The ABA League, renamed to the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from the former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia). Due to sponsorship reasons, the league was also known as the Goodyear League from 2001 to 2006, the NLB League from 2006 to 2011, and as the AdmiralBet ABA League from 2021.

AdmiralBet ABA League
AdmiralBet ABA League logo
FormerlyGoodyear liga (2001–2006)
NLB League (2006–2010)
Organising bodyABA League JTD
Founded2001; 23 years ago (2001)
First season2001–02
Countries Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Croatia
 Montenegro
 North Macedonia
 Serbia
 Slovenia
 Bulgaria (former)
 Czech Republic (former)
 Hungary (former)
 Israel (former)
ConfederationFIBA Europe
Number of teams14
Level on pyramid1st
Relegation toABA Second Division
Domestic cup(s)ABA Super Cup
International cup(s)
Current championsSerbia Partizan
(7th title)
(2022–23)
Most championshipsSerbia Partizan
(7 titles)
CEODubravko Kmetović
PresidentĐorđije Pavićević
TV partners
Websiteaba-liga.com
2023–24 season

The league coexists alongside scaled-down national leagues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. All but one of Adriatic League clubs join their country's own competitions in late spring after the Adriatic League regular season and post-season have been completed. In the past, the league has also consisted of clubs from Bulgaria (Levski), the Czech Republic (ČEZ Nymburk), Hungary (Szolnoki Olaj), and Israel (Maccabi Tel Aviv) that received wild card invitations.

The Adriatic League is a private venture, founded in 2001 and run until 2015 by the Sidro, a Slovenian limited liability company. Since 2015, the league has been operated by ABA League JTD, a Zagreb-based general partnership for organizing sports competitions. Adriatic Basketball Association is the body that organizes the league and is a full member of ULEB, as well as a voting member of Euroleague Basketball's board.

History edit

At various points throughout mid-to-late 1990s, in the years following the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia and ensuing Yugoslav Wars, different basketball administrators from the newly independent Balkan states floated and informally discussed the idea of re-assembling a joint basketball competition to fill the void left by the dissolution of the former Yugoslav Basketball League whose last season was 1991–92.[1]

However, no concrete action towards that end was taken before the summer 2000 ULEB-supported creation of Euroleague Basketball Company under the leadership of Jordi Bertomeu that immediately confronted FIBA Europe, then proceeded to take a handful of top European clubs into its new competition for the 2000–01 season thereby opening an organizational split in European club basketball. During the 2000–01 split in the continent's top club competition, local Balkan basketball administrators from the ULEB-affiliated clubs Cibona, Olimpija, and Budućnost (that already competed in this new 'breakaway' Euroleague competition) shifted the discussions of creating a regional Balkan-wide basketball league into higher gear.[citation needed]

On the public relations front, Adriatic League was met with strong and mixed reactions. Though many hailed it as an important step for the development of club basketball in the Balkans region, many others felt that it brings no new quality and that it's not worth dismantling three domestic leagues. There was a lot of negative reaction from political circles, especially in Croatia, with even TV panel discussions being broadcast on Croatian state television. A very vociferous opinion in the country saw the league's formation as a political attempt to reinstate Yugoslavia.[2] The league organizers for their part did their best to appease the Croatian public with statements such as the one delivered by Radovan Lorbek in Slobodna Dalmacija in September 2001:

This is not a Yugoslav league, and it will never become a Yugoslav league. The Adriatic League has no clubs from Serbia and Macedonia, therefore the Adriatic League and Yugoslav league are not the same thing.[3][4]

Ten years later, in a 2011 interview for the Serbian newspaper Press, Roman Lisac explained the league's behind the scenes strategy during its nascent stages was actually quite different:

I'm convinced the league would've never been able to survive without Serbian clubs. Getting Crvena zvezda and Partizan to join the league was something that we worked on from day one. However, the situation ten years ago was not that simple. Too much antagonistic post-war politics was still all around us, and it made our task all the more difficult. Everything that smelled of old Yugoslavia caused a lot of resistance both in Croatia and in Serbia. I repeat, the idea of having both Crvena zvezda and Partizan in the league was there from the very beginning, but we avoided talking about it publicly because of politics.[5]

The league is still occasionally criticized by observers around European basketball for reducing the scope and calendar of the domestic competitions that it replaced for the region's more-established clubs,[6] particularly by clubs and influential figures within Serbia[7] who would like its ABA members to better enhance domestic competition, such as Serbian national-team coach Svetislav Pesic.[8]

