Rasta Vechta have qualified for the Basketball Champions League via the back door. In Samokov, Bulgaria, the Lower Saxony side celebrated their fourth win in four games, beating Polish side Dziki Warsaw 93–82 in the final.
Sixteen teams had travelled to Bulgaria, but only one could secure a place in the Champions League – and Rasta Vechta did just that. Following victories over Denizli, Benfica and Patras, Christian Held’s side beat Dziki Warsaw in the final – despite the fact that their three regular playmakers, Tommy Kuhse and Kihei Clark (both out at short notice) and D’Mitrik Trice (who missed the entire trip to Bulgaria), were sidelined through injury.
In the first half, Vechta were even trailing by nine points at times, but in the second 20 minutes, the BBL side turned the game around and only broke a slight sweat in the closing stages when the Poles closed the gap once more after trailing by double figures. However, a three-pointer from Justin Edler-Davis settled the nerves with just under two minutes to go, whilst national team player Nelson Weidemann sealed the win with two free throws 41 seconds from the end (79–89).
With 25 points (9/13 FG), the German guard was also his side’s top scorer, whilst Edler-Davis (16, 4/8 3P) and Matt Lewis (15, 2/4 3P) impressed from the three-point line. With the exception of youngster Linus Trettin, every player scored at least one field goal.
This means Vechta will be competing in the Basketball Champions League for the third time in the club’s history; however, on their previous occasions, their campaigns have ended after the group stage. Vechta has been drawn into Group F, where they will face Cholet, Hapoel Holon and the Serbian champions Spartak Subotica. This brings the total number of German teams in the BCL to four; alongside Vechta, Alba Berlin, Bamberg and Bonn are also flying the flag for Germany.
