– David Hein
The biggest news of the week in the easyCredit BBL #PlayoffsBaby saw ratiopharm ulm once again steal home court advantage in Game 1, knocking off reigning champions ALBA BERLIN on the road to start the semi-finals. Ulm also took Game 1 on the road against EWE Baskets Oldenburg in the first round. The other semi-finals match-up had regular season winners MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg take a 1-0 lead with a home win over FC Bayern Munich.
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:
Ulm once again steal Game 1 on road, Osetkowski too much for Berlin
ratiopharm ulm continued their superb playoffs by once again stealing away home court advantage right away as they knocked off ALBA BERLIN 73-71 on the road in Game 1. The game was tight for the first three quarters until Berlin opened a 12 point lead with under 8 minutes to play. But Ulm’s Dylan Osetkowski took over late with a three-pointer, two free throws and another triple to put Ulm up 71-69 with 63 seconds remaining. Jayson Granger answered to even the game but Troy Caupain decided the game with two free throws with 20 seconds left. The victory went to Ulm only after Ben Lammers and Simone Fontecchio missed shots in the final seconds. Neither team could get into a shooting rhythm - Berlin hitting just 38.4 percent from the field and Ulm 36.5 percent. But Ulm made 18-of-19 free throws compared to 8-of-9 for Berlin. Osetkowski ended with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists while Andi Obst scored 14 points and Caupain had 11 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Peyton Siva paced Berlin with 15 points and 5 assists while Fontecchio had 14 points and 11 rebounds. Berlin were missing Luke Sikma and Johannes Voigtmann. Plans are in place for Berlin to play Game 2 in front of fans.
Ulm come back to eliminate Oldenburg, reach semis
ratiopharm ulm defended their home court to reach the semi-finals of the #PlayoffsBaby by coming back to beat EWE Baskets Oldenburg 96-88 at home in Game 4 for a 3-1 series win. Ulm trailed by 11 points in the third quarter but fought ahead in the final frame and got a big three-point play from Dylan Osetkowski and then Cameron Clark and Troy Caupain both hit two free throws in the final 30 seconds for the win. Ulm forced just 7 Oldenburg turnovers but the hosts shot a blistering 57.4 percent from the field. Caupain flirted with a triple-double with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists while Osetkowski added 17 points and 9 rebounds and Per Günther chipped in 15 points in 14 minutes as one of six Ulm players in double figures. Rickey Paulding paced Oldenburg with 25 points with Rasid Mahalbasic collecting 14 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists and Keith Hornsby and Phil Pressey both adding 11 points in the loss. Ulm have now set up a semi-finals date with reigning champions ALBA BERLIN.
Schwethelm retires after 516 games and 678 three-pointers in 16 years
EWE Baskets Oldenburg’s elimination from the #PlayoffsBaby also meant the end of a career as Philipp Schwethelm retired after the game. The 32-year-old forward scored 3 points in 11 minutes of his 516th and final game - ranking third all-time in league history since the start of data collection in 1998. Schwethelm began his professional career at 16 years of age with Cologne in 2005 and also played with Eisbären Bremerhaven, FC Bayern Munich, ratiopharm ulm and Oldenburg. He ended up collecting 3,328 points, 678 three-pointers, 1,356 rebounds, 470 assists and 318 steals. His 678 triples made rank fourth all-time while he ranks 13th in rebounds and 12th in steals. He won the German league crown and cup with Cologne. Schwethelm also played 49 times for the German national team, competing at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2010 in Turkey as well as the FIBA EuroBasket 2011.
