Berlin hand Vechta first loss / Wolfpack only winless team / Ulm still perfect

ALBA BERLIN stopped the fairytale start to the the season for RASTA Vechta by handing the promoted side their first loss of the season. After Baskets Bamberg and MLP Academics Heidelberg picked up their first wins, SYNTAINICS MBC are the only team left without a victory. And reigning champions ratiopharm ulm are the only perfect 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:

Balanced Berlin hand Vechta first loss of the season

ALBA BERLIN handed RASTA Vechta their first loss of the season with a 98-80 blowout home win. Vechta, who won their first five games this season, dominated early and led by 17 points only to watch Berlin take over with a 32-17 second quarter and the game wasn’t close the rest of the way and both teams moved to 3-1. Berlin committed only 9 turnovers and forced 17 Vechta miscues while shooting 52.1 percent from the field. The hosts also made 14-of-18 free throws compared 3-of-5 for Vechta. Matteo Spagnolo paced five Berlin players in double figures with 18 points and 5 assists, Tim Schneider scored 15 points and Justin Bean added 14 points. Tommy Kuhse was strong once again for Vechta with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and Joel Aminu added 13 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists in the loss.

Ulm blow out Hamburg on road to remain perfect

ratiopharm ulm remained the only undefeated team in the easyCredit BBL as the reigning champions blew away Veolia Towers Hamburg 94-78 on the road. Ulm did not waste much time with a 30-12 lead after 10 minutes and never looked back for a 4-0 record and Hamburg lost their third straight for a 1-3 mark. Ulm shot 58.3 percent for the game including 67.7 percent on two-pointers. Dakota Mathias poured in 22 points for Ulm, who also had Trevion Williams pick up 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks and Karim Jallow added 13 points. Aleksander Dziewa was Hamburg’s main weapon with 24 points and Aljami Durham added 19 points.

19 offensive rebounds help Bamberg to first victory, Wolfpack only winless

Brose Bamberg collected their first victory off the easyCredit BBL season as they downed SYNTAINICS MBC 94-86 on the road, leaving the hosts as the only winless team in the league. Bamburg took control of the game with a 33-21 second quarter to move to 1-2 and the hosts fell to 0-4. Bamberg controlled the boards 44-30 with 19 offensive rebounds which led to a 14-2 advantage in second chance points. Zach Copeland poured in 20 points off the Bamberg bench to lead the team followed by EJ Onu with 19 points and Justin Gray added 16 points and 8 rebounds. Kostja Mushidi was the Wolfpack’s top scorer with 20 points and Chris-Ebou Ndow had 15 points and 9 rebounds.

Heidelberg fend off Tübingen on the road for first victory

MLP Academics Heidelberg finally joined the winning column as they defeated Tigers Tübingen 94-84 on the road. Heidelberg led by double figures at the break and were up by 17 points late in the third quarter. The guests allowed Tübingen to get within 4 points before winning for a 1-3 record, which is Tübingen’s mark as well. The hosts shot just 41.1 percent for the game and Heidelberg made 48.2 percent for long range. Mike McGuirl flirted with a triple-double with 17 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists and Tim Coleman added 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks. Jhivvan Jackson led all scorers with 26 points and Erol Ersek and Mateo Seric both had 11 points in the loss.

Bonn beat Ludwigsburg a second time in a week

Telekom Baskets Bonn locked up their second victory over MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg within a week, winning 91-86 on the road after beating Ludwigsburg in the BBL German Cup. Bonn never trailed the game and led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter and it was a 14-point advantage early in the fourth quarter. Ludwigsburg pulled within 2 points in the waning seconds but Harald Frey made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 4 seconds to secure the win. Bonn have won two straight games for a 2-2 record and Ludwigsburg are 1-2. Bonn committed only 10 turnovers and shot 53.3 percent for the game. Frey finished with 24 points - including 11-of-12 free throws - and Brian Fobbs scored 16 points off the bench for Bonn. Deion Hammond led Ludwigsburg with 17 points and Desure Buie had 14 points and 8 assists.

