September 22, 2014 - Eight teams long for final regular season berth via Qualifying Rounds
Eight teams from seven countries are set for the
Turkish Airlines Euroleague Qualifying Rounds, which for one lucky
winner will result in the final ticket to the 2014-15 Euroleague
Regular Season. The path to competing with the continent’s best runs
through Sleuyter Arena in Ostend, Belgium, the host site for this
season’s qualifying tournament, which tips off on Tuesday, September
23. This is the sixth edition of the tournament, and the fourth in a
row that will be played in a single-elimination format. The event tips
off with VEF Riga of Latvia and Strasbourg of France squaring off at
18:00 CET. Strasbourg targets its second trip to Europe’s premier
competition in as many years. However, the team led by head coach
Vincent Collet faces its qualifying rounds debut. The situation could
not be more different for the team from Riga, which hopes to advance to
its first ever Euroleague regular season through its third qualifying
rounds appearance in the past four seasons. However VEF is yet to win a
game at the event. One thing is certain; one of these two clubs will
record its first-ever victory in this tournament. Read more here.
July 10, 2014 - Euroleague 2014-15, Regular Season, Group D analysis and Quotes
Group A
Real Madrid has come tantalizingly close to lifting
the Turkish Airlines Euroleague trophy in each of the past two seasons.
Los Blancos will hope the third time is the charm. bwin Euroleague MVP
Sergio Rodriguez and fellow All-Euroleague First Team selection Rudy
Fernandez remain the cornerstone of one of the league’s best offenses
in recent history, which they plan to continue entertaining with this
season in trying to go one step further than last. Read more here.
Group B
Last season’s title hopes may have ended in a
heartbreaking Final Four loss for CSKA Moscow, but the perennial
Turkish Airlines Euroleague contender is eager to bounce back. With new
man Dimitirs Itoudis in charge of the squad that has kept most of the
key pieces, and guard Nando De Colo already added to the mix, CSKA will
be gunning for more than just extending its run of 11 Final Four
appearances in 12 years. Read more here.
Group C
Reigning Spanish League champion FC Barcelona was
once again in the mix for the title in every competition in which it
competed last season and that will be the goal as it enters a new
campaign. Barcelona reached the Euroleague Final Four for the third
straight season and Coach Xavi Pascual will have many of the same
weapons back for another run. Eurocup Finals MVP Justin Doellman is the
first of a few key expected additions to help Barca go one step
farther. Read more here.
Group D
Coming off a season without any titles, recent
back-to-back Euroleague champion Olympiacos Piraeus does not want such
a scenario to happen again. The Reds already bolstered their frontcourt
with rebounder Othello Hunter, and backcourt with Oliver Lafayette, to
compliment the returning core players who already know quite well what
it takes to climb to the Euroleague top, and bring more joy to Piraeus.
Read more here.
July 10, 2014 - 2014-15 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Draw results
From Ostend to Madrid, the roadmap for 31 teams
dreaming of Turkish Airlines Euroleague glory was unveiled at a pair of
draws on Thursday in Barcelona. The 23 teams qualified for the 2014-15
Euroleague Regular Season were drawn into four groups of six teams,
while the eight teams to compete in the qualifying rounds learned their
opponents on the path to the last remaining regular season ticket. Read
more here.
July 10, 2014 - Euroleague 2014-15, Qualifying Rounds, analysis
Unics Kazan comes off a great season that saw the
team come within one result the Eurocup crown. This season the club has
a chance to do even more through the Turkish Airlines Euroleague
qualifying rounds. Unics certainly won’t lack for experience after
appointing Argiris Pedoulakis as head coach and bringing in the
backcourt duo of Alphonso Ford Top Scorer Trophy winner Keith Langford
and Curtis Jerrells. The sky is the limit! Read more here.
