Bayern throw away lead against Oldenburg to finish third

FC Bayern Basketball lost its fourth and final group game at the BBL Final10 tournament on Sunday and so will go into the play-off quarterfinals as Group A’s third-place finisher. A disappointing second half from FCBB saw a confident Oldenburg side win 89-81 (32-34). The defending champions led 56-47 in the third quarter before allowing the visitors to fight back, scoring 14 points without reply in just four minutes to led 80-66. The opponent’s 15 offensive rebounds and 16 turnovers proved critical. Vladimir Lucic’s 16 points wasn’t enough for Bayern, while Munich loanee Robin Amaize impressed for the winning team with 15 points.

It means that the BBL defending champion are set for a best-of-two quarterfinal against the loser of Group B’s final-round game between Ludwigsburg and Berlin on Monday evening. The first leg will be as soon as Wednesday (6/17, 20:30 CEST), with the deciding second leg less than 48 hours later (Friday 6/19, 16:30 CEST).

FCBB fans will once again be able to follow the games at the drive-in “Audi Urban Cinema” at Munich Airport. Tickets have already gone on advanced sale online.

FC Bayern Basketball 81-89 EWE Baskets Oldenburg (44-42)

FCBB
Vladimir Lucic (16 points), Paul Zipser (15), Danilo Barthel (10, 9 rebounds), Leon Radosevic (9), Maodo Lo (8, 8 assists, 6 steals), Mathias Lessort (7), TJ Bray (6), Petteri Koponen (6), Diego Flaccadori (4), Ismet Akpinar (2 assists) and Alex King.
Oldenburg top scorer
Nathan Boothe (17 points)
Referee
Enrico Streit, Moritz Reiter, Clemens Fritz.

Points per quarter, FCBB - Oldenburg: 28-26, 16-16, 15-18, 22-29.

Stats – Two-point shooting: 59% (FCBB) // 56% (Oldenburg); Three-point shooting: 38% // 40%; Rebounds: 32 // 37; Assists: 19 // 22; Turnovers: 16 // 14.

Post-game reaction:

Oliver Kostic, FCBB head coach: "Oldenburg played a very good game; they were very physical. If you allow your opponent 15 offensive rebounds, it's hard to win a game of basketball. You allow your opponent to gain confidence through those extra points. Then we started missing our free throws and simply had too many turnovers, which are easy points for your opponent. We also boxed out poorly and weren't good enough on defense one against one. We didn't move the ball around well enough on offense at key moments and should have looked for better opportunities to shoot.

This is a tournament. We've had wins and losses, but we don't see ourselves as the underdog in the quarterfinals. We still intend on going the distance."

Vladimir Lucic: "We didn't perform. We had a good phase and started to think we'd won, but there were still 15 minutes to go. We have to make sure we play to our absolute best in the quarterfinals."

Paul Zipser: "Even if it wasn't our best performance, we had the game more or less under control, but then Oldenburg scored some three-pointers from offensive rebounds and got a number of fast breaks from turnovers. We struggled to pull together to get ourselves out of that hole - one of my throws comes to mind. We were unsettled then. We started giving the ball away and allowed them to get offensive rebounds at a bad time in the game. We should have been tougher and more aggressive in those moments, but for some reason we weren't.

We were feeling good and training well after the two wins. We simply reacted badly in that moment and can't start to feel sorry for ourselves now. It's almost irrelevant who we're playing against. We've made things a little bit harder for ourselves by having one day shaved off our preparation time."

1st half

FCBB started with TJ Bray, Ismet Akpinar, Vladimir Lucic, Barthel and Mathias Lessort once again. Both teams found their rhythm on offense quickly, with Bayern in particular sinking their three-pointers well early on. Lucic got two himself and a total of eight points in the opening ten minutes, while the Munich team were on target with five three-pointers (5/8) in the first quarter to lead 28-26. Oldenburg fought back to start the second quarter with a strong defensive showing, as Bayern were kept to just two points in the first four minutes (30-33). FCBB were able to turn things around in time for half, taking a narrow 44-42 lead into the break.

2nd half:

FCBB got off to a strong start in what would be a hard-fought third quarter which featured several fouls. Both teams found themselves in the bonus after just six minutes, as Bayern hung on to their highest lead of the game so far (57-48). But, Bayern's offence was unable to keep control of the game, allowing their opponents to go on a 12-point run. Oldenburg took a slim 59-60 lead into the fourth and final quarter. Both teams traded blows in the final ten minutes of the game, with Bayern's Lessort finishing off an alley-oop after a pass from Maodo Lo. But, the German champions were unable to keep up on both offence and defence in the closing minutes. Oldenburg went on a 14-point run and seemed set for victory after taking a 66-80 lead. But, Kostic's team dug deep and fought back to cut the deficit to five points with just minutes remaining (79-85). But, the 15 offensive rebounds and 16 turnovers Bayern allowed their opponents proved to be too much, as Oldenburg won the game 89-81.