Aminu shines as Bonn celebrate second BCL win against Herzliya

Telekom Baskets Bonn have secured their second victory in the group stage of the Basketball Champions League. The Rhinelanders beat Bnei Penlink Herzliya 101–89 thanks to a strong final quarter, with Joel Aminu leading the scoring with 23 points.

Bonn got off to the better start. Led by Jeff Garrett (15 PTS, 6/9 FG) and Joel Aminu (23 PTS, 9/12 FG), the hosts pulled ahead to 23–12. However, Herzliya responded with an 8–0 run and narrowed the gap to 27–25 by the first break.

The second quarter saw an open, back-and-forth battle, with the lead changing hands twelve times in total. Shortly before half-time, the Israelis were leading 45–48, before John-Michael Wright levelled the score at 48–48 with a three-pointer 36 seconds before the buzzer.

Even after the break, neither team initially managed to gain the upper hand. Dusty Hannahs (20 points, 4/7 three-pointers) put the visitors ahead one last time with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter (65–66). Bonn responded with a 10–5 run, with Aminu – who scored eight points in the third quarter alone – sealing the score at 75–71.

Bonn pull away in the final quarter

At the start of the final quarter, the Baskets extended their lead to 81–71 with six consecutive points. Although Herzliya closed the gap to seven points once more, Grayson Murphy (6 PTS, 11 AST) with two three-pointers and Aleksa Kovacevic (13 PTS, 7/7 FT) with a three-point play to make it 94–80 sealed the victory. Marcus Foster (17 PTS) scored 15 seconds from time to give Bonn their biggest lead (101–86).

The difference was made by accuracy from outside: Bonn converted 13 out of 30 three-pointers (43 per cent), whilst Herzliya managed only nine out of 27 (33 per cent). The Baskets also won the rebound battle 37–30. For the visitors, alongside Hannahs, D.J. Brewton III and Noah Carter each scored 13 points.

In Group H, Bonn now have a record of 2–1 and sit second behind Joventut Badalona (3–0). Herzliya remain bottom of the table with a 0–3 record. In the league, the Baskets host Basketball Löwen Braunschweig on Saturday, 7 November, at 8.00 pm. This will be followed on Tuesday, 17 November, at 6.30 pm by a rematch with Herzliya; the Israelis’ home game will also take place at Bonn’s Telekom Dome.