Sleep in, eat, attend a team meeting, get some light exercise and work on tactics in the gym in the late afternoon, eat again and receive physiotherapy from Frank and Tom: there was little time for celebrations the day after Bayern’s valuable 101–93 win over Efes Istanbul, which saw the Munich side make their presence felt again in the EuroLeague.
There is no time to rest, though. On Friday evening (7 p.m. CET/MagentaSport), Bayern will face Turkish runners-up Beşiktaş Istanbul for the first time. The club returned to Europe’s elite competition after a 13-year absence.
Reunion with Gabriel and Wilbekin
Last season’s EuroCup finalists have risen to become the third force in Istanbul’s basketball landscape behind Fenerbahçe and Efes, and their ambitions are hardly any different from those of their local rivals. Beşiktaş now share the 10,000-capacity Basketbol Gelişim Merkezi on the Sea of Marmara with Efes. Like Bayern, Beşiktaş have a 2–3 record after five games. On Wednesday, they lost 100–82 at Hapoel Tel Aviv, with the game decided in the third quarter, which Tel Aviv won 32–16.
Beşiktaş are averaging almost 92 points per game, making them the EuroLeague’s third-best offensive team. Their victories came on the road at Baskonia (92–84) and Maccabi Tel Aviv (109–93).
The team also includes two familiar faces. One is Scottie Wilbekin, who joined Beşiktaş from Fenerbahçe after recovering from a series of injuries and is currently the team’s leading scorer, averaging 16.4 points per game while shooting 43 percent from three-point range. The other is center Wenyen Gabriel, who played for Bayern last season and averaged 7.2 points per game.
EuroLeague’s third-best offense
The attack-minded hosts also have US guard Devon Dotson (11.2 points, 4.6 assists per game) in the backcourt, as well as former NBA player Jaylen Nowell (10.4 points). On the wing, they can call on the experienced European campaigner Anthony Brown (10.2 points), while Croatian veteran Ante Žižić provides a presence in the paint (9.2 points, 6.8 rebounds per game).
That means another demanding assignment for Thiemann and company, similar to the challenge posed by Efes’ Dario Šarić, who scored 21 points against Bayern.
“Beşiktaş have played well so far, and with their fans behind them, playing at home will make things difficult for us. But we want to build on what we did yesterday,” Bayern head coach Anton Gavel said on Thursday afternoon.
“They are one of the best offensive teams in the entire EuroLeague, so we have to be particularly solid defensively.”