The Gießen 46ers suffered their fourth defeat in their fifth game with a score of 72:83 in Leverkusen. Coach Ignjatovic speaks of a psychological blockage.
A week ago, the Gießen 46ers lost at home against Münster in the 2nd Basketball Bundesliga ProA. Now they also provided support in the away duel against the penultimate Bayer Leverkusen in the relegation battle. For over 30 minutes, the Central Hessians acted in the style of a team that is already playing to stay in the league. They were consistently 20 points behind. The rebellion at the end came too late.
We can only hope we show the energy from the last quarter.
From the eighth minute onwards, the guests were just running behind, while Bayer took control of the game with the simplest of means. When I was pouring, everything seemed heavy, everything seemed heavy, everything seemed cramped. Almost nothing worked. You were always a second too late when it came to rebounding. Leverkusen’s Dennis Heinzmann alone grabbed 20 rebounds. Overall, they lost the duel on the board with 32:50.
One guard could feel sorry for Simon Krajcovic. Bayer coach Mike Koch came up with a devilish tactic for the Slovakian, who was in a slump in form. Opponents like Kobe Langley dropped to the free throw line against Krajcovic when he was at the three-point line. The 31-year-old was almost forced to throw, but only hit two out of seven attempts. Devon Goodman was also passively defended, but this wasn’t that important because coach “Frenki” Ignjatovic didn’t use the backup guard for almost two quarters. Aiden Warnholtz acted hard in the role of director, but also overwhelmed. “We need the Simon we know,” said the coach, aware that he was repeating himself. They would have given him so much space that everything was tight at the back and the rest of the team only got difficult throws. That’s why Warnholtz came, even though he’s only been training again since Friday. The Canadian’s hand was swollen.
In the end it was the fourth defeat in the fifth game. The psychological blockage has reached shocking proportions. Despite consulting a sports psychologist after the defeat against Münster. Some of the players seemed downright scared. At the end, the Giessen fans who traveled along sang “Finally BBL again” because the hustle and bustle on the parquet reminded them of the away appearances in the first league. Gallows humor in Middle Hessian.
But the bank was alive and pushing. And suddenly there were signs of a change. With a 12:2 run they were on the heels of Leverkusen (56:66, 34th). Because it should also be mentioned: the Bayer Cross team is currently in weak form and is anything but mentally stable. All the worse from Giessen’s perspective. Threes from Kyle Castlin and Goodman as well as a fast break counter from Warnholtz made it 72:78 (39th). But there wasn’t enough time. “The fact that you have the chance is due to the incredible energy and the stops. But it wouldn’t have been deserved based on the first half,” said Ignjatovic.
“Everything stands or falls with the Playmaker.” If there are no signs of improvement here, we would have to tick off our season goal of the playoffs and first ensure we stay in the league. “There are a lot of surprises happening in the league. There are no guarantees of winning.” The only good thing, according to Ignjatovic, is that the game continues at home against Tübingen on Sunday. This doesn’t leave much time for thinking. And brooding seems to be the enemy of many a gamer’s brain at the moment. “We can only hope that we show the energy from the last quarter. There were even a few shots,” says Ignjatovic almost as if in a cabaret.
Giessen: Norl (5), Warnholtz (10), Goodman (10), Castlin (14), Benzing (6), Maier, Figge (6), Gloger (9), Nyama, Kovacevic (4), Krajcovic (8).
Leverkusen: Kahl (8), Lol Wur (13), Langley (14), Brach (7), Lynch (5), Nicholas (13), Williams j (8), Heinzmann (13), Urbansky (2).
