NINERS Chemnitz defended first place in the easyCredit BBL as they showed their class with a comfortable 106-84 victory at Bamberg Baskets. The league leaders were never really challenged and Kevin Yebo shined with 33 points. Chemnitz have now won three straight and six of their last seven games for a 20-4 record, including 10-3 on the road. Bamberg saw their three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 10-14 despite Trey Woodbury scoring 27 points. It was a setback in Bamberg’s push to make the play-ins.
Game Summary: Bamberg hit two three-pointers early for an 8-2 lead. Kevin Yebo came off the Chemnitz bench and helped the guests tie the game at 10-10 and he moved to 14 points and 4 rebounds for a 21-15 lead as he took a deserved break. Chemnitz’s 11-0 run made it 23-15 and the gap was 25-16 after 10 minutes. The lead grew to 28-16 early in the second quarter and the league leaders increased the margin to 14 points - 35-21. Bamberg could not get closer than 12 points the rest of the quarter and trailed by as many as 15 points - 48-31. But the hosts were down 48-36 at the intermission.
Bamberg were down by 15 points 41-56 before Chemnitz really started pulling away for good. The guests scored the next eight points and built the lead up to 27 points, finishing the third quarter with an 80-56 cushion. Bamberg scored the first four points of the fourth quarter to get within 80-61, and Chemnitz called a timeout. The guests answered with scores on four of the next five possessions to decide the game for good.
Numbers Please: Chemnitz out-shot Bamberg 51.5% to 46.3% including draining 14 three-pointers at a 45.2% clip. Chemnitz also won the rebound battle 42 to 28, including 15 offensive rebounds for a 17-11 advantage in second chance points.
Player of the Game: What a show by Kevin Yebo who tied a career high with 33 points on 10-of-13 shots including hitting 5-of-5 three-pointers. The 28-year-old set a new best mark with triples made and added 7 rebounds and 1 block in just 21 minutes.
The Germans: Besides Yebo, Chemnitz received 10 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist from Jonas Richter. At the other end, Filip Stanic picked up 13 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist for Bamberg.
Also Newsworthy Part I: Chemnitz's 106 points were not a season high for the team. The league leaders scored 109 points at home against Bamberg in Round 2 and also dropped 109 points in a victory over Varese in the FIBA Europe Cup in early December.
Also Newsworthy Part II: Chemnitz came into the game on a high after they beat Spanish side Casademont Zaragoza on Wednesday to reach the FIBA Europe Cup Semi-Finals. Rodrigo Pastore's team will look to keep up their great play as they face Surne Bilbao Basket in the Semis with the first game on Wednesday March 27.
Also Newsworthy Part III: Much of the talk ahead of the game surrounded the still unconfirmed rumors of ratiopharm ulm head coach Anton Gavel taking over the coaching duties at Bamberg next season. Especially since RASTA Vechta coach Ty Harrelson has announced he will be leaving the club after the season and is being linked with Ulm.
What's Up Next: Bamberg will next travel to northern Germany and play at ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES on Friday March 22. Chemnitz meanwhile have a massive showdown coming up next Sunday, March 24 as they welcome ALBA BERLIN.
Video: Highlights of this game will be available soon on Dyn's website or here on Dyn's YouTube channel.
Anmerkung: In der Saison 2023/24 werden wie hier auch gelegentlich Nachberichte in englischer Sprache verfasst.
Note: During the 2023-24 season, there will occasionally be game reports published in English.
