An exuberant favorite displayed its class: FC Barcelona remains the most in-form team of the young EuroLeague season. Against the deeply talented Spanish side, Bayern had no chance in the second part of the double week and lost 59-98 (27-43). Barça remains undefeated at the top (4-0), while the Munich team suffered their second loss of the season after the winning in Vitoria (76-68) on Tuesday.
"We must not break like this."
On Saturday, they travel towards Crailsheim, where they will play on Sunday at 6:30 PM. In the EuroLeague, they will continue their journey next Friday at 8:30 PM against Fenerbahce, the game is sold out.
FC Barcelona - FC Bayern Basketball 98:59 (43:27)
- FCBB:Serge Ibaka (13 points , 8 rebounds), Devin Booker (9), Sylvain Francisco (7, 5 rebounds), Isaac Bonga (7, 5 Rebounds), Andreas Obst (6), Nick Weiler-Babb (5), Carsen Edwards (3), Nelson Weidemann (3), Niels Giffey (2), Leandro Bolmaro (2), Freddie Gillespie (2, 5 rebounds), Elias Harris
- Topscorer Barcelona:Jabari Parker (15 points)
- RefereeTomislav Hordov, Eduard Udyanskyy, Uros Obrknezevic
- Attendance7.585
Only Ibaka reached double digits.
In the Palau Blaugrana, Laso rotated once again, replacing Brankovic and Wimberg with Ibaka and Harris. However, the start was dominated by Barcelona point guard Nico Laprovittola, and a very aggressive Barça surged ahead with a score of 13-2 and 27-11 (10 minutes into the game). Ibaka (13 points/8 rebounds) fought, but the situation hardly changed until halftime (37-22). Barcelona, led by Center Vesely (14), was shooting at a high percentage, and they received only three foul calls in 16 minutes. The Munich squad also suffered from eight turnovers.
The second half saw a 37-70 scoreline (30 minutes into the game), while the intact Munich spirit didn't reflect on the scoreboard at all. They struggled to get shots off against tough defense in the second half, with an overall inadequate three-point shooting (7/28).
Quotes:
Pablo Laso, Head Coach FC Bayern Basketball: "There's not much to say. We weren't ready to play from the beginning, basically from the first play. You could see in the first actions that they had a different pace today, a different level, more concentration. The best news was that we were only 16 points behind at halftime, even though we hadn't accomplished anything. We started the second half quite well, but one turnover was enough, and we didn't get back properly in defense. Then it quickly became a 20-point difference, and we kept playing the same way, ending up losing by 40."
Andreas Obst: "We got a real beating. We didn't play a good game from start to finish, and I believe we never played the game we wanted to play, both offensively and defensively. There's not much to talk about. We don't need to discuss tactics; it's about everyone stepping onto the court and being ready to give everything for the team. It's about readiness, being prepared. Yes, we had a run at the end, but we must not break like this."