For a long time, Mitteldeutsche BC was the number one in basketball in the East. But that is over. The Niners Chemnitz are rocking the league – and want to win the Cup this weekend.
After their third surprise coup against Bayern Munich, the Niners Chemnitz basketball players now want to give Alba Berlin a big fight in the cup. “They can dress warmly,” said Berlin-born Malte Ziegenhagen after Chemnitz’ league win against Bayern on Tuesday. The Niners had already managed a sensation against the Munich team in the league and especially in the cup quarter-finals. Now, on Saturday (19:00/Magentasport), the German champions Alba will have their turn in the semi-finals. Before that, the Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and the Crailsheim Merlins will meet in the first semi-final (4.00 p.m.).
“How often do you get a chance like this? We’ve earned it and now we want to take advantage of it,” Niners general manager Steffen Herhold told “BIG” magazine. It would be the temporary crowning of an impressive development. It was not until 2020 that the Saxons made the leap into the First Division, where they established themselves faster than many expected. In the meantime, the Niners have long been on their way to becoming the first East German team to qualify for the play-offs. They have long since overtaken Mitteldeutscher BC as the number one team in the East.
As second in the table, the Chemnitz team will enter the Top Four in Berlin as the best-placed team in the league. The Niners are taking the momentum from four wins in a row with them and have made an impression on the competition. “You have a chance in the final tournament,” Ludwigsburg coach John Patrick said after his team lost 56-74 at Chemnitz Arena. “Just stay the way you are. Play your basketball. You guys are doing great. “
Coach Pastore is doing a very good job
One of the main guarantors for the Niners’ athletic upswing is coach Rodrigo Pastore. The 49-year-old Argentine has been in charge in Chemnitz since the summer of 2015 and has long since made a name for himself internationally as a meticulous worker and tactician. “His teams have a clear structure, and his tactical adjustments during the game are full of ideas and precise,” Stefan Koch, after all two-time coach of the year in the Bundesliga, praised the Argentinian baldy with an Italian passport in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”.
A cup win (final, Sunday, 3 p.m./Magentasport) would be the temporary crowning of the impressive development work. But Alba will certainly be a tougher opponent in their own hall than the corona-plagued and tired-looking Bavarians were on Tuesday. In any case, the Berliners will not underestimate their opponent. “Chemnitz has shown why they play at the top. They are very consistent. It will be a tough game,” said Berlin’s sports director Himar Ojeda. “You can’t say we are the favourites in the semi-finals.” Chemnitz’ Ziegenhagen sees it the same way. “We are ready to get this thing. We’ve never been more up for it. “
