One thing is for sure, the Dragons Rhondorf have definitely made this years playoffs very exciting as after the Rostock series, they entered a second do or die game this time with the SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt. After eking out a nail bitter in game 1 in their living room, they were easily defeated on the road as they were crushed on the boards again despite getting a combined 39/21 game from Ferenc Gille and Avery Sullivan, it wasn´t enough to sweep the series as they didn´t get enough support on the boards and shots didn´t fall. The Dragons Rhondorf had a second playoffs do or die game and wanted to successfully move into the next round against Berlin 2000 who had surprisingly upset the Bayer Giants Leverkusen. In Game 3 the Dragons Rhondorf came together and used the home court advantage and won their second do or die game in 2024 upending the SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt 90-82 and reached the semi-finals. It was a game at eye level in the first half, but in the second half the Dragons Rhondorf were sparked by Badu Buck´s three ball from which Wolmirstedt could never recover from. “We upped our physicality and rebounding. In the flow of the game, our physicality and defensive presence was amazing. Even if they scored 82 points, this is the playoffs. We knew that we had to make our shots. We ran our plays and made plays”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf guard Kelvin Omojola (183-G-1997, college: Northwest). The SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt played a solid game, but just couldn´t get over the hump in the second half to make that possible last run. “We didn´t have enough fire. We couldn´t match their intensity and gave up too many key offensive rebounds. We also gave them too many easy baskets and they hit some deep three´s”, stressed SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt guard Maxe Begue.

Martin Bogdanov at the FT line

In the first quarter, it was a back and forth with runs, but Wolmirstedt made the last run to lead by 5 points after 10 minutes. The SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt made the first punch leading 6-0 as Mr walking bucket Bill Borekambi hit 2 pretty step back jumpers from the mid distance that are his bread and butter and ex BBL player Modestas Paulauskas made a tip in. “Borekambi has a great motor. He looks unorthodox but is a great player”, said Kelvin Omojola. Rhondorf seemed a bit shocked as they had problems adjusting to the aggressive defense of Wolmirstedt, but they countered quickly scoring 6 unanswered points as Kelvin Omojola was the spark plus at both ends making 4 points while 2018 NBBL champion Badu Buck made a lay in. But Wolmirstedt recuperated and scored 7 points as Borekambi continued to be a scoring menace scoring twice while ex Schwenningen guard Marcel Hoppe dropped a trey. Rhondorf had problems giving up too many easy baskets and didn´t have Borekambi under control. However the runs kept coming as the Dragons punched back with a 11-4 run to dead lock the game at 17-17. In the run, Rhondorf were carred by ex Nurnberg big man Ferenc Gille who was a massive presence inside scoring 8 points while Tyreese Blunt also added a three pointer. However Wolmirstedt had the last run of 7-2 of the first quarter to lead 24-19. Borekambi scored with ease again inside while Paulauskas hit a trey. “It was a fast paced game, but also sloppy at times. But that is kind of expected in a playoff game. The game was definitely very up and down and very physical”, stressed Telekom Baskets Bonn guard Sam Griesel. The SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt shot 63% from the field and 50% from outside and had 9 rebounds and 5 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 33% from the field and 22% from outside and had 9 rebounds and 5 turnovers. “We brought physicality from the start. We had a sense of urgency and didn´t want to get bullied like in game 2”, commented Kelvin Omojola.

Badu Buck

In the second quarter the SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt were able to lead by 8 points, but the Dragons Rhondorf upped their game to lead by 1 point at the break. Wolmirstedt took that momentum from the end of the first quarter into the second quarter executing well as ex Lok Bernau guard Marc Friederici hit a trey while Lennart Winter and Borekambi made lay in´s. Rhondorf also added buckets from ex Tuebingen center Jekabs Beck and a 20 footer from energizer Matej Silic, but Wolmirstedt still led 31-23. This was a dangerous phase for the Dragons Rhondorf as their defense was sputtering a bit as they allowed too many easy baskets and didn´t have somebody to take responsibility on offense. But that changed quickly as Kelvin Omojola took charge adding 5 points to trail only 33-30. However Rhondorf were unable to hold the short lived momentum as Rhondorf allowed a mini 4-0 run as their 1-1 defense was too little against athletic players Begue and Borekambi who scored on drives to up the guests lead to 37-30. However the game continued to have that run atmosphere as Rhondorf closed out the second quarter with a lethal 10-2 run sparked by the energy from 17 year old German gem Janne Muller who added 4 points off the bench. “Janne has amazing potential for his age. His skill level is really high for his age. It is cool to see how well he competes. He has a good head on his shoulder”, stressed Telekom Baskets Bonn guard Sam Griesel. Gille and Blunt also added lay in´s while Antonio Pilipovic closed out the scoring making a heads up play catching a Blunt airball and making the put back at the buzzer as the Dragons led 40-39 at the half-time. “Muller´s energy at the end was very important. He pushed us. I told him on the bench to keep his energy high”, stated Kelvin Omojola. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 44% from the field and 23% from the three point line and had 22 rebounds and 13 turnovers while the SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt shot 47% from the field and 33% from the three point line and had 14 rebounds and 9 turnovers.

