Antalya, Luxembourg, Trier, Munich – that’s the travel route for the Bayern basketball team until Sunday around midnight. The fourth double-week of the EuroLeague – and already the fourth week with three games in the seventh week of the season – takes the German champions to the Turkish Mediterranean coast. In the port city, Efes Istanbul will host a home game for the first time, with tip-off on Friday at 6 p.m. German time. The Munich squad will continue their journey the following afternoon, traveling via Luxembourg to Trier for the crucial Cup quarterfinal on Sunday (6 p.m.).
The Bayern team is well aware of the challenge ahead: There are still 16 games left on the calendar until the end of the year – 13 of them will be played away from home. The three home fixtures: on December 7th, the “Music-meets-Basketball” event at BMW Park, the EuroLeague clash against league leaders Hapoel Tel Aviv with Vasa Micic at SAP Garden on the day before Christmas, and the BBL game against promoted Trier, also at SAP Garden, on December 28th.
Injury Concerns for Istanbul as Well
Bayern will fly to southern Turkey on Thursday with 14 players. The roster for both games on this road trip is unlikely to be identical, and the two European champions Jo Voigtmann and Justus Hollatz, who were rested on Wednesday, are expected to return to action this week.
“We know and have prepared ourselves for a very, very special schedule ahead,” said Assistant Coach TJ Parker late in the evening after the unfortunate 74:75 loss to Barcelona. “But we have enough players, quality, and confidence to handle it. Efes is in a tough situation, their personnel is limited, and they are forced to play a very different style of basketball. However, they need a home win and will be highly motivated.”
Babb Alongside Larkin and Loyd
Anadolu Efes made significant additions to their roster over the summer and brought in coach Igor Kokoskov. However, several injuries have taken their toll, and with a 3-7 record, the team is currently far from its original goals. After an away win in Paris at the end of October, three consecutive losses followed, the latest being a 99:89 defeat in Bologna on Tuesday. Following injuries to centers Vincent Poirier and newcomer Georgios Papagiannis (both knees), veteran Rodrigue Beaubois (elbow) and recently PJ Dozier (leg injury) have also been sidelined.
Nevertheless, Efes can still field a star-studded lineup against Bayern (5-5), led by top star Shane Larkin (17.1 points per game, 42% from three), national player Ercan Osmani (12.9 points, 4.6 rebounds), and former NBA champion Jordan Loyd (10.8), who joined from Monaco. Nick Weiler-Babb, who left Bayern after five years, has found his role as a guard and is averaging 9.6 rebounds per game.
In the Turkish league, Efes is level with rivals Fenerbahce (6-1), trailing league leaders Besiktas.
The move to the tourist region is a marketing initiative by the two-time EuroLeague champions. The clash with Bayern will be played in the 10,000-seat Antalya Sports Hall, which was originally planned for the 2010 World Cup but only opened in 2016. The national team has already played international matches here.