Hamburg. After six convincing victories in the preparatory games for the new season of the Basketball Bundesligathat for the Hamburg Towers starts on Sunday (3 p.m., MagentaSport) against Bamberg, Wilhelmsburg lost their final update at league rivals Oldenburg 74:94. “That was the test game with the greatest expressiveness,” says sports director Marvin Willoughby (42), “We have seen what happens when we are not in the game with one hundred percent intensity from the start.”
Hamburger Abendblatt: Mr. Willoughby, how relieved are you that the Towers lost another friendly?
Marvin Willoughby: I get annoyed at every defeat. If, however, you are assuming with your question whether excessive expectations have now been dimmed back to reality, I will have to disappoint you. Internally, we have never lost our feet on the ground. Our goal remains, even if I’m boring you with it: We want to establish ourselves in the Bundesliga, first of all secure relegation and develop step by step.
How far are you in this process?
Willoughby: We are basically satisfied with what we have achieved so far. We made a radical change, almost replaced the entire squad, including parts of the coaching team. We are convinced that we have a better team than last season, even if injury problems during preparation made team building difficult. So far there has not been a single training session in which all players could participate. This is not meant to be an excuse, just a description of the circumstances.
Did you sign too many injury-prone players because they couldn’t get others?
Willoughby: A very clear no. On Sunday against Bamberg, all but Bryce Taylor should be operational. At Taylor we consciously took the risk after his Achilles tendon injury. We knew we had to give him time. Bryce played at the top European level and we still have the hope that he can reach that level again when he is fit. That now seems foreseeable.
Experts say that of the 18 Bundesliga teams, the towers would have strengthened the best. For many players, we suspect, the club as bottom of the table of the last season that was canceled should not have been the first address. Is it all a question of money?
Willoughby: Not correct! We are now a respected location in the Bundesliga, have an excellent infrastructure here, an audience that stands behind the team, even if they haven’t won a home game yet. We treated the players fairly during the Corona crisis and were transparent in everything we did. And in Pedro Calles we have brought in a first-class coach who has proven that he can bring players to a level that makes them interesting for top European clubs. We don’t have to hide. We are an attractive club and not a stopgap solution for anyone. In addition: The Bundesliga is one of the best divisions in Europe, throws in modern arenas, and salaries are paid reliably.
Do you guarantee that for this difficult season too?
Willoughby: Of course! As a club, we have a responsibility to all of our employees.
Are there any wage reductions due to corona?
Willoughby: We don’t talk about the content of the contract.
The federal government and Hamburg have promised financial aid for gaming operations and compensation for loss of income. Are you satisfied with the announced measures?
Willoughby: So far we have not seen a cent from these pots, but I assume that money will come there. However, this aid must not end on December 31, the support must be continued until the end of the season in May / June 2021, otherwise we could not only get serious problems. At the moment we are very grateful that sponsors and fans continue to stand by us unreservedly.
Recently there were again suggestions from the league to postpone the start of the season until spectators are allowed again.
Willoughby: We want it to finally start. Nobody guarantees us that the infection situation will be more relaxed in four or six weeks. Even if it is painful to compete in front of empty stands, and I am convinced that the edel-optics.de arena in Wilhelmsburg is a safe place thanks to our extensive hygiene concepts, in this case it is about more than individual interests. I don’t want to be a politician now who has to decide what is right and what is wrong. We do not know which measures are most effective, so we can only appeal to everyone to agree on a basic consensus, to keep their distance in public and to wear masks.
Almost all Bundesliga basketball teams have already had Corona cases, but not the Towers. What do you do differently?
Willoughby: Anyone who moves in public space cannot rule out the possibility of infection. It’s no different with our players. So far we’ve been lucky. On the other hand, we try to learn from every corona case and to draw the appropriate conclusions. Everyone in the cabin and on the bus is wearing masks. This is standard across the league. In addition, players, coaches and supervisors give us their contacts over the past 24 hours every day. With this, we want to ensure that after a positive test, not the entire team has to be quarantined, but only the infected person and his first-degree contact persons. As in restaurants, we destroy this information after four weeks. We don’t want to monitor anyone, but if games had to be postponed all the time, the league gives a bad picture.
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The Lüneburg volleyball players did without an overnight stay in their first away game in Frankfurt, arrived in the morning and drove back at night after the game. Does that threaten the towers too?
Willoughby: We definitely want to avoid that, it is inimical to performance. However, we have considerable problems with our season planning to find suitable hotels everywhere. Some are closed, others not available. This season is going to be very special.
Again 18 teams:
- The basketball league throws again this season with 18 teams. The Towers were allowed to stay at the bottom of the table (17th) in the class because the descent was suspended when the point round was canceled. The only climbers are the Niners Chemnitz. Two teams should be relegated, the first eight reach the play-offs for the German championship. MagentaSport broadcasts all games in the paid live stream.
Which team will best face the odds?
Willoughby: That has the fewest corona failures. This season, not only talent, motivation and will decide on success and failure, also many uncontrollable circumstances.
Are you still happy that the season starts now?
Willoughby: Yes! We want to play basketball again and show that we learned the right lessons from last season. And I’m already looking forward to our first home win …
Bogdan Radosavljevic (27), who also played for the Towers last season, signed a one-year contract with league competitor Merlins Crailsheim. For the center it is already the eighth station in the BBL.
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