In 2008 the competition changed its name from ULEB Cup to Eurocup
2008-09 All-Eurocup first, second teams announced
Euroleague Basketball is proud to announce the members of the very first All-Eurocup teams for the 2008-09 season, which finishes next week, April 2 to 5 in Torino, Italy, when the Final Eight will crown the competition champion! The All-Eurocup teams, named by in-house experts at Euroleague Basketball, are part of an expanded awards structure this season that is meant to enhance the recognition of the finest Eurocup players for their efforts on the basketball court throughout the season. The first and second teams are divided by position, each with one point guard, two shooting guards/small forwards and two power forwards/centers. Not surprisingly, the All-Eurocup first and second teams are dominated by players who will be at the Final Eight. Nine of the 10 honored players will be in Torino trying to lead their teams to the Eurocup title. Perhaps more of a surprise is the choice at first-team point guard, Chuck Eidson of Lietuvos Rytas. That's because Eidson, a natural forward, has been filling the point guard role for Lietuvos Rytas since mid-season, and doing it so well that he led the competition in assists. He is joined on the All-Eurocup first team by shooting guards/small forwards Kelly McCarty of BC Khimki Moscow Region and Bostjan Nachbar of Dynamo Moscow, and by power forward/centers Marko Banic of iurbentia Bilbao Basket and Todor Gecevski of KK Zadar. The All-Eurocup second team features Khalid El-Amin of BC Azovmash Mariupol at point guard, Travis Hansen of Dynamo Moscow and Gary Neal of Benetton Basket Tamoil as shooting guards/small forwards, and Sandro Nicevic of Benetton and Matt Nielsen of Pamesa Valencia at the power forward/center positions. All but El-Amin qualified with their teams for the Final Eight.
Chuck Eidson (201-F-80) of Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius (LTU) Kelly McCarty (201-F-75) of BC Khimky Moscow Region (RUS) Marko Banic (204-F-84) of Iurbentia Bilbao Basket (ESP) Bostjan Nachbar (207-G/F-80) of Dynamo Moscow (RUS) Todor Gecevski (209-C-77) of KK Zadar (CRO)
Khalid El-Amin (178-G-79) of Turk Telekom Ankara (TUR) Gary Neal (193-G-84) of Benetton Treviso (ITA) Travis Hansen (198-G/F-78) of Dynamo Moscow (RUS) Matt Nielsen (208-F/C-78) of Pamesa Valencia (ESP) Sandro Nicevic (210-C-76) of Benetton Treviso (ITA) Source Eurocup 2008-09 Eurocup Coach of the Year: Oktay Mahmuti, Benetton Basket Tamoil Euroleague Basketball is proud to announce that Benetton Basket Tamoil head coach Oktay Mahmudi (agency: Beo Basket ) has been chosen as the 2008-09 Eurocup Coach of the Year, a new award introduced this season. In just his first full campaign in Treviso, Mahmuti led Benetton to the Eurocup Final Eight by posting the competition's third-best record in the first two rounds, 9-3. Benetton qualified to the Last 16 early as possible after winning its first four regular season games. Once in the second round, Mahmuti's team again won four in a row to qualify first to the Final Eight, where the team will fight for the title of Eurocup champion from April 2 to 5 in Turin, Italy. Mahmuti's success in advancing to each step of the competition so early was all the more impressive since much of his roster was unacquainted with Europe's second competition before the season started. Considered one of the great defensive minds in the sport, Mahmuti honored Benetton's offensive tradition, too, by making his team the third highest-scoring in the competition. For all those reasons and more, one of the most accomplished young coaches in basketball, Oktay Mahmudi (agency: Beo Basket ), emerged as the winning choice to be Eurocup Coach of the Year! The Eurocup Coach of the Year is part of an expanded awards structure meant to enhance the recognition of the finest Eurocup players and coaches for their efforts throughout the season. Earlier this week, Milan Macvan of Hemofarm Stada was selected as the 2008-09 Eurocup Rising Star Trophy winner. Euroleague Basketball and its in-house experts will also select players for the All-Eurocup first and second teams and the Eurocup MVP. The Eurocup Final Eight MVP award will go the best player at that event as voted by accredited journalists in attendance during the title game. Mahmuti, who turned 41 earlier in March, was born in Skopje, FYROM, but moved to Turkey as a teenager. He started his coaching career at Eczacibasi's junior team in Turkey before joining Efes Pilsen as the team's assistant coach in 1992. There, Mahmuti learned from legendary Turkish coach Aydin Ors, who led Efes to the 1993 Saporta Cup final, losing against Aris in Turin, Italy, and to the 1996 Korac Cup title, downing Stefanel Milano in a two-way final series, the first continental trophy by a Turkish team. With such accomplishments, Ors and Mahmuti helped Efes to become a reference point in Turkish basketball. Mahmuti then worked for Ergin Ataman, helping the team reach the 2000 Euroleague Final Four, another first for Turkish teams. Mahmuti was promoted to head coach that summer and led Efes Pilsen to four consecutive Turkish League titles, from 2002 to 2005. He also helped Efes advance to the 2001 FIBA SuproLeague final four and came within one win of reaching the Euroleague Final Four in 2004 and 2005. Mahmuti parted ways with Efes in 2007 and joined Benetton. Despite winning its regular season group, Benetton suffered an early exit in the 2007-08 ULEB Cup. This season Mahmuti has already led Benetton to the Italian Cup semifinals. After winning its Eurocup groups so far, in both the regular season and the Last 16 of the Eurocup and, with the best record in the competition, to the Eurocup Final Eight His basketball philosophy includes strong defense that comes from playing a physical and intense style that demands full