The 2021-22 easyCredit BBL season opened in top style with drama and surprises all over the league - and finally with fans cheering on their teams. Defending champions ALBA BERLIN went down at home to Telekom Baskets Bonn in the season opener - which was just the first of a number of upsets as ratiopharm ulm beat FC Bayern Munich, MLP Academics Heidelberg marked their return with a huge win over SYNTAINICS MBC and NINERS Chemnitz downed EWE Baskets Oldenburg. All told, four games were decided by one basket and five teams opened the season with road victories. Phew! What a start!
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:
Bonn bounce Berlin on opening night
Telekom Baskets Bonn gave easyCredit BBL fans a surprise to start the 2021-22 season with an 88-86 victory on the road over reigning champions ALBA BERLIN. In a game known as the “Mother of all games” - a matchup of four league finals (1997, 1999, 2001 and 2008 - all won by Berlin) - Berlin led by 13 points after 10 minutes and were ahead most of the game and still had an 86-79 lead with 3:45 minutes left. But Bonn - under their new head coach Tuomas Iisalo - finished the game with the last nine points, surviving the nervous final moments. Parker Jackson-Cartwright was exhilarating for Bonn with 25 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals while Tyson Ward added 15 points and 7 rebounds and Saulius Kulvietis and Skyler Bowlin both scored 11 points. Marcus Eriksson paced Berlin with 16 points while Yovel Zoosman scored 14 in his first game for the team and Luke Sikma collected 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in the loss. Berlin, who committed 20 turnovers, did have Ben Lammers in the lineup as the only nominal center (2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 blocks in 11 minutes) as the team struggles with injuries to their low post players.
Christon too much for under-manned Bayern as Ulm in OT win on road
ratiopharm ulm became the first team to beat FC Bayern Munich in the first game of the season since EWE Baskets Oldenburg in 2012 by grabbing an 86-83 overtime victory on the road. Despite being ravaged by absences, Bayern held an 11-point lead in the third quarter. Ulm came back to lead before Bayern’s Darrun Hillard hit a turn-around jumper with 3 seconds left to force overtime. DeShaun Thomas drained two threes to start the extra session but Bayern failed to score the final 3 minutes of the game with Semaj Christon scoring the final basket with 12 seconds to play. Ulm won the battle of the glass 41-30 and also held Bayern to just 44.8 percent shooting. Christon was unstoppable with 27 points and 14 assists while Cristiano Felicio had 18 points, Justin Simon 11 points and Jaron Blossomgame contributed 8 points and 15 rebounds. Munich, who were missing eight players (Paul Zipser, Leon Radosevic, Nihad Djedovic, Gavin Schilling, Andi Obst, Corey Walden, Othello Hunter and the suspended Vladimir Lucic ) were led by Hillard with 26 points while Thomas scored 20 points, Augustine Rubit had 18 and Ognjen Jaramaz chipped in 10 points.
Heidelberg return after 36 years with crucial road win over MBC
MLP Academics Heidelberg had a perfect return to Germany’s top flight as they defeated SYNTAINICS MBC 85-74 on the road. In their first game in the league in more than 36 years, Heidelberg used an 11-2 run late to grab the win over a direct challenger in the fight to avoid relegation. Heidelberg held MBC to just 42.9 percent shooting, while hitting 51.6 percent themselves, including 65.1 percent on 2-pointers. The guests also committed only seven turnovers. Brekkott Chapman led Heidelberg with 17 points and 6 rebounds while Shyron Ely scored 16 points, Jordan Geist had 14 points and Robert Lowery had 13 points and 4 assists, including six points and an assist in the final run. Jakub Garbacz was MBC’s leading scorer with 14 points and Chris Coffey had 12 points and 9 rebounds
Chemnitz win thriller over Oldenburg despite huge night from Heidegger
Darion Atkins hit the game-winning layup with 2.3 seconds left as NINERS Chemnitz also pulled off a surprise with a 79-78 home victory over EWE Baskets Oldenburg. There were 15 lead changes and 11 ties in the game, which saw Oldenburg’s Max Heidegger hit 6 three-pointers in scoring 34 points. Chemnitz ruled the paint with a 44-22 point advantage while also winning the second-chance points battle 15-2 despite collecting just seven offensive rebounds. Chemnitz shot 53.3 percent from the field and held Oldenburg to just 43.3 percent. Isiaha Mike led Chemnitz with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks, Atkins ended with 14 points and 11 rebounds and Frantz Massenat had 9 points and 6 assists. The only other Oldenburg to score in double figures was Rickey Paulding with 15 points.
Ludwigsburg barely hold on at home over Hamburg
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg opened their season with a struggle but managed to fend off Hamburg Towers 88-87 at home. Hamburg, who are now 0-5 all-time against Ludwigsburg, had a 10-point lead in the first quarter but found themselves trailing early in the second frame. It was tight the rest of the way and Jonah Radebaugh’s free throw made it 88-84 with 2:08 minutes left. The hosts didn’t score again and held Hamburg to just three free throws to get the win. Ludwigsburg dominated the glass 38-25 including grabbing 15 offensive rebounds. The ageless veteran Tremmell Darden led the way for Ludwigsburg with 21 points and 7 rebounds while Radebaugh collected 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and Yoeli Childs chipped in 7 points and 11 rebounds. Jaylon Brown poured in 24 points for Hamburg, who also had Caleb Homesley collect 15 points and Justus Hollatz add 8 points and 8 assists.
