EThere were only four seconds left to attack, but Jayson Granger didn’t know where to go. The Alba Berlin playmaker stood with the ball on the sidelines. He and his team had to catch up, but the defenders in the red jerseys had already lined up in front of him. He dribbled past one, then the siren sounded. The 24-second clock was up, the attack over. Cheers broke out on the bench of FC Bayern Munich. The trainer Andrea Trinchieri formed his fingers into fists. He took a step into the field where Granger had stopped and looked at the ground. He hadn’t even managed to throw the ball towards the ring.
On Sunday afternoon, this scene from the fourth quarter was used to explain why FC Bayern won the final of the basketball cup against Alba Berlin in their own hall. Munich’s defense was so overwhelming that it stole the air from even the best attacking team in Germany. The end result: 85:79.
It was a little reminder of the actual balance of power in German basketball that the market leaders from Berlin and Munich were able to negotiate the first title of the season among themselves. In the Bundesliga they only start second and fourth in the play-offs, which start this Wednesday. The Berliners lost six of 34 games in the main round, the Munich even ten. This is an unusually large number for their circumstances, but under no circumstances should one infer a shift in power from top to bottom. Defeats in one league have to do with victories in another: the Euroleague, the best club competition in European basketball. Where there is the most money to be made, Berlin and Munich were once again the only German teams to be invited to take part this season. But that meant: an additional at least 34 exhausting games against the super-rich. They did well in these, the Bavarians even so well that they advanced to the quarter-finals. In the end, they were eliminated in five dramatic games against Milan. And when you look back at German basketball, it’s almost a nasty punchline that the Euroleague helps the other Bundesliga clubs in a few games in the competition against Berlin and Munich in the short term, but harms them in the medium and long term.
Also better in the floor ball: Bayern do not let Alba develop
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Image: dpa
On the weekend of the cup you could see why Bayern and Berlin have hurried away from their domestic rivals. You compete with the best players, the best coaches and also the best sports directors. One of the two, the Italian Daniele Baiesi, who has been planning the squad in Munich since 2017, only extended his contract during the week. And although he can spend more money on players and coaches than any other sporting director in Germany (yes, even as Himar Ojeda in Berlin), he had to watch on Saturday how his team was tricked by the Ulm team in the semifinals. It took two extra times and an outstanding Vladimir Lucic (24 points) to bring down this 104: 102.
After the game, the Ulm team immediately questioned the result. Because Bayern playmaker Wade Baldwin IV was on the field for two free throws in Ulm despite his fifth foul, which is punished with exclusion, they protested the game standings. The league that organizes the cup rejected it that evening. Allegedly Baldwin had not been informed of his disqualification by either the jury or the referees.
In the semi-finals of Berlin there was less to clarify, but no less to be amazed at. At the 112: 96 against Göttingen they demonstrated once again how creative and coordinated they can be. They repeated that in the first quarter of the final. They fit and ran until someone had enough space and time to throw. This is what Aíto García, your Spanish trainer teaches. When his players got into a frenzy, Munich coach Trinchieri tried to interrupt this with a break after just 126 seconds. At the end of the quarter, Berlin led by Granger (17 points) 29:17.
Anyone who has seen Trinchieri-Bayern this season knows that they will not be intimidated by a deficit, not even by a high one. They are the stylistic alternative to Berlin. You dominate not with your head, but with your body. This can be overwhelming, especially in defense. Proof: In the second quarter, the offensive artists from Berlin only managed ten points. The break: 41:39 for Munich.
Bayern defended the lead in the second half, although Paul Zipser, their top scorer with 18 points, conceded the fifth foul. But they still had Lucic, who only scored nine points, but led the defense. It was he who blocked the last Alba throw – and was voted the most valuable player (MVP) afterwards. When his trainer put the medal on his head, the Berliners stood a few meters away and watched in silence. That day they were defeated. But it would only be the logical consequence if Berlin and Munich meet again this season: in the final series for the German championship.
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