# 2008–09 FIBA EuroChallenge

The 2008–09 FIBA EuroChallenge was the sixth edition of Europe's third-tier level transnational men's professional club basketball FIBA EuroChallenge Tournament, and the first under the FIBA EuroChallenge name, organized by FIBA Europe. It was also the first season that eliminated teams from the ULEB Cup would transfer to a FIBA competition after the 2000 conflict between ULEB and FIBA. Additionally the formerly known ULEB Cup would be now renamed to EuroCup from 2008 and onwards.
A total number of 32 teams participated in the regular season and a total of 40 teams competed including the qualifying rounds. Virtus Bologna won its first EuroChallenge title after defeating Cholet in the Final of the Final Four, which was hosted in Bologna.

## Format

In all there are 40 teams from 21 countries, plus sixteen teams from the 2008–09 Eurocup Basketball first preliminary round and second preliminary round. The competition is jointly run by FIBA Europe.

## Teams

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round (TH: title holders;):
* 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.: League position after eventual Playoffs
* EC: Transferred from Eurocup
QR: Losers from qualifying rounds
* WC: Wild card
Regular season :
| Ural Great (EC QR2) | Base Oostende (EC QR2) | Cajasol (EC QR2) | Hapoel Migdal Jerusalim (EC QR2) |
| Triumph Lyubertsy (EC QR1) | Dexia Mons-Hainaut (4th) | Cholet (EC QR1) | Galatasaray (EC QR2) |
| Lokomotiv Rostov (7th) | Tartu Rock (EC QR1) | Benetton Olympic Fribourg (EC QR2) | Olympia Larissa (8th) |
| Kyiv (EC QR2) | Kalev/Cramo (2nd) | Allianz Swans Gmunden (EC QR2) | Keravnos (1st) |
| Khimik (3rd) | Šiauliai (EC QR1) | Telekom Bonn (EC QR1) | Virtus Bologna (15th) |
| Energa Czarni Slupsk (EC QR1) | Ventspils (3rd) | EclipseJet MyGuide Amsterdam (EC QR1) | |
Qualifying rounds :
| CSK VVS-Samara (9th) | Hyeres-Toulon (6th) | Antalya BB (6th) | Široki (3rd) |
| Spartak Saint Petersburg (11th) | JA Vichy (7th) | Banvit (8th) | Borac Nektar (5th) |
| Sumykhimprom (5th) | EWE Baskets Oldenburg (5th) | APOEL (2nd) | Zagreb (4th) |
| MBC Mykolaiv (6th) | Deutsche Bank Skyliners (6th) | Proteas EKA AEL (3rd) | Cedevita (5th) |
| Donetsk (WC) | Bakken Bears (1st) | Asesoft (1st) | Zlatorog Laško (4th) |
| Prostejov (3rd) | Svendborg Rabbits (2nd) | U Mobilteco Cluj (2nd) | AMAK SP (5th) |
| Spartak Pleven (4th) | Eiffel Towers Den Bosch (2nd) | CSU Sibiu (3rd) | |
| Energy Invest Rustavi (1st) | Belgacom Liege (5th) | Körmend (2nd) | |

## Qualifying rounds

Thirty-two teams will participate in the first round and sixteen in the second.

### First qualifying round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Prostějov | 134–148 | Zagreb | 61–69 | 73–79 |
| AMAK SP | 148–145 | Zlatorog Laško | 70–76 | 78–69 |
| CSU Asesoft | 147–145 | Spartak Saint Petersburg | 79–76 | 68–69 |
| U Mobitelco Cluj | 132–163 | EWE Baskets Oldenburg | 60–86 | 72–77 |
| Svendborg Rabbits | 168–180 | Široki | 92–100 | 76–80 |
| MBC Mykolaiv | 138–151 | Deutsche Bank Skyliners | 68–75 | 70–76 |
| Energy Invest Rustavi | 160–200 | Sumykhimprom | 81–110 | 79–90 |
| Spartak Pleven | 153–176 | Antalya BB | 83–87 | 70–89 |
| APOEL | 113–135 | JA Vichy | 52–66 | 61–69 |
| Sibiu | 144–186 | Banvit | 67–74 | 77–112 |
| Cedevita | 150–157 | Hyères-Toulon | 92–82 | 58–75 |
| Körmend | 171–201 | EiffelTowers Den Bosch | 71–88 | 100–113 |
| Donetsk | 120–134 | Proteas EKA AEL | 65–65 | 55–79 |
| Bakken Bears | 119–164 | Belgacom Liège | 55–67 | 64–97 |

### Second qualifying round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| EiffelTowers Den Bosch | 166–130 | AMAK SP | 94–66 | 72–64 |
| Široki | 155–164 | Sumykhimprom | 73–73 | 82–91 |
| CSK VSS-Samara | 149–136 | Zagreb | 80–60 | 69–76 |
| Deutsche Bank Skyliners | 127–125 | Antalya BB | 60–60 | 67–65 |
| Hyères-Toulon | 170–154 | CSU Asesoft | 103–77 | 67–77 |
| EWE Baskets Oldenburg | 150–120 | Borac Nektar | 76–46 | 74–74 |
| Belgacom Liège | 154–137 | JA Vichy | 74–67 | 80–70 |
| Banvit | 165–189 | Proteas EKA AEL | 93–100 | 72–89 |

