2020–21 Basketball Champions League

The 2020–21 Basketball Champions League was the 5th season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL), the premier European-wide professional basketball competition for clubs launched and managed by FIBA. The season began on 15 September 2020 and ended on 9 May 2021.

2020–21 Basketball Champions League
The Trade Union Sport Palace in Nizhny Novgorod hosted the Final Eight
Season2020–21
Teams32 (regular season)
44 (all rounds)[1]
Dates15 September 2020 – 9 May 2021
Final positions
Champions San Pablo Burgos (2nd title)
Runners-up Pınar Karşıyaka
Third place Casademont Zaragoza
Fourth place SIG Strasbourg
Awards
MVP Bonzie Colson
Finals MVP Vítor Benite
Statistical leaders
Index Rating Raymar Morgan 20.6
Points Bonzie Colson 18.2
Rebounds Michale Kyser 7.8
Assists Marco Spissu 6.9

San Pablo Burgos won its second consecutive championship, after defeating Pınar Karşıyaka in the final in Nizhny Novgorod. As champions, they qualified for the 2022 FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

Teams

Team allocation

44 teams played in the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League (28 teams directly qualify for the group competition, while 16 teams play 2 qualifying rounds for the remaining 4 places in the group stage).[1]

Qualified teams for 2020–21 Basketball Champions League (by entry round)[2]
Regular season
Pınar Karşıyaka (Abd-2nd) Cholet (Abd-6th) Happy Casa Brindisi (Abd-5th) ERA Nymburk (Abd-1st)
Galatasaray (Abd-3rd) Limoges CSP (Abd-8th) Fortitudo Bologna (Abd-8th) Brose Bamberg (5th)
Tofaş (Abd-5th) San Pablo Burgos (4th) AEK (Abd-2nd) Falco Szombathely (Abd-1st)
Darüşşafaka Tekfen (Abd-6th) Casademont Zaragoza (6th) Peristeri (Abd-3rd) VEF Riga (Abd-1st)[Note LAT]
Türk Telekom (BCL QF) Iberostar Tenerife (7th) Hapoel Jerusalem (3rd) Rytas (Abd-2nd)
JDA Dijon (CLR)[Note FRA] RETAbet Bilbao (8th) Hapoel Holon (5th) Start Lublin (Abd-2nd)
Strasbourg (CLR)[Note FRA] Dinamo Sassari (Abd-2nd) Filou Oostende (Abd-1st) Nizhny Novgorod (BCL R16)
Qualifying rounds
Belfius Mons-Hainaut (Abd-2nd) Keravnos (Abd-1st) Hapoel Tel Aviv (8th) Sporting CP (Abd-1st)
Tsmoki-Minsk [Note BLR] Bakken Bears (Abd-1st) Neptūnas (Abd-4th) U-BT Cluj Napoca (Abd-1st)
Igokea (Abd-1st) London Lions (Abd-2nd) Donar (Abd-2nd) Fribourg Olympic (Abd-1st)
Balkan (Abd-1st) Iraklis (Abd-7th) Anwil Włocławek (Abd-3rd) Dnipro (Abd-1st)
Notes
  1. ^
    France (FRA): The LNB ruled the 2019–20 Pro A season void without a classification. As a result, the BCL ruled that teams from France were selected on their BCL club rankings. JDA Dijon and SIG Strasbourg qualified as such.[3]
  2. ^
    Belarus (BLR): Tsmoki-Minsk did not start to compete in the Belarusian Premier League due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  3. ^
    Latvia (LAT): VEF Rīga qualified as the highest-ranked Latvian team of the Latvian–Estonian League, because the Latvian championship did not start due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Referees

Round and draw dates

The schedule of the competition was be as follows.[4] On December 3, the Basketball Champions League Board has approved a change of format for the 2020-21 Play-Offs and Finals.[5]

Schedule for 2020–21 Basketball Champions League
Phase Round Draw date Round date
Qualifying rounds First qualifying round (Semifinals) 15 July 2020 22–23 September 2020
Second qualifying round (Finals) 24–25 September 2020
Regular season Round 1 Groups A–D 20–21 October 2020
Groups E–H 27–28 October 2020
Round 2 Groups A–D 3–4 November 2020
Groups E–H 10–11 November 2020
Round 3 Groups A–D 17–18 November 2020
Groups E–H 8–9 December 2020
Round 4 Groups A–D 15–16 December 2020
Groups E–H 22–23 December 2020
Round 5 Groups A–D 5–6 January 2021
Groups E–H 12–13 January 2021
Round 6 Groups A–D 19–20 January 2021
Groups E–H 26–27 January 2021
Play-offs Round 1 2 February 2021 2–3 March 2021
Round 2 9–10 March 2021
Round 3 16–17 March 2021
Round 4 23–24 March 2021
Round 5 30–31 March 2021
Round 6 6–7 April 2021
Final Eight Quarterfinals 16 April 2021 6–7 May 2021
Semifinals 8 May 2021
Final 9 May 2021

Qualifying rounds

Draw

The 16 teams that entered in the first round were divided into four pots based firstly on the competition's club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking.

