– David Hein
There was big news both on and off the court this week as the easyCredit BBL #PlayoffsBaby have started, but only after the season awards were given out. On the court, reigning champions ALBA BERLIN swept their way in to the semi-finals with a 3-0 series win over Hamburg Towers while ratiopharm ulm snatched away home court advantage from EWE Baskets Oldenburg in Game 1 and lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 at home. Off the court, the Most Valuable Player was given to Jaleen Smith for his outstanding season with Ludwigsburg, which also resulted in John Patrick winning the Coach of the Year award.
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 avoid slip-up, defeat Hamburg for sweep - in front of 200 fans
ALBA BERLIN finished off a 3-0 sweep of Hamburg Towers in their quarter-finals series by winning Game 3 on the road 85-73 - in front of 200 fans. Berlin took the first quarter 30-16 and pushed the lead out to 18 points in the third quarter. Hamburg managed a 12-0 run to get within six points, but the hosts could not use the advantage of having the 200 fans in the crowd as part of a model project to get any closer. Maodo Lo and Simone Fontecchio both scored 14 points for Berlin while Niels Giffey had 11 points and both Peyton Siva and Marcus Eriksson picked up 10 points. Berlin, who held Hamburg to just 34.2 percent shooting, will now wait to see who their semi-final opponents will be - they will host either EWE Baskets Oldenburg or ratiopharm ulm in Game 1 on May 30. Hamburg got 17 points each from Maik Kotsar and Zac Cuthbertson with Jordan Swing adding 14 points.
Berlin dominate Hamburg from start in Game 1 home victory
Reigning champions ALBA BERLIN were barely challenged in the start of their title defense as they eased to an 82-59 home victory over Hamburg Towers in Game 1. Berlin took out their frustration of losing the MagentaSport BBL German Cup final on Hamburg, as they led 30-18 after 10 minutes and were not threatened the rest of the game. Maodo Lo led Berlin with 19 points, Simone Fontecchio had 12 points and Peyton Siva picked up 11 points and 8 assists. Berlin out-rebounded Hamburg 46-32 and allowed the playoffs debutants to shoot just 35.5 percent from the field. TJ Shorts was the only Towers player in double figures with 11 points and the starting five combined for just 19 points.
Berlin too strong in fourth, down Hamburg for 2-0 cushion
ALBA BERLIN moved to one victory from the semi-finals as they proved too strong in the fourth quarter in a 95-83 home victory over Hamburg Towers for a 2-0 lead in their series. The reigning champions wasted most of a 13-point third quarter lead as Hamburg pulled to within one point. But Berlin nailed four three-pointers in a 14-0 spurt over nearly 5 minutes to blow the game open. Simone Fontecchio hit two of those triples and scored a team-high 18 points for Berlin, who had Peyton Siva collect 16 points and 5 assists and Marcus Eriksson score 15 points. Berlin shot 52.5 percent from the field to go with 20-of-21 free throws and held Hamburg to just 42.5 percent for the game. Hamburg wasted a great showing by TJ Shorts, who had 27 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists. Jordan Swing added 15 points in the loss.
Ulm defends home court, takes 2-1 lead over Oldenburg
ratiopharm ulm wasted a 15-point lead but fought off EWE Baskets Oldenburg 70-66 in Game 3 to defend their home court and move to within one victory of reaching the semi-finals. Ulm, who robbed home court advantage by taking Game 1 in northern Germany, led by 15 points early in the second half but were down by one point early in the fourth quarter. Ulm led by five points with under 1 minute to play but Rickey Paulding hit three free throws plus a foul shot on a technical for Ulm coach Jaka Lakovic to make it 67-66 with 46 seconds left. On Ulm’s next possession, Dylan Osetkowski rebounded Troy Caupain’s miss and hit two free throws with 23 seconds remaining. At the other end, Oldenburg’s Phil Pressey missed a three-pointer to give Ulm the win. Andi Obst paced the winners with 19 points with Demetrius Conger and John Petrucelli both pitching in 10 points off the bench as the other four starters combined for just 16 points. Both teams struggled offensively - Ulm hitting just 36.9 percent from the field and Oldenburg just 37.1 percent - but Ulm made the difference on the glass with 44 to 35 rebounds including 13 offensive rebounds. Nathan Boothe had 12 points for Oldenburg, who also got 11 points from Martin Breunig and Philipp Schwethelm had 10 points.
