Big three-point production was in style this week as five players hit at least 6 three-pointers topped by Yago dos Santos’ 8 triples in ratiopharm ulm’s win over Brose Bamberg (Mitchell Ballock, Jhonathan Dunn, Alen Pjanic and Maurice Stuckey all had 6 triples). The week also saw Basketball Löwen Braunschweig finally win their first game at home and JeQuan Lewis drained a game-winner for ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES.
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:
Dos Santos rains 8 threes on Bamberg in Ulm’s big home win
ratiopharm ulm earned a crucial victory in their fight for the playoffs as Yago dos Santos drained 8 three-pointers in scoring 33 points in a 107-87 home win over Brose Bamberg. Ulm took control of the game in the fourth quarter for an 8-9 record with four wins in the last five games. Bamberg dropped to 7-11 with a third straight loss following their four-game winning streak. Ulm made 17 three-pointers and dominated the glass 41-33 including 19 offensive rebounds, which resulted in a 19-9 advantage in second chance points. Dos Santos also collected 6 rebounds and 8 assists, Karim Jallow had 18 points and Joshua Hawley tallied 13 points and 10 rebounds. Solomon Young had 16 points in the loss.
Braunschweig finally win first home game
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig finally secured their first home victory of the season as they defeated NINERS Chemnitz 78-71 for a third straight win. The game was tight throughout with Braunschweig leading much of the way and used a 12-3 run to build a 10-point lead with 4 minutes left. The hosts held on to improve to 5-13 and Chemnitz fell to 9-6. Chemnitz shot just 37.5 percent for the game including just 18.8 percent from long range. Braydon Hobbs did it all for Braunschweig with 20 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals with David Krämer tallying 18 points and Dustin Sleva picking up 10 points. Wes Clark was Chemnitz’s leading scorer with 16 points with Nelson Weidemann adding 15 points.
Bayern brush aside playoffs challenger Göttingen at home
FC Bayern Munich brushed aside BG Göttingen 105-74 at home in a battle of teams currently among the top four teams in the league. Bayern were up by 12 points at halftime and then just kept pulling away for a 13-4 record and Göttingen fell to 10-6. Bayern’s defense limited Göttingen to just 41.4 percent shooting while shooting a white-hot 76.9 percent on two-pointers. Cassius Winston paced six Bayern players in double figures with 16 points, Corey Walden had 14 points and Freddie Gillespie chipped in 9 points and 11 rebounds. Rayshaun Hammonds led Göttingen with 16 points off the bench and Geno Crandall had 14 points.
Pjanic threes, Klassen double-double bring Oldenburg back from 18 points down
EWE Baskets Oldenburg rallied back from an 18-point deficit to defeat MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 75-71 on the road in a battle of teams vying for home court advantage in the playoffs. The hosts grabbed an 18-point lead in the second quarter, still led by 17 points in the third quarter and were up by 10 points in the fourth period. But Oldenburg gave up just two points in the final 4 minutes to improve to 11-6 and Ludwigsburg fell to 9-7. Oldenburg made 50.0 percent of their three-pointers and held Ludwigsburg to just 38.1 percent from the field. Alen Pjanic drained 6 three-pointers for a team-high 18 points and Owen Klassen had 15 points and 14 rebounds in the preview of the Semi-Finals of the German Cup in three weeks. Jhonathan Dunn poured in 22 points in the loss.
JeQuan Lewis hits game-winner for Rostock over Wolfpack
ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES grabbed an important victory in the battle to avoid relegation by defeating SYNTAINICS MBC at home 79-77 thanks to JeQuan Lewis’ winner at the buzzer. The game was back and forth throughout with seven points being the biggest cushion and 21 lead changes and 13 ties. Trailing 74-67 with 3 minutes left, Rostock scored the next 10 points to take the lead. Mitchell Ballock knotted the game with a three-pointer with 21 seconds only to see Lewis hit the game winning long jumper with 0.1 seconds left. Rostock won their second straight to move to 8-9 and the guests fell to 6-11 after a third consecutive loss. Rostock held the guests to just 32.4 percent from long range and SYNTAINICS MBC made just 7-of-12 free throws (58.3 percent). Derrick Alston poured in 20 points with 8 rebounds for the winners with Tyler Nelson scoring 18 points and Lewis finishing with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Ballock scored 20 points in the loss and Kostja Mushidi had 19 points.
