By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
After a series of public statements from the Basketball League of Serbia, ABA League, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet, and Partizan Mozzart Bet, the scheduling conflict between the Serbian and regional championships got resolved.
The fight for the Serbian title will start today, June 9, at 18.00, with Crvena Zvezda meeting FMP SoccerBet in best-of-three series (Game 2 on 11/06), while the Adriatic best-of-five final series is set from June 13, with Partizan hosting defending champions.
The last few days were hectic, with announcements coming left and right. Firstly, the dates overlapped; Crvena Zvezda complained, saying it wouldn’t play ABA championship games in the given schedule. GM of the Red and Whites, Nemanja Vasiljevic, noted that the NBA season would finish before ABA.
Then BLS and ABA agreed on the new dates, but Partizan refused to comply via an official statement signed by Club’s director Zoran Savic.
“In accordance with the competition calendar and the received notification about the match dates (published and available on the league’s official website), Partizan previously released tickets for the first game of the final series of the ABA League, of which a large number were sold. The club expects a record attendance. Partizan cannot and will not let down its fans who have already bought tickets for the game. That is why it would be irresponsible to accept the deadline set by the League management. Please let us know the exact time on June 12, 2023, to play the first game of the league’s final series,” Partizan stayed firm on the firstly published calendar.
The sports director of the ABA League, Milija Vojinović, confirmed that the Finals would start on June 13, as per agreement with Serbian League, and Partizan accepted the changes this time.
“Determining the finals dates brought even greater challenges and extremely high tensions. Nevertheless, even in such circumstances, I did everything to make decisions solely in the interest of the ABA League. I was guided by those motives when I determined the original dates of the playoff finals, but also now, when I decided to change the date by just one day. In light of everything that happened in the previous period, which I believe you are all familiar with, I am convinced that the new playoff dates are the only correct solution in the interest of the competition,” Vojinovic stated.
Finally, the dates are set in stone, and the finals of the Basketball League of Serbia and ABA League can start. Crvena Zvezda is defending both titles, as interestingly, it played with the same opponents last season and won.
For those wondering why Partizan is not in the BLS finals, it didn’t provide the list of players on time to be registered and, for the second consecutive season, won’t be competing for the Serbian title.
ABA League finals (best-of-five):
Game 1: Partizan – Crvena Zvezda (13/06)
Game 2: Partizan – Crvena Zvezda (15/06)
Game 3: Crvena Zvezda – Partizan (18/06)
* Game 4: Crvena Zvezda – Partizan (20/06)
* Game 5: Partizan – Crvena Zvezda (23/06)
* – if necessary