Science City Jena secured their spot in the Basketball Bundesliga for another season after a hard-fought 81-79 (30:43, 69:69) overtime victory over MLP Academics Heidelberg on Thursday. The win gave Jena their decisive 12th win of the season, while Heidelberg is relegated to the second division for the first time since the 2020/21 season.
With Jena’s victory, the Basketball Löwen Braunschweig also booked their relegation. The team, owned by Dennis Schröder, would not be able to stay up even if they win their remaining two games.
Heidelberg looked poised to avoid relegation early on, dominating the first quarter 22-5 and building a 20-point lead. However, Jena fought back, winning the fourth quarter 22-10 and taking their first lead with 54 seconds left in regulation. In overtime, Jena’s top scorer Joe Wieskamp (19 points) hit the game-winning three-pointer with 18 seconds remaining.
At the top of the table, Bayern Munich continued their winning streak, defeating MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 86-78 (51:39) for their eighth consecutive victory. Nenad Dimitrijevic (19 points) and World Champion Andreas Obst (17 points) led the way for Bayern. Before the game, Obst was honored as the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).