Shay Shtriks: The BIBL semifinals will be really interesting

The 2011 EUROHOLD Balkan League Final Four is starting tomorrow in Kavadarci, Macedonia. The Sports Director of the BIBL Shay Shtriks spoke to bgbasket.com about the development of the competition so far as well as about the organization of the final tournament in Kavadarci.
Q: We are almost at the end of the season in the EUROHOLD Balkan League, how do you evalueate the year in the competition so far?
Shay Shtriks: I think it was a good year. The changes we made in the format, for example the best of three series in the quarterfinals and the first teams in both groups to go directly to the Final 4, made the competition more interesting. 2-3 teams with younger players could′ve been better, but in general the goal of the EUROHOLD Balkan League is working, there are good games. Sometimes the quality of the basketball isn′t that high, but the competition is of a high quality, so I was very happy, and yet there are still things we want to make better for the next season.
Do you think that the four best teams reached the finals?   I don′t like to go against statistics. It was a fight until the very end. I saw how Mostar lost in the end, as well as OKK, teams who performed well during the season. In the end, maybe the four best teams reached the final stage. I was surprised by BC Mures, as they have a really strong team. However we have an example that experience works, because three of the teams in the Final 4 have played in that stage in the previous years. So any international competition, regardless if it′s Euroleague, Eurocup or the Balkan League is still an international competition. And it proved that the more experienced teams have a bigger advantage than the others. As for Mornar this is the second year they were trying to reach the finals, and this time they did it.
Why did you choose Kavadarci to host the Final Four, and is everything organized good?   The organization of the Final Four is divided to two parts - one for the EUROHOLD Balkan League, and the other for the host KK Feni Industries. We chose Kavadarci, because in 2009 it was in Samokov and in 2010 it was in Sofia. In the begining of March we sent a letter to all six clubs participating in the second phase, asking if any of them would be interested in organizint the event. We received two replies - one from Kavadarci, that they are interested and one from Mornar that they will think about it, so those were the only options. I hope that they will organize it well. Maybe the hotels aren′t with the such quality as those in Sofia, Samokov or Bar, but I think that the games are the main part, and the hall will be full with 2500 spectators. The quality of the hall is good, the quality of the teams is good and we care about basketball, not tourism. We also have an agreement with Macedonian Channel 5 to broadcast the games live, also with Bulgarian National TV and of course Sportmedia TV. If we would′ve made the event in Montenegro, it wasn′t sure that the local TV would broadcast the games, while we want to showcase the league as much as possible. We have professional players, professional referees, professional coaches, who during their careers have been in 5-star hotels and as well in 1-star hotels, but the main thing is on the floor in the hall. We might have some minor issues in Kavadarci, but regarding the games, and the games are the most important I don′t think there will be any problems.
There is a Board Meeting on Friday, what will you discuss there?   First of all, we will not extend the league to 12 teams, we will stay with 10. There is a request from the Romanian federation, that they want to have two teams, the Macedonian federation also wants two teams, so we will have to discuss that. There are already some teams who have declared that they want to participate next season as well, so we will have to speak to the federations, because the decision is commong - from the BIBL and from the federation for any team. So on Friday we will probably know 60-70% of the teams for next year. We will also change some things about the hotels, as in the three seasons so far we were the ones making the reservations. This season we felt like a tourist company, but we don′t want it to be like that anymore. We will still pay to the teams, but they will make reservations for the hotels, but of course the hotel will need to be approved by the League. Many times this year we worked more like a tour operator, and not like a basketball organization. These are the main things.
What is the situation with the sponsors for next year?   From what I know, regarding EUROHOLD, there won′t be a change for next season. We also have an agreement with Pepsi, as we hope that the company will extend their share in the BIBL. We are talking to other potential sponsors as well, so we could be able to develop the league as much as possible. Of course everytime I′m saying that I′m thankful to EUROHOLD, because they are behind us and are supporting us even in tough times like this. Me and Mr. Assen Christov do our best to support everything financially. At this point we have some delay with the payments to some clubs, but we pay everything. Actually we are the only league in the world which pays to the teams to play basketball. There isn′t another league like this, which is paying, but there are still people who complain. But it′s OK, this is normal.   Are you satisfied with the interest shown in the EUROHOLD Balkan League?   Yes. First of all I′m satisfied because in the past three years we changed some things in the basketball in Bulgaria as well. We put in TV graphics, we′ve got clock, we′ve got result, and of course we have Sportmedia TV as well. There is more interest to the local players, so we made something with the Balkan League. I′m satisfied, but we will try to make it even more better, sending it out to more televisions. I want to thank Sportmedia TV, as they are doing a great job. There are some problems as well, as some people in Israel would like to watch as well, so we will have to find a technical solution. I′m satisfied, but we will have to work even harder to make things even better.   As a former referee, are you happy with the development of the referees in the BIBL?   In the EUROHOLD Balkan League for three years there were problems with the referees in just two games. And for those two games it was my mistake, because I made the incorrect nomination, so I take the blame for that. All games are officiated in a good way by the referees, we have a good combination of young referees and experienced ones. For the Final 4 I took the decision that we will not have non-international referees, so I chose only officials with Euroleague and FIBA experience. That doesn′t mean that the less experienced referees haven′t done a good job, but I have to think in favor of the teams and the fans. So now we put experienced referees, and in the next season we will continue in the same way as the previous one. When the teams aren′t satisfied with the officiating, I′m not satisfied as well. I protect the referees if it′s needed, but even if it′s not, we do not punish them, but we give them time to see more video and learn to become better.  In general I′m really happy with what we have.   There was even a referee from Saudi Arabia, what happened so he officiated a BIBL game?   There was a referee camp we made in Samokov last summer, and he participated there. We promised to those who were there that they will get games in the BIBL. After that the Federation of Saudi Arabia asked us, and we chose the one that was the best. I watched the games he officiated a couple of times, and I can say that he did a good job. We will have another seven referees from Saudi Arabia in the summer camp, and we will see, we may have another referee from this country next season. We are trying to have a good connection with the Near East.
What are you going to wish to the teams, to the fans in Kavadarci...   I hope they will understand that we are doing anything we can in order for them to have the best conditions and play the best basketball they can. The referees won′t be a problem in these games, as they will do exactly what they have to do and the best team will win. About the fans, who are about to come - I believe that they will see very interesting games. And again, we might have some technical issues again, but the games will be of a good quality.