By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Spanish Basketball Federation President Jorge Garbajosa spoke to Serbian media outlet Sportski Zurnal about the progress that has been made between FIBA and the EuroLeague in recent years, while also criticizing the latter for being “a single-player” in a model that has “not been working”.
“There is a new positive sign, that EuroLeague, FIBA, and NBA are sitting at the table to negotiate, to talk. This is an important step ahead”, tells Garbajosa. “The communication was closed for a long time and now it’s open. And that’s the best point for a start”.
In the past few months, there’s been a collaborative effort by both sides, with the NBA also involved in the mix to merge the gap in European basketball.
“The best for the future is to work together. We saw in twenty-plus years that working in a different way is not good for our sport. FIBA always tries to talk, to find common points, but it was difficult because you were trying to talk and no one is answering”, he adds.
Scheduling has been the long-term conflict between the two powers, though Garbajosa suggests that a solution could be easy to reach.
“The year has 365 days. Do you really think there is no room to play national team games, national league games, and European competition games? There are! We just need to find an agreement“, he tells.
The Spanish Federation President also pointed out how EuroLeague’s stand has not been working, calling the league for a change.
“It’s a matter of intelligence”, he says. “FIBA created the BCL, such an important event in less than six years, collaborating with the leagues. ACB is part of ULEB, part of BCL as well as a shareholder and this is an extremely good sign that shows us that if we all sit down together, we can find interest in everyone and increase the value of our sport. There is only one “player” working separately [the EuroLeague] and we already have a good sample of the last 22 years that this does not work. I hope the future is better.”