Ulm snatch home court advantage with Game 1 win at Oldenburg
ratiopharm ulm were the only team to steal home court advantage in Game 1 as they traveled north and grabbed a 93-88 victory over EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Ulm fell behind by 17 points early in the second quarter but took the frame 27-13 and never gave up the lead after that. Ulm dominated the glass 38-27 including 14 offensive rebounds, which helped make up for the league’s number one three-point shooting team in the regular season connecting on just 29.4 percent. Ulm also made 19-of-21 free throws. Andi Obst led the way with 4 three-pointers and 24 points with Troy Caupain tallying 18 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists and both John Petrucelli and Dylan Ostekowski chipping in 14 points. Rickey Paulding was Oldenburg’s leading scorer with 16 points, followed by Nathan Boothe with 15 and Rasid Mahalbasic with 13 points and 5 assists.
Günther joins 1,500 assist club with Jordan, Joyce and McElroy
ratiopharm ulm’s Game 3 win over EWE Baskets Oldenburg featured a historic milestone as Ulm icon Per Günther picked up an assist to Cameron Clark in the second quarter for his 1,500th assist in his easyCredit BBL career. The 33-year-old Günther became just the fourth player with 1,500 assists in league history since the start of data collection in 1998 following Jared Jordan (1,895), Dru Joyce (1,714) and Immanuel McElroy (1,572). Congrats Per!
Paulding saves the day for Oldenburg, evens series 1-1 with Ulm
Rickey Paulding saved the day for EWE Baskets Oldenburg, who once again gave up a big lead only to prevail this time with a 77-75 victory at home over ratiopharm ulm to even their series at 1-1. After blowing a 17-point lead in Game 1, Oldenburg led by 15 points in the first quarter but found themselves down by eight points in the third quarter. The fourth quarter was tight throughout with Ulm leading 74-71 with 77 seconds to play. After back-to-back scores by Rasid Mahalbasic to put Oldenburg up, Troy Caupain could only split two free throws with 6 seconds left to tie the game, allowing Paulding to go the length of the floor and put in his layup at the buzzer. Nathan Boothe had 18 points and Paulding finished with 16 points in the win with Mahalbasic chipping in 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Ulm could not find any rhythm from long range, hitting just 3-of-20 three-pointers for 15.0 percent. Aric Holman paced the guests with 13 points off the bench, Cameron Clark had 12 points and Caupain ended with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists.
Big first half carries Bamberg past Ludwigsburg to stay alive
Brose Bamberg stayed alive in their series with regular season champions MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg by rolling to a 96-60 home victory in Game 3. Bamberg used a big first half to get the win, leading 60-35 after 20 minutes and never letting Ludwigsburg back into the game. Bamberg held Ludwigsburg to just 34.8 percent shooting, including 15.4 percent from long range, and forced 17 turnovers. The hosts drained 17 three-pointers and dished out 25 assists. Christian Sengfelder, Chase Fieler and Michele Vitali all scored 14 points for Bamberg and Tyler Larson had 11 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists. Yorman Polas Bartolo and Tremmell Darden both scored 11 points to lead Ludwigsburg. The guests did not get the usual production from their two leaders as MVP Jaleen Smith was held to 4 points and Jamel McLean was scoreless with 4 rebounds in 16 minutes.
Sengfelder extends deal with Bamberg until 2023
Christian Sengfelder will remain with Brose Bamberg for an additional season as the German international extended his deal with the club until the end of the 2022-23 campaign. The 26-year-old Sengfelder had a superb second season with Bamberg, averaging 12.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in the regular season. Sengfelder also showed his endurance as he twice played a full 40:00 minutes in a game, including picking up a monster double-double of 31 points and 17 rebounds - both career highs - in a home win over ALBA BERLIN.
