This week of action saw MVP candidate Brae Ivey drain a game-winner with 0.4 seconds left for Veolia Towers Hamburg while Joel Aminu scored 16 points in the fourth quarter for RASTA Vechta. Off the court, German big man Kevin Yebo left FC Bayern Munich to return to NINERS Chemnitz from where Eddy Edigin subsequently moved to SYNTAINICS MBC. Speaking of which, the Weißenfels club hosting their first banner to the rafters commemorating their title at the VIMODROM TOP FOUR.
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 (Taking The Charge substack) brings you up-to-date in German basketball – the easyCredit BBL short and sweet:
13-0 start to OT carries league’s hottest team Ulm past Berlin
The biggest game in terms of meaning on the standings was in southwest Germany where ratiopharm ulm remained right on the heels of league leaders FC Bayern Munich as they slowed down suddenly hot ALBA BERLIN 101-90 in overtime thanks to a big start to OT. Matt Thomas’ three-pointer with 2 seconds left on the road forced overtime where Ulm scored the first 13 points to improve to 15-6 and Berlin fell to 10-11, having their three-game win streak snapped. Noa Essengue came off the Ulm bench to lead all scorers with a career-best 20 points - seven of them coming in OT.
Season-ending injury for Ulm big man Ruby
ratiopharm ulm’s hopes for the Bundesliga title took a hit as Isaiah Roby was ruled out the rest of the season as he suffered a severe knee injury during practice. Roby had missed a number of weeks during the season because of a wrist injury. But this new injury ends the American’s season.
Cup winners Wolves raise Cup banner, put on offensive show versus Würzburg
SYNTAINICS MBC raised the banner for their VIMIDROM TOP FOUR title before putting on an offensive gala in beating FIT/One Würzburg Baskets 110-101. The hosts never trailed and have now won four straight games - including the two German Cup contests - and both teams have 11-10 records - Würzburg however own the tiebreaker. The game saw some big performances as Ty Brewer scored 21 points with 9 rebounds, Charles Callison collected 19 points and 10 assists and Eddy Edigin scored a season-best 18 points in his debut. Zac Seljaas poured in 26 points and Jhivvan Jackson had 22 points and 9 assists in the loss.
Breuning out for season for Weißenfels, club brings in Eddy Edigin
SYNTAINICS MBC got some bad news as their German Cup hero Martin Breunig was ruled out for the rest of the season as he needs surgery on a finger. The club reacted quickly and brought in German big man Eddy Edigin. The 29-year-old was available after NINERS Chemnitz brought back Kevin Yebo.
Segu show caps celebration of Bamberg’s legendary first champs
Ronaldo Segu channeled his inner Derrick “Daddy Cool” Taylor in making sure the 20th anniversary celebrations of Bamberg Baskets’ first title finished with a win - a 92-85 victory over SKYLINERS. Bamberg took the third quarter 26-11 to beat Frankfurt once again - a rematch of the VIMODROM TOP FOUR Semi-Finals (a 76-63 Bamberg victory) from a few weeks ago. Segu finished with 22 points and 6 assists as Freak City honored the 2005 league champs including the likes of Uvis Helmanis, Rick Stafford, Demond Mallet, Taylor and head coach Dirk Bauermann, who beat Frankfurt in the Finals.
Brae New World: Hamburg win on Ivey’s jumper with 0.4 seconds left
What a thriller we saw in the northern German showdown with MVP candidate Brae Ivey knocking down a jumper with 0.4 seconds left to give Veolia Towers Hamburg a 78-77 home win over ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES. That was the last of 10 lead changes in the final quarter and Ivey finished with 22 points - including another crucial jumper with 20 seconds left. Both teams are now 10-11 though Rostock - who have lost three straight - hold the tiebreaker over Hamburg after a 14-point win on December 26.
Oldenburg power on at home, hand Braunschweig second straight loss
EWE Baskets Oldenburg continue to be one of the strongest teams at home this season as they defeated Basketball Löwen Braunscshweig 102-90 and handed the guests their second straight loss. Oldenburg improved to 10-11 overall including 9-1 at the EWE Arena while Braunschweig dropped to 14-8 with their first back-to-back losses since Rounds 8 and 9 in November. Oldenburg got great production from the bench as Artur Konontsuk and Len Schoormann combined for 46 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists. And Norris Agbakoko chipped in a strong double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds plus 4 assists and 5 blocks. Arnas Velicka scored only 2 points for the guests but dished out 15 assists - the most dimes this season in the league.
