On Sunday evening, the Gmundner OCS Swans made a guest appearance at the Klosterneuburg Dukes, the bottom of the six-team basketball super league placement round. The favorite swans won after an extremely hard fight with 90:85 (44:46), but Basketball-Gmunden is still only talking about the match that could possibly have heralded a turnaround in the championship.
Last Thursday, the Swans managed a razor-thin 80-79 win over BC GGMT Vienna away from home. Chief Financial Officer Harald Stelzer looks back on the important triumph: “After the first half we were only six points up, although we played very dominantly. Vienna started the third quarter like a robbery and we didn’t hit anything.” Suddenly the Viennese were eleven points ahead – but towards the end of the last quarter the game tipped again in favor of the Swans. Stelzer: “We ignited the turbo, as we have done several times this year internationally. Two minutes before the end of the season it was our turn and one and a half minutes before the end we took the lead again.”
Lucky twelve tenths before the end
These last 90 seconds were characterized by an open exchange of blows. With twelve seconds left, the Swans launched their final attack. “Daniel Friedrich took the lead with an amazing three-pointer,” says Stelzer. Six seconds left – time out. The game then continued with a throw from Vienna’s Enis Murati, which, however, did not find its target 1.2 seconds before the final siren. Out. throw-in. Murati tried three, but missed. In the third match of the two title aspirants, the team from Traunsee won for the second time (for the second time away). The championship lead was the consequence of this, but initially only lasted 48 hours, because the Viennese celebrated a 100:70 thrashing victory in St. Pölten on Saturday evening.
So on Sunday Klosterneuburg (thanks to the win, the Swans regained the top of the table again), on Thursday (7 p.m., Raiffeisen Sportpark Gmunden) there is a home match against the Gunners from Oberwart – Harald Stelzer knows that each of the games that are still outstanding from this point of view stands to defend the lead in the table: “It’s the case that we have to beat Vienna at home on April 15 due to the basket ratio in the direct duels, unless one of us loses once before then.”
“There’s still room for improvement”
Also fixed: The door for first place in the table after the intermediate round and the associated home advantage from the quarter-finals to a possible final series (everything in the “Best of Five” mode) is now very wide open for the Gmunden team. What makes Stelzer radiate calm in view of what is still to come for the swans: “We didn’t even get our best performance on Thursday in Vienna. There’s still room for improvement.” And thanks to yesterday’s success in Klosterneuburg, above all, a breath of fresh air.
The last five rounds
- Thursday, March 30, 7 p.m., Raiffeisen Sportpark Gmunden: OSC Swans – Unger Steel Gunners Oberwart
- Saturday, April 1st, 5.30 p.m., Raiffeisen Arena Wels: Raiffeisen Flyers Wels – OCS Swans
- Wednesday, April 5, 7 p.m., bet-at-home Arena: SKN St. Pölten Basketball – OCS Swans
- Easter Monday, April 10, 5:30 p.m., Raiffeisen Sportpark Gmunden: OCS Swans – BK IMMOunited Dukes Klosterneuburg
- Saturday, April 15, 5:30 p.m., Raiffeisen Sportpark Gmunden: OCS Swans – BC GGMT Vienna
Author
Gary Sperner
Local Editor Salzkammergut
Gary Sperner
