The easyCredit BBL Finals are deadlocked 1-1 after two games as regular season champs Telekom Baskets Bonn punched back for a blowout at home after ratiopharm ulm snatched away home court advantage by winning the first game. Off the court in the league, BG Göttingen have named a new head coach and Bastian Doreth left his long-time club medi bayreuth and will play in the second division next season.
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 punch back with blowout win, even series 1-1
Telekom Baskets Bonn provided the answer their fans had hoped as the regular season champions punched back after losing the first game of the easyCredit BBL Finals with a blowout 104-75 home win over ratiopharm ulm to even the series 1-1. The Finals are basically now a best-of-three series with Ulm holding home court advantage ahead of the third game on Wednesday June 14 in Ulm. Bonn led by 10 points after 10 minutes and after Ulm pulled even midway through the second quarter Bonn went into halftime up 45-29 thanks to a 17-2 run. And Bonn finished the job with a 30-15 third quarter. Bonn committed only 10 turnovers and shot 52.9 percent from the field including draining 16 three-pointers while holding Ulm to just 42.6 percent shooting. Bonn also dominated the glass 39-27 with 14 offensive rebounds resulting in 17 second chance points. Finn Delaney bounced back from going scoreless in the first game to leading Bonn with 23 points and 5 rebounds with Sebastian Herrera scoring 17 points with 6 assists and TJ Shorts pitching in 16 points and 9 rebounds. Karim Jallow was the only Ulm player in double figures with 17 points.
Yago outdoes Shorts, Paul clutch threes gives Ulm home court advantage
ratiopharm ulm overcame some major foul trouble thanks to an outstanding Yago Dos Santos and clutch shooting by Brandon Paul to steal home court advantage from Telekom Baskets Bonn with a 79-73 road victory to start the easyCredit BBL Finals. Ulm won their fifth straight road game in the playoffs and also snapped Bonn’s winning streak of 25 games. In front of a packed house of 6,000 fans at the Telekom Dome, Ulm had six players collect 4 fouls but they still led for most of the game, including by 11 points early in the second half. Ulm were leading 68-59 with less than 5 minutes to go but Javontae Hawkins and Jeremy Morgan buried three-pointers and Bonn evened the game 73-73 with 62 seconds to go. Paul answered from deep with 42 seconds remaining and Ulm made 3-of-5 free throws down the stretch for the win. Ulm made 11-of-26 three-pointers for 42.3 percent while Bonn were held to 9-of-37 for 24.3 percent. Dos Santos finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists while Paul knocked down 5 triples for 18 points. League MVP TJ Shorts scored 20 points with 7 assists and Jeremy Morgen hit for 15 points and Javontae Hawkins chipped in 11 points.
Göttingen promote assistant Olivier Foucart to head coach for 3 years
BG Göttingen found their replacement as head coach as they promoted previous assistant coach Olivier Foucart and signed the 38-year-old Belgian to a three-year contract. Foucart worked with previous head coach Roel Moors for the last two seasons and will be head coach of a professional team for the first time.
Rostock extend contracts with Held and coaching staff
ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES rewarded the coaching staff of head coach Christian Held and his assistants Ralph Held and Tom Schmidt for the team’s strong debut in the easyCredit BBL by signing the trio to stay for the up-coming 2023-24 season. The trio has worked together since the summer of 2021.
Doreth leaves Bayreuth, easyCredit BBL, joins ProA side Nürnberg Falcons
The easyCredit BBL career of Bastian Doreth is over for at least the time-being as the 34-year-old playmaker left relegated medi bayreuth and signed with second division ProA side Nürnberg Falcons. The former German international point guard played eight years with Bayreuth and appeared in 375 games in Germany’s top flight. Basketball fans were wondering if Doreth would join another first division club, but he said he would like to spend more time with his family. He averaged 35 points and 2.4 assists last season with Bayreuth. Doreth will play for Nürnberg for the first time since 2010.
Würzburg add punch, Livingston from Bayreuth and ProA top scorer Seljaas
Würzburg added some major scoring punch for next season as they signed Otis Livingston and Zachary Seljaas to one-year deals. The 26-year-old point guard Livingston averaged 15.8 points and 5.1 assists last season with medi bayreuth in the easyCredit BBL. The 25-year-old wing Seljaas led the second division ProA in scoring with 16.9 points per game for Tigers Tübingen. The pair joins new additions Max Ugrai and Javon Bess as Würzburg have been active in planning for next season.
Oldenburg sign guard Kyle Foster for two seasons
EWE Baskets Oldenburg made their first addition for the 2023-24 season by signing guard Kyle Foster for two seasons. The 25-year-old arrives in northern Germany after playing in 2022-23 at Chorale Roanne in France - his first season in Europe.
Breunig, Jelks stay with SYNTAINICS MBC, quartet bid farewell
SYNTAINICS MBC continued their efforts to keep a core from last season as they extended their contracts with Martin Breunig and Stephen Jelks. The German big man Breunig averaged 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in his first season with the club. Jelks collected 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds last season. The club already locked up Charles Callison for another season. The Wolfpack did bid farewell to a quartet of players as Mario Ihring, Evans Rapique, Scottie Reynolds and Tremmell Darden will not be with the team next season.
Bamberg make Justin Gray first new addition
Brose Bamberg have made their first new addition for next season as they signed Justin Gray to a one-year contract. The 27-year-old forward arrives for his first stint in Germany after playing last season for GS Lavrio of the Greek league.
Player(s) of the Week(s)
With two games in the Finals, there are two Player of the Week honors to hand out. And neither is a surprise. ratiopharm ulm playmaker Yago Dos Santos collected a 22 efficiency as he scored 19 points on 5-of-13 shots and 5-of-7 free throws along with 7 rebounds and 9 assists. Telekom Baskets Bonn’s Finn Delaney was the top performer in the second game with 23 points on 9-of-13 shots and 1-of-1 free throws to go with 5 rebounds and 2 steals for an efficiency of 25.
Germans Abroad
The German women’s national team on Thursday June 15 will begin their quest for a first medal at the FIBA EuroBasket Women since 1997’s bronze as they tip off play in Group C against superpowers France. Germany also have Great Britain and hosts Slovenia in their group.
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Nachberichte
104:75: Bonn schlägt in beeindruckender Manier zurück und gleicht die Finalserie aus
Nachberichte
Der fünfte Auswärtscoup zum Finalauftakt: Ulm gewinnt 79:73 und beendet die Bonner Siegesserie
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