The Niners Chemnitz basketball team has celebrated its third successive victory in the German league. The team of Head Coach Rodrigo Pastore prevailed by 99:96 (74:74, 34:34) after two periods of overtime against the penultimate-placed MLP Academics Heidelberg on Wednesday evening. In front of 4,342 spectators, Nike Sibande was the Niners' best scorer with 18 points as they moved up to tenth with 20:22 points.
Chemnitz initially found it very difficult because it moved the ball too slowly in attack and did not find its shooting rhythm. As a result, the visitors were able to open up a slight gap of 29:22 midway through the second quarter. The deficit acted as a wake-up call for Chemnitz, who equalized by the break.
Decision not decided until seconds before the end
However, Chemnitz also lacked consistency after the break. Although they maintained a narrow lead for long stretches, they were not able to build a cushion of points. Heidelberg's Eric Reed tied the scores at 74:74 with 15 seconds left in regulation time.
No decision was made in the hectic first overtime. In the second overtime, Corey Davis Jr. finally emerged as the Niners' match-winner. With 2.2 seconds left on the clock, the U.S. point guard drained a three-pointer and an extra free throw to secure victory for Chemnitz.
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