After a calamitous season in the Euroleague – 5 victories and 29 losses -, Alba Berlin announced on Wednesday that it will leave the competition to join the basketball Champions League for the next season, a tournament organized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). “After 24 years in basketball Euroleague competitions, the capital’s club once again joins European competitions organized by the International FIBA Basketball Federation,” said the German entity. In a statement issued by the 22 -time champion of Germany, Marco Baldi, general director of the team, explains that “the conditions to access the Euroleague have changed drastically recently.” And he adds: “With our values and our program focused on economic sustainability, the collaboration and development of sport, we want to continue shaping the future of the European basketball ecosystem. We trust that European competitions under the umbrella of FIBA will develop significantly in the coming years.”
This departure, which also coincides with the possible landing of the NBA in Europe, had already been making noise since March when the sports director of the club, the Spanish Himar Ojeda, spoke about the future of the team in the Euroleague for the next season in the podcast Dyn Timeout. “We have a concept, an idea with everything that has been on the table for years and, after the Final Four, when we have the meetings with them, the situation will change. So right now there is no concrete decision by the Euroleague. I think this is our fifth or sixth year in the Euroleague and, if I am not mistaken, there were three years that we end up above the panathinakos in the classification. Panathinaikos needs to be more competitive, which should leave the Euroleague.
In the statement issued by the German entity, the words of Patrick Comninos, CEO of the Basketball Champions League have also been reflected. “The inclusion of Alba Berlin in the Champions League marks an important milestone for our competition, especially when we approach our tenth season. We are very proud to welcome Alba Berlin, the most successful basketball club in Germany, to the family of the Basketball Champions League,” says Comninos.
The last time that Alba Berlin participated in European competitions organized by FIBA was between the 1990/1991 and 2000/2001 seasons, a period in which it achieved its greatest success by winning the Korac Cup in 1995.
This same movement was made by two Spanish teams: Unicaja and Gran Canaria. The Andalusian team rejected in 2021 playing the Eurocup for economic reasons and joined the FIBA Champions. Like Gran Canaria, who raised Eurocup in 2023 and refused to dispute the Euroleague, to which he was entitled.
The raffle to form the Basketball Champions Groups of the next campaign will take place on July 2 in Lausana (Switzerland) and the new season will begin on October 7.
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