By Euroleague
The second decade of the Euroleague Basketball Nike International Junior Tournament brings this showcase for young players from around the world to a new and special place. The 2013 event will be held in parallel with the 2013 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four in London, United Kingdom from May 9 to 12, 2013. Eight of the best under 18 teams in Europe will face off over four days of non-stop competition which will crown the champion as the best junior team of the 2012-13 season. During the season four qualifying tournaments will be held across Europe in Rome, L’Hospitalet, Siauliai and Belgrade. Europe’s elite basketball youth will compete to win and reserve the right to play on the biggest stage of all.
“In times of crisis we must always invest in the future, and the future of European Club Basketball resides in the players that are constantly growing that to the hard work of clubs spread across the length and breadth of Europe. On this path we are happy to count once again on the support of Nike, a long term Euroleague Basketball partner, who together with the collaboration of AS Stella Azurra, CB L’Hospitalet, the Lithuanian Basketball Federation and Crvena Zvezda Belgrade form the backbone of the qualifying tournaments.” Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO.
Every city will have eight teams competing over three days for the possibility of returning home as winners and thus booking their place in the 2013 Euroleague Basketball Nike International Junior Tournament. In 2012 KK Zagreb Croatia Osiguranje (Croatia), Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius (Lithuania), Zalgiris Kaunas (Lithuania), and Crvena Zvezda Belgrade (Serbia) won the qualifying tournaments, with Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius (Lithuania) crowned NIJT winners in Istanbul, Turkey.
The first qualifying tournament will be the Torneo Città Di Roma, organised by AS Stella Azurra in Rome, Italy and running from December 27th-29th, 2012. This will be swiftly followed by the Torneig de Básquet Júnior “Ciutat de L’Hospitalet”, organized by CB L’Hospitalet in L’Hopsitalet, Spain and running from January 4th-6th, 2013. Later in the same month, the third qualifying tournament will be the Siauliai NIJT organised by the Lithuanian Basketball Federation in Siauliai, Lithuania running from January 24th-26th, 2013 with the fourth and final qualifying tournament being the Euroleague Basketball Nike International Junior Qualifying Tournament Belgrade-JQT, organised by Crvena Zvezda Belgrade in Belgrade, Serbia and running from February 22nd-24th, 2013. The climax of the year will take place in parallel with the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four: the Euroleague Basketball Nike International Junior Tournament in London, United Kingdom running from May 9th-12th, 2013.
As the place where future stars are born, the NIJT alumni club is becoming a who’s who of European basketball stars. Many players who participated in previous events can be seen on Turkish Airlines Euroleague and Eurocup rosters, including Milos Teodosic (CSKA Moscow), Ryan Richards (Asseco Prokom Gdynia), Augusto Lima (Unicaja Malaga), Branislav Djekic, Danilo Andusic, Dejan Musli & Bogdan Bogdanovic (Partizan m:ts Belgrade), Leon Radosevic & Nemanja Nedovic (Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius), Nikola Mirotic & Mirza Begic (Real Madrid), Klemen Prepelic (Union Olimpija Ljubljana), Vytenis Lipkevicus & Adas Juskevicius (Zalgiris Kaunas).
Fans can follow all of the action at www.euroleague.net/events/nijt where articles, statistics, game reports, quotes, photos and links will be available during each and every tournament.
Photo: Euroleague
