1958 FIBA European Champions Cup explained

Nextseason:1958–59
1958 FIBA European Champions Cup
Season:1958
Champions: Rīgas ASK (1st title)
Runners Up: Academic
Teams:23

The 1958 FIBA European Champions Cup was the inaugural season of the European top-tier level professional basketball club competition FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague). It was won by Rīgas ASK, after they won both EuroLeague Finals games against Academic. Previously, they had not played the semifinals, as Real Madrid was not allowed to travel to Soviet Riga by the Francoist authorities. The first game was held on February 22, 1958, in Brussels, Belgium, where Belgian League champion Royal IV, defeated the Luxembourger League champions, Etzella Ettelbruck, by a score of 82–43.[1] The most notable contributors to Riga's first title included center Jānis Krūmiņš and head coach Alexander Gomelsky.

Competition system

23 teams. European national domestic league champions only, playing in a tournament system. The Finals were a two-game home and away aggregate.

Preliminary round

Group A (Northeast Europe)

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Group B (Central Europe)

First round

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Second round

The winners of the three pairs in Group B played against each other, in a tournament held in Milan, in order to determine the two clubs that would progress to the Quarterfinals

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Key to colors
    Qualified to Quarter-finals
    Eliminated

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Group C (Southeast Europe)

First round

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Second round

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Third round

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Group D (Southwest Europe)

First round

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Second round

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Knockout stage

Quarterfinals

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Semifinals

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Finals

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Awards

FIBA European Champions Cup Finals Top Scorer

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.euroleague.net/history/50-years/the-archive/i/25072/1609/item February 22, 1958: The day it all started
  2. http://www.linguasport.com/baloncesto/internacional/clubes/c1/C1_58.htm Champions Cup 1958