It was do or die time in Giessen for the 46ers as their BBL ambition was slowed down by the 2-1 game lead of Kirchheim. After a disastrous game 1 in their own living room, Kirchheim rebounded very well stealing game 2 right back with a big 16 point win in Giessen. In game 3 in their own living room, there was no doubt about it as Kirchheim won by 31 points and began with an explosive 31 point first quarter paving the way for an easy win. The Kirchheim defense did a superb job on the Giessen guard duo of Castlin and Norl holding them combined to only 5/22 from the field. Kirchheim and head coach Igor Perovic were on the brink of the club´s biggest achievement in their history, but they had to win one more time in the always brutal Ost Gym atmosphere. On a humid hot Friday evening where the Ost Halle felt like a sauna in the Boston Garden in the 80´s during the classic Celtics-Lakers finals showdowns, Giessen stunk up the building for 28 minutes as it looked like Kirchheim was going to have a simple waltz to the final, however Giessen finally came together and made a furious come back in the fourth quarter, but fell short in the last minute losing 89-85. “We didn´t really play very well during the first 2,5 quarters allowing them to lead by 20 points. That put us in desperation mode. We did a good job fighting back, but we just didn´t have enough at the end”, stressed Giessen 46er guard Aiden Warnholtz. Kirchheim came out from the start ready to play and had the better intensity and shot the ball better and rebounded better and in crunch-time had the better nerves as well to conserve the victory. “We adjusted to our game plan right away. I think key was that we set the tone right away and stuck with it. Overall it felt like we wanted it more”, stressed Kirchheim forward Tylan Pope.

Kyle Castlin at the FT line

The Giessen 46ers had an incredible start taking the rapid 7-2 lead as Kirchheim couldn´t match their intensity or aggression. Giessen received a lay in from Serbian forward Viktor Kovacevic, a trey by ex Bremerhaven guard Daniel Norl and a pretty hook shot from ex Ludwigsburg center Jonathan Maier. However basketball will always be a game of runs as Kirchhbeim punched back going on a lethal 11-0 run to suddenly lead 13-7. Ex Ulm beast Nicholas Bretzel added 5 points showing his inside out game with a trey and offensive rebound and putback while ex Giessen guard Lukas Mayer was extra motivated adding 5 points. Kirchheim was more aggressive on the boards and defensively forced Giessen too tough shots. Giessen could only get to the free throw line, but do little from the field. Kirchheim was in a groove and suddenly let it rain three´s as Pope, ex Texas State (NCAA) forward Tyrel Morgan and ex Braunschweig guard Gian Aydinoglu nailed three´s for the 22-13 advantage. Kirchheim continued to outwork Giessen on the offensive boards getting second chances which led to added three´s from Bretzel and ex Crailsheim guard Chuck Harris. Kirchheim had the 10-1 second chance points advantage. Giessen couldn´t muster more than a Till Gloger hook shot in the last minutes and trailed 33-20 after 10 minutes. “We locked in right away and focused on defense. We hit a lot of three´s and also got out on transition”, stated Tylan Pope. Kirchheim shot 63% from the field and 54% from outside and had 12 rebounds and 4 turnovers while the Giessen 46ers shot 35% from the field and 17% from outside and had 5 rebounds and 2 turnovers.

Tylan Pope lay in

In the second quarter the Giessen 46ers stepped up their defense allowing Kirchheim only to 15 points, but still trailed 48-39 at the break. Giessen had another fast start going on a 6-1 run to trail only 34-27. Giessen got more aggressive attacking the hole led by Kovacevic who made a big dunk on transition and also made a trey. Gloger gave good energy from the bench also made a lay in. Suddenly Kirchheim wasn´t hitting shots anymore as Giessen made it more difficult for them finding their spots. But Kirchheim eventually escaped out of their funk and punched back with a 5-0 run to lead 39-27 as Mayer connected on a tough fade away jumper and Pope nailed another trey as he was really carrying his team early. Giessen didn´t make life easy for themselves being hit twice with technical fouls where Chuck Harris connected for free throws for the 42-31 lead. Kirchheim continued to rule the boards as Morgan made an offensive rebound and put back and Pope made a lay as Giessen had difficulty on the close out all night long as Kirchheim led 46-32. However Kirchheim wasn´t able to close out the second quarter strong as Giessen finished the first half with a 7-2 run. They did a good job attacking the rim which led to Maier and Simon Krajcovic free throws while ex German national player Robin Benzing dropped a deep trey. German Aenas Jung made a lay in as Giessen´s 1-1 defense was weak. “It was strange to see Russell with 0 points after we made 48 points, but he was in early foul trouble. We had other guys step up”, added Tylan Pope. Kirchheim shot 51% from the field and 38% from the three point line and had 21 rebounds and 7 turnovers while Giessen shot 35% from the field and 21% from the three point line and had 15 rebounds and 3 turnovers.

