2016–17 Basketball Champions League

Basketball Champions League
Teams	40 (regular season) 52 from 31 countries (total)
Duration	27 September – 6 October 2016 (qualifying) 20 October 2016 – 30 April 2017 (competition proper)
Statistical leaders
PIR	Joe Ragland 19.3
Points	Nick Minnerath 20.4
Rebounds	Keith Clanton 10.9
Assists	Clifford Hammonds 8.5

The 2016–17 Basketball Champions League is the inaugural season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL), a European professional basketball competition for clubs that was launched by FIBA.^[1] The competition began on 27 September 2016, with the qualifying rounds, and will conclude on 30 April 2017, at the Final Four.

Format changes

The competition format has suffered multiple adjustments since its official presentation on 21 March 2016, in Paris.^[2] Initially, the tournament would feature a total of 56 teams from 30 national leagues. Thirty-two teams would compete in the regular season, which included 24 teams qualified directly through sporting criteria, and eight teams advancing from a two-round qualifying phase comprising the remaining 32 teams. The 24 qualifying round losers would be transferred to the regular season of the 2016–17 FIBA Europe Cup. The 32 regular season teams would be drawn into four groups of eight, playing home-and-away matches against the other group teams in a round-robin system. The four best-placed teams of each group would qualify for the play-offs, while the eight 5th- and 6th-placed teams would transfer to the FIBA Europe Cup play-offs. In the play-offs, the round of 16 and the quarter-finals were played as two-legged home-and-away ties. The four quarterfinal winners would play in the Final Four of the competition.^[2][3]

On 29 June 2016, the competition board confirmed the participation of 48 teams from 31 countries. The qualifying rounds would be contested by 24 teams, with 16 entering the first round, and the remaining eight given a bye to the second round.^[4] Ahead of the official draw ceremony on 21 July 2016, in Munich, the number of participating teams was increased to 49 and the qualifying rounds were again revised to accommodate 25 teams. The first qualifying round would include 18 teams divided into two pots according to geographical criteria. The nine winners would join the remaining seven teams directly placed in the second round.^[5]

On 19 August 2016, the organisation announced that AEK Athens, Partizan and Stelmet Zielona Góra had been accepted into the competition after withdrawing from the EuroCup.^[6] This expansion to 52 teams introduced overall changes in the competition format, namely the addition of a fifth group of eight teams (Group E) to the regular season. In addition, five teams were promoted from the qualifying rounds to the this new regular season group, resulting in the promotion of eight teams from the first to the second qualifying round. The play-offs will also include an additional round before the round of 16, to accommodate an increase of qualified teams from 16 to 24 (four best-placed teams from each group and four best fifth-placed teams). The five group winners and three best runners-up from the regular season will qualify directly for the round of 16, while the remaining 16 teams will qualify for the preceding first round.^[6]

Team allocation

A total of 52 teams from 31 leagues participate in the 2016–17 Basketball Champions League.

Distribution

The table below shows the default access list.^[4][5][6]

		Teams entering in this round	Teams advancing from previous round
First qualifying round (8 teams)		5 champions from 5 leagues 1 runner-up from 1 leagues 1 third-placed team from 1 league 1 fourth-placed team from 1 league
Second qualifying round (16 teams)		4 champions from 4 leagues 3 runners-up from 3 leagues 1 fourth-placed team from 1 league 1 fifth-placed team from 1 league 1 sixth-placed team from 1 league 1 seventh-placed team from 1 league 1 ninth-placed team from 1 league	4 winners from the first qualifying round
Regular season (40 teams)		8 champions from 8 leagues 5 runners-up from 5 leagues 6 third-placed teams from 6 leagues 2 fourth-placed teams from 2 leagues 4 fifth-placed teams from 4 leagues 3 sixth-placed teams from 3 leagues 1 seventh-placed team from 1 league 2 ninth-placed teams from 2 leagues 1 domestic cup winner from 1 league	8 winners from the second qualifying round
Play-offs (24 teams)			5 group winners from the regular season 5 group runners-up from the regular season 5 group third-placed teams from the regular season 5 group fourth-placed teams from the regular season 4 best fifth-placed teams from the regular season
Final Four (4 teams)			4 winners from the play-offs

Teams

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:^[4][5][6]

• 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.: League position after eventual Playoffs
• CW: Cup winners

