After defeating Ljubljana on the first day of the Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Podgorica, the U18 Bayern basketball team also showcased a strong performance on the second day. They secured a 69-59 victory against Reyer Venice on Saturday morning, followed by a late-night match against the strong favorite Real Madrid, where the FCBB talents managed to keep up for a long time but eventually succumbed to an 84-60 defeat. Consequently, the Munich team will compete for third place in the ANGT Qualifier on Sunday starting at 2:30 PM against the hosts from Montenegro. Whether Ivan Kharchenkov can participate remains uncertain due to an injury.
Second victory against Venice, a strong half against Real Madrid
Bayern secured their second victory against Venice, building on the momentum from the previous day. Dominik Dolic capped off the first quarter with a buzzer-beater, putting the score at 20-14. It was a closely contested match, with the Italians refusing to be shaken off (37-35 at halftime). They even had a better start to the second half (39-45 at the 25th minute), but Bayern turned the tide again through Nikolas Sermpezis and once more through Dolic, making it 53-51 by the 30th minute. The game's turning point came with a remarkable 20-0 run spanning quarters, bringing the score to 69-51 by the 36th minute.
Kharchenkov is injured
Even against the perennial winner Real, Bayern put on a convincing performance. Ivan Volf found a good rhythm from the distance (9-4 in the 3rd minute). Until halftime, FCBB particularly surprised offensively and kept themselves within striking distance (41-47 at halftime). The deficit remained in single digits until midway through the third quarter (48-54 in the 24th minute) before Kharchenkov landed awkwardly and had to leave the game due to injury in the 28th minute.
Within a few minutes, Madrid's elite youth team extended their lead to 66-48 (at the 30th minute) and began to showcase their full length and athleticism (53-68 in the 35th minute). Youngster Adrija Susic managed to draw attention with two three-pointers.
FCBB U18: Ivan Kharchenkov (14 Points vs Madrid/21 vs Venedig), Ivan Volf (11/12), Andrija Susic (14/2), Nikolas Sermpezis (5/13), Matteo Petters (2/2), Dominik Dolic (5/11), Eduard Rantz (4/1), Desmond Yiamu (0/7), Aksel Laso (5/0), Namik Muratovic, Alan Topic und Koray Grenz.