Telekom Baskets Bonn are tied for the longest current winning streak and that thanks to Skyler Bowlin’s late-game heroics in a thrilling win over EWE Baskets Oldenburg. First place however belongs to FC Bayern Munich, but the EuroLeague team did not look dominant in needing a big run in both of their two tough victories. Brose Bamberg meanwhile made the biggest off-the-court news as they pushed the reset button again, firing their head coach Johan Roijakkers and hiring Oren Amiel to lead the team.
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:
Bowlin triple gives Bonn win in back-and-forth thriller over Oldenburg
Skyler Bowlin’s three-pointer with 18 seconds left gave Telekom Baskets Bonn a thrilling 78-76 home victory over EWE Baskets Oldenburg in a back-and-fort battle. Six points was the biggest lead of the game, which featured 21 lead changes and seven ties. There were six lead changes alone in the final 2 minutes with Martin Breunig making it 76-75 for Oldenburg with 43 seconds left. That set up Bowlin’s heroics after which Rickey Paulding missed a potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer. Bonn extended their winning streak to four games for a 7-2 record and Oldenburg continue to struggle in last place at 2-8. Oldenburg did themselves in with 20 turnovers and could only produce 13 second chance points from 15 offensive rebounds. Parker Jackson-Cartwright paced the winners with 21 points and 6 assists while Jeremy Morgan scored 17 points and Bowlin ended with 12 points. Paulding led all scorers with 25 points while Sebastian Herrera picked up 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals and Martin Breunig chipped in 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Bayern need fourth quarter run to get past Heidelberg in Round 12 game
FC Bayern Munich needed an 18-0 run to start the fourth quarter to comeback and survive for a 77-71 home victory over MLP Academics Heidelberg in a Round 12 game. The contest was tight throughout the first three quarters and Heidelberg led by six points after 30 minutes. Then Bayern went on the game-deciding surge to put Heidelberg away and improve to 8-2 with a fourth straight win while Heidelberg dropped to 4-6 with a fifth loss in a row. Bayern survived making 21 turnovers thanks to out-rebounding Heidelberg 36-22, including 14 offensive rebounds. Nihad Djedovic paced Bayern with 14 points while Vladimir Lucic scored 13 points, Andi Obst had 11 and Deshaun Thomas chipped in 10 points. Jordan Geist was Heidelberg’s leading scorer with 15 points and Robert Lowery added 12 points in the loss.
Big run carries Bayern past MBC
FC Bayern Munich used a big second half run to pull away from SYNTAINICS MBC and secure an 82-68 road victory. The game was tight until Bayern put together a 25-6 surge spanning the third and fourth quarters to open a 24-point lead and ended up winning their third straight game for a 7-2 record with MBC dropping their fifth consecutive game for a 3-6 mark. Bayern did a good job controlling the boards with a 38-30 rebounding advantage and also made 16 of 17 free throws compared to 7 of 13 for MBC. Ognjen Jaramaz was Bayern’s top scorer with 14 points while Deshaun Thomas had 13 points, Gavin Schilling collected 12 points and 14 rebounds and Andi Obst picked up 11 points. Johannes Richter, new addition Kostja Mushidi and Nikola Rebic all tallied 12 points for MBC.
MBC bring Mushidi back to league
SYNTAINICS MBC reacted to their struggles in the league and brought Kostja Mushidi back to the easyCredit BBL. MBC had the 23-year-old wing in for a tryout during the national team break and now hope Mushidi can serve as a major contributor. Mushidi played only three league games for Basketball Löwen Braunschweig in 2020-21 after having averaged 11.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in eight games in 2019-20. Braunschweig parted ways with Mushidi in December 2019 for disciplinary reasons.
