Another excellent EuroLeague battle, but this time without the right result: Just 48 hours after the overtime victory against Baskonia (112:109), the Bayern basketball team couldn't manage to defeat the favorite Olympiacos Piraeus. In front of 6,500 fans, the 2023 finalist maintained slightly better composure in the final phase and won luckily 76:72 (38:35). Ibaka and Francisco were the top scorers with 18 points each.
Next up is Monday (8:00 PM) in the BBL against Oldenburg and then Thursday thereafter at Partizan Belgrade.
FC Bayern Basketball - Olympiakos Piräus 72:76 (38:35)
- FCBB:Serge Ibaka (18 Points, 8 Rebounds), Sylvain Francisco (18, 3 Assists), Elias Harris (9), Vladimir Lucic (8, 5 Rebounds), Nick Weiler-Babb (6), Niels Giffey (4), Isaac Bonga (4), Danko Brankovic (2), Carsen Edwards (2), Leandro Bolmaro (1, 4 Assists), Dino Radoncic, Andras Obst
- Topscorer Olympiakos:Thomas Walkup (16 points)
- RefereeJuan Carlos Garcia, Joseph Bissang, Igor Dragojevic
- Attendance6.500 (sold out)
Harris scores inside
Once again without Booker but with Bonga back, Bayern faced the well-known very physical defense of the Greek champions (14:18/10). Like on Tuesday, Harris effectively battled on the offensive boards, but Bayern made a few more mistakes (27:31/18.). However, Giffey snatched the halftime lead with a steal-plus-dunk and Weiler-Babbs buzzer-beater three-pointer, much to the delight of the crowd.
44:37 ahead, then 51:60
After halftime, Ibaka cleaned up brilliantly, Bayern now leading 44:37 (14th). It could have been more, but Piraeus played even harder successfully, taking over - 47:48 (29th), before conductor Walkup almost single-handedly pushed the guest to a 60:51 lead.
Quotes:
Pablo Laso, Headcoach FC Bayern Basketball: "Congratulations to Olympiakos on the win. It was a very tight game; we had good and bad moments. However, we were up against a great team with a lot of experience. We lacked a bit of experience ourselves because, for example, when we were ahead, we should have controlled it better. There were some plays that will haunt me tonight. Missing an easy layup and quickly conceding one, losing the ball and giving up a three-pointer – those are the plays that ultimately make the big difference. Looking at the statistics, they are very evenly matched, but we need slightly better execution in crucial moments. Now, we need to recover from the many games of the last ten days and then be ready for the next BBL game on Monday."
Serge Ibaka: "We knew that we would be playing against a very, very good team, and the game was evenly matched the whole time. They deserve a lot of respect; they played very well together. We tried everything, but we just didn't have luck today. (...) That's basketball; you can't relax. Coach told us at halftime to stay aggressive because they wouldn't give up. And that's how it was. (...) They play as much as we do; that's our job, I can't complain. I will always be grateful to be on the court."