The 2002–03 FIBA Europe Champions Cup was the first edition of Europe's transnational competition for men's professional basketball clubs, the FIBA Europe Champions Cup, following the abolushment of the FIBA Korać Cup and FIBA Saporta Cup competitions and the launch of the ULEB Cup.[{5179A822-D4B1-4476-AD04-EDBC445D6DC6}&compID={0D93D753-CAD5-4604-A251-1402A6361BF3}]
It was FIBA's top tier competition. In this first edition, it was actually the 3rd tier level on the European club basketball pyramid, featuring 15 domestic league champions. Except Lithuania, the champions were only from the countries, which wasn't represented in the Euroleague or the ULEB Cup.
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 Split, Aris, PAOK, Lietuvos Rytas, Kalev, Fribourg, Planja, Academic, Levski, APOEL, Ventspils, Rabotnički, and Porto had played for years in FIBA's former Champions Cup (1958–2001).
Apart from Lietuvos Rytas and UNICS, no other participant of the FIBA Europe Champions Cup finished higher in their national championship in the previous season than any of the participants of the 2002-03 season of the Euroleague or the ULEB Cup.
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
Country Teams Clubs Greece 5 Panionios Freddoccino (5th) Maroussi Telestet (6th) Peristeri (7th) PAOK (8th) Aris (10th) Portugal 5 Portugal Telecom (1st) Ovarense Aerosoles (2nd) Oliveirense (3rd) Porto Ferpinta (4th) CAB Madeira (13th) Poland 4 Prokom Trefl Sopot (2nd) Gipsar Stal Ostrów (3d) Anwil Włocławek (4th) Polonia Warszawa (5th) Russia 4 UNICS (2nd) Avtodor Saratov (4th) Khimki (8th) EvrAz (2nd, SL B) Belgium 3 Quatro Bree (3rd) Dexia Mons-Hainaut (4th) Euphony Liège (5th) Bulgaria 3 Yambolgaz-92 (1st) Lukoil Academic (2nd) Levski Sofia (3d) France 3 JDA Dijon (6th) SIG Strasbourg (9th) SLUC Nancy (8th) Israel 3 Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem (3d) Bnei HaSharon Hapoel Tel Aviv (1st, A2) Lithuania 3 Lietuvos rytas (1st) Alita (3d) Šiauliai (4th) Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 Feal Široki (1st) Sloboda Dita Tuzla (2nd) Croatia 2 Split CO (9th) Zagreb (3rd) Cyprus 2 APOEL (1st) Keravnos Keo (2nd) Czech Republic 2 Opava (1st) Mlékárna Kunín (2nd) Estonia 2 Kalev Tallinn (1st) Tartu ÜSK Rock (2nd) Latvia 2 Ventspils (1st) Skonto (2nd) Serbia and Montenegro 2 Hemofarm (4th) NIS Vojvodina (6th) Spain 2 Ourense (3d, A2) Tenerife (4th, A2) Turkey 2 Türk Telekom (5th) Pinar Karşıyaka (8th) Ukraine 2 Odesa (1st) Kyiv (2nd) Austria 1 Montan Bears Kapfenberg (1st) Belarus 1 Grodno-93 (1st) Denmark 1 BF Copenhagen (1st) England 1 Birmingham Bullets (9th) Macedonia 1 Feršped Rabotnički (1st) Hungary 1 Atomerőmű (1st) Italy 1 Bipop Carire Reggio Emilia (2nd, A2) Netherlands 1 EiffelTowers Nijmegen (2nd) Slovenia 1 Geoplin Slovan (4th) Sweden 1 Plannja Basket (1st) Switzerland 1 Benetton Fribourg (2nd)
Draw and promotion The participating teams were announced on 21 July 2002. The draw took place on the 30th July, 2002, in Munich. FIBA appointed legendary former players who had played in the FIBA Champions Cup (1958-2001) to promote the new competition: Sarunas Marciulionis (Managing Director of the Northern Conference) Predrag Danilovic (member of the Board of FIBA Europe) Kosta Illiev (Managing Director of the Southern Conference) José Antonio Montero (Managing Director of the Western Conference Alexander Volkov (member of the Board of FIBA Europe)
Competition system 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 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 TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. UNICS 10 9 1 896 724 +172 2. Ventspils 10 7 3 914 797 +117 3. Šiauliai 10 4 6 821 886 −65 3–1 (+28) 4. Gipsar Stal Ostrów 10 4 6 805 837 −32 2–2 (+6) 5. Opava 10 4 6 829 874 −45 1–3 (+24) 6. Plannja Basket 10 2 8 767 914 −147 Group B TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Anwil Włocławek 8 8 0 666 537 +129 2. Odesa 8 4 4 655 686 −31 3. Copenhagen 8 3 5 586 579 +7 1–1 (+8) 4. EvrAz 8 3 5 567 589 −22 1–1 (−8) 5. Tartu ÜSK Rock 8 2 6 589 672 −45
Group C TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Prokom Trefl Sopot 10 10 0 951 718 +233 2. Skonto 10 7 3 975 882 +93 3. Avtodor Saratov 10 6 4 881 903 −22 4. Mlékárna Kunín 10 3 7 895 985 −90 5. Grodno-93 10 2 8 764 876 −112 1–1 (+5) 6. Alita 10 2 8 819 921 −102 1–1 (−5)Group D TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Lietuvos rytas 10 10 0 938 670 +268 2. Khimki 10 6 4 875 830 +45 3. Polonia Warszawa 10 5 5 830 847 −17 4. Kyiv 10 4 6 859 901 −42 5. Atomerőmű 10 3 7 770 883 −113 6. 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 January 14, Vilnius Palace of Sports, Vilnius
