The Baskets were celebrated, as if they had actually won, because the team never gave up and they were able to bring the team back to Hardtberg for one final game of the season.

The team didn’t have the best situation, but this was expected: While the team was warming up, Josh Mayo sat on the bench and spoke with Julian Gamble. Gamble had a uniform on. Mayo wore jeans. Although he had tried so hard to get back in the game after his thigh injury: it just wasn’t enough. The best player on the Bonn team could only watch. But even in Bamberg the team played better than was expected, even without him. This game would be no different.

“Everyone needs to play harder to make up for Josh’s absence”, said the Headcoach Predrag Krunic to the team in Bamberg; the Baskets’ fans took this message to heart. Never in this season was the team welcomed onto the court so loudly by their fans in the stadium.

The atmosphere was what basketball players refer to as a “do-or-die” game. In the stadium, there was also an NBA star, Denis Schröder, the playmaker of the Atlanta Hawks and a friend of Bamberg’s Daniel Theis from their time together in Braunschweig. He tried to hide behind gold sunglasses and a grey hoodie.

What he saw were fired-up Bonner, who, despite the warning from three games, were still offering up surprises. Fabien Causeur shot the first points for Bamberg, but even these points were hard won. That’s how it stayed. The game was very physical. After seven minutes Ken Horton needed to leave the court for treatment to his face after a hit from Nicolo Melli’s elbow. While Lucca Staiger, who had hurt Bonn in recent games with his excellent distance shots, did not score this time. Cheers sounded out from the crowd. In return Ojrs Silins improved the situation and the energy grew even more. Bonn was leading 13:11. Dennis Schröder played with his golden mobile.

Jamarr Sanders had the last ball possession of the first quarter. The guard waited, drew to the basket, dribbled it closely. The quarter ended, 17:17. The trainer took him aside, put his arm around him and built him back up.

Even now it was clear, Krunic switches players often. His team should not be out of energy, like in the third game of the series, when the Bonner held their own for 36 minutes, only to be overtaken by Bamberg. When Ryan Thompson at 28:30, scored a basket(17.), the EWE Baskets from Oldenburg booked their tickets again Bayreuth for the semi-final. Luckily, in Bonn there was no time to think about that, a win may have been possible, if Mayo had been in the game, and then then they would have been up against Bayreuth and not just Bamberg.

Schröder steals the show from the Roncalli Circus in the Halftime

It was about the here and now and the last chance to extend the series. TJ DiLeo stole the ball, passed to Gamble and the score rose to 33:35. Those are the actions that bring the fans in the Telekom Dom to their feet. And so DiLeo, who is more than just a Mayo replacement, did it again and gave Ryan Thompson a challenge, which he accepted, evening out the score with two free throws (35:35, 18.). With one point behind, halftime began. Schröder stole the halftime show from Circus Roncalli.

Bonn, even after halftime, remained an opponent at eye level. However, signs of wear became more and more noticeable. Here are there, a player was a step too far away to block a shot, or think a little too slow. But DiLeo and co threw their heart on the court. Giving up was not an option. When Janis Strelnieks, scored a three-point shot for Bamberg (54:58, 29.) it seemed like there was no hope for the Baskets.

In minute 32, Bonn was 13 points behind (57:70). But they came back. Yorman Polas Bartolo kept pushing. TJ DiLeo tightened the distance with a three-pointer, so Bonn was only six points behind (64:70, 39.), but Bamberg was not going to give up their place in the semi-final.