ALBA BERLIN became the sole record holders for the most titles in MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup history as they defeated a determined HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim for their 11th crown - one more than TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Maodo Lo was outstanding for the champions all weekend and took home the MVP trophy. The biggest non-German Cup news saw NINERS Chemnitz once again defeat FC Bayern Munich - for the third time this season.
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:
Lo leads ALBA past pesky Crailsheim, Berlin win record 11th cup title
ALBA BERLIN made German basketball history as they defeated HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim 86-76 to claim the 2022 MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup title - the record 11th trophy. Playing in front of their home fans at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin pulled into first place on their own thanks to an outstanding Maodo Lo while Crailsheim missed their chance for their first title. Crailsheim came out ready and raced away to a 16-point lead midway through the second quarter. But Berlin answered with a run just like in the semi-finals against NINERS Chemnitz, getting to within four points at the break. The third quarter was a fight but the home side was up by six points after 30 minutes. Berlin delivered the knockout punch with a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter to lead 74-60. Crailsheim made Berlin sweat in getting the deficit to three points. But Lo drained a dagger three-pointer and it was ALBA BERLIN’s day to celebrate. Berlin committed only 9 turnovers while hitting 10 three-pointers to six for Crailsheim and 20 free throws compared to 14 for Crailsheim. Lo finished the game with 20 points while Jaleen Smith scored 17 points and Oscar da Silva added 14 points and 8 rebounds. T.J. Shorts was unstoppable with 30 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals but he didn’t get enough help as Maurice Stuckey was the only other player in double figures with 14 points.
Most Valuable Lo - Maodo Lo takes home MVP award
There was no doubt about the MVP of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup as Maodo Lo took home the award for winners ALBA BERLIN. The German international point guard collected 19 points with 4 three-pointers and 3 assists in Berlin’s semi-finals win over NINERS Chemnitz and then poured in 20 points - including Berlin’s last nine points - to go with 4 rebounds and 2 steals in the final win over HARKO Merlins Crailsheim.
Berlin now sole record cup champs with 11th title
ALBA BERLIN now are the sole record holders for the most MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup titles with 11 after their win over HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. Berlin, who also claimed the cup in 1997, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2020, were playing in their 15th final - and fifth in a row. TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen also have 10 cup trophies - 1970, 1971, 1974, 1976, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1995.
Berlin fend off Chemnitz, set up date with Crailsheim for chance at history
ALBA BERLIN fended off a tough NINERS Chemnitz 91-81 to reach the final of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup, where they hope to make history. Chemnitz showed they were up to the task in grabbing a 10-point lead early in the second quarter. Berlin however showed why they are a EuroLeague team with a 16-3 answer to take the lead at halftime. Berlin built a 13-point lead late in the third quarter, and Chemnitz could only fight back to within five points the rest of the way. That meant HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim were the only thing standing in the way of Berlin becoming the sole record cup winner holder. The 10-time cup champs committed only 8 turnovers and shot 47.5 percent from the field while holding Chemnitz to 43.3 percent for the game. Maodo Lo and Jaleen Smith both scored 19 points to lead the way for Berlin, who also had Johannes Thiemann score 12 points and Luke Sikma chip in 5 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Isiaha Mike was Chemnitz’s top scorer with 15 points and Darion Atkins scored 14 points.
Shorts too strong, Crailsheim down Braunschweig to reach first cup final
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim booked their ticket to their first-ever MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup final as they defeated Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 85-71 in a roller-coaster of emotions. Crailsheim wasted a 12-point second quarter lead as Braunschweig went on an 18-2 run to pull ahead midway through the second half. But Crailsheim regained control with an 11-0 surge to reach the final. With team owner Dennis Schröder in Berlin thanks to the NBA All-Star Weekend break, Braunschweig committed 19 turnovers and shot only 36.8 percent from the field compared to 45.7 percent for Crailsheim. T.J. Shorts led the way with 26 points and 9 assists while Elias Lasisi scored 15 points and Maurice Stuckey picked up 12 points. David Krämer poured in 25 points with 9 rebounds for Braunschweig, who also had Martin Peterka score 14 points and Owen Klassen chip in 12 points. Tookie Brown went out injured midway through the second quarter.
