Bayern collapse at Baskonia after strong start: Clear 73-95 defeat in Vitoria

FC Bayern Basketball missed another chance to claim their sixth win of the season: On Friday night, the Munich team lost 73-95 (41-42) in Vitoria against Baskonia in front of 8,100 fans, as the hosts celebrated their fourth consecutive home victory. After an excellent first quarter (26-14), FCBB struggled to match the hosts’ intensity and were clearly outplayed on both ends of the court after halftime. Obst (14), Jessup (13), Lucic and Dinwiddie (11 each) scored in double figures.

On Tuesday, Bayern travel to Valencia for Round 13 of the EuroLeague. Before that, they head to Ulm (Sunday, 4:30 pm) for the BBL derby.

Boxscore

Baskonia hit 23 of 30 two-pointers

Alongside long-term absentees Harris and Jokubaitis, FCBB were again without Baldwin (muscular issues) and Giffey. The visitors got off to a perfect start (7-0, 3rd minute), with Voigtmann’s three-pointer and seven points from Obst extending the lead to 23-10 (8th minute).

Baskonia’s transition game was still being contained, but the Spaniards stayed close thanks to easy points in the paint (76% two pointer at halftime) – 28-22, timeout (13th minute). Lucic and Jessup returned after the break, but Bayern still conceded the 34-35 (17th minute): Some indecision in finishing and eight turnovers before halftime, as Baskonia’s physicality took its toll. With the halftime buzzer, the defense gave up points 27 and 28 in a disappointing quarter.

Clearly behind from the third Quarter on

Resistance was needed. Jessup led the way, Dinwiddie battled, but Baskonia had already found their home rhythm and confidence, including from beyond the arc (57-67, 30th minute). Munich’s ball movement rarely created the open looks seen in the first quarter, and the 64-81 score five minutes from the end sealed a frustrating defeat. Baskonia’s 81 points across quarters two to four said it all.

Quotes: 

TJ Parker, Coach FC Bayern Basketball: “We had a really good start, just as we wanted. But after that, in the other three quarters, everything pretty much went the other way. You simply can’t allow the opponent to gain so much confidence. We gave up at least 25 points to them in each of those three quarters. Now we need to look at ourselves and figure out what we did wrong. (…) Playing at Baskonia is always tough, but you can’t boost their confidence with so many easy points. Their intensity kept rising, and it became very difficult for us to play our kind of basketball. (…) It’s tough right now, we’re on the road for a long stretch because of all the away games. That’s not easy, and we definitely need to stick together. But you just can’t make so many mistakes away from home—the teams in the EuroLeague are simply too good for that. Things are often different at home, but unfortunately, we won’t be seeing that for quite a while.”

Justus Hollatz: “We started well and then somehow stopped playing. In the second half, we completely lost our rhythm and had no energy left. Our intensity was gone, while they played harder. We kept taking a step back instead of forward, and you just can’t play like that in the EuroLeague. They started hitting their threes, and that made the scoreline even more lopsided. After halftime, we played without pride or character.”