– David Hein
FC Bayern Munich exhibited their class in beating MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg in a showdown of the only two teams with one loss going into the game. This week also saw WALTER Tigers Tübingen finally win their first game of the season while ratiopharm ulm continue their rise up the standings with their sixth straight victory.
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 show class in clash with Ludwigsburg
FC Bayern Munich showed who is currently the class of the easyCredit BBL as the league leaders eased past contenders MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 91-71 to extend their winning streak to nine games. Bayern grabbed control of the game with a 27-15 second quarter and never looked back in moving to 12-1 and snapped Ludwigsburg’s six-game winning streak. Devin Booker paced five Bayern players in double figures with 17 points while Danilo Barthel was one of three reserves in double digits with 15 points. Ludwigsburg, who dropped to fourth place with an 8-2 record, got 14 points from both Kerron Johnson and Elgin Cook as they shot just 36 percent from the field. Bayern’s win was tainted by injuries to Jared Cunningham and Stefan Jovic - though it’s unclear how serious they are.
LIVE: In der Vorweihnachtszeit könnte @DevinBooker31 auch für einen Paketdienst arbeiten. Schließlich macht er alles: Abholen, transportieren, abliefern. #easyCreditBBL #FCBB_live pic.twitter.com/a52aYLNC4t
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 9, 2017
Berlin win in Würzburg without All-Star point guard Siva
ALBA BERLIN did not have All-Star point guard Peyton Siva but it didn’t matter as they beat s.Oliver Würzburg 90-76 for their third straight win. Berlin trailed by 10 points in the first quarter but took over the game in the third quarter and pulled away in the fourth in moving to 10-3 in second place. Bogdan Radosavljevic came off the bench to lead Berlin with 18 points while Luke Sikma was close to a triple-double with 10 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Robin Benzing’s 25 points were not enough to keep Würzburg from losing their second straight game and sixth in the last seven games to fall to 6-6 in 10th place
LIVE: Ihr kennt das Spielchen. @LCSikma43 mit der guten Übersicht, Dennis Clifford mit dem Dunk! pic.twitter.com/VIf8OtDLIt
— ALBA BERLIN (@albaberlin) December 9, 2017
Bayreuth ease past Erfurt, jump to third
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg’s loss meant medi bayreuth could jump to third place as they eased past Oettinger Rockets 93-72 - under the watch of German national team coach Henrik Rödl. Bayreuth got 20 points from Gabe York and 17 points, four rebounds and five assists from De’Mon Brooks as they shot 58 percent in moving to third place with a 9-3 record with five wins in the last six games. Erfurt dropped their second straight in falling to 2-10 in 17th place despite 18 points from Sava Lesic.
LIVE: Hier auf Bewegtbild festgehalten: Der Übergang von der Pflicht zur Kür, getanzt von @medibayreuth#easyCreditBBL pic.twitter.com/bk6fO46gZb
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 10, 2017
Bamberg hold on at home against Jena
Brose Bamberg remained close to the leaders of the league as they held on for an 80-71 home victory over Science City Jena. Bamberg built a big lead in the third quarter and watched Jena come back against their young reserves in the final period. But the lead was enough for Bamberg’s fifth win in the last six games to move to 8-4 in fifth place. Dorell Wright picked up 16 points and six rebounds and new addition Dejan Musli chipped in 12 points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal in 19 minutes. Jena lost their third straight and are 12th with a 4-8 record despite 23 points on six three-pointers from Julius Jenkins.
LIVE Flinke Finger von @DWRIGHTWAY1 und die Fastbreak-Punkte #Basketballherz pic.twitter.com/ZPGsjzBl8Z
— Brose Bamberg (@BroseBamberg) December 9, 2017
SKYLINERS have little trouble with Bremerhaven
FRAPORT SKYLINERS kept place with Brose Bamberg as they had little trouble with Eisbären Bremerhaven in a 95-69 victory. Frankfurt, who won their second straight to move to 8-4 in sixth place, led by 17 points at halftime and never were challenged after the break. Tai Webster grabbed 21 points, five rebounds and six assists while Philip Scrubb collected 19 points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals. Scrubb was facing an old foe in Bremerhaven’s leading scorer Johnny Berhanemeskel, who had 15 points in another battle with Scrubb following their near legendary showdowns in Canada’s USports collegiate system. Bremerhaven returned to their losing ways after last week snapping a seven-game losing streak and are 16th in the standings at 2-9.
Niklas Kiel bisher mit dem Highlight des zweiten Viertels und diesem schönen Dunk! pic.twitter.com/2kDF2oy3Xe
— FRAPORT SKYLINERS (@skyliners1999) December 9, 2017
Frankfurt add big man Völler
FRAPORT SKYLINERS added a bit of depth at the power forward position with the addition of Marco Völler until the end of the season. The 28-year-old, whose contract is also valid for the ProB, is from the Hessen region and comes to Frankfurt after not playing much for GIESSEN 46ers, averaging 0.9 points and 2.0 rebounds in about 7 minutes per game in nine contests this season. Völler, who is the son of former German international football star Rudi Völler, had a strong first game with Eisbären Bremerhaven with eight points - hitting all four of his shots - five rebounds, three assists and one steal in 14:46 minutes.
