By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The Basketball Champions League teams enjoy the FIBA Windows break, and so far in the eight regular-season groups, there are eight unbeaten teams.
One is AEK from Greece, the other is Elan Chalon from France, and four Spanish teams, Unicaja Malaga, Joventut Badalona, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria are also perfect.
This is not a surprise, considering the pedigree of the Spanish contenders.
However, it’s also a sign for things to come.
With the NBA Europe being prepared and, sooner or later, becoming a reality, four spots will be up for grabs via the Basketball Champions League and domestic leagues.
It’s assumed that at least one spot will be given via the Basketball Champions League. While the qualification process is still under debate, if things go down as rumoured, the Spanish Liga Endesa will have at least a qualification spot.
So far, all four Spanish teams have not been mentioned as potential permanent “franchises” in the new project. However, at least two of them may end up being part of the new league when it gets started, with two possible pathways available.
Those four spots are essentially the gatekeepers of meritocracy in the new project. While a lot of things are still up in the air, Spanish supremacy is at least certain and also justified the choice of Gran Canaria and Joventut to jump from the EuroLeague ecosystem to the FIBA-NBA one.
And even if things go down the UEFA way and there’s a special ranking of teams based on their recent results in the BCL and also in their domestic leagues, then those four teams – and also AEK and Chalon, being unbeaten – are taking the first steps in the current season towards their future.