STOL-Grasshoppers unable to turn the tide

Den Helder will be the next opponent for Wereldtickets.nl/Leiderdorp in the ½ final of the play-offs (again in a best of 3 series). In Katwijk, Leiderdorp won the second match against Grasshoppers (57-71), which means their season has ended very early in the year.

Not the home team, as expected, but Leiderdorp began strong in the match. They took a lead of 10 points quite quickly. Grasshoppers were put under pressure over the whole court, and that delivered the opponent a lot of balls. With strong physical play, Grasshoppers tried to catch up. At one point they did take a 1 point lead, but the offensive plays were not effective enough to allow the Katwijkers the chance to force a third match. Francis Donders and Kim Hartman, from Leiderdorp, were sent to the bench with injuries, but are expected to recover in time for the next match.

The winning coach Ferenc Szitas: “I’m satisfied with our performance. Even though Grasshoppers came back, I never was worried that we would lose. We improve with every match. Our players who were out with injuries are now getting more game rhythm. If we keep our opponent under the 60 points, we normally win the match.” Looking forward to next Saturday: “I don’t think we’ll lose a third time from Den Helder. Our defence is working well, and our offense is steadily improving. We can’t begin weak against Den Helder.”

Period stands: 16-19, 30-32, 41-50, 16-21

Topscorers Leiderdorp: Yoerger 20 (11 reb.), Maddox 14, Nieuwveen 8 (15 reb.)