The Telekom Baskets Bonn have won the top game of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and have their sights set firmly on winning the main round.
The pursuer won against table leader Alba Berlin with 84:77 (46:38) and maintained the table lead over the defending champion (29:3) with 28:2 victories. In addition, the Champions League semi-finalist Bonn still has two catch-up games to play in the final spurt of the season.
With 20 points, TJ Shorts II was the best thrower for the Bonn team, who celebrated their 15th league win in a row. Alba, on the other hand, missed a great chance of winning the home game until the end of the playoffs due to their first Bundesliga defeat after eleven wins in a row.
“We just believe in ourselves, no matter what team we’re up against,” Bonner Tyson Ward said after the game at MagentaSport: “We’re trying to tackle one game after the other.”
The baskets initially determined what was happening and took the lead early on with 34:17. Alba allowed too many turnovers in this phase. However, the guests improved as a result and reduced the gap to eight points by the break.
In the second round, Bonn kept the opponent at a distance for a long time before a final sprint by the Berliners made it exciting again.
Meanwhile, ratiopharm Ulm celebrated an important victory in the battle for the playoffs. Ulm defeated EWE Baskets Oldenburg 97:84 (36:38) and secured seventh place in the table. Oldenburg, which had previously celebrated three league wins in a row, is still fourth.