And then there was one … Brose Bamberg is the final undefeated team remaining in the easyCredit BBL as they handed surprise team MLP Academics Heidelberg their first loss of the season. The week also saw FC Bayern Munich survive an overtime defensive slugfest against JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers while NINERS Chemnitz came back from 20 points down to beat Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and ALBA BERLIN rolled past EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
And then there was one … Brose Bamberg is the final undefeated team remaining in the easyCredit BBL as they handed surprise team MLP Academics Heidelberg their first loss of the season. The week also saw FC Bayern Munich survive an overtime defensive slugfest against JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers while NINERS Chemnitz came back from 20 points down to beat Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and ALBA BERLIN rolled past EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
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:
Bamberg only undefeated team left, hand Heidelberg first loss
And there was one … Brose Bamberg remained the only undefeated team left in the league as they beat MLP Academics Heidelberg 72-68 to hand the promoted side their first loss of the season. Bamberg never trailed and led 57-42 late in the third quarter when Heidelberg fought back and it was just a two-point game with 23 seconds left when Niklas Würzner made one of two free throws. Patrick Heckmann hit both free throws at the other end with 20 seconds remaining to secure the win and a 4-0 mark with Heidelberg now at 3-1. Bamberg survived 20 turnovers as they hit 11 three-pointers to 6 for Heidelberg, who made just 6-of-16 free throws (37.5 percent). Omar Prewitt paced Bamberg with 16 points and 8 assists, Dominic Lockhart had 15 points and 4 steals, Christian Sengfelder tallied 13 points and 8 rebounds, Heckmann scored 9 of his 13 points in the fourth and Justin Robinson picked up 7 points and 10 assists. Shyron Ely scored 19 points for Heidelberg and Osasumwen Osaghae added 11 points and 8 rebounds.
Bayern need overtime to knock off Giessen in defensive battle
FC Bayern Munich needed overtime to fend off JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers 71-64 in a defensive struggle at home. The game was tight throughout and Giessne led late when Ognjen Jaramaz hit two layups in the final 55 seconds of regulation and blocked Kendale McCullum’s game-winning attempt in the final seconds to force overtime, where the hosts went on an 11-1 run for a 2-1 record and Giessen falling to 1-3. Bayern dominated the glass 54-36 including 24 offensive rebounds, which helped them make up for shooting just 36.6 percent from the field as Giessen could only hit 39.7 percent of their shots. The hosts made 15-of-20 free throws while Giessen had 7-of-14 from the stripe. Jaramaz finished with 18 points and Deshaun Thomas picked up 18 points and 14 rebounds with Augustine Rubit contributing 12 points and 6 rebounds. Brayon Blake scored 19 points as Giessen’s only player in double figures.
Chemnitz rally from 20 points down, win at Braunschweig
NINERS Chemnitz rallied from 20 points down to continue their impressive start to the season with a 93-84 victory at Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. The hosts were up 41-21 early in the second quarter and the lead vanished as Chemnitz were up at the break. The game remained close the rest of the way before Chemnitz’s veterans came through to bounce back from their first loss of the season and improve to 3-1 and Braunschweig fell to 1-3. Chemnitz forced 19 Braunschweig turnovers while also shooting 56.1 percent from the field including 70.4 percent on 2-pointers, which resulted in 26 assists. Mindaugas Susinskas poured in 19 points to lead Chemnitz, Gerald Robinson had 15 points and 7 assists and Isiaha Mike, Frantz Massenat and Darion Atkins all scored 12 points and combined for 16 rebounds, 11 assists, 6 steals and 2 blocks. Martin Peterka led Braunschweig with 23 points and Tookie Brown chipped in 14 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists.
Göttingen get 41 from Baldwin and Toolson in home win over Ludwigsburg
BG Göttingen grabbed their second straight win in the league as they downed MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 78-69 at home thanks to Kamar Baldwin and Jake Toolson combining for 41 points. Göttingen led by 19 points after three quarters and watched Ludwigsburg get within five points with 45 seconds left but Baldwin converted all four of his free throws in the final 36 seconds as Göttingen moved to 2-1 and Ludwigsburg dropped to 2-2. Göttingen shot 52.4 percent from long range while Ludwigsburg converted just 34.3 percent form the field including 26.5 percent on three-pointers. Baldwin finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, Toolson had 20 points and 3 assists and James Dickey picked up 5 points and 10 rebounds. Rawle Alkins paced Ludwigsburg with 14 points of the bench and Tremmell Darden had 10 points and 9 rebounds.
Hamburg get revenge over Bayreuth after German Cup loss
Hamburg Towers exacted some revenge on medi bayreuth as they collected a 77-70 victory for their first home win in league history in front of fans. In a rematch of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup first round match, Hamburg lost a 13-point first quarter lead and watched as Bayreuth reeled off a 13-0 run to lead 66-60 in the final frame. But Hamburg answered with a 17-4 finish to the game to move to 2-2 and Bayreuth dropped to 1-2. Hamburg made 11 three-pointers to just 6 for Bayreuth and committed only 11 turnovers. Five players scored in double figures for Hamburg, topped by Robin Christen’s 22 points while Maik Kotsar and Jaylon Brown both scored 14 points, Caleb Homesley picked up 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists and Seth Hinrichs added 10 points and 5 assists. Sacar Anim paced Bayreuth with 22 points with Marcus Thornton, Andreas Seiferth and Terry Allen all scoring 10 points in the loss.
