# 2008–09 Eurocup Basketball

2008–09 Eurocup Basketball was the seventh edition of Europe's second-tier level transnational competition for men's professional basketball clubs, the EuroCup, and the first to be contested under the Eurocup name. From the inception of the competition in 2002, it had been known as the ULEB Cup. The EuroCup is the European-wide league level that is one tier below the EuroLeague level.
During this season, there were 48 teams, from 22 countries. After the preliminary rounds, there were 32 teams left for the regular season, with the 16 eliminated teams being relegated down and parachuting into Europe's third-tier transnational competition, the EuroChallenge. Lithuanian club Lietuvos Rytas of Vilnius, won the tournament and promotion to the top level EuroLeague for the next season.

## Teams of the 2008–2009 Eurocup

| Country | Teams | Clubs (ranking in national league) | Clubs (ranking in national league) | Clubs (ranking in national league) | Clubs (ranking in national league) | Clubs (ranking in national league) |
| Russia | 5 | Khimki (2nd) | Dynamo Moscow (3rd) | Ural Great Perm (4th) | UNICS (5th) | Triumph Lyubertsy (6th) |
| France | 4 | Chorale Roanne (2nd) | ASVEL (3rd) | Le Havre (5th) | Cholet (8th) |
| Spain | 4 | Pamesa Valencia (6th) | Iurbentia Bilbao (7th) | Cajasol (8th) | Kalise Gran Canaria (9th) |
| Germany | 3 | Telekom Baskets Bonn (2nd) | Artland Dragons (6th) | Brose Baskets (7th) |
| Greece | 3 | Maroussi Costa Coffee (4th) | Aris (5th) | Panellinios (6th) |
| Serbia | 3 | Hemofarm (2nd) | Crvena zvezda (3rd) | FMP (4th) |
| Turkey | 3 | Türk Telekom (2nd) | Beşiktaş Cola Turka (3rd) | Galatasaray Café Crown (4th) |
| Belgium | 2 | Spirou (2nd) | Telindus Oostende (5th) |
| Italy | 2 | Fortitudo Bologna (8th) | Benetton Treviso (10th) |
| Israel | 2 | Bnei HaSharon (3rd) | Hapoel Jerusalem (6th) |
| Latvia | 2 | Barons LMT (1st) | ASK Riga (2nd) |
| Lithuania | 2 | Lietuvos rytas (2nd) | Šiauliai (3rd) |
| Poland | 2 | Turów Zgorzelec (2nd) | Energa Czarni Słupsk (10th) |
| Ukraine | 2 | Azovmash (1st) | Kyiv (2nd) |
| Austria | 1 | Allianz Swans Gmunden (1st) |
| Bulgaria | 1 | Lukoil Academic (1st) |
| Croatia | 1 | Zadar (1st) |
| Czech Republic | 1 | ČEZ Nymburk (1st) |
| Estonia | 1 | Tartu Ülikool Rock (1st) |
| Montenegro | 1 | Budućnost (1st) |
| Netherlands | 1 | MyGuide Amsterdam (1st) |
| Switzerland | 1 | Benetton Fribourg (1st) |

## Format

The competition format was also revamped. A total of 48 clubs participated, down from 54 in the previous year's competition. The competition was jointly organized by Euroleague Basketball Company and FIBA Europe.

### First preliminary round

Sixteen teams competed in the first preliminary round, which was organised by FIBA Europe. These teams were paired in two-legged matches, with winners decided on aggregate score. The eight winners advanced to the second preliminary round, and the eight losers parachuted into the third-tier European competition, the EuroChallenge. The matches were played from October 14 through October 21.
Due to a decision of the Italian Basketball Federation to revoke Capo d'Orlando's first division license, followed by an Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) tribunal rejected appeal by the club, Capo d'Orlando lost the right to participate in European competitions. As a result, Benetton Treviso automatically qualified to the group stage, while Benetton Fribourg advanced to the second qualification round where they met Kalise Gran Canaria.

