Alba’s women rise to the big stage (nd-aktuell.de)

The last point is reserved for Hilke Feldrappe. After that, all dams break. Your teammates storm the field, hug each other, dance in a circle and then bang their hands on the floor, which they want to step on much more often in the future. The men from Alba Berlin have already won ten championships. From now on, the women of the club can also dream of it. With 99:71 they defeat the Rhein-Main-Baskets from Langen in the second leg of the promotion round and qualify for the first Bundesliga in the club’s history. They are achieving a goal that they didn’t even say out loud a few months ago.

After three quarters of the duel, which was not expected to be so one-sided, the 2200 spectators gave standing applause. Louis Olinde is one of those who found their way to the arena at Ostbahnhof this afternoon on Good Friday. The international plays here every week with Alba’s men’s team. He will throw at the same baskets in the Bundesliga that same evening. This time, however, he is in the hall earlier than usual: “I know our women. You often see each other in the training hall. I was also in the first playoff game when our schedule finally allowed it,” he says. Olinde is not the only player from the men’s team in the stands, her coach Israel Gonzalez is also in the audience. Alba is a big family, it is said again and again. It seems to be correct here. “I think it’s cool that the women’s team is now becoming more professional,” says Olinde before disappearing into the dressing room to warm up.

Meanwhile, his colleagues do a lap of honor and high five with the fans. The fact that they are given this stage at all is enormous progress. They usually play in a better training hall in front of a maximum of 300 people, many of them relatives and friends. Today it’s different “And that’s not only special for us,” says co-captain Henriette Höfermann, “but also for all the little girls in the club. You see: Something like this is also possible for them, not just for the boys.«

The opportunity for a double match day with the men came only for the second time since 2019. And this time the women are also playing for a major goal of the club: promotion to the 1st Bundesliga. It was originally intended as a long-term plan, but many young players have developed faster than expected this season. In addition, there was the advantage that Alba has a balanced and large squad of 16 players. Nine of them are not even 20 years old.

Other teams, on the other hand, often only traveled with eight basketball players, and Berlin turned many games in the last minutes when the opponents gave out, as was the case this time when Berlin dominated the second half. “We didn’t expect success so quickly because this isn’t a squad that absolutely had to be promoted. But we already knew that these players would eventually have the potential to do so,” says coach Cristo Cabrera. In the quarter-finals of the promotion round, his team eliminated Bamberg, one round later there was a duel with the women from Langen. Since two teams are promoted, reaching the final is enough for a ticket to the 1st league.

Alba is the first club to play with women and men in the top flight. It is a development that should find its way into many places in German basketball. Berlin is the pioneer and has been putting more work into the female department for a few years: a physiotherapist is always present during training. Away trips have become more comfortable, and men’s and women’s coaches are exchanging ideas. In the whole club there is a game philosophy of fast basketball. “It’s become part of the club culture. That’s how you recognize Alba’s identity, no matter what age or gender,” says Cabrera.

As the icing on the cake of the development, we went back to the arena at Ostbahnhof to present the women to a larger audience. »This shows us that the appreciation has increased enormously. Of course we want to play in larger halls more often. Because you can tell that our small adjoining hall is no longer sufficient,” says Höfermann.

Even if Alba creates more equality in the small things, one big difference remains: the money. While the budget of the men’s team is now eight figures, there are only two professionals among the female colleagues. And they aren’t big names either, who would have to be paid lavishly. Instead, Alba consistently follows a path that has also recently led to great success in the male field. The club has its own youth program: coaches give courses in schools, look for talents like Hilke Feldrappe, who just turned 18 three days ago, and then integrate them into the club’s many boys’ and girls’ teams. A few later make it into Alba’s first team – or even beyond, like the Wagner brothers Moritz and Franz, who now earn millions in the USA in the NBA.

Young women on the floor are far from having this perspective. Some go to school, others study or work. “The mix of amateurs and professionals is necessary in German women’s basketball because there isn’t that much money behind it,” says Höfermann, who, for example, recently completed her bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Canadian Hannah Brown is one of the few professionals on the team. She has already played in the first division, but switched to Berlin because she liked Alba’s development program. After the rise, she is now all the more convinced of Alba’s path. “There are so many talented female athletes here. The fact that we were allowed to be on this stage today is also an expression of our development,” says Brown. »And many of my younger colleagues have the potential to start successful careers. And even if we might have to strengthen ourselves in order to survive in the 1st league, I’m convinced that we’ll make it with this core.«