By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Dreamland Gran Canaria will not jump into the 2023-24 season of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, instead will defend the 7DAYS EuroCup championship staying in the second-tier club continental competition of Euroleague Basketball.
The team based in the Canary Islands announced the decision on Monday.
“Analyzing the situation and upon voting, the Board of Directors of Club Baloncesto Gran Canaria – Claret, S.A.D has unanimously decided not to participate in the next edition of EuroLeague for financial reasons, and to play in EuroCup again,” explained the press release.
Besides the official statement, Gran Canaria called a press conference for tomorrow, Tuesday.
Valencia lines up for the wild card
Winning the EuroCup championship in early May, the Las Palmas outfit was initially slated to compete in EuroLeague. However, ultimately opening an additional wild card prompts Valencia as the alternative team to complete the package for the 2023-24 season, per Eurohoops sources.
Virtus Segafredo Bologna, Partizan Mozzart Bet, and Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet are very likely to receive the remaining wild cards, as previously reported by Eurohoops.
The 12 licensed clubs all remaining in the field are Anadolu Efes, Cazoo Baskonia, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, FC Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona, Fenerbahce Beko, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Real Madrid, and Zalgiris. ALBA Berlin and AS Monaco will be sticking around as well shaping the exact same 18-team pack as the 2022-23 season.
Back in 2018-19, Gran Canaria played in EuroLeague and ranked 14th out of 16 teams behind an 8-22 W-L tally. Returning to EuroCup after a one-year break from European action, reaching the Semifinals in 2020-21 and the Quarterfinals in 2021-22 led to the championship run in 2022-23.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net