Brose Bamberg wins in Belgrade for the first time

Right from the tip-off, Bamberg gave the home side hardly any space to build its attacks. The players of Head Coach Andrea Trinchieri disrupted Belgrade’s playmakers early and rigorously and also produced a top-quality defensive display in the Kombank Arena. The home side was forced to take several Hail Mary shots and also conceded five turnovers in the first period, while Bamberg capitalized gratefully on its steals. After Red Star reduced the deficit to 10:9, Daniel Hackett sparked a truly magnificent display of offensive play by the club from Upper Franconia with a beautiful bucket from downtown midway through the first quarter. Top scorer Augustine Rubit securely drained all his four shots in the opening period and new signing Dorell Wright added five points. Bryce Taylor made a three to conclude a run of 12 points without reply that put Bamberg 22:9 in front. Maodo Lo added a bucket from beyond the arc right away in the second period to make it 33:18, but then the home side fought its way back into the encounter. Bamberg now conceded a number of turnovers and made some poor shots, with the result that Red Star closed the gap to 36:30. Bamberg then stretched its lead to 43:34 with a three and a mid-range shot by Dorell Wright and the next lay-up from Augustine Rubit.

In front of its irascible fans, Red Star soon hit back, scoring two quick buckets at the start of the second half to make it just 43:38. After that, Trinchieri’s team had to struggle hard for every shot, but Maodo Lo and Leon Radosevic relieved the pressure with their buckets to make it 59:53 at the end of the period. Bamberg again missed a chance to seal the encounter at the start of the final quarter. Belgrade was disgruntled with the referees, took poor decisions in offense and was hardly able to score at all. However, hardly any Bamberg player scored either, with the exception of Leon Radosevic with his six points in a row to make it 65:58. Yet the visitors continued to command the encounter, did not show any nerves on court and did not make any mistakes in defense. With what was his only bucket, old hand Nikos Zisis sealed with game with 44 seconds left (73:67). The encounter ended with Bamberg running out winners on the road by 75:69. Unfortunately, Daniel Hackett injured his calf in the second period and will hopefully not miss the next games.

Andrea Trinchieri commented: “It was a fight, a very tough game. It’s never easy to play in this difficult arena with its character. I told my players ten days ago: If we want to win, it’s important for us at the moment to suffer, to suffer together, to chase every ball together, to fight together for victory. We understood that. We stayed calm, were solid at the back and made the right decisions up front.”