– David Hein
FC Bayern Munich jumped atop the standings in the easyCredit BBL with a victory at ALBA BERLIN, and MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg matched Bayern with a fourth straight win for third place. But the German basketball world was rocked and mourns the way-too-early death of Matthias Grothe.
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:
Bayern down Berlin, jump to first place
There is a new easyCredit BBL league leader after FC Bayern Munich downed ALBA BERLIN in the nation’s capital 80-70 to jump to the top of the standings. Bayern used a 12-0 run in the third quarter to take control of the game and book their fourth straight win for a 7-1 record. Nihad Djedovic paced five Bayern players in double figures with 14 points. Munich forced 18 Berlin turnovers and committed just 11 in the win, which snapped ALBA’s six-game winning streak and dropped them to 7-2 in second place. Peyton Siva led the way for Berlin with 21 points.
Braydon #Hobbs findet Danilo #Barthel für den Slam! 72-57 für den #FCBB und noch 7 Min. zu spielen. #FCBB_live pic.twitter.com/DdhuySjYTS
— FC Bayern Basketball (@fcb_basketball) November 5, 2017
Ludwigsburg win fourth straight, hand Rockets fourth loss in a row
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg share the longest winning streak with FC Bayern Munich at four games after easing past Oettinger Rockets 94-54. Ludwigsburg, who moved to 6-1 for third place, jumped ahead 29-7 after 10 minutes and dominated Rockets on the boards with 51 rebounds to 28 while forcing 21 Oettinger turnovers. Florian Koch came off the bench and hit a career-high six three-pointers in scoring 22 points for Ludwigsburg while Dwayne Evans picked up a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Oettinger Rockets lost their fourth straight game to move to 1-7 in 17th place despite Retin Obasohan going for 17 points and 10 rebounds.
LIVE: Thomas Walkup von den @MHP_RIESEN macht den Zimmermann und nagelt das Leder eindrucksvoll ans Brett #easyCreditBBL pic.twitter.com/toHElLNCpI
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) November 5, 2017
Webster goes wild as Frankfurt return to winning ways
Rookie Tai Webster went wild with 31 points in leading FRAPORT SKYLINERS to a 93-82 victory at home over EWE Baskets Oldenburg to return to their winning ways and move to 6-2 for fourth place. Webster also had 11 rebounds and four assists while Philip Scrubb added 22 points and five assists. Oldenburg got 18 points from Mickey McConnell but they were not enough in dropping to 5-3 in sixth place.
So sieht Frankfurter Basketball aus! 52:42 zur Halbzeit-pause. Die zweite Halbzeit gibt es LIVE auf TelekomSport.de pic.twitter.com/O5Awn11UZI
— FRAPORT SKYLINERS (@skyliners1999) November 5, 2017
Bayreuth grab overtime win at Bremerhaven
medi bayreuth needed overtime to get past Eisbären Bremerhaven 103-99 for their second straight win while handing Bremerhaven their sixth loss in a row. James Robinson scored 23 points to lead Bayreuth, who moved to 6-2 for fifth place, while Gabe York added 21 points and both Andi Seiferth and De’Mon Brooks had 17 points. Jordan Hulls and Johnny Berhanemeskel combined for 41 points and 13 assists for Bremerhaven, who dropped to 1-7 for 16th place.
Jordy mit drei wichtigen Punkten für die Eisbären! Aber Bayreuth lässt sich bislang nicht abschütteln. Noch 10 Minuten zu spielen. pic.twitter.com/5sZg3BIZhy
— Eisbären Bremerhaven (@Die_Eisbaeren) November 5, 2017
Bamberg end losing streak with big game by Wright
Brose Bamberg roared back to the winning column with a 94-68 blowout on the road against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. Dorell Wright collected 20 points and six rebounds in just 15 minutes of action for Bamberg, who moved back into the playoff ranks in eighth place with a 4-3 record after snapping a two-game losing streak. Ricky Hickman added 16 points in 18 minutes for Bamberg. Braunschweig watched Bamberg pull away with a 27-13 second quarter in seeing their two-game winning streak broken. Anthony Morse had 12 points and eight rebounds to pace Braunschweig, who are 3-5 in 14th place.
LIVE From coast to coast! @DWRIGHTWAY1 #Basketballherz pic.twitter.com/FglKvfbOBA
— Brose Bamberg (@BroseBamberg) November 4, 2017
Ulm finally win first road game, Tübingen still winless
ratiopharm ulm finally grabbed their first road victory of the season in winning the Swabian derby at WALTER Tigers Tübingen 81-74. Ulm trailed the entire first three quarters by as many as 13 points and finally took the lead in the fourth quarter and never gave it up. Luke Harangody came off the bench to lead Ulm with 20 points and seven rebounds while Da’Sean Butler nailed five three-pointers in scoring 19 points as Ulm picked up their third win in the last four games for a 3-5 record for 13th place. Tübingen remained the league’s only winless team at 0-8 in wasting a great showing by Reggie Upshaw, who collected 29 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.
