Beko German Basketball League: Brose Baskets romp to victory in Göttingen’s Lokhalle

Brose Baskets faced their third game on the road in the space of eight days and this time, following the defeats in Gießen and Malaga, came away with a comfortable 87:63 win over BG Göttingen. Apart from the first four minutes after the break, the team of Head Coach Andrea Trinchieri produced a very focused performance and above all impressed in defense against Göttingen’s “wild” style.

Right from the outset, the German champions from Upper Franconia were able to open up an 8:2 gap in front of 3,700 spectators in the sold-out Lokhalle arena thanks to buckets from beyond the arc by Nicolo Melli and Patrick Heckmann and a lay-up by Janis Strelnieks. Although the “Violets” closed the gap to 13:15 with two minutes left in the period, the strong Daniel Theis (9 points) with a slam-dunk and the threes by Darius Miller (two in his haul of 12 points) and Nikolaos Zisis put Bamberg 24:15 ahead at the end of the first ten minutes. The visitors continued their strong display in defense in the second quarter: Brose Baskets completely shut out Göttingen for four-and-a-half minutes, stretched their lead thanks to great combinations in offense and points by Nikos Zisis and the bucket from outside by Daniel Theis to 32:15 and then went 47:25 in front after Janis Strelnieks’ lay-up. Yet in the final seconds before the break, Bamberg squandered possession and two attacks by Göttingen narrowed the gap to 47:30 at half-time.

Bamberg’s Head Coach Andrea Trinchieri was also not happy with the first few minutes after the break: two missed shots from beyond the arc by Bamberg were followed by two three-pointers and a lay-up by the home side to slice the champions’ lead to seven (51:44). Playmaker Brad Wanamaker then took matters into his own hand: the American ended Gottingen’s run with nine points out of his total of 15 and made it 68:50 on the buzzer after the third period. The final quarter was dominated by Elias Harris, who underwent a finger operation in the summer and a long period of recovery, but was now able to give his all in attack. The 26-year-old impressed the 50 Bamberg fans who had made the journey with his fight, drained all his attempts from the field and chalked up 13 points, 3 rebounds and 3 turnovers: one of the reasons why the convincing margin of victory – 87:63 – was so deserved.

Andrea Trinchieri commented: “That was a new situation for us. We came from a Euroleague game where big players are below the basket. Here in Göttingen, Johan Roijakkers always creates something special, something different. We were very constant for 36 minutes and were not so good in defense for just four minutes. We controlled the game as a whole and played with a large rotation. Elias Harris gave us a big boost of energy.”

The German champs now face a momentous game in the Euroleague on Friday, October 23, 2015: Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul, a newcomer that is in the Euroleague thanks to a wildcard and is backed by a huge budget, comes to the Brose Arena for an encounter that tips off at 8 p.m. The Turkish club embarked on Europe’s top club competition with a win, whereas Bamberg suffered a narrow defeat in Malaga.