They were already believed to be dead. Now the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg are in the quarter-finals of the Easycredit Basketball Bundesliga. In the decisive play-in game, the eighth-placed team beat tenth-placed Veolia Towers Hamburg 93:78 (45:35). And will face top favorite FC Bayern in the quarter-final series (best-of-5) from Saturday (8.30 p.m., Dyn).
In the regular season, Ludwigsburg lost both games against their favorite opponent (record 9:2). After the bitter 69:90 defeat in the first play-in game in Bonn, even the fans no longer trusted their giants – only around 1,387 spectators were lost in the 4,129-seat arena.
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“Our boys have character,” King said in the Dyn interview. “We have been through a difficult time in the last six weeks. But the boys really showed up today and found a way. It’s a great reward for a team that belongs in the playoffs. We have nothing to lose against Bayern now.”
For the Towers, center Aleksander Dziewa (knee) returned to the team. Mark Hughes had to watch as the seventh foreigner. Ludwigsburg’s coach Josh King put the first exclamation mark before the game: The recently weak top scorer Jayvon Graves wasn’t even in the squad!
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“An internal team decision that we feel gives us the best chance to win,” King reasoned. At halftime, chairman Alexander Reil added further: “We have issued a simple credo: those who are willing to work their hardest, or at least are capable of doing so, play.”
Ariel Hukporti was also missing again. The former youth international only returned to his former club from Australia at the beginning of April. Bitter: Of all things, the center is missing in the most important games of the year! Draft prospect Hukporti traveled to Chicago for the NBA Combine to increase his chances of landing a spot on an NBA team…
Minus times minus equals plus!
The first minute belonged to the Towers (4-0) – then the hosts got started. The Giants defended strongly, forced ten possession losses in the first half and won the rebound duel. “That was Ludwigsburg basketball,” said Dyn expert Basti Doreth. “You felt energy in the group.”
While development player Desure Buie turned up the heat in Graves’ absence (26 points), nothing worked for the towers. The first three-pointer flew through the net in the 20th minute. Doreth: “The Towers didn’t get into the physicality at all.”
Top performer VJ King (2 points, 6 turnovers) disappeared completely. “We need a different face!” demanded coach Benka Barloschky during his timeout in the third quarter. “We have to play with more confidence. We’ve worked for this all year.”
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Towers coach with a declaration of love for his team
But instead of starting a run, the error festival continued. In the final quarter, Barloschky became emotional and even made a declaration of love to his team: “Boys, no matter how this game ends. I’m damn proud of you, I love you!”
Top scorer Aljami Durham returned love basket after basket, scored 25 (!) of his 34 points in the last ten minutes and set a career best. Craziness! Assistant coach Stefan Grassegger hugged him on the sidelines with tears in his eyes. It looked like farewell. The American will be unstoppable for the Towers. Just like other top performers.
2024-05-16 20:41:16
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