The Syntainics MBC has won the BBL Cup for the first time in the club’s history. After Saturday’s victory against FC Bayern Basketball, the host team in Weißenfels beat Bamberg Baskets 97:87 (50:39) in the final.
For the MBC, it was only the second title in the club’s history after winning the FIBA Europe Cup in 2004. They achieved it again with a solid team performance with five double-digit scorers. Top Four MVP Michael Devoe (27 points, 7/12 FG, 11/13 FT) and Bayern match winner Martin Breunig (16, 6/6, 4 assists) did best. Ronaldo Segu (22, 6 assists) and Moritz Krimmer (17, 6 rebounds) were the most industrious scorers for the long-disappointing Bambergers.
The MBC continued as against Bayern, with Breunig in particular getting off to a good start with two dunks, including one over Krimmer. Bamberg, on the other hand, needed three minutes to score, with a lot of the playmaking done by Segu. The sides were evenly poised at 13:13 midway through the period, after which the MBC got into its stride thanks to a number of steals (Bamberg: 8 TOs). With the siren sounding, back-up guard Aleksa Kovacevic added the final point in transition with a lay-up to seal a strong first period for the home side (28:17).
After that run, the game flattened out somewhat, with the home side becoming less accurate and Bamberg finding hardly any means of penetrating the aggressive defense and getting no easy shots. Instead, Spencer Reaves (14) scored his first points with a three after an offensive rebound (41:27). Bamberg, on the other hand, missed the production of Ibi Watson-Boye, who was outstanding in the semi-final. However, the MBC now had foul problems, with both Ty Brewer and Ivan Tkachenko having already accumulated three fouls. As a result, the visitors managed to reduce the deficit to 50:39 by half-time.
Devoe leads MBC to cup victory
The same picture was on display after the break. Bamberg just couldn’t get the deficit down to single digits, but at least managed a mini-run midway through the period through a Krimmer three and an and-1 by Noah Locke. Breunig also conceded his fourth foul, as did Tyron Johnson (13). However, whenever the MBC needed to score, it managed to do so. It was symptomatic of the game that Charles Callison drained a buzzer-beating three with Brett to make it 75:60.
Callison and Devoe added further points, but Brewer fouled out with nine minutes left on the clock. It didn’t matter, as Weißenfels kept on getting good shots and made no mistake from them (87:68). However, it then went a long way without scoring: Filip Stanic cut the deficit to nine points midway through the period, but Devoe answered with a bucket from outside on the other side. The outstanding guard added a further three shortly afterwards, as Bamberg was no longer able to get within striking distance and so missed out on capturing the seventh cup in the club’s history.
