ENBL: Bamberg Baskets Fail to Make a Comeback!

In the end, the Bamberg Baskets fell just short of securing a spot in the Final Four of the European North Basketball League playoffs. After losing the first leg of the quarterfinals to Dziki Warsaw by 21 points, the team, led by Head Coach Anton Gavel, was ahead by 25 points with 2:44 minutes left in the third quarter of the second leg on Wednesday evening. They had every opportunity to achieve what many had deemed nearly impossible. However, the last shot of the game only hit the rim, and the 91:72 home victory against the Polish team was ultimately not enough to advance to the final four.

Both teams started the match with a high error rate and many turnovers. After a fairly balanced start, Bamberg found their rhythm better in the second half of the first quarter and managed to pull ahead slightly. With Moritz Krimmer's basket making it 21:16 after the first ten minutes, they had already made up the first quarter of the deficit. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Polish team stayed close and initially kept the gap constant. However, Dziki's 13 turnovers in the first half were a bit too much, allowing Bamberg to extend their lead to double digits for the first time. Five successful free throws and two three-pointers from Noah Locke increased the hosts' lead to 16 points by halftime. At the start of the second half, the Baskets continued to control the game and did not let the opponent get closer, although the lead could not be further extended initially. The intensity was increased again, and they managed to increase the lead to 25 points. However, the Polish team showed resilience and reduced the gap with an 8:2 run by the end of the third quarter to 72:53. Everything pointed to an exciting final phase. After initially reaching the required lead to advance, the opponents reduced it again to 79:61. The Baskets responded with a 10:4 run to make it 89:65, but John Fulkerson scored again to make it 89:69. In the last minute, Dziki was on the attack and, after a coach's challenge, was awarded the throw-in. The ensuing duel ended with a foul against Bamberg, and the opponents converted the given free throw to make it 89:70. Bamberg then played their best attack of the game to lead 91:70, but Dziki reduced it to 91:72 with 0.8 seconds left. Noah Locke then missed the decisive three-pointer with the last action, deciding the game.

Next Sunday, 23.03.2025, the Family Game Day continues against the MLP Academics from Heidelberg. Many activities for the whole family await you in the arena. Jump is at 18:00.