## Regular season
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Belgacom Liège | 6 | 6 | 0 | 492 | 433 | +59 | Advance to top 16 |
| 2 | Cajasol | 6 | 3 | 3 | 480 | 405 | +75 | Advance to top 16 |
| 3 | Ventspils | 6 | 2 | 4 | 436 | 209 | +227 | |
| 4 | Energa Czarni Słupsk | 6 | 1 | 5 | 462 | 523 | −61 | |
| | LIE | CAJ | VEN | SLU |
| LIE | | 69-62 | 89-84 | 89-64 |
| CAJ | 78-79 | | 98-51 | 89-75 |
| VEN | 54-73 | 78-70 | | 94-88 |
| SLU | 91-93 | 53-83 | 91-75 | |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Ural Great | 6 | 5 | 1 | 498 | 433 | +65 | Advance to top 16 |
| 2 | Telekom Baskets Bonn | 6 | 3 | 3 | 417 | 413 | +4 | Advance to top 16 |
| 3 | Hyères-Toulon | 6 | 3 | 3 | 478 | 485 | −7 | |
| 4 | Keravnos | 6 | 1 | 5 | 434 | 496 | −62 | |
| | URA | TBB | HYE | KER |
| URA | | 82-54 | 84-76 | 85-64 |
| TBB | 64-70 | | 71-61 | 78-55 |
| HYE | 94-83 | 72-86 | | 87-76 |
| KER | 81-94 | 73-64 | 85-88 | |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Cholet | 6 | 6 | 0 | 485 | 410 | +75 | Advance to top 16 |
| 2 | Lokomotiv Rostov | 6 | 4 | 2 | 460 | 424 | +36 | Advance to top 16 |
| 3 | Sumykhimprom | 6 | 1 | 5 | 471 | 513 | −42 | |
| 4 | Benetton Olympic | 6 | 1 | 5 | 384 | 453 | −69 | |
| | CHO | LOK | SUM | BEN |
| CHO | | 76-72 | 100-77 | 79-52 |
| LOK | 65-66 | | 99-72 | 66-65 |
| SUM | 81-82 | 84-89 | | 90-73 |
| BEN | 63-82 | 61-69 | 70-67 | |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Proteas EKA AEL | 6 | 4 | 2 | 519 | 456 | +63 | Advance to top 16 |
| 2 | EiffelTowers Den Bosch | 6 | 4 | 2 | 501 | 480 | +21 | Advance to top 16 |
| 3 | Šiauliai | 6 | 4 | 2 | 484 | 497 | −13 | |
| 4 | Allianz Swans Gmunden | 6 | 0 | 6 | 428 | 499 | −71 | |
| | AEL | DEN | ŠIA | GMU |
| AEL | | 95-77 | 102-76 | 86-62 |
| DEN | 87-76 | | 96-82 | 77-70 |
| ŠIA | 77-75 | 82-80 | | 89-76 |
| GMU | 77-85 | 75-84 | 68-78 | |

### Group E

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | EWE Baskets Oldenburg | 6 | 4 | 2 | 469 | 451 | +18 | Advance to top 16 |
| 2 | EclipseJet MyGuide Amsterdam | 6 | 3 | 3 | 435 | 447 | −12 | Advance to top 16 |
| 3 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 6 | 3 | 3 | 397 | 377 | +20 | |
| 4 | Olympia Larissa | 6 | 2 | 4 | 357 | 383 | −26 | |
| | OLD | AMS | JER | LAR |
| OLD | | 78-62 | 79-70 | 76-73 |
| AMS | 76-73 | | 73-74 | 68-64 |
| JER | 81-88 | 81-83 | | 20-0* |
| LAR | 89-75 | 77-73 | 54-71 | |
*Due to the war situation in Gaza Strip, Olympia refused to travel to Israel and Hapoel Jerusalim were declared winners by forfeit (20-0)

### Group F

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Dexia Mons-Hainaut | 6 | 4 | 2 | 514 | 451 | +63 | Advance to top 16 |
| 2 | Galatasaray Cafe Crown | 6 | 4 | 2 | 483 | 447 | +36 | Advance to top 16 |
| 3 | Zagreb | 6 | 2 | 4 | 443 | 492 | −49 | |
| 4 | Khimik | 6 | 2 | 4 | 449 | 499 | −50 | |
| | DEX | GAL | ZAG | KHI |
| DEX | | 91-65 | 99-69 | 82-76 |
| GAL | 80-68 | | 87-72 | 94-51 |
| ZAG | 66-84 | 78-82 | | 88-78 |
| KHI | 95-90 | 87-75 | 62-70 | |

