Reigning champions FC Bayern Munich needed a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Shabazz Napier to survive SYNTAINICS MBC in the most dramatic game of the week. The biggest game in terms of standings saw third placed Basketball Löwen Braunschweig beat fourth placed MLP Academics Heidelberg comfortably while FIT/One Würzburg Baskets have jumped to fourth place with two victories. In off-court news, SKYLINERS announced they will be keeping Klaus Perwas as head coach.
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 (Taking The Charge) brings you up-to-date in German basketball – the easyCredit BBL short and sweet:
Napier buzzer three saves Bayern against Wolves
FC Bayern Munich needed a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Shabazz Napier to fight past SYNTAINICS MBC 90-88 at home in bouncing back from their loss at Veolia Towers Hamburg. The guests dominated the first half and led by as many as 19 points, and the advantage was still 12 points after three quarters. Bayern fought their way back into the game, which had seven lead changes in the final 102 seconds - the last one being the game-winner triple in the left corner by Napier. The win left Bayern at 21-8 atop the league while Weißenfels fell to eighth with a 15-13 mark. Napier finished with 21 points and Vladimir Lucic scored 20 points for the winners. Tyren Johnson led all scorers with 25 points in a losing effort.
Balanced Braunschweig shut down Heidelberg in big win, grab tiebreaker
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig earned a crucial victory in their fight for home court advantage in the playoffs by knocking off MLP Academics Heidelberg 94-74 on the road to pass Heidelberg for third place. Braunschweig pulled away in the second quarter and never let the hosts really threaten the rest of the way for a 17-11 record. Tre Mitchell scored 15 points and Sananda Fru had 13 points and 11 rebounds to pace six players in double figures for Braunschweig, who had dropped their last four road games. Heidelberg had won their last six home games but fell to 16-12. Braunschweig also grabbed the tiebreaker over Heidelberg after losing by seven points earlier in the season in Heidelberg.
Würzburg streak to fifth straight win, fourth place in standings
FIT/One Würzburg Baskets are getting hot at the right time and jumped to fourth place in the standings after beating Telekom Baskets Bonn 83-75 at home for their fifth straight win. Bonn were leading by 15 points in the second quarter but were down in the third frame and fell behind by as many as 14 in the fourth quarter. Würzburg have a 17-12 record and collected a 17-point win over Basketball Löwen Braunschweig in Round 8 in November and face the current third placed team in the final round of the season on May 11. Bonn have dropped three of four games for a 13-16 mark. Aubrey Dawkins scored 17 points coming off the bench with the reserves pouring in 46 points. Thomas Kennedy tallied a 12-point, 13-rebound double-double at the other end.
Short-handed Würzburg slow down Berlin push, extend own win streak to 4 games
FIT/One Würzburg fought off missing two key players to slow down ALBA BERLIN 70-69 at home in a Round 11 make-up and extend their winning streak to four games. The game was close throughout with six points being the biggest lead of the contest, which saw 18 lead changes and 5 ties. The hosts - who were missing MVP candidate Jhivvan Jackson and Owen Klassen - went scoreless for more than 3 minutes and watched Berlin knot the game 69-69 before Davion Mintz made 1 of 2 free throws with 1.6 seconds left to win it. Würzburg improved to 16-12 while Berlin fell to 15-14 after seeing their own four-game win streak snapped. Mike Lewis poured in 22 points and Mintz finished with 20 points in the win while Würzburg held Berlin’s starters to 30 points.
Second quarter carries Berlin past Chemnitz in bounce back
ALBA BERLIN remained hot on the heels of the teams in the playoffs ranks by bouncing back from a mid-week loss with a comfortable 103-81 road victory over NINERS Chemnitz. Berlin blew the game wide open with a massive 35-4 second quarter to improve to 16-14 in 10th place after a fifth win in the last six games. Berlin’s 16 wins are just one fewer than the third and fourth placed teams. Chemnitz have lost three in a row and fell to seventh place at 15-13. Yanni Wetzell led the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds for Berlin.
Ferner buzzer-beater snaps Vechta losing skid at 6 games
RASTA Vechta have new life in their push for the post-season as they fought off SKYLINERS 75-74 on the road, thanks to Joschka Ferner’s buzzer-beater to snap a six-game losing streak. Vechta led by 11 points for stretches of the game but found themselves down 9 points with 4 minutes left. But Brandon Randolph scored 8 points in a 12-2 run to take the lead inside the final minute. After Frankfurt reclaimed the lead, the game was decided by Ferner’s jumper at the final buzzer from just inside the free throw line. Vechta improved to 15-14 in 11th place while Frankfurt have lost three in a row for an 8-21 record. Randolph poured in 25 points and Tyger Campbell added 18 points in the win. Frankfurt wasted David Muenkat’s 11-point, 16-rebound double-double.
