Hard fight not rewarded – Saarlouis Royals v. Herner TC

For the first day of play in the 2024/25 DBBL season, the Saarlouis Royals faced Herner TC at their home venue of Stadtgartenhalle on the evening of 29 September 2024.

The Royals began the match in somewhat nervy form, resulting in a few misthrows. Although Saarlouis’s defence remained strong, the team repeatedly lost the ball elsewhere. The Royals benefited from their quick passing and gained numerous free throws. However, Herner also repeatedly scored easy baskets, meaning that as the game progressed, it became a match of equals with numerous changes of lead. A positive factor for Saarlouis was the team’s uniformity, as six minutes in, they had had eight players on the court without a drop in performance. The quarter ended 17:16 to the Saarlouis Royals.

The second quarter was once again marked by greater nerves. Although teamwork was good, baskets remained scarce. The two teams took turns in the lead thanks to quick moves, with neither team able to pull away. The Royals’ aggressive defence increasingly forced Herne to concede the ball, but their hit rate for long throws from the three-point line was poor. Nevertheless, the Saarlouis defence remained good and enabled the away team to gain a slight lead, heading into the locker room 34:31..

The Saarlouis Royals once again appeared nervy after the change of ends. There were ball losses and misthrows by both teams, and neither was able to pull ahead. Rowie Jongeling equalised to 45:45 for the away team at the final buzzer.

Herne managed a ten-point run within two minutes to put the score at 50:55, but Saarlouis fought back with stronger defence and equalised to 55:55. The game then became even more hectic. HTC found their groove in the last six minutes and were able to pull ahead somewhat. Although the Royals remained within shouting distance, they lost the ball too often due to bad passes and misunderstandings. In the end, even attempts to stop the clock with fouls did not help. Herne scored from the free-throw line to defeat Saarlouis Royals 66:72.

The quarter results were 17:16, 17:15, 11:14, 21:27.

The Royals’ strong defence is well worth a positive mention. The away team’s coach Jelena Škerović said as much after the game, and was not sparing in her praise: 

Saarlouis did not allow us to play that well. We had 22 turnovers. This was down to Saarlouis’s good defence. It took us time to adapt to their aggressive defending.

Team play also produced good results – when it worked properly. However, their opponents from the Ruhr also played a certain role, as their defensive play similarly shone. Royals’ power forward Monika Jasnowska said:

Herne demonstrated really very good defence. They played to their advantage below the basket, which is how they won the game.

As a result, their teamwork often suffered from unnecessary losses of possession and bad passes, which made Saarlouis’s play hectic. The Royals’ head coach Matīss Rožlapa offered his analysis after the game: 

So there are plenty of things that we need to and will improve. We will make adjustments and be ready for our next matches.

Saarlouis Royals’s next game is for the second round of the cup and takes place on Wednesday 2 October 2024 at 7 p.m. – an away game against MJC Trier. The venue is AVG/MPG-Halle, Sichelstraße 3-5, 54290 Trier.

The league continues on Sunday 6 October 2024 at 4 p.m., when Saarlouis face Medical Instinct Veilchen BG74 in Göttingen.