By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
While the announcements from the general assembly of Eurocup didn’t present something new, it’s obvious that new teams are coming to the competition.
AEK Athens, Partizan NIS Belgrade, Stelmet Zielona Gora are already out, while Volgograd after being kicked out from the VTB it’s also on the exit door. Nothing is official yet, but according to Eurohoops sources it’s only a matter of time for the decision to be final.
The format will not change, four teams will be replaced, Kalev Talin already announced that they are candidates for one of those spots, but more than four teams have expressed interest to enter the Eurocup. AEK, Partizan and Zielona Gora will not back down from their decision to play in the Champions League, they have also signed a contract according to which each team will be forced to pay a compensation of 2 million euros to FIBA, if they change their decision. Probably this clause has to do also with the upcoming 2016-17 season, but this remains to be seen in the future. In any case and despite reports about the opposite, Euroleague has not closed the door for this club in the future, neither punished them with a “ban” from the Euroleague and Eurocup.
With Eurocup set to start at the 12th of October, during the next weeks an official announcement will be made for the four clubs which will be included in the 2016-17 season.