The EuroCup Challenge was the 4th tier level

European professional club basketball system

The European professional club basketball system or European professional club basketball pyramid is a series of interconnected competitions for professional basketball clubs in Europe. The system has a hierarchical format with a promotion and demotion system between competitions at different levels...

 transnational professional club basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 competition in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. It was run and organized by FIBA Europe

FIBA Europe

FIBA Europe is a zone within the International Basketball Federation which includes all 49 national European basketball federations.-Division A:-Division B: -Division C:...

.

Promotion to FIBA EuroCup

Each season's finalists were promoted

Promotion and relegation

In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between divisions based on their performance that season...

 to the next season's more prestigious 3rd tier level

European professional club basketball system

The European professional club basketball system or European professional club basketball pyramid is a series of interconnected competitions for professional basketball clubs in Europe. The system has a hierarchical format with a promotion and demotion system between competitions at different levels...

 competition, the FIBA EuroCup

EuroChallenge

The EuroChallenge is the 3rd tier level transnational men's professional club basketball competition in Europe. It is organized and run by FIBA Europe...

.

History

The competition was played during the 2002-03 to 2006-07 seasons. It was variously known as the FIBA Europe Champions Cup (2002–03), the FIBA Europe Cup (2003–05), and the Malaysia won theFIBA EuroCup Challenge (2005–07).

Champions

Season	Final Venue	Final
		Champion	Result	Runner-Up	Final MVP
2002-03	Alexandreio Melathron, Thessaloniki Thessaloniki Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...	Aris BSA Thessaloniki	84 - 83	Prokom Trefl Sopot
2003-04	Atatürk Sport Hall Izmir Atatürk Sport Hall İzmir Atatürk Sport Hall is an indoor sport venue located in the district of Karşıyaka in İzmir, Turkey. The hall has a capacity for 3,000 people.... , İzmir Izmir Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...	Mitteldeutscher Mitteldeutscher BC Mitteldeutscher Basketball Club is a German basketball club based in Weißenfels, Saxony-Anhalt. In 2004, the club won the FIBA Europe Cup against JDA Dijon...	84 - 68	JDA Dijon	Marijonas Petravičius Marijonas Petravicius Marijonas Petravičius is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. He currently a free agent. He is a member of the Lithuania national team...
2004-05	Sala Sporturilor Olimpia Sala Sporturilor Olimpia Sala Sporturilor Olimpia is a multi-use arena in Ploieşti, Romania, that holds 4,000 people. It is currently the home of the most successful Romanian basketball team, CSU Asesoft.... , Ploieşti Ploiesti Ploiești is the county seat of Prahova County and lies in the historical region of Wallachia in Romania. The city is located north of Bucharest....	CSU Asesoft Ploiesti CSU Asesoft CSU Asesoft is a Romanian professional basketball club, based in Ploieşti, Romania. The club competes in the Romanian Basketball Division A, and is the most successful club of the last decade, winning 7 consecutive championships between 2004-2010 and 6 Romanian cups...	75 - 74	Lokomotiv Rostov Lokomotiv Rostov PBC Lokomotiv-Kuban is a Russian professional basketball team which is now based in Krasnodar, Russia, after moving from Rostov-on-Don at the end of the 2008–09 season for financial reasons. The club was founded in the year 1946 and was formerly known as Lokomotiv Mineralnye Vody and Lokomotiv...	Vladimir Kuzmanović Vladimir Kuzmanovic Vladimir Kuzmanović is a retired professional basketball player. Despite being born in Serbia he decided to compete under the flag of Republic of Macedonia. He plays as a guard...
2005-06	FSC Olyimp, Yuzhny Universal Sports Palace Molot Universal Sports Palace Molot Universal Sports Palace Molot is an indoor sporting arena located in Perm, Russia. It was built in 1980 and has a seating capacity for 7,000 spectators. It is the home arena of the Molot-Prikamye Perm ice hockey team and was the home of the Ural Great basketball team.-External links:*... , Perm Perm Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....	Ural Great Perm PBC Ural Great PBC Ural Great Perm was a Russian professional basketball club that was located in Perm, Russia. The club's home arena was Molot Sports Hall. The team played in the Russian Super League.-History:...	80 - 67 / 74 - 80	Khimik Yuzhny Khimik Yuzhny Khimik Yuzhny is a Ukrainian professional basketball club that is based in Yuzhny, Ukraine. The club plays in the Ukrainian Basketball Super League...
2006-07	Keravnos Arena, Nicosia Nicosia Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line... Sport CSK VSS Sport CSK VSS Sport CSK VSS is an indoor sporting arena located in Samara, Russia. The capacity of the arena is 3,500. It is the home arena of the CSK VSS Samara basketball team.... , Samara Samara, Russia Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...	CSK VSS Samara CSK VSS Samara CSK VVS Samara is a Russian professional basketball team, based in Samara, Russia. The club was formally patronized by the Russian Air Force . The club is a 2-time bronze medalist in the Russian Super League, in the years 1997 and 1998...	83 - 85 / 101 - 81	Keravnos Keravnos Keravnos Strovolos is one of the powerhouses of Cypriot basketball. Founded in 1926, it is based in the Nicosia suburb of Strovolos. In the past, the club also had a football team.-History:...

