By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The 2016/2017 season was the first time ever that no Turkish teams participated in Eurocup. But this might change next year, as Omer Onan mentioned to Turkish TRT Spor.
“Will the status of EuroLeague change next year? I know that Darussafaka wants a lot to play in EuroLeague. But it’s difficult if the league stay with 16 teams,” said the General Coordinator of the Turkish Federation. “Galatasaray played in EuroLeague this year because they won the EuroCup last year. If this (format) continue like that they can’t play in EuroLeague too. It think that, these two high quality teams should have the right to choose.”
Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce are the only Turkish clubs with closed EuroLeague contracts. It makes sense that if Darussafaka Dogus and Galatasaray, the other two Turkish teams that played in EuroLeague this season (Dacka with a wild card and Galatasaray by winning the 2016 Eurocup), want to return to the competition, they’ll want to be a part of in the 2017-2018 Eurocup.
And as Onan says, the Federation won’t stand in their way, if they request to join next season’s Eurocup teams.
“Unlike the federation before us, we are against any imposition. This is same for ULEB and FIBA. For next year, if Darussafaka Doguş and ask for EuroCup participation, we can’t say ‘No’. Nobody could have done this to Spain, Lithuania or Russia. Such an imposition can’t be done to Turkey, unless a joint decision is made.”