History was made this weekend in Weißenfels with hosts SYNTAINICS MBC claiming their first-ever VIMODROM TOP FOUR title after upsetting FC Bayern Munich in the Semi-Finals and then downing Bamberg Baskets in the Final. Michael Devoe took home the Most Valuable Player award for the new German Cup champions. The highlight of the league action was 21-year-old Sananda Fru scoring a career-high 26 points to help Braunschweig Löwen Braunschweig win again while ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES got some bad news with the top scoring German in the league Robin Amaize going out for the rest of the season with a broken hand.
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:
SYNTAINICS MBC clinch first-ever German Cup title, Michael Devoe named MVP
History was made in Weißenfels as hosts SYNTAINICS MBC clinched their first German title by defeating Bamberg Baskets 97-87 in the final of the VIMODROM TOP FOUR. Wolves, who won the FIBA EuroCup Challenge in 2004, were appearing in their first German Cup final four and knocked off Bamberg after shocking reigning German league and cup champions FC Bayern Munich in the Semi-Finals. Michael Devoe was named Most Valuable Player as he scored 27 points in the final after picking up 22 points and 8 assists in the semis.
Wolves make history, take care of Bamberg for first cup title
The champions of the 2025 VIMODROM TOP FOUR are SYNTAINICS MBC as the event hosts defeated six-time champions Bamberg Baskets 97-87 in the final for their first German Cup trophy. After all the drama in their Semi-Finals showdown with FC Bayern Munich, Wolves led by 11 points after 10 minutes and never allowed Bamberg closer than 9 points the rest of the way. The hosts shot 53 percent for the game including 61 percent on two-pointers and turned 10 offensive rebounds into 17 second chance points. Most Valuable Player winner Michael Devoe scored a game-high 27 points, Martin Breunig had 16 points, Spencer Reaves picked up 14 points and 6 assists and captain Charles Callison contributed 13 points and 6 assists. Ronaldo Segu collected 22 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in the loss with Moritz Krimmer adding 17 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.
Breunig putback in final second wins it for Wolves over Bayern
SYNTAINICS MBC clinched a spot in their first-ever VIMODROME TOP FOUR Final with a thrilling 95-93 victory in front of a packed home crowd thanks to Martin Breunig’s game-winner. Neither team could take control of the game and the biggest lead of the contest was 6 points. There were 23 lead changes and 15 ties and no team was up by more than 3 points in the final 14 minutes. Andi Obst and Michael Devoe traded three-pointers inside the final 106 seconds before Carsen Edwards tied it 93-93 with two free throws with 27 seconds left. On their final possession, Wolves star Devoe missed a jumper but Breunig was there for the offensive rebound and threw it back up and in with 1.0 seconds left for the win. The hosts shot 59 percent for the game including 69 percent on two-pointers and grabbed 6 of their 8 offensive rebounds in the final 8 minutes of the game. Spencer Reaves scored 23 points, Devoe totaled 22 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists and Breunig finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Edwards poured in 23 points, Obst had 17, Vladimir Lucic scored 16 points and Nick Weiler-Babb contributed 9 points and 11 assists in the loss.
Bamberg too much for Frankfurt, reach first cup final since 2019 title
Bamberg Baskets moved one victory from their seventh VIMODROM TOP FOUR title as they defeated SKYLINERS 76-63 to reach their first final since winning the crown in 2019. Bamberg built a 13-point lead and watched Frankfurt get within two points later in the second quarter. The gap was 14 points midway through the third quarter and Frankfurt never challenged the rest of the way. Bamberg took the rebound battle 41-31, committed only 9 turnovers and made 20 of 28 free throws compared to just 8 of 10 from the charity stripe for Frankfurt. Isaiah Watson was Bamberg’s top scorer with 20 points and Keyshawn Feazell and Ronaldo Segu both had 16 points. Jordan Theodore had 14 points, Malik Parsons scored 13 points and David Muenkat picked up 8 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
Sananda Fru career night carries Braunschweig past Hamburg
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig remained hot on the spurs of league leaders FC Bayern Munich as they continued to roll with a 91-79 home victory over Veolia Towers Hamburg thanks to a career night by youngster Sananda Fru. Braunschweig jumped out to an 11-point lead in the first quarter but were trailing in the second period and were down by 11 points in the third frame. The hosts reeled off a 32-11 run spanning the final two quarters to grab their third straight win and 12th in the last 14 games for 14-6 record and second place in the league. Hamburg have dropped two in a row for an 8-11 mark. Braunschweig committed only 10 turnovers and made 39 percent of their three-pointers compared to 28 percent from long range for the guests. The 21-year-old Fru had a career high 26 points and also picked up 10 rebounds. Arnas Velicka totaled 21 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists and Chip Flanigan contributed 11 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. Jordan Barnett (22 points and 11 rebounds) and Kur Kuath (15 and 14) both had double-doubles in the loss.