Toller Einstieg von Marco Völler mit 8 Pkt, 5 Reb, 3 Ast - Karrierebestleistung eingestellt! pic.twitter.com/g3441aZPrE
— FRAPORT SKYLINERS (@skyliners1999) December 9, 2017
Tübingen finally win first game of season
It turns out the 12th time’s the charm as WALTER Tigers Tübingen finally picked up their first victory of the season as they beat BG Göttingen 80-67 at home. In Mathias Fischer’s second game as head coach, Tübingen never trailed and took over the game in the third quarter in getting rid of the zero in the win column for a 1-11 record - still last place in the easyCredit BBL. Reggie Upshaw collected 20 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and one block for Tübingen while three Germans scored in double figures (Mathis Mönninghoff 13, Philip Heyden 11 and Sid Marlon Theis 10). Göttingen have lost three in a row are are 15th in the standings at 4-9 despite 16 points each from Dominic Lockhart and Brion Rush.
LIVE: MONSTERDUNK. Punkt. #easyCreditBBL #zähnezeigen #veilchenimblut pic.twitter.com/oZ07jN5LhD
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 9, 2017
Bonn strong in win over Oldenburg
Telekom Baskets Bonn snapped a two-game losing streak as they beat EWE Baskets Oldenburg 90-68. Bonn picked up their third straight home win in moving to 7-5 in seventh place thanks to a big 26-10 second quarter. Josh Mayo led the way with 16 points and five assists while Justin Gamble had 15 points and eight rebounds. Tomislav Zubcic knocked down four three-pointers in scoring 13 points in his first game for Bonn. Oldenburg have lost three in a row now to fall from the playoff ranks at 6-6 in ninth place. Rasid Mahalbasic had 18 points and seven rebounds for the losing side with Isaiah Philmore adding 16 points.
LIVE: Hör mal, wer da hämmert. @TheRealJG45 auf Zuspiel von @TDileo#easyCreditBBL #2ndToNone pic.twitter.com/8TSBadsD3j
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 10, 2017
Ulm winning streak extends to six with victory over Giessen
Replacing EWE Baskets Oldenburg in the playoff ranks was ratiopharm ulm, whose winning streak was extended to six games with an 84-70 victory at GIESSEN 46ers. Ulm came back from a 14-point first half deficit and pulled away in the fourth quarter in moving to 7-5 in seventh place. Ismet Akpinar scored 19 points, Da’Sean tallied 19 points and 14 rebounds, Isaac Fotu had 17 points and six rebounds and Ryan Thompson collected 14 points, four rebounds, seven assists and two blocks for Ulm. Giessen got 18 points from Darvin Davis while John Bryant, who won two MVP awards during his days with ratiopharm ulm, collected 11 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. Giessen have dropped two straight and three of four in moving to 5-7 in 11th place.
LIVE auf TelekomSport.de: Fotu hat mit 7pts in Folge großen Anteil an der #uuulmer Aufholjagd zum 41:37-Halbzeitstand. #weareone pic.twitter.com/Tt6DQV5Wb8
— ratiopharm ulm (@ratiopharmulm) December 10, 2017
MBC get home win over Braunschweig to end losing streak
Mitteldeutscher BC ended a four-game losing streak by knocking off Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 84-78 at home. All five MBC starters scored in double figures, paced by Lamont Jones’ 19 points. MBC are 4-8 in 13th place. Scott Eatherton had 21 points and Thomas Klepeisz scored 18 as Braunschweig’s only two scorers in double digits. That was not enough as Braunschweig are 12th at 5-7.
Bauermann, Korner to coach ALLSTAR game
Dirk Bauermann of s.Oliver Würzburg and Raoul Korner of medi bayreuth have been voted by the fans to coach the National and International teams, respectively, at the 2018 ALLSTAR Game. The National team starters - as voted by the fans - will be Robin Benzing of s.Oliver Würzburg, Maodo Lo of Brose Bamberg, Per Günther of ratiopharm ulm, medi bayreuth’s Andreas Seiferth and Danilo Barthel of FC Bayern Munich. The International team starters elected were Rickey Paulding of EWE Baskets Oldenburg, Trey Lewis from ratiopharm ulm, Assem Marei of medi bayreuth, Devin Booker of FC Bayern Munich and Peyton Siva from ALBA BERLIN. The ALLSTAR Day will take place on January 13 in Göttingen. The International team has an 8-1 record in the ALLSTAR Game, which will be played for the 10th team in this format.
