Written by BARMER Liga on . Posted in Team ProB.
The Itzehoe Eagles kick off the new year with a playoff spot in the BARMER 2. Basketball Bundesliga. Second team Rasta Vechta got the next away win: 85:79 (25:14, 18:23, 24:23, 18:19).
Eagles coach Timo Völkerink found the right word for the start of the game: “Excellent.” The team played wonderful offensive basketball, “they implemented the game idea 100%.” The ball ran, the shots went on target, Itzehoer quickly moved away from the opponents, who lost the ball eight times in the first quarter alone. After a few minutes, however, the rhythm lost a bit, Völkerink said. However, the visitors were still superior, Emil Marshall securing the double-digit lead with a spectacular trio with the final siren.
The second quarter was bumpier, and the Eagles’ hit rate declined. Rasta-Reserve took advantage of the lost opportunities to get close to some points. However, the Itzehoers showed their strength: they weren’t deterred, Leevi Erkkilä and Shaquille Rombley (photo) scored with 35:25. Once again, the hosts narrowed to within two points, but Erik Nyberg and Trey McBride secured a 43:37 lead at the half.
The start of the second half was difficult for the Eagles, but Tim Lang and later Marshall twice secured their team a lead from the three line. It was 67:60 before the last ten minutes, also thanks to a clear weakness in the free throws of the hosts.
Once again Vechta has made his way and the Itzehoer may be happy that many second chances after offensive rebounds have gone untapped. However, Rasta made the first lead from 3:2 with a three at 73:72. And the last one, because the Eagles counterattacked: Nyberg, Jack Fritsche and McBride scored from distance. With good defense and free throws, the visitors secured the victory.
In the end, his team controlled the game the whole time, the Eagles coach said. It was a success for the whole team, captained by captain Erik Nyberg: “Everyone had their highlights.” Here and there he wanted more defensive consistency, from his point of view the weakened opponent could have been controlled even better – but on the other hand his success rate increased over the course of the fight.
But Völkerink was above all happy with the success against a direct competitor, it was almost a four-point game. The Eagles enter a short break in seventh place, on the first weekend of the new year there will be two games: on Friday at the table neighbors TKS 49ers, on Sunday at the table leaders BSW Sixers. Overall, the team is on track. Just one example: the number of turnovers has been reduced from an average of 19 at the beginning of the season to less than 14. Important steps forward have also been made in terms of interaction: “In this regard, I am very satisfied that our development is right,” says Völkerink. Now the team is entering the new year hungry to reach the playoff mark.
Eagles: Shaquille Rombley (22, 1 three-pointers, 8 rebounds), Trey McBride (14, 2 three-pointers, 5 assists, 4 steals), Emil Marshall (14, 4 three-pointers), Erik Nyberg (11, 1 three-pointers ), Jack Fritsche (11, 3 triples), Robert Heise (5, 7 rebounds), Tim Lang (3, 1 triple), Leevi Erkkilä (3, 1 triple), Tobias Möller (2), Leonard Finck, Henrik Adler.
