By Antonis Stroggylakis / astroggylakis@eurohoops.net
ABU DHABI– On Tuesday, two days after the end of the EuroLeague Final Four, a EuroLeague committee consisting per Eurohoops sources of ASVEL owner and French basketball icon Tony Parker, Maccabi owner Danny Federman, Fenerbahce GM Mauricio Gherardini, Milan GM Christos Stavropoulos and Bayern Munich consultant Marco Pesic will meet in Geneva with FIBA and the NBA, to discuss the future of European basketball competitions.
The meeting is also open to representatives of the other 13 clubs/shareholders and Anadolu Efes will be also represented.
EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas was asked on the matter during his Final Four press conference and explained the position of the EuroLeague on the meeting: “We go with an open heart and open mind, trying to do what we’ve always said, see how we can grow basketball overall in Europe. If we find ways to collaborate, we’re happy to do that. We just want to have an open discussion, explore how to grow the game, and how to improve basketball. They used the word ‘explore,’ so maybe I’ll copy that. We’ll sit down and explore possibilities.”
Meanwhile, ALBA Berlin left the EuroLeague for the FIBA Basketball Champions League, with the German club president speaking about a “failed project” in the EuroLeague, which loses 200 million euros per season.
“I think the comment was more about clubs losing money, not about the league itself,” Motiejunas said. “We are a league that’s making a profit and distributing that profit to the teams, which are our shareholders. It’s unfortunate to hear this comment, especially since the league he joined recently announced a €15 million loss over two years”.
Meanwhile, for one more season, there’s the usual discussion about the abolition of the 3rd place game in the Final Four. “This is said by the coaches and the players who can’t win in the Final Four”, said jokingly former EuroLeague champion and current EuroLeague president Dejan Bodiroga.
“We certainly hope the game will be competitive,” added Motiejunas about Sunday, when Greek bitter rivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos will face each other before admitting: “The relevance of the third-place game has been a topic of discussion for many years now. We’re currently evaluating the situation and seriously considering removing the third-place game starting next season. So yes, it’s on the table. We don’t believe it will be replaced by the EuroCup final specifically, but we’re exploring alternatives that would still offer value to the fans, whether that’s the ANGT final or something else”.