© FCBB
Seventh double week in the EuroLeague: FC Bayern Basketball will play two games in three days this week in the top competition, both at home this time at SAP Garden, where the German champions have recently won three in a row. On Tuesday evening against the Serbian powerhouse Partizan Belgrade and on Thursday against Spain’s top team Valencia Basket (both at 8:30 p.m.), the run could be extended.
“It’s great for us that we’re playing twice at home at SAP Garden in front of our fans this week,” said FC Bayern Basketball guard Justinian Jessup on Monday. “We can feel the momentum on our side right now, and our home crowd has had a big part in that lately. These two games are a big opportunity to build even more confidence as a team and hopefully improve our position in the standings.”
Availability of Dimitrijevic and Jovic uncertain
Partizan arrive with world and European champion Isaac Bonga, who moved from FC Bayern to Serbia in the summer of 2024. It’s not down to the German forward (9.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 13.6 PIR) that things haven’t settled since the departure of legendary coach Zeljko Obradovic. Seven straight defeats have led to a 6:16 record, currently the worst alongside ASVEL and Efes.
Not least FC Bayern (8:14) know that every negative run ends at some point, especially as Partizan still have quality. In the first meeting in early December (85:92), Duane Washington (22) was hard to contain; the offensively minded US guard is also the team’s top scorer under Spanish head coach Joan Penarroya (previously Barcelona), averaging 15 points on 39.2% from three. He’s followed by Sterling Brown (13.6).
At center, Tonye Jekiri recently returned after a long injury layoff; the second big man is Angolan Bruno Fernando, who moved from Real Madrid a year ago. Both hope to receive feeds from the EuroLeague’s all-time assists leader, Nick Calathes (5.7 apg, 386 appearances), who arrived from Monaco at the end of October. The status of the banged-up former NBA forward Jabari Parker (7.7 ppg) is questionable.
Izzy Bonga returns to Munich | © EuroLeague
Sunday at BMW Park against Würzburg
In the Adriatic League (ABA), Partizan sit second in Group A with just one loss (12:1), behind Dubai (13:0). They already won convincingly on Friday, 103:81 at fourth-placed Igokea. Top scorers were Washington (20), Fernando (15) and Bonga (14). The visitors will therefore arrive well-rested to face FC Bayern, who returned from Chemnitz (87:59) late Sunday night.
“We’re heading into another intense week with many big games,” says head coach Svetislav Pesic, whose team will also host Würzburg for the BBL top game at BMW Park next Sunday. “The good thing is that we’re staying at home, which helps us recover better. But Partizan are always a dangerous opponent, and lately they’ve been playing significantly better away than at home. In terms of personnel, we still have injured players and won’t know until game day who can go.” In Chemnitz, among others, playmakers Neno Dimitrijevic and Stefan Jovic were out with head injuries.