Bayern wants to catch up with Milan

Two and a half hours by bus from Bologna up north to Milan—the penultimate business trip of this EuroLeague season: on Thursday evening, Bayern Basketball face another true prestige matchup, aiming to back up their hard-fought road win at Virtus (85:80). With a victory, the German champions would draw level with Italy’s star-studded record champions (17:19) before wrapping up next week at FC Barcelona. Tipoff at the Unipol Forum is at 8:30 p.m.

Olimpia’s last home game

Olimpia Milano lost 102:96 at second-placed Valencia on Tuesday evening and have once again missed out on the postseason in Europe’s top competition. Because of the lost head-to-head, tenth-placed Monaco (who still play Lyon-Villeurbanne on Wednesday) can no longer be caught. In Valencia, Milano saw their chances slip away in the fourth quarter (13:24). Top scorers were Armoni Brooks (20; 6/12 from three), Zach LeDay (16) and Shavon Shields (14).

Awaiting Bayern’s two effective interior players from Bologna—top scorer David McCormack (24, 8 rebounds) and Wenyen Gabriel (7/4)—in Milan is the power duo of Josh Nebo (10.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Devin Booker (8.2 ppg), the long-time Bayern center. There will also be a reunion with playmaker Leo Bolmaro (10.8 ppg), while on the Bayern side Neno Dimitrijevic (a double-double in Bologna), Jo Voigtmann (a two-time Italian champion with Olimpia) and McCormack all have past ties to Lombardy.

McCormack with a personal best

At the start of the 2024/2025 season, center McCormack played six EuroLeague games for Milan (6:19 mpg) before the 26-year-old was released there and moved to Berlin. Bologna was now his seventh game with double-digit scoring since late December, and under head coach Svetislav Pesic, the 2022 NCAA champion from Kansas has significantly increased both his minutes and his output.

As a team, Bayern once again suffered on the boards in Bologna despite McCormack’s personal best. “We played solidly in Bologna, but especially in the first half we had problems on the defensive rebounds—we have to improve that,” said Dimitrijevic (11 points/10 assists), who, together with Andi Obst (11/9), accounted for 19 of Munich’s 26 assists (Vlado Lucic had four). “We also want to win the last two games in the EuroLeague. Milan is a difficult road venue, with so many experienced and talented guys. If we can stop their offense, we have a good chance.”

Sunday vs. Chemnitz at BMW Park, Tuesday vs. Ludwigsburg

Bayern specifically need to clamp down on Milan’s three-point shooting: LeDay (13.2, 50%), Brooks (13.1, 41.5%), and Bolmaro (40.9%) are all hitting at high rates from deep; veteran Marko Guduric (10.1 ppg) and Shields (12.3) are, alongside the big men, the other main protagonists of this star-studded lineup under new head coach Giuseppe Poeta. In the league, Milan are currently third (17:7), with two more losses than leaders Bologna and Brescia (both 18:5).