Rampant Bayern triumph again against Partizan

They still have everything in their own hands: Just 48 hours after their triumph over Barcelona, Bayern’s basketball team also won their emotionally charged home game against Serbian contender Partizan Belgrade and were celebrated wildly after their 89:74 (42:44) victory. Part two of the double-week turned into a heated duel with playoff intensity, in which the EuroLeague’s surprise team picked up tremendous momentum in the final quarter to secure their 19th win of the season. Once again, Carsen Edwards led the scoring with 25 points, while the team hit an impressive 50% from three-point range (13/26).

Boxscore

The fans also in control

In front of 11,200 spectators, including 3,000 Serbian fans, both teams wasted no time feeling each other out. Partizan attacked the rim, while Bayern looked for three-pointers but allowed second chances on defense (15:21/9th minute). The defense was somewhat passive, as the visitors forced offensive rebounds, and two Bonga threes stretched the gap (26:35/15th minute). With more physicality, things started to look better.

Gaining better control on defense was crucial in this nerve-wracking battle. Partizan kept slowing the pace, and Bayern reacted too hesitantly, even on offense (54:61/28th minute). Everyone was waiting for a spark, and then it came: Giffey’s clutch three, Brankovic’s alley-oop, Napier’s rocket pass to Edwards, and finally, Edwards’ buzzer-beating three-pointer to take the 65:63 lead at the end of the third quarter!

Weiler-Babb seals the deal

Bayern entered the final four minutes with a 76:70 lead, and Weiler-Babb immediately drained a high-arcing three (37th minute). By then, the Bayern fans had fully taken control of the sold-out SAP Garden. Top scorer Edwards extended the lead to 81:72, and then Weiler-Babb put the game to bed from beyond the arc (39th minute): 84:72, done.

Quotes:

Gordon Herbert, Headcoach FC Bayern Basketball: "I'm very proud of my players; they really found the energy. Especially in the last three or four minutes of the third quarter, our second unit came off the bench and brought us back to tie the game. In the fourth, we took over. I'm very proud of this group—we were trailing for 27 minutes but stuck together. This is a huge win for the team. In the second half, we did a better job on defensive rebounds and moved the ball better. In the first half, we had only five assists, but then we played better as a team on both ends. We were out of sync for 27 minutes, but in the last 13, we played really well. Before halftime, we were stuck in the sand—low energy, lacking emotion. But the second unit with Shabazz, Niels, Andi, Brankovic, and of course, Edwards got us going. Niels hit a big shot, and Shabazz stepped up as a leader. Our goal is to finish in the top six. Unfortunately, we have a game in Würzburg on Saturday. I was actually surprised—I thought it was on Sunday. I don’t know why the league moved it from Sunday to Saturday after a double-week. Some countries adjust the schedule to allow more recovery time for teams. Not sure why it’s done differently here. So, we’ll go to Würzburg on Saturday. Instead of practice, we might just do a wine tasting. Booker is getting closer. We’ll see how things look on Monday or Tuesday, but he won’t play in Würzburg yet."

Shabazz Napier: "We knew today would be a real fight against Partizan. We had to get stops and improve our rebounding in the second half. These two wins this week were huge for us, but we’ll stay focused and look to build on this next week against Maccabi."

Carsen Edwards: "I'm really happy we got the win today. We just need to stay healthy, and then we can finish the season strong."