Offensive rebounds carry Ludwigsburg to Game 1 home win over Bamberg
Regular season champions MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg took a 1-0 lead in their first round series with Brose Bamberg by winning Game 1 at home 83-69. Ludwigsburg had a strong second quarter and built a 13-lead in the third only to see Bamberg trim it to three points. But Ludwigsburg regained control in the fourth quarter. Ludwigsburg committed only 8 turnovers and made 12 three-pointers compared to 8 triples for Bamberg. The hosts also grabbed 20 offensive rebounds, which led to 17 more shots. The season MVP Jaleen Smith led the way with 15 points and 6 rebounds while Jamel McLean had a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds and Andrew Warren added 11 points off the bench. Kenneth Ogbe paced Bamberg with 16 points and Christian Sengfelder added 10 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.
Ludwigsburg prevail in battle with Bamberg for 2-0 advantage
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg got MVP performances from their two Most Valuable Players as they came back to beat Brose Bamberg 86-83 at home to take a 2-0 lead in their quarter-finals series. Jamel McLean, the league’s MVP from 2015, scored 21 points and grabbed 9 rebounds while this season’s MVP Jaleen Smith collected 17 points and 10 assists to go along with 19 points from Jordan Hulls for the regular season champs. The game was tight throughout with Ludwigsburg’s 10-point lead early in the second half the biggest of the game. Bamberg thought it could steal away home court advantage, leading 83-77 with 2 minutes left. McLean and Smith combined for an 8-0 run with the latter stealing the ball from Bennet Hundt with 12 seconds and hitting a layup for a 85-83 lead. Ludwigsburg forced 14 Bamberg turnovers and held the guests to just 25.9 percent from long range. David Kravish was Bamberg’s top man with 17 points and 9 rebounds with Christian Sengfelder scoring 16 points and Kenneth Ogbe picking up 14 points.
Crailsheim avoid sweep against Bayern, win first-ever playoffs game
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim collected their first-ever victory in the easyCredit BBL playoffs as they knocked off FC Bayern Munich 96-82 in Game 3 to avoid a sweep. Crailsheim led 32-19 after 10 minutes and never really let Bayern threaten the rest of the contest - thanks in large part to Trae Bell-Haynes who scored 17 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter besides 3 rebounds and 9 assists. Elias Lasisi picked up 20 points and 5 assists and Jamuni McNease scored 12 points for the winners, who shot 58.0 percent from the field, including a blistering 56.0 percent from long range. Crailsheim also made 24-of-30 free throws compared to 15-of-20 for Bayern, who were paced by Wade Baldwin with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Paul Zipser chipped in 16 points and DJ Seeley had 15 points and 4 assists in the defeat. The game did see the return to the court for Nihad Djedovic, who went scoreless in 5:42 minutes after last playing on February 9.
Freshly-crowned cup champs Bayern take Game 1 at home over Crailheim
Freshly-crowned MagentaSport BBL German Cup champions FC Bayern Munich started their playoffs in fine fashion with an 86-66 home victory in Game 1 over HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. Vladimir Lucic led the way with 22 points while fellow reserve Zan Sisko scored 16 points for Bayern, who also had Paul Zipser pick up 14 points. Bayern led by nine points after 10 minutes and never let Crailsheim into the game. The hosts committed only 9 turnovers and held Crailsheim to just 38.3 percent shooting. Trae Bell-Hayne did pick up 23 points and Elias Lasisi added 14 points for Crailsheim, but no other player scored more than 6 points for the guests.
