Euroleague Basketball joins the world basketball community in mourning the passing on Wednesday of David J. Stern, who led the sport to its greatest heights of global recognition during his 30-year tenure as NBA Commissioner. Mr. Stern underwent emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage on Thursday, Dec. 12 and died on Jan. 1 in New York at age 77.

Euroleague Basketball mourns David J. Stern

Euroleague Basketball joins the world basketball community in mourning the passing on Wednesday of David J. Stern, who led the sport to its greatest heights of global recognition during his 30-year tenure as NBA Commissioner. Mr. Stern underwent emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage on Thursday, Dec. 12 and died on Jan. 1 in New York at age 77.

Mr. Stern was a monumental force for the growth of basketball at a global level during his stewardship of the NBA between 1984 and 2014. Before his retirement, Mr. Stern was a partner and inspiration to Euroleague Basketball.

"I am shocked by the sad news of David leaving us," Euroleague Basketball President and CEO Jordi Bertomeu said. "He devoted his life to basketball, a sport that cannot be understood without his contribution and revolutionary ideas. During his 30-year career as NBA Commissioner, he was a fundamental part of what we know as modern basketball, bringing the NBA to a global audience and unprecedented popularity. My deepest condolences, and those of all Euroleague Basketball clubs, go out to the NBA family, all his friends, and especially his wife Dianne and his two sons, Eric and Andrew."

With Mr. Stern's impetus, the two organizations collaborated on the NBA Europe Live series of preseason games over many seasons and opened the doors for recurrent exhibition games in the Unites States between NBA, EuroLeague and EuroCup teams. Mr. Stern was a regular at those games on both sides of the Atlantic and also attended the EuroLeague Final Four in Prague, Czech Republic in 2006.

Euroleague Basketball joins the outpouring of support from the world basketball community in wishing a complete and fast recovery to longtime NBA commissioner David Stern, who underwent emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage on Thursday.

Euroleague Basketball extends best wishes to David Stern

Euroleague Basketball joins the outpouring of support from the world basketball community in wishing a complete and fast recovery to longtime NBA commissioner David Stern, who underwent emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage on Thursday.

During his stewardship of the NBA for three decades between 1984 and 2014, Mr. Stern, 77, was a monumental force for the growth of basketball's popularity at a global level, as well as a partner and inspiration to Euroleague Basketball.

"On behalf of Euroleague Basketball, we offer our sincerest best wishes, thoughts and prayers to David Stern, an unprecedented leader for our sport and a personal friend of our organization," Jordi Bertomeu, President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball, said. "David has been a force for good far beyond the basketball court, as well. We sincerely hope that he will have a full and speedy recovery."

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Euroleague Basketball (EB) announced today the details around the 2020 Fan XP Innovation Challenge. Launched on December10, it invites tech startups to join the sports fan revolution by presenting new innovations to create unique fan experiences in professional sports.

Euroleague Basketball's startup challenge allies with the world's leading tech conference 4YFN

### **Applications open until January 10, 2020**

Euroleague Basketball (EB) announced today the details around the 2020 Fan XP Innovation Challenge. Launched on December10, it invites tech startups to join the sports fan revolution by presenting new innovations to create unique fan experiences in professional sports.

The Fan XP Innovation Challenge, an evolution of the previously held EB Tech Challenge, will be marked by a strategic partnership that will see 4YFN, a world leading startup event and part of the MWC, collaborate in the recruitment and reviewing of applicant startups, as well as host the final phase of the competition, to be held in Barcelona on February 24, 25 and 26.

4YFN joins long-time Euroleague Basketball partner University of La Salle-URL, who will continue to power the challenge in collaboration with its tech arm La Salle Technova, and new partners N3XT Sports, a strategic consulting firm specialized in sports technology, innovation and investments, who will provide continuous advisory support to the project.

"We are excited to find out what opportunities can be found in the crossroads of sports, fan experience, technology and innovation," Jordi Bertomeu, President & CEO of Euroleague Basketball, said. “Besides learning about the latest trends in technology and finding solutions to our most important challenges, it is always rewarding to spend time with startups as they instill in our organization a highly valuable mindset of entrepreneurship and innovation. And sharing this journey with partners as University of LaSalle-URL, 4YFN and N3xt Sports, who combine for an amazing level of expertise in this field, makes it even more thrilling!"

