EUROLEAGUE WILL NOT RESTART - Hoopsfix.com

EUROLEAGUE WILL NOT RESTART

The EuroLeague, which should have staged its final on Sunday in Cologne, has cancelled its season.

The decision to call time on the campaign rather than attempting to stage its playoffs at a later date will see no champion crowned despite Efes Istanbul topping the aborted regular season standings.

Ditto, the league confirmed for the EuroCup, adding two more Covid-19 casualties to the sporting calendar.

Although exploratory moves had been undertaken to either hold a conclusion at a single venue or a series of hubs, the logistics of circumnavigating different travel and social restrictions in different countries made it, ultimately, an impossible task to consider a re-start.

Euroleague President Jordi Bertomeu said: “Without a doubt, this is the most difficult decision we have had to take in our 20-year history. Due to reasons beyond our control, we have been forced to cut short the most successful and exciting season in European basketball history.

“This comes after two and a half months in which all the league’s stakeholders maintained their determination and exhausted every possible avenue in trying to deliver a complete and uniquely special season to our fans, whose passion is the driving force for all our efforts. That is our commitment and our passion every single season, and so falling short due to forces beyond anyone’s control is what saddens us most.”

The EuroLeague confirmed it will incorporate the same 18 teams next season, which is due to start on October 1.