Bayreuth win Franconian derby at Bamberg, spoil coaching debut for Amiel
medi bayreuth spoiled the coaching debut of Oren Amiel as they took down Franconian derby rivals Brose Bamberg 87-84 to continue their hot streak. Bamberg erased an 11-point first quarter deficit and led early in the second quarter only to fall behind again by 13 in the fourth. The gap was down to three points in the final minute but Bastian Doreth made all four of his free throws in the final 28 seconds and then stole the ball from Patrick Heckmann with 2 seconds left. Bayreuth have now won three straight for a 4-4 record while Bamberg dropped their third in a row - and first under new playcaller Amiel - to fall to 5-5. Bamberg were killed by 19 turnovers and could not take advantage of their 46-35 rebounding advantage. Marcus Thornton and Terry Allen both scored 20 points for the winners while Martynas Sajus picked up 15 points and 8 rebounds and Bastian Doreth added 7 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals. Trevis Simpson paced Bamberg with 21 points with Christian Sengfelder picking up 13 points and 14 rebounds and new big man Akil Mitchell chipping in 6 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
Bamberg push reset button, fire Roijakkers, hire Amiel, sign big man Mitchell
Brose Bamberg have pushed the reset button as they fired their head coach Johan Roijakkers and replaced him with Oren Amiel. In the first head coach firing of the season, Bamberg parted ways with Roijakkers after 16 months citing problems in the defense. His successor is the Israeli coach Amiel, who was fired earlier this season from Hapoel Jerusalem but had guided Nymburk to four consecutive Czech league crowns before heading to Israel this off-season. Amiel is the sixth head coach in Bamberg since the club fired Andrea Trinchieri in February 2018. Bamberg also announced the signing of big man Akil Mitchell, who had played this season with Turkish club Pinar Karsiyaka and averaged 6.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in the Basketball Champions League.
Frankfurt celebrate Tez return with home win over Crailsheim, former coach
FRAPORT SKYLINERS celebrated the return of veteran leader Quantez Robertson by holding on for an 80-73 victory over HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim and former head coach Sebastian Gleim. Crailsheim started hot and grabbed an 11-point advantage in the first quarter. Frankfurt came back and took the lead in the second quarter, and the hosts put together a 16-4 fourth quarter run to lead by 12 points with 4 minutes left. Crailsheim got within four points with 20 seconds remaining but Bogdan Radosavljevic was called for an unsportsmanlike foul, which resulted in two free throws from Robertson and Len Schoormann to lock up the win and a 3-6 record for Frankfurt while Crailsheim fell to 5-4. Frankfurt shot only 39.4 percent from the field but dominated the glass to the tune of 50-27, including 16 offensive rebounds while led to a 18-5 advantage in second-chance points. Schoormann led the winners with 17 points while Lukas Wank scored 13 points, Robertson ended with 11 points in his first game since mid-October and Lorenz Brenneke tallied 10 points and 12 rebounds. Crailsheim wasted an outstanding showing from T.J. Shorts with 25 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals.
Frankfurt add veteran big man Jamel McLean
FRAPORT SKYLINERS once again added some veteran leadership as they signed big man Jamel McLean until the end of the season. After having already signed Will Cherry, Frankfurt boosted their frontcourt with the 33-year-old McLean, who will be playing for his fourth German team following Telekom Baskets Bonn (2013-14), ALBA BERLIN (2014-15) and MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg (2020-21). McLean, who last played for Spanish club Casademont Zaragoza, collected 11.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.1 steals for Ludwigsburg last season.
Hamburg return to winning ways after shootout with Braunschweig Hamburg Towers returned to their winning ways by prevailing in a 103-92 shootout at home with Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. After having their five-game winning streak snapped in their last game, Hamburg led by 11 points after 11 minutes and Braunschweig were within three points midway through the second quarter. But Hamburg never let the guests threaten them in the second half to move to 6-3 while Braunschweig dropped their fourth straight for a 2-7 mark. Hamburg forced 19 Braunschweig turnovers and turned them into 24 fast break points. Jaylon Brown poured in 22 points to lead Hamburg while Maik Kotsar scored 16 points, Seth Hinrich had 12 points and Justus Hollatz chipped in 9 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Robin Amaize led Braunschweig with 18 points with Tookie Brown adding 17 points and David Krämer scoring 15 points in the loss.
