Xavi Pascual and his men will know which teams they will face in the first phase of the Euroleague this Thursday after the draw, which is scheduled for 12.00 in Barcelona. FC Barcelona come into the competition as a seeded team which means they’ll avoid Panathinaikos, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Real Madrid in the first round. Barça, being a Liga Endesa team, cannot face off against a team from the same federation in the first round.
CSKA Moscow
In the first phase, which consists of a total of 10 matches, Barça could come up against an old rival, CSKA Moscow. Last season, Messina’s men visited the Palau Blaugrana and the two teams faced off in the third and fourth place match in London’s Final Four. It goes without saying that CSKA Moscow would be one of the most complicated rivals Barça could face in the first phase. During this summer’s transfer window the Russian side have picked up Kyle Hines from Olympiakos, Jeremy Pargo from Maccabi, and Vitaly Fridzon from Khimki.
Teams in the draw
Pot 1: FC Barcelona, Olympiakos, Real Madrid and Panathinaikos
Pot 2: CSKA Moscou, Montepaschi Siena, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Anadolu Efes
Pot 3: Laboral Kutxa, Unicaja Màlaga, Fenerbahçe Ulker and Zalgiris Kaunas
Pot 4: Galatasaray, Lokomotiv Kuban, Budivelnik and Brose Baskets
Pot 5: Emporio Armani Milà, Partizan Belgrad, Stelmet Zielona and Estrella Roja Belgrad
Pot 6: Bayern Munic, Estrasburg, Nanterre, an the winner of qualifying round.
