The Niners Chemnitz basketball team have taken a decisive step towards qualifying directly for the play-offs. The charges of Head Coach Rodrigo Pastore won the East derby against sixth-placed Rostock Seawolves by 108:102 (94:94, 47:46) on the third-last matchday and so also won the head-to-head tie after their 68:60 victory in the first leg.
Jeff Garrett (22), Kevin Yebo (20), Jacob Gilyard (17) and DeAndre Lansdowne played the biggest part in the Saxons' 17th win of the season.
The home side initially had great difficulty finding its rhythm in this crucial encounter and trailed 21:30 after 12 minutes. After the break, the club from Saxony stepped up its intensity both in attack and in defense and pulled 82:66 ahead in the 34th minute. However, the Saxons squandered their clear lead in the space of six minutes. Rostock was 93:90 in front in the final minute. Yet Nicholas Tischler forced overtime.
The Niners pulled away in the extra period and did not let the lead slip from their grasp again. The better three-point field goal percentage - Chemnitz made 13 out of 28 shots and Rostock only 14 out of 38 - and the lower number of turnovers (10:15) ultimately tipped the scales in favor of the club from Saxony in this thrilling derby.
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