A week after being the big story of the round for an upset loss, reigning champions ALBA BERLIN again top the headlines but this time for defeating previous league leaders Brose Bamberg - thanks to a great showing from Luke Sikma. The week of action also saw FRAPORT SKYLINERS finally enter the win column in the league as they surprised ratiopharm ulm. Bamberg’s loss meanwhile gave FC Bayer Munich the chance to move atop the standings after a win over medi bayreuth.
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 bounce back, beat Bamberg on road
ALBA BERLIN bounced back from their disappointing loss against BG Göttingen by beating previous league leaders Brose Bamberg 101-89 on the road. Bamberg were staying close until midway through the fourth quarter when Berlin ripped off an 11-0 run to go up 17 points with 4 minutes left. The win gave Berlin a 3-3 record and Bamberg are now 4-2. Bamberg committed only 4 turnovers but they could not hit from long range, making just 7-of-32 three-pointers (21.9 percent) while Berlin shot 61.3 percent for the game and 50.0 percent on triples. Berlin showed their balance with six players in double figures, paced by Luke Sikma, who flirted with a triple-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists - picking up his 18th career double-double. Johannes Thiemann and Jaleen Smith both scored 13 points, Oscar da Siva had 12 points and Maodo Lo picked up 12 points and 9 assists. Christian Sengfelder was outstanding with 29 points and 5 rebounds while Justin Robinson had 23 points and 10 assists and Patrick Heckmann and Kenneth Ogbe both scored 12 points.
Frankfurt finally win, Badio shines in victory in Ulm
FRAPORT SKYLINERS finally picked up their first victory in the league this season as they surprised ratiopharm ulm 88-80 on the road. It was close until Frankfurt decided it with a 12-1 run in the fourth quarter and then Will Cherry and Brancou Badio finished it off with back-to-back three-pointers for a 1-5 record while Ulm fell to 3-3. The difference maker in the game was Frankfurt hitting 15-of-28 on three-pointers (53.6 percent) while Ulm connected on just 31.8 percent from long range. Ulm also connected on just 17-of-31 free throws (54.8 percent). Badio led the way with 25 points and 4 assists while Cherry picked up 14 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists and Len Schoormann added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Ulm wasted 20 points and 6 assists from Semaj Christon while Jaon Blossomgame had 18 points, Cristiano Felicio tallied 10 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks and Nicolas Bretzel chipped in 9 points and 10 rebounds.
Frankfurt add scoring, playmaking punch with Will Cherry signing
FRAPORT SKYLINERS added some much-needed scoring and playmaking punch as they signed Will Cherry until the end of the season. The 30-year-old American played two seasons in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague - most recently in 2019-20 with Olympiacos Piraeus.
Bayern beat Bayreuth, take over first place with fourth straight win
FC Bayern Munich took over first place in the easyCredit BBL as they beat medi bayreuth 87-78 on the road for their fourth straight victory. Bayern took control of a close game in the third quarter with a 27-16 period thanks to a 10-2 surge to move to 4-1 while Bayreuth have lost three in a row for a 1-4 record. Bayern shot 60.0 percent on 2-pointers while committing only 9 turnovers and holding Bayreuth to just 44.6 percent from the field. Bayern had five players score at least 10 points, led by Augustine Rubit with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists while Othello Hunter had 14 points and Corey Walden and Ognjen Jaramaz both scored 12 points. Marcus Thornton tallied 18 points for Bayreuth, who also had Sacar Anim and Martynas Sajus score 13 points each.
Hamburg win streak at four after stopping Heidelberg at home
Hamburg Towers pushed their winning streak to four games as they came up with a big 81-75 victory at home over MLP Academics Heidelberg. Hamburg used a 15-4 run to take an 11-point lead with less than 4 minutes to play. Heidelberg were able to get within four points but Maik Kotsar finished off a strong game with two baskets as Hamburg moved to 4-2 - the same record as Heidelberg. Kotsar ended up with 21 points and 8 rebounds while Caleb Homesley scored 12 points, Jaylon Brown had 11 points and Justus Hollatz collected 10 points for the winners. Heidelberg were paced by Kelvin Martin with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 steals with Robert Lowry chipping in 17 points and 7 assists in the defeat.
