The Dragons Rohndorf came home last weekend and gave their fans an experience that they will never forget as they erased a 2 point deficit with a game winning shot by Tim Smith Jr to get their first home win of the season. The fans were on cloud 9 and hardly had anytime to relax from the incredible finish against Erfurt last weekend. The 3-1 club next met the ambitious Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg that were off to a great start having a 3-1 record and had won 2 games in crunch-time. The club has an average age of 18 and is led by head coach Khee Ree and German youth national player Julis Baumer. The Dragons Rhondorf needed a defensive break out game as they had their hands full with the Ludwigsburg good ball movement and aggressive defense. However on this night the Dragons Rhondorf had no recipe how to crack the aggressive press and timely shots by Lenny Anigbata (196-G-2004) and Simon Feneberg and seemingly endless easy lay in´s by big man Dominykas Pleta losing 91-84 and falling to 3-2. “We beat ourselves in the first half. We weren´t aggressive and didn´t play together. We knew that they would be aggressive, but we couldn´t match it. We played better in the second half, but had to play catch up until the end. They got too many 50/50 balls and that broke our neck. We were frustrated with their press”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf forward Antonio Pilipovic. Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg came in to the Dragon Dome and played their game from the start and never had a bad lull, but were consistent for the most part of the game. Their press and incredible ability to hit at a high clip from the 2 point range helped them secure the win. “We gave all we had tonight. Everybody played their roles. We played well together. Our press worked very well as well. I´m really proud of the team”, stated Lenny Anigbata.

Dominykas Pleta at the FT line

The Dragons Rhondorf were without captain Kelvin Onojola, but Marko Rosic was back from injury. In the first quarter the guests presented their press that forced the guests to 8 turnovers and half way through the first quarter broke away and were able to lead by plus 10 points that helped them keep a good distance except for a few Dragons runs until the end. There were 4 lead changes in the first minutes as Tim Smith Jr and Lenny Anigbata showed early with baskets that they were hungry to play a central role that night. The Dragons knew they had to play smart and disciplined on offense, but to many times coughed up the ball that led to easy Ludwigsburg baskets as 206cm big man Pleta would score easy baskets all night long. Rhondorf held their own keeping up getting baskets from Marko Rosic and ex Coburg big man Danas Kazakevicius to trail 15-10, but Ludwigsburg kept executing very well and closed out the first quarter with a 12-5 run to lead 27-15 after 10 minutes. In the Ludwigsburg run, it was the potent big man duo of Anigbata and Pleta who combined for all 12 points while young German youth national player Julis Baumer always found them in easy spots for easy baskets. ”Despite his young age, he is one of our leaders. He did a great job on defense and on offense, I don´t need to say anything. It is top. He does a great job leading us on the defensive end with his energy”, expressed Lenny Anigbata, Rhondorf had no recipe how to slow them down as they were always in easy position to score as the Dragons 1-1 defense was nonexistent. “I was honestly a bit surprised how well we played. This was our longest road trip of the season, but we were all ready. Our press was there and we were ready to compete”, stressed Lenny Anigbata.

Mako Rosic from downtown

In the second quarter Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg continued to play the way they left off in the first quarter combining their aggressive defense with good offensive execution, but in the last minutes the Dragons Rhondorf buckled down on defense and made a run and only trailed by 6 points at the break. In the first minutes the aggressive press continued to stifle Rhondorf as it took longer to get into their sets and on offensive Ludwigsburg got 2 clutch three´s from Abdulkay Koemuekara and Anigbata for the 35-19 lead. Ludwigsburg also did a great job using the mismatches and length to their advantage. Ludwigsburg played smart and continued to get easy baskets as Pleta made a lay in and Koemuekara scored in the lane using his athleticism. 2024 U-18 gold medalist Janne Mueller made a 25 footer and ex Drake (NCAA) German Antonio Pilpovic an off balance jumper, but still trailed 40-30. However the Dragons kept grinding away and found some daylight and went on a 10-4 run to suddenly only trail 44-40. In the run the Dragons were able to up their intensity as Janne Mueller was able to take on more responsibility and was more aggressive and scored 4 points as did Smith Jr and Dyami Janneck gave valuable support from the bench. “Basketball is a game of runs. They made some adjustments and it worked in their favor. Our pick and roll defense didn´t work and they took advantage of it”, added Lenny Anigbata.

Simon Feneberg from outside

In the third quarter the Dragons Rhondorf continued to fight, but they just couldn´t get over the hump and their defense continue to be a thorn in their back. Ludwigsburg began focused going on a 4-0 run as Pleta got free again in the zone registering a dunk and Ognjen Veljkovic made a lay in using the mis match well for the 50-40 lead. But the Dragons are a team that can execute on offense and showed what they are capable of by going on a 13-5 run to suddenly trail only 55-53. In the run, the Dragons received great support from Tim Smith Jr who scored 3 baskets while Pilipovic nailed a trey and ex Jena forward Marco Rahn made a lay in on transition. Ludwigsburg did a good job all game long taking away the three, so when Pilipovic did get open, it was only logical that he would fire away. But the Dragons just couldn´t get over the hump. Their defense just couldn´t find consistency as Ludwigsburg punched back with a 9-3 run to lead 64-56. In the run the guests got good support from the bench as Lukas Modic drilled home a trey and made free throws and the bigs Pleta and Anigbata were at it again doing what they wanted to in the paint area getting easy buckets. Pilipovic added another three pointer in the last minute, but Modic followed with a trey and Ludwigsburg led 67-61. “We knew that we had to contain Smith and Pilipovic as best as we could. We did a good job limiting their three point shooting”, added Lenny Anigbata. “We didn´t defend well. They continued to get the 50/50 balls. Whenever we scored, they had an answer. They played more in their comfort zone, while we reacted too much instead of dictating”, said Antonio Pilpovic.

Janne Mueller at the FT line

In the fourth quarter the Dragons Rhondoirf made one more run to once again get stopped and punched back and Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg slammed the door shut getting the well deserved win. The Dragons executed better on offense and received much needed energy and support from Marko Rosic who supplied 5 points while Pilpovic and Kazakevicius made lay in´s to trail 75-73. It seemed like the game could down the wire in exciting fashion, but Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg didn´t fade away, but stayed mentally strong and went on a 14-4 run to decide the game as they led 89-76. In the run the guests were led by Lenny Anigbata who nailed 2 clutch three pointers while Baumer and Pleta continued to attack and attack scoring inside and Feneberg added a three pointer for good measure. “I wasn´t in the game at the start mentally on account of the long ride. But once I was on the court, there was no pressure. I was more aggressive as usual and took more responsibility”, stressed Lenny Anigbata who crowned his career high in points with 26. The game was decided and time was running low for the Dragons. They closed out the game strong with a 8-2 run as Rahn and Smith contributed 2 buckets a piece, but it was too late too little as Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg moved to 4-1. “We stayed aggressive and knew they were in foul trouble. We just continued to attack them and never let up”, stressed Lenny Anigbata. “We just weren´t aggressive enough defensively. They made big shots in their run”, added Antonio Pilpovic. Porsche BBA Ludwigburg was led by Lenny Anigbata with 26 points while Dominykas Pleta added 18 points and Julis Baumer 12 points while the Dragons Rhondorf were led by Tim Smith Jr with 20 points while Marko Rosic added 17 points and Janne Mueller had 15 points. Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg shot 79% from the 2 point range and 41% from outside and had 18 rebounds and 9 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 63% from the 2 point range and 50% from outside and had 21 rebounds and 16 turnovers.