Cigars and a euphoric party in Ulm, deep depression in Bonn – there were great feelings after the final of the German Basketball Championship.
Title hero Yago dos Santos proudly slung the Brazilian flag over his shoulders, there was plenty of champagne and a whole set of cigars for the protagonists of the first champion: The basketball players from Ratiopharm Ulm celebrated the first coronation until the early hours of the morning.
“One of the best days we’ve had in this club. In these playoffs, every day was a special one. As a seventh-placed player, I got second, third and first. That’s absolutely amazing,” beamed sporting director Thorsten Leibenath.
“Incredible for this city”
The 74:70 against the main round winner Telekom Baskets Bonn was the last step in a crazy sporting run that brought in nine wins and only two defeats against the dethroned champion Alba Berlin, cup winner Bayern and Champions League winner Bonn. “Nobody expected that. It’s unbelievable to win the first title for this city,” said head coach Anton Gavel.
The final defeats in 2012 and 2016 are forgotten, on Friday evening there was absolute bliss in the arena in Neu-Ulm, which was packed with 6,000 fans.
Confetti on the ground, nets cut off
Yago and Co. celebrated on the arena floor until after midnight. There was plenty of confetti on the floor, and the two basketball nets had long since been cut off by the national champions. “It’s going to be a weekend that won’t be easy to forget. I hope I can still remember a few things because there will be a lot of alcohol flowing,” said Leibenath, who has been with the club for over ten years and in 2019 went from coach to sports director. He is one of the architects of this sporting success.
For the first time since 2009, the name of the master is not Bamberg, Berlin or Munich. And the fact that outsider Ulm, who started the playoffs in seventh place, made it through was a joint effort.
Bonn mourns – much is unclear
Naturally, the mood was less great for the defeated opponent in the final from Bonn. The future of successful coach Tuomas Iisalo is just as unclear as that of playmaker TJ Shorts. And after the vice championship, neither of the two key figures publicly acknowledged the club on Friday evening.
The coach of the Bundesliga basketball club Telekom Baskets Bonn: Tuomas Iisalo.
“Now I want to enjoy the time with the boys and then we can still talk about the future,” said Iisalo, who is traded as a coach in Paris. His future, that’s two to four beers for now. The Finn stated that the feeling was “bittersweet”. They still want to celebrate the Champions League title they have achieved because this was not possible due to the stress of the deadline in May.
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Despite weaknesses in the final, Spielmacher Shorts promoted themselves in such a way that a change to a better club – probably in the Euroleague – would only be the logical consequence. “We mustn’t let our heads hang. We finished first in the main round and won the Champions League. We came up short today, but that’s nothing to let our heads hang,” summed up Shorts after the final.
The Bonners played outstanding basketball throughout the season and also left Alba Berlin and FC Bayern behind in the regular season. Main sponsor Telekom confirmed on Friday before the fourth final that they would continue to support the club financially.