RSV Lahn-Dill scores a 92:61 victory in Frankfurt – top scorer Hiroaki Kozai
RSV Lahn-Dill has also defended its lead in the RBBL in the last competitive match of the sports year and thus goes into a nine-week European Championship and winter break as unofficial autumn champion. In Frankfurt, the Wetzlarer team was confident on Saturday evening and won the second Hessenderby within eight days with 92:61 (25:9/52:30/75:45) at the ING Skywheelers.
The guests from Central Hesse started furiously after only 27 seconds of play in the Main metropolis with a three-pointer by Thomas Böhme, before Hiroaki Kozai was back in top form. Until 4:15 (6th), the Japanese scored all the other points of his RSV Lahn-Dill, before US center Brian Bell set the course for the eighth victory in the eighth RBBL game with six more points to 6:21 (9th), already after the first quarter.
From a strong defense, the guests acted in this phase highly concentrated and with a lot of speed. Head coach Janet Zeltinger used the entire depth of her bench and rotated early and just as successfully. Quinten Zantinge and Reo Fujimoto, who came on as substitutes in the second quarter, ensured the seamless transition in the game of Central Hesse. They were also responsible for the 11:33 (12th) and 16:41 (16th).
But already in this phase Nico Dreimüller flashed his skills in the jersey of the Skywheelers. Especially beyond the 6.75-meter mark, the former Wetzlarer was almost unstoppable against his old team. When the national player 18 seconds before the half-time break already let his fourth three-pointer to 30:50 float into the RSV reuse, he had already expanded his point account to twelve points at this time. In the end, by far the most conspicuous player of the Frankfurt hosts came to 19 points, including six threes with a hit rate of a strong 85 percent.
But even after the change, the RSV Lahn-Dill did not have to hide with its statistical values. Still dominant, the leader of the standings determined the events on the Frankfurt floor. With a 35:23 rebound superiority and a strike rate of 62 percent at the end, 23 assists also testified to wit and team unity in the ranks of the reigning Champions League winner. First and foremost, on this day Hiroaki Kozai, who scored a proud 25 points in just under 23 minutes of play. 83 percent of his throws from the field found their target in the Skywheelers basket, from the free throw line the Japanese remained on four attempts completely without a failed attempt.
So, it was not surprising that RSV Lahn-Dill extended its lead in the third quarter. Thomas Böhme opened this quarter with another three-pointer before Mark Beissert was able to score 39:73 in the 27th minute. “The Frankfurters threw their fighting qualities well into the balance and so we also had to play with a high intensity, which we managed well as a whole team. We can therefore go into the long break with a positive feeling and a lot of self-confidence,” said head coach Janet Zeltinger about the successful conclusion of the sports year 2021 for herself and her team.
Already in the coming week, the numerous national players in the RSV squad will scatter to their respective national teams. Five players alone will then meet again in the British, Polish, Dutch, and German jerseys at the European Championships from 3 to 12 December in the Spanish capital Madrid. For Janet Zeltinger and her assistant coach Günther Mayer, it is then time to prepare the team for the first game of the new year on 15 January in Cologne and the entire second half of the season in the RBBL.
Frankfurt: Nico Dreimüller (19/6 Dreier), Tim Diedrich (15/1), Josephine Dehart (10), Fabian Gail (9), Christoph Spitz (4), Marian Kind (2), Lisa Nothelfer (2), Carsten Crombach, Sven Diedrich, Maria Kress, Katharina Lang (n.e.).
Lahn-Dill: Hiroaki kozai (25/1), Brian Bell (18), Thomas Böhme (18/2), Reo Fujimoto (13), Mark Beissert (4), Dominik Mosler (4), Quinten Zantimnge (4), Jannik Blair (2), Simon Brown (2), Peyman Mizan (2), Catharina Weiß.