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By George Orfanakis/ info@eurohoops.net
The season was completed in all the championships and Eurohoops.net considers the course of the 24 teams that competed in the Euroleague last season and ranks them based on the expectations and goals they fulfilled.
During the summer period most clubs design and materialize the plan for next season. The main changes are made in light of the team’s progress throughout the year and the degree to which they met the goals they had set. For some teams the year is deemed as a success based exclusively on their course in the Euroleague while for others the key task is to celebrate the conquest of domestic titles at the end of the season.
Eurohoops.net evaluates the course of the 24 teams that competed in the Euroleague, having as the main criterion the degree to which they fulfilled their goals, the titles they celebrated at the end of the season and the impression they made in the basketball world. Apart from the evaluation on each of the teams individually, there is also an overall ranking, from the top team to the least successful.
Here is the presentation of the teams that ranked 12th-1st according to Eurohoops.
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[lptitle title=”12. Alba Berlin“]
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Euroleague
Regular season: 4th (4-6 wins)
Top 16: 5th (7-7 wins)
German Championship
Regular season: 2nd (28-6 wins)
Playoffs: Semifinals (2-3 to Bayern with a home advantage)
The season that passed put Alba Berlin back on the basketball map of Europe and this alone constitutes a great success. Relying on a good plan and with selections of excellent Americans Alba missed the qualification to the Euroleague quarterfinals in the tie with Panathinaikos (7-7 wins)! Domestically, however, the image was different since Alba didn’t manage to celebrate any titles, losing to Bamberg and Bayern in the semifinals of the Cup and the championship respectively. Despite all this, the general impression is positive since the foundations were laid for something important in the future.
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[lptitle title=”11. Zalgiris Kaunas “]
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Euroleague
Regular season: 3rd (5-5 wins)
Top 16: 6th (5-9 wins)
Lithuanian Championship
Regular season: 1st (36-4 wins)
Playoffs: Winners (4-0 over Lietuvos Rytas with a home advantage)
Mission accomplished for Zalgiris! The team from Kaunas completed the season having thoroughly achieved their goals (at an absolute degree), which were to make a decent appearance in Europe and win the championship in Lithuania. With James Anderson as the leader, a player who confirmed the excellent recommendations that accompanied him from the NBA, Zalgiris proved to be a tough team to beat for any opponent in Europe, while at the same time the won the championship comfortably. The overall 10-0 in quarterfinals, semifinals and finals domestically, says a lot.
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[lptitle title=”10. Unicaja Malaga“]
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Euroleague
Regular season: 3rd (4-6 wins)
Top 16: 7th (4-10 wins)
Spanish Championship
Regular season: 3rd (25-9)
Playoffs: Semifinals (3-2 to Barcelona without a home advantage)
A highly satisfactory season for Unicaja Malaga who, in every event they took part in, played excellently, reaching their best. Malaga’s capabilities allowed the team to reach the Top 16 in the Euroleague but their excellent run was took place mainly in Spain. For a long stretch they were in the first place during the regular season while they played for a spot in the finals in a fifth and decisive showdown in Barcelona. They couldn’t break the fixed poles of Barcelona and Real Madrid but they proved that they are the third power in Spanish basketball. And that is a great accomplishment.
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[lptitle title=”9. Dinamo Sassari“]
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Euroleague
Regular season: 6th (1-9 wins)
Eurocup
Group of 32: 3rd (2-4 wins)
Italian Championship
Regular season: 5th (19-11 wins)
Playoffs: Winners (4-3 over Reggio Emilia without a home advantage)
Fast pace, beautiful basketball, with no special inclination for defense. This was this season’s Sassari and with this style of playing they proved that they’re the big boss in Italy! The start was made in the middle of the season with the Italian Cup and ended in the most triumphant way in the championship playoffs. Starting from 5th place Sassari first had to knock out Milano without a home advantage and then to celebrate the title on Reggio Emilia’s home court. The failure in the Euroleague, an institution that was outside of their plans anyway, cannot tarnish an excellent season.
