By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The 2020-21 Basketball Champions League season that is starting Tuesday (20/10) will be broadcasted in the USA by beIN Sports Extra.
The announcement by beIN highlights the many U.S. and Canadia players that are competing in the Basketball Champions League; names like Turk Telekom’s Tyler Ennis, Kyle Wiltjer and Sam Dekker, AEK’s veteran and reigning BCL MVP Keith Langford, San Pablo Burgos‘ guard, and recently crowned Final 8 MVP and champion Thad McFadden and more.
Basketball Champions League CEO Patrick Comninos endorsed the partnership with BeIN. “It is a great pleasure for us to team up with BeIN, a global broadcasting network, specialized in sports and entertainment”, he said. “The Basketball Champions League exposure will be maximized thanks to the broadcasting of the games in the USA, and we are glad to see the Basketball Champions League extending its exposure through this digital coverage.”
Per Bein Sports:
The 2020-21 FIBA Basketball Champions League season is coming to beIN SPORTS fans in the U.S. and Canada this month on beIN SPORTS XTRA – the network’s free, 24/7 English-language live sports channel. The European professional basketball league brings together 32 of the sport’s leading clubs from all over Europe for 14 regular season games each. The league will begin Oct. 20, 2020 with a 2:20 p.m. EST matchup between Iberostar Tenerife (ESP) and Bakken Bears (DEN). Wake Forest power forward Tyler Cavanaugh and Tenerife take on the Bakken Bears, led by Flint, Michigan native Glenn Cosey and former Wisconsin Badger Ryan Evans.
“The FIBA Basketball Champions League is a haven for American and Canadian athletes, many of whom are former NBA and NCAA players,” said Antonio Briceño, beIN SPORTS managing director for North America. “Adding BCL to beIN SPORTS’ world-class programming lineup is just one more way we are diversifying to offer entertainment that fits the likes of every sports fan.”
“HSM is excited to bring Basketball Champions League to the U.S. and Canada alongside beIN SPORTS,” said Michael Chamblain, President of HSM. “Adding one of Europe’s top competitions to a rich sports culture and providing fans with an opportunity to see more of the world’s top basketball talent.”
- The league runs through May 2021 with one game per week airing on beIN SPORTS XTRA. Among the notable players are:
- Wisconsin Badger great and former Houston Rockets player Sam Dekker (currently plays for Turkey’s Türk Telekom)
- Syracuse Orange alumnus and former Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets, LA Lakers, and Toronto Raptors player Tyler Ennis (Türk Telekom)
- Newly named season MVP, Keith Langford, who played college ball at the University of Kansas (Greece’s AEK Athens)
- The Flint, Michigan native, Thad McFadden, was just named the MVP of the BCL Final 8 as he helped Burgos of Spain become the 2019-20 BCL Champions
- The First All-League Team included Langford, as well as TaShawn Thomas, originally from Las Vegas, Nevada and who played college basketball at the University of Houston and the University of Oklahoma (currently plays for Israel’s Hapoel Jerusalem)
- The Second All-League Team features Canadian standouts Kyle Wiltjer (Kentucky Wildcats and Gonzaga Bulldogs, currently plays for Türk Telekom), Dylan Ennis (Tyler Ennis’ brother) (Rice, Villanova and Oregon, currently plays for Casademont Zaragoza), and Dyshawn Pierre (Dayton Flyers, won the honor with Dinamo Sassari and is currently with Fenerbahce Beko)