Dominant Bamberg keeps its season alive

Brose Bamberg kept its slim playoff hopes alive – and also helped out a few other teams – by routing Anadolu Efes Istanbul 68-87 at Abdi Ipekci Arena. The victory took Bamberg’s record to 9-16, while Efes dropped to 13-12. The visitors took control in the second quarter and never let go, leading by double figures for all but one minute in the second half. Big man Leon Radosevic shined with 16 points, while Nicolo Melli combined 16 points with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Maodo Lo added 15 points, including 3 of 4 three-point shooting, and Darius Miller scored 14 and grabbed 6 rebounds. Cedi Osman paced Efes with 15 points – 10 of them in the first quarter – while Derrick Brown added 13 and Thomas Heurtel and Brandon Paul both netted 11. Bamberg’s dominance showed up in the stats sheet, winning the defensive rebounding battle 37 to 17, and delivering 22 assists compared to 13 from Efes.

Bamberg made a strong start as Radosevic scored the game’s first 4 points, before Brown responded with 5 to tie the game. The lead swapped hands regularly until Efes established a solid advantage near the end of the first quarter thanks to 10 consecutive points from Osman, with Brown’s free throws making it 23-17. But Bamberg made a spectacular start to the second, launching a 0-16 run including triples by Fabien Causeur and Miller, and 4 more points for Radosevic. A three-pointer from DeShaun Thomas ended Efes’s drought, but the visitors kept on hitting shots, with Lo scoring 5 in a 0-7 run to end the half leading 32-42. Bamberg also scored the first 4 points of the second half and protected its lead as Radosevic continued to shine. A triple from Patrick Heckmann capped a 0-12 run, which helped secure a 19-point lead at the end of the third, and although Efes briefly rallied midway the fourth quarter, the deficit was too large to surmount and Bamberg cruised home.