So it's on to the Play-Ins: Despite a great fight, Bayern Basketball couldn’t pull off another surprise on the final EuroLeague game day and therefore missed out on direct qualification for the playoffs. After the 77–89 (31–46) loss in front of 11,200 fans against the long-convincing title contender Fenerbahce Istanbul, the German champions finish the regular season with a 19–15 record and now head into the Play-In Tournament next week.
Next Game on Tuesday
The opponent and location will only be determined on Friday evening. A Play-In home game would already take place this coming Tuesday (April 15) at the SAP Garden. If Bayern were to win and move on to a second Play-In matchup – effectively a final for playoff qualification – that game would be three days later, on Friday before Easter (April 18). FCBB will inform fans promptly via its social media channels regarding dates and ticket sales.
FC Bayern Basketball - Fenerbahce Istanbul 77:89
FCBB:
Carsen Edwards (26 points), Devin Booker (15), Niels Giffey (9, 5 rebounds), Nick Weiler-Babb (7), Danko Brankovic (6), Elias Harris (5), Shabazz Napier (3, 4 Assists, 6 Rebounds), Andreas Obst (3), Johannes Voigtmann (2), Vladimir Lucic (1, 5 rebounds), Onuralp Bitim, Ivan Kharchenkov (dnp-CD)
Top scorer Fenerbahce:
Nigel Hayes-Davis (24 points)
Referee
Damir Javor, Carlos Cortes, Luka Kardum
Attendance
11.200 (sold-out)
The Turkish champions showcased their class with team basketball on both ends of the court in the sold-out SAP Garden. Especially in the beginning, FC Bayern couldn’t find their rhythm in what was their third game in five days: three turnovers in two minutes early on were a sign of nerves, and Fener ruthlessly capitalized with four three-pointers – 4:18 (5th minute).
The Favorite Starts Perfectly
Istanbul defended with immense intensity, and Munich’s shot selection became difficult. At 16:35 at the start of the second quarter, the game already seemed to be lost. Fener was nearly flawless with their shooting, while Bayern’s confidence dropped: the league’s best three-point shooting team ended the half hitting only 2 of 14 from beyond the arc.
They still gave it everything, but a run by Munich was initially prevented by the visitors around Hayes-Davis (24 points) and by their own turnovers (44:64/26th minute). With the home crowd behind them, a lot of fighting spirit, and the energy of Edwards (26 points), Bayern cut the deficit to 71:77, and the arena was shaking. But thanks to a few offensive rebounds, Fener ultimately pulled away from a depleted FCBB, whose three-point percentage ended at just 30 percent (10/33).
Quotes:
Gordon Herbert, Head Coach of FC Bayern Basketball: "Congratulations to Fenerbahce. In the first quarter, we didn’t match their intensity. It was like boys against men. With the way we came out, we didn’t deserve the win. The first few minutes of the third quarter weren’t good either. We put up some resistance in the second, but then we let the game slip away again. You can have a bad offensive game, but there’s no excuse for not coming out with fight, playing hard and with intensity. (…) We dug ourselves a deep hole. What they did showed what they wanted. What we did wasn’t good enough. (…) The schedule can’t be an excuse, even if it certainly didn’t help. We have to look in the mirror. We put ourselves in a good position with the wins over Barca and Partizan and played well. We gave that away in Belgrade (against Maccabi). Now it’s the play-ins, another game next week, maybe two. We have to learn from the first quarter. We have to push back and not play soft, but hard. If we accept that and understand what we need to do better, we have a chance to become stronger. And we have to be a team. Today, we kind of fell apart as a team, and I didn’t like the body language at times. That has to change again."
Jo Voigtmann: "Today we just weren’t good enough. Carsen brought us back into the game again, played a great second half. But overall, it was too little. We give away too many easy things, too many open threes. But Fenerbahce also had a strong shooting percentage. In the end, small mistakes happened again, and they immediately punished us for them."
Niels Giffey: "I think we didn’t play properly in the first few minutes. We didn’t find a rhythm, and there wasn’t enough energy defensively. (…) We didn’t get into the game. That’s frustrating—I’m frustrated, we’re all extremely frustrated. This was a huge chance to win at home. Yes, Fenerbahce is good, but that was tough. (…) We have to be clear about what we want to bring to the court, what DNA we want to show on the court. We have to get that right to finish what has been a strong EuroLeague season in a strong way. (…) Tomorrow everyone will be watching the three games from their own couches—we’re already spending a lot of time together anyway."