SIG Strasbourg82
 
26 September
 
Obradoiro78
 
Legia Warsaw70
 
28 September
 
Fribourg Olympic59
 
Legia Warsaw66
 
26 September
 
Obradoiro74
 
Mornar Bar56
 
 
Obradoiro90
 

Regular season

Draw

The 29 teams that entered in the regular season directly were divided into four pots based firstly on the club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking. The country protection rule will apply for the stage of the draw. Clubs cannot be drawn in groups with other clubs from the same country.[8]

Pot 1
Team Pts
Lenovo Tenerife 135
Hapoel Holon 98
Hapoel Jerusalem 78
Unicaja 75
Pınar Karşıyaka 71
Tofaş 69
AEK 67
JDA Dijon 65
Pot 2
Team Pts
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 64
Rytas 62
Galatasaray Nef 61
Telekom Baskets Bonn 56
Igokea 56
Falco Szombathely 52
Darüşşafaka Lassa 52
Filou Oostende 49
Pot 3
Team Pts
Dinamo Sassari 40
VEF Rīga 38
UCAM Murcia 33
Peristeri bwin 30
PAOK 26
EWE Baskets Oldenburg 8
Bursaspor İnfo Yatırım 63.60
Promitheas 44.25
Pot 4
Team Pts
Opava 4
Le Mans Sarthe 2
Río Breogán 1
Bertram Derthona 41.33
King Szczecin 19.00
Benfica (Winner QF–T1)
Cholet (Winner QF–T2)
SIG Strasbourg (Winner QF–T3)
Notes
^† Indicates teams with no club points, therefore using the country points as a tiebreaker.

Group A

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification UNI LMS PER FAL
1 Unicaja 6 4 2 490 442 +48 10 Advance to round of 16 83–74 81–64 88–65
2 Le Mans Sarthe 6 3 3 477 463 +14 9 Advance to play-ins 85–78 96–68 63–81
3 Peristeri bwin 6 3 3 463 493 −30 9 76–73 78–86 87–70
4 Falco Szombathely 6 2 4 456 488 −32 8 78–87 75–73 87–90

Group B

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification DIJ RYT PRO OPA
1 JDA Dijon 6 5 1 526 441 +85 11 Advance to round of 16 87–83 88–80 99–64
2 Rytas 6 4 2 509 455 +54 10 Advance to play-ins 79–77 77–75 99–63
3 Promitheas 6 3 3 516 475 +41 9 68–71 78–76 115–66
4 Opava 6 0 6 432 612 −180 6 67–104 75–95 97–100

Group C

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification TFE CHO DAR VEF
1 Lenovo Tenerife 6 4 2 490 443 +47 10 Advance to round of 16 95–75 72–63 76–55
2 Cholet 6 3 3 485 495 −10 9 Advance to play-ins 85–91 97–86 74–73
3 Darüşşafaka Lassa 6 3 3 488 500 −12 9 88–84 80–91 87–81
4 VEF Rīga 6 2 4 431 456 −25 8 77–72 70–63 75–84

Group D

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification AEK LUD DIN SZC
1 AEK 6 5 1 528 461 +67 11 Advance to round of 16 84–79 110–79 86–64
2 MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 6 3 3 480 490 −10 9 Advance to play-ins 83–79 79–89 82–78
3 Dinamo Sassari 6 2 4 509 543 −34 8 79–83 80–97 97–81
4 King Szczecin 6 2 4 473 496 −23 8 77–86 80–60 93–85

Group E

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification SIG KAR OOS OLD
1 SIG Strasbourg 6 4 2 487 467 +20 10 Advance to round of 16 80–65 81–68 85–77
2 Pınar Karşıyaka 6 3 3 495 487 +8 9 Advance to play-ins 87–72 94–77 85–83
3 Filou Oostende 6 3 3 462 499 −37 9 87–84 78–76 88–83
4 EWE Baskets Oldenburg 6 2 4 504 495 +9 8 83–85 97–88 81–64

Group F

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification BON HOL BRE BUR
1 Telekom Baskets Bonn 6 3 3 497 473 +24 9 Advance to round of 16 74–75 86–71 82–92
2 Hapoel Holon 6 3 3 463 456 +7 9 Advance to play-ins 65–72 84–79 74–75
3 Rio Breogan 6 3 3 462 459 +3 9 97–92 82–72 68–48
4 Bursaspor İnfo Yatırım 6 3 3 439 473 −34 9 73–91 74–93 77–65