For the first qualification round (QR1), teams from Pot 3 were drawn against teams from Pot 2, and teams from Pot 4 faced teams from Pot 1. Clubs from Pot 1 and 2 were seeded, and played the second leg at home. Games were played on September 15–18. The eight winners then qualified for the second qualification round (QR2).

For the second round (QR2), the winners of Pot 3 and Pot 2 faced the winners of Pot 4 and Pot 1. The winners from Pot 4 and Pot 1 were seeded, and played the second leg at home. Games were played on September 22–25. The four winners then qualified for the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League regular reason and joined the 28 directly qualified teams in the main draw.

Change of Qualifying format

On August 25, 2020, it was announced, in order to protect the health and guarantee the safety of players, coaches and officials, but also to safeguard a fair competition, and to properly organize game operations, the decision has been taken to modify the competition system from home-away games, to a tournament format, with single games for each Qualification Round.[6]

Four tournaments took place, each consisting of two semifinals games and of one final game, where the semifinals were played as the BCL qualification round 1 and the final as the BCL qualification round 2. These Qualification tournaments took place in two different locations:

Draw pots

Pot 1
Team Pts
Neptūnas69
Anwil Włocławek28
Fribourg Olympic13
Donar7
Pot 2
Team Pts
Tsmoki-Minsk6
Bakken Bears5
U-BT Cluj Napoca4
Keravnos3
Pot 3
Team Pts
Balkan1
Hapoel Tel Aviv1
Igokea1*
Iraklis106.42
Pot 4
Team Pts
Belfius Mons-Hainaut66.83
Dnipro15.00
Sporting CP6.00
London Lions1.00

* Example of 1 point for Igokea from 2016 to 2017 season means that the FIBA's "last three season points" rule applies to the last (three) BCL seasons of the particular club, not the last three BCL seasons in general.

    Qualification Group A

    Semifinals were played on 23 September 2020 and Final took place on 25 September 2020 at Tassos Papadopoulos Eleftheria Indoor Hall in Nicosia, Cyprus.

     
    SemifinalsFinal
     
          
     
    23 September
     
     
    Anwil Włocławek69
     
    25 September
     
    Belfius Mons-Hainaut81
     
    Belfius Mons-Hainaut71
     
    23 September
     
    Bakken Bears86
     
    Bakken Bears91
     
     
    Hapoel Tel Aviv71
     

    Qualification Group B

    Semifinals were played on 22 September 2020 and Final took place on 24 September 2020 at Tassos Papadopoulos Eleftheria Indoor Hall in Nicosia, Cyprus.

     
    SemifinalsFinal
     
          
     
    22 September
     
     
    Keravnos (OT)96
     
    24 September
     
    Iraklis94
     
    Keravnos60
     
    22 September
     
    Donar57
     
    Donar88
     
     
    Dnipro53
     

    Qualification Group C

    Semifinals were played on 23 September 2020 and Final took place on 25 September 2020 at Arena Botevgrad in Botevgrad, Bulgaria.

     
    SemifinalsFinal
     
          
     
    23 September
     
     
    U-BT Cluj Napoca75
     
    25 September
     
    Igokea82
     
    Igokea70
     
    23 September
     
    Sporting CP64
     
    Fribourg Olympic78
     
     
    Sporting CP84
     

    Qualification Group D

    Semifinals were played on 22 September 2020 and Final took place on 24 September 2020 at Arena Botevgrad in Botevgrad, Bulgaria.

     
    SemifinalsFinal
     
          
     
    22 September
     
     
    Tsmoki-Minsk73
     
    24 September
     
    Balkan65
     
    Tsmoki-Minsk69
     
    22 September
     
    Neptūnas59
     
    Neptūnas77
     
     
    London Lions73
     

    Regular season

    Draw

    The 28 teams that entered in the regular season directly were divided into seven pots based firstly on the club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking. Eighth pot is reserved for winners of qualifying rounds.

    Initially, teams were divided into groups of eight teams. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, groups were split with the aim to the reduce the number of games and to make easier to play possible postponed matches.

