Template:Future sport
The ULEB Eurocup 2008-09 will be the seventh edition of Europe's second-tier transnational competition for men's basketball clubs, and the first to be contested under the Eurocup name.[1] From the inception of the competition in 2002, it had been known as the ULEB Cup. There are will compete 48 teams from 22 countries.
The competition format will also be revamped. A total of 48 clubs will compete, down from 54 in the previous year's competition. The competition will be jointly organised by ULEB and FIBA Europe.[1]
First preliminary round
Sixteen teams will participate in the first preliminary round, which will be organised by FIBA Europe. These teams will be paired in two-legged matches, with winners decided on aggregate score. The eight winners advance to the second preliminary round, and the eight losers will parachute into the third-tier European competition, the EuroChallenge 2008-09. The matches will be played from October 14 till October 21.
Second preliminary round
The second preliminary round, also organised by FIBA Europe, will also feature 16 teams, with the eight winners from the first preliminary round joined by eight automatic qualifiers to that phase. As in the first preliminary round, matches are two-legged and decided on aggregate score, with the winners advancing to the Eurocup regular season and the losers parachuting into the EuroChallenge 2008-09. Matches will be played from November 4 to November 11.
Regular Season
Thirty-two teams - 24 automatic qualifiers and the eight survivors of the second preliminary round will enter the Regular Season. From this point onward, the competition is organised by ULEB. The teams are divided into eight groups of four teams each, with each group playing a double round-robin schedule. The first and second-place teams in each group advance to the Last 16. The Regular Season matches will be held from November 25, 2008 untill January 13, 2009.
Last 16
For the first time in the history of the competition, a second group phase will be played. The survivors of the Regular Season will be divided into four-team groups, each playing a double round-robin schedule. This phase has a direct analogue in the top-tier Euroleague, which conducts an identical group phase, the Top 16, at the same stage of the competition. As in the Euroleague Top 16, the first- and second-place teams in each group advance to the next phase. However, unlike the Euroleague, which conducts a separate quarterfinal round before its Final Four, the Eurocup sends its surviving teams into a single knockout tournament, the Final Eight. Last 16 matches will be played from January 27 to March 10, 2009.
Final Eight
Like the Euroleague Final Four, this is a knockout tournament, conducted in one-off matches, held at a single site. The semifinal losers play a single match for third place, and the semifinal winners play a single match for the Eurocup title and an automatic place in the 2009-10 Euroleague. In ULEB Cup 2007-08 there was such Final Eight system, like will be in this year. The games will be played from April 9 till April 12.
Qualifying rounds
Sixteen teams will participate in the first preliminary round and after played first preliminary round matches, will be other sixteen teams in second preliminary round, with eight teams from first preliminary round. Teams which will eliminated from first or second preliminary rounds matches will compete in EuroChallenge 2008-09.
Galatasaray
FMP
UNICS Kazan
Tartu Rock
Telekom Basket
Telindus Oostende
Benetton Treviso
Cholet
Budućnost
Hapoel Jerusalem
BC Kyiv
Gran Canaria
Zadar
Lukoil Academic
ČEZ Nymburk