Oldenburg down Rostock for third straight win

EWE Baskets Oldenburg grabbed their third straight win as they defeated ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES 94-89 at home. Oldenburg built a 17-point lead in the first quarter but were then trailing in the second quarter. The rest of the game was close until Oldenburg tallied the final 5 points in the last 80 seconds. Oldenburg are now 3-1 and Rostock fell to 1-2. Rostock shot just 42.4 percent for the game, including 26.7 percent from long range. DeWayne Russell paced Oldenburg with 24 points and 5 assists and Brekkott Chapman and Max DiLeo scored a career-high 17 points. Derrick Alston was Rostock’s leading scorer with 19 points off the bench and Tyler Nelson had 18 points and 6 assists.

Würzburg collect first home win, use late run to down Braunschweig

Würzburg Baskets collected their first home victory of the season as they downed Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 84-76. Braunschweig led nearly the entire first half - by as many as 9 points but Würzburg never trailed in the final 20 minutes. They lost an 11-point lead and then used a 10-0 run in the final frame to take control and move to 2-1 while Braunschweig fell to 2-2. Würzburg committed only 7 turnovers and made 42.9 percent from long range compared to 29.6 percent on three-pointers for Braunschweig. Isaiah Washington was Würzburg’s top scorer with 19 points and Otis Livingston picked up 17 points and 7 assists. Nicholas Tischler tied a career high with 18 points and had 9 rebounds and TJ Crockett added 18 points.

Yebo, Garrett double-doubles carry Chemnitz past Göttingen

NINERS Chemnitz moved their winning streak to three games as they defeated BG Göttingen 77-63 at home. The first 30 minutes were close and then Chemnitz reeled off a 13-2 run spanning the final two quarters and moved to 3-1 and Göttingen dropped to 1-1. Chemnitz shot 65.5 percent on two-pointers and held Göttingen to just 11.5 percent from long range. Jonas Richter paced Chemnitz with 17 points, Kevin Yebo came off the bench for 16 points and 10 rebounds and Jeff Garrett added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Deondre Burns scored 13 points with 5 assists in the loss.

Bayern rotate but roll past Crailsheim

FC Bayern Munich rotated their players but still had an easy time of beating HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim 97-62 on the road. Bayern led almost the entire game and took the fourth quarter 32-15 for a 3-1 record and Crailsheim are now 1-3. Bayern crashed the glass with 38 rebounds to 23 for Crailsheim and the hosts shot just 40.0 percent from the field. Sylvain Francisco came off the bench for 16 points and 5 assists for Bayern with Danko Brankovic scoring 16 points and the starting five totalled 35 points. Brandon Childress scored 16 points for Crailsheim.

Player of the Week

The Player of the Week goes to Jhivvan Jackson of Tigers Tübingen, who picked up an efficiency of 26 as he scored 26 points on 8-of-18 shots and 7-of-9 free throws to go with 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals against MLP Academics Heidelberg.

German Top Five of the Week

G: Max DiLeo, EWE Baskets Oldenburg

DiLeo scored a career-high 17 points including 3 three-pointers to go with 1 rebound, 1 steal and 2 blocks against ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES.

G: Kostja Mushidi, SYNTAINICS MBC

Mushidi poured in 20 points and added 4 rebounds and 5 assists in the loss to Baskets Bamberg.

F: Nicholas Tischler, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig

Tischler starred in Braunschweig’s loss to Würzburg Baskets with 18 points in back-to-back games and added 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.

F: Jonas Richter, NINERS Chemnitz

While Kevin Yebo had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Richter scored 17 points to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists.

C: Till Pape, Telkom Baskets Bonn

Pape contributed 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in a win over MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.

Young Guns

Johann Grünloh, 18, C, RASTA Vechta

Grünloh started against ALBA BERLIN and picked up 8 points on 4-of-4 shots to go with 2 rebounds and 2 blocks in 23:04 minutes.

Timo Lanmüller, 22, PG, Tigers Tübingen

Lanmüller started for Tübingen against MLP Academics Heidelberg and picked up 7 points on 3-of-5 shots and 1-of-2 threes, 3 rebounds and 2 assists in 19:27 minutes.

Sananda Fru, 20, PF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig

Fru scored 6 points on 2-of-4 shots and 2-of-2 free throws to go with 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block in 19:36 minutes against Würzburg Baskets.

Germans Abroad

Mahir Agva got the better of the showdown with fellow German Ismet Akpinar in Petkim’s 76-74 win over Galatasaray. Agva had 6 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist and Akpinar picked up 2 points and 1 steal. Agva has averaged 3.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists.