What a shocker in Round 4 of the league as SYNTAINICS MBC upset FC Bayern Munich for their first win over the reigning league and cup champions since 2016. The week also saw ratiopharm ulm shine a strong light on the easyCredit BBL in an NBA exhibition game against Portland Trail Blazers. ALBA BERLIN meanwhile dropped their second game of the season.
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:
Weißenfels beat Bayern for first time since 2016
SYNTAINICS MBC collected just their second victory over FC Bayern Munich in history - following March 6, 2016 - as they knocked off the reigning league and cup champions 79-75 at home. And it was the first win at the Stadthalle Weißenfels as the 2016 win took place in Leipzig. SYNTAINICS MBC, who had won just once in 22 games against Bayern, led for most of the second half including a nine-point lead early in the final frame. But Bayern scored on just one of their last four possessions as the home side moved to 2-3 and Bayern fell to 3-2. Wolves shot 61 percent on two-pointers and forced Bayern into 21 turnovers. Ty Brewer torched Bayern for 22 points while Tyren Johnson and Spencer Reaves both scored 12 points and Michael Devoe chipped in 10 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. Nick Weiler-Babb led Bayern with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists and Johannes Voigtmann had a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Ulm give strong showing in loss to Portland in NBA exhibition
ratiopharm ulm gave a strong representation of the easyCredit BBL across the globe as they played a tough game against the Portland Trail Blazers in an NBA exhibition. Portland ended up beating Ulm 111-100 but Ty Harrelson’s young team was trailing just 87-84 with 9 minutes left before Scoot Henderson took over for Portland. Ulm, who are the first German club to play an NBA team on US soil, shot 20 of 46 on three-pointers while Noa Essengue scored 20 points, Ben Saraf hit for 16 points and Justinian Jessup and Alfonso Plummer both had 13 points.
Oldenburg steamroll Ulm at home, hand weary guests first league loss
EWE Baskets Oldenburg handed ratiopharm ulm their first loss of the easyCredit BBL as they steamrolled the weary team 93-66 at home. Ulm were playing their fifth straight road game just three days after having played against the Portland Trail Blazers in a NBA exhibition game on the western coast of the United States. Oldenburg led by 11 points after 10 minutes and the deficit was 46-29 at halftime when Oldenburg went on a 25-12 third quarter to move to 2-2 - 2-0 at home - and Ulm dropped to 3-1. Oldenburg out-scored Ulm 42-14 in the paint and held the guests to just 32 percent shooting including 25 percent on three-pointers. Geno Crandall poured in 22 points and 7 assists, Len Schoormann scored 19 points and Justin Jaworski totaled 17 points. Justinian Jessup collected 12 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks in the loss.
Chemnitz rally to beat Berlin thanks to clutch Nkoumhoua
NINERS Chemnitz fought back from 13 points down to knock off ALBA BERLIN 81-78 on the road as the hosts continued their slow start. Berlin took the biggest lead of the game by 13 points midway through the third quarter but watched Chemnitz answer with a 23-8 run to take the lead 62-60 after 30 minutes. The guests never trailed in the final frame and Olivier Nkamhoua threw down a big dunk and made two free throws in the final 62 seconds. Chemnitz have a 2-2 record while Berlin dropped to 1-3 with their second straight loss. Chemnitz shot 40 percent from long range with 12 three-pointers and Berlin hit just 30 percent of their triple attempts. Nkamhoua finished with 21 points to pace Chemnitz, Victor Bailey had 19 points and Aher Uguak chipped in 17 points. Yanni Wetzell was Berlin’s top scorer with 16 points and Justin Bean added 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in a losing effort.
13-0 fourth quarter run gives Bonn third straight win, first place in league
Telekom Baskets Bonn continued to show their strength as they pulled away late to beat MLP Academics Heidelberg 95-76 on the road to take first place in the league. Bonn built but lost a 12-point lead in the second quarter and led by seven points before putting the game to rest with a 13-0 run in the fourth quarter. Bonn have a 3-1 record after three straight wins while Heidelberg are 3-2 after a three-game winning streak was snapped. Bonn shot 55 percent from the field including 52 percent from the outside and held Heidelberg to 38 percent for the game. Darius McGhee paced Bonn with 22 points and 9 assists, Angelo Allegri tallied 19 points and 7 rebounds and Thomas Kennedy collected 13 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists. DJ Horne was Heidelberg’s top scorer with 19 points and Ryan Mikesell had 14 points in the loss.
Schwartz, Hamilton with 48 points, 10 threes in Rostock win over Bamberg
ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES snapped a two-game losing skid with a strong second half in an 89-75 victory over Bamberg Baskets. Rostock blew the game open with a 23-9 run to start the second half for an 18-point lead in moving to 3-2 and pushing Bamberg to 1-2. Rostock shot 53 percent for the game including a red-hot 59 percent from long range. D’Shawn Schwartz scored 25 points and Bryce Hamilton tallied 23 points and 5 assists as the starters combined for 78 of the 89 points. Moritz Krimmer set career highs with 17 points and 7 rebounds to lead Bamberg while KeyShawn Feazell had 14 points, Filip Stanic added 10 points and 9 rebounds and Ronaldo Segu picked up 8 points and 11 assists in the loss.
