Asen Hristov: This was the strongest season of the EUROHOLD Balkan League

Asen Hristov, the Executive Director of the EUROHOLD Balakn League spoke to bgbasket.com about the past season in the competition. Here is what he had to say:   - How do you rate the past 2011/2012 season of the EUROHOLD Balkan League?

- Very strong season, the strongest one so far. The League is gaining momentum, and there are better teams playing. The organization this year was much better with the federations, who are our partners. I hope that next year with some small changes that will do the fifth edition, it will be even stronger. This year we had the best final. I can say that this was one of the most interesting and beautiful games that I′ve seen in recent years. The home team deservedly won because of the spirit that they showed in the final minutes. Levski was a great team, I can even say that they were above the level of Lukoil Academic in recent years. After all, the team played in the  final game of an international tournament.

- What does EUROHOLD benefit from the tournament as an organization?

- For EUROHOLD, and the other sponsors, the tournament gives mostly better advertising positions in the Balkan countries where EUROHOLD works, and many additional contacts. As I always say, we are one socially oriented company and help the society. Attracting kids to the gym, to the wonderful game,  instead for them standing on the streets.

- Do you have any new ideas for next season and can you reveal more information now?
 
- During the Final 4 the annual Board Meeting took place and we made some decisions for next season. There will be cash prizes introduced for all participants, and of course the latter would take symbolic amounts, but the first-placed team′s prize will be considerably greater. The amount of these bonuses will be decided in June and the other important thing we talked about, is to further improve the organization and the level. The participating teams in the tournament are not necessarily the best in their countries, because there are countries with representatives in the Euroleague and Eurocup, but these are the teams with the highest number of young players. Also, these teams have many local players, because of our rule for a maximum of three foreigners in the squad. This gives an additional charge and attracts the fans to the gyms. The idea is that next year all this will be at an even higher level with better quality. I have a dream - to present the cup to the winner of the fiftieth edition of the tournament.

It′s possible that the next season we might have teams from Turkey and Greece, and perhaps from Croatia and Slovenia. FIBA Europe and FIBA World are supporting us in a good way. I think that the project is good for everyone, but I still think it should remain at a regional level in those 10-12 countries where we are doing it now now.