Brose Baskets stroll to 93:53 victory in Crailsheim

Just 45 hours after losing in the Euroleague at Laboral Kuxta Vitoria, Brose Baskets made amends by strolling to a commanding 93:53 win on the road at Crailsheim Merlins in the Beko German Basketball League. Even a broken hoop on the goal could not stop the German champions, who had as good as sealed victory after the first period.

In particular, Darius Miller made his mark on the game in the opening minutes. The American notched up eight of Brose Baskets’ first thirteen points, while in attack he blocked a slam-dunk by center Adam Chubb in magnificent style, despite being five centimeters shorter. However, the scene had repercussions: Chubb, who weighs in at 115 kilograms, caught hold of the basket and bent the hoop. Crailsheim needed ten minutes to repair the basket – and whereas the home side’s players must have come back on court disconcerted and with their engines cold, Brose Baskets produced a truly fine show of sparkling offensive play: Nicolo Melli and Darius Miller (17 points) added free throws, Lucca Staiger a lay-up and three, and Janis Strelnieks a free throw to put their side 23:7 ahead after the first quarter. The game was as good as decided 75 seconds later, when Lucca Staiger drained his second and third bucket from outside to stretch the gap to 29:7. The German champs did not give their opponents a look-in and were especially tight in defense: up to then, relegation-threatened Crailsheim had scored just once from the floor, the other five points coming from free throws off fouls by Bamberg. The team of Head Coach Trinchieri extended its lead to 39:13 and then 55:26 at half-time.

Trinchieri then spread out the time on court among the bench, letting his key players Wanamaker, Zisis, Melli, Miller and Strelnieks play just between ten and fifteen minutes. Lucca Staiger and Patrick Heckmann used that opportunity very effectively: In 29 minutes, Staiger drained five out of seven attempts from outside, as well as both his lay-ups, and was able to chalk up 19 points. Heckmann managed to achieve a career best in the German league, ending the game as top scorer with 21 points. Brose Baskets kept on pulling away and finally ran out winners by 93:53, the biggest margin of victory on the road to date under Andrea Trinchieri.

Andrea Trinchieri commented: “It’s never easy playing 45 hours after a tough game in the Euroleague and a 10-hour journey. But I’ve good players. We played as a team today, we defended well against Wysocki. As a coach, I have to thank my team for this performance.”

Brose Baskets are back in action in the Beko German Basketball League on Tuesday, February 16, 2016, when they travel to bottom-of-the-table Mitteldeutscher BC. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m.