Brose Baskets exact revenge against Gießen

Brose Baskets got their revenge and made amends for the 80:81 defeat earlier in the season by romping to a 82:58 victory against Gießen in the Brose Arena. The win means the German champs are the first team to quality for the playoffs in the German Basketball League – eight matchdays before the end of the regular season.

Although the home side was without Darius Miller (who had foot problems and so was rested) and Daniel Theis (who was not able to train for two days because of a foot injury), Elias Harris in particular made it clear in the opening minutes what Gießen would face in the Brose Arena. The 26-year-old contributed two lay-ups as Bamberg quickly strode 8:0 ahead, capturing a haul of eight points and showing perfect shot selection to help put his side 20:7 in front after the first period. The game was as good as over by then, since the visitors

with the former Bamberg player Karsten Tadda, who was welcomed with a great deal of applause by the fans, did not come to terms with the home side’s tough defending. The German champs also dominated the visitors in all departments in the second quarter and built a 20-point lead for the first time thanks to three buckets from beyond the arc by Lucca Staiger (39:19).

Even when Bamberg let its grip slacken a little in defense in the second half, it always had the game under control. Although just 20 years of age, playmaker talent Aleksej Nikolic (10 points) proved to be an incredibly good stand-in for Wanamaker and Zisis, who were rested in the second half, and the German players also ran into top scoring form. Lucca Staiger drained two more threes after the break to share the honor of being top scorer with Elias Harris (15 points each). Patrick Heckmann also used his 32 minutes on court to bag a strong haul of 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Since Andi Obst and Yassin Idbihi also added points, the five Germans accounted for the extremely high share of 45 of Bamberg’s total of 82.

Head Coach Andrea Trinchieri commented: “I’m very satisfied with my team. It wasn’t an easy game after the one against Piraeus on Thursday, when we expended a lot of energy. My team took the game very seriously and played outstandingly in defense. We missed a few tall players in attack. However, we operated as a team and used our complete bench. That’s the right way to tackle such games. We’ve now completed more than 50 games and have to pace ourselves, as we’ve another important game in three days.”

Brose Baskets face their next game in the Euroleague on Thursday, March 17, 2016, when Khimki Moscow visit the Brose Arena for a game that tips off at the unusually late time of 10 p.m. That is because the three Russian EL teams are not allowed to play simultaneously due to the fact that their games are broadcast live on TV.