Gavel's Bayern Kick Off with a Stunning Victory at Hapoel

The new chapter begins with a upset: In their EuroLeague opener, the Bayern basketball team pulled off a surprise victory over favorites Hapoel Tel Aviv, 86:84 (44:39), following a courageous performance, and celebrated their first win right away. Coach Anton Gavel’s team took control in the second quarter, before the star-studded squad led by Vasa Micic—playing with its full roster—actually turned the game around in crunch time. However, a big three-pointer by Voigtmann and a final defensive play by Jensen ultimately sealed the wildly celebrated road victory. The top scorers in front of about 2,000 spectators in Sofia were Obst (19) and Thiemann (15).

Stats Qutes 

The Munich team will return early Friday morning and will then have just under a day to prepare for Saturday’s BBL showdown against Alba Berlin at BMW Park (3.40 p.m.). On Tuesday, they’ll face Fenerbahçe in Istanbul, and next Friday they’ll play their EuroLeague home opener at SAP Garden against Partizan Belgrade (8 p.m.).  

Obst Leads the Offense

Bayern (without Baldwin, Giffey—who had a cold—and Washington, who was behind in training) celebrated two flawless three-pointers by Obst to make it 6:2, though they were still a bit nervous in the paint. Hapoel got to the line early and racked up a string of offensive rebounds (16:21, 10th minute).

Eight points from Jessup brought the FCBB within 24:26; now the offense, led by Obst, was clicking: Voigtmann made a layup, Jensen tied the score with an and-one to make it 31:33, and Beauchamp’s three-pointer gave them their first lead, 36:34 (17th minute). The second quarter ended 28:18 in favor of the visitors.

Hapoel Tel Aviv - FC Bayern Basketball 84:86 (39:44)

Full boxscore

75:57 becomes 81:82

Hapoel stepped up the intensity on defense, but Bayern kept the pace high, with Jokubaitis making it 61:51 (26th minute)! After a 9:0 run, the score was even 66:51; Hapoel seemed rattled. With an 11-point lead heading into the final ten minutes, Hapoel called a timeout after just 75 seconds: Beauchamp had dunked off assists from Voigtmann to make it 75:57.

But Hapoel’s individual talent allows them to mount runs at any time: Micic turned it on, going on a 14:0 run to cut the deficit to 71:75 (35th minute). Their top players, like Blakeney and Bryant, were no longer missing shots. However, the FCBB didn’t crumble in the face of the hosts’ comeback: 34 seconds before the final buzzer, the Munich team celebrated Voigtmann’s bounce-back three-pointer to make it 86:84. Two strong defensive plays weren’t rewarded with possession, but on the final inbounds pass, youngster Jensen had a hand in it—and it went wide!

Quotes: 

Anton Gavel, Head Coach of FC Bayern Basketball: “Congratulations to our players on this important victory. We had some defensive struggles in the first half. We were able to turn that around as early as the second quarter, and the third quarter was clearly our best of the game. In the final quarter, we almost threw it away—we couldn’t get any stops for minutes on end. We played a bit too stubbornly there. But I’m very happy that the guys found a way to win the game after all. We found the right shots and were able to stop them a few times on defense.”

Andi Obst: “This is a great team victory. It wasn’t a perfect basketball game, but we got off to a good start in the second half. Unfortunately, we then let Hapoel regain their confidence. We gave them too many easy opportunities. They’re a talented team—they can take tough shots and have a good defense. We need to control the game better. (…) But it’s good to start the season this way. We’re all working very hard and still have a long way to go."

Johannes Thiemann: “We were very aggressive on defense for most of the game, except for five minutes in the fourth quarter. (…) I’m very happy to be back in the EuroLeague. I’ve missed it, and a win is the perfect way to start.”