By Johnny Askounis / [email protected]
Preparing to wrap up the sixth season in style, the Basketball Champions League is a firmly established continental European club competition and has proven time and time again that teams located across the continent are the place to shine. He can be proud of 17 teams and eight countries represented among the season’s top four teams in those six years.
As part of the 2022 Final Four, Lenovo Tenerife reached the semi-finals for the third time in team history, a league record. MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg are back for a second championship bid, while Baxi Manresa and Hapoel U-NET Holon have become the latest additions to the list of clubs extending at least one run to the semi-finals.
List of teams by Final Four:
2017 : AS Monaco, Banvit, Iberostar Tenerife, Umana Reyer Venezia
2018 : AEK, AS Monaco, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, UCAM Murcie
2019 : Brose Bamberg, Iberostar Tenerife, Telenet Antwerp Giants, Virtus Segafredo Bologne
2020* : AEK, Casademont Zaragoza, Hereda San Pablo Burgos, JDA Dijon
2021* : Casademont Saragosse, Inherits San Pablo Burgos, Pinar Karsiyaka, SIG Strasbourg
2022 : Baxi Manresa, Hapoel U-NET Holon, Lenovo Tenerife, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg
* The season ended with a Final Eight tournament
At the same time, Spain’s places in the Final Four fell to nine behind Manresa and Tenerife. Third-place Germany closed the gap to second-placed France. Israel’s arrival added to the diverse playing field of the BCL Championship.
List of countries represented in the Final Four:
Spain – 9 places: Tenerife (3), Casademont Saragosse (2), Hereda San Pablo Burgos (2), Baxi Manresa, UCAM Murcie
France – 4 places : AS Monaco* (2), JDA Dijon, SIG Strasbourg
Germany – 3 berths: MHP Riesen Ludwigsbourg (2), Brose Bamberg
Greece – 2 berths: AEC (2)
Italy – 2 berths: Virtus Segafredo Bologna, Umana Reyer Venice
Turkey – 2 berths: Banvit, Pinar Karsiyaka
Belgium – 1 berth: Telenet Giants Antwerp
Israel – 1 berth: Hapoel U-NET Holon
* The Monaco-based team is registered in France
To stay on topic, the 2022 edition will be the first end-of-season tournament held in a neutral venue, a major milestone in itself for the growing competition. The Bilbao Arena in Bilbao will host the finalists from the semi-finals on May 6 until the league matches and for third place on May 8.
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
