Just one step away from the semifinals: The Bayern basketball team won the decisive third playoff duel in Ludwigsburg 84:73 (43:37) to take a 2-1 lead and can now secure a 3-1 series win there on Friday (8:30 PM/Dyn).
Without the injured Weiler-Babb and Francisco, the cup winners controlled the first half but then had to withstand the fierce physicality of the Swabians. The top scorers were Ibaka (16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists), Booker (15), and Edwards (13).
MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg - FC Bayern Basketball 73:84 (37:45)
FCBB:
Serge Ibaka (16 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists), Devin Booker (15/5), Carsen Edwards (13), Elias Harris (11), Vladimir Lucic (10), Niels Giffey (8), Leandro Bolmaro (6), Isaac Bonga (3/5), Andreas Obst (2), Ivan Kharchenkov, Nelson Weidemann, Niklas Wimberg
Topscorer Ludwigsburg:
Silas Melson (24 Punkte)
Referee
Robert Lottermoser, Christof Madinger, Dennis Sirowi
Attendance
3.306
Ticket Presale Underway
This means the BMW Park will definitely see another game: Quarterfinal 5 on Sunday (7 PM) or, in the best-case scenario, the first semifinal next Wednesday (May 29, 8:30 PM). Tickets are now available.
Booker and Edwards Score
FC Bayern Basketball surprised the hosts with an agile 2-3 zone, collecting rebounds and capitalizing on fast breaks – Booker's dunk and Giffey's basket increased the lead to 32:23 (8th minute).
Bonga brought the ball up frequently again, and Harris scored assertively – 28:18 (11th minute). On the other side, only Melson (24) continued to score. By the middle of the second quarter, the defense had held Ludwigsburg's offense to a 24 percent field goal percentage. When Edwards cheekily added more points, Bayern was up 33:20.
Bonga for 74:66
However, when Bayern briefly failed to defend the three-pointer after the break and their shot selection became arbitrary, FCBB promptly conceded the equalizer: 47:47 (25th minute), welcome to a playoff battle.
In the hectic final quarter, they needed clever plays from Harris and Giffey, a clearly won rebound duel (40:27), and an ice-cold three-pointer from Bonga to make it 74:66 (37th minute). Despite their great effort, the MHP Riesen led only once: 3:0.
Quotes:
Pablo Laso, Headcoach FC Bayern Basketball: "Congratulations to my players on the win. We knew it would be tough; it's always tough against Ludwigsburg because they fight until the end. When they got open shots, they were dangerous, and we didn't always defend well against that. But we stayed mentally strong in the game and always looked for our advantages. I'm happy with the win, but we haven't won anything yet. Ludwigsburg can always come back, especially in the final minutes. We need to put in another very good performance on Friday if we want to advance."
Serge Ibaka: "We knew that Ludwigsburg would play very aggressively on both ends of the court, so we wanted to be present from the start – and we succeeded. We defended very well and aggressively as a team. Friday's game will be one of the toughest of the season because closing out a series is always very difficult. We need to bring the same mindset as today, and then we have a good chance."
Elias Harris: "As expected, it was a physical game. Ludwigsburg has incredible fighting spirit, but we held our ground with a good team effort. We defended solidly, moved the ball well on offense, and in the end, I was able to finish a few plays. We need to define ourselves through our defense; we can't relax, we have to play physically – and it's important that everyone understands that. (...) Melson is a damn good player, he has the complete package – we all have our hands full with him."