Regular season
ASVEL (1st)	Umana Reyer Venezia (4th)	Partizan NIS (2nd)	Cibona (2nd)
Strasbourg (2nd)	Banco di Sardegna Sassari (7th)	Mega Leks (3rd)	Helios Suns (1st)
Monaco (3rd)[Note FRA]	Fraport Skyliners (3rd)	Telenet Oostende (1st)	Maccabi Rand Media (1st)
Le Mans Sarthe (CW)	EWE Baskets Oldenburg (5th)	Proximus Spirou (5th)	Neptūnas (2nd)
Banvit (5th)	MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (6th)	Stelmet Zielona Góra (1st)	Khimik (1st)
Pınar Karşıyaka (6th)	AEK Athens (3rd)	Rosa Radom (2nd)	ČEZ Nymburk (1st)
Beşiktaş Sompo Japan (9th)	Aris (4th)	Iberostar Tenerife (9th)	Ventspils (3rd)
Sidigas Avellino (3rd)	PAOK (5th)	Avtodor Saratov (6th)	Szolnoki Olaj (1st)
Second qualifying round
Porto (1st)	Muratbey Uşak Sportif (7th)	Juventus (4th)	Kataja (5th)
Benfica (2nd)	Ironi Nahariya (6th)	Mornar (2nd)	Södertälje Kings (1st)
Openjobmetis Varese (9th)	Lukoil Academic (1st)	Igokea (1st)	Bakken Bears (2nd)
First qualifying round
Oradea (1st)	Rilski Sportist (3rd)	Donar (1st)	Prievidza (1st)
U-BT Cluj-Napoca (4th)	Tartu (2nd)	Petrolina AEK Larnaca (1st)	Tsmoki Minsk (1st)

Notes

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition is as follows:^[4][7]

Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Qualifying rounds	First qualifying round	21 July 2016	27 September 2016	29 September 2016
	Second qualifying round		4 October 2016	6 October 2016
Regular season	Matchday 1		18–19 October 2016
	Matchday 2		25–26 October 2016
	Matchday 3		1–2 November 2016
	Matchday 4		8–9 November 2016
	Matchday 5		15–16 November 2016
	Matchday 6		22–23 November 2016
	Matchday 7		29–30 November 2016
	Matchday 8		6–7 December 2016
	Matchday 9		13–14 December 2016
	Matchday 10		20–21 December 2016
	Matchday 11		3–4 January 2017
	Matchday 12		10–11 January 2017
	Matchday 13		17–18 January 2017
	Matchday 14		24–25 January 2017
Play-offs	Round of 16 (1st phase)	TBA	7–8 February 2017	21–22 February 2017
	Round of 16 (2nd phase)	TBA	28 February–1 March 2017	7–8 March 2017
	Quarter-finals	TBA	21–22 March 2017	28–29 March 2017
Final Four	Semi-finals		28 April 2017
	Final		30 April 2017

Qualifying rounds

In the qualifying rounds, teams were divided into pots based on geographical criteria, and then drawn into two-legged home-and-away ties. Teams from the same league could not be drawn against each other.^[5] The losing teams from both qualifying rounds competed in the regular season of the 2016–17 FIBA Europe Cup.

First qualifying round

A total of 18 teams entering the first qualifying round were divided into two pots – Region A (ten teams) and Region B (eight teams) – and pairings were drawn between teams within each pot.^[5] Following the competition expansion in August and the resulting format changes, only four of the nine originally drawn ties were played.^[6]

The first legs were played on 27 September, and the second legs were played on 29 September 2016.

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Donar	133–141	Tartu	76–76	57–65
Rilski Sportist	122–146	Tsmoki Minsk	58–72	64–74
Oradea	144–131	Prievidza	71–64	73–67
Petrolina AEK Larnaca	106–145	U-BT Cluj-Napoca	50–78	56–67

Source: Basketball Champions League

Second qualifying round

A total of 16 teams were scheduled to play the second qualifying round, including the nine winners of the first round and seven teams with a bye to this round. As in the previous round, teams were divided into pots according to geographical criteria – Region A teams in Pots 1 and 2; Region B teams in Pots 3 and 4 – and pairings were drawn between teams within each region.^[5]

Following the competition expansion in August and the resulting format changes, the revised second qualifying round fixture list kept three ties from the original draw and included four ties transferred from the first round. The eighth tie featured Bakken Bears, who were promoted to the second qualifying round after Banco di Sardegna Sassari were in turn promoted to the regular season.^[6]

The first legs of series with teams involved in the first qualifying round were played on 4 October, and the second legs were played on 6 October 2016. The other four series were played one week before, their first leg on 27 September, and their second one on 29 September.

