By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
A move that may be a sign of change in the relationship between FIBA and the EuroLeague was made today.
EA7 Armani Exchange Milan announced that the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game against Virtus Bologna was moved from the 11th of November to the 9th of the same month.
It might seem like a trivial matter, but it’s a continuation of FIBA’s decision to move all the November Window games to just two days of action, on the 11th and the 14th of November.
In this particular case, EuroLeague’s move gives the chance for some EuroLeague players to compete for Italy and Spain and also for Virtus coach Sergio Scariolo to be on the bench of the Spanish national team, something impossible until recently since the two games overlapped each other.
It has to be noted that all interested parties were working hard on that change and it’s already been announced that the Spanish national team will prepare in Virtus facilities for this game, permitting Scariolo to oversee everything.
However, this doesn’t change the fact that this is a step forward and it remains to be seen if it was an isolated case or a sign of things to come.
It’s not a secret that there’s a constant line of communication established in the last two years between FIBA and EuroLeague and this change of schedule can be considered the first result of those talks.
It has also to be noted that the television rights in both competitions in this case belong to the same television provider in Italy.
On the other hand, this doesn’t change the extra burden that the EuroLeague players have to take on and their opinion should be taken into account for the end result to be a totally sustainable solution to the scheduling conflict.