By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The 2019-20 Basketball Champions League regular season will start on October 8 while the qualifiers will get underway on September 17.
BCL announced the teams which will participate in the upcoming campaign. Twenty-four teams have directly qualified to the regular season while eight more will come from the qualifiers.
Furthermore, at least 16 current national champions are among the 48 clubs representing 28 different European countrieswhich will take part in the 2019-20 Basketball Champions League that gets under way on 17 September with the first of two qualifying rounds ahead of Regular Season tip off on 8 October.
The final lineup was validated and confirmed by the Board of Basketball Champions League meeting at the House of Basketball today.
This year 32 teams will contest the Regular Season with eight qualifiers joining 24 directly qualified clubs. They will play in four groups of 8 teams each, with the top four in each group going through to best-of-3 Round of 16 and Quarter-Finals that will determine the Final Four. The overall winner will earn the coveted €1 million prize money.
Here is the list of the 24 teams directly qualified for the regular season: AEK (GRE), Anwil Wloclawek (POL), Banvit (TUR), BAXI Manresa (ESP), Besiktas Sompo Japan (TUR), Brose Bamberg (GER), CEZ Nymburk (CZE), Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari (ITA), Elan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez (FRA), Filou Oostende (BEL), Gaziantep (TUR), Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (ISR), Happy Casa Brindisi (ITA), Iberostar Tenerife (ESP), JDA Dijon (FRA), Neptunas Klaipeda (LTU), PAOK (GRE), Peristeri Vikos Cola (GRE), RASTA Vechta (GER), SIG Strasbourg (FRA), Tecnyconta Zaragoza (ESP), Turk Telekom (TUR), UNET Holon (ISR), VEF Riga (LAT).
As for the qualifiers, eight teams will kick off their season directly from the second round while 16 will start with the first round and half of them will advance.
Second round: Lietkabelis (LTU), Nizhny Novgorod (RUS), Openjobmetis Varese (ITA), Polski Cukier Torun (POL), San Pablo Burgos (ESP), Telekom Baskets Bonn (GER), Telenet Giants Antwerp (BEL), Ventspils (LAT).
First round:Bakken Bears (DEN), Balkan Botevgrad (BUL), CSM CSU Oradea (ROU), Donar Groningen (NED), Fribourg Olympic (SUI), Hungarian Champion, Inter Bratislava (SVK), Kapfenberg Bulls (AUT), Karhu Basket Kauhajoki (FIN), Keravnos (CYP), Kyiv-Basket (UKR), Legia Warszawa (POL), Mornar Bar (MNE), Södertälje Kings (SWE), Tsmoki-Minsk (BLR), Z-Mobile Prishtina (KOS).
An initial draw sorting the Qualification Rounds and the Regular Season phase will take place at the House of Basketball on Wednesday 4 July.
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League