Balanced Göttingen too much for Heidelberg
BG Göttingen had six players score in double figures as they blew out MLP Academics Heidelberg 96-80 on the road. Göttingen blew the game open with a 32-12 second quarter and never looked back in moving to 5-3 while Heidelberg have lost four in a row for a 4-5 record. Göttingen shot 54.4 percent for the game, including 66.7 percent on two-pointers while holding Heidelberg to 43.6 percent from the field. Jake Toolson led the way with 19 points while Kamar Baldwin and Harper Kamp both scored 15 points, Mathis Mönninghoff had 12, Jeff Roberson 11 and Akeem Vargas chipped in 10 points. Brekkott Chapman scored a game-high 26 points for Heidelberg in the loss.
Göttingen release James Dickey and Zack Bryant
BG Göttingen released two players during the national team break as both James Dickey and Zack Bryant asked out of their contracts to look for deals with other teams. Dickey had averaged 6.6 points and 6.1 rebounds this season and Bryant had contributed 5.0 points and 2.4 assists.
Ludwigsburg third quarter keeps Würzburg winless on road
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg delivered the knockout punch in the third quarter as they defeated s.Oliver Würzburg 83-68 at home. Ludwigsburg built a 15-point lead late in the second quarter but Würzburg had evened the game early in the second half. The hosts responded with a 22-9 third quarter to finish off the game and improve to 6-3 while Würzburg are still winless on the road in five games for a 3-6 record. Ludwigsburg held Würzburg to just 37.9 percent from the field and drained 14 three-pointers to just 8 for the guests. Tremmell Darden led all scorers with 19 points while Jonah Radebaugh collected 16 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals and Justin Simon picked up 15 points and 8 rebounds. Würzburg were paced by William Bufford with 14 points with Filip Stanic tallying 9 points and 14 rebounds.
Berlin pull away from Chemnitz, extend win streak to four
ALBA BERLIN pulled away from NINER Chemnitz in the second half in grabbing an 83-62 home victory and extending their winning streak to four games. The game was tight for about 25 minutes before Berlin pulled away with a 20-4 run spanning the third and fourth quarters for a 23-point lead. The victory gave Berlin a 6-3 record while Chemnitz fell to 5-4. Berlin held Chemnitz to just 35.4 percent from the field including just 24.2 percent from long range. Johannes Thiemann was Berlin’s top scorer with 14 points while Tim Schneider had 13 points and Louis Olinde and Yovel Zoosman both scored 12 points. Mindaugas Susinksas led all scorers with 18 points in the loss while Jonas Richter picked up 11 points.
Robinson leaves Chemnitz for Italy
NINERS Chemnitz lost one of their leaders as Gerald Robinson left the club to sign with Italian club Sassari. The 32-year-old Robinson exercised his opt-out after having averaged 10.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 6.0 assists for Chemnitz. The club now faces real issues at the point guard position as Robinson’s backup Nelson Weidemann remains out with a broken wrist.
Ulm use first quarter to road win over Giessen
ratiopharm ulm used a big first quarter in getting past JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers 87-76 for their fifth road win. Ulm raced to a 32-11 lead after 10 minutes and the game was never close the rest of the way as Ulm improved to 5-4 and Giessen dropped to 3-6. Giessen struggled from the outside, hitting just 22.7 percent of their three-pointers. Ulm were paced by Jaron Blossomgame’s 16 points while Per Günther scored 15 points, Thomas Klepeisz had 12 points and Christiano Felicio chipped in 8 points and 13 rebounds. Jalen Tate and Nuni Omot both scored 20 points in the loss with Kendal McCullum tallying 10 points, 8 assists and 5 steals.
