By John Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The ABA League 2018-19 campaign concluded with Crvena Zvezda and Buducnost squaring off in a best-of-five series. Fans of both teams put up a sour note to the Finals with their extreme reactions against the players and the staff of the opposing teams, especially in Game 3 and Game 5. “The relationship between the two teams is just not normal” ABA General Manager Kresimir Novosel admitted to Novosti.
Further commenting on everything that needs to be adressed, Novosel pointed out: “The League is always guilty for everyone. Agreements with the teams were in place. I won’t run away from the League’s responsibilities, but accusations against us are far from the truth. The owners are also accountable.”
“More than 100.000 euros of fines have been paid only in this season’s playoffs. Obviously, money is not a problem for some clubs. In the fourth final, we closed part of the stands. Prior to Game 3 and 5, the necessary security measures weren’t provided for the areas around the court and the benches, which was a big failure for the organizations responsible” he explained.
On Game 5 in particular and the decisions made, he said: “Everyone saw what happened. Scenes from Game 3 of the Finals at Podgorica were repeated. Buducnost left the court. League executives including myself and the referees agreed to empty the stands near the bench of the visiting team. Buducnost required more measures, but the ultimate decision belonged to the main referee.”
Novosel also touched on the future of ABA League: “The League was shaken. We have to act to avoid worse situations. It was pretty nasty last year, but this was a lot worse. However, ABA League isn’t just two teams. There are twelve other clubs and the second division. We have an Assembly in mid-May at the latest to try and find a way to keep our sports events going in the future. In some way it’s a matter of survival for the ABA League.”
In conclusion, he discussed Olympiacos’ interest to join the League: “Representatives of Olympiacos were in meeting at Zagreb and said they wanted to play in the ABA League for two or three years. They inquired about the League. We know they also talked with some clubs, but at the moment we haven’t made any decisions nor do we know if the talks will continue. Panathinaikos and Bnei Herziliya are also interested, but I’m not sure they have serious intentions. Olympiacos is one of our topics, we will examine if we will continue the discussions or if we will thank the team for the interest.”