It's a start into the unknown and nobody knows what the end result will be. Can the basketball players really manage to pull off a 34-game season with subsequent playoffs in the middle of a pandemic that is affecting the entire society??
Or will there have to be some adjustments to the game schedule in order to create a champion, as in the previous year, unlike in ice hockey, for example?? "We are not dealing with that yet. We have a plan A and we're going to follow it until it's no longer possible," said BBL boss stefan holz ahead of the season opener with the ludwigsburg vs. Gottingen game on 6. November (20.30 am/magenta sports).
But even before the first bounce, the BBL had to postpone two games at once. Because a player of the gieben 46ers tested positive for corona, almost the entire team was sent to quarantine for 14 days by the health department. This for the 7. November, the 46ers' planned home game against mitteldeutscher bc has therefore been postponed indefinitely. This also applies to the game of medi bayreuth against the telekom baskets bonn. Quarantine had been ordered for all players and coaches of the franken almost two weeks ago, so bayreuth applied for the transfer.
Already in the early cup competition it had become clear how unstable the system is. Defending champion alba berlin had to send half of its team to quarantine for 14 days due to a total of seven positive corona tests, and medi bayreuth and telekom baskets bonn were also unable to play their scheduled cup games for the time being due to corona cases. The top four planned for last weekend had to be postponed indefinitely.
In addition to the problems with the schedule, the 18 clubs have to deal with the ban on spectators until at least the end of november. A political decision that did not meet with universal approval, since leagues and clubs had invested a lot of work and money in strict hygiene concepts that will not be implemented for the time being. "From our point of view, there are no technical or hygienic reasons for this," said holz, who described the decision as "bitter".
After all, unlike in soccer, basketball clubs are heavily dependent on ticket and merchandising revenues. "Basketball cannot exist in the long term without spectator revenue," marvin willoughby, general manager of the hamburg towers, said in a survey by the deutsche presse-agentur. Even industry leader bayern munchen had problems when the exclusion of spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic was in effect for the entire season. "Even FC bayern basketball won't be able to get through a complete season without spectators, because we're already stretched to the limit financially here," said bayern general manager marko pesic.
But despite all the odds, frankfurt's managing director gunnar wobke received no support for his proposal to postpone the start of the season by at least a month to early december. "Such decisions are definitely too early now. We want to try to play as many games as possible and then react in the season if necessary," said ulm's managing director thomas stoll.
Last season, the BBL proved that it is flexible. As the only one of the rough sports, the basketball players, besides the professional football, managed to finish their season. The experience gained from the quarantane tournament in munich with ten teams should now help the league and the clubs to cope with the expected uncertainties of the new season.
Top priority is to get all games through somehow. "We simply owe it to our partners, sponsors and of course the fans," said martin geissler, managing director at mitteldeutscher bc. "We can't afford to deliver another shortened playing year. It doesn't work."
And so the basketball players will shimmy from week to week for the time being. The fact that only four clubs are playing internationally this year will help schedule what are sure to be numerous make-up games. But it remains a ride on a razor's edge. "This is fighting for survival," said alba berlin's executive director Marco Baldi.
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