3rd place game January 15, Vilnius Palace of Sports, Vilnius
Final January 15, Vilnius Palace of Sports, Vilnius
Conference South 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 TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Peristeri 10 9 1 844 718 +126 2. Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem 10 7 3 878 826 +52 3. Yambolgaz-92 10 5 5 771 790 −19 4. NIS Vojvodina 10 4 6 850 862 −12 1–1 (+16) 5. Pinar Karşıyaka 10 4 6 792 815 −23 1–1 (−16) 6. Feršped Rabotnički 10 1 9 747 871 −147 Group B TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Türk Telekom 10 8 2 801 749 +52 2. Hemofarm 10 7 3 825 726 +99 1–1 (+14) 3. Hapoel Tel Aviv 10 7 3 806 742 +64 1–1 (−14) 4. Panionios Freddoccino 10 6 4 820 799 +21 5. Levski Sofia 10 1 9 793 872 −79 1–1 (+1) 6. Sloboda Dita 10 1 9 684 841 −157 1–1 (−1)
Group C TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Aris 8 6 2 701 633 +68 2. Bnei HaSharon 8 5 3 668 632 +36 1–1 (+12) 3. Maroussi Telestet 8 5 3 731 694 +37 1–1 (−12) 4. Split CO 8 2 6 679 752 −73 1–1 (+16) 5. Keravnos Keo 8 2 6 567 635 −68 1–1 (−16)Group D TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Lukoil Academic 10 8 2 878 720 +158 2. PAOK 10 7 3 858 778 +80 3. Geoplin Slovan 10 6 4 753 705 +48 4. Zagreb 10 4 6 783 790 −7 1–1 (+9) 5. Feal Široki 10 4 6 772 848 −76 1–1 (−9) 6. 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 January 16, Universiada Hall, Sofia
3rd place game January 17, Universiada Hall, Sofia
Final January 17, Universiada Hall, Sofia
Conference West 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 TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Tenerife 10 9 1 804 732 +72 2. JDA Dijon 10 6 4 829 776 +53 2–0 (+14) 3. Birmingham Bullets 10 6 4 746 764 −18 0–2 (−14) 4. Dexia Mons-Hainaut 10 5 5 806 791 +15 5. Benetton Fribourg 10 2 8 690 776 −86 2–0 (+10) 6. Oliveirense 10 2 8 797 833 −36 0–2 (−10)Group B TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. SIG Strasbourg 10 7 3 865 818 +47 2. Ourense 10 6 4 910 861 +49 3. Ovarense Aerosoles 10 5 5 878 851 +27 1–1 (+13) 4. Portugal Telecom 10 5 5 819 827 −8 1–1 (−13) 5. Montan Bears Kapfenberg 10 4 6 871 906 −35 6. Euphony Liège 10 3 7 799 879 −80
Group C TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. EiffelTowers Nijmegen 10 8 2 856 794 +62 2. Bipop Carire Reggio Emilia 10 7 3 858 838 +20 3. Porto Ferpinta 10 5 5 858 830 −18 2–0 (+14) 4. SLUC Nancy 10 5 5 814 764 +50 0–2 (−14) 5. Quatro Bree 10 3 7 770 848 −78 6. CAB Madeira 10 2 8 812 894 −82
Overall winners UNICS (North) PBC Academic (South)
Pan-European phase The phase ran from February 2, 2003 to March 25, 2003.
+ Key to colors Advance to Quarterfinals Eliminated
Group A TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. UNICS 6 6 0 544 428 +116 2. Odesa 6 3 3 522 557 −35 3. Hapoel Jerusalem 6 2 4 511 525 −14 4. Türk Telekom 6 1 5 478 545 −67 Group B TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Hemofarm 6 5 1 533 457 +76 2. Lietuvos rytas 6 3 3 494 468 +26 3. Skonto 6 2 4 530 567 −37 1–1 (+25) 4. PAOK 6 2 4 470 535 −65 1–1 (−25)
Group C TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Prokom Trefl Sopot 6 5 1 499 463 +36 2. Ventspils 6 3 3 531 480 +51 3. EiffelTowers Nijmegen 6 2 4 527 544 −17 1–1 (0) 4. Ourense 6 2 4 450 520 −70 1–1 (0)Group D TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. JDA Dijon 4 3 1 326 305 +21 2. Porto Ferpinta 4 2 2 300 317 −17 3. Anwil Włocławek 4 1 3 295 299 −4
Group E TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Aris 6 4 2 505 504 +1 1–1 (+8) 2. Hapoel Tel Aviv 6 4 2 439 429 +10 1–1 (−8) 3. Khimki 6 2 4 528 517 +11 1–1 (+14) 4. SIG Strasbourg 6 2 4 459 481 −22 1–1 (−14)Group F TeamPldWLPFPADiffTie-break 1. Lukoil Academic 6 5 1 550 483 +67 2. Unelco Tenerife* 6 3 3 487 467 +20 3. Bipop Carire Reggio Emilia 6 2 4 391 445 −54 2–0 (+27) 4. 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 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.
Final Four
Semifinals May 2, 2003 at Alexandreio Melathron in Thessaloniki, Greece.
3rd place game May 4, 2003 at Alexandreio Melathron in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Final May 4, 2003 at Alexandreio Melathron in Thessaloniki, Greece.
2002–03 FIBA Europe Champions Cup Aris 1st title
Final standings Team Aris Prokom Trefl Sopot Ventspils 4. Hemofarm
See also 2002–03 Euroleague 2002–03 ULEB Cup 2002–03 FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup
References
Sources 2002–03 at Eurobasket.com
Statistics
External links FIBA Champions Cup 2002 02-03 results and scoresheets