The important victory for the Syntainics MBC in the fight against relegation was also a kind of escape from a slump in form for Kostja Mushidi. The 25-year-old scored every one of his shots in the 111:90 victory over Heidelberg Academics and added five assists to his 13 points. "I was always under a lot of pressure and always had to perform. The negative spiral was very exhausting and it was wonderful to break out of it," said Mushidi on Dyn.
The success enabled the small club from Weißenfels to widen the gap to the relegation places to three wins, but it is now just two wins away from the playoff places. Only recently, fans had criticized coach Predrag Krunic when the MBC won just one of seven league games.
Mushidi was probably also spurred on in Heidelberg by the duel with former coach Ingo Freyer, who was signed from penultimate-placed Heidelberg at the start of January. The 52-year-old led the MBC to relegation last season. After the season, Mushidi had said that if Freyer stayed, he could hardly imagine staying another year himself.
In the end, Mushidi stayed and Freyer did not get a new contract. "He's a great coach, was a great player," said Mushidi after the success. "That wasn't meant to be disrespectful at the time. But I knew it would be very difficult for me to develop further if he stayed."
Copyright 2024, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
