On Saturday from 7.30 p.m. it’s Do or Die for the Iserlohn Kangaroos. In the last main round game of the Barmer 2nd Basketball Bundesliga, the Kangaroos need a win to move into the playoffs. However, it is important to beat the table leader LOK Bernau in the Erich-Wünsch-Halle in Bernau. After the last two dominant victories, the Sauerlanders are going into the decisive game with a tailwind. The Bernauers are also in a good mood and have only lost one of the last ten games. For head coach Dennis Shirvan it is clear: “You can only be hot as a player, our boys will be more than on fire.”
Due to the two victories in Itzehoe and against Herford, the people from Iserlohn are in good rhythm. Mentally, they’ve been in finals for almost the entire second half of the season. After the weak first half of the season, every game was important in the fight for the playoffs. That’s another reason why Dennis Shirvan prepares his players just as he has in the past few weeks. “We have to lay the groundwork in training. We’ll give everything there to be ready for Saturday,” said the coach. The 39-year-old has already forgotten that his protégés didn’t have a chance in the first leg when it was 59:85: “Back then, our situation was completely different. We weren’t well-trained and had injury problems.”
With Bernau they meet the Alba Berlin farm team, a relatively young and very athletic team with five double license players who were already active in the BBL. The East Germans have a very well balanced squad, and there is still a lot of quality in the lower positions. Shirvan would describe the opponent as fast, lively and aggressive. For him, the high quality in the team is due to a good school. Due to the good performances in the season, they have a permanent tailwind, and they also benefit from a always well-filled hall. Forward Isiah Small (16.7 points, 7 rebounds on average) and point guards Rafail Lanaras (12.3 points, 2.2 steals) and Abdulah Kameric (12.3 points, 3 assists) stand out. They also have good big men in Rikus Schulte (11.9 points, 6 rebounds) from their youth and Akim Noah (11.2 points, 6.9 rebounds).
The Bernauers are particularly strong when it comes to rebounding (41.6 on average), while Iserlohn is inferior (34.6). It is somewhat surprising that the LOK team has the weakest three-way quota (28.5%) in the ProB North, despite taking first place. Kangaroos head coach Shirvan is only interested in victory. “We will definitely give everything. We want a place in the playoffs,” he said. “In the end we want to bring a win for the fans who have supported us all season.”
Should the Iserlohn Kangaroos win, the game would be a good dress rehearsal for the playoffs. There could be a clash with the ProB-Süd leaders EPG Baskets Koblenz (22:1 record).
Here is the last day of the Barmer 2nd Basketball Bundesliga
the Iserlohn Kangaroos before the PlayOffs:
08.04. Away game vs. LOK Bernau
Single tickets for all home games are available here:
https://bit.ly/Tickets_22_23
Press Release Iserlohn Kangaroos / Photo: Jörg Riese
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