GER - Bamberg blow out Skyliners to stay undefeated

BAMBERG (German BBL) - Title-holders Brose Baskets Bamberg ensured they remain the only undefeated team four games into the German BBL season after Alba Berlin and Walter Tigers Tubingen both collected their first losses.

Demond Greene scored 14 points and Bamberg shot 62% for the game in brushing aside Deutsche Bank Skyliners 88-51 to improve to 4-0 atop the league.

The reigning champions used a 16-0 start to the second quarter to begin pulling away and pushed the lead to 30 points late in the third.

Steffen Hamann added 13 points and 19-year-old point German guard Sajmen Hauer chipped in 11 points off the bench, which tallied 40 points, including six points, three rebounds and three blocked shots by 19-year-old German centre Tim Ohlbrecht.

The Skyliners shot just 28% from the field and dropped to 1-2 despite 14 points from Derrick Allen.

Alba Berlin meanwhile couldn't overcome the one-game suspension of coach Luka Pavicevic and suffered their first loss of the season for a 3-1 record, 83-67 at Bayer Giants Leverkusen.

Eric Taylor's 17 points paced six players in double figures for Leverkusen, who improved to 2-2 after building a 15-point lead at the break.

Pavicevic was banned for one game after getting ejected for insulting a referee in Berlin's last game.

Alba failed to figure out a way to win despite 21 points from Julius Jenkins and 15 points and 12 rebounds from German national team veteran Patrick Femerling.

Tubingen also fell from the unbeaten ranks, losing 81-63 at EWE Baskets Oldenburg as both teams went to 3-1 in the league.

Rickey Paulding scored 23 points and Jason Gardner added 16 for Oldenburg while Rasko Katic collected 22 points for Tubingen, who committed 20 turnovers in the loss.

The 2007 finalists Artland Dragons also improved to 3-1 with a 97-69 victory at home against TBB Trier - thanks to 21 points from Adam Chubb. Trier fell to 1-3 in wasting a 28-point showing by Caleb Green.

Also 3-1 are Telekom Baskets Bonn, 77-72 winners over 0-3 Paderborn with Jason Conley hitting for 21 points; and New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig, who won 62-56 at winless promoted side Science City Jena.

The 2006 champions Koln 99ers captured their first victory of the season to move to 1-3 after a 91-81 win over BG 74 Gottingen as Aleksandar Nadjfeji scored 21 points.

Ernst-Joseph Gallup and Konrad Wysocki combined for 42 points as ratiopharm Ulm improved to 2-2 with 104-82 win over Giessen 46ers (1-3).

And Nate Funk, Brian Brown and Ivars Timermanis combined for 61 points in Eisbaren Bremerhaven's 91-86 win over EnBW Ludwigsburg. Bremerhaven are 2-2 and Ludwigsburg 1-3.

David Hein
FIBA