Startups can now apply to participate at https://fanxp.euroleague.net/. Applications will remain open until January 10, 2020, and the selection of a maximum of 10 finalists will be announced by January 22, 2020. Finalists will be invited to attend the 4YFN conference in Barcelona to participate in the following activities:

- A minimum of 4 remote and in-person mentoring sessions with Euroleague Basketball executives to receive guidance on how to best adapt their existing solutions to a professional sports environment.

- Free access to the 4YFN conference, including the Fan XP Innovation Challenge public events.

- Free exhibition space at the 4YFN conference to present their solution to the 25,000+ visitors.

- Opportunity to present their pitch in a public session at the 4YFN conference, where a jury formed by top sports, tech, innovation and investment specialists will select the winning startups. (Jury members to be announced soon.)

- Private sessions with top Euroleague Basketball executives to expand knowledge and receive insights on the sports and basketball industries.

- Private networking opportunities to connect with sports/basketball professionals and jury members.

- Potential pilot test to validate concept at an official Euroleague Basketball event.

- Potential investment opportunities and investor meetings.

The startups that participate are required to satisfy the following conditions:

• Possess a product or service that provides an innovative proposal to upgrade the fan experience in sports and generates new or expanded revenue opportunities for sports organizations;

• Possess a product or service with significant potential for growth and a unique value proposition for potential investors;

• Company must have been operating for at least 2 years and have at least two full-time workers;

• Possess at least one Minimum Viable Product, at least in private beta phase;

• Have paying clients and/or users.

In general, startups that participate are expected to contribute to the improvement of the fan experience and generate direct or indirect revenue opportunities through broadcast, in-arena or digital platforms, or a combination of these.

Visit https://fanxp.euroleague.net/ to apply or contact fanxp@euroleague.net for more information.

On Tuesday, the Euroleague Commercial Assets (ECA) Shareholders Executive Board met in Athens, Greece to review the progress of the EuroLeague and to align key strategic decisions.

ECA Shareholders Executive Board meets in Athens

On Tuesday, the Euroleague Commercial Assets (ECA) Shareholders Executive Board met in Athens, Greece to review the progress of the EuroLeague and to align key strategic decisions.

The meeting started with Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President & CEO, congratulating the clubs for the 20th anniversary of their organization, a milestone that will be celebrated with different activities throughout the season. Mr. Bertomeu also provided attendees with relevant information on the current status and recent development of the competition, namely:

* All-time record figures in EuroLeague attendance and ticket sales revenues, with 15% and 3% year-on-year increases, respectively.

* Global broadcast coverage including new agreements and renewals in the former Yugoslavia, Greece, Spain, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Indonesia, Philippines and Poland.

* Continuous digital footprint growth, highlighted by a 6% growth in EuroLeague.net unique users and 19% growth in page views; remarkable growth in social media engagement, ranging from 57% to 196%, depending on the platform; and 193% growth in potential reach on third-party digital media outlets.

* Report on collective approach and the latest activity around innovation and digital transformation, including future plans to grow individual and collective efforts in this area. An agreement was reached to create a new company that will focus entirely on strengthening the league's efforts to identify opportunities in this field and create synergies and processes between all EuroLeague clubs.

* Status update on relationships with key stakeholders, including the creation of the Euroleague Basketball Dispute Resolution Chamber to resolve contract termination disputes between clubs and head coaches, in agreement with the EuroLeague Head Coaches Board (ELHCB).

Executive Board members agreed to continue defining the principles and roadmap for a transition towards increasing the stability of the EuroLeague through increasing the number of long-term licensed clubs.

The clubs also approved several business initiatives:

* New Arena Customer Experience Standards to be implemented league-wide starting 2020-21, including a game-day staff training program to assist clubs and their arenas in meeting required service standards to deliver a quality experience to all EuroLeague fans.

* Moving the annual Euroleague Basketball Business Summit to spring with the next edition to be held on 9-10 March 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey; maintaining the goals to share and align club, league and partner strategies, and partners, as well as sharing best practices, knowledge and networking opportunities.

* Execution of collective licensing and e-commerce plans starting in 2020.

The Executive Board members reviewed the 2018-19 financial closing and the 2019-20 budget of Euroleague Ventures, the commercial joint venture between Euroleague Basketball and IMG. The company has projected a year-on-year revenue increase of 15.7%. Finally, the attendees reviewed the draft 2020-21 and 2021-22 Euroleague Basketball competition calendars.

Nielsen Sports & Entertainment executives attended the meeting to provide attendees with key insights around research and the importance of data for effective decision-making. Representatives from Amazon senior management also were present to share information on how to digitally expand the reach of the EuroLeague through technology for the benefit of fans anywhere in the world.