LIVE: Steal, Dunk, Momentum-Swing? @toure_murry bringt @ratiopharmulm mit +5 in Führung! #easyCreditBBL #weareone pic.twitter.com/XVgELoWL0N
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) November 4, 2017
Jena come back from 18 points down, beat Bonn at home
Science City Jena came back from an 18-point deficit to beat Telekom Baskets Bonn at home 73-69. Jena trailed 43-25 at halftime but took the second half 48-26 in moving to 3-5 for 12th place. Derrick Allen scored 20 points to pace Jena, who out-scored Bonn 21-9 in the third quarter. Bonn were able to regain the lead in the fourth quarter but gave it back up in losing for the third time in the last four games for a 4-3 record in ninth place. Nemanja Djurisic led Bonn with 14 points.
LIVE: @TheRealJG45 setzt den Schlusspunkt auf einen 11:0-Lauf der @TelekomBaskets - per Buzzerbeater. #easyCreditBBL #2ndToNone pic.twitter.com/iO72csrSOJ
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) November 4, 2017
Giessen win fourth in five games, eclipse 100-point mark again
Don’t look now but GIESSEN 46ers have won four of their last five games after beating Mitteldeutscher BC 107-99. Austin Hollins scored 24 points as Giessen have won three straight at home to move to 4-4 in 10th place. Dee Davis added 20 points and 10 assists while John Bryant chipped in 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks. MBC trailed by 18 points in the fourth quarter before a 14-4 run trimmed the gap to 101-97. But it was not enough. Djordje Drenovac had 20 points and six assists as MBC dropped their third game in the last four in falling to 3-5 for 15th place.
Lockhart mit dem wunderschönen Zug zum Korb! Jetzt live auf Telekomsport.de #veilchenimblut pic.twitter.com/N6c8srghst
— BG Göttingen (@BGGoettingen) November 4, 2017
Marei out at least eight weeks, Bayreuth bring back McCrea
medi bayreuth lost their leading scorer and rebounder Assem Marei for at least eight weeks with a calf injury and have acted quickly in bringing back former big man Javon McCrea. Marei, who was averaging 16.9 points and 8.3 rebounds, suffered the muscle injury during Bayreuth’s home game against GIESSEN 46ers. McCrea, who played for Bayreuth in 2014-15 and was named to the All-Star Game that season, has been signed on a contract until the end of December. McCrea had been dealing with an ankle injury earlier this season.
Report: Kiel back at Skyliners practice, “back among living”
Niklas Kiel has returned to FRAPORT SKYLINERS practice, according to a report in the Frankfurter Rundschau, which says he is only going through individual training after missing seven weeks due to a concussion. The report said Kiel was hit in the chin by a Mike Morrison elbow on September 12. The 20-year-old was diagnosed with a concussion and told to rest in darkness, not to watch TV or read anything. He was able to listen to audio books. After seven weeks, Kiel returned to Frankfurt’s practice facility and said: “I am back among the living.” It’s unclear when Kiel will be able to play again. Head coach Gordon Herbert had feared he might be out until February. It’s great to see Niklas Kiel “back among the living” and hopefully back on the court soon.
Trends continue: Göttingen win again, Würzburg lose again
Two trends continued in BG Göttingen’s 81-74 victory over s.Oliver Würzburg - Göttingen won their third straight game and Würzburg lost for the third straight time. Brion Rush scored 21 points and Michael Stockton added 20 points and eight assists to lead Göttingen, who improved to 3-5 for 11th place. Robin Benzing tallied 23 points to lead Würzburg, who dropped to seventh place at 5-3 after three straight losses.
Gute Nachricht von Niklas Kiel: Zurück im Training, 1. Einsatz noch ungewiss https://t.co/DU3gQvSLdg
— Pulsatilla (@Pulsatilla95) November 6, 2017
Hackett out up to four weeks for Bamberg
More injury news as reigning champions Brose Bamberg will likely be without the Italian national team guard Daniel Hackett for up to four weeks. The 29-year-old playmaker suffered a calf injury in the EuroLeague game against Red Star Belgrade.