Aminu clutch with 16 points in 4th quarter in Vechta win over Bonn
RASTA Vechta defended fourth place in the league with a tough 94-88 victory at Telekom Baskets Bonn marked by Joel Aminu scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter. Vechta’s German guard, who finished with 19 points, converted 7 of 8 free throws in the final 61 seconds to ice the win, and Martin Schiller’s team grabbed 20 offensive rebounds. Vechta now have a 13-8 record and while Bonn managed to win last week, a sixth loss in seven games has them at 9-12 fighting for a playin spot.
Yebo return sparks Chemnitz past Göttingen on road
Kevin Yebo put a big smile on the faces of NINERS Chemnitz fans as the German big man sparked a 94-90 victory at BG Göttingen in his first game back with the club. Yebo re-joined Chemnitz during the week after leaving FC Bayern Munich and collected 20 points and 8 rebounds in his return. Chemnitz improved to 12-9 thanks to a 24-5 run over the final two quarters. Jacob Gilyard collected 24 points and 10 assists. Another loss brings Göttingen that much closer to relegation with a 12th straight loss for a 1-19 record.
Yebo back to Chemnitz after just seven months at Bayern
Kevin Yebo is back with NINERS Chemnitz as the German big man asked out of his contract with FC Bayern Munich to return to the club where he celebrated his biggest success. Yebo left Chemnitz last season after winning the FIBA Europe Cup and reaching the German league Semi-Finals. Yebo signed in the off-season with Bayern on a three-year deal but the contract was ended without financial obligations from either side after he struggled both on and off the court in Munich.
Bayern rotate players, ease past Heidelberg
FC Bayern Munich utilized the depth of their roster in rotating their stars and still rolling to an 87-78 home victory over MLP Academics Heidelberg. Head coach Gordon Herbert rested German stars Johannes Voigtmann and Andreas Obst but still won their third straight for a 15-5 mark to lead the league. Heidelberg have now lost four road games in a row to fall to 11-9. Heidelberg trailed by 28 points in the third quarter and tried to make it interesting but only got within seven points. Carsen Edwards led the winners with 19 points.
Player of the Week
The top individual performance this week went to EWE Baskets Oldenburg big man Norris Agbakoko for his efficiency of 32 against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig in Round 23. The center scored 16 points on 3 of 5 shooting and 10 of 12 free throws while grabbing 13 rebounds to go with 4 assists, 1 steal and 5 blocks.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Joel Aminu, RASTA Vechta
Aminu was crucial in Vechta’s win over Telekom Baskets Bonn with 16 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to go along with 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals
F: Karim Jallow, ratiopharm ulm
Jallow collected 17 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal in Ulm’s win over ALBA BERLIN.
C: Kevin Yebo, NINERS Chemnitz
It seemed as though Yebo had never left Chemnitz with a great first game back, scoring 20 points with 4 three-pointers and adding 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal against BG Göttingen.
C: Eddy Edigin, SYNTAINICS MBC
Edigin makes this list just like Yebo for his performance in his first game with his new team as the former Chemnitz big man had 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks against FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
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C: Norris Agbakoko, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Agbakoko gets the spot here but it’s hard not to mention teammate Len Schoormann, who had 22 points and 5 assists against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig. Agbakoko meanwhile collected 16 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocks.
Young Guns
Sananda Fru, 21, PF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Fru started and played 33:22 minutes against EWE Baskets Oldenburg and had 16 points on 6 of 11 shooting (1/2 threes) and 3 of 6 free throws, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks.
Hannes Steinbach, 18, PF, FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
Steinbach played 22:53 minutes off the bench against SYNTAINICS MBC and scored 11 points on 3 of 4 shots and 5 of 6 free throws to go with 7 rebounds and 1 assist.
Johann Grünloh, 19, C, RASTA Vechta
Grünloh started versus Telekom Baskets Bonn and played 19:48 minutes, collecting 15 points on 6 of 6 shots (2/2 threes) and 1 of 2 free throws, 9 rebound and 2 blocks.
Germans Abroad
Keenan Garner was one of Germany’s 2006-born generation - along with Christian Anderson, Jack Kayil and Ivan Kharchenkov - who helped the country win the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 Division B to earn promotion back to Division A. Garner is currently in the United States playing his freshman season with University of Indiana-Indianapolis and scored 14 points with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in the team’s Horizon League Conference Championship first round loss against Wright State. For the season, the forward averaged 5.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals.
