– David Hein
The group stage of the easyCredit BBL Final Tournament 2020 is complete and now it’s time to move to the playoffs. ratiopharm ulm and ALBA BERLIN are the only two undefeated teams remaining while two-time reigning champions FC Bayern Munich have struggled to find their way. HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim meanwhile remained the darling of the tournament - and made headlines by retaining their head coach Tuomas Iisalo for next season and also gave their players some historical culture with a day trip to a concentration camp. Oh, yeah, and the detailed hygiene concept continues to work as all Covid-19 tests have been negative.
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:
May the playoffs start
Now that the group stage is complete, let the playoffs start. For those unfamiliar with the format, each of the final three stages (Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals, Finals) will be played out over two legs. The results of the two games will be added up - essentially a game of 80 minutes over two contests - and whichever team has scored more points will prevail. There will be no overtime if the score is tied at the end of regulation of the first game. If the aggregate score is even after 80 minutes, the teams will go to overtime.
FRAPORT SKYLINERS vs ratiopharm ulm
The Quarter-Finals tip off with FRAPORT SKYLINERS facing off against ratiopharm ulm. Frankfurt picked up one win in Group B to finish fourth and will have to battle the undefeated Group A winners from Ulm, who have been one of the surprises of the tournament. Frankfurt have struggled to score during the tournament, averaging just 73.8 points a game and they will need big showings from Quantez Robertson, Gytis Masiulis and Yorman Polas Bartolo. But they will definitely need to slow down Ulm, who averaged 90.2 points a game while committing just 12.3 turnovers a game. Jaka Lakovic has his team playing great basketball, led by Thomas Klepeisz, Tyler Harvey, Archie Goodwin and Dylan Osetkowski. These teams met once during the season with Frankfurt winning 78-72 in Ulm way back in Round 5 on October 27. But nothing can be gained from that game when you consider that Zoran Dragic, Grant Jerrett, Isaiah Briscoe and Killian Hayes are all gone for Ulm and the team’s current players produced only 13 points in the game. Not to mention that Frankfurt had Lamont Jones pick up 23 points and Leon Kratzer had 13 points and 11 rebounds and neither will be able to play with Jones having already left the team hotel and will return to the United States.
FC Bayern Munich vs MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg only lost one game in the tournament so far - in a thriller against ALBA BERLIN. But John Patrick’s men played well in the contest and can have confidence after finishing second in Group B with a 3-1 record while FC Bayern Munich slumped to a 2-2 mark and third place in Group A. Ludwigsburg have committed a tournament-low 8.5 turnovers per game and are loaded with weapons including Thomas Wimbush - who scored 30 points against Berlin; Nick Weiler-Babb, Marcos Knight and Jaleen Smith. Ludwigsburg also know they can beat Bayern as they handed the two-time reigning champs one of their two losses during the regular season on January 19 in Round 16 in Ludwigsburg. Patrick does not have Round 16 leading scorer Khadeen Carrington but Bayern are without star Greg Monroe, who led Munich with 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks in the game. Ludwigsburg also held Bayern to just 27.3 percent on three-pointers in that game. Bayern lead the season-ending tournament in three-point percentage (48.9 percent) and free throw percentage (81.3 percent) and are second in scoring at 91.5 points per game. But head coach Oliver Kostic really hasn’t figured out his best rotations with the holes left by Monroe and Nihad Djedovic. Mathias Lessort will need to play well in the post while Vladimir Lucic and Paul Zipser have to continue to perform at a high level and Maodo Lo will have to withstand the Ludwigsburg pressure. This promises to be a thrilling match-up.
BG Göttingen vs ALBA BERLIN
BG Göttingen carried their one win in the tournament into the playoffs but will face a major battle against undefeated ALBA BERLIN. Göttingen knocked off HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim in the first game of the tournament and the team has struggled since then - as the competition’s lowest-scoring team. Bennet Hundt’s first game of 30 points has led other teams to focus on him and shut him down. Alex Ruoff has been dealing with back spasms and will need to be huge to give Göttingen a chance. Göttingen did actually beat Berlin during the season - 72-71 in Round 15 on January 5. But Berlin bounced back and rolled past them 96-71 at home in Round 19. Berlin are the highest-scoring team in the tournament (94.5 ppg) and are second in three-point shooting (44.8 percent), first in offensive rebounds (13.0) and first in assists (22.8). Aito Garcia Reneses has a wealth of weapons - including a contingent of nine foreigners meaning three must sit out each game - and many players have been playing well in Munich, including Peyton Siva, Rokas Giedraitis, Landry Nnoko, Marcus Eriksson and Luke Sikma. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Göttingen the biggest underdog going into the playoffs.