    Pot 1
    Team Pts
    AEK119
    Iberostar Tenerife119
    ERA Nymburk83
    Hapoel Jerusalem79
    Pot 2
    Team Pts
    Strasbourg68
    Filou Oostende64
    Nizhny Novgorod61
    Brose Bamberg60
    Pot 3
    Team Pts
    Dinamo Sassari51
    Hapoel Holon47
    JDA Dijon43
    Türk Telekom36
    Pot 4
    Team Pts
    Pınar Karşıyaka35
    Casademont Zaragoza34
    San Pablo Burgos30
    Peristeri26
    Pot 5
    Team Pts
    Falco Szombathely17
    Happy Casa Brindisi15
    VEF Riga7
    RETAbet Bilbao131.00
    Pot 6
    Team Pts
    Cholet110.58
    Limoges CSP110.58
    Galatasaray107.50
    Tofaş107.50
    Pot 7
    Team Pts
    Darüşşafaka Tekfen107.50
    Fortitudo Bologna95.00
    Rytas74.33
    Start Lublin44.67
    Pot 8
    Team
    Bakken Bears
    Keravnos
    Igokea
    Tsmoki-Minsk
    Notes
    ^† Indicates teams with no club points, therefor using the country points as a tiebreaker.

    Group A

    Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification TFE DIN BAK GAL
    1 Iberostar Tenerife 6 4 2 552 507 +45 10 Advance to Playoffs 115–85 98–73 85–72
    2 Dinamo Sassari 6 4 2 524 529 5 10 92–72 71–93 93–84
    3 Bakken Bears 6 3 3 523 507 +16 9 96–78 84–91 96–78
    4 Galatasaray 6 1 5 495 551 56 7 89–104 81–92 91–81

      Group B

      Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification TOF NYM JDA KER
      1 Tofaş 6 4 2 529 482 +47 10 Advance to Playoffs 93–96 81–87 78–67
      2 ERA Nymburk 6 4 2 546 473 +73 10 97–103 94–54 96–69
      3 JDA Dijon 6 4 2 457 449 +8 10 61–90 85–61 91–79
      4 Keravnos 6 0 6 402 530 128 6 74–84 69–102 44–79

        Group C

        Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification HOL AEK CHO TSM
        1 Hapoel Holon 6 4 2 479 455 +24 10 Advance to Playoffs 77–71 73–63 69–79
        2 AEK 6 4 2 514 492 +22 10 100–96 83–81 95–69
        3 Cholet 6 2 4 458 468 10 8 71–89 79–70 89–71
        4 Tsmoki-Minsk 6 2 4 462 498 36 8 71–75 90–95 82–75

          Group D

          Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification ZAR NIZ FAL LUB
          1 Casademont Zaragoza 6 5 1 527 504 +23 11 Advance to Playoffs 78–75 85–76 94–82
          2 Nizhny Novgorod 6 4 2 496 463 +33 10 92–98 73–68 78–65
          3 Falco Szombathely 6 3 3 493 471 +22 9 94–86 88–93 84–75
          4 Start Lublin 6 0 6 432 510 78 6 85–86 66–85 59–83

            Group E

            Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification SIG VEF PER RYT
            1 SIG Strasbourg 6 4 2 492 466 +26 10 Advance to Playoffs 101–94 77–57 81–83
            2 VEF Rīga 6 4 2 482 457 +25 10 75–77 60–57 84–60
            3 Peristeri Winmasters 6 2 4 458 462 4 8 76–79 81–84 81–74
            4 Rytas 6 2 4 467 514 47 8 81–77 81–85 88–106

              Group F

              Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification BRO KAR BIL FOR
              1 Brose Bamberg 6 6 0 509 429 +80 12 Advance to Playoffs 83–82 90–75 83–68
              2 Pınar Karşıyaka 6 4 2 476 441 +35 10 70–76 85–76 80–69
              3 RETAbet Bilbao 6 2 4 445 451 6 8 71–77 72–81 82–54
              4 Fortitudo Bologna 6 0 6 383 492 109 6 63–100 65–78 64–69

                Group G

                Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification TTE IGO JER LIM
                1 Türk Telekom 6 5 1 487 477 +10 11 Advance to Playoffs 94–86 98–94 76–73
                2 Igokea 6 3 3 457 470 13 9 77–66 75–73 76–73
                3 Hapoel Jerusalem 6 2 4 492 482 +10 8 77–78 84–68[lower-alpha 1] 81–75
                4 Limoges CSP 6 2 4 459 466 7 8 70–75 80–75 88–83
                1. The rescheduled game was played in Laktaši instead of Jerusalem by agreement between both teams.[7]

                Group H

                Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification SPB BRI OOS DAR
                1 San Pablo Burgos 6 5 1 543 470 +73 11 Advance to Playoffs 93–71 88–73 100–70
                2 Happy Casa Brindisi 6 4 2 521 508 +13 10 86–90 93–81 92–81
                3 Filou Oostende 6 2 4 484 517 33 8 99–98 80–92 77–67
                4 Darüşşafaka Tekfen 6 1 5 451 504 53 7 71–74 83–87 79–74

                  Playoffs

                  Sixteen teams advance to the Play-off phase, consisting of a new group format of four groups with four teams each.

