By Juergen Berger
Wuerzburg. More was simply not possible for the MLP Academics this time. The Heidelberg Bundesliga basketball team, who started the “Hell of Gymnastics” with a lot of replacements, lost 71:90 (40:47) at the Würzburg Baskets on Wednesday evening. “We knew it was going to be a tough match for us. We tried to give everything. In the end, Würzburg’s pace was too high and we ran out of strength,” explained Academics winger Vincent Kesteloot after the fourth loss in a row.
In addition to top scorer Eric Washington, who had to sit out again due to a flu infection, two other top performers, captain Akeem Vargas and Tim Coleman, were absent due to injuries. “As a result of these absences, the other players have to fill other roles and move up,” said coach Joonas Iisalo before the match.
This worked particularly well in the first six minutes of the game. The Academics convinced with a dedicated performance and a good three-way quota. A 17:9 lead was the reward. Shy Ely in particular kept causing problems for the Franks, after the first quarter the American had ten points in his account.
The playoff contenders from Würzburg, who lost the first leg on January 28th in the SNP Dome with 82:93, fought their way step by step, but the Iisalo protégés held on and led after 13 minutes with 31:25. An open exchange of blows developed in which the Heidelbergers acted with a lot of self-confidence.
But then the guests lost the common thread, while the Würzburg team with Stanley Whittaker (11 assists) came up with ideas more and more. A 12:0 run by the home team to a 37:31 lead (16th) was the result. At half-time, the Baskets were 47:40 ahead due to their rebound advantage.
In the second half, the Würzburg team got off to a much better start, and coach Sasa Filipovski’s selection was quickly able to pull away to 53:40 (23 rd ) – two minutes later the lead was 17 points (62:45). That was the preliminary decision. Heidelberg, where De’Jon Davis could not build on his strong performance from the Ulm game, fell apart completely at times in the third quarter.
By Juergen Berger
Wuerzburg. More was simply not possible for the MLP Academics this time. The Heidelberg Bundesliga basketball team, who started the “Hell of Gymnastics” with a lot of replacements, lost 71:90 (40:47) at the Würzburg Baskets on Wednesday evening. “We knew it was going to be a tough match for us. We tried to give everything. In the end, Würzburg’s pace was too high and we ran out of strength,” explained Academics winger Vincent Kesteloot after the fourth loss in a row.
In addition to top scorer Eric Washington, who had to sit out again due to a flu infection, two other top performers, captain Akeem Vargas and Tim Coleman, were absent due to injuries. “As a result of these absences, the other players have to fill other roles and move up,” said coach Joonas Iisalo before the match.
This worked particularly well in the first six minutes of the game. The Academics convinced with a dedicated performance and a good three-way quota. A 17:9 lead was the reward. Shy Ely in particular kept causing problems for the Franks, after the first quarter the American had ten points in his account.
The playoff contenders from Würzburg, who lost the first leg on January 28th in the SNP Dome with 82:93, fought their way step by step, but the Iisalo protégés held on and led after 13 minutes with 31:25. An open exchange of blows developed in which the Heidelbergers acted with a lot of self-confidence.
But then the guests lost the common thread, while the Würzburg team with Stanley Whittaker (11 assists) came up with more and more ideas. A 12:0 run by the home team to a 37:31 lead (16th) was the result. At half-time, the Baskets were 47:40 ahead due to their rebound advantage.
In the second half, the Würzburg team got off to a much better start, and coach Sasa Filipovski’s selection was quickly able to pull away to 53:40 (23 rd ) – two minutes later the lead was 17 points (62:45). That was the preliminary decision. Heidelberg, where De’Jon Davis could not build on his strong performance from the Ulm game, fell apart completely at times in the third quarter.
Offensively and defensively nothing worked at all, while the baskets managed almost everything. They extended their lead to 19 points (66:47/28th). However, an intermediate sprint reduced the gap of the Neckarstadt team to 54:66 at the end of the quarter. However, that was the last upsurge of the 15th table, who increasingly lost their strength in the final section.
The Academics now have a two-and-a-half-week break due to the “Top Four” in the BBL Cup this weekend and the national team’s last World Cup qualifiers in Frankfurt against Sweden (February 24) and in Finland (February 27). next league game in Ludwigsburg on March 5th.
Stenogramm: 2:5 (2nd), 7:14 (4th), 9:17 (6th), 23:23 (1st quarter), 25:31 (13th), 37:31 (16th), 45:38 (18th), 47:40 (halftime), 53:40 (23rd), 62:45 (25th), 66:47 (28th), (3rd quarter), 75:58 (34th .), 86:66 (38th), 90:71 (final score).
Wuerzburg: Carvacho 24 points, Hunt 21 (1), Whittaker, 13, Williams 12 (1), Hoffmann 7 (1), Griffin 7 (1), Stanic 4, Ndi 2, Welp, Böhmer.
Heidelberg: Kesteloot 17 (1), Ely 12 (2), Herzog 10 (2), Hundt 10 (2), Ugrai 8 (1), Lasisi 6 (2), Davis 4, Griffin 4, Edwardsson.
