GER - Alba remain top after overtime triumph against Bremerhaven
BERLIN (BBL) - Alba Berlin needed double overtime to beat Eisbaren Bremerhaven and remain top of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) standings, while Brose Baskets Bamberg moved into a tie for third place with victory over defending champions RheinEnergie Koln. Chris Owens contributed 32 points and 13 rebounds while Julius Jenkins added 29 points and made 12 of 12 free throws in Berlin's 106-105 double overtime win at home against Bremerhaven.
BERLIN (BBL) - Alba Berlin needed double overtime to beat Eisbaren Bremerhaven and remain top of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) standings, while Brose Baskets Bamberg moved into a tie for third place with victory over defending champions RheinEnergie Koln.
Chris Owens contributed 32 points and 13 rebounds while Julius Jenkins added 29 points and made 12 of 12 free throws in Berlin's 106-105 double overtime win at home against Bremerhaven.
Nick Jacobson gave Bremerhaven the lead 78-77 with five seconds left in regulation before Johannes Herber made a free throw to force overtime.
Zygimantas Jonusas, Charles-Judson Wallace, Adam Chubb and Richard Guinn all fouled out for the guests in the first period of overtime but saw Jacobson hit another three from the line to send the game into a second extra session at 89-89.
With Berlin leading 106-105 in the closing seconds, Ruben Boumtje Boumtje missed two foul shots to give Bremerhaven the chance to win.
Paul Miller came back down and buried a shot but he didn't release the ball before the buzzer, securing Berlin their fifth straight victory and a 21-5 record.
“As expected, it was a tough game - a very exciting game. Julius Jenkins had a very good game offensively as did Chris Owens, who maybe late was missing some energy. We missed (Sharrod) Ford (through injury) down low but Ruben Boumtje Boumtje did a good job against the Eisbaren's strong inside players," said Alba coach Henrik Rodl.
Boumtje Boumtje chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds for Alba, while Jacobson paced sixth placed Bremerhaven (15-11) with 23 points and Jonusas added 21.
Second placed EnBW Ludwigsburg (20-6) came back from a 12-point half-time deficit to beat Oldenburg 101-92.
Je'Kel Foster had 22 points and Jerry Green added 20 for Silvano Poropat's team.
“The team's reaction at half-time was fantastic. We won the game with the (29-14) third quarter. And even though we scored so many points, the defence was the reason,” said Poropat.
Doron Perkins contributed 21 points for Oldenburg, who dropped to 13-13 and gave up the final play-off spot.
Bamberg, the 2005 champions, beat reigning champions RheinEnergie Koln 50-33. Darren Fenn led all scorers with 14 points, while Demond Mallet paced Koln with just eight points.
Bamberg's defence at home held Koln to 25% shooting (13 of 52) for the game, including one of 24 from three-point range, while allowing Koln six points in the first and fourth quarters and just four in the third period.
“That was one of the strangest games I've ever been part of,” said Bamberg coach Dirk Bauermann. “We only scored 50 points, made only about 30% of our shots and still won by 17 points.
“We defended very well over the entire 40 minutes and it was frustrating for both offences. But you need a strong morale to fight off those struggles and we have that.”
Koln coach Sasa Obradovic added: "I can't remember - either as a player or coach - ever seeing a team shoot so poorly from the floor. Our defence was okay but we didn't react very well.
“We just weren't very prepared for this game and didn't play like we needed or wanted to.”
Bamberg’s seventh consecutive victory pulled them into a tie in third place at 18-8 with Koln who have lost four of their last six games.
Jason Conley scored 20 points as Telekom Baskets Bonn beat Deutsche Bank Skyliners 83-78 to remain in fifth place at 18-9.
Jimmy McKinney also had 20 points for the Skyliners, who retained the final play-off slot at 13-13.
Artland Dragons continued their struggles with a 73-66 loss at Giessen 46ers but remained in seventh place at 15-11.
Giessen, who were led by 16 points from Rouven Roessler, improved to 7-19 in 16th place.
Bayer Giants Leverkusen improved to 13-13 and are in serious play-off contention after beating TBB Trier 124-111 in triple overtime. Eric Taylor scored 34 points and Gordon Geib added 26 off the bench for Levekusen.
Brandon Gay collected 22 points and 13 rebounds and Marcus Taylor added 24 points in a losing cause for Trier, who dropped to 9-17.
Rasko Katic had 25 points and 18 rebounds as Walter Tigers Tubingen jumped to 12-14 with a 93-69 victory at last placed Karlsruhe, who lost their 21st consecutive game.
Reggie Golson's 20 points off the bench paced Paderborn (12-14) to a 100-66 victory over Nurnberg (5-22), who are two and a half games from safety.
David Hein
FIBA