All will be presented for formal approval at the next ECA Shareholders Meeting.

For the fifth time since the start of the season, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO Jordi Bertomeu met with local press before a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game to update them on the issues of the day for the competition, its fans and its stakeholders. On Thursday, the setting was the German capital of Berlin, where ALBA was hosting Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 11 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season. Mr. Bertomeu was joined by ALBA Berlin CEO Marco Baldi.

Jordi Bertomeu meets German media in Berlin

For the fifth time since the start of the season, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO Jordi Bertomeu met with local press before a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game to update them on the issues of the day for the competition, its fans and its stakeholders. On Thursday, the setting was the German capital of Berlin, where ALBA was hosting Zalgiris Kaunas in Round 11 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season. Mr. Bertomeu was joined by ALBA Berlin CEO Marco Baldi.

### **Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO**

"Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We're happy to be in this country, in this city. Many good things have happened for us in Germany, especially this year, and I think that we are trying to enjoy this very special year for us, having two German teams in the EuroLeague. These are two teams that for us are very important because they represent the concept of a club that we love in terms of good management and in terms of a very professional approach to how we believe professional competitions have to be run. So, we identify our values in the values of our teams here in Germany, both Bayern Munich and ALBA Berlin. We are very proud and happy to have those teams with us, but we also have good news with us in our 7DAYS EuroCup, with Oldenburg doing a very good job, qualifying for the next phase of the EuroCup. Also, it's a very important year for us to come back to Germany for our Final Four, to Cologne. We are very excited to have this opportunity, the first opportunity to be in Cologne. We had two positive experiences in this amazing arena, but never before in Cologne. The fact that in only 11 days, all the tickets have been sold out, I think that represents how much our fans love this event. And it's relevant and significant the fact that the majority, or at least the country where we sold more tickets, is Germany. I think that 22 percent of the tickets have been sold here, so I think that's also good news for us. Being here in Germany, it's an amazing place for us because we can only talk about good things.

"To finish, I think the competition, in its first season with 18 teams, is confirming that the system that was implemented four years ago is working very well, something that will stay in the future. It's a concept that allows us to have these games where all the teams meet the other teams. We can have rivalries and we have the opportunity for our fans to enjoy all of our EuroLeague teams. I believe the fact that we increased the number of teams to 18 has been a very good decision, and I believe that, once again – it's probably too early with 11 game days to make assessments – but so far, I think we can say that we are happy because all the numbers, all the metrics, tell us that we have increased in attendance, in audience, and we signed new and better TV deals. All the metrics we have when making assessments about how the competition is going are positive."

**About ALBA's chances to become a long-term licensed team**.

Jordi Bertomeu: "Indeed, we have this vision. We believe that to complete the design of the league, we need to have 16 teams in equal conditions. We believe that if we started with 11 clubs as owners of the league with this long-term license, this group has been increased by two clubs, at least for a temporary period, with Bayern Munich and ASVEL Villeurbanne. We want to complete that with three more clubs with the same conditions in the near future. It is no secret that for us Germany has been a very important market. I just explained how good we are doing here in Germany, so as a natural consequence of this, ALBA is in the top of our candidates. To make it happen needs some work still, needs that the EuroLeague clubs establish the calendar for this process, and also it needs some commitment from both sides. But I am confident that, based on our view of the club, based on our long relationship with ALBA, we will manage to have good news for the future. A future that you cannot think to be very, very short term. So, it's not going to happen next year. I just want to be clear and to avoid misunderstanding. It's not going to happen next year. But we are working on that, and clearly, I cannot deny, because it's public, that we would love to have ALBA in this group in the future."

**About long-term licensed clubs' need to make down payments.**

Jordi Bertomeu: "When I said it's going to take some time, it's because we have to work internally to establish the mechanism and procedures for making it happen. There are many. One of them is also to make the assessment of the value of the EuroLeague license. We are working with some external consultancy company. It's an internal work; we have to reach a consensus with the clubs. We are trying to identify something that we're never done, which is to understand the value of one EuroLeague club. We have no tradition of trading EuroLeague teams, but I believe that in the future we will see probably things like that happen. Probably in the long term. But the first step is to have a fair and right assessment of the value of our clubs based on the technical structures, technical criteria that help us to define the value of a company, as happens with other companies in other businesses. But this is where we are. As I said, internally we still have some homework to do."

