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    2002–03 FIBA Europe Champions Cup

    From Wikipedia - Reading time: 8 min
    2002–03 FIBA Europe Champions Cup
    Season2002–03
    Finals
    ChampionsGreece Aris (1st title)
      Runners-upPoland Prokom Trefl Sopot
    Third placeLatvia Ventspils
    Fourth placeSerbia and Montenegro Hemofarm
    Final Four MVPUnited States Will Solomon
    Statistical leaders
    Points Bulgaria Todor Stoykov 24.0
    Rebounds Bulgaria Priest Lauderdale 12.0
    Assists Latvia Kristaps Valters 7.3
    ← 2001–02 FKC
    2003–04 EuroChallenge
    2003–04 FIBA Europe Cup →

    The 2002–03 FIBA Europe Champions Cup was the first edition of Europe's 3th-tier level transnational competition for men's professional basketball clubs, the FIBA Europe Champions Cup, following the merger of the FIBA Korać Cup and FIBA Saporta Cup competitions into the new ULEB Cup competition.[1] In this first edition of the competition, it was actually the 3rd-tier level on the European club basketball pyramid, featuring 15 domestic champions. The season consisted of 64 teams. The Greek club Aris Thessaloniki won the title, after beating the Polish club Prokom Trefl Sopot in the Final, which was held at Alexandreio Melathron, in Thessaloniki, Greece.

    The competition, which was initially advertised as FIBA's attempt to revive the FIBA European Champions Cup (now known as the EuroLeague). The competition attracted 15 national domestic league champions, 5 runners-up, and teams from 30 European national leagues, which represented it as a truly pan-European event. Several teams like KK Split, Aris, PAOK, Lietuvos Rytas, KK Kalev, Fribourg , Planja, PBC Academic, Levski, APOEL, BK Ventspils, KK Rabotnicki, and Porto had played for years in FIBA's former Champions Cup (1958-2001). The brand new competition was also joined by second division runners-up from Italy, Russia and Spain, and the newly promoted champion of the Israeli second division. The league was unable to make a good commercial impact, and was then dropped to being the European 4th-tier level in the following 2003–04 season, as FIBA launched the FIBA Europe League to replace it.

    Teams[edit]

    Competition system[edit]

    • 64 teams from countries affiliated to FIBA Europe enter a Regional Qualifying Round (RQR), distributed in three major conferences (North, South and West) according to their geographical location. Within each conference, the teams are further divided into groups and play a Round-robin. The final standing is based on individual wins and defeats. In case of a tie between two or more teams after this group stage, the following criteria are used to decide the final classification: 1) number of wins in one-to-one games between the teams; 2) basket average between the teams; 3) general basket average within the group.
    • The RQR group winners and runners-up, together with the best third-placed teams, advance to Pan-European Phase (PEP). Before the PEP phase, the group champions of the RQR Northern and Southern conferences participate in a final round to contest for the symbolic title of Conference Champion- in the case of the Northern conference, the final four doubles as NEBL championship (North European Basketball League).
    • The 24 teams qualified for the PEP are divided into six groups of four teams each playing a Round-robin. The group winners, together with the two best runners-up, qualify for a quarterfinal play-off (x-pairings, home and away games).
    • The four winners of the quarterfinal play-off qualify for the final stage (Final Four), played at a predetermined venue. The winner gets a wild card to participate in 2003–04 FIBA Europe League.

    Conference North[edit]

    The season ran from October 1, 2002 to November 5, 2002. The winner was also considered the champion of the 2002-03 North European Basketball League.

    Key to colors
         Top two places in each group advance to PEP
         Eliminated

    Group A[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Russia UNICS 10 9 1 896 724 +172
    2. Latvia Ventspils 10 7 3 914 797 +117
    3. Lithuania Šiauliai 10 4 6 821 886 −65 3–1 (+28)
    4. Poland Gipsar Stal Ostrów 10 4 6 805 837 −32 2–2 (+6)
    5. Czech Republic Opava 10 4 6 829 874 −45 1–3 (+24)
    6. Sweden Plannja Basket 10 2 8 767 914 −147

    Group B[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Poland Anwil Włocławek 8 8 0 666 537 +129
    2. Ukraine Odesa 8 4 4 655 686 −31
    3. Denmark Copenhagen 8 3 5 586 579 +7 1–1 (+8)
    4. Russia EvrAz 8 3 5 567 589 −22 1–1 (−8)
    5. Estonia Tartu ÜSK Rock 8 2 6 589 672 −45

    Group C[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Poland Prokom Trefl Sopot 10 10 0 951 718 +233
    2. Latvia Skonto 10 7 3 975 882 +93
    3. Russia Avtodor Saratov 10 6 4 881 903 −22
    4. Czech Republic Mlékárna Kunín 10 3 7 895 985 −90
    5. Belarus Grodno-93 10 2 8 764 876 −112 1–1 (+5)
    6. Lithuania Alita 10 2 8 819 921 −102 1–1 (−5)

