As always, the atmosphere will be special and the crowd, likely 20,000 fans, will be impressive: Bayern Basketball will visit Partizan Belgrade on Thursday evening. For head coach Gordon Herbert’s team, it will be the fourth of seven consecutive EuroLeague away games. The hosts (4-9), like Munich (5-8), are fighting to catch up with the leading pack and have just parted ways with their sporting management. Tip-off is at 8:45 p.m. More than three weeks after their last home game, Bayern will finally have their own fans behind them again on Sunday, at “Music meets Basketball, Vol. 8” in the BMW Park, featuring the top act “Zartmann.”
After the international break, Herbert was able to conduct two intense training sessions, with the final preparations taking place on Wednesday evening at the Belgrade Arena. Due to the highly emotional resignation of coaching legend Zeljko Obradovic, the Munich team will need to focus on their own game more than ever in the cauldron of Belgrade.
“We have to handle the atmosphere”
The Serbian team, further strengthened with high-quality additions this summer—including World and European champion Izzy Bonga—started the season solidly with three wins from their first six games, but then suffered a series of defeats. “As always in Belgrade, the first thing we have to do is handle the atmosphere and the certainly changed scenario after Coach Obradovic’s resignation,” says Coach Herbert. “That means we have to take care of the ball on offense and control the tempo of the game so that Partizan can’t showcase their great talent. The key will be rebounding.”
The 44-year-old began his coaching career in youth basketball in his hometown of Jena. Further stops as an assistant coach included Würzburg (then in ProA), Braunschweig (2012–2016), Bayreuth (2012–2016), and Ludwigsburg (including 2021–2022); in Bayreuth and Ludwigsburg (2025), Masell also worked as head coach for shorter periods. Most recently, he made a stint to Taiwan with the New Taipei Kings, which ended in November following the departure of John Patrick.
In addition to Bonga’s contract extension, signings like former NBA forward Jabari Parker (from Barcelona, 9.6 ppg) sparked great hopes in the Serbian capital. After the season began, EuroLeague’s all-time assist king Nick Calathes (from Monaco) and Finland’s EuroBasket discovery Miikka Muurinen also joined the team. However, the biggest offensive contribution once again comes from guard Sterling Brown (15.2 ppg, 39% three-point shooting), followed by fellow American Duane Washington (formerly New York Knicks, 13.4 ppg, 39.5% three-point shooting) and energizer Tyrique Jones (10.5 ppg, 6.1 rpg). Bonga averages 27 minutes on the court and delivers his reliable all-around stat line (8.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1 steal).
Herbert’s coaching staff back to full strength
Meanwhile, Bayern’s coaching staff has been complete again since the beginning of the week: After Josh Oppenheimer already started his work as individual coach and first assistant to head coach Gordon Herbert over the weekend, Lars Masell has now joined as another assistant coach at the start of the week. Oppenheimer had already agreed to join Munich in the summer, but for personal reasons, the American was only able to start at FCBB now. Masell, who has BBL experience, is now taking over the position left vacant after TJ Parker’s departure.
The 44-year-old began his coaching career in youth sports in his hometown of Jena, later serving as assistant coach in Würzburg (then ProA), Braunschweig (2012–2016), Bayreuth (2016–2021), and Ludwigsburg (including 2021–2022). Masell also worked as head coach for shorter periods in Bayreuth and Ludwigsburg (2025). Most recently, he made a detour to Taiwan to join the New Taipei Kings, which ended in November (with John Patrick's departure from the team).