2023–24 Basketball Champions League
European basketball competition
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The 2023–24 Basketball Champions League was the 8th season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL), the premier[citation needed] European professional basketball competition for clubs launched by FIBA. The season began on 17 October 2023 and ended with the championship game on 28 April 2024.[1]
24 September – 1 October 2023
Competition proper:
17 October 2023 – 28 April 2024
Total: 53 (from 28 countries)
(Tenerife)
| Basketball Champions League | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Štark Arena in Belgrade hosted the Final Four | ||||||||||
| Season | 2023–24 | |||||||||
| Dates | Qualifying: 24 September – 1 October 2023 Competition proper: 17 October 2023 – 28 April 2024 | |||||||||
| Teams | Competition proper: 32 Total: 53 (from 28 countries) | |||||||||
| Regular season | ||||||||||
| Season MVP | Marcelo Huertas (Tenerife) | |||||||||
| Finals | ||||||||||
| Champions |  Unicaja (1st title) | |||||||||
| Runners-up | Lenovo Tenerife | |||||||||
| Third place | UCAM Murcia | |||||||||
| Fourth place |  Peristeri | |||||||||
| Final Four MVP | Kendrick Perry (Unicaja) | |||||||||
| Awards | ||||||||||
| Best Coach | Vassilis Spanoulis (Peristeri) | |||||||||
| Best Young Player | Tidjane Salaün (Cholet) | |||||||||
| Statistical leaders | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
← 2022–23 2024–25 → | ||||||||||
Telekom Baskets Bonn were the defending champions, but were eliminated by Peristeri in the quarter-finals. The Štark Arena in Belgrade hosted the Final Four and the championship game, the second time the competition had a neutral venue for its conclusion.[1] Unicaja won its first Champions League title following their win over Lenovo Tenerife in the final.[2] As champions, Unicaja also qualified for the 2024 FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
Team allocation
Country rankings
The BCL Country Ranking is used to define the number of clubs each country is entitled to enter into the various stages of the BCL.
The results are based on the results of the past three seasons (the 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons).[3]
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Teams
A total of 54 teams from 29 countries participated in the 2023–24 Basketball Champions League.[4] 15 of them were domestic champions in the previous season. Two teams were invited as a wild card entries.[5]
If one or more clubs do not exercise their right to participate in the BCL, the FIBA may decide to allocate the respective place(s) to other clubs of the same or other National Federation(s).[6]
League positions after playoffs of the previous season shown in parentheses. The Basketball Champions League rankings are taken into consideration.
- TH: Champions League title holders
- WC: Wild card.
- AV: Allocation vacant.NOTE
NOTE: According to BCL rankings, National Federations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czechia and Hungary should had two berths in Regular season, as well as one berth for the champion of Romania (U-BT Cluj Napoca decided to play Eurocup), and one berth for the Russian representative (banned from competition). Their places were allocated to the teams from Turkey (3), Spain (1) and Poland (1).[citation needed]
Notes
- ^ Netherlands (NED): ZZ Leiden would have qualified as the winners of the 2022-23 BNXT Dutch Playoffs, but withdrew from applying because their arena did not meet FIBA Europe's capacity standards.[7] As a result, the spot was given to Heroes Den Bosch, third in the national league.
Qualifying rounds
Draw
The draw for the qualifying rounds will be made on 5 July 2023. The 25 teams were divided into six pots. The top eight national champions from the unrepresented nations were placed into Pots 1 and 2, and the remaining clubs into Pots 3–6. Pots are arranged based on the competition's club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking.[8]
The three winners of the finals will then qualify for the regular season and join the 29 directly qualified teams in the main draw. The rest of the teams will be demoted, if they apply, to the FIBA Europe Cup.[8]
Venue
On July 27, 2023, it was announced that Antalya Sports Hall in Antalya, Turkey, has been selected as the host city for the Qualification Rounds which was scheduled to take place from 24 September to 1 October.[9]
Champions Path
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Main Path
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- Notes
- ^† Indicates teams with no club points, therefore using the country points as a tiebreaker.
