The modern German basketball classic will be a great test of strength. In a maximum of seven days, Alba Berlin and FC Bayern Munich play for the championship title in up to five finals – at the end of a long season under Corona conditions.
“We are looking forward to the home advantage. It will give us a lot of energy that both teams have to pull out somehow, somewhere,” said Alba international Niels Giffey after 77:75 to 3-1 in the semi-final series against ratiopharm Ulm. “It’s a bit of a survival of the fittest. Both teams just have to fight hard.”
On Wednesday evening at 8.30 p.m., defending champion Alba welcomes the Munich team to their first final duel – and game two starts just 24 hours later. “None of us knows that yet. And none of us knows how to deal with it. That is frightening at first,” said Berlin’s sports director Himar Ojeda. “The finals will be something new for everyone,” said Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri. “Because you have to get through the format first: back-to-back, right, with two games in 48 hours, without a break.”
Duel of the German Euroleague teams
Munich had also prevailed in their semi-final series against preliminary round winner MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg with 3-1 victories. So it comes to the duel of the two German Euroleague teams, which dominate the national basketball.
Since 2018, Alba and Bayern have faced each other in decisive games for a national title for the fifth time. The last four final duels for the championship or the cup were won by the Munich team, most recently a good three weeks ago at 85:79 in the cup final. “It’s going to be super exciting,” said Berlin’s Jayson Granger at Magentasport. “We have the chance to fight for another title. Now we have to rest.”
The schedule for the final series is tight after several corona-related breaks for individual teams during this season and the postponement of the cup final tournament after positive cases at the BG Göttingen. The championship has to end on June 15th, after which the international match windows are due.
Many injured on both sides
“I think the team will hate this format and will pay the price for it,” said Trinchieri. “The only thing a team doesn’t want are injured players.” Both teams are battered, Alba recently had to do without his top performers Luke Sikma and Johannes Thiemann, among others. Ex-NBA professional Paul Zipser and Leon Radosevic were most recently injured at Bayern.
In addition to the mode, the final series also offers something special in the stands: After 1000 spectators were allowed into the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Alba in the second game against Ulm, up to 1450 spectators are now allowed in the first final, in games two and five even up to to 2000.
dpa
|
Stand: 06.06.2021, 11:46
