Spain's National Commission of Markets & Competition (CNMC) announced that it fined the Spanish Basketball League (ACB) €400,000 ($424,000) "after ruling that the tax that teams that earn promotion have to pay is discriminatory and disproportionate," according to Darío Ojeda of EL CONFIDENCIAL. The CNMC also warned the ACB that it must "abstain from similar practices in the future." The regulator "also criticized the ACB for not providing reasons that justified the existence of the tax," which cost teams more than €4M ($4.24M). The CNMC's "investigation of the matter lasted more than a year" (EL CONFIDENCIAL, 4/12).
NEW FORMAT?: In Madrid, Ricardo González reported ACB clubs are considering implementing an 18-team league with "no playoffs," but with a Final Four. The top two teams in the standings would automatically qualify, with the next six teams competing for the other two Final Four spots. Under the current playoff format, the champion has to play at least eight games, and potentially as many as 13. There are "clubs that are convinced that this time the format will be changed for next season after years of considering alternatives" (AS, 4/12).
