– David Hein
EWE Baskets Oldenburg downed ALBA BERLIN in what amounts to a dress re-hearsal of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup final while FC Bayern Mu-nich snapped s.Oliver Würzburg’s modest three-game winning streak. This week also saw league leading scorer Zoran Dragic leave ratiopharm ulm for Spain and Telekom Baskets Bonn fire head coach Thomas Päch.
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:
Oldenburg beat Berlin in dress rehearsal of German Cup final
EWE Baskets Oldenburg defeated ALBA BERLIN 93-88 at home in a dress rehearsal for the final of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup (Highlights). Oldenburg used a 19-2 run to build an 18-point lead late in the third quarter and watched Berlin trim the gap to 85-81 before winning their fifth game in the last six to move to 11-6. Berlin, who will host the cup final on February 16, have lost two of three games in falling to 11-4. Oldenburg connected on 66.7 percent from two-point range and committed only 9 turnovers. Rickey Paulding picked up 28 points and 5 rebounds, Tyler Larson scored 19 points and Rasid Mahalbasic collected 15 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists. Peyton Siva paced Berlin with 18 points and 6 assists, Martin Hermannsson had 17 points and 4 assists and Marcus Eriksson scored 15 points.
Bayern too strong in snapping Würzburg win streak
FC Bayern Munich proved too strong as the reigning champs snapped s.Oliver Würzburg’s winning streak with a 71-60 victory at home. Bayern gave up only 7 points in the first quarter but lost a 10-point lead in the second quarter and an 11-point advantage in the third quarter before taking the fourth quarter 22-10 to improve to 16-1. Würzburg saw their three-game winning streak end in falling to 10-7. Bayern shot 54.8 percent on two-pointers and made only 7-of-8 free throws but Würzburg only had 4-of-5 free throws and connected on only 40.7 percent from the floor. Paul Zipser paced Bayern with 18 points and Nihad Djedovic collected 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Florian Koch was Würzburg’s top scorer with 13 points and Luke Fischer picked up 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
Ludwigsburg nearly blow big lead, hold on to stay perfect at home
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg nearly wasted a 26-point lead but held on for an 85-78 victory over RASTA Vechta to remain undefeated at home. The hosts built the big lead in the third quarter and watched as Vechta trimmed it to four points in the closing minutes before moving to 13-4 with a perfect 9-0 mark at home. Vechta have lost two in a row and are 10-7. Ludwigsburg shot just 36.6 percent from the field but made 22-of-25 free throws and committed only 6 turnovers while grabbing 14 offensive rebounds to 7 for Vecta, who made 12-of-20 free throws for 60.0 percent. Nick Weiler-Babb hit 5 three-pointers in scoring 19 points with Khadeen Carrington picking up 17 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and Cameron Jackson adding 17 points and 6 rebounds. Josh Young scored 15 points with 4 assists for Vechta and Steve Vasturia had 13 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists.
Crailsheim not challenged in home win over Bonn
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim continued their strong season with a convincing 85-66 home victory over Telekom Baskets Bonn. Crailsheim built a 20-point lead in the third quarter and were never challenged in winning their fifth game in the last six for an 11-6 record while Bonn have dropped two in a row for a 3-14 mark. Crailsheim committed only 10 turnovers and held Bonn to 4-of-14 on three-pointers for 28.6 percent and forced 17 turnovers. DeWayne Russell paced Crailsheim with 25 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals while Fabian Bleck scored 15 points with 4 rebounds and Javontae Hawkins added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Bonn’s leading scorer was Branden Frazier with 14 points and Martin Breunig had 12 points.
BBL problems result in Bonn firing head coach Päch
Telekom Baskets Bonn’s struggles in the easyCredit BBL ended up costing Thomas Päch his job as the rookie head coach was fired after the team’s loss at HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. Bonn have dropped two in a row for a 3-14 mark and rank 16th in the league. The fact that Bonn have qualified for the Basketball Champions League playoffs with an 8-5 record was not enough for the 37-year-old Päch to save his job. Assistant coach Chris O’Shea will take over as head coach for the final BCL game against PAOK after which a new head coach is expected to be announced.
Harris carries Bamberg to home victory over Frankfurt
Brose Bamberg remained in the playoff ranks with an 87-76 home victory over FRAPORT SKYLINERS thanks in large part to Elias Harris. The Bamberg captain scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and Paris Lee’s three-pointer gave the hosts a nine-point lead with 73 seconds left to secure the win, Bamberg’s second straight to make it 10-7. Frankfurt have lost three in a row and six of seven in falling to 5-12. Bamberg shot 52.6 percent from the floor and forced 18 Frankfurt turnovers. In addition to his 25 points, Harris added 5 rebounds and 7 assists off the bench and Tre McLean scored 13 points. Quantez Robertson was Frankfurt’s main weapon with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals - eclipsing the 3,500 point mark in the easyCredit BBL - and Shaquille Hines scored 19 points.