Winning rosters

FIBA Europe Champions Cup:

2002-03 Aris Thessaloniki (Greece):

Willie Solomon, Ryan Stack

Ryan Stack

Ryan Eugene Stack is an American and Macedonian professional basketball player who plays for BK Kyiv in Ukraine's First League....

, Ivan Grgat, Fedor Likholitov

Fedor Likholitov

Fedor Likholitov is a Russian professional basketball player for Beşiktaş Cola Turka. He grew up with Baltika St. Petersburg . He played college basketball at Virginia Commonwealth University .in late April 2002, HEmoved to France and was signed by SIG Strasbourg...

, Prodromos Nikolaidis

Prodromos Nikolaidis

Prodromos "Makis" Nikolaidis is a Greek professional basketball player. He is 2.01 m in height and 102 kg in weight. He can play both the shooting guard and small forward positions. Nikolaidis possesses great shooting ability...

, Ioannis Lappas, Giannis Gagaloudis

Giannis Gagaloudis

Giannis Gagaloudis is a Greek professional basketball player. A point guard, he currently plays for Maroussi B.C.. He is 1.92 m in height and 81 kg in weight.-Pro career:...

, Dimitar Angelov

Dimitar Angelov

Dimitar Angelov is a Bulgarian professional basketball player. He plays as a power forward or small forward and his height is 202 cm.Angelov currently plays for BC Yambol in the Bulgarian League.-References:...

, Miroslav Raičević

Miroslav Raicevic

Miroslav Raičević also known as Miroslav Marinos-Raitsevits is a Serbian-Greek professional basketball player. He plays as both a power forward and center. He is 2.08 m in height and he weighs 106 kg .-Pro career:Raičević began his career playing with the youth teams of the Budućnost Peć...

, Dimitris Charitopoulos, Nikos Orfanos, Kostas Kakaroudis, Dimitris Merachtsakis (Head Coach

Coach (basketball)

Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behaviour of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as well as overall physical conditioning.Coaching is...

: Vangelis Alexandris

Vangelis Alexandris

Vangelis Alexandris is a Greek professional basketball coach and a retired professional basketball player.-Playing career:Alexandris played with Aris and PAOK during his pro career as a basketball player.-Coaching career:...

)

FIBA Europe Cup:

2003-04 Mitteldeutscher Weissenfels (Germany):

Wendell Alexis

Wendell Alexis

Wendell Alexis is a retired American basketball player who played for several European clubs between 1986 and 2004, most notably for ALBA Berlin, where he was voted MVP of the German Bundesliga three times during his 6-year stint.After attending Christ The King Regional High School, Alexis played...

, Manuchar Markoishvili

Manuchar Markoishvili

|-| align="center" colspan="2" bgcolor="blue" | Manuchar Markoishvili|-| align="right" |Nickname:| Manu||-| align="center" colspan="2" | a|-| width="30%" align="right" | Position:| Shooting Guard|-| align="right" |Height:...

, Paul Burke, Marijonas Petravičius

Marijonas Petravicius

Marijonas Petravičius is a Lithuanian professional basketball player. He currently a free agent. He is a member of the Lithuania national team...

, Misan Nikagbatse

Misan Nikagbatse

Eyinmisan Edward Ogharanemeye Nikagbatse is a German basketball player who currently is a member of Pallacanestro Varese's squad and has played for clubs in Germany, Greece and Italy so far.-Career:...

, Sebastian Machowski, Stephen Arigbabu

Stephen Arigbabu

Stephen Olumide Arigbabu is a former German professional basketball player. He is 2.12 m tall. Arigbabu plays at the center position.-Pro career:...

