Göttingen – Get the last original impressions for your own game at the Towers. Because on Sunday (3 p.m.) Moors has to compete with “his” BG Göttingen in the edel.optics.de Arena in Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg. A very thankless task.
Even more so because the home right was swapped: Actually, it would have been a home game for the violets. But the S-Arena is not available for reasons that are now well known.
The Towers have just gained a psychological plus that should not be underestimated: Coach Raoul Korner is gone after only three wins in the past 17 games (BBL and Eurocup) and the last home defeat against Ulm – which was one too many. Towers managing director Marvin Willoughby pulled the rip cord and handed over the head coach post to the previous assistant coach Benka Barloschky (35), who had already coached the team around top star Lukas Meisner in the victories against Oldenburg and Würzburg.
The Hamburgers newly motivated and inspired for the BBL – in this situation the violets have to go there. Not exactly easy – especially after the unnecessary 75:78 defeat in Frankfurt. It goes without saying that the Bger will endeavor to make amends.
In the harsh 59:87 smack on Wednesday in the Eurocup against Podgorica (Montenegro), the Towers played without the ailing Jonas Wohlfahrt-Bottermann, Yoeli Childs (only on the bench), Kendale McCullum and Seth Hinrichs (bereavement). It is open which of them can be there again on Sunday. Hamburg’s rebound weaknesses were noticeable because the big players were missing. Michael Kozak, among others, had to step in from cooperation partner Rist-Wedel (Pro B). The towers were carried by Meisner (double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds) and Marvin Clark, who also scored the most points against Podgorica.
Of course I feel pressure, but I don’t let that intimidate me
“Everything is fine” at BG, according to Coach Moors. In the Hamburg game against Podgorica he saw “not much that was new”. He wasn’t surprised that the decimated Towers lost so much. “Hamburg wants to play fast and aggressively. Sometimes that worked this season, sometimes not,” says the BG trainer.
The priority, however, is “that we rediscover our own aggressiveness.” The Belgian complained about this after the defeat in Frankfurt, where he also only allowed Till Pape to play for a good seven minutes: “That was a sporting decision,” explains Moors. Apparently he had accused Pape of a stupid foul, who then had to make do with the bench.
On the other hand, the appearance of Rayshaun Hammonds was pleasing: The strong BG center contributed his first double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds) – in Frankfurt the number 0 from Göttingen was the “go-to-guy”.
After the Hamburg game, the irregularities in the BG game plan begin. After a two-week break, we’re off to FC Bayern Munich on January 29. (haz/gsd)