Group G

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification JER PAO GAL BEN
1 Hapoel Jerusalem 6 5 1 513 440 +73 11 Advance to round of 16 71–61 99–96 97–68
2 PAOK 6 3 3 455 478 −23 9 Advance to play-ins 79–77 79–85 76–74
3 Galatasaray Ekmas 6 3 3 513 492 +21 9 70–85 77–88 98–78
4 Benfica 6 1 5 443 514 −71 7 66–84 94–72 63–87

Group H

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification UCM DER TOF IGO
1 UCAM Murcia 6 5 1 517 427 +90 11 Advance to round of 16 87–75 115–89 72–47
2 Bertram Derthona 6 5 1 500 484 +16 11 Advance to play-ins 78–74 91–85 91–84
3 Tofaş 6 2 4 532 551 −19 8 75–90 80–88 99–65
4 Igokea 6 0 6 435 522 −87 6 63–79 74–77 102–104

Play-ins

The Play-ins took place from 2 to 17 January 2024. The teams classified in second and third place in their respective groups of Basketball Champions League, went to the Play-ins. Winners advanced to the round of 16. The first legs were played on 2–3 January, the second legs on 9–10 January. Eventual third legs were played on 16–17 January.

Team 1 Series Team 2 Game 1 Game 2 Game 3
Le Mans Sarthe 0–2 Promitheas 68–78 78–91
Rytas 0–2 Peristeri bwin 92–110 80–83
Cholet 2–1 Dinamo Sassari 72–93 95–91 93–77
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 2–1 Darüşşafaka Lassa 82–63 72–83 99–73
Pınar Karşıyaka 2–1 Río Breogán 89–85 73–80 86–76
Hapoel Holon 2–1 Filou Oostende 80–70 61–71 78–72
PAOK 1–2 Tofaş 63–95 88–87 (OT) 71–84
Basket Derthona 0–2 Galatasaray Ekmas 70–71 89–95

Round of 16

The Round of 16 will take place from January 24 until March 22, 2024. The groups will be formed by the winners of each Regular Season Group and by eight Play-Ins winners. The 16 teams were divided in 4 groups, 4 teams each. The first two of each groups advanced to the quarter-finals.

Group I

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification UNI TOF SIG CHO
1 Unicaja 6 6 0 510 422 +88 12 Advance to quarter-finals 89–70 91–62 85–70
2 Tofaş 6 2 4 462 466 −4 8 76–80 93–71 84–71
3 SIG Strasbourg 6 2 4 470 510 −40 8 70–79 78–65 96–84
4 Cholet 6 2 4 474 518 −44 8 74–86 77–74 98–93

Group J

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification BON LUD DIJ GAL
1 Telekom Baskets Bonn 6 5 1 500 466 +34 11 Advance to quarter-finals 80–75 89–74 89–76
2 MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 6 3 3 507 479 +28 9 81–85 71–59 100–80
3 JDA Dijon 6 2 4 458 490 −32 8 62–72 82–89 85–76
4 Galatasaray Ekmas 6 2 4 516 546 −30 8 95–85 93–91 93–96

Group K

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification TFE PER JER KAR
1 Lenovo Tenerife 6 4 2 521 511 +10 10 Advance to quarter-finals 89–68 95–92 88–79
2 Peristeri 6 3 3 473 475 −2 9 90–82 75–77 76–73
3 Hapoel Jerusalem 6 3 3 485 479 +6 9 85–61 61–76 83–74
4 Pınar Karşıyaka 6 2 4 514 528 −14 8 97–106 93–88 98–87

Group L

Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification UCM PRO HOL AEK
1 UCAM Murcia 6 4 2 490 453 +37 10 Advance to quarter-finals 90–81 78–61 100–89
2 Promitheas 6 4 2 485 472 +13 10 79–78 92–93 80–79
3 Hapoel Holon 6 4 2 474 480 −6 10 64–60 65–74 79–68
4 AEK 6 0 6 490 534 −44 6 79–84 67–79 108–112

Playoffs

The playoffs will begin on 3 April 2024 and ends with the 2024 Basketball Champions League Final Four, which will be hosted in the Štark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.[1]

 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
                
 
 
 
 
Lenovo Tenerife838178
 
26 April
 
Tofaş779055
 
Lenovo Tenerife97
 
 
 
Peristeri93
 
Telekom Baskets Bonn896277
 
28 April
 
Peristeri789089
 
Lenovo Tenerife75
 
 
 
Unicaja80
 
UCAM Murcia9885
 
26 April
 
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg7272
 
UCAM Murcia74
 
 
 
Unicaja80Third place
 
Unicaja6790
 
28 April
 
Promitheas5483
 
Peristeri84
 
 
UCAM Murcia87
 

Final Four

Semifinals

The semifinals were played on 26 April 2024.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Lenovo Tenerife 97–93 Peristeri
UCAM Murcia 74–80 Unicaja

Third place game

The third place game was played on 28 April 2024.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Peristeri 84–87 UCAM Murcia

Final

The final was played on 28 April 2024.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Lenovo Tenerife 75–80 Unicaja

Individual awards

Season awards

The annual season awards were announced on 27 April.

