– David Hein
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim were the big headliners this week as they defeated FC Bayern Munich in overtime - and that on the 35th anniversary of the start of the club. Oldenburg meanwhile set two club records in the offensive explosion against Würzburg and Göttingen prevailed over Bamberg in a showdown of numerous figures facing their former team.
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:
Crailsheim win overtime thriller in Bayern on club’s birthday
What a birthday present for HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim as the team collected a thrilling 105-103 overtime victory at FC Bayern Munich on the 35th anniversary of the start of the club. Both teams had double-digit leads in the first half and the game was close the rest of the way. Crailsheim led by five points in the final minute but DJ Seeley buried a three-pointer and then on the next possession made the first free throw and missed the second intentionally, which was tipped in by JaJuan Johnson to force overtime. Trae Bell-Haynes decided the game in overtime with a floater with 1.2 seconds left to give Crailsheim their first win over Bayern in their 10th attempt. Crailsheim have now won three straight games for a 13-2 record while Bayern dropped to 10-3. Crailsheim committed only 11 turnovers in the game and converted 33-of-42 free throws compared to 24-of-33 for Bayern. Bell-Haynes led the way with 31 points and 11 assists, Maurice Stuckey scored 18 points and Bogdan Radosavljevic added 16 points and 6 rebounds. Crailsheim’s victory was bittersweet as Tim Coleman left the game in the third quarter and had to be stretchered off the court. Seeley paced Bayern with 29 points while Nick Weiler-Babb collected 24 points and Johnson chipped in 12 points and 8 rebounds. Nihad Djedjovic picked up 3 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 5:44 minutes in his first game of 2021.
Oldenburg set club records in blowout of Würzburg
EWE Baskets Oldenburg set two club records as they blew out s.Oliver Würzburg 124-84 at home. Oldenburg led 34-23 after 10 minutes and never looked back in winning their ninth straight game for a 13-2 record. The 124 points topped Oldenburg’s output from their 119-73 victory over NINERS Chemnitz in early December for a new mark and the team also dished out a new high of 32 assists. Oldenburg shot 62.5 percent from the field including 18-of-32 three-pointers while also committing only 8 turnovers. Keith Hornsby came off the bench to drain 8 three-pointers in scoring 31 points on his 29th birthday while Rickey Paulding had 18 points, Sebastian Herrera had 14 points and Philipp Schwethelm added 11 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Jonas Weitzel led Würzburg with 16 points and 3 rebounds while Joshua Obiesie set career highs with 13 points and 5 assists and Felix Koch added 12 points in the loss. Würzburg, who fell to 5-9, did not yet have the services of new big man Perry Jones.
Würzburg reinforce paint with NBA veteran Perry Jones
s.Oliver Würzburg brought in reinforcements for the paint as they signed former NBA veteran Perry Jones until the end of the season. The 29-year-old big man played 155 NBA games from 2012 to 2015 and played earlier this season with Turkish EuroCup side Bursaspor.
Götttingen prevail in showdown of friendly rival Bamberg
BG Göttingen’s home game with Brose Bamberg was a major reunion and the hosts ended up winning 87-80 to snap a three-game losing streak. Göttingen head coach Roel Moors and Nelson Weidemann both were with Bamberg last season while Bamberg coach Johan Roijakkers and four members of the team were at Göttingen last season. Eight points was the biggest lead and Deishaun Booker decided the game with 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for a 4-10 record while Bamerg have lost three of four games for a 6-9 mark. Göttingen came into the game as the worst three-point shooting team in the league at 31.9 percent but they hit 14-of-26 three-pointers for 53.8 percent while Bamberg were held to just 26.9 percent from long range. Booker added 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals while Aubrey Dawkins picked up 17 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals, Tai Odiase scored 15 points and Mathis Mönninghoff and Luke Nelson both added 12 points. Devon Hall and David Kravish both scored 16 points and combined for 16 rebounds to lead Bamberg.