Callison's buzzer-beater, Reaves' 33 points lead Wolves past Vechta
SYNTAINICS MBC won the dress rehearsal for the VIMODROM TOP FOUR at home as they defeated RASTA Vechta 91-83 - including snatching the tiebreaker with a halfcourt buzzer beater. Weißenfels almost gave away a 19-point cushion as Vechta pulled within 3 points in the final minute. The hosts regained controlled and ended the game on a Charles Callison three-pointer off the glass from mid-court at the buzzer. Wolves improved to 10-10 in snapping a two-game skid. Vechta were coming off a second shocking win over Bayern this season but could not make it four wins in five games and dropped to 11-8. SYNTAINICS MBC committed only 8 turnovers and held Vechta to just 29 percent on three-pointers. Spencer Reaves poured in a career-high 33 points while Tyren Johnson and Martin Breunig combined for 35 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists. Brandon Randolph scored 20 points in the loss.
Würzburg snap 5-game losing streak with OT win over Bamberg
FIT/One Würzburg Baskets snapped a five-game losing streak by winning an overtime thriller, 98-93 on the road over Bamberg Baskets, who suffered a mental downer ahead of the VIMODROM TOP FOUR. The game was tight throughout with 6 points being the biggest lead and the game including 14 lead changes and 19 ties. Ronaldo Segu sent the game to overtime with his jumper with 9 seconds left. The game was knotted 93-93 in overtime when Tyrese Williams drained a three-pointer with 26 seconds to go, and Jhivvan Jackson secured the victory with two free throws with 10 seconds left. Würzburg moved to 10-9 and Bamberg saw their two game winning streak end for an 8-11 record. Würzburg won the rebound battle 51-38 for a 23-9 advantage in second chance points. Jackson flirted with a triple-double as had 25 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists while Mike Lewis scored 10 points, Hannes Steinbach added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Owen Klassen tallied 5 points and 14 rebounds. Segu finished with an impressive double-double of 18 points and 12 assists, Noah Locke scored 17 points and Filip Stanic chipped in 9 points and 10 rebounds in the defeat.
Berlin pick up important win over Rostock in playoffs fight
ALBA BERLIN grabbed an important win in their fight to reach the playoffs by defeating ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES 78-71 at home. Rostock led for most of the first 25 minutes - by as many as 9 points - but Berlin took the lead for good in the third quarter and increased the gap to 9 points in the final frame. Berlin have won two straight and five of the last seven games for a 9-10 record while Rostock saw their three-game win streak snapped for a 10-9 mark. Rostock shot just 36 percent for the game while Berlin made 46 percent of their shots. Matt Thomas had 18 points to lead Berlin with Yanni Wetzell adding 15 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. JeQuan Lewis scored 23 points with 5 assists in the loss.
Rostock lose Amaize for rest of season with broken hand
ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES’ hopes of reaching the playoffs took a big hit as the club announced that team captain Robin Amaize would miss the remainder of the season with a broken hand. Amaize, who was the top German scorer in the league with 14.7 points per game, suffered the injury in the team’s win over FIT/One Würzburg Baskets.
Bayern with no trouble in comfortable win over Frankfurt
FC Bayern Munich had no trouble in their final game before the VIMODROM TOP FOUR as they cruised past SKYLINERS 70-56 at home. Bayern, who were coming off a surprising loss to RASTA Vechta, took the middle two quarters 48-22 to blow the game open and move to 13-5 with four wins in the last five games while Frankfurt fell to 5-13 in seeing their two-game win streak snapped. Frankfurt were held to just 39 percent shooting and committed 21 turnovers. Carsen Edwards led Bayern with 10 points and Oscar da Silva scored 9 points with 5 rebounds. Malik Parsons was Frankfurt’s top scorer with 13 points.
