The Top Four of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup is set with the biggest surprise being NINERS Chemnitz, who dethroned reigning champs FC Bayern Munich and next have to face ALBA BERLIN, easy winners over medi bayreuth. HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim also reached their first Top Four and will take on Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. In other news, ratiopharm ulm added another ex-NBA player as they signed Sindarius Thornwell.
Autor: David Hein
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:
Chemnitz face Berlin in German Cup Top Four; Braunschweig face Craisheim
Four teams are just two wins from the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup title and the road to the crown is clear as the match-ups for the Top Four on February 19 and 20 were drawn. Ten-time champs ALBA BERLIN will face NINERS Chemnitz, who get another massive test after bouncing reigning champions FC Bayern Munich in the Quarter-Finals. The other showdown has Basketball Löwen Braunschweig taking on HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. Braunschweig are in the last four for the first time since 2012 and Crailsheim - just like Chemitz - are already in unchartered waters for their club.
Chemnitz shock Bayern, eliminate reigning cup champs to reach semis
NINERS Chemnitz survived a major comeback to reach the Semi-Finals of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup for the first time by upsetting reigning champions FC Bayern Munich 85-80 at home. Bayern had jumped ahead by 11 points early in the second quarter but Chemnitz responded with a 17-5 run to pull ahead. The hosts built a 19-point lead and were ahead 72-53 after three quarters when Bayern started their comeback. Vladimic Lucic scored nine straight points for Bayern in a 23-6 surge to get within 81-80 with 77 seconds left. Darion Atkins scored a big hook shot with 29 seconds remaining and then split two free throws with 9 seconds to play to secure the win. Bayern struggled shooting, hitting just 41.9 percent from the field including 35.3 percent on 2-pointers with the guests actually hitting 14-of-28 from long range for a blistering 50.0 percent. Atkins finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks while Isiaha Mike, Frantz Massenat and Gerald Robinson all scored 16 points. Andi Obst came off the Bayern bench to lead the way with 18 points on 6 three-pointers. Lucic ended with 14 points with Darrun Hilliard also scoring 14 points and Augustine Rubit picking up 13 points.
Crailsheim hold on to beat Würzburg, reach first cup semis
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim advanced to the Semi-Finals of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup for the first time by fending off s.Oliver Würzburg for an 82-79 win at home. Crailsheim surged ahead by 10 points in the first quarter but the second quarter was tight and the hosts led 43-39 at the break. Crailsheim took control in the third quarter and were leading by 67-53 after 30 minutes and by 16 points early in the fourth quarter. Würzburg tried to get back into the game and Craig Moller’s three-pointer trimmed the deficit to 79-76 with 1:19 minutes left. Fabian Bleck split two free throws to push the lead to four points and then Terrell Harris stole the ball from Will Buford and threw down a dunk with 2 seconds remaining to secure the win. Würzburg dominated the glass 50-34 with 20 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 22 second chance points - to just 1 point for Crailsheim. Crailsheim for their part raced away to 17 fast breaks to just 2 points for Würzburg, who also made just 7-of-17 free throws (41.2 percent). T.J. Shorts led the way for Crailsheim with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists while Elias Lasisi had 15 points and both Jaren Lewis and Maurice Stuckey finished with 11 points. Buford paced Würzburg with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists with Desi Rodriguez chipping in 15 points and Moller contributing 13 points and 9 rebounds in the defeat.
Braunschweig too much for Frankfurt, reach first cup semis since 2012
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig booked their ticket in the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup Semi-Finals for the first time in nearly a decade with a convincing 86-65 victory over FRAPORT SKYLINERS at home. Braunschweig, who last played in the top four in 2012, had a big first quarter, leading 22-12 after 10 minutes. Frankfurt were able to pull within two points midway through the second quarter but the hosts blew the game open in the second half. Braunschweig dominated inside, taking the rebounds 45 to 32 and points in the paint 50 to 20. Frankfurt shot just 30.5 percent for the game, including 7-of-38 from long range for a dismal 18.4 percent. David Krämer led the way for the winners with 19 points and 8 rebounds with Owen Klassen collecting 16 points and 10 rebounds and Tookie Brown adding 11 points. Len Schoormann shined in the loss with 20 points with Brancou Badio chipping in 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Berlin roll past Bayreuth into cup semis
ALBA BERLIN put away medi bayreuth early and rolled into the Semi-Finals of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup with an 84-57 blowout road victory. Berlin took the first quarter 30-8 and never were challenged the rest of the way to reach the top four of the cup for the 10th time. The 10-time cup champs held Bayreuth to just 31.2 percent from the field including 28.6 percent on 2-pointers. Berlin also dominated the glass 43-33 and dished out 28 assists. Oscar da Silva collected 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks while Louis Olinde picked up 15 points and 10 rebounds and Tamir Blatt and Ben Lammers both scored 11 points. Marcus Thornton scored 14 points in the loss with Sacar Anim adding 13 points and Kevin Wohlrath tallying 12 points.