### Group G

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Virtus Bologna | 6 | 5 | 1 | 472 | 444 | +28 | Advance to top 16 |
| 2 | CSK VSS-Samara | 6 | 3 | 3 | 440 | 439 | +1 | Advance to top 16 |
| 3 | Base Oostende | 6 | 2 | 4 | 490 | 487 | +3 | |
| 4 | Tartu Rock | 6 | 2 | 4 | 451 | 483 | −32 | |
| | VIR | CSK | OOS | TAR |
| VIR | | 75-69 | 70-69 | 95-85 |
| CSK | 72-70 | | 86-72 | 58-66 |
| OOS | 76-87 | 98-75 | | 87-73 |
| TAR | 73-75 | 58-80 | 92-82 | |

### Group H

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Triumph Lyubertsy | 6 | 4 | 2 | 441 | 405 | +36 | Advance to top 16 |
| 2 | Kyiv | 6 | 4 | 2 | 440 | 393 | +47 | Advance to top 16 |
| 3 | Deutsche Bank Skyliners | 6 | 2 | 4 | 375 | 425 | −50 | |
| 4 | Kalev/Cramo | 6 | 2 | 4 | 431 | 464 | −33 | |
| | TRI | KYI | DBS | KAL |
| TRI | | 67-64 | 76-58 | 75-69 |
| KYI | 66-65 | | 78-46 | 90-75 |
| DBS | 77-71 | 58-66 | | 61-57 |
| KAL | 81-87 | 82-76 | 77-75 | |

## Top 16
### Group I

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Cholet | 6 | 5 | 1 | 450 | 408 | +42 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 2 | Telekom Baskets Bonn | 6 | 3 | 3 | 415 | 425 | −10 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 3 | Belgacom Liège | 6 | 2 | 4 | 410 | 432 | −22 | |
| 4 | EiffelTowers Den Bosch | 6 | 2 | 4 | 433 | 443 | −10 | |
| | CHO | TBB | LIE | DEN |
| CHO | | 71-54 | 71-78 | 85-68 |
| TBB | 68-71 | | 79-64 | 84-77 |
| LIE | 70-80 | 59-67 | | 81-68 |
| DEN | 70-72 | 83-63 | 67-58 | |

### Group J

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Virtus Bologna | 6 | 4 | 2 | 479 | 444 | +35 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 2 | Kyiv | 6 | 4 | 2 | 446 | 399 | +47 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 3 | EWE Baskets Oldenburg | 6 | 3 | 3 | 456 | 470 | −14 | |
| 4 | Galatasaray Cafe Crown | 6 | 1 | 5 | 478 | 546 | −68 | |
| | VIR | KYI | OLD | GAL |
| VIR | | 68-64 | 81-82 | 93-77 |
| KYI | 57-69 | | 64-54 | 95-62 |
| OLD | 73-64 | 73-86 | | 85-93 |
| GAL | 91-104 | 73-80 | 82-89 | |

### Group K

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Proteas EKA AEL | 6 | 5 | 1 | 472 | 421 | +51 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 2 | Ural Great | 6 | 3 | 3 | 453 | 453 | 0 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 3 | Cajasol | 6 | 2 | 4 | 417 | 418 | −1 | |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Rostov | 6 | 2 | 4 | 399 | 449 | −50 | |
| | AEL | URA | CAJ | LOK |
| AEL | | 102-75 | 88-78 | 74-60 |
| URA | 83-57 | | 61-72 | 69-60 |
| CAJ | 56-64 | 76-81 | | 74-61 |
| LOK | 69-87 | 86-84 | 63-61 | |

### Group L

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Qualification |
| 1 | Triumph Lyubertsy | 6 | 5 | 1 | 472 | 431 | +41 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 2 | EclipseJet MyGuide Amsterdam | 6 | 4 | 2 | 481 | 461 | +20 | Advance to quarterfinals |
| 3 | Dexia Mons-Hainaut | 6 | 3 | 3 | 495 | 482 | +13 | |
| 4 | CSK VSS-Samara | 6 | 0 | 6 | 429 | 503 | −74 | |
| | TRI | AMS | DEX | CSK |
| TRI | | 76-75 | 76-73 | 86-67 |
| AMS | 68-85 | | 87-75 | 84-69 |
| DEX | 83-68 | 86-93 | | 101-85 |
| CSK | 65-81 | 70-74 | 73-77 | |

## Quarterfinals

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 3rd leg |
| Cholet | 2–1 | Kyiv | 68–52 | 72–77 | 80–74 |
| Virtus Bologna | 2–0 | Telekom Baskets Bonn | 86–76 | 106–91 | |
| Proteas EKA AEL | 2–0 | EclipseJet MyGuide Amsterdam | 82–72 | 83–72 | |
| Triumph Lyubertsy | 2–1 | Ural Great | 100–102 | 91–65 | 78–63 |

## Final Four

The Final Four will be the last stage of EuroChallenge 2008–09. The event will take place at the Futurshow Station, in Bologna.
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| Cholet | 81 |
| Triumph Lyubertsy | 78 | | |
| Triumph Lyubertsy | 78 | Cholet | 75 |
| | | Virtus Bologna | 77 |
| Virtus Bologna | 83 | Virtus Bologna | 77 |
| Proteas EKA AEL | 69 | | |
| Proteas EKA AEL | 69 | Third place | Third place |
| | | Triumph Lyubertsy | 94 |
| | | Proteas EKA AEL | 82 |