Leaders Ludwigsburg beat last-placed Giessen, extend win streak to 12
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg continued their winning ways as they defeated JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers 99-85 in a showdown of first-placed and last-placed teams. Giessen built a 10-point first quarter lead but Ludwigsburg won both the second and third quarters 28-16 to grab control of the game, which was only decided with back-to-back three-pointers late by 19-year-old Lukas Herzog. Ludwigsburg committed only 5 turnovers while forcing 16 Giessen turnovers, leading to 17 more shots for Ludwigsburg, who improved to 14-1 while Giessen fell to 2-13. Jaleen Smith led Ludwigsburg with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while Jordan Hulls had 15 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists and Barry Brown and Herzog both scored 15 points and Yorman Polas Bartolo 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Giessen’s leading scorer was John Bryant with 20 points and 7 rebounds and Brandon Bowman had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Berlin need late run to beat Vechta at home
ALBA BERLIN needed a late run to take care of RASTA Vechta in grabbing an 86-70 home victory to extend their winning streak to seven games. Vechta led the game by 11 points at the start of the second quarter and was still up late in the third. Berlin eventually closed the game with a 14-2 run to move to 11-1 while Vechta fell to 3-12 after three straight wins. Berlin forced 20 Vechta turnovers and held them to 30.0 percent on three-pointers while hitting 13 triples themselves. Luke Sikma had 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals for Berlin while Ben Lammers scored 14 points, Jonas Mattisseck had 12 points and Jayson Granger chipped in 8 points, 5 rebounds and 11 assists. Vechta were led by Jordan Barnett’s 15 points and Dennis Clifford tallied 10 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists.
Ulm hit century mark a fourth time in road win over MBC
atiopharm ulm hit the century mark for a fourth time this season in a 104-92 road victory over SYNTAINICS MBC. Ulm built a 14-point first quarter lead but were trailing in the second quarter. Ulm ended up taking control of the game with a 34-23 third quarter for a 9-5 record with MBC falling to 5-9. Ulm won the rebound battle 36-25 and held MBC to just 35.5 percent on three-pointers while hitting 52.4 percent from long range. Dylan Osetkowski led the way with 25 points and 10 rebounds while Andi Obst scored 21 points with 5 three-pointers and Troy Caupain tallied 11 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals. David Brembly poured in 22 points as both he and Obst reached the 1000-point career mark in league history. Aleksandar Marelja added 18 points for MBC and Michal Michalak added 14 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.
Mobley comes up big in Frankfurt home win over Bonn
FRAPORT SKYLINERS got a big game from Matt Mobley in grabbing an 84-79 home victory over Telekom Baskets Bonn. Frankfurt led by 14 points in second quarter but lost all of the lead and trailed in the fourth quarter. But Mobley knocked down a big three-pointer as well as three of four free throws in the final 27 seconds as Frankfurt improved to 6-8 while Bonn dropped their five straight for a 3-11 record. Frankfurt shot 51.7 percent for the game while holding Bonn to just 41.9 percent from the field. Mobley ended with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, Rasheed Moore picked up 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists and Joe Rahon contributed 10 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Quantez Robertson meanwhile had 5 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists with his rebounds moving him into fifth place in league history in rebounds since the start of collecting data digitally in 1998. Chris Babb was Bonn’s top scorer with 20 points, Strahinja Micovic tallied 18 points and Xavier Pollard added 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals.
Bayreuth snap losing skid at Chemnitz
medi bayreuth snapped a four-game losing streak by knocking off NINERS Chemnitz 83-61 on the road. The game was close until the fourth quarter when Chemnitz managed just six points and Bayreuth had a 13-0 run for a 5-10 record while Chemnitz stand at 4-10. Chemnitz committed 25 turnovers and hit just 5-of-25 three-pointers (20.0 percent). Osvaldas Olisevicius paced Bayreuth with 26 points and 4 assists, Marcus Tiby had 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Bastian Doreth and David Walker both added 11 points and 3 assists. Isiaha Mike led Chemnitz with 12 points and 4 rebounds and Jonas Richter scored 11 points.
Covid-19 forces postponement of three Braunschweig games
Covid-19 protocols and ordered self-isolation of the team have forced Basketball Löwen Braunschweig to postpone three games: the encounter with Telekom Baskets Bonn for January 27, against Hamburg Towers on January 31 and NINERS Chemnitz on February 3.
Job Interview
In our latest edition of “Job Interview”, the players of the easyCredit BBL offer up what three words come to their minds when they think of Corona. Note, this video is in German, but maybe it’s the reason you were looking for to take some Deutsch lessons.
Photobook released to commemorate to easyCredit BBL Final Tournament 2020
A photobook commemorating the easyCredit BBL Final Tournament 2020 is being released and can be ordered. The book includes 122 pages of pictures re-living the 23 days of action from the summer of 2020. Here is a link to where you can order the book.
Germans Abroad
Mason Makai is having a strong season with Manresa in the Spanish ACB, averaging 11.3 points, 1.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists for the season. In his last two games he collected 15 points and 2 assists against Murcia and 9 points and 14 assists versus Burgos.
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Pfiff der Woche
