European Prospects

After the interesting day with the semi-finals on Saturday, the time was come to crown the champions of the 2011/2012 season in the two national German Youth Leagues. One thing was sure, in both categories, the winner would be a first time champion as none of the participating teams ever won it all.

JBBL: Paderborn Baskets – FC Bayern München 88-75

Paderborn got the quick start behind an athletic drive of Lars Kamp and the baseline jump shot of Till Pape. Kamp added another one on the fast break and his team went up 6-2 early in the game. It was Karim Jallow who scored 2 baskets in a row to tie the score and after another basket by Pape, Richard Freudenberg opened his scoring with a three-pointer to give Bayern their first lead. Kamp took over and scored 5 points in a row and when Niklas Kiel scored after the offensive rebound, Bayern had to take their first time out as they were trailing 19-12. Bayern could though reduce the gap to 4 after being down 22-13 as Paderborn got called for a T because of defending in zone. Tim Hasbargen knocked down the two free-throws and scored the triple on the buzzer.

Paderborn looked not impressed as they went immediately for a good post play by Kiel. But Sebastian Schmitt answered with a tough drive and the foul and when Hasbargen scored on the drive as well, the score was nearly tied again. Kiel tried a bit too much dribble plays which gave Bayern the possibility to run the break and take the lead on a Hasbargen layup. Kamp came back from the bench and continued to draw fouls at will on his drives. But Bayern had the momentum and Jallow did an excellent job on both ends of the floor by shutting down Kamp and attacking the rim for the easy baskets. Paderborn had the possibility to reduce the difference from the line but missed several shots before Kamp was there again with his dynamic drives. Kiel tied the score with a great drive and footwork play and we went to the halftime at 35-35.

Paderborn started really well with 8 unanswered points as Kamp knocked a jumper on the drive and the three from the corner while Alan Boger made the long distance shot as a fastbreak trailer. The Munich time out did not help as Paderborn added four more points on the fast break. Kamp and his guys had the break now and started to really play well on both ends of the floor. But Bayern did not give up with Hasbargen scoring the nice layup on the crossover move. Kiel and Kamp were everywhere and Bayern had to take their second time out already with only 5 minutes into the second half being down 57-40. Jallow had four fouls for Munich which gave them no real alternative to stop Kamp from driving to the hoop. But Bayern showed heart and scored 6 points in a row and Paderborn had to ask for a timeout on their side. The difference was now ten points and both teams traded baskets before the last quarter.

Munich started better into the last quarter as Hasbargen could reduce the gap to only 5 points in the first minute. The forward stole several balls to create fast break opportunities and helped his team to stay in the game. Luis Figge who was not as good as yesterday that far scored two important free-throws in order to get the first points for his team in the last quarter. Schmitt made a very nice scoop shot out of the spin but Kamp answered on the drive after missing a couple of jumpers before. Kiel rejected shots which helped his team to stay up and when he knocked down the three in a Pick and Pop play, Paderborn was up by 9 again. Boger added a fast break layup and Munich had to go for their last timeout with 4 minutes 19 on the clock. Kiel secured the rebounds on defense and scored a highly important jump hook to bring the score to 80-70 with 2 minutes to go. Bayern felt that the game was over and Paderborn could enjoy their first ever National JBBL Championship.

MVP: Niklas Kiel 23pts (7/12 FGs – 1/2 3FGs – 8/10FTs), 18rebs, 4blks

NBBL: Eisbären Bremerhaven – TSV Tröster Breitengüssbach 65-79

Bremerhaven opened the score similar to yesterday with a quick three by Adrian Breitlauch against the 3-2 zone proposed by Breitengüssbach. Johannes Richter imposed his length and positioning early in the paint to give his team a first lead but was immediately answered with the first triple of Bazou Kante. Both teams played with great intensity and Bremerhaven could get a 5 point lead on a score after offensive rebound by Helge Baues. Breitengüssbach could answer and tied the score again after a nice drive of Philip Daubner where he could find his big man on the dish. Güssbach went ahead a little after a nice three-point shot by Alexander Engel but Baues scored the huge dunk on the buzzer to reduce the gap to only 1 point.

With Kante on the bench with two fouls, Bremerhaven tried to attack the basket but was not particularly successful. Richter added another basket in the paint for Breitengüssbach where Terry Thomas had his third foul already. Baues forced the drive and got called for the offensive foul followed by a technical. Daubner converted the two free-throws but Breitlauch scored on a nice set play close to the basket to bring the score to 25-28. Johannes Thiemann added a nice offensive board followed by the layup when Kante came back to the game with his two fouls. Nick Tienarend made a triple after a nice offense but Kante missed the free-throws to tie the score. Thiemann insisted inside but found Daubner in the corner for the three-point shot. After several free-throws on both sides and the third foul for Kante, it was Daubner again who knocked down the three-point shot on the halftime buzzer for the 39-32 lead for Breitengüssbach.

Engel immediately made his first shot from the three-point territory to give his team the double-digit lead but Jonathan Malu answered in the paint. Richter found Thomas on a great cut and the Brose Baskets farm team seemed to take control of the game especially after Engel scored the tough drive with the foul. Richter and Engel added more three-pointers and Breitengüssbach ran away to a nearly twenty points advantage. Bremerhaven increased their defensive presence and Baues kept the hope alive with a break away dunk to bring the score back to 42-56. Kante had a nice cross to score on the drive but Baues got called for his fourth which was a big hit for the Bremerhaven inside defense. A second Technical in the game for Bremerhaven followed and Engel scored the big three that brought the lead of Breitengüssbach back to 17. Breitlauch though nailed the triple too to keep the chances to turn it around at a minimum at 49-63 before the last ten minutes.

Breitengüssbach started well in the last quarter as Engel found his team mates perfectly in shooting positions. Baues got his fifth foul quickly but the Eisbären were not giving up with Kante scoring the difficult pull-up jumper. Daubner though played the steal on the passing lane and gave his team the 17 point lead with the fast break layup. Kante reduced the difference to 11 though with 3 minutes on the clock and Malu brought the score back to a 9 point game with 2 minutes to play. The defense of the Icebears was perfect now and Kante could score another one from the free-throw line. Missing the defensive rebound, Bremerhaven went yet again to the line to add one more point. But that was the moment when Daubner was back with the neck-breaking three to go up to ten points again with 1 minute 10 seconds to play. Richter secured the victory with a big offensive rebound and the game was done as both teams subbed in their 12th men.

MVP: Johannes Richter 21pts (8/17FGs), 7rebs, 2asts