Veolia Towers lost to Wolves Vilnius 94:84 in the last away game of the BKT EuroCup group stage. The decisive factor is a 21:4 run by the Lithuanians in the second quarter. The fact that Hamburg won the second half cannot avert their 15th international defeat. VJ King becomes top scorer with 21 points.
Benka Barloschka: “Overall, we played a good game, we invested a lot, the intensity was right. But the game got away from us for two and a half minutes in the first half. I’m quite happy with the way we played in the second half. But a team like Vilnius, with this offensive quality, can no longer take the game out of their hands. Without that decisive run in the second quarter, we might have had a better chance here today.”
VJ King: “Although we were able to win the second half, overall we didn’t generate enough stops to turn the game around. We lacked a bit of structure, and Vilnius also made difficult shots themselves. In the second quarter it was the same mistakes that put Vilnius on the road to victory. We lacked the flow of the game and they punished every mistake very consistently in these three minutes.”
Aleksander Dziewa: “In the second quarter we let our mistakes in attack unsettle us. During that phase we were too unfocused defensively. That made the difference. We fought back really well straight after the break. But we still made a few mistakes after that, which is why we weren’t able to make the game really close.”
Match days in quick succession, especially in combination with travel within Europe, can push professionals to their limits. Veolia Towers also had to experience this the hard way when they had to do without Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann (muscular problems) for a short time in the last away game of the group phase in the BKT EuroCup. Energizer Aljami Durham, who had suffered an ankle injury twice in the past two weeks, also remained on the bench for the time being – Leif Möller started in his place. The youngster and his teammates started with a lot of self-confidence, clear actions and took the lead early on. VJ King was particularly well prepared in attack – after five minutes the forward already had eight points to his name. A three-pointer from Nico Brauner gave Hamburg an eight-point lead. After a first timeout, the Wolves Vilnius almost completely reduced their lead with a 7-0 run. Shortly before the end of the first quarter, the hosts took the lead for the first time. And they kept it, as can be seen from the 22:20 score, until the siren sounded.
21:4 run ensures clear conditions
Thanks to simple points after winning the ball himself, Mark Hughes equalized the score again at the beginning of the second period. The game then oscillated back and forth for a while. Aided by an unsportsmanlike foul called against Aljami Durham – the attacker landed on the hamburger’s foot while attempting a throw – the Wolves Vilnius then pulled away once again. The score grew to 17 points because Veolia Towers lost six balls in the first really difficult phase of the evening and the uncertainty was also transferred to the previously good defensive work. Time and time again, the coordination wasn’t right, so that the rotations often resulted in a simple finish for the Lithuanians. At the end of the first half, Hamburg’s pressure phase was stopped, but the Towers couldn’t get any closer than the 56:41 half-time score.
Photos: Wolves Vilnius
After the break, around two minutes passed before Will Christmas and Seth Hinrichs scored the first four points of the second half. And from Hamburg’s perspective, the good restart should continue. VJ King, who like Aleksander Dziewa had already scored double figures in the first half, continued to shorten the score. The Pole followed up with a three-pointer and made the 9-0 start perfect, which forced Vilnius to take a timeout. After the break, the Wolves acted much more physically. And use their physical advantages to launch a 10-0 counterattack. Even a time out by Benka Barloschky didn’t help to get Veolia Towers’ game back in order. The difference shot back up to 17 points before the game leveled off significantly again. For the last three and a half minutes of the third quarter, the scoring came almost exclusively from the free throw line. A three-pointer from Mark Hughes seconds before the end of the quarter was a breakaway worth seeing and brought Hamburg within 75:63 after three quarters.
Hamburg decide for themselves in the second half
The American added another shot from distance at the start of the final quarter. The three points remained the only points for over three minutes. Meanwhile, Vilnius had again moved ahead to 17 points. In order to wake up his team and the somewhat inattentive referees, Benka Barloschky resorted to an unusual means: the Hamburg head coach stormed the field in a rapid attack by the Wolves and picked up a technical foul. The striking action as well as the subsequent time-out had an effect. The Towers came back with five points in a row. However, there was no real comeback in the final minutes as Vilnius continued to maintain their good scoring. The 5-0 finish, which allowed Hamburg to win the second half, as well as the accompanying free throw from youngster Leif Möller to make the final score 94:84, did not change anything about the defeat in the last away game of this BKT EuroCup season.
Stats: Hughes (17), Reece (2), Brauner (3), Möller (1), Meisner (4, 3 Ass.), Dziewa (16, 4 Reb.), Christmas (2, 3 Reb.), Hinrichs (9 , 3 Reb.), King (21, 5 Reb.), Durham (9, 4 Reb., 4 Ass.)
2024-01-31 01:45:13
#trip #Europe #ends #souvenir #Veolia #Towers #Hamburg
