The 1972–73 FIBA European Champions Cup was the 16th installment of the European top-tier level professional basketball club competition FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague). The Final was held at the Country Hall du Sart Tilman, in Liège, Belgium, on March 22, 1973. It was won by Ignis Varese for the second time in a row. They defeated CSKA Moscow in the finals, by a result of 71–66.
Competition system
27 teams (European national domestic league champions, plus the then current title holders), playing in a tournament system, played knock-out rounds on a home and away basis. The aggregate score of both games decided the winner. The eight teams qualified for the quarterfinals were divided into two groups of four. Every team played against the other three in its group in consecutive home-and-away matches, so that every two of these games counted as a single win or defeat (point difference being a decisive factor there). In case of a tie between two or more teams after the group stage, the following criteria were used: 1) one-to-one games between the teams; 2) basket average; 3) individual wins and defeats. The group winners and the runners-up of the Quarterfinal Group Stage qualified for the semifinals. The final was played at a predetermined venue.
First round
*Jeunesse Sportivo Alep withdrew before the first leg and Partizani Tirana received a forfeit (2–0) in both games.
Second round
Automatically qualified to the group stage Ignis Varese (title holder)
Quarterfinals group stage The quarterfinals were played with a round-robin system, in which every Two Game series (TGS) constituted as one game for the record.
+ Key to colors Top two places in each group advance to Semifinals
Group A Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD 1. Simmenthal Milano 3 6 3 0 552 512 +40 2. Crvena zvezda 3 5 2 1 521 533 -12 3. Real Madrid 3 4 1 2 485 487 -2 4. Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv 3 3 0 3 550 576 -26Group B Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD 1. CSKA Moscow 3 6 3 0 510 453 +57 2. Ignis Varese 3 5 2 1 503 475 +28 3. Dinamo București 3 4 1 2 469 505 -36 4. Slavia VŠ Praha 3 3 0 3 489 538 -49
Semifinals
Final March 22, Country Hall du Sart Tilman, Liège
1972–73 FIBA European Champions CupChampions Ignis Varese 3rd Title
Awards FIBA European Champions Cup Finals Top Scorer Sergei Belov ( CSKA Moscow)
References
External links 1972–73 FIBA European Champions Cup
Champions Cup 1972–73 Line-ups and Stats