– David Hein
ALBA BERLIN will host the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup final on Feb-ruary 16, 2020 against EWE Baskets Oldenburg after both teams won their semi-finals showdowns. The week also saw undefeated league leaders FC Bay-ern Munich fire their head coach Dejan Radonjic while Basketball Löwen Braun-schweig beat Telekom Baskets Bonn in a battle of struggling teams and Euge-ne Lawrence and Tremmell Darden were both brought back to the easyCredit BBL by former teams.
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 down Bamberg in 2019 final rematch, will shoot for 10th title
ALBA BERLIN will be shooting for their 10th MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup after defeating Brose Bamberg 82-66 in the semi-finals in a rematch of last season’s final. Berlin blew the game open with a 17-0 run in the third quarter, which they won 28-7 to reach their third straight final and 13th in the last 24 years. Berlin, whose last crown came in 2016, shot 61.1 percent on two-points shots and out-rebounded Bamberg 38-28. Rokas Giedraitis led the way with 16 points including 4 three-pointers while Niels Giffey had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Bamberg, who won two of the last three cup titles, had Bryce Taylor score 15 points with 5 three-pointers as the only player in double figures.
Three-pointers carry Oldenburg past Ulm, into cup final
EWE Baskets Oldenburg used their three-point shooting prowess to knock off ratiopharm ulm 84-76 on the road to reach the final of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup. The 2015 champions Oldenburg took over third quarter and never gave up lead again to reach the final for a third time, losing to ALBA BERLIN in 2002. Oldenburg connected on 15-of-26 three-pointers for 57.7 percent while Ulm shot just 40.4 percent for the game. Rickey Paulding knocked down 5 three-pointers in scoring 21 points while Braydon Hobbs had 16 points with 4 three-pointers and Rasid Mahalbasic collected 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Ulm missed a chance to reach the final for the first time since losing back-to-back title games to Berlin in 2013 and 2014. Ulm, who won their only German Cup in 1996 and played in four finals, were led by Grant Jerrett with 13 points and 5 rebounds while Tyler Harvey had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals off the bench and Zoran Dragic was held to just 6 points with 5 turnovers.
Berlin will host 2020 cup final against Oldenburg
ALBA BERLIN were drawn to host the final of the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup against EWE Baskets Oldenburg. The drawing of the host team was made at half-time of the Berlin vs Brose Bamberg semi-finals. Berlin will face Oldenburg at home on February 16, 2020.
Bayern fire head coach Radonjic, assistant Kostic takes over
FC Bayern Munich have fired their head coach Dejan Radonjic and installed his assistant Oliver Kostic as the man in charge. The 49-year-old Montenegro native Radonjic was let go after nearly two years with Bayern, filling in for Sasa Djordjevic in April 2018 and guiding the club to two German titles. But general manager Marko Pesic said he and the club thought a “new impulse” was needed. Kostic’s first game in charge was in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague at home against reigning champions CSKA Moscow. The 46-year-old Kostic joined Bayern in 2013, serving predominantly in the club’s youth ranks. The Serbian helped Bayern win their first youth German title with the U19 NBBL crown in 2015. When Radonjic took over, Kostic moved up into his coaching staff.
Braunschweig prevail at Bonn in battle of struggling teams
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig picked up a crucial victory in their fight to get back into the race for the playoffs as they beat Telekom Baskets Bonn 90-85 on the road. In a battle of struggling teams, Braunschweig trailed by 12 points early in the third quarter and then used a 16-2 run to move ahead and Trevor Releford hit a big three-pointer with 64 seconds left for an 86-78 lead. Braunschweig turned the ball over only five times in the second half while shooting 77.8 percent on two point shots and 24-of-29 free throws (82.8 percent) compared to 11-of-12 foul shots (91.7 percent) for Bonn. Braunschweig improved to 6-8 after having lost their last three and seven of the last eight games. Bonn have lost five straight and are 2-12. Scott Eatherton led the way for Braunschweig with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals while Releford scored 20 points and Karim Jallow had 14 points and 8 rebounds. Bonn’s new acquisition Geno Lawrence collected 12 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals off the bench while fellow reserves Benjamin Lischka and Benjamin Simons both scored 11 points. TJ DiLeo picked up 11 points and 7 assists as the Bonn’s starters collected just 41 points.
Bonn bring back Lawrence as next reinforcement
Telekom Baskets Bonn continue to look for answers for their tough stretch in the easyCredit BBL as they brought Eugene “Geno” Lawrence back to the club. After having just signed big man Alec Brown, Bonn reunited with the 33-year-old point guard Lawrence, who had played with Greek top flight side Nikaias BC. Lawrence already played for Bonn in 2013-14 and 2015-16 and he competed in the Basketball Champions League last season with Czech side Nymburk.
Darden brought back to MBC to help relegation fight
SYNTAINICS MBC made a major move in their fight to avoid relegation as they brought back to the team veteran Tremmell Darden. The 38-year-old forward, who signed a deal until the end of the season, played with MBC last season and helped them avoid relegation to the ProA. Darden joins big man Joey Dorsey as another big name coming to MBC as the club fights to stay in the easyCredit BBL.
Player of the Week
Singling out the two MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup semi-finals for consideration, the Player of the Week award will go to Braydon Hobbs for his performance for EWE Baskets Oldenburg against ratiopharm ulm. Hobbs collected 16 points on 6-of-9 shots with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals and just 1 turnover for an efficiency of 25.
German Top Five of the Week
G: TJ DiLeo, Telekom Baskets Bonn
DiLeo collected 11 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal in Bonn’s loss to Basketball Löwen Braunschweig.
F: Karim Jallow, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Jallow continued his strong play as he picked up 14 points and 8 rebounds against Telekom Baskets Bonn.
F: Niels Giffey, ALBA BERLIN
Giffey played a big role in Berlin reaching the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup final as he tallied 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists against Brose Bamberg.
F: Lucca Staiger, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Staiger had a strong game in the win over Telekom Baskets Bonn with 10 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists.
F: Benjamin Lischka, Telekom Baskets Bonn
Lischka did a good job in trying to help Bonn beat Basketball Löwen Braunschweig but his 11 points and 2 rebounds were not enough.
LIVE-VIDEO: Wie schnell sich so ein Spiel dreht ... Braydon Hobbs und @rpaulding23 übernehmen bei den @EWE_Baskets! #TriumphoderTrauer
— easyCredit BBL (@easyCreditBBL) January 12, 2020
???? Antworte jetzt mit #MVP + Nachname deines Pokal-Halbfinal-MVPs und und gewinne zwei VIP-Tickets für das Finale! ???? pic.twitter.com/mOkZLpPn3f
Mattisseck Check
Jonas Mattisseck only played a minor role in ALBA BERLIN’s win over Brose Bamberg in the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup semi-finals with 4 points on a four-point play in the fourth quarter, hitting his only field goal attempt and free throw to go with 2 steals and 2 turnovers in 7:28 minutes.
Germans Abroad
David Krämer did not make the Phoenix Suns out of training camp but the guard, who turns 23 on January 14, is showing he can stand out in the G-League. He scored 15 points with 3 three-pointers with the Northern Arizona Suns against the Austin Spurs and then followed that up with another 15-point, 5-rebound performance against Oklahoma City Blue. Krämer needed 15 minutes or less in both games for that output.
