Official Draw Ceremony for first-ever Basketball Champions League season to take place on Thursday
MUNICH, Germany (Basketball Champions League) - The Official Draw Ceremony for the 2016-17 Basketball Champions League will take place on Thursday at 14:00 CET in Munich, Germany.
Here are the procedures for the Draw:
The 2016-2017 Basketball Champions League competition will consist of 32 teams. Twenty-four (24) teams have pre-qualified for the Regular Season, with the last eight (8) teams set to qualify through two Qualification Rounds.
The competition starts on 27 September 2016 with the first of the two Qualification Rounds.
Qualification Round 1
Eighteen (18) teams will be divided into two (2) groups - known as Region A and Region B - based on geographical principles. The teams will be drawn into pairs and play home and away games.
| Region A | Region B |
| KatajaBasket (FIN) | KK Igokea (BIH) |
| Södertälje Kings (SWE) | CSM CSU Oradea (ROU) |
| Donar Groningen (NED) | Tsmoki-Minsk (BLR) |
| Juventus Utena (LTU) | Petrolina AEK Larnaca (CYP) |
| FC Porto (POR) | BC Prievidza (SVK) |
| SL Benfica (POR) | KK Mornar Bar (MNE) |
| Bakken Bears (DEN) | U-BT Cluj-Napoca (ROU) |
| Tartu University (EST) | Rilski Sportist (BUL) |
| Dinamo Sassari (ITA) | |
| Pallacanestro Varese (ITA) |
There will be one pot of 10 teams/balls in Region A and one pot of 8 teams/balls in Region B. Five (5) pairs will be drawn from the first pot and four (4) pairs from the second pot. The first drawn team in the pair will play the first game at home. Teams from the same country will not play each other.
Qualification Round 2
There will be four (4) pots.
Pot 1: This pot will consist of three (3) teams from Region A directly qualified for Qualification Round 2 and the winner from the Qualification Round 1 pairing involving Dinamo Sassari.
Pot 2: This pot will consist of the remaining four (4) winners of Qualification Round 1 from Region A.
Pot 3: This pot will consist of the four (4) teams from Region B directly qualified for Qualification Round 2.
Pot 4: This pot will consist of the four (4) winners of Qualification Round 1 from Region B.
The seven (7) teams that are given a bye to Qualification Round 2 are:
| Region A (Pot 1) | Region B (Pot 3) |
| Szolnoki Olaj (HUN) | Lukoil Academic (BUL) |
| Proximus Spirou Charleroi (BEL) | Besiktas Sompo Japan (TUR) |
| MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg (GER) | Muratbey Usak Sportif (TUR) |
| Ironi Nahariya (ISR) |
The eight (8) winners of Qualification Round 2 will qualify for the 2016-17 Basketball Champions League competition and join the 24 pre-qualified teams in the main draw. No teams from the same country will be drawn into the same group.
Regular Season
Twenty-four (24) teams have directly qualified for the 2016-17 Basketball Champions League Groups. The Regular Season will tip off on 18 October.
These 24 teams have been divided into six (6) pots - known as Pots 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
| Pot 1 | Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne (FRA) | SIG Strasbourg (FRA) | Banvit (TUR) | Pinar Karsiyaka (TUR) |
| Pot 2 | Fraport Skyliners (GER) |
EWE Baskets Oldenburg (GER) | Sidigas Avellino (ITA) | Umana Reyer Venezia (ITA) |
| Pot 3 | Aris BSA-2003 (GRE) | PAOK (GRE) | Avtodor Saratov (RUS) | Iberostar Tenerife (ESP) |
| Pot 4 | Telenet Oostende (BEL) | Maccabi Rand Media Rishon Lezion (ISR) | ČEZ Basketball Nymburk (CZE) | Neptunas (LTU) |
| Pot 5 | Khimik (UKR) | Helios Suns Domžale (SLO) | Cibona (CRO) | Rosa Radom (POL) |
| Pot 6 | Mega Leks (SRB) | Ventspils (LAT) | As Monaco Basket (FRA) | Le Mans (FRA) |
The aim of the Draw is to have four groups each of similar quality consisting of six (6) teams with no clubs from the same country playing in the same group. All teams will then be placed into four (4) Groups - A, B, C and D.
The eight (8) pairings from Qualification Round 2 will also be drawn into the Regular Season Groups. The pairings involving teams from countries that already have pre-qualified clubs for the Regular Season - Turkey, Italy, Germany, Lithuania, Israel and Belgium - will be drawn first in this order to avoid the possibility of teams from the same country being in the same Regular Season groups.
The draw for the 2016-2017 Basketball Champions League season will be completed once all teams have been drawn.
The Official Draw Ceremony will be streamed live on the Basketball Champions League’s YouTube Channel and on the competition's official Facebook page. Also, for the first time ever, several participating teams - including Fraport Skyliners, Pinar Karsiyaka, Mega Leks, ČEZ Basketball Nymburk, EWE Baskets Oldenburg, CSM CSU Oradea, Telenet Oostende, Avtodor Saratov and Iberostar Tenerife - will stream the draw live on their respective Facebook pages.
Legends of European basketball, Richard Dacoury and Dino Meneghin, will be on hand to help carry out the draw, which will consist of 49 teams.
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About Basketball Champions League
The Basketball Champions League is an innovative 50-50 joint partnership between FIBA and 10 top European leagues. It is a fair competition based on sporting principles with teams qualifying through national leagues. It is a truly European club competition with 30 countries.
For further information about the Basketball Champions League, visit www.championsleague.basketball or follow us on facebook.com/basketballCL, twitter.com/basketballCL, instagram.com/basketballCL and youtube.com/basketballCL.
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