101–93 – Bayern keep their cool at Efes

There it is: After a difficult week, Bayern Basketball made an emphatic comeback on Matchday 5 of the EuroLeague, claiming their second win of the season with a 101–93 (54–46) road victory over Anadolu Efes Istanbul. A powerful offensive performance wore down the hosts, who lost three quarters of the game and were tormented most by Duane Washington, who scored 21 points, and Andreas Obst, who added 20.

On Friday at 7 p.m., Bayern will face the third EuroLeague club from Istanbul, Besiktas, at the same venue. Besiktas suffered an 82–100 defeat at Hapoel.

Stats Quotes 

Anadolu Efes Istanbul – FC Bayern Basketball 93:101 (46:54)

Full Boxscore

Washington and Obst lead the way

Gavel brought his entire squad to the Bosphorus for a six-day trip that will also include a German Cup round-of-16 match in Hamburg on Sunday evening. Giffey, Hollatz and Jensen sat out against Efes, watching their teammates produce plenty of positive moments on offense. Washington scored seven points in the opening quarter and put Bayern ahead 26–20 after 10 minutes—a fearless start from the visitors.

Bayern accelerated the game in transition and caused Efes problems in front of 3,600 spectators. Washington was at the heart of it again, finishing strongly to make it 35–26 in the 13th minute. Offensive rebounds and open lanes into the paint helped Istanbul prevent the game from slipping away completely. But Bayern’s offense continued to thrive at a high pace, with Lucic and Washington combining to give the visitors a 52–40 lead at halftime.

Jokubaitis makes the difference

The second half began with a three-pointer from Baldwin and Bayern’s biggest lead of the game at 61–46 in the 23rd minute. Efes, however, raised its intensity and physicality, and Bayern were forced to withstand a determined fightback as the hosts closed the gap to 73–68 with one minute left in the third quarter. Composure was now required.

Norris hit a three, Obst followed suit and da Silva raced to the basket as Bayern restored an 85–72 lead in the 33rd minute. Efes challenged the call and then cut the deficit to 90–85. Jokubaitis responded by scoring five straight points to make it 95–85 with one minute remaining. The Turkish side never recovered.

Quotes:

Anton Gavel, FC Bayern Basketball head coach:  “Congratulations to our players, because it’s always difficult to win away from home in the EuroLeague. We’re happy that we were able to bounce back after three consecutive defeats. Once we had built a double-digit lead, we stayed patient this time and managed to close out the game. We did a lot of things well offensively, and we also forced 20 turnovers, which allowed us to create easier scoring opportunities. Defensively, conceding 93 points is obviously more than we would like, but we can accept that on the road—and every win is great and important for us. Now we can build on this. We’re still the team with the most turnovers, and that cost us the game against Bologna. We have to keep improving in that area and take better care of the ball. We’ve been very satisfied with our performances in the Bundesliga so far, but we still need to bring more consistency to our game.”

Andreas Obst: “It’s very important to start this week with a win. It’s going to be a long and demanding week, with the double week in Istanbul and the cup game in Hamburg on Sunday, so this victory feels even better. It wasn’t a perfect game from us, but it was a strong team performance. We tried to communicate a lot with one another on defense and share the ball on offense. Everyone did a really good job today.”

Duane Washington: “I’m simply happy that we won the game. Winning the first game of this road trip is a boost for us, and we can build on it. I’m proud of my team—we fought hard. We can certainly defend better, but in the end, the only thing that matters is the win.”