2020–21 Basketball Champions League

The 2020–21 Basketball Champions League was the 5th season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL), the premier[citation needed] European-wide professional basketball competition for clubs launched and managed by FIBA. The season began on 15 September 2020 and ended on 9 May 2021. It featured 12 domestic champions while four wild cards were allocated for first time.

2020–21 Basketball Champions League
The Trade Union Sport Palace in Nizhny Novgorod hosted the Final Eight
Season2020–21
Dates15 September 2020 – 9 May 2021
Teams32 (regular season)
44 (all rounds)[1]
Regular season
Season MVPUnited States Bonzie Colson
Finals
ChampionsSpain San Pablo Burgos (2nd title)
  Runners-upTurkey Pınar Karşıyaka
Third placeSpain Casademont Zaragoza
Fourth placeFrance SIG Strasbourg
Finals MVPBrazil Vítor Benite
Awards
Best CoachSerbia Zoran Lukić
Best Young PlayerFrance Yoan Makoundou
Statistical leaders
Points United States Bonzie Colson 18.2
Rebounds United States Michale Kyser 7.8
Assists Italy Marco Spissu 6.9
Index Rating United States Raymar Morgan 20.6
Seasons

San Pablo Burgos won its second consecutive championship, after defeating Pınar Karşıyaka in the final in Nizhny Novgorod. As champions, they qualified for the 2022 FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

Teams

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Team allocation

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44 teams played in the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League (28 teams directly qualify for the group competition, while 16 teams play 2 qualifying rounds for the remaining 4 places in the group stage).[1]

Qualified teams for 2020–21 Basketball Champions League (by entry round)[2]
Regular season
  Pınar Karşıyaka (Abd-2nd)   Cholet (Abd-6th)   Happy Casa Brindisi (Abd-5th)   ERA Nymburk (Abd-1st)
  Galatasaray Doga Sigorta (Abd-3rd)   Limoges CSP (Abd-8th)   Fortitudo Bologna (Abd-8th)WC   Brose Bamberg (5th)
  Tofaş (Abd-5th)   San Pablo Burgos (4th)   AEK (Abd-2nd)   Falco Vulcano Szombathely (Abd-1st)
  Darüşşafaka Tekfen (Abd-6th)WC   Casademont Zaragoza (6th)   Peristeri (Abd-3rd)   VEF Riga (Abd-1st)[Note LAT]
  Türk Telekom (BCL QF)WC   Iberostar Tenerife (7th)   Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem (3rd)   Rytas (Abd-2nd)
  JDA Dijon (CLR)[Note FRA]   RETAbet Bilbao (8th)WC   Hapoel Holon (5th)   Start Lublin (Abd-2nd)
  SIG Strasbourg (CLR)[Note FRA]   Dinamo Banco di Sardegna Sassari (Abd-2nd)   Filou Oostende (Abd-1st)   Nizhny Novgorod (BCL R16)
Qualifying rounds
  Belfius Mons-Hainaut (Abd-2nd)   Keravnos (Abd-1st)   Hapoel Tel Aviv (8th)   Sporting CP (Abd-1st)
  Tsmoki-Minsk   Bakken Bears (Abd-1st)   Neptūnas (Abd-4th)   U-BT Cluj-Napoca (Abd-1st)
  Igokea (Abd-1st)   London Lions (Abd-2nd)   Donar (Abd-2nd)   Fribourg Olympic (Abd-1st)
  Balkan (Abd-1st)   Iraklis (Abd-7th)   Anwil Włocławek (Abd-3rd)   Dnipro (Abd-1st)
Notes
  1. ^
    France (FRA): The LNB ruled the 2019–20 Pro A season void without a classification. As a result, the BCL ruled that teams from France were selected on their BCL club rankings. JDA Dijon and SIG Strasbourg qualified as such.[3]
  2. ^
    Latvia (LAT): VEF Rīga qualified as the highest-ranked Latvian team of the Latvian–Estonian League, because the Latvian championship did not start due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4]

Referees

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Round and draw dates

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The schedule of the competition was as follows.[5] On December 3, the Basketball Champions League Board has approved a change of format for the 2020-21 Play-Offs and Finals.[6]

