2019–20 Basketball Champions League

The 2019–20 Basketball Champions League is the fourth season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL), a European-wide professional basketball competition for clubs, that was launched by FIBA. The competition began in September 2019, with the qualifying rounds, and was supposed to conclude in May 2020. It featured 16 domestic champion teams. On 12 March 2020, the competition was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1]

Basketball Champions League
Season	2019–20
Dates	17 September 2019 – 4 October 2020
Teams	48 (total) 32 (regular season)
Regular season
Season MVP	Keith Langford
Finals
Champions	San Pablo Burgos (1st title)
Runners-up	AEK
Third place	JDA Dijon
Fourth place	Casademont Zaragoza
Awards
Final Eight MVP	Thad McFadden
Statistical leaders
Points Justin Dentmon 20.9 Rebounds Shevon Thompson 10.1 Assists Marcelinho Huertas 8.1 Index Rating TaShawn Thomas 20.9

San Pablo Burgos won its first Champions League title after defeating AEK.^[2]

Format changes

For this season, eight teams will come from two qualifying rounds.^[3] The round of 16 and quarter-finals changed to best-of-three playoff series instead of two legs.^[4] From this season no teams were sent from the regular season to the FIBA Europe Cup, which was the case in each previous BCL season.

Changes due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic

On 12 March 2020, FIBA suspended all its competitions, including the BCL, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[1] On 31 March, the BCL decided the season will have to be finished with a "Final Eight" tournament planned for 30 September until 4 October.^[5] The tournament was to be held in a single venue and would be a single-elimination tournament. Two games which were still not played in the Round of 16 took place beforehand.

Eligibility of players

In 2017, FIBA agreed to adopt eligibility rules, forcing the clubs to have at least 5 home-grown players in rosters of 11 or 12 players, or at least four, if the team has got fewer players.

Team allocation

A total of 48 teams from 29 countries will participate in the 2019–20 Basketball Champions League.^[6] On June 24, 2019, Benfica entered in the first qualifying round and Mornar were upgraded to the second qualifying round after the Openjobmetis Varese's withdrawal.^[7]

Teams

League positions after eventual playoffs of the previous season shown in parentheses (FEC: FIBA Europe Cup title holders. WC: Wild card).^[6]

Qualified teams for 2019–20 Basketball Champions League (by entry round)
Regular season

Gaziantep (5th)	SIG Strasbourg (6th)	Iberostar Tenerife (9th)	Happy Casa Brindisi (5th)
Beşiktaş Sompo Sigorta (6th)	AEK (3rd)	Rasta Vechta (4th)	Filou Oostende (1st)
Türk Telekom (7th)WC	Peristeri Winmasters (4th)	Brose Bamberg (5th)	ERA Nymburk (1st)
Teksüt Bandırma (8th)WC	PAOK (5th)WC	Hapoel Jerusalem (3rd)	VEF Rīga (1st)
JDA Dijon (3rd)	Casademont Zaragoza (4th)	Hapoel Holon (5th)WC	Neptūnas (3rd)
Pau-Lacq-Orthez (5th)	Baxi Manresa (8th)	Dinamo SassariFEC (2nd)	Anwil Włocławek (1st)

Second qualifying round

Telenet Giants Antwerp (2nd)	Telekom Baskets Bonn (7th)	Lietkabelis (4th)	Polski Cukier Toruń (2nd)
San Pablo Burgos (11th)	Ventspils (2nd)	Mornar (2nd)	Nizhny Novgorod (8th)

First qualifying round

Kapfenberg Bulls (1st)	Bakken Bears (1st)	Donar (2nd)	Inter Bratislava (1st)
Tsmoki Minsk (1st)	Karhu (1st)	Legia (8th)	Södertälje Kings (1st)
Balkan (1st)	Falco Szombathely (1st)	Benfica (2nd)	Fribourg Olympic (1st)
Keravnos (1st)	Sigal Prishtina (1st)	Oradea (1st)	Kyiv Basket (2nd)

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition is as follows.

Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg	Third leg
Qualifying rounds	First qualifying round	4 July 2019	17 September 2019	20 September 2019	-
	Second qualifying round		26 September 2019	29 September 2019
Regular season	Matchday 1		15–16 October 2019
	Matchday 2		22–23 October 2019
	Matchday 3		29–30 October 2019
	Matchday 4		5–6 November 2019
	Matchday 5		12–13 November 2019
	Matchday 6		19–20 November 2019
	Matchday 7		3–4 December 2019
	Matchday 8		10–11 December 2019
	Matchday 9		17–18 December 2019
	Matchday 10		7–8 January 2020
	Matchday 11		14–15 January 2020
	Matchday 12		21–22 January 2020
	Matchday 13		28–29 January 2020
	Matchday 14		4–5 February 2020
Play-offs	Round of 16	18 February 2020	3–4 March 2020	10–11 March 2020	17–18 March 2020
	Quarter-finals		30 September–1 October
Final Four	Semi-finals		2 October 2020
	Final		4 October 2020