**About the calendar.**

Jordi Bertomeu: "I will find a solution, but first I have to consider it as a problem. If you ask the players, they will probably have a different opinion. Players love games and they don't like practices very much. some coaches think a different way, and we have to respect all the opinions, and basically, opinions that come from someone like [ALBA head coach] Aito [Garcia Reneses], one of the most well-reputed coaches that we have in Europe. The calendar has been an issue for years and will always be an issue; we cannot deny thins. The growth of the EuroLeague has probably caused some problems in terms of the calendars of the domestic leagues; we cannot deny this. But in the end, we are talking about games with an average attendance close to 10,000 spectators. So, I am not very much in favor of reducing these kinds of games. I am not sure that basketball will take benefits from reducing games where we have 10,000 spectators on average, when there is no other competition that brings these numbers. I believe that what we have is a calendar that I cannot deny is busy, but when we talk about professional sports, we have to understand that things evolve. The time that we had one game a week is over, and the needs of our clubs, the needs of our fans, are different. And we have, all of us -- managers, coaches and players -- to adapt to a new reality. Because then what we are doing is to grow our business, and we don't have clubs with profits. The economy of the system tells us that players and coaches are the beneficiaries of this business, which is fair, totally fair. In the end, we are all partners in this adventure."

**About what ALBA has to do to get a long-term license.**

Jordi Bertomeu: "It's not any particular area that we want them to improve. It's just because when we enter in a system like the one we have in the EuroLeague, and we enter into it on a permanent basis, then the clubs suffer much more pressure from the league than the clubs that are participating one year in, one year out. We are building this process today around these 11 clubs and in the future around 16 clubs. The club structure has to be prepared for that. I don't think that's anything the club cannot afford, because as I said at the beginning, when we are here in Germany, we enjoy our relationship with the clubs in terms of the structure, the business orientation and the professionalism of our clubs. I am not going to enter into details, because honestly if I mention all of them, they're absolutely irrelevant because they are small details. What I will say, to make it short, is that to be in these 16 teams will be very demanding on a daily basis and we all have to adapt our structure to the new situation, that's all. I think it's more from our side than the ALBA Berlin side that we have to work, honestly."

**About EuroCup teams moving to the EuroLeague and back.**

Jordi Bertomeu: "Clubs with long-term licenses are safe because they have long-term licenses. We cannot affect them by this system. But what we introduced, by adding one more team to this promotion-relegation system, a possibility that we didn't have before, is that the club that performs well in the EuroLeague can stay in the EuroLeague, not at the expense of one long-term license team, but at the expense of the EuroCup runner-up of the same season. This mechanism gives us the guarantee that the system will not be blocked. We will always have a team coming from the EuroCup to the EuroLeague. I believe that the system is quite simple. This promotion-relegation system is a game only among the teams that come from the EuroCup and the teams that come the next season from the EuroCup. It's not going to affect the others."

**About increasing long-term licenses but leaving only 18 teams total.**

Jordi Bertomeu: "I believe so. So, I understand that from a calendar standpoint, 18 is a number that makes our calendar busier, but it's a good number because we keep the balance between territory distribution and the quality of the teams. Probably we can keep the same balance going further, but not much further than, probably, 20 or 22. But when we have this in front of us, we also have to consider the national leagues. Going further than 18 will make impossible to combine the national leagues with the EuroLeague. That's something we don't have in our mind in this moment. So, 18 will be the number in the short- or mid-term, because we believe that going to more than 18 will make the participation of our teams in the domestic league impossible. And we don't want to do it."

**About the importance of ALBA obtaining a license.**

Marco Baldi: "It's not so much about what competition you participate in. It's more about planning security. We are a club that is working within the market, on the market, so we depend on our activities. If we can describe where we are going to play and against whom we are going to play, and we can offer, let's say, the premium product, of course, this is a big help. It's a huge help. That's what I think Jordi mentioned before, in his words, that there is an advantage for the clubs who know that next year, the year after and so on, they are going to participate in this competition. By the way, also on the players' market this means something. I cannot say it means 10,000 more or one million more, but what I can say is that it provides planning security, and this is something very valuable."

**About other clubs going in the right direction to join the EuroLeague.**

Jordi Bertomeu: "I think the EuroLeague has been very clear in the last years that we have some markets where we want to improve our footprint, or to have a footprint, from one side. And from the other side, there are some traditional basketball markets that we believe the EuroLeague has to have a presence in. In the first category, I think we have always mentioned Germany, France and the UK as our strategic markets, and our intention is to move our sport more north to these three big markets. Decisions like the one we made on ASVEL Villeurbanne and Bayern Munich have to be understood in the framework of this vision. Germany will remain as a priority, because we believe that to have at least two teams in Germany is something worthy and important for us. France, again. UK, probably you believe it's a dream to have a team in a market with no basketball tradition. We are people who like to take challenges, so we are working in these directions. But, also, there are markets like Russia and the Balkan area that corresponds with the Adriatic League region that also are very good territories for basketball and have to be taken into account. So, we are working basically in these two areas, for different reasons, the ones I mentioned."

**About the competitive level between the EuroCup and the EuroLeague.**

Jordi Bertomeu: "The EuroLeague is a very difficult competition. I never played this competition, but I know that it's difficult. It's tough. And we have seen teams like Fenerbahce that are suffering. A team like Zalgiris, that has been in the playoffs the last couple of years, and even the Final Four, is suffering. And if you see the standings, there is not a big difference between some clubs and others. So, when we have 10 games played, and we're going to play the 11th, I think it's very early to say if we are disappointed with the performance of one team or another. Valencia started bad but now seems to be getting better. The calendar is difficult, the calendar is not symmetric, so it's difficult sometimes to compare one team with another, for instance, if some team played seven games away but only three or four at home. I think that to make this kind of assessment during the season is difficult because the competition is very difficult. It's very tough and we have seen in the last years that many teams are competing to enter the playoffs. I think last year until the very last day we had five or six teams competing for the playoff spots. So, I believe that those teams will perform well, and I don't see a big difference between clubs. Budget probably always has an impact on the clubs, but we've seen in our past that not always the richest clubs win the competition. So that's sports."

**About Olympiacos playing only in the EuroLeague.**

Jordi Bertomeu: "You have to take into consideration that what happened with Olympiacos has to do only with Greek basketball and with the conflict they have internally in the Greek federation, with the Greek League and all these things that you probably know better than I do. The only thing as a league that we can say is that we cannot be contaminated by problems that other leagues have. And we will not be contaminated for that. That's why we accept Olympiacos in the EuroLeague because the fact that they decided not to play in the Greek League was a decision that I am not in favor of or against. I have no opinion about that. But it's clear that it was taken as a consequence of a conflict they have internally in Greece. And we cannot interfere in this problem and we cannot be affected by this problem in any way. They have to evaluate if what they did is the right thing to do, if that will help them to solve the problem in Greece, if that will help them to perform better in the EuroLeague. I don't know. What's the impact of the decision on the reputation of the club, too. There are many elements that have to be taken into consideration, but it's their responsibility, not our responsibility. The only thing we have to do is not to suffer in any way for this, otherwise the league will lose its own personality. And the EuroLeague is clearly a product that people identify with regardless of what happens with the domestic leagues."

**About 16 teams with long-term licenses being on equal in terms.**

Jordi Bertomeu: "When we talk about clubs with licenses, we talk about clubs that are owners of the company. So, when clubs are owners of the company, all of them have the same rights."

**About clubs being the sole owners.**

Jordi Bertomeu: "We never had the idea to open the company to third-party investors. We have other shareholders who are important stakeholders in basketball, as are the domestic leagues. We have nine national leagues that are also shareholders of the company. But we don't have third parties that are not related to the game itself, either as a league or as a team."

**About clubs playing exclusively in EuroLeague.**

Jordi Bertomeu: "No, because as I said when I talked about the number of teams, when I want our teams to leave the domestic leagues, I will propose a league with 24 clubs and 46 game days. It's as simple as this. But I am not doing this. I am trying to keep the number that, despite the numbers with the calendars that we were talking about before, allows our clubs to keep playing in the national leagues. So again, what happened with Olympiacos, it's not that it's not our business. All this business is our business. But it's a different thing when some league has internal problems, that are not sport problems. We have to protect our league and not be contaminated by this problem. So, we had a rule that if a club is not participating in a domestic league it cannot participate in the EuroLeague. But in this case, we approved an exception based on this argument. If Olympiacos had been relegated to the second division as a consequence of the sports results, it might have been a different situation. But it was not the case. Our business is to protect our league, and in this case protecting our league from any kind of contamination from something that is not working properly."

On the occasion of AX Armani Exchange Milan's game on Tuesday with Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, corresponding with Round 9 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season and coinciding with the home team's homage to the great Dino Meneghin, a press conference with local media was held by Jordi Bertomeu, the President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball.