    Group D[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Lithuania Lietuvos rytas 10 10 0 938 670 +268
    2. Russia Khimki 10 6 4 875 830 +45
    3. Poland Polonia Warszawa 10 5 5 830 847 −17
    4. Ukraine Kyiv 10 4 6 859 901 −42
    5. Hungary Atomerőmű 10 3 7 770 883 −113
    6. Estonia Kalev 10 2 8 706 847 −141

    Before the PEP phase, the group champions of the RQR Northern conference participate in a final round to contest for the symbolic title of Conference Champion

    Semifinals[edit]

    January 14, Vilnius Palace of Sports, Vilnius

    Team 1  Score  Team 2
    Prokom Trefl Sopot Poland 80–114 Russia UNICS
    Lietuvos rytas Lithuania 94–63 Poland Anwil Włocławek

    3rd place game[edit]

    January 15, Vilnius Palace of Sports, Vilnius

    Team 1  Score  Team 2
    Anwil Włocławek Poland 78–65 Poland Prokom Trefl Sopot

    Final[edit]

    January 15, Vilnius Palace of Sports, Vilnius

    Team 1  Score  Team 2
    Lietuvos rytas Lithuania 90–93 Russia UNICS

    Conference South[edit]

    The season ran from October 1, 2002 to November 5, 2002.

    Key to colors
         Top two places (and the best 3rd) in each group advance to PEP
         Eliminated

    Group A[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Greece Peristeri 10 9 1 844 718 +126
    2. Israel Hapoel Jerusalem 10 7 3 878 826 +52
    3. Bulgaria Yambolgaz-92 10 5 5 771 790 −19
    4. Serbia and Montenegro NIS Vojvodina 10 4 6 850 862 −12 1–1 (+16)
    5. Turkey Pinar Karşıyaka 10 4 6 792 815 −23 1–1 (−16)
    6. North Macedonia Feršped Rabotnički 10 1 9 747 871 −147

    Group B[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Turkey Türk Telekom 10 8 2 801 749 +52
    2. Serbia and Montenegro Hemofarm 10 7 3 825 726 +99 1–1 (+14)
    3. Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv 10 7 3 806 742 +64 1–1 (−14)
    4. Greece Panionios Freddoccino 10 6 4 820 799 +21
    5. Bulgaria Levski Sofia 10 1 9 793 872 −79 1–1 (+1)
    6. Bosnia and Herzegovina Sloboda Dita 10 1 9 684 841 −157 1–1 (−1)

    Group C[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Greece Aris 8 6 2 701 633 +68
    2. Israel Bnei HaSharon 8 5 3 668 632 +36 1–1 (+12)
    3. Greece Maroussi Telestet 8 5 3 731 694 +37 1–1 (−12)
    4. Croatia Split CO 8 2 6 679 752 −73 1–1 (+16)
    5. Cyprus Keravnos Keo 8 2 6 567 635 −68 1–1 (−16)

    Group D[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Bulgaria Lukoil Academic 10 8 2 878 720 +158
    2. Greece PAOK 10 7 3 858 778 +80
    3. Slovenia Geoplin Slovan 10 6 4 753 705 +48
    4. Croatia Zagreb 10 4 6 783 790 −7 1–1 (+9)
    5. Bosnia and Herzegovina Feal Široki 10 4 6 772 848 −76 1–1 (−9)
    6. Cyprus APOEL 10 1 9 644 847 −203

    Before the PEP phase, the group champions of the RQR Southern conference participate in a final round to contest for the symbolic title of Conference Champion

    Semifinals[edit]

    January 16, Universiada Hall, Sofia

    Team 1  Score  Team 2
    Peristeri Greece 84–86 Greece Aris
    Lukoil Academic Bulgaria 99–83 Turkey Türk Telekom

    3rd place game[edit]

    January 17, Universiada Hall, Sofia

    Team 1  Score  Team 2
    Türk Telekom Turkey 86–70 Greece Peristeri

    Final[edit]

    January 17, Universiada Hall, Sofia

    Team 1  Score  Team 2
    Lukoil Academic Bulgaria 81–80 Greece Aris

    Conference West[edit]

    The season ran from October 1, 2002 to November 5, 2002.

    Key to colors
         Top two places (and the best 3rd) in each group advance to PEP
         Eliminated

    Group A[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Spain Tenerife 10 9 1 804 732 +72
    2. France JDA Dijon 10 6 4 829 776 +53 2–0 (+14)
    3. England Birmingham Bullets 10 6 4 746 764 −18 0–2 (−14)
    4. Belgium Dexia Mons-Hainaut 10 5 5 806 791 +15
    5. Switzerland Benetton Fribourg 10 2 8 690 776 −86 2–0 (+10)
    6. Portugal Oliveirense 10 2 8 797 833 −36 0–2 (−10)

    Group B[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. France SIG Strasbourg 10 7 3 865 818 +47
    2. Spain Ourense 10 6 4 910 861 +49
    3. Portugal Ovarense Aerosoles 10 5 5 878 851 +27 1–1 (+13)
    4. Portugal Portugal Telecom 10 5 5 819 827 −8 1–1 (−13)
    5. Austria Montan Bears Kapfenberg 10 4 6 871 906 −35
    6. Belgium Euphony Liège 10 3 7 799 879 −80

