Jordi Bertomeu does not see two Serbian clubs in EuroLeague / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Rodolfo Molina/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

EuroLeague CEO Jordi Bertomeu took part in the 50-minute long press conference with the media members, in which he covered many topics.

3-pointers this season

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One of them is the Serbian clubs' future. Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade competed in 10 of the last 12 EuroLeague campaigns. At the same time, Partizan NIS Belgrade also showed huge ambitions by bringing back Zeljko Obradovic and forming a strong roster for this and the upcoming seasons.

So, the question is natural: will we see two Serbian teams in the same EuroLeague season?

"One scenario of this happening is winning the ABA league and the EuroCup in the same season. As we know, it won't happen this season," Bertomeu said. "You know the other scenarios one of them is obvious – the wildcards."

Despite mentioning a possible wildcard option, Bertomeu assured that it doesn't mean that both Serbian clubs will compete in the upcoming EuroLeague season.

"Belgrade is a great market, that's why we're here [during the Final Four weekend]. We have Crvena Zvezda and Partizan, but I don't expect to have two teams in Belgrade on a stable basis soon," Bertomeu added.

Bertomeu also mentioned that Russian teams most likely won't participate in the upcoming season, but the situation with CSKA is a bit different.

"They will survive," Bertomeu said about CSKA's future. "We have to make a distinction. CSKA is a shareholder of the company, and nothing prevents them from being a shareholder, so they will stay as shareholders of the league."

Participation of the Russian teams depends on what will happen in Ukraine, but this contract [with CSKA] cannot be interrupted. At the moment, the other teams cannot play against Russian teams, and Russian teams cannot play against other clubs.

We don't have a problem with the contract or with CSKA being a shareholder of the company. There are no legal reasons to take CSKA out of the EuroLeague structure. But when we talk about the participation, it's impossible to make for both sides," Bertomeu added.

Bertomeu also said the whole situation regarding CSKA depends on the ongoing war in Ukraine.

"These contractual obligations are now on hold, kind of suspended until the whole political, economic, legal European system goes back to normal. When? Nobody knows. I believe it's a more reasonable expectation [to proceed the season without Russian clubs] in the 2022-23 season," Bertomeu concluded on the topic.

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