Summit ends with 61:69-defeat for RSVTitle-defendants RSV Lahn-Dill have lost their first big game of the season against RSB Thuringia Bulls 61:69 (15:15/26:34/45:52). The more aggressive and power hungry team has won in the end, only RSV’s Thomas Boehme managed to shine. “I already said before the start of the season, that our biggest enemy will be our own belief that ‘we’ll manage somehow’, and now we got what we deserved.” said disappointed Nicolai Zeltinger after the game. The hosting team was definitely more determined, and managed to stay ahead in the deciding moments of the game. The game started off quite well. After a three by Boehme right at the start (3:3, 2nd min) the team worked hard for the 15:11-lead (9th min). But already at this point the team realized that this wasn’t going to be an easy game, when their top scorer got his 2nd foul already in the fourth minute. A strong enough reason for Zeltinger to make the first changes in the line-up, and the break lead to a 1:15-run for the hosts, getting them the 26:16-lead (14th min). This made it obvious, that RSB were just waiting for RSV to make a mistake, and to punish them for it. This was the kind of focus that RSV were lacking. At half-time the stats showed a painful 61 to 38 score percentage. After changeover RSV tried to fight back without success, but at least RSV managed to show off a bit of their skills. The score quickly moved to 30:34 (21st min) after the break, but as quickly as they turned the game in their favour, they managed to lose it again. Boehme got his 4th foul in the 22nd minute, having to sit it out on the bench, watching the opposition having a 0:8-run (32:43, 26th min).Still, the Junior World Champion was one of the few gleams of hope for RSV in this game. The Wetzlar team tried to fight back, which showed at the 45:47 score (27th min) by Serio, and again at 56:60 (36th min) by Boehme, but in the end didn’t help to turn the tables. Not even the interruptions by the whistle helped, as RSB hit a high percentage of their free-throws, leading to a deserved win and excitement amongst their fans. This was already the third defeat within 12 month for RSV. RSB Thuringia Bulls have set their first mark this season, even though it is clear that this doesn’t mean anything yet for the outcome of the league. Both teams fought against each other seven times last season, in the RBBL, the Playoffs, DRS Cup and Champions League.
Thüringen: Aliaksandr Halouski (25), Joakim Linden (19), André Bienek (14/1 Dreier), Teemu Partanen (5), Raimunds Biginskis (4), Nerijus Venckus (2), Jens-Eike Albrecht, Marcus Kietzer (n.e.), Marvin Malsy (n.e.).
Lahn-Dill: Thomas Böhme (30/3), Michael Paye (14), Steve Serio (12/1), Dirk Köhler (3), Joe Bestwick (2), Annabel Breuer, Jan Haller, Björn Lohmann, Nico Dreimüller, Christopher Huber (n.e.), Felix Schell (n.e.), Marco Zwerger (n.e.).