Bayern faces heavyweight Olympiakos Piraeus with star Spanoulis

Though they needed rest and had to dispel the disappointment of the last game in the German Cup the Bayern basketball players and their head coach Andrea Trinchieri didn't slow down training this week.  On Friday (23.10.) there will be a duel in the Audi Dome with top team Olympiakos Piraeus, which has the same record before the other cup preliminary round games in Weißenfels against the MBC and Crailsheim will follow on Sunday and Monday.

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Start of play is on Friday evening at 20.30 o'clock, "MagentaSport" goes as always 15 minutes before tip-off on transmission.  

Although the FCBB will once again have to do without its fans on Friday, Bayern is looking forward to a festive day, as the well-structured Olympiakos team comes to visit. They are a team built around legends and under coach Georgios Bartzokas, who led Olympiakos to w Euroleague win in 2013.

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Spanoulis, Printezis and Sloukas - more experience is not possible
Trinchieri knows the trio and also the underdog status despite the current 3-1 record for both teams and the two astounding away wins for his team in Tel Aviv and Fenerbahce. "This will be a game between two completely different teams. Because they are super experienced and we are not. We are playing against three gods of basketball, Spanoulis, Sloukas and Printezis, who have all won the EuroLeague - we, on the other hand, are still green compared to them, completely inexperienced on this level. So we have to find a way to close this gap. And unfortunately you can't buy experience in the supermarket, you have to put more energy into it. We have to respond to their toughness and control the boards, because they are one of the best teams in offensive rebounding. And we have to watch out for these three who have made history in our sport."      

Like the FCBB, Olympiakos has also gotten off to a good start in the new season after a narrow opening loss (68-67 at home against Kaunas) with three wins in a row: They beat local rival Panathinaikos Athens 78-71, Olimpia Milan 86-75 and Maccabi Tel Aviv 85-82.

Once again, the focus will be on the young Munich backcourt around Wade Baldwin, 24, Zan Mark Sisko, 23, and also Nick Weiler-Babb, 24. The tandem of Baldwin and Sisko, the youngest playmaking duo in the EuroLeague, has so far presented a promising picture. US-Guard Baldwin - last year with Piraeus in his first professional year - is with 2,75 Steals not only the best ball thief of the competition at present. In addition to Sisko, he is also responsible for the fact that the Bavarians have considerably stabilized the ratio of turns (13.2) and assists (16) compared to the previous season.

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On the other side, however, pure experience and cold-bloodedness await the guards on Friday: In addition to the indestructible legend Vassilis Spanoulis (38/8.3 hp), Kostas Sloukas is now pulling the strings. The 30-year-old playmaker has returned to his home country after five years with Fenerbahce. He played his 250th EuroLeague match against Maccabi, and has so far played six assists per game.

Vladimir Lucic: "You know how to play".
The record man, however, is Spanoulis (328 events), his 4,272 points and 1,523 assists are all-time best in the premier class. With an index rating of 4040 points, "V-Span" Spanoulis also leads this category. Almost in the shadow of this Greek idol is another record-hunter: fellow countryman Georgios Printezis is a good 1,000 points behind Spanoulis in all-time points, but in third place overall. In the current season, the 35-year-old forward is also his team's top scorer with Guard Aaron Harrison (10.8 hp each). Printezis' class is documented in the hit lists also with the rebounding (1,339, place 5) and with the played games (313, 3.).

In addition to Spanoulis, Printezis, Sloukas (8.8 hp) and Harrison, who scored the victory basket against Maccabi, the former Bayreuth Hassan Martin (10.5 hp/6 hp) as well as triple shooter Sasha Vezenkov (8.3 hp) also ensure reliable scoring. Like Martin, Octavius Ellis (5.8 hp) is also one of the best eleven rebounders of the still young season. FCBB Center Jalen Reynolds is currently seventh (7.0).

"They are so incredibly experienced and are at the top of their game year after year," FCBB co-captain Vladimir Lucic pays tribute to the guest. "They know how to play, it will be hard for us, but we want to match their toughness and energy and try everything to look good again.

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