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FIBA EuroCup Challenge

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FIBA EuroCup Challenge
SportBasketball
Founded2002
Ceased2007
MottoWe Are Basketball
No. of teams16
Continent Europe
Last
champion(s)		Russia Samara
(1st title)
Most titlesGreece Aris
Ukraine MBC Mariupol
Cyprus EKA AEL
Germany Mitteldeutscher
Romania Asesoft Ploiești
Russia Ural Great Perm
Russia Samara
(1 title each)
Level on pyramid4 (2002-07)
Promotion toFIBA EuroChallenge – (3rd tier)
Official websiteFIBA EuroCup EuroChallenge

The FIBA EuroCup Challenge was the 4th-tier level transnational professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, organised by FIBA Europe. However, it was Europe's 3rd-tier level club basketball competition in its inaugural 2002–03 season.

The competition was founded in 2003, following a conflict between FIBA Europe and ULEB during the 2001–02 season, as an attempt by FIBA to expand their secondary tournament held during the previous season, the FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup, by merging it with the FIBA Europe Champions Cup.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Each season's finalists were promoted to the next season's more prestigious 3rd-tier level competition, the FIBA EuroChallenge.[4] The competition ultimately ceased in 2007.

History

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In 2002, FIBA Europe abolished its two main club tournaments, the FIBA Saporta Cup and the FIBA Korac Cup, and invited European teams to join their two newly formed competitions, the FIBA Europe Champions Cup and the FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup, which would function as FIBA's premium and secondary-tier tournaments, respectively,[2] in an attempt to compete against the newly formed EuroLeague, already run by ULEB since 2001.[3]

However, the revived Champions Cup never became a true rival to the ULEB Euroleague, and FIBA therefore decided that a pan-European competition, on top of the previous season's regional competition, would be organised for the 2003–04 season. The FIBA Europe League was launched in 2003, as its top competition and the FIBA Europe Champions Cup ultimately merged with FIBA's second-tier tournament, the FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup, to form the FIBA Europe Cup, which instead functioned as FIBA Europe's second-tier tournament, and the fourth-tier overall on the European pyramid.[3][2][1]

The competition was played during the 2002–03 to 2006–07 seasons. It was variously known as the FIBA Europe Championship Cup / FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup (2002–03), the FIBA Europe Cup (2003–05), and the FIBA EuroCup Challenge (2005–07).[2][4][5][6]

Overall during those five seasons, several historic European clubs played in the competition, such as ASK Riga, Fenerbahçe, Split, Khimki Moscow Region, EKA AEL, Bayer Giants Leverkusen, Azovmash Mariupol, PAOK Thessaloniki, Hapoel Jerusalem, Rytas, Ventspils, Ural Great Perm, Belenenses, Academic, UNICS Kazan, Prokom, Dinamo Bucharest, Benetton Fribourg, etc.[2][4][5][6]

Names of the competition

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Finals

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Year Champion Score Second place 3rd 4th
2002–03 (FECC) Greece
Aris Thessaloniki 		84 – 83 Poland
Prokom Trefl Sopot 		Latvia
Ventspils 		Serbia and Montenegro
Hemofarm
2002–03 (FERCC) North Ukraine
Mariupol 		88 – 61 North Germany
Bayer Leverkusen 		North Hungary
Kaposvári 		North Ukraine
Khimik
2002–03 (FERCC) South Cyprus
EKA AEL 		92 – 82 South Bosnia and Herzegovina
Igokea 		South Romania
West Petrom Arad 		South Cyprus
Pizza Express Apollon
2003–04 Germany
Mitteldeutscher 		84–68 France
SAOS Dijon 		Turkey
Tuborg Pilsener 		Russia
Dynamo Moscow Region
2004–05 Romania
Asesoft Ploiești 		75–74 Russia
Lokomotiv Rostov 		Russia
Dynamo Moscow Region 		Turkey
Bandırma Banvit
2005–06 Russia
Ural Great Perm 		154–147
80–67 / 74–80 		Ukraine
Khimik 		Greece
Olympia Larissa 		Finland
Lappeenrannan NMKY
2006–07 Russia
Samara 		184–166
83–85 / 101–81 		Cyprus
Keravnos 		Cyprus
Pizza Express Apollon 		Ukraine
Dnipro

