– David Hein
FC Bayern Munich have suffered their first loss of the easyCredit BBL season as MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg knocked off the final undefeated team. Elsewhe-re, Trevis Simpson was heroic with a dunk before the buzzer as RASTA Vechta beat Brose Bamberg again and BG Göttingen won again for the league’s now longest winning streak and then made a trade with FRAPORT SKYLINERS.
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:
Ludwigsburg hand Bayern first loss of season
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg handed FC Bayern Munich their first defeat in the easyCredit BBL season as they remained undefeated at home with an 81-74 victory. Ludwigsburg built a 15-point third quarter lead and Bayern were never able to threaten the hosts, who are 8-0 at home and 12-3. Bayern’s loss dropped their record to 14-1. In a battle of the top two records in the league, Ludwigsburg committed only 10 turnovers while forcing 16 Bayern turnovers and also out-rebounding the reigning champions 37-32, including 12 offensive rebounds. Khadeen Carrington was Ludwigsburg’s top weapon with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists while Marcos Knight collected 22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Greg Monroe paced Bayern with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists and Paul Zipser had 13 points and 7 rebounds. The loss did see TJ Bray make his comeback to the league in picking up 5 points, 3 rebounds and 3 turnovers in 18:53 minutes.
Simpson heroics complete Vechta comeback win at Bamberg
RASTA Vechta continued their dominance over Brose Bamberg as they came back from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to escape with an 86-85 road victory (Highlights). Bamberg still led 78-68 with less than 3 minutes left but Trevis Simpson nailed 3 three-pointers before throwing down a dunk and getting fouled with 2.3 seconds to play to tie the game. Simpson made the bonus free throw as Vechta once again beat Bamberg after ousting them from the playoffs last season. Vechta have won four of their last five games for a 9-6 record while Bamberg have lost three in a row - and 10 of their last 13 games in all competitions - for an 8-7 record, currently outside the playoff ranks. Bamberg shot just 44.3 percent for the game with Vechta hitting 49.2 percent for the game including 16-of-34 three-pointers for 47.1 percent. Simpson ended with 32 points with 9-of-14 three-pointers and 4 rebounds while Steve Vasturia collected 19 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists and Josh Young had 10 points, 3 rebounds and 11 assists. Christian Sengfelder was Bamberg’s top scorer with 23 points and 4 rebounds, Tre McLean had 12 points, Elias Harris picked up 11 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists and Paris Lee added 8 points and 13 assists.
Göttingen come back to beat MBC, extending winning streak
After the loss by FC Bayern Munich, BG Göttingen own the longest current winning streak in the easyCredit BBL following their 90-84 comeback victory at SYNTAINICS MBC. MBC built a 13-point lead in the second quarter and led by eight points in the fourth quarter but Kyan Anderson clinched the game with a layup with 45 seconds left. Göttingen have now won five straight for a 7-8 record. MBC have lost six straight and are 2-14 in last place. Göttingen won the rebound battle 45-31 including 16 offensive rebounds and made 26-of-31 free throws for 83.9 percent compared to 13-of-17 for 76.5 percent for MBC. Anderson finished with 23 points and 6 assists while Dylan Osetkowski had 21 points and 12 rebounds and Alex Ruoff chipped in 19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals for the winners. Tremmell Darden was MBC’s top weapon with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench and fellow reserve Michael Gbinije scored 17 points. Jovan Novak picked up 11 points, 4 rebounds and 16 assists - which was two off the league’s single game record since 1998 of 18 by Jared Jordan for Tübingen.
Frankfurt, Göttingen make rare player trade with Carter and Waleskowski
Trades of players are something common in US sports but it’s not something you see in European basketball very often. FRAPORT SKYLINERS and BG Göttingen pulled off a trade though this week with Darius Carter going to Frankfurt and Waleskowski heading to Göttingen, where his easyCredit BBL career began in 2010. Carter has a contract until the end of the season with an option for 2020-21. Waleskowski has a deal until the end of the season.
Oldenburg storm back in second half to win in Frankfurt
EWE Baskets Oldenburg stormed back from a poor first half to collect an 87-74 win at FRAPORT SKYLINERS to extend their winning streak to four games. Frankfurt built a 16-point lead in the first quarter and still led by 14 at the break. But Oldenburg started the second half on an 11-0 run and added a 13-0 surge in the fourth quarter to win and improve to 10-5. Frankfurt have now lost four of their last five games for a 5-10 record. Frankfurt shot 59.2 percent for the game including 12-of-20 for 60.0 percent from long range, but they committed 20 turnovers and were out-rebounded 31-20, including 15 Oldenburg offensive rebounds. Armani Moore paced the winners with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists off the bench while Rasid Mahalbasic picked up 18 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals and Braydon Hobbs added 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Frankfurt, who was without injured Lamont Jones, was paced by Joe Rahon with 14 points and 7 assists and Matthew McQuaid scored 13 points.