Brose Bamberg vs EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Brose Bamberg have been a bit of Jekyll and Hyde so far and it leaves Freak City fans wondering which team will show up in the showdown against EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Bamberg went 2-2 in Group B, looking solid in an opening loss to ALBA BERLIN but then looking outright awful in a big loss to MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg. Bamberg finished off group play with two wins - over FRAPORT SKYLINERS and RASTA Vechta - and were second in scoring (91.0 points per game) and tops in two-point shooting percentage (59.7 percent). Jordan Crawford has been excellent as has Kam Taylor while Christian Sengfelder has come on after a slow start and Assem Marei is an effective force in the middle. Oldenburg are second-to-last in two-pointers (50.6 percent) but second in offensive rebounds (12.5). Oldenburg rely heavily on Rasid Mahalbasic while Nathan Boothe has been tremendous in his return from injury but Rickey Paulding and Tyler Larson are both playing below their levels from during the season. Oldenburg prevailed in the one Bamberg-Oldenburg match-up in the regular season - 71-68 at home in Round 12 on December 1. Paulding had 20 points and Mahalbasic picked up 14 points and 8 rebounds while Marei was Bamberg’s only player in double figures with 17 points and Roel Moors’ team was playing without Crawford.
Berlin, Ludwigsburg give fans best game of tournament
What a warmup for the playoffs as ALBA BERLIN and MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg gave fans the best game of the tournament in the final game of the group phase with Berlin getting past Ludwigsburg 97-89 in the battle for first place in Group B. Luke Sikma came up just short of a triple-double for Berlin with 15 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds for Berlin in a back-and-forth thriller as Thomas Wimbush poured in 30 points and Nick Weiler-Babb picked up 21 points and 11 rebounds.
All negative tests
The health and safety of the teams, staff and officials at the easyCredit BBL Final Tournament 2020 is the number one priority and that made the news all that much better that all 250 tests for Covid-19 have been negative, according to Dr. Florian Kainzinger, who is overseeing the implementation of the hygiene concept during the tournament. The next round of tests will be Wednesday with half of the group and the other half coming Friday.
Giffey questions doping officials puncturing hole in bubble
One of the pillars of the league’s season-ending tournament is the bubble around the teams, staff and officials. And there was a mini-puncturing of that bubble on Saturday as officials of the German anti-doping agency NADA tested players from both games. The league has a protocol in place for when the doping officials show up - though it never knows in advance when they will come. But the NADA personnel are quickly drilled on the hygiene rules and given special security masks and are requested to always keep a distance of 1.5 meters. One player who was tested and kind of questioned the doping officials’ presence during the event because of Covid-19 safety concerns was Niels Giffey of ALBA BERLIN. “I don’t know if that makes sense here in these three weeks,” Giffey said.
No serious injuries
In addition to all of the Covid-19 tests coming up negative, the tournament also has not seen any major injuries - something that concerned many observers considering a shortened preparation time for the event. Of course there were some injuries during the action in Munich - Lamont Jones of FRAPORT SKYLINERS, DeWayne Russell and Lavontae Hawkins of HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim and Philipp Schwethelm among them - but none of them were serious ones that would keep the players out over an extended period of time. Please don’t let this be a jinx.
Crailsheim lock up head coach Iisalo - and brother - for another season
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim management rewarded head coach Tuomas Iisalo for his work this season by extending the contract with the Finnish playcaller for the 2020-21 season. The club, which thrilled fans this season before the Covid-19 outbreak, also is keeping on Iisalo’s brother, assistant coach Joonas Iisalo for next season. Crailsheim may have gone winless through the group phase of the easyCredit BBL Final Tournament 2020 - they will face RASTA Vechta on Tuesday for ninth place - but they have been one of the darlings of the event with their determination and passion despite missing all six of their import players.
Crailsheim take day trip to Dachau concentration camp
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim management also decided to give their players a chance to take their minds off basketball and give them a history lesson in German culture. The team took a day trip to nearby Dachau to visit a former concentration camp.
Sharing the world’s spotlight
The easyCredit BBL will have to soon start sharing the world’s spotlight as basketball fans starved for live action will have a choice of European basketball starting later this week. Spain’s 12-team season-ending tournament - the so-called Fase Final - will tip off in Valencia on Wednesday June 17. The event will be played out in a similar manner as the German league’s in a single location albeit with three games a day and the playoffs - only the Semi-Finals and Final - being single elimination games. And the Israeli league will re-start on Sunday June 21.
So cool ...
— David Hein (@heinnews) June 12, 2020
The Ilsalo brothers - Tuomas and Joonas - will stay on the sidelines with @cr_merlins for next season. Leave it to Martin Römig to do it in style@easyCreditBBL #easycreditBBL
#FINAL2020 pic.twitter.com/9JuSomZ76w
RelatedNews
Pfiff der Woche
Auflösung des Pfiffs der Woche: Steht Frankfurts Matt McQuaid bei seinem Gamewinner-Versuch im Aus?
Club-News
Kontinuität auf der Trainerbank: Crailsheim verlängert mit Headcoach Tuomas Iisalo bis 2021
Kochs Nachschlag