Jordi Bertomeu press conference in Milan

On the occasion of AX Armani Exchange Milan's game on Tuesday with Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, corresponding with Round 9 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season and coinciding with the home team's homage to the great Dino Meneghin, a press conference with local media was held by Jordi Bertomeu, the President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball.

**Mr. Christos Stavropoulos, General Manager, AX Armani Exchange Milan**

"Good evening to everybody, I welcome Jordi Bertomeu. We are very happy to have Jordi with us such an important night not only for Olimpia but for all Italian and European basketball"

**Jordi Bertomeu: President and CEO, Euroleague Basketball**

"Good evening to all. I'm very happy to be here with my colleague Roser Queraltó, on a special day, celebrating an extraordinary player, Dino Meneghin, a huge personality who wrote the history of European and world basketball, whom I had the luck to know personally when I was 12, and I'm happier for this reason.

"We're happy because the EuroLeague and the EuroCup both started the season very well, for the quality of the games, audiences and attendance. We are always cautious as we are just in Round 9 and it's early to make a clear analysis, but we are happy so far. I think we're doing well, and also the Italian teams are working well, with Milan atop the EuroLeague table, Virtus Bologna qualified in the EuroCup, Umana Reyer Venice leading its group, and Trento and Brescia still in the running for the Top 16. We're also happy because other Italian teams that represented the top level in the recent past, like Fortitudo Bologna, Treviso, and Virtus Rome, are back, which is great news not only for Italian basketball but also for European basketball in general.

"We always look to the future, and we'll take an important decision in the next two weeks, at the next Euroleague Board. It's a future with concepts to elevate the standards for clubs, to elevate the quality of our product to give our fans a better experience. We also want to elevate the level of our management to make the league compatible on the economic side. These will be the fundamental points we will developing during the next months because we have the vision to become, in a short time, a league with 16 long-term licenses, a steady league. It will remain open, however, with the EuroCup granting access to the EuroLeague. This is the goal for the next two or three years, and we'll start working with the clubs from the next board meeting that will be held on December 3 in Athens."

**About the coming changes allowing for evaluations of new national leagues or clubs that interest the league**

"It's a first step on the way to having the 16 long-term licenses, as it allows us to evaluate different realities. We're not looking for a particular national league, but rather for clubs, as the EuroLeague is a league of clubs and the owners of the EuroLeague are the clubs. There are realities like the ABA League, where a team must represent that reality, and we have other realities like Germany, or we have a very specific project to have a team in the United Kingdom, and there are interesting projects like Valencia or Virtus Bologna or in Russia, for example. Those rules approved last summer will permit us to test which teams are ready to obtain a long-term license. It's the road used for Olimpia Milan; we tested them for two seasons, we considered it was a correct decision and they have earned a long-term license."

**About financial fair play**

"We've been working on financial fair play for many years. These kinds of rules need to be progressively implemented and we are working for their full implementation. There are two fundamental parts. The first is to have the safety that our clubs' commitments are fulfilled, that our players and coaches get their salaries, and – when we have faced problems, because we have faced them – to manage them by finding, in my opinion, a quick solution. The second part is also fundamental because having an owner spend his money in the club is not something bad, but it's bad if the club trusts only in the owner's money. Such a system is not sustainable in the long term. What we are doing is, on one side, the part of the money that the owner can put in the club will be reduced, and at the same time we're working with the club to improve its management on the commercial side. We're working on a club-by-club basis because we understand that each reality is different. For example, Milan and Moscow are in different situations. So we are working on two different directions; on one hand, we are reducing the contribution of the total budget that the owner can invest to make it more sustainable, and at the same time we are helping and supporting our clubs. For example we have a group of four people permanently traveling to help the clubs improve their performance, a program not just based on us acting as policemen, but also on giving help to our clubs."

**About the possibility of Virtus Bologna coming to the EuroLeague**

"There is a very clear possibility; by winning the EuroCup and then having a good performance in the EuroLeague to stay, a new rule approved last summer. A different thing is the chance to get a long-term license. This will be linked to an improvement of the club infrastructure; I think they have already announced a project in this sense. When I talked before about Russia, or Virtus and Valencia, it is because they are two clubs with tradition, a project for the future, they are stable, they have the ambition to play at the top level and it is absolutely necessary to have an infrastructure that will help them to improve their business and make it sustainable. To be clear, we need to differentiate between the two possibilities, one clear and depending on them, and the other one – to obtain a long-term license – I don't think Virtus has the possibility to have this in the next two or three years because they don't have the arena. But once they have it they will certainly be candidate."

