The eagerly awaited ninth victory in the EuroLeague season is still pending: FC Bayern Basketball, led by Pablo Laso, had to acknowledge the great class of the defending champion and undisputed league leader Real Madrid on Wednesday evening, suffering a 71-92 (39-45) defeat on the 20th matchday. The German cup winner lacked the necessary perfect game against the determined favorite to cause a surprise in front of 6,500 fans.
FC Bayern Basketball - Real Madrid 71:92 (36:45)
- FCBBSylvain Francisco (14 points / 4/4 three-pointers, 2 steals), Leandro Bolmaro (11), Andreas Obst (8), Danko Brankovic (8), Devin Booker (8), Serge Ibaka (7, 5 rebounds), Nick Weiler-Babb (6), Vladimir Lucic (5), Carsen Edwards (4), Isaac Bonga
- Top scorer MadridVincent Poirier (18 points)
- RefereeSreten Radovic, Sasa Pukl, Seffi Shemesh
- Attendance6.500 (sold out)
A poor start
After an emotional minute of remembrance for Franz Beckenbauer, Real quickly found their rhythm in the game, scoring confidently from outside, leading 5-16. Bayern gradually shed their respect, but the defense still struggled against Hezonja, Campazzo & Co. The star ensemble scored like clockwork, but precision in shooting and ball movement was lacking for a closer half for the Bayern squad.
Fighting spirit until the end
Real remained cool and focused even after the break, while FCBB still lacked the spark. Nevertheless, the fighting spirit was impeccable, holding on to more or less the ten-point deficit from the early stages (50:60/28.).
After two three-pointers from Francisco (14 points) and Weiler-Babb, bringing the score to 65:70 (36.), momentum was tangible for the Munich team for the first time. However, Real consistently found solutions, ending the game with a 21:6 run; even with 18 turnovers, Bayern's vague chances were taken away.
Thursday in Istanbul
Already on Wednesday, Bayern travels to Turkey to face Fenerbahce (Thu., 6:45 PM), and on Sunday (5:30 PM), Bamberg will be the guest in the once again sold-out BMW Park.
Quotes:
Pablo Laso, FC Bayern Basketball Head Coach: "Real had a nine-point lead in the first half; they shot very well, eight out of 15 three-pointers. But we could stay close. However, throughout the game, we felt that something went wrong in those moments when we could have come back: we missed an easy shot, lost the ball, or they made a very difficult shot at the end of the attack – something went in the other direction. But we always fought and were close at 65:70. However, they grew, not us. This 6:21 at the end destroyed us. I think the result is ultimately too high considering what we showed in the first 30, 35 minutes, but it is the reality. (...) They are the best team in Europe.
But I don't see everything as bad now, although the victory counts, of course. (...) I don't look at the table but at how we play against Fenerbahce. I think I will look at the table before the last five, six, or seven games. We have many games ahead of us, and we need to win games to get closer to the playoffs."
Leandro Bolmaro: "They punish you for every mistake. We had silly turnovers, gave them offensive rebounds, and thus second chances. You can't let them get such easy points. If you exclude those points, we played a good game. They are a good team with good players. We respect them but know that we are good too. We were there until the last quarter but need to be more consistent throughout the whole game. We have a tough time, but if we stick together, we will come out of it. It's been a tough schedule since the beginning of the year; we knew that. We are mentally prepared, but it's tough. We've played most games away from home since the beginning of the year. Now we need to be mentally and physically prepared, take care of our bodies, and play cleverly. Everyone is good in the EuroLeague, and anyone can beat anyone."