FIBA Europe Cup Semi-Final ties confirmed

The Semi-Final pairings of this season’s FIBA Europe Cup were decided on Wednesday night, upon the conclusion of the Quarter-Finals stage.

Italy’s Unahotels Reggio Emilia will go up against Bakken Bears of Denmark in one Semi-Final tie. At the same time, ZZ Leiden of the Netherlands will face Turkey’s Bahcesehir College in the other.

In Wednesday’s return legs of the Quarter-Finals, Reggio Emilia and Bahcesehir emerged victorious at home, against Legia Warszawa and Sporting CP, respectively, to make it two-of-two wins, albeit the Italian side needed overtime to bend the resistance of the Polish visitors.

Bakken also won both games against CSM CSU Oradea but punched their ticket in a more eye-catching fashion as they prevailed 70-61 on the road after earning a slim two-point cushion at home last week.

Meanwhile, ZZ Leiden prevailed 85-77 over HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim at home to wipe out a three-point defeat in the reverse fixture in Germany.

Bahcesehir and Bakken had also reached the last four of the FIBA Europe Cup in the 2019-20 season, which was curtailed due to the pandemic. The Danish team also reached the competition’s Semi-Finals, once before, in the 2017-18 season. 

Reggio Emilia is the only club in this Semi-Final field to have celebrated the conquest of a European title, as they were proclaimed EuroChallenge 2013-14 champions.

The Semi-Finals will be played n home-and-away games, and both first-leg encounters are scheduled to take place on Wednesday, March 30.

The return-leg games are set to tip off a week later, on Wednesday, April 6. The two teams that emerge from the Semi-Finals will clash for the 2021-22 title in the Finals, which will also be played over two legs, on April 20 and April 27.