Although “Frenki” Ignjatovic celebrated his 58th birthday on Wednesday, the Gießen 46ers coach has no gifts to give out on the fourth matchday of the 2nd Basketball Bundesliga. After a shaky start, the ProA league team welcomes BBC Bayreuth, which still has no points, on Saturday evening.
Pizza for lunch for the team, a small celebration with his family in the evening: This is how Gießen’s head coach “Frenki” Ignjatovic celebrated his 58th birthday on Wednesday. “I only celebrate the rounds,” laughs the Serb, who would now like to quickly have more to celebrate with his 46ers in the 2nd Basketball Bundesliga ProA.
The first three weeks of the new season were tough for the club on many fronts. Concerns about injuries, the overall appearance of the hall at home games and the inconsistent sporting performance caused concerns. Ignjatovic is sure that the team will gain new self-confidence from a defeat against Münster – it was the second in the third game. Against a very good team we had a chance of winning away until the end. New signing Kevin McClain showed, despite jet lag, that he can make the 46ers better from a standing start. At home against BBC Bayreuth (Saturday, 7 p.m.) the only thing that counts – as it is in sport – is victory.
Personnel: Ignjatovic’s biggest birthday present was that the operation on his protégé Aiden Warnholtz (syndesmotic rupture in the ankle joint) went well. No damage was found other than to the syndesmosis itself. Also, no screw had to be left in the body, which ideally means that a second operation is not necessary. “In four to six weeks he can slowly start rehab again,” says Ignjatovic, optimistic given the circumstances. It remains uncertain whether Warnholtz will actually be able to play before Christmas.
Nevertheless, the 46ers do not want to sign any more for the time being. An agreement was reached on a contract with McClain on the morning of the same day when the medical department at Giessen informed Ignjatovic that Warnholtz was much more seriously injured than initially thought. That was almost two weeks ago.
A blessing in disguise for the 46ers. Ignjatovic speaks highly of McClain himself: “He is one of the few German guards in the league who can play in both directions on the field. He is an absolute asset.« McClain was already on the club’s wish list in the summer, but had long hoped for a contract in the Bundesliga. And then there is the case of Luis Figge, who completely dislocated two different fingers within a few weeks. In Münster it was the little finger on the left. The MRI showed that the capsule and annular ligaments were affected. For now he can only play with a rail.
Advance sales: Compared to the game against Karlsruhe, when only a little more than 1,400 spectators came into the hall in the end, setting a negative record, advance sales before Saturday’s game are at least going a little better. The club is making every effort to restore the old status quo when it comes to ticketing and marketing. The club’s structural problems can only be solved with patience. They are also much older than the manager change in the summer when Jonathan Kollmar had to leave. Even before and during the Kollmar period, the office was probably thinned out for financial reasons. Drawing appropriate conclusions from this is crucial. What is now evident to many people is that organizing a home game day in the Osthalle, a school sports hall, is a massive effort that requires experience and manpower.
The opponent: For Bayreuth it is the second year in the ProA after many seasons in the BBL. Coach Florian Wedell is currently trying out fast offensive basketball after the club’s botched first season. In every Bayreuth game so far, at least one team has broken the 100-point mark. The problem for the BBC is that all three games were lost. With Demarcus Demonia (23.7 points per game), Nat Diallo (13.7), Moritz Plescher (12.3), Callum Baker-Magnaye (11.3) and Tehree Horn (11), Wedell has enough firepower for two teams . At the beginning of October they signed the 2.06 meter tall forward Vin Baker Jr. The American should ensure more physicality on the board.
This is what Ignjatovic says: »Offensively they are a very potent team. Crailsheim, who place such great value on defense, conceded over 100 points against them. Offensively is top notch, defensively not. Nevertheless, they are extremely dangerous. If we play our game we can dominate them. But that will become clear on match day. We are training well and despite the defeat we have more self-confidence than before.”
