Weilheim's hopes in the relegation battle rest on a Serbian powerhouse

Created: 01/15/2022, 07:00

By: Andreas Mayr

Still in the mood for basketball: Miljan Grujic (here in the jersey of the third division Oberhaching in December 2019) wants to use his physical presence to help TSV Weilheim in the relegation battle of the 2nd regional league.

©Andreas Mayr

Weilheim's basketball players are having a difficult season.

A well-known newcomer should help ensure that this season has a happy ending after all.

Weilheim

– The new man introduced himself to his future teammates last Tuesday.

Some Weilheimers must have been amazed when the Serbian bear built up in the hall.

Center Miljan Grujic was classified with the guard measurements of 2.06 meters and 130 kilograms.

The 35-year-old closes a gap in the Weilheim regional league basketball team that arose with the departure of Florian Willkomm - the last real board center of TSV to date.

"Flo is leaving Weilheim, but he's also allowed to retire," jokes coach Darryl Millwood.

With Miljan Grujic, Weilheim gets a wall under the basket and prepares for the relegation battle in the 2nd regional league, which starts this Saturday with an away game in Neumarkt.

Basketball: The association's mode of execution is increasingly met with incomprehension

Despite the good news at TSV: Nothing and nobody can get past Omikron at the moment.

"The numbers will skyrocket," Millwood said.

The people of Weilheim are correspondingly skeptical about the bold plan of the association to go through the entire season.

Mind you, the “Red Devils” only played seven of 24 games.

The game dates are already running until the end of April.

Johannes Frühschütz, the sporting director of his friend from Murnau, called the action of the officials "unreasonable".

Millwood fully supports these words.

"I think Corona will ruin the season and put a spanner in the works for us," says the TSV coach.

Basketball: Association does not respond to innovative proposals

Above all, he does not understand why the league management did not respond to the innovative proposals.

Play-off and play-down tournaments were under discussion to determine who was promoted or relegated.

"That would have been absolutely in our interest," emphasizes Millwood.

The whole league could have gotten rid of the deadline pressure and could have planned and played out such competitions in peace.

So Weilheim is forced to press game to game.

At the end of February, for example, TSV will play at home on two consecutive evenings on a weekend – if Corona wants it.

Basketball: Miljan Grujic moves from Bad Aibling to Weilheim

In the Regionalliga 1, the precarious situation has demanded a first victim, which can now be directly connected to Weilheim's newcomer. TuS Bad Aibling withdrew its team, making Miljan Grujic available. Coach Millwood found out through his good contacts that the center was still very interested in basketball and steered him to Weilheim. "He just wants to play a bit, he's not a professional," says Millwood about the 35-year-old with an interesting CV. Around a decade ago, Grujic appeared on the map of regional basketball in Munich and almost single-handedly led the multi-cultural club Hellenen Munich from the lowlands to the Bayernliga. After his move, he and Weilheimer Alexander Gotzler formed the center duo for fourth division Oberhaching for a long time.with which he rose to the third division Pro B as a champion in 2019. He completed one season there, but hardly found time for training because he is very busy both professionally and with his family (three children). So it was off to Bad Aibling, where he had previously made a one-year trip.

“He balances our team.

Weilheim's coach Darryl Millwood on newcomer Miljan Grujic

With Miljan Grujic, Weilheim gains on the one hand a defensive anchor that reliably protects the basket and on the other hand a worker in attack whose power will put many a ball in the basket.

"He balances our team," says Millwood.

Means: The Thumser brothers or Matthias Modrok no longer have to struggle with the heavyweights of the league.

Grujic takes over from now on, while all teammates slide back to their usual positions.

In addition, the trainer hopes that Grujic's charisma will draw his colleagues into training.

"It's difficult to get them together right now," reports Millwood.

Especially since the squad continues to shrink.

Basketball: Weilheim continues with a small squad

Julius Dillmann and Sebastian Niederreiter have decided that hobby sport is too risky for them under the current conditions. "I respect that," emphasizes the coach, who can completely understand the decision of the two. Two more are likely to be out for a few games: Philipp Brenner is in the stress of exams, Andreas Thumser is still struggling with knee problems. In return, Johnny Millwood relieved TSV, especially build-up player Alex Brem, who was often on the field for 35 minutes or more. "It was very easy for the opponents," said the coach, referring to the many absences in the first few months of the season. Only against Neumarkt, the first opponent in the new year, did Weilheim play with a full squad in the first leg – and won. "The first and last time," as Millwood notes.And yet he sees the chances of staying up very high, also because the games against the table neighbors are still pending. "That is the absolute motivation."