Bayern leave the EuroLeague stage

The 36th EuroLeague game is the last of this season, which—despite missed opportunities—will be remembered very positively: The Bayern basketball team was clearly outmatched in the 93–71 (33–52) Play-In final at Real Madrid, meaning the Spanish champions advance to the playoffs. FCBB (without Edwards and da Silva) fell significantly behind early in front of 9,200 spectators and this time couldn’t muster enough energy against a confident favorite in the do-or-die matchup.

The German champions will now rest and then continue their fight for first place heading into the BBL playoffs. The most points on Friday evening were scored by Napier (19).

Full boxscore

Edwards only a spectator

After the morning’s bad news about their injured All-First Team top scorer Edwards, Obst took over his role in the starting lineup. Real started very focused, Bayern did not – 3:12, timeout (4th minute). Madrid shot threes with high accuracy (7/8), while the guests rarely attacked the paint. 17:33 after the first quarter—now morale and solutions were needed.

Madrid starts with 8 of 9 threes

A 7–0 run by Munich to bring it to 26:36 didn’t rattle Real, who had found their rhythm, including in their passing game. With Hezonja’s three-pointer (Real 9/14) for the largest lead before halftime, the game already seemed lost.

This certainty was confirmed at 43:67 midway through the third quarter, although Bayern actually won that period 22–21. However, Real’s deep bench with high-quality finishes withstood Munich’s resistance. The Munich defense offered too many options.

Quotes:

Gordon Herbert, Head Coach FC Bayern Basketball: "You have to give Madrid credit—they started very well in the first seven minutes and built a big lead that they never gave up. They were extremely focused in the first quarter. They put us in a deep hole that we never climbed out of. (…) It’s tough because we played 32 games of very good basketball. We had the chance to finish the regular season in fifth or sixth place, and we missed that. But overall, the guys did a great job, fought through tough phases and injuries. This was just a difficult situation—playing away in Madrid. Still, they deserve praise."

Andreas Obst: "Unfortunately, we weren’t mentally or physically ready today—whatever number game in a row this was in such a short span. Real shot really well at the start, and when a team like that builds confidence, it’s tough to catch up. We did manage to close the gap a bit, but with their quality, every mistake gets punished. And after that, with the strain we’ve been under, it was just hard to keep bringing energy. Carsen was missing, but we’ve had several stretches where key players like Devin were injured. Of course, without Carsen, you’re missing 20 points right off the bat—but we still have enough quality to do more. Now the EuroLeague is over. Our season was actually really good, but right now the disappointment outweighs that because we didn’t take the final step. For the German championship, we first have to gather ourselves and regroup."