Three female refs / Pjanic hits 9 threes / Berlin beat Bonn / More Washington magic

What a week of action in the easyCredit BBL with Alen Pjanic stealing the headlines with 9 three-pointers in an EWE Baskets Oldenburg blowout. The massive showdown between ALBA Berlin and Telekom Baskets Bonn meanwhile lived up to its billing with the reigning champs coming out on top. Eric Washington and MLP Academics Heidelberg provided more epic drama and there was history made in Hamburg as three female referees officiated a game for the first time.

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 fight past Shorts’ 30 points, win thriller at home over Bonn

ALBA BERLIN fought past TJ Shorts scoring 30 points as they knocked off previous standings leaders Telekom Baskets Bonn 81-76 to take over first place in the league. There were 12 lead changes and Berlin didn’t take charge until opening a 78-69 lead with 3 minutes to play. Berlin collected their seventh straight win to improve to 13-1 and Bonn dropped to 13-2 in second place after their seven game win streak ended. ALBA held Bonn to just 42.7 percent shooting and just 13 assists. The hosts compensated for 18 turnovers by making 60.0 percent on 2-pointers. Tamir Blatt led Berlin with 13 points, Johannes Thiemann and Ben Lammers both scored 12 points and Yanni Wetzell chipped in 10 points. Besides Shorts, Bonn’s only other player in double figures was Collin Malcolm with 11 points.

Pjanic drains 9 threes in Oldenburg blowout of Wolfpack

EWE Baskets Oldenburg remained on the heels of the leading trio of teams as they raced past SYNTAINICS MBC 108-68 at home with Alen Pjanic putting on a show with 9 three-pointers and 31 points. Oldenburg broke the game open with a 16-4 third quarter run and Oldenburg improved to 10-5 in fourth place while the guests dropped to 6-9. Oldenburg made 15 three-pointers and forced 22 turnovers and held SYNTAINICS MBC to 40.0 percent shooting. Pjanic ended with 31 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals while Trey Drechsel had 22 points and 8 assists, DeWayne Russell collected 17 points and 10 assists and Owen Klassen chipped in 13 points and 12 rebounds. Charles Callison went for 27 points in the loss.

More Washington heroics give Heidelberg double-OT win over Bayreuth

Eric Washington and MLP Academics Heidelberg showed once again why they are the kings of drama in the easyCredit BBL as they worked overtime for the fourth time this season and beat medi bayreuth 107-101 in double overtime to snap a five-game losing streak. Heidelberg led by 13 points a number of times in the second and third quarters but Bayreuth reeled off a 26-6 run to lead by seven points with 3 minutes left in regulation. Heidelberg leader Eric Washington sent the game to overtime with a long three-pointer with 8.2 seconds to play. He had more heroics with a driving layup with 1.0 seconds remaining to force a second extra session. Elias Lasisi’s second three-pointer in the second overtime gave Heidelberg a 105-101 lead with 25 seconds to go to seal the win. Heidelberg moved to 5-10 and Bayreuth have lost three in a row for a 3-12 mark. Heidelberg out-scored Bayreuth 52-28 in the paint shooting 60.0 percent on two-pointers and holding the guests to 44.1 percent. Bayreuth made 17 three-pointers but committed 24 turnovers. Washington paced the winners with 23 points, Vincent Kesteloot added 22 points and 11 rebounds and Lasisi contributed 18 points and 9 rebounds. Brandon Childress poured in 37 points, Ignas Sargiunas had 24 points and Jackson Rowe tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

Bennet Hundt moves from Oldenburg to Heidelberg

MLP Academics Heidelberg added to their German rotation by signing Bennet Hundt until the end of next season. The 24-year-old point guard Hundt averaged 3.7 points in 9 minutes off the bench for EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Hundt will also immediately fill in for the injured Niklas Würzner.

Ludwigsburg overwhelm Bayern in home blowout

MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg secured an important victory in their fight to stave off playoffs challengers as they dominated FC Bayern Munich 96-68 at home. Ludwigsburg raced away to a 15-point lead after 10 minutes and the lead was 55-32 at halftime. Ludwigsburg snapped a two-game losing skid and moved to 9-5 while Bayern dropped their second in a row for a 11-4 record but remained in third place. Bayern shot just 37.3 percent for the game including just 4-of-22 (18.2 percent) from long range. Yorman Polas Bartolo set a new career high with 28 points for Ludwigsburg, who also had Prentiss Hubb score 20 points and Jonathan Dunn chip in 15 points. Cassius Winston paced Bayern with 21 points and Augustine Rubit scored 16 points in the defeat.

Göttingen bounce back, beat Hamburg in Barloschky coaching debut

BG Göttingen bounced back from their loss to FRAPORT SKYLINERS by knocking off Veolia Towers Hamburg 91-82 to spoil the coaching debut of new Hamburg playcaller Benka Barloschky. The game was tight throughout until Göttingen went on an 11-4 run to open a 10 point lead with less than 2 minutes left to improve to 10-5 with Hamburg falling to 13th place with a 6-9 record. Göttingen shot 54.1 percent for the game including 52.4 percent from long range. Rayshaun Hammonds and Geno Crandall paced Göttingen with 21 points each off the bench and Harald Frey added 12 points and 8 assists. Kendale McCullum picked up 25 points and 7 assists in the loss and Lukas Meisner had 15 points and 9 rebounds.

History made with three female referees in Hamburg vs Göttingen game

History was made in the easyCredit BBL as three female referees officiated a game for the first time with Anne Panther, Danjana Rey and Aleksandra Pawlik calling the Veolia Towers Hamburg versus BG Göttingen game.

Würzburg nearly waste lead, gain big win in Ulm

Würzburg Baskets earned an important victory in their fight for the playoffs as they fended off a big comeback for a 91-84 win at ratiopharm ulm. Würzburg built a 20-point lead in the second quarter and it was still 14 points with less than 7 minutes left in the game. Ulm went on a 15-3 run to get within two points but Würzburg scored seven straight points and made 6-of-6 free throws in the final 14 seconds. The second straight win moved Würzburg to 8-7 and Ulm fell to 6-9. Würzburg forced 20 turnovers and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds for a 13-2 advantage in second chance points. Stanley Whittaker paced Würzburg with 21 points and 7 assists, CJ Bryce scored 20 points and Cameron Hunt added 16 points. Bruno Caboclo scored 20 points in his first league game while Brandon Paul had 18 points in the loss.

Bamberg win streak to four, Braunschweig drop ninth straight

Two teams going in opposite directions continued their trends as Brose Bamberg collected their fourth straight win by winning 85-83 at Basketball Löwen Braunschweig, who dropped their ninth straight. The game went back and forth throughout with 9 lead changes and 10 ties and 7 points being the biggest lead. The game was tied 83-83 after Christian Sengfelder’s three-pointer and after David Krämer missed from deep, Patrick Miller hit a running jumper with 52 seconds to play. Braunschweig missed three shots in the final two possessions. Bamberg moved to 7-8 and Braunschweig fell to 2-13. Bamberg held Braunschweig to just 41.3 percent from the field while shooting 48.5 percent for the game. Miller finished with 23 points with 5 assists while Jaromir Bohacik had 16 points. Krämer collected a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds in his first game since mid-December and Braydon Hobbs picked up 17 points and 8 assists in the loss. Braunschweig did see recent signing Divine Myles finally get cleared to play and picked up 2 points and 3 assists.

Crailsheim beat Frankfurt, edge towards playoffs with third straight win

HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim edged their way towards the playoffs as they defeated FRAPORT SKYLINERS 88-72 on the road for their third straight win. Crailsheim built a 14-point lead in the first quarter and Frankfurt did not challenge the rest of the game with Crailsheim moving to 6-9 and Frankfurt falling to 4-11. Crailsheim gave up just 18 points in the paint in holding Frankfurt to just 37.9 percent shooting including 42.3 percent on two-pointers. Jaren Lewis led Crailsheim with 16 points and Otis Livingston and Bogdan Radosavljevic both had 12 points. Laurynas Beliauskas scored 21 points in the loss and new signing Isaiah Washington had 13 points and 8 rebounds.

Crailsheim strengthen backcourt with Batemon signing

HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim strengthened their backcourt as they signed James Batemon until the end of the season. The 25-year-old American is a combo guard who played this season with Greek club AS Karditsas where he averaged 17.6 points.

Player of the Week

Alen Pjanic takes the honors this week for his lights out performance in EWE Baskets Oldenburg’s win over SYNTAINICS MBC. Pjanic drained 9-of-12 three-pointers for a career high 31 points while also picking up 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 5 steals for an efficiency of 39.

Chemnitz add new center Osbourne

NINERS Chemnitz brought in reinforcements for the low post as they signed new center Malik Osborne. The 24-year-old American gives Chemnitz some real size and strength as he arrives from Greek top flight side Colossus Rhodes.

Rostock complete Round 15 at home versus Chemnitz on Wednesday

The Round 15 action will be completed on Wednesday January 18 when ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES host NINERS Chemnitz.

German Top Five of the Week

G: David Krämer, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig

Krämer had a great performance in his first game since December 17 as he collected 22 points, 11 rebounds 2 assists and 1 steal - albeit in a loss to Brose Bamberg.

F: Karim Jallow, ratiopharm ulm

Jallow picked up 13 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in Ulm’s loss to Würzburg Baskets.

F: Alen Pjanic, EWE Baskets Oldenburg

Pjanic obviously also grabs a spot in the German Top Five with his 31 points on 9 three-pointers, 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 5 steals.

C: Johannes Thiemann, ALBA BERLIN

Thiemann played a major role in Berlin beating Telekom Baskets Bonn with 12 points 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal.

C: Bogdan Radosavljevic, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim

Radosavljevic had a strong game in Crailsheim’s win over FRAPORT SKYLINERS with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal.

Young Guns

Sananda Fru, 19, PF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig

Fru started against Brose Bamberg and scored 9 points on 3-of-5 shots (1/2 threes) and 2-of-3 free throws to go with 1 rebound in 20:47 minutes.

Jakob Patrick, 19, SG, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg

Patrick reached double figures for the first time this season as he scored 11 points on 3-of-6 shots (2/5 threes) and 3-of-3 free throws along with 2 rebounds and 1 steal In 15:14 minutes against FC Bayern Munich.

Kay Bruhnke, 21, PF, medi bayreuth

Bruhnke played 10:41 minutes against MLP Academics Heidelberg and scored 3 points on 1-of-8 shooting (1/6 threes) and grabbed 2 rebounds.

Germans Abroad

Michael Rataj had a great week in his first season at Oregon State in the United States as the former FC Bayern Munich and ratiopharm ulm prospect collected 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals against Arizona and then had 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals versus Arizona State. For the season, Rataj is averaging 6.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.8 steals.