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Tartu	137–158	Bakken Bears	67–75	70–83
Tsmoki Minsk	133–141	Ironi Nahariya	66–70	67–71
Lukoil Academic	123–142	Oradea	75–72	58–70
Muratbey Uşak Sportif	178–156	U-BT Cluj-Napoca	93–90	85–66
Kataja	156–124	Södertälje Kings	97–58	59–66
Benfica	144–145	Openjobmetis Varese	72–75	72–70
Porto	140–160	Juventus	81–83	59–77
Igokea	131–152	Mornar	71–69	60–83

Source: Basketball Champions League

Regular season

The 40 regular season teams were drawn into five groups of eight, with the restriction that teams from the same league cannot be drawn against each other. In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format. The group winners, runners-up, third-placed, fourth-placed, and the top 4 fifth-placed teams advance to the round of 16, while the sixth-placed and the seventh-placed teams are eligible to enter the 2016–17 FIBA Europe Cup round of 16. The match-days are 18–19 October, 25–26 October, 1–2 November, 8–9 November, 15–16 November, 22–23 November, 29–30 November, 6–7 December, 13–14 December, 20–21 December 2016, 3–4 January, 10–11 January, 17–18 January and 24–25 January 2017.

Draw

The regular season groups were drawn on 21 July 2016. The 24 teams originally directly qualified were divided into six pots of four teams each.^[5]

Teams from the same country were drawn in different groups.

Pot 1 Team ASVEL Strasbourg Banvit Pınar Karşıyaka	Pot 2 Team Fraport Skyliners EWE Baskets Oldenburg Sidigas Avellino Umana Reyer Venezia
Pot 3 Team Aris PAOK Avtodor Saratov Iberostar Tenerife	Pot 4 Team Telenet Oostende Maccabi Rand Media ČEZ Nymburk Neptūnas
Pot 5 Team Khimik Helios Suns Cibona Rosa Radom	Pot 6 Team Mega Leks Ventspils Monaco Le Mans Sarthe

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification		MON	BAN	ARI	ČEZ	NAH	FRA	HEL	BAK
1	Monaco	7	6	1	512	438	+74	13	Advance to 2nd phase		—	11 Jan	25 Jan	93–74	71–64	65–47	59–55	21 Dec
2	Banvit	7	6	1	560	493	+67	13	Possible advance to 2nd phase		79–65	—	3 Jan	75–69	7 Dec	13 Dec	17 Jan	99–82
3	Aris	7	4	3	528	484	+44	11	Advance to 1st phase		62–65	84–78	—	11 Jan	20 Dec	17 Jan	7 Dec	82–66
4	ČEZ Nymburk	7	4	3	529	499	+30	11			17 Jan	20 Dec	87–79	—	78–66	3 Jan	85–55	6 Dec
5	Ironi Nahariya	7	3	4	494	503	−9	10	Possible advance to 1st phase		3 Jan	70–83	53–85	13 Dec	—	75–54	76–61	17 Jan
6	Fraport Skyliners	7	3	4	452	488	−36	10	Transfer to FIBA Europe Cup		6 Dec	70–86	81–74	74–61	25 Jan	—	21 Dec	11 Jan
7	Helios Suns	7	1	6	412	462	−50	8	Possible transfer to FIBA Europe Cup		13 Dec	53–60	54–62	25 Jan	10 Jan	56–61	—	78–59
8	Bakken Bears	7	1	6	463	583	−120	8			57–94	25 Jan	13 Dec	57–75	71–90	71–65	3 Jan	—

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification		MSB	VEN	KSK	AVT	MRL	ORA	KAT	KHI
1	Le Mans Sarthe	7	6	1	538	452	+86	13	Advance to 2nd phase		—	68–49	10 Jan	24 Jan	80–72	72–61	20 Dec	68–49
2	Umana Reyer Venezia	7	5	2	532	483	+49	12	Possible advance to 2nd phase		6 Dec	—	75–61	106–91	73–61	24 Jan	10 Jan	20 Dec
3	Pınar Karşıyaka	7	4	3	500	503	−3	11	Advance to 1st phase		66–79	13 Dec	—	4 Jan	84–75	6 Dec	66–84	18 Jan
4	Avtodor Saratov	7	3	4	619	608	+11	10			78–95	18 Jan	74–76	—	11 Jan	21 Dec	113–84	7 Dec
5	Maccabi Rand Media	7	3	4	497	503	−6	10	Possible advance to 1st phase		18 Jan	4 Jan	21 Dec	74–98	—	69–56	6 Dec	74–48
6	Oradea	7	3	4	487	508	−21	10	Transfer to FIBA Europe Cup		4 Jan	69–73	56–69	96–85	14 Dec	—	18 Jan	69–66
7	Kataja	7	3	4	539	581	−42	10	Possible transfer to FIBA Europe Cup		77–76	68–92	24 Jan	14 Dec	64–72	74–80	—	3 Jan
8	Khimik	7	1	6	447	521	−74	8			14 Dec	65–64	60–78	77–80	24 Jan	10 Jan	82–88	—

