The Turkish metropolis will see eight teams compete in the first of four qualifying events
NextGen EuroLeague qualifying begins this weekend in Istanbul
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The Adidas NextGen EuroLeague’s 2024-25 season tips off earlier than ever before, with the first stop taking the continent’s top young talents to Istanbul.
The eight-team field is highlighted by 2022 champion U18 Mega MIS Belgrade, 2012 finalist U18 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and first-timer – and host club – U18 Bahcesehir College Istanbul.
Across three days, between November 29 and December 1, the action will take at the newly renovated Basketball Development Center, where Abdi Ipekci Sports Hall used to stand.
The other five teams participating are U18 Anadolu Efes Istanbul, U18 Gran Canaria, U18 Panathinaikos Athens, U18 Umana Reyer Venice and the U18 NextGen Team Istanbul.
This is the earliest the competition has ever started, with the former NextGen Rome tournaments being played between Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
The NextGen Istanbul is the first of four qualifying tournaments for the NextGen Finals, which will be held alongside the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four. The other qualifiers are: the NextGen Munich on January 17-19; the NextGen Ulm on the weekend of February 7-9; and the NextGen Belgrade on March 7-9.
The eight teams are broken down into two groups of four, where they will play each of the sides in their groups. The top team in the groups will face off in the first place game to determine which club gets a direct ticket to the NextGen Finals.
Group A is made up of Bahcesehir, Mega, Panathinaikos and Reyer while Efes, Fenerbahce, Gran Canaria and NGT will be playing in Group B.
Group A will see history as made as Bahcesehir will play its first-ever game in the NextGen competition. And that contest will be against 2022 continental champion Mega, which is playing in the NextGen for the 14th straight season since debuting in 2011-12.
Mega, which also reached NextGen Championship Games in 2017 and 2019, has won its qualifying tournament four times (2016 Rome, 2019 Belgrade, 2021 Valencia, 2023 Belgrade) and played at the NextGen Finals the last eight editions. Mega slumped to fifth place at the NextGen Belgrade last season with a 2-2 record.
Panathinaikos is appearing in the NextGen for the seventh time and the fourth straight season. The Greek side finished sixth at 2024 Paris with a 1-3 record, after having placed a club-best fifth at 2023 Munich with two victories.
Italian club Reyer is playing for a third straight year and eighth in total. Last season the team finished with a 2-2 record in fifth place – the club’s best-ever placing in the competition.
Group B has the other two Istanbul clubs. This is appearance number six for Efes, which did not play last season. Efes registered fourth place finishes in qualifiers in 2018 and 2021.
Fenerbahce lost to U18 Rytas Vilnius in the 2012 NextGen Championship Game and is making its 13th showing – but first since 2020-21, which ended an 11-year run of appearances. Fenerbahce’s best result since 2017 is sixth place.
Gran Canaria is on board for a ninth time and would love to match its best-ever result from 2019-20, when the Spanish side won the NextGen Valencia. Gran Canaria was unable to fight for the crown, though, as the NextGen Finals were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The team finished third at 2024 Paris with a 3-1 record.
The fourth team is NGT Istanbul, with this being the fourth season with the selection side participating. Former Efes captain Dogus Balbay is the NGT's coach this season.