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Bayreuth/Bamberg

Brose Bamberg wins Franconian derbies in the space of two days

Bayreuth/Bamberg, 05-10-2019

There was a conciliatory end to the regular season for Brose Bamberg last weekend: The team of Head Coach Federico Perego celebrated two wins in derbies against local Franconian rivals medi Bayreuth (90:79) and s.oliver Würzburg (97:65) in the space of 48 hours. The cup winners now face RASTA Vechta, who was newly promoted this season, in the playoff quarter-finals.

Bamberg sealed fifth spot in the regular season by winning on the road at medi Bayreuth on Friday evening. It got off to the better start thanks to a lay-up by Cliff Alexander and a bucket from beyond the arc by Tyrese Rice (5:0), but Bayreuth struck back with a run of seven points without reply and soon extended its lead to six points by the end of the first period (13:19). Bamberg then turned on a sparkling performance in attack with seven buckets from downtown by youngster Arnaldas Kulboka (2), Maurice Stuckey, Daniel Schmidt and top scorer Bryce Taylor (19 points, including three threes in the second quarter) to take the period by 30:12 and go in 43:31 ahead at halt-time. In the second half, the strong Augustine Rubit (15 points) stretched the gap to 51:35, after which the visitors commandingly played out their lead until the final buzzer.

Brose Bamberg had its home game against Würzburg under control from the very first minute. Perego’s team was too focused and zestful and so the opposing side from Lower Franconia was not given a whiff of a chance. Bamberg literally streamrollered the team of Head Coach Denis Wucherer and produced a 13:0 run to lead 22:5 and extend that to 30:15 by the end of the first period. Bamberg increased the gap to 57:32 by half-time against a disappointing Würzburg. After the visitors staged a small comeback with a run of eight points without reply (59:40), Perego’s players steadied themselves and constantly extended their lead to more than 30 points to run out winners by 97:65. A remarkable aspect in the game: Head Coach Perego rested his top scorer Bryce Taylor and Patrick Heckmann and did not play them at all, while Tyrese Rice (3 points) was only on court for 12 minutes. Apart from top scorer Cliff Alexander (21 points), it was in particular Arnaldas Kulboka, who notched up a career best of 17 points and five threes, and the extremely strong Louis Olinde who stepped up to the plate in their stead. The center bagged 11 points, snapped up an outstanding 15 rebounds (8 of them below Würzburg’s basket) and crowned his performance with two wonderful assists, a steal and a block.

Federico Perego commented: “It’s great to win in Bayreuth after so many games. We’re not exactly enjoying our best spell at the moment, but all of us had the right attitude and fought. We had the right mindset from the outset against Würzburg. I’d single out Arnoldas Kulboka and Louis Olinde for special praise. Both of them are training incredibly hard and that paid off. We’ll recharge our batteries in the coming days and then prepare intensively for our playoff opponents Vechta. Despite its injury worries, this team must not be underestimated.”