The FC Bayern basketball players go into the final tournament for the BBL Cup as guest hosts and favorites. The eternal adversary Alba Berlin could be waiting in the final – all important information about the top four in Munich.
Top Four in the Cup – mode, games, live streams
The four finalists made it through three knockout rounds – and will play the cup winner in the final tournament in Munich.
In the first semi-final on Saturday (February 17th, 2024) at 2 p.m., hosts and defending champions FC Bayern Munich will face Bamberg Baskets. Afterwards (5.30 p.m.) Alba Berlin will play against Ratiopharm Ulm in the second semi-final.
The respective winners will then contest the cup final on Sunday (February 18, 2024) at 2 p.m.
Bayerischer Rundfunk will broadcast the semi-final between Munich and Bamberg as well as the final on Sunday live on TV and as a live stream.
The favorites – final Bayern against Alba inevitable?
FC Bayern has home advantage – and also goes into the cup tournament as the newly crowned leaders of the Bundesliga. With their star squad, including the three world champions Isaac Bonga, Niels Giffey and Andi Obst, Bayern were already considered the top favorites before the start of the season. This also applies to the first title of the season, the BBL Cup.
Bamberg has already won the cup six times, but is now only a shadow of its former greatness. The Bambergers are also lagging behind in the league in twelfth place, and coach Oren Amiel recently had to leave. Bamberg is a clear outsider against the defending champions from Munich, who also have home advantage.
The constellation in the second semi-final is tighter. The champions from Ulm broke the long-term rule of Berlin and Munich in the previous season. Despite the departure of some key players, the Ulm team are back at the top this season – and are hoping for their next coup in the cup.
The greater experience speaks for Alba Berlin, the Berliners are record cup winners with eleven titles, most recently winning the cup in 2022 and also in 2020, at the final tournament in Munich. After a difficult first phase of the season, the Berliners have recently gotten into better shape – world champion and leader Johannes Thiemann is also back in the team after his injury.
Herbert, Pesic, Geschwindner – big star line-up in the Top Four
When marketing the final weekend, the Basketball Bundesliga is also relying on the aftermath of the World Cup triumph. A gala event will kick off on Friday evening under the headline “Celebrating German Basketball”. In addition to world champion coach Gordon Herbert, Svetislav Pesic, Henrik Dettmann and Dirk Bauermann are also invited – the other national coaches who won a medal with the national team. There are also many German basketball celebrities such as Nowitzki discoverer Holger Geschwindner or the 1993 European champions. As part of a charity event, Andi Obst’s shoes, which he wore in the already legendary World Cup semi-final victory against the USA, are being auctioned off.
Top Four – the search for the best format
According to the BBL’s wishes, the euphoria surrounding the national team’s recent successes should also give the final tournament in the cup a new shine. The format has been experimented with several times in the past, and in the current season second division clubs were allowed again for the first time.
The Top Four is still struggling with the problem that it is being held at a somewhat inconvenient time, in February – and therefore in the middle of the season. A later date in the spring has so far failed, mainly due to the tight schedule of games. Just like the wish, which has been expressed again and again, to hold the Top Four at a fixed, as neutral location as possible – as the handball players successfully practiced with their cup final in Cologne. Other thought games, such as marketing the final tournament in the men’s and women’s cups together on one weekend, are still waiting to be implemented.
2024-02-16 13:23:28
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