Saturday afternoon, EBV Baros Men 1 won its first home game of the season in the Seniors Second Division 2. The students’ team was down on points against Vlijmscherp SVH after a slow start, but it was able to edge forward and increase its lead in the remainder of the game – ultimately winning with 73-56.
Since the Erasmus Sport courts weren’t always free over the past few weeks, this was only EBV Baros’s second game of the competition. In the week before the game, coach Mansour Einolhagh’s renewed selection had only had one opportunity to train. This lack of preparation became apparent at the start of the head-to-head: the home team’s game was rather hesitant, and in the first quarter Baros couldn’t prevent opponent Vlijmscherp SVH from taking the lead with 14-18.
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The passionate Einolhagh, who last season could be found coaching in the national competition, managed to shake his players awake in time for the second quarter, and Baros slowly but surely emerged from its shell. The Rotterdammers were able to hold on to the ball more often, so that Vlijmscherp could no longer take advantage of turnovers like it did in the early stages. After a strong second quarter, by half-time Baros was ahead with an exciting 32 over 30 points.
In the third quarter, the visitors seemed to crumble under the pressure put on them by Baros, and Einolhagh’s team had also built up a rock-solid defence. Thanks to multiple three-pointers by Marshall Kontos and countless home team break-outs in the fourth and final quarter, the Rotterdam team had relatively little difficulty chalking up a resounding 73-56 victory.
‘Game too hesitant’
After the game, Einolhagh said that his team had had some difficulty preparing for his first home game as Baros’s new coach. Nevertheless, he was satisfied with the players’ efforts: “Before half-time, we were too hesitant, but in the second half, we put more aggression into our game and we were able to play it our way. And I’m happy about that, because I believe putting in a good game is more important than our spot on the competition scoreboard.”
Baros’s latest addition Dimitri Braakman, who joined the team after playing in a higher division, agreed with his coach’s recap: “We started sloppy. The opponent kept scoring points on us and there were a lot of turnovers, which doesn’t make it easier. The second half, we paid a lot more attention and we lost a lot less balls. We mainly focussed on putting up a strong defence rather than scoring points.” Thanks to this victory – the second in a row – Baros now has four points after two games. Next week, the team will be playing an away game against Vucht’s always tricky EVBV Octopus.
