Japanese top scorer in the clear 88:44 victory at the Dolphins Trier
RSV Lahn-Dill has also kept its white vest in the RBBL on the seventh matchday and thus confidently maintained its lead in the standings. In Trier, the Mittelhessen did not let themselves be asked for long and had already set the course for the later 88:44 (27:8/39:22/63:32) success at the Doneck Dolphins Trier in the first quarter of the game. The top scorer of the game was the Japanese Hiroaki Kozai on the Moselle, while the RSV defense was able to shield Trier’s sniper Dirk Passiwan well.
Only 14 shot attempts allowed a well-adjusted defense of the guests the previous league top scorer Passiwan, who had previously contributed an average of 37.4 points per game for his Dolphins. In the end, the veteran came on Saturday in the sports hall on Mäusheckerweg in Trier to a remarkable 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists, but lost the direct duel with the Japanese Hiroaki Kozai, who recorded 26 points, four rebounds and seven assists.
The Japanese was once again in the initial formation of Central Hesse and was under high tension from minute one. After just nine seconds of play, Kozai let a first three-pointer float into the Dolphins’ reuse and already had 17 points on the credit side after the end of the first quarter. The 33-year-old silver medallist from Tokyo thus played a decisive role in ensuring that his RSV Lahn-Dill in Trier was able to set the course for an undisputed start-finish victory at an early stage.
Over 0:7 (1.) and 2:23 (8.) the hosts from Rhineland only found their way into the game shortly before the end of the first quarter of the game, when the 13-time champion was already far off. But the Trier people showed good morale, were subsequently able to bring the RSV-Express to a standstill temporarily and open the game in the second quarter. U. S. boy Correy Rossi was responsible for the 14:29 (14th) connection as well as for the 20:34 (18th). Only a clear announcement at halftime by head coach Janet Zeltinger made the guests from Wetzlar appear dominant and determining again after the change of sides.
Thomas Böhme with a three-pointer at 26:46 (23rd) and then Brian Bell with six points in a row at 28:52 (26th) were the stops in the third quarter before another intermediate sprint at 35:69 (32nd) raised the result further. “We got off to an extremely good start in the game and were able to maintain our intensity throughout the game apart from the second quarter. We also successfully controlled Dirk Passiwan, even though Trier was able to distribute it very well to other players”, said a quite satisfied head coach Zeltinger in her analysis of the match on the seventh day.
In the final chord, Mark Beissert and Peyman Mizan will also be in the spotlight alongside Dutchman Quinten Zantinge. Finally, it was them who screwed the final result over 39:77 (35th) and 41:85 (38th) to the clear final position. For RSV Lahn-Dill, there are now only two duels in the sporting year 2021, each against Hessian rivals, before the postponed European Championships in Madrid provide an early Christmas break. Thomas Böhme & Co. will welcome the Rhine River Rhinos from Wiesbaden at the Rittal Arena Wetzlar next Saturday at 7:30 p. m. and the team will be visiting the ING Skywheelers in Frankfurt on 20 November.
Trier: Dirk Passiwan (17/1 threesome), Correy Rossi (11), Patrick Dorner (9/1), Miljan Grujic (7), Corin Depping, Valeska Finger, Lukas Jung.
Lahn-Dill: Hiroaki Kozai (26/2), Thomas Böhme (18/1), Brian Bell (14), Reo Fujimoto (8), Quinten Zantinge (8), Dominik Mosler (7), Mark Beissert (4), Peyman Mizan (2), Simon Brown (1), Jannik Blair, Catharina Weiß.