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Champions League: Brose Bamberg has it in its own hands to reach the playoffs

Bamberg, 01-21-2020

Brose Bamberg strolled to a 91:53 victory over bottom-of-the-table VEF Riga and can now qualify for the playoffs in the Champions League by winning its last two games in the group stage. The win over the Latvian club will give the team of Head Coach Roel Moors added mettle going into the crucial game next week, when fifth-placed Bamberg travels to the team just above it in fourth, Peristeri Winmasters.

After three straight defeats and the frustrating final minutes against Vechta, when Bamberg lost 85:86 despite a strong display up to then, the team from Riga was just the right opponent to help build the home side’s belief in itself. The visitors were only able to remain in contention for one period in the Brose Arena. After a nervous start due to its dented confidence, Bamberg slowly got into its rhythm and in particular center Assem Marei exploited his chances under the basket uncompromisingly to help his side move 10:6 in front. Although Riga went 14:15 ahead shortly before the end of the period, Retin Obasohan (10 points) struck back right away with a bucket from downtown to make it 17:15. Bamberg finally got into its stride in the second quarter and, thanks to strong defending, thwarted its opponents’ attacking efforts, which were often based on solo actions. Bamberg was able to win four turnovers in defense and so launch fast attacks, enabling it to produce a 17:2 run in the space of five minutes and surge 31:17 in front. The only fault that could be found with the home side’s play in the first half (which ended 39:24) was its weak 3-point field goal percentage (one bucket out of seven attempts).

Bamberg made up for that by being very accurate from close distance, draining 31 out of 51 shots below the basket to give a high percentage of 61 – a figure it had not been near achieving in the past weeks. That also helped the home side pull further ahead to 48:28 and then finish the period with a clear 67:35 advantage. Given such a wide lead, Head Coach Roel Moors rested a number of key players in the final quarter, such as top scorer Assem Marei (13 points), top rebounder Christian Sengfelder (9 rebounds, 10 points) or captain Elias Harris (10 points) and gave the two youngsters Mateo Seric and Moritz Plescher time on court. Seric made his mark right away with two threes and eight points, while Plescher was likewise able to chalk up his first two points on his international debut. Since Darion Atkins (13 points) also added three lay-ups and a free throw in the final period, Bamberg carved out its highest lead of the game at the end: 91:53.

Brose Bamberg’s Head Coach Roel Moors commented: “We played just the way we had to. It was a good game to get the frustration out of our heads and systems. However, all of us also know that it was only one game. We now have to keep on working and produce more displays like this one.”

Brose Bamberg now faces Basketball Lions Braunschweig on the road in the easyCredit German Basketball League on Sunday, January 28, 2020 (tip-off: 3 p.m.). The team of Head Coach Roel Moors defeated the club from Lower Saxony by 80:69 in the VW Arena in the cup quarter-final.

For more information visit www.brosebamberg.de, http://www.easycredit-bbl.de and http://www.championsleague.basketball/de.