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[lptitle title=”8. Panathinaikos“]
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Euroleague
Regular period: 3rd (5-5 wins)
Top 16: 4th (7-7 wins)
Playoffs: Disqualification (1-3 from CSKA without a home advantage)
Championship
Regular period: 2nd (23-3 wins)
Playoffs: 2nd place (0-3 from Olympiacos without a home advantage)
Panathinaikos’s presence this year had a negative sign. The season started in an impressive way, in the cup with their qualification over Olympiacos, as well as in the Euroleague with a number of emphatic wins at home, but as time went by the greens’ performance dropped. The season was completed with the relatively easy disqualification from CSKA in the Euroleague playoffs and the heavy 3-0 in the A1 finals from their eternal rivals Olympiacos.
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[lptitle title=”7. Barcelona“]
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Euroleague
Regular season: 1st (9-1 wins)
Top 16: 2nd (11-3 wins)
Payoffs: Disqualification (1-3 from Olympiacos with a home advantage)
Championship
Regular period: 2nd (25-9 wins)
Playoffs: Lost in the final (0-3 in the finals from Real Madrid)
Barcelona completed a season that they would probably want to forget as soon as possible. Domestically, Xavi Pascual’s team was thoroughly beaten by Real Madrid since, in the Cup finals as well as the ACB finals, the title ended up in the queen’s hands. At the same time, the season in the Euroleague was also unsuccessful since Barcelona had as their minimum goal the participation in the Final Four but didn’t make it. They were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Olympiacos even though they had a home advantage.
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[lptitle title=”6. Crvena Zvezda“]
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Euroleague
Regular season: 2nd (6-4 wins)
Top 16: 7th (4-10 wins)
Championship (ABA League)
Regular season: 1st (24-2)
Playoffs: 1st (3-1 over Cedevita with a home advantage)
Serbian Championship
Regular period: 1st (13-1)
Playoffs: 1st (3-0 over Partizan with a home advantage)
In all respects the season that was completed was crowned with total success for Crvena Zvezda. Armed with their fierce home court, the Serbian team got some great wins in the Euroleague against important opponents (Maccabi, Panathinaikos) and is back for good on the basketball map of Europe. At the same time, domestically, Crvena Zvezda devastated any opponent they faced. They won the ABA league relatively easily and celebrated the championship in Serbia after 13 years, with a sweep against Partizan.
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[lptitle title=”5. Anadolu Efes“]
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Euroleague
Regular season: 2nd (6-4 wins)
Top 16: 4th (6-8 wins)
Playoffs: Disqualification (1-3 wins to Real without a home advantage)
Turkish Championship
Regular season: 2nd (22-8 wins)
Playoffs: Lost in the final (1-4 wins to Karsiyaka with a home advantage)
Efes had as their primary objective to create the basis for a team that has the prospect of a leading role in the years to come. And they achieved this with Saric, Osman and Korkmaz standing out under the instructions of Ivkovic. The Turkish team was unstable because of their inexperience and until the start of the Top 16 they appeared to lack a leader along the perimeter. When Heurtel arrived, Efes climbed a level and this helped Krstic have a very good season until he got seriously injured at the end of the year. Efes’s season was expected since they couldn’t exceed themselves (even though they got close) against Real. In the championship however, they ruined the impressions they had made as they lost in the finals to Karsiyaka.
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[lptitle title=”4. CSKA Moscow“]
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Euroleague
Regular season: 1st (10-0 wins)
Top 16: 1st (12-2 wins)
Playoffs: Qualification (3-1 over Panathinaikos with a home advantage)
Final 4: 3rd place
VTB League
Regular season: 1st (26-4)
Playoffs: Winners (3-0 over Khimki with a home advantage)
CSKA is a special case since they can win the championship with great ease, reach the Euroleague Final Four and if they don’t make it there their season still has a negative sign. This is exactly what happened again this year. Dimitris Itoudis created an excellent unit that had an impressive course throughout the entire season. Another disappointment in a Final Four though overshadowed everything that happened before and after it. CSKA might have celebrated winning the VTB this year as well but the year is still unsuccessful since the team that is built every year with the goal of reaching the top Europe did not make it.
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