European Prospects

The NBBL Top4 tournament will be played this weekend in Bamberg. For the first time, the newly created JBBL (under 16 League) will also have its Top4 and it will be played at the same location, the JAKO Arena in Bamberg. We checked with the 4 semi-finalists for the NBBL trophy how their feelings are a few days before the main event of the season.

In the first semi-final, the defending champion ALBA Berlin will play against the surprising team of Franken Hexer. The team from Nürnberg eliminated the semi-finalist from last year TSV Tröster Breitengüssbach around top talent Philipp Neumann and reached this stage of the competition for the first time. We spoke with Small Forward Dennis Ogbe was of course very happy about this accomplishment.

Yes, having reached the semi-finals is a major surprise that nobody expected from us before the season. We try to play as hard as possible as a team and go for our best basketball at every moment. That’s why we see this success not as a surprise but as the logic result of our hard work. Our main force is our team spirit and maximum concentration on every single play both on defense and on offense.

But facing the defending champion ALBA Berlin will be a hard task for the team but Ogbe looks forward to the game on Saturday.

ALBA is known for playing extremely hard defense and be at least as good on offense. We need to take care as in the previous rounds of every possession and play with plain focus. Additionally, like for every game, has our defense be ready and give ALBA the hardest task possible to score against us. We can win this game only if we get hot as a team and not having just some players having a good day.

Ogbe does not want to admit that ALBA is the favorite for the tournament though.

I do not see any favorite. All the teams have the same situation and chances: we are German NBBL teams that have won 2 Play-off rounds and need to win 2 more games to be the NBBL champion.

From a personal point of view, the 1m97 tall player is very happy about what he has accomplished this season.

Yes, I am very satisfied with my season. I was able to gain some experience with the professional team in the ProB League and have developed more and more from a young performer into a team leader on the NBBL level. Now I will try to reach the next level and I need to learn a lot in order to become a good Small Forward in the future. I am still undecided if I will stay in German or leave for College, but my heart is tending more in direction of the United States.

Dennis Ogbe averaged this season 17.9ppg (55.9% 2FG, 20.0% 3FG, 58.7% FTs) 7.9rpg 1.2apg 1.8spg 3.0topg and 0.5bpg for Franken Hexer in the NBBL Mitte Division. Ogbe is in the pre-selection for the German U20 National Team to compete this summer in the European Championship in Croatia.