Basketball Champions League has changed its format dramatically, since you’ve last played in the competition. As someone who knows what it used to be, how would you evaluate the changes made?
That’s a good question. I mean, I like that there is an incentive that we have fewer games. It’s not pick-up basketball but I like this idea of “short and sweet and take a seat”. If you’re not good enough to stick in the competition, it’s better to get out. You have to be ready right from the start. This is a super-competitive format; know that only one team in the group advances automatically, and then second and third places have to go into a play-in round.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, we have a really murderous group; we have a tough group with Prometey, Sassari, and Tenerife. I feel like it makes every game exciting and important. And I think that’s the advantage, if you compare to bigger groups at the beginning. Maybe a team is clinched or out after two-thirds of the competition. This can lead to some boring games. I don’t think we’re gonna have a boring game with this format because every game could make a difference between places and each place has its incentives.
Group A is also the group of long travels. You know this from Prometey game. Will these long travels have an effect on your BBL games following the travels, or even the remainder of the season?
Yeah, absolutely, it does. Unfortunately, we had our game in Zaporizhzhia, but rescheduled to Kyiv. That was about three of four days before the game. We were able to get a flight to Kyiv, but we were not able to get a flight back from Kyiv to anywhere near our next game. In this respect, after a 20-hour travel back from Kyiv, through Wien to Stuttgart, and bus to Göttingen, we were a little tired, especially the tall guys from sitting so long in small seats.
But this is the same for other teams. It’s a disadvantage in the league. You see that with EuroLeague teams also, dropping games on the weekend because their opponents don’t play international; they are fresh. And we are hanging on, so to speak, and tired, sore. But that’s also the challenge, we know that coming in.
I’ve coached for many, many years of international, coached in Asia. It can actually be worse.
I think so far, the Champions League keeps developing, the communication is pretty good between teams. Even with a last-minute change of venue, we had – I can say – a very good hotel situation. That’s really developed in the last 5-10 years.