The Slovenian Sasa Filipovski is one of the more introverted personalities among basketball coaches. Sure, he’s also a passionate coach on match days – but always with style and never unbridled. His start in Würzburg in December was viewed with plenty of skepticism by those around him. After all, he followed in the rather big footsteps of Denis Wucherer, who was very successful at times in Würzburg and was always extremely popular.
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Late on Sunday afternoon, the head coach of s.Oliver Würzburg had a big emotional outburst and the fans duly acknowledged him. Unlike usual, the MVP, i.e. the best player of the game, was not allowed to start the so-called “Humba” with the fans together with the hall announcer. This time it was a matter for the boss. Filipovski seemed relaxed, but still a little embarrassed by the great encouragement from the ranks. He has now almost accomplished what has faltered in the meantime: keeping Würzburg basketball in the Bundesliga.
With the 81:71 victory in front of spectators in the “Tectake Arena” in 2014 against the surprise team of the season and playoff contenders Niners Chemnitz, the Würzburg team celebrated their fifth win in a row and their tenth overall this season. The relegation of the “Baskets” is now taking on clearer contours.
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However, the success against the Saxons was a hard-fought one. Chemnitz, who brought the German champions Alba Berlin to their knees at home with 81:64 last match day, also relied on their usual aggressive defense against the Lower Franconia. Filipovski’s team seemed well adjusted to the opposition and quickly found their feet against the Niners’ powerful defense. Uruguayan point guard Luciano “Nano” Parodi was back on the floor after a week-long break with the Würzburg team. But, as so often this season, another guard offered the big show: Cameron Hunt, the 24-year-old Texan, already scored 15 points and showed at the break, in which s.Oliver Würzburg went 43:39 ahead also wide awake on the defensive with many ball wins.
17 leadership changes
After the change of sides, things continued intensely. The spectators experienced a total of 17 lead changes. At the end of a tight game, the decisive factors were Würzburg’s strength in the rebound (41:30 it said in these statistics at the end) and Chemnitz’s weakness beyond the three-point line. Only four of 26 three-point attempts by the guests found their target. Würzburg scored twice as often from “outside”. A one-on-one situation decided the game, in which Cameron Hunt pulled to the basket with remarkable ease and scored the layup with his left hand to make it 77:71 with exactly 41 seconds left, with his points 21 and 22. The recovered William Buford (15 points), who has now fully recovered from his injuries, scored double digits, as did the German-Australian Craig Moller (15). After all, Parodi scored five points in his almost 20-minute comeback – including a very important three-pointer in the final quarter – and three assists.
“It was very difficult for us. Chemnitz has a really good team,” said Filipovski after the end of the game. But his team no longer acts like one stuck deep in the relegation battle. “We have good lads and very good team chemistry,” says the coach. “We worked hard to get these good games, and we’re getting better and better step by step.”
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His opponent, Chemnitz head coach Rodrigo Pastore, summarized the 40 minutes of basketball as follows: “The result with ten points was a bit too high, the game was much closer. But Würzburg made the decisive plays and deservedly won.” Würzburg continues with three away games in a row, in Bayreuth (April 9), Gießen (April 16) and the second leg to Chemnitz (April 20). It looks like the rest of the weeks in the BBL season will be a show of the “Baskets” rather than the dreaded crash. Filipovski’s little dance on the floor, directly in front of the fans, should have been enough expression: Würzburg remains first class.
