Reigning champions FC Bayern Munich nearly were upset again but Devin Booker delivered the game winning layup with 1.4 seconds to go to fend off Veolia Towers Hamburg. The only three teams with a 2-0 record are ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and ratiopharm ulm.
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 (www.heinnews.com) brings you up-to-date in German basketball – the easyCredit BBL short and sweet:
Booker late winner saves Bayern in home thriller over Hamburg
FC Bayern Munich nearly suffered a second straight loss in the opening weeks of the season but Devin Booker scored the game-winning basket with 1.4 seconds left in an 81-80 home victory over Veolia Towers Hamburg. The game was back and forth throughout with 12 ties and 16 lead changes, including nine in the final 2:23 minutes. Hamburg, who defeated ALBA BERLIN in Round 1, went ahead on Keondre Kennedy’s long jumper with 8 seconds left. But Nick Weiler-Babb found Booker in the post and the big man delivered with the winning layup with 1.4 seconds to go. Bayern, who improved to 2-1 after losing to MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg last week and watched Hamburg fall to 1-1, dominated the glass 48-31. Bayern grabbed 22 offensive rebounds to 3, which led to a 19-2 advantage in second chance points - making up for Bayern shooting only 36 percent for the game. Booker finished with 19 points, Vladimir Lucic had 15 points, Weiler-Babb totaled 12 points, 7 rebounds and 12 assists and Oscar da Silva chipped in 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. Brae Ivey’s 19 points for Hamburg were not enough.
Braunschweig still perfect after blowout of Ludwigsburg
Basketball Löwen Braunschweig continued their perfect start to the season as they blew out MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg 91-71 at home. Braunschweig, who won their German BBL Cup first round game, led 29-14 after 10 minutes and it was game over as the hosts moved to 2-0 and Ludwigsburg are 1-1. Braunschweig survived 23 turnovers by shooting 58 percent for the game including 52 percent from long range and holding Ludwigsburg to just 28 percent on three-pointers. TJ Crockett came off the bench to lead Braunschweig with 23 points and fellow reserve Tre Mitchell added 13 points. Barra Njie was the only starter to score in double figures with 10 points to go with 8 assists as the starting five totaled just 34 points. Ezra Manjon was Ludwigsburg’s top scorer with 16 points and Justin Simon had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 steals.
Big third quarter carries Rostock to home win over Göttingen, 2-0 record
Don’t look now but one of the three teams still undefeated in the league is ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES, who used a big third quarter to defeat BG Göttingen 102-74 at home for a second win in two games. The game was still close at halftime before Rostock took the third quarter 35-13 to drop Göttingen to 0-2. Rostock shot 61 percent for the game including a white-hot 71 percent on three-pointers while Göttingen made just 21 percent from long range. Robin Amaize paced five Rostock players in double figures with 20 points while Goodwin Omenaka had 19 points and 9 rebounds, D’Shawn Schwartz scored 18 points, Bryce Hamilton added 13 points and 5 rebounds and Aigars Skele chipped in 4 points and 10 assists. Deion Hammond was Göttingen’s top scorer with 21 points and Zach Ensminger had 16 points.
Fan favorite Tyler Nelson leaves Rostock, Pearson returns to club
ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES made their first personnel move of the season as they let fan favorite Tyler Nelson leave and replaced him with Nijal Pearson, who came back to the club. Nelson had been with Rostock for nearly four years, hitting the shot that earned Rostock promotion from ProA. But the 29-year-old American, who scored 16.3 points and was the sixth-best scorer in the easyCredit BBL, could not find a role for new coach Przemyslaw Frasunkiewicz, and he now moves to Greek top flight club Kolossos BC. The 26-year-old Pearson comes back to Rostock, where he played from 2021 to 2023. He played last season for CSM CSU Oradea in Romania.