**About the round-robin system**

"The evaluation is positive. We already stated it after the second season, as after the first one it was too early and we needed some time before making an evaluation. I have to say that all we have seen in the first season has been confirmed and improved in this fourth season. I have already stated that this system arrived and will stay, the league concept of having all teams playing a round-robin format will not change. If in the future we have the possibility to add more teams then the system will need some modifications. The concept that all the teams will play each other will stay. It's the key to our success and responds to the concept of a European league that we envisioned many years ago."

**About the current relationship with FIBA**

"There is no news at the moment. I met FIBA secretary general Andreas Zagklis in Athens during the tournament in the memory of Mr. Pavlos Giannakopoulos, and we talked about a possible meeting during the season, but he was just coming back from a World Cup that had been very demanding for him. We are available whenever Andrea considers it to be the right moment. We are, as always, available to talk about anything, and I personally think that there are so many things we can talk about and we can do together. Each one has its model: FIBA has its model and they have stated that their calendar concept has worked well; and we have our model, which we have already said has also worked well. So these are good news for basketball and there are many things to discuss, and this could be a great opportunity for basketball."

**About the Italian League**

"It is always difficult to evaluate the reality of others and normally it is not fair, so not talking specifically about the Italian League but talking in general we can say that the standards of the European league are always progressing, but we did not see a similar policy from the domestic leagues. The teams playing in EuroLeague, because they won that right, have difficulties to follow the pace of the teams playing just in the domestic leagues because they are not ready, they don´t have the structures. We are more demanding with our clubs every year and we'll never go back, as we have agreed that with our clubs. Our by-laws book is bigger every season and this is our progress. If you don't work for progression, the gap will be bigger every season. For this reason, we think that the EuroCup is the perfect competition to develop teams' projects, a very good competition, but not so demanding as in the EuroLeague."

**About Zeljko Obradovic's time-out speech**

"All of us know the personality of Obradovic, the winningest coach in Europe, but besides what I can think, what is objective is that this is an internal relationship for him and his players. The way to manage this relationship can't be our responsibility. It may be a responsibility of the club's president, if he considers that this is not the right way to address players. We can give our opinion if third parties have been involved, like last week's situation during the Real Madrid-FC Barcelona game. This is something totally different, as the comment of a person affected a third party, in that case Barcelona. In this case, if there was an issue, it would be an issue between a coach and his players. For the moment, the players have not commented anything around this and neither did the players' association, and therefore it would make no sense for us to jump in on what we consider to be internal matter."

**About referees in the EuroLeague**

"To be on the court to officiate a game is tough and the referees' decisions are questionable many times, but there are many seasons that we don't talk about the referees with the clubs. We have a group of professionals with us; we have 10 coaches preparing the games with them; and we have an advanced method of evaluations. But on the court, in the end, we have three human beings who take their decisions and sometimes they can also make mistakes like I make mistakes every day. I don't have the perception that they are the weak link in the EuroLeague."

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Euroleague Basketball is pleased to welcome Frutti Extra drinks into its expanded family of partners. The Frutti Extra brand has signed on as a regional partner in Germany with plans to be active in that country's largest markets during the season, culminating with a special presence at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four FanZone in Cologne in May.

Euroleague Basketball signs regional partnership with Frutti Extra drinks in Germany

Euroleague Basketball is pleased to welcome Frutti Extra drinks into its expanded family of partners. The Frutti Extra brand has signed on as a regional partner in Germany with plans to be active in that country's largest markets during the season, culminating with a special presence at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four FanZone in Cologne in May.

The partnership promises to benefit both sides as Frutti Extra seeks to tap into the growing popularity of the EuroLeague in Germany and Euroleague Basketball welcomes the opportunity to align itself with a brand popular with young fans in Germany's biggest markets, Berlin and Munich. Frutti Extra plans to release officially licensed EuroLeague drinks in Germany this season and to organize exciting weekly contests for fans. The partnership will help celebrate the Final Four in Cologne from May 22 to 24 by making Frutti Extra available to fans from all over the world.

"Frutti Extra is a natural partner for Euroleague Basketball. It is a growing brand with a tasty product that is very popular in many markets, including Germany," Roser Queralto, Euroleague Basketball Chief Business Development Officer, said. "We are confident that by working together we can introduce Frutti Extra to more fans in Germany and that Frutti Extra will further promote Europe's best basketball among its youthful audience."