Qualifying rounds

Draw

The 16 teams that entered in the first round were divided into two pots. Seeded teams would play the second leg at home.^[8]

Seeded teams Bakken Bears Balkan Donar Fribourg Olympic Kyiv Basket Legia Oradea Tsmoki Minsk

Non-seeded teams Benfica Kapfenberg Bulls Falco Szombathely Inter Bratislava Karhu Keravnos Södertälje Kings Sigal Prishtina

First qualifying round

A total of 16 teams will play in the first qualifying round. The first legs will be played on 17 September, while the second legs on 20 September 2019.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Inter Bratislava	132–156	Fribourg Olympic	82–67	50–89
Karhu	160–154	Tsmoki Minsk	93–86	67–68
Södertälje Kings	153–146	Balkan	79–64	74–82
Kapfenberg Bulls	129–139	Kyiv Basket	66–66	63–73
Falco Szombathely	161–158	Oradea	71–62	90–96
Sigal Prishtina	162–166	Legia	79–81	83–85
Benfica	161–141	Donar	95–65	66–76
Keravnos	180–164	Bakken Bears	86–95	94–69

Second qualifying round

A total of 16 teams will play in the second qualifying round: eight teams which enter in this round, and the eight winners of the first qualifying round. The first legs will be played on 26 September, while the second legs on 29 September 2019.

Team 1	Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score	Team 2	1st leg	2nd leg
Keravnos	137–148	Lietkabelis	55–71	82–77
Benfica	150–167	Mornar	68–96	82–71
Karhu	151–152	Polski Cukier Toruń	93–82	58–70
Falco Szombathely	148–124	Ventspils	75–69	73–55
Södertälje Kings	133–150	Telenet Giants Antwerp	60–82	73–68
Kyiv Basket	145–182	San Pablo Burgos	83–86	62–96
Legia	124–152	Nizhny Novgorod	61–74	63–78
Fribourg Olympic	138–160	Telekom Baskets Bonn	66–80	72–80

Regular season

The 32 teams are drawn into four groups of eight, with the restriction that teams from the same country 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 teams and fourth-placed teams, advance to the round of 16, while the remaining four teams in each group of the Regular Season will be eliminated.

A total of 32 teams play in the regular season: 24 teams which enter in this stage, and the eight winners of the second qualifying round. The regular season will start on 8 October 2019 and end on 5 February 2020.

Draw

Teams were divided into two pots according to the club ranking published by the organization. Twelve teams were named seeded teams while the rest would be unseeded teams.^[8] The seeded teams will be split, allocating three per group.

Firstly, the eight teams from qualifying round will be split in the four groups, with a maximum of two teams per group.

Seeded teams

AEK	Hapoel Jerusalem
Beşiktaş Sompo Sigorta	Iberostar Tenerife
Brose Bamberg	Neptūnas
ERA Nymburk	PAOK
Dinamo Sassari	SIG Strasbourg
Filou Oostende	Teksüt Bandırma

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification		TTE	DIN	OOS	LIE	MAN	HOL	SIG	TOR
1	Türk Telekom	14	11	3	1173	1075	+98	25	Advance to round of 16		—	64–56	72–66	92–83	78–72	85–71	75–83	100–87
2	Dinamo Sassari	14	11	3	1181	1088	+93	25			92–89	—	90–71	79–78	73–74	83–73	90–67	91–71
3	Filou Oostende	14	8	6	1059	1085	−26	22			67–85	88–82	—	80–66	85–72	101–86	64–71	105–103
4	Lietkabelis	14	7	7	1079	1077	+2	21			77–91	82–86	68–76	—	77–61	78–72	82–69	98–83
5	Baxi Manresa	14	7	7	1095	1069	+26	21			80–75	61–64	85–58	76–70	—	65–67	92–68	85–81
6	Hapoel Holon	14	6	8	1164	1170	−6	20			79–82	92–94	58–59	68–69	90–88	—	101–94	99–86
7	SIG Strasbourg	14	4	10	1082	1155	−73	18			89–90	83–88	77–64	63–66	81–63	81–86	—	75–97
8	Polski Cukier Toruń	14	2	12	1231	1345	−114	16			73–95	95–113	70–75	81–85	102–121	105–122	97–81	—

