Basketball Löwen Braunschweig are not going away as Dennis Schröder’s team grabbed their ninth win in the last 10 games to remain in step with the leaders of the league. Speaking of which, table-toppers FC Bayern Munich made a big-name addition by signing German national team point guard Justus Hollatz. And the league has seen another head coach get fired as Telekom Baskets Bonn parted ways with Roel Moors.
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 substack) brings you up-to-date in German basketball – the easyCredit BBL short and sweet:
Braunschweig just keep winning, beat Ludwigsburg for 9th win in last 10
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig showed their current class by rolling past MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 83-69 at home to stay right on the heels of league leaders FC Bayern Munich. Braunschweig raced ahead by 13 points in the first quarter, the lead grew to 15 points in the second frame and Jesus Ramirez’s team was never threatened the rest of the way. Braunschweig have now won 9 of their last 10 games for an 11-5 record while Ludwigsburg are 9-8 after three losses in their last four. Ludwigsburg made just 2 of 26 three-pointers for a nightmare 8 percent shooting. Sananda Fru set a career high with 17 points as Braunschweig’s top scorer while Ferdinand Zylka had 16 points and Arnas Velicka contributed 13 points and 6 assists. Joel Scott (17 points and 13 rebounds) and Yorman XX Polas Bartolo (12/10) both had double-doubles in the loss.
Braunschweig lock up head coach Jesus Ramirez until 2027
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig showed they are fully satisfied with the work of head coach Jesus Ramirez as they extended the Spaniard’s expiring contract until 2027. The 45-year-old has been with Braunschweig since 2021 and been a willing leader of a club looking to give chances to young players and develop them into stars.
Aydinoglu leaves Braunschweig, signs at ProA side Kirchheim
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig have lost one of their youngsters as Gian Aydinoglu left the club and signed with second division ProA side Kirchheim Knights. The 21-year-old had been with Braunschweig for two and a half years after coming from the ALBA BERLIN system. This season, Aydinoglu appeared in 9 Bundesliga games and averaged 1.1 points in 5 minutes and picked up 3.5 points in 6 games in the FIBA Europe Cup.
Ludwigsburg part ways with Grady, sign Pemberton
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg made a move at the guard position as they released Kellen Grady and signed Elijah Pemberton. The 26-year-old Grady played 23 games for Ludwigsburg but leaves after the club decided to bring in the 27-year-old Pemberton, who arrives from Belgian club Limburg United.
Bayern bring in Hollatz until 2028
FC Bayern Munich looked to the future and signed young German point guard Justus Hollatz until 2028. The 23-year-old arrives from Anadolu Efes Istanbul and will only be eligible to play this season in the easyCredit BBL. Hollatz helped his hometown club Veolia Towers Hamburg earn promotion to the Bundesliga before leaving for Spain in 2022 and heading to Türkiye in 2023 for Efes. Hollatz’s presence as a third playmaker was needed urgently after the departure of Yam Madar at the end of November. Hollatz knows Bayern head coach Gordie Herbert as well as many of Bayern’s players from the German national team.
Bayern fend off Bamberg in Hollatz debut
FC Bayern Munich picked up a hard-fought 84-82 victory over Bamberg Baskets to stay atop the league with Justus Hollatz putting together a solid game in his Bayern debut. Bamberg led for most of the first three quarters and Bayern wrestled away control with an 11-2 fourth quarter run and held on. It was Bayern’s fifth win in the last six games for an 11-4 record while Bamberg have dropped four in a row for a 6-10 mark. The stats were very close with Bayern getting 16 second chance points to 12 for Bamberg while hitting 11 three-pointers to 7 for the guests. Carsen Edwards top-scored for Bayern with 17 points and 6 assists, Danko Brankovic had 15 points, Andreas Obst hit 3 three-pointers for 11 points and Hollatz tallied 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in his first game for the league leaders. Noah Locke was Bamberg’s leading scorer with 19 points, KeyShawn Feazell had 15 points and Filip Stanic totaled 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Ulm spoil debut of Bonn’s new head coach, keep pace with leaders
ratiopharm ulm kept pace with the other leaders in the league with an 84-75 victory at home which spoilt the debut of Telekom Baskets Bonn’s new head coach Marko Stankovic. Ulm were ahead the entire second half and built the advantage to 12 points in the final frame. Ulm have improved to 11-5 after four wins in the last five games and Bonn are 8-9 after three straight losses. Ulm shot 59 percent on two-pointers and Bonn made just 42 percent of their two-point attempts. Nelson Weidemann poured in a season-high 19 points, Ben Saraf collected 13 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists and Karim Jallow tallied 13 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Darius McGhee led Bonn with 18 points and Till Pape scored 14 points.