                  A draw determined the new four groups (each group had respectively two teams having finished first and two teams having finished second in their regular season group) that played home and away games over the month of March. No country protection, only group protection was applied during the draw.

                  Clubs played six games each in a round robin system (three games home, three away), with the first two teams in each group qualifying for a Final 8 tournament that concluded the 2020–21 season. The playoffs started on March 2–3, 2021.[8]

                  The draw of this second phase of the competition was conducted on February 2, at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball.[9]

                  Draw

                  Seeded teams
                  Lenovo Tenerife
                  Tofaş
                  Hapoel Holon
                  Casademont Zaragoza
                  SIG Strasbourg
                  Brose Bamberg
                  Türk Telekom
                  San Pablo Burgos
                  Non-seeded teams
                  Dinamo Sassari
                  ERA Nymburk
                  AEK
                  Nizhny Novgorod
                  VEF Riga
                  Pınar Karşıyaka
                  Igokea
                  Happy Casa Brindisi

                  Group I

                  Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification HOL KAR BRI TOF
                  1 Hapoel Holon 6 4 2 472 483 11 10 Advance to Final Eight 63–72 81–79 71–90
                  2 Pınar Karşıyaka 6 3 3 491 471 +20 9 76–77 107–88 78–70
                  3 Happy Casa Brindisi 6 3 3 503 501 +2 9 85–87 83–79 77–75
                  4 Tofaş 6 2 4 478 489 11 8 81–93 90–79 72–91

                    Group J

                    Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification TFE SPB IGO VEF
                    1 Lenovo Tenerife 6 5 1 484 426 +58 11 Advance to Final Eight 89–60 80–75 77–64
                    2 San Pablo Burgos 6 4 2 462 436 +26 10 101–79 83–71 76–75
                    3 Igokea 6 3 3 440 453 13 9 62–82 77–75[lower-alpha 1] 64–58
                    4 VEF Rīga 6 0 6 381 452 71 6 64–77 45–67 75–91
                    1. The rescheduled game was played in Burgos instead of Laktaši by agreement between both teams.[10]

                    Group K

                    Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification NIZ SIG AEK TTE
                    1 Nizhny Novgorod 6 4 2 506 457 +49 10 Advance to Final Eight 87–97 88–60 96–82
                    2 SIG Strasbourg 6 3 3 491 474 +17 9 68–73 91–73 91–81
                    3 AEK 6 3 3 429 468 39 9 79–78 77–68 74–65
                    4 Türk Telekom 6 2 4 460 487 27 8 71–84 83–76 78–66

                      Group L

                      Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification NYM ZAR BRO DIN
                      1 ERA Nymburk 6 5 1 532 497 +35 11 Advance to Final Eight 98–78 91–87 90–89
                      2 Casademont Zaragoza 6 4 2 521 522 1 10 90–71 77–65 105–88
                      3 Brose Bamberg 6 2 4 513 504 +9 8 80–91[lower-alpha 1] 117–76 92–86
                      4 Dinamo Sassari 6 1 5 502 545 43 7 73–91 83–95 83–72
                      1. The rescheduled game was played in Laktaši (Bosnia and Herzegovina) instead of Bamberg due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic between Germany and Czech Republic.[11]

                      Final Eight

                      The concluding Final Eight tournament was played in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, between 5 May and 9 May 2021.[12]

                      Draw

                      Pot 1
                      ERA Nymburk
                      Hapoel Holon
                      Lenovo Tenerife
                      Nizhny Novgorod
                      Pot 2
                      Casademont Zaragoza
                      San Pablo Burgos
                      Pınar Karşıyaka
                      SIG Strasbourg

                      Bracket

                       
                      SemifinalsFinal
                       
                                
                       
                      6 May
                       
                       
                      Hapoel Holon77
                       
                      7 May
                       
                      San Pablo Burgos86
                       
                      San Pablo Burgos81
                       
                      6 May
                       
                      SIG Strasbourg70
                       
                      Lenovo Tenerife86
                       
                      9 May
                       
                      SIG Strasbourg (OT)88
                       
                      San Pablo Burgos64
                       
                      5 May
                       
                      Pınar Karşıyaka59
                       
                      Nizhny Novgorod78
                       
                      7 May
                       
                      Casademont Zaragoza86
                       
                      Casademont Zaragoza79
                       
                      5 May
                       
                      Pınar Karşıyaka84 Third place
                       
                      ERA Nymburk73
                       
                      9 May
                       
                      Pınar Karşıyaka84
                       
                      SIG Strasbourg77
                       
                       
                      Casademont Zaragoza89
                       

                      Quarterfinals

                      The quarterfinals were played on 5–6 May 2021.

