EuroLeague President Bertomeu Calls November Qualifiers A 'Fraud'

EuroLeague President Jordi Bertomeu lamented the "continued harassment" from FIBA and said that the problem "is their calendar" and not the EuroLeague's schedule, according to the EP. He added that the FIBA World Cup qualifiers involving European national teams in November will be a "fraud" because they will not feature players competing in the U.S. Bertomeu: "We are doing our job, we are not interfering with FIBA and they should help us." He added, "FIBA has established a calendar knowing that the best players were not going to be there. It is saying that our players have to be there, but not NBA players. ... How can a fan go to see Spain and imagine not seeing Pau Gasol, Ricky [Rubio], Marc [Gasol], Willy [Hernangómez]? It is a fraud" (EP, 10/24).