By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A noisy offseason, featuring plenty of developments around the partnership between FIBA and the NBA, widely labeled as NBA Europe and aiming to create a new top-tier club competition, included ALBA Berlin moving on from the EuroLeague to join FIBA Europe and Basketball Champions League Season X, powered by Ameresco SUNEL.
Based in the capital of Germany, which is among the target cities for a potential new league, ALBA has been seeking a friendlier environment in financial and roster terms, especially considering a plethora of promising youngsters developing their talents under the guidance of Pedro Calles. And the first signs are promising.
Wrapping up the BCL Regular Season in Berlin’s Uber Arena, the Albatrosse confidently pulled away in the second half versus Sabah to secure a win and Group B’s top seed, equaling to a direct ticket to the Round of 16.
“We congratulate our players one more time for a great collective effort,” noted 42-year-old Calles in a postgame press conference, after five double-digit scoring showings across the lineup.
With Tuesday’s Sam Griesel, Moses Wood, Norris Agbakoko, Bennet Hundt, and Justin Bean already on the list, 11 different players put up at least ten points in one single game this season, shaping the current and likely lasting record for the 2025-26 edition of the Champions League.
“At halftime, we knew we had to come out with another level of energy, because they were playing with a seven-man rotation. We knew in the second half that if we came out with another level, we would win this game. That shows the character of our team again, after facing adversity. We turned it around. Really happy that we qualified now, because going in as the first seed was really important for us and one of our goals,” mentioned 27-year-old Hundt, recapping the win over Sabah.
A young roster growing is far from new in the top-tier club competition of FIBA Europe. This has been confirmed on multiple occasions over the last ten years. However, ALBA is certainly a special case, with a constant commitment to focusing on prospects over the years. The list of youth products includes Franz Wagner, who started his professional career at his hometown club before joining Michigan in 2019, and was drafted by the Orlando Magic in 2021. His brother Moritz was another player nurtured by ALBA en route to an NCAA career with Michigan and the NBA.
Ending an established relationship with Euroleague Basketball to enter the BCL turned some heads. Ulterior motives or simply securing an improved process to develop players, presenting youngsters with opportunities to compete at the highest level, community engagement, and showcasing basketball in Berlin were always the most important club priorities.
Wins
Winning always spreads happiness as well.
After dropping the first Champions League game in team history, bouncing back with five consecutive wins, including two straight 100-point showings in the last two showings, made the case for productive displays on the floor. And accumulated to 549 points, the total ranked third in the Regular Season, trailing only Unicaja and Rytas among 32 participants. ALBA also leads the league in assists with 148, 24.7 per contest.
“We are a young team. We are in a rebuilding process. There are a lot of questions, like where we can go, but so far in the BCL, we’ve accomplished our very first goal. And we want to keep on going,” explained the Spanish play-caller, sharing his excitement about being the head coach of this team.
ALBA is no stranger to success at the European level. Beyond numerous domestic titles through an extended golden era lasting all the way until struggles of recent seasons, it all started back in the 1994-95 season by capturing the FIBA Korac Cup title, early in the historic seven-year stint of none other than Svetislav Pesic as head coach.
The Korac Cup triumph also marked the first-ever continental title for a German club, paving the way for later success by Mitteldeutscher lifting the FIBA EuroCup Challenge trophy in 2004, BG Gottingen topping the FIBA EuroChallenge in 2010, the Fraport Skyliners winning the FIBA Europe Cup in 2016, and, of course, Telekom Baskets Bonn getting the job done in the 2023-24 installment of the BCL.
For now, the team coached by Calles only reached the Round of 16 and is placed in Group J. With the continental schedule resuming in late January, following the Play-Ins, a new six-game double-legged round-robin schedule gets a lasting BCL original in AEK, Spartak Office Shoes or Karditsa Iaponiki, and Tofas or Cholet.