    Group C[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Netherlands EiffelTowers Nijmegen 10 8 2 856 794 +62
    2. Italy Bipop Carire Reggio Emilia 10 7 3 858 838 +20
    3. Portugal Porto Ferpinta 10 5 5 858 830 −18 2–0 (+14)
    4. France SLUC Nancy 10 5 5 814 764 +50 0–2 (−14)
    5. Belgium Quatro Bree 10 3 7 770 848 −78
    6. Portugal CAB Madeira 10 2 8 812 894 −82

    Overall winners[edit]

    • Russia UNICS (North)
    • Bulgaria PBC Academic (South)

    Pan-European phase[edit]

    The phase ran from February 2, 2003 to March 25, 2003.

    Key to colors
         Advance to Quarterfinals
         Eliminated

    Group A[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Russia UNICS 6 6 0 544 428 +116
    2. Ukraine Odesa 6 3 3 522 557 −35
    3. Israel Hapoel Jerusalem 6 2 4 511 525 −14
    4. Turkey Türk Telekom 6 1 5 478 545 −67

    Group B[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Serbia and Montenegro Hemofarm 6 5 1 533 457 +76
    2. Lithuania Lietuvos rytas 6 3 3 494 468 +26
    3. Latvia Skonto 6 2 4 530 567 −37 1–1 (+25)
    4. Greece PAOK 6 2 4 470 535 −65 1–1 (−25)

    Group C[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Poland Prokom Trefl Sopot 6 5 1 499 463 +36
    2. Latvia Ventspils 6 3 3 531 480 +51
    3. Netherlands EiffelTowers Nijmegen 6 2 4 527 544 −17 1–1 (0)
    4. Spain Ourense 6 2 4 450 520 −70 1–1 (0)

    Group D[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. France JDA Dijon 4 3 1 326 305 +21
    2. Portugal Porto Ferpinta 4 2 2 300 317 −17
    3. Poland Anwil Włocławek 4 1 3 295 299 −4

    Group E[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Greece Aris 6 4 2 505 504 +1 1–1 (+8)
    2. Israel Hapoel Tel Aviv 6 4 2 439 429 +10 1–1 (−8)
    3. Russia Khimki 6 2 4 528 517 +11 1–1 (+14)
    4. France SIG Strasbourg 6 2 4 459 481 −22 1–1 (−14)

    Group F[edit]

    Team Pld W L PF PA Diff Tie-break
    1. Bulgaria Lukoil Academic 6 5 1 550 483 +67
    2. Spain Unelco Tenerife* 6 3 3 487 467 +20
    3. Italy Bipop Carire Reggio Emilia 6 2 4 391 445 −54 2–0 (+27)
    4. Israel Bnei HaSharon 6 2 4 418 451 −33 0–2 (−27)

    *In 2003, Tenerife CB signed a sponsorship contract with Unelco and adopted the commercial name "Unelco Tenerife CB".

    Quarterfinals[edit]

    The quarterfinals were two-legged ties determined on aggregate score. The first legs was played on April 8. All return legs were played on April 15.

    Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
    Aris Greece 158–150 Bulgaria Lukoil Academic 91–73 67–77
    Hapoel Tel Aviv Israel 127–138 Serbia and Montenegro Hemofarm 52–56 75–82
    JDA Dijon France 157–177 Poland Prokom Trefl Sopot 70–74 87–103
    Ventspils Latvia 164–158 Russia UNICS 88–79 76–79

    Final Four[edit]

    Semifinals[edit]

    • May 2, 2003 at Alexandreio Melathron in Thessaloniki, Greece.
    Team 1  Score  Team 2
    Ventspils Latvia 57–79 Poland Prokom Trefl Sopot
    Hemofarm Serbia and Montenegro 66–73 Greece Aris

    3rd place game[edit]

    • May 4, 2003 at Alexandreio Melathron in Thessaloniki, Greece.
    Team 1  Score  Team 2
    Ventspils Latvia 91–90 Serbia and Montenegro Hemofarm

    Final[edit]

    • May 4, 2003 at Alexandreio Melathron in Thessaloniki, Greece.
    Team 1  Score  Team 2
    Aris Greece 84–83 Poland Prokom Trefl Sopot
    2002–03 FIBA Europe Champions Cup
    Greece
    Aris
    1st title

    Final standings[edit]

    Team
    Greece Aris
    Poland Prokom Trefl Sopot
    Latvia Ventspils
    4. Serbia and Montenegro Hemofarm

    See also[edit]

    • 2002–03 Euroleague
    • 2002–03 ULEB Cup
    • 2002–03 FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup

    References[edit]

    1. ^ ["FIBA Europe". Archived from the original on 2004-08-24.{5179A822-D4B1-4476-AD04-EDBC445D6DC6}&compID={0D93D753-CAD5-4604-A251-1402A6361BF3}]

    Sources[edit]

    This article is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
    Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002–03 FIBA Europe Champions Cup
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