Basketball: Former national coach Svetislav Pesic calls for downsizing of the BBL

Former national coach Svetislav Pesic has called for a reduction of the BBL: “We don’t have 18 teams at a good level,” the 68-year-old told the Stuttgarter Zeitung and the Stuttgarter Nachrichten in the Wednesday edition.

In the short term “the league must be reduced to 16 teams, in the long term even to 14”, said the Serbian, who led Germany to the European Championship title in 1993, “If the Bundesliga develops more quality, it will arouse even more interest among spectators and sponsors”, although “the BBL has undoubtedly developed very well”.

Pesic, who has been coaching Spain’s top club FC Barcelona since February, also believes in a successful future for his former club Bayern Munich: “Barcelona has a great tradition in basketball – but the future belongs to Bayern Munich,” he said. Munich has “conditions like no other association in Europe”.