The 1997–98 FIBA EuroCup was the thirty-second edition of FIBA's 2nd-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition. it occurred between September 16, 1997, and April 14, 1998. The final was held at Pionir Hall, Belgrade, Yugoslavia. In the final, Žalgiris defeated Stefanel Milano, in front of 5,000 spectators.
Competition system 48 teams (national domestic cup champions, plus the best qualified teams from the most important European national domestic leagues), entered a preliminary group stage, divided into eight groups of six teams each, and played a round-robin. The final standings were based on individual wins and defeats. In the case of a tie between two or more teams, after the group stage, the following criteria were used to decide the final classification: 1) number of wins in one-to-one games between the teams; 2) basket average between the teams; 3) general basket average within the group. The top four teams from each group qualified for a 1/16 Final Playoff (X-pairings, home and away games), where the winners advanced further to 1/8 Finals, 1/4 Finals, and 1/2 Final. The Final was played at a predetermined venue.
Country ranking For the 1997–1998 FIBA EuroCup, the countries are allocated places according to their place on the FIBA country rankings, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 1994–95 to 1996–97. +Country ranking for 1997–1998 FIBA EuroCupRankCountryPointsTeamsNotes1279.66722275.0003190.8334117.500596.667670.542755.3898 50.833943.0481038.8331125.0001223.0711322.5001421.2061519.4161615.762179.6671+1, Marc-Kormend got wild card187.139+1, USK Erpet Praha got wild card196.555RankCountryPointsTeamsNotes206.1111+1, MZT got wild card215.445225.333234.333244.167253.722263.083-1, Fribourg Olympic withdrew272.694-1, Slavia Sofia withdrew282.389-1, Dinamo București withdrew291.861301.778311.500321.500331.5000341.444351.361360.167370.111380.056
Team allocation The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:
1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.: League position after eventual Playoffs CW: Cup winners WC: Wild card
Regular season Festina Joventut (4th) Bayer 04 Leverkusen (3rd) Spirou (1st) Rabotnički (1st) Cáceres (10th) Tatami Rhöndorf (5th) Sunair Oostende (CW) MZT Skopje (WC) Panathinaikos (5th) Zrinjevac (3rd) Mazowzanka (1st) Slovakofarma Pezinok (1st) Apollon Achaia Clauss (7th) Zagreb (6th) Śląsk Wrocław (CW) UKJ SÜBA Sankt Pölten (1st) Stefanel Milano (5th) Maccabi Ironi Ra`anana (3rd) Žalgiris (1st) Plannja Basket (1st) Polti Cantù (8th) Hapoel Eilat (4th) Žemaitijos Lokiai (2nd) Keravnos (1st) ASVEL (CW) Kovinotehna Savinjska Polzela (2nd) Budivelnyk (1st) London Towers (1st) Le Mans (5th) Pivovarna Laško (4th) BIPA-Moda Odesa (2nd) ASK Brocēni (1st) Tofaş (4th) FMP Železnik (CW) Danone-Honvéd (1st) Torpan Pojat (1st) Fenerbahçe (5th) Beobanka (3rd) Marc-Körmend (WC) Sloboda Dita (1st) Avtodor Saratov (2nd) Oliveirense (2nd) ICEC Opava (1st) Kalev Talinn (2nd) Samara (3rd) Portugal Telecom (3rd) USK Erpet Praha (WC) Libertel Dolphins EBBC (1st) Preliminary group stage + Key to colors Qualified to Round of 32 Eliminated
Group A Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD 1. Festina Joventut 10 19 9 1 884 782 +102 2. Tofaş 10 17 7 3 793 698 +95 3. BIPA-Moda Odesa 10 17 7 3 731 644 +87 4. Torpan Pojat 10 15 5 5 738 735 +3 5. Žemaitijos Lokiai 10 12 2 8 734 854 −120 6. Rabotnički 10 10 0 10 653 820 −167Group B Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD 1. Le Mans 10 17 7 3 794 792 +2 2. Śląsk Wrocław 10 16 6 4 760 751 +9 3. Pivovarna Laško 10 16 6 4 800 783 +17 4. Fenerbahçe 10 15 5 5 783 763 +20 5. ASK Brocēni 10 15 5 5 879 832 +47 6. ICEC Opava 10 11 1 9 745 840 −95
Group C Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD 1. Žalgiris 10 17 7 3 777 672 +105 2. ASVEL 10 17 7 3 677 642 +35 3. Mazowzanka 10 16 6 4 827 790 +37 4. Zagreb 10 16 6 4 776 704 +72 5. Kalev 10 14 4 6 690 737 −47 6. MZT Aerodrom 10 10 0 10 634 836 −202Group D Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD 1. Cáceres 10 16 6 4 836 767 +69 2. Samara 10 16 6 4 801 774 +27 3. FMP Železnik 10 16 6 4 793 719 +74 4. Keravnos 10 15 5 5 681 743 −62 5. Oliveirense 10 14 4 6 713 787 −74 6. Plannja 10 13 3 7 819 853 −34
Group E Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD 1. Stefanel Milano 10 18 8 2 840 729 +111 2. Beobanka 10 17 7 3 784 716 +68 3. Hapoel Eilat 10 17 7 3 805 787 +18 4. Tatami Rhöndorf 10 15 5 5 765 814 −49 5. Danone-Honvéd 10 12 2 8 721 779 −58 6. London Towers 10 11 1 9 692 782 −90Group F Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD 1. Spirou 10 18 8 2 855 710 +145 2. Apollon Patras 10 17 7 3 910 795 +115 3. Zrinjevac 10 16 6 4 836 822 +14 4. Kovinotehna Savinjska Polzela 10 15 5 5 859 842 +17 5. Libertel Dolphins EBBC 10 13 3 7 761 889 −128 6. USK Erpet Praha 10 11 1 9 730 893 −163
Group G Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD 1. Polti Cantù 10 19 9 1 916 762 +154 2. Sunair Oostende 10 17 7 3 860 820 +40 3. Marc-Körmend 10 16 6 4 822 807 +15 4. Bayer 04 Leverkusen 10 15 5 5 820 884 −64 5. Portugal Telecom 10 13 3 7 863 873 −10 6. Sloboda Dita 10 10 0 10 735 870 −135Group H Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD 1. Panathinaikos 10 19 9 1 865 645 +220 2. Avtodor Saratov 10 18 8 2 879 834 +45 3. Maccabi Ironi Ra`anana 10 15 5 5 778 784 −6 4. Slovakofarma Pezinok 10 14 4 6 756 856 −100 5. SÜBA Sankt Pölten 10 12 2 8 707 802 −95 6. Budivelnyk 10 12 2 8 695 759 −64
Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final April 14, Hala Pionir, Belgrade
1997–98 FIBA EuroCup Champions Žalgiris 1st title
Awards FIBA Saporta Cup Finals MVP Saulius Štombergas ( Žalgiris)
References
External links 1997–98 FIBA EuroCup @ FIBA Europe.com