Upcoming is a double-week in the EuroLeague plus another BBL top game: The Bayern basketball players packed up for five nights and left for Spain early on Monday morning. A good ten degrees above zero and blue skies await them there until they leave again on Friday - but the schedule is not an easy one. On Tuesday evening Munich will play the second game of the year against Valencia, and on Thursday (20:30/MagentaSport) at title favorites FC Barcelona. The week ends on Sunday evening in the Audi Dome (20:30) with the Bundesliga top game against the second-placed Telekom Baskets Bonn.
Victory without Dubljevic in Berlin
First things first: Valencia is playing well this season with eleven wins and positive record (11-10) and are tied for the eighth playoff place (Tel Aviv) and only one win behind sixth place (Baskonia). Most recently, coach Alex Mumbru's team won 94-88 in Berlin despite the absence of club legend and second-leading scorer Bojan Dubljevic (12.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg). They have cashed in wins at Olympiakos and Partizan and even against Barça showing that Valencia is obviously capable of defeating any team on a good day. Bayern have also won their last two games and have a 9-12 record.
"Valencia is a legitimate playoff contender, they are having a very good season," Bayern head coach Andrea Trinchieri said, elaborating, "They shoot incredibly well, have strong spacing and a lot of options in their squad. We had a good weekend, although we continue to be without players. We want to bring the same energy back to the court, where Valencia is always very confident."
Guard Chris Jones is the top scorer
Whether Dubljevic, who sprained his foot, will be back against Bayern is yet to be decided. On Sunday in the 102-86 loss in the ACB at Unicaja Malaga - with Nihad Djedovic (9 points) - the power forward was missing, as was center Jasiel Rivero (11.2 ppg), who made his last appearance five games ago. Back from injury, on the other hand, is the experienced former national player Victor Claver, 35, while Bayern has Lucic, Obst and Harris on the injured list.
Like Bayern, Valencia has been able to compensate well for personnel problems as a team in recent weeks. The athletic winger James Webb (8.5 ppg) has been in good form in recent weeks as have the two US guards Jared Harper (10.2) and Chris Jones (14.5 ppg, 5.1 assists) who should be the main focus for the Bayern defense.. The FCBB won the first matchup 97-92 in mid-December.