Battle for the playoffs
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Double pack for Trier basketball players: Can the Gladiators achieve two wins in 48 hours?
High fives with Jordan Johnson, Travis Daniels & Co.: That’s possible this weekend in the arena. The Gladiators have home games on Friday and Sunday.
Photo: Willy Speicher
Trier Double exclamation mark? Two home wins within two days – that is the declared wish of head coach Pascal Heinrichs. Who the opponents are – and what is needed for victory this Friday evening against Karlsruhe (7.30 p.m.).
There are almost three weeks between the last home game of the Römerstrom Gladiators – the hard-fought 91:88 against Bundesliga relegated Gießen – and the game against the PS Karlsruhe Lions on Friday (7.30 p.m.). The waiting time is all the shorter afterwards: Less than 48 hours later, the next home game for the Trier team is coming up – on Sunday against the bottom of the table Panthers Schwenningen.
So that means: No travel strains, full focus – and two opponents who should be beatable at least in home games for a team with playoff ambitions. Especially since the Schwenninger, who recently filed for bankruptcy, only have a mini-squad available – and they have to get to Hagen on Friday evening. Schwenningen coach Alen Velcic doesn’t want to give away a game despite the bad sporting situation – especially not in his old home Trier.
Marco Hollersbacher: Gladiators Trier well positioned for the weekend
Gladiators winger Marco Hollersbacher sees his team in good shape after the international break last weekend. Become more consistent, adjust little things, adapt to the two opponents as best you can – that was the focus in the preparation. “We want to minimize our turnover and continue to rebound well,” says Hollersbacher, who himself is one of the strongest Gladiators rebounders. “Karlsruhe is a team with individually strong guards – we can’t let them come into play,” says the 22-year-old on TV.
On the third day of play, the Trier team lost to the Lions 101:107. Not only because of the guards like Bazoumana Koné and Lovell Cabbil, but also because Lions center Maurice Pluskota cleaned up a lot under the board (19 rebounds, 23 points). In the event of a home win, Trier could draw level with Baden – both teams would then have a balanced record ten games before the end of the normal round.
Duel with the Lions Karlsruhe: “Four-point game” against dangerous opponents
Before the duel with the Lions, Gladiators head coach Pascal Heinrichs speaks of a “four-point game” against a dangerous opponent. Karlsruhe relies on an extremely high tempo, “they play very fast basketball, just like us. So we must not let them get going. That’s the main goal.”
A shortcoming of the past few weeks has also been worked on: the many ball losses. “We trained a lot, and repeated a lot, so that we don’t have so many turnovers and so that the interaction works even better and we don’t lose focus,” says Heinrichs. A player that he could use against a team like Karlsruhe may be out: Dan Monteroso has hip problems, his commitment: uncertain.
And Schwenningen shouldn’t be underestimated on Sunday either: “The people of Schwenningen don’t have any pressure to win. You will play freely with us. We have to be wide awake right from the start and close the lid on it at the end. Then I hope that we can end the weekend with two wins at home – that would have greatly improved our playoff chances.”
