The FIBA Champions League will start its fifth season tonight • The main goal: to take another step on the way to becoming the top factory in Europe • With more flexible and successful thinking than the opponent, its heads can certainly be optimistic • Just so that the corona does not spoil
The Champions League is back.
In FIBA aiming high
Photography:
IPI
Getting closer to the Euroleague and challenging its hegemony, it's not just bringing you as many good teams as possible and raising the level of basketball.
It is also about making the right decisions.
On every issue of the Corona crisis, the FIBA Champions League, which opens today, is one step ahead of the Euroleague.
The top European plant closed last season in the middle because of the Corona story.
The Champions League, however, managed to end the season and crown a champion in the Final 8 tournament in Athens, before the start of this season.
A bubble tournament that was crowned a great success.
The Euroleague did not make any adjustments to its format and schedule due to epidemic limitations.
The Champions League has reduced the number of games (8 houses of 4 teams, instead of 4 houses of 8 teams) and also dispersed them (each team will play once every two weeks instead of every week).
This will give room for maneuver to deal with cancellations and changes.
On the other hand: it creates a non-ideal situation in a European factory, where a team will win the title after only 14-12 games (instead of 22-20).
And another right decision that preceded the Euroleague.
The senior factory decided on a penalty of a technical loss for a team that could not put 8 players per game - double penalty.
In the Champions League, it was decided in advance that whoever could not put up a suitable squad following the epidemic - his game would be postponed.
Late in the Euroleague they decided to cancel the technical losses and also decide on replays.
Jerusalem vs. Burgos in a bubble in Greece // Photo: FIBA Champions League
If the FIBA Champions League manages to end the season and the Euroleague has another setback, it will be a knockout that will have a big future impact on the balance of power between these factories. But before that the Champions League will have to make sure this difficult season goes smoothly. Three games have been postponed, including that of Hapoel Holon in France against Shula (Hapoel Jerusalem is scheduled to open next week against Turk Telecom Ankara).
Europe on the way to a revolution?
The story of the conduct of the Corona crisis is another push for a factory that is in full swing, making this season perhaps the watershed in the struggle between these international leagues, but to face the Euroleague, the Champions League, in its fifth season, must first overcome the Eurocup.
Since its launch, the question has been asked: Who is better?
At first, the answer was unequivocally in favor of the Eurocup.
Last season it was already hard to decide.
Starting this season, the cap seems to be heading in the direction of the Champions League.
What brought about the change was the clear direction of the teams' movement towards the FIBA factory. In the summer, reputable clubs in Europe such as Ritas Vilna, Glatsray, Drushpaka, Topash Bursa and Limoges crossed the lines and in addition a prestigious club like Fortitudo Bologna joined.
In its first season the Champions League had one Spanish team.
In the last two seasons there have already been four teams from the best league in Europe.
In Turkey (5 teams), the second league in nature, all the top teams except the Euroleague teams Anadolu and Fenerbahce on the FIBA side.
Jerusalem and Holon also on the side of FIBA // Photo: Oded Karni
All the data show that today the best edition of the Champions League is underway, and that it is on its way to marking the first V (to pass the Eurocup) on the way to the big goal: to become the top league in Europe.
She has another way to do it, because for that to happen she has to break the glass ceiling - an influx of Euroleague teams to her side, as happened with the Eurocup (flirting with Panathinaikos in the summer didn't really stand a chance).
The day it happens - the real upheaval will begin.