Russian, Japanese basketball leagues cancel seasons

The Japanese B League announced it will call off attempts to resume play. The
VTB League, with teams from Russia, Poland, Belarus, Estonia and Kazakhstan,
will not resume. South Korean KBL also has been canceled, and the Chinese
(CBA) league is postponed with the likelihood of being canceled.

"We've prioritized the mental and physical health of our players, coaches and
club officials," league chairman Masaaki Okawa said in a video news
conference, per the Japan Times. "The spread of this coronavirus has been
beyond our imagination and we've emphasized that we cannot afford to expose
our players and others who are associated with our league to the danger."

NBA commissioner Adam Silver has maintained hope the 2019-20 season could
resume in May. But that optimism might be tempered by the failed attempts of
leagues in Asia, where the coronavirus peaked weeks ago.

The Euroleague is the biggest and most accomplished international basketball
association and hasn't scrapped plans to play this summer, ESPN reported.

FIBA continues to express hope it will return to the court, too. FIBA released
a statement this week.

"We've been approached a number of times in the last weeks regarding the
status of employment contracts in professional basketball, especially in view
of 'force majeure' being often invoked as a reason to terminate contracts or
not perform under them. We encourage all registered players, coaches, agents
and clubs to acknowledge the unique circumstances we are all going through and
reach agreements with mutual concessions to the extent possible."

--Field Level Media