Cibona Zagreb to play in Basketball Champions League
The Croatian team will play in the new FIBA Basketball cup
Croatia's BC Cibona Zagreb, the club where the legendary Drazen Petrovic first made a name for himself, has become the latest team to sign on to play in the Basketball Champions League.
Aleksandar "Aco" Petrovic, the Vice-President of the famous outfit, explained why it decided to be a part of the innovative 50-50 joint partnership between FIBA and 10 top European leagues that will see its inaugural season tip off in September.
"The sporting principle is essential and the Basketball Champions League gives that opportunity. That is why Cibona, a two-time European champion, decided to join the Basketball Champions League, a competition that concerns itself with the sport," he said.
"I understand there are some rich clubs in Europe but there are a lot more clubs who, through competitions, would like to achieve results from a sporting perspective. Money is important but it cannot be the only reason to exist."
Another core principle of the Basketball Champions League is nurturing new European talent. That is of tremendous importance for Petrovic, who was recently appointed head coach of Croatia's senior men's national team and is a member of the Croatian Basketball Federation (HKS)'s board.
"We need to find a way of producing young and prospective players for the club and the national team," he explained.
Petrovic points to that as the reason why Cibona played in the inaugural FIBA Europe Cup this season.
"Cibona chose to participate in the FIBA Europe Cup because we have a lot of young kids and through that competition they improved a lot so for us that was an ideal competition," he said.
Joining Cibona and seven Italian clubs committed to participate in the Basketball Champions League are the top teams from the Belgian, French and Greek topflight leagues.
With the sporting criteria determining teams participating in the Basketball Champions League, only the best clubs from the respective domestic leagues will be among the 32 teams doing battle in the inaugural season. A total of 30 countries will be represented in the 2016-17 campaign.
Aleksandar "Aco" Petrovic, the Vice-President of the famous outfit, explained why it decided to be a part of the innovative 50-50 joint partnership between FIBA and 10 top European leagues that will see its inaugural season tip off in September.
"The sporting principle is essential and the Basketball Champions League gives that opportunity. That is why Cibona, a two-time European champion, decided to join the Basketball Champions League, a competition that concerns itself with the sport," he said.
"I understand there are some rich clubs in Europe but there are a lot more clubs who, through competitions, would like to achieve results from a sporting perspective. Money is important but it cannot be the only reason to exist."
Another core principle of the Basketball Champions League is nurturing new European talent. That is of tremendous importance for Petrovic, who was recently appointed head coach of Croatia's senior men's national team and is a member of the Croatian Basketball Federation (HKS)'s board.
"We need to find a way of producing young and prospective players for the club and the national team," he explained.
Petrovic points to that as the reason why Cibona played in the inaugural FIBA Europe Cup this season.
"Cibona chose to participate in the FIBA Europe Cup because we have a lot of young kids and through that competition they improved a lot so for us that was an ideal competition," he said.
Joining Cibona and seven Italian clubs committed to participate in the Basketball Champions League are the top teams from the Belgian, French and Greek topflight leagues.
With the sporting criteria determining teams participating in the Basketball Champions League, only the best clubs from the respective domestic leagues will be among the 32 teams doing battle in the inaugural season. A total of 30 countries will be represented in the 2016-17 campaign.
A. Caporaso
@Facu_PCF
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