Basketball: Convincing win for BBC Bayreuth against Gießen

BBC Bayreuth produced a convincing performance over 40 minutes to win 87:70 against JobStairs GIESSEN 46ers in the BARMER 2nd German Basketball League Pro A on Saturday evening.

Point guard Philip Jalalpoor made his first appearance of the season for BBC Bayreuth after suffering an injury. The 30-year-old is expected to give Bayreuth a little more experience, especially in difficult situations. Moritz Plescher, Marios Giotis, Selim Fofana, Aaron Carver and Esa Ahmad were on court for the home side at the start of the game.

Bayreuth started the game with a three by Esa Ahmad, then Aaron Carver drained a lay-up to make it 5:0 and the BBC was 9:5 ahead after four minutes. Philip Jalalpoor scored his first two points to make it 11:8, before the visitors took the lead for the first time after just under seven minutes. Selim Fofana drained a three and Aaron Carver added a slam-dunk to put Bayreuth 16:12 in front. After a final three by Selim Fofana, Bayreuth led 21:17 after the first quarter.

Robin Benzing and Jonathan Maier scored Gießen's first four points in the second period to tie the scores at 21:21. Moritz Plescher put the BBC back in front 24:21 with a three. Jonathan Maier equalised again for the visitors with a three-point play to make it 24:24. A three by Moritz Plescher put Bayreuth 29:25 in front, after which Shane Gatling stretched the gap to 32:26, also with a bucket from beyond the arc. The BBC led by nine points after 16 minutes. Selim Fofana gave Bayreuth its first double-digit lead. The BBC stretched its lead further and went in at half-time 50:34 ahead of the now dominant home side after a final buzzer beater by Marco Rahn. The BBC was well ahead in the first half, especially in terms of its three-point percentage with a 55 percent rate, while Bayreuth's defending and rebounding were also impressive.

After an unsporting foul against Esa Ahmad, the club from Hesse cut the deficit to 41:53, after which Selim Fofana drained a three to make it 56:41. Esa Ahmad stretched the gap to 58:41. Gießen then reduced the deficit again slightly to 46:60, but the BBC continued to have everything under control and the home side was 64:48 in front after 25 minutes. Every attempt by Gießen to close the gap was nipped in the bud and so the BBC was 75:57 in front after the third quarter.

The visitors closed the gap to 63:77 in the opening spell of the final quarter. Bayreuth took an 85:67 lead into crunch time with two minutes remaining. The BBC finally secured a highly deserved victory by 87:70 after a convincing performance. After eleven games in the BARMER 2nd German Basketball League Pro A, Bayreuth now has six wins and five defeats to its name.

Bayreuth's top scorer Selim Fofana commented: "The game shows that anyone can beat anyone in the league. The return of Philip Jalalpoor to the court not only gives us more rotation, but also more flexibility and composure in the game. The win also gives us confidence for the upcoming games."

The Bayreuth team will continue on Saturday, 16 December, in Karlsruhe.