By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
The 2022-23 Basketball Champions League has been in the books for almost two months now, with Telekom Baskets Bonn lifting his first-ever trophy at the Final Four in Malaga, and all the eyes are now focused on the next season.
Before jumping to the conclusion with the Regular Season, after revealing all the teams which will participate both in that phase and in the Qualification Rounds, the International competition explained the Draw and revealed the Seedings.
As far as the Draw procedure, “The 2023-24 Basketball Champions League competition will consist of thirty-two (32) teams. Twenty-nine (29) teams are directly qualified for the Regular Season, with the last three (3) teams set to qualify through three (3) Qualification Round tournaments. For both the Qualification Rounds and the Regular Season Draws, teams have been placed into pots, based firstly on the BCL Club Ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the BCL Country Ranking. The 2023-24 BCL season will start on September 25 with the Qualification Rounds”.
Then, “The first Qualification Round tournament will feature eight national champions from countries not represented yet in the Regular Season. This part of the Qualification Rounds is called the Champions Path”, while “The other two Qualification Round tournaments involve teams from countries already represented in the Regular Season, plus Play-Offs finalists and semi-finalists from countries not represented yet. They will be divided into four pots based on BCL Club and Country Ranking, with teams from Pot 3 up against teams from Pot 6, and teams from Pot 4 facing teams from Pot 5 in the Quarter-Finals”.
“Twenty-nine (29) clubs have qualified directly for the 2023–24 Basketball Champions League Regular Season. They will be joined by the three (3) winners of the Qualification Rounds. The Regular Season will tip off on October 17. For the purpose of the Draw, the twenty-nine (29) directly qualified teams and the three (3) teams coming from the Qualification Rounds will be divided into four (4) pots of eight (8) teams each. The pots are based on the above-mentioned BCL Club and Country Rankings”, the official BCL statement continued. In the video below, the whole procedure of the Draw, scheduled on July 5, from 11:30 CET, is explained.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League