medi Bayreuth loses 73:83 at Neptunas Klaipeda

medi Bayreuth was not able to add to its haul of five wins and so finished in seventh in Group D of the Basketball Champions League. On the last game day in the group stage, the team of Head Coach Raoul Korner – missing the injured De’Mon Brooks, Steve Wachalski and Hassan Martin – was defeated on the road at Neptunas Klaipeda by 73:83 (33:43).

It was clear from the outset that the hosts BC Neptunas Klaipeda were still in contention for a place in the playoffs and they made life difficult for medi Bayreuth with a lot of fight and forceful defending. Former German league player Kyle Weaver in particular was almost unstoppable. Since not a lot clicked for the HEROES OF TOMORROW, they trailed 12:19 at the end of the first period.

medi was then able to compensate better for the loss of De’Mon Brooks in the second period. The team of captain Bastian Doreth now paid much closer attention to the ball and found more ways of getting into good positions to shoot in offense. However, it missed too many of those chances and so was not able to put Klaipeda under greater pressure. The Lithuanian club thus remained ahead at all times and was able to retain a 43:33 lead thanks to an all-round team performance.

The run of play did not change much after the break. The HEROES OF TOMORROW now proved a match for the home side, but did not manage to reduce the deficit by any decisive margin. In particular, medi’s weak 3-point field goal percentage prevented it from getting within striking distance. As a result, a few solid moves were enough for Klaipeda, led by stalwart Tomas Delininkaitis, to maintain a constant lead of ten points. Bayreuth went into the final period trailing by 53:62.

The picture was then the same as in the preceding quarters. Although nothing was at stake for the HEROES OF TOMORROW, they continued to battle away in exemplary fashion. Even when the Lithuanian club opened up a 16-point gap with seven minutes to go, the team of Head Coach Raoul Korner did not give up and quickly reduced the gap again. However, it was no longer enough to pull off a big comeback and the HEROES OF TOMORROW ultimately lost their final game of this BCL season by 73:83.

Source: www.medi-bayreuth.de