The wait and all the preparations have been worthwhile: The three-week final tournament of the German Basketball League can actually take place. Starting in the first weekend of June (6/7 June), ten teams will play at the Audi Dome for the German Championship 2020. In its meeting on Tuesday morning, the Bavarian State Government's Council of Ministers around Minister-President Markus Soeder and Minister of the Interior Joachim Herrmann approved easyCredit BBL's hygiene and security concept for the resumption of the 2019/2020 season. Teams as well as speakers and officials will be accommodated as a closed group in Munich's Leonardo Royal Hotel near the Olympic Park.
"We are very happy that all the work by the BBL and the clubs has been worthwhile. Everyone has been fighting together for weeks to have basketball this year in Germany and give the players, the clubs and their partners a platform to ensure the continued existence of our sport. We would like to thank the politicians and the authorities for their trust and we know very well that the teams now have the responsibility to go forward with the safety concept with all consistency and discipline in the interests of health," said FCBB Managing Director Marko Pesic. "Our goal is to create exciting and entertaining living room games, from our own living room - the Audi Dome - to the living rooms of all sports fans at home".
Club manager Herbert Hainer promises "the best possible championship tournament"
Club President Herbert Hainer was also pleased about the positive vote of the Bavarian cabinet, he said: "On behalf of FC Bayern and all those involved, I am very grateful to the Bavarian government for giving the BBL and us the green light for the health concept. Stefan Holz and Alexander Reil from the BBL must also be congratulated for their great commitment. We will now do everything we can to ensure that Munich will host the best possible championship tournament that basketball can offer in the current situation".
The tournament is expected to start on the 6th or 7th of June with two groups of five, from which four teams each qualify for the play-off phase. Among the participating teams are nine of the top 10 teams from the standings of the regular season (as of March 8th). The FCBB will play against Crailsheim, Oldenburg, Goettingen and Ulm in Group A, while Ludwigsburg, Berlin, Vechta, Bamberg and Frankfurt will compete in Group B. The following three play-off rounds with quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals will be played in a best-of-two mode.
MagentaSport will show all games of the "Final10" on its platforms. In addition, the BBL partner will provide current highlights, news, interviews and comprehensive mood reports from the easyCredit BBL Final Tournament 2020. The Bayern basketball games will also be broadcast live by the club channel FCBayern.tv; Sport1 which will also show otherselected games from the Final Tournament.
FCBB coach Oliver Kostic's team can now start training again, while still adhering to strict hygiene rules. Since the middle of March, training had only been possible on an individual basis, but in the past few days it has been possible to train in larger groups. The planned squad of the defending champion will be clarified in the coming days. With the exception of US professionals Greg Monroe and TJ Bray, all the German champions' players kept fit in Munich during the break. Bray has been back in Munich since Saturday while Monroe's return is still open (family reasons).