Khimki, Russia to host 2012 Eurocup Finals

Euroleague Basketball has announced that the crowning event of the Eurocup’s 10th-anniversary season, the 2012 Eurocup Finals, will take place in Russia for the first time ever, as Khimki will host the event on April 14 and 15, 2012. The newest Eurocup champion will be crowned at the 5,000-seat Basketball Center of Moscow Region, the homecourt of Eurocup powerhouse BC Khimki. The two-day, four-team tournament will feature semifinals on Saturday, April 14 leading to the next day's title game, whose winner will not only lift the Eurocup trophy, but also qualify for the 2012-13 Turkish Airlines Euroleague! The Eurocup celebrates a decade of elite continental basketball this season and Khimki becomes the fifth city to host the competition’s pinnacle moment since the Eurocup moved to a single-game final format. The title game was held four times, between 2004 and 2007, in Charlerloi, Belgium. In 2008 and 2009, the Eurocup Final Eight took place in Turin, Italy. Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, hosted the event in 2010 and Treviso, Italy was home of the 2011 Eurocup Finals. The Basketball Center of Moscow Region - also known as Novator Indoor Arena - was opened in 1970 and renovated in 2010, to add more seats and amenities. It hosted BC Khimki's home games in the Euroleague during the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons, when the club welcomed powerhouses like Caja Laboral, Maccabi Electra, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Partizan mt:s Belgrade and Real Madrid, among others. The last time a team won a European competition on Russian soil was back in 2005, when Maccabi Electra lifted the Euroleague trophy at Olympiskiy Arena in Moscow. Besides the modern sports hall, the Basketball Center of Moscow Region includes two practice courts, a VIP area of 164 seats, a modern press center, a conference hall and a video studio. Its sound quality and lighting allows Novator to be used as a multi-purpose arena, too. Tickets for the Eurocup Finals will go on sale later in this season