### Second preliminary round

The second preliminary round, also organised by FIBA Europe, also featured 16 teams, with the eight winners from the first preliminary round joined by eight automatic qualifiers to that phase. As in the first preliminary round, matches were two-legged and decided on aggregate score, with the winners advancing to the Eurocup regular season and the losers parachuting into the EuroChallenge. Matches were played from November 4 to November 11.

### Regular season

Thirty-two teams—24 automatic qualifiers and the eight survivors of the second preliminary round—entered the Regular Season. From this point onward, the competition is organised by Euroleague Basketball Company. The teams were divided into eight groups of four teams each, with each group playing a double round-robin schedule. The first and second-place teams in each group advanced to the Last 16. Regular Season matches were held from November 25, 2008 until January 13, 2009.

### Last 16

For the first time in the history of the competition, a second group phase was played. The survivors of the Regular Season were divided into four-team groups, each playing a double round-robin schedule. This phase has a direct analogue in the top-tier EuroLeague, which conducts an identical group phase, the Top 16, at the same stage of the competition. As in the EuroLeague Top 16, the first- and second-place teams in each group advance to the next phase. However, unlike the EuroLeague, which conducts a separate quarterfinal round before its Final Four, the Eurocup sent its surviving teams into a single knockout tournament, the Final Eight. Last 16 matches were played from January 27 to March 10, 2009.

### Final eight

Like the Euroleague Final Four, this was a knockout tournament, conducted in one-off matches, held at a single site. The semifinal losers played a single match for third place, and the semifinal winners played a single match for the Eurocup title and an automatic place in the 2009-10 Euroleague. This phase was carried over from the prior ULEB Cup format. Matches were played from April 9 through April 12.
This was the last season for the Final Eight format. From 2009–10 onward, a quarterfinal round has been introduced, consisting of two-legged ties between a group winner and the runner-up from a separate group, with the winner of each tie determined on aggregate score. The quarterfinal winners will advance to the Eurocup Finals, with one-off semifinals followed by a one-off final.

## Preliminary rounds

Sixteen teams participated in the first preliminary round, and after the first preliminary round matches, sixteen teams played in a second preliminary round, with the top eight teams from the first preliminary round. Teams that were eliminated from the first or second preliminary round games competed in the EuroChallenge 2008-09.

### First preliminary round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Šiauliai | 136–167 | Galatasaray Café Crown | 73–73 | 63–94 |
| MyGuide Amsterdam | 133–143 | FMP | 66–60 | 67–83 |
| Energa Czarni Słupsk | 126–151 | UNICS | 76–62 | 50–89 |
| Allianz Swans Gmunden | 146–139 | Tartu Ülikool Rock | 86–64 | 60–75 |
| Panellinios | 154–124 | Telekom Baskets Bonn | 69–54 | 85–70 |
| Triumph Lyubertsy | 146–159 | Telindus Oostende | 78–78 | 68–81 |
| ASK Riga | 142–137 | Cholet | 69–62 | 73–75 |

### Second preliminary round

| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Galatasaray Café Crown | 147–176 | Budućnost | 85–83 | 62–93 |
| FMP | 138–118 | Ural Great Perm | 69–61 | 69–57 |
| UNICS | 161–142 | Hapoel Jerusalem | 88–66 | 73–76 |
| Allianz Swans Gmunden | 163–178 | Crvena zvezda | 82–82 | 81–96 |
| Panellinios | 168–165 | Kyiv | 96–69 | 72–96 |
| Le Havre | 172–168 | Telindus Oostende | 84–85 | 88–83 |
| Benetton Fribourg | 125–195 | Kalise Gran Canaria | 64–92 | 61–103 |
| ASK Riga | 151–134 | Cajasol | 83–69 | 68–65 |

