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German basketball
#2
Are the Artland Dragons a team of destiny? If Thursday nights performance indicates anything, the miraculous post-season run for the Dragons will write a Championship Series chapter as Head Coach Chris Fleming and his 8th seeded team upset defending Champion Rheinenergie Koln 84-60 in a decisive Game 5 at the Rheinenergie Dome in Koln Live on Premiere TV. After an upset sweep of league heavyweight ALBA Berlin, a clear title contender, the underrated Artland squad overcame Koln adding to their tremendous season. Now, in the Bundesliga Finals, Artland meets Bamberg in what could be the ultimate test for this seasons "Cinderella Squad". Drawing on the home court and experience from a successful First Round Game 5 win over Bremerhaven, Head Coach Sasa Obradovic and his Koln team seemed to have the upper hand heading into action. In 2006, it was Koln's surprise run to the title capped by Immanuel McElroys Game Winner which added to the fantastic Bundesliga history. Now, one year later, underdog Artland was wearing the "Glass Slipper". These two teams have been on the highest Bundesliga stage before as both battled for the German Cup title back in late April. Koln won that game, but the competitive intensity in Hamburg was a foreshadowing of this outstanding playoff series. Despite playing on the road, it was the Dragons who came out with energy and activity racing to a 1Q lead. Eventually, the guests claimed a 23-15 1Q. Koln rallied in the 2Q but Artland held a 40-35 advantage at the halftime break. With both teams understanding how important the 3Q became, it was Artland who made the game's decisive run outscoring the hosts 26-14 in the 3rd. Leading 66-49 going into the final ten minutes, Artland cruised to the victory and punched their ticket to the Bundesliga Finals. Artland's balanced team attack put 4 players in double figures and received outstanding production from their entire roster. Roll players contributed with quality to their win. Dragon PG Filberto Rivera capped his strong Semifinal series with a team best 16pt 5reb effort while C Darius Hall (5reb) and Bryan Bailey added 13pt apiece. Adam Hess added 11. Meanwhile, Koln received 14pt (4 for 8 threes) from Devin Green, 11pt from Immanuel McElroy and 11pt 10reb from Aleksander Nadjfeji. Artland hit 54% from the floor compared with Kolns 35% and the Dragons sank 15-17 FT (88%) to Koln's 8-13 (61%). The biggest difference in the game came in the lane where Artland converted 21 of 29 (72%) shots in the paint while Koln managed only 10 for 24 (41%). Certainly the team defense from Artland should get much credit in this decisive Game 5 win. Looking ahead, both Bamberg and Artland have battle tested teams who have faced adversity at different times throughout this Bundesliga season. On paper, despite their difference in records, the two teams match up well with both sides possessing several strengths. The intriguing Championship Series Matchup between Bamberg and Artland tips off Sunday night June 17th from JAKO Arena in Bamberg in Game 1 Live on Premiere TV at 5:05pm.
Respect and thanks for everything:

Alvertis, Bodiroga, Jasikevicius, Radja, Wilkins, Vrankovic, Fotsis, Rebraca, Kattash, Gentile, Koch, Middleton, Kutluay, Rogers, Papadopoulos, Becirovic, Tomasevic, Siskauskas, Pekovic, Lakovic, Vujanic, Chatzivrettas, Maljkovic, Spanoulis and many more to follow in the near future.
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Messages In This Thread
[No subject] - by ARISforever - Aug 9, 2006, 3:48 pm
[No subject] - by Black Urum - Jun 15, 2007, 1:01 am
[No subject] - by Black Urum - Jun 15, 2007, 12:32 pm
[No subject] - by MarkoMilic - Feb 16, 2008, 9:22 pm
[No subject] - by robbe - Feb 18, 2008, 1:21 pm
[No subject] - by TalkBasket - Feb 23, 2008, 8:30 pm
[No subject] - by robbe - Feb 24, 2008, 11:17 am
[No subject] - by TalkBasket - Feb 24, 2008, 11:38 am
[No subject] - by robbe - Feb 24, 2008, 5:15 pm
[No subject] - by robbe - Feb 26, 2008, 12:55 pm
[No subject] - by robbe - Apr 28, 2008, 6:26 pm
[No subject] - by TalkBasket - Apr 28, 2008, 6:29 pm

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