Jessup leads Ulm to revenge win over Würzburg
ratiopharm ulm exacted some revenge on FIT/One Würzburg Baskets after being eliminated by them in the first round of the playoffs last season with an 85-76 home victory for their third victory in three games. Ulm built an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter but watched the guests come back and even the game with 3:20 minutes to go. Ulm bent but did not break and Justinian Jessup made a big three-pointer and layup to get the win and a 2-0 record, with Würzburg falling to 0-1. Ulm committed only 9 turnovers while forcing Würzburg into 18 miscues. Jessup continued his outstanding early season with 28 points and 5 three-pointers to go with 5 rebounds and 4 steals while Nelson Weidemann scored 16 points and Philipp Herkenhoff added 12 points and 4 rebounds. Mike Lewis paced Würzburg with 24 points off the bench, Jhivvan Jackson scored 20 points and Mike Davis had 18 points.
Berlin give Oldenburg no chance, grab first win
ALBA BERLIN grabbed their first victory of the season after falling to Veolia Towers Hamburg as they rolled past EWE Baskets Oldenburg 105-70 at home. In a game with both teams missing five players already this early in the season, Berlin surged ahead by 19 points in the first quarter and never looked back in moving to 1-1 - the same record for Oldenburg. The guests shot just 37 percent for the game and committed 24 turnovers. Martin Hermannsson picked up a strong double-double of 20 points and 11 assists, Trevion Williams collected 16 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals and Matteo Spagnolo and Louis Olinde both scored 12 points in the win. Kyle Rode connected on 6 three-pointers in scoring a team-high 18 points for Oldenburg.
Bamberg win defensive slugfest at Frankfurt for first win under Gavel
Bamberg Baskets clinched their first league victory in the Anton Gavel head coaching era by prevailing in a defensive slugfest 66-58 at SKYLINERS. Frankfurt were hanging tight through the first 27 minutes until Bamberg went on a 12-1 run spanning the final two quarters to take control and send both teams to 1-1 records. Bamberg won the rebound battle 46-34 and also made 16 of 23 free throws compared to just 4 of 6 for Frankfurt. Kyle Lofton and Ronaldo Segu led Bamberg with 11 points each, Filip Stanic added 9 points and 10 rebounds and KeyShawn Feazell chipped in 4 points and 11 rebounds. Booker Coplin tallied 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals and Trey Calvin scored 16 points in the loss.
Bamberg sign Teague until January to replace injured Locke
Bamberg Baskets have gone to the transfer market early on and added shooting guard MaCio Teague on a contract until January 2025. The club singed the 27-year-old Teague to fill in for Noah Locke, who is expected to miss multiple months with a shoulder injury. Teague last played in Poland for Czarni Slupsk but played in the German league with EWE Baskets Oldenburg in 2022-23.
Vechta open season with home win over Bonn
RASTA Vechta opened their season with an 83-75 home victory over Telekom Baskets Bonn, finishing the game in strong fashion in the closing minute. It was a back and forth game throughout with 12 lead changes and 8 points being the biggest lead. Bonn trailed by just one point with 1 minute to go but Brandon Randolph hit a three-pointer to start a 7-0 finish to the game for the win. Vechta shot 58 percent on two-pointers while holding Bonn to just 37 percent on two-pointers and winning the fast break points category 13-0.
Randolph finished with 19 points, Joel Aminu had 17 points and 8 rebounds, Tyger Campbell added 15 points and Johann Grünloh collected 12 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Phlandrous Fleming led Bonn with 22 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 steals and Sam Griesel scored 16 points in the loss.
RASTA Vechta start serving own beer - RASTA Hellas - at home games
There are a lot of reasons to like RASTA Vechta, and here is another one: the club has started serving their own beer at home games at the RASTA Dome: RASTA Hellas. The beer is currently only available in kegs but is supposed to be available starting in December in bottles.
