By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Olympiacos made quite clear for some time that they are exploring the option of playing in the Adriatic League and Panathinaikos followed, sending yesterday a letter in which the Greens expressed their intention to be also part of ABA.
However, as it was reported last month, it will not be that easy for both teams to join the league. Contrary to Greek reports, which stated that an extraordinary board meeting of the Adriatic League will be held on the 11th of April in order to examine the matter of Olympiacos, no board meeting has been scheduled yet. The issue of the Greek teams is expected to be examined by the ABA League in the general assembly which will be held after the end of the Adriatic League season. There’s not a fixed date for that yet, however, it’s expected that the general assembly will be held somewhere between the last days of April and the start of May.
For the moment, the Adriatic League is quite cautious, especially considering the fact that Panathinaikos’ letter clarifies that the Greek club intends to play both in the Adriatic League and the Greek League simultaneously. “The Greek teams joining the Adriatic League is a possibility, but especially for Panathinaikos I am not sure how they will play also in the Greek league, considering the total number of games”, said ABA League director Kresimir Novosel to Eurohoops.
The talks between the league and the Greek clubs are expected to start after the general assembly, provided that the owners of the Adriatic League clubs give their approval. “In the past, we have received similar letters from other European clubs and the procedure will be the same”, explained Novosel. “If the owners in the general assembly give their approval, we will start talking with the teams. The general assembly will decide if those letters are part of a concrete proposal or just pressure tools“.
It has to be noted that according to the current ABA statute only clubs from the six countries of former Yugoslavia can be members of the league. However, this can change by the general assembly. It’s still too early to predict how things will pan out, but it’s obvious that a long-term commitment by the Greek teams will be a must in order for the talks to start. As Novosel said: “I can’t speak for the general assembly but in my opinion, the Greek clubs must sign to play for the league for more than one or two seasons in order for ABA to get a real boost from them”.
Photo credit: ABA Liga