Source: Basketball Champions League

Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification		JER	AEK	SPB	BAN	VEC	ANW	PAU	TGA
1	Hapoel Jerusalem	14	11	3	1254	1151	+103	25	Advance to round of 16		—	85–78	96–91	83–72	98–87	112–94	98–76	94–72
2	AEK	14	9	5	1093	1039	+54	23			91–78	—	74–66	84–96	75–79	83–72	102–82	62–51
3	San Pablo Burgos	14	8	6	1203	1132	+71	22			91–84	93–76	—	92–84	87–71	110–78	78–82	90–76
4	Teksüt Bandırma	14	8	6	1149	1111	+38	22			69–73	50–68	84–81	—	82–70	86–87	81–66	89–81
5	Rasta Vechta	14	6	8	1135	1166	−31	20			74–83	70–81	87–93	73–81	—	89–76	93–86	79–72
6	Anwil Włocławek	14	5	9	1212	1279	−67	19			102–107	77–79	100–90	84–89	103–92	—	95–87	80–71
7	Pau-Lacq-Orthez	14	5	9	1087	1171	−84	19			81–75	67–79	80–76	76–96	75–90	85–77	—	75–57
8	Telenet Giants Antwerp	14	4	10	1026	1110	−84	18			73–88	73–61	60–65	93–90	74–81	99–87	74–69	—

Source: Basketball Champions League

Group C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification		NYM	TFE	NIZ	PER	BRO	GAZ	MOR	VEF
1	ERA Nymburk	14	12	2	1147	1014	+133	26	Advance to round of 16		—	68–78	76–72	84–72	91–71	74–72	91–74	75–56
2	Iberostar Tenerife	14	11	3	1134	973	+161	25			84–89	—	81–67	72–68	82–64	69–67	91–61	92–59
3	Nizhny Novgorod	14	9	5	1073	1042	+31	23			73–82	75–72	—	82–76	76–75	89–64	89–69	80–78
4	Peristeri Winmasters	14	8	6	1027	1026	+1	22			75–65	54–80	71–74	—	78–75	87–79	72–67	91–83
5	Brose Bamberg	14	7	7	1076	1057	+19	21			80–84	98–96	58–73	72–69	—	86–81	81–76	91–53
6	Gaziantep	14	4	10	1040	1117	−77	18			69–79	65–88	79–76	64–70	66–76	—	86–79	86–79
7	Mornar	14	4	10	1059	1157	−98	18			66–98	74–81	87–66	65–73	77–73	84–77	—	106–99
8	VEF Rīga	14	1	13	997	1167	−170	15			72–91	64–68	74–81	64–71	55–76	81–85	80–74	—

Source: Basketball Champions League

Group D

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification		ZAR	JDA	BON	BJK	FAL	NEP	PAOK	BRI
1	Casademont Zaragoza	14	10	4	1136	1094	+42	24	Advance to round of 16		—	75–60	72–77	80–73	70–69	86–70	86–76	96–93
2	JDA Dijon	14	9	5	1159	1069	+90	23			73–105	—	66–78	88–47	87–68	92–71	81–76	95–79
3	Telekom Baskets Bonn	14	8	6	1143	1146	−3	22			85–71	83–72	—	86–82	91–77	97–85	83–85	101–93
4	Beşiktaş Sompo Sigorta	14	7	7	1068	1079	−11	21			73–74	65–98	80–76	—	74–49	76–69	98–83	96–67
5	Falco Szombathely	14	6	8	1115	1109	+6	20			70–77	82–81	91–59	79–83	—	97–73	76–66	93–83
6	Neptūnas	14	6	8	1137	1166	−29	20			91–73	75–89	93–68	86–80	87–83	—	80–86	81–71
7	PAOK	14	5	9	1143	1186	−43	19			93–78	77–84	103–84	60–69	80–89	72–94	—	95–91
8	Happy Casa Brindisi	14	5	9	1203	1255	−52	19			91–93	88–93	76–75	84–72	98–92	96–82	93–91	—

Source: Basketball Champions League

Playoffs

Main article: 2019–20 Basketball Champions League Playoffs

The playoffs started on 3 March 2020.

In the playoffs, teams play against each other over two legs on a best-of-three basis, except for the Final Four. In the playoffs draw, the group winners and the runners-up are seeded, and the third-placed teams and the fourth-placed teams are unseeded. The seeded teams are drawn against the unseeded teams, with the seeded teams hosting the second leg. Teams from the same group cannot be drawn against each other.

Bracket

	Round of 16				Quarterfinals				Semifinals				Final
	Türk Telekom	2
					30 September
	Beşiktaş Sompo Sigorta	0
					Türk Telekom	82
					JDA Dijon	83
	JDA Dijon	2
									2 October
	Nizhny Novgorod	1
									JDA Dijon	69
									San Pablo Burgos	81
	Hapoel Jerusalem	2
					30 September
	Peristeri Winmasters	0
					Hapoel Jerusalem	65
					San Pablo Burgos	92
	Dinamo Sassari	0
													4 October
	San Pablo Burgos	2
													San Pablo Burgos	85
													AEK	74
	Casademont Zaragoza	2
					1 October
	Lietkabelis	0
					Casademont Zaragoza	87
					Iberostar Tenerife	81
	Iberostar Tenerife	2
									2 October
	Filou Oostende	1
									Casademont Zaragoza	75
									AEK	99			Third place game
	ERA Nymburk	2
					1 October								4 October
	Teksüt Bandırma	0
					ERA Nymburk	82							JDA Dijon	70
					AEK	94							Casademont Zaragoza	65
	AEK	2
	Telekom Baskets Bonn	0

Round of 16

The first legs were played on 3–4 March, the second legs on 10–11 March. Third legs will be played on 16 September 2020.

