Thriller against Valencia ends 85:84

The EuroLeague first half is over, and the Bayern basketball team celebrates a crucial home victory. With a razor-thin 85:84 (38:39) win over Valencia, the Munich team remains just one game behind the playoff positions, despite playing more away games than home games in the first round.

The BMW Park was sold out for the tenth consecutive time with 6,500 fans - and they propelled their long-suffering team to an important eighth season victory against a direct competitor (9:8) in the final minutes. The Bayern had to do without Ibaka (mild infection), top scorers were Bolmaro, Booker (13 each), Lucic, Obst (12), and the strong center rookie Brankovic (11).

On Saturday (8:00 PM), the Cup winner bids farewell to 2023 against Heidelberg.

All numbers for the game

Brankovic Cleans Up, Rebounding Machine Obst 

After a turbulent first quarter, the score was 18:23 (12.), Shot selection, shooting percentages, and especially ball movement were not on point. The team struggled against Valencia's very physical defense, despite having only three turnovers by halftime.

The breakthrough did not happen yet, and the guest appeared more assertive, leading 52:45 (25.). Bolmaro then caught fire first and dunked to tie the game at 54:54 - was it a turning point? Well, the rhythm still did not set in, not even from the free-throw line, and the last quarter started at 60:62.

Lucic Nerves of Steel

Here, Bayern finally had open shots - but they didn't connect. Valencia got to the free-throw line too often, but now Brankovic cleaned up: Suddenly 79:73 through Lucic (37.), the thriller intensified - two defensive rebounds from Obst (!) and two secure free throws from Lucic with 16 seconds left paved the way for the happy ending: FCBB survived the guests' very last attempt with luck.

The quotes:

Pablo Laso, Head Coach FC Bayern Basketball: „This was a fantastic effort from my team today; both teams played at a high level, considering the tough schedule for everyone. All four quarters were very close, and the game was very evenly matched. My feeling is that they've learned something from our mistakes – but probably they feel the same way. Even when you look at the stats, it was very close, such as with free throws, where our percentage wasn't good, but theirs wasn't either. We were okay with rebounds, even though we were missing an important player there. We also had a good number of assists and did a lot of good things. However, we missed some open shots at the right moments. In the end, we got the win, and that's what matters."

Andreas Obst: „It was a peculiar game. It might still be due to the Christmas days; everyone needs a little time to digest the food. On the court, it also felt very sluggish. Valencia is a very physical team, strong in defense, the second-best defense in the EuroLeague. The Monaco game was hard to digest, considering what happened there. Today, there were also a few tough decisions. But we can't control that. For us, that's energy wasted for no reason. We need to stay in the game, focus on ourselves, and do what we can control. We rotate a lot and have a deep bench. Everyone gets their minutes and their chances. There will always be someone who has a game where they may score more. Everyone here has the quality to score points. If we distribute it well and everyone takes a step, then it's only better for us. We've improved in the last few weeks. We had a difficult start. We had a few games that we unnecessarily lost, simply due to the new constellation. It's a process of finding our way that we have to go through. We're not at the end yet and still on the path to improving and finding ourselves."