Omer Kızıl, Vice Chairman of the Board of Uludag Beverages, said: “We are excited about our new partnership with Euroleague Basketball. The goal of Frutti Extra is to increase the awareness among young population about the importance of being active to be healthier. We believe that basketball is a rising star and it matches perfectly with our rising brand, Frutti Extra. Besides, Germany is one of the most important markets in which we are mostly known with Legendary Uludağ Gazoz. We are confident that our new partnership with Euroleague Basketball will also help our brand Frutti Extra grow in Germany and contribute to its expansion on the way to becoming a global brand.”

Euroleague Basketball has four teams from Germany competing in its competitions this season with FC Bayern Munich and ALBA Berlin in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and ratiopharm Ulm and EWE Baskets Oldenburg in the 7DAYS EuroCup.

Frutti Extra combines natural sparkling mineral water and fruit juice with no preservatives for a thrilling taste in six different flavors that everyone loves on the first sip. Today more than 10 million 250 ml glass bottles of Frutti Extra are sold each year in Germany only, and now, with Euroleague Basketball's collaboration, new 330 ml and 1000 ml PET bottles are on the way.

Euroleague Basketball joins the family of Italian and European basketball in remembering with fondness Romano Bertocchi, former president of Virtus Bologna, who passed away on Thursday at age 90.

Euroleague Basketball mourns Romano Bertocchi

Euroleague Basketball joins the family of Italian and European basketball in remembering with fondness Romano Bertocchi, former president of Virtus Bologna, who passed away on Thursday at age 90.

Mr. Bertocchi, who was a long-time supporter of Virtus, a superfan by the time it won EuroLeague titles in 1998 and 2001, and later became club president from 2004 to 2011. He also published a magazine, Bianconero, dedicated to the club for many years. Mr Bertocchi was a constant and loyal backer, too, of Euroleague Basketball when it was formed to manage the continent's top competition in 2000, and an animated presence during the first season's finals, won by Virtus in five games.

Among Mr. Bertocchi's close friends in the sport was current AX Armani Exchange Milan head coach Ettore Messina, who built his legend at the helm of Virtus in two stints on the club's between 1989 and 2002, including both years that the club became continental champion.

"I started to notice him when I was an assistant coach and he was very agitated along the sidelines. When I got to know him personally he found out that my perception of him was correct. He was crazy for basketball, for the coaches and players, and for Virtus more than anything else," Coach Messina told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in its Friday editions. "I consider myself very fortunate to have had the chance to know him closely."

The current Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season is the 20th in a row being organized under the ownership of the competition's clubs and the management of Euroleague Basketball.

To honor that milestone, Euroleague Basketball is preparing a season-long celebration of the history of the first club-owned team sports model in European sports, one that has evolved to make sure that fans can see all the best teams on the continent play each other each and every season.

The commemoration will include a special podcast series with champions from along the two decades, as well as special social media content like exclusive videos, graphics and more under the hashtag #EuroLeague20. Fans will get their chance to participate, as well, by helping to select the second all-decade team of those 20 years.

On October 16, 2000, the first game of these 20 seasons saw Real Madrid and Olympiacos Piraeus tip off the new era at Raimundo Saporta Pavillion in the Spanish capital. Once the ball went up for the opening tip, there was no way back, and European club basketball started a golden era, growing in each and every sense of the world.

"We would like to invite all basketball fans to join us in the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the EuroLeague. The fans have always been central to our mission, every step of the way, and therefore this celebration is theirs," Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, said. "We feel very satisfied to witness how the EuroLeague – a vision that our clubs had in 2000 – has become a solid reality, has positioned itself within the top sports properties in the world, and has become one of the main references for all basketball and sports fans worldwide."

Back in the fall of 2000, the legendary Dino Radja of Olympiacos etched his name in the history of the new EuroLeague by becoming being the first player to score a basket, just 20 seconds into the game. He shared the court with illustrious names like his teammates David Rivers and Milan Tomic, the current head coach of Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, as well as Real players Sasa Djordjevic, Alberto Herreros and Jiri Zidek, who were coached that night by current World Cup and NBA champion Sergio Scariolo.

Two current players who performed in that opening week of 2000, Felipe Reyes and Luis Scola, and are now with Real and AX Armani Exchange Milan, respectively. Their staying power has very much been a reflection of the competition itself.

There was history in the air in 2000, and it was summed up by a legend at courtside on that historic first night, the late basketball legend Mirza Delibasic, who said:

"The basketball future belongs to this league."

As countless fans around the world now enjoy the EuroLeague playing more and more games every season, his words ring true both now and looking forward into an even better basketball future.