79:70 home victory over the Rhine River Rhinos from Wiesbaden
RSV Lahn-Dill defeated the Rhine River Rhinos in a top-class duel of two playoff contenders on Saturday night at the Rittal Arena. After 40 exciting minutes of play, the Wetzlar team celebrated a 79:70 (16:19/34:35/52:58) home victory in the Hessenderby against the team from Wiesbaden, where US center Brian Bell advanced to the top scorer with 22 points.
In the duel of the two Canadian head coaches Paul Bowes and Janet Zeltinger, the guests from the Hessian capital offered the host of Central Hesse an open exchange on an equal footing over long stretches of the match. The decision was only made in the fourth and final quarter, when the landlords entered with a mortgage of a 52:58 deficit but remained calm and turned the game in the style of a top team.
At the beginning, the 539 spectators in the Rittal Arena saw a highly motivated and tactically perfect guest from Wiesbaden, who first took the lead and made a 13:11 (7. ). But then itchanged for the RSV thanks to Thomas Böhme with a 15:19 (9. ). But the lead was to change further, because in the second quarter Lahn-Dill started dominating, turned the game by the later top scorer Brian Bell at first 24:19 (12th) and maintained this lead until 28:25 (16th) by Dominik Mosler.
Visitors saw a lively duel of the eighth day of the game at RBBL, which was conducted with speed, wit and worth seeing combinations. All in all, 25 assists on the Rhinos side and 29 with the landlords underlined the joy of playing on the parquet floor of the Rittal Arena Wetzlar. And at the latest after a 9:0 run of the guests to 28:34 (19th) by national player Matthias Güntner, Wiesbaden had abandoned every shyness to inflict Lahn-Dill’s first compulsory defeat in the 13th duel against each other.
The team led by captains Thomas Böhme and Simon Brown followed this gap until the end of the third quarter. Even if the suspense of the match caused by further lead changes, like at 44:43 (23rd) by Hiroaki Kozai or at 46:51 (27th) by the Wiesbaden-based US boy Chayse Wolf, it seemed as if the reigning Champions League winner didn’t get to grip with the Rhinos on that day. At the latest when the Briton Jim Palmer managed to score the psychologically important 52:58 for the guests with the final siren of the third section, the Wiesbaden slogan “Can’t stop a running rhino” threatened to become true in Wetzlar.
But with the beginning of the fourth quarter, the host finally rewarded himself for his patience. After 13 seconds, Simon Brown heralded the final sprint of his colours before Australian Jannik Blair scored 56:58 (32nd). From this start, the RSV developed a 10-2 run to its own 62:60 lead (34th). And even though the Rhinos once again sent a clear sign of life at 62:64 and 65:66 (35th), when looking at the parquet floor of the Rittal Arena it was clear that the momentum was now on the side of the Wetzlarer Rollis. Böhme scaled his points yield alone in the final section from eight to a proud 21 points and ensured a 27:12 final quarter and a happy end for his team.
“Wiesbaden gave us a great fight and is right on the playoff course, where they are a challenge for every opponent. In the fourth quarter we finally found our rhythm, which was of course decisive for the success”, said Janet Zeltinger, relieved head coach, after the match.
Even though the shares of the Lahn-Dillers were well distributed and all the players involved were able to enter the basketball list, Bell and Böhme stood out from the RSV collective. The American finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while his team-mate’s record added up to 21 points, five rebounds and a proud 13 assists.
In the final point game of the year RSV will have the next Hessenderby next Saturday. In Frankfurt, the ING Skywheelers are waiting for the leader of the RBBL standings, who would like to go on to the eight-week European Championship and Christmas break with another success.
Lahn-Dill: Brian Bell (22), Thomas Böhme (21/3 threesome), Reo Fujimoto (12), Hiroaki Kozai (10), Simon Brown (4), Quinten Zantinge (4), Jannik Blair (2), Dominik Mosler (2), Catharina Weiß (2), Mark Beissert (left), Peyman Mizan (left).
Wiesbaden: Matthias Güntner (16), André Hopp (16), Louis Hardouin (11/1), Arinn Young (11), Nicola Damiano (6), Jim Palmer (6), Chayse Wolf (4), Gijy Even, Svenja Mayer, Barbara Groß (n. e. ).