Göttingen drain 17 trey in returning to winning ways
BG Göttingen drained 17 three-pointers in returning to their winning ways with a 107-95 home victory over SYNTAINICS MBC. Göttingen connected on 12-of-17 three-balls in the first half alone and scored 62 points in the first half before building a 23-point lead and winning their sixth in the last seven games to move to 8-9. MBC dropped their seventh straight game for a 2-15 record. Göttingen ended up shooting 54.8 percent from long range and hitting 28-of-32 free throws compared to 13-of-20 foul shots for MBC. Kyan Anderson led Göttingen with 26 points including 5 three-pointers and 5 assists while Dominic Lockhart scored a career-high 23 points with 6 three-pointers, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Kaza Kajami-Keane was MBC’s leading scorer with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals while fellow reserve Tremmell Darden scored 18 points and Jovan Novak picked up 17 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals in the loss.
Giessen prevail in shootout with Bayreuth
JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers used a balanced attack in picking up a 100-93 home victory over medi bayreuth. Giessen lost a 12-point third quarter lead but Luke Petrasek’s tip-in with 25 seconds left gave the hosts a five-point lead to secure the win - Giessen’s second straight for a 6-10 record. Bayreuth have lost two of their last three to fall to 7-10. Giessen shot 54.5 percent from the field and 16-of-18 free throws for 88.9 percent while committing only 5 turnovers. Bayreuth turned it over only six times but shot 45.2 percent for the game including 32.3 percent on three-pointers. Six Giessen players scored in double figures, paced by Petrasek with 25 points including 5 threes, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Stephen Brown added 19 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists and 2 steals in the win. James Robinson paced Bayreuth with 21 points and 5 assists off the bench and Andi Seiferth tallied 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
Ulm lose Zoran Dragic to Spanish side Baskonia
ratiopharm ulm lost their top star Zoran Dragic as the easyCredit BBL’s leading scorer signed with Spanish side Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz until the end of the season. Dragic had helped Ulm to a 9-7 record in the league, including three straight wins and six in the last seven games.
Hamburg add final reinforcements with guard Demarcus Holland
Hamburg Towers have made their final roster addition for the season as they signed Demarcus Holland. The 24-year-old joins Hamburg after playing for Finnish top flight side BC Nokia. The Towers, who are 15th in the league with a 3-13 record, hope Holland can help the team’s perimeter defense.
Ulm host Braunschweig in final Round 18 game
The other Round 18 game will be played on February 14 when ratiopharm ulm host Basketball Löwen Braunschweig.
Player of the Week
The Player of the Week honor this week goes to Luke Petrasek of JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers after he collected 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting including 5-of-7 three-pointers and 4-of-4 free throws, 6 rebounds and 3 assists for an efficiency of 31 against medi bayreuth.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Dominic Lockhart, BG Göttingen
Lockhart played a major role in Göttingen’s win over SYNTAINICS MBC with a career high 23 points including 6-of-8 three-pointers, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
F: Paul Zipser, FC Bayern Munich
Zipser is back on the Top Five of the Week after he collected 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block for Bayern against s.Oliver Würzburg.
F: Fabian Bleck, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim
Bleck helped Crailsheim knock off Telekom Baskets Bonn with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block.
F: Elias Harris, Brose Bamberg
Harris came off the Bamberg bench and scored 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 7-of-10 free throws to go with 5 rebounds and 7 assists against FRAPORT SKYLINERS. The Bamberg captain tallied 13 points in the fourth quarter.
C: Andi Seiferth, medi bayreuth
Seiferth did all he could but he couldn’t keep Bayreuth from losing to JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers as the center tallied 19 points on 7-of-9 shots and 5-of-5 free throws, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
Young Guns
Philipp Herkenhoff, 20, PF, RASTA Vechta
Herkenhoff picked up 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting including 2-of-4 three-pointers and 1 rebound against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.
Bjarne Kraushaar, 20, PG, JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers
Kraushaar collected 5 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block in 17:14 minutes in Giessen’s win over medi bayreuth.
Mateo Seric, 20, PF, Brose Bamberg
Seric scored a season-high 8 points for Bamberg on 3-of-5 shots and 2-of-2 free throws against FRAPORT SKYLINERS.
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— FC Bayern Basketball (@fcb_basketball) February 2, 2020
Mattisseck Check
Jonas Mattisseck could not really help ALBA BERLIN from losing at EWE Baskets Oldenburg as the point guard, who turned 20 on January 16, went scoreless in 7:41 minutes as a starter, missing all three of his three-point shots.
Germans Abroad
Lars Thiemann tied his season high with 8 points on 4-of-4 shots and 4 rebounds for University of California, Berkeley in a loss against Oregon. For the season, the 19-year-old former Bayer Giants Leverkusen prospect is averaging 3.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.8 minutes in 19 games.
