Champions League: Brose Bamberg wins fourth straight game

Brose Bamberg has captured its fourth win in a row in the Champions League. The hard-fought 72:69 victory over the Greek club Peristeri Winmasters, which was equal on points with it going into the game, means that the team of Head Coach Roel Moors has climbed to third in Group C and so is in a playoff berth for the first time this season. Bamberg finally produced a focused display, especially in defense, for the whole 40 minutes in front of 5,500 spectators in the Brose Arena.

Brose Bamberg got off to a lightning start and, after trailing 3:4, went 13:4 ahead thanks to two buckets from outside by Nelson Weidemann. The home side proved to be in good sharpshooting form in the first period, draining five threes out of nine attempts to lead deservedly by 27:21 at its end. Yet the brisk attacking play up to then waned as the game went on. Bamberg was solid in defense before the second period, but the visitors from Greece with their tall centers increasingly ratcheted up the aggression. Bamberg held on to its nine-point advantage up to the 13th minute (34:25), after which the visitors blocked five shots – Moors’ team was increasingly forced to make tougher shots. Peristeri even produced a run of ten points without reply to move 34:35 ahead, but then Christian Sengfelder (10 points) conjured up five straight points to recapture the lead for his side (42:35). However, Peristeri hit back with a magical three off the board by Scoochie Smith on the buzzer to make the half-time score 42:38.

After conceding just two turnovers in the first half, Bamberg conceded four in the third quarter, allowing Peristeri to catch up quickly and then go 46:49 in front. Although the home side increasingly had problems in offense (the tall, robust players from the Greek club with their physical play were difficult to overcome), Bamberg kept in the game thanks to its own strong defending. In particular top scorer Retin Obasohan (11 points) managed to overcome the opposing side on a number of occasions and set up his teammates with great passes. Bamberg was able to take a 59:57 lead into the final period, also thanks to Assem Marei (11 points). The lead then changed hands several times before Obasohan, with the scores tied at 61:61, drained a three and a lay-up to carve out a 67:62 lead with five minutes remaining. Points were now few and far between against the two strong defenses and with 70 seconds to go Bamberg was holding a narrow 68:67 advantage despite again missing eight free throws. With 34 seconds on the clock, Paris Lee drove to the basket and – unlike on the last attack against Ulm three days previously – the playmaker scored this time to make it 70:67 to the cheers of the crowd. And on the very next attack, Lee (7 points) skillfully picked up an offensive foul, meaning the visitors went without scoring and so Bamberg secured a narrow 72:69 victory.

Brose Bamberg’s Head Coach Roel Moors commented: “As expected, it was the difficult game against a difficult opponent. It was a tough encounter, but we stepped up to the plate for the right time. We matched them for physical play, especially when we had a spell in the second half when things didn’t go so well in offense. However, we were then strong in defense in particular. Indeed, our defending won us the game, so we not only ran out winners but also took a step forward in the right direction. When you defend like that, you always keep in the game, no matter what difficulties you have in attack.”

Bamberg now travels to Frankfurt for a game on the road against Fraport Skyliners on Saturday, November 23, 2019. The tip-off in the Fraport Arena is at 6 p.m.

For more information visit www.brosebamberg.de, www.easycredit-bbl.de and www.championsleague.basketball/de.