NEW YORK and BARCELONA – Euroleague Basketball and the National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced that CSKA Moscow will make its third trip to North America in the past five seasons this October when the team headlines the Euroleague American Tour 2013. The Russian champion and 2013 Turkish Airlines Euroleague semifinalist will play games in the U.S. against the 2013 Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves.

On Oct. 7, CSKA will travel to Minneapolis to play against the Minnesota Timberwolves, whose 2012-13 roster included former CSKA star and Euroleague MVP Andrei Kirilenko, former CSKA player Alexey Shved, along with former Euroleague champions Nikola Pekovic and Ricky Rubio. On Oct. 9, CSKA will visit San Antonio to face the Spurs, whose 2012-13 squad included another former Euroleague champion, Manu Ginobili, and three-time All-Euroleague selection Tiago Splitter among six Euroleague alumni.

“We are very proud to announce the Euroleague American Tour after three successful editions in 2009, 2010 and 2012. We consider that these games reflect the global reach of basketball and bring fans the opportunity to witness the best teams in the world playing against each other,” said Roser Queraltó, Euroleague Basketball Chief Business Development Officer. “We would like to thank CSKA Moscow for its participation and the NBA for a fruitful collaboration we have been developing in recent years.”

“The NBA and Euroleague Basketball teams have a long history of competition in both Europe and the United States that stretches back more than three decades,” said Ben Morel, NBA Senior Vice President, Europe.  “These games featuring the Minnesota Timberwolves, San Antonio Spurs, and CSKA Moscow build on our previously announced NBA Global Games contests in Istanbul and Bilbao and further our partnership with Euroleague Basketball to grow the sport of basketball globally.”

This will be the third trip for CSKA Moscow to the United States and Canada to play preseason games. In 2008, the team played against the Orlando Magic and the Toronto Raptors. In 2010, CSKA played games against the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Cleveland Cavaliers. CSKA’s victory in Cleveland made it the first European team to have ever beaten an NBA team on United States soil.

“It is always an honor for CSKA to participate in joint projects with the Euroleague and the NBA,” said Andrey Vatutin, PBC CSKA President and CEO.  “We have a history of playing against NBA teams as we have played in America on several occasions and hosted a game in 2006.  Playing overseas can be a test for any team and these games will be a great challenge for our players and coaches.  We will be glad to visit Alexey Shved in Minnesota and face one of the most successful clubs of modern times in the San Antonio Spurs.”

The 2013 Euroleague American Tour is the latest example of Euroleague Basketball and the NBA joining forces to promote the sport of basketball and bringing high-level basketball to fans around the world.  The NBA and Euroleague Basketball will play two exhibition games in Europe as part of NBA Global Games, which includes eight NBA teams playing in eight cities in six countries this October.  The Oklahoma City will open the schedule in Istanbul, Turkey on Oct. 5 against the five-time Turkish champion Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul at the Ulker Sports Arena, while the Philadelphia 76ers will take on Uxue Bilbao Basket on Oct. 6 at the Bizkaia Arena at the BEC.   The Thunder and 76ers complete their European schedule with a game against each other on Oct. 8 at the Manchester Arena for the league’s first game in Manchester, UK.

About Euroleague Basketball
A global leader in sports management, Euroleague Basketball is enjoying its second decade of sustained growth as an innovative organizer of elite competitions and events. Euroleague Basketball was founded in 2000 under a private organizational model considered a breakthrough for European professional team sports. It now manages the continent’s two premier basketball competitions, the Turkish Airlines Euroleague and the Eurocup, consisting of more than 60 teams from as many as 25 countries. Each season culminates in the naming of a continental champion at the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four, now a signature event on the world sports calendar. All recent Final Fours have been broadcast live to nearly 200 countries on all five continents, matching the company’s growth both on line and in arena attendance. Euroleague Basketball also directs the Nike International Junior Tournament, a half-year, four-country competition which crowns a young men’s continental champion each spring. Off the court, through the “One Team” CSR program, the company promotes educational and charitable initiatives as varied as coaching clinics and benefit concerts that draw guests from around the world.