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Euroleague format....
#1
I am sorry about this but can someone please break down for me exactly how the format for the Euroleague really works.

I know that its the top 16 teams from head to head play, from there is it still head to head or is it a best of 7 series similar to the NBA?

Also does the regular season games count towards say their own leagues (Adriatic, Baltic) if so how exactly does that work....

And what is that whole team points thing about....?

I am an American who lived in Germany for a few years and played over there, but after a knee injury couldnt play anymore. I fell in love with European basketball because it more of a PURE basketball than that of the NBA, but we cant see much of it at all in America.

So any help would be appreciated! Thx!
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#2
First of all I am glad that you are posting outside Devotion. I hope you continue doing so Smile Thup

Now about the format of Euroleague. I think I should mention the criteria on which is the selection of the teams is based. That's not your question but I think it would help to understand it better. Each country is given a certain number of spots according to the strength of the league and past achievements and the size of the market. Some teams are contracted with Euroleague and have 3-year-contracts. The number of contracted teams in vary in different countries. The only condition not to lose the contract before it runs out is to finish at the top half of the league during those years. So for example in Spain 2 teams qualify through their final position and 2 are contracted. While Lithuania has 1 spot and that is contracted. One place in Euroleague is reserved for ULEB Cup winners (last year the final was won by Real Madrid against Lietuvos Rytas but Real won Spanish league and qualified through it so Rytas qualified from ULEB Cup).

So domestic leagues' final stadnings are important for EL because teams qualify from there. And in Lithuania, for instance, there is 3-year point system which decides which team will get a contract. Žalgiris have 1 year left in their contract and they lead Rytas 43:33 at the moment.

Euroleague starts with 24 teams sorted in 3 groups (8 teams in each). They face each other twice (home and away). Top 5 teams in each group and the best 6th placed team qualify to Top 16. The draw of the Top 16 is held according to regular season results (1st pot - 3 group winners and 2nd best and so on).

In Top 16 teams are sorted in 4 groups with 4 teams in each. Top 2 teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals.

In the quarter-finals group winners face 2nd placed teams in a best-of-3 series. Winners advance to the Final 4.

If I explaned it in a confusing way, feel free to ask and I'll try to make it clear Smile
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#3
Thank you for the quick reply, I do have a couple questions....

Quote:In Top 16 teams are sorted in 4 groups with 4 teams in each. Top 2 teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals.

1) Do they only play the teams in their group? If so how many games? I noticed Oly when it got down to 16 teams went 6-0....then moved into the quarter finals. But how did they figure out whom to play?

Quote:The only condition not to lose the contract before it runs out is to finish at the top half of the league during those years. So for example in Spain 2 teams qualify through their final position and 2 are contracted. While Lithuania has 1 spot and that is contracted. One place in Euroleague is reserved for ULEB Cup winners (last year the final was won by Real Madrid against Lietuvos Rytas but Real won Spanish league and qualified through it so Rytas qualified from ULEB Cup).

2) So if a team is in ULEB, IF they win they move into the EL? For how long? Does it matter how many teams from that country are in the EL? Like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona....only two teams can be contracted from Spain, but if DKV wins the ULEB can they play in the EL next season?

3) So you can quality for the EL by winning your Domestic league too? You stated that Real won the Spanish league and qualified that way, even though LRytas lost in the ULEB final they still qualified? How? If someone wins the Adriatic, do they automatically quality?

So far those are my only questions....and thanks again for the quick response!

And I will continue to post in here b/c I want to learn more about ULEB and EL, and I love Euro style basketball. Agree
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#4
Quote:1) Do they only play the teams in their group? If so how many games? I noticed Oly when it got down to 16 teams went 6-0....then moved into the quarter finals. But how did they figure out whom to play?

Yes. Since each group is contained of 4 teams, there are 3 opponents for each team. All teams play each twice, once home and once away.

Olympiakos was 4-2 in Top16 by the way.

The opponents are pre-set by default. For example from the start of the season it is known that after the Top16 any given 'Group E' winners will face any given 'Group E' runner up while any given 'Group A runner up' will face and given 'Group B winner'...same goes for Groups G and H...

For the record, because the Top16 is considered as a continuity of the Regular season, the Groups are named E,F,G and H. (The first 3 groups of 8 teams in the 1st Group Phase were named A,B,C)

Quote:2) So if a team is in ULEB, IF they win they move into the EL? For how long? Does it matter how many teams from that country are in the EL? Like Real Madrid and FC Barcelona....only two teams can be contracted from Spain, but if DKV wins the ULEB can they play in the EL next season?

If a team who plays in the ULEB Cup wins it, they will move to the next season's Euroleague, for 1 season. the number doesn't matter. Your DKV stands.

Quote:3) So you can quality for the EL by winning your Domestic league too? You stated that Real won the Spanish league and qualified that way, even though LRytas lost in the ULEB final they still qualified? How? If someone wins the Adriatic, do they automatically quality?

