Round 6 of the easyCredit BBL was highlighted by reigning champions FC Bayern Munich surviving a battle at home against FIT/One Würzburg Baskets. The week also saw ratiopharm ulm end their exhaustive road trip with a home victory and ALBA BERLIN prevailed in yet another close game.
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:
Bayern survive tight battle with Würzburg
FC Bayern Munich survived a thrilling battle with FIT/One Würzburg Baskets 70-69 for another home victory - and one just two days after beating Olympiacos Piraeus in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. The Würzburg game was tight throughout with 8 points being the biggest lead for the guests and there were nine lead changes - including three in the final 40 seconds - and eight ties. After two Nick Weiler-Babb free throws gave Bayern a one-point lead, Owen Klassen tipped in a miss for Würzburg only to have Shabazz Napier score a layup with 15 seconds to go. Jhivann Jackson missed a three-pointer for the guests’ final chance. Bayern remained undefeated at home with three wins and a 4-2 mark while Würzburg had won three straight games including the German BBL Cup contest before falling to 2-2. Bayern held Würzburg to just 37 percent shooting including 24 percent from long range and collected a 14-6 advantage in fast break points. Carsen Edwards came off the Bayern bench to lead the way with 14 points, Devin Booker had 13 points and a third reserve Napier chipped in 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals as the starting five combined for just 16 points. Jhivvan Jackson scored 14 points, Mike Lewis had 12 points and Zac Seljaas added 11 points and 8 rebounds.
Home sweet home: Ulm beat Vechta in first home game after 16,000-kilometer road trip
ratiopharm ulm returned to their winning ways with their return home after their exhausting road trip with a hard-fought 85-76 victory over RASTA Vechta. Ulm were playing their first home game since October 5 following a 16-day, six-game, five-country, essentially three-continent and 16,000-kilometer road trip. Ty Harrelson’s team took control of the game in the second quarter and built a 20 point lead and were never challenged the rest of the way in moving to 4-1 in the league and snapping a five-game losing streak including an early exit from the German BBL Cup against Bamberg Baskets and their first loss in the easyCredit BBL versus EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Vechta have lost four straight for a 1-4 record. Ulm dominated the rebounding with a 45-34 advantage including 18-10 in offensive rebounds, which led to a massive 31-10 difference in second chance points. Ulm also buried 13 three-pointers to 7 for Vechta. Ben Saraf led the way with 18 points and Alfonso Plummer added 17 points for Ulm. Brandon Randolph scored 17 points and Jayden Gardner tallied a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Berlin beat Braunschweig at home in another close game
ALBA BERLIN played another close game as they beat Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 65-61 in their fourth straight game decided by four points or fewer. Berlin built an 11-point lead in the second quarter and extended it out to 15 points in the third quarter. The hosts gave up a 12-4 run as the lead fell to four points but they held on for a 2-3 record while Braunschweig have lost two straight for a 2-2 record. Berlin grabbed 16 offensive rebounds compared to 9 for Braunschweig and turned them into a 15-5 advantage in second chance points. ALBA also took the fast break points category 13-2 to get the win. William McDowell-White was the only Berlin player in double figures with 13 points as the starting five combined for only 32 points. Barra Njie paced Braunschweig with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists and Arnas Velicka had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in a losing effort.
ALBA big man Koumadje suspended 3 games, 2,000 euros
The easyCredit BBL league suspended ALBA BERLIN big man Khalifa Koumadje for three games and fined him 2,000 euros for slapping a NADA doping controller during Berlin’s German BBL Cup game against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim on October 13, 2024. The doping official had entered the Berlin team huddle between the third and fourth quarters after which he was directed to leave and Koumadje slapped the back of the official’s head.
Ludwigsburg snap 10-game losing streak versus Bonn without Coach Patrick
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg grabbed their first road victory of the season as they knocked off Telekom Baskets Bonn 89-79 to snap a 10-game losing streak against the home side. Ludwigsburg, who were without the ill head coach John Patrick and young guard Jacob Patrick, took control of the game in the second quarter and the lead grew to as many as 22 points. Bonn managed to get the deficit to seven points late but Ludwigsburg improved to 4-2 and Bonn fell to 3-2 after their first home loss. Ludwigsburg forced 19 Bonn turnovers. Ezra Manjon scored 23 points to pace the winners with Kellan Grady scoring 18 points and new addition Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson picking up 17 points. Angelo Allegri came off the Bonn bench to lead the team in scoring with 18 points along with Phlandrous Fleming, with whom Allegri combined for 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 steals and 2 blocks.
Ludwigsburg make first addition, sign point guard Ogungbemi-Jackson
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg have made their first addition of the season as they signed Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson until the end of the season. The 33-year-old Canadian will help Ludwigsburg as a veteran point guard who has played in Portugal, Spain, France, Finland, Netherlands, Denmark and Belarus in Europe.
