In the first game of the Basketball Champions League play-ins, Telekom Baskets Bonn gave up the victory in the last seconds.
The Baskets lost to the Italian top team Pallacanestro Reggiana 91:94 and showed two different faces over 40 minutes. Surprised by the guests’ pace, Bonn completely missed the opening phase, then steadily improved and showed an outstanding third quarter. The initial phase of the final quarter was similar to that of the first quarter. In the end, the Bonn team looked like the sure winners for a long time, but gave the victory away in the last few minutes.
Reggiana starts furiously
In the opening minutes, Bonn was simply taken by surprise by the guests from Italy. After eight points in a row, Reggiana took a 13-4 lead. After five minutes, the Italians put ex-NBA star and 2014 world champion Kenneth Faried in the spotlight for the first time. Jaylen Barford in particular took the lead by nine points with three successful three-pointers in the first five minutes.
The Baskets found their way into the game in the first quarter. After quick points from Sam Griesel and Till Pape, Bonn got back to within one point within a minute. Twelve seconds before the clock expired, Rivaldo Soares gave Bonn its first lead since 2-0. In the second quarter, Darius McGhee also appeared on the scoreboard. After three nice moves in a row and six points from McGhee, Bonn defended their narrow lead (30:27).
Bonn goes into the break with a narrow lead
In the person of Soares, Bonn also took action from beyond the three-point line in the second quarter. Soares scored eight of his 17 points in the second period. After two points from Lars Thiemann, Bonn went into the locker room with a 49:42 lead.
The second half began with personal redemption for McGhee. With his first successful three-pointer in the seventh attempt, he took the lead to date (52:42). Both teams defended well during this phase and forced numerous turnovers.
Fleming turns up the heat and Bonn pulls away
Then one of them got really hot. Phlandrous Fleming got better and better into the game and led the Baskets as the head of the team. Fleming scored twelve of his 23 points in the third quarter – including his strong individual performance with a foul shortly before the end of the quarter. The Rhinelanders went into the final quarter with a 72:56 lead.
But the guests got into it much better and reduced the score to minus nine with a seven-to-nil run in the first two minutes. Shortly afterwards, Faried and Barford showed their international class and experience, stole the ball and made it 74:68. Reggiana started with a 12-2 run in the first two and a half minutes.
Then Bonn showed morale again in the most important phase of the game and, after points from Soares, Fleming and Griesel, regained a double-digit lead. Five minutes before the end of the game, the game ended prematurely for guest coach Dimitris Priftis after his second technical foul. But the game should still have a twist. For the guests, Barford and Cassius Winston turned things up again in the final minutes. Barford was the game’s top scorer with 34 points. After nine points in a row, Reggiana came within two points.
McGhee shows nerves in the last action
A nerve-wracking final phase developed with a three-pointer with a board from McGhee on one side and a three-pointer to give the visitors the lead on the other. With 30 seconds left, McGhee made the right decision and played to Kennedy, who made it 91:91. But after Reggiana took the lead again and McGhee had 17 seconds left for the final attack, the point guard slipped and lost the ball.
The Bonn team then lost possession of the ball and lost their first play-in game bitterly. The second game continues next Wednesday (8 p.m.) in Italy. In front of them are Telekom Baskets Bonn still in Hamburg (Friday, 8 p.m.).
