Familiar names and new challengers line up for the FIBA Europe Cup Qualification Round 1

REYKJAVIK (FIBA Europe Cup) - The FIBA Europe Cup journey will get underway already on Tuesday, with the matchup between Icelandic champions KR and Belfius Mons-Hainaut from Belgium marking the start of Qualification Round 1.

Later in the week, teams from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine will join the action, with first-leg games also played on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.

The 20 teams that have lined up in the first stage of the competition will need to get over two hurdles in order to book a place in the Regular Season of the competition.

Among them are the familiar names of Demir Insaat, CSM CSU Oradea, Rilski Sportist, Pardubice, Kormend and Bnei Herzliya, who all participated in the competition last year, as well as a long list of new challengers.

After a two-game home-and-away series in Qualification Round 1, the winning team of each pairing will move to Qualification Round 2, where they will be joined by 10 additional teams awaiting them.

The 10 winners of the Qualification Round 2 matchups are guaranteed spots in the Regular Season, which will consist of 32 teams, with up to 22 clubs joining the competition from the Basketball Champions League Qualification Rounds.

Qualification Round 1 matchups are as follows:

BC Balkan Botevgrad (BUL) v CSM CSU Oradea (ROU) Szolnoki Olaj KK (HUN) v Trabzonspor Medical Park (TUR) Demir Insaat Buyukcekmece (TUR) v DNIPRO (UKR) KFUM Boras Basket (SWE) v Egis Kormend (HUN) CSU Sibiu (ROU) v BK Pardubice (CZE) KR (ISL) v Belfius Mons-Hainaut (BEL) Bnei Herzliya (ISR) v BM SLAM STAL Ostrow (POL) BC Nevezis (LTU) v BC Rilski Sportist (BUL) Parma (RUS) v BC Rabotnicki Skopje (MKD) s.Oliver Wurzburg (GER) v Istanbul (TUR) [/unordered]

FIBA