The favorite struggled, but narrowly managed to prevail: In front of 6,500 fans at the bustling BMW Park, including 1,500 vocal Greeks, the Bayern basketball team delivered a convincing performance for much of the game but fell just short of surprising the second-placed Panathinaikos. The score stood at 75:82 (36:40) after 40 thrilling minutes, and until the very end, the resilient Munich team, led by Nick Weiler-Babb (15 points), believed they had chances to secure their 14th season victory.
The cup winner will be in action again on Sunday evening, with Braunschweig visiting Munich at 5 p.m. The EuroLeague season concludes for Bayern next Thursday in Monaco.
FC Bayern Basketball - Panathinaikos BC 75:82 (36:40)
FCBB:
Weiler-Babb (15 points), Serge Ibaka (14, 7 rebounds), Leandro Bolmaro (11, 7 assists), Vladimir Lucic (11), Carsen Edwards (9), Niels Giffey (6), Isaac Bonga (5), Sylvain Francisco (2), Elias Harris (2), Dino Radoncic
Topscorer Panathinaikos BC:
Kendrick Nunn (17 points)
Referee
Fernando Rocha, Olegs Latisevs, Alberto Baena
Attendance
6.500 (sold out)
Weiler-Babb leads the way
Once again, not having the full starting rotation available (without Booker and Obst), Bayern managed to keep control in the noisy entrance: 15:8 after two Ibaka three-pointers (8th minute), the first quarter ended 18:13 in favor of the alert hosts.
What Panathinaikos gradually brought from the bench was impressive: Sloukas, Hernangomez, Vildoza, this depth caused the first mistakes of FCBB (31:37/18.).
Lucic for 70:70
After the break, Bayern leveled the score at 44:44, with only NBA import Nunn and offensive rebounds from Athens needing to be stopped (52:51/28.). Also, turnovers accumulated at an unfavorable time, 54:61 (31.).
Bolmaro, the excellent Weiler-Babb, and the arena allowed Bayern to survive this phase as well - leading 65:63, still seven minutes to go. A cynically high three-pointer dropping from the rim into the net for 70:73 from Bayern's perspective (36th minute) once again hinted at the lack of luck.
The Voices
Pablo Laso: "Congratulations to Panathinaikos, they needed and wanted the victory desperately for the home advantage. We are naturally disappointed, we fought all year for the Play-In spot, but in the end, we weren't quite aggressive enough – just like today. There were situations where we froze.
As a coach, I cannot blame my players because we gave everything all year. There were enough if-only situations this season. It's over, the season was tough, and the competition was very strong. Now we have to prepare for the playoffs in the BBL to get the best possible position. (...)
Today we had many good phases, but we couldn't show it throughout the entire game – a team of such quality takes advantage of that painfully. (...) Of course, there are many explanations now (for the outcome of the season), but I might take an example from another team that clarifies: the EuroLeague punishes you for the smallest mistake: If Milan hadn't let Ibaka make the last three-pointer here (to go into overtime) – then they would have won and would be in the Play-Ins. There are many ifs in a season, it often happened to us. Today's game was a reflection of that, regardless of having many guys playing EuroLeague for the first time. Among them, we sometimes suffered (...)
But I am convinced that we have a team of players who will improve and learn from this in the next year."
Serge Ibaka: "We knew we were playing against a very good team. They were the slightly better team, we have to acknowledge that. We fought and stuck together, but in the end, we have to congratulate them on the win. I always enjoy competing against the best. Then I play even more focused and aggressive. The EuroLeague is a great competition, it wasn't easier than in the NBA, I had to work hard. My teammates and coaches have helped me from the beginning. This isn't over yet. We stay focused and will continue to work hard, just like we always do."
Nils Giffey: "Our intensity was spot on today. We gave a lot, but in the end, there were no "Quality Shots" left. There were also many hustle plays in the end. Nevertheless, it was a game where we can leave happy in the end, you want to go out in the end with a good feeling, a good win. Consistency would have certainly helped us throughout the season. Finding a consistent playing style, we sometimes didn't have that. Today was a good game for us. We hustled, had a lot of energy. When Grigonis drew two fouls into free throws, that was the turning point where the game flipped against us.