Foundational Steps edit

The competition was agreed upon in principle at a meeting in Ljubljana on 3 July 2001 by a founding assembly containing representatives of four basketball clubs: KK Bosna, KK Budućnost, KK Cibona, and KK Olimpija. The day is considered to be the league's foundation date. Though club representatives from four countries attended the meeting, the main individuals behind the venture were six Slovenians and Croatians: Roman Lisac, Zmago Sagadin (at the time head coach of Olimpija), Radovan Lorbek (at the time president of Olimpija), Josip Bilić, Danko Radić, and Bože Miličević (at the time president of Cibona). The name chosen for the competition was the Adriatic League, invoking the Adriatic Sea as a common thread for participant countries thus purposely avoiding the terms 'Balkans' or 'Yugoslavia' that at the time carried a fairly undesirable public perception in Slovenia and an extremely negative one in Croatia. Sidro d.o.o., the commercial entity that runs it, was created two months later in Slovenia.[9]

On 28 September 2001, the league announced a five-year sponsorship deal with Slovenian company Sava Tires from Kranj, a subsidiary of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. The deal also included naming rights, hence from 2001 until 2006, the competition was known as the Goodyear League.

Debut season edit

With twelve clubs taking part in the inaugural 2001–02 season, the competition commenced in fall 2001 with four teams from Slovenia, four teams from Croatia, three teams from Bosnia-Herzegovina, and one team from FR Yugoslavia. The very first game was contested in Ljubljana between Olimpija and Široki on Saturday, 29 September 2001 at 5:30pm.[10]

Though the competition purported to gather the strongest sides from former Yugoslavia, as mentioned, teams from Serbia were noticeably absent, particularly Belgrade powerhouses and biggest regional crowd draws Partizan and Crvena zvezda. In addition to no clubs from Serbia proper, the league had no Serb-dominated clubs from Bosnia-Herzegovina either. Since the league founders mostly avoided talking about the issue due to fears of media backlash, the fact that no invitations were extended to Serbian clubs was generally explained through security issues due to organizers' fears of crowd trouble if Croatian and Serbian clubs were to start playing again in the same competition. Then in early February 2002, the public got a preview of just that when Cibona and Partizan met in Zagreb as part of that season's EuroLeague group stage. In a nationalistically charged and incident-filled encounter, Croatian fans peppered the Partizan players with rocks, flares, and even ceramic tiles before physically assaulting Partizan head coach Duško Vujošević in the guest team dressing room after the game.[10]

The Adriatic League debut season was marked by dwindling attendances and lukewarm media support. Still the league did receive a bit of a shot in the arm on 24 February 2002, when its managing body ABA got accepted as full member of ULEB.[11]

Second season edit

For the 2002–03 season, the league remained at the total number of 12 teams, while it went through major re-tooling internally. By the time season started, four teams dropped out (Sloboda Dita, Budućnost, Triglav, and Geoplin Slovan) to be replaced by: Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, Crvena zvezda (the first team from Serbia in the competition), the Bosnian outfit KK Borac, and Croatian club KK Zagreb.

It was important for the league's long-term business to negotiate acceptable terms for the Serbian clubs to join the competition. To that end, Lorbek and Lisac went to Belgrade in early April 2002 with an offer of taking in three clubs from FR Yugoslavia for the Adriatic League's 2002–03 season.[12] The offer was flatly rejected initially by the representatives of five YUBA Liga clubs – Partizan, Crvena zvezda, Hemofarm, FMP, and Budućnost – as their unified platform was either all five or nothing. Taking in all five required expanding the league to 14 teams, which was something the league organizers weren't prepared to do due to the associated increase in operating costs. The negotiated agreement thus fell through for the time being. However, it didn't take long for dents to appear in the unified front put forth by five YUBA league clubs – in May 2002 Crvena zvezda's management (three businessmen close to the ruling Democratic Party in Serbia: Živorad Anđelković, Igor Žeželj, and Goran Vesić) hired Zmago Sagadin to be the club's new general manager – and soon after, in June 2002, the club broke the ranks by negotiating terms on its own thus agreeing to join the Adriatic League for the 2002–03 season.[12]

