Strong debut by Retin Obasohan in win against Gießen

After defeating jobstairs Gießen 46ers in the Round of 16 in the cup, Brose Bamberg also won the first encounter between them in the easyCredit German Basketball League. Yet the team of Head Coach Roel Moors had to stretch a bit to chalk up its 93:81 home win: The home side first trailed by 15:22 and then the visitors from Hesse were within striking distance at 84:79 shortly before the end. However, Bamberg did not show any weakness in the last two minutes.

After quickly surging into a 5:0 lead in front of 5,513 spectators, Bamberg then let the run of play largely be dictated by Gießen, who are still without a win this season. The visitors went ahead with a run of seven points without reply – Bamberg lost possession on attack eight times in the first ten minutes and so invited its opponents to launch fast counterattacks and score. The first period ended 15:22 – but that was to remain the highest margin the visitors would lead by. One reason for that was that Head Coach Roel Moors brought on new signing Retin Obasohan, who had joined the team on Thursday, in the second quarter. And the 26-year-old not only dovetailed seamlessly into Bamberg’s team, but also put his stamp on the game with beautiful passes to free-standing players, a great eye for his teammates, a burst of pace when driving to the basket, and outstanding athleticism. The Belgian international helped his side produce a 14:1 run in the space of three-and-a-half minutes, enabling Bamberg to come from behind and move 29:23 ahead. In particular his thunderous slam-dunk to make it 44:38 on the half-time buzzer caused Bamberg’s fans to erupt with jubilation.

The home side got off to a good start to the second half and was able to stretch its advantage in front of the crowd of 5,513. Brose took a double-digit lead for the first time after four points in a row from Kameron Taylor (54:44). After that, Marei, Lee, Harris and Carrera even extended the gap to 17 points (66:49). Yet Gießen remained dangerous from outside. John Bryant drained his third three to keep his side in the game. Brose led by 69:58 after 30 minutes.

Brose Bamberg’s objective in the final period was to seal victory as early as possible – an ability they have lacked now and again in the season so far. But this time things looked good. Although Gießen still scored well from beyond the arc, Brose struck back. Carrera made it 80:68 midway through the period. However, Gießen followed that with further threes. John Bryant and Stephen Brown notched up a 5:0 run with three minutes left to help the visitors close the gap to five: 84:79. However, at the end Brose produced the better moves and also had Paris Lee, a man who shows what he is capable of at the death. Brose’s 93:81 victory was therefore completely deserved.

Brose Bamberg’s Head Coach Roel Moors commented: “We showed good basketball for 25 minutes today. We’re not yet ready to compete really well a whole game long. We’ll probably stick at this level for some time. We conceded eight turnovers through our own fault in the first period. Then there were also our mistakes in defense. However, we rebounded and also moved the ball well. We displayed a good attitude and perhaps we’re good enough to play 35 strong minutes in a few months’ time.”

Brose Bamberg faces its first home game in the new Champions League season on Wednesday, October 23, 2019, when BC Nizhny Novgorod visits (tip-off: 8 p.m.). Following the defeat in Nymburk a week ago, the team of Roel Moors ought to win.

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