OUR Euroleaguesince the day the decision was made to change course and turn the groups into a general race where all the teams cross each other, it has been possible to become more competitive and attractive.

This, of course, is one side of the coin, brilliant. The other is less glaring and perhaps more serious, because since the premier intercollegiate basketball organization after the NBA operates under the strict criteria of a closed club, discrediting the national championships will entail, from the point of view of the law, serious problems. There is no American pool in European basketball.

Monaco and the Basque Country with Valencia (along with Zalgiris) are in the top 8. Two-time European champion Efes did not qualify for the playoffs (11th place). Armani is delighted. The distance of the 8th place from the 2nd is only three wins and four from the first Olympiacos. With ten rounds left in the regular season, at least four teams are one or two wins away from 8th place, and the competition is heating up.

And Russian teams may be missing (they will return at some point), but the Euroleague is a super-competitive environment where at least 13 out of 18 teams still have serious competitive goals. After all, this is an achievement for every event: to have as many participants as possible to achieve one goal until the end.

A few days ago, Euroleague CEO Marcel Glickman told French media that AS Monaco should stay in the tournament for years to come.

A statement that raised questions, since, according to the regulations, such a thing is impossible.

At the moment, 13 teams participate in the Euroleague. long term permits: Alba, Ephesus, Basque Country, Bavaria, Villeurbanne, Fener, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, Maccabi, Zalgiris, Milan, Barcelona and Real.

Two teams compete against wild cards: Partizan and Valencia.

One team wins its entry as ABA League champion (which is also a wild card, of course, this position, since the Euroleague has severed all connection with national or regional championships): “Red Star”.

Two teams are playing through the European Cup: Monaco and Virtus.

And here Glikman and Euroleague President Dejan Bodiroga have to solve a very powerful puzzle: how can they give two places to the Eurocup finalists? They want? And most importantly, can they? And what will happen when CSKA returns?

And it is here that all the voices calling for the merger of the EuroCup with the Basketball Champions League will be confirmed in an event that will be judged by the performance of the teams in the national championships.

The second event will see the strongest teams in each league compete, not those with the biggest pockets.

A team that does well in the national league and then succeeds at the European level means they have a foundation. Competitive and economical. This is what European basketball needs, this is the essence of the sport.

The Eurocup, for better or worse, has the right to enter the Euroleague, but it seems that traditional brands are now increasingly favoring the BCL.

When Bertomeu, decided to give the Eurocup the role of a preparatory league, in fact, called on the team owners to make big investments, spend many millions, without guaranteeing them, however, that the regulations would work. At the moment, it is not at all a fact that the Eurocup finalist (with an absurd system of behavior) will play in the Euroleague. Even though it’s in the rules.

Because of the way the competition is structured, there is a strong possibility that EuroCup teams will play for an entire year without knowing what they are up to.

And if we assume that, indeed, either with the current system of 18 teams, or with their increase to 20, or to 24, the Euroleague will continue to give two places in the Eurocup? (or at least one, if one of the players already playing manages to get into the 8th).

Given that the most important Eurocup powers have now been absorbed into the Euroleague or favored the Basketball Champions League, which club would Glikman and Bodiroga want to see in the Euroleague?

At the moment, the strongest candidates to reach the final (even if the system is so unpredictable that you never know what will happen in the end) are Badalona, ​​Prometheus, Burg, Gran Canaria, Turk Telecom, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Paris or even Prometheus…

At the same time, in the BCL, where the system is much more competitive and certainly fairer, we see brands like AEK, Galata, Holon, Hapoel Jerusalem, Darussafaka, Limoges, Malaga, Tenerife moving forward to compete, Rita. ..

With the possible exception of Badalona, ​​the BCL “roster” has trademarks, a historical path in European basketball, a strong core of people which means full stadiums, and in some cases a robust economic system to support it. structurally.

The basketball and Euroleague building stands at an important crossroads. There is no doubt that the Euroleague is very competitive this year, but things are not looking so rosy outside of it.

Basketball needs a bold reboot and stop being blinded by shiny names and bloated (for how long?) piggy bank owners. The reunification of European basketball with national championships must be achieved before it is too late, without “unnecessary” and meaningless secondary competitions.

The Champions League and Eurocup must be “aligned” into the same league with the national championships as entry criteria. Until it’s not too late…