Later Developments edit

For the 2003-04 season, the league expanded to 14 teams, while relegating KK Bosna; meanwhile, Maccabi Tel Aviv departed the league in the wake of political unrest in Serbia.[13] In replacement, 4 teams joined: KK Reflex of Serbia (who would win the league in their first season), Lovćen 1947 and Budućnost of Montenegro, and KD Slovan of Slovenia. The latter two of those returned to the league after a year's absence, having been relegated from the 2001–02 season. In the 2004-05 season, the league expanded again to 16 teams while relegating 3, and its Final Four tournament became a Final Eight. Its clubs included for the first time Serbian powerhouse Partizan, and another Serbian former-holdout club, Hemofarm (who would win the league in its first year participating).[9] After the season, the league contracted down from 16 back to 14 clubs, a number it would stay at until the 2017-18 season. In September 2006 the league signed a general sponsorship contract with Nova ljubljanska banka (NLB) and was renamed to NLB League, while keeping Goodyear as one of the major sponsors. The league's first all-star game was held in December 2006 in Ljubljana.[9]

For the 2011-12 season, Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv rejoined the Adriatic League for one season, winning it. In 2012, a team from North Macedonia participated for the first time, with MZT Skopje Aerodrom joining the league for the 2012-13 season.[14]

A conflict emerged in early 2015 between the ABA and FIBA Europe, resulting in the former's loss of recognition by the latter, as a part of the broader FIBA–EuroLeague dispute. On 13 April 2015, ABA League signed a 4-year agreement with Euroleague Basketball for one EuroLeague and 3 EuroCup annual slots.[15] Because of this agreement, FIBA threatened to suspend the six constituent national federations, and on 30 April it suspended ABA League from membership.[16] FIBA wanted the league controlled by the national federations and clubs, while the ABA's organizing corporation, Sidro, wanted to maintain independence.[17] A restructuring proposal from the league's clubs to FIBA in June 2015 involving reincorporating the competition under a new legal entity owned by the clubs was approved by FIBA, and the league's recognition reinstated.[18] The next April, however, FIBA nevertheless suspended 8 nations' ability to have their senior men's national teams participate in EuroBasket 2017, including all 6 constituent members of ABA League plus Russia and Spain, and further threatened their ability to participate in the 2016 Olympics.[19] The suspension of the ABA League was continued by FIBA in May 2016,[20][21] and letters sent by FIBA to the national associations insisted that any federation that was associated with Euroleague would be punished similarly.[22] Analysis later that year suggested that FIBA's goal was to apply leverage to Euroleague in their dispute by depriving Euroleague's competitions of their ABA League club participants.[23] With the emergence of a FIBA-Euroleague truce in mid-2016,[24] FIBA Europe announced in May 2016 that no federations or teams would, in the end, be suspended from national competition.[25] Despite this, and despite their clubs' continued participation in EuroLeague and EuroCup, the ABA League has not re-joined ULEB as of 2023.[26]

Following the 2016-17 season, and in keeping with their restructuring agreement with FIBA, the league elected to split into two divisions: the relegated team(s) from the First Division would join the Second Division the following year, and the latter promoting to the former, with 12 teams initially in each division (reduced from 14 previously).[27] The Second Division would be composed of the top-finishing clubs of each country's domestic league in the previous season who were not already participating in the ABA League.[28] The allocation of teams between countries was a contentious process, but the reorganization yielded a 25% jump in attendance for the First Division's next season.[29]

In October 2023, the ABA League's sports director told news media of the league's intention to have a team from Dubai join the competition, and possibly for the city to host an ABA League Final Four competition.[30]

Competition edit

Competition system edit

As of the 2013–14 season the league comprises a 26-game regular season, with the top 4 sides making the play-offs.[31]

From 2002 through 2004, four teams qualified, and the playoffs were termed the "Final Four"; starting in 2005, eight teams advanced to the "Final Eight" round. All playoff rounds consist of one-off knockout matches, unusual among European leagues. However, since all Adriatic League clubs play in domestic leagues at the same time, and many also play in the EuroLeague, the current format has the virtue of limiting fixture congestion for the playoff sides.

In 2017, the ABA League Second Division was created. The last qualified team from ABA League would be relegated to the Second Division and replaced by the winner of this one.