Bonn sack Moors, hand reins to Stankovic
Telekom Baskets Bonn have seen enough and decided to part ways with head coach Roel Moors and fired the Belgian playcaller, handing over the coaching reins to his assistant Marko Stankovic. Moors was brought in to replace the wildly successful Tuomas Iisalo in 2023. The 40-year-old Serbian Stankovic has been with Bonn since June 2022 and served as an assistant under Iisalo and won the 2023 Basketball Champions League crown. Bonn extended Stankovic’s contract until 2027. He will be assisted by Lionel Bosco.
Jaworski, Agbakoko combine for 47 in Oldenburg’s win over Berlin
EWE Baskets Oldenburg just do not lose at home and that trend continued as they knocked off ALBA BERLIN 97-92 at the sold-out EWE Arena in a back-and-forth battle. The game stayed tight throughout with eight points being the biggest lead and there were 13 lead changes and 7 ties. Berlin led 84-83 with more than 6 minutes to go when Oldenburg went on an 8-0 run to establish a seven-point lead and the guests could not get closer than three points the rest of the way. Oldenburg improved to 8-9 after their third win in the last four games - including an 8-1 record at home - and Berlin had won three in a row and now are 7-9. Oldenburg shot 67 percent on two-pointers and scored 23 fast break points. Justin Jaworski hit 5 three-pointers for 25 points, Norris Agbakoko collected a career-high 22 points and 9 rebounds, Len Schoormann added 16 points and Geno Crandall pitched in a double-double of 10 points and 13 assists. David McCormack led Berlin with 21 points and 7 rebounds.
Berlin send point guard Samar on loan to Gran Canaria in Spain
ALBA BERLIN agreed to send point guard Ziga Samar on loan to Spanish side Dreamland Gran Canaria until the end of the season. The 24-year-old Slovenian international has struggled this season to get playing time in Berlin after returning from a long-term injury. Samar will be playing for Gran Canaria’s head coach Jaka Lakovic, who knows the Bundesliga as he coached ratiopharm ulm from 2019 to 2022. He also won the EuroLeague as a player and guided Gran Canaria to the EuroCup title in 2023. Samar signed with Berlin in 2022 and spent his first season on loan at Veolia Towers Hamburg.
Oldenburg release Dossou-Yovo and Nichols
EWE Baskets Oldenburg made two personnel decisions as they released French center Mathis Dossou-Yovo and American guard Ty Nichols. The latter arrived in Oldenburg in December to help make up for the injury absences of guards Geno Crandall and Eli Brooks, who have both returned. Dossou-Yovo did not provide Oldenburg with enough defense and rebounding at the big man position.
Devoe scores 35 points in Wolves' 2nd win over Göttingen in a week
SYNTAINICS MBC defeated BG Göttingen for the second time in seven days - this time with much less drama - as they rolled to a 94-80 victory on the road. Wolves, who needed a buzzer-beater dunk to win last week 93-91 at home, pulled away for good in the second quarter for a 9-8 record with two straight wins after a three-game losing streak. Göttingen could not give new head coach Mikko Riipinen his first victory in his home debut as they fell to 1-14 with seven straight losses. Wolves shot a blistering 55 percent for the game including a white-hot 73 percent on two-pointers. The hosts meanwhile made only 25 percent on three-pointers. Michael Devoe scored a career high 35 points off the bench, Charles Callison had 16 points and 6 assists and Spencer Reaves chipped in 15 points. Tra Holder picked up 23 points as Göttingen’s leading scorer and Demajeo Wiggins added 12 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season.
Hysier Miller added to Weißenfels guard rotation
SYNTAINICS MBC added some guard depth with the signing of Hysier Miller until the end of the season. The 22-year-old has not played this season as he was released from the roster at Virginia Tech University before the season due to his alleged involvement in a gambling scandal involving players at Miller’s previous college Temple University.
