NBL Abroad: Waardenburg Suffers Playoff Elimination

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

Just because the NBL is in its off-season, it doesn't mean the best players in the league are resting on their laurels and taking a break.

Stars of the Australian domestic competition are now competing all over the globe and getting important reps in ahead of NBL24.

Sam Waardenburg’s stint at German side Riesen Ludwigsburg has ended in heartbreak this week, as the Cairns forward was unable to prevent his side being swept in the semi-final stage of the competition.

Waardenburg’s side have been eliminated from the Basketball Bundesliga, courtesy of a 3-0 series defeat to Finn Delany’s Bonn.

After losing Game 1 by just nine points, Ludwigsburg were easily dispatched by Delany and company, by 29 points in Game 2. Waardenburg was one of his side’s top performers in the difficult defeat, with nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Only two of his teammates scored in double-figures in the loss.

Game 3 saw something of a return to form for the Tall Black's side, but they couldn’t turn the series around and suffered another nine-point loss.

After struggling for form early in his stint in Germany, Waardenburg showcased his high-level abilities at the pointy end of the season and saved some of his best performances for his club’s playoff campaign.

Overall, he appeared in 20 games for Ludwigsburg, and averaged 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per appearance.

He was remarkably close to finishing his time with the side with shooting splits of 50/40/90 – he shot 59.3 per cent from the field, 42.9 per cent from three and 88.6 per cent from the line.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">Kommt heute Abend um 19:00 Uhr alle in die Rundsporthalle und lasst uns gemeinsam diese aufregende und geile Saison feiern???<br>Dort habt ihr nochmal die Möglichkeit, Spieler und Coaches zu treffen, bevor diese in den Sommerurlaub fahren.<br>Für das leibliche Wohl ist gesorgt. <a href="https://t.co/MEQO8E1yAY">pic.twitter.com/MEQO8E1yAY</a></p>— MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg (@MHP_RIESEN) <a href="https://twitter.com/MHP_RIESEN/status/1665736537101697024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 5, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

DJ Mitchell’s Slask Wroclaw side has embarked on the worst possible start to its playoff final campaign and has dropped the first two clashes of its best-of-seven series against King Sczcecin.

Mitchell’s side earned a spot in the finals thanks to a 3-1 semi-finals series win over Legia Warsaw, while the second-seeded King earned their place with a 3-2 series victory over Anwil Wloclawek.

Mitchell played 22 minutes in the 11-point Game 1 defeat, but only hit the floor for nine minutes in the 27-point Game 2 loss.

Wroclaw are the current defending champions of the Polish Basketball League.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="pl" dir="ltr">Takim sk?adem zaczniemy dzisiejsze spotkanie ??<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DumaMiasta?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DumaMiasta</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/plkpl?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#plkpl</a> <a href="https://t.co/Yxi1J68Xuu">pic.twitter.com/Yxi1J68Xuu</a></p>— WKS ?l?sk Wroc?aw - koszykówka (@WKS_SlaskBasket) <a href="https://twitter.com/WKS_SlaskBasket/status/1665416527745634307?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Mitch Creek’s Mets de Guaynabo side’s remarkable run of form has come to a screeching halt, having lost its past two encounters this week.

Creek starred in his side’s three-point upset loss to Fajardo with 26 points, before playing just 22 minutes against Bayamon four days later.

The five-point loss to the current group leaders was the third time Mets and Bayamon have faced off in the past four regular season fixtures.

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DJ Mitchell – Slask Wroclaw (Polish Basketball League, Poland)
vs King Szczecin – 3 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists
vs King Szczecin – 1 assist

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Sam Waardenburg – Riesen Ludwigsburg (Basketball Bundesliga, Germany)
vs Bonn – 9 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
vs Bonn – 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks

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Mitch Creek – Mets de Guaynabo (Baloncesto Superior Nacional, Puerto Rico)
vs Fajardo – 26 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks
vs Bayamon – 4 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists