Tomorrow, October 27, in Danish Aarhus Tsmoki-Minsk will play a 3rd round game of the FIBA Europe Cup with the local club Bakken Bears. The game will start at 19.30 Belarus time.
Our rival is a 17-time Danish champion, 11 times they won the National Cup. Since the 2016-17 season, the team has won gold medals four out of five times, including the last national championship. And in the current championship, the club from Aarhus is still playing without mistakes - they won three times in three rounds.
Last Saturday Bakken Bears played an away game against N?stved and won 89:85 (scoring leaders: Harris - 19 + 5 AST, Ogungbemi-Jackson - 17 PTS, Diouf - 15 + 6 REB, Jukic - 13 PTS, Taylor - 10 + 13 REB.
The club regularly takes part in international championships. Bakken Bears played in the Champions League last season. But the club ended their league performance after the 1st group stage, when they finished in 3rd place in Group A, losing to Spanish Tenerife and Italy Dynamo Sassari.
Unlike other rivals in group G, with whom Tsmoki-Minsk meets for the first time, the Dragons have an old acquaintance with Bakken Bears. It has began in the winter of 2014, when the Dragons beat the Bears twice - 83:76 (away) and 89:51 (at home). In total, teams have met six times in European competition. So far, the score is equal: each won three times. The last game took place in the quarterfinals of the FIBA Europe Cup of the 2019-20 season. By the way, among the basketball players who still playing in their teams, Aliaksei Trastsinetski, Yauheni Beliankou, Andrei Stabrouski and head coach Rostislav Vergun from Tsmoki, Ryan Evans, Taylor Ongwae and Darko Jukic from Denmark participated in those meetings.
Bakken Bears are headed by 37-year-old head coach Anders Sommer. He has been working with the team for the second year - he was invited to it from the Danish Varlese.
Compared to last season, the Bakken Bears line-up hasn’t changed much. The club has some veterans: Darko Jukic and Thomas Laerke have been playing in Aarhus since 2017, and Ryan Evans and Taylor Ongwae - since 2018. The longest career in Bakken Bears belongs to Morten Sahlertz: it started in 2012.
The team was joined by 4 players this summer: Americans Travis Taylor (came from the Hungarian Kermend), Marvelle Harris (from the Egyptian Al Ittihad), one player from Jamaica - Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson (from the Netherlands Groningen), as well as young Gustav Ronneholt , who was «picked up» from «Bears Academy».
Before the 3rd round of the FIBA Europe Cup, Bakken Bears are taking the last - 4th place in Group G after losing twice: at home to German Crailsheim - 78:91 and away to Greek Peristeri - 83:85.
The Bakken Bears roster consists of the following players:
Guards:
3. Anton Harbo (2000, 188 cm)
6. Mads Hansen (2002, 192 cm)
23. Marvelle Harris (USA, 1993, 196 cm)
32. Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson (Jamaica, 1991, 178 cm)
44. Thomas Laerke (1991, 195 cm)
Forwards:
2. Magnus Mollgaard (2000, 196 cm)
5. Ryan Evans (USA, 198 cm)
8. Darko Jukic (1990, 198 cm)
12. Taylor Ongwae (Kenya, 1991, 201 cm)
13. Morten Sahlertz (1989, 198 cm)
Centers:
10. Gustav Ronneholt (2000, 197 cm)
11. Michel Diouf (Senegal, 1989, 208 cm)
25. Travis Taylor (USA, 1990, 203 cm)
Head Coach - Anders Sommer.