How totally different 2 early autumns can be, is exactly what Pro B team TV Langen have experienced the last 2 seasons. Last season they were plagued with injury woes and began 0-6, but this season they have been relatively healthy and were sporting a potent 3-1 record and had stamped their game staple early already on the defensive end. With a super duo of Germans Niklas Pons and Henk Droste plus 2 incredible newcomers with beast Noah Kamdem and Australian shooter Cooper Creek, the club led by head coach Tobias Jahn had cemented the foundation of a nice team. Their next opponent were Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg who as always have very young teams and this season´s team was no exception. It was filled with 3 big time German prospects with Lars Danziger, Kenan Youdom and Yohann Tchouaffe. They had started slowly with a 1-4 record, but played Erfurt and Leitershofen close. On a cool early Autumn day, it was actually the guests from Ludwigsburg that shocked TV Langen with a potent first quarter, but couldn´t hold the momentum as two crushing TV Langen runs to begin the second and third quarters paved the road for a convincing 78-60 win. “We had a slow start and were sloppy, even though our defense was solid. We had our first run in the second quarter and then were able to play our game. We relaxed more and executed better on offense taking better quality shots. We worked hard on defense and covered well for each other on the defensive end”, stressed TV Langen forward Cooper Creek (203-F-2001, college: Assumption, agency: Dominion Sports Group). Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg had a strong first quarter, but then had massive problems taking care of the ball and couldn´t find consistency on the defensive end and had problems with their inexperience as they had an average age of 18,7 years. “We started well. We then made young mistakes and couldn´t take good care of the ball. We did a good job holding them to 1/14 in the first quarter, but then couldn´t execute our game plan the rest of the way”, stressed Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg head coach Jordi Salto.

Sebastian Kuhn at the FT line

Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg had a splendid start taking the 7-0 lead and stopping TV Langen on six consecutive possessions. The guests played great defense with very aggressive on ball defense. TV Langen was experiencing extreme pressure which led to two steals by Lukas Modic which led to a transition basket by him and a steal by German U-16 national player Yohann Tchouaffe which led to a dunk by German Daniel Mack. Ex Reutlingen German Thomas Duarte also added a trey. Australian forward Cooper Creek stopped the run with free throws. The aggressive defense by the guests didn´t allow TV Langen to find a rhythm plus their undersized big man Noah Kamdem was being denied the ball in the post. The geusts also was forcing turnovers which didn´t allow TV Langen to find a very smooth offensive rhythm. Here and there, TV Langen got good looks, but shots just didn´t want to fall which can happen to anyone. Ex Sudhessen (NBL) German Kventin Kostan made a tip in to trail 9-4. The guests also got good bench support as young German Sebastian Kuhn hit a trey and 2026 AST winner Kenan Youdam also connected for a three pointer to lead 15-5. Hidalgo added a lay in while Modic a free throw for the 16-8 Ludwigsburg advantage after 10 minutes. “We had a really slow start. We didn´t come to terms with their pressure. They played good defense and forced us to mistakes and didn´t let Kamdem play his game”, stressed Cooper Creek. Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg shot 20% from the 2 point range and 40% from outside and had 15 rebounds and 7 turnovers while TV Langen shot 11% from the 2 point range and 0% from outside and had 9 rebounds and 6 turnovers.

Cooper Creek to the hole

The turning point of the game occurred in the second quarter as a large TV Langen run allowed them to lead in double figures at the break and they would never look back until the end. Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg actually punched first with a trey from 2026 AST winner Lars Danziger, but then came the crushing 15-0 run from TV Langen giving them the 24-19 advantage. In the run, TV Langen did a beautiful job sharing the scoring love as six different players scored. TV Langen finally hit their first three´s of the game as ex Skyliner Junior Niklas Pons connected as did Kostan while ex Leverkusen forward Henk Droste scored inside as did ex Erfurt center Noah Kamdem and ex Speyer guard Carlos Hidalgo. All in all the total intensity from TV Langen was upped and they finally began to hit shots better and made better decisions. TV Langen also rebounded better and were able to put Kamdem into better position to be himself. This quarter proved that basketball is a game of runs as Ludwigsburg weren´t shocked by the TV Langen run and punched back with their own 7-2 run to dead lock the game at 26-26. Danziger became more aggressive attacking the rim scoring twice while Tchouaffe hit from the parking lot. The momentum had swung back over to the guests, but it didn´t stay there long. TV Langen were able to get their game going again closing out the second quarter with a smooth 11-5 run to extend their lead to 48-38. Kamdem and Droste attacked the rim and scored with the first spinning to the hoop like a ballerina while Kostan dropped another trey as he gave timely shots a new meaning. TV Langen played fierce defense in the run getting more steals which put TV Langen into good position to score. TV Langen went into the break with the momentum. “That 15-0 run got us into the game and we kept going with it. Our experience was really key in this quarter. We got Kamdem better into position and when everyone sees the ball going in, it definitely gets everyone going”, stated Cooper Creek. TV Langen shot 43% from the 2 point range and 30% from the three point line and had 21 rebounds and 10 turnovers while Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg shot 31% from the 2 point area and 31% from the three point line and had 20 rebounds and 14 turnovers.

