The Baskets Bonn have brought in the second victory in the third Champions League group game. At AEK Athens, Bonn prevailed thanks to a clear improvement in performance in the second half.
Head coach Tuomas Iisalo’s team won 73:66 (23:36) on Tuesday evening. The outstanding player on the field was Bonn’s TJ Shorts II with 26 points and seven assists.
In Group B, Bonn are leading the table with five points, followed by Pinar Karsiyaka from Turkey with five points as well. Third place Athens and fourth place Pallacanestro Reggiana each have four points.
Too many ball losses in Bonn
Led by TJ Shorts, who contributed seven points in the first quarter, Bonn initially met the Athenians on an even footing. When the shot clock ran out, Shorts equalized with a three-pointer to make it 10:10, but AEK responded with a step-back three-pointer from Janis Strelnieks. After the first section, the Baskets were 12:16 behind – also because they made six turnovers.
Bonn started the second quarter again with two turnovers. Strelnieks made it 20:12 for Athens before Bonn’s coach called the first time-out. But AEK also dominated the game afterwards, the Baskets couldn’t cope with the aggressive defense of the hosts. At 12:29, Iisalo took the next timeout.
After that, the spectators saw a wild phase in which both teams hardly managed to throw successfully. Deane Williams with a three and Sebastian Herrera with a lay-up encouraged the Baskets towards the end of the second quarter, but Athens still went into the half-time break with a 13-point lead (36:23). At that time, Bonn had 14 turnovers and a rate of almost 30 percent for shots from the field.
Bonn starts catching up after the break
The baskets came out of the dressing room significantly improved. Leon scratches with a dunk and Jeremy Morgan with a three-pointer gave Bonn the first points. After four and a half minutes played in the second half, Finn Delany reduced the deficit to five points (37:42) and a little later added a three (40:42).
After an unsportsmanlike foul by Athens’ Alexander Madsen, there was a lengthy discussion between the referees. With the free throws that followed, Delany equalized to 42:42. Bonn was not deterred by the interruption. A three-pointer from far out by Herrera gave the Baskets a 47-46 lead, which grew to six points by the end of the third period (52-46).
Bonn just keeps the edge
In the last quarter, AEK was more stable again, but shorts in particular provided the points for the baskets until the first time-out in Bonn (7 out of 9/61:58). In the final minutes of the game, a basketball thriller developed with numerous misses.
Just over a minute before the end, Shorts pulled through the Athens defense and increased Bonn’s lead to 68:62 with a lay-up. The baskets brought this lead cleverly over time. Morgan finished with a three-point throw.
