79:78 triumph for Bayern in front of 11,800 fans

Away win! The Bayern basketball team has conquered the fortress of Milan. In front of 11,800 spectators, the German champions were rewarded for a great fighting performance against the Italian champions. At the end of the Double-Week, despite quickly losing a lead, the Munich team left everything on the court and won in a dramatic finish, 79:78 (40:39). Top scorers Edwards (25) and Weiler-Babb (10 and 12 of the 21 assists) made the decisive plays, while Booker scored 23 points.

The team of Gordon Herbert ends the first half of the season with a clearly positive record of 11:6 and will face defending champion Panathinaikos on the day after Christmas as they begin the second half of the season.

All game stats

One free throw, one offensive rebound

The Bayern team will return to Munich on Saturday after eight days – on Sunday at 4:30 PM (Dyn), they will face Oldenburg in a BBL duel at the sold-out BMW Park.

Their "Ciao" in Milan was outstanding: The FCBB, this time starting with Giffey, led 22:6 (8th minute) and set the pace. The Forum went silent as Voigtmann and Booker dunked, Babb and Edwards scored from the outside – and the defense read the game well.

It wouldn’t stay that way, of course: Olimpia’s veterans Leday and Causeur now played with more composure, cutting the lead to just 26:21 (13th minute). The defense pressured the Munich offense, and Mirotic tied the game at 35:35.

71:76, then Edwards takes over

Energy and strength were the themes after halftime, but Coach Herbert kept his core players on the court longer this time (58:54/28th minute). Mirotic repeatedly got to the free-throw line, with Olimpia leading 21:8 in free throws before the final quarter (65:59).

The Milan drama was taken to the next level, as was the intensity: FCBB went four minutes without scoring, then led 71:68, but fell behind 71:76 (38th minute). But Edwards tied the game, Babb grabbed an offensive rebound, and Edwards hit the decisive free throw for a 79:78 lead (12 seconds left) – and Shields was excellently defended on the final shot, victory!

Quotes

Gordon Herbert: „This is a big away win for us. We started the game very well, aggressively. Then we lost the momentum in the second quarter. In the second half, it went back and forth, back and forth, with the momentum constantly shifting. Five points ahead, five points behind, then Carsen Edwards had some big plays. And Nick Weiler-Babb had an outstanding, complete game, with an important offensive rebound at the end for the free throws. (…)

Carsen is an extremely talented offensive player, today he had one of his best overall games. He took on offense, had some steals, and made several really good passes. (…) Booker is a three-level player at the five, he can post up inside, has a wide range, and can also hit the three.”

Nick Weiler-Babb: „We came in strong. After a bad second quarter, we found our rhythm again and fought until the end. We needed this big away win. We believe in ourselves, and the coaching staff believes in us too. At halftime, we talked in the locker room about where we needed to improve. We stuck together and kept the tempo high in the remaining 20 minutes.”

Carsen Edwards: „A win is a win. We had some ups and downs in this game. We try to win away games – how, in the end, doesn't matter. As a team, we tried to get stops and stick together. A good team like Milan can always go on a run, but for us, it was important to stick together. I made some mistakes and missed a few shots. The most important thing is that it ended well for us.”

The Next Games of FCBB

• Sunday, December 22, 4:30 PM: 11th easyCredit BBL matchday, FCBB – EWE Baskets Oldenburg (BMW Park)

• Friday, December 27, 8:30 PM: 18th EuroLeague matchday, FCBB – Panathinaikos Athens (SAP Garden)

• Sunday, December 29, 6:00 PM: 8th easyCredit BBL matchday, Frankfurt SKYLINERS – FCBB