The series continues: The Bayern basketball team, on the eleventh matchday of the EuroLeague, continued their clear positive trend, thrillingly defeating third-placed Bologna 90:76 (44:46). Even without the injured Bolmaro and Obst, as well as Lucic, , the Munich team took command in the second quarter and celebrated their fifth victory (5:6) in the BMW Park, once again sold out.
Pablo Laso's team could rely on Serge Ibaka (24 Points /13 Rebounds) but impressed as a collectively resilient unit. In the final quarter, Virtus only managed to score 10 points.
FC Bayern Basketball - Virtus Segafredo Bologna 90:76 (44:46)
- FCBB:Serge Ibaka (24 Points, 13 Rebounds), Sylvain Francisco (13, 5 Assists), Devin Booker (12, 6 Rebounds), Carsen Edwards (12, 5 Assists), Isaac Bonga (10, 8 Rebounds, 3 Assists), Nick Weiler-Babb (8), Danko Brankovic (7), Niels Giffey (4), Niklas Wimberg, Freddie Gillespie, Ivan Kharchenkov, Nelson Weidemann
- Topscorer Bologna:Belinelli (22 Points)
- RefereeSreten Radovic, Jakub Zamojski, Saulius Racys
- Attendance6.500 (sold out)
Double-Double by Ibaka
The quick lead for Bologna (23:37/14:) was mainly facilitated by weaknesses in defense during rebounds and in transition. The guests' veterans coldly capitalized on this. Bayern appeared too passive, but Ibaka and Bongo activated the team with their energy before halftime.
Weiler-Babb and once again the powerful force Ibaka, each with a three-pointer, crowned the comeback to a 56:53 lead after the restart (25th minute) - the arena was now truly electrified because the team did not let itself be deterred even by questionable calls.
Brankovic's three-pointer
The fourth foul against Booker (28th minute) complicated the job in a fierce, evenly matched duel; nerve strength at the free-throw line was rewarded with a score of 70:66 before the final quarter. Bonga also received his fourth foul, but Brankovic changed the defense, and Giffey, Francisco, and even the aforementioned 7'1" giant with a three-pointer scored for an 86:73 lead four minutes before the end! Bologna was beaten.
The quotes:
Pablo Laso, Head Coach of FC Bayern Basketball: "I have to congratulate my players on this great performance in the last 30 minutes. In the first quarter, we were still waiting for the game; we arrived late – next time, I'll have to tell them that it starts at half-past eight. We were fortunate that they hadn't finished us off in the first ten minutes. Bologna is a great team, with many experienced players, but my team reacted well. Some players gave us a lot off the bench. We are very pleased; we have several consecutive victories now. We had injured players on the sidelines, but everyone was able to step in. (...) Serge wasn't so good in the first quarter; it was hard for him to help in defense or not. But he made shots, different from days when he's really good and doesn't hit much. He increased his concentration in defense in the second half and was very dominant. Danko also gave us a lot off the bench; he defended well, made shots, and free throws. He was a very important part of our victory today. (...) He has never played internationally, and he has done a great job here from day one, even though he is still so young."
Isaac Bonga: "Today was a team success. We showed as a team that we can compete against top teams in the EuroLeague, currently at the top, and in such games, it's just a good feeling when everyone can contribute something."
Serge Ibaka: "We did a good job as a team. We started a bit cautiously at the beginning, but we trusted each other, and in the second half, we ramped up the intensity on defense, which brought us the victory."
