The Telekom Baskets Bonn around their outstanding playmaker TJ Shorts are aiming for the Champions League title on Sunday. Opponent in the final in Malaga is Hapoel Jerusalem.
With the finale in sight, TJ Shorts’ hands were shaking. The American missed two free throws in the semifinals – Unicaja Malaga got one last chance, but shorts and the baskets Bonn were allowed to breathe a sigh of relief: The failures of their best were not punished, the first title in the club’s history is within reach.
On Sunday from 8 p.m. the Rhinelanders, winners of the main round, will play basketball-Bundesliga, in the final of the Champions League.
“I’m just proud of the boys,” said Shorts after the semi-final thriller at the Final Four in Malaga, relieved. The league MVP contributed 21 points to the 69:67 (41:31) against the favored hosts on Friday evening and thus made the dream of the title more real.
TJ Shorts: Final opponents Jerusalem a “world-class team”
Only Hapoel Jerusalem stands between Bonn and the cup. And yet the road is long, as the Bonners know only too well from a club history with five runners-up and three defeats in the cup final. “We’re super self-confident. When you beat a team of that caliber, it gives you a boost,” said Shorts. “But we also know that a world-class team will come back on Sunday.”
Jerusalem defeated defending champion Lenovo Tenerife 69:68 and, together with Bonn, broke the Spanish dominance in the FIBA Europe tournament, the smaller competition to the continental premier class EuroLeague. There, Bonn’s Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich and Alba Berlin mostly unsuccessfully compete with Europe’s elite.
In general, German triumphs at European basketball level are rare. Bonn beckons only the fifth German European Cup title. Alba Berlin won the Korac Cup (1995), Mitteldeutsche BC the FIBA EuroCup Challenge (2004), BG Göttingen the EuroChallenge (2010), and the Fraport Skyliners won the FIBA Europe Cup (2016). The Baskets want to line up, they rely on their outstanding playmaker.
In the final, it will again depend on the nimble shorts. “He’s a great leader, not with words, he leads by example,” said team-mate Javontae Hawkins on Friday evening: “He trusts us, we trust him.” The American set the motto for the final: “We have to stay with ourselves, with our identity, don’t change anything,” Hawkins demanded.
Bonn coach raves about his team
Bonn coach Tuomas Iisalo
Coach Tuomas Iisalo raved about this DNA that carries his baskets through the season. “I think our team is an inspiration. Watching the guys you can’t help but admire their conviction,” said the Finn. “Now we have a unique opportunity with this unique group of people,” Iisalo continued.
It doesn’t matter how the final ends, the people of Bonn will be traveling back home on Monday. On Tuesday there will be a very short preparation for the Bundesliga quarter-finals against the Niners Chemnitz, because on Wednesday game one of the best-of-five series will take place. Bonn also has a chance of winning the title in the BBL. Thanks to TJ Shorts, whose hands rarely tremble.
