Dimitris Kouimtsidis
THE EuroLeague and EuroCup seasons have been cancelled and no champions will be crowned this year.
All the clubs in Europe’s top tier competition, apart from Panathinaikos, agreed with Barcelona President and EuroLeague CEO, Jordi Bertomeu, who insisted that Europe’s top two basketball competitions should be cancelled due to health concerns.
League officials said they ‘explored every possible option’ in trying to find a way to resume the season.
“Without a doubt, this is the most difficult decision we have had to take in our 20-year history,” Bertomeu said.
“Due to reasons beyond our control, we have been forced to cut short the most successful and exciting season in European basketball history”.
Most players also felt that restarting the competition was not a good idea, with the majority of Americans having gone back to the US following the competition’s suspension on March 12.
With regards to next season, 2020-21, all 18 teams will remain the same, including all four Spanish clubs.
Two of those were in with a real shot of winning the title this season, with El Clasico rivals, Real Madrid and Barcelona sitting in second and third place respectively and both already having qualified for the playoffs, where they would’ve likely had home court advantage.
The remaining two Spanish sides, Valencia and Baskonia were also fighting for the final playoff spots, with both teams only one win behind eighth placed Fenerbahce.
Next season has been scheduled to start on October 1, with teams undergoing longer off-season training camps in order to bring their players back up to speed.
