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The Giessen 46ers with Duane Wilson want to let it rip in Koblenz today. © Editor
The Gießen 46ers have a week with two games in the 2nd Basketball Bundesliga ProA on the program. First we go away to Koblenz (Wednesday), then at home against Jena on Carnival Sunday. It’s a good thing that the team is currently performing at its best.
The Giessen 46ers’ most recent victory against the Eisbären Bremerhaven (74:69) could not be compensated for with gold. The ProA is now looking forward to two difficult tasks within just a few days. First, head coach “Frenki” Ignjatovic’s team goes to Baskets Koblenz, who want to get out of the bottom third of the table with a lot of personnel moves. In order to keep Rhineland-Palatinate’s remaining hopes of qualifying for the playoffs alive, they urgently need a win against Giessen this Wednesday (7:30 p.m.). The exciting game against Jena, second in the table, is on the agenda on Sunday.
Emotional icebreaker? On the one hand, the win against Bremerhaven was important in terms of the table. The Northern Lights missed the chance to move closer to the playoff places. Instead, Gießen is now firmly in the saddle, is again six points behind ninth place and is in fifth place.
But even more important was the wave of emotional pressure that went through the East Hall. Although the team is not unpopular, the euphoria was not as noticeable as in the similarly successful previous year. There are also logistical reasons for this. Problems with the hall floor meant that the 46ers did not have a test game in their own home hall. This meant that early contact in the pre-season was no longer possible. Afterwards they suffered from the ProA’s game plan fisimatents. There was almost never a normal rotation – one week with a home game, one week with an away game. Sometimes you only had to play away for weeks, sometimes you had to play three home games in eight days.
Against Bremerhaven, the team and fans merged into a complete unit for the first time. Because the fans realized that the team needed them after a weak first half. And because the team did what people like: “It was to my liking to come back like that, with so much energy. That’s exactly Giessen basketball,” is how Ignjatovic puts it. The humba immediately after the end of the game was the cherry on top, as it took place for the first time in front of full stands, as Ignjatovic forewent the dressing room address.
Defensive route: The new defensive route of the Frenki ensemble was decisive in terms of play in the three wins in a row. Düsseldorf was held to 62 points at home, Bayreuth to 72, Bremerhaven to 69. That was an exclamation mark, especially against in-form Bremerhaven. They allowed 46 points until halftime, then only 23! Gießen is sounding out the market, but it is still unclear whether additional obligations will actually be made. It is all the more important for the rest of the season that the team maintains this pace. Despite all the disadvantages, the game plan that has been so often despised now also has its good side. In the weeks up to March 3rd there are three home games and games in Koblenz and Frankfurt – both rather short trips. That saves energy.
The opponent: The Baskets Koblenz have one of the highest budgets in the league and were considered favorites for promotion before the season. At the moment, even qualifying for the playoffs is unlikely. With seven wins from 20 games, the promoted team is in 13th place. The program is very ambitious and the club wants to get into the Bundesliga in the medium term.
In order to initiate a turnaround this season, the club became active again in the coaching position. Ignjatovic’s good friend Marc van den Berg took over from Yasin Turan, who started the season as an assistant coach and initially assisted Patrick Elzie, who had also led the Baskets out of the ProB.
Personnel were also increased several times. Most recently, US guard Ryan Richmond (17.3 points per game) arrived a few weeks ago and promptly became the top scorer. However, it is unclear whether Richmond was actually registered for the second team in the regional league as the 19th licensed player of the season (18 are allowed). Then the American would only be eligible to play five times; he has already played three games. But none of that helped Koblenz on Sunday in Frankfurt. After two overtimes they lost in a competitive game 71:74. The people of Moselstadt may have left even more grains than the Giessen 46ers. The Baskets, whose broad squad also includes a former 46er, Maurice Pluskota, are likely to be all the more hungry for victory.
This is what Ignjatovic says: “Like us, they have a lot of good players under the basket. I expect an interesting encounter. With van der Berg they have brought in an experienced coach. The question is how quickly can he give the team his signature? In this environment, which I know well, it is only a matter of time before you really tackle the BBL. This year they will probably gain experience first, although the team was put together with different ambitions.
2024-02-06 18:42:37
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