By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne will not play in Russia next week, team owner and former professional player Tony Parker announced Thursday evening.
“We will not go to Russia next week,” he said after the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 27 contest versus ALBA Berlin at Astroballe, “I have already announced this to my players and my staff. This goes beyond sport. We cannot accept the situation which is totally the opposite of our values. Sending our team to Russia is out of the question.”
The French outfit was scheduled to visit Zenit Saint Petersburg and UNICS Kazan, in a rescheduled Round 20 game Tuesday and a Round 28 affair originally scheduled for Thursday, respectively.
ASVEL follows in the footsteps of Zalgiris Kaunas. The dominating champions of Lithuania previously declared their intentions to boycott future games in Russia.
Meanwhile, as a result of the ongoing war, all three Round 27 games involving Russian teams were suspended. FC Barcelona had decided to postpone its own trip to Russia for a Round 27 meeting with Zenit Friday and a pushed back Round 19 game opposite CSKA Moscow before Euroleague Basketball formally postponed the matchup in Saint Petersburg.
More adjustments in Europe’s premier club continental competition are becoming increasingly likely.
The 34-game round-robin double-legged format currently in use is set to stretch the Regular Season until early April. Following its conclusion, the top eight teams will move on into the Playoffs, and from there to the Final Four to crown the 2022 EuroLeague champion.
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