Avanti Mondorf is the only remaining club from the National 2 in the men’s Loterie Nationale Coupe de Luxembourg. The 1/4 finals will be played this Wednesday and Thursday.
The team of coach Philip Dejworek will start with a 10-point bonus, a big advantage. However, their opponent Arantia is playing a strong season in the LBBL and they already have experience in beating a team with a 10-point advantage as Derek Wilson and company were able to beat Bascharage in the 1/8 finals a few weeks ago, a game that was decided in the final minutes. Avanti can be sure that the opponent will not take them lightly, especially because the club from Mondorf has played a respectable season so far and stands in 4th place with a record of 7 wins and 5 losses in the second league.
Head-coach Philip Dejworek, his team and the club are looking forward to the challenge: „We are really proud to be part of the quaterfinals in the cup competition, especially being the last team from Nationale 2. I know that everybody from the Avanti family is super excited for the game which is definitely a season highlight for us so far.“
Dejworek knows that his team is facing a difficult opponent. Arantia is tied for 3rd place in the LBBL with a record of 8 wins and 4 losses, the team of coach Christophe Ney is clearly playing at a high level and is the favorite to win this cup game. „Being the clear underdog, we need to have our best allround game and at the same time hoping for Arantia to have a poor performance. Arantia is known for playing super hard and they are in my opinion the most athletic team in Luxembourg. For us to have a small chance, we need to be able to handle their agressive trapping defense with a low turnover ratio on offense, and at the same time not allowing too many easy fastbreak baskets.“
Can Arantia confirm the role of the favorite or will Avanti be able to surprise and make an appearence in the Coque in Kirchberg in early February? That is the question that will be answered on Wednesday starting at 20:00.
Wednesday:
20:00 Avanti Mondorf (+10) – Arantia Larochette
20:30 Basket Esch – Résidence Walfer
Thursday:
20:30 Etzella – Contern
20:30 Telstar – Sparta
