Ilja Fohl is a 15 year old 185cm small forward that averaged 12/1/1/1 stats in the regular season of the JBBL (U-16) season. He spoke to eurobasket after helping lead Alba Berlin to the 2025 JBBL title.

Congrats I on the big 86-74 JBBL title win over the Baskets Junior Oldenburg. How do you feel?

This so crazy for me. I came from Zehlendorf and have never had that kind of success before like this with Alba Berlin. It is so full filling for me to have won this title. I thank the coaches and my teammates for the great effort.

How big was the revenge factor for Alba Berlin?

It was big. So many people said that we wouldn´t win again, because we had bad opponents. That pushed us so much more to work harder and winning feels so good.

How cool was it having the NBA Wagner brothers cheering on the team in the Alba fan block?

It is a great feeling knowing that NBA superstars gave us support. That shows that Alba Berlin is a family and that they have stayed on the ground.

The first quarter was tight, but in the second quarter Alba Berlin was able to get way a bit. How vital was the superb play of Luca Kappel?

When he is hot and hitting shots, it´s deadly for then opponent. We are similar in a way as players. We both have shown that when you work hard, results will show.

The Alba Berlin defense did a great job slowing down Djordje Klaric and holding him at 15 points. How tough is it to keep him in check?

We is a good three point shooter and we wanted to take that away from him. We did a pretty good job doing that. We wanted him to go more into the zone and tire him out. We made him work hard for every shot.

In the third quarter Alba Berlin got a massive push from big man De Sancho Del Pino Kruse. How vital was his support to once again to be able to get a way a bit from Oldenburg?

He is our only real big and is our X-factor. His energy and strength is so strong. Our coach always told us to look for him. He saved us a lot of times in then final.

Oldenburg kept coming back and fighting the whole game. How much respect did Alba Berlin have for that?

They are a great strong team. If Klaric and Oldiges had scored more, it could have been a tougher game for us. They live off runs and always came back. I think that our depth was key for the win.

How key was the thunderous dunk form Jason Heitmann at the end of the third quarter for Alba Berlin moving forward?

That dunk was so big. There hadn´t been many dunks in the game and his gave us the momentum at that point. The arena went crazy.

Ihla Foehl hit big shot after big shot. Is he the Steph Curry of Berlin?

I was today. There are games where I don’t find my shots. Luca Kappel and I are the splash brothers of Berlin.

Oldenburg kept fighting in the fourth quarter, but Alba Berlin pulled out the win. What was key in crunch-time for getting the win?

I think key was staying calm and playing our game. We hit big shots and made them when we needed to. We didn´t give them a chance to come back.

You are an amazing shooter. Who is your big basketball role model?

My role model is Damian Lillard. He may not be the best shooter, but I chose him because not everyone has him as a role model.

How will you celebrate tonight? I´m sure you have school tomorrow.

I will see if I go to school or not. I won´t go into the club or drink. I will celebrate with my family.

Thanks Ilya for the chat.