An online survey on the ABA League (28 April 2013, a convenience sample of 130 respondents) reveals a dual picture of the regional competition: on the one hand, the audience perceives it as sportingly attractive and unpredictable, and on the other, it shows reservations when it comes to trust-related elements—the integrity of the competition and officiating criteria.
The highest-rated aspect is the unpredictability of matches: 51.58% of respondents assess it as positive or very positive, while negative ratings account for only 3.97%. A similar pattern applies to the quality of play, which 44.36% rate positively, with only 5.64% giving negative responses. These results indicate that, at least from the standpoint of the sporting experience, the league met the expectations of a significant portion of the audience.
However, when the focus shifts to “integrity,” the picture becomes more cautious. The fairness/regularity of the competition is rated positively by 30.47%, while 14.85% view it negatively—alongside a high share of those with no opinion (25.78%). The issue of officiating quality is even more sensitive: 25.40% assess it positively, 19.84% negatively, and 24.60% have no opinion. The large percentage of undecided respondents suggests either that part of the audience lacks sufficient information to form a judgement, or that this is an issue filtered through fan and club perspectives, leaving a “grey zone” of assessment.
Despite these reservations, support for the ABA League as a format remains relatively stable. Asked about future participation of teams from “their own country,” 67.69% support continued participation—47.69% unconditionally, and 20% with the view that clubs should play in the ABA League but also compete more in the domestic league at the same time. 13.08% oppose participation, while 19.23% have no opinion.
There is also no consensus on how the champion should be determined: the largest share chooses a play-off (39.23%), while the options “first place in the regular season” (30.77%) and “Final Four” (30%) are virtually tied. Some participants will remember the season through club moments and impressions from the final stage—in open-ended answers, Partizan, Crvena zvezda, officiating, and Igokea are frequently mentioned—showing that emotion surrounding key games remained a strong “stamp” of the competition.
Methodological note: this was an online survey from 2013; the findings reflect the views of survey participants and should be interpreted as indicative rather than representative of all fans.