One of the legends of the easyCredit BBL reached a major milestone this week as Bamberg Baskets’ Kartsten Tadda became just the second player to appear in 600 games since 1998. The biggest game on the court had ALBA BERLIN rally from 16 points down to defeat ratiopharm ulm while FC Bayern Munich were carried by their world champions to a 10th straight win.
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 rally from 16 points down, get revenge over Ulm
ALBA BERLIN rallied from 16 points down to knock off ratiopharm ulm 98-88 at home to get revenge for being swept in last season’s first round of the playoffs. Despite the win, Berlin just missed out on taking the tiebreaker after Ulm won their home game 100-88. Ulm looked to control the game with a 16 point lead in the first quarter but Berlin led the game at halftime following a 35-18 second quarter. The hosts went up by 10 points in the third stanza but watched Ulm take the lead in the fourth quarter. Berlin came back with a 9-0 run for an 11-5 record and Ulm dropped to 13-6 with their third loss in the last four games. Berlin shot 58.3 percent for the game, including a white-hot 77.1 percent on two-pointers. Sterling Brown paced six Berlin players in double figures with 19 points with Yanni Wetzell, Tim Schneider and Matt Thomas scoring 14 points, Martin Hermannsson had 13 points and 9 assists and Malte Delow added 10 points. TJ Figueroa scored 20 points to lead Ulm and Karim Jallow had 16 points.
Bamberg dish out season high 33 assists in whipping Wolves, snap three-game losing streak
Bamberg Baskets hope they have righted their ship as they rolled past SYNTAINICS MBC 108-78 to snap a three-game losing streak. Bamberg led by 11 points at halftime and never looked back to move to 7-12 while SYNTAINICS MBC have lost two straight after two wins in a row for a 6-13 record. Bamberg dished out a league season-high 33 assists and hit 58.6 percent from the field including draining 16 three-pointers at 48.5 percent and the guests made just 23.1 percent from long range. Adrian Nelson poured in 26 points to lead Bamberg, Fillip Stanic had 19 points and Zach Copeland added 16 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Johnathan Stove was the guests’ top scorer with 20 points and John Bryant picked up his first double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Tadda plays 600th game, becomes ninth player with 900 assists, 350 steals
Karsten Tadda dished out one assist in Bamberg Baskets’ 108-78 victory over SYNTAINICS MBC and reached two milestones. The 35-year-old first off became the second player to play 600 games in the easyCredit BBL since the start of data collection in 1998 - the other being Alex King with 638 games. Tadda’s assist was his 900th in his long history. He is now one of nine players with 900 assists and 350 steals in league history since 1998.
World champs carry Bayern past Oldenburg for 10th straight win
FC Bayern Munich kept up the pressure on league leaders NINERS Chemnitz with a convincing 93-73 home victory over EWE Baskets Oldenburg for their 10th straight win thanks to a strong showing from the team’s world champions. The game was still close at halftime and Bayern just gradually built out their lead through the second half for a 14-3 record with Oldenburg dropping to 9-10 after their three-game winning streak was snapped. Bayern shot 55.9 percent from the field including 50.0 percent from long range with 16 made three-pointers while holding Oldenburg to just 23.3 percent from long range. Andi Obst and Sylvain Francisco led Bayern with 13 points each, Isaac Bonga added 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocks and Niels Giffey scored 11 points. DeWayne Russell came off the bench for 15 points and 9 assists and Ebuka Izundu had 15 points and 6 rebounds.
Flanigan drops 30 as Vechta beat Heidelberg with 100 for 7th time
RASTA Vechta remain on a roll as their offense exploded again in a 109-87 home win over MLP Academics Heidelberg - the seventh time this season in all competitions that Vechta eclipsed the 100 point mark. Vechta blew out the doors and took an 19-point first quarter lead. Heidelberg came back and took the lead just before the break. The game was close until the beginning of the fourth quarter and Vechta went on a 21-5 surge to decide the game. Vechta have won six of the last seven games for a 13-6 record and Heidelberg have fallen to 3-16. Vechta forced 19 Heidelberg turnovers and hit 15 three-pointers to 9 for the guests. Chip Flanagan buried 4 threes in scoring 30 points to go with 6 rebounds and 5 assists while Joschka Ferner hit 5 triples for 22 points and Joel Aminu added 18 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Elijah Childs was dominant in his first game with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals and Bennet Hundt added 16 points and 5 assists.
Heidelberg bring in big man Elijah Childs from Ludwigsburg
MLP Academics Heidelberg added reinforcements to their low post for the fight against relegation with the signing of big man Elijah Childs. The 25-year-old American averaged 9.3 points and 4.9 rebounds this season with Ludwigsburg as well as 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in the Basketball Champions League.
Crailsheim beat Tübingen in big game in relegation battle
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim earned a major victory in the battle against relegation as they defeated Tigers Tübingen 96-85 on the road. Crailsheim built an 11-point lead in the first and second quarters but trailed later in the first half. The guests led the rest of the way for a 4-15 record after having lost seven of eight games. Tübingen are 5-14 after six losses in seven games. Crailsheim shot 47.6 percent from long range and made 36 free throws compared to 20 made foul shots by Tübingen. Keandre Cook was the top scorer for Crailsheim with 27 points off the bench followed by Leo Westermann with 19 points and Galin Smith added 13 points. Jhivvan Jackson scored 22 points with 7 assists and 5 steals and Evan Maxwell had 14 points in the loss.
