STOL-Grasshoppers losing ground

The sudden departure of coach Bo Melis is still having concequences by STOL-Grasshoppers. His replacement, Burhan Alibergovic, is trying to make progress with the Katwijk's ladies team, but has not yet managed to do so. Against Bemmel they lost their 3 match in a row (59-73).

For STOL-Grasshoppers, this loss means that they've lost ground in their fight to reach the play-offs. If they had won the match, they would have have tied with Bemmel for the 3rd place in the competition. But the win for Bemmel was never in danger. "They didn't play well, from beginning to end", says coach Alibegovic. "The team is still searching, not in balace. When compared to earlier matches, we now missed selfconfidence and energy. And that's the key. We couldn't make a fist."

After an acceptable start, things went downhill for STOL-Grasshoppers. The 2nd period was a disappointment, followed by a dramatic 3rd period, when the team hardly scored and fell too far behind. "Lekdetec.nl beat us in every corner of the court," sighed coach Alibegovic. "Not only our offense, but also our defense was not in order."

The Bosnian coach wants the team to play better basketball with more quality. He demands more from his players then Melis, and gives them more rules to follow. "I want them to play with selfconfidence and pleasure in basketball. How long this takes, depends on the process."

The coach has another bitter pill to swallow. He will no longer b able to call on one of his most important players, Ingrid van der Plas. She has to stop playing temporarily because of her study in Enschede.

In order to reach their goal of the play-offs, a lot has to change in a short time. "If we end by the first four, we still have a chance," says the coach. "But it is necessary that the energy and trust returns. If not, we haven't got a chance."