Bundesliga report: Cup over for our ladies // Men celebrate victory against young ballers – Vienna United

Women’s Cup Finals – v DBB Wels

Last Friday our women competed against DBB Wels in the quarter-finals of the Austrian Basketball Cup. Just three weeks earlier, our team had suffered a heavy league defeat against a Wels side – they wanted to approach this game with appropriate motivation and revenge. But unfortunately the start did not go as expected: Wels quickly found their way into the game and were able to score easy points early on through transition attacks. Our women tried to counter from the outside, but this time the distance throws were not as reliable as they were in the last games. After a short time it was already 10:2 for Wels.

At first the first substitutions players did not bring much movement into the game, which is why Coach Preshel took the first time out after eight minutes and a deficit of 14:5. Our team got into the game a bit better after that, but the Welsers responded quickly to every approach and consistently defended their lead. We finally went into the halftime break with a huge 17:37 deficit.

The second half hardly changed the game. Although our ladies kept fighting tirelessly, they once again struggled to convert (29 turnovers in total), which allowed Wels to control the game with confidence. Despite all our efforts, our women had to admit defeat in the end with a score of 42:70.

Despite the defeat, it is important to focus on the next league matches (after the national team break) and use the knowledge gained for the challenges ahead.

Herren vs Ballers Upper Austria

On Sunday night our gentlemen welcomed the Ballers farm team of Upper Austria, consisting of talented young players from Bundesliga teams Wels Flyers and Gmunden Swans. The start of the game was promising and our team broke away from the hosts early. With a solid defense and strong transition offense, the first quarter ended with a 21:5 lead.

In the second quarter, the Ballers found more and more in the game and started to play offensively. Nevertheless, our men defended their lead firmly and went into the half-time break with a score of 40:20.

However, the second half took a turn: the Ballers came back from the locker room as if they had been changed and started with more intensity in defense and an aggressive drive to the basket. They got up once, and despite two periods from the head coach Nikolic, our men did not manage to break the rhythm of the guests at first. The Ballers clearly won the third quarter and got back into the game with a great run.

At the beginning of the last quarter, the guests kept the upper hand and took the lead for the first time with 53:55. But our men kept their cool and put in a united team performance in defence, which meant they were able to regain the momentum. Jakub Kotula in particular provided the decisive impetus when he converted two important points and turned the game in our direction again.

In the end, our men got a tough victory with a final score of 65:56 and showed strong nerves in the last minutes. Well deserved success and important points for the board!

Preview for the coming weekend:

Our women are enjoying a league break this weekend due to the FIBA ​​National Team Window.

For the men, however, things continue: Sunday at 5:00 pm they will play away against Future Team Steiermark, the next farm team in the league.

Summer friends as league rivals

The highlight of the weekend was the appearance of young talents who had played together for the Austrian national team in the summer and now faced each other as opponents in the Bundesliga.

In the women’s race, Maria Brunner faced her national team colleagues Sophia Kuranovic and Ivona Pilic.

In the men’s division, 15-year-old Armin Kapic met his summer colleague Eris Javaragic.