Schedule for 2020–21 Basketball Champions League
Phase Round Draw date Round date
Qualifying rounds First qualifying round (Semifinals) 15 July 2020 22–23 September 2020
Second qualifying round (Finals) 24–25 September 2020
Regular season Round 1 Groups A–D 20–21 October 2020
Groups E–H 27–28 October 2020
Round 2 Groups A–D 3–4 November 2020
Groups E–H 10–11 November 2020
Round 3 Groups A–D 17–18 November 2020
Groups E–H 8–9 December 2020
Round 4 Groups A–D 15–16 December 2020
Groups E–H 22–23 December 2020
Round 5 Groups A–D 5–6 January 2021
Groups E–H 12–13 January 2021
Round 6 Groups A–D 19–20 January 2021
Groups E–H 26–27 January 2021
Play-offs Round 1 2 February 2021 2–3 March 2021
Round 2 9–10 March 2021
Round 3 16–17 March 2021
Round 4 23–24 March 2021
Round 5 30–31 March 2021
Round 6 6–7 April 2021
Final Eight Quarterfinals 16 April 2021 6–7 May 2021
Semifinals 8 May 2021
Final 9 May 2021

Qualifying rounds

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Draw

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The 16 teams that entered in the first round were divided into four pots based firstly on the competition's club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking.

For the first qualification round (QR1), teams from Pot 3 were drawn against teams from Pot 2, and teams from Pot 4 faced teams from Pot 1. Clubs from Pot 1 and 2 were seeded, and played the second leg at home. Games were played on September 15–18. The eight winners then qualified for the second qualification round (QR2).

For the second round (QR2), the winners of Pot 3 and Pot 2 faced the winners of Pot 4 and Pot 1. The winners from Pot 4 and Pot 1 were seeded, and played the second leg at home. Games were played on September 22–25. The four winners then qualified for the 2020–21 Basketball Champions League regular reason and joined the 28 directly qualified teams in the main draw.

Change of Qualifying format

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On August 25, 2020, it was announced, in order to protect the health and guarantee the safety of players, coaches and officials, but also to safeguard a fair competition, and to properly organize game operations, the decision has been taken to modify the competition system from home-away games, to a tournament format, with single games for each Qualification Round.[7]

Four tournaments took place, each consisting of two semifinals games and of one final game, where the semifinals were played as the BCL qualification round 1 and the final as the BCL qualification round 2. These Qualification tournaments took place in two different locations:

Draw pots

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Pot 1
Team Pts
  Neptūnas 69
  Anwil Włocławek 28
  Fribourg Olympic 13
  Donar 7
Pot 2
Team Pts
  Tsmoki-Minsk 6
  Bakken Bears 5
  U-BT Cluj-Napoca 4
  Keravnos 3
Pot 3
Team Pts
  Balkan 1
  Hapoel Tel Aviv 1
  Igokea 1*
  Iraklis 106.42
Pot 4
Team Pts
  Belfius Mons-Hainaut 66.83
  Dnipro 15.00
  Sporting CP 6.00
  London Lions 1.00

* Example of 1 point for Igokea from 2016 to 2017 season means that the FIBA's "last three season points" rule applies to the last (three) BCL seasons of the particular club, not the last three BCL seasons in general.

Results

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Qualification Group A

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Semifinals were played on 23 September 2020 and Final took place on 25 September 2020 at Tassos Papadopoulos Eleftheria Indoor Hall in Nicosia, Cyprus.

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
23 September
 
 
  Anwil Włocławek69
 
25 September
 
  Belfius Mons-Hainaut81
 
  Belfius Mons-Hainaut71
 
23 September
 
  Bakken Bears86
 
  Bakken Bears91
 
 
  Hapoel Tel Aviv71
 

Qualification Group B

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Semifinals were played on 22 September 2020 and Final took place on 24 September 2020 at Tassos Papadopoulos Eleftheria Indoor Hall in Nicosia, Cyprus.

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
22 September
 
 
  Keravnos (OT)96
 
24 September
 
  Iraklis94
 
  Keravnos60
 
22 September
 
  Donar57
 
  Donar88
 
 
  Dnipro53
 

Qualification Group C

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Semifinals were played on 23 September 2020 and Final took place on 25 September 2020 at Arena Botevgrad in Botevgrad, Bulgaria.

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
23 September
 
 
  U-BT Cluj-Napoca75
 
25 September
 
  Igokea82
 
  Igokea70
 
23 September
 
  Sporting CP64
 
  Fribourg Olympic78
 
 
  Sporting CP84
 

Qualification Group D

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Semifinals were played on 22 September 2020 and Final took place on 24 September 2020 at Arena Botevgrad in Botevgrad, Bulgaria.

