Basketball Bundesliga club BG Göttingen is fun for the fans again. After the home win against the Fraport Skyliners last Wednesday evening, which 1721 spectators wanted to see, almost 700 more violet supporters (2413) came to the Sparkassen-Arena early on Sunday evening when they defeated their neighbors Hamburg Towers. And they didn’t have to regret coming. The exciting final phase, which was crowned by the 83:80 victory, was a reminder of the many thrilling games the team has already offered over the course of this season.
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Head coach Roel Moors’ team doesn’t have much time to enjoy the success. Already on Wednesday she is required again. Then, at 8:30 p.m., the guest appearance at Brose Bamberg is on the schedule – a game from the 30th matchday, which will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Franconians parted ways with their head coach Johan Roijakkers during the season and then it took a while to get back on the road to success with their new coach Oren Amiel.
BG Göttingen vs. Hamburg Towers, BBL 2021/22
BG Göttingen vs. Hamburg Towers, BBL 2021/22
© Swen Gatekeeper
In the meantime, the team, in which the ex-BGers Hylke van der Zweep and Domenik Theodorou are still part of the Bamberg staff as assistant trainers and performance coaches even after Roijakkers’ dismissal, has made up ground. Again and again Brose is traded when the conversation revolves around a “laughing fourth” who could still contest a playoff rank against BG Göttingen, the Hamburg Towers or the Hakro Merlins Crailsheim.
Upcoming opponent Bamberg has to accept a setback
After four wins in a row, Brose Bamberg had to accept a setback on the 29th matchday against the Niners Chemnitz in their own hall with a score of 79:89. In front of 3,309 spectators, Brose ran behind for the entire 40 minutes and never really came into play, especially offensively. Although Bamberg was able to reduce a deficit of more than 20 points to seven points in the final minute, it was not enough to turn the tide. The best thrower in Bamberg was Christian Sengfelder with 20 points. He’s been consistently among the top 5 scorers in the league this season.
Head coach Amiel’s conclusion after the defeat was sober: “If I have to summarize the game, it’s quick. They were superior to us in every respect: physically, mentally, everywhere. If you can’t match their physique and their speed, then the game goes the way it went today.”
Moors doesn’t say the “P word.”
That’s a lever that Roel Moors and the BG players can use on Wednesday. Your attentiveness and aggressiveness on the defensive repeatedly led to successful fast breaks against Hamburg on Sunday – also a sign of self-confidence that the Belgian head coach is so happy to see and had wished for. “This is an important step for us after the past few weeks, which were very difficult.”
Even if Moors himself doesn’t want to use the “P word” anymore, his team is clearly one of the playoff contenders. She now has 16 wins (and 12 losses) to her credit – more than in the previous six seasons. The violets only had a positive playing relationship in the Corona season, which ended in March 2020 (11:10/8th place), in which they then reached the playoff quarterfinals in June at the final tournament in Munich. Otherwise, it was enough for placements between eleventh (10:24 wins/season 2016/17) and 16 (9:25 wins/season 2018/19).
When looking at the teams that were able to jump on the playoff train in eighth place in the main round final table in the recent past, it becomes clear that the BG is not missing that much to be able to be part of the season extension . Ludwigsburg (17:15/season 2016/17 with only 17 teams) was enough for 17 victories, as were Würzburg (17:17/season 2015/16), Braunschweig (17:17/season 2018/19) and Bamberg (17:17/ season 2020/21). Only in the 2017/18 season did the bottom of the table in the main round have to deliver more victories: The Fraport Skyliners came up with a balance of 20:14.
Four teams play for two playoff spots
Starting position: 7th place, 28 games (16 wins/12 losses)
Remaining program: Brose Bamberg (10th place, away (A), April 13); Alba Berlin (4, H, 17 April); Telekom Baskets Bonn (April 1st, A, 24th); Hakro Merlins Crailsheim (9th, A, 26th April); Jobstairs Gießen 46ers (17th, H, 1st May); Bayern Munich (2nd, A, May 8th).
Starting position: 8th place, 28 games (15 wins/13 losses)
Remaining program: Fraport Skyliners (18th place, home game (H), April 13); Löwen Braunschweig (April 15, A, 16); FC Bayern Munich (2nd, H, 24 April); Alba Berlin (April 4, A, 29); Syntainics MBC (16, A, May 1); Brose Bamberg (10th, A, 8th May).
Starting position: 9th place, 26 games (13 wins/13 losses)
Remaining program: Löwen Braunschweig (15th place, away (A), April 12); medi Bayreuth (April 13, H, 16); Alba Berlin (4, H, 20 April); MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg (3rd, A, 23rd April); BG Goettingen (7, H, 26 April); Fraport Skyliners (18, H, 29 April); ratiopharm Ulm (5th, A, 1st May); Niners Chemnitz (6th, H, 7th May).
Starting position: 10th place, 28 games (13 wins/15 losses)
Remaining program: BG Göttingen (7th place, home game (H), April 13); ratiopharm Ulm (5, H, 17 April); Alba Berlin (4, A, 22 April); MLP Academics Heidelberg (April 12, A, 29); Löwen Braunschweig (15, H, 1 May); Hamburg Towers (8, H, 8 May).
