1971–72 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup

1971–72 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup
LeagueFIBA European Cup Winners' Cup
SportBasketball
Finals
ChampionsItaly Simmenthal Milano
  Runners-upSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Crvena zvezda
FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup seasons

The 1971–72 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup was the sixth edition of FIBA's 2nd-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, contested between national domestic cup champions, running from 4 November 1971, to 21 March 1972. It was contested by 21 teams, five less than in the previous edition, and it marked a reform in the competition's format; a 6-team group stage was introduced, replacing the quarterfinals.[1]

Defending champion, Simmenthal Milano, defeated Crvena zvezda in the final, which returned to a single game format, to win its second trophy, becoming the first team to successfully defend its title.[2] It was the third title in a row for an Italian League team. This season's FIBA European Champions Cup final, also featured Italian and Yugoslav League teams, with the same outcome.

Participants

First round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Spartak ZJŠ Brno Czechoslovakia 224–150 Luxembourg Arantia Larochette 111–65 113–85
Fides Napoli Italy 164–120 West Germany Mainz 82–49 82–71
Juventud Schweppes Spain 4–0* Albania Partizani Tirana 2–0 2–0
Sutton & Crystal Palace England 171–118 Denmark Gladsaxe 83–68 88–50
Maccabi Haifa Israel 158–200 France Denain Voltaire 82–109 76–91
Racing Bell Mechelen Belgium 190–144 Portugal Coimbra 113–71 77–73
Ghouta Syria 0–4* Bulgaria Levski-Spartak 0–2 0–2
AEK Greece 139–111 Turkey Beşiktaş 72–45 67–66
Handelsministerium Austria 4–0* Netherlands Fiat Stars 2–0 2–0
Crvena zvezda Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 196–139 Finland Helsingin Kisa-Toverit 95–62 101–77

*Partizani Tirana (for political reasons), Ghouta and Blue Stars Amsterdam all withdrew before the first leg, and their rivals received a forfeit (2-0) in both games.

Second round

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Spartak ZJŠ Brno Czechoslovakia 151–168 Italy Fides Napoli 69–76 82–92
Juventud Schweppes Spain 217–107 England Sutton & Crystal Palace 120–62 97–45
Denain Voltaire France 146–158 Belgium Racing Bell Mechelen 74–68 72–90
Levski-Spartak Bulgaria 170–184 Greece AEK 103–69 67–115
Handelsministerium Austria 158–205 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Crvena zvezda 90–97 68–108
Automatically qualified to the quarter-finals group stage

Quarterfinals

The quarter finals were played with a round-robin system, in which every Two Game series (TGS) constituted as one game for the record.

Key to colors
     Top two places in each group advance to semifinals

Group A

1st leg 2nd leg Agg
Italy Fides NapoliBelgium Racing Bell Mechelen 97-82 77-90 177-172
Spain Juventud SchweppesItaly Fides Napoli 83-69 66-92 149-161
Belgium Racing Bell MechelenSpain Juventud Schweppes 96-77 57-77 153-154
Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD
1. Italy Fides Napoli 2 4 2 0 335 321 +14
2. Spain Juventud Schweppes 2 3 1 1 303 314 -11
3. Belgium Racing Bell Mechelen 2 2 0 2 325 328 -3

Group B

1st leg 2nd leg Agg
Greece AEKItaly Simmenthal Milano 57-84 76-117 133-201
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Crvena zvezdaGreece AEK 100-63 76-100 176-163
Italy Simmenthal MilanoSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Crvena zvezda 86-62 58-84 144-146
Team Pld Pts W L PF PA PD
1. Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Crvena zvezda 2 4 2 0 322 307 +15
2. Italy Simmenthal Milano 2 3 1 1 345 279 +66
3. Greece AEK 2 2 0 2 296 377 -81

Semifinals

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Fides Napoli Italy 152–161 Italy Simmenthal Milano 69–85 83–76
Juventud Schweppes Spain 153–160 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Crvena zvezda 83–70 70–90

Final

March 21, Alexandreio Melathron, Thessaloniki

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Simmenthal Milano Italy 74–70 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Crvena zvezda
1971–72 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup Champions
Italy
Simmenthal Milano
2nd title

References