In the summer of 2000, something historical would happen: the new Euroleague was born. A project backed by the ULEB, the Euroleague gathered 24 teams in its first edition, 24 clubs that decided to step away from FIBA to take part in a competition completely managed by the Euroleague. On the other side, FIBA replied by creating the Suproleague, with 20 teams. Even though most of the important teams went to the Euroleague, the situation aroused confusion, mainly among the fans. The final result of it all were two champs: Kinder Bologna in the Euroleague and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Suproleague. The competition formats were different. In the Euroleague, the first phase divided the 24 teams into four groups, and the best 16 played playoff rounds until the final. The semifinals were solved in three games each, as Kinder got rid of PAF Bologna with a 3-0, as Tau Ceramica of Spain did the same with AEK Athens. In a great best-of-five final series, Kinder was crowned champ by 3-2, as Emanuel Ginobili was designated MVP of the finals. In the Suproleague, after a first phase with two groups of 10 teams, and two rounds of playoffs, the Final Four in Paris would see these teams: Panathinaikos, Efes Pilsen, CSKA Moscow and Maccabi. In semis, Panathinaikos defeated Efes by 74-66, while Maccabi beat CSKA by 86-80. In the final, which was the same as the previous year, Maccabi took revenge with an easy 81-67 victory.



Interview: Emanuel Ginobili of Kinder Bologna