This year’s Champions League basketball tournament promises to be the toughest one yet. That’s the word from Benfica’s team manager, João Nuno Crespo. He spoke right after the draw ceremony in Lausanne, Switzerland. Crespo pointed out that top clubs like Alba Berlin, Juventut Badalona, and Gran Canaria have joined the competition. These teams are used to playing in major European leagues like the EuroLeague and EuroCup. He said there are no easy groups this time around, even for teams coming from Pot 2, like Benfica.
The draw placed Benfica, the four-time Portuguese champions, into Group H. This group is now set. They will face Gran Canaria from Spain, Le Mans Basket from France, and Spartak Subotica from Serbia. The action kicks off on October 7. The exact schedule for coach Norberto Alves’s squad will be announced soon.
For the past three seasons, Benfica had to fight their way through qualification rounds to reach the Champions League group stage. This year is different. They earned a direct spot in the 2025/26 regular phase. This means no more nail-biting qualifiers for them. The main competition features 32 clubs. Twenty-nine of these qualified directly, and they are split into eight groups of four teams.
João Nuno Crespo offered his thoughts on Benfica’s opponents to the club’s media. He described Gran Canaria as a team that “needs no introduction.” They play in Spain’s ACB league, which is considered Europe’s best. Gran Canaria finished seventh in their league’s regular season. This is a team with serious European experience, having won the EuroCup title in 2022/23. Crespo called them a “very strong club” that will make the Champions League even better.
Le Mans is another tough team in the group. This will be their fourth time playing in the Champions League. They come from a very strong league themselves, where they finished sixth last season. Le Mans didn’t play in the BCL last season. However, they have a rich history in European basketball, with past appearances in both the EuroLeague and the EuroCup.
Then there’s Spartak Subotica. This marks their first time in the Champions League. Despite being newcomers, they just reached the final of the Serbian championship. They famously knocked out Red Star in the semi-finals, only losing to Partizan Belgrade in the final. Spartak also finished seventh in the ABA League, a very strong Baltic league. Crespo noted that teams from the Baltic countries always have skilled and physically powerful players.
Portugal’s basketball scene is on the rise. The country climbed to 11th in the FIBA rankings. This jump allowed Benfica to get their direct group stage spot. It also opened up a pre-qualification place for another Portuguese team. FC Porto, who were runners-up in the Betclic League final and played in the Europa Cup last season, will now enter the qualifiers. They will face Hungary’s Falco Szombathely in the quarter-finals of Qualifying Tournament 3.
If Fernando Sá’s FC Porto squad wins that match, they’ll play a semi-final. Their opponent would be the winner of the game between Switzerland’s Fribourg Olympic and France’s Elan Chalon. The final round would pit them against the best team from the other side of the bracket. That side includes Murcia from Spain, Start Lublin from Poland, Kauhajoki Karhu from Finland, and Utena Juventus from Lithuania. If Porto makes it to the group stage, they’ll land in Group B. That group already has Alba Berlin from Germany, Basketball Nymburk from the Czech Republic, and Sabah from Azerbaijan. If Porto fails to qualify, they will drop into the Europa Cup.
Benfica is the only Portuguese club to have played in the “new era” Champions League. In the past three seasons, they had to fight hard through qualifying rounds. In 2022/23, they beat Darussafaka from Turkey. The next year, 2023/24, they overcame Tbilisi from Georgia, Larnaca from Cyprus, and Norrkoping Dolphins from Sweden. Last season, 2024/25, they defeated Rilski Sportist from Bulgaria and Fribourg Olympic from Switzerland. Their direct entry this year is a big relief.
At the Lausanne ceremony, three clubs received special recognition. AEK BC from Greece, Tenerife from Spain, and Filou Oostende from Belgium were honored. These three teams are the only ones to have played in all ten editions of the Champions League since its new format began.