After 2.13-man “Jimbo” Lull withdrew with (mild) corona symptoms, the Raiffeisen Flyers Wels stood before the 96th basketball derby against Gmunden without a center – and supposedly lost. “We need a miracle,” said the trade fair city’s coach, Sebastian Waser, under no illusion. Ultimately, the favorite, the reigning champions from Lake Traunsee, should also have the upper hand – but by no means clearly. As expected, the Swans had air sovereignty, with the 86:77 (47:47) success, the guests extended their lead in the all-time record to 69:27 wins. Gmunden also managed to take revenge for a 69:89 home defeat against Wels on October 10th.
It was the expected explosive duel between the local rivals, in which the Flyers, battered by many injuries and corona cases this season, got everything they had. “The boys do it very, very well, they scratch, they can’t be shaken off,” said the convalescent captain Davor Lamesic, who has had to pause for around two months due to the after-effects of Covid.
The league record player (728 matches) is now back in training and wants to report back in 2022. “Corona will not end my career. The ambition is there, what is missing is the breath,” reported the 38-year-old.
Yesterday, his colleagues even put away the ankle injury of Samuel Orf, who twisted his ankle early (4th). The tension carried over to the audience, the noise level soared, the nerves were on edge. Both Wels coaches – boss Waser and assistant Stephan Frost – conceded technical fouls because of referee criticism. The lead changed several times, the longer bank tipped the balance in favor of Gmundner around Toni Blazan, who shared the title of top scorer with Wels legionnaire Christian von Fintel. Both got 20 points.
Source: Nachrichten
