User:Vitaly P/sandbox



«The Northern European Basketball League was founded in 1998 by six countries around the Baltic Sea: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden. Former European basketball star and NBA player Sarunas Marciulionis pioneered the NEBL concept and was elected the Commissioner of the League. On the 15th of January, 1999, the President of the Republic of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus and the Prime Minister of Latvia Vilis Kristopans launched the League in Vilnius Town Hall. Honorable guests from throughout the World witnessed the birth of the new professional League.

The NEBL was inspired and implemented to challenge other sports and to promote basketball as the most popular and intellectual sport in the Northern European region. The experts from the famous NBA assisted the creation of the logo, designs and marketing strategy for the NEBL. The League creates the most attractive financial conditions for the clubs and treatment for the players, using the best endeavors creating positive image and promoting its players as role models for young people. NEBL is a special League among European Leagues for its exclusive support for participating clubs - covering all expenses of the club traveling and accommodations.

"Break The Ice" – with this brave and challenging slogan NEBL entered its first Promotion Cup'99 season which has been recognized as the top quality tournament. The NEBL Final Four Competitions were broadcasted live to five countries and reached wide TV audience, especially in Baltic countries. The Promotion Cup'99 Winner ZALGIRIS Kaunas was the best club in Europe in 1999.

NEBL has signed the 4-year partnership Agreement with the famous European media mogul – Modern Times Group (MTG) which owns TV3 channel in Scandinavia and the Baltics. The NEBL and MTG cooperation is extremely vital to ensuring the TV coverage and top quality TV production of the games and highlights.

For the year 2000, the NEBL has expanded to Germany, Ukraine, Russia and Denmark. Additonally, the League accepted MAGIC M7 club from Sweden, with which former NBA superstar Earvin Magic Johnson entered into an agreement.

The NEBL is represented by 14 teams and nine countries in the 2000 season which starts on the 7th of January and lasts until April:

DENMARK is represented by selected team "Great Danes" GERMANY - by "Sky Liners" from Frankfurt ESTONIA - by "Kalev" Tallinn FINLAND – by "Teamware ToPo" Helsinki and "Honka" Espoo LATVIA - by "ASK Broceni" Riga and "Ventspils" Ventspils LITHUANIA – by "Zalgiris" Kaunas, "Lietuvos rytas" Vilnius and "Alita" Alytus RUSSIA - by CSKA Moscow SWEDEN – by "Plannja basket" Lulea and "Magic M7" Boras UKRAINE - by "Kyiv" from Kiev

Why NEBL is so unique and different? First, because of its rules – only 24 seconds offense limit, mandatory TV commercial time-outs, and the most attractive SPALDING three-color ball, which is the key marketing issue promoting the League. NEBL is attractive for sponsorship programs and advertising campaigns because of the centralized market of neighboring states and TV coverage. The games attract fans and TV viewers not only for top quality basketball but for unique entertainment – the League is famous for its mascots and NEBL DANCE TEAM.

WATCH NEBL! IT'S MORE THAN A GAME!»

= 2000–01 North European Basketball League = «The NEBL added four more countries to its map after clubs from England, Poland, Netherlands and Czech Republic entered the League prior to the 2000-2001 season. »

https://web.archive.org/web/20010423115502/http://www.nebl.com:80/index2.phtml?nebl=scores&scores_month=03&scores_year=2001 https://web.archive.org/web/20010410020612/http://www.nebl.com:80/index2.phtml?nebl=scores

https://web.archive.org/web/20001214074900/http://www.nebl.com:80/index2.phtml?nebl=challenge http://www.sport-express.ru/newspaper/2001-02-02/5_4/ http://www.sport-express.ru/newspaper/2001-04-13/1_5/ https://www.sb.by/articles/bolshie-basketbolnye-torgi.html http://www.sport-express.ru/search/?sw=Challenge+Cup&dt_to=31-05-2001&dt_from=01-01-2001

