Lucky 58:56 success in the semi final against Hamburg
Title-defendants RSV Lahn-Dill made it into the DRS Cup Final with a with a wafer thin 58:56 (16:24/37:28/49:48) win against BG Baskets Hamburg, which means the 32nd Cup Final on Sunday at 3 o'clock. The opponents will be hosting team RSB Thuringia Bulls, who won against their semi final opposition BSC Zwickau.
from the start RSV were struggling to build up their usual pressure, and showed considerable gaps in the first quarter especially in their defence. At 12:22 (8th min) it looked like the game was slipping away from them, before they managed to get back in the second quarter. It looked like they got the game turned around with a 21:2-run before the break. After the 16:26 (11th min) the team upped their game - not only physically but also emotionally - and Steve Serio was a guarantee for success in this phase, bringing change with a three leading to 32:28 (17th min). But after changeover it seemed that the title-defendants had lost their energy again. The same mistakes as they made at the start, which Hamburg took advantage of, leading to 45:45 (28th min) by Japanese Hiroaki Kozai. The game continued to go back and forth pretty evenly without one of the teams being able to shoot ahead. Not a high-class game, but most certainly very physical. After another lead for RSV after Serio had scored another three (54:52, 35th min), and the game had turned into a dramatic cup fight for Hamburg eighty seconds to go at 56:54, but Serio and Boehme managed to turn the game around for their team. Mitsugu Chiwagi (10), Gesche Schünemann (2), Annika Zeyen (2), Mustafa Korkmaz, Bestami Boz (n.e.), Karlis Gabranovs (n.e.), Jan-Niklas Neuroth (n.e.).
Lahn-Dill: Steve Serio (28/2), Michael Paye (12), Thomas Böhme (8), Joe Bestwick (6), Dirk Köhler (4), Annabel Breuer, Nico Dreimüller, Björn Lohmann, Felix Schell, Jan Haller (n.e.), Christopher Huber (n.e.), Marco Zwerger (n.e.).