Euroleague Basketball and the National Basketball Association (NBA) will team up this October for the fifth edition of the Euroleague American Tour. Real Madrid of Spain and Montepaschi Siena of Italy will each play two different opponents in the Unites States and Canada during games scheduled for October 6 and October 8, 2012. The two teams will face four NBA opponents: the Memphis Grizzlies, the San Antonio Spurs, the Toronto Raptors and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Euroleague American Tour 12 will tip off with a pair of games on Saturday, October 6. Madrid will visit the Grizzlies at FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee while Montepaschi faces the Spurs at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Two nights later, the Euroleague teams move on to different cities. Madrid takes on the Raptors at Air Canada Center in Toronto, Canada and Siena meets the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

“These games will be a great experience for the team, because even if Real Madrid has played against NBA teams four times before in the clubs history, this will be the first time that we play a game in its territory, having the possibility to promote even more the Real Madrid brand outside Europe,” Mr. Juan Carlos Sánchez, Basketball Director of Real Madrid, said. “They will be two very enriching games, where, as always, we will compete at our maximum to try to win, but we will also try to contribute to a great show for all the fans to enjoy this duel between the representatives of European and American basketball.”

Memphis, San Antonio and Cleveland all featured in the last Euroleague American Tour in 2010 and were anxious to repeat the experience of having Euroleague teams play before their fans again.

“It’s a huge honor for us to be able to participate in the 2012 Euroleague American Tour,” Montepaschi Siena president Ferdinando Minucci, said. “It’s our club’s first time in a tournament like this and we thank Euroleague and the NBA for choosing us, along with Real Madrid, to represent European basketball on this overseas tour. We’re excited about facing off against two NBA teams, the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and being able play on their courts; it’s a privilege reserved for few teams in Europe.”

Euroleague American Tour 12 continues a tradition of friendly competition between NBA and Euroleague teams that dates back to 1978, when Maccabi Tel Aviv played the Washington Bullets in Tel Aviv, Israel. Following Euroleague American Tour 12, a total of 69 games will have been played between European and NBA clubs.

Euroleague American Tour 12 will coincide with NBA Europe Live 2012, in which two other NBA teams will visit Europe for four games. The Boston Celtics will meet Fenerbahce Ulker at the newly opened Ulker Sports Arena in Istanbul, Turkey on October 5. The Dallas Mavericks will come to the O2 World in Berlin, Germany, to face Alba Berlin on October 6. The next day sees EA7 Emporio Armani match up against the Celtics at the Mediolanum Forum. And NBA Europe Live 2012 concludes in Barcelona, Spain, where FC Barcelona Regal takes on the Mavericks.

October 6 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES vs. REAL MADRID @ FedEx Forum – Memphis, TN
October 6 SAN ANTONIO SPURS vs. MONTEPASCHI SIENA @ AT&T Center – San Antonio, TX
October 8 TORONTO RAPTORS vs. REAL MADRID @ Air Canada Center – Toronto, CAN
October 8 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS vs. MONTEPASCHI SIENA @ Quicken Loans Arena – Cleveland, OH

Source: Euroleague.net