Hamburg rally from 16 points down, hand Würzburg third straight loss
Veolia Towers Hamburg continued their solid run of play as they rallied to defeat FIT/One Würzburg Baskets 68-66 at home. Würzburg had a strong second quarter and built a 16-point lead, but they trailed in the third quarter. The rest of the game was close and Kur Kuath gave the hosts the lead 67-66 with 37 seconds to go. Brae Ivey made it 68-66 with 10 seconds left as he split two free throws. Jhivvan Jackson had a chance to tie the game with two free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining but missed both and Hamburg picked up the win. Hamburg held the advantage in second chance points 13-5 and made 13 of 17 free throws to just 7 of 14 for Würzburg. Hamburg have won three of their last four games for a 7-9 record while Würzburg lost their third straight for a 9-7 mark. Jordan Barnett paced Hamburg with 14 points, Kuath picked up 13 points and 10 rebounds and Johnathan Stove added 11 points and 8 rebounds. Jackson finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists to lead Würzburg, Owen Klassen had 11 points and 8 rebounds and Hannes Steinbach tallied 9 points and a career high 13 rebounds.
Vechta starting to find groove, beat Chemnitz for third straight win
RASTA Vechta have put together a three-game winning streak after they comfortably handled NINERS Chemnitz 89-66 at home. Vechta started pulling away in the second half and the game was decided after three quarters. Vechta improve to 9-6 while Chemnitz dropped to 9-7 after seeing their three-game winning streak snapped. Vechta committed only 10 turnovers and hit 53 percent on three-pointers while holding Chemnitz to just 34 percent from the floor and 26 percent from long range. Brandon Randolph paced six Vechta players in double figures with 19 points, Lloyd Pandi and Tyger Campbell both scored 15 points and Joel Aminu and Joschka Ferner both had 12 points. Victor Bailey had 15 points in the loss.
Player of the Week
Michael Devoe was SYNTAINICS MBC’s main weapon and he took home Player of the Week honors for Round 18. He came off the bench against BG Göttingen and poured in 35 points on 12 of 16 shots (including 5/8 threes) and 6 of 7 free throws. He also picked up 4 rebounds and 1 assist for an efficiency of 34. Devoe's career high had been 29 points - against MLP Academics Heidelberg last October.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Justus Hollatz, FC Bayern Munich
Not a bad debut for Hollatz as the point guard tallied 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assist and 3 steals in 20 minutes against Bamberg Baskets.
G: Nelson Weidemann, ratiopharm ulm
Weidemann played a major role in Ulm’s win over Telekom Baskets Bonn with 19 points with 5 three-pointers, 2 rebounds, 2 assist and 3 steals.
F: Hannes Steinbach, FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
Steinbach is putting up some impressive numbers. This week he had 9 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal against Veolia Towers Hamburg.
F: Sanada Fru, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Fru gets his jump up from the Young Guns as he scored a career high 17 points to go with 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocks against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
C: Norris Agbakoko, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Agbakoko is back again this week with a career high 22 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block against ALBA BERLIN.
Young Guns
Martin Kalu, 19, SG, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Kalu has yet to really leave his mark with Braunschweig thus far but he had a solid game against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg. He played 9:33 minutes and had 4 points on 2 of 4 shooting (0/2 threes) to go with 2 rebounds and 1 block.
Ivan Kharchenkov, 18, SG, FC Bayern Munich
Kharchenkov started against Bamberg Baskets and played 6:11 minutes ad went scoreless with 0 shots but contributed 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
Janis Jünemann, 19, C, BG Göttingen
Jünemann played 6:14 minutes against SYNTAINICS MBC and picked up 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 block.
Germans Abroad
Bent Leuchten is spending his fourth season at University of California-Irvine and really has taken another step. The Karlsfeld, Bavaria native, who played at IBAM and Oberhaching Tropics Deisenhofen, is averaging 15.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 blocks. The center had 15 points and 8 rebounds against Cal Poly, which snapped a three-game streak of double-doubles. Leuchten has tallied seven double-doubles, six of them coming in his last nine games since December 19.
