© Pahnke
One would probably wish for a different matchup for a fresh start, but there is no alternative: with an away game against the strongest home team in the EuroLeague, the Bayern basketball players return on Thursday after the major disappointment at the BMW TOP FOUR. The game at Real Madrid starts at 8:45 p.m. The hosts are fourth in the table and once again Final Four contenders, while Bayern, with twelve wins after 28 match days, want to continue their advance into mid-table in the last ten games, as they have been doing since the beginning of the year.
The Movistar Arena will host a duel between two disappointed teams. Like Munich, who missed out on the cup final, coach Sergio Scariolo's men also failed to win the cup they were aiming for: In the Copa del Rey tournament in Valencia, Real initially dominated surprisingly clearly with a 100:70 victory over Nihad Djedovic's Malaga in the quarterfinals. Then, in a dramatic finish, they defeated host Valencia 108:106 – before Baskonia Vítoria snatched the cup from the favorites in the final with a 33:17 run in the final quarter (100:89).
“We are still very disappointed.”
In the top flight, Los Blancos are on course for the playoffs with 17 wins and 11 losses. After three consecutive away defeats, Real won 77-73 at Partizan Belgrade before the cup break. Real has lost only once in 13 home games, 77-87 to Panathinaikos in mid-November. Madrid (18:2) leads the Spanish ACB ahead of Valencia (15:5) with similar dominance to Bayern's lead in the Bundesliga (19:2) ahead of cup finalists Berlin (16:6).
“We are still very downhearted and disappointed after losing in the cup, again in the semifinals as we did last year,” said FCBB captain Vladimir Lucic on Wednesday before departure. "And it was definitely even harder this time because we lost at home in Munich. We're not in an ideal situation in the EuroLeague either, and we now have two very difficult away games ahead of us. The first is against Madrid, who also failed to win the Copa. But they are actually a championship team with a winning mentality. So they will want to respond at home – and so do we. We hope we can hold our own there."
Trey Lyles is Real Madrid's top scorer | © EuroLeague
Two league leaders and cup losers
The core of the bright white jersey is well known and the team is well-rehearsed. Playmaker Facundo Campazzo (11.8 ppg, 4.9 apg) brings the ball, with center star Walter Tavares (9.5, 6.7 rpg) and wing Mario Hezonja (12.6) as the primary recipients. Among the newcomers, US forward Trey Lyles is the top scorer (13.7, 44% three-pointers), while Frenchman Theo Maledon also scores in double digits (10.5). David Krämer has made 14 appearances so far, averaging 11 minutes.
Bayern will likely be able to count on Stefan Jovic and center Wenyen Gabriel again, who missed the cup semifinal due to an infection. Unfortunately, the virus has been spreading through the team recently, with several players also unfit in recent days. Who will be available to play will therefore be decided at short notice.