German Cup: Brose Bamberg wins opener

Four months after the end of the old season and a period of upheaval with a new coaching team and completely overhauled squad, Brose Bamberg got off to a 74:65 victory in the German Basketball League Cup. Bamberg forced the opposing side ratiopharm Ulm into submission mainly thanks to its tenacious, strong defending and now has good prospects to advance further in the cup.

The first title of the 2020/2021 season will be contested in four groups of four until the German league begins as normal on November 8. The team of Head Coach Johan Roijakkers must finish top of Group C, in which it faces off against Ulm, Würzburg and Ludwigsburg, to qualify for the Top Four in Munich on November 1. Bamberg took the first step toward that against Ulm in the Stadthalle Weißenfels on Saturday afternoon. The club from Swabia, which already had three competitive international games in the EuroCup under its belt, got off to the slightly better start, but then Roijakkers – with his side trailing 8:15 after six minutes – called a timeout and reoriented his players in defense. In particular Bamberg was very adept at preventing Ulm’s Dylan Osetkowski, who scored seven points in the space of four minutes, from getting any chance to shoot at all, with the result that Ulm’s top scorer only added a further lay-up in the rest of the encounter. Since Bamberg also finished its moves better in attack from then on, it managed to tie the scores within a minute (15:15). Thanks to five successive points by Bamberg’s Kenneth Ogbe and a bucket from downtown by Elias Lasisi, Roijakkers’ team pulled 23:18 ahead, a lead it would not surrender. Bamberg was especially aggressive below the basket and won numerous free throws – and its Italian player Michele Vitali drained seven out of seven of them to help put his side 35:29 in front at half-time.

After the break, center David Kravish (13 points) and top scorer Tyler Larson (16) quickly carved out a 13-point advantage for Bamberg. Roijakkers’ players then failed to score simple lay-ups, allowing Ulm to reduce the gap to 46:43. But Bamberg steadied the ship again with strong actions, as Chase Fieler and David Kravish blocked Ulm’s Andi Obst on several occasions as he was attempting a lay-up. Bamberg’s lead in the final period gyrated between four and eight points, as it controlled the game and scored when necessary. Michele Vitali (15 points) sealed victory with 90 seconds remaining: His behind-the-back shot as he was falling hit the mark – despite his being fouled – to add two points and make it 72:65.

Johan Roijakkers commented: “I’m very happy with the win. It was enormously important to start the cup’s group phase with a victory and so maintain a chance of reaching the Top Four. It definitely wasn’t always the most attractive basketball we’ve played. But we were more clever in offense, while in defense we were strong, in particular physically. Now we can travel to Ulm with a good feeling next weekend.”

Brose Bamberg faces its second group game against s. Oliver Würzburg in the ratiopharm Arena in Ulm on Saturday, October 24, 2020.