Bonn finally win again, down Giessen on road
Telekom Baskets Bonn finally collected another victory in the league after they knocked of JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers 88-85 on the road. The game was tight throughout until Bonn led 79-70 with 101 seconds left and held on despite four Giessen three-pointers in the final stretch. Bonn have now snapped a five-game losing streak to improve to 3-12. Giessen have lost four in a row and are now 4-10. Giesen hit 41.4 percent for the game including 17-of-44 three-pointers (38.6 percent) and 12-of-26 two-pointers (46.2 percent) while Bonn made 63.4 percent on two-pointers. Alec Brown paced Bonn with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks while Bojan Subotic had 12 points and 8 rebounds and Eugene Lawrence picked up 6 points, 11 assists and 3 steals. Alen Pjanic was Giessen’s leading scorer with 19 points on 5-of-9 threes, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block while Teyvon Myers scored 16 points, John Bryant picked up 12 points and 11 rebounds and Matthew Tiby added 10 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.
Crailsheim win shootout at home over Hamburg
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim wasted a 12-point fourth quarter lead but managed to knock off Hamburg Towers in a 101-98 shootout at home (Highlights). Crailsheim led by as many as 13 points and were up by 12 in the final frame but lost the lead. Jan Span drained a three-ball with 25 seconds left for a 99-98 Crailsheim lead. Jorge Gutierrez turned the ball over and the referees ruled an unsportsmanlike foul on Yannick Franke and technical on Heiko Schaffartzik with 2 seconds left. Crailsheim have now won four in a row for a 10-5 record while Hamburg have three straight defeats for a 3-12 record. Crailsheim made 80.8 percent on two-pointers and 54.8 percent for the game while Hamburg made 49.3 percent for the game. Javonte Hawkins paced Crailsheim with 20 points while Span tallied 17 points and 6 assists, DeWayne Russell had 15 points and 7 assists and Aaron Jones chipped in 11 points and 12 rebounds. Schaffartzik had a big game for Hamburg with 21 points with 5 three pointers and 5 assists while Bogdan Radosavljevic collected 21 points 3 rebounds 6 assists and 2 steals and Gutierrez finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Ulm bounce back from cup loss, run away late
ratiopharm ulm bounced back from their loss in the MagentaSport BBL Pokal German Cup to knock off medi bayreuth 103-93 at home. Ulm, who lost to EWE Baskets Oldenburg in the cup semi-finals, were in a dog-fight with Bayreuth and only pulled away late with a 10-2 run in the closing minute with Killian Hayes hitting a dagger three with 57 seconds left. Ulm have won two straight in the league for an 8-7 record while Bayreuth had their two-game winning streak snapped to fall to 6-9. Ulm shot 63.9 percent on two-pointers and committed just 9 turnovers while holding Bayreuth to 28.6 percent on three-pointers. Zoran Dragic led Ulm with 29 points while Tyler Harvey had 20 points with 5 three-pointers and Hayes collected 15 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and just 1 turnover. Andreas Seiferth paced Bayreuth with 19 points and 5 rebounds and Evan Bruinsma scored 18 points off the bench and fellow reserve Bryce Alford had 16 points.
Player of the Week
Armani Moore of EWE Baskets Oldenburg takes home Player of the Week honors for his showing against FRAPORT SKYLINERS. He scored 26 points off the bench on 11-of-14 shooting and 3-of-6 free throws to go with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block for an efficiency of 32.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Heiko Schaffartzik, Hamburg Towers
Schaffartzik did all he could to help Hamburg against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim but his 21 points with 5 three-pointers and 5 assists were not enough.
G: Joshiko Saibou, Telekom Baskets Bonn
Saibou played a major role in Bonn beating JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers in collecting 11 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
F: Alen Pjanic, JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers
Pjanic had an outstanding game off the bench against Telekom Baskets Bonn with 19 points on 5-of-9 three-pointers, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
F: Christian Sengfelder, Brose Bamberg
Sengfelder had his best game of the season with 23 points - hitting 5-of-6 three-pointers - and adding 4 rebounds but Bamberg lost to RASTA Vechta.
C: Bogdan Radosavljevic, Hamburg Towers
Radosavljevic had another big game for Hamburg as he collected 21 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals for Hamburg against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim.
Young Guns
This weekend saw four German clubs play at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Munich, and the final day of action at the U18 tournament saw two all-German battles. Hosts Bayern Munich beat Porsche Ludwigsburg 82-78 to collect third place while ALBA BERLIN defeated ratiopharm ulm 81-59 to wrap up in seventh place. Bayern’s Sasha Grant was included in the All-Tournament Team. Real Madrid, who won the ANGT title last season, took first place in Munich - the third straight time the Spanish powers won the ANGT Munich.
Germans Abroad
Mahir Agva is starting to produce more for Darussafaka as he collected a season-high 11 points in a season-high 26 minutes in the EuroCup against Trento while also grabbing 5 rebounds. For the season, the 23-year-old center is averaging 3.3 points and 2.7 rebounds in 10.9 minutes in the Turkish BSL and 2.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in the EuroCup.
LIVE-VIDEO: Armani Moore staubt den Wolkenkratzer ab, Rasid Mahalbasic besorgt dun-kend die Führung. Die @EWE_Baskets übernehmen die Kontrolle.
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