Giessen react to injuries with addition of guard TJ Williams
JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers reacted to their injury issues at the guard spot by signing TJ Williams until the end of the season. Giessen are currently without the injured duo of Bjarne Kraushaar and Kilian Binapfl, resulting in the club bringing in the 27-year-old Williams, who last played with Israeli top flight side Maccabi Rishon LeZion.
Player of the Week
Rickey Paulding produced the top showing of the round for the Player of the Week honor despite EWE Baskets Oldenburg losing to Telekom Baskets Bonn. The ageless wonder scored 25 points on 9-of-12 shots and 1-of-1 free throws to go with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 2 blocks for an efficiency of 30.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Per Günther, ratiopharm ulm
Günther was outstanding in Ulm’s win over JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers with 15 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in just 17 minutes.
G: Bastian Doreth, medi bayreuth
Doreth continues to play excellent basketball and he helped Bayreuth down Brose Bamberg with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals.
G: Robin Amaize, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Amaize was not enough in Braunschweig’s loss against Hamburg Towers though he collected 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.
F: Gavin Schilling, FC Bayern Munich
Schilling earned his spot on this team for his strong showing against SYNTAINICS MBC as he tallied 12 points, 14 rebounds and 1 assist. In Bayern’s win over MLP Academics Heidelberg, the big man chipped in 3 points and 4 rebounds in 10 minutes.
C: Filip Stanic, s.Oliver Würzburg
Let’s give this spot this week to Stanic, who picked up 9 points, 14 rebounds and 2 assists for Würzburg in a loss to MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.
Young Guns
Len Schoormann, 19, PG/Lorenz Brenneke, 21, PF, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Both Frankfurt youngsters could have grabbed spots in the German Top Five, but let’s combine them here for their showing against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. Schoormann collected 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting (2-of-8 threes), 1 rebound, 1 assist and 2 steals in 25:01 minutes. And Brenneke had 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting and 2-of-2 free throws, 12 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 21:43 minutes.
Kay Bruhnke, 20, SG, medi bayreuth
Bruhne played a solid role in Bayreuth’s win over his former team Brose Bamberg with 5 points on 2-of-4 shooting (1-of-3 threes), 4 rebounds and 1 assist.
Justus Hollatz, 20, PG, Hamburg Towers
Hollatz helped Hamburg knock off Basketball Löwen Braunschweig with 9 points on 4-of-8 shooting (1-of-3 threes), 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
Tischlers Watch
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig were unable to beat Hamburg Towers despite the best efforts from the 21-year-old Tischler twins Nicholas and Brandon. Nicholas played 18:53 minutes and had 4 points on 2-of-3 shooting (0-1 threes), 2 rebounds and 1 steal. Brandon collected no stats in 1:27 minutes of action.
Germany drop home game, win in Poland in World Cup Qualifiers
The German national team split their first two games at the start of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers. Playing under new head coach Gordon Herbert, Germany lost at home in the first game 69-66 to Estonia. Christian Sengfelder led the Germans with 21 points and 8 rebounds while captain Robin Benzing scored 13 points. Estonia were paced by former German league player Kristian Kullamae with 15 points and 7 assists. The Germans bounced back by holding off Poland with a 72-69 victory in Lublin. David Krämer led the way with 24 points while Dominic Lockhart scored 13 points.
Germans Abroad
The Sabally name is well known in German basketball with the sisters Satou and Nyara, but there is a third Sabally in the family and that is Lamin Sabally. And the 21-year-old former ALBA BERLIN talent is starting to shine as a freshman for the University of Texas-San Antonio. The guard picked up 4 points and 3 rebounds in 15 minutes of action against Grand Canyon State University.
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On the Road
Theis: Gleichstand in den NBA Finals / Schröder über Heimat und Hater / Pleiß gegen Akpinar und Barthel in den türkischen Finals
Nachberichte
Bayern stellt mit 18:0-Lauf Weichen auf Sieg / Aufsteiger Heidelberg verpasst Überraschung
Nachberichte
