Βy Giorgos Orfanakis/ info@eurohoops.net
Real Madrid will travel to Brazil to face Bauru for the third edition of the Fiba Euroleague Intercontinental Cup for two games on late September.
In the third consecutive edition since its rebirth, the 2015 FIBA Euroleague Intercontinental Cup will be celebrated this fall with two games between Turkish Airlines Euroleague champion Real Madrid and 2015 FIBA Liga de las Americas champion Bauru of Brazil. Both games will be played in Sao Paulo, at the 11,000-seat Ginasio Iberapuera. The opening game is scheduled for Friday, September 25, with Game 2 set to take place two days later.
The Intercontinental Cup was played 20 times between 1966 and 1987 before a nearly quarter-century hiatus that ended when a partnership between FIBA, FIBA Americas and Euroleague Basketball brought the competition back in 2013. Olympiacos Piraeus of Greece took the Intercontinental Cup title that year from Pinheiros Sky Sao Paulo, while last year Brazil’s Flamengo defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv to win the 2014 cup.
Madrid already has four Intercontinental Cups in its trophy case, the most of any club in the competition’s history. The last of those was won in 1981, when Madrid defeated E.C. Sirio, also in Sao Paulo.
The Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, Jordi Bertomeu said: “We are looking forward to experiencing another basketball celebration in Brazil with the Intercontinental Cup, this time with the winningest club in European history, Real Madrid. We are sure that fans will once again enjoy this great event that connects two continents and without doubt contributes to the growth of basketball.”
The General Manager of Real Madrid, Juan Carlos Sanchez mentioned: “We feel very proud to play in a competition that Real Madrid has won four times and that FIBA, FIBA Americas and Euroleague Basketball have wisely brought back for the fans. Real Madrid will travel to Sao Paulo with great excitement to represent European basketball against a team like Bauru, which showcases all the qualities of a fast-rising basketball country like Brazil and which, without doubt, is the best example of how basketball is growing in Latin America”.
On the other hand, Vitinho Jacob, General Manager of Bauru said: “We are very honored to represent the Americas, our national league and more importantly Brazil in this Intercontinental Cup that for our club signifies the culmination of an unforgettable season. We will do everything in our power to win it and have our country defend this historic Intercontinental Cup”.