At the end of March, Osunniyi suffered a knee injury against Leiden. Last week he made his comeback against Landstede Hammers, but it was short-lived. Ossuniyi did not play against Kangaroos Mechelen on Wednesday and that does not seem to change much this season. “I fear my season is over,” says the 2m08 tall American. “We tried last match to see if we could succeed. That didn’t turn out well. I will have to rest for a long time now.”
Before the first quarter-final match against Kangaroos Mechelen, Osunniyi was presented with the trophy for best defensive player of the year. — © RR
A stroke of luck for Limburg United, as Ossuniyi was presented with the trophy for best defensive player of the year before the first match against Mechelen. Already the second individual recognition for the crowd favorite, after he was also voted MVP of the cup final with Roman Penn. And with an average of 1.8 blocks per match, he is also the best blocker in the BNXT LEAGUE. “I didn’t immediately expect this,” Osunniyi responds. “It is only an individual award, while basketball is a team sport. Of course it is nice to win an extra prize, just like in the cup final. But as a player you don’t think about that in advance. The team interest always comes first, because it is thanks to the entire team that an individual can win prizes.”
“You notice that the team is growing again. Guys like Serron, De Zeeuw and Delalieux know the ropes. I can see them finishing the job in Mechelen on Friday”
Osunniyi
48 points against
Despite the 90-84 win against Mechelen, his teammates could have made good use of Ossuniyi’s defensive qualities on Wednesday. United conceded no fewer than 48 points in the first half. “We didn’t start aggressively enough in defense,” he analyzes. “As the game progressed, we corrected that. My teammates realized that the first half left a lot to be desired defensively and that they allowed too many easy baskets. They showed that by playing a great second half and being more aggressive.”
That is the main conclusion for Ossuniyi for the second game tonight. “You notice that the team is growing again. Guys like Serron, De Zeeuw and Delalieux know the ropes. Together with the younger players like Cale and Lesuisse, I see them getting the job done in Mechelen.”
Tonight 8.30 pm: Kangaroos Mechelen – Limburg United (quarter-final play-offs)
Coach Westphalen: “A miracle cure is needed to get Osun into action”
Limburg United coach Raymond Westphalen realizes that Osunniyi’s return is not immediate. “A miracle solution almost has to be found to allow Osun to play this season. This mainly has consequences for some teammates who have to play in a slightly different role in the coming matches.”
Mechelen coach Van Den Bosch was surprised that Osunniyi was not there on Wednesday. “We were prepared for him to play and trained for that for a whole week. Nevertheless, Limburg deservedly won the first meeting. I have a feeling that it will be exciting again on Friday.”
