Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv held a gala press conference last night which was attended by club president Shimon Mizrahi and the president and CEO of Euroleague Basketball, Jordi Bertomeu.
By Amy Samin
Jordi Bertomeu, president and CEO of Euroleague Basketball, will be the guest of Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv at the game against Panathinaikos Athens tonight at Nokia Arena. Last night, the club held a gala press conference with Bertomeu and the club’s president, Shimon Mizrahi. “It’s always a pleasure to be here,” Bertomeu told the gathering. “It has been two years since my last visit, and Shimon has warned me that I will be fined if I wait another two years to come again,” he joked.
“There is something unique in the atmosphere at Nokia Arena. It is great to come here and have this experience. Maccabi and the Euroleague have cooperated for eleven years so far. Maccabi has always been a team that is committed to the success of the league, and is one of the most influential teams in Europe. Everything works well here; there are people with open minds who are always willing to listen to suggestions.”
“The league has grown along with Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, and right now the situation is excellent. We have made some important changes to allow for more games, and it wasn’t easy to get teams to add games and to agree to changing the games from Wednesdays to Fridays. But these changes have had a positive impact on the game, which is what we all want. Maccabi has always had an important role in our most significant changes. The efforts made by the teams have contributed to the success of the league.”
“It is a great pleasure and honor to have you with us,” Shimon Mizrahi told Bertomeu. He added, “Jordi has been CEO since day one, and he is doing a great job. He is responsible for the two most important leagues in European basketball, the Euroleague and the Eurocup. In the twelve years that Maccabi has played in the Euroleague, not only has Jordi seen everything that goes on in European basketball, his ears have always been open to listen to proposals and ideas for improving European basketball and the Euroleague.”
“For example, the new system, with more games in the Top 16 round, was one of the proposals we brought to the Euroleague, and we appreciate that Jordi and the board listened.” Mizrahi went on to say, “Traditionally, we have led the Euroleague in fan attendance, and we recently broke the record for the number of people coming to games in a season. This is an achievement no less important than our accomplishments on the court. I hope Jordi will enjoy the game tomorrow, because it is sure to be an exciting one between two of the leading teams in Europe.”
