Rolling Devils win away game in Hamburg with 71:73 in overtime!
Sunday, 17. January 2016
Different from the home game, BG Baskets Hamburg played with their japanese stars Reo Fujimoto und Hiroaki Kozai in the strongest possible formation. But this did not really impress the Rolling Devils, who pushed through their fast playing style right from the beginning of the game. They won the first and the second quarter with 14:18, which let the about 30 loudly supporting FCK fans already dream of a win. Should the Hamburg reports about the feared opponent Kaiserslautern prove right again?
But the Baskets Hamburg returned strong after halftime and reduced the lead point by point. They won the third quarter with 16:13 and qualized in the final quarter (21:16) to a 65:65 score after regular time. In particular Reo Fujimoto played a very good game and was top scorer with 31 points. He was followed by his national team mate Kozai (10), former Devil Philipp Häfeli (13). Thanks to their physical strength and good shooting qualities, Hamburg scored well in near distance (72%) and mid distance shots (53%).
Match winner for Kaiserslautern was Kai Möller with 22 points and 100% success rate with his 8 free shots. Jake Williams (16 points) and Mark Beissert (12) played a solid game and both contributed with 8 defensive rebounds to a stable defense. Kaiserslautern scored very well in near distance shots, for instance, german international Matthias Heimbach scored an impeccable 100% with his 4 shots. This strong team performance turned out crucial in overtime, when the Devils were able to stop Hamburg's strong run and achieve a sensational win celebrated by the fans from Kaiserslautern and FCK fan club Nordic Devils.
Next weekend (saturday, January 23, 6pm) , FCK Rolling Devils play their home game (gym of Schillerschule Kaiserslautern) against top seed RSV Lahn-Dill. The championship candidate from Wetzlar might have taken the surprising result from Hamburg as warning and will enter this game with full concentration.
