ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES pulled off the surprise of the easyCredit BBL season thus far by beating FC Bayern Basketball for the first time and handing the league leaders their first loss of the season. This week of action also saw Telekom Baskets Bonn down ALBA BERLIN while SYNTAINICS MBC grabbed their fourth straight win.
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:
Rostock shock Bayern at home, give league leaders first loss of season
ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES handed FC Bayern Basketball their first loss of the season in the league by beating the Bundesliga leaders 69-67 at home for their first win over Bayern. Rostock raced away to a 14-point first quarter lead only to see Bayern use a 25-14 second quarter and even pushed their advantage to 11 points in the third period. The hosts eventually regained the lead in the final frame and won the game on Artur Konontsuk’s layup with 48 seconds left. After losing their first eight games against Bayern since 2023, Rostock improved to 4-3 this season while Bayern fell to 5-1. Bayern’s offense was held to just 34 percent shooting including 24 percent from long range. Johnathan Stove paced four Rostock players in double figures with 15 points while Zach Copeland collected 14 points and 7 assists and Todd Withers added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Darius Washington was the only Bayern player with more than 7 points as he nailed 4 three-pointers for 22 points.
Bonn battle past Berlin, remain undefeated at home, keep Berlin winless on road
Telekom Baskets Bonn remained perfect at home this season with a 95-88 victory over ALBA BERLIN, who are still waiting for their first road win. Berlin led most of the first three quarters before Bonn used an 11-1 run late to bring home the win and a 4-3 record while Berlin fell to 3-4 including 0-3 on the road. Bonn were white hot from long range, hitting 16 three-pointers at a 53 percent clip while holding Berlin to just 43 percent from the field. John-Michael Wright was Bonn’s leading scorer with 22 points and fellow reserve Alijah Comithier added 18 points as Bonn’s reserves outscored the starters 56-39. Brandon Angel and Jordan Ford both had 19 points in the loss.
Wolves grab fourth straight win by rolling past Hamburg, losers of five in a row
SYNTAINICS MBC extended their winning streak to four games by grabbing a 109-89 home victory over Veolia Towers Hamburg, who have now lost five in a row. The visitors pulled away for good thanks to a 27-14 third quarter and improved to 5-2 while Hamburg dropped to last place at 1-6. Wolves shot a blistering hot 59 percent from the field while only committing 7 turnovers. Spencer Reaves knocked down 5 triples in scoring 25 points, Jure Planinic added 22 points and 11 rebounds and DeLonnie Hunt totaled 12 points and 9 assists. Mathys Kangudia scored 22 points and Kenneth Ogbe had 21 points in the loss.
Ulm snap four-game skid at home in blowout win over reeling Oldenburg
ratiopharm ulm snapped a four-game losing streak by blowing out EWE Baskets Oldenburg 81-65 at home. Ulm took control of the game with a 26-12 second quarter for a 3-4 record while Oldenburg dropped to 3-5 after four straight losses. Both head coaches were ejected from the game in the fourth quarter. Oldenburg made only 38 percent of their shots, including 19 percent from long range. Michael Rataj poured in 23 points with 9 rebounds and Armel Traore picked up 10 points and 10 rebounds for Ulm. Seth Hinrichs led Oldenburg with 18 points and fellow reserve Demajeo Wiggins had 14 points and 11 rebounds as the starters combined for only 27 points.
Vechta race past Hagen in historic season Bundesliga opener for Kuhse
RASTA Vechta routed Phoenix Hagen 100-74 on the road to leave the relegation ranks in a dominant and historic Bundesliga season opener for Vechta’s Tommy Kuhse. Vechta took the middle two quarters 56-28 to blow the game open and improve to 2-5 while Hagen fell to the same record. Hagen shot 55 percent from the field including 42 percent on triples while keeping Hagen to 45 percent overall and 33 percent from long range. Kuhse poured in 24 points with 7 assists to take over the top spot in both categories in Vechta’s Bundesliga history. Matt Lewis had 18 points and Tibor Pleiß chipped in 11 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. Bjarne Kraushaar collected 22 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists in the loss.
Frankfurt use late run to beat Jena again, keep on winning
SKYLINERS avoided a stumble in their strong run of play as they used a late run to beat Science City Jena again this season 93-82 for their fourth straight win. The Round 6 game in Jena was tight until midway through the four quarter when Frankfurt, who bounced Jena in the first round of the Netto BBL Pokal German Cup, went on a 15-2 fourth quarter run. That moved the visitors to 4-1 while Jena lost their second straight for a 2-4 record. Judah Mintz scored 20 points, Isaiah Swope had 14 points and Till Pape collected 12 points and 10 rebounds. New addition London Perrrantes scored 15 points with 6 assists led Jena in the loss.
