Crazy 67:53 success in the first playoff final agaisnt Zwickau
Title-defendants RSV Lahn-Dill have won 67:53 (20:6/33:18/47:44) against Zwickau in a tough as well as crazy fight for the German Championship. The Wetzlar team gave away a big lead in this first game of the best-of-three series, before turning the game around in their favour.
It was in the middle of the third quarter, when Michael Paye highlighted the Wetzlar dominance on court when he scored the 41:28 (26th min). The guests had been playing very focussed, and hardly anyone believed that the hosting team would be able to turn the game around. But things turned out differently, when RSV lost concentration in their defence and Zwickau quickly took advantage of the situation.
A 8:0-run leading to 36:41 (28th min) let Zwickau taste blood, whilst RSV seemed a bit slow with their reaction. At the start of the fourth quarter the game changed completely into the favour of the RSV-archrivals, who got their first lead after a three by Choudhry in the 31st minute. (49:47), before centre Adam Erben topped the result off with a successful attempt, leaving the score at 51:47 (32nd min).
But the second turn of events came as quickly as the first. Zwickau seemed to be out of armour from one moment to another and wasn’t able to score against a yet again strong RSV defence for the next seven minutes. The guests obviously took advantage, and carried by US-Americans Steve Serio and captain Michael Paye they took off again, and when Zwickau tried to stop their opposition with fouls, Serio knocked them out with four out of four free-throws.
“That Zwickau would have a comeback despite our comfortable lead was one of my worries. But it just makes me even more impressed with my team, how they managed to recover from this blow with mental strength.” Nicolai Zeltinger was very happy after these intense 40 minutes. “The hosts did definitely have a psychological advantage during that phase, but we got on top again with courage and confidence. Basketball can be crazy sometimes.”
At the start as well as in the end RSV displayed a spotless performance, whereas the Saxons needed eleven minutes to get into the game. This is also reflected in the stats, where RSV are leading with 24:16 rebounds and 55:50 per cent hit-rate. “The win is deserved, but it certainly does not feel like a 14-point difference, but thankfully that doesn’t matter in a playoff-series.” says Zeltinger jokingly.
Now the ten-fold German Champions have yet again the chance to finish the series off early on Saturday night at 19:30 at Wetzlar’s August-Bebel-Sporthalle. Should Zwickau be able to get revenge, there would be a third game at four o’clock on Sunday to decide for the German Champions 2014.