GER - German Duo ready to compete at the AST

HAMBURG (2010 FIBA U17 World Championship for Men) - Mannheim will be in the centre of international Basketball again as the 25th anniversary of the Albert Schweitzer Tournament takes place. Besides this jubilee, the participation of two German teams, the U18 and the U17 squad, bares a lot of excitement and many things to talk about. The DBB-Journal, the official magazine of the German Basketball Federation, got the chance to talk to Kay Blümel and Frank Menz on their expectations and preparations to the AST 2010.

What expectation do you have towards the Albert Schweitzer Tournament and what impact does it have on your preperations to the challenging summer program?

Frank Menz: To us it is a great opportunity to get experience on a very high level. Of course, competing with a U17 team against U18 teams always involves huge physical as well as tactical challenges for us.  Therefore, this preperation is a great opportunity. But our goal is not to win as many games as possible but rather to play our best Basketball for forty minutes. We want to put our offense on the floor and try to be competive against the best teams defensively.

Kay Blümel: The U18 Team will not have as many training camp days as the U17 Team once the AST starts. We played the tournament in Spain but this is not enough to be on the level that we want to reach in the summer. Our goal is to make it under the top eight teams at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament. Looking back at the AST 2008, the game for place 9 on Friday night against Crotia had a great atmosphere, especially compared to the game for place 7 early Saturday morning. So generally I would prefer playing at later on the day instead of the morning (laughs). So we want to win two games in the preliminary round to have a shot in the quarterfinals and then we will se what happens.

Let's take a closer look on the preliminary group in which the U18 Team competes: Brazil, Japan, and Turkey are tough opponents. What are the chances of the German squad?

Blümel: I think in the game against Turkey a lot will depend on whether Enes Kanter (Winner of the Burkhard-Wildermuth-Awards 2008) will be in the Turkish Team or not. Right now, Kanter is in the US but with him Turkey has a very strong team and compete on Europe's highest level. Brazil and Japan should not be underestimated. They both play very different from the European style but this could be their strength in this tournament. But our team is not too bad this year as well. This age group is very strong both in Europe but also in Germany. So we have all the potential to make it under the best eight teams. Our goal is to get two wins in the preliminary round.

The preliminary game against Turkey seems to be more or less a tradition at the AST. Is there a special anticipation to this game?

Blümel: It is great to get the chance to compete against Turkey again. There is always a special atmosphere when we play them. In the Rhine Neckar region, there are a lot Basketball fans and they love to watch the games at the AST and support their team. So this game is sort of the highlight of the preliminary round. Two years ago, it was an exciting game that we lost in the final minutes. This year, our team is ready to win the game!

For the U17 Team, the AST is a prefect preperation for the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship in Hamburg. China, Italy and New Zealand are the opponents for the young German team. Do they have a chance in their group?

Menz: I think we might have a shot in the game against New Zealand. Italy is a great team on high European level that will be tough to beat. At the European Championship 2009, there have been some very strong teams that were on a different level. As for China, we are not sure with which team they will compete. But no matter whether it will be the U17 or the U18, the game against China will be exciting and promises great Basketball.

You are both traveling a lot and you obviously know a lot of people in the Baskteball world. What kind of reputation does the AST have?

Blümel: The Albert Schweitzer Tournament is well known and all of my colleagues respect it as a great tournament. There are also a many coaches that ask me how they can participate in the tournament.

Menz: Same here. A lot of coaches know the AST as a great tournament where the best teams from Europe and all over the world compete. Even on Senior's level, the AST is well known. I am very excited to particpate as a coach at this tournament this year!

Last question: What if Germany 1 and Germany 2 play against each other...Who wins?

(Both coaches start laughing). Blümel: Well, it should be the U18 taht wins the game despite the fact that Frank and his team have had a great preperation time so far. The U18 has physical advantages and they should be winning this game.

Menz: I agree, the U18 boys are favored to win this game. But it will be a tough one and I think my team will be very motivated to play against the older guys. We are actually thinking about having a scrimmage against each other before the AST. That will be interesting....