– David Hein
This week saw RASTA Vechta knock off Brose Bamberg - again - while Telekom Baskets Bonn hired Will Voigt as their new head coach but then had to postpone their game against ratiopharm ulm because of Storm Sabine coming into Germany. The week also saw a number of big fourth quarters.
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:
Vechta use third quarter to beat Bamberg again
RASTA Vechta used a big third quarter to knock off Brose Bamberg 80-66 at home for their second win over Bamberg this season. Vechta started the third quarter with a 13-2 run and won the period 28-10 to collect their third win in the last four games for an 11-7 record. Bamberg saw their two-game winning streak snapped in falling to 10-8. Bamberg shot just 34.5 percent on three-pointers and committed 18 turnovers while hitting just 4-of-9 free throws compared to 21-of-25 free throws for Vechta. Trevis Simpson scored 23 points for Vechta and Josh Young hit for 13 points. Christian Sengfelder was Bamberg’s only player in double figures with 10 points.
Vechta extend Raffington until end of the season
RASTA Vechta and Justin Raffington have decided to extend their contract until the end of the season after the 28-year-old German center did a good job on his one month contract. Raffington was brought in because Vechta was dealing with a number of injuries to their German players.
Crailsheim roll on with OT thriller in Frankfurt
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim continued their run of strong play as they came back to defeat FRAPORT SKYLINERS 83-81 in overtime on the road. Frankfurt led by 14 points in the third quarter but watched Crailsheim go on an 8-0 run to force overtime, where DeWayne Russell hit the game-winner with 10 seconds left. Crailsheim have now won six of their last seven games to improve to 12-6. Frankfurt for their part have lost four in a row and for the sixth time at home this season to fall to 5-13. Crailsheim won the rebound battle 50-37 including 17 offensive rebounds and shot 65.6 percent on two-point shots while holding Frankfurt to just 36.4 percent on two-pointers. Aaron Jones paced Crailsheim with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks while Russell also scored 20 points and Sebastian Herrera had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Shaquille Hines paced Frankfurt with 29 points and 8 rebounds and Quantez Robertson contributed 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals.
Fourth quarter carries Berlin past Göttingen
ALBA BERLIN used a big fourth quarter to get past BG Göttingen 96-71 at home. Berlin took the final frame 28-11 to improve to 12-4 while Göttingen have dropped two of three to fall to 8-10. Berlin turned the ball over only nine times and held Göttingen to 43.3 percent from the field and made 22-of-25 free throws compared to 10-of-14 from the free throw line for Göttingen. Niels Giffey was Berlin’s top scorer with 17 points while Marcus Eriksson had 16 points and Rokas Giedraitis scored 14 points. Dylan Osetkowski was Göttingen’s only player in double figures with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Bayern not challenged by Giessen
FC Bayern Munich had a balanced effort in easing past JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers with a 94-75 home victory. Bayern led 47-32 at halftime and were never challenged in the second half and won their third straight - and 10th straight at home - in moving to 17-1. Giessen saw their two-game winning streak snapped in dropping to 6-11. Bayern shot 55.4 percent from the field while holding Giessen to 43.8 percent from the floor. Nihad Djedovic scored 15 points as one of five players in double figures along with Paul Zipser, who had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Brandon Thomas was top scorer for Giessen with 15 points and Matthew Tiby picked up 14 points and 8 rebounds.
Ludwigsburg need big fourth quarter to beat Hamburg
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg needed a big fourth quarter to come back to knock off Hamburg Towers 98-92 on the road. Hamburg were up by 13 points in the second quarter but watched as Ludwigsburg took the fourth quarter 33-17 to grab the win. Ludwigsburg snapped their three-game road losing streak in winning their fourth game in the last five to move to 14-4. Hamburg are still winless at home with their fifth straight loss overall in falling to 3-14. Hamburg shot just 23.8 percent on threes. Marcos Knight carried Ludwigsburg with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals while Khadeen Carrington poured in 21 points. Bogdan Radosavljevic hit for 25 points for Hamburg and Michael Carrera picked up 21 points and 7 rebounds.
Braunschweig pull away in fourth quarter for home win over Würzburg
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig came back from a 13-point deficit and pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 100-87 home victory over s.Oliver Würzburg. Würzburg were up by 13 points early in the second quarter but Braunschweig put together a 27-8 final 10 minutes for their second win in the last three games for a 7-9 record. Würzburg have lost two straight to fall to 10-8. Braunschweig held Würzburg to just 47.4 percent from two point range. Thomas Klepeisz paced Braunschweig with 22 points and 5 assists while Scott Eatherton picked up 21 points 10 rebounds and Karim Jallow chipped in 19 points. Skyler Bowlin was Würzburg’s top scorer with 17 points and Jordan Hulls added 15 points in the loss.
Bayreuth with strong showing at home over MBC
medi bayreuth came up with a strong performance in picking up a 104-86 home victory over last placed SYNTAINICS MBC. Bayreuth took over the game with a 33-15 second quarter for their fourth win in the last six games to move to 8-10. MBC have now lost eight straight for a 2-16 record. Bayreuth committed only four turnovers and won the rebound battle 43-34 and held MBC to 43.5 percent from the field. Bryce Alford paced Bayreuth with 20 points including 5 three-pointers while Andi Seiferth picked up 17 points, 4 rebounds and a career-high 6 assists and James Woodard also scored 17 points. Kaza Kajami-Keane paced MBC with 23 points and 6 rebounds and Strahinja Micovic and Andrew Warren both had 15 points.
