There was some melancholy on an evening that will be remembered for a long time in view of the quality presented by both teams on the court. There were zero fans at the Audi Dome for the unexpected 83-71 victory of the Bayern basketball team over the favored EuroLeague title holders Anadolu Efes Istanbul. The Munich team is the only one of the 18 teams in the top division to have to do without its fans due to the Corona restrictions.
The excellent performance against the favorite, who fought for a long time with a lot of commitment and physicality for the victory, would probably have turned the hall at Munich's Westpark into a madhouse. Vladimir Lucic, with 18 points and twelve rebounds was once again the leader of a defensively strong team, rightly spoke of a "tremendous victory", through which the FCBB who started with four losses evened their record for the first time (7-7).
Munich road win in EuroLeague duel
For the FCBB there is little time for enjoyment and the hunt goes on: Before the departure on Tuesday for the fourth double week of the EuroLeague (Wednesday in Piraeus, Friday in Belgrade), the schedule offers the top game of the Bundesliga at Alba Berlin.
Tip-off is on Sunday evening at 18:00 andMagentaSport broadcasts live as always.
Bayern (8:2) currently leads the very balanced BBL standings while champions Alba (6-3) could draw level with a win. Berlin was challenged in Athens on Friday, but has home rights in front of 2,500 spectators and, as things stand, is complete in contrast to the FCBB (without Hilliard, Radosevic and Zipser).
"We are missing two important German players"
"It's an away game and we continue to be missing two very important German players, so it's a very tough task," Bayern head coach Andrea Trinchieri said. "We will see who will be in what condition and play."
Bayern won the most recent classic between Germany's top two teams, away in the EuroLeague, 82-69 at the end of October after an energetic final spurt. Top scorer was Darrun Hilliard (23 points), has been off the court for weeks because of his knee injury. The last BBL encounter at the end of the final series in 2021 (1-3) was the last appearance of Leon Radosevic for the time being and Paul Zipser was already missing at that time under circumstances that are well documented. Radosevic had made himself available once again in game four despite a ligament injury (16 points).
"Leon may become a Christmas present," says Trinchieri about the comeback plans of the center, who has started individual training. Captain Nihad Djedovic, who struggled with minor knee problems during the week, is likely to be available Sunday, the Italian said.
The 61st German Classic
Alba Berlin, meanwhile, has returned to its level after teething troubles, with the team led by distance specialist Marcus Eriksson (17.2 ppg), captain Luke Sikma (12.8) and international Maodo Lo (8.6) winning its last four BBL games. New coach Israel Gonzalez will have to leave out only one international professional from his regular squad. New in this contingent are the two Israelis Yovel Zoosman (7.2 ppg) and Tamir Blatt (5.0) as well as guard Jaleen Smith (8.5), who transferred from Ludwigsburg.
Bayern in Berlin will be the 61st edition of the German classic on Sunday. The Munich team currently leads 36:23 all-time - in the BBL (28:19), EuroLeague (4:0), EuroCup (1 win, 1 draw) and Cup (3:4).