The Academics Heidelberg defeated MBC Weißenfels and can still hope to stay in the league. Now it’s a showdown against Jena.
In a game that was at times completely chaotic, the Academics Heidelberg had the better end. Michael Weathers converted the decisive free throws for an 80:75 win against MBC Weißenfels.
The sporting starting position was clear: Heidelberg has to win all of the remaining games – next Thursday in Jena (May 7th, 2026) by at least five points difference in order to win the direct comparison after the 83:87 in the first leg. The Central German Basketball Club from Weißenfels has already overcome its major crisis this season and is now even fighting for a place in the play-ins with new coach Milenko Bogicevic.
Heidelberg fights its way into the game
Heidelberg started energetically, but had difficulty converting this momentum into points as they often lacked precision. An example is the scene when Niklas Würzner used the layup to score not after the first, not after the second, but only after the third offensive rebound. But Heidelberg found its way into the game little by little. After Mateo Šerić’s three-pointer to make it 9:2, Weißenfels’ head coach took the first time out. As a result, the Academics lost their rhythm a little and allowed the MBC to get within 20:16 at the end of the first quarter.
It took a while in the second third for Heidelberg to get back into the game. Especially on defense, the Electoral Palatinate team rarely managed to gain the space they needed for their own rebounds. Although they were always able to maintain their narrow lead, it took a while before coach Carlo Finetti’s team was able to break away again. Šerić increased to an eight-point lead (33:25). But after a wild final phase with many chaotic passes and ball losses on both sides, the score was 41:34 at the break.
Heidelberg stumbles but doesn’t fall
In the third quarter, Heidelberg needed a few minutes to get back into the game. In the meantime they even had to accept the equalizer to 43:43. But Osun Osunniyi took the lead back twice with two three-pointers. Heidelberg went into the final period with a narrow 58:57 lead.
The MBC started with a quick three-pointer from Spencer Reaves, which Michael Weathers countered with a spectacular dunking. It remained a close game in which both teams lost more and more. The result was sometimes hair-raising bad passes and completely confusing ball losses. But Heidelberg was able to maintain its lead, even pull away a little in the decisive phase and bring the deserved victory over time. Weißenfels has lost its last chance for the play-ins. Heidelberg will have a showdown on Thursday against Science City Jena, who are currently four points ahead of the first non-relegation spot.
