– David Hein
FC Bayern Munich grabbed a 1-0 lead in their best-of-five easyCredit BBL Finals with ALBA BERLIN - a re-match of last season’s title bout. Berlin gave their fans some good news before the Finals as Luke Sikma agreed to a four-year extension. In other news, Telekom Baskets Bonn and SYNTAINICS MBC both named new head coaches for next season while Nikos Zisis will be leaving Brose Bamberg, but the league gets back German talent Kostja Mushidi, who signed with Basketball Löwen Braunschweig.
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:
Late run gives Bayern Game 1 at home in Finals over Berlin
FC Bayern Munich came up big when it mattered most with a late run to secure a 74-70 home victory over ALBA BERLIN in Game 1 of their easyCredit BBL Finals series. Bayern ended the game with an 11-2 surge to hold home court after watching Berlin jump ahead by 11 points in the first quarter and fighting tooth and nail all game. Nihad Djedovic led the way with 18 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals while Danilo Barthel was solid with 14 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and two massive free throws with 8 seconds left to make it a 73-70 lead. Petteri Koponen chipped in 3 three-pointers for 11 points to help offset the starting trio of Devin Booker, Vladimir Lucic and Maodo Lo combining for 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Bayern shot just 27.8 percent from three-point range and turned the ball over 20 times, but they forced 20 Berlin turnovers and the guests made just 13-of-19 free throws (68.4 percent). Peyton Siva scored 11 of his 14 points within 127 seconds in the fourth quarter to lead Berlin while Landry Nnoko had 12 points and Luke Sikma tallied 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Game 2 is Wednesday in Berlin.
Player of the Week
Nihad Djedovic takes home Player of the Week honors for his outstanding showing in Game 1. He scored 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting and 5-of-5 free throws to go with 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals for an efficiency of 25.
Sikma staying in Berlin for four more years
Huge news for ALBA BERLIN fans as their star forward and EuroCup MVP Luke Sikma agreed to a four-year extension with the club. By reaching the easyCredit BBL Finals, Berlin have locked up a spot in next season’s Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, making it that much more appealing for the 29-year-old Sikma to stay in the German capital, where he has played since 2017.
Berlin assistant Päch named Bonn head coach
While Luke Sikma will be staying with ALBA BERLIN, the club will be losing assistant coach Thomas Päch as the 36-year-old will become head coach at Telekom Baskets Bonn next season. Bonn and Päch, who will have his first full-time post as professional head coach, agreed to a two-year contract with both sides having an option for a third season. Päch is the successor to Chris O’Shea, who took over during last season from the fired Predrag Krunic and will move back to the assistant coach role with a deal until 2021.
Unser Rekordspieler @NihadDjedovic gestern mit ganz wichtigen Stats! ????#FCBB #NihadDjedovic #FCBBstats by @SAPSports #FCBBALBA #PlayoffsBaby #MünchenIstUnserCourt pic.twitter.com/3Xs7h9mVw4
— FC Bayern Basketball (@fcb_basketball) June 17, 2019
Zisis leaves Bamberg after four titles in four seasons
The new makeover of Brose Bamberg will take place without Nikos Zisis as the 35-year-old point guard will leave the club after collecting four titles in four seasons. The sides agreed to not extend Zisis’ expiring contract and the Greek veteran will look elsewhere to play his 20th professional season. He helped Bamberg to two league crowns and two cup titles.
Bamberg part ways with Perego after five years
After five years as an assistant coach and head coach, Brose Bamberg have parted ways with Federico Perego. The 34-year-old Italian, who took over as head coach this season after the firing of Ainars Bagatskis, won the German cup and brought Bamberg to the Basketball Champions League Final Four, will coach next season with Italian club Pesaro. Perego won three German league crowns as Andrea Trinchieri’s assistant - in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
MBC named Kaminski new coach, keep Kerusch on board
SYNTAINICS MBC will have a new man controlling the sidelines next season as the club signed Wojciech Kaminski as head coach. The 45-year-old Poland native replaces Silvano Poropat on a one-year contract plus an option for an additional season. Kaminski coached this past season for Polish side flight Slam Stal Ostrow. Kaminski will definitely be able to count on the services of German forward Sergio Kerusch after the club and the 30-year-old agreed to a three-year contract extension. Kerusch has been with MBC for the past three seasons, averaging 8.8 points and 3.3 rebounds this past campaign.