Chemnitz fight past Rostock in east German showdown
NINERS Chemnitz survived a tough road battle in grabbing a 94-90 victory over ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES, who have dropped six games in a row. Chemnitz led by 10 points early in the second quarter but trailed later in the period and the rest of the game as close. The hosts led 90-89 when Kevin Yebo scored a layup with 76 seconds left. Wes van Beck followed with a three-pointer with 15 seconds to play to decide the game. Chemnitz moved to 16-3 and Rostock fell to 6-12. Chemnitz dominated the glass 53-29 and shot 62.2 percent on two-pointers. Yebo finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, van Beck picked up 18 points and 8 rebounds and Kaza Kajami-Keane and DeAndre Lansdowne combined for 26 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists and 3 steals. Wes Clark scored 25 points, Derrick Alston had 24 points and Tyler Nelson added 20 points in the loss.
Braunschweig win third straight to get back into playoffs picture
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig have played themselves back into playoffs contention after beating Würzburg 100-89 for their third straight victory. Braunschweig took control of the game with a 15-4 run to start the second half to improve to 9-11 and Würzburg have lost two of four games for a 12-6 record. Braunschweig shot 55.0 percent for the game including 46.4 percent from long range. Ahmaad Rorie paced Braunschweig with 19 points and 9 assists, TJ Crockett had 18 points and 6 assists and Brandon and Nicholas Tischler combined for 32 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Otis Livingston did a bit of everything with 29 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals and Max Ugrai had 14 points off the bench in the loss.
Bonn beat Hamburg swap places in standings
Telekom Baskets Bonn jumped past Veolia Towers Hamburg in the league standings with an 87-80 road victory that extend the hosts’ losing streak to three games. The game was close until Bonn put together a 20-6 run in the fourth quarter for a 12-8 record while Hamburg fell to 10-8. Bonn made 11 three-pointers to just 6 for Hamburg. Harald Frey and Brian Fobbs both scored 14 points off the bench to lead the team in scoring and Thomas Kennedy picked up 12 points and 7 rebounds. VJ King had 15 points and Mark Hughes scored 14 points in the loss.
Ludwigsburg stay in running for direct playoffs spot
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg stayed in the running for the direct playoffs spots as they raced away from BG Göttingen 97-72 at home. The game was close until midway through the third quarter when the hosts raced away with a 13-1 run to move to 12-7 in seventh place with a third win in the last four games. Göttingen saw their two-game winning streak end to drop to 5-12. Ludwigsburg shot 51.3 percent for the game including 64.6 percent on two-pointers and held the guests to 36.1 percent from the field. Eddy Edigin had a career night with 20 points and 10 rebounds for Ludwigsburg with Jaren Lewis tallying 17 points and Yorman Polas Bartolo had 13 points. David DeJulius led Göttingen in scoring with 18 points, Fedor Zugic had 17 points and Umoja Gibson added 11 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
Player of the Week
Chip Flanigan from RASTA Vechta is the Player of the Week after his outstanding showing in a win over MLP Academics Heidelberg. The forward scored 30 points on 12-of-17 shots and 2-of-3 free throws to go with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 steal with 0 turnovers for an efficiency of 36.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Bennet Hundt, MLP Academics Heidelberg
Hundt had a strong game with 16 points on 3 three-pointers, 1 rebound and 5 assists against RASTA Vechta.
F: Brandon/Nicholas Tischler, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
After having one brother each the last two weeks let’s include both as one spot this week. Usually one of the twins has the better game, but both were outstanding against Würzburg Baskets. Nicholas Tischler collected 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists and Brandon Tischler tallied 15 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
F: Joschka Ferner, RASTA Vechta
Ferner continued his break-out season with 5-of-9 three-pointers for 22 points as well as 7 rebounds and 2 assists in a win over MLP Academics Heidelberg.
C: Eddy Edigin, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
Edigin scored a career high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in just 17 minutes against BG Göttingen.
C: Kevin Yebo, NINERS Chemnitz
Yebo followed up his career-high 33 point performance last week with 23 points, 10 rebounds - eight of them offensive rebounds - 1 assist and 1 steal against ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES.
Young Guns
Sananda Fru, 20, PF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Fru started against Würzburg Baskets and scored 9 points on 4-of-6 shots (0/2 threes) and 1-of-2 free throws to go with 5 rebounds and 1 steal in 24:35 minutes.
Len Schoormann, 21, SG, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Schoormann scored 10 points on 3-of-8 shots (2/6 threes) and 2-of-2 free throws and added 2 rebounds in 23:37 minutes against FC Bayern Munich.
Jacob Patrick, 20, SG, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
Patrick poured in 10 points on 3-of-8 shots (3/7 threes) and 1-of-1 free throws, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 15:04 minutes against BG Göttingen.
Germans Abroad
Maxi Kleber has not really been a major part of the offense this season for the Dallas Mavericks. That is until the first game of February 2024 as the 32-year-old exploded against Milwaukee for a season-high 21 points with 4 three-pointers to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Until then, Kleber’s season high was 7 points - scored twice. For the season, Kleber is averaging 4.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.6 blocks in 14 games.
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