On Saturday, September 24 at 5:45 p.m. in the KOŁO hall in Warsaw's Wola district, the capital's Dziki will inaugurate their third season in the basketball top league. The opponent of Krzysztof Szablowski's team will be the newcomer to Suzuki 1st league - the Enea Basket Poznań team.
Wild:
The Wildcats are entering the 2022/2023 season with slightly different personnel compared to the previous season. The following have left the “Wataha” ranks: Bartosz Majewski (Górnik Trans.eu Zamek Książ Wałbrzych), Karol Nowakowski (WKK Wrocław), Paweł Kopycki (Decka Pelplin), Jan Piliszczuk (KKS Polonia Warszawa), Mateusz Szwed (Znicz Basket Pruszków), Kacper Mościcki (Isetia Ezurum) and Mateusz Łączyński . The players who were the strength of the Wildcats team last season are staying with Obozowa. Their contracts have been extended by: Rafał Komenda , Przemek Kuźkow , Piotr Pamuła , Dominik Groth and Grzegorz Grochowski , who was elected the new captain of the “Wataha” by decision of the coaching staff. Additionally, the team has been strengthened by solid transfers. The capital city has seen the arrival of such renowned league veterans as: Mateusz Bartosz , Alan Czujkowski , and Michał Aleksandrowicz , as well as young, promising basketball players such as: Antoni Michalski , Maksymilian Motel , and Filip Munyama . The squad has been completed by Jakub Janik , a well-known figure to Warsaw audiences. Fans will certainly be most pleased by the fact that coach Krzysztof Szablowski is staying in Warsaw for the next two years. The 46-year-old coach did a fantastic job last season, building the tightest defense in the league and advancing with the Dziki to the play-off phase.
Preparations for the season:
The Wild Boars have had a very well-worked-through preparation period. The capital's basketball players played a friendly match with the top-league Suzuki Arka Gdynia team, a two-game test with the Decki Pelplin team and took part in three tournaments: in Poznań, Starogard Gdański and Pruszków. It is worth noting that our basketball players returned from both Wielkopolska and Kociewie with cups for their victory. For over a month, the "Wataha" worked on a strong defense, physical fitness and polished new offensive moves under the watchful eye of the training staff. The Wild Boars, as Coach Szablowski admitted, are to " maintain a solid defense in the upcoming games, which as a result should lead to quick, easy points scored from counterattacks ".
Rival:
Enea Basket Poznań is the finalist of the 2nd league games last season. Przemysław Szurek's team finished the regular round with a balance of 24-2, confidently winning their group and advancing from first place to the knockout phase. In it, they went through all the stages quite easily, reaching the final, which unfortunately was not played due to the sudden and unexpected death of the captain of Basket - Dawid Bręk. The team from Wielkopolska underwent cosmetic changes before the upcoming games. Most of the basketball players who played for Basket last season remained in the team. Additionally, the Poznań team was strengthened by the transfers of Wojciech Fraś , Bartosz Ciechociński and the recently announced Marcin Dymała . In the Basket team, we will also see several very promising youth players, such as: Jan Nowicki , Iwo Maćkowiak , Jakub Andrzejewski , and Oliwer Szczepański .
Photo: Beata Brociek.
Saturday's competition promises to be incredibly interesting. Both teams will certainly want to start the new season in the best possible way and will do their utmost to start the games with a full set of points. There will be no shortage of emotions on the court, and fans will also be able to enjoy other attractions, including a performance by world-class dunker Piotr "GRABO" Grabowski.