Sergio Kerusch 2018/19 from GetLemonade on Vimeo.
Mushidi comes back to Germany, signs for one year with Braunschweig
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig brought back to Germany one of the country’s top young talents as they signed Kostja Mushidi to a one-year deal for next season. The 20-year-old Mushidi, who helped Germany to the 2016 Albert Schweitzer Tournament title and third place at the FIBA U20 European Championship 2018, moved from Germany to French club Strasburg in 2015 and headed on to Serbia and Mega Bemax Belgrade in 2016, where he played in the ABA Adriatic League as well as the Basketball Champions League. This February, Mushidi was sent to Serbian top flight side OKK Belgrade, where he averaged 11.8 points in 17 games.
Talent Herkenhoff will return to Vechta for next season, coaches return
RASTA Vechta received a big boost in their planning for next season as top talent Philipp Herkenhoff pulled his name out of the NBA Draft and will return to the club for 2019-20. Herkenhoff had a solid 2018-19 season, averaging 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds. But the 19-year-old really stepped up his game in the playoffs against Brose Bamberg, averaging 16.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in the series. In addition to Herkenhoff staying on board, Vechta will also have assistant coach Miguel Zapata and athletic coach Frederik Kramp back for a second season.
Crailsheim bid farewell to Cuffee, Thompson and Arnold
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim will have a new look for next season and that will definitely be without Michael Cuffee, Hollis Thompson and Reggie Arnold, as the sides parted ways this week. The trio joins Konrad Wysocki and Ben Madgen as players who will not be returning to Crailsheim next season.
At just 19 years old, 6-11 Philipp Herkenhoff averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds as a full-time center in the BBL playoffs against Brose Bamberg. After beating them 3-1 with a very low budget, a rookie coach and a 7-man rotation Rasta Vechta will now face Bayern Munich. pic.twitter.com/HCQzwZThMi
— NBADraftProspects (@draftprosnba) May 30, 2019
Bayreuth make first addition, sign shooting guard Woodard
medi bayreuth have made their first acquisition for next season as they signed American shooting guard James Woodard. The 25-year-old arrives in Germany after playing last season with North Macedonian side MZT Skopje Aerodrom, who just won the country’s league title last week. Woodard played college basketball at Tulsa, where he is the school’s fourth all-time leading scorer.
Würzburg add Kosovo international Shoshi to front court
s.Oliver Würzburg strengthened their front court as they signed Kosovo international big man Lis Shoshi for one season. The 24-year-old Shoshi played last season with Israeli top flight side Maccabi Ashdod after starting his professional career with Kosovo record champs Sigil Pristina in 2017-18 following four years in college in the United States. Shoshi is averaging 17 points and nearly 12 rebounds for Kosovo’s senior national team in the FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Pre-Qualifiers.
Göttingen bring in German youth champion Bryant
BG Göttingen signed their first new player for next season as they locked up wing Kevin Bryant for one year. The 24-year-old Bryant, who will serve as a three-and-D guard, arrived in Göttingen from second division ProA side Rostock Seawolves. Bryant helped Urspringschule to the U19 NBBL title in 2011 and 2013 before leaving for the United States to attend high school and then college at Newman University in NCAA Division II. Bryant injured his achilles tendon during a tryout last summer with Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and ended up signing with Rostock in January 2019.
Obiese stays in NBA Draft, Krämer also eligible
There will only be two Germans eligible to be selected in the June 20 NBA Draft with Joshua Obiesie keeping his name in the draft and David Krämer of ratiopharm ulm automatically eligible as a 1997-born player. Obiesie, who turned 19 years old in May, worked out with the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets last week. He played last season with s.Oliver Würzburg. Fellow Germans Philipp Herkenhoff, Jonas Mattisseck and Louis Olinde all pulled their names out of the draft for this year.
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