– David Hein
ALBA BERLIN finally have won another title as they defeated EWE Baskets Oldenburg for the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup crown. The week also saw BG Göttingen shock league leaders FC Bayern Munich while SYNTAINICS MBC fired head coach Björn Harmsen after their first home win of the season and replaced him with returnee Silvano Poropat. Round 20 also saw a number of German players set new career highs in scoring.
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 finally win a final, defeat Oldenburg for record-tying 10th cup
ALBA BERLIN finally won a final again as they defeated EWE Baskets Oldenburg 89-67 at home to win the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup. Berlin used a 25-8 third quarter to pull away for their 10th German Cup crown - pulling them even with the all-time leaders Bayer Leverkusen. It was Berlin’s first German Cup title since 2016. It was the sixth final that Berlin were playing under head coach Aito Garcia Reneses - two times in the German league finals, twice in the cup final and one EuroCup final. Oldenburg were playing in their second cup final after winning their only crown in 2015. A crowd of 14,614 saw Berlin make 20-of-24 free throws compared to just 4-of-8 free throws for Oldenburg, who had 18 turnovers and only shot 37.1 percent from the field. Martin Hermannsson collected 20 points with 4 three-pointers for Berlin while Rokas Giedraitis scored 13 points and Peyton Siva chipped in 12 points and 7 assists. Braydon Hobbs was Oldenburg’s main weapon with 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals and Rasid Mahalbasic picked up 13 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists in the loss.
Mini movie of Berlin’s cup triumph
Here is a short look at more highlights of ALBA BERLIN’s triumph in the German Cup:
Berlin celebrate their 10th German Cup trophy
ALBA BERLIN had reason to celebrate after winning the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup title - and here is how they did so with their fans:
Göttingen surprise Bayern, hand league leaders second loss
BG Göttingen got a great showing from their two stars as they surprised FC Bayern Munich 90-81 at home for the second loss of the season for the league leaders. Göttingen built a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter but watched as Bayern trimmed it to three points until Alex Ruoff’s layup to make it 84-79 with 62 seconds left. Göttingen have won two of three games for a 9-10 mark while Bayern saw a three-game winning streak end for a 17-2 record after their first defeat against a team with a losing record since falling to SYNTAINICS MBC four years ago. Göttingen drained 15-of-30 threes for 50 percent while Bayern hit just 6-of-20 threes for 30.0 percent. Kyan Anderson poured in 27 points and Ruoff had 18 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals with Dylan Osetkowski chipping in 11 points and 10 rebounds. Greg Monroe paced Bayern with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals.
MBC hold off Vechta for first home victory
SYNTAINICS MBC finally grabbed their first home victory of the season in holding off RASTA Vechta 88-87. MBC had a 16-point lead in the second quarter and were still up by 11 points in the fourth quarter before Vechta raced back into the game with Trevis Simpson’s three-pointer making it 88-87 with 33 seconds left. The guests had one final chance to take the lead but Jordan Davis stepped out of bounds with 3.1 seconds left as MBC snapped an eight-game losing streak to move to 3-16. It was MBC’s first win at home after eight straight losses. Vechta have lost two of their last three for an 11-8 record and could not stop MBC on offense as the hosts made 56.7 percent on two-pointers. David Brembly scored a career-high 23 points with 6 rebounds for MBC while Strahinja Micovic picked up 22 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists and Kaza Kajami-Keane added 10 points and 14 assists. Simpson led Vechta with 26 points with 7 three-pointers while Ish Wainwright had 17 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists and Josh Young scored 17 points.
Poropat returns to MBC as head coach after Harmsen firing
SYNTAINICS MBC called on a familiar face as new head coach as they brought back Silvano Poropat to take over the team after firing Björn Harmsen. The club sacked Harmsen after he publicly questioned some of his players’ commitment. The 48-year-old Poropat, who signed until the end of the season, helped MBC avoid relegation in the 2018-19 season after he had coached them from 2011 until 2015, guiding the team from the ProA to the top flight and twice winning the easyCredit BBL Coach of the Year award. MBC are fighting to avoid relegation with a 3-16 record in last place - even after beating RASTA Vechta for their first home victory, after which Harmsen made his comments.