Bamberg add Serbian big man Musli
Reigning champions Brose Bamberg got some reinforcements in the post as they signed Serbian center Dejan Musli on a deal until the end of the season. The 2.13m center comes from Euroleague club Unicaja Malaga and cannot play in the competition until January - though the 26-year-old is immediately eligible for easyCredit BBL games.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Ismet Akpinar, ratiopharm ulm
Akpinar is playing a bigger and bigger role for Ulm as he scored a team-high 19 points in the team’s win over GIESSEN 46ers. Akpinar also had four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
G: Dominic Lockhart, BG Göttingen
Lockhart had a career high 16 points in Göttingen’s loss to WALTER Tigers Tübingen. The 23-year-old played 36:14 minutes and collected five rebounds, three assists and one steal just a couple weeks after making his German senior national team debut in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers.
F: Sergio Kerusch, Mitteldeutscher BC
Kerusch returns to this list with another impressive showing off the MBC bench in a win over Basketball Löwen Braunschweig as he had 16 points and six rebounds.
F: Robin Benzing, s.Oliver Würzburg
The German national team captain - and the ALLSTAR Game’s top vote-getter - could not keep Würzburg from losing to ALBA BERLIN. Benzing nailed four three-pointers in scoring 25 points and he also had three rebounds, two assists, one steal and just one turnover in 31 minutes of action.
C: Bogdan Radosavljevic, ALBA BERLIN
Radosavljevic was a force off the Berlin bench in the win over s.Oliver Würzburg, hitting 8-of-9 shots for a team-high 18 points to go with three rebounds and one steal in 17 minutes.
LIVE: @LCSikma43 mit dem nächsten Zuckerpass und Boggy Ra-dosavljevic mit dem nächsten And-One! pic.twitter.com/11o6EnQoWo
— ALBA BERLIN (@albaberlin) December 9, 2017
Player of the Week
Da’Sean Butler did it all for ratiopharm ulm in their win over GIESSEN 46ers, winning Player of the Week honors as he collected 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 2-of-3 free throws, 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block for an efficiency of 29.
Young Guns
Filip Stanic, 19, Oettinger Rockets
Stanic did foul out in 15:35 minutes of action but he was also very productive with six points on 3-of-3 shooting to go with four rebounds and one assist against medi bayreuth.
Bennet Hundt, 19, PG, ALBA BERLIN
The 19-year-old did a good job for Berlin with All-Star point guard Peyton Siva unavailable against s.Oliver Würzburg. In just his third easyCredit BBL game, Hundt went 1-of-4 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line in scoring a career high five points while also setting career highs with two rebounds and two assists in 17:55 minutes.
LIVE auf TelekomSport.de: Ein bärenstarker @TheDaSeanButler (aktuell bei 19pts & 14reb) kann die Führung ausbauen! #weareone pic.twitter.com/92sYL8YN9Q
— ratiopharm ulm (@ratiopharmulm) December 10, 2017
Nicolas Bretzel, 18, C, ratiopharm ulm
Bretzel made a loud statement in his easyCredit BBL debut as the 18-year-old 2.06m big man collected six points on 3-of-3 shooting and two blocks in 4:44 minutes against GIESSEN 46ers.
LIVE: Tag der Neuen! @ratiopharmulms Nicolas #Bretzel mit seinen ersten Punkten in der #easycreditbbl #uuulmer pic.twitter.com/sukkXacIKD
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) December 10, 2017
Germans Abroad
Maxi Kleber is making a bigger and bigger impact on the Dallas Mavericks, as he collected 16 points and five rebounds against the Minnesota Timberwolves. It was the third time in six games that Kleber scored at least 13 points and grabbed at least five rebounds. In his recent game against Boston Celtics and fellow German rookie Daniel Theis, Kleber had 13 points, five rebounds, one steal and five blocks - including this big once against Theis.
Maxi Kleber with the double rejection on the Celtics. pic.twitter.com/QDnbHFmKOa
— Mavs Nation (@MavsNationNet) December 7, 2017
Bonga Watch
It was a career night for Isaac Bonga this week as the 18-year-old collected a career-high 16 points for FRAPORT SKYLINERS in their win over Eisbären Bremerhaven. And Bonga was very efficient too, hitting 3-of-4 shots, including both of his three-pointers, and all eight of his free throws. Bonga also collected five rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks in 28:19 minutes off the bench, while committing three turnovers.
Mit schönem Teamspiel behaupten wir unsere Führung auch nach dem dritten Viertel - 73:56. Das vierte Viertel jetzt Live auf Telekomsport pic.twitter.com/EH97eiTAMt
— FRAPORT SKYLINERS (@skyliners1999) December 9, 2017
Frankfurt will host Germany’s next World Cup Qualifier at home
The Fraport Arena in Frankfurt will be the host of Germany’s next home game in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers on February 23 against Serbia. The arena, which seats 5,000 spectators, will be the showplace of a battle between the two teams atop Group G with 2-0 records. The game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available in the German federation DBB ticket shop. Germany’s first home qualifier was played in November in Chemnitz - a 79-70 win over Georgia.
