When 18,000 fall silent: Bayern edge Red Star 85–80 in Belgrade

What a surprise: In front of more than 18,000 fans in Belgrade’s cauldron, Bayern’s basketball team delivered a nerveless performance and made a statement, knocking off Serbian powerhouse Red Star Belgrade 85–80 (50–43). Despite squandering a 16-point lead and slipping behind in the fourth due to rebounding woes, Svetislav Pesic’s men dug in and secured their 13th win of the season. Andi Obst (16) and Xavier Rathan-Mayes (13) came up with clutch buckets down the stretch in a dramatic finish.

Boxscore

Tuesday vs. Braunschweig

Next week is home week at the SAP Garden: On Tuesday (8 p.m.) the Bundesliga leaders host Braunschweig, and on Thursday (8:30 p.m.) they face Efes Istanbul in the EuroLeague with Nick Weiler-Babb back.

Under their own rim, Bayern didn’t use their bodies with enough force early on, but the offense flowed: threes from Dimitrijevic and Mike, Gabriel’s spark, Giffey with the layup and McCormack’s dunk — 36–20 (14')!

Up by as many as 16

Belgrade shot poorly but got to the line off second-chance opportunities and ratcheted up the intensity (41–32/17'). Dimitrijevic kept Bayern organized, Obst finally slipped the wrestling grips of the Serbian enforcers, 50–36 (19'). The hosts’ second three, at the buzzer to end the half, tempered the euphoria after a good 20 minutes, despite nine offensive rebounds conceded.

First foul called in the eighth minute

Belgrade’s storm out of the locker room was duly announced, and Munich’s rebounding remained the weak spot (56–58/25'). Against a tough-as-nails defense, errors crept in, and Red Star didn’t actually get whistled for their first foul until the eighth (!) minute. All square at 62–62.

But the visitors didn’t crack under pressure from all sides. Belgrade continued to enjoy some favorable whistles and edged ahead 76–73 (34'). Bayern fought it into a one-possession game, 80–78, three minutes to play. Mayes and Obst, the latter with a left-handed layup, scored through heavy contact, while Belgrade, facing maximum resistance, managed only ten points in the final period. Remarkable at the end: how quiet 18,000 people can be.

Quotes: 

Svetislav Pesic, Head coach FC Bayern Basketball: “I’m very proud of my team. It’s hugely important for my players to win such a tough game in this atmosphere and keep learning against a team that defends so hard. This is a very important win for us in a tight game. You can’t expect them to play as well in all four quarters as they did in the first 20 minutes. The third quarter is decisive in many games, and Red Star found their rhythm there. We also had issues organizing our offense and, without concentration, committed a few fouls. But once again, I’m very happy and proud of the guys.”

Andreas Obst: “The intensity was high right from the start — especially in front of this crowd it’s tough to find a rhythm. We had a few rough patches, but we managed them well, stayed cool, and X gave us a couple of runs at the end. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but we fought to the finish and deserved the win. The bench did an outstanding job, and Xavier had a very good game. That’s what defines us — anyone who comes off the bench can decide a game and deliver crucial minutes.”

Neno Dimitrijevic: “We’ve had a tough few weeks — we lost the Cup semifinal and then also in Madrid. But today we stuck together, and to me that’s our biggest strength! We got some key stops and hit big shots at the end. This win is fantastic for us!”