 
SemifinalsFinal
 
      
 
22 September
 
 
  Tsmoki-Minsk73
 
24 September
 
  Balkan65
 
  Tsmoki-Minsk69
 
22 September
 
  Neptūnas59
 
  Neptūnas77
 
 
  London Lions73
 

Regular season

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Draw

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The 28 teams that entered in the regular season directly were divided into seven pots based firstly on the club ranking and, for clubs that have not yet participated in the competition, on the country ranking. Eighth pot is reserved for winners of qualifying rounds.

Initially, teams were divided into groups of eight teams. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, groups were split with the aim to the reduce the number of games and to make easier to play possible postponed matches.

Pot 1
Team Pts
  AEK 119
  Iberostar Tenerife 119
  ERA Nymburk 83
  Hapoel Jerusalem 79
Pot 2
Team Pts
  Strasbourg 68
  Filou Oostende 64
  Nizhny Novgorod 61
  Brose Bamberg 60
Pot 3
Team Pts
  Dinamo Sassari 51
  Hapoel Holon 47
  JDA Dijon 43
  Türk Telekom 36
Pot 4
Team Pts
  Pınar Karşıyaka 35
  Casademont Zaragoza 34
  San Pablo Burgos 30
  Peristeri 26
Pot 5
Team Pts
  Falco Szombathely 17
  Happy Casa Brindisi 15
  VEF Riga 7
  RETAbet Bilbao 131.00
Pot 6
Team Pts
  Cholet 110.58
  Limoges CSP 110.58
  Galatasaray 107.50
  Tofaş 107.50
Pot 7
Team Pts
  Darüşşafaka Tekfen 107.50
  Fortitudo Bologna 95.00
  Rytas 74.33
  Start Lublin 44.67
Pot 8
Team
  Bakken Bears
  Keravnos
  Igokea
  Tsmoki-Minsk
Notes
^† Indicates teams with no club points, therefore using the country points as a tiebreaker.

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification TFE DIN BAK GAL
1   Iberostar Tenerife 6 4 2 552 507 +45 10 Advance to Playoffs 115–85 98–73 85–72
2   Dinamo Sassari 6 4 2 524 529 −5 10 92–72 71–93 93–84
3   Bakken Bears 6 3 3 523 507 +16 9 96–78 84–91 96–78
4   Galatasaray 6 1 5 495 551 −56 7 89–104 81–92 91–81

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification TOF NYM JDA KER
1   Tofaş 6 4 2 529 482 +47 10 Advance to Playoffs 93–96 81–87 78–67
2   ERA Nymburk 6 4 2 546 473 +73 10 97–103 94–54 96–69
3   JDA Dijon 6 4 2 457 449 +8 10 61–90 85–61 91–79
4   Keravnos 6 0 6 402 530 −128 6 74–84 69–102 44–79

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification HOL AEK CHO TSM
1   Hapoel Holon 6 4 2 479 455 +24 10 Advance to Playoffs 77–71 73–63 69–79
2   AEK 6 4 2 514 492 +22 10 100–96 83–81 95–69
3   Cholet 6 2 4 458 468 −10 8 71–89 79–70 89–71
4   Tsmoki-Minsk 6 2 4 462 498 −36 8 71–75 90–95 82–75

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification ZAR NIZ FAL LUB
1   Casademont Zaragoza 6 5 1 527 504 +23 11 Advance to Playoffs 78–75 85–76 94–82
2   Nizhny Novgorod 6 4 2 496 463 +33 10 92–98 73–68 78–65
3   Falco Szombathely 6 3 3 493 471 +22 9 94–86 88–93 84–75
4   Start Lublin 6 0 6 432 510 −78 6 85–86 66–85 59–83

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification SIG VEF PER RYT
1   SIG Strasbourg 6 4 2 492 466 +26 10 Advance to Playoffs 101–94 77–57 81–83
2   VEF Rīga 6 4 2 482 457 +25 10 75–77 60–57 84–60
3   Peristeri Winmasters 6 2 4 458 462 −4 8 76–79 81–84 81–74
4   Rytas 6 2 4 467 514 −47 8 81–77 81–85 88–106

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification BRO KAR BIL FOR
1   Brose Bamberg 6 6 0 509 429 +80 12 Advance to Playoffs 83–82 90–75 83–68
2   Pınar Karşıyaka 6 4 2 476 441 +35 10 70–76 85–76 80–69
3   RETAbet Bilbao 6 2 4 445 451 −6 8 71–77 72–81 82–54
4   Fortitudo Bologna 6 0 6 383 492 −109 6 63–100 65–78 64–69

