Today's Edition
KUUMAR SHYAM (ABU DHABI)
As Dubai Basketball club prepares for a historic foray into EuroLeague Basketball, coach Jurica Golemac got to rub shoulders with his counterparts to prime up before their teams commence their rivalries on the courts.
The second-most popular league in basketball held its annual workshops in Barcelona, with coaches gathering to continue the collaboration, open dialogue, and future-focused planning with the league’s most influential figures.
With three teams added and one team dropped for the upcoming season, the rookie representatives at the gathering, including Golemac, shared their excitement at being part of the new environment.
“The EuroLeague is the best competition in Europe and everybody wants to be a part of it,” Golemac said. “It’s very important to have these meetings, even more than once a year. It helps the organisation, the players, the referees and the coaches. And the fans!”
The workshop was opened by Euroleague Basketball President Dejan Bodiroga, who reflected on a remarkable 2024–25 season and thanked the coaches for their contributions to the continued growth of the competition.
“I would like to congratulate everyone for the amazing season that we finished, also to the teams who qualified for the Final Four [held in Abu Dhabi in May], especially to Sarunas [Jasikevicius] and his season winners, Fenerbahce,” stated Dejan Bodiroga.
Coaches were outlined the organisation’s strategic vision moving forward on sustainable growth, product quality, and deeper engagement with fans across digital platforms.
“Once again, we have taken the EuroLeague a step forward, celebrating record attendance, television and digital audience with an outstanding Final Four in Abu Dhabi, showing once again the Euroleague’s tremendous potential to grow beyond its traditional markets,” stated Paulius Motiejunas, Euroleague Basketball CEO.
