Is there still hope? Since last Sunday it has been clear that Hakro Merlins Crailsheim will be relegated alongside bottom-placed Tigers Tübingen in the Basketball Bundesliga. The club from Baden-Württemberg stayed in the BBL for six years, and is now moving to Pro A. Or not?
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There is still a possibility that Crailsheim will also be first class next season. The prerequisite is that the Merlins acquire a wildcard for the license in the first league by paying 700,000 euros.
But money alone is not enough. The condition is also that the second-rate Karlsruhe Lions are eliminated in the semi-finals against Phoenix Hagen in the promotion playoffs. The corresponding series starts on Thursday.
Will Crailsheim stay in the BBL?
But what is behind it? The Lions are the only team in their part of the tournament tree that has applied for a license for the BBL. Should they fail – and Hagen reach the final – a license in the highest German basketball league would be free. Free for the Merlins.
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“We know who plays against whom, when and where in the second division playoffs and what opportunities arise from this,” explained Crailsheim’s sporting director Ingo Enskat at Dyn.
But: Even if we managed to stay in the first division, there would still be a problem. The money due for the wildcard would be missing from the player budget.
Merlins have fired coach Laakso
Incidentally, the last three teams that bought a place in the BBL were relegated the following year. In addition to the Gießen 76ers (2022) and the Frankfurt Skyliners (2023), Crailsheim itself was also hit in 2016.
By the way: Regardless of the outcome, head coach Jussi Laakso was fired.
2024-05-15 08:32:28
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