Before the second game of the BBL final, the basketball players from Bayern Munich are under pressure to play against the more stable team from Alba Berlin.
There was a lot of talk about energy after Alba Berlin’s victory in the first final of the German championship last Friday. “We’ve run out of fuel“, said Andrea Trinchieri, coach of Bayern Munich’s basketball team, and pointed out that his team had played the fifth game of an exhausting semi-final series in Bonn less than 48 hours earlier. “We had no more energy physically and mentally.”
In fact, the Munich team collapsed after taking the lead in the final quarter and had nothing left to oppose the determined Berlin offensive. But Bayern international Andreas Obst contradicted the coach’s interpretation that this was solely due to the lack of strength: “We’ve played like this all season. We just have to be a bit smarter in our heads and play the game to the end.”
Berlin with the more balanced squad
The Berliners had a week to regenerate after winning the semi-final series against Ludwigsburg in a rush. In the first game of the final series, however, they were able to benefit from their more balanced squad, the Berliners used more players and distributed their minutes significantly more than the Munich team. The young German pros like Jonas Mattisseck or Malte Delow are more than just supplementary players who provide relief. They were already allowed under Aito Renesepredecessor of Coach Israel Gonzalez, gain a lot of experience, at the highest level. They have internalized Berlin’s game philosophy, keyword “smart” play and can always provide impetus when they get their minutes.
The Munich have their squad stronger at the Euroleague aligned and trust their foreign stars above all. In the BBL, on the other hand, there must be six German players in the squad per team, which is why the Berliners can rely on a lower rotation than Bayern. This could become the decisive factor for the remaining games in the final series.
In the opening victory of the Berliners, four minutes before the end came with Maodo Lo and Luke Sikma two leading players with replenished reserves from the bench. Munich’s leaders Nick Weiler-Babb and Vladimir Lucic, each with almost 30 minutes in the tank at the end, dragged themselves across the field clearly exhausted. The Munich game, which thrives on a strong defence, requires a lot of strength and running work in order to run through passing paths, chain down opponents and minimize the chances of open throws.
Pesic: Lack of power “doesn’t matter”
On the other hand, the Berliners were more aggressive on the defensive in the decisive phase, provoked turnovers and scored the first, psychologically important blow in the final series. His team is “kicked in the butt‘ said Coach Trinchieri and promised another appearance in game two on Tuesday evening (06/14/2022) in Munich. Managing director Marko Pesic no longer wanted to use the grueling season in which Bayern Munich canceled 80 games as an excuse: “It just doesn’t matter. We now have the final and a maximum of five games.”
The fact that they have won the title three times in the previous four final series against their permanent rival still speaks for Bayern, with Alba only triumphing last year. In the regular season, the Munich team was able to win three out of four duels.
Alba manager Marco Baldi recalled the past battles in which the Munich team threw their opponents out of rhythm with their experience and toughness. “They’re very, very smart and well rested. They know when to take time out. It’s very, very difficult to stay on top of things and keep a cool head there.”
Berlin coach Gonzalez also warned against a strong reaction from Bayern: “You have often been in very difficult situations and have the experience to solve them. But we can also play better and we will try.”