This week of action saw medi bayreuth grab the final spot in the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup Quarter-Finals and then end NINERS Chemnitz’s dream start to the season in the easyCredit BBL. Promoted side MLP Academics Heidelberg however are still undefeated through three rounds of games. The biggest game on paper was MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg at home against ALBA BERLIN and Ludwigsburg’s defense was too tough in a big win.
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:
Bayreuth down Hamburg to reach German Cup quarters
medi bayreuth was the final team to qualify for the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup Quarter-Finals as they defeated Hamburg Towers 93-84 at home. The game was tied early in the third quarter and the hosts went on a 19-3 run and led by as many as 19 points for the win. Bayreuth drained 12-of-24 three-pointers (50.0 percent). Janari Joesaar led the way with 22 points and 6 rebounds, Marcus Thornton scored 19 points and Bastian Doreth dished out 9 assists. Jaylon Brown paced Hamburg with 19 points while Caleb Homesley scored 16 points and Maik Kotsar had 15 points.
Chemnitz will host Bayern - draw set for German Cup quarters
The draw for the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup Quarter-Finals was made and the early surprise of the league NINERS Chemnitz were drawn to hosts FC Bayern Munich. The other three games planned for the November 13-14 weekend have Basketball Löwen Braunschweig welcoming FRAPORT SKYLINERS; ALBA BERLIN playing at medi bayreuth; and HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim taking on s.Oliver Würzburg at home.
Bayreuth end Chemnitz magic with road win
medi bayreuth put an end to NINERS Chemnitz’s super start to the season as they won 86-72 on the road. Bayreuth held Chemnitz scoreless for five minutes in the fourth quarter to take control for a 1-1 record while Chemnitz fell to 2-1. Bayreuth held Chemnitz to just 43.5 percent shooting including 20.7 percent from long range. Sacar Anim paced the winners with 19 points, Terry Allen scored 15 points and Cameron Wells added 14 points and 4 assists. Nelson Weidemann and Isiaha Mike both scored 14 points and Gerald Robinson had 11 points and 8 assists in the loss.
Still undefeated: Promoted Heidelberg 3-0 after win in Giessen
MLP Academics Heidelberg remained one of the biggest surprises of the early season as the promoted team remained undefeated with a 75-68 victory at JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers- Heidelberg never trailed and led by 18 points late in first half. The margin was down to three points late but Jordan Geist tallied the last 11 points for Heidelberg in the final 4:15 minutes. Heidelberg grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and watched Giessen hit just 13-of-23 free throws (56.5 percent) for a 3-0 record while Giessen dropped to 1-2. Geist ended with 28 points and Robert Lowry had 14 points for the winners. Brayon Blake paced Giessen with 15 points and 7 rebounds and Kyan Anderson scored 13 points.
Ludwigsburg control Berlin at home in returns of Smith, Da Silva
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg came up with a strong defensive performance to secure a 74-62 home victory over ALBA BERLIN in the returns of Jaleen Smith and Oscar Da Silva. Ludwigsburg led by 16 points late in the first half and remained more or less in control the rest of the way to move to 2-1 and dropping Berlin to 1-2. Berlin committed 23 turnovers and shot just 40.0 percent for the game including 25.0 percent from long range. Justin Simon was the leader for the hosts with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 6 steals with Jonah Radebaugh collecting 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals and Tremmell Darden adding 12 points. Luke Sikma paced Berlin with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists while Maodo Lo picked up 15 points and 5 assists. Da Silva had 10 points, 3 steals and 2 blocks and last season’s MVP Smith was held to 3 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
Ludwigsburg add more versatility, athleticism with Alkins
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg added more versatility and athleticism to their already potent lineup as they signed Rawle Alkins for the rest of the season. The 24-year-old American guard joins Ludwigsburg after playing two games with JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers, where he collected 8.3 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 steals.
MBC beat Crailsheim in thrilling overtime shootout at home
SYNTAINICS MBC and HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim gave fans an absolute thriller with MBC prevailing in a back-and-forth shootout 116-111 overtime win at home. The hosts led by 12 points early in the second quarter, but it was close the rest of the way with 28 lead changes and 14 ties. Crailsheim’s Bogdan Radosavljevic made it 99-99 with 49 seconds to force overtime. Jamel Morris made two three-pointers early in the extra session and MBC converted 6-of-8 free throws in the final 72 seconds to move to 2-1 with Crailsheim dropping to 1-2. The 116 points are the most scored in the easyCredit BBL this season thus far. MBC took the rebound battle 42-31 including 18 offensive rebounds and shot 65.9 percent on 2-pointers. Behnam Yakhchali led MBC with 24 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, Morris ended with 19 points and 5 assists, Chris Coffey collected 18 points and 13 rebounds, Goran Huskic flirted with a triple-double with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists, Nikola Rebic chipped in 18 points and 5 assists and Jakub Garbacz scored 17 points as that sextet scored 114 of the team’s 116 points. TJ Shorts was outstanding for Hamburg with 30 points, 6 rebounds and 12 assists, while Radosavljevic scored 20 points and Maurice Stuckey ended with 19 points.
Hunt drains game-winner for Würzburg at home over Oldenburg
s.Oliver Würzburg picked up their first victory of the season as they defeated EWE Baskets Oldenburg 90-88 thanks to Cameron Hunt’s game-winner with 1.5 seconds left. Oldenburg opened a 13-point lead in the first quarter but it was gone in the same period. The guests led for the entire second half except the final seconds when Hunt hit the lefty layup to move to 1-1 with Oldenburg dropping to 1-2. Würzburg showed their dominance inside with a 38-29 rebound advantage while taking second chance points 17-7 and points in the paint 44-28. Desi Rodriguez did it all for Würzburg with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists while Hunt finished with 21 points and William Buford added 21 points and 7 rebounds. Michal Michalak was Oldenburg’s main man with 29 points and Max Heidegger had 24 points as the two combined for 32 shots -more than half of the 61 attempts from the team with no one else taking more than seven shots.
