Basketball: Jena agrees with ex-national player Saibou

Basketball Zweitligist Medipolis SC Jena is with ex-national player Joshiko Saibou on a commitment agreed. However, the club said the 33-year-old would first have to undergo rehabilitation and conditioning training and receive final clearance from the medical department. Saibou is coming off a lengthy injury.

The Aufbauspieler played in the BBL, among others, for Alba Berlin and Würzburg. In the summer of 2020, he was summarily dismissed by Telekom Baskets Bonn after participating in a demonstration against the state Corona measures. The club accused him of having violated "the known protection rules" by taking part and thereby posing "a permanent risk of infection". Saibou then moved to the French club Reims and moved on to Dijon six months later.

At the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Saibou was in the squad of the German selection, which partly triggered criticism. The federation defended the player, who stands "100 percent to the values of the national team." In total, the Cologne native has been on the floor 21 times for Germany.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge with Jena, to a successful mission and have Bock to finally play basketball again. I believe that we have a super situation here to inspire our fans and the city for our sport. My focus now is to complete the end of my rehab on schedule and step by step get to know the team," said Saibou.

For the team of coach Björn Harmsen, the veteran would be a real reinforcement. "He's one of those guys you don't like to play against and you'd rather have in your own team. Because of his incredible aggressiveness in defense, he has very often managed to come off the floor as a winner. He is one of the best defenders I know," the 41-year-old said.