ALBA BERLIN have a lot of history in the easyCredit BBL but 32 straight points is a pretty amazing feat and that is exactly what the two-time reigning champs did against medi bayreuth to close the game. Things were much more suspenseful with MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg who got a late game-winner from Jonah Radebaugh while Brose Bamberg remained alive in the playoffs hunt with two big wins.
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 score final 32 points to blow out Bayreuth
It’s not every day that you see a team score 32 points in a row not to mention what ALBA BERLIN did to medi bayreuth as the two-time champions scored the final 32 points for an 87-53 blowout victory at home. Bayreuth hung close for 32 minutes and trailed by just two points before Berlin reeled off the final 32 points to move to 17-6 and Bayreuth dropped their seventh straight for an 11-17 record. Berlin committed only 9 turnovers and held Bayreuth to just 32.8 percent shooting, including 29.3 percent on two-pointers. Oscar da Silva and Johannes Thiemann both scored 20 points, Christ Koumadje had 11 points and 7 rebounds and Tamir Blatt added 10 points. Bastian Doreth paced Bayreuth with 12 points, Marcus Thornton had 11 points and Janari Joesaar added 10 points and 7 rebounds in the defeat.
Bonn extend winning streak to six, snap Ludwigsburg’s run
Telekom Baskets Bonn remained atop the easyCredit BBL with a strong 97-88 victory at home over MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg to extend their winning streak to six games and end the guests’ six-game roll. Bonn built a 17-point lead in the second quarter and it was still 14 points midway through the fourth to avoid any slip-up and improve to 21-7 while Ludwigsburg fell to 19-8. Bonn forced only 6 Ludwigsburg turnovers but took the rebound battle 45-35 and made 16 three-pointers to just 6 for the guests. Javontae Hawkins led the way with 24 points, Parker Jackson-Cartwright collected 21 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists and Saulius Kulvietis, Skyler Bowlin and Jeremy Morgan all scored 13 points. Jonah Radebaugh tallied 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in the great showdown with PJC while Ethan Happ scored 19 points and Justin Simon added 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Hulls, Radebaugh threes give Ludwigsburg Round 19 win over MBC
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg got two three-pointers in the final 52 seconds to fend off SYNTAINICS MBC 77-75 at home in a Round 19 makeup game for their sixth straight victory. Ludwigsburg built a 16-point lead early in the second quarter but trailed in the opening minutes of the second half. The rest of the game went back and forth and MBC led by four points with 1 minute to play. Jordan Hulls and Jonah Radebaugh drained back-to-back three-pointers - the second coming with 12 seconds remaining to push Ludwigsburg’s record to 19-7 while MBC have lost three straight and are 9-17. Ludwigsburg forced 19 MBC turnovers and took the fast break points 16 to 0. Radebaugh finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals while Ethan Happ picked up 17 points and 10 rebounds and Rawle Atkins had 17 points and Hulls ended with 11 points. Reggie Upshaw paced MBC with 18 points and Goran Huskic tallied 16 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists and AJ English scored 16 points.
Bamberg stay in playoffs hunt after Round 17 makeup win over Crailsheim
Brose Bamberg picked up a big victory in their fight for the playoffs as they knocked off HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim 91-81 at home in a Round 17 makeup game. Neither side could really pull away until Bamberg put together a 10-0 run to start the fourth quarter to improve to 12-14 with their third straight win while Crailsheim fell to 12-11 with their fourth straight loss. Bamberg controlled the rebounds 51-33 and held Crailsheim to just 40.0 percent shooting for the game. Akil Mitchell collected 16 points and 13 rebounds and Omar Prewitt had 16 points to pace Bamberg while Christian Sengfelder added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Jaren Lewis was Crailsheim’s leading scorer with 20 points and Mike Caffey had 16 points.
Bamberg fend off Frankfurt to keep playoff dreams alive
Brose Bamberg managed to hold off FRAPORT SKYLINERS 75-72 at home to secure their fourth straight win and keep alive their chances of making the playoffs. Bamberg led the whole game and the cushion was 15 points late in the third quarter but they watched as Frankfurt pulled to within one point on Quantez Robertson’s layup with 15 seconds left. Christian Sengfelder made two free throws with 14 seconds to play and Bamberg improved to 13-14 with one victory fewer and two losses more than BG Göttingen in the final playoffs spot while Frankfurt lost their third straight to fall to 6-21 - three wins behind SYNTAINICS MBC in the last non-relegation spot. Frankfurt committed 19 turnovers and lost the battle of the glass 45-32, including 20 Bamberg offensive rebounds, which led to a 17-5 advantage in second chance points. Chris Dowe led Bamberg with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists while Sengfelder finished with 15 points and Justin Robinson had 11 points. Marcel Ponitka collected 19 points and 5 assists in the loss with Will Cherry scoring 15 points and Rasheed Moore adding 14 points and 8 rebounds.
