The time is short until the start of the championship tournament. The ten basketball teams only have two and a half weeks to get in the best possible shape. It starts in Munich on June 6th. Until then, training and one thing above all: testing.
Munich (dpa) - After the okay of politics, the first basketball players went straight into the hall. Just a few hours after the Bavarian state government approved the final tournament of the Bundesliga in Munich in June, the first clubs got back into the long-awaited team training session.
Because the time until the start of the ten tournament on June 6th is short. Then the BG Göttingen and the Hakro Merlins Crailsheim open the three-week event, which should end with the second final on June 28th.
The Bundesliga concept, which has been praised by politicians, includes three weeks of team training. But because the decision of the authorities dragged on a little longer, it is now only two and a half weeks until the Munich Dome starts. And not all ten clubs have received approval from the local health authorities to be able to train again as a team with contact.
"We now have to prepare as well as we can," Bayern player Paul Zipser told the online portal "spox.com". He cannot say whether the short preparation time leads to more injuries. But: "If a professional athlete is not in his normal rhythm or does not have the usual preparation, then the risk is of course higher," said the former NBA professional.
Bayern are already training in groups again. In Oldenburg, Göttingen and Vechta there is even permission for contact training, which is why Rasta coach Pedro Calles asked his players for the first joint unit on Tuesday evening. The two newcomers Matic Rebec and Jaroslaw Zyskowski as well as Maxi Di Leo were still missing, but it was a first step back into everyday life. "This is a stage win against the pandemic, which has taken the normality out of everyone," said Oldenburg coach Mladen Drijencic, who started team training again on Wednesday with his team.
The joy and relief to finish the season in a special format with ten clubs and three-week hotel quarantine was great everywhere. "It is better to play this competition than none at all," said Alba Berlin coach Aito. But the trainer veteran also sees the risks of the short preparation time. "We have to get into team training as soon as possible and integrate the foreign players who are still in quarantine so that we can play our best possible basketball before the tournament," said the Spaniard.
In addition to the permission of the authorities, all teams also need two Corona test series with negative results in order to be able to train again as a team. "We will announce the results shortly when all teams are through twice," promised Stefan Holz, Managing Director of the Basketball Bundesliga, in an interview with "sportschau.de".
It is clear to those involved that positive tests could collapse the entire concept. "Everyone has to behave very intelligently and disciplined in the next six weeks," said Bavaria's managing director Marko Pesic of the German Press Agency. But those responsible are confident that everything will go smoothly. "We are not going blue-eyed. There are residual risks. But we see the chances significantly higher than the risks," said Holz.
Wood interview on sportschau.de
Information about the tournament on the BBL homepage
BBL concept
Tournament schedule