The Niners Chemnitz basketball team got off to a successful start to the new year. The players of Head Coach Rodrigo Pastore defeated seventh-placed MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg by a clear 85:66 (38:30) in front of their home crowd on Saturday to consolidate their top position in the German Basketball League. The outstanding Kevin Yebo (27 points), Jeff Garrett (14), Wesley van Beck (13) and Kaza Kajami-Keane (11) played the biggest part in the Saxons' 13th win of the season. Jayvon Graves (15), Silas Melson (13) and Deion Hammond (10) scored the most points for Ludwigsburg.
The home side needed a certain start-up phase to get up to operating temperature. Chemnitz trailed 18:25 after 13 minutes due to its poor shooting percentage from the field. However, the front-runners turned things around in the second quarter. Thanks to a 9:0 run, the Niners took the lead by 27:25 (16th minute) and stretched the gap to eight points by the break.
However, Ludwigsburg did not give up. It was not until the start of the final quarter that the home side pulled 53:46 ahead in the 30th minute to 62:48 in the 32nd and did not let this lead slip from its grasp. In addition to their strong performance in defense, the club from Saxony also benefited from its supremacy under the baskets. Chemnitz grabbed 49 rebounds and Ludwigsburg 44, while the visitors' shooting percentage from the floor was a weak 30 percent.
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