Current clubs edit

The following 14 clubs are competing in the 2023–24 ABA season:[32]

  Borac   Buducnost   Cedevita Olimpija   Cibona
  Crvena Zvezda   FMP   Igokea   Krka
  Mega Bemax   Mornar Bar   Partizan NIS   Split
  Studentski centar   Zadar

Finals edit

Year Final Semifinalists
Champions Score Runners-up
2001–02
Details
 
Union Olimpija
73–59  
Krka
 
Pivovarna Laško
 
Cibona VIP
2002–03
Details
 
Zadar
91–88  
Maccabi Tel Aviv
 
Crvena zvezda
 
Union Olimpija
2003–04
Details
 
Reflex
71–70  
Cibona VIP
 
Crvena zvezda
 
Union Olimpija
2004–05
Details
 
Hemofarm
89–76  
Partizan Pivara MB
 
Reflex
 
Crvena zvezda
2005–06
Details
 
FMP
73–72  
Partizan Pivara MB
 
Crvena zvezda
 
Hemofarm
2006–07
Details
 
Partizan
2–0
playoffs
 
FMP
 
Cibona VIP
 
Hemofarm
2007–08
Details
 
Partizan Igokea
69–51  
Hemofarm
 
Union Olimpija
 
Zadar
2008–09
Details
 
Partizan Igokea
63–49  
Cibona VIP
 
Crvena zvezda
 
Hemofarm
2009–10
Details
 
Partizan
75–74 (OT)  
Cibona VIP
 
Hemofarm
 
Union Olimpija
2010–11
Details
 
Partizan
77–74  
Union Olimpija
 
Budućnost m:tel
 
Krka
2011–12
Details
 
Maccabi Tel Aviv
87–77  
Cedevita
 
Budućnost VOLI
 
Partizan mt:s
2012–13
Details
 
Partizan mt:s
71–63  
Crvena zvezda Telekom
 
Igokea
 
Radnički Kragujevac
2013–14
Details
 
Cibona
72–59  
Cedevita
 
Crvena zvezda Telekom
 
Partizan
2014–15
Details
 
Crvena zvezda Telekom
3–1
playoffs
 
Cedevita
 
Partizan NIS
 
Budućnost VOLI
2015–16
Details
 
Crvena zvezda Telekom
3–0
playoffs
 
Mega Leks
 
Cedevita
 
Budućnost VOLI
2016–17
Details
 
Crvena zvezda mts
3–0
playoffs
 
Cedevita
 
Budućnost VOLI
 
Partizan NIS
2017–18
Details
 
Budućnost VOLI
3–1
playoffs
 
Crvena zvezda mts
 
Cedevita
 
Mornar
2018–19
Details
 
Crvena zvezda mts
3–2
playoffs
 
Budućnost VOLI
 
Partizan NIS
 
Cedevita
2019–20
Details
Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic – no champion announced
2020–21
Details
 
Crvena zvezda mts
3–2
playoffs
 
Budućnost VOLI
 
Mornar
 
Igokea
2021–22
Details
 
Crvena zvezda mts
3–2
playoffs
 
Partizan NIS
 
Budućnost VOLI
 
Cedevita Olimpija
2022–23
Details
 
Partizan Mozzart Bet
3–2
playoffs
 
Crvena zvezda Meridianbet
 
Budućnost VOLI
 
Cedevita Olimpija

Records and statistics edit

By club edit

Club Won Runner-up Years won Years runner-up
  Partizan
7
3
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2023 2005, 2006, 2022
  Crvena zvezda
6
3
2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022 2013, 2018, 2023
  FMP (defunct)
2
1
2004, 2006 2007
  Cibona
1
3
2014 2004, 2009, 2010
  Budućnost
1
2
2018 2019, 2021
  Maccabi Tel Aviv (restricted)
1
1
2012 2003
  Vršac
1
1
2005 2008
  Olimpija (defunct)
1
1
2002 2011
  Zadar
1
0
2003
  Cedevita
0
4
2012, 2014, 2015, 2017
  Mega Basket
0
1
2016
  Krka
0
1
2002
Total 21 21

By country edit

Club / Nation Won Runner-up Finals
  Serbia
16
9
25
  Croatia
2
7
9
  Montenegro
1
2
3
  Slovenia
1
2
3
  Israel
1
1
2
Total 21 21 42

All-time participants edit

The following is a list of clubs who have played in the Adriatic League at any time since its formation in 2001 to the current season. A total of 41 teams from 10 countries have played in the League.[citation needed]