Seeley helps Bayern hold off Crailsheim for 2-0 lead
DJ Seeley poured in 33 points as FC Bayern Munich fought off a determined HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim for a 83-79 victory and a 2-0 lead in their series. Bayern grabbed a double-digit lead in the first half but Crailsheim went ahead late in the first half. Seeley took over with 20 points in the third quarter in helping Bayern move ahead by 13 points. Crailsheim trimmed the gap to 3 points in the closing minutes but Seeley hit another big three-pointer to go with an assist and the game-securing free throws for Bayern, who connected on 57.9 percent from the field. Besides Seeley, Jalen Reynolds had 13 points and 6 rebounds, Paul Zipser collected 12 points and Wade Baldwin pitched in 10 points and 8 assists. Trae Bell-Haynes paced Crailsheim with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals but also had 7 turnovers. Jamuni McNease pitched in 18 points and Bogdan Radosavljevic collected 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the loss.
Ludwigsburg’s Jaleen Smith takes MVP trophy
WIth the regular season done, it was awards time for the league. Jaleen Smith was named the easyCredit BBL Most Valuable Player of the 2020-21 season after helping MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg finish first in the regular season. Smith led the team in scoring (15.7 points) and assists (5.6) while also averaging 5.3 rebounds in 32 games. Smith finished first in the voting among 18 head coaches, 18 team captains and selected media ahead of Trae Bell-Haynes of HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim and ALBA BERLIN’s Luke Sikma, who tied for second in the voting. Fourth place went to Maik Kotsar of Hamburg Towers.
Ludwigsburg’s John Patrick wins Coach of the Year a third time
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg’s success during the regular season also resulted in another award for the club as head coach John Patrick was named the league’s Coach of the Year. The 53-year-old Patrick, who has been with Ludwigsburg since 2013, won the honor for a third time following 2009 and 2010 as head coach at Göttingen. The teams’ head coaches and captains as well as selected media members voted for Patrick ahead of second-placed Tuomas Iisalo of HAKRO Merlin Crailsheim and third-placed Hamburg Towers playcaller Pedro Calles.
Bell-Haynes Best Offensive Player, Bartolo Best Defender, Hollatz Top Youngster
The top three coaches in the Coach of the Year voting had an impact on other awards handed out. HARKO Merlins Crailsheim guard Trae Bell-Haynes did not win the MVP trophy but was named the Best Offensive Player as the league’s fourth-best scorer and top assist man. MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg celebrated another award as Yorman Polas Bartolo claimed the Best Defender trophy for the third straight season. And Hamburg Towers talent Justus Hollatz was named the season’s Best Young German Player. The 20-year-old Hollatz won the U22 award ahead of Jonas Mattisseck and Malte Delow, both of ALBA BERLIN. Brose Bamberg’s David Kravish was named the Most Effective International Player ahead of Jaleen Smith of MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg and Trae Bell-Haynes of HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. And John Bryant from JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers took the trophy for Most Effective National Player ahead of Dylan Ostekowski of ratiopharm ulm and Karim Jallow from Basketball Löwen Braunschweig.
Giessen awarded wild card for 2021-22 season
JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers will remain in the easyCredit BBL for 2021-22 despite being relegated as the club was awarded a wild card for next season. Giessen and RASTA Vechta were the only two clubs to bid for the one wild card, which was made available when ProA runners-up Bayer Giants Leverkusen did not apply for a Bundesliga license. The easyCredit BBL clubs voted in favor of Giessen, who will have to pay 700,000 euros over two years for the wild card.
Player(s) of the Week(s)
There were three rounds of playoffs for the week, which means three Player of the Week awards. For Game 1, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg big man Jamel McLean and Vladimir Lucic of FC Bayern Munich share the honors with an efficiency of 26 each. McLean collected 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 4-of-6 free throws, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals against Brose Bamberg while Lucic tallied 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 8-of-8 free throws, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. Another Bayern player was tops in Game 2 with DJ Seeley collecting an efficiency of 36 with 33 points on 11-of-15 shots and 6-of-7 free throws, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block versus Crailsheim. It was Crailsheim who provided the Player of the Week for Game 3 as Trae Bell-Haynes was outstanding against Bayern with 34 points on 9-of-17 shots and 12-of-13 free throws, 3 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal and 10 fouls drawn for an efficiency of 27, which could have been even better had he not committed 11 turnovers.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Maodo Lo, ALBA BERLIN
Lo played a major role in Berlin’s sweep of Hamburg Towers, opening the series with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in Game 1. He had 9 points, 1 rebound and 5 assists in Game 2 and collected 14 points, 1 rebound and 5 assists in Game 3.
