The EuroLeague wants to take over the ABA League, Macedonia's federation punishes the Super Cup referees: this autumn basketball is played off the court too

The EuroLeague wants to take over the ABA League - the NBA is knocking on the door

According to Sport Klub, the EuroLeague wants to buy into the ABA League, with the long-term goal of becoming majority owner. The plan was presented to the clubs that formally own the regional league, although talks are at an early stage and are not yet formal negotiations. Dubai and Cluj, which are not part of the ownership group at all, also sat in on the meeting - and former EuroLeague people already work at the ABA League, such as sporting director Ibrahim Ercan. The reason for the rush has a name: NBA Europe. Commissioner Adam Silver says he will launch the league even without a deal with the EuroLeague, and interest in franchises has already reached "many hundreds of millions of dollars" - for the chance to be the NBA team in London, Paris or Madrid. When two giants fight over Europe, the regional league becomes small change in the bargaining - the only question is who buys it first.

Panathinaikos' best start in 19 years, and Obradović praises the player who didn't score

Panathinaikos crushed Fenerbahçe 92:74 and have four wins from four EuroLeague rounds - the club's best start since the 2007/08 season, when they opened with seven straight wins. Mathias Lessort had 19 points, 8 rebounds and a PIR of 30, Sylvain Francisco added 17 points and 7 assists, and Nigel Hayes-Davis 19 points. But after the game Željko Obradović praised the player who did not score a single point - Isaac Bonga, "incredible on defence" in his 22 minutes on court. Classic Željko: others collect the numbers, the praise goes to the one who defends.

LeBron in a Philadelphia jersey: one shot, ten points

LeBron James made his debut for Philadelphia in a preseason game the team lost to Brooklyn 108:114. In 18 minutes he had 10 points on just one field-goal attempt and 8 of 8 free throws, plus 4 rebounds and 5 assists. "It felt a little different, with a new jersey, but the game is the game," the 41-year-old said. The five of Maxey, Edgecombe, Brown, James and Embiid played together for the first time, and Embiid had the worst night - 6 points on 1 of 5 shooting. Last season LeBron played the fewest minutes of his career, 33.2 per game, and the doctors from the Sports Rehab Show, given the arthritis in his left foot, estimate that in Philadelphia he will play between 28 and 32 minutes.

Federation punishes the Super Cup referees: four games and back on court

MZT Skopje Aerodrom defended the Super Cup with a 70:68 win in Kumanovo, in a finish where Kumanovo had a chance to force overtime and the referees did not call a foul in the final seconds. The Basketball Federation of Macedonia has now, after an expert review and video analysis, punished two of the three referees - Boro Antovski and Nikola Jakimovski - with a four-game ban in all leagues for poor officiating. The same punishment went to the commissioner, Zoran Nikolovski, for "sloppy and incomplete implementation of decisions". With that, the federation admits the refereeing was poor. The trophy, however, stayed where it went - so what does Kumanovo get out of that admission?

TFT win the Skopje derby, last season's runners-up lose again

TFT beat Skopje, formerly Madžari, 102:98 in the second round of the Superleague, their first win after losing to Pelister in Bitola. The hosts settled it early, 30:18 after the first quarter and 64:47 in the third, but Skopje came back to within two, 92:90, before TFT sealed the win. Gjorgji Cvetkovski had 24 points for TFT, while for the visitors Parker shone with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Last season's runners-up now have two losses from two games. An interesting detail on the day the EuroLeague wants to buy a regional league: Skopje, as runners-up, turned down a place in ABA 2, and TFT will play there instead.