– David Hein
FC Bayern Munich have won back-to-back easyCredit BBL titles as they swept ALBA BERLIN 3-0 with two wins this week. There was plenty of news off the court as Brose Bamberg named Roel Moors as their new head coach, Gerry Blakes will be a replacement for the departing Frantz Massenat at EWE Baskets Oldenburg and FRAPORT SKYLINERS lock up another young talent long-term with Richard Freudenberg’s 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:
Bayern too much in overtime, repeat as easyCredit BBL champs
FC Bayern Munich repeated their easyCredit BBL title as they swept ALBA BERLIN 3-0 in the Finals with a 93-88 victory in overtime in Game 3 to celebrate in front of their home fans. The championship was the fifth in club history following back-to-back crowns in 1954 and 1955 and the trophy in 2014. Berlin have eight league titles but none since 2008 with four runners-up finishes since then. Berlin dominated the first three quarters of Game 3, leading 46-32 at halftime and the gap was 61-50 after 30 minutes. But Bayern fought their way back into the game thanks to their three-point shooting and tied the game on a three-ball from Vladimir Lucic with 42 seconds left. The game went to overtime and the champs proved too much with Derrick Williams converting a big put-back to make it 86-80 and Finals MVP Nihad Djedovic brought it home from the free throw line. Lucic led Bayern with 23 points while Djedovic picked up 18 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, Danilo Barthel scored 15 points and Stefan Jovic added 12 points and 5 assists. Bayern overcame 21 turnovers thanks to shooting 53.6 percent for the game. Berlin were held to 46.2 percent shooting with 18 turnovers. Peyton Siva paced Berlin with 21 points and 5 assists while Johannes Thiemann scored 13 points off the bench and Niels Giffey chipped in 10 points in a reserve role. The other four Berlin starters combined for 26 points.
Fourth quarter run gets Bayern road win, decisive 2-0 lead
FC Bayern Munich moved within one win of back-to-back league crowns as they fought back for an 82-77 victory at ALBA BERLIN for a decisive 2-0 lead in the Finals. Bayern used an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter to open a 10-point lead. Berlin fought back into the game and Franz Wagner nailed a three-pointer with 13 seconds left to cut the gap to 78-77. But Petteri Koponen and Vladimir Lucic both hit two free throws in the final 12 seconds to secure the victory. Devin Booker led the way with 16 points and 7 rebounds while Derrick Williams (12 points), Koponen (11 points) and Leon Radosevic (10 points) all scored in double figures off the bench for Bayern, who committed only 9 turnovers. Berlin out-rebounded Bayern 33-25, including 12 offensive rebounds but the hosts committed 13 turnovers. The 17-year-old Wagner hit all six of his shots in scoring 14 points, which Rokas Giedraitis matched those 14 points to pace Berlin. Landry Nnoko chipped in 10 points and 11 rebounds but Peyton Siva and Luke Sikma were held to a combined 13 points on 3-of-12 shooting.
Players of the Weeks
FC Bayern Munic won both Games 2 and 3 to take the title and both top player honors went to Bayern leaders. Devin Booker was the top man in Game 2 with an efficiency of 25 thanks to 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting to go with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and just 1 turnover. Game 3’s top player was Vladimir Lucic with a 25 efficiency as he collected 23 points on 7-of-8 shooting and 5-of-8 free throws, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 1 turnover.
Bamberg named Moors head coach, part ways with Alexander
The remaking of Brose Bamberg continues as the club has handed over the coaching reins to Roel Moors. The 40-year-old Belgian playcaller joins the nine-time German champions on a two-year contract. Moors guided Telnet Giants Antwerp to the Basketball Champions League Final Four last season and helped the team win the Belgian cup. Moors played many years as a point guard for many teams in Belgium and France, playing more than 100 games for the Belgian national team before retiring in 2015. Moors will not have the services of big man Cliff Alexander as the club used their option on the center.
LIVE-VIDEO: Die Offense des @fcb_basketball im zweiten Viertel kurz zusammengefasst: @DevinBooker31 ➡???? Zur Pause liegt @albaberlin aber knapp mit 46:45 vorn. #PlayoffsBaby pic.twitter.com/wOERsKQnmH
— #PlayoffsBaby (@easyCreditBBL) June 19, 2019
Oldenburg add Blakes, bid farewell to Massenat
EWE Baskets Oldenburg bid farewell to one of the pillars of their last three seasons in seeing Frantz Massenat leave the club while adding his successor in Gerry Blakes. The 25-year-old Blakes signed a two-year deal with Oldenburg after playing last season in Italy with Pallacanestro Cantu. Oldenburg like Blakes’ athleticism, drive to the basket as well as his shooting range. Blakes has big shoes to fill as Massenat became a fan favorite over his three years in northern Germany. It’s still unclear where Massenat, who arrived in Oldenburg from SYNTAINICS MBC, will play next season.
