– David Hein
ALBA BERLIN started the defense of the easyCredit BBL title with a comfor-table win over FRAPORT SKYLINERS as the 2020-21 has finally tipped off. In a weekend which saw three Round 1 games get postponed due to the corona virus, short-handed ratiopharm ulm showed they had enough to knock off s.oliver Würzburg and Hamburg Towers made history by defeating Brose Bamberg.
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:
Berlin start defense of title with home win over Frankfurt
ALBA BERLIN began the defense of their easyCredit BBL title with a convincing 79-66 victory at home over FRAPORT SKYLINERS. The reigning champs led by 13 points after 10 minutes and continued to roll, building the lead to 40 points in the fourth quarter before Frankfurt used a 25-0 fourth quarter run to make the final result more respectable. Berlin held Frankfurt to just 38.5 percent from the field including 26.3 percent on three-pointers while hitting 62.5 percent on 2-pointers themselves. Luke Sikma led five Berlin scorers in double figures with 14 points while Jayson Granger had 13 points and 6 assists and Ben Lammers picked up 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. Jon Axel Gudmundsson paced Frankfurt with 21 points and 5 assists and Rasheed Moore scored 13 points in the loss.
Hamburg chase down Bamberg for first-ever home win in league
Hamburg Towers started their 2020-21 season with a historic win as they came back to defeat Brose Bamberg 78-75 for their first ever home victory in the easyCredit BBL. Bamberg led by 11 points with 7 minutes left but watched as TJ Shorts pushed Hamburg ahead 76-75 with a layup with 15 seconds to play. Tyler Larson turned the ball over for Bamberg and Jordan Swing added two free throws for the hosts before Christian Sengfelder’s three-point attempt was off at the buzzer. Hamburg shot 42.1 percent from long range while holding Bamberg to 36.7 percent on three-pointers and out-rebounding the guests 43-30. Terry Allen led Hamburg with 20 points and 9 rebounds while Maik Kotsar collected 14 points and 8 rebounds and Kam Taylor chipped in 12 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. Dominic Lockhart was Bamberg’s top scorer with 20 points and new addition Devon Hall had 13 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.
Ulm use big fourth quarter to win in Würzburg
ratiopharm ulm used a big fourth quarter to pull away from s.Oliver Würzburg and pick up a 90-77 victory despite being short-handed. Ulm started the final quarter on a 9-0 run to open a 13-point advantage and the hosts were never closer than eight points the rest of the way. Ulm, who were without Thomas Klepeisz, Dylan Osetkowski and Christoph Philipps, shot an amazing 22-of-27 - 81.5 percent - on two-pointers to go with 19-of-20 from the free throw line while Würzburg connected on just 38.7 percent. That helped as Ulm made up for 19 turnovers. Andi Obst was Ulm’s main weapon with 25 points while Troy Caupain had 19 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Mark Ogden was Würzburg’s top scorer with 19 points and Micah Downs scored 14 points and Nils Hassfurther pitched in 10 points and 3 assists.
Bayern fend off Vechta to start season with home win
FC Bayern Munich started their quest to return to the top of Germany with a 90-78 home victory over RASTA Vechta. Bayern were up by 11 points after 10 minutes and by 14 points in the third quarter and then held off the guests in the final frame. The hosts shot a blistering 61.4 percent for the game including a white-hot 72.7 percent from two-point range and turned the ball over just 10 times. Vechta managed to hit just 43.6 percent from the field in their first game. Nick Weiler-Babb led the way for Bayern with 21 points and 5 as-sists while Nihad Djedovic and JaJuan Johnson both had 14 points and Zan Sisko picked up 9 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists. Will Vorhees paced Vechta with 17 points and Dennis Clifford scored 16 points with 7 rebounds.
Oldenburg avenges German Cup loss with win at Braunschweig
EWE Baskets Oldenburg exacted some revenge for their loss to Basketball Löwen Braunschweig in the MagentaSport BBL German Cup by opening the league season with a 111-83 victory on the road. The game was close for the first half but Oldenburg took over in the third quarter and raced away in fourth. Braunschweig shot just 31.8 percent on three-pointers and were out-rebounded 35-26 while Oldenburg committed only eight turnovers. Martin Breunig hit for 17 points in less than 14 minutes while Rasid Mahalbasic scored 14 points and Keith Hornsby, Rickey Paulding and Nathan Boothe all tallied 13 points for Oldenburg. Karim Jallow poured in 21 points while James Robinson picked up 13 points and 8 assists in the loss.
