Round 6 of the easyCredit BBL provided a major upset as Basketball Löwen Braunschweig shocked FC Bayern Munich for their first ever home win over the German powerhouse. The week also saw NINERS Chemnitz win at the buzzer on a tip-in from Wesley van Beck. There remains a logjam atop the league with four teams even at 5-1. And Round 6 also saw SYNTAINICS MBC finally win a game to become the last team to join the win column.
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:
Braunschweig shock Bayern for first-ever home win over Munich
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig made history as they shocked FC Bayern Munich 83-81 for their first-ever home win over the southern Germans. It was also the first time Braunschweig beat Bayern since April 11, 2021 and just the fourth win in 29 games. Braunschweig led nearly the entire game - by as many as 10 points in the middle two quarters. Bayern claimed the lead in the fourth quarter before TJ Crockett hit a three-pointer and Ahmaad Rorie made 4-of-4 free throws in the final 14 seconds to secure the win. Braunschweig improved to 3-3 while Bayern dropped from the group of leaders to 4-2. Braunschweig were held to 41.5 percent shooting but managed to keep Bayern to just 32.0 percent from deep. The hosts also used 14 offensive rebounds for a 14-2 advantage in second chance points. Crockett was Braunschweig’s biggest weapon with 20 points, Rorie had 15 points and 5 assists and Brandon Tischler added 13 points. Isaac Bonga and Leandro Bolmaro both scored 11 points to lead Bayern.
Van Beck tip-in gives Chemnitz fifth straight win
NINERS Chemnitz remained one of the hottest teams in the league as they rallied to beat Würzburg Baskets 70-68 for their fifth straight win thanks to Wesley van Beck tipping in Kaza-Kajami Keane’s miss at the buzzer. Würzburg temporarily led by 11 points and were up by 6 points in the fourth quarter before Chemnitz went on an 11-1 run to set up van Beck’s heroics. Chemnitz are one of four teams at 5-1 while Würzburg are 2-3 after two losses in a row. Chemnitz held Würzburg to just 26.3 percent on three-pointers and hit 40.7 percent from deep themselves and forced 19 turnovers. Jeff Garrett gathered 18 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 1 block to lead the way for Chemnitz while DeAndre Lansdowne had 14 points and van Beck finished with 13 points and 7 assists. Otis Livingston was Würzburg’s top scorer with 19 points and Zac Seljaas had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Chemnitz add veteran Krubally to help fill gap from Yebo injury
NINERS Chemnitz added a veteran big man to their rotation as they signed Ousman Krubally until the end of the season with an option for another year. The 35-year-old American, who will help fill the gap in the middle since the injury to Kevin Yebo, has played 13 years in eight European countries and appeared in 408 games. Krubally had signed this season with Israeli top flight side Bnei Herzliya, but he asked to be released due to the unstable political situation in the country. Krubally is eligible to play in the FIBA Europe Cup.
Ulm rebound from first loss, roll past Bonn in rematch of 2023 Finals
ratiopharm ulm continue to have Telekom Baskets Bonn’s number as the reigning champions beat Bonn 105-87 in a rematch of last season’s Finals and also rebounded from their first loss of the season. Ulm blew the game open with a 27-18 second quarter for 5-1 record and Bonn fell to 3-3. Bonn shot just 44.9 percent for the game including 29.6 percent from long range while Ulm made 12-of-21 three-pointers for 57.1 percent. Trevion Williams paced five Ulm players in double figures with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists while Juan Nunez collected 18 points, 6 assists and 6 steals and Karim Jallow added 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Glynn Watson was Bonn’s leading scorer with 18 points and Savion Flagg had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Oldenburg roll past Crailsheim for fifth straight
EWE Baskets Oldenburg continued their great form in the league as they grabbed their fifth straight win with a 99-63 blowout at HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim, who have now lost five in a row. Crailsheim stayed close for about 22 minutes and then Oldenburg used a 21-6 run to improve to 5-1 and Crailsheim crashed to a 1-5 record. Oldenburg shot 70.0 percent on two-pointers and held Crailsheim to 28.6 percent on three-pointers and forced 22 turnovers. DeWayne Russell starred for Oldenburg with 26 points, 4 rebounds and 11 assists while Norris Agbakoko picked up a career-high 16 points and 8 rebounds as the second of six players in double figures. Keandre Cook tallied 16 points and James Murray-Boyles added 12 points in the loss.
Oldenberg big man Chapman out until around new year
EWE Baskets Oldenburg got some bad news as their big man Brekkott Chapman will likely be out until the start of 2024. The 27-year-old needed surgery on an injured ankle.
Breunig carries SYNTAINICS MBC to first win despite Gibson’s 35 points
SYNTAINICS MBC became the final club to grab a win in the easyCredit BBL this season as they defeated BG Göttingen 97-89 at home to snap a 5-game losing streak. The home side lost an 8-point fourth quarter lead but reeled off a 7-0 run in the closing minutes to grab the victory. SYNTAINICS MBC moved to 1-5 and Göttingen dropped to 1-3 with a third straight defeat. The winners shot 71.4 percent on two-pointers while turning the ball over only 10 times and collecting 50 points in the paint to just 28 for Göttingen. Martin Breunig paced five players in doubles figures for the hosts with 21 points and 9 rebounds while Charles Callison had 16 points. Umoja Gibson poured in 35 points and 7 three-pointers - both season highs for the league - in the loss and the other four starters combined for just 17 points.
