Obst leads Bayern comeback over Baskonia

What an exhilarating comeback, what a show by Andi Obst: Led by the continent’s best shooter, FC Bayern Basketball celebrated their sixth consecutive win on Wednesday evening with a sensational 36:20 final quarter. The 96:89 (36:46) victory in front of 10,000 fans at the SAP Garden against previously level-on-points Baskonia Vítoria from Spain marked their seventh win of the season on the 20th EuroLeague matchday. Obst hit seven out of eleven three-pointers and scored a career-high 37 points, with 15 of those coming in the last ten minutes. He was supported by Jessup (17) and Mike (13). This way, the team was able to cope with the loss of captain Lucic, who had to sit out at halftime due to muscle tightness.

Without him, the Munich team will travel to Greece on Thursday evening for a duel with title contender Olympiacos (Friday, 8:15 p.m./MagentaSport). In the Bundesliga, the league leaders will face Telekom Baskets Bonn at the BMW Park on Sunday (6 p.m.).

Full Boxscore

Captain Lucic injured 

Playmaker Hollatz could be back next time; he missed the game against Baskonia due to a minor head injury from the Braunschweig game. Baldwin also hasn’t made his comeback after two months, but newcomer Dimitrijevic was included in the squad for the first time.

In the opening minutes, the carefree Bayern team accepted five offensive rebounds and a 5:10 score before they started to play with more physicality. Dimitrijevic checked in early, Obst hit three-pointers, and returning Mike did as well – 24:16 (10th minute). However, the newly found flow in attack quickly faded again due to turnovers in the build-up, and it was 32:37 after some very open Spanish three-pointers (17th minute).

Jessup and Mike shine in the 36:20 final quarter

Even Obst’s one-legged buzzer-beater three-pointer couldn’t really gloss over the error-filled minutes before halftime. The guests had gained confidence, which was now evident in their defense as well. Lucic had to stay in the locker room, and Jovic’s elbow was badly injured – Dimitrijevic, just recently signed, was at that moment the only available playmaker.

At 40:51, it seemed like Bayern had completely lost control (23rd minute). But Mike and the irresistible leader Obst struck back – a furious 11:0 run to tie the game. Jovic returned once more, but Baskonia’s style of play with lots of ball movement remained more effective for the time being. Bayern, on the other hand, were a bit static and now trailing again at 60:72 (31st minute).

Obst ignored all of this and pushed himself admirably – and inspired everyone: The 29-year-old hit from outside to make it 73:76, and now the arena was roaring; then Jessup’s three-pointer for 78:80, Jovic for 80:80, and Obst at the free-throw line – 82:80, the lead! Jessup again and a big three-pointer from Mike for 91:84 (39th minute) made the comeback perfect – and the crowd sang “Andi, Andi, Andi Ooobst!!!”

Quotes: 

Svetislav Pesic, Head Coach FC Bayern Basketball:
“Andreas is a player who not only plays with confidence, but also gets it from his defense. And then… it’s his decision. He can do whatever he wants. Lead us in defense, attack, he can do it all. He’s not only an excellent shooter, but also a good defender and drives well to the basket. That’s difficult for any defense to handle. (…) Tonight, we played two games. In the first half, we were in energy-saving mode. In the second half, we used that energy, especially in defense. And that’s where you get the confidence for offense. That’s what Jessup, Mike, and the guys did.”

Andreas Obst:
“In the end, it was a hard-fought game against a good Baskonia team. They weren’t at full strength, but they played hard. That caused us problems, but we stuck with it, played with confidence, myself included. My teammates looked for me, we executed our plays well. I made my shots, but it was a team effort. (…) I think it started with defense and rebounding. That’s where we got our energy. Justinian hit big shots, Isiaha made an important one at the end, the free throws were crucial. But of course, you work hard for these moments and then you make the big shots.”

Neno Dimitrijevic:
“Last year I was here as an opponent, but it feels better when it’s your home fans. I’m looking forward to the future and happy about the win. (…) I think we played more aggressively in the second half, controlled their offensive rebounds better. And when you have a shooter like Andi, you’re hard to beat as a team. (…) It’s nothing new, the way Andi plays, right? With Andi, I’m sure I’ll get a few more assists this season. (…) I just wanted to help the team, bring some energy. Hopefully, it’ll get even better. (…) Coach Pesic just lets me be myself. I’ve only had one practice with the team, I’m new. I have to learn some things quickly.”

Justinian Jessup:
“The second half was incredible. Andi carried us, really the whole game. Plus, our defensive intensity increased. Together with energy and emotion, that carried us. (…) I think earlier in the season it would have turned out differently when we were down by twelve. Responding the way we did was huge for us and shows our character.”