## Regular season

Key to colors :
* Top two places in each group advance to Top 16

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | MAR | ZAD | ASK | ROA |
| 1 | Maroussi Costa Coffee | 6 | 4 | 2 | 493 | 468 | +25 | 10 | Advanced to Top 16 | — | 91–75 | 82–77 | 88–73 |
| 2 | Zadar | 6 | 4 | 2 | 505 | 480 | +25 | 10 | Advanced to Top 16 | 87–79 | — | 83–68 | 82–70 |
| 3 | ASK Riga | 6 | 3 | 3 | 496 | 478 | +18 | 9 | | 84–70 | 106–94 | — | 86–70 |
| 4 | Chorale Roanne | 6 | 1 | 5 | 430 | 498 | −68 | 7 | | 72–83 | 66–84 | 79–75 | — |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | UNI | DYN | BAR | LUK |
| 1 | UNICS | 6 | 6 | 0 | 488 | 435 | +53 | 12 | Advanced to Top 16 | — | 80–71 | 76–55 | 79–72 |
| 2 | Dynamo Moscow | 6 | 4 | 2 | 492 | 442 | +50 | 10 | Advanced to Top 16 | 77–87 | — | 84–74 | 94–78 |
| 3 | Barons LMT | 6 | 1 | 5 | 443 | 489 | −46 | 7 | | 81–86 | 61–80 | — | 84–88 |
| 4 | Lukoil Academic | 6 | 1 | 5 | 454 | 511 | −57 | 7 | | 79–80 | 62–86 | 75–88 | — |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | KHI | BEN | BEŞ | LEH |
| 1 | Khimki | 6 | 5 | 1 | 459 | 400 | +59 | 11 | Advanced to Top 16 | — | 80–71 | 91–65 | 79–55 |
| 2 | Benetton Treviso | 6 | 4 | 2 | 478 | 443 | +35 | 10 | Advanced to Top 16 | 77–59 | — | 80–89 | 91–67 |
| 3 | Beşiktaş Cola Turka | 6 | 3 | 3 | 459 | 471 | −12 | 9 | | 69–71 | 72–77 | — | 96–91 |
| 4 | Le Havre | 6 | 0 | 6 | 413 | 495 | −82 | 6 | | 63–79 | 76–82 | 61–68 | — |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | TÜR | PNE | ARI | BNE |
| 1 | Türk Telekom | 6 | 4 | 2 | 393 | 344 | +49 | 10 | Advanced to Top 16 | — | 70–64 | 78–65 | 20–0 |
| 2 | Panellinios | 6 | 3 | 3 | 453 | 435 | +18 | 9 | Advanced to Top 16 | 82–74 | — | 69–71 | 85–70 |
| 3 | Aris | 6 | 3 | 3 | 457 | 459 | −2 | 9 | | 79–75 | 72–77 | — | 84–71 |
| 4 | Bnei HaSharon | 6 | 2 | 4 | 362 | 427 | −65 | 8 | | 54–76 | 78–76 | 89–86 | — |
| Group E AZO LRY ASV GRA AZO 76-66 87-74 92-90 LRY 83-64 95-74 74-64 ASV 85-83 93-90 69-81 GRA 74-82 94-83 78-80 Team Pld W L PF PA Diff 1. Azovmash 642484472+12 2. Lietuvos rytas 633491465+26 3. ASVEL 633475514-39 4. Kalise Gran Canaria 624481480+1 | Group F SPI CZV TUR BRO SPI 71-65 89-69 64-62 CZV 93-91 97-69 82-65 TUR 61-86 76-86 67-56 BRO 65-84 53-67 39-69 Team Pld W L PF PA Diff 1. Spirou 651485415+70 2. Crvena zvezda 651490425+65 3. PGE Turów 624411453-42 4. Brose Baskets 606340433-93 |
| Group G VAL ART FOR FMP VAL 84-67 80-74 83-58 ART 79-89 87-78 73-62 FOR 71-77 89-93 88-61 FMP 65-84 93-65 59-70 Team Pld W L PF PA Diff 1. Pamesa Valencia 660497414+83 2. Artland Dragons 633464495-31 3. Fortitudo Bologna 624470457+13 4. FMP 615398463-65 | Group H BIL HEM NYM BUD BIL 78-67 93-72 69-66 HEM 62-82 82-74 89-85 NYM 79-92 80-82 75-70 BUD 65-67 70-59 63-66 Team Pld W L PF PA Diff 1. Iurbentia Bilbao 660481411+70 2. Hemofarm 633441469-28 3. ČEZ Nymburk 624446482-36 4. Budućnost 615419425-6 |

