Zaglis: “Those of us in basketball must pay… Galosimo”

The Secretary General of FIBA, Andreas Zagliswas “hosted” on EEC Web Radio and talked about his huge offer Nikos Galis in basketball, on the occasion of the federation’s decision to honor him. At the same time, he spoke about the preparations for the FIBA ​​World Cup, but also the prospect of holding an NBA team match in Greece. Finally, he referred to FIBA’s relations with the Euroleague. He spoke in detail:

For the… World Cup atmosphere that is now felt as the time approaches: “It’s a countdown clock outside our headquarters, so every morning the message is clear to all our staff, as well as all our visitors, how close we are to the event. It is true that we are looking forward to it. Last year’s Eurobasket and the rest of the continental tournaments, despite the one-year postponement, were the best introduction to this year’s main menu.”

On what messages they are getting from the host countries in Asia: “Very great enthusiasm first of all, from all countries. I think the big step was 2019, it was the first step to bring the World Cup back to Asia again after Japan 2006 and in a country where many of the 8 host cities were each larger in population than ‘ the participating countries. This year is a different concept, three countries, a total population of almost 450 million people. It’s a very different concept in terms of how we approach the Southeast Asian market.”

For the host countries (Philippines, Indonesia, Japan): “It is not the first time that the Philippines will host us, since they did so in 1978, but it is the first time that the games that will be held there will have such a global impact. We are clearly looking forward to the first day, where the opening matches between the Philippines and Italy will take place in the largest stadium we have available, with a size of 52 thousand seats, where we also foresee a world record attendance, at least in our own events. Beyond that, we have a brand new arena in downtown Jakarta, Indonesia, a country of about 290 million people. They are countries that not only want to play more basketball, but also want to learn more and see the biggest “stars”. We are returning to Japan again after 2006, but in a different place, Okinawa, in a brand new arena, one of the most modern in the world. A city that has a tradition in basketball, not only because of the special conditions of the city and its relationship with the USA in the previous decades, but also because it also has a very good team that competes in the local league. Therefore, we have a basketball audience and I believe we will have many travelers from abroad. The signs we have so far are very optimistic.”

For what will be considered a success of this year’s event: “Certainly one criterion is full stadiums. In Indonesia the national team is not playing, so this is an extra incentive for us to work so that people come to the stadium and see the biggest “stars”. This automatically raises the difficulty index. In the Philippines and Japan I think we will have very good attendance records. What makes the difference is not just the attendance at the stadiums, but the global impact of the event. The World Cup is one of the top sporting events in the world and we want to climb the world rankings every year, after every event. It was also one of the reasons we changed the year, from 2014 we went to 2019. This year is a year that gives us the opportunity without winter, without the soccer World Cup to have many more spotlights focused on basketball. I believe that we will surpass the numbers of 2019, both at the level of digital, but also at the level of television extent”.

About FIBA’s cooperation with the NBA: “In recent years, the cooperation has become multi-level and in some areas very “deep” and “close”. Cooperation used to be limited to whether athletes could compete with their national teams, and about 21 years ago we started Basketball Without Borders. Collaboration is now very different. Firstly, at an institutional level, the deputy commissioner of the NBA is also a member of the Board of Directors. and the FIBA ​​executive committee, is involved in all major decisions. Secondly, on a competitive level, together we launched a new competition in Africa, the Basketball Africa League, which “closed” its 3rd season. I was in Kigali, Rwanda, in a 10,000-seat stadium that would be the envy of many cities in the most developed basketball countries. The BAL is the expression of the partnership between FIBA ​​Africa and NBA Africa. In addition, we have an ongoing partnership with Junior NBA, and the top FIBA-licensed referees also participate in the Summer League and other NBA summer events every year. I consider our cooperation also very important for the Intercontinental Cup, which will be held this year at the end of September in Singapore. The champions of the BCL, BCL America, BAL, a team from China and the G-League Ignite will compete there. Both on an institutional and competitive level, but also by focusing on certain markets or continents, we have a tremendous collaboration”.

Regarding FIBA’s cooperation with the Euroleague: “I think this chapter is very important for our relations in European basketball, which, however, has a clear extension, in terms of the calendar especially, with our global strategy. FIBA remains available, but at the same time very motivated to “turn the page” on a number of relationships, as it did several years ago with the NBA. So it can do the same, much more so with groups that are within our ecosystem. For symbolic and substantive reasons, I do not like the term “Euroleague”. These teams compete in their leagues, participate with their athletes in the national teams, in the national cups, they are FIBA ​​teams and they both have certain rights and obligations. At the same time, they also have a huge history and most of them a very large commercial impact and a very large ability to bring new fans to basketball. FIBA’s platform is such that it can accommodate the teams’ strategy for a more profitable future for them. I see no reason in the future that this strategy should not go hand in hand with our own strategy that the national teams play at regular intervals, as well as during the competitive season of the collections. We haven’t changed an inch from our approach.”

On whether there is a possibility for Greece to host an NBA game in the future: “I think there is no doubt that Greece has shown the ability to organize anything. OAKA is one of the stadiums that have hosted the most events, Olympic final, World Cup final, finals of all club events, Eurobasket… I don’t think there is a problem with facilities, nor a problem with the possibility of organizing, I just think that the calendar is not so easy for the NBA to visit dozens of countries a year. They make their choice and, from there, to the extent that we can help to make the import, we do. It is a decision of the NBA with local bodies and the respective Federation mainly. I don’t think it’s impossible, but I don’t know if this can be done in the near future.”

On what Galis is to the global community: “I think a national hero. Everywhere I’ve been there’s no doubt that he symbolizes a man who brought basketball to a completely different level in his country or his country within basketball. Therefore, I consider the EEC’s move to honor Nikos Galis in the match against Slovenia (s.p. August 4) excellent, I believe that he will also be present and I think it is my obligation to be present, both as an international Federation, as much as a Greek working in basketball. As you know, I fully subscribe to the theory that those of us who work in basketball should pay a “Galosimo.”