The Euroleague Assembly approved the proposed future Euroleague format, starting in the upcoming 09/10 season, by a 29 to 1 decision, when at least seven votes against the proposed format were needed in order to reject it. The sole rejection came from the Spanish ACB league, which had issued a statement yesterday, explaining their unwillingness to accept the proposal.
Hardly a surprise, considering the new format is a punch in the face for every Spanish club outside the “Big Four” – Barcelona, Real, TAU, Unicaja, as chances for qualification are relatively small for ambitious clubs like Joventut and Pamesa. ACB thinks its strength is not reflected in the assignment of the spots, and they see the partially “closed shop” Euroleague as a danger for their own competition.
