The dispute over the European Cup - This is what the ENBL final is all about

The question of relevance

"The so-called ENBL is a league without any legitimacy on the part of the basketball association Fiba Europe and a league without any relevance, as it is fifth-class at best," scolded Wolfgang Brenscheidt, Secretary General of the German Basketball Federation. The DBB later removed the addition of the fifth division from its press release. Although this is most likely to apply in terms of the ranking of the European Cup competitions.

After the Euroleague, the Eurocup, the Champions League and the Fiba Europe Cup, the relatively young ENBL is in fifth place. The fact that some of the participants were recruited via Instagram and that the target of 27 teams was not met before this season does not exactly raise its status either.

The sporting opportunity

On Thursday evening, the MBC could call themselves two-time European Cup winners. Anything other than a win for coach Milenko Bogicevic's team against Manchester Basketball in the semi-final (8 p.m.) would be a surprise. Voluntari are also expected to prevail against Dziki Warsaw in their semi-final (17:00). Power forward Nemanja Djurisic could be the only MBC professional to win the ENBL for the second time; the 34-year-old lifted the trophy with Stal Ostrow Wielpolski in 2023.

If the MBC wins the ENBL - the final begins at 8 p.m. on Thursday - it would be its second consecutive season with a title. Last season, the team from Weißenfels surprisingly won the cup.

The games of the Final Four will be broadcast on the ENBL's YouTube channel. The commentary will be in English.

The costs

The DBB emphasized that the MBC would not receive any support for hosting the Final Four. That was accepted calmly in Weißenfels. "There was no support from the DBB for the organization and staging of the Top Four in the German Cup in Weißenfels last year and we didn't expect that this year either," said manager Martin Geissler.

The costs are expected to be around €100,000. The money is to be recouped through sponsors and spectator income. In addition, the winner of the ENBL will receive prize money of 20,000 euros.

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