Bink De Goede from outside

In the third quarter TV Langen continued to control the game and executed really well on offense while defending consistently and not allowing the guests to find a run. TV Langen came out and punched right away going on a lethal 12-0 run to take the overwhelming 50-28 lead. Hidalgo and Creek hit back to back three´s while Droste remained aggressive always finding cracks in the zone for easy lay in´s. Hidalgo also scored on the drive. TV Langen did a super job putting their feet on the gas pedal from the start while Ludwigsburg came out lethargic, sloppy and had a poor body language. It seemed like their youth and inexperience affected them mentally. Ludwigsburg found some daylight getting a mini 4-0 run with Modic free throws and a Mack offensive rebound to trail 50-32. However TV Langen at this point just stuck together and didn´t allow any big let down, but instead struck back with a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 57-32. In the run, it was great role player Kostan that showed his inside out skills again with 5 points with a trey and lay in while Creek scored with a lay in in traffic. Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg didn´t have many guys on this night that could take over while TV Langen showed that their bench can step up as did young German Mika Kroner who scored twice in the lane on the drive. The ex Wurzburg guard was always in attack mode and was really refreshing to observe as TV Langen had young blood from the bench step up. Sebastian Kuhn and Youdom hit three´s in the last minutes, but the guests couldn´t get over the hump trailing 64-42. “We punched first and played to our mentality. We played great defense and got everyone involved on offense”, added Cooper Creek. “We showed that we are a very young team. We didn´t have any confidence, but we never gave up”, said Jordi Salto. TV Langen shot 48% from the two point area and 47% from the parking lot and had 28 rebounds and 15 turnovers while Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg shot 29% from the two point area and shot 32% from the parking lot and had 28 rebounds and 23 turnovers.

Kventin Kostan from outside

In the fourth quarter TV Langen took their feet off the gas pedal a bit as Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg won the quarter 18-14, but couldn´t get over the hump. TV Langen had the big lead and in the first 5 minutes of the last quarter, it was evident to see that the guests simply didn´t have much fire power support on this night. TV Langen outscored the guests 8-7 sharing the ball well as Kamdem made a lay in and Creek and Kostan added three´s while the guests got all of their 7 points from Modic who was a one man wrecking crew, but couldn´t make any ground as TV Langen led 72-51. The game was decided as in the last minutes the guests got another trey by Kuhn while Mack made a tip in and Danziger a lay in. TV Langen got 5 more points from Cooper Creek and one of the nicest plays of the night happened near the end. Carlos Hidalgo showed his Milos Teodosic passing qualities making a magnificent over the shoulder pass to Creek for the dime and trey. “A month ago I wouldn´t have expected that pass, but now I know I always have to be ready. He looked at me shortly before passing and I had a feeling it might happen. It was like Magic Johnson and very magical”, smiled Cooper Creek. “I told you before the game that I will make a pass like that. It is always easier to do it when your up 20 points”, smiled Carlos Hidalgo. “We showed good mentality in the fourth quarter and never gave up. Having vets like Droste and Pons really helps on the defensive end. We want to develop that defensive mentality where we don´t let teams do their thing for at least a minute”, warned Cooper Creek. TV Langen had 5 guys score in double figures and were led by Kventin Kostan and Cooper Creek with 17 points a piece while Henk Droste added 13 points. Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg were led by Lukas Modic with 16 points while Sebastian Kuhn had 13 points. TV Langen shot 47% from the field and 48% from outside and had 39 rebounds and 22 turnovers while Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg shot 29% from the field and 27% from outside and ahd 41 rebounds and 24 turnovers.