Now FC Bayern’s basketball players are of a caliber like Kane – and even decorated with major titles: NBA champion Serge Ibaka (34) gets started in Munich.
An NBA superstar has chosen Bayern!
The native Congolese won the Larry O’Brien Trophy with the Toronto Raptors in 2019 (1071 NBA games in total), and now star coach Pablo Laso (55/most recently Real Madrid) has been able to lure him to Bayern.
FCBB managing director Marko Pesic (46): “Without Pablo Laso, no Ibaka. I can say that clearly!”
New coach Laso knows Ibaka from their time together at Real Madrid (2011). Now he has lured him to Munich: “I am now at a point in my career where I wanted to know exactly who I was working for. Namely, for a great person. That’s Laso,” says the basketball star.
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The Ibaka deal (most recently without a contract for six months) is a clear statement to the competition and the native Congolese also makes it: “I’m here to win titles. Everyone there is.”
But it wasn’t just Laso, Bayern football was also a reason for his move: even before he signed, he sat in the 2-2 draw against Leverkusen in the Allianz Arena and came out as a Bayern fan: “Aside from basketball, football is my biggest hobby . I was also a footballer when I was a child.”
Serge Ibaka (m.) sat with Bayern basketball media director Andreas Burkert (l.) during Bayern’s 2-2 draw against Leverkusen
Photo: Dennis Brosda
At the age of 17 he came to Spain, where his great career began: “My motto is: ‘Hard work always pays off in the end’. I am a winner. When I’m on the court, I always give my best for the team. I still have a lot of fire in me.”
The former junior national player for the Republic of Congo won European Championship gold in 2011 and Olympic silver in 2012 with Spain.
“Andi, Andi, Andi Ooooobst” Three world champions rock the Oktoberfest
Source: BILD September 20, 2023
The World Cup title for his teammates Obst, Giffey and Bonga was also tempting: “I’ll be honest: I didn’t expect Germany. I was betting on the USA vs. Canada final. It’s also clear when you see what they have on paper. But in the end, you should never underestimate an opponent and team spirit pays off. “I only signed when it was clear that I was now playing with world champions,” he says and laughs.
Which is already pushing him to his limits
Curious: 2.08 meters tall, weighing 107 kilos – and yet he had problems in the Paulaner tent on his first visit to the Oktoberfest: “I needed two hands to lift the beer mug. And, phew, the beer here is really strong.”
And Ibaka shows humor: “I won’t say who I was sitting next to. But the person sitting next to me had the cup empty after a few minutes. I was amazed.”
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The veteran will still need some time to get used to it; he lacks match practice; he has been training individually since leaving the Indiana Pacers in February.
For Pesic one thing is clear: “The goal is the start of the league.” In a week, Bayern will start their mission to win the championship against MBC (8 p.m., BMW Park, live on BILD TV and SPORTBILD.de).
2023-09-21 16:20:51
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