The cup in the country of the basketball world champion starts with a new mode. After a long break, second division teams are back, and for the BBL boss that’s what makes it so attractive: “The cup thrives on surprises.”
The BBC Bayreuth is the first. The Upper Franconians will be the first second division team to play a game in the BBL Cup again after 14 years. The team from the ProA, as the 2nd basketball league is called, will meet the MLP Academics Heidelberg on Friday (September 22nd, 2023).
There are a total of six second division teams. They all have home advantage in the first round and will face one of the two relegated teams from the Bundesliga, or one of the clubs that finished ninth to 16th in the BBL last season. The best eight teams from the previous season only enter the round of 16.
BBL Cup, 1st round arrow right
Stefan Holz, managing director of the BBL, calls this a “smart compromise” because the “interests in the league are different”. Teams that are represented in European competitions are already under a lot of pressure. Other clubs, on the other hand, are happy about more games and therefore higher income.
In an interview with the Sportschau, Holz emphasized that the reform and the associated expansion of the starting field are primarily about not letting the BBL “move too far away” from the 2nd league. The six clubs from the ProA should not only be given the opportunity to compete with the “big ones” in friendly games, but also to annoy them in competition. “It’s a rush, but the trophy thrives on surprises,” says Holz, “and the show sometimes comes to other locations.”
The first round of the cup is an indicator of how the German national team’s World Cup title affects everyday life. The BBL starts the new season on Wednesday (September 27th, 2023).
Top game in Quakenbrück
The top game in the first round of the cup will take place on Sunday in Quakenbrück. The Artland Dragons meet the Bamberg Baskets. In the 2006/07 season the two teams faced each other in the final series of the Bundesliga. Bamberg won the title. The Dragons, who played in the BBL from 2003 to 2015, consoled themselves by winning the cup in 2008.
A video with Marius Kröger shows how attractive the draw is for the Dragons. The managing director of Lower Saxony begged for the Bamberg ticket in front of his laptop and was correspondingly euphoric when it was drawn. Kröger has a professional past in Bamberg.
“Top Four” remains
After the first round, the round of 16 continues. The winners of the following quarter-finals then play the semi-finals and the final in the so-called “Top Four”. Gathering four teams in one place to determine the cup winner has proven successful, said Holz. There are considerations about determining a permanent location for the small tournament. This season, the hall for the “Top Four” will be determined after the quarter-final games.
2023-09-21 18:14:08
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