The OCS Swans have reinforced their basketball status as number one in the state of Upper Austria. Gmunden won the 101st derby against the Raiffeisen Flyers Wels in front of 1300 spectators with 87:67 (49:34) and thus put the all-time record at 73:28 victories.
The Messestadters, who arrived as outsiders and were missing the sick captain Christian von Fintel at every corner and end, ran after them from the first second and ultimately didn’t have the spark of a chance. Under these circumstances, the 24 points that made American catfish returnee Austen Awosika the top scorer of the evening were small consolations.
Wels came with only nine players, Gmunden had twelve available – including Benedikt Güttl, who had reported back after his adductor injury. Too early. Because the 28-year-old “conductor”, whom the reigning champions BC Vienna had courted during the summer break, complained again about pain after a terrific first half.
“Feel good”
On the other hand, the two US legionnaires Dominic Green and Urald King presented themselves in top form, each scoring 19 points and thus giving the Raiffeisen Sportpark – as the hall has been called since September – a perfect debut. Incidentally, it was the first of four Gmundner home games within ten days. The group phase of the FIBA Europe Cup starts on Wednesday (7 p.m.) against Antwerp (Bel).
“The win gives confidence, it was a solid performance. We played off our quality,” said Swans CFO Harald Stelzer, whose team shone collectively. The statistics show that. The “Korbjäger” from Traunsee had significantly more assists (25:9) and clear advantages on the rebound (41:29), plus 50 percent from the “three”. King posted a so-called double-double with double-digit values in points (19) and rebounds (10). The American is a real stroke of luck for coach Anton Mirolybov.
“It feels good to win a derby,” said Toni Blazan happily. “I also have to say that Wels wasn’t full, so congratulations to Wels on the fight. In the end, it was a work win for us,” said the national player in recognition of the derby opponent.
“I think we’ll be back”
“Congratulations to the people of Gmunden, they deserved to win,” admitted Wels coach Sebastian Waser frankly. “We came here more than weakened by replacements, but I can only congratulate my team on the fight. Of course it doesn’t look so good at the beginning of the season when you have so many injury problems. But I think we’ll come back.”
Incidentally, on Saturday the ensemble of Gmundner and Welser “Rookies” (Upper Austrian Ballers) lost their premiere in the 2nd division 62:82 at Vienna United.
Source: Nachrichten