Maxi Begue

In the third quarter there was a little lull in the first few minutes, but then the game changed and the turning point came as Badu Buck let it rain three´s as the Dragons Rhondorf led by 12 points after 30 minutes. Maxi Begue got the guests on the score board first with a trey for the 42-40 advantage, but that was quickly erased with a Omojola 20 footer to tie the game at 42-42. Omojola continued to play with unbelievable high intensity and just led his team the way a leader should. He was aggressive and got to the free throw line and also added another trey for the 47-45 lead. Sullivan and Borekambi traded baskets as nobody could make a run in this phase as Rhondorf led 49-47. But then came the turning point of the game as the Dragon Rhondorf went on a big 13-4 run to lead 62-51. In the run, it was Badu Buck who demonstrated his sharp shooting skills nailing back to back three´s and then added a third that looked like it might hit the ceiling. “Badu has a lot of arc on his shot. He had to get that high rainbow off over that big man. That shot was huge and broke open the game”, warned Kelvin Omojola. Rhondorf could of done more damage, but the SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt were carried by Martin Bogdanovic who has 55 BBL games on his resume who added 6 points down the stretch to keep his team with the Dragons. The Dragons also got buckets from Gille and Muller in the paint and a clutch trey by Blunt. The Dragons Rhondorf was in a flow and led 69-57 after 30 minutes. “Buck set the tone. He hit big shots. We have so many great players, but I really love his game. He was the difference maker and when he plays well, I really feel that we are unstoppable”, stated Kelvin Omojola. “Buck´s three´s changed the game. We were unlucky at times. We pressed twice and they overran us. They were simply more physical and had more heart”, stated Maxi Begue. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 51% from the field and 38% from the parking lot and had 26 rebounds and 15 turnovers while the SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt shot 49% from the field and 36% from the parking lot and had 21 rebounds and 15 rebounds.

Kelvin Omojola at the FT line

In the fourth quarter the Dragons Rhondorf struggled in the first minutes to execute as the guests went on a run, but that was stopped and from then on they came together as a team and managed the lead well and stuck together until the end. Tyreese Blunt began the fourth quarter with a bang and a three pointer as the Dragons led 72-57. The SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt then went on a 7-2 run to cut the Dragons lead down to 74-64. In the run Chris Rollins was key at both ends of the court and got to the free throw line while Borekambi scored again. The Dragons Rhondorf found their offensive rhythm again and just shared the ball and executed well. Buck scored twice while Omojola made a trey and Blunt a lay in to lead 83-70. The SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt executed well, but just couldn´t get stops and get over the hump. They got some big buckets from Paulauskas, but Blunt also scored and Rhondorf led 87-78. Begue scored in the last minute, but Antonio Pilipovic scored for the 90-80 advantage. Lennart Winter closed out the game with a lay in, but it was too little to late. “We were a bit to anxious to win the game in the first minutes. We wanted to put them away too early. It took us some time to calm down and find our rhythm. We found our groove in the last 5 minutes and got the win”, added Kelvin Omojola. “They struggled at the start, but then found their groove and we just couldn´t get over the hump”, commented Maxi Begue. The Dragons Rhondorf were led by Kelvin Omojola with 20 points and 10 assists. Tyreese Blunt added 19 points and Badu Buck had 18 points while the SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt were led by Bill Borekambi with 18 points. Martin Bogdanov added 14 points and Modestas Paulauskas with 13 points. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 50% from the field and 34% from outside and had 33 rebounds and 16 turnovers while the SBB baskets Wolmirstedt shot 48% from the field and 35% from outside and had 34 rebounds and 15 turnovers.