Freudenberg the latest young German to extend deals with Frankfurt
FRAPORT SKYLINERS locked up their next young German talent as they agreed to a contract extension with Richard Freudenberg until 2022. The 20-year-old wing had a contract for next season but Frankfurt added two more years plus an option for an additional campaign. Freudenberg averaged 5.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 22 games. His extension follows Frankfurt locking up long term Leon Kratzer and Niklas Kiel.
Hamburg keep major power forward Beech
Hamburg Towers kept a major part of their promotion season as they signed Beau Beech for the 2019-20 season. The 25-year-old power forward averaged 12.6 points and 6.3 rebounds last year in the ProA.
Braunschweig add Lawson, see Lansdowne among quartet to depart
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig saw a good amount of player movement as they look to build a roster to get back into the playoffs, adding Joe Lawson III while seeing DeAndre Lansdowne among a quartet of players leaving the team. The 26-year-old Lawson arrives in Braunschweig from HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim on a one-year contract. He collected 10.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 steals last season. Braunschweig will have to put together a new team as Lansdowne will be leaving the club as well as Shaquille Hines, Joe Rahon and Brayon Blake. Braunschweig had hoped to extend their deals with Lansdowne and Hines.
Würzburg add next piece with wing Sheehey
s.Oliver Würzburg added another piece for next season with acquisition of wing Will Sheehey. The 27-year-old American arrives in Germany after averaging 19.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists with Portuguese top flight side FC Porto. Sheehey will join forces again with Jordan Hulls, with whom he played between 2010 and 2013 at Indiana University.
MBC keep Novak and Turudic
SYNTAINICS MBC kept two key players from last season as they are bringing back point guard Jovan Novak and center Benedikt Turudic. After the club had already extended with Sergio Kerusch, MBC will have the 24-year-old Novak back for another season. The Serbian collected 11.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.2 steals in helping MBC avoid relegation. MBC also locked up the 22-year-old big man Turudic for two more seasons. He averaged 5.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in about 13 minutes a game in 2018-19.
Bayreuth bring James Robinson back, add Grüttner Bacoul
medi bayreuth brought back a former player as they signed point guard James Robinson while also extending their German rotation with the addition of Joanic Grüttner Bacoul. Robinson played last season in Israel with Bnei Herzlia after the 25-year-old had averaged 9.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists with Bayreuth in 2017-18. The 23-year-old Grüttner Bacoul meanwhile comes to Bayreuth from BG Göttingen after averaging 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds in 10 minutes.
Crailsheim add Bremerhaven captain Bleck, wing Morgan
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim continue to shape their roster for next season with the additions of Fabian Bleck and Jeremy Morgan. The 26-year-old Bleck comes to Crailsheim from Eisbären Bremerhaven, where he played four years and served as the team’s captain. The forward signed on a one-year contract after averaging 6.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists for Bremerhaven. Crailsheim also added a wing with the signing of Morgan, who collected 12.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists last season with Finnish top flight side Kouvot Kouvola.
Ludwigsburg sign young German talent Caisin for three years
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg made a big signing for the future of the club as they secured German youth national team player Radii Caisin for three seasons. The 18-year-old Caisin comes to Ludwigsburg from Artland Dragons and will likely play in the U19 NBBL and the easyCredit BBL.
easyCredit BBL does not give license to Nürnberg Falcons
The easyCredit BBL will likely only have 17 teams for the 2019-20 season as the league did not grant a license to ProA runners-up Nürnberg Falcons. The club was initially denied a licence but called for an appeal hearing, which also ended up ruling against Nürnburg. There is still a chance that another club can pay for a wild card to play next season in the easyCredit BBL.
Bamberg and Vechta will play next season in Basketball Champions League
There will be at least two German clubs in the Basketball Champions League next season as Brose Bamberg and RASTA Vechta were given spots in the league’s Regular Season. Telekom Baskets Bonn also have a chance to get into the BCL as they will play in the Qualification Round 2 in a two-leg series to get one of the final 32 spots. FC Bayern Munich and ALBA BERLIN will both play in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague while the fields for the 7DAYS EuroCup and FIBA Europe Cup are not yet known.
Obiesie, Krämer, Mason go undrafted
The three Germans in the 2019 NBA Draft went undrafted as Joshua Obiesie of s.Oliver Würzburg, ratiopharm ulm’s David Krämer and Makai Mason of Baylor did not have their names called.
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