Saporta Cup Regulations

SAPORTA CUP COMPETITION AND REGULATIONS

(Adapted from FIBA. Includes up to 2001-02 season)

BERTH ASSIGNMENT

· Any national federation which is a member of the Standing Conference of Europe is entitled to enter a certain number of clubs in Saporta Cup (with a maximum of 2), but only 24 berths are available. The number of clubs for each national federation depends on a combination of several criteria: the results of the FIBA SuproLeague, the Saporta Cup, and the ranking of the national federations during the last three European club competition seasons. For Saporta Cup 2000-01, these berths are assigned as follows:

18 berths: first 18 federations in FIBA classification: ITALY, SPAIN, LITHUANIA, FRANCE, TURKEY, YUGOSLAVIA, ISRAEL, RUSSIA, CROATIA, GERMANY, POLAND, SLOVENIA, BELGIUM, PORTUGAL, CYPRUS, AUSTRIA, FINLAND:

LinelTEX Basket (Imola)

Aris BSA (Thessaloníki)

Pamesa BC (Valencia)

BC Sakalai (Vilnius)

Basket Racing (Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris)

Beşiktaş JK (Istanbul)

KK Crvena Zvezda (Belgrade)

Hapoel Galil Elyon (Kiriat Shmona)

UNICS (Kazan)

KK Zagreb

Telekom Baskets (Bonn)

Anwil (Włocławek)

BK Slovakofarma (Pezinok)

Telindus Antwerpen (Mechelen)

FC Porto

Keravnos Keo (Nicosia)

UBM Arkadia (Traiskirchen)

Luhta (Lahti)

2 berths: federations with clubs in places 3-4 in Euroleague 1999-2000: TURKEY, SPAIN:

Pınar Karşıyaka

Caja San Fernando (Sevilla)

4 berths: federations with clubs in 1/2 Final in Korać Cup 1999-2000: BOSNIA*, SLOVAKIA*, GREECE*, FRANCE:

Borac Nektar (Banja Luka)

Pivovarna Laško

Maroussi BC (Amaroussion, Athens)

Elan Chalon (Chalon-sur-Saône)

*Note: There were 3 Spanish clubs in 1/2 Final in C3 2000, so that Spain should have 5 berths in Saporta Cup 2000-01. However, since a federation cannot register more than 2 teams in this competition, the remaining 3 berths are distributed as follows: 1 berth for Bosnia-Herzegovina, the best qualified country in FIBA Ranking which doesn't have clubs in C2; 1 berth each for Italy and Greece, as the two best federations in this ranking, so that they don't number more than 2 clubs each (later on Italy renounced its berth, which was given to Slovakia).

· For Saporta Cup 2001-02, a similar system as above applies:

16 berths: first 16 federations in FIBA classification.

3 berths: first 3 federations in FIBA classification.

1 berth: federation with club in place 3 in SuproLeague 2000-01.

4 berths: ederations with clubs in 1/2 Final in Korać Cup 2000-01.

(In the summer of 2000, FIBA established a new format for Eurocup, the merger of former C2 and C3; see Competition System below)

· FIBA ranking system is based on the results of the federations' clubs in the European competitions: SuproLeague (C1), Saporta Cup (C2), and Korać Cup (C3). The assignment of points is as follows:

SUPROLEAGUE (C1)

Eliminated in Qualification Round (places 9-10): 6 pts.

Eliminated in 1/8 Final Play-Offs (places 1-8 in QR): 12 pts.

Eliminated in 1/4 Final Play-Offs: 18 pts.

Place 4 in Final Four: 36 pts.

Place 3 in Final Four: 54 pts.

Place 2 in Final Four: 72 pts.

Place 1 in Final Four: 144 pts.

SAPORTA CUP (C2)

Eliminated in Qualification Round (place 6): 3 pts.

Eliminated in Qualification Round (place 5): 4 pts.

Eliminated in 1/8 Final (places 1-4 in QR): 6 pts.

Eliminated in 1/4 Final: 12 pts.

Eliminated in 1/2 Final: 24 pts.

Runner-up: 48 pts.

Champion: 96 pts.

Korać CUP (C3)

Eliminated in Elimination Round I: 0,5 pts.

Eliminated in Elimination Round II: 1 pt.

