Thanks to the outstanding Marko Filipovity, the Niners Chemnitz basketball players remain on course for the playoffs. The 26-year-old Hungarian international led the Saxons to a 96-81 (50-42) away win at the Rostock Seawolves with his 31 points on Wednesday. With the eighth win of the season, the Niners consolidated their seventh place.
Niners pull away
After a balanced first quarter, Chemnitz turned up the heat. From 20:20 (8 th ) the guests pulled away by 31:20 (11 th ) to 50:28 (17 th ) and seemed to be aiming for an unchallenged success. Coach Rodrigo Pastore’s players had gambled away their comfortable cushion within eleven minutes. Mistakes crept into the Niners’ game as early as the end of the second quarter. The hosts fought their way up to eight points before the break.
Chemnitz keeps his nerve
After the break, Rostock took the lead in the 28th minute with 64:63. In this critical phase, the Chemnitz team kept a cool head and turned the game back in their direction with a 15:0 run to 78:64 (33 rd ). The outstanding throw rate of 75 percent from close range (24 hits in 32 attempts) and the superiority under the boards (40:31 rebounds) were the key to Chemnitz’s success.
Besides Filipovity, the biggest contributors to the triumph were Kevin Yebo (14), Mindaugas Susinskas (13) and Wes Clark (11). Derrick Alston Jr. (20), Jordan Roland (17), Tyler Nelson and Chris Carter (11 each) scored the most points for Rostock.
dpa
