Basketball, ProA: Wiha Panthers Schwenningen – Phoenix Hagen (Friday, 19.30). The Panthers have won their last two home games. This little race is on Friday evening in the Schwenninger Deutenberghalle against Phoenix Hagen to test. The Panthers could use a sequel to the series urgently.
And the groundhog says hello every day: That’s what the Schwenningen players must have thought last Saturday when, despite a decent performance, they lost 80:83 against direct relegation contenders SparkassenStars Bochum. Once again, the Panthers kept pace for a long time, once again it was centimeter decisions, but above all hair-raising turnovers, which ultimately cost important points. “We coaches sometimes find ourselves in front of the team and we don’t know how to make them understand that they have to concentrate on the pitch during that period,” says a reflective Alen Velcic. “In games like Düsseldorf or Vechta you could see progress, but then there are also games where we forget everything from behind. We could easily have five wins to our credit, so we would be in 13th place,” calculates Velcic.
But the reality is bottom of the table and a relegation battle. In this situation, the question of the reasons for the misery inevitably arises. “It’s a question of new roles,” explains Velcic. Players like Mark Kotieno or Daniel Mayr have to take on more responsibility in the Panthers than in previous stations. According to Velcic, one or the other player cannot currently fulfill it.
The fact that Schwenninger, as predicted by Velcic at the beginning of the season, will show his best basketball in January and February did not change the coach’s assessment. “I hope we can still win two or three games this year. The opponents (Hagen, Nuremberg, Karlsruhe, Trier, ed.) are all beatable”. analysis by his team. “We’ll see if we can keep our concentration high. If this problem persists, you have to say that the psychological quality of the team is simply not good enough.”
The Neckarstadt side will have another chance to prove the opposite in today’s home game against Hagen, in which they will play as clear outsiders. The Phoenixe strengthened their team in the summer, with well-known names like JJ Mann and Bjarne Kraushaar with excellent ProA level joining Chris Harris’ squad. So far, however, the outstanding players have been the two point guards: Kyle Castlin is one of the best scorers in the league with nearly 18 points per game, Grayson Murphy is one of the best assist providers in ProA with nearly eight assists. It is therefore not surprising that Hagen has the second best offense in the league, in third place with eight wins from eleven games and is therefore clearly on course for the playoffs. Alen Velcic dictates the course: “We have to be particularly careful when moving backwards and checking the opposing shooters”. This is precisely one of the weaknesses of the Panthers, who allow almost twelve (!) three-pointers per game.
After all, the coach can draw on the entire staff. The contract with Ioannis Chatzinikolas was terminated last week following the end of his probation period. The Greek arrived just before the start of the season to replace the seriously injured Rylan Bergersen, whose employment papers have also long since been cancelled. So the Panthers are currently missing a player on the team, but also the money for a subsequent signing. Velcic: “Right now it’s very difficult.”