Group G

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification TTE IGO JER LIM
1   Türk Telekom 6 5 1 487 477 +10 11 Advance to Playoffs 94–86 98–94 76–73
2   Igokea 6 3 3 457 470 −13 9 77–66 75–73 76–73
3   Hapoel Jerusalem 6 2 4 492 482 +10 8 77–78 84–68[a] 81–75
4   Limoges CSP 6 2 4 459 466 −7 8 70–75 80–75 88–83
  1. ^ The rescheduled game was played in Laktaši instead of Jerusalem by agreement between both teams.[8]

Group H

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification SPB BRI OOS DAR
1   San Pablo Burgos 6 5 1 543 470 +73 11 Advance to Playoffs 93–71 88–73 100–70
2   Happy Casa Brindisi 6 4 2 521 508 +13 10 86–90 93–81 92–81
3   Filou Oostende 6 2 4 484 517 −33 8 99–98 80–92 77–67
4   Darüşşafaka Tekfen 6 1 5 451 504 −53 7 71–74 83–87 79–74

Playoffs

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Sixteen teams advance to the Play-off phase, consisting of a new group format of four groups with four teams each.

A draw determined the new four groups (each group had respectively two teams having finished first and two teams having finished second in their regular season group) that played home and away games over the month of March. No country protection, only group protection was applied during the draw.

Clubs played six games each in a round robin system (three games home, three away), with the first two teams in each group qualifying for a Final 8 tournament that concluded the 2020–21 season. The playoffs started on March 2–3, 2021.[9]

The draw of this second phase of the competition was conducted on February 2, at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball.[10]

Draw

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Seeded teams
  Lenovo Tenerife
  Tofaş
  Hapoel Holon
  Casademont Zaragoza
  SIG Strasbourg
  Brose Bamberg
  Türk Telekom
  San Pablo Burgos
Non-seeded teams
  Dinamo Sassari
  ERA Nymburk
  AEK
  Nizhny Novgorod
  VEF Riga
  Pınar Karşıyaka
  Igokea
  Happy Casa Brindisi

Group I

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification HOL KAR BRI TOF
1   Hapoel Holon 6 4 2 472 483 −11 10 Advance to Final Eight 63–72 81–79 71–90
2   Pınar Karşıyaka 6 3 3 491 471 +20 9 76–77 107–88 78–70
3   Happy Casa Brindisi 6 3 3 503 501 +2 9 85–87 83–79 77–75
4   Tofaş 6 2 4 478 489 −11 8 81–93 90–79 72–91

Group J

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification TFE SPB IGO VEF
1   Lenovo Tenerife 6 5 1 484 426 +58 11 Advance to Final Eight 89–60 80–75 77–64
2   San Pablo Burgos 6 4 2 462 436 +26 10 101–79 83–71 76–75
3   Igokea 6 3 3 440 453 −13 9 62–82 77–75[a] 64–58
4   VEF Rīga 6 0 6 381 452 −71 6 64–77 45–67 75–91
  1. ^ The rescheduled game was played in Burgos instead of Laktaši by agreement between both teams.[11]

Group K

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification NIZ SIG AEK TTE
1   Nizhny Novgorod 6 4 2 506 457 +49 10 Advance to Final Eight 87–97 88–60 96–82
2   SIG Strasbourg 6 3 3 491 474 +17 9 68–73 91–73 91–81
3   AEK 6 3 3 429 468 −39 9 79–78 77–68 74–65
4   Türk Telekom 6 2 4 460 487 −27 8 71–84 83–76 78–66

Group L

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Pos Team Pld W L PF PA PD Pts Qualification NYM ZAR BRO DIN
1   ERA Nymburk 6 5 1 532 497 +35 11 Advance to Final Eight 98–78 91–87 90–89
2   Casademont Zaragoza 6 4 2 521 522 −1 10 90–71 77–65 105–88
3   Brose Bamberg 6 2 4 513 504 +9 8 80–91[a] 117–76 92–86
4   Dinamo Sassari 6 1 5 502 545 −43 7 73–91 83–95 83–72
  1. ^ The rescheduled game was played in Laktaši (Bosnia and Herzegovina) instead of Bamberg due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic between Germany and Czech Republic.[12]

Final Eight

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The concluding Final Eight tournament was played in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, between 5 May and 9 May 2021.[13]

Draw

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Pot 1
  ERA Nymburk
  Hapoel Holon
  Lenovo Tenerife
  Nizhny Novgorod
Pot 2
  Casademont Zaragoza
  San Pablo Burgos
  Pınar Karşıyaka
  SIG Strasbourg

Bracket

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QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
6 May
 
