Karlsruhe (pm/tk) – As one of six teams from the previous season in the BARMER 2nd Basketball Bundesliga ProA, the PS Karlsruhe LIONS are taking part in the BBL Cup 2023/2024. The draw for the first round took place on Thursday. Karlsruhe meets the Würzburg Baskets and has home rights.
Foto: GES/PSK Lions
Karlsruhe welcomes Würzburg
For the first time in many years, teams from the BARMER 2nd Basketball Bundesliga ProA were able to qualify for the BBL Cup last season. The PS Karlsruhe LIONS managed to do this given their third place in the table after the end of the main round. The fans of Baden can look forward to a highlight in the local Lina-Radke-Halle before the start of the upcoming ProA main round. The draw on Thursday showed: In the first round of the cup on 23./24. September will see the Würzburg Baskets compete in the fan-shaped city. This will be the first endurance test for the largely newly assembled team trained by head coach Aleksandar Scepanovic.
LIONS only with outsider chances
The Würzburg Baskets, home club of NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki, are firmly established in the easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). In the past season, the Franconians reached eleventh place in the table. Würzburg is clearly the favorite in the duel with the LIONS. But despite the class difference, Karlsruhe could definitely have outsider chances depending on how the pre-season goes.
Especially since a win would be a really big draw. Because on July 13th, the pairings for the BBL Cup Round of 16 on July 14th/15th were announced. drawn in October. Then the top 8 BBL clubs of the past season intervene. The winner of the clash between Karlsruhe and Würzburg would then have home rights against the reigning German champion ratiopharm Ulm.
Info will follow
Now everyone involved at the LIONS is looking forward to the first round of the cup, in which the Lina-Radke-Halle will certainly be sold out down to the last of the 1,500 seats. For two Karlsruhe players it should be a very special day for another reason. Because Julian Albus, who has been with the LIONS since summer 2022 and is now an integral part of the rotation, was previously with the Baskets for five years. The memories of Würzburg are even fresher for O’Showen Williams, who has only been in Karlsruhe for a few weeks and played his last game for the Franconians in May.
The BBL will probably announce the exact date of the game and the tip-off time in the next few days. LIONS season ticket holders enjoy a right of first refusal and will be informed in good time before free sale starts.
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