Eliminated in Qualification Round (place 4): 2 pts.

Eliminated in Qualification Round (place 3): 2,5 pts.

Eliminated in 1/8 Final (places 1-2 in QR): 4 pts.

Eliminated in 1/4 Final: 8 pts.

Eliminated in 1/2 Final: 16 pts.

Runner-up: 32 pts.

Champion: 64 pts.

Each club will only receive the highest number of points obtained during the season in question. Each national federation will accumulate the number of points for all its men's clubs for the season in question. A final ranking coefficient will be established by dividing the result by the number of clubs which that national federation has registered. The final FIBA ranking will always be based on the results of the last three European club competition seasons.

COMPETITION SYSTEM

· From season 2000-01 on, the 24 participating clubs will be divided into 4 groups (A, B, C, D) of 6 clubs each during Qualification Round. These groups will be drawn taking into account: a) the ranking of the participating national federations in the last three seasons; b) the ranking of the participating clubs in the last five seasons. Each club will play the other clubs in its own group in home and away games. The 4 best placed clubs from each group will qualify for the Eighth-Final round, with two games (home and away) that count as a single match. Winners advance progressively to Quarter-Final, Semi-Final (the same system as above), and Final (a single game).

· As of the season 2001-02, Saporta Cup (C2) and Korać Cup (C3) will merge into a single tournament called Eurocup, which shall be organised in a conference-like system as follows:

¾ The European Zone will be divided into 4 Conferences, which will include all 50 national federation members of FIBA. Conferences will be determined by sporting, geographical, and economic criteria. Each Conference will be divided into as many sub-groups as necessary depending on the number of teams that register in each. The number of teams per national federation that will be entitled to register in each Conference will be determined according to the place of the national federation in FIBA Ranking.

¾ The system of competition will be decided once the number of teams registered is known and may be different from Conference to Conference, and from sub-group to sub-group. Each Conference will qualify a certain number of teams for the Eighth-Final Round, up to 8, which may differ from conference to conference. These 8 clubs will play the 8 teams which have been eliminated from the Preliminary Round of EuroLeague, in a best of three play-off system. (Note: Provisional system hinging on the approval of a new competition format for SuproLeague 2001-02). Quarter-Final round shall be played with the qualified 8 teams (also best of three). The last 4 teams will play for the title in a Final Four.

ORGANIZATION OF GAMES

· EXPENSES. Participating clubs in SC must pay a registration fee of DM 18,000. Each organising (host) club will cover the following expenses: a) organising expenses; b) local transportation for visiting clubs (including the organisation of such transport) to/from the airport/railway station of the town of the organising club (valid also for the officials of the game), to/from the training session(s) and game, to/from any social activities organised by the organising club; c) expenses of the commissioner, referees and, if appropriate, the single judge and/or the FIBA representatives; d) costs for the production and entering of the statistics, coaches’ and players’ quotes, and the club information via the remote input tool; e) the cost for staging the post-game press conference in two languages; f) the staying expenses of the visiting club in a first class hotel for a minimum of 2 days and 14 persons. Each visiting club will cover its own travel expenses (including visa) to the town of the organising club. The visiting club will also cover its own staying expenses unless a written agreement on different financial conditions has been reached with the organising club.

· PARTICIPANTS. For all Saporta Cup games, teams may consist of a maximum of 10 players, whose names shall be inscribed on the scoresheet. Officials present in a game are: FIBA representative, single judge, commissioner, referees. The duty of the commissioner is to ensure that the game is played under regular conditions and should collaborate with the referees at all times to ensure that this is the case. At the end of a game, within one hour of completion, the commissioner will write a report describing any serious incident such as misbehaviour, disqualification, protests, acts of violence, etc.

· FORFEIT. If, before the draw, a club declines to participate after having registered in Saporta Cup, its national federation will be fined with up to DM 2,000. The national federation may replace the club with another. If, after the draw but before the competition begins, a club declines to participate after having registered in SC, the following forfeit applies: a fine of up to DM 5,000 for the club and a fine of up to DM 2,000 for the national federation. The national federation may replace the club with another. If, after the first game of the competition, a club declines to play (except under circumstances beyond its control), the game is awarded to the opponents, the score shall be twenty to zero (20:0), and the forfeiting team shall receive zero (0) points in the classification. In addition, the club shall be fined DM 25,000 and the national federation DM 15,000. For a second forfeit, the club shall be disqualified for the remainder of that competition and shall also be disqualified for the next season for which the club qualifies. In addition, the club shall be fined DM 40,000 and the national federation DM 30,000. If a team enters the playing court more than 15 minutes late (except under circumstances beyond its control) receives a fine of up to DM 3,000.

