Top billing this week goes to EWE Baskets Oldenburg beating reigning champions Brose Bamberg in a match-up of the 2017 easyCredit BBL Finals teams. Elsewhere, short-handed FRAPORT SKYLINERS held off ALBA BERLIN and Science City Jena gave head coach Björn Harmsen a permanent contract extension.
In this section, we break out our English language skills and inform you about the latest news from the German easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga. If you’re short on time but still want your fill of Germany’s top basketball league then you are in the right place. Every week David Hein (www.heinnews.com) brings you up-to-date in German basketball – the easyCredit BBL short and sweet:
Paulding too much as Oldenburg down Bamberg in match-up of 2017 finalists
Rickey Paulding showed he still has plenty of gas left in the tank with a huge performance in lifting EWE Baskets Oldenburg to an 81-74 victory over reigning champions Brose Bamberg in a showdown of last season’s easyCredit BBL Finalists. Paulding nailed 9-of-16 shots and all nine of his free throws in scoring 28 points to go with six rebounds and two steals as Oldenburg never trailed in the home game. Oldenburg, who were swept in the Finals, led by 11 points in the fourth quarter but watched as Bamberg got close. But Mickey McConnell was a great right hand man to Paulding with 11 points, five rebounds and nine assists including a big jumper with a minute left. Oldenburg snapped a three-game losing streak to move to 7-6 in ninth place while Bamberg, who got 15 points from Dorell Wright, saw a three-game winning streak end to move to 9-5 in sixth place. Bamberg earlier in the week beat Eisbären Bremerhaven 79-74 in a Round 4 make-up game with Dejan Musli picking up a team-high 14 points to go with 11 rebounds. Tre Bussey had 14 points off the Bremerhaven bench while Jordan Hulls also had 14 points in the loss.
LIVE: An Tagen wie diesen fällt der Ball auch mal flippermäßig in die Hände des Topscorers... @rpaulding23 schon mit 24 Punkten! #easyCreditBBL pic.twitter.com/j9XXDWn3cS
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 17, 2017
Bayern Express win 10th straight
While EWE Baskets Oldenburg and Brose Bamberg might end up fighting to host the first round of the playoffs, FC Bayern Munich look destined to lock up home court advantage throughout the post-seaon - I know it’s early - after blasting past Oettinger Rockets 98-59 for their 10th straight win. Erfurt trailed by just one point in the third quarter and then Bayern dropped a 21-3 run to finish the quarter and then allowed just seven points in the fourth in improving to 13-1 in first place. Reggie Redding had 15 points in pacing six Bayern players in double figures including Milan Macvan picking up 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Erfurt dropped their third straight despite 16 points, five rebounds and four assists from Retin Obasohan in falling to 2-11 in 17th place.
1Q @OettiRockets vs. #FCBB 16-25. Bitte mehr davon, @j1flight! #FCBB-Topscorer bisher: @DevinBooker31 5, #Barthel 5, @RRedding15 4, #Macvan 4 pic.twitter.com/3SZwkn3BLK
— FC Bayern Basketball (@fcb_basketball) December 17, 2017
Ludwigsburg hold Bayreuth to season-low 47 points
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg put on an impressive defensive showing in rolling past medi bayreuth 78-47 to return to the winning column. Ludwigsburg, who last week had their six-game winning streak snapped, led 23-11 after 10 minutes and gave up just 11 points in the second and third quarters as well. The 47 points were the fewest in a game this season after FC Bayern Munich held Telekom Baskets Bonn to 50 points in a 78-50 win on December 1. It is the fewest points in an easyCredit BBL game since Brose Bamberg’s 85-45 win over WALTER Tigers Tübingen in Round 3 of last season on October 10, 2016. Dwayne Evans scored a season-high 16 points while Justin Sears added 15 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for Ludwigsburg, who are 9-2 and in third place after their fourth straight home victory. Bayreuth, who got 13 points from Robin Amaize and made just 3-of-21 three-pointers, dropped to 9-4 in fifth place. Bayreuth did see Egyptian international center Assem Marei return after missing two and a half months and he scored 10 points with eight rebounds.
Wie gemalt: Dwayne Evans mit dem gedunkten Buzzerbeater. Yeahhhhh pic.twitter.com/o1vyPOzLTM
— MHP RIESEN (@MHP_RIESEN) December 16, 2017
Ulm run win streak to seven games with win over slumping Würzburg
ratiopharm ulm continued their roll in the easyCredit BBL with a hard-fought 72-69 home victory over slumping s.Oliver Würzburg. Da’Sean Butler proved to be the game winner with a big jumper and two free throws in the final 1:18 minutes while Per Günther nailed a career high-six three-pointers in scoring 22 points. Isaac Fotu added 16 points in helping Ulm grab their seventh straight win to move to 8-5 in eighth place. Würzburg have lost seven of their last eight games and fallen to 6-7 in 10th place. Kresimir Loncar had 22 points but Robin Benzing scored just eight points - none in the first half.