Oldenburg beat Bamberg in Round 10 game, snap losing skid
EWE Baskets Oldenburg shrugged off missing two key scorers to snap a five-game losing streak by cruising past Brose Bamberg 87-71 in a Round 10 game played early. Despite playing without Michal Michalak and Max Heidegger, Oldenburg built an 11-point lead in the second quarter. Bamberg cut the gap to two points but still trailed by 11 at halftime. And Oldenburg were never threatened in the second half in improving to 2-6 while Bamberg dropped to 5-3. Bamberg shot just 40.6 percent for the game including 21.2 percent from long range. Tai Odiase collected 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks for the winners while Phil Pressey stepped up with 14 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 5 steals. Cam Clark scored 15 points and Rickey Paulding added 14 points and 4 assists. Christian Sengfelder paced Bamberg with 19 points and 6 rebounds with Kenneth Ogbe and Omar Prewitt both scoring 14 points.
Ulm add next ex-NBA player Thornwell to replace injured Philipps
ratiopharm ulm added another former NBA player as they signed Sindarius Thornwell as the injury replacement for Christoph Philipps. The 26-year-old Thornwell has played 160 games in the NBA and joins Jaron Blossomgame, Semaj Christon and Cristiano Felicio as other Ulm players who have played in the NBA. Philipps will miss numerous months after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Walker leaves Ludwigsburg for personal reasons
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg and David Walker have parted ways after the 27-year-old American asked to be released from his contract for personal reasons. Walker, who came to Ludwigsburg in the off-season from medi bayreuth, averaged 3.4 points in five games.
Player of the Week
The Player of the Week for the MagentaSport BBL Pokal Quarter-Finals is Darion Atkins for his tremendous showing in NINERS Chemnitz’s upset win over FC Bayern Munich. Atkins scored 21 points on 8-of-13 shots and 4-of-5 free throws to go with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks for an efficiency of 28.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Len Schoormann, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Schoormann shined in Frankfurt’s loss to Basketball Löwen Braunschweig as he totalled 20 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
G: David Krämer, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Krämer was outstanding in Braunschweig’s win over FRAPORT SKYLINERS with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals.
G: Andi Obst, FC Bayern Munich
Obst came off the bench and tried to spark Bayern but his 18 points on 6-of-8 from three-point range to go with 1 rebound and 1 assist were not enough in an upset loss to NINERS Chemnitz.
F: Louis Olinde, ALBA BERLIN
One could argue that Kevin Wohlrath of medi bayreuth and his 12 points against ALBA BERLIN deserves a spot, but we’re going with two Berlin players. Olinde collected a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds to go with 3 assists,1 steal and 1 block.
F: Oscar da Silva, ALBA BERLIN
The other Berlin player is da Silva, who had 17 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks in the win over medi bayreuth.
Tischlers Watch
The 21-year-old twins Brandon and Nicholas Tischler will have the chance to play in the MagentaSport BBL Pokal Semi-Finals as Basketball Löwen Braunschweig beat FRAPORT SKYLINERS. Nicholas Tischler picked up 6 points, on 3-of-5 shooting (0-of-1 on threes), 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 8:56 minutes while Brandon Tischler had 2 rebounds and 1 missed shot in 1:24 minutes.
Germans Abroad
Franz Wagner has had a strong start to his NBA rookie season as he is averaging 13.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals through 13 games with the Orlando Magic. His biggest game came against Minnesota as he poured in 28 points. Oh, and he had this absolute monster dunk.
Herbert invites Pleiss back to the German national team
Germany’s new senior national team head coach Gordon Herbert made some headlines with his first team nomination as he invited Tibor Pleiss back to the team. Herbert nominated 20 players in total for the up-coming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers, during which Germany will host Estonia in Nuremberg on November 25 and then face Poland in Lublin on November 28. Here are the 20 players nominated: Ismet Akpinar (Fenerbahce Istanbul/TUR - 47 caps), Robin Amaize (Basketball Löwen Braunschweig - 6), Robin Benzing (Fortitudo Bologna/ITA - 161), Bastian Doreth (medi bayreuth - 90), Patrick Heckmann (Brose Bamberg - 32), Philipp Herkenhoff (ratiopharm ulm - 7), Justus Hollatz (Hamburg Towers - 3), Bennet Hundt (EWE Baskets Oldenburg - 6), Karim Jallow (ratiopharm ulm - 11), Leon Kratzer (Telekom Baskets Bonn - 5), Dominic Lockhart (Brose Bamberg - 4), Jonas Mattiseck (ALBA BERLIN - 1), Kenneth Ogbe (Brose Bamberg - 4), Tibor Pleiss (Efes Istanbul/TUR - 105), Andreas Seiferth (medi bayreuth - 52), Christian Sengfelder (Brose Bamberg - 8), Filip Stanic (s.Oliver Würzburg - 2), Johannes Voigtmann (CSKA Moskau/RUS - 76), Lukas Wank (FRAPORT SKYLINERS - 11) and Jan Niklas Wimberg (NINERS Chemnitz - 14).
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