Berlin need overtime to win thriller in Ulm
ALBA BERLIN needed overtime but managed to pick up a 112-106 victory in a thriller at ratiopharm ulm. Berlin led by 12 points in the first quarter but it was tight the rest of the game. Tyler Harvey nailed a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to give Ulm a three-point lead but the hosts did not foul Berlin and Peyton Siva drained a trey from the corner at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Down the stretch, Berlin used an 8-2 run with a three-point play from Luke Sikma and a three-ball from Tyler Cavanaugh to improve to 13-4. Ulm saw their two-game winning streak end in dropping to 9-8 as they turned the ball over 18 times. Siva led the way with 25 points, 5 assists and 3 steals while Sikma collected 21 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals and Rokas Giedraitis and Cavanaugh both scored 14 points. Harvey ended with 23 points with 6 three-pointers with Killian Hayes picking up 20 points, 4 rebounds and 10 assists and Grant Jerrett chipping in 13 points and 10 rebounds. Archie Goodwin had 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in his first game for Ulm.
Oldenburg down Frankfurt at home in overtime
EWE Baskets Oldenburg continued their strong play and defeated FRAPORT SKYLINERS 85-81 in overtime at home in a final warm-up for the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup final. Frankfurt had a 13-point lead at the end of the first half but trailed after three quarters. The game was back and forth rest of the way with Karsten Tadda's three-pointer tying the game 71-71 with 22 seconds. In overtime, Rasid Mahalbasic converted a three-point play for a 81-80 lead with 33 seconds left and Armani Moore had a layup with 8.5 seconds to play to decide the game. Oldenburg have won six of their last seven for a 12-6 record while Frankfurt have dropped five in a row and are 5-14. Rickey Paulding paced Oldenburg with 23 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists with Philipp Schwethelm hitting 5 threes for 15 points. Matthew McQuaid and Quantez Robertson both scored 14 points for Frankfurt and Leon Kratzer had 12 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block.
Bayreuth use big fourth quarter for derby win at Würzburg
medi bayreuth used some excellent three-point shooting in running away with an 85-66 home victory over s.Oliver Würzburg. Bayreuth started the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run and took the final frame 28-16 for their second straight win to move to 9-10. Würzburg have lost three straight to fall to 10-9. Bayreuth drained 15-of-27 threes for 55.6 percent while Würzburg hit just 4-of-19 threes-pointers for 21.1 percent. Lukas Meisner scored 22 points for a new career high for Bayreuth and Bastian Doreth went 4-of-4 from long range in scoring a career high 17 points and Bryce Alford had 5 threes for 15 points. Jordan Hulls was top scorer for Würzburg with 14 points and Luke Fischer had 11 points as Würzburg’s only other double figure scorer.
Würzburg release Victor Rudd
s.Oliver Würzburg and Victor Rudd have decided to part ways, ending the sides’ contract which ran until the end of March. The 28-year-old Rudd played 16 games for Würzburg and averaged 7.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
Ludwigsburg spoil Voigt’s coaching debut in Bonn
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg spoilt the head coaching debut for Will Voigt at Telekom Baskets Bonn as they picked up an 83-77 road victory in a Round 31 game. Ludwigsburg wasted a 14-point third quarter lead and trailed in the final frame before executing better in the final stretch for their third straight win and a 15-4 record. Bonn dropped their third in a row for a 3-15 record in their first game with Voigt as new man in charge. Bonn committed only nine turnovers but shot only 38.9 percent from the floor including only 19.4 percent on threes. Nick Weiler-Babb was top scorer for Ludwigsburg with 24 points and Khadeen Carrington had 13 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Martin Breunig paced Bonn with 20 points and Trey McKinney-Jones had 12 points.
Crailsheim ease to home win over Braunschweig
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim kept playing strong basketball as they dominated the second half in defeating Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 98-81 at home. Crailsheim took over in the third quarter and just kept pulling away for their third straight win and seventh in the last eight games for a 13-6 record. Braunschweig have lost five of their last seven for a 7-10 record. Crailsheim committed only 7 turnovers and held Braunschweig to just 30.6 percent on three-pointers. DeWayne Russell had a monster game with 28 points and 14 assists while Maurice Stuckey scored a career-high 26 points with 7-of-7 three-pointers and Aaron Jones had 15 points and 8 rebounds. Trevor Releford paced Braunschweig with 22 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists and Scott Eatherton added 14 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Braunschweig pick up road win over Ulm
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig came up with big defensive plays down the stretch in picking up a 103-98 road victory over ratiopharm ulm in a Round 18 makeup game. Braunschweig led by 15 points late in the first half but were losing in the fourth quarter. Thomas Klepeisz knocked down a triple to give Braunschweig back the lead and the guests forced turnovers on four straight possessions to improve to 8-10. Ulm dropped their second in a row to fall to 9-9 as they forced only seven Braunschweig turnovers and the guests hit 71.1 percent on two-pointers. Scott Eatherton led the winners with 21 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, Jairus Lyles scored 17 points and Klepeisz chipped in 16 points and 9 assists. Killian Hayes paced Ulm with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists and Tyler Harvey also scored 18 points.
