75:53-success in third home game of the season
The first Hesse-Derby against promoted team Rhine River Rhinos from Wiesbaden turned, as expected, into an intense game, in which the newbies presented themselves courageous and willing to fight. In the end RSV got the hard fought for, but very definite 75:53 (14:14/39:28/58:38) win against the team from the capital of Hesse.
Wiesbaden is one of the strongest promoted teams, and despite two lost games so far are standing securely in the middle field of the table; a definite enrichment for the RBBL. The team, coached by Clifford Fisher, proved this by starting off well-prepared for the Middle-Hesse team, turning the 4:6 score (4th min) into a 10:6 (6th min) lead. This was not just down to an individual but a solid team effort, getting three different players to score.
First and foremost, there was Canadian World Champion Janet McLachlan, who did not only become top scorer for her team with 18 points, but also scored eight of these within the first eight minutes (14:10). RSV managed to draw by the end of the first quarter, but it took the hosting team until the 13th minute to find a recipe against the Rhinos. Two baskets by Dreimueller and four by Phillip Haefeli turned the score first to 14:18 (12th min) and then to 28:20 (15th min). Both the youngster and the newbie gained special praise from RSV-Head-Coach Nicolai Zeltinger.
Wiesbaden were not only playing strong, they also showed mental strength. They hit back by getting close again at 32:28 (19th min), but then also fought back from the 39:28 lead for RSV at half-time, shortening the gap to 44:36 (26th min). Only in the last minutes of the third quarter did RSV manage to hit them hard. Whilst the Rhinos didn’t score in four minutes, Wetzlar got a 12:0-run leading to the 56:36 lead (30th min), widened to 60:38 in the 32nd minute by Joe Bestwick.
„The game was, as expected, an intense one, with Wiesbaden being the best promoted team since Thueringen. This is brilliant preparation for our next home game in two weeks against them.” says Zeltinger in his analysis of the game. Next to Thomas Boehme and the aforementioned Haefeli it was again Newbie Piotr Luszynski who became top scorer for his team, in addition to 15 rebounds and five assists. Shining Wiesbaden players were McLachlan, as well as US-Boy Tommie Lee Gray, Australian John McPhail and former Heidelberg player Andre Hopp.
Lahn-Dill: Piotr Luszynski (20), Thomas Böhme (18), Philipp Häfeli (11), Michael Paye (10/2 Dreier), Joe Bestwick (5), Nico Dreimüller (5), Jan Haller (4), Christopher Huber (1), Björn Lohmann (1), Annabel Breuer, Dirk Köhler (n.e.).
Wiesbaden: Janet McLachlan (18), John McPhail (11), André Hopp (10), Tommie Lee Gray (6), Matthias Güntner (6), David Amend (2), Britt Dillmann, James Palmer, Serdar Antac (n.e.), Lukas Jung (n.e.).