On Friday afternoon, the Bayern basketball players gathered again on the Audi Dome floor, a one-hour training session with intensive discussions and video study - all in a nice atmosphere. The 90-71 defeat in their first EuroLeague game against the newly formed star ensemble of Efes Istanbul was of course sobering and not planned. "But it was just a game, the start of the season," said FCBB Guard Maodo Lo. "And I'm sure that a game doesn't immediately upset our self-confidence," added coach Dejan Radonjic.
Before the next European heavyweight team - six-time European Champion Panathinaikos Athens - visits Munich next Tuesday (16.10., 20:30 CEST), the Bavarians have to concentrate on their everyday life in the league: On Sunday, the German champion team will compete on the road against Löwen Braunschweig (14.10., 15:00/"Telekom Sport", "FC Bayern TV LIVE", Sport1). The FCBB has won its first two BBL games, while Lower Saxony, sponsored by NBA star Dennis Schröder, are yet to be victorious.
"We made too many mistakes against Efes, especially on defense, but on Sunday I expect a reaction from my team," says coach Radonjic. And veteran Petteri Koponen warned: "We have to learn from the last game and are only at the beginning, Efes is also a really good team. We have to recover and then concentrate fully on this dangerous task. It's not an easy game because there's no easy away game in the BBL. If we're not ready, it can also have an impact on the league, and we definitely want to avoid that. We have to fully concentrate and take the win."
Braunschweig around Center Scott Eatherton (15,5 ppg) and Guard DeAndre Lansdowne (17,5 ppg) had a bad start at home against Oldenburg 100-64 but in the second game in Bonn the lions showed improvement and won the second half and fought until the end. Remarkably, Brauchschweig won the rebound duel 41-33. The hosts are supported by national player Dennis Schröder from the Oklahoma City Thunder, who is a partner and sponsor of his home club.