This week saw the league’s two EuroLeague clubs - FC Bayern Munich and ALBA BERLIN - do battle and Bayern had too much firepower in an overtime win at home. Basketball Löwen Braunschweig looked like it took a setback against RASTA Vechta but then blasted Vechta four days later for revenge - and stay right among the leaders. Round 19 also saw EWE Baskets Oldenburg finally pick up a road victory as the last team in the league.
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 (takingthecharge.substack.com) brings you up-to-date in German basketball – the easyCredit BBL short and sweet:
Bayern prove too much in OT win over ALBA, Booker leaves injured
FC Bayern Munich defended first place in the league as they defeated ALBA BERLIN 99-86 at home in overtime - the third matchup between the EuroLeague teams since January 5. Berlin, who rallied from 19 points down to win at home early in 2025, led more of the game and were ahead 54-45 when Bayern went on a 17-0 run to lead 62-54. Berlin took the lead 77-76 with 74 seconds to go before Carsen Edwards and Nick Weiler-Babb scored for a three-point Bayern advantage. Will McDowell-White hit a triple with 17 seconds remaining to force overtime, where Bayern pulled away with a 13-2 close to the game. Bayern are now 12-4 while Berlin have dropped two straight for a 7-10 record. Bayern ended up taking 12 more shots thanks to a 14-9 advantage in offensive rebounds and 5 fewer turnovers. Edwards had one of his hot scoring nights with 30 points including 6 three-pointers while Andreas Obst scored 14 points and both Devin Booker and Oscar da Silva added 11 points. Bayern’s victory had the bitter aftertaste of Booker going down with a knee injury. McDowell-White collected 23 points and Tim Schneider scored 20 points for Berlin.
Vechta stop Braunschweig for fourth straight win
RASTA Vechta put a stop to the hottest team in the league as they defeated Basketball Löwen Braunschweig 91-88 at home in a Round 3 make-up game for their fourth straight victory. Vechta raced ahead by 13 points in the third quarter and temporarily were up by just two points with 6 minutes to go. The lead was 10 points with 103 seconds and the hosts held on to move to 10-6 with eight wins in the last 10 games. Braunschweig dropped to 11-6 after having won nine of the last 10 games. Braunschweig shot just 25 percent on three-pointers. Tyger Campbell carried Vechta with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Jayden Gardner had 17 points and 8 rebounds and Brandon Randolph chipped in 15 points. TJ Crockett came off the Braunschweig bench for 20 points, Tre Mitchell had 19 points and Barra Njie collected 15 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.
Braunschweig bash Vechta at home four days after losing on road
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig needed to wait only four days to get their revenge as they blasted past RASTA Vechta 103-70 at home. Braunschweig took the first quarter 29-13 and led 60-28 at the break. Braunschweig have now won 10 of their last 12 games for a 12-6 record and Vechta saw their four game winning streak snapped for a 10-7 mark. Braunschweig committed only 7 turnovers and held Vechta to just 25 percent on three-pointers. Ferdinand Zylka hit 5 three-pointers for 24 points, Arnas Velicka flirted with a triple-double as he tallied 18 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists and Sanada Fru picked up 15 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks. Brandon Randolph scored 19 points in the loss.
Oldenburg finally win first road game in Jaworski, Jackson shootout
EWE Baskets Oldenburg finally tasted success on the road as they won an offensive spectacle at FIT/One Würzburg Baskets 112-102 as Justin Jaworski and Jhivvan Jackson put on a great shootout. Oldenburg surged ahead by 14 points in the second quarter while Würzburg fought back to within 1 point with 77 minutes to go. But Oldenburg used a 9-0 spurt to finally win away from home for a 9-9 record. Würzburg dropped to 9-8 after their fourth straight loss. Oldenburg made 16 three-pointers at a 57 percent clip and also shot 57 percent for the game. Würzburg head coach Sasa Filipowski was ejected just before the halftime with a second technical foul. Jaworski scored 31 points, Artur Konotsuk had 23 points, Eli Brooks picked up 16 points and 8 assists and Geno Crandall chipped in 7 points and 13 assists. Jackson tallied 33 points, Aubrey Dawkins scored 17 points and 18-year-old prospect Hannes Steinbach added 16 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.
Career-high 32 points for Amaize lead Rostock past Heidelberg
ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES kept up their recent momentum as they defeated MLP Academics Heidelberg 88-82 at home thanks to a career night from Robin Amaize. Rostock held an 11-point lead late in the third quarter but trailed by three points in the final frame. The hosts responded with a 12-2 spurt and carried it to their fifth win in the last six games for a 9-8 record. Heidelberg have lost three in a row and are now 9-7. Rostock hit 15 three-pointers at 50 percent and the guests made just 34 percent from long range. Amaize buried a career high 6 three-pointers in scoring a career high 32 points while D’Shawn Schwartz had 18 points and 9 rebounds and JeQuan Lewis added 13 points. Alex Barcello led Heidelberg with 21 points and Michael Weathers tallied 14 points in the loss.