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification		NEP	ASV	OLD	VEN	PAO	RAD	UŞA	VAR
1	Neptūnas	7	6	1	501	447	+54	13	Advance to 2nd phase		—	81–67	4 Jan	18 Jan	68–63	66–63	6 Dec	94–60
2	ASVEL	7	5	2	546	504	+42	12	Possible advance to 2nd phase		20 Dec	—	13 Dec	83–68	4 Jan	17 Jan	83–69	6 Dec
3	EWE Baskets Oldenburg	7	4	3	492	485	+7	11	Advance to 1st phase		63–64	79–81	—	7 Dec	67–62	21 Dec	10 Jan	24 Jan
4	Ventspils	7	3	4	525	499	+26	10			66–61	10 Jan	76–77	—	24 Jan	74–53	21 Dec	91–66
5	PAOK	7	3	4	490	498	−8	10	Possible advance to 1st phase		10 Jan	61–67	18 Jan	85–81	—	6 Dec	59–52	21 Dec
6	Rosa Radom	7	3	4	490	517	−27	10	Transfer to FIBA Europe Cup		24 Jan	63–83	66–70	14 Dec	93–85	—	83–77	10 Jan
7	Muratbey Uşak Sportif	7	2	5	484	490	−6	9	Possible transfer to FIBA Europe Cup		65–67	24 Jan	60–65	74–69	14 Dec	4 Jan	—	87–64
8	Openjobmetis Varese	7	2	5	481	569	−88	9			14 Dec	83–82	76–71	4 Jan	70–75	62–69	18 Jan	—

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification		TFE	AVE	JUV	SIG	BCO	MEG	CIB	MOR
1	Iberostar Tenerife	7	5	2	558	455	+103	12	Advance to 2nd phase		—	17 Jan	21 Dec	66–70	11 Jan	73–59	7 Dec	103–57
2	Sidigas Avellino	7	5	2	548	517	+31	12	Possible advance to 2nd phase		75–76	—	25 Jan	72–69	72–77	7 Dec	21 Dec	11 Jan
3	Juventus	7	5	2	564	553	+11	12	Advance to 1st phase		71–93	75–85	—	91–84	13 Dec	3 Jan	104–82	17 Jan
4	Strasbourg	7	4	3	546	507	+39	11			3 Jan	14 Dec	7 Dec	—	74–64	68–59	18 Jan	93–62
5	Telenet Oostende	7	3	4	490	497	−7	10	Possible advance to 1st phase		66–62	4 Jan	59–69	21 Dec	—	17 Jan	82–70	6 Dec
6	Mega Leks	7	2	5	507	540	−33	9	Transfer to FIBA Europe Cup		25 Jan	70–84	77–79	11 Jan	76–70	—	81–79	21 Dec
7	Cibona	7	2	5	554	596	−42	9	Possible transfer to FIBA Europe Cup		57–85	83–84	11 Jan	93–88	25 Jan	13 Dec	—	90–72
8	Mornar	7	2	5	492	594	−102	9			14 Dec	67–76	73–75	25 Jan	74–72	87–85	3 Jan	—

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification		BJK	LUD	AEK	DSS	ZGA	PAR	SPI	SZO
1	Beşiktaş Sompo Japan	7	6	1	589	518	+71	13	Advance to 2nd phase		—	25 Jan	21 Dec	11 Jan	85–66	77–62	7 Dec	89–74
2	MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg	7	5	2	570	500	+70	12	Possible advance to 2nd phase		89–83	—	72–67	17 Jan	13 Dec	64–65	4 Jan	99–56
3	AEK Athens	7	4	3	561	484	+77	11	Advance to 1st phase		78–88	10 Jan	—	78–58	25 Jan	91–81	14 Dec	92–49
4	Banco di Sardegna Sassari	7	3	4	540	538	+2	10			74–75	79–80	4 Jan	—	74–70	25 Jan	95–75	13 Dec
5	Stelmet Zielona Góra	7	3	4	494	511	−17	10	Possible advance to 1st phase		3 Jan	72–70	78–75	7 Dec	—	20 Dec	18 Jan	83–63
6	Partizan NIS	7	3	4	493	515	−22	10	Transfer to FIBA Europe Cup		14 Dec	6 Dec	18 Jan	87–88	58–56	—	70–84	4 Jan
7	Proximus Spirou	7	3	4	535	576	−41	10	Possible transfer to FIBA Europe Cup		75–92	78–96	58–80	20 Dec	86–69	10 Jan	—	25 Jan
8	Szolnoki Olaj	7	1	6	444	584	−140	8			17 Jan	20 Dec	7 Dec	73–72	11 Jan	55–70	74–79	—

