The 2009-10 Euroleague season marked its first event Wednesday as the regular season and qualifying rounds draws ere held in Barcelona, Spain. A new competition system unveiled this week saw 22 teams drawn into four groups of six with last season's Final Four teams – champion Panathinaikos, runner-up CSKA Moscow, third-place Regal FC Barcelona and fourth-place Olympiacos – serving as group leaders. The two remaining teams to play in the Euroleague regular season will win their way there from a new eight-team qualifying round starting September 29. The regular season is scheduled to begin on October 21 and last until January 14, to be followed by the Top 16 (January 27 to March 11) and the expanded best-of-five Quarterfinal Playoffs (March 23 to April 7). The season culminates at the 2009-10 Final Four, to be held May 7 to 9 at the Palais Omnisports Bercy in Paris, with the crowning of a Euroleague champion. The draw ceremony also recognized Partizan Belgrade head coach Dusko Vujosevic as the Alexander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year and Marco Baldi of Alba Berlin as Executive of the Year, both as voted by their peers in the Euroleague. Mr. Baldi was also selected as the winner of the Devotion Marketing Awards given annually.
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