BallinEurope, the European Basketball news site

As reported on BallinEurope earlier today, prospective Oklahoma City Thunderer/current Brose Baskets Bamberg big man Tibor Pleiss was knocked out of Sunday’s Bundesliga playoff game with Artland Dragons with a knee injury. Heinnews has just reported, however, that, according to team GM Wolfgang Heyder, an MRI examination showed that “Fortunately there was nothing torn and the knee capsule was only overstretched.”

(Yeah, like Oklahoma City needs more good news right now.)

Pleiss will be a game-time decision for Bamberg tomorrow night.

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The semifinals are underway in Germany and, as always, David Hein has one eye on the action there. Read on to find out about the Brose Baskets Bamberg-Artland Dragons and Ratiopharm Ulm-s.Oliver Baskets matchups in game one … plus, a bit of distressing news for forward-thinking Oklahoma City Thunder fans.

The top two seeds in the German Beko BBL playoffs defended home turf to start the semifinals as two-time defending champions Brose Baskets blasted Artland Dragons, 103-70, while ratiopharm ulm knocked off s.Oliver Baskets, 77-65.

Bamberg’s win over the Dragons could prove costly, however, as star center Tibor Pleiß went down with a right knee injury in the fourth quarter and reportedly underwent an MRI yesterday to determine the extent of the injury.

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Biggest shocker of European domestic-league basketball playoffs thus far? David Hein posts this brief report on German Bundesliga no. 8 seed snapping top dog Brose Baskets Bamberg’s 48-game winning streak in the first match of their quarterfinals meeting – there’s even a quality Luol Deng-like buzzer-beater to boot…

Telekom Baskets Bonn squeaked into the German Beko BBL playoffs, but that didn’t stop Mike Koch’s team from pulling an absolute shocker in the opening game of the postseason. Benas Veikalas’ tip-in just before the buzzer gave the eighth-seeded Bonn a 75-74 victory at two-time defending champions and top-seeded Brose Baskets Bamberg.

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From the land of Dirks Nowitzki and Bauermann – David Hein reports on a few happenings in Germany’s top division of basketball as the league gets set to close the regular season and start the playoffs. Read on to find out about Brose Baskets Bamberg laying down the law against Alba Berlin, the Artland Dragons-Bayern München playoff showdown, and how things are suddenly up in the air for the Fraport Skyliners.

Tucker, Pleiß lead Bamberg to big win
Brose Baskets Bamberg once again answered the bell with a knockout as the two-time reigning German Beko BBL champions knocked off Alba Berlin 100-90 in a game that was only a matter of pride for Bamberg, who had long clinched the home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

P.J. Tucker continued his incredible play for Bamberg with 24 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block while shooting 8-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-4 from long range. In the last five games, Tucker is averaging 22 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks while shooting 61 percent overall from the field, including 45 percent from long range and 82 percent from the free throw stripe.

Tibor Pleiß had a superb game as well with 19 points, six rebounds, two assists and one block for Bamberg, who have won 22 of their last 24 games in the league and bounced back from their loss the previous weekend at Bayern Munich.

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Here’s something to get you started on Saturday (yeah, BiE knows it’s, like, noon CET, but hey): A pair of clips taken from the halftime show at last week’s double-overtime masterpiece between Bayern München and Brose Baskets Bamberg over in Germany’s Bundesliga.

Check out a band identified only as “Die Crazy Dunkers” executing acrobatics that would give even Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Blake Griffin pause…

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From the land of Dirks Nowitzki and Bauermann – David Hein reports on a few happenings in Germany’s top division of basketball. Read on to find out about Bayern Munich surviving a double-overtime slugfest with Brose Baskets Bamberg; Ratiopharm Ulm taking a bunch of trophies; and Vitalis Chikoko’s continued success in the Bundesliga.

Bayern wins double-OT battle with Bamberg
Bayern Munich and Brose Baskets Bamberg continued to one-up each other in a German Beko BBL showdown which should be chronicled for the as-yet non-existent BBL TV Classic.

In what truly felt like a heavyweight slugfest, hosts Bayern had the final big punches in double overtime as they beat the two-time reigning champions, 107-103. Jared Homan came up big for Bayern in the second overtime with two big baskets while Bamberg just couldn’t find the answer in the second extra session.

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From the land of Dirk – Nowitzki and Bauermann, that is – David Hein reports on a few happenings in Germany’s top division of basketball.

Read on to find out all about Bayern Munich fining Jared Homan for getting into a bar fight; P.J. Tucker, the Dragon slayer; Skyliners winning again; and BG Göttingen’s relegation.

Jared Homan busted in Munich, continues playing
Bayern Munich have been making headlines all season – most often for good reasons. But the biggest brand in German sports had to answer legal questions after starting center – and top scorer and rebounder – Jared Homan was temporarily detained by police for his involvement in an early morning bar fight in Munich.

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From the land of Dirk – Nowitzki and Bauermann, that is – David Hein reports on a few happenings in Germany’s top division of basketball. Read on to find out all about Alba Berlin and Yassin Idbihi pick-and-rolling Bayern Munich to death and overtaking ratiopharm Ulm for second place; s.Oliver Baskets Würzburg moving past Bayern Munich – for now; and LTi Giessen 46ers extending their deal with head coach Björn Harmsen.

Berlin basketball fans came out en masse over the weekend to see if their red-hot Alba Berlin could sweep the season series against the publicity magnate from the deep south Bayern Munich. And Alba did not disappoint a sold-out crowd of 14,500 at the O2 World Arena as Berlin’s bench outscored Bayern’s reserves 46-13 in a 73-52 victory. Munich had absolutely no clue how to defend the Berlin pick-and-roll as Alba back-up center Yassin Idbihi scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the fourth quarter and Berlin won the final period 73-52.

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While Alba Berlin (22-6) continues to try and claw its way up Germany’s Bundesliga standings at three games behind current top-seed Brose Baskets Bamberg, the team last night got a little relief in the form of a game against relegation-zoners Phoenix Hagen (8-20 and in a three-way tie for 15th place) to put up some gaudy numbers in a 114-86 rout.

Berlin put up a crazy 69 points in the first half of the match and set the Bundesliga record for assists in a game with 32 – many on dishes designed for YouTube highlight clips (as seen below, in fact). The Eurocup side ultimately had five players scoring in double figures, with the pace set by former Benetton Treviso/Bennet Cantù/Wright State University Raiders guard DaShaun Wood’s big 27 points in just 22 minutes played.

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From the land of Dirk – Nowitzki and Bauermann, that is – David Hein reports on a few happenings in Germany’s top division of basketball. Read on to find out all about Fraport Skyliners reminding Brose Baskets of that losing feeling; EWE Baskets Oldenburg’s dismissal of former championship-winning coach Predrag Krunic; and Bayern Munich blasting past road-weary Artland Dragons, who cling to the no. 4 spot in the standings.

Mark it up as the proverbial good loss later in the season, but two-time reigning German Beko BBL champions Brose Baskets Bamberg were handed their third L of the season with Fraport Skyliners winning 76-68 at home to snap the league leaders’ 15-game winning streak.

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