Frankfurt will keep Perwas as head coach, playcaller to leave DBB
SKYLINERS have decided to keep Klaus Perwas as head coach after this season and gave him an open-ended contract. The 54-year-old Perwas took over the Frankfurt club on an interim basis after the firing of Denis Wucherer in March. But Frankfurt announced they will not bring in another coach for next season. Perwas will give up his position as assistant coach with the German national team this summer. He was part of the Germany team that won the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 title.
Ludwigsburg snap Hamburg’s 5-game winning streak
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg remained alive in the fight for the play-ins as they grabbed an 89-78 victory at home over Veolia Towers Hamburg to snap the guests’ five-game winning streak. Ludwigsburg surged ahead by 14 points in the second quarter and were never seriously threatened the rest of the way to move to 12th place at 14-14 after two straight wins. Hamburg fell to 15-13 in ninth place. Hunter Maldonado scored 24 points, Joel Scott had 20 points and Justin Simon flirted with a triple-double with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
Oldenburg remain force at home, slow down red-hot Rostock
EWE Baskets Oldenburg once again used their strong play at home to stay in the running for the play-ins by beating ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES 92-79 to end a five-game losing streak. Oldenburg led for most of the first half but broke the game open in the third quarter to move to 13-16, including 11-3 at home. Rostock saw their five-game winning steak end and held onto sixth place with a 16-13 record. Justin Jaworski scored 21 points and Len Schoorman had 19 points while Geno Crandall (13 points, 11 assists) and Norris Agbakoko (13 points, 14 rebounds) both had double-doubles.
Bamberg lose second time to Göttingen - eliminated from play-ins
BG Göttingen have finally won again - and their second victory of the season is also against Bamberg Baskets, who are eliminated from the play-ins after a 101-92 road loss. Göttingen took control of the game with a 29-14 third quarter for a 2-26 record and ended a 19-game losing skid. Bamberg fell to 10-18 with a six-game losing streak - the longest current drought in the league. Kostja Mushidi paced five Göttingen players in double figures with 22 points and Chuba Ohams had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ronaldo Segu scored 23 points and Filip Stanic collected 19 points and 12 rebounds in the loss.
Player of the Week
Yanni Wetzell of ALBA BERLIN grabs Player of the Week honors for Round 30 for his big performance in a win over NINERS Chemnitz. The Berlin big man scored 19 points on 7 of 10 shots and 5 of 6 free throws to go with 10 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block for an efficiency of 27.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Len Schoormann, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Schoormann poured in 19 points to go with 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in a big win over ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES.
F: Kostja Mushidi, BG Göttingen
Mushidi had another big game with 22 points with 5 three-pointers, 6 rebounds and 1 assists against Bamberg Baskets.
F: Brandon Tischler, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
Tischler had one of his best all-around games of the season with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block against Veolia Towers Hamburg.
F: Sananda Fru, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Fru came up with a big double-double, collecting 13 points, 11 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block in a blowout win over MLP Academics Heidelberg.
C: Filip Stanic, Bamberg Baskets
Stanic did all he could but his 19 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block were not enough in a loss to BG Göttingen.
Young Guns
Hannes Steinbach, 18, PF, FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
Steinbach deserved major consideration for the Top Five but the teenager slots in under the Young Guns. He scored 8 points on 2 of 5 shooting and 4 of 4 free throws to go with 10 rebounds and 1 steal in the win over ALBA BERLIN. And Steinbach collected 12 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 1 block off the bench against Telekom Baskets Bonn.
Janis Jünemann, 19, C, BG Göttingen
Jünemann played a solid role in Göttingen beating Bamberg Baskets as he started and played 13:41 minutes while collecting 4 points on 2 of 3 shots, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
Adrian Petkovic, 20, PG, Bamberg Baskets
Petkovic played 12:40 minutes versus BG Göttingen and scored 2 points on 2 of 3 free throws as he missed all four of his field goal attempts. He also picked up 3 rebounds and 2 assists.
Germans Abroad
Three of the four Germans left in the NBA playoffs are on the brink of elimination in the first round while Isaiah Hartenstein and the Oklahoma City Thunder have already booked their ticket into the second round. Hartenstein averaged 9.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals in the Thunder’s 4-0 sweep of the Memphis Grizzlies. Franz Wagner’s 26.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists have only gotten the Orlando Magic one win in four games against the Boston Celtics while Tristan da Silva has only played 1 minute in the series. Dennis Schröder meanwhile has collected 13.0 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists but the Detroit Pistons trail 3-1 against the New York Knicks.