SYNTAINICS MBC keep Baldwin until end of season
Diante Baldwin and SYNTAINICS MBC have agreed to stay together as the 29-year-old’s short-term contract was extended until the end of the season. The American came to the club in August as a replacement for the injury Charles Callison.
Ludwigsburg confirm win over Ulm with first home victory of season
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg confirmed their victory over reigning champions ratiopharm ulm from last weekend by beating ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES 96-77 for their first home win of the season. The hosts took over the game with a 25-14 third quarter for a 3-2 record and Rostock fell to 2-3. Ludwigsburg held Rostock to just 27.8 percent from long distance and won the rebound battle 42-28. Jayvon Graves did it all for Ludwigsburg with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, Desure Buie had 20 points and 8 assists and Deion Hammond added 12 points. Chevez Goodwin was Rostock’s top scorer with 12 points.
Second half surge enough as Berlin roll by Tübingen
ALBA BERLIN kept pace with the other teams atop the league with a comfortable 97-81 win at Tigers Tübingen for their third straight win. The game went back and forth in the first half until ALBA put together a 26-16 third quarter and eased to the win and a 5-1 mark. Tübingen have now lost four straight for a 1-5 record. Berlin shot 67.5 percent on two-pointers and won the rebound battle 44-23 including 15 offensive rebounds to lead to an advantage of 20-3 in second chance points. Justin Bean led five Berlin players in double figures with 15 points and Khalifa Koumadje picked up 14 points and 10 rebounds. Mateo Seric led all scorers with 21 points.
Hamburg win second straight in league, Vechta still winless on road
Veolia Towers Hamburg collected their second straight win in the league as they fought past RASTA Vechta 85-81 at home. The game was close until Hamburg gained control with a 17-7 run in the fourth quarter to improve to 3-3 and drop Vechta to 4-2 with a second straight road loss. Hamburg shot 60.4 percent from the field and held Vechta to just 43.9 percent for the game, surviving 19 turnovers. Aljami Durham collected 19 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists to lead Hamburg while Aleksander Dziewa added 16 points and 5 rebounds and Will Christmas had 14 points. Tommy Kuhse continued his great season with 20 points and 7 assists but they were not enough.
Deep Bamberg ease past Heidelberg for second win
Bamberg Baskets used a strong bench to ease past MLP Acadmics Heidelberg 109-90 on the road for their second win of the season. Bamberg led 27-20 after 10 minutes and the advantage was 10 points at halftime before they were never challenged in the second half. Bamberg moved to 2-3 and Heidelberg stumbled to 1-5. Heidelberg shot just 29.3 percent on three-pointers and committed 18 turnovers. Zach Copeland and Trey Woodbury both scored 23 points off the Bamberg bench and Adrian Nelson scored 20 points with Filip Stanic chipping in 14 points and 9 rebounds. Elias Lasisi scored 26 points as Heidelberg’s leading scorer and Isaiah Whaley had 20 points and 13 rebounds with Bennet Hundt contributing 17 points.
Player of the Week
The Player of the Week for Round 6 is Umoja Gibson of BG Göttingen, who scored a league season-high 35 points in registering an efficiency of 35 in a loss to SYNTAINICS MBC. Gibson made 12-of-17 shots including 7-of-9 three-pointers and 4-of-5 free throws to go with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Bennet Hundt, MLP Academics Heidelberg
Hundt had another strong game with 17 points including 3 three-pointers, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal against Bamberg Baskets.
F: Karim Jallow, ratiopharm ulm
Jallow picked up 17 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in a win over Telekom Baskets Bonn.
C: Norris Agbakoko, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Agbakoko had one of the best games of his career as the 23-year-old 2.17 meter center scored a career-high 16 points to go with 8 rebounds and 1 block versus HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim.
C: Filip Stanic, Bamberg Baskets
This week’s Top Five team is filled with big men and Stanic collected 14 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals against MLP Academics Heidelberg.
C: Martin Breunig, SYNTAINICS MBC
Breunig makes the Top Five again for his excellent showing against BG Göttingen with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
Young Guns
Johann Grünloh, 18, C, RASTA Vechta
Grünloh scored 4 points on 1-of-2 shots and 2-of-2 free throws against Veolia Towers Hamburg, adding 2 rebounds and 2 blocks in 16:52 minutes.
Timo Lanmüller, 22, PG, Tigers Tübingen
Lanmüller started and played 25:58 minutes against ALBA BERLIN, collecting 5 points on 2-of-6 shots (1/4 threes), 6 assists and 1 steals.
Niklas Krause, 21, PG, Veolia Towers Hamburg
Krause had a strong performance in his sixth game in the easyCredit, picking up 6 points on 3-of-3 shooting, 1 rebound and 1 steal in 9:57 minutes against RASTA Vechta.
German basketball sees 12.4 percent increase in members to all-time high
German basketball reached an all-time high in registered members as 2022 saw a 12.4 percent increase to a total of 242,344 members. The cutoff date for the numbers announced by the German Olympic body DOSB was January 1, 2023, meaning the increase of 26,735 members was likely due to Germany’s third place showing at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022. That also means that the 2023 numbers should see an even larger increase as Germany won the title at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.
Germans Abroad
The mass exodus of Telekom Baskets Bonn players and coach to Paris Basketball this summer made big headlines, including Leon Kratzer playing abroad for the first time. The big man played a major role in Paris beating Prometey Slobozhanske in the BKT EuroCup last week with his first double-double of the season - 12 points and 11 rebounds. Kratzer has averaged 2.7 points and 4.8 rebounds in the French league and 4.8 points and 6.2 rebounds in the EuroCup thus far.
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