It is now the back swing of the Pro B season where every win is so crucial for the playoff spots and from getting away from the cellar. Every new game gets more vital for the Dragons Rhondorf, but their current 4 game losing streak was at the absolute worst part of the season. They drastically needed a win and the only good news for them was that they were only 2 wins away from the last playoff spot. The bad news was that next on the menu was another tough opponent with the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede who were resting in 5th place with a record of 10-8 and wanted to win their fourth game in a row. They like Rhondorf was a team stacked with young German talent led by 2 explosive imports with Jonil Fugett and Beni Fungula. It would be another difficult challenge for the Dragons Rhondorf and like against the EN Baskets Schwelm, they were able to hang on for a half, but in the second half had a disastrous third quarter that helped pave the way for the 110-101 win for the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede. The Dragons Rhondorf did string together an amazing comeback in the fourth quarter to be down 4 points with les than a minute to play, but couldn´t get over the hump. “We played well for ¾ of the game. It was a heartbreaker to be down 20 and then fight back and lose. We couldn´t execute on the defensive end. It is hard to win when they hit three after three in a row”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf guard Juhwan Harris-Dyson. The guests played a strong game and despite a brief let up in the fourth quarter got the win. “We played a sold game. The first half was pretty even. We dominated in the third quarter and in the fourth quarter let up a bit, but buckled down and stuck together as a team to pull out win”, stressed Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede guard Colin Schroeder (193-F-2006).

Colin Schroeder at the FT line

Both teams found their offensive rhythm rapidly as the Dragons Rhondorf got 2 buckets from big man ex Oberaching center Benjamin Sadikovic while the guests got some proper support from NBBL finalists Johan Helwig and Ore Ewert for the 8-7 advantage. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede continued to keep the lead getting support from U-18 Euro gold medalist Colin Schroeder who scored 2 baskets for the 14-10 lead. The young German who has played 6 BBL games sparkled with his athleticism and drive to the hoop. The guests continued to get support from all over as 29 year old German veteran Alan Boger nailed a trey for the 17-13 lead. However the Dragons Rhondorf got a big spark from new player from Italy Josh Petteno a classic 3 and D player that gave much energy leading his new team on a 11-0 run with 7 points. Jorge Mejias also added clutch three pointer and pretty dime to Duje Dujmovic after making an ankle breaker on his opponent. “It is always nice to see a highlight play like that in person. Jorge is very creative. You never know what you will get from him”, smiled Juhwan Harris-Dyson. Ex easyCredit BBL player Fritz Hemschmeier added a big trey with 1 second left on the clock as the Dragons Rhondorf led 28-24 after 10 minutes. “Rhondorf did a good job on Fugett. They played a box and 1 and we had to go to our bigs. Even if they had the lead, it was a game of momentum. A basketball game isn´t only about 1 quarter”, said Colin Schroeder. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 71% from the field and 40% from outside and had 11 rebounds and 3 turnovers while the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede shot 44% from the field and 50% form outside and had 5 rebounds and 4 turnovers.

Jorge Mejias from outside

The Dragons Rhondorf kept a slim lead for a while until giving up a little run and trailed 49-47 at half-time. The Dragons Rhondorf stayed aggressive and looked for openings and were rewarded with lay in´s by Dujmovic and Harris Dyson, but couldn´t get a bigger lead as ex Swedish youth national player Beni Fungula kept his team in the game with his incredible ability for picking his spots as he scored twice as Rhondorf led 32-28. The Dragons Rhondorf kept the lead getting some more baskets from Mejias who hit his bread and butter mid distance jumper and Harris Dyson showed his 2 way player qualities making a steal and dunk on transition for the 36-33 advantage. However the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede struck back like lightening with back to back three´s from Fungula and Fugett for the 41-37 lead. It was Fugett´s first field goal of the game. Rhondorf fought back testing the three point line getting a massive trey from young German Carlo Schmid and Dujmovic also displayed the hot hand as the Dragons swiped the lead back at 45-43. However the Dragons Rhondorf were unable to keep the lead as Fungula added 4 points and Schroeder a trey for the 2 point advantage at the break. “The second quarter was back and forth. It was a lot of fun. We had difficulty securing the rebound”, stated Colin Schroeder. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede shot 45% from the field and 40% from the three point line and had 14 rebounds and 7 turnovers and the Dragons Rhondorf shot 64% from the field and 50% from the three point line and had 20 rebounds and 7 turnovers.

