Women’s Cup quarter-finals – vs. DBB Wels
Last Friday our ladies competed against DBB Wels in the quarterfinals of the Basketball Austria Cup. Just three weeks earlier, our team had suffered a significant defeat in the league against the Wels team – they wanted to approach this game with appropriate motivation and revenge. But unfortunately the start didn’t go as planned: Wels quickly found its way into the game and was able to score easy points early on through transition attacks. Our ladies tried to counter from outside, but this time the distance throws were not as reliable as in the last games. After a short time it was already 10:2 for Wels.
The first substitutions of players initially brought little momentum into the game, which is why Coach Preshel took the first timeout after eight minutes and a deficit of 14:5. Our team got into the game a little better after that, but the Welsers responded quickly to every approach and consistently defended their lead. We finally went into the half-time break with a significant deficit of 17:37.
The second half brought hardly any changes to the game. Although our women continued to fight tirelessly, they once again had to struggle with turnovers (29 turnovers in total), which enabled Wels to confidently control the game. Despite all our efforts, our women ultimately had to admit defeat with a score of 42:70.
Despite the defeat, it is important to focus on the next league games (after the national team break) and use the knowledge gained for the challenges ahead.
Herren vs. Upper Austrian Ballers
On Sunday evening our gentlemen welcomed the Upper Austrian Ballers farm team, consisting of talented young players from the Bundesliga teams Flyers Wels and Gmunden Swans. The start of the game was promising and our team broke away from the guests early on. With convincing defense and a strong transition offense, the first quarter ended with a 21:5 lead.
In the second quarter, the Ballers increasingly found their way into the game and started playing offensively. Nevertheless, our men defended their lead solidly and went into the half-time break with a score of 40:20.
However, the second half brought a twist: The Ballers came back from the locker room as if they had been changed and started with increased intensity in defense and aggressive drives to the basket. They caught up point by point, and despite two timeouts from head coach Nikolic, our men initially failed to break the guests’ rhythm. The Ballers clearly won the third quarter and got back into the game with an impressive run.
At the beginning of the last quarter, the guests retained the upper hand and took the lead for the first time with 53:55. But our men kept a cool head and put in a united team performance in defense, which meant they were able to regain the momentum. Jakub Kotula in particular provided the decisive boost when he converted two important three-pointers and turned the game in our direction again.
In the end, our men secured a hard-fought victory with a final score of 65:56 and showed strong nerves in the final minutes. A well-deserved success and important points for the table!
Outlook for the coming weekend:
Our ladies are enjoying a break in the league this weekend due to the FIBA National Team Window.
For the men, however, things continue: On Sunday at 5:00 p.m. they will play away against Future Team Steiermark, the next farm team in the league.
Summer friends as league rivals
A special highlight of the weekend was the appearance of some young talents who had played together for the Austrian national team in the summer and were now facing 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 category, 15-year-old Armin Kapic met his summer colleague Eris Javaragic.
