The Bundesliga champion and a near relegation in the same European competition?
It does not work? It works! What would be unthinkable in football and other sports is reality in basketball.
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Source: BILD September 25, 2023
Last season, Ratiopharm Ulm sensationally won the championship title in the Easy Credit Basketball Bundesliga. However, there are two other German clubs in the EuroLeague, the most important basketball competition at European level: Bayern Munich and Alba Berlin. The Hamburg Towers are 15th in the table. (!) also represented internationally in the last BBL season. Like that?
BILD explains the Euro confusion in basketball.
There are four European competitions in basketball: the EuroLeague, the Champions League, the EuroCup and the Europe Cup. Special feature: Unlike football or handball, the Champions League is not the premier class. As mentioned, this is the EuroLeague.
Another special feature: two organizations that compete with each other share the organization of the competitions: Fiba Europe (International Basketball Federation) organizes the Champions League and the Europe Cup. The private sector ULEB (Union of European Basketball Leagues) organizes the EuroLeague and the EuroCup.
But who plays where and what are the qualification criteria?
What is crucial in the ULEB competitions: It is not only the sporting performance in the league that plays a role in participation, but also financial and marketing aspects (e.g. size of the hall, media presence). When selecting teams, the organization prefers metropolises with strong finances and advertising.
The international basketball competitions
CompetitionOrganizerNumber of teamsGerman participants 2023/24EuroLeagueULEB18 (one league)Bayern, AlbaEuroCup ULEB20 (2 groups of ten)Ulm, Hamburg Champions LeagueFiba32 (8 groups of four)Bonn, Ludwigsburg, Oldenburg, Göttingen Europe CupFiba32 (8 groups of four)Chemnitz, Rostock
This is why the premier class EuroLeague is an almost closed competition. The places in the 18-a-side league are awarded either through a permanent right to participate, a so-called A license (there are currently 13 of them), or through wildcards. Bayern Munich is one of the clubs with an A license, so it is seeded every year. There is also a wildcard for a German representative. As in previous years, Alba Berlin again received this.
But why did Alba (second in the main round, quarter-final exit in the playoff against Ulm) and not the champion get the wildcard? Since the Final Four will take place in Berlin next year, the ULEB decided that Alba would be there again – and thus have the chance to win at home.
That’s why master Ulm only competes in the EuroCup, the second most important ULEB competition. Just like Hamburg Towers, who narrowly escaped relegation from the BBL last season. This is possible because non-sporting factors also come into play here: The Towers are at home in a metropolis and are a proven partner of the ULEB (already there for the last two seasons).
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The remaining teams compete in the Fiba competitions, where purely sporting qualification criteria apply. Vice-champion Telekom Baskets Bonn will once again be competing in the Champions League as defending champions. Together with the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (fifth in the main round, playoff semi-finalist) and the EWE Baskets Oldenburg (fourth in the main round, eliminated in the playoff quarter-finals).
In the fourth competition, the Europe Cup, two German teams play: the Niners Chemnitz and the Rostock Seawolves (both of which ended up in front of the Towers). While the Niners start directly in the group phase, Rostock had to go through a qualifying tournament beforehand.
Conclusion: A championship title is no guarantee for the premier class in basketball and a near relegation does not rule out participation in the European Cup…
2023-10-17 10:01:46
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