OfWolfgang Gaertner
conclude
Tough March for the Gießen 46ers in the Basketball Bundesliga. Coach Pete Strobl’s side, who are in serious danger of relegation, have six games to play in this landmark month. The start of the mammoth program is the home game against the giants from Ludwigsburg on Sunday.
Against Ludwigsburg, in Bayreuth, against Berlin, in Weißenfels, in Ulm and against Oldenburg. This is the March timetable for the Giessen 46ers, which is in the midst of a relegation battle in the Bundesliga, is packed with six games. On Sunday, the Ludwigsburg Giants come to the east hall at 3 p.m.
Position: With 8:30 points, the Giessen 46ers still hold the Red Lantern in their hands. The bottom of the table is two points behind places 15 to 17, with Oldenburg, Würzburg and Frankfurt having played two or one more games than Giessen (19 games). Mitteldeutsche BC is in 14th place, with two more wins than the 46ers in 20 matches played. The fight for relegation promises to be exciting. It is all the more important for the Strobl squad to be successful. In the past two games against Bamberg and in Crailsheim, the 46ers acted as equals for a long time. A lack of cleverness in crunch time meant they left the floor as losers in both games. Both the managing sports director Sebastian Schmidt (currently tested positive for Corona) and head coach Strobl are convinced that relegation to Pro A will be avoided. Six more wins are enough for Schmidt to reach safety at the end of the main round. In the non-playing time due to the international game window, the protagonists around playmaker Kendale McCullum were also able to regenerate a bit – and as Coach Strobl puts it, “to clear their heads.” Otherwise, there was meticulous training, with the associated breaks. “We have to give everything in the next two months,” Strobl appeals to his “boys.” The atmosphere in the team is good.
Personal: Those responsible make no secret of the fact that they are working on a return from BJ Blake. After his brother was shot in the USA, he broke up camp in Lahnstadt and traveled back to his homeland to his family. Up to this point (after ten BBL games), the variable forward was one of the best scorers on the team with an average of 13 points. He could help Giessen in the precarious situation. Provided he is physically and mentally able to do so. You are in very close contact with him. A return does not seem to be out of the question. Schmidt also takes a clear position on the subject of coaches. Strobl enjoys the club’s fullest confidence, although his team has only won one of the last eleven matches (against Hamburg). You can also hear from the supervisory board that there will be no change of coach this season. The management committee also swore the team into the upcoming tasks with a meal together this week. Nuni Omot, who returned to Lahnstadt on Tuesday after a multi-day international match with South Sudan, was also present.
Opponent: Coach John Patrick’s teams are always characterized by a high degree of aggressiveness – at both ends of the field. 8.6 ball wins per game and 17 provoked ball losses illustrate the way the giants play. The 46ers can prepare for a powerful game. The coach does not tolerate negligence. Who does not sprint, sits on the bench. His style brought success back to the Ludwigsburg team. In the BBL they are sixth with 28:16 points, internationally they have entered the select group of the 16 best teams in the Champions League. The best player and at the same time the best scorer in the team is the all-rounder Jonah Radebough. The playmaker averages excellent values: 13.5 points per game, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 turnovers. He forms an exceptionally good backcourt with Justin Simon. There will be a reunion with the former Giessen “promotion hero” Yorman Polas Bartolo, who is still a top performer despite his 36 years. The first leg ended 96:87 for Ludwigsburg, who are going into Sunday’s game rested because their catch-up game against Heidelberg was postponed on Thursday due to the opponent’s corona cases.
Strobl says: »Ludwigsburg is a defensively strong team. We expect an aggressive game. We have to be ready to fight back and fight back. We have prepared well against their press. We have to be ready for a physical game.«