 
  Hapoel Holon77
 
7 May
 
  San Pablo Burgos86
 
  San Pablo Burgos81
 
6 May
 
  SIG Strasbourg70
 
  Lenovo Tenerife86
 
9 May
 
  SIG Strasbourg (OT)88
 
  San Pablo Burgos64
 
5 May
 
  Pınar Karşıyaka59
 
  Nizhny Novgorod78
 
7 May
 
  Casademont Zaragoza86
 
  Casademont Zaragoza79
 
5 May
 
  Pınar Karşıyaka84 Third place
 
  ERA Nymburk73
 
9 May
 
  Pınar Karşıyaka84
 
  SIG Strasbourg77
 
 
  Casademont Zaragoza89
 

Quarterfinals

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The quarterfinals were played on 5–6 May 2021.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Lenovo Tenerife   86–88 OT   SIG Strasbourg
Hapoel Holon   77–86   San Pablo Burgos
Nizhny Novgorod   78–86   Casademont Zaragoza
ERA Nymburk   73–84   Pınar Karşıyaka

Semifinals

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The semifinals were played on 7 May 2021.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
San Pablo Burgos   81–70   SIG Strasbourg
Casademont Zaragoza   79–84   Pınar Karşıyaka

Third place game

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The third place game was played on 9 May 2021.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Casademont Zaragoza   89–77   SIG Strasbourg

Final

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The final was played on 9 May 2021.

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Pınar Karşıyaka   59–64   San Pablo Burgos

Individual awards

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Season awards

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The annual season awards were announced on 5 May.[14][15]

Award Player Club
Most Valuable Player   Bonzie Colson   SIG Strasbourg
Final Eight MVP   Vítor Benite   San Pablo Burgos
Best Young Player   Yoan Makoundou   Cholet
Best Coach   Zoran Lukić   Nizhny Novgorod
First Team Second Team
Player Team Player Team
  C.J. Harris   Hapoel Holon   Dylan Ennis   Zaragoza
  Kasey Shepherd   Nizhny Novgorod   Darius Thompson   New Basket Brindisi
  Bonzie Colson   SIG Strasbourg   Jasiel Rivero   San Pablo Burgos
  Raymar Morgan   Karşıyaka   Omar Prewitt   Nymburk
  Giorgi Shermadini   Canarias   Michale Kyser   VEF Rīga

MVP of the Month

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Month Player Club Ref.
2020
October
  Steven Gray   Peristeri
November
  Yanick Moreira   AEK
December
  Kyle Allman Jr.   VEF Rīga
2021
January
  Raymar Morgan   Pınar Karşıyaka

Play-Offs MVP

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Player Club Ref.
  Kasey Shepherd   Nizhny Novgorod

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b ""We're here to stay": BCL's past, present and future in an exclusive interview with Patrick Comninos". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Strongest BCL lineup to date ahead of season 5". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  3. ^ "Comninos on BCL criteria: It's meritocratic, we have objective ranking on each club". Eurohoops. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
  4. ^ "Korvpalliliit sel hooajal Eesti meistritiitleid välja ei jaga". basket.ee. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  5. ^ "DRAFT - regulations.pdf" (PDF). www.fiba.basketball. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  6. ^ Basketball Champions League (3 December 2020). "Basketball Champions League Play-Offs and Finals format updated". Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Basketball Champions League Qualification Rounds format updated and hosts announced". Champions League Basketball. August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  8. ^ "Ορίστηκε το εξ αναβολής παιχνίδι, Χάποελ Ιερουσαλήμ - Ιγκοκέα".
  9. ^ "Competition System". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  10. ^ "Basketball Champions League Play-Offs Draw explained". championsleague.basketball. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  11. ^ "ABA League clubs in Europe (schedule)".
  12. ^ "Spielverlegungen in der Basketball Champions League".
  13. ^ "Final Eight field confirmed". FIBA. 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  14. ^ "Star Lineup revealed, Makoundou Best Young Player". Basketball Champions League. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Colson named MVP of the Season". Basketball Champions League. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Record-breaking Gray named MVP of the Month for October". Basketball Champions League. 30 October 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  17. ^ "AEK big man Moreira named MVP of the month for November". Basketball Champions League. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  18. ^ "VEF Riga's Kyle Allman named MVP of the month for December". Basketball Champions League. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Pinar Karsiyaka's Raymar Morgan named MVP of the month for January". Basketball Champions League. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Nizhny Novgorod's Kasey Shepherd named Play-Offs MVP". Basketball Champions League. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
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