FIBA Europe Cup: Brose Bamberg takes the lead in the standings

The great home win over Oldenburg had probably taken its toll: Although Brose Bamberg took the narrow 73:69 home win over the previously unbeaten Poles from Anwil Wloclawek in the FIBA Europe Cup, it was quite heavy basketball fare for the 2300 basketball fans before the break.

Wloclawek came to Bamberg as one of the best offensive teams in the competition, having scored an average of 91 points per game so far. But the home side also had their troubles on the offensive end. Gabriel Chachashvili opened the game right away with a crashing dunk, but after that he was never able to pull to the basket so easily again. In the first quarter, the home side was unfocused in their finishing, with only four of 17 throws landing in the basket. Bamberg countered the 7:13 after five minutes with some free throws after Gerel Simmons' three-pointer and led 16:15 after the quarter. Playmaker Patrick Miller put his stamp on the second quarter with nine points, first making a nice assist during the 9:0 run to lead 27:23 and then putting up seven points himself, but towards the end of the quarter the Bambergs were down a couple of times and the Poles took a 34:37 lead into the break.

The Amiel boys were now closer to the man on defense, put the Wloclawek playmakers under pressure already in their own half and hardly allowed an easy throw. Bamberg turned the game around with a 19:0 run from 39:46 to 58:46. With Christian Sengfelder's free throws at 69:54, the game seemed to be over, but then the guests hit some difficult circus shots despite continuing strong defense. The lead melted to 72:69, but without the guests having a chance to equalize.

Oren Amiel (head coach Brose Bamberg): "I'll start at the back: a win is a win. However, the way we fought at the end was impressive and extremely important. They demanded everything from us, were very physical, but we defended well, were good in rebounding."

Bundesliga basketball is back on the line for Bamberg on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2022.

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