Storm Sabine postpones Bonn home game against Ulm
Telekom Baskets Bonn postponed their Round 19 home game against ratiopharm ulm because of a major storm front called Sabine which caused massive travel problems throughout Germany. The game has not yet been rescheduled.
Bonn hire Will Voigt as new head coach
Telekom Baskets Bonn have signed a new head coach as they named Will Voigt as the successor to Thomas Päch. The 43-year-old American made his name in Africa as he carried Nigeria to the FIBA AfroBasket 2015 title and participated at the 2016 Olympics before helping Angola reach the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.
Ulm sign Archie Goodwin as Dragic replacement
ratiopharm ulm have found a replacement for the recently departed Zoran Dragic as they signed Archie Goodwin until the end of the season. The 25-year-old Goodwin played 165 NBA games between 2013 and 2018 and comes to Germany after playing this season with ITU BK Istanbul in Turkey.
Player of the Week
The Player of the Week for Round 19 goes to Shaquille Hines from FRAPORT SKYLINERS as he collected an efficiency of 40 with 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting - including 7-of-9 on three-pointers - and 2-of-2 free throws to go with 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals in the overtime loss to HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Maxi DiLeo, RASTA Vechta
DiLeo played a big role in Vechta knocking off Brose Bamberg with 10 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.
F: Sebastian Herrera, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim
Herrera had a big game for Crailsheim against FRAPORT SKYLINERS as the Chilean-German collected 12 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block.
F: Karim Jallow, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Jallow continues to have a strong season as he collected 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block against s.Oliver Würzburg.
C: Bogdan Radosavljevic, Hamburg Towers
Radosavljevic tallied 25 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assists in Hamburg’s loss to MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.
C: Andi Seiferth, medi bayreuth
Seiferth gets back on the list with a strong showing versus SYNTAINICS MBC with 17 points, 4 rebounds, a career-high 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
LIVE-VIDEO: Heiss, heisser, Hines! Der Mann der @skyliners1999 haut nicht nur 7 Dreier rein, sondern auch den Dunking! Inwzischen steht er bei 29 Punkten. #easycreditbbl #gemainsam
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) February 9, 2020
Dieses und alle Spiele aus der easyCredit BBL gibt´s LIVE und in HD auf https://t.co/KDqRUBngLO pic.twitter.com/XsQE8O1U3q
Young Guns
Nelson Weidemann, 20, PG, Brose Bamberg
Weidemann picked up 7 points on 3-of-4 shots including 1-of-2 three-pointers and 0-of-1 free throws to go with 2 rebounds and 1 turnover in 12:52 minutes as a starter against RASTA Vechta.
Joshua Obiesie, 19, PG, s.Oliver Würzburg
Obiesie played 11:33 minutes against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and he scored 5 points on 2-of-5 shots, hitting his only three-point attempt and added 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 turnover.
Jason George, 18, SG, FC Bayern Munich
The 18-year-old George scored his first points in the easyCredit BBL, picking up 2 points on 2-of-2 free throws as he missed his only three-point attempt. He also had 1 rebound in 4:10 minutes in his second appearance in the league after playing 4 seconds against Telekom Baskets Bonn in late January.
Mattisseck Check
Jonas Mattisseck continues to play a solid role for ALBA BERLIN as the 20-year-old point guard picked up 5 points on 2-of-4 shots, including 1-of-2 three-pointers, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steals with 2 turnovers in 22:30 minutes against BG Göttingen.
Six players could make German national team debut in EuroBasket qualifiers
Six young Germans could make their German senior national team debut in the up-coming FIBA EuroBasket 2021 qualifiers as head coach Henrik Rödl wants to give new players a look. Of course, Germany don’t need to qualify for the next continental championship since they are co-hosts. And Rödl has named a very inexperienced 14-man roster - and two players on call - for the up-coming games against France in Vechta on February 21 and at Great Britain on February 24. Bennet Hundt of BG Göttingen, FRAPORT SKYLINERS’ Leon Kratzer, Joshua Obiesie of s.Oliver Würzburg, Brose Bamberg’s Louis Olinde and Chemnitz NINERS’ Jan Niklas Wimberg are all on the 14-man list and have yet to play for the senior national team. Lukas Wank of Basketball Löwen Braunschweig is on call and would also be a senior team debutant if he plays.
Germans Abroad
Julian Jasinski grew up in the Hagen and Bochum youth systems and played in the easyCredit BBL with Phoenix Hagen and Telekom Baskets Bonn before heading abroad to play in Poland, where he landed with Miasto Szkla in the second division. The 23-year-old power forward scored 15 points with 5 rebounds and 1 block in his first game late last month.
LIVE-VIDEO | Zum Fastbreak davongeschlichen, die A-Kader-Berufung verdient: Joshua Obiesie
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) February 8, 2020
Alle Spiele der easyCredit BBL gibt es LIVE unter https://t.co/3zPSJ2r90L#easyCreditBBL pic.twitter.com/gIWiNRkWmk