Daniel Norl from outside

In the third quarter, Kirchheim held Giessen without a field goal for more then 6 minutes and had many Giessen fans a bit shocked on how their season seemed to be going down the drain without a fight as Kirchheim led comfortably 69-52 after 30 minutes. Kirchheim didn´t lose their consistency as they continued to play their game sharing the ball beautifully and going on a 11-0 run to extend their lead to 59-39. They made 9 stops in a row as Giessen wasn´t able to buy a basket. Kirchheim packed the paint well and upped their on ball pressure and anticipated well as Giessen couldn´t get anything easy. On the offensive end, Kirchheim attacked the rim and got easy lay in´s led by ex Virginia Commonwealth University (NCAA) guard Philipp Russell who had put up the big goose egg in the first half, but now broke out of his shell contributing 7 points. Harris also made a lay in and Bretzel added free throws. Ex Phoenix Hagen guard Kyle Castlin finally got Giessen on the board with free throws to trail 59-41. Kirchheim continued to find ways to score as Jung hit free throws and Pope dropped another trey for the 64-43 lead. Giessen then finally got their first field goal with less than 2 minutes to play as Bosnian guard Adnan Arslanagic made 2 threes in a row as Giessen trailed only 65-49. Giessen was stronger now, but they couldn´t string along consecutive stops as ex Penn (NCAA) forward Nick Spinoso made an offensive rebound and put back and Harris a lay in. “We were really locked in at the start and played great defense. We continued to score well”, stated Tylan Pope. “Our start was not because of a lack of effort. They did a good job getting in passing lanes. They made everything difficult for us. We missed shots and were sloppy with the ball. Then all of a sudden we were down bad”, commented Aiden Warnholtz. Kirchheim shot 50% from the field and 34% from the parking lot and had 32 rebounds and 10 turnovers while Giessen shot 29% from the field and 21% from the parking lot and had 25 rebounds and 8 turnovers.

Nick Spinoso at the FT line

The Giessen 46ers rallied and staged a late comeback in the fourth quarter to really threaten Kirchheim. Ex Braunschweig forward Luis Figge began with 3 points as Giessen was slowly chipping away at the Kirchheim lead trailing 69-55. Russell continued to keep Giessen at bay as he added 5 points and was in his groove as Kirchheim led 76-59. Aiden Warnholtz was only 0/3 from the field through 30 minutes, but saved his best for last hitting a trey which was added by a trey by Figge as Giessen trailed 76-64. The gym was getting louder and Kirchheim was feeling more pressure. Warnholtz then added 3 free throws to trail 76-67, but Kirchheim always had an answer as Pope made a tough turn around shot past 2 defenders while Russell made free throws to conserve the 80-67 advantage. “My team needed me and it was simply time to make plays”, said Tylan Pope. Giessen continued to attack and pressure Kirchheim at both ends going on a lethal 8-0 run led by two three´s by Warnholtz as Giessen trailed 80-75 in crunch time. “I hit a couple open shots, but others also made big plays and found their spots. I did make crucial mistakes at both ends as well”, stressed Aiden Warnholtz. Kirchheim continued to feel the pressure in crunch-time as Giessen continued to be aggressive as Warnholtz twice got to the free throw line making big shots to trail 85-82 with less than a minute to play. “We were aggressive on offense attacking the rim and turned it up a notch on defense and found an extra gear trying to save our season”, expressed Aiden Warnholtz. After Bretzel missed 2 free throws, Russell then made a steal leading to a Harris free throw and the 86-82 lead. Warnholtz did hit a trey late to trail 88-85, but a Russell free throw sealed the win. “Wejust couldn´t execute at the end the way we had too”, stated Aiden Warnholtz. “We stayed composed at the end and took it one play at a time. We locked in well and just tried making the right play”, said Tylan Pope. Kirchheim was led by Tylan Pope with 21 points. Philipp Ruussell added 16 points and Chuck harris 14 points while the Giessen 46ers were led by Aiden Warnholtz with 21 points and Viktor Kovacevic added 18 points. Kirchheim shot 45% from the field and 33% from outside and had 40 rebounds and 13 turnovers while the Giessen 46ers shot 36% from the field and 29% from outside and had 36 rebounds and 12 turnovers.