– David Hein
Göttingen and Ulm have booked their tickets to the MagentaSport BBL German Cup TOP FOUR while the other two spots remain undecided. The Top Four has fallen victim to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which caused five cup games this weekend to be postponed.
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:
Five more MagentaSport BBL German Cup games postponed
Five games from the second weekend of the group stage of the MagentaSport BBL German Cup were postponed due to positive tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Group A had three games postponed - Telekom Baskets Bonn vs ALBA BERLIN, Bonn vs Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and Berlin vs EWE Baskets Oldenburg - while the other two postponements were in Group D - SYNTAINICS MBC vs medi bayreuth and bayreuth vs HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. The Braunschweig vs Berlin Group A game was postponed last weekend. The Bonn vs Braunschweig game has been re-scheduled for November 1. No makeup dates have yet been announced for the other games. The German Cup Top Four has been postponed indefinitely after being scheduled for November 1-2 in Munich.
Göttingen down Vechta for Top Four ticket from Group B
BG Göttingen locked up their spot in the MagentaSport BBL German Cup Top Four by easing past RASTA Vechta 99-87 for a 2-0 record in Group B. Göttingen led 33-18 after the first quarter and the lead was as high as 28 points early in the second half. Vechta pulled within eight points with 2 minutes left but dropped to 1-1 in the group. Göttingen shot 54.8 percent for the game including 15-of-30 (50.0 percent) on three-pointers. Mathis Mönninghoff nailed 6-of-6 threes in scoring a career high 22 points while Luke Nelson collected 17 points and 10 assists, Aubrey Dawkins had 17 points and Jorge Gutierrez picked up 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Will Vorhees came off the Vechta bench for 27 points and 9 rebounds and Stefan Peno had 18 points in the loss.
Göttingen finish Group B undefeated, down Giessen in OT
BG Gottingen finished off Group B play with a perfect 3-0 mark after a thrilling 123-119 win in overtime over JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers, who fell to 0-3. The biggest lead of the game was 10 points by Göttingen in the third quarter. There were four lead changes in the final 2 minutes of regulation and Luke Nelson made three free throws with 7.1 seconds left to tie the game before Tai Odiase blocked Bjarne Kraushaar’s shot with 1.5 seconds left to force overtime. Nelson hit a three-pointer and Galen Robinson converted a three-point play to start the extra session and lead to the win. Göttingen committed only 10 turnovers and shot 52.6 percent for the game. The game included 79 free throws (32-of-42 for Giessen and 30-of 37 for Göttingen). Robinson paced the winners with 21 points while Nelson had 20 points and 8 assists. Nelson Weidemann scored a career high 19 points, Odiase picked up 18 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists and Ron Jackson and Aubrey Dawkins both had 10 points. Johannes Richter was Giessen’s top weapon with 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting with Liam O’Reilly picking up 20 points and 4 assists. Scottie James (18 points, 9 rebounds), Isaac Hamilton (16 points, 7 rebounds), Brandon Bowman (15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals), Ferdinand Zylka (14 points) and Kraushaar (6 points, 4 rebounds and 10 assists) all had strong performances as well.
Frankfurt finish Group B with win over Vechta
FRAPORT SKYLINERS had already been eliminated from the Top Four but finished Group B play with an 89-80 win over RASTA Vechta for a 2-1 record. Frankfurt’s lead was 19 points in the second quarter and then down to eight in third before Skyliners pushed it back up to 21 points midway through the final frame. Frankfurt shot 54.4 percent and held Vechta to 41.8 percent as the losing side dropped to 1-2. Jon Axel Gudmundsson paced the winners with 22 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists while Emmanuel Lecomte (16 points), Rasheed Moore (12), Michael Kessens (10) and Brno Vrcic (10) all scored in double figures as well. Stefan Peno collected 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals for Vechta and Josh Young had 14 points, 3 assists and 4 steals.
Frankfurt win Hessen derby over Giessen in Group B
FRAPORT SKYLINERS locked up their first win in Group B play by downing JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers 86-70 in a derby of teams from the state of Hessen. Frankfurt had a 28-18 second quarter lead and pulled away in the fourth for a 1-1 mark with Giessen going to 0-2. Matt Mobley did it all with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block for Frankfurt while Kamari Murphy had 16 points and 7 rebounds, Rasheed Moore collected 12 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists and Jon Axel Gudmundsson chipped in 7 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. Giessen shot just 41.7 percent for the game and Brandon Bowman came off the bench for 17 points and 9 rebounds. He was the only player in double figures as the Giessen starting five combined for only 35 points.
