By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
EuroLeague CEO Jordi Bertomeu talked about the unprecedented decision of Olympiacos Piraeus to play only in continental games this season and not participate in any domestic competitions. Bertomeu said that the intention of EuroLeague is to not get involved in domestic league affairs.
“First of all, Olympiacos has to be read in terms of Greek problems. And as I said many months ago, we cannot be contaminated by what happens in domestic leagues. It’s a consequence of something going wrong in the Greek championship, and we don’t want to be involved. We don’t see this as an example, and not even a trend, for our clubs,” Bertomeu said when asked about the decision of Olympiacos in a press conference held in Tel Aviv, per EuroLeague Basketball. The presser was held also as a celebration of Maccabi legendary president Shimon Mizrahi’s 80th birthday.
Bertomeu added the following regarding EuroLeague’s relation with domestic leagues: “The fact that we stay at 18 teams and don’t go forward and expand to more than 18 is because 18, in our opinion, is a good balance between our distribution in the European territory, the quality of the teams, and compatibility with the domestic leagues. So if we would want to go further, it’d probably be a situation where our clubs would not be able to play their domestic leagues. If this happens, and when, is something that no one knows. And of course, I do not know.”
When asked about David Blatt’s departure from Olympiacos and his legacy, Bertomeu mentioned the following: “David is one of the most amazing persons that I’ve met in my short history in European basketball. In these 20 years, David impressed me many times. Of course as a coach, but last time we talked we only talked about how much he impressed me as a person. I think he’s a guy who’s teaching us all how to face not only difficulties but how to understand basketball in ways that go beyond the sport. It’s something that, to me, the way he can communicate – probably other colleagues have a similar vision – but the way he’s able to communicate these values is unique. Of course, we are not happy that he’s not on our courts, coaching a team, but that’s something that belongs to his personal life. Our duty as a league is to be sure that his conditions and everything goes in the right way. And, of course, while he’s not on the court, we miss him very much.”
Check the full presser and what Bertomeu said on EuroLeague’s promotion system, players returning from the NBA and more at EuroLeague.net.