                      Team 1  Score  Team 2
                      Lenovo Tenerife 86–88 OT SIG Strasbourg
                      Hapoel Holon 77–86 San Pablo Burgos
                      Nizhny Novgorod 78–86 Casademont Zaragoza
                      ERA Nymburk 73–84 Pınar Karşıyaka

                      Semifinals

                      The semifinals were played on 7 May 2021.

                      Team 1  Score  Team 2
                      San Pablo Burgos 81–70 SIG Strasbourg
                      Casademont Zaragoza 79–84 Pınar Karşıyaka

                      Third place game

                      The third place game was played on 9 May 2021.

                      Team 1  Score  Team 2
                      Casademont Zaragoza 89–77 SIG Strasbourg

                      Final

                      The final was played on 9 May 2021.

                      Team 1  Score  Team 2
                      Pınar Karşıyaka 59–64 San Pablo Burgos

                      Individual awards

                      Season awards

                      The annual season awards were announced on 5 May.[13][14]

                      Award Player Club
                      Most Valuable Player Bonzie Colson SIG Strasbourg
                      Final Eight MVP Vítor Benite San Pablo Burgos
                      Best Young Player Yoan Makoundou Cholet
                      Best Coach Zoran Lukić Nizhny Novgorod

                      Star Lineup

                      First Team Second Team
                      Player Team Player Team
                      C.J. Harris Hapoel Holon Dylan Ennis Zaragoza
                      Kasey Shepherd Nizhny Novgorod Darius Thompson New Basket Brindisi
                      Bonzie Colson SIG Strasbourg Jasiel Rivero San Pablo Burgos
                      Raymar Morgan Karşıyaka Omar Prewitt Nymburk
                      Giorgi Shermadini Canarias Michale Kyser VEF Rīga

                      MVP of the Month

                      Month Player Club Ref.
                      2020
                      October
                      Steven Gray Peristeri
                      [15]
                      November
                      Yanick Moreira AEK
                      [16]
                      December
                      Kyle Allman Jr. VEF Rīga
                      [17]
                      2021
                      January
                      Raymar Morgan Pınar Karşıyaka
                      [18]

                      Play-Offs MVP

                      Player Club Ref.
                      Kasey Shepherd Nizhny Novgorod
                      [19]

                      See also

                      References

                      1. ""We're here to stay": BCL's past, present and future in an exclusive interview with Patrick Comninos". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
                      2. "Strongest BCL lineup to date ahead of season 5". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
                      3. "Comninos on BCL criteria: It's meritocratic, we have objective ranking on each club". Eurohoops. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
                      4. "DRAFT - regulations.pdf" (PDF). www.fiba.basketball. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
                      5. Basketball Champions League (3 December 2020). "Basketball Champions League Play-Offs and Finals format updated". Retrieved 3 December 2020.
                      6. "Basketball Champions League Qualification Rounds format updated and hosts announced". Champions League Basketball. August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
                      7. "Ορίστηκε το εξ αναβολής παιχνίδι, Χάποελ Ιερουσαλήμ - Ιγκοκέα".
                      8. "Competition System". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
                      9. "Basketball Champions League Play-Offs Draw explained". championsleague.basketball. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
                      10. "ABA League clubs in Europe (schedule)".
                      11. "Spielverlegungen in der Basketball Champions League".
                      12. "Final Eight field confirmed". FIBA. 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
                      13. "Star Lineup revealed, Makoundou Best Young Player". Basketball Champions League. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
                      14. "Colson named MVP of the Season". Basketball Champions League. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
                      15. "Record-breaking Gray named MVP of the Month for October". Basketball Champions League. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
                      16. "AEK big man Moreira named MVP of the month for November". Basketball Champions League. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
                      17. "VEF Riga's Kyle Allman named MVP of the month for December". Basketball Champions League. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
                      18. "Pinar Karsiyaka's Raymar Morgan named MVP of the month for January". Basketball Champions League. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
                      19. "Nizhny Novgorod's Kasey Shepherd named Play-Offs MVP". Basketball Champions League. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
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