ALBA BERLIN reclaimed their spot atop the standings after knocking off MLP RIESEN Ludwigsburg. The week also also big news off the court as FRAPORT SKYLINERS fired head coach Geert Hammink and FC Bayern Munich extended their contract with German international guard Andi Obst.
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 reclaim lead in standings after getting past Ludwigsburg
ALBA BERLIN reclaimed their spot atop the standings as they downed MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 83-77 on the road. Ludwigsburg were within touching distance for most of the game - including leading briefly in the third quarter - but Berlin built an 11-point lead in the final quarter to take the win and improve to 21-2. Ludwigsburg saw their three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 15-8. Berlin held Ludwigsburg to just 41.4 percent shooting including just 22.6 percent from long range. Jaleen Smith led the way with 28 points against his former club followed by Maodo Lo’s 17 points for Berlin. Tommy Kuhse came off the bench for 18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals and Justin Johnson chipped in 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
Frankfurt fire head coach Hammink - another dismissal on March 17
With the team fighting to stay in the league, FRAPORT SKYLINERS fired their head coach Geert Hammink and will replace him in the interim with assistant coach Klaus Perwas. Frankfurt sit in 17th place with a 5-18 record after six straight losses. It was the second straight season that the club fired their head coach on March 17 as Diego Ocampo was released on March 17, 2022.
Frankfurt beat Chemnitz in first game with Perwas in charge, snap skid
FRAPORT SKYLINERS snapped a six-game losing streak as they beat NINERS Chemnitz 89-84 at home in their first game with assistant coach Klaus Perwas at the helm. Chemnitz were up most of the first half by as many as 11 points and following a back-and-forth in the second half Frankfurt took control with an 11-0 run - seven of those points from Isaiah Washington. The win pushed the hosts to 6-18 and Chemnitz have dropped five straight for a 10-12 mark as they lost more ground on the playoff teams. Frankfurt, who were playing two days after head coach Geert Hammink was fired, shot 54.1 percent for the game and limited the guests to just 42.4 percent from the field. Washington ended with 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists with Lukas Wank and Quantez Robertson both chipping in 14 points. Marko Filipovity was Chemnitz’s leading scorer with 18 points and Arnas Velicka picked up 13 points and 9 assists.
Obst shoots Bayern past Wolfpack
FC Bayern Munich remained ahead in the running for third place as they rolled past SYNTAINICS MBC 87-66 at home. The game was close for about 27 minutes before Bayern ran away to a third win in a row for a 17-6 mark with SYNTAINICS MBC dropping its third straight for a 9-15 record. Bayern shot 51.8 percent from the field and won the rebound battle 40-25. Andi Obst celebrated his contract extension by tying his career high of 27 points, Cassius Winston added 13 points and Corey Walden had 10 points in the win. Martin Breunig paced the guests with 12 points and Kostja Mushidi scored 11 points.
Bayern extend deal with Obst until 2026
FC Bayern Munich and Andi Obst agreed to stay together for a while longer as the German national team sharpshooter signed a contract extension until the end of the 2025-26 season. The 26-year-old Obst has been with Bayern since 2021, when he arrived from ratiopharm ulm.
Russell rocks in Oldenburg route of Hamburg
DeWayne Russell shined with a monster performance as he guided EWE Baskets Oldenburg to a 94-58 home drubbing of Veolia Towers Hamburg. Oldenburg took control with a 31-14 second quarter en route to a fourth consecutive win and a 16-7 record while Hamburg fell to 8-16. Oldenburg committed only 9 turnovers and forced Hamburg into 21 miscues and the guests made just 8.0 percent from long range. Russell finished with 33 points and 11 assists, Alen Pjanic added 16 points and Shakur Juiston chipped in 14 points and 7 rebounds. Yoeli Childs paced Hamburg with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Würzburg finally win back-and-forth battle with Bayreuth in OT
Würzburg Basket avoided an important slip-up in their hopes for the playoffs as they knocked off free-falling medi bayreuth 96-89 in a back-and-forth battle that went to overtime. The game was close throughout with nine points being the biggest advantage and 26 lead changes and 10 ties. Otis Livingston’s three-pointer with 37 seconds left for Bayreuth forced overtime. It was tied 83-83 in the extra session when Stanley Whittaker scored 6 points in a 9-2 run to take control for Würzburg, who improved to 12-12 with Bayreuth losing their 11th straight to fall to 3-20. Würzburg shot 53.7 percent for the game compared to 47.8 percent for Bayreuth. Felix Hoffmann scored a career-high 18 points with 6 three-pointers, Whittaker finished with 18 points and 7 assists, and Cameron Hunt added 17 points for the winners. Ignas Sargiunas poured in 27 points and Nat Diallo scored a career-high 16 points with 6 rebounds in the loss.
