1998–99 FIBA Saporta Cup explained

The 1998–99 FIBA Saporta Cup was the thirty-third edition of FIBA's 2nd-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition. It occurred between September 15, 1998, and April 13, 1999. The final was held at Zaragoza, Spain.

Competition system

• 48 teams (national domestic cup champions, plus the best qualified teams from the most important European national domestic leagues), entered a preliminary group stage, divided into eight groups of six teams each, and played a round-robin. The final standings were based on individual wins and defeats. In the case of a tie between two or more teams, after the group stage, the following criteria were used to decide the final classification: 1) number of wins in one-to-one games between the teams; 2) basket average between the teams; 3) general basket average within the group.
• The top four teams from each group qualified for a 1/16 Final Playoff (X-pairings, home and away games), where the winners advanced further to 1/8 Finals, 1/4 Finals, and 1/2 Final.
• The Final was played at a predetermined venue.

Country ranking

For the 1998–1999 FIBA Saporta Cup, the countries are allocated places according to their place on the FIBA country rankings, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 1995–96 to 1997–98.^[1]

Country ranking for 1998–1999 FIBA Saporta Cup

Rank Country Points Teams Notes 1 237.000 align=center rowspan=16 2 2 222.833 3 194.500 4 92.833 5 88.667 6 67.732 7 46.333 8 38.500 9 35.542 10 34.667 11 33.714 12 31.902 13 21.524 14 19.794 15 15.929 16 8.905 -1, Budivelnyk withdrew 17 6.542 align=center rowspan=16 1 18 6.429 +1, Atomerőmű got wild card 19 5.417 +1, Stahlbau Oberwart got wild card

Rank Country Points Teams Notes 20 4.187 align=center rowspan=13 1 21 4.083 22 3.944 23 3.667 24 3.611 -1, London Leopards withdrew 25 3.361 26 2.361 27 1.889 28 1.722 +1, Bosna got wild card 29 1.445 +1, Ventspils got wild card 30 1.333 31 1.056 -1,-Dinamo București withdrew 32 0.889 -1, Racing Luxembourg withdrew 33 0.694 align=center rowspan=6 0 34 0.416 35 0.278 36 0.111 37 0.056 38 0.056

Team allocation

The labels in the parentheses show how each team qualified for the place of its starting round:

• 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.: League position after eventual Playoffs
• CW: Cup winners
• WC: Wild card

Regular season
width=210	AEK (4th)	width=210	Partizan Zepter (3rd)	width=210	Śląsk Wrocław (1st)	width=210	ASK Brocēni (1st)
width=210	Aris (CW)	width=210	Budućnost (CW)	width=210	Mazowszanka (CW)	width=210	Ventspils (WC)
width=210	Benetton Treviso (5th)	width=210	Ratiopharm Ulm (2nd)	width=210	Estrelas da Avenida (1st)	width=210	BIPA-Moda Odesa (1st)
width=210	Sony Milano (9th)	width=210	TVG Trier (CW)	width=210	Ovarense Aerosoles (2nd)	width=210	MZT Boss Skopje (2nd)
width=210	Pinturas Bruguer Badalona (6th)	width=210	Zagreb (3rd)	width=210	Spirou Charleroi (1st)	width=210	Mlékárna Kunín (2nd)
width=210	Pamesa Valencia (CW)	width=210	Split (4th)	width=210	Telindus Racing Antwerpen (2nd)	width=210	APOEL (1st)
width=210	Tofaş (4th)	width=210	Atletas (2nd)	width=210	Marc Körmend (CW)	width=210	Slovakofarma Pezinok (1st)
width=210	Türk Telekom (6th)	width=210	Lietuvos rytas (3rd)	width=210	Atomerőmű (WC)	width=210	Plannja Basket (2nd)
width=210	Limoges CSP (2nd)	width=210	Kovinotehna Savinjska Polzela (2nd)	width=210	UKJ SÜBA Sankt Pölten (1st)	width=210	Cherno More (1st)
width=210	Cholet (CW)	width=210	Pivovarna Laško (3rd)	width=210	UBC Stahlbau Oberwart (WC)	width=210	Torpan Pojat (1st)
width=210	Spartak Moscow (4th)	width=210	Hapoel Eilat (2nd)	width=210	Feal Široki (1st)	width=210	Den Helder (1st)
width=210	UNICS (5th)	width=210	Hapoel Jerusalem (4th)	width=210	Bosna (WC)	width=210	Kalev Tallinn (1st)

Preliminary group stage

Key to colors

	Qualified to Round of 32
	Eliminated

Group A width=15 ! width=220 Team ! width=20 Pld ! width=20 Pts ! width=20 W ! width=20 L ! width=20 PF ! width=20 PA ! width=20 PD 1. Sony Milano 10 17 7 3 751 693 +58 2. Kalev 10 16 6 4 764 699 +65 3. Kovinotehna Savinjska Polzela 10 16 6 4 705 709 −4 4. Estrelas da Avenida 10 15 5 5 730 737 −7 5. Cherno More 10 13 3 7 755 807 −52 6. Atletas 10 13 3 7 709 769 −60