2D Played in the Second Division
Canceled Season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Defunct Defunct teams
Restricted Teams out of the Adriatic area
Suspended Suspended teams
1st Champions
2nd Runners-up
SF Semi-finalists
Bold Teams playing in the 2023–24 season
R Regular season champions
Team 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20[a] 21 22 23 24 Total
seasons
Highest
finish
  Borac Banja Luka 11th 13th 2D 2D 2 11th
  Bosna 12th 12th QF QF 10th 7th 13th 2D 7 Quarter-finals
  Igokea 11th SFR 6th 12th 9th 5th 10th 8th Cn. SF QF 9th TBD 13 Semi-finals
  Sloboda Tuzla 5th 1 5th
  Široki 6th 9th 12th 13th 11th 11th 12th 10th 9th 5th 10th 14th 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 12 5th
  Levski Sofia 14th Restricted 1 14th
  Cedevita Junior 7th 7th 2nd 6th 2nd 2nd SF 2nd SF SF 2D 10 2nd
  Cibona SF 5th 2ndR QF QF SF QF 2nd 2ndR 12th 7th 11th 1st 11th 8th 7th 11th 7th Cn. 9th 8th 11th TBD 23 1st
  Split 8th 10th 9th 15th 14th 10th 10th 14th 2D 2D 2D 13th 13th 10th TBD 12 8th
  Šibenik 11th Defunct 1 11th
  Triglav Osiguranje 10th Defunct 1 10th
  Zadar 7th 1st 8th QF QF 7th SF 5th 8th 14th 12th 13th 8th 6th 12th 6th 11th Cn. 10th 12th QF TBD 22 1st
  Zagreb 6th 11th 12th 13th 12th 11th 13th 6th 5th 9th - Defunct 10 5th
  Nymburk 8th Restricted 1 8th
  Szolnoki Olaj 13th 12th 7th Restricted 3 7th
  Maccabi Tel Aviv 2nd 1stR Restricted 2 1st
  Budućnost 9th 5th 14th 5th QF 6th 5th SF SF 5th 5th SF SFR SF 1st 2nd Cn. 2nd SF SF TBD 21 1st
  Lovćen 14th 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 1 14th
  Mornar 8th SF 9th Cn. SF 9th 12th TBD 8 Semi-finals
  Studentski centar 2D 7th QF TBD 3 7th
  Sutjeska 13th 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 1 13th
  Karpoš Sokoli 10th Suspended 1 10th
  MZT Skopje 7th 9th 13th 10th 13th 12th 2D 2D 2D 2D 14th 2D 7 7th
  Borac Čačak 2D 2D 2D 11th 11th 13th TBD 4 11th
  Crvena zvezda SFR SF SF SF 6th QF SF 9th 13th 10th 2nd SFR 1stR 1st 1stR 2ndR 1stR Cn. 1stR 1stR 2nd TBD 22 1st
  FMP 9th 8th 6th Cn. 8th QF QF TBD 8 Quarter-finals
  FMP Železnik 1st SF 1st 2ndR QF 8th 12th Defunct 7 1st
  Mega 8th 10th 2nd 6th 9th 5th Cn. 6th 10th QF TBD 11 2nd
  Metalac Valjevo 6th 11th 2 6th
  Partizan 2nd 2ndR 1st 1stR 1stR 1st 1stR SF 1st SF SF 5th SF 5th SF Cn. 7th 2nd 1stR TBD 20 1st
  Radnički Kragujevac 11th 10th 8th SF 11th Defunct 5 Semi-finals
  Vojvodina Srbijagas QF 9th 14th Defunct 3 Quarter-finals
  Vršac 1stR SF SF 2nd SF SF 6th 12th 2D 2D 8 1st
  Cedevita Olimpija Unfounded Cn. 5th SF SF TBD 5 Semi-finals
  Helios Suns 16th 12th 8th 13th 12th 14th 13th 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 2D 7 8th
  Koper Primorska Unfounded 2D 2D Cn. 14th Defunct 2 14th
  Krka 2nd 7th 7th 11th SF 11th 9th 7th 9th 12th 14th 2D 10th Cn. 12th 14th 2D TBD 16 2nd
  Olimpija 1stR SF SF QF 10th 9th SF 9th SF 2nd 6th 8th 10th 5th 7th 11th 7th 12th Defunct 18 1st
  Slovan 11th 10th 10th 9th 13th 14th 6 9th
  Tajfun 14th 1 14th
  Zlatorog Laško SF 8th 6th 9th 14th 14th 6 Semi-finals

Awards edit

Records edit

Source:[33]

Players edit


Clubs edit

All-time leaders edit

From the 2001–02 to the 2022–23 season:

Accumulated
Points   Nemanja Gordić 3,257
Field goals   Nemanja Gordić 1,132
3 Points   Suad Šehović 406
Defensive Rebounds   Marin Rozić 1,043
Offensive Rebounds   Alen Omić 434
Total Rebounds   Marin Rozić 1,327
Assists   Nemanja Gordić 1,100
Steals   Nebojša Joksimović 401
Blocks   Uroš Luković 280
Index Ratings   Todor Gečevski 3,212
Games Played   Branko Lazić 378