Finals MVP

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Season Player Pos. Club
2002–03 (RCC)
 United States Duane Woodward[7]
PG/SG
CyprusEKA AEL
2003–04
 Lithuania Marijonas Petravičius
PF/C
Germany Mitteldeutscher
2004–05
 Serbia Vladimir Kuzmanović
SG
Romania Asesoft Ploiești
2005–06
 United States Derrick Alston
PF/C
 Russia Ural Great Perm
2006–07
 Russia Nikita Shabalkin
SF / PF
Russia Samara

Titles by club

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Rank[8] Club Titles Runner-up Champion years
1 GreeceAris Thessaloniki 1 0 2002–03 (A)
UkraineMariupol 1 0 2002–03 (B)
CyprusEKA AEL Limassol 1 0 2002–03 (B)
Germany Mitteldeutscher 1 0 2003–04
Romania Asesoft Ploiești 1 0 2004–05
Russia Ural Great Perm 1 0 2005–06
Russia Samara 1 0 2006–07
6 Germany Bayer Leverkusen 0 1
Bosnia and HerzegovinaIgokea 0 1
Poland Prokom Trefl Sopot 0 1
France Dijon 0 1
Russia Lokomotiv Kuban 0 1
Ukraine Khimik 0 1
Cyprus Keravnos 0 1
Total 5 5

Winning rosters

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FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup:

North Conference:

Volodymyr Gurtovyy, Andriy Kapinos, Andriy Botichev, Oleksandr Skutyelnik, Igor Kharchenko, Sergiy Moskalenko, Petro Podtykan, Yevhenii Annienkov, Dmytro Briantsev (Head Coach: Andrij Podkovyrov)[8]

South Conference:

Dimitris Prokopiou, Marcos Asonitis, Georgios Kouzapas, Michalis Kounounis, Davor Kurilic, Konstantinos Perentos, Ranko Velimirovic, David Michael Van Dyke, Christos Spyrou, Duane Woodward (Head Coach: Dragan Raca).[8]

FIBA Europe Cup:

Wendell Alexis, Manuchar Markoishvili, Paul Burke, Marijonas Petravičius, Misan Nikagbatse, Sebastian Machowski, Stephen Arigbabu, Jonas Elvikis, Per Ringstrom, Chauncey Leslie, Peter Fehse, Paul Bayer, Michael Krikemans (Head Coach: Henrik Dettmann)

Cătălin Burlacu, Ivan Krasic, Nikola Bulatović, Vladimir Kuzmanović, Paul Helcioiu, Marko Rakočević, Rares Apostol, Antonio Alexe, Levente Szijarto, Predrag Materić, Nicolae Toader, Marko Peković, Adrian Blidaru, Saša Ocokoljić (Head Coach: Mladjen Jojic)

FIBA EuroCup Challenge:

Derrick Alston, Terrell Lyday, Vasily Karasev, Jurica Golemac, Jasmin Hukić, Andre Hutson, Andrei Trushkin, Egor Vyaltsev, Vadim Panin, Evgeni Kolesnikov, Aleksandr Dedushkin, Arseni Kuchinsky, Vyacheslav Shushakov, Artem Kuzyakin (Head Coach: Sharon Drucker)

Nikita Shabalkin, Omar Cook, Georgios Diamantopoulos, Kelvin Gibbs, Evgeni Voronov, Pavel Agapov, Gennadi Zelenskiy, Yaroslav Strelkin, Oleg Baranov, Pavel Ulyanko, Taras Osipov, Anton Glazunov, Alexei Kiryanov, Valeri Likhodey (Head Coach: Valeri Tikhonenko)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "The FIBA Europe League Is Born!". FIBA Europe.
  2. ^ a b c d e f FIBA Europe. "All Participants In FIBA Europe 2002/2003 Club Competitions Finalised".
  3. ^ a b c FIBA Europe. "FIBA Europe and ULEB".
  4. ^ a b c d e "FIBA EuroCup Challenge: All-Time Winners". www.linguasport.com. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  5. ^ a b c d FIBA Europe. "FIBA Europe announcement detailing the 2002-2003 European competitions".
  6. ^ a b c d "Basketball European National Club Competitions". sport-record.de. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  7. ^ FIBA Europe. "INTERVIEW WITH LEMESOS' DUANE WOODWARD".
  8. ^ a b c d e "FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup 2002-03". www.linguasport.com. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
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