Jonil Fugett from downtown

The turning point of the game occurred in the third quarter where the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede exploded for 37 points to take the 84-64 lead after 30 minutes. Both teams executed well in the first few minutes as the guests got baskets from 2024 NBBL finalists Schroeder and Helwig while the Dragons Rhondorf got buckets from Mejias and a free throw from Harris Dyson who had a tough 4/12 day from the free throw line to trail 55-50. Fungula made a pretty pass to Helwig for the dime and then showed the Binocular look with his hands to his eyes to the bench. “Beni signaled that a nice pass should also be celebrated and not only a nice basket. That gave us energy”, stated Colin Schroeder. Then the tide turned as the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede broke out on a 20-5 run to extend their lead to 75-55. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede found the hot hand from outside as Hellwig connected 3 times while Boger and Ewert also connected. Schroeder continued to be a mismatch problem as he also scored inside. The guests picked up the aggressive on ball defense forcing the Dragons to many turnovers while also controlling the offensive glass. “You always know what you will get from Johan Hellwig. He seldom has a bad day. When he is in the corner and let´s it fly, you might as well go away, because that ball is going in”, smiled Colin Schroeder. The Dragons Rhondorf got some offense going with a Harris-Dyson dunk and trey from ex RheinStar Kenan Reinhart, but couldn´t make any ground as Alan Boger connected twice from outside and Hemschmeier made an acrobatic lay in for the big 20 point lead after 3 quarters. “We found together as a team. Three pointers seem to fall well when your in rhythm. We were all on the same page”, added Colin Schroeder. “We left the shooters open. We focused too much on the drive and couldn´t figure a way out to stop their shooters. We also had careless turnovers”, added Juhwan Harris-Dyson. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede shot 63% form the 2 point area and 47% from the parking lot and had 23 rebounds and 11 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 73% from the 2 point range and 38% from the parking lot and had 23 rebounds and 12 turnovers.

Juhwan Harris-Dyson from the FT line

The game looked decided in the fourth quarter, but a game has 40 minutes and the Dragons Rhondorf staged a late comeback. The Dragons Rohndorf came out in the last 10 minutes in strong fashion going on a 8-0 run to trail only 86-72. In the run, the Dragons got 2 big three´s from Mejias and a dunk from Carlo Schmid. The Dragons stepped up their defense again and on offense moved the ball better and made better decisions. However the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede found their rhythm again and the Dragons Rhondorf couldn´t get under a 10 point deficit. The guests got 3 scores in a row from Colin Schroeder while the Dragons Rhondorf got a lay in from Harris-Dyson and tap in from Schmid, but the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede still led 94-78. Fugett also began to find his spots better again scoring twice while Mejias made the next magical pass behind the back for Dujmovic to trail 96-80. The minutes were winding down and crunch-time arrived and the Dragons Rhondorf found some extra energy and staged a explosive 14-2 run to suddenly trail 102-98 with less than a minute to play. In the run, the Dragons Rhondorf were able to play their game with aggressive defense and transition. Harris-Dyson was instrumental on defense and added 3 transition baskets. Schmid added a beautiful poster dunk on Fungula, Dujmovic added 2 transition buckets and Ilic a trey. However the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede buckled down and got a big Fungula dunk for the 104-98 lead. Dujmovic added another basket to trail 104-100, but the guests got stops and Hemschmeier free throws sealed the win for the Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede. “We knew after the third quarter, that we had to finish the game strong. However we rested too much after that third quarter. We gave up a run at the end, but we woke up just in time. We stayed together as a team and closed out the game”, said Colin Schroeder. “We fought back. We got stops and ran. That is when we are at our best. We just couldn´t finish the game”, said Juhwan Harris-Dyson. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede had 6 guys score in double figures led by Beni Fungula with 25 points while Colin Schroeder added 24 points. The Dragons Rhondorf were led by Juhwan Harris-Dyson with 23 points and Jorge Mejias added 20 points and 12 assists. The Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede shot 53% from the field and 41% from outside and had 32 rebounds and 18 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 62% from the field and 42% from outside and had 31 rebounds and 13 turnovers.