Bilbao has had a parenthesis in the organization of important sporting or cultural events, but has resumed its pulse with the slow decline of the pandemic. In the past, the Biscayan capital has paraded the U-20 European Championship and the Basketball World Cup, a Sixers friendly, the European rugby finals… it has also passed the Vuelta and has hosted the MTV awards. The wheel does not stop and the immediate thing is the final of the Women’s Champions League in 2024 and the Europa League in 2025, in compensation for having lost the venue of the recent European Championship, as well as the start of the Tour in 2023. And the Championship of Europe Bilbao Bizkaia Multisport Triathlon.
An event in which a lot of love has been put is the Basketball Champions League Final Four. It will be the first neutral venue of this event that elucidates the semifinals and the final of the continental tournament, sponsored by FIBA and that competes with the Eurocup as second in importance in Europe after the Euroleague. We are in the sixth edition and there have been three ACB winners this time: Tenerife and Burgos twice. This is the reigning king. The one who lifts the cup, who enters a million euros, fights later for the Intercontinental. AEK and Virtus complete the list of winners,
The coming-out of the F4 has had more of a wrapper, due to the majestic setting of the Guggenheim atrium, than chicha, since the main national authorities in basketball matters have been absent, that is, the president of the ACB, Antonio Martín ( at a FIBA appointment in Geneva), and from the FEB, Jorge Garbajosa, because their agenda has not allowed them to approach the draw. yes he has come the mayor of Bilbao, Aburto, who licks his lips with these types of events. “The arrival of this Final Four means not only hosting one of the biggest European basketball events, but also marks the first time that a non-participating team has been chosen as host. And it had to be Bilbao. It will be a great basketball party, we will enjoy sport at the highest level and exemplary hobbies. Bilbao once again demonstrates that it is an attractive city for major international sporting events”, launched the mayor, who wished the Miribilla club: “Hopefully you will soon occupy your space in European competitions”. What seems clear with this movement is that Bilbao Basket will continue betting when it can on the BCL to the detriment of the Eurocup, where it became runner-up.
“Facilities such as Azkuna Zentroa, San Mamés or the Bilbao Arena itself were created, in addition to the existing ones. Bilbao will be a perfect host. We hope that those who visit us enjoy a good show and take the opportunity to get to know this city better. It is a great opportunity to demonstrate that Bilbao is prepared for major international events and to show ourselves as an attractive city with a future”, concluded the Mayor of Bilbao. Patrick Cominos, CEO of Basketball Champions League, made an effort to speak in Spanish in an act presented with solvency by the former player Savané. “Three of the five winners of the Champions League are Spanish. We feel happy and honored to organize our most important event in Bilbao, and we are convinced that it will be a success,” said the Athenian leader.
Ainara Basurko, deputy for Economic Promotion of the Bizkaia Provincial Council, referred to the fact that Bilbao “has a proven ability to organize events of this caliber” and “it is a challenge for Bilbao and Bizkaia” to carry out a successful BCL. “It is a shock to economic activity.” Carlos Jiménez, representing the FEB, recalled the times when he played in Bilbao and showed “gratitude” for the effort undertaken “from the institutions to FIBA” knowing “the passion that exists in this city”. Finally, Roca spoke as a spokesperson for the ACB: “Bilbao Basket and the city have amply demonstrated their organizational capacity. They are going to do their utmost to make this competition a success. We wish the three Spanish teams luck. The competition started hesitantly, but over the years it has made most of our clubs see it with greater prestige”.
Tickets for Bilbao Basket members will be sold from next Monday to Wednesday, with discounts for local supporters, and from Wednesday they are open to the rest, from 30 euros for the pack of the four games over the two days. The president of Surne, Iturbe, and the coach, Mumbrú, acted as innocent hands in a draw that allows a possible Spanish final. Removing the 2018 edition, there has always been a Spanish team in the final.
BAXI Manresa-Unicaja de Málaga and Lenovo Tenerife-Tofas Bursa were the pairings for the quarterfinals for the three Spanish teams participating in the Champions League. The other two games in this round of quarterfinals will face, on the one hand, Israeli Hapoel U-Net Holon with French Sig Strasbourg and on the other to Romanian U-BT Cluj Napoca with German NHP Riesen Ludwigsburg.
These quarterfinals will be played in the best of three games on April 5-6, 12-13 and 19-20 and the four winners will advance to the Final Four to be held at the Bilbao Arena in the capital of Biscay. May 6 to 8.
In the same act, the pairing draw for this final phase in Bilbao was also carried out. On one side of the draw, the winners of the matches Manresa-Unicaja and Cluj Napoca-Riesen will face each other and on the other the winners of Tenerife-Tofas Bursa and Holon-Strasbourg, so there is the possibility of a final between two ACB teams .
Basketball Champions League quarterfinals
1. BAXI Manresa-Unicaja
2. Lenovo Tenerife-Tofas Bursa (TUR)
3. Hapoel U-Net Holon (ISR)-Sig Strasbourg (FRA)
4. U-BT Cluj Napoca (RUM)-NHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (ALE).
Miribilla Final Four
May 6: Winner 1 vs. Winner 4
May 6: Winner 2 vs. Winner 3