Group B width=15 ! width=220 Team ! width=20 Pld ! width=20 Pts ! width=20 W ! width=20 L ! width=20 PF ! width=20 PA ! width=20 PD 1. Cholet 10 18 8 2 815 675 +140 2. Türk Telekom 10 17 7 3 768 722 +46 3. Split 10 15 5 5 800 760 +40 4. Slovakofarma Pezinok 10 15 5 5 759 771 −12 5. MZT Boss Skopje 10 13 3 7 738 805 −67 6. Mlékárna Kunín 10 12 2 8 755 902 −147

Group C width=15 ! width=220 Team ! width=20 Pld ! width=20 Pts ! width=20 W ! width=20 L ! width=20 PF ! width=20 PA ! width=20 PD 1. Pamesa Valencia 10 20 10 0 805 678 +117 2. Budućnost 10 16 6 4 780 767 +13 3. Śląsk Wrocław 10 15 5 5 729 706 +23 4. ASK Brocēni 10 15 5 5 798 815 −17 5. SÜBA Sankt Pölten 10 12 2 8 701 768 −67 6. Hapoel Eilat 10 12 2 8 771 850 −79

Group D width=15 ! width=220 Team ! width=20 Pld ! width=20 Pts ! width=20 W ! width=20 L ! width=20 PF ! width=20 PA ! width=20 PD 1. Partizan Zepter 10 19 9 1 850 744 +106 2. Pivovarna Laško 10 17 7 3 836 803 +33 3. AEK 10 17 7 3 757 695 +62 4. Atomerőmű 10 13 3 7 758 816 −58 5. Zagreb 10 13 3 7 701 780 −79 6. Torpan Pojat 10 11 1 9 727 791 −64

Group E width=15 ! width=220 Team ! width=20 Pld ! width=20 Pts ! width=20 W ! width=20 L ! width=20 PF ! width=20 PA ! width=20 PD 1. Tofaş 10 17 7 3 774 650 +124 2. Hapoel Jerusalem 10 17 7 3 770 707 +63 3. Spirou Charleroi 10 17 7 3 680 682 −2 4. Lietuvos rytas 10 16 6 4 757 776 −19 5. Marc Körmend 10 12 2 8 723 841 −118 6. Bosna 10 11 1 9 672 720 −48

Group F width=15 ! width=220 Team ! width=20 Pld ! width=20 Pts ! width=20 W ! width=20 L ! width=20 PF ! width=20 PA ! width=20 PD 1. Aris 10 19 9 1 799 637 +162 2. Limoges CSP 10 17 7 3 711 637 +74 3. Telindus Racing Antwerpen 10 15 5 5 708 736 −28 4. TVG Trier 10 14 4 6 741 781 −40 5. Plannja 10 13 3 7 756 802 −46 6. 10 12 2 8 653 775 −122

Group G width=15 ! width=220 Team ! width=20 Pld ! width=20 Pts ! width=20 W ! width=20 L ! width=20 PF ! width=20 PA ! width=20 PD 1. Pinturas Bruguer Badalona 10 19 9 1 855 703 +152 2. Ratiopharm Ulm 10 17 7 3 775 759 +16 3. Ventspils 10 15 5 5 860 813 +47 4. Mazowszanka 10 14 4 6 751 783 −32 5. APOEL 10 13 3 7 689 736 −47 6. Spartak Moscow 10 12 2 8 770 906 −136

Group H width=15 ! width=220 Team ! width=20 Pld ! width=20 Pts ! width=20 W ! width=20 L ! width=20 PF ! width=20 PA ! width=20 PD 1. 10 20 10 0 822 644 +177 2. UNICS 10 15 5 5 757 748 +9 3. Ovarense Aerosoles 10 14 4 6 682 697 −15 4. Stahlbau Oberwart 10 14 4 6 691 748 −57 5. Den Helder 10 14 4 6 593 639 −46 6. BIPA-Moda Odesa 10 12 3 7 655 724 −69

Round of 32

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Round of 16

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Quarterfinals

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Semifinals

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• The second leg which was scheduled to be played in Podgorica, was cancelled due to the war situation in Yugoslavia. Although FIBA accepted a neutral venue (Thessaloniki, Greece) to play this game, the Yugoslav players couldn't get out of their country because of the military conflict, and therefore FIBA definitely cancelled this match and awarded a forfeit (20–0) to Benetton Treviso.

Final

April 13, Pabellón Príncipe Felipe, Zaragoza|}

Awards

• Henry Williams ( Benetton Treviso)

See also

• 1998–99 FIBA Euroleague
• 1998–99 FIBA Korać Cup

References

• 1998–99 FIBA Saporta Cup @ FIBA Europe.com
• 1998–99 FIBA Saporta Cup at Linguasport

Notes and References

1. Web site: Linguasport – FIBA Country Ranking (B). www.linguasport.com. 2020-05-31.