Russian giant CSKA Moscow has been drawn against Barcelona in the first group stage of next season's Euroleague, organizers said Friday.
Last year's losing finalist CSKA was drawn in Group D and will also face Serbia's Partizan Belgrade, Lietuvos Rytas from Lithuania, German team Brose Baskets and Turkey's Besiktas.
Fellow Russian team and Eurocup holder Khimki will play Barcelona's fierce Spanish rival Real Madrid in Group A, alongside Greek champion Panathinaikos, Turkish team Fenerbahce, Slovenia's Union Olimpija and one more team to be decided in the qualifying tournament.
Reigning champion Olympiacos beat CSKA 62-61 in last year's final with a last-second layup and face a Group C devoid of European giants and boasting only Spanish side Caja Laboral and Turkey's Anadolu Efes.
Group B contains teams including Maccabi Tel Aviv, Alba Berlin and Montepaschi Siena.
Russia's UNICS Kazan reached the last eight of last season's competition but must fight through the qualifying rounds, with a quarterfinal draw against German team Ulm and a potential semifinal against either Le Mans of France or Ukraine's Donetsk.
UNICS failed to secure an automatic Euroleague spot for next season after finishing fifth in the Russian PBL League.
However, the Kazan team was awarded a Euroleague wild card.
