The basketball players of FC Bayern Munich won the first home game of the year against Bayreuth in overtime by a final score of 101-95 and remain undefeated at the top of the BBL standings. 5,828 spectators in the Audi Dome witnessed an early Sunday evening thriller: The Upper Franconians who have remained stubbornly on the heels of the champion throughout the entire season, took the lead several times at the end of the game and forced the Bavarians into overtime. In the five-minute encore, Bayern finally pulled off a deserved victory and proved to have a strong nerve from the free-throw line. Stefan Jovic was again a no-show due to his flu-like infection. Derrick Williams was the top scorer with 27 points.
After the EuroLeague game in Athens next Wednesday, the FCBB will have an extended stretch at home for the weekend: on Friday, 11.1. at 20:30 CET against Milan (EuroLeague) and on Sunday, 13.1. at 18:00 CET against Frankfurt (BBL).
Points per quarter Bayern-Bayreuth: 29-18, 18-22, 19-18, 18-26, 17-11.
FCBB Stats: Derrick Williams (27 points/7 rebounds), Vladimir Lucic (17), Nihad Djedovic (17), Maodo Lo (14/6 Steals/5 Assists), Danilo Barthel (12), Petteri Koponen (5), Leon Radosevic (4), Alex King (3), Robin Amaize (2), Nemanja Dangubic and Braydon Hobbs.
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "At the beginning of the game we played well offensively and defensively. But the longer the game lasted, the more unstable were our actions: a few minutes of good play, a few minutes bad. Bayreuth showed a strong performance that can only be congratulated. At the end it was a very close game, which we could fortunately won. That's the most important thing today."
Bayreuth head coach, Raoul Korner: "Congratulations to FC Bayern and their coach for the hard-fought victory. As painful as this defeat may be, I'm proud of the performance we've shown over the past few days without our statistically best player. The team deserves the utmost respect for how they've dealt with the personnel situation, how we fight, how we even won the rebound duel today. We were one shot away from a huge win, maybe we unpacked the crowbar a little too early in the decisive phase. We lacked the star-power that Bayern had today in the person of Derrick Williams."
1st quarter
Maodo Lo, Nihad Djedovic, Vladimir Lucic, Danilo Barthel and Marvin Ogunsipe made up the starting five for FCBB coach Dejan Radonjic. Captain Danilo Barthel from the free-throw line scored the first Bavarian points in the Audi Dome in 2019. The Munich team was defensively committed and was able to please the fans with a sweet passing game resulting in an 8-0 run which brought the first two-digit lead for Bayern at 13-3. FCBB were efficient and dominant controlled the first quarter to the tuen of 29-18.
2nd quarter
In the second section of the game, however, the Bavarians lost a bit of their focus and the visitors snuck back within reach, 29-22. Derrick Williams showed his class with a big-time three-pointer which again brought a double-digit lead to Bayern. Nihad Djedovic stopped a 7-0 run by Bayreuth with a three of his own but the big lead was down to six. With a three from Petteri Koponen and another Djedovic bucket, the Munich team again set themselves a little apart at 44-35 with three minutes to play. Munich had already sent every available player to the court by the half and Alex King checked in with a successful three-pointer which finished off scoring for the half at 47-40 for Bayern.
3rd quarter
The Munich team came out of the locker room too cautiously, suffered several turnovers and allowed the fifth team in the standings to work their way up to a 50-47 score. Suddenly the Bavarians exerted a lot of pressure over the whole court and forced two Bayreuth turnovers, which Maodo Lo used to assist Derrick Williams who poured in a three and forced a time-out for Bayreuth, 56-47 Bayern lead. Nihad Djedovic sunk his third three-pointer to renew a two-digit lead but Bayreuth remained in the game and after the third quarter the standings leader of the BBL was up eight, 66-58.
4th quarter
The Bavarians now had some trouble, the guests lurked and sensed their chance to cause the league favorites to suffer their first defeat of the season. After exactly three minutes in the final quarter the guests had scored four unanswered points and forced FCBB coach Dejan Radonjic to take a time-out. The Bavarians were looking for Derrick Williams, who was able to assert himself with all his strenght and was also successful from deep. But it didn't last long because 160 seconds before the end Bayreuth took their first lead pf the game at 78-76. Derrick Williams was the key for the home team in the final stretch and with two free throws and a jump-shot in the lane, he helped take the lead with only seconds left to play. Bayreuth, however, wasn't yet finished and they tied things up in the last seconds and forced overtime in the Audi Dome.
Overtime
The Bavarians forced a turnover with some tight defense and repeatedly succeeded on offense. A three by Vladimir Lucic 94 seconds before the end of extra time was a sign of things to come and boosted Bayern to a 94-88 lead. But to the horror of the fans, the Munich team made it even more exciting with two missed free throws and a turnover: With 14 seconds remaining on the clock, Cassius Robertson hit a three to get within one at 96-95. However, Nihad Djedovic proved he has ice water in his veins from the free-throw line and hit both shots after a a foul from Bayreuth. Vladimir Lucic also showed his nerves of steel and earned the tough victory for the yet undefeated club from Munich..
(Photo-Credit: Stickel & Rauchensteiner)