Don’t look now but MLP Academics Heidelberg lead the easyCredit BBL standings after rallying to take down previous leaders ratiopharm ulm. This week also saw history being made as Brandon Tischler faced off against Nicholas Tischler in the MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg versus NINERS Chemnitz game - the first time twins played against each other in the Bundesliga. The week also saw RASTA Vechta’s young center talent Johann Grünloh register a league season high 6 blocks.
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:
Heidelberg roar back from 19 points down to beat Ulm and snatch first place
MLP Academics Heidelberg showed why they are the best road team in the league by rallying from 19 points down to beat first placed ratiopharm ulm 69-67 and take over the top spot in the easyCredit BBL. Heidelberg used a 30-8 run spanning the final two quarters to bounce back from their disappointing loss in the German BBL Cup Quarter-Finals. Danny Jansson's team grabbed their fourth straight win in the Bundesliga for an 8-3 record and 5-1 on the road. Ulm suffered their first home loss and fell to 7-3, including 5-1 at home. Ulm had won their last five games in total - including the BKT EuroCup - and four of five in the league since the monster road trip. Heidelberg forced Ulm into 20 turnovers and also held the number one three-point shooting team in the league to just 29 percent from long range. DJ Horne and Erol Ersek led the way with 14 points for Heidelberg. Alfonso Plummer’s 12 points were not enough.
Tischlers make history - first twins to face off in Bundesliga
The MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg versus NINERS Chemnitz game made history as Ludwigsburg’s Brandon Tischler and Nicholas Tischler of Chemnitz became the first twins to play against each other in Bundesliga history. Brandon entered the game with 7:56 minutes left in the second quarter for the historical moment. Twins Tom and Ben Spöler were on the roster against each other twice in 2012-13 for Bayreuth and Quakenbrück but Ben did not enter either game. Ole and Lars Wendt both played in the Bundesliga but never against one another - just like the Wolfenbüttel twins Klaus and Dieter Kertscher in the 1960s. The Tischlers played together for Regnitztal in the JBBL and Bamberg’s farm team Baunach before the last three seasons at Basketball Löwen Braunschweig.
Ludwigsburg waste 15 point lead, fight past Chemnitz
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg prevailed in a defensive battle at home with a 69-65 victory over NINERS Chemnitz. The guests had a strong second quarter to take an 11-point lead but fell apart as Ludwigsburg surged ahead by 15 points midway through the third quarter. The guests actually came back with a 19-2 run to take the lead but Joel Scott and Hunter Maldonado drained back-to-back triples to reclaim the momentum. Ludwigsburg and Chemnitz are both now 6-4 in the standings. Ludwigsburg forced Chemnitz into 21 turnovers and grabbed 21 offensive rebounds to make up for shooting just 32 percent from the field. Maldonado came off the bench as Ludwigsburg’s top scorer with 16 points and Ezra Manjon and Scott both had 12 points. Olivier Nkamhoua paced Chemnitz with 18 points and Victor Bailey had 17 points.
Bayern start road trip with win over Rostock, take second place
FC Bayern Munich tipped off their four-game road trip with an 80-70 victory to jump from third to second place. Rostock led for much of the first half before Bayern - who play at AS Monaco and EA7 Empori Armani Milan in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and at EWE Baskets Oldenburg in the next week - took control of the game with a 28-15 third quarter. Bayern were coming off a league loss against RASTA Vechta, whom they then defeated to reach the German BBL Cup TOP FOUR. Rostock committed 21 turnovers while giving up 15 second chance and fast break points each and picking up only a combined 15 points in those categories. Carsen Edwards scored 17 points, Andi Obst had 14 points and Kevin Yebo picked up 13 points and 7 rebounds. Bryce Hamilton poured in 25 points with D’Shawn Schwartz being the only other Rostock player in double figures with 15 points.
Würzburg remain perfect at home, run away from Frankfurt in 4th quarter
FIT/One Würzburg Baskets remained perfect at home as they used a big fourth quarter surge to defeat SKYLINERS 89-70 in a Round 3 makeup game. Frankfurt fell behind by 14 points in the third quarter but trailed by just one point early in the final frame. The hosts finished them off though with a 15-0 run to move to 6-3 with their fourth win in the last five games. Frankfurt have dropped five straight for a 2-7 mark. Würzburg shot 52 percent from the field including 48 percent from long range with 16 three-pointers. Zac Seljaas paced four Würzburg players in double figures with 23 points while Jhivvan Jackson scored 22 points and Mike Lewis had 18 points and 6 assists. David Muenkat had 23 points for Frankfurt with Einaras Tubutis chipping in 10 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Braunschweig spoil Theodore's home debut, Frankfurt still winless at home
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig extended their winning streak to three games as they fought past SKYLINERS 92-91 on the road to remain among the Play-In ranks. Frankfurt led by 11 points in the first and second quarter but Braunschweig were ahead most of the second half. The guests never really were able to pull away and Arnas Velicka’s free throws with 2.5 seconds left secured the win. Braunschweig moved to 5-4 and Frankfurt have lost six in a row for a 2-8 record, including 0-4 at home. Braunschweig forced 20 Frankfurt turnovers and took better advantage of their offensive rebounds with a 9-2 plus in second chance points to go with 15 fast break points to 7 for Frankfurt. Luka Scuka, Barra Njie and Velicka all scored 15 points and combined for 8 rebounds, 12 assists, 5 steals and 2 blocks and Chip Flanigan collected 13 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Trey Calvin scored 24 points, Malik Parsons had 22 points and Jordan Theodore had 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals in his first home game since returning to the club.
