Start of the season

Promotion remains in the back of BBU Salzburg’s mind

Marko Rakic (center) enters his second season as BBU captain.

(Bild: Tröster Andreas/ANDREAS TROESTER)

The BBU Salzburg basketball team is starting the new second league season.The club's priorities have shifted.The work with young players is already bearing fruit. Captain Marko Rakic in conversation with the "Krone".

The Basketball Union men's pre-season will not exactly go down in history as a glorious one. The Salzburg team ultimately failed to qualify for the play-offs. After two postseason appearances in a row, a clear step backwards.

The game begins anew this weekend, kicking off the new second division season. "We had a good preparation. Of course, not everything went the way we wanted it to, but we also had to integrate the new players, which simply takes time to find your feet. But we're ready for the first game," says captain Marko Rakic, eagerly awaiting the first match. The Mozartstädter will face Vienna United in the Austrian capital on Sunday (19), but the league kick-off is already on Saturday. "Away games in Vienna are always difficult, but I think we're in a good position," said the center, who is entering his second season with the "C" on his chest, optimistically. "I want to become an even better leader," he says, expecting himself to continue to lead the way and guide the team.

"Big challenge"
The team's goal is to reach the play-offs. The promotion he has been striving for for years is firmly anchored in the back of his mind. "That remains the big goal, but everything has to fit, both athletically and financially, then we would take that step," explains head coach Christian Ponz. Postscript: "But now it's about working through the last season so that we can even get to this possibility." Salzburg is increasingly relying on youth. In recent years, the focus has increasingly shifted to young talent, and now the first fruits can be harvested. "We now have three players in our rotation. They are also being given more responsibility. We want to slowly introduce the young players who are now joining us to men's basketball," says the Head Coach, who is satisfied with the club's development.

Second division, men: Saturday: Traiskirchen NexGen - Vienna Timberwolves (16), Mistelbach - Güssing (17), Mattersburg - KOS Celovac, Wörthersee Piraten - Dornbirn (both 18), Kufstein - Future Team Steiermark (18.30). - Sunday: Vienna United - BBU Salzburg (19), Deutsch Wagram - Upper Austrian Ballers (17).