Basketball Bundesliga: Bitter defeat for Bamberg Baskets in Hamburg

Bamberg Baskets led for 36 minutes on the road at Hamburg Towers, but only managed to hold on for an 82:75 victory with four minutes remaining. The visitors were no longer able to counter the Hanseatic club's 0:12 run and so suffered their fifth defeat of the season.

Head Coach Oren Amiel was still without Justin Gray, but Patrick Heckmann was surprisingly on court after four minutes. The wing player played his first game after a four-month injury layoff and showed how valuable he can be for the team in 24 minutes of action, in particular with six rebounds and six points.

The lead changed hands constantly in the first quarter, with Hamburg coming out on top by 22:27 in the end. However, Bamberg's defence stood up very well in the second and third quarters and the Amiel players had caught up to 42:43 by half-time; in the third quarter, it was above all Heckmann and Trey Woodbury who turned a 55:61 deficit into a 65:62 lead. When top scorer Filip Stanic and Adrian Nelson stretched the gap to 70:61, Bamberg saw itself on the road to victory. However, the team completely lost its way in defense with four minutes remaining and Hamburg rolled over Bamberg to win.

Filip Stanic (top scorer for Bamberg Baskets) commented: "That was bitter. We conceded too many points against in the final quarter after playing as a team for a long time. We conceded too many points in the end. Our defence remains our sticking point."

The Bamberg Baskets now face two home games in a row with solvable tasks: On Saturday evening, 25 November, they host Basketball Lions Braunschweig at 6:30 pm and on Tuesday, 28 November, the Rostock Seawolves come to the Brose Arena.

More information at www.brosebamberg.de and www.easycredit-bbl.de.