Bouncing back from abyss, London Lions can join Europe's elite, says CEO

LONDON : London Lions can become a global basketball brand and compete against Europe's elite in a state-of-the-art arena, according to the club's ambitious chief executive Lenz Balan.

The club was saved from collapse when it was bought by Tesonet last August and plans for a purpose-built stadium in the capital have been backed by London's mayor.

There have been many false dawns in British basketball, and London in particular epitomises the sport's struggle to establish itself as a mainstream spectator sport in the UK.

Last season London Lions made waves across the continent and beyond when its women's team became the first English club to win a major European trophy, beating Besiktas in the EuroCup final on a momentous night at London's Copperbox Arena.

The men's team also reached the semi-finals of the EuroCup, losing to Paris. Yet a matter of weeks later the club was in administration after American owners 777 Partners, who acquired it in 2020, hit financial trouble.

Lithuanian tech firm Tesonet stepped in to save the day and while there is no European competition for the Lions this year, Balan believes the future is bright, not just for the Lions but also for the sport in Britain.

"This time last year I was basically in tears every other day," Balan, a former vice-president of 777 but who has been retained as CEO, told Reuters in an interview.

"For everybody it was emotional. Those women deserved to keep going. But the financial realities wouldn't allow for that and ultimately didn't allow for the men's team to compete in Europe either. But what we did learn was that you can have a team with British players in significant roles in the team competing at the very top levels of Europe."

Balan says a purpose-built stadium in