da Silva, Olinde outstanding as Berlin ease past Oldenburg
ALBA BERLIN secured a strong road victory as they eased past EWE Baskets Oldenburg 92-74 for their second win. Berlin took over in the third quarter with a 28-11 frame and never looked back for a 2-2 mark with Oldenburg dropping to 1-3. Berlin shot 52.2 percent for the game and kept Oldenburg to 42.0 percent. Oscar da Silva collected 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, Louis Olinde scored 18 points, last season’s MVP Jaleen Smith had his best game of the season with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, and Luke Sikma chipped in 13 points 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
Ulm too strong in fourth in road win over Crailsheim
ratiopharm ulm evened their record on the young season as they broke the game open late in a 93-71 road victory over HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. Ulm lost a 10 point lead in the first quarter and it was back and forth with 17 lead changes until Ulm had 16-0 run in the final frame to move to 2-2 and Crailsheim fell to 1-3. Ulm shot a blistering 56.5 percent from the field including 67.5 percent on 2-pointers while holding Crailsheim to just 40.6 percent for the game. Jaron Blossomgame led the winners with 16 points, Karim Jallow had 14 points and 7 rebounds and Philipp Herkenhoff scored 13 points. Maurice Stuckey was Crailsheim’s leading scorer with 20 points on 6 three-pointers and TJ Shorts produced 10 points and 8 assists.
MBC keep rolling in league, ease past Würzburg at home
SYNTAINICS MBC remained on a roll as they comfortably beat s.Oliver Würzburg 95-73 at home. MBC went on a 14-0 run during a 27-14 second quarter to take control of the game for a 3-1 record and Würzburg fell to 1-2. MBC committed only 10 turnovers and shot 54.4 percent from the field and Würzburg made just 43.3 percent for the game. Nikola Rebic was outstanding for the winners with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists while Chris Coffey had 18 points and 9 rebounds, Jamel Morris scored 18 points and Goran Huskic contributed 9 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Cameron Hunt was Würzburg’s leading scorer with 17 points and 5 assists and Craig Moller picked up 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Bonn with no problems getting past Frankfurt at home
Telekom Baskets Bonn had no problems in getting past FRAPORT SKYLINERS with an 86-76 home victory. Bonn were in control comfortably the entire second half in moving to 3-1 while Frankfurt are still waiting for first win in the league at 0-4. Frankfurt committed 19 turnovers to just 8 for Bonn, who also dished out 24 assists. Jeremy Morgan paced Bonn with 22 points on 7 three-pointers, Parker Jackson-Cartwright had 18 points and 9 assists and Skyler Bowlin chipped in 12 points and 5 assists. Rasheed Moore was Frankfurt’s top scorer with 16 points and Quantez Robertson picked up 14 points and 7 rebounds.
Player(s) of the Week
Twenty-seven was the magic number this week as three players produced that efficiency to share Player of the Week honors. Oscar da Silva scored 21 points on 10-of-13 shots and 1-of-3 free throws to go with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks in ALBA BERLIN’s win over EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Chris Coffey had the same efficiency score after he totalled 18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal while hitting 7-of-9 shots and 4-of-4 free throws for SYNTAINICS MBC against s.Oliver Würzburg. Martin Peterka’s efforts were in Basketball Löwen Braunschweig’s loss to NINERS Chemnitz as he tallied 23 points on 9-of-12 attempts, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Dominic Lockhart, Brose Bamberg
Lockhart played a major role in Bamberg remaining undefeated in collecting 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists and 4 steals in the team’s win over MLP Academics Heidelberg.
G: Maurice Stuckey, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim
Stuckey is back on this list again after he drained 6 three-pointers in scoring 20 points to go with 1 rebound - albeit in Crailsheim’s loss to ratiopharm ulm.
F: Robin Christen, Hamburg Towers
Christen is also a returnee as he also knocked down 6 three-pointers in scoring 22 points and grabbed 2 rebounds in Hamburg’s win over medi bayruth.
F: Oscar da Silva, ALBA BERLIN
da Silva has been outstanding in his start with Berlin and he led the way against EWE Baskets Oldenburg with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks while shooting 10-of-13 from the field.
C: Martin Breunig, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Breunig had his best game of the season as he collected 16 points, 9 rebounds and 1 block in Oldenburg’s loss to ALBA BERLIN.
Young Guns
Justus Hollatz, 20, PG, Hamburg Towers
Hollatz struggled with his shooting - hitting just 2-of-7 and 0-of-2 on three-pointers - in scoring 4 points but he also collected 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal in 15:21 minutes.
Kay Bruhnke, 20, SG, medi bayreuth
Bruhnke continues to have a strong early season and he picked up 7 points, 1 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 blocks in 20:10 minutes of Bayreuth’s loss to Hamburg Towers.
Jacob Patrick, 17, PG, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
Patrick had foul trouble all game, picking up five fouls in 16:01 minutes but the youngster still produced 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting and 2-of-5 three-pointers to go with 1 rebound and 1 steal.
Tischlers Watch
Every season we keep track of a young German talent and give you a weekly update on him. For the 2021-22 campaign, we will be looking at the 2000-born Tischler twins Brandon and Nicholas and how they perform with Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. Brandon collected 6 points on 1-of-4 shooting (1-of-2 three-pointers) and 3-of-4 free throws to go with 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 15:46 minutes against NINERS Chemnitz. Nicolas meanwhile scored two points as he hit his only shot in 6:42 minutes.
Germans Abroad
Robin Benzing has been on his three-point shooting game of late as the German national team captain hit 4 triples in scoring 23 points with 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal for Fortitudo Bologna against Happy Casa Brindisi. Benzing nailed 5 three-pointers and scored 23 points as well against Pesaro a week earlier.
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