Classy Klassen carries Würzburg past Hamburg
FIT/One Würzburg Baskets rebounded from their loss in the German BBL Cup by knocking off Veolia Towers Hamburg 91-85 at home. Würzburg led the entire second half and never by fewer than 6 points in the fourth quarter in moving to 2-1 and Hamburg are 2-2 - 0-2 on the road. Würzburg won the rebounding battle 43-34 including 18 offensive rebounds, which led to a 16-7 advantage in second chance points. Owen Klassen collected a double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds, Jhivvan Jackson scored 18 points and Mike Lewis added 15 points off the bench in the win. Brae Ivey paced Hamburg with 21 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists.
Frankfurt down Vechta for second road win,
SKYLINERS continued to build on the momentum of their win in the German BBL Cup by downing RASTA Vechta 80-74 on the road. Frankfurt wasted a 12-point lead in the third quarter and took final control back with a 7-0 spurt in the final frame. The guests moved to 2-2 with a 2-0 mark on the road and Vechta have lost three in a row for a 1-3 mark. Frankfurt shot 50 percent from long range and Vechta made just 28 percent of their three-pointers. Malik Parsons came off the Frankfurt bench to lead all scorers with 30 points, Trey Calvin had 15 points and 6 assists and David Muenkat totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds. Tyger Campbell was the only Vechta player in double figures with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals.
Vechta sign Bothwell, Griciunas as reinforcements
RASTA Vechta management had seen enough and brought in some reinforcements for the team with the additions of Mike Bothwell and Benas Griciunas. The club added the 24-year-old combo guard Bothwell after Grant Sherfield left for Türkiye and the 30-year-old Lithuanian center Griciunas will be filling in for the injured Isaiah Mozart.
Ludwigsburg use strong defense for third straight home win
MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg remained perfect at home as they used a strong defense in beating BG Göttingen 91-62 with the guests the only winless team in the league. Ludwigsburg pulled away with a 30-20 second quarter to improve to 3-2 with a 3-0 home record and Göttingen fell to 0-4. Göttingen shot just 30 percent for the game including 26 percent from long range. Yorman Polas Bartolo scored 19 points, Justin Simon had 16 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 block and Jacob Patrick added 13 points in the win. Jimmy Boeheim led Göttingen with 18 points and 8 rebounds and Tra Holder chipped in 12 points.
Player of the Week
The Player of the Week comes in a losing effort from Nick Weiler-Babb, who had an efficiency of 32 in FC Bayern Munich’s loss to SYNTAINICS MBC. The guard scored 19 points on 5 of 6 threes and 4 of 4 free throws to go with 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals.
German Top Five of the Week
G: Nick Weiler-Babb, FC Bayern Munich
Weiler-Babb flirted with a triple-double in Bayern’s loss to SYNTAINICS MBC as he picked up 19 points with 5 triples, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals.
G: Len Schoormann, EWE Baskets Oldenburg
Schoormann had his second big game of the season - following 21 points in the opener vs MLP Academics Heidelberg - as he tallied 19 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in a win over ratiopharm ulm.
F: Robin Amaize, ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES
Amaize played a major role in Rostock beating Bamberg Baskets with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.
F: Moritz Krimmer, Bamberg Baskets
Krimmer had a great night in a losing effort against ROSTOCK SEAWOLVES with career highs of 17 points and 7 rebounds to go with 2 blocks.
C: Johannes Voigtmann, FC Bayern Munich
Some might wonder why have a second Bayern player on the list in a loss but Weiler-Babb and Voigtmann both had big games with the big man putting together 10 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal against SYNTAINICS MBC.
Young Guns
Ivan Kharchenkov, 18, SG, FC Bayern Munich
Kharchenkov played 14:00 minutes and scored 7 points on 1 of 3 shots (0/2 threes) and 5 of 6 free throws to go with 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block against SYNTAINICS MBC.
Jacob Patrick, 20, SG, MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg
Patrick started against BG Göttingen and played 25:09 minutes in scoring 13 points on 5 of 10 shots (3/8 threes) and picking up 1 rebound and 1 steal.
Hannes Steinbach, 18, PF, FIT/One Würzburg Baskets
Steinbach played 9:46 minutes and scored 2 points on 1 of 1 shots and grabbed 2 rebounds versus Veolia Towers Hamburg.
Germans Abroad
David Kramer has had quite a start to the season in Spain with his new team La Laguna Tenerife as he drained 4 three-pointers in scoring 20 points with 1 rebound and 2 assists versus Granada. That came after he poured in 18 points with 5 three-pointers against Barcelona. The 27-year-old is averaging 14.3 points on 64 percent three-pointers in three ACB games to go along with 8.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in two Basketball Champions League games.
