Danish Basketligaen starts with 2 games
The Danish Basketligaen tipped off for the 2014/2015 season on Wednesday with two games getting the new campaign underway. Both host teams came away with a victory including Naestved gunning down Vaerloese and Svendborg defeating SISU Copenhagen. Defending champions Bakken Bears get their season going on Thursday night as the remainder of Round 1 will be played out around Denmark.
Team FOG Naestved vs. Vaerloese BBK, 68-65
Naestved carved out an opening win to the Danish basketligaen by scraping by Vaerloese at home during the first round. It was the visitors who started the better team, pacing to an 18-20 lead after a closely fought first quarter of the game. Vaerloese BBK improved their advantage in the second period and looked slicker at the bucket, opening a confident 38-46 lead as the halftime buzzer sounded in Næstved Hallen. The hosts finally clicked in the third quarter by shutting down the space, closing the Vaerloese attack at the expense of big scoring. Naestved won the third 16-9 and outlasted their opponents 14-10 to take the game in the fourth stanza.
Milan Stanojevic led the winning team with 28 points, while he also provided with 7 assists. Philip Hertz added 14 points, while Liam Potter was a defensive colossus with 17 points and 8 blocks.
Drew Maynard top scored for Vaerloese with 23 points and added 14 rebounds for the only double-double of the game. He was followed by Axel Karason with 21 points and 7 boards.
Svendborg Rabbits vs. SISU Copenhagen, 87-82
An exciting contest between Svendborg and SISU gave fans plenty to be happy about on the opening day of the 2014/2015 Danish basketligaen season. The Rabbits with home court advantage opened a seven point lead at the end of a high scoring first frame, holding a 27-20 advantage at the first split. In the second stanza SISU went hot and knocked down 29 points while holding the home team to just 15 points. At the long break the visitors had retaken the lead and were 42-49 in front. A close third quarter did little to decide the outcome, especially with the hosts winning the stint 23-20 to make it a four point game after 30 minutes, the scoreboard reading 65-69. SISU Copenhagen’s attack fell apart in the last frame as Svendborg closed down the perimeter to close out the game with an impressive 22-13 finale.
William Paul was immense in the winning effort, grabbing a double-double of 34 points and 11 rebounds. Johnell Smith added 15 points, while Antonio Porta scored 13, Damian Jimenez 11, and Claus Magaard 10 points.
Darryl Partin set the pace for SISU with 24 points, with David Harder taking 15 points and Mike Flowers 11 points while also pulling 9 off the glass.