By Stathis Trapezanlidis/ info@eurohoops.net
The time has come for the Euroleague’s draw for the 2014-15 season and here’s the procedure. As you may remember no teams from the same country can end up on the same group, however this time there’s an obligatory exception as Spain is represented by five teams and the regular season of Euroleague consists of four groups. Also this is the only draw of the season, as the final standings of the first group phase will decide the Top16 groups.
The teams are divided for the draw at six groups formed on the basis of the results of each team in the last three years in European competitions. Eurohoops presents you those six groups and of course of the 24 teams.
Group A: CSKA Moscow (6 titles), FC Barcelona (2 titles), Olympiacos Piraeus (3 titles), Real Madrid (8 titles)
Real Madrid, which has the most Euroleague titles, this season hosts the Final Four in Madrid. In the 2011-12 season, the team didn’t manage to qualify for play offs, while the last two years was defeated in the final (from Olympiakos and Maccabi Tel Aviv). Barcelona had the same resulst the last three years, three consecutive defeats in Euroleague Final Four semifinals.
Olympiakos was the Euroleague Championship for two consecutive seasons (2011-12, 2012-13), while last year was defeated in play offs. Instead, CSKA Moscow counts two defeats in a semifinal (2012-13, 2013-14) and one in final (2011-12).
Group Β: Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv (6 titles), Panathinaikos Athens (6 titles), Valencia Basket Club, Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Maccabi Tel Aviv is the last Euroleague Champion (2013-14), while the two previous seasons was defeated in play-offs by Panathinaikos (2011-12) and Real Madrid (2012-13). Panathinaikos in the 2011-12 season was defeated in semifinal, while the last two seasons was defeated in the play-offs by Barcelona (2012-13) and CSKA Moscow (2013-14).
Anadolu Efes during the seasons 2011-12 and 2013-14 didn’t manage to qualify in play offs and in the 2012-13 season didn’t manage to beat Olympiakos. Valencia returns to the Euroleague after last year winning the Eurocup. In the 2011-12 season, the team was defeated in Eurocup final, while in the 2012-13 season they had had the same result in semi final.
Group C: Unicaja Malaga, Baskonia Vitoria, Zalgiris Kaunas (1 title), Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul
Unicaja Malaga, Fenerbahce and Zalgiris Kaunas have three consecutive presences in the Top 16, while Baskonia in the 2011-12 season didn’t even manage to qualify for second phase, in the 2012-13 season was defeated by CSKA in the play offs and last year reached the Top16.
Group D: Nizhny Novgorod, ALBA Berlin, EA7 Milano (3 titles), Galatasaray
In the 2011-12 season EA7 played in the Top16, but the next season failed to qualify for the second phase, while last year was defeated by Maccabi Tel Aviv in the play offs. Galatasaray counts three consecutive presences in the Top16, two in Euroleague (2011-12, 2013-14) and one in the Last16 of Eurocup (2012-13).
Alba Berlin returns to Euroleague, where in the 2012-13 season played in the Top16. In the 2011-12 season the team reached the Last16 of Eurocup, while last year it was defeated in the quarter-finals of the competitions. Nizhny Novgorod played in Eurocup semis last season.
Group E: Cedevita Zagreb, FC Bayern Munich, Dinamo Banco di Sardegna, Crvena Zvezda Telekom
Last season Red Star played in first phase of Euroleague and managed to reach the Eurocup semifinals, while in the 2012-13 season the Serbs played in the Last 16 of Eurocup. Last season Bayern Munich played in Euroleague;s Top-16, while in season 2011-12 participated in Eurocup’s regular season.
Cedevita returns to Euroleague after its 2012-13 season debut in first phase. During the 2011-12, 2013-14 seasons the club from Zagreb played in first phase of Eurocup. Sassari played last year in Eurocup’s Last16, while in the 2012-13 season played in first phase of Eurocup.
Group F: PGE Turow Zgorzelec, Limoges CSP (1 title), Neptunas Klaipeda, Team from QUALIFYING ROUNDS
Limoges returns to Euroleague and European competitions after a long dry period! Turow played in the first phase of Eurocup in the 2011-12 season, while Neptunas played also in Eurocup’s regular season last year.