Ludwigsburg race past Göttingen for home win
ThMHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg started the season in fine fashion with a comfortable 100-73 home victory over BG Göttingen. Ludwigsburg pulled away in the second quarter to lead 54-30 at the break and were never challenged in the second half. Ludwigsburg committed only eight turnovers and took the rebound battle 37-28 while shooting 55.4 percent from the field and holding Göttingen to just 32.1 percent from long range. Göttingen could not stop Jaleen Smith, who had 24 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists while Jordan Hulls collected 20 points and 7 assists and both Elias Harris and Yorman Polas Bartolo scored 13 points. Galen Robinson paced Göttingen with 12 points and Luke Nelson had 11 points.
Three Round 1 games postponed
Six teams will have to wait a little bit longer for their start of the 2020-21 easyCredit BBL season as three Round 1 games were postponed due to positive tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. NINERS Chemnitz’s first-ever game in Germany’s first division at HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim was postponed as were the medi bayreuth vs Telekom Baskets Bonn and JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers vs SYNTAINICS MBC contests. No rescheduling dates have yet been announced.
Crailsheim add Radosavljevic and Lasisi
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim may have missed out on starting their season this past week but they did make news as they added two new players. Crailsheim boosted their big man rotation by signing German center Bogdan Radosavljevic on a contract for the whole season. The club also brought in Belgian international shooting guard Elias Lasisi.
Chemnitz strengthen backcourt with Clark
NINERS Chemnitz also made some news off the court while their on-court action was postponed as they signed American point guard Wes Clark until the end of the season. The 25-year-old playmaker last played for Cantu in Italy.
Player of the Week
Even though three games are still outstanding from Round 1 action, the first Player of the Week award goes to Jaleen Smith of MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg as he had an efficiency of 29 in a win over BG Göttingen. He collected 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting and 3-of-3 free throws to go with 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Dominic Lockhart, Brose Bamberg
Lockhart continued his outstanding start to the season as he scored 20 points, including 4 three-pointers, and picked up 2 rebounds and 1 steal in Bamberg’s loss to Hamburg Towers.
G: Andreas Obst, ratiopharm ulm
Obst stepped up as Ulm were missing two key scorers in scoring 25 points - two off his career high - to go with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal against s.Oliver Würzburg.
F: Karim Jallow, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Braunschweig may have lost to EWE Baskets Oldenburg but Jallow had a strong showing with 21 points on 8-of-12 shots, 5 rebounds and 1 steal.
F: Elias Harris, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
Harris helped Ludwigsburg to a big win over BG Göttingen with 13 points and 4 rebounds in just 19 minutes of action.
C: Martin Breunig, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Breunig’s performance was even more impressive in the win over Basketball Löwen Braunschweig has he picked up 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in just 13:40 minutes off the bench.
Young Guns
Nils Hassfurther, 21, PG, s.Oliver Würzburg
Hassfurther started the season in fine fashion, collecting a career high 10 points, including 2 three-pointers, and 3 assists in 15:23 minutes against ratiopharm ulm.
Malte Delow, 19, SG, ALBA BERLIN
A first look at Delow’s line against FRAPORT SKYLINERS shows 0 points on 0-of-3 shots but the 19-year-old did set career highs with 5 rebounds, 3 as-sists and 2 steals with 0 turnovers in 19:26 minutes.
Lukas Herzog, 19, PG, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
Herzog showed right away in the season opener that he can help the team as the 19-year-old picked up 4 points on 2-of-4 shooting and 2 steals in 12:00 minutes against BG Göttingen.
Germans Abroad
Filip Kukic is playing well in his first season outside of Germany as the 22-year-old Cologne native is averaging 11.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists in the Austrian first division for Arkadia. His season highlight was scoring 22 points with 3 assists against St. Poelten.
