No chance of victory against the league leaders: FC Bayern Basketball suffered a heavy 69-112 (37-51) defeat on Friday evening against EuroLeague title contender Olympiacos Piraeus. The injury-depleted Munich team managed to stay competitive with the Greeks, led by the unstoppable star Vezenkov (18/20 FG), for just under two quarters in front of 13,000 spectators after a poor start.
Despite their third consecutive loss, the German champions still hold a positive record with 11 wins and 9 losses.
Olympiacos Piraeus - FC Bayern Basketball 112:69 (51:37)
FCBB:
Devin Booker (16 points), Kevin Yebo (9), Andreas Obst (9), Niels Giffey (7), Ivan Kharchenkov (7), Johannes Voigtmann (6), Shabazz Napier (5), Danko Brankovic (4), Ivan Volf (4), Onuralp Bitim (2), Carsen Edwards, Elias Harris
Topscorer Olympiacos:
Sasha Vezenkov (45 points)
Referee
Carlos Peruga, Uros Nikolic and Jakub Zamojski
Attendance
13.000
Sunday in front of 14,000 in Mannheim
And here's what's next: On Saturday evening, Bayern will arrive in Mannheim via Frankfurt, where they will face the equally ranked host Heidelberg (9-4) with Paul Zipser on Sunday (4:30 PM) in front of around 14,000 spectators. On Wednesday, they play against Monaco, and on Friday, they face Bologna (both at 8:30 PM, SAP Garden), marking the sixth Double-Week in the EuroLeague.
Headcoach Gordon Herbert had to do without Weiler-Babb (thumb) and Lucic (training injury) in Piraeus, as well as da Silva (ankle). During the week, Kharchenkov fell ill but was included in the roster again. Ivan Volf, also 18, made his debut from the second team.
Kharchenkov was the first Munich player to score, but it was for the 1-9 deficit. After three minutes, Herbert pulled the entire starting five. This move didn't help either: the first quarter ended 14-28, with Bayern having more turnovers (7) than rebounds (6).
Two 18-year-olds on the court
At this point, Bayern were fired up. They fought back, hit some three-pointers, and set up Booker for several dunks: the score was 22-30 (13th minute). Game on?
Not really, as Vezenkov had other plans: 7/8 from the field and 16 points by halftime, finishing with 45.
The guard continued to make the difference in the third quarter against a Bayern team that was playing harder and shooting better (50-60/25th minute). However, the immense quality of Olympiacos and 22 costly Munich turnovers prevented the FCBB from getting back into the game. Olympiacos shone, and Herbert distributed the minutes.
Quotes:
Gordon Herbert, Head Coach FC Bayern Basketball: "First of all, congratulations to Olympiacos. With 22 turnovers and 17 surrendered offensive rebounds, you can't succeed here. I think it was a ten-point game for 25 minutes; the guys played with some heart in the second quarter and the first five minutes. Unfortunately, in the last twelve minutes, it was all downhill."
Johannes Voigtmann: "We had a poor start, and later it was a lesson. There were phases where we came back and it looked good. But when you throw away the ball like we did today against such a team, they get on the fast break. They exploited that brutally, and in the end, it was bitter. They are the best team at recognizing and exploiting mistakes. They did that to perfection today."