Benka Barloschky (Hamburg Towers) coaches his men Archive photo: Lobeca/Andreas Hannig
Crailsheim – They secured themselves with an 11-0 final spurt Hamburg Towers At the end of the year an 89:84 away win at Merlins Crailsheim. The Hamburg team starts 2024 with their eighth win of the season. Aljami Durham (24) with personal best BBL top scorer.
The fact that Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann was not fit in time for the final match day of 2023 was the first bad news of the evening. The fact that center colleague Aleksander Dziewa had already committed his second personal foul after 130 seconds was another. But the Veolia Towers were neither deterred by this nor by the powerful defense of HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim in the opening minutes. Instead, the Hamburg team quickly made their mark on the end of the year game with high intensity. Representing his fellow captain, Seth Hinrichs led by example, Will Christmas and Aljami Durham followed. After a three-pointer from Mark Hughes, the Hanseatic League had a double-digit lead in the middle of the first quarter. Benka Barloschky’s team also managed to set the tone on the other side of the pitch – so that the magicians had to react more than they could act. The result was just four hits in 15 attempts (26.7%). The clear 16:29 lead after the first ten minutes was another logical consequence.
Negligence of the Towers invites Crailsheim
From Hamburg’s perspective, the initial phase of the second half of the game was less smooth. Two ball losses in a row, twice as many as in the entire 10 minutes, and just as many missed throws allowed Crailsheim to catch up again. Not even two minutes had passed before Benka Barloschky called a timeout. This stopped the Merlins’ first small onslaught. But Veolia Towers’ defense was no longer as efficient as before. This was also due to the fact that the home team continued to benefit from the Hanseatic team’s negligence – more ball losses, fewer rebounds. At least the Towers initially continued to be successful in attack. Which was initially enough to keep us in the lead. But the closer the half-time break came, the more the lead dwindled. In addition to the negligence, there was now also an uncertainty in finishing, which manifested itself in missed throws from the three-point and free-throw line. In addition, the problem with rebounding continued to worsen. In 25 seconds, the Hexer from Hohenlohe grabbed three offensive rebounds, a total of nine in the first half. And so we were able to reduce the score to 42:45 by the time the half-time siren sounded.
One minute after the restart, Leo Westermann had equalized the game again. With the next throw the Merlins took the lead again for the first time in almost 20 minutes. The Veolia Towers, on the other hand, did not attempt a single field throw for more than two minutes – also because the first two attacks ended in two timeouts. There was no flow of the game on either side. Even though the score changed again and again, it was mainly the many mistakes that characterized the event. Both Lukas Meisner and Nico Brauner missed two promising positions in the fast break – in return, Maurice Stuckey put his team back in front with a three-pointer. And the Arena Hohenlohe also comes into play. The atmosphere – something between bumper cars, a festival tent and a village disco – spread over the event like a fog. In a confusing sequence, Mark Hughes first received an offensive foul, in a similar action on the other side, Nico Brauner then received a defensive foul, and Aleksander Dziewa, in a surprised reaction, received a technical one. The quarter break (61:59) brought a little calm.
Fireworks finish brings victory
But not with Maurice Stuckey. The 33-year-old veteran stayed in mode – after having zero in the first half – and hit his third three-pointer at the start of the final quarter. It was positive from Hamburg’s point of view that Aljami Durham was inspired by this and was able to equalize with an and one. Captain Seth Hinrichs managed another draw about 80 seconds later. However, it was more of a hard-fought piecemeal for the Hamburg team, who left no stone unturned against the Merlins, who defended more than impetuously. They even managed to take the lead again. Aleksander Dziewa converted at the basket in great distress and didn’t let one of the countless fouls stop him. However, the only center in Hamburg’s squad had to end the game early after receiving his fifth personal warning. Crailsheim’s Galin Smith was now able to exploit his size advantages and bring the Merlins straight back forward. Although there was now a lack of a clear line anywhere on the field, the nerves were stretched to the limit: for a fireworks-like finish. Led by top scorer Aljami Durham, who achieved a personal BBL best performance, the Veolia Towers put in an 11-0 final spurt and, against all odds, secured victory at the turn of the year.
Benka Barloschka: “I’m super happy with this away win. It was a very, very difficult game. We made good shots, but our hit rate wasn’t high. And then it’s very difficult to find a way to continue defending in such an atmosphere – the fans here were outstanding again. The fact that we got the stops again at the end was the key to success. We always believed in ourselves and ultimately made the big plays. Like I said, it was incredibly difficult. And I’m sure some teams will still lose here.”
Aljami Durham: “That was a good end to 2023. It was very difficult here. We were missing little things here and there after the second quarter. We knew they could get going, they’re a good team. But it was all the more important that we always stuck with it and didn’t let it discourage us. That was the key to victory today. The current standings are not that important at first. We look from day to day and work on our development every day. And then we’ll see where it goes in the end.”
Who will win the 15th Confima Wintercup?
- Buzzerboys (29%, 126 Votes)
- 1. FC Phönix Lübeck (25%, 109 votes)
- VfB Lübeck II (11%, 50 votes)
- Eutin 08 (9%, 40 votes)
- Eichholzer SV (9%, 38 votes)
- Prussia Reinfeld (6%, 25 votes)
- Rapid Lübeck (4%, 18 votes)
- FC Dornbreite (4%, 16 Votes)
- TSV Pansdorf (2%, 10 Votes)
- Green-White Siebenbaumen (2%, 9 votes)
Total Voters: 441
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Image sources
- Hamburg Towers: Lobeca/Andreas Hannig
2024-01-01 19:37:29
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