ITA - Benetton Treviso slapped with 12-point penalty

MILAN (Lega A) - Benetton Treviso have been handed a 12-point deduction by the Disciplinary commission of the Italian Basketball Federation for sporting fraud.

The ruling sees the defending Italian champions fall from fourth position in the Lega A standings to 14th with 11 games remaining.

Benetton ran into trouble when they signed Erazem Lorbek in January on loan from Unicaja Malaga, a move which saw them exceed the number of registered players allowed per team.
Lorbek was subsequently allowed to leave and sign for Lottomatica Roma while Benetton parted ways with general manager Andrea Cirelli, who made the mistake of going over the limit of players.

He has been banned for two years.

Benetton, who have announced they will appeal against the ruling, must now attempt to climb the table and enter the top eight in order to reach the Italian play-offs.

"Benetton just like the Federal Prosecutors' Office have announced they will appeal to the Federal Court which will meet on March 27," said a statement from the club's official website, www.benettonbasket.it.

Should they fail to do so, the famous Italian club are unlikely to play in next season's Euroleague.

The decision has taken the shine of what had already been a terrific season for David Blatt's team, with the Lega A giants having already won the Italian Supercup as well as the Coppa Italia. Their misery was compounded in the Euroleague on Wednesday night when they lost 68-65 in overtime at Dynamo Moscow Region, a defeat which cost them a place in the quarter-finals.

Cindy Garcia-Bennett
FIBA