FIBA last week repeated its mandate that the Japan Basketball Association deadline for a merger between the bj-league and the NBL is Oct. 31.
This occurred in Spain, where the FIBA Basketball World Cup was held. In an interview with Reuters, FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann didn¡¯t provide an in-depth analysis of the deeply rooted problems within the Japan Basketball Association and the mind-numbing impasse between the 13-team NBL (the JBL¡¯s successor, launched in 2013) and the bj-league. But he made it clear that FIBA will not extend the deadline; the JBA has received an ultimatum from basketball¡¯s world governing body.
Merging two leagues when the number of teams keeps changing is a factor that adds another layer of complexities to the mix. What¡¯s more, people, companies and communities are protective of their own vested interests.
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