By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Getting ready to wrap up the sixth season in style, the Basketball Champions League is a firmly established European club continental competition and has proven the place to shine for teams located all over the continent time and again. It can be proud of 17 teams and eight countries being represented among the top four sides of the seasons over these six years.
The 2022 Final Four field features Lenovo Tenerife reaching the semifinals for the league-high third time in team history. MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg is back for a second championship bid, while both Baxi Manresa and Hapoel U-NET Holon became the latest new additions to the list of clubs extending at least one run into the semifinals.
List of teams by Final Four:
2017: AS Monaco, Banvit, Iberostar Tenerife, Umana Reyer Venezia
2018: AEK, AS Monaco, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, UCAM Murcia
2019: Brose Bamberg, Iberostar Tenerife, Telenet Antwerp Giants, Virtus Segafredo Bologna
2020*: AEK, Casademont Zaragoza, Hereda San Pablo Burgos, JDA Dijon
2021*: Casademont Zaragoza, Hereda San Pablo Burgos, Pinar Karsiyaka, SIG Strasbourg
2022: Baxi Manresa, Hapoel U-NET Holon, Lenovo Tenerife, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg
* The season concluded with a Final Eight tournament
At the same time, Spain’s Final Four berths went up to nine behind Manresa and Tenerife. Germany’s third berth narrowed the distance from second-placed France. Incoming Israel added to the diverse championship-playing field of BCL.
List of countries represented in the Final Four:
Spain – 9 berths: Tenerife (3), Casademont Zaragoza (2), Hereda San Pablo Burgos (2), Baxi Manresa, UCAM Murcia
France – 4 berths: AS Monaco* (2), JDA Dijon, SIG Strasbourg
Germany – 3 berths: MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (2), Brose Bamberg
Greece – 2 berths: AEK (2)
Italy – 2 berths: Virtus Segafredo Bologna, Umana Reyer Venezia
Turkey – 2 berths: Banvit, Pinar Karsiyaka
Belgium – 1 berth: Telenet Giants Antwerp
Israel – 1 berth: Hapoel U-NET Holon
* The team based in Monaco is registered in France
Staying on topic, the 2022 edition will be the first season-ending tournament hosted in a neutral venue, a major step in itself for the quickly-growing competition. The Bilbao Arena in Bilbao is set to welcome the finalists from the Semifinals on 6 May to the championship and third-place games on 8 May.
2017: San Cristobal de La Laguna, Spain
2018: Athens, Greece
2019: Antwerp, Belgium
2020: Athens, Greece
2021: Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
2022: Bilbao, Spain
Photo Credit: Basketball Champions League