Source: ABA League player statistics

Notable players edit

Well-known basketball players who have played in the Adriatic League include:[citation needed]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Season was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic

References edit

  1. ^ Mitrović: Bogosavljev je dao ideju;Press, 11 July 2011
  2. ^ Jadranska liga ili samoubistvo pod obručima;NSPM, 31 December 2008
  3. ^ Deset godina NLB lige: Kako je Partizan gurnut u Jadran;Press, 15 July 2011
  4. ^ Bibić, Milorad (28 September 2001). "Jadranska liga donosi košarkašku REVOLUCIJU!". Slobodna Dalmacija. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  5. ^ Lisac: Jadranska liga bi propala bez Srba;Press, 23 July 2011
  6. ^ Savkovic, Marko (29 May 2012). "Who Needs the Adriatic League?". Ballin Europe. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Partizan threatens to withdraw from the ABA League: Ensure regularity or we turn to other leagues". Vijesti. News Media Group. 8 May 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Pesic attacks Serbian basketball, says teams should leave ABA League". BasketNews.com. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "League History". AdriaticBasket.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  10. ^ a b Deset godina NLB lige: Huligani odložili ulazak Partizana;Press, 12 July 2011
  11. ^ Deset godina Jadranske lige: Košarka nas je održala;Press, 10 July 2011
  12. ^ a b Deset godina NLB lige: Zvezdin izlazak na Jadran;Press, 13 July 2011
  13. ^ Sahar, Eli. "Maccabi's Clash With Red Star Postponed". Haaretz. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  14. ^ Espino-Lozada, David. "ABA League (Adriatic Basketball League)". WorthPoint. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  15. ^ "ABA League gets one Euroleague, three Eurocup spots". Tanjug. 13 April 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  16. ^ "FIBA Europe Executive Committee evaluates national federations' response and decides further steps". FIBA Europe. 1 May 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  17. ^ Nikolic, Nikola. "Now there are no obstacles for FIBA to recognize the ABA league". Vijesti. News Media Group. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  18. ^ "FIBA officially recognized the ABA league". Vijesti. News Media Group. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  19. ^ Palmer, Dan (16 April 2016). "FIBA throws eight countries out of EuroBasket with Olympic places at risk". Inside The Games. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  20. ^ "ABA Liga not recognized by FIBA, more clarifications asked by national federations". EuroHoops.net. May 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  21. ^ Barkas, Aris. [FIBA officially recognized the ABA league "ABA may be de-recognized again by FIBA"]. EuroHoops.net. Retrieved 19 December 2023. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  22. ^ Barkas, Aris (12 November 2016). "FIBA sent warnings to national federation again". EuroHoops.net. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  23. ^ Karagiannakidis, Evangelos (6 October 2016). "Fluctuations of a Dogfight, or a Schism in the Making". HoopFiction. Retrieved 19 December 2023. FIBA's thinking, impossible to be decoded at the time, went somewhat like this: abolish the ABA League and all the teams would have to return to their national championships. Since the ABA League provides three slots to the Euroleague, the latter would be minus three teams –three teams that the Euroleague would now have to re-negotiate with.
  24. ^ Palmer, Dan. [Banned countries now expected to play in major tournaments, FIBA Europe say "FIBA Europe claim Euroleague legal proceedings have ended"]. Inside The Game. Retrieved 19 December 2023. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  25. ^ Palmer, Dan (27 May 2016). "Banned countries now expected to play in major tournaments, FIBA Europe say". Inside The Games. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  26. ^ "ULEB - History". Union of European Leagues of Basketball. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  27. ^ "ABA Liga cuts teams from 14 to 12". EuroHoops.net. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  28. ^ "ABA League no longer directly connected to domestic leagues". EuroHoops.net. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  29. ^ "ABA League sees increase in game attendance, social media numbers in 2017-2018". EuroHoops.net. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  30. ^ Askounis, Johnny (25 October 2023). "ABA League reveals discussions on expansion to Dubai". EuroHoops.net. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  31. ^ "Adriatic League – Players showing off World Cup credentials". FIBA. 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  32. ^ "Conclusions of the ABA League j.t.d. Assembly session in Zagreb". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  33. ^ "ABA League – interesting facts and figures". abaliga.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2014. Retrieved 2 October 2014.
  34. ^ "Ovo što radi Luka Božić Aba liga nikad nije vidjela. Pogledajte nestvarne brojke".

External links edit