The Bayern Basketball team, with its currently severely reduced squad, safely cleared the first hurdle against Frankfurt (72-53), but the second one is likely to be more difficult to overcome: Already on Tuesday evening (18:30), the team of head coach Andrea Trinchieri will play in Chemnitz. With another success, the FCBB (32-8 points) could further extend its lead in the standings ahead of second-place Bonn (30-12), Ulm (28-12) - and the Niners, who are in fourth place with a 14-6 record.
The game will be broadcast by MagentaSport and also on Sport1 free TV. Bayern will then have a game-free weekend until the next EuroLeague highlight next Thursday (24.2, 19:00) against ZSKA Moscow. Tickets for this game and also for Olympiakos Piraeus (4.3., 20:45) and the rivalry game against Bamberg (6.3., 18:00.) are now on sale.
The Niners Chemnitz are without question a difficult opponent for the Munich team after they narrowly got the upper hand in the Cup quarterfinals and likewise a month ago in the Audi Dome. In the Chemnitz 65-63, the Bavarians rather defeated themselves - with a 62-54 lead just under five minutes before the end, managing only one free throw point.
Chemnitz with exclamation mark against Ludwigsburg
On the other hand, this unnecessary defeat was obviously also a turning point - because it was the last loss in the BBL and basically the beginning of a clear rise in form. The extent to which Bayern will be able to draw lessons from the past for the next encounter with Chemnitz will depend no doubt on the FCBB's personnel situation.
Against Frankfurt, Vladimir Lucic (back) and Nick Weiler-Babb (foot) made themselves available for a few minutes of the game despite injuries to relieve the tight rotation (without Nihad Djedovic, Ognjen Jaramaz, Jason George, Augustine Rubit, Gavin Schilling, Marvin Ogunsipe, Paul Zipser, Darrun Hilliard, Martin Kalu, Mohamed Sillah). "I don't think there will be any big changes to the squad," Trinchieri said on Sunday.
The Bavarians know what to expect in Chemnitz: a well-coordinated team that moves the ball well up front and counters very physically with a flexible defense. Back in the squad of the Niners is FCBB loan player Nelson Weidemann (6.7 ppg) after coming back from a hand injury. In return, power forward Darion Atkins (12.6 ppg), so far the best scorer ahead of re-signed Trent Lockett (12.4), Mindaugas Susinskas (11.0) and the guard duo of Eric Washington (11.9) and Frantz Massenat (9.8), has been missing recently due to injury.
Even without Atkins, Chemnitz put an exclamation point on Saturday as Ludwigsburg was clearly dominated 74-56. 44 rebounds testified to the Saxons' energy especially in their own hall, where 3,000 spectators will be admitted on Tuesday.