Berlin (dpa/bb) – Alba Berlin is starting the new season of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) with a few question marks. Preparations have not gone as planned. “We had a lot of problems, which was very frustrating at times,” said coach Israel Gonzalez. Alba will have to play against the Towers Hamburg on Sunday (6 p.m./Dyn).
Many injuries and bruises prevented the team from getting into the swing of things. “We weren’t able to train and develop as much as we would have liked. Things weren’t going as they should,” said Gonzalez. Recently, veteran Matt Thomas, co-captain Jonas Mattisseck and Justin Bean were injured. Their participation against Hamburg is questionable.
Only six German players in the squad
The test matches were also a bit bumpy. There were three defeats in five games. This included a 74:81 defeat in the first test against the current opening opponent Hamburg. However, the test tournament last weekend in Antalya gave the Alba coach a little hope. “These three games really helped us to find our rhythm again. We have made small progress,” said the Spaniard.
But nobody is talking about the championship. While Alba’s strength in recent years has been having good German players in the squad, FC Bayern Munich has long since overtaken the Berlin team in this regard. In any case, the Berlin team only has six German players in its squad, but nine foreign players.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240920-930-238034/1
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