Ludwigsburg survive Bayern comeback, take Game 1 at home
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg survived a comeback from FC Bayern Munich to notch a 101-98 home victory to take a 1-0 lead in the semi-finals - with the season MVP Jaleen Smith delivering the game-winner. Ludwigsburg led by 12 points after 10 minutes and the gap was 16 points early in the second quarter. Bayern trailed by 13 points in the fourth but hit two three-pointers to start an 11-0 surge to pull within 97-95. Smith drained a three-pointer with 9.9 seconds left and then Tremmell Darden split two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining to secure the win. Jamel McLean poured in 27 points, Smith finished with 18 points, Barry Brown scored 15 points and Jonah Radebaugh chipped in 14 points and 9 rebounds for Ludwigsburg, who have not lost at home in two years - a streak of 30 games. The hosts committed only 6 turnovers and forced 15 Bayern turnovers, which were key as Bayern won the battle of the glass 37-26 and hit 54.2 percent for the game. Vladimir Lucic paced Bayern with 24 points, DJ Seeley had 20 poitns and Paul Zipser added 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in the loss.
Ludwigsburg deliver first quarter knockout to down Bamberg, reach semis
Regular season champions MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg prevailed in their #PlayoffsBaby series with Brose Bamberg by using a first quarter knockout punch to collect a 95-73 victory at home in Game 5. Ludwigsburg led 26-16 after 10 minutes and never let Bamberg back into the game to set up a semi-finals showdown with FC Bayern Munich. Tremmell Darden paced Ludwigsburg with 14 points while Jamel McLean had 13 points, Jonah Radebaugh and Yorman Polas Bartolo both scored 11 points and season MVP Jaleen Smith chipped in 9 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Ludwigsburg forced 18 Bamberg turnovers while also holding the guests to just 20.8 percent from long range. Bennet Hundt and Christian Sengfelder both scored 19 points to lead Bamberg with Tyler Larson adding 13 points.
Bamberg fend off Ludwigsburg, force Game 5
Brose Bamberg fended off a comeback from regular season champions MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg to collect an 87-84 home victory to force a decisive Game 5. Bamberg led by 13 points late in the third quarter and watched as Ludwigsburg pulled within one point before Tyler Larson nailed a big three-pointer late to even the series 2-2. Bennet Hundt drained 5 three-pointers in scoring a game-high 23 points for Bamberg while David Kravish had 20 points and Christian Sengfelder picked up 13 points. Bamberg shot 50.0 percent for the game while holding the guests to 44.6 percent from the field. Barry Brown did pour in 32 points and Jordan Hulls pitched in 13 points but no other Ludwigsburg player scored more than eight points. MVP Jaleen Smith was held to just 5 points on 2-of-13 shots.
Bayern finish off Crailsheim on road in Game 4
FC Bayern Munich booked their spot in the semi-finals of the easyCredit BBL #PlayoffsBaby as they finished off HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim with an 86-72 road win for a 3-1 series win. Bayern withstood 32 points from Crailsheim star Trae Bell-Haynes as Paul Zipser paced five Bayern players in double figures with 18 points with Vladimir Lucic scoring 16 points and Wade Baldwin picking up 14 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists. Bayern not only out-rebounded Crailsheim 39-31 but also kept the hosts to just 36.7 percent shooting in ending Crailsheim’s season. Next up in the semi-finals for Bayern will be regular season winners MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.
Bleck signs on for three more years with Crailsheim
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim took a major step towards stability in the future as they locked up captain Fabian Bleck for three more years until 2024. Bleck joined Crailsheim in 2019 and is the third pillar of the club’s German core to sign long term in recent weeks following Maurice Stuckey and Bogdan Radosavljevic.
Iisalo lands two-year deal as new Bonn head coach
Telekom Baskets Bonn hope they have laid the foundation for the return to the #PlayoffsBaby as they signed up-and-coming head coach Tuomas Iisalo on a two-year contract. The announcement of the deal came after the elimination of HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim from the post-season after the 38-year-old Finnish playcalled had helped the team to their first-ever playoffs win in a 3-1 series loss to FC Bayern Munich. Iisalo will also be bringing with him from Crailsheim his brother and assistant coach Joonas Iisalo.
