First step of new 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague season has been made today as 24 teams are divided in 4 groups for Regular season phase.

The regular season, featuring four groups of six teams, will commence on October 11 and last through December 14, 2012.

The top four teams from each group will advance to the new, longer Top 16, which allows for more games pitting the top teams in the competition against one another.

The Top 16 sees two groups of eight play out a 14-game schedule between December 27, 2012 and April 5, 2013, after which the best four in each group graduate into always-dramatic best-of-five playoffs series.

The playoffs, scheduled between April 9 to 25, set the stage for the 2013 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four, which for the first time will take place at The O2 in the British capital from May 10 and 12.

With this new system of Turkish Airlines Euroleague, we will have more exciting games to watch and I am sure that most of fans are glad about these chanfes in competition system.

Here are the groups:

Group A: Panathinaikos, Real Madrid, BC Khimki, Fenerbahce Ulker, Union Olimpija, Qualification round champion.

Group B: Maccabi Electra, Montepaschi Siena, Alba Berlin, Unicaja Malaga, Asseco Prokom, Elan Chalon-sur-Saone.

Group C: Olympiacos, Caja Laboral, Anadolu Efes, Zalgiris, EA7 Emporio Armani, Cedevita.

Group D: FC Barcelona Regal, CSKA Moscow, Partizan mt:s, Lietuvos Rytas, Brose Baskets, Besiktas JK.

It is hard to say which group is the toughest one, even in some discussion boards in Serbia, basketball fans, especially Partizan mt:s fans said that Group D is “Group of death.”

Not quite sure if this is correct, since I believe that Partizan mt:s have great chances to be between first four teams in Group D after Regular season and qualify to Top 16 phase.

Of course, it depends on roster for this season, and I am sure that after today’s draw, people in Partizan mt:s have much better situation and according to group will build roster for coming season.