Crailsheim. The MHP giants Ludwigsburg hurried to leave the interior of the Arena Hohenlohe after the game. How the Crailsheim Merlins celebrate with their fans, the Bundesliga club did not want to watch after the 61:72 defeat. The “Derby winner, Derby winner” calls from the Merlins fans in the closing stages were enough. “I don’t know whether it was lack of concentration or tiredness with us, but Crailsheim was wide awake against us,” said giant coach John Patrick after the game. “Maybe we were too casual. Crailsheim wanted it more, they played harder. ”
Catastrophic three-way quota
And in fact, the Ludwigsburg looked tired and sedate on Saturday evening in front of 750 spectators. The glorious 99:83 success on Wednesday in the Champions League against Tenerife and the long flight have apparently left their mark. By the eighth minute, the giants were behind at 18:11. Crailsheim’s Elias Lasisi completed a counterattack shortly before the end of the quarter with a spectacular dunk to make it 22:13.
In the second round Ludwigsburg held up a little better and fought his way up to 28:34, but the concentration was still lacking. So James Woodard lost the ball without need, Crailsheim pulled away again. Another problem: Ludwigsburg didn’t hit a threesome. By half time (38:28), all 14 attempts by the guests failed.
That didn’t get much better in the second half either. “Some litters came much too early. The ball movement wasn’t good, ”said Patrick. It took until the 29th minute before his son Johannes sank the first Ludwigsburg throw at 39:57. But by then the giants were already behind with 18 points. The Merlins fans romped in the hall, created a remarkable atmosphere and let the low occupancy be forgotten. 3000 spectators fit into the arena, currently only 750 are allowed.
Young forces bring about cosmetic results
That could not be made up in the final quarter. Coach Patrick tried it with the young, well-rested Lukas Herzog, Johannes Patrick and Jacob Patrick, but that was only enough to improve the results. Above all, Johannes Patrick made his contribution with three other three-pointers that the Ludwigsburg caught up a little. None of the other giants managed a single three-point in the entire season and the free throw rate was weak at 60 percent.
