The Regensburg Baskets will need help from their bench players to beat DJK Eggolsheim - Photo by Ed Cornejo
The Regensburg Baskets can achieve their minimum goal for the 2011-12 season of remaining in the 2nd Regionalliga SouthEast North Division with a victory on Sunday at last-placed DJK Eggolsheim.
“Of course it’s important for me that we stay in the league. It would mean that we achieved everything that I had planned for the team and the season,” said Baskets head coach Markus Höß.
Regensburg have reeled off a four-game winning streak to jump to seventh place in the German fifth division. But the team is looking for one final victory to forget all about the issue of relegation back to the Bayernliga.
And with two more games remaining after the Eggolsheim contest, the Baskets don’t want to wait too long to get the job done. They are thinking more of winning in Eggolsheim and enjoying the planned event for the last home game against BBV Leipzig on March 31 – and winning that game as well.
“We want to win in Eggolsheim and against Leipzig as well. That’s the plan! Eggolsheim is to secure the league and with Leipzig we definitely want to win because of the event. The many spectators want to experience and see something,” said the confident Höß.
The coach said the mood in the team is very good but the players are not yet satisfied and are “hungry but humble”.
And Regensburg know that the game against Eggolsheim will not be a walk in the park, especially since they beat the Baskets 75-73 in Regensburg last December and still have a chance to remain in the league despite a 5-14 record.
The Regensburg Baskets have won all four games since Mike Urban was moved into the starting lineup - Photo by Ed Cornejo
Eggolsheim are a very balanced team with five players averaging at least 9.1 points per game. And Höß said that Oliver Staupendahl is one player his Baskets must keep under control on Sunday.
“Eggolsheim work well together as a team. That means we have to break down their set plays as early as possible and force them to improvise,” said the coach.
Höß also said he expects an uncomfortable crowd in Eggsolsheim.
“I hear the crowd is pretty good in Eggolsheimn. We’ll have to see how we react when the atmosphere is against us,” added the coach.
Despite the crowd, Höß and his team wouldn’t have anything against celebrating in Eggolsheim and on the way back home.