Which country has the most clubs advanced to the BasketballCL playoffs All-Time?
When the Coronavirus erupted in Europe, the Basketball Champions League’s playoff already started and some of the teams are qualified for the quarterfinals of the competition which will be held at the end of September and beginning of October as FIBA stated. Each season, new teams are involved in the BasketballCL and till now 74 clubs from 23 different basketball associations have participated in the qualifiers or reached the group stage. Let’s see below the participation of the clubs by country starting with the last ones:
- only 1 time advancing to the playoffs: Serbia – Partizan (2017), Latvia – Ventspils (2017), Poland – Zielona Gora (2018)
- 2 times in the BasketballCL playoffs: Belgium – Antwerp Giants (2019), Oostende (2020)
- 3 participations in the playoff: Czech Republic – all with CEZ Nymburk (2017, 2018, 2020), Russia – Avtodor Saratov (2017) and Nizhny Novgorod (2019, 2020) and Israel: Hapoel Jerusalem (2019, 2020) and Maccabi Rishon Le Zion (2017)
- Lithuania – 5 times: Neptunas (2017, 2018, 2019), Juventus (2017) and Lietkabelis (2020)
- 6 participations in the playoffs for Italy: Scandone Avellino (2017), Reyer Umana Venezia (2017, 2019), Dinamo Sassari (2017, 2020) and Virtus Bologna (2019)
- 8 times advancing to the playoffs: Spain with Iberostar Tenerife each season (2017-2020), Ucam Murcia (2018, 2019), San Pablo Burgos (2020) and Casademont Zaragoza (2020) and Germany with Riesen Ludwigsburg (2017, 2018), Telekom Baskets Bonn (2020), Oldenburg (2017, 2018), Medi Bayreuth (2018), Brose Bamberg (2019) and Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt (2017)
- 10 times in the BasketballCL playoffs: Greece – every 4 seasons with AEK Athens, 3 times with PAOK (2017, 2018, 2019) and 1 time with Aris (2017), Promitheas (2019) and Peristeri (2020) and France – 2 times with Sig Strasbourg (2017, 2018), AS Monaco (2017, 2018), Le Mans Sarthe (2017, 2019), Nanterre ’92 (2018, 2019) and 1 time with JDA Dijon (2020) and Asvel Lyon Villeurbanne (2017)
- The most constant presence in the Basketball Champions League’s playoffs is Turkey that was there all 4 seasons with Bandirma and Besiktas Istanbul, 2 times with Pinar Karsiyaka (2017, 2018) and one time, this season with the newcomer Turk Telekom Ankara.
In spite of reaching every season the playoffs with different teams, France, Germany and Turkey have never won a title in the competition, being only in the Final 4 or in the finals. Maybe this season it’s their time.
Photo: Basketball Champions League
Gratian Cormos
