AUDIO: Substitute-weakened Hamburg Towers lose in Istanbul (1 min)
As of: December 30, 2025 7:28 p.m
The Hamburg Towers also lost their twelfth game in the group phase of the Basketball EuroCup. The Bundesliga team had to admit defeat to the Turkish top team Bahcesehir College Istanbul with 68:105 (38:63) on Tuesday evening.
Head coach Benka Barloschky’s decimated team had no chance without the injured Jan Niklas Wimberg and Osaro Jürgen Rich as well as the ill LJ Thorpe in the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul. After a decent opening phase and a temporary 12:7 lead (3rd), the Hanseatic League were clearly inferior to the hosts, especially in the rebound game. Already at halftime, the Towers’ hopes of a successful revenge for the 85:106 defeat in the first leg were almost dashed.
Towers occasionally shine – but too rarely under the basket
Despite the clear defeat, it wasn’t all bad for Hamburg. The Barloschky team repeatedly showed good moves and scored some great baskets. Overall, the North Germans didn’t get any consistency in their performance. Light and shadow alternated at regular intervals. The thing with the light under the baskets was very limited. At halftime, the Towers had only secured six of 22 rebounds.
Istanbul was not only physically superior, but also more mobile. The Turks overwhelmed Hamburg with their fast attacking game and often had free throws. At times there was a difference in class, which was also due to the fact that the Towers were not able to compensate for their personnel losses.
Istanbul quickly clears things up
After the North Germans had barely been able to stand up to the home team in the first 20 minutes, with the exception of the initial phase, Istanbul dominated the action almost at will even after the break. Coach Marko Barać’s team quickly moved ahead to 30 points (74:44/23.) and thus dashed Hamburg’s last small hopes of catching up. Afterwards, the Bundesliga club’s only concern was to keep the bankruptcy within tolerable limits. But even this ultimately failed completely.
The next difficult encounter is on the agenda for the Towers next Friday (8 p.m.). Then we go away to the top BBL team Würzburg Baskets for important points in the fight to stay in the league.
