AND ONE!

Weekly roundup for our English-speaking fans by David Hein.

Week 9 - November 19th 2013

Bamberg lose in Kaunas, make BBL statement in Bonn

Brose Baskets Bamberg put themselves a bit behind the eight-ball in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague by losing a winnable game at Zalgiris Kaunas 91-81. But the team bounced back in fine form by picking up a statement win 83-69 over Telekom Baskets Bonn in the Beko BBL.

Bamberg hope to build on the Bonn victory as they travel to France for what amounts to almost a must-win against Strasbourg in the Euroleague on Friday November 22. In the BBL, the four-time reigning champs welcome TBB Trier on Monday November 25.

Bamberg went into the Kaunas game knowing the Lithuanians are a direct challenger for a spot in the Top 16. The loss dropped Brose to 2-3 while lifting Zalgiris to the same record – both teams one game behind both EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and Anadolu Efes Istanbul at 3-2.

Anton Gavel’s three-pointer gave Bamberg the lead to start the game but Kaunas scored the next six points. They continued to build the lead and were up 16-7 midway through the first quarter. A three-point play by Sharrod Ford and a triple by John Goldsberry got Bamberg to within 16-13. Seven straight Kaunas points made it a double-digit game and Zalgiris were up 23-16 after one period.

Bamberg struggled to contain Justin Dentmon and the Kaunas cushion grew to 12 points, 33-21. Two straight treys by Arturas Milaknis made it 39-26 with about three minutes to go in the first half. Brose picked up the defense and finally got some stops defensively, reeling off a 13-0 run to even the game at 39-39 at intermission with Rakim Sanders scoring five points in the run.

Chris Fleming’s team came flat out of the break and Kaunas used a 9-0 start to the second half to regain control with a Dentmon three-ball making it a 12-point game again, 53-41. Bamberg could not stop the Lithuanians in the quarter as the deficit grew to 18 points, 67-49. After three quarters it was 69-54.

Bamberg hit the first five points of the fourth to make it a 10-point game. And Sanders helped get the margin down to just 82-77 with just over a minute left. But Dentmon nailed a huge three-pointer to help Kaunas secure the win.

Sanders and Jamar Smith led Bamberg with 18 points apiece while Zack Wright and Ford both scored 10 points. Bamberg shot the ball well from long range (11-of-20, 55 percent) and caused 20 Kaunas turnovers. But Fleming’s team was out-rebounded 40-24, including allowing 12 Zalgiris offensive rebounds.

“We got off to a bad start. We fought back with a lot of energy in the second quarter but then came out of the locker room without the quality expected for an experienced group. We lost the game there,” said Coach Fleming.

“Everybody needs to go home and look themselves in the mirror. We have work to do.”

Smith added: “We broke down some times on defensive and to make it to the next round we’re not going to be able break down like that. It was a big game.”

The team flew directly from Kaunas to Bonn to prepare for the game against the second-placed team in the Beko BBL. The contest in Bonn was tight in the first quarter. Bonn led 6-2 early before Bamberg went ahead 7-6 and lead 13-11. Bonn would lead 18-15 and then 18-17 after one quarter.

Bamberg grabbed the lead 23-20 on a Smith three-ball and Philipp Neumann made it 27-22. Bonn would knot the game at 27-27 before Bamberg led 38-32 at the break.

The team moved the ball well and increased the lead to 45-35. Bonn scratched back to within 47-43 before Bamberg absolutely took control of the game. Damir Markota scored seven points in a 14-2 Bamberg run to open a 61-45 lead, which was 61-47 after three quarters.

Bamberg increased the margin to 19 points before Bene Veikalas trimmed it to 66-50. But Brose went on a 12-3 run to make it a 25-point lead – 78-53. In total, Bamberg out-scored Bonn 31-10 over a nearly 13-minute stretch to decide the game.

“We played with more intensity and got the stops we wanted defensively. And on offense we moved the ball well. That’s important and it gave us easy points,” said Gavel, who scored 12 points.

“Bonn had a seven-game winning streak and it is difficult to win here but we made a statement. Anyone who said we don’t have a chance we showed them today.”

Bamberg, who got 15 points from Smith and 14 points from Markota, collected their fifth straight win – now the longest streak in the league – to improve to 7-2, putting them in a three-way tie with Artland Dragons and Bonn behind Bayern Munich (8-1) and EWE Baskets Oldenburg (7-1).

“I think we took a step in the right direction. We improved on some of the mistakes from Kaunas, especially on the boards,” said Fleming, whose team out-rebounded Bonn 35-24.

“It was a very dominant defensive performance. This will help us get some confidence offensively. We are on a good path. We need to use this victory and look forward and take the next step as a team.”

That next step can be taken on Friday in Strasbourg.

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