Split 2013, EM Diary: Entry 1

  • Datum: 22.07.2013

Split 2013, EM Diary: Entry 1

Welcome to our EM diary, entry 1!
Split 2013

We will keep you updated with our European Championship diary for the next nine days about all results, news, events and other "stories" of this outstanding, international university sports event.

After a smooth arrival and moving into the team quarters in the middle of the university campus in Split, our boys were able to enjoy the first welcome party of the well-prepared organization team of the University of Split on Sunday evening. However, the pleasure was short-lived, as our boys of course needed a lot of sleep to prepare conscientiously for the upcoming sporting events.

On today's first day of the tournament our team played against the Hungarian university selection from Debrecen.
The day of such an event is always exciting, because it is an important first assessment of the tournament. Of course, it is impossible to estimate the performance of the individual teams in advance, so we were eagerly waiting for the first impressions.

The first game was against Debrecen, Hungary:

In the game against Hungary, it quickly became apparent that our boys had problems adjusting to the conditions. Maybe there was also a little bit of awe in front of the sports hall "Gripe", venue of former NBA stars.
Because despite a quick 6:0 lead of the KIT team, an even game with slight advantages for Debrecen developed in the course of the first quarter. Especially in defense, our guys are not yet up to par. Thus, the first quarter ended with a narrow lead for the Hungarians: 17:19.

Also in the second quarter our boys had a hard time against the extremely fast and nimble Hungarians, but were able to keep the game even. Despite physical advantages we had to let the opponent pass again and again and so we went into the half-time break with a 40:43 deficit.
At the beginning of the third quarter, our guys started like fire and quickly had an 8:1 run. The resulting 48:44 lead our guys were able to hold until the end of the third quarter...58:54 for us!!!

In the final act of this highly dramatic opening match, the KIT team was able to extend the lead to ten points by the middle of the quarter (71:61).
After the foul-related retirement of one of our key players Elnis Prasovic, our team lost the thread for a short time and they had to let the Hungarians come close again to 3 points (71:68).
In the hectic final phase, the only thing our guys could do was close their eyes and go for it! Peter Voß did exactly that with the decisive offensive rebound a few seconds before the end. And thus it should be enough. Final score 76:74 for our team!!!

So the boys started successfully into the tournament and now only need one more win to reach the knockout round.

In the preliminary round group of the KIT team also the tournament favorite, the selection of Moscow, will play tomorrow, Tuesday, the next opponent of the KIT team and the team of the University of Coimbra, Portugal.

The Muscovites celebrated a completely unchallenged canter victory against the Portuguese, who were to be pitied, at the beginning of the tournament. The result speaks for itself: 103:26 in 40 minutes!!!

Let's see how our greats fare against the very greats from Moscow.

In the interview, coach Uli Himstedt reviews the first match and talks about the next tough game. More impressions can be found in the picture gallery!

Tonight there will be a big opening ceremony of the European Championship at the beach promenade in Split...diary entry follows....

Many greetings from the 35 degrees hot Split and see you very soon...

Your sport.kit media team