Ulm made history and won the championship title for the first time in BBL history. But for sports boss Thorsten Leibenath (48) it should not have been a flash in the pan.
SPORT BILD: Are you still celebrating in Ulm?
Thorsten Leibenath: “We’re still trying to fill in the gaps in our memories. The party went from Friday to Sunday. My daughters (4 and 6 years old, ed.) often ask: Dad, are we still champions?”
SPORT BILD: However, no master player is present at the World Cup. Is that annoying?
Leibenath: “Not me. We are not ungrateful that our German players do not have this additional burden. For me, the national team is not the Holy Grail, I see it from the club’s point of view: the players are released for free and there is a risk that they will get injured and then miss out. With Juan Nunez (18/Spain, ed.) and our two newcomers LJ Figueroa (Dom. Rep.) and Georginho (Brazil) there are three in the provisional squad.”
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Sport-BILD: Your best German player, Karim Jallow, faces a multi-year sentence, he missed three doping controls…
Leibenath: “We still have no knowledge of when a decision will be made in the case.”
SPORT BILD: You lost three of your top performers and couldn’t keep Yago dos Santos, Bruno Cabocclo and Josh Hawley…
Leibenath: “Counterquestion: Why does a team always have to stay together? In Ulm we are pursuing the path of training and developing players. Yago has now switched to Red Star Belgrade, they play Euro League. That’s an honor for us too. And part of our business model.”
SPORT BILD: Then we are now on the subject of money …
Leibenath: “Exactly. In order to be able to be at the forefront of basketball, you need more money. We have to win the EuroCup, then we would have a place in the Euroleague. That’s where the post goes. But no German team plays in Europe in the budget pot in the top ten.
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SPORT BILD: Will Ulm become champions again?
Leibenath (laughs): “We have a good squad that will bring a lot of joy. The goal is the playoffs again. Then everything is possible. But this season it will be even more difficult to get wins. Opponents see us differently now, everyone wants to beat the master. This also increases the pressure on us.”
SPORT BILD: How worried are you that there will be another horror start like last year?
Leibenath: “We had lost five league games in a row. It doesn’t have to be again. So less horror is desired. Because these are the points that are missing in the spring when it comes to the play-off places. It doesn’t have to be like that again.”
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SPORT BILD: Coach Anton Gavel doesn’t even have a coaching license yet, became a champion straight away as a newcomer to coaching. But he still has a one-year contract…
Leibenath: “Everyone will be watching closely this season: Was it his fault or was it just the good team. Ulm is not a flash in the pan and one day Anton will coach a Euro-League team.”
SPORT BILD: Berlin, Bavaria and Bamberg fought for the title for 13 years. Then came Ulm. Will the season be more exciting than ever?
Leibenath: “It’s just like in football: Whenever Bayern Munich wins the championship, that gets boring too. We’re definitely more excited now. Alba Berlin is still a piñata for me, Bayern have brought in a top coach in Pablo Laso (60, record champion from Real Madrid, ed.). He upgrades the whole league. If I had to bet now, I would bet on Bayern to win the championship. But we’re the hunted now and last season we showed it to everyone…”
2023-08-03 16:20:26
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