Heidelberg suffered a decisive 67-100 loss to Telekom Baskets Bonn on Friday, December 27th, as injuries to key players Michael Weathers and Osun Osunniyi hampered their performance.
A Rough Night for the Academics
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the MLP Academics Heidelberg faced a challenging evening, compounded by late game start and key injuries.
- The game was delayed nearly 45 minutes due to technical difficulties.
- Heidelberg struggled with ball posession,committing seven turnovers in the first quarter.
- Michael Kessens of Bonn led the scoring early,with 12 points.
- Injuries to Michael Weathers and Osun Osunniyi substantially impacted Heidelberg’s lineup.
The game began almost 45 minutes late due to significant technical issues.Heidelberg found themselves trailing early, falling behind 5:30 in the first quarter.head coach Danny Jansson called two timeouts within the first quarter’s final minutes, but Bonn continued to build their lead, eventually reaching 28:2 before Erol Ersek scored a three-pointer. Poor shooting and a high number of turnovers-seven in the first quarter alone-plagued the Academics.
Bonn Dominates on offence
Bonn’s shooting performance exceeded expectations, hitting 58% of their three-point attempts (7 of 12), compared to their season average of 25.2%. Heidelberg, meanwhile, struggled to find their rhythm, managing just two successful field goals out of twelve attempts in the first half.
Despite a halftime strategy shift from Coach Jansson-focusing on one possession at a time-Heidelberg continued to struggle. They were outmatched on the boards, committed frequent turnovers, and were slow to rotate defensively, allowing Bonn shooters open looks. while Heidelberg managed to win the third quarter, the deficit remained ample.
Bonn continued their strong performance in the fourth quarter, extending their lead and securing a 67-100 victory.
Reactions to the Defeat
“Obviously this evening didn’t go well for us – in every respect. The situation at the beginning was supposed to be the same for both teams, but it obviously wasn’t. we had no focus at all, and when things really got going, we were like rabbits in front of a queue and couldn’t do anything about it at any point. Every time we implemented something in the second half and showed some defensive ambition, we then had 70-80% no idea where our thoughts were and that’s the result,” saeid Danny Jansson, heidelberg’s head coach.
Erol Ersek added, “Bonn came out of the locker room much better. I think it’s purely a matter of the head. We have to be stronger and can’t let our heads hang after a minute and a half of pressure from bonn.”
Heidelberg has an prospect to rebound on Tuesday, December 30th, with a home game against the SKYLINERS. Tip-off at the SAP Arena is scheduled for 8 p.m., with tickets available online and at the box office. Fans can also watch all MLP Academics Heidelberg games live and on demand on Dyn.