«The Challenge Cup'2001 will start in January - February. In the second stage of competition four teams with the worst records from the NEBL Regular Season and the Champions together with the Vice-Champions of the Swedish - Finnish League will join the best clubs from Challenge Cup's first stage to determinate the winners. »

= 2001–02 =

[https://web.archive.org/web/20011020065437/http://nebl.com:80/index2.phtml?article_id=510&lang=en NEBL Challenge Cup 2001/2002. Teams] [https://web.archive.org/web/20011020073816/http://nebl.com:80/index2.phtml?nebl=challenge&a=groups NEBL Challenge Cup 2001/2002. Teams] [https://web.archive.org/web/20020811125710/http://www.nebl.com:80/index2.phtml?nebl=challenge Challenge Cup. News] http://www.basket.fi/uutiset/kaikki_uutiset/suomalaisjoukkueet-eurosarjoissa/?x19901342=46763 https://sport.idnes.cz/severskou-ligu-mohla-hrat-reprezentace-fco-/basket.aspx?c=A011001_145749_nbl_zej https://sport.idnes.cz/ecm-se-pokusi-vyzrat-na-finy-d1t-/basket.aspx?c=A020304_151614_ebasket_iva https://www.delfi.lt/sportas/kitos-sporto-sakos/siauliai-baige-nebl-kvalifikacini-turnyra.d?id=839689

Teams Teams

[https://web.archive.org/web/20020712000253/http://www.nebl.com:80/index_south.phtml?nebl=teams Southern Group. Teams] Standings (A, B, S) [https://web.archive.org/web/20020611215318/http://nebl.com:80/index2.phtml?nebl=scores NEBL Open. Scores&Standings (C, D, E, F). April]

[https://web.archive.org/web/20020423043035/http://www.nebl.com:80/index_q.phtml?nebl=teams Qualificaton. Teams] [https://web.archive.org/web/20020619111615/http://nebl.com:80/index_q.phtml?nebl=scores Qualificaton. Scores. Mart]

Overall [https://web.archive.org/web/20020816062045/http://www.nebl.com:80/index2.phtml?nebl=open2001 Overall. August 2002.]

FIBA Europe Champions Cup 2002-03

Challenge Cup was second-tier competition for clubs, that wanted to be promoted to first-tier NEBL tournament (Championship). Two of the worst NEBL Open teams transfered to NEBL Challenge Cup'2001–02 Final Four.

Czech Republic was represented by joint team ECM Prague, which consisted from the players of two teams – BK ECM (Nymburk) and Sparta Praha (Prague).

Group E
All games played in Tartu.

Semifinals


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Third-place game


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Final


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Group F
All games played in Sundsvall.

Semifinals


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Third-place game


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Final


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Final Four
Final Four was held in Alytus from 29th to 30th of April 2002. Mitteldeutscher and 08 Stockholm Human Rights withdraw; therefore Grodno-93 was invited by NEBL decision. Darrell Waters (Pyrbasket) was named the MVP of the Final Four.

Semifinals


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Third-place game


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Final


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Teams
Fersped Rabotnički Skopje Kumanovo NIS Vojvodina Novi Sad Yambolgas Yambol Levski Sofia Lukoil Academic Sofia Fenerbahçe Istanbul Hapoel Samsung Tel Aviv West Petrom Arad

Kinder London Towers London Lietuvos rytas Vilnius Ural Great Perm CSKA Moscow

Ventspils Kyiv Kiev Magic Great Danes Šiauliai Pertemps Bullets Birmingham Mitteldeutscher Weißenfels 08 Stockholm Human Rights Stockholm Samara Go Pass Verviers Pepinster

Polonia Warbud Warsaw Odessa Skonto Rīga Kalev Tallinn Honka Playboys Espoo Alita Alytus Grodno-93 Grodno XRays s.Oliver Würzburg Rhein Energie Cologne