ZBetween 2005 and 2017, Brose Bamberg won nine German basketball championships. Upper Franconia won seven of these titles between 2010 and 2017, when only FC Bayern Munich managed to break this series in 2014. Since 2018, however, the financially and personally almost untouchable Euroleague participants Alba Berlin and Bayern Munich have dominated the Bundesliga. With the exception of the 2020 final tournament, which was held with a different format due to the pandemic, these two teams have always faced each other in the last play-off series since then. This season, too, there are many indications that this final will be held again.
In Bamberg, the (financial) race for the top was deliberately given up in 2018, not least because the Euroleague showed significantly more interest in the big cities of Munich and Berlin despite the successes. Again and again, those responsible for the European premier class pointed out Bamberg’s infrastructural problems (connection to the airport, size of the city, size and modernity of the arena) and made it clear that a permanent right to participate was not possible.
Upper Franconian crisis summit at Christmas
It is now clear that the main sponsor, Brose, will not only exit as the sole shareholder, but will also sell all of its shares. However, the automotive supplier is to remain as a sponsor. It can be assumed that the company will contribute a seven-digit amount in the future. But that will not be enough for a return to the glory days. The Bamberg team are currently only 15th in the table and will be taking part in the Upper Franconian crisis summit on Monday (8.30 p.m. on Sport1 and DAZN) at Bayreuth, bottom of the table. Oren Amiel, the sixth coach since Andrea Trinchieri split in 2018, is already counted.
There is currently only one club that could break into the phalanx of Munich and Berlin. Since the signing of Tuomas Iisalo, Telekom Baskets Bonn have been chasing the top dogs, although they are operating with a significantly smaller budget. The Finnish coach led the Rhinelanders to the semi-finals last season, where they still led against Bayern Munich in the fifth and decisive game at half-time.
Despite departures at the top of the table
Also in this season the Bonners show that they can keep up with the favourites. With nine wins and only one defeat, they take the top of the table ahead of the Berliners, who have the same record, and Bayern. In the cup, Bonn was only just defeated in the capital, in the league the team defeated Munich.
However, it was not foreseeable that things would continue like this after the successful past season. The team had to cope with departures, at the top the most valuable player in the league. Parker Jackson-Cartwright has joined French Euroleague club Asvel Villeurbanne but his successor TJ Shorts has already proven he can more than fill the gap.
Hoping for Shorts and Iisalo to stay
The American, who is only 1.75 meters tall, is defensively stronger than his predecessor, has better shot selection and appears physically and mentally more stable. Although the team performs outstandingly both nationally and internationally (in the third-best competition, the Basketball Champions League), clouds are beginning to appear on the horizon. Shorts plays so well that, like Jackson-Cartwright before him, he should be unstoppable. Iisalo’s contract also expires at the end of the season. The desires that the 40-year-old has aroused in Europe are too great to make a contract extension seem realistic.
The people of Bonn hope that the Finn could stay for family reasons. But for the ambitious Iisalo, the general conditions have to be right. However, the size of the future budget has not yet been clarified. Although Deutsche Telekom has prematurely extended the partnership with the Telekom Baskets for a further three years up to and including June 30, 2025, the new sponsorship agreement also includes the release of the naming rights to the Bonn Bundesliga club from July 1, 2022. Telekom’s annual sponsorship amount will be continuously reduced over the contract period, but should still be in the seven-digit range in the 2024/25 season.
So Bonn is looking for a new main sponsor. If a company is found here that is willing to make a strong financial contribution, the Rhinelanders could establish themselves as a third force in the medium term. In terms of sport, they are right on course. In the main round, however, they also benefit from the fact that Berlin and Munich are heavily burdened by their participation in the Euroleague. However, the squad of the favorites is so deep that it is questionable whether the Bonners can succeed in the play-offs.
The author was coach of the year twice in Germany.
