By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The Basketball Champions League CEO believes that the first season was a good start for the new competition: “We are happy for the impact the first season made. But for us this is marathon, not a sprint. Every season is just another brick in our efforts to build e a new competition. The first season went well but We are optimistic but we there’s still a long way to go”.
So what can we expect in the near future? “We hope that the next season will be even better. That’s the message we want to transmit to the teams and the message that the teams sent back to us. We are optimistic of course but we obviously still have a long road ahead. The teams know their schedule and can begin to plan accordingly. I think that the return of all the teams that played last year and won the right to compete through success in their domestic leagues is the best vote of confidence. All the teams that had the chance to get acquainted with us and this new effort are back. A great example is the Greek teams. Three of them competed in last season’s Basketball Champions League and they are all back. Of course we’ll see a greater interest from major markets with the return of traditional like Estudiantes or Badalona. The interest expands to many countries. We also have the Italian League and the French League champions. There are 21 league champions from all other Europe”.
The bottom line is that the Basketball Champions League can grow: “All these are facts that fill us with optimism. Getting back to the original model of 32 teams makes every Group really competitive. One can realize, judging by today’s Draw, that we are talking a pretty competitive environment. Every Tuesday and Wednesday the teams will have to.. “bleed” on the floor to get the desired results. In the end we’ll make the final count, according to everything that transpired.”
According to Komninos the first season was also an experiment: “Last year we began a bit late. Considering this, what we achieved was a small miracle, according to experts. What we want to do this year is further building relations with the teams and improve some matters related with the games themselves. So that the teams can enjoy the best possible services, either when they are hosting a game or visiting another court. Obviously we want to focus to a part that has to do with the cooperation with local institutions and the European market. We still build relations with them”.