Bitte, zwickt’s mich, ich glaube ich träume. Ganz langsam zum Mitschreiben: Real Madrid gewinnt in allerletzter Sekunde in Verlängerung gegen Bamberg. Nochmal, vielleicht begreife ich es dann: Bamberg verliert nur mit 2 Punkten bei Real Madrid.
Die Cinderella-Story geht weiter, Bamberg konnte das Momemtum der 2 Erfolge gegen Piräus und Charleroi nutzen und lieferte auch in der spanischen Hauptstadt eine überzeugende Leistung ab. Schon vor ein paar Tagen meinten 2 Spieler in kleinem Kreis, sie hätten eine Chance dieses Spiel zu gewinnen. Nach 8 Erfolgen in Folge in der Bundesliga und den Siegen in Europa ist das Selbstvertrauen grenzenlos.
Man kann stolz sein auf diese Mannschaft, deren Etat bei Real Madrid wohl gerade dazu reicht den Ballaufpumper und den Handtuchwedler zu bezahlen. Diese Erfolge, auch wenn es gegen die Iberer knapp nicht zum Sieg reichte, verschaffen Bamberg und auch dem deutschen Basketball Respekt in Europa. Man spricht wieder positiv über uns.
Angesichts der vorgerückten Stunde – irgendwann muss ich auch mal schlafen – gibt es jetzt nur ein paar Zitate und einen Spielbericht von der Euroleage-Seite:
A huge thriller on Thursday night fell on the hosts‘ side when the dust settled, as Real Madrid needed overtime to defeat Brose Baskets by 83-81. With an aggressive and fine performance in defense, Brose Baskets dominated much of the game smothering the hosts in all fronts. However, when the guests missed too many open shots, Real Madrid used it to trim the deficit and finally jump ahead. Carlos Suarez, who played a complete game, missed one free throw with less than three seconds to go however, and Predrag Suput hit two for the guests to send the game into overtime. Jorge Garbajosa kept the hosts ahead most of the time but in the last play, with 81-81, Sergio Llull missed a layup only to see how D’Or Fischer appeared from nowhere to put the ball back in the rim and give Real Madrid a tough win. The victory allos Real Madrid to improve to 3-1 in the Group B standings, while Brose Baskets drops now to 2-2. Felipe Reyes led the winners with his 18 points. Llull added 12 and Fischer had 10. For Brose Baskets, Brian Roberts had a good performance with 21 points, Kyle Hines added 17 and Suput posted 14. The German team hit as many as 11 threes against Real Madrid’s 3, but among the 18 Brose missed, there were some open shots that could have marked a different sign for the game. On its part, Real Madrid won the rebounding battle with no doubts, 44-34.
After 90 seconds of play, Felipe Reyes opened the score for Real Madrid with a layup but good ball circulation by Brose Baskets allowed for the first open three of the night from John Goldsberry’s hands, 2-3. Both defenses made it hard to find good shots with constant switches on the picks but when Brose found Tibor Pleiss inside, the guests led by 4-7. Ante Tomic was the one keeping the hosts in the pace with his moves inside, but points came in scarce on both sides as defense was the way to go. Reyes finally broke the drought and put Real ahead again from the line, 8-7, and Casey Jacobsen soon joined in for a three to keep Brose Baskets in the turf. Both sides traded free throws and when Brian Roberts hit the bucket for the 10-14 Brose edge, the hosts were forced to call a timeout. More turnovers for Real Madrid arrived after a good Brose Baskets defense, and Hines‘ good move in the paint for the three-point play made it 13-19 entering the last minute of the period. One free throw each for Novica Velickovic and Reyshawn Terry left things at 14-20 after 10 minutes.