, Jonas Elvikis, Per Ringstrom, Chauncey Leslie, Peter Fehse

Peter Fehse

Peter Fehse is a German professional basketball player who is currently coaching for BG Bitterfeld-Sandersdorf-Wolfen in German third league assisting former German national player Stephen Arigbabu...

, Paul Bayer, Michael Krikemans (Head Coach

Coach (basketball)

Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behaviour of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as well as overall physical conditioning.Coaching is...

: Henrik Dettmann)

2004-05 CSU Asesoft Ploiesti (Romania):

Catalin Burlacu, Ivan Krasic, Nikola Bulatović, Vladimir Kuzmanović

Vladimir Kuzmanovic

Vladimir Kuzmanović is a retired professional basketball player. Despite being born in Serbia he decided to compete under the flag of Republic of Macedonia. He plays as a guard...

, Paul Helcioiu, Marko Rakočević, Rares Apostol, Antonio Alexe, Levente Szijarto, Predrag Materić, Nicolae Toader, Marko Peković, Adrian Blidaru, Saša Ocokoljić (Head Coach

Coach (basketball)

Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behaviour of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as well as overall physical conditioning.Coaching is...

: Mladjen Jojic)

FIBA EuroCup Challenge:

2005-06 Ural Great Perm (Russia):

Derrick Alston

Derrick Alston

Derrick Samuel Alston is an American professional basketball player.Alston played basketball at Hoboken High School in Hoboken, New Jersey.-Basketball career:...

, Terrell Lyday

Terrell Lyday

Terrell Lyday is an American professional basketball player playing in Europe.In June 2011 he extended the contract with UNICS Kazan for 2 more years.-Amateur Teams:...

, Vasili Karasev, Jurica Golemac

Jurica Golemac

Jurica Golemac , is a Slovenian-Croatian professional basketball player. He is 2.12m tall and weighs 102 kg . He can play at both the forward and center positions...

, Jasmin Hukić

Jasmin Hukić

Jasmin Hukić is a Bosnian professional basketball player who currently plays for BC Donetsk in Ukraine. He is former captain of Bosnia and Herzegovina national basketball team.-External links:...

, Andre Hutson

Andre Hutson

Andre Davon Hutson is an American professional player who plays for Lottomatica Roma. He plays as a small forward and power forward and he is 2.02 m in height.-Career:...

, Andrei Trushkin, Egor Vyaltsev

Egor Vyaltsev

Egor Vyaltsev, born October 10, 1985 in Voronezh, Soviet Union, is a Russian professional basketball player. He currently plays for BC Khimki and is also a member of the Russia national basketball team.-Pro career:...

, Vadim Panin, Evgeni Kolesnikov, Aleksandr Dedushkin

Aleksandr Dedushkin

Aleksandr Dedushkin is a Russian professional basketball player. He is a center. He is 2.07 m in height and 120 kg in weight.-Pro career:...

, Arseni Kuchinsky, Vyacheslav Shushakov, Artem Kuzyakin (Head Coach

Coach (basketball)

Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behaviour of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as well as overall physical conditioning.Coaching is...

: Sharon Drucker)

2006-07 CSK VVS Samara (Russia):

Nikita Shabalkin

Nikita Shabalkin

Nikita Shabalkin is a Russian professional basketball player with Dynamo Moscow. The 6 ft 9 in tall 230 pound small forward-power forward also plays with the Russian national basketball team....

, Omar Cook

Omar Cook

Omar Cook is a naturalized Montenegrin professional basketball player and member of the Montenegro national basketball team who grew up in the United States. He is often referred to as a prime example of college basketball players who declared for the NBA Draft too early. He is 1.86 m tall...

, Georgios Diamantopoulos

Georgios Diamantopoulos

Giorgos Diamantopoulos is a Greek professional basketball player. He is a 6'5" tall shooting guard-small forward and he possesses great scoring ability.-Pro career:...

, Kelvin Gibbs, Evgeni Voronov, Pavel Agapov, Gennadi Zelenskiy, Yaroslav Strelkin, Oleg Baranov, Pavel Ulyanko, Taras Osipov, Anton Glazunov, Alexei Kiryanov, Valeri Likhodey (Head Coach

Coach (basketball)

Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behaviour of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as well as overall physical conditioning.Coaching is...

: Valeri Tikhonenko)

External links

• FIBA EuroCup Challenge Homepage