Ranking of second-placed teams

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	A	Banvit	7	6	1	560	493	+67	13	Advance to 2nd phase
2	E	MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg	7	5	2	570	500	+70	12
3	B	Umana Reyer Venezia	7	5	2	532	483	+49	12
4	C	ASVEL	7	5	2	546	504	+42	12	Advance to 1st phase
5	D	Sidigas Avellino	7	5	2	548	517	+31	12

Ranking of fifth-placed teams

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	B	Maccabi Rand Media	7	3	4	497	503	−6	10	Advance to 1st phase
2	D	Telenet Oostende	7	3	4	490	497	−7	10
3	C	PAOK	7	3	4	490	498	−8	10
4	A	Ironi Nahariya	7	3	4	494	503	−9	10
5	E	Stelmet Zielona Góra	7	3	4	494	511	−17	10	Transfer to FIBA Europe Cup

Ranking of seventh-placed teams

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	E	Proximus Spirou	7	3	4	535	576	−41	10	Transfer to FIBA Europe Cup
2	B	Kataja	7	3	4	539	581	−42	10
3	C	Muratbey Uşak Sportif	7	2	5	484	490	−6	9
4	D	Cibona	7	2	5	554	596	−42	9
5	A	Helios Suns	7	1	6	412	462	−50	8

Play-offs

In the play-offs, teams play against each other over two legs on a home-and-away basis. The round of 16 will include two phases. For this stage, the winning team from each group and the three best runners-up will qualify directly to the second phase. For the first phase, the remaining sixteen teams from the same country may not be drawn against each other. For the second phase, the draw is entirely random, without country protection, and the winners of the first phase will play against the teams that have directly qualified to the second phase. From the quarter-finals onwards, the draw is entirely random, without country protection.

Bracket

	Round of 16 (1st phase)						Round of 16 (2nd phase)						Quarter-finals						Semi-finals						Final
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Round of 16 (1st phase)

The first legs will be played on 7–8 February, and the second legs will be played on 21–22 February 2017.

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
	–		7 Feb	21 Feb
	–		7 Feb	21 Feb
	–		7 Feb	21 Feb
	–		7 Feb	21 Feb
	–		7 Feb	21 Feb
	–		7 Feb	21 Feb
	–		7 Feb	21 Feb
	–		7 Feb	21 Feb

Round of 16 (2nd phase)

The first legs will be played on 28 February–1 March, and the second legs will be played on 7–8 March 2017.

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
	–		28 Feb	7 Mar
	–		28 Feb	7 Mar
	–		28 Feb	7 Mar
	–		28 Feb	7 Mar
	–		28 Feb	7 Mar
	–		28 Feb	7 Mar
	–		28 Feb	7 Mar
	–		28 Feb	7 Mar

Quarter-finals

The first legs will be played on 21–22 March, and the second legs will be played on 28–29 March 2017.

Team 1	Agg.	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
	–		21 Mar	28 Mar
	–		21 Mar	28 Mar
	–		21 Mar	28 Mar
	–		21 Mar	28 Mar

Final Four

The Final Four is the last phase of the season, and is held over a weekend. The semi-final games are played on Friday evening. Sunday starts with the third-place game, followed by the championship game.

Semi-finals

Third place

Final

Awards

Gameday MVP

Regular season

Game	Player	Team	EFF	Ref.
1	Tyrone Brazelton	Rosa Radom	30	[8]
2	Joe Ragland	Sidigas Avellino	29	[9]
3	Shaquielle McKissic	Muratbey Uşak Sportif	24	[10]
4	Vlantimir Giankovits	Aris	25	[11]
5	Nick Minnerath	Avtodor	40	[12]
6	Georgios Bogris	Iberostar Tenerife	28	[13]
7	Kyrylo Fesenko	Sidigas Avellino	35	[14]

See also

• 2016–17 EuroLeague
• 2016–17 EuroCup Basketball
• 2016–17 FIBA Europe Cup

References

External links

• Basketball Champions League (official website)
• FIBA (official website)