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:Â “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.
We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.
We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.
We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.
If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.
We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.
0 comments