Pre-qualifier
The pre-qualifier round match consists of a one leg match that is expected to take place at a neutral venue.
The winner of the pre-qualifiers round match will be drawn to Pot 6 and advanced to the main qualifying rounds. The losers of the pre-qualifiers is transferred (if they apply) to the FIBA Europe Cup
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
Fribourg Olympic  |
57–51 |  Caledonia Gladiators |
Qualification Group I
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 25 September | ||||||||||
 Bakken Bears | 103 | |||||||||
| 27 September | ||||||||||
 Peja | 79 | |||||||||
| Bakken Bears | 68 | |||||||||
| 25 September | ||||||||||
 Norrköping Dolphins | 78 | |||||||||
 Kalev | 78 | |||||||||
| 29 September | ||||||||||
| Norrköping Dolphins | 82 | |||||||||
| Norrköping Dolphins | 73 | |||||||||
| 25 September | ||||||||||
 Benfica | 83 | |||||||||
| Benfica | 122 | |||||||||
| 27 September | ||||||||||
 TSU Tbilisi | 62 | |||||||||
| Benfica | 87 | |||||||||
| 25 September | ||||||||||
 AEK Larnaca | 59 | |||||||||
 Patrioti Levice | 66 | |||||||||
| AEK Larnaca | 74 | |||||||||
Qualification Group II
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 27 September | ||||||||||
 Cholet | 76 | |||||||||
| 29 September | ||||||||||
 Antwerp Giants | 72 | |||||||||
| Cholet | 96 | |||||||||
| 27 September | ||||||||||
 Varese | 88 | |||||||||
 FMP | 71 | |||||||||
| 1 October | ||||||||||
| Varese | 73 | |||||||||
| Cholet | 80 | |||||||||
| 27 September | ||||||||||
| Brindisi | 69 | |||||||||
| Brindisi | 77 | |||||||||
| 29 September | ||||||||||
 Oradea | 74 | |||||||||
| Brindisi | 78 | |||||||||
| 27 September | ||||||||||
 Heroes Den Bosch | 63 | |||||||||
| Heroes Den Bosch | 96 | |||||||||
 Göttingen | 84 | |||||||||
Qualification Group III
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 26 September | ||||||||||
| SIG Strasbourg | 83 | |||||||||
| 28 September | ||||||||||
 Jonava | 78 | |||||||||
| SIG Strasbourg | 79 | |||||||||
| 26 September | ||||||||||
 Ironi Ness Ziona | 74 | |||||||||
 Karhu | 56 | |||||||||
| 30 September | ||||||||||
| Ironi Ness Ziona | 92 | |||||||||
| SIG Strasbourg | 82 | |||||||||
| 26 September | ||||||||||
| Obradoiro | 78 | |||||||||
 Legia Warsaw | 70 | |||||||||
| 28 September | ||||||||||
| Fribourg Olympic | 59 | |||||||||
| Legia Warsaw | 66 | |||||||||
| 26 September | ||||||||||
| Obradoiro | 74 | |||||||||
 Mornar Bar | 56 | |||||||||
| Obradoiro | 90 | |||||||||
Regular season
Draw
The 29 teams that entered in the regular season directly were divided into four pots based firstly on the club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking. The country protection rule will apply for the stage of the draw. Clubs cannot be drawn in groups with other clubs from the same country.[8]
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- Notes
- ^† Indicates teams with no club points, therefore using the country points as a tiebreaker.
