Italy: Coronavirus ends basketball season early

Rome: Italian top-tier basketball league Serie A has ended the 2019-2020 season early on Tuesday due to the coronavirus pandemic. 
The governing body of Italian basketball FIP said on its website that the board of management — chaired by Italian Basketball Federation President Giovanni Petrucci — decided to end the Serie A Championship early to protect the health of athletes, referees, clubs’ staff and their families.

The FIP added that they took this decision as the fate of the Italian sports for this season is still uncertain.
This season Segafredo Virtus Bologna team was leading the Serie A, having 18-2 win/loss record.
Seventeen teams were competing in Italy’s top basketball division.

The regular season had been scheduled to end after match day 34 on April 26. On March 9, the Serie A division was suspended.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has spread to at least 184 countries and regions across the world, with its epicenter shifting to Europe.

The pandemic has killed more than 80,000 people, and infected 1.4 million, while nearly 298,000 people have recovered from the disease, according to figures collated by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
Italy on Tuesday reported 604 more deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 17,127, the highest worldwide.
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