Yes. most teams qualify to the Euroleague by winning their domestic leagues. Actually most teams who have guaranteed contracts with Euroleague usually win their domestic leagues. For example Panathinaikos and Zalgiris. Big leagues, which have more than 1 Euroleague spots guarantee a Euroleague spot for the winner. ACB is the biggest and best European domestic League. So Real Madrid won it, and got themselves a ticket to the Euroleague. Rytas got the Euroleague ticket that is reserved for ULEB cup winner because the winner (Real Madrid) already got their ticket through ACB.

Adriatic League doesn't have a Euroleague Spot. Serbian, Slovenian and Croatian domestic leagues each got 1 spot. So they usually send either their champions of the team with the Euroleague contract (Olimpija Ljubliana for example).
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#5
WOW, the EL and ULEB can be a little confusing, I didnt know it was this in depth.... Ohmy

I am sorry but I still have a couple more "Little" questions...

Quote:If a team who plays in the ULEB Cup wins it, they will move to the next season's Euroleague, for 1 season. the number doesn't matter. Your DKV stands.

1) They move up to the EL, now next season of those 3 teams only 2 are contracted right? If DKV doesnt do so good, could they be moved back down to ULEB after the 1 season? And once either Real or Barcelona contract is up, can the EL offer the contract to DKV and not Real or Barcelona?

Quote:Adriatic League doesn't have a Euroleague Spot. Serbian, Slovenian and Croatian domestic leagues each got 1 spot. So they usually send either their champions of the team with the Euroleague contract (Olimpija Ljubliana for example).

2) So they can send either team to the EL? Is that because there is only 1 contracted team that can go? So that would mean the team already with the contract or the championship team right?

3) Which leagues get EL spots and which ones dont?

Thanks again, guys my EL and ULEB knowledge is growing..... Agree
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#6
Quote:1) They move up to the EL, now next season of those 3 teams only 2 are contracted right? If DKV doesnt do so good, could they be moved back down to ULEB after the 1 season? And once either Real or Barcelona contract is up, can the EL offer the contract to DKV and not Real or Barcelona?

Spain has 4 spots. That's the biggest number of teams that one country can have in EL. 2 of them are contracted and 2 qualify through Spanish league. But if another team, DKV for example, win ULEB Cup and finish below other EL teams, Spain would get 5 spots for the next season. It could have happened this year if Real would have finished lower in ACB. The number of contracted teams does not decrease or increase. There is a points system in each country upon which contracts are given. So when 3-year cycle runs out, teams with the most points are offered contracts. This means that it could be the same team(s) for many years like Žalgiris in Lithuania. They used to collect more points than Ryas in every cycle.

Those points are given for a final position in domestic league after regular season; for a final position after the play-offs; for each stage of EL; for latter stages of ULEB Cup; for domestic cup finalists. I am not sure how many points are given for each but you should check my thread in Lithuanian section about Rytas and Žalgiris EL ratings.

Quote:2) So they can send either team to the EL? Is that because there is only 1 contracted team that can go? So that would mean the team already with the contract or the championship team right?

They can't choose which team to send because only one team can qualify. A team has 3-year contract so it doesn't matter which team win the league in that period, contracted team would still play in EL and champions would have to play in ULEB Cup. When the 3-year cycle runs out another team could get a contract if they collect more points. That's why there are more and more unhappiness with this system because league winner could even win it 3 years in a row but they would get a chance to play in EL when the contract of another team runs out. Many clubs want it to be simply that league winner would qualify.

Quote:3) Which leagues get EL spots and which ones don't?

Currently these countries get EL spots: Greece (3 spots), Italy (4 spots), Germany (1 spot), France (2 spots), Lithuania (1 spot), Poland (1 spot), Russia (1 spot), Spain (4 spots), Slovenia (1 spot), Turkey (2 spots), Croatia (1 spot), Serbia (1 spot), Israel (1 spot), ULEB Cup (1 spot).

Other leagues obviously don't have EL spots but most of them have ULEB Cup spots after the expansion last year.
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#7
SWEET! Thanks for all the info Vil and Ark...

I think I am finally getting this...

It is pretty complicated and I would agree that the Domestic winners should get the EL bid...but if they do it by 3 year contracts then, that would just mean that if you are in ULEB you need to win as much as possible for 3 years and gain tons of points in order to hopefully get the EL contract...is that right?

thanks again for all the knowledge...
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#8
You are welcome Wink I am very happy that we have a member like you on the forum Thup

Here are the EL points system for Lithuanian league. I believe it is the same or at least similar in other countries:

Quote:LKL Regular season Winner - 8pts. Runner-up - 7pts. Play-offs: Champion - 15pts. Runner-up - 8pts.

LKF Cup Winner - 5pts. Runner-up - 3pts.

ULEB Cup

Last 16 - 1 pt
Quarter-Final - 3 pts
Runner-up - 5 pts
Winner - 7 pts

Euroleague

Top 16 - 7pts.
Quarter-Finals - 7 + 3 = 10pts.
Final Four 4th place - 10 + 3 = 13pts
Final Four 3rd place - 10 + 4 = 14pts
Final Four 2nd place - 10 + 8 = 18pts
Winner - 10 + 15 = 25pts.

