Although the professionals of the Bavarian basketball team are on a long road trip this week, top-class competition will still be on display at the Audi Dome. The renowned "Adidas Next Generation Tournament" (ANGT), the trade show for the best European basketball talents, will be held for the third time - this weekend in Munich. The preliminary round in the Audi Dome (January 17 to 19), one of four qualifying tournaments, begins on Friday morning, with finals starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday.
Video preliminary report
In addition to ANGT titleholders Real Madrid and the host U18 team of Bayern, the strong field will be complemented for the first time by the teams of ZSKA Moscow and Promitheas Patras from Greece as well as Stellazzurra Rome and the German youth teams of Alba Berlin, Ulm and Ludwigsburg.
Entry is free of charge for the kick-off on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, day tickets for the ANGT cost 5 euros (up to 18 years: 2.50 euros); season ticket holders of the FCBB have free access on all three tournament days. A tournament magazine is available in the arena.
TO THE TICKETS
All games of the Munich ANGT 2020 can also be seen on a livestream on the YouTube channel of Bayern basketball
TO THE LIVESTREAM
"International comparison is valuable for the development of our players"
The Bayern team will again be coached by U19 coach, Andreas Wagner. In addition to promising FCBB youngsters such as the Italian international Sasha Grant, (17) who has already played professional basketball, five guest players will show their skills on the big stage in the Munich selection due to several injuries to the original squad. Munich's own line-up also includes several talented players who won the German championship last year with the Bavarian U16 team.
"Similar to the U19 Bundesliga, we will also be competing with a very young team in the ANGT, as we miss our injured players from the 2002 crop," said coach Wagner, who first brought the newly formed team together at a tournament in Split, Croatia at the end of December. "We have a good mixture with players from Karlsruhe, Rostock, Bonn and Hamburg, which is absolutely top quality. It's difficult to make a prediction, but especially at home we want to present ourselves as best we can. Regardless of the results: The ANGT is one of the biggest youth tournaments ever, if not the biggest. This international comparison is incredibly valuable for the development of our players."
Shved, Doncic and most recently Garuba
The ANGT is one of the most important competitions in youth basketball. For the 18th time, 32 teams, spread over four qualification rounds, will select the European U18 club champion. In addition to Munich, Valencia (already held, winner: Gran Canaria), Kaunas in Lithuania and the Serbian basketball metropolis Belgrade will host a tournament in 2020. The final round with the four winners and four invitational teams traditionally takes place at the Final Four of the Euroleague, which is being held in Cologne this year.
"For us, it is an honour to once again be home to the ANGT," says Bayern's Managing Director Marko Pesic. "The work with young talent is very close to our hearts, and at this tournament the spectators in the Audi Dome get to see many top European talents.
At the premiere of a German ANGT pre-round tournament in 2018, Bayern's U18 team achieved the best German result so far by surprisingly reaching the final against Real Madrid. More than 2,000 spectators watched the final day in the Audi Dome. Real Madrid triumphed again in 2019, with the Bavarians finishing fifth.
Numerous stars of the NBA and the Euroleague have used the ANGT stage in the past. For example, Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic led Real Madrid's youngsters to the title as MVP in 2015. Other well-known protagonists of past editions were Nikola Mirotic, Luigi Datome and Bogdan Bogdanovic. The MVP of Munich's ANGT 2019, Usman Garuba, 17, is already playing for Real Madrid in the EuroLeague this season. This time his brother, Sediq Garuba, is in the lineup.
"Trainee Day" on Friday from 10 am in the Audi Dome, free admission
In keeping with the theme of training and developing talent, a large "Trainee Day" will be held in the Audi Dome parallel to the opening day of the ANGT: At numerous stands around the arena, young people can find their professional orientation, get information from experts on topics such as applications (including application photos) and concrete training opportunities with numerous well-known companies and firms; the FCB also offers FSJ positions (Voluntary Social Year).
The "Trainee Day" starts at 10 am.
The ANGT 2020 teams in the Audi Dome:
Group A
FC Bayern Basketball, CSKA Moscow, Ratiopharm Ulm, Stellazzurra Rome
Group B
Real Madrid, Promitheas Patras, Ludwigsburg, Alba Berlin
FCBB U18 Schedule
Friday, January 17th
11 am: FCBB - ZSKA Moscow
7 pm: Ulm - FCBB
Saturday, 18 January
3 pm: FCBB - Rome
Sunday, January 19th
from 10 a.m.: (final at 4 p.m.)
Program and further information