The midfield of the EuroLeague remains in focus: In the German prestige duel against Alba Berlin, the Bayern basketball team ended their winless phase after a convincing performance and celebrated an undisputed 82:65 (43:30) victory. In front of 10,200 spectators, the cup winners pulled away in the second quarter (24:11) and overall played dominantly to secure their ninth season win in the premier class.
Only a foot injury to Bonga dampened the successful evening; for FCBB, Francisco, Brankovic, Edwards, and Booker all scored in double figures. On Sunday (5 PM), Bayern could now also make a statement in the BBL top match against league leaders Chemnitz.
Alba Berlin - FC Bayern Basketball 65:82 (30:43)
FCBB
Sylvain Francisco (14 Points, 5 Assists), Danko Brankovic (14, 8 Rebounds), Carsen Edwards (13), Serge Ibaka (11, 5 Rebounds), Andreas Obst (9), Devin Booker (6), Nick Weiler-Babb (6), Niels Giffey (3), Isaac Bonga (2), Leandro Bolmaro (4, 6 Rebounds), Vladimir Lucic, Dino Radoncic
Topscorer Berlin
Matteo Spagnolo (15 Points)
Referee
Miguel Angel Perez, Uros Nikolic, Josip Radojkovic
Attendance
10.229
As has been the case more often recently, the Munich team quickly fell behind (4:13/5.), but eight points from Edwards quickly closed the gap. A few easy points were still left on the table, but after the first quarter break, the visitors stormed ahead with a 13:0 run in just four minutes - 32:19.
Brankovic and Lucic impressive
In this phase, Brankovic shone with 14 points, six rebounds, and very agile defensive moves for a 2.16-meter man. 37:21 was the largest lead, Lucic (with a +21 at halftime in eight minutes) organized the very good ball movement.
Bonga has to leave
At the beginning of the second half, FCBB lost Bonga, who twisted his ankle after a block against Wetzell. Berlin resisted with a lot of physicality, temporarily narrowed the gap to 47:52 (26.). However, with the buzzer, Francisco once again elevated the score to 66:51 from the outside.
In the final quarter, Bayern concluded the game professionally, continued to defend well, and secured an impressive 44 rebounds.
The Voices
Pablo Laso, Head Coach of FC Bayern Basketball: "I congratulate my players on the victory; we demonstrated a very good performance. We needed the first quarter to understand what was necessary here. Except for the first quarter, which ended in a 19:19 draw, we won all quarters. And we defended very well from the beginning, understanding that we needed to take away their three-pointers and transition offense. In the attack, we passed the ball well and found open shots."
"Today, we had many players who showed excellent basketball, especially Brankovic and Francisco, but also players who didn't even score, like Lucic. Sylvain and Brankovic had a plus of 26 and 27 in the stats, but Lucic also stands at 27 – that says a lot about the job he did. We didn't play spectacularly, but we played very solidly and secured such an important victory. (...)
This was a derby; there are always emotions between Alba and Berlin. (...) In the last two weeks, we had many good moments, but we couldn't win. Every win is important for the table, but I'm not someone who worries about the standings long before the end. (...) Now, I'm only interested in my team playing as well as possible. If we play solidly and as a team, the victories will come."
Andreas Obst: "I think we showed a very concentrated performance throughout the game. In the third quarter, we had a slight dip, but then we caught ourselves very well. We moved the ball well, especially securing offensive rebounds and making our open shots. In defense, we played physically and disrupted the rhythm of the Berlin players (...). The win today was important for us; we wanted to keep our chance for the play-ins, and that started with this victory today. In the last few weeks, we lost some games narrowly; that shouldn't have happened, and we need to take responsibility for that. But that's why it was even more important to win today (...). Danko is a good guy; he is very talented and works hard. Today, he was rewarded for his hard work. I think he can give us a lot more in the season."
Danko Brankovic: "This is an important victory for us today because we are back on the winning track, and we are still in the fight for the EuroLeague playoffs. We played well today and need to continue like this; then, we will win more games. My role in the team is simply to be the young guy who brings energy, sets screens, and grabs rebounds. That worked well today."
Sylvain Francisco: "We urgently needed this win. In the second half, we defended better and more aggressively, only allowing tough shots for Berlin and distributing the ball well in offense. We made our shots and generated stops. I'm happy; the win was very important."