The current week appears innocently as Week 44 on the calendar, but FC Bayern Basketball sees this designation with considerable respect. Head coach Gordon Herbert's team will be on the road all week: on Monday afternoon, the reigning German champions head to Bologna, where they’ll fight for their first EuroLeague away victory on Tuesday evening (9 p.m.). They then continue to France, with another chance opening up on Friday evening (8 p.m., both on MagentaSport) in Lyon against Villeurbanne. Week 44 finally wraps up on Sunday in Braunschweig, with a league match starting at 6 p.m. (Dyn) before returning to Munich.
So Braunschweig is still a distant stop, while Bologna is the first target. Virtus has also had a good week, as after securing their first EuroLeague win of the season in Belgrade in front of 20,000 Partizan fans (70:69), the Italians went on to defeat Cremona in the Italian Lega Basket Serie A on Saturday evening (74:69). With a 4-0 record, Virtus remains undefeated, alongside Trento (5-0).
Virtus’ Debut Victory at Partizan
Allowing only 69 points twice, Bologna’s foundation is clearly its defense. The two-time EuroLeague champion (1998, 2001) will again rely on a well-known trio for scoring this season: former MVP Will Clyburn (12.0 points per game), 34, is finding his rhythm more and more following his lengthy injury and comeback last season. Against Partizan, he ultimately racked up 27 points.
Forward Tornike Shengelia (11.8 points/5.8 rebounds per game), 33, remains the team leader, even though coach Luca Banchi rested the Georgian on Saturday in Cremona. However, the team’s “energizer” is French national team player Isaia Cordinier (14.4 points per game), on whose athleticism the highly experienced home team will rely on.
Stars of the Team: Clyburn, Shengelia, and Cordinier
After three impressive home wins resulting in their current 3-2 record (Virtus: 1-4), Bayern is eager to secure a win on the road this week. “It’s always easy to say we have to get a ‘must-win,’ but in the EuroLeague, winning on the road is particularly challenging,” says co-captain Andreas Obst. “Nonetheless, we want to bring something home, and we’ve shown in our home games that we can compete with any opponent.”
In Athens (79:94) and against Partizan (78:86), Munich essentially lost their chances due to a poor start, despite strong comebacks, as Gordie Herbert also notes. “We were significantly behind after the first quarter in both games; we simply need to start better, play 40 minutes of basketball. That’s the key to winning an away game in the EuroLeague.”