Rostock pick up big win over Bamberg after wild fourth quarter
ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES’ playoff hopes received a big boost as they knocked off Brose Bamberg 94-88 on the road after a wild fourth quarter. Rostock built a 15-point lead in the first quarter and a 13-point gap in the third before a fourth quarter with 12 lead changes before a 10-2 Rostock run to improve to 12-12 with two wins in a row, matching records with Bamberg, whose five-game winning streak was snapped. Rostock shot 57.1 percent from three-point range and made 20-of-24 free throws compared to 9-of-12 for Bamberg.
JeQuan Lewis collected 21 points and 11 rebounds, Tyler Nelson also scored 21 points and Selom Mawugbe chipped in a strong double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jaromir Bohacik led Bamberg with 22 points and Patrick Miller had 18 points and 10 assists. The game was overshadowed by the first quarter injury to Bamberg’s Amir Bell, who had to be carried off the court with a lower leg injury and was brought to local hospital.
Crailsheim come back to beat sloppy Ulm, snap 7-game losing streak
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim came back from a 14-point third quarter deficit to beat ratiopharm ulm 76-68 at home to snap a seven-game losing streak. Crailsheim took a 10-point lead early in the second quarter but trailed 59-45 late in the third quarter. The hosts stormed back into the game with a 29-9 final frame to finally win again and move to 8-16. Ulm had won 6 of 7 games but now stand at 12-11. Ulm committed 26 turnovers and shot just 35.7 percent for the game. Edon Maxhuni came off the bench for 16 points, Jaren Lewis had 14 points and 9 rebounds and Maurice Stuckey picked up 14 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists for the winners. Tommy Klepeisz paced Ulm with 19 points and Yago dos Santos contributed 11 points and 6 assists.
Braunschweig beat Heidelberg for first time in big relegation battle
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig picked up a big victory in their fight to stay in the league as they beat MLP Academics Heidelberg 89-82 at home for their first win over the guests in five games. Braunschweig built an 11-point first quarter lead and it grew to 14 points in the third quarter before Heidelberg made it close in the fourth. But Braunschweig held on to move to 7-17 and Heidelberg fell to 8-16 after six losses in the last seven games. Braunschweig committed only 9 turnovers and allowed the guests to shoot just 32.0 percent from long range. Divine Myles poured in 30 points and David Krämer picked up 24 points and 6 rebounds. Vincent Kesteloot was Heidelberg’s leading scorer with 19 points and 5 rebounds with Jack McVeigh adding 16 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.
Player of the Week
Player of the Week honors for Round 24 go to DeWayne Russell for his outstanding showing in EWE Baskets Oldenburg’s win over Veolia Towers Hamburg as he scored 33 points on 13-of-24 shots to go with 3 rebounds, 11 assists and 2 steals for an efficiency of 37.
German Top Five of the Week
G: David Krämer, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Krämer poured in 24 points to go with 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal against MLP Academics Heidelberg.
G: Andi Obst, FC Bayern Munich
Obst showed why Bayern wanted to extend their contract with him by tying his career high with 27 points as he drained 7 three-pointers while also chipping in 1 rebound, 2 assists and 2 steals.
G: Maurice Stuckey, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim
Stuckey picked up 14 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists in Crailsheim’s win over ratiopharm ulm.
F: Felix Hoffmann, Würzburg Baskets
Hoffmann set a new career high with 18 points, knocking down 6-of-11 three-pointers along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
C: Nat Diallo, medi bayreuth
Diallo poured in a career high 16 points and also had 6 rebounds and 2 assists against Würzburg Baskets.
Young Guns
Luc van Slooten, 20, SF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Van Slooten collected 9 points on 3-of-5 shooting (2/4 threes) and 1-of-4 free throws, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in 23:13 minutes against MLP Academics Heidelberg.
Sananda Fru, 19, PF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig.
Fru started against MLP Academics Heidelberg and scored 4 points on 2-of-2 shooting with 2 rebounds and 1 steal in 13:17 minutes.
Lukas Herzog, 21, PG, MLP Academics Heidelberg
Herzog tallied 2 points on 1-of-3 shooting (1/2 threes), 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 14:04 minutes against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig.
Germans Abroad
Robin Benzing only recently returned to the court after missing nearly three months while playing for Uruguayan side Penarol as the former German national team captain picked up 16 points and 4 rebounds against Aguada after he had 13 points and 5 rebounds versus Semi France in the Basketball Champions League Americas.
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