2016-17 participants announced for Euroleague Adidas Next Generation Tournament qualifiers

Euroleague Basketball is proud to announce that 32 clubs are set to mount a run for their own U18 continental title with the unveiling Wednesday of all the 2016-17 EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT qualifiers and participating teams.

The current season marks the 15th anniversary of a competition that originally saw just eight teams compete in Barcelona, Spain in parallel with the 2003 EuroLeague Final Four. Now it spans four competitive qualifiers of eight teams each held across Europe before the best of those teams battle to be crowned continental champion on the same floor as the EuroLeague champion.

The four qualifiers will see teams playing four games over three days in each city to determine winners of the right to advance to the Final Tournament held during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Istanbul, Turkey from May 18 to 21, 2017.

The 32 teams participating in the qualifiers, including nine from EuroLeague clubs and seven from 7DAYS EuroCup clubs, come from 15 countries.

The first qualifier will take place in L'Hospitalet, Spain from January 6 to 8, 2017, with participants including reigning European champion FC Barcelona Lassa as well as ALBA Berlin, Cedevita Zagreb, Divina Seguros Joventut Badalona, Herbalife Gran Canaria Las Palmas, Panathinaikos Superfoods Athens, Torrons Vicens L'Hopsitalet and Union Olimpija Ljubljana.

This will be swiftly followed by the Kaunas qualifier from January 12 to 14, 2017, where the host club and two-time European champion Zalgiris Kaunas will be joined by Canarias Basketball Academy Las Palmas, CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce Istanbul, Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt, INSEP Paris, Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius and VEF Riga.

For the first time ever, Unicaja Malaga will be hosting a qualifier along the Costa del Sol in Coin, Spain from February 10 to 12, 2017. The teams travelling to Coin are Cibona Zagreb, Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul, Estudiantes Madrid, FC Bayern Munich, Real Betis Energia Plus Seville, Real Madrid and USK Future Stars Prague.

The fourth and final qualifier will see former champion Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade act as hosts in the Serbian capital from February 24 to 26, 2017. Belgrade fans will get to see Get Better Academy Prague, Maccabi Teddy Tel Aviv, Mega Bemax Belgrade, Partizan NIS Belgrade, Porsche Basketball Academy Ludwigsburg, Spars Sarajevo and Stellazzurra Basketball Academy Rome in that qualifier.

After 15 years, the alumni of the Euroleague Basketball U18 tournament features a who's who of EuroLeague stars including Thomas Heurtel (Anadolu Efes Istanbul), Jonas Maciulis (Real Madrid), Milos Teodosic (CSKA Moscow), Luigi Datome and Bogdan Bogdanovic (Fenerbahce Istanbul).