G: Andi Obst, ratiopharm ulm
Obst had two big games in Ulm’s two wins over EWE Baskets Oldenburg. He started the series with 24 points including 4 three-pointers, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in the road Game 1 victory. Obst was held to just 5 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in the Game 2 loss but then stepped up with 4 three-pointers in scoring 19 points with 3 rebounds and 2 assists in the Game 3 triumph.
G: Kenneth Ogbe, Brose Bamberg
Ogbe has had a strong series for Bamberg against the regular season championship MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg. He had 16 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in Game 1 and followed that with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in Game 2. In Bamberg’s Game 3 win, Ogbe picked up 9 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist.
F: Paul Zipser, FC Bayern Munich
Zipser continues to excel in his role for Bayern as he drained 4 three-pointers in scoring 14 points to go with 5 rebounds and 1 assist in Game 1 against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. In Game 2, Zipser tallied 12 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist, and in the Game 3 loss on the road he had 16 points on 4 three-pointers, 1 rebound and 1 assist.
C: Christian Sengfelder, Brose Bamberg
The big man celebrated his contract extension with a solid showing against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg. Sengfelder had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist in Game 1 and then collected 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in Game 2. Sengfelder helped Bamberg to win Game 3 at home with 14 points, including 3 three-pointers, 8 rebounds and 2 steals.
Das hat schon in Spiel 1 gut geklappt: Maodo Lô mit viel Selbstvertrauen ????. Live bei #MagentaSport pic.twitter.com/ACKjQcvnFe
— ALBA BERLIN (@albaberlin) May 22, 2021
Hollatz Check
Hamburg Towers exited the easyCredit BBL playoffs without a victory, as they were swept 3-0 by ALBA BERLIN. But the 20-year-old Justus Hollatz was not the reason the team lost in three games. Hollatz started all three games against the reigning champs. In Game 1, the youngster, who was named the Best Young German Player for the 2020-21 season, picked up 6 points on 2-of-5 shooting (1-of-3 threes) and 1-of-2 free throws, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 turnover in 19:04 minutes. In the second game, Hollatz struggled shooting, hitting just 1-of-9 attempts (0-2 threes) for 2 points though he did pick up 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block and just 1 turnover in 28:49 minutes. In Game 3, Hollatz once again struggled to find his shooting form with 1-of-7 attempts (0-3 threes) and 2-of-2 free throws for 4 points but he also had 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers in 31:52 minutes.
Hoffmann re-signs with Würzburg
s.Oliver Würzburg took a step forward in their plans for next season as they re-signed their captain Felix Hoffmann until 2023. The 31-year-old Hoffmann has played five seasons in Würzburg.
Rogic, Washington, Marelja out at MBC
More personnel decisions for next season have been made at SYNTAINICS MBC as the club announced they will not re-sign Roko Rogic, Deron Washington or Aleksandar Marelja for 2021-22. The trio leaves the club as does head coach Silvano Poropat.
easyCredit BBL players and their knowledge of astronomy
Sure the players from the easyCredit BBL know the game of basketball, but do they know astronomy? Check out this video to see how well they know their way around space. Hopefully you have been taking those German lessons.
Ein tänzelnder Justus Hollatz findet @MaikKalev.
— Hamburg Towers (@hamburgtowers) May 24, 2021
???????? alle Spiele der @easyCreditBBL gibt es LIVE unter https://t.co/ke4YKIVwck | #HamburgTowers #MorethanBasketball pic.twitter.com/F58q5etWmV
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