Brose Baskets inks big man Zirbes

German champions Brose Bamberg Basket moved quickly to add size for the next Turkish Airlines Euroleague season by signing young center Maik Zirbes for three seasons until 2015. Zirbes (2.07 meters, 22 years old) arrives from TBB Trier of the German League, with whom he averaged 10.6 points and 7.1 rebounds, tied for fifth-best in the competition, last season. Zirbes debuted in the German League as a teenager in the 2007-08 season and developed into a full-time player the last two seasons. In making the signing announcement at a press conference on Thursday, Brose Baskets manager Wolfgang Heyder said that Zirbes would replace Tibor Pleiss, who is leaving the club, on the Bamberg roster.