Ulm win late over Würzburg, left rooting for Ludwigsburg for Top Four spot
ratiopharm ulm grabbed their spot in the Top Four from Group C with an 80-75 victory over already-eliminated s.Oliver Würzburg. Ulm trailed in the fourth quarter but scored the final five points of the game, including Troy Caupain’s three-pointer with 4.6 seconds left to seal the deal and move to 2-1 and give Würzburg a 0-3 mark. Ulm actually had to wait to see if they would reach the Top Four, left rooting for MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg to beat Brose Bamberg to force a three-way tie - which eventually did happen. Ulm committed 18 turnovers but only one in the fourth quarter and shot 55.6 percent for the game, including 12-of-24 (50.0 percent) on three-pointers. John Petrucelli led the way with 19 points, Aric Holman had 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists and Christoph Philipps collected a career-high 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Ulm’s starting center Dylan Osetkowski was injured in the fifth minute and did not play the rest of the game. Würzburg were paced by Micah Downs with 17 points and 7 rebounds.
Ludwigsburg beat Bamberg, send Ulm to Top Four
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg grabbed their second win in Group B by downing Brose Bamberg 99-72 but just missed on reaching the Top Four and sending ratiopharm ulm to the tournament in Munich. Both teams ended up with 2-1 records, even with Ulm, who went through on the tiebreaker. Ludwigsburg poured in 40 points in the fourth quarter as they needed to win by 31 points to overtake Ulm in the tiebreaker. Ludwigsburg forced 21 Bamberg turnovers and shot 56.5 percent on three-pointers. Barry Brown came off the Ludwigsburg bench for 30 points, Jaleen Smith collected 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists and Elias Harris had 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists against his former team. Chase Fieler paced Bamberg with 21 points, David Kravish had 11 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists and Tyler Larsen added 10 points and 8 assists.
Ulm roll past Ludwigsburg for first win in Group C
ratiopharm ulm picked up their first victory in Group C by rolling past MHP RIE-SEN Ludwigsburg 92-71. Ulm took over in the second half and pulled away in the fourth quarter as both teams moved to 1-1. Ulm controlled the boards 35-21 with 12 offensive rebounds and shot 69.6 percent on two-pointers. Dylan Osetkowski tallied 18 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals to lead Ulm with Troy Caupain picking up 13 points and 6 assists. Jaleen Smith paced Ludwigsburg with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals and Jordan Hulls had 11 points and 4 assists.
Bamberg race away from Würzburg for 2-0 mark in Group C
Brose Bamberg improved to 2-0 in Group C with a comfortable 89-68 victory over s.Oliver Würzburg, who fell to 0-2. Bamberg used a 20-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarter to lock up the win, holding Würzburg to just 41.7 percent shooting for the game including 23.5 percent from long range. Michele Vitali paced Bamberg with 21 points, Chase Fieler collected 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals off the bench and David Kravish chipped in 8 points and 14 rebounds. Zach Smith picked up 15 points 5 rebounds for Würzburg and Tayler Persons had 12 points and 7 assists
Bayern too much for Crailsheim, win second game in Group D
FC Bayern Munich were just too much for HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim and fin-ished their Group D play with two victories by winning 80-63. Bayern took control of the game with a 23-12 second quarter and improved to a 2-1 mark. Bayern held Crailsheim, who dropped to 0-2, to just 35.4 percent shooting, in-cluding 4-of-23 (17.4 percent) on three-pointers and forced 18 Crailsheim turnovers. Paul Zipser led Bayern with 16 points, followed by Diego Flaccadori with 15, Robin Amaize with 11 points and TJ Bray picked up 10 points and 4 assists. Trae Bell-Haynes was Crailsheim’s top player with 16 points, 6 re-bounds and 8 assists while Maurice Stuckey and Jamuni McNeace both had 12 points.