Both teams moved the ball well in offense to start the second quarter but only Brose put it in the basket when Terry pulled up after a fake for a clean jumper. Jorge Garbajosa hit it from the baseline and then D’Or Fischer joined the party for 18-22 as Real Madrid seemed to be in a better moment than those during the first period. Anton Gavel found the space for a long jumper to give some air to Brose, but Tomic was still the man for the hosts in offense, imposing his law in the lane even though his accuracy was not always the best for his team. When Roberts beat the 24-second clock with a jumper, it started a personal 8-point run including back-to-back threes that gave Brose Baskets a big momentum and Hines soon joined in for a fast pace that made it 26-34 for the guests. Tomic, who else, stopped the bleeding from the charity line and that sparked a 9-0 run capped by Sergio Llull’s dunk off the fastbreak to put Real Madrid in the driver’s seat again, 35-34. In the last seconds of the quarter, Hines scored fast for Bamberg an Clay Tucker hit the long jumpe in the last play of the first half to close it with a 37-36 Real Madrid edge.
It took 90 seconds again to open the score in the third period with free throws by Hines. Those points sparked a 0-8 run for Brose Baskets with straigh threes by Gavel and Predrag Suput around amonster block by Hines over Reyes, that forced Real Madrid called a quick timeout with 37-44. The guests dominated the offensive rebounds at ease but at the same time, missed too many open shots and when Llull fed Fischer for the dunk, the stands fired up in no time. Jacobsen insisted from the arc with a new three for 39-47 but Velckovic first, and then Llull with a three-pointer forced the timeout of the guests with a 44-49 score. When Velickovic slammed the ball and Real Madrid started to run from defense it looked that the tide could change. Jacobsen fed Hines, who scored on the baseline avoiding a forest of arms above him but Tucker stole the ball and hit the break and then replied Roberts‘ new three with one of his own to leave Real in command after 30 minutes, 55-54.
Velickovic opened the last and decisive period slamming for Real Madrid, that strengthened its defense another notch. The battle for the rebounds was in favor of the hosts, 36-25, but Brose Baskets didn’t give up yet. Roberts found Hines for a leyup and Hines again, stole the ball with big defense from the guests. It had to be Reyes who, with free throws and then a basket in fast transition, hit a quick 4-0 that made it 61-56, the first clear lead of Real Madrid in the game. Goldsberry had to hit a couple of threes to keep Brose Baskets‘ options alive but between reyes first, and Llull later, the hosts seemed to take full control of the game. A huge dunk by Llull over two defenders for 67-64 and then a steal that allowed Tucker to hit the 69-64, forced a Brose timeout. With 100 seconds left Reyes nailed a hook for 71-66 and Roberts missed a three after that. However, with 20 seconds on the clock, Suput nailed a three that made it 71-69. After the foul, Llull went to the line to hit only one attempt and then Roberts replied with both attempts in for 72-71 and 9 seconds to go. With 7 seconds, Suarez scored only one free throw for 73-71 and then it was Suput’s turn on the line with 2.5 to go, and he hit both to make it 73-73. Llull had the last shot, and even though it was close, the game would be headed to overtime.
Garbajosa was the man of the extra session. His three-pointer opened the scoring, and then his hard work in defense paid off for the hosts. With Hines fouling out for Brose, Gavel scored to make it 78-77, but Fischer had a layup for 81-77 later with 75 seconds to go. Pleiss stepped up to drive to the basket and keep all options open, and then Roberts joined in to tie the game again, 81-81. With the last seconds to go, Ral Madrid’s play was for Llull to drive to the basket. So he did lifting a layup. The ball didn’t go in but the miraculous hands by Fischer put the ball back in the rim for the final 83-81 on the buzzer as Real Madrid survived a nightmare with a proper name: Brose Baskets.
Ettore Messina, Reals Trainer nach der Partie:
It was a difficult game for us that showed that Brose’s wins against Charleroi and Olympiacos didn’t happen by accident. They set the tempo of this game and we suffered. Especially against the one on one of the big men, we had some problems. However, we played good defense but in the end we had to win the game with heart.
Bambergs Coach Chris Fleming:
Congratulation to Real Madrid for the win. They are a team that was trailing most of the time but they never gave up. I had two goals for this game: defending the rebounds and move the ball well against their defense. I think we did fine but by the third quarter we missed too many open shots. If the had gone in maybe we would be talking about a different outcome, but against a team like Real Madrid you can never be sure.
Und Brian Roberts merkte noch an:
I think it was a good game. We had options until the end and I had a last shot in my hands but we didn’t win. I think we can make the Top 16. It is a tough group but we already showed that we can go anywhere and play tough. We know we have our chances and we will fight for them.