Alba Berlin secured its fourth consecutive victory in the BBL thanks to a home win against MBC, while runner-up Ulm suffered its fourth defeat in a row. Earlier, the Skyliners, led by an outstanding Jaedon Le Dee, stopped the Bamberg Baskets’ upward trend, and Oldenburg lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Alba Berlin defeats league leaders MBC
Former basketball serial champions Alba Berlin continued their upswing against the previous Bundesliga leaders SYNTAINICS MBC. The capital city team defeated the cup winners 88-80 after a successful comeback and climbed to fifth place in the table after their sixth competitive win in a row.
Martin Hermannsson was the hosts’ top scorer with 19 points, while Justin Bean and Jack Kayil each contributed 16. New signing Alex O’Connell scored two points, one assist and one rebound on his debut. Khyri Thomas was the MBC’s top scorer with 16 points.
Comithier becomes the hero: Bonn defeats Ulm in a thriller
Telekom Baskets Bonn celebrated their fourth win of the season in a heart-stopping finale. Alijah Comithier became the match winner with a buzzer-beater in the 81-79 victory over runners-up ratiopharm Ulm. Prior to that, both teams had been evenly matched, with neither side able to pull away decisively. Bonn turned the game around after a weak start, but had to accept the equalizer in the meantime. The game was overshadowed by injuries on both sides. Bonn’s Michael Kessens had to be taken to hospital in the second quarter with a suspected concussion, while Ulm lost its top scorer Christopher Ledlum shortly before the break. Despite the absences, however, the game remained open until the end. It was only in the final attack that Bonn’s Grayson Murphy provided the assist for Comithier with a clever throw-in, who finished coolly.
With this narrow home win, the Baskets give themselves some breathing space in the table, while Ulm remains in search of consistency after its fourth league game in a row without a win.
Le Dee excels: Skyliners win in Freak City
The Skyliners Frankfurt confirmed their strong start to the season and stopped Bamberg’s winning streak for the time being. From the start, the Hessians set the pace, defended aggressively and forced numerous missed shots by the visitors. An 11-0 run in the first quarter laid the foundation, while Jaedon Le Dee (20 points, 21 rebounds) dominated under the baskets almost single-handedly. Anton Gavel’s team struggled to find their rhythm offensively and trailed by double digits after ten minutes.
In the second quarter, Frankfurt seemed to pull away, leading by +18. But the Franconians did not give up: Led by Cobe Williams (26, 5 rebounds), who reduced the deficit with ten quick points, Bamberg fought its way back into the game by halftime. By then, the long-range shots were also falling and Ibi Watson (25, 6 rebounds) breathed new life into Bamberg’s game with important baskets. At the break, with the score at 45:41 for Frankfurt, everything was suddenly up for grabs again. After the break, Bamberg even took the lead briefly, but Frankfurt kept its cool. Once again, it was Le Dee who made the decisive plays. A 9:0 run by the Skyliners set the course for victory. In the end, even a strong 51 points from the Williams/Watson duo was not enough. Frankfurt won the game 80:77 and remains one of the surprise teams of the season.
EWE Baskets Oldenburg remain at the bottom of the BBL table. In a 59-65 defeat in Ludwigsburg, the Lower Saxony team put up a fight, but found few solutions offensively against the aggressive defense of MHP RIESEN, led by Traveon Buchanan (15 points, 5 rebounds).
After an evenly matched first half (33-34), Predrag Krunic’s team once again lacked punch in the final quarter. Chris Clemons was the top scorer with eleven points, but overall Oldenburg’s offense remained too harmless. It was already their sixth defeat in seven games this season.