By Nikolas Beck
Prag/Heidelberg. The MLP Academics travel directly from Prague to Berlin. The journey in the Basketball Champions League is over for Heidelberg.
The only good news on Thursday evening is that they can now concentrate entirely on the relegation battle in the Bundesliga, in which they face former champions Alba in the capital on Sunday. In game two at Era Nymburk, coach Danny Jansson’s team suffered the decisive second defeat with 71:78 (38:38) and thus missed the round of 16.
Jansson started with the same starting line-up – DJ Horne, Niklas Würzner, Ryan Mikesell, Paul Zipser and Osun Osunniyi. In contrast to the 63:72 on Tuesday in Mannheim’s GBG Hall, which was disappointing in all respects, the Finn was able to substitute three professionals in Mateo Seric, Kevin McClain and the late Eric Reed after just four minutes of play who had had to watch the first game due to illness. “In the 48 hour break we will try to recover and deepen our rotation a little so that we can hopefully be competitive again and get a win,” Jansson announced.
It was clear from the Heidelberg game that the personnel situation had actually relaxed somewhat. The Neckar boys seemed more lively and allowed the ball to circulate more fluidly and quickly through their own ranks. The result: A 15:8 lead, which forced Nymburk’s head coach Oren Amiel – active as coach of the Bamberg Baskets in the BBL from November 2021 to February 2024 – to take a time out.
The series champions from the Czech Republic, who have dominated the domestic league since 2004, now visibly increased their intensity and were much more physical. But the Heidelbergers accepted the fight. And, much more important: The great uncertainty of the past few weeks initially seemed to have disappeared on the Heidelberg side.
Was it actually the Ryan Mikesell effect? With the former captain back on the field, the “academics” appear more stable and structured. The 29-year-old was noticeably reserved in the first half after taking 17 shots straight away on his debut on Tuesday (and only hitting five of them). But even though the new Heidelberg hopeful only had one throw, two points, two fouls and two ball losses each, and DJ Horne was only able to contribute two points, the score went into the half-time break evenly at 38:38.
The truth of round one, in which the two homegrown players Zipser and Würzner earned special praise, was that Jansson’s protégés deprived themselves of the reward for their work to some extent in the final moments. Eight offensive rebounds and 25 (!) free throws kept the hosts in the game.
Undeterred, Heidelberg also got off to a better start in the second half and quickly moved back to plus eight (49:41/24th minute). Because top scorer Horne had now also found his luck in throwing – and Nymburk is anything but a top team in the Basketball Champions League. Without their best man Sir’ Jabari Rice, the Czechs, who had made their way into the play-in series against Heidelberg with just one win from six group games, managed just five points in the first seven minutes of the second round.
The strong Marcel Keßen increased from the turn to 56:45 /28.) – and just as the belief in a decisive third duel on Tuesday in Heidelberg grew, it slipped out of the Academics’ hands again. As won, so lost: an 0:11 run within three minutes left Mikesell and Co. trembling again. Suddenly there was almost nothing going on offensively. Mikesell couldn’t find any answers and two minutes before the end it was time for DJ Horne with five fouls – and a little later also for the MLP Academics in the Champions League.
Nymburk: Bohacic 23 (6 Dreier), Svoboda 12 (1), Feazell 10, Kriz 9, Silva 6, Shumate 6 (1), Brickus 4 (1), Hruban 4, Lawrence 2, Sehnal 2, Rylich.
Heidelberg: Horne 12 (2), Keßen 10, Neskovic 9 (1), Seric 8 (1), Osunniyi 9, Mikesell 8, Zipser 8, Würzner 5 (1), Reed 2, Ersek, McClain.
Stenogramm: 7:11 (4th), 8:15 (7th), 16:22 (1st quarter), 18:27 (13th), 28:34 (17th), 38:38 (half), 40:44 (23rd), 45:56 (28th), 53:56 (3rd quarter), 59:61 (34th), 70:63 (38th), 78:71 (final score).
