The squad is still not complete, but most of the batteries are recharged: the basketball players from Rasta Vechta are returning to everyday life in the 1st Bundesliga with renewed strength. 16 days after the last BBL game in Rostock, where Rasta had a good feeling for the break with a 91:87 win, coach Christian Held’s team awaits the bottom of the table Towers Hamburg in the Rasta Dome (Sunday, 3 p.m.).
After the dance has ended on three occasions by being eliminated from the BBL Cup and the Fiba Europe Cup, Rasta can now fully concentrate on the league. The BBL series 25/26 is still quite fresh, Rasta have only played seven league games, which is less than a quarter of the main round. But the Hamburg game was “not a new start,” said Held: “We’re not starting from scratch. We worked on things that we’ve already done before.”
It is undisputed that the short break after 18 competitive games came in handy – despite the high feeling after the recent victories against Sassari and in Rostock. “The break was good for us,” explains Held. However, he doesn’t have all the players on board yet: Lloyd Pandi and Linus Trettin are still out of action. It is still unclear whether Tommy Kuhse can play on Sunday. “We recently had a lot more time to work on little things,” says Held. The goal: more consistency. There was also a training game with the Baskets Oldenburg. Center Tibor Pleiß, part of the hero crew since Wednesday, wasn’t there yet. Integrating it is the current task. Held: “We have made some adjustments, and Tibor will change things again.”
Read the big OM media interview with Rasta newcomer Tibor Pleiß here, who talks about his first days in Vechta, his motivation for the sport of basketball and his illustrious career.
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