Donar resumed the competition after the international break with a defeat against Leiden. In the Five May Hall, the Groningen team lost 84-68 on Thursday evening.
At Donar, 30-year-old Viktor Gaddefors made his debut. The Swedish international had arrived in Groningen this week as a replacement for Artjoms Butjankovs, who had left disillusioned after Donar had not been able to fulfill European ambitions.
For the ailing Donar, the beating in Leiden was already the third defeat in seven matches in the BNXT-League. Leiden quickly took a 9-2 lead. From that moment on, Groningen could follow in the footsteps of the people of Leiden for a while. The first quarter ended with a seven-point deficit: 22-15.
Also at the beginning of the second quarter, Donar was not alert and Leiden ran out to 30-15. Donar straightened his back and gradually crept closer and went to the dressing rooms with a 43-36 deficit.
Sloppy Donar
After the break, Donar defended with a lot of energy and forced Leiden to take difficult shots. Donar himself had some excellent opportunities to close the gap, but the guests handled it carelessly, so that Donar was always trailing by about ten points. After a revival of Leiden, the third quarter ended with the biggest difference up to that point: 65-49.
Donar was unable to reduce the gap in the fourth quarter. Leiden ran out to 73-51, then loosened the reins, but it wasn’t exciting. Donar lost 84-68.