Bamberg build on cup win, beat Bonn to snap skid
Bamberg Baskets built upon their success of reaching the German BBL Cup TOP FOUR by knocking off Telekom Baskets Bonn 92-73 at home to snap a three-game losing streak in the league. Bamberg built a 15-point second quarter lead only to see Bonn get within two points shortly before the break. The hosts blew the game open with a 15-0 run spanning the final two quarters for a 3-6 record. Bonn have lost three of their last four games for a 5-5 mark. Bamberg held Bonn to just 34 percent shooting including 28 percent on three-pointers. Ibrahim Watson scored 22 points as Bamberg’s top weapon with KeyShawn Feazell picking up 14 points and 9 rebounds and Ronaldo Segu adding 14 points and 7 assists. Till Pape had 22 points and 8 rebounds and Darius McGhee tallied 17 points, 6 assists and 4 steals in a losing effort.
Hamburg win first road game by ending Vechta’s four-game win streak
Veolia Towers Hamburg grabbed their first road victory of the season as they defeated RASTA Vechta 79-69. Vechta only led by one point in the opening minutes and saw Hamburg pull away by 14 points in the third quarter. The hosts were never able to get back ahead and Hamburg have won their last two games for a 4-5 record. Vechta saw their four-game league winning streak end for a 5-5 mark though they lost to FC Bayern Munich in German BBL Cup Quarter-Finals. Vechta could only hit 34 percent of their shots including 22 percent from long range. Brae Ivey tallied 27 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals and Kur Kuath added 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks in the win. Tyger Campbell led Vechta with 17 points, Brandon Randolph had 13 points and 9 rebounds and Johann Grünlöh chipped in 11 points, 7 rebounds and a league season best 6 blocks.
Oldenburg remain dominant at home, race past Göttingen
EWE Baskets Oldenburg remained one of the best teams at home this season as they eventually ran away from BG Göttingen for a 111-94 victory. Göttingen built a 15 point advantage midway through the second quarter but then lost complete control with the hosts going on a 28-5 run spanning the halftime break to move ahead by eight points. Oldenburg ended up pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 5-5 record - including 5-1 at home - while Götttingen returned to the losing column at 1-8 after getting their first win. Oldenburg committed only 9 turnovers and collected 18 fast break points to just 8 for Göttingen. Justin Jaworski and Artur Konontsuk both scored 24 points and Eli Brooks, Norris Agbakoko and Alen Pjanic all added 13 points. Tra Holder was Göttingen’s top scorer with 25 points, Kostja Mushidi had 19 points and Demajeo Wiggins added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
German BBL Cup TOP FOUR gets new home: Düsseldorf as hosts starting in 2027
The German BBL Cup TOP FOUR has received a new home location as Düsseldorf was named as the set host city starting in 2027. The easyCredit BBL and D.SPORTS agreed to a long-term partnership that the PSD Bank Dome will host the event as of 2027. The following dates for the TOP FOUR were set: February 20-21, 2027; February 19-20, 2028; and February 17-18, 2029. Düsseldorfer EG play ice hockey in the PSD Bank Dome and the capacity for basketball games will be 12,000.
Player of the Week
Top honors for Round 11 go to Artur Konontsuk of EWE Baskets Oldenburg for his outstanding performance in the win over BG Göttingen. The big man came off the bench to score 24 points on 7 of 12 shooting (including 2 of 6 threes) and 8 of 8 free throws to go with 5 rebounds and 1 steal for an efficiency of 25.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Andreas Obst, FC Bayern Munich
Obst knocked down 4 three-pointers in scoring 14 points to go with 3 rebounds and 3 assists against ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES.
F: Kostja Mushidi, BG Göttingen
Mushidi scored 19 points and added 4 rebounds and 1 assist but they were not enough in a loss to EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
F: Alen Pjanic, EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
Pjanic made 3 three-pointers in scoring a season-high 13 points while also picking up 4 rebounds and 3 steals against BG Göttingen.
C: Johann Grünloh, RASTA Vechta
The 19-year-old Grünloh picked up 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and a league season best 6 blocks in a loss to Veolia Towers Hamburg.
C: Till Pape, Telekom Baskets Bonn
Pape also tallied a season-high in points with 22 points - just two off his career high - while also collecting 8 rebounds and 2 assists in a loss to Bamberg Baskets.
Young Guns
Sananda Fru, 21, PF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Fru started the game against SKYLINERS and picked up 8 points on 3 of 4 shooting and 2 of 2 free throws, 1 rebound, 1 assists and 1 block in 15:49 minutes.
Hannes Steinbach, 18, PF, FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
Steinbach played 10:50 minutes and missed his only shot to go scoreless with 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal against SKYLINERS.
Ivan Kharchenkov, 18, SG, FC Bayern Munich
Kharchenkov went scoreless on 0 of 2 shots (0/1 threes) but had 2 rebounds and 1 steal in 7:43 minutes against ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES.
Germans Abroad
Ismet Akpinar finished the best week of his season with two strong games. First he helped Turk Telekom Ankara defeat Aris Thessaloniki 87-77 in the BKT EuroCup with 19 points including 4 three-pointers, 2 rebounds and 4 assists and then poured in 16 points in a Turkish league loss to Mersin.