Würzburg strengthen frontcourt with German big Stanic
s.Oliver Würzburg made a big first addition for next season as they signed German center Filip Stanic on a two-year deal. The 23-year-old big man will provide Würzburg with a massive presence around the basket as he averaged 4.6 points and 4.5 rebounds - including 2.4 offensive rebounds per game - in fewer than 15 minutes with NINERS Chemnitz. But Stanic managed to play only 13 games this past season as he dealt with injuries. Stanic grew up in the ALBA BERLIN system before playing with Gotha in 2017-18 and then Mega Belgrade for about 1.5 seasons, finishing the 2019-20 campaign with EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Stanic was nominated for the German senior national team in November 2020 but missed the FIBA window due to injuries. He did help Germany to a third place finish at the FIBA U20 European Championship 2018 with 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds.
Kerusch to stay with MBC for sixth season
SYNTAINICS MBC retained one of their club icons as Sergio Kerusch declined his player option and will remain with the club for his sixth season. The 32-year-old has played for MBC since 2016-17, when the club was in the ProA.
Player(s) of the Week(s)
The week had three rounds of playoffs games so there are three Player of the Week honors to hand out. The top performer from the Game 4s of the first round went to Jalen Reynolds as he had an efficiency of 28 for picking up 14 points on 6-of-7 shots and 2-of-2 free throws, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocks for FC Bayern Munich against HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim. With just one Game 5, the top man from that showdown was MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg’s Tremmell Darden, who had 14 points on 6-of-11 shots and 1-of-1 free throws, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block for an efficiency of 16 against Brose Bamberg. Moving to the semi-finals, ratiopharm ulm’s big man Dylan Osetkowski takes the honor for the Game 1s as he picked up an efficiency of 29 with 21 points on 6-of-14 shots and 6-of-6 free throws, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal against ALBA BERLIN.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Bennet Hundt, Brose Bamberg
Hundt gave his all but he could not keep Bamberg from getting eliminated. He drained 5 three-pointers in scoring a team-high 23 points to go with 4 rebounds and 4 assists in a Game 4 win over MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg. In Game 5, the point guard collected 19 points and 2 assists, but they were not enough.
G: Andi Obst, ratiopharm ulm
Obst has played a major role in Ulm continuing their great playoffs run. In Game 4 against EWE Baskets Oldenburg, he collected 13 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. And then in Ulm’s big road victory at ALBA BERLIN in Game 1 of the semi-finals he drained 3 three-pointers in scoring 14 points and also had 4 rebounds and 1 steal.
G: Maurice Stuckey, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim
Crailsheim saw their season come to an end as they lost in Game 4 to FC Bayern Munich but Stuckey had a strong game with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.
F: Paul Zipser, FC Bayern Munich
Zipser remains one of Bayern’s top players in the post-season as he helped finish off HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in Game 4. In Game 1 of the semi-finals against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg, Zipser knocked down 4 three-pointers in scoring 18 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks.
C: Christian Sengfelder, Brose Bamberg
Sengfelder made this list for the final time in the season with two strong games against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg. He had 13 points and 4 rebounds in Game 4 and then tallied 19 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in a Game 5 loss.
37. | 64:82 | #CRAFCBB
— FC Bayern Basketball (@FCBBTogether) May 25, 2021
B????????M. JR lässt es nochmal krachen.
???? Live bei Magenta Sport.#FCBB #Reditdue #BBL #Playoffs @JalenReynolds pic.twitter.com/24HUt33f53
Germans Abroad
Tibor Pleiss is a EuroLeague champion as the German big man helped Anadolu Efes Istanbul finally crowned a great three-year run in defeating FC Barcelona 86-81 in the 2021 Championship Game - and that in his home city. After not playing in the semi-finals win over CSKA Moscow, Pleiss contributed 5 points and 3 rebounds in 8 minutes of action against Barcelona. For the season, the 31-year-old Pleiss averaged 6.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 12 minutes over 24 games.
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