Germany - Hagen Opens 2011 with Two Straight Victories

(Hagen Head Coach Ingo Freyer instructs American import Matt Terwilliger)

1.7.2010 - Phoenix Hagen 92 at Giessen 76 (BBL Regular Season)
- Matt Terwilliger - 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal in 24 mins

1.9.2010 - Phoenix Hagen 99 vs Walter Tigers 91 (BBL Regular Season)
- Matt Terwilliger - 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist in 25 mins.

It has kind of been a tale of two seasons for Buckeye Matt Terwilliger & the Phoenix Hagen Firebirds of the German Bundesliga. The Hagen, Germany based club has played in 18 regular season BBL games so far. They enjoyed some early season success by winning five of their first nine games, but Hagen has since been only able to find the winners' circle twice in the last nine contests (currently 7-11).

Phoenix Hagen's fifth win was a home demolition of Oldenburg on November 13, 2010 (89-62) It was a great victory for Hagen, but it seemed as if it was right after this game where a bad combination of injuries, tough opponents, and just bad luck would doom the Firebirds to a seven game losing stretch (spanning from 11/20 to 12/29).

New Year, New Results! With late 2010 behind them, Hagen opened the new year in style with a nice 92-76 road victory vs Giessen on January 2. The following week (January 9) was perhaps even sweeter for the club because their fans would witness a home victory over the Walter Tigers of Tuebingen 99-91 . (first home win since the game with Oldenburg on Nov. 13)

Tough Road Ahead: Despite the unkind stretch of November & December, Hagen's 7-11 record still has them within striking distance of the top 12 teams in the BBL standings. Yet, wins will be tough to come by with another difficult series of games ahead. Phoenix Hagen's next two games are a home & away set with perennial Germany power Alba Berlin. They will host Alba on January 12 before playing in the world famous O2 Arena of Berlin on January 16. Hagen then closes out January with a home date against another Buckeye, Velimir Radinovic & MBC. Good luck Hagen!

(Video Clip - Twig knocks down a 3 vs Oldenburg)