Award Player Club
Most Valuable Player Marcelo Huertas Lenovo Tenerife
Final Four MVP Kendrick Perry Unicaja
Best Defensive Player Howard Sant-Roos UCAM Murcia
Best Young Player Tidjane Salaün Cholet
Best Coach Vassilis Spanoulis Peristeri
First Team Second Team
Player Team Player Team
Joe Ragland Peristeri Dylan Ennis UCAM Murcia
Marcelinho Huertas Lenovo Tenerife Hunter Hale Promitheas Patras
Kendrick Perry Unicaja Levi Randolph Hapoel Jerusalem
David Kravish Unicaja Dylan Osetkowski Unicaja
Austin Wiley Tofaş Vernon Carey Jr. Pınar Karşıyaka

MVP of the Month

Month Player Club Ref.
2023
October
Vernon Carey Jr. Pınar Karşıyaka
November
Justin Tillman AEK
December
Levi Randolph Hapoel Jerusalem
2024
January
Hunter Hale Promitheas Patras
March
Joe Ragland Peristeri

Team of the Month

Year Month Player Team Ref.
2023 October Chris Dowe Derthona Basket
Justin Tillman AEK
Gregor Hrovat JDA Dijon
David McCormack Darüşşafaka Lassa
Vernon Carey Jr. Pınar Karşıyaka
November Marcelinho Huertas Lenovo Tenerife
David Holston JDA Dijon
Kendall Smith PAOK
Levi Randolph Hapoel Jerusalem
Justin Tillman AEK
December Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman Darüşşafaka Lassa
Levi Randolph (x2) Hapoel Jerusalem
Pierre-Antoine Gillet Filou Oostende
Gytis Radzevičius Rytas Vilnius
David McCormack (x2) Galatasaray Ekmas
2024 January Marcelinho Huertas Lenovo Tenerife
Hunter Hale Promitheas Patras
Craig Randall II Cholet Basket
Justin Smith Hapoel Holon
Austin Wiley Tofaş
March Joe Ragland Peristeri
Marcelinho Huertas (x2) Lenovo Tenerife
Jayvon Graves Riesen Ludwigsburg
Dustin Sleva UCAM Murcia
Jaime Echenique Promitheas Patras

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Belgrade unveiled as Final Four host on night of Serbian legends". FIBA.basketball. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  2. ^ "Paint it green: Unicaja win maiden BCL title in Belgrade". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Country Ranking". FIBA.basketball.
  4. ^ "Newcomers, returnees, familiar challengers: These are the teams of BCL's Season 8". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  5. ^ "The BCL is BACK! Everything you need to know about the Basketball Champions League". Courtside 1891. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  6. ^ BCL Competition Regulations (PDF).
  7. ^ "Tekort aan zitplaatsen kost ZZ Leiden Champions League: 'Dramatische keuze'". nos.nl (in Dutch). 29 June 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Draw explained: Seedings revealed for Regular Season, format change for Qualification Rounds". FIBA. 3 July 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Antalya selected as host city for Basketball Champions League Qualification Rounds". championsleague.basketball. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Youngest in BCL history: Vernon Carey Jr named October MVP". Basketball Champions League. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  11. ^ "The Queen has a new king: AEK's Justin Tillman is November MVP". Basketball Champions League. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Levi Randolph is December MVP: "He should've gotten it last month, too"". Basketball Champions League. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  13. ^ ""It was just a matter of time" - Hunter Hale named MVP for January". Basketball Champions League. 2 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  14. ^ "'Head of the snake' Ragland picks up March MVP honors, extends all-time lead". Basketball Champions League. 29 March 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Tortona, Dijon, AEK, Darussafaka and Karsiyaka with players on Team of the Month for October". Basketball Champions League. 2 November 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  16. ^ "Tenerife, Dijon, PAOK, Jerusalem and AEK with players on team of the month". Basketball Champions League. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  17. ^ "Darussafaka, Jerusalem, Oostende, Rytas, Galatasaray represented on Team of the Month". Basketball Champions League. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  18. ^ "Team of the Month for January: Huertas, Hale, Randall, Smith, Wiley". Basketball Champions League. 1 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  19. ^ "Team of the month for March: Ragland, Huertas, Graves, Sleva, Echenique". Basketball Champions League. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024.