Hamburg get playmaker reinforcements with signing of McCallum
Hamburg Towers added reinforcements at the point guard position with the signing of Ray McCallum. After the departure of Jabril Durham, Hamburg acquired the 30-year-old McCallum, who has played 154 games in the NBA and 46 more in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Toolson, Brown and Baldwin combine for 70 in Göttingen win over Oldenburg
Jake Toolson, Stephen Brown and Kamar Baldwin combined for 70 points as BG Göttingen extended their winning streak to four games with a 95-85 victory at home over EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Göttingen never trailed in the second half and pushed their lead to 13 points with under 7 minutes to play. Oldenburg charged back within two points but Baldwin got a big tip-in with 28 seconds left and Brown and Mathis Mönninghoff both hit two free throws in the final 18 seconds for a 4-1 record. Oldenburg’s struggles continued with a fourth straight loss for a 1-5 record. Göttingen nailed 14-of-21 three-pointers (66.7 percent) and held Oldenburg to just 43.2 percent from the field. Toolson and Brown both had 24 points and Baldwin added 22 points and 9 rebounds in the win. Cameron Clark paced Oldenburg with 23 points and 9 rebounds while Max Heidegger scored 14 points.
Shorts shines in Crailsheim’s home win in OT over Braunschweig
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim fought back from a double-digit deficit and prevailed in an overtime thriller, winning 92-90 at home over Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. T.J. Shorts scored all 19 of his points after halftime, including the game-winner with 26 seconds remaining as Crailsheim improved to 3-3. The loss leaves another bitter taste for Braunschweig, who two weeks after leading by 20 points and losing at home to NINERS Chemnitz again could not finish off a game. Crailsheim forced Braunschweig into 19 turnovers - while losing the ball just 10 times in 45 minutes. Braunschweig could not take advantage of winning the rebound battle 54-40, including 19 offensive rebounds. Shorts also had 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals while Jaren Lewis added 17 points and 6 rebounds and Terrell Harris added 15 points in the win. Robin Amaize was outstanding in the loss with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists while Tookie Brown had 16 points and 8 rebounds and Luc van Slooten hit 5 three-pointers for 15 points plus 4 rebounds and 2 steals.
33 points from Morris not enough: Ludwigsburg beat MBC
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg picked up a big win on the road as they stopped a hot SYNTAINICS MBC 88-80 with Jamel Morris’ 33 points - including 7-of-7 on threes - not being enough. Ludwigsburg wasted a 12-point first quarter lead but then blew the game open in the final 13 minutes building an 18-point cushion with 3 minutes left to move to 4-2 with MBC dropping to 3-3. Ludwigsburg allowed MBC to shoot 54.6 percent from the field, including 50.0 percent from long range, but they also forced 20 MBC turnovers and turned them into 17 fast break points. And Ludwigsburg grabbed 20 offensive rebounds to make up for shooting just 40.5 percent from the field as they collected 21 second chance points - to just 4 for MBC. Justin Simon paced five Ludwigsburg players in double figures with 17 points and 6 rebounds while Tremmell Darden collected 12 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals and Jordan Hulls added 12 points, 5 assists and 3 steals. Besides Morris, Goran Huskic was the only other MBC player in double figures with 15 points and 5 assists.
Bonn still perfect at home, Chemnitz struggles continue
Telekom Baskets Bonn remained perfect at home on the season as they battled past NINERS Chemnitz 76-67. The biggest lead in the game was seven points until Bonn were finally able to shake free in the final 2 minutes. Karsten Tadda drained a big three-pointer in an 8-0 run to go up 71-63 with 52 seconds left and Tadda added the final dagger triple with 22 seconds remaining as Bonn moved to 4-2. Chemnitz have now dropped three of four games to fall to 3-3. Chemnitz turned the ball over 23 times, and Bonn also held the guests to just 26.7 percent on three-pointers. Parker Jackson-Cartwright was Bonn's main weapon all night with 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals while Skyler Bowlin had 12 points and Tadda finished with 10 points. Frantz Massenat paced Chemnitz with 17 points and Mindaugas Susinskas had 12 points.