Kesteloot, Washington help Heidelberg to home win
MLP Academics Heidelberg gained some distance from the relegation zone by knocking off Würzburg Baskets 93-82 at home. Würzburg led by 11 points in the first quarter and the lead was 8 points late in the third quarter. But Heidelberg took over in the fourth quarter to move to 6-10 and drop Würzburg to 8-9. Heidelberg shot 64.9 percent on two-pointers and held Würzburg to just 45.3 percent from close range. Vincent Kesteloot led Heidelberg with 22 points and 9 rebounds, Eric Washington tallied 20 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, and Akeem Vargas scored 12 points. Cameron Hunt paced Würzburg with 17 points and 4 assists and CJ Bryce had 16 points.
Balanced Berlin crush Crailsheim after slow start
ALBA BERLIN had a slow start but ended up cruising past HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim 100-77 at home to remain atop the standings. Crailsheim jumped on Berlin early with a 13-point lead in the first quarter but trailed already in the opening minutes of the second quarter, which Berlin took 32-12 and never looked back. Berlin won their ninth straight to move to 15-1 and Crailsheim fell to 7-10. Berlin shot 65.8 percent from two-point range and held Crailsheim to just 39.1 percent for the game. Seven Berlin players scored in double figures, topped by Tim Schneider with 14 points with Malte Delow chipping in 13 points and Tamir Blatt adding 10 points and 10 assists. Maurice Stuckey paced Crailsheim with 18 points with 6 three-pointers with Jaren Lewis adding 15 points.
Obiesie stands out in Frankfurt comeback over Hamburg
FRAPORT SKYLINERS rallied from 17 points down to defeat Veolia Towers Hamburg 97-93 at home. Hamburg dominated the game early on and grabbed a 17-point lead in the second quarter with the advantage still 13 points with 3 minutes left in the third quarter. Frankfurt raced back with a 10-1 run to go up 88-82 and Joshua Obiesie hit a three-pointer with 51 seconds to make it 93-85. Frankfurt improved to 5-12 and Hamburg lost their fourth straight for a 6-11 record. Frankfurt made 14 three-pointers and forced Hamburg into 16 turnovers. Obiesie was outstanding for Frankfurt with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists while Laurynas Beliauskas and Quantez Robertson both scored 14 points. Anthony Polite paced Hamburg with 17 points and 8 rebounds and Ziga Samar tallied 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists off the bench.
Bonn breeze by Bayreuth on the road
Telekom Baskets Bonn were too strong for last-placed medi bayreuth as they rolled to a 94-71 victory on the road. Despite missing Brandon Childress, Bayreuth hung close for the first half and then Bonn took the third quarter 37-16 to move to 15-2 while Bayreuth dropped their fifth straight to fall to 3-14. Bonn shot 58.6 percent on two-pointers and held Bayreuth to 44.1 percent from close range. TJ Shorts led Bonn with 19 points and 7 assists while Collin Malcolm had 16 points and Michael Kessens collected 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Ahmed Hill poured in 24 points in the loss with Kay Bruhnke scoring 16 points and Kalif Young added 9 points, 11 rebounds and 5 steals.
Player of the Week
Player of the Week goes to Yago dos Santos of ratiopharm ulm for his fantastic showing against Brose Bamberg, collecting an efficiency of 35 as he scored 33 points on 11-of-23 shooting including 8-of-15 three-pointers, 6 rebounds and 8 assists.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Joshua Obiesie, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Obiesie helped Frankfurt to the comeback win over Veolia Towers Hamburg with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
G: David Krämer, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Krämer connected four times from long range in scoring 18 points to go with 2 rebounds and 2 steals against NINERS Chemnitz.
F: Karim Jallow, ratiopharm ulm
Jallow hit 3 three-pointers in scoring 18 points along with 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 block versus Brose Bamberg.
F: Alen Pjanic, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Pjanic continued his fantastic recent run in scoring 18 points on 6-of-7 three-pointers to go with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.
F: Tim Schneider, ALBA BERLIN
Schneider used his time wisely in Berlin’s win over HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 1 steal.
Young Guns
Kay Bruhnke, 21, PF, medi bayreuth
Bruhnke scored a career high 16 points on 4-of-7 shots (3/5 threes) against Telekom Baskets Bonn and also had 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 17:39 minutes.
Malte Delow, 21, SF, ALBA BERLIN
Delow was in consideration for a spot in the Top Five but grabs a spot in the Young Guns as the 21-year-old had 13 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in 18:21 minutes against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim.
Rikus Schulte, 18, PF, ALBA BERLIN
A second player from Berlin as Schulte ended up playing 12:00 minutes against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim, tallying 5 points on 2-of-4 shooting (1/3 threes), 1 rebound and 1 assist in his seventh game in the league.
Germans Abroad
Justus Hollatz took a bet on his future this off-season and moved to Spain to play for Rio Breogan, and the former Veolia Towers Hamburg playmaker has really stood out at times. Against Granada this weekend, the 21-year-old scored 13 points and had 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. For the season Hollatz is averaging 6.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals.
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