74:55-Finals win by RSV over Mainhatten Skywheelers
It may not have been RSV’s most spectacular win in their history, but certainly one of their nicest. With the still fresh team that only got together last summer Wetzlar’s Rollis managed to defend their title this year in Hanover and so were able to take the German Cup back home after their 74:55-success against Mainhatten Skywheelers.
Mainhatten Skywheelers – RSV Lahn-Dill 55:74 (14:19/25:38/37:54)
Birthday Boy Michael Paye, who was celebrating his 30th birthday on Sunday, was RSV-Top Scorer with 24 points. About 120 fans who travelled with their team celebrated happily the tenth Cup-triumph after the game.
But before all this the Skywheelers put enormous pressure upon RSV, who was behind 4:6 (3rd min) and 9:12 (7th min). But due to their intense play Frankfurt were also collecting a lot of fouls. When Captain Lars Lehman got his third foul in only the tenth minute and had to be benched, his team’s play suffered a crack. Via 19:12 (10th min) and 29:16 (14th min) the title defendants took advantage of the offered opportunities, and were looking towards a happy ending already.
Not only top scorer Paye, Dirk Koehler and a confident Joe Bestwick convinced, but especially Marco Zwerger. The 35-year-old played fresh and strong and with his eleven points helped to stabilise his team’s advantage. Even though Frankfurt’s National Player Sebastian Wolk tried his best with two threes, the Cup winners did not take anything lying down, with 61:44 (33rd min) and 72:48 (38th min).
“We already have achieved a lot with this young team. The development from these big changes to this sovereign performance here at the final four is just great to see” says RSV-Coach Nicolai Zeltinger happily after the final siren. With players Joe Bestwick, Christopher Huber, and Bjoern Lohmann, assistant coach Ralf Neumann and technician Rene Talaga five rookies were celebrating their first title with their team.
Frankfurt: Sebastian Magenheim (21), Sebastian Wolk (18/2 threes), Johannes Hengst (7), Lars Lehmann (4), Jan-Niklas Neuroth (4), Benjamin Lenatz (1), Anne Brießmann, Sven Diedrich, Andreas Kress, Maria Kuehn, Tim Diedrich.
Lahn-Dill: Michael Paye (24), Joe Bestwick (13), Dirk Köhler (11), Marco Zwerger (11), Thomas Böhme (7), Thomas Gundert (4), Jan Haller (2), Björn Lohmann (2), David Amend, Christopher Huber, Felix Schell, Gesche Schuenemann.
At 12 o’clock Goldmann Dolphins Trier played Hannover and won the third spot of the tournament 90:60 (26:17/48:32/70:41). Hannover United is the first Second League team to qualify for the Final Four since 2005.