The final score (69:75) left a lot to wish for. The lost attitude of Zvezda’s players gave the guests, including former captain Luka Mitrović more than enough room to take the lead and keep it.
It almost seemed that the players of Serbian coach Dušan Alimpijević weren’t absolutely sure what to do, during various intervals of the game. These moments were interrupted by the already standardized brilliance of Taylor Rochestie, Milko Bjelica, and occasionally Mathias Lessort.
Bamberg started off strongly with a double digit advantage of 18:30 in the first quarter that was then slowly brought down. The men in the Red and White jerseys got the second quarter to 16:13. This meant a +10 in favor of the guests.
Zvezda’s trademark third quarter ended well thanks to Rochestie who got his points in right on time to break down the guest’s advantage to a +6. At this point it all seemed quite possible. Even a win for Zvezda. Or what it turned out to be a third consecutive win for Bamberg.
However, I was looking at the the home players, stuck in front of a little over 5000 fans. An abundance of errors was committed, including missed two pointers and a confusion in the key area. Both not as bad statistically as they seemed at the Arena, both key to their defeat.
The final quarter ended in a draw (19l:19). Unfortunately, not enough for a victory. As someone next to me summed it up: “The guests wren’t astonishingly better. Last night Zvezda was simply worse.” The desire to beat Bamberg was there. But not the performance.
I was close enough to hear one of the three timeouts in the final quarter. Coach Alimpijević was loud. He was demanding action, drawing and wiping away lines on the board. The pressure on this 31 year-old is high.
Writing and wiping aside, the team from Belgrade desperately needs their #5. It is clear that the big man needs backup.
The heat of great competitions never subsides; you just get used to it.
As the match was bringing to a close, the disappointed fans started leaving. It’s been over two years since I turned my back on the court before the final whistle. I was no longer a writer, a blogger, an aficionado of the electric atmospheres. Instead, I was just a person who’s had enough.
In hopes of improvement. The season lasts until the end of May, and we’re just getting started.