LIVE: Avanciert @TheDaSeanButler für @ratiopharmulm zum Matchwinner? Vier Punkte in Folge in der Crunchtime! #easyCreditBBL #weareone pic.twitter.com/ltabHJgvQZ
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 16, 2017
Bonn finally win on the road again - beat Göttingen
Telekom Baskets Bonn picked up their first road victory since October 29 in beating BG Göttingen 91-65. Tomislav Zubcic picked up 19 points in 17 minutes as Bonn used a 14-0 run in the third quarter to take control of the game. Bonn are now 8-5 in seventh place. Göttingen lost their fourth consecutive to fall to 15th place at 4-10.
FINAL 65:91
— Telekom Baskets Bonn (@TelekomBaskets) December 16, 2017
Statement vor dem Gang in die BBL-Weihnachtspause!@TomislavZubcic7 gibt den Topscorer mit 19pts (9/9 FW).#2ndToNone pic.twitter.com/sQe8Dm9ZFd
Short-handed Frankfurt have enough to beat Berlin at home
FRAPORT SKYLINERS are having so many personnel problems that they even had to cancel two practices this week. But it didn’t show as they had enough manpower to beat ALBA BERLIN at home 90-84 for their third win in a row. Tai Webster tallied 10 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter for Frankfurt, who improved to 9-4 in fourth place. New returnee AJ English added 17 points in his first game and Quantez Robertson did his best Swiss Army knife impression with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and six steals. SKYLINERS were missing Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann, Richard Freudenberg, Shawn Huff, Niklas Kiel and All-Star Phil Scrubb. Berlin had their three-game winning streak snapped in falling to 10-4 in second place - a half-game ahead of MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg, who are 9-2 with three fewer games played. Luke Sikma had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
LIVE: @GivMeSome_Mo krönt den 12:0-Lauf der @skyliners1999 auf ganz autoritäre Art - und packt Luke Sikma aufs Poster. #easyCreditBBL pic.twitter.com/moLo92dNsi
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 17, 2017
Frankfurt bring back AJ English
FRAPORT SKYLINERS reacted to their injury concerns by bringing back AJ English. The 25-year-old American combo guard signed a contract until the end of the first half of the season in mid-January with an option until the end of the following 2018-19 season. English played until mid-November with French top flight side CSP Limoges, averaging 5.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Last season he averaged 17.6 points, 41 assists and 2.9 rebounds for Frankfurt in 17 games. And he got SKYLINERS at least one victory at the buzzer.
Bryant flashes former MVP self with near triple-double in Giessen win
Former two-time MVP John Bryant nearly picked up a triple-double in leading GIESSEN 46ers to a 96-85 victory on the road against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. Giessen led 30-16 after 10 minutes and never looked back in improving to 6-7 in 11th place. Bryant had 27 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists and two blocks while Mahir Agva had a career-high 18 points. It was Giessen’s first road win since October 13. Braunschweig dropped their second straight despite 25 points from Thomas Klepeisz and 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block from Scott Eatherton. Braunschweig are now 5-8 in 14th place.
Jena beat Tübingen to snap losing streak
Science City Jena snapped a three-game losing streak in picking up a tough 74-69 home victory over WALTER Tigers Tübingen. Jena led by 15 points early in the second half and were never challenged after that. Derrick Allen had 15 points and Brandon Spearman added 13 points for Jena, who are 13th in the league at 5-8. Tübingen dropped to 1-12 after grabbing their first win of the season last week. Reggie Upshaw had 16 points and seven rebounds and Barry Stewart added 14 points and seven rebounds for Tübingen, who made just 2-of-21 three-pointers.
LIVE: Was lange währt, wird endlich gut: Nach 26 Minuten bricht @TheRealJulius11 den Bann und trifft den ersten Dreier des Spiels für @basketsjena. #easyCreditBBL pic.twitter.com/qgTaNmdpyx
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 17, 2017
Jena give 35-year-old head coach Harmsen a permanent contract
Science City Jena made major headlines this week as they gave head coach Björn Harmsen a permanent contract. The 35-year-old Göttingen native guided Jena to promotion to the easyCredit BBL in 2007 - as a 24-year-old. He was released from the club in February 2008 and coached three seasons in Germany’s top flight with Mitteldeutscher BC and GIESSEN 46ers until 2012. After taking a season off, Jena brought Harmsen back in 2013 in the ProA and he helped the team back up to the easyCredit BBL in 2016. In January 2016, Harmsen extended his contract until 2018. And the club decided to keep him on open-ended.
