A smashing dunk from Donar player Willem Brandwijk. On Tuesday evening, the play-offs for Donar kick off with a match against Aris from Leeuwarden. Photo: Jan Kanning
Donar went down painfully 69-72 against Aris Leeuwarden in the first game of the play-offs on Tuesday evening. The second game, next Thursday in Friesland, has to be won by the Groningers to stay in the race.
Donar captain Thomas Koenis came up with a hard analysis of the match. “We played with far too little intensity and that’s where it starts,” said the captain. ,,How badly do you want to win? You have to show that every game. It is extra painful that this happens to us in the first game of the play-offs in Martiniplaza.”
Huge downer
Koenis absolutely did not see the defeat coming. ,,There was no question of underestimating, we have lost the first game of the season against Aris. In the last few weeks, the team game has been getting better and better. This is a huge downer.” The captain knows what his team has to do on Thursday.
,,We showed from the first moment that we want to win. Everyone has to take a look at themselves to find out what they can contribute to a better game for the team. There was a lot of frustration in the locker room. We have to put that behind us now, because we have to strike back.”
Otten excited
The disappointment also dripped off the face of Donar coach Matthew Otten afterwards. ,,Of course we didn’t expect this,” said an excited Otten. ,,Aris wanted the win more. To be here, in the play-offs, that’s what we’ve been fighting for all year. There are no excuses for this achievement. We lacked struggle, passion. That may not happen.”
Otten does not have much time to get his team back on track. ,,I’m going to watch the video and analyze things tactically. But it starts with commitment. We still have a mission and things we want to achieve. The button has to be turned quickly because a final awaits on Thursday.”
Triumph for Aris-Groninger Hoeve
Groninger Tim Hoeve had a very pleasant evening on Tuesday. The captain of Aris triumphed in Martiniplaza. ,,Not the best game, but the win for us. This was a typical pot play-off basketball. Low score, lots of defending. Fortunately, we do win this match. I don’t think many people expected this,” said Hoeve.
,,It would be nice for us to finish it in Het Kalverdijkje. Otherwise we will go back to Groningen and it will be more difficult. Confidence is great. We need one more win, Donar two. So we have an advantage.”