54 teams unveiled for new ULEB Cup!
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 The most inclusive basketball tournament ever held in Europe has been unveiled just in time for the 50th anniversary season of continental competitions. The Union of European Basketball Leagues (ULEB) announced on Monday that the new ULEB Cup will have 54 teams in 26 countries during the 2007-08 season. The draw to divide the participants into nine regular season groups of six teams each will be held on Saturday, June 30 in Jesolo, Italy during the weekend of the first ULEB Summer League. The field of 54 teams includes representatives from 11 countries that did not play last season or have never played before in the competition. The incredible demand from leagues and clubs across Europe to be part of the ULEB Cup was not able to be met completely, not even with the inclusion of 54 teams. ULEB wishes to thank both the clubs and national leagues coming to the ULEB Cup next season, and in particular the federations who have understood the situation. ULEB aso wants to apologize to the many others that showed a desire to join the competition but could not be included.
The new ULEB Cup is not only more expansive than any similar tournament before it, but also loaded with winners, past and present. There are 11 current domestic league champions among the 54 teams, including ASK Riga of Latvia, which reappears on the European scene exactly half a century after it won the continent's very first title, at the end of the 1957-58 season. Another 10 teams of the 54 were finalists in their national competitions last season, while 19 more were semifinalists. All told, more than two-thirds of the ULEB Cup's participating teams for 2007-08 either won domestic leagues last season or came within a step of getting that chance. In addition to ASK Riga, there are two former European champions (Bosna of Bosnia-Herzegovina and DKV Joventut of Spain), three former ULEB Cup winners (Pamesa Valencia, Hapoel Jerusalem and Dynamo Moscow) as well as 10 other clubs that have previously raised continental trophies or reached a Euroleague Final Four. The presence of Akasvayu Girona of Spain and Azovmash Mariupol of Ukraine means that three of the four semifinalists from the last FIBA EuroCup - including VidiVici Bologna, which goes to the Euroleague - have been included in ULEB competitions.
Not only past and present winning traditions are served by the new ULEB Cup, but geography, too. A total of 11 national capital cities from Moscow to Madrid will have at least one team each in the 2007-08 edition of the competition. Seven countries are completely new to the competition - Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Romania, Estonia, Montenegro, Switzerland and Ukraine - while four others - Austria, Croatia, England and Portugal - were among the ones anxious to return after previous experiences in the ULEB Cup. It all adds up to an major effort to spread the news of a growing sport to all corners of Europe. An ambitious project without boundaries except the criteria of great basketball competitiveness is born: the 2007-08 ULEB Cup!
TEAM | COUNTRY/LEAGUE | DOMESTIC RESULTS | KK Crvena Zvezda | ABA Adriatic | Sixth | FMP | ABA Adriatic | Finalist | KK Hemofarm Vrsac | ABA Adriatic | Semifinalist | KK Buducnost | ABA Adriatic | Fifth | Zadar | Croatian League | Finalist | Allianz Swans Gmunden | ÖBL Austria | Champion | Telindus BC Oostende | BLB Belgium | Champion | Spirou Basket | BLB Belgium | Semifinalist | Antwerp Giants | BLB Belgium | Semifinalist | KK Bosna Sarajevo | Bosnian League | Finalist | Guildford Heat | BBL England | Champion | PBC Lukoil Academic Sofia | Bulgarian League | Champion | CEZ Basketball Nymburk | ALKCzech Republic | Champion | BC Kalev | Estonian League | Finalist | SLUC Nancy Basket | | Finalist | Elan Bearnais Pau-Orthez | LNB France | Ninth | Elan Chalon | | Semifinalist | Strasbourg | | Quarterfinalist | Asvel Basket Lyon Villeurbanne | | Semifinalist | Alba Berlin BasketballTeam | BBL Germany | Quarterfinalist | ENBW Ludwigsburg | BBL Germany | Semifinalist | Deutsche Bank Skyliners | BBL Germany | Thirteenth | RheinEnergie Koln | BBL Germany | Semifinalist | Artland Dragons | BBL Germany | Finalist | Panionios Forthnet | HEBA Greece | Semifinalist | Panellinios G. S. | HEBA Greece | Fifth | Hapoel Jerusalem B.C. | BSLIsrael | Finalist | Hapoel Altshuler Saham Galil Elion | BSLIsrael | Third | Benetton Basket Tamoil | LEGA Italy | 11th | Fortitudo Pallacanestro Bologna | LEGA Italy | Thirteenth | ASK Riga | Latvian League | Champion | BK Ventspils | Latvian League | Finalist | Siauliai | LKL Lithuania | Semifinalist | EiffelTowers | FEB Netherlands | Champion | Hanzevast Capitals | | Semifinalist | Turow Zgorzelec | PLK Poland | Finalist | Asco Slask Wroclaw | PLK Poland | Semifinalist | Anwil Wloclawek | PLK Poland | | Ovarense Aerosoles | LCB Portugal | Champion | CSU Ploiesti | Romanian League | Champion | Unics Kazan | Russian League | | BV Khimki Moscow Region | Russian League | | Dynamo Moscow | Russian League | | BV Dynamo Moscow Region | Russian League | | DKV Joventut | ACB Spain | | Akasvayu Girona | ACB Spain | Fifth | Gran Canaria Grupo Dunas | ACB Spain | Sixth | Pamesa Valencia | ACB Spain | Seventh | Benetton Fribourg Olympic | LNBA Switzerland | Champion | Turk Telekom Sports Club | Turkish League | | Galatasaray Cafe Crown | Turkish League | | Besiktas JK Colaturka | Turkish League | | Basketball Club Kyiv | Ukranian League | | BC Azovmash Mariupol | Ukranian League | Champion |
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