The basketball team of FC Bayern Munich won their final regular season home game with a final score of 95-72 against Ulm. For more than three quarters the 5,800 spectators in the Audi Dome witnessed a close game until the German champion dominated the last quarter and clearly won the game. The top scorer for Bayner, in a game where every player saw time on the court, was Nihad Djedovic with 16 points. Leon Radosevic again missed the game due to a back injury.
The final game of the regular season will be played on Sunday at 18:00 in Bonn. The post-season starts next Saturday on May 18th at 20:30 in the Audi Dome. Who the FCBB will meet in the quarter finals will be decided on Sunday between Bonn, Würzburg and Braunschweig, the three teams fighting for the 8th seed.
Points per quarter Bayern - Ulm: 19-16, 21-23, 24-22, 31-11.
FCBB stat: Nihad Djedovic (16 points, 6 assists) | Derrick Williams (15) | Devin Booker (14) | Vladimir Lucic (11) | Nemanja Dangubic (9, 5 rebounds) | Maodo Lo (7) | Alex King (6) | Stefan Jovic (5) | Danilo Barthel (5/6 rebounds/8 assists) | Nelson Weidemann (4) | Marvin Ogunsipe.
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "It was a good performance from us. The second quarter was good defensively, but the offense didn't work at first. In the last quarter our defense was really very strong, we only allowed eleven points and were able to score a lot of easy fast break points. It doesn't matter which opponent comes. We have to respect them, prepare well and then be better than the team that is going to play against us. Devin Booker is in better shape now and hope and I am confident that all of our players will be available at the start of the playoffs".
Ulm head coach, Thorsten Leibenath: "We took the game very seriously because Bayern is currently the best team in the BBL and we want to compete with the best. Today we showed a good performance for three quarters, especially because many players missed the game due to injury. We made mistakes in the last quarter. You can't win with eleven points, especially when Munich scores 31. So congratulations to Bayner on their deserved victory."
1st quarter
FCBB coach Radonjic started with Maodo Lo, Nihad Djedovic, Nemanja Dangubic, Danilo Barthel and Devin Booker. Dangubic scored the first points for Bayern in the second minute of the game. After that, the team from Ulm had slight advantages, until record player Djedovic took the lead with a four-point play to bring the score to 12-9 for Bayern. The current sixth seed made it difficult for the regular season champs but Lucic took the 19-16 lead to finisht he first quarter with an old fashioned three-point play.
2nd quarter
Stefan Jovic started the second with his first points to retake the lead at 21-19. Like the beginning of the first quarter, the Bavarians continued to struggle against some strong defense by Ulm. Unnecessary mistakes by Bayern helped the guests to a seven-point lead, 30-23 with five minutes to play in the first half. Coach Radonjic reacted with a time-out to stem the tide of the Ulm run. Alex King had the highlight of the first half with a reverse-dunk that brought the home club back to just three-points back. The Bavarians were still trailing by a narrow margin until the final minute but were able to enter the locker room one point ahead thanks to a Djedovic buzzer beater.
3rd quarter
Again it was the guests who opened the scoring and took a quick lead in the third quarter. At the 23 minute mark the fans were given something to cheer for when American Superstar, Derrick Williams, hammered home a beautiful alley-opp dunk showing off his superior athleticism. The guests were not impressed and took the lead again two minutes before the break - Radonjic reacted immediately with a time-out down 55-53. Booker on the free-throw line and Williams again turned the game around in favour of the FCBB, 58-55. This time the Bavarians did not give up the lead thanks to Booker and heading into the final quarter the home team was ahead 64-61.
4th quarter
The FCBB opened the scoring in the final section with points from Booker but Dwayne Evans shortened the lead again before the Bavarians started a 14-0 run which put things away early in the final section. Three minutes before the end, Williams, after a perfect pass from Barthel put on another show with his jumping abilities and slammed home a dunk. Nelson Weidemann came on in the final minutes and scored the last four points in the game and helped Bayern score a total of 31 points in the final quarter.
Upcoming games:
- Sunday, 12.5., 18:00: Bonn - FCBB
- Quarterfinal 1, Sat. 18.5., 20:30 - TBD
- Quarterfinals 2, Wed. 22.5., 20:30 - TBD
- Quarterfinal 3, Sun. 26.5., 18:00 - TBD
Photo:Credits: Eirich, Stickel, Rauchensteiner