Euroleague Basketball

Today we will present you Turkish Airlines Euroleague, the best and the most interesting basketball competition in Europe.

Euroleague Basketball, known for sponsorship reasons as Turkish Airlines Euroleague, and commonly known simply as the Euroleague, is the highest level and most important professional basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different European countries, including clubs from Israel (a country in geographic Asia that is a member of FIBA Europe). The competition is operated by ULEB, a Europe-wide consortium of leading professional basketball leagues. During the season, the Euroleague is broadcast on television in 191 countries and can be seen by up to 245 million (800 million via satellite) households weekly in China. It is as well being nationally televised in the United States and Canada on NBA TV and available online through ESPN3. The Euroleague Final Four is broadcast on television in 197 countries.

Qualifications

The league usually, but not always, includes domestic champions from the leading countries. Depending on the country, places in the Euroleague may be awarded on the basis of:

Performance in the previous season’s domestic league.
Performance over the previous two or three domestic seasons.
Contracts with ULEB.
In addition, the winner of the previous season’s Eurocup receives a place.

For example, two 2007-08 domestic champions from ULEB member countries did not compete in the 2008–09 Euroleague—Zadar (Croatia) and Hapoel Holon (Israel). Zadar played in the second-level Eurocup in 2008-09. Hapoel Holon, however, did not compete in any of the three European continental club competitions—not even the third-tier EuroChallenge (which is run by FIBA Europe instead of ULEB), because of financial difficulties.

Starting with the 2009–10 season, the entrance criteria changed:

Thirteen clubs, chosen via a formula based on competitive performance, television revenues, and home attendance, receive “A Licenses”, giving them automatic entry into the Euroleague regular season phase. A Licenses are awarded for three years, meaning that the next adjustment of A Licenses will not take place until 2012–13.
Eight clubs receive one-year “B Licenses” into the Euroleague regular season. Seven of them are directly based on the ranking of the domestic league in which the club competes. The eighth is a three-year “wild card” license based on similar factors to the A Licenses; the first such license was awarded to ASVEL Basket of France.
The winner of the previous year’s Eurocup receives a one-year “C License” into the Euroleague regular season. If the club qualifies for a direct B License into the regular season via its domestic league, the C License will be awarded to the club not already qualified for the regular season that is highest on the Euroleague entry list.
Eight other clubs receive one-year “B Licenses” into the Euroleague qualifying rounds, with two advancing into the regular season.

Read more here.

Turkish Airlines Euroleague 2010/2011 regular season.
Turkish Airlines Euroleague 2010/2011 top 16 phase.
Turkish Airlines Euroleague 2010/2011 playoffs.

Check Euroleague Facebook and Twitter too.

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