Würzburg end losing skid, get past Giessen at home
s.Oliver Würzburg used a big second half run to beat JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers 82-69 at home and snap a two-game losing streak Würzburg blew open the close game with a 17-2 run spanning the third and fourth quarter for a 16-point lead - and move to 2-3 while Giessen dropped to 2-4. Würzburg played strong defense, holding Giessen to 39.3 percent from the field including 25.0 percent from long range while also collecting 16 fast break points to zero for Giessen. Aigars Skele was Würzburg’s leading scorer with 17 points while Desi Rodriguez had 16 points and Tomasz Gielo added 14 points and 9 rebounds. Brayon Blake paced Giessen with 14 points and Kendale McCullum picked up 12 points and 5 assists in the loss.
Player of the Week
Player of the Week honors go to Jamel Morris of SYNTAINICS MBC after he collected 33 points on 9-of-12 shooting - including 7-of-7 from long range- and 8-of-8 from the foul line, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 steal for an efficiency - albeit in a loss to MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Maodo Lo, ALBA BERLIN
Lo played a great game for Berlin against Brose Bamberg with 12 points, 2 rebounds and 9 assists.
G: Len Schoormann, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Since Frankfurt won their first game of the season in the league let’s give the Young Gun some Top Five love as Schoormann definitely deserves a spot on this list. He picked up 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals against ratiopharm ulm.
G: Robin Amaize, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Amaize worked hard to get Braunschweig the victory but his 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block were not enough against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim.
C: Nicolas Bretzel, ratiopharm ulm
The 22-year-old Bretzel picked up career highs with 9 points and 10 rebounds in just 13:21 minutes in Ulm’s loss at FRAPORT SKYLINERS.
C: Christian Sengfelder, Brose Bamberg
Sengfelder was dominant for Bamberg with 29 points and 5 rebounds but those numbers could not keep the team from losing to ALBA BERLIN.
Young Guns
Justus Hollatz, 20, PG, Hamburg Towers
Hollatz helped Hamburg extend their winning streak to four games with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting (2-of-4 threes) and 2-of-4 free throws to go along with 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and just 1 turnover in 25:21 minutes against MLP Academics Heidelberg.
Luc van Slooten, 19, SF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Van Slooten drained 5 three-pointers in scoring 15 points while also picking up 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in 27:47 minutes in Braunschweig’s loss to HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim.
Lorenz Brenneke, 21, C, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Brenneke played a solid role in Frankfurt grabbing their first win with 10 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 17:00 minutes against ratiopharm ulm.
Tischlers Watch
This week saw Nicolas Tischler get the brunt of the playing time over his brother Brandon Tischler, who only played 1 second for Basketball Löwen Braunschweig against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. Nicholas played 16:47 minutes and scored 4 points on 2-of-5 shooting (0-1 threes) and also collected 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover.
Ludwigsburg’s Radebaugh BCL MVP of the month
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg not only started the Basketball Champions League season with a 3-0 record but one of their stars received a top honor as Jonah Radebaugh was named as the Most Valuable Player for the month of October.
Bayern run away from Berlin late in EuroLeague victory
FC Bayern Munich won Germany bragging rights in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague as they beat ALBA BERLIN 82-69 in the German capital. Bayern used a 18-7 run over the final 4:32 minutes to lock up their third straight win. Darrun Hilliard scored 25 points to lead Bayern with Nick Weiler-Babb pouring in 16 points - 10 of them coming in the final surge.
Germans Abroad
Dennis Schröder has had a solid start to his career with the Boston Celtics as he is averaging 14.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 6.7 assists - to 2.5 turnovers - through six games. Here is a video insight his first game for the Celtics.
