By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
AS Monaco, Elan Chalon, Nanterre 92 and SIG Strasbourg will participate in the second edition of the Basketball Champions League alongside top clubs from across the continent. The national champion will be decided on Friday after the decisive final game between Elan Chalon and SIG Strasbourg.
According to the ranking established by the LNB, the two finalists of the Play-Offs are classified in 1st and 2nd place and the winner of the Regular Season in 3rd place while the Cup Winner is 4th. All of the clubs registered for the Basketball Champions League have also occupied the top 4 positions in the standings of the Regular Season, confirming that these four clubs have been consistently the very best during this season.
French Regular Season champions AS Monaco and winners for the second consecutive year of the Leaders Cup, made a major impact in the first edition of Basketball Champions League, taking third place, while second placed Elan Chalon are former French champions, twice Cup Winners and were runners-up in last season’s FIBA Europe Cup.
Nanterre 92, who won last season’s FIBA Europe Cup are also former national Champions and twice Cup winners while fourth-placed SIG Strasbourg has become a powerhouse in France after participating in the last five Pro A’s Finals, winning the title in 2015.
“We are naturally delighted to have the four best-performing clubs in France register for this upcoming season. They have all qualified on merit for this year’s edition and they will contribute to the high standard of the competition to be witnessed by fans across Europe,” said Basketball Champions League CEO Patrick Comninos.
“France is a strong and growing basketball market and we salute the clubs and thank the LNB for recognizing the importance and growth potential of Basketball Champions League as a truly pan-European competition where qualification is earned by on-court performances.
“It is our pleasure to welcome back AS Monaco and SIG Strasbourg who were among the four French clubs that participated in the inaugural Basketball Champions League season. Unfortunately ASVEL and Le Mans, the other two teams which played in this first edition, did not qualify via their domestic competition this time around and we look forward to welcoming them again in the future.”
With leading clubs from strong basketball nations including Spain, Greece and Italy having already confirmed their participation the French clubs know they will face tough opposition throughout the competition.
The inaugural Basketball Champions League success was won by Iberostar Tenerife which will be joined by three other Liga ACB clubs as they defend their title.
In all 32 teams will contest the Basketball Champions League Regular Season which gets under way on October 10 with eight qualifiers joining 24 pre-qualified clubs. They will play in four groups with the top four in each going through to a home and away Round of 16 ahead of Quarter-Finals which will determine the Final Four. The Final Four weekend will be hosted in the home city of one of the qualifying clubs.
The full lineup for the season will be announced next week. An initial draw sorting the Qualification Rounds and the Regular Season phase will take place on Tuesday 11 July at the House of Basketball in Geneva, Switzerland.