Chemnitz roll past Bayern at home - for another win over Munich
NINERS Chemnitz remain the absolute bogey opponent for FC Bayern Munich as Chemnitz rolled to a 77-58 home victory for their third win over Munich this season. Chemnitz, who came up with the perfect showing ahead of their MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup showdown with ALBA BERLIN, have now beaten Bayern four times in five games. Both teams were missing their head coaches as Andrea Trinchieri was out for family reasons and replaced by Demond Greene and Chemnitz’s Rodrigo Pastore was sick and Virgil Matthews took his spot. Chemnitz started pulling away in the second quarter and were never threatened the rest of the way for their fourth straight win for a 15-6 record while Bayern are 16-5. Chemnitz held Bayern to just 36.7 percent shooting including 5-of-32 (15.6 percent) from long range while hitting 42.3 percent (11-of-26) from deep themselves. Mindaugas Susinskas paced Chemnitz with 14 points while Jonas Richter and Isiaha Mike both scored 12 points and Nelson Weidemann and Frantz Massenat both had 10 points. Deshaun Thomas was Bayern’s top scorer with 14 points.
Braunschweig defense hands Ulm second straight loss
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig made sure they were heading to the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup with confidence as they shut down rati-opharm ulm 78-59 on the road. Braunschweig jumped ahead by double figures in the first quarter and Ulm never really got into a rhythm as the guests improved to 9-12 and Ulm dropped their second straight to fall to 14-7. Ulm shot only 33.9 percent from the field and were out-rebounded 45-28. David Krämer was Braunschweig’s top scorer with 15 points, Tookie Brown picked up 14 points and 7 assists and Ondrej Sehnal had 12 points. Karim Jallow paced Ulm with 17 points.
Despite 41 points from Rodriguez, Ulm snap slump in Round 12 win over Würzburg
ratiopharm ulm snapped a modest two-game losing streak as they collected a 92-86 home win over s.Oliver Würzburg in a Round 12 makeup game as Würzburg still are winless on the road despite a monster game from Desi Ro-driguez. The game was back for forth for the first three quarters but Ulm were never really threatened in the final frame in moving to 15-7 and Würzburg’s road woes continued at 0-10 away from home and 5-16 overall. Ulm shot 58.1 percent from the field, including 65.1 percent on two-pointers for the win. Jaron Blossomgame poured in 21 points while Semaj Christon collected 18 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and the German trio of Karim Jallow (13 points), Philipp Herkenhoff (11) and Nicolas Bretzel (10) combined for 34 points. Rodriguez scored a new season high in the league with 41 points - topping the 40 points by Parker Jackson-Cartwright from Telekom Baskets Bonn - to lead Würzburg. But he didn’t get enough help as Cameron Hunt had 13 points but no other player had more than 9 points.
Würzburg grab critical win in relegation fight, stop Bonn despite 30 points from PJC
s.Oliver Würzburg picked up a big win in their battle against relegation as they downed Telekom Baskets Bonn at home 93-90. Würzburg led by 10 points at the break but Bonn went ahead just before the end of the third quarter. The hosts used an 11-0 run to take a 12-point lead with 2 minutes to play and held on to move to 5-15 while Bonn fell to 15-7 with their fifth loss in the last eight games. Würzburg shot 57.9 percent for the game and made 20-of-26 free throws compared to 9-of-13 from the line for Bonn, who hit 15 three-pointers to 7 for the hosts in nearly grabbing the win. Desi Rodriguez collected 21 points and 12 rebounds to pace Würzburg and Craig Moller had 20 points. Parker Jackson-Cartwright poured in 30 points with 7 assists and Jeremy Morgan added 21 points in the loss.
