FC Bayern Munich's basketball players won the first final of the best-of-five series 74-70 against their rival from Berlin after a dramatic finish and are thus 1-0 ahead in the fight for the championship. In the sold-out Audi Dome, 6,500 spectators saw a game of the two best German teams that will be hard to beat in terms of suspense. Alba started the game much more confidently, led early with eleven points and fought punch for punch until the final minutes of the game. In the gripping final moments the Munich side won with their strong defense and making shots from the free-throw line. Nihad Djedovic was the top scorer for Bayern with 18 points.
Game 2 will take place next Wednesday in Berlin (20:30/Public Viewing in Munich's CinemaxX at Isartor), before the third game of the series is scheduled for Sunday (June 23rd/ 18:00) in the Audi Dome.
Points per quarter Bayern - Berlin: 18-22, 18-15, 14-14, 24-19.
FCBB Stats: Nihad Djedovic (18 points/6 assists), Danilo Barthel (14), Petteri Koponen (11/3 three), Derrick Williams (8), Leon Radosevic (6), Devin Booker (5), Nemanja Dangubic (4), Vladimir Lucic (4), Stefan Jovic (4), Maodo Lo (5 Reb), Alex King and Robin Amaize.
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "It was a difficult and interesting game. We started very badly and had a lot of turnovers. The second half was very competitive. Siva turned on at the beginning of the last quarter and hit some tough shots, but in the end we just managed to win the game. Now we will concentrate on the second game. Thanks to the players and fans, the support today was great. In the playoffs it is all about winning. Tomorrow we will discuss what we can do better. But the important thing today was victory."
Berlin head coach, Alejandro Garcia Reneses: "I think it was a game that depended on many different factors. We tried to make as few mistakes as possible because we knew that only then would it be possible for us to have a chance to win. And we certainly could have won. But Bavaria was better in the last minutes and therefore won. We will now try everything on Wednesday to win the second game. You don't have to talk about Siva's fifth foul now; talking about individual actions and mistakes by players now doesn't help. Sometimes we're strong on offense, sometimes we're strong on defense. We just have to keep our level constant if we want to win this series."
1st quarter
FCBB coach Dejan Radonjic started with Maodo Lo, Nihad Djedovic, Vladimir Lucic, Danilo Barthel and Devin Booker in the eagerly awaited Final of the German Championship. The guests from the capital had a greatstart with a 7-0 run and forced coach Radonjic to take a time-out after less than two minutes of play. The obviously uncomfortable Munich team needed three and a half minutes to score their first goal - Nihad Djedovic finally poured in a bucket after four minutes of play. Bayern picked up their intensity on defense and in a few minutes were back within reach. Bayern struggeld shooting, however, and had seven turnovers in the opening quarter. If not for Nihad Djedovic and his five points in a ro it could have been worse. Petteri Koponen drilled the buzzerbeater from beyond the arc and it was a big boost for the home team that went into the second quarter down just four with a score of 22-18.
2nd quarter
Again, a lot of time ran off the clock before the Bavarians put more points up on the board. Petteri Koponen showed some strength in getting to the basket and brought Bayern to back within four. Both teams were fighting for every inch at this pointand the defense for both teams was outstanding. Bayern wasn't quite able to take the lead due to more miscues on offense and with three minutes to play Berlin was up 30-25. FCBB captain Danilo Barthel showed his class and scored and the last 72 seconds of the first half belonged to the home team who flipped the switch and with a brilliant 7-2 run briefly took the first lead of the game before Berlin scored before the break to secure a small lead at 37-36.
3rd quarter
Leon Radosevic started the half with an easy bucket from a beauty of a pass from Lucic and again the lead was with Bayern. Both teams were determined to take Game 1 and the play on the court was intense and deadly even. The aggression on defense was poison for the flow of the game as the fouls accumulated but Petteri Koponen managed to sink a three and take a 47-44 lead. The lead wasn't to last though as Rokas Giedraitis shocked the fans in the Audi Dome with two threes in a row and forced the Bavarians to take a time-out. FCBB sharpshooter Koponen joined in and reduced the Berlin lead to 51-50 which was ended up being the score after three quarters.
4th quarter
Berlin's Peyton Siva caught fire and scored eleven points within three minutes - time-out Bayern. Derrick Williams hit a huge three at an important time in the game and with three minutes left the score was 66-63, Berlin in the lead. Vladimir Lucic also hit a monster shot just 128 seconds before the end to get to just two points behind their rivals. Djedovic chose a proven and clever means by attacking the zone and drawing a foul and then sunk his two free-throws as did Barthel to take a 69-68 lead. Berlin's Johannes Thiemann made it through the Munich defense but in the next attack Derrick Williams climbed the ladder and hammered the ball with his left hand to retake the lead, 71-70. The defense did the rest and provoked an offensive foul by Sivas as well as a final turnover. The first final game was ended up going to the home team.
The next games:
Final 2: Wednesday, June 19th 20:30
Final 3: Sunday, June 23rd 18:00 (Audi Dome)
Final 4*: Tuesday, June 25th 20:30
Final 5*: Friday, June 28th 20:30 (Audi Dome)
*if necessary
Photo-Credit: Stickel and smoking stones