Bombs away as Crailsheim beat Würzburg at home in German coaching showdown
HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim used the long ball and a big second half run to roll past s.Oliver Würzburg 111-84 at home in new coach Sebastian Gleim’s first game for the club. Crailsheim connected on 16-of-32 from three-point range - a few of them in a 33-7 run that started midway through the third quarter. Crailsheim dished out 25 assists and forced 22 turnovers for Würzburg. In the showdown of the only two German coaches in the league - Würzburg being led by Denis Wucherer - six players scored in double figures for Crailsheim, paced by Terrell Harris off the bench with 20 points while Bogdan Radosavljevic scored 18 points, TJ Shorts collected 15 points and 11 assists and Fabian Bleck added 13 points. Ainars Skele had 19 points as Würzburg’s leading scorer.
Giessen pull away late for home win over Bayreuth
JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers used a big fourth quarter to run away from medi bayreuth for an 86-74 home victory. After 18 lead changes - including Bayreuth building a 13-point advantage - Giessen took the final quarter 25-8. Giessen hit 70.3 percent on 2-pointers and led the rebounding battle 36-29. Six players scored in double figures, paced by Brayon Blake and Florian Koch with 15 points each. Terry Allen was Bayreuth’s leading scorer with 19 points and Marcus Thornton had 13 points and 5 assists.
Robertson career-high not enough as Braunschweig defense holds strong over Frankfurt
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig held FRAPORT SKYLINERS scoreless for the final 3:49 minutes in grabbing an 89-76 road victory despite Frankfurt legend Quantez Robertson scoring a career-high 29 points. In a match-up of Spanish coaches - Braunschweig’s Jesus Ramirez vs Diego Ocampo of Frankfurt - the game was decided by 21 Frankfurt turnovers. Six Braunschweig players scored in double figures, led by Martin Peterka’s 16 points while Ondrej Sehnal collected 14 points and 6 assists, David Krämer had 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals and Robin Amaize, Tookie Brown and Owen Klassen all scored 13 points. Besides Robertson’s big night, Branco Badio picked up 14 points and 4 assists for the losing side.
Bamberg bounce back from BCL disappointment, win at Göttingen
Brose Bamberg bounced back from losing in the Basketball Champions League qualifying stage to open the German league season with an 86-74 win at BG Göttingen. Bamberg wasted a 15-point first half lead but regained control in the final quarter, holding Göttingen to just 42.0 percent shooting and making 21-of-30 free throws compared to just 9-of-12 for Göttingen. Omar Prewitt paced Bamberg with 19 points, Christian Sengfelder collected 16 points and 8 rebounds and Justin Robinson had 14 points in the win while Kamar Baldwin’s 23 points were not enough for Göttingen.
Player of the Week
Semaj Christon takes home Player of the Week for Round 1 with his fantastic performance for ratiopharm ulm in their win over FC Bayern Munich. Christon scored 27 points on 10-of-20 shots - including 5-of-9 from long range - and 2-of-3 free throws to go with 3 rebounds, a massive 14 assists and 2 steals for an efficiency of 31.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Justus Hollatz, Hamburg Towers
Hamburg may have lost to MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg, but Hollatz was outstanding with 8 points including 2-of-2 three-pointers, 8 assists and just one turnover.
G: David Krämer, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Krämer had an excellent opening game for Braunschweig against FRAPORT SKYLINERS with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
G: Niklas Würzner, MLP Academics Heidelberg
Würzner had an easyCredit BBL debut to remember with 11 points, 1 assist and 2 steals in Heidelberg’s win over SYNTAINICS MBC.
C: Bogdan Radosavljevic, HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim
The basket looked like the size of an ocean for Boggy, who drained 6-of-8 three-pointers in scoring 18 points in Crailsheim’s win over s.Oliver Würzburg to go with 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
C: Christian Sengfelder, Brose Bamberg
Sengfelder picked up where he left off last season with an outstanding first game to the season, picking up 16 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block against BG Göttingen.
Young Guns
Jordan Samare, 18, PF, FRAPORT SKYLINERS
Samare was playing his sixth professional game and the 19-year-old did a solid job against Basketball Löwen Braunschweig with 5 points and 3 rebounds in 16:03 minutes.
Malte Delow, 20, SG ALBA BERLIN
Delow is looking to build on last season and the 20-year-old had a good game against Telekom Baskets Bonn, picking up 8 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal in 13:04 minutes.
Radii Caisin, 20, SG, SYNTAINICS MBC
Caisin will be called on this season to take more responsibility and he did a decent job with 7 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 12:50 minutes of a lot to MLP Academics Heidelberg.
RelatedNews
Nachberichte
27 Punkte & 14 Assists: Überragender Semaj Christon führt Ulm in München zum Auftaktsieg
Nachberichte
Drama in Ludwigsburg: Letztjähriger Hauptrundenmeister schlägt Hamburg mit 88:87
Nachberichte
