BBC captures its first win of the season against the reigning champs

They’ve done it! The players of BBC COBURG won their first game of the season in the BARMER ProB South 2nd German Basketball League – and against the title-holders scanplus baskets Elchingen of all teams. After a magnificent first half and a weak spell in the third period, Coburg finally managed to defeat the favorites by 69:64 (42:32) thanks to its passion, cleverness and a bit of luck.

The home side gradually took the wind out of the visitors’ sails with its great intensity in defense and better ball movement. The BBC turned in its best performance of the season so far. Steffen Walde with a reverse lay-up and bonus free throw, Eividas Molosciakas with a three from the corner, and eight points in a row by the big U.S. player Jason Penn, who finally made his presence felt, produced a 16:4 run for the outsiders and gave them a clear 30:14 lead midway through the second quarter. Shortly before half-time, Elchingen caught up – above all thanks to stalwart center Kristian Kuhn –, but Kevin Franceschi stretched the BBC’s lead to double digits again with a buzzer-beating bucket from downtown (42:32 after 20 minutes).

However, the break and time that gave the BBC’s players to pause and think paralyzed the home side’s flow noticeably. It was almost as if its zest had evaporated after the restart and it instead slipped back into old habits. Elchingen now defended more toughly and Coburg was too static in offense, with the result that it chalked up a meager seven points in the whole of the third period. The reigning champions did not exactly produce fireworks in attack, either, but managed to tie the scores at (49:49) after 30 minutes, fired on by playmaker Stefan Fekete and helped by unnecessary mistakes by the home side.

When Elchingen’s sharpshooter Edin Alispahic drained two buckets from beyond the arc and the Croatian player Marko Jurica stretched the gap to 55:61 with a mid-range shot halfway through the period, it seemed that the encounter was going as had been expected before the tip-off. Yet Coburg demonstrated passion, character and intelligence: Given the Baskets’ high foul count, the team of Head Coach Schabacker uncompromisingly attacked the basket and finally decided the game 69:64 in its favor. The BBC thus secured its first victory and two points of the season to the jubilation of its fans.