Ulm keep pace with league leaders, Göttingen losing skid to 10 games
ratiopharm ulm kept pace with the leaders in the league with a convincing 91-72 road victory over last-placed BG Göttingen. Ulm took the first quarter 26-15 and never looked back in moving to 13-6 with their third win in the last four games. Göttingen have now dropped 10 straight games for a 1-17 mark and go into the FIBA break looking for answers on how to make up a four-win deficit to 16th-placed SKYLINERS. Ulm forced 20 Göttingen turnovers and held the hosts to 42 percent shooting. Marcio Santos, Ben Saraf and Justinian Jessup all scored 14 points while Noa Essengue and Nelson Weidemann both tallied 12 points. Tra Holder scored 20 points with 6 assists and Demajeo Wiggins added 12 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.
Chemnitz fight past Heidelberg, go into FIBA break with victory
NINERS Chemnitz nearly wasted a 15-point lead but fended off MLP Academics Heidelberg 72-65 at home for an important victory in the battle for the playoffs. The hosts led by 15 points in the second quarter and the gap was back to 14 points with 6 minutes left. Heidelberg used a 12-2 run to make things interesting but Olivier Nkamhoua made three big plays down the stretch for the win. Chemnitz improved to 11-8 with their fifth win in the last seven games. Heidelberg have dropped four of the last five and fell to 10-8. Nkamhoua finished with a team-high 16 points and Jeff Garrett added a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Osun Osunniyi paced the guests with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Ludwigsburg go into break with win, keep Bonn reeling
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg go into the FIBA break on a high after defeating Telekom Baskets Bonn 81-61 at home and keeping the guests reeling. Ludwigsburg led by 10 points after 10 minutes and the cushion grew to 23 at halftime as Ludwigsburg moved to 11-9, alternating wins and losses in the last six games. Bonn fell to 15th with their fifth straight loss for an 8-11 record. Ludwigsburg committed only 8 turnovers and held Bonn to just 31 percent shooting, including 19 percent from long range. Joel Scott had 17 points to lead Ludwigsburg while Justin Simon collected 16 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists and Ezra Manjon contributed 15 points. Sam Griesel was Bonn’s only scorer in double figures with 14 points.
Player of the Week
What a performance by Basketball Löwen Braunschweig’s 21-year-old power forward Sananda Fru, who takes home the Round 21 Player of the Week honor for his showing in the team’s win over Veolia Towers Hamburg. Fru scored a career high 26 points on 10 of 16 shooting (2/3 threes) and 4 of 4 free throws while also picking up 10 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block for an efficiency of 31.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Nelson Weidemann, ratiopharm ulm
Weidemann drained 4 three-pointers for 12 points to go with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in a win over BG Göttingen.
F: Louis Olinde, ALBA BERLIN
Olinde collected 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block in a win over ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES.
F: Hannes Steinbach, FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
Steinbach is becoming a regular here as he picked up his fifth double-double in the last six games with 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks in an overtime win over Bamberg Baskets.
F: Sananda Fru, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Fru had a game for the ages against Veolia Towers Hamburg with a career high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
C: Martin Breunig, SYNTAINICS MBC
Breunig gave himself some confidence going into the VIMODROM TOP FOUR as he tallied 17 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in a win over RASTA Vechta.
Young Guns
Johann Grünloh, 19, C, RASTA Vechta
Grünloh scored 11 points on 5 of 12 (1/8 threes) 0 of 2 free throws with 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 26:40 minutes in a loss to SYNTAINICS MBC.
Ivan Kharchenkov, 18, SG, FC Bayern Munich
Kharchenkov played 23:14 minutes versus SKYLINERS and had 8 points on 4 of 11 (0/5 threes) shooting, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 1 block.
Jaime Edoka, 17, SG, SKYLINERS
Edoka was the beneficiary of personnel concerns for Frankfurt as the 17-year-old made his Bundesliga debut against FC Bayern Munich and played 23:09 minutes and had 0 points on 0 of 3 shots but contributed 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal.
Germans Abroad
Rikus Schulte is spending his second season in college basketball in the Untied States and the former ALBA BERLIN talent has had a couple of solid games of late for University of California at Riverside. Schulte, who was with Davidson College last season, had 10 points and 4 rebounds in Riverside’s loss to UC Davis, against whom the forward collected 10 points and 5 rebounds in late January.