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | UNI | LMS | PER | FAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unicaja |
6 | 4 | 2 | 490 | 442 | +48 | 10 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 83–74 | 81–64 | 88–65 | |
| 2 | Le Mans Sarthe |
6 | 3 | 3 | 477 | 463 | +14 | 9 | Advance to play-ins | 85–78 | — | 96–68 | 63–81 | |
| 3 | Peristeri bwin |
6 | 3 | 3 | 463 | 493 | −30 | 9 | 76–73 | 78–86 | — | 87–70 | ||
| 4 |  Falco Szombathely |
6 | 2 | 4 | 456 | 488 | −32 | 8 | 78–87 | 75–73 | 87–90 | — |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | DIJ | RYT | PRO | OPA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | JDA Dijon |
6 | 5 | 1 | 526 | 441 | +85 | 11 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 87–83 | 88–80 | 99–64 | |
| 2 | Rytas |
6 | 4 | 2 | 509 | 455 | +54 | 10 | Advance to play-ins | 79–77 | — | 77–75 | 99–63 | |
| 3 | Promitheas |
6 | 3 | 3 | 516 | 475 | +41 | 9 | 68–71 | 78–76 | — | 115–66 | ||
| 4 |  Opava |
6 | 0 | 6 | 432 | 612 | −180 | 6 | 67–104 | 75–95 | 97–100 | — |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | TFE | CHO | DAR | VEF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lenovo Tenerife |
6 | 4 | 2 | 490 | 443 | +47 | 10 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 95–75 | 72–63 | 76–55 | |
| 2 | Cholet |
6 | 3 | 3 | 485 | 495 | −10 | 9 | Advance to play-ins | 85–91 | — | 97–86 | 74–73 | |
| 3 |  Darüşşafaka Lassa |
6 | 3 | 3 | 488 | 500 | −12 | 9 | 88–84 | 80–91 | — | 87–81 | ||
| 4 |  VEF Rīga |
6 | 2 | 4 | 431 | 456 | −25 | 8 | 77–72 | 70–63 | 75–84 | — |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | AEK | LUD | DIN | SZC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AEK |
6 | 5 | 1 | 528 | 461 | +67 | 11 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 84–79 | 110–79 | 86–64 | |
| 2 | MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg |
6 | 3 | 3 | 480 | 490 | −10 | 9 | Advance to play-ins | 83–79 | — | 79–89 | 82–78 | |
| 3 | Dinamo Sassari |
6 | 2 | 4 | 509 | 543 | −34 | 8 | 79–83 | 80–97 | — | 97–81 | ||
| 4 | King Szczecin |
6 | 2 | 4 | 473 | 496 | −23 | 8 | 77–86 | 80–60 | 93–85 | — |
Group E
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | SIG | KAR | OOS | OLD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SIG Strasbourg |
6 | 4 | 2 | 487 | 467 | +20 | 10 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 80–65 | 81–68 | 85–77 | |
| 2 | Pınar Karşıyaka |
6 | 3 | 3 | 495 | 487 | +8 | 9 | Advance to play-ins | 87–72 | — | 94–77 | 85–83 | |
| 3 | Filou Oostende |
6 | 3 | 3 | 462 | 499 | −37 | 9 | 87–84 | 78–76 | — | 88–83 | ||
| 4 | EWE Baskets Oldenburg |
6 | 2 | 4 | 504 | 495 | +9 | 8 | 83–85 | 97–88 | 81–64 | — |
Group F
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | BON | HOL | BRE | BUR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Telekom Baskets Bonn |
6 | 3 | 3 | 497 | 473 | +24 | 9 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 74–75 | 86–71 | 82–92 | |
| 2 | Hapoel Holon |
6 | 3 | 3 | 463 | 456 | +7 | 9 | Advance to play-ins | 65–72 | — | 84–79 | 74–75 | |
| 3 | Rio Breogan |
6 | 3 | 3 | 462 | 459 | +3 | 9 | 97–92 | 82–72 | — | 68–48 | ||
| 4 | Bursaspor İnfo Yatırım |
6 | 3 | 3 | 439 | 473 | −34 | 9 | 73–91 | 74–93 | 77–65 | — |
Group G
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | JER | PAO | GAL | BEN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hapoel Jerusalem |
6 | 5 | 1 | 513 | 440 | +73 | 11 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 71–61 | 99–96 | 97–68 | |
| 2 | PAOK |
6 | 3 | 3 | 455 | 478 | −23 | 9 | Advance to play-ins | 79–77 | — | 79–85 | 76–74 | |
| 3 | Galatasaray Ekmas |
6 | 3 | 3 | 513 | 492 | +21 | 9 | 70–85 | 77–88 | — | 98–78 | ||
| 4 | Benfica |
6 | 1 | 5 | 443 | 514 | −71 | 7 | 66–84 | 94–72 | 63–87 | — |
Group H
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | UCM | DER | TOF | IGO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCAM Murcia |
6 | 5 | 1 | 517 | 427 | +90 | 11 | Advance to round of 16 | — | 87–75 | 115–89 | 72–47 | |
| 2 | Bertram Derthona |
6 | 5 | 1 | 500 | 484 | +16 | 11 | Advance to play-ins | 78–74 | — | 91–85 | 91–84 | |
| 3 | Tofaş |
6 | 2 | 4 | 532 | 551 | −19 | 8 | 75–90 | 80–88 | — | 99–65 | ||
| 4 |  Igokea |
6 | 0 | 6 | 435 | 522 | −87 | 6 | 63–79 | 74–77 | 102–104 | — |
Play-ins
The Play-ins took place from 2 to 17 January 2024. The teams classified in second and third place in their respective groups of Basketball Champions League, went to the Play-ins. Winners advanced to the round of 16. The first legs were played on 2–3 January, the second legs on 9–10 January. Eventual third legs were played on 16–17 January.
| Team 1 | Series | Team 2 | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Le Mans Sarthe |
0–2 | Promitheas |
68–78 | 78–91 | — |
| Rytas |
0–2 | Peristeri bwin |
92–110 | 80–83 | — |
| Cholet |
2–1 | Dinamo Sassari |
72–93 | 95–91 | 93–77 |
| MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg |
2–1 | Darüşşafaka Lassa |
82–63 | 72–83 | 99–73 |
| Pınar Karşıyaka |
2–1 | Río Breogán |
89–85 | 73–80 | 86–76 |
| Hapoel Holon |
2–1 | Filou Oostende |
80–70 | 61–71 | 78–72 |
| PAOK |
1–2 | Tofaş |
63–95 | 88–87 (OT) | 71–84 |
| Basket Derthona |
0–2 | Galatasaray Ekmas |
70–71 | 89–95 | — |
Round of 16
The Round of 16 will take place from January 24 until March 22, 2024. The groups will be formed by the winners of each Regular Season Group and by eight Play-Ins winners. The 16 teams were divided in 4 groups, 4 teams each. The first two of each groups advanced to the quarter-finals.
Group I
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | UNI | TOF | SIG | CHO | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Unicaja |
6 | 6 | 0 | 510 | 422 | +88 | 12 | Advance to quarter-finals | — | 89–70 | 91–62 | 85–70 | |
| 2 | Tofaş |
6 | 2 | 4 | 462 | 466 | −4 | 8 | 76–80 | — | 93–71 | 84–71 | ||
| 3 | SIG Strasbourg |
6 | 2 | 4 | 470 | 510 | −40 | 8 | 70–79 | 78–65 | — | 96–84 | ||
| 4 | Cholet |
6 | 2 | 4 | 474 | 518 | −44 | 8 | 74–86 | 77–74 | 98–93 | — |
Group J
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | BON | LUD | DIJ | GAL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Telekom Baskets Bonn |
6 | 5 | 1 | 500 | 466 | +34 | 11 | Advance to quarter-finals | — | 80–75 | 89–74 | 89–76 | |
| 2 | MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg |
6 | 3 | 3 | 507 | 479 | +28 | 9 | 81–85 | — | 71–59 | 100–80 | ||
| 3 | JDA Dijon |
6 | 2 | 4 | 458 | 490 | −32 | 8 | 62–72 | 82–89 | — | 85–76 | ||
| 4 | Galatasaray Ekmas |
6 | 2 | 4 | 516 | 546 | −30 | 8 | 95–85 | 93–91 | 93–96 | — |
Group K
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | TFE | PER | JER | KAR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lenovo Tenerife |
6 | 4 | 2 | 521 | 511 | +10 | 10 | Advance to quarter-finals | — | 89–68 | 95–92 | 88–79 | |
| 2 | Peristeri |
6 | 3 | 3 | 473 | 475 | −2 | 9 | 90–82 | — | 75–77 | 76–73 | ||
| 3 | Hapoel Jerusalem |
6 | 3 | 3 | 485 | 479 | +6 | 9 | 85–61 | 61–76 | — | 83–74 | ||
| 4 | Pınar Karşıyaka |
6 | 2 | 4 | 514 | 528 | −14 | 8 | 97–106 | 93–88 | 98–87 | — |
Group L
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | UCM | PRO | HOL | AEK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCAM Murcia |
6 | 4 | 2 | 490 | 453 | +37 | 10 | Advance to quarter-finals | — | 90–81 | 78–61 | 100–89 | |
| 2 | Promitheas |
6 | 4 | 2 | 485 | 472 | +13 | 10 | 79–78 | — | 92–93 | 80–79 | ||
| 3 | Hapoel Holon |
6 | 4 | 2 | 474 | 480 | −6 | 10 | 64–60 | 65–74 | — | 79–68 | ||
| 4 | AEK |
6 | 0 | 6 | 490 | 534 | −44 | 6 | 79–84 | 67–79 | 108–112 | — |
Playoffs
The playoffs will begin on 3 April 2024 and ends with the 2024 Basketball Champions League Final Four, which will be hosted in the Štark Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.[1]
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||||
| Lenovo Tenerife | 83 | 81 | 78 | |||||||||||||
| 26 April | ||||||||||||||||
| Tofaş | 77 | 90 | 55 | |||||||||||||
| Lenovo Tenerife | 97 | |||||||||||||||
| Peristeri | 93 | |||||||||||||||
| Telekom Baskets Bonn | 89 | 62 | 77 | |||||||||||||
| 28 April | ||||||||||||||||
| Peristeri | 78 | 90 | 89 | |||||||||||||
| Lenovo Tenerife | 75 | |||||||||||||||
| Unicaja | 80 | |||||||||||||||
| UCAM Murcia | 98 | 85 | — | |||||||||||||
| 26 April | ||||||||||||||||
| MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg | 72 | 72 | — | |||||||||||||
| UCAM Murcia | 74 | |||||||||||||||
| Unicaja | 80 | Third place | ||||||||||||||
| Unicaja | 67 | 90 | — | |||||||||||||
| 28 April | ||||||||||||||||
| Promitheas | 54 | 83 | — | |||||||||||||
| Peristeri | 84 | |||||||||||||||
| UCAM Murcia | 87 | |||||||||||||||
Final Four
Semifinals
The semifinals were played on 26 April 2024.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Tenerife |
97–93 | Peristeri |
| UCAM Murcia |
74–80 | Unicaja |
Third place game
The third place game was played on 28 April 2024.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Peristeri |
84–87 | UCAM Murcia |
Final
The final was played on 28 April 2024.
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo Tenerife |
75–80 | Unicaja |
Individual awards
Season awards
The annual season awards were announced on 27 April.
| Award | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player |  Marcelo Huertas | Lenovo Tenerife |
| Final Four MVP | Kendrick Perry | Unicaja |
| Best Defensive Player |  Howard Sant-Roos | UCAM Murcia |
| Best Young Player | Tidjane Salaün | Cholet |
| Best Coach | Vassilis Spanoulis | Peristeri |
Star Lineup
| First Team | Second Team | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Player | Team |
  Joe Ragland |
Peristeri |
 Dylan Ennis |
UCAM Murcia |
| Marcelinho Huertas |
Lenovo Tenerife |
Hunter Hale |
Promitheas Patras |
| Kendrick Perry |
Unicaja |
Levi Randolph |
Hapoel Jerusalem |
| David Kravish |
Unicaja |
Dylan Osetkowski |
Unicaja |
| Austin Wiley |
Tofaş |
Vernon Carey Jr. |
Pınar Karşıyaka |
MVP of the Month
| Month | Player | Club | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | |||
October | Vernon Carey Jr. | Pınar Karşıyaka | |
November | Justin Tillman | AEK | |
December | Levi Randolph | Hapoel Jerusalem | |
| 2024 | |||
January | Hunter Hale | Promitheas Patras | |
March | Joe Ragland | Peristeri | |
