The LBBL finals are about to start on Saturday. In both the women’s and men’s category, the number one and the number two seed of the final standings have entered the finals. Let’s take a look at what our national team head coaches, Mariusz Dziurdzia and Ken Diederich, say before the start of the best-of-5 series.
In the women’s finals, the „two best teams are playing against each other » confirms Mariusz Dziurdzia. „Gréngewald has been on another level compared to the rest of the league this season. They are unbeaten in the championship which is impressive. They enter the finals as the clear favorite, it will be very difficult to beat this team in a series. However, they have not been at their highest level over the last weeks, other teams were able to challenge them. » Dudelange has won the cup competition 2024 against the opponent, Ehis Etute will be back for the final after her participation in the Nike hoop summit and the team should be at full strength to start the finals. „T71 needs to be at its best for 40 minutes to grab a victory. If they can reach their full potential and not fall into a hole during the game, they can compete with Gréngewald. A key will be to slow down Samantha Logic, if she can dictate the games, Gréngewald is going to win. Dudelange was able to limit Logic’s performance in the cup final and it ended in a surprise, it could become a very interesting series. »
During the 2023/24 season, both teams met four times.
T71 Dudelange – Gréngewald Hueschtert 67:83
Gréngewald Hueschtert – T71 Dudelange 83:59
Gréngewald Hueschtert – T71 Dudelange 93:91
Gréngewald Hueschtert – T71 Dudelange 64:70 (CUP FINAL AT THE COQUE)
After Gréngewald won the first two meetings in the regular season clearly, both teams played arguably one of the best games of the entire season in the play-offs when Gréngewald won a close 2-point game at home. In the cup final, Dudelange was able to beat the opponent for the first time this season which the only loss for the current champion in the entire season in Luxembourg. Both teams also participated in the women’s EuroCup this season where both clubs collected one victory. Everything is set up for a great finals series!
In the men’s finals, league leader „Amicale Steinsel is the favorite to win the championship » says Ken Diederich. „Amicale has a deep roster and several experienced players. Jarvis Williams, Scott Morton, Bob Melcher and Alex Laurent, the key players have gained a lot of experience and this will help them. Furthermore, Amicale has home court advantage, another bonus for the team of coach Daniel Brandao. » Just like in the women’s final, the two strongest teams of the 2023/24 season will face off in the finals. „Etzella has played a very strong season, Philippe Gutenkauf defended his MVP title while Gavin Love was named coach of the year, the team has a great chemistry on the court and is playing a beautiful style of basketball. At their best, they can compete with Amicale and it should become a very interesting series to watch for the fans. »
During the 2023/24 season, both teams met two times.
Amicale Steinsel – Etzella Ettelbruck 89:81
Etzella Ettelbruck – Amicale Steinsel 86:82
They split the season series, both games were close. In the play-offs, Amicale Steinsel was able to beat Sparta 2:1 before advancing to the finals with a 2:0 sweep against Résidence Walfer. Etzella won 2:0 against Contern before winning a thrilling series against Basket 2:1.
The finals will start on Saturday. While the first women’s game starts at 19:00 in Oberanven, the men’s game will tip off at 19:30 in Steinsel.
