Bayern looks to force a fourth game against Milan

It wasn't easy to get back together the day after the last miserable loss. But early on Monday evening, the FCBB were focused again on the court in the Audi Dome with their head coach Andrea Trinchieri. The huge defeat against Alba Berlin in league play was a thing of the past in those 90 minutes, and the focus of their work on defense and offense is now Olimpia Milan - on Wednesday night (April 28, 20:45/MagentaSport), the Munich team wants to show a completely different face again and extend their exciting Euroleague adventure for at least one more game. They are 0-2 behind in the best-of-five series after two dramatic games in in Milan, and only a win would force a fourth game on Friday.

"The situation is clear: we want to win the next game, that goes without saying," Bayern head coach Trinchieri said. "It's time to throw everything in and take a chance. At the end of the day, actions speak louder than any words. Whatever we talk about now is less important than what we do. It's time to do it."     

In addition to the comeback qualities of Bayern this season - in the EuroLeague alone they won ten times in their 21 regular season victories after a double-digit deficit - the surprise team so far goes into the do-or-die duel with this certainty: the Bayern basketballers were the best team at home during the regular season in this Corona season 2020/2021 without fans. They have a 13-4 record at the Audi Dome.

Milan's star ensemble, meanwhile, was one of those teams that won in Munich, though it was a close game in the 81-79 loss after overtime at the start of the season in October.The captain Djedovic will not be able to play on Wednesday, missing since February due to knee problems. Nick Weiler-Babb, Trinchieri's best defender - the EuroLeague rookie is the tenth best ball thief in the competition with 41 steals in 33 games - will also miss a few more weeks for the FCBB after his foot injury suffered in Milan.

A key will be to score more effectively again in the two-point range: both against Berlin (45%) and in the first two playoff duels (41%), Bayern remained below their average from the regular season o f around 52 percent. On defense, the two guards Kevin Punter (15.5 ppg in the playoffs) and Sergio Rodriguez (13 ppg, 50% threes) certainly deserve the most attention from Bayern, especially the experienced Spaniard who has punished Bayern in the first two games.

Olimpia Milan defended their top spot in Serie A on the weekend: In the 88-81 in Pesaro, Zach LeDay (22), Shavon Shields (16), Vladmir Micov (15) and Michael Roll (14) were the top scorers against the relegation-threatened eighth in the standings.