On their third attempt, the Niners Chemnitz basketball team secured their first win of this Bundesliga season. In their home opener, Coach Rodrigo Pastore’s team defeated the newly promoted Phoenix Hagen 94–93 in overtime (81–81, 39–47). Stefan Smith was Chemnitz’s top scorer with 23 points and also made the two decisive free throws to secure the victory with 23 seconds left in overtime. Two days after their unfortunate loss in Hamburg (90–94 in overtime), the Chemnitz team came out with great intensity but initially struggled to find their shooting touch. As a result, the more composed Hagen team pulled ahead 24–17 by the ninth minute. Although the hosts countered with an 8–0 run to make it 25–24 (12th minute), they were unable to maintain that level of play. Above all, the Niners found no answer for Hagen’s outstanding American player, Cameron Krutwig (21 points by halftime). After the break, the deficit grew to 39–54 (22nd minute) before a timeout called by Pastore shook the Chemnitz team awake. They now played much more aggressively on defense and transitioned faster after winning the ball. A three-pointer by Phlandrous Fleming Jr. to make it 74–73 (36th minute) gave the Niners their first lead after the break. In the frantic closing minutes, Krutwig saved Hagen with seven seconds left in regulation, sending the game into overtime. The game went back and forth in overtime before Smith had the last word. Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