McGhee’s 15 points in fourth quarter give Bonn home win over Wolves
Telekom Baskets Bonn captured their first victory of the season as they defeated SYNTAINICS MBC 95-80 at home thanks to Darius McGhee scoring 15 of his game high 27 points in the fourth quarter. Bonn lost most of a 14-point lead from the second quarter and then surged ahead by 16 points late in the third quarter to improve to 1-1. Bonn committed only 7 turnovers and won the battle of second chance points 23 to 11. Besides McGhee’s performance off Bonn’s bench, Phlandrous Fleming had 21 points, Till Pape scored 16 points and Thomas Kennedy picked up 13 points. Ty Brewer was the guests’ top scorer with 20 points and Tyren Johnson picked up 14 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists and Martin Breunig added 13 points in the loss.
Heidelberg overcome Vechta at home for first win
MLP Academics Heidelberg picked up their first victory in the league as they fought past RASTA Vechta 80-74 at home. Heidelberg, who beat Veolia Towers Hamburg in the first round of the German BBL Cup, led for most of the first half by as many as nine points. Vechta led in the fourth quarter but the hosts allowed just three baskets in the final 5 minutes as both teams now have 1-1 records. Heidelberg forced 19 Vechta turnovers to decide the game. Ryan Mikesell collected a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, Damariae Horne had 16 points and Bakery Dibba scored 13 points for Heidelberg. Jayden Gardner and Tyger Campbell both scored 13 points in the loss.
Chemnitz bring in Victor Bailey to replace CJ Penha
NINERS Chemnitz made a move early in the season as they released CJ Penha and added Victor Bailey. The 25-year-old Bailey helped Karlsruhe win the ProA title last season and gives Chemnitz reinforcements at the shooting guard position. Penha, who arrived this off-season from Swedish champs Norrköpping, was the odd man out in a forward position that is very deep for the club.
Player(s) of the Week
Round 2 saw two players take Player of the Week honors with Justinian Jessup of ratiopharm ulm and ALBA BERLIN’s Martin Hermannsson - both of whom had efficiencies of 30. Jessup played a major role in Ulm’s win over FIT/One Würzburg Baskets with 28 points on 10 of 16 shots - 5 of 9 on threes - and 3 of 3 free throws, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 block. Hermannsson scored 20 points on 5 of 8 shots - 1 of 2 from long range - and 9 of 9 free throws to go with 11 assists and 3 steals against EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Zach Ensminger, BG Göttingen
Ensminger collected 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in a loss to ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES.
G: Robin Amaize, ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES
Amaize put together a strong early season showing as he hit 3 three-pointers for 20 points to go with 5 rebounds and 1 assist in a win over BG Göttingen.
F: Philipp Herkenhoff, ratiopharm ulm
Herkenhoff has been extremely solid this season with another strong showing against FIT/One Würzburg Baskets as he picked up 12 points, 4 rebounds and 1 steal.
F: Oscar da Silva, FC Bayern Munich
Da Silva has been superb for Bayern since his arrival and he does some of everything, tallying 8 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block in a tight win over Veolia Towers Hamburg.
C: Johann Grünloh, RASTA Vechta
Grünloh was downright outstanding in Vechta’s opener, totaling 12 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks against Telekom Baskets Bonn. The 19-year-old then had 5 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block versus MLP Academics Heidelberg.
Young Guns
Hannes Steinbach, 18, PF, FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
Steinbach had a strong easyCredit BBL debut with 4 points on 2 of 3 shots and 0 of 1 free throws, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks in 16:40 minutes as the starting power forward against ratiopharm ulm.
Benny Schröder, 21, SF, Basketball Löwen Braunschweig
Schröder totaled 7 points on 2 of 4 shots (0/1 threes) and 3 of 5 free throws, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal in 12:33 minutes against MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg.
Colin Schröder, 17, PF, EWE Baskets Oldenburgh
Yet another Schröder in German hoops, Colin made his easyCredit BBL debut against ALBA BERLIN and he scored 2 points on 1 of 5 shots (0/3 threes) with 3 rebounds in 7:59 minutes.
Germans Abroad
One of the stars of Germany’s title-winning team at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024 Jack Kayil has started his season in Serbia with Mega Belgrade in fine fashion with 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals against FMP Belgrade in the ABA League.
