Ironically, the father of sporting success missed the premiere of the Niners Chemnitz in the basketball league. Head coach Rodrigo Pastore is one of five corona infected people in the team of the BBL promoter. That is why the 48-year-old Argentinian, who has been in office with the Saxons since 2015, can only watch the season opener on Saturday in Crailsheim at home in front of the screen. Even if the Chemnitz-based team is primarily about staying up in the league – internally, the team is toying with a surprise. “I heard from the team that they set themselves higher goals. But as a club we want to start the season with small goals, «said managing director Steffen Herhold.
You are in constant contact with the trainer, either by phone or zoom. We film the training so that he can always watch the units afterwards. Then we get valuable feedback from him, «said assistant coach Sascha Prötzig, explaining the unusual and difficult preparation for the first game of the season.
Unusual preparation
In addition to Pastore and one other member of the supervisory staff, three players who are also still in quarantine will not be available in Crailsheim. For tactical reasons, the club does not want to publish the names of the players in order to leave the opponent in the dark when preparing for the game. After all, both teams had already dueled in a test match in mid-September. At that time the Chemnitzer lost against the Merlins clearly with 81: 107. “You defend very hard and play at a very fast pace. The style should also set us apart a bit. Even if the general conditions are not the best, we go there with the intention of coming back with a win, «explained Proötzig.
For the adventure of the Bundesliga, the people of Chemnitz can at least build on a well-rehearsed player framework from the previous season. The team around captain Malte Ziegenhagen was additionally reinforced with the three Americans Shannon Bogues, Marcus Thornton and George King, the Canadian Isiaha Mike and the German center Filip Stanic. The Saxons go into the first game of the season as a clear outsider, not only in view of the personnel failures. Because the entire team was in quarantine until last weekend, three planned test matches were also canceled.
Threatening situation
Like most clubs, the people of Chemnitz are also struggling with the financial consequences of the corona pandemic. Although the Niners have always operated seriously in the past, precise budget planning is almost impossible. “It’s like driving in fog at 200 kilometers an hour,” said Herhold. Around 140 sponsors support the association. These revenues are the main source of income for the Niners. Part of the missing viewer income is to be compensated with the state corona aid. “We can afford a certain amount of ghost games. If we have to play more than 50 percent of the main round matches without spectators, it becomes a threatening situation, ”Herhold emphasized. dpa / nd
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