Bamberg run away in fourth to win at Ulm
Brose Bamberg used a big fourth quarter surge to run away with a 94-83 win at ratiopharm ulm and remain undefeated. The game was tight early in the final period when Bamberg went on a 13-0 run to take control and then Justin Robinson scored eight points in the final 82 seconds. Bamberg, who moved to 3-0, made 14-of-33 three-pointers (42.4 percent) compared to Ulm’s 3-of-19 three-pointers (15.8 percent). Ulm dropped to 1-2 as they could not make use of 52-30 points in the paint and a 20-0 advantage in fast break points. Christian Sengfelder led the winners with 27 points, Robinson had 21 points and 12 assists and Patrick Heckmann added 14 points. Semaj Christon paced Ulm with 18 points and 6 assists, Jaron Blossomgame scored 15 points and Cristiano Felicio added 13 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Bamberg guard Frankie Ferrari retires at just 25 years old
Brose Bamberg will not be able to count on Frankie Ferrari to help them this season as the American guard announced his retirement from basketball at just 25 years of age. Ferrari called it quits due to health reasons.
Hamburg end slump for first victory of season, Frankfurt still winless
Hamburg Towers finally notched their first victory of the new season as they prevailed 74-64 at home over FRAPORT SKYLINERS. Hamburg led by 13 points in the first quarter and it was up to 19 points in the fourth as Hamburg improved to 1-2 after also having lost in the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup. Frankfurt are the only winless team in the league at 0-3 through they did reach the German Cup Quarter-Finals. Hamburg made 13 three-pointers to six for Frankfurt and forced 26 Frankfurt turnovers. Robin Christen paced Hamburg with 19 points and 6 rebounds, Caleb Homesley scored 14 points and Jabril Durham collected 11 points, 11 assists and a league season high 8 steals. Quantez Robertson had 17 points and 7 rebounds in a losing effort and Lorenz Brenneke chipped in 14 points and 9 rebounds.
Bayern roll past Braunschweig at home for first win
FC Bayern Munich rolled past Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 96-80 at home for their first win in the league this season. Bayern led by 16 points in the first quarter and never looked back in moving to 1-1 with Braunschweig now at 1-2. Bayern forced 20 Braunschweig turnovers and made 37-of-40 free throws to 22-of-35 for the guests. Deshaun Thomas was Bayern’s top scorer with 18 points and 6 rebounds with Ognjen Jaramaz picking up 16 points and Corey Walden scoring 14 points. Benedikt Turudic tallied 17 points and 7 rebounds and Robin Amaize had 13 points and 6 rebounds in the loss.
Göttingen solid at line in home win over Bonn
BG Göttingen collected their first win of the year in beating Telekom Baskets Bonn 90-81 at home thanks to a superb showing from the free throw line. In a game that saw 18 lead changes, Göttingen were up 16 points mid-way through the third quarter. The advantage was almost all gone in the fourth but the hosts made 15-of-15 free throws in the final 5 minutes to move to 1-1 with Bonn dropping to 2-1. All told, Göttingen made 31-of-35 free throws compared to 19-of-25 for Bonn, who only shot 42.4 percent from the field. Kamar Baldwin hit all 12 of his foul shots in scoring 27 points, Stephen Brown had 19 points and Jake Toolson scored 14 points. Skyler Bowlin paced Bonn with 18 points, Parker Jackson-Cartwright tallied 16 points and 9 assists and Leon Kratzer added 13 points.
Player of the Week
It is no surprise that the Player of the Week of Round 3 comes from that wild overtime thriller between SYNTAINICS MBC and HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. TJ Shorts did all he could but Crailsheim could not get the win as the guard scored 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting and 6-of-7 free throws to go with 6 rebounds, 12 assists and 1 steal for an efficiency of 40.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Maodo Lo, ALBA BERLIN
Lo had a solid game for Berlin but could not keep them from losing at MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg. The playmaker had 15 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists in the loss.
G: Maurice Stuckey, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim
Stuckey was excellent in Crailsheim’s overtime thriller against SYNTAINICS MBC, picking up 19 points with 5 three-pointers to go with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in the defeat.
F: Robin Christen, Hamburg Towers
Christen came up with two strong games for Hamburg this week. He had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in their German Cup loss to medi bayreuth and then collected 19 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in their win over FRAPORT SKYLINERS.
C: Benedikt Turudic, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Much of the talk about Germans at Braunschweig thus far this season has focused around David Krämer and Robin Amaize. But Turudic had a strong game in their loss to FC Bayern Munich with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block.
C: Christian Sengfelder, Brose Bamberg
Sengfelder was dominant on offense in Bamberg’s win over ratiopharm ulm with 27 points to go along with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
Young Guns
Lorenz Brenneke, 21, PF, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Brenneke continues to excel in his new team as the former ALBA BERLIN big man had 14 points, 9 rebounds and 1 steal in a loss to Hamburg Towers.
Kay Bruhnke, 20, SG, medi bayreuth
Bruhnke did not play a major role in Bayreuth’s win over Hamburg Towers in the German Cup with 4 points on 1-of-2 shooting and 2-of-2 free throws in 7:20 minutes. But the 20-year-old had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 18:47 minutes in the win over NINERS Chemnitz.
Jacob Patrick, 17, PG, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
The younger Patrick brother was not at all fazed by facing the two-time reigning champions ALBA BERLIN as the 17-year-old scored 8 points on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-4 on three-pointers, to go with 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 block in 16:13 minutes.
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