Spain's Pro Basketball Players Threatening To Strike, Willing To Interrupt Playoffs

Spain's Association of Professional Basketball Players (ABP) has informed clubs that if demands are not met, it has "agreed to an indefinite player strike starting Sunday, coinciding with the quarterfinals of the Liga Endesa," according to Sergio Vera of SPORT. The ABP has presented to the Spanish Basketball League (ACB) and all its clubs a negotiation of the '93 collective bargaining agreement. The players are demanding an increase to the current minimum salary of €25,000 ($32,065) and a doubling of the current coverage of the Wage Guarantee Fund, as well as a streamlining of these processes. The ACB offered "a conciliatory response." The ACB's statement said, "The Association is open to continuing to negotiate with ABP representatives with the goal of drafting the framework of a deal that would satisfy all parties and guarantee the future of the competition" (SPORT, 5/21).