By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Speaking to the Italian “Il Corriere dello Sport” (adapted by OA Sport), Gigi Datome criticized the timing of the qualifiers windows ahead of the FIBA World Cup in 2019.
Datome answered positively to the call of the Italian NT for the September games, though he’s still skeptic about the conditions in which players have to compete. More precisely, the Azzurri captain mentions: “I clearly said what I think of these FIBA windows, which in fact prevented me from going to the national team in November and March. I did not think it would be serious to let my team [Fenerbahce] play without me, just as I do not consider serious a formula that obliges all Federations to call the players, let them do only two training sessions and then send them straight on the court”.
The EBPA President also notes the harm to the basketball product caused by the conflict between FIBA and EuroLeague, as well as the toll these extra games take on the players.
“It is a war of power between FIBA and Euroleague that has been going on for years. In the end, in winter, those that joined their NTs were not the best, but those who could answer the call. As a result, the product offered to the public was not the best possible. Basketball must know how to sell well in order to attract as many fans as possible. In short, this story seemed to me and still seems like rubbish. Not to mention the fact that in June there were domestic games played at the same time as the World Cup ones. I did not have to play with my club in June, but I just had finished a season with more than a hundred games between the NT and Fenerbahce“.
Several names have chosen not to participate in the September windows, including Nikola Jokic, Frank Ntilikina and Lauri Markkanen among others.