By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
ASVEL has officially become the big candidate to receive one of the two wild cards (Bayern Munich is a “lock” for one of the wild cards) that EuroLeague will grant starting from 2019-2020 when the expansion of the competition from 16 to 18 teams is planned, and club president Tony Parker reacted to the news, stating how this has been a major goal of his for the franchise.
“It is a very good opportunity to be able to integrate in 2019 the Euroleague, which is the second-best world league after the NBA. This has always been a goal of the overall project, just like the Tony Parker Adéquat Academy and the Arena. I am proud to carry this project on behalf of the club,” Parker said per the official website of ASVEL.
Since he assumed the presidency of ASVEL, Parker mentioned numerous times that he wants to see the French club participating in EuroLeague. During the 2017 French League playoffs, he said that he hopes ASVEL will play in EuroLeague “in two years” and that will come into fruition indeed if the club meets certain requirements needed to become eligible for the top-tier European competition.
Almost a year ago, Parker’s longtime teammate in the French national team Nicolas Batum partnered with the four-time NBA champion in ASVEL by becoming a major shareholder in the club.