Basketball
By dpa
September 19, 2024, 11:28 a.m.
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Basketball: Bundesliga, Alba Berlin – FC Bayern Munich, championship round, final, 4th matchday, Uber Arena. Carsen Edwards (l) from FC Bayern Munich and Stefan Holz, managing director of BBL GmbH, stand on the court with a trophy for the Most Valuable Player. (to dpa: “The BBL gets started: favorites, stars, special features”) Photo: Andreas Gora/DPA
Reading time: 2 minutes
Who are the favorites?
Basketball: International match, Germany – Japan, Uber Arena. Germany’s Johannes Voigtmann in action. The center is now hunting for baskets for FC Bayern Basketball. (to dpa: “The BBL is getting started: favorites, stars, special features”)
Photo: Andreas Gora/DPA
The second German Euroleague club, Alba Berlin, had a difficult time on the transfer market. The Berliners also lost their best player, Johannes Thiemann. Coach Israel González’s squad still seems a bit unbalanced. Many coaches and experts therefore see the Niners Chemnitz with long-time coach Rodrigo Pastore as the number one challenger.
Why are only 17 clubs playing?
For the first time in many years, only 17 clubs are playing in the Bundesliga. Because no club from the Second League Pro A, apart from the Skyliners Frankfurt, met the requirements, there is only one promoted team. Even the wildcard procedure, which has been used frequently in the past, did not produce an 18th representative.
A situation that suits the top clubs Bayern and Alba, because two fewer games also means less pressure. However, the lack of income from the canceled home game is a burden mainly on the smaller clubs. In addition, the table will look crooked for the entire season.
A 17-team league should therefore not become a permanent situation. “The situation is absolutely unsatisfactory. A German professional league needs a clear promotion and relegation system: two go down, two go up,” said BBL managing director Stefan Holz to the trade magazine “BIG”.
Which stars came and which went?
The Basketball Bundesliga remains a passing league for many players. Otis Livingston II, MVP of last season, moved from Würzburg to Galatasaray Istanbul. Tommy Kuhse, star of the surprise team Rasta Vechta, accepted a financially more lucrative offer in Italy. And former NBA star Serge Ibaka moved back to Spain to play for Real Madrid.
However, Bayern managed to keep the best player of the final series in finals MVP Carsen Edwards. The Munich team also brought a world champion in Johannes Voigtmann and another national player in Oscar da Silva back into the league. Overall, the turnover at the clubs was high again. It will be exciting to see who takes on the role of Livingston II or Kuhse.
Who plays internationally?
The Bundesliga is once again represented internationally with a large contingent:
Euroleague: Bayern Munich, Alba Berlin
Eurocup: ratiopharm Ulm, Veolia Towers Hamburg
Champions League: Niners Chemnitz, Fit/One Würzburg Baskets, Rasta Vechta, Telekom Baskets Bonn (qualification)
Fiba Europe Cup: MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
European Northern Basketball League: Bamberg Baskets
Bayern in particular want to finally make it to the playoffs in the Euroleague. In the smaller competitions, the German teams have always shown strong performances recently. Most recently, Chemnitz won the Fiba Europe Cup last season.
Where can I watch the games?
All Bundesliga and BBL Cup matches can be seen live on Dyn. The paid streaming service also has a number of magazine formats dedicated to basketball. Highlights of individual games can also be seen in the sports broadcasts of ARD and ZDF.
