Faced with a still uncertain health context and the risk of seeing the season drag on with postponed matches, Swiss Basketball has decided to reform the third round of the SB League championship. Contrary to what was expected, there will not be two distinct groups, namely the best classified places 1 to 5 assured of a qualification in the play-off on the one hand, and the others supposed to snatch the last qualifying ticket. It will ultimately be a third round noticeably close to the first two where all the teams will face each other once. The first eight (out of nine teams) at the end of this new phase will qualify for the play-offs.
“Allow clubs to save salaries”
Only adaptation, the best classified at the end of the second round supposed to end on February 10 will have the advantage of welcoming their direct competitors at home. This reform will notably lighten the initial schedule with three games less. The play-off formula should probably also be lightened. “We will play this third round at the rate of one match per week, which will allow us to possibly reschedule matches in the middle of the week that could not have been played at the weekend. We should finish in early May, knowing that the Swiss Cup will still be added. The idea is also to finish earlier, without pushing until mid-June, the clubs could thus save salaries, especially on contracts for foreign players, ”explains Erik Lehmann, director of competitions at Swiss Basketball. Maintaining the initial schedule with a crossover intermediate round between two groups would have required playing two matches per week. “It was too risky in view of the health situation because in case of postponement of matches, we had no more possible dates”, slips Erik Lehmann. The authorities of Swiss basketball are now giving themselves until “end of March, mid-April” to define the formula of the play-offs, “according to the evolution of the pandemic”.
The stakes slightly modified
This change also modifies somewhat the stake of the last matches of the second round. For example, BC Boncourt faces Monthey-Chablais on Saturday at 5.30 p.m. in a match that was supposed to be crucial for the top 5 race at the end of the second round, a place that a few hours ago gave a direct qualification for the play- off. But that was before, and this duel no longer takes on this “urgent need” to score points. “Today, there is no longer any need to be in this position at the end of the second round. But that remains our goal for the play-offs. Finally, it is only the temporality that changes. We don’t need to be 5 anymoree mid-February, but you have to be at the end of the regular championship, ”reacts BC Boncourt’s sports director, Clément Boesch, without advocating any relaxation against Monthey-Chablais. “You have to win this game. There is no choice. The more the season progresses, the more difficult it is to grab places. So the sooner you win, the better ”. Financially, the reform is not a revolution for the leader of BC Boncourt insofar as the club had planned a regular season until the end of April, which does not change. The players are then paid in proportion to the days played during the play-offs. This is where savings could be made if the final phase were indeed shortened. / jpi
.
