Telekom Baskets Bonn wins against Vechta

Vechta · Telekom Baskets Bonn has won its away game against Rasta Vechta 77:70 after a difficult first half.

Fans of Ojars Silins have double grounds for celebration. After a long, hard performance by the Telekom Baskets against bottom of the league Rasta Vechta, the Latvian’s play from the three-point line robbed the home team of any hope of their second victory of the season. Three Silins three-pointers in the last two minutes hit Rasta so hard that the newly-promoted team could not recover.

There are parallels between the 77:70 (11:17, 18:20, 23:16, 25:17) victory and the season’s progress by match winner Silins. After convincing performances, Silin’s short term contract was extended to the end of the season and things have become more manageable for him. After the game he said: “It was just as difficult as in the first leg. It’s hard to believe that Vechta has only won one game.”

The home team benefited from a change in trainer – Douglas Spradley took over from Andreas Wagner during the week – and took advantage of the problems Bonn had preparing for the match because of the change. The new trainer had changed the start formation among other things and the Baskets needed some time to adjust.

At the break, the Baskets scoring rate was 25 per cent and it was only when Florian Koch scored a three pointer shortly before the end of the quarter that the Baskets reached double figures (11:17 in the ninth minute). It took a while for the guests to work out the Spradley-system.

Koch opened the second quarter as he had ended the first: with a three pointer to make it 14:17. However, the home team had long since realised that this could actually be their second win of the season and did not let up. Things got dangerous for the Baskets and they were eight points behind at half time (29:37).

Trainer Predrag Krunic clearly used the time to make clear to his team what he had learned and how he thought they ought to react. Two free throws from Ryan Thompson, one from Yorman Polas Bartolo, a dunk from Julian Gamble and five points from Josh Mayo and the Baskets were back in the game.

Five minutes before the end of the game, Silins made it 57:62 and it seemed he had given his team a signal: enough patience, now we mean business. Thompson stole the ball and Silins broke the last defence. Vechta could only use a tactical foul, but Bonn got the ball into the hands of the secure free throw player Thompson, who lived up to his name.

“Congratulations to my players, who won a difficult away game,” said Krunic. “After the first half we understood better what we had to do today to bring home a victory.”

(Original text: Tanja Schneider. Translated by Kate Carey)

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