What’s new from the HYLO® Sport family
Even in the new year period, some of our #hyloathletes have once again been very active and competing in their disciplines. We take a look back at the last seven days’ events and competitions featuring our athletes, teams and clubs.
Saarlouis Royals end 2024 with a defeat and start 2025 with a win
Saarlouis Royals had two exciting Toyota 1. DBBL matches to mark the turn of the year. On Monday 30 December 2024, they were defeated in an away game against Eisvögel Freiburg. However, just a few days later on Saturday 4 January 2025, they kick-started their new year in style with an away win against TK Hannover to secure third place in the table.
Setback in Freiburg
On the 13th day of play in the DBBL (30 December 2024), Saarlouis Royals faced Eisvögel USC Freiburg and lost 85:76. A strong final quarter was not enough to turn the defeat around. Nevertheless, the Royals – who were competing under difficult conditions – managed to retain third place in the table. One particularly notable element was the debut appearance of Gabija Meškonytė, replacing Camille Hillotte. The match began perfectly for Eisvögel, who quickly took the lead. The Royals kept on fighting but were unable to outclass the Freiburg team’s efficient play. The final score was 85:76 to Freiburg.
The quarter results: 24:14 | 28:29 | 18:7 | 15:26
Successful start to the new year in Hanover
Just a few days later on 4 January 2025, the Royals faced TK Hannover Luchse for an away match. In an exciting game, they were able to successfully defend third place in the table thanks to a 78:73 win. The Royals began strong and took an early lead. Despite Luchse fighting to catch up in the third quarter, the Royals held their nerve to secure the win. There were particularly noteworthy performances by Gabija Meškonytė and Hayley Frank, who scored crucial points.
The quarter results: 15:22 | 15:21 | 27:18 | 16:17
Outlook
Saarlouis Royals’s next match is on Wednesday (8 January 2025) at 7 p.m. against Syntainics MBC from Halle. The Royals will be making their DBBL Cup quarter-final appearance in their home venue of Stadtgartenhalle. Just a few days later on Saturday (11 January 2025), the team have their next Toyota 1. DBBL home game against Wings Leverkusen.
1. FC Saarbrücken TT: triumph in semi-final, defeat in cup final
Saturday (4 January 2025) saw the prestigious Liebherr Cup final four taking place in the ratiopharm arena Ulm/Neu-Ulm. 1. FC Saarbrücken TT battled against three other teams in pursuit of their first title of the year, the sought-after German table tennis cup. The team were able to beat SV Werder Bremen in an exciting semi-final, but sadly were defeated by TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen in the final.
Semi-final: confident win against Werder Bremen
1. FC Saarbrücken TT faced SV Werder Bremen in the semi-final and put in an impressive performance. Patrick Franziska and Darko Jorgic led the team to a 3:1 victory with clear wins against Mattias Falck and Marcelo Aguirre. Despite Kirill Gerassimenko losing a point to Yuto Muramatsu, Saarbrücken still secured a ticket to the final.
Final: narrow defeat by Ochsenhausen
The Saarbrücken players faced TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen in the final. Despite a strong performance by Patrick Franziska, who defeated Simon Gauzy, the team were unable to stop a phenomenal Hugo Calderano. Calderano took Ochsenhausen to a 3:1 victory with two wins, securing the cup title for his team. Saarbrücken therefore missed out on their hopes of a third cup victory after 2012 and 2022.
On 6 January 2024, 1. FC Saarbrücken TT faced TTF Liebherr Ochsenhausen once again for a Tischtennis Bundesliga (TTBL) match. The Saarland players were unable to take advantage of this opportunity to gain payback for their final defeat, and once again lost 3:1.
SV Elversberg: first test match win and training camp in Spain
On Sunday (5 January 2025), SV Elversberg played their first test match of the new year during their training camp in Spain. The faced Dutch first division team FC Groningen in Marbella and won 2:1 (1:0). Coach Horst Steffen used all of his available players to ensure that their playing time was as balanced as possible. Semih Sahin’s comeback after a long period of injury was particularly pleasing to see. SVE put in a strong performance right from the outset and took the lead shortly before half-time thanks to Fisnik Asllani. In the second half, Maurice Neubauer increased the score to 2:0, before Groningen managed to narrow things to 2:1 shortly before the final whistle.
Training camp in Spain
After a few days to rest and recover during the winter break, on Tuesday (2 January) the team met once again for the first time in 2025 to prepare for the second half of the season. The team completed their first training session in wintry conditions at their home ground in St. Ingbert. On Friday morning, SVE travelled to Málaga, where they will be spending eight days preparing for the second half of the season in mild temperatures and perfect conditions. The training camp ends on Saturday 11 January 2025, when the team will return to Germany.
SV Elversberg begin the second half of the 2. Bundesliga season on Sunday 19 January 2025 with a home game against 1. FC Magdeburg.
We are looking forward to upcoming appearances from our #hyloathletes and wish all of our HYLO® partners much luck and success.