· DEFAULTING. A team shall lose a game by default if, during the game, the number of players of that team on the court is less than two. If the game is awarded to the team currently in the lead, then the score when the game was stopped shall remain valid. If the game is awarded to the team currently not in the lead, then the score shall be recorded as two to zero (2:0) in this team’s favour. Furthermore, the defaulting team shall receive one point in the classification. For the Eighth-Final, Quarter-Final, and Semi-Final rounds, the team that defaults in the first or second game shall lose the round by default.

· INELIGIBILITY OF PLAYERS. Use of unlicensed or ineligible player(s) as per the current Regulations governing the Saporta Cup is also penalized. A first infraction implies that the game is awarded to the opponents of the offending team. If the offending team lost the actual game by more than 20 points, the result shall stand; if not, then the game shall be awarded to the opponents of the offending team by a score of twenty to zero (20:0). In either case, the offending team shall receive zero points in the classification. In addition, there shall be a fine of DM 3,000 to 10,000. A second infraction implies that the team shall be disqualified for the remainder of that competition. In addition, there shall be a fine of DM 20,000.

· ARENA. Games are played on parquet (wood flooring). The court dimensions shall be 28x15 m and at every point, at least 2 m from the advertising boards and all obstructions. There shall be a further boundary line drawn in a sharply contrasting colour and at least 2 m in width. The further boundary line and restricted area shall be of the same colour for all SC floors. The floor shall be clear of any lines and all markings, except those permitted by the Official Basketball Rules. The playing court shall be lit to a minimum of 1,500 lux, in order to meet television requirements. Only 12 seats are allowed in the team bench area. The height of the ceiling or the lowest obstruction shall be at least 7 m above the playing court. The seating capacity of the hall shall be at least 2,000; it is recommended that all seats be numbered and that all spectators be seated and at a distance of not less than 5 m from the playing court. The playing and spectator areas shall have a temperature of between 16º C and 25º C. The FIBA logo must be displayed on the lower left-hand corner of the glass backboard.

· MEDIA. The organising club shall prepare and distribute for each game of the Saporta Cup press kits to the media in the local language and English containing a maximum of information on the two clubs (team rosters, injuries, statistics, etc.), the venue, the time of the game, and general information concerning the hall and town of the venue. At half-time and the end of the game, the organising club shall distribute the game statistics among media.

· CLOTHING. The front of the shirt shall conform to the following provisions: 1) The manufacturer's trademark may appear, but it must not be larger than 12 cm². Its position shall be on the top right shoulder seam. 2) The player’s number must appear and be clearly visible and at least 10 cm high; any other markings on the front of the shirt be at a distance of at least 5 cm from the player’s number. 3) The name or the badge/symbol of the club must appear on the front of the shirts above the advertising, and shall not exceed 10 cm in height. 4) Advertising of one sponsor only is permitted provided that the written text or the sponsor's logo has a maximum height of 8 cm and maximum length of 40 cm (the shirt sponsor shall be the same for the complete season). 5) No other marks, logos, etc. shall appear on the front of the shirt. The back of the shirt shall conform to the following provisions: 1) The player's surname must appear above the player’s number and shall comprise only one line of text; the height of the writing must be between 6 cm and 8 cm. 2) The player's number must appear and be clearly visible and at least 20 cm high; any other markings on the back of the shirt must have a distance of at least 5 cm from the player's number. 3) The name of the city of the club must appear (in Roman letters) below the player’s number and shall comprise only one line of text; the height of the writing must be between 6 cm and 8 cm, and the name of the city must be visible even when the shirt is tucked into the shorts. 4) Advertising is prohibited on the back of the shirts. 5) No other marks, logos, etc. shall appear on the back of the shirt. Advertising and the player’s name are not permitted on shorts.

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