Following the 7DAYS EuroCup Draw, the excitement is already building ahead of the new 2022-23 season. There are 20 teams set to take part in the competition this year, with each playing 18 regular season games before the top eight from each group take part in the single-game knockout stages. Here's an early glimpse at the 10 teams in Group A.
Group A at a glance
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Joventut Badalona
Joventut tied for the EuroCup's best regular season record last season, 12-4, winning 75% of its games. Once in the playoffs, however, head coach Carles Duran's team was shocked by ratiopharm Ulm, which won 79-73 in Badalona, where Joventut had been unbeaten until then, to reach the quarterfinals. Led by the experienced Pau Ribas and Ante Tomic, and mixed with the youthful exuberance of Joel Parra and Andres Feliz, Joventut is going to be a threat once again. The 2007-08 EuroCup winners will be hoping to mark the 15th anniversary of that triumph by lifting the trophy again in 2022-23.
Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana
Slovenian champion Cedevita enters its fourth successive EuroCup campaign aspiring to surpass its best-ever finish from last season. In 2021-22, Cedevita had the third-best record in Group B, 11-7, with a win percentage of 61.1%. Now, having reached the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, Cedevita aims to go further than last year's quarterfinal exit to eventual finalists Frutti Extra Bursaspor.
Umana Reyer Venice
One club that has already been active this summer is Reyer, which is looking to improve upon its 9-9 regular season finish last season and eighthfinals exit to Boulogne Metropolitans 92. Veteran playmaker Jayson Granger has arrived to provide some know-how to the Reyer squad as it aims to make a splash in this year's competition. Trips to Venice should be more difficult in the 2022-23 season.
Frutti Extra Bursaspor
Last season saw Bursaspor go on a fairytale run to the 7DAYS EuroCup Final, beating the likes of Partizan NIS Belgrade, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and MoraBanc Andorra in the playoffs before losing out to Virtus Segafredo Bologna in the championship game. Bursaspor has been able to keep hold of talented coach Dusan Alimpijevic, which will serve it well next season as the team attempts to replicate the same success as 2021-22. Expect Bursaspor's pitbulls to have some bite once again.
Lietkabelis Panevezys
Lietkabelis secured its place in the playoffs last season after finishing with a record of 9-7 in the regular season, but in the eighthfinals was knocked out by eventual champions Virtus. Head coach Nenad Canak will remain on the bench for the coming season after being rewarded for his good work with a contract extension. Lietkabelis will be hoping that he can once again book the team's place in the knockout stages of the competition.
Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse
One of the three teams that failed to make it into last year's EuroCup playoffs was Bourg, as it finished ninth in Group B with a record of 6-12. Bourg is determined to give a better showing in the coming season, with French playing great Frederic Fauthoux, coming off a stint as a EuroLeague assistant coach at LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, being appointed as head coach. Six new players have already been added to the roster, too, so keep an eye out for Bourg next season.
ratiopharm Ulm
Ulm caused one of the shocks of the 2021-22 EuroCup season by knocking out Joventut, one of the favorites to lift the trophy, in the eighthfinals, but in the next round fell to eventual champions Virtus. Going into the new season, Ulm must deal with a significant change after the departure of head coach Jaka Lakovic to fellow EuroCup side Gran Canaria. Former EuroLeague player Anton Gavel has been promoted to the role of head coach after being with Ulm's development team, and he will hope to now build on the foundations laid down by Lakovic.
Germani Brescia
Brescia returns to the EuroCup after a one-season absence, with the club having already made a number of movements in the market. In addition, head coach Alessandro Magro has recently committed his future to Brescia until the end of the 2023-24 season after his team impressed domestically during the last campaign. Now, the goal will be to keep this momentum going into the coming EuroCup season.
U-BT Cluj-Napoca
Cluj is going with a homegrown approach as it enters its debut season in the EuroCup. The Romanian League champion already has a couple of Romanian internationals on its roster in Patrick Richard and Nandor Kuti, and this summer it has added a third in Emanuel Cate. Cluj has also brought back Eduard Roschnafsky, the son of club legend Bruno Roschnafsky, and will be hoping that this recruitment method pays dividends come playoff time.
Prometey Slobozhanske
Another new addition to the 2022-23 EuroCup is Prometey, which will be playing its home games in Riga, Latvia, instead of its native Ukraine. Prometey has some members of the Ukrainian national team on its roster ahead of the new season, including Oleksandr Lypovyy, Viacheslav Petrov, Illya Sidorov and Ivan Tkachenko, while center Dustin Hogue and guard Caleb Agada have joined the club in the off-season. Many people will be keeping an eye on Prometey to see how they fare in the competition.