58:59-defeat against BG Baskets Hamburg
RSV Lahn-Dill presented themselves without any luck and a weak defence in the first game of the playoff semi-final series away against BG Baskets Hamburg. Thanks to a buzzer beater by Ghazian Choudhry, the Middle Hesse team lost 58:59 (12:10/27:24/44:34) on Sunday afternoon. Now RSV have to win the home game on the 8th of April, to even get a chance to win in the third and last game of the best-of-three series.
In the highly dramatic final phase of the game the score was 56:56 24 seconds before the final whistle. Exactly 1.7 seconds before the end Piotr Luszysnki managed to score the 58:56, and it looked like the guests would get away only lightly bruised. But that was not the end yet.
Hamburg Coach Holger Glinicki took a timeout straightaway, getting his team into the right direction in this nearly hopeless situation. Hiroaki Kozai did the throw in in the RSV-half of the court, passing it to British National Player Ghazian Choudhry, who was forced to throw the ball with his back to the basket. His stupefying buzzer beater brought the house down for Hamburg and bewilderment for RSV.
Despite the fact that the basket was incredibly lucky, the win for Hamburg was not undeserved, even though RSV were ahead most of the game after a weak phase at the start. After three baskets by Luszynski getting the 8:2 (4th min) score, RSV had lost their offensive composure, getting behind at 14:21, only to get picked up again by a three by Boehme (17:21, 31st min). The team got the lead back step by step, and in the 31st minute they were up 56:46. But then their offense got worse again, which lead to the dramatic end.
„We did a lot right, to get the ten-point-lead, but in the end, we did not play consequent enough to deserve a win.” said Zeltinger after the game. “We’re currently in a phase where we learn how to pick ourselves up again after a defeat. Now we have to do this once again.”
Hamburg: Ghazian Choudhry (22/1 Dreier), Jake Williams (15), Reo Fujimoto (10), Hiroaki Kozai (6), Nik Goncin (4), Kai Möller (2), Anne Patzwald, Mitsugu Chiwaki, Karlis Podnieks, Matthias Heimbach (n.e.).
Lahn-Dill: Piotr Luszynski (24/1), Thomas Böhme (10/2), Dirk Köhler (10), Michael Paye (6), Jan Haller (4), Philipp Häfeli (2), Nico Dreimüller, Annabel Breuer, Björn Lohmann, Joe Bestwick (n.e.), Christopher Huber (n.e.).