FIBA last week repeated its mandate that the Japan Basketball Association deadline for a merger between the bj-league and the NBL is Oct. 31.
This occurred in Spain, where the FIBA Basketball World Cup was held. In an interview with Reuters, FIBA secretary general Patrick Baumann didn't provide an in-depth analysis of the deeply rooted problems within the Japan Basketball Association and the mind-numbing impasse between the 13-team NBL (the JBL's successor, launched in 2013) and the bj-league. But he made it clear that FIBA will not extend the deadline; the JBA has received an ultimatum from basketball's world governing body.
Merging two leagues when the number of teams keeps changing is a factor that adds another layer of complexities to the mix. What's more, people, companies and communities are protective of their own vested interests.