Žalgiris have one more year in their contract. They lead Rytas 50:41 at the moment. So it's not hard to count that Rytas can't catch Žalgiris this year even they win LKL. If Rytas win they would be down 56:58 before final season of the contract. Rytas will play in ULEB Cup next year and that means they could gain 7 at most from it. While for Žalgiris it would be enough to reach Top 16 in EL to get 7 points. Rytas must win LKL this year and repeat their success next year in order to get ahead of Žalgiris.
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#9
hello vilius...

i read the forum and got many knowledge from it

but can you tell me who are the current teams who have contract and will play in the 2008-2009 euroleague season?

thanks, david
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#10
Quote:hello vilius...

i read the forum and got many knowledge from it

but can you tell me who are the current teams who have contract and will play in the 2008-2009 euroleague season?

thanks, david

Hello David, thanks for joining the forum. I am not 100% sure about all the teams so I'll name the ones I more or less sure of.

Here we go: Žalgiris, TAU Ceramica, Unicaja, Cibona, Olimpija, Partizan, Maccabi, Prokom Trefl, CSKA Moscow, Bamberg, Le Mans, one of the Turkish teams, two Italian teams.

I think that teams from the countries that have only one spot in Euroleague are all contracted for the next season. I might be wrong about that though. If someone knows more accurate information, please post it here.
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#11
Hi guys, I've just discover this forum searching info about Euroleague format. Really great discussions, I think that will be here for a long time.

Well, my question. As you said before, there are a number of spots asigned to several countries (Spain 4, Greece 3 etc...) How it is changed (if it is)? Russia only have 1 spot but they are showing the money and now are at least three Russian teams that worth a spot (Kimkhi, Dynamo, CSKA, maybe UNICS?)

With new licensing rules I suposse that this question is somewhat obsolete, but anyway, if somebody knows I would happy to learn about it.

Thanks!
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#12
Euroleague assigns spots to the countries based on their past achievements, level of the domestic league, size of the market, potential of the market, attendances, TV revenues etc. Russia was pushing ULEB to give their at least one more spot in EL (so did Lithuania) but it looks like ULEB are not happy with the attendances in Russia. In general basketball in Russia is not getting that much interest.
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#13
Quote:Euroleague assigns spots to the countries based on their past achievements, level of the domestic league, size of the market, potential of the market, attendances, TV revenues etc. Russia was pushing ULEB to give their at least one more spot in EL (so did Lithuania) but it looks like ULEB are not happy with the attendances in Russia. In general basketball in Russia is not getting that much interest.

Thanks Vilius, but these spots are re-evaluated every year ir in a three-year period?
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#14
Quote:Thanks Vilius, but these spots are re-evaluated every year ir in a three-year period?

In three year period. So a team must collect more points than its opponent during three years. Only some teams get a place in Euroleague according to their sporting results. I mean for example Spain has two teams under contract and two teams qualify through ACB. All countries that have only one spot in Euroleague have 3-year points system to decide their representatives.
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#15
Quote:In three year period. So a team must collect more points than its opponent during three years. Only some teams get a place in Euroleague according to their sporting results. I mean for example Spain has two teams under contract and two teams qualify through ACB. All countries that have only one spot in Euroleague have 3-year points system to decide their representatives.

Sorry, I didn't explained well. I meant that, could Spain (for example) lose one of his spots moving from 4 to 3 and, for instance, Russia receiving that from 1 to 2?

If it's possible, in wich period is re-evaluated this country assingment?
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#16
That is impossible. At least not whith the current competition system. A country can't lose a spot in any way. Unless ULEB decides to take one from them. Italy had poor results for a few years and there were talks about them losing at least one spot but nothing happened. It would definatelly be great if we had a system like the one of Champions League in football. So if a country has some good results it could get more spots and the one that performs poorly would lose a spot. But even in Champions League the number of spots is decided according to country coefficient during a few years.

So 3-year system only decides the club who will play in Euroleague and not the number of spots that a country has in Euroleague.
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#17
Quote:That is impossible. At least not whith the current competition system. A country can't lose a spot in any way. Unless ULEB decides to take one from them. Italy had poor results for a few years and there were talks about them losing at least one spot but nothing happened. It would definatelly be great if we had a system like the one of Champions League in football. So if a country has some good results it could get more spots and the one that performs poorly would lose a spot. But even in Champions League the number of spots is decided according to country coefficient during a few years.

So 3-year system only decides the club who will play in Euroleague and not the number of spots that a country has in Euroleague.

OooooooK man, great patience and explanaiton Smile

Well, new fomat based in licenses don't seem to me better than now, small teams and countries are very penalized, but a strong team with poor results could be classified. What about a previous round? I want to see more teams from other countries like Belgium, Finland, or somewhere else!!
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