Hamburg – After three defeats in a row, the Hamburg Towers want to go into the national team break with a success on Sunday (8.30 p.m.) at the JobStairs Gießen 46ers. Magenta Sport will broadcast from 8.15 p.m.
The JobStairs Gießen 46ers bring back memories among die-hard Towers fans. This should now be less of an allusion to the 100:79 first leg success from December: the fifth victory at the start of the season and the triple gala by Jordan Swing, who transformed his eight distance throws like a dream. That would be too short-sighted. It’s about Hamburg’s premiere year. 2014. The season opener in the Gießen Ost sports hall. The first victory in Towers history. The first success in the ProA. And the starting signal for rapid development. And the trip to Hessen was also successful last year, when everything did not go smoothly. The Hamburg Towers could use such a sense of achievement after an exhausting and so far pointless week. For head coach Pedro Calles it is clear: “We have now had three defeats in a row, but the only thing that counts for me is the upcoming opponent, Giessen, and that we can win there.”
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In order for that to happen, the Towers must be able to reward themselves again for their self-sacrificing work in defense. “We have to find ways to benefit from it. With possession so often, it’s important to capitalize on it on the other side of the field. We have to find a way how we can do it on Sunday, ”said Jordan Swing. Towers 14 ball losses against Bayreuth, 15 against Oldenburg and 24. With 47.1 percent (Bayreuth 57.4%) and 39.7 percent (Bonn 50%), the hit rate in two of the last three games was well below that of the opponent. So Pedro Calles summed up after the defeat against Bonn, “our attack in the second half was not sufficient”. In Oldenburg, the quota was right.
The Hamburg head coach is not worried after the last three defeats. “I wouldn’t say we dug a hole that we now have to fight our way out of. You are not ‘too good’ if you win the first five games of the season and you are not ‘too bad’ or in a hole if you lose three games in a row – at least not in the way we are in have lost the last three games, ”said Pedro Calles. Jordan Swing, who stood out as the top scorer in two of the last three games, also advises “not to get too emotional. It is important to stay calm. Defeat is part of the sport. Now it is a matter of eliminating the errors and getting back on the right track. “
After the change of Johannes Richter, who will not be there at the weekend at his old place of work due to a knee injury, the Gießen 46ers made two high-class new signings. On the one hand, center John Bryant, who had already been active in Giessen for the past four years and promptly joined his old, new team as the best rebounder (5.6 RpS). On the other hand, Diante Garrett, who claims the role of floor general and current top scorer (13.5 pps) with plenty of NBA and European experience.
Together with 36-year-old Brandon Thomas (12.3 pps) and the same age Brandon Bowmann (9.8 pps) as well as the long-running favorite Johnathan Stark, who was the only Giessener in all 17 games in the starting five, the newcomer duo led the 46ers on Friday in Oldenburg – here the Towers lost 88:89 on Wednesday – to a 97:93 away win – only the third win of the season for Giessen.
The game in Giessen is the last of a four-game series within ten days and the last before the ten-day national team break. No less than three players – Maik Kotsar (Estonia), Marvin Ogunsipe (Austria) and Justus Hollatz (Germany) – will travel to their national teams immediately after the game on Sunday. Young star Hollatz (photo) is currently thinking, but not yet about his potential debut in DBB dress. “First of all, the game in Giessen is on Sunday. I don’t think so much about the national team yet, ”says the 19-year-old, who knows in the back of his mind that“ it’s something special to be the first German national team player for Hamburg Towers. ”Hollatz gets support from DBB Ex-pirate Ismet Akpinar, who wants to take the young star under his wing.
A quick chat before the game:
Pedro Calles: “If we look at the last few games, we were competitive against Bayreuth, against Oldenburg as well and against Bonn, we played very solidly defensively for 40 minutes. On Friday our attack in the second half was not enough. Basketball is a game of runs, that applies to a single game, but also with a view to the course of the season. We have now had three defeats in a row, but the only thing that counts for me is the upcoming opponent, Giessen, and that we can get a win there. “
“I wouldn’t say we dug a hole that we now have to fight our way out of. You are not ‘too good’ if you win the first five games of the season and you are not ‘too bad’ or in a hole if you lose three games in a row – at least not in the way we are in have lost the last three games. “
Justus Hollatz: “I don’t think so much about the national team yet. First of all, the game in Giessen is on Sunday. After that, my thoughts can turn to the national team. Of course, it is something special to be the first German international for the Hamburg Towers. I don’t plan to do much – except to play the way I always play. “
Jordan Swing: “We have to find our rhythm again quickly. We defended well against Bonn, forcing them to lose 24 balls. We have to find ways to benefit from it. With possession so often, it’s important to capitalize on it on the other side of the field. We have to find a way how we can do that on Sunday. “
“Neither after defeats nor after victories should you not get too emotional. It is important to stay calm. Defeat is part of the sport. Now it is a matter of eliminating the mistakes and getting back on the right track. We already have the chance on Sunday. “
“It is important to take a short break with a success. We have a good chance of doing it on Sunday, even if it will certainly not be easy. Playing away is never easy. We need the right attitude and we have to play our basketball. “(PM Towers – Photo: Lobeca / Roberto Seidel)
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