Berlin allow 2 fourth quarter points, run away from Frankfurt on road
ALBA BERLIN continued their winning ways ahead of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup as they pulled away from FRAPORT SKYLINERS 72-56 on the road. Berlin nearly wasted a 12-point lead as Frankfurt were within 2 points early in the fourth quarter but allowed just two points in the final 10 mi-nutes. Berlin’s fourth straight win pushed them to 14-5, and Frankfurt are now 5-15 after losing five in a row. Berlin survived 22 turnovers as they held Frankfurt to just 33.8 percent shooting including 19.1 percent from long range. Jaleen Smith and Malte Delow led the winners with 11 points and Christ Koumadje collected 10 points and 12 rebounds. Jamel McLean and Brancou Badio both picked up 17 points for Frankfurt.
Shorts carries Crailsheim past Giessen at home
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim avoided a slip-up before the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup as they downed JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers 87-81 at home. The game was close throughout with nine points being the biggest lead of the game. Crailsheim kept the guests scoreless for 4 minutes in the fourth quarter to take an 8-point lead managed to win and improve to 12-7 with Giessen falling to 4-15. Crailsheim committed just 5 turnovers and got 15 fast break points to 0 for Giessen. T.J. Shorts was fantastic with 26 points and 5 assists in the win with Maurice Stuckey scoring 13 points and Bogdan Radosavljevic adding 12 points. Kendale McCullum tallied 16 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in the loss.
Joesaar shines as Bayreuth win third straight in shootout over Oldenburg
medi bayreuth continue to climb their way back into contention for the playoffs as they prevailed in an offensive spectacle with a 111-95 victory at EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Bayreuth grabbed control of the game with a 12-2 finish to the first half and never were challenged in the final 20 minutes. The guests have now grabbed three straight wins to jump to 11-10 and Oldenburg fell to 5-16. Oldenburg shot a redhot 61.4 percent from the field - including 60.0 percent (15-of-25) from long range, but Bayreuth were even better at 63.8 percent for the game. The guests also controlled the glass 30-15 including 12 offensive rebounds, which led to a 19-0 advantage in second chance points. Janari Joesaar led the way with 24 points while Martynas Sajus had 21 points, Sacar Amin had 18 points and Cameron Wells chipped in 11 points and 8 assists. Max Heidegger was Oldenburg’s leading scorer with 23 points and Phil Pressey had 21 points in the loss.
Ludwigsburg use late run to get past Göttingen at home
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg needed a big fourth quarter run to grab an 86-79 victory at home over BG Göttingen. The guests built a 15-point lead early in the third quarter before Ludwigsburg used a 20-5 run in the final frame to improve to 14-7 and Göttingen fell to 11-8. Ludwigsburg committed only 10 turnovers while holding Göttingen to 44.4 percent shooting for the game. Justin Simon led the way with 21 points and Tekele Cotton picked up 16 points in the win. Stephen Brown paced Göttingen with 16 points but Kamar Baldwin was held to 6 points on 2-of-14 shooting.
Göttingen add low post reinforcements with Grimes
BG Göttingen added low post reinforcements with the signing of Nate Grimes until the end of the season. The 25-year-old center played this season with Belgian top flight side Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen. Göttingen saw what Grimes could do in the pre-season as they played Mechelen in an exhibition game in early September.
Heidelberg too much at home over MBC
MLP Academics Heidelberg collected an impressive 94-70 home victory over SYNTAINICS MBC in an important win in the fight against relegation. The game was tied early in the third quarter before Heidelberg raced away with a 16-3 run spanning the final two frames to jump to 7-14 and MBC just behind at 6-14. Heidelberg controlled the glass 37-26 and held MBC to just 43.4 per-cent shooting including a nightmare 10.5 percent (2-of-19) from long range. Jordan Geist paced the winners with 22 points and Robert Lowery picked up 18 points and 6 assists. Jamel Morris was MBC’s leading scorer with 17 points.