Bayern cruise past MBC, first win in Group D
FC Bayern Munich secured their first win in Group D by rolling past SYNTAINICS MBC 97-60 as both teams moved to 1-1. Bayern took the first quarter 31-18 and never looked back, holding MBC to 35.0 percent from the field. TJ Bray paced Bayern with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while Zan Sisko had 7 points and 10 assists and teenagers Matej Rudan (9 points, 8 rebounds in 16:52 minutes in his professional debut) and Sasha Grant (8 points, 5 re-bounds and 2 steals in 27:54 minutes) both had good showings. MBC were paced by Michal Michalak with 17 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists and Philipp Hartwich scored 14 points.
Braunschweig eliminate Oldenburg, Group A otherwise postponed
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig picked up their first victory in the competition with club owner and NBA player Dennis Schröder in the stands by knocking off EWE Baskets Oldenburg 97-88 and at the same time eliminating Oldenburg in Group A. In the only game in Group A due to positive Covid-19 tests, Oldenburg jumped ahead by 15 points in the first quarter but Braunschweig turned the game around with a 22-13 third quarter for a 1-0 mark in the group while Oldenburg dropped to 0-2. Braunschweig shot 60.5 percent on two-pointers and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds. Byron Allen led the way with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, James Robinson tallied 17 points and 5 assists, Kostja Mushidi scored 13 points and Martin Peterka had 10 points and 5 rebounds for the winners. Nathan Boothe was Oldenburg’s top scorer with 19 points with Rickey Paulding (18 points), Keith Hornsby (16), Sebastian Herrera (10) and Martin Breunig (10) all hitting in double figures as well.
Players of the Weeks
With two rounds of games in the German Cup being played this weekend, there were two Player of the Week awards to hand out. Will Vorhees of RASTA Vechta took the honors from the Saturday games with an efficiency of 34 against BG Göttingen as he scored 27 points on 10-of-13 shots and 6-of-7 free throws and picked up 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. From the round three games that were played, Scottie James of JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers earned the top efficiency of 29 as he tallied 18 points on 7-of-9 shots and 4-of-4 free throws and also had 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks against BG Göttingen.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Nelson Weidemann, BG Göttingen
Weidemann earned his spot here with his second game of the weekend as he collected 19 points with 4 three-pointers against JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers - both new career highs. Weidemann added 4 points, 1 rebound and 1 steal in the win over RASTA Vechta.
G: Kostja Mushidi, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Mushidi came off the Braunschweig bench and produced with 13 points, 2 re-bounds and 2 assists in 19 minutes against EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
F: Mathis Mönninghoff, BG Göttingen
Mönninghoff torched RASTA Vechta with 22 points on 6-of-6 three-point shoot-ing to go with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. He set career highs in points and three-pointers made in a game. In Göttingen’s win over JobStairs GIES-SEN 46ers, Mönninghoff picked up 7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists.
F: Paul Zipser, FC Bayern Munich
Zipser pitched in 5 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block in the blowout of SYNTAINICS MBC and then led Bayern in scoring in the win over HAKRO Merlins Crail-sheim with 16 points to go with 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
F: Johannes Richter, JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers
Giessen may have lost two games but Richter was excellent twice. He collected 9 points and 8 rebounds against FRAPORT SKYLINERS and then tallied 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting against BG Göttingen.
Chemnitz-Hamburg pre-season game cancelled due to positive tests
The pre-season exhibition game between NINERS Chemnitz and Hamburg Towers was cancelled after the promoted side Chemnitz had two team members test positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The two teams are the only two easyCredit BBL sides not playing in the MagentaSport BBL German Cup competition.
easyCredit BBL Manager fantasy game ready
With the start of the league right around the corner, German basketball fans can get ready for the season with the easyCredit BBL Manager fantasy game. Fans create free of charge their own teams of players from around the league and can win prizes at the end of the season. You can also play in a separate league with your own friends - just select 12 players for a maximum of 6 million dollars by the start of the league on November 6, 2020 and you are ready. Here is the link to the game!
Germans Abroad
Ismet Akpinar has returned to Turkey after his short stint with FC Bayern Munich at the 2019-20 season-ending tournament and he starred over the weekend for Bahcesehir. Akpinar nailed 7-of-11 three-pointers in scoring 21 points and had 2 assists and 2 steals in a comfortable win over Buyukcekmece
