The 2002–03 FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup was the one-season international European competition for men's professional
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
clubs, organised by
FIBA
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...
. Although it was marketed at the time by FIBA as the 2nd-tier level European club basketball tournament,
most would consider it Europe's
4th-tier level competition, after the
Euroleague
The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...
,
ULEB Cup and the
FIBA Europe Champions Cup. The aim of this tournament was to provide competitive international play for clubs that would otherwise be unable to participate in international basketball. The tournament which featured 4 domestic champions was divided in two conferences: "North" (which consisted of 17 teams) and "South" (which consisted of 11 teams).
The season started on 30 October 2002, and ended on 13 February 2003. There were two champions -
Azovmash from Ukraine and
AEL Limassol
Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team.
AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...
from Cyprus. Prior to the commencement of the 2003–04 basketball season, an agreement between
FIBA Europe
FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all List of men's national basketball teams#FIBA Europe, 50 national European basketball federations.
...
and
ULEB basketball was reached regarding the management of Europe's transnational leagues. As a result, the Regional Challenge Cup merged with the Champions Cup to form the
FIBA Europe Cup, which was thereafter renamed
FIBA EuroCup Challenge.
Teams allocation
* 1st, 2nd, etc.: Club's domestic league position after playoffs.
Conference North
Regular season
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
Group E
Play-offs
The winner of the play-offs qualified for the
FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup Final Four.
Conference South
Regular season
Group A
Group B
Group C
Play-offs
The winner of the play-offs qualified for the
FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup Final Four.
Finals
Finals MVP
Winning rosters
FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup:
''North Conference:''
* 2002–03
Azovmash Mariupol
Volodymyr Gurtovyy,
Andriy Kapinos,
Andriy Botichev,
Oleksandr Skutyelnik,
Igor Kharchenko,
Sergiy Moskalenko,
Petro Podtykan,
Yevhenii Annienkov,
Dmytro Briantsev (
Head Coach
A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
:
Andrij Podkovyrov)
''South Conference:''
* 2002–03
EKA AEL Limassol
Dimitris Prokopiou,
Marcos Asonitis,
Georgios Kouzapas,
Michalis Kounounis,
Davor Kurilic,
Konstantinos Perentos,
Ranko Velimirovic,
David Michael Van Dyke,
Christos Spyrou,
Duane Woodward (
Head Coach
A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
:
Dragan Raca).
See also
*
2002-03 FIBA Europe Champions Cup
*
FIBA Europe Conference South
*
FIBA Europe Conference North
References
External links
FIBA Europe website
{{DEFAULTSORT:2002-03 FIBA Europe Regional Challenge Cup
FIBA EuroCup Challenge
2002 in basketball
2003 in basketball