By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The ABA League pushing back several games due to COVID-19-related issues creates a unique scheduling landscape entering the bottom stretch of the Regular Season. Mornar Bar officially warned the team will not play in the last two rounds before the rescheduled contests are completed, per MozzartSport.
The Montenegrin outlet, until recently competing in the 7DAYS EuroCup Top 16, shifting focus on ABA currently sits on top of the table, according to the point-ranking system. Its remaining schedule contains four fixtures, but nearly every other team has at least one game in hand. A total of seven games originally part of earlier rounds are planned to take place in the coming weeks.
Mornar expects the last two rounds to be played after those seven contests are cleared and all games of the final round to start at the same time. However, the current schedule, ways away from its traditional shape, does not match the request with three matches placed in between the 25th and 26th rounds.
Buducnost VOLI potentially advancing to the EuroCup semifinals would further push back the makeup date of the home contest versus Cedevita Olimpija currently set for April 8. Also, a new date for Buducnost against Basketball Champions League playoffs participant Igokea is yet to be determined.
A possible solution would be to postpone the last two rounds. However, delaying the ending of the ABA season would generate issues for players ahead of the Olympic Qualifying Tournaments and the Olympic Games themselves.
Photo Credit: EuroCup