Chaos continues in the Basket League
Alongside the matter of Olympiacos leaving, there is plenty of other chaotic situations ongoing in the Basket League, with Lavrio and Kolossos Rhodes remaining in the championship after buying out Kymi and Holargos respectively.
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Initially, Lavrio were allowed to remain in the Basket League by ESAKE, as their appeal against the unfairness of their relegation was successful. Lavrio were only relegated instead of Kymi because Panathinaikos forfeited their game against the latter on the final day of the 2018/2019 Basket League regular season. However, the Hellenic Basketball Federation opposed the decision, stating that Lavrio must be relegated. The decision made by the Hellenic Basketball Federation was also then appealed.
Nevertheless, the mess was eventually resolved, as Lavrio effectively bought out Kymi’s place in the 2019/2020 Basket League. Kymi will play in the Greek Second Division while Lavrio do remain in the top tier of the domestic basketball system.
HOLARGOS MERGE WITH KOLOSSOS
In the regular season, Kolossos Rhodes finished in last place to seemingly suffer relegation to the second division, but the club will stay in the Basket League after all. Holargos BC, who reached the playoffs by claiming eighth spot, have taken the decision to “merge” with Kolossos by being bought out by the Rhodes-based organisation. As a consequence, Kolossos will play in the 2019/2020 Basket League, and Holargos will have a team playing in the Beta Ethniki. Holargos made this decision after a major investor left the club this summer.
KASTORIA SET TO BE HANDED WILDCARD
Kastoria BC have since stated that they’ve received a wildcard to play in the 2019/2020 Basket League campaign. The draw for the upcoming campaign, which will have 14 participating clubs, is due to take place on July 23.
ESAKE IN TROUBLE WITHOUT TITLE SPONSOR
ESAKE itself is not in the best shape. Recently, Betshop.gr ended its spell of being the main Basket League sponsor, and ESAKE is still searching for a company to become the title sponsor of the championship. To10.gr has reported that ESAKE is in a bad financial state and does not have enough money to run the Basket League in the 2019/2020 season.
