Chemnitz – For a long time they sniffed Niners im Europe Cup vs FC Porto (87:94) in victory, only gave it up late. So shortly before Christmas that would have been a nice present that the “Orange Army” could have prepared for itself and the fans. Maybe there will be a belated Christmas present at BBL-Primus Telekom Baskets Bonn on Monday.
The game in Bonn will be an indicator for Jonas Richter (25) and his teammates. The opponent is the leader of the table. © Andreas Seidel
“Some top teams have already bitten their teeth in Bonn. They play very good basketball, let the ball run well and stand together as a team. It will be a challenge,” says Niners captain Jonas Richter (25) about the strength of the Rhinelanders .
“It’s definitely going to be a challenge, but we’ll give it our all and then we’ll see,” Richter calculates as an outsider. Especially since the Niners recently proved that they can beat Bonn. Last season, the Pastore protégés celebrated a clear 90:68 at home, a year earlier Bonn had been beaten 93:92 at home.
The annoying defeat against Porto revealed what the Niners around coach Rodrigo Pastore (50) have to work on in order to walk off the floor as winners for the first time in the former federal capital.
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Richter: “We only hit three three-pointers, which is pretty little by our standards. Especially since we’re a team that thrives on three-pointers.”
This raises the question of strength. The Niners are constantly on the move due to the double burden of BBL and Europe Cup, which demands everything from the small squad. Against Porto, the Niners paid tribute to this wear and tear, ultimately giving up an 81:71 in 5:55 minutes.
“If you look at the schedule of the last few weeks, we’ve had quite a few games. Of course it was also a question of strength at the end of the day. Nevertheless, we can’t take that from the last third with ten points ahead and only five minutes left on the clock leave”, but Richter does not accept this fact as an excuse.