concentration. This award confirms Mahmuti as one of the best coaches in European basketball. Courtesy of Eurocup Lietuvos Rytas wins EuroCup 2009 Lietuvos Rytas-BC Khimki Moscow 80:74 Lietuvos Rytas triumphs in EuroCup Final and gets 2009-10 Euroleague ticket. Lithuanian powerhouse overcame Russian BC Khimki Moscow 80:74 to lift up the trophy of EuroCup. Marijonas Petravicius (208-F/C-79, college: S.Carolina) was crowned as MVP of Final Eight scoring 20 points for the winners. Steponas Babrauskas (196-G/F-84) ended up with 18 points, while Chuck Eidson (201-F-80, agency: Court Side, college: S.Carolina) nailed 14. Kelly McCarty (201-F-75, agency: Avi Zilberman, college: S.Mississippi) top-scored for the Russian outfit with 20 points, Carlos Delfino (199-G-82) posted 16, whilst Timofey Mozgov (215-C-86) and Vitaly Fridzon (195-G-85) added 11 each. Even thought Lithuanian squad opened the game with 5-0 run, Khimki replied with 6-0 later in the quarter taking 9:7 lead. The game was tied three times in the end of the first period and was knotted at 22:22 at the end of the frame. BC Khimki Moscow seemed to find their game in the second quarter as Timofey Mozgov made a layup for a 30:24. It was him again with an easy dunk that made it a double-digit game, 40:30. The Russian team won the period 22-13 that gave them 44:35 at the halftime. Khimki did not think of slow down as Lampe took advantage with a triple that gave Khimki a new high lead 51:39. That was however a pleasant moment for Rytas that responded with 8-0 run to reduce to 47:51. Khimki did not panic and bounced back for 60:49 as McCarty buried another shot. Steponas Babrauskas kept their team within 62:53 at the end of the third period. Whatever happened to the Russian team in the fourth quarter they could not find an answer. Rytas players came back to the game and shocked the opponents with 13-0 run for 66:62 advantage. Petravicius however scored inside but a three-point play by Delfino tied it at 71:71. Eidson and Steponas Babrauskas scored at the end to seal the winning outcome for Lithuanian team as well as 2009-10 Euroleague ticket. Lietuvos Rytas: Marijonas Petravicius 20 points, Steponas Babrauskas 18, Chuck Eidson 14 BC Khimki Moscow: Kelly McCarty 20 points, Carlos Delfino 16, Timofey Mozgov 11, Vitaly Fridzon 11 Eurocup MVP: Chuck Eidson, Lietuvos Rytas Euroleague Basketball is proud to announce that Chuck Eidson (201-F-80, agency: Court Side, college: S.Carolina) of Lietuvos Rytas has been chosen as the 2008-09 Eurocup MVP. In just his third season in European club competitions, Eidson simply dominated the Eurocup and led L. Rytas to the Final Eight despite changing position in midseason. Eidson was unstoppable in his normal role as small forward throughout the regular season. When the Last 16 loomed and the team was missing its previous starter at point guard, Eidson took up the rarely used point forward position and elevated his game to a new level. As an out-of-position playmaker, Eidson used his creativity and talent to finish the season as the Eurocup's leader both in performance index ranking, 21.9 per game, and in assists, with 5.3 on average. Eidson also ranked among the competition's best 10 players in several other statistic categories. He was second in steals (2 spg.), third in fouls drawn (5.3 per game), seventh in scoring (15.8 ppg.), sixth in defensive rebounds (4.8 rpg.) and tied for 10th in total rebounds (5.7 rpg.). Indeed, he was the only player to rank among the best 10 this season in points, rebounds and assists. Eidson was at his best when it mattered most, too, averaging 17 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the Last 16. His leadership, team-first mentality and ability to create shots for himself and teammates were some of the main reasons why Lietuvos Rytas qualified for the Final Eight. Take altogether, his second-to-none overall performance throughout the season cemented Chuck Eidson's status as an elite player worthy of being named the 2008-09 Eurocup MVP! Euroleague Basketball is proud to announce that Chuck Eidson of Lietuvos Rytas has been chosen as the 2008-09 Eurocup MVP. In just his third season in European club competitions, Eidson simply dominated the Eurocup and led L. Rytas to the Final Eight despite changing position in midseason. Eidson was unstoppable in his normal role as small forward throughout the regular season. When the Last 16 loomed and the team was missing its previous starter at point guard, Eidson took up the rarely used point forward position and elevated his game to a new level. As an out-of-position playmaker, Eidson used his creativity and talent to finish the season as the Eurocup's leader both in performance index ranking, 21.9 per game, and in assists, with 5.3 on average. Eidson also ranked among the competition's best 10 players in several other statistic categories. He was second in steals (2 spg.), third in fouls drawn (5.3 per game), seventh in scoring (15.8 ppg.), sixth in defensive rebounds (4.8 rpg.) and tied for 10th in total rebounds (5.7 rpg.). Indeed, he was the only player to rank among the best 10 this season in points, rebounds and assists. Eidson was at his best when it mattered most, too, averaging 17 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the Last 16. His leadership, team-first mentality and ability to create shots for himself and teammates were some of the main reasons why Lietuvos Rytas qualified for the Final Eight. Take altogether, his second-to-none overall performance throughout the season cemented Chuck Eidson's status as an elite player worthy of being named the 2008-09 Eurocup MVP ! Courtesy of Eurocup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lietuvos Rytas comes back for title! (Photo: eurocupbasketball)
Lietuvos rytas wins Eurocup 2009 (Photo: Krepsinis)
LIETUVOS RYTAS VILNIUS 2008-09
Kurtinaitis
