RheinEnergie Koln lost ground on Bundesliga leaders GHP Bamberg and Alba Berlin following a 74-68 overtime derby defeat to Bayer Giants Leverkusen.

The loss is a major blow for Sasa Obradovic's side ahead of Tuesday's  EuroCup quarter-final with BC Kyiv as well as handing struggling Leverkusen bragging rights in North-Rhein Westphalia.

After beating Alba last weekend, RheinEnergie entered the game in confident mood, albeit with an eye on their midweek trip to the Ukraine.

Obradovic's side continues to be plagued by injuries which have left Jannik Zimmer, Savo Milovic and more recently Glen McGowan on the sidelines, and the Bayer game was one too many for the head coach's threadbare squad.

"We have been struggling with injuries for weeks now and we got what was coming to us," he said.

RheinEnergie were behind almost from start to finish, and despite levelling the game at 59-59 before the buzzer, were always chasing an unlikely victory at the Wilhelm-Dopatka Hall, where they have yet to win in five years.

Bamberg and Alba Berlin continued their march away from the competition with wins over Giessen 46ers and TBB Trier respectively.

Third place remains the territory of surprise package Bremerhaven, who continue to impress in their first season in the top flight.

On Friday night, fellow Bundesliga newcomers Sellbytel Baskets Nurnberg became the latest club to fall by the wayside in a 93-73 success for Sarunas Sakalauskas' side.

At the bottom, BS|Energy Braunschweig fell to their 16th defeat of the season, losing 74-67 at home to Telekom Baskets Bonn, while BG Karlsruhe remain in the relegation zone despite beating the Deutsche Bank Skyliners Frankfurt, who slump to 12th.