Team 1	Series	Team 2	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3
Hapoel Jerusalem	2–0	Peristeri Winmasters	91–78	79–73	—
Casademont Zaragoza	2–0	Lietkabelis	76–67	90–88	—
ERA Nymburk	2–0	Teksüt Bandırma	92–70	86–72	—
Türk Telekom	2–0	Beşiktaş Sompo Sigorta	89–78	84–66	—
Iberostar Tenerife	2–1	Filou Oostende	85–75	69–75	62–54
Dinamo Sassari	0–2	San Pablo Burgos	81–84	80–95	—
JDA Dijon	2–1	Nizhny Novgorod	88–73	79–88	75–67
AEK	2–0	Telekom Baskets Bonn	92–85	90–86	—

Final Eight

Main article: 2020 Basketball Champions League Final Eight

The concluding Final Eight tournament will be played in Athens, Greece, between 30 September and 4 October 2020.^[9][10]

Quarterfinals

The quarterfinals were played on 30 September and 1 October 2020.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Hereda San Pablo Burgos	92–65	Hapoel Jerusalem
Türk Telekom	82–83	JDA Dijon
Casademont Zaragoza	87–81	Iberostar Tenerife
ERA Nymburk	82–94	AEK

Semifinals

The semifinals were played on 2 October 2020.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
JDA Dijon	69–81	Hereda San Pablo Burgos
Casademont Zaragoza	75–99	AEK

Third place game

The third place game was played on 4 October 2020.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
JDA Dijon	70–65	Casademont Zaragoza

Final

Main article: 2020 Basketball Champions League Final

The final was played on 4 October 2020.

Team 1	Score	Team 2
Hereda San Pablo Burgos	85–74	AEK

Awards

Season awards

The annual season awards were announced on 28 and 29 September.^[11]

Award	Player	Club
Most Valuable Player	Keith Langford	AEK
Final Eight MVP	Thad McFadden	San Pablo Burgos
Best Defender	Moustapha Fall	Türk Telekom
Best Young Player	Carlos Alocén	Casademont Zaragoza
Best Coach	Oren Amiel	ERA Nymburk

Star Lineup

First Team		Second Team
Player	Team	Player	Team
Marcelo Huertas	Canarias	Dylan Ennis	Zaragoza
Keith Langford	AEK Athens	Vítor Benite	Burgos
Vojtěch Hruban	Nymburk	Dyshawn Pierre	Dinamo Sassari
TaShawn Thomas	Hapoel Jerusalem	Kyle Wiltjer	Türk Telekom
Giorgi Shermadini	Canarias	Moustapha Fall	Türk Telekom

All Defensive Team

Player	Team
Lamonte Ulmer	Dijon	[12]
Lahaou Konaté	Canarias
Yorman Polas Bartolo	Türk Telekom
Marcus Slaughter	AEK
Moustapha Fall	Türk Telekom

Game Day MVP

Main article: Basketball Champions League Game Day MVP

After each gameday a selection of five players with the highest efficiency ratings is made by the Basketball Champions League. Afterwards, the official website decides which player is crowned Game Day MVP.

Regular season

Gameday	Player	Team	EFF	Ref.
1	Dyshawn Pierre	Dinamo Sassari	35	[13]
2	Adrian Banks	Happy Casa Brindisi	34	[14]
3	James Feldeine	Hapoel Jerusalem	27	[15]
4	Nicolas de Jong	Pau-Lacq-Orthez	30	[16]
5	Kyle Wiltjer	Türk Telekom	33	[17]
6	Adam Smith	PAOK	28	[18]
7	Zoltán Perl	Falco Szombathely	26	[19]
8	Brandon Brown	Nizhny Novgorod	28	[20]
9	Howard Sant-Roos	AEK	25	[21]
10	TaShawn Thomas	Hapoel Jerusalem	32	[22]
11	J'Covan Brown	Hapoel Jerusalem	31	[23]
12	Robin Benzing	Casademont Zaragoza	30	[24]
13	TaShawn Thomas	Hapoel Jerusalem	38	[25]
14	Earl Clark	San Pablo Burgos	28	[26]

See also

• 2019–20 EuroLeague
• 2019–20 EuroCup Basketball
• 2019–20 FIBA Europe Cup