Telekom Baskets Bonn continued their absolute dominance over MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg as they grabbed a 90-69 home victory in the Play-Ins game to book their spot in the easyCredit BBL Playoffs. Bonn dropped 32 points in the first quarter and never slowed down with Brian Fobbs leading the way with 20 points and Thomas Kennedy had 18 points. Bonn, who beat Ludwigsburg for a sixth time this season, will now prepare for a first round post-season matchup with ALBA BERLIN. Ludwigsburg, who were paced by Deion Hammond with 13 points, have now lost their last five games but still have one final chance to reach the playoffs as they will host Veolia Towers Hamburg for the last post-season ticket.
Game Summary: Bonn started the game on fire with the first seven points and two three-pointers from Brian Fobbs increased the lead to 21-4 after just more than 6 minutes. The onslaught continued and another triple from Fobbs pushed the advantage to 26-6 - 11 points alone from Bonn guard. Yet another three-pointer - Bonn’s sixth from nine attempts - had Bonn ahead 32-13 after 10 minutes. Ludwigsburg did not really offer much resistance early in the second quarter with the lead swelling to 39-16. A monster dunk by Thomas Kennedy put Bonn up 45-18 midway through the period and the cushion was 49-21 shortly thereafter. Bonn went into the break with a 51-25 lead.
Bonn kept the foot on the gas and the lead was up to 57-25 after a minute played in the second half. Ludwigsburg started to hit some three-pointers and four triples trimmed the gap to 64-42. Ludwigsburg kept chipping away and an 11-2 close to the third quarter got the deficit down to 68-53 going into the final 10 minutes. Bonn started the fourth quarter with back-to-back three-pointers to re-establish a 21-point lead. Ludwigsburg responded with the next five points but Bonn had gotten their rhythm back and did not let Ludwigsburg get closer the rest of the game.
Numbers Please: Bonn committed only 9 turnovers and shot 47.8 percent on three-pointers with 11-of-23 attempts while Ludwigsburg converted just 7-of-30 from long range for 23.3 percent.
Player of the Game: Brian Fobbs nailed 4-of-7 three-pointers in scoring a team-high 20 points for Bonn to go with 3 rebounds and 1 assist.
The Germans: Sam Griesel scored 8 points with 2 steals and Christian Sengfelder chipped in 2 points and 8 rebounds - 6 of them from the offensive glass - for Bonn. Jonathan Bähre collected 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block for the losing side and 19-year-old Dominykas Pleta picked up a career high 7 points along with 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.
Also Newsworthy Part I: Deion Hammond led Ludwigsburg with 13 points and fellow reserve Silas Melson had 12 points as the only two players in double figures. The guests' starting five combined for only 21 points.
Also Newsworthy Part II: This was the sixth showdown between Bonn and Ludwigsburg this season - and it came just two days after the teams finished the regular season against each other in Bonn. In addition to two games in the easyCredit BBL, they faced off in the Siegmund Top Four German Cup and twice in the Basketball Champions League. And Bonn won all five of the previous matchups. Bonn also swept Ludwigsburg 3-0 in the playoffs last season and prevailed in the second league game last season, meaning Bonn have now won their last nine matchups in the past two seasons.
What's Up Next: Bonn can breathe a sigh of relief and prepare for the easyCredit BBL Playoffs and a first round series against ALBA BERLIN starting on Friday May 17 in the German capital. Ludwigsburg meanwhile will get a second chance on Thursday to make the playoffs as they host Veolia Towers Hamburg, who won the first Play-Ins game 93-81. The winner between Ludwigsburg and Hamburg will face regular season champions FC Bayern Munich in the first round, starting in Munich on Saturday May 18.
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.