German basketball world mourns death of Matthias Grothe
Matthias Grothe was a legendary figure for basketball in Hagen, most recently as the appointed head coach of Phoenix Hagen. But now the basketball world can only mourn his death, as the 39-year-old passed way too early following a battle with cancer. Grothe played from 1998 to 2002 in the Bundesliga for Brandt Hagen and had been with Phoenix Hagen since its beginning in 2004. He was the team captain in 2009 when Phoenix Hagen were promoted to the easyCredit BBL. He retired in 2010 and the club retired his number 9 to the rafters. Grothe moved into the coaching profession and worked from 2010 to 2017 with Iserlohn Kangeroos as head coach in the Regionalliga West and helped the club to promotion to ProB in 2013-14. In February 2017, Grothe announced he would become the head coach of Phoenix Hagen starting this season. In September it was announced that Grothe would not be able to assume his role as head coach due to his fight with cancer. The illness eventually took him from the basketball world on October 31.
Matze, you will be missed!
R.I.P Matthias Grothe! A farewell piece on the ex @PhoenixHagen legend! https://t.co/9WdQCYSNGO and https://t.co/Zmz9CLE1kA
— MilesSchmidtScheuber (@SchmidtScheuber) October 31, 2017
Player of the Week
Tai Webster went wild for FRAPORT SKYLINERS against EWE Baskets Oldenburg to take Player of the Week honors, scoring 31 points on 10-of-14 shots and 8-of-10 free throws to go with 11 rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block for an efficiency of 38.
Young Guns
Louis Olinde, 19, SF, Brose Bamberg
The rout of Basketball Löwen Braunschweig meant some playing time for Olinde and the 19-year-old produced in his 6:20 minutes with three points on 3-of-4 free throws and two rebounds.
Benedikt Turudic, 20, PF, Mitteldeutscher BC
Turudic played in his fifth game for MBC and made his only field goal attempt and both free throws for four points to go along with two rebounds against GIESSEN 46ers.
Mahir Agva, 21, C, GIESSEN 46ers
Agva returned to a bigger part of the game with eight points - including one three-pointer - three rebounds, two assists and one steal in the victory over Mitteldeutscher BC.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Maodo Lo, Brose Bamberg
Lo helped Bamberg to a comfortable win over Basketball Löwen Braunschweig with 10 points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals.
LIVE: Unser Team heute treffsicher von Außen! 11 Dreier finden ihren Weg in den Korb. @maodolo12 #Basketballherz pic.twitter.com/f6mkQUhMBo
— Brose Bamberg (@BroseBamberg) November 4, 2017
F: Florian Koch, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
We’re going with a big line-up this week with Koch here as the long-time Telekom Baskets Bonn player nailed a career-high six three-pointers in tying his career high in points with 22 to go with three rebounds, one assist and two steals in 17:08 minutes off the bench against Oettinger Rockets.
Florian Koch ist "on fire"...12 Punkte in drei Minuten! W O W #ihrundwir pic.twitter.com/jttGYEFgFx
— MHP RIESEN (@MHP_RIESEN) November 5, 2017
F: Robin Benzing, s.Oliver Würzburg
Benzing once again had a strong game with 23 points, six rebounds, one assist and two blocks against BG Göttingen, but Würzburg lost their third straight game.
F: Till Gloger, Mitteldeutscher BC
Gloger broke out in a major way in his eighth easyCredit BBL game for MBC with 17 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block for an efficiency of 23 off the bench in a loss against GIESSEN 46ers.
C: Andi Seiferth, medi bayreuth
If it wasn’t for Till Gloger’s outstanding performance, this would have been a big man one-two punch of Seiferth and Johannes Wohlfarth-Bottermann (17 points, six rebounds and two blocks for FRAPORT SKYLINERS in a win over EWE Baskets Oldenburg). But we decided for Seiferth, who took over the loss of Assem Marei with 17 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Bonga Watch
Isaac Bonga celebrated being nominated for Germany’s senior national team preliminary roster with a solid showing for FRAPORT SKYLINERS in their win over EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Bonga, who will turn 18 on November 8, scored two points but also had five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block while also turning the ball over twice and picking up four fouls in 21:57 minutes for an efficiency of 8.
Quiet game for Isaac Bonga yesterday in front of 12 NBA scouts. Only 2 PTS but was aggressive on the boards, used his length, moved the ball pic.twitter.com/Si7FDcxTQd
— NBADraftProspects (@draftprosnba) November 6, 2017
Germans Abroad
Isaac Bonga is not the only teenager in Germany’s 19-man preliminary roster for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers as Isaiah Hartenstein was also on the list for Henrik Rödl’s team. Hartenstein made his debut in the NBA G-League with five points and nine rebounds for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers against the Oklahoma City Blue.
#ViperNation, meet one of the newest members of the team, 7-foot Forward Isaiah Hartenstein. Get your tickets now for the 2017-2018 season by calling 956.972.1144 or by visiting our website https://t.co/oWX5iHOztX#NBAGLeague #FeelTheVenom pic.twitter.com/Pg7ROBRRsc
— RGV Vipers (@RGVVipers) November 1, 2017