Heidelberg knock off Frankfurt in Round 23 makeup game
MLP Academics Heidelberg picked up another big win as they try to fend off relegation by knocking off FRAPORT SKYLINERS 71-65 at home in a Round 23 makeup game. Heidelberg led for most of the game and put the game away for good with a 9-2 spurt in the fourth quarter to move to 10-16 with their fourth win in the last six games while Frankfurt fell to 6-20. Frankfurt shot just 15.8 percent from long range and made just 3 three-pointers compared to 11 for Heidelberg. Jordan Geist hit 4 from long range in scoring 19 points for the winners while Robert Lowery also had 4 three-pointers for 17 points. Jamel McLean and Rasheed Moore both scored 12 points in the loss.
Heidelberg finish huge week with win over Giessen
MLP Academics Heidelberg completed a crucial week the best way they could by knocking off JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers 95-81 at home to take a major step to staying in the league. Just days after beating last placed FRAPORT SKYLINERS, Heidelberg blew the game open in the third quarter and never were threatened the rest of the way in moving to 11-16 while Giessen fell to 6-19. Both teams grabbed 12 offensive rebounds but Heidelberg had 10 more second chance points (19 to 9) and Heidelberg committed only 10 turnovers. Kelvin Martin poured in 23 points to lead the winners with Robert Lowery scoring 17 points, Max Ugrai chipping in 16 points and 6 rebounds and Jordan Geist picking up 15 points. Kendale McCullum collected 20 points, 13 assists and 3 steals and Florian Koch added 17 points and 6 rebounds in the loss.
Hollatz shines again as Hamburg race past Crailsheim
Hamburg Towers registered the most lopsided victory in the league this season as they raced past HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim 113-63 at home in a big result in the fight for the playoffs. Hamburg led by 11 points after the first quarter and just kept pouring it on the whole game and 50 points is the biggest winning margin of the season. Hamburg picked up their third straight win to move to 15-12 while Crailsheim have lost five in a row for a 12-12 mark. Hamburg committed only 9 turnovers and shot 59.7 percent from the field including 72.5 on two-pointers and Crailsheim managed just 40.0 percent for the game. Jaylon Brown paced the winners with 29 points including 7 three-pointers, Maik Kotsar had 22 points, Lukas Meisner and Eddy Edigin both scored 14 points and Justus Hollatz collected 13 points, 4 rebounds and 14 assists. Elias Lasisi was the only Crailsheim player in double figures with 13 points.
Bretzel putback pushes Ulm win streak to four
ratiopharm ulm remained on course for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs after rallying to knock off SYNTAINICS MBC 83-82 at home for their fourth straight victory. Ulm trailed by 12 points in the first quarter and finally went ahead in the third quarter before an exciting final minute. Karim Jallow put Ulm ahead with 56 seconds to play before AJ English hit an outside jumper with 37 seconds seconds left. Nicolas Bretzel gave Ulm the win when he put back Jaron Blossomgame’s miss with 17 seconds remaining. Ulm improved to 18-7 and MBC lost their fourth straight to drop to 9-18. The biggest difference in the stats was Ulm picking up 13 second chance points to 2 for MBC - including the game-winner - despite only 6 offensive rebounds to 5 for the guests. Blossomgame finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Bretzel scored 18 points, Semaj Christon had 18 points and 7 assists and Jallow ended with 11 points. Reggie Upshaw paced MBC with 22 points and 8 rebounds, Goran Huskic had 13 points and Jamel Morris added 12 points.
Oldenburg blast past decimated Bayern
EWE Baskets Oldenburg secured an unexpected comfortable victory in their fight to avoid relegation as they raced past FC Bayern Munich 106-75 at home. With Bayern missing all nine foreign players as well as Leon Radosevic, Oldenburg put the game away in the first quarter with a 12-point lead after 10 minutes and never looked back to move to 10-18 while Bayern dropped to 19-7 in front of a week with three Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games. Bayern committed 19 turnovers, shot just 34.4 percent for the game and watched as Oldenburg made 58.0 percent of their shots including 20 three-pointers. Max Heidegger hit 7 of their triples in scoring 31 points while Rickey Paulding had 20 points and 4 three-pointers and Phil Pressey collected 12 points and 12 assists. Jason George used his chance and poured in a career high 20 points to go with 3 rebounds and 4 assists while Joshua Obiesie had a career-high 18 points and Andi Obst picked up 15 points. The game also saw the easyCredit BBL debuts of Mohamed Sillah, Luis Wulff and Aleksa Vucetic.
Braunschweig snap losing skid, keep Göttingen faltering
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig snapped a five-game losing streak by defeating BG Göttingen 101-64 at home to clear more space from the relegation zone. Braunschweig put the game away in the second quarter and rolled to a comfortable win and a 10-16 record while Göttingen dropped their fourth straight to fall 14-12. Göttingen shot only 39.7 percent for the game, including 23.1 percent from long range while Braunschweig hit 16-of-30 three-pointers (53.3 percent). Arturs Zagars drained 5 three-pointers in scoring a season-high 17 points while Ondrej Sehnal collected 16 points and 9 assists, David Krämer scored 14 points and Martin Peterka had 12 points. Jeremiah Martin paced Göttingen with 16 points and Nate Grimes had 13 points in the loss.
Würzburg beat Chemnitz to push win streak to five games
Don’t look now but one of the hottest teams in the league is s.Oliver Würzburg after they knocked off NINERS Chemnitz 81-71 at home to extend their winning streak to five games. The game was tight until the fourth quarter when the hosts opened a 10-point lead and improved to 10-17 with Chemnitz dropping to 16-10. Würzburg dominated the glass 41 to 30, including 16 offensive rebounds which led to a 19-6 advantage in second-chance points while the guests made just 15.4 percent from long range. Cameron Hunt paced Würzburg with 22 points while Craig Moller and Will Buford both scored 15 points. Isiaha Mike was Chemnitz’s leading scorer with 12 points and 11 rebounds, Darion Atkins scored 11 points and both Nelson Weidemann and Jonas Richter chipped in 10 points.
Player(s) of the Week
There are two winners of the Player of the Week for Round 28. EWE Baskets Oldenburg’s Max Heidegger poured in 31 points on 11-of-17 shots - including 7-of-10 three-pointers - and 2-of-2 free throws, to go with 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal for an efficiency of 31 against FC Bayern Munich. Jaylon Brown matched that 31 efficiency for Hamburg Towers against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim with 29 points on 9-of-14 shots - including 7-of-11 three-pointers - and 4-of-5 free throws alongside 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Justus Hollatz, Hamburg Towers
Hollatz is one of the hottest players in the league as the German point guard picked up 13 points, 4 rebounds, 14 assists and 1 steal against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim.
G: Jason George, FC Bayern Munich
George took advantage of his playing time as he poured in a career-high 20 points with 3 three-pointers to go with 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block against EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
F: Nicolas Bretzel, ratiopharm ulm
After three point guards last week we are going with more big men this time around and Bretzel gets some love after he scored a career-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shots - including the game-winning putback - while also grabbing 6 rebounds.
F: Johannes Thiemann and Oscar da Silva, ALBA BERLIN
We’re cheating this week and just putting two Berlin big men in this spot. Thiemann had 20 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists against medi bayreuth and da Silva picked up 20 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 blocks.
C: Christian Sengfelder, Brose Bamberg
And then … of course Sengfelder, who had two strong games in two Bamberg wins. Against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim in Round 17, he had 11 points and 12 rebounds and followed that with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and the game-clinching free throws against FRAPORT SKYLINERS.
Young Guns
Hendrik Drescher, 22, C, Hamburg Towers
Drescher is starting to get more playing time and he had 4 points on 2-of-4 shots (0/1 threes) and 1 rebound in 6:48 minutes against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim.
Kay Bruhnke, 20, SG, medi bayreuth
Bruhnke made his way back to the court with 9 points on 4-of-7 shots (1/3 threes) to go with 3 rebounds and 1 block in 15:49 minutes against ALBA BERLIN.
Luis Wulff, 18, SG; Mohamed Sillah 20, C; Aleksa Vucetic 17, PG, FC Bayern Munich
Bayern’s packed schedule forced the team into sending three youngsters to make their easyCredit BBL debuts against EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Wulff scored 2 points on 1-of-2 shooting and had 1 assist in 6:13 minutes; Sillah had 1 rebound in 4:21 minutes; and Vucetic grabbed 5 rebounds and 1 assists while missing two shots in 16:55 minutes.
Tischlers Watch
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig grabbed a comfortable 101-64 win over BG Göttingen and the 2000-born Tischler twins Brandon and Nicholas played key roles. Brandon scored 9 points on 3-of-5 shots (1/1 threes) and 2-of-6 free throws to go with 8 rebounds and 2 assists in 21:46 minutes. Nicholas started the game and picked up 2 points on 1-of-6 shots (0/1 threes), 7 rebounds and 1 assist in 19:33 minutes.
Bayern qualify for EuroLeague playoffs for second straight season
FC Bayern Munich qualified for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague quarter-finals playoffs for the second consecutive season as they knocked off Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade 82-57 at home.
Germans Abroad
Danilo Barthel is not back to his former self but the German international picked up 6 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul’s 81-76 loss to his former team FC Bayern Munich in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. Barthel has only played 10 games this season - seven in the EuroLeague and three in the Turkish domestic league. He is averaging 5.1 points and 1.7 rebounds in the EuroLeague and 5.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in the BSL.
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Nachberichte
32:0-Lauf im letzten Viertel: Berlin besiegt Bayreuth 87:53 / Da Silva und Thiemann je 20 Punkte
Europapokal
Erster deutscher Gewinner und erster Titel der Vereinshistorie: Bonn gewinnt Champions League durch 77:70-Sieg gegen Jerusalem
On the Road
