1965–66 FIBA European Champions Cup
# 1965–66 FIBA European Champions Cup

The 1965–66 FIBA European Champions Cup was the ninth season of the European top-tier level professional basketball club competition FIBA European Champions Cup (now called EuroLeague). It was won by Simmenthal Milano, for the first time in its history, the first of the club's three EuroLeague championships.

Simmenthal defeated Slavia VŠ Praha, by a score of 77–72, in the final of the first ever Champions Cup Final Four held in the EuroLeague competition, with two venues used: a venue in Milan, and the Palazzo dello sport arena in Bologna, Italy. The Italian team, featuring future the Basketball Hall of Fame member Bill Bradley, defeated the favorites and former champs, CSKA Moscow, in the semifinal, by a score of 57–68.

## Competition system

26 teams. European national domestic league champions, plus the then current FIBA European Champions Cup title holders only, playing in a tournament system. The competition culminated in a Final Four.

## First round

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 3rd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Fenerbahçe | 143–146 | Dinamo București | 85–71 | 58–75 |
| Wiener | 139–161 | Vorwärts Leipzig | 75–82 | 64–79 |
| Gladsaxe Efterslægten | 96–171 | Slavia VŠ Praha | 57–84 | 39–87 |
| Gießen 46ers | 150–191 | Simmenthal Milano | 77–88 | 73–103 |
| Etzella | 98–162 | CSKA Cherveno zname | 51–72 | 47–90 |
| Collegians | 84–152 | Denain Voltaire | 51–78 | 33–74 |
| KR | 109–149 | Alvik | 48–60 | 61–89 |
| AEK | 153–150 | Wisła Kraków | 72–71 | 81–79 |
| Wydad AC | 193–191* | Benfica | 53–54 | 77–76 | 63-61 |
| Aldershot Warriors | 144–213 | Racing Mechelen | 83–113 | 61–100 |

*Series decided over a third game after having tied aggregate score after the two home-away games.

## Second round

| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 3rd leg |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Racing Mechelen | 210–150 | Helsingin Kisa-Toverit | 116–79 | 99–74 |
| Honvéd | 143–182 | Slavia VŠ Praha | 62–100 | 81–82 |
| Vorwärts Leipzig | 123–175 | CSKA Moscow | 66–87 | 57–88 |
| Wydad AC | 172–238 | AEK | 96–113 | 76–125 |
| Alvik | 149–201 | Real Madrid | 88–113 | 61–91 |
| Denain Voltaire | 126–139 | CSKA Cherveno zname | 61–53 | 65–86 |
| Hapoel Tel Aviv | 118–187 | Simmenthal Milano | 65–80 | 53–87 |
| Dinamo București | 207–213* | Zadar | 92–78 | 56–70 | 59-65 |

*Series decided over a third game after having tied aggregate score after the two home-away games.

## Quarterfinals group stage

For the first time in the competition history, the quarterfinals were played with a round-robin system, in which every Two Game series (TGS) constituted as one game for the record. A third decisive game was played if the aggregate score of the first two games was tied.

Key to colors for group standings :

* Top two places in each group advance to Semifinals

| Group A Games Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg Slavia VŠ Praha 146-151 Real Madrid 83-71 63-80 Racing Mechelen 170-189 Simmenthal Milano 104-94 66-95 Racing Mechelen 203-196 Real Madrid 104-95 99-101 Simmenthal Milano 155-159 Slavia VŠ Praha 96-77 59-82 Real Madrid 147-159 Simmenthal Milano 71-66 76-93 Racing Mechelen 180-185 Slavia VŠ Praha 104-91 76-94 Standings TeamPldPtsWLPFPAPD 1. Slavia VŠ Praha 3521490486+4 2. Simmenthal Milano 3521503476+27 3. Racing Mechelen 3412553570-17 4. Real Madrid 3412494508-14 | Group B Games Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg3rd leg CSKA Moscow 140-142 CSKA Cherveno zname 77-64 63-78 Zadar 140-147 AEK 69-71 71-76 Zadar 210-217 CSKA Cherveno zname 79-53 58-84 73-80 AEK 122-147 CSKA Moscow 74-66 48-81 CSKA Cherveno zname 139-144 AEK 94-69 45-75 CSKA Moscow 166-133 Zadar 79-49 87-84 Standings TeamPldPtsWLPFPAPD 1. CSKA Moscow 3521453397+56 2. AEK 3521413426-13 3. CSKA Cherveno zname 3521498494+4 4. Zadar 3303483530-47 |
| - | - |

## Final four

### Semifinals

March 31, Milan

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| - | - | - |
| Slavia VŠ Praha | 103–73 | AEK |

March 30, Palazzo dello sport, Bologna

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| - | - | - |
| CSKA Moscow | 57–68 | Simmenthal Milano |

### 3rd place game

April 1, Milan

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| - | - | - |
| AEK | 62–85 | CSKA Moscow |

### Final

April 1, Palazzo dello sport, Bologna

| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| - | - | - |
| Simmenthal Milano | 77–72 | Slavia VŠ Praha |

* 1965–66 FIBA European Champions Cup Champions
* Simmenthal Milano 1st Title

### Final standings

* Team
* Simmenthal Milano
* Slavia VŠ Praha
* CSKA Moscow
* AEK

## Awards

### FIBA European Champions Cup Finals Top Scorer

* Jiří Zídek Sr. ( Slavia VŠ Praha)