Player of the Week
Janari Joesaar grabbed the Player of the Week honors for Round 22 as he was dominating for medi bayreuth against EWE Baskets Oldenburg. The Estonian forward scored 24 points on 9-of-10 shots (4/5 threes) and 2-of-2 free throws to go with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals for an efficiency of 37.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Maodo Lo, ALBA BERLIN
It is impossible to not have the German Cup MVP Lo in the German Top Five. After picking up 3 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists against FRAPORT SKYLINERS, the point guard had 19 points with 4 three-pointers and 3 assists in the cup semi-finals against NINERS Chemnitz. Lo then collected 20 points with 3 three-pointers, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in the final win over HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim - including the last nine points for the champs.
G: David Krämer, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Krämer had a great week individually, starting with 15 points on 4 three-pointers to go with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals in a win over against ratiopharm ulm. And then he drained 6 three-pointers in pouring in 25 points with 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in the German Cup semi-finals against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim.
G: Maurice Stuckey, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim
Stuckey had a solid week of his own. He picked up 13 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist versus JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers and then tallied 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in Crailsheim’s German Cup win over Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. Stuckey collected 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in the final against ALBA BERLIN but they were not enough.
F: Philipp Herkenhoff, ratiopharm ulm
Herkenhoff collected 12 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block in a loss to Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. He then contributed 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in the win over s.OliverWürzburg.
F: Jonas Richter, NINERS Chemnitz
Richter played a major role in Chemnitz once again beating FC Bayern Munich with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. He then picked up 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 steals in the German Cup semi-finals loss to ALBA BERLIN.
Young Guns
Malte Delow, 20, SF, ALBA BERLIN
Delow had a strong week for Berlin, starting with 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 as-sists and 2 steals against FRAPORT SKYLINERS. He picked up 9 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal in the German Cup win over NINERS Chemnitz, and then contributed 5 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in Berlin’s victory over HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim in the cup final.
Kay Bruhnke, 20, SG, medi bayreuth
Bruhnke helped Bayreuth get a shootout win over EWE Baskets Oldenburg with 9 points on 3-of-6 shots (0/1 threes) and 3-of-4 free throws to go with 4 rebounds in 18:21 minutes.
Sananda Fru, 18, PF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
The 18-year-old big man set new career highs in points (4) and minutes played (14:51) in Braunschweig’s win over ratiopharm ulm. Fru made 2-of-3 shots and tied a career-best with 3 rebounds in his sixth appearance. He only played 2:50 minutes in Braunschweig’s German Cup game against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim and committed 2 turnovers.
Tischlers Watch
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig had two games this week and both Tischler twins played major roles in the games. Brandon Tischler had 8 points on 3-of-5 three-pointers and 2-of-2 free throws to go with 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 21:55 minutes in the win over ratiopharm ulm. He had 3 points on 1-of-8 shots (1/4 threes) and 5 rebounds in 23:32 minutes against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim in the German Cup semi-finals. Nicholas Tischler started both games, collecting 3 points on 1-of-2 shots (1/1 threes), 3 rebounds and 1 block in 20:15 minutes against Ulm and then contributing 2 points on 1-of-3 shots (0/2 threes), 4 rebounds and 1 steal in 16:39 minutes versus Crailsheim.
Germans Abroad
The German national team will see a return during the up-coming window as Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann was nominated for the up-coming game against Israel on Friday February 25 in Tel Aviv. The Ludwigsburg big man has not played for Germany in nine years. Germany will face Israel again on February 28 in Heidelberg. Here is 14-man roster for the games: Robin Benzing, Bastian Doreth, Philipp Herkenhoff, Justus Hollatz, Bennet Hundt, Karim Jallow, Michael Kessens, David Krämer, Dominic Lockhart, Len Schoormann, Christian Sengfelder, Lukas Wank and Wohlfarth-Bottermann.
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Nachberichte
Elfter Pokalsieg für Berlin: Albatrosse gewinnen 86:76 gegen Crailsheim / Maodo Lo wertvollster Spieler des TOP FOUR
Nachberichte
Berlin gegen Crailsheim im Pokalfinale / Favorit schlägt Chemnitz 91:81 und greift nach Rekord
Nachberichte
