Basketball Super League

Klosterneuburg’s Carius is fully in “playoff mode”

Will Carius dunk his Dukes into the semi-finals today?(Bild: GEPA pictures)

The hot phase has begun, the quarter-final series of the Basketball Superliga are in full swing! While Will Carius and his Dukes can already secure a place in the semi-finals in the third game at home, Traiskirchen virtually start from scratch against St. Pölten at 1:1.

Clear the ring for the Will Carius show! He became the "match winner" with a defensive rebound seconds before the end in the home opener and was the top scorer of the evening three days later with 30 points. The Klosterneuburg forward left his mark on the Superliga quarter-final series against Kapfenberg. Logically, this is no time for false modesty: "I think you could say I've activated playoff mode!" grins the American. "But it's not just me! We simply performed very strongly as a team!"

Head through the wall! Carius has not let anything slow him down so far.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Against an opponent that simply seems to suit the team from Industrieviertel - they last lost a game to the Styrians in 2021. So it's no surprise that the confidence of being able to end the series early in the third dance on Thursday is correspondingly high: "That's our goal, of course! We want to earn the extra time to prepare for the next round." In which, as it currently looks, Graz would probably be waiting, who also lead their series against Wels 2:0. But Carius & Co. don't have any preferred opponents anyway: "We know all the teams. If we keep up our performance, we can beat anyone!"

Everything back to square one
That's the motto for the Lower Austrian derby between Traiskirchen and St. Pölten. After the "Wolves" surprisingly took a 1:0 lead away from home, the "Lions" deservedly equalized on Tuesday. The series is therefore set to restart, with the Traiskirchen team once again at home. All eyes will be on Demarcus Demonia, who has made the difference so far with a shutout and a top performance.

Traiskirchen's Demonia will also be the focus of attention in the third game.(Bild: GEPA pictures)