It seemed almost like yesterday seeing all the happy faces in Cologne as the Dragons Rhondorf had captured the Pro B title. Guys like Tyreese Blunt, Badu Buck and Avery Sullivan all with smiles as wide as could be, but now a few months later, it was time to get back to work in preparation for the 2024-2025, but all 3 guys were gone. At least captain Kelvin Omojola had stayed on board as well as some others like Janne Muller, Marco Rosic and Antonio Pilipovic, but there were many new faces in the Dragons Dome. With a little bit more than a month to go before the begin off the new season, the Dragons Rhondorf were in full swing in their preparation for the season. On a mild Friday night in late August, they welcomed Vechta 2 who had moved up to the Pro A 2 years ago. Ambitious and rising head coach Hendrik Gruehn was still on board and in his luggage was a collection of highly talented German players ready to go. However It was the Dragons Rhondorf who were well prepared for the challenge and had the experience advantage and 46 combined points of newcomers Kazakevicius and Smith who propelled them to the 93-79 win. The amazing thing about the win was that the Dragons were complete for the first time in this game and still managed to perform very well and beat a Pro A team. “Our main focus tonight was intensity and energy and sticking to certain principles. We weren´t focused on the score, but on building our foundation. I feel like we did a great job of playing together and nobody doing too much”, stressed 2024 pro B champion Kelvin Omojola. As usual SC Rasta Vechta 2 had a bucket full of young Germans and much grit, but were also missing many key players. “This was a typical test game. It was a game where we continued to get to know each other on the court better. The pre season is always a learning process and where you pay attention to small details. Our pick and roll defense and communication wasn´t great. They punished us too often on our turnovers and took advantage of it”, stressed ex Rostock Seawolves guard Roy Krupnikas.

Danas Kazakevicius at the FT line

The Dragons Rhondorf came out with a bang taking a rapid 11-3 lead off 3 consecutive three´s from Omojola with 2 and 1 from rookie Tim Smith Jr. 2024 U-18 Euro champion Janne Mueller also added a lay in in the run. Omojola showed early on that he will be the main leader this season as his confidence level is massive and he is playing with so much control and calmness. “I feel great. My confidence is sky high. I continue to practice with BBL team Bonn and can say that I´m holding my own. I´m really geared up for this season”, warned Kelvin Omojola. The Dragons Rhondorf played with high intensity and real good team play and kept scoring as ex BBL player Marco Rahn scored twice for the 15-6 advantage. Rhondorf played aggressive on ball defense which led to turnovers and extra possessions for the Dragons. The Dragons Rhondorf simply had too much manpower on offense and weapons as many stepped up including new player Danas Kazakevicius (207-PF-2005) who hit Rhondorf for 25 points last season and demonstrated here that he is a walking bucket ands corer in bucnhes scoring 8 points in the last minutes to help the Dragons keep the commanding lead 24-16 after 10 minutes. Kazakevicius played with Pro B team Coburg and is a huge talent from Lithuania. “Today was the first time that I saw him. I could really focus on him. He only arrived a few days ago. He is a lot bigger than I thought. He plays physical and is very mobile. I´m really excited to keep working on our chemistry”, added Kelvin Omojola. Who knows how much more Vechta would have been in the hole hadn´t 2024 NBBL champion Karl Buehner stepped up making 4 three´s in the first quarter. “We had a great start. We are a bit undersized this season, but have super guards and wings this season. Our 3 ball was going early on. You could see that we worked on our shooting this summer”, stated Kelvin Omojola.

Karl Buehner at the FT line

In the second quarter the Dragons Rhondorf continued to showcase their offensive machine, but half way through the second quarter, SC Rasta Vechta 2 began to chip away and claw their way back into the game. The Dragons Rhondorf began hot again going on a 8-1 run to extend their lead to 35-19. Once again the Dragons Rhondorf supplied beautiful ball movement leaving guys open as Omojola and Smith delivered again with three´s and Mueller made a lay in displaying his uncanny quickness. The guests continued to have problems finding an offensive rhythm as Rhondorf continued to stifle them with their aggressive defense. The Dragons offense continued to flow and rookie Tim Smith continued to have the shooting touch as he nailed 3 more three´s to give the Dragons the 45-26 lead as he was showing signs of very mini Steph Curry genes. He has that shooters game as he just fires away with no hesistation. Smith shot 44% last season at the University of North Alabama (NCAA) and should give fans much delight this season in the pro B. “He is super tall for a wing and can really shoot the ball. He plays above the rim, but just didn´t show it tonight. He is super talented”, warned Kelvin Omojola. However SC Rasta Vechta now retreated going on a 17-8 run to skip into half-time trailing only 53-43. In this phase the guests moved the ball better working harder for good shots and were rewarded as Buehner connected on 2 more three´s and Krupnikas scored 5 points. It also helped that young German talent Peja Strobel hit a buzzer beater three at the end. “We got out of character at the end. It´s all a learning process at this phase. We were playing only with 2 plays”, commented Kelvin Omojola.

Marco Bacak from outside

In the third quarter both teams took a step back from their offense as less shots were falling and less points were made. SC Rasta Vechta won the third quarter 15-10 and really stepped up their defense. The aggressive and feistiness was apparent as the Dragons Rhondorf couldn´t generate the pretty ball movement from the first half. A Smith three pointer gave Rhondorf the 56-46 advantage, but out of nowhere Vechta produced a lethal 7-0 run to trail only 56-53. Krupnikas raised his game a few notches in that he upped his already aggressiveness from the first half into overdrive as now he played like a veteran. He hit a trey and ex Pro A German Marco Bacak made a lay in. Rhondorf couldn´t produce that intensity at both ends that they had in the first half and Vechta just seemed a step faster. But SC Rasta Vechta just couldn´t get over the hump as Kelvin Omojola showed his clutch mentality with back to back baskets and Danas Kazakevicius made a lay in. A Bacak trey in the last seconds gave the Dragons Rhondorf the 63-58 advantage. “We came out more aggressive in the third quarter. We showed that we are a hungry group of players. We tried all we could to close down the gaps. We have to learn to be able to close in the gap even more in tough situations”, stressed Roy Krupnikas. “We are built to handle adversary. We are a title team. We have so much self-confidence that we are able to push the energy to everyone. The game is never too big for us”, warned Kelvin Omojola.

Antonio Pilpovic from downtown

In the fourth quarter SC Rasta Vechta 2 continued to fight and keep the game tight, but then just ran out of gas as the Dragons Rhondorf lethal offense just took over and sealed the door. The guests had a potent start getting big baskets from big men Linus Trettin and Fynn Lastring and a key three pointer from Roy Krupnikas to shave the Dragons lead down to 71-69. But The Dragons Rhondorf stopped the Vechta run and just turned the switch up not two notches but 3 or 4 going on a brutal 16-0 run to decide the game. Last season the Dragons Rhondorf showed on so many occasions that they can go from adversary and turn around and have success. The Dragons showed their unselfishness spreading the offensive love around as Smith connected on his sixth trey and made a lay in while ex RheinStar sniper Antonio Pilipovic hit 2 three´s and Omojola and Mueller made lay in´s for the commanding 87-69 lead. SC Rasta Vechta 2 did close out the game better with a 10-6 run as Bacak supplied 7 points, but it was too little too late as the Dragons Rhondorf secured their first pre season win. “We simply have that winner mentality. When you have high level players like we do, anyone can step up. We knew it was time to step up and go into the weekend”, smiled Kelvin Omojola. “Turnovers and their three´s cost us. They are a very good team. We just weren´t focused for 40 minutes. When your down by 3 points, you have to stay focused and keep working to come back”, warned Roy Krupnikas. The Dragons Rhondorf were led by Danas Kazakevicius with 25 points. Tim Smith Jr added 21 points and Kelvin Omojola 15 points while SC Rasta Vechta 2 were led by Karl Buehner with 25 points and Roy Krupnikas added 18 points.