Bayern can’t slow down Barça

Done with Europe, now all eyes on the Bundesliga: Bayern’s basketball team missed out on a fifth straight EuroLeague win on the 38th and final gameday, falling 69–95 (31–42) at FC Barcelona. On an emotional ¡Adiós! night for coach Pesic, the German champions lacked the necessary bite from the second quarter onward (12–22) in front of nearly 6,000 fans, up against a favored Barça side that needed the win. With a 17–21 record, Munich finish the season in 13th place out of 20 teams.

13th out of 20

Bayern can now catch their breath for two days before the next demanding road double-header within 48 hours, this time in the Bundesliga at Trier (Monday) and Würzburg (Wednesday). The next home game is the following Monday at BMW Park against Rostock (27 April).

Boxscore

Bayern actually came out with intent. Barça initially struggled on the glass; the visitors led 12–7 (7th minute) with da Silva making some strong plays. But a couple of threes got Barcelona right back into it.

A 2–15 drought opens up a gap

Defensively, Bayern then allowed far too many second chances, while on offense the hosts’ physicality and the presence of 2.21 m giant Fall changed the picture – 21–31 after a damaging 2–15 stretch (15th). Bayern went the entire first half without a single free throw, and Barcelona also controlled the boards, 23–16.

Bayern continued to struggle to find solutions on offense in the third quarter, with team play largely going missing (only 16 assists). At the other end, top stars like former Finals MVP Clyburn (22 points) delivered and settled Barça’s nerves (36–55/25th).

Aside from Mike (17) and Dimitrijevic (15), nobody really hit their level on the offensive end this time, with Bayern closing at 7-of-21 from three. Barça’s high-profile talents, by contrast, produced reliably on the night (44% from deep). Good luck in the Play-Ins.

The Quotes:

Svetislav Pesic, head coach FC Bayern Basketball: “First of all, I want to thank Barça for the way they received me here. Those who know me know how important this club, Barça, is to me. I will never forget my time here. I’m a member and I wish Barça the best of luck in the Play-Ins and Playoffs. As for the game: of course we as Bayern can play much better. But I’ve watched a lot of Barça games this season, and I think this was one of their best performances of the year. (…) The key to the win was simply that Barça played at an excellent level. We had no chance today. (…) We’ve won some tough EuroLeague games this season. But now it’s all about the BBL and we go first to Trier. We have to recover well and approach that game as the most important one of the season.”

Isiaha Mike: “It’s tough that we have to finish like this. But you have to give credit to Barcelona, they played a complete game. In the second half they barely missed. Our first big problem was giving up offensive rebounds, we allowed them too many second chances. In the third quarter we then turned the ball over several times. They grabbed the momentum and never let it go. The season is not over yet. We have big ambitions in the BBL and we want to finish the season strong.”