May 25, 2012
Here come the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Qualifying Rounds!
Euroleague Qualifying RoundsBasketball fans, the 2010-11 season is right around the corner! The very first dates on the pro schedule this season belong to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Qualifying Rounds, which begin on Tuesday, September 21 with eight games spread across the continent from Israel to Holland. A total of 15 teams from 12 countries will battle to advance through three rounds ending on Friday, October 8 with two well-tested qualifiers to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season. For those two teams, one thing is sure: it will not be an easy road to reach Europe's elite competition! For the other 14 teams that don't make the Euroleague Regular Season, a spot in the 2010-11 Eurocup is guaranteed instead.

The first Qualifying Round will feature 14 teams paired off into to two-game series played in a home-and-away format. Budivelnik of Ukraine already made it to the second round because Maroussi BC's licence to participate in the Qualifying Rounds was revoked after not having received any of the registration documents from Maroussi BC as required in the competition by-laws. The second and third Qualifying Round will be played under the same format, which means the two ultimate winners must survive three pairs of two-game series in which aggregate score will be the deciding factor. The path for each of the 16 teams to reach the regular season was unveiled at the Euroleague Qualifying Rounds draw in early July. This year's Qualifying Rounds, which feature five domestic league champions and three teams that were in the 2009-10 Euroleague, promise drama and thrilling games from the very beginning.

Bracket QR 2010

On one side of the Qualifying Rounds bracket, Eurocup finalist Alba Berlin faces Chorale Roanne of France in a showdown between former Euroleague teams. Israeli League champion Hapoel Gilboa/Galil goes against a young yet experienced Hemofarm Stada of Serbia in what could be a very close series. Unics seems to be the heavy favorite against GasTerra Flames but the Dutch League champion was the first team to complete its roster and has put together a very interesting lineup. Next comes a battle between domestic league champs, CEZ Nymburk of the Czech Republic vs. Spirou Basket of Belgium. Nymburk can be the first Czech team to reach the Euroleague regular season since 1995 while Spirou hasn't played Europe's marquee club competition in eight years.

On the other side of the bracket, Asvel Basket of France faces Montenegrin League champion Buducnost in a star matchup. Asvel missed the Euroleague Top 16 on a last-second shot last season. Buducnost relies on its young talent and strong fan base. Another French club, Le Mans, goes up against Banvit, a rising power from the Turkish League, in the first-ever confrontation between those clubs. Le Mans may be the favorite but Banvit kept the core of players that led the team to the Turkish League semifinals last season. BC Khimki Moscow Region reached the Euroleague Top 16 last season, but needs to start its way back to the competition against an Italian classic, Pepsi Caserta. The winner of that series will face Budivelnik.

Above all, the Euroleague is back, so enjoy what promises to be a great battle to join the competition!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Euroleague.net
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