Ludwigsburg in good hands with assistant Masell, beat Ulm at home
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg tied a season-high in scoring as they beat ratiopharm ulm 92-71 at home without head coach John Patrick. Ludwigsburg was being coached by assistant Lars Masell as Patrick was at home sick. Masell however admitted during his mid-game TV interview that Patrick had called the team on the phone during the halftime to give them instructions. The hosts took control of the game with a 22-5 run spanning the first two quarters and never were threatened the rest of the way. Ludwigsburg have won two of three games for a 10-8 record with Ulm down to 11-6 after two losses in the last three games. Ludwigsburg committed only 11 turnovers compared to 18 for Ulm while shooting 65 percent on two-pointers. Ezra Manjon was Ludwigsburg’s top scorer with 24 points and Hunter Maldonado had 13 points. Karim Jallow tallied 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the loss
Hamburg roll on, hand Göttingen eighth straight loss
Veolia Towers Hamburg remained on a roll as they took down BG Göttingen 91-82 at home to hand the guests their eighth straight loss. Hamburg claimed the middle two quarters 54-34 to gain control of the game and move to 8-9 with a fourth win in the last five games. Göttingen have lost their first three games under new head coach Mikko Riipinen for a 1-15 record. Hamburg out-rebounded Göttingen 41-31 including a 17-7 advantage in offensive rebounds for 19 second chance points to 5 for Hamburg. Kur Kuath led Hamburg with 16 points, Jaizec Lottie picked up 14 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists and Kenneth Ogbe added 14 points. Deion Hammond poured in 30 points and Demajeo Wiggins had 9 points and 14 rebounds, but they were not enough.
Bamberg dominate Weißenfels in matchup of German Cup semi-finalists
Bamberg Baskets snapped a four-game losing streak by knocking off SYNTAINICS MBC 87-69 at home in a showdown of teams preparing for the up-coming VIMODROM TOP FOUR German Cup. Bamberg took the second quarter 25-14 to lead by 18 points at halftime and never looked back to move to 7-10. Wolves had won two straight but fell to 9-9. Bamberg committed only 7 turnovers and made 64 percent on two-pointers. Ronaldo Segu paced the winners with 21 points and 7 assists and Filip Stanic had 18 points and 9 rebounds. Ivan Tkachenko scored 16 points with 7 rebounds to lead the guests.
Chemnitz fight past Bonn for first road win since October
NINERS Chemnitz kept pace with the leaders in the league as they won a back-and-forth battle with Telekom Baskets Bonn 84-80 for their first road victory since late October. The game was close throughout with 19 lead changes and 8 ties and seven points being the biggest lead. Bonn were up 70-63 early in the fourth quarter before Chemnitz rallied and the game went back and fourth in the final minutes. Darius McGhee gave Bonn the lead 80-79 with 29 seconds left only to see Victor Bailey bury a three-pointer at the other end and Olivier Nkamhoua secured the win with a last second layup. Chemnitz have won four of five games for a 10-7 record and Bonn have lost four consecutive games to drop to 8-10 - and six games in a row in all competitions. Chemnitz held Bonn to just 44 percent shooting including 27 percent from long range. The win was overshadowed by the injury to Aher Uguak, who could miss the remainder of the season for Chemnitz. Bailey finished with 18 points for the winners while Nkamhoua and Will Christmas both scored 15 points. McGhee had 15 points and Bodie Hume added 14 points in the losing effort.
Player of the Week
Round 19’s top player is Robin Amaize who takes Player of the Week honors for his performance in ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES’ win over MLP Academics Heidelberg. The German forward scored a career-high 32 points on 8 of 11 shots - including a career-best 6 three-pointers - and 10 of 11 free throws to go with 5 rebounds and 1 turnover for an efficiency of 32.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Ferdinand Zylka, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Zylka collected 15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in the Round 3 loss to RASTA Vechta and then had 24 points, 5 three-pointers 3 rebounds and 4 assists in the second game against Vechta in the week.
F: Kenneth Ogbe, Veolia Towers Hamburg
Ogbe had a strong game against BG Göttingen with 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block.
F: Hannes Steinbach, FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
Steinbach continued his fantastic run with 16 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block in a loss to EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
F: Tim Schneider, ALBA BERLIN
Schneider drained 4 three-pointers in scoring 20 points to go with 4 rebounds and 2 assists in a loss to FC Bayern Munich.
C: Filip Stanic, Bamberg Baskets
Stanic tallied 18 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block in a win over SYNTAINICS MBC.
Young Guns
Sananda Fru, 21, PF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Fru started against RASTA Vechta in the Round 3 makeup game and played 23:57 minutes during which he scored 12 points on 5 of 7 (0/1 threes) shooting and 2 of 2 free throws to go with 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. In the second game of the week against Vechta, the youngster had monster performance with 15 points, 11 rebounds 1 assist, 2 steals and 4 blocks in 22:49 minutes.
Adrian Petkovic, 20, PG, Bamberg Baskets
Petkovic played a major role in just his fourth game in the Bundesliga with 4 points on 1 of 2 three-pointers and 1 of 2 free throws, 3 rebounds and 5 assists in 15:08 minutes. Petkovic set new career highs in rebounds and assists.
Fabian Giessmann, 19, PF, Veolia Towers Hamburg
Giessmann continues to make strides in his switch from 3x3 basketball as he played 14:32 minutes versus BG Göttingen and scored 6 points on 3 of 3 shots and 0 of 2 free throws while also picking up 3 rebounds and 1 block.
Germans Abroad
Daniel Helterfhoff is spending his first season at University of South Carolina Upstate and had a strong past week. He had 10 points and 5 rebounds against Charleston Southern and then picked up 7 points and 5 rebounds versus Radford. For the season, the Cologne native is averaging 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds. Helterfhoff went to Urspringschule and played for FC Bayern Munich in the NBBL in 2021-22. He also competed for Germany at the FIBA U18 European Challengers 2021. Helterfhoff spent his first two collegiate seasons at Our Lady of the Lake in Texas.
