It's been two weeks since the Bayern basketball team was last in action. (Too) Much has happened since then, but now Andrea Trinchieri's team is returning to the spotlight in high gear. Because no less than four games within seven days are scheduled for the Munich team:
Wednesday (1.3 19:00), the Hamburg Towers visit the BBL standings leader
Friday (4.3, 20:45), the EuroLeague journey continues with the highlight home game against the in-form Greek team Olympiakos Piraeus.
Sunday (3.6, 18:00) - also at the Audi Dome - sees a southern rivalry game against Bamberg.
Tuesday, the top game at Telekom Baskets Bonn is on the agenda.
The FCBB is looking forward to the support of its fans, tickets are as always available online and at short notice at the box office.
Three upcoming home games:
HAMBURG TOWERS (Wed, 19:00)
The Towers are experiencing the double burden of international competition for the first time this season. In the BBL, they have a 22-18 points record after 20 games (FCBB: 21 games/32-10) and are fighting for a playoff spot in ninth place. In the EuroCup, the second-highest competition in Europe, the debutants have a very good chance of reaching the next round with a 5-7 record.
The Hamburg team also has to regain its rhythm. Like the Munich team, it was affected by game postponements due to quarantine cases. Coach Pedro Calles' team last played on February 11 against Wuerzburg (113-103 victory).
Obs back from the national team
The scoring of the guests revolves primarily around a trio: guard Caleb Homesly takes on a lot of responsibility in the offense and is particularly influential with 16.8 points and 5.1 assists per game. Fellow countryman Jaylon Brown (15.5 ppg) and center Maik Kotsar (13.7/7.1 rpg) are also in double figures ahead of Robin Christen (8.3 ppg) and youngster Justus Hollartz (7.9/4.2 aog), who also played on the national team. Celebrating a return is center Eddy Edigin (3.0/3.5 rpg), once in the FCBB junior program and promoted to ProB with the second team in 2016.
Head coach Andrea Trinchieri can hope for more options in the squad than in February after good impressions in training. Back in action on Tuesday was Andreas Obst, who returned from Heidelberg late at night from the national team. In the 84-80 win over Israel in the World Cup qualifier, the guard delivered five huge points in crunch time to take the lead for the first time after trailing in the third quarter.
OLYMPIAKOS PIRÄUS (FRI., 20:45)
Piraeus is back: After the EuroLeague winners of 2012 and 2013 last reached the playoffs of the top division four years ago, the Greeks are firmly scheduled for the knockout round yet again. With a 15-9 record they are clearly on course. The current fourth-place team started the second half of the season with four losses, but they recently held two top teams at bay in Efes Istanbul (87-85) and Milan (67-58).
And just at the beginning of the week, the EuroLeague announced its "Player of the Month February" - the Bulgarian Olympiakos guard Sasha Vezenkov. At 26, he is probably one of the youngest veterans in the league, as the forward is playing his seventh EuroLeague season with 174 appearances so far (7.4 ppg) - it is by far his best. With 12.9 points per game (40.3% threes), the left-hander is the second-best scorer behind addition Tyler Dorsey (13.1) and ahead of playmaker Kostas Sloukas (11.6/4.3 apg). In the last five games Vezenkov increased his average to almost 17 points.
Another building block for the Piraeus upswing is French center Moustapha Fall, transferred from Villeurbanne, who uses his 7 ft frame effectively with 8.5 points, five rebounds and at least one block per game. Fall extended his contract on Wednesday until 2025.
BROSE BAMBERG (SUN, 18:00)
The former series champion is going through a difficult phase, a change of coach and various player losses have not changed anything. The Upper Franconians have recently been struggling with injuries and Corona cases, and missing the playoffs for the first time in ages is conceivable with a record of 18-22 points.
The new coach Oren Amiel is trying to find a signature especially on defense, but especially vaccination breakthroughs caused personnel shortages in recent weeks; Kenneth Ogbe (7.9 ppg), Akil Mitchell (12.8) and Patrick Heckmann (8.5) are out for the long term.
Captain Christian Sengfelder (17.6 ppg) is the top scorer and top German scorer in the BBL, while the Czech Tomas Kyzlink (11.4), who joined the team as a substitute, has fitted in well.
Collection campaign for Ukraine refugees
For those affected by the war in Ukraine, the Bayern Basketball players are organizing a collection campaign: Before the Bamberg home game, the following donations can be made at the main entrance of the Audi Dome between 3 and 6 pm:
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- First-aid kits
- Medicin articles
- Sleeping pads
- Sleeping bags
The action is carried out in cooperation with the "Society for Integration and Culture in Europe e.V.", which was founded in 1998 as the non-profit organization "GOROD" (info: https://de.newgorod.org) and operates the cultural center of the same name in Arnulfstraße. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Parish Community of Munich (info and donation account: http://deutsch.ukr-kirche.de) also supports the campaign.
Both partners will pass on the donations through their direct channels - we ask for active participation.
