By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
ACB announced that the games of the Circuit Movistar of Gualadajara preseason tournament (September 2-4) will be played on an innovative court that will be one meter wider than the usual size of the one used in FIBA competitions. The use of this floor will serve as a test to see if this change can be potentially implemented in official games in the future.
“It will allow us to study if the extension of the court would be positive in professional basketball. The results will be analyzed and will be presented to FIBA,” said ACB Sports and Competitions Director Joan Roca.
The width between the three-point line and the sideline of the court of the tournament will be 1.4 m. That’s 50 cm more than the 0.9 m. distance on floors used in all FIBA competitions.
According to Roca, the wider floor will benefit players in many aspects since it will provide more spacing and allow for more freedom in their moves. “Right now there’s very little space between the line of three and the side of the court and this causes turnovers by players who are stepping out of bounds. Both before shooting and before making the first step for an 1 vs. 1 play. We will see if the wider court allows the offenses to be more dynamic and with more spaces in the game, plus make things more difficult in defensive recoveries.”
More fun for all then. Players and fans. Probably not coaches though.
The schedule of the tournament is as follows (all times are CEST):
Sunday, September 2
Montakit Fuenlabrada – Monbus Obradoiro
19:30 Movistar Estudiantes – Unicaja
Monday, September 3
18:00 Monbus Obradoiro – UCAM Murcia
20:30 San Pablo Burgos – Unicaja
Tuesday, September 4
18:00 Montakit Fuenlabrada – UCAM Murcia
20:30 Movistar Students – San Pablo Burgos