By Antonis Stroggylakis/ info@eurohoops.net
A few days ago, Fenerbahce forward and Italian national team captain Gigi Datome became the first EuroLeague player to announce that he won’t participate in the World Cup Qualifiers.
Among other things, Datome emphasized on the fact that none of the upper echelons in the decision-making centers asked him or his teammates about the “formula” of the midseason windows, stating that the players’ opinion should matter and that their involvement is nothing less than necessary.
This is an issue that also bothers other EuroLeague players, more specifically members of Spanish club Unicaja Malaga, as they explained to Eurohoops.
Almost a month before the launch (November 23) of the World Cup Qualifiers, internationals Adam Waczynski (Poland), Nemanja Nedovic, Dragan Milosavljevic and Dejan Musli (Serbia) saw their names included in their national teams’ preliminary rosters but find it extremely difficult to decide if they’ll leave Unicaja Malaga during the windows.
Torn between their obligations to the club that pays their salaries, and their unquestionable devotion to their national teams, they are frustrated with the whole situation. But perhaps moreso, because they are asked to make a choice on matters that were discussed and subsequent decisions that were taken while they, the true protagonists, weren’t even asked for a simple feedback.