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sep 02 2026EuroCup has found a replacement for AS Monaco, and it's a significant one. Bosna BH Telecom Sarajevo will take the Monegasque club's place in the 2026-27 edition after Monaco was declared ineligible for failing to meet competition requirements. The Bosnian club, current champion of its country, returns to the continental stage nineteen years later.
A European champion that had been away for two decades
Bosna is not a newcomer receiving a favor from the competition. On April 5, 1979, in Grenoble, they defeated Varese (96-93) in the European Cup final and became the first club from the former Yugoslavia to lift the continental trophy.
That team had two big names. One was Mirza Delibasic, who would later play for Real Madrid and is one of the legendary figures of Balkan basketball. The other was Zarko Varajic, who scored 45 points in that final—still today the scoring record in a single game for the top European competition.
Their last appearance in the EuroCup also did not go unnoticed. In December 2007, Bosna and ALBA Berlin played the longest game in tournament history: 141-127 after five overtimes, with Kyle Hill playing 53 minutes and 18 seconds and five Bosnian players over forty minutes. That team reached the playoffs, where they fell to Gran Canaria.
Since then, 6,791 days have passed.
The group, with Manresa included
The return will be immediate and away: September 30, at Lietkabelis. Bosna will share Group D with Bahcesehir College Istanbul, Balkan Botevgrad, Baxi Manresa, Lietkabelis, PAOK, ratiopharm Ulm, and Roma Basketball.
That detail is of direct interest here. The Bages-based team, which has just started its preseason with a dominant 113-91 victory over Cheshire Phoenix, will face the Bosnian club in the regular season, with the corresponding trip to Sarajevo. A rival of lesser current sporting stature than the Monaco it replaces, but with an arena and fan base that have always carried weight in Europe.
The other side of the story
It's worth keeping in mind where this spot comes from. Monaco was a EuroLeague finalist in 2025 and has ended up excluded from French professional basketball due to economic problems stemming from the seizure of its owner's accounts. EuroCup simply applies its regulations, but the result is telling: a club that two seasons ago was fighting to be European champion gives its place to another that was nearly half a century ago and that had been away for two decades.