Wurzburg jump on Braunschweig early, ease to road win
Fitness First Würzburg Baskets rolled to a comfortable 96-72 victory at Basketball Löwen Braunschweig to win back-to-back games in the Bundesliga. The visitors didn’t waste much time in taking the first quarter 29-19 and the advantage was 58-30 at intermission. That gave Würzburg a 4-2 record with Braunschweig losing their third straight for a 3-3 mark. Würzburg shot 55 percent from the field and forced Braunschweig into 25 turnovers. Sam Griffin paced Würzburg with 19 points and Max Jones added 16 points. Tajh Green had 13 points off the bench in the loss.
Chemnitz end losing streak with comfortable home win over Ludwigsburg
NINERS Chemnitz returned to their winning ways by knocking off MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 94-78 at home to end a three-game losing streak. After a tight first half in which the visitors led most of the time, Chemnitz opened the flood gates with a 24-10 third quarter to end a three-game losing skid for a 2-5 record. Chemnitz converted 54 percent of their shots and held Ludwigsburg, who fell to 4-3, to just 39 percent from the field.
Nighael Ceaser led Chemnitz with 19 points, Ben Burnham had 16 points and Cobe Williams collected 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Thomas Rutherford was dominant in the loss with 19 points and 15 rebounds and Darius Perry added 16 points.
Bamberg pull away late from Jena for first home win of the season
BMA365 Bamberg Baskets celebrated at home for the first time in the Bundesliga this season with an 88-78 win over Science City Jena, who were playing their second game in three days. Neither team could pull away until Bamberg mounted a 12-0 start to the fourth quarter to improve to 4-3 while Jena have dropped three in a row for a 2-5 mark. Bamberg grabbed 20 offensive rebounds while committing only 9 turnovers. Richard Balint top-scored for Bamberg with 18 points and Trevon Scott added 17 points and 6 rebounds. London Perrantes scored 20 points with 6 assists in the loss.
Player of the Week
The Player of the Week for Round 7 goes to Thomas Rutherford of MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg for his superb performance in his team’s loss to NINERS Chemnitz. The center scored 19 points on 9 of 13 shots and 1 of 2 free throws to go with 15 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocks for an efficiency of 30.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Bjarne Kraushaar, Phoenix Hagen
The point guard did all he could against RASTA Vechta but his 22 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists were not enough.
G: Kostja Mushidi, SYNTAINICS MBC
Mushidi had a strong overall game in Wolves’ win over Veolia Towers Hamburg with 11 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block
F: Michael Rataj, ratiopharm ulm
Rataj played a major role in Ulm beating EWE Baskets Oldenburg with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocks.
F: Till Pape, SKYLINERS
Pape collected 12 points, 10 rebounds., 2 assists and 1 block in Frankfurt’s win over Science City Jena.
C: Tibor Pleiß, RASTA Vechta
Pleiß tallied his third double-double of the season with 11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks against Phoenix Hagen.
Young Guns
Raphael Falkenthal, 21, PG, Science City Jena
Falkenthal went scoreless in 13:46 minutes against SKYLINERS as he made 0 of 3 shots (0/2 threes) while chipping in 2 rebounds and 2 assists. Jena had two games and Falkenthal picked up 4 points on 1 of 4 shooting (1/3 threes) and 1 of 2 free throws, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 16:56 minutes against BMA365 Bamberg Baskets.
Christian Skladanowski, 22, PF, Science City Jena
Skladanowski played 14:42 minutes against SKYLINERS and had 4 points on 2 of 4 shooting and 0 of 1 free throws, 1 rebound and 1 steal. The power forward then played 14:06 minutes against BMA365 Bamberg Baskets and totaled 5 points on 2 of 3 shooting (1/1 threes) and 5 rebounds.
Marko Petric, 18, SF, Fitness First Würzburg Baskets
Petric played 8:15 minutes versus Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and totaled 0 points on 0 of 1 shooting, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal.
Germans Abroad
Maodo Lo showed in the EuroLeague against LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne that he can still take over for sections of the game. The Zalgiris Kaunas guard scored 9 points in a 134-second stretch for Zalgiris in the third quarter - hitting two triples and converting a three-point play. Lo finished with a season-high 9 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists in the 105-85 blowout. For the season, the 33-year-old is averaging 3.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the EuroLeague.
