Reaching the European Cup final
Niners Chemnitz can suddenly dream big
April 3, 2024, 10:55 p.m
Lost and yet won: The Niners Chemnitz failed in the semi-final second leg against Bilbao Basket, but thanks to the first leg they made it to the finals of the Europe Cup. Now the Saxons could become the third German Europe Cup winner. Things are going much worse for Ludwigsburg in the Champions League.
Basketball Bundesliga team Niners Chemnitz can dream of winning their first title in the Europe Cup. Despite a 73:82 (36:39) in the semi-final second leg against Bilbao Basket, the Saxons reached the finals after their 98:73 first leg win in Spain. In the finals for Europe’s fourth most important club trophy (April 17th and 24th), Chemnitz meets Bahcesehir Istanbul (81:73 against Pallacanestro Varese after 80:81).
Chemnitz can become the third German Europe Cup winner. So far, the Mitteldeutsche BC in 2004 and the Frankfurt Skyliners in 2016 have made the competition’s winners’ list.
In total, five German teams celebrated a title in the history of the European Basketball Cups. Just last year, runner-up Telekom Baskets Bonn won the Champions League. The first winner in a European Cup competition in 1995 was the former series champion Alba Berlin in what was then the Kovac Cup. In between, BG Göttingen won the Euro Challenge in 2010.
For Chemnitz, control of the action was the priority against Bilbao due to its reassuring 25-point cushion from the first comparison. Accordingly, the Basques’ narrow lead at halftime didn’t really cause worry lines on Niners coach Rodrigo Pastore’s forehead.
In the second half, the Bundesliga runners-up’s place in the final was never in danger, even if the home team acted more carelessly in the final phase. The most successful Niners thrower was Kaza Kajami-Keane with twelve points.
Ludwigsburg loses significantly
In the Champions League, the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg basketball players clearly lost the first game of the playoff quarter-final series. Earlier in the evening, the Bundesliga team suffered a 72:98 (33:44) defeat at Spanish club UCAM Murcia, although head coach Josh King’s team was never in the lead. The Ludwigsburg team must win their home game next Tuesday against the fifth-placed team in the Spanish league in order not to be eliminated from the European Cup. The team that first wins two games in the playoff series advances to the semifinals.
The Ludwigsburg team had a hard time against Murcia’s aggressive defense and were down 9-0 after two and a half minutes. After that, the Bundesliga basketball team got into the game better, but defensively they allowed shots near the basket that were too easy. The deficit grew to 14:27 at the quarter break. In the second half, Ludwigsburg defended better, Desure Buie and Jayvon Graves (Ludwigsburg’s top scorer with 16 points) shouldered their team offensively, but the guests were still behind by double digits.
In the third round, Ludwigsburg remained without a hit from the field for four minutes and continued to defend the zone too weakly. Even in the final period, the Bundesliga team was unable to start a run to endanger the hosts. On the contrary: Ludwigsburg collapsed and had to reduce the difference to up to 28 points.