The basketball team of FC Bayern Munich lost 89-69 on the 27th gameday in the EuroLeague on the road against Olympiakos Piraeus, after a disappointing performance. The Bavarians (12-15) never found their rhythm in front of 5,000 spectators, neither offensively nor defensively and had great difficulties rebounding (23-44). Petteri Koponen was the top scorer for Bayern with 15 points in 14 minutes, Devin Booker (13 in 16 minutes) also played a good game.
After three losses in a row, the Bavarians are now looking to present themselves in the last three games of the regular season as well as they have done up til now. The German champions still have two home games, the first less than 48 hours after the game in Greece as FC Barcelona will visit the Audi Dome on Thursday, March 21st 20:00.
Points per quarter Bayern - Olympiakos: 10:20, 21:30, 17:22, 21:17.
FCBB Stats: Petteri Koponen (15 points, 5/6 threes), Devin Booker (13), Nihad Djedovic (10), Danilo Barthel (7), Vladimir Lucic (6), Robin Amaize (6, /2/3 threes), Derrick Williams (5), Maodo Lo (2), Leon Radosevic (2), Nemanja Dangubic (2), Stefan Jovic (1, 9 assists), Braydon Hobbs
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "We played a very, very bad first half, especially defensively. Inside-outside, boxing out - and it's hard to stand up to Olympiakos when they get 44 rebounds. After the first half the game was already over and Olympiakos controlled the game. I very much hope that we will play better in the next game against Barcelona in Munich on Thursday."
Petteri Koponen: "We had a bad game from the beginning and were ten, 15 points behind early on. Then, of course, it's hard to come back, especially on the road. We have to keep fighting and do better. Of course we're down and disappointed at the moment. We didn't play well and must try to change that as soon as possible. There are still some games left first in the EuroLeague, but also in the BB. We still have a lot of goals and we have to work hard now."
1st quarter
FCBB coach Radonjic started with Maodo Lo, Nihad Djedovic, Vladimir Lucic, Danilo Barthel and Leon Radosevic. Bayern struggled on offense early on and on defense they had particular problems with the Greek big men. Consequently, the Bavarians were behind by double-digits in the final phase of the first quarter. Radosevic and Nemanja Dangubic made it a bit closer but the team struggled to get within real striking distance. The Germans did manage five steals but still managed to slip behind 20-10 after 10 minutes of play.
2nd quarter
The second quarter began promisingly: Two quick three from Devin Booker and Petteri Koponen brought the Bavarians back into the game at 20-16 but after that, the rhythm was lost again and Olympiakos went on a 12-0 run. It was again Koponen from the outside who stopped the run of the hosts and again one minute later the Finn banged home a three to shorten the lead to twelve for the Greeks. As the offense improved slightly the defense couldn't find the answer for Olympiakos on offense or the boards and at half the home team led big, 50-31..
3rd quarter
Bayern came out of the cabin with a lot of enthusiasm and played better at first than in large parts of the first half. Booker hammered home an alley-oop off a nice pass from Jovic which was the Serbian's seventh assist of the game. Only one minute later Koponen hit yet again another three and the big lead was down to 13 with 15 mintues to play in the game. It would be the last bit of hope for the Bayern offense and Olympiakos streaked on another big run and took an insurmountable lead at 71-44.
4th quarter
The Bavarians got off to a good start again in the final quarter but this was in large part because the host team was no longer playing their starters. Five minutes before the final siren, Djedovic hit a nice three to make things a bit more respectable but in the end Olympiakos Piraeus won in a blowout, 89-69.
Upcoming games:
Thu, 21.3., 20:00: FCBB - FC Barcelona (EL)
Mon., 25.3., 19:00: Würzburg - FCBB (easyCredit BBL)
Fri, 29.3., 18:15: Darussafaka Istanbul - FCBB (EL)
Sun., 31.3., 16:30: FCBB - Ludwigsburg (BBL)
Fri, 5.4., 20:00.: FCBB - Gran Canaria (EL)
Sun 7.4., 18:00.: Frankfurt - FCBB (BBL)
Thu., 11.4., 20:30: Ludwigsburg - FCBB (BBL)
Sun., 14.4., 16:30: FCBB - Braunschweig (BBL)
Fri 19.4 15:00.: FCBB - Crailsheim (BBL)
Sun, 28.4, 18:00.: Berlin - FCBB (BBL)
Tue, 30.4., 20:30: FCBB - Bamberg (BBL)
So., 5.5., 15:30: Casting - FCBB (BBL)
Fri, 10.5., 20:30: FCBB - Ulm (BBL)
Sun, 12.5, 18:00.: Bonn - FCBB (BBL)
Photos: Stickel & Rauchensteiner