Bamberg run away in fourth to down Hamburg
Brose Bamberg came up with a big fourth quarter run to knock off Hamburg Towers 77-66 for a home victory in a Round 11 makeup game. Bamberg watched Hamburg put together a 15-2 run to grab a 65-64 lead in the fourth quarter but then ran away with the game thanks to a 12-0 surge for their third win in the last four games to improve to 11-8. Hamburg have lost six straight games to fall to 3-15. Bamberg turned the ball over only 12 times and forced 19 Hamburg turnovers and held the guests to 38.7 percent shooting. Retin Obasohan paced Bamberg with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while Kam Taylor had 13 points off the bench and Paris Lee added 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. Bogdan Radosavljevic was Hamburg’s top man with 23 points and 4 rebounds with Beau Beech scoring 15 points and Michael Carrera picking up 7 points and 10 rebounds.
Player of the Week
The Player of the Week for Round 20 goes to Luke Sikma for his performance in ALBA BERLIN’s thrilling overtime win at ratiopharm ulm. Sikma had an efficiency of 36 as he scored 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 1-of-3 free throws to go with 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 0 turnovers. Sikma set season highs in points, rebounds and steals in the game.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Bastian Doreth, medi bayreuth
Doreth came up with a superb showing in Bayreuth’s win over s.Oliver Würzburg as he nailed 4-of-4 three-pointers for a career-high 17 points to go with 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.
G: Maurice Stuckey, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim
Stuckey also set a career high in scoring as he drained 7-of-7 three-pointers in scoring 26 points against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig while adding 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
F: David Brembly, SYNTAINICS MBC
Brembly was the next German to set a career high with 23 points off the bench to go with 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block against RASTA Vechta.
F: Lukas Meisner, medi bayreuth
Add Meisner as the next German with a career high in points as he tallied 22 points and also grabbed 3 rebounds with 2 assists against s.Oliver Würzburg.
C: Bogdan Radosavljevic, Hamburg Towers
Radosavljevic joins the team for his performance against Brose Bamberg in a Round 11 game as the big man collected 23 points - not quite reaching his career high of 25 points - 4 rebounds and 1 steal.
LIVE-VIDEO: Wäh-rend @bastid28 den Assist im Liegen spielt, will @2reidtravis2 ganz hoch hinaus. #easyCreditBBL pic.twitter.com/WnHp1XmbbN
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) February 12, 2020
Young Guns
Ariel Hukporti, 17, C, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
Hukporti had a big week altogether. First, the 17-year-old picked up 1 point on 0-of-2 shooting and 1-of-2 free throws, 7 rebounds, 1 block and 1 turnover in 15:05 minutes against Telekom Baskets Bonn. He set new career highs in rebounds and minutes. And then over the weekend he flew to Chicago to take part in the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp at the NBA All-Star weekend. And Hukporti returned home with the MVP award.
Nelson Weidemann, 20, PG, Brose Bamberg
Weidemann scored 9 points on 3-of-5 shooting, including 2-of-4 three-pointers and 1-of-2 free throws to go with 1 assist and 1 turnover against Hamburg Towers.
Joshua Obiesie, 19, PG, s.Oliver Würzburg
Obiesie returns to the Young Guns again with 6 points points on 2-of-7 shooting - including 1-of-4 three-pointers - and 1-of-2 free throws as well as 1 rebound in 11:09 minutes against medi bayreuth.
Mattisseck Check
Jonas Mattisseck tasted the sweetness of success as he helped ALBA BERLIN to win the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup trophy, picking up 3 points on 1-of-3 three-pointers in 9:05 minutes off the bench. In Berlin’s win over ratiopharm ulm, the 20-year-old guard scored 10 points on 3-of-5 shots - including 2-of-3 three-pointers - and 2-of-2 free throws while also picking up 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 14:15 minutes.
Germans Abroad
This time we look at a German coach abroad as Dirk Bauermann has taken over as the head coach of the Tunisia national team. The 62-year-old Bauermann hopes to lead Tunisia to the 2020 Olympics as the African country will play at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Croatia, where the team will face Croatia and Brazil in their group. The other group has Germany, Mexico and Russia.
Die Leistung beim #BWBGlobalCamp war riesig, die Pressewand ist es eben-falls: Während sich @Dgale14 und Ariel #Hukporti auf dem Rückweg befinden, haben sich Headcoach John #Patrick und Gale zum MVP-Titels geäußert ▶️ https://t.co/jwKMqY55jr#ihrundwir | Foto: @NBAPR. pic.twitter.com/N5oAzNqyr2
— MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg (@MHP_RIESEN) February 17, 2020
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