MBC win overtime thriller at Bremerhaven
Promoted Mitteldeutscher BC won a big game in their fight to stay in the easyCredit BBL by winning 82-79 in overtime at Eisbären Bremerhaven. MBC gave up a 15-point third quarter lead but ended up winning in the extra session, thanks to two big three-pointers by Marcus Hatten, who had 15 points total. Lamont Jones scored 21 points to pace five MBC players in double figures. MBC have won two in a row and are 12th at 5-8. Bremerhaven, who got 18 points from Jordan Hulls, dropped to 2-11 in 16th place.
LIVE: Zwei Hände für die Sicherheit! David Brembley blockt und für @Momo_Jones10 wird's ganz dunkel! #easyCreditBBL pic.twitter.com/A2e6UtkJOM
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 15, 2017
Müller let go in Bamberg, signs in Göttingen, who release Simon
There was movement with German reserve guards as Brose Bamberg released 23-year-old Malik Müller, who didn’t have to wait long for a new spot as he landed with BG Göttingen. Müller, who averaged 2.0 points in six games with Bamberg, signed with Göttingen until the end of the season. The arrival of Müller meant the end in Göttingen for Nicolai Simon. The 30-year-old averaged 1.2 points this season with the team in 10 games.
Oldenburg release Bryon Allen
EWE Baskets Oldenburg also made a move as they and shooting guard Bryon Allen agreed to part ways. The 25-year-old was Oldenburg’s top scorer at 16.3 points to go with 4.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Shortly before his departure, Allen had been suspended by head coach Mladen Drijencic.
Player of the Week
John Bryant had his best game of the season for GIESSEN 46ers against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig as he looked like a former two-time easyCredit BBL MVP in collecting 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting and 6-of-10 free throws with 15 rebounds, nine assists, two blocks and two turnovers for an efficiency of 39. That efficiency is the best ranking of the season in the league and Bryant was just one assist short of the first triple-double since May 1, 2010.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Per Günther, ratiopharm ulm
Günther set a career high as he nailed six three-pointers in scoring a team-high 22 points for Ulm in their win over s.Oliver Würzburg. Günther also picked up two rebounds and three assists.
LIVE: @GuntherPer trifft seinen 6. Dreier und stellt seinen Karrierebestwert ein! #easyCreditBBL #weareone pic.twitter.com/HR5g8GSllV
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 16, 2017
G: Robin Amaize, medi bayreuth
Amaize came off the bench to score a team-high 13 points to go with four rebounds against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.
F: Fabian Bleck, Eisbären Bremerhaven
Bleck was two points shy of his career high has he scored 12 points against Mitteldeutscher BC while also picking up six rebounds and one steal.
F: Mahir Agva, GIESSEN 46ers
A former regular in the Young Guns section, the 21-year-old Agva picked up a career high 18 points to go with six rebounds, one assist and one steal against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig.
C: Danilo Barthel/Maik Zirbes, FC Bayern Munich
Okay, let’s cheat a little bit this week and combine Barthel and Zirbes for one spot. Barthel collected 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal in 18 minutes against Oettinger Rockets while Zirbes had 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 19 minutes.
LIVE: Bei -26 bieten sich solche Wortspiele weniger an, aber dieser Driving-Dunk ist wirklich Amaize-ing. #easyCreditBBL pic.twitter.com/yNJscGr2oi
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 16, 2017
Young Guns
Garei Zeeb, 20, PG, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Zeeb took advantage of some major injury problems and scored a career high nine points against ALBA BERLIN. The 20-year-old Zeeb started the game and played 23:11 minutes, making 3-of-9 shots, including 1-of-6 three-pointers, and 2-of-2 free throws and adding one assist and one steal.
Andreas Obst, 21, SG, Oettinger Rockets
Obst has been a solid player all year for Erfurt and he picked up eight points, one rebound and two assists in a blowout loss against FC Bayern Munich.
Bjarne Kraushaar, 18, PG, GIESSEN 46ers
Kraushaar played in the easyCredit BBL for the first time in a month and scored a career high eight points with two three-pointers, two rebounds and two assists in a career-high 13:13 minutes against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig.
Starkes erstes Viertel von Garai. Hier drei seiner sieben Punkte - 21:22 nach Q1 pic.twitter.com/iVNCHucOyy
— FRAPORT SKYLINERS (@skyliners1999) December 17, 2017
Bonga Watch
Isaac Bonga was not especially effective shooting the ball but he still helped his team FRAPORT SKYLINERS in plenty of ways to beat ALBA BERLIN. The 18-year-old Bonga played 34:07 minutes off the bench and even though he made just 1-of-5 shots from the field he scored nine points, hitting 7-of-8 free throws. He also collected seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block with just one turnover.
Germans Abroad
Isaiah Hartenstein has started the last two G-League games for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and against the Austin Spurs he scored a team-high 16 points including two three-pointers to go with eight rebounds, one assist and one block.
Isaiah Hartenstein started for the Vipers in the last two games. Against the Austin Spurs he led the team with 16 points. pic.twitter.com/TfrK0sRJkq
— Manuel Baraniak (@manuel_baraniak) December 18, 2017
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