## Top 16

The second grand stage begins from January 27, 2009.
Key to colors :
* Top two places in each group advance to final eight
| Group I DYN KHI MAR PNE DYN 73-68 94-73 91-84 KHI 69-77 94-69 101-94 MAR 76-80 71-58 83-85 PNE 72-77 73-89 59-71 Team Pld W L PF PA Diff 1. Dynamo Moscow 660492442+50 2. Khimki 633479457+22 3. Maroussi Costa Coffee 624443470-27 4. Panellinios 615467512-45 | Group J BEN ZAD UNI TÜR BEN 94-81 68-66 89-87 ZAD 76-84 93-91 94-86 UNI 81-59 69-71 72-57 TÜR 67-99 89-82 66-86 Team Pld W L PF PA Diff 1. Benetton Treviso 651493458+35 2. Zadar 633497513-16 3. UNICS 633465414+51 4. Türk Telekom 615452522-70 |
| Group K VAL HEM AZO CZV VAL 65-60 68-66 82-80 HEM 66-62 84-74 88-73 AZO 91-88 89-71 62-74 CZV 73-85 65-91 72-95 Team Pld W L PF PA Diff 1. Pamesa Valencia 642450436+14 2. Hemofarm 642460428+32 3. Azovmash 633477457+20 4. Crvena zvezda 615437503-66 | Group L BIL LRY SPI ART BIL 67-59 82-78 71-62 LRY 73-71 77-56 105-64 SPI 59-79 78-74 88-79 ART 84-79 70-79 82-94 Team Pld W L PF PA Diff 1. Iurbentia Bilbao 642449415+34 2. Lietuvos rytas 642467406+61 3. Spirou 633453473-20 4. Artland Dragons 615441516-75 |

## Final eight

The Final Eight was the last stage of EuroCup 2008-09.

### Quarter finals

April 2, Pala Alpitour, Turin
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 85–93 | Hemofarm |
| Benetton Treviso | 79–85 | Lietuvos rytas |
April 3, Pala Alpitour, Turin
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Pamesa Valencia | 73–76 | Khimki |
| Iurbentia Bilbao | 76–67 | Zadar |

### Semi finals

April 4, Pala Alpitour, Turin
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Hemofarm | 68–73 | Lietuvos rytas |
| Khimki | 79–73 | Iurbentia Bilbao |

### Final

April 13, Pala Alpitour, Turin
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| Lietuvos rytas | 80–74 | Khimki |
* 2008–09 Eurocup Champions
* Lietuvos rytas 2nd title

## Individual statistics
### Points

| Rank | Name | Team | Games | Points | PPG |
| 1. | Khalid El-Amin | Azovmash | 11 | 197 | 17.90 |

### Rebounds

| Rank | Name | Team | Games | Rebounds | RPG |
| 1. | C. J. Wallace | Benetton Treviso | 13 | 96 | 7.38 |

### Assists

| Rank | Name | Team | Games | Assists | APG |
| 1. | Khalid El-Amin | Azovmash | 11 | 58 | 5.27 |

## Awards
### Eurocup 2008–09 MVP

* Chuck Eidson ( Lietuvos rytas )

### Eurocup 2008–09 Finals MVP

* Marijonas Petravičius ( Lietuvos rytas )

### All-Eurocup team

| Season | Position | All-Eurocup First Team | Club Team | All-Eurocup Second Team | Club Team |
| 2008–09 | G | Chuck Eidson | Lietuvos rytas | Khalid El-Amin | Türk Telekom |
| 2008–09 | G | Kelly McCarty | Khimki | Gary Neal | Treviso |
| 2008–09 | F | Boštjan Nachbar | Dynamo Moscow | Travis Hansen | Dynamo Moscow |
| 2008–09 | F | Marko Banić | Bilbao | Matt Nielsen | Valencia |
| 2008–09 | C | Todor Gečevski | Zadar | Sandro Nicević | Treviso |

### Rising Star

* Milan Mačvan ( Hemofarm )

### Coach of the Year

* Oktay Mahmuti ( Benetton Treviso )