German Basketball Cup 2022: schedule, teams, and an unexpected surprise / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: imago images/Lackovic Credit imago images/Lackovic

All around Europe, it's the time for a little break in the domestic leagues, which will be filled by the local cups and the German Cup is no exception.

Free throws this season

81%12,3Points made:12,3Accuracy:80,7%Place in standings:7Record max:23Record min:2Most made FTs:Vladimir LucicTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

In just a few days, teams will fight for the first domestic title of the season. The tension and the excitement that the domestic cups generate are something that can't usually be found during the regular season of the local leagues.

If you're missing some info or details about these competitions, there's no need to worry because we've got you covered.

In this article, we will focus on the Magenta Sport BBL Pokal German Cup, where the Final Four of the cup will be played in Berlin from February 19 to February 20.

Format & Teams

Probably the biggest surprise in all the biggest European domestic cups: last year's winner FC Bayern Munich didn't reach the semifinal after suffering defeat against Niners Chemnitz (80-85).

Teams

ALBA Berlin Basketball Braunschweig Crailsheim Merlin Niners Chemnitz

The format is as simple as it could get. Two semifinals games will be played in which the final's participants will be determined.

Schedule

Semifinals

February 19: Basketball Braunschweig vs Crailsheim Merlin (71-85) February 19: ALBA Berlin vs Niners Chemnitz (91-81)

Final

February 20: Crailsheim vs ALBA 15:00 CET.

Talking points

The league invited all four semi-finalists to apply as hosts, and all qualified clubs were interested, but Braunschweig, Chemnitz, and Crailsheim did not apply after careful consideration.

There were various reasons for this, partly because their arena was already occupied on that date. For this reason, the easyCredit BBL Executive Committee, together with the four clubs and league officials, decided to hold the Final Four again in the Berlin Arena at Ostbahnhof after 2013 and 2017.

Host ALBA Berlin qualified with victories over Bonn and in Bayreuth, has already won the cup competition ten times and could overtake TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen to become record cup winners.

Basketball Löwen Braunschweig defeated Göttingen and Frankfurt at home, are in the Final Four for the third time, and lost the final against Bamberg 66-69 in 2011.

Hakro Merlins Crailsheim (home wins against Ludwigsburg and Wurzburg) and Niners Chemnitz (home wins against Ulm and Munich) are both in the semifinals of the cup competition for the first time.

As in most countries, there will be some restrictions regarding fans' attendance. In normal circumstances, Mercedes-Benz Arena could host up to 14.500 thousand people during basketball games.

However, this number in German Cup will be capped at 4.000 people. Despite that, Stefan Holz, easyCredit BBL Commissioner, is hopeful that fans will create a good atmosphere.

"We are pleased to be here for the third time with our Cup's Final Four in one of the most modern event arenas in our country, Holz said. "Of course, we would like to have as many fans in the stands as possible, but I am sure that we will see cup-typical spectacular and exciting do-or-die games."

"Regardless of whether we see a new record cup winner in ALBA, or Braunschweig winning their first title in the club's history or one of the debuting teams with Chemnitz and Crailsheim triumphs."

ALBA general manager and CEO Marco Baldi also shared his thoughts about a great atmosphere that will be created during the weekend.

"We just had a game against Chemnitz, and we could have seen what happens when active fan groups meet in the arena. A fantastic basketball atmosphere can be created even with a very limited number of spectators," Baldi noted. "In view of this, we are all the more pleased to be able to host the Final Four - even if currently no one can predict what will happen."

Throwback to last year

In last year's final, Bayern beat ALBA 91-79 as Vladimir Lucic was named the MVP of the tournament. Support BasketNews so we could make even better content.