Hot third quarter, three-pointers give Heidelberg road win over Frankfurt
MLP Academics Heidelberg remained one of the surprises of the early season as they ran away from SKYLINERS with a 95-72 road victory. Heidelberg took the third quarter 28-12 to improve to 4-2, having won four of their last five games including beating NINERS Chemnitz in the German BBL Cup. Frankfurt fell to 2-3 and are winless at home. Heidelberg shot a blistering 61 percent from the field including 17 of 29 (59 percent) from long range while Frankfurt hit just 21 percent of their three-point attempts. DJ Horne blew the game open with 14 of his 17 points in the decisive third quarter while Alex Barcello led the way with 24 points. Garai Zeeb was top scorer with a career high 15 points for Frankfurt.
Oldenburg remain perfect at home after defensive battle with Bamberg
EWE Baskets Oldenburg remained perfect at home in the league after prevailing 67-59 in a defensive battle with Bamberg Baskets. Oldenburg laid the foundation for the win with a 20-11 second quarter in moving to 3-2 while Bamberg have lost two straight in the league for a 1-3 mark. Oldenburg shot only 32 percent from the field but made 31 percent from long range and Bamberg made only 17 percent of their three-point attempts. Geno Crandall was the hosts’ main man with 16 points and 7 assists with Seth Hinrichs scoring 15 points and Justin Jaworski picking up 12 points. Ronaldo Segu scored 21 points for Bamberg and Filip Static added 7 points, 11 rebounds and 4 steals in the loss.
Wolves extend win streak to three games after beating Hamburg
SYNTAINICS MBC extended their winning streak to three games as they blew out Veolia Towers Hamburg 96-75 on the road. The guests blew the game open with a 28-13 second quarter in moving to 3-3 and Hamburg fell to 2-3. Wolves forced Hamburg into 24 turnovers to help for a 17-6 advantage in fast break points while shooting 56 percent from the field including 67 percent on two-pointers. Tyren Johnson scored 23 points, Michael Devoe picked up 21 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals and Martin Breunig chipped in 17 points and 8 rebounds in the win. Jaizec Lottie collected a double-double of 17 points and 11 assists and Brae Ivey added 14 points in the loss.
Chemnitz slowly finding form, win in Rostock for third straight victory
NINERS Chemnitz are slowly finding their form as they knocked off ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES 68-60 for their third straight win in the league. The game was tight until Chemnitz went on a 9-0 run in the final 4 minutes to improve to 3-2 and Rostock have dropped three of their last four for a 3-3 mark. Rostock made just 20 percent of their three-point attempts and just 7 of 14 free throws compared to 17 of 26 for Chemnitz from the foul line. Victor Bailey paced Chemnitz with 14 points, Aher Uguak scored 13 points, Olivier Nkamhoua collected 10 points and 10 rebounds and Jeff Garrett added 9 points and 12 rebounds. Bryce Hamilton was Rostock’s leading scorer with 18 points and D’Shawn Schwartz and Elias Baggette both scored 10 points.
Player of the Week
The top performance of Round 6 went to Michael Devoe of SYNTAINICS MBC, who was named Player of the Week for his efficiency of 29 against Veolia Towers Hamburg. Devoe collected 21 points on 9 of 13 shooting (1/3 threes) and 2 of 2 free throws off the bench to go with 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and 1 turnover.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Garai Zeeb, SKYLINERS
Zeeb scored a career high 15 points as Frankfurt’s leading scorer against MLP Academics Heidelberg to go with 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block
F: Mateo Seric, MLP Academics Heidelberg
Seric is the first of four big men in a massive Top Five lineup this week. Seric had 14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in a win over SKYLINERS.
C: Filip Stanic, Bamberg Baskets
Stanic collected 7 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 steals and 1 block in a loss to EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
C: Johann Grünloh, RASTA Vechta
The 19-year-old Grünloh picked up 11 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block versus ratiopharm ulm.
C: Martin Breunig, SYNTAINICS MBC
Breunig played a major role in the team’s win over Veolia Towers Hamburg with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
Young Guns
Hannes Steinbach, 18, PF, FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
Steinbach played a strong game against FC Bayern Munich in collecting 4 points on 2 of 4 shots, 9 rebounds - 4 from the offensive glass, 1 assist and 3 steals in 17:58 minutes.
Sananda Fru, 21, PF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Fru started against ALBA BERLIN and played 25:38 minutes and scored 7 points on 3 of 6 shooting (0/1 threes) and 1 of 2 free throws to go with 5 rebounds and 1 block.
Leif Möller, 21, PG, Veolia Towers Hamburg
Möller played 9:13 minutes against SYNTAINICS MBC and scored a career-high 7 points on 2 of 2 shooting (1/1 threes) and 2 of 2 free throws and grabbed 1 rebound.
Germans Abroad
Joshua Obiesie is spending his first full season in France and he is really shining in the FIBA Europe Cup for JDA Dijon. The 24-year-old swingman is averaging 16.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals in five FIBA Europe Cup games including 24 points against Caledonia Gladiators as well as 12 points and 4 rebounds most recently against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg. Obiesie is tallying 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in five France league games.