FIBA Europe Cup 2022-23 clubs and qualification system announced

The clubs that will participate in the 2022-23 edition of the FIBA Europe Cup as well as the clubs that will compete in the Qualifiers with the hope of advancing to the Regular Season were confirmed on Friday.

A total of 32 clubs registered for this season’s competition, FIBA Europe announced, specifying that the best-ranked team from each of the Top 10 national federations in the club competition rankings is awarded a direct berth in the Regular Season.

The 10 clubs with direct place in the Regular Season (in alphabetical order by country):

Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen (BEL)

BC Balkan (BUL)

HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim (GER)

Hapoel Galil Elion (ISR)

New Basket Brindisi (ITA)

Donar Groningen (NED)

Anwil Wloclawek (POL)

FC Porto (POR)

CSM Oradea (ROU)

Gaziantep Basketbol (TUR)

Meanwhile 19 of the clubs that will take part in the Basketball Champions League Qualification Rounds have opted-in to participate in the FIBA Europe Cup in the event they do not reach the Basketball Champions League Regular Season. No more than 18 of those clubs can eventually join the FIBA Europe Cup, and they would be placed directly into the Regular Season of the competition.

Therefore, in order to determine the clubs that will take up the remaining Regular Season spots and complete the 2022-23 field, FIBA Europe will organize four Qualifier tournaments, between September 27-30.

The 22 clubs that are set to compete in the four Qualifier tournaments will be divided into six pots (seeded and unseeded) for the draw, based on the clubs’ results in the FIBA Europe Cup during the previous three seasons.

There will be 10 seeded clubs that will enter the tournaments directly in the Semi-Final Stage and those are the four teams in Pot 1, the four teams in Pot 2 and two teams that will be drawn from the four in Pot 3.

Pot 1 (seeded):

ZZ Leiden (NED)

Sporting CP (POR)

Kapfenberg Bulls (AUT)

Rilski Sportist (BUL)

Pot 2 (seeded):

Telenet Giants Antwerp (BEL)

Kataja Basket (FIN)

Sigal Prishtina (KOS)

Besiktas JK (TUR)

Pot 3 (two seeded, two unseeded):

Hapoel Haifa (ISR)

Cholet Basket (FRA)

BC Kalev/Cramo (EST)

Petrolina AEK (CYP)

Pot 4 (unseeded):

SCMU Craiova (ROU)

Czarni Slupsk (POL)

BG Gottingen (GER)

Aris BSA (GRE)

Pot 5 (unseeded):

BC CBET Jonava (LTU)

BC Wolves (LTU)

BC Trepca (KOS)

Jamtland Basket (SWE)

Pot 6 (unseeded):

KK Cedevita Junior (CRO)

Thor Thorlakshofn (ISL)

In tournaments A and B, teams from Pot 3 will be drawn against teams from Pot 6 and teams from Pot 4 will be drawn against teams from Pot 5 until all Quarter-Finals are complete. In tournaments C and D, the two seeded teams from Pot 3 will be drawn directly to the Semi-Finals.

The winners of the Semi-Finals will face each other in four final pairings, with the teams that win the Finals joining the FIBA Europe Cup Regular Season.

Any additional spots in the FIBA Europe Cup Regular Season that might open up after the completion of the BCL Qualification Tournaments will be taken up by the losing teams in the Finals of the Qualifier tournaments, according to the criteria in Section D of the Official Basketball Rules.

The draw will take place in Munich on Thursday, July 14