By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Virtus Bologna CEO Luca Baraldi addressed the press after EuroLeague’s decision to keep the same 18 teams on board for next season and mentioned the team is ready to join the competition in case any of the 18 clubs back down.
“At the moment there is not an open door. Now it will be necessary to see if all the eligible teams will register for next season. If they do, we will remain in EuroCup, otherwise, the goal will remain for us to play the Euroleague: we have applied to be among the teams they consider if any of the 18 clubs give up”, said Baraldi as adapted by bolognabasket.org.
When asked if Virtus Bologna and Partizan were the biggest “losers” upon the decision to cancel the season and keep the same 18 teams on board, Jordi Bertomeu mentioned: “I don’t see that one team lost more than another. We are all losers this season. The Euroleague is an organization that lost a lot by canceling the season, and I think that also applies to clubs that have the ambition to be Euroleague champions”.
As for the canceled EuroLeague season, it was no surprise for Baraldi. “I said two months ago that the season was going to be canceled and it happened. It was right to wait and it was right to cancel it. Not like in Italy where FIP and Legabasket got caught up in incomprehensible haste” he added.