Why Virtus Bologna will be in the Euroleague next season
Why Virtus Bologna will be in the Euroleague next season
They are building a strong team. Definitely one of the strongest of the decade in Eurocup. Just bringing Milos Teodosic in was already a huge move. And then every week the Basketball Champions League reigning champions have added more strong players. Giampaolo Ricci, Frank Gaines, Vince Hunter, Julian Gamble, Kyle Weems and recently Aleksej Nikolic will join the Italian club. Actually, almost the whole roster was changed this summer.
Choosing Eurocup this season was not a random decision. After winning BasketballCL, Virtus Bologna will try to win the Eurocup and to enter in the Euroleague the next season. They didn’t come just to participate in the group stage of the continental competition, win some games and go home. The Italian powerhouse is here to reach the Final of the Eurocup, which will grant them a place in the strongest competition in Europe.
On the betting websites, Virtus Bologna is already the favorite to win the Eurocup. The odds on them were dropping every day and it doesn’t surprise me at all. They have a great coach on Sasha Djordjevic, who will lead a complete and experienced roster. If nothing bad happens (lack of chemistry, injuries) they will reach the top, fighting only with Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar, Unicaja Malaga and Unics Kazan.
But the main aspect, that convinced me Virtus Bologna has the biggest chance to qualify from the Eurocup to the Euroleague is their huge budget, 14 M euros. I don’t know how this amount of money sounds for you but imagine that last year Zalgiris Kaunas almost doubled their budget reaching 10.7 M euros, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos had each 15 M, Baskonia 16 M and Anadolu Efes, the Euroleague finalist – 18 M euros. What about the last 3 clubs of the Euroleague last year? Buducnost with Darussafaka had around 6 M each and Gran Canaria – 10 M. I think you have understood the matter!
Photo credit: championsleague.basketball
Gratian Cormos
Why Virtus Bologna will be in the Euroleague next season
