A memorable night is etched in the minds of everyone involved and in the club archives, but the celebrations ended well before midnight. After the 90-84 triumph over Real Madrid—the Bayern basketball team’s best performance of the season so far—everyone headed home early. Just 46 hours after that impressive comeback (from 39-55 in the 19th minute) for their third EuroLeague win, head coach Gordon Herbert’s squad is determined to keep the momentum going as Italian champions Virtus Bologna visit the SAP Garden. Despite their loss in Kaunas on Tuesday (65-86), the visitors still hold a positive record at 4-3. Tip-off on Thursday evening is at 8:30 p.m.
Coach Herbert Reminds Team of January’s Home Defeat
This matchup will be a special one as well. Virtus arrives with Carsen Edwards, who, under Herbert, became Bayern’s top scorer ever in the EuroLeague during his second year in Munich (20.4 ppg). A back injury sidelined the Texan on the very day of the second Play-In game (in Madrid), just after he had been named to the All-First Team of Europe’s elite competition. After that, FCBB went on to win the German championship without their 27-year-old guard, who didn’t play again after mid-April.
He’s continued his style of play with his new team: averaging 18.7 points, he’s by far the top scorer for the visitors, who were taken over by coach Dusko Ivanovic during last season. Fellow guard Matthew Morgan is currently averaging 13.6 points per game. Another familiar face alongside Edwards is Karim Jallow, who came up through the Bayern system and moved to Italy from Ulm this summer. The 28-year-old (5.4 ppg) is averaging more than 26 minutes of playing time so far.
In Kaunas, Edwards (9 points, no three-pointers) clearly lost the duel with Zalgiris guard Sylvain Francisco (23 points); Morgan added 19 points. Still, coach Herbert is warning his team and recalling last season—when Kaunas also lost in Lithuania during a double week in mid-January, only to come to Munich and upset Bayern (72-82). “It’s the same scenario as last season; back then, they also came to us after a loss in Kaunas. We have to keep that in mind. Bologna has enough quality to bounce back—they’ve already claimed big wins over Panathinaikos, Monaco, and even Real. Our really strong performance against Real won’t mean much if we can’t repeat it against Bologna. Carsen Edwards had a great year for this club. It’s good to see him back at the SAP Garden on Thursday.”
Spencer Dinwiddie Set for Debut
For Bayern, Jo Voigtmann’s knee came through his first game after two months on the sidelines without issue. Niels Giffey was back on court Wednesday after recovering from his illness in Berlin. And then there’s Spencer Dinwiddie, who could be set for his debut on Thursday.
The 32-year-old guard arrived in Munich from LA on Tuesday afternoon and immediately completed all his medical tests. The NBA veteran watched his new team’s game from the FCBB box at the SAP Garden, where he also met club president Herbert Hainer. After the game, he joined his new teammates. On Wednesday morning, Dinwiddie took part in his first training session at the SAP Garden, focusing initially on individual work and running through systems as tactical preparations for Bologna began.
“The plan is for Spencer to play on Thursday. But we’ll only make the final decision shortly before the game, once we know how things stand with him and the team.”