Basketball Bundesliga: Brose Bambergs keeps Chemnitz at bay

This victory was for Amir Bell! In the first game after the defensive specialist's serious injury and absence for the season, Brose Bamberg beat Niners Chemnitz 95-83, keeping the Saxons at a distance in the fight for the playoff spots. After a mixed first half, Amiel's team turned up the heat, especially in the third quarter, where it decided the game.

From the field, the home side struggled with their throwing, the first five attacks fizzled out without points, before Jaromír Bohačík marked the first points with a three-pointer after three minutes. Things didn't go much better in the following, Bamberg made only seven throws in the first quarter at the Chemnitz basket, hit only three. The guests promptly pulled away to 11:16. But what Bamberg could rely on was the strong scoring rate from the free throw line. As the Saxons were sometimes tough on defense, Bamberg collected one free throw after the next - Patrick Heckmann alone hit seven on seven attempts, and with nine free throw points in a row, the Amiel team caught up again. Bamberg continued to chase a small deficit in the second quarter - and evened the score at 43:43 at halftime after a 38:41 with five more free throws.

Christian Sengfelder opened the second half with a hook shot and a three-pointer to make it 48:43. After the guests had come back to 54:53, top scorer Gerel Simmons ran hot and, after two Wohlrath threes, scored eight points in a row for a double-digit lead. After the home side hit six distance shots in the third quarter, Chemnitz guarded the three-point line especially in the final quarter, which created a lot of space under the basket for center Gabriel Chachashvili. The Israeli made good use of this and scored seven of his 13 points in the final quarter, two of them with a crashing dunk. Chachashvili also collected 11 rebounds, his first double-double in the BBL. Patrick Heckmann crowned his strong performance after 11 successful free throws with his only shot from the field, a three-pointer to make it 90-75. Kevin Wohlrath was also "in double figures with his 14 points."

Oren Amiel (head coach Brose Bamberg): "The victory belongs to Amir Bell. We didn't start well, but the guys showed great heart. The third quarter decided the game. Now we go to Berlin and want to give the favorite a strong fight."

On Sunday, March 26, 2023, Brose Bamberg will be challenged by league leader Alba Berlin. Jump in the Mercedes Benz Arena is at 6 pm.

For more information, visit www.brosebamberg.de and www.easycredit-bbl.de.