17 October, 2023
05 May, 2024
18/06/2024
Press Release
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Basketball Champions League Season 9 participating teams announced

MIES (Switzerland) - The Basketball Champions League Board ratified on Tuesday the list of 28 clubs with a direct berth in the 2024-25 BCL Regular Season, as well as the 24 clubs that will compete in the Qualification Round tournaments for the remaining four tickets to the 32-team Regular Season.

The complete lineup features 17 national league champions, five of which are in the Regular Season - Rytas Vilnius (Lithuania), Filou Oostende (Belgium), Igokea m:tel (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Falco Szombathely (Hungary) and VEF Riga (Latvia) - and 12 in the Qualification Rounds, stretching from Portugal's SL Benfica to Azerbaijan's Sabah and from Finland's BC Nokia to Keravnos of Cyprus.

These are, in alphabetical order, the first 28 teams in the Regular Season lineup (four more teams will emerge from the Qualification Round tournaments):

AEK betsson (GRE); BAXI Manresa (ESP); Bertram Derthona Tortona (ITA); Falco Szombathely (HUN); Filou Oostende (BEL); FMP SoccerBet (SRB); Galatasaray (TUR); Hapoel Netanel Holon (ISR); Igokea m:tel (BIH); King Szczecin (POL); Kolossos Rhodes (GRE); La Laguna Tenerife (ESP); Maccabi Ramat Gan (ISR); Manisa Büyükşehir Belediyespor (TUR); Nanterre 92 (FRA); NINERS Chemnitz (GER); Pallacanestro Reggiana (ITA); Peristeri (GRE); Pinar Karsiyaka (TUR); Promitheas Patras (GRE); RASTA Vechta (GER); Rytas Vilnius (LTU); Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball (FRA); UCAM Murcia (ESP); Unicaja (ESP); VEF Riga (LAT); WKS Slask Wroclaw (POL); Wurzburg Baskets (GER).

The 24 clubs that will compete in the Qualification Round will be drawn into four tournaments, with the winner of each tournament advancing to the Regular Season. These are the 24 teams, in alphabetical order:

Aliaga Petkimspor (TUR); BC Kutaisi 2010 (GEO); BC Nokia (FIN); Caledonia Gladiators (GBR); Cholet Basket (FRA); CSM CSU Oradea (ROU); Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari (ITA); ERA Nymburk (CZE); Fribourg Olympic (SUI); Heroes den Bosch (NED); Juventus Utena (LTU); Kalev/Cramo (EST); Keravnos BC (CYP); MoraBanc Andorra (ESP); Norrkoping Dolphins (SWE); PAOK mateco (GRE); Patrioti Levice (SVK); Rilski Sportist (BUL); SL Benfica (POR); Sabah (AZE); Spartak Subotica (SRB); Telenet Giants Antwerp (BEL); Telekom Baskets Bonn (GER); Trepca (KOS).

The Qualification Round tournaments will take place in mid-September, while the Regular Season will get underway on October 1, 2024

Defending BCL champions Unicaja, who topped the Spanish Liga Endesa regular season standings, will return for Season 9, just like finalists La Laguna Tenerife and the other two clubs that competed in the 2024 BCL Final Four, UCAM Murcia and Peristeri.

La Laguna Tenerife, alongside AEK and Filou Oostende, are furthermore members of a truly special club, as the only three clubs to have participated in every season of the Basketball Champions League.

NINERS Chemnitz, the FIBA Europe Cup title holders, headline the list of eight newcomers to the Regular Season and, along with Wurzburg Baskets, they will become the eighth and ninth German clubs to participate in the Basketball Champions League.

Turkiye tops the list in that regard as Manisa BB are set to become the 12th different Turkish BCL club, while France is right behind with Saint-Quentin becoming club number 11 in French BCL history. Kolossos Rhodes will become the seventh different Greek club to compete in the Regular Season.

Maccabi Ramat Gan enjoyed a solid season in Israel, picking up third place ahead of the Play-Offs, and they are the sixth different Israeli team in the Regular Season, while Slask Wroclaw take Poland's toll to nine clubs and FMP Belgrade will become the third Serbian club, following Partizan and Mega Basket.

The draw ceremony for the Regular Season groups and the Qualification Round tournaments will take place at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball at 11:00 CEST on Wednesday, June 26 and will be livestreamed on the official BCL YouTube channel.

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About Basketball Champions League
The Basketball Champions League is an innovative joint partnership between FIBAClubCo and 11 top European leagues. It is a fair competition based on sporting principles, with teams qualifying through their national leagues.

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