The basketball players of FC Bayern Munich prevailed against Bamberg 85-78 and remain the undisputed leader in the BBL with their success in Südderby. They secured the first seed which guarantees home rights in all playoff rounds (starting May 18th). Two days after the big win in Berlin, 6,500 spectators in the sold-out Audi Dome experienced a class game from Bayern that came out of the gate slowly but controlled the final three quarters. Captain Danilo Barthel was again the top scorer with 15 points and Nihad Djedovic managed his 500th career assistant. Former FCBB captain, Anton Gavel, was honoured and officially retired just before the game between the two teams that he had played a decisive role in shaping.
Next Sunday, May 5th, the Munich team will compete in Gießen (15:00), before the last regular season game in the Audi Dome which is scheduled for Friday May 10th at home against Ulm (20:30).
Points per quarter Bayern - Bamberg: 20-22, 24-20, 22-13, 19-23.
FCBB stats: Danilo Barthel (15 points), Nihad Djedovic (12), Vladimir Lucic (11), Leon Radosevic (8), Devin Booker (8), Alex King (7), Braydon Hobbs (6), Petteri Koponen (6), Maodo Lo (3), Derrick Williams (2) and Marvin Ogunsipe.
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "We didn't play well in the first half and made a lot of mistakes on defense. They attacked the basket well and came through the lane too easily. In the third quarter we played quite differently. We defended much better. Bamberg showed up to play, that's clear. We also tried special things and brought Booker more into the game since he needs as much time as he can get after his injury. Now we have three more games where we can prepare for the playoffs. Many thanks to the fans for their support and also good luck in Belgium for Bamberg".
Alex King: "In both games, in Berlin and today, you probably saw that both teams didn't play with the best energy. We should have brought more energy in to control the game even better. Bamberg came back a few times. Now we have the first position for sure, but that's not enough for us and we have to work even harder on our game. If we work even harder we'll go far again."
Bamber head coach, Federico Perego: "I think everyone has to congratulate Anton Gavel on his career today, which is the first thing I'm going to do. Even though I only met him as an opponent, he was a great player with a fantastic attitude towards the sport. About the game: Bavaria has played a great season and brought a lot of experience and physique from their EuroLeague experience. We wanted to give everything, tried stay tight, but in the end we had too little strength. We also knew that important and difficult matches were coming up for us on the weekend. That's why we tried later to keep up with some young players, who did very well over long periods. I congratulate Bayern on their victory".
1st quarter
FCBB coach Dejan Radonjic ordered Maodo Lo, Nihad Djedovic, Vladimir Lucic, Leon Radosevic and Danilo Barthel as starters. Vladimir Lucic took the initiative and after 20 seconds sunk the first bucket for the German champions in this rivalry game. Nihad Djedovic stole the ball from the former Bayern teammate, Tyrese Rice and and managed to score to take a three-point lead. Nihad Djedovic was defended by the physically inferior Rice and made clever use of this under the basket. Petteri Koponen came from the bench and immediately put his signature skills to use witha three to take the score to 16-11 for Bayern. The defense for Bayern took a breather or two in the quarter and the Bambergers scored some easy points - especially Nikos Zisis - and after the first quarter the red team was behind 22-20.
2nd quarter
Derrick Williams scored his first points of the game from the charity stripe but Coach Radonjic was anything but satisfied with the defense of his Reds and after a trio from Bamberg's Maurice Stuckey called a time-out down seven. Unfortunately the conversation did not bring the change hoped for by the fans and the team struggled on both sides of the ball. Fortunately though, Bamberg did not manage to pull away and Bayern fought back to get within two - time-out Bamberg. The Munich team searched and repeatedly found captain Danilo Barthel under the basket who was routinely fouled and was able to convert his free throws. The game finally picked up speed again and almost every possession ended in a bucket for each team. Alex King scored 42 seconds before the buzzer to take a 41-39 lead - time-out Bamberg. Former Bayern player Bryce Taylor scored a three coming out of the break but after a Munich time-out the BBL top team's answer was named Braydon Hobbs whose three took a 44-42 lead after 20 minutes.
3rd quarter
Alex King opened the third quarter with a clean three-pointer and momentum was quickly in favor of the home team. Bayern was starting to "feel it" and the Bayern stars quickly took a lead that resulted in a Bamberg time-out. The Munich lead continued to grow and they began to dominate on both sides of the court to take a 62-48 lead with two minutes to play in the third quarter. Djedovic took the final seconds of the quarter to beautifully snake through the Bamberg defense and take an 11-point lead heading into the final quarter, 66-55.
4th quarter
Petteri Koponen answered a Kubolka's bucket with a three of his own but the second Taylor three in the final quarter brought the Bamberg team up to within six points, before Barthel settled things down with some free-throws and a baby hook. Clock management was huge for the home team and they were great in taking things down to the the last seconds on the shot clock and yet still scoring. Danilo Barthel stopped a 5-0 run for the guests from the free-throw line and the lead was still comfortable at 79-70 for Bayern. Devin Booker slammed the ball into the basket with two minutes before the final buzzer and then followed up with a successful jump shot. At this point it was clear that Bayern would take the victory and clinch home court through the playoffs
Upcoming games:
So, 5.5., 15:00: Gießen - FCBB (BBL)
Fri, 10.5., 20:30: FCBB - Ulm (BBL)
Sun, 5.12, 18:00.: Bonn - FCBB (BBL)
Playoffs 2019: Begin Saturday, May 18th
Photo-Credit: Stickel, Eirich & Rauchensteiner