Basketball Bundesliga: Brose Bamberg has play-off spot in its own hands

Brose Bamberg now have their place in the play-offs in their own hands after all. While Oren Amiel's team had two easy wins in Heidelberg (94:81) and at home against Braunschweig (84:68), the two rivals for eighth place stumbled: Crailsheim lost clearly at home against second-last Frankfurt, Göttingen lost at the last second against last-place Gießen. As a result, Bamberg are in eighth place with a 17:16 record, Göttingen and Crailsheim follow with 16:17 and both have a tough away game ahead of them. If Bamberg wins against Hamburg Towers next Sunday, they are in the playoffs.

On Friday night, host Heidelberg gave Bamberg's guests a run for their money for six minutes, but after the 15:16 mark, Amiel's team adjusted better defensively and threw themselves into a 29:17 lead within three minutes and four baskets by centre Martinas Geben. Bamberg extended the lead to 36:19 by the middle of the second quarter, but had to do without captain Chris Sengfelder, who twisted his ankle on a rebound. Heidelberg came out of the half better offensively, giving Bamberg 31 points in the third quarter, with top scorer Martinas Geben and Akil Mitchell countering to make it 75-66. At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Heidelberg cut the deficit to 75-73, but Kenneth Ogbe converted the bonus free throw to make it 78-73. With his three-pointer to make it 89-79 three minutes before the end, Ogbe secured the victory.

The Amiel team also needed a few minutes to get into the game against Braunschweig. Bamberg - without the injured Chris Sengfelder - only woke up when they were trailing 6:12. But then Bamberg snatched the lead with a strong 13:0 run and clearly set the tone with high tempo in the following. Kenneth Ogbe increased his lead to eleven points midway through the second quarter, and Omar Prewitt scored 13 of his 16 total points before the break. After the change of ends, Bamberg did not let anything happen. The lead did not shrink, but only grew slowly, as the Amiel boys did not consistently exploit the many mistakes made by the Braunschweig team. Only after the second three-pointer by top scorer Tomas Kyzlink and the third distance throw by Chris Dowe did Bamberg crack the 20-point mark (72:51). From then on, the Bambergers played the game down confidently without getting carried away. Head Coach Oren Amiel's team won the game 84-68.

Oren Amiel (Head Coach Brose Bamberg): "Heidelberg had managed to stay in the league and could play without pressure. But in the end we wanted the win more than Heidelberg, we were more precise with the details that can decide a game like this. It was similar against Braunschweig. We needed the win, we got the win. There is not much more to say."

On Sunday, 08.05.2022, Brose Bamberg can book their play-off ticket with a win against Hamburg Towers from 20:30. If Crailsheim loses one day earlier in Chemnitz, Bamberg will be instantly qualified.